The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-10
SANDF FORD GUILTY ' OF MANSLAUGHTER Will Re Sentenced Decem-
 Der IS z
  HE DEPENDS HIMSELF Leader of Holy Ghost and Us Sect ! Responsible for Six Deaths
 Aboard Yacht Coronet.
 Food Refused

Portland, Me-, December 9.-Rcv. Frank w. Sandford, leader of the Holy Ghost and Us religious sect, was found guilty today of having caused the deaths of six persons aboard the yacht "Coronet' which the society had char tered to take world pilgrimage. 1t is declared that Sandford refused to supply sufficient food and prevent the crew from starving. He said the Lord would take care of them. He will be sentenced on December IS. He declared high heavan was watch ing to see that he got a fair trial. He refused counsel, saying all the coun- ael he needed was his friends He told the court he asked at one stage of the cruise, Father what next, now that we have this company floated; l re- ceived the answer, 'Continue' MT. Sandford explained that the des- tination of the yacht Coronet was all ways thoroughly discussed by memb ITS of the crew, men and women, and fre- quently the children's opinions were asked. They prayed over the decision for hours and days, and sometimes it was weeks before a conclusion was reached.
 F His third fact" which he contend ed essential the jury should know, was that he had been forbidden by God to visit the countries over which he Irayed last year. and this precluded return to the United States. In this connection Sandford spoke with emo tion of the faithfulness of his wife during the IS years of his service for the Lord'
 The fourth fact" for the jurors con- sideration was that he and his peo- pie expected to receive an abundance Cf food from the fishing off the Grand Banks.
 Fifthly, he continued, they expected to secure an abundant supply of vege- tables and fruits in Newfoundland, but were disappointed; and also he had
 made a mistake in his calculations of the location of the Grand Banks and sailed past them. It was then that the discomfort among his followers began to manifest itself. He prayed to God he said, and in the end the decision was reached to disobey God and turn back
 That the yacht Coronet has been characterized as having been absolute ly obedient to the will of God was his sixth contention.
 In his seventh fact" he asserted that the whole cause and extensions Of the hardships which came on the Coronet and her crew in the last 40 days of the voyage was disobedience to Gods will in turning back from the voyage to the far north. This diso- bedience he attributed to the spirit which had been brought aboard by the survivors of the Kingdom.
 In closing Sandford said that on the west coast of Africa they had the great . est manifestation ofnthez goodness of God which modern man had received It was when the African fever al flicted them. Of the 40 members of the 7arty who were afflicted with this disease all were healed, in some casss instantly in others it was a matter of Ecurs or days.
 The jury was out less than an houY and returned a verdict of guilty on each of the six counts. The penalty tor each of the offenses Is a fine not exceeding $10,000 or Imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both Sandford was released on $10,000 bail.