Year: 1874




A London letter to the New York
Times, in an account of the closing
scenes of the Tichborne trial, says:


"Then the claimant had to stand up,
which he did sullenly and sulkily,
dropping both his broad face and his
sly, leering eyes. Justice Mellor then
read the Judgment Of the Court, prefac-
ing it with some general remarks on the
case. The punishment to be awarded
was, he said, quite inadequate, but they
were limited by an act of Parliament,
which had probably been passed without
the contingency of such monstrous
crime as this having been taken into
account. The sentence was seven years
penal servitude for perjury in declaring
that he was Roger Tichborne, and then
on the back Of that, seven years more
for the perjuries he had committed in
supporting this imposture. think the
, criminal had made up his mind for the
first seven years, but was taken aback
by the cumulative applications of the
penalty. He gulped violently and suck
ed his lips, together with a scarcely
audible All By this time the police
officers, who hsd all along been keeping
a vigilant watch, surrounded him more
closely, and imagine there was
some apprehension that he might at.
tempt to swallow poison or do some
thing desperate. The claimant, speak
ing with some difficulty, and in a low
voice, asked the Court whether he might
say anything. Certainly not replied
the Chief Justice, and Immediately the
claimant, or, as he must now be called,
Orton, surrendered himself lamb-like,
into the hands of the officers, and was
hastily led away. He had been rather
pale when he nrst came into court, but
now he was black in the face, especially
about the upper part of the cheeks and
around the eyes. Large drops of perspi-
ration stood upon his brow he bowed
to his counsel as he went away, and ex-
changed q glance of farewell with young
Boyle, and then disappeared. In order
to battle the large crowd which had gath
cred in Westminster Hall, in Palace
yard, and in Parliament street, ne was
taken through back way to Newgate.
The mob waited patiently for some time
to take a last look at its hero. but as he
did not appear, it gradually dispersed.
The proceedings were all got over by
about o'clock, and l. suspect an effort
was made to accomplish this in order
that the half holiday in the afternoon
might not add to the multitude.


"iLLMASAGED PROCEEDINGS.


ut cannot be said that the manner in
which this absurd and transparent inn
posture has been dealt with has been
creditable to the administration Of JUS
tice. Il is nine years since 0rton first
began to call himself Roger Tichborne.
He had six years to get up his case for
the first trial, which resulted in a non
suit, which was practically a verdict
against him; and now it has taken some
two years more to get him convicted.
The expenses Of the present trial have
been estimated at fabulous sum, and
there can be no doubt that they will at
least be very considerable-probably
some e200,000 or thereabouts. The truth
is that the claimants own evidence re-
ally exposed the hollowness of his pre-
tensions. For a whole year after he
gave himself out as Roger Tichborne he
was utterly and ludicrously ignorant of
all Rogers antecedents and the circum-
stances of his family. With the help Of
a number of dupes and confederates, the
plot was afterward worked up into
more likely FORM but even if this