CATHEDRAL SENSATION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22166, 20 July 1935, Page 2 (Supplement)

CATHEDRAL SENSATION

SAINT CALLED A TRAITOR DISTURBANCE AT SERVICE AMAZING ROCHESTER SCENE Lord Halifax, the British Secretary of State for War, was concerned in an astonishing scene during a ser\ ice in Rochester Cathedral one night last mouth in connection with the celebration of the 400 th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, in the reign of Henry VIII. . During Lord Halifax's oration on the life and times of the martyr a man roso from his scat in the nave, and, waving a sheaf of papers above his head, cried, " I have records here which brand Fisher as a traitor. I say it is a shame, mv Lord, for you, as Secretary of State for War, to be here tonight to defend a traitor. " Had you lived in the time of Fisher you would have been excommunicated and put in prison for doing what jou are doing now. I can prove from these documents that Fisher was a traitor. Do you wish to see thorn ? ' As soon as the man started speaking the Bishop of Rochester. Dr. Linton Smith, who presided, rose in his chair and called in stern tones, " Sit down The man, however, did not sit dou n, and cried again, " I say it is a traitorous action." A voice then cried out " Withdraw." The man was then approached by the sacrist, the Rev. H. G. Welch, who spoke to him. He continued to talk, however, until he was approached by two police officers who had been placed at tho cathedral door. Ho then walked out of the cathedral. During the whole scene Lord Halifax stood silent and still at the lectern, and after tho man had left went quiottv on with his address as though nothing had happened. _ Immediately on the conclusion of his address there was another interruption.

Another man rose from the congregation and cried out, " How can .you call Fisher a Christian when he invited Spanish armies to invade this country? I am here to protest." At once the bishop was on his feet announcing the number of the next hymn, and the interrupter subsided. The first interrupter gave his name as Mr. A. W. Martin, a. member of the Protestant Truth Society. He told a reporter afterward that he was not officially representing the society but came down to make his own protest.