THE TICHBORNE CLAIMANT'S SOLICITOR.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 979, 19 November 1901, Page 1

THE TICHBORNE CLAIMANT'S SOLICITOR.

SOME FAOTSOF THS.w6Mp\ '." famous :-.';■ : ] '. The death ofiMr.'.Johu Holmes, : <wl>iel occurred recently. at\ ; bia .residence in Heckenham, may"recall, certain .stugcVc'f tin Tiohbernecaso, in which'ho played aproim. ncnt part. /'! lis fact that ho threw up. hi retainer at a.ctmpaiatlvoly early (Jutn.i»« that his name never figured in'the pecrm oither in tho trial in tlio'Common'Plcns cr it; Car, hasobneund' tho circiinibiituco.tjiat'lu was tho claimant's oiigihnl-solioitor, :'onc that to bis cxmtions thg early successes ut that corpulent impostor weio;largely dii|>. His connection with the enrtovcas due to tin merest accident. Onoovcnirijfrarly iu Jaiiu' liry, 1867, a Mr. Jsseph Leeto, Coßtimuta. agent for the firm of Allsopp:', made tile acquaintance in the billiaid room of [liu internatiooal Hold, London' lindgo, of a gentk man who declared himself to bo tho long lcj.! .Sir.Kqger I'ichbornc, itnd as about to ero;;i to Paris 1* rejoin hie .mother, from whom hi had boon Bopniatcd foT if years, Mr.'-Leel'. suggested tho advisability of cmployin: i ssliciter, and gafo hinra oard to tho oa. employed by tho tirui, Mr. John Holmes,' ol' tho Poultry, ' Thus-'•introduced, the soidisant Sir Roger c:!lod'upon Mr. Holmes and retained him. She lattor knew nothing of the Tichboino family history, and had u' immediate mtaoa of checkiog his clicnl't atory," but' he decided upon aceempanyiop him to Pans, together with their common friend Mr. Leotc. vtfow Lady Tichbor'no nut ushered into the.-.buirooin at the Hetcl di Lilloetd 1 Albion and lhi:ro recognised the Claimant for her son ie nutter of history. It was a dull aftcnioen, the blinds were half dewn, and the Claimant -lay huddledon the bed with his clothis on and bis faco turned to tho wall None tun lesi did Lady Tichbtme bend over him and kiss him, saying, " He looks like his father, and his eara art lite bis unolo'e."- Yet fiom that' hour till' her death in Match, 18G3, Lady Tiohborne was in constant communication, with him, lived with him for weeks at a time, and allowed him £I,OOO a year out of her tlehdei jointure.

To Mr. Holmes this idotililication' war naturally proof positivo of thu OluimanlV .identity, aiiiljie was foitilicd in bis belief hj Iheiicccsrtoinof the Hampshire witnesses who hail knotiu Itoger as a toy—Hopkins the old faintly.lawyer, Eoimlhuinnktepsr. Baigent the antiquary, and Bulpelt tho Ah H'sford haulier. Tlio. obatiauto incrediilih of the rest»F tho Tichboruo family was attii" hiit«<Vtu'piirrqißr.ncMauiVlntercsliid'.iiioliv», Aa enormia! mass of ovidenca wan cellteled aoi ia iln collection Mr. Helincs' zeal largeli outran/bis ditcrction, and exposed him Millseqmntly to sevcio. sniniadveriion at tli< hahda of Olricf Justice Bovil and Sir Alexan dfi Ueckhuti- ' • For msuy months Mr. Holmes was nn delotred by Ins client's oxlisordinaty lapse, *f memorv, or the still mora exlraordiniin nay in which it was leftuhcd by the oli soldiers with whom he was bteiiaht mto con tact. Whatever suspicions the Hret rumciiu of tho Orton conneeiien may liate arousct <vere.ali»jed by tho Oluiinant'a denials and by affidavits of tho Orton Bialcrs that'thci anew nothiug (,f Jiim, The oiaali, however, was not long delayed. The Claimant liati sworn to Roger Tichbtrne's sejonrn al Htlipillß, in Chili, and it became necESFarj for him lo go there and face the witnessti wlib wsre to bc:examincd on commission, Hi wear, much a/ainst his will, in charge ol Hulincs'managing clerk, and the late Mr, W, U, Hall, in September 1868, and within n few weeks tlio astoundid solicitorlearned tlint Oharlcn Orten had made affidavit that "Mil '•itojorV-Vrus none other than his own brothei •Arthur. Ksrly' in 'IBO9. tho. Claimant. reappeared in England,; having given the counsel the slip,and neverhaviog been niihln 500 miles of Melipilhv . Mr. Holmes thiotv up the case in disgust, and convened a taoetiag of the Claimant's Hampshiro suppsitou, .before nliora ho placed the evidence taken in Chili inHba Claimant's absence, and soma letters which the latter bad writtoa to the Orton Bisterx, ■, -

Thi -Claimant's bankruptcy followed ipeedily, leaving bis unfortunate solicitor £5,000 out of pocket. Yet, in spite of Una, the case eventually cama to'trial, and eon the TichborneTrustees £IOO,OOO, whilotho criminal prosecution cost the natien atlcast as much again. Porhaps the most dubious compliment to Holmes' activity was. contained in a letter from Bnigent:— Id becoming a bankrupt Holmes' bill would havo to be filed, and from it the oppoiition wculd learn all that Mr, Holmes has done for him siaco his annul in England, And would not t,hoSolieitor-Geuei nl crois-examino Sir Roger on it and the itouiß. It would cost him hia estates almost, if not quite,

Prophetio words! Baigoht, we believe, is still alive. Mr. Bulpett, so unpleasantly connKtod with tho dark, opinodo of Int. " seal«d pack«t,"'dled a few yoata ago. ■ Mr. Hepkinß died whilo Holmts. waa still in charge of the case, Beglo, the nr-gro. only survived the Claimant's conviction by a few rasDths, (Jf the numerous counsel ongaged in the two trials, the following are still with UB:-Ltrd Halsbwy, Sir Francis Jeune, and Mr. Pollard; who appeared for tho Claimant in the Cojinian Pleas; Lord Brampton, who acted against him there and in theciiminal proceedings; and Mr, Justice Mathew, who was retained in the latter only, Mr. Oooprr Wild was briefed for the Ulnimaut diiriii" the latter pait of the Criminal trial, "Dr. Tristram acted foi'liiui in tho.l'robate (Joint, and Lord Llandalf held a watching brief for the Trustees. To these names' shonld bo added that of Mr, Markbam Spofforth, the member of tho. firm of Baxter, Uose, and Norton, on whom tho conduct of the civil aotion devolved,- 1 ' Globe," ..-,.