James Beresford Atlay

“ Sir John Molteno was a man of commanding presence and of great physical strength. In private life he was of most simple and unostentatious habits. He was thoroughly representative of the early English settlers at the Cape, and enjoyed the full confidence of the Dutch. His ideas were formed before the days of imperialism, and the interests of the Cape ranked first with him, but in his efforts to secure the annexation of Damaraland he showed better statesmanship than Lord Carnarvon. ”

“ Lord Carnarvon was resolved to force on his policy of South African confederation. Molteno was not opposed to confederation in itself, but insisted that it must come gradually from within and not from without, and that at the present time it would impose unduly onerous burdens on the Cape Colony. ”

“ Over one hundred persons swore to the claimant's identity ; they were drawn from every class and with few exceptions were perfectly genuine in their belief, though the most influential and respectable of them were called prior to the claimant's cross-examination. ”

“ Up till then educated and legal society had been evenly divided. The first witness called for the defendant trustees swore to having tattooed Roger at Stonyhurst, whereas the claimant had denied having been tattooed and his arm showed no marks. After several members of the Tichborne and Seymour families had been in the box, the jury declared that they required no further evidence, on which Serjeant Ballantine elected to be non-suited (5 March 1872) . ”

“ Outside the borders, however, the elements of unrest were beginning to ferment, and Loch had scarcely the requisite knowledge of South African problems to enable him to adequately master the situation. He was alive, however, to the greatness of Mr. Rhodes's conceptions, and to the danger that would inevitably attend any expansion of the Transvaal Republic. He assisted the expeditions which led to the annexation of Mashonaland and Matabeleland, and he allowed the Bechuanaland police force to be sent up to threaten the Matabele from the west on the outbreak of the war of 1893. ”

“ In 1869 he had succeeded somewhat unexpectedly under the will of his uncle, R. J. Elton, to the property of Whitestaunton, near Chard in Somersetshire. As lord of the manor, owner of a house ranging in date from Edward IV to Elizabeth, and with the remains of a Roman villa in his grounds, he had ample opportunities of satisfying his excep- tionally varied tastes. He was fond of all field sports, and took a practical interest in farming, which made him a capital parliamentary representative of West Somersetshire, for which he was returned to the House of Commons in 1884. ”

“ Atlay brought to the management of his diocese the same thoroughness which had marked his career at Leeds and Cambridge. Rarely quitting it except to attend the House of Lords or convocation, he lived and died among his own people. He made a point of officiating in every church of a wide though sparsely populated diocese ”

“ To quote Sir John's own words : 'Did you ever see a more clever man, more ready, more astute, or with more ability in dealing with information and making use of the slightest hint dropped by cross-examining counsel?' His deficiencies are summed up by the same authority : 'The first sixteen years of his life he had absolutely forgotten ”

“ An agitation spread through the country which at one time threatened to become dangerous. Kenealy, disbarred for his flagrant breaches of professional etiquette, was returned to parliament in order to advocate the claimant's cause, and on 23 April 1875 he moved in the House of Commons to refer the conduct of the trial and the guilt or innocence of the prisoner to a royal commission. ”

“ The claimant was penniless and owed huge sums. Lady Tichborne had died in April 1868, and Mr. Hopkins was also dead. Left to himself, he might have thrown up the attempt ; but behind him were a number of creditors. Fresh sums were obtained by the issue of 'Tichborne Bonds,' and eventually, after a long delay to take evidence in Australia, his ejectment action against the trustees of the Tichborne estate came on before Chief-justice Bovill and a special jury. ”

“ The dictatorial tone adopted towards the colonists, together with the incapacity displayed by the queen's officers, was a strong factor in determining his future attitude towards the intervention of the home government in military matters. ”

“ In 1885 be was made a queen's counsel, and elected bencher of his inn. Contrary to the general practice of chancery 'silks,' he did not attach himself to any one court, but practised as a 'special' whenever the matter was heavy enough for him to be retained. ”

“ After being ordained deacon in 1842 and priest in the following year, he held from 1843 to 1846 the curacy of Warsop in Nottinghamshire, and from 1847 to 1852 the vicarage of Madingley near Cambridge. ”

“ On 8 Oct. they rejoined the British camp, but, with the exception of a few Indian troopers, the rest of the party—French, English, and native—died in prison from horrible maltreatment, and Loch himself never fully recovered his health.
In 1860 he was sent home in charge of the treaty of Tientsin, and in the following year he finally quitted the army, and was appointed private secretary to Sir George Grey [q. v.] , who was then secretary of state at the home office. In 1863 he was made governor of the Isle of Man, a post which he occupied to the great satisfaction of the islanders until 1882. ”

“ In 1880 he had received the distinction of a K.C.B. In 1882 he was transferred to a commissionership of woods and forests and land revenue, and his career outside the somewhat narrow bounds of the English civil service seemed at an end. In 1884, however, he was sent to Australia by Gladstone as governor of Victoria. ”