• June 1869: Green is appointed incumbent of St John's,
Miles Platting,
Manchester. • January 1871: Green is admonished by
Bishop of Manchester James Fraser for mixing water with wine in the service of
Holy Communion. Green agrees to abandon the practice. • 1874: Green nominates Rev. Harry Cowgill as his
curate but Fraser refuses to approve the nomination on the grounds of Cowgill's avowed refusal to accept the authority of the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in church matters. • May 1877, Fraser learns that Green is using
incense and unlawful
vestments, perceived as trappings of
Anglo-Catholicism, in his services. Green is again admonished and agrees to abandon the practice. • 18 May 1878: Fraser receives a petition purporting to be from 320 of Green's
parishioners accusing him of "propagation of false doctrine and deadly error". • 20 May 1878: Fraser responds coolly, pointing out the vagueness of the accusations and the similarity of the
handwriting in many of the "signatures". • 2 December 1878: The
Church Association takes up the case and Fraser receives a "presentation" against Green charging, contrary to the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874: • The mixing of wine and water. • Lighted
candles. • Unlawful vestments. • Kneeling during the
prayer of consecration. • Elevating the
paten and chalice. • Placing the
alms on the
credence instead of allowing them to lie on the Holy Table. • Using the
sign of the cross towards the
congregation. • Performing the consecration in such a manner that the congregation could not see him break the bread or take the chalice in his hand. • Unlawfully and ceremoniously raising the chalice. • Unlawfully displaying a large
brass cross. • Displaying a
baldacchino. • 3 December 1878: At an interview with Fraser, Green declines to submit to his authority on liturgical matters as "I should deny my Lord and imperil (peril?) my own salvation." Fraser declines to invoke his discretion to
stay proceedings under the Act. • 23 December 1878: Fraser receives a petition supporting Green but is unimpressed by the standing of the signatories. • 14 June 1879: The case is tried before
James Plaisted Wilde, Baron Penzance who upholds the charges. • 9 August 1879: A
monition is issued to Green prohibiting the practices complained of. Green persists and an order is made inhibiting him from exercising the
cure of souls. Green persists and is held to be in
contempt of court. • 25 November 1879: Lord Penzance issues a
significavit to the
Court of Chancery of the
county palatine of
Lancaster notifying Green's contempt. • 9 March 1880: The court issues the
writ de contumace capiendo. • 19 March 1880: Green is arrested and held in
Lancaster Castle. Cowgill, without the bishop's licence, takes Green's place at Miles Platting but Fraser takes no action for fear of inflaming the situation. • 24 July 1880: An application is made to Lord Penzance for a ruling that Green is in contempt for non-payment of
costs of
£293 7s 8d. • 22 October 1880: An order for the
sequestration of his property is served on Green. • March 1881: An application is made to the
Lord Chancellor,
Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne, to take possession of Green's effects. The application is opposed. • 2 April 1881: The application is heard but Selborne defers his decision because of an impending challenge to the
Queen's Bench related to Lord Penzance's action. • 6 April 1881: An application for a writ of
habeas corpus is dismissed by the Queen's Bench. • 12 April 1881: An appeal is dismissed by
Lords Brett and
Cotton. • 7 May 1881: Selborne denounces the costs awarded against Green as a "great scandal". • 20 May 1881: Selborne reluctantly orders the sale of Green's effects. • 21 May 1881: The
English Church Union obtain a legal opinion from Sir
John Holker and
E. Vaughan Williams favouring an appeal by Green and implore him to do so. • 3–4 August 1881: An appeal to the
House of Lords is heard by Selborne,
Lord Blackburn and
Lord Watson. It is dismissed. • 4 August 1881: Green's effects are sold to defray the costs of the Church Association. • 21 September 1881: Fraser finally obtains an, at least nominal, undertaking from Green to obey his bishop's direction. Fraser writes to
prime minister William Ewart Gladstone requesting that he petition
Queen Victoria to exercise her
Royal Prerogative to
pardon Green. The case is forwarded to the
Lord Chancellor, Earl Selborne, and
Home Secretary, Sir
William Vernon Harcourt. • 25 October 1881: Green writes to Fraser emphasising that his submission to episcopal authority will not extend to disobedience to his conscience in liturgical matters. • 31 October 1881: Fraser writes to Gladstone to withdraw his petition for a pardon. • January 1882: A Mr. Leeds starts to assist Cowgill, who is suffering from
anxiety and
fatigue, at Miles Platting. Fraser takes no action despite Leeds' unlicensed status. • August 1882: Selborne writes to Fraser to advise him that, three years having elapsed since the inhibition, Green's living at Miles Platting has lapsed under the Act. Green's detention now seems to serve little purpose but he was imprisoned for contempt and there is no trivial remedy. It seems unlikely that either Green or the Church Association will apply to the court for release but Fraser has no
locus standi. • 17 October 1882: Fraser writes to Selborne advising him that Green is being guided by the English Church Union who regard deprivation of living under the Act with no greater gravity than any of its other provisions. • 20 October 1882: Fraser consults with his
Chancellor,
Richard Copley Christie, and writes to Selborne advising him of his resolve to free Green despite his fears for the consequences. • 4 November 1882: Fraser applies to Penzance for Green's release. The motion is unopposed, succeeds and Green is released that day. Green resigns his living in an attempt to deny the state's sequestration of his office. However, sequestration is already complete and Rev. W.R. Pym has been appointed as
locum. ==Later life==