h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Good out of the box (out of the barrel? ) thinking - but alas wide of the mark. He remained in the barrel doing (or not doing) the thing that the authorities accused him of willfully and with malice aforethought.

Vagrancy? Failure to pay rates or ground rent for the barrel?

An inspired thought but not correct.

A more mortal than pecuniary vice.

Let me amend that:

A more mortal than pecuniary sin.

being divorced in charge of a barrel????

Not divorce

being gay in charge of a barrel????

Nope. One of societies other sinful activities that was outlawed way back when.

he was living in a barrel with some other chaps wife???

No he was all on his lonesome.

can you recap what exactly we are now looking for?????

Yes but give me 10 minutes while I have a shave....

Right, after being thoroughly humiliated and ejected from ecclesiastical office in a sex scandal, and before his fatal mauling from Freddy the Lion - our luckless man of the cloth spent time inside a barrel on the Blackpool promenade protesting his innocence and condemning those who had condemned him.

Whilst in the barrel he was accused twice of activities which the local authorities took a dim view.

It was in light of these three personal misfortunes that he took to climbing into the lion enclosure quoting liberally from the book of Daniel about being persecuted and how god would deliver him - a point of view that greatly hastened his demise when he became the first hot lunch Freddy had had in days.

Now of those two activities the first already established was that he was accused and acquitted under local by laws of causing an obstruction. His disgrace was big news in 1930s and as Ekky's dad could probably have attested they came from all around just to to see him protest.

After this and thoroughly ticked off with just about everything and everyone he returns to his barrel and initiates another activity that brought him to the attention of authorities, this time under the criminal law.

Now what do you already know about this thing.

1) He did it on how from inside the barrel, in public, in full view of everybody.

2) It doesn't involve sex with himself or someone else, nudity, exposure intended or otherwise, lewd thoughts or night time manipulations or anymore interventions with ladies of negotiable virtue, proposals or ceremonies of marriage or divorce or practices
adulterous or gay.

3) It might in some circles be considered a mortal sin

4) It was definitely illegal.

5) No exchange of money was involved.

6) I'm not clear exactly how he kept clean but it's not a question of maintaining personal hygiene or a lacking thereof.

7) What he did, was done by not doing something else, however.


And it was after he was accused and charged of this thing that he was inspired by his sense of persecution to take up lodgings with the cat.

And then tragedy.

Is the law still on the Statute books??

Can you still be prosecuted for doing what he did???




GT

Strike 'acquitted', that should be convicted.

The thought is father to the deed, there I rather fear.

No.

was he brewing his own alkyhol???

I think this ranks above even that in the sinfulness stakes.

was he a conchy????