The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-11-25 00:00:00

EQUITABLE RETALIATION.

On Saturday morning Bernard Ileg,ari, thirty years
of age, awl Samuel Lißey, twenty-two, both of noto-
riously had reputation, who had been convicted at the
last sessions of the Central Criminal Com t, Ismolon,
of robbery with violence, and sentenced each to seven
years' penal servitude, underwent a preliminary Hog-
ging in the gaol of Newgate, that being part of their
sentence.
It was a peculiarity in both cases that the crimes
were committed in broad day, and both of the pri-
soners hail also been previously convicted and punished.
On the afternoon of the 1 Ith of September, between three
and four o'clock, Mrs. Larking was walking through
Briolport-place, liushton-street, when some one seized
her by the neck from behind, pressing it very hard with
both hands, and the prisoner Lilley went in front of
her and snatched the gold guard chain ,if her watch.
For a 'moment or two it did not part, and the vio-
lence be used in trying to break it hurt her very much.
At length it broke, and a cornelian anchor and a
gold seal which had been attached to it fell to the
ground. At that moment two gentlemen, seeing the
assault fmm a little distance, followed and captured the
prisoner, upon which he took a stone from his pocket
and threatened to dash the brains of .one of them out.
In the case of the convict Regan, who is understood to
have been a prize-fighter, the evidence went to show
that about four o'clock in the afternoon of a day in
September last he and his wife, on foreteller of friend-
ship, inveigled a costermonger named William Arm-
strong, first into a publichouse in the Psorough and
afterwards up a lonely court, where the man Regan in-
flicted a fearful blow IRI his head, felling him to the
ground, seized him by the throat no as to prevent his
calling for assistance, and the woman robbed him of
£l. 12s. 6d. While be lay on the ground in that helpless
condition Regan, as the prosecutor expressed himself on
the trial, "kicked me tremendously hard on the side
of my head, and my left eye was on my cheek. After
my money was gone I had a purse with a few pawn
tickets and sleeve links in it. I tried to protect it, but
Regan put his foot on my neck and tore my hands
away from my pockets. I became unconscious, and
they threw buckets of cold water over me. I had to
lie in bed ten days perfectly helpless." For that out-
rage the male prisoner, Regan, who, haol been previously
convicted in 1867. and at eight other times. WM
sentenced byCon 111 l issioner Kerr to seven years' penal
servitude, and to receive 30 lashes with the cat. The
woman, Regan, was consigned to two years' imprison-
ment. _ .

The flogging on Saturday was inflicted in the pre-
sence of Mr. Sheriff Bennett, Mr. ex-Sheriff Jones,
Messrs. Crosley and Beard, the Under Sheriffs; Mr.
Jonas, the Governor of Newgate ; Mr. Gibson the
prison surgeon, and some strangers. Neither of the
convicts though nearly a month had elapsed since
their tnal, knew when that part of their sentence
would he carried out until Saturday morning, shortly
before it was actually inflicted. They were subjected
to it vepartely in one of the prison wards by Calcraft,
in the presence of the authorities; each convict, as he
was brought in, having been first stripped naked to
the waist and had his arms pinioned by the wrists
in the sockets of a wis len machine, which
precluded all possibility if cape or invasion.
Began, a stout, musenlar man. first undewent the
penalty, which was inflicted with a lash consisting, it
18 said, of nine thongs It stout whipcord, knotted
in places, and a hamlle two feet long. The strokes
were given slowly and regularly across the back from
the right shoulder downward to the waist. The con-
vict bore the punishment courageously until the
twelfth stroke, when he writhed a little and uttered a
suppresses' murmur. After that he begged that be
might be flogged fairly, meaning, it is understood, that
the lashes should nut be applied so much to one
part of his back ; but no heed was taken
of the demand, and on receiving the rest
of his :SO strokes he was released awl taken back
to his eel The convict Lilley, somewhat boyish in
appearance, was next brought in and subjected to 25
lashes. As the puhishment was being inflicted and
halts were mile in it he repeatedly called out to the
executioner to keep on and not to stop. On the 25th
stroke, that being his complement, he was liberated
and condo tel back to his cell.
Corporal puni-liment had not been inflicted in New-
gate since May,