The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-05-06 00:00:00

Scoaanb.

FiroirrioN IN DUltrltlES.—On Tuesday morning
Mary Reid, alias Titnney, was executed At Dumfries for
the wilful !nattier of Ann Hannah, at Corpshad, in the
stewattry of kirkcudbright, on the 13th of January
last. The circumstances of the crime for which the un-
happy woman thus forfeited her life to the law were
briefly theme :—The deceased, Ann Hannah, lived with
her two brothers, William Hannah and Lockhart Pater-
son Hannah, at Carpshad, which is a small farm situ-
ated on the road to the famous Glenkens. The house
in which they lived stands by the roadside, and about
fifty yards from it wee the cottage of the prisoner, who
was the wife of a labouring man named Francis Timney.
The nearest house to these two is a quarter of a mile dis-
tant. The daily duties of the deceased were to tend the
cattle and perform other sindlat duties about the farm.
On the 19th of January last, the morning of the mur-
der, het ter, brothers went away, about nine o'clock, to
Work at a place about three miles off, leaving deceased
alone in the house. She was left well, and was seen
well a little before ten o'clock by some school girls who
were passing on their way to schooL About one o'clock
a woman named M'Lellan, passing the deceased's cottage
on her way to bake cakes for the prisoner, who had sent
for her that morning, called, and found the deceased
lying in pools of her own blood in the middle of her own
kitchen. She celled assistance, and it was found that
the poor woman's skull was (metered in four places,
two of her ribs were broken, her arms were discoloured,
and other p.irta of her hotly were wounded. Blood was
splashed about, a butcher's knife was found on the floor
covered with blood, and also a poker marked with blood
and hair. The deceased was not quite dead, but the
only words abs uttered when lifted on a bed were "Oh,
dear !" She died that evening. The neighbours re-
marked to the prisoner that it was strange she had
beard nothing of the murder ; but she said she had
never been out of her house all day. Upon search being
made in the Irmse, however, clothes marked with blood
were found tied up in a bundle in a dark loft, and some
of the clothes which she wore when actuated by the
police were also stained, The bloodstained tartan dress
In which the things fotind in the loft were wrapped,was
identified by the prisoner's own children as that which
she had worn on the morning of the murder. A wooden
mallet which had been recently washed was found
behind a meal-tub, marked with blood and hair. Before
the murder the prisoner was without money ; after it
there was 7s. 7d. found in her house, and also
some tea and auger which were miming from the cot-
tage of the deceased. When apprehended the prisoner
attempted to criminate her mother, for whom, however,
an cathi was clearly established. It appeated at the trial
that on the morning of the murder the deceased's
brother lent the prisoner's husband 2s. 6d. as he was
going away to work. The deceased had formerly granted
the prisoner small loans, but had lately refused to con-
tinue them. They had had differences about the prisoner
taking away wood. At the trial it will be remembered
the prisoner made a heartrending appeal to Lord Dm
when lie was sentencing her to death, crying out, "Oh,
my Lord, dinna do that !" "Give me anything bnt
that I—let the Lord send for me l" "0 any weans!"
After the prisoner was condemned to death strenuous
endeavours were made in Dumfries to obtain a commu-
tation of the sentence, that the town might be spared
the sickening spectacle of the public execution of a
woman. A general petition was sent to the lionie-office,
bearing above 2,000 signatures, and one signed exclu-
sively by 3,18? women. Moreover a deputation of ladies
waited upon Sir George Grey. Meanwhile the prisoner
made a confession of her crime, assigning as the princi-
pal motive jealeusy of the deceased, who she believed
had acquired an influence over liar husband. She said
she was going out to gather wood for the fire, when the
deceased asked her if she was going to "thieve" more of
her wood. High words and some blows followed, after
which the prisoner went home. Some time afterwards
she proceeded to the deceased's house to give her a good
beating, but with no intention to kill her. The deceased
met her with a kick, and the blows having been ex-
changed the prisoner seized • wooden mallet with which
the deceased had struck her, but which had fallen down.
With this she struck her a blow which felled her, and in
the heat of her passion. followed it up with others. On
Friday, official intimation was received that Sir George
Grey saw no ground for interfering in the prisoner's
behalf, and the law would be allowed to take its course.
The scaffold was erected on the east side of the gaol.
Calcraft was the executioner, and lie performed his
dread office after the usual preliminaries. The spectators
were not more than 2,000 or 3,000. The prisoner when
placed on the drop was much agitated. Death appeared
to be instantaneous. Great order prevailed. The body
was afterwards out down and buried in the precincts of
the gaoL—The Liverpool Mercury states that at the
execution a "most estraordinary scene took place.
After Calcraft had pinioned the culprit, and the usual
officers of justice appeared on the scaffold, a messenger
In breathless haste, and bearing in his hand a document
from the railway office, was observed to be making his
way through the crowd. Instantly the execution Was
stopped, it being considered certain that the man was
the bearer of a reprieve from the Home Secretary. The
document, which was addressed to the Governor of the
prison, proved to be • letter forwarded to that office by
a Mr. Butterfield, of Stamford-street, Blackfriars-road,
and requesting that the Governor would immediately
forward to the writer a telegraphic message containing
information as to the last momenta of the unhappy
woman. A telegraphic frank WRS enclosed, with an inti-
mation that the message must be in London immedi-
ately after the execution, as the writer wished to send •
report to the evening papers, which "went to press" at
one &clock. The arrival of this request at such a
moment caused come amount of indignation, and the
Governor handed the letter to the reporters present, by
whom it was copied.