The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-08-19 00:00:00

EXECUTIONS AT LIVERPOOL,

On Monday morning at eight L'clock, William Fish,
25 the barber from Blackburn, was executed at Kirk
d :le Prison, near Liverpool, for the murder of the little
girl Emily Holland, in March I here was also
executed 4 the alsme time al yo man named
ite
Richard irompson, who fatally et bed a man in
Coronatlitin.street, Liverpool, in April. Marw9od was
--te executioner, and he e Ire gth of rope asat
;h-r recent executions. l t f !
Fish and Thompson a ads _se ce on Sunday
uth
t the prison chapel, and appeared serious and
Aontive to a di/Inouye preached from the text,
Father, forgive them," Luke xxiii., 21. ' In the
-‘rnoon the litany for the dying was need, and
_ appropriate to the condition of the two men
sung. Tnompson was very fond, when by himself,
of singing the hymn, "Safe in the arms of Jesns.'!
At an early hour on Monday morning clue tersof people.
began to collect on the vacant ground near the prison,
and by eight, the time fixed for the execution, several
hundred persons were gazing in the direction of that
point where the flag is hoisted. The scaffold
was erected in the north-west angle of the pri.on yard,
but it was not, as usual, draped with a screen, the
gaunt black framework being conspicuous in all its
hideous details. Thus, to those few persons who were
admitted to view the execution, the drop was in full
view. Nor were the bodies after the fall at all con-
cealed.

Both men rose at five o'clock, and from six o'clock
to about a quarter to eight the chaplain remained with
them. At seven they partook of the sacrament, and
afterwards remained in prayer for some time with the
chaplain. Shortly before 8 o'clock the solemn toll of the
funeral bell commenced, and in a few minutes the
procession, headed by Elision, the chief warder,
emerged from the prison. William Fish _followed
immediately, with his arms strapped down to his
side, and Thompson walked behind him. Both men
manifested equally little emotion or fear; and as they
were ascending the scaffold steps, Thompson gave a
quick look upwards, and for a few seconds appeared
to be scanning with interest the apparatus of death.
The condemned men were then each placed beneath
the beam, no rediatance or difficulty being experienced,
though Fish, as he came in contact with the rope, gave
a slight shudder. Marwood, the executioner, with a
quick, businesslike air, then pinioned the legs of both
men, pulled down the caps over the faces of both,
and adjusted the ropes round their necks.
Both men were Protestants, and the Rev. Mr.
Pigott, the prison chaplain, read over to them the
Litany for the dying, to which they appeared to
pay dovout attention and joined heartily in the re-
sponbes. Fish was heard frequently exclaiming, "Lord,
rtceive my soul," "Lord, have mercy on me,' and just
before the falling of the drop Thompson was heard to
say, "Safe in the arms of Jesus." The bolt was then
_ _

driv, and the condemned fell a distance of at least
six feet. Fish died instantly; but there was a slight
convulsive movement in Thompson's limbs, though
it was short, and life with him also appeared to go
out almost immediately. After an horr's suspension
both bodies were cut down and the inquest held as
usual. The crowd lingered for some time outside the
prison and then disperseo.
Mr. Pigott states that he was very well satisfied with
the spiritual condition of the men. They displayed no
bravado or frivolousness, and paid very earnest attention
to his ministrations. A petition in favour of a reprieve
for Thompson had been sent to the Home-office, but
was not sumessful.

At the inquest which followed, the Coroner, Mr.
C. E. Driffield, requested the Governor of the gaol to
call the attention of the Visiting Justices to the ex-
treme length of the drop, which he considered not a
strict carrying out of the sentence in a legal sense, in-
asmuch as dislocation of the vertebrae was substituted
for strangulation. He did not, he said, feel sure that
the long drop was not more cruel than strangulation.
The gaol surgeon assured the Coroner that death had
been instantaneous, and there was no indication of
suffering. The jury found the verdict in the usual
form, "That the culprits met their deaths by 'being
hanged by the neck," The neck of each of the criminals
was deeply indented by the rope, and the faces pre-
sented a ghastly appearance.
-
THE WILL OF MISS HARRIET
MARTINEAU.
The will (with two codicils) of the late Miss Harriet
Martineau has just been proved by the executors, Mr.
Thomas Martineau and Mr. Francis Robert Martineau,
both of Birmingham, the nephews of the deceased.
The personalty is sworn under £io,ooo. The will is
dated March 10, 1864, and the codicils respectively
June 17, 1865, and October 5, 1872. The testatrix
gives her property and residence, "The Knoll,"
Ambleside, to her sister, Mrs. Higginson, of Liverpool,
and her children. The personalty, with the exception
of a few gifts to friends and to an old servant, is
divided equally among her brothers and sisters living
at the time of her decease, or the children of those who
have died previously. The testatrix gives her books
to her brothers and sisters, or, if deceased, to their
children, to be divided as they may agree. All the
manuscripts awl private papers, and all copyrights
belonging to ner, the testatrix gives to her nephew
and executor, Mr. Thomas Martineau, upon trust to
conduct the revision and publication of them, accord-
ing to her instructions' or, failing these, at his own
absolute discretion, for the benefit of the estate; and
inconnection with this bequest the following direction
occurs :—" I emphatically forbid the publication of
any private letters written by me, and do strictly
enjoin upon my executors ta prevent by all means at
their command any such publication." Her autobio-
grapby is to be published by Mr. Thomas Martineau.
in conjunction with her friend, Mrs. Chapman, late of
Boston, Massachusetts, who is authorized to make such
biographical additions as she pleases and to whom a
fourth share of the profits of the work is bequeathed,
together with a legacy as editor. The will contains one
peculiar provision which should be. mentioned as in-
dicating the character of the testatrix. "It is my
desire (she says) from an interest in the progress of scien-
tific investigation, that my skull shall be given to Henry
George Atkinson, of Upper Gloucester-place, London,
and also my brain, if my death should take place within
such distance of his then present abode as to enable him
to have it for purposes of scientific observation." By
the second codicil, dated October 5, 1872, this direction
is revoked; "but (the codicil proceeds) I wish to
leave it on record that this alteration in my testa-
mentary directions is not caused by any change of
opinion as to the importance of scientific observation
on such supjects, but is made in consequence merdly of
a change of circumstances in my individual case."
A GLUT OF DIAMONDS ,141111

Young ladies will have some difficulty in compre-
hending the latest news from South Africa. " Dia-
nionds are dirt cheap," says the Cape Standard and
Mai!. It will appear to many pretty sisters that a
fine opportunity presents itself for the profitable em-
ployment of their brothers who might, instead of wast- ,
ing their own energies and their papa's money in
effeminate, if not riotous, amusements at home, be
despatched to the Greater Golconda, where diamonds
are too plentiful to pay the cost of picking them up. The
me of having brothers would become clearer fur a while
if those troublesome relatives could for once come
home with pocketfuls of brilliants, to furnish forth the
ball-room splendour of next season. But the pearls of
society are not the only persons who may be shocked
to find the rude touch of political economy laid upon
the delicate gems which poets idolise and only cynics
dare to think of as mere crystallised charcoal. It
would seem as reasonable that the law of demand and
supply should extend to rainbows and lilies of the field
as to the gems that beauty covets for her own adorn-
ment. Perhaps it does apply to these also. Pos-ibly the
twinkling stars are numbered in obedience to the same
prosaic regulation, and the tender blushes of Aurora are
summoned and dismissed in the like materialistic way.
But the thought is none the less hard to bear, especially
when the heart is young and the emotions quick. The- e
admirable sentiments do not appear to exercise any
considerable influence over the rude miners who labour
on the South African Tom Tiddler's ground. "The
claim-holders," we are told, "had determined to sub-
mit no longer to the prices ruling for diamonds, but
rather to stop digging and dm e their claims until
prices had improved." It is not obvimis that they
would gain much in this way; for diamonds do not
fructify; they do not bear interest banked in the earth.
But there is no particular harm in keeping them where
they are; as there would be if they were grains of
wheat kept and hoarded in barns, and "waiting for
the ri&e.' Nobody will starve for la3k of diamonds.
—Globe.
TRADE AND MANUFACTURE IN THE
UNITED STATES.

I 23)

The Times has pubil,hed the following letter:—
Sir,—The marked decline in the British export
trade, as shown in the recent Returns of the Board of
Trade—a decline especially noticeable in the exports;
of the United States, induces me to offer a few re-
marks upon the development of manufacturing
industry in that country, which I had a favourable
opportunity of observing during my recent v.sit to
the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia as one of
the Judges in the Group for Railway Appliances.
I last visited the United States in 1856. The progress
made in the interval of 20 years is very marked. The
stimulus afforded by the demands and expenditure on
account of the war, assisted by the protective system
which has been adopted, have developed and nursed
every variety of manufacture, from iron rails to Parisian
fancy articles. The advocates of the protective policy
say it should be called nationalism, not Protection.
Without discussing the wisdom of the Protective
policy, or how far it has been instrumental in aggravat-
ing the present stagnation of trade, it is Certain that it
has led to the erection of a large number of factories
and of numerous iron and steelworks, and to a rapid
development of manufacturing industry, as evidenced
by the great increase in late years of the amount of
coal raised. Thils, while the total amount of coal
raised in the United States in 1870 was about 32,000,000
tone, as compared with 113,000,000 raised in Great
Britain, the coal raised in the United States in 1874
was 50,000,000 tons, as compared with 125,000,000
raised in Great Britain. Of the coal thus raised in
1874 only about 500,000 tons was exported from the
XTnited States, of which about 400,000 tons was ex-
port. dto the Dominion of Canada. The coal fields of
the United States cover an area of 196,000 miles. The
ooal is, in most cases, easily accessible' iron ore is
abuncaut, both near the coal fields and elsewhere.
The rate of wags for unskilled labour varied in the
works which T visited from 90 cents a day to 1 dol. 20
cents, equivalent, at the present rate of exchange, in
our money to 3s. 61. or 45. 7d. The wages of car-
penters, joiners, blacksmiths, and fitters varied from
as low as 1 dol. 50 cents to 2 dole. 75 cents—i.e., in
our money, from ss. 61. to 10a. 6d. The day is at
least ten hours long; these higher prices are moreover.
counterbalanced by the nse of machinery, guided by
unskilled labour to an extent much exceeding that
Reneraili) in use in this country. Notwithstand-
ing the stagnation of trade I observed several
new works in course of erection. Although
there is not so large an amount of new railway
• in construction as was the case in 1872 and 1873,
many lines are substituting steel for iron rails. The
rails now used in the United States are almost

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