The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-08-15 00:00:00

TEMPLE GARDENS TO TEMPLE BAR.
Here's a wrinkle, Temple bar '
If you can't stay where you are.
City sites no need to try—
There 's the very thing close by !- Punch.

EXECUTION AT EXETER.

At eight o'clock on Monday morning Thomas Mac-
donald, who, a fortnight since, was sentenced to death
for the murder of his paramour, Bridget Welsh, at
Plymouth, was executed within the Devon County
Gaol, at Exeter. Calcraft was the executioner, but he
brought an assistant with him. The prisoner has,
ever since his sentence, expressed himself prepared
for his fate, and has, during the interval conducted
himself in a very becoming manner, and expressed
himself perfectly satisfied with the justice of his sen-
tence. It is believed that Macdonald is a feigned name,
SS no inquiries have been made by any relatives since he
has been in gaol. The convict himself stated that he
had a father and mother living, and they were in good
circumstances, but he would rather die a hundred
deaths than they should hear of the end that had over-
taken him. On Sunday night he slept well for between
six and seven hours, and got up and dressed about
half-past five o'clock on Monday morning. An hour
afterwards he received the Roman Catholic priest in
his cell, and the rev, gentleman remained with him
until his death. The prisoner walked with a firm
step to the scaffold, which he ascended with the
support of Calcraft and his assistant, and stood ap-
parently calm while his legs were being tied and the
white cap was drawn over his face. While the rope
was being adjusted, however, he trembled and shook
very much, and after he had kissed the crucifix and
the priest had descended from the scaffold, he had to
be supported by the assistant executioner until the
bolt was drawn. The drop was a comparatively short
one, not more than 2ft., and in less than a minute
after the bolt had been drawn the body hung lifeless
in the air. There were a few nervous twitches of the
legs and hands, but beyond this no ships of a struggle
were visible,—An inquest was held at half-past nine,

The condemned man, Macdonald, was 35 years of
age, and having been for some months confined in the
Military If. spital at Plymouth, he was a short time
since discharged from the Marines. He then went to
live with Welsh, who was the wife of another man,
but separated from her huslia, d. She had some
children, and on the eldest, a boy of about 14, going to
her lodgings in East Stonehouse on the evening of
Monday, the 29th of June, he heard a great disturbanc
inside the room, and on trying the door he found that
loaieit. lie si once went round to the window,
and on jumping in through that found the prisoner,
and the deceased on the floor, the man with one hand
holding the woman by the throat, whilst with the other
he held a poker with which he was threatening her,
The boy's appearance stopped the disturbance, but the
deceased expressed her belief to another woman who
came in, that but for the boy's interference she would
have been murdered. Further, it was stated that the
quarrel was about the ownership of the furniture.
For the remainder of the evening the prisoner sat ap-
parently half asleep, half awake, on the sofa, and
when a neighbour left them at eleven o'clock they ap-
peared to be on fairly good terms with one another.
No disturbance was heard during the night, and at
breakfast time the prisoner went to an adjoining
public-house and obtained some brandy, which he drank,
At noon some observations that had been made in-
duced the owner of the public-house to break open
the door of the prisoner's lodgings, and then both
the man and the woman were found stretched
out on the floor apparently dead. The woman
proved on examination to have been dead for
several hours, and by her side was a portion of the bed-
stead covered with blood. The prisoner afterwards
admitted that this was the weapon with which he did
the deed, and he had inflicted two such severe blows
on her skull that either would have caused death.
Curiously he had arranged the body of the woman just
as a corpse would have been laid out under ordinary
circumstances. At first it was thought that the prisoner
was dead, for his throat was cut and bleeding. It turned
out, however, that he was but insensible, and having
n his attempted suicide missed the vital parts of
ilia neck, he was soon restored and cured. On
the table of the room there were two letters which he
had written—one before and one after the deed. These
letters were, as the learned judge described them, a
"mixture of ignorance and religion." In the first the
prisoner alleged that the woman had been unfaithful
to him, and expressed his intention of killing her. In
the second he stated that he had killed her, but he
hoped that they would meet in heaven, and he trusted
that her fate would be warning to other women notto
"try a man too far." He requested that his property
(between 1;20 and 001 might be divided among the
poor of Stonehouse, and he also mentioned a sum to be
paid to the Roman Catholic priest for masses for the
souls of the woman and himself. At the trial a de-
fence of insanity was set up, but there WllB no
1 evidence to support this, and almost without a