The Press.
London, England, 1856-05-31 00:00:00

MAY 31, 1856.

be taken from the bar at whioh you now stand hack to the
gal of Newgate, trout whence you came, and that you be
afterwards removed to the county gaol of Stafford, that
being the county in which your offence was committed,
and that you be there hanged by the neck until ou are
dead, and your body be afterwards buried within the
gaol, and may the Almighty God have mercy on your soul.

The prisoner did not seem at all affected while
sentence was being pronounced. The moment it
was passed he turned round and walked hastily away
from the dock and descended the staircase leading
to the prison, where directly he arrived he was
stripped and dressed in convict's clothes. After the
sentence was passed, no person was allowed to see
him or to communicate with him except the under-
sheriff and the authorities of the prison. Imme-
dia'ely after the verdict was delivered a telegraphic
despatch was forwarded to the governor of Stafford
Gaol, requesting him to provide accommodation for
prisoner that night.

the
Before the judges left the court they signed a
warrant for the removal of the prisoner to Stafford
Gaol, and an order to the sheriff of that county to
carry out the sentence.
At twenty minutes to eight o'clock two cabs drove
up to Newgate, one of them entering the gaol gates,
and the other remaining outside the governor's
entrance. In a few minutes after Palmer was
brought out of the governor's door, pieced in the cab
with Mr. Weatherhead ( the governor), and two officers,
and driven off as rapidly as possible. A great crowd,
however, had collected round the gaol gates, and
when, a few seconds afterwards, the second cab was
brought out empty, they saw that they had been de-
ceived, and immediately ran afte► the first cab,
which,• owing to the crowded state of the top
of Newgaie-street at the time it started, they
overtook opposite Hatton-garlen. Several hun
dred persons collected here, and hooted the
prisoner in the most excited manner. The cab
arrived at the Euston station in time for the eight
o'clock train. At the station, also, there was much
excitement, Palmer (though envelo)ed in a cloak)
having been recognised the instant he arrived on
the platform, owing perhaps to his being handcuffed
to one of the gaolers. He was thrust into the middle
compartment of a first-class carriage, and the blinds
at once drawn across the windows. At eleven p.m.
the train reached Stafford, where a fly was in waiting,
and Palmer was immediately conveyed to the gaol.
Previous to leaving Newgate he had expressed a
particular desire to be taken to Stafford by any other
means than by the North-Western Railway, as he
was so well known along the line, but the under-
sheriff informed him that his request could be
eomplied with, and he submitted without any further
rem ark.

Notwithstanding the verdict, Palmer, immediately
after the proceedings on Tuesday, complained to the
under-sheriff that he had not received a fair trial.
The under-sheriff observed, that he had no reason
to complain, and reminded him that all the judges
agreed in the finding of the jury. Palmer's reply
was—" Well, sir, but that don't satisfy me." During
the charge of Lord Campbell he repeatedly commu
nicated verbally and by written messages with Mr.
John Smith, his solicitor, and the counsel conducting
his case. After the learned judge had concluded,
he addressed a note to Mr. Smith, in which he stated
that Lord Campbell's summing up was very unfair
towards him, and that, consequently, the jury must
be prejudiced against him. He added, however, the
expression of his belief that they would find a ver-
dict of not guilty.
Mr. John Smith and Mr. George Palmer, the pri-
soner's brother, are taking steps to lay before the
Home Secretary a statement of facts, mainly in con
nection with Vie medical evidence, which they hope
will induce the right hon. gentleman to re' ommend
ber Majest3 to exercise the prerogative of mercy by
mitigating the capital sentence. The grounds on
which the appeal will be made are the conflict of
medical evidence, and the absence cf any direct
proof floe poison had been a lministered to the de-
ceased. Several communications have been for-
warded by various medical practitioners, detailing
eases of tetanus from natural causes, accompanied
by symptons similar to those spoken of in Cook's case ;
and although some of those communications were
not forwarded in time to be used at the trial, the
prisoners friends are sanguine in the hope that they
may have a favorable influence in the only quarter
to which an appeal can now be made.
The execution of Palmer is fixed for the
morning of Saturday, the 14th of June, at eight
o'clock. The scaffold will be erected on the flat roof
of the building forming the entrance to the prison.
Since arriving at Staff yd, Palmer's behaviour has
been much the same as before his trial. Two of the
prison officers are constantly in his cell, and when
he does enter into conversation with them, the pnr
port of his remarks has chiefly reference to a probe
bility of his sentence bring remitted. He is as col-
lected and unmoved as t val., and evinces cheerfulness
and serenity. Up to Tliur day none of his friends
had applied for permission to see him.