The Express.
London, England, 1862-10-20 00:00:00

EXECUTION OP CATHERINE WIL.WiN.

(THIS DAY.)

The wretched woman, Catherine Wilson, who wa.
ooericted at the last session of the Central Criminal Court
of the crime of murder by poisoning, was erecutiA this
morning, at 8 o'clock, in front of Newgate, in the presence
of an immense crowd. .

Notwithstanding the apparent concluaiveneue of the evi.
dance against her, the, prisoner has ail along maiotaiLed
her innocence. Only • few days before her execution
she herself prepared a statement in writing to be trans.
mitted to the Secretary of State, in which she
entered into • detail of the circumstances connected
with the death of her supposed victim, and declared most
positively that she never administered any poison, and
that sho was entirely• innocent of the crime of which
she was convicted. It would seem that there was such a
strong feeling in the mind of the public as to the guilt of the
prisoner that no effort was made by any section of it to
procure a remission of the capital punishment ; evens
the Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment an.
peered to feel that it was • case that would not justify them
in .
mkt-posing ; the prisoner's own memorial, and a
1 statement of her cue by her attorney, were the only step,
taken to induce the Home Secretary to interfere. Mr.
Under-Sheriff Mackrell, as is customary upon these oc•
sioos, went to the Home Office on Saturday, and had an
interview with the Chief Secretary, in reference to the
prisoner's cane, receiving • communication in writing
to the effect that, upon a careful consideration of all
the circumstances, the Horne Secretary did not feel himself

justified in interfering with the course of the law. The pn.
loner was informed of this very soon afterwards, and she
heard the announcement without exhibiting the least

Since her conviction the prisoner has been constantly
attended by two female warders, and it appears that
to them she has repeatedly stated that she was innocent
of the mime for which she was to suffer. Her demeanour,
however, was such as not to create any belief in
the minds of the officials of the gaol that she was speaking
the truth. The prisoner was evidently a woman of the
most firm and determined spirit, and it was the opinion
of all those who have been about her, that she had resoled
from the first to pursue this course ; her indomitable
will enabled her, as will be seen, to carry it out to the hat
moment.

The prisoner attended the prison service in the chapel
twice on Sunday, and she appeared to pay great attention
to the discourse of the Rev. Mr. Davis, the ordinary of
the prison. She took her mash as usual, and did not late
at all dismayed at the near approach of death. After
_ _

she retired to rest on Sunday evening she slept soundly
for several hours, undisturbed by the fury of the elements,
it being a most tempestuous night, or the noise of the
workmen erecting the scaffold, which can be plainly heard
within the prison. She was visited at an early hour by
Mr. Davis, who preyed with her for some time, but he
forebore from making any allusion to her crime or front
premolar her to make any statement upon the subject.
Mr. Alderman and Sheriff Lawrence and Mr. Sheriff
Jones arrived at the gaol shortly after 7 o'clock, ammo.
ponied by the under-sheriffs, Messrs. Ferrer and
Mackrell, and • few minutes before 8 they were
joined by Mr. Jonas, the governor of Newg►te, Mr.
Humphreys, the principal warder, and several other of the
prison officials, who escorted them into the poi to
the room where the process of pinioning was to be
performed. Here the prisoner wee introduced, after a
short interval, accompanied by one of the female warden.
She walked across the room to a seat that was pointed
out to her with a firm step, as apparently as unconcerned,
and indeed, even more so than any of the spectator The
female warder Used the prisoner and shook bands with
her, and then retired ; after a short mimed, Calcraft,
the executioner, commenced placing round the pri•
sonar's arms and body the leathern straps and apps•
ratus by which unhapry criminals are secured. Daring
all this the prisoner did not exhibit the least emotion;
she only once raised her handkerchief to her eyes, and
appeared to pram it to her forehead, as though she had
felt some sudden pang, but she quickly withdrew
it, and resumed her composure, which never gam
abandoned her to the last moment. The fatal moment
having by this time nearly arrived, Mr. Jonas, the go.
Torpor of the prison, went up to the culprit and, in an im.
preasive wanner, said that her time was now very short,
and he inquired whether she bad anything to say to the
sheriff,. The prisoner, in • firm, calm tone replied, "I se
innocent ;" after this nothing more was said to her.
The melancholy cortege then proceeded to the scaffold,
the prisoner walking without the least assistants
the whole of the way, and also up the steps to
the drop. Her appearance was the signal for
loud murmur among the crowd, but there we
no other manifestation of feeling. During the tiros
that Cale-raft was adjusting the rope and pulling the cis
over her face, the wretched woman stood quite firm ad
unconcerned. She did not appear to exhibit the slighter
emotion, and when the drop fell she seemed to be dad
almost iostantaneously.
The body, which was cut down at 9 o'clock, will be buried
this afternoon within the precincts of the gaol, in pimento
of the terms of the sentence.
The crowd assembled was immense, the number d
persons present being variously estimated at from twenty to
thirty thousand. They were, however, certainly mach
more orderly than usual on these occasions.

FATAL PIT ACCIDENT. -POUR MEN KILLED.

A very melancholy accident happened na
Fri.bvy afternoon last at the New Priestfield Colliery, CI.
lenliall, about three miles from Wolverhampton, which re.
suited in the instantaneous and frightful death of four rota
The colliery is the property of Mr. Henry Ward. Imo'
master, by whom it is being worked. At about half.rest
four on the day named, five men, named respectively
Farshaw, aged 3.2 ; Michael Curty, aged ;
Thomas Lewis, aged 28 ; John Ginty, aged 2r;; sod a young
man named Edward Evans, were all seceuding to the
surface of the earth up the shaft of a stone pit. They were
all riding in &carriage locally termed a tackle, which was at-
tached to the winding chain. Over this cage was a tempuras
roof or "bonnet " formed of plate iron, and used as a protec-
tion to the men when they go down or come up a pit, from
any accident through the falling upon them of anything from
above. This abaft was eighty yards deep, and the men had
reached to about the centre when there come 'woo thorn,
with fearful force, a massive "skip," coustructed pries
Pally of iron, and used to convey the minerals to Viewless.
The "skip" had suddenly fallen from the brink of the
shaft, and had acquired an immense momentum from the
distance it had fallen. It would seem to hay. coutinued as
coarse against the side of the shaft, inasmuch as it of
not alight upon the roof of the "tackle.' The meth
however, who were beneath the roof. were not removed
from danger, for the "skip" came mion them,
sd
that with such terrible violence that four of the to
were mutilated corpses instantaneously, and the aides et
the shaft were disfigured with evidences of the terrible
reality. The fifth man (Evans), who was on the oppoll
side of the cage to that occupied by oompauioos,
haplely
escaped with only a slight bruise on the temple, but be td
to cling toe portion of the machinery of the " tackle" 10
save himself from being precipitated with his lifeless new
panions to the bottom of the shaft. Men descended to tle
bottom as speedily as possible, and performed tio
distressing duty of collecting together the masa
remains of their decreased comrades, and sending them o
the surface. By this accident three women have been and'
widows, and ten children orphans. On Saturday. an HIV°
was formally opened before Mr. T. M. Phillips, the ewes
for Wolverhampton. When sufficient evidence had to"
given to justify the interment of the curl. 9, the is.;uo
was adjourned until Thursday next.

Toss MINIETRY.---The Ministers arc expected TO
arrivals town in order to attend the Cibioet Council taM.
mooed by Lord Palmerston on Thursday next, am' :344
rrot
lust. Mr. Milner Gibson will reach London
(Monday); Lord Granville, who has been the minute
attendance on the Queen, ts expected at his resident.<
Bruton• street on Tuesday ; Mr. Gladstone is also exyrdti
on the same day in town from Hawardeo Castle. The Hoar
Secretary (Sir George Grey) is expect.' to attire at L 4
day preceding the council from his seat, Fdlotloe, Northam'
berlaud. Lord Palmerston. who is staying at his
Broadlands, Hants, is expected to travel to tows it th'd
forenoon of Thursday. Sar George C. Lewis. the
Its
Newcastle, the Duke of Somerset, the Lord Chancellor, ta.
the other members of the Cabinet are also expected
arrive in the metropolis for the purpose of tieing vivant."
the meeting, which will be held at the office of tbe ?TOM
in Doisniug_etreet.— Mervyn-.
HYDE rAlti YEETZILDAY.—YenteRIEV, oEing
the effective precautioes taken by the police and nahme
authorities in Hyde-park, coupled with the e‘tivroehr:,
propitious state of the weather, there was not the song
semblance throughout the day of anything en s" en''
io reality there was nothing to indicate th.tt the park
likely to be " frighted from its propriety," or that r!
tented anything more to ordinary promemuleri
wonted orderly aspect. Notwithstanding this. s• no
Sunday, the same amount of police and military farm"'
posted in the purlieus of the pall els d
Munn CoTTON FROM HOMBAY.—The am%•
cotton at Liverpool from East India still robtilWa. at;
Saturday lam three more ships entered the Mei!! 5
Bombay, via. :—Arkwright, with 4.196 bales; Afne...ut.
5,161 bales ; and Sir Charles Napier, with 4,133
making a total of 13,512