The Express.
London, England, 1862-10-16 00:00:00

THE CONDEMNED CONVICT CATHERINE

WILSON.

As the hoar for the execution draws near, and
now that anything which can be said of the antecedent. of
this miserable convict cannot lx. to her prejudice, we give
the following brief outline (furnished by a correspondent),
of the course which she has pursued from early childhood,
and it will be seen that her career has been an 'minter.
rupted one of profligacy and crime. Her name is Cathe-
rine, and not Constance, and she was born of poor but
honourable parents in 1817. Their name was Crane, and
they lived at Surfleet, near the town of Spald-
ing, in Lincolnshire. Her father was a carpenter,
and in the latter part of his life wee an
inmate of one of the bedehotoies of the town. There were
two other children, one of whom, an idiot, died a short time
ago. The convict's parents have bees dead about 12 years.
The first thing which rendered her notorious was a robbery
which she committed when only 14 years of age, and the
circumstances which attended the commission were of a very
base character. She bad gone to the hot's, of a friend as •
child visitor, and whilst there committed a theft. The
servant was suspected, taken in charge, and convicted of
the offence, the evidence against her being that of the girl
Wilson, who, upon being subsequently examined about the
robbery, confessed that she had committed it, and fixed the
mime upon the servant. She after that left her borne, and
went to live at Surfleet, where she openly lived a loose life.
She then went to Spalding, where she lived more quietly,
but still as • gay woman. She next went to Boston, and
there became acquainted with a master mariner trading
from that port, and by her plausibility and her apparent re-
spectability she induced him to marry her, and for some
time they lived in comfort; but she returning to her old
mode of living whilst her husband was at sea, and he, upon
his return, discovering it, left her to live with another
woman. About this time a son of hers before
her marriage, aged 15, was drowned at sea.
She then went into the service of en eccentric old seafaring
man named Bawer, who died under very suspicions
circumstances after a few hours' illness, it was said of
cholera, leaving to the convict a good sum of money and pro-
perty to the annual value of 501. She then made the ac-
quaintance of the parties named in the cases recently before
the public. There are singular circumstances connected
with this case. Upon Oct. 20, 1854, the body of her first
victim, Mr. Hewer, was hurried, three days after death, to
the grave, and upon the 20th of October,lB62, the wretched
woman, whom none now doubt caused his death, will, after
• career of eight years, be executed.

FATAL ACCIDENT IN LOWDB THAIINA-STREET.—
Yesterday morning Mr. Win. Payne, coroner for the Cqty,
held an inquest at Guv's Hospital on the body of Cornelius
Crawley, aged 62. From the evidence it appeared that the
deceased was employed at Brewery-qtay, Lower Thames-
street, on Saturday last, to whitewash the wharf. He
had been washing the upper pert of the wall on • ladder,
and afterwards stood on the kerb, about eighteen inches
wide, when a large van, loaded with wine, came down the
quay, and was turning rotted the corner, the tail board
being on the incline, and there being no room for the
deceased to escape, be was crushed against the wall. The
waggon was immediately backed, the deceased released from
his perilous position, and conveyed immediately to the bas.
pitaL Upon examination it was found that he had received
an extensive facture of the rile on both sides, and also to
the strum aad cellar bone. Fie, however, lingered until
Sunday, about half.past one, when he died. The coroner,
having gummed up the evidence, observed that be did not
see that there was anybody criminally liable, se as to make
it a case of manslaughter. The jury returned • verdict of
" Accidental death, and cossidered it highly &apron far
the place to be left is the same state as it was at pramat."
LONDON GINNRALONNINtIi Col TANT(LTNITID).—
Trak receipts for the west aiding Oct. 12, KOMI. Is. Id;
Importing Tea without colour on the leaf pre-
veal; the Chinese passing MT inferior brown Seam as In the
tuna kiwis. Hornims i s Teo is uncoloured, therefore always
mad auks. Sad Is Whets DY TAO aganta.—(Advertiseeaust.)