The Express.
London, England, 1847-09-28 00:00:00

upon ils members the propriety, as far as may be in their
power, of discouraging the negotiation of bills of ten months'
date, and of endeavouring to establish throughout the presi-
dencies of India a uniform usage of not exceeding six
months' eight for bills on England. That a copy of these
resolutions be communicated to the lion. the Court of Direc-
tors of the East India Company, with an urgent request that
they may be pleased to instruct their agents in India to
comply therewith; that copies be also sent to the London,
Ole gow, Manchester, Calcutta, and Bombay Chambers of
Commerce, and that they likewise be strongly urged to co-
operate in carrying oat this desirable object."—Morning
paper.
ETHER, JUDICIALLY AEPLIED.—Sir,—It has this
moment occurred to me, that under the present humane and
benevolent aspect prevailing in:our judicial atmosphere we
ought not to lose sight of one of the greatest blessings
that Providence has lately vouchsafed us, aa regard! trie
use of ether in mitigating and putting a stop to corporeal
anfferunr, teen la our now few though stern :teems for the
Indiction of death with criminals. I have always held the
impression that the endurance of bodily pain and suffering
could never for a moment have been contemplated as a desired
or necessary accompaniment to the culprit's departure front
this our earthly a'iode ; hence the abolition ()track and torture;
but on the contrary, that every means should be wisely taken
for their speedy and least painful transit to another world.
Whilst under this humane and most merciful feeling, nations
even have not hesitated to calculate between the axe, the
tope. and the guillotine. Now, sir, being fully cinvinced
that the dire necessity for putting a fellow-creature to death
for crimes that may imperiously require such removal, does
not call for any additional suffering. I cannot help
painting out the very obvious and indeed loudly-called-for
aid that is at the present moment most fortunately placed
within our each, I' mean by subjecting the wretched cul-
prit on the scaffold to the inhalation of ether just prior to
the bolt being withdrawn. 137 the indiction of death, and
by his being thus deprived of the power to inflict
injuries spin upon his fellow-creatures, as also the warn-
log lesson thus read to his survivors, it must be apparent
to every one that the full and painful necessity of the law
has been amply ace ,mplished, without inflicting useless and
unnecessary suffering on the bodily structure. We see this
benevolent attention to the mental powers varied out in the
fullest degree by the soothing and heavenly aid constantly
awaiting the latter moment, of the miserable victim; then
why should the body be without its corresponding and mer-
ciful support ? I can remember, some 50 years ago, a well-
' known physiologist of that day, Dr. llaightoo, having been
p:rmitted to carry out some experiments for the recovery or
re;uscitation of the executed felon ; and upon a successful
' result in one instance ha was forbidden to apply his means
in future, as being in direct opposition to tho final intention
of the law. But though in yielding to this imperative limes-
' city I might make no scruple in sentencing to death the per-
• petraturs of arson, rape, or murder, yet I would invariably
give even these the merciful and humane benefit of ether
prior to their execution, particularly as not being an infringe-
' went in the slightest degree on their final doom.—W. It.—
: Surbiton.
Tile CIItcKET STEAMER.—The engineer, 11. It.
'lnman, against whom a venlict of" Manslaughter " was re-
turned last Friday by the coroner's jury, has contrived to effect
his escape from justice. At his examination on the last day
of the inquiry, he gave his address at No. 8, Temple-lane,
Fleet-street, but on !mentor Marsh, F division, into whose
hands the warrant was placel for his apprehension by the
coroner, proceeding there, be found the witness had given
a false address, no such person being known there.—On
Friday, the secretary presented to John Connor and Jerry
, Leary a bronze medal and three aevereigne each, which had
been awarded them by the committee of the Royal Humane
Society, for their praiseworthy and successful exertions in
having saved six persons from drowning on the recent acci-
dent occasioned by the explosion of the Cricket steamboat's
bailer. These men are coal porters, in the employ of Mr.
Bryant, at his wharf, which is close to where the occurrence
took place.
INQUEST, YESTERDAY.—ACCIDENT ON THE BRIGH-
TON RAILWAY.—Before Mr. W. Carter, the coroner, at the
Beltway Tavern, New-cross, as to the death of James Grif-
fiths, aged 37, a fireman on the Croydon line of railway. W.
Mitchell, also a fireman belonging to the company, stated
that on Thursday cicalae, about 'teen o'clock, ho was on
the platform at the station at New-cross, Deptford, and the
deceased was at his engine, which was ping to Croydon,
trimming his buffer lamps. He crossed one of the lines, sp-
parently to re to a shed on the other side, when, at that in-
stant, the Brighton express train came down from Leaden,
and the engine struck the deceased and knocked him down
on one of the aide tables. The train was going at the rate of
40 miles an hour, and did not stop. Upon going to the de-
ceased,
he was lying doubled up, and his face covered with
blood. He was quite dead. He had been in the employ of
the company about two years, and ought to have known the
Brighton express train would be down; bat he must have
forgotten it, as it arrived at its proper time, but no whistle
I was blown. Mr. Anderson, the station-master, said that the
deceased hail a fracture on the top of the akull, and another
on the forehead. The line was quite clear at the time, and
there was no occasion for the whistle to to be sounded; and
as the steam was blowing off the deceased's engine, he pro-
bably did not hear the train coming.—Verdict, "Accidental