The Express.
London, England, 1860-04-09 00:00:00

MURDER ON THE ZION 8148.
It will be geotembered by the public that at the
October amicat of the Nara' Crisis! Court a seaman,
maned Marks Anne* a native of Rio de Janeiro, was con-
victed of a murder of • very horrible elieracter on board an
lethal ship, and was left for execetka. The murder was
committed under ettraordinary circumstance*. The p'i-
some- shipped men* on board the mend in question at
Liebe" sail kr emeral days he condineed himself very
well ; indeed, be lad Made himself rather a favourite with
the eaphite of the vessel, whom life he afterearda dee-
r bored. The murder was committed in the dead of the
eight, when a parties of the crew had turned in and the
reaniadse were awed in watching on deck. It ap-
peered that the primmer went into the captaii'm
cabin and nearly severed his head from his body with a
'large class knife. After the oommimion of the act he seemed
in a frantic state of excitement, end he. severely wounded
one or two others of the crew before he could be finally se-
emed, when he wee placed in irons, and brought to Eng-
land to take his trial. The defence aid up for him by his
counsel was, that at the time the act was committed, the
prisoner was not in a state of mind to be responsible for his
actions ; but it appeared by the evidence of the wit-
nesses for the prosecution that the prisoner had not,
either before or after the transaction, exhibited the
slightest symptom of inanity, and that he con-
versed in a perfectly sane meaner after the occurrence.
The jury, up= these facts, after • geed deal of delibera-
tion, found the prisoner guilty of wilful murder, and the
day was fixed for the execution. The Portuguese agent in
this country very humanely took up the are of the prisoner,
and upon the belief that the act was committed under a
temporary attack of frenzy, stress representations were
made to the Home Secretary to obtain a reprieve, and the
result was, that on the Saturday afternoon previous to the
Monday fixed for the execution, a respite for a fortnight
was sent to Neonate. The ground for granting this delay
was that an opportunity might be afforded for the
production of evidence from Rio de Janeiro, of
which place the prisoner is a native, to show that his ;Mid
had bean previously affected. It mama that there was a
good deal of delay in making the necessary inquiries, and
the result was that two other respites were sent for the
prisoner, but each time with an intimation, which was care-
fully explained to him in his own language, in order Una be
liiiiilgyNtisttreder miasigztlayi;;;ii irairovordreMa
time for inquiry, and that he must not consider that it in-
dicated an intention on the part of the authorities that the
capital sentence would not be carried out, but that, on the
coatrary, if the result of the inquiries that were being made
did net clearly establish the Rugg made with regard to
the Mate of his mind, the tal seatence would dill be
carried out. The prisoner has behaved remarkably well
dace he has been in Nompte, and he is comnintly visited
by a Raman catholic priest who ia allowed to have free
access to him. He has repeatedly declared that he sever
asterteined the slightest ill will to the unfortunate
deceased, and he has also stated on several occasions
that be has no recollection of any of the damn-
dames commuted with the fatal deed, but at the
same time mar that he is quite prepared to die.
The last reprieve that was sent for the primmer
re the day of execution to the 26th of sad it
appears from inquiries made of the See:Mary of Blab by
the prison authorities, that no information has yet been
received from abroad respecting the primmer, and if it
should not arrive before the day fixed, there will, no doubt,
be a further reprieve. If, on the other hand, the evidence
should arrive, and it doe' not clearly establish the suttee-
tion as to the state of the priaoner's mind, the law will, in
all probability, take its course on the day mentioned.

THE CONDEMNED SPANIARD AT DEVIZES.

The execution of the Spaniard, Ssrahn Mantra°,
who was condemned to death at Devises Amine last week,
for the herbs one murder of a poor warms named Ansetatia
Trowbridge, at Ashcombe, has been definitively fixed to
take place in front of the New Prison, Devises, on Wednes-
day next, at 12 o'clock at noon.
The seritenoe—although no doubt well understood by
the unhappy man—was not communicated to him in his
own language until after he had left the dock, when the
in ter wont into his mill and informed him of the fate
which awaited him. At first he seemed somewhat excited ,•
but his demeanour hie since been quiet and gentle, sad
he appears to entertain no hope whatever that his life will
be spared. Every facility Laa of course been given
by the authorities of the prison to supply him with the
means of religious consolation, and to induce him to make
his peace with God ; and volunteers for the performance of
the solemn and responsible office of preparing the culprit
for the awful change which awaits him have not been want-
ing. An Italian convert from Romaniam named Ferraro,
who is staying in Devizes, and who had been admitted to
Manzano's cell in consequence of being able to speak the
Spanish language, has been most earnest in his visite ; and
it was at first stated that Manua° would prefer Signer Fer-
raro as his spiritual Weiser to any other person. That
there might be no mistake, however, upon the point,
the Mayor of Devises (Mr. Burt), who is pretty well so;
quainted with the Spanish language, paid him a visit
oa Sew* last, at the request of some of the Tilting
justices of the gaol ; and the reply which he made to the
question which was put to him as to whom be would prefer,
was at once—the Roman catholic priest. Catholicism was,
be maid, the religion in which he had been brought up ; and
immediately the question was put to him by the Mayor, he
drew • crucifix from his breast and kissed it devotedly. Mr.
Burt had previously lent him a Spanish Bible (for which he
seemed extremely grateful),
..and expressed his thanks main
and again ttclasping Mr. mut warmly by the hand. Hav-
ing heard he had served in the Spanish army (in which
Mr. Burt in early life signally distinguished himself) he
convened with him for • short time about his past life, and
learnt that although now only 29 years old, he had served
under Don Carlos during the Spanish rebellion in 1846 and
1847. He appeared by no means an ignorant man, and his
conversation was cheerful, until Mr. Burt asked him whe-
ther his parents were still living. This question seemed to
affect him deeply, and the reply which he gave showed that
• chord bad been touched which had unused the best and
most affectionate feelings of his heart. He informed Mr.
Burt that he had been in this country about two years, and
that he bad no rearm to suppose but that both his parents
were still living. The place of his nativity was, he said, •
village near Badajoz, where his father carried on the buil.
nem of • shoemaker, and where he himself passed his
early years previous to entering the Spanish army.
Upon his ex • • desire to see a Roman catholic
priest, the Reverend Mr. Clark (of Swindon) who had
previously visited him, was requested by the visit-
ing justices to attend the unhappy EMI to the time
of his execution, and he bas since -fin amidnous in his
ministrations. An image of the Virgin and Child has
been placed in his cell, and on Thursday, whilst the priest
was with him, candles were kept burning. A turnkey is,
of course, present at the interviews ; but as all that names
between the culprit and his confessor is in Spanish nothing
is known ; and it is not probable that any confession the
murderer may make previous to his execution will trans-
pire, ruder the culprit should himself express a wish that
it should be made public.
An endeavour has been made by several persons in De-
vizes to get the execution carried out privately, and the fol-
lowing memorial, signed by the Mayor, and about 80 inha-
bitant', has been forwarded to Mr. W. Ewart, M.P., for pre-
sentation to the Home Secretary :
"To the Right Hon. Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bart.,
onset Her Majesty's Secretaries of State for the Home De-
t.
' We, the undersigned inhabitants of Devises and its
neighbourhood, beg to represent that • man named Sersfin
Mannino has been convicted of murder on e v mecca produced
at the trial, and is condemned to be publicly executed by
Imaging, on the 11th of April next. Your memorialists
believe that public executions are attended with the most
fiegraoing and demoralising results as witnessed by them
ea
two former occasions ; that instead of pre.
amain crime and acting as • warning to others
often harden and degrade spectators the spectato ;
that crimes have frequently been committed at the
very foot of the gallows. Your memorialista therefore
pray that you will direct that the execution in the present
case shall take place (if at all) within the wail. of the prison
at Devises, in view only of such persons as you shall see fit
to appoint to witness the same, and thereby prevent the
erviating spectacle of a public execution."
The result of the above application has not tree:mitred ;
but from the fact that no order has been received altering
the original mandate of the sheriff, we apprehend that the
Home Secretary (If he has seen the memorial) has not
, thought it necessary to send • reply.

SMOCKING AND FATAL 00CITRILIENCE NEAR LIVER-
POOL—A sad occurrence took place on Friday night at the
Eurthani Ferry, on the Cheshire side of the Mersey, which
has already resulted in the death of two persons, and which,
it is feared, will also prove fatal to several others. As is
usual on Good Friday, the ferry-boats plying between Liver-
pool and the various ferries were much crowded throughout
the day. One of the most attractive ferries is Eastham, on
the Cheshire shore, six miles from Liverpoolt.and it is popu-
larly called "the Richmond of the Mersey. Friday being
exceedingly fine, the &Ahem boats conveyed pleasure-seek-
ers from Liverpool in large numbers, and in the evening
there was a vest accumulation of return passengers for the
last boat to Liverpool. About a quarter of en hour before
the steamer came up there were nearly four hundred per-
sons waiting on the slip. This large number caused
great pressure against the rope running along the sideof the
slip, sod at length the rope gave way, when upwards of 100
persons were precipitated into the water, or rather into
the mud, for the tide was very low at the time. It was dark,
and the screams and cries of the unfortunate people were
heartrending. Lights were brought, and they were extri-
cated with all possible speed. Two young women died.
almost immediately. They were dreadfully mutilated, and
it was quite apparent that they had literally been trampled
to death. Upwards of 30 others have received various
wounds and bruises, and several were found with their
limbs broken. Some were taken to the Fastharn Ferry
Hotel, close by, where they at present remain, unable to be
moved ; others have been conveyed to Liverpool, and many
are pronounced in a dangerous state. It is rumoured that
the accident was caused by some one cutting the rope, but
we hope this supposition is erroneous.
xsw STAMP DUTY OS BIRTHS, MARRIAGES,
AND LIZAIII4-10 tLs new Stamp Act, now in operation,
there ia • duty of one penny on a isertirled copy, or extract,
of or from any register of births, baptisms, marriages
deaths, or burials. The duty is to be paid by the party
requiring any snub copy or extract.