The Express.
London, England, 1866-04-12 00:00:00

[STAMPED, M. ADDITIONAL]

respondent, writing of a recent tour through the
Northern Island, says that the rapid settlement of
the country by European immigrants has com-
pletely destroyed any idea of rebellion there,
though the natives are still very independent, and
dread being subservient to the settlers, all of whom
wish to promote amicable relations. The recent
alteration in the land laws works admirably. Large
tracts are being bought direct from the Maoris
and turned into homesteads. The influx of popu-
lation is likely to develop much mineral wealth, as
the country abounds in coal, limestone, fine build-
ing stone, &c.
The Provincial Council a Auckland had resolved
to accept the responsibility of colonising the confis-
cated lands in the province, on terms agreed on
between the superintendent and general govern-
ment.

On the west coast there has been no fighting.
Chute had forced his way through the country
between Wanganui and Taranaki to the back of
Mount Egmont, destroying pas and crops.

THE DISTURBANCES IN JAMAICA.

(non oux emu+ onzzaPoilDilm)
SPANISH TOWN,MAscs 24.
On Thursday morning last two negroea, Alexander
Taylor and Robert Nicholas, who bad been sen-
tenced to death by the judges of the Commission of
Oyer and Terminer, which closed its sittings about
a fortnight ago, the former for the murder of Mr.
Walton, at Morant Bay, on the 11th, and the latter
for that of Mr. Hire, during the attack upon Amity

Hall, on the 12th adobe; last, were banged in
front of the Surrey County Gaol at Kingston.

This is the first execution which has taken place
since the expiration of martial law for crimes com-
mitted during the disturbances in St. Thomas-in-
the-East, and apprehensions were entertained lest
it should be accompanied by some violation of the
public peace. These fears, however, proved to be
entirely groundless. A very large crowd, consist-
ing chiefly of the lower orders of the population of
Kingston and its neighbourhood, assembled to wit-
ness the execution, but there was no breach of order,
and, as far as I could judge, fewer offences against
decency and propriety than are generallyto be wit-
nessed on similar occasions in England. The scaf-
fold was erected within the walls of the gaol, and
all that could have been visible to the people out-
aide were the heads of the men, covered with their
white caps, as they stood below the beam. As
soon as the drop fell they passed out of sight, and
nothing was to be seen but the ropes by which they
, were suspended.

There was a considerable disparity in the ages of
the two convicts. Nicholas appeared to be about
40 or 46 years of age, while Taylor was probably
not more than 20. They both exhibited the greatest
calmness, and although apparently fully sensible of
the awfulness of their situation, showed few or no
outward signs of trepidation or anxiety. For some
days they had expressed great contrition, and
although denying that they had struck a blow at
either of the gentlemen whom they had been con-
victed of killing, admitted that they were present
at the murders. Nicholas, indeed, ultimately con-
fessed that he took Mr. Hire's watch and penknife
from his pocket immediately after he had been
killed, and both of them stated almost immediately
before their execution that the witnesses against
them "did not lie," and that the jury had done
their duty.
' •

Although the labours of the royal commission
are not yet entirely concluded, and, indeed, one of
the moat serious—the drawing up of the report—
has probably been hardly more than commenced, it
is not likely that the commissioners will hold many
more public sittings. E xclusively- of the investigations
which have been separately conducted by Mr.
Gurney and Mr. Maule in different districts of the
parish of St. Thomas-in-the-East, the commission
has sat on about 50 days. I should say that nearly
a thousand witnesses have been examined, and the
inquiry is now so far closed that at the adjourn-
ment yesterday no day was named for the next
sitting. There are, however, I understand, one or
two points upon which the commissioners desire to
have further information ; and it is probable that
one, if not two days next week will be occupied
with the taking of evidence. Possibly even more
than that time may still have to be devoted to the
examination of witnesses, but in any case I believe
that although some anxiety is felt upon the sub-
ject, it is anticipated that the commissioners will be
able to frame their report in time to allow Mr.
Gurney and Mr. Maule to return to England by
the next steamer of the Royal Mail Company's
line.

Mr. Eyre came before the commissioners, at his
own desire, on Tuesday last, in order to supply
them with information which at his first exa-
mination, he was unable to afford. The evidence
which he had now to give occupied a day and a
half in its reception. It consisted mainly of the
reading of letters and other communications re-
ceived by the government from different parts of
the country, either before the occurrence of the dis-
turbances or after the riot at Morant Bay, and be_
fore the proclamation of the amnesty, and was in-
tended to show the information upon which his
excellency and his advisers acted in their estima-
tion of the character of the original out-
break, and the opinion which they afterwards
formed of the danger of its spreading to other parts
of the island. Most of the documents which were
put in by Mr. Eyre havebeen published in the papers
presented to parliament, and several were identical
with those referred to by Mr. Westmoreland in his
evidence, a summary of which I have already
sent to you. With reference to the con-
duct of Brigadier-General Nelson, he de-
sired to record his fullest conviction, founded
upon the experience which he acquired during his
stay in the eastern district of the island, which
extended to the 20th October, that all that officer's
proceedings, and all the instructions which were
given by him to those who were acting underhim , were '1
characterised by the utmost consideration and
humanity. The commissioners intimated that that
was s question of which they were to judge, and
upon which they could not accept Mr. Eyre's
opinion, or allow it to appear upon the notes.
Upon the subject of the trial and execution of
the late Mr. Gordon, his excellency stated that
when he was on board the Wolverine Mr. West-
moreland came to see him, and in the course of
conversation made a suggestion that Gordon
should be tried by a special commission. It was
only a suggestion, and did not assume the form of
advice or recommendation. He did not think that
the circumstances of the colony at the moment
would permit the adoption of such a course ; and
there was no difference of opinion between himself
and his responsible advisers upon the subject. When
the proceedings were received by General O'Connor
they were read by him to two members of the

[TWOPENCE

executive committee, Mr. Hossach and Mr. West-
moreland, and were then transmitted to him with-
out any note, simply for his perusal. His
excellency produced the private letter which,
after reading these proceedings, he addressed to
General Nelson, and which was received by that
officer before Mr. Gordon was executed. It i►ill be
remembered that General Nelson mentioned this
letter, but did not feel justified in reading it to tho
commissioners. The material pert was to the fol-
lowing effect :

King's Rouse, Sunday Evening, Oct. 22, 6 p.m.
My deer Brigadier,—Your report. and the proceedings
relative to George William Gordon have fast reached
me, through the general, and I am returning them to him
with the expression of my entire concurrence in the
justice of the sentence and in the policy of carrying it into
effect. I believe the moral influence which the punish.
mind of such a man will hay* upon the entire community
will be very great, end will do more to check sedition than
all we have done yet. I should think that in a few days
you will be able to report that the chief rebels are either
ruptured or Akin, and that the time hen arrived for offering
an opening to all others except actual murderers to come
beak to their allegiance.
As' adtfitional facts* bearing upon the Jordon
case, his excellency stated that the government
had been informed that Paul Bogle ' accom-
panied Mr. Gordon on his tour through the
island, and that when Gordon was arrested
they were in possession of the sworn infor-
mation of the postmistress of Morant Bay,
that the proclamation headed " State of the Is-
land" was being circulated ander covers directed by
Mr. Gordon (which it will be remembered has since
been proved to be untrue), but they had no proof
that he was the author of that proclamation. He
himself issued a warrant for Gordon's arrest, but
he did not know what had become of it. 24( o ques.
tiona were put to Mr. Eyre by the learned gentle-
men who appeared for Mrs. Gordon and other
sufferers by the acts of the government or the troops,
and I believe that they advisedly abstained from
cross-examining his excellency, in order that they
might in no way prejudice any future proceedings
which may be directed against him.

We learn from the Tuna correspondence that
the total number of houses destroyed by the
troops and special constables during martial law
was exactly 1,000. Mr. Parry, the government
engineer and surveyor, estimates the total value
of /this property at 4,4361. Mr. Mauls had re-
turned from St. Thomas-in-the-East, his inquiries
having made him acquainted with the fact that
about 30 negroes had been shot or hung in
addition to those already known. " Some of the
cases inquired into," writes the correspondent of
the Times, " are very painful ones."

Thus Joshua Francis, a lame old man and sexton, wee
going along the road with the church keys in his hand,
when the soldiers met him, and he was shot down. A
negro named Shan, who had been for some time ill and
unable to work, except now and then in his own pro-
vision ground, was sitting at the door of his hut when
he was shot by two moldier,. It seems that when
they learnt that he had been long an invalid, the soldiers
expressed regret for what they had done. Another
case was that of • blind man who was shot near his
hut, which was then set fire to and his body was half.
consumed by the flames. I regret to say that, according
to the negro testimony, the soldiers who killed these three
men were white soldiers belonging to the 6th Regiment.
At Foothill an old man named Charrington appears to
have been shot while shaving. After Lieutenant Adcock
left Leith-hall eight Or nine people were executed in
that district without other authority than that of Maroon
officers, men without education, and judging from
their evidence, with very dim notions of the
acts which were conclusive of rebellion or which
deserved punishment. Some form of trial did take
place in each case, but no record was kept, and it is im-
possible to ascertain with any exactness what the charges
were. Some of the accused were shot wider a mango-
tree ; another, of whom we have heard already, was shot

- ,
by the Maroons on the steps at Leith-hall, the chief
charge spinet him being that he was an Obesh man. The
special constables hereabouts, as elsewhere, were zealous
in bringing in prisoners and pointing out rebels. At
Monklands they resorted to a hateful expedient for
the capture of prisoners. Two of them, named Miller and
Lee, held up on a stick a piece of white cloth, and by
waving it attracted the black people from the bush in which
they were hiding. Miller and Lee then told the negroes
that there would be no more war, but that they must show
themselves to the authorities. These two men accordingly
took down to the head-quarters at Monklanda twenty.
seven prisoners, who were not tied or secured in any way
but went with the constables, relying on the assurances
given to them ; and there is good reason for believing that
several of these people were among the thirteen prisoners
shot at Monklanda with a trench behind them to receive
their bodies. Three men, brought in by a constable, were
shot at the post-office, near Ironbridge, between Amity-
hall and Golden-grove. The negro evidence respect.
ing them is that Ensign Cullen, who was in command of
the party, at first ordered them to be flogged, and the
soldiers were making a " cat" for the purpose, when Dr.
Monis whispered to Mr. Cullen, and an order was then
given to shoot the three men, who were taken to the
other aide of the road and shot accordingly. At Pena
a man was shot in his house by the Maroons, who
came up after the soldiers had been there. The
evidence taken at Golden-geove referred principally
to flogging. One man, who lied received 100 lashes in-
flicted with the wire cat at Bath, showed I is back, which
was dreadfully seamed and scarred. A woman, who re-
ceived 25 lashes at Bath, by order of Mr. Kirkland, was
then within six weeks of her confinement. A man who
lived at Pere, and was flogged at Golden-grove, died ten
days after the flogging. Mr. Wide asked the mother
and the wife, who deposed to the man's death, how he
had been treated. They said they boiled sage leaves,
and applied them when cold, in the form of a poultice.
At Manchioneal Dr. Morris saw men flogged, but he
would rather receive 200 lashes from the cat used at Man-
chioneal than 50 from that used at Up-perk camp. Two
or three women were flogged, but very lightly, the cat used
being a slighter instrument than that used in flogging the
men. As to the houses burnt, Dr. Morris admitted that
he had set fire to some with his own hands, hut never on
his own responsibility, they were burnt in consequence of
orders given by the officer in command of the party. On
one occasion he recollected attending the execution of a
party of rebels, and as one of them did not die outright,
witness ran his sword through the body. He bad never
said that he ran through five or six persons with his sword;
this was the only instance in which he had used his sword,
and it was from motives of humanity that he had used it.

DEATH or Lose Claims—We announce with
much regret the death of this venerable peer, which oc-
curred about nine o'clock on Tuesday night at his seat
in the county of Devon. The noble lord was the eighteenth
baron, was been in November, 1791, and was ommequently
is his 75th year.
Tux Pons is Brratraiermass.—We understand
the vestry and guardians of the poor in Bethnal-green are
about to petition the House of Commons and memorialise
the Poor-law Board in favour of an equalisation of the
rates in the metropolitan districts. It is greatly to be
I desired that a simultaneous effort should be made by the
other guardians at the east end of London, who are not
less interested in this important question. Twenty-five of
the thirty-nine unions would be benefitted by it, and the
advantages it would confer upon the poor are so great that
we hope the hint will be adopted which we have just
thrown out.—ifere/d.
The Car= Prasna---A supplement to the
Lapides Gazette, published last evening, contains an order
in mensil mosohclating and amending previous orders in
relation to the cattle plague in Scotland.

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