The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-05-28 00:00:00

THE VERDICT.

At a quarter before four the jury returned into court amid
breathless silence.

The prisoner was immediately placed at the bar. He
appeared calm and collected, although by the twitching
of his lip it was evident his anxiety was at the highest

pitch.
The names of the jurors having been called over,
Mr. Straight, the clerk of the arraigns, said, Gentlemen,
are you all agreed upon your verdict ?
Mr. Mayor, the foreman : We are.

Do you find the pris,mer at the bar, William Palmer,
guilty or not guilty ?
The Foreman : GUILTY.
Mr. Straight then addressed the priioner thus
Palmer, you stand convicted of wilful murder. Have you
anything to say why you should not receive judgment to
die according to law ?

The prisoner made no reply.
THE SENTENCE

The crier of the court (Harker) then made the usual
proclamation commanding si:enee to be kept whilst the
sentence of death was being passed.
Their lordships having put on their black caps,
Lord Campbell, in a voice that at times was scarcely
audible, said—William Palmer, you have, after a long and
impartial trial, by a jury of your oxn countrymen, been
found guilty of the crime of wilful murder, and with that
verdict my learned brothers, who have watched the trial
with the utmost anxiety throughout, and myself, entirely
agree. A case like this is attended with such circum-
stances that it is doubtful whether this is your first crime
or not—that is known only to God and yourself. There
can be no doubt that you were, from long experience, inti-
mate and familiar with the means of death. For this
offence you must prepare to die. You must not look for or
expect any mercy in this world, but by prayer seek to obtain
it from another tribunal. You have, at your own rcquest,
and by an act of Parliament passed on purpose, been tried
as this Court; and this Court has the power to order you
to be executed either at the place of execution pertaining to
this gaol, or remove you to the county al here
Your crime was committed. We think for the sake of
public example that it ought to take place in the
county of Stafford, and I hope that the terrible example
will deter others from such atrocious crimes, and show that
whatever art, caution, or experience is exercised to prevent
the discovery of such crimes, and that however secret and
destructive such poisons may be, it is ordained by Provi-
dence, for the safety of its creatures, that there should
be means of detecting those using them. I again
implore you to prepare for the awful change which
you are about to undergo. I do not wish to harrow
your feelings by entering into the details of this ,1
horrid case, but shall content myself with passing upon
you the sentence of the law, which is, that you be taken
hence to the jail of Newgate, and be thence removed to
the county of Stafford, being the county within which the
offence of which you stand convicted was committed; and
that you be taken thence to a place of execution, and be
there hanged by the neck until you be dead ; that your
body be afterwards buried within the precincts of the
prison in which you shall have been last confined
before your execution, and may the Lord have mercy upon
your soul ! Amen.
During the whole of his lordship's address the prisoner
retained the same composure which he has evinced through-
out the whole of these proceedings, and did not seem in the
slightest degree moved. At the conclusion of the sentence
he gave a glance at the bench, which wps occupied by
several of the nobility, and walked down the steps leading
from the dock into the prison with a firm step.
After the prisoner had been removed,
Lord Campbell eulogised the jury for the great and
unwearied pains they had taken in the case, and having
thanked them in the name of the country for their
services, he dismissed them.
The Old Bailey was throughout the day thronged by
persons anxious to hear the result, and it was with great
difficulty that access could be obtained to the court.
Of the conduct of the prisoner, the following narrative
is pregnant with painful interest :
Extraordinary as it may appear, after the summing up
of Lord Campbell, so clearly against him, and with a full
conviction of its terrible importance and effect, the spirit

of William Palmer remainsunaffected, and his courage as
undaunted as before. He shows no wincing or faltering
in his bearing, and met his brother George and his soli—
citor, Mr. John Smith, of Birmingham (not Jeremiah
Smith, of Rugeley), on Monday night. with the same
firmness and unblenched look. To his brother, who was
visibly affected, and shed tears on seeinT, him, William
Palmer spoke cheeringly, and said, " Don't take on,
George : there is a God above us that will stand between
me and harm. lam innocent of the crime imputed to me.
Let that be a consolation to you, my mother, and my boy.
Act upon my word ; I have never deceived you yet ; and,
however guilty I have been in other things, to destroy life
has never entered my head." He then tapped his brother
on the shoulder and went on, " May you sleep as sound
as I do. I have had a good tea, with halt' a pound of
steak. May you have as good a night's rest as I shall.
Tell my mother and my boy that Newton and Mills are
false, and that I fear the grave as little as my bed."
With that he shook hands with both. He then entered
into a desultory conversation, enquirin., how his boy was,
saving, "Tell Willy his father has had many tronbles,
hut the least of all has been the accusation of murder
against him." He then said, " Good night, God bless
you! May your mind be as easy as mine is now. Don't
feel low. Jerry Smith's evidence was very bad. It has
left the case just where it was, and leaves Newton's evi-
dence only open to the suspicion that attended it before
Jerry came." He then exchanged a few words of parting
as he bade his brother and solicitor good bye, to all
appearance himself the least concerned of the party.
REMOVAL OF THE CONVICT TO STAFFORD
The operations of the law, when sentence is once pro-
nounced, are speedy and certain. The dread sentence passed
by the Lord Chief Justice Campbell, arid recorded above,
directed the convict's removal to the gaol of the county of
Stafford, within which the crime was, perpetrated and is to
be expiated. The wretched man, divested of his heretofore
accustomed habiliments, and wearing instead the convicts
garb, with fetters from one arm and I'g, was removed, last
night, from Newgate, and conveyed by the eight o'clock
train to Stafford, thre to await the execution of his sentence.

THE HOLIDAY—CAUTION TO HOUSE K EEPERS.—We
would strongly impress upon all housokeepers not to leave
their domiciles totally unoccupied to-morrow, the great
general holiday, and for this reason. We understand that
the town is literally full of thieves and burglars from London
and all quarters of the kingdom, and that calculating on
the houses being left unprotected by the owners, they will
make " hauls" wherever an opportunity offers. This, we
trust, will be a sufficient notice to the inhabitants to look
sharp after their houses to-morrow, and we would point out
to the police the necessity of the utmost vigilance on their
several beatq.

ALARMING FIRE NEAR G-Llssor.—On Saturday after-
flood last,a fire took place at the naphtha and asphalte works,
situale about midway between Dinting Vale and Hadfield.
The works were erected by Mr. Samuel Horrock, of Stone
Clough, near Bolton, who had sold them a few months
since to Messrs John and William Mills, of Wardleworth.
At the time of the occurrence, Mr. William Mills and three
men were on the premises, one of whom was drawing some
gas-tar from a large tap in the boiler, the tap being only
about three feet from the fire place, when a portion of the
liquid fell upon some hot cinders, which in a moment burst
into a flame. The fire spread with such rapidity that the
whole premises were in a blaze almost as soon as the men
could make their escape. The only building that was
covered in was speedily demolished. In the yard there
were from 50 to 60 barrels of combustible material, which
soon became a prey to the filmes. It is computed there were
about 150 tons of asphalte in the yard. This took fire,
and ran down into a brook, which was all of a blaze for
more than 100 yards from the works. The brook course
is filled by immense masses of the concrete, and at one
time there would be about 1,500 superficial yards of ground
covered with one vast sheet of flame, which sent up a dense
volume of pitch black smoke, that was seen for many miles
round. The men were so completely paralysed by the sud-
denness of the catastrophe, that they were unable to form
any plan of putting a stop to the destruction, and it was not
until the fire had been raging about three hours, that the
constables, with others, set to work with spades and earth,
and literally fought the fire inch by inch until, in about an
hour, they mastered it. The asphalte and mineral oil
belongs to the late owner, Samuel Borrocks, who had lately
commenced removing it. All else was the property of the
Messrs. Mills, whose loss must be heavy, the works being
of such a nature that no insurance office will undertake
the risk.