The Express.
London, England, 1861-10-07 00:00:00

(Stamped, Id. Additional.)

TEE CONDEMNED CULPRIT~'.
It appears that the most strenuous ekertiona on
, behalf of Maloney, who has been convicted of wife murder,
are being made by his attorney, Mr. Hutchinson, and Mr.
Sleigh, his counsel. Within the last day or two a memo-
rial, accompanied by several affidavits of a very extraordinary
character, has been transmitted to the Home Secretary with
a view to induce bins at least to remit the capital punish-
ment. It will be remembered that the circumstances
under which this prisoner was alleged to have committed
the crime were very peculiar, there being no
evidence of any quarrel baying taken place between
him and the deceased on the day the act was
committed, sad in fact no direct evidence what-
ever, but the case rested almost entirely upon the
evidence of a man named Saunders, who stated that having
accidentally gone,down the court where the prisoner and his
wife lived to seek for lodgiaga he happened to look in at the
window of the prisoner's faun and saw him in the act of
stalibieg • woman. This story was in itself evidently very
improbable, and it was rendered still more so by the fact
that the witness admitted that directly after witnessing the
commission of the murder be went to a cookshop, where
be purchased some pudding, but did pot say a word
about the extraordinary scene he hed just witnessed, !
although an outcry had been mimed in the seighbourhood, and
• it was stated that a woman had either stabbed herself or been
stabbed by her bualaud. The jury, however, gave credit
to the story told by the witness, and convicted the prisoner;
bet in consequence of the strong opinion entertained by Mr.
Weigh, the primer's counsel, and his attorney, Mr. Hutchin-
s's, that the evidence was not of a reliable character, in-
quiries have since been made, which have resulted, as shove
stated, in several affidavit. being transmitted to the
Iloineoffice contradicting the evidence given by Saunders
upon the trial. Among those affidavits is au by the
keeper of the oneliabop, *high Is to the effect that on the
day of the alleged murder the witness was in her
shop, and that they talked together upon indifferent sub-
jects until the alarm was given that a woman had been
stabbed, and that he then merely observed that it was a
shocking thing. She also states that while the witless was
in the shop Maloney war taken Feat in custody of the police,
and that neither then nor at any other time the witness raid
a word about what he afterwards represented he had men
to take place. Besides the facts contained in this affidavit,
two other affidavits by respectable tradesmen living in the
neighbourhood, and in no way connected with the prisoner,
have been transmitted to the Secretary of State. the
effect of which is to show that although the witness
undoubtedly was at the spot on the day the occurrence took
place, that be was not seen to go into the court at all, and
that if he had done so, they must have seen him. It will be
recollected also that the prisoner horn the first stated that
his wife stabbed herself, and Dr. Payne, the medical witness,
said in his evidence that in his opinion the injury might
have been inflicted by the deceased herself ; and this fact is
strongly urged on behalf of the pricier, as showing that
the death was not the result of a murder, but was
a suicidal act. The whole of the persons whose
affidavits are above referred to were, it appears,
ia attendance at the Central Criminal Court, ready
to give evidence on behalf of the prisoner and to de-
pose to the facts stated, but it was considered that the
evidence was not relevant, and therefore the 'Maumee
were not examined. There is a variety of other facts stated
in this memorial to the Home Secretary, all tending, as it
is suggested, to throw great doubt upon the propriety of
the conviction of the prisoner, and the general impression
in the minds of the official authorities is that in the mos
of this culprit the capital sentence will not be carried
out. As regards the other man, William Cogan, who is
also under sentence of death for the murder of his wife, it
appears that a petition has been sent to the Home-office
through his solicitor, Mr. Lewis, setting forth the facts that
the prisoner and the deceased were both proved to be
intoxicated at the time the act was committed, and that
there was no evidence to show that it was premeditated,
and upon those grounds asking that the clemency of the
crown may be extended to the prisoner. It does not appear
probable, however, that these will be considered aifficient
grounds for arresting the course of the law. The public
will recollect that this culprit, like the other, re tad
that his wife destroyed herself, having first endeavoured
to kill him by cutting his throat as he was lying asleep
on the hearth rug. The injury he received on the
throat was of a very serious character, and is yet
far from being healed, and it appears that previous
to his trial the wretched man refused to allow
the wound to be dressed or have anything done to it, on the
pound that he felt confident be should be acquitted, sad
said that when he was discharged he should go to the hos-
pital and remain there until he was perfectly cured. This
prisoner, it seems, is of the Protestant religion, but Maloney
is a Roman Catholic, and the former has consequently been
attended by the Rev. Mr. Davis, the chaplain of Newgate,
and the latter is constantly visited by a priest attached to
the Moorfields Roman Catholic Chapel. Neither of the
I prisoners, however, seems to pay that attention to his reli-
gious duties that could be dallied, and both continue to
make positive assertions of their innocence. The day fixed
for the execution is Monday, Oct. 14.