The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-06-11 00:00:00

THE

TETE CONVICT pAimER.

Although the prisoner has dedlited to avail himself of the
screened seat provided for him in the chapel of the gaol,
yet it does not appear that he is altogether regardless of his
religious duties.. On the contrary, he pays marked attention
to the spiritual advice afforded him by the worthy chaplain
of the prison, who, it may, be stated, has been unremitting
in his attention to him ever since his confinement. He
exhibits an apparent sense of the manner in which he has
neglected his duties in a religious point of view, and to that

extent appears penitent ; but to any suggestion
greatest proof of his sincerity would be ah

,n of the

justice of his sentence, he turns a deaf ear, an I asserts
that he is innocent of the crime of murdering Jobn

Parsons Cook.

The prisoner appears

to take lid

vantage of every circumstance likely to operate in

his favour, and this was particularly exemplifi d
in his intercourse with Mr. Wright, the gentleman who, for

a philanthropic object, devotes a onside

bie portion of h

time to visiting the different gaols of the country, and hav-
ing interviews with prisoners accused of great offences, and
who has a speciai order from the Secretary of State to
enable him to do so. To this gentleman, Palmer, while
slill asserting his innocence, made so great a show of penit-
ence and religious feeling, that he went away deeply
impressed in his favour, and with the belief that his conver-

sation had materially softened him. The moment Palmer
was alone, however, he resumed his former appearance, and
it was apparent to those about him that no real effect had
been pro

duced on his mind

It appears that the execution will not be perforated by
Ca'craft, the ordinary exeutioner. This is not on account

opinion of his incompetence in consequence of a
recent event, but it seems that for several years the
executions that have taken place in this county have been
carried out by a man named Smith, who lives at Dudley.
He has no regular salary, but when there is a necessity for
his services his expenses are paid to Stafferdb and after the
execution he receives £5 for the (hay he has performed.
He has already been applied to, and an answer was received
in due form, thanking the authorities, and expressing his
willingness to perform the duty.
So numerous have been the applications on behalf of the
reporters of the metropolitan and provincial press for
orders of admission to be present at the execution, that
Major Fulford, the governor of the prison, who has on all
occasions evinced a readiness to give every information
in his power consistent with his duty, has felt himself in
considerable difficulty how to act. In such a case as this,
where the attention of the public has naturally been so much
excited, and where even the interests of justice would even
appear to require that the incidents connected with the last
moments of so extraordinary a malefactor should be faith-
fully recorded, it appears evidently essential that some
authorised representatives of the press should be present,
but the regulations of the gaol are imperative, and by one

of any

of them the governor is positively interdic,ed from allow-
ing any strangers to be in the prison on the morning of an
execution. Under these circumstances, Major Pafford,
on Friday, addressed a letter to the Secretary of State
asking for his directions on the subject, and suggest

the same time that he should be permitted to admit a
certain number of accredited reporters to be present at
the execution, and there is very little doubt that Sir G.
Grey will accede to the request.

The subjoined letter has been addressed to the Derby

Reporter

" Sir,—Now that Palmer's trial is over, and a jury of
his country have solemnly declared him to have been
guilty of the wilful mqrder of his friend Mr. Cook, I
shall not, I think, do wrong in making known to the
world, through your columns, what I know respecting the
death of Mr. Leonard Bladon, another friend of Palmer's,
and who, I fear, perished in a similar manner to the
unfortunate Mr. Cook. Mr. Bladen was a native of this
town, and has a brother still residing here. He was my
intimate friend, and in May, 1850, whilst on a visit
to W. Palmer's, at Rugeley, he was driven over
from that place to Ashby, by Jeremiah Smith. They
spent the day with me, and returned to Rugeley the
same evening. Bladen was at the time in good health,
though not quite recovered from the effects of an accident
he had met with. Ho had more than £lOO on his person,

,fterwards,

and also a betting book. In a week or two a
he died rather suddenly in Palmer's honse, and the bull
of his money and betting book were missing. I strongly
suspected at th tt time, from a statement made to me by
Bladon's brother, who bad been over to Rugeley and seen
Palmer, and who informed me of some very suspicious

circumstances, that he had met with foul play, and I was
very anxious that an investigation should take place. I
_ _
consulted with other friends on the subject,

nd they

advised me to be cautious how I moved in so

serious a matter. I also wrote to Bladon's widow
on the subject, and I also wrote to the police at
Rugeley, requesting to be informed when the next
magistrates' meeting would be held there, fully intending
to go and inform them of my suspicions ; but I got no

reply to this last letterr, as it did not reach its destination,
but was (how I can't say) mis-sent to Rugby, Warwick.
shire. I did receive a letter from Mr. Mi.-lows widow,
which I send you; I think it worthy of publication, and
you can add it to this letter. You will perceive that she
was averse to an investigation, and unfortunately none
took place, or the fearful tragedies that have, as is very
generally believed, since been perpetrated, would, in all
probability, have been averted ; bat th,re are several
circumstances in that letter strongly confirmatory of my

I will point them out to you. She says she

suspicions

was igrurrant of the distance, which she considered
much further ; this means the distance from Rugeley
to Ashby, and arose as follows:—She had heard from
a friend of her husband's of his dangerous illness at
Palmer's, and had hurried down to Rugeley, and arrived
there to find him on the point of death and speechless.
She intimated to Palmer her wish that myself or her
husband's brother should be sent for from Ashby ; he made
this false excuse, that Ashby was a long way off, across
country roads, and would take two or three days' time
for the journey. He knew well that Bladon had only a
short time before been driven to Ashby by Jeremiah Smith ;
spent the day there, and returned to Rugeley the same day.

Again, he was very anxious to get this poor lady to sign a

document, acknowledging that Bladon was indebted to him
£59, when the fact was the very reverse, he being at that
time Bladon's debtor in a considerable sum, The object

evidently was to manufacture a piece of evidence, in
case of investigation, to prove that he could have had no
motive to destroy Bladon, but the contrary. There were
other suspicious circumstances, thouzh not mentioned in
her letter, which she afterwards informed me ot. She was
allowed to see her husband but for a very short space of
time ; she was hurried out of the room, and was not allowed

to see him again, neither whilst living nor after death
The reason assigned by Palmer after Bladon's deat
that his body was fast decomposing, and not fit to be seen
He was also buried with indecent haste. Another circum-
stance was, that upon Mrs. Bladon expressing her surprise
that so little money was found upon her husband's
person (viz., £l5), as she knew that he had a mei-
derable sum with him ; again, the ready lie, Palmer said
that Bladon had been to Ashby and paid away a good deal
of money there, the contrary being the fact ; he had money
to receive in Ashby, and none to pay. Another circum-
stance was, that his pockets had been rammagel, arid his
papers all turned over, and some abstracted, particularly
his betting-book. His death occurred immediately after.

,h was,

Chester races, and I have strong reason fur believing that
Palmer had lost considerably to him

Another strange

circumstance was, that Palmer never sent to Mrs. Bladon to
acquaint her of her husband's illness ; but a friend of
Bladon's, named Merritt, on his return from Chester races,
called to see him at Rugeley, and found him in so fearful a
state of illness that he thought it right instantly to pr'ceed
to London by the express train, and sent her do sm.—l
" W. BOSTOCK.

remain yours, &c

" TO MR. BOSTOCY.

"Jane 14, 1850

" Ashby-de-la-Zouch, June, 1856."
Subjoined is Mrs. Bladon's letter, written after her return
to London, in reply to a communication sent to her by Mr.
Bostock, the reference in it to the brewery, meaning the
firm for which her deceased husband travelled :

" Dear Sir,—l am exceedingly obliged to you and Mrs.
Bostock for the kind interest you take in my affairs, and
have no doubt from the respect you bore my late husband,
you would have done what you say ; but if you take