The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-08-26 00:00:00

EXECUTION.

Ou Monday moruesig. at inns o'clock. John
nose alias ihsvid Healey, for the murder of James
Hamilton, was executed upon the drop erected for
the ot•rw•ioti its front of the county Courts in this
c•ty. He conducted himself, not only with iu.
propriety, hut with great audacity, during his
trial, and even after the dreadful sentence of
the law had been pronounced. On Sunday
eporoino he made a confess of his guilt, and
.'erlored Charlton (whom he had before cc.
iced us the actual murderer) to be entirely inno-
seta of the crime; lie, however, continued in a
.t.lte of such hardened depravity that, we under-
• ono,. the chaplain refused to sltnini-ter the sacra-
:zeta to him. This refusal worked upon lir mind,
crud he threw himself upon this chapel floor in a
...ate of mental spiry, crying aloud that he dared
4:4 to uporoach the. altar table. The soothing ob-
servations and persua•ive language of the chaplain
coon restored him, however, to a state of compare.
t•ve calmtie.s, whey lie received the holy sacra-
ment : and it woe again administered to him on
Sunday evening, but lie continued to suffer much
f-orn the dread of Iris approaching execution. On
Monday morning, when the time arrived fur his re-
:level from the goo!, lie lay upon the Boor of his
orartment, apparently with a determinution not to
be moved, mad it was found necessary to employ
fuur melt to curry him to the Grand Jury room.
As they bore him "slung pinioned he bit one of the
;..rtv, hut it was 101 Ward to be a coovulsive bite.
Qu his arrival in the Grand Jury room he appeared
toore collected. and entered into prayer with the
; floe service occupied some minutes. He
was then ruipportrel to the scaffold, where be stood
erect after 11,e rope wea 'sliced round his neck. and
exclaimed, " The Lord have mercy upon me!"
,r.t the given signal, during the reading of the
Lord's Prayer, the drop fell and be was launched
Jute eternity. After batwing an hour. the burly
was cot down and conveyed to the lofirtnary for
4 iirseetion. Thus ended. at the early age of nine-
•en, the life of a young man who. had he been
trained in the paths ol virtue. might Wave been a
useful menther of society fur years to come. His
roelasicholy . fate is another proof of the necessity of
roiocatton. King could neiMer read nor wide; lie
wee igoorant of morali.y and religion ; and in the
t.tisence of these Chri.tion requisites, the roost vi-
cious passions had bitten possession of his soul.
The atrocity of his crime, the depravity of his
manners, mud his ignominious death. furnish an
awful lesson of the cousequesices of ignorance and
After reading the above melancholy detail, our
drustaot readers will hardly belies that the tragic
.erne of the morniog was turned interline of drunken
i.arseity and uproar in the afternoon ; yet much woe
fact. The expected execution of four men had
ursou towards this city 50 immense multitude of
who• began to assemble opposite the fatal
pratfono so early as four o'clock in the morning;
rue ouniltres eentitiisroi to increase till tfiefiour of
ettecution, and when only one culprit came forth,
eapressioirs of disappoint's...lit were hosed to issue
:eons the spectators. The fall of the drop. and
the death of the malefactor. were the signal tor the
orapersien of the multitude. who then adjourned to
we several public-houses. meet of Mitch were very
sow tilted. Instead of reflecting upon the awful
eturctieti of life which they shad witnessed in' a
guilty fellow-creature, the noltitude give them.•
selves up to riot and d;uttketuress. The town had
-.1 the tumultuous appearitrwirs which it exhibits at
a contested election.-Peiiies of driiiikeu isnot'
were seen 'Telt:4;64og the ktreets, and innumerable
battles were fought in tiiifereit ;meld Ott* town.—
ist sporty parts, inflect,, thetiadestainmere obliged
to close their showwititliarsOor ttio Poke of security.
We mentiow these iiirticulanimin' the hope that
tiessOres will betodopted to pent the recurrence
44 a scene which would base disgraced the anti.
naked ttitieo Of IgtbioiSiae—tDorApt 'Advereuer.j