Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-08-27 00:00:00

THE APPROACHING EXECUTION IN CHESTER.

THE INDIAN MUTINIES.

PETITION FOR MERCY.

The following is a cony of a letter from Adolphus
de Kantzow, who so greatly distinguished himself
at Meerut :

The execution of the sentence of death on John Blagg,
fir the murder of John Bebb'ngton, is appointed to take
place to-morrow (Friday), 28th inst We have not heard
that any m vement has originated in the city of Chester
for the purpose of obtaining a reprieve, or a commutation
of the penalty ; but the solicitor for the convict is endea-
vouring t 3 get his life spared, and the following petition
for that object has been prepared :

MYNPOOREE, JUNE 19

The following is a correct copy of a letter from the
Governor-General to ms, just received via Agra. The dak
was the last from Calcutta, and just before the road was
closed :

TO SIR GEORGE GREY, HES MiLTEsTy'S PIL!NcIpAT., SECREYAW OF •
tTA.TE F THE tiobtg PE'ARTMENT.
The humble petition of the undersia:ned, beiag householders residing
within af3 miles doitaut from tie township of Albraham. in the
county of Chester,
Sheweth—That John Bebbington, late of Tilstone, in the said
couoty of Chester, came'aeeper. was murdate i in the township of
Albraham aforesaid, in the mouth of Aril last:
That John Blagg, of the la' ter towaship, cordwainer, was shrutly
afterw:r ls charged with having p trpetra-ed the said murder, by
shoaling the sa d Jo` n BebAngton with a gun, and Blagg was
comm tied to Chester Castle ta take his trial on Ouch charge, on
which he was tried at the last Chester Summer before thp
H oi. Mr. J - tice Crowd:r, when he was convicted of tha said
murder, ant sen' eneed to he hanged.
That the sai l lea-ned Judge, in his charge to the jury, sWed (as
w s the tact) that the C 333 against Blagg was enti.ely supported by
circumstantial evidence:
That you petitioners fee' for the serious difficulty and responsibility
of relying cn circumstan ial evidenee, more especially In Cases of
murder in runs queer sf numerous instances of ; e sons having been
convicted and executed on such uncertain ev.d..eco, whose innocence
was afterwards clearly estab'isheo, thus inaintainicg the truth of tte
maxim—" I'hat i is better a thousand guilty persons should sic pa
punishment th in that one :nnoc:nt t erson should suffer."
That the abolition of c p;tal punish:nent in all cases has been long
strenuously advoc nod by a great number her Majesty's enightened
subjects, as a punishment by no means ca'calated to re;ress even
t e heinous crime of rounder, in which rpinian your petitioners
respectfully I el.r, to concur; and on the beore stated grounds thsy
hu:nbly venture to intercede on behalf of the. unfortunate convict.
who o life they trust will ha spared; and they most earnestly entreat
teat you will give the ca e sour serloas consideration, anti advise
her most grac.oas Maj isty to extend her royal clemency to the
miser.:ble convict by commuting his srntence from that of death to
tr.:nsp:rt :Hog tor life.
August, 18'7.
We are gratified to learn that the untiring effarts of the
chaplain of Chester gaol to bring the unhappy man to a
proper sense of his awful Position have, in a great maa.
sure, been crowned with success. During the last few
days the convict has paid marked attention to the exhor-
tations of the rev. gentleman, joined in prayer with
arparent earnestness, and possed much of his time, when
left alone with his attendant, in reading passages of Scrip-
ture that have been selected for his perusal. Although
he has at times disputed the truth of portions of the
evidence adduced against him, he has never denied his
criire in so many words, or attempted to account for
himself at the time of its perpetratiati: His sort owing
wile has seen his several times since his convic-
tion. In his interview with her on Tuesday Blagg dis-
ploy ed much more feeling than he had done on tbrtner
occasions. The poor woman has both written and spoken
to him with respect to the petitions that have been
forwarded to the Sec:etary of State in very sanguine
terms, so that it is not surprising that the unhappy
convict has not thought proper to make a confession of
' his crime.-6hester Courant.

Govern►nent•house, Calcutta, Jane 7, 1857.

My dear Sir,—l have just read, in a report from th•
magistrate of Mynpooree, the account of your conduct
upon the occasion of the mutiny of a portion of the 9th
Regiment of Native Infantry at that station on the 22nd
ult. I have read it with an admiration and respect I
cannot a lequately describe.

Young in years, and at the outset of your career, you
have given to your brother soldiers a noble example of
courage, patience, good judgment, and temper from which
many may profit,
I beg you to believe that: it will :never be, forgotten by
_ .

I write this at once, that there may be no delay in
making known to you that your conduct has not been
overlooke I. You will, of course, receive a more formal
acknowledgment through the military department of the
Government of your admirable service.
I am, my dear Sir, yours very faithfully,
CANN ING.

Lieutenant de Kantzlw, 9th:8.N.1.
The following
.is the lieutenant's own account of his

exploit :
"I was:returning from reconnoitering, when informa-
tion was brought to me that, five troopers of the ith
Light Cavalry were corning along the road. An lea ne-
diate pursuit was of course ordered by use, and my 39
troopers tore away at full speed after ms. I was jast
coming up to them, and had already let drive among the
murdering villains when lo ! I came upon 200 of their
comrades, all armed with swords and some with carbines.
A smart flee was kept up at a distance of not more than
23 yards. What could 39 do against 200 regular troops
well horsed and armed, particularly when walked into by
the bullets of 100 of the iefantry ? I ordered a retreat,
but my cavalry could not get away from troopers mounte 1
upon good stud bred horses ; so. we were' soon over_
taken, and then commenced the shindy in earnest ;
twelve troopers surrounded me ; the first, a Mahorn-
medan priest, I shot through the breast just as he was
cutting me down ; this was my only pistol, so I was help-
less as regards weapons, save my sword ; this guarded off
a swinging cut given me by No. 2, also another by No. 3,
but the fun could not last. I bitterly mourned not havine
a couple of revolvers, for I could leave shot every rnau.
My sword was cut down, and I got a slash on the head
.that blinded me, another on the arm that glaaoed, and
only took a slice off. The third caught me on the side,
but also glanced and hit me sideriays. I know not how
I etcaped. God only knows, as twelve against one were
fearful odds, especially as I was mounted on a pony bare
back. Escape, however, I did, and after many warm
escapes too numerous to mention, I got back here. 14
of my brave fellows were killed, four wounded, six
nfssing; total, 24, out of 39. Good odds, was it not ?"
He says in another letter (referring, it is fancied, to his
saving the gaol at Mynpooree from destruction) that he
has been praised by the M tj Lientenant-Go-
vernor of Bengal, and his doings brought, to the notice of
the Governor-General ; and he is now in command of the
station of Mynpooree, and the remains of the three native
regiments there—an irregular force, in fact.

SUICIDE THROUGH AN IMPRUDENT

AT rAcIIIIENT.

On Tuesday an inquest was held at Nutfeld, near Reigate, before
Mr. Carer, tone:ling the death of E.:win Wilkiason, aged 16, a lad
who w •fs Ong brought up as a plumb?r, In the empl, y of his
brother. a traissman of the neigbbourh od. It roperered from the
eviden e that the deceased was found on tie estate of Mr. Edmund
Gurney, su-peaded from a tree by a leathern strap, on the morning
of Satu day tart. From marks on Ur trunk of the tree, and other
indica' ms, it is supi,osed that he buckled the trtrap to his neck'
climbed the tree, and fastening the nth, r end to a branch, cast him-
tell( off, When the body was discovered, it was cold and lifeless, the
toes being about two feet from the ground. The deceased had
forced an attachment for a Tratng girl emplo ed in the fami y of Mr.
Gamey as nurserymaid. His friends, hoNeva.., though entertaining
the highest resucct for tite girl, oppose] MS Intimacy with her.
inasmuch as the deceased being a Nouth not Net apprenticed the
acquslatance was obviously inn, 'lntent. This seems to have preyed
on his mind to such a degree as 'o have induced the act of
self-
destruction, more especially as the girl was about to leave the neigh-
bourh,rod. The evidence of the girl shows I that they had bad an
in erriew on Friday nighe, a id that the deceased laboured under
much mental distress. A. letter found In the poc'sfot of deceased, ran
thus :—" Doer Harriet, —I am now going to do a thing which you
have little thoueht of. I hops tins will be a warifng• to them that
havq been kind enouzh to t ll o' us. I think it is all for the best. I
think it is Mr. Thurston. Good bye, my do .r girl. Think no more of
me, as I have done the deed." The jury returned a verdict of
" Temporary insanity."

MEERUT, JUNE 26-
Our great:safety lies with the Sikhs and Ghoorkas.
The mutineers in Delhi came out the other day to fight,
and some hundred of them, seelig a party of Sikhs
cooking, threw aside their arms and said " Came to us;
we are your brothers." The Sikhs said nothing, but
when the mutineers came up killed every one. The
Ghoorkas have behaved like Englishmen. When they
advanced to the charge the mutineers called out, " We
respect you come here to us." " We are coming,' said the,
Ghoorkas, and they did come. They fought. like devils.
We have lost many men, I regret to say. We have for-
tified ourselves here, and are expecting an attack from
about 2,000 mutineers. We have here about 700 men to
guard the place, and shall meet them just outside the
station with about 300 or 400 men—all we can spare. as
we have barracks and many women to protect. We are
ready, and have always been day and night. Pickets out
on all sides—guns, &c., and cavalry, so many as we have.
We lie down ready for an alarm. When Delhi is taken
head-quarters will b 3 here. Two moveable columns will
be formed here, as troops are assembling down the
country. However, in the field NV3 can easily thrash

STEEPLE CHISES AT DIEPPE

The annual steeplechases at Dieppe came off on
Sunday, in the extensive meadows of Rouxmrsail, at
same distance from the town. Yavonred by magnificent
w:-ache-, they attr ic'ea nearly ell the fashionable com-
munity, French and English, now staying. at Dieppe for
the bathing season, together with the townspeople en masse,
and a vast number of curious from the neighbouring towns
and villages for miles aroun,4. They also attracted a la,ge
crowd of the EngEsh of the lower class from London and.
Brig,hton, who were hrcught over in steamers which ran
expressly fir the occasion at the extraordinary reduced rate
of a few shiliegs. The great assemblage of spectators in
the stands, on foot, in carriages, and on horseback, caused.
the ground to present a brilliant appearance. The various
entrances to the course were tas!efally decorated with tri-
colors and English flags. The Oay's business was a fair
one, but not qu;te what had been expected. In the first
even'. several English horses had been entered, but only
two were brought over; and to compete with them only
three French Icor es were taken to the post. As then only
five horses started, the stakes, though nominally of
7,000 fr., were re ,Ily only 5,000 fr. Tne running presented
no particular incident, and t':e resalt was what was pie-
dieted by the tr ,Trentern of the French turf—the victory
of the famous Franc Picard. It wan oltezerved that the
Enghsh horse; did not jump well; and this was said to be
owing to the fact th it they were accustomed to far stiffer
obstacles then were here provided for them. In the second
event, three oat of the five horses that started were
brought over from England, and it was one of these. it
wilt he s en, who was tee winter. The jumps which in
the fi:st atUr were abone twenty-five in number, and in
the second fif een or sixteen, were the same as on previous
eecesioes. and consisted of walls, ditches, feeces. and a
bro k ; the wails were about i metres high, and the
brook 4 metres wide: There was not much b.t.ing on
either event. M. C. le:Atte, M. A. de s Bosses, and Baron
de Mri ir• ie rimed ai stewards. The atteldanee if French
and English sporting characters was considerable, though
not s) numerous as is generally witnessed on impoetant
accesions.—Galignani.

them.7The walls of Delhi alone have kept them alive and
together. Our bayonets are all powerful ;it seems as if
nothing could stand against them. In spite of the times
we still drive out every evening on the course ; but it will
be some time before any one (except a man well mounted
and armed) will be able to travel at all. There have
been schemes for volunteers here going out, in which
I have joined, of course, but in vain. The general
here is [so awfully cautious. I am on pick-4, duty
every other night, and twice a-week for tweaty.fotir
hours, day and night. 'the men are on duty every night,
and are hard worked ; horses saddled day and night in
case of an attack. We have some of the 60th R.fles and
Artillery recruits, who, though not drilled, are stanch
fighters, and some of them old soldiers. We have our
orders in case of an attack, and each one knows his
position, and can reach it in a minute. We have 'a very
formidable little place here, with bastions, &c , complete,
heavy and light guns, and 100 volunteers to man the walls.
They little expect how we are prepared for them if they
do come. My belief is they will go to D lhi; but if n t,
as I said before, we shall not wait for them, but go out to
meet them, while they will expect us crowded in our
fortifications. They must be different from all the other
mutineers, and we very different from all the other
English, if we do not give them a thorough beating, and
perhaps get their treasure (eight lags of rupees.) The
fortifications must only be our last resource, as they are
too small to hold every one. The natives in the bazaar
(the worst characters we have) are as humble and quiet
now as possible, and seemed terrified at us. We have
hung and flogged so many that they see they cannot com-
mit atrocities unpunished. The mail goes such a round-
about way from here (the 'ordinary route not; being open)
that I.must send,this off at once. The country i 3 all up.

THE BANK ROBBERY AT TORONTO.

The Toronto Globe of the 6-.11 says, a most painful train
of circumsrancss has come to light in regarl to the robbery
committed upon the government agency.. of the Bank of
Uopr Canada. Toe condition of the office the morning
after the robbery was committed, and the absence of any
appearance of violeuce upott the.bank safe, led to 'suspici•
one that the deed was dons from within and not from
without o and these snspicions were confirmed by the dis-
covery that the glass in the window, cut by" the burglars so
as lor remove the
.inside fastenings and enable thorn to
pass into the room, was cut with a diamond from the in-
side and not from without. Tee agent, Mr. Cummings,
was thereupon subjected to a-close examination, and all
his books ant pap rs minutely overhauled. We vgret to
s 1 that this iLvsstigaionldisctosed the fact that Mr. Cum-
mings, had for some time been secretly lending the funds
of the bank (entrusted to him for Government purposes)
to various ; and tit:A at the moment of the
robbery. he was.l.ooody in default to the Bank. A change
was just about bEiog made in the mode of conducting the
Govern Teat agency, which must have lttd to the detection
of the N 9 bola affair ; and the suspicion naturally followed
thrt a mock robbery was got up to avert discovery. 4.lri-
min.l informations, on this beli f, were immedtately lai:t
by the officers of the Bank against Mr. Cummings, and
certain parties to whom hs avers he lent the missing mo.
trey.. We have riot asuertained tho names of all the parties
iroplioved, though ruolour points to more than one indi-
vidual occupying a prominent position. There is no doubt
however, or ihe melancholy •ftet that warrant% have been
issued for tne arrest of Mr. J. T. Kirby, bat rister of this
city, and 4r. Me Gaffey, formerly a CoW.ract,r, and now
dirt ctor of the Northern railway. Mr. Mc Gaffey, r.
Cummings, and idr. Kerby have been arrested" At the ex-
amioatiou of the .prisorters,, on Cummings being called
upon to show the.connectiou of Kerby and Mc Gaffey
with the missing mor.ev. acting on the instructions of his
Counsel he refused to on ~.or any questions pot
,p him.
The ease as been poiiput cd till the seventh day of Sep-.
(ember, and in the interim there will be• mere than sofa-
cieutlime to obtain the requisite evidence.

SYMPITHT WTH SEPOY 14.11JTINEER4.—There is
glodly quantity of sickly sentimentality in certain
portions of society, which takes a mawki3h delight in
exhibiting its disgusting sympathies, occasionally, on
behalf of great criminals. Some such feeling it was, we
presume, that induced the Liverpool jury to recommend
to mercy the three wretched miscreants convicted-oi one
of the foulest murders ever perpetrated, to which we dgew
attention 'yesterday. In the House of Commons, on
Friday ni4ht, we had another example of some miserable
-maudlin feeling on behalf of the inhuman, butchers of
British women and children in India. The matter is thus

reported :
" Mr. Richardson-moved for a return of the number of
mutinous soldiers belonging t 3 the Indian army who had
been blown from the cannon's mouth since the late revolt
began, and the places, and unier whose orders these ex-
ecutions took place; and asked whether such executions
►ere in accordance with the rues of military discipline in
India?
" The hon. gentleman was unab'e to find a seconder. for
his motion; and it was, therefore, not put, nor was any
answer given to the question with which he conclude I.
This result was received with_cheers from all parts of the
House.**

A SIGHT Wowr}i SREING.—From a bill called Mount
Zion, near Janesville, Illinois, one hundred and sixty-four
horse-piwer reapers were seen at work at once, in the
neighbouring wheat fields, recently. ..
R ECRU ITI 141, FOR SCOTCH HU iIiENTS. -- The dopo's
belonging to &etch regiments now attached to the.provi-
sionat battalion, Chatham, are to be gnartered in Scotland,
where they will be formed into depot battalions. An
order has been received at Chatham. directing that the
deots of the 74 h, 78th, and 93rd Regiments are to be
held in immediate readiness to proceed to Aberdeen.

THE NORTHERN TIMES.-LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1&57.