The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-14 00:00:00

THE StlN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 14, 1804.

The Convict Hall,

The following communication from the Home-
office was received by the Mayor of Birmingham on
Saturday :

Whitehall, March 11.

Sir,—l am directed by Secretary Sir George Grey to
acknowledge the receipt of the memorial from inhabitant s
of Birmingham, transmitted by you on the 7th, on behalf
of George Hall, a prisoner under sentence of death in -War-
wick gaol for the murder of his wife.
Several other memorials have been received to the same
effect. Among them is one from Mr. 'Wright and Messrs,
Morgan, attorneys-at-law at Birmingham, entering in
detail into the circumstances of the case, and accompanied
by affidavits made by several persons, all of whom might
have been examined on the trial as witnesses for the pri-
soner, in order to show the provocation under which the
prisoner is alleged to have acted. This memorial, after
expressing the hope that the facts of the case may be held
to show that the existence of a form of provocation at least
as strong as those provocations which by law reduce mur-
der to manslaughter, concludes by praying, on this ground,
a commutation of the capital sentence.
The learned Judge has also sent to the Secretary of
State his notes of the trial. Sir George Grey has given the
most careful and anxious consideration to all those docu-
ments. The case is one of very painful and distressing
character, but the actual facts_appear to admit of no doubt
or uncertainty.

The prisoner, on Christmas Day last married a woman
after an acquaintance of several years, but which is said to
have been broken off for some time last spring. In conse-
quence of a dispute about another man she went home to
her mother's house on the day of the marriage on the plea of
illness, but she returned to her husband the next day, and
remained with him until the 3d of January, when she finally
left him, going back to her mother's house, :and continued
there, though there is no reason to doubt that she associated
occasionally with her paramour, On the 4th of January an
altercation took place between the prisoner and his wife on
his meeting her coming from the theatre with the other
man. On the 12th the wife took out a summons against the
prisoner for, as she alleged, threatening her, The summons
was dismissed on the 14th. On the afternoon of the 16th
the prisoner bought a brace of pistols, with powder and
four bullets. On the evening of the same day, after being
apparently on good terms with his wife at her mother's
house, he induced her to go out of doors with him, and while
they were out he shot her through the head with ono of the
pistols.
Whatever distress of mind the prisoner may have suf-
fered from his wife's misconduct, there can be no doubt
from the evidence that the murder was deliberate and pre-
meditated. The act was not committed in any fit of excite-
ment immediately consequent on his wife's desertion of him
or the discovery of her infidelity. A considerable interval
had elapsed since she left him. Nothing appears to have
occurred on the evening of the murder to inflame or exaspe-
rate him. No reasonable doubt can be entertained that he
bought the pistols with the intention of taking away his
wife's life, and that he took them with him and induced her
to accompany him from her mother's house in order to
carry this intention into effect.
Sir George Grey feels that it would be of most dangerous
consequence to society if such provocation as the prisoner
received were held sufficient to exempt a man from the
penalty attached by law to deliberate and premeditated
murder, and therefore he regrets to be compelled to come to
the conclusion that it would be inconsistent with his duty to
recommend a commutation of the sentence.—l am, Sir,
your obedient servant,
H. WADDINGTON'.
The Mayor of Birmingham.

O❑ Saturday the Rev. Canon Miller, RD., Mr.
W. Morgan, and Mr.J. S. Wright (of Birmingham),
came to London to see Sir George Grey, and after-
wards the two latter gentlemen went to Lincoln to
see Mr. Justice Byles, the judge who tried the
case, and we understand that yesterday Mr. J.
S. Wright, accompanied by Mr. Fitzjames Stephens,
the junior counsel engaged in the defence, came to
London from Lincoln.

At the same time Mr. Alfred F. Morgan came
from Birmingham, accompanied by Mr. G. F.
James and Mr. J. Ansell, solicitor, with further
affidavits.

Sir George Grey came to the determination yes-
terday that the final sentence of the law in this
case should not be carried into effect, and has re-
spited the prisoner.

BIRMINGHAM, Sunday Night.

Sir George Grey has yielded. Hall is respited.
It was nearly midnight when this was generally
known here, and much satisfaction was manifested
by the large numbers of persons assembled in the
neighbourhood of the newspaper offices and the
147,',ectric Telegraph Company's offices.
Naval and Military Intelligence.

- +--

THE NAVY.

MALTA, March B.—On Sunday last the Austrian screw
frigate SchwarlzPnberg, 50, bearing the broad pendant of
CommodoreTegetoff, accompanied by the gunboat Seehund,
4, Capt. Kronoweller, arrived from Corfu in two days
and on the same day the screw frigate Conte Dandolo, 22.
Capt. the Baron M, Steruick, came in from Algiers. A tele-
gram awaited the arrival of this squadron here, ordering it
to Gibraltar, with directions to do that at sea which their
brethren were doing ashore. This is understood to mean
to capture any Danish ship of war or merchant vessel that
might be fallen in with in the Mediterranean. It is said
that the gunboat before reaching Malta captured in lonian
waters, and sent in charge of a prize crew to Trieste, a
Danish brig, coffee laden, from Rio Janeiro, bound to Con-
stantinople ; and lam also informed that the Conte Dandolo
overhauled on the morning preceding her arrival, and
nearly within gunshet of Malta, a Norwegian coal-laden
vessel, the Medea, from Sunderland, which arrived here
shortly afterwards. The object of the Austrian captain, it
appears, was to inquire if the master had seen any Danish
ships in the Mediterranean, to which he received the reply,
" No, but if I had I would not have informed you." The
master was at first very much alarmed, believing that war
had broken out with Sweden, and that he was a prisoner.
The squadron left on Monday for Gibraltar and the Baltic.
The Dutch screw steam- frigate Prince Mandl z of the Nether-
lauds, 18, Capt. H. Kempes, entered port yesterday morning
from Messina. She has come here for repairs, which, it is
expected, will take a month to complete. The following
movements among the ships belonging to Vice-Admiral
Smart's fleet have been reported since the departure of the
last mail :—The Royal Oak, 35, ironclad, Capt. F. A. Camp-
bell, quitted port on the sth inst. for Corfu, to embark War-
office stores for Malta, The Magicienne, 16, paddlewheel
frigate, Capt. W. Armytage, loft for Corfu on the following
day for the same purpose, Lady Hotham proceeding in her
as passenger. The Gibraltar, 81, screw line-of battle ship,
Capt. J. C. Prevost, was, on being relieved by the Resistance,
ironclad, to return to Malta from the Piraeus, calling at
Corfu for ordnance stores. The Liffey, 35, Capt. G. Parker,
has also been ordered to return to Malta from Syria,
on being relieved by the Phcebee, calling at Corfu for Ord-
nance stores. The Meanee, 60,Capt. G. Wodehouse, arrived
last night from Corfu with a large quantity of War-office
stores. She left Corfu on the sth, and is now unloading,
preparatory to going up again on a like errand. The Fox,
2, screw storeship, Staff-Commander T. C. Pullen, arrived
last night from Pembroke in 11 days, and will leave imme-
diately for Corfu. The Dromedary, 2, Master-Commander
A. Brown, is on her way to Malta and Corfu, having left
England on the 3d inst. The Cossack, 20, Capt. W. R.
Reiland, was at Corfu on the sth, having returned from
Zante. The Orlando, 46, Capt. G. G. Randolph, was also
at Corfu at the same date. The Orontes, 2, screw troopship,
Capt. W. H. Hire, left Corfu on the 6th with the 6th Re-
giment for Gibraltar and Bermuda. The Icarus, 11, Lieut.-
Commander Boger, was seen off Paxo on the sth, for Corfu
from Malta and Benghazi. The Pelican, 17, Commander
Comber, left 111a1ta on the 7th inst. with supernumeraries
for the East Indies. They were to be forwarded across the
Isthmus of Suez, where the Pantaloon was waiting to re•
ceive them. The Surprise, 4, Commander W. H. Whyte,
is in attendance on the cable-ship Fanny Lambert, near
Benghazi. It is reported in town that one of the broken
ends of the cable has been fished up. The Hydra, 1, Com-
mander
G. H. vir
A.Li.lk INilnaseesne,ll,sturnrydetyhieng vessels, are to put to sea
Firefly, 5, Lieut.-Comman-
derearly in April, to resume their surveying duties. The
Caradoc, 2, Lieut.-Commander E. Wilkinson, which left
on the 2d inst. for Constantinople with Sir Henry Bulwer,
will, it is said, shortly return to Malta to be decked and to
undergo some extensive repairs. The Turkish war steamer
Kars, which came in on Thursday last from Constanti-
nople, and Candia, loft on the following day for Tripoli,
The ironclad frigate Caledania, 35, 1,000 horse power, is
being fitted for sea at tbo Nore with the utmost despatch,
in order that she may be ready for the pennant by the Ist
April. It is said that the officer selected by the Admiralty
to command this Sire frigate is Capt. the Hon. G. D. Keane,
now in command of the Royal Naval Barracks.
Her Majesty's iron screw steam storeship Supply, Master
Commander Bawden, arrived at Woolwich on Thursday,
and went alongside the Royal Arsenal Pier to discharge the
guns and war stores returned from the fortress at Corfu.
late She left
MasterCorofur
honerh
the
;ajfetsetryn,soosnhiop Cossack, tailing passagef Feb. 23. Mr. Armstrong,
to England, died on board, off Caps de Gatt, and was buried
at sea.

The following appointments and promotions have been
made at the Admiralty :—Lieut. George D. Alorant, to the
Blenheim; Lieut. Thomas W. Oliver, to the Colossus;
Lieut. Lewis B. Solly, to the Dauntless; Lieut. Frank
Rougemont, to the Bulldog ; James W. Ashton, master,
to the Bulldog; Acting Sub -Lieut. Francis Ilteoxm.
1:111,yD,
otno
atihde,
Hector; Thomas Coghlan, surgeon, to the Research ; Dr.
John Breakey, surgeon, to the Bulldog; Alex.Al~Donald,
acting assist -surgeon, to the Research ; John Alockridge,
assist.-surgeon, to the Boscawen ; James Parker, assist.-
surgeon, to the Cambridge; Dr. E. L. Moss, acting assist.-
surgeon, to the Bulldog; Victor E. J. B. Von Donop,
midshipman, to the Black Prince ; Joshua C. Robinson,
chief engineer, to the Indus, for the Zealous; Janes Goads,