The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-16 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Errt,--By the gasping, sobbing gratification that 11,-,s so
generally followed ➢fuller's supposed confession, I may
fairly conclude that very many others besides myself either
felt that ho was innocent, or that (as the Scotch term it) his
crime was "not proven," and that there really was a doubt
about it, which ought, and perhaps would, have been given
in Muller's favour, but for a sort of panic all society had
imbibed from the nature of the deed—a murder—and an
escape against time—in a railway first-class carriage, with
only two minutes or so to do it all in. Your paper and the
Times appear to have given the most probable version of
thie confession.

For myself, Sir, I do not believe in the confession of
Muller. Ydo not mean that Dr Cappel mis-stated, but
only misunderstood what Muller actually said just as the
drop fell.
Muller had said, in reply to Dr Cappel, "God Almighty
knows what I have done."

The doctor's next question was— " lle knows if you have
done this particular deed ?" and he makes Muller say—
" Yes, I have done it."
Now, I consider Muller's answer more likely to have been
—" Yes, if I have done it ;" meaning, evidently, that " of
course God knows whether I did the murder or not." And
this is consistent with all that had gone before, especially
the declaring his innocence after he had taken the Sacra-
ment.

The point, however, that I wish further to call your at-
tention to, on behalf of all eondemned felons in future, is,
that Muller, being c3nvicted on a Saturday night, was
hanged in just a fortnight and a day, because the three
Sundays elapsed in that period. Had his trial been carried
over to the Monday, he would have had three week for re-
pentance. I trust you will animadvert on the above incon-
sistency, or haste ; and that by no possibility in future such
a boon should be shortened by a mere chance, as occurred
with this most unfortunate foreigner.
I remain, Sir, one of your constant readers,

15th November, 1861.

We beg to direct the attention of our correspoE.
dent " W." to the following conversation that took
place between Dr Capel and the convict on the
morning of the execution _ _ .

...,
The final asseverations and confession of the unhappy
man who was executed on Monday have been reported with
some slight variation of phrase, although the import was in
most instances the same. The actual words made use of are
subjoined in the original Gorman. One hour before the time
appointed for the execution the Rev. Dr Cappel in the con-
demned cell exhorted Muller to confess to him if he had
been guilty of the crime for which he was so soon to suffer.
The prisoner was si'ent, but in a moment, overwrought, ho
laid his head upon Dr Cappel's shoulder, weeping bitterly.
He only said, " Oh, don't forsake me I Stay with me to the
last I" Hitherto the declarations of the prisoner had been
to maintain the plea that he was innocent, and inferentially,
though never directly, to deny his commission of the crime.
The appeal he now made, and his abstention from any pre-
varication or assertion, gave Dr Cappel a hope that he
would at last confess, and he determined that his final ap-
, peal should be oa the scaffold. When he stood under the
gallows with Bluffer, the Rev. Mr Davis being with him,
he spoke as follows :
Dr Cappel—Muller, in wenigen Augenblicken stehen
Sie vor Gott; ich frage Sic noohmals, and zum letzen male,
Sind Sio schuldig oder unschuldig? Muller—lch bin
unschuldig.
Dr Cappel—Sio sind unschuldig P Muller—Gott Weiss
was ich gethan babe.
Dr Cappel—Gott weiss was Sio gethan haben. Weiss er
auch dass Sie dies Verbrechen gethan haben ? Muller—
Ja ; ich babe es gethan.
The words translated are as follows :
Dr Cappel said— Muller, in a few moments you will
stand before God. I ask you again, and for the last time,
are you guilty or not guilty P Muller answered—Not
guilty.
Dr Cappel—You are NOT guilty ? Muller—God knows
what I have done.
Dr Cappol—God knows what you have done. Does He
also know that you have committed this crime ? Muller—
Yes ; I have done it.
There is a strong probability that if the executioner had
not been so terribly prompt in withdrawing the fatal bolt,
Muller would have made a much fuller confession, and that
his tenacious hope of reprieve having at last given way, ho
would perhars have made some statement as to how the
struggle took place which resulted in the murder. It was
only by the vary narrowest chance the culprit had time to
say what he did; for the important words were almost
choked in the uttering. It is usual at executions for all
those whose painful duty takes them actually upon the
scaffold to retire before the executioner drain the bolt of
the drop; but on Monday morning Caloraft actually per-
formed this task while the two ministering clergymen—the
Rev. Mr Davis, tho ordinary of Newgate, and the Rev. Dr
Cappel—were standing close beside the unhappy convict,
listening with intense anxiety to the hurried words which
bore the scant but conclusive confession. After Caloraft
had drawn down the cap, tied the rope round bluffer's
neck, and secured his lags with the usual strap, all which
he did with remarkable quickness, he suddenly loft the
platform. The two clergymen, who were standing im-
mediately im front and as near to the prisoner as possiblet

were not able to converse with him during the time the
hangman was engaged in his office ; but when these terrible
details were finished the Rev. Dr Cappel spoke to Muller
with the greatest solemnity, and with peculiar earnestness
of tone. The spectators who were near the gallows appeared
to be greatly impressed. Only the little group under the
beam could hear what words were uttered. It appeared as
though the last counsel of the German minister was received
by Muller with an intensity of feeling. Dr Cappel bent for-
ward with outstretched hands, and with his face close to
that of the unhappy criminal. Through the white cap, which
hardly came even with the jaw, the lips could be seen mov-
ing, and while Dr Cappel was thus listening the drop fell,
with a suddenness that must have greatly startled that gen-
tleman. Dr Cappel was actually leaning forward and listen-
ing, when the body went down. The two clergymen were left
or the moment in dreadful contigui'y to the dying man.

Phrenological Examination of Muller's

Head from the Cast.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE—This Day,

SHREWSBURY RACES—TiIIs DAY,
IZY ELECTLIC TELEGRAPH.
ISlATcu.—Tarragona beat East Sheen,
ACTON BURNEL STAKES.
Antoinette
Hurrah
• 2
Princess Dagmar ............................
CALDECOT lIANDICAP.

Moulsey
My Mary
. .......
Five ran. •••••• 2
HANDICAP SWEEPSTAKES.

Lad y Bohnn
Nell Digby

Five ran.
INIONKMOOII HANDICAP.

Dawdle
1
••••••••
To mfool .ry
Faith
Six ran.

The
disputei hurdle race hay not yet been decided—the
case will be reopened at Mr NV,..athelby's Lace.

The Confede rate Generals.

The accompany extracts are from a letter, dated
Sept. 26, written by an English gentleman who
has been in the South during a great portion of
the war ;

Lee himself is worn and anxious, but as cheerful to the
eye and as indomit eble as ever. I assure you Lee is more
than ever a sight for gods and men. The same tranquil mo-
desty, utter absence of vanity, egotism, or self-seeking, and
determination to spend and be spent in discharge of his
duty. It is certainly one of the most beautiful characters I
ever read of—certainly the most beautiful that I ever en-
countered.

I am sorry to say that poor Longstreet is still suffering
greatly. The ball went in at the base of his throat, just
below Adam's apple, and cut its way out through the right
shoulder, just below the clavicle. As it passed out it cut the
nerves of sensation and motion of the right arm. The arm
still remains paralysed as far as motion is concerned, but the
nerves of sensation are somehow involved in the cicatrix,
and are morbidly and acutely sensitive and irritable. Ho
has taken oceans of morphine and is greatly reduced, but
I fear the pain remains as great as ever.

It is with pleasure we make known to our
readers that a gentleman, W. 11. C. Nation, Esq., of Ken.
sington, has generously presented to the Royal Dramatic
College the liberal sum of 50 guineas in aid of the funds of
that excellent and deserving institution.

PLYMOUTH, Tuesday.—The brig Florence Nights
ingale, 248 tons, Captain J. E. Winslow, belonging
to Mr Paul, of Lynn, was off this port yesterday with 7,600
hides and 120 pipes of tallow. She left Montevideo, Sept,
10, crossed the line Oct. 5, and spoke Sept. 7, lat. 13 10 S.,
long. 28 19 W., the Hamburg bark Orleans, and lat. 18 S.,
long. 28 18 W., a British barque with signals V. P. S. K.,
Oct. 2, lat 7 47 8., long. 23 12 W., the British bark Cupido;
and Oct. 5, lat, 0 18 N., long. 28 13 'N., the British brig
Anne—all bound to the southward. The brig Ruben
Glough left Montevideo Sept. 1; the bark Hound, of
Whitehaven expected to leave on the 17th.
FEDERAL DEBT.—The official statement of the
public debt represents that the amount outstanding was in-
creased by more than 61,000,000 dole. in the month of
October. The unpaid requisitions are stated at 37,000,000
dols., and the amount in the Treasury at nearly 27,000,000
dole.

The inauguration of the statue of Daubenton took
place the day before yesterday at the Jardin d'Ac-
elima'ation in the Buie de Boulogne, tut the state of the
weather operated sadly against the fete. The statue has
been placed in front of the large aviary, near which tri-
bunes ornamented with flip were erected for the members
of the Society and for the representatives of great scientific
bodies. Among the persons present were M. Massy—Count
d'Epremesnil, Secretary General of the Society—M. Rare
de Lavison, Director of the Garden—Marshal de Santa
Cruz—M. Stanislas Julien, Member of the Inatitute, and
several other scientific notabilities. The ceremony was pre-
sided over by M. de Quatrefugos, Vice President of the
society, who delivered an address appropriate to the occa-
sion. M. Richard (du Central) next spoke, and pointed out
all the practical results which had already been obtained
from the labours of M. Daubenton, That illustricus ser-
vant, he said, born at Montbard (Coto d'Or), was the first
who acclimatised Merino sheep in Franco, a fact which
had materially improved the manufacture of cloth in the
country. Ile was also the first to apply the science of
comparative anatomy in the determination of fossil bodies,
It was however more particularly for the services he had
rendered to agriculture and to manufactures that his statue
merited a place in the Jardin d'Acclimatation. After M.
Viard, mayor of Montbard, had spoken in high praise of
Daubenton, and of the valuable services which he had
rendered to the country, the meeting broke up.
ALTERATION OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
MAlLS.—Commencing with December next, the
direct mail packets for the Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena,
and Ascension, will, in future, leave Devonport on the
morning of the 10th of each month, on the arrival of the
mail despatched from London on the previous evening.
When, however, the 9th of the month falls on Sunday, the
mailiewill not be despatched from London until the even-
ing of the 10th, and the packet will not sail until the morn-
ing of the 11th. These packets will, henceforth, go on
from the Gape to Mauritius, calling at Natal, and any
letters, &re, for Mauritius, specially directed via the Cape
of Good Hope, will be sent by that route. Such letters,
&0., will be liable to the same postage as when forwarded
via Southampton and Suez, By command of the Postmas-
ter-General, General Post-office, Nov. 16, 1861.
THE CONFEDERATE CRUISER SHENANDOAH (LATE
SEA KING).—We received a letter yesterday from
part of the crew of the Sea King, who returned to England
in the African steamer Calabar. The men state that the
Sea King is now called the Shenandoah, and that Captain
Semmes was pointed to them as the captain of the vessel.
They state also that the Sea King hoisted the Confederate
flag, and that one was offered £lB per month to join the
ship. After making inquiries we find that the 36 men who
returned in the Calabar hold discharges marked V. G. (very
good). Many of the
_men are members of the Total Absti-
nence Society, and therefore the charges of drunkenness
cannot apply to them. We understand several of the crew
of the Laurel were discharged for intemperance ; but we
believe the crew of the Sea King behaved themselves cre-
ditably in every respect. The men who have returned have
been well treated, end have been recompensed for their
services. The whole of the 36 men who returned in the
Calabar did not go cut in the Laurel, but shipped on board.
the Sea King from London.—Liverpool paper.
SINGULAR APPLICATION FORA SUMMONS AGAINST
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE iiRIGHTON RAILWAY COM%
rA.NY.—Yesterday at the Southwark Police-court, soon
after Mr Woolrych had taken his seat and disposed of a
few of the night charges, a gentleman entered the court,
and having handed his card to one or the ushers, stated
that he was a shareholder of the Brighton Railway Com-
pany, and ho wished his worship to grant him a summons.
against a gentleman connected with the railway for getting
out of one of the carriages while the train was in motion.
Mr Woolrych said an application had better be made by ono
' of the officers of the company in the regular way. Appli-
' cant—They will not stir in the matter, sir; the offender
is too great a man for them to interfere with. Mr Wool-
rych—Have you complained to the officers of the railway ?
Applicant—Oh yes, sir; I told them of it, and they laughed
at me, but I am determined to proceed in the matter as far
as the law allows me. Mr Woolrych—Who is the great
' offender? Applicant—Mr Leo Schuster, the chairman of
the company. When I mentioned the circumstance to one
of the officers of the company, the man said, " Oh, that's
nothing ; Mr Schuster nearly always gets out of the car-
riage while the train is in motion." Mr Woolrych—When
' did the offence occur ? Applicant—On the 10th of last
' month, and the reason I have not applied for a summons
' before is, that I have been in the country and have been
making inquiries how I should proceed. Mr Woolrych—
The time is so distant that I do not think it would
be proper to grant a summons. You ehould have
applied before. The applicant said he thought the time
did not matter. Last year he, unfortunately, was summoned
by the company for a similar offence after the lapse of a
month, and he was fined 405., which he paid. The directors
had not treated him so gentlemanly as
tolifee t•hoe mucgoht,ptahneyrefore he considered that he had a right to
summon the chairman for breaking the law. Mr Woalrych
—Then you proceed rather vindictively ? Applicant—No,
sir; but I think that what is good fur the goose is good for
the gander. (Laughter.) Mr Woolrych—l suppose you
mean by that you have been the goose ? Applicant—Well,
perhaps I do ; but you will notwithstanding grant me a
summons. Mr Woolrych— You may take your summons,
sir.

The following is an extract from a letter received
from Messrs. 11, L. Bolton and Co., La Guayra,
dated the 25th Oztober, by the General Credit and
Finance Company of London (Limited), in refe•
renco to the Vent zuelan L0an,1864 ,—" We enclose
the following statement of duties collected—No.l2,
from Puerto Cabello, 48 dole. 64c—No. 18, from
ditto, 150 dols.—No. 14, from ditto, 310 dols, 40c—
No. 6, from La Guayra, 73 dols. 62c—total, 4C•I
dols. 16e. The complete exhaustion of stocks of
produce of every description in our markets ac-
counts for the small amount of duties collected,
which is always the case during the last three
months of the year. Aire are pleased to be able to
communicate 10 you the news just received of a
peaceful arrangement concluded with the province
of Guyana, lately threatenirg sccesicn. The next
crops of cufft,e cud cotton will not brgin to r rrive
to market before the middle of January, as great
drought has much retarded it, but prospects tit°
held out twat produce will be ahuudaut,"

Artillery Experiments at Portsmouth.

The shell firing from the 70 pounder rifled guns
at the Alfred target ship was continued yesterday
under the supervision of the same members of the

special committee who were present on the previous
occasion and under the same general conditions.
Previous to the regular firing commencing however
eight of Mr Whitworth's 21 inch shells were fired

from his gun at the ship. These shells contained
each a bursting charge of 51b., just double the
bursting charge of the ordinary shell now being
tested against the Shunt and Wedge gun shells,
half a pound in excess of the bursting charge of the
Shunt shell. The weight of the 21-inch Whitworth

loaded shell does not exceed that of its ordinary

loaded shell (701 b.), although its bursting charge is
double that of the latter, this being attained by
lengthening the shell and thinning its metal, The
eight rounds were fired with the following results :
—No. 1 grazed the water 20ft. from the ship, and

burst on graze ; fuse too sensitive ; No. 2 entered
the ship and burst inboard ; N). 3 pissed through
the ship, meeting apparently with no resistance,

and continued its flight with a peculiar screaming

noise to a cmsiderable distance beyond the ship.

The fi:ing was now suspended for a time, and a
visit of inspection made to the target ship. The
ship's decks, as is usual on such occasions, had all
been carefully swept, and the splinters all removed
from them at the conclusion of the day's previous

firing, so that the results of one day's work should
not by any chance interfere with the other,
On the committee reaching the Alfred they found
that the first shell, which exploded about 20ft from
the vessel's bow, had opened a considerable frac-
ture, about 6ft. by 27ft. in the ship's external
planking, and had let daylight through the ship's
hold. The exploded shell had struck the ship just
above the water line, but the full power of the shell
had not been developed on the ship, owing to its
having burst just clear of her side, No. 2 struck
the ship's bow in a sound part—that is, unshaken
by any previous shell, haring struck in the im-
mediate vicinity—and at
.the back of a massive
wooden and ironbound knee on the lower
deck. The knee was split through, from top to
bottom, and thrown out of position. The shell
was slightly thrown out of its course by the resist*
ance it met with in the knee as it entered the ship,
and, deflecting forward, burst in the open on the
lower deck.

In this case the fuse appeared to have been scarcely
sensitive enough, as had the shell exploded on re.
ceiving its check by the knee the result would have
been made more disastrous and satisfactory. The
third shell was found to have passed through a
broken portion of the ship's side, meeting with only
just sufficient resistance to capsize it, but not to start
the fuse, and thus give it that peculiar screaming
sound spoken of as accompanying its after flight.
The committee having concluded their inspection
now returned to their station on the Erebus's decks,
and the remaining five shells were fired thus :
No. 4 burst in the ship ; No. 5 passed through the
ship, and burst on striking the water at some dia.
Lance beyond; No. 6 burst in the ship, low; No. Y
burst in the ship, apparently very high ; No. 8 burst
in the ship.

A second investigation of the target ship was now
made, and the effects of the last five shells were
found to be as follows :—No. 4 had entered the
maindeck forward in a line with the ports, crashed
through the knee of the portbitt, through the main-
deck planking, and lodging in the beam below, about
midships, had there burst and blown the beam to
pieces for about 3 feet, and bent the jagged ends
downwards. Everything near suffered, and the
general effees proved the awful havoc which must
necessarily be occasioned by the bursting of a shell
after having a complete lodgment in any solid wooden
structure. No. 5 was found to have passed through
a former shell fracture, and it therefore caused no
damage to the ship. No. 6 had entered the lower
deck, and burst about 10 feet in and clear of the
side. Part of a beam was cut away, and there
was other damage to beams and stanchions, &c. ;
but, as the shell burst in an open space, the
efforts were necessarily much less than with No, 4.
No, 7 entered the ship under the upper deck water-

ways, and entering the end of a beam there, burst,
and blew the beam for about 10ft inboard from the
ship's side into matchwood in the air above, and a
portion of the upper deck planking with it. No.
8 entered the ship just above the main deck plank.
ing, past through the fore hatchway port coamings,
and burst just the moment before striking the op-
posite coamings and a beam-end.
The results of this experimental firing with the
eight 21-inch shells gave an amount of damage far
in excess of that efficted by any other like number
of shells during the present course at the Alfred,
and this calculation includes the after firing which
took place yesterday from the three guns with
their ordinary shell, and which took place in the
following order
Wedge breechloader—shell, 41lb bursting charge
—gun's powder charge, 91b, en ricochet.—No, 1
grazed 60 yards from, and burst on ship—No. 2 hit

direct, and burst in ship—No. 3 hit direct, and
burst in ship—No. 4 struck at waterline, and burst
—No. 5 grazed 20 yards from, and burst in ship—
No. 6 grazed 10 yards from, and burst in ship—
No. 7 grazed 6 yards from, and burst in ship—No.
8 grazed 25 yards from, and burst in ship—No. 9
grazed 90 yards from, and went over ship, and did
not burst—No. 10 grazed 30 yards, and burst in
ship.

Shunt gun, muzzleloader—shell, 411 b bursting
charge—gun's powder charge, 10ib, en ricochet,
_ _ _ _

continued from three rounds fired on Monday.-

No. 4 burst prematurely 20 yards from the muzzle
of the gun—No. 5 grazed 70 yards from, and burst
in ship—No. 6 grazed GO yards from, and burst in
ship—No. 7 grazed 20 yards from, and burst in
ship—No. 8 grazed 45 yards from, and burst in ship
—No. 9 grazed 60 yards from, and burst in ship—
No. 10 burst prematurely between the muzzle of
the gun and ship.
Whitworth gun; shell, 21.1 b bursting charge;
gun's powder charge, 101 b, en ricochet —No. I

_
struck near the ship's water line, and burst inside.

No. 2 grazed 5 yards from the ship, and burst on
graze—No, 3 grazed 30 yards from ship, and burst
on graze—No. 4 hit direct, and burst very low in
ship's hold—No. 5 hit direct, and burst inside, low
down—No. 6 grazed 5 yards from ship, and burst
well inside—No. 7 grazed 90 yards_from ship, and
burst on graze.
Shunt gun, en ricochet.—No. 1 hit direct, and
burst inside—No. 2 grazed 40 yards from ship, and
burst inside—No. 3 grazed 20 yards from ship, and
burst inside—No. 4 grazed 20 yards from ship, and
burst inside—No. 5 grazed 20 yards from ship, and
burst inside—No. 6 grazed 20 yards from ship, and
burst inside.
Wedge gun, en ricochet.—No. 1 grazed 90 yards
from, and burst in ship; No. 2 grazed 5 yards from,
and burst in ship—No: 3 grazed 40 yards from, and
burst in ship—No. 4 grazed 50 yards from, and
burst in ship—No. 5 grazed 60 yards from, and
burst in ship.
The ship vas, by the time the last shell was fired,
nearly a ruin above water, and at the same time
barely afhat. On her port side, or that she pre-
sented to the gunboat, there were several holes near
the water line made by the shells from the shunt
and wedge guns, while on the opposite side one of
the Wt.itworth small shells had burst against the
inner planking on the bow, and, like the shell from
the shunt gnu on the previous day, had opened a
hole, the low,:r edge of which was just awash with
the water line, so that one of the launch's crew
might easily have crawled through from the boat
into the ship's hold. Uuder these circumstances, it
became impossible to heel the ship over either way,
and she thus presented a striking illustration of a
ship with a hole punched in each of her sides near
her water line of too severe a nature to admit of
temporary repairs, and whoec captain must feel
under such circumstances that whatever his next
manalvre might be his chip must inevitably sink
from under him and his crew, and the only chance
of safety lay in hauling down his ship's colours and
abandoning his luckless ship to her fate.
The special committee found themselves in a
somewhat similar position yesterday at the close of
the firing we have recorded, and the hauling down
of their ensign on board the Erebus signalled
" cease bring," and it will most probably not be

resumed until the Alfred has been placed in dock
and her damages at and near waterline tempora•
rily repaired. This will, it is expected, aceom•
plished by Friday next.