The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-29 00:00:00

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NEWSPAPER

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The proposed inquiry by
tendence into the ciretunsta..
escape of James Stephens fro. nun
-w"k has collapsed. .The board it at &Crock
(:,„ys Saunders' News) on "Wednesday, at the Bride-
well, for the purpose of holding the investigation ;
and the following summary of what took place on
the occasion will show the reason why the inquiry
was not proceeded with, and of the opinions ex-
pressed on the subject by the several members. The
chair was occupied by the Lord Mayor, who, in
opening the proceedings, said that he did not feel
that the board were in the position of persons who
were blameable in this matter, and he expressed his
opinion that
.in conducting the inquiry they should
simply confine themselves to vindicating the cha.
racier of the board, without casting censure upon
the Government. —Mr. Magrath did not think it
possible they could carry on an investigation with-
out implicating others.--Mr. Casson said it was
not the intention of the board to cast censure on
the Government, but having regard to the facts
that they • had been refused a copy of the en-
tries...taken "by the inspectors-general of prisons,
and that one of their privileges had been
drawn„ they were bound to take every. means to
remove. the censures which had been cast upon them.
—Mr. Devittexpressed his concurrence in what had
fallen from the Lord Mayor, and his belief that the
board would be able to vindicate all its proceedings
in the most complete manner.—Alderman M'Swiney
said they should seek the truth, and they would
accordingly be obliged to say which of three parties
—namely, the Government, the governor who was
appointed by the Government, or the board of
superintendence—was to blame.—Alderman Tarpey
complained that the board had been insulted, and
said he would reserve to himself the right of judging
as to who was accountable for the escape of Stephens.
Mr. Martin, secretary to the boaid,paentioned, at.
thd request *et' the 'Lord Mayer, that a notice of the
-
intention to hold the inquiry had been given to Mr
Gavin, the local inspector; Mr. Marquis, the late
governor ; Philpotts, the deputy governor;
Mr. Maher, the warder ; the night watchman, ands
the police who were on duty on the night of Stephens's
escape, with an intimation of the necessity of their
attending ; and he read a letter from the office of
the inspectors-general of prisons to the effect that
they did not feel it their duty to attend the inquiry.
—Mr. R. D. Kane, solicitor, said he attended on
the part of 1111. Marquis, the late governor, who,
without meaning the slightest disrespect to the board,
and with every desire to afford all the 'information
in his power to the board, had been advised to de-
cline attending to give evidence, for the following
reasons—first, that he was the principal witness in
a criminal prosecution against one of the officers of
the prison, who was committed on a charge of as-
sisting in the escape of Stephens ; secondly, that he
had been already examined by the Inspectors-Gene-
ral of Prisons who had taken evidence from him on
oath, a copy of which evidence he had been re-
fused ; and, thirdly, that the copy of his journal
and other material documents were not in his pos-
session. Alderman M'Swiney said under those
circumstances to proceed with the inquiry that day
would be like the play without the character of
Hamlet.—Mr. Devitt concurred in this view, and
mentioned that Mr. Philpotts, the deputy-governor,
was at present in Scotland, giving evidence in a
criminal trial. He moved that the inquiry be ad-
journed sine die. Mr. O'Brien seconded the resolu-
tion. Alderman M'Swiney, Mr. Devitt, and Mr.
O'Brien expressed their belief that the public would
be of opinion that the board had done all they could
to vindicate themselves, and that the obstacles they
had met in so doing were a perfect justification for
their not proceeding any further that day. Mr.
Magrath did not at all concur in this view, believing
that there existed abundance of documentary and
other evidence which it was in the powerof theboard
to adduce. Ile moved that they proceed with the
evidence at their command. Alderman Tarpey
seconded the amendment. The local inspector, he
said, was present, and could be examined. lle
(Alderman Tarpey) thought, with Mr. Magrath,
that the public would not be sstisficd unless the
board took the course indicated in the amendment.
Alderman Atkinson did not believe that the public
in general looked upon the beard as being blameable
in reference to the escape of Stephens. Ile thought
it would be unwise to proceed with the inquiry that
day under the circumstances. Mr. Casson was also
in favour of an adjournment. The Lord Mayor,
before putting the amendment, said he had no doubt
that the inquiry at present would be ineffectual. Ho
considered Mr. Marquis an essential witness, and
the documentary evidence would keep until the
proper time for holding the inquiry had arrived.
The amendment was then put and negatived by a
majority of 6 to 2, the members voting for it being
Alderman Tarpey and Councillor Magrath ; and
those against it Alderman Atkinson and M'Swiney.;
Councillors Deivtt, Casson, O'Brien, and the Lord
Mayor. The motion for adjournment sine die was
then declared carried, and the board rose. •

The Attempted Suicide of a Prisoner.

A second edition of the Leeds Mercury of Tues -
day says :—" We published this morning, so far as
we had been able to gather them, the circumstances
connected with the attempt to destroy himself mado
by Sykes, who is at present confined at Armley
under sentence of death for the murder of Hannah
Brook. We have since obtained some additional
and more accurate particulars. The prisoner,
after his conviction, was placed in the cell which
was occupied by Sargisson, one of the men exe-
cuted after the first asszes held in Leeds. This is a
corner cell of the first storey, and is appropriated as
the condemned cell because of its being somewhat
larger than the others, and being therefore better
suited for the reception of more than one inmate.
The rule adopted by Mr. Keane, the governor, in
such cases is to place a warder in the cell with the
condemned prisoner. The cell is ,doubly locked
from the outside, and it is the duty of any person
leaving it to see that the door it properly secured.
On Saturday evening the chaplain of the gaol, in
the discharge:of his solemn duty to condemned men,
visited Skyes. During his visit the warder continued
in charge. The rev. gentleman retired from the cell
about half-past six o'clock. By some inadvertence
the door was slightly left open, and Sykes seems to h aye
been ready to avail himself of the first opportunity
which presented itself of escaping from the awful
death which ho knew awaited him, rushed past the
warder, ran up to the second landing, and deli-
berately threw himself over the balustrades to the
floor beneath, the fall being about 25 or or 26 feet.
The officer in charge having recovered from the
surprise which the conduct of Sykes had produced
ran to his assistance, and found him lying insensible.
He was taken up and conveyed to his cell, and Mr.
Price, the surgeon of the gaol, and subsequently
Mr. Wheelhouse, were called in. Sykes regained
consciousness in about half-an-hour, and, although
seriously injured, he is not, it will be seen, from thy
letter we subjoin, in that hopeless condition which
the exaggerated reports which have been circulated
might lead the public to suppose :—‘ Having ob-
served the paragraph in the Leeds Mercury of this
morning respecting the injuries sustained by Sykes
at the gaol, 1 regret that your informant was not
careful to ascertain the true facts of the case. I
have only to do with its medical aspect. Both legs
are not shattered from the ankles to the knees.
The feet have sustained some injury; in the left
ankle there is a compound fracture of one of the
bones, and there is some contusion and a small
wound of the right. Not only is the brain not ex-
posed, as stated, but it is yet doubtful whether the
skull is seriously fractured at all. So far from his
being at present insensible, he never was so for mein}
than half-an-hour, and he is now perfectly clear
and intelligent.—l am, &c., %\TM. NICHOLSON PRICE,
Surgeon. Borough Gaol, Leeds, Dec. 26.' "

Two hundred convicts have just left France for
New Caledonia. The first cargo sailed last year, and con-
sisted of 72 assassins, 115 robbers, with a fair sprinkling of
men convicted of forgery, indecent assaults, and other
offences. These figures prove that capital punishment,
though it may be awarded by a majority of seven to five in
the jury-room, is the exception, and not the rule, where
murder has been proved.