The Sun.
London, England, 1823-12-22 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

WrwcHEs.rEtt, Ret% ID, 103.
Ma. EDITOR-Ott reading, yesterday evening,
the following lines in Rukeir y, concerning pertranes cOnfeision to 'Wilfred, of his attempt to asssesinate Morthem, entl,,nhich he thought he hAd completed; I could not help comparing the
confesion of Pallet to the other,--arul were it not for the ob.
serrations of Air. Justice PA Ri I would mention another name
Also.

" The pow'r within the goilty breoN
Oft vanquisli'd, never quite suppressid,
Thnt tinsubdied and lurking lies
To take the rt.:r.crs by eurprise, And force him, as by magic spell,
In his despite his guilt to tell."
Fokeby, Canto H.. Part 19, line 7, ..Cc.c.)
In a note,on part of these lines- tile learned Author has told
the well-known story, of the confession of Houseman who
impeached his accomplice tugene Aram a Selloolltnatkr, and
who was taken up, tried, eitecuted, and bong in chains in
Knaresborough Poreet, , for the murder of Daniel ,Clarke. A:
fuller account of the tiariV trantiection may he, Antral in ,Se,'ol.
kW. Instory of .Mitlahl in the Record. of the rear 1,769.
• There are some particulars of the hitter days. of John Aitken.
(eornmonly callei...hifk the Painter), •. who wen execrated at
Portsmouth for setting fire to the hemp in the rope waleate the
Deck. yard' there, which' ere tent known. Jack had escaped tt)
within a short elistancaftent Reading, •wheti he' wee taken up
and put into. Reading Jail on enspicion of. having rernmiteld it
robbery near to the place where he was taken up. Whenever a
man is taken,up and put in jail,• it is tnett,mary- for the jailor
to ask questions of trim and endeavour to find out while he
comes from, iSic.e but Jiiek.Was so remarkably. di 4e, that no-
thing could be elicited from him ; en. which the j3ilor wrotc to
the then Secretary of State and told him. him suspicions about
him, who ordered ..040 Williott)',Baltlwin . to bit ivent ;down to
Reading Jail, and who soon got 00 intimate with,Jarktbat by
told hitn all the particulars of his life, by which': ineane every
circumstance wan proved sotisfaterily -against. him 4 '4 ha so in.
4,tuttd wiws Jack with this Pahl wen,. that abbot:girlie' Was
told the night before his ter t 1 - that Ihildwin „was in, the
town,' he said, 1' Aye, very likelyy he is my particuler
friend, and, i 3 ,colne,out of curiosity,to hear bey trial't'' iltte Oil
.Bahlwin's ,being called into the box as 4 .witri otii tiftliti lila him
'Jack stepped back, and odd to o persen who war i the pound,
and whom he knew, " I am'n dead man-1 'sett nil through it
now." Vet to this very person before he wax pot -en ltie trial,.
he deehired his innect.nce, and said that he. *hook, be tic.
quitted.
~, . ..
I recollect being present at an inrestigationinto n trz•rs te.
tion. which several petsona: were, charged • WithAtoving vont-
Mined ; they were called in separately,,,atti told of thew noieionti
opines each as he was called : every
.one most solemnly - de-
dared his innocence ;. but ' one --ndsied; and I can etv,,r 'be
convicted of it. It woe 'quilt certeinthet one 'those examined'
must have done. it ; the word (0 st viel,gn toe k . tut :ill os
negative confestilen t we thyght /lett if tie ad not tione it,lw
would riot- have used .tha erne , Ile w' hatenWly Isteliched,
when such strong cpreolierative facts vitre noticediothat,,in a
few days after, being told- .of the wt.ole, 4eftiecienceatered him
so strongly lit the thee, that he made a full confession, which.
.
cleared all the rest.

I am, your%