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London, England, 1846-08-29 00:00:00

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,r-, -„,,..,-- r "I' AUGUST 29, 1846.

THE LATE MURDER AT GUILD-

HALL COFFEE-ROUSE.
A meeting of gentlemen took place yesterday after-
noon, at the Guildhall Coffee-house, for the purpose of
petitioning the Home Secretary for a mitigation of the
sentence of death pronounced upon Smith, the cook at
the Guildhall Coffee-house, for the murder of Susan Tel-
leday. Amongst those present were—Mr. Alderman
Sidney (in the chair), John Wilson, Esq., W. J. Wil-
kinson, Esq., W. Thornborrow, Esq., J. 11. Croucher,
Esq., J. Jones, Esq., J. Brewer, Esq., R. Phillips, Esq.,
James Millar, E-q., J. Millard, Esq., J. M. Barnard,
Esq., Rogers, Esq., W. Austin, Esq., &c.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings of the
meeting, said, they might perhaps regret that in a case
of such great importance and interest there was not a
more numerous attendance, but experience had shown
that in cases of this kind persons were apt to consider
that it formed no immediate business of individuals, and
consequently, instead of coming forward to make inqui •
ries upon the subject, they were apt to look to the papers
for all such information. After thanking the gentlemen
of the press for their attendance, the worthy Alderman
proceeded to say, that he had been solicited in the early
part of this weak to join a few gentlemen in their en-
deavour to obtain a mitigation of the sentence upon
the unfortunate convict Smith, from the extreme
penalty of the law, to banishment. It had not ori-
ginally been their intention to hold a public meeting
upon the subject, but still, in a metropolis like this,
it was impossible to communicate their intentions
to each other, and ascertain those who might
wish to assist them, without doing so, therefore had they
assembled that morning, with a view of 'saving the law
from an act of violence, and mitigating a sentence which
would be proved to be much more severe than the case
deserved. It had been his lot to sec many persons con.
victed of murder, and he could not help saying that, in
this case, to him there appeared to have been a total ab-
sence of motive, except that of sudden and irresistible
provocation. Every one present was, no doubt, well ac-
quainted with the circumstances attending this painful
occurrence, but they could not be acquainted with those
facts which came more particularly under the cognisance
of those who had been admitted into the cell of the con-
demned man. He might state that at the trial, plain as
the facts were, the jury took upwards of one hour to re-
turn their verdict, and a more respectable jury he be-
lieved never occupied a place in the Central Criminal
Court. They had since declared, that had there been
any evidence to prove that a blow had been struck by
deceased, they would have brought in a verdict of man-
slaughter. It was for that apparent inconsistency that
he (Alderman Sidney) asked the meeting to go hand in
hand with him to try if they could not get the sentence
of death mitigated. The prisoner, when placed in Gilt-
spur-street Compter, fully admitted his guilt to the turn-
key in charge of his cell, stating that he should not make
any defence, and he appeared anxious to unburden his
mind by conversing upon the subject. He said that the
unfortunate occurrence would not have taken place had
not deceased struck him first as he passed by her, ac-
companying the blow with the most vile expressions.
Did not this circumstance show that he had had great
provocation? And this confession was made on the
evening before his trial, and again stated when there
was not the slightest hope of it doing him any good. He
did think that as the prisoner had been condemned upon
his own admissions, he ought to have the benefit of the
provocation to the crime. On this point the law was
clear and explicit, and certainly no one could complain
of the summing up of the Learned Judge. The worthy
Alderman here cited two cases of murder which had
come under that merciful judge, the Lord Chief Justice
Tindal, in which the sentence of death had not been
passed, though the cases appeared to be subjects much
less for merciful consideration than the present. In one
of them a man, Hayward by name, and a butcher by
trade, having received provocation from a young man
who, by order of his mother, had turned Hayward out
of the shop, ran some hundred yards and fetched a knife,
with which he returned, and after exchanging a few
angry words stabbed the offender so that he died in•
stantly. Now, the prisoner Smith was a lawful cook,
and engaged at his occupation with a knife in his hand.
Deceased was also at work in the kitchen. Some angry
works were spoken, and a quarrel ensued, when much
exciting language was used by the deceased. At length
the ptisoner happening to pass the deceased with some
scrapings of fat, which he was about to throw into a re-
ceptacle for such things, the latter took the opportunity
to strike him, at the same time addressing him by a
most odious epithet. The prisoner, exasperated to
the highest pitch at her conduct, in a moment of pas-
sion, laid hold of her hair and committed the deed
for which he had been sentenced to death, and which he
had not attempted to conceal. Now, they had not met
there that day out of consideration of the feelings of
that man ; for he had, by his own act, brought upon
himself the penalty of his crime ; but the question was,
should they be justified in straining the law in a case of
this kind ; and was it to be said that they endeavoured
to put an end to this crime by the degrading public ex-
hibition of an execution ? He himself had once thought
that the word of God ordained that he who took the life
of another should die by the hand of man. He had
held this opinion for a long time, but upon searching
and examining the recorded word of God as far as
was in his power upon the subject, he had, indeed,
found that the Almighty justified man in punishing
man for any great crime, still he found no law which
established the necessity of carrying out the
vengeance to its full ; and he thought that
man should be guided in these matters, not
only by the light of his own understanding, but also
by the superior light of Holy Writ. The Chair
man here gave his opinions upon public executions. He
said that they had the most demoralising effect upon
thousands of our countrymen, for instead of touching
them with horror at the sight, it merely hardened their
hearts to crime, and made them less careful of shedding
the blood of their fellow-creatures. The man Connor
had been a witness of the execution of Tapping, and
only a few days after himself committed one of the most
horrible, cold-blooded murders a man could be guilty
of. In the case of Wicks, too, the murderer had seen
several executions, and in one instance had even paid
half-a-crown for a place in a window nearly opposite
the scaffolding. Indeed he (Alderman Sidney) could
state, on very good authority, that, out of sixty-six
executions at the Old Bailey, sixty-three of the male-
factors had witnessed prior executions. At the time
when Tapping was hanged, he went down to the Old
Bailey on purpose to see what effect it had upon
the populace, and it would be impossible for him to
describe the disgusting and abominable scenes that met
his eye, and the profane language which greeted his
ears. He could not help thinking, that for every public
execution upwards of a thousand human beings were
corrupted and hardened. Now, in the case of the un-
fortunate man Tappin, he denied his guilt up to the
' last moment. It was the painful duty of the sheriffs to
precede the culprit from the prison to the plane of exe-
cution. On this occasion the colleague of Sheriff Sid.
ney had turned away and left them, when Tapping,
addressing the latter, said 119 hoped that he was not
going too, as he wished to say something to him.
After the man had bowed three times to the

TUTION.

multitude, who greeted him with three times three,
and called him " a brave fellow," and " a trump of a
fellow," with many similar expressions, he turned round
to Mr. Sidney, and said that "he hoped he should be
forgiven as he forgave everybody, and that his sentence
was a just one." So far from these scenes passing off in
silence, the culprit was treated by the mob as if he were
a successful candidate at an election, and with much the
same feeling. He had said this much, in order to show
the inefficacy of executions by law in preventing crime;
and he thought he had shown sufficient to convince them
that the law would gain nothing in carrying out this
sentence in its extreme rigour, for while such sights
were demoralising to the public, this case, upon its own
merits, demanded their greatest and warmest sympathy;
because, as the man had been convicted upon his own
testimony, they ought to give him the benefit of the
provocation also upon his own testimony; for he (Mr.
Alderman Sidney) would defy any casuist in the world
to bring forward another reason. The Chairman here
read several letters bearing upon the case, one of which,
from a clsrgyman at Norfolk, stated the family of the
prisoner to be very respectable and honest, though poor,
and most of them living in that county. It also
spoke of a petition that was in progress to the Home
Secretary for the mitigation of the sentence, and
suggested the idea of a similar course being adopted
in London. Another note, addressed to Mr. Sidney
by Mr. Walter, the proprietor of the hotel, was also
read, in which Mr. Walter said, that on the
arrival at home on the evening of August 25, he had
been much astonished to hear that some party had ac-
cused him of having said that Smith (his late cook) had
thrown a knife at one of his fellow-servants. He begged
to contradict the assertion, and to say that it was a pal-
pable falsehood, and he hoped to have the opportunity of
meeting the party who had so used his name. A letter
was also read from Mr. Gurney, of the Society of
Friends, commending the steps that wero being taken.
Alderman Sidney remarked that, unfortunately, vague
reports had been spread, which had received the charac-
ter of evidence, and it had been told to the Learned
Judge that this was not the first offence on the part of
the unfortunate man Smith. It was said that he had
previously hurled a knife at one of his fellow-servants,
and the Learned Judge, on hearing this, shrugged his
shoulders, and said he was afraid it was not a case to
recommend to mercy. He (Mr. Sidney) was happy to
say that there was not the slightest foundation for
these reports. Smith had once scratched" the arm of
one of the girls with a tin cover, but so trifling was it
that it was not worthy of remark. In a letter from
Mr. Walter to Mr. Baron Platt, it appeared that the
former had put some questions to this servant with re-
gard to Smith's conduct on that occasion, at the same
time he asked her if she were willing to sign a petition,
signed by Mrs. 'Walter, his wife, and all the servants,
of the establishment, praying for a mitigation of the
sentence. The girl replied:she would willingly sign it,
She spoke of deceased as being a most violent, ill-tem-
pered, and aggravating girl, and that the language she
made use of-was unfit to repeat. It was not for the pur-
pose of heaping calumny upon the poor girl who was
(lead that these things were brought forward, for every
Christian must feel deep sorrow for her miserable fate,
but it was for the purpose of showing the circumstances
which attended the perpetration of the crime, and upon
the strength of them to humbly aslt hpr Majesty's inter-
ference on behalf of the co4deqqued nistif, and to stwe

PRICE SD.

the public from that disgusting scene, which was neither
consistent with the law itself, nor consistent with justice.
The Chairman here concludel, and from till expressions
of the meeting they appeared to acquiesce entirely in the
observations of the worthy alderman.
Mr. THORNBORROW then rose to put a resolution, but
before doinc, so he read over the terms of a petition
drawn up by Mr. Walter, and signed by himself and
family, as well as all the servants of the establishment,
for the mitigation of the sentence of Smith, by reason
of the provocation he had received. It described
him as having lived seventeen years in tho family
of Mr. Walter, at the Guildhall Hotel, and gave him an
mexceptionable character up to the time of the crime he
-had committed. Mr. Thornborrow suggested that a
similar petition should be drawn up and left at the
Guildhall Coffee-house to be signed by the public, and
afterwards forwarded to the Home Secretary, aed he
had no doubt that with that, the petition from Nor-
wich, and Mr. Walters, with the assistance of the So-
ciety of Friends, they would be enabled to procure a
mitigation of the sentence. A- resolution was then pro-
posed, embodying the -above suggestions, and it was
seconded by
Mr. MILLARD, who supported the resolution, and
said that it would be important to show that the man
had the good opinion of all his fellow-servants up to the
time when, by reason of much provocation, he had coin-
mitted the crime for which he was condemned. After a
few other remarks, Mr. M. read the terms of the peti-
tion, which he thought, with a little modification, might
be left for signature in Mr. Walters's house.
A sub-committee was then formed, and the petition
revised and altered, to be ready for signature at ten
o'clock this mcrning, at the Guildhall Coffee-house.
Previously, however, to the revision of the petition, a
unanimous vote of thanks was given to the Chairman,
who having acknowledged the compliment, the meeting
broke up. •

ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTI-

Those who are interested in the subject of lamps and
improved gas burners would do well to attend ono of
Dr. John Ryan's excellent lectures at the above esta-
blishment, on the subject of artificial light. So clear and
defiaed is the learned Doctor's method of handling the
subject, that dull indeed must be the comprehension of
that man who fails to become master of the theory of
combustion and luminous flame. In these lectures Dr.
Ryan is very careful in pointing out the laws of combus-
tion, the nature of our hydrocarbons, and the necessity
for the presence of solid matter in flame in order that
light may be produced. His experiments in proof
of these positions were certainly most apt and successful,
and, especially the separation of solid carbon from
olefiant gas, elicited loud and continued applause. We
could not help noticing, however, that the necessary
exhalation of the mixed gases in the experiment caused
the learned gentleman most acute pain. In fact we
learnt, with great regret, that so enthusiastic is the
Doctor, and so venturesome, that more than once hehas had
to be carried home after a lecture of this kind. In the
other portions of the institution we find there are still.
frequent accessions of new and interesting objects.
Among other useful and ingenious models is one of Mr.
Charles Lewis's Phenedirective Shower baths, certainly
one of the most scientific applications we have yet seen,
and one which will deserve the patronage of the medical
profession.

HIGHLAND COMPETITION,
SPORTS, &c., AT FORT-WILLIAM.
(From the Inverness Courier.)
The Highland Society of London lately advertised a
series of prizes for various objects connected with the
Highland dress, Gaelic songs, games, &c., in order to
keep alive that Celtic enthusiasm still characteristic of
a large portion of our countrymen. The competition
was fixed to take place at Fort-William on Thursday
last, and a great concourse of persons assembled on the
occasion. Among those present were—Glenaladale,
Ardshiel, Ballachulish, Mr. Walker of Lochtreig, Mr.
Cameron, yr. of Inveracord, Sheriff Fraser, Mr. Aneas
Macdonnell, advocate, Mr. Man (the well.known and
able artist), Captain Stewart, R.N., Colonels Ross,
Cameron, Cochrane, and Campbell, Mr. Macgregor,
banker, Mr. Macdonald, &c. Even Ewen Macphee, the
well-known singular outlaw, left his solitary fastness at
Glenquoich to be present at the animating scene, and
appeared highly delighted with it. The number of
spectators was'estimated at from 3,000 to 4,000, and a
considerable proportion of the men were arrayed in the
Highland dress. The scene of action was the fine
smooth beach near the Fort, and surrounded with mag-
nificent Highland scenery—with Loch-Eil, Ben-Nevis,
&c.—a finer spot could not have been selected for such
a display. A number of ladies and gentlemen were
seated on the ramparts of the Fort, which commanded
an excellent view of the whole. Fortunately, the
weather was favourable.
Nine prizes were announced to the best-dressed High-
landers who had for the longest time worn the kilt as an
habitual garb, and to those who became bound hence-
forth to wear it habitually. The first of these prizes
was awarded to a genuine mountaineer, Donald Mac-
donald, who never wore trousers but on one occasion,
when, after two hours' trial, he felt so uncomfortable
that he took them off, and carried them on his shoulder !
The other prizes were distributed after careful delibera-
tion, and a list of the whole will be found below. The
competition for Highland dancing excited much interest;
and Gillie Callum was admirably danced by two young
men, Stewart and Mackenzie, between whom the judges
found it difficult to decide. M. Mackinnon, the post-
master of Fort Augustus, obtained a prize for his dress
of home-made Tartan, and also distinguished himself by
his vigour and activity in dancing a reel into which he
was forced by his friends. Throwing the hammer,
putting the stone, and other sports, afforded
much interest, and there were two excellent
races on foot—a long and short one. They
were run round the parade ground—the long race four
times, and the short race once round. For the long race
there started four Highlanders and a gentleman's ser-
vant; the latter was very soon distanced by his compe-
titors in the kilt. Swifter running we never witnessed.
Before beginning the last round only two were on the
field. One of these was known as Ceann Ruadh, and
the other as Ceann Dubh, from the colour of their hair.
Ceann Debit ran fastest at first, Ceann Ruadh not seem-
at first to exert himself till about the middle of the last
round, then putting forth his strength, he overtook and
distanced his antagonist. This part of the scene was
most animating, and created all the excitement of a
steeple chase. Prizes were offered to the two best-dressed
Highland women in Highland fashion and homemade
materials, and four competitors appeared. Their decent
comfortable appearance and modest demeanor excited
universal admiration, and prizes were awarded to the
whole four. If maidens competed annually for these
prizes, the premium would form no bad recommenda-
tion by way of tocher; for taste, industry, and economy,
are equally manifested by the competition! The exhi-
bition of games, &c., terminated about five o'clock, and
during the whole day the interest in the proceedings was
unabated.