The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-14 00:00:00

EXECUTION OF PALMER,

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

STAFFORD, SATURDAY, JUNE 14.
At 8 o'clock this morning William Palmer was
executed in front of the County Gaol in this town
for the murder of John Parsons Cook.
He denied the justice of his sentence to the last,
but in a manner which left the impression on all
who heard him that he had something on his mind
which ho would not disclose. Contrary to all
usage he was hung in the prison dress, but that was
not intended as an indignity, and simply aroso from
the circumsttuce that the clothes in which he
was tried were left in London, and no others
had been since supplied to him. His bearing in
the last supreme moment of his life elicited the
amazement of all who witnessed it. When the
fatal hour arrived, and the melancholy procession
was formed which conducted him from his cell to
his doom, he marched along with a jaunty air
and a tripping gait, and, though the distance be
had to traverse was considerable, he maintained
this bold front to the last, stepped lightly up the
stairs leading to the gallows, took his place on the
drop, and confronted the vast multitude below,
not without emotion, but without anything like
bravado. The work of the executioner was coolly
and skilfully performed, and the culprit died in a
few moments, and almost without a struggle.
From 20,000 to 30,000 people, from the whole
surrounding neighbourhood, assembled to witness
the spectacle, and their demeanour was marked
on the whole by unusual order. Barriers were
erected at intervals in the different thoroughfares
leading to the gaol to lessen the pressure of the
crowd, and 160.-of the county constabulary, under
the direction of Mr. Hatton, the chief constable,
were stationed in companies at all the salient
points in the vicinity to maintain order, assisted
by 150 special constables, sworn to act on
the occasion. It rained heavily and incessantly
nearly the whole night. So early as 9 o'clock in
the evening a great crowd, in spite of the rain,
had taken up all the best positions in front of the
barriers, with the intention of remaining until
morning, but the comfortless state of the weather
gradually wore out their patience, and before mid-
night they had almost wholly dispersed, while for
an hour or two afterwards only a few policemen
were to be seen on the ground. As the morning
advanced, however, the people poured into the
town in great force, and kept constantly increas-
ing as the hour fixed for the execution drew near.
In the dead of night the scaffold, a huge mov-
able machine, was drawn up in front of the en-
trance of the prison, and placed in position.
About seven o'clock last night Thomas and
George Palmer, the brothers of the culprit, visited
him for the last time, accompanied by Miss Palmer,
his sole surviving sister, and the interview lasted

several hours.
Yesterday morning Mr. Smith, his solicitor,
was summoned by telegraph from London to
Stafford, at Palmer's earnest request, and he ar-
rived here at half-past 10 o'clock last night, and
had an interview with the convict, in the presence
of Major Fulford, the Governor of the gaol.
The prisoner had declined to retire to rest
until Smith came, and from that circumstance
and the anxiety he had shown to have him sent
for it was supposed that he had some important
communication to make to him ; but it was not
so. On going into the cell, the Governor in-
formed 'Palmer that if he had anything con-
fidential to say on family affairs to Mr. Smith,
he (the Governor) would keep it a secret.
The prisoner replied that he had not, and he
hoped the Governor would lose no time in
publishing all he said. He also added, all he
had to say was to thank Mr. Smith for his great
exertions--the officers of the prison fur their
kindness to him—and that Cook did not die from
strychnine. Major Fulford expressed a hope that
in his then awful condition he was not quibbling
with the question, and urged him to say "Aye"
or " No," whether or not he murdered Cook. He
answered directly that Lord Campbell " summed
up for poisoning by strychnine." The Governor
retorted, it was of no importance how the deed
was done, and asked him to say yes or no to the
question.

Palmer said he had nothing more to add. He
was quite easy in his conscience, and happy in his
mind. This is the governor's version of the con
versation ; but upon the material point Mr.
Smith stated last night, just after leaving the con-
vict, that what Palmer said to him was, " I am
innocent of poisoning Cook by strychnine; and
all I ask is, that you will have his body examined,
and that you will see to my mother and boy."
This unfortunate child, it may be remarked,
,was ry:en yesterday engaged in an innocent gambol
with his nurse at a window of his grandmother's
house at Rugeley overlooking the public road,
wholly unconscious of his father's fate, and little
reckoning that on the morrow his own orphanage
would be completed. The brother and sister
lingered in his cell until nearly midnight, when
they embraced him for the last time with an in-
tensity of agony it were difficult to describe.
Tee convict retired to rest early in the morning,
and slept two hours and a half, when he was
visited again by Mr. Goodacre, the chaplain; be-
tween 5 and 6 he had soma tea, but without eat-
ing anything with it. The chaplain saw him re-
peatedly until the hour of his execution, accom-
panied by the Rev. Mr. Sneyd, a clergyman in I
the neighbourhood, who had visited him once or
twice during the week. Shortly after 7 he had
another cup of tea, and to the turnkey who gave
it him, and who asked him how he wag, he re-
plied he was quite comfortable. As he was about
to leave his cell for the last time, he said, in reply
to the High Sheriff, that ho denied the justice of
his sentence, and asserted that he was a murdered

man. These were about the last words he ui

;ered.

Palmer was received with a deafening round of
curses, shouts, hootings, oaths, and execrations--
cries, shrieks, groans, rose from the raging mob.
The populace, infuriated, tore the air with cla
mours—" Murderer !" "Poisoner !" " Blood !"
were loudly shouted and screamed in hideous
mockery. The miners and colliers seemed mad-
dened with excitement.
The prison bell tolled forth the hour of his irre-
vocable doom, and in a few minutes he had for-
feited his life for a foul and atrocious murder,
with which his name will ever be identified in the
criminal history of this country.

PALUEIt AT TWELVE O'CLOCK LAST
NIG
Mr. John Smith, of Birmingham, remained in London
yeSterday until the latest moment, endeavouring to oh
taro a respite. lie then, at the earnest solicitation of
the prisoner, started for Stafford ;. but being too late for
the Express Train from London, he proceeded to Wol-
verhampton, whence he posted to Stafford Gaol.
It was half past ten at night before be arrived. The
result of his interview with the condemned man is stated
in the following telegraphic despatch, which reached a
friend in London at half-past one :
" My interview ended in Palmer's making me pledge
myself that Cook's body should be exhumed, and that he
was never poisoned by strychnia. Palmer was as cool,
as though any ordinary question had been discussed.
"God help him !"

Whatever hopes STAFFORD, Friday Evening.
the: Week that the exertions of William Palaver'smight have been entertained early in

to obtain a respite of his sentence, would be crowned
with success, are now dissipated. There appears to be
no doubt that, in a few hours from this time, the wretch-
ed criminal will cease to exist. Whether the tale of
the Rugeley mysteries will receive any solution by the
death of the chief culprit remains to be seen. The pro-
bability, however, is that Palmer will make no confes-
sion. He still asserts his innocence' of the crime of
murder ; and the gaol chaplain and Mr. Wright, of
Birmingham—the latter a gentleman who humanely,
devotes his time to visiting the various prisons through-
out the kingdom—agree in thinking that he will carry
his secret with him to the grave. Palmer's manner
since his return to Stafford has not been such as to give
any hope that he has turned his attention to the true
nature of his awful position. Nothing seems to impress
him with the fact that, in a few hours, he must meet
his doom. He still clings to the hope that he must be
respited, and that at the eleventh hour the Government
will interfere in his behalf, and direct his life to be spared
until further experiments have been made to determine
the presence of strychnine in organic life. When rea-
soned with on the extreme improbability of such an
event, and pressed to disclose his crime, he repeats his
declaration that he has nothing to disclose, and that,
whatever his offences have been, he has never taken
away human life. The Rev. Mr. Goodacre, the gaol
chaplain, and the Rev. Mr. Atkinson, the vicar of
Rugeley, visited him yesterday, and remained with him
for a considerable time. The latter gentleman called
five times in the course of the day ; Mr. Wright also
called, and it is understood that Palmer, while persist-
ing in his innocence, let fall an observation from
which it was inferred that he might possibly make some
statement to the public on the morning of his execution.
Re continues to sleep with composure, and to eat his
meals with an appetite. The attendiate express their
surprise that a man in the position of Meier should he
able to sleep as he does for many hours together without
interruption. He has occupied himself lately reading
the Bible, and has attended the daily services in the
chapel. Major Fulford, the governor of the gaol, re-
ceived some intelligence from the Home-office on Wed-
nesday evening, which induced him to communicate
with the prisoner's brothers, Mr. George Palmer of
Rugeley, and the Rev. Thomas Palmer, of Lichfield,
both of whom had an interview-with the prisoner yester-
day. A person named Heywood, who married one of
Palmer's sisters (since deceased), was also admitted to
an interview.
The execution, which is to take place at eight o'clock
to-morrow morning, has excited an extraordinary amount
of interest in the Midland counties. The last execution at
Staffordtook place about fouryearaago, when a man named
Moore, a " tramp," was hanged for the murder of an
old man and woman, at a place called Ashflat, two miles
from the town. The murder was perpetrated with great
atrocity, the culprit having endeavoured to conceal his
crime by burning the dwelling of his victims. The
crowd collected on that occasion exceeded 30,000 per-
sons; but it is believed that the multitude which will
pour into the town to-night will far exceed that number.
The inhabitants occupying houses in the neighbourhood
of the gaol have made extensive arrangements to meet
the public demand for seats. The building is, to a
great extent, isolated ; and, as few houses overlook the
principal entrance in front of which the drop is to be
erected, scaffoldings, with raised seats, have been con-
structed in the adjoining gardens. Tne owners of the
property state that, in consequence of the very confined
space in front of the gaol, the crowd will take
possession of their gardens in irresistible force, and
that any attempt to exclude them by violent means
will be out of the question. Under these
circumstances, they intend to make a virtue of ne-
cessity, and submit with composure to the sacrifice of
their vegetables and currant bushes. Fruit trees and
gooseberry bushes have been ruthlessly cut down, to
leave an uninterrupted view of the spectacle ; stages are
erected with ascending rows of seats, at every point from
which a glimpse can be obtained ; and scant ing have
been placed on the roofs and parapets of the houses, to
give greater accommodation to the more enthusiastic
portion of the multitude. The authorities connected
with the gaol delayed the final arrangements for the
execution as long as possible, in order to save the un-
happy prisoner from hearing the preparations, and to
avoid expense should a reprieve arrive. A few seats
were erected on Wednesday within a sort of enclosure,
directly opposite the gaol, which it was understood
would be reserved for the authenticated representatives
of the public press, but the chairman of the visiting jus-
tices (Capt. Whitby) interfered, for some reason not yet
explained, and by his direction the seats were removed
yesterday, and it is now stated that no person, not offi-
eially connected with the execution, can be admitted to
any part of the gaol premises.
Extraordinary preparations have been made in the
town for the reception of the multitude. The hotels,
inns, and public-houses will be open throughout the
night, and all the factories in the neighbourhood of Staf-
ford, and also at Stoke, Dudley, Walsall, and the towns
in what is called the " Black Country," will be closed.
The person to officiate as executioner is a man named
Smith, a shoemaker, residing at Dudley. He has acted

for many years as executioner iu the district, and is de-
scribed as being an expert and skilful practitioner. He
generally comes to the town at night, in the disguise of
a cattle drover, and takes his departure as mysteriously
as he came.

The witness Newton, whose evidence at Palmer's trial
and subsequent admissions have formed the subject of so
much conversation, is no longer in the service of Mr.
Salt. He is still, however, residing at Rugeley. A
great number of persona continue to visit that place.
Palmer's former residence is shown to visitors for a fee
of Is. ; and during the late fair the small white pebbles
with which the passage up to the hall door is p sved were
sold to the curious in such matters for 6d each. The tree
overhanging Cooke's grave, in the new churchyard, has
also been the obj-ct of a good deal of attention, and a con-
siderable portion of it has been carried away by visitors.
The prisoner's two brothers were to be admitted to
him again to-day to have a final interview, but up to 7
o'clock they had not arrived. He still asserts his inno•
once, and Major Fulford, the governor of the gaol, is of
opinion that, if he makes any statement at all, he will
make it to him in private. The general impression, how
ever, of those in communication with him is, that he
will probably yield to the only influences likely to have
any weight with him, and remain silent on the subject
of his crime. Mrs. Palmer (the pi isoner's mother) has
not seen him since his return to Stafford, and it is not
probable that any interview will now take place between
them. It is rumoured here that the whole family in-
tend to leave the country, and take up their resi-
dence on the continent. It is satisfactory to know
that the feeling in Stafford is decidedly in favour of
the conviction of the prisoner. That he was popular
among the humbler classes in the neighbourhood of Staf-
ford and Rugeley there can be no doubt, and it is more
than probable that, if he had been tried at the assizes
here, he woull have had a better chance of acquittal.
It would seem that one of the places which Palmer was
in the habit of frequenting when in London was a well-
known public-house in the Walworth-road. He was in
the habit of visiting this house with Cook, " and two
other gentlemen," and whenever he came he called for a
private room, and pens and paper. He used to make
small bets with and for the people of the tavern, and it
is stated that he was generally punctual in discharging
any liabilities arising out of them.
The Rev. Mr. Sneyd, of Ripston, has visited Palmer
several times since his return to Rugeley. He appears
pleased to see the rev, gentleman, but avoids any men-
tion of the crime for which he has, been convicted.
The high sheriff of the county, Lieut.-Colonel Dyott,
and Mr. Hand, the under-sheriff, had an interview with
Palmer at five o'clock this afternoon. He appeared
quite composed, and exchanged a few words with them
on the subject of his fate, The high sheriff told him
that there was not the least prospect of the royal cle-
mency being extended to him, and assured him that he
must prepare himself to die.
Palmer received the intelligence unmoved.
Great numbers of persons are coming into the town
at this hour (seven o'clock), and some have already
taken their places in front of the gaol, to await the
execution.