The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-09 00:00:00

PALMER AT STAFFORD.

STAFFORD, JuNz 8.
Palmer still continues to exhibit the same callous and
unmoved appearance that has charicterised him all along,
and the near approach of death does not, so far as out-
ward appearance goes, seem at all to dismay him.
It appears to be the impression of those who have an
opportunity of observing the prisoner, that a good deal
of the apparent self-possession and coolness exhibited by
him are assumed. He is undoubtedly a man of strong
nerves, and one having great control over his feelings.
He is well aware that the slightest faltering on his part,
or his making the slightest admission of guilt, would at
once seal up all hope of escape, and he evidently relies
upon the great exertions which he knows are being made
by his friends, and the non-discovery of any strychnia
in the body of the deceased operating in his favour, and
that he has only nne course to pursue to assist the ope-
rations of his friends, which is that of steadily persisting
in a declaration of his innocence. He has been visited
separately by his three brothers and a sister, and it is
known that on every occasion he was told that the exer-
tions on his behalf were going on favourably, and that
he might reasonably anticipate that they would, in the
end, be successful, or that at all events he would receive
a respite, in order that further investigation might be
made of a scientific character with reference to the poison
that was alleged to have occasioned the death of the de•
ceased .This feeling of hope, there is no doubt, buoys
him up, and although the Rev. Mr. Goodacre, the chap-
lain, and Major Fulford, the governor of the gaol, have
both earnestly impressed upon him their belief that there
is not the slightest chance of the royal clemency being
granted to him, and that it is his duty to prepare him-
self for the dreadful fate that awaits him, it seems that
the representations of his friends have more weight with
him than the truthful suggestions of the authorities of
the prison, and that he clings with a desperate tenacity
to the hope of a reprieve. It would seem cruel thus to
raise the hones of the unhappy man, when there appears
to be so little reasonable chance of their being carried
out, as it will no doubt have the effect of inducing him
to persist in a course of hypocrisy for the brief remainder
of his existence, and when the dread certainty arrives,
and all hope must necessarily depart, the revulsion of
feeling will naturally be most violent.
Actuated by such impressions it is not to be wondered
at that Palmer has taken every opportunity of asserting
his innocence, and he appears desirous to court an argu-
ment upon the facts of the case, and the evidence
which he was convicted. In the course of a conversation
the chaplain had with I im during the last day or two,
Pa'rner referred to the subject of the poison that he was
rep 7esei ted to have purchased of the witness Newton on
the Monday night, when the unfortunate man Cook had
his first attack, and he declared that the statement of
Newton as to his having made such a purchase was false.
" Well," was the response, "supposing this statement to
be false yo i have never attempted to deny that six
gra o of strychn ne were.purgbased by you.. at the other
chemist's shop on the Tueiffy' morning, and'You h-ave
given no explanation of what has become of the poison
so purchased." "Oh," replied Palmer, coolly, "I don't
deny that I purchased six grains on Tuesday ; but iflij ,
had wanted to kill Cook with strychnine there was no
necessity for purchasing such a quantity as that which
would have been suftlo;ent to kill half a dozen men. It
is well known that I used the strychnine to poison dogs,
and I could have proved it." In answer to this state-
ment, he was told that evidence to that effect would have
been very important if it had been brought forward at
the trial, and Palmer then said, " Hew could I prove
it l the only witness I could have ea'led for that purpose
was my own groom, and he would not have been be•
lieved." Palmer has also repeatedly declared in a most
solemn manner that whatever other crimes he may have
committed he was innocent of that of shedding blood.
Although the prisoner has declined to avail himself of
the screened seat provided for him in the chapel of the
gaol, yet there does not appear to be any justification for
the suggestion that he is altogether regardless of his re-
ligious duties. On the contrary, he pays marked atten-
tion to the spiritual advice afforded him by the worthy
chaplain of the prisons,who, it may be stated, has been
unremitting in his attentions to him ever since his con-
nement. He exhibits an apparent sense of the manner
in which he has neglected his duties in a religious point
of view, and to that extent appears penitent, but to any
suggestion that the greatest proof of his sincerity would
be an admission of the justice of his sentence, he turns
a deaf ear, and asserts that he is innocent of the crime
of murdering John Parsons Cook. The prisoner appears
to take advantage of every circumstance likely to operate
in his favour, and this was particularly exemplified in his
interview with Mr. Wright, the gentleman who for a
philanthropic object devotes a considerable portion of
his time in visiting the different gaols of the country, and
havingintervie ws with prisoners accused of great offences,
and who has a special order from the Secretary of State
to enable him to do so—to this gentleman, Palmer, while
still asserting his innocence, made so great a show of
penitence and religious feeling, that he went away deeply
impressed in his favour, and with the belief that his con-
versation had materially softened him. The moment
Palmer was alone, however, he resumed his former ap-
pearance, and it was apparent to those about him that no
real effect had been produced on his mind.

It appears that the execution will not be performed by
Calcraft, the ordinary executioner. This is not on ac-
count of any opinion of his incompetence in consequence
of a recent event, but it seems that for several years the
executions that have taken place in this county have
been carried out by a man named Smith, who lives at
Dudley. He has no regular salary, 14 when there is a
necessity for his Lervices his expenses are paid to Staf-
ford, and after the execution he receives 51. for the duty
he has performed. He has already been applied to, and
an answer was received in duo form, thanking the au-
thorities, and expressing his willingness to perform the
duty.
io numerous have been the applications on behalf of
the reporters of the metropolitan and provincial press for
orders of admission to be present at the execution, that
Major Fulford, the governor of the prison, has felt him-
self in considerable difficulty how to act. In such a case
as this, where the attention of the public bas naturally been
so much excited, and where even the interests of justice
would appear to require that the incidents connected
with the last moments of so extraordinary a male-
factor should be faithfully recorded, it appears evi-
dently essential that some authorised representatives
of the press should be present, but the regulations of the
gaol are imperative, and by one of them the governor is
positively interdicted from allowing any strangers to be
in the prison on the morning of an execution. Under
these circumstances, Major Fulford on Friday addressed
a letter to the Secretary of State asking for his directions
upon the subject, and suggesting at the same time that
he should be permitted to admit a certain number of ac-
credited reporters to be present at the execution, and
there is very little doubt that Sir G. Grey will accede to
the request.

STATISTICS OF BIRTHS, IfiARRIAGEs,
AND DEATIiS.

•
On Saturday ii'as issued the Seventeenth Annual Re-
port of the Registrar-General, giving a general abstract
of the marriages, births, and deaths registered in Eng-
land and Wales during the year 1854.
The total number of marriages in England in the year
1854, was 159,727 ; of these 134,109 were celebrated ac-
cording to the rites of the Established Church. Of per-
sons not of full age there were 28,697 women and 9,220
men.,;14,397 women were widows, and 21,760 men were
widowers. Of marriages contracted between bachelors
and spinsters there were 131,141 ; between bachelors
and widows, 6,286 ; between widowers and spinsters
14,189 ; between widowers and widows, 7,571. With
regard to the educational status of the matrimonial
couples, it is stated that 47,843 men and 68,175 women
signed the marriage register with marks. In the matter
of age one boy of 15 is mentioned as having accepted the
responsibilities of the marriage state. He was married
to a young woman of 19. There were 28 girls who
married at the age of 15 and miler. On the other hand,
9 men (widowers) married at the age of 80, and 4 women
(widows) at the age of 75. In one instance a woman of
70 married a man of 40.
The total births in England, in 1854, were 634,405,
being 324,069 males and 310,336 females. Of these
births 40,735 were illegitimate.
The deaths registered in England in 1854, amount to
37,0,63 being g 2214.22 ways mad 21f,49A famalei.