The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-18 00:00:00

TBE MURDER OF THAIN, THE POLICE-
OFFICER.

The public is already aware that the execution of
Christian Sattler, the Bavarian, which was to
have taken place this morning at Newgate, has
been postponed by the order of the Home
Secretary to the Bth of February, upon the
ground that under the peculiar circumstances of the
case, it was considered advisable that the judges of
the Court of Criminal Appeal should have an
opportunity of considering all the facts, and giving
their opinion as to whether the prisoner was legally
convicted of the offence of wilful murder, or
whether there were not some circumstances in the
case, in connection with the arrest and detention of
the prisoner, that would reduce the offence to man-
slaughter. It would seem that the respite of the
prisoner was partly owing to the facts as they ap-
peared upon the trial ; but there is no doubt that
some facts of a rather singular nature, that have
only come to light since the prisoner's conviction,
have had considerable effect in influencing the de-
cision of the Secretary of State, and inducing him
to delay the execution until more full inquiry has
been gone into.

Upon the subject of the legal or illegal detention
of the prisoner on board the Caledonia, upon which
the validity of the whole of the subsequent pro-
ceedings would seem to depend, it appears that
the arrest of the prisoner at Hamburg in conse-
quence of his not being provided with the neces-
sary papers arose in the following manner
Shortly before the expiration of his sentence of im-
prisonment at Wisbeach Gaol the prisoner, it ap-
peared, had resolved to go to Hamburg when he
obtained his liberty, and he wrote to his father to
procure him the necessary passports and papers.
This► letter, it seems, got into the hands of the
parish priest, who, for some reason which does not
appear to have been explained, did not deliver it
to the father, but retained possession of it for seve-
ral weeks, and in consequence of this, the father
did not procure a passport for the prisoner ; and,
indeed, it seems that he did not even know of the
existence of such a letter, until after his son was
is custody upon the charge of murder. As there
is so treaty for the extradition of criminals between
this country and the Hamburg authorities, but for
the circumstance of the prisoner not being provided
with the necessary papers, the police of Hamburg
could not have interfered with him ; and there is no
doubt that the arrest of the prisoner was merely a
contrivance to get him into the custody of
the deceased officer, that lie might be
thought to England upon the charge of robbing
Mr. Ballantine, and that the proceedings taken to
effect this object were to a certain extent illegal.
If the chaplains, upon consideration of the facts,
should ultimately come to the same conclusion, the
probability is that the capital sentence will not be
carried out, but the punishment will be commuted
to such an one as would probably have been in-
flicted if the prisoner had been convicted of man-
slaughter only.
When the prisoner was informed of the respite,
but at the same time told he must not found any
hopes that his life would ultimately be spared,
which might prove delusive if the legal point were
decided against him, he expressed himself grateful
for the respite that was afforded him, and evidently
felt the impression that the capital sentence would t
not be carried out. He has all along persisted in
stating that he would not have gone on board the
Caledonia if he had been sure that he should have
been ironed and treated as a felon, and he also des
clares that his object in loading the pistol was to
destroy himself, and he says that if Thain had been
a moment later in eutering the cabin the act would
have been accomplished. He, however, came in
just as he had finished loading the pistol, and seeing
what he was doing he seized him, and they had a
struggle, during which the pistol went off acciden-
tally, and the unfortunate deceased received hie
death wound. The prisoner accounts for the ex-
pressions made use of by him after the transaction
by saying that he was in a very excited state, and,
observing the angry feeling of the people on board
the vessel, he was desirous that they should put so
end to him, as on the first burst of their iadignation
they had threatened they would do.
The prisoner seems to have entirely abandoned
his atheistical notions and attends chapel regu•
larly, and appears to pay great attention to the
spiritual consolation offered him by the reverend
Mr. Davis, the ordinary of the gaol of Newgate,
and appears to be in a much better state of mind
than at the period of his trial.