The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-30 00:00:00

EXECUTION AT TAUNTON.

Yesterday morning George Britten, who so
foully murdered his wife at Woolverton, nearFrome,
on the 18th of July, and afterwards attempted to
conceal his crime by burning the body, suffered the
extreme penalty of the law in front of Taunton gaol.
The utmost secrecy had been observed as to the day
fixed for the execution, and the consequence was
that the crowd in front of the scaffold was much
smaller than usual, and did not number more than
3,000 persons. It bad been very generally rumoured
that Britten would be hanged on Tuesday, and on
the morning of that day quite as many persons re-
paired to the vicinity of the gaol as were present at
the execution. Britten, who was a man well to do
in the world, had been a farmer, and was at one
time guardian of the poor for the parish in which
he lived, and for his services in that office was pre-
sented with a testimonial. Some time ago, without
having previously expressed his intention of doing so,
he went to New Zealand, and for a period of two or
three years his wife and friends did not know where
to find him. On his return to this country his wife,
contrary to the expressed wishes of her relatives,
went to live with him again, and they were re-
siding together with their only child, a boy about
7 years of age, in a house belonging to the prisoner
at the time the horrible crime was perpetrated. At-
tached to this house was a malthouse, which the
prisoner let to a Mr. Moser, and on July 20, at an
early hour in the morning, this malthouse was dis-
covered to be on fire. An alarm was raised, and
Mr. Superintendent Deggan and others went to aid
in suppressing the flames. The fire was soon extin-
guished, and the prisoner, who assisted, was con-
gratulated upon his house having escaped, and on
being asked where his wife was, said she had gone
to visit her friends a few days previously. On some
of those present going into the malthouse they dis-
covered the half-consumed corps of a woman lying
upon a pile of burning wood and coke. An exami-
nation of the body showed some very severe wounds
upon the head, which, singularly enough, seemed to
have escaped the effects of the fire, and suspicions
of foul play were aroused in the mind of Mr. Deg-
gan, who questioned the prisoner more closely as to
his wife. He prevaricated, and on being shown the
body declared it was not that of his wife, but he was
ultimately obliged to confess it was. He was then
taken into custody and locked up at Frome police
station, where on the next day (Sunday) he confessed
to having murdered his wife on the Thursday even-
ing, and to having put the body into a sack, tied a
rope around the neck, and then dragged it a consi-
derable distance over the roof of an outhouse into
the malthouse, which he set on fire, in the vain hope
of concealing his crime. The prisoner was tried
before Mr. Justice Willes on August 10th at Wells,
and when called on to plead, he said, " Guilty, but not
of malice aforethought." He was ably defended by
Mr. Prideaux, Q.C., but the jury almost immediately
found him guilty, and the judge, in sentencing
him to be hanged, expressed a pretty strong opinion
that be must not look for any remission of the full
penalty, and commented on the diabolical attempts
he had made to consume the body. There were
those, however, who sympathised with the perpetra-
tor of this horrible outrage, and two or three me-
morials to the Secretary of State were got up pray-
ing for a remission of the sentence ; but it is probable
that the majority of the signatures were prompted
by an aversion to capital punishment, a feeling pretty
generally expressed by those who signed it in Taun-
ton. These efforts, however, were fruitless, and on
Tuesday a letter was received from Mr. Ilardy stat-
ing that he could see no sufficient grounds for ad-
vising her Majesty to extend her royal clemency to
the prisoner. The attempts which were being made
to save the wretched man's life were unknown to
him, and he from the first fully expected that the
sentence would be carried into effect; he became
exceedingly penitent, and attended to the religious
ministrations of the chaplain of the gaol, the Rev.
F. Howse, with great apparent devoutness. He was
also visited by the Rev. Mr. Clark, vicar of St.
Mary's, and both these gentlemen express their be-
lief that his penitence was sincere. Ile made no
further confession, though he occupied a great deal
of his time in writing. At about 8 o'clock yesterday
morning he attended Divine service at the chapel
within the gaol, and partook of the Holy Sacrament,
after which he addressed the other prisoners who
were assembled, and warned them as to their evil
courses. He then walked from the chapel to the
pinioning room beneath the drop, where his arms
were bound in the usual manner by Calcraft, the
executioner. lie exhibited the greatest fortitude on
the scaffold, thanked the chaplain and the turnkeys
for their kindness, and shook hands with the rev.
gentleman and with Calcraft. When the drop fell
his hands were uplifted in the attitude of prayer,
but they immediately afterwards became clinched,
and he gave several convulsive struggles before life
was extinct.

The last execution which took place at Taunton
was that of two brothers, named Wedmore, who
murdered their aunt, Sarah Waterman, at Dundry.
They were executed on the sth of April, 1861.

FALL OF A RAILWAY VIADUCT IN INDIA.

The Times of India gives the following account of
the fall of a viaduct on the Bhore Ghaut incline on
the Great Indian Peninsula Railway :
"In our last overland summary we reported the
occurrence of a melancholy disaster on the Great
Indian Peninsula Railway, whereby ,from 50 to 80
passengers lost their lives. The precise number has
never been ascertained, as Government allowed its
order for an independent investigation by Govern-
ment officers to be frustrated, and on the one-sided
investigation instituted by the railway officials the
public can place no reliance whatever. It is felt that in
this matter the local government has egregiously
failed in its duty. Scarcely had the gap which oc-
casioned the accident referred to been repaired
when another break-down occurred, happily unat-
tended with loss of life, but, in every other way,
perhaps the most serious calamity that could have
befallen the company. The most extensive viaduct
on the Bhore Ghaut incline—the Poona and Bom-
bay line—has totally collapsed, sacrificing the
labour of two years, and half a million of money.
As the Syhadree mountains, or 'Western Ghauts,
run parallel to the line of sea coast, they cut off
Bombay and other ports from the interior of the
country. Across these mountains, by a series of
tunnels, viaducts, and gradients, some as steep as 1
in 37—the most magnificent railway works in the
world—goes to the South-Eastern lines of the Great
Indian Peninsula Railway. This Bhore Ghaut in-
cline is 15 miles and 68 chains in length ; the level
of its base is 196 feet above high water mark in
Bombay, and of its summit 2,027 feet, so that the
total elevation surmounted by the incline is 1,831
feet, at an average gradient of 1 in 18. The works
consist of 26 tunnels (the total length of which is
3,985 yards), and of eight gigantic viaducts, besides
numerous extensive cuttings. The viaduct which
has collapsed is that which crossed the Mhow-ke-
Mullee Khind, between Wonee and Thakoorwada,
and was thus the most important on the Ghaut,
connecting, as it did, the upper and lower rangesof
hills. It was also the most extensive on the line,
consisting of eight semicircular arches of 50 feet
span, and 139 feet above the surface of the ground.
So far as the actual works were concerned, how-
ever, this does not show the real height, because it
was necessary to excavate to a depth of 2 ift before
a sufficiently solid foundation could be obtained.
The viaduct was thus 163 ft above the footing, and
it was built on a considerable curve. It had Ineu
known to be at least superficially unsound for seve-
ral years, cracks having been visible in two of the
piers. Iriether these cracks had been becoming
larger, or whether others had been making their
appearance elsewhere, we are unable to say ; but, at
any rate, some fears seem lately to have been enter-
tained regarding the stability of the fabric, for a
special examination of the viaduct in question was
made on Monday last—three days before it fell—
by Capt. White, R.E., deputy consulting engineer to
Government in the railway department, and the
engineers of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway.
It did not seem to them that there was any special
cause for increased alarm, as the piers did not ap-
pear to be more extensively or fatally cracked than
they had been for years. This is the moat un-
satisfactory feature of the whole, tending,

as it does, to create a want of confidence in the
judgment of even the most experienced engi-
neers. The cause of the fall of the viaduct is
undoubtedly to be found in its very faulty
construction. Sound and substantial as the masonry
may have seemed outside, any attempt at inspection
when the work was proceeding must have shown the
merest tyro in building that the inside masonry was
disgracefully insufficient. The lime and mortar, too,
used by the contractors must have been very in-
ferior, probably owing to the terrible scarcity of
water at the time. So scanty was the supply that
there was not even sufficient to supply the wants of
the 24,000 or 25,000 men employed on the works,
and who were decimated by cholera in consequence.
The mortar and the stones being too dry, no care in
building could bind the courses of masonry together
—hence the cracks and downfall of the whole.
" Though this accident was attended with no loss
of life, the escape of two passenger trains was as
astonishing as it is gratifying—one which was
ascending the Ghaut having been stopped just in
time to prevent its being precipitated into the ravine ;
and another, descending the Ghaut, having been
apprised of the danger at the station immediately
beyond it, and thus prevented from getting on the
incline, when escape would have been extremely
difficult, if not, under the circumstances, absolutely
impossible. The work of clearing away the ruins
and rebuilding the viaduct will occupy at least a
twelvemonth, and meanwhile the traffic for about
six miles must revert to the old route, via Cam-
poolee, crossing the Ghaut in bullock carts. The
utter destruction of this great viaduct can only be
regarded as a great public calamity for Bombay and
the Deccan."

THE FRENCH ARMY.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
CAMP OF CHALONS, Aug. 24.

It has often struck me as curious that Frenchmen,
who seem so unfit to colonise, should, when they
are made into soldiers, become such good cam-
paigners, while, on the contrary, Englishmen, who
have such success in colonising, should, as soon as
they put on the red coat, become so helpless.
This apparent contradiction in both cases is evi-
dently owing to the system in the first instance, and
then to the national peculiarities of the two races.
The Frenchman, as a rule, if left to himself, is the
most wretched and helpless being, while all the
energy of the Englishman will come out when he
has to rely upon himself. Now, in campaigning, the
English soldier, who has all his life been made
to think that he is there merely as a fighting animal,
which is to be provided with everything by others,
loses as it were the faculties which he has in
his native state. Of course, those who defend
the system tell you that it is the nature of the Eng-
lish soldier to be dull and helpless ; but how comes
it that the brothers and cousins of this same helpless
being can shift as backwoodsmen as none else can ?
The French soldier in garrison is, on the contrary,
encouraged to turn his faculties to account, and
although a provident " Intendance" supplies his
wants, there are always means for an odd job which
will eke out his pittance. This tendency to strive
and better himself he brings with him to the camp,
emulation helps, and the result is that he contrives
to make himself more comfortable than could
be imagined.
Whoever wants a practical proof of this has only
to come from Aldershott to Chalons if he had no op-
portunity to make the comparison in the Crimea.
Chalons, although now burnt up by the sun, is a
comfortable place, and, curious enough, most com-
fortable, not where the permanent huts are, but
where the troops are under canvas. In the huts
there is only room for a Division and a half, while
the remainder of the infantry—that is, two and a
half Divisions—a Division of cavalry and all the
complement of artillery, eight field batteries, be-
sides the reserve artillery, are in tents. Round
every tent there is a little garden, and in front of
the line a succession of artistic beds, in which you
can still see the remains of flowers, while the bor-
ders turfed over show various patterns, some of
which, especially in front of the 63d, camped near
" Mourmelon le petit," would do honour to a pro-
fessional gardener. As for the quarters of the Com-
mandant of Engineers, they display even now a
blazing mass of colour. In the rear of the tents are
vegetable gardens, most productive, of course, iu the
cavalry and artillery regiments.
The presence of the Emperor has stimulated emu-
lation, and the regiments have vied with each other
to express their devotion in the most artistic form.
The huts display ornaments and devices in turf,
and before every regiment there is a more or less
appropriate trophy. The devices do not show much
variety, consisting mostly of the sacramental "Vive
l'Empereur !" to which is often joined "Vivo
l'Emperatrice !" " Vive le Prince Imperiale !" or
"Vive la Famille Imperiale !" There is more variety
in the trophies, although the bust of the Emperor
occurs too frequently. But there are a few which
display artistic merit. The first among them is in
front of the sth Chasseurs, and represents a ser-
geant who, on the 18th of June, was the first to get
into the Malakoff, and, what is more, got out of it.
The figure, cut in soft chalk stone, is really expres-
sive, and so thoroughly " chasseur-a-pied" in the
face and attitude as only a regimental artist
could contrive. The 90th Regiment has likewise its
hero in front, an ensign who carried the colours of the
regiment at the battle of Solferino. The silk was
torn, the staff shattered, and the ensign bleeding,
yet on he carried the colours. The 63d has a Cri-
mean hero, like the sth Chasseurs ; the 85th come
back from Rome, from the Castle of St. Angelo and
St. Peter's, with the colonnade. The Emperor gave
prizes for the best, and that was, of course, the
trophy of the Chasseurs. The cavalry, first in vege-
tables, are decidedly last in trophies and gardens.
It is said they have too much to do. The horses
certainly look as if they had done too much. There
is no heavy cavalry here this year ; two regiments
of Lancers and two of Hussars form the cavalry
division, and their horses look like overtrained
racers.

As for the two Mourmelons, " le grand et le petit,"
I observe but little change from what they were six
years ago. The church in "Mourmelon le grand" has
been rebuilt in what I should call " Imperial
Gothic," with a steeple in wood covered with tin, a
sort of style which you can see in almost all the
churches rebuilt in France during the present reign,
and which will at some future time serve as a land-
mark, just as the half-barrack and half-palace like
structures in the large towns, built in what is called
the Neo-Casernic style. Nor is it very surprising
that not much alteration should be made. There
is no increased demand ; every year, more or less,
the same number of troops arrives, and for these the
accommodation, such as it is, suffices. As in all
camps, hotels, restaurants, cafes, " brasseries,'
" buvettes," and billiards abound, but you will be
surprised to hear that there are two baths. They
are, of course, for officers andthe floating camp popu-
lation. The idea which is prevalent in England
that Frenchmen are not so clean as Englishmen
does not hold good with the French soldiers and
the French lower classes in general. They are, as
a rule, cleaner than the English of the same class.
You cannot pass a row of teats or huts without wit-
nessing the ablutions of some of the inmates, and
whoever saw the two armies, French and English,
campaign together can have no doubt of the fact.

The old theatre in the pleasant grove close by the
Place is still extant, and to judge by the remains of
the playbills on the walls seems to have made great
efforts this camp season. Then there are the cap
concerts, and the balls four times a week, and fur
some time the troops had even a circus among them,
with giraffes, dromedaries, zebras, and monkeys.
But alas ! all this glory, or rather the little that
remains of it, will soon be over, for in a week's time
the camp will be broken up, and the huts left in
charge of the solitary regiment which is told off
every year for this duty. The troops have already
received their route, and those which are trans-
ferred to some other garrison are scanning the
chances of comfort in their new quarters, and col-
lecting information from those whom they relieve.
To-day was probably the last field mass, and a
line sight it was to see those 40,000 men who form
the camp massed together before the altar raised in
front of the *artier Imp6riale. I. don't know

whether especial care has been taken to et toge-
ther seasoned regiments this year to have a thorough
trial with the new breechloader, and to make expe-
riments with new evolutions, but certainly the sight
was calculated to rejoice the heart of every mili-
tary man. I never saw French troops look better
and more up to their work, especially the in-
fantry and the artillery. They looked the very
beau ideal of light, active troops. In less than a
quarter of an hour every division was back on
its road to its own encampment. They looked
so emart in their present dress, the short jackets
and baggy Zouave breeches, that it seemed almost s
pity to think that all this is to be changed.
And changed it will be. The change will be back
again to the old dress ; the Zouave trousers are to
be given up, and the old trousers coming down to
the instep rehabilitated. The tight short jacket is
to give way to the old long tunic for garrison work,
while the cloak is to be replaced by the oid overcoat►
which can be worn either alone or else over the
tunic. Instead of the present bonnet de police, with-
out a peak, the old cap with a peak is again to be
introduced, and the shako is to be in future of
cloth, and not of patent leather as hitherto. It
seems that practice has proved that what was very
suitable to Zouaves was not adapted to the gene-
rality of the French soldiers.