The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-28 00:00:00

EXECUTION

OF

JOHN TA WELL.

(THIS DAY-BY EXPRESS.)

It having become known in London, and in the
districts atound Aylesbury, that this morning the
wretched criminal Tawell was to expiate on the
gallows his dreadful crime, a large number of persons
flowed into the town the evening before. The
London down-trains were more crowded than usual,
and besides a considerable number of representatives
from the metropolitan press, he who was to perform
the last office for the prisoner—the executioner Cal-
craft, came down also. There was nothing in the
appearance of the town yesterday evening to indicate
that an execution—and one, too, which has
raised so much excitement in the public mind—was
about to take place, save that it was somewhat
more crowded than ordinary.
The reporters for the London press, immediately
on arriving at Aylesbury, called upon Mr. Sherriff,
the Governor of the County Hall, who handed them
the letter of Mr. Sub-Sheriff Tindal, nephew of the
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, informing them
that none but those officially concerned would be
admitted into the Hall. A letter was forthwith
addressed to Mr. Tindal, remonstrating on so un-
usual a course, but the reply was, "No answer."
After a lapse, however of some three hours, Mr. Tindal
wrote, stating that the reporters seemed to misappre-
hend the scope of his letter to the governor ; that it
was not intended to exclude the reporters " per-
sonally," but that all persons not officially concerned
were to be excluded. Another communication was
forwarded to Mr. Tindal, in reply to which he stated,
" I have no other answer to give than that addressed
to you and your colleagues, and you must consider
that as conclusive against all persons not officially
concerned I am acting simply in the
performance of my duty, and of the direc-
tions given by my superior, which I intend
strictly to discharge, irrespective of all consequences."
With this answer a verbal message had been sent,
" that Mr. Acton Tindall had locked up his house for
the night." Thus the reporters, and consequently
the public, are excluded from that which to them
personally would be but a painful and distressing
duty—namely, witnessing the conduct and behaviour
of the unfortunate criminal at his last moments. But
the public will expect and ought to know all those
things, and on public grounds the execution of a
great criminal should not be left to a few officials.

Mr. Ewing, an artist from Nottingham, who came
to town for the purpose of taking a cast of Tawell's
head, was refused a similar request. It seems to
be the opinion that Mr. Sub-Sheriff Tindal is de-
sirous of sparing as much as possible the feelings of
the culprit, but though one can appreciate such feel-
ings, it is not easy to find any reason for making an
exception in this case. The prisoner also has been
allowed several privileges in the prison, which have
been refused to others under similar circumstances,
on account of his excellent conduct since his con-
viction.

At an early hour this morning, about five o'clock,
the drop, from which the prisoner was to be sus-
pended, was arranged ; and even at that early
hour there were persons anxiously looking on. Every
moment the crowd was augmenting. Numbers of
persons had come in from the country about seven
o'clock, and they were not at all confined to the
lower orders. Several most respectable persons were
trooping in at all points of the town, and notwith-
standing the badness of the morning several hundreds
of persons were congregated before the County Hall,
in front of which the drop was placed, shortly after
seven o'clock.

The County Hall is rather a low structure, built
in a low situation, in front of which the ground rises
gradually, and as there is a large open space before it,
in which the market is held, it was calculated to afford
a most excellent view to the spectators, who, as
the fatal bout approached, manifested intense expecta-
tion and anxiety. There could not have been less
than between 4,000 and 5,000 persons; present at the
time of the execution, and amongst them were several
respectable-looking females. The large space in front
of the gaol was well nigh filled. Before the large
window in front of the gaol was a balcony, within
which the drop was erected, the lower part of which
was curtained. There were placards carried about
in several parts of the crowd, a*nouncing, in large
letters, "A Full Account of the Last Moments of
John Tawell," which could not fail to be seen by the
miserable man.