The Sun.
London, England, 1827-01-01 00:00:00

THE tECUTIONS TO-MORROW,

Charles Thomas White is the son Of a master coachmaker, who
for thirty years, lived in gi'eat respectability in Bloomsbury, and
died nine years ego, leaving a widow with an income of about
3001., per annum, and an only child, the subject of the present
notice. The boy, from too great indulgence, was a spoiled
child; and though he always orptested the utmost affection for
his widowed mother, yet. he frequently occasioned much Severe
maternal sorrow. He was apprenticed to a bookseller, in High
Holbbarn, hut did not serve out his time. He cdmMenced as a
bookseller in Holborn, sohie time ast, and his mother supplied
him with money to otoek his shop. In the early part of last
year, he becakr.e atquamted with a young woman, whose friends
are reapettable, and after four interviews only, he marrW(l her,
and settled upon her an annuity of sixty-fire pounds per annum,
with the interest of 2,0001, Otte moiety of which was advanced
by his mother, and the other by her friends. The union proved
an unhappy one, and, through want of economy and attention,
the t;'nainess was not very successful. Still, he was not in ,
want of money : his mother supplied him with above 10001.
(luring the past year; and he might have had.2oo/. more at any
time if he bed applied to her for it, and no adequate motive
appears to have existed for the commission of the heinous
crime of which he has been convicted. The mother and
wife of the unhappy man, since his apprehension, have not
been upon friendly terms, on account •of the wife's apparent
neglect of her husband. • She did not visit him in his confinement
for ten days after the charge was preferred, and the unfortunate
breach has been greatly widened in consequence of White hav-
ing, previous to the trial, made over his property, to his mother.
His motive in doing so was very considerate—..his mother had
supplied him with the property originally, and his wife's settle-
ments were sufficient to maintain her in a state of independence.
During the past week, the wife and mother have repeatedly vi-
sited him—though not at the same time; they have taken care
to avoid a tneeting. s His health has undergone a rapid change, in
consequence of the horror his mind is uniformly impressed with
at his approaching death. Being unwell, be was advised to have
the assistance of the surgeon of the prison, but he c:`rciaitned—" I
have more need of the Divine thln the physician."—He has oc-
casionally attempted to apply hithselfrto reading, but could not for
more than a few ItAnUltes together. When Doctor. Cotton has en-
deavoured to direct his"thoughts to a future state, and to seek for
pardon through the merits of a Saviour, he premed his throat
with both hands, apparently suffering it‘ imagination. the horiid
sensations of strangulation; Weft:erne has become convulsed, and
finally he has faittteal-, and eontinued senseless for some time. Se--
veral petitietra have been addresSed by himielf and. his mother to
the King, and on Friday his wife addreesed an effecttng letter on
behalf of her husband, to the SteretaryOf State for the Hoine De-
partment. During the past week, White admitted that he was
guilty of• setting his hoirt on fire, but said, that he was in a
state of temporary insanity at the time. He denies that he pur-
&aged the links, as was stated on the trial, and says he found them
in his house.

We fear that not the slightest hope of a remission of the punish-
ment can now be Intatained. Still, however, the wretched man
clings to Imp, and only yesterday he expressed an opinion that he
Fhotid net suffer. his weakness is quite childish, and though the
fitct can scarce be credited, it is•true that he bat constantly been
engaged in forming plans of the most impracticable and absurd
description for effecting his escape.

the following Peann of the mother of White, was, during
last week, addressed to the Secretary of State for the Home
Department.

TO TILE RIGHT I-lON. ROBERT PEEL, &C. &C.
" Sir,—The humble petition of Mary Ann White, the mother
of Charles Thomas White, now a prisoner under sentence of death
in Newgate, for the crime of arson, humbly showeth—
" That your petitioner, overwhelmed with sorrow the most
poignant, in the anguish of her heart, presumes, through you, Sir,
most humbly and most respectfully. to approach his most Gracious
Majesty, and humbly but most earnestly, implores that the Royal
eletneucy may he extended to her unfortunate son.
" Vetir petitioner, with the anxiety of a fond mother, educated
her son in good habits and principles, and he was watched over
—by a now sorrowing parent—with the most solicitous care.
" If, through the infirmity of nature, in an evil hour, he com-
mitted a crime by which he has fallen from a state of comfort and
respectability into the depths of distress, and to add to his an-
guish, has involved his dearest connections in shame and misery_
permit your petitioner humbly to represent that he is young and
inexperienced, being only 23 years of age, and bit
hlaatier
.I_y married
Into a respectable family, and that his widowed and affectionate
mother, your petitioner, who has always borne an unblemished
reputation, whilst lamenting the fat of an_oultz_, • •
calyx -Oil Lpa!r...

" Your petitioner, on these several accounts, is most:anxious
that her son should escape the shame of an ignominious death, and
if mercy should be extended to him, that in a foreign land he may
atone for the errors of his youth.

" Your petitioner humbly hopes that you will deign to com-
passionate the youth and sufferings of her child, and the deep at-
fiction of his disconsolate, heart-broken mother, and that you will
please to comply with the humble prayer of this petition, and re-
present his case so Avourably to his most gracious Majesty, as to
obtain a commutation of his sentence of death for transportation
for life, and your petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
" MARY ANN WHITE."
To the above was added the following:—

We, the undersigned churchwardens, overseers, and vestry-
men, of the united parishes 'of St. Giles in the Fields and St.
George, Bloomsbury, beg leave humbly to recommend the object
of this petition to the Royal mercy."

[Signed by 40 of the most respectable vestrymen, overseers,
•
and churchwardens of the parishes.]
The answer to the petition, given at the Secretary of State's
office, was—

" That nothing could be done in favour of the culprit, unless
some facts transpired, from which some doubts of his guilt might
be fairly entertained."
During the past week a good deal of exertion has been made by
the Sheriffs, and by the Solicitor of the convicts, George Houghton
and James Bishop, to save them from capital punishment. These
youths were convicted of assaulting and robbing Mr. Fuller, a
surgeon, at Bethnal-green, but,' from the time of their apprehen-
sion to the present moment, they have uniformly protested that
they were not the persons who committed the robbery in question.
When on their trial, their defence was an alibi, but the Jury dis-
crediting the evidence, which went to prove that they were not on
the spot when the robbery was committed, found them Guilty.
Riley,- who was convicted with Amelia Roberts, of stealing
plate, &c., value 4001., in her master's house, is a poor simple
-creature, and -he asserts that he did not know of the robbery till
after Roberts had committed it ; and when he left London with
her he believed her representation that the property was her own.
His assertion is fully borne out by the woman, who, though re-
gardless of her own fate, has manifested . the utmost anxiety to
save him from execution ; and to the Sheriffs, and Dr. Catton,
her constant exclamation has been, " Poor Riley is innocent—l
alone am guilty." Riley cannot read or write, and is so extremely
ignorant, that he is considered little better than an idiot he is
attended by the Rev. Mr. Devereux, the Catholic Priest. •
All the culprits, excepting White, appear to be prepared to
meet their approaching fate with firmness.
Yesterday a sermon was preached in the chapel of Newgate. At
the customary hour the Sheriff's arrived at the chapel, when the
four unfortunate men were conducted to the condemned pew; at-
tended by Mr. Baker.
The Rev. Mr. Cotton read the service of the day, and when he
came to that part of the Liturgy where the mercy of heaven is
invoked "for those who await the awful execution of the law,"
White, who had hitherto been wrapt in thought, burst into tears,
and remained deeply affected for a considerable time afterwards, as
did his unfortunate companions.
During the whole service the unfortunate men behaved in a be-
coming manner. The female (Roberts) was seated in the gal-
lery, where she was attended by religious persons of her own sex.
At the conclusion of the sermon the culprits left the condemned
pew, White taking the lead: he walked unsteadily ; and, long be-
fore he got to the door of the chapel, be put on a fur cap, as if
unconscious of what he Was doing.
After the was conducted to-his cell, the unfortunate man was
visited by his wife, and afterwards by his mother. Several of
the relatives of the other culprits were also admitted to an inter-
view. .

LAW OF LIBEL.—Anew American dictionary has
recently been published at New York, by a person of the name of
Anson, who thus defines the word incongruous :—" Incongruous,
a. absurd, unsuitable, inconsistent, the English law of libel."

DALKEITIL—We are informed that the town of
Dalkieth, together with the Duke of Buccleue.h's Palace and Park,
are to be soon lighted with gas, and the works set a-going imme-
diately under the superintendence of an able engineer. The lamps
ars to be lighted upon a new and inure expeditious plan, and
therN some talk of placing a large gal lamp at each of the four
parapet of the tower of the Old Church, furnished
el
reflectors, in order to prevent the operations of
ewpirtnher psow .4
e, the
midnight intruders,—the disturbers of the dead. These lights
will, present a beautiful appearance . when viewed from the Noble
Duke's Pfaaco, as well as from.the surrounding country, where
they will mark to.he eye of the traveller, the exact site of Dal..
keith, even in almost --- darkest night,.Edinburgh Paper.