The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-24 00:00:00

EXECUTION OF DANIEL GOOD
THE MURDERER.

. At eight o'clock yesterday morning Daniel Good, the
murderer, expiated with his life'on the scaffold. the awful
crime of which a Jury of his country had convicted him.
A lovely morning ushered in the day ; the sun shone in
the heavens with unwonted splendour ; all seemed joy
and gladness, and mit one human being mid all the:dense
crowd which surrounded the place - of execution but
seemed happy and cheerful. Whilst such was the aspect
of affairs outside, who could tell the feelings of the
wretched criminal within ? Convicted by his country-
men, a.nd his own conscience, of the inost dreadful crime
which can be imagined—an object of detestation to his
fellow-mortals—about to leave this world without. one to
pity or mourn over his fate—and with the prospect of a
dread eternity before him—his feelings must indeed have
been intense ; and little wonder, if in such a situation
reason should forsake her seat, and insanity usurp her
place. When we beheld the wretched man standing
almost lifeless on the scaffold, - his face of a deathly,
Clayey complexion, and his whole frame trembling, with
large.drops of perspiration standing on his brow, though
he felt not for his victim, we could feel for him, and we
would fain that the dread ceremony were over, and that
we were again wending our way homeward.
But we intik, descend to particulars ; and we shall
commence by stating that the crowd which had assem-
bled to witness the execution was, perhaps, more !omicr-
ons than had been seen for many years around. thegaol
of New-gate. A great number of anxious' visitants,-de-
termined if possible to obtain a .good • view, were there
all night, and at •one o'clock the street was quite
impassable ; from that hour until eight o'clock the
crowd momentarily increased, and at that hour it sur-
passed every thing we ever beheld ; the whole street
from St. Sepulchre's Church to Ludgate-hill was one
mass of human beings—men, IN-Omen, and children. The
houses opposite the gaol also were crowded .with spec- '
tators, and high premiums. were _paid for every spot
whence there was the least probability of beholding the
spectacle. Up to the time of execution the mob ap-
peared in excellent humour, jokes were bandied about,
hind peals of laughter and hurraing as an unfortunate
policeman passed through, were occasionally heard, and
the greatest excitement prevailed.
After attending divine service on Sunday morning, the
wretched culprit caused two letters to be written, one to.
Molly Good, and the other to a; Mrs. Spencer ;' we could
not obtain access to them, but Were informed that they.
contained nothing of the slightest importance. At an
early hour last night he retired to rest, and slept soundly
for two or three hours ; he was awoke betimes in the
morning, and partook of a slight breakfast. At six
o'cloCk, Mr. Sheriff Magnay went to him, and remained li
with him nearly an hour ; Mr. Carver, the Ordinary,
was also with him dire,:tly he _ rose, and never left his
side until the fatal bolt was drawn. At half-past five
o'clock, Mr. Cope, the Governor of Newgate, was with
him for a short time, when he 'repeatedly said, " Mind,
I'm no murderer." The. Sheriffs and their attendants
having entered the condemned. cell, and the prisoner
having been handed over into their custody, he - was
conducted to the Press-room,' and sat down en a
bench with Mr. Carver on one side of him, and
-Mr. Sheriff Magnay on the other ; at this time
he appeared to be suffering the greatest mental anguish,
and to be qUite' incapable of listening to the exhortation
to repentance to which the worthy Divine was desirous
of drawing his attention. Seizing Mr. Cope by the
hand, he said, " Oh, Mr. Cope, my best friend, I never
took her life ; I declare to God I never took her life ;"
and then, clasping his hands, he said, " The Lord have
mercy upon me. I hope the Lord will take me and
show me the gates of heaven. ' I never took her life,- 1
never took her life." The Rev. Ordinary again urged i
him to repentance and confession, reminding him that he !
was now going to stand before the Judge of all. Upon
this the prisoner rose, and elevatint, his right hand,
said, "I swear before Almighty God, as I hope for i
mercy, [never took her life. The Lord be with you
all." He then shook hands repeatedly with the Sheriffs.
Again did the Rev. Divine exhort him to repent and
confess, saying, " You know the Bible says, 'lf we con-
fess our sins, God is righteous and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity;' and again,
' lie that hideth his sins shall not .prosper, but he that
confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy, and God
will abundantly pardon him.' " The culprit replied, " I
should tell you in a moment if I did the act; if I had 1
any weight on my mind, I would unburden it. Why
should I tell a lie on departing from this wprld ?" At
five minutes to eight he rose from his seat, and adjusted
his dress, which was the same he wore in chapel-vest
day, with the air of a man who was goinr, about his
daily occupations, and shook hands several' times with
the Ordinary and the hangman. He then went up to 1
Mr. Cope, and whispering, requested that he would let
him have a little wine and water. Nearly a
tumbler of wine and water was brought to
him, and he drank it all off. Ile then
rose and turned up his coat sleeves with the utmost
composure, whilst the hangman pinioned his arms and
wrists ; his neckcloth was next removed, the culprit
telling the hangman that there was a pin somewhere
which must be removed before the neckcloth could be
untied ; his throat was then bared, the bell of the prison
began. tolling, and the melancholy procession set out,
the Rev. Ordinary preceding the culprit and reading in
a clear and distinct tone the burial service. The culprit
walked with a slow firm step to the scaffold, and ascended
it without hesitation ; he glanced hastily round on the
immense multitude, and there was a tremendous yell
raised, so loud and so fierce as •to be sufficient to strike
terror into the heart of the stoutest man. At this mo-
ment he turned very pale, and trembled much, but said
nothing. Scarcely an instant was occupied in adjusting
the noose, which having been accomplished, and the cap
drawn over his face, the executioner retired from the
scaffold. The signal was immediately given, the bolt
was withdrawn, and the unhappy man was no longer an
inmate of this world. The only motion we observed on
the withdrawal of the bolt, was a slight raising of the
arms, but it was only for a moment ; otherwise there
was no struggling, or rigidity •of the limbs to be ob-
served. It might be'said that he died without a struggle
and without a groan. At nine o'clock the body was cut
down and conveyed into the prison.
We cannot conclude our report without publicly ten-
dering our thanks to Mr. Cope for the attention which
we, in common with the oth6r representatives of the
press, received from him.
..

HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY.

TRIAL OF SMITH AND WISHART.

On Wednesday, Robert Smith, late teller in the Glasgow
and Ship Bank, and James Wishart, wine and spirit merchant,
Glasgow, were placed at the bar under criminal lettersbearing
that the said Robert Smith and James Wishart, acting in con-
cert, did, at various times, between 11th day of October, 1838,
and 3d January, 1842 inclusive (the particular times being to
tktpublic prosecutor unknown), w►ckedly and feloniously steal
large quantities of bank-notes, gold, &c., amounting in all to
10,7151. ss. Bd., or thereby, the property of the Glasgow
and Ship Banking Company—said sums being en-
trusted to Robert Smith as teller. That Robert
Smith, by false representations and fraudulent entries in the
books kept by him as teller, and by the use of false and fabri •
rated slips or vouchers, and pretended bank-checks drawn by
said James Wishart, and furnished by him to Smith, and of
temporary loans made by Wishart to Smith for tho purpose of
Concealing said acts of theft, or by other means, did contrive
to conceal the-said acts of theft; or that otherwise, as teller
aforesaid, entrusted with money, and James Wishart, in know-
ledge of said trust, acting in concert together, did feloniously
embezzle and appropriate to the use of both, or one or other of
them, the said bank-notes, &c.

The prisoners pleaded not guilty.
Several objections were taken by the counsel for the prison-
ers to the revelancy of the indictment, but these having been
repelled by the Court, a Jury was empannelled, and the case
proceeded. The evidence for the Crown and for the defence
occupied the whole day, and about nine o'clock the Court ad-
journed till next day.
On Thursday the Counsel for the Crown and the defence
having been heard, the Lord Justice Clerk recapitulated and
commented on the evidence. The proceedings occupied the
greater part of the day; and the Jury returned a verdict of
Not Proven in the case of Wishart, but found Smith Guilty,
and he was sentenced to transportation for fourteen years.—
Edinburgh Paper.