Star.
London, England, 1814-01-24 00:00:00

PETERBOROUGH SESSIONS.

At the above Sessions, on Wednesday, the ttial of
William Edward:, alias Smith, for ste,ililg a mare, the
property of Mr. Robert Abbot, of G►ghirn, in tli,
parish of Wisbech, came or. before Lout MILTON,
Chairman, and a lull -Bench of Magistrates.
After a long andspatient investigation, the prisoner
was found guilty. On his being called uponfto an•
saver why sentence of death should not be passed upon
him according to law, he put in a long written state:
mem.iii nlitigaticu of punishment, in which he 0.4!
the following rather singular acebunt- of:himself ethyl
the occasion of his miseries : •

r " litaheyear 17ts3, I 04. k a,4ecoy a 44 farin near
Pownham, and sewn afterwards funned a connec-
kion-with' a female, with whOrn 14nticttted -manl4'
Meats of happiness—but alas ! howei.tertatri 'We' the
events of humanolife 1 Its *few years my. fund 14iest
were 'blasted 1,- That which had..4setnniseti -me so'
mach comforts scemedatow to threetelt. nay destruei
tion. An optiosition on the par(of the. parents of the
object of my affections our unicifi,—distiirbed our
minds, and selfAiestructioo .by her who-*as dear to
me, sealed- what the oppci...'tjon of her parents began.
" I soon found my mind too much absorbed in
melancholy reflections to attend to business, and my,
affairs becoming consequently irispoverithed, I left
the iliode *hid) .11enteted u; on *WI a fair prospect
of succemoind where I sought so mach happiness in;
Yaini tP,find an asylum I knew not where.
I, I first went into the county of &sex, ,sod after!
'obtaining an 'honest livelihood iniariouaaituations,
'(for I could settle .'ho where), under a distressed'
!tit*ofmind, for several years, I left my native!
country, (in the hopes of ielfetring myaliStresses) for
the West Indies There I remained a few years, but,
the ideas I had formed of-quieting my mind abroad,
.proved mere visions. I fodnd I -could not be happy,'
and, therefore, after a few years' eat, I again retur-,
ned to tngland ; and a second time resorting to the
county of Essex, I supported myself by my own in-
dustry for a few 'years longer, but my state of mind
hecame *more and more troubled, and I once more
scent to a foreign dime, to relieve, if possible, my
unhappy frame. But, alas ! my misery did not end
here.. All my efforts proved fraitlesr, and having
wandered about a few years longer, an alien from my
native.country, I returned a second time to England,
" I sought consolation in vain, fur four or five years,
in Staffordshire,. Middlesex, and Sdffolk, and other
parts of England ; but all human efforts failing to
bring me repose of= mind, I hastened, without reflec-
tion, into that part of the country which I left in
1788, in so much misery and despair. I soon after-
wards engaged- as a daily labourer with Mr. Letts,of
Gnyhira s. but the near approach to my once happy
abodef_ and that of,the object of all my sorrows and
misfortunes, created fresh misery in my '•.east--and
riven,. as I was,- almost to poverty and distraction,
madness and desperation took possession-of my soul,
• I committed the act for which I now stand an
'attrluleaample before my fellow.creatufesi
" Haviug thus detailed the vicissitudes of the
greater part of my life, which has been, as miserable'
as it has been changeable, 1 will now leave that life
in your Lordship's hands, humbly hoping (for life is
still desirable) that your Let dship will be kind enough
to represent my unfortunate ease to the Prince Re-
gent, end procure for me a remission of that sentence
which I shudder to hear pronounced ; by which. I
shall soon hi enabled to convince my prosecutor and
relatives, how sensible I am of the lenity which
has ban 'slsewn me, and by which 1 may make
"atonetrient to my offended CREATOR, and become a
useful member of that society to vsitish I have,•for the
144 25 years, been almost a stranger.
• "1 trust what I am, about to say in conclusion wily
not bi considered disrespectful. to your. Lordship or
'the Magistrates en the Bench*. 1< have been given to
isotiattaad that this Cowl hartio jurisdiction. Peer

96'epc4, fig villich I.,h4ve kepoit:iviiirgel
6Xlrations that wee,e read to sne P 1710441 we
Etnt
CdrifhiltiOent stited;lhat ware was stolen ins •
bridgesbire;' anti • nil iit
ckoßsnire.: elm 1 nfotraeci• *it Vita; d!l ltt ttsieve
taken place ib one of those:winds* br aktbrsaighi
has appeared, 64. hart:plea the propesly.in. thejur6dicciOk yet, as it Walt palFea Abe .
and ftoX so it; tlrtif AM'erititleeto ari arrest
jadttivett •( :. • . . i'; A": •
66 Standing, therefore..my I bad, is:pift:ttrilif4pt •
Mawr now dries% wiebent Ask advocate, 1 confideqlt
focik. to ,tour Lordship to jse Jay advocate pasthils
awful.oCeasion ; And at, if entitled by law
an arrest of judgment, if illthOt be Wiithefa VIA
me, however heinonk Mt trnanet rut apliVitfirk
He received an impressive address warn this eirafikl.
stvrpwho passed sentence of death 1p pion ,awful
manner. at the same time statieg that, ;written *Lau&
"mot would be.matter for future eonsideration..

;

EXA'CUT,tONi, •

;

This morning Martin *pm, for,the-wilfullno
'der of Lieutenant JOHNSON, of the 15th regunent o
foot, niderieent the stinteiteetif &stasis-at Execution'
Dock, in pre settee of aft* VeCtittOrs. The infor-
tunate man waereaveyed rfoth Newgatt in 'a cert—t.
behinds him sat the Zycutioner : he was conducted
by a number of City Officers, and appeared nd-
-means prepared to meet his fast approaatng fate.—t
Having at last arrived it the tempbrary platform,
previoasso hikascendiog, he seemed to twist& a
degree of utrduntedncss seldom seen on such Metal...
choly occasions, por did he even after mounting the
icatrold flinch-from those.syniptoms of hardihood be
•had all along exhibited ; and in this Wretcfled, state,
on. the signal for his executiiin being, given, he vat
launched into eternity., Ile w.is '2l years of age. •.