The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-10-11 00:00:00

EXECUTION AT STIRLING.

On Wednesday morning last, in pursuance of his sen-
tence at our late Circuit Court of Justiciary, Robert
Tenant was executed in front of the Court House, Broad-
street, Stirling, for the murder of William Peddle on
the road near Beancross, in the parish of Falkirk, on
31 August last. The barbarous nature of the attack,
and the cruelty of the means by which the aged victim
was bereft of life, rendered it all but certain that the
conviction of the murderer would be followed by a ca-
pital punishment; and although the humane feelings
of the Jury prompted them to recommend the unhappy
man' to mercy, the faintest belief could hardly have been
entertained that his was a case in which an exten-
sion of the royal clemency would take place. The un-
happy man slept little or none the night preceding his
execution. At seven o'clock on Wednesday morning he
was waited on by the Rev. Mr. Bennie, and shortly after-
wards by the Rev. Mr. Leitch, who joined with him in
prayer and praise, and religious conversation, which oc-
cupied the time till the fatal hour arrived. The religious
services accustomed to be performed before appearing on
the scaffold being concluded, the unhappy young man
was then led forward. through the Court House to the
gibbet. All being ready, the unhappy .criminal stood
trembling for a few seconds, vith his hands uplifted, and
engaged in uttering such ejaculatory expressions as these,
" God," "0 God have. mercy," &c., and having given
the signal, the drop fell at twenty-five minutes past eight
o'clock. The ill-fated youth, whose untimely end we
have now recorded, was about twenty-fonr years of age,
and a native, we believe, of the parish of Falkirk. If
not under the immediate influence of intoxication at the
moment of committing the fatal deed, he was certainly
in a phrenetic state, engendered by a course of intem-
perance. After he was in custody on the charge, the re-
collection of the commission of the crime, he said, " ap-
peared like a dream to him."
INDECENT OUTRAGE.—The executioner had come from
Etlinburgh some days previously, and, intending to re-
turn by one of the steam-boats, was proceeding thesame
day to the shore through the Castle-hill, when he was.
recognised. A crowd soon collected, and followed him
till he reached some gardens near the bridge, into one of
which he took shelter, to escape the vengeance of the
low disorderly mob, who, by this time, had become quite
outrageous. They pursued him into the garden, where
they got hold of him, and struck and abused him. See-
ing that his life was in imminent peril, he made a des-
perate effort to escape out of their hands, and having
succeeded, he ran towards the river, followed by the
crowd, who showered stones after him, several of which
struck him. On reaching the river, he plunged in, and
swam towards the opposite side, where, fortunately, a
person happened to be standing, who not only aided him
in getting out of the water, but was serviceable in rescu-
ing him from the crowd, who no sooner saw their victim
swimming towards the opposite side than they crossed
the river by the bridge, and would, in all probability,
have taken the man's life, had not information of the
outrage been early communicated to a number of the
high constables, who instantly proceeded to the spot,
drove off the crowd, and conveyed the man to jail for
safety. Thev not only succeeded in rescuing the man,
but in apprehending two men, still in custody, and
charged with being most actively engaged in the assault.