The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-12-16 00:00:00

punishment devolves in such cases), finding, on en-

Mr. R. Hoskin:

To be followed by the Monopologue of
SARAH WIGGINS ;

A WIDO H

?SUS A BACHELOR

Written expressly for and played by l‘,
wards of 900 Nights in England, Irel

n it 1

America, in which she will sus

1 no fire,

To conclude with the new laughable

DARBY KELLY

Mr. T. Lee,

th the Song of " Widow Macr

4MPHITHEATRE, GREAT CHARLOT 7
STREET.

AMERICAN CIRCUS

LAST FOUR NIGHTS.

THIS EVENING

Friday,) the 16th instant, for the

BENEFIT Of the TWO CLOWNS;
MESSRS. PENTLAND AND ROCKWELL
First Appearance in England of the American Rider
AYMAR.

Mademoiselle CAMILLE LEROUX in her much-ad-
mired Act Of THE STAR AND FLOATING SCARP.
VAULTING EXTRAORDINARY,
on which occasion Mr. Lipman, the celebrated American
Vaulter, will particularly distinguish himself.
Mr. NORTH 4s the SPRITES.
Mr. AYMAR will appear in a, principal Act of Horse-
manship.

*** The Proprietors of the American Circus respectfully
ve notice that their Liverpool Season will CLOSE ON
UESDAY next, the 20th instant, and that they will

glish 0

formance in the I

1 expl

TO COR

3.ESPON

THE POLYTECHNIC
notice the proceedi

evening, until our n

inserted in tt

ijP Y.LttUT:OO

FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 16, 1842

1 whatE

parative for

from the surgeon of the gaol, that in the opinion

of that functionary he could undergo additional re-

)ut injury to his then state of health—

im in solitary confinement in a cell, where his

food was only bread and water. At the expiration of
three days he was removed to another and less rigorous
place of punishment—namely, amongst the boys, in
ward No. 10, after which he was again sent to the
hospital, where, never having rallied, and becoming.

daily worse, he died in about a fortnight afterwards

had complained of pain in his chest, was much
relaxed, and had a violent cough." It was stated by
the governor that the cell was boarded, and that it was
une as those in the hospital, with the exception
id no light. He should have added, that it
The wife of the deceased said that he.had
, called I been afflicted with dysentery for twelve weeks pre-

viously to his being put in solitary confinement
coroner, on the evidence being heard, said that, as an
individual, he lamented that the man had, under the

circumstances, be

subjected to the confinement
tateU, as his treatment in that respect might be sup-
posed to have accelerated his death. He himself, how-
ever, did not assume to judge so competently as the
surgeon, and left the matter to the conscientious opi-

nion of the jury. The latter returned a verdict, in
the first instance, to the effect that the deceased had
died by the visitation of God, in a natural way, but
appended an opinion that the deceased, considering his
illness, had not been properly treated in being placed
in solitary confinement, as stated. The coroner, how-
ever, urged that such a verdict went to attach an im-
putation which it was not perhaps meant to convey—
corn- both the surgeon and the gaoler having acted, in their
kuse' official capacity, to the best of their judgment, and in

ion, that I

had no conception that the

solitary confinement would affect the prisoner's health,

uch effect when he visited him
while undergoing it. On the contrary, if he had had

nor did he notic

I doubt he would have given the prisoner the benefit

Mr. Highton also explained that he had only

acted in strict accordance with his duty, as laid down
by the authorities he was bound to obey; and on these
assurances the jury, " good easy men," recalled the
obnoxious appendage to their verdict, and reduced it
to a simple finding of " died from natural causes."

Such is a brief statement of the facts as they trans-
pired, and as recorded more fully by us, without con-
tradiction, at the time; and they certainly give rise in
our minds to some painful reflections. The unfortu-
nate man

whose original sentence, we repeat, we do
lot impugn—was evidently in a very feeble and de-
clining state of health throughout. His constitution,

r cause, was broken up, and he was in
the last stage of mortal decay. He could scarcely be
deemed a fit subject on whom to experimentalise in

the matter of physical, and, we may add, mental en-
durance, involved in solitary confinement on bread and

water. Due nourishment, hospital comfort, and com-
lmarance, were more likely to effect his re-

; and the law, in the sentence properly pro-
nounced against him, never contemplated anything
beyond his term of imprisonment, with hard labour,
if he were enabled to endure it—not else. We have
no maudlin sympathy for felons, whatever their former
station may previously have been; neither do we
charge the goaler nor the surgeon with acting beyond
the strictboundaries of their duty ; though we think that
both might, in the exercise of their discretion, have con-

sidered a little more minutely, that solitary confinement,
with such meagre diet, was to a declining man, who
had been accustomed to some of the luxuries of life,

a much more trying and severe alterative than to one
t health, to whom they could only have meted
That the governor had his

out the same punishment