The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-04-05 00:00:00

g, above which ti

sharp mid

spect nature wear

gloomy spot on which he stood, for a moment sent the blood
mantling to his cheeks, but the glow was succeeded by the
palor which the face had worn during the morning. He a-
verted his eyes from the thousand countenances that were
bent, upon himornd lent his head to the voice of Mr. Young,
the task-master, to whose whispered sounds of comfort tie
responded with unmingled fervour and humility, exclaiming,

" Lord have mercy upon me! Lord have mercy on my soul P'
rwo turnkeys were in attendance, but their services were in
1-d, as the prisoner'walked .with apparent ease
to his last landing place. The light fetters

no wise ne
and firmn

he had worn had been struck off in the top room of the lodge.
The rope which had been dangling from the gallows for some

„
time, was now adjusted by the executioner, who just before
the cap was drawn on the eyes of. Williams pressed his hand,
and exclaimed, ” Stand firm when I leave you ;" to which
the other firmly replied, "Yes," and again repeated, " Lord
receive my soul" incessantly, till the bolt was drawn, when
the drop fell, and he expired with scarcely a struggle.
Williams made a confession, in• which he acknowledged

that he cut the throat of the poor wolpan in the presence
Slawson, who was tried with him.

On Saturday morning Joseph Wilkes, who was indicted
with four others for the wilful murder of Matthew Adams,
at Delves Bank, near Wednesbury, paid the forfeiture of his
crime on the drop in front of the county gaol, Stafford.
Throughout the night, and indeed up to the moment the drop
fell, the unhappy youth maintained the same firm demeanour
which had marked 'his behaviour ever since his condemna-
tion. He slept several hours during the night, and at an
caily.hour was awakened to attend to his devotional exer-
As the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (which is
- red on the morning of execution) had been

usually ad

partaken of on the previous Sabbath; that solemn service w

Up to the arrival of R. Hand, Esq., the un-
er-sheriff, Wilkes appearetrto'be silently- engaged in'religi-
ous contemplations and mental prayer. At, a, few Minutes
before eight o'clock the last functionvy of the, law entered
tl4 cell, and having pinioned the ands of the youthful cul-
prit, the mournful procession set out. Wilkes walked with
an,unfaltering step, .and without betraying any visible emo-

His Countenal

exhibited no

Liations either of

_ _-
sensibility or of apathy.
As the mournful procession moved along, the Rev. R.
Buckeridge read the burial service with much feeling and so-
lemnity, and on the arrival of the procession at the lodge,
the unhappy youth shook hands with the chaplain, the go-
vernor, and the other officers of the prison, and ascended the
drop without assistance. He gave a hasty glance at the
crowd whilst the rope and cap were adjusted, and at a few
minutes past eight the drop fell, and dosed the world upon
him for ever. He struggled for some time, and appeared to
die,with difficulty.

SERIOUS ACCIDENT ON THE
RAILWAY.

SOUTH WESTERN

SOUTHAMPTON, SATURDAY.—Great consternation pre-
vailed here this morning, in consequence of its being reported
that a portion of the stupendous tunnel, near Warren Farm,
had fallen in just at the moment a train was passing beneath,
and that a ;great number of lives were sacrificed. I imme-
diately proceeded to the terminus of the railway, and after
waiting till one o'clock the seven o'clock down train from
London arrived, confirming, as far as the giving way of the
tunnel, the information. It appears, however, that the acci-
dent happened soon after the seven o'clock train from South-,
ampton had passed through, 110 that several workmen were
busily employed in it at the time. On the arrival of the
seven o'clock train from London at the tunnel, the passen-
gers were taken on to the next station in carriages, which
had been prepared with the greatest promptitude by the rail-
way company. One of them told me that he went to a cot-
tage near where the accident happened,fand there lay the dead
bodies of three remarkably fine young fellows, much muti-
lated, and that workmen were at the time busily engaged in
digging out a fourth. These are all, the lives sacrificed at
present, but there are three or four more so severely injured,
that it is supposed they cannot recover. Mr. Dixon, the
resident engineer to the line, was soon on the spot after the
occurrence, and rendered his valuable assistance in directing
the men employed in digging for the lifeless bodies of their
unfortunate fellow-workmen. I can state, on very good au-
thority, that the accident will not cause a greater delay than
ten days • and till it is repaired the passengers will have to be
conveyed short distance in carriages.
The father of one of the unfortunates, John Gambell,
while suffering the greatest apparent agony, related the fol-