The North-Carolinian. [volume] (Fayetteville [N.C.]) 1839-1861, 1855-10-13
Hanging in Old Times.

\ correspondent of the Boston Transcript
gives the following incidents: While John
Hancock was Governor of the Commonwealth,
Rachel Whall was hung in Boston for highway
robbery. Her offence consisted in twitching
from the hand Of another female a bonnet, worth
perhaps % CENTS and running off with it. The
most urgent applications for her pardon were
unsuccessful. | mention this not to the dis
paragement of the Governor He doubtless
acted from sense of duty--thinking it best
for the community that the laws of the land
however frightfully severe-whle they
laws--should be executed A lad oils years
of age hung in Salem for arson, during the
administration of Governor Strong, similar APP
peals in his favor being considered aud
ruled Yet the intelligence and the humanity,
alike Of the Executive and of the Council, not
withstanding the result arrived at in both these
Instances, were uhqucstIonable.
Within the same period, gentleman of this
city saw Il girl of l I hung in London for steal
ing silver pitcher Edward Naile
Brown was hung i'll Boston for burglary COM
mitted in the house Of Captain Osas Goodwin,
in Charter street, and stealing therefrom SUN
dry articles. l owned set of the old
Bailey Trials II75 1925 embraced in a ser-
cs Of perhaps 50 quarto volumes The earliest
of these volumes contains the details of the trial
of the unfortunate DR. Dodd for forgery, whose
touching appeal for mercy, here recorded, was
fru;tlessly enforced by the splendid eloquencc
Of Johnson. In later volume, long after the
commencement of the present century, eight
separate capital convictions are recorded as one
days job of single tribunal the cuprits being
all boys and girls between the ages of ten and
sixteen, and their offences petty thefts.
One case remember of peculiar judicial at
rocity \ Young girl of I indicted Tor
stealing roll of ribbon worth three shillngs.
| The prosecutors testimony was to this effect:
''rhe prisoner came into my shop and bought
some ribbon. | saw her secret this piece also,
| personally knew her, and was on the most
friendly and sociablc terms with her When
she left the shop accompanied her, and offered
her my arm, which she accepted. We chatted
together. AS we reached the corner ola street
ieadin" to the Bow street Office, | turned to-
ward it. She said she was going in another
direction. and ba1e me good morning; said to
her, no! You are going with me! ] saw you
steal piece of my ribbotH She Immediately
timporcd me for q Gods sake to overlook it, and
restored me the article. ! said to her that l
had lost many things in this way, and was re-
solved to make her cxamplc-that l was de-
termined to have her fe!" and he got it.
can never forget how my blood boiled as read
the testimony of this cold hearted wretch. In
view Of the Judgment of mcrclful God far
rather, it seemed to me, would have been in
the place of that poor, frail erring girl, even OH
the Scaffold, than in the place of her heartless
accnser.
! ] from the pcruSal of these volumes, lior~
ror struck with the continuous record Of uncon-
the 70, 900 hangings in the reign of Henry
VIII. were matched 10y an equally long list of
persons condemned to be hung in the reign of
George III. Since this time, mnch has BEEN
done in England by Romilly, Brougham, Nc
Intosh and Sidney Smith, and as much-per-
: hapS mOrc--bv kindred phllantlIropsts OH this
side of the Atlantic.
J. PEEuous DESCENT IN BAILooS.-NIons.-
odard, with four other persons, made AM
ascent in monster balloon at Cincinnati on
Monday last. A reporter Of the Times, who
was of the aerial voyagers, gives the fol-
, lowing account of the Descent:
''Soon after Monsieur GODDARD had furnished
the altitude from his barometer, he gave us,
notice that were descending. BY gesture
he ordered to lay fiat down i'll the bottom
of the car when he gave the word of command,
and not to jump ont of the car under any cir
cumstances. just then struck Il tremendous
: gale of wind and it was evident that were
not onIysailing furiously. but descending rapid
". 1t dark that nothing could be dis
t covered, but our commander mounted the side
il of the car cast ont his anchor and waited the
c result. He commanded lis to lie down, and We
had hardly obeycd before we felt the car brush
: ing over the tree tops. The anchor caught
and held for moment, then we dashed with
: furious speed into an adjoining corl-held-n
: field however, that was full of stumps Sud-
l denly the car was dashed with great force
against tree; then up we went, then down,
= now dragging fence, again striking a.
S stump tree with great velocity, and again
+ whzzng over the cornstaks at a lightning
gallop Every man laid close to the bottom
/. of the except Mons. GODDARD, who stood up
: holding open the valve, all hoping that the
/ mouster would soon be controlled, AID we land
ed safely terra frma.
; ''Suddeny the balloon took fearfnE leap
II and brought the with tremendous crash
: against IA stump, half upsettng it. Mons
e & Gotlard's face struck the fence, and he vas
, thrown to the ground. At the same moment
0 Colonel Latham and Mr. Hole thrown
E! head foremost out of the the car MIR Bellmam
and ourself were left in the alone and, re-
lieved Of the greater portion of its weight, we
II expected to bound again into tile air. Mr.
II Bellman with great intrepdty, clambcred up
k the car side and seized the valve rope, while
Mons. GODDARD took hold of the rope swinging
n below \ furious wind at that moment swept
past the balloon made another bound, aud
dashed the car against tail, heavy, dead tree.
4 The blow Knocked rs insensible and the next
r we knew we lying with our back upon
l. the ground, the rain beating i'll our face
: our head crowded into of the car
e and the trunk of tree yng across body
+ We could not move. 1t appears that the net
L ting caught in the tree have mentioned
d and SO strong the force of the wind that
I H.. ~,