The New York herald., 1868-08-27
ENGLAND.
FROM our LONDON coaasspoxDsxr.

The First Privntc Observation-Disclosures Re.
ports OF "AgouizinR" Len9th-Fact Against
Fiction-The Diplomatic Clothing Question:
TheutricRls.
LONDON, August IL, 1853.
The first private execution in England under the
new law took place in Maidstone jail last Thursday.
and was attended only by sixteen representatives Of
the press three curiosity mongers, the under sheriff.
Caicrsft the hangman: his assistants and the prison
warders. The victim was a stupid brutal youth,
only eighteen years old, who was employed on
railroad and shot the superintendent I'm cold blood
because he had been lectured for breaking the rules
The boy was hung In his railway uniform and died
very easily. He was singing psalm as the drop
fell Not the slightest noteworthy incident occurred
during the execution either inside or outside the
Jail.
The London Times thinking that private executions
were intended TO be very private, limited the remarks
of its reporter to O few BRIEF bald paragraphs The
other papers took different view OF the matter. The
0nr sent Mr.. Edmund Yates, the novelist the
7s,cq,upn sent Mr.. George Augustus sala and the
Ne,rs sent Mr. Joseph Parkinson to describe the
scene all with instructions to out Herod both Herod
and each other in piling on the agony Sala man.
aged To al two columns Of the telegraph with II
ana all about nothing, too AZ consequence some
OF the journals are arguing that executions which
afford food for such articles In the papers are not
half private enough
one thing IL, however, certain-the object Of the
new law has been attained Those horrible execu-
ton mobs which used TO infest England are now
entirely abolished. There was no crowd outside the
Maidstone jail, and there was nothing for crowd
to see II 1t had collected Never again SHAH we nave
o jail mob IN England. The example OF the United
States has been adopted and IL found to be a. good
a thing as most other Yankee notions. Now, the
United states win only recip rocats BY adopting she
English notion OF q public executioncr the reform
on both sdes OF the water Will be complete
deserves to be noticed, because IL has greatly sur.
prised everybody here although IL s very iaIniar In
America. Inc law provides that black rag snali
be displayed and bell tolled when the drop Islisl
30 that all may know that the criminal b dying ana
30 that the impression OF terror may be made upon
every MIND. This was considered strong point III
| the law. Years ago Mr.. Charles Dickens drew an
awful picture OF the gloom In the city, the closed
shops, the praying people and the general shudder
tce this turns out to be all absurd At Maidstone no
shops we're closed. no people prayed, no gloom nor
shuddering occurred In fact nobody seemed TO
| care anything about the execution. Thus fact and
| fiction disagree.
| Mr.. John Douglass Cook the editor OF the Satur-
ddV Reutee, died last Monday at his chambers IN the
| Albany and although the news OF his decease may
| have already reached you beg to say few words
| In regard TO IT, Mr.. Cook was unquestionably the
| ablest editor In England. lie worked himself to
( death In those two sentences you have the whole
! story mr. Cook lived In and with aud Tor his paper
AMI he made n marvel oi cdtOrshipai the articles
written w difiercnt men, but exactly alike In