The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-10-23

drop IN the entfee-EocEfs q But it was
of no avail whntever. &c was clearly.
proved that the key had been inside
the door when i went to bed, and
that it had never been seen again,
until it was found in the coffee room.
My defence tried hard to make out
that some person likely to commit
the murder might have been in the
house on that day, but all of no use.
AS the trial went on, even l. who
knew my innocence, could not help
allowing myself that the evidence,
though purely oircumstantial, was
very strong against me. The only
points in my favor were that, on the
day of the murder / was supposed to
have committed, I travelled up to
London, and had not the least ap-
pearance of man who had anything
on his mind.
'Again, Strange was known to
have had on his person a gold watch
and purse containing few sove-
reigns and twenty-five pound notes,
the numbers of which later were
ascertained Mt the bank of South
ampton, where he had procured them
in exchange for bank-post bill
The watch had been taken, and was
never traced; the sovereigns had also
Disappeared; but the bank notes had
been exchanged Mt the Bank of Eng
land on the day of the murder, and
before I, as L fully proved, had any
communication with any one in Lon
don. Of this last point my counsel
made the most, but it did not help
me much, if anything. The jury re-
tired, and after deliberating about
half an hour, returned into court and
declared, through their foreman, that
I was guilty of the wilful murder of
Edward Strange.
Gentlemen, man who has gone
through that ordeal-who has heard
the jury pronounce him guilty of
capital crime, and heard the Judge
pass sentence of death upon him-a
man, say, gentlemen, who has gone
through that ordeal and still lives to
tell the tale, may Tor am I presump-
tious?) be looked upon as man who
has really gone through what, in
these days, would be called sensa
tional time. l heard every word the
foreman said, and found myself won
dering what the judges black cap
of which every one has heard but
few have seen-would be like Then
I was in kind of dream for time
until I heard the words condemning
me to be hanged by the neck until
was dead. A sensational effect upon
me, gentlemen, or am presumtious.
And will you favor me, sir, with q
light?
elm spite of appearances, said
this little old gentleman, smoking
with exceeding relish. my friends
did not believe me to be guilty of the
fearful crime for which I was to be
hanged by the neck until was dead,
in ten days after the trial. They
moved heaven and earth to obtain a
communication of my sentence, and,
after n great deal of trouble, they
succeeded. At the time of which I
speak, there was in England tenn
porary but strong reaction against
capital punishment. 1 cannot recol-
lect all the circumstances of the case.
but in trial for murder two men
had been condemned to death and
duly executed, and shortly after they
had been hanged by the neck until
they were dead, their supposed vic
tim made his appearance, we'll and
hearty. The public took up the
question of not hanging upon circum-
stantial evidence. and 1 benefited to
the extent of my life by the tempo
rary excitement. Twas respited, and
condemned to transportation for life,
and very shortly afterwards-fo in
those days transportation was in full
play-found myself on my way out
to Van Dieman's Land, convict
lifer.'
"For seven long years, gentlemen,
did undergo this punishment for n
crime OF which I was perfectly inno-
cent. Curiously enough, the man
who really had murdered poor
Strange, as he afterwards confessed,
went out in the same ship with me,
condemned to seven years transpor-
tation for burglary. He must have
heard me tell my story and declare
my innocence over and over again 1;
for in the colony we worked toge-
ther in the same gang. He was
afterwards assigned to o master who
lived near the prison where I had to
slave out my time, rs in those days
'lifers' whose sentence had been com