The Sun. — 1848-03-09 (London, England)

THE LATE MURDER IN ST. JAMES'S PARK. THE CASE OF ANNETTE MEYERS. Last evening it public meeting was held at the London Tavern, to take into consideration the case of Annette Meyers, at present under sentence of death for the murder of Henry Ducker, in St. James's Park. The largo room of the London Tavern was densely crowded. J. Bright, Esq., M.P., presided, and was supperted by George Thompson, Esq., M.P. ; Alderman Sidney, M.P. ; the Rev. 1)r. Mortimer, Head Master of the City of London School ; the Rev. Thomas Binney ; Charles Gilpin, Esq. ; John Scoble, Esq. ; J. Macrae, Esq., barrister•at-law ; and other gentlemen of influence in the City. The Rev. Dr. MORTIMER proposed the adoption of a petition to her Majesty, praying for the exercise of royal clemency in the case of the unfortunate woman, and while they (the petitioners) did not excuse the crime, directed her Majesty's attention to the extraordinary provocations she had received. Dr. Mortimer stated that the late mistress of Annette Meyers had called upon him that morning, and had spoken in the highestterms of the convicted woman, and assuring him that she had prepared a petition to her Majesty, to be signed by her immediate friends. The Rev, T. BINNEY seconded the motion. Mr. BENNETT said he had been on the jury who had tried Annette Meyers, and he begged to say that the only delay which had occurred on the part of the jury was in consequence of the difficulty they found in using language strong enough to convey their sense of the necessity of a recommendation to mercy. The petition was then adopted. Mr. C. GILPIN remarked that he had inquired into the subject of Annette Meyers's parentage, and he found that she was the daughter of a gentleman standing high in society, and that she ought to have been brought up as that gentleman's child. He proceeded to advocate the total abolition of the punishment of death, on many grounds, the principal being that innocent persons not unfrequently suffered. In proof of this assertion he instanced a large number of most interesting cases, and concluded by proposing a resolution based upon the remarks he had made. GEORGE THOMPSON, Esq., M.P., seconded the resolution. The resolution having been adopted, several other gentlemen addressed the meeting, aid the petitions which had been agreed to were numerously signed. The usual compliment to the Chairman closed the proceedings.  fourteen )ears. Sir PETER LAURIE said the practice of non-transportation of delinquents had led to much evil to the public. The tact was that the convict prisons were made so comfortable by the humane excesses of some people, that the lazy and base availed themselves of the facilities which shop-windows presented, to aid them in getting into prisons, where they could maintain comfortable quarters for the year.—(Hear, hear.) He recommended to the Court the perusal of the report on Scotch gaols, by Captain Kincaid, their late able and excellent Governor of Bridewell Hospital, in every word of which Sir George Grey concurred. Alderman SIDNEY said the City was completely. overrun with the vagrants who indulged themselves in the mischief described, and that if Government did not interfere, the unions would soon be crowded to suffocation with vagrants, 30,000 of whom daily wandered over the metropolis. lie recommended the application of the machine invented by the keeper of one of our great prisons as calculated, by its power of compelling labour to those ordered to be attached to it, to prevent persons from considering the prisons to be asylums. Alderman lieneuao.ruex suggested the propriety of conferring with the Secretary of State upon the subject of the introduction of clause to the effect represented, and another to divert the expense of sending paupers to their places of settlement from the City of London unions, in which the expenditure from pauperism was becoming quite intolerable. Alderman SALOMONS said he felt bound, as a guardian of one of the country unions, to contradict a report which had been circulatzd, to the effect that it was the practice of remote parishes to send their poor to London. Whatever might be done in the neighbouring unions, he could certainly say that those at a distance never contemplated anything of the kind. It was a serious evil that the expense of supporting vagrants from all parts should fall upon the City, and until that evil was grap • pled with it would be useless to expect much improvement in the vagrant population. The suggestion of Aldermen Wilson and Farebrother was then formed into a motion and agreed to.