The Atherstone Times. — 1879-08-09 (Atherstone, Warwickshire, England)

EXECUTIONS BT CARBONIC ONIPZ.—As a substitute for the execution of a criminal by hanging, Dr. , Packard, of Philadelphia, makes the following suge' ion •—" There should be fitted up in the gaol a small room which can be made airtight. By means of very simple arrangements carbonic oxide can be sus- , tained for the air of the room, and a person confined in it would then die the easiest and quietest death known to science. He would simply cease to exist. A jury should be appointed to identify the convicted person. In their presence he should be conducted to the room and placed in it, entering by a sliding door, of plate-glass it may be, protected by a netting of iron wire. The process of rendering the air irrespirable should then be begun, and would very soon be completed. In less than ten minutes fresh air migbt be introduced by openingthe sliding door and reversing the former process, and the same jury again identifying the body, would certify to the Let of the execution having been duly carried out." At the Derbyshire Assizes, Gerald Mainwaring, a ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATIoN or Seogoas.—For some young man of good family, has been found guilty of time past an ingenious method of artificially promot- , the wilful murder of a police constable, named Joseph Moss, by shooting him with a revolver, and sentenced ing the reproduction of sponges has been practised on a large scale along the coastline of Dalmatia. It is to death. Mainwaring, it appears, recently visited well known that in certain zoophytes the power of America, and was contemplating a return to that ' reproduction is se wonderfully (developed that a small country. Before doing so he paid a visit to Derby, : part of any one of them is capable of developing a and made the acquaintance of a woman of loose clue- 1 racter. The two entered upon a round of dissipation, , new specimen complete in all its parts. Advantage is Wren of this fact by the inhabitants of the ooast, who the end being that they fell into the hands of the i I cut naturally-grown sponges into sniall bits, fasten police, and while at the lock-up the fatal shot was them upon posts, and sink these bele* water. Each fired. The Solicitor-General, who defended, endea- I such bit at once commences to grew, and eventually vuured to make it appear that the man was so drunk i develops into a good-sized, well-shaped round sponge. at the time as not to be responsible for his actions, According to general experience the average length of and that therefore the crime was manslaughter, and time occupied in this process is three years; the not murder. This view, however, did not find favour sponges thus obtained being then worth about 10 cents. with the judge (Mr. Justice Lindley), and the pri- ' g-piece. The cost of producing 4,000 such sponges, soner was found guilty of the capital offence, but inclusive of three years' interest on the capital sank, with a strong recommendation to mercy. The pri- , is about 90 florins, and the net profits of the business , soner betrayed no sign of emotion or fear. When are estimated at 34i per cent, asked by the Clerk of Arraigns if he had anything . CoyneNICATION