The Express. — 1862-08-26 (London, England)

MURDERER.  The condemned criminal, Geor3e Gardner, a ploughmau, suffered the last penaltj of the law, at 10 o'clock vestenlay morning, before the county gaol at Warwick. The execution was performed by Smith, of Dudley. The murder was a meet unprovoked and coldblooded one. Sarah Kirby, his fellow servant, was shot dead whilst she was standing at her washing tub, on the gird of April last. Both she and the into Gardner were employed at a roadside farm, on the confines of the county, cad she was a very good-looking, well-conducted girl. He was a disreputable character. Soon after he went to the farm where the murder took place she complained to Mies Edge, the housekeeper, that be annoyed her very much by his attentions and his attempts to kiss her. Mr. Edge, her master, hearing of this, called them both into the parlour, and told him he must not repeat his conduct to her, whereupon Gardner said, "Well, if I can't have her, no one else shall." No farther complaints were made after this, though there is reason to believe he continued Weed. The only complaint he bad against her was that she would not draw him the proper quantity of beer ; but the truth was that he wanted more than his fair share. On the morning of the murder he was at work in the plough-field, his mister being absent at a cattle fair, and he made remarks to the other labourers which showed him to be 000tetoplanag some act of violater*, saying he wished he bad " some one before him—he would kill them, and so on ; but he appears to have left his work and returned to the house without causing any suspicion in their minds that he was about to commit the crime of murder. Having reached the beim, he asked the girl to fetch him his master'adoublebanelled gun for shooting rooks. He had been in the habit of usingit for this purpose before, and no surprise wasfelteither by the girl or by Miss Edge, the housekeeper, who saw her hand the loaded gun to him, Miss Edge remarking, " Mind, it's loaded, George." He raid, " Yee, ma'am, I know it is," sod tried it by taking off the cap and letting the hammer down. Finding it all right, he followed Kirby to the washbowls, and shot her in the 'cock of the neck. He afterwards threatened Mies Edge, and there is no doubt that if she had not concealed herself he would have shot her. He then escaped with the gun, and was taken by the police on his way to Oxford. Some delay took place in the execution ; and from the bad adjustment of the rope or some other cause, the criminal died reniarkably hard, struggling much, until at last the body hung monocle's in the air. The crowd contained a large proportion of women, but was orderly in the extreme, and began to disperse as soon am the drop fell. Before his execution Gardner made the following confession :—" I did not want to pay my addresses to Sarah Kirby, but she would sever draw me the proper quantity of beer, and that vexed me. I did not know the master was away on the 23rd of April, and the witness who said I asked him where he was will have to suffer for his perjury. I tried my luck in the field by throwing the 'spud of the plough, which came down with the point in the earth. If it had fallen fiat I should not have killed her ; but as it came down point foremost, I left the field with the determination to do it. I should have killed Miss Davis if I had got near enough to her, ad it's a good job no one stopped me before I sold the goa."