The Express. — 1866-11-21 (London, England)

THZ IDITOIL OP TEI 17711218.  6/14—Everyone to whom i have shown the following correspondence agrees with me in thinking that it ought to be published, with the view of showing what sort of instruments were employed by the authorities in punishing the alleged rebellion in Jamaica. The seta of the court-martial at Morant Bay which I impugned were mainly these :—I did not complain of anything that was done before the time that Governor Eyre wrote to Mr. Oerdwell that the rebellion had been got under " long before "—in fact, before Friday, October 20, the tenth day in the history of the affair, when all shadow of -danger and excitement was utterly away. On that Friday, October 20, at d Morsnt Bay alone (exclusive of 31 executed elsewhere), 19 were hung. The next day, Saturday, 18 were hung ; on Monday, 19, including poor Mr. Gordon. OnTuesda , 14; Wednesday,lo; Thursday, 13 ; Friday, 13 ; Saturday, 1L On the following Monday, October 30 (eighteen days after the outbreak), 12 ; on the Tuesday, 14 ; on the Wednesday, 15 ; and still later 23 more persona were hanged. Seven of them were women, although the stories of the atrocities inflicted by women at the outbreak were proved before the commission to be unfounded. It might be sup=that all the 180 persons whom Lieutenant and' his compeers were allowed to bang must at least have been guilty of some sort of connection with the murders that had taken place. Will it be believed that except twenty-five, they were not so much as accused of having been engaged in any murder whatever, but of rebellion alone 1 Of these rebels, accused of rebellion or sedition, only three were women—Justina Taylor, Mary Anne Francis, and Letitia Geogehan. It was shown before the commission that many of these poor wretches had been put to death under circumstances of shocking torture. Lieutenant Errington, who superintended 130 executions, says :—" Occasionally the sailors had to assist them to death, pulling them by the legs, or pushing the knot down closer to the neck and we are told elsewhere, though not officially, that sometimes large stones were put upon their necks, to put an end to their fearful struggles. This also ought to be noted, that on the 30th of October Governor Eyre officially proclaimed " that the wicked rebellion lately existing in certain parts of the county of Surrey had been subdued." He adds, " the cnief instigators thereof and actors therein have been visited with the punishment due to their heinous offences, and lam certified that the inhabitants of the districts lately in rebellion are desirous of returning to their allegiance." Now, on and after the day of the publication of these words more than a hundred negroes were executed, of whom sixtyfour were executed at Morant Bay by the orders of Lieutenant Brand. And note this, that of the sixtyfour men hung at Morant Bay after the publication of this amnesty, forty-six were charged with rebellion only, not with complicity in any murder. But besides all these, 202 persons were flogged at Morant Bay alone, and great numbers were also condemned to long terms of imprisonment. It has been lately stated that Lieutenant Brand has been promoted by the present Administration. I am, &c.,