The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1876-03-25 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

THE WHITECHAPEL-ROAD MURDER.O  all, .ile warm fl remeneeke_re.4l;--;----""--.7-7(71e.  The Rev. A. Conder, who, it may be re interested hiu,self en behalf of the family of Wainwright, the Whitechapel•roai murderer, has jut pubikhed a lit of ,üb,criptious. The t tal amount fin hscri b.-a, it app.ars, was £1,232 Ns. 10d., there being 1.032 subscribers. The highest individual donation was £5O. Mr. Conder quotes a letter from a gentleman who sent a remittance, and who had known Wainwright for 20 year.. The writer states that at one time Wainwright was making a clear profit of £1,200 a year, until he took to gambling and other evil courses. Mr. Conder continues :  "The opinion expressed in this letter agrees with what Wainwright told me were the actual conditions of the murder, all the details of which he professed to give to me the day before his execution. I cannot, however, venture to give an opinion respecting the amount of credibility which ought to be given to his statements. Till I saw him after his condemnation I had scarcely heard of him for years. When I then saw him I was painfully struck by the great change which, even in external appearance, had come over him. As regards what I may call his moral self, the word change does not sufficiently convey the idea his language and conduct gave me. I had known him as, at least in externals, a good Christian man, and found him in every respect the reverse of this. Though he several times quite broke down while I was with him, yet at the last I was under the impression he was withholding something by force of determination and against the struggles of his better self. Feeling this, I think the authorities exercise a wise discretion by not publishing his final statement, the contents of which Wainwright told; to me. I have had many inquiries about the autobiography he is supposed to have written. Enterprising publishers, have offered large sums for it, and some seem unwilling to accept my assurance that no such MS exists or has misted. Beyond a few letters and the statements held by the autho.. titles, Wainwright wrote nothing From one ef the letters, he wrote I quote the following, and commend the words to* the consideration of thou who think it possible a poor wretch MI be eneouraged to commit such a crime as Wainwrightr. to secure for his ehildren the pittance charity affords. The words are : " 'I feel now that when you left me on Wednesday I had' hardly sal any thieg that I wanted to say. Though full of burning thoughts, my heart was filled with such an opprtssive grief, I could not tell you what I wished. God, bless you for your kindness; thank you above all for your' conduct on behalf of my wife and family; your act removed the load of grief which weighed down my sorrowing heart. Yes, it is a sorrowing, broken heart, when I reflect what I was, what I might have been, and what I now am. I could hardly have supposed that there was so much goodness and forgiveness in this world. I truly thank the good, the merciful God, that the sins of the father are not visited upon the children. May mine never know who their father was. IRA, my God! that I should ever have had to pen that seillenee ; I who loved them so, and was so beloved by them. Why, I have heard ladies—mothers—say, almost with envy, "How his children love him !" What must my feelings now be—what the agony of my heart? Pardon 14 thus troubling you; I cannot help it; I must tell you my grief—it relieves me. Sty dear wife, poor soul, was with me to-day. She said, "1 should not have minded this so much if you had been a cruel husband to me, but you have not." Poor thing, she never knew of my wickedness till the world knew it too, and now even she forgives me. Oh, may God be merciful and kind to her—be her protector and her friend In conclusion, Mr. Candor says Mrs. Wainwright hones with the assistance of the fund to be able to support her children by giving lessons in music. Friends are also endeavouring to get some of the chitdren into charitable institutions. Mrs. Wainwright has urged me to express as strongly as I can her thankfulness for the help afforded her, and the truly Christian comfort which so many have bestowed."  pyer the- sur(ay 1)a i extrime l 'the warn; bra° '