Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1859-01-15 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

TAUNTON. Friday.—This morning, at nine o'clock, Winiam Burgess underwent the extreme penalty of the law in trout of the Somerset county gaol, in this town.  The crime for which the wretched criminal forfeited his life was one of extreme turpitude and enormity. The victim of the murder was P.urgess's own child, a litt'e girl about six year-. of age, whose support, it would seem from the evidence adduced at the trial before Mr Justice Byles, had become irksome to him. His other children were grown up and able to provide for th, mselves, but for the youngest, Anna Maria, he had to pay a sum of 2a 6d a week for her board to t'e woman in whose house he lodged. On a Sunday morning in July last, under prete.ice of taking the little creature to live with a s'ster at Porlock, Burgess and his daughter left the cottage at Exmoor at which he resided. He himself returned home in the afternoon without the girl, who was never afterwards seen alive. Early in August he left Exmoor, stating that , h.. was going to seek work elsewhere. SOO,l after he bad left it was found that the child had never been taken to Porlock ; search was made, and some of the clothes she wore were found partial y burnt at a lonely spot on Exmoor, and other circumstances were d a. covered which led to the suspicion that a foul murder had been committed. The father was traced by Supt. Jeffs, of the Semerset County Constabulary, to Swansea, and on being apprehended the wretched man confessed his guilt. Finding eubsequeutly, however, that the body of the child had not been discovered, Burgess maintained a stolid demeanour, and seems for a time to have hoped to escape conviction. Circumstances transpired in the meantime which pointed to the probability of the body having been thrown down the shaft of an old mine, called Wheal Eliza Mine, at wl ich the prisoner was formerly employed, but the working of which had ceased for some years, and which had become filled with water to the depth of nearly 220 feet. At great labour and expense the magistracy of Soinersetshire caused the water to be pumped out. Operaticns for that purpose were commenced on the 14th of October, and the work was completed on the 2nd of December. At the bottom of the shaft the body of the murdered child wau found. The garments in which it was wrapped, with a long chain of other circumstances, conclusively fixed the guilt of the murder upon the father, while the surgical evidence showed that her life must have been taken after the infliction of much brutal vioence. For a crime so atrocious Burgess's life was justly forfeited, and, as already stated, the sentence of the law was carried into effect this morning. Just la, fore the gaol clock struck nine the bell announced that the process on to the scaffold had stared, and within a minute or two °Le of the wardeurs, followed by the chaplain, the cenvict, and the executioner, ascended. The prisoner walked to his doom with surprising firmness. While the conclusion of the burial service was read, Calcraft adjusted the rope, and the officials having departed, the belt was withdrawn. An audible sensation ran throw h the crowd as the wretched mail fell, and after struggling convulsively for sever .1 seconds, lie ceased to exist. The body, after hanging the usual time, was cut down, and in pursuance of t terms of the sentence, was afterwards interred in the precincts of the gaol. The multitude who witnessed the execution dispers.ed almost immediately after Burgess was dead. The culprit did not say a word upon the scaffold, and made no request pr viously to being led to execution.