The Wolverhampton and Midland Counties Advertiser. — 1876-04-29 (Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England)

SICKENING SCENE AT AN EXECUTION. The Bristol hoily Post thus describes the scene which occurred at the execution of the culprit William Deacon, at Bristol Gaol, on Monday "Immediately after the drop fell it was evident, from the appalled looks of those who were in a positi nt to see the wtetched culprit in the well, that some mishap had happened, and that the prisoner's death was not so quick as it was expected would have been the case. The rope, which for a minute's space of time remained perfectly straight and motionless, began to sway about, indicating that the unhappy creature was struggling violently, and Captain Gardner (the governor of the gaol) was *Nerved to raise the wand he had in his hand and use it to push the cord out of the perpendicular. The hangman, in his desire to ensure the certain dislocation of the murderer's neck, and thus render, death instantaneous, had given him a very long drop— the length of the rope being tift. 6in.—and had not taken into account the fact that the depth of the pit into which the body dropped is only six or seven feet. In consequence of the length of the cord the feet of Deacon when he was suspended were within a few inches of the brick floor of the well, and, fearing that the rope had stretched, as it was likely to do, with the strain put upon it, Captain Gardener acted as we have described, awl pushing the cord outwards enabled the body to swing clear. Marwood seemed almost paralysed, and to have lost entirely his presence of mind, but, at a sign from the Governor, he came up and relieved him of the wand, and continued to press the rope forwards. The spectators, coming forward, then gazed into the drop, and saw the wretched man struggling in the throes of death. The convulsive movements of his chest, shoulders, and legs, were terrible to witness. He appeared to be trying to relieve himself of the suffocating pressure on his throat, and once, when the toes of his right foot touched the brickwork, he drew his shoulders back, as if preparing for a mighty effort, and sprang upwards, raising his feet many inches above the ground by the exertion. He was distinctly heard to breathe. For nearly three minutes the poor wretch fought with death, and then all was still. From the time the procession entered the garden until all signs of life were extinct fully five minutes elapsed. It was with a feeling of intense relief that the officials, visitors, and reporters left the scene of the execution, Marwood and two warders remaining in charge."  The census of Philadelphia. taken on the 3rd inst., shows a population of 817,148. The population in 1870, according to the Federal census, was 814,022.  THE ETTRIAL The resolution.to be moved by Earl Granville in the House of Lords respecting the admission of Dissenters to the parish churchyards will in the main be the same ig was debated iii the House of Comtnons this session. It will, however, make special provision for maintaining the religious character of the services, and will be less absolute in its terms than Mr. Osborne Morgan's. The Archbishop of Canterbury is exported when the debate comes on, to suggest the compromise which he has for some time been considering.  A