The Sun. — 1860-08-22 (London, England)

IRELAND.  DUBLIN, TUESDAY MORNING. THE CONVICT HOLDEN.  A deputation waited on the Lord Lieutenant yesterday, and presented memorials praying for a commutation of the sentence of death passed on Holden, who was convicted at the last Donegal assizes of the wilful murder of head constable M'Clelland. His Excellency stated that he appreciated the motives of the memorialists, but he would consider what it was his duty to do, and prayed he might be guided to perform it aright. His Excellency afterwards most kindly admitted to an audience the wife of the unfortunate man, who carried her infant child in her arms. One of the memorials presented in favour of Holden is signed by ten out of the twelve jurymen vt ho tried him, and the other two only withheld their signatures on the ground that the jury having unanimously recommended the prisoner to mercy, there was no need for any memorial from them.  George Cass was executed at Carlisle gaol yesterday at noon, for the wilful murder of Ann Sewell, at Embleton, on the 26th of March last. The cir cumstances of the case have before appeared in The sun. At the end of last week the prisoner made another statement, which, though of a somewhat unsatisfactory character, tends to clear up some doubts as to the manner in which the murder was committed, and what was the motive for such an atrocious crime. It will be remembered that in  the prisoner's original statement he said that the girl had asked him to mend her clog; he refused to do so, and she threw a knife at him ; he threw it back at her, and it stuck in her throat, and then, after she had requested him to " put her away altogether," he went and inflicted the wounds which caused her death. He now states that a quarrel arose between him and the girl, in the kitchen, about a half-crown which he had lent her ; he  rushed at her in a passion, and pursued her along the passage to the outer door, where he caught her. A scuffle ensued at the door, he then dragged her down the passage (which accounts for the streaks of blood found on the wall), and at the end of the passage, where the body was afterwards found, murdered his victim. Yesterday morning, three or four hours before the time of execution, groups of people—men, women, and children—assembled in front of the scaffold, which was erected at an angle of the gaol wall. Trains from the west, the district in which the murder was committed, brought a great number of people ; but excursion trains from the town were run at cheap rates to induce as many persons as possible to be absent during the execution, and to these a remarkably fine day served as an additional inducement. Soon after 11 o'clock the number of people in front of the gaol began to increase greatly ; the windows commanding a view of the scaffold were occupied, and children of the tenderest years might be seen mingling in the crowd. At a quarter before 12 thousands had assembled. They divided themselves into two portions, one on each side of the scaffold, the scaffold having been so placed behind a projecting parapet of the gaol wall that the gallows could not be well seen from the front. When the clock struck twelve a stillness seemed to come upon the spectators ; children who had been running about in the open space in the centre ranged themselves with the crowd; the chapel bell began to toll, and amid the most profound silence the criminal, accompanied by the chaplain and the hangman Calcraft, ascended the platform. The chaplain read the usual texts of Scripture, the hangman placed the white cap upon the head of the unfortunate criminal, and, having shaken hands with him, adjusted the rope and retired ; the chaplain also shook hands with him and left the platform. About five minutes past 12 the bolt was drawn, and the criminal was launched into eternity. At the same instant a loud moan passed through the whole crowd. The murderer struggled but for a few seconds, and the crowd then began to disperse immediately. While the body hung only the head and shoulders were visible from the street. and