Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1874-08-12 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

EXECUTION AT EXETER.  ' At eight o'clock on Magda, ',iambs Timm Macdonald, who... fortnight tire. •••••••inassilt.dr& for the murder of his pm•amow, Bridget Welds. at Plymontb, was executed within the Devon County Gaol, at Exeter. Calmaft Ina Um executioner, bet he brought an assistant with him- The prisoner ham, ever since his sentence, esteemed hiin•elf= bd hie fate, and hae, during the interval hinwelf in • veey becoming manner, and expressed Amman perfectly 'abated with the inanec of him sentence. It believed that Macdonald i• • feigned name, aa no inquiries have been made by coy ratans. nate he hae been in gad. The convict himself Mated that he had • father and mother living, and they were in wed circumstances, but he would rather die • lumthaal death, Man they ithonld hear of the end that haelover. taken hint]. ft Sunday night he slept well for between hil and seven hours, and got up end dreseed shout half-pset rive o'clock on Monday morning. An hour afterward, be received the Roman Catholic priest in hit cell and the rev. gentleman remained with him until his ilew.h. The prisoner walked firmly to the ...Hold, but just as the pewit w. len‘ing the platform the convict fell back Of., the artne of Calcraft, awistant eimultaneously. however, the drop fell, and the colprit appeared to die at once. let inquest was held at half paid nine.  . , • The condemned man, Macdonald, was 30 peers of age, and having been for some months confined in the , Military H spite' at Plymouth, he wee a short time , since dracharged from the Menne. He Olen went to live Mitl3 00 elsh. who was the wife of enother 01•11, but seperatel from her husbe d. Sii had !sone children, m.lon the eldest, • boy of about It, going to her lodgings in East Stonehoune, on tve un ening of I Monday, the 314th .4 June, he heard a Lcres disturbaim • de the neon, doann trying the door h found that , locked. He at once went round to the window, i , and on jimproi in through that found the prisoner • and the deceased on the throe, the min with one hand 1 holding the worsen by the throat, whilst with the other fri,helalit poker with which he wee threatening Lee. boy', appearance stopped the disturbance, but the deceased expressol her belief tsi anciteer womaa who I came in, that tmt for the boy's interference she vs have been menterei. Further, it was stated that the rrod Ir "re'maisnb'Ee'rtiehtehee'C'erritihfio:tennef:iiiu''aii" peremly half mleep, half awake, on the wifa, and when a neighbour left them at eleven o'clock they ap'itho,,t'n:tr:i he n t,o I breakfmt hoe the prisoner went to an adjoining • public-house andoidsined scam brandy, which he drank.. At noon wane observetirms that had been made in. • rimed the owner of the public-bone rsi break imen the door of the prismer's lodgings, and Men Isith the man and the woman were found stretched mit on the floor apparently dead. iceman proved on examination to have Into dead for several hours, and by her side was • is irtem .4 the bel, stead covered with blood. The prisoner afterwards • admitted that this war the wealmn with which he did the deed, and he had inflicted two such severe blown on her Mall that either would have camed death. Onriougy he had arranged the hadyof the woman jest ea a corpse would have been laid out under ordinary circumstances. At first it wee thought that tbe prisoner was deed, for his throat vas cut and bleeding. It honest nut, however, that he was but insensible, and having in his Attempted suicide mimed the vital pens of his neck, he was s.win restored and cured. On the table of the nem there were two lettere which he had written—one before and one after the deed These letters were, MI the learned Sadie drecritreil them, 1 " mixture of ignorance and religion.- In the fleet the priemer alleged that the WeMAllbnd beeri unfaithful to hini, sad expressed his inmatiim of killing her. In the second he aMted that he bad killed her, but he , hoped Mat tbey meld meet in heaven. end he Misted that her fate 'meld be werning to other women witto . "my • mas too far." He mounded that his proterty , (between LKO and 1330) might be divided among the poor of Stonehouse, and he also meetioned 0 sum to he mad to the Roman Catholic priest for mamas for the , waled the woman and himself. At the triel a de- , • fence of insanity was set up, but there was no evidence to support this, and almost without a mionenCs hmimtion, the jury found the prisoner guilt), whilst Mr Justice lirett, 0 peewit, nem teem, told the priaoner not for a moment to expect a , reprieve, ma Stittlted hint to endeavour, in as slack time he had to lire, to obtain the pardon of Gad. Since his conviction the condemned nias Is.. sp. Peeved to be quite migned to his fate, and the morass ems which distinguished him .oth. trial tamed assay almim immediately afterwards. He wee very attentive . to the ministrations of the Rumen Catholic priest, the , liev. Father Hobson.