The New York Herald Newspaper, March 29, 1873, Page 3

JUSTICE AVENGED, Virginia and Kentucky Affirm the Law’s Supremacy. ASSASSINATIONS FOR PLUNDER. Manley Kills “Scotch John” for a Silver Watch. Tom Smith Shoots Jeseph Braden Through the Head and Robs His Store. IMPRISONMENT AND CONFESSIONS. The Negroes Fall of Prayers and Penitence. even Hondred Spectators: Viow One Exccu- tiou—Eight Thousand the Other, Revival of All the Horrors of Public Hanging. SPEECHES ON THE GALLOWS Last Words and Acts Before a Death of Igneminy. ‘Words of Warning and Irresisti- ble Temperance Lectures, ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 28, 1873, At the jail yard here to-day, at noon, Charles Manley, a colored man, was hanged for the murder of John Monroe, on the might of the 6th of July last. .The murder was one of much atrocity, and there was a feeling, not confined to any race, that Manley suffered @ just punishment. A sketch of the persons con- cerned in the murder and of the circumstances surrounding it is but the gathering up of a thousand scattered threads of narrative that made sometimes light chat, but more irequently serious talk around the gallows, THE VICTIM MONROR, ; John Monroe, the victim, had been an itinerant mender of clocks, traversing all this section of the country within tke radius of thirty miles, He was about sixty years of age, a thick-set man, gray- haired and about five feet seven inches in height, somewhat stooping in stature and shuffling in gait. He was a Scotchman by birth, and in the narrative Of his journeyings to and fro has mentioned to some of those who were intimate with him that he Kept, some thirty years ago, a watch and jewelry store on John street, in the city of New York, and afterwards in Brooklyn. His wile having proved unfaithful to him he separated from her, and soon drank to excess. His store passed Out of his hands, and for twenty years he had been Jeading a vagabond life, making a precanous living among the old clocks of the tide-waterside Villages of Virginia. He was addicted to large potations, but was never troublesome; the police here bearing witness that though often in town he Never disturbed the peace or required their sur- veillance, He had no friends, and though all who recollect bim speak of his kindly disposition, but One person seemed to have taken within late years the slightest personal interest in his affairs. He had been fortunate in enlisting the pity of his landlady, Mrs, Beach, a kind-hearted woman, THE MURDERER, Charles Manley, the murderer, was about five feet tenin height and 180 pounds weight, had been @ slave in Loudoun county, Virginia, and came to his freedom while in the Union army; but since the close of the war he had never worked steadily at anything, had refused a dozen advantageous of- fers to go into the country, on @ farm, but pre- ferred to loiter about the city, catching occasion- ally alittle easy work and employing the rest of his time noone knew how. He had once, some months ago, shot ata man in camp meeting; but in Virginia now justice is often too tardy-gaited to be able to stride over county limits, or else, per- haps the old clock mender had been still living and Manley unhanged. SCOTCH JOHN IN “PETERSBURG.” Several weeks ago “Scetch John,” as Monroe ‘was familiarly called, returned to Alexandria from a tramp up the country, and made his home, as had been his custom, at Mrs. Beach’s house. He had not been successful on his tour and was sub- ject to frequent melancholy, but made sufficient to feed him from hand to mouth. On the 4thof July he drank well in honor of the day, and was Not entirely sober when he left his boarding house, between five and six o'clock on the afternoon of the Sthof July. All the suburbs of the town were quite familiar to him, for it was only wmeng the poorest class of the townspeo- ple that he found his work. Wandering along the byways of the town he entered & colored settlement known in the local geography as “Petersburg.” The settlement itselt has a cu- stous history. When General Pope fell back iu his “headquarters in the saddle” a large number of contrabands accompanied the army, and suddenly one morning the sides of a morass on the hilltops adjoining became a negro camp of women and ehildren where there were none before, The needs of the army had swallowed them, The marshy dis- ‘trict had been the béte noire of the town for more ‘than a century. A hundred years ago the old House of Burgesses offered the land free ‘toany who would locate there. Titles had been taken and lost; tax sales innumerable attested that no taxes had ever been paid. The marsh and its environs, though half circled by the out- skirts, was to the city as the Campagna to Rome— ®& waste where no one dwell, fall of malaria that threatened all the dwellers in its neighbor- hood. But the negro women had no where else to go. The worn out tents afforded them little pro- tection, and with alittle help from the quarter- ‘masters they dotted the marsh with shanties, and ‘when the men came back they found houses ready for them (with a church on the neighboring hil top), and have lived there ever since; some of the most industrious made comfortable cottages; Others, idle and dissolute, have made a trouble- some class of neighbors for the town— As idie as Neapolitan lazzaroni and as busy under the stars as Roman brigands. To this outskirt, on the night of the 5th of July, Monroe took his road. He was familiar with it, althoagh he found but few Jobs there; tell _time for the negroes dre too accustomed to by the sun to “set much store’ ‘was quite tired and sat down to resi ju a spring of water known in the town as “the lit the Was situat dred from a cotton factory on the west to the de) of the Washingion an miles “rom which the neighborhood call a collection of houses between ‘Povorsburg ‘and the paved portion ef the town, WINDING UP POOR OLD scoTTy, As the old clock-mender sat by the spring side there were gathered at @ shanty a skort distance from the eRting, and separated from it onl: a huilock, Wi Payne, the father of the fam 8 ad drunk 6 and Charlotte Payne, wor- and Semuel Payne and Manley, anxious Lewis Payne took the bucket and went to the spring, “What o'clock 8 it?” he asked, beginning to ‘chaff ‘old ized. The old man throats In commemeration of but Manley took oid Lewis improvised a slung shot aa Samuel, he ‘at find a weapon, if in “the smooth nes of the brook,” near the where the Unconscious old man sat, half In a short time the Payne sisters hear a noise at the spring and cries of “Murder,” Mary another cabin, heard a tumult at ‘words, “Don’t kill _me, I haven’t any money.” Tabby Ed-. wards heard words undisting the cries selves up, ft qmight catch itnext.”" This was t agi anwhile jockmender had in vain, men, he uineea abd, missaken. for dead, wes wi Threwn into @. wot ai ‘iaked? Wis almost Watch, bat, boots and the greater portien of his clo! back to by wt neg an opt Soap ats ca” rolt heard “groans down by the spring” ERS ket ty een at mee mender’s watch in his pocket, and saw himself already’ enjoying ite price with his boon com- 101 ‘THR OLD MAN DRAD—HIS Ie was lonely at, the ditch where the old elock- mender lay. He had indeed fatien “among thieve: ORCI DOD REA EE Be TENN: AG ee ihm and deperted, jeaving him, Ralf 7 Not even a Lévite passed, and when a man fal! Prine Wayside, now it is the pelice and not the Samaritan that picks him up. Upon coming to himself he found he was, a8 he afterwards ex- pressed himself to the reporter, “left in a ditch to suffer and die,” and fea: he would be drowned if'@ rain occurred dr himself to the edge of the ditch, the mud sho’ next morning the marks of his bands, Soon after sun- rise @ woman, the gas saw Bf ar a eats wes ont Sa ice an ry - ried to the house-of Mrs. Beach, about a mile west, where he boarded. There two physicians attende him. These differed, as is customary, one testify- ing that the man’s wound was made with a sharp instrument and the other that it was made with'a blunt one. They did their best to save him; but the negroes had already done their best to kill him, and the negroes beat the doctors. Before he died, however, Manley had been arrested. Lieutenant Smith, of the police force, who has the reputation of fearing neither man nor devil—waether his fears have ever been excited otherwise is not stated—iearned before seven o'clock that Manley had married the daughter of a very clever eolored man named Gordon, EVIDENCE OF THE CRIME, From him aa was gained that Manle: had come home night previous under suspi- cious circumstances and was stiliasleep. Up stairs, by the ladder way, Smith climbed softly. Manley lay asleep on the floor. A razor lay beside him. Creeping softly towards him, the officer tossed the Tazor through the window. Agilanee around tne room showed his hat and shoes, very muddy, lying beside the bed, while a pair of boots and another hat. with a@ heavy stick lay im one corner, From beneath @ pile of rags, on which the sleeper lay, the end of a watch chain was visible. It was cau- peony drawn; a silver watch followed it; these the officer put in his pocket, and then, standing upright, drew his reyolver Put his foot upon the sleeping man. - “Get up here, get up.” “How do you know I'll get up,’’ responded Man- ley, as he stretched out his brawny arms and onenee, his eyes. His first glauce caught tne situation; present resistance was useless. He was allowed to Tise, and as he did so he made a step toward the officer, who stood in the corner. “A step more and I'll blow your brainsout. I come here to kill you and I’m going to do it,” sald the officer, 8 light, thin, wiry man. “Well, Hil go.” “Take these boots in pour hands.” “I bought them from a canalbeat man.” “Never mind, take them and move down that ladder ; I'll give you a chance to run if you will, but T'll kill you within ten steps, for I came here to kill ou.”? : Hand over hand down the ladder the pair wen the policeman never taxing his eye or plato! point off Manley, and so he marched him, the crowd gathering as he went, to the station house. There the ‘“nippers’ secured what the revolver had conquered. The watch, stick and boots founda with Manley were carried to the old clockmaker, ald with his dying breath he recognized them as his, as the ones worn by him on the fatal night, MANLEY’S TRIAL AND SENTENCE, Many causes—the law's delay the chief among them—deferred the trial for months. Meanwhile information was brought that one of tie fugitive Paynes lay at Arlington, and anether had been tracked to Georgetown; but, tardy of foot, with short arm and impecunious, Justice had no means to hunt them down. So they are still at large. Manley’s trialcame on the 14th of January last, before the City Court, and eccupied but a single day. The testimony of the Payne girls, Mary Car- roil, and of Lieutenant Smith, of the police, would robably have not been sufiicient to remove the legal doubt; but when Gordon, Manley’s father-in- law, was placed on the stand his evidence cast a light upon the other facts proven which insured conviction, The jury were out but a short time when they announced their verdict, declaring Man- ley guilty. He gnashed his teeth and said to a by- stander, “If I could kill that-old father-in-law of mine they might put me in acnestnut coffin.” A few days afterwards he was sentenced te be hung on the 28th of March. Hi8 BRUTAL CONDUCT IN PRISON. After his convietion no attempt was made to ob- tain a new trial, a relaxation of his sentence, or even a reprieve. His sentence was left to be ex- ecuted, Nb et dc Meat upon the day fixed by the Court. For weeks his demeanor alternated between defiance and apathy. On one occasion, while the prisoners in the jail were in the corridor together, one of them ‘played crazy,’ and began to tear off the clothes of another. “Take hoid of him, Manley,” said Turnkey Cline. “Pm no damn fool,” said Manley. i “Take hold of him Isay,’” repeated the turnkey. “I won’t and nobody else shall,” growled Man- ley, and seeing the turnkey advancing on the simulated lunatic he moved towards the turn- key. In an instant the turnkey had faced him, with the heavy pee key (a mode! of the keys of the Bastile which hangs at Mount Vernon), and Man- ley retreated to the wail. About @ week since the keeper entered the cor- ridor and found that Manley had used three bed slats, making a combined lever of them, and had bk open his cell door several inches. He con- tinue is Sd though well aware the turn- key was looking at him, “Stop that!’ “Pil be d—d if I do.” “Now, what is the use of it? If you got the door open Vd shoot you before you could escape.” “I don’t care—shoot !? “If you don’t stop I'll have to tron you around bos eer and chain you to the floor,” said the urnkey, “Well go on; bring out your chains!” yelled Manley. Well knowing that the tron door would not yield, and not desiring to act hastily, the Sheriff, Captain Stewart, who has charge of the eon ‘was called by the turnkey, who thus talked te him. SHERrr—Manley, it’s no use making me treat you roughly; I don’t want to do it; you can’t escape; you haa better leave that alone and think of making your peace with God, jey continued to heave as if he hoped to break the door, but did not reply’ & word. SHERIFF—What is the use of breaking up things? You don’t want to destroy other people's property, do you? NLEY—No; I'll not destroy anybody’s things; with which moral determination he drew in his bed slats, put them back and went and sat down on his bedside, HIS ALLEGED CONVERSION. From that time he has been more docile. For awhile he had been insensibie to re! jus impres- sions, but now consented that the v. Mr. Mad- den, @ colored munister, ht be sent for. The ministrations of the spiritual adviser and the ap- roach of doom sobered ed exceedi ; but Ris religious condition did not sa his friends until last Sunday. The. Young Men’s Uhris- tian Asseciatien Co ittee held prayer meetin, in the jail every Sabbath afternoon. Sum there was a pause in the exercises, and one of committee—Mr, Whittlesey, late a contestant for a seat Ao fl Ghd ge ten minutes of silent prayer. Scarcely three minutes of the silence had when Maniey burst into a wil alf articulate prayer, conceived rordi above the ordinary standard of his conversation, and vehement with jonate entreaty. “It was,” said a bystander, ‘as if his soul was surging to his lips.” ‘The suddenness of his provisation astonished his hearers, and produced & profound impression. One of the auditory, a city minister, declared that the inspiration ef fus lan- enet Neat Manter tre a aM a an alee ch and Went up esteem of many good religious people. THR POASPOLD, which is modelled after one in executions in Stewart, the presedt city. sorpeant of Nexen was Sheriff, yas manufactured at ie cs here, When it was completed the crowd whic! that the eouctmaker, waa forced to ‘bar his dose ‘The jail yard in which the execution took pl not witnessed @ simi) respondent of the New York HsgALD would take and publish whatever statement he desired to make, He expressed a wish to see him, and was brought by the turnkey into the common room of the -pHa0R heavily ironed, Hig appearance spoke weil for the ae, for he was ten pognds heavier than at the of his trial. Evidences of terror Were marked on every muscle, and, as bis mouth quivered and his limbs shook, the big brawny fel- Jow gave one the impression of a maa je of ae In the course of conversation he made the i} pater salemedt, Wain it will be perceived, somewhat from the facts stated above, which were proved on the trial:— was born at Arcala, Loudon eounty ‘Va, ; served mi the late wariu the First District of Csiumbia colored regiment (Colonel Holman), and in Captain Pollard’ poprany, and was bonorab.y discharged at the end of war. discharge is On the day of the hemicide I had just come down the canal where I had been work! canal boat Major , Ca] with Lewis and Samuel them, Allof us drank a n I came out of e's that ht, in company with Lewis and Payne, there were two men lying down by the spring. sam said to them, “Get up!” ne. of, them got Up and ran of. I kept om shead the Paynes; $ noise and 1 locked back and saw Sam Payne strike the old man with a ati seen the old man befere. Just as I Fayne struck at him with arm 60 ”? and ran back, knocked t the “swipe? he made, instead of cut- ting the man, cut out his veat by baat ei it, If Be get the vest yeu can see the cut. The hen threw him in the ditch and we went the house. Lewis Payne gave me the, watch to keep and told me they would come over to my house early in the morning and we could all go o! to Georgetown together. saat made the wound in the head of MANLEY—It was tho tin bex that he carried his tools im; they took that box and struck his head with the StRes it. nthe gir that Rgrorrgr—But one oi Payne girls says tha ‘when you got back to the house you paid, UNOw I hold my head up.” What were you bragging on then. MANLEY—Oh! that was a saying we had all Sar; “T hold ap head if my belly drags the ground;” but Idiot oat the last part, because thero were women there. No other fact was mentioned, but Manley, just as the reporter was about leaving, called him ba and said, “I want you to be witness that if my wife marries again or il!-treats my child I give my child to Mr. Cline, here’ (the Sarakey). and the uafortu- ah man shufiied and trem! along the corridor He has & brother now in the Penitentiary for highway robbery of an old milkman. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ‘This morning Manley arose at his neual time, breakfasted heartily and attired himself in the suit he was married in. His wife and a number of friends and relatives called, and several persons to whom he was attached came early to bid him fare- well. The most touching scene ef the whole of his imprisonment, and perhaps the tenderest of his life, was his parting with the little son of Mr. Cline, the jailor, who had been very kind to him, About an hour and a half before the time appointed for the execution a prayer meeting was opened in a corridor of the jail, Manley, with his wife and child, occupying a bench close against the wall, and the Rev. Messrs. Ceok, Madden and Marshall, colored ministers, with ten or twelve members of the Chris- tian Association, standing up around him. The exercises consisted of exhortations, prayers and hymns. The key note of the meeting Was the cer- tain salvation of the doomed man. Manley de- clared that he felt that he was going home; that the Lord Jesus had told him not to fear. There was in all the exhortations and prayers that spoke of him a tone of confidence which sometimes touched ecstacy. The thief on the cross with the words in his ear, “This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise,” was set asa picture ef him, and the heavens were bid bend down and take bim up, and he was pointed in expectaney to Shake glad hands on the shores of eternal bliss. One of the white exhorters fell into ‘A PRAYEBFUL DISSERTATION upon the relations ofthe white and colored races of the South, which made the exhortation original and droll; but @ coming death cast its shadow, and the meeting was a eolemn one. Shortly before noon the prisoner was left alone for seven min- utes with his wife and child. Then a guard, armed with muskets, of the cadet company of St. John’s Academy, filed up, and the prisoner, accompanied by his spiritu: advisers, moved to and as- d seafold, his step being as firm as the firmest that welked with him. After an exhor- tation by Kev, Mr. Marshall, and prayer, choked with teal V/ . Mr. Madden, Manley came to the front of the scaffold and after some words in a low voice, which were understood to be a wish to see his chila again, he said that he wanted to say a few words te bis friends. Here his voice be- came clearer. He continued :— MURDERER’S ADDRESS. “Whiskey, I will say, has been the death of me. But Christ has power to save me after death. I hope to meet you all i Heaven, which I’ve got a hope of, I hope it will not be long before I will be there. Iam not afraid to die. 1 blame nobody but whiskey. You all see what whiskey has brought me to. Take my advice en the scaffold and leave it alone. The Christian Association have been as kind as brothers to me. If it was not for them to-night weuld have seen me make my bed in hell. I thank God that I’ve get to die in his mercy. Mr. Cline and his family has been mere than brothers tome, All farewell! I am going to Jesus.” THE EXECUTION. The City Mg! yd (Stewart) then placed Manley on the dro) le stood upright and without the slightest of faltering, saytng to the Sergeant while the noose was being adjusted about his neck, “Don’t bury me until to-morrow.” Deputy Ward drew tne black cap over his eyes, and ut thirty-eight minutes past twelve the drop fell. He. died instantly. The fall was seven feet, and the physicians in attendance that he suffered but for an instant. The shoulders were once drawn up and the form hung motionless for twenty-two minutes, when it was lowered into a plain pine comn, which had been placed by the side of the scaffold before the execution, The crowd, some seven hundred, having witnessed the execution, oil peo ge The sentence of the law had been car- ou HANCED IN PUBLIC. Tom Smith Executed Outside the City of Louis- ville, Ky., in the Presence of 8,000 Persons, for the Murder of Joseph Braden— A Confession Under the Gallows. Lovisvi.1z, Ky., March 28, 1873. On the evening of the 10th of May, 1871, the wife ot Joseph Braden, a small storekeeper on the Salt House road, near this city, rethrning home after a short absence, found lying behind the counter the dead body of her husband shot through the head, In the crowd that immediately collected was the negro, Tom Smith, who had been hanging around the vicinity for several days before. Nothing at the time directed suspicion toward him; but it was afterward remembered that he was the last person seen in the store before the murder was discov: ered, and a warrant was procured for his arrest. In the meantime, however, he had been arrested in Louisville for stealing bacon. He was acquitted of the latter charge, but was immediately rearrested on the charge of murder. ROBBERY WITH MURDER. After the murder of Braden It was discovered that besides a small amount of money there had been taken from the store two pistols of peculiar pattern, and one of these pistols was found in the possession of Smith. Upon his trial subsequently it was testified that he had been left atone in the store with Braden by the last customer, who had seen the murdered man alive. Smith was then drinking @ glass of whiskey, for which he had just called and paid for. Braden, as is usually the case in small country settlements, kept a ‘miscellan- eous”’ stock of goods, among which Was all varie- ties of alcohol, Smith was afterward seen by a passer by tocome tothe door and again return inside. From the position of the body agit lay it ‘was evident that Braden was taking from the shelves a bolt of calico when he was shot, the ball passing directly through his brain. AT THE TRIAL the evidence was almost absolutely direct as to the guilt of Smith, and he was sentenced to be hung. The case was carried to the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, but the judgment of the lower Court ‘Was affirmed, and a subsequent application to the Governor for a pardon was refased. Last Winter there was almost a smallpox epidemic in this city, and the disease found its way into the jail. By a singular coincidence it attacked three condemned murderers confined there, who were remfeved to the pest house, and the illness of each terminated fatally. This seems to have suggested to Smitha means of escape, which he afterwards carried out to a successial issue. In some way he secured s quantity of croton oil, which he applied to his face and body, and an eruption was produced very similar, to @ not too close observer, to smallpox pustules in their primary form, There ‘was great alarm felt at the time in regard to the disease, and the jail physician, after a hurried and cursory examination, pronounced the case one of smallpox, and ordered the removal of Smith to the Pest Heuse, which was accordingly done. From this institution SMITH MANAGED TO MAKE HIS ESCAPE, but after wandering about for several days was .| Foceptured within » fow hundred yardg of the NEW YOKK HERALD, SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1873,—TRIPLE SHEET. scene of the murder, whither he had been at- tracted by a strange fascination. During the first months of his confinement, and, indeed, until it became evident that. the sentence of the Court would be carried into execution, Smith was ® most insolent and defiant prisoner; but last Wednesday, after a probation of several weeks, during which time he had appeared much subdued and very penitent, he was baptized accordiug to the rites of the Methodist church. As the attending clergyman was administering the bread and wine of the sacrament the stoiciam of the condemned man, until then firmly preserved, began to give way, an@ he wept freely. At the conclusion of the ceremony the prisoner turned to those standing around and said that he had some remarks to make, Alter expresmng hig resigna- tion at the fate go goon to overtake him, he pro- tested his innocence of the crime witn which he ‘was charged, He was interrupted several times by the violence of his emotion, but asserted that, as he was almost at the edge of the grave, he would not now tell a lie; that he was the wrong manand that some day his innocence would be proved; that the witnesses who had sworn against him had been bought, and that the pistol referrea to in the details of the evidence had never been in his possession, HE WAS MUCH BROKEN DOWN all day Wednesday, and earnestly requested of the jailer that one o1 the prisoners should be allowed to Occupy the same cell with him. The jailer as- sented to this and assigned an old negro, named Fry, charged with the murder of his wife, ag @ Toom-mate to Smith; but Fry was excessively dis- inclined to sleeping with a man whose near fate might be his own at no distant day, and feigned a sudden and severe sickness as a means of escaping the jailer’s order, A half-crazy negro, also charged with murder, was then selected, and Wednesday night the condemned man slept peacefully. HIS LAST DAY. Tem Smith, after every effort to save him had failed, paid the last penalty for his crime to-day on the Commons, near this city, Up to the very mo- ment Of leaving the jail upon the fearful journey to the gallows he had hoped for a reprieve, but in re- sponse to a despatch sent by his attorneys this morning the Governor telegraphed back that he must decline to interfere and that the sentence must be carried into effect. An attempt was made last night to secure a private execution within the jail yard, but the Sheriff believed it to be his duty to follow the precedent of former executions in this State and decided that the condenmed must be hanged in public. Accordingly the gallows was erected last night in a iar vacant space just outside the limits of the city, and __ there, at twenty-five minutes past noon to-day ‘Tom Smith was hanged in the presence ofan immense assemblage. The procession was announced to start from the jail door at eleven o’clock, but long before that hour the space before the prison was packed with asurging crowd. At five minutes before eleven o'clock the condemned man was notified that he must prepare to start, AN IMPROMPTU PRISONERS’ PRAYER MEETING, There are many negro prisoners confined in the jail and these organized @ prayer meeting, which Tom addressed in broken language, bidding them all good bye forever. Ashe was leaving the hall the negroes commenced chanting a strange, weird refrain, pu of ps lemn and thrilling minors peculiar to songs of this race. PROCESSION TO THE UPBLIC SCAFFOLD. The prisoner was placed in an open wagon or van, drawn by twe sturdy gray mules and surrounde by a cordon of thirty police, With him were his two spiritual advisors, one a colored man. The Sheriff and several deputies and Dr. Thomas Grif- fiths were in another van, with whom were re- porters of the city preas and the detectives and civilians who had been ted tickets of admis- sion to the gallows platform from the jail te the place of execution. The route stretched through some of the most popular thoroughfares of the city, the procession being followed closely by the crowd- ing thousands whom the ey now increased to whe men, had great difficulty in keeping trom blocking its progress, The sad procession moved slowly towards the outskirts of the city; ever, house lang the route was epen, ever window ani doorwa} led with staring 8. The crowd bore everything before it, attracting as if by an stable fascination hundreds who had before no thought of attending the execution. Workmen leit their work, implements in hand; women, children and old men were swal- lowed into the vortex of the bd thf mass, and at’ every square its numbers were visibly increased, until, when arrived at the scene of execution, pranenly four thousand people were in the line, lere two thousand more spectators had already assembled, and the whole crowd was alterward increased by fresh arrivals until some EIGHT THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE CONGRRGATED about the gallows. They had ceme in vehicles of every description, from the breken-down cart of some old negro to the hack filled with brazen- faced women of questionable repute. This crowd ‘was made up almost entirely of the lower classes, the r element being black. But there were and honest-looking country eople, and in many instances some German father from the town had brought with him his whole family to see the “show.” Meanwhije the condemned awakened, continued to pray through the whele lr and solemn journey, swaying his body backward and forward,and his face, naturally very black, had beceme almost ashy white, He ‘was encouraged alternately by the white and col- ored minister, who sat on either side of him. As he approached the place of execution he became more composed, ARRIVING AT THE GALLOWS (which was a plain, strong structure, erected in the centre of a large plain, and ata distance from the eity limits of Pera half @ mile), the two mules Were driven within the enclosure made by the circle of ropes and guarded from the crowding thousanas by a strong force of police. The. pris- oner, accompanied by the two ministers, officers and reporters, mounted the platform witha firm step and toek his place ina chair provided for him. His arms and legs were then bound by a strong cord, and here the hope of life, which, until then, must have been strong within him, seemed to have abandoned him forever. He groaned and rocked his boay to and fro, praying God to forgive him, Up to this moment he had persisted in main- taining hts innocence of the murder. SMITH CONFESSES. Calling his lawyers, the two ministers and the Sheriff to him and requesting that the platform be cleared ef all else, he made a full statement of the crime, confessing his guilt and implicating a white man named Isom and a negro named Bellas with him, Atthe time of the murder their pur- pose was robbery. He killed Braden and the other two shared the booty with him. Ina pre- vious statement he had confessed to eae escaped from a Tennessee prison to which he hi: been sent for burglary. Having made this full con- fession he addressed the crowd, asking forgiveness ofall men and exhorting tase present to take warning by his just fate. ne widow of the murdered man was sitting in her carriage just in front of the gallows and looked steadily at all the preparations and never blanched. PLACING THE NOOSE—THE LAST ACT. At last, the fatal moment having arrived, Smith ‘was told to stand up, and the noose was put about his neck by Sherif Shanks, the black cap was ulled ever his forehead and he was told that his jour had come. All present there then shook hands with him, the cap was drawn down over his face, and @ deputy sheriff, with eyes averted, cut the cord, and the body fell Rie a the trap door thad. r at least half a minute there was no perceptible motion; then there were convulsive twitchings of the body, the legs were drawn up close to the trunk and the hands were opened and shut. The body fell at twenty-one minutes past twelve, At half-past twelve there was a slight pulsation of the heart, and at thirty- five minutes past twelve DE. GRIFFITHS PRONOUNCED TOM SMITH DRAD and the law aven, The was allowed to hang seven minutes longer, when it was cut down, placed in @ stained wood coffin and given to the undertaker for interment in the negro cemetery. Then the crowd ae, dispersed, having pre- served excellent order throughout. There was no chaffing nor lond talk, and hardly could there be seen @ Man smoking. Tom parted from his wife in the morning after a most ping Taterview which left her completely prostrated grief. There are sixteen prisoners now confined in the jail, either indicted or convicted of murder, and there may soon be another such spectacle as that of to-day, but as it was the first execution ie wife murderer Kriel was hanged four years 0 this Sreated a great sensation in all circles, pom examination after the body was cut dowa ie Be ae ae Bet. was aie eee iad e je did no trude, however, none thought “Smith” skiered. greatly, Smith were, as drop fell, “My God, have mercy upon me!" THE BROOKLYN MEROANTILE LIBRARY, The fifteenth annual report of the Mercantile Library Association, just presented by the board of directors, is a most satisfactory exhibit of the success of that admirable institution. The addi- tion to the nushber of volumes im the library dur- ing the past year is over 3,600, The drafts upon the book fand for the year 1872 amounted to $5,600, and the wunexpended balance of the fand is $13,428. A subscription is now on foot to are @ thoro classifies analytical catalon and it ng Proposed Oo raise from $15,000 20,000, When this money is Git "ant be tae face ater ne ry — be e. © circulation last year reached ANOTHER MURDER. Beaten to Death Washing- tom Street Last Evening. Catharine Kirwan was found lying on the floor of her room, at 61 Washington street, yesterday afternoon, in an insensible condition, by the police of the ‘Twenty-seventh precinct, and was sent to the Park Hospital by Captain Ferris. Upon examining the body of the woman the physicians at the hospital discovered she was severely injured in several places and had received internal hurts sufficient to eause death. Every effort was made to restore her to con- sciousness, but to no purpose. She expired a couple of hours after she was placed in the hospi- tal. When first taken up by the police she was very much under the influence of liquor. From this she partially recovered before she died, but nothing could be elicited from her relative to the mer in which she had come by the wounds, She asked distinctly for a priest, and shortly alter expired. Sergeant Lonsdale endeavored to get some intelligence of the affray from her, but a slight movement of the lips was all he could distinguish. Deteetive Finnerty, who was in the neighborhood of 61 Washington street when the first notice of the affair was Sirah, weds into the house, accom- panied by Sergeant Lonsdale, and questioned the other inmates in regard to the condition of the woman, but their statements were very contradic- tory. Some said the Kirwan family was a very quiet one, others that they were most boisterous; but all concurred in the informatien that Mrs. Kirwan ‘was not a sober person, The officers then went in search of the husband, and he was found on his way to the station house to inguire ufter his wife, He says that he was nowhere near the house at the time the woman was beaten, and he can prove satisfactorily his whereabonts. He says ie went to work yesterday morning as usual, and returned to dinner at one o'clock. a re and another woman in the room drunk, he belpe@ himself to seme food and went away again, turning to his home a second time, about six o’cleck in the evening, he was told that Kirwan had-been taken to the station house, and he was on his way there when the officers met him and took him into custody. Several People in the house told Captain Ferris ast night that Mrs, Kirwan had been going about the house on the stairs and landings during the day, and that, as was usual with her, she was drinking. ‘Che house itself is one of those filthy, crowded barr A Wom § that are 0 numerous in all the thickly populat districts of the city, and Mrs. “Kerwan was not the only inmate of the den whose habits were in a high degree uncertain. Captain Ferris is of opinion that Kirwan had nothing to do with the immediate murder of his wife. He may have beaten her at some previous time and her death may have been caused by the effects of the injuries fiven her, twlped on by the power of whiskey. Butif the im- mediate reason of death was a beating received yesterday it. must have been at the hands ot some other person than the husband. The wounds are toe severe to have been caused by a and no trace of any other man Beuing been near the place yesterday could be discovered. ‘The police were hard at work last night on the case. Inspector Walling was consulted, and he or- dered three special men to be put on it. The sup- position {fs that reliable intelligence will be handed to Coroner Yeung, who has charge of the case, this Morning. FIENDISH MURDER. A Woman Slaughtered by Her Husband, and the Body Left To Be Consumed by Fire=The Murderer At Large. COLUMBIA, 8. Ci, March 28, 1873. Intelligence that a mest horrible murder was committed on the “Neck” portion of Warren county, Geergia, bya man named Ed. Clark, upon the body of his own wife, has just been received here, The report states that this flend struck the woman a terrific blow with a monster-sized iron ladie on the back part of the head, fracturing it and making a fear! ash three inches in length. He then piled the chairs and tables over her lifeless body, and, setting fire to them, took one of his ‘children in tis arms and made his escape. The fire burned through the floor, and the body of the unfortunate woman fell to the ground and was pierced through and through by the falling of a partly burned sill. The ragged ens of the sill tore the intestines out of the lifeless body. The youngest of the children, which the fiend left in the burning building with its mother, ‘was badly burned. The greatest indignation prevails among the people .where the foul deed occurred, but ever: effort to captare the fend had proved fruitless, description of him will be published over the State, and it is to be hoped it may lead to his speedy arrest, conviction and execution. A WOMAN OHARGED WITH POISONING HER HUSBAND, Curcago, Ill, March 28, 1878, Yesterday, in Loraine, Adams county, M., Annie Adair was arrested on @ charge of having poisoned her husband, who died suddenly in January last and with whom sne lived unhappily. The body of Adair has been exhumed, and the stomach will be examined by chemists. A TENNESSEE MOTHER’S TRAGIC DEATH. pe ae SET She is Taken from Her Bed by Robbers and Hanged on a Hog Gallows=The Heuse Robbed and the Murderers Es- cape. The Nashville Banner of the 26th gives the details of the murder of a Mrs. Housden on the previous night, at. her house, on the Nolensville pike, nine miles from that city, it is supposed by robbers, who secured but $100, The Banner says :- Mrs, Housden was a widow, having an only son, who was married and lived at her house. ~ Not long before night he went to Mill Creek to fish, leaving his mother and wife at home, His wife says that herseli and mother-in-law retired for the night and went to sleep. She had not been asleep very long before she was awakened by the screams of her mother-in-law. She imme- diately got up, saw the door open, but did not see her mother-in-law. She then ran over to a Mr. Barnes’ house, from two hundred and filty to three hundred yards distant, and told Mr. Barnes that there was somebody over at the house; that she had not seen anybody, but from the screams of her mother-in-law she supposed some one must ve in the house. Mr. Barnes came down to the road which be aah their places and there met Mr. Robert Patterson, who, having heard the screams of Mrs. Housden, came dowa with his gun for the get sea of rendering her every assistance saible. They then proceeded to the liouse, Barnes a Patterson, on the way thither, what youn; Mrs. Housden had told him. When they entere the house it was found that the bed and bed clothing in Mrs. Housden’s room had been thrown off the mattress and were ly- ing upon the floor. They vhen instituted a search about the house and premises for Mrs. Housden, but failed to find her. They had concluded to give up the search, after repeatedly hallooing for her, and had started toward the spring, in going away, when they were greatly astonished wo find one of her ents, This was the only clue they ih discovered as to the direc- tion she had been taking, and they followed the path to the spring, where they were astounded to find her hung to a gallows which had been used by the Housden’s for the hanging of hogs after they had been killed. Yesterday morning the large tracks of a bare-footed man were found leading from the house to the place where Mrs. Housden was hung, and the tracks of another who had worn shoes, tracks also led off from the Lows, oewnen Coroner Everett had reached there about half-past five e’clock the body of Mrs, Housden had been cut down and covered with a quilt, Her feet were entirely free from mud, and this of iteelf was suMcient to justify the opinion that she bad not walked, but had been carried to the gallows upon which abe was hanged. The had been tied so tightl Sronta Deamon Sat ne es a awn ry of and the repe had been wound around her neck (besides the noose) four times. The been 8@ closely drawn upon her neck that it had to be severed with a knife. She had been drawn up so closely to the pole of the gallows that the of her head had been rubbed off. J Mrs. Housden was about sixty years of age, of small stature and weighed abeut one hundred pounds, so that she was incapable, both by reason of her and Pi0- Tomy! wi of more taae ion tance to the villains who toek r Coroner Everett sommened s jurt, which, after an investigation, returned the jollewing verdict : “That Housden eame to her de: from rey poe by the neck witha cotton plough Ine, and it te opinion of this jury that was by some other pereoe than herself.’? jo one can realize what could any the rpetration ef so heineus a deed yn a defence- 88, inoffensive, aged woman. The whole affair is m ‘wrapped in ana it is to be hoped that fone sew will ‘as w the perpetration Mr. len home with a of fish, Houaden returned string to hear the dreadful story of his mother’s death, which he would doubtless have prevented had he been present. ‘Mrs, Housden is said to be the third of four chil- dren who have met with violent deaths. One was frozen to death, and one drowned in the James River. It te said of her that she was a hard-working, in dustrious, economical woman, and a devout mem- ber of the Methodist Church. About twenty years ago she was compelled to lait the place upon which she lived en account of non-payment of rent. n retiring trom it she made @ Vow that she would live to own it. Fortune favored her. She bougnt valuable preperty in Nashville and Edgefield, and finally purchased lived on the farm ther chalice. ro — AMUSEMENTS, Steinway Hall—The Wagner Concerel A great many people in Europé and America want to go to Bayreath, in Bavaria, nex# year, to hear Richatd Wagner's opera, that witima Thule of the school of thd future, the “Ring of the Nibelungen.” Buf the tickets, season and otherwise, are placed ata very high figure, and the Trilogy, as thia big world is styled, will prove quite a chateau en Eapagne fort Many of those who effect to hear it. To avoid this un+ desirable end associations have been formed on both sides of the Atlantic for the purpose of giving con< certs of the Wagnerian type, the proceeds of whicif are to be devoted to paying the expenses of the members ef the association to the Bayreuth festi- val. One of these concerts took place at Steinway Mall last night. Either the New York public da not soffictently appreciate Wagner or mismanage. ment has been at work, for the attendance was Um usually thin, The new schoo! was represented bR five of the compoger’s most notable works—tha, overture to the “Flying Dutchman,” the introduc tion to “Lohengrin,” overture to “Faust,” scenes: from “Die Walktfre” and the “Kaiser March.” Mr, Remmertz sung the barytone solo in “Wotan’s Fares well” in “Die Walkire.”” The musical world hag never been agitated to ite centre by such a lusty brawier as this.self same Richard Wagner. AD ac~ complished mechanic, as even his worse enemies will grant him; an irrepressible pamphiet writer; @ man who combines the most intimate knowledge of the arcana of orehestral effects with the talent of Mr. Puff, 8 courtier; who has caused more political squabbles over his peculiar theories than ever did Dr. Jacobi, and finally a complete masterin the modern school of sensationalism; such is Wagner. “The Flying Dutchman” in its overture is @ pretty fair example of orthodexy, whieh the com-{ poser has of late years opposed so strenuously.» The overture is decidedly Meyerbeerish, distorted and exaggerated, 1¢ is true, but nevertheless bear- ing the signs of the earliest benefactor of Wagner, We regard the Voreptel to “Lohengrin” ag ond of the grandest works of the composer. “Lohene ry marks the climax of the aspiring houghts of Wagner. ‘There is a fixed idea in it, mot that eternal change of themes, perpetual agitation and boisterous display that we find generally in the school of the iutures ‘There is se much grandeur and sublime thought ir “Lohengrin” that It dispenses with the necessity of an audience of mystic musicians, In the inter- pretation of Wagner's music there is required im addition to the ordinary orchestra quite an assort- ment of wood, brass and percussion—the acme of sonorous instrumentation. But listening to the “Faust” overture and “Die Walkire,” we were irre- sistibly led tu a belief in the old adage, “Beaucoup de brutt, peu de fruit.” ‘There is no spontaniety im this music; Mannerism and mechanism form ita principal ingredients. Few audiences want meta- physics or philosophy in music. They prefer the ees old schools where melody and ony are It would be unfair to judge Wagner too harshly in his detects, were it not for the flerce advocacy of his doctrines by his disciples. They will not consent to any spots en their sun, and other star gare can only be stubborn in their reasonable, ideas. ‘This Wagnerism in music is becoming dan- erous in its tendencies to subvert all exist heories. We do not entertain for a moment, Fevolntoneyy ideas in music for fear of lost) faith in Beethoven, Mozart and Hayan. ‘ag- nerian movement is, to say the least, unhealthy, and, altheugh we grant this leveller, this musical communist, the credit of an extraordinary knowl< edge of instrumentation, we cannot at the sam time subscribe to bis new-fangled notions ot melody and harmony. ‘The subservience of the voice to the orchestra im ‘Wagner's school was sufficiently shown in the se- lection sung by Mr. Remmertz. The introduction to “Wotan’s Farewell” was not only instramen- tally boisterous, but it brought very queer modu. The lations for the voice, so much so thut at times it ‘was hard to'tell whether the singor was in tune or not, But the beautiful da gam,” was interpreted by Mr. Remmertz with in- telligence and expression. Here he had an oppor- tunity of musical phrasing and deep feeling w! he did not lose. Mr. Thomas did a cruel thing in regard to Wagner, last night. He sandwiched the ‘Heroic Lew iba of Beethoven, that grandest of all orchestral works, between the compositions of the moderm tentate. Itserved as @ contrast very unfavoi le mdeed to Wagner; for on one side we hi argh on the other clever mechanism, but nothing ut mechanism. formance it {a only necessary to say that unrivalled orchestra played at their best. for instance, the symphony. e brilliant Movement, the magnificent “Marche Funébre,” the sprightly scherzo and the indescribable je, im which everything that is dear to the heart of @ musician is introduced, were given to ition. The unauimity of the strings even in the moat delicate shadings of expression, the r response of the reeds and the complete control of the brasa instruments place Thomas’ orchestra first in ‘this country. Last night i mah this areheneee their nh reputation, To-night this orch with tne assistance of Miss Mehlig, plantst; Mr. Listemann, violin, and Mr. Hemman, violoncello, will appear in the Fifth Symphony Soiree of The dore Thomas at Steinway Hall. Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt and Berlioz furnish the pro- gramme, Musical and Dramatic Notes. “Oofty Geoft’? (Gus Williams) is a new play written for him of the dialectic kind, in which he is to sustain an original Dutch character. Mr. Bartley Campbell’s new play of “Peril” met theme, “lange. 9 Regarding the orchestral wa cousary | t Thomas with considerable success at Chicago, The piece _ has three remarkable incidents—a scene @t Long Branch, an English Lord and @ jealous husband, who suspected the wrong man, Next Thursday evening a screaming farce, by Byron, will be added to the entertainment at Wal- lack’s. The farce, which represents Dundreary married, with all his relatives living upon him, will follow the performance of ‘David Garrick,” Mr. Sothern taking the Dundreary part, as a matter of course. ‘The fact that New Zealand is included among the places to be visited by Mr. Lester Wallack dur- ing his reported professional tour seems to throw cold water on the announcement of the London Bra. Ifthe New Zealanders want to see Mr. Wal- lack they must come to this country, for the dis-. tinguished actor is not going to New Zealand, The programme for Theodore Thomas’ symphony concert this evening, printed in the business col- umns of the HERALD, is of the uaual high charac- ter, Mr. Thomas has done so mach for music in New York that his symphony concerts, which are his own in the most marked degree, are deserving of public patronage on double grounds—their ex- cellence and the respect which is Mr, Thomas’ due. RAILROAD ACCIDENT IN OANADA. A Mall Train Thrown Down an Em- bankment—Six Persons Injared. Port Horse, Ont., March 28, 1873, An accident occurred to the mail train bound to Orilia, on the Midland Railroad, last night, As the train approached this place the rear car broke the coupling and turned over down an embankment, & distance of twelve feet. Six pass re were in- aie Dr. Dewar and Mr. Davis, nsburg, N. '., Very seriously about the head and face. Mr. Preston, of Manvers, received a wound in the leg and other slight injuries, accident was caused by a broken rail. ANEW YORK ORIMINAL'S SUICIDE AT SEA, ‘The following strange letter, written by a fellow- criminal 10 the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, describes the suicide of George 0’Con- nor, a New York criminal:— 8in—My mind has been o Gontled, over on pair which ssed, that by the advice of my friends T have Ivenyregoenind 2) trte the, varchar, Wr age that i hb v0 been a beisoner, at Btate still what Iam going to tell you is the naked truth. have been wot ine at Los ‘Angeles for the past four months ag weiter in the San Francisco restaurant. About the ist of February a young man came into the. re tan. rant whom I thought I had seen before, and Is him. [then found out that it was George O'Connor, rison at the same time I was api ing for, avery e name ore y own. Well, w! on ts ht out from San Pedro we were talkin, gether, and he seeme: be very depressed tn his . rented ‘and gout (0 prisou remarking hae death bet thal if he were dead. it wo from going to prison, and that he hunted ‘ork and from everywhere ¢| ke jued talking on the port side of the he. ur first n} ore waa ue twelve o'ciock, when of a a by, and before I knew wi whing, 1 1 would ut it, but my courage: fo wrive {0 you a ner aud” iriends et aren ena Be Kad th conyie! 17, 187% {The name of the writer is given, but he particu- larly requests that is be not pubushed.—Kn}