RELEASED AFTER TWENTY YEARS.

Mr. Lodis Staunton, who has recently loft) prison after serving twenty years' penal servitude for the alleged murder of his wife, Harriet Staunton, has addressed the following letter to the papers " Having at last obtained my release, after an imprisonment of twenty long and weary years, I avail myself of the earliest opportunity afforded of ' tendering my sincere and heartfelt thanks to all those who have so nobly exerted themselves on ray behalf during the last twenty years. ' Convinced, as 1 believe they are, of my innocence, and of the consequent • injustice of the sentence passed upon me, they could have been actuated by no other motives' than those which arc prompted by a strict sense of justice and Christian ■ benevolence, Although words are inadequate to the due expression of my gratitude, I can assure them that no small portion ' of that consolation, which _ for a lengthened - period has been my greatest support, is attributable to the knowledge that such. generous. and warm-hoarted Christians, had espoused my cause. I am especially indebted to a , large ; number of. the legal and .medical profession, who, by their unanimous verdict, have added credit to my innocence. The disinterested manner in which so many voluntarily stepped forth to aid me in my distress , far exceeded my most sanguine expectations." - Mr. Staunton, who looks remarkably well after his long incarceration, is now 46 years of age, having been convicted - when he - was' 26. He succeeded in going through r prison life without a single black mark being recorded against him, and it is probably due to this fact that be was released after serving 20 years, ' *•" '• .» • - .