LONG FAREWELL

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 12140, 30 December 1933, Page 9

LONG FAREWELL

murdereife good-bye. , MET. (DEATH WITIL SMITE, “ - ‘T’vewlqno -tv-rong, but.•l’m willing to pay.;j I .shan’t he ; a coward; Everything comes to an end, same as this lias .with in®,.’’ So declared Jereiniah ilaubury, a. 49-yearS-dd. widow : er, ,in .a- last ‘intcr.vicw . r b©fore ho ■•paid His extreme penalty on the .scaffold- •' | He had taken.'the life of Mrs, Jessie Payne,, la I mother of four children,’, in her home at Brockmoor,' Bricrly-Hill. Flan bury’,s niece,' Mi's. ' Pratt; dehv thV following article, 'a farewell ' interview w-ith' Hanhur'y at ,Winsoii "Green' Prison: “I shall' always renienlbcir ']ioor Jerry Hanbiiry as one 1 wlio ‘ could smile" in. the face of rldath. That, last glimpse.' of my uncle, when we. said farewell to him on the eve; of. his fa i.e, will for ever linger in mV 'memory. He stood waving good-bye, smiling as .if .he had “not'a on rq in‘the worlrl.. As he expiated his erinie .on, the .scaffold at, eight, o’clock an the morning T knelt ’ ? )".0" ,j ■ . i • * in Brockmoor Church a.ongsiJe one n * his sisters,. Mrs, TTnij-ris. AYe offeree up a prayer for Jerry. . •\y 11. Li NO TO BAY. FOR AY. HAT, V. . tl' DID.’ .

“Repeatedly •• my., undo declared whiJo fn thp condeiTUied ogll that the actual tragedy was a blank m nis • memory. ,Hc. was sincere about:-.that-. During that farewell interview he -iiciVcr mentioned tlio tragedy. He was smiling r most of the' time. land even, joking, die was ■ cheerier than L-.had. over seen him. Nbie of us rc-r 'lativek. and friends spoke ,to Jiim that day.- 1 was du the last group, witli his two brothers, Harry and Edward, and a man. 'friend of Jerry’s

I “As wo'.walked into the interviewing room- a warder rapped on Die window and Jerry came running up to ,tbo igitass (partition, <struggling ip gpb into his jacket. ‘You don't want to keep knocking.’ was liis -goodhumoured ‘reranrk to thy' warder. ‘ You d6n ; l 'gi ve me time to get ' my jacket on.’ The, oilier visitors had just -gone'. ;He was still hi!s 'usual self, apparent I v nut'worrying hr the least'- But wo had all.known that ho would W clicefy, as. he.;had lie,on itil a long A ..t'l--' 4 - I

''‘Then,, before lie spoke of anything else, ho inent-ionc.-l thy four F’ayne children, whose molhe. r he had killed. ! l. lov" 1 .iho.se children .as I love my JiPa,’ lie declared- ‘Any time you meet them give them a copper in remembrance of - .me-’ To Harry, his brother, he said. ‘You’t'e the closest. You live near them. Keep your eye on them, and any time you sen,.them in trouble, heln them.'

‘NEVER; BEEN A COWARD.’ ‘.I ‘You've no need to worry at my going,'' he saiid to us. ‘1 shall lie

the same as I’ve always been. I’vc never! been a coward in niy lde, and 1 shan't be a coward for- this.’ lie explained that the previous day Le. had. received word lrojn the Home Secretary ' intimating’ that the death sentence had to be carried out. “‘I was glad "when ! heard it,' added Undo Jerry. "1 don’t want imprisonment.' I’ve had nothing hut nourishment and every comfort- since' I’ve been in. here, bid if 1 was up above, with the other prisoners, 1 should have to “come under’’ ■ anct I’ve, never been undotr anybody in my life. And I don’t want to now- I would l rather have it quick. The other is the long lane with no turning. “ ‘Everything comes to an end same as this has with nap.. But I’m' going to have a good night to-night. I’m going to• enjoy myself,’ he declared.. ■( bet I'.oversleep.niyseflf in fliei *sorning/ was bis smiling comment “Then he mentioned that he had asked the governor of 1.110 prison if he could have a couple of eggs and l bacon for his last- breakfast, and this request had been granted. “His brother Edward asked, ‘Will von eat it?’ ‘Eat.it.’ echoed Jerry. ‘OeirtYunl.v I will; Why did I ask lor il* if I wasn’t going to’ oa/fc it?’ ‘THE LAST GOOD-BYE.’

“ ‘So in the 'morning,’ poor Uncle Jerry requested us, tlie fdui'ie, temporarily leaving his face, ’pull your blinds clown for just, two minutes at, 8 o'clock and thsn lct them up again.’, Time was now up. ‘Good-bye, and be good!’ wie.re his ‘patting words to us, and turning to the .warder, lie. exclaimed. ‘No more . visitors 1 Let these be the lamt-’; Ouec through the door, Edward and T just broke, down, while the. othipjrs were deathly white. And, yet wo hud loft Jerry smiling. Nothing could ..break lifs.nervo. Jltf was a .irfn.ii of iron. In his younger days lie iva.s a. boxer. Once he fought Jimmy Driscoll. He (lid not know his own strength.’v ~