THE CARCOAR TRAGEDY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 10215, 8 December 1893, Page 5

THE CARCOAR TRAGEDY.

EXECUTION OP GLASSON. [from: oub own correspondent.] [By Telegraph from the Bluff.] SYDNEY. Nov. 29. At nine o’clock this morning Glasson, the author of the Csrcoar tragedy, met hia doom in Bathurst Gaol. He retired shortly before midnight and slept well, rising at a quarter to six. Glaeson spent the two hoars which elapsed before the. arrival of the chaplain in writing to hia wife. With the chaplain he engaged in prayer till tho sheriff, accompanied by the hangman, made the usual demand for the body of the condemned man. Giasaon reiterated his innocence both to the clergyman and the governor of the gaol, whom in a few words he thanked for his attention. Ho showed much concern for his wife, praised her courage, expressed gratification at her mental strength, and implored the Almighty to sustain her in her trouble. Ho was glad, he said, to carry to the grave her conviction of his innocence. The culprit’s lips slightly quivered as the hangman adjusted his straps, otherwise from that moment to the end he bore himself with fortitude. On leaving the condemned cell Glasson, turning to a score of officials and reporters, who alone witnessed the execution, said:—“My Dear Friends,—l have a few words to say before I take leave of this world. I want to ask all those who have been kind to me, all those who have loved mo and all my friends, not to grieve for me. lam leaving a world of sorrow with assurance that I am going to a brighter and better home, that none of you on earth have ever experienced. I say aa I said before, 1 am dying an innocent man. I am wholly innocent of the crime for which lam now to die. The evidence was strong against me, but a defence was catered which I did not desire, although my solicitors did their best for me. I thank them for [working hard to save me irom this terrible end. There are statements which could be made, and perhaps some of you will hear them. lam dying, as I have before said, for the sins of another. My last thoughts are of my Maker. I hare every assurance of meeting Him above. My last words are that I think of my own beloved wife." Until the unhappy man reached the last words his voice was steady, and he betrayed marvellous fortitude, but when he pronounced the word “ wife" he wavered, and for a moment it seemed that his strength would fail him, but as the words died out he steadied himself, and made a sign that all was. ready. Haying, with a little assistance'from the warders, taken his place on the drop, Glasson calmly submitted to the final preparations. The white cap was pulled over hia features, and a moment later the bolt was drawn. The body shot through the trap door. Tho rope was observed to sway, but there was no perceptible quiver of the body, and the doctors state that death was instantaneous. At the subsequent inquest a formal verdict was returned. When the body had been at the morgue for the usual rime a formal request for it was made by Mr Livingstone (the clergyman who had been attending the culprit) on behalf of Gleason’s mother. The burial took place this afternoon at tho Church of England Cemetery. Glasson’s brother John and the Eev P, W. Clarke, a brother-in-law, were the only mourners. Mr Livingstone performed the ceremony in the presence of a large crowd. Since his petition for a reprieve was rejected last week, Glasson had been remarkably cheerful. Only once did he break down, namely, during the interview with his mother, whom he consoled by the assurance that they would meet sgqin in heaven. Ho ate well, and even gained flesh in prison. This morning he breakfasted heartily. He took advantage of every opportunity for exercise, and appreciated the removal of the irons, which the authorities were persuaded helped to retard the recovery of the wounds on his legs. His relatives and friends who visited bun were impressed by the passionate nature of his declarations of innocence, which they firmly believe. The condemned man’s brother-in-law, the Eev P. W. Clarke, is convinced that at all events Glasson was not the only or even the principal one concerned in the crime, and refuses to believe that with the hopelessness of escape Glasson would burden his soul with a lie.