The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1866

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 182, 4 October 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1866

To-morrow morning at 8 o'clock the wretched men who have been sentenced to death for the Maungatapu murders will be executed within the precincts of Nelson gaol. The execution according to colonial custom will not be a public one, or only so far public as to admit of the death of tha criminals, being attested by tho number of witnesses prescribed by law. By this system the demoralizing circumstances that attach to public executions are prevented and the public have a guarantee that no foul play has been committed, Another advantage is gained by the semi*private mode of execution, that of preventing daring criminals from being buoyed up by the sympathy of friends, or exciting the ftdmrraiion of weak-minded or depraved spectators, if such exist. It is well known that the scenes frequently enacted at executions in the old country are anything j but favorable to morality or order ; and I whifst the wise .and .learned in Eugland are J hesitating aa to the propriety of departing i from the time-honored public spectacle, the colonies-have, wisely determined to atrip the punishment which is reserved for the greatest criminal's,, of. the offensive influences by-wbieh it has been hitherto surrounded. After the j execution an inquiry will be held aa-to the j cause of death, the details of which will be I furnished to llie Government and tfre -public. j The bodies of ihg executed ?nea will be dis- [. posed of by tfre prison anthorisies, and the j last act ©f tfcefearfol drama wMeh began on the "sacred mountain"' will be brought to a close. No great change of conduct lias been manifested by the condemned criminals, since they were informed of the fate that awaited them. Characters do not change, any more than the skin of the Ethiopian or the spots of the- leopard. As men live, so they generally die, and despite- the dreams of the enj thusiastic and tiie fervour of the devout, the cases arc exceptional in which a life of crime is suddenly succeeded by genuine contrition, or a conscience steeled by innumerable guilty j I acts against, human and divine monitions, bej comes sensitive and yields to good influences j however powerfully applied. Beg ret, reI morse, and a sense of degradation, are not tho ! signs of true contrition, nor will they pass for the genuine repentance which is demanded 1 from tho.se who have outraged in the most j flagrant manner the laws of God and man. j We are informed that Burgess will meet his I fa to in n calm and submissive manner, acknowledging the deepness of his guilt and the justice of his punishment. To what ex- ! lent, ho is a sincere penitent we shall not know till the fatal drop has fallen. This morning Levy protested his innocence in the most energetic manner, and called the Deity to witness that he was a murdered man. Kelly does not protest innocence, but he makes no admission of his; guilt. He employs his time in reading religious books, copying devotional I poetry, and, so his religious adviser informs I us,- engages with great apparent fervor in prayer. Whether at the last extremity, these miserable criminals will evince a more satisfactory state of mind it is not for us to say. A considerable time has been allowed them for repentance, and to-morrow, the seventeenth day after their sentence, repentance will be too late.

CcsToais Revenue ton the Quarter ended 3Utii September, 1866. Spirits, 434S 80-32 gallons, at 123 £2609 7 10 Cigars & Snuff, 1031 14-16 lbs, at*4s Cd '232 3 '5 Tobacco, 8120 J. lbs, . .1015 1 3 Wine, in wood, 1264 gallon*, at 49 . 252 16 0 Ditto, in bottle, 115 3-6 gallon, at 5s . 28 17 6 Ale, &c, in wood, 3100 „ at 9d . 116 5 0 Ale, in buttle, 5873 gallons, at ls 6d . 440 9 5 Tea, 24,389 lbs, at 6d . . 609 14 6 Coffee Cocoa, &c, 11,345 lbs, at 3d . 14116 3 Sugar, 202,67 lbs, at Id . . 844 0 7 Firearms, 36, at 5s ' . . . 9 0 0 'Gunpowder," 206 Ihs, at 3d . . 211 6 Goods by measurement, 'So79 feet 2 in. at 5s . . . . 2019 lo 10 Goods bv weight, 1886 cwt 3 cjrs 14 lbs. ■ at 4s . _ . . 37.7 7.8: 1 Total : £8699 610 \ Corresponding Quarter, 1865 . . 8292 4*3 , Increa-re . .£407 2 7