THE SYDNEY HANGING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4770, 22 January 1887, Page 3

THE SYDNEY HANGING.

Tub Sydney Morning Herald of Jan. Bth received yesterday has a full account of the execution of the four convicts. The following is condensed from it: — From 7 a.m. a crowd commenced to assemble at the great gates of the gaol — composed of all classes, but chiefly of young men, some of unmistakable larrikin stamp; and there were also a number of women included in it. The crowd must have numbered two thousand. The customary formula by the sheriff of demanding the bodies of the prisoners was gone through, and they were brought from the cells to have their irons removed and be pinioned. The hangman and his assistant performed the latter operation speedily, and as mercifully as possible, and the prjeession then moved along the corridor, and asconding three steps, the prisoners reached the platform of the scall'old. They were placed upon the trap in tho following order : — Boyce to the extreme left, then Martin, Duffy, and Read. Boyco was attended by the Rev. Father Coonan, Martin by the Rev. Father Byrne, and Duffy by the Rev. Dr Murphy. Each of the prisoners had a crucifix hung round his neck. Read was attended by the Rev. T. J. Curtis — who throughout has betyi unremitting in his attention to the prraoncr — by tho acting chaplain, the Rev. J. F. Henderson, and by the Rev. James McNeil. For a few seconds the prisoners stood beneath the beam. Boyce was exceedingly pale, and throughout kept his eyes firmly turned upward ; Martin was less pale, and somewhat stolid looking ; Duffy was flushed, and his lips moving incessantly, repeated words of pnyer ; whilst Read stood with his eyes closed and face turned skyward. In the midst of the most painful suspense aud solemn silence, the ] Rev. Mr Curtis, in a broken voice, said, "On behalf of Robert Read, I desire to say thnt he has made a long written statement, which ha has placed in my hands,

to bo held sacred until after his execution. In this statement ho declares his innocence, and says that ho will enter into the pruaonco of ("rod, trusting only in the Lord Jesus Christ, his Saviour, with a clear conscience, knowing that he is innocent in this matter. [Hero Read turned his head, and spoko to the rev gentleman.] Robert Read wishes me also to say that so far as his Bmall knowledge of the affair extends, and from all he has gathered from the other condemned men, he believes that those who have been reprieved —save Donnellan —that is to say, Hill, Miller, Keegan, and Newman, are innocent.'' The executioner and hia assistant then produced the white caps ; Mr Curtis kissed Read, and, burying hia face in his hands, stepped aside. The halters were quickly adjusted, and in a second the bolt was drawn. A scene too painful to describe followed. It was evident that the weight of the prisoners and the drop had not been properly calculated. One struggled for about six minutes, the others for a less time, and when at twenty-five minutes to tan o'clock Drs O'Connor and Brownless felt the bodies, it was quite plain to them that death had not at all been instantaneous. Of the four, only one —Duffy —had his column fractured ; the others were sfcranglod to doath. It wa3 stated by a medical man present that in the case of Martin, respiration did not cease till the expiration of ten minutes. By a misuhanco the rope got partly caught by one of his pinioned arms, and this no doubt to some extent checked the fall. So far as those present could judge, the knots of the nooses did not, in at least two cases, appear to have boon drawn sufficiently tight. After hanging for some time, after the medical examination had been made, the bodies were lowered and removed to the morgue, where a post mortem was held, and-- subsequently the city coroner (Mr Shiell) presided at an inquest, where formal evidence was given, the statement of Dr O'Connor, medical officer of the giol, being that in the case of Duffy death had been caused by the dislocation of the vertebra; of the spinal column, and in the cases of Read, Martin, and Boyce, by strangulation.