DREADFUL MURDER, AND EXECUTION IN JAMAICA.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 2, Issue 66, 7 November 1844, Page 4

DREADFUL MURDER, AND EXECUTION IN JAMAICA.

The Jamaica papers give an account of a dreadful case of violation and murder,rendered more horrible by the circumstances attending the execution of the criminals. The story is the more remarkable, too, from the circumstance, that the crime was discovered by the confessions of the perpetrators, extorted from them by the agonies of remorse. Two men, of the names of Pendrill and Reeve, alias Chitty, were imprisoned for some minor offences, in two prisons at a distance from each other j the one at Falmouth, and the other at Kingston. Both of them, in their sleeping as well as waking moments, made such revelations respecting a crime they had committed, that they were brought to trial for it. On the trial, the evidence of the persons in whose hearing they had made these revelations was brought forward. Some parts of it were as follows:—-Thomas Anderson said he confined in the Falmouth district prison for assault. He knew Pendrill, and saw him in January. They occupied the same room. During the nights, Pendrill used to be very much agitated; he would call out in his sleep," What do you want with me s I didn"t kill you ; go away." He tossed his arms about, tore his clothes and stripped himself quite naked. One morning after he had been calling out in his sleep in this manner in the Penitentiary, Pendrill then told witness that he and ReevefChitty ), coming from Falmouth, had met a girl whom they had carried into the bush, and murdered. Other witnesses described similar conduct on the part of Reeve ot(Chitty), in Kingston prison. Upon this evidence, and corrobotary facts, the two culprits wereconvicied. They were executed at Falmouth on the 30th of Novembr. On the scaffold they behaved with the utmost composute, and, notwiths standing the exhortations of clergymen whoattendtd them, steadily denied their guilt. The appalling circumstances attending the conclusion of the scene are thus detailed by the Cornwall Chronicle:— His Reverence the Rector then commenced to read the funeral service, and while the tremulous tones of his voice still resounded in the ears of these wretched men, the drop fell from beneath their feet, and there succeeded a scene of horror which we heartily pray We may never witness anything like again. The rope with which Chitty was suspended broke by the violence of the fall, occasioned by the length of slack allowed bim ; the cap which covered Pendrill's face being too big and unfastened was blown off, and the dreadful emotions of his features from the agonies of death on the countenance of the unfortunate sufferer became painfully visible to the gaze of the surrounding spectators, many of whom burst into tears, and nearly all utteied ejaculations of the j harrowing sensations with which they were agitated, j Chittyjin the meantime, without assistauces quickly got upon his legs, unhurt, and immediately exclaim- J ed, " This is fair play ; fair play for it/' This exclamation he reiterated several times, with slight variations in the collocation of the words. Means time a messenger was dispatched on horseback for a fresh supply of rope, while old Bacchus, the executioner, was mechanically engaged in knoting another noose from the fragment of rope which remained. The wretched man continued to declare his innocence of the murder, and declared that he never knew (he girl, he never saw her, &c., with a great degree of volubility and vehemence; | after which, observing the executioner with the noose in his hand, he said, P I will take my chance with that." He again ascended the step-ladder, the top of which was used for a drop. He made no faltering step. On gaining the upper landing, and while the executioer was making preparation, be exclaimed, " Ob, mighty Lord Jesus—guilty sinners shall be cast into hell—if in Heaven thou can save e—if cast into hell thou canst see me—l suffer death like a man—l never knew the girl—l never saw the girl, but I am doomed to death for thou only one." After a pause he addressed himself in prayer. When he had left off speaking, Macintyre advanced to the front of the scaffold and addressed him :—" Sam Reeve, it has pleased the Lord to give you further time to join with me in prayer, let us then—" the rev. gentleman then proceeded to read the funeral service, where he had left off; while so engaged, the stepladder was very adroitly tripped up. and tb£ wretched sufferer once more swung off, his cap was again blown away, and his features exposed iii a similar manner to Pendrill's. His sufferings* mnst have been very great ; his body was dreadfully convulsed for two or three minutes, during which time he repeatedly kicked the then lifeless body of his fellow prisoner, which" hung below him, and at one time raised both his legs, and placed them upon Pendrill's shoulders, thus adding another accompaniment to the completion of this scene of horror.

Animal Instinct.—A dog "going along the High street,- in Sunderland, flew at a coil of sausages, and began tearing them furiously to pieces-:—and why ? Because it seems, they were made of a dog that he had had a fight with the day before ! The Musical Snuff Box.—A gentleman who had a snuff-box that played "Drops of Brandy," and " Sich a Getting up Stairs.'' went to dine with a friend a few miles out of town, on a Sundey, taking his snuff-box in his pocket. He accompanied the fami'y to|tne parish church, and, by some accidental pressure.he, about the middle of the service touched the spring of the box, wbich struck up "Drops of Brandy," most merrily. Every eye and every ear was directed towards the spot, to the great dismay of the gentleman, who endeavoured to stop the box, but in doing so only caused it to change the tune, on which he hastened out of the church, the box rattling away while he marched along the aisle.

Paddy's Expedient for Reducing a Fine.— An Irish weaver, jnst imported from the sister isle, took to his employer in Kilmornock, the other day, the first cloth he had woven since his arrival. His employer detected in the cloth two holes, within an inch from each other, and told him he must pay a fine of a shilling for a hole. " And plaze ye," returned Pat, " is it by the number of holes, or by the size of them, that you put the fine on us?" "By the number of holes to he sure.'' " And a big hole and a small one is the same price ?" " Yes, a shilling for each hole, big or little." " Then give me a hould of the piece," replied Paddy ; and getting the cloth into his hands, he tore the two small holes into one, and exclaimed, '« By the bill of Howth, and that saves me one shilling, any how."

Rdeal Simplicity;—\ young lady who had never been out of the sound of Bow-beH, and whose ideas of a country life w ere formed from reading Thomsons Seasons, received an invitation to spend a few weeks with her aunt, about forty miles from London ; and was extremely disappointed at the total absence of that moral elegance, that Arcadian smplicity which she had pictured to herself of a country life. One day, however, she considered herself fortunate, by encountering a shepherd returning from the fields, with hook in hand, quite "a la Corydon. " Youth." said the Citoyenne, " why have you not your pipe with you >" •' Because, ma'm, answered he, " I han't got no backee." An Indian Faie.—The great fair at Hurdwar was in full swing at the Colonel's arrival, with its vast concourse of Hindoo devotees from all parts of India. * * * "Huge heaps of assafcetida. in bags, from the mountains beyond Cabool—tons of raisins of various sorts—almonds, pistachio nuts, sheep with four or five horns— Balkh cats, with long silken hair of singular beauty—faqueers begging and abusing the uncharitable with the grossest and most filthy language—long strings of elderly ladies, proceeding in a chant to the priests of the Lingam, to bargain for bodilv issue—Ghat priests presenting their books for the presents and signatures of the European visitors—groups of Hindoos surrounding a Brahmin, who gives each of them a certificate of his having performed the pilgrimage, &c. TortToisESHELL Ponies.—But among the greatest curiosities in( this way (horses at the above fairj, were some tortoiseshell ponies— for we call them nothing else—a peculiar race from Uzbek Tartary, which we never remember to beard of before. They were under thirteen hands high, and the most curious compound of colours and marks that can be imagined. Suppose the animal pure snowy white ; cover the white with large irregular bright bay spots, through which the white is visible; in the middle of these light bay Jet there be dark bay marble spots ; at every six or eight inches plant rhornboidal patches of a very dark iron grey ; then sprinkle the whole with dark flea bites! There is phooldur (flower market) as they call them ; and we agree with the Colonel, that such an animal would be a fortune at Bartlemy Fair.— Colonel Davidson's Travels in India.

A Pr psentlMEnt.—Dean Swift was one day walking with Young, the author of "Night Thoughts," and some other friends, near Dublin. " Perceiving he did not follow us," says Young, •«I went back and found bim fixed as a statute, and earnestly gazing upward to a noble elm, which in its uppermost branches was decayed. Pointing to it, he said, « I shall be like that tree ; I shall! die at the top.'" Swift was imbecile long before his death.

We often see persons of a wealthy condition, who are immediately injured by any excess, and conse* quently obliged to be careful in the managementof their health, live more comfortably and longer than those of a robust constitution, who from a sure confidence in their vigour, are apt to despise all rules and order. A crystal vase, with care, will last as long as an iron one.

Opposite Natures.—Some people fret and grieve everlastingly at what cannot be helped, and lose the enjoyment of that which they might otherwise derive pleasure from, because they cannot have every thing their own way; and so they go on, miserable themselves and making everybody miserable around them. While others making up their minds to bear the annoyances they cannot escape from, contrive to make plea* sures out of very slight materials, and, by their own good humour and cheerfulness, to inspire the same in others.— Rowcroft. Good Advice—A proud man or woman is an unsuitable companion, humility and gentleness should characterise the female sex. Indeed pride in no sense, becomes humanity. Pride lo'st heal ven; humility, the humility of God himself, regained it for mankind Take heed not to join'with the prodigal or spendthrift. Riches were given for use, not for abase; and to squander them away idly and uselessly is like throwino grain to the wind,— Womans Worth. Aids to Anti-working Algebraists. Q. What are " Imaginary Quantities ?" A. Pennsylvanian bonds. Q. What is the negative sign? A. A shake of the bead. Q. What is underl stood by a Radical? Anything but what he talks about in public. Q. What is an " Impossible j Expression ?" A. To speak of «TJnmention. ables." Q. What is a "significant dight?" A. The fore finger applied to the nose.— Eunck; Great Powers op Execution.—A new paper.cutting machine has-bsen invented, which, the papers say, is constructed on the principle of the gullotine. We recommend it to the notice of reviewers who are fond of cutting up new books.— lbid. Punch, in alluding to the many " Leagues '' now in existence, says that one has heeti formed in order to protect the culiivators of rauh grown water cress against the artificial vegetable produced in ordinary slop basins. He that lives without fear shall die without hopeMorality is the most poweiful means for the proction of wealth. dleness. —Sweet to those who have earned jnrdensome to those who get it for nothing. , f /ard. | Vanity is satisfied with great words, but pride req"ires great works.— Campbell.