A BLACK RECORD

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2066, 18 February 1889, Page 3

A BLACK RECORD

■ Tbe bUDgilng job modo of toe hanging f Louisa Oolllua at Sydney recently , rcoale a more exciting experience, wheu three falling a» tempts to execute a nnn Id Sydney m 1803 resulted In his beinf reprieved. Joseph Samuels was ordered for execution for afoallnp: a dosk contain - Ing money, from Mary Breez?, The ropp first broke In the middle, and thu criminal fell pros' ra'e; en the second Attempt the rope nurovu and he again fell to the groand ; ou the third trhl the rope snapped m the middle. The provost marshal, Mr Smith, a very kind ma>, took comptsalon on the culprit, and proceeding to Government Hour , represented the oiroutnstances, and thereby ob tkined a reprieve for him. The people of Sydney have httd snob an exteDslve experience of extcatinne that we should not h*ve expected them to bare ■erlocsqualma ibout carryiog out the extreme sen tinea of the law. Moot) less would we have looked for the execui loner bungling his job, as appears to have happened m the case of Louisa Oollins, who was hanged reoently for murdering her l.usband. It is stated that between 1825 an i 1887, as many as 544 people were exeouted m New South Wales. The average m 1832 was tbtee executions every two diya. In 1829 and 1830, the average was about one a day. Un one occasion, m August, 1821, the hangman mad© almost a daily job of executing 19 men, out of 26 sentenced to death at one Criminal Court sitting m Sydney, Moreover although 40 'years have elapsed sine* a woman was executed m New South Wales, prior to Louisa Collins, four females have bean hanged m that colony since 1£42, all f or murder. — 41 Auckland Star."