EGGERS HANGED.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16153, 6 March 1918, Page 9

EGGERS HANGED.

pp.OTESTS HIS INNOCENCE

f an INSTANTANEOUS END

l s the clocks of I.ytteltou van- out j th ; hour of eight, ami the major.ty of tie inhabitants entering upon anther dnv Of healthy liio and honest | ♦nil the Jiunanga murderer, Frederick : AViUiam Egscrs, started on his last,, ml brief earthly journey from Ins H To About five minute, later, calm and reserved to the end. and protesting his innocence, he had passed to the Great Beyond. The final scene was quiet and almost undramauc. The scaffold' had been c ro-ted in a small enclosed corner towards the northern win 2 of the gaol, ;ust outside the oT3 solitary confinement cells. It was tbo same structure as was first used for the execution of the Great Harrier murderers, Cnffery and Pcnn, thirty-live years aao, and it w been used at uvery hanging that has since taken place in New Zealand. U readied about half-way up the walls of the prison, and from the hea\J -beam at the top hung tho rope, on which* a drop of about Git lOin inu been Eygcrs «cighing about o,b under 12 stone. Oircctly in front ol tni. trap-door, and) round the ' drop underneath, a scrim screen had been erected, bo that the final sccno was

Hidden from all. At minutes to 8 o clock all the entrances to the gaol were lucked, iind the doors ol' the various ceiia ana ■wilrds closed, and just 011 the stroke tuc hour, the cuntiemned man was led Irom his cell. The gnm procession was headed by the iSiioritf, .Mr A. Il Jloiines, the Deputy-Inspector ot j'risons, Mr -M. Hawuins, and Dr. Jjouisson, the gaol surgeon. lhcn rime the Governor of tne Gaol, Mr .U. Seanlail, and the hangman, followtd bv the Anglican Vicar of the parish, the "itev. J- Ilewland. biruetly after the clergyman came. Eggers, his 'arms tightly strapped together, and a warder supporting liim on each side. Two more warders followed behind. was dressed in an ordinary kinglet, a pair of white trousers, and ilippcrs. The astonishing fortitudo which had marked his demeanour throughout his trial had not deserted him, and he walked firmly up the scatfold stops, though his faco ivas pale, and it was plain that the thoughts of his terrible end had preyed considerably on his mind. He ivas unshaven, but his hair was neatly groomed. During the past few days lie had ovidently been brooding heavily on his impending fate. He had passed most of his time in reading magazines and in writing, an occupation -which had taken tip a great deal of his time. Ho had not oaton well during • the last two or three days, and dainties from the private tablo of th© gaoler had not tempted his appetite. On the night before his execution he slept practically not at all, and in the morning he declined breakfast. The Rev. MrHewland had passed a considerable amount of time with him, and remarked Inter that the fortitude which marked his bearinc on the scaffold had not been with him all through. In tho hour before the execution he had been visibly distressed, and. although throughout protesting his innocence, he had wept copiously. However, when the warders camo £or him he once again .steeled his nerves, and, with iron will, appeared, outwardly, composed to the last.

The distance from the cell to the

scaffold tvas only a few .yards, so the ordinary service vras not read. ' The chaplain,, howercr, recited extracts from tho 52nd Psalm,• and prayed earnestly for tho condemned man, continuing tho prayers until practically tho last moment.

There were few spectators when the > little party mounted the scaffold besides them, only four Press representatives, . the undertaker, and iSergeanfc Jackson, of the Lyttelton. police, witnessing the final »:ene. Tigers had previously announced his intention or saying nothing on the scaffold, bub he changed his mind and lmd quite a lot to say. His words, or most of them, were not audible to the little group below, but they were*taken down by the sheriff, and will Be forwarded to the Governor-General. jHo commenced by giving directions as 'to the disposal of his effects. He had proviously stated that £500 of the money found with him was his own •property, and this he repeated, directing that it should to Mrs Mcllahon. He emphatically denied that he had been guilty of the murder of Coulthard, , stating that it had been done by another man who had been paid £000 for tho deed. "I am nob guilty. J have not had justice done to me," he was heard to say in a louder tone, and he proceeded to express his appreciation of tho way in which he had been treated by the gaol officials. He could not, 'he added, say the eamo for the police.. "In my last two minutes. as t stand before my Maker," he concluded, "I did not shoot John Coulthard. That is all. sir." Eggfcrs had been offered a glass of *P>nt3 to braco him up, but this lie declined, and on the scaffold he asked merely for a drink of water, which was immediately forthcoming. His legs wore tightly bound together, tho whit© • bag was fastened over his' face, and the hangman adjusted tho rope. That was i' ?" e moment that impressed the little band of spectators most; to think that i stood a healthy, ath-letic-looking man, who a few seconds later would have joined the great majority, having met tho most ignominious end known to th© ch'iliscd +? * Some time before the execution tne-gallows had been tested, a bag of sand representing the body, and every- , thiug had worked smoothly, but at the final moment it appeared as though tnere had been a slight, barely noticeItl ' * n the working of tho lever. . The hangman was heard to. make'three 2 U \ ck fcrks at the lever, and then the pody dropped, and Eggcrs's soul passed • immediately. As the gaol surgeon certified, death . Was instantaneous. Seen an hoiy after . »-the actual hanging, tho body showed V there had been -a very dccided dis- . - lotion of the spino just behind'the .neck. Eggers had loosely interlocked '"his fingers, and the fact that tho final jerk had not even.caused him to clasp them tightly, showed that he had experienced no pain or feeling. An hour ■ after tho execution, the formal inquest ; was held beioro the Coroner. Mr H. "W. Rishop, who recorded a verdict "that Eggera had met his death by the execution of the sentence of death by hanging passed upon him. Later in the day, the body was buried in the corner of tho Lyttelton cemetery set apart for murderers. No stone marks their last « Testing place, and only a record on the plan of the cemetery goes to shoiv whose graves they are.

During his incarceration. Eggers had had a warder in continual attendance upon him* His behaviour had been exemplary, but the fact that he had determined, if possible, as shown bv some of his letters, to commit suicide, had resulted in a particularly keen watch being kept upon him. Though ho continually protested bis innocence, even the clergyman who had been in attendance upon him had no doubt of his guilt.