WELL-DESERVED FLOGGING.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1136, 8 February 1884, Page 3

WELL-DESERVED FLOGGING.

Three young men mentioned in a local of last issue as having received sentences to he flogged for having committed an unprovoked assault on a Chinaman, at Sydney, received their thrashing on Jan. 12. We take the following particulars from the Town and Country Journal :— The carrying out of the sentences of flogging which were passed recently in the Sydney police courts, aroused a tremendous sensation amongst the stamp of humans from which the culprits come. It is.doubtless in the hope that such a dreadful pnn ishment as the cat will have a beneficial effect upon those of that class which have not yet come under its immediate application, as well as upon the sufferers themselves, that the law administers the lash. Every scream, every groan, calls forth a twinge from the auditors, some of whom will perhaps take it as a caution for their future conduct. The law provided that criminals sentenced to be flogged shall receive the punishment privately. The Wool»Dmooloo watch-house was the spot, and Saturday the day fixed upon, and at half-past 11 in the forenoon a large crowd chiefly composed of the larrikin type began to gather in front of the budding. A number of constables also sought admission, which was not permitted. By the appointed time the triangle had been fitted up in one of the small yards, and straps properly placed to buckle up the culprits. This implement, which is made of bar iron, and can bo adjusted to various sizes, has a cross bar about half-way up to keep the culprit’s back well out, and over this was thrown a large blanket. The man who wielded the cat was a stout brawny warder from the gaol. At 12 o’clock all was ready and Dr Egan hating arrived, operations were at once comtm nced. Only a few gentlemen who had obtained orders were present,in addition to the officers of the po’ice. The first candidate for flogging was Magner aged 23, who was stripped to the waist, and secured to the triangle. He received his 23 lashes in about 4| minutes, each stroke averaging a little over 10 seconds. Mniholland followed and got the same number. The prisoners bore their punishment with great fortitude, but appeared very weak when it was over, as if they were thoroughly exhausted. The effect of the lash is fearful. The first blow in each case left a number of parallel pink stripes running from the top of the right shoulder in a diagonal line towards the centre of the hack. The second blow deepened the pink to a deep dark red, and Wood began to ooze slowly from the : skin ; the nerves over the whole <>f the back wore quivering and twitching, and as every succeeding blow fell it was succeeded by a convulsive shudder of the whole body. When the number of strokes had been completed, the backs of the prisoners bore the appearance of bruised raw meat. There can be no doubt that the punishment is a fearful ordeal, and no man, however callous, is

likely to commit himself for it a second time. The next candidate operated on was O’Biien.jHe was sentenced to 20 lashes, and on receipt ofeach stroke of ihu cat he uttered feaiful screams of pain. As the number were laid on his shrinks grew more terrible till the 10th stroke • they resembled those emanating from a wi.d heast rather than a human being. Once or twice he showed a disposition to faint, but ere y stroke to the last brought out a cry from him which could bs heard forborne distance beyond the walls. At the end of the il 'gging he was barely able to stand and was given a drop of brandy which revived him a little. These three men were flogged for their brutal assault on the Chinaman Wong Ken, in Campbell St, last week. The man, James Deane, of Gundagai, who was convicted of indecently assaulting some ladies iu George street, last week, was the last to be flogged. He had been waiting for his turn, and has he came forward, pulling his shirt off, he looked as if he did not much care for what he had to go through. The first stroke, however, he looked as if he had changed hit views, and at the fourth stroke he shrieked iu agony. Once he struggled madly for freedom, but it was of no use. At the fourteenth stroke ha fainted and hung helplessly to the straps for a few momenta. When he came to he was told there was one more, an announcement which he received with a groan. After getting the fifteenth he was untied and walked back to the cell The men’s backs were afterwards dressed with ointment. When the gates of the station were locked at 12 o’clock the crowd retired to the back of the building where every swish of the cat could be plainly heard, and although at first the crowd seemed to have the idea that “it didn’t hurt much,” still when the men began to cry out, the hushed stillness, and, in some instances, the pale faces would seem to show that they estimated the cat at its true value There was no sympathy shown for the sufferers, the general verdict being that it serve ! them right. The three first-named men were to be released on Thursday about 1 o’clock. Deane, who is committed for trial, will spend the intervening time in gaol. It is to be sincerely hoped that the punishments inflicted will deter the culprits from committing such crimes again, and that it will have a like effect upon the whole class of larrikins who disgrace the name of mankind.