THE EXECUTION OF COLLINS.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 33, 13 February 1862, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE EXECUTION OF COLLINS.

(From the A'civ Zealand Advertiser, Feb. 1.) The extreme sentence of the law-passed upon James Collins late Color-Sergeant in the 65th Regiment, for the murder of Ensign Alexander,

of the same regiment, at Wanganui, on the Ist November last—was carried into effect in the gaol at Wellington, on Thursday morning. It was not generally known at what time the execution would take place, nor were the public acquainted with the provisions of the Act passed in the General Assembly, in 1858, to regulate the execution of criminals. This Act provides that the sheriff, the gaoler, any of the officers of the gaol whose attendance the sheriff may require, and a medical practitioner, shall be present at every execution together with any justice of the peace and ministers of religion who may desire to attend : and also such military and police guard (and other male adult spectators, not exceeding ten, unless under permission from the Governor) as the sheriff may think fit to admit but no other persons whatsoever. Every one of the persons shall remain in the gaol until the sentence has been carried into execution, and the medical practitioner shall have signed a certificate to the effect that the criminal had been hanged by the neck until his body was dead.

It was finally arranged on Wednesday morning that the execution should take place at the time above mentioned. When the arrangement was communicated to the unhappy prisoner he expressed himself perfectly ready to meet his fate, as he was anxious for it to be over, the suspense in which he had been in, expecting every day to be his last, being wearying. When ho learned that the execution would take place within the walls of the gaol ho expressed his gratification and said that it w r as a great relief to his mind to think that he should not be exposed to the jeers and insults of a thoughtless crowd. The Bishop of Wellington and the Rev. A. Stock have been unwearied in their attendance on the unfortunate man since his conviction, and on the day proceeding his execution they remained with him until late in the evening. The Bishop left him about half-past nine, when ho expressed a a hope that the prisoner would be able to get some sleep. After the Bishop left, the Warden visited him, -who also requested him to try and get a little rest; but he declined to do so, as Mr. Stock had promised to call again, which he did about midnight. After Mr. Stock had left, the prisoner made an effort to sleep but did not succeed, but remained earnestly praying to God to forgive him his sins and to have mercy on his poor soul. At his request Mr Bead visited him again at three o’clock, and again at five, when he found him weeping bitterly and praying to God to forgive him. When Mi'. Read informed him that he must leave him—his duties requiring his attendance elsewhere—the unhappy prisoner burst into a flood of tears, and seizing the Warden by the hand ho shook it most affectionately for some time and wished farewell for ever ; he thanked him for the kind manner in which he had been treated since his confinement, and expressed the hope that they should meet again in Heaven. The Bishop of W ellington, accompanied by the Rev. A. Stock, arrived between five and six o’clock, when they administered the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to the wretched man.

The Sheriff and the Provincial Surgeon [having arrived at about a quarter to eight o’clock, the prisoner was informed that the time for his execution had come. He was perfectly calm and collected, and, having been pinioned, he walked to the scaffold witli a firm step and serene countenance, perfectly resigned to his fate, and apparently less affected than any of the spectators. He was attended on the scaffold by the Bishop and Mr. Stock, the latter reading the burial service of the Church of England, commencing “ I am the resurrection and the life.” The executioner having adjusted the rope, the signal was given and t'acT unhappy man was launched into eternity. After hanging the usual time, the body was cut down and placed hi the coffin to await the coroner’s inquest.

The prisoner having expressed a wish to die in his uniform, the request was considerately complied with. The body was viewed by a number of persons during the day ; the appearance 01 the deceased had undergone little or no change, the expression of the features being quite placid, and the skin wholly undiscolored. The conduct of the unfortunate man from the date of his entering the gaol had been uniformly exemplary ; the Warden informed us that he was the best behaved man he had ever had under his charge ; and the feeling that he was justified in sending a fellow creature unprepared into eternity was long before his death considerably modified, and in the end, under the influence of the ministration of religion, apparently obliterated. He was known to have been drinking freely some days previous to the perpetration of the crime for which his life has now been forfeited, and to its influence, and his forgetfulness of God, he ascribes in part the cause of his unhappy end.