PAINFUL SCENE UPON A SCAFFOLD. THE MURDERER'S CAREER. London, January 13.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 245, 10 March 1888, Page 3

PAINFUL SCENE UPON A SCAFFOLD.

THE MURDERER'S CAREER. London, January 13.

Contrary to the expectation of most people —including the convict himself, who up till Saturday last fully anticipated a reprieveSurgeon - Major Cross was, on Tuesday last, duly hanged. Had there been a scintilla of doubt as to the unhappy man 'B guilt, the Government would have only too gladly mitigated the extreme penalty, for, say what you will, it is a much more serious matter to hang a magistrate, the head of a county family, ana the possessor of a considerable fortune and an entailed estate, than to string up i Bill Jones, costermonger. Dr. Cross met his ! fate with characteristic fortitude. He made (so far as we have atpresent heard) no confession, but after the Lord-Lieutenanu's refusal to grant a reprieve reached him, ceased to reiterate his innocence, Bejwrters were excluded, from^the execution; ,buti ; it ip-satd he to, tha^qaffold withQu^assistance,' a.n'4 allowed the rp r pe to be ad jusjte*d with' perfect ;<salmi}ess. Cross's fate should be tf warning to intendmg criminals not to rely overmuch on their social fp6sition , to . avert suspicion. That he coula have murdered his wite with impunity hacl he> behaved rationally and taken one or two obvious, precautions, seoms certain He was ft very handsome aad a very popular m»n fi married the woman he murder«<l for love, and lived happily with her for serwal years a (comparatively f»peakiDg> nwiel husband and fatker.

Everything went well till, in 1886, the too fascinating governess Miss Skinner came to livo iti the house. Old Cross (he was 60 remember) foil rapidly in love with Miss Skinnor and leb himself go completely. He cursed his wife, tokl her he wished she was in h - 11, and otherwise misbehaved. The scandal, in fact, grew so glaring thab Miss Skinner herself saw tho advisability of quitting her admirer's roof. Cross visited her constantly, however, in Dublin, where the pair passed as man and wife. Tho murder itself was committed with, diabolical ruthlossness. That Cross should have succumbed to the temptation of making away with his wife is conceivable^ but that he should have doliberately administered a cruel irritant poison to her and then stood by the bedside watching it 3 effects and pretending to alleviate the poor sufferer's agonising torments seems incredible. Ifc is on record, too, that she had perfect faith in her husband's love and kindliness, and died calling down blossings on the murderer's head. Fortunately, he made many blunders, as, for instance : (1) forbidding friends to see his wife during her illness ; (2) signing the death -certificate himself ; (3) describing the disease as typhoid ; (4) fixing the funeral for 6 a.m. — within 48 hours of the decease ; (5) marrying Miss Skinner at once ; (6) bringing her back to Shandy Hall within three weeks of the first Mrs Cross's death, ana (6) overlooking the presence of a lady friend of his wifo's in the house during her illness. It was this innocent old body's diary hanged Surgeon Major Cross. She thought her friend's symptoms curious, and so described them accurately. Apropos of coincidences, lucky days, etc., I may mention that Cross married both the wife he murdered and Miss Skinner at the same church in London on (he same day of the month -the 17th. Moreover, he was found guilty on a 17th (December 17th). Cross leaves £20,000, .of which £6000 goes to Miss Skinner that was, and the balance to liis sister and liis ohildron. The &sdtut& is of course entailed on the eldest son, a boy of 14. There arc several children. Poor things, one pities them. What can their future be in Ireland ?