THE FIGHT BETWEEN MACE AND GOSS. THE EXECUTION OF BURROWS AT MANCHESTER.

West Coast Times, Issue 337, 22 October 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE FIGHT BETWEEN MACE AND GOSS.

THE EXECUTION OF BURROWS AT MANCHESTER.

The prize fight recently arranged between Jem Mace and Goss; in direct consequence of thejcnore than doubtful exiiition made by these men when last they met so pretentiously and contemptibly in May la-t, wju fought on 6th August. The " sell' 1 at Farningliam had unquestionably blighted the reputation of the principal actors in it, and tke effect of the fiasco was evident in more ways than one. Of the considerable number who surrounded the first ring in May, hut a small proportion came up to witness the combat 3vhich had been confessedly got 'up.<to retrieve lost reputation. The "'tip" was given at Langhani's public-house, and those who applied for it paid one sovereign each for t the ticket and the whispered injunction to ' be on St. Paul's pier by five o'clock a.m. When that hour arrived, a low and rough crowd had come up to tho place. Very few indeed, if any, of those who are known as ''supporters" or "swells" appear to have risked' any of their e*rly rest upon the announcement that a real fight was coming off. The morning was dull and damp, and when a steamer came up to take off the expectant ticket holders, a more cheerless, dull, and dirty-looking company could hardly ba me met with than the h'reely independent crowd'upon the narrow deck. The steamer sped away past the as yet quiet wharves, down to a spot near the Long Reach Tavern at Purfleet, where so many fights have .taken place. The first people taken ashore from the steamer when she stopped were the men whose duty it was to pitch the ring. Conformab]y to the character with which it was evidentty intended from the first to invest this contest so as to retrieve the odium of cowardice or chicane shown in the last encounter, it had been stipulated in the articles signed by the men, that the " ring" should be sixteen feet square in- v stead of the usual twenty-four feet. The ropes were set up without delay, and almost before all the spectators got ashore the men were ready to begin. Both of them appeared in good training. Close, and rapid fighting is thq strong point of Mace, and all through the combat the smallness of the ring was an advantage to him. There was this time plenty of determination and earnestness on both sides, and during just thirty minutes the 3ght was fierce, and at times terrific. Twentyone rounds were got through in this ' time. There was a good deal of tough .wrestling, and several times Mace hit and countered with that swift and terribly skilful precision for which he first became famous. Goss, too, found opportunity to display several times a mighty power of fighting and. strong dogged qualities, which* are valued in such contests ; but they rire qualities which can never compete with even somewhat inferior powers of like character when greater skill is added. This was, in a great degree, Mace's position. He. exhibited that remarkable ceaseless vigilance for the time to strike and the time to stop, and that of utilising all his force for the proper when and where that has got him a character as, perhaps, the best fighting boxer of the day. He had the advantage of Goss all through the fight under notice for these reasons ; and although his opponent struggled hard and gamely to win, the sponge went up for Goss, albeit apparently without his consent, for he tried to renew the fight afterwards — in proper time. He was considerably punished, and much exhausted. Mace was comparatively unharmed. When the sponge was thrown up Mace advanced to G^ss, shook hands ) with him and kissed him on both cheeks. Goss shed tears, apparently of disappointment. The fight was concluded without' any interference by, the police* The stakes were 1/200 a Bjde.

We furnish a detailed statement of the above execution ;— The numbers in front of the scaffold began visibly to increase so early as four o'clock. By five o'clock there were fully GOOO people assembled, With a slight sprinkling of women amongst thtmij and the number ulti nately could not be less than 30,000. It was sad towitness the light and frivolous conduct of such an assemblage in presence of such an awful spectacle as they had come to witness. For hours the great majority of them behaved much as they would at a wake or fair. The laughter from time to time was of the most boisterous character, and theii- way of showing humor and drollery often took the form of practical jokes, Sometimesmen'shatswererudelyseizedand thrown backwards and forwards over the heads of others, til] battered and rendered worthless. At such times the contagion for this kind of amusement would spread .so rapidly that every one was led to take off his own covering in self-defence, and multitudes remained for a time bareheaded. At intervals some one or two men with switches would commence beating people back as if to form a ring for prize-rightera, or for some exhibition, and these men would then go round, cap in hand, to ao'icit halfpence. Occasionally these frolics nearly resulted in pugilistic encounters,, but such rough pleasantries to relieve the dull monotony of the hour were continually recurring", and the the hum and noise of voices would rise at limes almost to a roar. About six o'clock the first veal relief to the impatience of the people wa* afforded by the door in the prison wall being opened, and the appearance of Caleraft and some workmen oti the scaffold, to make preparation for the drama so many had come to see. The workmen had come, among other things to enclose the .-scaffold and drop in a drapery of black cloth ; and as they commenced operations one man shouted that he wished every one of them might be struck dead ' before the man was brought out. As the draping progressed it soon became evident that the cloth would be carried so high as to afford only a very limited view of what was to take x place, and then wild cries of indignation .burst forth, which again gave place to shouts of laughter at some slight mischances occurring through the nervousness or clumsiness of the workmen. As the time neared eight o'clock, 1 great impatience was manifested and cri.-s of " hats off," and "time, time," followed. Precisely at eight o'clock the priso-r door opened and the murderer, the hangman, and several officials stepped upo i the platf >rm. The murderer was a pitiful object !o look at as he < tremblingly stood with his hands raised, and his eyes directed upwards. By those who stood within a hundred yards of the scaffold little more than his h.^d could be seen above the drapery. All being in readiness, the white cap was drawn over his face, and, one end of the halter being already round his neck, Calcraffc had but to lift the other to a^ hook on the drop. Then the bolt was withdrawn, and the guilty criminal disappeared behind the drapery. Only the top of his head could then be seen even by people on a level with the scaffold. The whole ceremony in public lasted nearly thirty seconds. And this was what people had waited to v see through long and weary hours. The people appeared Wholly unprepared for its suddenness, and a shock appeared almost visibly to pass through the whole a&sembled mass of people present. A slight scream burst from some of the women, and several people fainted. A man on the leads of the warehouse opposite the gaol sunk down in a fit, and blankets had to be passed up to make a bed for him tjll means could be adoptel for his safe removal.

CONFESSION OF THE MTTRDEBEB.

"I, James Burrows, do acknowledge that I have, by suddenly cutting off the life of John Brennan, made h : g wife a widow and his children fatherless. My' sin is ever before me now ; and, rather than linger a miserable life on earth, 1 would wish to cast myself on the mercy ot i»od. I acknowledge the righteousness ot his law, and the law of this country. As I do not wi-.li to make a speech on the drop, I beg, through this paper, which I have asked the chaplain to write out for me to sign, to warn all young people of both sexes to be obedient to their parents, not to neglect the Sabbath, the school, and bible, and against all profanenes9 and debauchery, and especially^ against evil company, my ruin. My last word is, may God bo merciful to me a sinner, through Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. (Signed) James Burrows. From the condemned cell, 25th August, 1866. James Gretrex, warder." — Evening Express, 27th August.