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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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History And Biography.
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY .
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The Origin and Object of the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge upon the Punishment of Death . It * the spring of the year 1801 , about a fortnight after the assizes ,
an application was made to the author of these few lines by a gentleman of respectability , who had just arrived from the country upon business which he stated to be of great importance , 4 < There are , " he said , c 4 two men left
for execution at Huntingdon for sheep-stealing ; they are to be executed early to-morrow morning : some circumstances have lately transpired , with which , if the judge is acquainted , I am sure
they will be pardoned ; may I beseech you to wait upon the judge . " After having heard and deliberated upon his statement , I was satisfied that every exertion
ought to be made on their behalf . I immediately went to the judge ' s house . He had not yet returned from Norwich , which is the last town upon the circuit , but he was
expected m the course of the day . I went to the Secretary of State ' s office ; I was there informed that the Secretary of State could not i nterfere unless a favourable report were made by the judge . It was now three o ' clock and the execution was to take place early
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the next morning , at the distance of sixty miles from London * At eight o ' clock the Judge had not arrived . To meet him upon the road appeared to be hopeless At nine almost in despair I called
again ; the Judge , without having stopped at his own house , had gone to a relation in the city ; he immediately granted me an audience , and , having most kindly
and most patiently heard me , he answered nearly as follows , " There is much weight in what you says but I do not sufficiently recollect the circumstances of the trial to
enable me to make any report and my papers are not yet unpacked ; they are at my house ; I would go and search for them were it not now too late effectually to examine them this night . Something ,
however , ought to be done ; but I am fearful of exciting expectation which may not be realized . " I was well known to the Judge . " If your lordbhip will intercede for a respite for one week , and can confide in me , I will ' deliver it
at Huntingdon , and will take care that no improper expectation shall be excited . " Upon this assurance the order was signed . Instead of applying at the Secretary of State ' s officcy I went instantly to the Secretary of State who was in the House of Lords ; I wrote a note
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THE MONTHLY REPOSITORY OF Theology and General Literature .
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No . LXVII . J JULY . [ Vol . VI . i i i . . i . — ¦ i ¦ ¦ ¦ H ¦ ¦ _ i i ¦ - - _
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VOL , VI . 3 D
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1811, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2418/page/1/
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