John Blair Thompson  
The Star
Christchurch, New Zealand
    Monday, 12 April 1875
THE CULPRIT
M E R C E R
After Sentence
  The vast crowd that collected outside the Supreme Court, after sentence of death was passed on Mercer, to see the unhappy wretch as he passed out, was doomed to disappointment, because by a judicious, and as it turned out, successful ruse on the part of the police and prison authorities, he had left the Courthouse for the railway station several minutes before many persons were aware of his departure.   It was anticipated that on making his appearance in the open air, Mercer would be received by demonstrations of a kind that would give expression to the opinion popularly entertained, that the verdict of the jury was a just and proper one, and the one only that could be arrived at on evidence disclosing one of the most brutal, hideous, and abominable crimes to be found on the criminal records of the colony.   To avoid this manifestation of popular feeling, the authorities ordered an omnibus to the doorway through which prisoners ordinarily pass to and from the Courthouse.   Towards this point, the crowd eagerly pressed, and here they patiently waited, expecting every moment to see the culprit make his appearance.   In order that the pre-arranged plan might be carried out with perfect success, the police exerted themselves in a make-believe kind of way, to keep a passage clear from the doorway to the bus, and the eager throng never for a moment suspected that Mercer would be taken out by another door.   Meanwhile a cab had been ordered to the opposite side of the Courthouse, and before the public knew anything to the contrary, the murderer was on his way to the railway station, in charge of Mr. Reston, chief gaoler, and Sergeant-Major O'Grady.
At the Railway Station
  As a considerable time had to elapse before starting of the 5:20 p.m. train for Lyttelton, Mercer was admitted into the manager's room, and kept there until a moment or two before the starting of the train.   All this time his demeanour was marked the same amount of sang-froid and apparent unconcern as characterised his attitude in the dock throughout the trial, which but a few minutes before, had culminated in his condemnation.   A large number of persons collected on the platform, and the prisoner was hooted on being taken out of the room at the station and placed in the railway carriage; in fact, Sergeant-Major O'Grady and
Constable Wallace, who walked on either side of him, thought it necessary to lay hands on him, and push him into the carriage before them.   It was a single compartment of a second-class carriage, or one of those compartments that are occasionally used by the guard, that the condemned man was put into, the other occupants being Sergeant-Major O'Grady, Constable Wallace, some of the gaol authorities, and two prisoners awaiting trial.
Mercer's Deportment in the Carriage
  Shortly after the train started, Mercer evinced every desire to enter into conversation with those around him, but very little encouragement was given to him in this respect.   He requested one of the company to fill his pipe afresh, and on the request being complied with, he lighted it and continued smoking all the way to Lyttelton, with a degree of nonchalance that was perfectly inconsistent with his terrible position.   He frequently looked out of the carriage windows as the train proceeded, now and then beat time with his feet, as to a tune, on the floor, and addressing himself at one period to Constable Wallace, said, "Well, Wallace, Farewell; I suppose I will not see you after tonight in this world, but I hope I'll see you in the next."   Another remark which Mercer made was, that they (meaning, it is presumed, those engaged in the trial), had made it warm for him; and it is related that he expressed disappointment a the Judge, cutting him so short - "If I had not been taken so short," said he, "I would have said more than I did; I would have said that I forgave all my enemies."   Our reporter cannot understand this statement of Mercer's about the Judge cutting him so short, as it seemed to him, that the Judge gave him ample time to make any statement he desired.   There was an interval of silence between the conclusion of the prisoner's statement and the commencement of the Judge's address to the prisoner in passing sentence.
Scene in Lyttelton
  The news that the man had been condemned preceded his arrival in Port, and the result was that hundreds of persons waited about the station in order to see the prisoner; and on the arrival of the train, those so inspired, had their wish gratified, the prisoner being escorted up to the gaol in the midst of a body of constables, and it is to be regretted that this was done amidst the groans of the population   Before the new pos office was reached, a gentleman prominent in commercial circles, was seen to go quite close to Mercer and hoot him.   Mercer, turning around uttered the words, "Oh. you ---Hound," with great bitterness.





The Convict's Previous Crimes
  Now that Mercer has been found guilty after a patient trial, by a jury of his countrymen, it cannot prejudice the position in which he stands (for not the slightest ray of hope has been held out to him that the dread sentence of the law will not be carried out) to say that there is every reason for believing the story about the occurrence at the Buller, which was mentioned so unexpectedly at the trial.   Certain it is that for ill-treating a little girl ten years old at Dunedin, he underwent imprisonment at Dunedin gaol for a term of 12 months; and it is also stated that while incarcerated there he remarked, in the presence of one of the wardens, "I'll take care the next --- woman doesn't tell against me."   Had evidence like this been admissible prior to conviction (which, of course it rightly was not), or had it been considered necessary to prove previous conviction, after the verdict of the jury on the charge of murder, the warden in question would have been brought to Christchurch.   The following paragraph appeared in the Otago Daily Times of Jan. 18; "It appears that the man John Mercer, now in custody at Christchurch charged with the murder of the girl Thompson, is identical with John Robinson Mercer, who was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on Oct. 6, 1873, at Dunedin, for a common assault upon a little girl ten years of age.   In connection with this case, it may be stated that in August, 1873, met the little girl in William street and asked her to show him the way to mornington.   The girl consented, and when they were near the Cattle Market, the man told he would give her a shilling if she would go and cut him a switch.   The child went into the bush to get the switch, when the man followed her, threw her down, stuffed a pocket handkerchief into her mouth to stifle her cries, and then beat her.   The man then ran away, and was apprehended three days afterwards on board the barque Duke of Edinburgh, just as the vessel was about to sail for Newcastle.   When the prisoner was tried, his Honor Mr. Justice Chapman, in addressing the jury said, "It was impossible to say what the prisoner's motive was, but such extraordinary cases as the present one sometimes presented themselves in the annals of the criminal court.   Prior to Mercer's arrival in New Zealand, where he had only been for a few months before this assault, he was a sailor on vessels trading from Geelong and Newcastle."
A Page of History
  John Robinson Mercer (for such is his full name) is a married man, and his wife and one child are at present living at Emerald Hill, Melbourne.   Some time after the occurrence of the murder, she was made aware of his arrest on the charge of having perpetrated it, and only a few days ago he received a letter from her asking him to make over to his child a cottage and section which he owned at Emerald Hill.   This request he complied with before the trial.   It is not certain what countryman Mercer is.   One of his seafaring discharges would make it appear that he was a native of Edinburgh, but the majority of these documents denote Liverpool as his place of birth.   From the contents of the pocket book which was found in his possession, it would seem that he kept a careful diary of all matters connected with the vessels on which he was employed from time to time.   The interval that occurred from the time of his arrest to the date of his discharge from Dunedin gaol, is, however, studiously omitted.   Petty cash transactions with some of those who gave evidence against him on his trial are carefully entered in a part of the note-book reserved for that purpose.
Precautionary Measures
  The gaol authorities at Lyttelton have engaged the services of two civilians, who entered on their duties yesterday.   They will Alternately watch the condemned for eight hours each, to see that he makes no attempt to do away with himself prior to the date fixed for his execution, which will in all probability be in about a fortnight.   During the remaining hours of the twenty-four he will be looked after by the regular prison staff, who will also be on alert at all times.   The locality of the murder was visited by several persons yesterday, most of whom belonged to Christchurch.
Mercer Still Declares that He is Innocent
  Up to the present time no change has been observable in the murderers demeanour.   The time that he has had for reflection since Saturday does not appear to have had any effect on him in the way of inducing him to make a confession of his guilt, but it is confidently expected that his bravado will forsake him prior to the day of execution.