The Express.
London, England, 1858-04-02 00:00:00

SHOCKING MURDERS AND SUICIDE AT

LBRWICIC.

(From yesterday's Seotsmats.)

On Thursday morning last the inhabitants of
Lerwick were appalled by the intelligence that Mr. Peter
Williamson, for many years en influential and enttrpriatng
merchant, proprietor, and farmer, had destroyed the lives of
his wife, a son aged 14 years, • daughter aged 12, another
aged four-and-a-half years, and that he had completed the
terrible tragedy by committing suicide. The manner in
which the unfortunate man accomplished his apparently de-
terminal and premeditated purpose was by the use of •
hammer or cleaver and razor, with the former of which he
stems to have wormed his victims, and thereafter cut the
throat of each, commencing, eats supposed, with his wife, and
then killing his eldest girl, who was is bed unwell, sleeping
with her mother. Leaving their apartment, he seems to have
entered a room in which his youngest girl slept, and by the
same dreadful process destroyed her. Proceediog thereafter
to an upper room whtre be had slept the previous night with
his two boys, be succeeded in killing the youngest; but the
eldest, alter being severely cut about the throat and head,
managed to escape and conceal himself in another mom. The
unhappy man, having thus effected the destruction of his
wife and children, appears to have returned to his wife's bed-
room with his youngest girl's body, and there destroyed him-
self by cutting his throat in the most frightful manner. These
shocking murders are supposed to have commenced about
half-past five o'clock, while all the inmate■ were asleep, as
shout half-an-hour after Mrs. Williamson was found still in
life, although she died Immediately afterwards, her husband
lying not far from her quite deed, and his youngest girl
placed between hie knees with her head nearly severed from
her body. Fortunately one of the family, a boy, was at the
time alas log in the country with some friends, and thus
escaped she general slaughter. The eldest son, about trixteen
years of aim,who made hisescape from the murderous assault
of his parent, although now lying in • very precarious condi-
tion, is thought likely to recover.
It is stated that at a late hour on Wednesday evening Mr.
Williamson transacted business with two or three comfier-
( ial gentlemen, none of whom observed anything unman! in
his conduct. As he was understood to be in comfortable cir-
cumstance., no reason can be assigned for the perpetration
of this fearful crime, although it is conjectured that hie mind
had been aff,eted for some shun time past. The day for the
interment of the bodies up to Monday last was not fixed, the
authorities having been &Wrote. to make a searching investi-
gation into the shocking occurrence.

002EA0E8 BF 413111Eradir MAIL/MEM LIFER.
lIML.—ONI MAN MILLED IND ANOTIIIR
8107.
At the Liverpool police court yesterday (Thurs-
day), an Amenren salter, named Michael Wary, was
brought before Mr. Mansfield, charged with having mur-
dered a Dutchman, named William Sehnmegan, a shoemaker.
The parties met in a casino on Wedoeeday night, and had a
quarrel about their different countries, when the prisoner
drew its knife, and plunged it into the heart of the de-
ceased, ►illing him on the spot. He then ran at aevo•al
other parson., and wounded them, one in four places. The
prisoner WAS sent for trial on two chargos—one for murder,
the other fur stabbing. His worship sold ho would commu-
nicate with the Home Secretary, in order to have the
prisoner tried in London, as the neat assizes were several
months off.

Another American Delouse, named George Washington
Dixon wait also brought up charged with shooting a coloured
man, named Jeffrey Jackson, during, what he called a
muse," to &maitre-street, on Wednesday night. Jackson
was wounded in the arm, rimer, and thigh ; a Purge= ex-
tracted a ball weighing 60 grains from the chest. Mr.
Mansfield, in corimittiog the prisoner for trial, said that the
frequency of outrages by foreign seamen in Liverpool must
be stopped lie should also advise that this cam be tried at
the Central Criminal Court in Loudon.

A MAN KILLED TN A RAILWAY TM! IfEl.-012
Monday a number of men were reneitintr the roof of the
Morley Tunnel of the London and North Western Railway.
A scaffolding was *appended near the roof, on which the men
worked. About fire o'clock pm. a young man named David
life.A 1., a bricklayer's labourer, baring just completed hie day's
work, passed along the scaffolding towards the ladder for the
purpose of descending. Unfortunately he mimed it, and went
hod foremost to the bottom of the tunnel, a distance of 16
feet. When found he was lying with hie head doubled under
him, his skull fractured, and the brain pmtrudine. He died
in a few minutes. The scaffolding was 600 yards from the
month of the tunnel. At en inquest held by Mr. Taylor,
coroner for the honour of Pontefract, on Timothy, a verdict
of " Accidentally killed" was returned.—Mmerlisater
Cowman..

The CITY OF VIENNA.—The National Gazetta
of Vienna states that, aomrding to the last minus, that city
coandus 8,793 houses, 300 of which are devoted to the public
service. There are on an average 63 inhabitants to each
house. The 8,793 houses contain 89,441 speements and
rooms occupied by 68,760 families and 30,100 bachelors or
widowers. The annual amount of the recta is 19 millions of
florin,. Among the inhabitants of Vienna there are 62,964
couples tiring together in legitimate union, and 654 married
met and 1,714 married women livingrately. These
statistics relate to Vienna, properly so
WESTERN DISPENSARY FOR DISEASES OP THE
SKIN, CHAncorra.antszt, FITZIIOI,II4WARIL—A legacy
of 601. has beset recently left to this useful Institution by
Cloolee Worrell, Esq., labs of Durham-terrace, Rodulbourne-
park.