The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-10-23 00:00:00

SUSPECTED MURDER.

Reports have been published in the newspapers very recently
of a man, named Thomas Willett, having been committed at
the next South Lancashire assizes, charged with attempting to
murder his wife at Liverpool, by cu.ting her throat. He also
cut and wounded a man at Liverpool who interfered to rescue
his wife from him. Since his committal circumstances have
come to the knowledge of the Manchester police which throw
the suspicion of a previous crime upon him. It appears that
he had been living in the neighbourhood of Chancery-lane,
Manchester, for several years with a woman who passed as his
wife, and this woman died a few days before he attempted the
crime with which he is charged at Liverpool, Instead of
getting the corpse interred in his own neighbourhood, he went
and made arrangements to have it interred at Christ-church,
Hulme, the other extremity of the town, and on the night
before the funeral conveyed the body to the grave-yard on a
hand-barrow. After the funeral he left Manchester, saying
to a friend that he was going to Liverpool to murder his wife,
and that he should be in Ifirkdale gaol before night. He
attempted to murder his wife at Liverpool that same
day. His Manchester wife died afier an illness of a few days
only, and, in consequence of information in possession of the
Manchester police, Mr. Saynor, superintendent of the C
division, made a communication to the coroner of the city, by
whose directions the body in Christchurch graveyard was di,-
interred on Tuesday morning. An inquest has been opened at
the Greyhound public house, Chester road, Hahne, but the
proceedings will -have to await a post mortem examination. The
police found a paper containing the remains of corns kind of
powder in the house where ho lived in Chancery lane, and this
will probably have to be analysed also before the enquiry can
be completed.

THE LIVERPOOL GHOST ! ! —ln our earlier days, and
prior to settling down as a benedict, it has often been our
good fortune to witness the gambols of country maidens in
the green fields of our own " dear native land ;" and,
" times out of number," have we had presented to our
view the " Ghost of Hamlet's Father," but certainly did we
never, in reality, compare the former to the inhabitants of
a " fairer spot," or believe that the latter " trod the earth
in real flesh and blood." Under the,,e circumstances
we were rather taken " aback," and our " faith sorely
tried," when we were yesterday, informed of the existence of
a REAL GHOST, in this our " good old town." Without in
any way pledging ourselves to the truth of the statement, or
for a moment doubting the veracity of our informant, we
present the "plain unvarnished tale," just as 'twas told to
us. It appears that some short time back, a lady, verging on
that period of life denominated " fair, fat, and forty,"
woke up one morning, and, to her great grief, discovered
herself to have been bereft of " lord and master,"
by the fell band of grim death, who bad paid a visit to her
domicile, and cat off " all she held dear." Time passed on,
and the fair widow was courted by a swain, who ultimately
made her his "batter half," with the " fond hope" of
discovering those " halcyon days" which he had been
unable to find in the days of bachelorhood.' But the
married life, like the " course of true love,ple" found them-
" never does run
smooth, and, therefore, the " happy couple"
selves under the disagreeable necessity of occasionally being
visited by the "dear departed husband ," who, at his last
visit, caused considerable consternation and annoyance, by
performing the freak of putting out the fire, sweeping the
chimney, and, at the moment of departure, creating the
utmost amount of fright by placing all the household furni-
ture, under the ban of "St. Vitus's Dance." For how
long a period the oscillatory motion of these necessary
articles continued, our deponent sayeth not, but it appears
that, during yesterday, many hundreds of our stalwert
aftisans visited the house, in the neighbourhood of Great
Howard street, when, having satisfied their curiosity,
retired more than ever confirmed in the notion, that unhappy
people
compelled to do penance for a time, by re-visiting the
scene of
their "cannot
tres:ye sleep
vicissitudes.qui et quietly in their graves," but are