The National Register.
London, England, 1819-08-01 00:00:00

--fits NATION AS, REGISTER.

VNIPEECEDENTED MURDERS•
The folnwing extract from the confession of Isaac Witherhome.
who was executed at RutEdo, New York, ursthe 4tii u( April
last, for the murder of his six children. sin: two servants,
cannot be read without exciting sentimeius of horror surd
„astonishment et the commission olio uanatural and dcgaouia-

•
cal a clinic
• •• On the night of the kith of March last, I was at the Buf-
falo Tavern, ,until it was about one o'clock, playing at cards,
drinking swearing, and committing allalid sin and wickednea
which this kind of company are in the habit of doing. By this
time nay head began insulin with the effects of ardent liquors,
,sei much so, that 1 cua'd searegl; intake my nay home. I was
just ensuring the gate of my hotis,), when I received a Llow
on the head witlue billet of wood. trona the force of which I tell
prostrate on the
.{round, aml lay alinida s..n.elees fur some
minutes when Vawoke front nay delirium, I began to consi-
der, and thought sliet such cotide3 Emu a wale was too lunch to
let pass unnoticed.; I therefore was determined to have revenge
upon her, and ii space of half an hour, as near as I can
,recollect, I entleuvoureti with the stun of my wound, totraterl
towanls the house, and the more is the pity, for the first {Ming
that presented itself to nay view was the wood axe ! and lseing
now prepared. like a butcher going to slaughter, I canoe to
the bed where my whit and three children. were lying...-
1 did nut hesitate one moment, begat to cut and slash among these
four. while they lay seeping ;—the first was my wide—the axe
was buried in her bosout 1,-flie children clung so close to her
that they were cut to adeaim. iti.4.1.1)y this time the ,bed was
overflowed with human gine • the sound ,of these distressed
sufferers alarmed my other dime childrens—alas ! what must
have been nay feelings at this time ? they began to he much
cui.:fitsed ; but I still.guraued inyadaughter until my wife anal six
childom lay floating an t4eir.blood. The savage heart is never
safistied • alter committing this humid act upon my own flesh
and blooll, any two servants became the objects of my butchering
heart ; nay haul some suspicion of my intention, and endett-
yened to make their escape through a back si:tdow in the
lower part of the house—the old black woman being half in am'
halt out, I run with my axe and cut her legs °War: she was going
,;qt at the window ; her daughter, at•l- ) had a ti:ntii.r feeliiig.rfar
her mother. came to me and imploced mercy (ruin my hand ;
but no, the Devil would not let my pawage soul stop liete, but
I immediately put an end to their existence; this being done.
• there then lay nine innoceiet persons floating in their own crimson
gale. Still i,o.t being satisfied with what 1 bad already done. I
first took the two servants and boil' a fire in the kitchen fire-
place, wine.) was large enough to 'bald-half a quarter el wood,
then placing the woman on the back part of the tire, And the
daughter on the front. 1 then went up stairs and brought down
the bodies of any wife and children and burnt them likewise

iil.letter dated Tunis, June 8, says—" The re-
Yoh which looke out amongst the Arabs on the
Iconfines of Tripoli has been suppressed. The plague
having appeared in the Tunisian camp, the Bey
pressed the General to hasten his return ; thelat-.
ter entered auto negociations offered on the part of
the rebels, and upon receiving contributions in cat-
„tic, withdrew his forces, and arrived in Tunis yes-
, Aerday.
DREADFUL EXPLOSION OF A COAL•NIINISr.-..011
Tuesday morning last, owing, it is reported, to some
neglect or tnismanagenieut regarding the safety-lamps
in the Sheriff--hill pit, at Gateshead, near Newcastle.
oti.Tyne, .a dreadful explosion took place, by which
nearly sn4etsons have lust their lives. Had the aouident
happened an .hour later, it •is said about 100 persons
would have perished. Eighteen of the unhappy suf-
ferers have bee!, interred is Gateshead church-yard, end
14 in the chapel-yard iatur.seanaining bodies have either
laeengiven to tbeirresorairt frieriit;, or are nut yet taken-
trot of the pit. Anions the pour unfortunates, were
Mice buys from Whitehaven, who had been taken there
by their mother, arid obtained work, but were won
after diAnissedi .their parent
.sulatequently applied to
those it. IllAlthigeniviit, aII I .14ain obtained employment
for her oLaldreti, just in time to shave the melancholy
fate that has belalirn their tellow.stillerers. The satire
,pit, tee believe, exploded about fuer )ears a. 60, wiser
emis.'tle7.alile damage was dime.
A dreadful fire broke nut on Tuesday afternoon in tire
.agar-house of Messrs.-Craven and Shutt,, Nelson-street,
Woitecrosiul, which f its first CollllllellrelllCllt
burned aunt rapidly, there bring a great scarcity of
water. The wholcof the interior of the stigar-housel
it entirely eons,' I tied, together with vaSi 11141111111 of I
t 7,4 r. 1. Hill a moderate computation. 'Liz loss sustained
1.-,,n0e1., the greaur hart ul which is, him ever. eu-
,llled. It extruded its ravages into DlJOCAO..itreel, and
at one time great fears were entertained fur the White!
Swao-inn, in IVhitischapel, the lower part of die yard
joining the sugar-house. Happily no lures were host ;
and no serious personal injury occurred. Ditring this
scene of distress, several pickpockets-were actite among
the crowd, which was immense, and one gentleman lost
his gold uatcn aid seals.
We frequently hear of fatal eccidents occurring
from mistakes, ming to individuals swallowing
deadly poisont instf ul. of intio,:ent drugs ; on read-
iug the of liating details, we lament that no legisla-
tive enactment has yet been framed to preserve the
lives of our fellow-creatures ; as, from ignorance or
habitual carelessness, they are cootiamdly eitposed
to danger. Lord•Larlisle, in his Letter to the Ilea.
William Vernon, just published, mentions the fid-
lowing calamitous instance, which occurretl..in the
neighbourhood of his residence in Yorkshire
" The wife of a respectable and industrious fanner,
intending to give Ler fitur ebiklren, the eldest about
eleven yt4sys of age, some maul of tartar, unfortu-
nately administered to.each a quantity of arsenic,
which, from the whiteness of its minim too closely
rcsembisa.l the innocent ingredient. The amino-
quentm was, that Latins; any medical aid could ar-
rive, the poison had taken its full effect, and the per-
son sent for ,related to nii!, that he finmd the mother
in a state of approaching derangement, three of the
children dead on the flour, and the fourth just ex-
piring in her arms !"
Mr. Kean the Actor, is seriously indisposed in
the amptry. Mrs. Kean its been bent fur esprf?ss,
aktd ha ktt tgyn to attend urn her husband,

AUGUST 1.

11(111.11111L1S 4,17-1 T -11P7' .11' .ISSASSIII.ITIO.I*
740'

" Maccir+Tfirtd ie. liffic,„ July 24.
" We have received the fullok% ing letter from
Mr. Birch, the Stallion polka-officer
Newrastk-under-Lrat, "'Addy "Venice*. Jvly tn.
!il ,-- 111% e arrived here %ilk Hari the Preach-
er, whom I 4111 Cull% eying through Cougletun and Cheadle,
to Stoc►rort. ' I Nut, in ha.le,

m.
liontioßLL ATTLXPT TO AssAril-NATE BIRIM, Tab CUM•

tat F.

" )3irrh arrived with the -pi;l,oner at Stork port about
eight n'elot k p. in., and conveyed kilo to his 11,11sP.
eitelinistatieit sins 501111 know u, AIM the house as
(miekly beset with notoliers, el lin made use of the inost
daring language. 't'hn. situated, lin ch deemed it neces-
sary to take ad'ire of Air. Lloyd ; 111111 for this purpose,
tinder disguise, Ile went out at the bark door of his haase
;Mont I! o'vlotk. Mr. Lloyd WAS 1101 to he found, tuts'
Birch, on his n•tara home, being lintel timely!, theognized
by our of the Iteil,rsaae, 1, was immediately sumo tell,
dad Irerived roll tent, of .a Maio' its LU liriorst. The
iialt fortarati ly look a Gleanable ilia re and lodged in
his left aide. The alarm brine 05611. 411 "I."'" Ags 'rut
lu Manehesier, ;mil A 119015 fir 1.7011 AC he.
neve) arrived soots isliens4itl*. and peace was testortd
for the Hight.
" Three persons ha.r•e been taken op, and this morning
underwent an exaniinalion befine Thomas Wm. Tatten,
the Rev.. I.;l:siles Prescott, and Pelel NIA' slaw!, Esq.
Tarr• are .rensativiiii for a loather hearing.
" Haul:ion was sent to the Lock-op-house, and was af-
terwards admitted to bail.

July 24, 8 c.dof

tnesiieliger minim Vk e SitiCkpot t
is just returned. Bitch iN still alive, but Mr. killer; the
ourrieon, lies not 441 yet been able t.i extract ;lie brll ; •e-
-riew opprekviisions are cult"- the WOllll.l is
saurlai.

" Hlllll6Oll 1.4 stated to have expire:Azad deep regret fir
Dircli's midden', and .aid he did not a fah ru have been
taken to Stockport, and %VW+ it iiitendi d he should.
expected to fia%.e by the Defiance roach to
till 4 100 11, awl a in waiting to prevent him
going further. Am.:her lisie,of road had been clicnien for
hn cOil\ey ance to Stockport, by the NlAkichrster Cobitra
coach, which finis through 'Lichfield, Newcastle and
Congleifin. It it:almost needless toadd, that till, horrible
attempt at assassination lure produced the most alarmiug
• iiensation iu thiN par t of the country."