The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-25 00:00:00

MURDER IN LIVERPOOL OF A

WIFE BY HER HUSBAND.

On Monday evening one of the most barbarous mur-
ders was perpetrated in Thomas-street which, perhaps,
ever disgraced the annals of Liverpool. The particulars,
so far as they have transpired, although, of course, they
must be to some extent considered ea pane, as the prin-
cipal actor in the deed of blood absconded, disclose a
scene of atrocity truly horrifying.
Thomas-street is a narrow, dirty thoroughfare, lead-
ing from South Castle-street to Paradise-greet, in the
vicinity of the Custom-house ; and it is inhabited almost
exclusively by persons in the lowest walks of life. At
No. 42, Owen Tully and his wife, Catherine Tully, the
deceased, kept a small provision shop. Tully himself
was a journeyman tailor, who worked for various trades-
men in the town, and sometimes, amongst other shop-
keepers, for Mr. Williams, of Tarleton-street. His wife
was generally employed in attending to the business of
the shop, and managing the domestic concerns of the
family.
Monday being an idle day with tailors, Tully took a
long walk in the country, and on returning home about
seven o'clock in the evening, apparently sober, he asked
his wife how much money she had that day taken in the
shop. She replied that she was unable exactly to tell
the amount, as she had not as yet counted it, whereupon
he struck her with his clenched fist in the forehead.
Whilst reeling from the effects of the blow he kicked
her in the lower part of the abdomen, and repeated the
kicks in that dangerous part so often and so violently
that at length the flesh gave way and the bowels pro-
truded! He seems then to have ceased from his barba-
rity, and to have looked for a while on his bleeding and
(13 ing victim, as she lay stretched at his feet on the
ground. Three females allege that they were eve-wit
nesses of the deed. Their names are Catherine -Fitzge-
rald and Catherine King, both of whom were neighbours,
residing in Thomas-street, And also Bridget Smith, who
acted as Tully's servant.
The uproar caused by these females attracted several
persons to the spot, and in a short time messengers were
dispatched in various directions for medical assistance.
Dr. Moorhouse, of Cleveland-square, was the first pro-
fessional man to arrive, but when he came the unfortu-
nate female was a corpse, and her unnatural husband
had fled. The latter seems not to have remained many
minutes in the house after he had given the last fatal
kick. When he perceived that there was no chance of
his wife's recovery, and that life was rapidly ebbing to
its close, he appears, almost unobserved by the affrighted
persons with whom the house was filled, to have made
his escape ; and we regret to say that no trace of him
has since been discovered.

Much blame is attributable to those inside and outside
of the premises, for not having given earlier information
to the authorities of this dreadful occurrence tha❑ they
seem to have done. I; was seven o'clock, as we have
said, or thereabouts, when Tully returned from the
country and struck the first blow. The kicks were
given immediately after, and the woman was dead some
time before eight. And yet it was half-past eight before
the officer on duty in Thomas-street and that neigh-
bourhood was made acquainted with the circumstance,
and it was half-past eleven (three hours afterwards)
when the intelligence was reported at the central police-
station. The loss of time which thus occurred will ap-
pear the more surprising to those elsewhere, ignorant of
the locality, when we state that the distance from the
central station to the scene of the atrocity is not above
a quarter of a mile, if so much.
Mr. Superintendent Brown, however, with that praise-
worthy promptitude and activity for which he has ever
been distinguished, lost no time in making diligent search
for the missing party. Ascertaining, in the first in-
stance, that Tully was an Irishman, he proceeded him-
self :to the Clarence-dock, for the purpose of searching
the trading steamers which daily and nightly ply be-
tween this port and various parts of the sister country,
thinking it most probable that the fellow would endea-
vour as soon as he could to reach his native laad. The
steamers had, unfortunately, sailed an hour before, and
therefore, if he had gone in any of them, he was, for the
present, beyond the reach of apprehension. It is thought,
however, that he did not leave for Ireland, but that he
remained in Liverpool.
He is described as a man about forty years of age,
five feet seven •or eight inches high, thin, pale face,
slender make, black hair and whiskers. He is sup-
postd to have been dressed in a black frock coat, vest,
and trousers.

Mr. Brown, on his return from the Clarence-dock, re-
paired to the house in Thomas-street, and his description
of the appearance of the room in which the deed was
perpetrated is truly appalling. He says that at that hour
(half past one, s-at.) the floor was drenched with blood,
and that, although quantities of sawdust bad been thrown
over it, it had completely saturated the sawdust, and was
visible in a coagulated state inevery direction. The body
had then been removed up stairs.
During the whole of yesterday the greatest excite-
ment continued to prevail in the neighbourhood of
Thomas-street. Great numbers of persons visited the
scene, and it was with difficulty that many of them could
be prevented from entering the premises.
The inquest upon the body will be held to•day.—
Liverpool Courier of yesterday.

Instructions have been sent to the Commander-in-
Chief of the Mediterranean station, Vice-Admiral Sir
William Parker, to retain the naval forces now .under his
command, with the exception of the two guard-ships of
the ports of Devonport and Portsmouth, and to remain
on the cruising ground of the squadron of evolution, from
the Tagus to Cadiz and Gibarltar, until further orders.
A QUESTION FOR TILE SA VANS.—INCENDIARY
INVENTION.—A new lucifer match has been invented by
King Louis Philippe. It is the marriage of his son, the
Due de Montpensier, with the young Queen of Spain's
sister, which threatens to set all Spain, if not Europe, in
a blaze.--Punch.
A CURIOUS CLOCIL—A Parisian watchmaker has
completed the construction of a clock of a singular
nature. It has eleven dials. The principal dial shows
the hours alone; a transparent one, immediately below
the former, shows the progression and retrogression of
the sun; two others, also transparent, and through which
the mechanism of this immense machine can be seen,
mark, the one the days of the month, the other the
seconds. Eight square enamelled dials are arranged
round the two sides of the pendtilum, and show the hour
in each of the following elites:—London, Algiers, Alex-
andria, St. (Wens, Otaheite, Canton, New York, and St.
Petersburgh. Each of these dials is marked with 24
hours, instead of 12, so as to show the hours of the day
and those of the night. Lastly, the pendulum carries a
large metrical scale, indicating the degree of expansion
and contraction of metal. This clock cost 14,000 francs,
or about 600/.
The parish officers of Shoreditch are offering a
reward of seventeen guineas for the apprehension of as
many husbands, who have lately deserted their wives
and families, leaving them a charge to the churchwardens
and overseers.
CONFESSION or AN INCENDIARY.—EIizabeth Bar-
kitt, a native of Titmarsh, Northamptonshire, who had
lived in the service of Mrs. Gray and her son Edward,
at Bushmead, alA.it ten weeks, has made a full confes-
sion of having set tire to the premises on the Ist instant,
by which a considerable amount of property was de-
stroyed. A searching investigation was made by
Superintendent Jebbett immediately after the fire,
which being closely followed up, and the prevaricating
stories of the servant, together with the difficulty of ap-
proach by a stranger to the spot where the fire broke
our, suspicion attached to her, which she perceived, and
her mind at last became so overpowered with her guilt,
that she could bear it no longer, and made a confession
of the whole circumstances, and said she felt much
happier. She could give no reason why she had done it,
and afterwards felt very sorry. She was taken before
G. P. Livius, Esq., on Thurday, and committed for trial
—Bedford Mercury.
CURRY PASTE.—We have seen a sample of curry
paste, prepared by Captain White, as well as his curry
powder, both of which, he tells us, are patronised by the
Duke of Norfolk, a nobleman who has the reputation of
being an excellent judge in such matters. His Grice
acknowledges the receipt of a jar of curry paste and a
package of curry powder in the following terms :
The Duke of Norfolk presents his coMpliments to
Captain White, with many thanks for his present of
curry paste and powder, which is thought very good by
his friends and himself." After this testimony froth so
high an authority on the subject of the gallant gentle-
man's curry paste and powder, it would be bad taste in
us to offer any of our own.
THE ATIIENEUM SOIREE.—The grand annual
soiree of the Manchester Athenteum, to be held in the
Free-trade Hall, on Thursday evening, the 22d of Oc-
tober, under the presidency of Lord Morpeth, promises
to be every way the most attractive and interesting of
these reunions. Three prelates have accepted invitations
to attend—the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Whately; the
Bishop of Norwich, Dr. Stanley; and the Bishop of Ox-
ford, Dr. Wilberforce ; and amongst the noblemen and
gentlemen who have also accepted invitations,_ are the
Right Hon. Lord Viscount Sandon, M.P., the Right,
Hon. R L. Sheil, M.P., the Right Hon. T. M. Gibson,
M P., Captain the Hon. Henry leppel, R.N., Mr. Mon •
tague Gore, M.P., Mr. J. T. Clifton, M.P., Mr. J. W.
Patten, M.P., Mr. W. Ewart, M.P., Mr. M. Philips,
M.P., Mr. J. Brotherton, M.P., Mr. J. Bright, M.P ,
C. Mackay, LLD., Mr. G. Dawson, M.A., Mr..
Douglas Jerrold, Mr. J. Macgregor, of the Board of
Trade, Ste. Amongt the Vice-Presidents of the evening
are named the Mayor of Manchester, the Mayor of Sal-
ford, Sir B. Heywood, Colonel Wemys, C. 8., the Rev.
C. Clifton, the Rev. J. J. Tayler, 8.A., the Rey. R.
Vaughan, D.D., Mr. C. Swain, and upwards of sixty
other gentleman. The doors arc to be opened at six
o'clock, and the chair to be taken at seven by Lord
Morpeth, who will address the meeting, and to be fol-
lowed by other speakers. The Theatre.Relyal is to he
connected pith the Free trade Hall, by rooms extending
over South-street, and in these rooms refreshments are
to be provided. A complete and commodious suite of
dresaing-rooms, ladies' retiring-rooms, &c., are also to
be provided, and arrangements made for the convenient
ingress of the company. Instructions as to the entrances,
th carriages, &c., are already advertised. We under-
stand that already the demand for tickets (which are now
procurable at the institution) is very great, and the vast
hall will, in all probability, be filled,—Manchester
Guardian.

FIRE AT A DISTILLERY.—Between ten and eleven
nn Wednesday forenoon: a fire broke out upon the pre
miser belonging to Mr. J. Greenhow, distiller and rec-
tifier, earr)ing on business at 16, St. john-street, Clerk-
enwell. It was caused by a leak in the still, which al-
lowed the spirit to run into the fire. Owing to the
inflammable nature of the stock, very few minutes elapsed
before upwards of 100 ;gallons of spirits became ignited.
The flames had just broken through the roof, when the
engines of the parish, London Brigade, and West of Eng-
land Company arrived. By the exertions of the firemen
the fire was got out, but nut before about 120 gallons of
•spirits was consumed, the root partly burned, and other
damage done, Ur. Greenbuiv was insured in the Sun
F„,;ro office, •