The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-11-23 00:00:00

(From the'2lfanchester Guardian of Saturday.)

On Wednesda

before John Hai•graves, Esq.,
vision, and a highly respeetabl,

Wm. Sharman(oiShamer)
the 60th Rifles, and Isabella Territt
at the ba
district.
from their . evic

ri great number of witu

mg attachment to the young m

MURDER OF A MAN_ BY HIS WIFE AND

DAUGHTER!

(Abridged from the Stamford Mercury)
The case of poisoning at Lutton has acquired still more
interest, it beinm' now believed that the daughter and wife are
the poisoners. The following are the facts stated in evidence
at the coroner's inquest :

Thomas Johnson, the deceased, was managing farming_
man to George Clarke, Esq„ of Long Sutton, and lived on
that gentleman's farm, in the parish of Lutton. In the same
house lived Ann Johnson, his wife, AMy Johnson Marshall,
his daughter by a former wife prior to marriage, and George
Whitelem and Hervey Burgess, lodgers, who worked on the
same farm. The unfortunate man had lived very unhappily
with his family. On Monday week the wife, after having
seen some puddings for dinner made by the daughter put
into the pqt, went to a neighbour's, where she stopped tea.
The young men went in to dinner first, and fancying something
peculiar in the taste of their pudding, did not eat the whole;
but Johnson ate all. There were 71bs or 81bs of arsenic in the
house, which had been procured for the purpose of dressing
the seed wheat, and it is supposed that a part of this had
been mixed in the pudding of Johnson, and that the others,
being boiled in the same pot, became strongly impregnated
with it. Directly- after eating his dinner, Johnson became
ill, and when his wife returned home a little after six o'clock,
she found him vomiting in the yard. On seeing her lie said,
"I am poisoned." She says she answered, " Oh, Johnson,
how can you think so ? you must be a wicked man to think
so." The poor man remained dreadfully ill till about eight
o'clock, when, being no longer able to bear the agony he was
enduring, he attempted to go to the stable to send Burgess
for medical assistance, but unable to get there, the wife
went, and told the man to go to Long Sutton, to Mr. Ewen,
the surgeon, and to tell him that Johnson was taken ill of his
old complaint, and he was to give him some more of the
medicine he had had before, as it then did him good. Mr.
Ewen in consequence sent the medicine, and said he would
call and see Johnson in the-morning. Burgess, on the way
home, however, was taken ill, and with great difficulty crawled
back. Whitelem also, who had been to Lutton, came home
very ill, and they both went to bed. The wife and daughter
of the victim remained in the house, while he was groaning
and moaning dreadfully till about eleven o'clock ; the young
men heard him, but were so ill themselves that they could
not get out of bed. At last, the daughter called a neigh-
bour (Mr. Savage), who went to the house, when he was told
by Johnson that he was poisoned. Mr. Savage immediately
rode to Long Sutton for Mr. Ewen, but before he returned
Johnson was dead.

After the departure of Mr. Savage, the suffering man, in
his extreme agony, leaped out of bed, dropped down on the
'floor, and died; and the unfeeling women, before the arrival
of Mr. Savage with Mr Ewen, had laid out the corpse on the
bed. Mr. Ewen attended to the young men, and they are
recovering. _

The wife on her examination before the jury, was little
affected ; and when the daughter was examined, she exhibited
not the least sign of feeling or sorrow ; she appeared callous
alike to her present situation, and to the common feeling of
humanity.
Notwithstanding the suspicious circumstances attending
the death of the poor fellow, the wife and daughter were not
taken into custody, and when bis body was buried it was
followed to the grave by his other relatives in the company
of his generally-believed murderers.

The contents of the stomach were analysed, as was also the
liquor in which the puddings were boiled, and both were
found to he impregnated with arsenic. As no one had access
to the provisions but the wife and daughter, this circumstance
coupled with their unfeeling conduct, satisfied the jury of
their guilt, and they returned a verdict of " Wilful murder"
against the prisoners.

FIRE IN WOOLWICH DOCKYARD

On Saturday morning, about half-past three o'clock, one
of the dockyard police, observing some smoke issuing from a
building used for the purpose of making Grant's patent fuel,
on a close approach to it found it was in flames, and imme-
diately gave the alarm. The dockyard engines were promptly
brought to the spot, and the alarm bell rung, the engines of
the Royal Marines, Royal Artillery, and Royal Sappers and
Miners were soon present, and an. excellent supply of water
being obtained from the basin almost close to the building,
the spread of the devouring element to the engine house was
prevented, but no exertions could save the wooden building
in which the fire originated, and consequently it was burnt
to the ground.

The fire is supposed to have originated from one of the
iron pipes under a portion of the wood having become over-
heated on the previous day, and the wood having from that
cause such a degree of heat communicated to it, as ultimately
caused it to ignite. It is worthy of observation that the
fires used at this work are always put out about four o'clock
in the afternoon, so that the fire, if it originated through
them, must have remained twelve hours undiscovered.
During the fire a fatal accident took place in the basin. A
young man, 17 years of age, named John Johnston, a sea-
man on board the James and Elisabeth schooner, lying in
the river, alongside the wharf wall of the dockyard, on hear-
ing the alarm of fire, came on shore, and the fog was so thick
at the time that he walked into the basin, and striking his
11,3 ad, it is snpposed, upon an iron chain, was so stunned,
that although a good swimmer, he was drowned, and his body
was not recovered until half an hour afterwards. Two ma-
rines also fell into the water from a similar cause, but they
were promptly taken out.
The officers and crews of the Devastation and the other
vessels in her majesty
were promptly on the majesty's service in the river and in the basin
spot, and, by their able assistance, were
of great service in checking the spread of the fire. The loss
will not be very great,
as the building was only constructed
of wood, and, fortunately, it was in a manner detached from
the other parts of the yard.
[According to subsequent particulars we are glad to per-
ceive that no apprehensions are entertained that the destruc-
tion was the work of an incendiary. The assertion that an
alarming fire had taken place in the Royal Arsenal is with-
out the slightest foundation, and it ought to be known to the
public at a distance that the Royal Arsenal is fully a mile
distant from the dockyard; and nearly two miles from the '
spot where the fire originated in this instance.]

naming; last, at ten o'clock, as we an-
- A* that day, an inquest was held
coroner of the Blackburn di-
y, on the bodies of Lieut.
n d Robert Morris, of
held

as attended by the makistrates of tbe

rt Morris had

formed a very
ritt ; and so jealous was he, that he was quite incensed when
he received a letter from her husband, a private soldier in
the 97th regiment, quartered in Corfu. He has also fre-
quently said bat bis master, Mr. O'Grady, was an' inter-
loper in his affections. In the latter part of Sunday, Mor-
ris appeared very much excited, and complained that his
master had spoken angrily to him at mess. Mrs. 'Ann Ap-
pleton Hadden, the mother of the deceased woman, stated,
that the first time, on Sunday night, that witness suspected
there was something wrong, was about seven o'clock. After
the mess was over, Morris came into the kitchen, and he
looked very wild. This was about eight o'clock ; Isabella
was also in at the time. Witness asked what was the mat-
ter with him, and he complained of something that Mr.
O'Grady had said to him during mess. She also asked her
daughter what was the matter; and deceased's answer was,
" That it was not fit that she and Morris should be in the
same place together." Deceased then put on her cloak and
bonnet and went out. Morris followed her, apparently in a
great rage ; and witness went after them, and prevailed on
her to return, which she did, but almost immediately ran off
again, followed by Morris. Where they went, witness did
not know. Witness then went into the mess pantry, where
she found Morris and two other soldiers. He ordered the
two men out, and told them, if they would come in the
morning, hg would treat them with some ale. They went
away, and he then threw himself on a bed, in a state of great
excitement. Witness remonstrated with him, and asked him
if he was mad. He got up off the bed, and looking into a
looking-glass, said, " Do I look like a madman ?" He said he
had 275. in his pocket, which belonged to a wine account, and
that he would throw it over the wall in the morning. He
then asked witness to come in, and close the door; but
she refused. At this moment Mr. O'Grady came up ; and
Morris said, " Let him come here, and 1 will smash his face
for him, for what he said to me this morning." Witness
told him, if he was disturbed about Isabella, it was very
foolish of him, for she was , married ; and he could, there-
fore, never have her; to which he replied he was very fond
of her, and if she would not have him she must never have
anybody else. Witness then went into the kitchen, but:
returned immediately, and found the deceased Mr. O'Grady
in the pantry, remonstrating with him ; and he had taken
his gun from him, and was requesting him to deliver up all
his arms. Morris said, " What is the meaning of all this ?"
to which Mr. O'Grady replied, " I will let: you know that
in the morning." Witness did not see what Morris had in
his hand ; but he made a push at Mr. O'Grady, with some-
thing that seemed to miss him, and he made another stab at
him with the instrument. Witness heard Mr. O'Grady cry
out, " Treachery !" and saw him put his hand. upon his
side, and stumble into the officers' mess-room. Witness
called out " Murder," and went back to the kitchen, and
immediately returned, and saw Morris lying dead in the
lobby ' • she ran down the passage, and when she, got to Mr.
O'Grady's room, she saw her daughter standing on the floor,
bleeding. Witness asked what was the matter, to which the
deceased answered, " I don't know," and then began to
vomit. Witness asked who had done it, or was it Morris ;
and she replied " No." Deceased remained sensible till her
death, which occurred about twelve o'clock; but never
gave any account of how the wounds were inflicted. Morris
seemed very fond of her, and often said, if she world not
have him, he would kill both her and himself.—By a juror :
Did any struggle take place between Morris and Mr.
O'Grady ? Witness : Not at that time.--By another juror :
Had Mr. O'Grady any weapon in his band at that time?—
Witness : No, sir, he had not. Such were the principal
facts given in evidence. The inquiry was one of great
length, occupying nine hours altogether. It was about
seven o'clock in the evening when the jury, after a short de-
liberation, returned a verdict of Witfill Murder against
Robert Morris, as to the bodies of Lieutenant O'Grady and
Isabelia Territt ; and, as to Morris himself, their verdict
was Felo de se.

The corpse of Morris, the murderer and suicide, was in-
terred on Wednesday, at midnight, in the grave-yard of
Trinity Church, adjoining the barracks. The strictest pri-
vacy was observed, and we understand that no burial service
was performed; but, in other respects, the interment was the
ordinary one.

The mortal remains of the unfortunate young officer, were
not interred on Thursday; they were awaiting directions from
the deceased's family, some members of which were expected
to arrive at Burnley in the course of that day. We under-
stand that Lieutenant O'Grady had obtained leave of absence,
to visit his mother; and that he had intended to proceed to
Dublin for that purpose, in the course of the next week.
The feelings of his widowed mother, looking forward with an-
ticipations of pleasure to a visit from a beloved child, and now
to be harrowed and wrung by the distressing recital of the
circumstances which have led to his untimely death, may be
conceived ; bnt language would fail to depict them.
We believe that the body of Isabella Territt has also been
privately interred. In our former notice of this melancholy
tragedy, we mentioned that she was the daughter of Mrs.
Hadden, the mess-woman ; but we forgot to add, that her
father, an Irishman, is also at the barracks, in the capacity
of mess-man. In permitting the misconduct of their daugh-
ter, which has led to the catastrophe by which she has at
length lost her life, and been the cause of death to two others,
these wretched parents have much to answer for. Some
blame is also attributable to that laxity of moral disciplide,
in this respect, which this case has shown toexist sometimes,
with perfect military discipline, order, and subordination.
If the authorities at the Horse Guards could devise some
plan by which there could be insured, in the domestic and
social departments of the officers' mess-houses, such regula..
tions as to give them a character as respectable as private
houses, not only would such scenes as that which we have
now under notice be avoided, but another great social advan-
tage might be gained—the residence therein of the wives of
officers ; who are now driven to a distance, into private lodg-
ings.,at a considerable cost, and to the sacrifice of much do-
mestic comfort and enjoyment. Some arrangement, by which
a change could be effected, and to which the first step must
be a removal of all improper characters from menial situa-
'tions about the mess-houses, would redound to the credit of
the authorities-at the Horse Guards ; and be, at least, as be-
neficial to the service as the alteration of a uniform, or the
prescription or proscriptiotrof certain accoutrements, on drill
or on parade.