The Northern Daily Times. — 1856-10-23 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

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 furniture, 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