npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1822-09-25 (London, England)

COLQUUOUN, R.A., says—  " I have taken the liberty of inclosing you an account of a few trials I have made of Congreve's Rockets. Fearing the harpooners would not fire it correctly, I had determined to try its effect myself, and it was not until the Bth June that an opportunity presented. Early on that morning a whale, of the largest size, was discovered near the ship ; I immediately pursued it, and when sufficiently near, fired a rocket into its side ; the effect it had on the fish was tremendous—every joint in its body shook, and, after lyino• for a few seconds in this agitated way, it turned on its back and died. It appeared on flinching, that the rocket had penetrated through the blubber, and exploded in the crann near the ribs ; the stick and lower part of the rocket was taken out entire—the upper part was blown to pieces. My next attempt was on the 9th July, on a whale of the same size as the former, but .owing to the rapid motion of the fish, and a heavy swell of the sea, which rendered the boat unsteady, the rocket entered below the middle part of the body, in consequence of which its effect was considerably lessened ; its frame, however, was much shook by the explosion, and it immediately sunk, but rose again, blowing an immense quantity of blood : it was then struck with a harpoon, and killed with lances. On flinching, part of the stick of the rocket could only be found ; it therefore appears probable that the rocket had burst in the inside of the fish. " I much regret the want of an opportunity of trying them on the sun fish, which, although frequently pursued, could never approach sufficiently near for a rocket to have the slightest effect. The unusual scarcity of whales also precluded a more extensive trial of them.  " P.S. We have killed 9 fish this season, and have about 120 tuns of oil."  WHlTEnomm.—From our Paper ,of to-day, and from our last three or four numbers, it will be seen that the system which struck such terror into the inhabitants of the country, during the last winter, has re-commenced, even at •this early period of the season. It is not confined to Munster—the Kilkenny Paper furnishes some cases of it—but the Journals of this City and of Limerick are, in every publication, found to contain some fresh instance of the unsubdued spirit of Whiteboyism. The campaign has been regularly renewed, and the old course of Rape, Arson, and Murder vigorously entered on. We have learned, from authority fully to be relied on, facts which prove that the destruction of property by fire has been reduced to a regular system. In the course of one night, numerous notices were posted in a circuit of twelve miles, enjoining the inhabitants of the district not to take their tithes, and threatening to burn not only the tithe, but all the consumable property of any individual who should transgress this order.—(Cork Advertiser, Sept. 21.)
The Sun. — 1822-03-08 (London, England)

FROM THE CORK MERCANTILE CHRONICLE, MARCH 4.1 Burning of Ballycahane Douse and Offices.— These extensive buildings were totally consumed last night by the insurgents, who previously removed the horses ; the house was fortunately unoccupied. Ballycahane is the estate of George Leake, Esq., and is situated within six miles of this city.  Yesterday evening, at seven o'clock, Henry Shebat), conveying the mail from Rathkeale to Shanagolden and the Kerry line, and an escort of the 3d Light' Dragoons, were fired at by some ruffians behind a ditch, who killed the postman and his horse, wounded the dragoon, and took off the mail. The occurrence took place so near the town of Rathkeale, in this county, that the shots were heard by the police and 42d, who instantly repaired to the scene, and found the postman weltering in his blood ; he was conveyed to the military hospital, where he languished in extreme agony, and breathed his last at twelve o'clock. The dragoon (who fired four shots) is badly wounded in the thigh. A vigilant pursuit was set up for the perpetrators, and several fellows were taken up, who, if not concerned in the murder, will be tried under the Insurrection Act. About the hour of two o'clock on Thursday, the house and offices of Ballydaniel were discovered on fire from the town of Newcastle, when several Gentleman and Officers repaired to the attic story of the Castle of Lord Courtenay, where they plainly perceived the flames, a distance of four miles. A party of the 3d Dragoons and some Police instantly went to the protection of the house and property, but every atom was consumed, with several barrels of potatoes which were in an out-house. The outrage was perpetrated by, eight men in women's apparel, with their faces blackened and well armed, who retained for a considerable time viewing the conflagration. Wednesday night, 31 cows, the property of Edward Carte, Esq. were taken off the lands of Doally, within a mile of Newcastle, by a large party of _insurgents, who fired several shots,•and left a guard on the herdsman's house, lest he should see the direction they were conveyed to ; the same night 15 sheep were stolen from John Sheehy, an industrious farmer, and 14. cows from Ardagh; this makes nearly 100 head of cattle stolen within the last week, and it, is extraordinary that no trace can be had of them. • On the night of Thursday last, the farm-house of Killenemona, occupied by Dennis Flaherty, situate within half a mile of the town of Bailingarry, and a military post, was attacked by an armed banditti, who maliciously burned said house, and a great quantity of property therein belonging to Flaherty, who incurred the displeasure of the newly-assumed Governor " Rock."— The house was the property of Mr. Massy, of Clanwilliam.  On the same night, twenty-eight cows, which had been grazing on the lands of Ballykevan, in the parish of Ballingarry, the property of Mr. James Shaughnessy, were entirely plundered ; eight of them were slaughtered on the road near Kilmidy, within a mile or less of a military post.
The Sun. — 1822-04-26 (London, England)

IRELAND.—The wretched state of a part of the peasantry, we rejoice to find, has attracted the humane attention of Government. The Glare Journal states that at an adjourned meeting of the Gentry of the Barony of Inchiquin, assembled to take into consideration the best means of relieving the starving poor, a communication was made by Major WA RBURTON, of " the intention of Government to give all possible aid to the local exertions of the country Gentlemen ;" but that the aid to be thus afforded would be " proportioned to the exertions of the Gentlemen themselves, which he therefore recommended to be strenuous." The Barony of Inchiquin is by no means the most distressed portion of the county ; and yet, among the Resolutions passed by the meeting, was the following, which too surely proves the frightful state of wretchedness in which the peasantry are plunged : Resolved—That, having this day investigated the returns of the individuals who have been appointed to inquire into the extent of distress in the Barony of Inchiquin, we find the number of persons who at present have neither food, nor the means of acquiring it, to be above three thousand ; and that, from the same source of information, we are decidedly of opinion, that number must, in the course of one month, be increased to five thousand. _ _ _  How extensive must he the distress pervading the disturbed counties, when the inhabitants of a single Barony have ascertained, by an actual investigation, that it contains above- three thousand persons destitute of food, and of the means of obtaining it ! and when, from the unavoidable consumption of the remaining small stock of provisions, the number of persons exposed to the horrors of famine will in one month be nearly doubled ! A subscription for supplying the poor of Ireland with potatoes really ought to have bee❑ liberally supported. It is not yet, perhaps, too late to arrest some of the worst consequences of the scarcity.—The Irish Papers are chiefly filled with the trials of persons charged under the Insurrection Act, and with details of the outrages that continue to be perpetrated.—A party of the 78th Foot having been employed in seizing a Still and apprehending three men who were found working it near Loftus, county Kilkenny, Were assailed by a large mob, who attempted a rescue of the prisoners. In the conflict, one of the mob was killed by a musket shot. A Coroner's Jury have found a verdict of justifiable homicide. Ensign Lord William THYNNE, a son of the Marquis of BATH, commanded the party of the 78th, and is mentioned as having displayed great military judgment, prudence, and humanity, on the melancholy occasion.  Yesterday at two o'clock a Cabinet Council was held at the Foreign Office, in Downingstreet, which was attended by all the Cabinet Ministers, who sat in deliberation until about four o'clock. The LORD CHANCELLOR was only present about half an hour, owing to his official engagements.
The Sun. — 1822-10-04 (London, England)

CHARLES VI. a Bavarian fastened a rope from the top of the tower of Notre Dame to one of the houses within the Change Bridge ; he descended (lancing upon the rope, with a lighted flambeau in each hand ; he passed between the blue taffety curtains, ornamented with large golden fleurs-de-lis, which covered the bridge ; he fixed a crown upon Isabel's head, and re-ascended upon his rope into the air. The Chronicle adds, as this was done in the night, he was seen in all parts of Paris and its environs.  On Monday, the 16th ult. at Whithorn, in Galloway, James Connoehar murdered his own infant, under circumstances the most distressing and peculiar. He married a srvant girl some time ago, who, it is believed, took him for a livelihood, as he was stricken in years, and had amassed a sum exceeding six hundred pounds, which report adds he always kept in the house, with the character of a misogamist, and habits most wretchedly miserly. During his wife's kpregnancy he had often been heard to say, " That he did not now whether she was with child, or whether it was a toad or baby ; but if the latter, he would soon put an end to its existence !"—His wife was safely delivered of a fine boy, ~at the Isle of Whithorn, on Sunday morning, the 15th ult., and When shown the child, he took and kissed it. Next day, however when the strangers were gone, he went to his young; wife, and asked for the baby till she should turn herself in bed.' He then took the child up stairs, and inhumanly murdered it by compressing the throat. In the mean time, the mother hear. in.. the infant scream, ran up stairs, weak as she was, but before she' could burst open the door, which her husband had pre, viously bolted, the little innocent was no more. A precognition was taken by the Sheriff-Substitute, and the unnatural parent was committed to Whithorn gaol.—( Glasgow Paper.) On Sunday night last, or early the next morn. in g, the parish church of Whaddon, in this county, was robbed of two old damaged bells, which had lain on the ground boor of the tower for several years. How the sacrilegious. rascals entered the church is not known, as, in the course of the :Monday, when the bells were missed, all the doors and windows were found secured, as usual, by inward bolts, and the lock of the great south door. That the property was taken out at the north door, and put into a carriage at the gate at the north-east of the churchyard, is clearly traceable, and at 3 o'clock, a cart, heavily laden, was heard passing along the village street by several persons, and was seen by one, (it being then bright moonlight), which was afterwards, it appears, driven down a bye lane, end across Kneesworth-field, to the old north road.—On Sunday afternoon, a farm-house at the same village was robbed of 3!. in silver, and a valuable silver watch, whilst a female belonging to the Ranters, was holding forth to the great delight' of hundreds of gaping men, women, and children. And on the previous day a theft was committed at the vicarage-house, by a vender of matches, who having cun. ningly waved the property, evaded detection.—( Cambridge Chionielc.) _ .
The Sun. — 1822-09-18 (London, England)

DREAM.  The following is, we believe, an old story, but it has recently appeared in a Country Journal :  " We give the following extraordinary story as we received it, only premising that the principal actor in the narrative is said to be a Gentleman now resident at Fulham.— Mr. Thornton was one night extremely agitated by a dream. It appeared to him that he saw the gardener of his family in the act of murdering his cook-maid. He awoke, but endeavouring to dismiss the vision from his remembrance, attempted to compose himself to sleep. His eyes were scarcely closed, when again the same dreadful picture presented itself to his imagination. Alarmed by the extraordinary, the distinct, and the repeated intimation, he rapidly arose, and taking his night lamp in his hand, de, parted from his room, and descended from the stairs, with an intention of proceeding to the spot in which the circumstances of the dream had appeared to him as occurring.__ The hour was about four o'clock. The morning was clear, moonlight, and frosty. The reader will conceive what his surprise must have been, when, on entering the kitchen, on his way to the garden by the nearest avenue, he perceived the cook dressed in white, putting on her bonnet and cloak, as if preparing for a journey. To his inquiries respecting her presence at such an unaccustomed hour,and in such extraordinary attire,she replied, that she was on the point of being married to the gardener,—that they were going to a neighbouring village for that purpose,—and that Mark was waiting for her, at the end of the garden, with a horse and taxed-cart to convey her to church. Mr. Thornton told her that he, of course, could have no objection to their marriage, though he remonstrated against the secrecy of the proceeding, and desired her to wait a few moments till his return, as he was desirous of speaking to Mark previously to their setting off. Her master did not delay a moment in hastening to the garden : his mind much misdoubted the good intentions of the paramour, and he was not a little struck with the coincidence of his dream, and the preparation s that he had Witnessed. He first went to the bottom of the garden—to the spot mentioned by the maid-servant, as the place in Which Mark was waiting for her coming. All was still. There was no Mark ; no horse ; no chaise. He then proceeded to the place marked out to him by the vision. Here he was destined to behold an object of a very doubtful character. Working with an indefatigable and hurried hand, and with his back turned towards him, Mr. Thornton perceived a man digging in a pit. As he stood at his labour in the pit, it appeared to be about three feet and a half deep—it was about as many in width, and about six feet in length ; it had all the character of a grave. Mr. Thornton approached silently, and laid his hand with a sudden grasp on the man's shoulder.—Mark turned his eyes upon his master, shuddered and fainted.—Were the indications of that dream the suggestions of a lying spirit ?"
The Sun. — 1826-01-04 (London, England)

CHORUS. Oh I fair Londonderry, it makes my heart merrry To look at your walls rising over the Foyle, May no Whig or Tory, despising your glory, lour eons or your daughters of honour despoil. • Then loudly their war-cry round Ulster resounded, And call 'd forth the Protestant Chiefs of our land, Who, with zeal patriotic, and courage unbounded, On the Foyle for their freedom determin'd to stand. Then Mountalexande ,r that noble Commander, With Skeffington, Rawdon, and Blaney so brave, Despising alarms, come down here in arms, Our Liberty, Laws, and. Religion to save. Chorus—Oh I fair Londonderry, &c. George Walker and Murray rode here in a hurry, With Saunderson, Cairns, and Noble renown'd— Stout Canning and Rawsonovith Dewing and Dawson, Unmov'd on their posts here in Derry were found; With Knoxes and Rows, Hills, Grahams and Crosses, And Beresford brave from the town of Coleraine; Dunbars, Halls, and Rices, with Blairs Brookes, and Prices, All fac'd the proud foe with a noble 'disdain. Chorus—Oh t fair Londonderry, &c. Bold Mitchelburn, Baker, and Macky unbending, Held out through all danger our rights to maintain, Resolving to die, for their freedom contending, Before the vile tyrant should over them reign ; To gain us our charters, they bled like true martyrs, Regardless of fear, though by numbers assailed, Because they confided in Him that divided The waters which over proud Pharaoh prevailed. Chorus—Oh fair Londonderry, &c, From ancient Dungannon, with horsemen and cannon, Came Chichester brave as Sir Arthur of old ; The Moores from old Augher, the hlervyns from Clogher, To Derry flock'd in with their soldiers and gold; 'From rich Limavady, to puzzle poor Paddy, Came Phillips, who fought in the year forty-one ; Thro' fair and foul weather, they all stood together, Till James was knock'd up, and their foemen were gone. Chorus--Oh f fair Londonderry, &c. Thus Heaven protected those heroes undaunted, Who fought and who bled for the patriot's cause And gain'd for the nation what long had been wanted i‘ free Constitution and Protestant laws. From bondage for ever our Isle they did sever, Oh may we, like them, be Decided and True; Ally liberty flourish, and loyalty nourish The principles sound of an Honest True Blue. Chet us—Oh I fair Londonderry, &c.  A shocking CASZ of CHILD MURDER, WAS discovered in the neighbourhood of Camlachie on Monday afternoon. The body of a fine fullgrown female child was found lying exposed in a field, without any covering. On examination both of its arms and the breast bone were broken, and the features much distorted by the repeated grasp of a hand, evidently for the purpose of extinguishing life. The lower jaw was broken in a most barbarous manner, and it was altogether a most horrifying spectacle. The people flocked round the spot, but no one seemed willing to remove the remains. At length an apron was procured, and the body rolled in it, and conveyed to a house in Camlachie, from whence it was interred in Tollcrocs church yard on Tuesday afternoon: There is no trace of the unnatural mother.--(Caledonian Mercury.)
The Sun. — 1826-08-26 (London, England)

THE INQUEST. • The following evidence was adduced before the Coroner Ann Young (Burt's wife's mother) sworn.-4 live at I3,Woburn-place; on the 17th of July, 1825, my daughter was married to William Burt. They continued to live together till' abouta week before Christmas, when, by her refusing to show her husband a letter that she had written to some of her relations, he was very much offended, mid made use of threatening language. One evening, about seven o'clock, the husband went up stairs in the front room, fastened the door inside, and beat his wife most severely With a poker. In consequence of the piercing shrieks of her daughter witness rushed up stairs, and forced the `door; on entering. the room she saw her daughter covered with blood. Burt was immediately taken into custody. Her daughter had not recovered her eye-sight to this day. After this her daughter said, " she forgave her husband, but she would never live with him again." On the 31st of May last she was delivered of a male infant. Witness had sent for her daughter from Ditehling to come to see her at her own house, and on Sunday evening she arrived with her child. The next day, Monday, witness saw Burt standing against the wall adjoining witness's house. She asked him if he wanted any one, to which he made no reply, and Went away. On Tuesday afternoon she was informed her daughter was differing with her husband ; she went home, when, finding the door fastened, she hastened to Mrs. Histed's (being informed her daughter was there), and found her covered with blood, and the infant dying in Mrs. Histed's arms. Henry airfield stated that the prisoner had applied to him several times to reconcile his wife to him (Burt), and for that purpose he had on one occasion offered him 20s. Barfield said he had frequently conversed with Bust, and he always thought him a rational man. Harriet Burt sworn-4 am the wife of Burt. I have been constantly in fear of him. On Tuesday last I ran into a neighbour's house (32, William-street) for protection. I went up stairs and closed the door. He followed close behind, and burst the door open ; he then pulled a knife out of his pocket, and said, " I have this for you, you d—n l" Witness then said, "Do not kill the child, but kill me ;" on which he gaYe her and the child several stabs with the knife he had in his hand ; at last he lost his weapon; he then kicked me in several parts of the body, till persons came who rescued me. I then got away, with the child in my arms, and went into Mrs. Histed's, where medical aid ,was procured. Henry Hawley sworn--Witness hearing screams, immediately ran across the street from his own house, rushed into the room, and seized Burt by the coat, and threw him ; he then ,sent for assistance, and, and took the nair;. derer into custody. Two medical gentlemen stated that the knife was found in the knee of the infant when taken to Mrs. Histed's house. The death was caused, in their opinion, by two wounds inflicted in the abdomen. The Corctierthen summed up the evidence, and the TUry blatantly returned a verdict of ." Wilful Murder:"'