The Express. — 1847-12-20 (London, England)

STATE OF THE COUNTRY. The country papers to•day bring accounts of two murders and two attempts at murder, one of which is likely to terminate fatally. On Thursday night, the house of a farmer, named Murphy, twelve Jades from Limerick, was entered by an armed party, who allot kluiphy and robbed the house of a nun of 301. The object of She party would seem  to have been plunder, es the unhappy Murphy was a man in comfortable circumstances. He probably offered resistance —and hence his fats. Murphy was • man of large stature and great physical power. He has ail surviving brothers, who from their great strength and stature are -ailed in badinage the" preemie" (little boys). The other murder occurred in Longford. About six miles north of the town of that name lies Sallinalee, where dwelt two pensioners, Samuel Wilkinson and William Carson. Both were sitting together by the fire. Twelve men came to the house armed. Five remained outside, seven entered, of whom two immediately presented and fired. Wilkinson and Carson fell, and the party departed, believing doubtless they hod despatched both. Unfortunately, so far at Wilkinson was concerned, they judged truly. He died at ten o'clock that night, several balls or sings having entered his breast. Carson was wounded severely in the hack of the neck, but not dangerously. The Longford paper, in noticing this murder, does not suggest any motive fur it whatever. In the same county, and, indeed, in the same vicinage, on Wednesday night, a murderous attack was made on a man named William Sheerin. The Longford Journal suggests it was because at his trade of a miller be has been more prosperous than others. The following details of the attack this journal graphically gives : " Shecrin was sitting at the fire about half-past seven o'clock, at the other side of which was a small wall, as customary in country houses, to screen it from the wind of the door •' in this wall was a small square bole, and the first intimation of an attack was seeing the muzzle of a gun presented through this hole, and within • few feet of his head. On seeing this Skeerin stretched over to get his gun, which was standing the other tide of the firtplace, when the fellow immediately Reed, shattering Sheerin's arm, shoulder, and head, from the effects of which he now lies badly, but, we hope, not mortally wounded. At the time the fellow presented the gun at Shemin another ruffian went to an end window (where he could command a view of every person in the house), and presented a gun through it, declaring he would blow the brume out of any person in it that stirred. Having, as they thought, finished Sheerin, who is a anent inoffensive and proper man, they went off quietly, without any effort being made to apprehend them, although there were three men and a servant boy in the house at the time." An attack, doubtless intended to he fatal, though happily not so, was made on Tuesday night on two men named Maguire and Minogue, employed in a mill a mile or two from Nenagh. Three men aimed attacked Maguire in the presence of Minogue, beating him severely with sticks. He defended himself as well as he could, but was at length knocked down. He is severely—one of his legs being fractured—but not fatally injured. On going away and passing Minogue, who was terroustricken, they called to the latter to "turn his head aside." With this he compiled, when one of the scoundrels as he pa red discharged a pistol at him, wounding him in the head and neck.