The Warrington Examiner. — 1870-08-20 (Warrington, Cheshire, England)

FARMER ATTEMPTING TO  MURDER HIS FAMILY.  At the Leeds assizes, William Hirst, aged 62, farmer, was indicted for feloniously wounding Susan Hirst, Sarah Hirst, and William Hirst the younger, with intent to kill and murder the same persons, his children, at Langfield, near Todmorden. Mr. Wheelhouse was for the prosecution ; but as the prisoner was undefended, his lordship asked him if he wished to have counsel assigned to him.—Prisoner, who was a florid-looking man with a rather anxieus expression of countenance replied, "No, sir. I, will 'ware' nothing I don't know whether it will do me any good or not," His lordship subsequently asked Mr. Blackburn to watch the case on his behalf. Mr. Wheelhouse stated that the prisoner, with his family, resided at Greave, which is on the moorland, near to Langfield. Accused was a small farmer, and was ordinarily of temperate habits, but on the 6th April he was left alone in the house, and appeared to have indulged in drink. He retired to bed at his usual time, but awoke about one o'clock in the morning and began to talk loudly, thereby arousing his wife and children, and all the household. It was dark at the time. Prisoner was very uneasy indeed; he got up, said he had dreamed that he "awoke in hell, that he had seen some of his children there, and that he was determined the devil should not have them all." Saying he wanted some tobacco, he went downstairs, and was found attempting to open a drawer in which there was a knife pr a razor. Ho subsequently returned to the bedroom, with a poker ands lighted candle in his hands, and then commenced atriking his wife with the tongs. She screamed and ran downstairs, and the, rest of the family attempted to interpose, upon which he attacked two daughters and his son with a carvingknife, and inflicted the injuries upon them which led to the present charge being preferred.—ln crossexamination, Mr. Blackburn elicited from the several witnesses that the prisoner had been reading the Bible a great deal lately, and had frightened himself into the belief that he "was going to hell, that he was going where no one could find him, and where he would never be seen or heard of again, and that he was likely to be a lost man." Some years ago the prisoner had been similarly disturbed in his mind, and it appeared that he was ;enerally so affected after he had had a bout of drinking.—Mr. Blackburn, in defence, having urged that all the instances and surroundings of the case testified to the mental disturbances of the prisoner for some time past, the jury found Hirst not guilty, on the ground of insanity.—His Lordship: Very well; then he will be confined for the rest dins life.  SUDDEN DEATs.=--Mr. Godfrey Knight, brewer, of Scarborough, fell dead whilst taking aim at some grouse on Lockton Low Moor, near Pickering, on the 12th instant.  THE INTERNATIONAL ExumrrioN, 1871.—We are requested by her Majesty's Commissioners to state that there is no foundation for the rumour that the International Exhibition, appointed for 1871, is to be postponed by reason of the war. The first of the senes of Annual International Exhibitions of Selected Works of Fine and Industrial Art and Scientific Inventions will take place next year, as already announced. A