The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1869-05-01 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

MURDER OF A FAMILY.—A short time ago, at Oakdale Township, near St. Paul, Minnesota, a farmer named James B. Grey, in a fit of insanity killed his wife and four children—two boys, aged eighteen and eight, and two girls, aged five and three years. The murderer was about forty years old, and has lately been suffering from deafness, and grew insane over it. The deed was committed about daylight. The neighbours heard Mrs. Grey scream, and going to the house, found the wife and four childen cut to pieces with an axe, and the murderer endeavouring to hang himself. He was arrested and lodged in St. Paul gaol, where it required three or four men to hold him. In answer to inquiries he would only reply, "I killed them all with an axe. Oh, hang me !" The wife was murdered first, being cut in the head and stabbed several times. The children were then murdered and placed in a row on the floor, their throats so badly cut as to nearly sever the head from the body. The murderer had evidently chopped their heads with an axe, mutilating them so as to render recognition almost impossible. The prisoner, at intervals of the paroxysms of maniacal fury, made a statement detailing the particulars of the murder. He Rays his motive was that he feared he was coming to poverty and the family would be left destitute', and so thought it would be better to send them to heaven at once. SPIRITUALISTIC PHOTOGRAPnY. For some weeks past two men, giving their names as Mumler and Silver, have been in possession of a photographic gallery in Broadway, New York, where they have been in the habit of producing pictures of persons applying to them with the shadowy outlines of a human face in the background, which they pretended had been  prodiced by spiritual or supernatural means, the faint portrait being, as they always alleged, the features if some deceased person then unknown, and who was in some way onnected or related to the person sitting before the camera. These photographic curiosities soon attracted the attention of experts in the photo. graphic art, and Mr. Hickey, who became so interested in the matter, ascertained that the phenomena exhibited by Mulmer and Silver, were the result of merely natural means, such as are known to nearly every praedcal phi.tographer. He visited the wonderful gallery and obtained a dozen of very inferior photographic likenesses of himself, with the shadowy outline of another man's face therein, for which he was made to pay the exorbitant sum of 10 dole. This led to an application to the Mayor, who referred Mr. Hickey to Mr. Tooker, his manilla'. An investigation was then made by the marshal in the matter, and he also obtained a similar set of pictures. Mr. Hickey sat a second time and his pictures bore the marshal's face as that of the supposed apirit, thus at once exposing the cheat. Both Mumler and Silver, alias Gray, were arrested, and arraigned before Justice Dowling, at the Tombs, when they were sent for trial. DOWN WITH EVERYTHING —The following is the text of an appeal addressed by the committee of the International Working Men's Society to the Belgian  millers:— Friends. Companions, Brothers—For a long time you have suffered a grinding slavery. Now take yt.ur revenge; kill and massacre if entire liberty in everything Is not given to you. Down with the capitalists ! Death to the nobility and clergy ! The Republic for ever ! Courage ! If your knives and staves are not sufficient we will give you arms Take Revenge '—THE KEVoLUTIONARY