The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1854-05-23 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

DEGRADING IGNORANCE AND INRUMANITY.—A shocking case of filial ingratitude, and revolting inhumanity, has just occurred in a family residing in. the village of Shade, near Todmorden. The story is a terrible one. An old man named Thomas Holt, above seventy-five years old, lived with his two sons, John, aged about forty, and Tho.mas, aged about thirty-five, in a cottage in the middle row at Shade. The old man had long been a widower, and the sons were unmarried, so that they lived in a deplorable state of dirt and discomfort. They were all weavers formerly, but for some time had followed the occupation of labourers, and all three were hale, strong fellows. All of them would drink when they had the means, and the discomforts of their wretched home appear to have been .vastly increased by the result of intoxication and bad temper. They often quarrelled and kicked each other with their clogs, and only about three weeks ago the old man declared to a neighbour woman that he was so much illtreated he thought lie should drown himself. She pointed out to him the consequences to himself, when beyond the bounds of time, of rushing into the presence of his Maker by his own act, and her observations seem to have sunk into his mind, for on Thursday week he used them in reference to a man who had committed suicide by cutting his throat. He and his sons retired' to rest the same night, and the report of the neighbours is that they were more than usually quiet, the old man slept in a small" turnup" bed in the "house," or kitchen, and the sons slept together in a bed up stairs. About five o'clock on Friday morning the younger son got up to Foto his work, according to his own account, and found his father's bed empty on which he shouted to his brother, "This mon's gone. All his clothes were strewn about, except his trousers, and finding his stockings hanging over the oven door, " Tum," as he is called, pulled one within the other and threw them to the bottom of the stairs, remarking " Them 'ill be wanted na mare." They then lighted a tire, got some food, including a collop of bacon, turned up the bed, folded up their father's coat and waistcoat, and put them into a drawer, and having taken food for dinner, shouldered their spades, and left for their work. When asked by the jury where they thought their father was, the younger son replied "We thought he wur i'th navvy," meaning the Rochdale canal, which was within a few yards of the house. The inquiry naturally followed, "Then why did you not seek for him P" to which he replied, wur ower glad he wur gone; he didn't go a minute too som ; he punced (kicked) me till I wur black and blue," When some one pointed out to the brute what a fearful thing self-murder was, he coolly replied " A felly as would do that wur better gone nor kept ; he lynx a fool for his pains." With the belief that their unfortunate parent had drowned himself in the canal, they departed for their work, actually crossing the canal-lock a few yards from where his body was. Something led Thomas to return home that morning and on his way he encountered his uncle, who, hearing of the absence of his brother, urged Thomas to give information to the police. The fellow seems to have walked straight to the police-office, and accosted the officer in charge with, "Well, what's to be done ; th' old felly Mr navvy." When some more distinct statement was got from him, drags were procured, and on searching the canal, the body of the old man was found, dressed in a shirt and trousers, and with a napkin bound about his forehead. This the sons explained was a practice of his, "because his brains were rather lowse," and they wanted binding up. A jug was empannelled and the death of old Thomas Holt du y enquired into. When they Went to see the body, they ffound that the brothers had slept all night in the same room with it ; and as they entered, it being eleven in the forenoon, young Thomas Holt was leisurely drawing on his stockings. But. there was no evidence to show that there had been any foul play, and Thomas Holt was arrested hour. The jury returned an only to be liberated in an I open verdict of " Founds drowncd.7