The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1866-03-24 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

TRIPLE MURDER AND SUICIDE IN BAVARIA. —lntelligence has been received of an unheardof crime, which has caused much consternation in the town of Neuburg, in Bavaria, notwithstanding the attempts made to prevent the circumstances becoming known in all their horror. A young man who had become heir to a small fortune by the death of his father was singled. out by a laundress, who had determined to become possessed of the money. She had acquired such great power over the simple Louis that, perhaps frightened by her threats, he had promised to marry her as soon as he should have received the sums he had inherited. But the laundress learnt that Louis had already received 1000 thalers,which he had carried off and secured, no one knew where. To her questions he at first hesitated, then denied the fact, and finished by becoming embarrassed. There was no longer any doubt that Louis had deceived her, and she therefore dogged his footsteps. Nearly every day Louis was in the habit of going to the village of Nandroff, a short distance from Neuburg, and it was reported that for nearly a twelvemonth he had been on very intimate terms with a young orphan who lived in a nearly-deserted hut on the borders of the road. New inquiries revealed to the jealous woman that there was an infant, and that marriage would soon sanctify the connection that had been formed. There was no longer any doubt as to who had the thousand thalers, and as to who would soon receive the bulk of the legacy which she coveted. Her plan was soon ready. Under a disguise she penetrated into the cabin of the orphan as soon as she knew that Louis had returned to the town. She even induced the girl to allow her to share her bed, under the plea that she was exhausted by the fatigues of the journey she had made. What passed during the night can only be surmised., but next morning some workmen were surprised at seeing no one moving in the house,though the door was half open. On looking in they saw a horrible sight. A pig was devouring the body of a child evidently only a few days old, and cut in pieces. On the bed lay the body of the orphan, cruelly murdered. The police were summoned, and on their way they met the laundress, who informed them that Louis had disappeared. The attention of the officers being aroused from some other observations made by her, she was arrested, and on a search being made in the cellar of the house in which she resided, the body of the young man, cut into four quarters, was found in a large tub of lye, The woman showed no regret, and only lamented that she had failed to secure so large a fortune. Before being secured in prison she was observed to totter, and in a few minutes she expired in the arms of her captors from poison. Investigations have made known that she was a native of Batavia, and had been brought to Europe when an infant by a soldier in the Dutch service, having been abandoned by her parents. TELLING THE "WHOLE TRuTFr."—The cross swearing that takes place at the Liverpool-police court, especially in assault cases, is something appalling. The magistrates have often expressed their disapproval of the reckless way in which statements are frequently made on oath, but still the practice continues. It many times happens that one set of witnesses will be called to prove one version of the case, while on the other side an equal number will be produced to give them a complete contradiction. It consequently sometimes occurs that the magistrates are bewildered among the mass of contradictory evidence, and hail with pleasure any witness who is supposed to be likely to give an honest or .disinterested account of the case. No class of witnesses are more acceptable for this purpose than intelligent children. It is felt that they at least may be depended upon, from their artlessness and inexperience, to give an unvarnished tale ; and in not many cases is this hope disappointed. But there is one difficulty to contend with in regard to these youthful deponents. It is feared that they may be tutored in untruthfulness by persons of maturer years, and that their religious convictions are not sufficiently strong to impress upon them. the sanctity of an oath. When a youngster is placed in the witness box he is sometimes questioned as to the nature of an oath, and the ready way in which they state their doctrinal belief in regard to "rewards and punishments" is sometimes—were the subject not too grave to be trifled with—verging on the ridiculous. The _office of father confessor in these cases generally devolves upon Lloyd, the burly crier Of the court, and the way in which he puts his interrogatories is not calculated to impress one with a notion of the refinement of his theological views. On Monday, in the second police court, this doctrinal questioning was attended with rather unexpected and ridiculous consequences. One of those assault cases so common in Liverpool was being heard, and among the witnesses called was an intelligent boy, apparently about eleven years of age. On being placed in the box, Mr. Cobb assumed for the nonce the office of catechist, and in his most bland insinuating manner said to the youthful witness, "Now, my little man, you'll tell us how it occurred." Boy : Yes, sir.—Mr. Cobb : Do you know where people go who tell lies I Boy (readily) : Yes, sir, to --. Mr. Melly said the boy had made one of the most candid statements in regard to evidence he had ever heard made in a police court. He dismissed. the case, remarking to the complainant and !defendant. "You are a nasty lot of fighting women." The boy then left the box, evidently well pleased with the way in which he had answered the " lawyer."  It is confidently reported ,(according to the Glasgow Mormn.g (journal ') that a libel will be prosecuted against the Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod at the next meeting of the Presbytery of Glasgow: Done into English this of course means a religious prosecution, which, if the report be correct, is no doubt on account of Dr. Macleod 's views on the Sunday question.