Attack on a Derbyshire Squire by his Brothers.

Otago Witness, Issue 1581, 11 March 1882, Page 23

Attack on a Derbyshire Squire by his Brothers.

In the last budget of news by. the San Francisoo mail brief reference, was. made to an extraordinary outrage in Derbyshire, which was creating some sensation at Home. The particulars, as gathered from the English papers, are as follow : —

A strange assault case is reported' from Derbyshire, which carries us back to the fierce manners of the middle ages. On Christmas Day there was a family gathering at Alfreton Hall, the, residence of Mr C. R. Palmer Morewood, a magistrate for Derbyshire. Mr Morewood had , invited his four brothers to dine with him and his mother. ' In order to throw light upon what took place on that evening, it may be explained that when the late Mr Morewood died he left £20,000 to his five sons and £10,000 to his four daughters. The latter and the younger son having received their respective portions, it was deemed advisable to throw the remainder of the estate into Chancery. The other sons have received only part of their property, and this, it appears, has caused much family tmpleasantness. After dinner on Christmas Day the gentlemen retired for a time to the smoking-room, where brandy, whisky, pipes, and cigars were freely indulged in ; and aboub 10 at night they adjourned to the library. Here conversation turned upon the will of their late father and the disposition I 'of the property, and that irritating topic combined with the drink which they had imbibed, caused the discussion to become an exciting one. Hot words were used, and angry words were followed by blows. The brothers insisted on Mr Morewood signing a document which they had prepared relating to the property, and on his persistent refusal, the infuriated men rushed upon him and felled him to the ground. On rising, a struggle of & most desperate character ensued, Mr Morewood, who is a powerfully . built man, momentarily freed himself from the paßpvof his assailants, and pulled the bell for ftssj^

fcance A maidservant answered the call, but was not admitted, the ruffians having previously locked the door ; and thinking that the young men were indulging in some rough horseplay the servant retired. Meanwhile the combat went on, every article that could be used as a weapon of offence or defence being seized for that purpose. Mr Morewood received a blow on the back of his head which stunned him, and whilst on the floor he was kicked on the head, face, body, and legs. The brothers then began to strip him, and to expedite the process one of them used a knife. While cutting away at the clothes, he inflicted an ugly wound on the right leg. Having denuded Mr Morewood of his garments, they left him on the floor, and as they quitted the hall informed the butler that his master was lying drunk in the library. Medical assistance was procured as speedily as possible, and though fearfully bruised and mutilated, Mr Morewood was able to leave his bed and appear against his brutal assailants on January 2nd, at Alfreton. The, four brothers were arrested under warranty and having been locked up one night were liberated on bail, each in £500, and one surety in the same amount. # The only excuse for the leniency of their treatment is that the magistrates . were not in the first' instance fulljr aware of the dastardly savageness and murderousness of the assault. The case was fixed' for hearing on January 2nd, but when the Court had assembled and the defendants.were called for, it was found that they 'had absconded. The recognisances of the defendants and -their sureties were estreated, and warrants were issued for their apprehension;, but it is rumoured that the four brothers have fled from England— two for Spain and two.for America— though many persons believe they are in hiding, in' the hope that further proceedings will be stayed, One of the sisters is the notorious Mrs Mundy, the paramour of the youthful Earl of Shrewsbury, and one of the brothers, George Herbert, accompanied the pair in their Conr tinental sojourn.