Mr. SerjeantShee: What are the component parts of strychnine?
Mr. BaronAlderson: You will find that in any cyclopœdia, BrotherShee.
Mr. SerjeantShee: Have you any reason to believe that strychnine can be decomposed by any sort of putrefying or fermenting process?
Witness: I doubt whether it can.
Mr.Edward D. Moore, examined by Mr.Huddleston: About fifteen years ago I was in practice as a surgeon, and I attended, with Dr. Chambers, a gentleman named Clutterbuck, who was suffering from paralysis. We had been giving him small doses of strychnine when he went to Brighton. On his return he told us that he had been taking larger doses of strychnine, and we, in consequence, gave him a stronger dose. I made up three draughts, confining a quarter of a grain each. He took one in my presence. I remained with him a little time, and left him, as he said he felt quite comfortable. About three-quarters of an hour afterwards I was summoned to him. I found him stiffened in every limb, and the head drawn back. He was desirous that we should move and turn him, and rub him. We tried to give him ammonia, in a spoon, and he snapped at the spoon. He was suffering, I should say, more than three hours. Sedatives were given him. He survived the attack. He was conscious all the time.
Cross-examined by Mr. SerjeantShee: The spasms ceased in about three hours, but the rigidity of the muscles remained till the next day. His hands and feet were at first drawn back, and he was much easier when we clinched them forwards. His paralysis was better after the attack.
Re-examined by theAttorney-General: Strychnine stimulates the nerves which act upon the voluntary muscles, and therefore acts beneficially in cases of paralysis.
TheAttorney-Generalintimated that the next witness to be called was Dr. Taylor, and, as it was a quarter after five, the trial was adjourned until Monday, at nine o’clock.
LordCampbell, before the jury left the box, exhorted them not to form any opinion upon the case until they had heard both sides. They should even abstain from conversing about it among themselves.
Mr. SerjeantSheesaid that medical witnesses would be called for the defence.
HisLordshipalso expressed a hope that, if the jury were taken out upon the following day (Sunday), they would not be allowed to go to any place of public resort, and mentioned an instance in which a jury, under similar circumstances, had been conducted to Epping Forest.
The Court then rose, and the jury were conveyed to the London Coffee-house.
The Court was again crowded long before the commencement of the proceedings this morning. The Earl of Denbigh and Lord Lyttleton were among the gentlemen who occupied seats upon the bench.
The jury came into Court shortly before ten o’clock, and were soon followed by Lord Campbell and Mr. Justice Cresswell, accompanied by the Recorder, the Sheriffs and Under-Sheriffs, &c. Mr. Baron Alderson did not take his seat until about two o’clock.
The prisoner was immediately placed at the bar. There was no alteration perceptible in his countenance or demeanour, and he took notes of several parts of Dr. Taylor’s evidence.
The Attorney-General, Mr. E. James, Q.C., Mr. Welsby, Mr. Bodkin, and Mr. Huddleston, appeared for the Crown; Mr. Serjeant Shee, Mr. Grove, Q.C., Mr. Gray, and Mr. Kenealy, for the prisoner.
Dr.Alfred Swayne Taylor, examined by theAttorney-General: I am a fellow of the College of Physicians, lecturer on medical jurisprudence at Guy’s hospital, and the author of the well-known treatise on poisons and on medical jurisprudence. I have made the poison called strychnia the subject of my attention. It is the produce of the nux vomica, which also contains brucia, a poison of an analogous character. Brucia is variously estimated at from one-sixth to one-twelfth the strength of strychnia. Most varieties of impure strychnia that are sold contain more or less brucia. Unless, therefore, you are certain as to the purity of the article, you may be misled as to its strength. I have performed a variety of experiments with strychnia on animal life. I have never witnessed its action on a human subject. I have tried its effects upon animal life—upon rabbits—in ten or twelve instances. The symptoms are, on the whole, very uniform. The quantity I have given has varied from half a grain to two grains. Half a grain is sufficient to destroy a rabbit. I have given it both in a solid and a liquid state. When given in a fluid state, it produces its effects in a very few minutes; when in a solid state, as a sort of pill or bolus, in about six to eleven minutes. The time varies according to the strength of the dose, and also to the strength of the animal.
In what way does it operate, in your opinion?—It is first absorbed into the blood, then circulated through the body, and especially acts on the spinal cord, from which proceed the nerves acting on the voluntary muscles.
Supposing the poison to have been absorbed, what time would you give for the circulating process?—The circulation of the blood through the whole system is considered to take place about once in four minutes. The circulation in animals is quicker. The absorption of the poison by rabbits is therefore quicker. The time would also depend on the stomach,—whether it contained much food or not,—whether the poison came into immediate contact with the inner surface of the stomach.
In your opinion, does the poison act immediately on the nervous system, or must it first be absorbed? It must first be absorbed.
The symptoms, you say, are uniform. Will you describe them?—The animal, for about five or six minutes, does not appear to suffer, but moves about gently; when the poison begins to act it suddenly falls on its side, there is a trembling, a quivering motion, of the whole of the muscles of the body, arising from the poison producing violent and involuntarycontraction. There is then a sudden paroxysm or fit, the fore legs and the hind legs are stretched out, the head and the tail are drawn back in the form of a bow, the jaws are spasmodically closed, the eyes are prominent; after a short time there is a slight remission of the symptoms, and the animal appears to lie quiet, but the slightest noise or touch reproduces another convulsive paroxysm; sometimes there is a scream, or a sort of shriek, as if the animal suffered from pain; the heart beats violently during the fit, and after a succession of these fits the animal dies quietly. Sometimes, however, the animal dies during a spasm, and I only know that death has occurred from holding my hand over the heart. The appearances after death differ. In some instances the rigidity continues. In one case, the muscles were so strongly contracted for a week afterwards, that it was possible to hold the body by its hind legs stretched out horizontally. In an animal killed the other day the body was flaccid at the time of death, but became rigid about five minutes afterwards. I have opened the bodies of animals thus destroyed.
Could you detect any injury in the stomach?—No. I have found in some cases congestion of the membranes of the spinal cord to a greater extent than would be accounted for by the gravitation of the blood. In other cases I have found no departure from the ordinary state of the spinal cord and the brain. I ascribe congestion to the succession of fits before death. In a majority of instances, three out of five, I found no change in the abnormal condition of the spine. In all cases the heart has been congested, especially the right side. I saw a case of ordinary tetanus in the human subject years ago, but I have not had much experience of such cases. I saw one case last Thursday week at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. The patient recovered.
You have heard the descriptions given by the witnesses of the symptoms and appearances which accompanied Cook’s attacks?—I have.
Were those symptoms and appearances the same as those you have observed in the animals to which you administered strychnine?—They were. Death has taken place in the animals more rapidly when the poison has been administered in a fluid than in a solid form. They have died at various periods after the administration of the poison. The experiments I have performed lately have been entirely in reference to solid strychnine. In the first case the symptoms began in seven minutes, and the animal died (including those seven) in thirteen minutes. In the second case the symptoms appeared in nine minutes, and the animal died in seventeen. In the third case the symptoms appeared in ten minutes, and the animal died in eighteen. In the fourth case the symptoms appeared in five minutes, and death took place in twenty-two. In the fifth case the symptoms appeared in twelve minutes, and death occurred in twenty-three. If the poison were taken by the human subject in pills it would take a longer time to act, because the structure of the pill must be broken up in order to bring the poison in contact with the mucous membrane of the stomach. I have administered it to rabbits in pills.
Would poison given in pills take a longer period to operate on a human subject than on a rabbit?—I do not think we can draw any inference from a comparison of the rapidity of death in a human subject and in a rabbit. The circulation and absorption are different in the two cases. There is also a difference between one human subject and another. The strength of the dose, too, would make a difference, as a large dose would produce a more rapid effect than a small one. I have experimented upon the intestines of animals, in order to reproduce the strychnia. The process consists in putting the stomach and its contents in alcohol, with a small quantity of acid, which dissolves the strychnia, and produces sulphate of strychnia in the stomach. The liquid is then filtered, gently evaporated, and an alkali added—carbonate of potash, which, mixed with a small quantity of sulphuric acid, precipitates the strychnia. Tests are applied to the strychnia, or supposed strychnia, when extracted. Strychnia has a peculiar strongly bitter taste. It is not soluble in water, but it is in acids and in alcohol. The colouring tests are applied to the dry residue after evaporation. Change of colour is produced by a mixture of sulphuric acid and bi-chromate of potash. It produces a blue colour, changing to violet and purple, and passing to red; but colouring tests are very fallacious, with this exception—when we have strychnine separated in its crystallised state we can recognise the crystals by their form and their chemical properties, and, above all, by the production of tetanic symptoms and death when administered through a wound in the skin of animals.
Are there other vegetable substances from which, if these colouring tests were applied, similar colours would be obtained?—There are a variety of mixtures which produce similar colours. One of them has also a bitter taste like strychnia. Vegetable poisons are more difficult of detection, by chemical process, than mineral poisons; the tests are far more fallacious. I have endeavoured to discover the presence of strychnine in animals I have poisoned in four cases, assisted by Dr. Rees. I have applied the process which I first described. I have then applied the tests of colouring and of taste.
Were you able to satisfy yourself of the presence of strychnia?—In one case I discoveredsome by the colour test. In a second case there was a bitter taste, but no other indication of strychnia. In the other two cases there were no indications at all of strychnia. In the case where it was discovered by a colour test two grains had been administered; and in the second case where there was a bitter taste, one grain. In one of the cases where we failed to detect it one grain, and in the other half a grain had been given.
How do you account for the absence of any indication of strychnia in cases where you know it was administered?—It is absorbed into the blood, and is no longer in the stomach. It is in a great part changed in the blood.
How do you account for its presence when administered in large doses?—There is a retention of some in excess of what is required for the destruction of life.
Supposing aminimumdose, which will destroy life, has been given, could you find any?—No. It is taken up by absorption, and is no longer discoverable in the stomach. The smallest quantity by which I have destroyed the life of an animal is half a grain. There is no process with which I am acquainted by which it can be discovered in the tissues. As far as I know, a small quantity cannot be discovered.
Suppose half a grain to be absorbed into the blood, what proportion does it bear to the total quantity of blood circulated in the system?—Assuming the system to contain the lowest quantity of blood, 25lbs., it would be 1-50th of a grain to a pound of blood. A physician once died from a dose of half a grain in twenty minutes. I believe it undergoes some partial change in the blood, which increases the difficulty of discovering it. I never heard of its being separated from the tissues in a crystallised state. The crystals are peculiar in form, but there are other organic crystallised substances like them, so that a chemist will not rely on the form only. After thepost-mortemexamination of Cook a portion of the stomach was sent to me. It was delivered to me by Mr. Boycott, in a brown stone jar, covered with bladder, tied, and sealed. The jar contained the stomach and the intestines. I have experimented upon them with a view to ascertain if there was any poison present.
What poisons did you seek for in the first instance?—Various,—prussic acid, oxalic acid, morphia, strychnia, veratria, tobacco poison, hemlock, arsenic, antimony, mercury, and other mineral poisons.
Did you find any of them?—We only found small traces of antimony.
Were the parts upon which you had to operate in your search for strychnia in a favourable condition?—The most unfavourable that could possibly be. The stomach had been completely cut from end to end, all the contents were gone, and the fine mucous surface, on which any poison, if present, would have been found, was lying in contact with the outside of the intestines—all thrown together. The inside of the stomach was lying in the mass of intestinal feculent matter.
That was the fault or misfortune of the person who dissected?—I presume it was; but it seemed to have been shaken about in every possible way in the journey to London. The contents of the intestines were there, but not the contents of the stomach, in which and on the mucous membrane I should have expected to find poison. By my own request other portions of the body were sent up to me,—namely, the spleen, the two kidneys, and a small bottle of blood. They were delivered to me by Mr. Boycott. We had no idea whence the blood had been taken. We analysed all. We searched in the liver and one of the kidneys for mineral poison. Each part of the liver, one kidney, and the spleen, all yielded antimony. The quantity was less in proportion in the spleen than in the other parts. It was reproduced, or brought out, by boiling the animal substance in a mixture of hydrochloric acid and water. Gall and copper-water were also introduced, and the antimony was found deposited on the copper. We applied various tests to it—those of Professor Brandt, of Dr. Rees, and others. I detected some antimony in the blood. It is impossible to say with precision how recently it had been administered; but I should say within some days. The longest period at which antimony can be found in the blood after death is eight days; the earliest period at which it has been found after death, within my own knowledge is eighteen hours. A boy died within eighteen hours after taking it, and it was found in the liver. Antimony is usually given in the form of tartar emetic; it acts as an irritant, and produces vomiting. If given in repeated doses a portion would find its way into the blood and the system beyond what was ejected. If it continued to be given after it had produced certain symptoms it would destroy life. It may, however, be given with impunity. I heard the account given by the female servants of the frequent vomiting of Mr. Cook, both at Rugeley and at Shrewsbury, and also the evidence of Mr. Gibson and Mr. Jones as to the predominant symptoms in his case. Vomitings produced by antimony would cause those symptoms. If given in small quantities sufficient to cause vomiting it would not affect the colour of the liquid in which it was mixed, whether brandy, wine, broth, or water. It is impossible to form an exact judgment as to the time when the antimony was administered, but it must have been within two or three weeks, at the outside before death. There was no evidence that any had been given within some hours ofdeath. It might leave a sensation in the throat—a choking sensation—if a large quantity was taken at once. I found no trace of mercury during the analysis. If a few grains had been taken recently before death I should have expected to find some trace. If a man had taken mercury for a syphilitic affection within two or three weeks I should have expected to find it. It is very slow in passing out of the body. As small a quantity as three or four grains might leave some trace. I recollect a case in which three grains of calomel were given three or four hours before death, and traces of mercury were found. Half a grain three or four days before death, if favourably given, and not vomited, would, I should expect, leave a trace. One grain would certainly do so. I heard the evidence as to the death of Mrs. Smyth, Agnes French, and the other lady mentioned, and also as to the attack of Clutterbuck.
From your own experience in reference to strychnine, do you coincide in opinion with the other witnesses, that the deaths in those cases were caused by strychnine?—Yes.
Did the symptoms in Cook’s case appear to be of a similar character to the symptoms in those cases?—They did.
As a professor of medical science, do you know any cause in the range of human disease except strychnine to which the symptoms in Cook’s case can be referred?—I do not.
Cross-examined by Mr. SerjeantShee: I mean by the word “trace” a very small quantity, which can hardly be estimated by weight. I do not apply it in the sense of an imponderable quantity. In chemical language it is frequently used in that sense. An infinitesimal quantity would be called “a trace.” The quantity of antimony that we discovered in all parts of the body would make up about half a grain. We did not ascertain that there was that quantity, but I will undertake to say that we extracted as much as half a grain. That quantity would not be sufficient to cause death. Only arsenic or antimony could have been deposited, under the circumstances, on the copper, and no sublimate of arsenic was obtained. [The witness, in reply to a further question, detailed the elaborate test which he had applied to the deposit, in order to ascertain that it consisted of antimony.]
Would a mistake in any one of the processes you have described, or a defect in any of the materials you used, defeat the object of the test?—It would, but all the materials I used were pure. Such an accident could not have happened without my having some intimation of it in the course of the process. I should think antimony would operate more quickly upon animals than upon men. I am acquainted with the works of Orfila. He stood in the highest rank of analytical chemists.
Did not Orfila find antimony in a dog four months after injection?—Yes; but the animal had taken about 45 grains.
Mr. SerjeantSheecalled the attention of the witness to a passage in Orfila’s work in reference to that case, to the effect that the antimony was found accumulating in the bones, the liver contained a great deal, and the tissues a very little.
Witness: Yes; when antimony has been long in the body it passes into the bones; but I think you will find that these are not Orfila’s experiments. Orfila is quoting the experiments of another person.
But is not that the case with nearly all the experiments referred to in your own book?—No; I cannot say that.
Mr. SerjeantSheeagain referred to a case inOrfila, in which forty-five grains were given to a dog, and three and a-half months after death a quantity was found in the fat, and some in the liver, bones, and tissues.
Witness: That shows that antimony gets into the bones and flesh, but I never knew a case in which forty-five grains had been given, and I have given no opinion upon such a case.
A pretty good dose is required to poison a person, I suppose?—That depends on the mode in which it is given. A dog has been poisoned with six grains. The dog died in the case you mentioned. When antimony is administered, as it was in that case, the liver becomes fatty and gristled. Cook’s liver presented no appearance of the sort. I should infer that the antimony we found in Cook’s body was given much more recently than in the experiments you have described. We cannot say positively how long it takes to get out of the body, but I have known three grains cleared out in twenty-four hours. I was first applied to in this case on Thursday the 27th of November, by Mr. Stevens, who was introduced to me by Mr. Warrington, Professor of Chemistry. Either then or subsequently he mentioned Mr. Gardner. I had not known Mr. Gardner before. I had never before been concerned in cases of this kind at Rugeley.
Mr. SerjeantSheeread the letter written by Dr. Taylor to Mr. Gardner:—
“Chemical Laboratory, Guy’s Hospital, Dec. 4, 1855.“Re J. P. Cook, Esq., deceased.“Dear Sir,—Dr. Rees and I have completed the analysis to-day. We have sketched a report, which will be ready to-morrow or next day.“As I am going to Durham Assizes on the part of the Crown, in the case of Reg. v. Wooler, the report will be in the hands of Dr. Rees, No. 26, Albemarle-street. It will be most desirable that Mr. Stevens should call on Dr. Rees, read the report with him, and put such questions as may occur.“In reply to your letter received here this morning, I beg to say that we wish a statement of all the medicines prescribed for deceased (until his death) to be drawn up and sent to Dr. Rees.“We do not find strychnine, prussic acid, or any trace of opium. From the contents having been drained away, it is now impossible to say whether any strychnine had or had not been given just before death; but it is quite possible for tartar emetic to destroy life if given in repeated doses; and, so far as we can at present form an opinion, in the absence of any natural cause of death, the deceased may have died from the effects of antimony in this or some other form.“We are, dear Sir, yours faithfully,“Alfred S. Taylor.“G. Owen Rees.”
“Chemical Laboratory, Guy’s Hospital, Dec. 4, 1855.“Re J. P. Cook, Esq., deceased.
“Dear Sir,—Dr. Rees and I have completed the analysis to-day. We have sketched a report, which will be ready to-morrow or next day.
“As I am going to Durham Assizes on the part of the Crown, in the case of Reg. v. Wooler, the report will be in the hands of Dr. Rees, No. 26, Albemarle-street. It will be most desirable that Mr. Stevens should call on Dr. Rees, read the report with him, and put such questions as may occur.
“In reply to your letter received here this morning, I beg to say that we wish a statement of all the medicines prescribed for deceased (until his death) to be drawn up and sent to Dr. Rees.
“We do not find strychnine, prussic acid, or any trace of opium. From the contents having been drained away, it is now impossible to say whether any strychnine had or had not been given just before death; but it is quite possible for tartar emetic to destroy life if given in repeated doses; and, so far as we can at present form an opinion, in the absence of any natural cause of death, the deceased may have died from the effects of antimony in this or some other form.
“We are, dear Sir, yours faithfully,
“Alfred S. Taylor.“G. Owen Rees.”
Was that your opinion at the time?—It was. We could infer nothing else.
Have you not said that the quantity of antimony you found was not sufficient to account for death?—Certainly. If a man takes antimony he first vomits, and then a part of the antimony goes out of the body; some may escape from the bowels. A great deal passes at once into the blood by absorption, and is carried out by the urine.
Can you say upon your oath that from the traces in Cook’s body you were justified in stating your opinion that death was caused by antimony?—Yes perfectly and distinctly. That which is found in a dead body is not the slightest criterion as to what the man took when he was alive.
When you gave your opinion that Cook died from the effects of antimony had you any reason to think that an undue quantity had been administered?—I could not tell. People may die from large or small quantities; the quantity found in the body was no criterion as to how much he had taken.
May not the injudicious use of a quack medicine containing antimony, the injudicious use of James’s powders, account for the antimony you found in the body?—Yes; the injudicious use of any antimonial medicine would account for it.
Or even their judicious use?—It might.
With that knowledge, upon being consulted with regard to Cook, you gave it as your opinion that he died from the poison of antimony?—You pervert my meaning entirely. I said that antimony in the form of tartar emetic might occasion vomiting and other symptoms of irritation, and that in large doses it would cause death, preceded by convulsions. [The witness was proceeding to read his report upon the case, but was stopped by the Court.] I was told that the deceased was in good health seven or eight days before his death, and that he had been taken very sick and ill, and had died in convulsions. No further particulars being given us, we were left to suppose that he had not died a natural death. There was no natural cause to account for death, and finding antimony existing throughout the body, we thought it might have been caused by antimony. An analysis cannot be made effectually without information.
You think it necessary before you can rely upon an analysis to have received a long statement of the symptoms before death?—A short statement will do.
You allow your judgment to be influenced by the statement of a person who knows nothing of his own knowledge?—I do not allow my judgment to be influenced in any way; I judge by the result.
Do you mean to state that what Mr. Stevens told you did not assist you in arriving at the conclusion you state in writing?—I stated it as a possible case, not as a certainty. If we had found a very large quantity of tartar emetic in the stomach, we should have come to the conclusion that the man had died from it; as we found only a small quantity, we said he might have died from it. I attended the inquest on the body of Mr. Cook. I think I first attended on the 14th of December. Some of the evidence was read over to me. I think that Dr. Harland was the first witness I heard examined. I heard Mr. Bamford examined, and also Lavinia Barnes. I cannot say as to Newton. I heard Jones. I had experimented some years ago on five of the rabbits I have mentioned; that is about twenty-three years ago. That is the only knowledge of my own that I had of the effect of strychnia upon animal life. I have a great objection to the sacrifice of life. No toxicologist will sacrifice the lives of a hundred rabbits to establish facts which he knows to be already well established. I experimented upon the last rabbits since the inquest.
Do you not think that is a very slight experiment?—You must add to experiment the study of poisons and cases.
Do not you think that a rabbit is a very unfair animal to select?—No.
Would not a dog be much better?—Dogs are very dangerous to handle. (A laugh.)
Do you mean to give that answer?—Dogs and cats bear a greater analogy to man because they vomit, while rabbits do not, but rabbits are much more manageable.
Mr. SerjeantShee: I will take your answer that you are afraid of dogs.
Witness: After the experiments I have tried with dogs and cats, I have no inclination to go on.
Do you admit that as to the action of the respiratory organs they would be better than rabbits?—I do not.
As to the effect of the poison would they not?—I think a rabbit is quite as good as any animal. The poison is retained and its operation is shown. At the inquest I saw Mr. Gardner. I suggested questions to the coroner. Some of them he put to the witnesses, andothers they answered upon my suggestion of them. Ten days before the inquest Mr. Gardner informed me, in his letter, that strychnia, Batley’s solution, and prussic acid had been purchased on the Tuesday; that is why I used the expressions to which you have referred. We did not allow that information to have any influence upon our report.
At the request of Mr. SerjeantShee, the deposition of this witness taken at the coroner’s inquest was read by the Clerk of Arraigns.
Cross-examination continued: Having given my evidence I returned to town, and soon afterwards heard that the prisoner had been committed on a charge of wilful murder.
And that his life depended in a great degree upon you?—No; I simply gave an opinion as to the poison, not as to the prisoner’s case. I knew that I should probably be examined as a witness upon this trial.
Do you think it your duty to abstain from all public discussion of the question which might influence the public mind?—Yes.
Did you write a letter to theLancet?—Yes, to contradict several misstatements of my evidence which had been made.
This letter, which appeared in theLancetof February 2, 1856, was put in by Mr. Serjeant Shee and read by the Cleric of Arraigns. The principal part of the letter referred to the case of Mrs. Ann Palmer; the concluding paragraph, for which Mr. Serjeant Shee stated that he desired it should be read, was as follows:—
“During the quarter of a century which I have now specially devoted to toxicological inquiries, I have never met with any cases like these suspected cases of poisoning at Rugeley. The mode in which they will affect the person accused is of minor importance compared with their probable influence on society. I have no hesitation in saying that the future security of life in this country will mainly depend on the judge, the jury, and the counsel who may have to dispose of the charges of murder which have arisen out of these investigations.”
“During the quarter of a century which I have now specially devoted to toxicological inquiries, I have never met with any cases like these suspected cases of poisoning at Rugeley. The mode in which they will affect the person accused is of minor importance compared with their probable influence on society. I have no hesitation in saying that the future security of life in this country will mainly depend on the judge, the jury, and the counsel who may have to dispose of the charges of murder which have arisen out of these investigations.”
Cross-examination continued: That is my opinion now. It had been stated that if strychnia caused death it could always be found, which I deny. It had also been circulated in every newspaper that a person could not be killed by tartar emetic, which I deny, and which might have led to the destruction of hundreds of lives. I entertain no prejudice against the prisoner. What I meant was that if these statements which I have seen in medical and other periodicals were to have their way, there was not a life in the country which was safe.
Do you adhere to your opinion that “the mode in which they will affect the person accused,” that is, lead him to the scaffold, “is of minor importance, compared with their probable influence on society?”—I have never suggested that they should lead him to the scaffold. I hope that, if innocent, he will be acquitted.
What do you mean by “the mode in which they will affect the person accused being of minor importance?”—The lives of 16,000,000 of people are, in my opinion, of greater importance than that of one man.
That is your opinion?—Yes. As you appear to put that as an objection to my evidence, allow me to state that in two dead bodies I find antimony. In one case death occurred suddenly, and in the other the body was saturated with antimony, which I never found before in the examination of 300 bodies. I say these were circumstances which demanded explanation.
You adhere to the opinion that, as a medical man and a member of an honourable profession, you were right in publishing this letter before the trial of the person accused?—I think I had a right to state that opinion in answer to the comments which had been made upon my evidence.
Had any comments been made by the prisoner?—No.
Or by any of his family?—Mr. Smith, the solicitor for the defence, circulated in every paper statements of “Dr. Taylor’s inaccuracy.” I had no wish or motive to charge the prisoner with this crime. My duty concerns the lives of all.
Do you know Mr. Augustus Mayhew, the editor of theIllustrated Times?—I have seen him once or twice.
Did you allow pictures of yourself and Dr. Rees to be taken for publication?—Be so good as to call them caricatures. No; I did not.
Mr. SerjeantShee: There may be a difference of opinion as to that. I think it is very like.
Did you receive Mr. Mayhew at your house?—He came to me with a letter of introduction from Professor Faraday. I never received him in my laboratory.
Did you know that he called in order that you might afford him information for an article in theIllustrated Times?—I swear solemnly I did not. The publication of that article was the most disgraceful thing I ever knew. I had never seen him before, nor did I know that he was the editor of theIllustrated Times.
“On your oath?—On my oath. It was the greatest deception that was ever practised on a scientific man. It was disgraceful. He called on me in company with another gentleman, with a letter from Professor Faraday. I received him as I should Professor Faraday, and entered into conversation with him about these cases. He represented, as I understood, that he was connected with an insurance company, and wished for information about a number of cases of poisoning which had occurred during many years.After we had conversed about an hour he asked if there was any objection to the publication of these details. Still believing him to be connected with an insurance-office, I replied that, so far as the correction of error was concerned, I should have no objection to anything appearing. On that evening he went away without telling me that he was the editor of theIllustrated Times, or connected with any other paper. I did not know that until he called upon me on Thursday morning, and showed me the article in print. I remonstrated verbally with him. He only showed me part of a slip. I told him I objected to its publication, and struck out all that I saw regarding these cases. He afterwards put the article into the shape in which it appeared. I could not prevent his publishing the results of our conversation on points not connected with these cases.”
You did permit him to publish part of the slip?—Nothing connected with the Rugeley cases.
Did he show you the slip of “Our interview with Dr. A. Taylor?”—I do not remember seeing that. I will swear that, to the best of judgment and belief, he did not. He showed me a slip containing part of what appeared in that article. I struck out all which referred to the Rugeley cases. I thought I had been deceived. A person came with a letter of introduction from a scientific man and extracted information from me.
Why did you not tell your servant to show him the door?—Until we had had the conversation I did not know anything about the deception. It was not until the Thursday morning that I knew he was connected with a paper. He told me it was an illustrated paper.
Did you correct what he showed you?—I struck out some portions.
And allowed the rest to be published?—I said I had nothing to do with it, but I objected to its publication.
Peremptorily?—No; I said, “I do not like this mode of putting the matter. I cannot, however, interfere with what you put into your journal.”
Did you not protest as a gentleman, a man of honour, and a medical man that it was wrong and objectionable to do it?—I told him that I objected to the parts which referred to the Rugeley cases. It was most dishonourable.
Did you not know that in the month of February an interview with Dr. Taylor on the subject of poison must be taken to apply to those cases?—I did not think anything about it. I thought it was a great cheat to extract from me that information. Mr. Mayhew was with me about twenty minutes or half an hour on the Thursday morning. I remonstrated with him. I was not angry with him in the sense of quarrelling.
Did you allow him to publish this—“Dr. Taylor here requested us to state that, although the practice of secret poisoning appeared to be on the increase, it should be remembered that by analysis the chemist could always detect the presence of poison in the body?”—I did not request him to state anything of the kind. I do not remember whether that was on the slip. Had I seen it, I should have struck it out. I remember seeing on the slip, “And that when analysis fails, as in cases where small doses of strychnia had been administered, physiology and pathology would invariably suffice to establish the cause of death.” I did not strike that out. I did not think of it circulating among the class of persons from whom jurors would be selected. I think the public ought to know that chemical analyses are not the only tests on which they can rely. I don’t remember the passage—“Murder by poison could be detected as readily as murder in any other form, while the difficulty of detecting and convicting the murderer was felt in other cases as well as in those where poison was employed.” The article has been very much altered. It was a disgraceful thing. I have not seen Mr. Mayhew since. Seeing inThe Timesan advertisement, stating that this information had been given by me, I wrote to him demanding its withdrawal, and that demand was complied with. That was on the Thursday or Friday.
Did you say to a gentleman named Cook Evans, that you would give them strychnia enough before they had done, or words to that effect?—No; I do not know the person.
Or to any one?—No. I never used any expression so vulgar and improper. You have been greatly misinstructed.
Or, “He will have strychnia enough before I have done with him?”—It is utterly false. The person who suggested that question to you, Mr. Johnson, has been guilty of other falsehoods. In the letter to Sir George Grey, and on other occasions, he has misrepresented my statements and evidence.
What did you do with the medical report to which you referred?—It was a private letter from Dr. Harland to Mr. Stevens.
Mr. JusticeCresswell: It was memoranda made by Dr. Harland at the time.
Cross-examination continued: Cook’s symptoms were quite in accordance with an ordinary case of poisoning by strychnia.
Can you tell me of any case in which a patient, after being seized with tetanic symptoms, sat up in bed and talked?—It was after he sat up that Cook was seized with those symptoms.
Can you refer to a case in which a person who had taken strychnia beat the bed with his or her arms?—It is exactly what I should expect to arise from a sense of suffocation.
Do you know any case in which the symptoms of poisoning by strychnia commenced with this beating of the bed-clothes?—There have been only about fifteen cases, and in none of those was the patient seized in bed. Beating of the bed-clothes is a symptom which may be exhibited by a person suffering from a sense of suffocation, whether caused by strychnia or other causes. A case has been communicated to me by a friend, in which the patient shook as though he had the ague.
Mr. SerjeantSheeobjected to this last answer, but as the learned Serjeant had been questioning the witness as to the results of his reading,
TheCourtruled that the evidence was admissible.
Cross-examination continued: I have known of no case of poisoning by strychnia in which the patient screamed before he was seized. That is common in ordinary convulsions. In cases of poisoning by strychnia the patient screams when the spasms set in; the pain is very severe. I cannot refer to a case in which the patient has spoken freely after the paroxysms had commenced.
Can you refer me to any case in an authentic publication in which the access of the strychnia paroxysm has been delayed so long after the ingestion of the poison, as in the case of Cook on the Tuesday night?—Yes, longer. In my book on medical jurisprudence, page 185 of the 5th edition, it is stated that in a case communicated to theLancet, August 31, 1850, by Mr. Bennett, a grain and a half of strychnia, taken by mistake, destroyed the life of a healthy young female in an hour and a-half. None of the symptoms appeared for an hour. There is a case in which the period which elapsed was two hours and a-half. It was not a fatal case, but that does not affect the question. A grain and a-half is a full, but not a very considerable dose. In my book on poisons there is no case in which the paroxysms commenced more than half an hour after the ingestion of the poison. That book is eight years old, and since 1848 cases have occurred. There is a mention of one in which three hours elapsed before the paroxysms occurred.
Mr. SerjeantSheethen referred to this case, and called attention to the fact that the only statement as to time was that in three hours the patient lost his speech, and at length was seized with violent tetanic convulsions.
Cross-examination continued: I know of no other fatal case in which the interval was so long. In that case there was disease of the brain. Referring to theLancet, I find that in the case to which I referred, as communicated by Dr. Bennett, the strychnia was dissolved in cinnamon water. Being dissolved, one would have expected it to have a more speedy action. The time in which a patient would recover would depend entirely upon the dose of strychnia which had been taken. I do not remember any case in which a patient recovered in three or four hours, but such cases must have occurred. There is one mentioned in my book on medical jurisprudence. The patient had taken nux vomica, but its powers depend upon strychnia. In that case the violence of the paroxysms gradually subsided, and the next day, although feeble and exhausted, the patient was able to walk home. The time of the recovery is a point which is not usually stated by medical men. I cannot mention any case in which there was a repetition of the paroxysms after so long an interval as that from Monday to Tuesday night, which occurred in Cook’s case. I do not think that the attack on Tuesday night was the result of anything which had been administered to him on the Monday night. In the cases of four out of five rabbits, the spasms were continued at the time of death and after death. In the other the animal was flaccid at the time of death.
Are you acquainted with this opinion of Dr. Christison, that in these cases rigidity does not come on at the time of death, but comes on shortly afterwards?—Dr. Christison speaks from his experience, and I from mine.
Did you hear that Dr. Bamford said, that when he arrived he found the body of Cook quite straight in bed?—Yes.
Can that have been a case of ophisthotonos?—It may have been.
Are not the colour tests of strychnia so uncertain and fallacious that they cannot be depended upon?—Yes, unless you first get the strychnia in a visible and tangible form.
Is it not impossible to get it so from the stomach?—It is not impossible; it depends upon the quantity which remains there.
You do not agree that the fiftieth part of a grain might be discovered?—I think not.
Nor even half a grain?—That might be. It would depend upon the quantity of food in the stomach with which it was mixed.
Re-examined by theAttorney-General: In case of death from strychnia the heart is sometimes found empty after death. That is the case of human subjects. There arethree such cases on record. I think that emptiness results from spasmodic affection of the heart. I know of no reason why that should rather occur in the case of man than in that of a small animal like a rabbit. The heart is generally more filled when the paroxysms are more frequent. When the paroxysm is short and violent, and causes death in a few moments, I should expect to find the heart empty. The rigidity after death always affects the same muscles—those of the limbs and back. In the case of the rabbit, in which the rigidity was relaxed at the time of death, it returned while the body was warm. In ordinary death it only appears when the body is cold, or nearly so. I never knew a case of tetanus in which the rigidity lasted two months after death; but such a fact would give me the impression that there were very violent spasms. It would indicate great violence of the spasms from which the person died. The time which elapses between the taking of strychnia and the commencement of the paroxysms depends on the constitution and strength of the individual. A feeling of suffocation is one of the earliest symptoms of poisoning by strychnia, and that would lead the patient to beat the bed-clothes. I have no doubt that the substances I used for the analysis were pure. I had tested them. The fact that in three distinct processes each gave the same result, was strong confirmation of each. I have no doubt that what we found was antimony. The quantity found does not enable me to say how much was taken. It might be the residue of either large or small doses. Sickness would throw off some portion of the antimony, which had been administered. We did not analyse the bones and tissues.
Why did you suggest questions to the coroner?—He did not put questions which enabled me to form an opinion. I think that arose rather from want of knowledge than from intention. There was an omission to take down the answers. I made no observation upon that subject. At the time I wrote to Mr. Gardner I had not learnt the symptoms which attended the attack and death of Cook. I had only the information that he was well seven days before he died, and had died in convulsions. I had no information which could lead me to suppose that strychnia had been the cause of death, except that Palmer had purchased strychnia. Failing to find opium, prussic acid, or strychnia, I referred to antimony, as the only substance found in the body. Before writing to theLancet, I had been made the subject of a great many attacks. What I said as to the possibility or impossibility of discovering strychnia after death had been misrepresented. In various newspapers it had been represented that I had said that strychnia could never be detected—that it was destroyed by putrefaction. What I said was, that when absorbed into the blood it could not be separated as strychnia. I wrote the letter for my own vindication.
Dr.G. O. Rees, examined by Mr.E. James, Q.C., said: I am Lecturer on Materia Medica at Guy’s Hospital, and I assisted Dr. Taylor in making thepost-mortemexamination referred to by that gentleman; and he has most correctly stated the result. I was present during the whole time, and at the discovery of the antimony. I am of opinion that it may have been administered within a few days, or a few hours, of Mr. Cook’s death. All the tests we employed failed to discover the presence of strychnia. The stomach was in a most unfavourable state for examination; it was cut open, and turned inside out; its mucous surface was lying upon the intestines, and the contents of the stomach, if there had been any, must have been thrown among the intestines, and mixed with them. These circumstances were very unfavourable to the hope of discovering strychnia. I agree with Dr. Taylor as to the manner in which strychnia acts upon the human frame, and I am of opinion that it may be taken, either by accident or design, sufficient to destroy life, and no trace of it be found after death. I was present at the experiments made by Dr. Taylor upon the animals, and at the endeavour to detect it in the stomachs afterwards. We failed to do so in three cases out of four. The symptoms accompanying the death of the animals were very similar to those described in the case of Mr. Cook. I have heard the cases that have been mentioned in this Court, and the symptoms in every one of them are analogous to those in the case of Mr. Cook.
Cross-examined by Mr.Grove, Q.C.: I did not see either of the animals reject any portion of the poison; but I heard that in one case the animal did reject a portion. I have no facts to state upon which I formed the opinion that the poison acts by absorption.
ProfessorBrande, examined by Mr.Welsby: I am Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution. I was not present at the analysis of the liver, spleen, &c., of the deceased; but the report of Dr. Taylor and Dr. Rees was sent to me for my inspection afterwards. I was present at one of the analyses. We examined in the first place the action of copper upon a very weak solution of antimony, and we ascertained that there was no action until the solution was slightly acidified by muriatic acid and heated. The antimony was then deposited, and I am enabled to state positively that the deposit was antimony.
By theAttorney-General: The experiment I refer to was made for the purpose of testing the accuracy of the test that had already been applied, and it was perfectly satisfactory.
ProfessorChristisonsaid: I am a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Professor of Materia Medica to the University of Edinburgh; I am also the author of a work on the subject of poisons, and I have directed a good deal of attention to strychnia. In my opinion, itacts by absorption into the blood, and through that upon the nervous system. I have seen its effects on a human subject, but not a fatal case. I have seen it tried upon pigs, rabbits, cats, and one wild boar. (A laugh.) I first directed my attention to this poison in 1820, in Paris. It had been discovered two years before in Paris. In most of my experiments upon animals I gave very small doses—a sixth of a grain; but I once administered a grain. I cannot say how small a dose would cause the death of an animal by administration into the stomach. I generally applied it by injection through an incision in the cavity of the chest. A sixth part of a grain so administered killed a dog in two minutes. I once administered to a rabbit, through the stomach, a dose of a grain. I saw Dr. Taylor administer three-quarters of a grain to a rabbit, and it was all swallowed, except a very small quantity. The symptoms are nearly the same in rabbits, cats, and dogs. The first is a slight tremor and unwillingness to move; then frequently the animal jerks its head back slightly; soon after that all the symptoms of tetanus come on, which have been so often described by the previous witnesses. When the poison is administered by the stomach, death generally takes place between a period of five minutes and five-and-twenty minutes after the symptoms first make their appearance. I have frequently opened the bodies of animals thus killed, and have never been able to trace any effect of the poison upon the stomach or intestines, or upon the spinal cord or brain, that I could attribute satisfactorily to the poison. The heart of the animal generally contained blood in all the cases in which I have been concerned. In the case of the wild boar the poison was injected into the chest. A third of a grain was all that was used, and in ten minutes the symptoms began to show themselves. If strychnia was administered in the form of a pill, it might be mixed with other ingredients that would protract the period of its operation. This would be the case if it were mixed with resinous materials, or any materials that were difficult of digestion, and such materials would be within the knowledge of any medical men, and they are frequently used for the purpose of making ordinary pills. Absorption in such a case would not commence until the pill was broken down by the process of digestion.
In the present state of our knowledge of the subject, I do not think it is possible to fix the precise time when the operation of the poison commences on a human subject. In the case of an animal we take care that it is fasting, and we mix the poison with ingredients that are readily soluble, and every circumstance favourable for the development of the poison. I have seen many cases of tetanus arising from wounds and other causes. The general symptoms of the disorder very nearly resemble each other, and in all the natural forms of tetanus the symptoms begin and advance much more slowly, and they prove fatal much more slowly, and there is no intermission in certain forms of natural tetanus. In tetanus from strychnia there are short intermissions. I have heard the evidence of what took place at the Talbot Arms on the Monday and Tuesday, and the result of my experience induces me to come to the conclusion that the symptoms exhibited by the deceased were only attributable to strychnia, or the four poisons containing it. [The witness gave the technical names of the poisons he referred to.] There is no natural disease of any description that I am acquainted with to which I could refer these symptoms. In cases of tetanus consciousness remains to the very last moment. When death takes place in a human subject by spasm it tends to empty the heart of blood. When death is the consequence of the administration of strychnia, if the quantity is small, I should not expect to find any trace in the body after death. If there was an excess of quantity more than was required to cause the death by absorption, I should expect to find that excess in the stomach. The colour tests for the detection of the presence of strychnia are uncertain. Vegetable poisons are more difficult of detection than mineral ones, and there is one poison with which I am acquainted for which no known test has been discovered. The stomach of the deceased was sent in a very unsatisfactory state for examination, and there must have been a considerable quantity of strychnia in the stomach to have enabled any one to detect its presence under such circumstances.
Cross-examined.—The experiments I refer to were made many years ago. In one instance I tried one of the colour tests in the case of a man who was poisoned by strychnia, but I failed to discover the presence of the poison in the stomach. I tried the test for the development of the violet colour by means of sulphuric acid and oxide of lead. From my own observation I should say that animals destroyed by strychnia die of asphyxia, but in my work, which has been referred to, it will be seen that I have left the question open.
Some further questions were put to the witness by the learned counsel for the prisoner, in reference to opinions expressed by him in his work, and he explained that this work was written twelve years ago, and that the experience he had since obtained had modified some of the opinions he then entertained.
Cross-examination continued.—I have not noticed that in cases where a patient is suffering from strychnia the slightest touch appears to bring on the paroxysm. It is so remarkably in the case of animals, unless you touch them very gently indeed. Strychnia has a most intensely bitter taste. It is said, on the authority of a French chemist, that a grain will give a taste to more than a gallon of water. If resinous substances were usedin the formation of a pill it does not follow that they would necessarily be found in the stomach; they might be passed off.
By theAttorney-General: One of the cases referred to in the work that has been referred to was that of a game-keeper, who was found dead; his head was thrown back, his hands were clinched, and his limbs were rigid. A paper containing strychnia was found in his pocket, and upon apost-mortemexamination there were indications which, under the circumstances, satisfied him of the existence of strychnia. There was a substance in the body of an intense bitter, which was tested by the colour test, and it succeeded in one instance, but failed in another. I have no doubt that colour-tests are not to be relied on.
The trial was then again adjourned at six o’clock, until the following (Tuesday) morning, at ten o’clock. The jury were taken, as on the former occasions, to the London Coffee-house, in the charge of the officers of the court.
The trial of William Palmer on the charge of poisoning John Parsons Cook was resumed this morning. The court was quite as much crowded as during the previous days. Among the gentlemen upon the bench were Mr. Horsman, M.P., Sir J. Ramsden, M.P., and Sir John Wilson, Governor of Chelsea Hospital.
The learned Judges, Lord Chief Justice Campbell, Mr. Baron Alderson, and Mr. Justice Cresswell, accompanied by the Recorder, the Sheriffs, Under-Sheriffs, and several members of the Court of Aldermen, came into court shortly before 10 o’clock, and took their seats upon the bench.
The prisoner was immediately placed in the dock. His appearance and demeanour were in no respect changed.
John Jackson, examined by Mr.James: I am a member of the College of Physicians. I have recently returned from India, where I have practised for twenty-five years. During that practice I have had my attention directed to cases of idiopathic and traumatic tetanus. In England idiopathic tetanus appears to be rare. In India it is comparatively frequent. The proportion of cases of idiopathic to traumatic tetanus is about one-third. I have seen not less than forty cases in the hospital at Calcutta. That disease is not considered to be so fatal as traumatic tetanus, but I have found that it is equally so. It is commonly found in children—both native and European. It takes place about the third day after birth. It will also be occasioned by cold in the climate of India. In infants there is a more marked symptom of lockjaw than in traumatic tetanus. In adults there is no difference between the symptoms of the two diseases. I have always seen idiopathic tetanus preceded by premonitory symptoms. Those are a peculiar expression of the countenance and stiffness in the muscles of the throat and of the jaw. The period which usually elapses between the attack of idiopathic tetanus and the fatal termination of the disease is in infants forty-eight hours; in adults, if the disease arises from cold, it is longer, and may continue many days, going through the same grades as the traumatic form of the disease. I have not heard the evidence of the attacks of the deceased Cook.
Cross-examined by Mr. SerjeantShee: In idiopathic tetanus the patient is always uncomfortable for some time before the attack. The appetite is not much affected. He complains more of the muscles of his neck. He may within twelve hours of a serious attack preserve his relish for food. I never heard a patient complain of want of appetite. I have known cases of idiopathic tetanus in which the first paroxysm occurred in bed. I have known this disease occur to women after confinement or miscarriage. Sometimes one of the premonitory symptoms is a difficulty in swallowing.
Re-examined by theAttorney-General: In an infant not more than six hours will elapse between the premonitory symptoms and the commencement of the tetanic paroxysm; in an adult the interval will be from twelve to twenty-four, sometimes more than that. The interval from the commencement of the tetanic convulsions to death will vary from three to ten days. Sometimes death may occur in two days, but that is an early termination. When the disease sets in the course of the symptoms is alike in both forms of tetanus. Both forms are much more common in India than in England. The symptoms in India are the same as in England. I have never seen a case in which the disease ended in death in twenty minutes or half an hour.
Daniel Scully Bergen, examined by theAttorney-General: I am the chief superintendent of police in Stafford. I attended the coroner’s inquest on the body of Cook. After the verdict had been returned, I, on the night of Saturday, December 15, searched the houseof the prisoner Palmer. I found a quantity of papers, the greater portion in the surgery and drawing-room, but some in Palmer’s bedroom. I put them all into the drawing-room, locked the door, and put the key into my pocket. On the following day (Sunday) I endeavoured to make a selection of them in the presence of Mr. George Palmer, the prisoner’s brother, an attorney at Rugeley. Assisted by Inspector Crisp and Mr. Woollaston, I went through all the papers. Eventually, on the Tuesday morning, I gave up the idea of selection, and tied up all the papers, took them away in a black leather bag, and conveyed them to Stafford, where I delivered them to Mr. Hatton, the chief constable. Some days afterwards, I believe on the 24th December, the bag was opened in my presence, and the papers were gone through minutely by Mr. Deane, solicitor, acting for the prosecution. He classified them, and they were again tied up. Mr. Deane copied a portion of them, but he kept none. They were all left at the office of the chief constable. When I examined the papers I saw what they were. I did not find a cheque on Messrs. Weatherby, purporting to bear the signature of Cook, nor any paper purporting to bear his signature respecting bills of exchange. Some of the papers were afterwards returned to Mr. George Palmer. Mr. Deane selected a large number of letters and documents, private accounts, private letters, which were delivered to Inspector Crisp, with instructions to give them to Mr. George Palmer. William Palmer was arrested on the night of the 15th December.
Cross-examined by Mr. SerjeantShee: The inquest was held at the Talbot Arms. It continued several days. The first meeting was merely to empannel the jury. The inquest lasted more than a fortnight. The prisoner was arrested by the sheriff on a civil process a day or two before the verdict was delivered. From the commencement of the inquest until that time he was at his house at Rugeley. He was never present at the inquest, nor did any one act professionally for him. Some time before the death of Cook I heard of an Inspector Field, who I believe is not now a police-officer, being at Rugeley. I know that there are such persons as the Duttons, but do not know anything about them, or their mother.
Henry Augustus Deane, examined by Mr.James: I am an attorney, and a member of the firm of Chubb, Deane, and Chubb, Gray’s-inn. I attended the inquest on the body of Walter Palmer, but not that on the body of Cook. On the 24th of December I saw Palmer’s papers at Stafford. They were in the custody of the last witness. The papers were in a black bag, which was unsealed in my presence. Bergen, Mr. Hatton, the chief-constable, and myself were the persons present. I carefully examined all the papers, for the purpose of selecting those which it was necessary should be kept. I returned a considerable number of immaterial papers to George Palmer. Among the papers I found no check upon Messrs. Weatherby, purporting to be signed by the deceased Cook, nor any paper like that which the witness Cheshire stated that Palmer asked him to attest—an acknowledgment purporting to be signed by Cook that bills to the amount of some thousands had been accepted by Palmer for Cook’s benefit. I saw George Palmer, the solicitor, after the papers which I had selected were returned to him.
Cross-examined by Mr. SerjeantShee: I know Field, the detective officer. We were solicitors to the Prince of Wales Insurance-office. It was in our employment that Field went to Rugeley. He was at Rugeley only a part of one day. He was at Stafford for three or four days altogether. He did not see the prisoner Palmer. His visit had been preceded by that of another officer, named Simpson. Simpson went from Stafford to Rugeley with myself and Field. He told me he had seen Palmer. I think he went into Staffordshire in the first week in October.
Re-examined by Mr.James.—Field was sent down to make inquiries as to the habits of life of Mr. Walter Palmer, of whose death the office had shortly before received notice, and also to inquire into the circumstances of a person named Bates, with reference to a proposal for an insurance of £25,000 upon his life.
John Espin, examined byMr. James.—I am a solicitor practising in Davies-street, Berkeley-square. I am solicitor to Mr. Padwick. I produce a bill for £2,000 which was placed in my hands to enforce payment from the prisoner.
Mr. Strawbridge, manager of the bank at Rugeley, was called and proved that the drawing and endorsement of this bill—a bill at three months for £2,000, drawn by William Palmer, and purporting to be accepted by Sarah Palmer—were in the handwriting of the prisoner, and that the acceptance was not in that of his mother.
John Espincontinued.—This bill would be due on the 6th of October, 1854. £1,000 had been paid off it. Judgment was signed on the 12th of December, and I had then had the bill only a day or two. The execution was issued on the 12th of December. I have here a letter from William Palmer addressed to Mr. Padwick on the 12th of November, and enclosing a cheque, and requesting that it should not be presented until the 28th of November. I produce the cheque for £1,000 enclosed in this letter of the 12th. The cheque is dated the 28th. That cheque was not paid. I produce another cheque, dated the 8th of December, 1855, payable to Mr. Padwick or bearer, for the sum of £600. [Mr. Strawbridge proved that the signature to this cheque was in the handwriting of the prisoner.] That was not paid. It was received a few days after the check for £1,000 was dishonoured. £1,000 still remained due. We issued a ca. sa. against the prisoner’s person. Upon that Palmer was arrested.
Cross-examined by Mr. SerjeantShee.—I believe all the documents were placed in my hands together about the 12th of December.
William Bamford, examined by theAttorney-General: I am a surgeon and apothecary at Rugeley, in Staffordshire. I first saw the deceased, John Parsons Cook, on Saturday, the 17th of November. Palmer, the prisoner, asked me to visit him. Palmer said that Cook had been dining with him the day before, and had taken too much champagne. I went with Palmer to see Cook. I asked if he had taken too much wine the day before, and he assured me that he took but two glasses. I found no appearance of bile about Cook, but there was constant vomiting. I prescribed for him a saline effervescing draught, and a six-ounce mixture. I never saw Cook take any of the pills which I had prescribed. After I had prepared the pills on the Monday evening I took them to the Talbot Arms, and gave them to a servant maid, who took them upstairs. On the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I prepared the same pills. I saw Palmer on the Tuesday morning. I was going to see Cook when he met me. I asked him if he had seen Cook the night before. He said that he saw him between nine and ten o’clock, and was with him for half an hour. He requested that I would not disturb Cook, and I went home without seeing him. Between twelve and one o’clock Palmer met me again. I was going to see Cook, and Palmer begged I would not go, because he was still and quiet, and he did not wish him to be disturbed. At seven o’clock in the evening Palmer came to my house, and requested me to go and see Cook again. I went and saw him. Having seen Cook, I left the room with Jones and Palmer. Palmer said he rather wished Cook to have his pills again, and that he would walk up with me for them. He did so, and stood by while I prepared them in my surgery. I had strychnia in a cupboard in my own private room. I put the pills in a box, and addressed it, “Night pills. John Parsons Cook, Esq.” I wrote that direction on all the four nights. On the Tuesday night Palmer requested that I would put on a direction. After that I did not again see Cook alive. Palmer took away the pills between seven and eight o’clock. I had wrapped the box up in paper, and had sealed it. There was no impression of a seal upon it. The direction was upon a separate paper, which I placed under the box, and between it and the outside paper. Nothing was written on the box or on the outside paper. It was as near as could be twenty minutes past twelve at midnight when I saw Cook dead. I understood he was alive when they came to me, and I could not have been more than five or ten minutes in going up. I found the body stretched out, resting on the heels and the back of the head, as straight as possible, and stiff. The arms were extended down each side of the body, and the hands were clinched. I filled up the certificate, and gave it as my opinion that he died from apoplexy. Palmer asked me to fill up the certificate. I had forms of certificates in my possession. When Palmer asked me to fill up the certificate I told him that, as Cook was his patient, it was his place to fill up the certificate. He said he had much rather I did it, and I did so. I was present at thepost-mortemexamination. After it was over, Palmer said, “We ought not to have let that jar go.” That was all he said.
Cross-examined by Mr. SerjeantShee: My house is about 200 yards from that of the prisoner.
Thomas Pratt, examined by Mr.James: I am a solicitor, and practise in Queen-street, Mayfair. I know the prisoner Palmer. My acquaintance with him commenced at the end of November, 1853. I obtained for him a loan of £1,000. That was repaid. In October, 1854. I was employed by him to make a claim for two policies upon the life of Ann Palmer. I received, upon the prisoner’s account, £5,000 from the Sun office, and £3,000 from the Norwich Union. The money was applied in payment of, I think, three bills, amounting to £3,500 or £4,000, which were due, and of loans obtained after I had made the claims upon the policies. There was £1,500 not so applied. That was paid to Palmer, or applied to other purposes under his direction. In April, 1855, Palmer applied to me for a loan of £2,000. He did not state the purpose for which he required the loan. I obtained it upon a bill for £2,000 drawn by himself, and purporting to be accepted by Sarah Palmer. On the 28th of November of that year there were eight bills held by clients of mine or by myself. [These bills were produced and read; the total amount for which they were drawn was £12,500.] Two bills, dated July 22 and July 24, for £2,000 each, were the only bills which were overdue in November, 1855. Two bills, for £500 and £1,000 were held over from month to month. [These were bills dated June 5 and August 2, 1854.] The interest was paid monthly. With two exceptions, these bills were discounted at the rate of 60 per cent. On the 9th of November the interest for holding over the two bills, dated in 1854, was due. I remember the death of Walter Palmer. That occurred in August, 1855. I was instructed by William Palmer to claim from the Prince of Wales insurance office £13,000 due upon a policy upon his life. The Sarah Palmer by whom these bills purport to be accepted is the mother of the prisoner. While holding these bills I from time to time addressed letters to her. I wrote to Palmer as follows:—