The Press. — London, England, 1855-12-22 00:00:00

No 'I ~~ DECEMBER 22, 1855. AT AN INQUIRY, held before Mr. Wakeley, on Fri day, to investigate the circumstances attending the death of a person wile had suffered from a peculiar affection of the lungs, in some points similar to the alleged disease of which the Emperor Nicholas died, the coroner, in remarking upon the case, observed : In the case of the Emperor Nicholas, his death was put down to paralysis of the lungs and bronchitis, which, ac• cording to the symptoms described, was known by us medi• cal men to have been impossible, and to have been stated only to deceive the public mind. The official document describing the Emperor's death stated that, at the last he took leave of his family with a firm voice, a proceeding physically impossible if he was suffering from the disease stated in the certificate of death. The belief, therefore, on the minds of the medical men in this country was, that the Emperor was poisoned ; and that is my own opinion —not, at the same time, that he was poisoned by those about him, but that he committed suicide. AT A MEETING OF THE STATISTICAL SOCIETY OD Monday Mr. Guy, surgeon to King's College Hos pital, read a paper on " The Benefits Conferred by Hospitals to the Working Classes." From a want of system, it appears, accurate statistical returns of the number of persons relieved by the London hospitals during the year are not generally obtainable ; but the records of the King's College Hospital having been faithfully kept, Mr. Guy proceeded to prove that the larger proportion of patients attending were not from the poor and destitute, but from working men and women in receipt of good wages. Upon this fact Mr. Guy, regarding hospitals as institutions only for the relief of the poor and destitute, proceeded to argue in favour of making some slight charge for medicines supplied to out-patients in work, and stated his intention of making the trial at King's College Hospital, which trial, he was assured, would not be regarded unfavorably by the persons rAieved. THE EAST INDIA COMPANY held their usual Quarterly Court of Proprietors on Wednesday at the India house, Mr. Macnaughten in the chair. In the course of the proceedings Mr. Lewin moved : That, in the opinion of this court, the present system of Indian government is unsuitable for its purposes ; that it assures neither efficiency, responsibility, nor redress ; that under it the grossest abuses are permitted to exist unchecked throughout our Indian territories; that the sole medium of placing our Indian administration on an intelligible basis is a perfect transfer to the Crown, by which the jumble of two authorities (being, as respects each other's powers, unknown quantities) will be abated, and the needless expense of the Leadenhall•street este:)• lishment saved to the territorial revenues of India. Mr. Lewin described the present position of the directors as one without power or influence • they served only "24 a cloak to the irresponsible des potism of the Board of Control." They redressed no grievances, but committed aggressions, and ob tained by this system of double government a secrecy which escaped responsibility. After a brief discussion the motion was negatived. AuitimisravrivE TtEFORM was the subject of a lec ture given by a Mr. Moore, under the patronage of the Rdformers at Crosby-hall, on Monday night. Mr. Moore commenced by reviewing the conduct and cost of the present war, and quoted the Civil Service commissions to prove that men are not appointed to their places from ability but from interest. Mr. Moore then expatiated largely upon the evils of such a system, and proposed an open competitive exami nation as the best remedy for the Administrative Re formers to support. In the course o 1 his remarks Mr. Moore read a long list of names of grocers, carriers, cutlers, bakers, and others, inhabitants of " Happy Wells," who, in return for their electioneer ing support, had lately received appointments from Mr. Hayter. FATHER GAVAZZI delivered a lecture on the Aus trian Concordat at SL Martin's-hall on Monday. He said that the Emperor of Austria, by this Con cordat, had voluntarily renounced all the religious freedom gained for the Austrian empire by her an cestors, in the hope of renewing the moral supre macy of Austria in Germany. Referring to the various provisions of the Concordat, the lecturer pointed out their ultimate debasing effect upon the growth of Europe, and ended with a passionate exhortation, strongly condemning the policy of Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston in Italy, and entreating his audience to narrowly watch every attempt of the Romish Church to spread its influ ence in this country. THE NORTH-WEST LONDON REFORMATORY was opened on Wednesday by a public meeting, at which Sir Benjamin Hall, M.P., the Hon. W. F. Cowper, Mr. Sergeant Adams, and many gentlemen interested in the cause of juvenile reform, were present. The meeting was addressed by several gentlemen. Mr. Sergeant Adams observed that he believed society was now taking a correct view of the question of suppressing crime and reforming criminals. The system of tickets of leave he regarded as monstrous and absurd. Statements of the progress of the i istitute were read showing that the institution, from commencing in 1852 with six inmates, contained at present thirty-five. Since 1852 fifty-five hod left the THE PRESS. institution, of whom one only was dismissed, while forty two were living by honest means ; and of the rest there was no actual account. FOUR CHILDREN are believed to have died of star vation last week in Bethnal-green. The mother, who was wretchedly poor, saw her children die one after the other, in the space of ten days, without apparently making much effort to save them. The first died on the Bth and the last on the 17th, and as they died she kept the bodies in a corner of the room. The case is under the consideration of the authorities. Vtabintial. THE TENANTRY OF MR. GEORGE LANE Fox lately offered that gentleman an increase of ten per cent.. upon their rents, in consideration of the reduction of ten per cent. they received from Mr. Fox during the last period of agricultural depression. Mr. Fox, in reply, expressing his belief in peace, refused the offer in the expectation of more mo derate: prices, and exhorted his tenants to improve their farms, and thanking them for their consideration. The tenantry, not satisfied with this refusal, requested Mr. Fox to sit for his portrait, to be presented to Mrs. Fox as a mark of gratitude and esteem. Mr. and Mrs. Fox acceded to this request, and the portrait is to be painted by one of our first artists. THE STRIKE AT MANCHESTER still continues. On Tuesday the operatives held their seventh weekly meeting to conLider the refusal of the masters to couple Ashton with Oldham in giving an average for working wages. The secretary addressed the meet. ing at some length, remarking that the men were disposed to arbitrate, but their employers feared arbitration, wishing rather to pitt the minders and piecers one against the other. Exhortations to sobriety and good conduct were given by several members, and the meeting dissolved till after Christmas. MR. EDWARD OLIVIER'S ESTATE, Which it was lately announced would only pay 2s. 6d. in the pound, will, it is now stated, pay a much higher average to the creditors. HOLYROOD PARK is about to undergo considerable improvements: a new approach leading from Abbey Hill, extended gardens, and the formation of a small loch, near the Duke's Walk, below St. Anthony's Chapel, are to be procee led with at once. Other improvements are in comemplation, to the extreme sansfactiln of the peoi le of Edinburgh, who hope that Holyrood may, und3r these circumstances, in the annual visit to the Highlands, le considered worthy of a more extended stay than at present by the Court. A SOCIETY IN THE POTTERIES has been formed for the purpose of obtaining from the English Government a remission of the duties on French wines, in order to induce the French authorities to modify the restrictions on English earthenware. It is called the Anglo-French Free Trade Association. A Taemesnous ExeLosiow OF GUNPOWDER, by which three houses were blown up and four persons killed, besides several severely injured, occurred last Friday at Sedgeley, Wolverhampton. The facts of the case are simple. A butty collier, David Millard, in the habit of keeping a quantity of powder in the cellar of his house, sent a boy home from the colliery to procure some. The son of Millard, a boy of nine years old, coming home, met the boy with the powder, and returning home at once is supposed to have gone down with a light into the powder-cellar, for some purpose or other, for he had not been in his own home a few minutes before the explosion took place, killing his mother, brother, and sister, as well as himself, destroying the houses on each side, and severely injuring the occupants. The case is now undergoing investigation, and has excited a great sensation in the neighbo urhood. Sad ant Volta. THE RUGELEY POISONING CASE. Tnz public have acareely recovered from the nega tive result of the Wooler trial when another singular and equally mysterious poisoning case is brought before them. Mr. John Parsons Cook, a young man well known upon the turf, in good health at the last Shrewsbury races, and winning two races with his horse, Polestar, was suddenly taken ill after the races, and died in five days from the first attack. The suddenness of his death and other circumstances oozing out led to a post-mortem examination by Dr. Taylor, who clearly ex pressed bis belie f t hat Mr. Cook had died from tetanus, produced by strychnine. The investigation held before the coroner of Rugeley last week elicited the following facts :—Upon the morning of the 18th of November a letter W rec eived by Mr. Jones, a sttrgeon at Lutterworth and a personal friend of Mr. Cook, from Mr. W. Palmer, a surgeon of Rugeley and the companion of Mr. Cook, stating that Mr. Cook was suffering from 1213 a severe bilious attack, and requesting Mr. Jones to come and see him as soon as pos-ible. Mr. Jones states that he found Mr. Cook in bed and very weak, but not apparently suffering from a bilious attack. In the course of the evening Alt. Palmer, sith Mr. Bamford, another medical man, came in, and after a consultation they agreed to continue the morphine pills given on the preceding night. About eleven p.m., Mr. Palmer came over with the pills, and Mr. Cook, though strongly objecting, took them, and almost immediately vomited, but did not throw off the pills. Mr. Jones then states that, at the request of Mr. Cook, he slept in the same room, but had hardly been in bed twenty minutes when Mr. Cook jumped up, exclaiming that he was ill, and desiring Mr. Junes to send instantly for Mr. Palmer. In about ten minutes Mr. Palmer arrived from the house opposite, making the remark that he thought be had never dressed so quickly in his life, and, bringing with him two pills, induced Mr. Cook to take them. He did so, and immediately after, with I .oud screams, flung himself back in strong convulsions. In a few minutes he exclaimed that ha should be pliffocated, requested to be turned on his right side, and died. Mr. Bamford in his evidence stated that, when called in on the 17th November, he found Mr. Cook suffering from violent voinitings, that he bad pre scribed for him, and given the medicines, a saline draught and some opiate pills, to Mr. Palmer. He believed Mr. Cook to have died from congestion of the brain. Mr. Harland, who was present at the post-mortem examination, could not explain the oause of death. It was not apoplexy nor over-excitement. Elizabeth Mills, the servant at the hotel, deposed to Mr. Cook's illness, and stated that Mr. Palmer on the 18th sent some broth over for Mr. Cook, which Mr. Cook wk.uld nut take, and that on the night before his death, when Mr. Palmer had arrived, she went into the room, and saw Mr. Cook beating the bedclothes with his hands : Mr. Palmer had been there about nine o'clock. The de ceased screamed twice before I went to him. He said his illness was in consequence of some pills which he had taken about halfpast ten. He looked very wild with his eyes, and his head was moving shout convulsively. Alter he had been beating the bed his arms became perfectly straight, and so did his legs, but he was perfectly sensible. He said to Mr. Palmer, who was soon there, " Oh, _doctor, 1 shall die." To which he replied, "Oh no, my lad, you won't." Mr. Palmer then went and fetched two pills and some mixture of a dark thick kind in a ‘‘ine-glase. It smelt like opium. He took the pills first and then the draught, end vomited it back immediately. We l'ioked for the pills, but neither I nor Mr. Palmer could find them. I remained with him until three o'clock. Ha liaised me to rub his hands. They were stretched out, quite Ka . , and were cold and moist. The witness then corroborates Mr. Jones' evidence with reference to the symptoms at death, and utli.ms that about ten minutes after Mr. Cook's death, as Mr. Jones came out she went into the room, End found Mr. Palmer searching the pockets of a c at she believed t, be Mr. Cook's. He also looked under the pillows, and she remarked that a small Wu:log book had disappeared from off the wild of the looking-glass. Mr. Jones, upon being recalled, co roborated the fact about the bett►ng bouk, which he had looked for but could not find. Mr. Palmer had obstrved to him that the book was of no value to pay one. - - -..-. Dr. Taylor, having at considerable length &ailed the results of the minute analysis to which the in testines were subjected by him and Dr. Rees, said : My belief is that he died from tetanus, and that tetanrs was caused by medicine given to him shortly before his death. I believe that the pills administered on Monday night and Tuesday night contained strychnine. Ido not believe that the medicine prescribed by Mr. Bamford could have produced any such effects as those I have heard de scribed. It is not possible fur them to have produced the effect, either one or the other. On Monday night and Tuesday night, after those pills were taken, there was pot the slightest indication of morphia in the body. Further than this, we find no mercury in the liver or other parts of the body ; and I do not think that mercury could have been taken on the Monday and Tuesday nights as calomel, as well as on the other nights, without discovering traces i f of mercury in the liver, and there were none. The witness Mills has accurately described the symptoms produced y a small dose of strychnine , such as would be caused pills given at half past ten on M onda y ni g ht ; an d . a symptoms on Tuesday night would be those produced by a larger dose of strychnine given in the pills taken on that, night. There is an absence of any nstural cause, or any natural disease, to account for this tetanus. The brain and spinal marrow are healthy; there is no insensibility before death—perfect consciousness, and that effect of spasm on the nervous system which a poisonous dose of strychnine would cause. Charles Roberts, -the apprentice to a chemist at lingeley, swore to Mr. Palmer having on the 20th of November purchased six grains of strychnine, two drachms of Prussic acid, and two ounces of solution ' of opium. The evidence now given was of a most singular nature. Mr. Fishier, a friend of Mr. Cook, deposed that during the races, on the evening of the a. coed day's racing, while at the Raven Hotel, be irtpueA. MOMMMMI