The Northern Daily Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-05-22 00:00:00

_,M4,34=I•IIIWOMPIO,PM.IMM 'THE lIITGELEY 'POISONINGS. TRIAL QF PALMER AT THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT OFROII OUR OWN REPORTER) SEVENTH DAT LONDON, WEDNESDXY i itt l er he Proceedi ngs in this highly important and deeply est in 4 11)ciet g case were resumed this morning. The on qtra,Y . the p ar t o f t h e pu bli c h as i ncrease d i n a mos t ern , rdirl arY degree. Not only was the court densely th e th ) Out the excitement outside was tremendous, p a 4 , °re nghfare i n t h e Old Bailey being rendered im ,rhaele du r i ng the whole of the day. e'ert b,„ e gentlemen composing the jury were brought into t he jur• Harker, and the other officers in charge of them'sliortl3, befor e ten o'clock, All - things considered, to rse te4 cd remarkably well, a nd cer t a i n ly none th e bsi t i • r°l34 the early closing o f th e p rocee di n oau i lly ' at ten o'clock the judges, Lord Campbell, e.ll..rtuar°4 Al d erson, and Mr. Justice Cresswell, were sej°4ltned,.ln:()t, and took their seats on the bench. 'the pia "' s eke afterwards, the prisoner was brought up, ae xi e tzt at the bar. He appeared . more than usually and as though the approaching consummation It il iB 441 weighed heavily Att u acco rdance with theupo'uth.mi i s ntimation made by the th eY-General, at the rising of the court on Tuesday, s,,e.°llovsin witnesses were called on behalf of the •sseceti on •g le t , • 'W e i b °c ora , Charles Weatherby examined by Mr, i s lr. Y: lam a racing agent. I received a letter from 'p rod sorter, dated November. 22, 1855, which I now Ish ic i i c e• (The letter requested payment of the stakes I Coo k i e horse, Polestar, had wen at Shrewsbury.) rePli ed to that letter that we had not sufficient funds m ee tth% the demand. Subsequeetly we wrote . to tell him the Mr• Frail had informed us that he paid Mr. Cook an-. sta kes on the course. Afterwards we received sll:74letter from the prisoner, telling us not to pay the o , ° eY on Cook's account until they had satisfied J. 4e que he had already sent. I wrote a letter to Mr. te se : ° col( at Rugeley about the matter, but I never te h, tved an answer. The letter was afterwards returned Was from the drAd-letter office. I think the cheque 14 8 . ja C° °k's bandwriting, but my attention was lB 7 s : trt'cularly dixected to it. On the 23d November,t pay 4tl etive(l a letter from Palmer directing me s4t at Cook's stakes to Mr. Earwaker, bu o t did eo go . Cr oss A ' R. ex atnined by Mr. Sergeant Sh e e : I cannot sa y tihe the S takes ought to have been in our possession Pa yment was dema n d e d, but suc h matters are 1 ,,`" Y s ettled th roug h our house. The prisoner gave i; a formal notic e no t t o pay t h e stakes over to any one at hirllBeir. hitatton, of the Staffordshire . notice, said he had c oin s cove red among the prisoner's papers . any of the Petsesl3°'-idence• On the 24th a notice, signed by the Cr ser office. • It was a request that ~arall , was left at our • Me n , Ys that might be or had been received for J. t et. tollB Cook would be sent to him. On the 23rd I had ieh; letter to Cook at Rugeley—it was returned to . t in: l of ~1 1 the dead -letter office. I knew the handw tg l reeolek• The cheque for £350 was signed, as far as - ` e , t ' by him. I cennot recollect whether it was til l 1 7 I. or J. Parsons Cook. I cannot say whether 8 1 , 4 " ° dY of the cheque was written by Cook. 1, 04 ' lir. Ser geant Shee : When that cheque arrived we lip ao t funds e noug h of Cook ' s to meet it. eir / ` rands Butl er exam i ne d b y th e A ttorn ey-General : t hem 41 the h a bi t of attending races, and betting on hadlsetra. I w as at the Shrewsbury races in November lear ) When I h a d an account to settle with Palmer. bets. T ' 7 °':' and odds to receive fr om hi m , on account of a : h ad made fo r hi m at Li vorpool , I had no s ke et -4 with him in connection with the Shrewsbury . me I tried to get my money from him, and he paid s 440 • that he would pay the elo a , on account, saying tes, -4 soon afterwards, as he had some large bets heto date me Su bsequently, the day afterwards, in fac h t, erse 1' 1 - a cheq ue for £250. I knew Mr. Cook's ll t:e e t. Btlr . The horse was worth at least £7OO, but at a r ntis. 6h e was w ort h more than that before the race, as gorse had several valuable engagements.b°lae exa mined by M r . G roves , Q.C. : I won £2lO on oe, ta _ r _, f° r Palmer, and kept it on account of the money -t Was sold rev erts was recalled, and proved that Polestar at Tattersall's for 720 guineas. 3 w as the case for the prosecution. g THE DEFENCE. ' t clde es -erß e ant Shee th en rose am id s t i n t ense i n t eres t t o 1113' th at the jury for th e pr i soner , b ut h e spo k e so inaudi rePoeter-t was With difficulty he could be heard by the llik eed a t' W ho , by the bad arrangements of the court, are 4 41 :1n a co nsiderable distance behind the counsel. He l ead„ rs ing to perform the task that devolves on me to Nth, 7,4e110vr-creature for his life, I cannot: but be over -111 (11 %; e 1; 4 Wi th a sense of the onus which rests onme,pd Neepy ha that duty I am afraid it must . necessarily 4,•aseate°llsiderable time. If, under ordinary cirneduma ory 1 8 a difficult task both for an advoca h te en a after sit(;° Perform, how much more so it must be w . (la y s my unhappy client has been standing on the 15 th 1(1 e scaffold, an d any error o f j u d gment on m y cls;liaBt con sign him to a murderer's doom. It cannot the ed t hat the p re j u di ce o f t h e pu bli c h as i mper i lle d tee :,.,-`l7° administration ofjustice ; and ituseless for is t with all Yo4,:eNleeal what you know perfectly well, that prejudice illeavours to keep your minds free from you 141):,11aot wholly efface it from your recollection. ( 11, 4 that for six long months, under the sanction . o . r en u on has eNva ll j t j. ll° ,, r itY of science, an almost unanimous opini " o te °ll the case throughout the country, and there has r Joh n -4 altnost universal cry for blood to avenge the death isrelParsons Cook, and that it was made under the si t °ll and conviction of the guilt of the prisoner. dote /a r a "' to be doubted but that you have entered IQ elne 4litie s With the endeavour to efface from your aed u l. / all that you have read and heard of this case, refesetlhlininenced by that cry which has been raised with nd 'hat y ou to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, a te r "°n k now opinion you may have INed that whatever e e, id : 4l it, it i s now your duty to attend only to sou r voee en b oth sides of the case, and upon it form thl A Dilli , °ll . The c i rcumstances un d er w hi c h we mee t F IRs Pla ce are o f a c h aracter to excite m i ng l e d feel the';3, "coU ragement an d a l arm , an d th ose w h ose d u ty 47selwateli over the safety of the Queen's subjects, felt ve ao ri much apprehensive lest in this case the j4 (li t . se . O ns - ° Nce might be disturbed by the popular pre hat e , 'at has been excited against the prisoner, an Pkn ect a 1111jUst and adverse verdict might thereby be f all against him, that they resolved on the passingo 44 , Aet of thatthe ordin P a a r rlia f m r e m nt s t o o t. prevent the possibility law being affected by toli,el)°Pular Prejrudioce which received the unanimous eeThe tr e : of the Legislature a short time . 'te e , )l l • "der the advice of the responsible n Minister, liot bee? Mao that the conduct of this prosecution should itlatitutterliselitcisliebftiliilnyporrieste hands, but that its own law officer, the e,. Agorae,. General, should take upon himself the d conducting it in a proper manner, an 4ettl eut with his duty to the public ; and that learned at e , Bl " , when the duty was entrusted to him, did what I he ,resolve ttly opinion, will ever redound to his honour— kitteasve,cl t hat, in a case in which so much prejudice had Pr o ,„ all the evidence which it was the intention of the hse` s ellt °r tO call against the prisoner should, as soon as he I te li : t en it) be co mmunicated to the prisoner. Everything 1)4 11 1 la Y (turning to the prisoner)—and I must tell my PPY cli veryth. ent—that the constituted authorities of the land, the Iti g which the Legislature and the law officers . o l f trim ; Nw n could do to secure for him a fair and impartia . bil it 41 this Place, has been done by them, and the responsi the j a : f 011 3' injustice being done to him must rest alone on e ° 1 11" a " the jury. One of the greatest calamities that elitti4tlave befallen any man, circumstanced as my unhappy 18 ) has befallen him in being deprived of the services of THE NORTHERN TIMES.---LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY. the able advocate by illness, who .7,'ees since was engaged to defend him, and I have endeavoured by my humble ability to and the circumstances to which 1 have already supply the la ad relative to the conduct of the government that the prisoner should have a fair trial, is to the a cause of grew encouragement. I cannot for a moment deny that I am awed and almost overcome with the great importance and magnitude of the case, but at the same time I am not dis• encouraged, and I have this further cause for not being altogether overcome by the duty I have to discharge in defending the prisoner and in discussing the mass of evidence that has been lsid before you, and which assumed a different character to that loose enquiry at Rugeley before the coroner, that after reading it I formed no opinion on it with regard to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, and my mind was consequently free to form on the evidence now produced what I trust will be declared to you to be a right judgment of his case. I commence this defence, and I state it in all sincerity, with an entire conviction of his innocence, and I believe there never were truer words pronounced by any man than those pronounced by him when he said " Not guilty" to the indictment on which ho vas now being tried ; and if I fail in establishing the prisoner's innocence, I shall be under very grave mis givings that that failure is to be attributed more to my inability to do justice to this case than to any weak ness of his case itself. And as a proof of my sincerity of my c inviction of his innocence, I will state to you that it is my intention to meet the case for the prosecution foot lay foot, and at every stage grapple with every difficulty that has been presented to you ao ably by the learned Attorney- General, that you shall tee that I avoid no point because I fear to approach it; and if you find that I deal fairly with the beginning, I hope 1 may be sure—nay, I know I am sure--of obtaining your approval. The propositions which the Crown undertook to establish in this cast against the prisoner, and which they have endeavoured to support entirely by circumstantial evidence, might be shortly stated to be this. They say that the prisoner, in the second week in November, made up his mind that it was to his interest to get rid of John Parsons Cook, and that he deliberately perpetrated his death by the aid of poison— first, by the slower poison of antimony, and afterwards that he destroyed him by the more rapid and deadly poison of strychnine. No jury, I feel satisfied, would venture to convict a man of the Crime imputed to the prisoner by the Crown, unless, in the first plate, it was made clear that the person so committing the act had some motive for the commission of the offence—some strong reasOns for wishing to get rid of the persons ; and, secondly, unless it were made clear that the symptoms of the deceased before death, and the appearance presented by the body after death, were inconsistent with the theory that death arose from other and natural causes; and, thirdly, that it was quite clear that the circumstantial evidence was such as to be indisputable on the supposition laid down. Now, it is under these three heads that I intend to discuss the evi dence that you have heard ; and it must be perfectly clear to you that if I adhere to that order and method of treating the vast amount of evidence that has been laid before you, I must exhaust the whole argument and leave myself no chance, without immediate detection, of avoiding any difficulties in the case. Before, however, I proceed to grapple with the case for the crown, allow me at once to say what will be the whole scope of my address to you—viz., to restore to its proper place in the discussion, the fact, which has by no means been concealed from you by the learned Attorney-General, in that address of his, by which he at once d upon your judgments by drawing your attention so much to the details of his case—the fact that strychnine was not found in the body of John Parsons Cook. If the deceased died of strychnine, he died within two hours of the administration to him of a very large dose of it ; and it was stated that he died within a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes after the effects of the dose was said to become visi ble in the convulsions of which he died. Within six days of his death a post mortem examination of the body took place, and never were there circumstances so favourable, unless the science of chemical analysing is altogether a fail ure in the detection of poisoning by strychnine, in which it ought to have been so easily detected. Now, the fact is beyond all question that it was not found, and whatever we man think of Dr. A. Taylor's judgment and great ability, there can be no doubt but that he is a skilful and practical analytical chemist. We have not the least reason to sup pose—in fact,we know to the contrary, that he and Dr Rees, who assisted him, did not do all that the science of chemical analysis could enable them to do to detect strychnia, yet they did not detect it, but that they did detect antimony. From the information which they received from the rela tions of the deceased, and from his solicitor, their attention was called to the suspicion that existed of the cause of Cook's death being by poison, and yet in December, a few weeks after death, they were unable to find any poison but antimony. Having, however, attended the inquest, and heard the evidence of Mr. Jones, the female Mills, and others, and that of the witness Roberts, who spoke to the purchase of strychnine by Palmer on the morning of the deceased's death, Dr. Taylor came to the conclusion that the pills that were administered to Cook on the Monday and Tuesday contained strychnine, though he had previously given his opinion in writing that the deceased must have died from antimony, from traces of it having been found in the body and no traces of strychnine. I am not about to discuss that point of the case now, but I call your attention to it. It will claim a proper place in the discus • sion, and I mention it now that you might know at the commencement of my address what the course is I intend to pursue, and that you may not be under the im pression that I don't under the three heads to which I have directed your attention refer to it, and that consequently I intend to pass it over. I have, therefore, told you what the case for the defence will be with reference to strychnine not being found in the deceased's body, and the medical gentle men who have come to the conclusion that 'strychnine might have been there, though they did not find any, have arrived at these conclusions by experiments of a very partial kind, indeed ; and they contend that the poison of strych nine is of that nature that when once it has done its fatal work, and becomes absorbed in the system, it ceases to be the thing which it was when it was taken into the system, because it became decomposed, and its elements separated from each other, and therefore it was no longer capable of responding to the tests which, according to them, would certainly detect the presence of undecom posed strychnine. They can't, however, vary the fact that it was not found in the body, but they still retain the belief that Cook was destroyed according to that hypothesis, which was an hypothesis unsupported by any eminent toxi cologists but themselves. But it was fair to them to say, and to Dr. Taylor in particular—because it is out of my power to speak of Dr. Christison, except with respect due to a man of his eminence and high standing—it is due to Dr. Taylor to say that he had propounded his theory in a book he had published on that subject. After referring to the experience of Dr. Taylor aad to this poison on a number of rabbits, the learned gentleman said, I will call, on this point, before you many gentlemen of the highest eminence in the profession,—analytical chemists, who will state to you their utter renuncia tion of that opinion. I will call before you Dr. Nunnely, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, a professor of surgery at three schools of medicine, and who attended the late strychnine case at Leeds ; Dr. Williams, professor of Materia Medica in Ireland, and surgeon for eighteen years at the Dublin Hospital; Dr. Letheby, one of the ablest and most distinguished men of science in this great city, a professor of chemistry and toxicology in the medical school of the London Hospital) who rejected the theory of Dr. Taylor as a heresy, and unworthy of the belief of scientific men ; Dr. N. Parker, pro fessor of medicine at the London Hospital; Dr. Robinson, of the College of Physicians ; Dr. Rogers, professor of chemistry at St. George's School ; and, lastly, I will call before you probably the most eminet chemical analylst in the country, Mr. W. Herepath, of Bristol, all of whom reject the theory of Dr. Taylor as totally unworthy of :belief, and are ready to prove that not only could half a grain of strychnine, or the 50th part of a grain of strychnine, but the sth, 10th, or 20th part of that quan tity, if it had entered into the human frame at all, could and must be detected by the proper tests, and that no degree of putrefaction or fermentation of the human body could prevent its being found. I now apply myself to what n my judgment it of equal importance to the above in the case, if not a more important vestion, and which I approach no diffidence whatever, etcept the diAtrust which t have, under the circumstances which T have stateds of Myself ; and if it were possible for me to write what I think of it, and then read it to you, I don't enter tain the smallest doubt myself but that you would be con vinced of the innocence of the prisoner. And that is the question whether in the second Week df I t tovertiber, 1355, he had a motive for the commission of the murder—any strong reasons for desiring that Cook should die, and unless it is made clear to you that it was his interest to get rid of him, I never will believe you will come to the conclusion that he committed the act. It appears to me by the evidence laid before you, that it is abundantly clear, that not only was it not the interest of Palmer that Cook should die ; but that his death was the worst calatiiity that could happen to him, and that he could not possibly be ignorant that it must immediately be followed by 1,3 own rain. At the time of the death of Cook he 'Telmer) was in extreme em barrassment, hut that state was in some degree remitted by the person whose name he had forged—his own mother, a lady of very large fortune. The Attorney-General stated that the case against the prisoner was this, that the prisoner, with ruin staring him in the face—when Cook was in pose session of a large sum of money—did wilfully destroy him. I beg the jury to carefully scrutinise the evidence, and then to say whether it was the prisoner's interest, in the second week in NOveniber, to destroy Cook ; if not, they would decide accordingly. A great nambei of letters had been read y'esterday, but although it was thought that this did not in the least affect the case, I &mix believe in that correspondence the innocence of the prisoner lies concealed. Allow me to call your atten tion to the state of friendship which existed between the deceased and the prisoner. They jointly owned race horses, or were okapi seen together on the race course. It had been remarked by Cook, before the witness Jones, that they (meaning h mself and Palmer) had lost a good deal of money together of late. That would prove that they were in the closest intimacy. In May, 1855, Palmer wanted £2OO to pay some debts, and he applied to Pratt for the sum, but it was refused without he gave good security, and he accord ingly offered his friend, John Parsons Cook. Now, Cook was not posfessed of a very large fortune—such a fortune, as he heard, might have been thrown down in a week. It was not likely that anybody would go to Doctors' Commons to ascertain what sum Cook received on his grandfather's death before the sum of £2OO was advanced to him, for the position he had attained seemed of itself quite sufficient security for the repayment of the money. As long as there was a vestige of property Pratt continued to lend the prisoner money at the rate of about 60 per cent. A person paying such a sum for interest could have nothing but utter and irretrievable ruin staring him in the face. I beg the jury to observe that I am not defending the prisoner against the charge of forgery; that has nothing to do with the present proceeding. I shall read a certain number of letters that have been put in evidence, which will show that Palmer and Cook were jointly benefitted by the money received from Pratt oil certain occasions. The learned council here read some of the correspondence, which went to show that in November he (Palmer) was being pressed in such a manner by Pratt for money, that at that time Cook's life was of the utmost importance to him ; and also a letter from Cook to Fisher, telling him to pay £6OO to Pratt; it was of the greatest importance that he should do so, and he (Cook) had sent up £3OO towards that sum. At this moment, therefore, it was clearly evident Cook was doing all he could to assist Palmer, and it was not at all to be supposed that he would at that moment destroy him. In the spendthrift way in which Cook and Palmer were living, it clearly showed that Cook was doing all he could for Palmer, and on the 16th of November, when it was alleged Palmer was poisoning him, he was acting towards him with the greatest kindness. The evidence of Fisher, who was no friend of Palmer's, stated that .on the Monday, as well as the Tuesday, Cook was comparatively well, and the inference was that that was so because Palmer was absent. It would presently be shown how very gross that inference was It was the interest of Cook that Palmer should not be arrested by Pratt, and it was to prevent that circumstance happening that Cook desired Palmer to go to London and arrange the matter with Pratt himself. Cook died on the morning of the 21st, and if we want to know anything further about Palmer we must get it from Pratt, as Cook had never passed from the scene. It has been proved that Palmer had acted in the most affectionate manner to Cook, and the circumstance of his wishing to secure the horse Polestar went for nothing, and he would show that the five hundred pounds obtained from Pratt was obtained for Cook alone, but on his death Palmer was sad dled with the payment. It was to the highest degree im probable that Cook did not have that money upon that transaction of £5OO with Pratt. Would Cook, who knew he had executed a bill of sale, and wanted the mon If im mediately, have waited for two days ? The signature of Cook to the cheque was not even an imitation of Cook's hand writing. It was probable that from the correspondence, and the state of Palmer's banking account, that as Pratt had sent a cheque which could have been cashed through a London house, that Cook wanting the money, Palmer let him have the money. Was it likely that Cook would have let the matter rest for the time he did before his death, when it was shown that he wanted money ? Was it likely that Palmer desired Cook's death? Cook had signed the cheque upon the day before his death for £350. and had to be sent up to be paid. Now, if the news of Cook's death reached before, which was more than pro bable it would, where would be Palmer's chances of getting the cheque paid ? Cook had no effects to meet that cheque, and it was most likely that Cook's executors would dispute any claim. What would he gained by Cook's death ? Nothing. All the evidence showed that Cook was his only resource, and would Cook's death bring him property that would now clear him of his forgeries upon his mother ? Would it not deprive him of the assistance of Cook, and bring about an investigation of Cook's ao counts with the executors. Was it likely that Cook was not a close-fisted, penurious man ; and yet the theory of the Crown was, that Palmer killed Cook because he thought he could better settle with the executors, whom he would find shrewd men of business. Such a theory was an absurdity. Would not all the forgeries have then fallen upon himself? The manuel upon chemistry which had been put in, bearing the prisoner's notes made upon the margin, clearly showed that he well knew what effects the poison would have had upon Cook. Lord Campbell said that the prosecution had not made any- groat point of that fact, but admitted that the prisoner was studying to qualify himself as a practitioner. Mr. Sergeant Shoe : I am well aware of that., and sub mit that the notes on the margin of the book show that the prisoner knew well the effects that strychnia would produce. What did the note fix attention to ? Why, that the death of any one dying of strychnia would be a most fearful scene, and he (the learned Sergeant) put it to the jury whether a man (who knew well what would result from such poison), and was in the position in which the prisoner was, would have run the risk which such a death would have created. With regard to the evidence of that stupid fellow Newton, he should speak at a future time. What was Palmer's position at the time, both with regard to his affairs and the extrication from them which the prosecution say led him to commit this act ? The prisoner's position was this—why at that. very time he was in the expectation of a claim which he had against the prisoner of bills with relation to the insurance upon his brother being settled, and was it likely that the prisoner, who knew that such a death as that which he was charged with causing, would, in a place like Rugeley, lead to much speculation, have done that which would cause the utmost discussion, and lead to enquiry, which, if it went no further, would prejudice those claims from which he anticipated to clear himself from his difficulties. He refused the offer of the premium from the Prince of Wales Insurance Office, which was a strong fact in favour of the prisoner, and had he had the least fear on the subject, he would not have acted in the manner he had done. It was not until the office had disputed the ;policy on Walter Palmer that Pratt began to move in the matter. That circumstance Pratt said entirely altered the position of Palmer, and at the same time he intimated to the prisoner that he must be prepared to cover the accept ance of his mother for the four thousand pounds. A great deal had been said about the policy of insurance on the life of Walter Palmer, but he felt convinced that, as sure as the prisoner was saved—and saved he would be— that policy_would be ,!paid.lllHe had not .the slightest doubt but that would be the case, and the effect of such a proceeding would be the payment of the whole of the prisoner's debts, The Company had ne defence, and immediately the prisoner was acquitted, the Office must pay the money. It was not to be supposed that Palmer would endanger the likelihood of his receiving the £13,000 by putting Cook to death, as it was the Only means he had of meeting his. liabilities. He respectfully submitted to the oourt and jury that that por- tion of the case had entirely failed. He would now pro ceed to the symptoms of Cook before death and his appear ance after. Under this head, he should contrast the medi cal evidence, and, in order to do so, he should for a short time refer to the evidence that had been given during the course of the trial. The learned counsel then proceeded to allude to Mr. Stevens' evidence, and mentioned the meeting of him and the prisoner, when Stevens told him th• t he suspected him, and that he was determined to have the matter probed to the bottom, He (the learned counsel) then described the symptoms of Cook previous to his death, and stated that his father died about the age of 30, his mother also died at a comparatively early age. He then went on to state the appearance of the body when it was opened for the post mortgm examination, and also the state of Cooks's throat at deathi and Alluded to the circumstances of the deceased as to health, and said he thought that without being an entirely depraved person he had led a very loose life. He stated he Should show that Cook was in the habit of appearing on the race course with large spots about him which plainly indicated disease. The state of Cook was only partially discovered at the first post mortem examination, which was not of the most satisfactory nature. The interior of the body was therefore sant to London to be analysed, and the result of the analysis was, that death might have boon caused by antimony, but after hearing certain evidence at the coroner's inquest, Dr. Taylor had his opinion, and instead of antimony been stated as the cause of death, that was said to be a mistake, and he had the immense imprudence to state in his evidence before the jury that the pills which Palmer delivered to Cook contained strychnine, and that that was the CRUSE of death. Upon that evidence a verdict of wilful murder was returned, and Palmer was consigned to a prison. If the opinion of medical men upon certain doubted points was to consign persons to prison, he trembled for the safety of society. No person would be safe in whose family a sudden death occurred. The medical man who attended Cook attributed death to apoplexy, and yet upon the statement of a gentleman with a very imper fect knowledge upon the subject of strychnine, this testi mony was set aside, and death declared to result from that powerful poison stryohnine, administered in pills by the prisoner to the deceased. Great trouble had been taken to show that Cook died from tetanus arising from strychnine, and a great deal of discussion followed about the meaning of idiopathic tetanus, but he denied that it was proved that it was tetanus, or that it was otherwise than convulsions. Evidence from medical men spoke of the deceased's attack as convulsions. We are not called upon to . show the exact cause of death, but we are only called upon to prove our denial of the theory laid down by the prosecution, but it will be enough for us to prove to you that out of the numerous variety of convulsions with which the human frame may be attacked, asphyxia might have taken place from ordinary disease. It is enough for us to prove the possibility of such a cause of death, without proving that it is irreconcileable with the evidence of poisoning by strychnine. He would go through the medical depositions upon the state of Cook, as it was only fair to those gentlemen whose opinions he disputed, that they might know upon what he formed these opinions. Lord Campbell here interposed, and remarked that the present would be a convenient moment for the usual temporary adjournment. The proceedings were accordingly adjourned for a short time, and, on the re-assembling of the court, Mr. Sergeant Shee resumed his address to the jury. lie said that he proposed to read the depositions of Elizabeth Mills and Mr. Jones, upon the state of the de. ceased upon the Monday and Tuesday night, and he though; they would go to show that the death had not arisen from tetanus either by strychnine or otherwise, but that he died from convulsions. He would ask them to take into considerwion the state of Cook's mind at the time he went to Shrewsbury. He was in a desperate state—his feelings must have been that he was either a beggar, or Polestar winning, gave him a chance of re trieving his fortunes. What had been the state of his excitement? The man was in this state. Mr. Jones tells you, that he could not speak for three minutes, and what was his state after? Why, that he would be enabled to retrieve his name, his honour, and his engagements, and not be looked upon as a black-leg. This operated upon a pre viously diseased frame. What did they next hear of Cook? A champagne dinner followed. He was seen with the trainer and a woman. What took place upon the next day ? He went to the course ; it was wet ; he w a s ill. What effect did all this have upon a man whose condition was weakened by excitement and disease ? Let the jury look to his conduct when he spoke of the quarrel he thought he heard in the street. Was that what persons of sound constitution would experience ? Did it not bespeak a disordered stomach and general dis arrangement ? After that, although deceased was well enough to see his trainer and jockeys, he did not have any appetite. Did he refrain from drinking brandy and water ? Cook was not well ; Palmer was not with him then. He should also read the statement of Dr. Jones. Palmer had sent for Jones. Jones was Cooks best friend. Cook and Jones were together from three to eight, and there was the opportunity of Cook telling Dr. Jones if lie had any cause to complain of Palmer. Palmer said to Dr. Jones, " I am glad you are come." Dr. Jones had Cook to himself from three to seven. Mr. Baron Alderson : Palmer was in and out of the room. Mr. Sergeant Shee : Yes, but we have a right to infer that, Dr. Jones not having stated Cook made any com plaint 01 Palmer's conduct, that Cook had not made any. Was it not very strange that Cook should no t have given to Dr. Jones, his friend and confidant, the same account as he had given to Elixabeth Mills, the chambermaid, as stated by her upon the first examina tion beforr the coroner? The inference is that, in all probability, the first statement of Elizabeth Mills was the correct one. Mr. Jones said that he visited Cook the whole of the afternoon, and Palmer brings up two pills which are supposed to have poisoned Cook, and actually forced the pills down the man's throat, in the presence of Jones—at the same time knowing that if they had been composed of the deadly poison which it had been stated they were, Cook would have expired precisely in the same manner as the rabbits, which had been spoken about. In the evidence of Dr. Jones, given before the coroner's inquest, although tetanus must have occurred to him when he read over his deposition and signed it, although the word tetanus had been erased. the infer ence, therefore, was, that his attention must have been drawn to the fact and that he did not think that the death of his friend had been caused by tetanus. The learned gentleman was about to read an extract from a work published by Dr. Copland, when The Attorney -General rose and said if you read that extract I shall challenge you to produce Dr. Copland. He is still alive. Mr. Sergeant Shee : Does your lordship object to my reading the extract from the book in question ? The Lord Chief Justice : Do you intend to call Dr. Copland as a witness ? Mr. Sergeant Shoe said he did not propse to adopt• such a course, although the learned Attorney-General could have had Dr. Copland in attendance had he thought the evidence necessary. Mr. Sergeant Shee then proceeded to read extracts from Dr. Copland's work upon convul sions, and said he felt convinced that, had Dr. Taylor read this, he would not have so boldly stated his belief that styrchnine was the cause of death. The evidence of the chambermaid differed as to the state of Cook upon the first time of her giving her evidence, and Dr. Jones somewhat differed in the statements made by him as to the state of the body. The learned Sergeant read Dr. Watson's work upon tetanic diseases, and ar gued that they went to prove that the tetanic symptoms in I Cook were attributable to other causes than strychnine; but he was inclined to think that Cook had suffered from general convuls'oas. He then went on to read the work of Dr. Taylor, upon tetanus from strychnine, which did nbt agree with the symptoms exhibited by Cook. Dr. Taylor spoke Of a per Con at arst attacked from strychnine as unable to speak. Did took exhibit the symptoms? He sat up in bed and spoke. Dr. Christisen's work also did not agree with the symptoms stated to have been exhw bited by Cook. The learned sergeant then went on to explain some et periments which he had seen performed for the purposes of this defence. It was upon a dog and two rabbits, and the result of these experirnents proved to him that Dr. Taylor was not correct in his work on the question. The animals each evinced the greatest fear of being touched. Cook did not evince these symptoms. All these cases show that in no one instance had there been so much:command over the muscular system as in Cook's case. Every instance, and the experiment whit'► he had seen, showed that anything labOuring under the effect of strychnine was most sensible of the slightest touch, and dreaded it. This was not so in Cook's case. Cook was not afraid, but when labouring under what was said to be strychnine, actually asked to have his neck rubbed. The learned gentleman then proceeded to con trast the evidence given by the medical gentlemen who have been examined, and also to read a number of cases 111.W;i::,'11 strychnine had been taken, in all of which instances the symptoms came on in a much shorter time thin was the case with Cook. in one case two or three drachms of nut vomica taken by i young woinam about seventeen years of age, the symptoms first appearei in about half an hour, and death occurred i❑ about forty minutes. Another case was that which was mentioned by Dr. Watson in his book, and which he had himself witnessed. It occurred at the Middleseic hospital; It was a ease where the strychnine, intended for a paralytic patient, had been administered by mistake to another person. A grain was the quantity taker, and the time the accident occurred was about 7 o'clo_k. In half an hour the symptoms came on, and the following inci dent took place which did not occur in Cook's case at all. The slightest touch of the patient brought on the spasmodic convulsions. Comparing the one case with the other, the space of time between the spasmodic attacks which took place in Cook's was three times too long to indicote that the cause of death was the administration of strychnine. In all cases *here the body of the animal he had seen killed by this deadly poison had been opened, the heart was invariably found full, but if the operation was performed in a clumsy manner the heart would then be found empty. He hoped and trusted the jury, before they gave their verdict, would insist that a number of dogs or cats should be brought into one of the yards adjoining the Court, end strychnia should be administered to the animals, and that by that means front actual observa tion they would be enabled to arrive at certain conclusions which would be of the utmost importance to them in coming to a verdict in this important trial. He did not wish to impute perjury to the witness Elizabeth Mills, but she had given two different accounts, which might not be wilfully wrong, but still they would have to receive her evidence with the utmost caution. In a court of civil law her testimony would scarcely be received, she having tole two different storiss ; and how much more important was it for them when it was a case of life depending on not relying on her statement. The learned Sergeant then commented at some length upon the manner in which the inquiry took . place before the coroner, and argued that the evidence given by the girl Mills upon the first occasion was what they should alone rely upon. This statement was made before she knew what Dr. Tay lor was to state, and before she knew the theory of Dr. Taylor, and that it was part of the 038 C that the pri soner had by antimonial doses so prepared the stomach of the deceased by repeated rounds so as to absorb the poison of strychnine. Now upon this point she had stated at first that she had tasted the broth, and thought it very good ; but she did not say one single word at that examination about being ill from the effects of tasting that broth. It was doubtless true she had been spoken to by the prisoner, and she perhaps, having been sick at the same time, attributed it to that, and had now come for ward and said that it had been caused by the broth. Was it likely that a man of Palmer's sense and shrewdness would have so laid himself open to be suspec•ed as to send broth over from his house to the Talbot, when he knew that it contained an antimonial preparation. Would he have sent it over there, to have found its way into the kitchen, where it was sure to have been tasted by the cook. Again, in her evidence as to the coffee, stte had dif fered in her statements; and one strange tbiug was that her evidence now as to the state of Cook agreed in many particulars with the statements which appeared in the papers about the symptoms exhibited by a person at Leeds who had died from strychnine. This was since the death of Cook, and her statements now upon that point differed from what she had first stated, more particularly about the twitchings of Cook's frame. He did not mean to say that she had perjured herself, but that she had been questioned and tutoured to give an account which was more in keeping with the theory of the Crown, and that the story she now told was not so much to be re lied upon as the statement she gave when the matter was first fresh upon her mind. He was not going to enter into detail upon the medical and clynical evidence which he intended to call, but merely to state that they were of the highest eminence who would disprove the theory laid down by the prosecution, and would even, if the bench thought fit to allow it, perform experiments in some of the yards of the gaol upon animals, and demonstrate to them what they • in evidence could state. Lord Campbell said that such a course could not be pursued. Mr. Sergeant Shee said that the next point he should, touch upon was the circumstantial evidence, which, he con tended was not such as would justify a conviction in this case; and, under all the circumstances, it would be impos sible to arrive at any other conclusion against the prisoner than a verdict of not guilty. The circumstance of the pushing at the inquest was of itself exceedingly trivial, and it could hardly be conceived that anything serious occurred, although the room was crowded to excess. Notwithstanding the pushing, nothing was lost, and the jars were, according to the evidence, received in London in precisely the same state as they left Rugeley. The circumstance of Palmer expressing his satisfaction at Dr. Harland having been appointed to perform the post modern examination was of itself nothing. It was merely ,the expression of gratification on the 'part of Palmer that a person whom he thought competent was appointed. The post-boy's evidence was pressed into the case, hut it amounted to nothing. Streven's behaviour towards Palmer was certainly calculated to ' cause him much annoyance, and it was nothing surprising that there should not be a very good feeling on his part. It was also quite natural for Palmer to feel great anxiety that the jar should not go out of the possession of Dr. Harland. The expression, " I'll give ten pounds to upset them," could not have applied to the jars, as there was but one, and therefore it must have applied to the persons who were in that carriage, namely, Mr. Stevens and Boycott. That Palmer felt much vexed at the conduct of Strevens could not he a matter of much wonder, when he (Strevens) had hinted at suspicions which would utterly destroy him. Palmer after this met the post-boy, and asked him if he was going to drive " them," and this must have had relation to the passengers. The learned gentleman then referred to the examination in chief of the post-boy, and also his cross-examination, and the construction he put upon the same was, that to gratify a personal pique he offered the money to upset Me. Stevens. He submitted that this was a fair version of the story. On the other hand, he held that it was highly improbable that a medical gentleman would attempt to upset the jar or hire any other person to do it, when there were so many members of the profession in the room at the time, with some of whom he was on terms of intimacy. He now passed to the evidence of Newton. Newton swore that he gave Palmer three grains of strychnia. This witness did not bring this fact to the knoNt ledge of the Crown till the night before the trial ;was com menced. He carefully concealed the important, fact till a very late moment, until concealment became dangerous to him, and then he mentioned the circumstance. Is a witness who takes an oath, and keeps back a part of the evidence until a second oath is ad ministered, worthy of belief ? The buying of the strychnine signified nothing on the part of Palmer. It was used to kill dogs and other vermin, of which he had much need, as would be seen on referring to the evidence of Bates. It was to the last degree impossible for Palmer to have purchased the strychnine for any other purpose, and if any other motive influenced him it was not at all likely he would have bought the poison at a chemist's shop in a contry town where he resided, and purchase or obtain 3 grains of strychnine. Why the thing was improbable to a degree. Besides, he should be in a position to prove that it was utterly impos sible for Palmer to have been in the shop at the time Newton deposed to. A witness, Herring, stated that he saw Palmer in London on the day that Newton fixed as the day on which Palmer came to him at 9 o'clock to get the strychnine. Now it was absolutely impossible for Palmer, had he left London by the earliest and fastest train, to have beenhin Rugeley at the lime deposed to by the witness. trychnia must have been found in the prisoner's house after the death of Cook if he perchased the quantity stated by s ;veral of the w teesses. Was it possible that Palmer would have consulted Newton on the effect of strychnine. He did not think for a moment that the jury Gould entertain the ilea. So improbable did it appear that he would not trouble the jury further on the subject. Fisher's evidence went to prove that Cook killed himself. The only thing ex traordinary in Fisher's evidence was that:Palmer said Cook complained to him of putting something into his brandy and water. Then with regard to the evidence of Mrs. Brooks There was nothing extraordinary in it. She says that when he held the glass up to the light she thought it bad not the appearance of anything being mixed - with the brandy. After the races at Shrewsbury, Co,,k and Palmer both sive ruin staring them in the face, and provided for the temporary difficulty by procuring a loan of £2OO ; and considering that they were both joint owners of, the same horses, there was nothing extraordinary in their conduct. It is said that the very attentiveness of the prisoner is an evidence of his guilt. He was a young men, a n u tter strang( r, in the . room, and being a friend of Palmer's i did not think it was anything but what one friend would do to another. Cook had no other friend in the room, and because Palmer laboriously devoted himself to alleviate the sufferings of his frieni.3, he is accused of the most insidious and wicked designs. The learned Sergeant then implored the jury to dismiss all the preju dice which they may have pre,i , :nsly had from their minds, and at some length contended that if Palmer had intended to murder Cook he would not have chosen the time ;:nd Place here death had ensue kill when Cook ean was W. medical map, and to Cook by ms with his frierkl, w most likely to creii!‘l suspicions and bring about an exposure of those forgerie3 which so much stress had been laid upon. The learned consl, after referring to some fOrther evidence, commented wit ti some severity upon the evidence of Newton and other witnesses for the pro secution, and areued from the general conduct of Palmer, in relation io Cook, that the strongest presumption was that he was not guilty of the atrocious crime laid to his charge. He expressed his opinion that the jury could not find the charge true—that they would be impeached belt r ' the whole world if they found it true—and added, " I believe in my conscience it is false." It being nearly seven o'clock when Mr. Sergeant Shea closed his address, no evidence for the defence was called, but it will be proceeded with to-morrow (this day). The examination of witnesses for the defence will be proceeded with at the sitting of the court in the morning, enfl it is not supooscd that their testimony cto end before Friday night. The Attorney-General will then have to reply. which, ;€ is quite expected, will occupy the most part of another day, Gad a day at least haein4 been given to the Lord Chief Justia' to su-n up, it is generally understood that this unparalleled cannot terminate before Tuesday next. We learn that Dr. Letheby ';'ecl Mr. Nunn9ly, of Leeds, will be amongst the earliest witnes . :fz examined for the prisoner. TRIAL OF .THE GREAT IRON GUN INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS The long talked-of, and anxiously looked-for, etperi , ment, in the trial of the monster gun, constructed at the Mersey Iron and Steel Works of Messrs. Horsfall, took place (for the first time) yesterday, on the shore about a mile and a-half from the Highton station, on the South port railway, and the results more than assured the most sanguine expectations in reference to this, the largest piece of ordnance in the world. We have so often re ferred to this gun, and described it so frequently, that in that respect it would be superfluous to say more about its weight, dimensions, &c. It was a task of no small magnitude, to get the gun into its present position—a position that has answered admirably, not only for the trial itself, but also to prevent the possibility of accident. The trial of yesterday, although semi-private, was attended by a large number of highly resp;Ttable people, who seemed to take more than a local interest in the proceed ings ; in fact, they looked upon it in a national point of view, and felt proud that Liverpool had produced such a machine. Among the gentlemen present, were George Henry Horsfall, W. J. Horsfall, and Robert iorsfall, Esqrs., Mr. Clay, the manager of the works, whose inde fatigable exertions have been duly appreciated, and uar• Eastwood, the chief maker of the gun. Mr. Clay (as in deed all connected with the affair) deserves special notice for his kind attention and gentlemanly bearing towards all who sought information from him ; and we may say the same of the artillery officers and men, the former taking the utmost pains to point out to the humblest individual anything worth knowing in reference to the trial. For ourselves, we say that these gentlemen rendered us every possible assistance, and in such a courteous manner as to render their information the more valuable. The gentlemen alluded to were Captain Adams, Lieutenants Southern and Weldon, with twelve men of the artillery from the fort. Admiral 0 renfel and Captain Middleton were also present. The experiments consisted of six shots or rounds, and were as follows : —The first was a blank charge of 10 lbs of powder shot from the gun on a dead level. This shot was fired by Mr. Clay, the manager; the second was fired by Mr. Eastwood, the maker of the gun, and consisted of a charge of 10 lbs of powder, and an empty shell of 194 lbs. The gun was elevated at this shot to an angle of one degree, and recoiled only four inches. The gun was then elevated to four degrees and charged with 10 lbs of powder, and a like shot to the last. The recoil in this experiment was also four inches. The fourth shot consisted of 20 lbs powder and a 284 lb ball ; the elevation being four degrees. This was a splendid shot, and created great interest, and raised loud applause from all present. The recoil was seventeen inches. The fifth was the same, The sixth was the most important shot of the day. The charge was 30 lbs with a 281 ball, The gun was elevated to 71 degrees. The ball dipped first at 2,000 yards distance, and then it went dashing away through the land and water, and stopped at about 21. miles. The recoil of the gun in this instance was two feet eight inches. The last shoe was with 20 lbs of powder, and a thirteen-inch shell. The recoil in this case was eleven-and-a half inches. The experiments were considered by all of the most satisfactory description, and the officers ex pressed their highest admiration of the whole trial. There is one peculiarity about the gun deserving of notice. It is, that the report is hardly louder than that made by a small signal cannon. This day some officials from Woolwich arsenal, will attend to try the gun. It is said, the regular charge for this great cannon, is from 90 to 100 lbs of powder, but it is contemplated to charge with nearly three times that quantity. Saturday will be the great public day, when all Mr. Horsfalls men, and no doubt hundreds of the townspeople, will attend to witness the experiments, which are of a highly interesting description. AMAN AND ANOTHER v. HOUGHTON AND ANOTHER. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES Sir,—We respectfully have to request, you will correct an error made in your paper of this day, in reference to the case in the county court, on which His Honour, Mr. Pollock, gave judgment yesterday. In your report we stand as the defendants, whereas, the parties were Aman and another v. Bolderston and another, we were merely the brokers in the purchase of the Leonor's cargo on the part of the plaintiffs.—Yours, &c., May 21, 1858. HOUGHTON AND LEVY. The visit of the Emperor Alexander to Warsaw is expected to be celebrated by a general amnesty, the re-establishment of the university, and by the formation of a Polish guard of 8000 men. LIVERPOOL BANKRUPTCY COURT—Yesterday: —(Before Mr. Commissioner Perry.) —ln-re George Bytbrd.—The bankrupt, a &ate merchant, of Liverpool, pissed his last examination yesterday, and a day was fixed for the certificate meeting. The Euphrates arrived at Marseilles yesterday morning, with advices from Constantinople of the 12th, and from the Crimea to the 10th inst. The 17th, 62nd, and 63rd regiments had left the Crimea. A despatch from St. Petersburg announces that the Emperor Alexander will arrive at Warsaw on the 22nd. The Lord Mayor has been in communication with some of the principal public companies, and the repre sentatives of the mercantile and manufacturing interests, and there is every reason to believe that a general holi day will be arranged on the 29th inst., so far as it is possible to effect that object without the aid of the government. THE FATAL EXPLOSION ON BOARD THE NIMROD STEAMER.—We have already mentioned the fatal accident which occurred on Wednesday last on board the Nimrod steamer, on her arrival from this port at Cork, on Monday last. The following are the names of the unfortunate indi • „rid ua ls who lost their lives by the catastrophe :—Hugh Connolly, head engineer, who is stated to be from the North of Ireland; Archibald Smith, second engineer, 30 years of age, a Scotehman, who has left a wif e w h o will shortly be come a mother ; Francis Kavanagh, fireman, 40 years of age. from Dublin ; John Driscoll, 26 years of age, lives at Leitrim, Deceased was married and had a family ; Charles Logan, 35 years of age, from Liverpool, and Timothy Meany, who has left a family. At the inquest held on the bodies of Connolly and Heaney on Monday afternoon, it was shown that it was the duty of the engineer (Hugh Connolly) to ease the safety valves and allow the steam to escap. It appears that, from whatever cause, this most necessary duty was neglected; and neither the head engineer or his assistant discovered the error which had been commit ted until it was too late to rectify it. The boiler, which, it is stated, has not been long in use, is asserted to have been in complete working order, so that no blame was attachable to the company, on the ground of employing a boiler in insufficient repair. The accident is attributable solely to the neglect of the two engineers, both of whom unfortu nately paid the penalty of their inattention. The jury agreed to the following verdict :—" That the said Hugh Connolly and Timothy Meany, respectively, came to their death by injuries received from a steam-hoihr explosion on board the steamship Nimrod, and we further find that said explosion was owing to the safety valves not having be' n properly attended to by the engineer in charge of the engine room, whose duty it was, and who has since died."