The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-10-04 00:00:00

Scotlanb.

TRIAL FOR DIURDER BY POISONING IN

SCOTLAND.
At the Inverness Circuit Court on Wednesday, David
Ross was charged with poisoning his uncle, Walter HOU
carrier, Invergurdon, by means of arsenic. They lived
in the same house, and the libel charged the prisoner
with administering the poison in repeated doses between
the 214 of February and 17th of April, 18.59, chiefly in
tea, toddy, iiago, gruel, &c., by which his uncle died on
the Itith of April. Forty•three books, letters, substances,
were enumerated in the libel as referring to this
rase, and no leAs than 50 witnerces were cited. He pleaded
"Net Guilty,' awl the case having gone to trial, the evi-
dence was led at great length.
After evidence was given as to the death of the
deceased, John Fraser, druggist, Tam, proved the
purchase of arsenic on the 22nd of February by
the prisoner for the alleged purpose of destroying
rats.

--William Kennedy, sheriffs officer, described a conver-
sation he had with the prisoner about his tuarriage.—l
said to him (the witness deposed) it was reported among
the neighbours that his uncle was to be married, and that
he might put the pn,perty past him, lie omit' "Although
toy uncle might wish to du that, I have in my pocket
what would hinder him."

William Netherland, who lived next door to the
prisoner, stated that there were no rats &hunt the pre-
mises. _

----------- floss, surgeon, deposed that the prisoner and his
uncle came to his house on the Thursday before the
latter died, and he recommended carbonate of soda
and tartaric acid. On the following Saturday night he
found the deceased lying on his bock in a dying state,
and quite insensible. lie died in about half an hour
afterwards, his death being quite unexpected by the wit-
ness.

-----
Mr. Ilinegregory, veterinary surgeon, said that he had
given the deceased v.itne powdera for his hone, with a
caution about their use,

ibwtors Rosa and Vass, 'rain, in their report on the
examination of the holy nf the decca.ecd, said they
w:ru of pillion that death WWI occasioned by
excesdre di-cliarges from the stunned' and bowels; but
they could not give an opiniou as to the origin of tleis
condition.

Dr. Madigan, of Edinburgh, produced a report stet-
ing the result of an analysis of tho articles. sent to him
[rm., Invergordon.
The report furnished some further details of the ana-
lysis, and concluded as follows :—" The result of or ex-
periments is that all tha organs of the body of Walter
ttoafi, exandued by me, were largely inipregnated with
arsenic; that the content, of the stomach contained a
barely appreciable trace of this poison, but that there
was present in them an insoluble compound of mercury,
a re-melt confirmatory of the statement that a dose id
osiumel hint been adhanist,,,i to Walter Ross bluntly
before death. The conclusion to be drawn from these
results is that, to impregnate the tbodies in this manner,
Walter Ross must have received conaideroble dose id
arsenic, and, teeing that his death was preceded by vo-
miting and liurging, which are the sysuntons of :he action
of an irtitant, there can be do doubt that he died from
poisoning by arsenic."
Some coiroborative medical evidence having been
given,
Oeorgina Mackay stated,—The prisoner to me his
undo woubl not live long. Ile also said, if t would
marry I . he would live um his hand. 'fiat his uncle
would not live long. I said "How do you know that?
There is none that knows that but One." Ile
replied, " Never you mind that. If yawn
giro Inc your hand I'll let you know that."
I not ...int to marry him. I went away itUla
hill.-- Ma him from Ms. Found that he was court-
ing another Georgina, who is hi, present wife, whom
he married • couple of months since.
Th prismuer's declaratione were then read—one dated
April 24, and the other April 29. In both declarations
he denied having ever had ariediie in his pis...wasn't' in
invergurdou. In Ibis second declaration he said his
Uncle • hone having beouwe ill, lie and his uncle got
some whit* powder le • packet, which vas given to his
11004, aad was kip. in • psaket on the Sop thcit of this

kitchen, where he usually kept his medicines. On the
Tuesday or Wednesday before his death, he believed
that Walter Ross took some of this powder instead of
cream of tartar. The prisoner said nothing of this white
powder in his first declaration. In his first declaration
he said, " I never had any poison in my possession at
any tiine to my knowledge." In his second declaration
lie confessed having purchased poison, but not in Inver-
gordon. Being asked if he had arsenic in his possession
elsewhere than in Invent/11,1mi, he declared " I Imaglit
three or four ounces of arsenic from a druggist in Taiii
in February last, for the purpmes of killing some cats
which were annoying ine in my workshop, and • dog
that used to frighten use when I was passing at night,
and sonic rats which were in the back wing of my uncle's
house. But I lost that packet on my way from Tain to
Invergordon." In the declarations ate details as to
attendance on the deceased by the prisoner and his wife.
No other persons gave him food or medicine during his

Fur the defence several witnesses bore testimony to
the good feeling that existed between the prisoner and
the deceased, and to the presence uf rats on the pre-
mises.

_
Lord Cowan summed up. He commenced by telling
the jury that the only case before them was one of acute
iioisoning by arsenic, administered or taken • very short
time before death, and that in coining to a conclusion on
the evidence they were to consider whether the deceased
took the poison himself wilfully or accidentally, or
whether it was administered to him by some other per.
son. His Lordship dismissed the first two suppositions
as untenable, and stated that the only conclusion com-
patible with the evidence was that the poison had been
administered to the deceased by some person. He then
directed the jury that the question for them to answer
was, whether that person was the prisoner, and that in
coining to a concim,ion these elements were to be con-
sidered—vis., the possession of the poison, the oppor-
tunity of administering it, and the tire for doing so.
His Lordship then read over the greater part of the
evidence, commenting on it, and concluded by stating
that, while the case was one of grave suspicion, it was
one on which he would enpress on opinion, but leave the
matter entirely in the hands of the jury, whom he con,
pliniented highly on the attention they had given to the
evidence.

The jury then retired, and, after an ab.ence of an
hour and a half, returned a verdict of Nut Prtacn, by a
majority of one.

FUNERAL OP ALIMON.—Tho remains of this
distinguished and much lamented professor received the
))))) r of a public funeral at Edinburgh on Wednesday.
sir Archibald Alison. brother of the di ceased. was the
chief mounter, and, in addition to a lento company of
~ private ~, uniers, the funeral Wa'. anemic,' -by the
magistrates and couimil in their official robes, W.: pro-
f&sors of th. l'inversity, the members of the oliiierent
medical corporatimui, the Royal Society, kc. After ser-
vice in St. John's epivcopal chapel, conducted by the
Very Rev. Peen Ramsay and other clergymen, the body
was interred in the burying.ground attached to the
chapel in presence of a large assemblage of spectators.

-
THE BEITIEH AMOCIATIOX AT BALIIOHAL.—We are
informed by one of the members of the general coin-
:late° of the British Asmaciation, who enjoyed Her
Majeety's hospitality on Thumlay last, that of all the
good cheer provided for the refreeliment of the philoso-
phers and other guests, the beet things of their kind,
where all was excellent, were the hodge-podge and the
whisky toddy. The latter in particular was pronounced
by several good judges to be the beet they ever drank.—
Glasgow Herald.