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

?Seri


1214

into Mr. Cook's sitting-room, and found Mr. Cook,
Palmer, and a third person present. Mr. Cook
having asked Palmer to have some grog, he replied,
"Not till you have drunk yours." Mr. Cook upon
this immediately drank his, and had scarcely done
so when he pushed the glass from him, and cried
out, "There is something in it—it burns my throat
awfully." He repeated this several times. He
shortly after went with Mr. Fisher into the latter's
sitting-room, and then expressed a fear " that he had
been dosed." He then gave Mr. Fisher some 8001.
to take care of, and suddenly became violently sick.
The sickness continued, and Mr. Fisher sent for a
doctor, who gave a composing draught. The next
morning Mr. Cook came into Mr. Fisher's room,
and said that he had taxed Palmer with having
dosed him, that Palmer had denied it, and continued
Mr. Cook, " I suppose he did not do it."
Mr. Herring, another friend, stated that on the
14th he and other persons in the town were taken
violently ill, and that on the morning of the 15th Mr.
Cook came into his room, and began to talk on racing
matters :

During the conversation the name of Mr. Palmer was
mentioned, but I cannot recollect by which of us. I re-
marked, " How about that brandy and water you had ?"
and he replied, I believe, " Oh, that villain (or some other
strong expression) did me." From the previous conversa-
tion I remarked, " You mean Palmer," and he said " Yes."
I had some bets with Palmer, but not then, and have both
won and lost. I have a bet against him now for next year.
I have laid him 25,0001. to 1001 against Danube for the
next year's Derby. I then remarked, " It is a very curious
thing to accuse a gentleman of such a thing ; what could
be his motive ?" and he replied, in a sorrowful tone,
" You don't know all." He then continued the conversa-
tion about racing matters, and I interrupted him by
saying, " Good God, if you suspect this man of such a
thing, how can you go back and breakfast with him ?" He
again replied in an absent manner, and walking towards
the door, said, " Ah ! you don't know all."

Other evidence, to show the nature of the transac-
tions existing between Mr. Palmer and Mr. Cook,
having been given, the coroner summed up, and the
jury in a few minutes returned a verdict "That the
deceased died from the effect of poison wilfully ad-
ministered to him by Mr. Palmer." The coroner then
made out the warrant of committal to the county
gaol at Stafford, for Mr. Palmer's trial at the March
assizes for the wilful murder of Mr. Cook.

AN AcrioN FOR LIBEL, brought by Mr. Mackey,
a solicitor at Southampton, against Major-General
Bullock, of the East India Company's service, was
tried in the Queen's Bench on Saturday last before
Lord Campbell. The action arose out of proceedings
at the last Seathampton election. A petition was
presented against the sitting members by the Con-
servatives, and one of their witnesses, Masters by
name, was ordered to be tried for perjury. The
plaintiff, Mr. Mackey, was employed as his solicitor,
and the defendant, General Bullock, conceived that
he did not do his duty towards his client; and, being
a person who, according to one of the witnesses,
never gave up a notion when he had once got it into
his head, he made public his opinion. Mr. Mackey
had brought one action against him and had ob-
tained damages, but the defendant was only the
more resolute in asserting his opinion, and specifi-
cally charged Mr. Mackey with deliberate false
swearing in a court of justice. On this occasion
General Bullock pleaded a justification, and called
his wife, who stated that she wrote all General
Bullock's letters, and had prepared " the pleas."
There was direct opposition between her evidence
and that of the plaintiff as to some points of the
case. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff, with
5001. damages.
THE CASE OF PEW V. ROSENTHAL Was tried in the
Court of Exchequer on Saturday last. Mrs. Pew
had lived with a gentleman of that name, and had
been left 2001. a year, with other property ; Mr.
Rosenthal was a wine merchant in Mincing-lane.
The parties had met at a boarding house in Glou-
cester-place, Hyde-park. The gentleman was polite,
the lady obliging. An intimacy and correspondence
ensued ; the gentleman in his letters signed himself
" Pineapple." On one occasion when Mr. Rosenthal
was ill at Brighton, he requested Mrs. Pew, then at
Ramsgate, to come and nurse him; and, as there does
not appear to have been any regular money settle-
ment between the parties, it was out of this transac
tion that the claim for 701. arose. When Mr.
Rosenthal recovered, he did not desire to continue
the intimacy, but Mrs. Pew persisted in coming to
Mincing-lane, and in urging her claim for money
expended. Being at one time very noisy, Mr.
Rosenthal gave her in charge to a policeman.
Hence the claim for false imprisonment. Concerning
the expenses, Mrs. Pew swore that she never
received a sum of 501. from the defendant, but her
acknowledgment was produced in these words :
I beg to acknowledge, with many thanks, the loan of
501., which shall be repaid in three months.
Her answer to this was, that she had sent the
acknowledgment without the money, as, otherwise,
the defendant would not have been likely to send her