The Press.
London, England, 1856-03-15 00:00:00

ADMISSION OF PRUSSIA.

Telegraphic despatches from Berlin and Vienna
on Wednesday evening stated:—

Prussia has been invited, in the name of the Congress,
and for reasons of European interest, to send representa-
tives to the Paris Conferences, and she will accept the
invitation.

The Moniteur of Friday officially annoucced that
Prussia, who signed the treaty of the 13th of July,
1841, had been invited to send Plenipotentiaries to
Paris. MM. Manteuffel and Hatzfeldt are ap-
pointed Plenipotentiaries for Prussia. The former
was to leave Berlin immediately for Paris.
A despatch from Berlin of the 12th says :

Count Orloff has made known at St. Petersburg that a
definitive understanding has been come to on the fifth
point, and that, thanks to the instructions brought by M.
de Schcewaloff, peace is assured. Some special delibera•
tions, which are to take place between Russia and Turkey,
have been reserved. Preparations are being made at
Moscow for the coronation of the Emperor, which will
take place after the conclusion of peace.
It was generally anticipated at Paris, that the
Plenipotentiaries after coming to a definite agree-
ment upon the leading points would leave the detail;
to be worked out by an inferior commission.

Sir Richard Bethel! writes on the subject of Church
rates to one of his Aylesbury constituents ;—" I shall
certainly support every measure that is directed to the
abolition of Church rates. I shall be obliged to make
that known in Aylesbury. It was one of the first
pledges I have always kept, even to the extent of
voting against the Government, of which I am a
member."
M. Panizzi has been appointed chief librarian
and secretary to the British Museum,
Sir Henry in th 9 room of

MARCH 15, 1856.

THE LEEDS POISONING CASE.
ANOTHER suspicious case of death from poison has
been the subject of an inquiry this week at L-leds.
Mr. Dove, of Cardigan-place, Burley, Leeds, a person
of respectable connections and independent property,
has been arrested upon suspicion of having poisoned
his wife with strychnine.
It appears from the evidence of the different wit-
nesses that Mr. and Mrs. Dove lived unhappily to-
gether. Mr. Dove was a drunkard, and, like all
drunkards, ill-treated his wife. He not only neglected,
ill-used, and heat her, but frequently, according to
the evidence of his servant, threatened to take her
life. He " wished she was dead," he would " do for
her one day," he would " give her a pill," were ex-
pressions frequently on his lips. So alarmed had
Mrs. Dove become at these threats, that she expressed
her solemn desire for an examination of her body
in case she should die, and in the event of death,
strictly enjoined this servant to inform her friends
of this wish. For some weeks past Mrs. Dove
had been suffering from slight indisposition, and
was slowly recovering, when on the 23rd ult.
she experienced a peculiar spasmodic attack.
Mr. Morley, her medical attendant, calling in the
afternoon, found her recovered from the attack, but
still suffering from spasmodic twtchings of the face
and body. Attributing them to hysteria and nervous
excitement, he simply altered his treatment, and
ordered antispasmodic and anodyne medicines. The
next day he observed that the same symptoms still
existed. On Wednesday, Mrs. Dove still continuing
to suffer from occasional severe spasmodic attacks,
he became perplexed ; the thought of strychnine
occurred to him, but he dismissed it, and suggested
to Mr. Dove a consultation, partly because the case
seemed anomalous, and partly because Mr. Dove had
expressed his fear that Mrs. Dove would not recover.
These attacks continued with increased severity on
Wednesday and Friday nights, and on Saturday
night, March Ist, under a terrible and rapid suc-
cession of them, Mrs. Dove expired.
Such were the leading features of the case. There
was no accounting for death ; there was no explana-
tion of these frightful spasmodic attacks under
which the deceased had sunk; and when Mr. Morley
applied to Mr. Dove fur permission to examine the
body, the request was declined by Mr. Dove on the
plea "that his wife had a very strong objection to
being dissected, and that it must not be done."
_ _

It, however, sown became known that Mr. Dove a
few weeks since had purchased a small quantity of
strychnine. This purchase, and the peculiar spamo-
dic symptoms evinced by his wife at her death, were
coupled together, the thing got bruited about, the
attention of the coroner was happily drawn at once
to the circumstance, an inquiry was opened on the
following Monday, and Mr. Morley with Mr. Nun-
neley were authorised to make a post-mortem exa-
mination of the body. The examination was in-
stantly made, and in the course of this week a report,
drawn up at great length, minutely describing the
condition of the body, and concluding with a state-
ment of a special examination of the stomach,
and au analysis of its contents, was presented to
the coroner. This analysis indicated strychnine so
strongly that no doubt rested upon the minds of
the medical men the deceased had died from the
effect of that poison.
On Friday week, the 7th inst., the inquiry was
resumed. Mrs. Whitham, a widow, and friend and
neighbour of Mrs. Dove, was first examined. She
described minutely the symptoms and sufferings of
the deceased during the last week of February.
Upon the 23rd of February, she remembered that
some jelly was brought home for Mrs. Dove by
either Mr. or Miss Dove :

Mm. Dove said it was nasty stuff, and that it was quite bit-
ter. She afterwards took an orange to remove the disagree-
able flavour, and said that that was bitter also. On the
Urd ult., eh., said to her husband, after she had had the
jelly, " did you put anything in that jelly ?" Mr.
Dove answered " Yea, I have put some of the medicine in
it." She then said it was very unkind of hint to do so. I
believe I tasted Mrs. Dove's medicine on that day, at the
suggestion of Mr. Dove. Mr. Dove said, as she was suck-
ing the orange, " You don't think that I have put anything
in the orange ?" To which she replied "I do not think
:;ou have." There was then something more said about
the jelly, and he said " I did not put more than a table-
spoonful in it." When I tasted the medicine it was very
bitter. I saw medicine taken out of the bottle the same
day or the same night, and saw Mr. Dove put something
in it to make it effervesce. The medicine did not effer-
vesce when I tasted it and opened it.
On Saturday afternoon, March Ist., Mrs. Dove
aPPeared better. In the evening, between seven and
eight o'clock, Mr. Dove came into Mrs. Whitham's
house, and asked her to come and stay with his wife,
as he was going into Leeds. Mrs. Whitham immedi-
ately accompanied Mr. Dove to Mrs. Dove's bedroom.
At eight o'clock, Mr. Dove administered some medi-
cine to his wife !

Re administered the medicine in a wineglass. It was
Of a dark colour; and Mrs. Dove drank it off, and then
me for a mint lozenge, saying the potion was very
hot. After she had taken the medicine, Mr. Dove washed

THE PRESS.

out the class, saying, " I always wash it out, as it is very
nasty stuff." About a quarter of an hour afterwards, Mrs.
Dove asked Mr. Duve for some mint water, which he gave
to her. He then went out of the house.

In a few minutes afterwards Mrs. Dove experienced
a terrible convulsion : her back, says this witness, was
arched outwards, her hands clasped so convulsively
as to break the skin, her eyes contracted, her features
distorted, her teeth clenched, her head thrown back,
her feet arched, and her whole body rigid with in-
tense suffering.
" She made a dreadful noise," says another witness.
"She moaned dreadfully, and shrieked once or
twice." A succession of attacks continued almost
without interruption, and at twenty minutes to eleven
the Door creature died.

Mrs. Fisher corroborated Mrs. Whitham's statement
with reference to the nature of the attacks suffered
by Mrs. Dove. She also remembered the discussion
on the 23rd about the jelly. Mr. Dove told witness
that he had put the medicine into the jelly " for a
joke."

Mary Wood, present on the Saturday night, gave
similar evidence regarding the features of the last
attacks experienced by Mrs. Dove. She remembered
Mr. Dove giving the medicine to his wife about eight
o'clock.

Mr. Morley, the surgeon, whose evidence was
highly important, stated the nature of Mrs. Dove's
original complaint to have been a simple functional
disorder of the stomach and nervous system, trom
which up to the middle of February she was rapidly
recovering. On the 25th of February he noticed
some slight but unusual spasmodic twitchings about
her face and body. Referring them to her nervous
excitement, he ordered anodyne medicines. He
saw her daily during the week : the spasmodic
twitchings continued, and severe attacks supervened.
For the moment a suspicion of strychnine suggested
itself. A consultation with Dr. Hobson took place
on Saturday night during the last attack. He had
been called out at ten o'clock, and while waiting for
Dr. Hobson Mr. Dove came in and had a conversa-
tion with him:—

He said, " Mr. Morley, if my wife should die she has a
particular objection to being dissected. She has a very
strong objection ( he repeated it in different forms) to being
dissected, and it must not be done." I expressed my
hope that the necessity would not arise, as when I saw her
in the morning she was better.

Dr. Hobson then arrived, and they all three started
for Mr. Dove's house. When they arrived Mrs.
Dove was dead :

I applied (continued Mr. Morley) to be allowed to
examine the body, but it was declined. I could not ac-
count for her death that night, except that I connected it
with the previous spasmodic effects, and thought she had
died under a more aggravated attack, but the cause of those
attacks I could not tell.

Mr. Morley then read the report of the analysis of
the stomach, which stated that after a minute and
careful examination, and repeated analyses, the
presence of strychnine was incontestably detected in
the stomach. For the sake of comparison, a
parallel series of experiments was made upon the
body of a cat killed by strychnine, by which similar
results were obtained. In reply to the coroner as to
what was his opinion of the cause of Mrs. Dove's
death, Mr. Morley replied :
I cannot refer that to any other causes than the poisonous
effects of strychnine, producing the most peculiar convul-
sions, so closely resembling tetanus.
The CORONER : You heard the three witnesses, Mrs.
Whitham, Mrs. Fisher, and Mrs. Wood give their evidence
and describe the effect produced upon the deceased during
the various attacks. Were those symptoms referable to any
other cause than strychnine—were they referable to any
natural cause ?

Mr. Morley : I cannot refer them to any natural cause ;
to nothing but the effects of strychnine. There is no other
substance, I believe, which will produce these attacks. The
disease which most nearly resembles it is tetanus, but there
are, of course, distinctions.
The CORONER : The difference between the two—

Mr. Morley : Is perceptible and clear.
The CORONER : You have no doubt that she died—

•
Mr. Morley: From the effects of strychnine.
Mr. Nunneley corroborated Mr. Morley's evidence,
and stated as his opinion that death decidedly oc-
curred from strychnine:—
I have no doubt about it. In my opinion, death re-
sulted from strychnis.
A Juryman : Was the cause of death the last dose or the
other ?

Mr. Nunneley : The 'last. I have no doubt other doses
were given, but it was the last which caused death. Strych-
nine is not a cumulative poison like many poisons, and the
other doses would have passed off.
Mr. Morley further stated that had strychnine
been put into the medicine at eight o'clock it would
not have altered the appearance in any way. It would
:lave altered the taste, as one forty thousandth part
in water would produce a hitter taste.
On the Thursday after Mrs. Dove's death, and
during the progress of the post-mortem examination,
Mr. Morley called at Mr. Dove's mother's house to
see a patient. Mr. Dove was there, and be imme-
diately spoke on the subject of his wife's death :

255

He said, " I wish to know, Mr. Morley, what you have
found?" Neither he nor I mentioned strychnine, he
having been and procured some at my surgery. He said,
•' Do you, Mr. Morley, suspect me of poisoning? Do you
think I could be so cruel?" I said, " My suspicions rather
lean to some accidental poisoning, knowing that poison
was in the house. I fear some may have been spilled by
accident among the food, and that was my reason for
pressing upon you a post•mortem examination." Again he
said, " Can you suspect me ?" I said, " How could I ? I
do suspect an accident might happen." He then said,
" Should I have done it openly if I meant to poison?
Should I have come to your surgery for poison? Should
have talked about it to others ?" naming, I think, his
mother. Then the conversation closed with a repeated
request that I would let him know the result. He said,
"As soon as you find anything will you let me know ?"
My reply was " That I did not know when we should con-
clude with the analysis."

The evidence that Mr. Dove had purchased strych-
nine at Mr. 31orley's surgery a short time previous
to Mrs. Dove's death was clear. Both Mr. Elletson,
a pupil of Mr. Morley, and Peacock, the surgery boy,
remembered Mr. Dove coming to the surgery about
five weeks since :

He looked at the bottles ( says the boy Peacock), and
said " Tartarate of antimony," and observed, " I suppose
this is what Palmer killed his wife with." On the same
shelf was strychnine, and he said, "I suppose they can't
test strychnine ?" I said, " Yes, they can." He replied,
" They can test all minerals and vegetables but strychnine."
I said, " Yes, they can; Mr. Morley tested it and found it
in the stomach of a young woman who died at New•road-
end."

A conversation-then'ensued with Mr. Elletwon :
He began by talking about Palmer's case. He said he
believed strychnine could not be detected. That was
during the conversation about Palmer's case. He said he
thought it could not be detected after death. 1 said I
thought it could, and I mentioned some of the tests.

Mr. Dove then inquired the effect of strychnine
upon man. Mr. Elletson explained that it produced
spasms and contraction of the muscles. After a
little further conversation, Mr. Dove remarked that
his house was infested with cats, and asked for some
strychnine to kill them. Mr. Elletson gave him
about ten grains, and after a casual remark upon the
bottle of antimony, that "that was the poison Palmer
used," Mr. Dove went away. In about a week he
returned and asked and obtained five grains more.
Previous to this air. Dove had endeavoured to get
some strychnine from Mr. Harrison, a dentist:—

I remember (said Mr. Harrison, in evidence) a convey
sation with Mr. Dove two months since, at the New Cross
inn, South-market, in Meadow-lane. Mr. Dove sent over
for me by the daughter of the landlord, and when I got
there he asked me to read over the account of Palmer's
case in the papers. I did so in Mr. Dove's presence. He
then said to me, " Can you get or make me any strychnia ?"
The landlady of the house, Mrs. Walker, heard him say
this. I said in reply, " Not for the world." He then said,
" Well, I can get some if you will not." Then he went to
the door, and I asked the landlady (not in his hearing),
" Did you hear that ?" He went to the door and came
back. Nothing more was said about it.

On Thursday week, during the time that the post-
mortem examination upon the body of Mrs. Dove
was being prosecuted, Mr. Dove wrote to Mr. Har-
rison to come to him. Mr. Harrison went :
I had not much time to stay with him. The first words
he used wen, " Can they detect a grain and a half of stry:th-
nia, or a grain ?" I said, " Have you given your wife any ?"
He said, " No ; but 1 got some from Mr. Morley's man to
poison a cat with, and some might have spilt, and she
might have got some, and the cat is in the midden." That
was all he said.

Mrs. Walker, the landlady, corroborated this state-
ment.

Of the general unhappiness of their domestic life
Elizabeth Fisher, the servant, bears witness.
Mr. Dove appears to have uniformly ill-treated
his wife, and on several occasions to have even
threatened her life. On one occasion, hearing
Mrs. Dove scream, the maid ran in and saw Mr.
Dove holding Mrs. Dove down, and brandishing a
carving-knife over her. On another occasion, he
threatened "to give her a pill," and frequently, when
either sober or drunk, he struck and ill-used her to
that degree that she was always in fear of him. At
the threat of giving her a pill Mrs. Dove became
seriously alarmed:—
After he left the house, she said to me, " Elizabeth,
now if I should die at any time, and you are away from
me, it is my wish for you to tell my friends to have my
body examined, as I am sure he will give me something."
I have heard her repeat the same thing in his presence
when he had not been swearing or anything. He has
repeatedly ill-used her and struck her. When any person
was in, she did not appear alarmed, but she was always in
fear. He was worse when he was drunk.

At the conclusion of the examination of witnesses
on Wednesday, the coroner said that, in consequence
of something which bad transpired, he should adjourn
the inquiry till ➢ionday next. The case was then
adjourned. A further analysis will, we believe, be
made by the medical men.
Mr. Dove, who is at present in custody, has been
formally remanded by the magistrates, pending the
coroner's inquiry.

MARCH
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