The Express.
London, England, 1866-03-22 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCIIIT.—Liwza, Itasca 21.
(Before Chief Jetties &le).
Richard Noakes, as elditiT. Podulmall-1001 mu
surrendered to tele his trial for the roanslaughterof Samar, m
Boys. Mr. Bailey peceeented, and Mr. Bap*ll and Mr.
Merrifield appeared for the defence.
The case appeared to SIVAS same httleintered on stoma
of the respectable position of the primes: and the airmen-
stoma connected with the charge that was made against
him. It appeared that he had for a considerable time car-
ried on business as • chemist in North-street, Brighton,
and was regarded as a most respectable tradesman, sad very
careful in the mode in which he carried oo has occupation ;
bat the offence imputed to him was that he negligently sent
• quantity of limiters of aconite instead of nectar* of beer
bane to the demand, sad had thereby caused bin death. Il
appeared that Mr. Boys was a gentleman in an inde-
pendent pusition,whoresided in Lanadowne.plaee, Brighton,
and that at the time the occurrence took place he was
suffering from serious disease of the heart. His malady
was of such a painful character as to prevent him from
taking rcet without the assistance of an opiate, sad he was
in the habit of taking tincture of boobies In order to pro-
cure sleep, which he procured in most Instances from
the shop of the defendant. Shortly before the 20th
of August he had so obtained what be supposed to be
tincture of henbane, and ou that night, feeling that he was
unlikely to sleep, he took the prescribed dose—namely,
thirty drops in water, and went to bed. Very soon after-
wards he was attacked with numbness is the extremities,
sickness, and other symptoms such as were likely to follow
the administration of aconite, and he himself appeared to
be under the impression that he had taken something
wrong, and although he would not allow a medical man to
be seat for, be directed that inquiries should be made of
Mr. Noakes whether he had not made some mistake in
what be bad sent him, and also that a portion of the con-
tents of the bottle should be anal yee.d. He then seemed to
have gone to sleep, from which he never awoke, sod he was
found dead on the following morning, lifehaving apparently
passed away without the slightest struggle. Tail remit
appeared by the medical teetimany to be equally
attributable to the diseased state of the heart as to
the effects of the tincture of aconite. and
although the bottle from whines the fatal dose
had been takes appeared to have 'Marbled' con-
tained that fatal drug, it appeared that the deceased, who
seemed to have doctored himself, was in the habit of sending
to the prisoner for tincture of awaits to be Geed externally,
and there were Meng grounds for suppo4ng that he had
sent his medicine bottle for it by mistake, and had Mule
very naturally contributed to the fatal result. It did not
seem to be disputed that by same mates or other the
'omits bad been mot from the prisoner's shop, but there
was an absence of anything like evidence to show by whom
it had been placed in the bottle, and ft is also due to the
aceneed to state that the prosecution was not instituted by
the relatives of the deceased, and that the learned Nage,
in his charge to the grind jury, expressed as opinion that
it was very doubtful whether such criminal negligee's was
established by the evidence as would render the prisoner
amenable to the charge of manslaughter, and intimated
pretty strongly that the bill ought to be thrown out. It
should also be stated that one of the inedioalreutlemen
called for the promicutioe only expressed an opinion that
the aconite might have accelerated the death, while another
stated that in his view it had nothing whatever to do
with IL
Chief Justice Brio interpoesd at the aloes of the evillest"
for the proescution, and said that if the jury wished to less
the counsel for the defence they were at to do so,
but he put it to them whether, without reference to the
question of negligence, the evidence was sufficient to juirtify
them in coming clearly to the conclusion that aconite was
the mom of death?
The jury said they were of opinion that it was not, sad
they at once returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
There was a slight manifestation of applause when the
verdict was delivered.