Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-05-21 00:00:00

THE SUSPECTED

CASE OF POISONING

AT RICHMON D.

Yesterday the adjourned examination of Mr. Thomas
Smethurst, a surovan, charged with causing the death of
Eliza Banks, by administering to her small doses of poison
from time to time, was resumed at the Petty Sessions
House, Richmond, before Edward Penryn, Esq., and a full

bench of magistrates

le excitement now, as on the former occasion, w

tense, and crowds waited outside the court-bottse to w;btain
!mission. . When the door was opened to t
urt was immediately filled with

Mr. S

e public the
pectators.

alf of the

•cant Ballantine again attended on
---nsed lady, and Mr: IL 8. 'Giffard on

calf of the accused
The ma

,(strates having taken their seats, the ;pisoner
was brought before them by Inspector Alltityre, and
allowed to be seated during the examina:tkn.

Mr. Ballantine said that Dr. Taylor had made altt analysis,
and he had come to the conclusion that there bad been a

combination in This case that was unknown 'to the medical
profession, and that no medical man ever dreamt of. They
found amongene bottles that were taken from the prisoner's
house one that contained chlorate orpotash in a state that
was used for making lucifer matches, but was never used as
medicine, in its present form. By giving doses of this it
would curse a great irritation of the kidin

. , and a great
quantity of water would pass through them and form a
matter -clich would pass iato 'the larger vessels of the body,
and,•haTing circulated the poison mixed with it through the
body, would pass off rapial.,:and loava no trace behind. In
this way arsenic could be administered unnoticed in consi-
_ _

rd avoid de

They had also

ion
from Dr. Julius's with soar(

►neaicine, ana on rim-ping 'its contents it was found to
contain some chlorate of pOtaih; and on separating that
from the mixture there 'were distinctive traces of arsenic

rho effect of dissolving. arsenic in chlorate of potash would
be that it would defy all the ordinary attempts at debeotian,
and it would not be found out until the greater portion of
the chlorate of potash was removed. These particulars
would be more accurately stated by the medical men whom
he would call before them.

Dr. Julius said 'when he was first called in the prisoner
said she had been 'in perfect health until that time, and had
been in the habit of walking seven or eight miles .a day.
He also said she -was of a bilious nature, and he believed
her liver to be loaded with bile, At the time he saw her
first, he thought it was only diarrhoea,- and he sent her a
chalk mixture. The next day he thought it was an ordinary
case of bilious diarrhoea, and he treated her for it. He was
a witness to her vomitings and violent strainings, and they
did not in the least yield to his remedies. There was intense
thirst, which was continuous. The remedies he applied
were unavailing, but did not change his opinion as to the
nature of the complaint until the 18th of April. He treated
the disease differently previously to that, but without effect.
That was when he found blood in the motions ; that was
about the fifth or sixth day. Up to the 18th of April the
blood continued in the motions. Always when there was
an increase in the vomiting, it was always followed by blood
in the motions. He left the patient for three days, and the
symptoms were the same from the first day he saw her until
the last, only with increased intensity and weakness. Dr.
Smethurst had told him that he could always control the

opium. After
were not what -would
1 tfarly f /I.ra vrrorn

.0 grains O:

the first ten days her motions
rrintinna anr

none at all. Dr. Smethurst first proposed to.icall in further
medical aid, and he said he did not think it necessary, but
at length.proposed a London medical man. Dr. Todd came
_ _

to see Der at ten o'clock at night, and his opinion was that
she was dying froin irritation of the bowels and stomach.
The medicine he gave her would not cause that— quite the
reverse. lie was not able to account for the effects which
afterwards showed themselves. Metallic poison adminis-
tered in small doses would cause that effect. It produced
naucea proportioned to the dose, and in a large dose or con-
tinuously given would cause irritation of the bowels, and if
continued would keep it up, and would be reconcilable with
that symptoms he had noticed. Dr. Smethurst was present
at the whole interview between himself and Dr. Todd.
He had not given to Dr. Todd a description of the symp-
toms. Dr. Todd prescribed' some medicine, and he went
home and dictated it to his assistant. It was six pills, con-
taining each a quarter of a grain of sulphate of copper, and
a quarter of a grain of opium ' • one to be taken three times
a day. He learned from Dr. Smethurst that the first pill had
been given about eleven o'clock on the Friday morning.
On :Saturday he told him that the pills had had a most ter-

note elect on her—that it was as though she had taken a
coal of fire that there was intense burning in the throat,
intense vomiting, and fifteen motions with blood. There was
nothing in those pills to cause that result, assuming even
that the bowels were in a highly inflamed state. He saw
her again on Sunday, when she ,was in a very exhausted
state, and the nausea and diarrhoea continuing. Dr.
Smethurst spoke to him as a medical man. He generally saw
the deceased in the presence of the prisoner, but once he saw
her alone, ten days after he attended her. On the Friday
she was in a very prostrate state, as well as on Thursday and
Wednesday. On Sunday he saw a magistrate, and on the
Monday he was taken into custody. He then saw Miss
Banks, after Smethurst was arrested. She was very weak,
and he thought sinking. He went to Dr. Taylor before he
went to the magistrate. He had sent him two other evacua-
tions. He saw her in the afternoon of Monday, and on Tues-
day morning she died. The approximate cause of death
was exhaustion ; but he did not know that her bowels had
turned to gangrene. His assistant compounded all the
medicines. There was no arsenic administered to Miss
Banks in the medicines he ordered her, neither did he
order her antimony or chlorate of potash. The bottle
produced was his, and came from his surgery. If it bad
'contained arsenic and chlorate of potash, it could not have
come from his surgery. Chlorate of potash was a diurrhetic,
and was used in cases of cholera, Such a quantity of
chlorate of potash did not come from his place with his
knowledge. He sent two motions to Dr. Taylor. On the
Friday morning, Dr. Smethurst was ,in town, and he went
up early, and found Mrs. Smethurst had just passed a motion,
and he ordered it to be put into a bottie. He afterwards
obtained a second motion. The deceased had intense pain
in the stomach. She had complained to him of a burning
state of,-the throat. The glands were in a very inflamed
state, and there were apthous spots upon them. None of
the medicines he ordered would induce those spots ;
but any exhausting disease would produce them on the
tongue. He was acquainted with Dr. Smetherst's hand-
writiog, and he received from him a letter, while in Horse-
monger-lane Gaol, asking 'him for the prescriptions of
various medicines he had ordered for the deceased, and also
if he keptarsenic, and where it was kept on the premises.
He sent theca, and also stated that Donovan's and another
solution of arsenic were all that were kept on -the pre-
mises. -This 'was on the sth of May, 1859, in answer to

asking for other prescriptions, which he answered by
sending a prescription for some pills. He received one
from Smethurst. on tte 9th of May, making an application
,for preseriptics, particularly one for antimony, and
Also wanting, to know when the motions were removed.
from 10, Atina,viilas, and taken to 'Dr. Taylor. He had
mot prescribed antimony with any one of his medicines.
On the sth of April the mixture contained—quinine, 3
grains; a sufficient:quantity of sulphuric acid to dissolve: it;
15 drops of hydrocyanic acid ; 2 drahms of chloric ether ;
ans 43 oz. of infusion of gentian. This miLturowas repeated
on tine 14th of the month.

Cross-examine d by Mr. Giffard : He coiuei.ded with Dr.
Smetharst that the bail in the throat would be accounted
for by Wisteria. tile told Dr. Smethurst so, but the had
formed n© opinion upon the subject. He told Smethurst
•that he .ecincided,with lira, but at this-time (he suspected
the lady to be suffering from poison.

Mr. ,CautXe, the assiistant was called, and was under
examination when our parcel left.