Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-05-23 00:00:00

FRANCE.

PARIS, Friday Evening.—Father Lacordaire has
written a letter to the Catholics of France, on the
war. With the independence of thought and judg-
ment which might be expected from such a man,
he does not hesitate to declare to the world that
the main cause of all the evils which war is destined
to inflict on mankind is the policy of Austria
towards the Papal States. " If the Papal Govern-
ment," he says, " has become unpopular ai.d
odious to its own subjects, and a mark for
blame in foreign nations, it is owing to the
pressure exercised on the Head of the Church
by Austria, and to the degrading servitude
in which he has been kept, particularly since
1845." Father Lacordaire expresses no admiration
for the military revolution which confiscated the
institutions formerly enjoyed by France ; nor does
he excuse the acts which led to and established the
Imperial system, but he distinctly declares his
approval of the policy of the Emperor, in so far as
it is directed to the destruction of Austrian domi-
nation in Italy—a domination which he considers
as fatal to the welfare of the Papacy, the Pon-
tifical States. and the best interests of the Church.
I have not seen the letter ; I only give you the
substance as it has been repeated to me. The
strength of the French army now in Algeria is
28,000 infantry, and 11,000 cavalry. Admiral
Hamelin remains Minister of Marine, and M. de Chas-
seloup Laubat, Minister of Algeria and the Colonies.
A letter from Constantinople, of the 11th inst.,
received in Paris, states that the Montenegrins had
made an incursion on the Turkish territory, and had
been repulsed by the Turkish troops at 2upsi with
some loss. This took place at the moment when the
mixed commission, appointed to fix the boundaries
of the Principality, were on the spat, and were de-,
fining the new frontier. This attempt at pillage
was committed in a district whieh Prince. Daniel last
summer solemnly engaged to, !e pest at the cgiA,

Terence held Constantinople.- This attack of
the Montenem;
`fortunately found no echo in
Bosnia, or t Herzegovina, apparently because
the occasion was not -considered favourable by the
population of these provinces to raise the standard
of revolt. The writer of the letter, however, asserts
positively that a general insurrectionary movement
is being organised throughout all the slave pro-
vinces in the Turkish Empire. He adds that the
Turkish Government, which is not unaware of the
danger, is doing all in its power to prevent it, but
unfortunately its means are insufficient to repress
an attempt at insurrection on so large a scale, and
which is supposed to be favoured by foreign influ-
ence. The Emperor of Russia is said to have
written an autograph letter to' the Sultan filled with
professions of friendship, and assuring him that the
plans of aggression attributed to the Czar towards
the Ottoman Empire are illusory, and that, on the
contrary, he will take care that the events passing
in Europe shall in no measure affect the interests of
his neighbour and friend the Sultan.- This friendly
letter caused the. Sultan great pleasure, and it was
remarked that the' day on which he- received it his
manner, generally sad, completely changed, and he
became unusually gay.
MARSEILLES, May D.—The siege flE•et is fitting
out with hot haste,- at Toulon. Independently
of screw liners and frigates, it is to consist of
ten screw gunboats, drawing very little water,
and intended to operate in the shallowe of the
Adriatic. Each is to be armed with a heavy
gun, working on a pivot, on the fore part of
the deck, and behind a semicircular shield of
rolled iron plates, stout enough to resist the
heaviest shots, and so to protect the men
working the gun. The vessels themselves are
said to be constructed of iron plates, possessing
the same force of resistance, so that they are, in
fact, shot-proof floating steam batteries. It is diffi-
cult to ascertain the exact calibre of the pivot guns,
but they are believed- to be 50-pounders similar to
what have been of late years introduced into the
French navy. It is also said, with what truth, I
know not, that they are rifled ; if so, they will be ,
very formidable instruments of war, rendering the
land batteries and forts of Venice and the coast
open to attack with comparative impunity • for it
will be almost impossible to hit them from the shore,
as they will fight the gun steam on, and present a
'small surface, which will be kept constantly in
motion. It appears pretty certain that both the
French army and navy are provided with rifled
guns of much larger calibre than the four-pounders
mentioned in my letter of yesterday week. Five of
the gun-boats are made so as to admit of their being
-taken to pieces, and conveyed overland, with a view, '
it is asserted, of their being ultimately employed on
the Lac de Garda, which forms a portion of the
Austrians' great line of defence, extending from
the famous rectangle of Mantua and Verona to the
Tyrol. The equipment of the fleet is proceeding
with such rapidity that merchant vessels are left
without crews, except the superior officers, or so
short-handed as to be unable to put to sea. The cap-
tains are entering seamen of all nations, and in some
cases Eng ishmen. Haw far British seamen, who
enter French vessels employed in the conveyance of
munitions of war, will offend the Queen's declaration
of neutrality it will be for the authorities to
determine. But the men do not enter willingly.
Jack does not relish sailing on a French bottom, nor
obeying orders in a " foreign lingo ; " with many of
them, poor fellows, it is little better than Hobson's
choice.

CASE

Smethurst that he coinCided with him.

Witness : Certainly not

Mr. Ballantine

before they were sent to London

Witness : Y

them with a Turkish impression from the ring

Mr. Julius, jun., took diem to London

several

THE NonTIMIS MIES, MONDAY, MAY 23 IMO

RICHMOND POISONING

witnessed; that she died from the effects off irritant poison

Fiom the:dieeases from which she was suffering, neither

but he had formed no opinion on the. subject. He told Dr

but at this time be

suspected the lady' was suffering from, poison. •
Mr. Caudle; the assistant to Dr. Julius, said : I hare
held that situation. for nearly two years. I made up the

prescriptions ordered for Mrs. Smethurst (Miss Banks).
From after the 29th of April Dr. JirTins superintended the
making of the• medicines himself. Either he or Mr. Bird
were always present when they were made up. The
medicines were correctly entered in the daily entry. I
never mixed any arsenic with Mrs. Smethurst's medicine.
I knew where it was kept. It was in a cupboard apart
from the ordinary medicines. We kept Fowler's and
Donovan's solution. of arsenic—no other. I never mixed

of Dr. Julius

In Saturday's NORTnERN TIMES we gave a report of the
proceedings;in this case up to the time of the despatch of
our parcel on Friday. The additional evidence was as
follows :

Dr. Bird was then cal/4 and his depositions, previously
given,, having been read over, said he had been twenty-five
years W practice, and had considerable experience in bowel
complaints. He was at a foss to' wean& for the symptoms
she exhibited. It was not dysentery. In cases of dysentery
he would expect to find fever, though there might possibly
be a case without it. She was, suffering from gastoiro-
enteritis. The symptoms were such aewould be caused by
taking irritatini, poisons. Arsenicor antimony would cause
them. He did not discover any traces of disease in the
womb. In describing the complaint the prisoner never
alluded to such a disease. The deceased niade a complaint
about her throat in the prisoner's preserxe. She complained
of an uneasy sensation in her throat. She'said that it was
like a ball in her throat. Dr. SmethuNt suggested that
this might be caused by hysteria, and he coincided with-him.
He thought that possibly that might be calved by what was
going on. He should think that would not be such a
description as he would expect from a person under such
circumstance*. He had formed the opinion frim all he had

arsenic nor antimony could with propriety be givitt in any
form whatever. It might be done on the honui-opathic
principle ;- but, in Ms opinion, it ought not to be given. To
the best oflis belief, Dr. Smethurst said the deceased had

been very much; ereited on seeing her sister, and said,
" Very well, then she had better not see her." He never

.„
afterwards told' him the sister mast not see her.
Cross-examined bq Mr. Giffard He" might from time
to time have told' him to keep her quiet. He coincided
with Dr. .Smethurst that the bait in the throat would be
accounted for from: hysteria. He told Dr. Smethurst so,

antimony with the medicine I know we have chlorate of
potash.. It is kept in crystals in an eight-ounce phial. I
never mixed chlorate o 1 potash in any medicines supplied
to Mrs. Smethurst. The bottle produced is like those we
used. I sent out a mixture on the 14th of April. The
mixture was not 'ot the same colour as that now in the
bottle. _ _ _ .

vv
Mr. Ballantine r Supposing this bottle contains chlorate
of potash and arsenic, did it come from your surgery ?

You had charge of the evacuations

By Mr. Gifford: The bottle of antimony in our surgery
was " Cartwrighes antimony." We have none in solution
except antimony wine.
Mr. Julius, jun., was called, and merely proved the convey-
ing the bottles containing the evacuations to Mr. Buzzard's,
and there delivering them to a female servant, Mr. Buzzard
being from hOme at the time.
Catherine Murray proved receiving the bottles, and deliver-
ing them to her master, Mr. Buzzard.
Mr. Buzzard, a medical gentleman residing at Great
Marlborough-street, London, said : I took the bottles to Dr.
Taylor for examination. He refused to do so without
authority. He, however, said he would try Reinseh's test.
It was done, and the bright copper wire, which was
immersed in the mixture, became coated with a grey sub-
stance, which proved the presence of some mineral poison.
Thomas Macintyre said : I arrested the prisoner. I took
away all the bottles containing medicine, and handed them
to Dr. Taylor. They were never out of my possession
until I gave them to Dr. Taylor. I found the small case
of homccopathic medicines (produced) in a box, the key of
which was found on Dr. Smethurst.
The witness then produced twenty-seven bottles of dif-
ferent sizes, containing liquic

packets,

found at Dr. Smethurst's
Dr. Julius was here called, and selected one numbered
27, which was similar to that sent from his surgery to
Mrs. Smethurst.
Mr. Ballantine ordered this cork to be withdrawn, and
then asked Dr. Julius to ascertain whether it was similar
to the -medicine ordered to be prepared for Mrs. Smethurst.
Dr. Julius tasted the liquid, and said it was. It con-
tained both quinine and gentian.
Mr. William Easter, clerk of St. Mark's Church, Ken-
sington, produced the hook of marriages celebrated in that
parish. There is an entry of a marriage between Thomas
Smethurst and Mary Durham, on the 10th of March, 1828..
Mr. Ballantine said he wished the evidence to be taken
down, as he would deal with the handwriting by-and-by.
A considerale delay here occurred owing to the absence
of Dr. Todd. After waiting until nearly half-past two,
and that gentleman not arriving, Mr. Ballantine said he
would proceed with the examination of Dr. Taylor, but
that gentleman would prefer hearing Dr. Todd before he
(Dr. Taylor) completed his evidence.
Professor Taylor then took his place, and his former
deposition was read. In answer to quesions put to him by
Mr. Ballantine he said: On the sth, 7th, and 9th of May,
I received about forty bottles to analyse. I have examined
the whole of the bottles, and I do not find arsenic in any
of them excepting one. The whole. with the exception I
have mentioned, merely contained medicine nothing
of a noxious nature. The phial marked. No. 5 was
unlabelled. It contained 355 grains of chlorate of potash.
It is a salt used for making lucifer matches, percussion
caps, and detonating powder. It is used occasionally
in dysentry, diarrhoea, cholera, and scarlet fever. It
is an innocent salt, there -being nothing poisonous in
it. Its nature is diuretic. It passes rapidly through the
kidneys into the urine. It tends to purify the system
from all noxious matter. If poison was given in a small
quantity of the mixture, the surplus quantity would be
carried off with the urine. I have never in all my
experience heard of it being mixed with poison. It is
soluble in cold and warm water. Bottle No. 21 was
half full when I received it. It looked like water. I
tasted it. It is like cooling saline mixture ; no smell; it
is pleasantly saline. I detected nothing. wrong in
tasting. I evaporated some on glass, and examined some by
the microscope. I found it was not tartar emetic. I applied
every test for arsenic that I considered proper. All the tests
failed to show the presence of arsenic. The tests informed
me there was something in the liquid I had never met with
before. There is a test called Reinsch's. It is generally
successful in detecting arsenic in. liquid, the arsenic being
deposited during the boiling on copper wire. The wire I
inserted in the liquor disappeared altogether. I, then, find-
ing that it disappeared so fast, plunged in a piece of copper,
and did not let it remain in• so long as the former piece. I
dried and heated the copper gauze. and I obtained arsenic.
The gauze is partly destroyed by the test. Having ascer-
tained this much, I thought it important that Dr. Odling
should be present at further experiments. We then sought
to destroy the noxious agent that was baffling us. 'We put
in piece after piece of copper until we removed all the
chlorine, and on the last piece of gauze the arsenic was
deposited. I .have no doubt chloride of potash was pre-
sent. I extracted it in crystals. I calculated there was
about a grain of arsenic in an ounce of the mixture.
That is of a grain to a teaspoonful. The bottle would
contain, supposing it to be full, fi oz.—that would be forty-
eight teaspoonsful. I was struck by the fact elicited,,
and I then referred to a memorandum of the medicines
prescribed, and I found that the bottle had contained
quinine, sulphuric acid, prussic acid, chloric ether, and an
infusion of gentian. I found out that not one of those
substances were in it. The taste was such that no one would
suspect its deadly nature. The quantity of arsenic was so
small that it might he mixed with any liquid, and swallowed
without the slightest knowledge. 'the bottle was half full
when I receivedit. It is my opinion that if the mixture
was administered continuously, the effect ' would be to
produce nausea, vomiting, pain in the bowels, with purging ;
and if doses were repeated, it would ultimately produce,
chronic inflammation and ulceration of the bowels, and the
discharges would contain blood and mucus. If it was con-
tinued, such a source of injury would succumb to no treat-
ment at all, and it would lead to death by exhaustion. The
arsenic I produced was what is called white arsenic. It is
not a medicinal preparation. With respect to bottles Nos.
1 and 2, containing the evacuations—l took No. 2 first to
search for copper. There appeared to be a slight trace of
copper mixed with the blood. The other, No. 1, only con-
tained biliary matter.
Dr. Todd having arrived, the examination of Professor
Taylor was interrupted, and his examination' commenced.
He said : When I first saw the deceased she was in much
pain and had a terrified look, and was much emaciated.
She looked younger than she really was. I examined ate
abdomen, and diso:4: TQAARrkatatt contraction Oft 01e.