The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-18 00:00:00

THE PACIFIC MAILS.

SOUTHAMPTON, MONDAY.
By the Royal Mail steam-ship Parana we have
our usual files of Pacific journals.
The Pacific Steam Navigation Company's steam-
ship Lima arrived at Panama on the 20th ult.,
with $280,000 in specie, passengers, and the fol-
lowing dates :—Valparaiso, Oct. 31 ; Arica, Nov.
; Callao, 11 ; Payta, 15 ; Caldera, 3 ; Islay, 7 ;
and Huanchaco, 13. The Lima reported that the
iron ship Phantom, of Glasgow, while leaving the
harbour of Caldera on the 19th of October, got on
shore, and became a total wreck. The news by
the Lima is uninteresting. The Valparaiso cor-
respondent of the Panama Star and Herald
says :

The bank buildings are progressing rapidly. They
are situated on the rock on which the old ship Arethwa
was lost many years since.

" Business during the last 15 days has slightly im•
proved, and the country merchants are now aroused.
"Manufacturing is now gaining ground. We bars
three large foundries, where iron and brass castings are
turned out with neatness and despatch, all owned by
English. Steam sawmills, planing machines, sash and
blind making are all preparing or in full blast.
"The American line of Santiago stages is doing admit
rably. We have also a Yankee line of omnibuses on the
way, to run into this city.
"There appears now to be no fear of a deficiency of
flour. The stock is said to be sufficient to last until the
new crops come in in March ; price 11 dole. 50c. to 13
dols., and sales only for home consumption.
"The three Paruvian war steamers built in England,
the Apurimac, the Loa, and the Tumbes, arrived at
Valparaiso a few hours before the Lima sai:ed."
The newspapers report the death of Mr. Comp•
ton, for may years her Britannic Majesty's Consul
at Islay.
The following is the official statement of the
guano exported from Peru in the month of October
last :-21,984 tons to England; 550 tons to the.
United States ; 1,342 tons to France; 2,732 tons to
the Mauritius ; 1,272 tons to Spain ; and 389 tons
to Central America. Total-28,272 tons register
in 42 vessels.

The revolutionary movement in the Republic of
Bolivia under Avila has been put down, and order
once more restored.

SUPPOSED MURDER OF A SPORTING

GENTLEMAN BY A SURGEON.

Mr. John Parsons Cook, a sporting gentleman, aged
28 years, resi4ing at Lutterworth (Leicestershire), was
The owner of a horse named Polestar, which won two of
the stakes at the Shrewsbury races on the 13th and 14th
ult. Whilst at Shrewsbury, after the race, Mr. Cook
was taken suddenly ill. He was subsequently removed
to Rugeley, where he had been staying before the races,
and where he died in five days after his return. Suspi•
chins as to the cause of his death arose, and a post mor•
tem examination was made. Portions of the intestines
were sent to Dr. Taylor, and on Wednesday last a corn•
ner's jury beard the evidence of the surgeons who were
present at the post mortens examination. Dr. Taylor,
however, was unable to attend, and the inquiry was ad•
journed.
On Friday the jury re-assembled, and from the art-
dance then heard, it appeared that the deceased, imme-
diately before the fatal illness, had been in the company
of Mr. NV. Palmer, surgeon, of Rugeley, and that the
latter had given pills, broth, &c., to the deceased, which
caused him to vomit excessively.
Dr. Taylor said—" My belief is that he died from
tetanus, and that tetanus was caused by medicine given
to him shortly before his death." He proceeded to sal,
that all the symptoms tended to show that a dose et
strychnine had been administered. Taking into account
the whole of the symptoms, be bad not the slightest
hesitation in saying that the deceased had died from the
effects of strychnine contained in the pills which ap•
neared to have been given the deceased by Mr. Palmer.
[About this stage of the inquiry Mr. Palmer was sent
for, but the reply was that ho was confined to his bed.]
It was then proved that Mr. Palmer had purchased
grains of strychnine from a chemist; that on the even-
ing after the race Mr. Palmer bad pressed the deceased
to drink something out of a glass, purporting to begrop
which caused the deceased to exclaim, "There's souse'
thing in it—it berms my throat awfully !"—or words to
that effect; that he soon afterwards became sick, and
expressed the belief that he had been "dosed."
On Saturday fresh witnesses were examined, showing
that various betting and bill transactions had passed be'
tween Mr. Palmer amid the deceased ; and that after the
death the deceased's betting book was missed.
The coroner on summing up mentioned
.that Mr•
Bamford, who was present at the death, was not opinion
that the deceased died of apoplexy, but that Mr. S 0•
land, another surgeon, thought otherwise.
The jury then retired, and, after an absence of six or
seven minutes, they returned, when
The Coroner said—Gentlemen, are you all agreed ?

The Foreman—We are.
The Coroner—What is your verdict
The Foreman—We find that the deceased died of
poison, wilfully administered to him by William Palmer.
The Coroner immediately made out his warrant fee
the committal of Mr. Palmer to the county gaol at Staf-
ford, for trial at the March Assizes, for the Wilful Mur-
der of Mr. Cook. Mr. J. H. Hatton, the Chief Con-
stable, forthwith proceeded to Mr. Palmer's house and
arrested him. Mr. Palmer, who had been in custody 0
the sheriff's officers for several days, under a civil pro-
cess, was in bed, and, being apparently in ill-health, the
Chief Constable obtained the advice of Mr. Monktono
surgeon, who, after examining Mr. Palmer, gave a aer•
tificate that it would not be safe to remove him that
night. The police-officers were then stationed in hie
bedroom to guard the accused, and a strict examination
of every article in the room was made. The house of
the accused was surrounded with a large crowd of per•
sons till nearly midnight, in the expectation of seeing
him brought out and conveyed to gaol.
MONDAY MORNING, Two o'CLooK.
The accused, Mr. W. Palmer, was too ill to be re-
moved from his house yesterday ; his health had, how-
ever, somewhat improved, and it is probable that he will
be conveyed to Stafford Gaol to-day.
Owing to some circumstances which transpired raster•
day morning—(the particulars of which, for obvious rev
sons—says a Stafford paper—we are not at liberty AS
present to give)—it was deemed advisable to obtain s
search warrant, which was placed in the hands of Mr.
Superintendent Bergen and a police-constable, and e
thorough search of the accused's house was made.
The proceedings connected with the above inquill
have naturally led the minds of many persons to revea'
to the cases of several individuals, some of them relatives
of Mr. Palmer, who had died somewhat sudden'y °Act
under circumstances of grave suspicion, the accuse
t"
having effected large assurances on their lives, and in
one or two instances not very long previously to their
decease. An investigation is now taking place w,
respect to some of these oases, and it is very probable
that the bodies of one or more persons, relatives of Ume
deceased, will be exhumed, in order that a cherniol"
analysation may be made of the intestines.

A SHABONABLE REQUEST.—The treasurer of SeraJO
lane Ragge,l Schools, Islington (Mr. Worth), has set on
poor
foot a penny subscription' in order to provide the
children with their usual Christmas treat. It is cal".
lated that up/fords of 5,000 subscribers will be required,
as the high prioe of provisions will necessarily affe°‘ the
amount so collected.