The Sun.
London, England, 1830-10-30 00:00:00

TRIAL OF MR. ST. JONN LONG.

OLD BAILEY.-(THIS DAN.)
OLD COURT.

This morning at nine o'clock tie prisoner John St.
John Long was placed at the bar to take his trial upon
the charge of having killed and slain Miss Catherine
Cashin. The indictment stated that he, with a certain
inflammatory and dangerous liquid, secretly prepared and
mixed by himself, did feloniously tub, wash, and sponge
the back of Miss Cashin, or did cause and procure the
same to be rubbed, washed, and sponged, he well knowing
the said liquid to be inflammatory and dangerous ; and
that by such tubbing, he did cause, give, and procure to
he given, one mortal inflammation and wound upon her
back, of the length of eight inches, of the width of four
inches, and of the depth of two inches ; and that, by
means of such rubbing, &c. he did feloniously cause and
procure her to become mortally sick and diseased ; and
that of said sickness and wound she languished from the
3d of August till the 17th, and that on the latter day she
did die.
The prisoner was dressed in black, is rather tall, slender,
of a dark complexion, and upon being arraigned exhibited
a good deal of apparent indifference. He seemed to be
about 35 years of age, and pleaded Not Guilty. There
were a good many well-dressed ladies in different parts of
the Court. The Counsel for the prosecution were Messrs.
ALLEY and PHILLIPS; and for the defence, Messrs. GLY/t
HEY, Serjeant ANDREWS, and ADOLPHUS.
Mr. PHILLIPS opened the indictment.
Mr. ALLEY stated the case, after a long practice, and
the most serious consideration, this he regarded as one of
the most important in which ho had ever been engaged.
Miss Cashin was a young lady of considerable fortune, and
resided in Ireland. Her sister had been ill. She came
is this country in June last with her mother and
sister, and took a lodging in the Hampstead-road,
both for the benefit of the air, and that they might
be near the residence of the prisoner, which was then in
Harley-street, New-road. The sister went to the pri-
soner to be under his care, and was accompanied by the
deceased, Miss Catherine Cashin, Miss C. Cashin was in
the most perfect health before she left Ireland, as her bro-
ther, now in Court, would prove. She had not long con-
tinued to accompany her sister until the prisoner informed
her that unless she also submitted to his operations, in less
than two months else would be in a deep decline. This
alarmed both the deceased (whose death occasioned the
present inquiry) and her mother. She resisted the idea
of it. He repeated his statement over and over again, and
after many urgent importunities on his part, she yielded, and
allowed him to practice on her person, and he produced
that wound on her back which had indisputably occasioned
her deaths. The Learned Counsel went over the particu-
lars. The Coroner's Jury had found a verdict of man-
slaughter against the prisoner, and the Grand Jury had
confirmed their finding by returning a verdict that he had,
by assaulting, Lac. produced her death. Although the ap-
plication had not been applied, nor the rubbing made, by
the prisoner himself, he was equally guilty, for the whole
had, been done under his direction, and by his servant.
He (the Learned Counsel) did not mean to claim any thing
on the ground of the prisoner not being a legally autho-
deed practitioner, but the law was, that if an act done
heedlessly and incautiously produced death, the party
was guilty of manslaughter. So, again, let the man
be who he might, if a lawful act was imprudently,
improperly, and irregularly done, it became unlaw-
ful conduct ,• and notwithstanding the prisoner in-
tended to make it appear it was at the request of the de-
ceased that be practised upon her, yet no person could
give consent to the performance of an unlawful act ; and
after all the facts were proved, it would be for the Jurors
to put their hands upon their hearts and say whether or
not the prisoner's conduct had been lawful.
Mrs. Mary Ann Roddis sworn and examined by Mr.
Pummes.—Was the wife of Mr. George Roddis, of 32,
Mornington-place, Hampstead-road. Remembered, in
the month of June last, ladies of the name of
Cashin coining to her house to lodge. The name
of the eldest daughter was Catherine. She came on
the 26th of June. At that time Miss Catherine
Cashin appeared to be in perfect health. She continued
so until within about four or five days of the time, when I
went with her to Mr. Long's. On Friday, the 13th of
August, I went with her to Mr. Long's. He lived then
at 41, Harley-street. I saw Mr. Long ; the young lady
was with me. She introduced me to Miss Long. Mrs.
Cashin requested me on the morning, as a favour, to accom-
pany Miss Cashin, and express to him her fears respecting
the wound on her daughter's back. I did so to Mr. Long.
He did not look at her back before me. He said, " Miss
Cubist must go and inhale ;" afterwards he would
look at her back. I went with her during the
time she inhaled ; and after that Mr. Long had been
in another room. The process of inhaling was this,_..
when I went into the room, there appeared to me
to be two cabinet pianos; each lady had a pipe about a
yard and a half long, and put it to the orifice iu the ma-
chine, opposite to which she placed a chair, and applying
the pipe to the orifice inhaled, the other ends being in
their mouths. I should think there were eight or ten
ladies inhaling at the time. Miss Cashin was from half
an hour to three quarters inhaling. After she had inhaled,
she went into a room down stairs, into which I did not
go. I saw Mr. Long as I and Miss Cashin were going to
our chariot, after Mist Cashin had beeen in the room with
him. As we were going to return,Mr. Long expressed a wish
that Miss Caitlin would not omit going every day to his
house for the purpose of inhaling. He said that she
would be quite well in a few days, in reply to something
I said to him about the wound. We then went back to
my house. On the next day (14th of August) my atten-
tion was particularly directed to Miss Cashin. In conse-
quence of something she and Mrs. Caddis said to me I
wrote to the prisoner. In the evening of that day, between
five and six o'clock, he came to my house. lie saw the
deceased in my presence. He, in my presence, examined
the state of the wound on the back. After he did so he
said it was in a beautiful state, and that he would give one
hundred guineas if he could produce a similar wound
upon the persons of some other of his patients. I directed
his attention to a particular portion of the wound, which
presented a dark inflamed appearance. He said it was the
consequence of inhaling, and unless those consequences
were produced he could expect no beneficial result. The
wound and inflammation at this time appeared to be about
six inches square. I told him I had applied a poultice of
bread and water, with a large portion of hog's-hard, and
that I hail given her saline draughts. He said I had done
very wisely. I asked him what was to he done to allay
the irritation of the stomach, He said he bad heard of
none. I told him that in any note I had expressed the
words " unceasing sickness." He said I did not, but on
referring to the note which lie had with him he found that
I had stated it. He observed, the sickness was of
no consequence, but on the contrary a benefit. I
begged that he would order something to quiet the sto-
mach and bowels. He said it was all the consequence of
inhaling, and that those symptoms, combined with the
wound, were proofs that his system was taking due effect.
1 begged of him to give her a composing draught. He
answered that a tumbler of mulled port wine was a better
composing draught than all the doctors in the world could
give, for that lie hated the very name of physic. On the
staircase he requested that I would expose the wound to
the air. lie told me to administer the mulled port wine.
I objected to do it, but he insisted upon its being given.
I gave her a wine glass full, which was immediately re-
jected by the stomach. When he directed the wound to be
exposed to the air, he also directed me to lay on a piece
of linen on it, and keep applying a quantity of cream to
it, I said diet tp moss a wound like that to the air
would produce madness almost, Ile observed that on re-
cousidering there could not be a better application than
the poultice I had already applied; therefore he requested
I would continue it, and that he should rely upon my
judgment for an account of the wound on the following
morning. He stated that as I had always applied the
poultices I should he Letter able to form a correct epittion
than he could ; lie then took his leave. I acted as he
desired, by applying the poultice. Miss Cubits continued
to get worse. On the following morning, Sunday the
15th, about wean, I law ffie prisoner next at my holm!.
He weal into Miss Caditnls bed-rooms I, with Mr
Collin, was also there. Mies Cashin was in bed. Ot."1
ring into the room he very hastily took off his coat, and
threw it upon the bed, requesting some soft dry linen to
be procured. Before he pulled his coat off, be asked me
how Miss Collin was, and I said she was worse. After
mitering the linen, he very uncourteously stripped off her
night-`clothes. Ile dill Ch's very rudely. I begged he
• r
would Step aside" until 'I removed the poultice. ;.lisa
Cashin said, " indeed, Mr. Long; you shall not touch' my
back spin, it is horrible this state into ivhich yon hive
iii'ostht site. You very Well know that when I becaMe
yoi i patient I Was in perfeei health, but no's,/ you are kill-
ing replied, " t!,thi4e•:/er inconvenience you
are now suffeting, it will be t.f short duaii6n, for that
in two or three days you will be in better health than you
ever were in your life :" again repeating his utmost confi-
dence that the result of his system would lie to prolong
her.life. He then put on his coat, and Mrs. Cabin said,
I thought you were going to do something to Catharine's
back. fie said that its two months she would have been
sized with consumption. He sail, alluding to the
stomach and bowels, those were the symptoms he
would wish to produce, and that they were the