The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-02 00:00:00

TEE MYSTERIOUS POISONINGS IN
YORK.

Mrs. Cooke was yesterday brought up for re-exa-
mination before the Lord Mayor at Guildhall, when
an immense number attended to hear the case. The
prisoner was again defended by Mr. H. Breary.
The witness Ann Clancy was recalled, and in ad-
dition to her former evidence about Mrs. Cooke (the
prisoner) offering to give her L 5 if she would put
something in the flour bin in the prosecutor's house,
she now deposed that she remembered the prisoner
had at the time the conversation referred to took
place asked her to go out and fetch some packets of
rat powder, observing also that if she could get
"shut" of the old gentleman, Mr. Edwin (her hus-
band) would soon die of grief. She also added that
they were a bad family. Soon after this the witness
was discharged from Mrs. Cooke's service.
Mr. Cooke, sen., was also called, and after depos-
ing to some unimportant facts, he was cross-exa•
mined relative to some domestic pecuniary matters.
From this evidence it would seem that the
prisoner possessed some money, the whole, or
most part of which had been invested in the
purchase of the prisoner's husband's business
in Coney-street. Money matters therefore it seems
has partaken largely in the family differences of the
Cookes. He also stated that in consequence of the
former attempts to poison he had, for the sake of
precaution, ordered the servants to procure flour in
small quantities of a dealer in the neighbourhood,
thus preventing the possibility of too large a quan-
tity of poisoned flour being made at once. The re-
mainder of the witnesses, 12 in number, were then
called, from whose evidence it appeared the prisoner
on a recent visit to her father-in-law's house was
left alone with the servant, when she took the op-
portunity to ask several questions relative to the
fastenings of the back and office doors, between
which places the flour bin is said to have been
placed. Mr. Wm. Proctor, M.D., of York, had re-
ceived a quantity of flour, bread, and mince pies,
which had been taken possession of by the police
immediately after the last poisoning took place.
He subjected those articles to chemical analysis. In
the bread loaf he detected a very considerable quan-
tity of arsenic; in the flour, however, there was a
very large quantity of that poison very unequally
diffused, just as the appearance would be presented
if a person had placed a quantity of arsenic in it,
and then the portions of flour had been taken out
from time to time. In the mince pie he discovered
223 grains of pure arsenic; and from the piece of
mince pie he obtained about 12 grains. He consi-
dered that between 3 and 4 grains was a fatal dose.
He had attended the family when they were ill, and
he was of opinion that they were suffering from
poisoning by some mineral poison. The result of
the case was not known when our parcel left.

A GENTLE lIAN KILLED IN FENCING

TVI7H KNIVES.

Yesterday a little before 5 o'clock Hugh Morris,
unrtpr WA.I brnneitt before Mr. Carrie.
at Bow street, charged with causing the death of
Mr. Edward Leigh, a gentleman.

John Thos. Ford, waiter at the Somerset Hotel,
Strand, deposed—On Thursday, November 30, be-
tween half-past 7 and 8 o'clock, Mr. Leigh and the
prisoner came to our coffee-room and ordered dinner.
Mr. Corrie•—ls Mr. Leigh the man who is dead ?
Witness—Yes.
Mr. Corrie—What was he ?
Witness—A gentleman, sir. They ordered dinner
for themselves.

Mr. Corrie—Were they going to dine together?
Witness—Yes, sir. Mr. Leigh went out and left
the prisoner, who fell asleep at the table. After a 1
short time he woke up, and, finding Mr. Leigh was
gone, he went in search of him. Mr. Leigh came
in, and, finding the prisoner wits gone, went out to
look for him, and they returned together. They
dined together, and, after dinner, began to play
with the cheese knives, Morris showing Mr. Leigh'
the difference between " carte" and "tierce," Morris
not being able to show it to his satisfaction sitting
down. And then with the knives Morris showed
the way they should protect themselves. Mr. Leigh
held the knife in that way, and Morris held his
under, so. (Tr e witness explained his meaning by
gestures, which may be described thus :—Leigh
holding the knife with his thumb on the end of the
handle, and the blade protruding from under the
little finger; and Morris with the end of the handle
under the little finger, and the blade protruding
from between the fore-finger and the thumb.) Both
struck together, Leigh over Morris's shoulder,
Morris at Leigh's belly, just a little above the groin,
on the right side. Mr. Leigh put his hand to the
place, and sat down. I asked him if anything was
the matter—if he was hurt P He said "No."
Morris immediately said, "My
God! I am pure I