The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-03 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.—March 2.

OLD COURT.

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER AGAINST A " HERBALIST."

William Hobson Palmer, 34, described as a botanist,
was indicted for the manslaughter of Charlotte Cardwell.
It appeared from the opening statement of Mr. Cooper,
who conducted the prosecution, and the evidence of two
or three witnesses, that the prisoner was what is called
an herb doctor, and that he was in the habit of attending
patients and administering powders, according to the
recipe of a ,certain Dr. Coffin, the principal ingredient
of which, it would appear, was an herb of a dangerous
character, according to the medical testimony, called
lobelia. The deceased was a person of -very weak
health, and suffering from asthma, and it would seem
that the prisoner attended upon her, and administered
powders and tinctures, and for some time she appeared
to be getting better under his treatment, but at length
died under on the Bth of February. A post-mortem
examination took place, when it appeared that the
lungs and stomach of the deceased were in a state of
great inflammation, and the contents of the stomach
were sent to Dr. Letheby, the professor of chemistry at
the London Hospital, for the purpose of being analysed,
and a considerable quantity of the lobelia was dis-
covered by that gentleman in those contents, and it
being suggested that the administration of this matter
had caused, or at all events accelerated, the death of the
deceased, the present charge was preferred. It was
stated by all the persons who had been in attendance
upon the deceased that the prisoner was very kind and
attentive to her, and that she expressed herself perfectly
satisfied with his treatment, and that upon one occasion
she had stated that she was sure she should have re-
covered if she had not taken a fresh cold.
Mr. Clark, the surgeon who made the post mortem
examination, described the appearances presented by the
lungs and stomach of the deceased, and he expressed an
opinion that it was highly improper to administer lobelia
to a person in such a state, and that it was calculated
certainly to accelerate death, if not actually to cause it.
In cross-examination, the witness said that he had ad-
ministered lobelia himself in some cases as a sedative.
He also said that it would act as an emetic, and that it
was used sometimes in cases of asthma to remove the
phlegm, but only in small quantities.
In answer to a question put by Mr. Justice
the witness said that lobelia had only come into use
during the last sixteen or eighteen years, but during that
period it had been getting a good deal into vogue.
Mr. Henry Letheby, professor of chemistry at the
London Hospital, proved that he analysed the contents
of the stomach of the deceased, and discovered in it 110
grains of the husks or shell of the lobelia seed, the whole
of the active principle of the seed having apparently been
absorbed into the system. This quantity, he said, was
in itself quite sufficient to have caused death, and he had
known cases where a considerably less quantity had done
so. He added, that he had heard the description given
by the medical witness of the condition of the lungs and
stomach of the deceased, and in his opinion it was highly
improper and dangerous to administer lobelia to any
person in such a condition.
A good many questions were put to the witness by
the court and also by Mr. Ballantme, with regard to the
particular qualities of the lobelia, and it appeared that
it was used by the medical profession in some cases, but
that they generally refrained from administering it as an
emetic on account of its dangerous nature. He stated,
however, that it was used in cases of asthma, and that
when the system of any person became accustomed to it
a greater quantity might be taken with impunity.
Mr. Cooper said that this was the case for the prose-
cution.

Mr. Ballantine submitted that there was no evidence
to go to the jury.
Mr. Justice Maule said he did not think there was.
It was admitted that it was customary to administer
lobelia in cases of asthma, and that it was generally at-
tended with some good effect. The only question, there-
fore, was whether the prisoner had administered reck-
lessly an improper quantity to the deceased, taking into
consideration the inflamed state of her lungs. There
was, however, no proof that he had himself administered
any excessive quantity, neither did it appear that he
could have any means of knowing that her lungs were
in such an inflamed state as had been represented, as
this was not ascertained until the post mortem examina-
tion.

Mr. Cooper said that, upon looking over his brief, he
had felt the difficulty that was suggested by his lordship.
The jury then, under the direction of the Court, re-
turned a verdict of not guilty.
Mr. Justice Maule observed that although the present
case had failed in proof, yetit ought to be understood
that lobelia was a very dangerous thing to deal with
medically, and persons ought to be very cautious how
they administered it.

Ballantine said, if the case had gone on, he had
several persons in attendance as witnesses, who' would
state that they had taken it continually, and had derived
great benefit from it.

Mr. Justice Maule said that might be, but from what
he had heard that day and from what he knew before,
hq was satisfied that it was a, very dangerous thing to be
administered in certain cases, and that persons ought to
be very careful in the use of it.

THE GREENWICH BARBARITY.
Mary Ann Oldham, 49, was charged upon a coroner's
inquisition with the manslaughter of John Gaywood.
The circumstances connected with this case have at-
tracted a good deal of public attention. The prisoner,
it will be remembered, was a nurse in -the Greenwich
melon, and the deceased child was under her charge with
others, and for some fault or other it appeared that she
had placed a burning coal in the child's hand and burned
it severely. She was convicted of an assault before
the Common Sergeant under these circumstances,
and, to the astonishment of every one acquainted with
the facts, was only sentenced to fourteen days' im-
prisonment. The child, it appeared, died shortly
afterwards, and the coroner's jury returned a verdict of
manslaughter against the prisoner. A bill for the same
offence was preferred before the grand jury, but they ig-
nored it, and the coroner's inquisition now remained to
be disposed of. _

Mr. Payne was about to open the case, when
The Lord Chief Justice interfered, and said he had
attentively read the evidence, and he confessed it ap-
peared to him that there was nothing whatever in it to
connect the prisoner with the death of the child. On
the contrary, all the medical men stated that they could
not trace the death to have any connection with the
wound on the hand, but that it was clearly traced to
another cause. The grand jury had ignored the bill,
and it was contrary to his experience in such a case for
any evidence to be offered in support of the coroner's
inquisition. __ _

Mr. Payne said he felt very strongly the effect of the
observations of his lordship, and he readily bowed to
any suggestion emanating from such high authority.
At the same time he felt he ought to state that
the poor child whose death was the subject of in-
quiry was an orphan and entirely friendless, and the
guardians of the Greenwich Union were anxious to
have it understood that they had done everything
they could to have the matter properly investigated,
and to show that the children of the poor would
be protected. The coroner's jury had returned a ver-
dict of manslaughter, and the coroner had bound over
the chairman of the board of guardians to prosecute, and
he now appeared on his behalf for that purpose. He
admitted that the medical gentlemen did say that the
death of the child could not be directly attributed to the
injury on the hand ; but, as it appeared that after re-
ceiving the injury the child drooped and became ill, and
soon afterwards died, it was possible the coroner's jury
formed their own conclusions upon these facts ; and,
believing that the child's constitution had received an
injury which terminated in its death, they felt them-
selves justified in returning a verdict of manslaughter.
After the intimation he had received from the court,
however, he should refrain from offering any evidence in
support of that verdict.
The Lord Chief Justice said that the board of guar-
dians had no doubt done nothing but their duty in insti-
tuting an investigation ; but that duty had now ended.
It was undoubtedly a very cruel act to burn a child in
the manner that had been mentioned, but the prisoner
had suffered such punishment as the court had thought
fit to award, and he could not help observing that he
entirely agreed in the observations made by the Recorder
to the grand jury in reference to this case, that whether
that punishment was sufficient or not, it was no ground
at all for putting the prisoner upon her trial on a charge
which it was perfectly clear could not be supported by
the evidence.

The jury then returned a verdict of not guilty.

NEW COURT.—MAnon 2.
(Before the Recorder.)
Eliza Nash, 37, married, was indicted for feloniously
cutting and wounding William Nash, with intent.
It appeared from the evidence, that the prisoner and
her husband, who rented an apartment in Eagle-street,
Red Lion-square, had for some time past lived in con-
tinual strife, arising from jealousy upon her part, and
that early on the morning of the 19th ult., while lying
on the bed, the prisoner stabbed him in the face with a
small table knife, injuring hib eye, and cutting his nose
and hands, from the effects of which wounds he was re-
moved, from necessity, to the Free Hospital in Gray's-
inn-road, where he remained for some days.
The officers who took her into custody deposed to
finding her sitting by the bedside with the weapon in her
hand, and to her exclaiming, " I've done it—l've done
it—take him to some hospital." She was not intoxi-
cated, but greatly excited. When in the cell she fre-
quently repeated her intention to do for him, and that
she should be hung for it, declaring that it was in con-
sequence of his cohabiting with another woman.
Mr. George F. Lane, surgeon of the Free Hospital,
described the nature of the injuries, that of the eye being
very dangerous, but loss of vision had not ensued.
In defence, the prisoner, wbo wept during the whole
of the examination, said she had been totally neglected
by the prosecutor, who only visited her when he hoped
to obtain money from her.
The prosecutor denied this, but gave very unsatisfac-
tory replies to the interrogatories of the court and the
jury respecting his conduct, admitting that he was fre-
quently from home, and residing at such times in a
house at Mile End, where dwelt the woman of whom
his wife was jealous.
The Recorder said it was a fearful case, and there
could not exist a doubt that the act had been committed
in excitement, arising from belief in her husband's faith-
lessness ; that, however, was no justification.
The jury found her guilty ; and the court ordered her
to 18 calendar months imprisonment with hard labour.

QUEEN ANNE'S BOUNTY.—Yesterday, the annual ac-
counts of Queen Anne's Bounty for the year 1851 were
issued. The receipts were 204,1291. 10s. 10d., and the
disbursements 204,332/. Os. sd. The first fruits in
arrear were 49/. 4s, Bd,, And the yearly tenths due
$2/. 100. Isl.