The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-14 00:00:00

MORE POISONING WITH ARSE.

COMMITTAL OF A WOMAN FOR THE MUR-
DER OF HER SON.

CHIPPING BARNXT, AUG. 12.—A very mysterious case
of poisoning with arsenic occupied the magistrates and
coroner of this district nearly the whole of to-day in in-
vestigating. The unfortunate victim of this horrible and
art
secret system of murder was a fine boy named W li
ilam
Newton, eight years of age, and the py suspected cf
having administered the poison is his mother, Sarah
Newton, a widow aged apparently about thirty-five.
The husband of the accused was a kind of jobbing agri-
cultural labourer. They had two children, the deceased
and a younger boy, and resided in n sina,ll co
twomiles
distant from this town. About two months since the
husband, who was often ailing, died, and being entered
in a friendly burial society, 10/. was allowed for his in-
terment. The deceased was generally considered a
healthy boy, free from sickness. However, he was sud-
denly seized with illness, which was most mysteriously
accounted for, his symptoms became worse, and on the
following day he expired. Suspicious circumsticeidnci t
upon
aanncestuheesn
came to light as to the cause of his death ; a
was called ; but, owing to the restrictions p
the coroner, in respect to the fees of the inquiry, ;
diffi-
culty presented itself in directing the anal ysatlll-..Y? a
ion of the
contents of the stomach, &c. At length
made to the Secretary of State, and his
an appeallordshipatwas
once
desired Dr. Taylor, professor of medical jurisprudence
at Guy's Hospital, London, to make the necessary analysis.
From the evidence it appeared that, on the morning
of Thursday, the 20th of last month, the decayed went
to school. About half-past two o'clock Rachel Howe, who

lived near the prisoner, saw the accused, and she stated
that the boy had picked up some powder in &paper, and bad i
eaten it on going to school in the morning, and that t had
made him sick and ill. Later in the afternoon she saw the
child. It was retching, and Howe asked her what the boy
had taken. She replied a powder in a paper, and the child
said "Yes." She then added that the governess had sent the
child from school because he had been very sick all the
morning. She said she would take him to the surgeon
in the evening. In the course of the evening Police-
constable Brett, S 144, was informed of the circumstance,
and on going to Rowley-green he saw the prisoner. He
said to her, " What is it your child has picked up and
eaten I" She replied, "He picked up something going
to school in the morning in a paper, and it hung about
his mouth like flour." The officer inquired for the child.
She fetched him out, and the constable asked him where
he got the powder. He answered, "In the lane." He
was asked what lane, and whereabouts, and he said,
" Barnes,” on the grass. He added that he had thrown
the paper away. He then asked his mother to give him
some water, and she said, "Come in my dear, and I will
give you some tea." He retched while outside the house.
He advised her to take the child to a surgeon ; she said
she would, and between 8 and 9 that evening she went
with the deceased to Mr. Godson. She told him the
child had been sick the whole day, and that the fluid
which he vomited resembled in colour ground slate pen-
cil. She said she had thrown the vomit away. The child
did not appear to be suffering much—the pulse was
steady, tongue moist, and there was no tenderness on
pressure of the abdomen. While the medical gentle-
man was examining him he vomited a clear fluid like
water, and Mr. Godson remarked that the stomach must
have rejected the whole of the powder that it had taken
in the morning. Mr. Godson asked the child why he
had eaten the powder if it was so nasty. He made no
reply. After he had vomited he looked up to the pri-
sioner's face and said, "I am better now, mother."
Some proper medicine was then prescribed for him, and
the mother was requested to let the surgeon know
early on the next day how the child was. They then
left and returned home to Rowley-green, when the
young woman Howe saw the prisoner give the de=
ceased a powder, which she said had come from Mr.
Godson's. On the following (Friday) morning Howe
again saw the deceased. He was in the garden, and
looked very pale. It appeared thathat
he had been vomiting
in a basin, and the prisoner put it into a small yellow
jug. At ten o'clock she went to Mr. Godson, stated
the condition of the child, and had more medicine for
him, and at five o'clock in the afternoon of the same day
she again went to the surgery, and took with her the
yellow jug, without the handle. It contained a dark
informed
Mr. and had sediments of a slate colour. She
Mr. Godson that the contents of the jug were a portion
of what the child had vomited that afternoon, and at
that gentleman's request the utensil was left at the sur-
gery. The symptoms of the boy then became of a more
alarming character. He gradually got worse, and died
the same evening, Mr. Mulreany, assistant to Mr. God-
son, having been sent to attend him. The prisoner
seemed much affected, and observed it was unfortunate
it should have happened so soon after his father had died.
The grandmother then arrived, and hearing the prisoner
state that the child had picked up something in the road
and had ate it, the old lady declared that she could not
believe it, and that she would not follow her grandson
to the grave until the whole matter was seen into. On
the following (Saturday) morning Mr. Godson subjected
a portion of the contents of the jug to two tests, both of
which clearly showed the presence of arsenic. Brett
then arrested the prisoner in the cottage. He saw a
' neighbour scrape some earth on the left hand side of the
door. _She said that she was going to throw it away.
The constable inquired what for ? and she replied that it
was where the dear lamb was sick, and she thought she
• would take it away before the coroner and jury came.
Inquiries were then made, and it was ascertained that,
about a week. previous to the death of the deceased, the
mother had called at the shop of Mr. Dowtwaite, che-
mist and druggist at Barnet, who had known her four or
five years, and had purchased a packet of Butler's rat
poison. She convened as if she had had some before,
and she was asked if it had answered her purpose in
clearing the house. She replied " Yes," that it had
cleared the house, and now she wanted some for the barn.
She was then served with a sixpenny packet. The pow-
' der was a slate colour. It was also elicited that on the
' 15th of July she went to the shop of Mr. Timberley, a
clothier in Barnet, and asked for a suit of clothes for her

•
son. Ellis Edwards, the assistant, inquired of her whe-
ther she wanted them for the same boy for whom she
purchased a suit of clothes at the death of the father.
She replied "Yes." She was shown some clothes, but as
they would not be large enough for the boy, the assistant
informed her he would get a suit made for him by the
Wednesday, and that if she would call on that, or any of
the following days, she could have them. On the 20th
of July she again went to the shop, and was shown the
suit. She remarked " I hope they will be large enough,
because he will have to follow his eldest brother to the
grave on the next day." Edwards made answer "Is he
dead ?" When she replied, " Yes, I am in great trouble ;
it is only seven weeks and two days since I buried his
father. I understand from'what Mr. Godson says that
he has the same complaint as his father had, and I should
not have much reason to grieve, for I should not like to
see him the same sufferer as his father was." She then
took the clothes away. It was then shown that deceased
did not go down Bantes-lane when he went to school in
the morning.
Ann Rainbow, a young woman, saw the deceased and
his younger brother pass her house. She gave them
each a rose. They did not go down the lane in ques-
tion. In the course of an hour the prisoner passed, and
Rainbow asked her how she was. She said that she
was very well, but that William (the deceased) had not
been well all night. She had sent him to school, and she
was sorry she had done so. She added that he had been
sick and bad all night. About two o'clock in the after-
noon the prisoner was seen by Rainbow returning with
the deceased. She said she was going to take William
home as he was sick, and the governess had sent him
home.

Miss Edmonds, the governess of the school, stated
that the deceased was not sick at the school, and she
did not send him home because he was sick.

Mr. A. S. Taylor, the professor of medical jurispru-
dence at Guy's Hospital, was then sworn and examined
—Under an order from 7iscount Palmerston proceeded
with an analysis of the stomach and contents, and liver
of the deceased, the contents of a brown jug, a dark
coloured fluid with a sediment, said to have been
vomited by the deceased, and a packet of Butler's ver-
min killer. In the latter powder there was no trace of
arsenic, or of any arsenical compound. The result of a
number of experiments let to the conclusion that it was
thus constituted in 100 parts of weight—corrosive subli-
mate 14, carbonate of barytes 83, charcoal as colouring
matter 3-100. Both corrosive sublimate and carbonat;
of barytes are poisons, the former being very destructive
to human and animal life, while the latter (carbonate of
barytes), although not very poisonous to man, is a poison
Co animals. The dead .y ingredient is corrosive subli-
mate, of which two grains might destroy the life of a
child. The quantity of liquid in the brown jug
amounted to six fluid drachms. On submitting it to the
usual chemical processes, metalic arsen:e was obtained
from it, and it was proved to consist entirely cf white
arsenic. The witness then entered into a very minute
and elaborate detail of the appearance of the stomach,
its contents, and the liver, and gave the following as
the results of his analysis :-1. The contents of the
stomach of the deceased contained arsenic in sufficient
quantity to destroy life. 2. The coats of the stomach,
as well as the liver contained arsenic ; a fact which
proved that the poison had been taken while the child
was living, and that it had been absorbed. 3. Taking
into consideration these facts, as well as the circum-
stance that the deceased died rapidly after having la-
boured under symptoms of poisoning with arsenic, it 'ls
my opinion that the deceased died from arsenic and
from no other cause. 4. The fluid of the jug contained
a large quantity of arsenic, amounting in the whole to
at least 13 grains. The powder in the paper packet
contained no arsenic, and although highly poisonous, it
could have had no share in the death of the deceased.
In answer to the jury, the witness stated that this
was the third powder of Butler's vermin killer which he
had examined. They were all different—not one alike.
In 1846, a case occurred in EsseX, where a party bad
died from arsenic, said to have been one of But:er's
powders. A similar one was supplied by the druggist,
1 and it was found to contain no such poison. In con-
sequence of the difficulty in which they were placed,
Mr. Butler was communicated with on the subject, and
he (Mr. Taylor) received a letter from him, dated High
Wycomb, July 16, 1848, in which he stated that a case
of suicide having occurred in London about eighteen
months ago (the commencement of 1847), from the use
of the killer, he determined no more to use arsenic in
its preparation, but substituted precipitated carbonites
of barytes in its stead.
Mr. Dowthwaite was recalled with a view of ascer-
taining whether the) acket which be sold to the pri-
soner might not have been ono of the old stock, and so
have contained arsenic, but nothing conclusive was ar-
rived at.
The evidence having closed, the prisoner was asked
whether she had anything to say. In a low tone of
voice she observed, " I am innocent of the charge."
The magistrates then informed her that they felt it
their duty to fully commit her for trial on the charge of
murder, at the next assizes at Hertford. She frequently
shed tears during:the proceedings.
The coroner's Jury also returned a verdict of wilful
murder against her, and in course of the evening she was
removed to Hertford Gaol.

WAREHOUSEMEN AND CLERKS' SCHOOLS FOR ORPHAN
AND NECESSITOUS CHILDREN.--'Phis excellent institu-
tion, which was commenced in January last, seems to
have met with the success which it undoubtedly de-
serves. It appears by the book just issued by the board
of management that the fund subscribed already amounts
to 7,00051., and amongst the governors are the names of
some of the most influential and important firms in the
city of London. It equally satisfactory to find that
the young men (the class for whose benefit the institu-
tion is designed) have sliown, by the number and aggre-
gate amount of their subscriptions, that they intend to
maintain the prominent position which they originally
took up as the founders of the institution. It is evi-
dent that the rules have been framed with considerable
care and judgment, and are based upon the most liberal
principles. It appears, also, from a circular issued by
the board of management, that efforts are being made
to
to
increase the present bed by the 20th August nest
the sum of 10,0001. The energy which has been hithertole
displayed, and the numerous and liberal class upon
e
whom the institution has undoubted claims, __
eno
room to question that this desirable objeetclildlren
will
compli-died, in which case an election of h
take place in the following month of November.
an institution is alike deserving
of
pr ;goal manner in
went, both for the energetic and
the great benefits
it is ultimately destined to confer.
which it is being established and encourage Suh