The Sun.
London, England, 1847-08-07 00:00:00

ASSIZE iNi.ELLIGENCE,
NORTHERN CIRCUIT —Carli eh?. Buda 5.
f Before the LORD (MIFF BARON.)
John Thomson was indicted for the wilful rnarder of
his wife Mary, by poison.
Mr. Sergeant Wilkins, Mr. Laurie, snd Mr. Atherton
were for the prosecution ; Mr. James and Mr. Wing
field for the defeuca

This case whieb,Oceupied 'the whole of yesterday,.
it'as not concluded ztittl to day.,
• The prisoner is a persan ?Whir ralportabla ap
pearaace, 42. years of age, and of an intelligent coun
teaaelee. He bestowed a moat anxious atreation on alt
the details of the, evidence and the speeches of counsel
throughout the prileeedings.
Mr. Sergeant Wiitties stated the case, going minutely
through all the facts, and proceeded to call the fallowing
witnesses :
Ann Dixon—Lives in Union-street, Botchergate,
Carlisle. Knew Mary Thomson. She was a next-door
neighbonr. Saw her the week before ht r death, on the
Wednesday. Sae weat.up to the market, end called in
as she came home. She said she had been f.o sick and
poorly she could. hardly get home. She said the had a
violent pain in her stomach. Her face was swelled, and
her eyes watered. She went in and came out aglin
with a piece of veal pie on a plate. It was for wit-
ness's daughter. The daughter and niece ate of it the
same day at their dinners. Soon after they were
both very sick. The daughter vomited very freely five
minutes after_ The niece was very much swelled. They
were very poorly all that day and the day after. The
daught,r was not able to go to school the next day. She
ate again of the lid of the pie tne day after. She was
again very ill. , Witness ate a small piece on the Thurs-
day. It made her very sick and poorly. Was ill all the
week, till the Sunday. Suffered from a great pain in the
bowels. The throat was sore. Went into the decased's
house on the Thursday. She was very sick, and com-
plained of a violent pain in her stomach. There was
some meal and 'miter in a pint pot. Did not see her take
any of it. Went in on Friday evening, about half past
five o'clock. She asked 'witness to make her a cup of
tea. She looked very poorly. She drank a cup of tea,
and vomited it up again. • Did not see her again that
day. Went to the house on the Saturday about half-past
eleven o'clock. . She was then dead. Gave directions to
Mary Rooke..as to cleaning the house.
Croes-examiiied—aad no acquaintance with the pri-'
toner. OnLy. saw. the prisoner going backwards and for-
wants to his Work. Mary Rooke went into the house.
en
Got her at Thomsen-lie request. He was not in the house
when witness_Aienvin before the Saturday.
Barbara Dixon, niece of the last witness, stated that
on the Wednesday in question she partook of the veal
pie. Felt. very Mutter it, in about ten minutes. Was
ill about two hours in the stomach and boeels.

Sarah Dizeri,,datitx,hter of Mrs. Dixon, a girl 12 years
of age, gave evidence ofa'sinallar kind to that of the last
witness.

Margaret 31•Q14352n7—1s a widow„ living in Union-
street. Knew priscmer and deceased six months. Was
not in the hot beforeber illness. On thti Wednesday
before her-death save her about 11 in the morning. Was
at the passage door. She was coming trom the market.
Site was very porky. Her eyes were much swelled, her
cheeks rect

Cross exttmined.—She said she thought her illness
was causedt.bytile. - -
Mary Coxeraavite of John Coxon, an engineer, having
given evidence as to thw suffering -.endured by the de
ceased, stated thit. the. prisoner seemed very anxious a.
doctor shostlat, he: sent; for. Had heard Mrs. Thomson
speak of hinkaa?.- good husband. There was a report
going of his berag:kind to art.ther woman. Deceased
mentioned it to
.witness. She said she did not believe
anything of tEe kind; he was quite a different husband.
John SaVage,-7Wen-t- to-. the prisoner's house en the
evening of the Searrd-tv to search. Found some dust
in the pocket af.a Pair of trousers. Took it out and put
it in a paper-. "There were: two waistcoats, ore with
sleeves and.nn4;wichoat.. Took dust from the pockets of
each waistetati =Put the.diist iiitoseparate pap -rs and
marked them..-,:Took,the cow, n-ts of a small till from a
large clothes chest. It was dust... Put it in a sep irate
Gave tqF, fn to Dr.. limbett-E,li.itt at the house.
Took tLe prisoner into custody on the Bth of June.
Joseph Haugh, segeant. it. the police— Assisted Mr.
Savage in taking out the contents of the pocket,c. Wit-
ness labelleA teie parcel, the contents of a pan. They
were ail given-to 'Dr. Elliott and Dr. Mortimer. Wit-
ness called on the. Prfaener on Tuesday evening, and
went to the; 'hottie• with him. Asked the prisoner if
there was iihythint he wanted for the funeral? He said
no, but there-was some oatmeal he would tt:ke. as he was
fond of porridge for his supper. Witne.:s told him he
could not get-it. . Found some oatmeal in a closet in a
bag. There was some barleymeal in a paper bag.
Did not tie it , up_ or seal it. It was not removed till
wanted by the doctors on the 7th or Bth. Witness kept
the key. Visited the house every day. Sometimes took
one person to.accompany him, sometimes another.
James Boardman, police-Aicer, was sent by Mr.
Savage to the prisoner's house on the 7th ot June.
Brought a bag of oatmeal from the cupboard and gave it
to Dr. Elliott. Got the key from the last witness.
William Graham, is a clerk in the Post-otlico. Knows
Mr. Carlisle,-Ahe chemist and druggist. Was in his shop
on a Saturday night, about three w‘teks before Mrs.
Thomson's death, when a man came in to purchase arse-
That person was the prisoner at the bar. Oa the
11tItot June attended at the police-otilee. There were
15.* 16 persons, or more, in the room. Recognised
itlik prisoner without any assistance. The prisoner,
vilien he gut the arsenic, said it was to poison rats. He
said they could not destroy them with traps or anything
else. He said he came from the Danaside. He gut the
arsenic. The words " Arsenic—poison" were written
on it.

(The witness was very rigidly cross examined, but
little was elicited calculated to affect his direct tes-
timony.)
John Fisher, who attended at the shop of Mr. Car-
lisle, a chemist in the town of Carlisle, said teat he re
membered a man being in his employer's shop when
witness Graham was there. That man stated that he
came from the Damside. He bought one pennyworth
of arsenic, and said it was for rats. He eamo again
about a week after, at about half-past tight in the urea-
ing, and he then bought the same quantity or arsenic.
That was wrapped up and labelled in the same way as the
former packet. Had little (1.-übt but that prisoner was the
same man, but the prisoner had been pointed out to him
by Graham, and could not swear that he should other-
wise have recognised him.
John Bell, a lad, apprentice to Mr. Carlisle, remem-
bered Graham being at the shop, and that a man earthe
whits he was there for arsenic. The same person again
came about.a Week after, one evening, and had more ar-
senic. The Prisoner. was like mu man, but witness
would not swear to his being the same.
George Ball, a mechanic,Thad been employed at work
in the same yard witn the prisoner. Believed the mole-
skin jacket now produced to be that of the primmer. Ir

was similar to-oie worn by prisoner while ut Richard-
son's yard. It nurse out of the box in which prisoner,
and sometimes ethers, put their tools. Dr. Elliott had
been to the yard, and he put the jacket into the box.
The men's jackets were usually hung up, and there were
other jackets there of the same description. Witne,s
sometimes wore one like it, and there were many more
besides. This one had been delivered to Dr. Elliott by
witness him,elf.

Eliza Hoyle stated that she had nr-ver known of there
being any rats at the prisone:'s lodging.
Dr. Hebert Elliott, M 1)., and Mr. Thomas Elliott,
aurgeon, and brother of Dr. EilioLt, acre c til,i to
describe the appearances on the post mortem ex 4 mina
lion,
and the results of the experiments wade upon the.
matters submitted for their examination. Dr. Elliott
said that the b sly appeared quite healthy, and and seemed
to be thak of A robust. person, apart tra,tri;tflose appear-
ances which showed ;he pr:islinedceinofanal irritant prison.
The usual tests had been a
removed frem the body-the stomach adiiiintgestineemPaarntd.
their contents. Tnose parts were boded to separate the
animal matter, and then one-fourth of the clear fluid
was taken to apply the tests. ' From that fourth there
was a considerable quantity of sulphuraied arsenic
e !need; so that, multiplying viat quantity by four, they
reckoned there iruald be 28 grains of this arsenic on
tained from - the stomach, and 36 from the im..stili.„,
making 64 grains in all; and that would be t quaff to 51
grains of - the-tx.yde -or white arsenic. 130;h these wit-
nesses agreed—ficsr,.tnac The death of deceased had b en
caused by arsenic; and, secondly, that the pAson had
been takeP irrimall-doses at a time, and not all at once.
Ten grains of this. • arsenic would be enough to cause
death.. In one ohlie pockets o- the jacket there was a
wade powder OiscOverett, and on its being unalped that
.as sound t.C.'entattia arsenic. The same was d.scovered
in a picket cif '6lW'bf the -.'
same in a P~t;efr® ? prisoner's waistcoats, and the
of trousers of his.
Mr. Thntnia'Eniottpair
was tound-in the maul:ark° more palicularly to what
prisoner's. liouse.,--.--fhe . taken from the cupboard at
meal, and,,.upou analysing ,taken 11 nun .es of that
50 grains of the- sulpharlllle ounces of it, there were
Was
einaitwo
grains
of
the
arsenic educed, and that
reewgraitni.e.soiAthleot.h ounce of
the sa.ue atealgave four more
ous matter:
Mr. Mortimer, the sur;Oon, ' again
, that
the most material part Air, further '""al, examined, but
he entirely agreed in the opinions that .had ,
beentestimhonywas
pressed by Dr. and Mr: Elliott. ex.
Mr. Carrick,
torpni.e,-- was called to proveast. The state
a statement
sn.
which the prisoner had-made at the inaprisoner meat was of considerablelength. In
account of his wife's la ,t illness, which, a, he' esra 7dlvean
lasted about twelve days: She had, he said, heen'ilhl'in
a similar way some time before that. He went on to
describe his having attends-d upon her, and their having
both been ill after eating some of the veal pie. He denied
ever having had any arsenic in his possession.
The case for the prosecution closed here.
Mr. • JAMES, in addressing the jury, reviewed the'
whole of the evidence, taking point by point all that had
been relied upon by the prosecution, and urged upon the
Jury that, whatever reann they might feel to entertain
suspicioni:off!le_ prisoner's guilt, tilersri was .A that in
rinding bis.it4Hl2/et's proved that would justify thcx in
t guilty on this dreadful charge.
The summing,.
four hours andhu& !))' the Learned Judge took about
The jury retires .
.to deliberate, and returned into Court
in abOut half an hour f
J.l:er, .t a
e qu trier to eight o'clock
this evening. finding-
' .-rHe CHI" 13'HoN th'irri:v.lieurgtipuuit'lYon. the black cap,
Proceeded to pass tile awful
his oiGn p€TrfeetbAtCorrrericesei verdict pr-ontaintied,
sentence. Alter expre,sin,
1,1,r any one t., Om other
and saying Oath was impossiblenthe
than agree in the opinirin whi4
the prisenel.l,sguilt,'hi,, L -)rd,hip tiolt:l3tl'r,,,Y hal Par of
could be-iiii-hOpe he ,d out for him ill prisoner they®
there-fore eith,irted him to employ the this world, -and
too live in such ri.pentan6 as b.-fitted onerWthme he heAl
who had been
guilty of such a crime. as that for- wkien he must now tx-
pect to suff'oh: -
..
The usual sentence of capital punishment was then
passed, the prisoner, before be left the dock, repeating,
as be did when Cala on, that "he was an inpoceut Luau."