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

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
.NORTHERN CIRCUIT —Corli.sle, Aagiat 5.
(Before the LORD Culla. BARON.)
John Thomson was indicted for the wilful murder of
his wite Mary, by poison.
Mr. Sergeant Wilkins, Mr. Laurie, and Mr. Atherton
were for the prosecution ; Mr. James and Mr. Wing
field for the defence
This case, "'Meta occupied IMP *We 9f yesterday,
has to: concluded =lll r (10*.
The prisoner is a person of fisthcal fat:Yea:able ap-
pearance, 42 years of age, and of an intelligent coon
tessance. He bestowed a most anxious attention on all
the details of the evidence and the speeches of counsel
throughout the proceedings.
Mr. Sergeant WILKINS stated the case, going minutely
through all the facts, and proceeded to call the following
witnesses :
Ann Dixon—Lives in Union-greet, Botcbergate,
Carlisle. Mary Thomson. She was a next-door
neighbour. Saw her the week before ho r death, on the
Wednesday. She went up to the market, and called in
as she came home. She said she had been so sick and
poorly she could hardly get home. She said she had a
violent pain in her stomach. Her face was swelled, and
her eyes watered. She went in and came out again
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
daughter was not able to go to school the next day. She
ate again of the lid of the pie the 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 tram a great pain in the
bowels. The throat was sore. Went into the deceased's
house on the Thursday. She was very sick, and com-
plained of a violent pain in her stomach. There was
some meal and water 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.
Cross-examined—Had no acquaintance with the pri-
soner. Only saw the prisoner going backwards and for-
wards to his '7l-.lkary Rooke went into the house.
Got her at ThOrnsthis request. He was not in the house
when witness went in 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 ill after it, in about ten minutes. Was
ill about two hours in the stomach and bowels.
Sarah Dixon, daughter of Mrs. Dixon, a girl 12 years
of age, gave evidence of a similar kind to that of the last
witness. _ _

Margaret M•Glasson—ls a widow living in Union-
street. Knew prisoner and deceased six months. Was
not in the house before her illness. On the Wednesday
before her death saw her about II in the morning. Was
at the passage-door. She was coming from the market.
She was very poorly. Her eyes were much swelled, her
cheeks red.
Cross examined.—She said she thought her illness
was caused by bile.
Mary Coxon, wife of John Coxon, an engineer, having
given evidence as to the suffering endured by the de
ceased, stated that the prisoner seemed very anxious a
doctor should be sent for. Had heard Mrs. Thomson
speak of him as a good husband. There was a report
going of his being kind to another woman. Deceased
mentioned it to witness. She said she did not believe
anything of the kind; he was quite a different husband.
John Savage—Went to the prisoner's house on the
evening of the Saturday to search. Found some dust
in the pocket of a pair of trousers. Took it out and put
it in a paper. There were two waistcoats, one with
sleeves and one without. Took dust from the pockets of
each waistcoat. Put the dust into separate papers and
marked them. Took the contents of a small till from a
large clothes chest. It was dust. Put it in a seperate
paper. Gave them to Dr. Robert Elliott at the house.
Took the prisoner into custody on the Bth of June.
Joseph Haugh, sergeant in the police— Assisted Mr.
Savage in taking out the contents of the pockets. Wit-
ness labelled one parcel, the contents of a pan. They
were all given to Dr. Elliott and Dr. Mortimer. Wit-
ness called on 'the. prisoner on Tuesday evening, and
went to the house with,. him. Asked the prisoner if
there was anything he wanted for the funeral? He said
no, but there was some oatmeal he would take, 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 tilt
wanted by the doctors on the 7th or Bth. Wituesi kept
the key. Visited the house every day. Sometimes took
one person to accompany him, sometimes another.
James Boardman, police-officer, was sent by Mr.
Savage to the prisoner's house on the 7th of 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-office. Knows
Mr. Carlisle, the chemist and druggist. Was in hie shop
on a Saturday night, about three weeks before Mrs.
Thomson's death, when a man came in to purchase arse-
nic. That person was the prisoner at the bar. On the
11th of June attended at the police-office. There were
15 or 16 persons, or more, in the room. Recognised
the prisoner without any assistance. The prisoner,
when he got 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 Damside. He got the
assenic. 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 tnat 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. lie bought one pennyworth
of arsenic, and said it was for rats. He came again
about a week after, at about half-past eight in the even-
ing, and he then bought the same quantity of arsenic.
That was wrapped up and labelled in the same way as the
former packet. Had little cl,.ubt but that prisoner was the
same man, but the prisoner had been pointed out to him
by Graham, and'could net 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 came
while 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 that man, but witness
would not swear to his being the same.
George Bell, a mechanic, had been employed at work
in the same yard with the prisoner. Believed the mole-
skin jacket now produced to be that of the prisoner. It
was similar to one worn by prisoner while at Richard-
son's yard. It came out of the box in which prisoner,
and sometimes others, put their touts. 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. Witness
sometimes wore one like it, and there were many more
besides. This one had been delivered to Dr. Elliott by
witness himself.

Eliza Hoyle stated that she had never known of there
being any rats at the prisoner's lodging.
Dr. Robert Elliott, M.D., and Mr. Thomas Elliott,
surgeon, and brother of Dr. Elliott, were culled to
describe the appearances on the post mortem examina
tion, and the results of the experiments made upon the
matters submitted for their examination. 1)r. Elliott
said that the body appeared quite healthy, and seemed
to be that of a robust person, apart from those appear-
ances which showed the presence of an irritant poison.
The usual teats had been applied in analysing the parts
removed from the body—the stomach and intestines, and
their contents. Those parts were boiled 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 sulpburated arsenic
educed; so that, multiplying that quantity by four, they
reckoned there would be 28 grains of this arsenic ob-
tained from the stomach, and 36 from the intestines,
makinc, 64 grains in all; and that would be t.qual to 51
grains of the oxyde or white arsenic. Both these wit-
nesses agreed—first, that.the death of deceased had been
caused by arsenic; antirseconelly, that the poison had
been taken in small doses at a time, and not all at once..
Ten grains of this arsenic would be enough to cause
death. In one of the pockets or the jacket the re was a
little powder discovered, and on its being analysed
that
was found to contain arsenic. The same was discovered
in a pocket of one of the prisoner's waistcoats, and the
same in a pocket of a pair of trousers of his.
Mr. Thomas Elliott spoke more particularly to what
was found in the oatmeal taken from the cupboard at
prisoner's house. they had taken 11 ounces of that
meal, and, upon analysing n nine ounces of it, there were
50 grains of the sulphurated arsenic educed, and that.
was equal to 40 grains of the white. A 10th ounce of
the same meal gave four more grains of the same poison-
ous matter.

Mr. Mortimer, the surgeon, was again examined, bu
the most material part of his further testimony was, tha
he entirely agreed in the opinions that had been ex,
pressed by Dr. and Mr. Elliott.
Mr. Carrick, coroner, was called to prove a statement
The which the prisoner had made at the inquest.
it prisoner gave an
T
state-
ment was of considerable length.
lae Id, had
account of his wife's last.illness, which, as he
lasted about twelve days. She had, he said, beens
a similar way some time before that, lie wenton ill
in
describe his having attended upon her, and their having
o
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 rea-on they might feel to entertain
suspicion of the prisoner's guilt, there was not that in
'fiallae.7 hole of the facts proved that would justify them in
Tj:e
g his Client guilty on this dreadful char,v.
summing up by the Learned Judge took about
four hours and a half.
in jury retired
The •
about half an h to deliberate, and returned into Court
this evening,
finding;
after, at a quarter to eight o'clock
the prisoner Guilty.
The Came BARO6;
sentence,i
in
the
proceeded to pass the
ilt•-.:19, having put on the black cap,
his own. perfect concurrenceasiml After expressing
and saying that it verdict pronounced,'
than agree in the opinion which
for any one to-do other
the prisoner's guilt, his Lwhich the jury had formed of -
could beo n hope held outhim for him in this world, and
to employ th
to live in such repentance as te. e short time he had
guilty of such a crime as that for which who had been
pact he must een
pact to suffer. now ex_
The usual sentence of capital punishment was then
pissed, the prisoner, before he left
ea be did ivbeg celled ea, that "be was • ' peating, -
ail innocent ins,a,” 1