The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-22 00:00:00

THE RUGELEY POISONINGS

TRIAL OF WILLIAM PALMER.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT (TEIIS DAY).

EIGHTH DAY.

Despite the state of the weather the Court this morn-
ing was quite full long before the proceedings began.
The Duke of Cambridge was present, and even outside
there was a great many persons standing► about in evzry
available place of shelter to witness the different arrival,
whilst the houses of public resort in the neighbourhood
of the court were full of persons most anxious to glean
tidings of how the case was going on.
The prisoner, excepting that he looked more fatigued,
maintained the same composed appearance that he has
all along, exhibited. The proceedings commenced with
the examination of the witnes4es for the defence.
Previously to the first witness being called,

Lord Campbell said—l hope that, until the conclusion
of this trial the pudic journals will continue to abstain
from any comments upon any points in the case. The
propriety of such abstaining is too obvious to require
from *any remarks. His lordship also further added
—Myself, and brothers upon the bench, wish it to be
understood that our remarks apply to the insertion of
rfeto,er:SAs well as editorial remarks.
Mr. oi-rove then called Dr. Thomas Nunnely, who
said—l 'ant a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons,
and Professor of Surgery to the Leeds School of Medi-
cine, and several other learned societies. I have a largo
practie, and have ma le both classes of tetanus my
stpdy.

Grove—Hlw many c .ses of idiopathic tetanus
have you seen ? —I have seen four.

Mr. Grove—Did they all terminate in lock jaw ?—No,
only one out of the nu nber, and they did not prevent
the person sw.Allowin,.; during the whole course of the ill-
ness. I have been present duria4 the trial, and heard
the symptoms described, and also read the depositions.
Mr. Grove—From both of those irmrces what opinion
do you draw as to the calse of the death cf Cuok ?
From some convulsive disease.

Mr. Grove—Upon what do you found that opinion ?
From the different symptoms described before the
Court, and the depositions.
Lord Campbell interposed, and said it would be better
the witness should give his opinion on the viva voce evi-
dence and the depositions separately.
After some objection to the witness giving his opinion
upon that which was not before the Court, he said, in
answer to Lord CAnspbell, that his opinion was that the
death was the result of convulsive disease.

By S?rgeant Shee—From what you have heard de-
F cribed of the symptoms of C )ok's health previously
to the final attack at Rugeley, and the fits and
parr.xysais, and the particulars of the past mortem ex-
amination, what is your opinion
Tha Bauch objected to the question being put in so

general a form.
Witness—From what I have heard T should assume
him to be a man of delicate constitution. That for a
long period he felt himself to be ailing, and for which
he had been under medical treatment. That be had
suffered from syphilis. That his lungs were diseased,
and had an old standing disease of the throat. That be
had led an irregular life, and was subject to mental ex-
citement. The examination of the body showed the
syphilitic Lain t and diseased condition of the bldy. The
lungs were not healthy, being in a state of emphysu-
mlitous or distension from wind. The scars were from
syphilitic ulcers. There was a very unusual appear.
ance of the membranes and spinal marrow. The lining
of the aorta was in an unusual state.

Sergeant Shee—You have heard the accounts given
of the attacks which he had during the night, and when
he said that he was mad for three minute. 4, what is the
inference you draw from those attacks and their perio-
dicity?—That they were of a convulsive character.

Sergeant Shoe—Are not convulsions very various in
degree and form ?—As various as possible.
Sergeant Shee—ls it not impossible to place some
convulsions amongst tl:e classes described ?—lt is.
Sergeant Shee—Are there not forms of convulsions
in which patients retain their consciousness?—There are.
Sergeant Shee—Name them.—Hysteria.
Sergeant Shee—ls there not also forms of epilepsy ?
—So it is stated.
By Lord Campbell—I have not met with a case.
Sergeant Shee—Would not the patient be liable to
irritability?—Yes ; and in auch a state of system other
than physical causes, such as moral ones, would cause
irritability, such as any excitement or depression.
The disorganised state of the bowels, and vomiting for
BOMB days previously, would affect the nervous system
of a subject like the deceased more than a healthy per-
son ; so also would the cold and wet more easily such a
person, and with such a constitution convulsions would
be more likely to supersede. Convulsive attacks are
sometimes followed with spasms and rigidity of some
parts of the body, assuming sometimes the appearance
of tetanic affection, such as the convulsive diseases of
infancy, which are not exactly tetanus. I agree with Dr.
Copeland's work read yesterday. Worms in children will
produce convulsions, in adults disease of the brain and
spinal cord. Hysteria, some from chloroform, and eat-
ing indigestible food, but I do not know of convulsions
from retching.

Sergeant Shee—Di) you agree With Dr. Copeland as
to the convulsions aornetimes ending in death ?—Yes.

Sergeant Shee—What is the inarns•liate proximate
cause of death in such C3Sfl3 ? —A3phyxia.

Sergeant Shee—D ) you agree with Dr. Copeland as
• to the recurrence of the symptoms?
After Rome objection being taken as to the witness
founding his opinion upon Dr. Copeiand's work, the At-
torney-General objleting, the witness said, of his own
knowledge, he did.

The witness, in answer to further questions, said I
have known convulsive symptoms to occur at various
intervals—sometimes hours, sometimes days. I have
known patients suffer in two minutes, in other cases two
hours. They were dependent upon some slight disease
of the brain or spinal cord. When death takes placf..)
under such symptoms, in some cases no trace has been
found of disease on a post mortem examination. I ba,ve
formed zio opinion on the finding of the granules;
they nt;ght produce effect o•n the spinal cord.
Th:re are specimens in mtv:eume where granules

are found near the spinal cord. I h tve seen these
cases in St. Thomas's Hospital. In order to discover
such granules T should think it would be immediately
necessary after death to open the body to discover them
to ascertain their effect on the spinal cord, more espe-
cially if the brain had been previously opened. Inde-
pendent of those granules it would be possible, after
some time had elapsed, to discover the condition of the
spinal cord. In order to discover the minutest structure
of the nervous system a lens would be necessary, and
that would be required supposing an examination took
place immediately after death. In the course of my ex-
perience I have had cases of traumatic tetanus, and
I agree in the opinion that it commonly commences
in the jaw. I have had four cases of iliopaehic tetanus
in the course of my experience. One occurred in my
own child. Three of these cases commenced with lock
jaw. I have had experience by personal practice.
The fourth case commenced in the body ; after
swallowing easily the spasms came on. I have
made a post mortem examination of two persons who
have died through strychnine within the last two years.
I had not seen either of the patients before death, and
it was in both cases by chemical analysis that I ascer-
tained that death bad been occasioned by strychnine.
I found the strychnine. In the first case the post
mortem examination took place 42 hours after death,
and in the other 30 hours. The body had not been
touched when the post mortem examination com-
menced. The appearances of the body after death
were—general surface not unnatural, uo marks
of external violence. The eyelids were partially opened
aud the expression of the face distressed. The muscles
of the body were flaccid and could easily be moved, the.
feet were somewhat arched. The heart had been drained
out by the head banging over the table. In the second
case the patient was about 20 years of age, the muscles
were quite flaccid, and the weather was not hot, so the
appearance could not have been produced by atmosphe-
ric influence. The legs and arms were somewhat ,stif
fened. The heart was perfectly flaccid, and oi

the right side contained blood; there was also some

fluid on the left side. The witness, having further
described the appearances of the body, said
the notes I have just read are not the original notes I
male op the occasian of the post mortem examination.
I have also seen cases where an over-dose of strychni
has been taken, but they have not terminated ,fatally.
The quantity taken, in one case, was 1-6th of a grain.
In a very few minutes the symptoms appearp:l; The
poison had been taken in a fluid state. The symptoms
were a want of power in controlling the actions of the
muscles. The patient was up walking about when first
attacked. The sympto ms manifested themselves by twitch
ings, rigidity, and sudden cramp—more violent in the
legs than any other part of the body. The nature of the
t witchings and spasms were not very violent at first, but it
was six hours before the symptoms entirely disappeared.
During the six hours the attacks were intermittent at
various intervals. As the poison passed off they be-
came less frequent. At first two or three seconds only
elapsed. These symptoms were not combated with
medical treatment. The other case was precisely simi.
lar ; one-sixth of a grain had been taken. I prescribed
one-twelfth of a grain in each case, but one-sixth
was taken. I have experimented upon upward,
of sixty animals. They were dogs, cats, rats, mice,
guinea pigs, rabbits, frogs, and toads. The genera'
appearance has been a great resemblance in al
the cases ; some bore a lesser dose than others. Gene
rally speaking, about two minutes to twenty, but more
frequently five or six minutes, elapsed from the injection
of the poison to the effects becoming apparent. The
poison was in some cases given in a solution ; in other
instances in a sold state. I have placed it dry on the
hack part of the tongue. When administered in a fluid
state it has been poured down the animal's throat, and
in other cases it has been mixed with butter, suet, and
meat ; in some cases I have rolled it in a portion of
the gut of an animal. In frogs and toads they
have been placed in a solution of the poison,
and I have also applied it direct to the spinal cord and
the brain. The first symptoms were a desire to be still,
hurried breathing, and then snapping at the mouth,
when the poison had been given at the mouth. Twitch-
ing of the ears, a trembling of the muscles, inability t,
walk, and convulsions of all the muscles of the body
followed. The jaws were generally closed during th,
convulsions. Convulsion was followed by a total wan'
of power in the muscles, which, on the least touch, were
thrown into violent spasms, with a galvanic-lik',
shock running through the frame. Spasms came on
if the animals were twched, or attempted to move

Occasionally the animal is able to move, and the spasm
come on at various periods. The animal dies at differen
times; about three hours and a half is the longest perio.l
I have known to occur before death took place. le
cases where the animals live for a length of time spasm=
occur at frequent intervals. In every case before deate
the rigidity ceases, without a single exception. The
muscles are quite soft and fl tccid, and the limbs may b,
put in any position whatever. The death stiff iess come,
on at various periods. There is very little difference i.
the stiffness produced by strychnia, compared with othe,
poisons. The symptoms which I refer to occurred in th
order I have mentioned before the convulsions came on
I have known an interval of half-an-hour between the
paroxysms in the animal. I have found the heart in
variably full on the right side, and very generally tin
left ventricle firmly contracted, and the blood usuall3
dark and fluid. There is no particular appearance
attached to the spine. I have experienced largely with
poison producing sudden death on animals, and I hay.
written on the subj sot. In the case of sodden death of
an animal by poison the blood is often fluid after death.
but not generally, and it happens also in suddec
death fr .m other causes. The symptoms o;
Mr. Ceok on Sunday night, I attribute to great
excitement, and taking the symptoms as described on
sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, they do not resemble
the symptoms I have seen produced by strychnine
poison. He had more power or voluntary motion—
euch as sitting,* up in bed, moving his hands about
freely, swallowing, talking, and asking to be rubbed
and moved, and also the sudden occasion of the con-
vulsions, and the greater length of time which occurree
from the taking tie pills supposed to contain strych-
nine before the symptoms occurred, were greaten
than any I have known from my exeerience. I have
never Vetl an aeimel vomit after taking strychc in
nor scream voluntarily. Where there was so much
spasm there would be inability to vomit. Emetics in
such cases have been given without effect. The post
ri'iortem examination of Cook differed materially from
those I have made of deaths resulting from strychnine—
the heart, it was stated, was empty and uncontracted.
Lord Campbell—l understand the evidence was
"empty and contracted."
Baron Alderson—l have it down the heart we,.
empty and contracted.
Examination continued—Tae state of Vie lungs and
brain appeared to he different from not being congested.
The subsidence of the paroxysms in my experience have
been gradual. I have experimented on bodies of varioue
animals at various periods after death, and when deem-.
position has set in, up to the 431 day, to discover strych-
nia. I have never failed to discover it where I have
known the animal has died from it. I have experimented
in 15 cases at least. If the person had died in the first
paroxysm after the administration of strychnia, and the
stomach to have been taken out the sixth day after death
and analysed, in my opinion strychnine must have been
fauna had the proper tests been applied. Ties witness
then stated the process of separating the parts by
evaporation, when strychnine would be found crys-
talllised, and in a state for applying the tests. If it
he the common commercial strychnine, such as is gener-
ally kept by surgeons and chemists', nitric acid would
be one test. It would produce a red colour, which in
a great measure disappears on the addition of proto-
chloride of tin. If the strychnine be pure, it does not
undergo any change on the addition of sulphuric acid,
but on the addition of a mixture of bi-chromate of
potash and several others a beautiful purple colour is
pr educed, whiob changes to various shades till
it got to a dirty red colour. There are seve-
ral other tests that will produce strychnine. In
nIY judgment the contents of Cook's stomach was in
?. favourable condition to produce strychnia by analysis,
it; :had been there—it would have given a little extra
trouble, but it would not have affected the result, and the
ettena applied to the liver, kidneys, and spleen subse-
Tien tly sent up for examination and analysis. In the
earl° us experiments I have made on animals, I have
seen—a corresponding amount of strychnia found in the
hodie s by the analysers, and I have seen them detect it
is the .! blood. I have seen. it done by Mr. Herapath, of
Beisi..ol. It is not my opinion that the analysis might be
cl. del Lted or confused by the existence in the stomach of
at iy tither substance that would produce the same colour
strychnia ; the existence of salacioe, for instance,
would not affect the finding of strychnia; Supposing
death to have been caused by a dose of strychnia only
euffiet.;.ent to cause deatb, it would not be absorbed in
the. system so as not to be found on a post mortem
ex-
amination. That has been a great question. These
alkedies are not changed is digestion, and may be found
in the blood. No amount of. putrefaction of an ordinary
time would destroy its detection, but I do not say that
it is indestructible. I have found it after 42 days.

Fiy the Attorney-General—He experimented with
Morley and some few alone, and the symptoms were
generally alike. The experiments made conjointly were