The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-18 00:00:00

[PRICE 4D. STAMPED

foefr es pd
assom ma o
John Hicks, examined by Mr. Hardy—l am a bookseller
in Upper Heal-row, Leeds. I was called up 'on Sunday
u% thine
hperrevliiofeu .s night. She said she never suf.
morning, the 2d of March, about half-past 12. I saw the
prisoner, and he said, "For God's sake, come down and
let me in." I went down, and• found the prisoner very
intoxicated, and much excited. I opened the door, and
ho said, " Poor Harriet's dead." He was in great trou-
ble, and said, " Oh, I wish I could weep. I wish I could
weep." He solicited me earnestly to go with him, and
did. As we were going I asked him about the death of
his wife, and be said, "Oh, do not allude to her death at
all." He said he was very apprehensive of an inquest being
held, and he was afraid they would examine the body.
Cross-examined by Mr. Bliss—l had forbidden him com-
ing to my house prior to this. Prisoner was fall of lamen-
tation all the way from my house. He said Mrs. Dove
objected to a post mortem examination.
Re-examined by Mr. Overend —I forbid the prisoner
coming to my house because he frequently came intoxi-
cated, and also on account of his general conduct to his
wife.

Henry Rosa, examined by Mr. Hardy—l am a baker at
Leeds. I saw the prisoner on the Thursday before his
wife's death, at a dram-shop at the bottom of Laud's-lane,
Leeds. Mr. Dove gave me a card with his address on,
and we afterwards went out. Ho said his wife was poorly,
and he thought she would not get better. Mr. Morley
thought she would, and she thought so too ; but prisoner
did not think so ; and when she was dead he would have a
regular jollification. He asked me to go and see him,
and I suggested Sunday, but he said I had better not
go till after his wife's death. He asked my name,
and I refused to give it. I asked him why he wanted to
know my name, and he said he wanted to say something
to me that he did not want every one to know. He then
said he could not live without a woman after his wife's
death. He should want reeler hiseowneaccommodation ;
and if I knew of one that would suit him, would I take her
down to his house. I said if he took me for a person of
that sort, be was very much mistaken-;
William Harrison, examined by Mr. Overend—l live at
5, South Market, Leeds. I have know the prisoner for 20
months. When I first knew him ho was living at Nor-
manton. He consulted me as to what would do his wife
good. lam a dentist, &c. lam an astrologer also. Peo-
ple consult me. Prisoner asked me to cast his own na-
tivity, which I have never completed for him. In January
I saw him at Leeds, at a public house, and read to him
something about Palmer's case. There was an allusion to
strychnia. Dove said, could I make or get him any? I
said, " No." He said, if I could not, he would get some
elsewhere. I saw him again at the same house on the Gth
of-March, and he told me there was an inquest being held
over his wife. He said, " could they detect a grain or a
grain and a half of strychnia ?" I said, " Why, have you
given her some ?" He said, "No, but he had got some
from Mr. Morley's man to kill cats with, and some might
have been spilt, and his wife might have got some." I saw
him after this at my house. He said, " Mr. Morley has
told me they have found poison in my wife ; will they take
me if Igo back ?" I said, "If you are innocent, go back.
Why be afraid, if you are innocent. They will not take
you if yon are innocent."
Cross-examined by Mr. Bliss—l never saw him but
twice when he was not affected with liquor. When he
was affected with liquor ho was always talking of being
haunted by devils and spirits, and thunder and lightning.
He told me he had sold his soul to the d—l, but he be-
lieved I had greater power over devils than him, and could
send devils to his wife, to frighten her out of bed, to come
back. That was when they were not sleeping together.
He said sdinetimes that there were devils and spirits in his
house—was there no means of getting rid of them? Ho
imputed the thunder and lightning to the d—L I at-
tribeted these speeches to delirium tremens. He never
came to me to put a spell on Mr. King, to get his farm
back. He many times applied to me to torment his wife,
to make her go back to his bed.
Re-examined by Mr. Overand—The only times when I
saw the prisoner not drunk were on the 6th and 7th of
March.
By the Judge—l did not at all encourage the notion
that I could remove the devils the prisoner complained of,
nor that I could act upon his wife as ho wished. Ho did
not explain what he meant by selling his soul to the d—l.
By the Foreman of the jury— ?listener said nothing
about the devils and spirits on the Gth and 7th of March.
Ann Walker examined by Mr. Bayley—Witness corro-
borated the statement of Harrison as to the conversation
between him and the prisoner respecting strychnia.
William Storeg, of Leeds, broker, examined by Mr.
Hardy—Was at the New Cross Inn on the tith of March,
when Harrison and the prisoner had the conversation al-
luded to." Witness heard Dove use the word " a grain, or
a grain and a half," but did not hear what they applied
to, further than that an inquest was being held.
Elizabeth Brown, examined by Mr. Hardy—l am
housekeeper to Harrison. Dove came to his house on the
7th March. I heard Dove say that they had found poi-
son, and what must he do? Harrison said, "Go house,
and if you're innocent, they'll not take you."
Thomas Glover Frost, examined by Mr. Bayley—l keep
the Victoria Shades, near the railway station, Leeds.
Prisoner was at my house on Thursday, the Gth of March.
He asked me if I had heard he had lost his wife? I said
I hed out. He asked me about disposing of his furniture
—whether he should lesFp'6ta hones on, or sell his furni-
ture. I advised him to sell off and go into lodgings. Ho
then introduced the subject of strychnia, and showed me
with a little snuff how much would poison me. I asked
him what strychnia was. The prisoner said ho was
suspected of having poisoned his wife. He asked me
whether he would be required at the inquest, and I told
him I did not know. I said, "If you have poisoned your
wife, your own conscience go with you." He appeared
quite calm, and said he had given his mother-in-law and
his sister his wife's clothes.
Cross-examined by Mr. Bliss—The prisoner and his wife
had been at my house during the life of the latter, and
they appeared to be on good terms. He showed me his
wife's wedding ring. He told me he had some strychnia
of Dr Morley's young man.
Elizabeth Jenkins, examined by Mr.Overend—l am the
mother of the late Mrs. Dove. My daughter was married
in 1852. She was 23 years of age when she died. She
and the prisoner were married at Plymouth. They went
to live first at Bramham, and afterwards at Normanton.
(Letters were here put in referred to in the opening state-
ment for the prosecution.) I went to see my daughter in
her last illness, but when I got to Leeds she was dead. I
saw the prisoner on the 4th of March, when he showed me
his wife's ring, said he had had it made a shade larger, and
I could not think but that he should marry again. I said
I hoped he would never put that ring on any other woman's
finger, He showed me the bottles of medicine he had got
for his wife. He kissed his wife's corpse and said, " Lord
Jesus, so teach us to number our days that we may apply
our hearts to wisdom." On the day of the adjourned iu-
quest he asked me, "Do you know that oil of almonds
will kill a person ?" and he added, " Belladonna they can-
not detect." He took a bit of salt in his hand anti said
there is a poison that will kill by so much, and it can be
discovered in a wan, but not in a woman. (The letter
seat by the prisoner from York Castle was hero put in end
read.) Before Dove and his wife went to Leeds I heard
complaints, and I went over to lei ormanton in October.
Negotiations were entered into for a separatioe. It was
fully understood on both sides that they should separate,
and the prisoner was to allow his wife 201. a year.
Cross-examined by Mr. Bliss The prisoner seemed in-
different as to whether his wife remained with him or not,
but finally all was amicably settled, and at times after the
prisoner and his wife were agreeable together. On one
occasion the prisoner threatened to shoot me and to shoot
himself. That was in January, 1855. I did not hear him
say that he had one ball for me, one for his wife, and one
for himself. Ho bad been drinking at this time.
re-examined by Mr. Overend—My daughter had made
some complaint to me. I said the prisoner was the
ca use of the state of perterbation she was in, and he then
fetched the pistols, and male use of the threat I have al-
luded to.
Mrs. Risdon, examined by Mr. Hardy—l am sister of the
late Mrs. Dove. I was at Leeds with my mother after
the death of my sister. My mother said " I wish I had
been here sooner, to toe my poor child die." Prisoner
asked me what my mother meaut by that ? I said he had
anied deceased to have hysterics by his conduct, and he
said she had not hysterics—it was something else.
Cross-examined by Mr. Bliss— My sister was once sub•
jest to hysterics iu consequence of trouble at losing a bro.
ther. I have seen her in hysterical tits at the time of my
brother'e death. Her appearance was that of spasms at
the stomach. She had twitchings ; that is, her arms
moved sharply and suddenly. It was not like a galvanic
shock, or anything of that sort. She might be in a ner-
vous state for a short time after the death of her brother.
Ottiwell Kell, examined by Mr. Bayley—l am the core-
ncr's officer at Leeds, and on the 7th of March I appre-
hended the prisoner. I received a piece of carpet from
Mrs. Wood, some marks upon which I have compared
with marks upon the floor of Mrs. Dove's bedroom, and
found them to correspond. I searched the prisoner and
his house, but did not find any strychnia.
John Elletson, examined by Mr. Overend —I am a pupil
of Mr. Morley, surgeon, Leeds. I knew Mr. Dove, who
came to our surgery for medicine. About a month before
his wife's death he had some conversation with me about
Palmer's case. He said Palmer poisoned his wife with
antimony. He said Cook had been poisoned by strych-
nine, which could not be detected. I said it could, and I
mentioned nitric as one of the tests for it. I showed him
Dr. Pereira's " Materia Medico." on the subject. He took
it into his hands, and road the passage I referred him to.
After he had read it, he said his house was infested with
wild cats, which he wished to got rid of, and he thought
laying some poison would be the best way to destroy them.
He asked me for some strychnine, and I gave him 10 grains.
I wrote "poison" on the packet, and told him to be care-
ful. He took down the antimony bottle, either then or on
another occasion, and said that was what Palmer poisoned
his wife. The strychnine bottle contained a drachm or so ;
about GO grains. After this ho said he had laid the poison,
but some of it had got washed away with the rain. There
was another cat he wanted to kill. and he asked for some
stychnia, and I gave him about five grains, marking the
packet " poison" as before. This would be a week or a
fortnight prior to hisiwife's death, nearer a fortnight than
a week.

Cross-examined by Mr. Bliss—He said the wild cats be-
longed to some people who lived in the next house. The
people had gone, and the cats had turned wild; strychnia
was mentioned after ho hal talked about the wild cats. I
believe it wt.s first mentioned by him. He said the cat
was buried in the midden, Peacock w;)s present in the
surgery on one occasion—l believe both. The conversa-
tion about Palmer's mso was beforethe prisoner mentioned
the cats.
James Bailey Peacock, examined by Mr. Hardy—l am
surgery-boy to Mr. Morley, and remember Dove coming
to the surgery. 'Witness detailed the conversation between
last witness and Dove, respecting strychnia and antimony,
in similar terms to Elletson.
John Win. Scarth, examined by, Mr. Bailey—l am a
puail of Mr. Morley's. I know the prisoner. I was fetched
by him on the 25th of February last. Mrs. Dove was in
bed. She complained of great pain at the chest, and there
was clenching of the bands, and the teeth closed together.
The jaw was closed. The head was slightly thrown back
and the shoulder likewise. The feet seemed to be stretched
straight out. On the way to the house the prisoner said,
" If my wife were to die would the coroner require an in-
quest ?" I told him I thought not, except in case of acci-
dent, poisoning, or sudden death. He then said, " Would
' Mr. Morley require an examination ?" I said Mr. Morley
bad in many cases, and he said he should not give his con.