The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-21 00:00:00

THE SON, LONDON,- WEDNESOA Y EVEN MAY 21, 185 U.

races, I endeavoured t) get my rnoney_at.. Shrewsbury.

I got 401. The rea ou Palmer gave for not payingany Mer.f wa5.4, that he had not received any more.
He did not tell me how much be had to receive. He
afterwards gave me a cheque en the Itugeley Bank for
2501. It ba-i never been paid. I know Mr. Cook's Pole-
star ; after' ehe won the Sbrewsbury races she was worth
7001. _ _ _

Mr. Stevens WAS.•II er6 re called, and stated that Pole-
Star was cold en the 10 ti of March last by public auc-
tion. She fetched 7501. guineas.
This closed the case fur the prosecution.
Mr. Sere,ant Shee then rose amidst interim interest
to address the jury for the prisoner, but he spoke so
inaudibly that it was with difficulty be could be heard
by the reporters, who, by the had arrangements of the
court, are placed at. a coneVerable distance behind the
coun-el. Ile said—ln rising te perform the tack that
devolves on Ole to defen l a fellow-creature for his line
I cannot but he overwhelmed with a sense of the onus
which reefs in me, and in discharging that duty I am
afraid it must necessarily oc upy con-,iderable time.
If, under ordinary circumstancee, it is a difficul t task both
for an advocate and a jury to perform, how much mere
so must it he when after six long days my unhappy client
has been stanCing on the brink of the scaffold, and any
error of judgment on my part must cnnsign hiM to a mur-
derer'sclootn. It cannot be denied but the prejudice of the
public has imperiled the cairn administration of justice;
and it is useless for me to conceal what you know per-
fectly well, that with all your endeavours to keep your
minds free from prejudice you cannot wholly efface it
from your recollection. .You know that for six long
months, that under the sanction or upon the authority
of science, an almost unaniinoue opinion had prevailed
on the case throughout the country, and there bad been
RR almost universal cry for blood to avenge the death of
John Persona Cook, and that it was made under the
impression and conviction-of the guilt, of the prisoner.
It is not to he doubted but that you have entered on
your duties with the endeavour to efface from your
memory all that you have read and heard of this case,
and uninfluenced by that cry which has been raised with
reference to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, and
that you know that whatever opinion you may have
formed on it, it is now your duty to attend only to
the evidence of both sides of the case, and upon it form
your opinion. The circumstances under which we meet
in this place are of a character to excite mingled feel-
ings of encouragement and alarm, and those whose duty
it is to watch over the safety of the Queen's subjsct felt
themselves so much apprehensive lest in this case the
course of justice might be disturbed by the popular pre-
judice that has been excited against the prisoner, and
that an unjust and adverse verdict might thereby he
passed against him, that they resalvecl on the passing of
an Act of Parliament to prevent the possibility
of, the ordinary form of law being affected by
that popular pi ejudica and which received the
unanimous consent of the Legislature a short time since.
The Crown, under the advice of the responsible Minister,
resolved also that the conduct of this prosecution should
not be left in private hands, but that its own law officer,
the learned Atterney•General, should take upon himself
the responsibility of conducting it in a proper manner,
and consistent with his duty to the public ;- and that
learned gentleman, when the duty was intrusted to him,
did what I must eay, in my opinion, will ever redound
to hie honour—he resolved that, in a case in which so
much prejudice had existed,all' the evidence which it
was the intention of the prosecutor to call against the
prisoner should, as soon as he bad seen it, be com-
municated to the prisoner.. Everything I must say
(turning to the prisoner) and I must tell my
unhappy client that the constituted althorities
of the hoed, everything which the Legislature and the
law officers of the Crown c oild do to secure for him a
fair and impartiel trial in this place, has been done by
them, and tip- responsibility of any injustice being done
to him must rest alone on the law and the jury. One of
the greatest calamities 'that c have befallen any
man, circiane-tanced as my unhappy client is, hay befallen
him in being deprived of the services of the able advocate
by illness, who weeks since was engaged to defend him,
and I have endeavoured by nay humble ability to supply
that loss, and the circumstances to which I have already
referred relative to the conduct of the Government that
the prisoner should have-a.fair trial, is to me a cause of
ereat encouragement. I cannot for a moment
deny that I am awed and almost overcome with
the great importance and magnitude of the case,
but at the same time I am not discouraged,
and I have this further cause for not being altogether
overcome by the duty I have to discharge in defending
the prisoner.and in discussing the mass of evidence that
has been laid before you, and which assumed a different
character to that loose inquiry at Rugeley before the
coroner, that after reading it I formed no opinion on it
with regard to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner, and
my mind was consequently free to form on the evidence
now produced what I trust will ,be declared by you to
be a right judgrnen' on his case. I commence his- de-
fence, and I state it in all sincerity, with an entire c•m-
viction of hiS innocence; and I believe there never were
truer words pronounced by any man than those pro-
nounced by him when he said "Not guilty " to
the indictment on which he was now being
tried ; • and. if I fail in establishing the
prisoner's innocence, I shall be under very grave
misgivings that tbat failure is to be attributed more
to my inability to do justice to his case than to any
weakness of, his case itself. And as a proof of my sin-
cerity of my conviction of his innocence, I will state to
you that-it is my intention to meet the case for the pro-
secution foot by foot, and at every stage grapple with
every difficulty that has been presented to you so ably
by the learned Attorney-General, that you shall see that
I avoid no point because I fear to approach it ; and if
you find that I deal fairly with the beginning, I
hope I tnay be sure—nay, I know am sure---of obtain-
MI your approval. The propositions which the Crown
undertook to establish in this case against the prisoner,
And which they have endeavoured to support entirely by
circumstantial evidence, might beoshortly stated to be
this. They say that the prisoner, in the second week in
November, made up hie mind that it was to his interest
to get rid of John Parsoos Conk, and that he deliberately
perpetrated his death by the deadly aid of poison—first,
by the slower poison of antimony, and afterwards that he
destroyed him by the more rapid and deadly poison of
strychnia. No jury, I feel satisfied, would venture to
convict a man of the crime imputed to the prisoner by
the Crown, unless, in the first place, it was made clear
that the person so committing the act had some motive
for the commission of the offence—some strong reasons
for' wishing -to get riff of the person a and, secondly, un7

less it were made clear that the symptoms of the deceased
before death, and the appearance presented by the body
after death, were inconsistent with the theory thatdeath
arise from, other and natural causes ; and, thirdly,
that it was quite clear that the circumstantial evi-
dence was such as to be indisputable on the supposition
laid down. Now it ip under these three heads that I in-
tend to discuss the evidence that you have heard ; and
it must be perfectly cletti• to you that if I adhere to that
order and niethed of treating the vast amount of evi-
dence that has been laid before you, I must exhaust the
whole argument arid leave mys ?.If no chance without im-
mediate detection of avoiding any d fficulties in the case.
Before, however, I proceed tograppof m
grapple with' thy
e addresscase
for the Crown, allow roe at - mice to say
what will be the: ,whole scope
to you—viz., to ' restore to its proper place
in the discussion the fact, which has by no means
been concealed from you by the learned. Attorney-
General, in that addreis` of his, by' which be at once
seized upon your judgments by drawing your attentien
so much to the details of his case—the fact that strych-
nine was not found in the body of the deceased John
Parsons Conk. If the' deceased died of strychnine, he
died within two hours of the adminieration to him of a
very strong dose of it ; and it was stated that be died
within a quarter of an hour or twenty mioutes
after the effects of the dose was said to become
visible in the cinvuNions of which he diee'. Wi'llin
six days of his death a post rnortern examination of the
body took place, and never were there circumstances so
favourable, unless the science of chernical analysing is
altogether a failure in the detection, of poisoning by
strychnine, in which it ought to have been so easily de-
tected. Now, the fact is beycinct all question that it
was not found, and whatever we may think of Dr. A.
Taylor's judgment and great ability; there can be no ,
doubt but that he is a skilful and practical analytical
chemist. We have not the least reason to eupeose—in
fact, we know to the contrary, that be and Dr. Rees, who
assisted hirn, did not do aillhat the science of chemical
ana,ysis cold enable Abein to do to detect strychnia,
yet they did not detect it, but that they did antimony.
From the incormation which they received from the
relations of the deceased, and from his solicitor, their
attention was called to the suspicion that existed of the
cause of Cook's death being by poison, - and yet in
Decemb,r, a few weeks after death, they were unable
to find any poison but antimony. Having, how-
ever, attended the inquest, and heard the evidence
of Mr. Jo, es, the female Mills, and celers, and that
of the witness Roberts, who spoke to the purchase
of strychnine by Palmer on the morning of.the decetweVe
death, 'Dr. Taylor came to the conclusion that the pills
tat were administered to Cook on the Monday and
Toes lay contained strychnine, though he had previously
given his opinion in writing that the deceased must have
died from antimony; from traces ef it having been found
in the body and 11.3 traces of strychnine. I am not about
to diecivis that point of the 'case now, but I call your
attention to it. It will claim a proper place in the dis-
cussion, and I mention it now that
you might know
at the commencement of my address what the course is
I intend to pursue' -awl that you may not be under the
impression that I don't under the three heals to whica
I have directed your attention refer to it, and that con-
sequeotlyl intend to pass it over. I have, therefore,
told you what the case for the defence will beewith re-
ference.to.strychnine not being found in the dr;ceased's
body, and the medical gentlemen who have c >me to the
conclusion thatstrychnine might have been there, though
they lid not find any, have arrived at these conclusions
by experiments of
.a.,.i..yeiy pa.teial kind r indeed ; and
they eentind that'th6 poison of strychnine is of that
nature that when once it has done its fatal work, and
becomes absorbed in the, system, it ceases to be the
thing wlioh it was when it was taken into the sys-
tem, becaiese it became decomposed, and its elements
separate& from each' other,' and therefore it was no
longer capatle of Je'ipen ling to the tests which, etc-
cordin to them, would certainly detect the presence
of unties ,mposed strychnine. They can't, however,
vary the fact that it .was not found in the body, but
they 4111 rretaiOed'the belief that Cook was destroyed
accoriing, to that hypothesis, which was an hypotheses
unsupported by any eminent toxicologists but them-
e_lvee-. But it was fair to them to say, and to Dr. Tayl e.
in particular—because it 'Tout of:My power to speak
of. Dr. Chriatison except with the respect due to a man
of bis jealinerce and tigh: Standing—it is due to Dr.
Tayl•ir-to'.,ay that he had- p-romitioded his theory in a
Ihunk be had publi,hed on that subject. Atter refer-
ing to the' experience of Dr. Taylor and to this poison
ma a miniber of rabbits, tho loariaod gentleman paid, I

will call,,on.this pint, before you many gentlemen of
the highest eminence in 'the profession,—analytical
chemists, who will state to you their utter renuncia-
tion of that opinion. I will call before you Dr.
Nunnely, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons,
a professor of stirrry at three schools of medicine,
and who attended the late strychnine case at Leeds ;
Dr. Williams, professor of Materia Medica in
Ireland, an.l surgeon f r eighteen years at the
Dublin Hospital_.; Dr. Letheby, one of the ablest and
most distinguiShe,l men of science in the great
city, a professor of chemistry and toxicology in the
medical school of the London Hospital, who rejected
the theory of Dr. Tayler as a heresy, and unworthy of
the belief of scientific men ; Dr. N. Parker, pr .fessor of
medicine at the London Hospital ; Dr: Robinson, of
the C.)llege of Physicians ; Dr. Rogers, professor of
chemistry at St. George's School ; and, lastly, I will call
bettire you probably the most eminent chemical analyst
in the country, Mr. W. Herenath, of Bristol, all of Whom
rej-ct the theory. of Dr. Taylor as totally unworthy
of belief, and are ready to prove that not only could
half a grain of strychnine, or the 50th part of a grain of
strychnine, but the sth, 10th, or 20'.h part of that quan-
tity, if it had erit,red into the human frame at al!, it
could and must be detected by the proper tests, and that '
no degree of putrefaction or fermentation of the human
body c raid prevent its being found. I now apply my-
self to what in my judgment is of equal importance to
the above in the case, if n it a wits imp .irtant question,
and which I approach with no diffi fence whatever,

. •
except toe distrtist which I have, under the circumstances
which I have sated, of myself ; and if it were possible

fir me to write what I think of it, and then 1%44 it to

you, I don't entertain the smallest doubt myself but that
,you would be convicted of the innocence of the pri-
soner. And that is the question whether in the second
week in November, 1855, he had a motive for the nom-

mission of the murder—any strong reasons for desiring
that Cook should die, and unless it is made clear to you

that it was his interest to get rid of him, I never will
believe you will come to the conclusion that he com-
mitted the act. It appears to me, by the evidence laid
before you, that it Le abundantly clear, that not only
was it not the interest of Palmer that Conk should die,

but that his death was the worst calamity that could

happen to him, and that he could not possibly be ignorant
that it must immediately be followed by his own ruin.

At the tune of the death of Cook he (Palmer) wag in

extreme embarrassment, but that state was in Rome de-
gree remitted by the per4oa whose name he had forged
—his own mother, a lady of very large fortune. The

Attorney-General stated that the case against the pri-
soner was this, that the vrisoner, with ruin staring him
in the face—when Cook was in possession of a larze

sum of money—did wilfully deztroy him. I beg the
jury to careful:y scrutinise the evidence, and then to say
whether it was the prisoner's interest, in the second

week in November, to destroy Cook ; if not, they would

decide accordingly.

A. great mimber

lettsrg

had been read —yesterday, but although it was
thought that this 'dil not in the least affect the
case, I firmly believe in that correspondence the in-

noc-nce of the prisoner lies concealed. Allow ice to call
Jour attention to the state of friendship which existed
between tho deceased and the prisoner. They jointly

owned race-horses, or were always seen together on the
race-courve. It had been remarked by Cook, before the
witness Jones, that they (meaning himself and Palmer)

bad lost a good deal of money together of late. That
would prove they were in the closest intimacy. In May,
1855, Paliner wanted 2001; to pay some debts, and he

applied to Pratt for the. sum, hut it was refuted without
he gave some uooci„ security, and he accordingly offered
his friend, John P. Cook. Now Cook was not possessed of

a very large fortunJ—such a fortune as, he heard, might
have been thrown down in a week._ It was not likely

that anybody would go to DrlC6Ore Cotntuoas to ascer-

tain what sum Cook received on his grandfather's death
before the sum of 200/. was advanced to him, for the

position he had attained seemed of itself quite sufficient
security for the repayment of the money. As long as
there was a vestige of property Pratt continued to lend

the prisoner money at a rate of about 60 per cent.
A person paying such a sum for interest
could have nothing but utter and irretrievable min

staring hitn in the, face. I beg the jury to observe that
I anl not defending the 'prisoler against the charge of
forgery ; that has nothing to' do with the present pro-

needing. I shall read a certain number of letters that
have been put in evidence, which will show that Palmer

•
and Cook •were • ontly benefitted by the money received
from. Pratt on certain occaBions; The learned counsel
here read some of the corre.pondence, which went to
show that in November he (Palmer) was being pressed
in such a manner by Pratt for money, that at that time
Cook's life was of the ut ;lost. imdortauce to him; and

also a letter from. Cook to Fisher, telling him to pay
bOO/. to Pratt); it was of the greatest importance that he
should do so, and he (Cook) had sent up 3001. towards
that sum. At this moment, therefore, it was clearly
evident Cook was doing all he could to assist Palmer,
and it was not at all to be supposed that he would
at that u3otrent destroy him, In the spendthrift way
in which Cook and Palmer were living, it clearly showed
that Cook was doing all he could for Palmer. and on the
16th of November, when it was alleged Palmer was

poisoning him, he was acting 'towarcts him with the
greatest kindness. The evidence of Fisher, who wag
no friend of Palmer's, stated that on the Monday aq

Well us the Taesday Cook was comparatively well, and

the inference was that that was so because Palmer

was absent It would presently be shown how

very gross and simple

that inference was.

was the interest of Conk that Palmer should not

be arrested by Pratt, and it was to prevent that eircum-

stance happening that Cook desired Palmer to go to
London and arrange the matter with Pratt himself.
Cook died on the in rning of the 2 let, apd if we want to
know anything further abonf Palmer we must get it
from Pratt, as Cook had never passed from the scene.

It has been proved that Palmer had acted in the most
affeqtlonate manner to Cook, and the circumstance of his
wishing to secure the horke Polestar went. for nothing,

and he would show that the five hundred pounds
obtained froM Pratt was obtained for Cook alone,
but on his death Palmer wat4 saddled with the payment.
The learned Sergeant went on to'say that it was to the
highest degree improbable that Cook did not have that
money upon that transaction of 5001. with . Pratt.
Would Cook, who knew he had executed a bill of sale,

and wanted the money, and wanted that immediately,
have waited for two days ? The signature of Cook to the
cheque was net even an imitation of Cook's handwriting.
It was probable that from the correspondence, and he
state of Palmer's banking account, that as Pratt bad
sent a cheque which could have been cashed through a
London house, that Cook wanting the money, Palmer
let hire have the money. Was it likely that Cook would
have let the matter rest for the time he did before his
death, when it was shown that he had wanted Money ?
Was it likely that Palmer clvsi:ed Cook's death ? Cook
had signed the cheque upon the day before his death
for 3501., and bad to be sent up to be paid
Now, if the news ce Cook's death reached be-
fore, which it was more than probable it would,
where would be Palmer's chances of getting the cheque
paid ? Ceok had no effects to meet that cheque, and it
was most likely that Cook's executors would dispute any
claim. What would he gain by Cook's death"? No-
thing. A l the evidence showed that Cook was his only
resource, and what would Cook's death bring him pro-
pel ty that would now clear him of his forgeries upon
hie mother ? Would it not deprive him of the assistance
of Cook, and bring about an investigation of Cook's ac-
counts with the executors. Was it likely that Cook was
rot a cloae-tisted, penurious man ; and yet the theory of
the Crown wad, that Palmer killed Cook because he
thought he could better settle with the executors,
whom he would find shrewd men of business. Such a
theory was an .absurdity. Would not all the forgeries
have then fallen upon himself? The. manual upon
chemistry which had been put in, bearing the prisoner's
notes made upon the margin, clearly showed that he well
know what effects the poison would have had upon
Cook.
Lord Campbell said that the prosecution had not made
any
.great point of. that fact, but admitted that the pri-
soner was studying to qualify hiniself as a practitioner..
The learned Sergeant knew that, but it would show
that the prisoner knew well tile effects that strychnia
would produce. What did the note fix attention to ? ,
Why, that the death of any one dying of strychnia would I
be a most fearful scene, and he (the learned Sergeant) put 1,
it to the jury whether a man (who knew well what would
result from such poieon), and was in the position in
which the prisoner was, would have run the risk which
such a death would have created; and with regard to
the evidence of that stupid fellow Newton, be should
speak at a Mere time. What was Palmer's position at
the time, both with regard to his affairs and the extrica:
tion from them which the prosecution. say led him to con)!
mit this act ? The prisoner a position was this—why at.
that very time he was in the expectation of a claim
which he had against the prisoner of bills with relation
to the insurance upon his brother being settled, and
was it likely that the prisoner, who knew that such a
death as that which be was charged with causing would,
is a place like Rugeley, lead to much specu-
lation, have done that which would cause the
utmost discussion and lead to enquiry, which,
if it went no farther, would prejudice those claims from
which he anticipated to clear himself from his difficulties.
He refused tho off -r of the premium from the Prince of
Wales Insurance Office, which was a strong fact in favour
of the prisoner, and had he bad the least fear OR the sub-
ject he would not have acted in the manner he had done.
It was not until the office had disputed the policy on
Walter Palmer that Pratt began to move in the matter.
That circumstance Pratt said entirely altered the psi-
tion of Palmer, and at the same time he intimated to the
prisoner that he must be prepared to cover the accept-
ance of his Mother for the four thousand pounds.
el great deal had been said about the policy of
insurance on the life of Walter Palmer, but he felt
convinced that, as sure as the prisoner was saved—
and saved be would be —that policy would be paid.
He bad not the slightest doubt but that would be the
the case, and the effect of such a proceeding would be
the payment of the whole of the prisoner's
debts. Tee company had no defence, and immediately
the prisoner was acquitted the office must pay the
money. It wao not to be supposed that Palmer would
endanger the likelihood of his receiving the 13,0001.
by putting Cook to death, as it was the only
means he had of meeting his liabilities. He
entirely o
f
before
respectfully submitted to the Court and jury
that
Hew t?oh
fadt portionoosv
proceedoo the symptoms
of
:h eca'ebad
sleeted contrast the medical evidende, and, in order to
death and his appearance after. Under this bead he
do so, he should for a short time refer to the evidence that
had been given during the course of the trial. Thelearm d
counsel then proceeded .to allude to Mr. Stevens' evi-
dence; and naentioned the meeting of-him and the pri-
soner, when Stevens- told him that he euseeeted him,
etel that he was deterniined to have the matter probed
to the bottom. He (the learned counsel) then described
the symptoms of Cook previous to his death, and dated
that big fattier dm goat the ogo of $O, big mother

also died at a comparatively early age. He then went
on to state the appearance of the body when it
was opened for the post mortem examination, and also
the state of Cook's throat at death, and alluded to the
circumstance of the deceaed as to health, and said he
thought that without being an utterly depraved person
he had led 3 very loose lite. He stated he should show
that Cook was in the habit of appearing on the raae-
course ,with large epots about him which plainly indi-
cated disease. The state of Cook was only partially
discovered at' the'first post mortem examination, which
was not of the most satisfactory neture,. The interior
of the body was therefore sent to Landon to be
analysed' and tha result of the analysis was,
that death might havebeen caused by antimony,
but after hearing certain evidence at the coroner's
inquest Dr. Taylor had altered his opinion, and instead
of antimony being stated a. the cause of death, that
was raid to be a mistake, and he had the immense
imprudence to state in his evidence before the jury
that the pills which Palmer delivered to Cook' con-
tained strychnine, and that that was the cause
death. Upon that evidence a verdict of wilful
murder was returned, and Palmer was consigned to

a prison. If the opinion of medical men upon
certain doubted points was to consign persons to prison,
he trembled for the eafet,, of society. No person would
be safe in whose family a sudden death occurred. The

medical man who attended Cook attributed death to

apoolexy, and rt upan the vtaternent of a gentleman
with a very iwerfect knowledge on the itubjct of strych-
this to,namony waq vet amide and-death declared to

_ -
result from that powerful poison,_ strychnia, ad-
ministered in pills by the prisoner to deceased.
Great trouble had been taken to show that Cook had

died from tata.nus ariAiug from strychnia, and a great
deal of Jiscusion followed about the meaning of idiopathic
tatanus, but he denied that it was proved that it was
tattnui, or that it was otherwise than nmvu!sions.

Evideno. from milicAl men sp ke of the deceased's
attack as convulsions. We are not called upon
to show the exwit cause of death, but we
are only called upon to prove our denial of the
theory laid down by the prosecution, but it will
be enough for 11l to prove to you that out of the
numerous variety of convulsions with which the

human frame may be attacked, asphyxia might have
taken place from ordinary disease. it is enough for
as to prove the possibi ity of such a cause of death, with-

out proving that it is irreconcileahle with the evidence

of poisonin-fc by Rtrychnine. Tne learned Sergeant, said
that he would go through the medical depo.itions up m
the state of Cook, as it was only fair to those
gentlemen whose opinions he disputed, that they
might know upon what they formed these opinions.

Lord Campbell said this Would be the best time to
adjourn.

Upon the reassembling of the Court the learned ser-
geant said he proposed to read the depositions of Eliza-
beth Mills and Dr. Jones upon the state of the deceased
upon the Monday and Tuesday night, and he thought
they would go to show that the death had not arisen
from tetanus either by strychnine or otherwise, but that
he died from convulsions. He would ask them to take

into consideration the state of-COVIi7s ;;;mind aTti; time

he went to Shrewsbury. He was in a desporate state—
his feelings must have been that he was either a beggar,
or Polest,ir winning gave him a ohance of retrieving his
fortunes. What had been the state of his excitement? The

wan was in this state, Mr. Jones tells you, th'st
he could not speak for three minutes, and what was his
state after ? Why, that he would be enabled to retrieve
his name, his honour, and his engagetnentf, and not be
looked upon as a black-leg. This operated upon a pre-
viously diseased frame, which he (the learned stirgeant)
should not again enter into. What did they next hear
of Cook ? A. champagne dinner followed. He was seen
with the trainer and a woman. What took place upon
the next day ? He went to the course; it was wet ; he
wal ill.

What effct didall this have xipin a man whose

condition was weakened by excitement and disease?
Let the jury look to .hi-; conduct when he spoke of the
quarrell he thought he heard in the str,et. We
that _ what persons of sound constitution would

experience ? Did it not bespeak a disordered stomach and
general disarrangement? Alter that, although deceased
was welt enough to see his trainer and jockeys, he did
not have any appetite. Del he refrain from drinking
brandy and water ? Cook was not well ; Palmer was
not with hire then. [The JLarned Sergeant h- re read

the statement of Eliz3T)eth Mills as to the state ot Cook

upon Sunday and M. )nday night.] He should also read
the statement of Dr. Junes. Pahnqr had pent for Jones

Jones was C.)ek's best friend. CO tic and Jones were

together from 3 to 8, and there was the opportunity of
Cook teUing Dr. Jones if he had any cause to complain
of Palmer. Pal'ner said to Dr. Jone,, "I an glad you
are come." Dr. Jones h,td Co ik to himielf from 3to 7,
Mr. Baron Alderson--Palmer was in and out of the
room.

Sergeant Shee—Yes, but we have a right to infix.
that, Dr. Jones npt having stated Cook raids a .y C3fll-
plaint of Palmer'i conduct, that Co tk had not made any.
Was it not very strange that Co.k. should not have

given to Dr. Jori4s, his-friend anaConfiilant, the same
account as he hid given to EOzabeth Mills, the cham-
bermaid, as stated by her upon the first examination
before the Coroner F The inference is that, in all proba-
bility, the first statement of Elizabeth Mlle was the cm.-

reet-One. Mr. Joue% said that he visited Cook the

whole of the afternoon, and Palmer brings up two pills
which are supposed to have poisoned Cook, awl actually
forced the pills down the man's throat, in the presence
of Jones—at the same time knowing that if they had
been composed of the deadly poison which it had been
stated they were, Cook would have expired precisely in
the same manner as the rabbits, which had been spoken

about. In the evidence of Dr. Jones, given before tie

coroner's inquest, although tetanus Biagi have occurred
to bun when he read over his deposition and signed it,
although the word tetanus had been erased, the inference,
therefore, was, the,: his attention must have been draw*
to the fact, and that he did not think that the death of
his friend had been (mused by tetanus. The learned
_

getlernan was, about to read an extract ffoin a work
publishel by Dr. Copeland when,
The Attorney-General rose and said if ybu read that
extract I shall challenge you to produce Dr. Copeland.
He is still alive.

Mr. Sergeant Shee—Does your lordship object to my
reading the extract from the book in question ?
The Lord Chief Justice—Do you intend to call Dr.
Copeland as a witness ?
Mr. Sergeant Shoe said he did not propose to
adopt such a course, although the' learned At-
torney General could have had Dr. Copeland in
attendance had he thought the evidence necessary.
Mr. Sergeant &lee then proceeded to. read extracts
from Dr. Copela,nd's work upon convulsions, and said
he felt convinced that, had Dr. Taylor read this, h
would not have so boldly stated hiS belief that strych
nine was the cause of death. The evidence of the
chambermaid differed as to the state of Cook upon
the first tine of her giving her evidence, and Dr.
Jones somewhat differed in the statements made by
him as to the state of the body. The learned Sergeant
read Dr. Watson's work upon tetanic diseases, and
argued that they went to Drove that the tetani'.• sy up-
toins in Cook were attributable to other cau es tor,
-strychnine; but he was inclined to thick that Co-,k ha
suffered from general convukions,
.He then went u,

to read the work of Dr. Taylor upon tetanus from
strychnine, which did not agree with the symptoms
exhinited by C iok. Dr. 'Paylor spoke of a person at
first attacked from strychnine as unable to speatc. Did
Cook exhibit these symptoms ? He sat up in bed ani
spoke. Dr. Christi!-lon's work also did not agree with
the sympt.ins s ate.' i• ale been exhibit-d by Cook.
Toe learned sergeant then went on to explain some ex-
periments which he had seen perf9rtned for the pur-
poses of this defence. It was upon a dog and two
rabbits, and the result of these experimeats proved to
him that Dr. Taylor was not correlt io his work upon
the question. The animals each evioced the greatest
fear of beiog touc',ed. Conk did not evince these symp-
toms. All these cases showed that in no instance had
there been so much command over the muscular sys 4 era
as in Cook's case. Every instance, and the experiment
which ho had seen, showed that anything labouring
under the effeCt of strychnine was most sensible of the
slightest touch, and dreaded it. 'Ellis was not
so in Cook's case. Cook was not afraid, but
when labouring under what was said to be strych-
nine actually asked to base his neck rubbed.
The learned gentleman then proceeded to contrast the
evidence given by the medical gentlemen who have been
examined, and also to read a number of cases in which
strychnine had been taken, in all of which instances the
symptoms Caine on in a much shorter time than was
the cise with Cook. In one case 2or 3 drachms

of mix votnica taken by a young woman about 17 years
of age, the symptoms first appeared in about half an
hour, arid death occurred in 40 minutes. Another case
was that which was [neatened by Dr. Watson in his I
book, and which he had himself witnessed. It occurred
at tne Middlesex Hospital. It was a case where the
strychnine, intended for a paralytic patient, bad been
administered by mistake to another person. A grain
was the quantity taken, and the time the accident oc-
curred was about seven o'clock. In half an hour the
symptoms came on, sod the following incident took
place which did not occur in Cook's case at
all. The slightest touch of the patient brought on the
spasmodic convulsions. Comparing the one case with
the other, the space of time between the spasmodic at-
tacks which took place in Cook's was three times ton long
to indicate that the cause of death was the administration
of strychnine. In all cases where the body of the animal
he had seen killed by this deadly poison had been opened
the heart was invariably found full ; but if the op3ristion
was performed in a clumsy manner the beast wo mid then
be found empty. He hoped and trusted the jury, before
they gave their verdict, would insist that a number of dogs
or cats should be brought into one of the yards adjoin-
ing the Court, and strychnia should be administered to
the animals, and that by that means from actual obser-
vation they would be enabled to arrive at certain con-
clusions, which would be of the utmost importance to
them in coming to a verdiet in this important trial.
He did not wish to impute perjury to the witness Eliza-
beth Mills, but she had given two different accounts,
w
which might not be wilfully wrong, but still they would
have to receive her evidence with the utmqt caution.
In a court of civil law her testimony would ecsrcely be
received, she baying told two difbrent stories ; and how
much more important was it for them when it was a case of
life depening on not relying on her watement. The learned
Sergeant then commented at some length upon the man-
ner in which the inquiry took place before the Coroner,
and agued that the evidence given i y the girl Mills
upon the first occasion was whattheyshould alone relyupon.
This statement was made before she knew what Dr. Tay-
lor was to state, and before she knew the theory of
Dr. Taylor, and that it was part of the case that the pri-
soner had by antirnonial doses so prepared the stamach
of the deceased by repeated rounds so as to absorb the
L pOl5OO of strychnine. Now upon tits point she bad
i
stated at first that she had tasted the broth, and thought
; it very good ; but she 4 ki not WV 00 single wsard at

that examination about being iH fiom the effectenf tast-
ing that broth: It Was doubtless true she bad been
spoken to by the prisoner, and she perhaps, having been
sick at the same time, attributed it to that, and had
now come formarl and said that it had been caused by
the broth. Was it likely that a man of Palmer's
sense and shre-wdness would have so laid himself
open to be suspected as to send broth over
from his own house to the Talbot whehhe knew that it
contained an antimonial preparation. Would he have
sent it over there, to have found its way into the kitchen,
where it was sure to have been tasted by the cook.
Again, in her evidence as to the coffee, she had dif-
fered in- her statements, and one strange thing was
that her evidence now as to the state of Cook agreed
in many particulars with the statements which appeared
in the papers about the symptoms exhibited by a per-
son at Leeds who had died from strychnine. This was.
since the death of Oook, and her statements new
upon that point differed from what she had first
stated, more particularly about the taitchings
of Cook's frame. Ha did not mean to say that
she had perjured herself, but that she had been
questioned and -tuteured to give an account which
was more in keeping with the theory of the Crown, and
that the story she now told was not so much to be re-
lied upon as the statement she gave when the matter
was first fresh upon her mind. He was not going to
enter int detail upon the medical and clynical evidence
which he intended to call, but merely to state that they
were of the highest eminence who would disprove the
theory laid down by thy+ prosecution, and would
even, if the Bench thought fit to e..110w it, perform ex-
periments in some of the yards of the gaol upon animals,
and demonstrate to them what they in evidence could
state.

Lord Campbell and Baron Alderson said that such a
course could not be pursued.
The learned Sergeant said the next point he should
touch upon was the circumstantial evidence, which he con-
tended was not such as would justify a conviction in this
case, and under all the circumstances it would be im-
possible to arrive at any other conclusion against the pri-
soner than a verdict of not guilty The circumstance of tbe
pushing at the inquest was of itself exceedingly trivial,
and it could hardly be conceived that anything serious
occurred, although the room was crowded to excess.
Notwithstanding the pushing nothing was lost, and the
jars were, according to the evidence, received in
London in precisely the same state as they left
Ingeley. The circumstance of Palmer expressing his
satisfaction at Dr. flatland having been appointed to
perform the post mortem examination was of itself no-
thing. It was merely the expression of gratification on
the part of Palmer that a person who:n he thought
competent was appointed. The post boy's evidence
was pressed into the case, but it amounted to
nothing. Steven's behaviour towards Palmer was cer-
tainly calculated to cause him much annoyance, and it
was nothing surprising that there should not be a very
good feeling on his part. It was also quite
natural for Palmer to feel great anxiety that
the jar should not go out of the possession of Dr. Har-
land. The expression, "I'll give ten pounds to upset
them," could not have applied to the jars, as there was
but one, and therefore 'it must have applied to
the persons who were in the carriage, namely,
Mr. Stevens and Boycott. That Palmer felt much vexed
at the conduct of Stevens could not be a matter of
wonder, when he (Stevens) had hinted at suspicions
which would utterly destroy him. Palmer after this
met the post-boy, and asked him if he was going to
drive " them," and this must have bad relation to the
passengers. The learned gentleman then referred
to the examination in chief of the post-boy, and also his
cross-examination, and the construction he• put upon the
same was, that to gratify a personal pique he offered
the money to upset Dr. Stevens. He submitted
that this was a fair version of the story. On
the other hand, he held that it was highly improbable
that a medical gentleman 'would attempt to upset the jar
or hire Any other person to do it, when there were so
many members of the profession in the room at the time,
with some of whom he was on terms of intimacy.
He now passed to the evidence of Newton. Newton
swore that he gave Palmer three grains of strychnia.
This witness did not bring this fact to the knowledge of
the Crown till the night before the trial was com-
menced. He carefully concealed the important
fact till a very late moment, until concealment
became dangerous to him, and then he mentioned
the circumstance. The witness was perfectly worthy of
credit. Is a witness who takes an oath and keeps back a
part of the evidence until a second oath is administered,
worthy of belief ? The buying of the strychnine signified
nothing on the part of Palmer. It was used to kid
dogs and other vermin, of which he bad much need,
as would be seen on referring to the evidence of
Bates. It was to the last degree impossible for Pal-
mer to have purchased the strychnine for any other
purpose, and if 'soy other ,notiv,* influenced him it was
not at all likely ho would have bought the poison at
a chemist's shop in a country town where be
resided, and purchase or obtain 3 grains of strychnine.
Why the thing was improbable to a degree. Besides,
he should be in a position to prove that it was utterly
impossible for Palmer to have been in the shop at the
time Newten deposed to. A witness, Herring, stated
that-- he saw Palmer in London on the day that
Newton fixed as the day on which Palmer
came to him at 9 o'clock to get the strychnine. Now
it was absolutely impossible for Palmer, had he left
London by the earliest and fastest train, to have been
in Rugeley at the time deposed to by the witness.
Strychnia must have been found in the prisoner's house
after the death of Cook if he purchased the quantity
stated by several of the witnesses. Was It possible that
Palmer would have went and consulted Newton on
the effect of strychnine. He did not think for a moment
that the jury could entertain the idea. So improbable
' did it appear that he would not trouble the jury further
on the subject. Fisher's evidence went to prove that
Cook killed himself,' The only thing extraordinary in
Fisher's evidence was that Palmer said Cook complained
to him of putting something into his brandy and water.
Then with regard to the evidence of Mrs. Brooks there
was nothing extraordinary in it.' She says that when
he held the glass up to the light she thought it had not
the appearance of anything being mixed with thebrandy.
After the races at Shr3asbory, Cook and Palmer both
saw ruin staring them in the face, and provided for the
temporary difficulty by procuring a loan of 2001.; and
considering that they were both joint owners of the same
horses, there was nothing extraordinary in theirconduct.
It is said that the very attentiveness of the prisoner is an
evidence of his guilt. Here was a young man, an utter
stranger, in the room, and being a friend of Palmer's, he
did not think it was anything but what one friend would
do to another. Cook had no other friend in the
room, and because Palmer laboriously devoted himself
to alleviate the sufferings of his friend, he is accused of
the most insidious and wicked designs. The learned
Sergeant then implored the jury to dismiss all the preju-
( ice which they may have previously had from their
minds, and at some length contended that if Palmer
had intended to murder Cook he would not ,have
chosen the time and place where death had
ensued when Conk was with his friend, a medical
man, and to kill Cook by means most likely
to create suspicions and bring about an ex-
posure of those forgeries which so much stress bad
been 1 -id upon. The learned counsel, after referring to
some further evidence, said that he did not believe that
the jury could find the prisoner guilty upon testimony
which left so much room for doubt. He (the
learned sergeant) felt that a jury could not or
would not find. him guilty. The learned Sergeant then
sat down, after speaking from half-past 10.
The Court then adjourned.

BATH RACES —(This DayD

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPII.)

SWEEPSTAKES.

Weathercock
Sextus

Seven ran.

BATH HANDICAP.
Speed the Plough.
Alonzo

Fourteen ran.

ARISTOCRATIC HANDICAP.

Sirocco
Anthracite

Five ran.

WESTON STAKES.

Pomona
Lamlourn
Fourteen ran.
GOLD CUP.
Fisherman
King Cob 2

Seven ran.

LATEST BETTING.

K DERBY.
sto 2 agst Wentworth (take 3 to 1)
sto 1 agst Fazzoletto (offered)
Bto 1 agst Cannobie (offered)
10 to 1 agst Artillery (offered)
20 to 1 agst Yellow Jack (offered)
25 to 1 agst Rogerthorpe (offered)
30 to 1 agst Ellington (offered)
66 to 1 apt Astrologns (taken)

MALTOZT.—Fiznletto, Fly-by-Night, and others left
this morning for Leatherhead, and Siohaeus for Har-
penden.

THE LYCETIII THEATRE.—This theatre has been let for
three years to Mr. Conquest, the proprietor of the Gre-
cian Saloon, who takes poseessinn immediately after the
clo=e of the Italian Opera reason.
THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.—The Mount of Olives near
Jerusalem has been purchased by a Madame Polack, the
widow of a wealthy banker of the Hebrew persuasion at
Konigsberg, iu Prussia. This lady intends to beautify the
place and improve the whole neighbourhood, at her sole
exoense. The first thing she has done was to plant the
whole area with a grove of olive trees, and thus to re-
store it to the original state to which it derives its name.
The olive tree thrives well in that locality, and though
it t',:ces many years before arriving at a state of maturity
and 16 years before bearing any fruit at all, it requires
but little or 110 tending, and last for several hundred
yearn.

STAMP ,DUTIES PAID BY FIAE INSUR-
ANCE COMPANIES.

A state went wa3 gin on Monday of the amount of
stamp Lint iers pail during the pa.:3t year by each of the
London fir !a• insurance uffices, arranged in the order of
their respE,zt lye amounts. Subjoined is a similar table
with regard to country offices :

DUTY 9.1.1 a ;BT THI COUNTRY FIRE INSURIXCE OFFICES

DURING TEM YEAR 1855.

Norwich ITni'on
West of E. tgland
Manchester •
Royal
Liverpool & London 21,057
York,hire
Lancashire
Leeds and 11..arkshiro ¶8,141
Birmingham.
Kent
Birmingham ..Diitrict 7,"42
Essex and S niTilk „, 6,026
Newcastlo.c n-Tyne 6,098
North of Er tf ;I a
Essex Econo 'Laic
Of the va'lxte of the farming stock insured at each of
the country olffices, and which is exempt from duty, the
following ar e the totals :
VALUE OF IP.A.P.MING STOCK (EXEMPT FROM DUTY) IN

5.1,10 p , 3,833
Nottinghaua & Derby 3,735
Sheffield
Norwich Equitable 2,693
Kent Mutual
Provincial .... . 2,583
Hants, Sussex, and

Dorset
Shropshire and North
Wales
Midland Counties
Lincolnshire 6IS
Durham and Nor-
thumberland