The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-15 00:00:00

THE KEIGHLEY POISONING.

On Wednesday John Sagar, master of the Keighley
Workhouse, was again placed in the dock of the Keighley
Court-house, charged with the murder of his wife, Bar-
bara Sagar, by administering arsenic. Mr. Manwaring,
poor law inspector, occupied a seat on the bench during
part of the proceedings. The prisoner, on being placed
in the dock, appeared to be considerably dejected, and
he wept several times during the day.
Mr. Milligan, the surgeon who attended the deceased,
was recalled, and was questioned relative to the bottle
orrnedicine which he sent to Mrs. Sagar on the Wed-
nesday, and which was produced by Mr. Cheeseborough,
the superintendent constable. He stated that the quantity
of medicine said to have been given to Mrs. Sagar out of
that bottle on the Wednesday, namely, two table-spoon-
fuls and a half, could not have been taken out of it, from
the quantity of Medicine which now remained in it, if
the spoonfuls were of the usual medical measurement.
1u cross-examination by Mr. Wasney, the prisoner's
counsel, he said that quantity might have been poured
out, if one or two table-spoonfuls of water had since
been added to the medicine, but it did not appear to
have been diluted ; at all events, very little. In reply
to the Court, he said no bottle of medicine was charged
by him for Mrs. Sagar on the Wednesday night.
Martha Bland, wife of Thomas Bland, one of the
guardians, of the Keighley Union, was next recalled,
and in addition to her previous evidence it Was elicited,
that on the night before the deceased died the prisoner
called at her house, and after remaining a few minutes,
went out with her husband. They returned together,
in about an hour, and ten minutes after Sagar lefr, to go
home.

Thomas Bland,. the husband of the last witness, was
called and questioned very minutely by the chairman as
to when he hal been in company with Sagar during the
week that the deceased died. He stated that ha bad
only been with him oace, and that was on the Wednes-
day or Thursday evening, at Mrs. Corlasels public-house,
in Keigbley, where he met him accidentally. On being
asked particularly whether Sagar had called at his house
on Friday night, and he had gone out with him, he re-
plied he did not know—he could not recollect—he did
not remember. When told of the statement made by his
wife, he said it might possibly be true, but if Sagar
called at his house, it was on the evening they were at
Mrs. Cerless's, and he did not remember exact'y what
that night was. Tula witness, it appeared, hid also
known that the prisoner and his wife went to Liverpool
for three days at the latter part of last year, and that
Sagar subsequently went by a day trip to Manchester,
but he did not obtain leave of absence from the work-
-1 hou=e, and witness, though one of the guardians, and
aware of this, made no report of it to the other guardians
or to the clerk to the board.
During his examination, the chairman threatened to
commit Mr. Bland for perjury, and at its close he said the
magistrates were thoroughly convinced that he had per-
jured himself, and it. was utterly impossible for any
person to believe that Sagar could call at his house on
the night before the death of the deceased, that be could
go out with him, return again inj an hour, and not be
able to remember anything at sit about it.
Ann Bind ,en unmarried woman, 22 years of age,
the daughter of the two last witnesses, vas next caned.
Her evidence contained some moat extraordinary state-
ments. She was asked about the rumours abroad that
she and the prisoner had kept company, and she admitted
that there was truth in those rumours, but alleged that
Mrs. Sagar bad led her to be guilty of the improper
conduct. She had et first had improper intercourse
with tee prisoner four years ago, when Mrs. Sager asked
her, when she was at the workhouse, to sleep with her
husband and herself. In reply to furiTher questions, Oat
said that. Mrs. Sagar had asked her to go to bad with
her, asad to'd her not to be afraid if her (Mrs. Sagar's)
husband came. Witness said Mrs. Sagar did not ask
her to Bleep with her because she apprehended violence
from- her husband, and persisted in saying that it was
for the purpose of having improper intercourse with him.
She had acted as mistress at the workhouse on several