The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-17 00:00:00

THE CHOLERA.

MANSION-HOUSE RELIEF COMMITTEE.
Yesterday upwards of £650 was received at the
Mansion-house, in public voluntary subscriptions,
towards the fund now being raised there for the re-
lief of the distress from cholera in the metrDpolis,
under the auspices of the Lord Mayor and a commit-
tee of eminent bankers, merchants, clergymen, and
persons of influence, and at the close of the day the
total sum which had been collected there, in little more
than a single week, amounted to nearly £lO,OOO.
Among the contributors yesterday were the Go-
vernor and Directors of the Bank of England, £100;
Messrs. Frithling and Goschen, £105; and Messrs.

C. J. H. Hambio and Son, £lO5.
At one o'clock a meeting of the committee was
held, the Lord Mayor presiding, to consider appli-
cations for assistance from the fund by local com-
mittees in the infected districts, and to make grants

in aid. _There were also present Sir Mordaunt
Wells, Mr. R.N. Fowler, the Rev. William Rogers,
the Rev. F. G. Blomfield, Mr. R. B. Wade, Mr.
Andrew Johnston, Mr. W. J. Maxwell, Mr. Rip-

ley, Mr. Gilliat, Mr. P. C. Glyn, Mr. Chas. Hutton,
Dr. Andrew Clark, physician of the London Hos-
pital, and Mr. Alderman Cotton. The LORD
MAYOR at the outset took occasion to complain that
Miss Sellon, without any previous application to
him or the committee, and without any authority
from them, had stated in a letter to the editor of
the Timesthat subscriptions would be received at the

Mansion-house to aid a temporary cholera hospital
she was concerned in establishing in Commercial-
street, Whitechapel. He was astonished to read the
announcement, inasmuch as no request had been

made to receive funds for that purpose. He also
took occasion to deprecate individual appealsto the

public benevolence, such as were being made by the
Rev. Mr. Ross, rector of St. George's-in-the-East,

and other clergymen—most worthy and well-mean-
ing gentlemen he had no doubt—in the face of the
funds which were being intrusted by the public to

he Mansion-house Committee, the Bishop of Lon-

don, and the authorities of the London Hospital, for
the relief of the prevailing distress, and intrusted
under circumstances which implied supervision in the

public interest and all persons concerned. While the
Mansion-house Committee had the greatest possible

respect for individual clergymen, they had been
strongly of opinion from the first that the fund at
their disposal would be best administered by local
committees representing the inhabitants generally and

of which committees the clergy, of course, should
form part. The committee bad a large fund at their

disposal, and if Mr. Ross, or any other clergyman,
forming part of a properly organised local commit-
tee, would apply, a grant for the relief of the dis-
tress consequent upon the cholera and proportionate
to the wants would be made. They had, indeed,
already made grants of money for that purpose to
St. George's in the East, with which Mr. Ross was
connected, and, therefore, there was the less neces-
sity for individual appeals to the public, ever gene-
rous as it was. _ _

The committee unanimously endorsed the obser-
vations of the Lord Mayor, and hoped they would
be made public, calculated as they were to do a
great deal of good.
Mr. E. H. PALMER, a director of the Bank of
England, and a member of the committee engaged
in promoting the temporary cholera hospital in Com-
mercial-street, Whitechapel, tendered a courteous
apology to the Lord Mayor and the committee for
the unauthorised use which Miss &lion had been
induced to make of their names.

A communication from Mr. Nixon, the house
governor ant secretary of the London Hospital, in
reply to some inquiries by the Lord Mayor as to the
past transactions, present condition, and capabilities
of the London Hospital, with special reference to the
reception of cholera cases, was brought under the
consideration of the committee. The number of
beds, he said, actually allotted for cholera cases
was 139, and the space in the wards was such that
they could, if necessary, increase the number at
short notice to 160. The number of patients on
Wednesday last at 4 p.m. was 111. The largest
number at any one time in the house had been 116.
To attend the cholera cases they have the partial ser-
vices of four physicians and two resident medical
officers, with the entire time of three extra medical
residents. They have also a special staff of nurses,
averaging 70 in number, besides three head nurses,
and five lady volunteers. They have also ten extra
men empleyed altogetherin the service of the cholera
wards. The supervision of those wards monopolised
a great portion of the time of the matron and assis-
tant matron, and the supply of medicines by day
and night requires the energies of their three dis-
pensers. The washing required to keep pace with
the wants of the cholera wards might be gathered,
he said, from the fact, that in the seven days end-
ing with last Saturday night their laundry received
from the cholera beds alone 1,741. articles, of which
1,511 were sheets, blankets, counterpanes, and bed
ticks. The disposal of the dead was during the
severest period of the epidemic a matter of even
greater difficulty than the reception of the living ;
but that had also been for some days past thoroughly
under control.

A conversation arose as to the propriety or other-
wise of the committee countenancingthe temporary
hospital about to be established by voluntary effort
in Whitechapel for cholera patients, and, indeed, as
to the necessit for such an institution or otherwise,
having regard to the present state of the epidemic.
In this Sir M. Wells took a conspicuous part, re-
marking that though there had been 4,000 deaths
from cholera in the eastern parts of London only
250 had died in the London Hospital, a circum-
stance which, he thought, indicated the action of
the London hospital in the emergency. He ob-
served upon the hospital having received upwards of
£20,000 in public donations during the present cut-
break, and upon their receipts from that source hav-
ing been 90 per cent. in excess of their expenditure
for cholera patients. He bore testimony at the
same time to the admirable and noble manner in
which the hospital authorities had discharged their
duties during the epidemic ; but he argued that,
assuming it had been necessary in the common
interest, and with a view to 'stamping out the dis-
ease, to remove from their homes to the hospital
the whole 4,000 patients who eventually died of
cholera, the establishment would clearly have been
unable to cope with the influx. A great object at
such a time was to remove the sick from among
the healthy, and if that was done in a proper way
the London Hospital was clearly unequal to it
from want of space. Even Dr. Clark, physician to
the London Hospital, would not take upon himself
the responsibility of saying that such an hospital as
that about to be extemporised in Commercial-street
might not be wanted. The Rev. Mr. Rogers, rector
of Bishopsgate, wbo took part in the conversation,
observed, on the other hand, that the cholera was
certainly diminishing. Besides, he said there was a
temporary cholera hospital in Wapping, admirably
managed, as he knew from his own personal obser-
vation, and it was nothing like full. The local autho-
rities were bound to provide such places
.at such a
crisis, though they might not exactly be Elysiums.
Mr. JOHNSTON, a member of the London Hospital
House Committee, explained that the collection now
being made there had been avowedly made, not only
to defray the expenses consequent on cholera, but in
consideration of the loss the hospital had sustained
by the authorities there having, in consequence of
the visitation, to forego the great anniversary meet-
ing on the opening of the new wing. The new wing
had been of the greatest use at this juncture, and.
nothing had yet occurred to show that the hospital
was incapable of meeting the emergency.
The conversation was continued by Mr. Fowler
and Dr. Andrew Clark, both of whom spoke in the
interest of the London Hospital, and eventually the
committee made a grant towards supplementing
funds already subscribed by private individuals fo

setting on foot the proposed auxiliary. hospital in
C omm ercial-stree t, b i tech apel, for cholera patients.
In the course of the day the committee also made
grants proportionate to the amount of distress in
each locality from Chelsea, to local committees in
the parish of .Ratcliff, the parish of St. Jude's,White-
chapel, and in Stratford New-town, in all of which
there is great suffering and destitution.

Yesterday 7Alessrs. Byass and Son generously pre-
sented -a
pipe of port wine ; Messrs. Brown and Mar-
tin six dozen of port; " L. L." 20 bottles of brandy;
and Mr. Clement a box of West India arrowroot, to
be disposed of by the committee iu relieving the pre-
vailing sickness.

The following is the official return of deaths from
cholera and diarrhoea on Wednesday, Aug. 15
Cholera. Diarrhoea.

West districts ..
North districts ..
Central districts..
East districts
South districts

Total

~ 49

... 5 , ...

... 61

... 16

The return for the sub-district of London-road
(St. George, Southwark) was not received in time
for publication.

Mysterious Case of Alleged Poisoning.

W INCHESTE I:, Thursday Night.
This afternoon Mr. J. H. Todd, the coroner for
the county, resumed the inquiry, at the Plough lun,
Itchen Abbas, into the death of Mark Sims, aged
90, who died on the 25th of July under circum-
stances which gave rise to very strong suspicion
that he had been poisoned.
The facts of this very remarkable case have created
throughout the country, and especially in this town
and district, the utmost possible excitement, and
may be thus epitomised. Mr. John Malcolm Corrie
is a gentleman living in style at a house called "The

Cottage," at lichen Abbas, his establishment con-

sisting of himself, his wife, six daughters, two sons,
a governess, and nine servants. On the 4th July,
at the early parlour dinner, hot baked veal, cold
bacon, potatoes, and cabbage, were served, and the
servants afterwards partook of the same food.
Martha Tully, the cook, dressed and dished up the
meat, the kitchen-maid attending to the vegetables.

About 12 hours afterwards almost the whole family
were taken ill with symptoms of some foreign irri-
tant, causing sickness, purging, pains in the limbs,
and other indications of poison. It further appears
that Mrs. Corrie was in the habit of sending a hot

dinner daily to the grandfather of one of her ser-
vants, the old man the cause of whose death has
this afternoon been under investigation ; and on the
day in question (July 4), a portion of the dinner

referred to was taken him. He did not eat it that

day, but it was put by to get cold, the woman who
attended to him giving her children the gravy and

vegetables, after eating which they were taken se-
riously ill with the same symptoms. On the fol-
lowing day (July 5) old Sims ate the veal, and in
the evening was attacked with violent pains in the
stomach and vomiting. He continued ill for three
weeks and then died. Prior, however, to the death

of Sims, Mr. Corrie gave the woman Tully into
custody, and she was taken before the magistrates
by Mr. Superintendent Everett, and charged with
administering a deleterious drug with -intent, &c.

She was remanded several times, and at last dis-
charged from defective evidence.
At the inquest an immense deal of evidence was
given setting out the above facts, and further, that
the woman Tully had said she would serve out any
one that offended her. It also appeared that she
was under notice to leave. Mr. John Covey, sur-
geon, of Itchen Abbas, deposed that he attended all
the persons in Mr. Corrie's family. They suffered
from pains in the bowels, vomiting, and purging.

Ile also attended Sims, and made a post mortem
examination. The mucous coat of the stomach was
much inflamed, and covered with ulceration. Sims
died from exhaustioli, caused by the pain of the
ulcers. They might have been caused naturally, but
the man was in perfect' health till he ate the veal
from Mr. Corrie's table. Death was more consistent
with having taken something to cause all the in-
flammatory symptoms. If there had been verdigris
in the saucepan it must have been a very great
quantity to make so many people ill. He (witness)
was only just in time to save the nurse's life. He
had preserved portions of the stomach for the pur-
pose of apalysis. He (Mr. Covey) also attended the
woman Tully when she was at the Plough, where
she had been removed by order of Mr. Corrie. She
did not suffer from the same symptoms as the others
who ate the dinner.

By a Juror—She had no symptoms whatever
similar to those of the persons in Mr. Corrie's house.
Ann Hoar proved giving Sims the veal which Mrs.

-Corrie sent him. He did not have the gravy. That
was given to her (witness's) children, as he did not
want it. About twelve hours after both the children
were taken ill with vomiting and purging. They had
not yet recovered, and the baby was still very ill.
A great deal of other evidence was taken, and
that given at the previous hearing was read over in
the presence of the woman Tully, who, after being
cautioned by the Coroner, made the following
statement :—" I am a widow, 31. years of age. I was
cook to Mr. Cords for four months. On the 2d of
July Mrs. Corrie gave me a month's notice to leave.
No particular reason was given except small faults.
On the morning of Tuesday, July 3, some veal was
brought by the butcher from Alresford. I observed
nothing particular except that the knuckle was black,
as if it had been bruised. I mentioned it to Mrs..
Corrie, who said it was all right. I partially cooked
the veal that night, taking the knuckle part for white
soup, which I boiled in a copper stewpan. After
supper I directed the kitchen-maid to pour off the
soup or gravy, but she amitted to do it, and it remained
in the stewpan all night. I poured it off myself next
morning, and drank about a tablespoonful, not ob-
serving any particular taste or smell about it. The
stewpan had a tin lining, which had been a good deal
worn, but it was quite clean when I put the meat in.
After I had poured the gravy off it was put into a
basin, and on the following day was put to the veal,
which had been partially baked the day before in the
oven, on the Tuesday evening, and finished on the
following day, when it was served up to the early
parlour dinner with some mutton. The veal was
baked in an iron dish enamelled.
By the Coroner—How was it that it was cooked
partly one day and partly the next ?
The Witness—To keep it sweet. The veal gravy
was the first thing cooked in the iron pot, and it was
perfectly good and properly done. The larder where
it was put was just fresh painted. The veal and gravy,
which had been prepared as stated, was served up at
dinner for the family. Up to that time I had not the,h
least knowledge or idea of anything wrong.
e
witness then detailed the dinner being givenntdosaid
servants after the joint left the family table.,
Naas they
that she ate of it herself and was taken
manner that
(Ithe
were.) She denied in the most
emne;t or ever had
she put anything wrong
rga:ruiy one, nor had
ofplincion of any one else hav-
expressed any intention
she any knowledge
ohr se
uspicion
in any way.
ing tampered with t
be proposed to close the
The Coroner then said
jinn. the report made by Professor
inquiry by ren
Hospital. It was then read, the
Taylor, of Guy's
results of the learned analyst s investigation showing
the absence of either arsenic, antimony, mercury,
lead, copper, or other metals.
The Coroner, in summing up'said that the case in
all its bearings was one of a very peculiar kind, still
from the evidence which had been adduced before
them it must give rise to anxi • ous deliberation. Ac-
cording to one theory the cause of the death might
have arisen from the veal the deceased ate from
Mr. Corrie's house on the sth of July, because he
was in apparently good health up to that time. It
was stated -in the medical evidence of Mr. Covey
that the poor man Sims died of, inflammation, and

given to the deceased contained irritant poison, and
that the poison was probably copper. It was also
suggested that the poison was intentionally put into
the veal by Martha Tully, the cook. It was appa-
rent from the evidence that Brooks and Hammond,
two of the servants, ate a portion of this veal for
dinner, and it might be that they
,ate as much or
more than the deceased did, and yet they suffered
no symptoms of illness after eating it. Hence the
question arose, could there have been in the veal
sufficient copper or other irritant poison to cause
severe inflammation and extensive ulceration of - the
small and large intestines of the deceased. Now,
it was contrary to all experience for any one to eat
food in -which he or she had knowingly placed poi-
son, and the cook, Martha Tully, ate the veal as at
her usual dinner. Tally's pretence or illness sub-
sequently when she knew that so many of her fel-
low-servants had been taken ill might admit of ex-
planation without rendering it necessary to sup-
pose that she deliberately poisoned the veal. But
the amount of morbid changes in the form of ulce-
ration of the bowels was much greater than known
to be produced by such very potent irritant poisons
as arsenic, antimony, or mercury. Copper poison
(according to Dr. Taylor's report) had never in
large doses, as far as he knew, produced such ex-
tensive ulceration of the bowels as was found, and
in cases where it was known to have destroyed life
the stomach had never escaped its action. Now
while he (the coroner) used the theory of Dr. Tay-
lor, the opinion of Dr. Letheby, as offered before the
police magistrates, could not be entirely ignored,
" that in the vomit antimony was present." The
jury, while weighing theories, must only do so in
relation to the facts, and there being no direct
evidence either way he (the Coroner) should ad-
vise a verdict which would leave further inquiry
open if necessary.
After some deliberation the jury through the
foreman (Mr. Thomas Earle) returned the follow-
ing open verdict:—" That the deceased, Mark
Sims, died from inflammation and ulceration of
the beritreig, but whether such inflammation and
ulceration was occasioned by na.t.ural causes or
otherwise, no conclusive evidence appears."