The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-25 00:00:00

SECOND DAY.

The Court opened at nine o'clock, and the prisoner
took his seat in the deck, appearing as ceoland collected
as on the previous day.
The prisoner's declaration at Paisley was read, in
which he said that he knew deceased, and saw her en
the 13th Sept., about four o'clock P.M., as he came home
from church, and noticed her go home. After dinner be
went out, and saw little Janet Watson tap on Agnes'
window, and cry on him to give her a bawbee. He went
up and met her half-way up the stairs, and afterwards
prooseded with her to the garden. He did not see
Agnes at that time. After half an hour he was told
Fulton and Muir wanted ,him, and went to them ; and,
while speaking to them, was told to run for the doer or
by Mrs. M'Donald, as Aggie was ill. He denies having
told John Ferguson to go for prussic acid, but sent him
once for lavender water. He did not poison Agnes
Montgomery.
John Ferguson, carrier's boy—l am assistant to Hugh
Montgomery, carrier. We go to Glasgow on Wednes-
days and Saturdays. I know prisoner, and have done
so for many months. On the 12th September I was in
James Watson's house. Prisoner was there at work,
and also Mrs. Watson. He asked me for pen and. ink.
He wrote a line for me to get something from Hugh
Hart's. He said I was to let no one see the line, and to
keep what I got until he asked me for it. If it was
" speired" at me, I was to say the stuff was for a portrait
painter. He gave me 6d. to pay for it. I went to
Glasgow. I rode in a van with Adam Gall, and showed
him the line. He told me I would not get it. I went
to Hart's, and gave the lint to George Stirling, who
read it. He said, who is it to ? I said that was on the
order. I don't recollect if I said it was for a portrait
painter. Stirling gave me something—a clear liquid—
in a small phial, all closed round with paper. We got
back to Eaglesham between one and two on Sunday
morning. Prisoner came at 10 o'clock to the stable and
got "dais parcel. He said "Don't tell no one ; see
yon again." I gave it him as I got it. He said be
wanted it to dye his hair, to make it black. I saw Agnes
Montgomery that Sunday forenoon, and heard she died
at night. I saw prisoner at 10 o'clock on Monday morn-
ing. He made no mention of her. On the 22.1 September
I lent him a pencil, and he wrote a line. He told me to
get the parcel where I got the last. He said it would
cost fid., and asked if I would pay it for him. I said I
would. I took the line to Hart's, and gave it to James
Young, along with a bottle for hair- >il, In the after-
noon I called and gave the hair-oil to my master, and
put the small bottle in my pocket. We got back to
Eaglesham at two on the morning of the 24th. Pri-
soner came to me at the cart about 10 o'clock. I gave
him the bottle, He said if any one asked me what I
had bought, I was to say it was 2d. worth of, lozenges.
William Cameron was present whoa I gave the second
phial to the prisoner.
Adam Gall, ham curer, Glasgow—l drive a van. On
Saturday, Sept. 12, I gave John Ferguson a drive. He
showed me a line. I read a portion of it—" Please give
the bearer a 6d. worth of prussic acid." It was very
wet at the time, and I did not notice the signature. I
said it was poison, and asked who it was for. He said it
was for an old Irish woman, to poison an old man. I
understood this as a joke. I said he would not get it_
He said be would, over at Hart's, (Shown a line). This
is the sane hand.
George Stirling, shoptnan to Hugh Hart—l know
John Frguson. He came to the shop on Sept. 12, and
produced a written line for prussic acid. It was, " Sept.
1857—Mr. Hart,—Please give the bearer 6,1. worth of
prussic acid, and oblige John Thomson." I asked who
John Thomson was, and Ferguson said he was a tailor.
I asked if Montgomery knew of this, and Ferguson said
no. I asked what it was for. He said for taking like-
nesses. I said that was a rare purpose. I then gave
him a two-drachm phial with prussic acid, wrapped np
in a paper and sealed at both euds. On the 233 Sept.
I saw the boy Ferguson. He ghve a line to James
Young, which asked for 61. worth of prussic acid. It
was in the same handwriting. Young asked me about
it. I said Thompson got it before for photographic pur-
poses, and was to get it again. This letter, No. 37, is
in the same handwriting as the lines which are now
amissing. Tee first was destroyed in 10 days, and the
second one went amissing. I gave A. C. Christie, a
witness, two two-drachm phials, and filled them with
prussic acid. Ferguson got some hair-oil on 231 Sept.,
which he gave to Montgomery.
Cro s-examined—l ',ever before heard of prussic acid
being employed in photography. It was Scheele's
prussic.
Re-examined—The oxide of potassium is used for
photography.
His Lordship administered a sever rebuke to Stleing,
for so carelessly selling such deadly poison.
Several witnesses were then examined to identify the
handwriting of the prisoner, and the bottle which had
been in the house of the deceased.

A. number of other witnesses wera examined with the
view of showing that on or about the 25th September,
while the prisoner was lodging in the house of Archibald
Mason, in John Street, Glasgow, he had given whisky,
which was supposed to have contained arsenic, to
Mason and his wife, both of whom suffered from it.

Surgeon Scott, who attended on the deceased, de-
scribed her symptoms and death, which ho attributed
to apoplexy.
Dr. Daniel M`Kinlay, Paisley, depor.ed to having
made a post mortem examination of the body of Agnes
Montgomery, and to
.having found prussic acid present
in the stomach. Ile also examined the bottle labelled
" H. Hart, druggist, Glasgow—prussic acid," and found
it to contain within 4 per oeut. of anhydrous hydrocyanic
acid. He also examined the black bottle out of which
the Masons received the whisky from the prisoner, and
found that it contained prussic acid 87, alcohol 108.9,
water 382.23 in each fluid ounce. Keeping prussic acid
in view, he would say that the deceased died from its
effects. He could not ascribe death to apoplexy.

. .
Mr. Douglas M`Lagan was afterwards examined; and
gave similar evidence to Dr. MeKinlay.
The Court was then adjourned till to-day.

DARING ATTEMPT.—On Thursday last a very auda-
cious attempt was made by a gang of, it is believed,
five desperate fellows to break into the residence of the
Misses Anderson, Belle Walk, Moseley, in Worcester-
shire. Fortunately, however, it was unsuccessful, and
through the gallant exertions of Hawkes, followed up
by the activity of two other officers of the Worcester-
shire constabulary, two of the thieves were apprehended,
and are now awaiting their trial. Their names are
Thomas Smith and James Pettifer, and they describe
themselves as boatmen. The particulars of the occur-
rence were detailed before two magistrates for the county
of Worcester, at Balsall Heath, on Saturday. The prin-
cipal witness was Police-constable Hawkes, who stated
that about a quarter-past one o'clock on Friday morn-
ing, whilst on duty at Moseley-wake-green, he passed
the back of the Misses Anderton's house, and as he was
doing so be heard a noise resembling that of a door being
tried. He went across the road to wards the garden, and
stood in the shadow of a wall to listen, and bad not been
there more than a few seconds when the garden door
was wrenched open, and a man cautiously made his ap-
pearance. He looked around him to see that all was
clear, and then observed, "Now, then, come on, it's all
right." Hawkes stepped from his concealment, and
turned his light fell upon the man, whom he now posi-
tively identified as the prisoner Smith. Smith imme-
diately turned back across the garden, closely followed
by Hawkes, but the latter had not gone many yards
when he heard footsteps behind him, and on looking
round he perceived another fellow close behind him
in the act of raising a formidable bludgeon to strike
him. The blow, which he had not time to avoid or resist,
descended heavily upon him, and he was felled to the
ground. This person was about such another person
in appearance as the prisoner Pettifer, but be could not
swear it was the same. He speedily recovered himself,
and the men having in the meanwhile escaped, he called
up Matthias Yardley, the Misses Anderton's servant
man, and started off with him in pursuit. On the way,
he called Police-constables Lane and Humphries to his
assistance, and described minutely the personnel of
the depredators. His search, however, was un-
successful ; but about three o'clock Lane, who in
company with Humphries and another officer had
been on the alert, met the prisoners near the Moseley
toll-gate, walking at a rapid rate towards Birming-
ham. From the description given bias by Hawkes,
he was induced to stop them, and ask where they came
from, and what their names were. They said they had
come from Worcester, and had gone there with a boat,
and had been paid off, and received 75., of which Smith
said he had 6s. remaining. Lane then inquired what
tellplac.
He h
e s they t cameon
askedthrough,
tthem
man d
the th enyosmaei do f theytho couldm oo
who
had paid them, and they said they did not know. Smith
then said, " What's the matter !" to which Lane
replied, " There is of something of importance the
matter, and you must go back with me." The
prisoners said they were willing to go, and were taken to
Miss Anderton's, and remained till Police-constable
Hawkes came. Hawkes, on seeing Smith, immediately
identified him, and expressed himself morally certain
that Pettifer was the one by whom he was assaulted.
They were afterwards removed to the lock-up at King's
Heath, and on being formally charged with attempting
to break into the Misses Anderton's house, they said
they had never been near the place, and repeated their
story relative to having walked from Worcester. A
subsequent examination of the premises and grounds by
daylight resulted in the discovery that one of the panels
of the front door had been drilled with a centre bit, but
owing to the fact that the back was plated with iron the
plan of effecting an entrance by these means was prevented.
An attempt had been made to force the door open by
leverage, and failing in this, the rogues had then tried
to lift the sash of one of the windows by similar means,
but without effect, and they then directed their atten-
tion to the garden gate, so as to get at the house in a
different direction. In the garden a crow-bar, with
which, upon examination, these operations had clearly
been made, and a heavy bludgeon, were found, and foot-
prints were also traced in the garden ; on comparing the
prisoners' boots with whicb, under the direction of
Superintendent Humphries, they were found unmis-
takably to correspond. The prisoners, who, in reply to
the charge, declared that they were as " innocent as
babes unborn," were then committed for trial at the
next beesione,--Birptinghom Pose.