The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-02 00:00:00

IRE GLASGOW POISONING CASE.

SECOND DAY.
The trial of Madeleine Smith was resumed at
Edinburgh yesterday (Wednesday) morning.
Win. Stevenson was further cross-examined.—
He deposed that there might be from 250 to 300
letters found in repositories of decased. There

was a large number of them in the kmdwriting of

Miss Perry ; probably lane-th,rd as many as those
of Mis 3 Smith.
This wi ness's evidence showed there had been
considerattle irregularity on the part of the prose-
cution in the means taken for the attestation of the
documents.

Dr. Hugh Thomson bad attended deceased on
various occasions, and in particular about the end
of February, when he had severe vomiting, which
witness then ascribed to a bilious attack. Af er

the death an examination of the body was made by
witness and Dr. Steven. Their report stated that

death might have arisen from irritant poison, or
from internal congestion, caused by cold or fatigue.
Dr. Steven gave the particulars of d-ceased's
last illness, and corroborated some of the former
evidence.

Dr. Penny, examined by the Lord-Advocate—l
am Professor of Chemistry in the Andersonian Uni-
versity, Glasgow. On 27th March last I was com-
municated with by. Dr. Thomson. He came to the
University and delivered a b Atte. It was securely
closed ard sealed. I broke the seal and made an ex-
amination of the contents. They were a stomach
and a reddish coloured fluid. T was requested to
make the examinat on for the purpose of ascertain-
ing if those matters contained poison. I commenced
the analysis on the f llowing day, the 281 h. One
of the clerks of the Fiscal called with Dr. Thlm9on

and it was done at his request. Till 1 made the
analysis the jar and its contents remained in the
state in which I received it. (Shown report of first
analysis and read it.) The amount of arsenic in the
t'owels was equal to 82 7-10th grains, or nearly One
fiPh of an ounce. Having carefully considered the
results, of this investigation, the report concluded—
" I am clearly of opinion that they are conclusive
as showing, first, that the matters sul ;jetted to ex-
aminati na and analysis contented arsenic, and se-
cond, that the quantity of arsenic found was consi-
derably more than suffi3ient to destroy life." (The
report went at great length into the various pro-
cesses used to detect arsenic.) How much arsenic
would destroy life ? It is not easy to give a precise
answer to that question ; cases are on record in.
which life was destroyed by two and four grains ;
Sour or six grains are generally regarded as suffi-
cient to destroy life, and the amount I determined
as existing in We stomach was 82 grains. On the
311 of March lattended thn exhumation of M.
L'Angelier's body. I saw the coffin opened, and-the
portions of the body removed. These portians were
carefully preserved and submitted to a chemical
analysis by, myself. They were placed in jars which
I never lost sight of. I made an analysis of the
contents, and found arsenic, and the result of my
analysis is that it trust have been taken by, or ad-
ministered to the deceased while living. The
actual quantity was. not ascertained. The pre-
sence of arsenic in the brain does not enable
Me to say when the arsenic was taken. I
can see no physiological reason. • why . the
arsenic. should not make its appearance at the
same time in the other textures of the body.
By the Lord Justice-Clerk—Purging would acs
count for a similar portion of arsenic being found
in the large intestine.
By the Lord Advocate—When my analysis was
completed, on the 11th April, I returned the por-
tions of the body to Edinburgh. They were de-
livered to Dr. Christison. Tnese were powder from
contents .of stomach, fluid from contents of stomach,
portions of
'small and large intestines, liver, heart,
lung, &c. They were in my custody till delivered.
to Dr. Christison. They were portions of L'An-
gelter's body. I was asked to make investigation
as to arsenic at the shops of Mr. Currie and •Mr.
Murdoch, to ascertain if the substance sold by
them as arsenic really contained that proportion.
On the 18th I purchased from Mr. Murdoch's shop
11 oz. of arsenic in the state in which it is usually
sold. On the same day I purchased from Mr. Cur-
rie's 1 oz. of arsenic. I find they contain the fol-
lowing proportions of arsenic acid—that is, pure
white arsenic :—Mr. Murdoch's. 95.1 per cent. ;
Currie's, 94 4 per cent. The other subssances were
inorganic matter, and in Mr. Murdoch's carbona-
ceous matter, and in Currie's particlei of indigo
and carbonaceous matter, with ash or inorganic
matter. The arsenic bought at Currie's contained
an extremely small portion of colouring matter of
indigo. Tae greater part of that colouring mat-
ter, by peculiar and dexterous manipulation,
could be removed, and the arsenic would
afterwards appear white to the ueassisted eye. If a
sufficient portion of that arsenic was administered
to cause death, and prior to death great vomiting
had taken place, I would not have expecte f t find
any portion of the indigo. The indigo would show
a blue colour in solution.
By the Lord Justice-Clerk—The qukntity of in-
digo was so small that it would not colour wine of
any sort.
By the Lord Advocate—ln regard to the arsenic
purchased from Dr. Murdoch, that was mixed with
carbonaceous particles. If that had been adminis
tered, and if the arsenic had settled down from the
contents of the stomach, as in this case, I should
have expected to find carbonac,ons particles. Sup-
pose there had been prior administration of a, senic
a month before, similar to what was purchased from
Murdoch's, I would not have expected to find
traces of that carbon.aceous. matter. Various arti-
cles were delivered to me by Mr. -Wilson, :aid to
have been found in M. L'Augelier's lodgings.
They were 15 articles, viz., 12 bottles, two paper
pac at kae s and a cake of chocolate. I examned
,
them, specially for arsenic, and to ascertain their
general nature.. No. 1 (a bottle) contained a brown
liquid, containing magnesia, epsom salts, soda, and
rhubarb ' • No. 2, sugar and ammonia ; No. 3, cam-
phorated oil ; No. 4, laudanum ; No. 5, bottle
coutnning colourless liquid, a very weak solution
of accni.e ; No.' 6, bottle containing vsliitish pow-
der, chair, sugar, and cinnamon chiefly ; No. 7,
olive oil ;
No. 8, a brown liquid and brown sedi-
ment containing chalk, cinnamon, and an astrin-
gent matter ; No. 9,lbur packages of powders, con-
sisting exclusively of sulphate of quinine ; No. 10,
Eau de Calogro ; No. 11, camphorated chalk ; No.
12, cake of chocolate; No. 13, paper package—a
dried plant ; No. 22, empty phial, labelled. glyce-
rine ; No. 23, small bottle containing a resinous
cement. Witness then identified the various bottles
which contained the stomach. None of these solu-
tions, excepting that containing solution of aconite,
are poisonous. , It was extremely weak, and the
quantity r found was not sufficient to destroy life.
There were nearly two ounces in the phial, and it
was more than -half full ; if the whole quantity
taken out had been swallowed, it would not have
been sufficient to destroy dile. I cannot speak to
the effects of aconite. I never heard of prussic-
acid being used externally as a cosmetic ; I should.
think it highly dangerous to use it in that way. I
am not aware of any beneficial ac ion it exerts. 1
should say it would be very dangerous to use arsenic
for a similar purpose. If rubbed on the skin it
might produce constitutional symptoms of poisoning
by. arsenic ; it would produce an eruption on the
skin. I have heard sf its being used as a depilatory,
to remove hairs from the skin,._ mixed, however,
with other matters, lime generallh solid. It is not
arsenious acid that is so used ; it is usually the
yellow sulphite. •
Cross-examined by the Dean of Faculty—ln the_
entire stomach and its contents there was arsenic
equal to 82 7-I.oths grains. That was exclusive of
the white powder which I first examined. The
white powder that I attested atter being dried
weighed 5 2-101 b grains,:_and that was arsenious
acid. I did not determine the quantity of arsenic
in the lungs, liver, brain, or heart ; I can give no
notion of tbequantitithat might be in these organs
—in the small intestines it must have been consi-
derable, because when its contents were allowed to
repose, arsenious acid crystallised out of that liquid
and deposited. abundaetly on the sides of the vessel.
That indicated the liquid had as much arsenic as it
could hold in soliition at the temperature. I can't
give any idea of the quantity in the small intestine.
It was decidedly appreciable, Might it be several
grains 1 It would be a mere matter of pie:4l,-nd