The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-09-25 00:00:00

CRIMINAL COURT, LONDON._THURSDAY.

• THE TRIAL OF MYERS.
The trial of Myers being specially appointed to take place
the first this morning, the court was crowded at an early
hour. Immediately after the learned judges' taking their
seats, Myers was placed at the bar—he bowed respectfully
to the court, and appeared perfectly composed. He is-a
rather good-looking man, with light golden hair. The pri-
soner pleaded not guilty to the indictment charging him with
the wilful murder of Mr. Pow in a firm voice.
Mr. Prendergast and Mr. Doane appeared for the prose-
cution; and Mr. Phillips and Mr. Bodkin were counsel for

the prisoner.
Mr. Prendergast stated the case to the jury on behalf of
the prosecution. The case he was about to lay before the
jury was one which involved the question of the manner in
which Mr. Pow came to his death. The charge was one of
great importance to the prisoner and the public at. large.
Mr. Pow had been for some time previous to the facts taking
place which formed the subject of the present enquiry an
inmate of the Westminster hospital, in consequence of his
being afflicted with delirium tremens, arising from excessive
drinking. The treatment he bad received there was success-
ful, and he left the hospital, accompanied by his wife and
the prisoner. The prisoner was upon terms of intimacy
with Mr. Pow and his wife—indeed, with the latter, he
should show that the most improper intimacy existed. Du-
ring the time Mr. Pow was in the Westminster hospital, it
would seem that the prisoner had expressed a desire to have
the controul of the property of Mr. Pow, and one witness
who would be called would prove that he had been asked to
witness a power of attorney, but that he had refused to do so
upon the prisoner stating to him that the person whose pro-
perty it was to affect was a madman, and in a lunatic asylum.
That the prisoner had complete controul ,over Mr. Pow,
there was no doubt. He had taken apartments for him, and
was constantly with him. When those apartments were
taken Mr. Pow was in a tolerable state of health, but shortly
afterwards he was taken ill, and a nurse was engaged to
attend him. He was seized with convulsions, and died in a
few days. He should show to the jury that during the ill-
ness of Mr. Pow very little was given to him except gin. It
would also be shown that the nurse had directions from the
prisoner to give the deceased that liquor. It. was the prac-
tice he believed among medical men in cases of delirium
tremens to give stimulants, but not to the extent that had
been given in the present case. He would be able to show
that on some occasions Mr. Pow had taken more than a pint
of gin in a day, and in addition to that t.he prisoner had ad-
ministered to Mr. Pow hyosciamus. There could be no.
doubt that some of the medicines given by Myers to the
deceased were of an extremely proper description ; but other
medicines had been given, especially a composing draught,
which had had the worst effect. What that draught was
compoied of they could not tell, as the bottle which contained
it could:not be found.
Mr. Justice Vaughan asked whether hyosciamus was not
an extremely proper remedy to administer in a case of deli-
rium tremens?
Mr. Prendergast admitted that it was; but the question
would be the quantity administered, and, from the medical
man he should call, he thought he should be able to show
that the quantities administered were excessive. After Mr.
Pow had taken that medicine, be was seized with convul-
sions, and what was the course that was then adopted by the
prisoner? Why, then Mr. Pow was almost at the point of
death, he took upwards of a pint of blood from him, although
a brother medical man advised him not to do so, as Mr. Pow
was dying.
Mr. Justice Vaughan enquired how soon Mr. Pow died
after another medical man was called in ?
Mr. Prendergast said that he was called in on the Tuesday,
and Mr. Pow died on the Wednesday.
Mr. Justice Vaughan could not but think that every medi-
cal man would shake in his bed if, in a case like the present,
he was to be subject to a charge of murder.
Mr. Prendergast submitted that where death was caused by
the improper treatment of a medical man, he was guilty of
murder. According to the statement of the prisoner himself,
the death of Mr. Pow was to be beneficial to him, for he had
been repeatedly heard to say that it would be a thousand
pounds in his pocket. It would be shown that the prisoner
had encouraged Mr. Pow in his habits of drunkenness. On
the Sunday previous to Mr. Pow's death, the prisoner drew
up a will for him, by which he gave the prisoner £l,OOO, and
appointed him trustee and executor. That the prisoner was
on terms of extreme intimacy with Mrs. Pow would be clearly
shown, and he should also be able to prove that he and Mrs.
Pow were seen to enter a brothel on the day on which Mr.
Pow expired.
Mr. Justice Vaughan enquired whether it did not appear
that Mr. Pow had been subject to delirium tremens before he
knew the prisoner.
Mr. Phillips.—Yes, for years.
Mr. Prendergast said that was no excuse for the course
adopted by the prisoner, who had done all in his power to
cause Mr. Pow to recur to his old habit of drinking, in order
to accelerate his death. It would be for the jury to say whe-
ther or not the prisoner had been the cause of the death of
Mr. Pow, and if they were of opinion that through the means
adopted by him the death of Mr. Pow had accrued, they
would be bound to find the prisoner guilty of the whole
offence; but if they should feel inclined to look with a more
favourable eye upon the matter—if they should be of opinion
that he bad acted unskilfully and through ignorance—then
they would find him guilty of manslaughter.
Mr. Baron Alderson.—What are the specific acts you
charge against the prisoner as the cause of death ? Do you
say it is the administration of the hyosciamus, which you
cannot prove, or the giving of the gin ? If you say it is the
latter, then you must prove that he placed no restriction upon
the nurse in its administration. It seems to me you are act-
ing upon conjecture, and upon that you cannot accuse a man
of murder.
Mr. Prendergast observed that they attributed the cause
of death to all the acts of the prisoner. He should prove
tbat the prisoner had given directions to the nurse to give gin
in unlimited quantities.
Mr. Baron Alderson.—You don't prove one specific act that
has been the cause of death. There is, to be sure, that bleed-
ing, after another medical man had said that it. would be of no
use, as Mr. Pow was dying.
Mr. Justice Vaughan.—There is no doubt that the adoption
of that course was injudicious, but, when a man was actually
dying, surely a medical man would be justified in making such
an experiment, in order, if he could, to save his life.
Mr. Baron Alderson.—At the utmost, the case you put,
Mr. Prendergast, would only amount to manslaughter.
PrcLidergait said 'he had 'stated; fie-believed, alt the
facts of the case, and he must leave the court and jury to deal
with it as they thought right.
Mr. Justice Vaughan said that the only difficulty he felt
wes whether he ought not, in justice to the prisoner, to allow
evidence to be given. In his opinion the charge either of
murder or manslaughter was entirely out of the question.
The jnry, under the di-Pctiou of the learned judge, imme-
diately acquitted the prisoner.
Mr. Phillips felt bound in justice .to the prisoner to say
that all the property of the unfortunate deceased was £6O a-
year, which he was prepared to prove went to his orphan
daughter.
Myers on leaving the dock received the congratulations of
his friends.
'The Sun says, had the trial proceeded, we have the autho-
rity of Mr. Hughes, the solicitor for the defence, to say, that
he had several,witnesses to prove that at the time (the origin-
ation of this charge) it was stated Myers was at a brothrel with
Mrs. Pow, he was quite in a different quarter, and in the coin-
pany of highly respectable persons, so that his moral character
would have been cleared as fully as his professional one has
already been.
" We have seen also the list of above twelve first-rate phy-
sicians and surgeons, who were present to prove that the
treatment by Sr. Myers of Mr. Pow was correct in every
particular, and there were above fifty of his patients and per-
sons of respectability to give their approbation of his treat-
ment and moral character. Thus has fallen to the ground
this event, which has occupied the public mind for the last
two months, and on which pn innocent man, from the experts
evidence given at a coroner's inquest by the man on whose
own showing he had been the real paramour of Mrs. Pow,
has been hunted like a beast of prey, and incarcerated in
Newgate fora week, all owing to his having not been allowed
to make any defence, or to disprove the charge at the inquest."