The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1856-02-06
.GBe 9ailg yonrnal.
POISONING TRADeEDY IN ENGLAND.


The English papers are full of the details 0
this horrible history, but they are far too volu
minous to be reproduced in our limited space
We copy the following from the New YOrl
Tribune:
Itappears that the prisoner Palmer entered
on the turf some years since, and having hac
like all tyros to pay for his experience became
loser beyond his means. In those straits ht
adopted the course usually resorted to by ner
on the turf and had recourse to notorious bill
discounter in Queen street, Mayfair, by the
name of Pratt The debt whatever it was
doubtless doubled and trebled in year o.
too, Pratt's usual rate of interest being about
120 per cent. In thus sinking condition, catch.
i ing recklessly at every means of escape, and
possibly, as it now appears, having committed
forgery to extricate himself in the mad effort
to escape from his difficulties, or the conse-
lquence Of his crime some such horrible idea
as that he has since carried out stole on his
senses. 1t is but the first step which inficts
the agony, that taken, habit makes even muir
der of light moment sometimes even passion
like opium or drink. The first victim appears
to have been the mother of his wife, upon
whose death he came in by right of his wife
for considerable sum. Four DAYS after COM
ing to Eis house she died. The next victim
was Mr. Duffy, a commercial traveller, with
whom he had business transactions, and who
is supposed to have been buried in a we'll in
Palmer's garden. The next was his own wife
who whena ward with considerable fortune,
had married him against the desire Of all his
connections, and whose life he had previous to
the perpetration of his crime insured for s13,
I0C0 in three different English offices. After
his wife followed his brother, whose life he in
sured in three different offices for f23, ,45O.-
On the occasion of the two first deaths he con-
trived to elude the suspicion of either his own
relatives or the public, but the death of his
brother followed so close upon that of his wife
naturally reused suspicion which, proposal
to insure the life of his servant one Bates, for
"a no less sum than f25 900, naturally increased
and few days before his arrest for the mur-
der of Cook they had after inquiry, declined to
pay over the amount.
1t has since turned out that the usurer
Pratt received the amount of Mrs Palmer's
insurance, and would have received the great
er part of that of William Palmer had it been
paid. Since Palmer's committal, Pratt has
presented to his mother a lady of some for
tune, bills to the amount of 10000, TO which
her name had been forged by Palmer, and
which he, doubtless with full knowledge of the
fact, had cashed, in the confidence that on that
account they were more valuable as forcing
P-lmer to stop at no crime in taking them up.
For the rest there are rumors which ascribe to
Palmer the death of Lord George Bentinck
and others, but they are merely those wild ex
a5gerations which always spring out of such
events.
The bodies of both the wife and brother
have been exhumed, and Prof Taylor's anaiy-
sis substantiates, without doubt, that both died
from the effects Of slow but certain poison
administered with great tact and knowledge
of its effects, and the system adopted is one of
the most remarkable ever brought to light
The wretched prisoner himself will be tried in
March, should he live to that time, but he ap-
pears determined to compass his own death
He was apparently in society, quiet inoffens-
i've person, of rather pleasing manner, and
without bearing any of those outward marks
which nature usually fixes on such men as a
warning to avoid them.