, 1865-08-02

Extraordinary Professional Dellcncy
~ the Doctors.

Ths s:ndcnt Of human pae1se will puzzle
ia ah1e 10 elastic him aud bring him within
auy known lsws to which the action Of mo-
tives upon the human m nd cau 9e 5e1efTed.
Pfitehard Is one Of those 6tupenaous crla!.
mails who set physiology at aa asnaaes. .ra ana !.
A human nature distinctly sepasable from
thas Of the bruses. Goethe once declarea ne
had nerer beard Of crime which he did not
Think himself capab.e Of comnttting, ont
Goethe vas dead before the time Of Palmer
ard Smethurst and Pritchard.. This man has
been tried and convicted OF the mu,asf ot n1
wife BY slo1 poison. There were ool ."o con- N
cclYable motives for the acs: desifa 70 re-
celYe tLxeush her death aud her molhei'd q
legacy wb.ch 1t is not clear lie could eTan
thus OBJ: ain; and desite 10 marry n1s
wuc's nutEerafd, with whom no 1sd long
lived In easy relations, and who coQld oe no
uore to him 10 wife than she bad been 9s
his mistress. Mrs. PritchaId was nes ]eM-
Gus or Elnd]ctlve wife. Con7lnseu ea H w.
huebend's iuadelfty, she bore with u; HeE
mother, coming to Glasgow en- visit. also
became aware Of 1t, and though W. fsatsa-
ard was then 1eisunx1y engaged IN pGlsonlnE
lis w.fe, The fact that Mrs. TaIlos Knew OF
his relations to the nusseInaid, McLeed, Has
| enough to stimulate him into anotner ana
speedleg murder. Throughout t1e Wao1a
tragedy lsstigE o% y SaogI 81 deIibe
.ate1y cold -blooded Tint his counsel can sug-
gest no other sane theory Of defense than
that the hideou*ness of hisc.lme5 s an otgn-
ment for their tmposs'blllty. laat te1enss
Is dissipated by the confession OF the cI1mlnal,
which, nevertheless, leaves MS aa muca III tne
d. TX as ever about motives. - i,
partly true and largely false. The evidence
IN the trial proved beyond all 9Qsstlan tnst :
Mrs. Psitcha1d died tom rerssted doses oi
aut{mouY, which WIS found. on examination,
In the stomach. liver, spleen. kinney, neatt,
brain aud blood. Two phystcians VINO saw
her while alive testified that she Eas eyldeaS
tinaony.- For Gyc months Pritchard mingled
| that po,Eou With tho food md drink OF hss
wir. Ho attended her professionally during
| all thst pe,!od, wept over her, was as3iauous
| IN his care, ard nescr foEgot to oe DEMON
sttatiye IN his affection. BE sits "a her bed"
rcom whtle she eats the dinners he haS poi
nursemaid all the while, aud f1st ah Ar5;
Psltcbasd Is dying, he psesents Mary Mcleod
| with Iewclr7 and hia photograph. When she
| dies he goes to bis room and writes in his
| diary u Il, Friday. Died hero, at Ia ~.
Mary jane, my own beloved vile, aged ~
but IKE calm. peaceful lamb Of Gsd, pass:d
| Minnie away. Prayer On prayer till mine pc
o'er, everlasting love. Save rs. Lord, tos
Thy dear Son." We presume 1t may have
been that precious entry which suSssnsed te
the counsel Of Dr.. Prltchald a. defense on
| the ground of ttmornt ineantty"-the moderc
cuplemism, says q London paper, for ''ths
Ipstteaticn Of The devil"
Buf tho stnsu!arItY Of the case doe, noi
end With the criminal It extends to the
medical witnessre. Two physicians were call
ID 10 attend Mss. Psitchasd. One, Dr. Gard
ner, was Professor Of Medicine III the Uni
ycrsity Of Glasgow. He tonnd hls pstlen
should leave her. He PROCESSES that the cas-
| uuzzled him. He p:escri5ed-What No med
tcipe, no notwithstanding bat plnt,
boiled eeg and BIT of bread. Into nu eg
or bit Of bread, Ur. Gsrdner teems to hny
reasoned, you cannot easily pas poison. ~
ntctton with The case ends there, m
be ne7er notified anybody Of big suspicious
Dr., James Paterson had different expe
! 1tence. He was callel In February to &c
N,e. Taylor, The mother, and found he
dliug, as he believed, from q powerful Ma
, lay her daughter, Mrs. Prltchart,. aud D
Paterson test;ass he then was convinced 81
, wus uute- the influence Of antlmony., u
) goes away and saysnothlpg. A week late
; he WIS called to see Mrs. Prlichard, and fln6
! Mrs TAYLOR already dead from The polsa
: pnder which be had before seen hct suitcria:
= He ia reused to one act OF ordinary intel
! Mrs, Taylor's death. and wrltes to the Resi
: tror thai lcr death was 'ssuddeu. unexpecit
: and nyste1ipus.r Had the Krslstlar Ia tl
!. letter ordered post mort.n examtnsttt
!. Of Mrs. Taylor, II wonla nndouh!ed
= have saved Mrs. Pritchsrd'a life, bat tt
d Registrar does nothing, and 90 Or. Paters,
e does pothiug. On tbs stand and n q lstt
EE be has since written, he Admitted h. beliv.
4 Dr.. Pfitchard had poisoned Mss. Taylor, 81
,e was poisoning his wife. but he dh nothil
ls beyord Writing 10 the Registrar, II: two rt
ut sons-it might not have been safa, aad 1t v
40 clearly against etiquette for him tdintesfer
.: .: Dr.. Prichard was physician hs wifa y
~ under bis care as he did not choosa to &C
aa for Or. Patersou again, DR.. Paters,n saw.
re- occasion to tntetiere with any Intention
n might have OF poisoning wife and Wiz
1T mother both. rhc statement may re
az like q Enser OF eati1e-it IL the lite
~ truth; 1t Is Dr.. Ratetson'a e1ptanad
ii. Of the reasons which induced 5tn 70 10
be on two murders wIthou: ratstng h. hand
re stay them: Worse still, Dt. hteEson
I'd. films ha held consultation with tnc OR t
81 other pbyeiclaus Of Glasgow, aud tley aS,rt
u, ~ with him that professional decsRm Wot
No No not allow him 10 intefpcse between d.. X
Ea chard and Dr.. Prftchard's Wlfe Whtm he
o. poisoning; He was cent 1or e. assn' .s,!'. o. o1,
l .
n: toms the eatne, but terribly Agggrayat
y: She was clearly dying from poison. Re
~ ~ se1ital for her, went away, and neither
a am turned, nor denounced bar murderer.
t9. | sara explicitly: II did not 70 back
= canse ii was none Of my business, She
on. htr, husband, Who WAS . medsca! man
at had discharged my dutyp' His "iuty"
s!a ola iug In his view, to let this wonan, Al
9sn Ta, had already let her mother, DO \
mt dared! We coufess ne aro ut
ar's Ut q lcss to understand why DR.. Patirson
nz. not bcen arrested and t1itd ~ an lccesi
'ys. betoye The fact to the double murdsr.
1iu. Judge who tried P1itchard c1ear}r hai
'rn' ,rH doubt Of Patezson's guilt, in Morslsn nc
ia ita. Law, for he declared: :" There Is q rule Of
Ihls "a consideration higher than rnle-a
ny which every rIght.1utnded man Owls to
1ti2hhcr 10 prevent the dsstrnctnn Of
stsr man lie, and In that duty cannot hns
rho that Dr.. Paterson failed"
top Of one thing We are susc--that D. Pf
Up. sp ards fats on the eallows Ia far lcas ter
m than the life whfeh Dr.. Paterson mua he
'ol. | forth lead. II there be man h I
loot Britain whom his fel1ow-meu viii a1o!d
3ots whcm bis profession Is bound to coGef.
Fer, execlation and contempt. THAI mn t
,Al- A@tA4