Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1872-01-05
Letter ero.n Annapolis.
AHNApoLIs. Dec. 30. 1871,

ANNAPOLIS, Dec. 80, 1871.
The Wharton 7rial-The Chemical Experts
for the Defense of their Test
nony-E Explanations of Prof. McOul,och's
EIperiment--Efect of the 7estimony-
The Plea Of hasanity-The Gubernatorial
I6ngue-A Courteous Prefer, DC.
The Wharton trial ..drags its slow length
along" and will probably occupy the whole
of next week, including New Years day
The able counsel for the defense are exhaust
ing every effort to procure the acqnittal Of
their client. which may result, as some per.
sons expect, in a division Of the jury. Their
zeal and the unusual ability they exhibit is a
subject of remark, as we'll as the same quail
ties displayed by the Attorney General and
States Attorney. Mrs. Wharton and friends
have exhibited more cheerfulness of manner
since the witnesses for the defense have been
on the stand. Her lady friends and others
continue their attendance upon Mrs. w. and
her daughter with unfailing punctuality. T.
a Spectator the countenance uf Mrs. Whar.
ton is invisible, but Those sitting within tn.
bar may. perhaps, be euabled to discern her
emotions.
| The formidable array Of chemical experts
in the service OF the defence have opened their
batteries upon the testimony uf the State, and
have apparently dsmonntel some guns and
injured the earthworks. They have pronounce
ed the scientific evidence offered tn prove the
existence Of antimony in the body If General
Ketchum to be inconclusive and fallacious-
DIR. Reese, another expert from Philadelphia,
will testify to the same effect.
I The testimony of Professor McCulluch and
DR.. Geuth, which has been published in your
columns, is To the same points, and their
reasoning the same. 1t may be briefly sum-
married as follows so rs to present all the
points.
They testify that DR.. Atkins and Prof.
Fonry's analyses are radically defective, be-
cause they did not Contain the metal That
the metal must be obtained in sufficient guam
Itity to allow it TO be subjected to as many
characteristic tests as will prove cnnclus vey
what it really is-any Of which failing, the
result is vitia,ed With reference to DR.
Atkins analysis, they say be relied only on "a
few color tests: First, sulphate Of hydrogen !;
second. solubility ia acid; third, white pre-
lcipitate. To these he sometimes added n
fourth. They charge as blunders DIR. A. :
mode of estimating by gnesswork, after weigh
ing four-tenths of grain from tumbler-
he ought to have used pure materials, aud
npt,a sediment with organic matter in it. His
tests for bis acid were made six months be-
tore. The mistake ia his written report.
which he corrected on the stand. his chance
leon precipitates, his hasty inference Of anti
inony, his idea that he bad only to satisfy
himself OF its existence, and not To prove il
couclusiyely; his examination Of portion B
was defective, because it was full of organic
master; he used Reusch's test livery imper-
fectly1 only to search for arsenic in acid his
subliniate onght to have been crystalline. Dr.
| Atkins tumEier examination was Of no value
whatever. trs:, because 1t contained organic
matter, (milk punch, &c., second, because
his lnpafisons, If products by eye are W. rth-
less, aud gave him resemblance and not
identity OF crystalline form--geometric fornls
must BIZ i'leutlcal third, his errors which he
asked leave to correct
With references - Mr.. Tonry's analysis, the
experts for defense asserts that his work was
| also radically defective, because he did d. {
nperate:otl metal, but organic mixtures thai
the chorate of potash aud hydr,.chloric acid
do not destroy or get rid of organic matter !;
that there is nothing t. preclude the belle.
that chlorofortn. choral aud yellow Jasmine
may have been in the duoienum, and ha,
StsVu Vic oouIC tCSt VI ICOtHSt
mistaken for antimony by DR.. Akin. becaus !,
tirst. Mr.. T"nry failed utterly with his uitric
acid for spots; secund, the spots were too liz
significant. and may not have weighed over
one torty-thonsandth Of grain; third. bis
mode OF operating was scarcely possibly with
such minute quantity; fourth, surprising
that spot may possibly have been nlanip u-
lated. then the impurlty Of the materials he
used would sufficiently account for it 9Th,
the spots may be given by other substances,
because, also. his mode of testing zinc, water,
aud suiphuric acid fur impurities was imper
feet. because bis weighing was fabulous; the
one twentieth OF a lnillegramme is the eight
ten thonsandth of a grain; with such load
as beaker glass no balance in the world calr
weigh the one thousandth of grain, and his
taxing hold Of the beaker by the rim with his
maud instead Of forceps would vitiate his whole
work because Of Mr.. Tunry's ar,hmetca
error III stating that four nllegralnnles was
equal to SIX tentbs Of grain Of antimnny ir
the liver, Instead of six one hundredths of
| grain, making it ten times too great bee ,us.
tns hnding In the whole liver only SIX one
hundredths Of a graiu, aud this also being
mere estimate, based upon the impossible
weighing of nne-fourth of u millegramme, and
that largely composed of free ulphur, organic
matter, moisture, &c., (as it must have beell,)
show simply that Mr. runry found nothing.
He obtained a few spots that is all, and
those would be explained by hnpurity of
chemicals, or may be the organic matter only.
| Prof. McCulloch also exhibited an experi-
ment in the presence of the court aud jury to
show that the orange red precipitate may be
obtained from variety of organic substances
As the experiment has been nisapprehended,
1t Is we'll enough to explain it. He produced
vial containing what he said was sn aque-
GUS solution of CULTURAL, water and tlncture Of
yellow jasmine, made to resemble as nearly
as possible what he supposed to be the COLI
tents Of Gen. KS stomach alter he had taken
the medicines prescribed by DIR. Williams
He then showed It's reaction with su1phlde al
ammonium by pouring sumo OF the latter ill.,
TT the vial. The result was that white cloud
and an orange red preclpitate were obtained
IN the same manner as they were obtained by
DIR. Akin IN the progress of his analysis Of
the contents of Gen. KS stomach. Here the
experiment ended. Prof McCulIoch's expe-
rlment showed only the FIRST result obtained
IN regular analysis, merely to exhibit the
color. He did not attempt to obtain the sec
ond result which DIR. Akin obtained. The
next step to that result was tu dissolve the
white cloud in tartaric acid aud pass through
liz stream of sulphuretted hydrogen. Ii
antimony was present that would produce au
orange red precipltate, which is suiphide OF
| aufinnuv Tho fret rost,i, 90 ,vas stat.,d