New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-11
THE DAY IN COURT.

gave Ii as his opinion tudl Nils i'-
was caused by arsenlcal poisoning
THE DAY IN COURT
A LONG HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION To AN Ia
PERT WITNESS
With tho exception OF Dr!ef nan hou'' u.' '"9
which H. H. Bliss. the stepfather OF N's
ing occupied the stand yesterday PioOe0
a., .,o Flaming trial were given over enVfeiE
70 expert evidence and the pTopouhc'is u 'r
.,a.,osl Questions Upon the opening or me
Court Mr. bliss called TO the SIAN" 40
the purpose Of undergoing cross-examina'ioh a.
the hands of Mr. Brooke AS was expected ~
.ason ~, the change Of front in his atu'uu7
.oward the defendant Mr. Bliss proved "o'e
<.rr.rie, witness for the defence than lor the
nrosacution Responding 10 inquiries put ~
A., rrooks he necessarily denied assertions anu
,r,nu.ations he. was reported to nave 'i"uo
against Mrs Fleming shortly al'er "ei "'
The statement which he MADE 10 Assistant
trict-Attorney Miller some time ago. /" ".'0''
much was said that was detrlme'''hi ~
1uan,rg he practically threw overheard aI'o-
gather and refused TO DE bound pS It,
80, morning he gave to Mr. Brooke, as inc
.oosor Of his asking Mrs. Fleming II she hau
no,sored her mother, that he had reao Ill 'ne
new,napers that she had been accused oi HAIL
c,da and he put the inquiry, he said TO MS s'ep
daughter simply natural consequence VI
what he had read
THE OUARRELS WERE BRIEF
Mr. Brooke also ELECTED from him that the gen
40, rs,st,ons Of the defendant and tbs deceased
woman were pleasant and amicable ana thal
.hs ouarrels between the two were never VI h'oie
than Ave or ten minutes duration. Inc dispute
on the Wednesday before Mrs. Bliss oea'h' ulo'.
which the prosecution has throughout The VIA
laid much stress was. according to MI bhss' Vi
an ordinary character, and merely repe'i'oh Vi
similar disaxreements that had taken place ire
ouently in fne last fifteen years
4 HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION.
After Mr. Bliss had left the stand. the case
once more dropped back into the duii depths Vi
exnert testimony and legal routine. DR.. Charles
A. Fisher the pathological witness for the prose
cution, was next called. and from about noon
until nearly Z O'Clock. exclusive OF the usual
hours recess DR.. OSullivan occupied the atteh-
ton of the court by propounding TO the witness
long hypothetical question for his opinion there
on as TO the cause of the death OF Mrs Bliss
The invariable result that has followed the put
ting Of these hypothetical questions To expert WI
nesses in recent cases cropped up again yestei-
day Counsel for the defence interposed opJec-
tions to certain portions OF the question long
arguments on its validity ensued and finally the
whole question was read again lnnumerable OBJ
iections ensued again. and finally. about ~
DR. Fisher was permitted to state, as his OPINION
upon the hypothetical question that the death
of Mrs Bliss due TO arsenica poisoning
Henry H. Bliss who on the stand the
whole OF Tuesday resumed his place there I'M
mediatelv the court convened yesterday morn
tioD ny defe r.
Brooke had in front Of him the transcript Of the
stenographer's notes of the direct examination,
and he. started out TO question the witness
with studied care and elaboration. 1t Will be
remembered that some months ago Mr. Bliss
made a statement to Assistant District Attorney
Mill r. in which he made many damaging ana
serious accusations against the defendant as 70
Ter demeanor toward her mother. On Tuesday
afternoon, when the prosecution sought 70 verify
these statements before the jury by admissions
from the witness. his mind had undergone a
strange transformation. and his recollection Of
the incidents, which he had some time ago re-
duced to writing, had completely faded away
To all the questions based upon this statement
that were put him on Tuesday. Mr.. Bliss pro
fessed complete forgetfulness. Mr. Miller was
obviously at sea with the witnese. and az last
resource Mr. Mcintyre took the witness in hand
tering him Mr.. Mcintyre got Mr.. Bliss ia
admit. at least, that on the day Of the funeral
Of the deceased woman he asked his step
daughter II she had poisoned her mother. The
answer was so satisfactory to the prosecution
that Mr. Mcintyre there and then. and without
probing the witness further abruptly terrnina ted
the direct examination.
INQUIRY BASED ON REPORTS
Yesterday morning Mr.. Brooke. without any
preliminary pareying, reverted at once TO this
phase Of Mr.. Bliss's evidence.
'Mr. Mcintyre asked you yesterday" he be-
gan. whether you had asked the defendant
whether she had poisoned her mother. Did you
base that inquiry upof the reports you had
heard and read?'
Eyes, sir" Mr. Bliss replied promptly
Q.-As 10 the dispute quarrel that took place
between the defendant and her mother. on the last
time that you them together. how long did ii
last? About five minutes.
Odd they part good friends? A-They did
Q-Wasnt this quarrel similar to others that
mother for several years past? Alt was.
Q.-How long did these QuaIrels usually last? A
About FIVE ten minutes.
O.-Was there any permanent lasting bit
terness between Mrs Bliss and Mrs. Fleming? A
O-Were the relations as a whole between. tn.
defendant and her antaeonistic or pleasant? A
Pleasant.
Mr. Brooke's REORGANIZATION was surprising
ly brief. and IL matter Of remark In cour
that Mr.. Bliss displayed lapse of memory IL
answering the questions put to him by the senior
counsel for the defence. His accommodating
bearing. however seemed to change again in
stanty when Mr. Mcintyre opened his redirec
examination. If he was adverse on Tuesday III