The Manchester Examiner. — 1848-06-13 (Manchester, Greater Manchester, England)

THE POISONINOS AT BRISTOL.  BRISTOL, JUNE 11.—The excitement and deep interest felt throughout this city continues to increase, as the horrible facts of a wife and mother with her two children having been poisoned, as is alleged, by the husband and father, for the purpose of committing wholesale frauds upon the life insurance companies, continues to be more fully developed before the coroner. There are rumours also, that in addition to the three bodies already exhumed, two more are to be disinterred, and that a system of murder for the purpose of defrauding life insurance companies, more gross than the system exposed some time since for defrauding burial clubs, will be brought to light. The unhappy man, the subject of these horrible accusations, it will be remembered, committed suicide by taking prussic acid on the day that the bodies were exhumed, and the astonishment of the public at these events has been the. more increased, from the fact of his having been a very strict professor of religion, one of the deacons of a Baptist chapel in this city, and for the last twenty years a teacher at Sunday schools. On Friday, the inquest on the body of the wife (Maria Hill), whose life, it will be remembered, be had insured for £3,000, was resumed, and the proceedings were commenced by the coroner, stating that the inquiry had been adjourned for the purpose of enabling Mr. Herapath to make a chemical analysis of the contents of the three bodies.  Mr. W. Herapath deposed that he is an analytical chemist, and had been present at the exhumation, and had since made a careful chemical analysis. He had not the slightest doubt of arsenic being present. As to the cause of death, he would say, from the presence of arsenic and from the inflammation he saw, he had no doubt that arsenic was the cause of death; but that the principal part had been removed by sickness or evacuation: the arsenic he discovered was in the integuments themselves, not among the food or contents, but in the solid matter of the intestines.  Dr. G. A. Symonds deposed that be had attended the deceased during her last illness, and seen her three times; he had not administered any medicine containing arsenic, or any compound into which it could have entered.  Mr. William Chamberlain, of the insurance office, deposed to Mr. Hill having effected an insurance in the National Loan Fund Insurance Company for £2,999, to be paid upon the decease of the first who died, himself or his wife. A certificate of Mrs. Hill's death was delivered to him by the husband, with the view of getting the claim allowed. Witness had an interview with Mr. Hill, .in the presence of Mr. Murray, the chairman of the company. Mr. Murray inquired whether there were not peculiar symptoms in his wife's ease, such as vomiting and purging, and Mr. Hill admitted that there were. He had a second interview with him in the evening, and some questions were asked him by Mr. Murray in reference to his income. Mr. Murray reminded him that he had stated his income to be about £lOO a year, that he had not been in business for three or four years, and had no prospect of going into business again, and yet he had engaged to pay the company £11.7 a year premium. He asked him how he could explain this, and his only reply was, that he had other means, but declined to explain what they were. Witness entreated him to explain his means if he had any, but he still declined. Mr. Murray then told him thathe thought of having the bodies exhumed; to which he replied that he was cruelly dealt by, but said of course if he would have them exhumed be must submit to it. This conversation took place about two months ago. Evidence was then given that he had insured his motherin-law's life, and paid the premium on it, but she could not say for how much, and that he had further insured his own mother's life for £