THE TIMARU SENSATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 206, 2 September 1886, Page 2

THE TIMARU SENSATION.

Alleged Attempted Wife Murder. (KY TEIEGIIAI'H — OWN COKKESrONDKNT.) TuiAßu, this day. Until yesterday afternoon, the evidence tendered in the Hall caee haa hot Leen very startling; but when Dr. Mclntyre was called, the movement among the crowd in Court showed that something sensational was expected. During the morning the evidence had been, of a merely formal kind, showing that there was a motive for the prisoner Hall to get rid of his , wife, as he had insured her life heavily, and was in financial difficulties, from which hCV death would have released him , . The following is the evidence of Dr. Maclntyre, which in, co far, the most important that ha.s been heard.

Patrick Melntyre depofed : I am a duly qualified medical practitioner. I know the accused, and also Mrs Hall. She was a patient of mine ; I attended her in the yiear 1883, in the early half of November. The most marked symptom at the time wag retching and vomiting. I prescribed .for her. About the 14th of the month she was decidedly hotter. She was very prostrate for some daya while the sickness lasted, but recovered very quickly nbout the 14th, and was soon able to drive. I considered this sickness due to her pregnancy. I visited her once or twice, but not on. an important occasion, tflli she was confined in June 19th. There was nothing special about the confinement, which tcok a favourable course. About the fourth day after her confinement .vomiting commenced, This vomiting had continued, more or lees, up to the night.of the 15th August or the early morning of the 16th,. with steadily increasing prostration. There were periods when she rallied. On the fifth day after the confinement, an inflammation of the right breast eet in. The. vonjit matter was eomstimes mucous and bilious, and sometimea consisted ,of watery bilious matter. Just before the attacke o£ eickness, and during the attackj ehe assumed a very yellow, or jaundice colour. There were repeated attacke of diarrhcea, the first of which I prescribed for on the 27th of June. The motions were generally dark and bilious. She complained of a hot burning feeling in the throat and stomach, and ehe also experienced a feeling as if the throat was being grasped by a hand. She complained of a tenderness over the stomach, which extended over the upper half of the belly. During the last stages of the illness, it involved the whole nbdomenal area, including the region of tho bladder. During the last 9 or , "]o days prior to August 15th there was an itching of the ekin, affecting tho body and limbs. There was also a soreness of the eyeballs and an itching of tho eyelidel She complained of feeling as if her noso was enlarged and her nostrils were sore and irritable. Her lips became dry, tors, and hacked, and she complained of a nasty disagreeable taste in the mouth. On Saturday, August 14th, she had twitchmg of the arms, and there was some retention of the urine, on one occasion lasting from the 11th to the night of the 12th August. On July 14th her symptoms became co grave that I sugge t*d to the husband the advieability of having another rrfedical man in consultation. Dr. Drew saw her on that day, and we prescribed a certain course of treatment. She appeared to improve during the ensuing two or three days, but tho symptoms returned again. On July 28, I again suggested d further consultation. Dr. Stackpoole saw her with ma on tbie occasion. We gave lit i whey and lime water and nourishing injectione for the bowels. She seemed to improvea little, and then got worse again On August 12th she was so very ill that I abked for another consultation, and eug. gested Dr Love to the prisoner Hall. Mrs Hall expressed a wish that Dr. Drew should alsobe there, Weheld a consultation on that evening at 8 o'clock, and we decided to give her no food by the mouth, but to allow her to sip in water. She was to be fed every 3 houre by the bowels with beef tea, pepsine, or pancreatine and brandy, to obviate the vomiting and retching, which occurred from time to time. Sho became rapidly weaker, and on Sunday, loth, when I saw her at 1.30, she was in a state of collapse; her puleo was at 110, her features pinched, her eyes eunk, arid her breathing hardly perceptible, being very feeble. The puleo at this stage was very irregular, and could hardly be felt at the wriets. She had only juet partially recovoredf from a severe attack of retching and vomiting. On Fridayj August 13th, I secured two bottlee, one ot urine and one of vomit. I took them to the Hospital, and Dr. Drew and I tested tie contents. Wo came to the conclusion that they contained antimony. I put a portion of each into bottles, which I sealed and forwarded to Professor Black at Dunedio. Ou Sunday, the 15tb, when I visited the house at 1.15, being in Mrs Hall's bedroom, <l>o nurse drew my attention to the fact tint Mrs Hall's husband had given her e< me ice water, of which Mrs Hall complained ai having a very nasty tasto. She ale-, described it as a somewhat bitter taste, and so unlike the ico water ehe had been in the habit of having At the same time the nurse signalled to me that ehe had secured a quantity of the icewater which she had in her hands; she then handed it to mo. On that afternoon I made an analysis of a portion of the water in company with Dr. Drew, Wβ found very decided indications of antimony being present. On completing the analysis I sealed the bottle,and subsequently handedit over to Mr Brobam. On Auguet 16 Mrs Hall felt much improved. She had one attack of vomiting on the previous night,, but there had been no return of that symptom. On the eanio day she took a considerable amount of liquid nourishment, given in email quantities by the stomach. On the following night she retched once or twice, and since then the retching has not returned. On the 17th she took considerably more nourishing food than on the previous day. Ever since then she has made steady and rapid improvement, and she is now quite oat of danger, though weak. The temperature during her illness wao normal except duriDg inflammation of the breast, which lasted from 12 to 15 days, when it was highest. Hor tongue was considerably coated with fur, and continued thus for some days after the inflammation had ceased. Since then the tongue had been comparatively clean, although unduly red round the edge?. During the last week of her illness, the patient complained of the back of her tongue feeling sore. On the 16th of August, ehe felt aa if it were too large for her mouth, and her voice was feeble. During the last four or rive days, and on the 15th, I could hardly hear her voice. She complained of thirst throughout the whole course of her illness, and she was greatly prostrated, especially during the latter part of her illness. She improved from time to time after her confinement, and on one occasion sho could get out of bed and move into another room, and once sho went for a drive, feeling much better en her return that evening; but on the following day the vomiting returned. I could not account for the symptoms, and was exceedingly puzzled. I first looked to find come organic disease of the internal organs or displacement of the womb, or any affection of the womb that might account for the symptoms ; but I failed to satisfy myself as to the presence of the di:ease or diseaeea. None of the medicines prescribed for her contained either antimony or colchicum. The symptoms shown by Mrs Hall were such as might be produced by poisoning by antimony. Arsenic might produce such symptoms, and chronic gastroenteric might produco some of them,or cancerous affection of the stomach or certain parts of the bowele. Mrs Hall was not suffering from any of the complaints I have just mentioned. The drainage of the house U good. I know Dr. Ogeton, and wont with him through the house when Mrs Hall was lying ill. Tho bottle produced (oxhibit M) is the one containing the ice water, whichl gave to InspecJ tor Brohain, The water was given tome by tho nurse, Mrs Ellison. Exhibit .N, the vomit of August 12th, was left at Wattkins's chemist shop. I believo exhibit ois urine of tho 12th, which is partof whatlexamined in company with Dr Drew. I sent two bottlee containing vomit and urine to Professor Black by train of the 14th. They wore sealed with my own private seals. Since August 14th, I have examined vomit, urine, and motions, and have found indications of antimony working its way out of the syßtem. The indications were strongly marked up to the 16th, and have been diminishing since. The last examination I made was of the urine of the 20th (Friday). I have handed them into the charge of Professor Black and Dr. Ogston. I have received some jelly in a glass from Mrs Ellison, and hive handed it over to Professor Black and Dr. Ogjton, and ulko all the other Fpecimenß in my possession except those used in the experiment on Sunday, August 15. Some of tl c things I got myptlf, come from Inspector Brohaui, and others from Mrs Ellison.

Ciosg-oxamined by Mr Joynt: It first occurred to me that tha symptoms resembled those of an irritant poison three or four days before the 12tb, but I cannot fix the

day. It rose from my own suggestion, and not from'Bγ. Drew. I could not dotermine then whatspeciricpoison wasbeingused. On the 13th after I and Dr. Drew had made the analysis it lirst occurred to me thatantiiuoi>y was tho poison used. "I have never before in my experience mot with a caso of antitaonial poisoning. I have had experience of poisoning by some irritant, namoly, hydrochloric acid ; this waa tho only instance, some 2 or 8 years ago. It waa a case of acute poisoninp, ending in death. In testing we used Runche's test. Wβ boiled in hydrofchloric acid with a piece of copper immersed, .and we got a decided violet Qoloured motaltic deposit on the coppor. That was the result we expected, and jv.o did not carry tho analysis any further. The result would not have been tho eamo if hydrochloric acid had been used ; thoro would havo bonn no deposit at all. In regard to araonical poisoning, a grayish white precipitate would result. IThc analysis.on the 15th waa not made in tjie. same way.. I tested the ice-water with Litmus paper, and the reaction was slightly acid. Wβ evaporated a portion of.:tho w»tsr on glass to dryness, examined it under a microscope, and found it consisted of crystala of tartar emetic. Nitric acid was added to another portion of the icewater, and a white precipitate was thrown down, soluble in tartaric acid, and nob in excess of nitric acid Ferrocyanide of potassium showed no precipitate; sulphuretted hydrogen gas gave an orange precipitate insoluble in ammonia, and on being treated with hydrochloric acid on coppor, gave a strong , violet precipitate. This was the complete tesb ef the ice water. After the loth we analysed the excreta by Kunche'e process. Dr. Drew assisted me on the 13th and 15th, and on other occasions since, but not always. Dr. Maclntyre's evidence concluded, and the deposition having been signed, tho Court adjourned. . During the day the two prisonora maintained a self - contained demeanour, Hall being occupied in taking notes, whilo Houston seemed indifferent as to the evidence. , Now and again the two would hold a conversation together, and the female prisoners laughed heartily when the Clerk of tho Court said ',' hydraulic acid," in roading over Dr. MacIntyro'e evidence, instead of hydrochloric acid. As tho doctor stated his views on the matter, however, Hall seomod more downcast than has been usual with him during the bearing. Ho appeared to be considerably impressed by its importance. From all appearances, .it is extremely unlikely that the hearing will conclude before Saturday. ,»_