ALLEGED MURDER, OF CAPTAIN CAIN.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7607, 2 December 1886, Page 3

ALLEGED MURDER, OF CAPTAIN CAIN.

Timaru, 'VYednesday. Thomas Hall was brought up again at the ■ Magistrate's Court this morning charged with the mnrdor of Captain Cain. ■ George Kaye deposed : I went to Woodlands to nurse Captain Cain in January last, and remained until his death. Hall came to the house every day. He used to come at night, sometimes about 6 o'clock,, hut he did not remain long. I left the room whenever Hall came in. The captain was very often sick after I had given him his cough mixture. The mixture was kept on a Je table with the grog and the wine. I iiip with the captain the night before Sied, and I saw no difference in liini till about 2 o'clock. I saw a change in him then -which I took for death. Mr Stubbs was sitting up with me that night. I do not remember seeing Hall there. When the captain vomited he used to say, " Botheration. Can't the doctors give me something to stop this?" Jowsey Jackson, blacksmith, deposed: I mode an invalid bedstead for Captain Cain. I took the bedstead to the house about 1 p.m. on the 15th, and George Kaye gavo mo a glass of champagne, which was taken out of the room that ha/1 been occupied by Captain Cain up to , that tiny. js; F, W. Stubbs, agent, deposed : rknew the late Captain Cain for many years. I went to see jiini on the 13th <5f January, which was my first visit during' his sick- ■ n<W6. I was there on the evening of the day (he invalid bed came. Hall was at the liouee'. I asked him how he thought the captain was, and he replied, " Very lad indeed." He also remarked that the doctor gave' no hopes of him, and that he could not get over it. J thonght Captain Cain was better than on the day before. t- Patrick M'intyre deposed : I am a duiy qualified niedical practitioner, reBiding at Timaru. I began to attend Captain Cain in July, 1885. I visited him on the 9th and 10th of July, on the 31st of August, the fltli of September, the 3rd. and 7111 ot November, and from the 17th to the 31st of December inclusive, daily. I visited Captain Cain almost every day from the end of December till his death. He was suffering from kylney disease and dropsy, find also from general debility of the system continuing from hi« previoup iilness. I first prescribed for the vomiting on the 24th ot December. I did not know of its existence before that date. In my prescriptions there was nothing to produce vomiting. I prescribed stimulants— spirits, and at one time champagne, and Bt another claret and Australian wine, and probably port. I woul.d not expect any of these stimulants to cause voinitmg. None .0/ my prescriptions contained atropia, cbfcliicum, or antimony, or any preparation of Jjiese .things. Captain Gain once complained to me of his whisky making him sick. This yraa a few weeks before his death. I last jaw Captain Cain JUs day before his death. He w«3 then ' 4Hch worse than he had _ been foisome weeks before. Tlie administration of atropia, colchiciim, or antimony to anyone in Captain Cain's position would certainly accelerate death. Cross-examined by Mr Perry: Uptain Cain was suffering from chronic kidney disease during his last illness, and piobably Blight's disease. I could not examine him thoroughly to see. The Jegs and body and hands were much swollen, particularly the hands, during Ihe latter part of ' his illness. I only remember one sore on the body, a small nicer, and there was a small deep hole in the sole of one of his feet, but his legs had - not gangrened. I considered his recovery •jiopeless throughout the last illness, and I told members of the family that lie might die at ,my moment, or live for weeks or months. T!ie prescriptions during Captain Cain's last iJlncss were palliatives. The medicines given for the kidney disease and the dropsy were palliatives, and to reduce the dropsy. I did »pt expect to cure cither (lie Jcidney disease OJ the dropsy. The Kvmptoms at the beginni/ip; of Captain Cain's last illness worn general debility with increasing dropsy, particularly of the legs, and afterwards extending' up to the lower parts of the body, ■There was also dropsy of both hands, most marked in the left hand. He also suffered from chronic bronchitis and vomiting. The latter I first treated him - joron the 24th of. December, I also

treated him for diarrhoea during the last month of Iris illness. Dropsy acting on the hearl was not in my opinion the immediate .causu of death. It was kidney disease and dropsy in a constitution already enfeebled through impaired heart action. I never told Hall that dropsy would immediately follow. Richard Bowen Hogg deposed .; lam a duly qualified medical .practitioner. _ I remember holding b, post mortem examination with Dr Ogston at the Timaiu hospital on September 27th. "Wo removed the stomach, a portion of the small and large intestines, the bladder, a portion of the liver, the spleen, and the kidneys. There was also some liquid taken from the chestandput into bottles, and from the bladder, and from the peritoneal cavity. The analysis was commenced on the night of our arrival in Dunedin by myself, Professor P.lack, and Dr Ogston at the University laboratory. Wo discovered antimony in all the' organs. I should not expect to iind traces of .colchicnm or atropia in a body nine months buried. If such poisons had been administered during life in one suffering from heart disease and dropsy it would certainly have the effect of accelerating death. Cross-examined by Mr Perry : We did not test for atropia or colchicuni the urinous fluid. A separate analysis was made of part of the contents > of each bottle. There was no difficulty in getting results although the analysis took a considerable time. The Court was adjourned till to-morrow morning.