English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 415, 25 October 1856, Page 2

English and Foreign.

TRIAL OF WILLIAM PALMER. ' TWELFTH AND LAST HAY.—CONVICTION OF THE PRISOSEU. Lord Campbell, Mr. Haron Alderson, and Mr. Justice CresswelV took iheir seats on the bench precisely at ten o'clock. The prisoner still'preserved hi> quiet, iirm demeanour, although a slightly increased heaviness of the eyes and pallor of the face seemed to indicate that he had not wholly escaped the subduing influence of the loiig and trying ordeal through which he had been passing. Lord Chief Justice-Campbell resumed his summing up to the jury as follou-s: —Gentlemen of the jury—At the adjournment of the court yesterday evening I h.id finished the task of laying- before you all the evidence on the part of the Crown ; and certainly that evidence, if not answered, does present for your consideration a serious case against the prisoner, at the bar. It appe irs that in the middle of November, he was involved in pecuniary difficulties of the most form-dable nature. He had engagements to perform which he was unable to perform without some most extraordinary-exertions ; he had to make payments which he was unable to make; there were actions brought against himself and his mother on the forged .acceptances*; he had no friend, to whose;, assistance he could resort; he baduo credit on which money cmild be raised. It so happened that at tltst time, the deceased, J. P. Cook, by the winning of a race, on the loth Nov., became the master of at least j£l,ooo ; and there is evidence from which inference may be drawn that thepnsoaer formed the design of appropriating that money to his own use, and that he was prepared to do anything to accomplish that object. We find that he did appropriate that money to the payment of debts for which he alone was liable, There is evidence from which it in ay be inferred that he drew a cheque with the signature of Cook on it, that signature being a forgery- That cheque was drawn on Wetherby for- the purpose of enabling him to obtain possession of a part of the money which Cook had won. There is further evidence that he employed the witness Herring to collect the bets due to Cook, and to apply ;he proceeds to his own uses. What eg*e3t would have been produced by the survival of Cook uader such circumstances it is for you to decide. It also appears that after Cook's death he had'attempted tt obtain possession ofPosestar, a horse which had belonged to Cook, and which had just won the race, at Shrewsbury : and you have theu evidence of his having fabricated a document which was U> declare that certain bills of exchange,-with which it , appears that-'Cook had no concern, hnd been negotiated solely for the advantage of Cook, and that the ■'prisoner had derived no beneSt whatever from them. Then, gentlemen, with respect, to the joint liabilities of Cook and Palmer, it .had'been Represented on belialf of the latter that inasmuch' as those liabilities h d been thrown solely upon him -by-Cook's death, he must have been a severe loser by t::at event. Bur, on the other .hand, it should be remembered that it Palmer had got possession of all Cook's property by the means "to whicli he had resorted, he could'not have been a* sufferer l,y his death. The great and important question for your consideration is whether Cookmay.be supposed to have died of natural disease or from the effects of poison. You have heard the evidence of Sir.B. Brodie and other most skilful asid honourable men, who say that in their opinion Cook did not die from natural disease, and thatif he did not die from natural disease th^v knew of no poison except strychnia which could account for his deaih. With regard to the fact that no blood was found m the heart of Cook, which has been a good deal rehed upon for the defence, the resu't of the evidence seems to lead to a conclusion that if deata is produced by an obstruction of the sesnira■tory organs, producing asphyxia, blool is foun'l in the heart; but that if death is produced by a Mjasm in the heart itself, the heart contracts, the" blood is expel'ers, and none is afterwards to be found If you believe the more direct evidence ■against the prisons you must come t, the conclusion that, he procured botn on the Mondny and on the Tuesd-.v i«nme«.:iteSv preceding Cook's dead, this WrY poison o. strychnia by which. a = cordi. IK to many of themt-aical_ itnesses, tl.,u death must have b«en caused. = « fe re are also facts staled witi, resuect" to theconuuctofihe prisoner upon which k 'will be for yon t0 say xvhether they were s.ici, as rr.iirht or imghtnat nave bec-n expected from ;,„ in-.uu-ont mar, He showed an e ,genu-, s to br.vc the body of '-ook iant-ned-h.wj, m the coffin. Wjq, . f ,,,. ir fi , * the bvtun :Z -b M X tiiere are cen.-iiuly f !icr „ f , O . ,r' wJl ; , yo.. »w* n,i« ;ha: he «« po^un «f the bctti,,.-,. bo.k w«ich Cook hao wuh hir., a ,i me ,»«. vjouslv. to ins death. \ „M i must not for-^t hi. ;- u t, B-qH-jHtcondu..-!; you mast n:;t f-r-tt that I ■<. ' i,-;,'.,! toiiribe t!:e post.»,.,y to ovcturn x\ K v-hicl/in I wlucn lhi> jar <; 4i uJas»;n;r Ji.o c i-ojth.iis <n iU>-n> mams of Mr. Cook, w^lcii wwta 1,« Eent „"„ ,„ Jvoadfjn U)r anslvi-aUuii, lia'i been placed. TJicii gentlemen, you find the prijci.ni-r iam-,.cji*ii«, v -i'|' the postmaster at Kugeley, and procuring thro'-H,

him the opening of a letter from Dr. Taylor, who had examined the contents of the jar, to Mr. Gardner, the attorney employed oiv behalf of Mr. Stevens, \Ne.\r, gentlemen,;you find .him tampering with the Hcoroner, and: trying to induce hmi. to procure a verdict from the coroner's jury which .-'would amount to his own acquittal. These are serious matters for your considerations; but you, and you alone, must say what inference is to be drawn from them. On the part of the defence, the answer consists of two parts; first of the medical evidence, and, secondly, of the moral or general evidence. There have been examined on behalf of the prisoner a number of gentlemen of high honour, unsullied integrity, and profound .scientific knowledge, who, 1 believe, came here to speak the truth, and to assist in (he honest administration of justice. But there were other medical witnesses called on the same side whose special object Seemed to be to procure the acquittal cf the prisoner. It is not consistent with the due administration of justice that a witness should be turned into an advocate, or an advocate into a witness. The learned judge rend the evidence of Mr. Nunneley, professor of surgery at the Leeds School of Medicine; His evidence differed considerably from that of many of the witnesses for the prosec'itioi)}:and--more■■■■particularly upon the-important facr that.he had not found the body become rigid after death preceded by t tanic symptoms. He also dwelt on the less important point, that after death by felanus he had always found the heart empty. —-.Mr. W. Ilerapath, professor of chemistry-and toxicology at the Bristol Medical School, was a most skilful chemist, and he stated it as his opinion that whenever there was a death by strychnia the poison could afterwards be discovered. Bu: it seemed that he had also given -it as--his opinion that in the case of Cook strychnia had been administered, although Dr. Taylor had not discovered it, in consequence of his not having used the proper means for the purpose. In reference to th.it pnrt of the case ii should be remembered that Dr. Taylor and Dr. Rees, who had failed to detect the presence of strychnia fn the remains of Cook, declared that in two other cases in which they had killed animals by strychnia they ■ had been unable ■■.afterwards; to find it by the same tests they h >d employed in Cook's case." The next witness was Mr. Rogers, professor of chemistry at St. George's School of Medicine, London. The .most important point in his evidence, was, that even where strychnia had been mixed up"with impure matter, it could, in his opinion, be discovered by the use of the proper tests. Dr. Letherby said that the symptoms in Cook's cas> differed from those he had observed in animals poisoned by strychnia; but he had admitted that the symptoms produced by strychnia varied .very considerably. The next witnesses were Mr. R. E. Gay, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, .\jr. J. C-Ross, Mr. Mantel!, and Dr. Wrighton, whose evidence was read by the judge. Mr. Partridge expressed an opinion that the death of Cook inijrlu have aris-n from arachnitis or inhumation of the spinal cord, caused by granules, ile admitted, however, in his cross-examination, that arachnitis was a very rare disease, and that he had never seen a c.se of such a description. Mr. Partridge also admitted that many of Cook's symptoms were consistent with a case of tetanus produced by strychnia, and that he never knew of such symptoms proceeding- from naiural causes. A case of tetanus brouo-ln'before ,th«ni by Mr. Gay, was that of the boy in the lloyal Free Hospital ; but that case, also, they would remember, was undoubtedly a case of traumatic tetanus-, arising -frvnn injury to one of the toes The learned judge then directed the attention of the jury to the evidence of Dr. M'Donald- He expres-ed an •opinion' that strychnia was not affected by decomposition, and that in all cases where strychnia was the ca.se of death the poison ou"iit to be discovered in the body after death ; and he ascribed the death of Cook to epilepsy, accompanied by tetanic Co!iii>l!c;.tion. Pis lordship referred to the cross-examination of th»t witness, and to his admis-ion that he had never known a case of deaiii arismsr Irom epilepsy where the patient was conscious up to the moment of death. That gentlcinn cm.inly went to very great lengths in account!..ior the.ile.-,th, and said that it mi«ht have arisen fixnj epik-jxy, caused by mental' excitement or sensual excucmeii!. The jury would judge of ;he value of tins evidence, and their fa-k would he to consider whether it was an aiisw.-r to the testimony thnt had hem given by the witness for ill? Crown iiiey had the cvirl,.,,^ of ]j r . Ri c h arcl!4fin# wl|() hat. introd-iced a new element into the enqu-.y, and who hal d s, r ,i)c,! casts of persons dying of what he coi.Mdm-d to be angina peelorh who h;.d ur. - senled «vmp:oiin very swu Ur to those of Cook One of those o :scs p^ticuWiy resembled that of Cook, nml ,1k- -,i, )1c ,,, Kla . ef , lh;l , jf he hu{ known as imn;.. v.t f.at iim« us he knew at present of s-rychn ; a. )v, ™r,| i.aye searched for th« poison at | ,v I".'"!"!" 01"1 *"11 "X-Mnii»aiion which he had made. l)r.\\ri-/nuon waX ,!,,.„ rec . lHe , f „,„, ]|c lj)a£ v t.-ie nmiiiijiiH, ,] (: S I. of stryclM.i.., c .-.j)able of dsslroy.og hfe w P readinin:si e r,d f and a long interval v/er« to „!ar),t. b«for.Mle:n.h, ibe'absorption'would be more complete, utul the chance would be less of

finding the poison in the st >inueh. Mr. Sergeant -Slice here begged leave to remind hi> ionkhip that •-the witness added that lie should siill ux,n.'ct to find the poison in,the spleen, the liv w; and the blood. Lord Cimplu'll haul that the witness h,id certainly marie that additional statement. Catherine Watson, a young woman living mar Glasgow, was .iftei wards examined, and said ih.it .-.he had been attacked with a .'it List October, and said tli.it .she hid taken no poison of any kind, and had no wound on her body iit the time. Shu (\utliei Mated when the lit seized her slie litciiiiu wholly insi'iiMble. He mxtcaine to the evidence as to the m.utcrs of laet produced for the defence. Henry Matthews, an inspector of police,at the Euston ..station, -had been called .to prove that, Palmer could not have heeii at Rugeley oii the Monday night atthe-time'stated byliis\vit» ness Newton, inasmuch as Palmer had left-tlio Euston station at five o'clock; and as the express train did not stop at RngeUy, the distance from Stafford was too far to enable him to reach Itugeley before- ten o'clock. Mr. Foster, a fanner in Northamptonshire, said that he had been in the habit of meeting Cook frequently,, for some years before his death, and that hi; considered him a person of weak constitution. The learned judge said he did not think there "as anything in tins evidence which could show tlfat Cook was in a state of health which could produce tetanus. Then came the evidence of George M\att, a saddler residing at Rugeley, whose evid.uc-j went to show that although Cook had complained of illness on ■ the .■■Wednesday night, at Shrewslmn , and had attributed it to the brandy and water he had drunk / Palmer had not left the room while they were drinking, and could not have mixed anything with the brandy and water. Mr. John'Sergeant°stated that shortly before. Conk's.death his throat was full of ulcers, and much infi.imed. It would be for v the jury to consider whetner liu-y could, on the statements this evidence contained, disbelieve all the other evidence with regard to the state of Cook's health. The fact that Cook had suffered from taking by.,mishap a cyenne pepper nut was .only what might happen to any one v. ho- should have the. misfortune, of ..making a si uilar mistake.' He then came to a very feinark'ahle witness, and one who, if he could be believed, would hear inpqrtant testimony upon one-pwiut in favour of the prisoner, —he meant the witness Jeremiah Smith. His lo dship here ,read the whole of the evidence of this witness, and continued as follows: That evidence, if it were true, .would prove ths.t the very identical pills which Dr. Bamlord had prepared, were these which had been tikeu by Cook on Monday night, and that they had been takoii by him before the arriv::! of Palmer ai the Talbot Arms, on that night. It is for you, gentlemen of the jury, to say whether you believe ibis witness or not. You saw how he conducted himself, and how' he at last denied that his name attesting the assignment to William Palmer of a policy of'£l3,ooo on'the life ef -.Walter Palmer, was in !:is hauaVritiii"-.. He said thnt it was like it; but that it was T-ot his handwriting. A counterfoil, however, was produced from the cinque book of William J\.lmer, showing that the witness had actually received £o for attesting thaf document, and can yen believe a man who stated under those circumstances, that he didnot think the attestation had been written by him ? | Then'again, gentlemen, you will have to consider what faittryou can place in a man who has, by his own admissions been a party to such transactions as those in which Smith was engaged. You find that he at last acknowledges that he had been" engaged in procuring an insurance .on the life-of WaUtT Palmer, who had been a bankrup* six years before,' and who had no means of living except the allowances made to him by his friends. And then, again, gentlemen, h«; acknowledges that he had l)Hen a party to a proposal for insuring the life of Bates for a sum of £\ O,OOO, Bates having been at the time Superintendent of the prisoner'" sjables, living in lodgings for winch he'paid 6's. (id. a'week, and having no .property depending on hislife; while the witness gets him-elf appointed the agent for the insurance company with which the policy,is to be ' effected, and makes use of his position as such agent to cany out that scheme- It is for you to say "how far you can believe a witness who' acknowledges that he has been engaged in these fr.idulent transactions, and who,wh..-n examined upon his oath, denies his own handwriting. His- evidence would be material as to what took pli.ee on th • Monday night, if it were deserving of ere'fence, because it would show that tin; piijs which Cook too, oiVthat night were those which Dr. Baiufoi-l had prepared. What to.)k place on the Tuesday Would eveh tl. en .stand as it stood before, (icntlf-men of the jury, the case is now in your hands. Unless'on the part of the prosecution a eleur conviction has been brought to yoip-minds of the guilt of the piisoner, it is your duly to acquit him. You are not to convict him upon suspicion— not even upon strong suspicion. There must be a strong conviction on your minds that he is guilty of thin oflt'iicc : and if there be any reasonable doubt remaining on your minds you will give him the benefit of that doubt, lint if you come to a clear conviction that he is guilty, you will not be deterred from doing your

duty by any consideration such as has been suggested to you'; you will remember the oath that you have taken; ;ind you will act upon it. Gentlemen of .the jury, I now dismiss you to consider your verdict, and may God direct you aright. (The noble siiid learned lord seemed deeply a fleeted'd tiring the concluding portion of his address. His voice trembled with emotion, and the last few sentences were almost inaudiblel.} Mr. Servant Shee said : Your Lordship stated to the jury that the question they had to consider was whether the symptoms of Cook were consistent with death by strychnia. Lord Campiiell: That is not the question I submitted to the jury. It is a question, hut it is not the question lor their consideration. I told them , that unless they believed the syinptorhs were consistent with death by strychnia they ought to acquit the prisoner. Air. Sergeant Shee; It is my duty not to be deterred by any expression of displeasure on the part of the Court ; I have to discharge a duty to a much higher tribunal ; and 1 am bound to sate what is the question that I think ought to, be submitted to the jury. .It will afterwards be for the Court to overrule my opinion if it shall think proper to do so. I believe that the question whether the symptoms of Ceok's death wer«j consistent with deaih by strychnia is not the questionwhieh ought to be submitted to the jury, unless it be followed up by this other question — and inconsistent with death by other Xtfj causes; and the question should be whether-the medical evidence Mr. Baron Aldersnn : You are summing up. Mr. sergeant Shee, without- replying to this observation, continued ; Whether the medical evidence establishes beyond all reasonable doubt that Cook's death was caused by the administration of strychnia. I am submitting this to youv Lordships. Mr. Baron Alderson ;It has been already done. Lord Campbell: I did not submit to you gentle.men'of the jury, that the question on which aloneyour verdict was to turn|-. as whether thesymplotnsof Couk were consistent with poisoning by strychnia. . But I left that as a most material question for your consideration. 1 desired you to answer that question, and I said that if you thought that he died of natural disease—that he did not die of poisoning by s»rych= nia—you should acquit the prisoner. But then I went on to.say that if you were of opinion that the symptoms were consistent with death from strychnia you should go on to consider the other evidence - in the cause, for the purpose of determining whether strychnia had been administered to him, and ■whether, if administered to him, it had been administered by the prisoner at the bar? These are the questions that I again put to you. Do not find a' verdict;of guilty unless you believe that strychnia was; administered to the deceased by ■ the prisoner at the bar; bur, if you believe that it was, it is your duty to God and man to find a verdict of giiilty. ■ - .--,..: At nineteen minutes past two o'clock the jury retired to consider their verdict, and the prisoner was removed from the bar. . THE VERDICT. At twenty-five minutes to four it was announced . that the jury were agreed on their verdict, and the most intense interest was manifested to know the result. Every whisper* ceased, and men seemed scarcely to breathe in the solemnity of the moment. The judges resumed their seat?, aiid the prisoner „was .replaced at the bar, looking calm and quiet. Sle betrayed very little emotion during the interval that elapsed while * the names of the jurors were .being called over. He looked somewhat more anxious than usual. Mr. Streight, the deputy clerk of arraigns, then inquired of them whether they had agreed upon their, verdict. The.Foreman; —.We .have. Mr. Streight—Do you find the prisoner at the bar guilty or not guilty of the felony and murder whereof he stands accused? ~ The Foreman (rising, and in a distict and firm ' tPns)^-We.fi ''d the prisoner GUILTY, A slight pallor here passed over the face of the prisoner, while every one felt, oppressed with solemn emotion. Mr. Streight then addressed the prisoner, and said " Piisoner at the bar, you stand convicted of the crime of wilful murder. Have you anything to urge why sentence of death should not be passed upon you according to law ?" The prisoner made no reply, but his face underwent, as it appeared tt> us, another cluing*, and - grew flushed, under the influence, of desperate resolution. Mr. Harker, the principal usher, then made the usual proclamation fur (silence, while sentence of death was being passed on the prisoner. x THE SENTENCE OF DEATH. The three judges then.'put* on their black caps, and Lord Campbell proceeded to pass sentence upon the prisoner as follows; — William Palmer, ji'ter a lon^ and impartial trial, you have been convicted by a jury of your country of the crime of wilful murder. In that verdict my two learned brothers,who have so anxiously watched

this trial, and myself, entirely concur, and consider the conviction altogether satisfactory. Your case is attended'with such 'circumstances of aggravation that I do not dare to ..touch upon them. Whether this be'the first and only offence of this nature that you have committed is certainly known only to God and your own conscience. It .is seldom that such a familiarity with the means of death is shown without long experience. But for this offence of which you have been found guilty your life is forfeited. You must prepare to die ; and I trust that, as you,can expect no mercy in this world, you will, by repentance of your crimes, seek to obtain mercy from the Almighty God. The act of Parliament under which you have been tried, and under which you have been brought to the bar of thiscourt, at your own request, gives power, to the Court to-direct that the sentence be executed either within the jurisdiction of.the Central Crimnal Court or in the county where the offence was committed. .Wethink that for the sake of example the sentence ought to be executed in the county of Stafford. I hope that terrible_examp]e will have the effect of deterring ' othersfrom the commission of such atrocious crimes, and that it,will be seen that whatever art, or caution', or experience may accomplish, such an offence will be " detected' and punished; however destructive poisons may be, it is 10 ordained by Providence that there are means for ensuring the safety of its'creatures, for detecting and punishing those/who administer these deadly preparations. . Again, I implore you to prepare for the ay ful change that awaits you. 1 will not attempt to harrow up your feelings by any enumeration .of.the circumstances of. this foul murder. I will'content, myself now with passinoupon you the sentence of the'lawwliich is, that" you be taken hence to the gaol of' Newgate, and be thence removed to the gaol of the county of Stafford, that being the county in which the offence for which you stand convicted was committed, and that you be taken thence to a place of execution, and be there hanged by the neck, until you be dead, and. that your body be afterwards buried within the precincts of the prison in which you shall be last confined after your conviction: and may the Lord of Heaven have mercy on your soul! The Chaplain said " Amen," and the response, in alow tone/but audible, was repeated all over the court. '■';." The prisoner at this most trying hour seemed to assume a reckless defiance, under which the usual tranquillity of his bearing partially disappeared. There was a sort of sneering expression on his countenance. .He turned round boldly after the conclusion of the sentence, and then trippingly descended the stairs by,which he passed out of the Court, The Lord Chief Justice then addressed the jury and said, he ha I to tender them his warmest thanks for the manner in which they had performed the arduous duty that had been cast upon them. They • were most of them, no doubt, engaged in business, and the long Retention they had undergone must have caused them very considerable inconvenience. He could only hope that they would be rewarded by the approbation of their own consciences, and the approval of the country. Mr. James then applied to the Court to order that all the forged bills that had been produced during the trial should be impounded and placed in the charge of the officers of the court. The Lord 'Chief Justice at once granted this application. This important trial then terminated. Wm. Palmer was removed to Newgate and thence to Stafford gaol: and was hung in Mat town on the 14th June.