TIMARU POSIONING CASE.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1950, 3 September 1886, Page 2

TIMARU POSIONING CASE.

PROFESSOR BLACK’S ANALYSIS, THE PRESENCE OF ANTIMONY. SYMPTOMS OF SLOW POISONING. INTIMACY BETWEEN THE ACCUSED. (united press association.) Timauu, Sept 2. The bearing of the Hal 1 , case was resumed this morning. James Gow Black said—l am a professor of chemistry in the Otago University, Doctor of Science in the Chemistry Department of the University of Edin burgh and extra Mural lecturer in oliemistry in the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Qa the 18th inst I received a box from the hands of Constable Daly, a witness in this case. The box was tied with a cord and sealed. There were fifteen articles in the box and they were all numbered from 1 to 15, I made an analysis of those articles. Exhibit Ais one of the articles. I found it contained tarter emetic. In exhibit B (the pockets), I also found tartar emetic. In exhibit C (loose powder in white paper), I found tartar emetic, algo iu exhibit D. E, a liquid, slightly opalesoeut, with a little white powder stiil uudiasolved, contains antimony in focne form ; F. contains tartar emetic in white ory. etals; G contains common sal'-pclre or potaasio nitrate, no antimony ; H is very weak lime-water in which no antimony it present; I conBists of white powder and containa nitrate of bismuth, but no antimony j J curtains alcohol. I did not find but I did not examine it exhaustively. The ice water does not contain antimony. To L (a piece of cork) there was some powder attached which was some tartar emetic. Exhibit M. contains a strong solution of tartar emetic, namely 8 grains to the ounce ; N (the vomit) was found to detain antimony j Q (said to be urirp:) was found to contain antimony I received exhibit P from Constable Egan on Saturday last. It is vomit, and I found a trace of antimony in it. I received other articles at the same time, viz . exhibit <■, the colander, a piece of sackiog, a piece of flannel snd a kind of gauze cloth. I tested for antimony and did not find any. I only cut out a piece of tho sackiug twelve inches by eight inches, the wet* test part, and did not find r trace of antimony in it. A carrier brought mo a box in DuDedio, and handed it over to me I know Dr Mclntyre’s seal,and have compared the impression with the ring j received during Aug, two bottba bearing the impression of liii seal. I have ha l possession of their since f received thun I examined them (the vomit) iu Dunedin and found antimony, ]h« bottles were packed in the box containing the other la exhibits which I'b’rmgnt tc Ti'qiaru on Saturday. I tested' the other little (urine) with I)r Qgston and found autiinony in ft. Jt woull dtumd upon the tempera'qra, current of aft. and several other things how long the eimdl of kerosene would remain on the I received some other tilings fro n D f Maclntyre, in Tirnaru, but I have not them with me.

George Smitton deposed : I am a s’uep* herd with William Johnson Newt in, Cast|o Bock, Tutara Valley. 4 Ba"’ lLh accused there on 'Sunday, January 24th of this year. 1 • I believe they went into Mr* Newton’s beilrooin, the drawing-rodm and dining-room, I am sure they visit© 1 the bedroom. I cannot ■’ay how long they remained there, I was in Timaru 00 Saturday, July ;l*t, at Hall’s office. I

then waited for 15 minutes and at the tnd of that time Miss Houston came out of the office. She did not go into the room while I was waiting. John Gow Black (recalled) deposed : Since coming to Timaru I received two bottles from Dr Mclntyre. I have keyit them locked up since in Dr Mclotyies laboratory, of which I retained the key. I marked them B 1 and 82. I analysed the contents of these bottles with Dr Ogston. In the bottle labelled “Vomit of 16th ”1 found antimony iu sufficient quantity to enab'e me t„ gwear that it was there. It was tested on Sunday, and the memo. I bold in my hand was made on that day. Iho other bottle is labelled “ urine of the loth, lir Ogston and I analysed this,and found antimony. T Fruncis Ogston deposed : lam an M.U. ami C.M.of Aberdeen,lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence and Hygiene in the Otago Uniroraity. I had six months special course in the analysis of poisons in the laboratory devoted to the purpose in the University of Prague, Bohemia. I was also lecturer on toxicology in the Aberdeen University. I also studied under Professor Tardiu, lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence in the University of Paris. I was in court yesterday during the time Dr Mclntyre was giving evidence. I hoard the symptoms of Mrs Hall, as described by him. The whole of those symptoms arc in my opinion not asenbable to any natural cause. I should say taken altogether, tliej were ascribable to slow poisoning I should ascribe them first to be of the class of poisons which would cause vomiting, namely, some of the irritant poisons. I have assisted in making part of the analysis described by I’rof, Black in the evidence given by him to-day. I agree with his evidence in respect to those substances which we analysed together. I found antimony in the whole of the exhibits we analysed together in which Professor Black stated that antimony bad been found. Tartar emetic is antimony. Antimony is an irritant poison and would produce the symptoms described by Dr Mclntyre m his evidence. I accompanied Dr Mclntyre to the residence of Mrs Hall, since my arrival in Timaru, for tho purpose of examining the drainage. I went through the bouse and the ground adjacent and found the place in a sanitary state. Jane Turnbull deposed: The two prisoners were good friends, he calling her “ Megrims" and she cilling him « Tom.” I know where Miss Houston’s bedroom wa3 in Woodlands. It was next to Mr and Mrs Hall’s room. lf n ll at that time slept in the same room as his wife. I have seen Hall go into Miss Houston’s bedroom more than once. I Raw him go in several times, sometimes in tho morning between 7 and. 3. Sometimes she wa3 out of her room, aud sometimes she was in. I have known Hall to stay in the room ten minutes soraotime*. Miss Houston was there on these occasions. Cross-examined by Mr Joynt : It was at Kingsdown I saw Hall enter Miss Houston’s bedroom, not at Woodlands. At Kingsdown Miss Houston’s bedroom was next to the dining-room, and Mrs Hall’s was opposite the dining-reow door. At 4.30 the Court adjourned until 10.30 to-morrow morning.