TIMAKU POISONING CASE

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1981, 13 October 1886, Page 2

TIMAKU POISONING CASE

THE TRIAL. MISS HOUSTON RECOVERED FROM HER NERVOUSNESS. HALL CALM AND BUSINESSLIKE. STANDING TO GAIN £II,OOO. NURSE ELLISON’S STORY, j THE SUCCULENT BIVALVE. THE WINE AND THE TELEPHONE. (Per Press Association.) Christchurch, Oct 12. The trial of Hall and Mies Houston was resumed this morning. The public were not preswuc in such numbers, probably many haviug found that only a small percentage of those who gained admission could gratify the principal object of their visit, viz., watching the prisoners during Ihe proceedings. Miss Houston had evidently recovered from the nervousness which the shock of her arraignment before the Court on a charge of endeavoring to poison the lady whose companion she had been necessarily produced. Hall appeared to watch the proceedings in a calm busi-ness-like way, passing notes to his coun set whenever the idea occurred t > him of anything he thought likely to tell in Lis favor. Tne first witness called belonge 1 to the particular section of the case for the Crown which bad been left unfinished the previous day. E. H. Cameron, station manager at Waimate, deposed as to Ilia misfortunes, which arose from his jdealings with the firm of Hall and Meason. lie had never borrowed money from them, as their books showed, and had never given them a promissory note. He had given Hall money to iovest, L 660 of which was still owing to him. The wills of the late Captain Cain and Jane Cain were produced by the Deputy Commissioner of Stamps aud Mr J. Knubley, solicitor, Tiinaru, a trustee for Mrs Hall, explained the ex’ent of Mis Hall’s estate to which she was entitled under the wills, two trust deeds ami property in her own right, lie gave all the details in full but the gist of his evidence was that Mrs Hall’s capita 1 amounted to L 5555. Add to this the LGOOO that Hall would receive under the insurance policies, aud it will he seen that the Attorney-General was be ow the estimate when he Slid Hall wou'd have gabled L 9.000 by his wife’s death. When Mrs Hannah Ellison, the nurse wlio had tended Mrs Hall, stepped into the witness-box all in Courc realised that the case had entered on a more important stage, and all listened attentively while the old lady gave her evidence, which touched the crucial question of the administration of the poison and by whom it was administered. She had gone to nurse Mrs Hall two days before her confinement, on June 19fch, and hid not left her yet. All the symptoms of Mrs Hall’s illness, with which the public of the Colony must be pretty familiar by this time, were carefully described. In answer to Mr White’s questions the reference to the ojfters, given by Miss Houston, was anew episode. It was in the beginning of August that the nurse slid she had given the patient a couple of oysters which Mrs Hall afterwards told both the accused she enjoyed very much. On the following evening Miss Houston came to Mrs Hall with a plate of very nice thin bread and butter and four oysters. She told Mrs Hall they were very nice fit oyster*. Mrs Hall ate three and seemed to enjoy them veiy much. Mrs Hall asked witness if she could take the fou th. Miss Houston was present.. Witness said “ Yes ; I dont th.nk it would hurt you at any rate.” She took the fourth and ate all the bread and butter. They did not agree with her and in about an hour after she was very sick. The sickness lasted off and on all night. Mrs Hull c mplained of a feeling as if some one was grasping her by the throat. Mr Joynt objected to any statem nts of Mrs Hall, made in the absence of the accused, being given in evidence. His Honor ruled that, though the statements affecting any particular person were inadmtssable, complaints of suffer - ing which were facts in t lie case as to the condition of the person complaining were adinissable, The nurse explainel how. in toe absence of the ac used, she had set aside a portion of the ice water, of the taste of which Mrs Hall had complained, and which sheafterwurds gave to Dr M‘l"tyr<*. bhe remembered Hall giving her a botile containing brandy, telling her it was for Mrs Hall’s injections, and about the contents of which the analyists we are told will have something fresh to say. The learned counsel for the defence did their duty by cross-examining Mrs itjllisou for some hours. In answer to Mr Joynt she said Hall was always very attentive to his wife and showed a desire to make her happy and comfortable. She had heard Hall and Miss Houston sty that the servant took tire wine, ami once Mrs Hall had told her to go and see if the girl was at the wine cupboard. This lias a bearing on the telephone incident, of which Mr Kerr will give evidence.

Mrs Ilall had complained of the taste of the water from the jug, which had been pronounced to contain no antimony, as well as that from the cup.

Mr Hay brought out a point in Miss Houston’s favor when the witness said Mrs Hall told her slje had not drank any of brandy Miss Houston bad taken in in a flask. On the occasion of the diiv-j, on the return from which Mrs Hall was sick she also said that she had not looked for the missing piece of muslin, which Mi-s Houston had taken from the poisoned cup, on some bushes. Mr Hay told her she would probably find it on her return toTimaiu.

Nurse Ellison gave her evidence iu a natural unembarrassed manner, and she was even good-humored during the necessarily tedious cross-questionings. When she left the witness-box, where she had stood nearly five hours, His Honor thanked her and c inuplimented her on her evidence. The Court then adjourned.