THE CAIN MURDER CASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7824, 18 December 1886, Page 5

THE CAIN MURDER CASE.

HALL COMMITTED. fBV TKLEGBAPH.-—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] TiMARcr, Friday. The charge of murder against Hall was re« sumed, and concluded to-day. Mr. Boawick," R.M., presided, and the counsel were the same. The prisoner was attended by the Ly ttelton gaoler and a warder. On the Court opening, Mr. White, in reply to Hie Worship, eaid that he intended to now close his case. • The prisoner was then charged, Mr. Perry, on his behalf, stating that he (the prisoner) "says nothing." Mr. Perry added that he proposed to now call Professor Black. He felt in rather an anomalous position at having to call him for the defence. The anomaly was that he (counsel for the prisoner) had actually to call a gentleman who was really one of the chief witnesses the Crown had. It was true, as his learned friend had said, that the doctor had given sufficient evidenoe for the purposes of the prosecution at this stage of the oane, and in calling the Professor he (Mr. Perry) did not wish to disparage Dr. Hogg in any way. He would merely point out that if by any chance the Professor's evidence differed In any particular from that of Dr. Hogg, the former mast be made to give the most weight. Mr. Perry submitted most strongly that the Professor should have been called by the Crown. They should have given the defence the fullest information in their power, and not have deprived the defence of the privilege of cross examination by not calling Professor Black.

Professor Black then tendered the following evidence: I reside in Dunedin. I am a M. A. and doctor of science of the University of Edinburgh, extra mural lecturer in chemistry in the University of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, professor of Chemistry in the University of Otago, and colonial analyst in the provincial district of Otago. I know Dr. Hogg and Dr. Ogston, In September last I made an analysis in conjunction with these gentlemen. We commenced the analysis on the evening of the 28th September in my laboratory at the University Buildings, Otago. We finished the analysis on the evening of the 30th, or rather on the morning of the let October, at three o'clock. Nearly all the time my laboratory assistant, William Goodlet, was present, and during the evenings of the 2Sth and 29th Mr. Christie Mereal, student, was present, taking notes at intervals. During the whole time Dr. Mclntyre was present was an observer, without taking the slightest part in the analyses. No persons besides Dr's. Ogston and Hoggaud myself took an active part in the analysis. A quantity of earth was also received for analysis, and tested for antimony, but I did not find any. The bottles were labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. No. 1 purported to contain bladder, kidney*, urine, peritonitil fluid, and a portion of the small intestines ; No. 2, a dark fluid, purported to be from the lateral cavities of the chest, called pleural fluid ; No. 3, stomach and part of the small intestines; No. 4 purported to contain the larger intestines, also the spleen. I believe this to be all. There was fluid matter in each bottle. Several tests were applied to No. 1 bottle. The first test way as follows:—A portion of the liquid contents was acidified with hydrochloric acid, and boiled for ton minutes with a slip of clean copper. At the end of fifteen minutes it was examined, and found with a violetcoloured deposit. The same liquid was boiled with a second slip of copper for ten minutes, with the same results; another slip of copper was added, boiled again for ten minutes, producing a very slight tinge of violet on the copper. When the second and third slips of copper were pat in the liquid the first was still in, remaining there all the time. The violet tint corresponded with that which a small quantity of antimony gives by the same treatment. By antimony I mean antimony in solution, not the metal itsolf. We further examined these three slips of copper by the permanganate teat; -but. making a mistake in the process, the results were of no value. The mistake was in not filtering before adding hydrochloric acid, the mistake being mine, and no fault of my associates. The samo tehU were applied to the liquid from the same bottle on the following day, September 29, several slips of copper being used, and the permanganate test being properly applied. The slips were coloured violet, and the eulphuriated-hydrogen gave a small orange precipitate. The liquor from No. 2 bottle was boiled teu minutes with hydrochloric acid, and the copper examined at the end of 15 minutes, and a very slight dimming of the copper was observed. The copper was replaced in tho liquid and boiled again for ten minutes, At the end of half-an-hour from the commencement the copper was examined, and found to have a slight but decided violet tint. The liquid from No. 3 bottle, together with sorapings from the interior coating of the stomach, was tested in the same way, and gave a slight but decided purple tint at the end of 15 minutes. The liquid from No. 4 bottle, and scrapings from the interior of the cesium (at least Dr. Hogg said it was from the coolum), was treated in the same way, and gave a slight but decided violet tint at the end of 15 minutes. The tin test vras applied to the liquid from each of these bottles in the following way :— A small piece of tin foil was dropped into part of the liquor in a olear porcelain cup. The tin in each case was very slightly dimmed in the course of half-an-hour, and had become of a dull leaden hue at the end of two hours, pointing to a tartaric of antimony or kindred substance. Another test was applied by myself on the 3rd October. I collected the orange precipitate referred to above, dissolved in strong hot hydrochloric acid,and by thegalvauictest got asmall deposit of metallic antimony on a piece of platinum wire, which I now produce. This exhausts one set of tests. Several of Itciuseh'a tests wore repeated next day (29th), the results being confirmatory of the analysis. Wβ also tested parts of the contents of the bottles by the Von Vavo tests, by chlorate of potash and bydrochlorio acid, aa follows:—Dr. Hogg cut up into fine shred part of the solids of No. 1 in a clean porcelain dish. We digested tho same together with same liquid from No. 1 in a porcelain basin with strong hydrochloric acid, and successive portions of powdered chlorate of potash. We boiled over a Buuscn burner tilt the chlorate was decomposed. The solid part dissolved into yellowish liquid, and the free chlorine expelled. We then let the liquid cool, filtered through a wet filter, and removed most of the fatty matter by agitation with ether, separating the ethereal solution of fat by an ordinary glass separator. We then warmed the separated solution till all traces of ether were expelled, and again filtered. We passed sulphuretted hydrogen gas through the filtrate, and very soon got a deepening of the yellow colour, and after some time a cloudy orange precipitate. We compared this with a similar precipitate got by sulphuretted hydrogen with solutions of antimony at various stages of dilution. We repeated the sulphuretted hydrogen test on second portion of the same solntioe, and this finished the tests of No. 2. Professor Black then described the various tests used in the other cases, the result of which gave deoided traces of antimony. Continuing, he said : We tested the bottles for nothing but antimony. In consultation we resolved not to look for organic poisons, owing to the length of time that had elapsed since Captain Cain's death. 1 wish to guard against any mistakes in dates, as I am speaking from memory. We did not analyse any of the solids separately—that is, meaning any individual oolld. The tests I have named have shown only the presence of very email quantities of antimony, but quite decided, such as to leave no doubt that antimony was present. On Mr. White stating that he had no questions to put to the Professor, the depositions were read over and signed, Mr. Perry then rose and said :—I wish, Your Worship, to say a few words now in reference to the place of trial. I ask you to commit the accused to Oamaru, for the reason that if this is done sufficient time will be given us to get up our defence. I am not quite positive, but I think the next Oamaru seeeion opens on March of 1887 ; and if my request is granted, the few months given us will be just sufficient to get up the case for the defence. The case, as you know, is an exceedingly heavy one; the charge is the most grave known to the law; an immense amount of ordinary and scientU 5c evidence has been taken, and more is likely to be added to the latter, as I understand as a fact that Dr. Ogaten is to be called, in addition to Professor Black and Dr. Hogg. Dealing with such a charge, it is incumbent on the defence to leave no stone untamed ; and, as a means to this, we should be allowed the fullest time possible to get up our ca«e. £ would also point out that Oamaru is the proper place to commit, for

this reason: In the interests of justice it has lately been arranged that if an accused person wishes bis trial to oomo on earlier, he can ask to be committed to a neighbouring town at which the Court site, and thae I understand, if your Worship so wishes it, you can grant my requeit. I understood that on previous occasions accused persons have been sent from Timara to Oamaru when the latter Court sits before ours, and vice versa, I therefore again ask your Worehip to commit the prisoner to that Court, unless you have dooided to commit him for trial at Timara. On the . question of expense, I cannot speak so confidently as the Crown can, but it must be necessarily less expense to have the trial at Oamaru, as the bulk of the witnesses live near there. I earnestly ask you not to commit my client to Christchurch for several reasons. The Court, I understand, sits there early in January, and ib would bo quite impossible for me to prepare my defence in time for it. In addition, the prisoner has already gone through a trial in that city, and the public mind is naturally exceedingly excited about it. Crowds of people attended the Court and heard everything, consequently must have their minds bia and, and in all probability some of these people may be on the jury when the trial takes piece. The defence, not knowing them, will not be able to strike their names off the jury list. His Worship: A special jury tried the other oase, Mr. Perry : Yes, your Worehip, but I do not know if a special jury will try this case or not.

Hie Worship : You will have every opportunity of knowing the names of the epscial jurors. Mr. Perry: I am not speaking of them. My remarks apply to the people generally who attended the Court, who no doubt have their minds biased, and who probably will be called as jurymen. His Lordship: Thin will make but little difference. Everyooe has heard, more or less, of the case in the papers. Mr. Perry : There is a difference between listening to a case and calmly reading about it in the newspapers. In conclusion, I ask that, as on other occasions, oases have been shifted for the benefit, to a certain extent, of the accused, that my request be granted. Mr. White : I must oppose this application on the one particular ground, that too long an interval of time elapses before the trial comes on, Many of the witnesses have, already been kept waiting a coustderable time, and will be kept too long waiting altogether if the case goes to Oamaru. The witnesses are now all in the colony, and to show why the case should be gone on with an soon as possible, £ may say that Mr. C. Wilson must be in Victoria in January next. I have a number of witnesses of whom it is impossible to say where they will be in three months' time. Oα a former occasion, Mr. Joynt, for the defence, raised the objection that Oamaru and Timaru were places too small altogether to try a case of less magnitude than the one before them ; and if this objection was good then, it is good uow. As to the question of expense, there was no great difforence in the taking of witnesses to Oatnarn or Christchnrch ; but my principal objoction is respecting the lapse of time that would arise if the case is taken to Oamaru ; and a3 Christchurch was on a former occasion represented by counsel to be a proper place to commit accused, I ask your Worship to commit him to Christohuroh again.

Hie Worship granted Mr. White's request, and said ne did not' think the argument used by Mr. Perry had any weight whatever. The ordinary course would have been to commit the accused to Timnra, and had the hearing concluded before the Supreme Court sat, he should so commit him, unless the defence had applied t'j commit to Christ church, and the Crown not opposed it. Mr. Perry had referred to the regulations about committals, but in any circumstances His Worship would not take upon himself to commit out of his special district. It was competent for the defence to apply for a change of venue or special commission by the Crown. His Worship thought a fortnight was quite enough to get up the case, as there were many other persons to be considered besides the accused, some of whom had come long distances. As to Mr. Perry '• argument about the late trial, he did not attach any importance t) it, for were such procedure to be adopted here, nothing but one lot of prisoners would bo carried about from place to place. Hie Worship then committed the prisoner to take his trial at the next; sitting of the Supreme Court at Christchuroh. Mr. Perry informs me that he intends to apply at once to change the venue.