THE TIMARU POISONING CASE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 761, 1 October 1886, Page 12

THE TIMARU POISONING CASE.

(UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Christchurch, September 24. It is understood that application will be

made to Mr Justice Johnston, at the opening of the criminal sittings, for a few days’ adjournment of the sitting of the Grand Jury after they have dealt with the other cases on the calendar, so that they may take the evidence in the Timaru poisoning case, and that, if a true bill is found, the trial will not take place till the 11th October.

EXHUMATION OF CAPTAIN

CAIN’S BODY.

The Timaru Herald of Tuesday gives the following account of the exhumation on the previous night of the body of the late Captain Cain : It appears that Professor Ogston and the other gentlemen soon got things in train, and arranged matters so that the body .of the late Captain Cain could be taken out of the grave last night. The matter settled, Caretaker Drake, of the Timaru Cemetery, set to work at 4.30 p. m., amidst a driving rain, and had not gone far below the top soil before he found his task a very difficult one. It had been arranged that a man should come to help Mr Drake, but he did not keep his appointment, and the caretaker had to do all the digging out himself. The weather being so very unfavorable caused the clay to soon get in. a very sodden state, and on reaching the coffin some eight feet below the ground level, the gravedigger found it nearly submerged in water. The first stroke of the spade on the coffin lid was made about 6.30 p.m., and the hollow sound given forth was plain evidence that the shell was in very _ good preservation. The late Captain Cain, we may here mention, died on January 28th, of this year, aged seventy, and his coffiri' was laid in the cemetery on the 30th January. The coffin was made of kauri planks, one inch thick, and was a very strong one. When Mr Drake had got it well cleared of earth and clay, he trimmed down the sides of the grave so that the coffin might be lifted easily, and then Constable Kenny, who had superintended the digging operations, was placed on guard over the spot. Things then remained quiescent until about 8.30 p.m., when Inspector Broham, Detective Kirby, Messrs Perry, White, Kinnerney, Dr Lovegrove, and the Press (Lyttelton Times and Timaru Herald) representatives arrived. As the Professor, Drs Hogg and Macintyre were not due till 9 p.m., those who had arrived had a walk about the cemetery, and a good look into the newly opened grave. Punctually at 9 o’clock the gentlemen named drove up to the gates of the cemetery, and were met by Inspector Broham and others. A move was then made for the caretaker’s tool-house, as it was thought enough room might be found there for the coffin while the post mortem examination was being held. However, Professor Ogston said that the room was unsuitable. 411 then proceeded to the grave, where the surroundings were examined by the Professor and Drs Hogg and Lovegrove, the medical gentlemen who are not interested in the case, which has of late occupied so much attention at the Resident Magistrate’s Court. .It was found that the sides of the grave had caved in a little, and the grave-digger having cleared the earth and clay away, a start was made to lift the coffin. A strong rope wa3 first of all passed through the handle at the foot, and the rope wa3 hauled on by half a dozen laborers and constables till the coffin was upended on the head. The rope was then made fast, and two other ropes were placed under the coffin, one ar the head and the other at the foot, and a strong plank was placed under the foot to slide the coffin up on. It was then gently lowered till the end rested on the plank. Next all hands laid on to the foot rope, but the coffin jammed against the sides of the grave, and had to be lowered down again. The ropes were then re-arranged at each end, the coffin was kept level, and lifted straight up. On raising it to the ground level, two cross boards were placed beneath it, then it was lifted on to the footpath, placed on a strongly-made frame, and lifted on to a dray. The coffin lid was smasned in during the process of lifting, and it was most plainly evident that the remains of the deceased captain were in a very advanced stage of decomposition. The scene at the grave whilst operations were in full progress was a ghastly and horrible one. The weather was keen and cold, the night a terribly dark one, and the sky was enveloped in heavy, threatening-looking black clouds. The scene, laid as it was in the cemetery, was enough to fill the spectators with horror, which was was heightened by the bullseye and other lanterns now and then flashing their rays on tombstones and graves ; and the sight of the ghastly coffin, covered in mud and dripping with water, caused an involuntary shudder to pass through the assembled crowd.. As soon as the dray had moved off with its awful load, the crowd began to disperse, only the medical gentlemen, the police, and one or two others, followed it to the dead-house at the hospital. Arrived there the coffin was carried in and opened by Mr Webb, the undertaker. Professor Ogston and Dr Hogg then held a post mortem examination, which was watched by Drs. Lovegrove, Macintyre and Stewart. The kidneys, liver, lungs, rectum, brain, and other portions of the late captain’s body were removed ; in fact, very little but skin and bone were left; and were placed in a vessel and sealed by the professor and doctor. The portions taken will be conveyed to Dunedin to-day, along with a portion of clay taken from oft the lid of the coffin at the head just before it was lifted out of the grave. The result of the

analysis, which is most anxiously looked for, will be known in two or three days. The operation took about half an hour, and the lid of the coffin being again put ou, it was taken back to the cemetery, and once more put in the grave. At the midnight hour all was again quiet in the cemetery, and only the newly-turned earth marked the spot where the body of the late Captain Cain had been exhumed.