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New Zealand Mail, Issue 766, 5 November 1886, Page 22

A most extraordinary rumour comes from the South. That rumour is to the effect that “it is unlikely that any steps will be taken to prosecute anyone on the charge of having poisoned Captain Cain.” The Lyttelton Times, which is supposed to be generally in the secrets of Ministers, hints that the Government are 1 anxious to avoid any further prosecution if possible. The Otago Daily Times, accepting this as an accurate representation of the Ministerial intention, declares that it would be an eternal disgrace ( to the Colony, and a serious blow to justice, if any private considerations were to prevent the guilty person from being brought to trial. With this view we most thoroughly agree, but we are amazed and shocked that there should be even the remotest probability of such a scandalous failure of justice. We do not know or pretend to guess who may be the guilty person. We observe that some of our Southern contemporaries aro very outspoken in this respect. That seems to us wholly unnecessary. The known facts are quite sufficient to go upon. In the first place there is no longer any pretence of doubt as to the result of the examination of Captain Cain’s remains. When we stated upon direct authority that antimony had been found in large quantities, a flimsy pretence was attempted to be set up that the statement was inaccurate. That pretence has long been wholly abandoned. It is now admitted on all hands that our statement was correct, and such being the case we have this accepted fact to start with, that Captain Cain’s remains were found to be “ saturated ” with antimonial poison. The presumption clearly is that when a corpse is found to be saturated with a deadly poison, that same poison was the cause of death. But to this has to be added, the further known fact that the late Captain Cain, during his fatal illness, manifested certain special symptoms which at the time surprised and puzzled himself and others, and drew from him the remark that if such a thing were not absurd he would have thought he was being poisoned. Subsequent events have strikingly demonstrated that such a. suspicion was very far from being at all absurd. It has been Bho.wn. that there was at least one person having access to Captain Cain, who was capable of perpetrating such a crime, and further, it is notorious that motives existed which had in another instance proved sufficient to inspire an attempt at a similar crime. These being the facts—to go no farther —it appears to us a monstrous and inexplicable thing that there can exist even the shadow of a doubt as to the rigorous prosecution of au exhaustive investigation into this matter, Captaiu Cain died under sus-

-piciouß circumstances: a post mortem j examination lias disclosed the extensive presence of a deadly poison in his ’system. Here is ample prima facie ground for the gravest suspicion, and for the most searching enquiry. How came Captain Cain to take the poison . By whom was it administered? To arrive at the answer some preliminary -questions should be settled. Who were Captain Cain’s attendants his last illness'? Who nursed him? Who fin -the light of known circumstances) had any interest, direct or indirect, in his death? Any persons to whom the replies to these questions may point must be held to rest under grave suspicion, and even m their interests, were there nothing more to be considered, such proceedings ought to be instituted as would give them the opportunity of clearing themselves. But there is a far more serious consideration which should be paramount. There is the strongest reason to believe that a most atrocious and cold-blooded murder has been committed. Yet we are told there is an idea of hushing up this frightful crime for some private or personal treasons. Such a possibility is to us dike incredible and incomprehensible. Private and personal motives may, and do, in some things influence 'public men, but surely they draw the line at murder. It cannot he seriously supposed that any Ministry would deliberately condone a most infamous crime—the crime of secret poisoning because it might e imagined that certain persons would be gratified by so gross a miscarriage ot -justice. We refuse to credit the rumour that so flagrant a condonation ot a vile crime can possibly be contemplated by the Government. Gould such be in truth the case, men who would be guilty of such a shameful dereliction of public duty would deserve to be driven from office amid the scorn and execration of every honest man. But we hold the report to be absolutely incredible.