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492 THE LEADER. [No. 332, Saturday,
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LOSS OF AN ENGLISH STEAMER. The first En...
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THE TBIAt OF PALMER (YESTERDAY). Further...
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CttXtfTAi, Pai^acbj—Return admissions fo...
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NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. No notice can...
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SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1856.
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—¦—? There is nothing so revolutionary, ...
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THE PENALTIES OF INDIFFERENCE. liOBD Pal...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
492 The Leader. [No. 332, Saturday,
492 THE LEADER . [ No . 332 , Saturday ,
Loss Of An English Steamer. The First En...
LOSS OF AN ENGLISH STEAMER . The first English steamer bound to Cronstadt , a newone called the Tyne , has been lost , with all its cargo , off the Island of Oesel , in the Gulf of Finland .
The Tbiat Of Palmer (Yesterday). Further...
THE TBIAt OF PALMER ( YESTERDAY ) . Further witnesses for the defence were examined yesterday the first being Mr . Thomas Ross , of the London Hospital , who described the death of a man from tetanus . produced by old sores . It was thought at first that he had been poisoned with strychnine , but no trace of that drug was found in the body on the post-mortem examination . This testimony was supported by Mr . R . MantelL Dr > Wrightson , analytical chemist and teacher of chemistry in the School at Birmingham , said he had been a pupil of Liebig , and he gave it as his opinion that strychnine could be detected . He had detected it in various solids and fluids of the animal body . He had heard the theory of Dr . Taylor as to the decomposition of strychnine in the act of poisoning , and was of opinion
that it did not undergo that decomposition . Assuming that a man was poisoned by strychnine , and the contents of his stomach were sent within eight or ten days for analytical examination , he should certainly expect to discover it . Being asked by the Attorney-General whether , if the whole of the poison were absorbed , he would expect to find it in the stomach , Dr . Wrightson replied "No . " In answer to Serjeant Shee , he said he did not think that strychnine , administered in the shape of pills an hour and a half before the death of the patient , would be so absorbed after death as to have passed out of the stomach ; but , even if it had , he could find it in the liver and kidneys . He could not say whether he should be likely to find it in the coats of the stomach ; but he thought it probable he might .
Mr . Partridge , Professor of Anatomy at King ' s Collegfe , said that no conclusion as to Cooke ' s death could be drawn from the rigidity of the body . He could not form any opinion as to the deceased ' s death , though the arching of the feet w . as greater than is usual . Having alluded to the alleged inflammation in the case of Cooke , arising from the granules on the spine , the Attorney-General said : — " Now , Mr . Partridge , we have heard the symptoms in Cooke ' s case , that he enjoyed complete repose for twenty-four hours—from Monday night to Tuesday night : do you mean to say in the face of this Court , that-Cooke died from the inflammation you have described ? " " I do not . " The Attorney-General : " Have you ever known a case in which the hands were clenched in such a manner as that described in Cooke ' s case to have arisen from such inflammation ?"— " No . "
In reply to further questions from the Attorney-General , the witness stated that he had never in such cases of inflammation known the feet to be so bent as to assume the form of a club-foot . The bowing of the body , so that when placed on its back it rested on its head and feet , was consistent with death by tetanus ; and the symptoms in Cooke ' s case were quite consistent with aU that he knew of death by strychnine . ( This admission produced a profound sensation in Court , in consequence of Mr . Partridge being one of the pr incipal witnesses for the defence . ) He never knew a case of tetanus run its course in leas than three or four days . If death resulted in two or three days he should expect that there had been premonitory symptoms .
The Attorney-General : " Before I sit dow n , I wil ask you whether you have ever known such a disease as that described in Cooke ' s case to have proceeded from natural causes ?"— " Never . " Mr . John Gay , of the Royal College of Surgeons , gave some scientific details of a case of tetanus he had attended , but which did not much affect the evidence either way . ¦—Dr . M'Donald , of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh , said he believed that tetanic convulsions might be produced by causes as yet altogether undiscoverablo by human science . lie first heard in that Couxt the theory propounded , that strychnine , when taken into the body , could be decomposed or absorbed and entirely lost . There was no well grounded reason for that theory . He believed the cause of death in Cooke ' a case was epileptic convulsions with tetanic complications . This witness ' s statements were not materially shaken by cross-examination .
Mr . Austin Steady , of the Royal College of Surgeons , having given some scientific evidence , Mr . Gcorgo Robinson , physician , said ho believed the cause of death in Cooko ' s case was epilepsy ; but , in cross-examination , he admitted that the symptoms were those which would occur from strychnine . —Mr . Benjamin Ward Richardson , physician , thought that Cooke ' s death might be attributed to angina pectoris . —The last witness called was Catherine Watson , the girl in Scotland whoso cose was referred to as being one of tetanus , from which she recovered . Her evidence was that she had not taken anything to bring on the attack . The defence waa not concluded when the Court adjourned till the next day .
Cttxtftai, Pai^Acbj—Return Admissions Fo...
CttXtfTAi , Pai ^ acbj—Return admissions for six days © ndlng May 28 rd ,, I 860 : . number adinittod , including ¦ eason ticket holders , 21 , 268 , , ,
Notices To Correspondents. No Notice Can...
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS . No notice can be taken of anonymous communications Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated bv the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of his good faith . It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we reeeive / Their insertion is often delayed , owing to a press of matter ; and when omitted it is frequently from reasons quite independent of the merits of the communication . "We cannot undertake to return rejected communications . During the Session of Parliament it is often impossible to find room for correspondence , even the briefest .
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Saturday, May 24, 1856.
SATURDAY , MAY 24 , 1856 .
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—¦—? There Is Nothing So Revolutionary, ...
—¦—? There is nothing so revolutionary , because there is nothing ? so unnatural and convulsive , as the strain to keep things fixed -when all the world is by the very law of its creation'in eternal progress . —Db . Aknoxd .
The Penalties Of Indifference. Liobd Pal...
THE PENALTIES OF INDIFFERENCE . liOBD Palmeeston last week told the working classes why they are without power . He told them they were apathetic . He knows , and all know , that if the masses of the nation , unrepresented in Parliament , had either spirit or purpose , the ' state of political insignificance and social tutelage in which they live could not long contiriue . T * here are some who mistake this torpor for content ; others attribute it to exhaustion , resulting from a former excess
of demagoguism ; others , again , plead for the working classes , that they have been justified in their indifference and in their despair by the failure of many efforts , by the deceptions of their leaders , by the evasions of the Whigs , and the selfishness of the middle orders . There appeal's a mixture of truth and exaggeration in all these statements . But , to whaterer cause it may be traced , apathy , or something like apathy , exists , and we can tell the working classes that , while
they remain in this respect unchanged , no change will take place in their relations to the rest of society . Their power will not be increased ; their interests will not be considered ; their feelings will be misrepresented ; their political indolence will be made the justification of encroachments from all quarters ; they will be taunted , as Lord Pai ,-mebston taunts them , with a laxity of public spirit , injurious to any class , and especially to a class which once asserted high political
claims . We have seen within a short time more than one illustration of popular apathy , followed by an illustration of popular power . When Mr . Patten ' s Sunday Beer Act was passed , the working classes , whose convenience it restricted , and whoso independence it curtailed , stood listlessly aloof , and
encouraged a second attempt against Sunday trade —a necessity among the poor . Then , from whatever cause an agitation sprang up , a proof of vital opinion among the working orders was given ; the projected bill disappeared , and its predecessor was so modified as to be , though not less arbitrary , far less obnoxious .
Next , the motion for opening tho public galleries and museums on Sunday excited n general crusade of tho Sabbattic party . In every city and province of tho United 3 £ ingdom they worked to obtain resolutions and petitions against tho measure . What wore the working classes—or those of thorn that would havo appreciated a Sunday stroll in n gallery of art or in a museum of science and antiquities — what were tjioy doing
meanwhile ? Their petitions dropped in as one to a hundred , and yet it is certain , that , had the measure passed , they would have crowded in myriads to enjoy the sight of pictures ancient relics , and natural curiosities . But the London population was indolent , and t he country people—excepting the village floe ks driven by the clergy—took no interest in the amusements of the London population , and so the agitation flowed in one stream against
the popular proposal . Again , with respect to the bands in the park . Hundreds of thousands enjoyed the privilege , but hundreds of thousands did not petition to have it guarded for them , did not meet to protest against the interference of the Sabbatists with their manner of passing the Sunday . Of course not . The working classes have ceased to take their own nart . A morbid sickness has fallen on their minds , as if Caesarism
in France , the disappointment of liberty throughout Europe , the abasement of England by her aristocracy , the hollowness of parliamentary discussion , " the abandonment by prudent men of unprofitable virtues , " the reign of irony among men of scholarship and feeling , had smitten the strong English nature , and left it , without aim or intelligence , drifting .
It is not on these subjects alone that the working classes display apathy . Before the Eastern Question had assumed a European significance , they were invited , by the Parliamentary initiative of Lord John Hxtssell , to consider the principles of a new Reform Bill . Would that bill have disappeared , like a puff of smoke , had a strong and cordial popular opinion existed ? It vanished , and was regretted by none , except the Finality statesman . Then came the war . The people
refused to have any share in directing the policy of England . They left the formation of alliances , the establishment of new dynastic relations , the conduct and scope of the struggle , the negotiations of peace , without jealousy and without vigilance , to ministers acting in secret ; and they were not permitted to know what terms had been purchased with the blood and treasure of the
nation , until Russia , Austria , France , and Great Britain were again united in " lasting friendship . " Either they have no faith or no courage , no object or no discernment , no heart or no sense . We think it is the faith , the purpose , the heart , that is wanting . Never has the English people evinced , when its energies have been roused , a deficiency of sense , discernment , or courage .
What , then , is the secret of this sceptical languor ? Why has every great object of popular policy dwindled into the topic of au annual motion , the ridicule of tho country , the toy of Parliament , the technical evidence of some liberal member thjit he haa acted up to his principles ? Why aro tho old " Whigs less content with Finality than the Avorking classes ?
The working classes are bewildered . They have taken the initiative twice , since the enactment of tho Reform Bill . Twice thoy havo trusted to contemptible leaders , who have dragged them into desporate mistakes . This , we conceive , is tho reason why tho working classes have lost confidence in themselves . Tho Chartist movement , which led to tho JVIonmouthshiro risings and the burlesquoof 1818 , orders
impaired tho sympathies of tho middle , winch had derived enormous aid in 1831 and 1832 , from bodies of men unenfranchised by tho bill . Again , in 1840 , the nation canio out of an exhaustive struggle on tho Cornlaws , in which tho working jjIosbos !«>« largely participated . But is tho " polituiiu life and independent action of a majority of tho people to ceaso because twonfcy-iivo years of alternate activity and indolence
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 24, 1856, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24051856/page/12/
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