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- ^ The gredt judicial inquiry of the present year- ^ unaotfb ^ dly one of the'inost interesting and remariiable ^ trmfaeveT known— - "Commenced on'Wednesday , on ' trfe < morning of which - day a large crowd' aasem . bled in the OldiBaiiey before seven o ' clock , though the proceedings < were not to commence before ten . The doors of the court were opened at nine , when all the places wereat once ^ filled by a-numerous assemblage , including several persons ofhighTaiik , among ¦
whom were observed—Prince -Edward o'f : Saxe-Weimar , the Earl of Derby , EarLi&rey , the Marquis of Anglesey , the ; Earl of Lucan , the EarlofiBenbigh , Lord > W . . [ Lennox , Lord G . G . Lennox , and Xord H . Lennox . The Lord-Advocate of Scotland sat by the side of the Attorney-General during the trial . A large body of the City . police ke . pt order . At five minutes toiten o ' clock , the judges—Lord-Chief Justice Campbell , Mr . Baron Alderson , and Mr . Justice Cresswoll—took / their seats on the bench , -accompanied by theiLord Mayor and several of the Aldermen and Sheriffs .
William Palmer was almost immediately afterwards ^ p laced in the dock . 'He was dressed in black , and did jiot-appear to have -suffered much in bodily health by bis confinement > He did not e 2 £ hibitany appearance of trepidation , but walked < with a firm step ; to the front of the bar . Heiis . described in the calenuar-as being thirfcyone years old , but he appears much older . ; Mr . Knight , the deputy clerk of arraigns , then read thie first indictment , which ' charged the ; prisoner with the wilful murder of John Parsons Cooke . . Palmer ' . pleaded . Not Guilty in a firm voice . He was next arraigned upon toe coroner ' s inquisition for the like offence , and to this lie also pleaded Not GuilJy . to the There
A jury was then empannelled try case . were very few challenges on the part of the prisoner . Mr . Mason , one of the jurymen , when he was about to be sworn , begged to be excused from serving , on -the ¦ ground that . he entertained " a feeling of prejudice , " he described it . He was . therefore allowed to leave the box , and another juryman was called in his stead . The Attorney-General , Mr . JE . James , Q . C ., Mr . . Bodkin , Mr . Welsby , and Mr . Huddleston , appeared for the Crown , instructed by Mr . Reynolds and Messrs . Chubb , Deane , and Chubb . Mr . Serjeant Shee and Mr . Grove , Q . C ., who were specially retained , with Mr . Grey and "Mr . Kenealy , were counsel for the prisoner . Th&ywere instructed by Mr . John Smith , of Birmingham . All . the . witnesses , with the exception of -the medical . men , having been ordered out of court ,
The Attorney-General rose to open the case on the part of'thjo Grown . He said the jury were empannelled to discharge ' . the most solemn duty which man could be called upon to perform—to sit in judgment upon a case in whuJh-. the'issues of Hfeand death were in their hands . He waBsurehe need not bespeak their most anxious and earnest attention to such a case ; but there was one duty which ) he felt It incumbent upon him to fulfil . The peculiar xsircumstances Of the case had given to it a profound and painful interest throughout the whole country , and there was scarcely a man who had not come to some conclusion on the issue which they were now / about to decide . 'Every point connected with it fras : sdized > upon with eagerness and avidity , and there merits had not been
wao'ficarccly a society in which Its discussed ; and , standing there as the minister of justice , who had no interest and no desire save that justice shouldibe impartially done , lie felt it incumbent upon him to pray thnt thoy would not allow any preconceived opinion to operate upon their judgment . Their bounilen duty was to try this case according to the evidence which would be brought before thorn , and according to . that alone . Thoy must discharge from their minds anything thoy had road or heard , or any opinion which they might have previously formed . If the evidence should satisfy them of the prisoner ' s guilt , they ¦ would , discharge their duty to society , to their own consciences , and to the oaths which thoy had taken , by ! fearlessly pronouncing their verdict accordingly . But . conviction
if thetevidence should fail to produce that uponthoir mindw , God forbid that the- scale of justice ; aliouUlby any prejudice he inclined against a prisono ^ who was charged with such a crime as this . i Proceeding to narrate in consecutive order the various events connected with the alleged murder of | Cooke , tho Attorney-General adverted to thoemlmr-, rassed state of Palmer ' s finances shortly before that event . Owing to betting on horse-racing , the accused wash , '" ruined man ; " , in order to stavoofFhis difficulties and retrieve his position , he begun to raise money on bills as far buck as 1853 . Tho Attorney-General bogged tho jury not to allow tho circumstances he was about to mention to prejudico their
minds ; still it whs neccsBury to bring those circumstances forward . Among tho bills upon which Puhnor rained money in 1654 , w « s olio for ' 20001 ., which Avaa dwoouuted by a Mr .
Fadwiek . ThatibuXbOTe ^ upon it'th © ^ c ^ Han ** of 'Ballmer ' s - ' radther— S « fab . ' PalraeT . Sfce w ^ fe , ' and is , Ta < wormanx > f eonsidenible wwakh , ranVL fher-tt « c « p' « ance , feeing 'believed , to'be'gemtine , w" « s -a se ^ urlty'dn'whMh moiiey ' - < eotiW be ireadilyttiivaneea * . sPalnWrtftfrgett'thetteeept-i aace , Jftnd'this , 'if ttdt the beginning r <* f , vwaS'one 'titthe r « ttrlyitratteactlons of that nature in which ' money ; was -obtained -by bills discounted by Paltn « r , -those bills ' rbearing ' -his : mother ' s signature , forged » by himself ; 'ttniJ he * woulu show that-he-was at length -involved in such iperil and'Qtaerge&ey that , as -the prosecution suggested 1 ¦—but it would be for the jury to" form their conclusion upon" the facts—he had 'recourse to a desperate expedferit in "order to avoid the consequences . 3 At the end
of . 1864 Calmer had a large -sum of 'money . 'On the 29 th of September fn that year his wife died . ^ He'had an cmsuTance ! upon her life for about-13 * 000 / ., anil , on .-receiving ! that sum ,-he paid off sonreof bistnestpressing liabilities . Me employed 'for thafrpurpose , with Tegard i to a . great portion of those liabilities , a gentleman named "Pratt ,-a solicitor in 'London , who was an'the-haolt of discounting 'bills , and whose name "would be largely mixed np 'with subsequent transactions . Out of 'the 13 , 000 ? . Pratt received some 8000 / ., and "he disposed of it in the payment of various liabilities in reapeet to 'bills which were in'his own ( Pratt ' s ) hands . 'Wright , ; a -solicitor -at Birmingham , who had also advanced money to the prisoner , received 5000 ? . more , and : thus , 00 ©// of
debt was disposed of ; but Palmer was still'left with con-i siderable liabilities , and among others the bill already mentioned of 2000 ? ., which had been discounted by Padwick ,: remained unpaid . This brought them to the close 6 f ¦ 1854 . In the course of that year theprisoner effected another insurance on . "the : life of his ' brother , or rather an insurance -was effected by him in : his bTothef ' s' name . He corresponded with Pratt on the subject of effecting this insurance , and . a policy was " immediately obtained on his brother ' s life , and it was assigned over to'Pratt . On the strength of that policy , which remained in'ttoe hands ofPratt , who paid the premiums , Pratt discounted bills for Palmer at . the rate , in -some instances , of 60 per cent . The policy was for 13 , 000 £ , and'it was retained
< by Pratt as collateral security ; for the bills he had discounted . Those bills , on the whole , amounted to about 12 , 5001 ., and they-were discounted in the coarse . of that year . There were even two bills discounted as early as June , 1854 . They were held over from month to month , the interest of 60 per cent , being ; paid from month , to month to keep them alive . In March , 1855 , two bills of 2000 / . were discounted , with the proceeds of which Palmer bought two race-horses— . Nettle and Chicken , names which would be heard of again in the course of the inquiry . Those bills were renewed in June , and they became due respectively on the -28 th September
and the 2 nd October . They were then renewed again , and they next became due on the 1 st and 5 th January , 1855 . On the 18 tli April , a bill was discounted for 2000 / . at three months , which would become due on the 22 d July , and it was renewed so as to become due on the 22 nd October . On the 23 rd July , a bill for 2000 / . was discounted at three months , which would become due on the 25 th October . The Attorney-General then gave a list Of other bills , with their amounts , and the days on which the } ' fell due , and said that in the month of November , 1855 , when the Shrewsbury races took . place , there were in the hands of Pratt the following bills : —
One bill ,. due 25 th Oct . 1855 , for £ 2000 27 th Oct . „ 2000 Two bills , due 9 th Oct . ( together ) 1600 One bill , duo 13 th Sept . for 1000 1 st January , 1856 , for ... 200 X > fith „ „ .- 2000 lfith . „ „ - 2000 making altogether 12 , 5007 . ; but aB 1000 / . was paid over ito Pratt , tho vrual 'amount of debt due in the month of November was 11 , 500 / ., and every one of those bilk ) bore the forged aBcaptauee'df < tho prisoner ' s mother . Tho jury icould > ea « ily imagine 'the pressure Which naturally -and meceaearily prevailed upon tho prisoner in consequence of thfe liability of
11 , 600 / ., which ; lie Lad not > b shilling in tho world to meet ; and the still greater pressure arising from tUo conviction that if tho forgery was discovered , owing to his being . unable to keop up his payments , it would bring inevitable ruin upon him , as well as expose him to the peril of the law . With these transactions the deceased Cookeihadiboan partially connected . It Bccmed ; that in May , il 8 ft 5 , Palmer waB preeeed to pay a sum of ; COO / , to a person named Sorgent . Palmer had In'tho hands of Pratt at this period , in respect of nome of the bills which had bee ^ xlifloountetl , a'balanco 6 f » 10 / . to his ! credit , and he wanted Pratt to advance 190 / . to make up
'secttrlfcr «> f * e < Jofeefaacceptance'for r "/ ., ' r « preserJtlng - ftiat 'he * wa 8 * a ntan of raeatts and weultb , 'btttnAtilltratt ^ e'i ^ tH ^ to'it od ' lhe-WOBiey ^ ithodt'somte'mOrtftamgible ^ sefeu-•• rlty'thian ^ ttoftmere personal " secttrity of' Cooke . JpAbaier 'represented 1 this as a traosa « tionin which ' Cooke requrrea 'the-woney , = a « a that might "very well 'have 'been * ihe s faet . ! He ( the 'Attatney-Generiiiyitriil no means df as" certainingnowhow'the matter stood , 'bat "he would give PilnSftr 1 thte' benefit 1 of supposing' his'Statemenfto be ^ true , ttndthat he'had ibe acquiescence' 6 'f 'Cooke in'tlle ; pTo'poiaatl ' whidbt 'he Inade 'to 'Pratt . Cooke was engaged wi and somietimes
'Upon'lhe ^ turf , sometimes ' miiMgj- losing-, 'purchasing'horses , ' and'perhaps selling'them dbfo , and it tnightwell be f tbdt at this 'time he required a loan of ' 000 / . As an ' additional' security 'to ^ Pratt , Palmer " pTo ; posed the'asmignmerit by Gooke' of 'twtnraee-horses 'belonging to -him —Polestar and aridttrer , whewe ~ name i would'be hereafter mentioned . The assignment was aecoisdingly prepared , ^ nd ifterwaTSs executed 'by'Codke ; in fevourof Pratt , as collateral security 'tor the 5 ( 10 / ., an'd that "being so , Cooke was entitled to ~ the-money—¦« . ¦ *« ., ' ( go much « s could be realized upon the security , because the whole of f the' 50 ltf / . was not to be'hail on the
'terms specified by ' Pratt . The arrangement "was that < Pr « tt -should give for tlt e acceptance " of " 5007 . nat three months , and the assignment'of the two horses , ' a sum of 8761 . in money and a wine warrant 'for 65 / ., the Temain-! ing ' - ^ 0 / . being absorbed by the discount for threemoiitha :. ( 50 / . ) , and the expenses ,-which were' 10 / . ; anu , at -all events , ' Cooke was entitled' to the 376 / . and the amount of the wine warrant . Painter contrived that 'the 3757 . and the warrant Bhould'beflentto ' nim , anu not" to'Cooke . He wrote' to 'Pratt , desiring him to forward bbtb to . "him sat'tlie post-Omce dt'Doncaster , as ff' Cooke "were 'in the * own , which hewa « not , and by that means'he contrived . toiget the cheque and' the warrant into 'his own hanos . ? P » att accordingly sent down'the cheque , which was upon ihisJOwn' bankers in'London , with a receipt stamp "a ' ffixed
¦ to : it , as-required by the Act of Parliament when cheques are sent into the country , availing himself of the opportunity now afforded by law to strike out -the'word "Ibearer * " and to write "to order , " the effect of which was to necessitate the endorsement of Cooke ^ on the'back of the instrument . It was not intended by Palmer that the . proceeds should find their way into Gooke ' s bands , and-he accordingly forged the name of Jdhn Parsons Gook « on the back of the cheque . Heathen paidilt irito his bankers at Rugeley , and the money , -having'been paid by the bank in London , went to his ' credit in'Kis own account . At this period 1 one of the bills 'for -three months would be due in about ten days ; 'and it-would appear that ,, in order to supply the money ,-he-bad ' commit ted the forgery of Cooke ' s -endorsement . < He ' ( the
Attorney-GeneraL ) wished this . was ithe-onjy in which -Cooke had been mixed up with theiprisouer , but there was another to which it was . necessa ry to refer . The produce of the insurance on the-life-of Palmer ' s . brother not having been realized , Palmer suggested to'or induced a , person-named Bates to propose his life to be-in sured . -There was no doubt h&had persuaded' CoOke to-assist him in this transaction , with the view of enabling him , by representing Bates as a man of substance -and « wealth , and . producing a policy on his life , to get'furthar . advances upon that . policy as a collateral security . 'He ( the Attorney-General ) would , . put it no . further . than that , for he did not suppose . that-Cooke was « tiparty to any other transaction . It seemed that , on the 6 th of September , . Dates , . the . prisoner , and ; Cooke were together at Rugeley . Bates was a person who hod formejrjy been in better circumstances , but had fallen into decay ,
and had been induced to acco . pt employment . Palmer as a sort of hanger-on , or superintend ant * of-hia stables . He was a healthy . young -man , and Palmer proposed to him to insure his life ,. producing at tko .-same time the ordinary form of proposal . Bates rather ' ¦ declined the notfcn of such a thing . Palmer pressed him , andsaid , "Oh , you'hod better do it—ifwill'be for your benefit , and it is quite safe ; " and they . persuaded Him to sign the form for'no less a sum than' 25 , 000 / ., Codko attesting tho proposal , which was filled up by Palmer—Bates referring to Palmer as his medical attendant , and to Thirlby , his assistant , as roferae or friend on the spot , who would speak to tho 'nature of tho transaction . 'Vbia proposal was sent up . to tho Solicitor 8 '; and GenoTal ' OflhJe , but that " office-was not disposed to effect tuo insuranwr ; and then a second proposal was sent up to anothor-ofllee , on the same life , for 10 , 0001 .
iLord Campbell trusted that tho Attorney- 'General would not introduce any matter that did not'direetly 'bear tupon itho' ohargo against 'tho 'prisoner . Tho 'Attornoy-Gonoral said lie would not advance a word tlmt'had nctt unimportant bearing upon the caso he had to submit . 'Ho proceeded to show that « t tliis time Palmer was pressed by "Pratt for liis unpaid bilte , . that'threats were hrild out to'liim that "Mrs . Palmer Hub mother ) would'bo sued upon the acceptances ,. and Q uit tlHvletters convoying tho threats never readied ' h « r , "in consequence Of Pulmor'havhig tho . postmaster of " 3 Rngaloy completely in bin power . On tho lOtb . o ' flSeptomlwur , and again ' on tho 24 th of that month , Sit . Pratt , the solicitor in London , who had ibtaineft bo may advartcW from hto clieritH for Piilmor , wrdto to 'him , ntgenily pressing for paymont of Tilu'liabilities . On tho 2 nd ^ of October PmttnUdressed anotltet Wtter to tho . priaonor , unking him to make proparrttlon for tho payment of thff
the 600 / ., but he declined to do so , except upon security , and Palmer then offwrott him an acceptance ! or Cooke , representing Cooko tobeomanofBubstanceandgoodsecurity , and accordingly tlie acceptance of Cooko for 200 / . wan Hont up , and on that Pratt advanced tho money . Thrtt was bolioved to bo tho ilrst transaction with Cooke . When that bill of 200 / . became duo , Palmer failed toprovide it , and Gookohad 'to pay it himself after it'had become dishonoured . In August of that year a transaction took place to which it was woaeasary to call thttir > pnrticinnr attention . In that month Palmer wrote to Pratt that he must have 1000 / . noxt Saturday . Pratt declined to ndvancoit without oeciurity . 'o n which Pulmor offered 'the
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^— " ' "" , ' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ¦ OF WIL'MjSlM ' JAXJT'EJR .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 17, 1856, page 459, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2141/page/3/
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