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that what he got was a bill for 200 / . ?* — " Yes ; and he had a house furnished for him . " " Don't you know that he got a bill for 2001 . ?"— " Yes . " " And don ' t you know that that bill never was paid ?"— " No , I do not . " " Now I'll re fresh your memory a little with regard to those proposals ( handing witness a document ) . Look at that , and tell me whether it is in your handwriting ?" «• It is . " " Refreshing your memory with that , I ask you , were you not applied to by William Palmer in December , 1854 , to attest a proposal on the life of his brother Walter for 13 , 000 ? . in the Solicitors and General Insurance Office ? " — " I might have been . " " Were you or were you not , sir ? Look at that document , and say ^ ^^ ^^
if you have any doubt upon the subject . "— " I do not like to speak from memory with reference to such matters . " "No ; but , not speaking from memory in an abstract sense , but having your memory refreshed by a perusal of that document , have you any doubt that you were app lied to ?"— " I have no doubt that I might have been applied to . " " Have you any doubt that in January , 1855 , you were called on by William Palmer to attest another proposal for 13 , 000 ? . on his brother ' s life in another office ? Look at the document and tell me . " iu _ " I see the paper , l ) ut I don ' t know ; I might have signed it in blank . " " Do you usually sign attestations 6 f this nature in blank ?"— " I have some doubt whether
I did not sign several of them in blank . "On your oath , looking at that document , don ' t j-ou know that William Palmer applied to you to attest that proposal upon his brother ' s life for 13 , 000 / . ?"— "He did apply to me to attest proposals in some offices . " " Were they for large amounts ?"— " One was for 13 , 000 J . " " Were you app lied to to attest another for the like sum in the Universal Office ?"— " I might be . " " They were made much about the same time , were they not ? You did not wait for the answers to come back to the first application before you made the second ?"— " I do not know that any answers were returned at all . " Will you swear that you were not present when Walter Palmer executed the deed assigning the policy upon his life to his brother William Palmer ? "Now , be careful , Mr . Smith , for depend upon it you shall hear of this again if you are not . "— " I will not swear that I was . I think I was
not . I am not quite positive . " ( Very few of the answers to these questions of the Attorney-General were given without considerable hesitation , and the witness appeared to labour under a sense o f embarrassment which left a decidedly unfavourable impression upon the minds of the audience . ) " Do you know that the 200 / . bill was g iven for the purpose of enabling William Palmer to make up a sum of 500 ? . ?"— " I believe it was not ; for Cooke received absolutely- from me 200 ? . If I am
not mistaken , he took it with him to Shrewsbury races not the last races . " "In whose favour was the bill drawn ?"— " I think in favour of William Palmer . I don't know what became of it . I have never seen it since . I cannot state with certainty who saw me on the Monday ; but I called at the Talbot Arms , and went into Cooke ' s room . One of the servants gave me a candle . As well as I can remember , the servant who did so was either Bond , Mills , or Lavinia Barnes , I can ' t say which . "
The question with respect to Mrs . Palmer was renewed by Mr . Serjeant Slice , who asked : — 14 Is there any pretence for saying you have ever been charged with any improper intimacy with Mrs . Palmer ?"—Witness : "I hope not . " "Is there any pretence f or saying so ?"— " There ought not to be . " " Is there any truth in the statement or suggestion that you have had any improper intimacy with Mrs . Palmer ? " — " They might have said so , but they had no reason for saying so . " "Is there any truth in the statement ?"" I should say not . " ( Laughter . ' ) William Joseph Sanders , a witness subpoenaed both for the prosecution and tho defence , was then called upon his recognizance , but did not appear .
All the evidence having now been taken , Mr . Serjeant Shee , on account of the way in which the Attorney-General had brought out certain facts , submitted that he had a , right to reply ; but the Court was of opinion that he had no right . —Tho Attornfiy-Generni said he had been taken somewhat by surprise on the previous day by the evidence of Dr . Kiehardson with respect to tho disease known aa an < juut pectori . i . I > r . Kiehardson adverted to several books and authorities . He had now those books in his possession , and he was desirous of putting some questions arising out of that part of the evidence—The Court decided also against this api'la-a-THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL S REPLY . The case for tho defence being now concluded ,
The Attorney-General toho to reply on the pint of the Crown . He observed that two questions would havo to be decided by the jury : — l « tly , whether Cooke died a natural death ; and , Jimlly , whether he wuh tnken oft by moans o f poison . Tho statement of the Crown wn » that ho had first been practised on by antimony , and that at last ho was poinonod by strychnine . Ho ( the Attorney-General ) had listened with deep attention to the various uccountu winch had been given , by the medical -witnesses , of the tieverul forms of tetanus , ami ho confidently asserted that no cawo had boon brought forward in which tho symptoms were so marked as in tho case of Mr . Cooko . The kind of tetunua of whicli
Mr . Cooke died was not either traumatic or idiopathic . The medical evidence for the defence was a mere sea of speculation , and the way in which it had been given was , he thought , a scandal upon a learned , distinguished , and liberal profession . It was a scandal that men should come forward with speculations and conjectures such as had been advanced , and that , they should misinterpret facts , and extract from them sophistical and unwarrantable conclusions , with a view to deceive the jury . He ( the Attorney-General ) had the greatest respect f or science : no man could have greater ; but he could not repress his indignation and abhorrence when he saw it perverted and prostituted to the prejudice of truth in a court of justice . There was no ground for
saying that Cooke was suffering at the time of his death f rom syphilitic affection . A fortnight before the races , he had told his step-father he was quite well ; and his appearance confirmed his words . It had been contended that idiopathic tetanus might have been brought on by a cold ; but there was nothing to show that the deceased had caught a cold . Then it was said that the excitement a f ter the races might , have led to the convulsions ; but it was admitted that that excitement did not last for more than a few minutes , and there was nothing to show that it returned . What were the cases which the witnesses for the defence attempted to set up against the assertion of the Crown ? They brought all the way from Scotland a girl named Watson who deposed that ,
though she had not taken any poison and had no wound of any kind on her body , she was attacked with a violent paroxysm in the month of October last year . But in cross-examination it appeared that she had been ill all day , was taken worse at night , had a pain in her stomach and cramps in her arms , was for a while quite insensible , but soon recovered , and went about her business . That was the case they brought forward as a parallel for the mortal anguish—the spasms—the convulsionsthe death agony of the unhappy man , Cooke ! The Attorney-General next called attention' to the contradictions of what they had said in their examination-inchief elicited in the cross-examination ' of Dr . Nunneley , Mr . Partridge , Dr . M'Donalci , Dr . Letheby , &c . ; and
observed that the medical witnesses called for the defence set up five distinct theories , all of which he contended were inadmissible—namely , 1 . 1 General convulsions . 2 . Arachnitis . 3 . Epilepsy proper . 4 . Epilepsy with tetanic convulsions . 5 . Angina pectoris . It was not a little remarkable that the learned gentleman ( Mr . Serjeant Shee ) never ventured to assert the nature of the disease to Avhich he refer 3 the death of Cooke ; and that , in course of the evidence , these five causes should have been successively advanced . His learned friend had an advantage in not stating what theory his medical witnesses would set up , " because , " Said the Attorney-General , " I admit that one after another they took me by surprise . The gentleman wh o was called yesterday
sistiMe was the conclusion that it was that poison , and that poison alone , to which they were to be traced ! On the other hand , he was bound in candour to admit that there were difficulties . Strychnine was not found in the body ; and they had it , no doubt , on very high authority , that strychnine can always be discovered . Bui let them consider the state in which the atomacb and intestines were examined—a portion of the contents being lost , and the rest jumbled up together . " It is very true , " continued the Attorne 3--General .
" that Dr . Nunneley , Mr . Herapath , and Dr Letheby , say , tbat whatever impurities there may have been , if strychnine had been in the , stomach they should have found strychnine there , no matter how decomposed or putrescent the organic matter might be . Searing in mind Mr . Herapath ' s eminence in his profession , I should have had much confidence in his testimony were it not for the active and zealous feeling of partisanship which he has manifested on repeated occasions in the course of this inquiry . It had come to my knowledge that he had been heard to assert that this was a case of
death by strychnine , but that Dr . Taylor had not gone the right way to find out the , poison . I pressed him urgently on this poison , and I am sure you will be of opinion with me that his explanation of his having formed his judgment merely from the newspaper reports was anything but satisfactory . There can be no doubt that in his conscience Mr . Herapath believes this to he a case of death by poison— indeed , he has said as much ; and yet we have seen him mixing himself up in this case with all the enthusiasm of a partisan , and suggesting to my learned friend questions with a view to the protection of a man whom he feels to be guilty of murder . I reverence the man who , from a sense o f justice and an innate love of truth , conies forward on behalf of any accused person who is in danger of being swept to
destruction by the torrent o f prejudice ; but I have no language to express my abhorrence for that traffic testimony which , from pro f essional p ique or for the sustenation of a particular theory , men of science—I grieve to say—occasionally are led to ofTer . Assuming all that they say on the question of detecting strychnine to be true , is it certain that the poison can be found in all cases ? Dr . Taylor says , 'No , ' and that it would be a most mischievous and dangerous proposition to assert that the poison must in all cases be detected , for such a theory might enable many a guilty man to escape who would take care to administer only such quantities as being large enough to destroy would not be large enough to admit of subsequent detection by analysis in the stomach . What have these gentlemen done ? They have given large doses in
the experiments they have made for the purposes of this case , in which they have been ' retained' —I use t ^ e word ' retained , ' for it is the proper word—in all these < Mses , I say , they have given doses large enough to be detected . But the gentlemen who made the experiments in Cooke ' s case failed in detecting strychnine in two cases out o f four in which they had administered it to animals . The conclusion I draw is that there is no positive mode of detection . " The Attorney-General then drew attention to other parts of the evidence , remarking that , although the learned counsel f or the defence undertook to combat the prosecution inch by inch , he had not alluded to the fact of Palmer having obtained strychnine shortly before Cooke ' s deuth . If he procured it for a patientwhy was not that patient produced ? or , if for
and who talked o f angina pectoris would have not escaped so easily if I had been in possession of the books to which he referred ; for I should have been able to expose the ignorance or the presumption of the assertions he dared to make . I say the ignorance or the p resumption , or , Avhat is worse , the deliberate intention to deceive . I lay t o his charge one or other o f these three , and , in the presence of this Court , and in the face of the whole medical profession , I assert that one or other of these charges I should have been able to substantiate . The medical witnesses for the defence differ one and all in their views ; but there is a remarkable coincidence between the opinions of some of them and the opinion ^ of those who have been examined on the other side . "
With respect to the experiments on animals , it must be considered that there is avast difference between the life of animals and of human beings , in the power with which certain specific tilings act upon them . The defence allege d tbat there were no premonitory symptoms . That ho denied . The asking to have the neck rubbed was a premonitory symptom , and one which coi responded with tho case of Mrs . Smith , with the Leeds case , and with others . Yet Dr . Nunneley , who attended the lady at Leeds , who discovered strychnine in her body after death , and who knows that she requested her husband to rub her legs and arms between the paroxysms , dared to say that Cooke's having tolerated ( he rubbing is a proof of his not having taken strychnine . Such assertions prove nothing but the dishonesty and insincerity of those who so daro to pervert facts . Moreover in the face of tho evidence of other witnesses , Dr . did not be
, any other purpose , why was it not expluined ? , The learned Serjeant had passed over tho matter in a mysterious , but significant silence . Then , as regards Newton , the chemist ' s assistant , to whom perjury was attributed , what could be his motive for desiring to procure , by means of a lie , the conviction of the accused ? But it -waa said that Palmer called in Mr . Jones and Mr . Bamford to see Cooko in his last illness . He picked his men well . Without any dinreupect to Mr . Bamford , he must contend that lua powers were impaired by age ; and , ft » regards Mr . Jones , he thought the event proved that Palmer was justified in believing that he was a man fitted for his purpose . Not one of th « medical witnesses for the defence epolro of antimony , though Dr . Taylor found that drujr in tho tissues . Who could have
administered it but 1 ' aliner ? . Then , Pahwer solicited that Mr . Bamford should not see Cooko on the day of his death ; he omitted to tell Mr . Jones anything about the fit Cooke had had on the night previous to Mr . Jones ' s arrival ; and various other circumstances which , taken together , were of importance , tended to fix the act on th «; prisoner . It had been said thitt there was no motive . If the evidence estubliahcd the guilt of Palmer , motive would le but a secondary consideration . But Pulmer wn « a man in tho direst embarrassment ; ho owed If ) 000 ? . upon billH , nil of which were forged ; and be r -1 ... 1 « .. „» .... ; .. «! , /» in M )(\ l . for which ho uiBured In » failed to obtain the 13000 ? . for which he uiBurefl in »
Nunmley had the audacity to eny that he - liovo thiH was a case of strychnine because of tho rigidity of tho body , though that had been shown to be a result of strychnine . Then , they had the theory of the heart being empty ; but it should be borno in mind that it could not bo precisely averred in what way the final spasm took p lace , and , if It had seized on the heart , tho heart would l > o found empty . Tho cases of undoubted death from utrychnine which hud been detailed were « o idetincal witli tho death of Cooko that it . would be dimcult not to conclude that his was a death from strychnine alHO ; and Hcvcral medical witneHHCH , both on tho part , ot the Crown and of the defence , agreed that , in the whole range of their experience , they knew of no < lisenflo , to which Huoh remarkable symptoms could be attulnttc That being ho , and there being ft known powon which would produce them , how etrong , how cogent , how
irre-, brothor ' B life , the insurance office refusing , under the circuniHlnuccH , to pay tho amount . Ho and C ooke were jointly interested in the f , OOf . for which Poleatar was assigned . Polentar won at tho Shrewnbury races ; Cooke , desirous to redeem hin property , sent UOQl . ; but this 8 um wua taken by Palmer , and applied to the payment of hinowii ( lcbtH . Cooko had assigned everything to Palmer ; mul there who therefore no rear-on whatever lor saviiiK tliat Palmer had nn intcreHt in Cooko h life , He wAh in fact interested in Mb death ; and tho midden acccbbioii of wealth to tho accused immediately after tho
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May 31 , 1856 . ] THE LEADER . __ 5 q $ ¦ — - k ' , * -II — . m m a « . » _ w . ^ b __ _ . - _ . ' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ P ^^^^^ BWH ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BBMM ^^ BM ^^^^ B ^ B
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Leader (1850-1860), May 31, 1856, page 509, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2143/page/5/
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