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    ^ in T H E I; E A B E B. [No. 323, Satur...

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    Trial Of William Palmer. , .; . ¦ » ¦ Th...

    decease of Oooke showed that the whole of the money woa by thi latter had been seized by the former . No sooner was the breath out of the poor fellow s body than Talmer desired to perpetrate another forgery , by getting " Cheshire to forge Cooke ' s name to a document , making CooKiudebted to him in 3000 ? . or 4000 / . Again , what had become of the betting-book ? Pa mer bad observed " A dead man ' s bets are void—besides which , he received them on the course . " But who received those bets and who was responsible for them i Why , toe pr isoner at the bar . It was for the jury now to say r _ i _~ i . i ; j . i . ^ ., tA nnmo tn jinv other conclusion than

    of his own personal opinion that the prisoner is innocent , 1 that the jury , if they found him Guilty , would one day repent it . Such assertions are merely analogous to the formal plea ' Not Guilty- ' They go for nothing more , and the most inconvenient consequences would follow from regarding them in any other light . " His lordship then proceeded to state the allegations both on the side of the prosecution and the defence , and observed that , if there was no motive for the commission of the crime , the probability of Palmer having committed it would be greatly lessened . Still , it was not unknown , in the annals of crime , that offences had been committed tiie

    a respectable man . There was a discrepancy between the statements of Elizabeth Mills on the trial and her j depositions before the coroner . On the former occasion ¦ she did not mention that the broth prepared for Cooke ' ! and of which she took two spoonfuls , had made her sickalleging' , as a reason for this omission , that she was not asked by the coroner . Her evidence on this point , however , was confirmed by that of Lavinia Barnes , her felfow-servant . His Lordship then proceeded to recal the evidence of Mr . Jones , surgeon , of Lutterworth , and the letter forwarded to that witness on the Monday by Palmer , informing him that Cooke had been taken ill in tne nini

    t hat Palmer was guilty of the murder laid to his charge . " If" concluded the Attorney-General , " if , on a review Of the whole case , comparing the evidence on one side and on the other , and weighing it in the even scales of justice , you can come to the conclusion of innocence , or can even entertain that fair and reasonable amount of doubt of which the accused is entitled to the benefit , in God ' s name acquit him ; but if , on the other hand , all the facts and all the evidence lead your minds , with satisfaction to yourselves , to the conclusion of his guilt , then—but then only—I ask for a verdict of ' Guilty ' at your hands For the protection of the good , for the repression of the wicked , I ask for that verdict by which alone —as it seems to me—the safety of society can be secured , and the imperious demands of public justice can be satisfied . " The address of the Attorney-General occupied nearly

    without any assignable reason . In cases ot poisoniDg , result generally depends mainly on the medical evidence ; but what is called the moral and circumstantial evidence , should also be considered . His lordship informed the jurythat anv observations which he might from time to time make from the bench would merely be thrown out with a view to assisting them , and would by no means be intended to have any influence , by way of dictation , on their minds . The verdict was in their hands alone . Referring to Palmer's pecuniary embarrassments previous to the death of Cooke , his Lordship related all the circumstances attending the prisoner ' s dealings with Pratt and Padwick ; his insurance of his brother ' s life for 13 , 0002 . ; his inability to obtain the money after Walter Palmer ' s , death ; his association with Cooke in connexion with money matters ; iis various liabilities and want of money before the death of Cooke , and his possession aeaiu oi iuat jijo juuiu

    witn aiarrncea nigm , auu requesting to come over and see him , upon which ho remarked , as a mysterious part of the case , that the evidence of Jones clearly showed that there was no diarrhoea about Cooke at all , nor anything of a bilious nature in his attacks . The evidence of Dr . Savage , to -whom Cooke applied when he thought himself labouring under the secondary symptoms of a disease from which he had suffered , tended to show that at that time he -was in excellent health . Referring to the evidence of Newton , the chemist ' s assistant , and to the fact that he had not mentioned his having given strychnine to Palmer when before the coroner , nor up to the Tuesday morning before he appeared in that court , the Chief Justice told the jury that the incideut was one which deserved their attention ; but at the same time there was no contradiction in his evidence , and therefore too much oft > nafi t- * -i * ac ? + t >/ -v +- V » o 1 o-trl itr \ r » n trift nmissinn . "wliich miir \\ k j MlH V A ( 4 iA » m ¦

    four hours ; and , at its conclusion , the Court adjourned till Monday . THE SUMMING-UP . The excitement in the neighbourhood of the court on Monday morning was even greater than it had been on previous days . Large numbers of persons—many of them belonging to the upper classes —waited outside from an early hour for the opening of the doors ; but in the end , many of those who held tickets were unable to obtain places , for the galleries and the body of the court , directly the public was admitted , were filled to inconvenience . The jury , who had been out for a walk in the earlier part of the morning , took their seats a little before ten o ' clock ; and the civic functionaries shortly afterwards made their appearance . The Attorney-General was not present ; but all the other counsel on both . 6 idea attended as usual . ' ¦ " The appearance of the prisoner is variously described . toe limes oniy sugia auuiuuum

    oi casn atter ine guuiieuiuu . - - ship next read Wright ' s evidence as to the large debts due to his brother from Palmer , and the bill of sale given by Palmer , as security , upon the whole of his property ; Strawbridge ' s evidence as to the forgery of Mrs . Palmer ' s name to acceptances ; and the further evidence of Mr . Weatherby , particularly calling the attention of the jury to the fact of the cheque purporting to be signed by Cooke having been returned to Palmer by Mr . Weatherby , when he refused payment of it . u A great deal , " said'his Lordship , " turns upon the question whether that cheque was really signed by Cooke or not , as , if not , it shows that Palmer was dealing with Cooke ' s money and appropriating it to his own use . " Mr . Serjeant Sfcee observed that Mr . VTeatherby expressed an opinion that the cheque was Cooke ' s . Lord Campbell : — " Mr . Weatherby said that the body of the cheque was not in Cooke ' s handwriting , and that V . n kn 4 « nJJ -n n . nlfnniiAn + S \ * Ti £ x o 5 rrnohl T-O Y « M 1 ffPnllAi

    y V Viw ^ y H * 3 * J * » W * -r V ^ ^ VL ^» » - * *** *• ^ ~ ™ w *^ " ~ —— -- »*—«— _ ^ *^* m * ** B fr > *¦* W have been caused by fear , operating upon a weak mind . Roberta ' s evidence was next read . He also had not entered the sale of the six grains of strychnine to the prisoner in his book ; still there appeared to be nothing in this to impeach his veracity . If the jury believed him , as well as Newton , there was evidence of the prisoner having purchased strychnine on both days—the three grains on the Monday , and the six on the Tuesdaj \ the day of Cooke ' s death . It had been asserted for the defence that the symptoms in Cooke ' s death were not those of strychnine ; but no account had been given , or suggested , of what had been done with the strychnine which it was alleged Palmer had purchased . The removal , by the prisoner , of the jar containing Cooke's intestines , -was not in itself a remarkable fact , except when it was taken in connexion with his subsequent conduct in trying to get the jar broken . The explanation of that conduct advanced by the defence he did

    According to reporter , a shade of anxiety passed over his face during the address of the if > rd Chief Justice . Other accounts state that lie seemed lost in thought until the commencement of the- summing-up , and that it was then quite painful to see the eagerness with which he listened to every word . He gazed fixedly , and with parted lips , at Lord Campbell , and appeared nervously apprehensive of losing ofa y portion of the address ; but , on his Lordship beginning ifi . read the evidence , he seemed to breathe freely again ,, and to look on with comparative indifference . Lord Campbell , addressing the jury , said : — " I must begin by imploring you to banish from your minds all that occurred previous to your coming into this court . , No do , ubt there was the strongest , prejudice against the . prisoner in the county of Stafford ,, where the offence for -which , he is to answer is alleged to have been committed ; and this prejudice was so strong that the Count of Queen ' s Bench made an order to remove the trial from the county . With gentlemen of your intelligence , I feel it to be an unnecessary caution ; but it is my dufcy + s \ Anlwat i-lia * -irstn will nnh antiRnr viiiir miiulu t . n hft ill— - 1 7

    A 1 C JUclU ualU 1 IU aLbCllblvu iv . uu niguuvuiv . * wm , £ , «**««•» . *_* men , must consider all the evidence with regard to this part of the case . The cheque is not produced , although it was sent back by Mr . Weatherby to Palmer and notice to produce it has been given . If it had been produced , we could have seen whether Cooke ' s signature was genuine . It is not produced . " His Lordship then read the evidence of Butler , to whom Palmer owed money in respect of bets , and . of Bergen , an inspector of police , who had searched Palmer ' s house for papers after the inquest . " it might have been expected that the cheque which was returned by Mr . Woatherby to Patmer , who professed to set store upon it and to have given value for it , and who required Mr . Weatherby not to pay away any money until it had been satisfied , would have been " foundi , but it is not forthcoming . It is for you to draw whatever inference may suggest itself to you from this circumstance . Wo then come to the arrest of Palmer . Now , as it strikes my mind , the circumstance that Palmer remained in tlie neighbourhood after suspicion had arisen against him is of importance , and ouirlit to be taken into consideration by you ,

    not think was justified by the facts . Palmer ' s attempt to influence the mind of the coroner , by communicating to him the result of Dr . Taylor ' s 2 'ost-w oi-tem examination , his Lordship considered highly improper ; but such conduct might be consistent with innocence , and it would be for the jurj' to say ¦ whether it was or was not . The prisoner , however , had evidently endeavoured to tamper with justice . Passing from this documentary evidence to that of the book of poisons found in the prisoner ' s possession , his Lordship declared his opinion that the notes written in- it on the operations of strychnine and nito ; vomica ought not to weigh one iota against the prisoner , and ought not to influence the jury at all , as in all probability they were written at a time when he was pursuing his medical studies in London . The medical evidence was then read over , with a view to balancing the contradictory assertions with respect to the possibility of always finding strychnine alter death , when it has been administered . Dr . Taylor ( bis Lordship said ) had perhaps acted indiscreetly in communicating with newspapo ' rs ; but no such imputation rested Uie ui

    H ^ # VII ^ i Ijil ' llll V r I 1 > ll J \ J t 4 > If At % * A \^ M U »*«»^ # & r ^* w * - » ^»—^« m- *~ ' ~ w » w - ~ - - ^ — - flufiuced by anything which you may have heard against . the prisoner with respect to matters not connected wiblt ¦ thia charge . There is certainly evidence which tanda to connect the prisoner with some very discreditable , transactions . He appears to have forged a great number , of bills of exchange . These transactions would , however , . iukvn been , excluded altogether from your notice , but tftat it . became absolutely necessavy that they should be : brought , forward . By the practice oi'some foreign eountriaa , it i » allowable in the ease of an accused person ta . put forward evidence that he has committed other offencea with , the view of showing that the prisoner is ab immoral person , who might bo reasonably supposed to have committed the particular offence alleged against him -f but the law of England presumes that every XBan is innocent until his guilt is established , and it provide *) t / hoX evidence shall only be offered against , him . on % ho « harge for which he is arraigned . Gentlenun . it crivan . m « trrnnt no . t . iti ( a . e . t ion to find thai !

    although he may , perhaps , have done so thinking that from the care he had taken nothing could ever be discovered against him . It seems , however , he was imprisoned on civil process before the verdict of the coroner ' s jury rendered him amenable to a criminal charge . Besides the cheque purporting to be signed by Cooko , the prisoner also had in his possession a document purporting that certain bills had been accepted by him for Cooke ; but neither that document nor any such bills have been found . All the papers which were uot retained were returned to the prisoner ' s brother , and notice has bean given to produce them ; but neither the bills nor the document are produced . " Passing to the consideration of the circumstances attending the the alleged administration of poison to Cooko at the inn at Shrewsbury after the races , Lord Campbell pointed out the discrepancies existing between the evidence of the witness Fisher ( for the prosecution ) and that of Myatt , for the defence . The latter said Cooko did not leave the room after taking

    on Dr . liees , and he fully confirmed . testimony ma coadjutor . . The evidence for the prosecution having been summed up , the Court adjourned till the next day . Lord Campbell resumed his summing-up on lucsday morning by calling attention to the fact that Palmer applied Cooke ' s money to the payment of his own debtsdebts for which he alone was liable . There was . iiirtner evidence , thut he employed u mail of the name ol Herring to collect Cooko ' s betting money , and to appropriate it to his use . It uppeared thut , when Cooko ' s death tout place , he took advantage of it for obtaining possession ot the horse Polestar , which had belonged to Cooke ; ana there was evidence of his having fabricated a document , which was to declare that ccrtuin bills of exchange , in which it appeared that both he and Cooke wore cou ^ corned , were negotiated for Cooke ' s advantage , and thai the prisoner derived no benefit from them . That document was to have been brought forward uftcr Cooke it iraim ¦¦¦

    tb 4 a case has been laid so fully before you . Every . thing ; has been done that could bo accomplished to ' assist tho jury in coming to a right conclusion . The pro-¦ eaution has been taken , up by the Government of the iqomn ^ ry merely in order that justiee may bo fully and . jfolrly < fcne . The Attorney-General , who is the firat law . officer of the Crown , has conducted the prosecution an the Minbttfr of Public Justice , and the prisoner appears to have . TxaA ample unmans for couductiug his defence . Witnesses , Tery property , have been brought from , all : parts of the kingdom In his defence , and he htm had tho fdvantage of Having hiu ease conducted by one of the . noat distinguished advocate * at the English bar . I most qftrongly recommend you to attend to everything that fell ao eloquently * bo ably , and so impressively from that advocate , with the exxjoption only of tho expression

    the brandy and water , whereas the former said he did so for ton minutes . Tho jury wonld also observe that Fishor spoke to having handed Cooke between 7002 . and 800 / . on the Thursday morning be-fore his death ; aud yet when Cooke died no such sum was found in his possession . The evidence of Mrs . Brooks , who Btutcd that sbe saw Palmer at tho hotel during the races examining tho contents of a tumbler by holding it up to tho light nnd shaking it , hia Lordship thought was worth nothing . With respect to Elizabeth Mills , tlie chambermaid at tho Tulbot Arms , ltugeley , it had been hinted that she had been bribed by Mr . Stevons , Cooke ' s stepfuther ; but there was not tho smallest pretence for the allegation , nor did there appear to be njiy ground for imputing that Mr . Gardner , the attorney who attended the inquest on Mr . Stevouu ' s behulf , wan any other than

    death ; for , if Cooke had survived , tne ;» - - been exposed , nnd the prisoner punished . With rospec to tho question that no strychnine- was found in tho bony , that was for tho consideration of tho jury . 1 hero v , n > uo point of law uccording to which the poison mast u « found iu the body of a deceased person , to constiiuw evidence of death by poisoning . Tho wituwsca lor i "' dofonco said that , had strychnine hi-A-n administered , m « . j should have expected to find it ; but other witnesses oi high reputation ( Dr . ChrLstiBon among Hie "u " ' " ^ gave a different opinion . As regard * tho length ol i » a » which elapsed between the alleged udininiatraliuii oi impoison and the appearance of tho nymptomw , H "I'l "" to him that , although the interval wuh less in tlw < - «• of tho animals experimented , on , in tli o casts ol ^« K ' . would dopoud on the manner in which tho pUiu v "

    ^ In T H E I; E A B E B. [No. 323, Satur...

    ^ T H E I ; E A B E B . [ No . 323 , Saturday , ~ mJ Jm \ J * •*• * ' i ——— ¦ — ¦ ¦ . — - — - - __

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 31, 1856, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_31051856/page/6/