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    say it is traumatic , that is , arising from external injury-It had been attempted to show that the disease of which Cooke was said to have died was not traumatic tetanus , and therefore that it was strychnine tetanus . He ( Mr . Serjeant Shee ) thought it was not clear that it was tetanus at all . That Cooke died from convulsions he believed ; but what pretence was there for saying that they were tetanic at all ? The Court here adjourned for a short time , in order to get some refreshment ; and , on its return , Mr . Serjeant Shee argued that the state of Mr . Cooke ' s health at the time in question , his constitutional derangements , and the excitement into which lie was thrown by the success of his horse at the

    Shrewsbury races—an excitement which was so great as to render him speechless for three minutes , and which was natural , considering that , but for his success , he was a ruined man—may , very possibly , have brought on convulsions . Detailing the circumstances attending and preceding the death of Cooke , the learned counsel contended that there was a great deal which was presumptive of Palmer ' s innocence . The accused sent for Mr . Jones ( an intimate friend and medical attendant of Mr . Cooke ) ; the patient did not mention to Mr . Jones the serious attack he had had after the races , and the suspicions he felt ; Palmer gave Cooke two pills in the presence of Mr . Jones , of the same nature as those which ho had before administered , though , had they

    contained strychnine , the patient would have died in convulsions in a quarter of an hour , with Mr . Jones for a witness ; the deceased himself , in the course of his last attack , asked for Palmer to be sent for ; and Mr . Jones , after death , seemed very uncertain as to how to characterize the complaint . Hospital surgeons were not the most qualified for pronouncing on such cases ; and he should call the most eminent private physicians to show that the symptoms attending Cooke ' s death were not those resulting from strychnine . A person poisoned by strychnine objects to be touched ; but Cooke asked to have his nefck rubbed . The heart , in these cases , was always found full ; but in Cooke ' s case it was found empty—a fact which the prosecution attempted to account for by saying tfrat the post-mortem examination was clumsily

    performed , and that the blood had thus escaped . In the testimimy of Elizabeth Mills there was a discrepancy . She said before the coroner that the broth she had taken , and which was originally intended for Cooke , had not had any ill effects on . her ; but on the trial she said it had . She also stated in that court , in opposition to her former account , that Palmer , on a specified morning , had given Cooke the coffee he afterwards vomited . That was not all . The case for the Crown was that Cooke was reluctant to take the pills , and that Palmer overruled him . According to her statement before the coroner , Cooke said it was the pills that Palmer made him take at half-past eleven o ' clock that made him ill : when she came here , she said the time was half-past ten o ' clock , thereby fixing the fact that Palmer gave the pills . Persons in that condition of life sometimes make mistakes

    not intending to deceive ; and it is the misfortune attending all falsehoods , that it is almost impossible to retract without disgrace . She had , he believed , told a falsehood , and then had not the moral courage to set it right . It was said that the prisoner pushed the parties who were making the post-mortem examination ; but it was admitted that nothing was lost , and he was sure that they would attach no importance to that small circumstance . Then it waa said that the jar was removed to a corner Of the room . That a man knowing himself to be innocent should be anxious to have the jar placed in the hands of persons in whom he could rely , was natural . There were some persons , recollect , who did not want to pay the 18 , 000 / . There were some persona who had

    been undermining the prisoner's character for a considerable time , imputing to him improper conduct towards a near relative , and propagating suspicion . He knew there were persons ao prejudiced against him ; and his removing the jar was only to prevent persons having the opportunity of tampering with it . His whole conduct was consistent with that theory . His objection to the jars going to Mr . Frero was to bo accounted for in the same way . He would now call attention to tho statement of Myatt , tho post-boy . It should be recollected that Mr . Stevens had come down from London ; that his conduct had been harsh towards tho prisoner ; that lie had almost insulted , and had very much irritated , him ; and he ( Mr . Serjeant Sheo ) thought that the prisoner ' s offer to Myatt to give him 10 / . to upset the vehiclo

    in whloh the jar waa to bo conveyed along with Mr . Btevena to Stafford , was an offer dictated by tho irritation which he felt at Stevena ' a conduct towards him . From the answers given in cross-examination by Myatt , it appeared that all Palmer aaid wan— "I should not mind giving 10 / . to upset Mr . Stevens "—not " to break the jar . " The evidence of Charloa Newton , tho assistant nt Mr . Salt ' s surgery , wan of no worth . Ho suppressed it at tho inquest ; and it was nio . st improbable that Palmer should go to tho house of a man with whom ho had quarrelled , to inquire about the effects of strychnine , and to buy that drug , or that ho , a medical man educated in London , would aook for information from such a person as tho witness Nowton . Besides , ho was in London on Monday , where a medical man w ould have no difficulty n buying utrychnino ; and , in addition to this , it

    could be proved that the prisoner could not have been at Rugeley at ^ nine o ' clock on Monday night . Suspicion was attactied to the circumstance of Palmer having ordered the coffin ; he could not see why , inasmuch as it was requisite that some one should order it . The learned counsel then referred to Stevens ' s evidence in detail , and contended that the non-finding of the betting-book was not a circumstance to warrant suspicion against the prisoner . An entry in a medical book had been alluded to to show that the prisoner had a knowledge of strychnine . Why , it -was a book that he had used , as a student , at the lectures , and when he loved that young woman his wife , in a way that was sanctioned by God ' s ordinance that young men should love their wives . "For , " said the learned Serjeant , "his was

    a marriage of affection . He loved her as he now loves her first-born , who is waiting -with trembling anxiety for your verdict . A man who so loves his wife is not likely to commit atrocious crimes . His being the loving husband of a virtuous woman is the best protection against crime . There is positive evidence that such a man was William Palmer , when he was only seven years younger than he is now . Here is a letter which he then sent to her who was afterwards his wife : — ' My dear Annie , —I snatch a moment from my studies to write to your dear , dear little self . I need scarcely say that the principal inducement I have to work is the desire of getting my studies finished , so as to be able to press your dear little form in my arms . With best , best love , believe me , dearest Annie , your own William . ' This is not one of the kind of letters that are generally read in courts of justice . It was no part of my instructions to read it , but an attempt has been made to show that this man

    was a heartless desperado , and I have read this letter to show you what that man was seven years ago . Upon the evidence before you I cannot believe him to be guilty . Do not suppose that he is not supported by some of his family in this his hour of trial ; he is supported by an aged mother , who cannot approve of some part of his conduct , but who still waits with dreadful anxiety for your verdict . A dear sister also can scarcely repress herself in her desire to serve him , and a brave and gallant brother stands by to give him his aid . I call upon you to raise your minds to a capacity to estimate the high duty you have to perform . You have to stand the brunt of prejudice ; you have to vindicate the honour and the character of your country ; you Lave , no doubt , with fearless courage , to do your duty , and to find a verdict for the . Crown if you believe that guilt is proved ; but if , you have a doubt upon that point , you will rejoice to find him innocent ; and depend upon it that the time will come when the innocence of this man will be made

    apparent , and when you -will deeply regret any want of due and calm consideration of the case which it has been my duty to lay before you . " At the conclusion of Serjeant Shee ' s address , which lasted nearly eight hours , the court adjourned at twenty minutes past six o'clock till Thursday morning . The court was again densely crowded on Thursday , and , among the distinguished persons accommodated with seats on the bench , was the Duke of Cambridge . Mr . Thomas Nunneley , Fellow of the College of Surgeons , and Professor of Surgery at the Leeds School of Medicine , was examined as to the opinion he had formed of Cooke's death . He said that , judging from the symptoms he had heard described , he was of opinion that death was caused by some convulsive disease . He

    thought that Cooke must have been a man of delicate constitution ; that he had suffered from certain diseases ; that he had led an irregular life ; and that he was subject to mental excitement and depression . His father and mother died young . It is stated that there are forms of epilepsy in which tho patient retains consciousness . In answer to Lord Campbell , tho witness said , u I cannot mention a case in which consciousness has been retained during the fit . No such case hns come under my notice . " He had read , however , that such is . sometimes the case . Granules between the dura mater and tho arachnoid are not common at any ago . He could not draw any particular inference from their appearance . They might or might not load to a conjecture ns to their cause and effect . Ho did not form any opinion upon those points , They might produce an effect upon the spinal cord . There are three preparations in museums where granules arc exhibited in tho

    spinal cord , in which the patients are said to have died from tetanus . Thoso are at St . Thomas ' s Hospital . Tho Bpinal cord in such cases ought to be examined immediately after death . Not tho most remote opinion could bo formed from an examination made two months after death , more especially if the brain had been previously opened . The witness * described a great number of cases of dentil from strychnine which ho had Been , including animals ho hud poisoned ; and he found that in all these cases , without an exception , tho muscles become quite soft , powerless , and flaccid in the interval before death . Tho rigidity which before prevailed ceases at that time , lie had alno observed that tho paroxysms of convulsion are intermittent , and that , after ( loath , tho heart in found full of blood . Cooked symptoms did not , in his opinion , resemble those \ A a person poisoned by strychnine . Ho had morn power of voluntary motion than ho ( Mr . Nunneloy ) had observed in animals under tho influence of tho poison in question .

    Other reasons for believing that the convulsions were not produced by strychnine were , their sudden accession , without the usual premonitory symptoms , the length of time which had elapsed between their commencement and the taking of the pills which are supposed to have contained poison , and the screaming and vomiting . Ho never knew an animal which had been poisoned with strychnine to vomit or ' scream voluntarily . He apprehended that where there is so much spasm of the heart , there must be inability to vomit . If . the strychnine be pure , it will almost be detected by a post-mortem examination , even though the body be putrid . The position of the stomach in the jar , and its removal to London , would give a little more trouble , but would not otherwise affect the result . If the deceased had died from strychnine poison , it ought to liave been found in the liver , spleen , and kidneys .

    The witness was then cross-examined by the Attorney-General . With reference to the contraction of a body after death from strychnine , he said : — " When I spoke of the feet being arched by muscular contraction in my report upon the case at Leeds , I only referred to the ordinary rigidity after death , the ordinary rigor mortis . I do not agree with Mr . Morley that the rigidity after death in the case of poisoning by strychnine is much greater than in ordinary cases . I have never observed it . 'The fact of the emptiness of the heart , among other things , convinces me that the deceased did not die of poison by strychnine . I have heard the evidence in the cases at Basingstoke and Glasgow , and that it was stated that in both cases the heart was perfectly

    emptj ' . I cannot account for the emptiness of the heart in Cooke ' s case . The lungs of the deceased were congested . The state of the heart , the lungs , and the brain were the points upon which I form my opinion that Cooke did not die from the administration of strychnine . I do not ascribe the convulsions of which the deceased died to any particular symptom of delicate health . I admit that he died of convulsions , and I consider those convulsions were caused by the delicate state of his health and the circumstances in which he was at the time . The excitement occasioned by winning the race might have operated with other causes to create the convulsions of which the deceased died . I infer from Dr . Bamford ' s evidence that the brain was not healthy .

    The Attorney-General : " Then you set up the opinion of this old gentleman , who certified that the deceased died of apoplexy , against the evidence of Dr . Harland and Dr . Jones ?"—Having read the evidence of the latter gentleman as to the symptoms exhibited by Cooke , the Attorney-General asked Mr . Nunneley to point out any one distinction between thoso symptoms and the symptoms of tetanus , either traumatic or idiopathic . The witness said he could not do so . He founded his opinion that Cooke ' s death was not a case of strychnine on the fact of the deceased being able to speak up to the last moment , which went quite against his experience .

    The Attorney-General : " Did you not hear it proved in the melancholy case of Mrs . Smythe that she asked for water to be thrown over her , and to be turned on her side just before she died V "— " I did not hear that . But , if it be true , and you say so , it would shake my opinion . " Mr . Nunneley proceeded to say that Cooke asked to be rubbed , and that , as far ns his experience went with regard to animals The Attornej ' -General here interrupted him , and caused some laughter by observing , " They can ' t ask to have their ears rubbed , of course . " The witness went on to state that in no single instance could the animals bear to be touched . In the Leeds case , certainly , the lady asked to be rubbed before the convulsions came on , but afterwards she could not bear it , and begged that she might not be touched . Part of tho experiments that ho had made on animals for tho present case were conducted conjointly with Mr . Morley , who was called for the prosecution .

    Mr . William Hcrapath , Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology at the Bristol Medical School , was next examined . His evidence was similar to that of Mr . Nunneley . He believed that strychnine would have been found on the examination of ' Mr . Cooko ' s body , even if a very small quantity had been administered . Tho < > O , OOOth part of a grain , ho thought , could bo discovered if tho strychnine were pure . He had pluccd two grains in a gallon of water , which is one in 70 , 000 parts , and from one-tenth part of a drop of tho water tho presence of tho strychnine was ascertained . tho Gvaeral

    " Have you not Buid , " asked Attornoy- , " that you had no doubt Btryc . hvkVne ' had been taken , but that Dr . Taylor had not ? , oiie the right way to find it ? " I m , iy have naid at * . 1 had a strong opinion from reading - various -uflrffspapor reports—among others the niitetrated T * h&s ~ that strychnine hud been given . I have expr * BHod that opinion , no doubt , freely . Mr / R ogers , ProiVwuor of Chemistry at St . Georges Schoffi of Medicine at Londoil , then gave evidence , and w « B of opinion that utrychnino should have been discovered in the body of Cooke , if it had been administered to him , even though tho body was partly decomposed when tho examination was made . Tho shaking up the contents of tho stomach would give a littlo more trouble , but , would not affect the result . Tho next witness was Dr . Henry Lctheby , Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology in tho London Hospital of

    Untitled Article

    JIay 24 , 1856 . ] THE LEADER . 487

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 24, 1856, page 487, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2142/page/7/