Читать книгу Trial of William Palmer - Various - Страница 12

W. V. Stevens

Cross-examined by Mr. Serjeant Shee—The last time my stepson stayed in my house was for about a month, in January and February of last year. He had a slight sore throat then, but I do not know that it was continuously sore. He did not complain of it. I never noticed any ulcers about his face. Between that time and the 5th November I saw him several times, and he did not appear to be more delicate than usual. The reason why I mentioned to him on 5th November that he was looking very well was because he had complained of being an invalid the winter before. His brother and sister were rather delicate, and his father died at the age of thirty or thirty-one.

J. T. Harland

Dr. John Thomas Harland, examined by Mr. Bodkin—I am a physician residing at Stafford. On 26th November I made a post-mortem examination of Mr. Cook. I called at the house of Mr. Bamford, and on my way there I was joined by Palmer, whom I had frequently seen and spoken to at Rugeley. He said, “I am glad you have come to make a post-mortem examination; some one might have been sent whom I did not know; I know you.” I asked him what the case was; that I heard there was a suspicion of poisoning. He replied, “Oh, no! I think not; he had an epileptic fit on Monday and Tuesday night, and you will find an old disease in the heart and in the head.” Palmer offered to lend me instruments, as I had brought none with me. He said a queer old man seemed to suspect him. He also said, “He seems to suspect that I have got the betting book, but Cook had no betting book that would be of use to any one.” After we reached Bamford’s house, Mr. Bamford and I went to Mr. Frere’s, a surgeon in Rugeley, and from there to the Talbot Arms, where the post-mortem examination was proceeded with. Palmer and several others were in the room. Mr. Devonshire operated and Mr. Newton assisted him. The body seemed to me to be stiffer than bodies generally are six days after death. The muscles were strongly contracted and thrown out, which showed there was a strong spasmodic action in the body before death. The hands were clenched; firmly closed. The abdominal viscera were the first parts of the body examined internally. They were taken out of the body, and were in a perfectly healthy state. The liver was healthy. The lungs were healthy; there was blood in them, but not more than could be accounted for by gravitation. The brain was quite healthy. There was no extravasation of blood nor serum on the brain. There was nothing in its appearance that would cause unnatural pressure. The heart was contracted, and contained no blood. This did not appear to be the result of disease, but from spasmodic action. The stomach was taken out. At the larger end there were numerous small yellowish-white spots about the size of mustard seed. These would not at all account for death, nor would they have any effect on the health of any one. There may have been numerous follicles, nothing more. The kidneys were full of blood that had gravitated since death, and had no appearance of disease. The blood was in a fluid state, which is a rare occurrence even in cases of sudden death. About the whole body generally there was no appearance of disease that would account for death. The lower part of the spinal cord was not minutely examined on this occasion. The upper part presented a perfectly natural appearance.

J. T. Harland

On the 25th of January the body was again exhumed, so that we might examine the spinal cord with more attention. Dr. Monckton and I jointly made a report on the matter. I am still of the opinion that there was nothing in the appearance that I have described to account for the death of the deceased. When the stomach and intestines were removed from the body in the first examination they were separately emptied into a jar by Mr. Devonshire and Mr. Newton. Palmer was standing at the right of Mr. Newton. When the intestines and stomach were being placed in the jar, and while Mr. Devonshire was opening the stomach, I noticed Palmer pushed Mr. Newton on to Mr. Devonshire, and he shook a portion of the contents of the stomach into the body. I thought a joke was passing among them, and I said, “Do not do that,” to the whole. Palmer was the only one close to them when Mr. Newton and Mr. Devonshire were pushed together. After this interruption the opening of the stomach proceeded. It contained about, I should think, 2 or 3 ounces of brownish liquid. It was stated that there was nothing particular found in the stomach, and Palmer remarked to Mr. Bamford, “They will not hang us yet.” The stomach was then emptied into the jar along with the stomach itself. The intestines were then examined, and nothing particular found in them. They were contracted and very small. They were placed in the jar, with their contents, as they were taken from the body. I then tied the jar over with two bladders and sealed it, and placed it on the table beside the body. At that time Palmer was moving about the room. My attention had been called away by the examination, and I missed the jar for a few minutes. I called out, “Where is the jar?” and Palmer, from the other end of the room, said, “It is here; I thought it more convenient for you to take it away.” Palmer was standing a yard or two from a door at that end of the room. I got the jar from him. I found there was a cut, hardly an inch long, through both bladders. The cut was quite clean, as if nothing had passed through. I asked who had done this, and Palmer, Mr. Devonshire, and Mr. Newton all seemed to say they had not done it. I told Palmer I should take the jar to Mr. Frere. He said, “I would rather you take it with you to Stafford, if you would take it there,” but I took it to Mr. Frere’s house, tied and sealed in the way I have told. When I noticed the slit in the bladders I immediately cut the strings and replaced the bladders, and tied them separately again, so that the slit was not at the top. When I returned to the Talbot Arms Palmer asked me what I had done with the jar. I said I had left it with Mr. Frere, and that it would go to either London or Birmingham that night for examination.

Cross-examined by Serjeant Shee—On the occasion of the first examination you say you observed follicles under the tongue; are those pustules?—Not under the tongue, on the tongue. They are not pustules; they are large mucous follicles, not containing matter.

Is it a sort of thickening, then, of the skin?—Of the mucous follicles at the base of the tongue. They appeared to be of long standing, and were very numerous.

Do they indicate that there had been much soreness there?—I have no doubt they would produce inconvenience. They must have given some slight degree of pain in eating and speaking.

Will you undertake to say they were not enlarged glands, enlarged by the irritation of disease?—I do not believe they were; I have seen them frequently.

Do you adhere to your opinion that the lungs were healthy?—Yes.

Did not Mr. Devonshire, in your presence, express a contrary opinion, and say they were unhealthy?—He said he thought there was emphysema, as well as congestion of the lungs.

Is that not a diseased state of the lungs?—Yes, it is an abnormal state. I examined the white spots on the wider part of the stomach.

How did you examine them?—By removing the mucous that was on the surface of the stomach by the finger or scalpel. I had no lens, no glass. I should have examined them with a lens if I had had one.

Was your examination of these appearances satisfactory to you without a lens?—Yes.

You said that the brain was healthy; what sort of examination did you make of the brain?—The brain was carefully taken out; the external part was first of all examined; the membranes were examined, and slices were taken off from the apex to the base of the brain. These slices were, I should think, a quarter of an inch thick.

Is that as thick as it should be to make a full examination?—I think that would show any disease if there was any. The spinal cord was examined down to the first vertebra, and we found no appearance of disease.

Supposing you had discovered a softness of the spinal cord on that occasion, after a full examination, might not that have been sufficient to account for the death of Mr. Cook?—No, certainly not; softening would not produce tetanus at all; it might produce paralysis.

J. T. Harland

Do not you think in the case of a man dying by convulsions, in order to ascertain with any degree of certainty what the cause of his death might be, it was necessary shortly after his death to make a careful examination of the spinal cord?—No, I do not. It was afterwards thought desirable. It was first suggested on 26th December.

It was in January the second examination took place; supposing there had been a softening, do not you think, in order to discover it, it was necessary to examine the spinal cord at an earlier period after death than two months?—If there had been a softening it would have been detected at the second examination; the body remaining unexamined for a long time would not produce hardening of the spine.

That is your opinion; might not any softening at that late period be the result of decomposition?—The spine was very little soft indeed. There were some appearances of decomposition upon it. I examined him to see if there was any disease on him of the venereal kind. I observed there was a loss of substance from past disease. It was cicatrised over, and on the cicatrix there was a small abrasion.

Then it must have been in a sore state?—The excoriation might be a little sore. It was very small. It was a mere excoriation; merely a little of the excoriation rubbed off.

Re-examined—There were no chancres, nothing beyond what I would term an excoriation, except the cicatrix from the old disease. There was no symptom of ulcerated throat, nor any appearance of anything syphilitic there. The follicles in the tongue are often produced by a disordered stomach, and are of no serious consequence to health. The congestion of the lungs, which Mr. Devonshire spoke about, was due, in my opinion, wholly to the gravitation of blood after death. There was nothing whatever in the brain to indicate the presence of any disease. Even if there had been, I have never heard or read of any diseased state of the brain occasioning death by tetanus. There is no disease of the spinal cord with which I am acquainted which produces tetanus and that form of death. Sometimes with inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord there is tetanus; but there were no appearances of inflammation whatever.

C. J. Devonshire

Charles John Devonshire, examined by Mr. Huddleston—I am an undergraduate of London University. I performed the post-mortem on 25th November at the Talbot Hotel. The body was pale. The fingers were clenched firmly; the thumb of the left hand was thrown into the palm, and the fingers were clenched over. The mouth was a little contracted. The body was stiff, much beyond the usual stiffness of death. I took out the stomach and opened it with a pair of scissors. As I was opening the stomach there was a pressure or push from behind. I did not pay any attention to it, and I do not think any of the contents of the stomach escaped. I punctured the anterior surface of the stomach, and a spoonful of the contents fell out on the chair. I tied up where it was punctured, and it was put into a jar and sealed by Dr. Harland. On the same day I got the jar at Mr. Frere’s, and gave it, on the 28th, to Mr. Boycott, Messrs. Lander & Gardner’s clerk. The body was opened again on the 29th to get the liver and kidneys and spleen. They were taken from the body with some blood, placed in a stone jar, which I sealed and handed to Mr. Boycott on the 30th. In consequence of something Mr. Palmer had said, I examined the body to find if there were any indications of syphilis, but I found none. I also took out the throat, and found there were natural papillæ there; they were larger than usual at the base of the tongue.

John Myatt

John Myatt—I am postboy at the Talbot Arms at Rugeley. On 28th of November last I was engaged to drive Mr. Stevens to Stafford station. Before I started Mr. Palmer asked me if I was going to drive them to Stafford. I told him I was. He asked if I was going to take the jars. I said I believed I was. He said there was a £10 note for me if I would upset them. I told him I should not. I saw him next morning, and he asked me who went with the fly. I said Mr. Stevens, and I believed one of Mr. Gardner’s clerks.

Cross-examined—How did you know what he meant by “going to drive them to Stafford”?—I knew I was going to take some one to Stafford.

Did he use the name “Stevens” before he used these words to you?—He mentioned Mr. Stevens afterwards.

You understood the word “them” to mean Mr. Stevens and his party?—Yes.

Were the words used not to this effect, “I should not mind giving £10 to break Mr. Stevens’ neck”?—I do not remember that.

The “£10 to upset him”?—These were the words to the best of my recollection.

When he said “to upset him” did he say anything about him at the time?—He did say something about it, that it was a humbugging concern, or something to that effect. I do not recollect him saying he was a suspicious, troublesome fellow.

S. Cheshire

Samuel Cheshire—I was for upwards of eight years postmaster at Rugeley. I am now from Newgate suffering punishment for having opened a letter as postmaster. I know the prisoner very well, he and I having been schoolfellows together. I was with him at Shrewsbury Races the day “Polestar” won. I saw Mr. Cook at the Talbot Arms on the Saturday, 17th November. He was in bed at the time. On the Tuesday following Palmer asked me to meet him at his house and bring a receipt stamp with me. I did so. He said he wanted me to write out a cheque, which, he said, was for money Mr. Cook owed him. He produced a copy from which I was to write, and I copied it. He gave me as a reason why he wanted me to write it that Mr. Cook was too ill, and he said Wetherby would know his writing. After I had written it I left it with him, and he said he was going to take it over for Mr. Cook to sign.

The Attorney-General—We know that it went out of his possession afterwards, and therefore perhaps we ought to follow it.

[Evidence was then given to show that this cheque for £350 was sent to Mr. Wetherby, the secretary to the Jockey Club, that it was returned to Palmer, that notice to produce it was given by the prosecution, and that it was not produced.]

S. Cheshire

Samuel Cheshire, recalled—After Mr. Cook’s death, on the Thursday or Friday, Palmer sent for me again. I went to his house and saw him there. He had a sheet of quarto paper in his hand, which he asked me to sign.

Lord Campbell—Was there anything written upon this quarto sheet of paper?—There was.

Examination resumed—I asked him what it was, and he said, “You know that Cook and I have had some dealings together, and this is a document which he gave me some days ago, and I want you to witness it.” I asked him what it was about, and he replied, “There is some business that I have joined him in, and which was all for Mr. Cook’s benefit, and this is a document stating so,” or something of that kind. The paper was a post quarto paper of a yellow description. I observed the writing on it, and thought it was Mr. Palmer’s. I told him I could not sign it, as I might perhaps be called upon to give evidence in the matter at some future day. I said I had not seen Cook sign it, and that the post office authorities would not like me to be called on to give evidence as to a document which took place while I was absent. Palmer replied that it did not matter my signing it, and he dared say they would not object to Mr. Cook’s signature. I gave the paper back to him and left.

(Notice to produce this paper was given, but it was not produced.)

S. Cheshire

Palmer was in the habit of calling for letters addressed to his mother, and which I gave to him. I cannot remember whether during October and November, 1855, I gave him letters addressed to his mother or addressed to Mr. Cook. I remember seeing Palmer while the inquest was going on. He came to me on the Sunday evening previous to 5th December, and asked me to let him know if I had seen or heard anything fresh. I understood that was a temptation for me to open a letter, and I told him I could not do that. He said he did not want me to do anything to injure myself. The letter which I read, and for which I am suffering, was a letter from Dr. Taylor to Mr. Gardner, the solicitor. I did not give nor send that letter to Palmer. I merely told him in few words of its contents. I only read part of the letter, and told Palmer the contents as much as I remembered. That was on the morning of the 5th of December. I told Palmer that I found in Dr. Taylor’s letter that there were no traces of strychnia found. I cannot recollect what else I told him. He said he knew they would not, for he was perfectly innocent.

J. H. Hatton

Captain John Haines Hatton—I am chief constable of the police of Staffordshire.

Did you obtain this letter, which I have just proved to be in Palmer’s handwriting, and envelope from Mr. Ward, the coroner?—I did; I endorsed it.

My dear Sir—I am sorry to tell you that I am still confined to my bed. I do not think it was mentioned at the inquest yesterday that Cook was taken ill on Sunday and Monday night in the same way as he was on the Tuesday night when he died. The chambermaid at the Crown Hotel, Masters, can prove this. I also believe that a man by the name of Fisher is coming down to prove he received some money at Shrewsbury. Now here he could only pay Smith £10 out of £41 he owed him. Had you better not call Smith to prove this? And again, whatever Professor Taylor may say to-morrow, he wrote from London last Tuesday night to Gardner to say “We have this day finished our analysis, and find no traces of either strychnia, prussic acid, or opium.” What can beat this from a man like Taylor, if he says what he has already said, and Dr. Harland’s evidence? Mind you, I know, and saw it in black and white, what Taylor said to Gardner, but this is strictly private and confidential, but it is true. As regards his betting book, I know nothing of it, and it is of no good to any one. I hope the verdict to-morrow will be that he died of natural causes, and thus end it.—Ever yours.

S. Cheshire

Samuel Cheshire, recalled, cross-examined—I knew Cook very well, but I could not speak to his handwriting. I am sure that when Palmer came to me he used the words, “seen or heard anything.” He did not simply ask if I had “heard anything.” On the Saturday before Cook’s death I dined with Palmer and Mr. Smith. Cook was expected to dine also, but he was too ill. Palmer said he must call in Bamford.

G. Herring

George Herring—I knew Mr. Cook. I was at Shrewsbury Races last November, staying at the Raven, and saw Cook each day. I saw him with money on the Wednesday. He was counting up a lot of Bank of England and other notes. I could not say how many there were, but there were a considerable number. He showed me his betting book, containing entries of bets made at the races. On Monday, 19th November, I received a letter from Palmer asking me to call upon him at 7 Beaufort Buildings at half-past two that day. I called, and he said he wished to see me about settling Cook’s account, as the physician had advised Cook not to go out that day, it being damp. Palmer had a paper in his hand, and read out from it a number of items which he asked me to take down. I did so, and I have here the list I made. He said—“Receive of Ingham, £350; Barr, £300; Green, £140; Morris, £200; Nelson, £30; pay yourself £6 and Shelley £30.” I said that made it £984, and he said—“That is what Cook makes it; if I give you £16 it will make £1000; out of that pay yourself for my bill.” I said, “I know no difference between the two bills”; he said, “Pay Padwick £550 and Pratt £450, making £1000.” He asked me to send cheque for the last two at once. I refused to do so, as I had not received the money. He wished me particularly to pay Pratt the £450, as he said it was for a bill or joint-bill of sale on the mare. I had an account of £45 against Palmer, while he had one of £40 against me. He settled this £5, along with the £16 to make up the £1000 previously spoken to, by a Bank of England £50 note. I do not know the number of the note. Before he left he pressed me to send the cheques to Pratt and Padwick immediately before the closing of the bank. He said, “When you have settled this account write down word to either me or Cook.” I replied, “I shall certainly write to Mr. Cook,” because I thought I was settling Mr. Cook’s account. He said, “It does not matter which.” I asked him if I addressed the letter, “Mr. Cook, Palmer, Rugeley, would that be correct,” and he said “yes.” I received all the money at Tattersall’s on Cook’s account, except £110 of Mr. Morris, who only paid £90 instead of £200. I sent a cheque for £450 to Pratt from Tattersall’s. I wrote a letter to Cook from Tattersall’s. The next day I received a telegraphic message, which I gave to Captain Hatton on the coroner’s inquest. In consequence of this message I wrote a letter the same day to Cook.

(Evidence was given to show that Herring held three bills of exchange, each for £200, on which Cook and Palmer were jointly responsible to him. He received £200 from Cook on one bill; another £200 bill he deducted, as instructed by Palmer from the £1000. The third bill he paid himself for by not paying Padwick as Palmer instructed him. Besides these bills Herring held a fourth for £500 drawn by Palmer on his mother, and endorsed by him and Cook. It was proved that this acceptance was not in Mrs. Palmer’s handwriting.)

The Court then adjourned.