THE HALL CASE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1372, 16 October 1886, Page 2

THE HALL CASE.

Chrisxchukuh, October 14

Professor Ogacou completed his mi-

deuce aud deposed to finding an’itmi y un mis take ably In the urine and vomit

f Mrs Hall, procured shortly before ai d a day or two utter the arrest, also tha the traces became less until, on -September Itih, there was hardly a tra-e perceptible. I'he Profess >r was subjected t .< a lona cross-examination by Mr Joynt as to th detiils of analysis. He spoke depreciatingly of “ laylor on Poisons,” an I kuth-nity referred to by Hr Joyut, and said that a person quoting 4 ’aylor at th*’ present day in an assembly of chemists would be laughed at. Air Hay brough out the fact that not a trace of poisou of any kind was found in the pocKeta ou> from Mils Houston’s dresses, but the Attorney-General pointed out that he had not opened with any aliegationgto the contrary. Professor Ogston corroborated Professor Black’s testimony, and gave his opinion that Mrs Hall’s symptoms were those produced by an irritant poison, such as antimony. He said emit if the brandy which was found to contain cotcblcum, had been given to Mrs Hall as an injection on the Sunday night when her state was so low the result would probably have been fatal in a few hours. He had never heard of antimony being used for “asthma cigarettes" as Hall said, aud the asthma cigarettes found in Hall’s bedroom were analysed by boih Professo a, who failed to find antimony in them If, since Hall’s arrest, no morphia injections had been given, and he mid not suffered any injurious effects. Professor Ogston did not that he had parp sely suffered from the effects of

no phia poisoning. To Mr Joynt— Professor O/ston said he did not think Mrs Hall’s symptoms as a whole, were consistent with gastro-enteritis, though this complaint was pr iducoJ to soma extent by an irritant poison.—Mr Joynt hinted at a defect in the indictment, which charged Hall and Houston with administering » poison, to wit, antimony, and got from Professor Black the opinion that the metal antimony itself was probabiy not poisonous, except in a state of vapour, though its compounds, such as tartar emetic, were poisonous. However, it was common to speak of tbe poison antimony, meaning some c impound of the metV, Professor Ogton said that antimony was used as a generic term for all the compounds of th metal. Mrs Ilamersley. wife of Mr Hameraley, solictor, Ttmaru, gave evidence as to the enp of tea which some one said was for Mrs Hall, and which witness drank, making her retch and vomit, but her evidence on this point was shaken, as she was not sure from memory that it was one of the accused who said it was Mrs Hill’s tea. Sl he also deposed to finding tbe tin of kerosene in the iofi after the arrest.

William Gunn and 0. W. Eiohbaum, chrmis'e, and W, Salek, chemist’s aas'siaut, gave evidence of telling Hall considerable quantities of tartar ernttic, colchioum ■■ in and atropia morphia. William 11 in too. bookseller, deposed to selling him the book, ‘Taylor on Poisons,” and another mfedical b.ok, and that ball made especial reference to enUwony.

Th'm-n T*Vloy. books ! ls», aUt-d tbst he sold H'dl tw> dictionaries of domestic medicine.

Coti,er, th ! Tioi;*ru gaoler, and his wife <;a'’o evide o a as to the letter Miss Houston ha.t written tj Hall, beginning My dear Tom ay Dodd,” and signed “ ever yonra. Mcarirns.” ‘t’bo Attorney-General said there were "evanteon more witnesses for the prosecution

TO-D Y'B PR (CEKDI SGS. When the Court opened this mornin.Dr Hogg, a witness who had not been >*x •mined in the Magistrates Court wa He was surgeon of Timaru gaol and said that. Had had not sho vn sym.itoma of sudering from morphia since hi. arrest. Hall had an attack of diarrboe which soon passed off. but otherwi-e In physci-*. he atto was good and much bst’e' than Miss Hons on’s. He was mentalb distressed. Ho nad been in the habit of injecting morphia into hia viens. He die not know of any natural symptoms tha won! i produ e Mrs Hall’s symptoms. Mr Jaynt cross-examined at length as to the meaning of “ antimony,” >»r Hogg said that poisoning by anj antimonlal sal.a would be properly expressed by the term poisoning by antimony.” Hia Honor said that as at present advised, if tartar emetic was popularly known as antimony be wonld consider that sufficient for the indictment. Mr Joynt said: “We will see about that presently.”

Dr Staopoole of Walmate, deposed that he had attended a consultation on Airs Hall with Dr Maclntyre on Ju y 18. He stopped at Halt’s house all night. TT.saw Miss Houston, but gave her no directions about the medicine. It would not have been professional for him to give directions as Dr Maclntyre was In charge of the case.

To Mr Hay : He said that Miss Houston might have construed a remark he made about p wdera to mean that she was to give them

Thorns Howley, clerk to Court at lira iru, deposed to eesing BEall in hunting costume on August 14 and playing pool at Harriers’ club on the night before the arrest. He had seen the letter Cotter destroyed. Ha had never seen Hall sing Tommy Dodd in character.

Hi. J. Kerr repeats:! bis former evidence as to the telephone and Sail telling Megrims to put away the decanter of wine. He had never thought at the time there was anything guilty about this Hibbard, grocer, Peters, grocers assistant, and Aviaon, grocers b -y. gave evience as to the unusual circumstance of Hall buying a tin of kerosene, bavins' it wrapped in paper and sent to his office and not his house

C A. Wilson, Hall’s clerk, gave evidence as to insurances on the house an<J furniture for £1175 in the Imperial, of which Hail was agent.