THE MAIL.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 567, 3 November 1871, Page 2

THE MAIL.

"Wholesale Poisoning.—A most extraordinary case is under invertigation by the Brighton magistrates. According to the statements published, an attempt has been made to poi.-on several persons by sending them presents of eatables. The chief constable of Brighton has offered a reward of 201. for the discovery of the sender of the parcels. Some of these were conveyed by post, and others by, rail. On being opened there were found to contain cakes, sweetmeats, and fruits, and in some cases a cake was wrapped up separately, and specially addressed to the mistress of the house. In most cases the cakes were found to contain poison. The particulars of two cases are given, and aro a* follow : —At about midday on August 10, two white deal boxes, one being about 14 inches long by 12 inches wide, and the other about 10 inches square, were left at the Vi-toria Railway Station, addressed to different persons in Brighton, to whom they were delivered the same evening. The carriiige of both boxes was prepaid, and when opened there were found to contain cakes, and in each box were a fa* cakes done up in a piece of paper separately from the others, and on one of these papers the following was written :—" A few home-made cakes for the children ; those done up are flavoured on purpose for yourself to enjoy. You will guess who this is from ; I can't mystify you, 1 fear. I hope this will arrive in time for you to-night, while tho eatables are fresh." The other paper had writing on it to the like effect, but with the initials " Or. M." attached. The cakes which were in the papers have since been found to contain poison. Suspicion having been fixed on a lady named Edwards, unmarried, about thir y-five years of age, she was arrested, and brought before the borough magistrates charged with having attempted to poison Mrs. Emily Baard, tho wife of Dr. Beard, a physician practicing in Brighton. It was disposed that she was intimately acquainted with Dr. and Mrs. Beard, the for per haying attended her professionally. A coolness, however, arose, owing to the circumstance that the prisoner hud some time since taken a number of chocolate drops to Mr. Beard's house, one of which she placed in that lady's mouth, and the result was that it caused her to be very unwell. Dr. Beard had his suspicions at the time, but, being unable to prove anything, he was compelled to let the matter rest. After this the accused continued to write frequent letters to Dr. Beard in such an affectionate strain that he was'compelled to ask her to desist. This was about three weeks ago, and shortly afterwards the mysterious parcels began to arrive. Ih one received by Mrs. Board there was a cake. She very narrowly escaped being poisoned by it, two of the servants who ate a portion of it being made very ill. It was also stated to the magistrates that a few months ago, at the inquest of a little boy who had died from the effects of poison contained in some chocolate creams alleged to have been obtained at a large confectioner's in Brighton, the accused came forward as a witness, and said that she had herself suffered from eating sweetmeats bought, at the same establishment. She then wrote, to Dr. Beard, nnd sought to explain the supposed attempt to poison Mrs. Beard with a chocolato drop some months previously by the facts revealed at the inquest. At.. that, titne also several parcels of sweets were discovered iv the town, distributed iv a very... mysterious manner. It. should also be stated that recently a quantity of strychnine has, been been obtained from a chemist by a forged order purporting to come from another chemist, and. that shortly afterwards the book in which the chemist registered the salo of such poisons was obtained by an order, to which the name of tlie borough coroner was forged, and scnio leaves of the book were abstracted. The accused has undergone several examinations, and now stands remanded.