THE TIMARU POISONING CASE

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 35, 2 September 1886, Page 2

THE TIMARU POISONING CASE

.» THE TRIAL- STILL PROCEEDING. DAMAGING EVIDENCE. [PEE UNITED PBESS ASSOCIATION.] Timabu, August 31. Hall's case resumed. Mr Kirby continued his evidence, which consisted of his indentifying the various exhibits put in yesterday, aad generally corroborating tho Inspector. Hicks, watchhouso-keeperat the Police Station, deposed to a conversation he had heard between the two accused, in which Hall told his companion that she was safe, but he did not see how he conld get out pf it. Four other constables went into tho witness box , before the court adjourned at one o'olock. Their evidence was purely formal, and no new features were elicited. The hearing is expected to last till the end of the week. September I. The Hall-Houston attempted wife murder case was resumed at 10.30 this morning. Arthur Ormbsy, solicitor, gave particulars of preparing the will, by instructions of the male prisoner, leaving everything real and personal to him. W. Gunn, chemist at Timaru, said : Hall has purchased antimony from me ; he first purchased it on.the 18th June this year ; he got two drachms ; he told me on purchasing the purpose for which it was required; he told me he got a receipt sent to him for making cigarettes to contain tartar emetic and stranmonium. Charles William Eichbaum, chemist, residing at Timaru, said: I sold Hall antimony on the 4th August ; I sold him a shilling's worth; I sold him some antimony wine om June 12 last; on August 4 I sold him three ounces of strammonium seed, and one ' shilling's worth of nitrate potash the same day ; he purchased all the goods at the same time. William Davidson deposed: I am -agent for the Australian Mutual Society in Timaru ; Sail saw me in Aug- - ust last year about an insurance on Mrs Hall's lif e ; the amount would be £5000, but afterwards he changed his mind, and two proposals were giren for £3000 each ; one proposal was for life, and the other for seven years, the latter without profits. Dr Macintyre, who laid the information against tiie prisoners, deposed: I am a duly qualified practitioner ; Mrs Hall was a patient of mine ; I attended her in 1885, ih the early half of November ; the most marked symptoms at that time were retching and vomiting ; I prescribed for her about the 14th of the month ; she was decidedly better then; she was very . prostrate for some days while the sickness lasted, but recovered veryy quickly about the 14th, and was soon able to drive out; I considered this" due to pregnancy ; I visited hor once or twice, but not on an important occasion till she was confined on the 19th; there was nothing special about the confinement, which took a favorable turn; about the fourth day after her confinement vomiting commenced; this vomiting had continued more or less up to the night of the 15th August, or the early morning of the 16th, with increased prostration; there were periods when she rallied ; on the fifth day after the confinement inflammation of the right breast set in ; the vomiting matter was sometimes mucous, sometimes bilious, aud sometimes consisted of copious bilious matter, just before the attacks of sickness, and during the attacks the skin assumed a very yellow jaundice colour; there were repeated attacks of diarrhoea the first of which I . prescribed for on 27th June ; she complained of a hot burning feeling in the throat and stomach, and she also experienced a feeling as if the throat were being grasped by a hand ; on July 14th her symptoms became so grave that I suggested to the husband the advisability of having another medical man in consultation ; Dr Drew saw her on that day and we prescribed a certain course of treatment ; She appeared to improve during the ensuing two or three days, but the symptoms again appeared ; on July 28th I again suggested a further consultation; Dr Stackpole saw her with me en this occasion; on August 12th she was so very ill that I wished for another consaltation, and suggested Dr Lovegrove to the prisoner Hall ; Mrs Hall expressed a wish that DrDrew should also be there ; we held a consultation on that evening at 8 o'clock. She became rapidly weaker, and on Sunday 15th, when I saw her at 4.30, she was in a state of collapse.