English News.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 370, 21 May 1856, Page 8

English News.

FEARFUL REVELATION OF CRIME

Mr. Palmer, a surgeon of Rugeley, near Shrewsbury, has been committed to the county gaol of Stafford, charged with the minder of Mr. John Parsons Cook, a sporting gentleman, 28 years of age, residing at Lutterworth (Leicestershire), by poison. The deceased was the owner of a horse which had won the stakes at Shrewsbury races, on the 13ih and 14th Nov. After the nice, Mr. Cook was taken suddenly ill. He was then removed to Rugeley, where he di«d aTew days afterwards. A post mortem examinat;o l was subsequently made, and the presence of poison was found in the body. At an inquest held, it was proved that the prisoner Palmer ha;l given the deceased pills and broth, which caused him to vomit excessively. It was also proved that Mr. Palmer had purchased six grains of strychnine from a chemist ; that on the evening after the race Air. Palmer had pressed the deceased to drink something out of a glass, purporting to be grog, which caused the deceased to exclaim, —'' There's something in it, it burns my throat awfully!" or words to that effect; that he soon afterwards became sick,and expressed the belief that he had been " dosed." Other witnesses were also examined, to show that various betting and bill transactions had passed between Mr. Palmer and the deceased ; and that after the death, the deceased's betting book was missed.— Home Nexus, Dec. 20.

In reference to ;i charge of murder preferred against a. surgeon named Palmer, narrated in the Postscript of our last number, it is stated that ci re inns fauces have transpired which tend to establish other charges against hiiii. It is said that he insured his wife's life for £13,000.' She died shortly-afterwards, and upon the usual probate being produced, the money was duly paid. He then induced his brother, Walter Palmer, to insure his life for a similar sum, and afterwards obtained the transfer of it on an alleged debt of£4oo, which he (William Palmer) stated was due to him by his brother. Palmer made every endeavour to further insure this life; but in consequence of an anonymous letter from Stafford it was declined. The brother has since died, and the usual demand was made for the money. The large amount, and the previous death of Palmer's wfe, having excited the suspicion of the numerous insurance offices concerned, they deemed it prudent to place the matter in the hands of Inspector Field (late of the detective force). Among other facts, Inspector Field has discovered that Palmer had endeavoured to effect an insurance for £25,000 upon the life of "a gentleman," whom lie reported to live " on his estate" in the locality of a village in Staffordshire. Mr. Field went to the spot, and found that other persons in high position had conspired with Palmer to falsely represent the standing in life of the individual, who was in fact I'almer's occasional groom, renting a bedroom at 2s. per week. In consequence of the suspicious deaths of the prisoner's wife and brother, and other individuals, the police authorities, in conjunction with the friends of the deceased, Mr. Cook, determined to apply (or an order to exhume the bodies. Since that determination, the churchyard at Itugeley has been strictly watched by police officers every night. Sir George Grey, the Secretary of State, issued an order for the exhumation of the bodies of the prisoner's wife and of his brother, Walter Palmer. A post mortem investigation has been instituted, and a small portion of arsenic discovered in the stomach of the late Mrs. Palmer. The former has been interred about two years, nnd the latter nearly six months. The adjourned inquest will be resumed on the 9th inst., when Dr. Taylor will furnish his analytical report. Mr. Cook, the murdered man, better known upon the Turf as Mr. Pile, the owner of Polestar, was well known in Nottingham. The supposed murderer was also well known in

Nottingham. He is a stout, thick-built, pudgy, man, with light complexion, and ruddy face. A Nottingham witness, who was io the house

where the drugging occurred, saw Cook with a roll of notes, which he says mv.st have amounted to £1000, if only in fives. He went late into the room to Cook, who was sitting with Palmer playing ut cards alone, for heavy amounts: Palmer was well-known on the turf as the owner of several celebrated racehorses, oi:e of which, Goldfiuder, won the Chester Cup in 1553. It is a singular circumstance that some years ago he had a horse called Strychnine, which figureu rather mysteriously on the turf. He was also the owner of the mare Nettle, first favourite for the last Oaks at Epsom, and on which Marlow, Lord Egliutouu's jockey, met with such a serious accident. He also bought for a very large sum of money a horse called " The Ohick'-Mi" out of the money he received from the assurance of his wife's life.

Mr. Cook, singular to say, was a witness to I lie proposed paper for the assurance on the life of Palmer's occasional groom. Some extraordinary letters have been intercepted, showing the extent of the gambling transactions between the prisoner Palmer, the deceased, and other persons. The deceased gentleman, Mr. Cook, intended quitting- the turf at the end of the present season. He was bred to Uie law, and was universally respected in sporting circles. The prisoner refused to lake food for some days after his imprisonment, hut he ultimately cvhsenied to take his meals regularh. He is now in tolerably good health, and perfectly free from any disease likely to cause death. Before his arrest Palmer sent, for the postboy who was engaged to convey the contents of the stomach and intestines of the late Air. Cook to the railway station, preparatory to their transmission to Professor Taylor for aiialysation in London, jmd offered him £10 if he would upset the conveyance and break the j.irs. Since the prisoner's apprehension, the whole of his stud of horses and t ffocts were seized under a bill of sale, by a solicitor fr<>n« Biiminghain, and it is now rumoured that the prisoner will be declared a bankrupt. It is also stated that three writs have been served on Mrs Palmer, the prisoner's mother, a lady residing at Rugeley, for the £10,000 and £20,000. said to be accepted by her on.behalf ol the prisoner, which are now alleged to bo forgeries. When Cook was removed to Rugeley he hud only £5 and a few shillings in his pocket, notwithstanding the large quantity of notes seen in his possession previous to his death. The question naturally arises, what has become of the remainder ? The police have discovered that within a few days of Mr. Cook's death, Palmer paid to respectable tradesmen in Rugeley two notes of £50 each, and two other notes of the same value were changed at the bank, at Rugeley, by his groom. Two of these notes have been impounded.

The late Mis. Pa Sin er was a ward in Chancery. During a long period before her marriage, her guardian opposed the union, and the master in Chancery.also withheld his consent for some time. Yielding, however, to the entreaties of the lady ."herself, both objectors subsequently ceased their opposition, and the marriage ensued. Respecting tlie sporting proceedings of botli the prisoner and Cook, and the great intiniiicy which subsisted between them, a sporting paper says :—'• Among sporting men-the subject of the alleged murder of murders is still the i tiling topic of conversation, and the sensation which was created on the first disclosure of the horrid particulars is rather deepened than diminished. Both Palmer and the deceased were well known to every person connected with the turf; their horses were trained together, they lived on the most intimate terms, anil invariably lodgad at the same hotel at the different race meetings, which they frequented. They were believed to be confederatesiu racing mutters, and poor Cook piaced the must implicit confidence in Palmer's judgment. Of Palmer, he always spoke familiarly, as ' the doctor.' Once, iv the mouth of October, Palmer \vas<J driving Cook to llugeley in a gig when the' 0* vehicle upset; hut we believe that Palmer was the more injured of the two.

The following insurances were effected on the life of the late Walter .Palmer, the prisoner's brother:—Athensßum, 10,000/.; British Equitable, 500/. ; Brunswick, 500 A ; Caxton, 500/.; Era, 2500/. ; Falcon, 500/. ; Magnet, 2500/.; Prince of Wales,sooo^.; Saxon, 250/.; Security, 500/. ; and office not named, 500/.; total, 23,45*0.

Startling as it may appear, the names of no fewer than 16 persons are mentioned at Rugeley, respecting whose death by poison at the hands of the prisoner statements are made. — Home News, January 7.