THE TIMARU POISONING CASES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1499, 14 October 1886, Page 2

THE TIMARU POISONING CASES.

* SUPREME COURT, CHRISTCHURCH, [Before His Honor Mr Justice Johnston]. SEOONH DAY-TUESDAY. ~'.,; The hearing of the charges against Thomas flail, and Margaret Graham Houston were resumed on Tuesday. ' c !E;i H.. Cameron, marTugei*/a*M \Vaimaie," deposed to giving Hall arid :■ jMeason money,, to invest for him. In January 1885 they had £1575 belonging toiLim. i He■!received: about'i £SOOI iff' securities, and £440 in cash. He had since'received no interest oh the balance ,£660. _ ;->-,^.,/<■:...,-. V ! '"' Walter Pal Deputy Commissioner p,t",Stamps for.Chriatchurch, produqel the wjjl of r t(ie,late Henry Gain, beariig date 'February 5, 1886. , r He also produced letters of administration,' with will annexed of..the late JanVCain, 7, -, Miles,; J. Knubley, . trustee for Mrs Hall, .deposed that Mrs! Hall's i share of certain property, after deducting expenses would be about £250 per annum, i Mrs Hall arid'Mrs: Newton bad a joint |/ Bhare in" lot 93 town-of- Timaru, but it | was mortgaged for" £2oo()i , and at present the rents'accruing'from'it were utilisea io paying off the mortgage. Mrs Hall wis ( entitled to personal property to the value .of.abput £24ounder the., will of th* jiste O&ptain Cain. deed ,(JiL) .seven acres of land opposite Woodland; valued at about £&00 per acre to Mrs Hall in trust, with remainder'to next of kin, .There were inves'tnjierJtsi' to the trust .affected by the,. deed to, the amount of £1595. amount belonged to her. Aftei tbjs marriage, Hall gave instructions to transfer th 6 rriOrtgageß for £1595 to his'wife/Sf name, and three 1 of them were' l transn; ferred, the other two were not. ;I( ftp. ■ln cross-examination.by Mr Perry .the;, fitness stated that the value of the uisold p/ortion 6f the Woodlands property was>< about and if it were sold largely increa.se.Mrs!Hall's income.j - i(IO o Re-examined by Mr Martin, the fitness stated, with regard t to the Woodlands pio-n pertyi.there -were trusts (GG); ; {foi iriie, maintenance of the children. Mrs TlaUfsi supposing she, had any, would] ;take an (interest under this deed oh attain," ing the age of 21 years, ir.i- (! <•'''•;. | v „ n , HaPnah Ellison, Mrs''Hall's nurse was the next to give 1 evidence. Her evicence was very lengthy, but for'the most part' was: a; reiteration of that given by herirrl ■Timarur '■ She i 'deposed that Mrs Hall's first in,,tbe night. The siefc-j s ness continued off and oh lip to thejtime "of, the~arrest anjijday, but at first it was at night. Sometimes she was better. Sometimes, Bbe, would' remain'a day Mr tw6 without'being jsiek.;-' Witnesa 1 didf not s remember who her food shortly^before tjje. first sickness, i Mrs BJklfiii&s ablejfco leave on 1 the .eleventh day from her. confinement.: j rshe' went into'the smoking-room, next to the befli-ro?mi' i OBefore Mrs! Hall left her|bedroom witness gave her some oysters—about, a week after the confinement, j Mrs Haty, l.tyd bpth prisoners she had enjoyed the oysters! The'day after that oysters were; a&din ! given to-Mrs Hall by'Miss Houston. Miss Houston fetched them in out of the djnipg-rppm , through . the into the bed-raom. That was aijout 7 o'clock in the, evening, as near as witness; sould say. Miss Houston came with a,>plate' of bread' and- butte V-an- four oysters. She told Mrs Hall that those were,,,four, t ,yery.nice Jfat oysters,; and some ' nicy bread" a,nd butter.' ;Mrs Hall' l ate i! threejand : deemed to enjoy very ~mach. Mrsj.HjftlL asked .* witness.-if. sh«: icould t take I, ttieu fourth, and witness .replied she did not think'it? would! hurt l her.' u Miss Houston was pre*i sent. Mrs Hall took the fourth oypter 0l | and ate all the bread and on; the plate.. She was very sick, indeed,, about an hour, after, thi/s,, sibknessj lasted off and on, all' night I .' Mrs Hal)| com(Pilained to she felt as if there 'was something, grasping her throat. This was after she had been sick. The fiick,nefs was ; violent after the,,oysters! had been eaten, and the.retching wasialso ,yery ba.d i4 , unusual had followed the taking ,of.tbe .twp.oyateria pn;',|hejpreyious nighty,npthinglike that which came' 1 after these. She remembered DriStack,poole being in with, Dr .Macln'tyre, but did not remem.b.er! the date, idrs Hall after eating the oypters was sick all the next day, and suffered considerably from purging,* which {continued for two.days. Her face was i yellow before the sickness came on, with a blue tinge round the lips and under her eyes. Before Mrs Hall had the sickness, "from day to she had a'kirid of warn-: ing that she waß going to be sick, and told .witness of it. She used tb, 'twitch a great/ddai in her,sleep:;■ Witness did not notice anything particular about her (breathing. ! MrsiHall went outfor a drive' on the Bfcb August with Miss Houstoti' and Mr.Hall,,senr. Miss Houston took; some brandy in a bottle, but witness did not know where! Miss' Houston'got the brandy,i : Mrs: Hall [W,as very well befoie she went for4he-drive. They went away ' about the .raiddlo'ofrthol day,and back about 2-p.m. Mrs Hall waslvery weak and after'the drive. She was weak and sick through the. night, but not/so • niUch as ;wil.nßSß J b,ad seen her. Sometimes Misa.Houston used to!prepare i-Abd) meala' for,,Mrs. Hall, ? spmetimes:Mary Haqseri,,. s.ometinieB 1 the iwitness. ; Opjthgf Mpnday after/tbe ,con. sultation with ov + Dr, fStaokpople Miss.: Hiluslo'n to!dtther.;t,hat she had, .been;told itb iadminjisier.v t|i;e; Hall. The witness identified, bottles containing ice; water,; etc* In reference to the ice, water.that Mrs.HaU.cpmplained >of. the witneeß said she,tested, it; it was! 'bitter, and she was sick: afterwards, Al- '.. together the witness was,sick ,tw,o ,pr ; three times while in the hovse.;. Hall,told her .to put up some l vomit andurine in bqttles for the doctors at an ; early -stage.ofMrs Hall's illnesßi jand also later on, and she did so. ,She, did not, put any colchicum or antimony inMrs Hall's food. Mrs Hall h.arj) improved;in he-tlth since the arrest of., the prisoners. ; : rr .-.■...-\ In cross-examination by Mr Hay the; witness admitted that not looked' for * the, missing; piece of i muslin (said to have been used in preparing the ; ice witer and to have beep taken from the sick room, by Miss Houston), in front of the house at Woodlands, and was advisedly: : Mr Hay to look.there when she returned. Sh©;w ; as surprised at tha. arrest of Miss Houston. the course of her cross- I examination by Mr Joynt she said there ;

was a decanter of winei\on the top of the chest of drawers in the bedroom, which Hall referred to, but it was a good bit before the arrest. .Hall told her it was not fit fcr Mrs Hall to drink. When Hall came home be asked if she had given any of that wine'to Mrs Hail. Witnesß said "No." He said', " It is net fit for Mrs Hal 1..., Trie re is something in it." She did not remember his saying any more. Mrs Hill was there. Witness never She never saw Mary Hansen drank, and had no, .kDjP.wled.gfi. of her t taking^drink. She heard Miss Houston aod"liali say she had taken wine, bniysiiefdi4>jiot Lear Mrs Hall say so. She heard Hall say he was going •■ to - doctor-wine-for-MaqKHassen. ;She: !did<not', know* with thatdecanteirOf MUeUVj The cross-examination of the witness by -Messrs' f «fdynti 'aid;' Hay was long and -- searchibg/bwt little relevant was elicited. At;the. close she was complimented by'His Btonor on the way she had given, her , evidence, and the, Court adjourned at 5.5 pim7 ? , ' '''\^

.THIRI> The case was .resumed' at -10 o'clock yesterday ( nearly the whole of the day'be'ihg faken rjpl by the examination of W Mi»clntyre2; jAHuffirbe'rof important answers were- elicited_.from the 'witness by His Honor J and, of course, •there to portions of the by "MP flbjnt. f Patrick Jlaclntyre, jexa mined by Mr Stout: I reside at Timaru, and know the .accused. I know Mrs Hall.'whchaa been a (patient of mine. >:;!' have known'her for abopt,lp,y» i a i rs,, is ab ( or 32. She,,has a,! very,good, I remember her,m'arriagp last yew, 1885. I was called'on to mrike,la''report qn,her.health,in AugustlSSS-.1-examined ;her,pn behallS.of Austjalia^,(Mutual liPrpviddnt,Society.'' 'My was .that her health • w^s, g00d,.., and, her cobiSJbitution a sound one. I was called on to,attend .her. in November,', i'ss? : * when )She> w;as. ; suffering She, was,in.,ab'o^t'a j f<)rtnight. I attributed the sickness ; to pregnancy. I.inesft saw her;professionally.j,at her conifinement. Between, those , timesll saw iberi,:occasiQnally. for ; She;waS|Confinejcj. pn, gime T/ l^h i .- / r',Tbere ,w ; asjpp 'substantial or mater|^ t cb&nge in :feer ;l g^nej-al,/s^te.,of ! ' ber in her confinement,,,ihe,jflugßg o being tMrs;Hall didi'not suffer much. The labor was rather prolongpd, 'ibut.Q'therwiißie iquitematural. t.tAftjwr her confinement ahe ; did; ftpr; jpisflgresffifavor--ably. I first observed unfavorable symptoms thefirst; day afteF her wnln'emeot. These symptoms continued till the night of the 15th or early on the morning of the 16th August. There were intert. sometimes ,of fyoura, sometimes f '*W«i day, or two./-TW symr> sickness,' retching,'/anof A vomiting. I observed 'differences' -in-*--the matter 3 .'vorriited.' I c'dmplatiied , also/oft diarrhoea* faihd.■ "of paihsl'lal'.the pit of the stomach: over the liver at first, then gradually extending over the whole bowels, including the region of the bladder. 'She complained of a hot burn'i°g pain in a choking sensation in Her throat, 'with the feeling as if her throat were being grasped firmly by a hand. There was itching of .the -apiue, ,,ar / rn8 l ,and legs. jThereVas, a' dryness f of the ; handß.'aud peeling off'OTskin off her feet in last stages of illness. There was also drynoss, soreness, and cracking of lips. jShe comp|ained« ',pf soreness at the root' of her tongue,' and at the back •£ her 1 'tongue; 1 :;, I)urlhg fneP/Wtter part of heV iJljieW the tongue not much "boat'edf Biitf'iwas u 'unclu'ly :, fred round the during.t.he,'attacks of diced c6rpV. (J the 15th September, she'waVin'a state of collapse. On that date her eyes were glassy. Some time before the skin under !tJb,e ; eyes-.was: dark. , there was a sunken; glassy state of the eyeballs. There was intense'itching of the eyelids. The nose felt..as if it were enlarged ; she complained of the nostrils feeling sore apd) irrijable.v ( Qq jAugust J 4, Bhe had t'wiching of the arms, w ahd she was in a ; Btate of collapse: 'On August 15 she was very weak ; she could speak, but very feebly. I considered her in a very critical -state-indeed:—H«r--pulse «aa..rapM.—ll6 feeble, and irregular, The sickness enme on four days after ber confinement. I attributed it to some affection of the internal organs ; possibly displacement of the womb. I treated her for the sickness, irrespective of the origin. I had a consultation, with Dr Drew on July 14; that; was thej-fiiisp. . ~Th9[( B ickpej3B had been t going-on for abouj; three f weeks. I cannot exactly my prescriptions < : bad " btari !( "'previously. Did not prescribe antimony, or medicine of which 1 antimiiby forms 1 party''f I |id not prescribe colchioum)'or' < ar6e'ri{c, or any niedicinethat'would 1 have; pVoduced the eyraptclbjs- l r liave described/' < I'pir'e'scribed bismuth in medicinal ' [An argumeiJt liete: took place as to whether witness!hadMiibtvUßed "to my kn<jwil.edge,".-Mr Joyntcoptfidinghe did not know what' he had prescribed. Mr Stoue&gfe.ed'lwitness. had usedithe words, but in a different sense. The examination then continued.] When I used the word* " to my knowledge," I had no doubt as to my prescription d : d not dispense my medicine. I analysed sotre of my medi« cines,-a- portion of-which bad-been administered.) J.t.was'affier]AuKU"B*l i l6lh I analysed the. bismuth powder. I analysed what was left-—what had not been used. There were*medicines Mrs Hal!! got>hich Idid not analyse. .With regard t|. these medicines, I cans only speak)ltellW) the prescriptions'/,' Aaitoiwhat ,was dispensed I have no knowledge. iThat'iiw'as the meaning of the words ■'-•- to my-koowltdge." f^The 'prescriptions '■ were"'"; habaeß in). They oontairi'all' from June 16 to August' may he one otnißeio'nL ! Itf fb'e'm'is'sinl was :no preparation ipf antiman!yjV>rßenic, or Dr"l)rew.6i) July UtL , I suggested that co n su\tatiop; ! The f sugige r ßtiqn'd;w from'''prisoner Ha)i'.';i r after the consultation^ : ber '"tt ii Veaent'' st'ati^' JJ, W'' fi him . anything, about theibbnditloirlof Mrs Hall. A change ': was iriridi* } ; ! io her treatment.- We !pr?sCribed>>ped«4uanha Wine in,small doses. (She ,se&mpd to be better for two or threejrdaySitfisAj 'day or two after the. consultation the sickness returned, and also the vomiting. I had b sepond consultation on July 28th with

Dr Stackpoole. I suggested this consultation—Hall did not. I suggested the dootor'as well. It would be correct to

Bay that the prisoner Hall, neither Bug-'

gested the consultation nor the doctor. it the first consultation we had been unable to determine the cause of the sickness. ,M& were unable to do so at the'.'second examination. There was a change made in ber treatment after the ' second consultation, which was that she ' was J to be fed on lime water, whey, and '•' milk;; nourishing injections were also to be administered. There was a change in the medicine prescribed.' Bismuth was

frescribed. I think I had been giv,i*g ismuthin a,mixture. There was » slight improvement in her Btate after the consultation. It laste.<i for a day or two. After two .or three diys the symptoms

.returned—Bickness, vomiting, and prostration. Had a third consultation on Thursday. Dra Lovegrove, Drew, and myself were present. Before it was oalled MreflaH's strength was failing • she was ~ ;gra3ually.ne ff ing'worse and weaker. I tsuggested ».• third consultation, not the '.;jprisoner 11 I. 1 suggested Dr Lov.r----u grove,• and Mrs Hall expressed a wish i that Dr Drew should be there. The corif 'Bdltatibrj: was held at 8 o'clock in the

evening. Mrs Hall' was very weak then. We-were unable to discover any cause for ''the o 'sickness, prostration } and weakness. " Her treatment was changed. She wns to haveonly ice or ice water by the mouth ; wo stopped the lime water and whey. She was to be"nourished by injections. The injections were, to be beef tea. pepsine or pancreatine, and brandy. : During thiß time I had Jaany conversations with Hall. I expressed nothing definite to him as to Mrs Hall's state. I began to make analyses on Friday, ,'. August->l2th. I examined the urine before that, for albumen and sugar; that n ,was in July. I didnot find any. Before; the examination of the urine in July I i. informed the prisoner Hall. 1 told bim I wished to get some urine ; that . ywas, before the examination. I examin'ed for sugar in • case there might be some diabetic .disease, and for albumen, in case there might be some 'kidney disease. I informed Mrs Hall of the result pfmyiexamiaation. From that time till August 13 (the time of the third consultation) I bad made no examination Jof anything coming from Mrs. Hall. I g6t ; some vomit and urine on August'^l3, Hall may have known they" were; going to be'analysed. T dbn't remember telling * him I dbtained tbe'fomit and urine which • ■ -were 5 left atWatkinsY put I don't know by " whom'. Ttook it to'the Hospital aad Dr Drew and I examined it there. We tested

V ty.foria.qtimony and metallic poisons, on 1 account of the similarity of the symptoms, taken as a whole, with those of poisoning -, Jjjy-arsenic, antimony, or any otherirritant poison. The result of our analysis by Reinscb's test was a deposit of antimony on copper'used in testing. ' I first suspected that Mrs Hall, was suffering frem some irritant poisoning some few dnys before the 12th. ; I informed no one of '•; my Raspicibns. l I don't remember that I informed Dr Drew : of my suspicions be- • fore August 12. 'We had a consultation ■ib which' antimony was mentioned. After 'finding what we believed to be poison, '•-r we puts portion of the vomit into one bottle and .a portion of the urine intc ; aobther bottle, and sealed the bottle on * 'Friday night, and on Saturday sent them ; "by express to Professor .Black, at Don-, edin. I, T believe I can identify the • bottles. These are the bottles, 7,19, and Zll. These are portions of the vomit and urine of. August- 13. I. got ihe bottles at.the Hospital. . The bottles ZlO and Zilcontain portions; of vomit and ; urine of August 12 and 13. Did not hear fromProfessorßlack the result of the analysis. Sent them off to Professor Black on: August 14. I don't remember fiving . any directions to the nurse. Saw Irs Hall on Friday; Saturday, and on Sunday at 1.30 p.m. On that occasion 1 received "from the nurse a bottle supposed to contain.ice water. I heard the symptoms on Sunday from Mrs Hall and the nurse. Mrs Hall complained of being sick/-I got some ice water, and analysed a portion of it at Watkins' Dispsnsary. (The bottle wns produced). Dr Drew arid lanalysed a portion of it. We did /not interfere with the portion left. We nothing into it, sealed it up, and gave it to Inspector Broham on Sunday night or Monday morning. No one had access to the bottle before I gave it to Mr Broham. Dr Drew and I analysed a portion and discovered antimony. We had no doubt about it. We analysed it between

3 and 4 la the afternoon on Sunday ; we it carefully. After finding •intimohy I informed the police, and InBroham laid the information against the accused, and they were ar-. ::>! rested. I was not present at the arrest. .1 visited the patient that evening. It: ' was late, but I do not remember at what hour the arrest took place. I ; believe it was about half-past 8. Thepatient was* in., a state" of great mental distress; she had been informed of the c, arrest. She was physically, better in the morning. She progressed «/!: tery favorably, and steadily improved ">~< after the arrest. I ceased to attend her ~ : -~about, three weeks after the arrest. I "ij saw none of the former symptoms after the arrest. I believe I prescribed atonic for her after the arrest. It was not absolutely necessary to continue injections,, but I believe they were, continued." jj£fj»r a day or two she began to take Sufficient nourishment by month, and; gradaally improved. There afe several; bottles here. I got information as to r «wh*t ! the contents of the bottles were frQca-.the nnrae., 1 did not write any details that I did not get from the nurse. these boltlestoProfessor £Black on August 2gth. Ihad obtained * £ ' the, whole of them from the nurse. 1 had $0 applied Reibach's test to a portion of the 'l'Contents of some of them. The rest had

i 7 ' hot been interfered, with by anyone. The I had sent to Professor Black for analysis I see haye been corked and

sealed, Iwith sealing wax,

I have no

recollection of Mrs Hall suffering from v milk fever.' She had icflammation and suppuration of the right breast, which '** lasted from 12 te 15 days. She recovered « ; i4b6ut three weeks after the birth' of the jj^child. ; . The earlier stage ot her breast .might account for a portion of her illnefts, but she ws.B cured within three weeks; it

0 j was not present after that. I have had iadlQ' previous experience of antimonial poisoning, of poisoning by colchicura or * "ant'oaony. The metal antimony h r not necessarily a poison. Tartar emetio is a tartarite of antimony— tartarised antiaoDy—that is, an irritant poison-.

' Cross-examined by Mr Joynt, I used to know ft great deal about chemistry. Tartar emetic is produced by combining tartaric acirt with antimony. I don't remember how it ; is combined. Its , poisomog principle is oxide of antimony. I believe I got some wine from ith« nurse on Sept. 14 • I have it bere. I did not analyse it. [ don't think I gate if to anyone else to be analysed. Before her confinement Mrs Hall: Was fairly well up to date, with usual symptoms of approaching parturition I 'have no distinct recollection of wrist*they were. Generally they are an uncomfortable feeling-an inclination to sickness and symptoms ■ of dyspepsia. I believe I prescribed for her on, June 6th. Bismuth is sometimes given, in caaes of dyspepsia. It is t<> allay sickness and to check diarrbcei. I don't remember pn* FcribiDg bismuth a month before her.confinement:-. I prescribed among other things bismuth and belladonna, brie must have suffered from some disorder,of system. There were bicarbonate .of potash, bismuth, capsicum, and orange water. On May 23rd I prescribed chloral. She was suffering from ■an' irritable cough I think then. It was for that .purpose I prescribed chloral. Mrs Hall was of a bilious disposition. I had seen her several times within the month before her confinement, and I had prescribed for har. From the fact that she had inflammation and suppuration • of her breads I would not expect'her' to be sick : more than a few tiours. It first occurred to the that there was something; unusual in net condition very soon after the vomitiris ib«gan. The vomiting was an unusual symptom. Thought it might be due to oastro-enteritis, gastritis, inflammation of the womb, or ulceration of the stomacli. The J vomit from time to time had no blood, so I thought ttrere was no ulcer. It might be ' such as would be caused by gastro-enterftis. The vomits were some times bilious and eometimee mucose. The appearance of her face-yellowish tinge and blueness of the eyeß-were'quite consistent with vomiting under bilious attacks. During the .time she was suffering the secretions of' urine were large or normal in the earlier stages, but. towards AugusfclS, they were scanty and sometimes suppressed. Thare retention, of from 11th: to 12th August. I suagested the. first consultation. I suggested it.to Hall. I waajhe, first to Bpeak of it. I suggested to; Hall thai! should like further medical advice. 'Hersaid' he was .quite agreeable. lhe names. Lovegrove and mentioned as' well asi that of Dr Drew. Hall said he did not care to have Dr Hogg, andiVbe ;kn«w bis wife- did not care, for > Lovegrove, so I sent for Dr Dijew., On that occasion 1 don't remember saying anything to hmv about the probable cause of his wife s illness. I don'tiremember saying anything to him oni that occasion about keeping the excreta fo? examination. I told him some time m July,that to examinethe nrine'. for "sugar'-and albumen. 1 think tba* was : not before the first consultation. Trie temperature of the body was generally about nVmal, but Idid not examine with a thermometer during her'illness. On one Occasion it was flub-norm-O, and on another, during tb'e inflammation the breast, 'it wan more than normal. After the consultation of July.l4, I prescribed ipecacuanaha wine in five drop doses; On July. 19 prescribed laudanum ; that was probably for: external application. There is no direction there. On July 26 , prescribed digitalis and belladonna.' They' would be a sedative. Digitalis in large produce depression/ In small doses .atonic to the heart. To His Honor : This was a small dose —fivß* drops; ''■Digitalis in large doses would -produce symptoms of carcotic poisoning. iLr Joynt here quoted from "Taylor on Poisons''!; to'show"the effect of digitalis in certuin quantities. ' Witness continued : This was tincture of : digitalis. 1 suggested fo Hall the I consultation of July 28 ; am positive of that. 1 told :Ha|l that I wished further Advice j 'that Mrs Hall to be getting worse, and L'Bugges+ed Dr Stackpoole. I am positive that it was I who first suggested Dr Stackpoole. Hall did not say he had already spoken to his wife about it. He fell in with my views . at once, both, as to the consultation and \ as to the medical gentleman to be associated with me. Hall sen ; t for Dr Stackpoole, I think. That was on the same, day that we,had the; consultation. I generally khep a record of consultations,, an&jl did of these. 1 have not the book;with me. We thought the symptoms might be due.to brain affections. Dr Stackpoole suggested it. ■ We treated these symptoms—the sickness -and prescribed bismuth. ■ln : large doses bismuth is , poisonous, and produces pains, sickness, and vomiting. I was very much struck' with the 'similarity of the symptoms with those -ftausSd by an irritant poison. All irritant poisons.-produce. irritation of the digestive - organs, and generally ; sickness "and vomiting. 1 supposed that if it ; were poison most bably it was arsenic or antimony. That irtipression qnmyrmind was spontaneous, and nqttcaused, by communications from anybody. It was entirely spontaneous. Dr Hogg bad ssijd nothing to meiaboutit until after the arrest. Dr Drew met me a few. daysbefore the 12th. and askedme how Mts" Hall was progressing. ■ J stated that she was not progressing ; if anything, was worse. From the way he'put the question I could not help asking him, «' Why do you ask? Are you thinking of 4ntimohy : ?" He made no answer that I took any notice of. 'Had no communication from aVchemi'at's sb.op aboui aDyone purchasing fintimony. 1. suggested the third consultation to Hall. _ I did not tell Kim at any time that J hid any suspicion. Oh August 12ih I met Hall at the railway station about 12; o'clock. He asked me how Mrs'Hall was. I toll him she was. not progressing very favorably, and said ? " Wby not have Lovegrove ? He said- "By all means," or something to ; 'that effect, and went straight away to'felephone to Dr Lovegrove. Mrs Hall'wished for Dr Drew. I .'go* the information by telephone from Woodlands, lam not s«r,e who seat it, lhe senior, consultor was > Lovegrove I am positive it was on Thursday, the 12th. 1 expect I made an entry of it in my book. I don't remember making any entry, What fixes it in my mind is *he sequence of making the analysis and sending the bottles toDunedin. I don't remember calling on Mrs Hall with Dr Drew on the ' day after the consultation, It was on Saturday the 14th. We intended to call

on thts 13 h, but we did not. I have a clear recollection of aaking him to call on ,the 13fh. but we did not go on that day. At thu consultation did not inform Dr Lovegrove as the senior consultant of my suspicions as to the cause of the illness. I made no remark to the symptoms having any similarity to those of irritant poisoning. We did not arrive at any conclusion as to the probable cause of Mrs Hall's sickness. We simply prescribed ice by the month, etc. Though Dr Drew and I had suspioions of antimony we did uot communicate them to Dr Lovegrov9 at the consultation. Dr Lovegrove, I think, appeared to be quite at fault as to the cause of the illness. The making of the analysis extended over the whole of. the afternoon of the 13th. Eor the purpose of analysing the vjomit we used Reinsch's test, and We found a violet metallic deposit on the Icppper. That indicated not decidedly autimong, but it was quite enough to satisfy us that we would be justified in sending the other portion to Professor -Black; It is not a fact that the prisoner 'Hall had from the first always shown a \ desire to have the excrete of his wife examiaed. It ie true he always exhibited groat solicitude about the state of his iw-ife's hoaltk. it is not true that on more than orieoccasion he complained of my being iqattentiv.e to his; wife. He complaified once. He told me once that he bad sought for. me and could not find me. I swear that i have no recollection that he told me that if I were not more attentive he roust call in another medical man. I drove up to Woodlands with him from the riilway station.. I am not aware that he then told me he would have to get another doctor if 1 was Dot more attentive to; his wife. Had previously attended his ffitherand mother, old Mr and Mrs Hall. They did no!'cease, to employ; me. Yes, they ceased to call me in on account of ru idea on Mr Hall's part. I am not rftware of receiving excreta of Mrs Hall, 'th;at ! t'did not examine except one bottle of the urine/ I do uot remember the boy Wilson', coming into the' billiard-room at the-Grbsveuor Hotel and saying,he waij sent with a vessel containing excreta for me to examine. I have no recollection, of!putting anything'into my pocket in the billiard-room. I don't recollect telling . Hall that I would.prescribe nothing more untirr had analysed Mrs Hall's excreta. I don't'remember writing a prescription in;the billiard-room of the Großvenor. I am sure I did not. I asked Hall to cohnect with the telephone at night. The suggestion first came me. I have had no experience in antimonial poisoning except asi a student. I have analysed for antimony in the course of my studies, .not in my practice. I never before met with a case ofj antimonial, poisoning. ;I, have met with acase of poisoning by an irritant; jt was hydrochloric acid. That was a case of acute,,poisoning, terminating in death. several; years!;ago,,more than two or three years ago ■; I think it .might t be five.. At the'last consultation it was suggested that the ice' should be tried for-two or three days. The bottles I speak of as having analysed on I August 13th were left for me at Watkins'. I received them on Friday, August 13th; They' purport to be the urine and vomit of the 12th. I don't re-, member setting on the Saturday urine and vomit oT"flie"] 3th; I cannot remember getting any bottles on Saturday, the 14th, at all. The prisoner Hall suffered a good deal from asthma and sciatica. I believe he used morphia hypodermically in very large quantities. Large quantities introduced .in that.way relieves.pain. It has a. powerful effect upon the brain. I may have seen Mrs Hall more than once on the Friday and Saturday, Aygust 13 and 14. I,think riot more than once. I saw, herfirßt on Sunday at half : past one. On theiprevious Friday mbrbi'ng had reason to believe-that' antimony poisoning was going on. After I believed I had discovered indications of antimony in Mrs Hall's'vomit arid urine I did not inform Dr Lovegroye. Took no. steps before, the Sunday to prevent the consequences .of antimonial poisoning ; was awiiting Blabk's reply. At half-past one en Sun-, day she was in a state of collapse. Never prescribed tartaric acid for Mrs Hall. I may have done itfor mixtures, "effervescing mixtures. In ; jthe prescription of June sth there would be citric or tartaric acid. I have known Mrs Hall for 15 yWar's. I have attended her several times since, but I don'trecollecbariyothersevere illness.: ,She' was in a^'state of collapse atfl.Bo p.m. on August 15th. She was as far as 1 understand unable to retain anything at all. The shock of her busband's arrest would naturally tend to prostrate Mrs Hall still more. I should say that her improvement was caused by her having'got rid. of the contents of her stomach, and by her haying taken, tea and ! spmeother liquid nourishment bj 'the mouth 'that afternoon. The tea was noti rejected by the ~Btorrach. She vomited,, I believe, late on Sunday night or eWly on Monday morning.. -dross-examined by Mr Hay: I suspected. Miss Houston was involved from thefaQfc.of- her beirg associated with the cookings for Mrs Hall. 1 understood 1 "she had' more to do with the cooking than lliba Hassen. My being represented by counsel 'at the preliminary examination had : nothing to do with the fact of my having laid an information. agaiaat Miss Hoilfeton apart from the other information against Hall. lamaware that Dr Stackppola had asked Miss 1 Houston to "vrite to hihil and report the progress of the case, and! amraware,;that- she did write. »Dr btaqkpoole di<i not show me the letters;; .Sawid'ne.'of his replies.., Don't remember' receiving any vomit' from Woodlands in a 'phitie 'jar. '1 doa't' Vernerjber 'ever ( receiviug any. vorait from . Miss Hous,'tbn. Miss Houston was not usually present in tha , s.ipk-.r.hom, when .I. .saw Mrs Hall between' November 15th and jthe confinement. "P was ' at Woodlands on unimportant occasions, •, Miss Houston neVer expressed me at any time; a-.wish that Lr BaJcheler should come/ A niess'age. came-'to, me from Woodlands asking' if 1 had heard from Dr Batchelor. I am not aware thatiit. was a telephonic message, Hall spokje" to me several, times, asking if there was iapy news, from Dr Batchelor. Dr Stackpoole' after his visit prescribed pancreatine for injection. The sickness In November was at Kingsdown, not Woodlands. At that time Mrs Peters was nursing Mrs Hall, On: the Sunday of ;-th(B arrest I saw Miss Houston on the verandah as J was going away. I shook hands with her, 1 have no donbt of it. We parted good friends at that time. I don't: think I had any idea of laying an information against her. The information

was laid'about half-past 5, or between 5 and 6,in the evening. Saw Miss B.oiiatun 1 and 2. Btfcweui.that time anri the time I laid the information nothing had occurred to connect her with the poison. To Sir Robert Stout: I had analysed the ice water iri the meantime, and discovered antimony, in it. It was only after that analysis that I wont to the police. To His Honor: The information wss actually'laid before the 8 o'clock. The Magistrate was Mr Jackson, the Mavor. Hedley Tickers Drew, burgeon at the. Timaru Hospital, gave evidence as to the consultation on Mrs Ball, at which he had been present ; also as to the state in which she appeared, and to certain conversation on tha subject with Mr Hall. At 4.55, shortly after the commencement of his examination, the Court •adjourned.' : .■■,[ '■■;■:■> t ■ ~ -