The Timaru Poisoning Case.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2390, 3 September 1886, Page 2

The Timaru Poisoning Case.

In the Hall case' yesterday, Professor Black wm the first witness, He"-depo'sed to. having received a box from Constable ■ Daly.containing '16 articles, 'which he analysed with the following result:—ln the bottle he found in Hall's pooket, in the pockets themselves, and the powder picked up on the hearth rug, ho found tartar emetic. The lime water contained no antimony. The packets found in the bedroom Bhowed presence of nitrate of bismuth, but no,,antinumy. Both vomit and urine shbwed distinct and'unmistakeable traces of antimony. The colander and cloths found in the kitchen wore tested, but no antimony was found by witness, Two bottles sent to Dunedin by Dr M'lntyre had been analysed, one in Dunedin aiid the other in Timaru, by witness and Professor Ugston, and both were found to contain traces of antimony. The examination in chief of Professor Black did not take long.' Franois Og»ton deposod: lam an M.D. and CM.', of Aberdeen, lecturer of the medical jurisprudence arid hygiean' of tho • Otago University. I 'had six months special courso in the laboratory devoted to the purpose in the University of Prague, Bohemia. I- was;also lecturer on toxicology in the Aberdeen University. I also studied riridor Professor Ttrdin on Medical Jurisprudence in tho University of Paris. I was-in Court yesterday during the time Dr Mclutyre was giving his evidoiice. I heard the symptoms of Mrs Hall as described by him.. The whole of these symptoms are, in my opinion not ascribable to any natural cause. I should Bay, taken altogether, they are ascribable to slow poisoninp. . I should ascribe them to be a class of poiedns which -would cause vomiting namely some of /tho irritant poisons. 1 have assisted in making some of the analysis, described by Professor Black, in the evidence he has given to-day. -J quite agree with his evidence in respect to those substances which .we analyzed together. I found antimony in the whole, exhibits, we analyzed together, in which Professor Black Btated that antimony had' been found, Tartar emetic is antimony.- Antimony is an irritant poison.Aiitimony would produce the symptoms described, by Dr Mcl»tyre in his evidouce, 1 accompanied Dr Mclntyre to the residence of Mrs Hall since my arrival in Timaru for the purpose of examining the drainage. I went through the house and the ground adjoining and found the place in a sanitary Btate.

Jane Turnbull deposed that the two prisoners were good friends, he rolling her "Megrims," and she him ''Tom" sometimes. 1 knew where Miss Houston's bedroom was'at Woodlands. It was next to Mr and Mrs Hall's room. Hall at that time slept in the same room as his wife. I havo'seen Hall go into Miss Houston's bedroom more than once. I saw him go in several times—sometimes in the morning between 7 and 8. Sometimes she was .out of her room and some-' times she was in. I have known Hall to stay in the room ten minutes. Sometimes Miss Houston was them on these occasions. Cross-examined by Mr Joynt: It was at Kingsdown I saw Hill entei Miss Houston's bedroom, not at Woodland, At Kingsdown, Miss Houston's bedroom was next to the dining room, and Mrs Hall's opposite the dining-room door. . The Court adjourned.