THE POISONING CASE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 4009, 11 January 1892, Page 2

THE POISONING CASE.

'FreaS Development*. ■; :•

Foul Play Suspootei.

A Terrible Predicament.

Referring to the Pahiattu tragedy, in wbich such great interest has been taken of late, the Woodvitle Examiner of Friday -says: -The. poison, it is certain, was arsenic- It.was placed in the meat out up into slices which was used at the fatal meai. The time when itwes done was batweeh twelve and one o'olock,nnd it Was deliberately placed there with a malicious purpose. The police have of course suspicion of the miscreant who was the cause of this terrible tragody, aud hope to haye the obain of evidence completed very shortly, Detective Herbert, will remain inPahiatua for two or three days more to complete his- investigations, and-will then proceed to Mas., terton to finish his enquiries prior, to the inquest. There is a good deal bearing on the matter which we cannot publish at the present time, but we are sure Inspeotor Thompson and Detective Herbert will leave nothing undone to have the matter thoroughly sifted, and on the suspicions now existing to bring the scoundrel who caused the death of two valued lives and the pain and suffering of so many others to.justioe. If this can be done the tragedy will thus prove one of the most revolting in the annals of New Zealand crime. But for the explanations and reasons now available it would seem incredible that anyone could have been guilty of such a deliberate android-blooded dot, From the natureof the matter, the chain of the evidence, and the various lines of suspicions which have to be fully investigated, Detective Herbert has had one of the most difficult cases to investigate which ever fell to the lot of a police officer, It is, however, in the hands ot one' of the smartest Detectives in the colony, and we trust that all who can will furnish him freely with whatever information is at their disposal and likely to furnish a proof of the crime, In a case like this every little link goes to make the required chain, and it is necessary that the matter should, in' the public interest, be ferretted out and the miscreant duly punished. We can only say that great as the shock has been there is greater still to oome. Mr Naylor is determined to have-the thing sifted to the bottom, and his solicitor, Mr Tosswill, is leaving no stone unturned to further the investigation. Let vengeance overtake the villain who has done this thing I The Pahiatm Staii refers as follows to the terrible predicament in which the Moore family was placed:—One of our staff on a visit to Makakahi yesterday, learned some particulars of the awful position of the Moore family during the Saturday night and Sunday following the poisoning. Mr and Mrs Moore and their children, were, it appears, seized with such terrific internal pains that it was quite impossible for any of them to stand, much less walk, and at the same time they were consumed with a most excruciating thirst, As there was not a single person in the house who was not affected, Mr Moore made an attempt to crawl to the kitohen • for water, and his wife's agony for want of a drink was also so great that alio too orawled on all fours to the kitchen when a bottle of hop beer was secured by the unfortunates. The next day (Sunday) the whole family were prostrate, and not a soul had the faintest idea of their condition till the evening, when Mrs Farrell, a neighbour, called in, She says thai the scene which met her gaze on entering the house was most pitiable, 'Two of the children—little mites of very tender years-had crawled from their beds, and after some difficulty had succeeded in getting a fire lit aud a very weak cup of tea and some toast made, which they were just preparing to take to their unfortunate parents, Of course the neigh., hours on hearing from Mrs Farrell what had happened, did everything that was possible for the family, but we question whether a more terrible experience has been gone through by any family in the colony than that above recorded. The greatest sympathy is expressed on all sides for Mrs Moote in her aflliotion,