H.-\SyZAt{.D'S (s‘AZI'2'l'I‘b, VSEPTEMBER 6.

' 1‘HB“BADLlII SUICIDE. '

x is its: iii-:.ti.t.v DEAD .1 How complete and absolute either side or. case appears, till the opposite one is heard. A visit to any of our lrtvi--cui_irta will illustrate this.

.the story of the plaintiff is usually so finished in

all its details as to appear at the first glance im-

pregnable ; and persons who hear it are inclined

to ask : ‘What answer can it be possible to tntilte tn this?’—and to regret that the defendant or his counsel should take the trouble to reply to what appears so self-rrvidtirit. It is difficult to believe, pilot the high sounding opening -pcech ot the plaint:ll‘s court.-el. tititl tht- testitnotiy of his wit- esses, that there cart be aaingle flaw in the case, or a chance left even for the deft-n tant to .-peak. Bur taure a irinment. ind see how coufideritly

:'Il|Q' earned gentlttrian on tlte otltt-r aidiilglidss ,itito the case under discussion, and observe how

speedily he gives a tlillcrent cornjlt-xion to the \| little utatler—liow ltis witrirsscs ltlltrcli down the airy structure ofthe plaintiff‘; and ainazr-merit sits uti otir brow when, at the end ofthe trial. we

..aidoboard. ."l‘ho deceased wees temperate and sober man. He, drattk ortly a glass or tvro of aherry.with his dinner.‘ He had not oflate no- ticed any change irt deceaaed'a manner. The de- ceased was tnucli occupied in business. He had not complained of his head atall,ofrttIt|beittg able to sleep. nor was be under medical treatment. He came home tint-xpectededly to dinner on Saturday evening. He seldv in dined at home, but usually at his club. lli- left home on a Saturday rtiorniug withta quantity of papers with him. as he was accustomed to do. Before getting into the cab. he returned in his room upstairs. as if be forgotten something. Again. before he hart been away in the cab ttiany tuinntes. he returned, and went upstairs for a few rnonieoti. in the cab again, and tlid not teturti until the averting. He had never before, to witness's knowledge made arty attempt on lria life.’

6. A solicitor. who was intimately acquainted with deceased, then gave - vulence. a saw 9- ceased last alive shortly before eleven o'clock on ,Saturday night last. He appeared oppressed by i by his undertakings. Latterly, he seemed rather | haggard. During the last week particularly.

H’ - fl

are iihvigeil Itt drpllt i-lom our trio hrmtly farmed: “me Wu . “Hm change in his ,,ppea,mc8_ He

opinioi.. hi-t-rinse we find the dtfendant tn lI€l\‘a;.¢emed,u be qua“ 50,", down by ",9 amen; of the best of the case, and see him walking smiling-I

his butiiness, and ‘particularly by someoccurrertoea

He drove off

2' The dates of his letters show that he medi- tated suicide a full ‘week before its alledged coit- ettllllltflt; during most of whiclt time ‘he was cnigag iii borrowing.‘

3.’ ‘The following observations on the rigor morm are made a strong point in the argument. We have first a quotation from Port‘: Fort- blanque's Medical Jurisprudence: ‘It may be laid down as a general rule, that the more sudden the death, the longer is cadaverous stillness from taltin place. If a body in such cases be cold and still", we may be certain that more than twelve hours have elapsed since the fatal event-’ It is argued that the deceased coul not have reached Hsinpstead Heath belore twelve o'clock. at the very earliest, taking into account that he was seen by his solicitor shortly belore eleven, attd by his butler at half- ast elsvun o‘c|oclt. The suicide, therefore. cnul itot take place before half-past twelve at the earliest or two o'clock at the latest ; and yet, at a quarter before nitie iii the morning, the body was my and cold ‘the rigor morlis firmly established 2’ -We have already established,’ says the ingenious R. W. A ., ‘half- past twelve as the earliest hour at which a suicide could have taken place. which gives us as the greatest possible interval which could have elapsed

between the supposed suicide and the finding of

l_\‘ out of court. he vertlir-t lteirig in his favour, livcrv day wn have the opportunity of hearing, or at least of reading. inch t'lIs(‘I. '[‘he is scarce- ly rt point prottiulgatrd in art, science, literature. or law, in which there is not occasion for the use of the o’d proverb about ‘doctors dim,-r,‘ uhjcl. we

wlttcli took place last week. come tipon him.’

ner less. and evidently not in his usital temperament

“'°"“' -" '”"‘"‘”‘l ‘ ""1 "l.""' "'“'“3l' "'° li'""‘ llad never seen him in such a state before.’ This

('lle5’§ still more uoteivurtliy than the T0l’l)rallEltlll cuntrorrr.-y or the lL‘t'elt| atfarr of poisoning by ittry chitin.

l’l?I\'|||I! tbul iirvmist-d, we proceed withottt further preface In an illustrative circumstance. so l;t'ul_\' as February last, art instance of suicide -0('0Ill’t‘t‘(l. it lrich, front the pit ititin ofthe deoeugrl and front matters tliai came otit afterwards. tracted very great :itt-ntinn. and which has since

he was unexpected. _ I went in. and was walking abouttlre rrioin wlttclt was very untisual with lriru. _ l_tliought l perceiv- ed a great redness and p8¢_|Illz||’llY‘I_l)0|It' the eyes as if he had been weeping. 'lhis .W|ln8lI, on being cross examined, adiuitted having inadea rentarlr to the effect that he would not he surpris-

‘Tbe reason

They were losses and pecuniary enibarrasaments which had lately During the interview, this witnrss noticetla peculiarity in deceased's man- llia eyes were bloodshot; he was very rest-

the body “cold and slid,” precrltcly eight hours and a quarter.

4. Dr. (iuy.in his treatise on Medical Juris- prudence p. ‘.278. says: ‘One general rule may be laid down. We should never conierttourselves . with the more passive exercise of our senses or judgment. It tsiiot enough to see the objects

wititess had again occasion to call at night. when which actually present tltrtnselves to the eye-we ‘He seemed surprised when

must look for such as are not obvious at the first

circulated h bein imni ' ' -

the Lttudonyaud §0VlllOlleldlp.l‘]eil!’il.corll)el'dgm: all was at first only laughed at, as u, inumw. ‘Hie it of reasottiitg;snd the coroner who presitlcldeui the ttial was thought finally in hue sewed “Te matter when he wrote to the Times iti answer to ‘he I50”. that there could be no doubt whatever as to the identity of the body, as he hjmseli ind iuade a very minute examination orir, ""1 had even ripened the eyeIids_&c_ The ,,,,,,c,," ,0” who made the postmortem examination. thiiu hi it necessary to state again, through means ofilhe press. the fact of his having found it very consider- 'l"° ‘l“‘"“"¥ "l Poilvn in the stomach of the corpse.

Notwithstanding the re-statement of these two great facts. the idea gained ground that the sur- cide was irt reality a complete deception. The old facts were once again dwelt tipoit. is auxin" about his papers on the Saturdav morning and his repeated returns to his study after he hadlgone not, point. it is thought, to anxiteiea of a different kind from those of approaching death, and lead to the suppositittri of his being at that time busv making arrog einents for flight. The pigsmfc systent of swndltng in which it is now know deceased had been engaged, tnust, it is said, have ptit hint in possession ofa sum of money so im incnse, its to render it easy for him to am, on, arty piece of tleceptiott, however diflicult. 'A..d we are also triumphantly told, that as the whole crtreer of the mart was it dcvt-loperuem of g,,»j,,d_ ling rind forgery. ‘he has. in fact. been merely capping the climax of his forgeriea by dsxterons forgery ol liitiiscll.’ We are also told, ‘that ttie agony qfmirtd displayed to his visitor of Saturday eterirng was it clever piece of acting--that the

glam e. To the correctness ot good or-servers, “'8! letters were an ingenious contrivence to strength- iitust add the intelligence and invention ofztn ex-I‘ eti belief in lritideuth—that the written order frit- perititeiiter. We must beware of a hasty ¢lt.‘t:lIl0ltl the poison. the selection of the ailverjno, and the and remember that the apparent cause t.ftlt,-ntlt is» body carefully placed on a tnoutid on llampstcnd not always the real one.‘ And further, as to tliol lleritli were all of a piece, cleverly contrived rind place in which the body is found, ‘the first caution l admirably‘ carried out,’ '

given rise “in cnrm-ruling that this person is not really dead, and ' point there is no room for a moment to doubt.

The following hrisfsumtnary of the facts of the

‘suicide, and the reasons assigned for‘ denying it,

uvillputthe reader in possession ot the whole On the morning of Sunday the 18th of

details. February last. the dead body at a man was found at a r-on.idcraltle distant-e from the public road on lliimpstr-ad Heath A silver t-ream-jug, rind a lgrge brittle. labelled ‘Fest-,otigl Oil of Almond," were round by the side nfrlte corpse. The ltttdy was quite cold. and the rigor mom": perfectly established. It v. as speedily removed to th w..krhutrse, where it watt seen try a tiredical man a few trtirttres alturwarrla. to, or oit the person of the deceased, six trove- guigtra. a live pound ttute. twelve shillings and ,.jgpence in silvrr, sortie t-uppers. a white catnbrie pocket handltert-lit -‘. I small pot-ltet paper knife a latch key. I pair of gloves, a case containing two razors. and a piece of paper on which was written his name and address. As is usual in all such cases, an inquest was held upon the body. In addition the coroner to watchlhe proceedings in in interest ofthe family of the deceased; and, according to the report in the Times newspaper. the jury having proceeded to the dead-house, the following facts were educed :—

I. The butler of the deceased identified the body as being that of his master, and stated that he must have left the house between half-past eleven when he saw him last, and a quarter to one when he proceeded to fasten the door. He also stated, that his master had taken with him a heavy greatcoat, which ‘he seldom wore.’

9. A labourintr-min dcptsed to finding the de- ceased ‘lying on his back. with his head bent backwards against a furzs-bush, and his feet towards the edge of the bog. All his clothes were on except his hat, which lay near to the body.’ This witness also described the things mentioned above as havin been found beside him, but ‘he did not feel the skin of the body at all, to know whether or not it was cold.’

‘3. A police constable saw nothing about the spot to indicate a struggle, except a mark or two which the deceased appeared to have made with his heels. The cream-jug. which had a few. drops ofthe poison still in it. lying near him, as ifit had drop it from his right hand. bottle lay on his left side with the stopper out, and about a that distant from it.

4. The surgeon ofllampatead saw the body tit tvrsttt minutes to ten, in the dead-house. It was I sit quite cold. and the limbs rigid. There was most powerful odour of the essential oil

of bitter almonds perceptible at the iriotitli ; but there was nothing also to shew that the unfortu-

aate gentleman hat committed suicide. 5. l‘hs butler was called a second time, and

idaritlded the cream-jug as that which his master He also prov- ed that the poison in question had been procured from the chemist with whom the deceased was Tbeforder £1)!’ t|hedpoi- ’ d ,

rt '—‘Gct r in . ait an ‘as com I ‘I In new. .0. W. ' “ 010'. ' 0 I L.l000 ivhicb lives not to be found among his but—but Ken-l0m'¢l|~’ _ , _ _ _ groom] writes to me to bring one pound‘s have been also made. in addition to this sum or

used at tea on Saturday evening.

in the habit rrf dealing.

bottle of the essential oil of bitter almonds; don’t know the quantity wanted. Y” ‘ . . , wort . Pay my bill at .M_aitland s. ttsss did not know it was uison he was to et at Maltland’s. He thouglu it was some ingre ierits ‘ h ' svaah, hi h his master was going to mi: ln.i:o ‘twirl. .’wbicI had been placed on die

The wit-

tn a very curious controversy—une

the other an-ertingthar upon that

The-re were found near

ed if deceased was to shoot himself. I made that remark was, that being it ‘man of extraordinary clearnesa and strength of mind, my impression waathat these reverses. coining sud- denly upon him, as they did on Wednesday inor- rririg last. his mind would break down at once. I was told last week that his losses were very severe. The subject was discussed in my ofiicc. and he admitted it.‘

The coroner said nothing can be clearer than

the cartae of death. It was perfectly evident to him that the unfortunate gentleman had die its own act. Nothing could by possibility be plaiiier. ‘It was much to be deplored,’ _aatd the coroner, ‘that facility was atforded to him to ob- tain the poison in the way he had done;bu.t, judging from his carrying a couple of razors pt his pocket, it was clear, that if he had failed in destroying himself by taking or procuring the essential oil of almonds, be wou‘d have done It with a razor. The only question fot the consider-. stion of the jury was, as to what was the state or his mind at the time he committed the set.”

It also iraspired, in evidence at the iiiqnest. that the pecuniary affairs of the deceased were greatly involved. He was what may be called a financier on a gigantic scale; and it has since transpired. that he was at the time of his death involved irt.frauda and forgerisa to the enormous extent of one million pounds sterling and that an expected early exposure was the motive for the strict e.

la the face of such conclusive evidence as we find adduced at the inquest, and of which the above aurtiutlry, it might, we think, be lteld_ as almost impossible to dispute the fact of this being a case of suicide of the most determined kind. 'l‘hs butler speaks positively on the subject ofthe identity : and the Times‘ report mentions that two of his brothers were also present. and likewise several of deceat-ed’s personal friends and acquain- tances ; and it is evident, as they say nothing to the eor.t.a,_v. that they believe the body to that of the person whose name and address was found in the pocket. The coroner also is certain, and so is the surgeon who make the post mortem ex- amination. But all this, we are told, must now go for nothing—it is only a case of imposture. and a deception wbicli has been practised on the cottfiding public.

This view ofthe core was llrst promulgated in a newspaper on the 99th of March last. in a com- mnirication ‘by R. W. A. of D..’ whom the editor of the paper in question‘ leads us, in a note. to look ripon as the same ingeniotia person who quea- ' ned the existence of Napoleon Bonaparte. The following is a sutnttiarv ofthe arguments con- tained in the lit er of R. . A :—

I. That the first fact of importance in the case is—What has become of all the enormous sums of money that were known to have passed through the hands of dtesssed 1 ‘That on the particular Saturday ofthe alleged suicide. a very large sum of money (L.t30o) was paid by a gentleman into the hands of dsceased—a sum of which, from that time to the present. not the slightest trace has been found. Mr. Koatintr. also. on the se- speaks of a bank-note of

G- O’ ‘C

.- - 0

Various large remittances are know to

;Lit300. ‘clearly made away with.’ Therefore,

ion the very brink of the grave, we find tlecsaas

rcollacting, as it were, his accounts, and as eager

d a piece of paper to tell his name.

is not to conclude too hastily that the spot in which at body is discovered is that iti wlticli death actually took place.’ Dr. rek says, that ‘very snort after death st.-ch a total change of the features taltcs place that it is impossible for the rieai-t-st relatives to recognise tlteiii.’ ‘

5. Another trietlical authority says: ‘It cttnriot be too generally lrnuwn tltat upon the dist-overy ofa dead body. its situation and attitude should never be disturbed uttttl it has been examined by competent persons. \\'e tnay. for example. find

ecetised it a posture which he could rtever have himself assumed, whence we should be led to conclude that he h:.d not fallen by his own hands. lit the case ol the disputed suicide of the Earl of Essex in the Tower, ntucb information was lost by the body having been stripped and removed before ll due examination took place.’

e may note as a cotnineritary on the above, that the body was removed to Harupstead workhouse belore being examined by any cum- ‘petetit person.

! 7. As to the indentificatinn. the following re- lxtnarlrs are made;—'l‘he body was not identified yet the inquest by any individual whose cause scirntirc consisted in any knowledge of the body by marks or peculiarities of structure. The only witrieas who swear: to the identity is the butler, who had been only eighteen months in the service of deceased. ‘It is upon the evidence of this person, and this person only. that the body was identified for the jury.'_ The fact of the but|er's not having observed any change in his master

tiring the last month or two, and and that his manner on the fatal Saturday was the same as usual, does not agree with the statement of the solicitor. who status that deceased latterly ap- peared haggard, and that he noticed an extraor-

inary change in ltis appearance during the last week.

8. The retnaning portion of tlieletter is occupied in criticising the fact of deceased being occupied in preparing a hair-wash, sad is introduced by another quotation from Paris and Fortblarique, vol. ii., p. I8. ‘In conducting our inquiry, the most tritltng incidents connected with the deceased should not pass unheeded; for however unimpor- tant they may at first individually appear, we shall often find, tltat, in combination, they will afl‘ord the principal data for the atiltttion of our problem. ith how many examples will the history of crime present us where the most min- on: circumstances have alone furnished the cott- vincing proofs of guilt.’ This is followed by a piece oftrttly singular evidence from the butler : ‘Deceased had previously that evening asked him to clean two bottles and place them on the side- board, whteb he did. He (witness) did not know that he had poisoti to get at Mr. Maitland‘r He thought it was some ingredient in a hair-wash which his master was olng to mix in the two bottles, which had been p seed on the sideboard.‘

9. He had just previously posted away a letter to his sister. informing her of his intention to comtnit suicide.

to. Why did this persor. walkout to Hamp- stsad Heath at midnight to commit the deed 1 is next asked. ‘It has appeared to me very strange that is titan intending to make away with himselt by apoisuo instantaeous in its'eil'ects, should trogde out to Harnpstead Heath in the middle of the night for the purpose. flrst putting into his pocket In short. the

tllltal so were putting ons‘a self toa deal of trouble for noivtaelliglble purpose.‘

|for money as if he was to live it score of years f longer. ‘ ‘

I

As mtglit have been anticipated of a speculation ' . so curious as that o.f'R. W. A., it yvas extensively

E The elaborate and varied collection of matters found oit deceased. consisting of money of varied ,ltitirls. the paper lrriife. &c.. are all it part ofthe 1 Shall! ; Ind the \_t tiring of the name and address ; was unnccssary in the case of a man so well known ‘IS drcettsed. who was a member of parliament. : and a celebrated shareholder in. and chairman of -, titsny joint-stock companies. It is asked—would the body have been so readily known had there been no written paper with the ttnmel It is also reported that deceased said, on meeting g , friend in the city: ‘Good-bye; l am going a long ljollllte .’

l Another great fact on tlte case is derived from 3 the circumstance of deceased being peifeuly clean and free frtim niud. lI_\‘ did he cltuore to go so far from home tti the? How did he get there.’ -—|tl acahl If so, where is the cabman who drove him! If he walked on a wet night, how happens it that his boots were perfectly free from stain? ‘How did he cross the moist an muddy ground that encircled the hiltock on which the botiy was found! This particular spot could not in the daytime be approached without soiling the boots or shoes: and yet, on a wet averting, at midnight. the journey across the bug was cleanly accomplished! his brings the evidence to a most dramatic climax. and scarcely requires the additional and very latest intelligence we have received on the subject, which goes to rovc the whole reasoning to be correct : it ia,t at a rs-7 spectable correspondent. living in Tipperary, writes to the Cork Examiner to say that a lady, residing in short distance from tltat towti, had received a letter from her fatlter in l.ouisiana, United States, in which he states that the suppos- ed suicide is there alive and well, and that he saw him. The name of this Amcricatn correspondent has been furnialied to the above paper. and he is represrmed as being it gentleman of undoubted respectahitiy.—-Cltambcr’.r Journal.