Medical jurisprudence for India : with illustrative cases / by I.B. Lyons ; rev. and brought up-to-date by L.A. Waddell.
- I. B. Lyon
- Date:
- 1904
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Medical jurisprudence for India : with illustrative cases / by I.B. Lyons ; rev. and brought up-to-date by L.A. Waddell. Source: Wellcome Collection.
668/746 page 630
![most ])iobably that the .symptoms arose from that; but when [ do not know that tlie draught was poison—when I consider that a number of other things might occasion his death—I cannot answer positively to it.” blunter admitted that it was not very probably that Sir Tlieodosius Boughton died of apoplexy. The iinal question asked by the Conri was : “ Give me your opinion in the best way you can, one way or the- other, whether, upon the whole of the symptoms described, deatli proceeded from that medicine or from any other cause to which Hunter answered ; “ I do not mean to equivocate, but when I tell the- sentiments of my own mind—what I feel at the time—1 can give nothing decisive.” The judge made the following comment on the testimony of Mr. Hunter: “For the prisoner you have had one gentle- man called ; he is likewise of the faculty, and a very able man. I can. hardly say what his opinion is, for he does not seem to h.ave formed any opinion at all of the matter. He, at first, said he could not form an opinion whether the death was or was not occasioned by the poi.son,. because he could conceive that it might be ascribed to other causes. I wished very much to have got a direct answer fidin Mr, Hunter, if I could, what upon the whole was the result of his attention and applica- tion to the subject, and what was his present opinion, but he says he could say nothing decisive. So that, upon this point, if vou are to determine upon the evidence of the gentlemen who are .skilled in the- faculty only, you have the very itositive o})inion of four or five gentle- men of the faculty that the deceased died of poison. On the other hand, you have what I really cannot myself call more thati the doubt of another ; for it was agreed by Mr. Hunter that the laurel-water would produce the symptoms which are described. He say.s an epilepsy or an apoplexy would produce the same symptoms, but as to apoplexy, it is not likely to attack so young ami so thin a man ns Sir heodosius was ; and as to epilepij_v, the other witnesses tell you that they do not think the symptoms which have been spoken of do show that Sir Theodosius had any epilepsy at the time.” The jury brought in a verdict of guilty, and Captain Donellan was executed a few days- thereafter. • A remarkable circumstance which canm to light afterwards was that a still that had been recently used was discovered on the premises.. Donellan was so bad a chemist that on being asked for what purpose he had procured this machine, he replied : “ I used it to make lime-water to kill flies.” In his laboratory there was found a single number of the Philosophical Transactions, and of this volume the leaves had been cut in only one place, which opened to an account of the mode for making laurel-water by distillation. John Huntei’, in the opinion of Poore, made a phenomenally bad witness, yet he says that one cannot help agreeing with many of the doubts that Hunter raised in this case. Mercuric Cyanide.—This, already mentioned as a poisonous mer- curic salt, according to some authorities, acts like liydrocyanic acid. Silver Gvanide also, from experiments on animals, apjienrs to act like liydrocyanic acid, but is mucli weaker ; it contains cyanogen equal to about -Jth of its weight of liydrocyanic acid. A case of attempted suicide by sw.allowing cyanide or silver, in which recovery took place umler prompt treatment, recently occurrerl near Poona. Case C'C'ATF/.—Homicidal Cyanide poisoning toy Several cases of cyanide poisoning by post occurred in JS^ew A ork in 1888. In one of these H. C. Barnet, whose death was deliberately planncrt](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28070847_0668.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
