Do you admit that as to the action of the respiratory organs they would be better than rabbits?—I do not.
As to the effect of the poison would they not?—I think a rabbit is quite as good as any animal. The poison is retained and its operation is shown. At the inquest I saw Mr. Gardner. I suggested questions to the coroner. Some of them he put to the witnesses, and others they answered upon my suggestion of them. Ten days before the inquest Mr. Gardner informed me, in his letter, that strychnia, Batley’s solution, and prussic acid had been purchased on the Tuesday; that is why I used the expressions to which you have referred. We did not allow that information to have any influence upon our report.
At the request of Mr. Serjeant Shee, the deposition of this witness taken at the coroner’s inquest was read by the Clerk of Arraigns.
Cross-examination continued: Having given my evidence I returned to town, and soon afterwards heard that the prisoner had been committed on a charge of wilful murder.
And that his life depended in a great degree upon you?—No; I simply gave an opinion as to the poison, not as to the prisoner’s case. I knew that I should probably be examined as a witness upon this trial.
Do you think it your duty to abstain from all public discussion of the question which might influence the public mind?—Yes.
Did you write a letter to the Lancet?—Yes, to contradict several misstatements of my evidence which had been made.
This letter, which appeared in the Lancet of February 2, 1856, was put in by Mr. Serjeant Shee and read by the Cleric of Arraigns. The principal part of the letter referred to the case of Mrs. Ann Palmer; the concluding paragraph, for which Mr. Serjeant Shee stated that he desired it should be read, was as follows:—
“During the quarter of a century which I have now specially devoted to toxicological inquiries, I have never met with any cases like these suspected cases of poisoning at Rugeley. The mode in which they will affect the person accused is of minor importance compared with their probable influence on society. I have no hesitation in saying that the future security of life in this country will mainly depend on the judge, the jury, and the counsel who may have to dispose of the charges of murder which have arisen out of these investigations.”
Cross-examination continued: That is my opinion now. It had been stated that if strychnia caused death it could always be found, which I deny. It had also been circulated in every newspaper that a person could not be killed by tartar emetic, which I deny, and which might have led to the destruction of hundreds of lives. I entertain no prejudice against the prisoner. What I meant was that if these statements which I have seen in medical and other periodicals were to have their way, there was not a life in the country which was safe.