“It is said that at some former time he had exhibited his throat to some of the witnesses that were called, and had applied to Palmer for mercurial wash to apply to it, or to some of the ulcers. The precise period is not fixed, but it is perfectly clear that, though at one time he had adopted that course, under the recommendation of Dr. Savage he had got rid of it, and there is not the slightest pretence for saying that this man was suffering under a syphilitic affection of any kind; that fact was negatived distinctly and unequivocally by a man of the highest authority, a medical gentleman of eminence, under whose treatment the man got so rapidly well. It is a pretence, gentlemen, which has not the shadow of a foundation, and which I should be shrinking from my duty if I did not denounce as altogether unworthy of your consideration. There was nothing about the man, according to the statement of those who were competent to give you an opinion, which would warrant, for a single moment, the supposition that there was anything in any part of his body which could justify the notion of traumatic tetanus. Even if there were, the character which his symptoms assumed when the tetanus set in, is utterly incompatible, according to the evidence of all the witnesses, with a case of traumatic tetanus.”
Then, after pointing out how the two cases of this disease put forward by the defence were cases of days and hours, and, not like Cook’s, of minutes, he proceeded to deal with the suggestion of idiopathic tetanus.
“Idiopathic tetanus? Proceeding from what? They say that Mr. Cook was a man of a delicate constitution, subject to excitement; that he had something the matter with his chest; that, in addition, he had this diseased condition of his throat, and, putting all these things together, they say, that if he took cold, he might get ‘idiopathic tetanus.’ We are launched into a sea of speculation and impossibilities. Mr. Nunneley, who came forward for the purpose of inducing you to believe this, goes through a bead-roll of the supposed infirmities of Mr. Cook; talks about his exciteability, about his delicacy of chest, about the affection of his throat, goes through these various heads, and says that these things may have predisposed him to ‘idiopathic tetanus,’ if he took cold. What evidence is there that he ever did take cold? Not the slightest in the world. From beginning to end he was never treated for cold by anybody, and never complained of it to anyone. I cannot help saying that to me it seems a scandal upon a learned, distinguished, and liberal profession, that men should put forward such speculations as these, perverting facts, and drawing from them sophistical and unwarrantable conclusions with the view of deceiving a jury. I have the greatest respect for science, no man can have more; but I cannot repress my indignation and abhorrence when I see it thus perverted and prostituted to the purposes of a particular cause in a court of justice. Do not talk to me about excitement, as Mr. Nunneley did the other day, being the cause of idiopathic tetanus. You remember the sort of excitement he spoke of, they are unworthy of your notice, and they were topics discreditable to be put forward by a witness as worthy of the attention of sensible men constituting such a tribunal as you are.”
Again, on Mr. Nunneley’s suggestion that it might be a case of general convulsions accompanied by tetanic symptoms, said the Attorney-General.—
“Well, but pause a moment, Mr. Nunneley; have you ever seen one single case in which death arising from general convulsions, accompanied by tetanic symptoms, has not ended in the unconsciousness of the patient before death? ‘No, I never knew such a case—not one. But in some book or other I am told that there is such a case reported;’ and he cites one, not for that purpose, I think, but with reference, to general convulsions being sometimes accompanied by tetanic symptoms and ending in death, from a very eminent author of the present day, Dr. Copland. Dr. Copland is living and Dr. Copland might have been called—was not called, notwithstanding the challenge which I threw out. Why? Because it is infinitely better in such a case to call together from the east and west practitioners of more or less obscurity, instead of bringing to bear upon the subject the light of science which is treasured in the breasts of the eminent practitioners with which this city abounds.”
Again, on Mr. Partridge’s evidence of the probable effect of the granules on the spinal marrow,
“I called his attention,” he said, “to what had evidently not been done before, namely, the symptoms of Mr. Cook’s case, and asked him in simple, straightforward terms whether, looking at these, he would pledge his opinion, in the face of the medical world and the Court, that this was a case of arachnitis, and he candidly admitted that he would not assert it.”
Against Dr. Macdonald’s epileptic convulsions with tetanic complications, he cited the following from that gentleman’s cross-examination:—
“Did you ever know a case of epilepsy, with or without tetanic complications, in which consciousness was not destroyed before the patient died? He said ‘No, I cannot say I ever did, but I have read in some book that such a case occurred.’ Is there anything to make you think this was epilepsy? ‘Well, it may have been epilepsy, because I do not know what else to ascribe it to, but I must admit that epilepsy is characterised generally by unconsciousness.’ Well, then, what difference would tetanic complications make? That he is unable to explain.”
With the final suggestion of Angina pectoris, he could not deal so minutely as with the four preceding ones.