Cross-examined by Mr. Serjeant Shee—In the course of your examination you have frequently used the words “traces of antimony.” What was the meaning of “trace”?—A very small quantity.
In analytical chemistry does it mean an imponderable quantity?—I do not apply it in that shape. Some chemists mean that. I mean we obtained some quantity in that sense from many parts, and that the quantity thus calculated would make a ponderable quantity in the whole. We have about half a grain.
You did not actually ascertain it to amount to half a grain?—No. I do not think a quarter of a grain would have explained the quantity we obtained. I will undertake to say there was half a grain to the best of my judgment.
In all parts of the body you examined?—There was more in the parts of the body examined, but we extracted that quantity.
In your judgment would that be sufficient to cause death?—No. I was first asked to investigate this case on Tuesday, 27th November, by Mr. Stevens. Either on that day or subsequently he mentioned the name of Mr. Gardner to me. After Mr. Stevens spoke to me he and Mr. Boycott came together with these jars.
You wrote a letter, the whole of which I will read to you. It is in reply to a letter received from Mr. Gardner—
Dr. Rees and I have compared the analysis to-day. We have sketched a report, which will be ready to-morrow or next day. As I am going to Durham Assizes on the part of the Crown, in the case of Reg. v. Wooler, the report will be in the hands of Dr. Rees, No. 26 Albemarle Street. It will be most desirable that Mr. Stevens should call on Dr. Rees, read the report with him, and put such questions as may occur. In reply to your letter received here this morning, I beg to say that we wish a statement of all the medicines prescribed for deceased (until his death) to be drawn up and sent to Dr. Rees. We did not find strychnia nor prussic acid or any trace of opium. From the contents having been drained away, it is now impossible to say whether any strychnine had or had not been given just before death. But it is quite possible for tartar emetic to destroy life if given in repeated doses; and, as far as we can at present form an opinion, in the absence of any natural cause of death, the deceased must have died from the effects of antimony in this or some other form.
Was that your opinion at the time?—It was. That was all we could infer from the chemical analysis.
Alfred Taylor
Have you not told me to-day that the quantity of antimony that you found in Cook’s body was not sufficient to account for death?—Perfectly so; but what was found in Cook’s body was not all he took. We found antimony, and we could not account for its being there. I wrote to know whether antimony had been given as a medicine, and I considered, as people had died from antimony, it was necessary to have information of the symptoms connected with the man’s death, which I knew nothing about at the time; finding antimony there and no explanation, I put it as the only hypothesis to me to account for death.