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THE BIRMINGHAM PBNNY BANK…

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THE TRIAL OF DB. PRITCHARD.

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THE TRIAL OF DB. PRITCHARD. On Monday morning, at ten o'olock, the trial of Dr. Pritohard, on the charge of murdering his wife and mother-in-law in Glasgow, was commenced in the High Court of Justiciary before the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Ardmillan, and Lord Jerviswoode. The court-room was crowded, and many were disappointed in obtaining admission. The indictment charged the prisoner with ad- ministering tartarised antimony, aconite, and opium, to his mother-in-law, Jane Cowper Taylor, in tapioca and in poiter. or beer, and in a medicine called Batley's sedative solution, between the 10th and 25th of Feb- ruary, 1865; and it also charged him with administer- ing, on repeated occasions in February and March, 1865, tartarised antimony and aconite to his wife, Mary Jane Taylor, in articles of food and of medicine. The prisoner entered the dock at ten o'clock, dressed in deep mourning. He was calm and self-possessed and looked coolly around the court when he had taken his seat. He is a stout, well-built man, prepossessing in appearance, and with sharply defined features; he wears his hair long, and has a large bushy beard, but no moustache. The prisoner's brother, Chas. Augustus Pritchard, secretary to the Naval Commander-in- Chief, Plymouth, by permission of the court took his seat beside him in the dock, and remained with him all I day. The prosecution was conducted (in the absence of the Lord Advocate in London) by the Solicitor- General, assisted by Mr. Gifford, and Mr. Crichton, Advocate's depute. The defence was conducted by Mr. A. R. Clark, Mr. William Watson, and Mr. David Brand, advocates. The prisoner's counsel moved the court to separate the two charges of murder on the ground that it embarrassed the defence to try the two cringes to- gether. The court unanimously refused to grant the re- quest. The prisoner was then called upon to plead to the indictment, and in a clear, distinct voice he pleaded Not guilty," and a jury having been empannelled, the evidence for the prosecution commenced about half- past eleven o'clock. The remainder of the day was occupied with the examination of five witnesses, three of whom were merely formal, and occupied only a few minutes. The two important witnesses were Cathe- rine Latimer, a cook, and Mary M'Leod, a housemaid and nurse in the service of Dr. Pritchard. Catherine Latimer spoke to Mrs. Pritchard having been frequently sick in the month of February and retching violently, and to being attacked with severe pains or cramps in the stomach on two occasions. Mrs. Pritchard was generally sick after taking tea. On one occasion Mrs. Pritchard, when ill, said to her husband, as he was standing at her bedside, Don't LL cry, for if you do so you are a hypocrite." She also said, referring to the doctors, You are all hypo- crites." Mary M'Leod, the housemaid and nurse, who was under examination above four hours, entered in great detail into the cireumstances attending the illness and death of the wife and mother-in-law of the prisoner. She said that during part of the illness of Mrs. Pritchard no doctor attended her but her husband. She was frequently sick after her meals, and retched and vomited. On the occasion when she got sick after taking egg-flip, one of the servants tasted of the egg-fiip, and said, "What a taste it has Witness admitted that in the course of last summer Mrs. Pritohard saw Dr. Pritchard kissing her in a bedroom. Witness said to Mrs. Pritchard she would go away, but Mrs. Pritchard said she would speak to the doctor, and that he was a nasty, dirty man." Witness admitted that she had been with child to the prisoner, and that she had had a miscar- riage. After great hesitation witness admitted that prisoner once said to her he would marry her if his wife died before him. Witness got a ring, and a brooch, and a photograph of himself from the prisoner. The case was resumed at ten o'clock on Tuesday. The first witness examined was Mary Paterson, who succeeded Latimer as cook in Dr. Pritchard's service. On the 16th of February Mrs. Pritchard was ill, and witness never was upstairs to see her till the night of Mrs. Taylor's illness. Heard Mrs. Pritchard ex- claiming, "Mother, won't you speak to me?" and went in and found Mrs. Taylor's body getting cold. She died the same night, and witness dressed the body, which had a pinkish streak on the left side. On the Tuesday before Mrs. Pritchard died witness found a bit of cheese in the pantry, and a little bit about the size of a pea. After eating it she felt a burning sensa- tion in the throat, and, got sick and vomited. Her sickness continued from morning till night. Next day the prisoner asked witness to make some eggflip for Mrs. Pritchard. The doctor gave her the egg, and while witness was beating it he came once or twice into the pantry, and dropped in what witness took to be pieces of lump sugar. He said he would add the whisky when it came upstairs. On pouring in the water to see if it was hot enough witness tasted it, and remarked to Mary M'Leod it had a horrible taste. She had the same sensations after it as from the cheese, and continued sick till four o'clock next morning. When Mary M'Leod came down to bed she told her the mistress was so ill that she would not allow the doctor to leave the room. Witness did not see Mrs. Pritchard till the Friday. She was well at noon, when she saw her drink something out of a glass, which the doctor took from her. She became very ill at five and excited. She was raving about her mother. She asked witness to rub her hands, and was much cramped. She spoke about her ohildren incoherently. About half-past one witness was called out of bed to make a mustard poultice, and about five minutes after was called upstairs. The doctor was in bed with his wife. She touched Mrs. Pritchard and found her cold. The doctor proposed to apply the poultice, and to get hot water, saying she was only fainting; but witness said nothing could be done for a dead body. He said, "Come back, come back, my darling Mary Jane; do not leave your dear Edward." And added, ^Vhat a brute! what a heathen So gentle, so mild." He asked witness to shoot him; and in answer to her rebuke how he should stand before a. righteous God, said, "True, Paterson; you're the wisest and kindest woman I ever saw." Thomas Alexander Connell, student, boarder in Dr. Prifcchard's house, stated, in cross-examination, that he had three times been seized with sickness while in the house, and Dr. Pritchard had been attacked in the same way. Dr. Gairdner and Dr. Paterson spoke to the visits they paid to the deceased ladies, and the prescriptions they gave. They minutely described the symptoms. The former thought Mrs. Pritchard was intoxicated, and forbade more stimulants. The latter said he could not banish from his mind that the symptoms betokened antimony, and refused to certify Mrs. Fnto ar s death, the case being so sudden and mysterious, re- ferring the Registrar to Dr. Pritohard. Evidence was called to prove the temperate habits of the two iacues, and the court adjourned.

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