[list-cumbria] Carlisle Patriot, 28 Aug 1824 - Local News (2)

[petra.mitchinson at doctors.org.uk]

Saturday 28 Aug 1824   (p. 2, col. 2-3)     [continued] 
 
At Durham Assizes, JOSEPH WM. HODGSON, of Sunderland, surgeon, was indicted
for administering to his wife, Charlotte HODGSON, a certain quantity of
corrosive sublimate of mercury, with intent to murder her, on the 6th of
June last. This case excited powerful interest throughout the county. Mr.
BROUGHAM and Mr. ALDERSON conducted the prosecution, and Mr. WILLIAMS and
Mr. POLLOCK the defence. The material points proved on the part of the
prosecution were these: The prisoner was married to the prosecutrix a short
time ago, and she has had one child by him. On the 6th of June last, and for
some time previous, she was afflicted by acute rheumatism, and was attended
by Dr. BROWN of Bishop Wearmouth, as her physician. He prescribed a bolus
composed of six grains of calomel and two of opium, to be taken every night;
and this medicine was taken by the prosecutrix on the Friday and Saturday
nights previous to the 6th of June, which was on a Sunday, and on the night
of that day, the bolus, which had been prepared by one of the prisoner's
apprentices, was taken up stairs by the boy, and given to the mother of the
prosecutrix, who was at that time ill in bed. The mother laid it down on the
table, and the prisoner shortly afterwards took it up and wanted his wife to
take it, but she refused, as there was not the same quantity of opium in it
as there had been in the others. She desired the prisoner, however, to take
the bolus down into the shop, and add some more opium to it. He did so, and
was down stairs twice; and it was insinuated that he had, when down stairs
in the shop, purposely mixed corrosive sublimate of mercury, instead of
powdered opium, in the bolus. On his return with the bolus, his wife desired
him to make it into three pills, which he did, and he gave her one, which
she took. She instantly complained of a violent pain, and a sense of heat
and burning in her throat, breast, and stomach. On the solicitation of the
prisoner, however, she took the other two, which increased those symptoms.
He then gave her a draught which was standing in the room, which produced
instant vomiting, and she became so seriously ill, that Dr. BROWN was sent
for at eleven o'clock at night. He came immediately, and prescribed a
draught, which she took, but ejected again instantly, as the vomiting still
continued. Dr. B. then prescribed another draught, of thirty grains of
laudanum and two drachms of water, which the prisoner went down to the shop
to prepare, but when he brought it up Dr. B. instantly perceived that it had
an appearance different from what it ought to have, and having tasted it, he
found that it contained corrosive sublimate of mercury. When that was
discovered, the prisoner desired that the draught might be destroyed, but
this Dr. BROWN and two other medical gentlemen, who had in the mean time
been called in, refused. It was afterwards analysed, and found to contain
nearly fourteen grains of the deadly matter. Part of the matter which Mrs.
H. had vomited was examined, but only after she had ejected a great deal;
and previous to that the white of egg, suspended in water, had been
administered, which would decompose the corrosive sublimate, and turn it
into calomel. Suspicion having been excited by these appearances, Dr. BROWN
and the other gentlemen went down into the shop, and found a very small
quantity of the bolus remaining on the marble slab where it was compounded,
and on trying it they found it tasted strongly of corrosive sublimate; and
the boy who mixed it swore that he did not use any in preparing it, so that
if there was corrosive sublimate at all, it could only have been added by
the prisoner when he came down stairs to add the opium, as desired by his
wife. It was urged in behalf of the prisoner, that even if it was in the
pills, it had been mixed by mistake, as the bottles containing corrosive
sublimate and powdered opium stood near to each other, and with respect to
the draught, that it had been unthinkingly mixed in a graduated measure
glass, in which an injection for a sailor had been prepared just before. The
prosecutrix, in the course of her cross-examination, swore that the prisoner
had been in a deranged state of mind on the 6th of June, and for some time
anterior; but there was no confirmatory evidence on that point. It appeared,
however, from the evidence of the different witnesses, that the prisoner
himself went for Dr. BROWN, and that he showed no want of feeling on the
occasion, but behaved in every respect like a man who was not conscious of
having done any thing wrong, or who thought he was the object of suspicion.
There was no proof that any benefit would accrue to the prisoner from the
death of his wife, as the money which had been secured to her for her life,
on her marriage would go to her child in the event of her decease. The
evidence of the prosecutrix went also to shew that the prisoner was always a
kind father, and an affectionate husband, and several witnesses of
respectable appearance gave him an excellent character for humanity, and
spoke to the excellent terms on which his wife and he lived. The question
turned principally upon the efficacy and correctness of the chemical tests
to which the draught and the remains of the bolus found on the slab were
submitted, and the derangement of the prisoner at the time. The cases for
the prosecution and the defence having been gone through, the judge summed
up the evidence, and was two hours and twenty minutes in doing it. He told
the jury if they were fully satisfied that the corrosive sublimate was put
into the bolus by the prisoner, with the intention of injuring his wife,
they should find him guilty; but that, if they entertained any doubt of
these facts, they should acquit him. The jury retired, and after they had
been out a considerable time, they sent in a note to Judge BAYLEY, who
requested them to come into court, when he informed them in answer to their
communication, that there was no evidence but that of the wife, to shew that
the prisoner was insane, but if that convinced them of his derangement, or
they thought he did not know what he was doing when he mixed the poison with
the bolus, if they should be of opinion that it was done by him, they would
acquit him. The jury again retired for a short time, when they came in
(after having been out, in all, about an hour and three-quarters) with a
verdict of Not Guilty. His lordship then told the jury he thought they had
given a very proper verdict, and that he would have given a similar one had
he been upon the jury. The prisoner's wife was brought into Court on an easy
chair and placed on the table. Her lips were very much swollen; her
countenance very pallid: and she appeared to be totally deprived of the use
of her lower extremities; her feet were wrapped in bandages, and her whole
form exhibited the marks of great debility. At her entrance the prisoner
wept bitterly, hid his face in his hands, turned his head another way, and
finally covered up his features in his handkerchief. His wife and he
studiously abstained from looking at each other. The trial lasted upwards of
twelve hours. 
 
 
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