Of the law and eating.

**

A False Charge**

One day, in 1882, a sergeant of the Royal Irish Constabulary brought to me from the County of Kerry a parcel of man’s clothes to examine for bloodstains. He informed me that they belonged to a farmer who was lodged in Tralee Jail charged with the murder of a woman and her child, a young girl.

On interrogating the sergeant, I elicited that the farmer was denounced by a man who swore that he saw him late at night come out of the woman’s house, which soon after burst into flames. The man who had made the charge had been on too intimate terms with the woman before he had been convicted for a crime and committed to prison. On his discharge, the woman refused to renew relations with him.

I enquired what motive was it believed that led him to commit so terrible a crime. The sergeant replied that the only motive assigned for the deed was the trespassing of the woman’s hens on the farmer’s land, and for which he had summoned her to the Petty Sessions Court. I said that I could not believe that any man would commit a murder for so trivial an offence, and that it was far more likely that the man who denounced the farmer was himself the murderer.

On the following morning I called upon the late Mr. Thomas H. Burke, Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant, and expressed a strong opinion that in the County of Kerry murder case the wrong man was arrested. Mr. Burke said that I was probably correct in my surmise, and that he would request Mr. Alexander Morphy, Crown Solicitor for the Counties of Kerry and Clare, to proceed forthwith to Tralee to investigate the case.

The result of Mr. Morphy’s investigation was the liberation of the farmer and the arrest of his accuser. The latter was shortly afterwards tried for the murder of the woman and her child, whose charred remains were found in the ruins of their cottage. It was clearly proved at the trial that the accused farmer had not left his house on the night of the murder, that a hatchet which the prisoner had borrowed from a blacksmith was found concealed in the ground and stained with blood, and that he had been seen by several persons lurking near the cottage on the night of the murder. His clothes were much stained with blood. Although the evidence was overwhelmingly strong against the prisoner, the jury disagreed, a small number only being in favour of a conviction.

The prisoner was subsequently tried at the Winter Assizes before a Cork City jury, who, without leaving the jury-box, found a verdict of guilty, and he was sentenced to be hanged. Some doubt as to his sanity having been expressed at his trial, the death sentence was not carried out.

At the same Cork Winter Assizes a man was tried for the murder of a woman in the County of Limerick, and was, after a few minutes’ deliberation, found guilty. He had previously been arraigned before a county jury, who had disagreed. **

Human Hair In Evidence.**

Soon after the disposal of the cases above referred to, a man and his wife were tried at Tralee Assizes for the murder of a neighbour, with whom they were on bad terms. The three persons were returning from a fair, when passing through a lonely part of the country, the neighbour was killed and his body concealed. After some days it was discovered, and in the right hand was found what appeared to be human hair, tightly grasped.

Suspicion fell upon the persons who were on bad terms with the murdered man, and they were arrested. Their clothes and the hair found in the dead man’s hand were sent to me for examination, as was also a specimen of the male prisoner’s hair. The two specimens of hair were red, but with the same percentage of grey hairs in each. The hairs were in each case of the same average thickness. That of the male prisoner’s was a little longer than the hair found with the dead man, but that was to be expected, as the hair of the prisoner had been taken a week after the murder.

As regards the thickness of human hair, in a thousand people it is likely that not two of them would have hair of exactly the same thickness. By the aid of a microscope, or a little machine of American invention, the thickness of a hair can be accurately ascertained.

In this case it was agreed to take a verdict of manslaughter, and as hanging would not follow such a verdict, the jury agreed to find it. The prisoners subsequently confessed that they had quarrelled with their obnoxious neighbour, and had killed him. The judge who tried the case was the well-known Mr. Justice Keogh, and the leading counsel for the Crown was Mr. Peter O’Brien, now Lord O’Brien, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Both were very successful in getting convictions, but, of course, not against the weight of evidence.

Lord O’Brien is noted for his affable manner to Counsel and witnesses, and his frequent humorous remarks from the Bench. **

A Man Unknowingly Convicts Himself.**

A prisoner was tried at an assize in Longford for having grievously wounded a young man. The evidence was not very strong against the accused. I had examined his clothes, and found numerous stains of blood on them. His counsel stated that the prisoner had killed a fowl, and that the stains on his clothes were caused by the blood from the fowl.

Now, at that time it was not possible to state with certainty that a bloodstain was of human origin. In the advancement of science an unerring test for human blood has lately been discovered. In the Longford case I was, however, able to swear that the stains were caused by the blood of a mammalian animal, and it might be from a man, or a dog, or other mammalian animal, but not from a bird. If the prisoner had not put forward the plea that the stain was caused by a bird’s blood he would probably have been acquitted, as the evidence against him was weak. **

Judge Keogh And The Apprentice Boys Of Derry.**

The last time that I attended at Omagh Assizes I was invited to dine with the Grand Jury. One of the two assize judges was a Roman Catholic-Judge Keogh. At the toast of the glorious, pious, and immortal memory of King William the Third was usually given at the Grand Jury dinners, there was considerable hesitation before inviting the judge to the dinner. The judge accepted the invitation, and the toast was given, but before it was responded to Judge Keogh rose and requested to be allowed to say a few words in reference to the toast. To the surprise of all present, the judge suggested that there should be added to it the memory of the Apprentice Boys of Derry. He said that King William was in favour of religious liberty, and he had been aided in achieving it by the Apprentice Boys of Derry. Great applause followed the speech, and the toast with its addendum was drunk with great enthusiasm. King William was not an Episcopalian and during his reign the Dissenters were not troubled. Judge Keogh was for some time a member of the House of Commons. **

Negative Testimony.**

On another occasion, whilst at Omagh Assizes, a man was charged with loitering. He was asked whether or not he could call any witness to give him a good character. He replied in the negative, whereupon a man in the courthouse shouted that he could give him one. Having been sworn, he was asked what he had to say in reference to the prisoner, and he replied that he had never seen or heard of him before, but he knew all the bad characters within twenty miles of Omagh, and the prisoner was not one of them. On the strength of this negative evidence the prisoner was acquitted. **

I Appear For Both Sides At A Trial**

An action was taken by a farmer against the Maypole Dairy Company for injury to his cattle by polluting the river water which they drank. The case came before Co. Limerick Summer Assizes, and I appeared as a witness for both litigants. Plaintiff and defendants were satisfied with my expert evidence, and each paid my reasonable fee. An arrangement was arrived at which satisfied both sides.

The solicitors of the company and the farmer, some other persons, and myself were subsequently entertained at dinner in the hotel at Castleconnell, on the Shannon, near Limerick. I was surprised to find in this little hotel that the table equipment and the wines were as good as could be found in a first-class metropolitan hotel. The representatives of the company paid for the dinner.

At the annual dinner of the Royal Institute of Architects, 7th May, 1911, [I am the only Honorary Fellow of the Institute. I was elected in I667.] I proposed the toast of the guests. In responding to it, the Right Hon. Richard P. Meredith, Master of the Rolls, referred to this trial. He said - “He had one distinct advantage over the previous speakers. He happened to be an Irishman. His friend Sir Charles Cameron might remember that at the banquet which he attended with him, and at which, he thought, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant was present - a banquet given by a Scottish regiment on St. Andrew’s Day-he informed his audience, at some late hour of the evening, that he had led a charge of the Highlanders at the battle of Waterloo. His Excellency, they all knew, hailed from a sister country, and their distinguished President, Albert Edward Murray, RHA, could only claim Irish descent through the Scots arriving about the time of the plantation of Ulster. He felt it a very great honour indeed to be permitted, in so distinguished an assembly, to respond to the toast which had been so cordially, so warmly, and so felicitously proposed by Sir Charles Cameron. He had alluded to him (the Master of the Rolls), not merely by name, but he had also penetrated into secrets of his judicial life, and he had referred to proceedings which took place in his Court. He might say that he had the honour and privilege of seeing Sir Charles Cameron before him on many occasions as a witness, and he remembered one occasion upon which he did him the honour to appear and give evidence on both sides. If there was anything wanting to show the versatility of Sir Charles Cameron he thought that was quite sufficient. He had relieved him to a certain extent from dwelling on the personal aspect of the toast.”

The Master of the Rolls has since retired from the Bench and has been succeeded by the Right Hon. Charles O’Connor **

Poisoning Of Animals**

I have had to investigate scores of cases of poisoning of the lower animals. In some instances the poisoning was accidental. A valuable brood mare died soon after the administration of a “bolus.” I found that death was due to croton oil instead of linseed oil being used in preparing the “bolus.” The mistake cost the compounder £100. Several fatal cases occurred by washing soda, nitre, and borax being sold in error as cattle salts (sulphate of soda).

Animals have died from eating the leaves of laburnum and yew trees. Sixty-three oxen were poisoned by water dropwort *(Oenanthe crocata) *in irrigated fields near Adare, County of Limerick. Fatal cases from eating water hemlock *(Licuta virosa), *foxglove *(Digitalis purpurea), *meadow saffron *(Colchicum autumnale), *and black bryony *(Tamus commume), *found sometimes in hedges and waysides. A hedge plant, cuckoo-pint *(Aram maculatum) *is very poisonous to animals.

In 1909 the deadly poison, *aconite, *caused the death of 12 oxen on a farm in the County of Westineath. A herd of 35 of those animals were in two places - 12 where no persons outside the premises had easy access to, and 23 in a place practically open to outsiders. The 23 oxen almost simultaneously became ill, and 12 of them died. The other 12 cattle were not affected. Mr. Andrew Watson, an experienced veterinarian, examined the viscera of some of the animals, and found no evidence of natural disease. He suggested that they must have been poisoned. The viscera were submitted to me, and I found the deadly poison *aconitine *in them. *

Aconitine *is an alkaloid to which the poisonous properties of the plant known as Wolf’s bane or Monk’s hood *(Aconitum napellus) *are due. An examination of all the pastures avail able for the animals proved the absence of Monk’s hood. Enquiries showed that it was not known in the neighbourhood

It was clear that it must have been given to the animals in the form of a preparation of acotine, most likely its tincture, which is easily procurable.

As the poisoning appeared to be malicious, a claim for compensation was made to the Court of Quarter Sessions, and granted by Judge Adye Curran. An appeal brought the ease before the judge at the following Assizes. One of the most distinguished members of the Bar, Mr. Denis Henry, K.C., appeared for the ratepayers to oppose the claim. The judge (Lord Chief Baron Palles) confirmed Judge Adye Curran’s finding, with costs.

In cross-examining me, Mr. Henry asked was it possible that a man could have carried the *large *quantity of poison with which the evil act was accomplished; without his increased dimensions being noticed? I replied, “Mr. Henry, if you sat down to dinner, and your decanter contained the same quantity of whiskey, you would consider yourself on very short commons.” After this answer no further question was put to me. **

How Dublin Might Have Had A Winter Garden.**

In 1865 an International Exhibition was held in Dublin. A convenient site was secured for it in a large area facing Earlsfort Terrace. A substantial building was erected, at the rere of which there was a large glass-house and ornamental grounds.

The exhibition was opened by the Prince of Wales, who on the occasion represented the Queen. 900,000 visits were paid to the exhibition. Soon after it had been brought to a conclusion, the buildings and grounds came into the possession of Mr. Edward Cecil Guinness (now Viscount lveagh). For several years flower shows, public dinners, concerts, etc., were held in the exhibition buildings and grounds.

In 1872 a National Exhibition and Portrait Gallery were opened in the Exhibition Palace, as it was generally styled. It was under the management of Mr. Edward Lee (who was subsequently knighted by the Lord Lieutenant), but was financed by Mr. Guinness. 400,000 visits were paid to this exhibition.

In 1868 I was elected Professor of Hygiene and Political Medicine to the Royal College of Surgeons, [The first Professorship of Hygiene in the United Kingdom was that instituted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and** **to the University of Dublin is due the credit of the first creation of a Diploma in Public health.] and for several years delivered courses of lectures on public health subjects in the college medical school, which were open to the general public.

In the ‘seventies great interest was taken in sanitary subjects by the general public. My lectures at the Royal College of Surgeons commenced at 4 o’clock, but frequently by 3 o’clock every available place to sit or stand on was filled. Amongst many notable persons who frequently attended these lectures were Sir Robert Ball, F.R.S., and his wife, and the Right Hon. T. W. Russell, M.P., and his wife. Sir Robert Ball, whose popularity as a lecturer has probably never been equalled, once told me that he sometimes had repeated the jokes he bad heard at my lectures.

I was invited to give a course of 12 lectures in the exhibition building, referring in a popular way to such subjects as ventilation, food, disinfection, etc. I accepted the invitation, having first ascertained that the council of the college had no objection to my giving the course. The lectures were delivered at 8 o’clock p.m., and were numerously attended. Each lecture lasted one hour and a-half.

The maximum attendance (1,500) was at the lecture on “The Skin and Hair.” Many probably came with the idea that they might get some useful information relative to the preservation of the colour and quantity of their hair. I did mention some preparations suggested for that purpose, amongst others a well-dilated solution of phosphorus. One of the audience, in getting the solution made up, had in error made it much stronger than it should have been. The result was that his hair burst into flame, and were it not that he was beside a good supply of water, he might have been severely injured.

From 1872 up to 1879 the Exhibition Palace and its. beautiful grounds were much in use. Flower shows were held in them, and concerts were given in its splendid music ball. Many public dinners were given in its spacious dining room.

In 1879 Mr*. *Edward Dwyer Gray, M.P., was a man of considerable influence. He was proprietor in succession to his father, Sir John Gray (whose statue is in Sackville Street), of the “Freeman’s Journal,” and in 1880 was Lord Mayor of Dublin. It occurred to him that the time had arrived when an International Exhibition might be held in Dublin with every prospect of success.

I had been a member of one of the committees, and also a juror, of the exhibition of 1865. Probably on that account I was invited by Mr. Gray to co operate with him in his project. An exhibition general committee and an executive one were formed, and I acted as honorary secretary to the latter, of which Mr. Gray was chairman. A deputation of the executive committee, comprising Mr. James Talbot Power, D.L., Alderman Mulligan, [Alderman Mulligan retired from the Corporation and was for many years managing director, and lately director, of The Hibernian Bank. He was one of the most benevolent of men, and was always pleased when his acts of charity were known only to those who benefited by them. He has recently passed away greatly regretted.], and myself, waited on the Corporation of Belfast, who received us most cordially. They promised to form a local committee to assist in making the proposed exhibition a success

Now, at this time everything appeared *couleur de rose, *the exhibition buildings, glass house, and grounds were placed at the disposal of the committee, without cost.

[Hotel Victoria, Schlangenbad,

Prussia, June 4, 1912.

Dear Sir Charles, - Your letter of the 1st inst, has been forwarded to me here. You are quite right in your recollection as to the proposed Exhibition in Dublin, in 1879. I did promise to lend the Exhibition buildings and grounds, at Earlsfort Terrace, to the Executive Committee free of charge.

Believe me, yours very truly,

Iveagh.]

The Hibernian and Alliance Gas Company volunteered to supply free all the gas the exhibition would require. At that time there was an electric lighting company in Dublin, who for experimental purposes had put in the centre of Westmoreland Street a series of arc electric lights. That company promised that the exhibition would be supplied with electric power free of charge.

It was felt that with all these advantages there would be a very large surplus of money at the close of the exhibition, which would suffice to purchase the buildings and glass houses, so as to ensure them permanently for the use and enjoyment of the citizens. Unfortunately, these aspirations were not realised. It was stated in the prospectus of the exhibition that it would be held under the patronage of the Queen. At a large meeting held in the Mansion House to promote the project of the exhibition many present protested against the Queen being patroness. A motion to omit her name from the prospectus was rejected by a large majority, Mr. Gray, Alderman Mulligan, and many other Nationalists voting with the majority.

Notwithstanding that the amendment was rejected, it was subsequently decided to abandon the project of establishing an International Exhibition in Dublin, in consequence of the hostility to the proposal to have the Queen its patroness.

Soon after this fiasco the great glass house was purchased by Mr. Lever, an ex-M.P. for Galway, and brought to London, and is now to be seen in Battersea Park. The buildings were subsequently sold to the Government to locate in** **them the then recently established but now extinct Royal University.

It was in this way that Dublin lost the opportunity of having a winter garden and permanent exhibition building.

In my time a great change has come in Dublin in the attitude of the “masses,” and even to some extent of the “classes,” towards Royalty. Long ago, after the performances in the theatres, the orchestra always played “God Save the Queen,” and then “St. Patrick’s Day.” Should anyone in the pit not stand up or take off his hat he would be shouted at from the gallery “Take off your hat,” or “Stand up,” as the case might be, though it was usually one of inadvertance. **

Mr. Edmund Dwyer Gray.**

Mr. Gray and his handsome wife entertained very liberally whilst occupants of the Mansion House, and, indeed, afterwards when they resided in the large house No. 34 Upper Mount Street.

A curious incident occurred whilst Mr. Gray was High Sheriff of Dublin in 1882. He offended Mr. Justice Lawson. Now, when anyone commits the offence known as contempt of court, the judge may direct the Sheriff to take him into custody; but who was there to take a sheriff into custody if he fell under the displeasure of the judge? Mr. Justice Lawson quickly determined that point by sending a policeman for the city coroner, Dr. Whyte, and directing coroner to take the high sheriff to prison. Dr. Whyte, who was a friend of the high sheriff, at once arrested him in court, and conveyed him in a cab to the prison.

Mr. Gray’s father, Sir John Gray, was a sanitary reformer. It was he who got for Dublin its splendid water supply. Before his time there was only one sanitary inspector; he increased the number to 12, all sergeants of the Dublin Metropolitan Police.

Mr. E. D. Gray, during the period he was connected with the Corporation, took a great interest in sanitary su jects, and helped to carry out reforms in public health administration. **

Two French Restaurants.**

Shortly before the Franco-German War I spent a few days in Strasburg. It was then French, now it is German. All the people I met were bi-linguists, and it was amusing to listen to some of them alternating French and German whilst addressing me.

From pure curiosity, and not owing to indigence, I dined at a cheap table d’hote in an unpretentious restaurant. There were 14 persons present, about equally divided in sex. The proprietor presided. We opened with soup of fair quality, fish followed, and then came a *ragout, *the composition of which I could not discover, but its flavour was fairly good.

A savoury next came, followed by a pudding. The dessert consisted of small grapes. A bottle of red wine, holding about a pint, was placed before me. A man sitting next to me, with whom I opened conversation, informed me that he was a barber. He described the occupations of all the other “paying guests” - they were nearly all the owners of, or attendants in, small shops situated close to the restaurant.

What struck me most at this table d’hote was the perfect decorum of the diners. The repast was a ‘a *a la Russe, *and each person was supplied with an ample serviette. The conversation was carried on in a most polite manner, and I could observe no sign of vulgarity in the little company. As the cost of the entertainment was only one and a-half francs, I bethought me what kind of a dinner party would there be at a table d’hote in these countries if the dinner fee was only fifteen pence!

Shortly before my visit to Strasburg I had been staying in Munich, where I made the acquaintance of the celebrated Professor Pettenkofer. I had several conversations with Bavarians on the subject of the threatened war with France. Although none of them expressed friendship for the Prussians, they were unanimous in declaring that they would never again give a friendly reception to an invading army.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the French always counted the Bavarians as allies. They fought against Britain and Austria in the Marlborough campaigns, and they welcomed the French in Napoleon’s time. It is probable that Louis Napoleon calculated on Bavarian and South German assistance when he declared war against the North German Confederation.

Munich has one of the finest opera houses in the world. Whilst listening to one of Wagner’s operas, I enjoyed the use of a comfortable armchair for the moderate fee of two shillings. When I was in Germany the purchasing power of money was much greater than it is now, and a student could live respectably upon a very moderate income. I am informed that such is not the case at the present time.

Major Massy (father of “Redan” Massy, of Crimean ‘celebrity) was war correspondent of the “Irish Times” in the ‘sixties. The late Major Knox, who founded the “Irish Times,” gave me an introduction to the other Major, which. I made use of during the time I acted as a juror at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867. I invited Major Knox on one occasion to dine with me at the Maison d’Or. He happened to say that he was fond of asparagus, and as we were dining a *la carte, *I ordered that vegetable. When the bill was presented, I found that the asparagus was charged for at the rate of three francs for each of us. This high price was due to asparagus not being in season, the time being early in April. I thought of my fifteen-penny banquet at Strasburg!

At the banquet of the Royal Institute of Public Health in Dublin, in 1899, Major-General Massy, V.C., was present. He came from the County of Tipperary to be present at the congress of the Institute. I had never met him before, but he was greatly pleased when I told him of my acquaintance with his father in 1867 and later. Both father and son have passed away.

I have pleasant recollections of the month I spent in Paris as a member of the Jury of the International Exhibition of 1867. I was invited to the Tulleries (the palace of the Emperor), three entertainments given by the British Ambassador, and to several dinners and receptions given by other persons.

At the opening of the exhibition by the Emperor and Empress, the only foreign department that was quite completed was the British. A liberal conferring of the Order of the Legion of Honour took place, but the British Jurors were exempted from the compliment, as our Government at the time refused to allow it to be worn at court unless conferred on British officers co-operating with French soldiers.

I received from our Treasury a honorarium of fifty pounds. Each Juror was presented with a set of medals and quite a small library of reports and essays relating to the exhibition, by the French Government. From our Government I obtained several volumes of a similar kind, but in the English language.

Next Part. Cameron Contents. Home.