Note 109 — Chapter VI

Referring to the evidence of Dr. Penny, the Dean, in his speech for the defence, said: “Here comes again another point on which the evidence for the Crown is very defective, to say the least of it. They knew very well when they were examining the contents of this poor man’s stomach, and his intestines generally, what was the arsenic that the prisoner had bought. They knew from her own candid statement that she bought it partly at Murdoch’s and partly at Currie’s. If that arsenic had been swallowed by the deceased, the colouring-matter could have been detected in the stomach—there was one means of connecting the prisoner with this poison which was found in L’Angelier’s stomach, and a very obvious means. It may be very well for Professor Penny and Dr. Christison to say now that their attention was not directed to this matter. Whose fault was this?—the whole thing was in the hand of the authorities. They kept it to themselves—they dealt with it exclusively—and they present this lame and impotent conclusion.”