The proceedings at large on the trial of John Donellan ... for the wilful murder ... of Sir The. Edward Allesley Boughton ... / Taken in shorthand ... by W. Blanchard.

  • Donellan, John, -1781.
Date:
[1781]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The proceedings at large on the trial of John Donellan ... for the wilful murder ... of Sir The. Edward Allesley Boughton ... / Taken in shorthand ... by W. Blanchard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ( *4* ) you, to- (Vate to you what are the impreflions that that evidence makes on my mind, and to give you my ob- iervations; but at the fame time, previoufly to inform you, that you are not to attend to any opinion, becaufe it is name ; you are to conlider the evidence vourfclves, you are to form your own opinion ; if yUu differ from rne on one, or all, or any of the reafons that I give it is your judgment and confideration, and not mine, that mult decide this cafe. Now there are two queltions for you to confider; the firlt is, that the deceafed died of po.lon: with regard to that, you heard in evidence, on the part of the profecution, a great number of very able men in the ph^fical line, who have given you their opinions, that they have no doubt but the death was occafioned by poifon. The firft phyfician that was call- ed, is Dr. Rattray ; he lays, he has no doubt at all but that the medicine was the cauie of the death ; and in his opinion, and as the appearances he faw on the body could not arife from puuefa&ion, he has taken great pains to inform himfelf of the effedts of laurel water ; he has tried various experiments ; he has told you the effedts of thefe experiments ; he has mentioned the cir- cumltance of a biting upon his own tongue, which likewife a Hefted him in all the experiments that he made after; and from thence, he fays, he is fatisfied that what he found on the tongue, at the time the body was open- ed, proceeded in fome meafure from the laurel water: he lays, he never faw any heaving of the ftomach at- tend either epilepfy or apoplexy. Mr. Wilmer fays, that though from the appearances of the body, he is not able to form any opinion of the caufe of this, yet he is now clearly of opinion, that Sir Theodofius Bough- ton’s death was occafioned by the draft adminilterecTby Lady Boughton ; he was alked a great deal .about epi- lepfy, and he lays, that heaving is not a circumltance generally attending epilepfies. Another circumltance proper for you ro attend to, upon the evidence of thefe two