Report of the Chemical Examiner to Government. 43 



Case 5th. — A portion of a suspicious looking substance, found 

 in the soup of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, — sent for ex- 

 amination by Assistant Surgeon Gurney Turner. Found to be some 

 vegetable gum-resin, most probably used as a condiment. 



Case 6th. — The stomachs, portions of the great blood vessels, 

 and the fluid found in the former, of two prisoners in the Allipore 

 Jail, who had died under very suspicious circumstances, — sent by Dr. 

 Strong, Surgeon 24-Pergunnahs. 



No poison was discovered, but from the history of the cases, the 

 symptoms and appearances after death, and the moral evidence pro- 

 duced, there was no doubt that life had been destroyed by a vegeta- 

 ble narcotico-acrid poison, most probably aconite or stramonium, or 

 possibly a mixture of the two. 



Case 7th. — Lieut. Martin of the Engineers, who died in Arracan 

 under suspicion of poisoning, was examined after death, and his 

 stomach and intestines forwarded for examination and report. 



From improper packing, the matters sent were in an extreme state 

 of decomposition and putrescence, the examination being thereby 

 rendered complicated and very disgusting. No poison was discovered 

 after a protracted investigation, nor was there any reason to suppose, 

 that he had not fallen a victim to disease. 



Case 8th. — Occurred at Delhi, and was examined by the Civil 

 Surgeon, who detected the presence of arsenic ; but not being willing 

 to depend upon his own analysis, sent a portion of the fluid examined, 

 to Calcutta, for further trial. 



His judgment was found to be quite correct, and arsenious acid to 

 have been the poison used. 



Case 9th.- — Two most interesting and instructive cases, which 

 occurred at Chusan in April 1842, and in which an attempt was 

 made by the Chinese, to poison two soldiers of Her Majesty's 55th 

 Regiment, by means of Shamshoo, an intoxicating spirit distilled 

 from rice. One of the soldiers died, and the other had a narrow 

 escape. 



