The names of the jurors having been called over.
Mr. OLIVER PEMBERTON, lecturer on anatomy, of Queen’s College,
Birmingham, and surgeon to the General Hospital of that town, was sworn
and examined by Mr. Grove, Q.C. Witness said--I was present at the
examination of the body of Cook after its exhumation in January, and
closely examined the condition of the spinal cord. It was not, however;
in such a condition as to enable me to say confidently in what state it
was immediately after death. The upper part, where the brain had been
separated, was green in colour from the effects of decomposition. The
remaining portion, though fairly preserved, for the body had been buried
two months, was so soft as to prevent my drawing any opinion of its
state immediately after death.
Cross-examined by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL: I saw the body the day after the
bony canal had been opened. The opening of that canal would, to a
certain extent, expose the cord, but the outer covering or dura mater
was not opened, to the best of my recollection, until I arrived. I
attended the examination on the part of the prisoner. Mr. Bolton,
professor of Queen’s College, Birmingham, was also present on the
occasion on the part of Palmer.
By Mr. Serjeant SHEE: Was there any difference of opinion expressed on
that occasion by the medical men?
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL objected to the question.
Lord Campbell decided that it could not be put.
Mr. Serjeant SHEE said that this witness brought to a conclusion the
medical evidence on the part of Palmer.