The Secret Poisoner by Linda Stratmann

Author:Linda Stratmann
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780300204735
Publisher: Yale University Press

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Palmer Act

In the same month as the trial of Joseph Snaith Wooler, an inquest opened at Rugeley in Staffordshire on the body of twenty-eight-year-old John Parsons Cook, who had died under dramatic circumstances the previous November.

Cook had once been articled to a solicitor, but, on coming into an inheritance of some £12,000, he lost any inclination to work for a living, and plunged into the world of the turf, purchasing racehorses and betting heavily. He had made the acquaintance of William Palmer, a thirty-one-year-old surgeon, who was so devoted to the turf that he had largely abandoned his practice, the work of which had been transferred to his partner.

Palmer had been in grave financial straits since 1853, and, the following year, he raised money on loans, one of which, in the sum of £2,000, was guaranteed by his mother’s signature. Mrs Sarah Palmer was a woman of property, and there was no difficulty in Palmer obtaining the money. His financial affairs were handled by a London solicitor, Mr Pratt. It was not to emerge for some time that Mrs Palmer knew nothing of the loan and that her signature had been forged by her son.

Palmer’s debts continued to mount, but when his wife Ann died after a short illness he received life insurance of £13,000, which enabled him to pay his most pressing creditors. In March 1855, he bought two racehorses called Nettle and Chicken. As the year progressed, he took out a series of further loans, which were used to pay for the renewal of earlier loans, all of which bore the forged signature of his mother. It was a precarious situation, with Palmer constantly hovering on the brink of bankruptcy.

In May, Palmer was being pressed for a payment of £500 but had only £310 lodged with Pratt, who refused to loan him the difference without security. Palmer offered the guarantee of his good friend Mr Cook, and duly obtained £200. When the time came to repay the loan, however, Palmer was unable to do so and Cook was obliged to stump up the money.

In August 1855, Palmer asked Pratt for a loan of £500, which he said was required by Mr Cook, and this was provided using two of Cook’s racehorses, Polestar and Sirius, as security. Whether or not Cook required the money or even knew about the transaction is not known; the only certain thing is that Palmer forged Cook’s endorsement on the cheque he received from Pratt and paid it into his own account.

The following month, Palmer tried to induce George Bate, a stablehand, to insure his life for £25,000, describing him in the proposal as a gentleman of independent means. Encouraged by Cook and a promise of payment, Bate signed the application. When enquiries were made about Bate by the insurance offices and it was found that he was not a man of means, the insurance was declined.

By November 1855, Palmer owed £11,500, all of which fell due during the following two months and which he was unable to meet.

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