THE ART OF CROSS-EXAMINATION
became intimate with Palmer. At the time of his acquaintance with Cook, Palmer had become involved financially through forging the name of his mother, a woman of considerable property, as indorser of his notes. These indorsements amounted to the sum of £13,000. He had effected an insurance upon the life of his wife for £13,000, and the policies of insurance he had given as collateral on the forged notes. Upon the death of his wife he was enabled to pay off the first notes, but shortly issued fresh ones to the amount of £12,500, had them discounted at the rate of sixty per cent, and gave as new collateral, policies of insurance of an equal amount upon his brother's life, which policies had been assigned to himself. Upon his brother's death, there being a year's interim between the death of his wife and brother, the companies in which the insurance had been effected declined to pay, and Palmer found himself confronted with suits upon these forged notes and the exposure of his forgeries.
It was for the supposed intention of getting possession of Cook's money and race horses that he took the life of his intimate companion.
The trial was held in the Central Criminal Court, London, May 14, 1856, Lord Campbell presiding, and has ever since maintained its reputation as being one of the most learned trials in the history of the criminal courts of the world.
H. D. Traill, in the English Illustrated Magazine,
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