Did your Lordship ever hear this before? – Did such a statement come out upon Burke’s trial? or, were such questions ever put to P—n? If this statement therefore is correct, and information given to the Police that a corpse supposed to be disintered, or otherwise, was actually in the possession of Burke or Hare, why not instead of placing a policeman as a watch over their motions? I say, why should not a warrant have been granted to search the premises? If this had been done, it might have been the means of saving many victims that afterwards fell into the hands of these blood-thirsty miscreants. It may be asked, how could the authorities prove that the individuals were murdered? seeing that even our professors of anatomy could not perceive any thing like external marks of violence, or symptoms of an internal nature, to lead them for a moment to suppose that the subjects heretofore brought by Burke and Hare had met with a premature death. I am inclined to think that this part of the mystery has been overlooked, not by any means imputing any blame to Dr K— or his assistants. But, Tyro, as I am on matters of anatomy, I have always been led to consider that suffocation or strangulation causes the blood to flow to the head, consequently makes the face of a strong livid colour, with a small discharge of blood from the mouth, nose, and ears. Now, as most of the subjects produced by Burke and Hare had suffered death by suffocation, and as these bodies were generally disposed of to Dr K—, I think it but natural to infer, that if the Doctor saw these bodies, he is either horribly ignorant of his profession, or he wilfully withheld that information he ought to have given. I will ask any of the professors of anatomy, candidly and honestly, that if two men, of the appearance of Burke and Hare, had brought them ten or a dozen bodies, with the same appearance as those brought by B. and H. must have had, what would be their opinion? I am certain of one thing, that it would, at least, have a great tendency to rouse their suspicions, and make minute inquiries as to the manner they obtained such subjects. But we are told that Dr K— did not know, nor had he the most distant idea, that these subjects were any thing but disintered bodies; all the subjects brought to him by Burke and Hare, and that were examined by him, he could not even guess at the cause of their death. On these grounds we are bound to believe that no blame can be attached to the Doctor, seeing he himself is equally as ignorant as his Students. In respect to the words said to have been spoken by the Doctor with regard to the protection, and that if they were stopt, to suffer themselves to be taken into custody, when they would soon be released, and the package assuredly sent to him. If such really was the case, does it not stigmatize [sic] the Police establishment in the eyes of the public. – An establishment which we with confidence look to for protection, and pay a heavy tax for its support. I am inclined to think that there must be some mistake in this part of the story, for I feel pretty confident, that if the body had been taken to the Police Office and examined, a thousand to one but the surgeon of that establishment would at once say that it had come by a premature death, and Burke seems to have been pretty much of the same opinion, as he knew that if once there, the body would be examined, and consequently an investigation would take place that might lead to a discovery of his nefarious traffic. But to proceed with P—n’s narrative. “One day they (Burke and Hare) called upon Mr M—n formerly mentioned, who resides in Surgeons’ Square, and told him, that they had a subject for the Doctor, and requested him to be in readiness; that evening about seven o’clock I called upon Mr M – n and found him waiting in the Square, he then told me that a subject was expected for the Doctor. In a short time three men (Burke, Hare, and M‘Culloch) made their appearance with a large box, or chest, which was deposited in one of the rooms; and as they insisted upon having money, we thought proper to look into the box previous to reporting to the Doctor. When we did so we found it contained the corpse of a stout young man, but did not examine it; I immediately went and informed the Doctor that the parties before mentioned had brought a subject, and were anxious for some money. The sum given to me by the Doctor I delivered to them, and they called the following day for the remainder, making in all L.10. When the body was examined in the morning, one of the assistants remarked, that it was very like DAFT JAMIE, in which opinion all present agreed. I myself remarked, that I did not think Jamie either so stout or robust as the subject before me, and that I did not think he was dead, as I had seen him a day or two before; but did say that there was a strong resemblance. Some discourse then took place amongst the students respecting the manner the body had been obtained, when it was generally supposed, that if it really was JAMIE, his friends must have sold him to the procurers. Dr K— all along persisting that it was not Jamie; nothing more of consequence occurred until a report that Jamie was amissing reached Surgeons’ Square, when the dissection of the body was ordered. It may be necessary to remark, that the usual method adopted by the students in dissecting, is to make a transverse section of the cranium, or to separate the superior portion from the base, in order to enable the student to dissect the brain. In dissecting this body the head was kept entire at the express request of one of the Doctor’s assistants, but for what purpose I cannot say; Mr F—n, another assistant, seemed doubly anxious to have the feet of this subject, which he received from the students that dissected the body. It is a common practice amongst the students that when they wish to preserve the bones of any limb entire, to immerse it in a jar of water until decomposition takes place, when the soft is cleaned from the bone; but in this case, however, Mr F—n deviated considerably from the usual method, for he immediately was at the no small trouble of detaching bone from bone PREVIOUS to their being immersed in water. I do not pretend to offer any opinion upon his doing so, I merely state facts.”
Now, my Lord, I will again call your attention to the above statement. It is well known that James Wilson, or Daft Jamie, had a very peculiar physiognomy, he was also partially deprived of the use of his right side. One of his feet was very much contracted; in short, any individual that ever saw him in life would know his corpse. Again, it is usual to make use of the oldest subjects first, that is those subjects that have been the longest in the possession of the lecturer. Now, my Lord, it will be observed, that on the rumour of Jamie being amissing, or thereabouts, his body was ordered for dissection, although it was the last and freshest subject in the Doctor’s possession. His head was kept entire and not suffered to be lectured upon; his feet were requested of the students, and when given, instead of going through the usual preparation of immersing them in water, they were instantly separated bone from bone, although this manner of procedure was infinitely more laborious than the other. What is your Lordship’s opinion? does it not look very like a concealment? In such a case I should be very apt to consider that the parties had discovered that the body actually was Jamie’s, and that in order to destroy every trace of detection, they made away with those parts most likely to be recognized. Or did the Doctor wish to prepare the skull, knowing it to be the head of an idiot, and along with other venerable relics of the same kind, commence a course of lectures on phrenology, and supersede Dr Combe. Be this as it may, I am certain your Lordship will agree with me, that if the Doctor is not highly culpable, and, in the true sense of the law, GUILTY art and part, he is at least deserving of public censure for his negligence in not giving that information which must have been in his power to communicate.
Paterson goes on to state, “That when the rumour of Jamie’s absence was generally known, many and singular were the remarks made by the students. For his part, he then, and not till then, began to form a very different opinion of the individuals Burke and Hare, and had determined in his own mind, at all hazards, to watch the motions of these villains more minutely, and examine the next subject they brought to the rooms. He says, I did not wait long in suspense, for a few evenings after, to wit, 31st October, 1828, being invited to partake of a beef-steak supper with a friend; on my return home about 12 o’clock, and on going up stairs, I heard a knocking at the door of my lodgings. I enquired who was there twice, before receiving any
answer, at length a voice answered, John, and asked if I was Dr K—’s man; having answered in the affirmative, he said he wanted to see me at his own house, but on my informing him that I did not know where his house was, he offered to accompany me. I knew by this time that it was Burke, and as I perceived him a little intoxicated, I thought it would be a good opportunity to commence my inquiries. We went down stairs in solemn silence, and conducted by Burke, got to his house, remarking to him, that he lived in a very strange and intricate situation, his answer was, that it suited his purpose. On entering the house, I observed a man, Hare, and two women, all more or less intoxicated. The motive for his wishing to see me at his own house, I did not then know. Just as he had got in, he tapped me on the shoulder, and pointing to a quantity of straw, said, “there lies something for the Doctor to-morrow”, at that instant, I fixed my eyes stedfastly upon Burke; and, from the suspicions I entertained in my own mind, I in a moment glanced at the other individuals; but seeing nothing to raise my suspicions, I merely answered at the time, (to the best of my recollection,) that they might send it any time tomorrow. Burke asked if I would give him some blunt, my answer was, that I had nothing to do with these matters, and that the Doctor would pay him when he brought the subject. I did not see the body, but immediately left the house. On my return home, I found that a man answering to Burke’s description, had called for me at the early part of the evening. When I retired to bed, I took a retrospective view of the conduct of Burke and Hare, I remarked their shyness in answering the questions I formerly put to them respecting the body of the girl Paterson. The subjects generally brought by them, seemed always fresher than those from other quarters. The circumstance of Jamie being still amissing, and no accounts whatever concerning him, rushed on my mind, the conduct of the individuals that very night, while a corpse was lying in one corner of the hovel, in the same place, the parties seemed to have been carousing in the height of jollity; another circumstance of greater moment, now passed before me, the subjects generally brought by them to the Lecture Room, were uniformly packed in a box or chest; now, thought I, if these men actually disinterred the body said to be among the straw, it is more than probable, that they would have packed it up before sending it to their own house, and not at all likely that they would have unpacked it again. However, the circumstances of Jamie alone, prompted me to determine, that if the subject was brought in time next day, I would satisfy myself as to any external marks of violence. Next day I impatiently waited for the package, and towards evening I began to suspect that it was a trick, in order to get money. About seven o’clock on the Saturday evening, Burke, Hare, and M‘Culloch brought a package, and delivered it in the presence of Mr Jones; as they insisted for money, Mr Jones accompanied me to the Doctor’s house. We told the Doctor that the men had brought the package they had promised him, and that they were clamorous for money. The Doctor gave me £5, desiring me to give it them, and they would receive the remainder on Monday. It being now late, I had no opportunity of examining the body that night, but resolved to go on the morrow, (Sunday,) and satisfy my curiosity, for which purpose I took the keys of the Lecture Room with me.
Early on the Sunday morning I was awakened by Lieutenant Paterson and Serjeant-major Fisher of the Police establishment, who informed me that they had brought an order from Dr K— for me to accompany them with the keys of the lecture rooms, and allow them to search for the body of a woman said to have been murdered and sold to the Doctor. My former surmises now rushed upon me, and I inquired of Lieutenant Paterson if he really thought there was any truth in it, when he informed me, that there were some persons in custody upon suspicion; I went with them, and on opening the rooms said, that to prevent all unnecessary trouble, I would show them the package left on Saturday evening untouched, and did so. Lieutenant Paterson then requested me to assist in opening the package, which I did accordingly, and stretched the body at full length upon a table in order to inspect it minutely. Lieutenant Paterson requested to know my opinion, but as I had no knowledge in surgery, could not give an opinion any farther than from the appearance of the face, and a little blood at the corners of the mouth, I should suppose, from what I have heard, that the person must have died by suffocation or poison; and not perceiving any external marks of violence, could not hazard any just opinion. I however had my own thoughts; the appearance of this body, (Campbell or Docherty,) coincided exactly with that of the girl Paterson; and combining these circumstances with that of Jamie, and of the individuals that brought those bodies to the Lecture Room being in custody, I delivered up the keys to Lieutenant Paterson, requesting him to take the body under his own charge; a person then arrived with a policeman who recognized the deceased, and said it was the same they were in search of.
Here Paterson remarked, that if the version of the Confession of Burke, as given in the public prints is correct, he has in many instances given the words of Dr K— as his (Paterson’s). And to show your Lordship what confidence can be placed in Burke’s Confession, Paterson relates the following anecdote, as told him by Mr A. M—n, on whose veracity he can depend, and who was in the employment of Dr K— long before Paterson was engaged: “The first time Mr M—n saw Burke or Hare was about the end of 1827, when one of them called at the Rooms during the day and inquired of him if the Doctor would purchase a subject, on being answered he would, they returned in the evening with the body of a very tall man in a sack. One carried the sack while the other assisted behind. One of the arms of the subject was hanging outside, at that time they seemed flurred and in a great hurry.” Now it will be remembered, that in Burke’s Confession, he says, that the first subject ever they sold to Dr K— was a female that died in Hare’s house, this seems strange; but as they were in the habit of supplying the Doctor before my time, I cannot solve that mystery.
By reviewing the foregoing statement, and coupling it with circumstances that has since transpired, I think your Lordship will admit that there is strong circumstantial evidence existing against the parties, who have all along steered clear of this affair. I will commence my remarks as far back as February 1828; at that time, Burke and Hare had been supplying Dr K— with subjects for at least two or three months previous; at that time, Mr M—r, an assistant, if not always, frequently went with them, and again returned in about an hour and a half with a subject. Mr M—r ought to be examined on this point; he must know where these subjects came from, – who were the individuals he saw, – possibly can tell whether the subjects were male or female. It has been said that one murder was committed in Broggan’s house. Did Broggan not see a third person in his house when he left it, and on his return, found only Burke and Hare, with a package in the room, this package, it is said, Broggan suspected to be a body, and was anxious that it should be removed. Now if Broggan saw three persons enter his house without a package, he knew the character of Burke and Hare too well, not to be acquainted with the motives that had brought them there; if, on his return, he found the third person amissing, and in his or her place a package, a package too that he suspected to contain a body, ought he not to have enquired after the party missing, and what that package contained. No, no, Mr Broggan was no novice to the trade; he was well aware that they had a subject, and consequently knowing, without giving information, is guilty art and part. – Probably Mr M—r, the assistant, can throw some light on this subject.
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