The Press. — London, England, 1858-02-27 00:00:00

THE PRESS, FEBRUARY 27, 1859. Paris by the same train as Zeguero. On arriving at the Paris terminus on the morning of December 12 Orsini gave a card to Zeguero, telling him to take the horse to an hotel, which the latter, probably by mistake, says ass in the Rue Rivoli, but which, according to all probability, must have been the Hotel de Lille et d'Albion, Rue St. Honore 211 where Orsini went on December 12. Zeguero deposes that he gave the ten half shells to a waiter in the hotel, and Orsini in his last examination says that just after he entered the hotel he noticed in the ante chamber all the pieces of shell laid out upon a sofa by the side of his curry-comb and horse-brush, and that he quickly removed them to his room. Zeguero did not stay a night in Paris. He left far Brussels on the evening of the Nth, after having passed the day in visiting various places, without there being anything to raise a suspicion against him. Zeguero deposes that a few days after his return to Brussels he saw Bernard, and told him that he had taken the Englishman's horse to Paris, to which Bernard answered, " I know that." Orsini stayed only three days in the Hotel de Lille et d'Albion. On December 15, be went to a furnished apartment on the ground floor of Rue Monthabor, No. 10. Pierri soon appears upon the scene, calling himself a German ; then Orsini, passing for an Englishman ; then Gomez, who was brought by Pierri to be Or• sini's servant; and lastly De Rudio, who represented himself as a traveller for a brewer. The time at which these three last-named persons left England to join Orsini in Paris is most distinctly proved, as well as the route they took and the circumstances attending their journey. Thus the four principal accused parties were assembled in Paris, and ready to execute the crime which they had long before meditated and prepared. Orsini had been in Paris since the 12th of December, and although, by the admission of the Acte, the French police as early as the Ist of January were informed that Pierri and another would in a few days be ic Paris for the sole purpose of assassinating the Emperor, not a single step was taken to arrest these miscreants, and by the first week in January the four conspirators were safely and comfortably lodged in Paris. After the safe arrival of the pistols sent by Barnard, the only thing remaining to be done was to load the shells, the principal instruments of the crime to be executed. The fulminating powder employed for this purpose appears to have been made by Orsini himself, or at least with his assistance. He placed this dangerous substance in his carpet-bag, after having wrapped it up in linen and paw, which he damped from time to time. The (package thus wetted weighed about 2 lbs. English. While in the Rue Monthabor he dried his fulminating powder, first by exposing it to the air, and then, as it did not dry fast enough, by placing it near the fire. The latter operation was very dangerous. Orsini stood before the fire with his watch in one hand and a thermometer in the other, in order to measure exactly the conditions as to duration of time and degrees of heat under which the powder might remain near the fire. " 1 ran the risk," he said in his last examination, "of blowing myself up and the house too." The shells having been filled nearly half full, Orsini closed them by means of a screw adapted to some holes bored in the upper part of each projectile. He declared that he was aided in this work by Gomez, who, having a stronger wrist than his, turned the screw better. We come now to Jan. 14 : Between six and seven in the evening, Orsini returned home with Gomez, who either accompanied him, or had waited for him a few minutes in the outer doorway; they were soon rejoined by Pierri and De Rudio, and then all the four went out together. They then went towards the Opera. Gomez is the first of the accused who manifested an intention to tell the truth of what followed, and his con• fessiona were on'y made successively. While at first ad mitting that he knew of the project, he pretended that it was only revelled to him on January the 14th, at the moment of leaving the Rue Monthabor ; and he protested that although he was present at the commission of the crime, he took no active part in it; but being soon forced to confess that he had seen tho shells at Orsini's, although he says he did not know what they were, he went on to admit that Orsini had given him one to carry; that when they had got as far as the Place Vendome, Orsini told him that they were going to kill the Emperor with shells; that he at the same time gave him al revolver to defend himself if he should be attacked ; and that in the Rue Lepelletier he (Orsini) had taken from him the shell vi.iich he had given him to carry, to throw it at the Emperor himself. There is, however, no doubt that the parts to be played by each were settled before they lelt the boase. The two largest shells were given to him and to Gomez, Orsini kept two which were less, and Pierri had the fifth,' which was of the same size as those of Orsini : It was arranged that G onacz was to throw the first shell, Radio the second, that Orsini was to act next, and Pierri last of all. When the Emperor's carriage approached the Rue Lepelletier, the conspirators had taken up positions on the foot pavement in front of the principal entrance of the peristyle, between the houses and the crowd of spectators As soon as thu first explosion, proceeding from the shell thrown by Gomez, was heard, Orsini said to Rudio, " Throw yours." lie did throw it, and then instantly took refuge in a small wine-shop, from which he heard the third deto nation, and from which he afterwards got away during the confusion that ensued. On th e same day, Jan. 21, Gomezalso made up his mind to tell th e w h ole truth • and with regard to the distribution o f th e s h ells, the plan agreed upon by the assassins, the e xecut i on of the plan, a n d the part which he himself took in throwing the first shell, h e entirely confirmed the declarations of his fellow-prisoner Radio. Such were the declarations, added to other proofs obtained by the instruction which Orsini found himself compelled to face when he was examined on January 24. O verpowered by evi. deuce, but not daunted, he had recourse to bravado, declaring that he had, it is true, resolved to kill the E m . peror, in order, by means of a revolution in France, to bring about the independence of Italy, adding that he alone had formed the project, that he had taken everything upon himself, that be had got the shells made abroad, but that he would say nothing more. Then, thinking again of his personal position, he took care to add that he did not him. self throw any shell, and that doubtless the third one, the explosion of which was heard, must have been thrown by an Italian who was there by his orders, and to whom he had given it an instant before. This Italian, he said, was not known to any of his accomplices, not even to rierri. In the course of the same examination Orsini affected generosity towards his fellow-prisoners, who, he said, might speak against him, but against whom he would sav nothing. Reflection, however, made him change his mind, as he explained when he last appeared before the judge of instruction. He now says that Gomez threw the first shell and Radio the second, but that he himself did not throw any, and, in order to escape from the evilence which is overwhelming against him on this point, he recurs to his ridiculous fable about the unknown accom plice, who is supposed to have come u p on t h e scene at the last moment. The document, which is of a most voluminous nature, closes by specifying the articles of accusation against each prisoner. lortign anb dotantai FRANCE. TRIAL OF ORSINI AND HIS COLLEAGUES. The trial of Orsini and his colleagues commenced on Thursday morning, before the Court of Assizes of the Seine, M. Delangle presiding. The court was crowded to excess, and the anxiety to obtain ad. mission was extreme. No person, however, was admitted after half-past ten, on any pretence what ever, and if any one left the court he could not again return. The prisoners, who were dressed in black, are all young men, with the exception of Pierri, who is middle-aged. They all seemed composed, and listened with attention to the pro ceedings. The early part of the day was taken up with the reading of the indictment, which is of great length. There are no less than thirty-three witnesses. Gomez denied any participation in the act. Ile only knew of it at the last moment. Rudio confessed everything. He threw one bomb. He incriminated the rest of the prisoners. Orsini confirmed his former account, and ac cepted the full responsibility of the part be had taken in the affair. He confessed he wanted to kill the Emperor, and he was ready to die. He never con fided his intention to Mr. All sop. M. Bernard brought the bombs to Brussels, bit did not know for what purpose they were intended. Would not say anything as to the other prisoners. Pierri denied all participation in the conspiracy until the day the attempt was made, and then re repented. Most of the witnesses were beard. Mr. Taylor, of Birmingham, did not answer to his name. The positive announcement of the formation of a Government by the Earl of Derby has given general satisfaction in Paris. The Pays says : The character and known opinions of the principal members of the new Cabinet are such as to reassure us most completely as to the maintenance and consolidation of the alliance. The name of the new Foreign Secretary warrants us in hoping that the relations between the two countries will continue to be sympathetic, and even cordial. The sentime n t s o f L or d D er b y an d Mr. Disraeli are not doubtful ; they have more than once blamed the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston, when he deviated on certain points from the views of the French Government. NAPLES. The despatch of Count Cavour upon the illegality of the capture of the Cagliari by two Neapolitan men-of-war has been published. The despatch, dated Jan. 10, 1858, is addressed to Count 6ropallo, Sardinian Minister at the Court of Naples. It appears from this despatch that the Cagliari was seized after the rebels had landed from her at Sapn, in the Gulf of Policastro, and while she was en route, according to the declaration of the captain, to Naples, to report to the Sardinian consul there the events which had occurred. At the moment of cap ture she was on the "high seas, thirty miles from Salerno and twelve from Capri. " From this point of view," observes Count Cavour, the illegality of the capture cannot be disputed ; and he proceeds to argue that between States at peace no legal capture can be made unless caught in the very act of piracy : It could not be justified on the principle of public right, unless on proof that the Cagliari was a pirate. Now, the and now absconded (au fuite)—proceeds to narrate the well-known events of the 14th of January. It has been judicially ascertained, says that func• tionary, that 156 persons were struck, and the number of wounds, according to medical reports, amounted to five hundred and eleven by the explosions on the 14th of January. In this long list of victims were comprised twenty-one women, eleven children, thirteen lancers, eleven Gerdes de Paris, and thirty-one police agents. It must be added, to complete the picture which the Rue Lepelletier presented at this moment, that besides the two horses of the imperial carriage, twenty-four belonging to the lancers were struck, two of which died on the spot, and three more the next day. The circumstances connected with the arrest of the prisoners are then described, and their personal histories sketched, and from which we draw the fol lowing conclusions—viz., that Orsini, who for thirteen years has been follov►ing the career of a conspirator, lived iv England nearly two years ; Pierri, out of wenty• four years' active life, lived for some five in England ; while Rudio and Gomez had resided in England for some eighteen months only. The latest declarations made by the accused who are present in France enables us to trace their origin, and follow the development of the plot which ended in the attempt of Jan. 14. Orsini himself says that in October, 1857, they talked of assassinating the Emperor : In October, 1857, Gomez baring met Orsini and Ber nard in a street in London, the former asked him to call upon him at No. 2, Grafton-street. " During this visit," says Gomez, " Orsini told him that the Prophet (meaning itturzini) was losing his power, and that all his efforts only ended in getting men shot to no purpose ; and then he propoaed to him to join in a plan which he (Orsini) had invented, to get up a rising in Italy." From this period they began to consider how to get some shells manufac tured with which to kill the Emperor. Orsini had got a model made in wood by a turner, but, being a foreigner, it was feared that he would not easily find a manufacturer in England who would make the real shells, and consequently this task was confided to the Englishman Allsop. Allsop applied to Mr. Taylor, an engineer at Birmingham. At the dictation of Orsini, Bernard wrote a note containing instructions for Mr. Taylor. This note, dated the 16th of October, 1857, is annexed to the proceedings, and the details contained in it correspond exactly with the descrip tion already given of the shells that were used on January 14. Four letters written by Allsop were addressed to Taylor to hasten the manufacture of the " models," as they were called. These letters are dated from Ginger's Hotel, where Allsop was staring in London, and bear date the 17th, 19th, 21st, and 23rd of November, 1857. In a sub sequent letter, dated November 28, Allsop sent to Mr. Taylor a post-office order for 21. 6s. 6d. in payment of the work be bad done. Gomez, however, appeared to be somewhat mistrusted by the leaders of the plot. Orsini sent himitolßirrningham, where Pierri was to watch him. From Birmingham, on November 3, 1837, Gomez wrote to Orsini a letter in which he protests his devotedness, and the terms of which, though enveloped in a certain disguise, sufficiently prove that he fully knew what was to be done. The passage we have marked in italics offers a o triouti comment. upon recent remarks which have b !en made againit England for her encourage ment to assassins. At the time when the correspondence was going on between Pierri and De Rudio, Orsini, under the false name of Allsop, had already left England for Paris. He had obtained in London a Belgian visa for Thomas Allsop's passport on November 24th, and a French visa on the 28th : On the 29th we find him at Brussels, at the Hotel de I'Europe, Place Royale, No. 1. A few days later Bernard a-rived at Brussels with a passport for Belgium, delivered 01 December 7by the French Consul in London. He it WAR who had undertaken to get the shells manufactured be Mr. Taylor brought to Brussels. For this purpose he had recourse to M. Joseph George, whose brother keeps tie Café Suisse on the Place de la Monnaie, at Brussels. Joseph George came to Brussels by way of Ostend on December 6, 1857. When he left London Bernard had handed to him ten half shells in cast metal, that is to say, live shells divided into ten pieces, telling him at the same time that they were part of a newly-invented gas apparatus, and that an Englishman who lived at Liege would come to fetch them at the Cafe Suisse. George did, in fact, declare these things at the Ostend Custom-house es gas apparatus ; be paid the duty which was asked for; he expected in vain the Englishman who was to come t i the Café Suisse ; but one day Bernard presented himself there and took them away. Orsini (passing as Allsop) had told the people of the Hotel de l'Europe that he was going to Paris, but that he was waiting for a friend. This friend was no other than Bernard, and the moment he arrived in Brussels Allsop prepared to depart. He had bought a horse of an officer of the Guides, and he sent the shells to Paris by the man who took the horse. At the request of Bernard and Orsini, George mentioned the name of Zeguero, one of the waiters at the Café Suisse. On December 11, the horse having been placed in a box on the railway, Zeguero was, just as he was starting, told by George to take a bag containing the ten half shells in question, and to give the bag to the owner of the horse in Paris. It is thus that the shells, of which such a criminal use was to be made, were introduced into France. Zeguero (following the instructions he had received) declared them at the Custom-house as a new kind of gas apparatus, and they Imo thought to be of such small value that no duty was asked for them at the French frontier. Orsini went to