The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-12-30 00:00:00

A REMARKABLE TRIAL IN FRANCE.

Last week a trial was commenced in the As.dge
Court of the Pai de Calais, which excites great interest
in that part of France. The scene of the events which
form the subject of inquiry is Andreaselles, a small
village on the coast about five miles from Cape firisrice.
ten from lionlogue-sur Myr, and immediately opposite
to Dover. The ode sets forth in great
detail all the frets contwe•eil with the charges made
.igainst the seen.eid .Towph Lemettre, and from that
document the following summary is extracted by The
riine3, from whose columns we take this report :
•

" The small farmhouse of Sidles. situate near the village of
Andress-Ilea, was in tit-tither, Ist.ll, inhabited by th,, akar
ly, who had in his service a young man mimed Joseph
Leinettre, then aged eighteen, who, by his iielet conduct and
regular habits, had acquired the eimlidence of his employer.
On the Nth of October, 1864, three small stacks of beans
were found to be os fire, and were totally consumed, the
loss fulling upon their owners, Barnard, Delattre, and Lucien
Onigny. lucendtarisin was anspected, but rit proof could be
obtained. A few nights later, OA the 25th of October, a
Mouse and shed belonging to the widow Lime, tn,e Cuigny,
was burnt to the ground. the same suspicions were excited,
anal the same fruitless investigation followed. Upon the
evenieg of the Mk of November. bind, a Ire 'broke out In a
piy:styc. which led to the entire destruction of the farm
buildings belonOng to. man named Trarnery, in which bad
been deposited the crepe of corn gathered by fitly. rion
this occasion Lemettre was questioned, aud he declared
that he bad seen no one near the place, but as it was
proved that lie had himself been near the spot shortly
before the tire broke old, grave suspicion fell upon hint, and
Tramery urged his nephew Oily to dismiss Lenottre, w kWh
the former declined to do, having complete confidence in
his servant. 'Franiery then ceased to sleep at Ids farm-
ti, tame. which be fast, nv it in at night, and nothing occurred
ti caw uneasiness until February, Islls, when it was found
the house had been broken into idol attempts made to set
fire to it. in December, IStis, lady died, and in May. 1547,
his widow married a farm set vtuit named totals Sauvage,
whose brother was married to at sister if Lemettre, and they
coatinneil to reside in the Sales tarmhomie Among tlin
tutm employed there was One Louis de Cables, who had
uecumulated a Ruin of 6201., which he deposited In a trunk
In a loft, iin the 15th of September, I*l7, this trunk was
found open, and the money abstracted. Shortly afterwards
the Moo-ages left Sidles and went to reside at I iuvringhem
a hamlet • abort distance from Andresselles, taking Lemettre
with them. Almost immediately • series if extraordinary
occurren, s caused the greatest alarm, Slits were tired at
Swami., ids child, and, Os he himself alleged. at Leinettre,
but no wounds were inflicted. A hot full itf powder 000
found piaci,' against the wall of the house, app' ently in-
tendol to produce its destrbytiou. Lemettre now admits
that he fired the shots and placed the hit of powder, and
says that his nottive was to frighten his employers, and to
Induce them to leave Onvrinsibern. ills complicity WPM lAA
suspected at the time, hut on the Ist of December, Isns, an
event of aMg pre tragical character ocean:rot. Upon that day
a brewer's carman, naine.l Fhtllppe Preuvoid, aged 19, ha I
been to Andresselles with a cart load of beer, and daring the
day collected %miens stall sums due to his employer. It
being :lint' day IA has ViThIAS Freuvost met ntaay acquaint •
once., with whom he drank, and on starting to ieturn to
II oiville he w! 's sli4htly tipsy. S. slot in the front of the
cart. be was dozing, when, upon arriving near a hamlet
called Itonville, he was suddenly dragged, from the cart anti
thru-t into a dry ditch by the side of the r Ad. White thus un-
prepared and half stunned, his assailant, lifting up Preuv,wt's
Lather apron, inflicted Ilf AAI hint an outrage, ceasing such
horrible og, my that he faulted. Upon recovering e.risclous-
lie.is he f,,und himself weltering in Slitod tool his money
gone. He crawled to a house in the vihage, where he re-
mained for many weeks, the iejuries inflicted being severe
anti permanent. The fact that the tissailabt had not sp ken
a word during the perpetration of this rid tittack le.i lii
A suspicion that Ito WA. seme one with ii loon Prenvost 11A,1
res,, drinking, and to whom he was very.: now a. Na

however, could be .I.lentille.L ;int althOmdi Liniettr‘e
iii besm in Preueost's company VII that day, no yuTiCi.4l
MI upon him. A fortnight hiker, another crime was perpe-
trated in the same neighlonrhood—at An.lressellts itself. A
widow TiAliied Lambert Wed alone at a f.nnihouse near the
main street of Andreirielles. One night, in December, 1.:68,
she was awoke by a Iluide, and immediately sitar. low voice
which seemed familiar to her demanded her money or her
life. She deelar,l that she bad no money. and attempted
to reach a eord IC e.I with an Maim bell, but was pre-
vented by the 1- Are [ht.. rushed towaras the door
. . . . .

of the house, but was stopped by a i.uiiet from thero. rs
pistol, which wounded her In the thigh. Ile then seized
tier, and forcing her against the dim?, begm stabbing her in
v.irious parts of the body, one wound causing the inteeth,
to protrude. The victim. however, Ilaulag,,l to escape from
the helm,. and sn ith difficulty dragged h, molt to a neigh.
hues. Assistance was procured, and a party of men went
to Madame Lambert's house ; but the ass oda had escdped,
taking with hint is watch and some articles of jewellery.
Ile nail, however, failed to discover a sum of 1,2001., which
Madame Lambert had shortly before received from an
attorney at Marquise, which fact tt was irdefTed had Men
knows to the thfef, and was tho object of his search.
Upon Christanas-eve the priest's house at Andremelles
waa broken into during the celebration of midnight mass
and some silver plate and church ornaments were stolen
besides is purse containing nearly 40vf. In gold and
silver. By a singular coincidence Joseph Lemettre pre-
tended about the same than that he had been robbed of
a Sum f LsOef., the result of his savings, but of which
he had never before made mention to any one, and It
Is now evident that he could not have become possessed
of that amount by honest means. In 1307 he drew an un-
lucky number In the conscription and became liable for
service, to avoid which he borrowed 2,500 L from Sau-
sage to purchase his exemption. la January, 1569, Louis
de Gaines, who had been robbed in 1987, had again
anmsel a small hoard, which consisted of 4001. in Clan
and two certificate* for 2.00 f. Rentes, the whole of which Inc
noneesded in a old hat placed isa trunk in the loft. On the
7th of January this trunk was toned open and the money
SOMA. The certificates, however, were left. These he carried
about with him for wane thm, bat afterwards hid then, in
the puillmac of his bed i• the loft, and ora the 24th of
January the pi:Masse was found ripped open and the certifi-
cates abstraeted. It appeared plait. that the robberies were
perpetrated by sours one living in or named about the
honse, but still no person was arrested. At the beginning
of June in the same year Joaeph Lemettre left the farm anti.
took a small hones lu the alai,. street is Andreaselles. Oar
Jane IS, the second day of the village fair, there was a
ennsiderable influx of visitors from the adjoining vil-
lages. Among them was Adolphe Coigny, son of Lucien
Cuigny, who, in MS, hail hem the victim of two incendiary
fires. Adolph,. WAS a fine young man, aged 22, quiet and in-
offensive, although somewhat elven to inteniperance, and en-
dowed sill, heiculean strength. Some pereons who had left
their tart at Lemettree house went to fetch it a.t night, but for
a long time ,0111,1 fed obtain aflniiseiou. At last Lensettre ea-
peered at the door partly dressed, sad explained the deley by
Mating that belted been ,isleep, and had not heard theni knock-
ing. About midnight is woramn fell over the body of Adolphe
wldch coo lying In a narrow roadway lereling
from the main street. and close to the 'table of Lemettre •
house. The body, which was placed sem,,, the lane with
the head close to the stable door, was still wane, anti upon
staminetton it was found that Cuigny had been aseaulted
I. the mine horrible mariner as the brewer Prouvret, and
fiddle insensible hail Mem strangled. Robbery had evi•
deftly how the motive for this lICW crime, as s parte-
twinned's motainiag a email sena, which Cuigny was kuown
Iso mimes*, had been alerted off. A swat mor,oin examina-
tion proved the presence in tile stimseh of some reel
Wine, a beverage of which Cuigny hell not partaken at any
of the eabareta he had visited during the Ihy. A wine-shop
keeper named Foricart, anti two of Ids sons, were arrested
upon simpleton of belog ~,rmernefl in the nimiLr. Tb.ir
'come° WaS, however, Worn proved I,yAllfbther Portia catas-
trophe. A son, Eugene Finnan, w ho hall been lent in charge
of the wine shop, was found, id, the morning of October 29,
dead in his bed. When ditcovered the body was quite cold
and bore the marks of nailed lcoolS, ni though the murderer
hail stamped upirli tile Ulan, Other mark., proved that tie,
Nome fearful lir ntality hail been practise.' upon him as in the
earn' nit Preuvost mil cnigny, end if, this instance also straw
gulatbn had been applied to caner death. The SISSASSin hail
also attempted to sot tire to the place, as was shown by some
partially cennuneal articles of bedding. Many articles of
Writhing hail been stolen, hut no money, as a min of el'Of
which had hem in the houses had been previoesly placed in
the hand of a acmhbour for safe custody. On the 22.1 d of
Novena,n r, a farmheilm hr the same village was broken
silo and a considerable nllnatily of pooperty etiden. Not
lolllt afterwards the village was alarmed I,y the report of
anoth, murder. One Felicien Malfoy, a farm-servant,
aged 211, had several times been heard to say that he
had wimething npou his mind, and that 'there was
a band of ribber, in the neighbourhood, and had
ones indicated 011 e Beauvoi A. UP, lloWeVer, refused
to give my ebar explanation of his reniarks, and
no attention WICs paid to them. Early on the morning
~f the 22n1 of February, 1170, Malloy was to assist another
man in cutting wmal at Madame Lambert's farm, and on his
way thither would have to pass the house of Joseph Lensettre.
U,', hi mover, never Tirade his appearance at the farm, and it
was net until March 8 that his body WAS found in a well
belonging to au unoccupied I.'s,. The body Was Unclosed
in a reuple of sacks sewn together, and it was abundantly
elver that death had been cauaed by strangulation. 'line
scene of outrage was then Pinned from Andreeselles to tire
ireighbmiring villages Upon the 251 h of August 1070, the
holm of a MAD named Bally, at Pichovert, near Wimille,
WWI broken hit°, and a comparatively large stun of money
etolen. Suspicion fell upon one Deirdre, who wm, however,
ininmliately called away to serve its the Garde Mobile.
Lemettre nos not called anon to serve until October, on
the 2oth of which month he left with his battalion for
, Arras, hasten previously deposited in the hands of Marianne
Sarivage three bonds of the Credit Fonder. which in April,
beeanie the subject of inimiry. l'pon that forcaBloll
Lernottre deelareil that lie haft bought them of a man un-
known at Boulogne, but learning that Bally bad suspected
Debate If robbing I.lm, he lusbauated that Deloffre seas the
men of whom he bought the Minis, which the latter denied.
During the periml of Lemettree ISPIlle• with the army there
WWI a cessation of the crimee which had caused such ton-
tine:di alarm id Andresselles and the vicinity. but soon after
his retuni home in April robberies again became frequent.
111 P hnuee of a retired priest at %Merle. near Wimille, was
broken into, and 2,0001. or 3,0001. in nienT etolen, beside.
H ugs and other valuab Th le.. e next o this prolonged
series nf crimes oecurred on Sunday, t 14th of May
last. Upon that day the Abbe Flour, curt of .Manighem,

. - -
WindLe, left his house dined eight tijdock in the loom-
ing to perform service in the church, and was followed
shortly after by his servant. Upon their return home
It was found that the house had been entered, awl
property of considerable value idolen. Subsequent in-
vestigial.' proved that Joseph Lemett re had becli seen In the
village at an early hour, and had previously made inquiries
respective the hahits of the priest and his servant. Again,
on the ith of June, upou returning after the celebration of
vcsi.ers the Abbe (oilier, of Itaziughen, found that his house
had been entered and money to the extent of I ,imef. ab-
stract, d. Lemettre having been seen in the villain. on that
day. MO about the time of the mlibery, suspieion IltWall to
be excited, and his future movements were waichef 4WI the
14th of June Lemettre was married at Ambleteme, where
he celebrated the 0,1131011 Ins somewhat grand style. on
the 25th of Jane the teturn Viedding feast was to he given,
, and at vino o'clock MI that morning Ltsmettre arrived and put
up his liaise at a cabaret. lie then went out and wai watched
by WIC hoyelle, who suspected hint of being concerned in
. seam of the previous robberies in that neighlieurhood. the
Piis seen furtively to enter a 11:11TOW Way itfldilig to the
mod. n cf the curt, house, and presently was observed
creeping under a hedge towards the buck part of the pre-
Noyelle immediately hastened to the church, re
counted his observations, and obtained assistauce. The
house was surrounded, aud Lemettre was arrested before he
had twit able to effect as entrance. Upon hhn and at his
house were (and many articles which formed portions of
the property stolen upon some of the occasions mentioned
above. Thu evidence being irresistible Lemettre admitted
his guilt in respect of those robberies. He also admitted
that he had beeo e .erne.l in the assassination of Foneart,
but denied that he had attempted the life of Madame Lam-
Inert, or that be lad assassinated Uuigny or ttalfoy, or that
Mu had eemmitted the attack upon the brewer Preuvost."

• The trial began on Wednesday, the 214: There are
no lees than 27 charges against the prisoner, com-
prising. murders, arson, highway robberies, and bur-
glary, in o.pport of which 104 witnesses have been
summoned to give evtlenee.
The prosidin- judge is M. Cautioy, Councillor of the
Court of Appeal, until resell* officiating at Metz. A
jury of 14 were morn, after eight names had been
objected to by the prosecuting voluted and nine by the
defence.

The contract between the appearance of the prisoner
when Nought into court, and the fearful crimes laid to
his charge, caused general amazemenL He iv very
young-looking, with an open face, awl an air of inno-
cence which is really captivating. His manner is easy
and his look cheerful, and he bears the concentrated
geeing of the closely-packed audience with calmness
and imperturbability.
The acre d'accuaatiwt was then read, plans of
Andresselles and the neighbhuring villages being sup-
plied to the jury and counsel, as 11140 a photograph
of the prisoner's house, close to which the body of
Cuigny had been found. The accused upon being
handed one of there photographs teemed rather our-
priced, and smiled slightly. The President then, in ac-
cordance with the procedure of French Courts of Jus-
tice, proceeded to Inestion the prisoner. The accused
id his name was Joseph Lewettre, that he WM U.lll a
lleanvrequer, near Boulogne-cur-Mer, on the 15th of
February, 1846. When very young he bad been em-
Ployed in the fields watching sheep, and had but little
education at school. At the age of 14 he went into
the service of Madame Dely as farm servant, where
he remained at the time when the events ip,w under
investigation occurretL