The Press.
London, England, 1858-04-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS, APRIL 10, 1858.

Icovery in the making of gas, I must say seems to me ex-
ceedingly improbable. But be might by possibility suppose
that they were only to be used in some military enter-
prise ; although, looking to the small number of the
grenades ( not exceeding five), and the whole history of
them, with which Bernard was well acquainted, you may
think that he had more reason to believe that they were
instruments of assassination than munitions of war. But
unless the evidence, unanswered, does in your judgment
make out against Bernard a prima facie case of complicity
in the plot against the life of the Emperor, I think that you
ought to return the indictment which will be laid before
you " not a true bill," and this will put an end to all further
proceedings tinder the commission. But if the evidence
does in your judgment make oat a prima-facie case of com-
plicity, I would advise you to find a " true bill," so that the
trial may proceed. Such complicity may be sufficient
to make the accused an accessary before the fact to the
murders which, in the event, were committed ; although
the deaths of the individuals who were killed were not
in the contemplation of the accused when he became a
party to the plot. It is laid down in our books, that
" an accessary before the fact is he who, being absent at
the time of the offence committed, doth yet procure,
counsel, command, or abet another to commit a felony;
and it seems that those who by hire, command, counsel,
or conspiracy, and those who by showing an express
liking, approbation, or assent to another's felonious
design of committing a felony, abet and encourage him
to commit it, but are so far absent when he actually
commits it, that he could not be encouraged by the
hopes of any immediate help or assistance from them,
are accessories before the fact." As to the objection
that Bernard could have had no intention that those
who were killed by the explosion of the grenades should
be pot to death, it may be observed that such a clues.
tion can only arise when the principal does not act in
strict conformity with the plans end instructions of the
accesaarv. But here, if Bernard was privy to the plot,
Orsini, Pierri, Gomez, and De Rudio, in throwing the
grenades as they did, must be considered as having
acted strictly in conformity with his plans and instruc-
tions, and he is answerable as sect ssary for the conse-
quences. It is even laid down that " where the principal
goes beyond the terms of the solicitation, yet if, in the
event, the felony committed was a probable consequence
of what was ordered or advised, the person giving such
orders or advice will he an accessary to that felony.
As if A advice B to rob C, and in robbing him B kills
him, either upon resistance ni•nle or to conceal the fact ;
or if A solicit B to burn the house of C, and B does it
accordingly, and the flames taking hold of the house of
I), that likewise is burnt : in these cases A is accessary
to B both in the murder of C and in the burning of
the house of D.

The grand jury then withdrew, and shortly before
four o'clock returned into court, when the foreman
announced that they had found true bills against
Simon Bernard for the capital offence. The trial
will probably commence on Monday morning.