The Express.
London, England, 1866-12-06 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF LAMM,ANDE.

(FROM OOR OWN COBRISPONDENT.)

PARIS, WIDNISDAY EVININO.
Lamirandc, when interrogated by the President,
confessed that he had robbed the Bank of France
of the full sum of 704,000 fr., which is laid to his
account in the indictment ; that the abstractions

were going on for nearly three years, and that
every day during that period he submitted to M.
Bailly, the manager of the Poitiers branch bank,
a falsified balance, but for which his frauds must
have been inevitably discovered as fast as they
were committed. His system was to take rou/eaux
of gold and replace the coin by silver pieces in
bags, which were supposed to contain gold. He
took a sort of credit to himself for not having taken
care to make the bags of proper weight, had he
done which he said his defalcations might have

gone on for ever undiscovered. Ho expressed
contrition for his crime, and especially because it
tended to throw suspicion upon his respectable
chief, M. Hailly. The examination relative to
what he had dune with the stolen money is ex-

tremely curious and interesting. I subjoin a
translation from an authentic report :
Q. I am now going to ask you a question which has
not yet been put to you because you tied from the justice
of your country. What did you do with the money?—
A. In the first place I am quite sure that I gave as much
as 7,000 fr. to an English interpreter, who, in return,
informed against me. Then I am persuaded that I was
robbed of three seer-ities of the value of 10,0001 r. at
London and Liverpool. I was weary, I bad passed several
nights, as many as nine, I think, at play—for play has'
been my ruin. Further, I trusted a sum of 6,000 fr. to a
Canadian who was going home.
Q. That money has been restored'—A. Yes; it has
been given to the Bank.
Q. What next'—A. I spent a great deal of money at
New York—somewhere about I,soufr.

Q. But you must recollect that you have upwards of
700,000 fr. to account for.—A. I cannot tell what haa be-
come of the money. At New York I had to do with some
advocates, to whom I entrusted 191,000 fr. I agreed with
them that if I did not resist the extradition they would
send lio,ooofr. for me to make restitution of in France.
Q. Bo that they kept rd,ooofr. for themselves. Did
they give up this money ?—A. The police agent told me
that when he threatened them with a prosecution they
sent the Bank of France 2.1,000 fr.
_ .

Q. You yourself have given back something'—A. Yes,
the amount stated in my memorandum.
_ _ .

....- -- .
Q. Go on with your narrative.—A. Before leaving
France I gave money to two women.
Q. You are yet a long way off from the eum total.—A.
Ah, but the money I gave to my American advocates.

M. Lachaud—Oh, they are no advocates.
The President—Yes, they are New York advocates.
M. Lachaud—No, they are not worthy of such a title.
They are thieves' accomplices.
Q. Well, now tell us what you have done with the cur-
plus!—A. I cannot tell without doing an injury to inno-
cent persons.
Q. I cannot understand that. 'Von must answer. It
has nothing to do with the question at u.sue, but it is a
question of morality.—A. I cannot tell.
Q. You refuse ?—A. Yes.
M. Lachaud—Will the court allow me to speak! I have
a revelation to make.
The President—You can make your revelation in your
speech, M. Lachaud, but we cannot again do what we
did yesterday, and ask the prisoner continually whether
he agrees with his counsel.
Lamirande—l refuse to answer.
After some further questions about the debts which the
prisoner had paid, a highly sensational scene occurred. M.
Lachaud after rising several times to speak, and being told as
often by thepresident that he must wait till the examination
was closed, exclaimed, stretching out in his hand a bag of
money—l have more than a revelation to make. I have
a fact of importance to the trial which must now be made
known. My client tells you that he cannot say what has
become of some of the stolen money for fear of injuring
innocent parties. I have here in this bag 110,200 fr., of
which I now make restitution in Lamirande's name, and
I now hand the money over to the counsel for the Lank
of France. .

M. Bourrean (the counsel)—l do not feel authorised to
receive it ; but here is an officer of the Rank of France
who will take the money and give a receipt.
M. lAc.haud—We do not want any receipt. Here is a
restitution. (Great sensation in court.)
Q. You have still, after all the explanations you have
given, 280,000 fr. to account for. Your counsel has just
given up 110,000 fr. ; what has become of the sum re-
maining!—A. I cannot say.
Q. I cannot understand what interest you can have in
making this restitution by your counsel instead of frankly
admitting that you had the money in answer to the ques-
tion I had just now put to you.