The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-28 00:00:00

THE DOCKS NAPOLEON TRIAL AT PARIS,

A correspondent, writing on Saturday evening, thus
alludes to this siugu(ae trial :—" Messieurs Cusin,
Legendte, Duchesne de Vera, and Arthur Berryer, who
were sentenced some little time ag4 to fine and imprisons
ment for feawit; in connection with the Docks Napole n,
with which they were associated, have appealed to the Cour
Imperiale of Paris, and their case has been heard during the
last three days ; it is stilt unfinished. It would not appear
that the prisoners are likely to gain much by their motion.
They bring no new facts forward in their defence, but
they rest their case upon assertions, which they do not
prove. The Advocate-general, who opposes them; comes
armed, on the contrary, with facts and figures of apparently
the most convincing kind, He shows that the prisoners
tampered with the actions of the society, applied its money
to their otVit use, and that the result of their operations is
a toss to the shareholders of 6,888,561 francs, upwards of
£275,500. Atirng the most striking of the facts brought
forward in the course of these examinations was
one specially relating to Cusin 'and Legendre. On
the books of their bank, an establishment which appears to
have been fed by the money abstracted from the docks,
they had credited a certain Orsi, (originally eriminated
witu them), with a sum of 1,200,000 francs, although, ac-
cording to he sworn evidence, he had never deposited a
farthing between their hands ! When asked how he could
explain the entry of this sum against his name,
all he could find to say was, " I do not know ; I had
no right to control the books of Messrs. Cann and
Legeudre." The cupidity of the three principal prisoners
appears to have been unrestrained by any moral
consideration. They negotiated far the purchase of
of land with aM. Wont. They bought a piece of ground
of him, ill adapted to the purposes of the company, and
dear, s)lely because they were to reap a commi-ision of
82, 000 francs by the transaction. They pretend to have
counted upon the support cf this M. Riont, and in conse-
quence they had had with him, counted that he would
take up a number of their shares. But M. Rioutin reply
said—"l never took a share in any enterprise in •
my life, and if I may speak my mind I should
n,t have commenced with the Docks." Perhaps
the most complete evidence of the rascality of
there schemers is shown in the fact that at the
moment when only 85,000 shares ware subscribed, they
not only declared that the full number, 200,000, had been
taken up, but that there had been demands for 890,000!
Proofs of this amazing statement were not wanting. Letters
requesting allotments of shares were produced; but these
letters had previously been subjected to alterations of the
most impudent kind. The ten shares asked for in one
instance were transf)rtned into a hundred, by the
simple addition of an 0; and so on with others. The
prisoners have, it is well known, sought to implicate mem-
bers of the government in their misdeeds, as accessories
before aria after the fact; and the Government it must be
admitted, has not a reputatiou that places it altogether
above f-u-picion in this matter. The absence of hgh prin-
ciple among the mast prominent men of the empire is
the best proof, perhaps, that that Empire is not de3tined
to lung life. 1

EMIGRATION OF DISMIARGED' GOVERNMENT

AR rizANs.

A large sum has already been subscribed by the officers
employed in the Royal Arsenal and Dockyard, and by
other inhabitants of Woolwich, for the purpose of alle-
viating the distress now existing in that town, by pro-
moting the emigration to the colonies of a large number of
recen,ly discharged Government artizans and labourers.
Sir William Codrington having addressed a letter to
Lerdyaninure, representing the great distress existing in
Woolwich, consequent upim the reduction of hands in the
Government estaulishrnent, and alluding to the fact that
many influential gentlemen in Government employment
-are willing to assist in enabling the unemployed to
emigrate, also expressing a hope that Government will be
induced to contr,bute in proportion to the sums raised by
private means, the following reply has been received:—
" War-office, April 24, 1657.
" Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge your letter,
which I have laid before my colleagues, and while. we
deeply regret the representations of the distress which
exists at ‘Voolwich, in consequence of the redaction of
labourers in the Arsenal, we cannot feel authorised in
recommending the application of public funds to facilitate
the emigration of the discharged labourers add their fami.
lies. Were we to do this in the case of the min discharged
from the Arsenal, we must also do it in that of the men
discharged from our dockyards, or reduced from any
public department of labour ; and we ought to
have done it -in the case of those unemployed
workmen who lately assembled in large numbers
in the metropolis, but who are, I am happy to say,
mostly absorbed in the labour of the country.
I have every hope that the operatives discharged from
the Arsenal may find employment in the same way, and if
not at so high a rate of wages as they received from
Government, at all events at a rate which will enable
them to support their families. While the Government
cannot feel themselves justified in giving funds in aid of
emigration, I may inform you that, should any private
subscription be made for that purpose, the Emigration
Commissioners will be directed to give all the advice
which their experience so well qualifies them to afford, as
to the best and most economies.' mode of applying such
funds,—Your most obedient servant, " PA:VMURE.
"To Lieutenant General Sir Wiliam Codrington,
"IMP., K.C.B.