The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-20 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL AT PARIS.

Our Paris correspondence of Thursday, contained a
report of the early. proceedings of the court martial now
sitting in Penis to try Lieutenant A. A. Leandri, paymaster
of the 95Th Regiment of the line, P. J Leatidri, lieutenant,
in the same regiment, and P. J. Benaguet, a sergeant alsi,
in the same regiment, du the erioos charge of having
violated a butcher's wife in their barranke.
Atter the complaint addressed to the Procureutaaerteral
by M. Paillard, the h ,nd of the victim. hail been read,
a samtharY of the principal fads of the case, or a s irti
of indictment, and' the depositions of the witnesses were
detailed. .This evidence was to the -feltewing effect tee,
Mine. Paillard, whose maiden nime was -Renault,
and "who had married her husband from love, was
twenty seven-', ears of age; intelligent and affectionate. She
was from het beadier called at Le Chapellqa belle bnichere,
but she was not vain of the distinction, and was entirely
devoted to her husband, her children,
.and her hesibess.
It bad been arranged that Leendri sho ild pay for the meat
which the regiment received, at his ledgings, 63, Rue
Chabrol, and she or her leisband webt to him every five
days for their money. One day in November,. when she
returned from him, shehtated too her husbenh's mats, Duval,
who had accompanied. her, that t she had beeat greatly
frightened, as he had locked her in his room, and had
only le: her out on her telling him that her husband was
waiting for her. The moment her husband came home
she told him the trainee and added, lt I spoke to him very
thinly, and he let me go; but I was Tide ashamed
on leaving his therd, because there were some serzeants
waiting in the adjacent_ room." It was then agreed hetween
her and her husband that she should not go again to
•Learedrieand they sent one of their men for the money,
but the officer received him rudely. She in consequence,
on another occasion, went to him; but at the same her
husband was in the barracks close by distributing the
meat, and she took care to make her children accompany
her. It was then that Leandri wanthd to send the children
away to buy sweetmeats, so as to have her alone, brat she
peremptorily deciared that they should not leave her.
Shortly after her husband, having chilli:flitted some viola-
tion of the ordinances, relative to the sale of meat, was
condemned to six days' imprisonment, and on the 23rd
December he
.went to the prison of St. Pelagic to undergo
the punishment. Its wife accornpented him there,
embraced him affectionately on leaving him, and wrote to
him On the three following dahys to tell him how her-
self and the children were going oil. On the• 26th
she wrote to him that she had been to Leandri, and had
found h'in with-his brother and another officer, and that
from what they had said she hoped that she and her hus-
hand vionli continue to have the custom of the eegiment.
On the 29. h, Paillard, having been released from prison,
returned home, and found his wife .in bed and suffering
from delirium. She was attended by Dr Arnault, but he
called in three other doctors. She recognised her husband,
told him she was very ill, and begged him to send hq. to
the Hospice Dubois, where she could be healed more cheaply
than at home. To the questions of her husband as-to how
her illness was occasioned, she said, "I have caught a
terrible cold." She appeared to get better, but after four
or five days-became worse than ever, and had frequent
attacks of delirium. When in her moments of calm she was
spoken to, she 'turned her face to the wall and frequently
did not reply. She was accustomed to see her husband
night and morning, and used to ask him how•business
was going on, to tell him to take c ire to keep his accoun's
regularly, &c. She frequently, in her moments of calm,
talked strangely. For example, she once said to lair
mother, who attended her, "Mother, to retain the custom
of a regiment, a tradeswom in stould not be virtuous !"
Lk What do you mean ?" " Ah ! that scoundrel Leandri—
he has made propositions to me !" On another occasion,
when site thought no one was in the ro in, she was heard
.to exc'ehn, "My poor children ! my pour husband !
I am a ruined woman !" " What is the matter with you ?"
asked the nurse, coming forward. "Men are sometimes
sad scoundrels!" she said, turning to the wall and bursting
in.to tears. A little atter, she was again seized with
deliriern, and cried out, " The brigaeds! There are
three of them—drive them away! Ah, Monsieur Leandri,
leave me; let me go !" and then she gesticulated as if
trying to escape, and uttered loud cries. Schies like this
were of frt quest occurrence until. the 7th of February,
when she caited her bushel-Id to her, and begged her mother
anti nurse to leave the room. She then spoke thus to him :
" Pahlard, I heve something to tell you, le it I must tell it to
you alone. 1 went to the paymaster to r ceive our money ;
he was with his brother ; they fasteited the door, . and
threw me on the bed; they treated me most brutally;
they are scoundrels; it was infamous to treat the mother
of a family in such teway." As she said this she was
calm, and her voice had i s ordinary tone: though weaker
than usual. Her husband asked her if the men had
succeeded in their attempt, but she did not .answer,
turned to the wall, and burst into tears. Showy
after she became agitated, began talking to herself,
anal was seiz at with delirium. • Her mother and
the nurse were in the room whilst she made
this revelation to her husband, though she thought
they bad left it ; and they confirmed the trial)
of it. Not content with the disclosure made to her
husband, she gave her .mother a picedse description- of
the scene that. weighed on her mind=how the men- had
seized her, how they hail held her, &e., and she gave an
eceelly minute o e to the nurse. On the 9th of February
she died. Dr. Colon, one of the medical men who bad
attended her, and who had subsequently examined her
dead body, expressed the firm conviction that she had
been the victim of gross brutality: On the other hand, it
appeared from the depositions of other witnesses that
Mine. Pall and, towards the end of December, had had
fausse
,couche ; but that before she had sufficientlyrecovered, recovered, she had resumed her customary attention to
her husband's bosines3, It was besides admitted by her
hesband's man, who had accompanied her to the pay-
master on the 26th Dec , that on her return from that per
son he had noticed nothing at all extraordinary in her; and
it was shown that on the same day shq had not only written
the letter above (lowed to her husbarld, but had prepared
one of Clanks to Lieut. Leandri for having preserved to her
the custom .of the regiment. It appeared, too, that on the
27th, the day after The alleged attempt, she bed gone to
market in an open cart, though it was very cold and was
snowing hard, and. that it was on her return home on that
day, not the 26th, that she wee seized with illness, and had
to be helped thou! her cent into her hoese. According,.
too, to Dr. TressehU and another medical man, the woman
had 'died, not froth the effects of violation, hut from a
pec.iliar to women uhder certain circumstances.
They also sated that this malady produced hallucinations
similar to what were stated to have opprersed the woman in
het delirium. And lastly, it was stated that The three
accused on being interrogated had energetically denied
their gui't. At the opening of the court next
day, MA, Lessaigee and Lesueur, chemists, woo
had been - charged on, oath to say whether some
hairs, which had been found on deceased's dress,
belonged to any or either of the prisoners, presented
their report, and certified that having examined the hairs
through a microscope, and compared them will the heir
of the prisoners, they found that these hairs certainly did
not come from any one of the accused, The president then
pros eded to interrogate the prisoners, commencing with
the Sergeant Beneguete who affirmed (contradicting, as it
is alleged, what he ,had said in his original depositions,)
that he did not remember having seen Madame.Paillerd
at Lieutenant Llaudri's q .artery on the day of the com-
mission. of the alleged crime. Lieutenant A. Leandri
being permitted by the court to make an observatioi, com-
plained that certain journals,, which had reiroduced the
indictment, ha I omitted to publish the following letter
written to him by Madame Paillard, on December 27, the
day after the alleged violation —h Sir,--As you have
promised to be so good as to let me, have the regiment
tgain, I will meet you by putting the price at 703. the
kilo. Will you-tell tho-e gentlemen, anal be so good as to
send me ananswer whether favourabl or unfavourable ?"
B ith this itfacer and his brother denied all knowledge of
'he ei,eurn,tances imputed to them. Evidence was then.
gene in, o, but as far es it proveded it is of an extremely.
weak d-scription. The general opinion is that the
prisoners nits be acquitted

IZOMANCF, Iv 1-I6111:".E r...m.-7Sorne years ago, a youlg
mat, note in America, 'toured a young woman in this
(parte', but b lore entering into the married state, he went
i'nquest of gold in•Amerioa, leaving his sweetheart behind
him for a time. the interval, sne•proved false, and had
a chid to are,th•7r. Same time after this the first lover'
tell steii her in marriage, and in reply was informed of
her d.li q Jency. No ping daunted, however, provided shei
woiA give .up, the child to its father, he would still freze
her to be his wife, and sent borne money to take her out.
All thiegs were, got ready. aad-she. was about le, leave th
and cross the A lantic. Before doing so, she wont to take
a last farewell of her baby, who was under the charge of its
Lrranomath-r. The mother's tiff:cion for her child moved
the sympathetic feelings of the second lover's mother, who',
it seems, consulted whb her son on the subject, when it
was resolved thatlie would at once redeem the inheritance,
and do the kiesman's part at Eisler. Accordingly, the
otherdav, he, alorg with a near relative of his own, pro-
ceeded to her father, dkreanded his daughter in marriage,
treated him with " great kindness, gained his consent,
ass,s:ed the youeg lady to dress, but as often as the shawl
was put on", so often was it taken off by her sister, whose
consent could .by, no means be gained to the match, and
who wos to accompany the much needed bride-apparent to
America. At last, however, the father, who was pretty
hearty, end the intended bridegroom succeeded, in spite of
the transatlantic bound sister, in making
off. with tbeir
e, leaving the former to tell the latter's disappointed
lover in America the future destiny of his frail beihrothed.—
Banff leornal. . _ .

POLICE ESPIONAGE ON PUBLICANS

TO THE EDITOR OF TILE NORTHERN TIMES

Sir,—ln accordance with my promise, I now
proceed to give you the results of my experiente
.es regards police espioriege on publicans. In the
year.lB36, I made my debut in Liverpool'as police-
man, N0..36, being the that year when the new
constabulary were ernbodiel in The borough. Early
in the summer of that , year, I was promoted to
the rank of inspector, and 'placed in charge of a
section in the southern _
The authorities had resolved on die most sum.
mary proceedings • being - taken by their officers
against all publicans contravening any of the
many laws which had been from time to time eu-
acted for the regulation of their trade ; and with a
view of stimulating the zeal of their officers, it was
determined that, half the penalties levied on of-
fenders should be -paid to the informing officers
Private constables were not permitted to lay in-
formations unless their inspectors were present,
nor were they alloyed to enter public•houses for
that-purpose. ' The inspector was the only officer,
therefore, who became entitled to a moiety of the
fines. As might have been foreseen, there was no
lack of zeal in the discharge of this duty at all
events. Informations Were laid by the dozen, and
woe was it for the unfortunate publican, for so cer-
tain as he was informed against,conViction followed.
At the first, brush the Inspector of a section usually
called the constable tin the beat as a witness,
allowing him a few shillings out of the penalty,
while he himself pocketed the lion's share Some
of these constables, however, had consciences. and
their evidence occasionally jeopardised a case,which
was very undesirable. The consequence was that
the Inspectors combined and agreed to hunt in
couples, and as their sympathies and interests
were identified, there was no risk of a case breaking
down from defective evidence. The penalties
levied on publicans and beersellera were
extremely heavy, generally for the first offence
forty shillings and costs, for the second
sixty shillings and costs, and. for the third
never less than £5 and costs. It followed
as a matter of course that the shares appertaining
to the info ming inspector were respectively 20s,
30s, and 60s on every conviction. Small wonder
if, with suph temptations held out to their cupidity,
needy and, as was unfortunately the case, unprin-
cioled men should have grasped at every possible
• chance of getting hold of a case by fair means or
foul. Every artifice which ingenuity could devise
was resorted to, to entrap the unwary publican or
beerseller ; and at one time, when the crusade was
at its height, the houses of many of the most
respectable vintners of the town were searched by
these midnight marauders on the pretext that they
knew company was concealed in them ; even the
dormitories of their daughters were not exempt
from the rude intrusions of this horde of com-
mon informers. Complaint was useless. The
Watch Committee of that day, like the Water
Committee of the present, were under a species of
hallucination. and no matter how gross the con•
duct of their officers, if a publiean was the
complainant he had no earthly chance of redress.
At that time an officers . efficiency was julged of
solely by the number of informations he exhibited,
and not by the watchfulness and care he bestowed
on the other and by far the most important parts
of his duties, Thus encouraged and rewarded,
small wonder if everything else was neglected
appertaining to duty, and so it Was. The arrange=
me.nts of the, inspectors were carried out in
the most systematic matter. A and B are confede'
rates,and they agree to hunt the game on each others
sections on alternate nights, and divtde the spoil
equally at the end of the week ; thus there whs
no risk of-a ease breaking down, or any- unplea-
santnees. The. sums thus levied on unfortunate
publicans in many cases Witboe't any jtist cause
would almost exceed belief. The 30s per week,whien
. was the standing pay of an inspeetor, was nothing
in their estimation. In fact, they hardly thought it
worth while to trouble themselves going to the pay
table for such a trifle.
It is an old and a true saying, that light come
light go—at least it 'proved a truism in this instance.
These reeklesS 'young men thus wallowing uncon-
trolled in wealth soon plunged into dissipation of
every kind. Far a time they pursued their career
with apparent impunity ; but the day of retribution
at last arrived, when least expected, and as I was•
the individual who precipitated it, you will perhaps
bear with me while I tell the story in my owe
way. I have aleady told you that I was then an
inspector. My section was a large one, containing
within its boundary more public houses than any
other in the division. I was es needy as any, and,
I confess; I felt the temptation great, as I was
frequently impel-tuned by my fellow' inspectors to
join in their proceedings • Hewever, I had Bra.
cient resolution left to resist tho snare, and kept
myself aloof from all share in their transactions.
I was, of Course, looked' upon with an eye of
suspicion .by tnese worthies, and sometimes
received a hint
,from my superiors, that
my not joining the other inspectors in laying
informations, ' was looked. open as suspicious
at head quarters. •For the one I cared nothing ;to
the other I replied, that I attended to my duties aa
a police inspector, but that I never undertook Lobe
.a common informer, nor would I be such, be the
consequences what they might to myself. SO
matters went on until a certain day, when the
inspectors were occupied sharing their booty in
the station-in Seel street.. The table used on the

occasion, was an empty half barrel, on the head of
which was piled a heap of gold, silver, and copper.
During tho progress of the division a quarrel
arose, which waxed warmer and warmer, until it
was about to'end in blows, All this time I was a
silent spectator of the scene. The men mustering
for afternoon duty were attracted 'to the. spot, greatly
amused and pleased at seeing their inspectors make
blackguards of themselves in the way they were
doing. Having looked on until my indignation
could contain itself no longer, I walked up to the
spot, and applying my toot to the barrel, sent it and
its heap of coins spinning into the middle of the
station house. At the same time I told the
inspectors that I looked upon them as a disgrace
to any police force in 'the world: It would have
been amusing to have witnessed the scramble for
the cash, only I was in no humbur to laugh
Men and inspectors were alike engaged in
the scuffle, but • I believe on this occasion
the men • got the best share. Of 'course
I was well aware I should be reported, and had!
made my ,-Hind up for dismissal and'nothing less;;
litiiVeVer, as the informers had' been guilty of un-
officer7like conduct themselvei, and as their delin-
quencies were beginning to 'ooze out, I escaped
with a very gentle rebuke from the then Heed
Constable. An affAir of this kind, coupled,
as it was with: Many Others, could not long
be kept secret ; it witagenerally bruited -about until
it reached the ears of the then stipendiary, Mr.
Hall ; an enquiry was gone into, and the whole
system blown. .No sooner were- the moieties of
the penalties Withheld than the zealius inspectors,

;0 a man,deelined laying informations; thus proving;
,hat their sole objet hall been to extort money and

not to repress disorder:

Aftcr this I did lay la few

. .
informations thyself, and for this conduct I was
thanked by the Head Constable, in the presenc::
of the whole of the officers. _ _

The fate of these' unprincipled men is instruc•

.., _
tive ; sudthnily possessed of ill gotten wealth, they
indulged in'every species of excess. When they
were as..suddenly deprived of the means of gratify-
ingstheare indulgences, they sunk one and all into
the very lev<est depths of degialation. Many
years since they have all disappeared entirely
from the police, and most of .them frOm the land
of the living.

This operated as a wholesome warning to all
those who were entrusted wiih the future govern-
ment of the police, while the officers Were properly
encouraged to display all due diligence in repress,
ing disorder,.either in public houses or 'elsowhere;
yet anything like espionage was systematically dis-
couraged—under this improved regiine the Liver-
pool police force; after a thorough purgation from
those excresences which had- for a -moment
threatened its wholesome existence, developed
itself into as healthy an organisation as any force
in the world ever assumed. A condition which it
maintained for many years, and I trust yet
maintains. Merit and good conduct were the sole

passports for prOmotion,_ from ae lowest to the
'highest officers in the . force, end that 1:0511'
whose • conduct aid ":-quadifications entitled
him_ to preferme:it, ran no _risk of -having
th,'se overlooked,. even if ,:he had .no frketist
I am inystdf a living instance of the truth of this/
without friends or influence of any kind, tour
sometimes oppose I to the favourite crotchets
those in. power, I rose without solicitation cvesi t°
ta:very high milk to the f ~.,.ti N.,iJacr di,l I ows
my pr.emotion to my .z..,a1 in laisig infertnatio"s'
During the many years I was connected. with the
force, •I did not lay half a dozeit informiti°ll
against publicans., nor were my hands eve:
with a shilling of inforin.t..ion money.
If, as you alley. rs.:WArii3 and promotion fire
held out to the officers as inducements for tbern
to play the- part of key hole sneaks and eaves:
hoppers, I for:.;tae should excee litigly regret It;
for ''there could not, in my opinion, be' a mile
effectual mode of demoralising a police force,
as an experience shows. The policeman %clic:
openly and boldly performs his duties, in the Ws'
aLO manner, is at once a credit to toeforce and a benefit to society. Not so the officion7
spy, who strains every effort to discover or
an offence, with a view to enhance his own iffy
portance. Such a character is not only a liaison°
to the public, but a reproach to the body to wh""3,,
he belongs, and his tendelcies ought to meet wit'l
no sympathy. " Show me your patriot," says
certain writer, "and I will show you a (Ince_
fellow." Show me.your prying, sneaking, effieieng
policeman, say I, and I will allow you a despiAtb!e
scamp—himself a greater rascal than thus, halo
appointed to watch. Ex Pow.oeMANt