The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-27 00:00:00

Murder of Two Wives by an Arab.

A. singular trial recently took place before a council of
war at Constantine in Algeria, a man having b answer to
the charge of murdering bii two wives. The evidence re-
vealed many curious traits of Arab life, and showed how
the natives understand and apply their rights as husbands,
and how they punish adulterous wives.
Ali Ben Tabar, of the Mzeloux tribe, had two consorts,
Fatma-ben-el-Ady-Belkessenand Couika-ben-Lakden-ben-
Kipuf. Both were remarkably beautiful, and on this ac•
count their husband had paid a considerable sum of money
for them. Ali-hen-Tabar was sleeping under his tent, and
on awaking and casting a glance around he was astonished
at not seeing his wives reposing on their mats at his side.
He left his tent and carefully inspected the vicinity of his
dwelling. At a short distance, under a clump of trees, ho
fancied he heard a sound of voices. He advanced slowly,
like a leopard about to seize his prey, but at this moment
some clouds which had obscured the moon passed away,and
as the flood of pale light suddenly shed upon the earth re•
vealed his form, two men instantly ran from under the
trees and took to flight. The distance was too great to allow
Tabar to overtake them, and besides this his immediate ob-
ject was to know if his two wives, or one of them, had been
false to him. He soon reached the trees whence two women
flew towards his tent. These fugitives were Belkaesen and
Kipuf. The Arab quickly appeared before them, and in'
etantly they were ordered to fall on their knees. The man-
date was immediately obeyed, but their prayers and suppli-
cations met with but one response—" Their names." Tears
and sobs were redoubled, but Tabar reiterated in a stern
voice his demand to know wbo the men were who bad taken
to flight on his approach. Receiving no reply, he seized a
stout stick, and ceased not to shower blows upon the faith-
less women till he knew that they were dead. Two other
women, relatives of Tabar, attracted by the shrieks for
mercy, quitted their tents and became spectators of the tragic
scene, but whether is was that they considered the husband
to be taking lawful vengeance, or whether they feared his
rage would cause him to turn upon them, they remained
silent and motionless.

At daybreak Tabar left his tent and presented himself be-
fore the officer in charge of the Arab bureau, to whom he
said, "I have killed my two wives I I have avenged ul7
outraged honour I" and this avowal he repeated when exit'
mined' in the preliminary stages of the judicial inquiry. At
the trial eight witnesses proved the facts, and two of them,
called at the request of the father of one of the women,
said the cause of the quarrel which had arisen between the
accused and his victims was idleness on their part. The in-•
terpreter to the council observed that this assertion might
very properly be doubted, as the father would have a double
motive in inducing the Court to believe in the truth of his
witnesses' statements, for if relied on, the stain of dishonour
would not attach to the memory of his daughter, and in
addition, he would be c ntitled to recover damages against
the husband. Tabar, in his examination, said—" I pur-
chased these women for 200 douros, and by killing them I
have lost that amount. If I had considered my money be-
fore my honour I should have let them live."

The judge of the tribunal urged that the penal law should
be carried out, admitting. however, that the council might
take into consideration the excuse of the accused, founded
on the flagrant crime of adultery ; but the council, taking
into consideration the facts and circuwitances, and the out-
rage done to the husband, pronounced a sentence of acquittal.
Suspected Murder at Aldershot.

On Sunday morning the quiet which usually reigns in
the camp at Aldershot on the Sabbath was disturbed by
the discovery of the dead body of a man under such cir-
cumstances as to leave little doubt that the advent of
Christmas in that neighbourhood had been marked by a
brutal murder.

About a quarter past seven o'clock a person named
Hardy, a milk-seller, accompanied by his wife, was corning
along a lane which skirts Aldershot Cemetery, when they
found a man lying dead, covered with blood, and marks of
a struggle surrounding the spot where the body was lying.
They procured a light and assistance, and communicated
with a person named Finch, a Government warder and pa-
rish constable, whose house was not more than 10 yards
distant from the spot where the body was lying. This per-
son at once gave information to the police, and Superinten-
dent Howard, of the Haute constabulary, was soon in at-
tendance. On examining the body he found it to be that of
a pensioner named James Raynsford, who had belonged to
the 84th Regiment, and As about 55 years old. Deceased's
coat was off, his shirt sleeves turned up, his fists clenched,
and his arms bent in the attitude cf. fighting. There was 11
severe cut over his right eye, which was blackened, and his
lips wore swollen as if from bruises. The body was con-
veyed to a building in the cemetery.
From subsequent inquiries made by the police it appears
the deceased was last seen alive at half-past 9on the night
before, at the Royal Exchange Music-hall. He was sup-
posed to have been then under the influence of drink. A
man named Samuel '`amore had been seen out late on Sa.+
turday night near the spot where the body was found, and
was known to have entered the beer• house adjacent. The
police proceeded to this man's lodgings in Denmark-street,
There they found Wetmore dressed in a lodger's clotheS.
His own clothes had just been washed by the landlady, and
she was ironing his shirt when the police entered. She
admitted that sho washed the shirt and other garments be-
cause t hen: was blood upon them, and on examination fs
police found marks of blood on Watmore's waistcoat. The
women also admitted that Wetmore had been out on the
previous night about the time wheal it was alleged he was
seen in the beer-house. lle was taken into custody on the
charge of having caused the death of the deceased. Yester-
day morning he was brought before Capt. Newcome and
Capt. Elliott at the Aldershot petty sessions, and was re-
manded for three days.