The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-26 00:00:00

CRIME IN FRANCE,

The Tribunal of Correctional Police last week tried a
contractor for public works, named Lecoq, on a charge of
having attempted to corrupt a public functionary. It ap-
peared from the evidence that, on the 6th June last, Le-
coq, who had contracted for the supply of certain materials
for public works, called on M. Ambroise, an agent of the
Ponts-et-Chaussees, residing at St. Denis, charged with
the passing of the said materials, and after a conversation
with him, secretly left on his desk a bank note for I,ooof.
Lecoq having admitted that ho had left the note in ques-
tion, the Tribunal declared the charge fully proved, and
condemned him to four months' imprisonment, a fine of
300 f., and the costs of the prosecution. The Tribunal
further ordered the confiscation of the I,ooof. note and
directed that it should be given to the hospital of St. Denis.
The police have just succeeded in arresting two shoplifters
who have for some time been exercising their craft to the
prejudice of lacemen, dealers in embroidery, and jewellers
in Paris. Many complaints had been lodged with the
police, but all efforts to discover the thieves proved fruit-
less, until some of the tradesmen remarked that the
robberies had always coincided with the visits of an ele-
gant lady, accompanied by a nursemaid in peasant cos-
tume, carrying,a baby dressed in very rich embroidery. A
watch was accordingly set on these two persons, and the
day before yesterday an agent of the detective police caught
the nurse in the act of secreting some valuable lace
while her mistress was pretending to make purchases. It
was then found that the pretended baby was a doll with a
waxwork face and hands, while the body was hollow paste-
board, and served as a hiding-place for the articles stolen.
The two women were taken to the Prefecture of Police,
and on searching their lodgings a considerable quantity
of stolen goods was found, as well as a great number of
pawn-tickets relating to property which had been obtained
in a similar manner,

The Civil Tribunal of the Seine has just given judgment
in an action brought by the Countess do Rossehnini Gua-
landi and Baron de Maistre, as represerratives of the late
Piincess de Bethune, against the temporal administration
of the church of St. Thomas d'Aquin, •to recover a sum of
120,000 fr. advanced to the administration by their relative
under the following circumstances. Soule time since the
City of Paris offered to purchase a house worth 250,000 fr.
for the residence of the cure, on condition that one-half of
the amount should be paid by the temporal administration
of the church in the course of ten years. The offer was
accepted, and thePrincres &Bethune, to enable the adnoinis-
tration to fulfil the conditions, made a donation to the church
of 120,000 fr,, of which she was to receive the interest as long
as she lived, On the decease of the princess, her heirs de
/minded the return of the donation, on the ground that the
administration could not legally accept it without first ob-
talaing the authorisation of the Government, which
had
never been demanded. After hearing counsel for both
parties, the' ribunal declared the donation null and void,
owing to th© absence of the authorisation required by _
law,
and condemned the administration of the Church to refund
the amount with interest from the time that notice of
action was given.

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