The Sun.
London, England, 1839-07-02 00:00:00

TRIAL of the PARIS PRISONERS

COURT OF PEER.D___TurasDAY, JUNE 97.
(Conclusion of the First Day's Proceedings.)
The President having called upon M. Arago, jun., the
Counsel for Armand Barbes, to state his case for the stay
of the proceedings,
M. Arago, jun., read his objections, which were to the
effect that it was an established principle that in evory en-
tire and indivisible crime :4 the parties accused of being
p:lrticipators in it, should be brought to judgment at one
and the same time ; and, therefore, he moved the Court
that the trial of the parties now arraigned should be put
off until the preliminary proceedings against the whole
were completed, and they could all be brought before the
Court together.
The Procureur- General insisted upon the legality and
propriety of continuing the trial as it was commenced.
Tile Court then adjourned till Friday.
The number of witnesses for the prosecution amounts to
162. The trial, it is expected, will occupy fifteen days at
the least.

SECOND DAY—FRIDAY, JUNE 28.
The external appearance of the Luxembourg was the
same as yesterday.
M. Dupont, who was engaged for the defcnce of the
revolutionary chiefs, Armand Barbee], and Martin Bernard,
addressed a long and tedious harangue to the Court which
was listened to by the Peers for upwards of two hours with
courageous patience. The burden of his song was the
•ame as that of .11. Arago, viz. the indivisibility and con-
nexity in the trial and sentence. The Learned Counsel
sat down, and he, as well as everybody else present, ap-
peared heartily fatigued by his harangue.
M. Frank Carre, the Procureur- General addressed the
Caurt in a short speech. He said that, as an abstract
question, he would not insult the Court by supposing that
they could ever think of adopting such a palpable absurdity
as to pass one and the same sentence on all the accused
indiscriminately. He saw before him some individuals
who had been guilty of cold-blooded, deliberate murder,
the 1-natality and cruelty of which were not attempted to
be extenuated by Any c:rcumstances in favour of the pri-
soners. At the same time he saw beside these very men
some poor weak individuals, whose only crime was their
having been made the tool and instrument of their artful
and designing ringleaders.
M. Dupont said that the Procureur-General had entirely
failed in showing that the Court had the power to judge
the prisoners individually.
The President pronounced the decision of the Court that
the motion of M. Arago, jun., was untenable, and ordered
that the proceedings should be continued.
The Court then adjourned till Saturday.
TIIIRD DAY,—SATURDAY, JUNE 29.
The curiosity of the good people of Paris is easily sa-
tiated. This morning there were not half a dozen people
collected around the gates of the Luxembourg.
Baron Pasquier, the President, took the chair at twelve
o'clock precisely.
M. Dupont, who was with M. Emmanuel Arago for the
defence of Armand Barbes and Martin Bernard, again
opened the proceedings by finding a legal objection in the
formality of the arrest of rMartin Bernard. The objection
which the Learned Counsel insisted was fatal to the prose-
cution of this individual was, that the accused Martin
Bernard was arrested on the 21st of this month. On the
22d he was visited by the authorities, who invited him to
select a Counsel to conduct his defence. The trial com-
menced, as our readers are aware, on the 27th of this
month, at twelve o'clock. The Learned Counsel then
read article 296 of the Penal Code, which sets forth that
a prisoner is entitled to five days from the moment he
has chosen his Counsel to the commencement of the pro-
ceedings. This delay is accorded in order to give Coun-
sel time to prepare his defence.
The Court overruled the objection,
The President then called upon Armand Barbes. -
ARMAND BARBES' DEFENCE.
The prisoner then rose, and passing his hand over his
forehead, said :—M. le President—Did I stand here alone,
and did I not see by my side a number of men, whom you
have arrogated to yourself the right of imprisoning, I
should not have opened my lips, nor have condescended to
say a syllable in justification of my conduct to a body of
men whom I do not recognize to be my lawful judges.
But, M. le President, as I am, perhaps, on the brink of
eternity, it is my bounden duty to state with regard to
Bonnet, that I ordered him to be invited to join our As-
sociation, which he constantly and resolutely refused. This
declaration is also extended to Nougues. Monsieur le
President, I do not hesitate to acknowledge that I was the
chief of the Association of which you have heard ; that I
was the mainspring of all their movements, and that I have
fought as a leader against your troops. With regard,
however, to the events of the 12th of May, our meeting
was merely to have a review, but the citizens were carried
away by the violence of their passions, and the con-
sciousness of the justice of their cause, to attack your
troops. I alone am guilty—these men are innocent. It was
I who gave the signal of attack. M. le President, I neither
recognise you nor the Court of Peers, now before me, as
my legal judges. It is a mere question of physical force,
in which you happen for the time to prevail ; and I beg it
to be understood that I must reiterate my intention of not
justifying my conduct to those now sitting in judgment
upon me ; but I protest against the attempts which have
been made to asperse my character as the defender of the
people's: cause. M. le President, continued the prisoner,
putting his hand on his heart, I protest against al! the
cruelties and unjustifiable acts committed on the 12th of
May. Before all France I solemnly declare that I am
neither guilty nor capable of having murdered Lieutenant
Drouineau, as will be shown during this trial. Had I
fought with Drouineau it would have been on equal terms
and with equal arms, and as a man of honour I abhor and
repudiate the bloody and brutal murder committed
on the person of the unfortunate Lieutenant. M. le
President, I have done ; I suppose that it is unneces-
sary to go through the farce of any more formalities
since I avow myself to be guilty of being the chief of the
Association, and having fought against your troops—here
is my head, you have power to take it.
Several questions were then put to the prisoner all of
which he declined answering.
The firm manner of the prisoner evidently produced a
very favoerable impression, and his denial of the charge of
murdering Lieutenant Drouineau, was couched in such
firm and intrepid language as to excite a general movement
among the Peers. There wasjnot the arrogance of insolent
vulgarity, nor the blustering bully, but the prisoner was
evidently a man of superior intellectual attainments. His
defence was noble and manly, and had it been in suppor
of a good cause would have procured him eternal glory,
Had the late mad attempt unfortunately been successful
we are convinced that Armand Barbes would not have pol.
luted or abused the power delegated to him by his mis.
guided proselytes by any sanguinary or brutal outrages.
Martin Bernard was then called upon, and the act of
accusation was then read to him, and several questions put
to him relative to the participation in the revolt, secret
societies, &c.
The prisoner declined making any answer,
The manner of this prisoner, whom it may be remem-
bered was the second ringleader in custody, is evidently
assumed. He is excessively pale, but endeavours to put
on an air of sang froid and nonchalance, which contrasts
strongly with the natural haughty bearing of Armand
Barbes.

The witnesses were then called in. The first was
Pierre Cugnet, the man who keeps the wine shop at No.
16, Rue St. Martin, which was the general rendezvous of
the leaders of the revolt.
Da you recognize Armand Bathes as one of the ring.
leaders ?-1 am not sure.
Do you recognize Martin Bernard ?
him before to my knowledge.
The next witness called was Francois Regnard, also
keeper of a wine shop in the Rue Bourg l'Abbe, whose
shop was also a rendezvous for the insurgents. His depo-
sition was similar to that of the last witness.
Jacques Bertrand, haberdasher and linen merchant, de-
posed that he found his son fighting with three men, who had
seized his cabriolet, and overturned it to make a barri-
cade. His son said—" If you fight for liberty, let me go
free with my cabriolet." The witness recognised Barbes,
but said that he had never seen Martin Bernard.
George Niclasse, Maresehal de Logis of the Garde
Municipal, said that on Sunday, May 12, he was ordered,
with a detachment under Lieutenant Leblond, to proceed
to the shop of M. Lepage, gunsmith, in the Rue Bourg
l'Abbe. About half-past seven he saw a man in a straw
hat, bleeding profusely at the head. This was iu the Rue
St. Martin, and he was endeavouring to pass into the Rue
Jean Robert. Witness said, " I shall not let you pass."
The mar, replied, " Kill me, then, for I am a lost man."
Witness replied that he was a Municipal Guard, and not
an assassin. This man he now recognised as Barbes.
President—Do you recognise the individual before you?
—Yes; it is Barbes. I remember him perfectly.
M. Arago again cross-questioned this witness, who
deposed that Barbes had on a straw hat at the moment of
his arrest.
The haberdasher, Bertrand, was again called and asked
what sort of hat Barbes wore during the revolt 2—" A
black hat," replied the witness.—(General movement in
the Court; Barbes smiled scornfully.)
M. Charles Godquin, deposed that he was a Captain of
the 2d battalion of the 6th Legion National Guard. He
commanded his company at the taking of the barricade,
Rue Grenetat ; a prisoner was brought to him, who re-
quested him to let him go free. This, witness replied, was
out of his power. Prisoner then asked him to kill him,
To this request witness made no reply.
President—How was he dressed ?
Witness—He wore a straw hat, and, I think, a dark-
grey coat.—(This answer produced a great sensation,
other witnesses having deposed that he wore a black coat
and black hat.)
Louis Cahy, limonadier, of the Rue d'Arcis, heard cries
of •‘ Vive la Republique." On going into the street ho
saw a large body of men with guns, and a man at the
head of them crying out " Aux armes." This individual
he now recognised to be Barbes.
Procureur- General—How was liarbes dressed ?
Witness—He wore a black hat.
M. Benjamin Levrand, doctor in medicine, deposed that
on the 12th of May last he proceeded to the Fauxbourg
Montmartre, where he saw that there was an emeute going
on. He beard several shots, and saw a band of insurgents
nurching down the Rue St. Martin to the Bridge St.
Michel. I then went to the Palais de Justice, where I
saw the officer on duty in front of his men. I said to the
officer, " Comrade, this is no joking matter; be prepared,
for I expect you will be attacked." I then went on ; but
scarcely had I gone 12 paces before, on looking behind
me, I saw a man holding his musket to the officer's breast.
Afterwards I saw the officer fall. I found the officer and
a soldier dead.
President--Do you remember the faces of any of the
insurgents who attacked the Palais de Justice (the pri-
soners all stood up) ? —No ; not any of them.
M. Arago—Do you recognise Barbes ?—No, it Was not
Barbes who led them on.
Martin Grossman, aged 31, a corporal on duty at the
time of the revolt at the Palais de Justice, deposed that
the chief wore a black hat, and that at first he had accused
Delsade, but now he cannot say for certain that Delsade
was the man.
President (to witness)—Do you recognize Barbes as
having killed your officer. Witness--No; the man hal a
much blacker beard.

'—No ; I never saw