The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-03 00:00:00

CURIOUS TRIAL IN FRANCE.

The Civil Tribunal of Grenoble has just decided
a case which has been pending for some time, and
which excited the public attention in no ordinary
degree. It may not be forgotten that a man named
Maurice Roux, servant to a merchant of Montpellier
—l\l. Andre Armand—was found 'in a cellar in his
master's house, at 8 o'clock in the evening, lying on
the ground, his feet bound to each other, his hands
tied behind his back, several coils of rope twisted
round his neck, and to all appearance senseless. It

was next morning ascertained that he had a slight
excoriation on the back of the neck. Roux declared
that it was his master who inflicted these injuries
upon him, and who, having struck him a heavy blow
with a log of wood, left him to die in the place where
he was found. Armand was apprehended and brought
to trial at Aix on a charge of voluntary homicide
on the person of Roux. The trial lasted several days,
amid intense excitement. Armand totally denied the
charge, and contended that Roux had bound him-
self with the ropes and inflicted the other injuries,
which were near being followed with more serious
results than were anticipated, with a view to ex=
tort a large sum of money. Numerous witnesses
were examined on both sides, whose evidence was in
some respects conflicting. Several medical men were
examined, and among them Dr. Tardieu, of Paris,
a man of considerable reputation in the profession.
The notion set up by the defence that Roux had
bound himself with his own hands was scouted as

impossible until the experiment was actually made
by one of the medical witnesses in presence of the
Court. The judge—who showed marked partiality
to the plaintiff throughout the trial, and a certain

hostile bearing to the witnesses for the defendant,
but who said that if Armand was not guilty then his
accuser must be the greatest impostor on earth, put
the case thus :--Is the accused Armand guilty of
having attempted voluntary homicide on the person
of Maurice Roux, the said attempt being manifested
by a commencement of execution which only failed
from circumstances independent of the will of the
said Armand? And, again, if he be not guilty of
the act set forth in the first count, is he guilty of
having on the same occasion intentionally given him
a blow and inflicted a wound ?

The jury, who did not remain long in consulta-
tion, brought in a verdict of Acquitted on both
counts.

To the astonishment of the public, however, the
President in delivering judgment declared that
though the jury had acquitted Armand of the cri-
minal act with which he was charged, yet he had
inadvertently (nzaladroitement) inflicted a wound on
Roux ; and he therefore sentenced him to pay Roux
50,000 f. damages. An appeal was lodged in the
Court of Cassation against this sentence ; the Court
of Cassation annulled it ; and ordered that the case
should again be tried by the civil tribunal of Gre-
noble. The tribunal of Grenoble has just done so,
and annulled the judgment of Aix. The judgment
of the latter Court, it appears, rested on the 358th
article of the Code d'lnstruction Criminelle, which
specifies that—
" When an accused party is declared Not Guilty,' the
President shall pronounce his acquittal, and order him to
be set at liberty, unless he is detained on some other
charge. The Court will then decide on the amount of
damages respectively claimed when the parties shall have
pleaded, and the Procureur-General heard."

On this point the Civil Tribunal of Grenoble
says, in the preamble to its judgment :

" Whereas, in fact, if the Court of Assize, in virtue of the
358th Article of the Code of Criminal Instruction, and the
civil tribunals before which the principal action is pleaded,
may condemn, as a party to the civil action, the person ac-
quitted by the jury, it is only in cases of the verdict of the
jury leaving the material facts of which the accused may
be the author subsisting ; in other words, when the decla-
ration of non-culpability does not necessarily exclude the
facts for which the accused would have to answer towards

the party in a civil suit, so that the inquiry or the proof of
that fact would not involve a contradiction between the
charge in its criminal character and the charge in its civil
character ; and that this is a fixed incontestible principle,
established by the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassa-

ion."

It is evident that no such distinction appeared,
directly or by implication, in the finding of the jury
who brought in an absolute verdict of acquittal ;
and the Court of Grenoble has consequently annul-
led the judgment of Court of Aix relative to the
damages.

For some time past a dispOsition has been shown
by some of the judges to restrain as much as pos-
sible the action of the jury, and to try cases by cor-
rectional process where there is no jury. The case of
Armand is an indication of that tendency, and to it
is owing the great interest of the public, who have
come to look upon the institution of the jury as one
of the guarantees of personal liberty. A Paris paper
observes that---

" The judgment of the Grenoble tribunal justifies the
views we have entertained on the subject. It restores to
the verdict of a jury its solemnity and its sovereign autho-
rity. It prevents the recurrence of any such conflicts as
those which the judgment of the Court of Aix would in-
evitably have provoked ; and it gives satisfaction to public
opinion, which has been so painfully disturbed by these
events."

It has transpired that the Contract Corporation
have made arrangements with Messrs. Watson and
Overend, contractors, for these gentlemen to join
the board with the acquisition of their business. It
is stated that the dividend to be recommended at
the forthcoming half-yearly meeting will be at the
rate of 10 per cent. per annum.
The Mediterranean Extension Company held its
ordinary general meeting to-day. The report stated
that the revenge for the past half-year had consi-
derably increased as compared with previous ones,
andthe traffic was still improving. The directors had
received reliable information respecting an arrange-
ment between the Greek Government and Messrs. R.
S. Newall and Company, for connecting the lonian
Islands with the mainland, which, if successfully
completed, was likely to increase the traffic over the
Company's Corfu and Otranto cable. An inter-
ruption was reported to have occurred on the Malta
and Alexandria line on the Bth inst. ; but as a
steam vessel was kept by the lessees of that line in
readiness to meet such casualties, it might reasonably
be expected that the interruption will be only tem-
porary. The cables belonging to the company con-
tinued in good working order. The directors re-
commended the payment of a dividend at the rate
of 8 per cent. per annum on the preference shares,
subject to income tax, being the usual dividend, and
ss. per share, equal to 5 per cent, per annum, on
the original capital, fie of income tax.

THE TERRORS OF " EXAMINATION."—The great
bugbear and terror of undergraduate existence lies
in that awful word "Examination." There are, it is true,
little interludes of delight, consisting of the remainder of
the term in which a triumph has been gained ; but yet, for
an honours man, there really seems no rest. The ordeals
are undergone in rooms situated in a splendid quadrangle
called " the schools ;" the 'written work is done at small
deal tables, each man havinga separate table, and examiners
are posted all about to prevent " cribbing" of any kind,
which nevertholess does, we suspect, go on to a considerable
extent in the "pass" schools. It is an awful affair fora culprit
to be discovered. We well remembered being startled by hear-
ing the head examiner on a certahl afternoon announce, in a
loud, clear tone, " Sir----, you will have the goodness
to leave the schools." Happily, in this case, the suspicion
eventually proved to have been unfounded. When the
viva voce comes on, each victim goes up to a table covered
with green baize, where sit the two inquisitors ; the,c.
vh
trem-
bling wretch is requested in bland tones to sit down, which
he does, looking furtively round at his friends,
with
a mistaken kindness, if ho is a nervous man, ar
to see how he gets on. If a man is popular,
r of
ore , s
him, bells
leg(1
e
al.siblare in
for honours, and great things are expectedT his
was the case
number are often present to hear
Numerous stories
f
narvon were candidates for tuhie
when the present Lord-Lieutenantsos
heltlnders in divinity, some of
are always afloat of wonderful
facts, lists.land and Lord Car-
or founded on facts.
course, arc inventions, n
• “What can you tell me about
some foundation:—Exdaw,
to_,,
He
was
also
called Saul, and
Here are a couple of amusamidningoesrp_ecimens, which we credit with
St. Paul ?" ITn(lergit:n
the foot of Gamaliel ?" Examiner—
"yes, do you know about Gatriallel?"
was brought up a
It is a mountain in Galilee." The next,
may be credited to Cambridge :—Examiner—
we believe,
irf—yhoeum—knhoelnvi.—,
IT"
Examiner—
Undergraduate (with
Undergraduate—",",.ll;e6lduiidte Moses leave Egypt ?"
Wanhsy;versi
Undergraduate—
" Well, gra( nate—
wsvell, sir, I suppose that little affair with Potiphar's
I,l,ecsoitmate,ionc);:e:
wife !" For the following we do not attempt in any way
to vouch, although we have heard its authenticity strenu-
ously asserted :—Examiner—" Why was John the Baptist
beheaded ?" Undergraduate (falteringly)-7" Because he
would dance with nerochas's daughter."—Cornitill Maga-
zine for Februarj.