The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-26 00:00:00

The Court of Assizes at Versailles was again
crowded on Monday by persons anxious to hear the
proceedings in the action brought by Mme.
to recover damages from the Duke de Gramont-
Caderousse for the injury she has nuffired through
the loss of her son in the recent duel. Owing to
several criminal causes standing before it on the
list, the trial did not come on till half-past eight in
the evening. M. Frideric Thomas was counsel for
the plaintiff, and M. Lachaud for the defendant.
The plaintiff demanded that the defendant should
be condemned to pay her a life annuity of_
4,000 fr., with reversion to her sons Horace and
Frederick Dillon, both of whom are insane, e°
long as their insanity shall continue. She also
demanded the sum of 5,000 fr. to cover the elc"
penses of the funeral. If the defendant should
prefer to meet her demand by a single payment le-
stead of an annuity, she claimed a sum of 50,000 f.
The plea put in by the defendant and his judicial
counsel or guardian, Count de Sparre, was to the
effect that the defendant had been acquitted by the
jury 'on the charge of homicide, that he was the
offended party, and that those two facts greatly
diminished his civil responsibility. Then as to the
amount of damages demanded the plea averred that
no proof had been given as to how far Madam°.
Dillon was dependent on her son's aid, but that the
defendant left it to the wisdom of the Court to
fig
the amount of damages which would meet the ills"
tice of the case. M. Frederic Thomas, after passing
in review the principal circumstances of the duel, de'
dared that his client would never have demanded cote"
pensation from the author of her son's death, if the
insufficiency of her own resources had not rendered,
such a step absolutely necessary. He considered
that the damages demanded were but a reason'
able compensation for the loss his client had,
sustained, as the late M. Dillon had received
400 f. a month from the proprietors of the Sports
and was also correspondent of several English
journal,, his income from all sources being Wilt
25,000 f. to 30,000 f. a year. The learned getl°
tleman concluded with an eloquent denunciatioe
of the barbarous practice of duelling, and vitt",
expressing the hope that the defendant would
find, in the payment of the compensation de-
manded, some relief from the remorse which
could not but feel at having deprived a widost"
mother of a son who was her sole support.-- dl33e:
Lachaud then addressed the court for the ,
fendant, and endeavoured to show that his client
had done all he could to avoid the duel, but in 0.11/,'
That fact having been fully proved by the late trial,
and acknowledged by public opinion, the questl6o
of damages was but of a secondary nature. It viLlls
a principle laid down in the Code Napoleon t°6o
whoever suffered injury by the act of another Ws4
entitled to compensation ; but the application ()le
that principle was not absolute, unless the sufferi,
had done everything in his power to avoid the ac.cb
dent, and he thought this was not the case vota
the late M. Dillon. 'With regard to the demitll,4
of 5,000 fr. for the expenses of the funeral,;,
thought the sum excessive ; as to the alittullo
his client was in the hands of the Court. ~e
reply to questions from the President as t 0 the
fortune of the defendant, M. Lachaud stated !Di,
his client had passed a stormy youth, and "80
pated a million of francs in a few years, which b e,
induvel his family to place him under the legal olio
straint of a guardian order to save the rest- be
client did not intend, however, to plead poverty I'r
was neither so rich nor so poor as he had been 013,0
sented. His present income was the interest e',
million francs of his own, and of 1,800,000 fr• r
herited from his brother, who had died on the sc1:01,
to Brazil. The Procureur-Imperial 1101. t„,
S
dressed the Court. He declared that the plaietTore•
entitled to compensation, but expressed his laP,tri•
dulity as to the income of 25,000 f. or 30,00 f.
the
buted to the late M. Dillon. He also deelpea
sum of 6,000 f. claimed for the expenses of the 06,
ral, &c., to be too much. He thought 2,ooa.sud,
cient. As to the amount of the damages claial,
it was not extravagant; and were they granteeb
the Court, such a decision would serve as a cur el,
those evil passions which instigated men to dviAot
ling, and which he much regretted that the verulif,
of the jury had not condemned. As it was 13:0,
past ten when the Procureur-Imperial sat clic'
ort
the President stated that the judgment of the Cl°
1 would not be delivered until next day.
-d

A FRENCH STUDENT CHARGED

MURDER.

----- 00
The Court of Assizes of the Seine-et-Oise li
Saturday tried a young man of respectable f 011310)
(a Corsican, and a relation of the Pozzo di ,er,g:
named Pierre de Signorio, aged 24, a inediOL " 01
dent, on a charge of murdering a coaehraaa, ltd Sept
Olivrot, at Enghien-les-Bains, on the lith:,:itl;
last. A young woman, named Bertin, aged it ',el
whom the female prisoner cohabited,was also elua,frtbe
as an accomplice. Early in the morning ve'orift
11th Sept. two men when going to their vvcr't the
a man, in a sitting posture, leaning agaia,:a or
wall of a house in the Rue de l'Arrivee. '-'"0 lii°
proaching him, they found he was dead, acrilabeerl
clothes were bloody they suspected he 1111:,0 foe;
murdered, and immediately gave notice of "—op&
to the police. On examination, it was Wert Of;
that the man had received two stabs in the c tie
one of which had penetrated the left ichg;ks 13°
must have proved almost instantly fatal'artliB
marks of blood or of a struggle were found "d" her,
spot, it was inferred that the deceased " 0-oito
murdered elsewhere, and afterwards deli of ii
there. The body was soon recognised as tiraiti4
coachman named Olivrot, who had been ee°.ooslP
with the female prisoner some weeks Pr, e
but he had recently been discarded by her;,t°„lll toed
way for a new lover, the male prisoner. ,rr'.' soletP
inquiry instituted it appears that the tvgcoPri 004
illg
had gone to a ball on the preceding eVenii,
had there met the deceased, who was great'ltheei
cited, and threatened to take vengeance e:,,a re;
both. An hour or two after the prisoner bad
turned to the girl's lodgings the deceased it; 'II 05:
at the door, and demanded admittance, wh'ettircv
is refused, and he then went away, but soon re; (loot'
Iwith a large paving stone to beat in thiroelfl
Meanwhile, Signorio had risen and dressedmiltraggil
and when the man forced an entrance, -ec Veh-
ensued between them in which the Pris°l:: e.ai ii. 0:1 th'°
several contusions about the head, and ic''filc, I'P°
wounds which caused his antagonist's dee' the de;
evidence did not clearly show Whether . 0 0
ceased had walked to the place whet() he 000
found, or had been carried there by th vast
made the 'of
prisoner. The medical man vv"
mortem examination could not undertake
ea il)
that the deceased could not have svall‘4. J)3;
distance, but he thought it improbable. 'lode"
chauds, who defended the male prisonerriefeoCei
that the wounds were inflicted in self
env 1
and adduced numerous facts and argeci,..,,,,
,p tea it
abandoned the yrosecutiol2 against t.- Olio-
support of that conclusion. The ProcureurrPr 61°
prisoner, but maintained the accuse "oil
°bad 1
the male prisoner. After the President li
d 1 .r
med up, the jury retired to deliberate, an aO4Ol
minutes returned into court with a verdict -11.40.
ting both prisoners, and they were iminecliete -
charged. ,11
______.....-1.2
_.(40-

Gazette A T
tno_ldeatyter of the 21st 8:y-----i37—, T.,,,,e,,°:'",-1;
Turin
mora to the M• • publishes a note from Genera tope
decd
made by inlscer of War, contradicting. the °t:`,,,pare,
telegram that a body of tbree P:11 Or
brigand! a
_ap t had surprised a detachment of troops i.ti4
Ca
dismissed
The Minister of War has just &fin' IsS,
as the second category of the class (44 JO
well as the Piedmontese soldiers of the class of 011;cf
Lombards belonging to the Austrian army, arid °ln:oi°
cate • genes, making a total reduction of about 25,0 v"
the army Or
on active service." 0 0
METROPOLITAN BOARDS.--The CorallliSS`- 101`
the Metropolis Roads have given notice of applic6.o' Act
Parliament in the ensuing session to repeal cartsior pao
with a view to provide that certain turnpike road°, j‘etl.
of turnpike roads, situate in 'Westminster, Chelsea' fact'
sington, Fulham, Hammersmith, klanover-sOlre'street,
dington, Hampstead, Clerkenwell, Islington. Old:0,toot
Shorediteh, Beall,
of Hackney, Stoke I'lesn:tob°
and Hornsey shall, after a day fixed by the Bill, pease tIJ°
maintained, repaired, lighted, watched, or watered coo'
Commissioners of the Metropolis Roads, and shall I,e ale
mon highways, and as such shall be repaired, 8, /2/
rospective Parishes iP, Which mob roads are oituate.