The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-20 00:00:00

CRIME IN FRANCE.

The Tribunal of Correctional Police at Besan-
con, in Dec. last, condemned to imprisonment for
robbery two females, who gave the names of Clau-
dine and Philiberte Jacquis, and who represented
themselves to be sisters. Subsequently the dis-
covery was made that the first woman was no
other than the notorious Catherine Minder, who
in 1858 was tried, with several other pei sons
bearing the same and other names, but all rela-
tives, for the murder and robbery of a jeweller,
named Peehard, at Caen (crimes which excited
immense sensation), but was acquitted. On her
examination on the charge of robbery she signed
the false name of Claudine Jacquis, and was in
consequence ordered for trial before the Court of
Assizes of the department for forgery. The trial
took place the day bsf.)re yesterday, and the offence
was clearly proved. A singular account was given
of the woman :—She was, it appeared, a foundling,
named Dufour, but married to one of the Minders,
who was condemned t ) 20 years' hard labour for par-
ticipation in the Caen murder. She had at different
times by the names of Jules, Roche, Laroche, Cer-
riere, and Wall, as also of Dufour and Minder,
and had been condemned under each. The Minder
family, to which she belongs, is notorious in the
annals of crime ; the head of it, an old man, is
unergoing a sentence of imprisonment for life
for participating in murder, and would be in
the bagne if it were not for his age ; three
brothers, his sons, have been condemned to death
for murder ; another son, now deceased, was re-
cently condemned ; old Minder's sister, and her
daughter and the daughter's husband, are each
undergoing sentences of hard labour, and lastly
the prisoner's husband, as already mentioned,
has been sentenced to twenty years of that
punisment. It was stated that the prisoner has

tour children, two sons and two daughters, but
that some charitable people have had them reli-
giously educated, and placed out in respectable
callings. The jury declared the woman guilty of
the forgery, and the Court condemned her to five
years' hard labour. The other woman, who was
concerned with linr in the Besancon robbery, really
bore the name Philiberte Jacquis, which she gave ;
but she had encouraged her companion to take the
name of Claudine Jacquis, and had affirmed that
that was her right name. This constituted com-
plicity in forgirg, and Philiberte was accordingly
tried for that offence. She was declared guilty,
and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and five
years' survei:lance of the police.
It may be remembered that some few weeks
back an account was given of a man having been
condemned to imprisonment for having swindled
extensively under the name of a well-known
dramatic author. Yesterday another case of false
assumption of a name came before the Court of
Assizes. Some months since a young man, named
Benech, proposed to enlist in the army, but when,
as is usual, he applied at the Prefecture of Police
for a certificate that he had not been condemned
for crime or grave offence, he was told that it
could not be granted, inasmuch as in 1856 he had
been sentenced to imprisonment for robbery, and
in 1860 for vagabondage. He protested that he
was not the person referred to, but it was shown
that the individual condemned not only resembled
him, but had resided at the same place. He
waited on an examining magistrate, and prayed
that an investigation might be instituted. Just
as he has leaving the office, a person who had
been arrested for vagabondage was brought in, and he
gave the name of Benech, at the same time admitting
that he had been previously condemned. The real
Benech, however, recognised him as one Vignon,
who had resided in the same lodging-house as him-
self in 1856, and with whom he had for some time
been intimate. Vignon then admitted that he had
falsely assumed the name of Benech, but why he
had done so he did not explain. In the examina-
tions which preceded his two condemnations he had
always signed the name of Benech. This consti-
tuted forgery in the eye of the law, and yesterday
he was tried for that offence. Being declared guilty,
although with extenuating circumstances, he was
condemned to five years' imprisonment.

Mr. Abraham John Robarts, eldest son of the late
Mr. A. G. Robarts, has been admitted a partner in the
baakivg house of Robarts, Lubbock, and Co.