The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-22 00:00:00

CRIME IN FRANCE.

A somewhat singular case of murder occupied
the Court of Assizes of the Loire-Inferieure three
days ago. On the 16th Jan. the dead body of a
man, named Doucet, was found near a garden in
the village of La Helberderie, with seven wounds
in the head, evidently caused by blows from a
hatchet, one of the wounds being so deep that the
brain protruded. He had evidently been murdered
overnight, and must have been struck by some per-
son lying in wait for him. his pockets were rifled,
but the house in which he lived alone was nut
entered, probably from the door key which he car-
ried in his hand having when he was struck fallen
to the ground and not been seen by the assassin,
and from the latter having been afraid to break
into the house. Doucet had been passing the pre-
vious evening with one of his neighbours named
Gicquiau, and as this man was the only one in the
village who refused to go to see the corpse he was
suspected. It was ascertained that he ham left his
house on the preceding evening about the same time
as Doucet, but had forbidden his son, a boy of thir-
teen, to say that he had dune so ; and on his house
being searched a hatchet and a pair of trousers
stained with blood were found. These circumstances
seemed strong proofs of guilt and he was arrested.
He, however, protested that he was innocent, and
said that the blood on his hatchet and trousers had
been caused by his having accidentally cut himself.
It was afterwards discovered that a man named
Lucas, a bad character of the village, had been absent
from home on the evening of the murder, and could
not or would not say where he had been. He also
was arrested, but he likewise denied any participa-
tion in the crime. The son-in-law of the victim, one
Burdan, having expressed himself in a strange way
about the crime, was also taken into custody. He,
after some little hesitation, confessed that he was the
assassin, and that the other two men had nothing
whatever to do with the crime. They were accord-
ingly discharged. Burdan gave a minute descrip-
tionof the manner in which he had perpetrated the
deed, and said that
principal motive for it was
to come into possession of Doucet's property, which
he was in danger of losing by that person, who was
a widower, having formed the project of marrying
again ; he had, he said, another motive, which was
that he entertained bitter animosity to his father-
in-law, in consequence of his having opposed his
marriage with his daughter, and having constantly
reproached him for being idle and dissolute. To the
Court, Burdan with great coolness related all the
circumstances of the murder ; but he created some
sensation by saying that, on going homewards, ho
told his wife what he had done, and that at his re-
quest she had joined him in praying God for par-
don. Against this assertion the woman most ener-
getically protested ; he loved her father, she
declared, better than her husband, and could,
therefore, never have that thought of murdering
the former. "Ah ! my dear Marie !" cried the
prisoner, "do not abandon me ! You know not
only that I told you of the deed, but that we
planned it !" "No, my dear Julien," said the
woman, " I will not abandon you! But I cannot
allow myself to be accused falsely—and I say that
there is not a word of truth in what you say
" Ah ! you will not admit it now, and that is the
return you make for all my kindness to you!" " I
do not admit what you say, because it is not
true !" "Do you not remernbor that one day
before the crime you told me to shoot your
father ?" " Wretched man that you are ! how
can you make such an odious accusation !" In
presence of the energetic denials of the woman the
prisoner hung down his head and said nothing;
and the Court intimated that his denunciation of
his wife could not be believed. The jury then de-
clared him guilty, but with extenuating circum-
stances, and the Court sentenced him to bard labour
for life.

A desperate liberated convict named Bouard,
who had been living under surveillance at Vernon
(Sure), lately disappeared from that place, and re-
turned to his native commune of Ercheu, in the
Somme, where he three nights ago signalised his
reappearance by an attempt at robbery. A female
servant of M. b-, a notary and mayor of the
commune, was alone in the house when she heard a
knock at the door, and on opening it was asked by a
man whether her master was at home, as he wished
to speak to hi ma
nocne boufsit nhees
vs .i
sli
t'loi
re, girl being
attempted
al
toa remloesde
hotsrcceie7edr , sae Ibleer itt
to
violent blows on the head, which laid h
dShjvloTmeasn running
er almost
tblyietdhoeoarpapgeaairnst him, when she
dragged him off to a wine-
shop, where he was recognised spot
iie,i
on,
its
reskleei szfoserdo
ant
shtsehi
sefteagl
nl rocoNeuv,nadn.
and
as ly,ing Renard. He
to the
acted in his legitimate
coolly said that he had only
defence by striking the girl, who had pushed him
away with violence, Pn l. his captors were silly
enough to release lii)ipmos,eadritdhhe went away, promising
wife ,
to return. It is su
and hist laiendhatdhoseuegnbtlii.eli
leave the house might
readily pillage the place, but was defeated by the
firmness of the girl, who although the blows she
received were severe, is n
ot in any danger. 'The
police are on the search for Rouard.

INDIAN TELEGRAMS.—There are telegrams in
Liverpool of the 28th of February and March the Ist from
Calcutta. and it is also said that some parties have them as
late as the 10th of March, but this is doubted, barring the
telegram to Lloyd's of the conflagration of the Redgauntlet.
It is said that in London some persons have telegrams even
later than the 10th of March. The latest reliable telegram
is that of the Ist of Narch.