The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-08 00:00:00

REVOLT AT A FRENCH PENITENTIARY

FOURTEEN BOYS ROASTED ALIVE.

(Prom a Correvondent of the Morning Herald)

DRAGUIGNAU, Jan. 2.
At the court of assizes of Draguignau, chief town
of the department of the Var, has begun, to-day, the
trial of a case without example in the criminal
annals not only of France but of the whole civilised
world.

On the 3d of October last the Penitentiary of the
Levant, the largest of the group of isles known as
the Islands of Hyeres (a reformatory where young
boys are trained to husbandry), rose in open revolt ;
and that rebellion had the most appalling conse-
quences, for no less than 14 boys were literally
roasted alive, so to say, by the ringleaders, who stood
deaf to the supplications and the agonising cries of
the victims, all the while preventing their escaping
by the only issue left to them, with a ferocity ren-
dered more revolting by the youth of the criminals.
As we have just said, the isle of the Levant is the
largest of those called Hyeres, lying off the town of
that name which is situated at about six miles from
Toulon. The isle of the Levant measures about
4,000 acres almost entirely fit for cultivation. Tin
now only 80 hectares have been cleared up ; the re-
mainder is a virgin forest of trees and of heath as
high as arbuscles. All the produce of the most
favourite countries are to be found in that island.
It possesses the flora and the feathered tribe of Africa.
Myrtles, lentisks, parasol pines, and arbutus, which,
like the orange-tree, produce at the same time flower
and fruit, grow there in luxuriance. The vine also
grows marvellously, and the forty arpents converted
into vineyards give a delicious wine.
The whole isle belongs to the Count of Pourtales,
who, following family traditions, conceived the
philanthropic idea of establishing in it an agricul-
tural penitentiary colony, of founding there an esta-
blishment like the one created at Mettray, near
Tours, by M. de Metz. M. de Pourtales asked for
no assistance, did not apply for charity, public or
private. That foundation dates from 1860. Since
that time the colony, wisely administered, has given
splendid results. Every boy, although costing only
twopence a day to the State, was receiving on the
average £l2 on leaving the establishment. The
disposition and the temper of the prisoners were
excellent. The colony had 250 boys at one time,
and 230 were living there when the revolt occurred.
And it is a remarkable fact that the day after the
revolt the bulk of the prisoners tracked on the heath
the ringleaders, and arrested them themselves.
Moreover, when the revolt was raging, any of
them had spontaneously formed a guard to protect
the residence of the director of the colony.
The director is M. Fauveau, who has been a long
time at the head of the central prison at Clairvaux,
near Arcissur-Aube. He undertook and fulfils his
mission at the penitentiary of the isle of Levant as
an apostolate, and he is in daily communication
with the boys, towards whom he shows as much
mansuetude as firmness.

As to the question of reformatories for young
people, the State in France seems to have come
to the conclusion that they were not progressing
in the task, difficult and ungrateful, but engaging
and noble, of restoring to honesty young minds
often suffering from the involuntary fault of a
fatal birth. It is not with the traditions of a cold
administration that children are impressed and re-
trieved ; only a missionary burning with the sacred
fire can touch their hearts. That circumstance

explains why the French Government has now but

four penitentiary colonies— St. Ililaire, in the de-
partment of the Sarthe ; St. Bernard, in the depart.
went of the Nord, near Loo; Gaillon, in the depart.
ment of the Euro ; and St. Antoine, near Ajaccio,
in Corsica.

Things went so badly in the last colony that the
Government were resolved to suppress it, and to
send to the Penitentiary of the isle of the Levant
the G 5 boys it was composed of. It was on the 28th
of September that those 65 Corsicans were landed
in the Levant. In less than six days from their
arrival they contrived to raise up a rebellion in the
colony, which had been till then a model of discip-
line. It seems that incendiarism was in the traditions
of the Corsican colony of St. Antoine ; moreover,
in that colony the prisoners did not work, they wan-
dered about and robbed the neighbouring houses.
In the paternal colony of M. de Pourtales they com-
plained that they had too little to eat and too much
work to go through. They refused to work, they
disbanded, and by means of fine promises and ter-
rible menaces, they succeeded in winning over a
good number of the oldest boys of the Levant Peni-
tentiary. The refractory band asked for meat at
every meal, fur tobacco and coffee, and for six hours
of play a day.
The rebellion was soon concocted, and on Tues- '
day, Oct. 2, it was ushered in by seditious songs.
It burst out in the evening after bedtime. The
ringleaders got up from their beds, put down the
lights, broke the windows, demolished the partitions,
and expelled the guardians. In view of preventing
more devastation, one of the latter suggested to the
prisoners to go down into the yard; they went
down, vociferating and making awful noises. Then
they formed a band, and went towards the house of
M. Fauveau, which is situated not far from the
penitentiary, and called the Castle. According to
the act of accusation, they intended to pillage that
house, and, perhaps, to commit crimes more terrible.
But they were prevented from doing so by the im.
provised guard protecting M. Fauveau's house, as
we have already said.

Sixteen accused aro before the Court. The first
of the ringleaders is named Condurier. It is he
who proposed to liberate the boys who were under-
going disciplinary imprisonment. his proposal was
eagerly adopted, and the rebels, armed with axes,
marched to the doors of the cells where the prisoners
were confined. They broke open nine cells, and,
of course, their occupants enlarged the number of
the revolted.

Then they went down to the cellars, the hogs-

heads were brought up into the courtyard, they
were broken open, and every one drunk as much as
he could.

The aim of the revolt was the death of the spies.
First, it had been settled that they should be taken
to the heath and to the bogs, there to be killed with
stones, but that idea was given up for another ten-
fold more atrocious.

The victual storehouse was pillaged, and another
warehouse, containing petroleum oil and inflam-
mable matter, was contiguous to it. They broke
open three doors giving access to the passage lead-
ing to that warehouse. A fourth door, opening
into the warehouse itself, more solid than the three
others, resisted, and the only portion of it that they
could break was an upper panel, and to enter the
petroleum warehouse through that aperture they
were obliged to scale the door to get up to it.
The most daring went into the warehouses through
that breach, and pillaged all the victuals and pro-
visions. They found out quantities of sugar, sau-
sages, brandy, bacon, &c. After the older boys
had satisfied their gluttony, Condurier communi-
cated to them an idea of his. " Let us shut in
there the spies, and then we shall set the place on
lire." The plan was adopted by the followers of
Condurier, all of them more or less intoxicated.
Two fellows, chosen from among the worst, were
entrusted with the fulfilment of the diabolical deed,
and they executed it too well.

The young ones, enticed to come and pillage the
victuals in their turn, hastened to do it, having not
a shade of distrust. The arch-plotter kept away
some of them, and admitted the intended victims.
Fourteen boys were in the warehouse. He judged
that the moment was opportune, and he told a
certain Fernandon to light a heap of paper, pre-
pared for the purpose. They had also taken the
precaution of pouring on the floor a large vase full
of petroleum. The flames, therefore, rapidly ran
over the whole place.
That fire was to devour the 14 boys who had
been admitted into the warehouse ; one could
escape only through the broken upper panel of the
door, and a jet of_fire at that spot rendered such
escape a sheer impossibility. The flames had not
yet ascended to the panel, when one of the unfor-
tunate boys, named Garibaldi, saw the danger,
jumped at the panel, and tried to get out. But
another boy, Allard, true to his orders, ran at him
and thrice thrust his knife in Garibaldi's legs and
chest. The blood flew in torrents, and the poor
fellow fell back in the flames.

Then a heartrending scene occurred. All the
boys inside managed to get at the window, clung
to the bars, and cried for assistance with the ac-
cents of the most; moving despair. But the ring-
leaders now surveyed the victims with an implac-
able coolness, while they repressed by words and
threats every mark of interest, every sign of pity,
given to those unfortunate boys.
The watchman of the semaphore established in
the isle, prompted by a generous feeling, tried to
save them. To use his own words, he was carried
off as a feather, and thrown into a ditch where he
broke his legs. One of the boys who had tried to
give a wet blanket to his friends suffered the same
fate.

The poor fellows suffered the most excruciating
agony ; their faces were black, their cheeks melted
in the fiery flames,. their hair blazed ; but soon death
put au end to their sufferings. When the ware-
house was entered next day their carbonised corpses
were but shapeless remains.

Then the rebels wallowed in the grossest orgies.
The next day they had a mind to begin again, and
when they saw the
.chaplain and the family of the
director go out to sea to escape danger and seek
assistance deadly vows and dreadful imprecations
were uttered against them.
It was only during the evening of the 4th that
assistance came to hand. The fire was still raging,
and if there had been a little fresh wind the whole
range of buildings would have been destroyed.
I give you only a short sketch of that awful drama.
The trial will last several days. The town is quite
full. M. Mayet, councillor of the Imperial Court
of Aix, is presiding over the trial ; M. de Merville,
proeureur-general of the same court, is conducting
the case for the prosecution. The president has
appointed ex officio counsel for the prisoners, who
look as if unconscious of the awful position they
are in.

How is the rowel of the Prsident to be

Proved ?

Congress is puzzled how to deal with the PRESI-
DENT. Both Houses regard him as their enemy,
and they apparently hold with A.IACCIIIAVELLI that
it would be folly to leave power in that enemy's
hands, of which they can deprive him. The House
of Representatives has directed the Committee on
the Judiciary to prepare a report of the practice
usual in cases of impeachment, and when the
document is sent in it is probable that a debate
may arise on the proposition to impeach the PRESI-
DENT. It is a singular fact that on Mr. JOHNSON'S
own motion when Governor of Tennessee a prece-
dent of impeachment was established, which has
been strongly urged against himself. The case of
Judge WEST 11. HUMPHREYS is the only one which
could furnish anything like a precedent to be used as
a guide. But the position of a mere judge of a
United States District Court is so dissimilar from
that of the PRESIDENT, as well as the time of the
Judge's offence, which was one of actual war, as to
render it almost useless for the purpose. Failing
impeachment, it is proposed to render the PRESI-
DENT ineligible for re-election. On balancing the
arguments for and against a measure like this, there
can be little doubt that such a change in the
Constitution would be injurious. There is no
office in which experience is of more value, and it
is advisable that the changes should be as few as is
consistent with the spirit of the Constitution
and of good government. A great crisis
might arise at the very moment that it
would be necessary to elect the new PRESIDENT,
and the interests of the country might be damaged
materially by a change of Administration being
forced on it at a critical moment. Such, for in-
stance, was the case with Mr. LINCOLN'S Adminis-
tration. The midst of a perilous war was not the
time to put the helm into the hands of a new man.
The country felt this, and, without hesitation, re-
elected Mr. LINCOLN. That they acted with the
greatest wisdom there can be now no doubt, and
with such a case before us it would be little less
than madness to deprive the people of the power
of thus recording their sense of the manner in which
their affairs had been administered. It is in accord-
ance with the spirit of the American Constitution, to
enforce as strongly as possible on the PRESIDENT the
will of the majority of the nation. If the people
cannot re-elect the PRESIDENT for another term of
office, one strong inducement for him to carry out
the popular wishes would be removed. On the
other hand, if the people retain the power to re-
elect, the PRESIDENT who sought another term of
office—which nearly all do would be com-
pelled to shape his course by the sentiments of the
majority. It may be urged, that the national
opinions and feelings may be wrong, and the PRE-
SIDENT, in withstanding them, may be right, and
' that it would not be Rise to hold out to the head of
the Executive an inducement to pander to public tastes
and opinions. If this be so, Democracy is an error,
and the sooner a ruler is made absolute the better.
Democracy is, however, held in America to be the
true theory of Government, and so long as the Con-
stitution is founded ou that theory the measures of
Congress should Conform to it. Democracy does
not enforce constant changes of Government. Its
object is to obtain frequent expressions of public
opinion—to give the people after short intervals a
legal means of sweeping away obnoxious Govern-
ments. But it does not, and is not intended to en-
force, constant changes of rulers. A third plan, and
one Congress is pretty sure to adopt in depriving
the PRESIDENT of power, is to reduce his patronage
to the lowest possible point. To effect this it will
be necessary to revolutionise the whole system of the
public service, and adopt a plan based on a Euro-
pean model. An official class will be created, to
which men will be appointed young—and only
after an examination—when their rise will depend
on their capacity and good behaviour. The PREsf-
DEISI must of couroe retain the power of dismissal,