The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-20 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM on OWN CORRESPONDENT.),
PARIS, TIIIIIUSDAT, March D.

The great trial which has for so many days past eclipsed
all other subjects—Napoleon's pamphlet, Prince Napo-
leon's journey, the debates on the Public Meetings BM--
is over at last, after having lasted about a fortnight. It
will be remembered that Madame Texier, her father M.
Chariot, and her maidservant Francoise Richard, were
accused of having poisoned M. Pierre Texier, a wealthy
gentleman of La Meilleraye, near Niort, and brother-
in-law of the first - mentioned prisoner. It was
proved that the deceased had been poisoned with
arsenic ; it was Rieo stated in evidence by the
physicians who attended him that their repeated demands
to see the ejections of their patient had been disregards].
It was shea-n, too, that Madame Texier owed her brother-
in-law money, and that she expected to receive a large sum
upon his death. The circumstance which told, perhaps,
most against her was an alleged friendship, and, it
was stated, an intended marriage with Martin Watt,
who was some time ago convicted of having poisoned
several persons. Thus a strong case was made out against
Madame Texier. In the course of the trial the prosecu-
tion against the servant was withdrawn, but that against
the two other prisoners was continued. Madame Texier
was exposed to the most harassing cross-examination from
the judge. She was, however, quite his match, and
showed herself to be a woman of great ability. She not
only resented the charge against herself, but denounced
one of the chief witnesses, M. Ganne, the physician, of
being the real murderer ; and a startling statement
(positively denied by Ganne) was made, to the effect that
when he was about to administer some medicine to M.
Texier, he tasted it and said, " You see, I don't murder
my patients." At length, the evidence being concluded,
the counsel for the defence made an impassioned
appeal in behalf of his clients, especially the one who
seemed to be most deeply inculpated. He painted her as
&pattern of all the virtues, in order to prove that she was
morally incapable of such a crime. Undoubtedly it had
been committed ; it was not for him to say by whom, only ii
his (the counsel's) name were M. Ganne he should be very
unhappy. He went on to deny that Chariot had been inti-
mate with Riau ; that he had, in fact, merely acted for
him once as solicitor. lie then depicted Madame Texier's
life during her eight months' imprisonment ; how
she had passed her time in constant, earnest
prayer ; he told the jury that they had already
acquitted her in their consciences, and he appealed to them
to restore her to her loving and tenderly-loved children.
The people applauded, whereupon the judge ordered the
court to be cleared. Madame Texier had what one of the
papers calls sarcastically an attack of the nerves. She
had to be taken out sobbing and screaming. The judge
was told that she was very ill, and it was not likely that
she would recover for an hour. The court was adjourned
for that time. At the end of it she returned, and the
judge summed up. The jury were absent for a
quarter of an hour, and then gave a verdict of
not guilty. The end of the scene was of the usua:
dramatic character—interesting client and counsel hugging
each other, and prisoners, now no longer prisoners
receiving an ovation as they passed through the crowded
streets. Old Chariot, with his " great bulbous nose," got
vert purple, and everybody expected that he would have
a fit. He was unable to walk, and was carried away from
the dock by his friends. The Temps, commenting upon
this trial, says that it shews how defective the law is in
not granting compensation in cases of this kind, where
innocent persons undergo so much suffering. Your readers
will remember that in Switzerland a person wrongfully
accused receives, when his innocence has been established,
compensation from the canton in which he is tried.
The Etendard has discovered that the riots at Toulouse
had really nothing to do with the enlistment, and that this
was merely an excuse for executing a plot devised by a secret
committee. The trustworthy Pays, "Journal de l'Empire,"
Wants its readers to believe that the enlistment is so
popular that in one town the young men put on false
head-tops in order to make themselves of the necessary
height. Unfortunately, other papers, not " Jour.
nals of the Empire," mention that disturbances have
taken place in other towns —at Ploermel, for instance,
an unfortunate soldier was seized by twenty irritated
persons and nearly beaten to death. The great fire which
took place at Rennes last week is now attributed to popular
dissatisfaction excited by the enlistment. The same cause
has given rise to demonstrations at Dijon. At Villefort,
in the South of France, there have been disturbances
among railway navvies, but whether these have anything
to do with the enlistment is not stated.
It is expected that the committee appointed to deter-
mine if the journalists shall be permitted to prosecute
M. Kerv4guen, the slanderer, will decide in favour of a
prosecution.
Travellers to Normandy will be glad to learn that one
of the beautiful cathedrals oven in that part of France is
likely to be rendered more accessible to them than-it has
been hitherto : I refer to Coutances, a town at present
little visited, though better worth a visit to the archaeolo-
gist than perhaps any other town in Normandy save Caen
and Rouen. It is to be connected by a breech line with the
main railway from Cherbourg to Paris.
The Archbishop of Algiers has just done a noble deea.
Profoundly touched by the horrible sufferings of the
people under his care, he has taken charge of no fewer
than 800 orphans.
The Paris journals are watching your political crisi
with great interest, and many of them comment upon it
at considerable length. The Avenir National says
" Under the subterfuge of royal commissions upon the
Irish Church and the land, Mr. Disraeli has escaped the
grasp of Mr. Gladstone. The chief of the Liberal party
must now therefore press more closely upon his adver-
sary ; he must knock him off his feet. He has already
obtained a moral victory ; it remains for him to obtain a
material triumph."

The recently-born child of the Crown Prince and
Princess of Prussia is to be baptised upon the King of
Prussia's birthday (March 22, when his Majesty is 71 years
old). Among the expected visitors are the Czarowitch of
Russia, the Crown Prince of Saxony, the Grand Duke
and the Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, the Grand Duke
of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Prince of Hohenzollern, and
the Count and the Countess of Flanders.
According to the Minzarial Difilomatique, a brigade of
French troops is about to be recalled from Rome, on the
plea of insufficient accommodation for the soldiers.
In conferring the cardinal's hat upon Prince Lucien
Bonaparte the Pope said that he did so " not only to recom-
pense his services, but also to honour the generous nation
so devoted to the Holy See, and the illustrious sovereign
who has rendered such brilliant service to the Papacy."

The resolution by which the strength of parties is to be
tested formed the subject of deliberation on Thursday
afternoon, when the Duke of Argyll, Earl Granville, Mr.
Cardwell, Mr. Brand, Mr. C. Fortescue, Mr. Bright, and
Mr. Glyn met at the house of Mr. Gladstone. The
deliberation lasted some time, and it is understood that
the leader of the Opposition will shortly call his party
together, for the first time since April 5 last year, when
he brought forward the famous " instruction " which was
to have been moved by Mr. Coleridge.

The Herald, in noticing this gathering, asks by what title
the eight noblemen and gentlemen above referred to speak
in the name of a party the most prominent members of
which were absent. Have Earl Russell, the Duke of
Somerset, Lord Stanley of Alderley, Lord Kimberley, and
Messrs. Milner Gibson, Villiers, Goschen, and Childers
given a carte blanche to Messrs. Glyn and Gladstone
Or do Messrs. Glyn and Gladstone consider it quite un-
necessary to ask the opinion of persons of such small
importance ?

Notwithstanding these questions, the Liberal papers
assert that the leaders of their party have every reason to
be satisfied with the prospects of the resolution. There is
no probability of any " Cave," and the Ministry will he
beaten. The motion will be fixed for an early day, and
the discussion upon it will be taken before Easter.- In the
opinion of the Daily News, it is of the utmost importance,
in view of an early dissolution, that the position of the
present members of the House of Commons with reference
to this great question should be clearly defined. It may be
expected that Mr. Disraeli will employ all his art to raise
some collateral issue— such as confidence or no-confi-
dence—so as to provide members who desire to profess
Liberalism by-and-bye on the hustings with an excuse for
not voting for the disestablishment of the Irish Church on
this occasion. Should the House of Commons not under-
take to settle the question this session, it will form the
main issue at the next general election, and no room
should be left for any doubt or uncertainty as to the views
of individual members of the present Parliament.
A meeting of Scotch Liberal M.P.'s has been held, which
was attended by nearly all who sit on that side of the
House, with the exception of Mr. Laing. Mr. Bouverie
occupied the chair. The members pledged themselves to
insist upon a provision being inserted in the bill to make
proprietors reside in counties, with the view of preventing
the creation of faggot votes. They resolved, further, to
urge upon the Government to enact that every holding
in counties should have a dwelling-house attached. The
rating question was discussed at length, and it was
believed that the adoption of the rating principle would
give rise to great difficulties in Scotland, but it was
decided not to oppose the clause in committee. The meet-
ing declared unanimously, with the exception of Mr.
Lamont, in favour of supporting Mr. Baxter's amend-
ment. Mr. M'Laren said he would divide the House
upon his motion for giving fifteen additional members to
Scotland. No progress is, however, to be attempted with
the measure until the Irish Reform Bill has been read a
second time