The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-20 00:00:00

EXAMINATION OT THE ASSASSIN

The following is the substance of the principal questions
put to Darmes on his first interrogation, and his replies, with
some other details which are given by the ministerial evening
papers :
Question—What is your name ? _

Answer—Marius Edmond Darmes

(It appears, however, from the papers which were seized at
his residence, that his name is Marius Ennemond Darmes.)
Where were you born ?—At Marseilles.
What is your age ?—Forty-three.
Where do you live P—To this question, although repeated
several times, he refused to reply.
What is your profession ?—Conspirator.
.

That is not a profession ?—Weil then, write down that I
live by my labour.

Who urged you to the commission of so odious a crime ?
Have you any accomplices ?—I am the only accomplice. I
wanted to kill the greatest tyrant of ancient or modern times.
Do you not now repent of having conceived and executed
so abominable an attempt ?—I repent only of not having
succeeded.

Had you long entertained the project of assassinating the
King ?—I conceived the project only an hour before putting
it in execution.

After this first interrogation the prefect of police, in pre-
sence of the Minister of the Interior, heard the depositions of
the non-commissioned officers, adjutants, sergens-de-ville,
and soldiers, who had witnessed the crime, and aided in the
apprehension of Darmes. Immediately after his arrest,
Doctors Blandin and Aurity were called in, in consequence
of the wound of his hand, and interrogated as to whether
immediate amputation was necessary. They declared that it
would be better to wait, and ordered that the wound should
be immediately dressed. Yesterday morning the Procureur-
General and the Procureur du Roi again interrogated the
prisoner, who this time consented to reply to all the questions.
He declared he was a frotteur, and lodged at No. 41, in the
rue de Paradis, faubourg Poissonniere.
._ - -

He said that the carbine with which he fired at his Majesty
was loaded with five bullets, and eight buck-shots. This
fully accounts for the bursting of the barrel, and the circular
direction taken by the charge, to which in all probability the
preservation of the lives of the King, Queen, and Madame
Adelaide was owing. In fact the barrel burst with such vio-
lence that it produced nearly the same effect as the explosion
of a shell. One of the footmen, named Grus, was struck on
the right leg. The wound is not serious, and it has notbeen
ascertained whether it arose from one of the projectiles or a
fragment of the barrel. It also confirms the account of the
wound in the hand of the national horse guard, M. Berto-
lacci. The middle of the right side of the King's carriage,
the rail, and one of the springs were struck. The carriage
was brought back from St. Cloud yesterday morning for
examination by the magistrates. The surgeons who were
appointed to dress the wounded hand of Darmes, on Thurs..
day evening, inspected it again yesterday morning, and am-
putated three of the fingers. They thought it likely that a
further operation would be necessary. The following are
particulars as to the person, habits, and life of the assassin.
Darmes is a little man, of forbidding countenance, and
somewhat deformed. His forehead is low, and gives to his
countenance a vulgar aspect. He wears his beard cut to a
point, and his mustachios are of a light yellow tint, and very
thin. On being asked what use he intended to make of the
pistols and poignard found upon him, he replied that he car-
ried them for the purpose of defending himself. Fortunately
he was so stunned and confused by the explosion of the car-
bine and his wound, and surprised by the promptitude with
which he was seized, that he had neither time nor self-pos-
session to make use of these arms.

A search was made at his lodgings, which consists of a
small room which he has occupied for about six months past.
Before this time he lived in the rue Trevise, and was expelled
for bad conduct. At his lodgings in the rue du Paradis there
were found a great number of papers, nearly all copies of
pamphlets and revolutionary proclamations, in his own hand-
writing. Amongst them were copies of a speech of Saint-
Just, and of a speech destined to refute the proclamations of
Prince Louis Bonaparte. Besides these papers there were a
great many others covered with notes on the most celebrated
republicans of antiquity. Several passports of different dates
show that Darmes had been successively a servant, a porter,
and a frotteur. Some time before he committed this attempt
Darmes went into a wine-shop and drank. a giass of wine.

He then went on towards the Quai des Tuilleiies, and, like
Alibaud, did not fix upon the spot for committing the crime
until after much calculation. The half of the barrel of the
carbine, which was not found just at the time, has been
discovered in one of the trenches of the Place de la Concorde,
and some of the fragments were found near the parapet of the
Quai.