The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1858-01-22
Another Extraordinary Case OF Pri.
vate Vengeance.
The Paris correspondent Of the London News
writes "A fniinws.


writes as follows:
A remarkable instance of the length to yhiel,
the doctrine of private vengeance, sanctioned a.
IL has so often been by French juries is likely 10
De carried out in practice, has Just occurred at
bfiey, In the department Of the Mosele, The facts
remind one forcibly of the Jeufosse case. In the
present instance, the person who set the example
OF taking the law into his own hands was the
mayor OF the commune. lie, however, like Mad
anne Jeufosse, acted by deputy. Instead OF an
old and faithful servant, his own son. acting under
his orders, laid in wait to take a fellow creatures
LIE. The name Of the mayor is only indicated by
an initial in the Droit which reports the case as
follows
young man, named Basset alias Faufan, one
DAY met Mdlie. P, the daughter of the mayor
OF All, walking in q wood He induced her 10 talk
to him, made love to her, and succeeding in OBJ
tanning promise of another meeting
Ihe interviews, innocent at first, went on till
they we're guilty. For three whole months the
mayors daughter secretly received Basset in her
bedroom at night. His habit was to get over a
low wall which separated the mayors garden
from the street to use ladder the bars of the
blinds OF the ground floor windows, and thus to
get to the window sill of the young lady's cham
Der on tine first floor. Neither the mayor nor his
family knew of these clandestine meetings till
two cousins of the female sex ferreted out the
affair, and told NJ. p of it. On the I'D of De-
cember last, just as the family was going to bed
NJ. P ordered his daughter TO sIeep ON the
that bedroom he placed her brother, his son-he
put into his hands a loaded doubled barreled gun
and told him TO shoot man whom he would pro-
badly see getting in at the window
The young man drew a chair towards the win
dow, sat down upon it, kept his gun cooked in his
hand, and remained ready to execute his fathers
orders. At quarter past nine O'Clock, he saw
mans head through the window. Basset, as usual
was at the top of the first blind, expected to be
let in. The Mayors son rose from his chair, went
to the window, opened il, and fired both the bar
re!s at Basset, who fell dead on the spot. The
Mayor, when the deed was done, sent for the gen.
darmeIie, to tell them of it, and he lost in as
tonishment when they said it WAS their duty to
arrest him on charge of murder. He had. doubt
less, read NJ. Berryers speech at Eyreux, and from
the conclusion, (Which, the premises being admit
ted, is entirely Logically that because the law ex-
cuses homicide upon the person of a man found
breaking into house in the night time, on the
ground that he must be presumed to come with
the intention to rob murder therefore it is jusi
fable to lie in wait to kill particular individual
known to come secretly indeed, but with the sane
tion of one of the inmates of the dwelling. and
with no felonious intention. The Mayor of Ali
though. it matter OF course to aveDge his daugh-
ters easy virtue by assassinatng her favored
lover. He and his are in prison, and must un-
dergo the form of trial for murder; but if modern
doctrines on the veuiality of assassination to
prevail, they will be acquitted with flying coors.