, 1889-06-26
French News.

olectrIc Hgnt mas been called into reQui.
sltiOn all over Paris. The Place de POp6ra
is now as full of light in the evening as in
the daytime, and gas is gradually giving
III to the new method of illumination, in
the metropolis as we'll as in the large bro.
vincial towns, such as Marseilles. Lyons.
anu Bordeaux, where Edison and his rivals
have long since superseded to a great ex.
tent the gas companies. Nevertheless a
good many bitches occur with the electric
Ilght every evening, and the other night
one SIDE OF the Champ-de-Mars was sud.
denly plunged into Obscurity, while the
manager of one of the Exhibition theatres
had to suspend his performance AID return
the money owing to lack of light. 1t is,
accordingly, no wonder that the respon.
slDle persons should be called to account
Tor the bitches, particularly as the prin.
clpal thOrOughtareS of the city have been
cut up for months for the purpose of put.
ing the insulated wires underground, and
IarlSlans have been expecting some ade.
quate compensation for the temporary
DETACHMENT of their Boulevards, and for
the inconvenience which has been caused
to them by the daily trench digging.
AS " insults by telephone" are not pro.
vided for in the Criminal Code of France,
POigny, the man accused of having shout
ed give Boulanger! you are all a pack
OF robbers !" through a telephone tube
communicating with the ElyS6e, where
president CarnOt and the Ministers were
assembled in Council, will benefit by the
lacuna. The Juge obstruction who in.
vestigated the charge says that there is
no case against the prisoner, who on his
side maintained that he had only lent his
employers telephone to a mysterious
stranger, who transmitted through it the.
astounding message, which smOte the ear
Of an ElyS6e official aud caused him to
shrink back temporarily overwhelmed with
horror and dismay from the tube.
A few days ago the driver Of q goods
train in the Department Of the Landes
noticed "A heap of wood and stone on the
rails before him. AS the train was pro-
ceeding at Il very slow rate he was able to
pull up in time. An examination of the
line revealed the fact that similar Obsta.
cles had been placed at other spots. Sus.
piciOn fell on a boy Of twelve named
Dtsquerre, who at last confessed that he
had raised all these barriers in the hope
of enjoying the spectacle of u train going
off the line. This precociOus criminal has
been removed promptly to a r~eformatory,
where a taste for excitement of a more
wholesome character, it is hoped, will be
instilled into him.
Perrin is the man who fred at Presi.
dent Carnot on the day of the Centenary
of the Revolution, was brought before the
Tenth Correctional Tribunal this morn
ing. The case attracted little public Gu
riosity. The President gave, as usual, a
minute sketch of the prisoners career,
speaking at the accused the whole time.
"Perrin," he said, 'yOu were always a
grumbler and a mutineer. You had to
be sent away from the Panama Canal
works, and on coming TO Paris you wrote
insulting letters to NJ. de Lesseps, and
published articles and pamphlets on the
Martyrs Of Panama and the white Mig
gers Of Columbia O~aughter) In the
Soudan you also had disputes with your
chiefs at Martinique you quarrelled with
the Mayor when you were in charge of
the naval stores. In going to Senegal you
were Shipwrecked, and sent in a claim for
loss of luggage, although you had none.
Finally you fred at the President of the
Republic, but the attitude of the crowd
prevented you from carrying out your
Intentions" Here the prisoner blubber-
ed out denials, and protested that he only
wanted to call NJ. CaInOt's attention TO.
the grievances which he had suffered in
the colonies. Eventually Perrin was