The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1892-01-02
Bumudex's Bad Break.

l. lEUIkluIHJ ~ ~ ltt1ONt oh ANll AlI0 uIS l
succession was settled by Mrs. Bots
sean, who died however before the
homolagatioh Of the account, the |
cuty of final settlement devolving on
her son Z. Boisseau. This was in
1851 and there. remained after set
tlement the sun of $49l 95. This
sum of money the administrator E.
Boisseau had charge of and he turn
ed it over to Attorney Bermudez
now Chief Justice and that official
retained actual possession Of it, until
October 30th of the present year,
when by order of court the money
was turned into the State Treasury,
where it now is awaiting the claim
of the absent heirs, who have not yet
put in an appearance.
The succession is what is legally
known as a vacant me-. Article
1876 of the Civil Code provides in
such cases that the balance remain.
ing to a vacant succession shall be
turned into the State Treasury
aittia thirty days after the homologa
ton of said account. The law is
clear and explicit and in every other
known case, has been strictly com
piled with.
On October 30th, Of the present
year, Charles Claiborne, attorney in
behalf of the Chief Justice went
into court and obtained an order
transferring the money to the
State Treasurer. That order Of
court, was the cause Of the trouble
and exposure, for parties noticing
the name of the Chief Justice, regard
ed it as peculiar and started an in
vestigation resulting in a disclosure
Of the very unpleasant facts
connected with the case. Thus was
the matter brought about.
After the exposure, Mr.. Charles
F. Claiborne the friend OF the Chief
Justice Bermudez, explained that
the money had been on deposit
and had been successively 10 the
Bank Of America, the Southern
Bank and later the Canal Bank
from which place it was claimed it
had been drawn and turned over to
the state authorities. The Bank Of
America and tie Southern Bank
both failed, and neither paid deposi-
tors more than fifty cents on the dol
lar. 1t is not explained by Mr..
Claiborne, if the Chief Justice lost
any of the amount which had been
deposited.
Mr.. B. Boisseau, the admiBistra.
tor Of the succession was until re-
Gently vice.president of the Belden
Hat Company and now makes his
quarters at IA Common street. 1t
is understood that this gentleman
has made an affidavit with relation
to the matter and in it, wear that
he turned the money over TO bis at
torney-now Chief Justice in 1861.
These are the facts in the case.
Lawyers generally admit that the
Chief Justice a guilty of exceed
ingly grave irregularity, if not some
thing worse and that even if he did
not make guilty use of the money,
he at least grossly violated a law,
which as Chief Justice he should
have respected. Since the original
publication in the Truth, this matter
has been turned into a lottery cam
paign issue with the result that the
lottery press has come unitedly to
the aid of the Chief Justice and by
garbled accounts, has placed the
offence wrongfully before the public
and made out of a grave matter, a
subject which they would like to re.
gard otherwise.
The entire affair, to say the least
lis an exceedingly ugly one and
does not at all reflect credit upon
the Chief Justice, who has failed to
efectually clear himself of the charge
that has been made against him..
O. Sunday Sun.
aThe Fate of a Libertine" is the
latest Of a series of sensational