The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-13
FELoNs OF OLD ANooRRA
rhoir Trials Arc Conducted In an In
preSsive Manner.

thcir Trials Arc Conducted In an IEs-
pressivc Manner.
In Andorra, a province wedged be-
tween France and Spain, the man who
Is TO DE condemned TO punishment has
full opportunity to make a prominent
spectacle of himself. Great prepare
tons are made for the public sentence.
They lead him out into the market
place and make holiday of tho day.
1t is supposed that this notoriety has q
depressing effect upon other criminals
The province OF Andorra is about
twice the size OF Manhattan island, and
has population Of $4,000 persons, who
speak the Catalan tongue. For LOO
years it has been operated as denoe-
racy, owing divided allegiance to
France and to Spain. Each country
names criminal judge, and they Try
eases jointly. If they fail TO agree thu
case under consideration is decided by
referee or appeal judge.
In addition to these three officials,
there are two district attorneys, whose
huty it is to represent the accused, and
10 do their best to get him of. This Is
IN old Andorra institution. Each of
these gentlemen is provided with as
sistants and secretaries. and when q
criminal is on trial pretty nearly the
whole population has chance TO act
in some official capacity. The hearings
are in private, unless the case is a very
sered publicly.
In a case at Andorre-la-Vieille the
capital Of the province tho prisoner,
Manuel Baco. murdered his mother with
{ club and then pretended that she fell
down. The evidence against him was
complete and he was convicted. But
none knew what the sentence would DO
until the judges and the district attor-
neys declared it in mass-meeting.
The judges and the "a 'corsuls" who
legislats FOR the province marched in
black robes and with somber mein into
the open square in front of the govern
ment building. Men followed bearing
the insignia of Office and last Of all the
clerk of the court carrying the written
sentence with pomp and ceremony.
The judges wore three-cornered hatB
many sizes too large for them.
After they were all arranged and the
populace had had a chance to be inn
pressed with the griuness of the soene
an order was given that the prisoner
Be produced. A number of court Off
GERS in long black robes, accompanied
BY a captain and six men OF the Andor-
IA militia, marched to the prison There
they removed the shackles from tho
criminal and tied him with a rope. Then
began the solemn procession to tbs
place of sentence.
The prisoner was placed IN the center
Of the crowd, four seztineis near him
and fifth behind him charged with tho
task Of holding the other end Of tbs
Iope. Everyone stood at attention and
the clerk of the court with some pre-
iinlinary flourishes begun The reading
Of the sentence IN a loud and clear voice.
1t was singularly lengthy document,
and it expressed IN frank terms the
opinion of tAe judges ON The conduct Of
the prisoner.
But 10 the disappointment Of everyone
except perhaps of the guilty man.
who was SO hsesilees OF the feelings OF
the crowd c. TO hook reIieved-the sem
tence was not to the "dry guillotine,"
but to hard labor for life.
Then the prisoner was marched back
to his cage; the Judges, etc, soaeannly
walked into the public building and the
Populaoe dispersed, wondering whose
turn it would b next.
A correspondent of the Partzian
Weekly ILLUSTRATION. from whose re-
Port these facts are taken, says that he
has been present nsany times when SEN
tence was pronounced, but that he never
attended anything so impressive as this
ceremony in this quaint and out-of-the-
way province-N. Y. World.