The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-12

is efficacious in warding off death sentence, as it has done many time. The other case was that of sergeant l in the Garde Republicaine, Who after pestering a girl for many months with ! his attentions, attacked her with his l sword d-bayonet when she refused to | marry him. It was an outrageous case, l the girl being half killed, but jury l acquitted him without a moments hesi- | tation. (Since then, but a few days 1 ago, this man made another attack on | the same girl, who escaped from him I by jumping out of a window. He Is J again in prison, to be tried by another 1 jury.)
 These cases perhaps show sufficiently the state of affairs that the leniency of | the French criminal law has brought about. It may not be necessary to re- mark that the statistics of crime for the past decade--during which most of 1 the new laws were promulgated-indi- cate even more saliently the facts. l While the population has remained all most stationary in that time, crimes ] against the person have increased about 60 per cent, and, what is more noteworthy the increase has been made I QD dII1OSl WuOlly Ul OllGllCGS SOlllllliI" ted by recidvlstes, or persons whom the clemency of the law has permitted to l be at large after conviction of first crime. Two other things to be remark ed are, first, that no other country has such large number of professional criminals, and, second. that the average | age of criminals is in no country as low as In France. Nearly two-thirds of the persons guilty of serious crimes are between 15 and 25 years, and the average age yearly grows less. i AS the growing sentiment among leg islators that capital punishment is brutal and should be abolished, per- haps no comment could be made that would present better answer tha a comparison between French crimes as they are and their punishment. It will be sufficient to confine the list to the principal crime of murder, and to take l only those which occurred in Paris for a single year. Hereafter are summar- ized those for the year 1896, those for the present year not having been dis posed of by the courts. In considera- ton of this list it must be borne in mind that in not g. single instance was the llluIucIcI GUIluCLliGu lO utdlli, dIlu III | but few cases was the penalty life inn l prisonment, and there were eight ac- l quittal. Here is the list, in the order I in which the murders were committed:
 January 26-Albert Firmin, baker, killed his mistress with butcher knife. Jealousy
 February I'M. Bertrand, an army surgeon, killed by discharged soldier. February 10-Robert Chevet, cabinet maker, killed his wife with knife. l Jealousy.
 February 17-M Parazios, a govern ment clerk, Killed his wife with re- volver. Jealousy.
 February 26-Jean Martial. a retired contractor, killed his landlady with a hammer. Quarrel about badly cooked food.
 l February 27-Jules Dequeker, an up- holsterer, killed his wife with revolver in the Rue de Rivoli.
 March 2-FTederic Rickle, cabinet maket, killed his wife with revolver. Domestic quarrel.
 March 1S-Jules Thevenot, clerk, I strangled woman in hotel March 16--George Levret, fifteen years old, killed an aunt because she refused to let him have money.
 March 29-M. Lefort, a merchant, kill ed his wife with revolver. Domestic quarrel.
 April AM. Desmoulin, captain of canal boat, killed a trespasser on his | boat.
 l April 10--Antoine Batar, laborer, kicked his wife to death. Jealousy
 April 22-Andre Tounens 6 souteneur, j killed a noursemaid, her brother, and 3 policeman in the Champ de Mars.
 April 27-Auguste Derlon, polisher, killed his wife with hatchet in pres ence of their children. Jealousy.
 May 2--Gustav Francois, an enamel Ter, killed his wife with a knife in the Boulevard de la Villette. Jealousy.
 May 6-Pierre Houchard, metal work CT, killed by two neighbors with load ed cane. Revenge.
 May 6-Charles Fallen, a bookbinder killed by rival in fight over wo-
 man.
 May 7---Victor Lenaitre, carpenter killed his mistress with revolver.
 May 1S-George F'ourner, a waiter
 strangled his mother-in-law as she lay : in bed.
 ; May 27--Joseph smits, tin roofer ) killed his wife and daughter in a fami- ly quarrel.
 May 27-Theodule Demotiers, clerk killed his concierge because she delayed
 in opening the door to let him in.
 June 7--Mathilde Moury killed hel
 husband, a coachman. Jealousy. June 16-Baroness de Valley, a widow strangled in her apartment by band
 of five sneak thieves. June 28-Augustine Faivre, married , woman, killed her lover in the street , with her revolver.
 June 2S--Jean Besnard, grocer kill
 ed his wife in fit of anger and burned her body.
 7 July Emile Groix, laborer. fight } ing with another man. killed peace maker who interfered. July 2-Marie Rigault, corset maker killed her lover with a dagger. July 5-Alexis Challu, merchant killed his neighbor, Adolphe Longtier with hatchet.
 July 15-Francois Brouck, schoo boy, fifteen years old, ran a knife through the heart of a comrade who an noyed him.
 July 16-Antoinette Julien, an em