The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-03-30

was probably passed in to him. wrapped in a waterproof cloth, in beefsteak pudding, supplied him from outside, for not vet being convicted, Barmash could have his meals sent i'll.
 With the revolver in his pocket Barmash sat in the dock. It is believed that he desired the weapon to revenge himself on Schmidt, the man who him. self the wicked brains of the whole iniquitious conspiracy, had as soon as he scented danger and money to be gained, hastened to turn informer.
 Schmidt was a superb witness. Possibly he had practiced before. He little dreamed, as he told his story so glibly and calmly, and in such apparent safety, from the witness box that gray, haired, quivering man in the dock had that weapon ready in his hand. Per- haps it was the paralytic seizure that had attacked Barmash during the trial, or perhaps it was the alertness of the prisoners watchers in the dock that prevented Schmidt meeting with very disagreeable surprise. The informer re- ceived a substantial reward. He went LO LtiN CllIlCd oLdlGSt dILu IlCil NclS very soon in trouble again.
 It is not an absolute rule of law that an infommer's evidence is of no value without corroboration, but in practice it is regarded with such sus- picion that no Judge allows it to go to jury as worth considration without confirmation. A police officer or agent who becomes in the performance of his duty a passive spectator of illegal acts for the purpose of discovering guilty persons is not an informer when he gives evidences against them. Some of the biggest conspiracies, especially political ones, have been foiled by means of the secret, agent. He is not to be confounded with the informer.
 That the law does right to regard the infomer's evidence with suspicion has been shown over and over again. The hope of gain has filled the witness box with wretches ready, without com junction, to swear away the lives and liberty of innocent persons. The ex- policeman Mullins is a specimen of the worst type Of informer. Having mur- dered an old lady named Emsley, at Stepney, and stolen money and jewelry, he, for the sake of a reward offered for information leading to the conviction of the prepetrator of the crime hid part of his booty in the outhouse of a neigh bor and then informed the police of his suspicious that his neighbor had com- mitted the murder and concealed the spoil in the building. The police, act ing on his information, searched the building and found the missing jewelry; Mullins had acted his part badly dur ing the search and had betrayed so much anxiety while it was proceeding that the detective arrested him as the real murderer. His guilt was clearly hanged. ....
 The fate of Mullins recalls that of the man Voirbo, the informer as- sociated with the triumph of M Mace, the late Parisian Chef de Surete. Mace while a young detective and burning to distinguish himself, had the solving of mysterious murder placed in his hands. He was,s after long inquiry, certain that 1t had been perpetrated by ct illdtt ictiiCu FOilUu' put lluH t k'.rnc to him? Every effort If the detective, and at last he adopted a des- perate course. He went to Voibo and told him he was certain that he knew a good deal about the crime. Voirbo's confusion was almost confession of guilt, but he pulled himself together and told Mace that he believed he knew the murderer and that he felt confident that, he could assist him to run him down. Now Mace was apparently one of the most credulous and generous of men. He declared that if Voirbo helped him to lay hands on the assassin he would ever remember him, thus en- outraged, Viorbo commenced to turn energetic informer respecting the sus- picious conduct of some people he knew.
 Mace appeared completely deceived, and Voirbo, laughing to himself at hav- ing so successfully, as he imagined, diverted all suspicion from himself to others, at last completely betrayed him self. Hefound M. Mace was quite a different man from what he had imag- ined, when it was too late to save his head from, the aguillotine.
 In the case of Woodstock, the famous coiner, his dog played the part of an unconscious informer, and led to his capture. All efforts to discover the famous criminal had failed. Wood- stock was in London, but where no one could tell Living under an assumed name, he only went out at night, and then in disguise. But it came to the knowledge of the police that he had 8 retriever dog named Nero. If Nero could be found he might give informa- tion as to his masters hiding place.
 A detective did one day discover a retriever wandering about at Chamber well that responded to the strange name. He kept the dog in view till it came close to a butchers shop, and then the officer surprised the trades men by buying a big chunk of beef and throwing it to the dog. A dogs first instinct under such circumstances is to get it's treasure safely home, and Nero troted off. He led the way to his masters lodging and the next day Woodstock was in the hands of the pursuers who had tracked him so long in vain.