Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1891-05-23 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

DEEPLY-DYED VILLAIN.  Of all the ruffians who have had to appear before assi: e courts in France for some time, Meunier, an ex-Customs officer of Latedres, in the Department of the Meurthe et Moselle, seems to be the most deeply-dyed in guilt. This man stands, telegiaphs a Paris correspondent, charged with three assassinations, one attempt to murder, two.acts of incendiarisya, and a robbery. Be is 35 years oldl and once bore an excellent character. In IE9O he lost his wife, who left him with two little boys. Desiring to marry again, he proposed to a rathcr wealthy person, Mdlle. Jactel, whose mother objected to the suitor, first, because he was not rich enough; and, secondly, because he had children. I Meunier now resolved to obtain money by all sorts of means. In August last he entered the dwelling of the parish priest of Xivry-Circourt and murdered that ecclesiastic and his servant. He stole frcm the premises about £3O and set fire to the presbytery. Returning to Amerment, where the lady whom he wanted to lead to the altar lived with her mother, Meunier renewed his suit, but was unsuccessful, owing to the existence of his children. He accordingly burned down Madame Jactel's house, and the mother and daughter escaped only by a miracle. Still undetected and unsuspected of the acts of incendiarism, the donanier urged Mdlle. Jactel to marry him, and she appeared to give ear to his application, but was afraid of her mother, who still objected to the children.. A day or two after the interview with Mdlle. Jactel Meunier smothered his eldest boy. In the meantime, the brother of the lady, who is an infantry officer, arrived in the locality, and forbade the dovanier to talk any more to the members of the Jactel family, whereupon Meunier fired at him with a fowling-piece and shattered his left arm. This caused the arrest of the criminal, and the Aye d'instraction soon prepared a formidable case against him. In Meunier's premises the purse of the murdered priest and a religious newspaper which had belonged to the same person were found. Eventually, Meunier confessed to the murder of his son, the burning of Madame Jactel's house, and the attack on the officer. He denied, however, the double murder and the destruction of the presbytery. In a few days Meunier will be called upon to stand his trial before the Assize Court of the Meurthe et Moselle.  A terrible crime has been perpetrated in the little village of Oyonnax, near Nantua, by a child of 12 years. This boy-murderer, who has always exhibited a most vicious disposition, dragged, apparently without any motive, a little cVild of four years to the river side, plunged its head into the water, and finding that it did not die quickly enough, battered it with his fists, bit it in the face, and tore off its nose. Confronted with the body, the miserable little assassin exhibited the most perfect indifference, and cynically explained how he had torn out the teeth of his victim and otherwisp mutilated it.  Since the House of Commons reassembled la January nine members of Parliament have died— Messrs. Bradlaugh, Kynoch, P. Macdonald, Baring, Cavendish-Bentinck, Tapling, Greene, Barbour, and Colonel Hambro; and three seats—those of Mr. F. W. Maclean, Mr. W. H. Smith, and Captain Verney—have been vacated from other causes. Altogether since the last general election 119 vacancies have occurred, of which 53 were caused by death. The Government have lost 23 of their supporters by death, the other figures being Gladstonian 16. Liberal Unionists 7 and Nationalists 7.