The Sun. — 1857-11-11 (London, England)

THE LEMAIRE TRIAL.  The Court of Assizes of the Aisne was occupied on Saturday, part of Sunday, and yesterday, in receiving evidence in support of the charge of murder brought against H. Villet and Jean Villet, and also in support of some of the charges of robbery brought against Hugot, Lemaire, Villet, and others of the prisoners. As to the murder of a mau named Chretien, it was postively sated by Hugot that the elder Villet had offered him I,ooofr. to commit it, but that he had refused ; and it was stated by other witnesses that the two Villets had been in the house of the deceased just before be was found dead, and that death had been caused by violent pressure of the nose and mouth. As to the robberies, they were alleged to have been committed at Ha,rbonnieres, Marcelclave, and Dazenescourt, and the details days, presented no interest. The most remarkable feature in the proceedings was, as on previous the cleverness with which the elder Villet tried to explain away all the circumstances which told against him ; the vehemence with which he denounced the witnesses ; and the bitter animosity be manifested against lugot and Lemaire. Oa one or two occasions, he solemnly called on the court to punish the witnesses who deposed against him, because their evidence was false, and their manner of giving it improper. On other occasions he made set speeches, which he evidently considered very telling. "Ah gentitmen !" said be, in one of them, " Lemaire has only made what he calls revelations against me, in order that I may have to follow him to the scaffold to which he is sure to go! He does not wish to have the shame and the sorrow of dying alone ! If, what I cannot believe, this court of jussice should condemn me on the word of such a man, I will die with honour and with glory !" And then turning to Lemaire, he continued :—" I cannot prevent you from saying what you will, but I know why; you say it, you that ti mayyyou i it is to prolong the present proceedings in order that havewillnaotehatignacine of escape. the pr Butisou ldtoeolrl left half open--that no more cords will be thrown over the wall to you ! No ! no ! The bird is caught, and the cage is at present solid !" On another occasion he said :—" As to Hugot, he has Villet suhtal olf comea n asstoastshine ! a rage against me which is not that of a simple sCaliffeo 1 dsaywsittho mehhimself, mselafl,ef‘uVt or, and not content with that he tries to drag there my wife, my son, my daughter, everybody belonging to me. lam astonished that you, gentlemen, do not understand that ! I murder Chretien ! why should I ? I did Rot want his money, and I could have made him do for me whatever I liked. Besides, I placed a cross on his grave, and it cost me 45f. ! Believe me, gentlemen, it is only the canaille who accuse me ! The principal witness against me is Victor Chretien, and if you only knew what a mass of vice he is I I verily believe that for a thousand francs he would murder all the village, and that for twenty s,tus, ay, for a glass of brandy, he would have murdered poor Chretien, his own relative !" One of the robberies (many of them were very petty) in which Villet was alleged to .have participated was of a waistcoat, and a witness identified one produced as that stolen from him. On this Villet jumped up, and exclaimed, " That waistcoat his ! Why, I can prove that it has a brother and that they both descend from a frockcoat whi ch 1 lai purchased many years ago in the Pas Royal at Paris !" This strange way of speaking caused a laugh, but Villet t. d " con trine , For making such a statement _.as he has done, the witness deserves to punish h.m, be punished, and I beg of you to rtepea. Monsieur le President The waistcoat,fkat purchased in with a colleague from a. peal to my enemies in the Palais Royal ! apies themselves—to Boitel, enemy ; to the ves my first garde-champetre, another enemy ; to all of them • they did not see that frockcoat