The Express. — 1864-03-17 (London, England)

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.  EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL.  (PROM 005 OWN COILILISPONDIZIT.) PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVMMO. A cause celebre is now being tried at Aix. All the principal Paris journals have sent special reporters, and MM. Jules Fevre and lachaud are retained for the defence. In July last a man named Maurice Roux, a coachman in the service of M. Armand, a gentleman of large property residing at Montpellier, was found in the cellar of his master's house, lying on his face, with a wound on the back of his head, a rope tightly drawn round his neck, his hands tied behind his back, and apparently in a dying state. It was in the evening that he was thus found. The man had been missing all day, and K Armand bad several times spoken angrily of his absence from his duties. A maidservant in the house, who had heard her master inquiring for Maurine Roux, told him that she thought she heard Maurice groaning in the cellar. M. Armand said the girl must be dreaming, but he nevertheless accompanied her down the cellar stairs, and there found Maurice in the position described. M. Armand at once ran to fetch medical men, and a commissary of police. According to the report of the medical men Maurice was nearly strangled, and in a most dangerous condition. He could not speak a word, but was able to understand what was said to bin,. The commissary of police produced a child's alphabet of ivory letters, and asked the man to spell the name of the person who had attempted to murder him. He spelt name of " Armand"—his master. A long examination ensued by means of the alphabet, in the course of which the man explained that while he was sawing wood in the cellar his master came behind him, and saying, "Je t'apprendrai it appeler ma maison une baraque "—fl will teach you to call my house a barrack}—he struck him a tremendous blow on the head with a log of wood, which felled him to the ground ; then he twisted a rope tightly round his neck, and tied his hands behind him. This happened at eight o'clock in the morning. When Maurice Roux recovered he repeated by word of mouth everything that he had indicated by the alphabet, persisted in his story after being warned by the Judge of Instruction of his terrible responsibility to God and man if he made a false accusation and took the sacrament upon it in the presence of the judge. K Armand was arrested upon this testimony, and at the end of last year he was brought to the bar of the assize court of Montpellier to take his trial on • capital charge. But when judge and jury were assembled, when the Procureur Imperial was ready with bis speech for the prosecution, when M. Jules Fevre, specially brought down from Paris, had taken his seat in front of the dock in which the prisoner was placed ; and, when the court was crammed to suffocation with the principal inhabitants of the department, burning with curiosity to hear the case, the astounding news came that Maurice Roux, on his way to the court to give evidence, had been waylaid and beaten within an inch of his life, so that it was impossible for him to appear. The trial was necessarily postponed. The general opinion in Montpellier was that M. Armand, who is a very wealthy man, had suborned a bravo to murder Maurice Roux in order to prevent him The Solicitor-General gave a parliamentary dinnee last sassing at his residence is Eatso-place West, to from appearing against him. Maurice Roux, howthe following members of the lower house :—Aldernmas Sir ever, revived after some days' medical treatment James Duke, Sir Prank Crosaley, Mr. Bellew, Mr. Baas, Meanwhile K Armand's counsel applied to the Mr. Mammy, Mr. Childers, Mr. Clay, Mr. Balms, Mr. W. Court of Caseation for a change of venue on the E. Forster, Mr. Leathern, Mr. Morrison, Mr. Roebuck, Mr. ground that there was so much prejudice against Schoisfield, he. The subject of the removal of the mail-packet i the prisoner in Montpellier that be could not have a fair trial there. The court granted station from Southampton to Falmouth to be brought the application, and ordered that the trial before parliament this maim