Blandford Weekly News. — 1886-09-04 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

CONVICT'S CONFESSION.  The convict Toussaint has (in the witness box at Bow-street) added sorne interesting particulars to the story of the attempt to rob Mr. Tabak, a diamond merchant, with being concerned in which robbery James Palmer, Samuel Sewn:land, Leon Weiner, Adolphe Weiner, and Dumet Jacoby now stand charged. Toussaint said he did not know that his daughter knew of the intended robbery, but he asked her to go to Mr. Tabak's house to find out who lived there. He had heard of Mr. Tabak from A. Weiner. He saw Jacoby in reference to the robbery every day for two months; but did not see him for four or five week* before the robbery occurred. That {V&A after it was determined that chloroform should not be used. He had opened the bottle of chloroform many osimes to try it on a rabbit. Jacoby proposed Jo try it on some of the women who go in , Hyde Park to sleep. Subsequently witness went ; with Leon Weiner, and tried it on women , all over the park. The stuff was in a bottle labelled "External only." Jacoby gave him this bottle. One woman jumped like a Jack-in-the. Lox and said, "I know what you've got." She wanted to give him in charge, but he persuaded her not to do so by giving her 58. He refused to use chloroform on Mr. Tabak.—ln crossexamination, some interesting personal particulars were drawn from Toussaint. Before being sentenced to the term of penal servitude he was now undergoing he had only been out of prison 16 months. He went to France, and on his return he gave his daughter some diamond earrings to pawn; she also pawned a diamond brooch. He had stolen them. In 1876 he was sentenced to penal servitude for eight years for stealing a diamond ring. He was also sentenced in 1868 to eight years' penal servitude for a similar offence. Prior to that he had been sentenced to six years' penal servitude for receiving stolen property. Before that sentence he bad had three years penal servitude for robbery of "• miserable scarf pin, only worth 103., which was stolen by another man." (Laughter.) Before that he had had four months, although he was "as innocent as • child." That was the first cause of his trouble. He was convicted of stealing an opera glass. He was • shoemaker by trade, and worked at his trade in 1868, but through the police he was ruined. He came to England in 1868, and was charged in 1859. He had previously lived in Paris. Ile had to leave Paris as he was at the theatre when the attempt was made on the life of the Emperor Napoleon by Orsini with a bomb. Witness was an Italian, and with 28 Italians was 1•111. pected. He was not arrested and charged in connection with the conspiracy, and he had had no conmnnication with Orsini, He did not leave Italy with other conspirators to murder the Emperor Napoleon. He had never belonged to a secret society. He declined to disgrace his family by publicly stating his name. He had never heard that his daughter had lived with Jacoby as his mistress; had tried to make him marry her under threats, and had sworn to ruin him because he had married another woman. Wit. MIS wag not anxious that anybody should be punished. He only came there to speak the truth. His daughter had told him how they used to treat her, and he said, "When my trial is over, go to my own people, by whom you will be treated as a lady." The treatment she received made her very wild.—The ems Sam remanded.