APACHE AS A MODEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2929, 4 May 1910, Page 14

APACHE AS A MODEL.

INCITING TO MURDER. ROCHEFORT AND POLICE. A ch-rage of inciting to murder at Paris ! at the first hearing resolved itself into a j burlesque kind of inquiry as to whether the , police' are brutes. The trial began at the Assizes, Paris, j the _ accused being Gustav Herve, the Anti- | Militarist editor of La. Ghiemre Sociale and French deputy, and his printer, Raoul I Auroy. Their offence was stated as "pro- . vocation to murder and apology of a ' crime." The prosecution particularly complained of an article in which M. Herve condoned the crime of the Apache Liabeuf—"the : human porcupine " —who shot a policeman dead and wounded others. ! The article was headed "Let Us Imitate the ' Apache,' " and went on : | "Liabeuf has a certain beauty and grandeur. He was falsely accused. Every day honest people for no reason whatever are assaulted by the police and accused of offences against public morals by our brutal policemen. I myself have been knocked about by the guardians of the peace of the Republic, but have refrained from making reprisals." . , M Herve summoned 51 witnesses, including M Henri Rochefort, the well-known journalist; M. Octave Mirbeau, the author, M. James, the Socialist leader; M. feebastien Faure, and a dozen or so of the Social Revolutionary Deputies. The accused announced that he would first of all call, on M. Rochefort, who had' already received 22 condemnations, including two death sentences, for offences arising out of breaches of the Press Law, a record which M. Barve could never -r.c(pe to equal. AU~**r* The wonderful octogenarian Rochefort, in common with tire rest of the witnesses made a speech which resolved itself into a pungent criticism of the law against the liberty of the press and police tyranny. There was, he said, no need *or anyone to read M. Herve's article if they did not wish to. Whether in his article he had committed any offence at all was simply a matter of appreciation. He recapitulated his arrests with considerable pride, adding: "I do not despair of beating your illustrious record, Herve. M. Jaures, too, with a wealth of detail, described how, 15 years ago, on leaving a political meeting, an infuriated policeman singled him out and kicked his shins. The President, with a gesture of despair, ventured to declare that he could see little, if any. relation between M. Jaure's injury of 15 years ago and the guilt or innocence of M Herve. "It is not the police who are on trial, but the accused, at the bar!" exclaimed the President. "If this sort of thing is to continue we shall never finish." A number of witnesses for the defence testified to police brutality which they had witnessed at various times. The Apache Liabeuf was not, however, called as suggested by M. Herve's advocate. After deliberating for an hour, the jury found M. Herve guilty, without extenuating circumstances. The printer, his codefendant, was "acquitted. A number of the prisoner's friends had gathered in the court, and after the verdict was announced created a disturbance, crying, "Long live Herve ! Long live the Revolution !". By order of the presiding judge the manifestants were summarily ejected. Herve ■was ordered four years' imprisonment and further condemned to pay a fine of £4O.