The Intest incident in the conflict is a speech by M. Frangais Albert, the Minister of Public Instruction, who accused the Jesuits of carry-ting on an underhand campaign to regain their influence over the minds of the rising generation in France. An allusion to the Papal Nuncio, Mgr. Cerretti, who only recently returned from Rome, as having encouraged these Jesuit designs, has excited the susceptibili-{ties of that prelate, who has complained to M. Herriot, pointing that, as a member of the Diplomatic Corps, the representative of the Holy See ought not to be exposed to public attack by a member of the Government.
'Mgr. Cerretti is credited with the intention of consulting members of the Diplomatic Corp: in the event' of an unsatisfactory reply from M. Herriot. extremely regrettable that these highly controversial questions should be raised at a time when unity is '50 much needed to solve the financial problem. To all but its partisans the Herriot Cabinet is beginning to be looked upon as collection of doctrinaires incapable of. grasping the realities of government or of resisting party pressure. If the Amnesty Bill is voted and Caillaux returns to Parliament, many of those who dislike him will be consoled to some extent by the reflexion that a force, at any rate, has returned to French political A Calloas Villain A curious' murder trial, in which, jas in the case of Laridru, the sojealled "Blue Beard" who burnt his to cinders, the prosecution was unable to produce a body, has just been concluded at Quimper, in Brittany.
'The' accused, Guillaume Seznec, owned a sawmill at Morlaix, and he was alleged to have murdered a M. Queméneur, a well-to-do merchant [who was a member of the departmental council and occupied good position, The two men went off to Paris in Seznec's car, and 'Quemeneur never returned.' According to Sexnec, his car broke [down and his companion left him at a place called Houdan, with the intention of making the rest of the Journey by train, but it was shown there was no train from Houdan to Paris between the time fof their separation and the follow. ing morning. It also appeared, from the statements of garage-keepers along the road, that Seznec was supplied with a' considerably larger quantity of petrol than he would have required to take him along the road between the points Jat which the petrol and the inference w kelled Quemeneur, he drove along a eross road and disposed of the body.
When Quemencur's sister, with whom he lived, became anxious about his" disappearance, she received a reassuring telegram, purporting to have been sent by hi from Havre. Subsequently it was ascertained that Seznec was Havre on the same date, and the original of the telegram was declared by experts to be in his handwriting. It was also proved that during his visit to Havre Seznee purchased a typewriter, Later he produced a contract where.
Quemeneur undertook to sell him "a piece of property at considerably less than its market value, and it was shown that this contract was typed with the machine bought Havre. The machine itself, which Seznec denied all knowledge, was found in a garret at his house, and his only explanation was that the police put it there, 'A Mysterious American Seznee's defence was a series of Gonials, He would not admit, that he went to Havre at the time stated, and, when asked how he accounted for the statements of witnesses, he replied that they were mistaken. His reputation in the Hocality was that of a man with whom it was risky to do business, and some fire insurance companies lad unfavourable recollections of object of the journey to} Paris was to effect a motor-car deal with a mysterious American transaction was proposed by Seanec, the latter maintained that it came from Quemencur and that he! (Seznee) was never in communieation with the American, He was therefore in a position to meet all questions on this point by the stereotyped reply "I don't know.
'A defence of this kind always reates a bad impression ina French court, the idea being that fan innocent man has nothing to lose by frank discussion of every detail, and it was no surprise when {the jury found Seznec guilty of murder. They gave a negative! reply, however, on the question of premeditation, and Seznee saved neck. He was. sentenced to penal servitude for life. The verdict was iMogical, for, if Sornec murdered Quemeneur, the crime must have boon either premeditated or ab. solately without motive, and. the latter theory was contradicted by the typed contract in Seznec's favour. He will go off to the penal settlements (which are still very far from being abolished) with the reputation of a wholly unsympath and callous villain who richly deserved the guillotine.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.