ARSON AT SYDNEY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2574, 21 June 1881, Page 3

ARSON AT SYDNEY.

In a recent number of the Sydney “Herald” is a full account of the trial of Alphonse Bechet, at the Central Criminal Court, Sydney, before Justice Windeyer, for the Barrack street fire. The evidence in the case was circumstantial, but sufficiently conclusive to lead the jury to in a verdict of guilty, with a recommendation to mercy on account of the testimony to character. His Honor in giving judgment, said—- “ It is perfectly clear that the fire could not have been an accidental fire ; the jury who sat at the inquest came to that conclusion, and the present jury has confirmed it. Once admit that the fire was not accidental, who but you could have set it on fire? You were the last person at the store--were there under circumstances perfectly inexplicable except for the purpose of setting fire to the place. The crime of which you have been convicted is a most serious one ; you have rendered yourself liable to a very heavy term of imprisonment for the charge on which you have been convicted. You have set fire to a place in the vei'y hart of the city, in one of the commercial centres of the town, where, if a general conflagration had taken place, it must have endangered the property of the whole town ; and the conclusion the jury have arrived at is that you have done this for the purpose of defrauding those insurance companies. The stakes which you played for were very high ; yon were to get £14.003, and would he able" to repay Mr Wentworth and stand before the world with £OOOO of your own, instead of being indebted to him in a large sum of money. Persons who commit crimes on such a scale, and play for stakes so heavy against society,must take the consequences. This is not the case where some small tenement is consumed and no further damage is done ; the game you played was a desperate one, and persons who venture on crimes such as this must take the consequences if the}’ fail. You have rendered yourself liable to be sent to the roads for a period of 15 years. Of course I do not intend, after the recommendation to mercy the jury have given to inflict such a sentence upon you. The sentence of the Court is that you be kept to hard labor on the roads, or other public works of the colony, for a period of seven years,” The Sydney “ Echo” remarks on the issue of the trialjas follows : “In the case under notice the relics of the conflagration told no tale. The issue was decided independent of any revelations from the ruins. This one strong cn couragemont to fire raisers has been demolished.”