§orrian anb Tolontal.

Fittatez.—The trial of Lecomte commenced on Thursday the 4th, before the Court of Peers at Paris, and terminated on the following afternoon. Two hundred and thirty-two Peers were present. The Chancellor, Baron Pasquier, presided; M. Hebert, the Attorney-General, conducted the pro- secution; and M. Duvergier defended the prisoner.

In reply to "interrogatories," Lecomte stated that he was forty-eight years of age; that he had made several attempts to obtain the pension he was entitled to; and that when he found it impossible to obtain justice, he vowed vengeance against the King, without communicating his resolution to anybody. [While stating his wrongs, Lecomte became animated in his gestures; sometimes folding his arms, sometimes stretching forth the hand to add force to his observations, but always speaking without the slightest stop.] On the afternoon of the 15th April, when in the Place du Carrousel, he heard three servants belonging to the Royal Household speak of the departure of the ring for Fontainebleau. Upon this he went home' made his arrangements for departure, and arrived at Fontainebleau at Eve o'clock the next morning. He intended at first to place himself in thechurch- yard which looked into the Royal park; but, having changed his resolution, he scaled the wall of the Petit Parquet. He vainly looked out for a ladder; and was in the act of piling faggots to reach the top of the wall, when he heard the noise of a carriage; he mounted upon them as well as he could; and the King passing at the moment, he fired, with precipitation, two shots at the carriage. Ile had loaded the gun in the Parquet. He placed some shot and a bullet in the right barrel, and two bullets in the left one. He fired too suddenly. Lecomte denied repeatedly, in the most formal manner, that he had ever hinted his intention to any one whatever.

After Lecomte had given his answers, a number of witnesses were examined. The most important were those who accompanied the Royal party during the drive in the park; but nothing is added to what was previously known. Friday was devoted to the pleadings; but on the part of M. Hebert, the confession of the prisoner rendered all display unnecessary. A consider- able part of his address was taken up in showing that when Lecomte bought the gun, in 1844, he contemplated the sssasaination of the King.

Duvergier implored mercy for his client; convinced that, at the moment he committeclithe crime, Lecomte was not in the full possession of his faculties. He ar... ationed some anecdotes of Lecomte's military life— At the battle of Carolina, he had so distinguished himself, taking prisoner a superior officer of the Spanish cavalry, that the commanding officer having been allowed five crosses of the Legion of Honour for his regiment, did not hesitate to bestow one on Lecomte. In Greece he had similarly distinguished himself. On one occasion, the corps to which he belonged having been obliged to retrograde, Lecomte, then Aide-de-camp of General Church, being stationed at the rear- lu, saw a young English officer on the point of falling into the hands of the nat. He gave spurs to his horse, charged the enemy, and was fortunate enough to rescue the officer from their hands. Lecomte had fought several duels, in every one of which he had behaved with the greatest generosity, receiving the fire of his opponent and discharging his pistol in the air. Lecomte's case was a real monomania' a mental aberration, a fixed idea. Borrowing an expression of Sir Robert Peel, he declared Lecomte to labour under a morbid vanity.

At half-past three o'clock on Friday, the trial closed; the prisoner was removed, and the galleries were cleared. A few minutes before six the Chancellor and Peers returned to the Court. In the midst of a profound silence, the Chancellor then read the sentence, as follows- " Whereas Pierre Lecomte, a guard general of the forest of Fontainebleau, was guilty, on the 16th of April last, of an attempt on the King's person and life, by the use of a fire-ana: "The Court, in virtue of the articles 86, 88, and 302 of the Penal Code, con- demns the said Pierre Lecomte to the punishment applied to parricides. The sentence of the Court therefore is, that the prisoner shall be taken to the place of execution in his shirt, and barefooted; and there, his head covered with a black veil, he shall remain exposed on the scaffold while a huissier reads to the people the sentence of the Court; and he shall immediately afterwards be beheaded? The Peers were unanimous in finding the prisoner guilty, but divided as to his punishment. It is said that 196 voted for his being executed as a parricide, 36 voted simply for the punishment of death, and three voted for perpetual imprisonment Shortly afterwards, the sentence was read to Lecomte in his cell. He Fastened with the utmost composure; and at its conclusion said, "It is well: I now only ask but one favour, and that is to see the Abbe Grivel." The Abbe, who for several days past had been in occasional communica- tion with Lecomte, visited him immediately. When the chaplain had re-. tired, a strait-waistcoat was, as is the custom, put on him; and Lecomte, far from showing any unwillingness, assisted the gaolers during the execu- tion of this formality. On the following morning, Lecomte signed a petition to the King pray- ing for mercy, and expressing deep repentance for his crime. It is reported that Louis Philippe was willing to spare the life of the assassin, but that his Ministers would not consent. The execution took place at five o'clock on Monday morning. The utmost secrecy was observed on the subject by all the officials; and in consequence comparatively few persons wererpra sent. The criminal arrived at the Place de la Barriere St. Jaques in a carriage, accompanied by his confessor, the Abbe GriveL Ile was bare- footed, and covered with a black veil. He knelt, and long remained in that posture, seemingly praying. He afterwards rose and ascended the scaffold. At that awful moment his courage seemed somewhat to fail him; but his strong organization soon prevailed. On reaching the top of the scaffold, Lecomte stood in front of the spectators, turning his back to the guillotine. He continued thus whilst his sentence was read, and the read- ing of it lasted two or three minutes. Whilst it was proceeding, be de- plored his crime, and protested his repentance. He declared several times that it was not on a scaffold that he ought to die, but on a field of battle. The Abbe Grivel whispered something, and soon presented the crucifix; which Lecomte repeatedly kissed. He next embraced his confessor with deep emotion, and surrendered himself to the executioners. His shirt and black veil were removed, and his head was forthwith severed from his body.

From the Paris papers of Tuesday it would appear that Lecoante had long refused to appeal to the King's mercy, and that his petition was oon-• veyed to Neuilly on Saturday by M. Duvergier, who delivered it to the King in person. A Council was held at Neuilly on Sunday;. to which, according to the Constitutionnel, some influential Peers were summoned, and, which unanimously declared for the execution of the sentence next morn- ing. Orders were immediately issued for that purpose; and, at about mid- night, Lecomte, who had entertained hopes of his life being spared, was informed of the rejection of his petition. His two sisters arrived at three o'clock on Monday morning: when, after embracing them, he expressed deep repentence for his crime, and as much shame at finishing his career on the scaffold.

A somewhat exciting topic has been supplied to the newspapers from an incident which occurred at the close of Lecomte's

trial—

The Constitutionnelstates, that "at the moment when the sentence on Lecomte was about to be pronounced, one of the Peers, M. Teste, demanded that his de elation as a member of the Legion of Honour should be formally declared. Upon this, M. Pasquier, the President, is said to have remarked, that all punishment of an afflictive and infamous character involved the degradation as a matter of course. He is said to have added, 'Besides, gentlemen, the Court of Peers has its precedents. Thus, in a celebrated trial, that of Marshal Ney, the degradation took place without any mention being made of it in the sentence.'" "We may imagine? continues the journalist, "the effect produced by this inconceivable comparison between the glorious victim of an abominable reaction and the wretched assassin who has just been condemned. If we are well informed, an almost universal murmur greeted the words of the Chancellor, and warned hina. that certain propriety could not be forgotten with impunity." The Siècle says—" At the moment these inconsiderate words were pronounced, M. Pasquier had before him the Prince de la Moscowa, the son of the illustrious victim. A painful sensation was immediately felt by all present The Chan- cellor, we are fully convinced, had no deliberate intention of wounding the Prince de la Moscowa by such a cruel allusion; but such is now the course of ideas, that in the minds of the men who govern us such references are not impossible, and perhaps are natural. It is said that the Prince de la Moscowa has suffered so se- verely from an emotion to which no generous heart can be an alien, that he has determined to demand an explanation in the Chamber of Peers." The National cannot believe that M. Pasquier could so far forget himself as to be guilty of the imputed indiscretion. On Wednesday sennight, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Minister of Commerce made an announcement of some importance to the mercantile world. He stated that the French Government had determined that hence- forth the mail-steamers from Constantinople, on board of which there shall be a medical man, should be declared to have clean bills of health on the

ninth day after the departure from the place of starting; merchantmen having a medical man on board shall be placed on the same footing; and those not having a medical man shall be subject to five days' quarantine. from the time of their arrival at their destination. Vessels from Alexan- dria with a medical man on board shall be considered clean twelve days after leaving that port, and those having no medical man shall be subjected to twelve days' quarantine. The effect of this new regulation will be to- place vessels entering French ports on nearly the same footing as those now acted upon in British and Austrian ports. He hoped that the new re-, gulations would be in force by the end of the present year. The plan of the Ifflnistry was opposed by M. Berryer, the Deputy for Marseilles, on account of the danger to which it exposed Marseilles; and- by M. Thiers, who thought that too much precipitation was shown in sup- pressing the precautions of the sanatory system. The House generally approved highly of the reform, and it was adopted by a large majority.

The King and Queen of the Belgians arrived in Paris on Saturday, to , take part in the "inauguration" of the Northern Railway, which takes place on the 14th instant.

&AIR AND PonvmaiL.—The Madrid journals of the 3d instant mention that the alarm felt by M. Isturitz about the progress of the Portuguese re- volution had in some degree subsided. Still, by way of precaution, he is sending all the disposable troops to the frontier. It is stated in the Journal des Delate of Tuesday, on the authority of a communication from Madrid, that the Duke of Palmella had demanded an explanation on the subject of the Spanish force assembled on the frontiers, and had made a formal remonstrance against the open encouragement given by Gonzales Bravo to the enemies of the new Government. It is said that M. Isturitz has given the most positive assurances of the pacific intentions of Spain, and ordered his Ambassador to observe a strict neutrality in all the affairs of Portugal.

The Madrid Heraldo of the 4th states that the Juntas had agreed to support the Palmella Cabinet.

The two Cabrals have issued a "declaration" from Cadiz, promising at a convenient time to publish a manifesto explaining the causes of those events which have led to their expulsion from the Portuguese shores, and ail:doh they predict will prove fatal to the institutions of the country.

Roare.—Pope Gregory the Sixteenth departed this life on Monday the 1st of June. He had long laboured under a chronic affection in the legs, in consequence of his habit of remaining during the greater part of the day seated at his desk; and it is reported that the more immediate cause of death was a surgical operation performed on one of his legs, which pro- duced violent inflammation,, and terminated fatally in a few days.

The Journal des D.'hani gives the following particulars of his late Holiness-

" Mauro Capellari was born at Helium), on the 18th September 1765. A Ca- maldolite monk, Capellari had rendered himself celebrated in his order by his ecclesiastical science and his deep knowledge of the ancient and, modern languages -

of the East. A reputation of doctrine and of regularity which had spread beyond the cloister, and the general regard entertained for his character, had secured to the humble monk, long before he was summoned to the Sacred College, a con- sideration equal to that of the princes of the Church. In March 1825, Leo the Twelfth raised him to the dignity of a Cardinal; and soon after, he was placed at the head of the vast and important admieistration of the Propaganda, for which, by his African and Asiatic erudition, he was especially suited; and the talents he dis- played in it confirmed his great reputation for capacity. In the Conclave of 1828, Mauro Capellari was one of the Cardinals most favoured by public opinion, and most violently opposed, in the Conclave, by what is called the Austrian party. In the Conclave of 1831, Cardinal Pacca, who was supported by that party, the leader of which was Cardinal Albam, had obtained nineteen votes at the ballot before last, and Cardinal Capellari twenty-six; but at the last ballot six or seven totes escaped Cardinal Albani's influence, and Cardinal Capellari obtained the majority. He had been elected Pope on the 2d of February 1831; and ascended the Pontifical throne under the name of Gregory the Sixteenth."

Cardinal de la Tour d'Auvergne is to proceed forthwith to Rome, to attend the Conclave of the Sacred College, which is to assemble immedi- ately, to elect a new Pope. At the election of Popes, three powers—name- ly, Austria, France, and Spain—have each the privilege of annulling the first election should the choice of the Sacred College be disagreeable to them. Cardinal de in Tour d'Auvergne will exercise this power in the name of the French Government. It is understood that Spain will act in concert with France on this occasion.

UNITED STATES.—By the packet-ship Yorkshire, accounts have been received from New York to the 19th May, being three days later than the intelligence brought by the steamer-Cambria. The position of the American force under General Taylor had become still more threatening and precarious. Surrounded by a superior force, with, his supplies cut off, and harrassed by constant desertions, no movement hattbeen made for the relief of Point Isabel; a second party, of sonic 70, under Captain Walker, had been completely cut off by a Mexican force, variously estimated at from 1,000 to 3,000 men, at the distance of twenty nailes from Point Isabel; and it is confidently stated that the point of land com- manding the bar, of Brazos Santiago, through which alone supplies and re- inforcements could reach the Point from the sea, had been secured and strongly fortified by the Mexicans- The advantage thus gained is one of most essential importance; and should the American Volunteers decline or fail to carry the battery by storm, the whole of the reinforcements would te,conmelled to adopt the route yid Corpus Christi. This would protract the arrival of relief in General Taylor's camp for several days, and increase most materially the danger of hit position. Considerable fears for his safety were entertained.

A New Orleans paper of the 10th May states that. the steam-ship Gal- veston, Captain Wright, sailed on the previous evening with troops under the commend of Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson' an experienced offioer, for Point Isabel. The steamer Telegraph had also sailed; and the steamer Janies L. Day was about to sail for the same quarter. Should these rein- forcements arrive safe, the force at Point Isabel will be increased to more than 1,000 men. It would seem that there is not any desire on the part of the citizens of Louisiana to enrol themselves as Volunteers. It was, ne- cessary to have recourse to a conscription, in order to enable the execu- tive authorities to raise the required number.

With the view of encouraging enlistment, an act had been passed sus- pending all laws relating to the collection of debts due by persons who may be called into the service of their country against Mexico; the suspension to continue for six months, or until the persons shall be regularly dis- charged.

War meetings continue to be held; but beyond patriotic speeches and resolutions, little substantial advance is made in providing the material of an army.

At Philadelphia, a public meeting•declared that their services, fortunes, and lives, are at the service of their country, should the exigencies of the natio* require ft. The Mayor of New York had issued a proclamation calling on the citizens to respond to the President's proclamation. A telegraphic despatch reached Philadelphia on the 14th May, from Washington, to the following effect—

The 50,000 volunteers will be all called out, and 23,000 will be marched into the field as soon as they can be concentrated, General Scott will proceed to take command of the war."

WEST hinres.—The Tweed steamer, which arrived at Southampton on Sunday, brings very unfavourable accounts from the West Indies. Jamaica continued to suffer much from drought, and the crops must in consequence prove very deficient. Two hundred Coolies from Madras had reached their destination, Port Maria; and the ready employment they found on the various estates will, it is expected, encourage further immigration. Lord Harris, the new Governor of Trinidad, had arrived in that island; and had been received with every suitable demonstration by the inhabitants. An attempt to fire the gaol of Barbadoes was made by the prisoners. The leaders had been all subjected to punishment.