The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-04-02
&c THE CIRCULATION OF THE DIS
FATCH Is LARGER THAN THE COMBINED
CIRCULATION OF ALL THE OTHER DAILY
NEWSPAPERS OF THE CITY.
sulsr--Tna French T~eet--A Modern
Bnsitaser, ef n superintendent of
Finances--Tfse Career OF n French

Enstaaforr ef superintendent of
Finances--Tfse Career OF French
Frefect-
From, the London Spectator. -
There never WAS story SO characteristic
nf France rs that revealed in the trial of NJ
,anrier dc Ia Motto. whiiom Prcfect Of the
Etire. 1t might have been told by Stlllt, or,
still better. by the Able Soulavic, and all
historians would have quoted it as the story
wIsth better than any other illustrated the
home life Of the times Of Henri Quatre or the
Regent Philippe of Orleans. VI. dc Ia Motto,
though only y great official. bureauciat not
p soldier, prefect not Il crusader. is in every
essential characteristic a great noble Of the
old French regime. Able, popular, and reck
l"sslv di>>oiu;c. regardless OF meney,
II accounts, or virtue, careless whether
70 spent his own funds or those of
the State equally ready to give to
LIS dchauchcd fproriics or TO bcggars
sl,ian,icring his own fortune nnd then pill
la.in- his wifc'S yet as ready to waste them
cn state business rs on his own; 10000 the
t,ocrcr TOR his pietectureS, yet reasonably ac-
cu>rd uf malverSation ; so competent ruler
HAT .yrlai ncb'cS. old legitimistS, who must
have hated him with holy zeal; turned out to
testify that 10 man ever governed the De
,rartNrHt like him--he doubled. it is said, the
wealth q the Eure--tnd SO foolish that at
.y,ys step he left materials for criminal
action: 20 hlndir that the Jealous. .envlouS,
rIiricisug poor Of the Department rose In
thousand, after his fall to protest against 1t,
v. unable TO hc dccently just TO his wife.
f.Xurinus, generous, brave, clever, and Ut
tr;iv iuiu,yrali NJ. .Iauvlpr dc la Motto stands
oft in the evidence so;tra''-p tho Eure as
The Due de Kchclieu might have governed
Toulouse, or VI. de Bonilion have admins
tired >edan---a strange figure. one when no
c'nd man c.9n approve or tau 10 condemn,
lat which no o:her i-rrn'r than inc ffelcn
i entirely competent to judge. And lie ~es
attacked and defended in the old. old way.
Tie Government did not asSail him, though
Il i possible NJ Dufaure, the Minister OF
.'us!ire, did, il the name either OF outraged
morals or OF the violated -a:irtitr Of eceeunts.
t; u. de la Motto had been Republican he
,!n.lit have been quietly removed as belong
~ 20 ~ order Of men republics cannot tole-
III. 70 S"cutti l'a..a hacr allowed to be
forgotten. He WAS. however. Il determined
Hnarmrti,t. and one Of the dangerous
t,pr. Il, able as Haussinann and popular
besides: man who understood the ART
~: rGnci|iatin" the masses; who could
rulc with strong iaiiu III Tot be hated;
and Who. il he had Scruples of any kind.
ID nGur which stood in the way Of govern.
'.,r pn a~u'd Sci0ncgr. us Il deSpot released
ry..n the moral obligations e !.tnnkihd' 1t
,,a> eXJr.dirnt 10 punish as well as dismiss
hlm. Ihc:" were errors ia his accounts, en-
,yaditurr, which either were dcfalcations or
.v kc0 exceedingly like them. olitlHys not in
.s,,,a 81 ile hapftit Of. ii, dc ls Mottcs pri-
;.tr account Win ms bankers, IN. .i.tti;Sed
:, .'II0w him that Loui~ Nuinze style OF ny
tac ivs vhi:h his salary was l"se'hSlrm' a,,;nmaJ
Waerc the Old srfqnc,r ~culn navy x---~..-
T., rravanti. The lrpfrct 81 tte EiiFe skinhefi
=. d'por;meut, 1'hc Eihfcrnr Natiied a
'''. and The prcicct carried expenses to the
."""l!nt Of Wo;k-a llidge--on which,
'''"l,h"h->>, he had spent thousands of his
'.'n. jii- mistress or ,yas il second wife ,
- evidence is divided--desired gorgeous
.Y..,., ai,A The furniture va: irs., i;in for as
'"'m furniture. but Hid for with the
-a'"i"ttIG ol me Lviilrit I: ,nn"a,. and left.
HA' 'H" hlaznS cauds OF the Paris Hotel
u" Vile, rs part of the furniture Of
Tie ir,iecturc. The Government quite
if2.sTr r-oifea 10 prosecute for these
.-.:.-c@ 80" hU: i''i:,a ot ;;tts.ctltins fairly
TX W.nl in haadlon" for Il conviction;
!"lrd W charges which were ample grounds
1or di-ln>~id. but had nothing to do with the
,,.g-r Of 2lalyerSation; demanded in the
naIar II tic treasury sums which the head
= to treasury declared on his oath were
-" d.. and in fact prosecuted as Colbert
."ujd have prosecuted a ferlnier-general
Ia hc he'd allowed tc gorge himself till
g.. AnUr came. Inc prosecutor, with his
49,, .. ., t@:.'llac witnesses brought forward to
iro," that Official accounts were not srra,gu.,
lr ludge, with his sarcastic reprinands to
ri! who praised the defendant the defend
80 h'n's2,f with 'f-tilciivc "tHtlelftahiness
ma audaIity, rising to state that witness
"Au had fabricated an account was quite
'.rn"icS-. for q myself gave him the Or
,'r it was all scene from the history
'' the Old rsgtn,e. And so was the de-
''~rc. One-half Of. the Siti1esses who
r,m" forward neither pEoyea hdr at
i'mp!ed to prove anything except that N. de
IL Motto was popular, while the witness who
ultimately saved him was the Finance Minis
't' 'J'nseif, WHO. az president Of the Council.
General Of the Cure, tat+ watched hip all
through his career. N. Pouyer-euertier Gid
not attempt either to defend his friends pri-
at? !4s 2r. TO deny that accounts had been
gyaru. ,p,,, ass;ttt>1 ti:"t his epai,gy, genius,
I'd pli.anthrop7 bad made OF une ntiis Ire
List department of Fldnce-thls Is s.sMe: tue
Improvement In every kind OF civilization,
n.iudiry the dilrtEntlon Of crime, beng
.'oved bv tieuress:.!.and that the pfactlce OF
uanslers Oh accounts, '"h'ch the'Yltress iiaa
%'ways condemned, had been autuCr.zaa by
q .alutus-coiasuliuna promulgated nnder the
ni.ujSrv of VI. Fould. Under. this ordcf
-. transfers are permitted, subject TO the
4yp.oval of the audit office, (Cour des
.'untes. one of the Oldest institutions IN
:gguccA and this approval had In each m
.,aoaa heen formally given. The Council
General Of the department, the controlling
aN,nority established by law, had given its
a-,rn, to all the expenditures complained OF,
aa4 if that council was Inperialist, the
council elected since 1871 was not, ana u
haI Independently examined and confirmed
-" expenditures. - am convinced" sald
~" Minister. speaking in the old style, us II
-" conviction Of one so highly placed must
." ht''"r tir.n evidence, " that NJ. JahF'er
ID h Nottc never appropriated single cen,
lam Of the local funds TO his own uses, ana
,H,i he expended a large part OF llis prl-
'h.c fortune 10 serve tie interests OF the de-
ra1ment." The Project, il. fact, had taken no
'bIn@ hi, accounts were manufactured under
ie-,ui authority, his Irregularities were IN
"Ni'a3e' under the system, and the jury,
evidently believing that he was made the
H'1i'e~oat Of an entire system, UNANIMOUSLY
voted for ucquitta. II the Finance Minister
i Iic,ht Us 10 the legal effect of the senatus-
>G'tsHtt4m and Of votes passed by the Coun-
".~ceneIal, they are OF course IN the rlSnt,
md their verdict amounts TO this that under
~" lmpcrlal system, az In the state so IN Tue
partmen,, vast expenditure on the per
,0nal nagnifccnce Of the head Of the. admin
l'1tion was. SO long as he governed success
ally, considered on all hands-by prefects,
y 1tk<Nys-