, 1873-03-31

GEN. FREmoNTs CASE.
Late Paris correspondence brings an account
OF tho prelirnnarios in the prosecution OF tho
parties who negotiated tho Momphia Il Fl paao
(Tranacontinontal) Ral1road bonds, which recent
ly rcsu1ted in tho conviction Of Con. Fremont
and tho othora aasocntod with him, and tic aon-
tcnco Of tho formcr to Avo yoars' imprisonment.
The accused wore Con. Fremont; Baron
aauldroo-B Boi1eau, lis brothor-in-taw; Mcssrs.
Probss, Losagnol paradis, Aufformann, Cranp-
On and paupinol. Whom Gen. Fromont'a nhmo
was called In court, ind ho waa found to bo ab-
sent, ho waa forthwith doolarcd to be fugitive
from Justice. Tho anmo declaration was made
against probst md Aulformann, who wero
also nbecnt. Tho otlors among tho NC
cuaed woro prosent, md 1t ia to po presumed
that thoy havo already entorod upon tho several
tor1ne OF imprisonment to which thoy woro con-
domncd.
Tho caso malo out by tho French Government
is certainly A very curious one. Tho main thing
Which secured tho Introduction Of tho TranR-
continental bonds on tho Paris Bourso, cir
cunsta1lco that recommended them directly to
tho Fronch poop1o for Investment, WIS the pub
lication and circulation Of false md fraudulent
certificate, OF which tho following is copy.
Dy order Of tho Board Of Directors 1t ia certified by
these presents that the frat mortgage bonds Of the
lends Of tho Memphis 4. Ell Paso Railroad, which ,avo
been issued in two sertes Of s. oach amount
Ing In all to st0,00o,ooo, in bonds betwcon $1oo
and ST. ooo are admitted 10 sale In tho Now York Ex-
change.
| This cortacate was signed qtTiSSncor Van Nor
man, sccrota..rryy,S' and Spencer Van Normans
III identity waa attosted by Frodorick Kapr, No
tary Public No, 4 Wall street." Tho certificate
Was dated Oct. 81, 1868. It WIS subsequently
aBcortainod that no Buch porson as Spencer Fnn
Norman over existed, aud, consequently, could
not hnvo bcon Secretary Of any New York Ex-
change. It was also ascertainod that Frederick
Knapp, tho Notary Public, had died sometime be-
foro tho 9th Of October, 1868, tho dato Of tho
certificate. Tho authorship Of this false certitl-
cato could not 10 tracod, but It WAS used by tho
Paris managers of tho Memphis d El raao
echome to obtain tho official quotation Of tho
bonds In France. This project WAS fur
thor advanced by contracts Which woro
made with prominent Fronch manufacto-
RIGS. The locomotives wero ordered from
Andre Koechlin, Of h1ulhousc, and tho rails Of
tho Vozin-Au}noyo Company, Of ManhcnGo.
Tho amount OF tho orders was 92800, ,000 half to
be paid in cash and haIf In bonds, but 1t WAS
mado Il condition of tho contracts that tho bonds
must first bo admitted to official quotation.
Otherwiao tho contracta woro to bo null and
void. In this manner, tho most powerful manu-
featuring lntores!s Of Franco wero enlisted to
secure tho successful introduction Of the worth
less bonda 10 this waB addoa the influence of
Baron Gau1drco- -Doilleau, who had boon Consul
Goueral at Now York. Thoso combined intlu-
onces secured an onloial quotation on tho 8th Of
March, 1869, and on tho 18th Of March the Bo1rse
VAS uotaol to this effect. Now began the wori
Of tho brokers Of tho ring. probst had authority
from Fremont to sell 95,000,000 Of bonds nt
minimum price Of 60 per cont. probat turned
over hia authority ut profit to Crampon,
Crampon sold his contract to paradia aud made
good thing and Paradia sold tho bonds, BY
public subscription, at Is cents On the dollar
Tho sum OF E20, 600 was expended in advertising
in ton Paris nowapapors, tho sum Of $4,000 fol
special pufB, and tho sum Of $1,000 On tho pro
yincial preaB. Crampon and Paradia started
newspapers OF thoir own, connected With thoi1
bureaus which malo tho most o1traYagant re-
presentations, and tho walls Of paris wore
, covered with maps and posters OF the groa
trans-continental route.
After tho sa1o OF the bonds had progressed fa
vorably for some time, public interest began tt
| full of. It was considered necoasary to inven
aomo now coup. Con. Fremont was sent for
t Flo appeared in Paris aB Z" tho American Con
eral, wroto Hovcral communications to tho pari
nowspapers, and published o pamphlet onti
{. tled " Exhibition OF tho Position OF tho Nom
D phis. Ell pnao l. Pacific Company" Ho ropre
8 | Bonted in these documents that tho Compan
/ controlled nil the railroads between Norfolk
t Va, md Memphis, Tonn., ind bctwoon Momphi
and San Diego, thus giving IN uninterrupted lin
t between The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Abou
t this time protosta wero mndo by various porsonz
O among them Con. Cluserct, but tho
3 wore quickly suppressed by tho inluonc
i on tho fremont side. A now inpotus was give
n to tho sale Of tho bonds. In 1870, thoao CON
n plRints woro removed, and they prevailed upo
|. tho Government to seIzo the papers and attac
n tho effccta Of tho Company. This was dono Jul
= %, 1870. From these papors It WIS dscoyore
!, that tho French people had paid 81, 1873, 0o4 fc
y Momphis and FL Paso bonds. Only 3407,a6G c
a this amount wero found In tho possession Of th
% Company. Tho Bum Of s3oe,21o had boon usot
j. though part Of tho capital. to pay tho coupon
10 falling duo In July 1869; 928,15s had been e,
10 pended in aalarioB. OF tho balanco, 81 ,293, "a
70 Ia alleged to llayo boon takon OF to America
10 Fremont, aud e1,o9oo remained in France
divided among tho localpromoto1s OF tho schc1n.
II Tho evidence of II. Llspigno at the trnl va
n particularly curious md interesting. Ito, On
Ls all tho others OF tho accused who woro proson