The New York herald., 1873-10-10
Trial Of the Great Capitulator Of Metz
and Hero Of Mexico.
COMPOSITION OF THE COURT.
Text OF the Indictment and Probable Course
Of the Prosecution.
SHALL BAzAINE BECOME A NEY

After an imprisonment OF some eighteen months,
Marshal Bazaine Is at length to be tried by court
martial. and on the 9th October will begin the mo-
mentous investigation as to whether the victor OF
Puebla. the first reputed strateglst in the French
army. did or did not betray the city OF Metz and
his country. The article which forms the basis OF
the indictment which General Pourcet acting as
government prosecutor In the case, has drawn up
is the 2o9th OF the Military Code, revised in 1851,
and runs as follows =
Shall be sentenced to degradation and death
every commander Of fortress VINO capitulates
without having forced the besieging army 70 per-
form all the slow and successive operations Of q
siege, and without having on his part exhausted
every possible means OF resistance and done all
that duty and honor could suggest
And the cloth article ORDERS in its second clause,
that, when the commander shall have been guilty.
not OF treason wiul neglect, but OF remissness,
from ignorance or bewilderment,
The penalty shall be dismissal from the service,
with or without degradation.
Marshal Bazaine does not consequently, stand
between the sole alternatives OF death acquitta
as Is commonly supposed by the public His judges
can sentence him to be simply dismissed from the
service and many reasons point to the probability
that this will be his fate. Dismissal implying
negligence, would satisfy the wounded sef-lOve OF
the nation, by placing the responsibility In the
capituation OF first class citadel and 900 men
u
maintain intact the private honor ofthe army, which
would be sullied in foreign eyes If field marshal
were shot as traitor. Besides this, various p0-
lltical motives have cOnspired, as they generally
do in France. to render the inquiry into this case
on its own merits extremely difficult. II Bazaine
had been brought to trial Immediately after the
peace, public opinion, which clamored for scape-
goat would have sacrificed him with one voice |;
but since then the republican press has inveighed
against the prisoner with such viruence that the
conservative papers have one alter another gone
over to the other side. Bazalne is now protected
by the fact that his execution would justify Gam
BETA and be hailed as radical triumph. II
Bazaine were guilty, then all the allegations of the
government OF Tours were true; and Gambetta,
instead OF being the fussy, mischievous, and in
capable dictator whom the conservatives reve,
becomes an able patriot, who was only prevented
from saving France by Bazane's treacherous re-
fusal to cooperate with him.
Again, there is much In the personal relations Of
BaZaine's judges towards him which must incline
them to be extremely enient. These judges are
seven In number-Genera the Duke d'Aumae,
Generals Princeteau Chabaud-Latour. Daessue.
Tripier, De La Motte-Rouge and Nartimprey.
THE DUKE D'AUMALE, u
an Orleanist prince, trying an imperast officer
accused OF conspring to reestablish the regency OF
sition. AS President OF the Court 1t will be his
junction to interrogate the prisoner, and were he
TO display any Ill will in his questions the fact
would be so much noticed that the Duke will prob
ably on the other side, and word his inter-
rogatorles as never TO run the prisoner into
corner. Now, in French procedure the whole gist
OF the trial lies In the prisoners examination.
A clever and prejuuiced Judge can SO
damaging admissions, even when the
man Is innocent; on the other hand awe-disposed
Judge can allow the prisoner to put his actions In
favorable light as TO throw the entire pro-
ba7sdi on the prosecution. The President further
more examines the witnesses, this duty not being
delegated as in England, TO the council on both
sides; and the Duke d'Aumale, in dealing with
witnesses like Gambetta, would naturally be very
shy oil letting them come OF too brilliantly.
good instance OF French trial rs conducted by
justice who means kindly to the prisoner can be
in 1870 by Chief Justice Glandaz. Ii NJ. Glandaz
had wished to condemn the Prince he had more
as 1t was, he conducted his examination OF tue
prisoner and witnesses so skllfully that the prose-
cution seemed to break down at every step, and
verdict was obtained which carried the mere NOM
inal penalty OF fine.
GENERAL PRINcETEAU
Is an aged and distinguished artillery officer, who
took tue chief part IN the reorganization or the
artillery and the Improvement OF gunnery under
Napoleon Ill He is not N very good odor with tae
steal ahead OF him with their Krupp guns. In the
general outcry when followed the national dis
tee. with General Princeteau at its head was quite
as much responsible iOr the defeat OF the French
urge in his defence that his artillery was wretched
Prnceteau VIII, therefore, feel almost as II he were
on his trial, tod.
GENERAL DE CHABAuD.LAT0UR
served Ia the engineers and was the principal con-
structor OF the Paris ortlfcations He is the most
competent authority in France on siege questions,
and VIII PROBABLY weigh hardest on Bazaine for he
Is convinced that Metz and Paris we're both i'm
pregnable and ought indeed never to have been in
| lfa1l daf lad ~ nlal hn
the second Empire delighted to honor He is a
grim frank Purila officer, Protestant and
stanch Orleanist, having been aide -de-camp TO the
Duke Of Orleans. and he voted behind NJ. Guizot IN
the Chamber OF Deputies from 1887 TO 184S.
GENERAL DALESsUE
won all his promotions as an infantry oflcer In
Africa, and Is renowned Ior his heroic and often
rash bravery. He understands little about the
command OF large armies, for he has never had
more than 5000 or 5000 men under him, and his
tactics are those or a guerilla cheltain. II ne had
out his l40 900 men to s0rtie after sorte until he
mad forced his way through the lines or got them
all butchered lie Will certainly ask why Bazane
did not try the sUtie-e,1TGsse, and will be able
TO make no head or tail OF the Marshas explana-
tiOn On the other hand he Is understood TO have
been once Bazaine's intimate comrade; and he
has horror OF radicals
GENERAL TRIPIER
1s, like Chabaud-L Latour, engineer and anti
Imperalist. He has been compared TO Hago for
his practical knowledge or fortidcations ana to
Cnasseloup-Lauba for his administrative skill In
vctualIng and organizing the military defense or
beseged places. He has never been put to
searching test, however, and IL Is not unlikely that
| he may be at bottom but paper soldier, like
| Trochu. What encourages TINS belief is the some
what crotchetty part he took In critcizng the
! war once under the Empire; and ne even offered
himself as an opposition candidate to the electors
OF Montreuil but was rejected. The Emperor did
preside the court-martial instead or the Duke
! d'Aumae IL would 90 hard with Bazaine, for he
| has knack OF propOundng his opinions in the
! form OF scientific sy0glsms difficult to answer
| as riddles. He, too, is known TO hold the belief
| that Metz should never have capitulated.
4 GENERAL DE LA M0TfE-R0uGE
Is grizzed Old soldier past seventy, VINO served
IN Charles the Tenths Garde R0yale, and by and by
became an ardent supporter OF Nap0leons Minis.
tries In the Corps LeglsatL He Is military cour-
| tier, who never spoke In the House aud never
| plotted, but always voted obediently as he was
told. When the Empire 1ell be was just on the point
OF being raised TO the Senate, which meant 3O,000f.
| year, and his detcstatlon OF revoIutionists is