The New York herald., 1878-12-01
A JEAN VALJEAN.
POLICE ESPIONAGE N FRANCE RECORDS THAT
HAUNT THE DREAMS OF MANY ASPIRING
From the London Globe. ]

20 the Hotel de Vile and Prefecture or Ponce the!
hoped to destroy the criminal records which had
been gathered carefully and correctly by the I'm
perial police. who had perfected the system Of
criminal information practised by their pred
ecessors. The Rue de Jerusalem dreaded by
maefactors. and also by the agitators, who knew
their political and social antecedens had been
fully chronclei. The whole history and career OF q
man in the hands of the police for good or evil
the diary of his life written mp day by day, and
those who had distinguished themselves III public or
in private had their easier pigeon hole i'll the vast
cpboar the Prefecture of Police The pigeon hole
was filed with notes, which became the 6oSsieF or
criminal and political record Of the life OF individuals
who had brought themselves under the notice of the
authorities The Communists who knew that the
magistrates invariably consulted the dosser Of each
criminal. communicating 1t to the jury and preju-
dicing them against the prisoner at the bar, had
many reasons for endeayorng to encompass the de-
structon OF documents which were the reverse of
fattering to of their leaders and would
have tarnished the brilliancy of than
one career The easier of more than one would
have shown that many who, through some youthful
error had lost the jewel. reputation, had cast them
selves into the vortex of politics not as disciples
abandoning everything to espouse cause their in
ward convictions taught them right but as catch
penny orators. men who could captivate the mob and
gain hollow reputation. difficult to make since
they could not enter into any conflict with the police
who had the secret Of their past
FORGIVENESS.
How many in such position have been tempted,
and. having been tempted. have fallen They have
come within reach of the octopus-like of the
Code and stern Justice has been distnguisher of
persons In the cupboards and among the archives
pf the pdrGet tribunal of his native town his dosr
tells tale which must be kept secret, and many
who has declined the Legion of Honor
has had reason known only to himself
have
permission to look the easier its contents unless
official business The keys are kept by some
sponsbe person and before the doser could be found
the proper fehe must be forthcoming. Those boxes
which placed round the study of the Public Pros
ecutor in the Psais de Justice in the provinces
round the of the head of the Criminal Depart
ment Of the Prefecture of Police in Paris full of
1ches small strips of cardboard, alphabetically
arranged. with the of those whose
Rnteccdents revealed in corresponding doSsiers
Since the liberal Empire tried and condemned
the political and criminal doSsiers have been kept
apart. The Minister of the Interior has his po
lice. and the sayings and doings of political men
recorded with much accuracy and
noted by the Prefcct of Police. Pun
ishments divided into different categories.
each of which entails certain pains and penalties the
reflection of which will follow through life
like some ayenging Nemesis. Certain classes Of men
are deprived of their civil privileges they cannot
vote, nor can they have any voice directly or ind-
rectly. in the management of the affairs of their
try. They cannot redeem the past However exem-
plary life they may lead they can never
have their names placed on the list OF noabea
mereants they cannot sit on the jury, they
occupy any position which raises them above the
level of their fellow citizens. Victor Hugo when he
wrote Lies Miserables" and sketched Jean Vatican
gave true picture of portion Of society. Every
now and then some case shows how much stranger
truth is than fiction, and the annals of Court OF
Assize contain some curious records which might
proftably be elaborated by the novelist and play
writer
JEAN vAIIEAS AGAIN.
Dumas. man of fifty. and of most gentlemauy
appearance stood yesterday in the dock OF the Court
of Assze to show cause why sentence of ten years
imprisonment. with hard labor. passed on hin ia
fumdcidm. should not be enforced. Heartbroken and
sobbing he told the jury his piteous tale. He had
been soldier and had held commission in the
French army. When he left the regiment he
tered the service of an insurance company agent
and travelled through the province While
one of his Journeys he caught cold and was taken
i'll with rheumatic fever. The money he had saved
up melted like snow before the hot sun, and he ran
deeply INTO debt Pressed on .sysry SIDE by his
fious policies. accompanied by bills with fictitious
signatures representing the amount Of the premiums.
and thus managed to obtain from his employers
few hundred francs rs commission. He re
turned TO Paris he convalcscent
indemnify the company. He was unsuccessful and.
after living in concealment tor few months to avoid
the hue and cry raised when his defalcations were
discovered he emerged from his retreat thinking he
had been forgiven and forgotten. He procured en-
poyment traveller to large house Of business i'll
the wine trade and successful beyond all expecta
ton. He married. but unfortunate enough to
lose his wife. His perseverance and industry. his
roetitude of conduct and regularity OF habits. at
tracted the notice of his employers who assisted him
in establishing himself in business a wine mcr
chant on his own account He married second
time widow with children. and became more than
a second father to them. When the broke out
Dumas took service a simple volunteer, and his
bravery was great that his colonel would have
asked for the m.iaUfe mtiifGire for him had Dumas
not especially requested him not to mention his
name. Through a third person he more than indem-
nihed the company ne had defrzuded and he thought
he could hold his head up once more. HIS business
had prospcred greatly. and he looked up TO in
the locality where he had settled down as OF the
richest the upighbOrlood. The MayOr the
cur. and the notaire constant visitors at his
house. and when the lst of wealthy and influential
men worthy of serving on the jury made out the
name Of Dumas was included without his consent
being asked. az he had always desired that honor
should be conferred ON him, and il was known he
would have refused.
nv Is ACQUITTED
The authorities, who consult the d0s1ers Of every
person whose name i'm On the proposed list of
lurymen. found that Dumas wanted" and that
sentence Of ten years imprisonment had been
corded against him. He arrested. and
who had considered him a model of virtue
and rcctitude. The Chairman and other Of
hcias :" tne insurance company. IN whose
name the complaint had been lodged. endeavored 10
withdraw the charge. giving the prisoner most IA
v"rable character and asserting loudly their belief
that nothing but dire poverty and misfortune could
ever have induced him to become a criminal The
Mayor, the cure and the Commssary OF Police spoke
highly of Dumas the colonel or his regiment said
hs never had better officer, and the colonel of
mobiles. who had Dumas under his orders duringlhe
siege of Paris, spoke Of his heroism At Buzenyai
tortinR from the prisoner the cry, Would 10 God
had been killed there" His wife and stepchildren
inplorcd pity for the good husband and kind father
but the Public Prosecutor denounced Dumas
hypocrite an impostor and villain of the deep
est dye. who had capyated by his hypocritical
duct the confidence of honest His violence
surprised everybody. and his demand that the jury
should confirm the original sentence caused n move
ment " Indignation favorable to the prisoner whose
appeal, Have pity ON me and mine was heard. He
was acquitted by the Jury, who took mercifu view
of the and held that the crime had already been
sufficiently expiated thus indorsng the opinion Of