Morris tribune., 1883-06-27
IT'S P1ROLE.
den. ThibdHdin and HIS Parole Of Honor.
TFrom the London Broad Arrowl

Gcn. Ihiban1in and HIS Parole Of Honor.
TFrem the London Broad Arrow.l
The challeI Sc given by the German
Military authorities to the French Min
lister of war, Gen. Thibaudin, continues
to cag.Ge TIC attention of the Berlin
papers, and the laundering attempt at
III LITIGATION made by the accused officer
in the Chamber of Deputies, leaves lit
tie if any donbt as to the facts of the
case. 1t is allowed, even by Gen. Thi-
baudins most partial friends, that he
spent singularily mauUais quart
Gheure when opposed to the incisive
heterogeneous of M. Paul de Cassagnac,
whose calm and cutting politeness was
impervious to the clamor and fury OF
the Jacobin majority. M. de Cassagnac
delicately but plainly invited the ac-
cused to give satisfactory explanation
of his change of name during the
Franco German war of 1901, and to
deny for the honor of the French army
the accusation of having broken his pa
role" Gen. Thibaudin, thus run to
earth. had no alternative but to ascend
the tribune and explain that, during the
last few months of the war, he had
fought under the name of Comagni.
Repeated Interruptions, and even
threats, did not discomfort NJ. de Cas-
sagnac from playfully pursuing the I'M
pnlatable subject, and the Generals
ltle attempt to show that he had
merely added his mothers name to his
own, and that French military court
of inquiry had fully exonerated him
from all blame, completely broke down
in the face of the official statement of
the German authorities. In his excel
le.lt work on Bismarck, during the war,
d.. Busch states, dating Feb. 10, 1871:
"Tne Chancellor wishes to have printed
IL the .HOnieur the long list of French
officers who have broken their parole
and escaped from Germany. 1 send it
On, and you will find that, beside three
vel known Generals, there are l42
-amns including Col. Thibaudin of the
Sixtv-s.,venth regiment of the line, two
Lieutenant Colonies, three Majors and
thirty Captains"
NJ. lie Gen Thibaudin has no author
ity Whatever for stating that the French
court of inquiry decided that his con-
d;lct was blameless in serving after he
had given his word of honor not do so.
j he whole mass of evidence is as clear
as thn sun in MONDAY. Col. Thibaud-
IN OF the Sixty-seventh regiment was
t,kea prisoner of war at the end of the
battles round Metz, shortly before its
UT ..,der by Marshal Bazaine. He
WAS sent with other French officers as
y IS nlcr to Mayenc6, where he re-
mailt Il with number of his comrades
o. honorable parole, in almost COM
pee liberty, till toward the end of
December he failed to answer his name
it tie usual daily roll-call. His brother
cffic, IS for some days hoped that some
accid at prevented his appearing, and
Is l2me was answered by them to save
lis reputation At length his dishon-
orable flight could be no longer con-
cnalad, and OH Dec. 10, 1870, the Prus-
i n ester of War inserted in Militar
WCcienblatt the name of Col. ThibaUd-
III az Il defaulter for his pledged word
as a soldier and he was consequently
tried in his contumacy, and condemned
to death in his absence. AS Henry
Cpmagni" he easily found command of
some of Gambetta's new levies, and by
command of the war ministry of the
times was promoted to the rank of Gen
eral under that name. Gen. "Comag-
nj" alias Thibaudin, did not quite es-
cape censure, for his case was con-
sidercd so serious that, by a military
decree of Nov. %, 1871, he was placed on
compulsory retraite, where he remained
in obscurity in Algeria till reinstated as
Colonel in the Thirty regiment
of the line.