Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-19
DuELING IN FRANOE.
The 1bsurd Code of Honor as 1t is No
Recognized.

The 16Surd Code of Honor as 1T Is No,r
Recognised.
Successive Legislative bodies in France
have tried, over and over again, to frame
some practicable plan for putting a stop
to dueling. Several projects with this OBJ
ject were presented to the national assem-
bly, in 1919, and to both chambers in 1859
In the last-named year a commission was
appointed for the exhaustive consideration
of the plans proposed, and of this commits
sion NJ. Valette was reporter. Another
draft of an anti-dueling bill was presented
by III. Herold to the Republican senate in
1877. These proposals have formed the basis
of the scheme now reported upon by the
senatorial commission of which NJ. Melha-
der is president and NJ. CRETE reporter.
The provisions of the proposed law may,
to certain extent, be regarded as very
thorough indeed, although not by any
means so stringent as our own practice in
the matter. In the first instance dueling is
styled un DELFT, which, in this case, may be
taken as meaning less a crime than a mis-
Smeanor. The delinquency of fighting a
duel is made punishable by imprisonment
of from one month 10 one years duration,
and by fine ranging between 100 and
1000 francs. The term of incarceration
and the pecuniary mulct are doubled in
the case of any duelist who inficts
any wound on his adversary. When death
has ensued from wounds the homicide
may be condemned to from one to three
years. imprisonment and to fine of from
500 to 5000 francs. To send challenge
or in any way to provoke the holding of
hostile meeting subjects the offender to
from week to a months imprisonment,
and to fine of which the minimum is to
be 1000 francs. Those are to be considered
as accom- plices in the misdemeanor who
by gifts, promises, menaces, culpable arti-
fees, or other Vaccinations" have excited
the principals to fight. This somewhat
vague but curiously comprehensive clause
is not aimed at the seconds, who are pun
ishable as misdemeanants for assisting at
the conflict; but, if it can be shown that
they have done their best to prevent the
duel from taking place, and that they have
actively interviewed to deprive it OF any
fatal results, they may escape without any
judicial censure at all. Again. the mini
mum penalty, both corporal and pecuniary,
will be inflicted on the person who sends
challenge or fights duel if he has been
or personal violence on the part of the in
dividual whom he has challenged. The
moreover, are forbidden, IN
der pain of heavy fine, to publish any re-
ports of proces-verbdur of duels, either
contemplated or contaminated; and the
signatories of such process -rer6auc are to
be deemed accomplices within the mean
ing of the law. Such prohibition as the
Co in, J. &ol
a fragrant violation of the liberty of the
press; but, looking at the peculiar consti-
tuition of modern French society, the 81
lence imposed on newspapers with regard
to duels either projected or completed
might be very strongly instrumental in
dlscoUraging practice which owes its
being quite as much to a spirit of rho
domontade as to a vindictive desire to
shed the blood of an enemy. At least
two-thirds of the challenges sent in France
at the present day do not end, and are
never meant to end, in a hostile encounter;
but all the parties to the 'affair of honor"
are, on the other hand, extremely anxious
that detailed accounts of their potential
prowess shall ''get into the papers" Things
may go SO far as interchanging the meas
urements of swords or the gauges of
pistols, anu weighing the euglDllIIy OF
the Forest Fontainebleau as against
that of the Belgian frontier as place for
meeting. The mutual friends" interfere
and, after long ''pourparlers," involving
the consumption ofmany cigarettes, ''deme-
tasses," and ''petits verres," it is formally
declared by the amicable assessors that in
calling M. lie Marquis de Cracq "cancre,'
''gredin," 'chenapan," and ''vanu-
piedS," NJ. lie Vicomte de Baccarat did not
intend to convey the slightest aspersion on
the character of the first named gentle
man, whom he begged to accept the ex-
precision of his distinguished consideration,
and that honor does not demand that the
dispute should be submitted to the arbit-
trament of lethal weapons. So process
verbal'' to this intent is drawn up, signed
by the friendly assessors, and transmitted
to the newspapers; and for four and
twenty hours afterward all the "gobe-
mouches" in Paris are talking OF that ter
rible fre-eater the Marquis de Cracq, and
that emulator of the Chevalier Bayard,
''sans peur ct sans reproche," the Yicomte
de Baccarat.