Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-12-21
THE PANAMA SCANDAL
Upr0ar0us Scenes in The
French Chamber.
STATEMENT BY M. ROOVIER.
Saws He Did No More Than All Pub.
lie Men Have Done.

IgoNDoS, De- 2l--A Paris special says:
The air brsa'n,s roy ,l.st intrigue Tuere
ARE all the out ward aspects Of . revolu'
tionary era.
PARIS. Dec g..-M. Floquet, president
OF the cham ber OF de puties, announced 10
the house that he had received an applica
ton for authority 10 prosecute VI. Rouvier,
sx.mluister VI finance; Jules Roche, ,ex min
lister uf commerce; Emmanuel Arone,
member for Corsica; Antonin Proust,
member for Deux Sevres; Baron Jean de
Soubpyrsu, mem Der for Loudun; and Jo-
seph Dugue de la Fauconnerie, menner
for Orne, all OF whom are charged with
having been compromised In the Panama
canal scandal.
The application could not he granted
without the consent of the house. as the
deputies under the law ARE exempt from
certain legal proceedings. The chamber
decided that the differ mt bureaux should
meet aud consider tn" application.
H. tue senate NJ. LeRoyer, the presi-
ient stated that he I'D received a demand
for hr prosecution OF Senators Ronault,
Albert Gr-vy, Beral, Thevenet and Deves
for the part they have taken In the affairs
oftle canal company.
The matter was referred, "a In the lower
chamber, 10 the standing committees. la
the senate aud lower chamber special com
mittre- were elected To consider appiica-
tions of the procureur general for the
prosecution of compromised members, and
both were UNDERSTOOD To favor the prose
cutiou ~ rx Minister Rouvier.
NJ Rnn'ier appeared before the stand
ing committee, of which he is a member,
In His own Defense.
ID ,I.., "A In h.
um,nts s"izod 10 prove that he had ever
received cnrck from anybody In the in
terest OF the Panama Canal company H.
lad llways Heemed IL his duty TO preserve
sileucc as regards certain facts The ac-
cusatidnS made against his character and
integrity had relieved him Of such obliga-
tion, and he would now speak ont In the
chamber without reserve. Before the
chamDer resumed business the statement
hal gone abroad and caused intense ex-
citement IN the lobbisS The galleries
were packed. Not doz seats in the
whole auditorium were vacant The re-
port OF the special committee was read 10y
| Chairman Alexandra Millerand. II fa-
| vored this granting OF the application
| for the authority 70 prosecute Dep
| uty Arene, charged ~ NJ An
| droeux, late prefect OF police, with cor
ruptinu in connection with the loan oi
| ls>t NJ. Arene arose and protested has
| Innocence lie male merely general de-
| nial.
VI. Rouvier then asc.nded the tribune.
| The first words Of his d Tense we're deliv-
cred amid oppressive silence After re-
| minding the chamber of his hitherto un-
exceptionable good record, and the oblga-
tions to official secrecy which had previ-
| ously closed his mouth, he made an EN-
| phatic general denial that he had ac-
| cepted checks from the Panama Canal
| company or their agents, or had had ary
| discrelittble connection OF any sort witt
| the company's enterprise. He was now
reaoy 10 yell the whole truth. When ne
came into power be found that the secrec
service fund was suLireiy inadequate for
| the defense OF the Republic, snd be had
recourse TO his personal friends for sufIi-
| cieut money To tide over the temporary
| difficulty. The confusion grew steaiily
In the chamber as the deputies became
convinced that u touyier
Was Evsding the Issue.
| Loud murmurs of protest greeted his
first statement Is To the secret service
fund, aud when he suggested that the
suspicious checks were contributions Of
| his personal friends to the support OF tie
government, there was an outbrea< OF
bowls aud dersiye Laughter. RtisinI his
| voice, so as To be bearl above the uprotr,
M Rouvier shoutedi "WhsE ] did. all
public men have done Had l not adopted
| that course, the men now iuterruptlnz
me would not be seated on these benches"
Bedlam broke loose the moment the
words were uttered. Deputies rose
and shouted back 10 the speaker, AMI
| Others shouted fo- tho names Of the
| friends. NJ. Rouvier made three attempts
| to be heard, hut his voice was inaudib,e
| After the d, mon stration mad spent itself,
| he continued II am perfectly ready to
| 20 before any tribunal. l have nothing
to fear. l never received the slightest Den.
eft from the Pa anna Canal company. |
never defended its interests. challenge
investigation"
This peroration provoked
| Another Hostile Demonstration.
When order had been restored the report
Of the spec nj committee In favor OF the
prosecution was adopted.
Paul Deroulede then asked what action
the disciplinary council of the Legion OF
| Honor had decided to take against DIR.
Cornelius Her.
"This man." NJ Deroulede said. ais not
to be- left with the insignia OF the legion
| IN MS poseebslOn, AltuOuBn grant ns Is
| most important man To the state, for be
truly holds the reins Of government"
NJ. Deroulede paused for several minutes
while the Right cheered and the Left tried
to drown the cheers with shouted pro.
tests Then he proceeded 20 make n viru.
lent personal attack upon NJ Clemenceau,
'whoss relations TO n Herz," be ssid,
.are too we'll known to need detailed
description"
Amid renewed cheers from the Right
and jr,rs from the Left, he declared tb 1t
M. Herr
Tried to Buy the Bouisngist.
with Panama Canal money. hut they hal
! refused 10 touch IL. Despite NJ RI quet's
rvpeated protests, cries Of "Di-solutionI'
and a general tumult which extended 70
the topmUst gallery, VI. Deroulede again
ad lrrs.ed himself 10 VI. Ci-meuceau.
"Wny did this Herr lsve 2OCo0 francs 10
| L. Justicrr he SHOUTED. NJ. Clemenceau,
white with rag, shaking both fists toward
NJ. Drroulede, shouted back ia answer,
which nobody could hear In the general
confusion. NJ. Deroulele closed with al
attack on the Mutual Benefit Associa.
ton. not Of socialists and revolutionists,
but Of rich men aud rich mems PAM
~.ss-"