New-York tribune., 1895-08-25
THE FRENCH APOLOGIZED.


Mr. Waller was kept in close confinement ana
neither hic counsel nor Consul Wetter was allowed
10 see him until March II. nine days after his
arrest In the mean time he had been subjected
TO repeated and examinations by the
French prosecutor through the medium OF an In
torpreter. whose knowledge OF English was ex.
ceedingly imperfect. while Mr.. Waller himself
had no knowledge whatever OF French. All
the questions and answers were Transcribed
in French. | was also summoned ana re.
auired to testify. AZ last Consul Wetter and
NJ Gerredeau were allowed access TO the pris-
oner. and the latter was allowed TO have
copies OF the letters which. 1t was ahegei.
proved MI Waller to be guilty OF treasonapie
correspondence with the Hovas. | Understood
that the Consul paid for the making OF thete
copies. which were for his official use and 10 De
transmitted to Washington with his report IN
the case. -
What became OF those ccpies?"
well, I understood that Consul We''cr re-
turned them 10 Gerredeau. and that ne, on senlle
coinpusion, surrendered them TO the Frencn
authorities. ] know that when asked Consui
Wetter to allow 10 see them ne became
furious ond cursed me out OF ms Once re re
seemed 10 lose his interest In Mr.. walters behalI
after he had read ;he letter in which the latter
criticised his official conduct in the matter TO
which have referred. ~
Did Gerredeau go on with the case!
No: he dropped it. '.-.-r'
"Why?'
well the ostensible reason was because we
could not pay him retainer of $500. but II
seemed TO at the time that there were othcr
and perhaps stronger reasons He was exceed
ing!y intimate with some OF lne fteIlNH phiNio'o,
and that as wen as his friendly relations with
Consul Wettcr. may have influenced him. Inc
cOurt-martal 10 try Mr Waller was TO sit on
March 16. SO that. at best. his counsel had only
forty y-eight hours for preparation An incident
that happened on Sunday. March IL dor the SIT,
ting OF the court-martial was postponed unth
March lS) confirmed my suspicion that tierre-
6eau was rather too friendly with the French au-
thorites to be of service TO Mr. Waller had
small stock Of silk faces on hand. and Gerredeau
asked to have them brought to his house ior
examination. took them down myself ana
found not only CerreGeau. but the French oi-
fcer who had been or was 10 be assigned AS
president OF the ourt-martial. They examined
the laces and the latter asked me to lay ASIDE
several pieces that struck his fancy. he ana
Gerredeau appeared to be or the best of terms
| also observed that on the day of the trial he
apparently busted himself in assisting the prose
cution."
"D:d not Waller have any counsel whatever?'
Yes An attache Of the French Residency
was assigned as his counsel
How many days did the trial last?
TRIAL THREE HOURS LONG.
"It lasted from o'clock ir the morning to 10
O'Clock the same morning-three hours-and the
deliberations Of the oourt-martinl consumed
twenty-five minutes more 80.
How many witnesses were examined
-Four ] believe, on the merits of the case
How many for the prosecution and how many
for the defence? ,
Was the judgment Of the Court based upon
the testimony OF those four witnesses alone!
NO | should not. The cOunsel assigned
Cor Air Walters defence argued strongly that
the charges ought 10 be dismissed on the ground
of lack Of evidence. because the letters which
were the main. if not the sole reliance OF the
prosecution did not su tain the charges ana
specifications
you say that the deliberations Of the court
occurred twenty-five minutes. Were the hndings
brought in at the expiration Of that time!
Yes
We're they somewhat: voluminous. or other
wises"
''The document was a long cne. II could not
have been Transcribed in less than an hour and
half to say nothing of the time occupied In de-
lberating and reaching conclusions II was eVi-
IDENTIFY prepared beforehand by the Judge-AdNo-
cate and merely voted upon BY the members oi
the court"
was there any stenoerapher or court re-
uorter present 10 take down the testimony OF the
four witnesses you have mentioned?"
No The recorder ot the court-maroa' % was was
in longhard. All the proceedings were III
French language with which. as have said
the defendant was wholly unfamiliar.
Was sentence Immediately imposed?
AN Appeal. DISMISSED
"No. Mr. Walters counsel demanded APP
peal in order to argue against the jurisdiction Of
the court-martal. and the appeal was allowed.
That was argued on March % in private before
court composed Of officers OK higher rank, and
was promptly dismissed and the sentence i'm
posed on March g. Mr. Waller was taken in
irons aboard French steamer bound for Mar
s~illes and chained 10 the lower deck. where he
remained until the vessel reached her destina-
ton. was an involuntary passenger aboard me
same vessel"
Were any other civilians tried by court-mar-
tai al Tamatave before y N left there Tor trea-
sOnable correspondence with the enemy
NO. although four others. Americans and Eng
lishmen. were arrested. They were trying to
make their way through the French lines. pre-
sumably TO join the Hova army. In the case OF
one Of the English men the presumption was un-
commonly strong lie had been d captain OF
police in South Africa. 70 papers found upon ms
person showed and friend of his held a com
inand in the HoVa arrry, so that there could be
little or no doubt TO his intentions. and yet he
and his companions were simply banished 10
Mauritlus and warned not 10 return
did you make the voyage 10 Marseilles on the
same vessel with Mr.. Waller"
"No; the captain Of the steamer was instructed
TO deliver into the custody OF the French
Consul at Zanzibar who to turn me over 70
the American Consul. mad not been tried for
nor convicted of any offence-in fact. there were
no charges against ire as FAR as knew or was
informed-and as there was no United states
Consul at Zanzibar the French Consul refused 10
receive me; neither would the commander Of the
steamship allow ME to return aboard the vessel.
! appealed TO the British Consul and he did not
feel at liberty TO interfere In my behalf and
then as a last resort. appealed 10 the sultan OF
Zanzibar on the plea that ne could not Willingly
allow his country TO be made a dumping ground
for persons who had been banished from other
countries whether for offences committed or
not but he also refused to interfere. Al last
after good deal of delay and trouble. / sue
ceeded In securing passage on board another
steamer and. finally in making my way 10 the
United States"
FEVER FIGHTS FOR THE HOVAs
GREAT MORT Atty AND SUFFERING REPORTED
AMONG THE FRENCH TROOPS IN MADAGASCAR