The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-18

| zion. To this he received a reply obscurely
charging him with the divulgation OF docu-
ments and with bringing a false accnsa-
| ton against another officer; the writer
added that material proofs OF these charges
existed in the Office. P1CQUART at once OBJ
tanned leave OF absence, saw his friend LIZ
| BLoIs, the advocate, and gavo him In con-
| fidence the outline OF the case, but without
referring specially to secrct documents.
He also left with him Gen. GoNsE's letters,
not for publication, but for use in case
! LEBLo1s should find it necessary to petit
ton the military authorities.
| In the autumn of the same year Il 500,
| PICoCART, who was stil in Africa, became
| the object OF sinister Vaccinations. On
| Oct. 20 Gen LECLERC, commanding at
| Sousse received an order from the home
Government that P1CoUART was to con-
| tnue his mission. and, on the 3lst, another
that he was to proceed to tho frontier OF
| Tripoli, where the Marquis DE MoREs had
| lost his life. The General could not under
stand why. The frontier was dangerous
| and there was nothing to be done there
| He would not allow PICQUART to go
| beyond Gabes, and sent home for further
| Instructions. In the beginning of No
| vember, Gen. LECLERC received further
order to interrogate PICouART. The
| Government the General said, had re-
ceived information that PIcouART had let
| a woman steal from him a secret document
| which was Of high Importance. PrcQrART
simply denied having done anything Of the
sort. Perceiving. however, that 1t was
| time to defend himself, he wrote to the
Minister OF War demanding an inquiry and
| leave to go to Paris. The demand was
| granted on condition That he would speak
| to no one before seeing Gen. DE PELLIEUx.
| When he saw the General he found that,
| although EsrERHAzY was about to be prose-
cuted, he himself was In disgrace, various
| charges standing against him.
| 1t Ia well known that farcical court-mar-
| tial acquitted EsTERHAZY OF having written
| the borderenu and Of being compromised by
| the petit bleu. This judgment having been
| rendered. PICQUARr was at once, on Jan.
10, 1898, arrested and brought not before
| q court-martial, as would have been needful
| n the War Office had then charged him with
| forgery of the petit b1eu but before u mill
| tary court Of inquiry on such miscellaneous
| lesser charges as could he rnked up against
| him. Only one OF the charges was declared
| proved, that namely, of giving to LIE
| BLo1s, his counsel. the letters from
Gen. GoNsE relative to P1CQUARr's mis-
sion. Sentence was deferred. and, in the
meantime, nearly a month, PICQUART was
kept in prison, which was an irregular pro-
| ceedinR. His detention, however, was con-
venient. The lola trial was coming on
| and PICoCABT would be a witness. BEG-
TULUs, magistrate, has sworn before the
| Court Of Cessation that, in a conversation
with Gen. GoNsR. the latter requested him
to tell PICQUART that on his attitude at
| ZoIA's trial would depend all his military
career. When in the witness box, never
theless, PICQUART, while strictly observant
| Of official secrecy, did not swerve from
what he believed to be the truth. As soon
as the lola trial was over. PIcQUARr's sem
| tence was communicated to him. 1t was
| the severest that the Court could nflict.
| He was to be rfforme, that Is to say, dis
missed from the army.
1t was on July 7, 1898, that NJ. CAvAIa-
MAC. then Minister Of War. made his famous
speech In the Chamber Of Deputies, wherein
| he based his declaration Of belief in the
guilt Of DREYFUs upon the document
which, as Col HENRY subsequently con-
fessed, was a forgery While all France
was applauding this speech. PICouARr on
July 8 sent to the Prime Minister n re-
spectful letter in which he offered to prove
| that the document on which VI. CAvAIGNAC
had principally relied was forgery. 1t
was but too evident that PICQUART had not
been silenced by dismissal from the army.
On July IL the Cabinet resolved that
complaint should be addressed to the Min
lister Of Justice against PICQUAET for hav-
Ing communicated to non-qualiiled per-
son, his counsel, NJ. LEBLoIs, documents
affecting the defence Of the State.
This prosecution was. OF course. IN es-
sential part Of the conspiracy against
DREYFUs PICoUART was to he prosecuted
in the Criminal Court as an ordinary male
factor for offences alleged to have been
committed two years before, the very same
offences charged against him at tho mill
tary court OF inquiry. which tribunal, hav-
ing found him guilty OF only one OF them,
had sentenced him to dismissal from the
army. On July 10, 1903, PICQUART was
arrested and cast into prison, and he re-
manned prisoner until June 9 Of the
present year.
| Meanwhile, an attempt was made to get
him into the hands OF the General Staff
On September 2l, 1898. the day fixed for
the hearing of the charge pending against
PICoCART in the Correctional Tribunal, n
representative of the War Office appeared
and demanded that PIcQUART should be
surrendered to the military authorities, to
be tried on the charge Of forging tho petit
bleu. The Judge OF the civil court acqui-
esced. but PICoUARr, az he was being re-
moved, made a significant declaration
This perhaps is the last time that my
voice will be heard in public. shall, per-
haps, spend tonight in the military prison,
but desire to say that if find in my cell
the moose OF LEMERCIER-PICARD, or tho
razor OF HENRY, it will he an assassination.
l do not mean to commit suicide" The
outburst probably saved his life.
On Nov. "a. 1913. Con. ZURLINDRN issued
an order for PICQUART to be brought before
| ~ rtia md DroD,Iao,l