The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-18

| Dreyfus to BE Pardoned.
According to telegram from Paris which
we published yesterday, DREYFUs is to be
pardoned on Tuesday. II the pardon were
declared to be granted on the ground that
President IsoUBET believes the convict to
be innocent, it would have to a certain
| extent, the effect Of exculpation, though it
would not reinstate DREYFUs in his rank
and pay nor remove the stigma affixed by
the fact that he was adjudged guilty by
five out Of seven of his fellow officers. In
this case, the limited exculpatory effect OF
a pardon will be mnimized, for 1t Is an
/ nounced that the exhibition of executive
| clemency will be based exclusively upon
the prisoners illness, which Is SO grave
as to render it improbable that he would
survive prolonged confinement 1t is also
said that tho immediate release from
prison is the outcome OF n species OF bar
gain, the prisoner, on his part, agreeing
to recall his appeal to the military court Of
review, thus relieving that tribunal, the
supreme representative Of military justice,
from the odium that would surely attend
its sanction of the sentence rendered
against the weight OF evidence by the
Rcnnes court-martial.
| 1t is not to be inferred that release from
! Imprisonment will cause DREYFUs and his
| friends to stop or slacken their endeavors
| 10 rehabiltate his name. His whole con-
duct, since he was accused OF treason, testi-
| nes that he would not accept pardon upon
| that condition The efforts, which not even
| in the hell on DEVILS Island were relaxed,
are to be continued as long as there is
breath in the victims body. Neither will
death itself put an end to the DREYFUs az
fair. 1t will be some solace in his parting
hour, II he is fated to die unacquitted, to
know that multitude of loyal friends have
sworn to clear his memory, and that vindi-
cation, although it may be deferred, is sure
| to come.
1t is incredible that French public opinion
should be less righteous and less intelligent
to-day than it was in the last century; or
that the Court OF Cessation Is less upright
tribunal than was the Parliament OF Paris.
1t was on March 8, 1892 that JEAN CALAIS
was broken on the wheel, and his son,
PIERRE, incarcerated. 1t was three years
afterward to day, that, thanks mainly
to the persistent and powerful Intervention
Of VoLTAIRE, the Judges Of the Paris Su.
preme Court unanimously declared the
fathers memory and authorized the surviv-
ors to sue for damages the Toulouse Court
by which he had been convicted. They also
laid before LOUIS XIV formal appeal that
he would in his bounty repair the financial
ruin which had befallen the family, and the
King responded by bestowing SO, 900 livres
on the mother and children. Three years
before, when JEAN CALAIS was tortured to
death, there had been hardly a human be-
ing in France who believed his assevera-
ton: II die an innocent man. yet In the
hour Of his exculpation, the highest Paris
society hocked to visit his widow and his
children and the public places and PRONE
nades were thronged with the exultant par
tisans Of innocence. What happened then
will come to pass again. for 1t Is inconceiv-
able that Paris the eye OF the world has
lost the cult OF justice and compassion.
What course will the champions Of DREY-
FUs pursue? Only one will be open to
them, now that they have renowned the
right to appeal to the military court OF
review. They can request the Minister OF
Justice to set in motion the revision ma
chinery, which, once fairly started, could
be stopped by nothing short OF n coup
} d'6tat until a second judgment should have
been rendered in the DREYFUs case by tho
Court OF Cessation Should it seem to the
Minister that the petition, on it's face, de-
: served consideration, he would appoint a
} commission, half OF the members OF which
would be named by himself, while the other
} half would be selected from the Court OF
Cessation The business OF this commits
sion would be to decide whether the petit
tion presented legal basis for the pre-
sumption OF error in the decision OF the
; Rpnnes courtmartial and, consequently,
for submitting the sentence to the inspec-
tion of the supreme civil tribunal. II me-
, iority OF the commission should reply In
| the affirmative, the Minister would trans
nit the papers in the case to the Courf'of
Cessation; he would be authorized TO do
; this, even il it should happen that the
| members were equally divided.
Formerly, r was the invariable and obvi-
ously equitable practice that the judges
, deputed IN serve on the preliminary COM
mission should be drawn from a section OF
the Court Of Cessation which would not
have jurisdiction OF the case, should re-
: vision be ordered. Thus the Judges who
, took part in the commission appointed by
the Minister Of Justice In the Bris-
Z