The record-union., 1899-02-10
Leading French Deputies Issue an
Open Letter TO the Government
Declaring Their Intention to Uphold prIneI-
pies Of Justice as Above Attack.
No Necessity to Deprive the Crim-
inal Chamber Of the Court OF
Cessation of the Right of Rem
dering Judgment In the Drey-
fus Case.

PARIS, Feb. "a score of Deputies.
including NM. Brisson Bourgeois.
Barthou, Sarrien, Poincare, Pelletan
anu Millerand, have addressed an open
letter to the Government declaring their
intention to uphold the supreme princi-
pies OF Justice as above all attack.
Inc manifesto asserts that there is
no necessity to deprive the criminal
chamber of the Court of Cessation of
the right of rendering judgment in the
Dreyfus case
M. le Bret, Minister of Justice. has
testified, say these distinguished mem
bers of the Chamber, ito the honesty
OF the Judges, ana if the court is dis
qualified it will mean the triumph OF
calumny. The honesty of the whole
Court of Cessation will in turn be uues-
toned, and the highest Jurisdiction of
the country will thus be placed by the
executive power at the mercy of de-
famsti ton"
In concluding the manifesto, its sign
ers say:
The law proposed by the Govern
ment is not a law of appeasement, but
a law of civil discord, threatening the
liberty, honor and security of the citi-
zen, and at a juncture when the union
of all Republicans is required to defeat
a combination of Clerical reaction and
Caesarian demagoguery preparing for
a third assault upon the republic.
This step indicates the growing OPP
position to the revision bill, which, even
if it survives in the Chamber of Depu-
tes, is almost certain to be rejected by
the Senate, largely recruited from the
magistrature and strongly opposed TO
II 4.
cOntemplates.
The publication of the text of the Re-
vision Committees voluminous report
and the M. Mazau dossier serves to
emphasize the hollowness, not to use
harsher word, of the charges of Cues
nay de Beaurepaire against the GRIM
inal chambers. 1t is difficult to believe
that man who was President of a
section of the court could have brought
such reckless accusations against the
Judges of another section, and it is
still more difficult to explain how the
Government could have been induced
by ssteh trivial charges to introduce
the revision bill, unless it was rising
for fall. The general belief is that
nothing now can save the Dupuy Cab
met. In any event, to-morrow's de-
bate in the Chamber of Deputies Is
expected to be a very stormy one.
M. DE BEAUREPAIRE ASSAILED.
LONDON, Feb. 1O.-The Paris CORE
respondent of the Daily News" says:
"A more ridiculous attempt at justi-
fication for a coup d'etat cannot be
found in the annals of the nineteenth
century than M. de Beaurepaire's
charges. 1t is impossible to conceive
more miserable farrago of senile dotage,
of calumny without proof, anonymous
letters, servants gossip, hearsay and
military vanity, egged on by the mosr
powerful clique in the world in order
to consecrate crime.
After reading the report one cannot
avoid the conclusion that M. de Beaure-
paire is a madman, and a wicked mad
man, too How the Government could
have countenanced him can only be
accounted for by the supposition that
they never believed his charges would
be fully investigated until the Chamber
had ordered the inquiry, and that even
they never thought the report would
be published"