The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-16
Tho Precise Scope OF the New Dreyfus
Trial.

We have before us the text OF the judg-
mont rendered by the Court OF Cessation
in the Drcyfus affair, and published by
order of the Chamber Of Deputies in every
commune of France. A close examination
OF this document discloses the important
fact that DREYFUs is not to be tried upon
the general charge Of treason. but upon
the question whether he committed par
ticular REASONABLE act which is specified in
the judgment. That Is to say, even il he
could be shown, upon newly disclosed evil
dence, to have been traitor, but is yet
guiltless OF the one reasonable act spec-
fled in the judgment. he would have to be
acquitted by the military tribunal now
convoked at Rennes.
The operative part Of the Judgment rem
dered by the Court OF Cessation is that
which sets forth that the supreme tribunal
quashes and annuls the sentence of con-
demnation passed Dec. %, 1894, upon
ALFRED DREYFUs by the first court-martal
OF Paris, and sends back the accused to be
tried by a court-martial to be held at
Rennes on the following issue: lis DREY-
FUs guilty OF having in 1894 instigated
plots or held communications with a for
eign power, or with one Of its agents,
with view to engage it to commit hos
tilities and to wage war against France,
or in order to furnish it with the
means to do 30, by betravin0 thereto
the notes and documents enumerated in the
Jordereau?' That Is the naked issue sub
mittcd to the second court-martial, and it
Is also to be noted that. by the reasons re-
cited in the preamble to the Judgment, the
Rcnncs tribunal is instructed as to the
weight to be attached to certain evidence
brought forward against DREYFUs at the
first court-martial, as well as to certain
other evidence which has been subsc-
qucntly adduced
1t will be remembered that the first court
martial convicted DREYPUs OF having
communicated certain documents relat-
ing to the army to the agent of a
foreign power on the express ground
that these documents were enumerated
in list. or bordereau, which it ad-
Judged to be in DREYFUss handwriting
The evidence submitted to the court of
Cessation showed in the first place, q great
preponderance of expert testimony to tho
fact that the bOrderedu was written by tho
same hand as two letters known to have
been penned by EsTERHAZY in 1892 and
1904. 1t was also proved that these three
letters were written upon Transparent,
square-ruled paper, and that tho most
careful search had failed to demon
strate that DRRYFUs ever owned or
used specimen OF this paper. On these
| grounds, NJ. BALLoT-BEAUPRE, tho off,
clal reporter Of the Court of Cassatkn,
declared that he had come to the convic-
ton that the 6orderedu was written, not by
DREYFUs, but by EsTERHAzY. The court,
| practically, adopted this conclusion, for, in
| its judgment, it says that the facts relating
to the transparent square-ruled paper,
unknown to the court-martlal which
passed sentence, tend to show that the
borderedu could not have been written by
! DREYFUs, and, in consequence, are OF a
| kind to establish the Innocence OF the con.
| dcmncd."
The Court " Cessation went ON to saw
that the quashiug Of the sentence rendered
10y the first court-martial could not be-
averted by an appeal to facts postcrior To
the sentence, such as the confessions
alleged to have been made on Jan. by
DRRYFUa because lone cannot regard
these alleged statements as a confession
OF guilt since not only do they open with
n protestat!on OF innocence, but it is i'm,
possible to arrive at their exact and full
text, owing to the differences between tn,
successive declarations Of the witnesses"
From II reading OF the text of the deris
ion, it appears that nothing ls left to the
Renn"s court-martial except to make a for
NAL acknowledgement that DREYFUs wa.
not the author Of the bordereau. and. there
fore, not the betrayer Of the documents