The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-14
The Fall OF tho Dupuy Cabinet.

The Fall OF tho Dupuy Cabinet.
Ostensibly, the Ministry headed by NJ.
| DUPUY was beaten on Mondayln the Cham
Der OF Deputies because the police, on the
| previous day, had evnced less zeal in ar
| resting the enemies Of President LoUBET
than in Furnishing Socialists for q noisy
demonstration In the name OF the Chief
| the judgment OF the Court Of Cessation was
rendered, there has been widespread feel
ing among intelligent and honest French
men that Premier DUPuY was not the man
to carry out the decision OF that tribunal,
| which, although formally limited to an or
| der for a second trial Of DREYFUs by court
martial, practically called for the prompt
acquittal Of the accused officer and for the
chastisemcnt OF the prime movers In the
conspiracy against him.
There were strong reasons for distrust-
ing the good faith OF the Ministry which
has just been overthrow. NJ. DuPUY had
been Premier in the latter part Of 1894,
when the arrest and trial OF DREYFUs took
place. Among the men chiefly responsible
for the crime then committed were his COL
and Gen. DE BoIsDEFFRR and Gen. GoNsE,
who were respectively the Chief and the
Assistant Chief OF the Headquarters Staff
Under the circumstances DCPUY had been
looked upon as thoroughly committed
against roopening OF tho Droyius case
and naturally, therefore, he was restored
to the Premiership when. in last October.
the Anti-Dreyfusard majority in tho Cham
Der OF Deputies defeated the Brisson Cabi-
net, which had started tho judicial exam
ination Of the evidence for tho guilt Of the
condemned officer.
The selection OF colleagues made by NJ.
DuPuY on rea.suming the post of Premier
seemed to justify tho belief that executive
influence would DO used to bias the Court
OF Cessation against revision, for the MIN
lister OF War was NJ. DE FhEYCINEr, who has
been long intimately associated with the
Headquarters Staff, while tho Mlnstar Of
Justice NJ. LEBRET, had declared IL his
election address, issued in April, 1898, that
"DRErFUs was justly condemned, and
am encrgetically opposed to any agitation
having for its object the revision' Of his
case. Like oil patriots, highly dis
approve OF the Infamous campaign under
taken In favor OF the traitor by n Syndicate
Without-a-Country (Syndicat de Sans Pu-
trfe)." With such a Cabinet, and with the
known propossessions OF President FAoRE
In favor Of tho Headquarters STAFF, it was
taken for granted that no effort would be
made to check the attempts Of the Anti
Dreyfusard majority OF the Paris press to
coerce by defam alton and scurrility the
criminal section Of the Court OF Cessation.
which was conducting the Investigation Of
the affair.
1t was soon made manifest that the enc
mics OF DREYFUs bad &C cd grounds for. re-
lying on NJ DUPUY's cooperation. The Judi
clal inquiry was In progress, when NJ.
QUEsNAY' DE BEAUREPAIRE, President OF the
civil section OF the Court Of Cessation, re-
signed his post and brought offensive but
egrcgously frivolous charges against his
colleagues Of the criminal section, although
he had never been present at the proceed
ings OF their chamber. These charges were
disprovcd and thrust aside, not only by NJ.
MAzEAu, tho First President OF tho whole
Court OF Cessation, but also by the commit
tee OF the Chamber OF Deputies, to which
they were referred Nevertheless, NJ
DUPUY carried through both houses Of
the Legislature bill which practi-
cally declared the criminal section OF the
Court OF Cessation, the highest criminal
tribunal in tho land, incompetent to deal
with the evidence which for months IL had
been taking, and transferring the adiudl-
cation H the Dreyfus case to tho three
united chambers Of the court, comprehend
ing moro than forty Judges, and including,
rs it was supposed, many INSCRIPTIONS
politicians.
1t was soon announced, and generally be-
lieved, that the united court had been polled,
and disclosed considerable majority
against revision. 1t seemed certain that NJ.
DUPuY, NJ. LEBRET and NJ. DE FKEYcINEr
would succeed In accomplishing the inqul-
tous work which had been expected from
them, when three unexpected events revo-
lutionizcd the situation. The first was the
death OF President FAURE. The second was
tho fiaSco OF DERoULfDE's endeavor to
bring about coup dftat; the third was the
publication In tho Figaro OF all the evidence
taken before the criminal section OF the
supreme tribunal The only 0stensihe
effect OF the last.namcd incident was that
the court would now have to deliver 1udg-
ment to thoroughly instructed public.
That. however, made all the difference.
The alleged majority against revision
among the members OF the tribunaf van
ished. The court was unanimously OF the
opinion that the judgment OF tho court
martial must be quashed, and the utmost
that tho Anti-Drcyfusard Judges could
secure was decision bya bare majority
that, instead Of declaring DREYFUs nno-
cent, they would relogate him to a second
trial by court-martal.
1t was evidently no fault on the part Of
Premier DVFUl or Of NJ LreADE' the Min