attachés was excluded. Not only was it his duty to receive all evidence directly bearing on the case, but the refusal to hear the attachés was a slight on their respective countries. More than this, according to the court's own precedent, that particu lar testimony should have been secured. Colonel Jouaust had himself set the example, first of getting testimony by commission in the case of Colonel du Paty de Clam, and, secondly, in receiving testimony from Czernuski, a foreign agent. It was a tremendous responsibility which the President took upon himself, even though he was only the mouthpiece of the whole body of judges. In this connection came the most important testimony of the week. M. Paléologue, of the French Foreign Office, declared that Prince von Münster, the German Ambassador, had asserted not only the innocence of Dreyfus, but also the guilt of Esterhazy, and that a statement in the Foreign Office would prove it. The day following, the "Reichsanzeiger," the official paper of the German Government, declared that it was authorized to repeat the declarations which the Imperial Government had made concerning Captain Alfred Dreyfus. These were: (1) In December, 1894, and in January, 1895, after obtaining the Emperor's orders, Prince von Münster repeatedly told M. Hanotaux, French Foreign Minister, M. Dupuy, Prime Minister, and M. Casimir-Périer, President of the Republic, that the Imperial Embassy in France never had, either directly or indirectly, any relations with Dreyfus. (2) On January 4, 1898, in the Reichstag, Count von Bülow, German Secretary of State, made the following statement: "I declare in the most positive manner that no relations or connections of any kind ever existed between the French ex-Captain Dreyfus, now on Devil's Island, and any German agent." Men wondered, therefore, whether, after the statements which would thus make the Government and the Emperor of Germany liars, the court martial would dare to convict Dreyfus. a conclusion, and that counsels' pleadings even might have been dispensed with had they not been a necessary part of legal procedure. procedure. But if it was already decided to condemn the accused, it was doubly criminal to reject testimony in his favor. At that time, however, many Dreyfusards declared that it would be insulting to Colonel Jouaust to attribute his refusal to any sentiment other than that he was already sufficiently convinced of Dreyfus's innocence to have no need of fresh evidence. Anti-Dreyfusards explained the President's ruling on the ground that the evidence of the two military attachés would be worthless, because they would, at any cost, be morally bound to save their agent. "What weight could be attached to the testimony of Schwarzkoppen and Panizzardi?" asked the anti-Dreyfusards. A receiver of stolen goods inust shield the thief as much as he can." Throughout the sessions the President and members of the court martial maintained a consistent attitude of hostility towards the prisoner's cause. Dreyfusards, however, interpreted the hostility as only an assumed one, to prevent complaint that the judges were partial to the accused. Last week, however, witnessed their open, not veiled, hostility. In addition to the Czernuski and attachés incidents, Colonel Jouaust actually refused to receive a paper on, which Esterhazy had written a facsimile of the bor dereau, thus proving himself its author. With the twenty-seventh session of the court martial the taking of evidence was completed. The summing up by Major Carrière for the prosecution surprised most readers by the absence of any careful analysis. In the face of clear proof to the contrary, the Government prosecutor naïvely declared that the 1894 trial had, like all French military trials, been honorably conducted. "It has been said that we military men are not clever and are not practical. Maybe that is so. But we are a simple and upright people, who proceed directly toward our duty, and our acts are always characterized by good faith." As to the bordereau, Major Carrière said that, apart from the question of the handwriting, upon which even the experts fell out, he thought that the references to covering the troops and the artillery formation were very significant. He pointed out that Esterhazy would have had no difficulty in securing the firing manual, therefore he could hardly have written that it was difficult to get, while Dreyfus could not easily have obtained it. In discussing the sentence about "going to the maneuvers," which has caused so much controversy, Major Carrière declared that it would have been impossible for Esterhazy to have written it. The prosecutor then referred to the complexity of the prisoner's character, and closed by a savage assault on Colonel Picquart, which was not based on any evidence before the court. Major Carrière's final word was not, as it should have been, "Weigh the evidence," but, "Weigh the importance of the two categories of witnesses, those for and those against the accused." Who were those in one of the categories? The superior officers of the judges. The Defense "The decision of the 1894 court martial," declared Maître Demange in his speech for the defense, "would have been different if the members of the court had seen samples of Esterhazy's handwriting." The lawyer dissected the documents submitted secretly to the first court martial, pointing out that they were either irrelevant or implicated Esterhazy. "If it were my duty to defend Esterhazy," added the advocate, "what could I say for him? His guilt crics to heaven, and yet you persist in disculpating him, in spite of his confession, and in accusing Dreyfus, against whom you can produce no palpable proof." Maître Demange then demonstrated not only that Esterhazy wrote the bordereau, but that Dreyfus could not have written it; while as to the one question before the court martial," Did Dreyfus communicate to a foreign power the documents in the bor dereau?" the lawyer, though no reference was made to the Mulhouse incident, tried to prove that he did not and that he could not have communicated them. Referring to Dreyfus's resolve on seeing the revolver, as given in the testimony of Detective Cochefort, Maître Demange exclaimed: "This purpose and this hope sustained him through the long years on Devil's Island, and bring him here today, when dishonor has been stamped on him before the world, and a stigma put upon his name and that of his beloved wife and children, demanding that the stigma be cleared away and that the innocence, of which he has never failed to boast, be proven before mankind." Maître Demange then read letters written by the prisoner while on Dev I's Island, relating how the latter lay in irons, and how the guards, more pitiful than their officers, stole to him during the darkness in order to cleanse with rags the chafed sores upon his wrists and ankles. "Yet through all this ordeal," added the lawyer, "there was always but one cry: I am innocent.' Are these the thoughts of a traitor? Could a traitor keep his eye fixed on heaven in hope through all these agonies? Every page is filled with his protestations of his innocence and his love for his country and its flag. His words ring true; they come from his soul. The man who spoke them and wrote them cannot be guilty." When Colonel Jouaust asked Dreyfus if he had anything to say, the prisoner arose and with quiet dignity replied: "I am innocent. For five years I have suffered bitter torture. This I have endured for the honor of my wife and family. I believe I shall succeed, as I trust in the honor of this tribunal." The Verdict The court contemptuously disregarded the Government's request that the verdict be deferred until Monday, so as to eliminate the cause for possible Sunday outbreaks, and rendered its verdict on Saturday of last week. After two hours' deliberation the verdict was announced. It was "Guilty" with "extenuating circumstances," and sentenced the accused to imprisonment for ten years. The vote of the judges was five to two. Even a vote of four to three would have changed the verdict to such a disagreement as would have made condemnation impossible. The verdict of "guilty," therefore, was obtained by the narrow margin of one vote. The mention of "extenuating circumstances" may have been made to enable President Loubet to exercise his right of pardon. We hope that he may exercise it, and that speedily, even though he must act inconsistently with a recent speech in which he is reported to have said that every one ought to abide by the judgment of the court martial. The reduction of the original term of imprisonment may be a compromise with conscience on the part of those who, condemning the unhappy man, could not condemn him, as before, to a life imprisonment. Again, perhaps with some recognition of Dreyfus's innocence, but fearing the army and the majority of the French, the judges sentenced the prisoner to ten years, knowing that he had already suffered nearly half that term in solitary confinement, which, under French law, counts for double, and hence that he would be shortly released. The judgment will now be carried to the Military Court of Appeal, which is composed of superior officers under the presidency of a General. It is permanently constituted in Paris. If this Court should decide that the court martial erred in a matter of procedure, it will quash the judgment and order a new trial. The same right also belongs to the Court of Cassation, and should be exercised, now that the court martial has deviated from its instructions. It must be remembered that the court martial owes its existence to the Court of Cassation, and that while the Court of Cassation might have declared Dreyfus innocent, it confined itself to a unanimous expression of opinion, and gave to the court martial the honor of rehabilitating an innocent man. The officers composing the court martial have signed a recommendation for mercy, which has been forwarded to President Loubet. The danger of an outbreak from the Dreyfusards, especially from the Socialistic element among them, is now lessened by the diversion of public attention to the three chances for freeing Dreyfus: (1) through President Loubet; (2) through the Military Court of Appeal; and (3) through the Court of Cassation. twenty-four hours after the verdict is declared. The Sunday at Rennes was a calm holiday, nor were there public excitements at Paris. Some few slight disturbances occurred at Marseilles and Belfort. On Monday of this week the troops and gendarmes quartered at Rennes left. The journalists and others interested in the trial had already departed. The Transvaal Last week in the Transvaal Volksraad (or Parliament) President Kruger made an important speech. He claimed, first, that aliens had been offered equal rights with burghers, but had refused them; second, that " Mr. Chamberlain is striving to get the franchise, which the Outlanders do not want; but what he really desires is possession of the Transvaal. The burghers are willing to concede much for the sake of peace, but will never sacrifice their independence." President Kruger then eulogized Mr. Gladstone's action of retrocession in 1881 as a noble deed, urging the members of the Raad to show moderation, to send delegates to discuss matters, and, if possible, to make peace. With the thought of the outrageous Jameson raid ever in mind, it is small wonder that President Kruger and his coadjutors have gained the idea that the Transvaal is not only a political but also a topographical and a racial obstacle to British expansion. must be admitted, too, that many of the present Outlanders are not such scrupulous persons as to fill President Kruger (who himself has not hesitated to break formal promises to the British) with that respect which he should have for intending citizens. These are they, undoubtedly, to whom he referred in the Volksraad when saying that they would betray their new allegiance, if they had it. After the President's speech debate was resumed on the interpellation of the Government respecting the concentration of British troops on the border, and the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: It friendly correspondence is still passing beThe Volksraad, having considered that tween the two Governments, that the concentration of troops in great numbers near the border has a detrimental and restless effect on the inhabitants of the State, and that the Transvaal has lived in friendship and peace with all nations, and desires to continue to live in such friendship and peace, now declares its regret at the fact of concentration, and expresses the opinion that, in the case of eventualities which might lead to enmity or war between the two Governments, the cause would not lie with the Republic. As regards the stoppage of ammunition at Delagoa Bay, the Volksraad trusts that the Government will act according to circum stances. British Aggression Great Britain's highhanded action in causing Portugal to stop Boer munitions at Lourenço Marques, on Delagoa Bay, has been resented also by the Orange Free State. Justice to that State has been secured, not by one of its Dutch subjects, but by a Dutch Afrikander, a British subject, himself holding the most exalted office in Cape Colony. Mr. Schreiner, the Premier, did not hesitate to say that, in time of peace, it was impossible to prevent importations of munitions into the Transvaal or into the Orange Free State. Sensibly acting on the Premier's statement rather than on the British Colonial Secretary's advice, Great Britain is now permitting the transit of ammunition from the East and West into the two Dutch Republics. The domineering manner in which the British "Forwards" sometimes conduct themselves was emphasized a day or two later by the London "Times" in commenting upon the inquiry from the Transvaal Government as to Great Britain's intentions in massing troops on its frontier. For some years the "Times" has been under the influence of Mr. Cecil Rhodes and of the British South African Chartered Company. The journal's defense of the Jameson raid will not be forgotten. Last week it actually claimed that the Transvaal's inquiry constituted a reason why Great Britain should enlarge her original demands of reform, adding that, even if the Transvaal now withdraws from an untenable position, the future cannot be determined on the same terms as were proposed at the Bloemfontein Conference, and that the British Government would be justified in annulling its previous offers. to summon Parliament, not to call out the reserves and to send an installment of only ten thousand troops to South Africa. These will be made up half from India and half from England, and will increase the total British force in South Africa to nearly twenty-five thousand men-a sufficient force, probably, to secure colonial frontiers against incursion. It was also decided to demand immediate and categorical answers from President Kruger to questions recently asked of him. The Transvaal has now agreed upon a conference, but it is probable that President Kruger would never have conceded so much if the London Government had not shown such immediate war preparations as to force him to a more reasonable attitude. This attitude is also due to the influence of the Government of the Orange Free State and the leaders of the Afrikander party in Cape Colony, both of which influences have been steadily in favor of peace. Despite the sensational reports, therefore, from newspaper correspondents at London, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria that passions were stirred to fever heat, the feared war between Great Britain and the Transvaal has not yet begun, and, we trust, will not be begun. Mr. Montagu White, ConsulGeneral of the South African Republic in London, is reported as saying, "I assure you, on the authority of a Cabinet Minister, that there will be no war with the Transvaal," to which Dr. Leyds, Plenipotentiary of the South African Republic to the European Governments, adds that he does not believe in any forthcoming war, but that, if an attempt is made on their independence, the Boers will fight to the end. Mr. Rhodes, however, puts it in another and more brutal way when he declares that there will be peace because President Kruger must yield to irresistible force, and that henceforth the Transvaal will be in the hands of the Outlanders. We believe that the just The Outlanders demands of the Outlanders will be satisfied. Whatever of British ambition for supremacy still remains unsatisfied would be seemingly easily borne In comparison with a war which would not only awaken slumbering passions in the two white races, but also among the blacks as against the whites. The natives outnumber the whites four to one. The British have not forgotten the Kaffir, Zulu, and Matabele wars. Indeed, the natives were the original cause of dissension between Boers and British. Because they would not consent to the emancipation of their slaves without adequate compensation, the Boers were driven from Cape Colony and then from Natal. They think that the British would now drive them from the Transvaal also, despite their prior establishment, and therefore their prior and basic claim. They are narrowminded and bigoted, but they are also brave and home-loving. They deny any obligation to enfranchise aliens because those aliens have made contributions to the treasury of their country, or because the aliens now greatly outnumber the Boers. They call attention to the example of a handful of Englishmen governing three hundred million natives in India, as showing that minorities do sometimes rule, and rule well. Unfortunately, the Boers have not ruled well. To the demand of the Outlanders for the franchise, the Boers reply that many of those who ask for it refuse to relinquish their allegiance to England, and yet they demand to have a voice in the guidance of the affairs of an internally independent country. The Boers correctly foresee an increase in the number of Outlanders, which must ultimately become, not a mere majority as now, but an overwhelming majority. If adequate representation in the Volksraad were given to the Outlanders, Transvaal legislation would be controlled, not in the interest of the Republic, but in that of those who are largely only temporarily in the Transvaal, and who expect some day to return to England with the wealth obtained from Johannesburg mines. Therefore, say the Boers, a grant of franchise and Volksraad representation to the English would inevitably lead to the loss of Transvaal independence. The Boer would become an alien in his native land. At the same time, it must be remembered that, when only one year's residence was required to secure the franchise, aliens were promised equal treatment with burghers. History shows how the residence required was successively raised until it reached a fourteen-year limit. The British pressure has reduced that limit during the past two months from fourteen to nine years, then to seven, and then to five, thus conceding the original demand made by Sir Alfred Milner, British High Commissioner for South Africa. The greatest difficulty in the whole situation, however, is found in the return condition demanded by the Boers, namely, a stipulation that England's suzerainty be dropped. However this is decided, the Boers are fighting a losing game. Their obstinate uncivilization cannot long stand out against the demands of the majority of the Transvaal's population for the franchise, representation in the Volksraad, an independent judiciary, freedom of the press, and other urgently needed reforms. If the reports about the French Renegades conduct of two French in Nigeria captains, Voulet and Chanoine, remain uncontradicted, they are to be regarded henceforth as renegades, freebooters, and would-be founders of an independent dominion in or near Nigeria. The story is not only remarkable in itself, but throws curious side-lights on French militarism and on African empirefounding. Some time ago charges were brought against these two officers, who commanded a French expedition of five under-officers, twenty spahis (trained Algerians in the French army service), and some hundreds of irregular native African followers. It was alleged that they had killed natives, burned villages, and dabbled in slavery. An expedition was sent to arrest them, but they killed its French officers-one, it is said, when he was unarmed and although he was their superior in rank. They then gathered their followers, retreated into the wild country, and practically defied France, Europe, and civilization. What their future will be in this return to savagery makes an interesting question. They must know that France will send a large and well-armed expedition against them; probably they count on drawing slavedealers and predatory chiefs to their aid, and hope to establish some kind of an independent rule; if this fails, they may become allies of the Sultan of Soko or some other native ruler who hates the European advance. Captain Voulet often expressed a desire to found a wild empire |