“In conclusion, I have but a single word to say. After my participation in this affair I desired to attend the hearing before the council of war to see what would take place there. I mingled with the public, and, not as former minister of justice or as a senator, but as a simple citizen, I was present at the trial. I was conscious from the first moment that I was not witnessing an ordinary trial, but a trial like no other. In the first place I heard read a declaration from General Saussier that he had ordered this matter carried before the council of war in order to clear up obscurities which, in his opinion, could be cleared up only by an open debate. By this I was somewhat reassured, for to have an open debate was in itself a great deal. Now, gentlemen, there immediately appeared a lawyer for Mme. Dreyfus and her children, and another for the complainant. They asked to be accepted as participants in the trial. I knew that there were precedents for this, notably in the Kraemer case at Lyons; Dalloz and other authors say that councils of war can admit such participation. But in this case it was denied. Then came the reading of the indictment. This indictment was a plea for the accused, and a fierce attack upon his accusers. As soon as the reporter opened his mouth, it was apparent that he was not present as an accuser, but as the foremost defender of the accused. Then I asked myself: ‘Where, then, is the open debate called for by General Saussier?’ Up to the moment when the closing of the doors made it impossible for me to hear more of the trial, I saw nothing but a semblance of an open debate. And now, gentlemen, I have told you all that I know, all that I have seen, all that I can say.”
At this point an adjournment was taken for the day.
Fourth Day—February 10.
The first witness at the fourth day’s hearing was to have been Mme. Dreyfus, whom at first the court had refused to hear on the question of Zola’s good faith, but whom, after further reflection, it had decided to hear. Nevertheless Mme. Dreyfus did not appear, M. Labori consenting to excuse her in view of a letter which he had received from her, and which read as follows:
Dear Master:
I answered to the call of my name at Tuesday’s hearing, in spite of my great agitation. I made the effort because I hoped to express to the court and the jury my deep gratitude to, and my admiration for, M. Zola, who, obeying the voice of his conscience, has sacrificed himself for justice and truth with a sublime disdain of the insults and threats which he has drawn upon himself. I hoped also to declare my absolute faith in my husband’s innocence,—an innocence which, I am convinced, will be established before long,—and also my sincere gratitude to you, dear master, who display so much courage and talent to secure the triumph of the truth. The anguish of these three days, added to all that I have suffered for three years, has put me in a condition in which I could not endure a fresh trial. Permit me, then, to absent myself from the court and accept, I beg of you, the expression of my most distinguished sentiments.
L. Dreyfus.
February 10, 1898.
Testimony of M. Trarieux.
M. Trarieux was recalled to the witness-stand.