M. Labori.--“Will M. Trarieux tell us what he knows about the way in
which Colonel Picquart’s mission was executed?”
The Judge.--“In other words, you ask M. Trarieux if he is familiar with
the mission entrusted to Colonel Picquart.”
M. Labori.--“I do not ask the object of the mission. I simply wish to
know if the circumstances surrounding it are familiar to the witness,
in which case I should like to have him tell us what they were.”
The Judge.--“General de Boisdeffre told us yesterday that it was a
secret mission.”
M. Labori.--“I do not ask the witness the object of the mission. It
is secret, like everything else in this case, but those in a position
to know the details of the mission know that their declarations would
compromise no higher interest. It is a secret, because it is a secret;
there is no other reason.”
The Judge.--“It may involve secrets concerning the national defence.
That is why I will put no question on the point.”
M. Labori.--“It is so said, I know, but I should like to find out
whether M. Trarieux is familiar with the circumstances under which
Colonel Picquart was asked to undertake his mission, and whether there
was anything extraordinary about these circumstances.”
The Judge.--“Witness, you understand the question. I will ask you to
say what you think it is your duty to say.”
M. Trarieux.--“I saw nothing in General Gonse’s letters in the nature
of a secret concerning the national defence. All that I can say is that
I got an impression from the letters that Colonel Picquart was in most
affectionate and cordial relations with his superiors, and seemed to
command their entire confidence. The reading of this correspondence
gave me the idea--though this is but an interpretation--that Colonel
Picquart was sent away from Paris for a certain reason. At first he
was sent to the east; then to the south. Frequently new orders came to
him, taking him ever a little farther from Paris, and finally he had to
cross the Mediterranean and go to Algeria and Tunis. These letters gave
me the impression that, after having sent him away from Paris on the
eve of the Castelin interpellation, they were determined that he should
not come back.”
M. Labori.--“Could M. Trarieux tell us whether, while he was minister
of justice, he received a visit from a lawyer especially interested in
the matters in question here?”