Paris, Feb. 22.
After many interruptions and postponements, the Senate, sitting as High Court of Justice, has at last settled down in earnest to try, M. Joseph Caillaux, ex-Premier, who is alleged to have said and done things calculated to assist the enemy. The opening of the proceedings against him dates back to December, 1917. Hoe was arrested on January 14, 1918, and has since been in prison or under detention in a private hospital, awaiting trial.
The preliminary investigation took nine months. In October, 1918, M. Caillaux was committed to take his trial before the Senate, as the only tribunal able to deal with political offences alleged to have been committed by an ex-minister. The Senate appointed a commission to sift the evidence. The commission spent four months over this task, and did not question the prisoner until January 30, 1919. On September 16, the commission at last came to the conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to justify a trial before the High Court. The members of that body, however, were still in no sort of hurry. They met on October 29, rejected an application for the prisoner's release on bail, and fixed the date of the trial for January 14, but on that day only formalities were carried out and the actual business was put off till February 17. If the Senate adheres to its intention of sitting three times a week to deal with the case, it is thought probable that the matter will be disposed of somewhere about the end of May. Fortunately there is no appeal, and we seem to be really within sight of the end of this remarkable trial.
(As has since been announced by Reuter the trial has been concluded, M. Caillawx being acquitted of high treason but convicted on the charge of correspondence with the enemy.—Ed.)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.