M. Ribot met the Chamber on Thursday with an address,
which was supplemented by a speech from M. Bourgeois, the new Minister of Justice. The Times' corre- spondent in Paris describes the former as if it promised resistance to the Panama inquiry ; but the subject seems to deprive him of his usual shrewd intelligence. M. Ribot speaks, it is true, of the necessity of reverting to ordinary business, and promises not to " deal a blow at any of the principles which we are all alike anxious to safeguard ;" but he and the Minister of Justice surrender at every point. M. Bourgeois has ordered the exhumation of M. Reinach, on which the previous Ministry went out ; the papers of the judicial inquiry into Panama affairs are to be shown to the Committee of Inquiry ; and M. Ribot is to settle with the Chairman, M. Brisson, what legal powers are indispensable for the work. He promises, indeed, the "fullest light," and prompt decisions when the light is obtained. In short, the inquiry is to be thorough, whatever the results ; and we may now expect testimony from unwilling witnesses, possibly even from M. Charles de Lesseps himself. Already the Committee has received evi- dence that one " lobbyist " offered £1,000 for every doubtful vote on the last Lottery Loan ; and a M. Chevillard, apparently a respectable person, has testified that he en- dorsed and cashed a cheque for £22,000, paid by the Canal to a former Minister of Agriculture, and was subsequently compelled, or persuaded, by him to deny his signature. The evidence, also, that the chairman of the Lottery Loan Com- mittee suddenly altered his views, has become exceedingly grave. There will, in fact, be an immense scandal ; but as yet, no leading person in politics is compromised or strongly suspected, though two or three well-known men have been obliged to confess that they received gratifications, ostensibly or really for other services than voting.
