On Monday much excitement was caused in Paris by the
arrest of a well-known banker and company promoter, M. Henri Rochette. It was said that the losses incurred by the public through the collapse of some of M. Rochette's schemes were enormous, and the affair was compared with the Humbert and Panama scandals. The Paris correspondent of the Times announces, however, that the facts were exaggerated. None of the dozen companies founded by M. Rochette was admitted to the official board of the Agents de Change. Even the outer market, it is said, does not stand to lose more than £120,000. The crash came through the failure of M. Rochette's agent who worked in the interest of the Rochette companies in the coulisse of the Bourse. The most serious part of the affair is that to the losses of the coulisse must be added those of the small investors all over the country. M. Rochette began life as a servant in a provincial railway restaurant, and his real success in finance dates from the time when, with the help of prominent Spanish politicians, he founded the Banque Franco-Espagnole. When once be could point to the co-operation of men of standing he built up a great financial edifice, attracting money by numerous circulars which promised great profits. It is the old story of gulli- bility, and also, we fear, of men in responsible positions who lend their names to schemes of which they have insufficient knowledge.
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