A new attack has been made by the Opposition in
the French Chamber upon M. Combos. During a debate on Friday, June 10th, a Deputy shouted out some- thing implying that the Premier bad been bribed, or, rather, had wished to be bribed, by the Carthusian monks to exeuipt them from the general law against religious Associations. M. Combes thereupon rose, and said that the Order had offered him. in 1902, through his son, who was also his secretary, a sum of £80,000 to make a speech in.their favour. The son had indignantly repudiated the suggestion, but, as secretary, mentioned it to his father. The offer 'was made, of course, through an intermediary, whose name M. Combes thought himself bound in honour not to disclose, but whom, it has subsequently appeared, was M. Leon Cbabert. M. Combos demanded the fullest inquiry, and the Chamber appointed a Committee of thirty-three to investigate and rePort upon the affair. Twenty of the Com- mittee are members of the Opposition, and the evidence will therefore be pied; but there seems already to be little doubt as to what really occurred. An intermediary, who may have been authorised or may not—the Carthusians deny it—in- formed the son of M. Combes that the monks, if protected, would contribute the sum mentioned towards election ex- penses. The offer was 'contemptuously rejected, and the
affair was forgotten ; but it is now brought up again in order that, with the more suspicious class of Frenchmen, some discredit may attach to a Premier who proposes to denounce the Concordat.
Previous page
