French lawyer and politician (1780-1852). Autograph letter signed. Rouen. 05.11.1832. 8vo. ½ p. on bifolium with autograph address.
$ 156 / 150 €
(45312/BN31683)
To the lawyer and politician Eugène Aroux (1793-1859) in Rouen, informing him that he can't visit him in his office due to his occupations and inviting him over instead: "Ne pouvant, à cause de mes occcupations, aller voir Mr. E. Aroux à son cabinet, je le prie d'avoir la bonté de passer chez moi aujourd'hui, à sa sortée du palais." - Then deputy for Gard, Teste would hold several ministerial positions from 1834. In 1840 he was named Minister of Public Works, which he remained until 1843.
For his removal from the government by François Guizot, Teste was compensated with high juridical offices and the peerage of France. In 1847 the so-called Teste-Cubières scandal erupted. The retired general and temporary Minister of War in 1839 and 1840 Amédée Despans-Cubières had bribed Jean-Baptiste Teste to get the minister's approval for the renewal of the concession for a salt mine at Gouhenans. Teste's involvement came to light during a trial in 1847 involving Despans-Cubière's associates and he was subsequently tried and convicted to three years in prison and a fine amounting to the sum of the bribe. - Minimally stained..
French lawyer and politician (1780-1852). Autograph letter signed. Paris. 18.10.1833. 4to. 1 p. on bifolium.
$ 187 / 180 €
(45315/BN31686)
To the lawyer and fellow deputy Eugène Aroux, concerning the political situation of Normandy following the death of Alexandre Dumeilet and the resignation of Bernard Cabanon, both deputies for Normandy. Teste expresses his regret at not having met Aroux in Paris when their stay had overlapped for one day, as he had learned it to late from the fellow deputy Alexandre-François Vivien. He also mentions the deputies Jean-Jacques Baude and Alexandre-Jacques-Laurent Anisson-Dupéron, a political adversary, as well as an affair in Évreux, possibly in connection with the death of Dumeilet who was from Évreux and deputy for Eure: "Notre collègue Vivien vient de m'apprendre que vous étiez à Paris le 15 : j'y étais rentré le 14 et j'ai vu, mon cher camarade, tout plein de regrets de ne pas avoir su à temps que je pouvais vous voir.
Nous avons excusé Vivien, Baude et moi des deux vacances que laissent à remplir la mort et la démission de MM Dumeylet [!] et Cabanon. Est-il donc écrit que la Normandie n'a que des Anisson-Dupéron à nous offrir ? [...]". - Then deputy for Gard, Teste would hold several ministerial positions from 1834. In 1840 he was named Minister of Public Works, which he remained until 1843. For his removal from the government by François Guizot, Teste was compensated with high juridical offices and the peerage of France. In 1847 the so-called Teste-Cubières scandal erupted. The retired general and temporary Minister of War in 1839 and 1840 Amédée Despans-Cubières had bribed Jean-Baptiste Teste to get the minister's approval for the renewal of the concession for a salt mine at Gouhenans. Teste's involvement came to light during a trial in 1847 involving Despans-Cubière's associates and he was subsequently tried and convicted to three years in prison and a fine amounting to the sum of the bribe. - Somewhat dusted to the right margin. Corners bent..
French lawyer and politician (1780-1852). Autograph letter signed Paris. 11.01.1842. 4to. 1¼ pp. on bifolium.
$ 208 / 200 €
(45316/BN31687)
Interesting letter to a subprefect of the Gard concerning Teste's schedule in the summer in connection with the legislative election on 9 July 1842 and a local election in the department. Teste excuses himself for not being able to return to his constituency for the election due to important appointments in his function as Minister of Public Works. On 26 July 1842 he was supposed to lay the first stone of the "direct line" in Strasbourg together with the Duc d'Orléans. This must be in connection with the direct train line Paris-Strasbourg that would be inaugurated in 1849.
Although the company that built and operated the line was only formed in 1845, the construction of the line was codified in the law of 11 June 1842, the day the letter at hand was sent, which was the basis of the so-called Étoile de Legrand, a star-shaped system of trainlines that connected French major cities with Paris. - Teste's plans certainly changed as the crown prince Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans died in a tragic carriage-accident on 13 July 1842 and was buried on 30 July, 4 days after the constituent session of the chambers of the French parliament. Interestingly, the concession to build the Paris-Est–Strasbourg-Ville railway went to Amédée Despans-Cubières and his partners, a former general, politician, and businessman who was at the heart of the so-called Teste-Cubières scandal that erupted in 1847. Despans-Cubières had bribed Jean-Baptiste Teste to get the minister's approval for the renewal of the concession for a salt mine at Gouhenans. Teste's involvement came to light during a trial in 1847 involving Despans-Cubière's associates and he was subsequently tried and convicted to three years in prison and a fine amounting to the sum of the bribe. - On stationery with lithogr. letterhead of the "Ministère des Travaux publics". - Some browning..