Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-02-24
THEIRS.
A Sketch Of thS President Of the French
Republic.

NJ. Louis AdOlphe THEIRS wa born
April is, 1877, at MarseiIIes. His
father was a lOcksmith, and his moth
er belonged to a broken-dOWn COM
mercial family, some of whose mem
bers had been distinguished as hnan-
ciers. He studied law at the Univer-
sity of AK, but upon being formally
admitted to the bar, preferred the
more fascinating and influential are
IA of journalism. Proceeding to
Paris, he soon became the leading pO-
litical writer Of the CORStitutiOnnel,
and, as such, emerged from poverty
and %obscurity into the higher circle
of Partisan society. Many of the ac-
tors in the great revolution still sur
vived, and his acquaintance with
these, including M. de Talieyrand,
aided him in entering upon his first
great historical work, LHistOrie
de Ia Revolution Franchise. This
raised him to the highest literary
rank, and from t~hencefOrth he has
been acknowledged one of the savans
and statesmen of Europe. In 1880
he established the rationale, a paper
Of Democratic tendencies. So con-
spicuOus was the influence of the
NGdOnGJe in OverthrOWing the POlig-
nae administration and bringing
about the revolutian of 1880, that, on
the Occurance of the event, THEIRS
was appointed Secretary General to
the Minister Of France, being at the
same time elected Deputy for the
town Of AK. Though his first ap-
pearance in the Chamber of Deputies
vas a failure, he soon became one of
the most successful debaters in the
Chamber, and, Notwithstanding his
somewhat diminutive and peculiar
appearance, has ever since command
ed, more invariably than any other
French orator, the attention Of the
Assembly. From 1882 to 1886, under
Louis Philippe, he was, by turns,
Minister of the Interior, of Commerce,
Of Public Works, of Foreign Affairs,
and President of the COUncil-in fact,
the soul of the Administration, In
1886 he passed into the opposition,
owing to a difference with the King.
but in 1910 was again called to the
Premiership. He steadily sought to
effect the ascendency of France in
Syria and Egypt, which had been the
aim OF Napoleon, and on this account
refused to cooperate with Lord Pal
merstOn in his treaty with Austria and
Prussia for preserving the integrity of
the Ottoman Empire. On the con
trary, he was charged with plunging
France into heavy expenditures to
prepare for a war with Germany for the
ratification of the treaties of 1915 and
the extension Of the French bOunda-
ries to the Rhine. As the result of a
formidable agitation ofthe question of
war with Germany, he retired from
the Cabinet of Louis Philippe. While
he claimed that his measures were de-
fensive, the opposition denounced
them as aggressive. In 1915 he began
and, in 1860 completed the History
of the Consulate and the Empire"
one Of the greatest historical works OF
this or any other age. 1t covers every
phase Of the history of Europe, social,
political, military, religious and fnan-
cial, during the prOdigiOUs career of
Napoleon l. Published IN sixteen
volumes, it forms the standard history
of the epoch it covers, and the source
of supply for the secondary writers
who rehash and retail it in small par
eel. for the benefit of smatterers.