The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-08-11


fact that his political career had been
cOnservatively republican through
out.
Several years later the Royalists
presumed on this action, and offered
Casimir-Perier an exalted position in
return for his allegiance to their
party. But their proposal was indig-
nantly rejected by him, with the an
swer that he would rather he citizen
in q republic than q duke in a king
dom. In 1890 he became Nice-Presi
dent of the Chamber, and has been
three times elected to that position.
In November last he became Prime
Minister, and, failing a vote of conf
dence several weeks later, his Minis
try was overthrown, and the result
is supposed to have been brought
about by his own efforts to further his
prospects as n candidate for the Presi-
dency.
The new President will bring to the
Elysee the same measure of social
distinction which it has enjoyed I'M
der CarnOt, which was in turn such
contrast to the bourgeois parsimony of
the Grevy days at the Presidents
residence. CaSimir- Perier is wealthy
man, and his wife came of a wealthy
and noble family. She was the Count
ess de Sigur, and is conspicuous in
Paris society. Most of the wealth of
the new President comes from his
mines, although a number of country
estates which he owns have been,
since the days of the revolution, in
the possession of his family. His
wealth is not so great as has been re-
ported 1t is said that his properties
yield an income of 800, 900 francs or
about $500 q year, which in addi-
ton to his wife's private income and
his large salary as President will be
sufficient to enable them 10 continue
the luXuriance and splendid hospi-
tality at the Elysee which were main
tanned by the CarnCts. The PTeSi-
dents town house in Paris was at %
Rue NitOt. His mother was a FOn-
tenieliat, and CasimirPerier is cOu-
sin of NicOmte CASTOR de Fonteniel-
lat, who was married in 1877 in Paris
to Miss Mimi Smith, the sister of Mrs.
w. X. Vanderbilt, and lives now i'll
France, after somewhat turbulent
residence of several years in this city.
There are other affiliations of the
family with this country. The Peri
ers have supplied a number of nOta-
bilities to the Church, and one of
these was Rose Duchesne-Perier,w who
died here in 1912 after life devoted to
religious work. She came here, a
HuIlf W llAC LII
dams, and her only complaint when
she was past seventy-one was that her
advanced age prevented her from res
cuing the Indians from barbarism and
heathenism and bringing them into
the Church.
The Perier family descended from
n notary who lived near Grenoble, in
{ Dauphine, in the second half of the
eighteenth century. The family
! prospered, and in 1773 the nOtary's
/ son bought the royal castle of While
| from the Duke of Nilleroy, and lived
! there in the state suited to Il landed
/ proprietor, although he was only a
! notary's son. This was Claude Perier
and lis son was the Minister under
Louis Philippe and the grandfather
of the new President. y niece of
! Claude Perier married a distinguished
! lawyer of Grenoble, and their daugh-
! ter, Rose Philippine Duchesne Perier,
who was born in 1869 at GrenOble, was
! the member of the family who lived
and died in this country.
When the reign of terror was inau-
gurated the Perier family had already
settled in Paris; and, owing TO the
grave political situation, the daugh-
ter, Rose, was not enabled TO take the
veil until 1901. The name Casimir
belongs toan older branch of the fam
lily, and it has been legally made
part of the family name.
Casimer Perier's republicanism has
often been questioned by his political
opponents. This is 4 part of his
speech, touching especially on his
political creed, made in 1898 when he
accepted the portfolio of Foreign At
fairs:
"The Government before you finds
its duty traced by fhe recent express
sion OF the will of the country. Never
has France affirmed with more force
her attachment to the Republic, her
aversion TO a period of reaction, her
respect for liberty of thought and
conscience, and her faith in progress.
Never has universal suffrage more
clearly condemned the politics of alb
stract formulas, of unjust restrictions
and arbitrary clasSifications, nor more
theoretically pres erved, in the face of
the theories of certain schools, the
maintenance of order and the defence
of the principles given 10 Us by the
French revOlutiOn-liberty and indI-
vidual property"
The new President is a man of mill
itary bearing, graceful and polished
manners and the dignity which is so
often characteristic of Frenchmen in
high positions. His election Will
prove more popular than that of Du-
puy would have been, for the specta-
Gle of "a man of such rearing and tastes
as the representative of the nation
would probably have pleased very few
classes of the French people.