The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-06-29

| can Union. In February 1883. after having
been again elected the year before, he re-
| signed his seat when the Chamber passed
| the law excluding from Office all members
| OF former reigning families from public
| office, on the ground that II was impossi-
bic for him 70 reconcile his political senti-
ments with his family duty. This was
an act which would not fail TO make
its impression on the French people and
i'm a short time he allowed himself to
be pursuaded TO become candidate
again.
came Under Secretary of War In the Ferry
Ministry. He had never before held a
position Of such Importance, and when he
resigned IL as a protest against the agita-
ton looking to the expulsion OF the Or
| leans princes II aroused temporary dis
trust in his loyalty 20 the Republic, de-
spite the fact that his poItical career
had been cOnservatively kepuoilcan
| throughout
Several years later the Royalists pre-
sumed on this action. and offered Casinir-
Pcrier an exalted position IN return LOT
his allegiance 10 their party But tnelr
proposal was Indignantly rejected by him.
with the answer that he would rather be
a citizen In a republic than Duke IN
a kingdom. In 1880 he became Nice-Pres-
ident of the Chamber. and has been three
times elected TO that position. In Novem-
Der last he became Prime Minister, and,
failing vote of confidence several weeks
later. his Ministry was Overthrown, and
the result Is supposed TO nave been
brought about by his own efforts TO fur
ther his prospects as a candidate for the
Presidency.
The new President will bring TO the
Elysce the same measure OF social dis
tinctiOn which IL has enjoyed under Car
not. which was I'm turn such = contrast
10 the bourgeois parsimony OF the Grevy
days at the Presidents residence. Cas-
imir-H Herier is a wealthy man, and his
wife came Of a wealthy and noble fam
ily. She was the Countess de Sigur, and
Is conspicuous in Paris society. Most OF
the wealth Of the new President comes
from his mines although number OF
country estates he owns have been. since
the days of the revolution. in the posses
sion or his family His wealth Is not
so great as has been reported. It is said
that his properties yield an income OF
0"VO francs or about $4,000 a year,
which, IN addition TO his wife's private
income and his large salary as Pres
ident, will be sufficient to enable them to
continue the luNuriance and splendid hos
pitality at the Elysee which were main
tanned there by the Carnots. The Presi-
dent town house in Paris was at %
Rue NitOt. His mother was a Fonten-
eiliat, and Casimir-Perer is a cousin OF
Nicompte Castor de FOnteneliat who
was married in lSU I'm Paris to Miss Mimi
Smith, the sister of Mrs. W. *. Wander
bilt, and lives now in France, after a
somewhat turbulent residence OF several
years in this city.
There are other affiliations Of the fami-
ly with this country. The PerierS have
supplied a number Of nOtabilities 10 the
Church, and one Of these was Rose Du-
chesne Perier, who died here in 1872, after
life devoted TO religious work. She
came her nun, TO Christlanize the Amer
lean Indians, 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
heathe enism, aud bringing them into the
The Perier family descended from
notary who lived near Grenoble, in Dau-
phine. in the second half OF the eighteenth
century The family prospered, and in
l65 the nOtarys son bought the royal
castle Of While from the Duke Of Vile
roy, and lived there In the state suited
10 landed proprietor, although he was
only notary's son. This was Claude Pc
rier ana his son was the Minister under
Louis Philippe. and the grandfather OF
the new President. 4 niece Of Claude Pc
rier married a distinguished lawyer Of
Grenoble, and their daughter, Rose Philip
pine Duchesne Perier. who was born In
1863. at Grenoble, was the member Of the
family who lived and died In this coun-
try.
when the reign Of terror was Inaugural
ted the Perier family had already settled
in Paris, and owing 70 the grave po-
liucal situation. the daughter Rose u07
not enabled 10 take the veil until 1901
The name Casimir belongs 10 an older
legally made n part Of the family name.
Casimir-Periers ReDublicanism has Of
ten been questioned by his political oppO-
nents. This is n part Of his speech touch
ing especially on his political creed, made
in 1898 when he accepted the portfolio OF
Foreign Affairs:
THE Government before you finds its
duty traced by the recent expression OF
the will of the country. Never has France
affirmed with more force her attachment
20 the Republic, her aversion 10 period
Of reaction. her respect for liberty or
thought and conscience. and her faith IN
progress. Never has universal suffrage
more clearly condemned the politics Of
abstract formulas. OF unjust restrictions
and arbitrary classificatiOns. nor more
theoretically preserved. In the face OF
the theories Of certain schools. the main
tenance Of order and the defence OF the
principles given 20 us by the French revo-
lutiOn-liberty and individual property"
The new President IS a man OF military
bearing, graceful and polished manners,
and the dignity which IS so often charac-
teristic OF Frenchmen In high positions.
His election will prove more popular
than that OF Dupuy would have been. for
the spectacle Of man OF such rearing
and tastes. as the representative OF the
nation. would probably have pleased very
few classes Of the French people.