685 



DUMONT D'URVILLE. 



DUMOURIEZ, CHARLES-FKANCOIS. 



.widow, three daughters, aud a sou (the subject of the present article), 

 with very small means of support. The mother however was a 

 woman of strong mind, and struggled against the difficulties arising 

 from her straitened circumstances, that she might give her son a good 

 education. At college Dumont assisted to support himself by giving 

 private lessons. In hia twenty-second year he was ordained minister 

 of the Protestant church in Geneva ; and we are told by M. Sismondi 

 that his preaching was greatly admired. He left Geneva in the spring 

 of 1783, owing to the triumph then achieved by the aristocratieal 

 party in that state through foreign interference ; and he betook him- 

 self, a voluntary exile, to St. Petersburg, where he assumed the 

 charge of the French Protestant church. He stayed in that city 

 eighteen months, acquiring fame by hia preaching; when he was 

 invited to London by Lord Shelburne, afterwards the Marquis of 

 Lanfdowne, to undertake the education of his sons. In Lord 

 Shelburne's house he made the acquaintance of Fox, of Sir Samuel 

 Komilly, of Lord Holland, and most of the other distinguished 

 members of the Whig party ; and with Sir Samuel Romilly in par- 

 ticular he formed a strong friendship. In 1788 Dumont and Sir 

 Samuel Komilly visited Paris together, and it was on the occasion of 

 this visit, which lasted only two mouths, that Dumont first became 

 acquainted with Mirabeau. 



In 1789 Dumont made a second visit to Paris, accompanied by 

 M. Duroverai, in order to negociate with M. Necker, who was then 

 minuter, for the liberty of Geneva and the return of her exiles. He 

 stayed in Paris until the beginning of 1791, and during thia second 

 visit the acquaintance previously formed with Mirabeau ripened into 

 intimacy. We learn from Dumont's posthumous work, entitled, 

 ' Souvenirs sur Mirabeau,' (a work which has thrown great light on 

 Mirabeau's character, and which is further interesting as giving 

 Dumont's views concerning the French SRevolution), that Mirabeau 

 frequently during this period availed himself of the assistance of 

 Dumont and Duroverai, especially the former, in the preparation of 

 speeches and reports. These three also set on foot conjointly a paper 

 called the ' Courier de Provence ; ' though Mirabeau's share in the 

 composition of it was not very great. 



It was not until Dumont's return to England in 1791 that hia inti- 

 macy and co-operation with Mr. Bentham commenced. [BENTHAM.] 

 Admiring Mr. Bentham's talents, and impressed with the importance 

 of bis pursuits, he craved leave to arrange and edit those writings on 

 legislation which their author would not himself publish. The task 

 waa one comparatively humble, yet useful. Further, it was a task of 

 some difficulty. " I have had," says Dumont himself, in his preface 

 to the ' Traite's de Legislation,' " to select from among a large number 

 of various readings, to suppress repetitions, to clear up obscurities, 

 and to fill up lacunae which the author had left that he might not 

 slacken in his work. I have had to do much more in the way of 

 curtailment than of addition, of abridgment than of extension. The 

 mass of manuscripts which has passed through my hands, and which 

 I have had to decipher and compare, is considerable. I have had to 

 do much to attain uniformity of style, and in the way of correction ; 

 nothing or next to nothing as regards the fundamental ideas. The 

 profuseuess of their wealth was such as to need only the care of an 

 economist, and being appointed steward of this large fortune, I have 

 neglected nothing which could improve its value or help to put it into 

 circulation." (p. 2.) 



The following are those of Mr. Bentham's works which were edited 

 by Dumont. 1. The 'Traite's de Legislation,' 3 vols., published in 

 1802. 2. The ' Thdorie des Peineset des Recompenses,' 2 vols. in 1811. 

 3. The 'Tactique des Assemblies Legislatives,' in 1815. 4. The 

 ' Preuves Judicaire*,' 2 vols. in 1823. The ' Organisation Judiciaire et 

 Codification,' in 1828. 



In 1814 Dumont had returned to Geneva, his native state having 

 then recovered her independence. Ho was elected a member of the 

 representative council of Geneva, and having been appointed on a 

 committee that was to draw up laws and regulations for the council 

 he was the author of the plan that was ultimately adopted. He after- 

 wards directed his efforts to a reform of the penal system and the 

 prison system existing at Geneva. Under his auspices, a penitentiary 

 establishment was erected at Geneva in 1824, on the Panopticon plan 

 of Mr. Bentham. Dividing his time between his senatorial duties and 

 the publication of those of Mr. Bentham's works which have been 

 named, he lived a useful and a happy life to the age of sixty. He 

 died suddenly in the autumn of 1825, while travelling in the north 

 of Italy. 



There is a brief memoir of Dumont by M. de Sismondi in the 

 Revue Enyclopddique,' torn. 44, p. 258; and another by M. de 

 Candolle in the ' Bibliotboque Uiiiverselle ' for November 1829. 

 M. Duroverai has also prefixed a short notice of his life to the 

 'Souvenirs sur Mirabeau. 



DUMONT D'URVILLE, JULES-SEBASTIEN-CESAR, a French 

 navigator and naturalist, was born May 23, 1790. He is known in 

 the scientific world as having made several valuable contributions to 

 the science of botany. One of his earliest contributions to botany 

 was a memoir on the plants which he had himself collected in the 

 Grecian Islands, and which was published at Paris in 1822, with the 

 title ' Enumeratio Plantarum quas in insulis Archipelagi aut Littoribus 

 Ponti Euxini, annis 1819 et 1820, collcgit atque detexit,' In the 



BIOO. DIV. VOL. II. 



'Memoirs of the Linnscan Society of Paris in 1826,' he published a 

 Flora of Falkland's Island, with the title ' Flores des Malouines.' In 

 the sixth volume of the ' Anuales des Sciences Naturelles' he published 

 an essay on the distribution of the ferns over the surface of the earth. 

 These are his principal labours as a botanist, but Dumont D'Urville 

 will be better known to posterity as an able, persevering, and successful 

 navigator. In 1826 he was appointad by the king of France to the 

 command of the frigate 'Astrolabe,' for the purpose of making a 

 voyage in search of information with regard to the unfortunate La 

 Perouse and his companions. The vessel left Toulon in March 1S26, 

 and continued out till 1829. During the first part of his voyage 

 Dumont D'Urville failed of attaining the object of his expedition, but 

 having put in at Hobart Town in Van Diemeu's Land, he heard that 

 Captain Dillon had obtained information with regard to the object of 

 his search at the island of Vanikoro, or Malicolo. He accordingly 

 sailed for that island, and reached it in January 1828. Here he found 

 undoubted evidence of the wreck of the two frigates, on the breakers 

 of this island, which were under the command of La Perouse. This 

 island is one of the group called Solomon's Islands, in 11 41' S. lat. 

 and 167 5' E. long. Having ascertained that the lives of many of 

 the sailors had been saved from the wreck, but that they had built 

 another vessel and sailed from the island, he erected a monument to 

 the memory of those who perished, and returned home. Some of 

 the portions of the wrecks of the two vessels were recovered. During 

 this voyage very important surveys of coasts and islands were made ; 

 among them a survey of the north part of New Zealand, Tongataboo, 

 Fidjee Archipelago, Loyalty, Deliverance, New Britain, New Ireland, 

 New Guinea, Fataka, Vanikoro, Hogollu, Guam, aud the Moluccas. A 

 full account of this memorable voyage was published in 1830 and 

 successive years by Dumont D' Urville. This work is a splendid con- 

 tribution to science. The five volumes descriptive of the voyage were 

 written by Dumont D'Urville ; one volume, on the Botany of the islands 

 of the South Seas, was written by Lesson aud Richard ; ouo volume, 

 on the Entomology, by Boisduval; and four volumes, on the Zoology 

 of the same districts, by Quoi and Gaimard. The work was accom- 

 panied by an atlas of 45 maps, 243 plates of views, portraits of natives, 

 &c., and above 100 plates of objects in natural history. The title of 

 this work is ' Voyage de la Corvette 1'Astrolabe execute" par ordre du 

 Roi pendant les annees 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829,' Paris, Svo, plates, 

 folio. 



In 1 837 Dumont D'Urville had placed under his command the frigates 

 'Astrolabe' and 'Ze'le',' for the purpose of making a voyage to the 

 South Pole. In a first attempt he reached the latitude 64 S., and 

 explored to some extent what he thought to be a new coast ; he was 

 obliged however to retire on account of the icebergs. Having remained 

 for some time at Conception, he made a second attempt, and discovered 

 a coast at 66 33' S. lat., 138 21' E. long. He found himself here 

 close to the south magnetic pole, the magnetic needle becoming nearly 

 vertical. The coast thus discovered appeared one mass of ice, but 

 portions of rock here and there projected, from which specimens were 

 obtained by means of a boat's crew. It appears that the same laud 

 was discovered the same day by an American vessel in 64 20' S. lat., 

 154 18' E. long. Captain Ross has since reached 78 11' S. lat., 

 161 27' W. long. The land thus discovered by Dumont D'Urvillu 

 he named after his wife Adelie. On his return to Paris he published 

 an account of this expedition with the official reports of the minister 

 of marine, under the title ' Expedition au Polo Austral et dans 

 I'Oce'ane des Corvettes de sa Majesto",' Paris, 1839. 



This brave sailor and excellent man met with his death on the 

 8th of May 1842, by a railway accident that occurred between Ver- 

 sailles and Meudon, by which himself, with his wife and son, and nearly 

 fifty fellow passengers, were killed. 



DUMOURIEZ, CHARLES-FRANCOIS, was born at Cambrai in 

 1739. His father was commissary in the army, aud was also an author 

 and a poet. Dumouriez entered the army at au early age, aud served 

 in Germany during the Seven Years' war. After the peace of Paris, 

 1763, he travelled about Europe, offering his services to several states : 

 he visited Corsica, and afterwards Spain aud Portugal, aud wrote an 

 essay on the military situation and resources of the latter kingdom. 

 Having returned to France, he was appointed quarter-master-general 

 to the French expedition for the conquest of Corsica, 1768-"69. He 

 was afterwards sent to Poland on a mission to the confederates of Bar, 

 with whom he made the campaign of 1771 against Russia. He was 

 subsequently sent by Louis XV. on a confidential mission to Sweden, 

 in the same manner as the Chevalier J /-Ion, count Broglic, and others, 

 who were sent to England and other countries, and who corresponded 

 directly with the king without the intervention of his ministers. The 

 ministers however became jealous of Dumouriez, and found means to 

 arrest him at Hamburg, whence he was brought back to Paris under a 

 lettre de cachet, and lodged in the Bastile. 



He was released by Louis XVI. on his coming to the throne, and 

 restored to his rank of colonel. In 1778 he was sent to Cherbourg to 

 form there a great naval establishment connected with the proposed 

 invasion of England, and he furnished the ministry with plans for the 

 conquest of the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Wight. At the 

 beginning of the revolution he took the popular side, and became con- 

 nected with the Girondins, by whose interest he was appointed minister 

 of foreign affairs, in which capacity he prevailed upon the king to 



