Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/312

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
274
*

GREVY. 274 GREY. Ttevolution of 1830, and being later admitted to the bar (1S37), he showed liis republican sym- pathies by acting for political prisoners before the Paris tribunals, not-ably in 183U. in the ease of two republican friends of Barb6s (q.v. ). In 1848 Grevy was appointed by the Provisional Govern- ment conimissioner-general in the Jura district, and was returned as Deputy to the Constituent issembly. In this capacity lie was an independ- ent, and generally voted with the extreme Left. After Louis Xapoleon's coup d'etat, Grevy with- drew from politics and devoted himself to his professional work. He rose to great eminence in his profession, and was elected biitonnier or jnesident of the Paris bar. He returned to polities' in 1868 as a Deputy to the Corps Legislatif from the Jura Department, and acted as a moderate Republican. After the Franco-German War he was elected to the National Assembly at Bor- deaux, and was chosen its president, a post he resigned in 1873. He reentered the Chamber in the general election of 1876, and became its president. When ilarshal ilacMahon resigned the Presidency of the Republic in 1879, Grevy was elected his successor. Januaiy 30th, and he was reelected in 188.5. During his first term of office GrOvy was distinguished by the moderation of his views, his sagacity, and unostentatious mode of life. His tact and diplomatic ability smoothed over many difficulties in the prob- lems of the day. His second terra of office was les,s successful. His popularity was entirely destroyed by the revelations of a scandalous trade in offices and decorations of honor carried on by his son-in-law, Wilson, and he was forced to resign, December 2. 1887. He died at Mont-sous- "V^audrey September 9, 1891. In 1873 Grevy published a pamphlet. Le fioiivcrnrmcnt ncrrs- sairr, in which he pleads for the strengthen- ing of the Republic. His Discoiirs politiqties et judiciares, riii/i)orts et messnges. were edited with an introduction by Delabrousse (1888). Consult also Bertrand, Le president Grevy (Be- sangon, 1802). For short biographies in Eng- lish, see King, French PoIHical Leaders (New York, 1882) ; and "Biographies of Eminent Per- sons," reprinted from the London Times (London, 1896). GBE'W, Xehemiah (1641-1712). An Eng- lish physician and botanist, bom in the parish of Mancetter, and educated at Cambridge and at Leyden. In 1677 he was appointed secretary of the Royal Society, and he held this position for several years. He was the first to write upon the anatomy and physiology of plants, although his priority in this field was for a time doubtful owing to the researches of Marcello ^lalpighi. His works include: The Anatomy of Ter/etahles Begun. iHth a General Account of Veqetation Grounded Thereon (1672); The Comparatii^e Anatomy of Trunks (1675) : A Discourse of the Colors of Plants (1677) : and Cosmologia Sacra, or a Discourse of the Universe (I70I). GKE'WIA, groo'!-a (Xeo-Lat., named in honor of Xehemiah Grew). A genus of trees which belong to the natural order Tiliacea?. Its mem- bers have simple and more or less ovate leaves, and a drupaceous fruit. They are' African. Aus- tralian, and Asiatic, mostly tropical or .sub- tropical. Some species, as Greuia sapida and Grewia Asiatica. natives of the warmer parts of India, yield pleasant fruits, much used in the manufacture of sherbet. By the inhabitants of the Himalayas the inner bark or bast of Grewia oppositifolia, like that of the lime-tree in Europe, is used for cordage; and the leaves of Grewia IcEvigata and other species are given as fodder to cattle, and dried and stacked for winter use. The wood of this species is used for boats. That of Grewia- Asiatica is much valued where strengtli and elasticity are required, as for making bows and the shafts of carriages. The Australian spe- cies, Grewia pohjyama, and the Jleluccan Grewia tatifolia, yield, respectively, a fruit used to make a pleasant beverage, and a hard, close-grained wood that takes a high polish. The trees do not attain suliicient size to be very valuable. One or two species have been introduced in horticultural grounds in Florida and California. The bast iibre of a number of species is used for rope- making, and some would doubtless prove valuable in paper-making. GREY, Chables, first Earl Grey (1729-1807). A British officer, born at Howick, England. He was made an ensign in the English Army in 1748, and until 1776 accompanied his regiment upon various expeditions, serving as aide-de-camj) to Ferdinand of Brunswick during the Seven Years' War, and receiving wounds at Minden and Campen. In 1776 he came to America with Howe's forces, and was promoted to the local rank of major-general two years later. He con- ducted his military movements with energy and skill, and he succeeded in defeating Gen. Anthony Wayne at Paoli, and Baylor's corps of Virginia Dragoons at Tappan. He also commanded a brigade at the battle of Germantown. Ujion his return home in 1782, Grey was made lieutenant- general, and the command of the entire British Army in America was given him ; but the war came to an end before he could resume his mili- tary duties. In 1793 he had joint command with .Jervis of the expedition sent to put down the I'evolt in the West Indies, and in 1798-99 he com- manded the counties of Kent. Sussex, and Surrey. He was made Baron Grey of Howick in 1801, and in 1806 his title was advanced to Viscount Howick and Earl Grey. GREY, CiiABLES, second Earl Grey (1764- 1845). An English statesman, bom at Falladon, Xorthmnbcrland. of an ancient family, and edu- cated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. After traveling on the Continent, he became, in his twenty-second year, a member of Parliament for his native county. Abandoning the politics of his family, he became a follower of Fox, making his maiden speech in opirositinn to the address of thanks to the King for negotiating the com- mercial treaty with France. He soon obtained .a leading position in the House of Commons, and was one of the managers of the impeachment of Warren Hastings. A prominent member of the Society of Friends of the People, in 1703 he was solicited to present a petition from this society in which the defects and abuses of the 'rotten boroiigh' system were forcibly exposed. On a motion for reform he was outvoted on this occa- sion, and again in 1707. In 1700 he opposed the proposal for the Irish union, but recommended the abolition of forty rotten boroughs in Ireland as a means of securing the independence of Irish members. When the Whig Administration of Lord Grenville came into office in 1806. Grey, now Lord Howick, became First Lord of the Admiralty.