RETURNING BOARDS REUSS RETURNING BOARDS, boards formed to canvass votes cast in an elec- tion. They were created in some of the reconstructed States a few years after the close of the Civil War, for the pur- pose of rectifying fraud or violence that might be practiced on the negroes at the polls. In 1868 Arkansas estab- lished the first returning board. South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida had similar boards. The result of the pres- idential election of 1876 depended on the action of these State boards. In Louis- iana and in Florida, the boards declared the election of Republican electors. The Circuit Court of Florida, rejecting the report of the board, decided in favor of the Democratic electors, and the Legis- latures also authorized the governor to grant them certificates, the result being that three sets of certificates were made out and sent to Washington. The Elec- toral Commission accepted the Republi- can returns as the only ones regular in form. In South Carolina, Nov. 22, 1876, the Supreme Court of the State ordered the board not to carry its judicial au- thority into effect in counting the votes. The board, however, declared in favor of the Republican electors. The various returning boards were successively abol- ished by the respective State legisla- tures. RETZ, RAIS, or RAIZ, GILLES DE, a French military officer, infamous for his crimes; was a Breton of high rank, who distinguished himself under Charles VII. in the struggle with the English, fighting by the side of the Maid of Or- leans. He was made Marshal of France in 1420, and soon after retired to his estates, where for over 10 years he is alleged to have indulged in the most in- famous orgies, having kidnapped or en- ticed to his castle as many as 150 chil- dren, who were sacrificed as victims to his abnormal cruelty. He was executed at Nantes, Oct. 26, 1440, after trial and confession. RETZ, JEAN FRANCOIS PAUL DE GONDI, a French prelate; born in Mont- mirail-en-Brie, France, in October, 1614. He became coadjutor to his uncle, the Archbishop of Paris; and, after many intrigues, and fighting several duels, he was made Archbishop of Corinth, and cardinal. He conspired against the life of Cardinal Richelieu, and took a promi- nent part in opposing Mazarin during the minority of Louis XIV. At length Mazarin, who both hated and feared him, imprisoned him in the castle of Vincennes, then at Nantes, whence he escaped, and traveled through Holland, Flanders, and England. In 1675 he wished to give up his cardinal's hat, and retire from the world, but the Pope would not receive it. He was daring, turbulent, and intriguing; and in his "Memoirs" he has drawn his own por- trait with considerable skill and impar- tiality. He died in Paris, Aug. 24, 1679. REUCHLIN, JOHANN, a German scholar; born in Pforzheim, Baden, Feb. 22, 1455. He studied at Freiburg, the University of Paris, Basel, and else- where, and became familiar with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He was patronized by several of the German princes, and was engaged on various political mis- sions. From 1502 to 1513 he was pres- ident of the Suabian federal court. His opposition to the proposal to burn all Hebrew books except the Bible raised a host of fanatical enemies against him, but did him no harm. In 1519 he was appointed professor at Ingolstadt; in 1521 the plague drove him to Stuttgart. During a great part of his life Reuch- lin was the real center of all Greek and Hebrew teaching in Germany. Several of his works had considerable popularity in their time. He sympathized deeply with Luther and the Reformation, but maintained his connection with the Ro- man Catholic Church to the last. He died near Hirschau, Bavaria, June 30, 1522. REUNION, formerly BOURBON, an island in the Indian ocean, between Mau- ritius and Madagascar, 115 miles from the first; area, 970 square miles. Pop. about 174,000. Capital, St. Denis (pop. about 25,000). It was annexed by France in 1649, and is an important French colony, now represented in the French Parliament by one senator and two deputies. It is very mountainous, the Piton des Neiges reaching a height of 10,069 feet, and the Piton de la Four- naise, an active volcano, of 8,713 feet. The soil produces tropical products, sugar being the principal crop. Coffee, cloves and vanilla are also grown. De- structive hurricanes are frequent. There are no natural harbors, but an artificial harbor has been constructed at Pointe des Galets, at the N. W. side of the island. REUS, a town of Spain; 88 miles S. W. of Barcelona and 4 N. of its sea- port, Salou. The prosperity of the place dates from about 1750, when a number of English merchants settled there. It is a busy center of the cotton, silk, and silk ribbon industries, prepares wine, and manufactures soap, brandy, and leather. Pop. about 26,000. REUSS, a tributary of the Aar in Switzerland, rising on the N. face of
