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522 described the horrors of slavery in the French colo- nies, lie also published a copy of the reports he had made in his official capacity, in which he vig- orously denounced slavery. France was the object of daily ovations by the negroes, who had begun to show signs of discontent. The governor of the colony, becoming alarmed, arrested the colonel and sent him to France, where he was tried and sus- pended from his duties. On his return to Mar- tinique he found himself in straitened circum- stances, and a subscription was raised among the colored class to aid him. When the revolution of 1848 emancipated the slaves, he was chosen their delegate to the legislative assembly. He returned to Martinique in 1852, and until his death was a member of the general council of the colony. Prom 1800 till 1863 he was chief clerk of the administra- tion, and from 1862 till 1868 private counsellor to the governor. France is the author of " Histoire de la Guadeloupe" (4 vols., Paris, 1855); " Les cor- saires franQais dans les Antilles " (1857) ; " Histoire de la flibuste " (1860) : " Questions coloniales "' (1860) ; and " Statistique physique et politique de la Martinique" (1861).

FRANCHÈRE, Gabriel, explorer, b. in Montreal, 3 Nov., 1786; d. in St. Paul, Minn., in 1856. He was educated in Montreal, and trained to commercial pursuits by his father. In 1810 he bound himself for five years to the Pacific fur company, formed by John Jacob Astor, and was a member of the expedition sent to develop the fur-trade beyond the Rocky mountains. He returned to New York with several of his companions in less than two months, and in September, 1810, sailed on the &ldquo;Tonquin&rdquo; for the Columbia river, where the expedition arrived in March, 1811, after suffering many hardships. Franchère was one of the witnesses to the transfer of Astoria to the Northwest company, after the breaking out of hostilities between the United States and England, and remained for some time in the service of that company, but finally resolved to return to Canada. In order to reach Montreal he travelled a distance of 5,000 miles by the overland route in canoes or on foot. Franchere removed to Sault Ste. Marie in 1834, and engaged in the fur-trade. He afterward established the commercial house of Franchère and Company in New York city. A large number of French Canadians having emigrated to the United States after the rebellion of 1837, he established the Société St. Jean-Baptiste with the object of preserving the religion, language, and nationality of his compatriots. He was the last survivor of the Astor expedition. He published &ldquo;Relation d'un voyage à la Côte du Nord-Ouest de l'Amérique septentrionale dans les années 1810-'14&rdquo; (1820; English translation, edited by J. V. Huntington, New York, 1854). This was the first history of the Astor expeditions, and the first work containing detailed accounts of the interior of Oregon. It forms the basis of Washington Irving's &ldquo;Astoria,&rdquo; and supplied Thomas H. Benton with materials for his great speech on the Oregon question.

FRANCIA, José Gaspar Rodriguez (fran'- the-a), dictator of Paraguay, b. in Asuncion in 1757 or 1758 ; d. there, 20 Sept., 1840. He boasted that he was of French extraction, but his father is supposed to have been born in Brazil, and to have emigrated to Paraguay. His mother was a Spanish Creole. He studied for the priesthood at the seminary of his native city, and afterward in the University of Cordova, where he received the degree of D. D., and was for a short time professor of theology. He then practised law, and was ap- pointed to several public offices. When the inde- pendence of Paraguay was declared Francia was elected secretary of the revolutionary junta, who were scarcely able to read and write. In October, 1813, the junta was abolished, and Yegros and Francia appointed joint consuls for a year ; but Francia was the moving spirit of the government, and in 1814 he was made dictator for three years, at the end of which time he contrived to secure a re-election for life. Pie ruled the state with a des- potic sway, but husbanded the national resources with great sagacity. No export or import trade was allowed without the dictator's license, and an exorbitant duty and death awaited those who were detected leaving the country without his permis- sion. The opponents of his rule were either shot or imprisoned. Some of Francia's prisoners were subjected to the most cruel tortures, and his ap- parent delight in torture gave rise to the belief that, like some of his brothers, he was occasionally deranged. On the other hand, he was generally humane toward the poor. He had once been fond of gambling and social and sensual enjoyments, but now he resided in the palace of the former Spanish governors in complete seclusion, attended only by four servants. His barber, a mulatto, was the principal channel of his communication with the outer world. He had great mental powers, which he cultivated by study and reading. He was especially fond of the French literature of the 18th century, and an admirer both of Robespierre and Napoleon. The anecdotes of his eccentricities were almost as numerous as the reports of his cruelties. Two Swiss surgeons, Renger and Longchamp, whom he detained from 1819 to 1825, published an " Essai Historique sur la Revolution de Pai-aguay et le Gouvernement Dictatorial du Docteur Francia " (Paris, 1827). Two young Scotchmen, J. P. and W. P. Robertson, who went to Paraguay on a commercial venture and were expelled by the dic- tator, gave appalling accounts of his administra- tion in "Letters on Pai'aguay " (2 vols., London, 1838) ; " Francia's Reign of Terror " (1839) ; and " Letters on South America " (3 vols., 1843).

FRANCIS, Convers, clergyman, b. in West Cambridge, Mass., 9 Nov., 1795 ; d. in Cambridge, 7 April, 1863. He studied at Medford academy, and was graduated at Harvard in 1815. Afterward he studied theology in the Cambridge divinity-school, and on 23 June, 1819, was ordained pastor of the Unitarian church in Watertown, Mass., where he remained twenty-three years. In 1842 he was ap- pointed professor of pulpit eloquence and the pas- toral care in Harvard, which chair he continued to hold to the end of his life. He was a brother of Lydia Maria Child, the philanthropist and au- thor. Harvard gave him the degree of D. D. in 1837. He contributed to religious periodicals, and published " Errors of Education," a discourse at the anniversary of the Derby academy in Hing- ham (1828) ; " Historical Sketch of Watertown " (1830) ; " Dudlean Lecture at Cambridge " (1833) ; " Life of Rev. John Eliot, the Apostle to the In- dians," in the fifth volume of Sparks's " American Biography " (1836) ; memoirs of Rev. John Allvn, D. D., of Duxbury (1836), Dr. Gamaliel Bradford (1846), and Judge Davis (1849): and " Life of Se- bastian Rale " (Boston, 1848). See William New- ell's " Memoirs of Con vers Francis " (" Massachu- setts Historical Society's Proceedings, 1864-'5 "), and John Weiss's " Discourse on the Death of Con- vers Francis" (Boston, 1863).

FRANCIS, James Bicheuo, civil engineer, b. in Southleigh, England, 18 May, 1815 ; d. in Boston, Mass., 18 Sept., 1892. He was educated at Radley Hall, Berkshire, and, after gaining a practical