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been appreciated ; it is well known that M . De Serre , Keeper of the Seals of France , who was acquainted with it , greatly desired the introduction of something similar in the Chamber of Deputies . M . Dumont found , in the performance of his legislative duties , the
vigour of his youth renewed , yet ripened by reflection and the study of the human heart . He was found , on all important discussions , the eloquent defender of constitutional principles , the courageous adversary of abuse and arbitrary power , without ever exceeding the bounds of propriety and moderation . In him was seen the friend of truth , the man of learning full of modesty , the enlightened citizen . He was heard with the strictest attention , not only from the extraordinary charm of his diction , but on account of the perfect uprightness and loyalty of his character . He was the first person who directed the attention of the Genevan Government to the subject of mutual instruction as a means of diffusing knowledge ; and pleaded the experience of England as to the benefits of general
and early tuition . From him originated the proposition for building in his native place the Penitentiary Prison which has been so happily accom plished , and that also for a Lunatic Hospital , now under consideration . From him , too , came the first proposal for chan ging the organization of the different bodies entrusted with the direction of public instruction : he laid great stress
upon this capital subject , and intended forthwith to renew his proposition , strengthened by forcible arguments . Lastly , he laboured with indefatigable constancy at the completion of the new penal code , and he had just put the finishing stroke to the scheme of this code , which is about to he presented to the Council of State , when he undertook the journey on which his useful life was to terminate .
M . Dumont did not confine his labours to the objects of his habitual partiality ; every thing which he thought tended to the public good , all that he believed to be useful to humanity , found in his philanthropic mind a firm support . He employed not only speech , but action , and shewed himself entirely superior to interested or selnsh motives . We ought not to omit that he was one of the founders of the Public Reading Society , that he co-operated powerfully to sustain the Greek cause in Switzerland , and that he was an active member of the committee for the
erection of a statue to the memory of Rousseau . If we enter upon the enumeration of the private virtues of M . Dumont , we shall find it difficult to restrain ourselves . With the amiable exterior of engaging and simple manners , marked by mildness and benevolence , he possessed a heart which was the seat of every noble and generous sentiment * His was that happy spirit of conciliation which knew how to produce
harmon y between opposing opinions , to moderate irascible natures , and prevent disagreements . He loved to encourage young and rising talent , to aid it with his experience and his counsels- He lived happily , and on terras of intimacy and confidence , in the midst of his numerous family . M . Dumont was never married , but he enjoyed the affectionate regard of no less than fifty-three children and grandchildren , the progeny of his three sisters , by all of whom he was considered as a father . He has nevertheless made some valuable bequests to public institutions out of his comparatively humble i i , , , . _ — . _ . . ___ . ¦ ¦ ¦ —¦— - — i^—_»
this being the number of Deputies who are auuually changed . The names are inscribed on tickets , and deposited in an uru , aiwi the thirty who have the most votes are chosen . The Representative Council is a deliberative body , and makes regulations for itself .
Untitled Article
Memoir of M . Dumont . 829
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1829, page 829, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/13/
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