TALLEYRAND-PEPJGORD 557 it. The chief productions in 1870 were 48,468 bushels of wheat, 267,764 of Indian corn, 33,- 353 of oats, 26,236 of sweet potatoes, 5,446 bales of cotton, and 10,439 Ibs. of wool. There were 1,224 horses, 1,198 mules and asses, 8,251 cattle, 3,538 sheep, 12,799 swine, and 26 flour mills. Capital, Dadeville. TALLEYRAND -PERIGORD, Charles Maurice, prince de, a French statesman, born in Paris, Feb. 13, 1754, died there, May 17, 1838. He was the eldest son of the count de Talleyrand- Perigord, and, having been lamed by accident when about a year old, was neglected by his family. In 1766 he was placed by an uncle in the college of Harcourt at Paris, and though he there greatly distinguished himself, a family council in 1769 decided that in consequence of his incurable lameness he should give up his birthright to his younger brother, and become a churchman. He was sent immediately to St. Sulpice, and graduated with much distinc- tion at the Sorbonne in 1774. He was then presented at court, and received in commen- dam the abbey of St. Denis in the diocese of Rheims and several other livings. Despite his notorious licentiousness, he was ordained priest soon afterward, and displayed uncom- mon business tact and brilliant conversational powers. From 1780 to 1785 he held the post of general agent of the French clergy. He mingled in the financial discussions of the time, became acquainted with Mirabeau, Ca- lonne, and Necker, and was noted for his prudence and skill as a speculator. In 1787 he was one of the assembly of notables, and in 1788 was made bishop of Autun, which gave him a yearly income of 60,000 francs. When the states general were summoned in 1789, he was elected one of the deputies of the clergy, insisted that his colleagues should join at once the representatives of the third estate who had assumed the name of " national as- sembly," figured conspicuously among Mira- beau's friends, and proved a strong support- er of every liberal measure. It was he who moved the celebration of the great patriotic feast, styled the "federation," on July 14, 1790; and in his capacity of bishop, at the head of 200 priests, wearing the national col- ors over their white robes, he officiated in that solemnity upon the great altar erected in the midst of the Champ de Mars. In the assem- bly he reported a plan for the reorganization of public instruction, and advocated the abo- lition of ecclesiastical tithes, the assumption by the government of the lands belonging to the clergy as national property, and the estab- lishment of a civil constitution for that order ; and on this constitution being adopted, he con- secrated such priests as consented to take the oath to it. This, added to his many deficiencies as a Catholic bishop and his political course, caused him to be excommunicated; but he was secularized by the pope, on condition that he should wear a lay habit and abstain from all clerical functions. In April, 1791, he at- tended Mirabeau in his last moments, and was charged by the great orator to deliver in the assembly a speech he had prepared upon testa- mentary powers and the rights of succession. On the dissolution of the constituent assem- bly, Sept. 30, 1791, Talleyrand was sent, under Chauvelin, on a fruitless mission to England. After the king's fall he retired to England; but, while a warrant was issued against him in Paris by the committee of public safety, he received peremptory orders from the ministry (January, 1794) to leave England in 24 hours. He then sailed for the United States, where through speculation he accumulated a fortune, and carefully studied American institutions and commerce. Before the adjournment of the convention, on motion of Chenier, acting under Mme. de Stael's influence, his name was erased from the list of emigrants ; he returned to Paris, found himself a member of the acad- emy of moral and political sciences, was one of the original members of the constitutional club, and in July, 1797, was called to the min- istry of foreign affairs. On Bonaparte's return from Italy, Dec. 5, he welcomed him, intro- duced him to the directors, delivered a speech in his honor at his great official reception, and promoted his subsequent designs. While the young general sailed for Egypt, the diplomatist was to go to Constantinople to reconcile the sultan to the invasion of one of his provinces ; he neglected this mission, and continued in office till July, 1799, when he was forced to resign. When Bonaparte returned from Egypt, he again propitiated the conqueror, procured an interview between him and Sieys, and prevailed upon Barras to resign, thus greatly contributing to the success of the coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire. He was rewarded by his reappointment, in November, 1799, as min- ister of foreign affairs, which office he held till August, 1807, and aided in the reestab- lishment of the peace in Europe, taking part in the successful conclusion of the treaties of Luneville, 1801, and of Amiens, 1802. On June 29, 1802, Pius VII., at Bonaparte's re- quest, released Talleyrand from excommunica- tion ; and yielding to Bonaparte's injunction, he married Mme. Grant, with whom he had lived for several years. The pope's refusal to allow this lady to be presented to him filled Talleyrand with resentment; and he is said to have counselled the partition of the Papal States. He prompted the seizure of the duke d'Enghien, and hastened his execution. After the establishment of the empire he received the office of grand chamberlain, and in 1806 the principality of Benevento in Italy. Hav- ing vainly advocated an alliance with England, and feeling the growing coldness of the em- peror, he resigned his ministerial office, Aug. 9, 1807, and received the title of vice grand elector, to which a large salary was attached. Thenceforward he was only occasionally con- sulted by his sovereign, but gave very free expression to his views on great political ques-
