Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/222

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ROCHAMBEAU. 200 ROCHEFORT. rfrs fi/x'rafi'oHS (lu cor/is frnii^ais sons le comnifUHhmtni (lu roiiile ilc liochaiiihcini, vliich has been translated into Englisli and pub- lislied in several forms, has been attrihntcd to him. and he is supposed to have ins]>ired if not aetually collaborated in the work of Frangoise Soul^, IJistoire des troubles de VAmirique an- yloiac (Paris, 1787). ROCH'DALE. A manufacturing town in Lancashire, England, 11 miles north-northeast of Manchester (Jlap: England, D 3). The parish church dates from the twelfth century. There is a free grammar school founded in 1565. The town hall is a fine building. Rochdale is note- worthy in economic history as the scene of the first successful experiment in cooperation. (See Rochdale Pioneers.) Woolen manufactures were introduced by a colony of Flemings in the reign of Edward III.: cotton is manufactured and there are a number of iron foundries and machine works. There is a considerable trade in coal and stone. Rochdale is mentioned in Domesday as Becedam. Its first charter was granted by Rich- ard I. John Bright was a native of Rochdale; a bronze statue to his memory is one of the town's monuments. Population, in 1891. 70.160: in 1901, 83,100. Consult: Fishwick, Eistory of Rochdale (Rochdale, 1889); Mattley, Annals of Rochdale (ib., 1899). ROCHDALE PIONEERS (Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers). An organization of flan- nel weavers of Rochdale, Lancashire, England, founded in 1844, the first to attain distinction in the cooperative movement. There were 28 mem- bers, each subscribing for one share of stock, a total of £28, and this not all paid in. The sec- ond year there were 74 members and a capital stock of £181. A small store was opened and the necessaries of life sold to members almost at cost. Within twenty-five years the society had a mem- bership of over 5560 and a stock of'£Sl,232. The small store expanded into numerous shops and manufactories, and a hospital, reading rooms, a large library, and classes in arts and sciences were established. The store was managed in the name and for the advantage of the working-class purchasers. The town savings bank failed soon after the organization of the company, which thereupon practically took the place of the bank. During the early years the promoters served with- out recompense, but afterwards salaried officials were employed. The profits were divided. After pa.ying all expenses and a dividend of 5 per cent. on the capital stock, 2.5 per cent, of the balance was allotted to the educational fund, and the re- mainder was distributed among the members in proportion to their purchases. The society has not only been a great success, but it has stimu- lated the cooperative movement throughout Eng- land. Consult: .Tones, Cooperative Production. (Oxford, 1894) ; Holyoake, The Eistory of Co- operation in Rochdale (London, 1879) ; Potter, The Cooperative Movement (ib., 1891). See Cooperation. ROCHE (Fr., rock), Rock Alum, or Ro- man Alum. A potash alum originally from Civita Vecchia, Italy, near where it is said to occur native, but also made from alunite, and highly prized by dj'ers owing to its freedom from iron sulphate. The name is also frequently given to common alum artificially colored, as by Arme- nian bole or Venetian red. ROCHE, Sir Boyle (1743-1807). An Irish politician. In early life he entered the army, and saw service in America. He sat in the Irish Parliament from 1777 until the Union, vuiiformly supporting the government, in return for which he was made a baronet and received :i pension. He contributed not a little to the bringing about of the LTnion; but his fame chiefly rests upon his reputation as an inveterate perpetrator of 'bulls" of the true Irish variety. ROCHE, James Jeffret (1847—). An American poet and journalist of Irish stock. He was born in ilontmellick. Queens County, Ire- land. In his infancy his parents emigrated to Prince Edard Island, Mhere he was educated in Saint Dunstan's College. In 1866 he went to Boston, Mass., where he engaged in connnerce and in 1883 joined the editorial staft' of the Pilot, then edited by John Boyle O'Reilly. In 1890 Roche be- came its editor-in-chief. His writings include: »S'oHf/s and Satires ( 1887) ; Ballads of Blue Water (1895); The Vase, and Other Bric-a-Brac (1900); Life of John Boyle O'Reilly (1891); and The Story of the Filibusters (1891). ROCHE, rosh, Troilus de !Mesgouat, Marquis de la. A French explorer and colonizer, born in Brittany, France, about the middle of the six- teenth century. In 1598 he bargained with Henr,y IV. to colonize New France. He was made lieutenant-general of Canada, Hochelaga, New- foundland, and Labrador, and of the adjacent countries "not possessed by any Christian prince." Having gathered an expedition largely composed of convicts from the prisons, in 1598 he set sail with these in a small vessel and ex- plored the country about the mouth of the Saint Lawrence. Upon Sable Island he left the con- victs, 40 in number, intending to transfer them afterwards to the mainland, but his vessel was driven by a tempest Ijack to France, and it was not until 1603 that the 12 survivors were taken ofl by Chefdhotel. Consult: Champlain's Toyayes, in vol. viii. of the Publications of the Prince Society (Boston. 1878-82) : and Parkman, Pioneers of Xew France (ib., 1805; later ed. 1897). ROCHEFORT, rosh'for'. A fortified seaport and naval arsenal in the Department of Cha- rente-lnferieure, France, on the right bank of the Charente. nine miles from the sea, and 18 miles southeast of La Rochelle (Map: France, E 6). It is surrounded by ramparts, and protected by forts at the mouth of the river, and is a clean, well-built town. The harbor is one of the three largest in France. Rochefort has fine wharfs, . extensive magazines, dock-yards, cannon foun- dries, and large bread and biscuit stores. The most celebrated of its many institutions are the marine hospital, founded in 1787. and the general civil college. Shipbuilding is the most important industry, and some furniture is manu- factured. Rochefort's rise from a fishing village dates from 1666, when Louis XIV. chose it for a naval station and Vauban planned its fortifica- tions. While waiting at the neighboring He d'Aix for a chance to escape from Rochefort to America. Xapoleon surrendered to the British. Population, in 1901, 30,458. ROCHEFORT, Victor Henri. Count de Roche- fort-Lucay (18.30 — ). A French journalist and politician, born in Paris. He was educated at the College of Saint-Louis and shortly after hia I