[Putting an end to begging]. Signed autograph manuscript of 10 p., ruled, in brown ink on strong paper, ca. 1848-1870. In-8 (22.9 x 14.8 cm), green chagrin, large imperial coat of arms, double framing and plant interlacing gilt on the boards, spine with muted nerves decorated with gilt fleurons in the boxes, gilt edges (Gruel). Fascinating manuscript proposing a "turnkey" poverty eradication plan to the Emperor. Auguste Thomé, then a former magistrate and mayor of Allex in the Drôme, was concerned about the social and health situation in the Second Empire. He thought he would find an attentive ear in the Emperor: despite the social disaster caused by the reworking of the Paris plan, the Emperor remained committed to the "extinction of pauperism", as he put it. Inspired by a passage in a letter from Napoleon I to his Minister of the Interior Emmanuel Crétet ("it is also a great idea of glory to destroy begging", 24 November 1807), Thomé intends to revive the memory. The former administrator from the Drôme explained the need for France to avoid two pitfalls: over-complicating the means of eliminating poverty and over-simplifying them, which would lead to an excessive number of requests for assistance. To remedy this, he proposed a "legislative combination" based on the achievements of the Napoleonic Code (1804), founded on two pillars: "kinship assistance and municipal affinity assistance". In addition to the theoretical presentation of his ideas, Thomé included a 16-article legal specimen. Bound in the imperial coat of arms, the manuscript seems to have found its way into Napoleon III's library. The latter must have paid particular attention to it, as during his captivity at Ham Fort he had himself written an essay on the extinction of pauperism, published in 1844. Some rare leaves slightly faded. Provenance : - Napoleon III (arms). - Osenat sale, Christopher Forbes Collection, 6 March 2016, lot no. 26.