5 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/guidetohayti01redp / JEREMIE'ua^ Dame Marie' i Grande An.-,..- ( deslrois in if Bara.lc.vs - - ^. 'o ■' v U, /* Sfj lYtUGouveC ,,,M,, " ,j v /> .|K, A , CQUI ^ \ l.cs CoU-auV J AUytAYES WtS i.a"' J J>_ --Z La » ai-lu- Capitals <* Ktxid.s r i it it a ^ A r EDITED BY JAMES REDPAT H. BOSTON: HAYTIAN BUREAU OF EMIGRATION, 221 Washington Street. [Ninth Thousand.] 1 oO 1 . ."fas Entered, according to Act of Congress, iu the year lynt, d> JAMES REDPATH, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of MaBBachui etta IQ i—D HTEUKUTYl-ED AND IKlNThD II QBO. C. HAND & AVBKV. £ / ri f- Dedication. TO JAMES REDPATH, Senior, OF ALLEGAN, MICHIGAN, MY UNCLE, AS A TESTIMONY OF GRATITUDE FOR HIS LONG AND UNWEARYING KINDNESS TO MY FATHER'S FAMILY, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. JAMES REDPATH. Notice. "N consequence of the failure of the publishers of the First Edition of this Volume, no copies will be furnished to the Trade until the Govern- ment contract is filled, when the work will be supplied by the Editor, or by Agents authorized by him, to the general public. Each Emigrant will be supplied with a copy free. A copy, also, will be sent to every "responsible Editor," Governor, Mayor, and Member of Congress or Parliament, in the United States and the Canadas. Editors noticing the project, or Book, will confer a favor by forwarding a copy of their journal to the Bureau. Correspondence with friends favor- ing emigration to Hayti is also respectfully requested. Contents. PAGE. Title 1 Dedication 3 Advertisement 5 Table of Contents 7-8 Editor's Introduction 9-11 The Pine and Palm 12 Book First — The Queen of the Antilles .... 13-60 Book Second — The Eepublic and Emigration . . . 61-126 Book Third — Bough Notes and Essays .... 127-175 Index 177-180 Spook ^irst — &Ije Qutm of % girrlxlks. I. — History of Hayti, by Auguste Elie 15-24 IE. — Geography of Hayti, by B. Ardouin 25-38 HI. — The Animal Kingdom, by the Editor .... 39-42 IV. — The Vegetable Kingdom, by the Editor .... 43-49 V. — The Mineral Kingdom, by Dr. W. G. Smith . . . 50-52 VI. — Soil of Hayti, by TV. S. Courtney 53-55 VH. — Climate, Seasons, and Temperature, by Dr. W. G. Smith, 56-59 §ook JS.etono — &Ije lUgttblic anb Emigration. I. — Editorial Introduction 63-64 n. — Constitution of the Eepublic of Hayti, with the Legisla- tive Modifications in full ...... 65-92 TTT. — Letter of A. Jean Simon, Secretary of State, to James Bedpath 93-96 IV. — Call for Emigration, by F. E. Dubois, Secretary of State, 97-99 V. — Letter of Gen. Fs. Jn. Joseph, Secretary of State, to Kev. Wm. P. Newman, ...... 100-103 8 Contents. VI. — Vacant Lands: Report of the Secretary of the Interior to His Excellency the President of Ilayti, on Emigra- tion and the Vacant Lands, v>'ith tlic Decree of the President in relation thereto VII. — Laws on Emigration, with the Legislative Proceedings thereon 104-120 121-125 ^ooh £biru — Juo«£,h gfotcs anb (kssLijis. I. — The People of Ilayti, their Character, Origin, Language, Industry, and Numbers 129-137 II. — Religion and Education : Notes on the Catholic Church, Protestantism, Religious Toleration, and Education . 138-143 HI. — Notes on Navigation and Commerce .... 144-150 IV. — Political Notes: Territorial Divisions, Revenue and Debts, Army, Navy, Laws, Currency, Weights and Measures, Rights of Whites, and the Haytian Em- blems 151-158 V. — Diseases of Ilayti and their Remedies, by Dr. W. G. Smith 159-1G3 VI. — The Seaports of Ilayti 1G4-1G7 VII. — How to go, and what to take to Hayti .... 1GS-170 VIII — A Parting Word 171-175 Introduction. THEEE is only one country in the "Western World where the Black and the man of color are undisputed lords ; where the White is in- debted for the libeny to live to the race which with us is enslaved ; where neither laws, nor prejudices, nor historical memories, press cruelly on persons of African descent ; where the people whom America degrades and drives from her are rulers, judges, and generals ; men of extended commercial relations, authors, artists, and legislators ; where the insolent question, so often asked with v.-. ' What would become of the Keg] . if Slavery were abolished ? " is answered by the fact of an independent Nationality of immovable stability, and a Government inspired with the spirit of progress. The name of this country is TTw tt. To Americans it presents an important and interesting study in whatever light regarded, —whether viewed, as the publicists of Europe regard the Union, as a new political experiment ; or historically, as the home of a coming race, to be composed, bike the English, by the mingling of various bloods ; or philo- sophically, for the purpose of learning lessons for our own national guidance and instruction from the sanguinary chronicles of its wars of Independence. But it is to the friend of the Black, and, above alL to the enslaved and persecuted races in America, that Hayti presents the most important problem ; to both it has a higher than a merely specula- tive interest ; for to the philanthropist it suggests the thought of a duty to be performed, and to the proscribed it offers a home and a distinctive Y :rl: i: li:y. Eirst interested in Hayti by the rare eloquence of Wendell P Hlr - - I sailed fix Cape Haytian in January, 1559, for the purrisi of describing the country and its people. During my voyage to the Island, a Revolution was successfully accomplished; an Emperor \ banished, and a President installed. A new historical era had : ... io Introduction.. I remained in the [aland two months, travelling on foot from Capo lluy- tian to Gona'ives ; in an open boat from that town to Port-au-Prince, and on horseback from the capital to Jacmel. I occupied myself exclusively in gathering information, — geographical, political, and historical. I re- tnmed to Boston in April] but, finding that my Notes were incomplete, and in many instances contradictory, and desirous of Correcting my first impressions by more extended studies, 1 again sailed for Hayti in June, — disembarking at ( rona'ives ; from which, in July, I made a pedestrian tour to the American colored settlement at L'Arcahai". From that fertile district, 1 Bailed t<> Port-au-Prince, where I resided until my departure in September My third visit was made in July of this year, for the purpose of explor- ing TortUga and the other insular dependencies of llayti. In the mean time, among other patriotic projects of progress, material and moral, which the ( iovcrnmentof President Geffrard had devised, was the plan of inviting an immigration into Ilaytiof all the enlightened and industrious men of African descent, in the States and the Provinces of North America. As an Abolitionist and a Republican, I felt a double interest in tins project, — for not only will it be an agency of Strengthening a colored Nation, by developing its resources, introducing new inventions, and bringing to it also moral sources of power, and thus demonstrating the capacity of the race for self-govern incut, but it will carry out the programme of the ablest intellects of the Republican Party, — of surrounding the Southern States with a cordon of free labor, within which, like a scorpion girded by iire, Slavery must inevitably die. There is no country in the world better adapted for the culture of cotton, BUgar, rice, and other Soni hern, staples, than llayti. All that it needs is laborers, intelligent and industrious, to devote themselves to the work. Thus, with the lever of an enlightened immigration in llayti, the colored men of America could greatly aid in overturning the system of chattel Slavery in the South. Brought into correspondence with tho Government of Hayti, I sug- d a number of guarantees to immigrants that should be officially an- nounced ; all of them, and many others subsequently asked for, (which will be found in tho following pages) were immediately and publicly conceded. It will be found, also, that, in its desiro for an enlightened immigration, the Government has transcended, not the demands only, hut the expectations of the friends and representatives of the colored people in America. Requested to indicate the measures that should bo employed to inform the class of immigrants invited of the nature of the country, the offers and intentions of the Government, and all the facts which in n, seeking a new home, are naturally desirous of learning, I Introduction. 1 1 suggested, among other measures, the publication of a Guide Book, the establishment of a corresponding office in the States, and the appoint- ment of Agents to visit fhe various localities in the Union and Canada in which there are settlements of men of African descent. This pro- gramme was adopted, and I was asked to take charge of its execution. I accepted the position, and prepared this book. The experience that I gained in the Kansas work had taught me that it is neither possible nor desirable to put into a Guide Book — for I once attempted to do so — all that intending emigrants will ask. Hence, in this volume, the reader will find the essential facts only ; for further information, he must apply, personally or by letter, to the office in Boston, where certified copies of the Governmental guarantees, the journals of Hayti, books of reference, maps, specimens of the ores, and of the staple cultures of the Island, will be found. All that section of this volume entitled " Official Part," is authorized by the Government of Hayti, having been submitted to the Minister of Exterior Relations, and other members of the Cabinet of President -Gefrrard. The original Documents bear the Seals of the respective De- partments from which they emanated, or to which they were submitted for confirmation. For the rest, I have given my authorities, or write from my personal knowledge. The Island of Hayti, originally divided between the French and Spanish, but reunited under President Boyer, in 1822, returned to its colonial political divisions in 1 843, from causes which it would be entering into the domain of politics to enumerate. Since that time the Domini- can Republic has held a large portion of the ancient Eastern or Spanish Part, and the Governments of Hayti the "Western, or old French Part, with considerable annexations. As both Parts are nearly similar in their natural features, while writing in detail respecting Hayti, I have, at the same time, inserted a general geographical view of both of these Divisions. The translations are bv various hands : all of them are extremelv 3 * literal. The Map accompanying the Gefrrard Edition is the most ac- curate hitherto published. James Redpath. Haytiax Bttreau of Emigratiox Ko. 8 Washington Building, Boston i Decemter 3, 1860. THE PINE AND PALM V A N C Y . I. ( >n .1 bald peak Northei d Stands the Pine tree lonely Sleeping, — Kia w Kite mantle I. e and movi Hakes only. ii. Dreaming dial .1 Palm-tcce, Morning land adorning, I lOnelj . "ii heights sultry, Silently Is mourning. 11. llllM. PACT. 1. ( )n the hills of 1 l.nn, Wave the Palm trees gladly Never in their slumbers Sign the Pine trees sadly. 11. \ erdant are their branches, Never winter-blighted ; Married, — sec the loving Pines and Palms united. Jas. Rbdpath. $0flfc f\X± the qi;ep;n op r nih Antilles- histoj ?hy, : I. distort) of fjagtt * IT was the 6th of December, 1492, that Christopher Colum- bus discovered the Island of Hayti. For this Caribbee name, the great navigator substituted that of Hispaniola, in honor of Spain, his adopted country. It was the first land in America on which Europeans were to settle, and it was the first where the peaceful aborigines who inhabited it were to fall beneath the devouring activity of their new masters. The five caciques, who divided the authority, were subdued, some by the flattering manners of the Spaniards, and the rest by the force of their arms. The brevity of this sketch forbids us to relate the many changes of the long drama which transformed this happy and populous island into a blood-stained desert. "We refer those who are curious to learn this lamentable story, to the Life of Columbus, by Washington Irving. Suffice it to say, that the conquerors, having found quantities of gold in the country, abandoned themselves with eagerness to the research of this metal; and the aborigines, men. little accustomed to labor, forced by their masters to the fatiguing work of the mines, quickly succumbed. The discovery of the richer mines of Mexico caused those of * Translated from the original sketch of Mr. Auguste Elie, of Port-au- Prince-, which was written expressly for this volume. i6 History of Hayti. Hayti to l>c abandoned, their working having become difficult on account of an insufficient population. Another cause of decay was being developed at the same time. This was the war sustained by the Dutch, English, and French against the Spanish navigators, who designed to exclude every other flag from these new seas. Those adventurers, who sailed in light vessels, and who afterwards became celebrated under the name of Buccaneers, settled at several points, and especially at Tortuga, a small island situated on the northern coast of Hayti. From thence, they spread by degrees over the main land, where they founded, under the protection of Cardi- nal Piichelicu, the French colony of St. Domingo. The Spaniards, from the commencement of their settlement, introduced slaves of African origin into Santo Domingo, the name of the capital, which, instead of Hispaniola, was soon ap- plied to the whole island. The two oppressed races lived in the same tortures; but when, three centuries later, came the hour of deliverance, the public law of the new nationality recognized their common right to the exclusive property of the soil. Under the Spanish dominion, the colony remained stationary. Three hundred years of possession had only produced a popula- tion varying from 100,000 to 150,000 souls. The French had much greater success. In 1789, the por- tion which they possessed numbered a population of about 600,000, and five sixths of this population, compelled to labor in merciless bondage, had brought the property of the masters to the highest degree of prosperity. The French Revolution now added another danger to that which had already shown itself in partial revolts amongst the slaves. The white colonists, and the free men of color* formed antagonistic parties, who discussed their privileges in presence of the trembling slave. The logical conclusion of such a state * In Hayti, the phrase "men of color" is used exclusively to designate persons Of miked blood, black being applied and confined to those of pure African descent. History ct Hayti. \n of fchii gs was necessarily the : -e:ri::e :: more general : and the msnrreetion of the slave a soon swept away all the insi - :f the past Slavery - aredfoi sver 5 mi tic :".. 3e of the country, and a k reeoi : 1 irional Convention legalized all y which had already become trinmphant. The col:: :m the connnencement of the crisis, had par- tially pronounced in favor of deserting the cause of the Mother C anfay. ' A few of the principal insurgent chiefs, especially Toussaint Louvertnre, soon l;>egan to think of independence. Their hatred of a past which they held in abhorrence^ prevented their alliance nry : the new parties. They passed &om one nag to - rery : " me. Others, like Rigand, devoted them- - .;- fee : ej jo] bean France; but the majority of them frragbi vif jrooslv asainst the English, :.: thai time the go ri rs of - Feholders. In vain did Spam as . Rngland maintain the :: — :: the old Tie :ee — _~ freed, seconded -the ene:: - :: Sonthonax, membei ::' the Convention, triumphed in the saose :: liberty. In order k bame the lesign£ :: independence entertained by Fonssaini Lovivertaxe, and to - blish the former sfe . :f things, Nia] >oleon, 7i:~: Consul, -;:.: to St Domingo an army eompofied :£ the soldieis ::" the Pyramids, Mai sag : . and fibhenlinden . One hundred and fiffcy lionB of francs, and twentr thousand men of his best tr<: ope swallowed up in this expedition. — one of the most terri- bk kssonf ever read to this great man. The only gain accruing I : him & : m this enterprise — as the capture of Font saint Louver- ture. (who was taken by treachery.) and the shame of the death b :- celebrated chief, wh: ..._. . ::' misery and cold in the Castle of .Jonx. A: the head of the valiant soldiers who had been fighting for ten years for their liberty, the most distinguished Bbiefi we§re I see lines, Petkm, and 3hristophe r_:s time, it ~e ; no longer — mde only that they unfurled their banner, — :: — - ; ;* 18 History of Hayti. in the name of a higher principle, — that of National Indepen- dence. The capitulation of the Cape, signed on the 28th of Novem- ber, 1803, by General Bochambeau, was followed shortly after by the proclamation of independence. This act, which is the Btarting-point of Haytian nationality, was signed at Gonai'ves on the 1st of January, 1S04. By the treaty of Bale, Spain had abandoned to France the Spanish part of St. Domingo. Toussaint Louverture, in his capacity of governor-general, had gone to take possession of the country, and was there even at the time of the arrival of the French expedition. In the name of this right, in 1804, the Empire of Hayti was created, comprising the entire mainland, and the adjacent islands. Dessalines, named Emperor, sought to occupy Santo Domingo ; but in this enterprise he failed, being baJfled by the resistance of the inhabitants of the Eastern Part, who were supported by General Ferrand, commanding, in the name of France, a small remnant of the expedition of Napo- leon. The Constitution of 1804 was liberal. Its decrees have no longer any other than an historical interest. Nevertheless, one of its articles has survived its wreck, that, namely, on which is based the exceptional nationality of Hayti. It recognizes the right of property in the country to belong exclusively to men of the African or Indian races, and has been maintained in every subsequent Constitution. Dessalines, on his accession as Emperor, was placed in a very embarrassing position, in a country entirely disorganized, and in which compulsory labor had always existed, even under Tous- saint. In order to continue the traditions received from the past, he believed that, armed with dictatorial power, it was his duly to crash every obstacle that opposed his course. His cruelty arrayed against him his ancient companions in arms. Powerful enmities arose against him on all sides, and he was assinated near Port-au- Prince, on his return from a journey History of Hayti. iq to the Cape. This time a more liberal compact was adopted, in imitation of the Constitution of the United States. Christophe was called to the presidency of the Ptepublic of Hayti, but the form of the new government being contrary to his wishes, he refused to accept its con litions, and began a fratricidal war, which lasted till his death. Ilaving failed in his attempt to seize Port-au-Prince, he with- drew to the Cape, which became the capital of the State of Hayti, and on the 2d of June, 1811, he caused himself to be. crowned King. Endowed with talent for organization, but of a nature both despotic and cruel, he was unsuccessful in founding anything durable, for his artificial creations were unsupported by the aspirations of a free people. His attempts against the Ptepublic, less powerful than his own State, failed on account of the secret support that Petion found amongst the subjects of the King„ At length, being unable, in consequence of an attack of paralysis, to mount his horse, when on the point of starting to repress a sedition, he blew out his brains on the 8th of Octo- ber, 1820, in his palace of Sans Souci. After the refusal of the presidency by Christophe in 1806, Petion was named in his stead. An able statesman and a sincere republican, he had, during the whole course of his life, to struggle against men infinitely inferior to him in talent. Betrayed by his companions in arms, little understood even by men of note, he oyercame bv his address all the obstacles which appeared ready to crush him. His war against Christophe was his principal difficulty, but the secession of the Department of the South, which was, for a time, erected into an independent State under Rigaud, added, also, greatly to his embarrassments. This famous chief of the first wars of the Pie volution, compro- mised his past glory in lending himself, at Cayes, to a division which might have proved fatal to the Republic. After having reannexed the South, at the death of Pdgaud, and repulsed an attack he sustained from Christophe, Petion put into execution an idea which he had long before conceived. 20 History of Hayti. He had understood, with his great sagacity, that, iu order to ble the new society, it was necessary to attach to the soil, by of a nature agreeable to the existing; institutions, those men who. for twenty years, as soldiers and civil officers, had served their country with devotion. He gave them, gratuitously, large quantities of land, and nearly all the territorial grants arc dated from Tils lime. One of tlic objects of Petion's attention was the Revision of the Constitution. In Hayti, the same fault had been committed as at Philadelphia ; in presence of the Executive there had been created a Senate, invested with all the legislative power, as well as with some executive privileges. But with men less enlight- ened and less disciplined, the inconveniences of the system were still more disastrous. Profiting by acquired experience, Petion demanded the Revision of the Constitution of 1806, and this was done at Grand Goave, with all the legal forms, in the year 1810. This act, in its principal outline, was the result of an amalgamation of the American Constitution with the Constitution of the Year 3 of the French Republic. Petion died shortly after, worn out by twenty-five years of continual struggles. Posterity has been more just towards him than his contemporaries, and has placed him with reason at the head of the statesmen of his country. General Boyer succeeded to the Presidency. He had the glory of repressing in the South the insurrection of a partisan chief, whom Petion had never succeeded in subduing ; of unit- ing, at the death of Christophe, the north of the Island to the Republic, and of effecting the annexation of the old Spanish Part to his dominions. Under his government of twenty-five years, the administration was put upon a better footing in all ils branches, and the independence of the country recognized by the principal European Powers. But from the date of his treaty with France, in 1825, his vigor and activity were seen to diminish.* A kind of general languor spread over the Govern - * Air. Elie here refers to the Treaty, by which President Boyer agreed to pay History of Havti. 21 ment and the country, and this long peace was in no way utilized to the interest of the future. Boyer introduced paper money into the country. If he did not make a wrong use of this financial expedient, he was none the less its inventor ; and the rate of the Spanish dollar fell sixty per cent, during his administration. He was overthrown by a revolution set on foot by men of abilities much inferior to his own. He fell, struck down by a reaction of public opinion against him, provoked by an excess of vanity which blinded him to the fact that, though a man be superior in intellect to others, such superiority must be mani- fested in his actions. He believed that the power at his com- mand would be sufficient to crush the pretensions of the oppo- sition ; but he was deceived. He died in exile, which he bore with dignity, avoiding every step that might have been productive of agitation in his country. And the comparisons which have been made between his gov- ernment and those that have succeeded it, have been wholly to his advantage. Under the Provisional G-overnment that succeeded him, a Constitution, resembling still more those of the United States than the preceding ones, was voted in due form. Only one of its articles was put into execution, viz : that which treated of the nomination of the President. General Herard Blvere, the leader of the last revolution, and a man of no note, sank, after a few months, overwhelmed by the reprobation of the public. Has period is signalized by two important facts : the separation of the old Spanish Part from the P^epublic, and the insurrection of the mountaineers of the South. Fortunately the nomination of Guerier to the Presidency happened in time to extricate the country from the perilous position in which it was placed. Be- fore this respected name, all parties laid down their arms. He France one hundred and fifty millions of francs, for the recognition of Hay- tian Independence, and as an indemnity for the losses of the colonial pre; tots. This treaty first created a national deht. and was reiy unpopular with the people. — Ef>. o -> History of Hayti. took DQ farther Bteps towards regaining possession of the old Spanish Part than the placing a corps of observation on the frontier, and the rest of the country was pacified. Guerier died at the expiration of a year, after having restored to the country that tranquillity which had been disturbed during the last two years. U is name is always mentioned, to tfiis day, with expressions of national gratitude. lie was succeeded in power by General Pierrot, the brother- in-law of Christopho, a man utterly insignificant, and under whom the whole of the administration fell into great disorder. A military insurrection overthrew him, and called to the Presi- dency General Riche, a distinguished soldier. The administration of Riche was short, but active and visor- ous. A reform in several branches of the general administra- tion was undertaken, and it is probable that if his early death had not arrested his progress he would have completely re- organized the public service. Having been one of Christophe's generals, he introduced into his government a severity which sometimes bordered on tyranny, but which was always in con- formity with the principles of a strict discipline. Jealous of his power, like all the men of his school, he was pitiless towards the insurgents of the South, who reappeared at his accession. The Constitution of 1844 had fallen during the events which separated the Spanish Part from the Republic, and threw, for a moment, (May, 1844,) the country into a state of complete anarchy. Guerier, possessing Dictatorial power, created a council of state invested with legislative powers and intrusted with the nomination of the President in case of vacancy. Pierrot governed the Republic in the same forms. On his accession to power, Riche adopted the Constitution of 1816, and instituted a senate which was to draw up a new fundamental pact. This was the origin of the constitutional law, which, with the excep- tion of a few modifications introduced in 1859, still rules the country. It bears date the 15th November, 184G. Riche died at the expiration of a year. General Faustin History -_: HaytL :: . . . ::_■ i. -rir: : : i= ilz- atiaigta&rward find well-disposed: bat all parties booh zz_ -izT^r-zzzz ~ -.: '-. :i: rrriz^t '.i — -'- :'.z:z-. -z_. :;_-; . > ] ■!_■::. ;:_ :: Li: " : — -z : z - . :: i. :-:zzt.1t^ :_-.::,:. z.zr.z z :: . _ - ... : . . . - .. ' - _ 1"..t ~ . .. :i=i : v.— zri LzzLzrzzz iz. zi.zz: :: Fzz?ziz I 1: :_z : 1 zzzzErrli i: r :::": - xzz.- •-:.: :: Hi-z iv '_. 1 :- zzz- :::'_- :z.\ :'l iz. = : '. .. irzl: ; .- -. -:.i~: _ : :_: :z~ zi:zzzrzzze= TT'= zrzezzr -z ..-.. zzlzzl :z ~. _■ ioal ri^zzs Made Liza ■tteriy : Ti rile— :: :_c feeling z person.: z r~z:~ :_: _:-- z._- . : : :: :..: .. ~-. :i zli z:-zrzzzrzz '--. :zz:z_~ z> :zz- ixzzzLt. — _:'_ oii^-5 iz^iz- z_ "irizzzz.? z inx: zisrrpzz- Tzh . " :~~ .. ~- 1 ■..-._■.'. 1; : . z lezgxz *riz .1.7 ' 7 izz " '.:-:-.! ::' : _:z z . . _ . — — - r . e Iztz: :f r-izj A?z— z'^zei Lizrei :-z:. z: 1-z: :z~zi_- dbaaosed for iiae death, of the Emperor, tnifc ibe GcrfeoBHesi zzi zzc zz rzz :: - r izzzz zh ~zi zzizzi Ec ~ i._r _ z. .fizzzzz :: z_ :. zz: izz: tzz iz^zzzirr z:z-~z_:z zz -_- zlzzzzzi z- ezzzzLi ir^: z;~~ ~z^ : i" jtztztizzzz: -*zzzz zze "z.. : : --.:r — : -- ..: zl. ::_-.:: i zzzzzz zrzz z _: : . z iz _ Lizz :: ;i: — :t_lL. " " "_- -* z^.l. i: - :...i I: _;.l ::;:_t:. :z. lL . . _ .-':".: t:l"Tzi£ :_ = ~ _ . ._:- _: "vj_ _t: v:ijl_: :zl: :zlt zt :_. --- _ . . ^ 24 Historj of Hayti. tore I i" r< commence ; for ii baa enough to Vaches, Beate, Alta Vela, Saone, St. Catha- rine, Mona, Monica, and La Tortue or Tortuga. We shall treat of each separately. Hayti presents the appearance of a vast territory composed of mountains and plains. " From the conformation of the surface of the Island," says M. do St. Mery, "which alternates in mountains and plains, arises a great variation in its climate and temperature. This is specially produced by the situation of the Island in the region of the trade winds, since the prevailing East wind, to the influence of which St. Domingo offers the whole of its length, makes for itself between the mountain chains many currents of air which refresh and temper these same mountains, — an advantage of which the plains do not partake, inasmuch as the mountains sometimes arrest the course of the wind, or change its direction. Moreover, a host of local circumstances, such as the elevation of the land, the quantity, more or less consider- able, of water which irrigates the plains, the scarcity or abund- ance of forests, have a sensible influence on the character of the climate. " If a powerful cause did not counterbalance the action of a scorching sun under the torrid zone, a sun which darts down its rays almost perpendicularly, during about three months of the year, upon St. Domingo, the temperature of this Island would be insupportable for man, or at least for such as were not designed by nature expressly as inhabitants of this climate. But this cause does exist in the wind of which we have just spoken, and whose salutary effects weaken those of the sun. " To the protecting influence of the wind must be added the nearly equal length of the days and nights, and the abundant rains which produce constantly in the air a humidity at all times desirable, and which, bathing profusely the surface of the Geography of Hayti. 27 Island, occasion, through the evaporation caused by the heat itself, a kind of cooling effect. ' ' Thus, by an immutable order, the contemplation of which enraptures the philosopher, nature has ordained that everything should aid in maintaining a sort of equilibrium in the climate of St. Domingo. " The two seasons (summer and winter) are more marked in the mountains than in the plains, and in general the atmos- pheric changes are more frequent in the former. Here it is that the temperature is mildest, and here are never felt either the sultry heat or those winds which, when they become violent, are more apt to dry the air than to refresh and renew it. " In fact, residence in the mountains is more pleasant than in the plains. Country life seems here to have a more simple character, and to be more independent of all those restraints which etiquette imposes as a law upon the towns, and even upon the neighboring country. It is seldom that the thermome- ter rises above 18 or 20 degrees,* whilst in the plains it reaches the mean rate of the towns, and consequently marks as high as 30 degrees. f The nights here are sometimes so cool that the use of a blanket is almost a necessity. There a*re even some mountains in St. Domingo where, at certain seasons, fire is a real enjoyment in the evening. This is not on account of any extreme cold, since the thermometer never sinks lower than about 12 or 14 degrees; + but the contrast of this temperature to that of the day is so acutely felt that the words cold and heat are not to be understood in the same sense as in a cold climate." Like the other West India Islands, Hayti is subject to the tempests which happen so often in this part of America, and which still bear the name given to them by the Indians. But it is the South part of the Island, including the country lying between Cape England and Iron Point, which suffers more * Reaumur, equal to 72£ or 77 degrees, Fahrenheit. t Equal to 99£ degrees, Fahrenheit. i Equal to 59 or 63£ degrees, Fahrenheit. 28 Geography of Hayti. frequently than any other place from this destructive scourge. Nevertheless, M. de St. Meiy has said, upou this subject: " The man who refers everything to himself, and who is exposed to tlu> numberless evils which hurricanes may occasion, cannot easily discern their utility. But the philosopher, whom observation has convinced of the admirable order that governs the universe, takes for granted that they are useful, though ho may not understand how, and rather than blaspheme against a cause so disastrous in appearance, he is willing to believe that these extraordinary movements of nature are necessary crises, in harmony with the principles whose workings secure the pre- servation of the globe, and that without them, perhaps, the Antilles would have been uninhabitable, on account of the incredible number of insects which cover the earth or flutter in the air." Whatever may be the dangers of hurricanes, they cannot be compared in this respect to the earthquake. This dreadful phenomenon destroyed, in 1564, the town of Conception de la Vega, and has been felt more recently at Port-au-Prince, which was overthrown in 1770. Since this last epoch, shocks have taken place ev*ery year, but with much less intenseness. They arc generally preceded by a deep noise, called in Ilayti gonfre, which is often heard without the shock being felt, and which is produced by a cause unknown as yet, but which appears to exist in the neighborhood of the lakes of Xaragua and Azuei, between Neybe and Port-au-Prince. MOUNTAINS. Several of these reach to a considerable elevation above the level of the sea. The principal range is that of Cibao, which forms a considerable group, almost in the centre of the Island, and from which diverge several chains in different directions. It rises to at least 7,073 feet perpendicular height, and is situated in the department of the North-East. The Selle, the Mcorique, and the Bahoruco or Mantel form tho same chain which, after stretching from West to East, Geography of Hayti. 29 terminates in the South at the Point of Beate. The Selle, rising to the same height as the range of the Cibao, is situated about South East from Port-au-Prince, in the department of the West. The Hotte comprises the chain which commences at the Platons, in the aiTondissement of Cayes, crosses that of Grande Anse in the direction of East and West, and ends at Cap-a* Foux, near Tiburon. Its height is also 7,673 English feet above the level of the sea. The Monte Christi forms a chain which commences at Grange Point and ends at the Peninsula of Samana. The mountains Noire and of Cahos begin near Marmelade, and terminate in the arrondissement of St. Jean. Los Muertos form the chain which terminates at Cape Engafio, in the dej)artment of the South-East. 'These last-named mountains, together with others less con- siderable, rise to an average height of about 2,400 feet. "The number of mountains," says M. de St. Mery, "and their height, notwithstanding the vast extent of the several plains, give to the Island, when seen at a distance, a moun- tainous appearance, and is the reason why it is far from giving the favorable opinion it deserves. But the observer who con- templates the mountain chains with all their branches, which stretch their sinuous ramifications over the entire surface of the Island, sees in this the cause of its fertility, — the immense reservoir where are accumulated the waters which numberless rivers afterwards distribute on all sides ; a means destined by nature to temper the effects of a burning sun, to arrest the fury of the winds, to vary the temperature, and even to multiply the resources and combinations of human industry ; in short, the soil destined to bear for centuries the bounteous forests which, since the creation, perhaps, received the fertilizing waters which the clouds secrete within their bosom, and which, by their pro- tective position, are saved from the touch of man, whose genius is not always conservative." 3* 30 Geography of Hayti. To these philosophic considerations, we may add the equally important observation which is naturally impressed upon the mind on viewing the mountains of Hayti, that these wild soli- tudes have been, and will ever be, the bulwarks of liberty and national independence. PLAINS. The most extensive plain in the Island, according to the same author, is that of Vega Real, situated in the depart- ment of the North-East. It extends over the arrondissements of Vega, San Yago, and Monte Christo. Its length is about 194 miles. It is remarkable for its fertility, and is watered by numerous rivers. Its principal production consists in tobacco, which is of excellent quality. Sugarcanes, cocoa, etc., are cul- tivated, and cattle arc raised there, but its small population, scattered over so vast an extent of territory, is able to draw from this fruitful land only a small portion of these valued products. The river Grand Yaque, which discharges itself into the bays of Monte Christi, Mancenilla, and the Touna, which empties itself into the beautiful bay of Samana, will greatly facilitate the raising of these products, and will give to this superb plain a real importance when it possesses a larger and more active population. From the left hand of the Ozama to the Cape Engafio, there stretches an extent of land about 145 miles long, measuring 409G square miles, of which more than 3,500 are plains; this is also watered by several rivers. The produce raised comprises sugar, coffee, tobacco, mahogany, horned cattle, and other animals. Its soil is very fertile. The plain of Azua, which includes the space between the river Neybe and the bay of Caldera, covers a surface of 879 square miles. It has a soil of astonishing fertility, notwith- standing the drought which usually prevails. Here very fine BUgar is made, and the rearing of cattle and the cutting of mahogany form also branches of industry, as throughout tho whole of the Eastern part of tho Island. Geography of Hayti. 31 The plain of Neybe measures 409 square miles, and yields the same kind of produce as that of Azua. The lowlands, situated at the foot of the Bahoruco, to the East and West, comprise an extent of surface measuring ; 2 square miles. They would offer the same advantages if cultivated. The plains of St. Jean, of Banica, and of Hinche, called the valleys of St. Thomas and Goave, cover a surface of 1172 square miles. The cattle raised in these rich pasture lands form the principal branch of %idustry for the inhabitants of these parts, who have much increased since 1822. Ail the other products of the country are also easily obtained. The plains of the North, starting from the river of Massacre as far as the limits of Port 3Iargot, may be estimated as covering, all' together, a superficies of 1055 square miles. The sugar- cane is here advantageously cultivated. The plain of Otd de Sac, near Port-au-Prince, measures 20 miles from East to West, while its breadth, from North to h, varies from 6 miles to 10. It was not until 1724 that the sugarcane was here planted. The usual aridity of this plain forced the inhabitants to resort to the irrigation of this precious plant in 1730 ; and the effects of this powerful natural agent were such that before the Revolution, about fifty million pounds of this article were produced. This immense result is no longer obtained. The plain of Gona'ives may be estimated at 141 square miles in extent. It yields principally a cotton which is highly valued. That of the Artibonite, which is watered by the river of this name, and by many other smaller ones, appears to have been formed by deposits from these rivers, since, at a depth of 80 feet, there have been found different beds, in which have been discovered leaves and branches of trees. Sugar and cotton are grown here. Its surface is supposed to cover about 203 square 32 Geography of Hayti. That of Arcakaie, situated like an amphitheatre along the seaboard, extends about 1-! miles from East to West, by about 1800 feel in its greatest breadth, from North to South. The r here produced is of excellent quality, though the quantity is small. The plain of Leogane measures about IT miles in its great- esl Length from East to West, and scarcely 7 miles in breadth from North to South. It yields sugar of great beauty. Finally, that of Cays offers a surfaco of about 117 square miles. Here, as in the plai* of Cul de Sae, the different streams are usefully employed in watering the sugarcane, — a production which offers such considerable reward to the laborious workmen. MYERS. Few countries arc as well -watered as Hayti. This advan- tage is owing, as we have already seen, to the mountains which feed the numerous rivers that nature has spread over all this fortunate Island. But the departments of the East are much more favored, in this respect, than the others, and other rivers are also much more considerable. The longest river is the Artibonite, which the Indians called Hatibonico. Its entire length is 145 miles. It flows in a straight line from the Cibao, where it rises. Before it reaches this sea, its volume is increased by a multitude of other rivers, such as the Guayamuco, the Rio Canas, the Fer-a- ( Tieval, etc. It frequently inundates the plain which bears its name, and by this means produces the same effect as the Nile in Egypt. The other principal rivers are the Tuna and the great Toque, in the department of the North-East; the Ozama, the Tsabela, the Macoris, the Soco, the Quiabon, the JRo/ua/ta, ■ I yna, the little Toque, and the Neyba, in the depart- ment of the South-East; the rivers of Cayes, Cavaitton, Jirimie, and Nippes, in the department of the South; those of Jo mel) Liogane, and Cul de Sac, in the department (-1' Geography of Hayti. 33 the West; and the Massacre, the Grande Riviere, and the Trois-Hivieres, in the department of the North. MINERAL WATERS. The number of mineral springs which exist oyer all the surface of Hayti is another of its many riches. The principal one is that of Port-d-Piment, in the department of the Artibonite, formerly called Eaux de Boynes, (waters of Boynes,) but which at present might be more properly styled Eaux de Capoix, (waters of Capoix,) in order to make amends for the injustice committed towards their discoverer, — an injustice against which M. de St. Mery has so loudly exclaimed, attributing to flattery the denomination these waters obtained. Before the Revolution, considerable establishments were here made, but they do not now exist. It would be highly desirable to see them again established, and under the direction of a skilful physician, who might superintend the treatment of the sick persons who have often recourse to these springs. Many diseases which the faculty have pronounced incurable, have here met with a complete cure. Seven springs are here grouped together in the same spot. The same properties have been discovered in the springs of Banica, situated five miles distant from the town, and in the same department. There are four in this place, which is equally deprived of suitable establishments. Other minor springs exist in the communes of Dalmarie, Irois, Tiburon, Jacmel, Mirebalais, etc. LAKES. The largest is the Etang Sale, (salt lake,) called, also, the lake of Xaragua and Henriquille, because the Cacique Henri, with his followers, took refuge here upon a small island situated in the centre of the lake, and measuring 5 miles in length by 2 § in breadth. This Island is peopled with wild goats. The Etang Sale, situated in the department of the West, is about 22 miles long and 8J broad j and is about 53 miles in circumference. It is deep, and swarms with alliga- 34 Geography of Hayti. tors. The water is clear, but bitter salt, and has a disagreeable odor, and ebbs and flows like the sea. About five miles North- West from this lake is found another, running in the same direction, but measuring only 12 miles long, and in breadth varying from 2J to 7 miles. It is called the Etang Saumatre, on account of the acrid taste of its waters, or Laguna de Azuei. This lake also has its tides. To the South of the Etang Sale, at 2 J miles' distance, lies the Etang Doux, (sweet lake,) named also Laguna Icotea, (the lake of turtles,) which is nearly 5 miles long by \\ miles broad. This lake has no communication with the other two, and its extent depends upon the rains and the floods which maintain it. It abounds in turtle, good fish, and sea- fowl. The lake of Miragoane, in the department of the South, is 7 miles long by 12,000 feet broad. Its circuit, counting the indentations, is supposed to measure 17 miles. Its depth averages 180 feet. Its waters flow into the sea at the Acul dii Carenage, near the town of Miragoane, and are used by the inhabitants. This lake is crossed by a wooden bridge, with stone abutments, on the road from Petit-Goave to Mhae-oane. The intention was formerly entertained of constructing a canal between the Acul du Petit- Gocive and this lake for the transport of provisions and produce. The project was also formed of digging a canal between the Etang Saumatre and the embarcadcre du fosse, near the town of Port-au-Prince. This canal would thus have traversed the plain of Cut de Sac in all its length, and would have served to convey the immense quantity of sugar here made. In 1822, government caused to be built upon this lake, and upon the Etang Sale, a barge and lights, in order to facilitate the com- munications of the capital with the department of the South- East, and to spare travellers a painful journey by a road cut through the rocks on the north bank of the Etang Saumatre. But the force of habit prevents people profiting by these Geography of Hayti. • 35 facilities. It is true that the service of these boats is much neglected by the sailors appointed to them, and that a great and often insurmountable difficulty prevails almost always in these lakes ; this is the violence with which the East and West winds blow between the mountains that surround the lakes. This difficulty might be removed by the establishment of steamboats, which would possess the twofold advantage of facilitating intercourse and of helping in the conveyance of cattle from Neybe and Azua to the plain of the Cul-de- Sac. But these ameliorations can only be the work of time ; they will no doubt come with the increase of the population, which serves in all countries to develop industry. BAYS. The largest and the most beautiful bay of Hayti is that of Samana. It is situated between capes Samana and Kaphael. Christopher Columbus called it Bale des Fleches, (bay of arrows,) because he found on its shores large numbers of Indians armed with arrows. The distance between its two extreme capes is 17 miles. It has an average breadth of 12 miles, and is about 50 miles in depth. The most powerful squadrons could find in it a sure asylum ; but the channel by which it is entered is difficult and narrow. A vessel must pass under the cannon of the fort Cacao, built since 1822. The extent of this magnificent bay, its position on the windward side of the Island, together with the immense quantity of wood found in the peninsula, fit for naval purposes, and the mines of iron and copper concealed within its bosom, — all these advantages tend to make the point the most important of all in a maritime point of view. Whale-fishery might here be carried on. The other bays, whose importance and extent differ more or less, are those of Mole St. Nicolas, Ocoa, Higuey, Neyhe^ Jacmel, Bainet, Flamands, Mesle, St. Louis, Ca'imites, Baraderes, Miragoane, Petit- Go are, Port-au-Prince, St. Marc,Gona'ives, Henne, Acul du Nord, Caracol, Port Liberie, Mancenille, Monte Christi, and the Baie Ecossaise. 36 Geography of Hayti. CAPES. The coasts of the Island present the following promontories, namely : The former Cape Francois, Cape Cabron, Cape Samana, in the department of the North-East ; the capes Raphael, Engaiio, Espada, in the department of the South-East ; the Faux Cape, Capes Mongon, Jacmcl, Bainet, and St. Marc, in the depart- incut of the West; Cape Tiburon, Cap-a-Foux, and Cape Dalmarie, in the department of the South ; and Cap-a-Foux and Cape St. Nicolas in the department of the Artibonite. PENINSULAS. Hayti contains three : that of Samana, which is the most important ; that of Mole St. Nicolas, and that of Bara- deres. The first is 36 miles long from East to West, with a breadth which varies from 12 miles to 5. It is covered almost entirely with mountains, and is watered by more than twenty rivers. The second extends, in a straight line, a dis- tance of 19,200 feet by 7,800 in breadth. That of Bara- deres, called more frequently Bee die Ifarsouin, is 5 miles long South- West and North-East, by a breadth which varies from 2,250 to 9,000 feet. It abounds in fine wood, suitable for building, and, at the commencement of the year, fishermen here assemble for the great fisheries, which supply salted fish for home consumption, similar to that found on the shores of Gonave. The Bee die Marsouin is 18° 33' 40" latitude North, and 73° 35' 5" longitude West, at the eastern point. ADJACENT ISLANDS. Gonave. This Island, situated at the' entrance of the small gulf which fills up the space between Cape St. Nicolas and Cape Dalmarie, is 35 miles in length, and *■' in its greatest breadth. It is the largest of all the islands which border on Hayti and arc under its dependence. There is at the centre of the Gonave a lake of considerable size, and the springs found here appear to be infiltrations. The air is healthy. It contains wood fit for building purposes. Geography of HaytL 37 At the time of the murder of the court of the Queen Anacoana, many Indians took refuge here. They named it Guanabo or Guanavaux, which has been corrupted to Gonave. The eastern point of this Island is 18° 42' 30" North latitude, and 72° 53' ll" West longitude ; the western point, 18° 52' 40" latitude, and 73° 24' 11" longitude. La Tortue, [ Tortuga^] situated at a short distance from the Northern coast, opposite Port de Paix, is 22 miles long and 18,000 feet in average breadth. Its superficies is of 11,734 carreaux, (3 acres make a carreau.) This is the spot where the Buccaneers first settled in 1630 ; and in 1694, it was abandoned for the establishments which had been made on the main land. This Island also abounds in very fine timber ; here is found a kind of red crab, highly prized by amateurs, who do not appear to dread its effects, although the manchineel tree is known to grow at La Tortue. The centre of this Island is in latitude 20° 4'. . La Saone. This Island, situated to the windward of Santo Domingo, quite near the Bay of Higuey, is about 19 miles long from East to West, and 5 broad from North to South, and nearly 62 miles in circumference. It is very fertile ; the In- dians called it Adamanoy. A cacique lived here, who was sovereign of the Island, and independent of those who reigned in Hayti. The Spaniards had this cacique devoured by a dog ; this atrocious act brought on a war between them and the In- dians, in which the latter were all sacrificed. After the perpe- tration of these cruelties, sugarcane was grown there by the Africans, whom the Spaniards had introduced ; but from a remote period, it has not been inhabited. St. Catharine. This Island, so called after the name of its proprietor, (a lady,) is situated to the leeward of the Saone, opposite the Hiver Rornana. Its extent is small, but it is covered with abundance of game ; it was formerly cultivated. ■ La Beate is situated at a distance of about 18,000 feet to 4 38 Geography of Hayti. the S. W. of the point of Beate or Bahoruco. It is G miles in length from East to West, and scarcely 5 miles in average breadth. Formerly it contained plantations and cattle pens ; it abounds In game. Christopher Columbus landed here in 1504. A few years ago it was used as a place of refuge by the pirates who infested that Caribbean Sea. Its centre is in latitude 17° 51' and longitude 71° 40' 38". Alia- Vela, thus named by Columbus in 1494, is 5 miles S. S. W. of La B'cate. It is 90,000 feet in its greatest length, and as much in its broadest part. It contains excellent timber. L'Uc-a-Yaches. This Island is situated about 7 miles S. S. E. of the town of Cayes, and measures 10 miles in length, and rather more than 2 J in breadth. It derives its name, which it received from the Buccaneers, from the large number of cows found there. It has often been used by pirates as a harbor of refuge. The East Point is 18° 3' latitude, and 73° 29' 58" longitude, and the Northwesterly Point 18° 6 1 10" latitude, and 73° 47' 43" longitude. The Ca'imites. These are small islands, the largest of which covers a surface of about two square leagues j they are situated to the N. "W. of the Peninsula of Baraderes, opposite ( Jorail and Pestel. They yield very fine timber. Mono, weA Monica are two small islands, situated to the East of Saone, between Hayti and Porto Kico. Mona is fully two Leagues from East to "West, and rather more from North to South. It has two harbors capable of holding moderate-sized ves- Bels, and everything necessary to cultivation and cattle rearing. In 1512 it was given to Bartholomew Columbus by the king of Spain. It was then highly cultivated and yielded a large revenue to its proprietors. But it appears to have been de- sorted long ago. Monica is smaller than the preceding island. III. Slje Animal JuitJgkrm. HAYTI, when discovered, contained very few animals, and of these one species only remains, the agouti, a rare and inoffensive creature about the size of a rabbit. DOMESTIC ANIMALS. All of our domestic animals are abundant. The horses are small, but of great endurance ; resembling, in both of these respects, our Indian ponies. They are never shod. They are of the Andalusian breed, spirited, swift, require little care, and have a fine gait. Those belonging to the lower class are lean, shaggy, and never groomed. From $700 to $1,000, Haytian, is the average price for a good horse in the country ; but in the towns they ask much higher ; sometimes, but rarely, very fine horses sell at from $4,000 to $5,000. Emigrants should bring out their own harness, as the Haytians generally use ropes only, made out of the bark of the cocoa-tree and other vegetables substances. If the emigrant buys saddles, he should remember that they must be fit for ponies, — not large horses. Asses and mules, which are the chief carriers in the country, are very common and cheap. Asses, from $100 to $400, Haytian; mules from $500 to $2,000, Haytian. Hogs are lean, and active ; their flesh is said to be good ; it is never cured, but sometimes dried in the sun ; the race requires to be crossed with fatter breeds. Wild hogs abound in certain districts. Oxen, also, are small, and lean ; they are much used in the interior 40 The Animal Kingdom". for drawing ; their flesh, in consequence of poor feed and bad slaughtering, is often dry and tough, as compared with Ameri- can beef. Emigrants should bring yokes with them ; as the "habitans" of Hayti use ropes, tied to the horns or to a straight stick, — the usual method of the West Indies, — which requires ten oxen to do what one could easily perform. The cows give good milk ; but very little cheese and butter is made. These are imported from the States. Emigrants should stop this trade by bringing churns with them. Calves are rarely killed. It requires an order from the police officers to kill beef-cattle, Bheep, or hogs. This law prevents theft. Sheep flourish, and their flesh is delicious when properly slaughtered. They are never sheared, although their wool, when they are young, is of fine quality. In consequence of this negligence a lucrative commerce is lost ; the creature suffers ; and the fine wool gives place to a long, coarse hair, as soon as the animal attains its full growth. Goats prosper, and their milk is generally used, and their flesh eaten. At Furcy,* about 20 miles from Port-au- Prince, — where there are forests of pine trees and other woods and vegetables of the temperate zones, — a friend of the editor recently purchased a goat for a Spanish dollar. Dogs and cats would socn become extinct, if not kept up by the introduction of foreign breeds. Rats and mice are found ; hares and rab- bits are rare. It is probable that emigrants might profitably introduce various breeds of the different domestic animals with advantage to themselves and the country. BIRDS. All kinds of poultry known in the States are common in Hayti ; the flesh of the turkey is particularly delicious. As it costs nothing in the country to keep poultry, and as they nU, only do not injure any of the staples, but destroy the mis- chievous cockroach and other obnoxious insects, it would be • At thto place the Governmenl have established a model farm. The ther mmni'tor there raneee I bus, 58° ( Fahrenheit) at early morning; 7S° noon ; 61° in Ulfl evening i" the hot mm, tin- <>t July and AugU6t. The Animal Kingdom. 41 well for the emigrant to establish a poultry yard at once. Birds are numerous, but singers are rare. Among the more common of the feathered creation in Hayti, are green parrots, parroquets, nightingales, mocking-birds, humming-birds, tropic-birds ; musi- cians, swallows, turtle doves, woodpeckers, pelicans, king- fishers, flamingoes, cardinals, partridges, wild geese, wild pigeons, wild ducks, ortolans, boobies, snipes, man-of-war birds, crab-eaters, bullfinches, aigrets, gris-gris, white owls, brown owls, collier, and hawks. FISHES. Fish abound in the rivers and lakes and along the coasts of Hayti, There is a great variety of excellent fish for con- sumption. Sharks frequent the harbors. Among the more common fish are mullets, gray and red sardans, sardines, dol- phins, carps, bonitoes, pikes, doradoes, gurnets, hammer-heads, garfish, porpoises, brills, eels, bull-heads, sea-cows, tunny-fish, sword-fish, flying-fish, sun-fish, caranque, vivanneau, becune, cayeux, barbarin, tasard, souffleur, pisquet, sea-anemones. Common crabs, Moorish crabs, gallo-crabs, lobsters, and shrimps are plentiful. Oysters are found in great numbers along the coasts, clinging to the mango bushes, that grow in large groves in every part of the sea-shore. They are of small size, and are said to be of good flavor. There are various varieties of shell-fish, including conches, periwinkles, pearl-oysters, bur- gan, Iambi, sea-urchins, murex, helmet-shell, vis, ducal, music, soudon, and palourde. There are majiy reefs where coral of exquisite beauty may be gathered, as also polypi and sponges. INSECTS. Insects are plentiful in all tropical climates, and Hayti forms no exception to the rule. We can notice a very few only. Among the poisonous insects are the scorpion, centipedes, and three kind of spiders. The bite of none of them is mortal, or even dangerous, if the ordinary remedy is taken in due time. The bite of these insects causes inflammation ; the remedy is 4* 4.2 The Animal Kingdom. alkali, in fluid form, applied to the wound, and five drops dis- solved in water to be drunk. Wild bees are numerous, and their wax and honey are sometimes exported. Before using the honey, however, the emigrants should first learn from the natives how to distinguish that which is made from the poisonous plants. There is a great variety of butterflies. The fireflies are ex- ceedingly brilliant. Cockroaches, ants, caterpillars, grass- hoppers, mosquitoes, wasps, locusts, moths, sand-flies, fleas, bugs, lice, weevils, cinques, and ticks, and other members of the same family, will also be found in every part of the Island. Mosquitoes are as noisy, but not so annoying as their American compatriots. Cockroaches and ants are the greatest pests to housekeepers ; they cat clothing and books with an extraordinary gluttony. REPTILES. Of the reptiles, the lizard is the most common ; there is every variety of them, but all of them are innoxious. Alligators and caymans are occasionally seen in the rivers. Frogs and toads arc numerous. Turtles are counted by the million. The serpent family is rarely met with ; there are but very few snakes, and they are not venomous. The most beautiful of the native snakes is the magdalena. IV. ®t)e tkgeictbk Kingdom, AN inhabitant of the temperate zones can hardly conceive how rich Hayti is in every species of vegetable wealth. She has every tree and fruit and flower of the tropics in her plains ; and there is nothing that grows in the States or in Canada, that cannot be successfully cultivated on her high- lands. Land alike of the pine and the palm, of the bread-fruit and the strawberry, of the gigantic cactus and the lowly violet, for richness of verdure and variety of vegetable products, Hayti is not excelled — perhaps not equalled — by any other country in the world. Folio volumes have been written on her flora ; but the briefest notes must suffice us here. STAPLES. Cotton grows with extraordinary facility, requiring no cul- ture whatever. It is of a fine and silky quality. It does not grow on bushes, but trees, which produce two crops an- nually and last several years. Its culture might be made exceedingly profitable, as no country is better adapted for its growth. ' Coffee flourishes on the highlands. The principal crop is gathered in December and January ; but in May there is a second crop called "grapillage." If properly cultivated, — one plant for every ten feet, or 1,225 bushes percarreau, — reck- oning four pounds from each tree annually, (the minimum result,) every carreau would thus produce 4,900 pounds of 44 The Vegetable Kingdom. coffee. This crop, sold at tlic annual average rate of 125 gourdes per 100 lbs. , would produce a revenue of 6,125 gourdes, -til per annum. As the Republic will give five carreaux of land to each family of emigrants, the revenue thus placed within the reach of every industrious man, of African descent, after a residence of two or three years, may easily he estimated by them. Sugarcane is a native of the plains, where the traveller often sees, with astonislunent, gigantic specimens of it, varying from 18 to 12-1 feet in height. Mr. Devinieux, a planter of Port- au-Prince, three years ago, exhibited a cane five inches in diameter. Once planted, this staple requires no further care, excepting to be cut down when it reaches maturity. As soon as cut, it begins to sprout again ; and for at least ten years no replanting is necessary. A carreau of land, planted with cane, will produce, on an average, 9,000 lbs. of raw sugar. Cocoa grows in the valleys, on trees, and requires little at- tention. It is a profitable and important article of export. Rice, of good quality, is cultivated with success, but hitherto on a limited scale. Tobacco, with similar advantages of production, is treated with a similar neglect. Hayti, in times past, has produced tobacco equal in quality to that of Cuba ; and it is to be hoped that she will soon agiiin enter into competition with her slave- lioldinor neighbor in this culture. Indian corn grows everywhere, and brings good prices in the markets. Emigrants would do well in introducing the seeds of the finest varieties. Ginger is produced in great abundanco, and might be made an important export. Indigo grows everywhere spontaneously, and was largely ex- ported in the time of the French. It gives two crops a year. No produce, for an equal volume, returns so great a profit. Without intrenching on the other staples, the Republic could furnish two millions of dollars' worth of indigo per annum. The Vegetable Kingdom. 45 Manioc is exceeding productive ; and, rightly cultivated, would yield an immense revenue. It is easily raised, even on the mountains, but it nourishes best on the plains. Cassava- bread is manufactured from its root ; but a more lucrative use of it would be to make starch. The Palmi-Christi, (from the berries of which castor-oil is drawn,) pepper and pimentum, need rather more care to gather than to plant ; for immense quantities are annually lost for the want of hands to collect their products. Oranges, citrons, mangoes, bananas, plantains, pineapples, and other fruits must suffer the same fate, until a line of steam- ships is started between the Republic and the United States, — a measure which is in contemplation by the Government of Ilayti. Arrowroot could be cultivated with great profit and success ; but at present it is almost entirely neglected. VEGETABLES AND FRUITS FOR HOME CONSUMPTION. We have said that everything that grows in the States and the Canadas can be raised in Hayti ; but not necessarily in every part of it. Clover, cabbages, and potatoes, for example, do not flourish in the plains, although they are abundantly productive in the highlands. The plains bear the fruits and trees of the tropics ; while the mountains yield coffee and all the productions of the temperate zones. Among the vegetables and fruits that are used for home consumption only, are plantains, bananas, cocoa- nuts, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, yams, artichokes, egg-plants, mangoes, oranges, asparagus, bread-fruit, vegetable-butter, (laurus persea, in Creole, avocate,) vegetable-soap, (sapin- dus sapponaria,) apples, pineapples, strawberries, blackberries, mulberries, peaches, grapes, carrots, cabbages, radishes, pump- kins, beets, onions, celery, mint, parsley, and turnips. FRUITS FOR PRESERVES, AND FLOWERS FOR PERFUMES. Sugar refineries once more reestablished, a large trade would w necessarily arise in preserved fruits for exportation. The high 46 The Vegetable Kingdom. price paid for white sugar at present prevents this branch of commerce from flourishing. Oranges, lemons, figs, guavas, apricots of the Antilles, (class xiii. Pulyandrie monogymie, Lin.,) pineapples of every variety, pomegranates, shaddocks, mangoes, rose-apples, custard-apples, cachimants, cai'mites, ( Ohry8ophyUum caimit, Lin.,) papaws, sapodillas, dates, avocates, and the other luscious fruits of the tropics, — all of which are to be found in Hayti, — would furnish unfailing and abundant sources of wealth in this department of industry. Another lucrative commerce, awaiting development, is that of extracting perfumes from flowers. Thousands of frangy- panni, jasmines, vervaines, — all the innumerable flowers of the tropics, — now literally waste their sweet perfumes on the desert air, for the want of a proper knowledge of the methods of saving them. There are no fine essences and perfumes sold in the civilized world that could not be manufactured in Hayti. MEDICAL PLANTS. It is asserted by scientific men, that the flora of Hayti — only partly explored by Tussac, Descourtilz, and others — contains still many secrets which, if known, would render invaluable aid to the medical art. For, medicinal plants abound every- where ; and everything that is brought, for pharmaceutic pur- poses, from Africa and South America, is to be found on this Island. Our space permits only a verbal enumeration of some of the principal medicinal plants. There are : Aloes, balsam copaiva, wild-cinnamon tree, tannin, mint, sage, wild sage, quinquina, all the kinds of acacias, ricinoides, cascarillas, vanilla, myrth, absinth, valeriane, melisse, rosemary, camphor-tree, cloves, nutmegs, shrub trefoil, quassias, jesuits- powder, gentian centaury, menyanthes, indian arbro-boot, wood- sorrel, swallow apple, false sycamore, purstane, Jerusalem oak, fern-polypody, cactus grandiflorus, divaricatus, flagelliforinis, laurel-tree, cinomorium, coccineum, ipecacuanha, euphorbia myr- titulia, ticassia, tamarin royoc, rhubarb, senna, hop-bryony, jalap, marchantia chenopoda, dodder, negro conhaye, costus, indian cane, The Vegetable Kingdom. 47 long-rooted birth wort, cuete, winter-cherry, yellow-iris, passion- flower,wall-peHitory, cookia-wampi, sapindus saponaria, sesamum orientale, jujube-tree, sebesten, gerard, pittes, squil, venus-hair, peresky lautana camara, black nightshade, vitis labrusca, inga, gomphrcena globosa, euphoria punicea, monbin, couroupita guya- nensis, spanish-plum, begonia litida, theophrasta americana minat., laurus camphora, capparis cynophallophora, misseltoe, locust-tree, peruvian balsam-tree, lime-tree, croton corylifolium, monarda coccinea, passiflora foetida, pitton, solanum quitoense, argemona mexicana, purslane, hibiscus trilobus, semson, loran- thus americanus, vervain, lecythis grandiflora, pharus lappula- ceus sida americana, isora, elais guineensis, cedrela odorata, boar-tree, fagara guianensis, spetted navel estail, cactus fimbri- atus, euphorbium, areca, piper aromaticum, piper discolor, uvaria arom. zeylanica, cubebs-shrub, mustard, fustic-wood, myristica sebifera, urtica baccifera, crotalaria sagittalis, stoechas amer. lato serratogne folio, iron wood, epidendrum obtusifol., epidendrum candatum, cordia collococca, cassia alata, vateirca guian., maple-leaved liquidamber, ballota odorata, sago-tree, palma humilis coccifera latifolia mayor, holly, india-rubber tree, juglans, fraxinifolia, ferolia variegata, smilax salsaparilla, guy- acum, Chinese smilax, sassafras-tree, lobea syphilitica, ovieda spinosa, toluifera balsamum, copaiba-tree offic, croton origani- fol., cissus sisyoides, heliotropium indicum, hemp agrimony, aspalatus ebenus, pistia stratiotes fol. obcord., cinchona nitida, caryota urens, cactus monoliformis, cactus nobilis, cactus coch- enillefer, cactus triangul., bread-nuts, artocarpus incisa, indian arrowroot, theyreat bean, cinnamon-tree, panax quiquefol., tubera Candida, henbane, white water-lily, laurus persea, anagy- ris, welted frajeles, common feverfew, hypoxis scorzonera, broad-leaved-egyptian privet, nymphaea lotus, nelumbo indica, camomile. POISONOUS PLANTS. All tropical countries produce poisonous plants; but as they are easily recognized they seldom injure. Emigrants should 48 The Vegetable Kingdom. eat no fruits until they know what they are. In Hayti, there arc three kinds of fruits, all poisonous, of the mancinella-tree, which somewhat rescinhle the citron, and thereby deceive chil- dren. But, as the tree is always destroyed as soon as it is dis- covered, it is extremely rare. The chief poisonous plants of Hayti are : — Poisoned hog-meat, (aristolochia arborescens,) snake-nut, gouare, ccstrum nocturnurn, tree arum, (three different kinds.) trefoil-leaved dragon, cissus caustica, dolichos obtusifolius, doli- chos minimus, thorn-apple, deadly nightshade, goats-rue, amaryllis punicea, black nightshade, milky dogsbane, and cissampclos. WOODS. Comparatively — considering its extent and fertility — un- peopled, Hayti has vast tracts of forest lands, many of which have never been exploited for sixty years, and abound there- fore in every variety of wood for building, cabinet-making, ship- architecture, dyeing, and tanning. The chief woods exploited arc mahogany and logwood ; and these, too, are taken from the most easily accessible places only, and without any aid from the appliances of modern art. The coasts, the banks of the Arti- bonite and other rivers furnish all the woods at present exported, but the cxhaustlcss forests elsewhere, which it would not be difficult to work, remain still in their primitive condition. For house-building the Island furnishes magnificent pines, and a species of an oak (Bignonia guercus) as firm as that of Eu- rope, and impervious to worms. For frame and joint work, anacardium occidentale furnishes a good white wood ; and for pile-work, there is the acacia mimom. tenuifolia, which lasts for a century. For ship-building, the oak, iron-woods, auzuba fructu gmtinosa and the acomas, (which furnii^i masts 60 feet long and Is inches in diameter,) as well as the pines, already men- tioned, and other hard woods. For cabinet-making, mahogany of every variety, (the best in all the world,) ebony, lancewood, ferolia variegato, red and yellow satinwood, abound and are The Vegetable Kingdom. 49 capable of receiving a high polish; as also, are the zanthoxylum caribasum, which is likewise a dye-wood, the erithalis fraticosa, which preserves its fine odor, orange-wood, rose-wood, guyacuni, laurus, sassafras, and different kinds of the walnut. Among the dye-woods are, logwood, in quantities inexhaustible, fustic, and satin-wood, (yellow;) Brazilwood, (carmine;) myrthus cotenifolia, (yellow and brown;) laurus sassafras, (yellow;) colocoba uvifera, (red ;) Braziliastrum americanum, (brownish red;) malphigia urens, (red and black;) moras tinctoria, (yellow ;) and the roots of laurus jasmini folio, a sort of iron- wood, which give a violet dye. There are hundreds of others which it is impossible to enumerate. For tanning purposes there are many trees whose bark is invaluable, — such as the guava, corossol, anona squamosa, cupana americana, malphigia specata, and innumerable hosts of others. For paper manu- facturing, now that there is so great a demand for materials, Hayti might export an inexhaustible supply of aloes, perfoliata, and other plants which serve to make good common paper. Of resinous woods there is a great variety. V. SIjc mineral Kingdom. * THE existence of immense mineral riches in the Island of Ilayti is too well substantiated to require any argument to prove it. Its possessions of metallic ores were the first that stimulated European cupidity soon after the discovery of the Western World. Several of these mines, in the Eastern sec- tion of the Island, have been imperfectly worked in times past, but the age was not then sufficiently advanced in scientific knowledge, to have been acquainted with tlic means and appli- ances necessary for their successful exploration. In Ilayti, proper, the mineral wealth of the country has been yet still more neglected. Then exploration has hitherto been discounte- nanced. Until very recently, these mineral resources, from political motives, were little referred to ; or it was imagined by all the governments that have preceded the present one, that by allowing their exploration, it would tend to prostrate and annul the agricultural spirit and industry of the people. We have no opinion to offer for or against the soundness of this idea ; we only affirm that this is not the principle of the present adminis- tration of Ilayti, which invites laborers of the African race to come over and participate in the exploration and the riches to be obtained from these mines, which henceforth are no longer closed. ♦Tin's chapter is contributed by Dr. Smith, of Tort-an-Trince. It is not a translation. The Mineral Kingdom. 51 Few countries are more highly favored in the variety and value of metallic ores, and none can boast of so general or natural distribution of them, as Hayti. On the present occa- sion, little more is required than a summary note of certain known localities in these parts of the country. In the North St. Michel, the parishes of Lemonade, Dondon, Plaisance, and Port de Paix, are mineral districts; the neighborhood of Jacmel ; the Mirebalais, Lascahobas, and Banica, in the West and East Northeast, are anions; the most interesting mineral sections of the Republic. The South has also its portion of this species of natural wealth. Iron is everywhere profusely distributed under the form of the Peroxide, — hoematite, the carburet, pyrites, or the sulphuret. Detached pieces of mag- netic iron are often met with. The country abounding every- where in wood, smelting establishments and founderies would quickly realize the hopes of the most sanguine and ambitious. Extensive mines of coal (Lignite) are about being utilized by the Government ; those already known are located, one at a short distance from the town of Aux Gayes, at " Camp-Perin," and the other, in the Northeastern section of the Republic, in the vicinity of the Artibonite River. There are other natural depots of this invaluable mineral, situated in other parts, but the above ones, in extent, appear to be inexhaustible, and are still more valuable from the facility of transport offered by their location. Gold quartz and copper, antimony and silver, the jasper and marble, talc, jet, and the agate, are among the providential dotations that are most abundantly r and generally diffused in and about the mountain ranges of Hayti. Copper is seen under different forms and in different places. The most com- mon are the blue and green pyrites, mixed often with the sul- phuret of iron, at other times separate. The red, blue, and green oxyd, or malachite, under the blowpipe will yield from 35 to 45 per cent, of copper, but these are not the richest in Hayti. Salines are numerous. Rock, or gem salt, is a 52 The Mineral Kingdom. natural production. Sulphur and saltpetre arc to he procured hy a little manipulation and industry, and, in fact, to terminate, it may be said, without fear of contradiction, that Hayti, up to this time, has been known only as an agricultural State, and remains yet to be known in reference to its great and varied mineral advantages. W. G. Smith. Soil WS. COURTNEY, Esq., in a recent volume on "The • Gold Fields of St. Domingo," written with the object of inducing a white emigration to the Dominican Republic, — a purpose which it is impossible to accomplish peacefully, — -describes accurately the nature of the soil of the Eastern part ; and, as what he says of it applies equally to Hayti, I herewith transcribe and subjoin it : " The soil of the Island of St. Domingo is constituted of the debris of the mountains and hills and the decayed vegetation of past ages. When we reflect that these prodigious mountains differ remarkably and essentially in their geological constituents, and that the contrast is truly striking, sometimes between mountains and even hills in jux- taposition, it will appear how endless would be the task of speaking definitely and particularly of all the various kinds of soil that are to be found on the Island. The soil of the valleys, slopes, and plains, partaking of the characteristics of the hills and mountains on, beneath, beside, and betwixt which they are found, varies as they vary. In one place we find a rich vege- table mould ; in another, a mixture of this mould with pebbles and sand ; in another, a light, loose, spongy loam ; in another, a loose marl ; in another, a clayey marl ; in another, a soil formed of dissolved or pulverized coral and shells ; and in another, of pure clay or sand. It differs, also, in color and depth as much as it differs in constitution and quality. Sometimes it is yellow, 5* 54 Soil. though Btill retaining its productive qualities; .sometimes it is red, sometimes of a bluish metimes of a dark, muddy, generally it is black, and its depth varies from 1 In the valleys and slopes, in and on the mountains, and on the Bavannahs and plains, it is generally a rii h, I Lack Loam, varying in depth from three to ten In the lowlands, on some of the coasts, it is a salt meadow or quagmire, without any solid bottom, except where the roots of the mangrove ramify and interlace so as to retain the vege- table portion of it carried there by the streams, while further back it is formed into a solid earth, bearing abundance of marine-figs, flags, sea-rushes, and tall grass. The deepest and richesl Boil is found in the valleys, at and near the mouths of the principal rivers, and is made up of the alluvial deposits brought down by these streams. So variable are the nature and characteristics of the soil, that it often radically changes in passing from one side of a valley to another, or crossing a stream, and sometimes differs essentially on the opposite banks of the rivers ; and often, in passing along the road, it will be observed to change in the course of a few rods, or even feet. In the larger valleys and plains, especially some distance from the mountains, it is more uniform ; and more uniform on the South side of the Island than in the interior and on the North side. .... On some of the mountains and their elevated slopes the soil is good, and the grass and other similar undergrowth grow dense and rank to their very tops, while the elevated portions of sustain < nly broken and ragged forests of pitch pine, in- persed with palm and many hard and durable woods. Others of these ains are again bald and sterile on their too- ound their summits, peering up through the green and je below like naked cones. An analysis of the • is the fad that it is highly impreg- I with the minerals peculiar to the mountains, which prob- ably accounts lor its varii ty in color in different localities. It has been L< and to contain iron, sulphur, copper, antimony, Soil. ss mercury, gold, cobalt, manganese, salt, and other minerals in various combinations and conditions at different points. The gold is of course found pure and diffused in the soil almost all over the Island, in some places being only very slightly trace- able, and in others palpably so. In regard to the productive- ness of the soil, suffice it to say that, notwithstanding its diversity and variety, it is prolific beyond anything found in the Antilles, and not excelled by that of the Italian peninsula or Sicily, to which it bears a strong resemblance. The sugar- cane grows the year round, and so fast and thick, that by the time the laborer has cut over and exhausted a ten-acre field, it is ready again to cut where he began. The corn, which is cul- tivated now by simply making a hole in the ground and drop- ping in the seed, with no further care or labor, grows to the height of from eight to fifteen feet, bearing three to five ears to the stalk. The tobacco, which is cultivated with as little scien- tific skill and care, spreads out the broadest and sappiest leaves found anywhere in the Antilles. Other crops indigenous to the climate grow with equal rapidity and strength. It is said that in some districts the melon, the pumpkin, and the squash ripen in six weeks from the seed. [At Port-au-Prince radishes ripen in three weeks from the time of planting the seed. J. K.] . . . Such a thing as a fertilize?', an article of such extended traffic and so necessary to the agriculturist here, is not known nor thought of there, nor will it, I apprehend, ever be required. The fertility and strength of the soil, containing all the ele- mentary constituents required to produce and mature the various vegetable growths, could not be exhausted even without any return to it for generations. Besides, the mountains themselves are the great fertilizers of St. Domingo, and will remain so until they are devoured by the tooth of time and sink away in distant ages. The debris of these mountains, together with the decaying vegetation on their sides and tops, brought down by frequent rains, supply the soil in the valleys, plains, and savannahs, with abundant and incessant recruits. Its fecundity is a marvel to the husbandman of these latitudes VII. Climate, Seasons, anir ®emperature. FROM the geographical position of Hayti, and its proximity to Cuba and Jamaica, a non-resident might infer that the climate and atmospheric range of temperature which prevail in either one of the Antilles were common to all, and strictly alike and similar in reference to this Island. This is not exactly the case. Its peculiar situation in re- spect to the other Antilles and to the influence of the trade winds, and many other natural circumstances besides- operating propitiously, have given to Hayti much advantage in these respects over her sister isles of the same group. We afhrm, from experience, that the climate of Hayti is more healthful, that the range of temperature is less ardent, than in the neigh- boring islands ; that the reasons as to why this should be so appear too various, too multiplied, to admit our specifying any one in particular. The fact, however, cannot be contested ; so tljat, whether from the altitude of its several chains of moun- tains, the one out-topping the other, and on the lofty heads of which the surcharged clouds are condensed or dissolved into rain ; the extent and fertility of its plains and valleys, every- where most liberally intersected by rivers, streams, mountain torrents s< -tiled into placid rills, which, under the solar influence, undergo constan! evaporation, that refreshes and tempers the air; whether these combined, together with its topography, its physi- cal configuration, and its ever-green, exuberant forests, which Climate, Seasons, and Temperature. 57 are everywhere spread out, and which reach up to the very tops of the mountains, the foliaceous undulations of which exercise perpetually a cooling influence on the surrounding torrid atmos- phere ; whether there he other causes or reasons beside these, we do not assert ; but we think it rational to conclude that all these circumstances, operating incessantly, are the real agencies that modify and soften the climate of Hayti., and have rendered its temperature milder, less sultry, and more salubrious than it is found to be in Cuba or Jamaica during parallel seasons. A country blessed with all these natural advantages must enjoy also great variety of climate and varied degrees of tem- perature, as regards a residence in the plains and a more or less proximity to the seaboard, or a graduated approach to the more elevated parts, upwards, towards the higher mountain range. Its capacity to produce every kind of vegetable substance that ;an contribute to the comfort of its inhabitants and to the pros- perity of the state, must be equal to the fecundity and diversity of its soil. Hayti, rich in all the variety of tropical productions, is well adapted, in its elevated situations, to the growth of most all those grains and plants that thrive in other latitudes and cooler regions. The peach, the apple, strawberries, the raspberry, the cauliflower, potatoes, the carrot, the beetrave, the broccoli, oarsnip, and the asparagus, and other like legume and esculents, have all been long ago naturalized in this country, and they Nourish as vigorously as in Europe or America. Besides the multitude of floral families, species, and then' varieties common to the tropics, the rose, the violet, the pink, (V millet,) geraniums, diversify and decorate our alpine valleys, which are likewise carpeted spontaneously with the clover and the daisy, while the oak, the common fir, and exalted pine-tree, (phuis sylvestris,) are multiplied into forests whose extent are estimated by the leagues of country they cover, and which are 58 Climate, Seasons, and Temperature. only within a few leagues' distance from several points on the seacoast. Four seasons are distinctly sketched, but three only annually can he said to be well marked, persistent, and immutable in these parts, that is to say, the Western, the Northern, and the Southern Departments or sections of the Island, which all who immigrate arc destined to inhabit. These comprehend two wet or rainy seasons and one dry season, which, in relation to each Department and particular localities, vary as to the time when they commence, but occur most always about the period of the equinoxes and solstices. In the Western Department, Port-au-Prince, the scat of government, is located. There, the rainy season is in February, March, and April. During these months more or less rain falls irregularly through the day. The latter part of May, June, and July, to about the middle of August, with certain rare exceptions, comprehends the dry sea- son, and is the hottest part of the year. The rainy period returns towards the end of August, and continues through September to about the middle of October, and is then suc- ceeded by what is called by the European resident, the cool, delicious season. Thermometer, hottest season, # from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m., in the shade, maximum, 98° Fahrenheit; same time, in the sun, 120° to 121°. Out of town, in the plains, several degrees lower. At Grand-fond, situated E. S. E., distant but three or four hours' ride from the capital, in July, the thermometer at G a. if. will mark 59° to 60°, and from 12 m. to 2 p. m., 72° to 78° maximum. From the end of October during the rest of the year, and up to the following month of April, the thermo- metrical range, in the shade, from 10 a. m. to 3 p. m., is 85° to 90° maximum; in the sun, 110° to 115° Fahrenheit. The Northern Department, with Cape Ilaytian as its prin- cipal (own, has two seasons, strictly speaking. December, January, March, and April, are rainy months. What is de- nominated the dry season commences in May and is prolonged Climate, Seasons, and Temperature. 59 through August aud September. The highest range of tem- perature is in August, when the North wind is not dominant. Thermometer, in the shade, from 11 a.m. to 2 p. m., 85° to 92°. In the plains it is never so high as in the town at the same period of the year. On the more elevated parts, as in Lemonade, etc., for example, the thermometrical range is seldom over 72° to 85° maximum. The Southern Department, principal town Aux-Cajes, is usually under the influence of rains during the months of May, June, and July. August and September mark the dry season in that section of the island. From November to March the air is cool and salubrious at Aux-Cayes, and still more so in the plains and rural districts, where the temperature is always several degrees less than it is in situations near the seacoast. The thermometrical range is referred to that of Port-au-Prince and the West. The reader of this imperfect exposition of the climate, sea- sons, and temperature of Hayti will be convinced at once of the causes of the extraordinary fertility of its soil, and will perceive the advantages which must result from industry and agricul- tural enterprise properly conducted in such a country. W. G-. Smith, of Port-au-Prince. mil §mA THE REPUBLIC AND EMIGRATION OFFICIAL PAET. I. CSMtorial 3ntroirttrtion. INSTRUCTED by the Government to publish in full all its laws and other documents in relation to emigration, I here- with subjoin them without abridgment ; although, necessarily, there are occasional repetitions of facts and of guarantees in them, made hi reply to similar questions, or in reviewing the action that has been taken with a view of carrying out the grand and generous project of the Chief of the Republic and his enlightened counsellors, — that of making Hayti to the black race what England is and has been to the proscribed and persecuted classes of Europe, a safe place of refuge, not only, but a free and a powerful fatherland. I prefix a translation of the Constitution of 1846, which Soulouque abolished, but the Republic revived, with certain Modifications rendered necessary by the altered circumstances of the times. The Modifications, also, are appended. It will repay a careful study to the general reader ; to the emigrant it will be invaluable for reference. The documents are arranged in the order of their dates, and it will be observed that the terms become more liberal as these advance. One word of explanation is rendered necessary in view of the editor's appointment as the General Agent of Emigration in America, and the passage of the Homestead Bill in Hayti. Xo emigrants will be entitled to a free passage, or have 64 Editorial Introduction. the right of drawing ^15.00 from the treasury on their arri- val in the Island, unless furnished with the certificate of the Bureau of Boston. Those, also, who accept a free farm, ■will be expected to pay their passages ; but if unable, for the moment, to do so, the necessary means will bo provided for them, and abundant time be allowed them, after their arrival in the Island, to refund the advance. In order to prevent an emigration to Hayti of persons who would leave this country for the country's good, it will also be demanded from applicants for a homestead, that, if from the Northern States or the Canadas, they shall produce the certificate of the Bureau of Boston. Of course, this rule will not be enforced in the case of emigrants from that barbarous and blood-stained section of the Union where black men arc enslaved, and white men who sympathize with them so often suffer death at the hands of the mob, — even, as recently in Texas, the fearful torture of the stake. It is not the design of the Bureau of Boston to send emi- grants, except hi peculiar cases, by transient vessels ; but to charter ships expressly adapted for the purpose of conveying them comfortably and speedily. In these vessels, those who desire to pay their own expenses will be accommodated at the lowest rates, both as regards board and passage money ; while, the others will receive equal consideration and attention. All emigrants, unless special provision be made for large companies, will sail from the port of Boston. Constitution of §agtt.* THE Haytian people proclaims, in presence of the Supreme . Being, the present Constitution of the Republic of Hayti, in order to consecrate for ever its rights, its civil and political guarantees, its sovereignty, and its national independence. TITLE I. OE THE TERRITORY OE THE REPUBLIC OF HAYTI. Article 1. The Island of Hayti and the adjacent Islands which are dependent thereon, form the territory of the Re- public. 2. The Territory of the Republic is divided into depart- ments. Their limits will be established by law. 3. Each department is subdivided into arrondissements, each arrondissement into communes. The number and boundaries of these subdivisions shall also be defined by law. 4. The Republic of Hayti is one and indivisible, essentially free, sovereign, and independent. Its Territory is inviolable, and cannot be alienated hj any treaty. * Commonly called the Constitution of 1846, or the Constitution of Eiche. 6* 66 Constitution of Hayti. TITLE II. OF THE HAYTIANS AND TIIEIR RIGHTS. SECTION I. Of the Ilaytians. 5. Arc Ilaytians, all individuals born in Hayti and descended from Africans and Indians, and all those born in foreign coun- tries of Haytian parents. Arc also Ilaytians, all those who, up to the present time, have been recognized as such. 6. All Africans or Indians and their descendants, are able to become Ilaytians. The law settles the formalities of naturalization. 7. No white man, whatever be his nationality, shall be per- mitted to land on the Haytian territory, with the title of master or proprietor, nor shall he be able, in future, to acquire there either real estate or the rights of a Haytian. SECTION II. Of Civil and Political Rights. 8. No slave can be held on the Territory of the Republic ; slavery is forever abolished. 9. All debts contracted through traffic in men, are annulled forever. 10. The right of asylum is sacred and inviolable in the Re- public, except in the exceptional cases foreseen by law. 11. The union of civil with political rights constitutes the quality of citizen. The exercise of civil rights is independent of the exercise of political. 1 -. The exercise of civil rights is regulated by law. 13. Every citizen, above «the age of 21 years, exercises political rights, if he has, besides, the other necessary con- ditions determined by the Constitution. Constitution of Hayti. 67 Nevertheless, naturalized Haytians are not admitted to this exercise, till after one year's residence in the Republic. 14. The exercise of political rights is forfeited ; (1.) By naturalization in a foreign country; (2.) By forsaking the country in a moment of imminent danger; (3.) By accepting, without authorization, public functions or pensions conferred by a foreign government ; ^ (4.) By serving, without authorization, either hi the army or the navy of a foreign power ; (5.) By all settlement made in a foreign country without intention of returning. Commercial establishments can never be considered as having been made without intention of returning. (6.) By peremptory and final condemnation to perpetual punishment, at the same time both corporal and ignominious. 15. The exercise of political rights is suspended. (1.) By the condition of hired servants ; (2.) By the condition of simple or fraudulent bankrupt ; (3.) By the condition of judicial interdict, of accusation, or of contumacy ; (4.) In consequence of a judicial sentence, carrying with it the suspension of civil rights ; (5.) In consequence of a judgment, decreed for a refusal to serve in the National Guard. The suspension ceases with the causes which occasioned it. 16. The exercise of political rights can only be forfeited or suspended, in the cases mentioned in the preceding articles. 17. The law regulates the cases in which political rights may be recovered, also the means to be made use of and the condi- tions to be fulfilled to attain this object. SECTIQ^T III. Of Public Bights. 18. All Haytians are equal before the law. 68 Constitution of Hayti. They arc all equally eligible to the civil and military ser- vices. 19. There exist in the State no distinction of orders, no dis- tinction of birth, no hereditary powers. 20. Individual liberty is guaranteed. No one can be arrested or detained, except in the cases determined by law, and according to the manner by it established. 21. In order to the execution of an act, which decrees the arrest of any person, it must, 1st, set forth formally the motive of the arrest, and the law in execution of which it is decreed ; 2d, emanate from a functionaiy to whom the law has formally given this power ; 3d, be notified to the person arrested, and a copy left him. All arrests that the law has not prescribed, or made without the required forms, all violence or rigor employed in the execu- tion of a mandate, are arbitrary acts which every one has a right to resist. 22. No one can be forced to appear before any other judges than those that the Constitution or the law assigns him. 23. The house of every person, resident on Haytian Terri- tory, is an inviolable asylum. No domiciliary visit, no seizure of papers can take place, ex- cept by virtue of the law and in the forms prescribed. 24. No law can have a retroactive effect. 25. No punishment can be instituted except by law, nor im- posed, except in the cases determined by law. 26. The Constitution guarantees the inviolability of property. 27. The Constitution also guarantees the alienation of the national domains, as also the grants of land made by the Government, either as a national gratuity or otherwise. 28. No one can be deprived of his property, except on account of public utility, in the cases and manner established by law, and in consideration of'a just and previous indemnity. li'.». The punishment of confiscation cannot be established. 30. Every citizen owes his services to the country for the Constitution of Hayti. 69 maintenance of liberty, equality, and property, whenever the laws summon him to defend them. 31. The punishment of death shall be confined to certain causes which the law shall determine. 32. Every man has the right of expressing his opinions on every subject ; he may write, print, and publish his thoughts. No control before publication can be exercised upon any writing whatever. The abuse of this right is defined and repressed by law, without, however, affecting the liberty of the press. 33. All kinds of worship are equally free. Every one has the right of professing his religion and of exercising freely his worship, provided he does not disturb the public order. 34. The establishment of a church or chapel, and the public exercise of worship, may be regulated by law. 35. The ministers of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion, professed by the majority of Haytians, will receive a stipend fixed by law, They shall be specially protected. Government determ in es the territorial extent of the parishes to which they minister. 36. Instruction is free, and schools will gradually be estab- lished to meet the wants of the people. 37. Trial by jury is established in all criminal matters. From its decision there is no appeal. 38. The Haytians have the right of association ; this right cannot be submitted to any precautionary measure ; the right belonging to the public authorities, of watching and prosecuting any association which may propose ends contrary to public order, is nevertheless maintained. 39. The right of petition is exercised personally, by one or several individuals, never in the name of a body. Petitions can be addressed either to the executive or to either of the two legislative chambers. 40. The secrecy of letters is inviolable. 70 Constitution of Hayti. The law determines who are the agents responsible for the violation of the secrecy of letters confided to the post. 41. The use of languages used in llayti, is optional ; it can be regulated only bylaw, and only for the acts of public authority, and for judicial matters. 42. Public debts contracted either at home or abroad, are guaranteed. The Constitution places them under the safeguard and loyalty of the nation. TITLE III. OF SOVEREIGNTY AND THE EXERCISE OF THE POWERS DERIVED THEREFROM. 43. National sovereignty resides in the total number of the citizens. 44. The exercise of this sovereignty is delegated to three powers. Those three powers are : the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. 45. Each power is independent of the other two in its attributes, which it exercises separately. None of them can delegate its authority or overstep the boundaries assigned to it. I !ach of the three powers is responsible for its own acts. 46. The legislative authority is exercised collectively by the chief of the executive and by two representative chambers, the chamber of deputies and the senate. 47. The executive authority is delegated to one citizen, who assumes the title of President of Hayti. 48. The judicial authority is exercised by a court of appeal, and other civil tribunals. 49. Each public functionary is personally responsible for his own acts. A law will be passed to regulate the mode of proceeding against public functionaries for misconduct during their administration. Constitution of Hayti. 71 CHAPTER I. OP THE LEGISLATIVE POWER. SECTION I. Of the Chamber of Representatives. 50. The chamber of deputies is composed of representatives from the arrondissements of the Republic. The number of the representatives shall be fixed by law. Each arrondissement shall have at least two representatives. 51. Until the law shall have fixed the number of representa- tives to be elected by the arrondissements, this number is settled as follows : Five for the arrondissement of Port-au-Prince, three for each of the arrondissements which have chief towns of departments, and for those of Jacmel and Jeremie, and two for each of the other arrondissements of the Republic. 52. The representatives are elected as follows : Every five years, from the 10th to 20th January, the primary assemblies of the communes meet, in conformity with the electoral law, and name each three electors. 53. From the 1st to 10th February, the electors of the com- munes of each arrondissement meet in the chief town, and form an electoral college. The college names, by ballot, and by absolute majority of votes, the number of representatives to be supplied by the arrondissement. It names as many substitutes as representatives. 54. These substitutes, by order of nomination, succeed the representatives of the arrondissement in case of death, resigna- tion, forfeiture, or in the case provided by the article 60. 55. The half at least of the representatives and substitutes shall be chosen among the citizens who have their political domicile in the arrondissement. 72 Constitution of Hayti. 56. To be elected representative or substitute, it is necessary to b( — ' (1.) Above the age of 25 years. (.!.) In the enjoyment of civil and political rights. (3.) Possessed of real estate in Hayti. 57. The naturalized Haytian must, besides the conditions prescribed in the preceding article, prove a residence of three years in the Republic in order to obtain election as representa- tive or substitute. 58. The functions of representative are incompatible with those of the administration of the finances. A representative who exercises at the same time another function paid by the State, cannot draw two salaries during the session ; he must choose between the two. 59. The judges, etc. of the civil courts, and the public officers attached to these courts, cannot be elected as representa- tives within the jurisdiction of the court to which they belong. The members of the court of appeal, and the public officers attached to this tribunal, cannot be elected representatives with- in the jurisdiction of the civil court of Port-au-Prince. The commanders of arrondissements and their assistants, the commanders of communes and their adjutants, cannot be elected representatives within the extent of their arrondissement. 60. Any representative who accepts, during his term of service, an office paid by the State, other than that occupied by him before his election, ceases thenceforth to be a member of the chamber. 61. The representatives are elected for five years. The re-election is general. They are indefinitely eligible to re-election. 62. During the whole time of the legislative session, every representative will receive from the public treasury a salary of two hundred gourdes a month. He is besides allowed one gourde per league, for travelling expenses, from his commune to the seat of government. Constitution of Hayti. 73 SECTION 11. Of the Senate. 63. The Senate is composed of thirty-sis members. They are elected for nine years. 64. The Senators are elected by the chamber of representa- tives on the proposition of the President of Hayti, as follows : At the session which precedes the time of the renewal of the Senators, the President of Hayti makes a general list of three candidates for each Senator to be elected, which he forwards to the Chamber. Three candidates are taken from amongst the whole Of the citizens. 65. The Chamber of Representatives elects, from the candi- dates proposed on the general list, a number of Senators equal to that of the Senators to be replaced. This election is made by ballot, and by absolute majority of votes. 66. The Chamber of Representatives forwards to the Senate a report declaring the nomination of the Senators, and at the same time informs the President of Hayti of this nomination. 67. The Senate make known their nomination to the elected Senators, and invites them to appear and take the oath. This formality finished, the Senate reports it to the President of Hayti. In case of death, resignation, forfeiture, etc., the Senate like- wise informs the President of Hayti and the Chamber of Rep- resentatives of the vacancies to be filled up. 68. In no case can the sitting representatives be included in the lists addressed to the Chamber by the President of Hayti. 69. In order to be elected Senator, it is necessary to be — (1.) Above 30 years of age. (2.) In the enjoyment of civil and political rights. (3.) Possessed of real estate in Hayti. 70. The naturalized Haytian must, besides the conditions pre 7 74 Constitution of Hayti. scribed in the preceding article, prove a residence of four years in the Republic, in order to obtain election as Senator. 71. The functions of Senator are incompatible with all other public functions, except those of Secretary of State, and of Agents of the Republic abroad. N ivertheless, a soldier may be appointed Senator; but if he accept the office, he ceases to exercise every military function, and must choose between the emolument of Senator and that of his rank. 72. Any Senator who accepts, during his term of service, the office of Secretary of State, ceases thenceforth to be a member of the Senate, unless, offered again as candidate by the executive, he be re-elected by the Chamber of Representatives. 73. Every Senator receives from the public treasury a salary of two hundred gourdes a month. 74. The sessions of the Senate are permanent. They may, however, be adjourned at any time except during the legislative session. 75. On the adjournment of the Senate, -a permanent com- mittee shall be left in its place. This committee shall be unable to pass any resolution except for the convocation of the Senate. SECTION III. Of the Exercise of Legislative Power. 70. The seat of the legislative power is the Capitol of the Republic. Each Chamber has its own place of meeting. 77. The Chamber of Representatives meets every year on the first Monday in April. The opening of its session may be made by the President of Hayti in person. 78. The legislative session lasts three months. In case of need, it can be prolonged to four, either by the legislative body or by the executive. 79. In the interval of the sessions, and in case of emergency, Constitution of Hayti. 75 the executive can convoke the Chambers to any extraordinary meetino;. It gives them a reason for this measure by a message. It can also, as the case may require, convoke the Senate alone, during its adjournment. 80. The President of Hayti can also prorogue the legislative session, provided it takes place at another period, in the same year. 81. The Chamber of Representatives can be dissolved by the President of Hayti ; but, in this case, he is bound to convoke a new one within a delay of three months at the utmost ; and then the elections must take place according to the requirements of Articles 52 and 53. 82. The Legislative Chambers represent the entire nation. 83. The Chamber of Representatives verifies the commis- sions of its members and decides all controversies which may arise on the subject. The Senate likewise examines and decides whether the elec- tion of the Senators has taken place in conformity to the Con- stitution. 84. The members of each Chamber take individually the oath to maintain the rights of the people, and to be faithful to the Constitution. 85. The sittings of the Chambers are public; nevertheless, each forms itself into a secret committee whenever it thinks proper. The deliberation which arises in a secret committee is made public, if the Chamber so decides. 86. No one can be at the same time a member of both Chambers. 87. The Legislature makes laws on all objects of public interest. The initiative belongs to each of the two Chambers and to the Executive. Nevertheless, every law relating to public re- ceipts and expenses must first be voted by the Chamber of Rep- resentatives. 76 Constitution of Hayti. 88. The authoritative interpretation of the laws is given in the ordinary form of la- s'.). Neither of the two Chambers can pass any resolution, unless an absolute majority of its members be assembled. 90. Every resolution is passed by t he absolute majority of votes, except in cases denned by the Constitution. 91. The votes are taken by the Senators rising or remaining seated. In case of doubt, the roll is called, and the votes are then recorded by Yes or No. 92. Each Chamber has the right of inquiry into all things appertaining to it. 93. No project of law can be adopted by one of the Cham- bers, until each separate article of it has been passed. 94. Each Chamber lias the right to amend and divide the articles and amendments proposed. An amendment voted by one Chamber can be included in the articles of the law, only when it shall have been adopted by the other Chamber. The organs of the Executive have the power to propose amendments to projects under discussion by virtue of the initia- tive possessed by the Chambers. 95. Every law passed by the two Chambers is immediately forwarded to the Executive, which has the right to object thereto. When objections are made, the law is sent back to the Cham- ber in which it was first voted, and the objections notified. If they are approved, the law is amended by the two Chambers, and promulgated by the Executive. 96. If the Executive makes objections to a law adopted by the two Chambers, and if these objections are not approved by these Chambers, or by one of them, the Executive has a right to refuse its sanction to the law. Nevertheless, if a dissolution of the Chamber of Representa- tives should happen thereon, and if the same law were again voted by the two Chambers, the Executive would be bound to promulgate it. Constitution of Hayti. 77 07. The approval of objections, and the amendments to which they may give rise, are passed by the absolute majority, in conformity with the Article 90. 98. The right of objection must be exercised within the fol- lowing delay, namely : — (1. ) Within eight days, for laws of emergency, without the objection being in any case grounded on the emergency. (2.) Within fifteen days for other laws. But, if the session be closed before the expiration of this latter delay, the law remains adjourned. 99. If, within the delay prescribed by the preceding article, the Executive make no objection, the law must be immediately promulgated. 100. A project of law, rejected by one of the Chambers, or by the Executive, cannot be reproduced in the same session. 101. The laws and other acts of the legislative ' body are rendered official by means of a bulletin printed and numbered, entitled bulletin of laws. 102. The law dates from the day of its promulgation. 103. The Chambers correspond with the President of Hayti, in all matters concerning the administration of public affk. but they cannot, in any case, call him to their bar, to account for any act of his administration. 104. The Chambers correspond likewise with the Secretaries of State, and with each other in the cases prescribed by the Con- stitution. 105. To the Senate alone appertains the right of naming the President of Hayti. This nomination is made by election by ballot, and by a majority of two thirds of the members present in the assembly. 106. In case the office of President of Hayti should be- come vacant, during the adjournment of the Senate, its perma- nent committee shall summon it to meet without delay. 7* 78 Constitution of Hayti. 107. The Semite has the right of approving or rejecting treaties of peace, alliance, neutrality, commerce, and other in- ternational conventions agreed to by the Executive. Nevertheless, all treaties stipulating sums chargeable to the Republic, must be likewise submitted to the sanction of the Chamber of Representatives. 108. The Senate gives or refuses its approbation to projects of declaration of war submitted to it by the Executive. It can, under serious circumstances, and upon the proposal of the Executive, authorize the momentary removal of the seat of government to another place than the capital. 109. No one can present petitions in person to the Cham- bers. Each Chamber has the right to refer to the Secretaries of State the petitions addressed to it. The Secretaries of State may be invited to explain their contents, if the Chamber think fit, and if the Secretaries of State, being called upon, do not consider such publicity likely to compromise the interest of the State. 110. The members of the legislative body cannot be excluded from the Chamber to which they belong, or at any time called to account, accused, or tried, for opinions or votes pronounced by them in the exercise of their functions. 111. No member of the Chamber of Representatives can be arrested, during the session, or within the six weeks which shall precede or follow it. Within the same delay, no member of the Chamber of Rep- re ntatives can be prosecuted or arrested for matters criminal, correctional, or of police, (except in case of notorious criminal offence,) until the Chamber shall have permitted his prosecu- tion. L12. No Senator is liable to apprehension during his con- tinuance in office. A Senator cannot be prosecuted or arrested for matters crimi- nal, correctional, or of police, whilo in office, (except in case Constitution of Hayti. yo of notorious criminal offence,) until the authorization of the Senate he obtained. 113. If a memher of the legislative "body be apprehended, (in a case of notorious criminal offence,) the opinion of the Chamber to which he belongs is taken without delay. 114. In criminal cases, inducing punishment both corporal and ignominious, every member of the legislative body is placed under accusation by the Chamber to which he belongs. 115. The Senate forms itself into a high court of justice to decide on accusations made against members of the legislative body, against Secretaries of State, or any other great public functionaries. The form of procedure before the high court of justice, will be determined by a law. 116- Each Chamber, by its by-laws, settles its own disci- pline, and defines the manner according to which it discharges its duties and exercises its privileges. CHAPTER H. OP THE EXECUTIVE. SECTION I. Of the President of Hayil. 117. The President of Hayti is elected for life. IIS. In order t: be sleeted President of Hayti, it is neces- sary — (1.) To be born in Hayti. _ | To have attained the age of 35 years. (8.) To be possessed of real estate in Hayti. 119. In case of vacancv through the death, resignation, or forfeiture of the President f Hayti, the Seca f* State, assembled in council, exercise, on their own respon - . ... ~ the executive power. If the President happen to be unable to exercise his fane- 8o Constitution of Hayti. tions, the Council of Secretaries of State is charged with the executive authority so long as the hindrance .shall last. 120. Before entering on his duties, the President of Hayti take- before the Senate the following oath : "I swear to the nation to discharge faithfully the duties of President of Hayti; to maintain with all my might the Con- stitution and the laws of the Haytian people ; to enforce the respect due to the national independence and the integrity of the territory." 121. The President causes to he attached to the laws and other acts of the legislative body, the seal of the Republic, and sees that they be promulgated after the delays fixed by Articles 95, 96, 98, and 99. 122. The promulgation of the laws, and other acts of the legislative body, is in these terms : "Ik the name of the BepuNic, — 1 ' The President of Hayti directs that the above (law or act) of the legislative body be stamped with the seal of the Eepub- lic, published, and executed." 123. The President causes to be enacted the laws or other acts of the legislative body promulgated by him. He makes all the regulations, decrees, and proclamations necessary to this effect. 124. The President names and dismisses the Secretaries of State. He names and dismisses, also, the agents representing the Republic to foreign powers and governments. 125. He names all civil and military functionaries, and fixes their places of residence; if not already done so by law. lie dismisses removable functionaries. 126. The President of Hayti commands and directs the • forces by land and sea, and confers rank in the army, according to the law. 127. He makes treaties of peace, alliance, neutrality, com- merce, and other international conventions, with the sanction of Constitution of Hayti. 8l tlie Senate, and that of the Chamber of Representatives in the cases fixed by the Constitution. He proposes to the Senate declarations of war when circum- stances appear to demand it. If the Senate approve these pro- jects, the President of Hayti declares war. 128. The President of Hayti provides, according to law, for the exterior and interior security of the State. Every measure taken by the President is previously discussed in the council of Secretaries of State. 129. The President of Hayti has the right to pardon and to commute sentences. The exercise of this right shall be fixed by law. He can also exercise the right of amnesty, but for political offences only. 130. No act of the President can have effect unless counter- signed by one Secretary of State, who, by this alone, makes himself responsible. 131. At the opening of each session, the President, through the Secretaries of State, presents to the Senate and the- Chamber of Representatives the general situation of the Republic, as well exterior as interior. 132. The President of Hayti receives from the public treasury an annual salary of forty thousand gourdes. Pie resides at the national palace of the capital. SECTION II. Of the Secretaries of State. 133. There are four Secretaries of State, whose departments are fixed by the decree calling them to office. The attributes of each department are determined by law. 134. The Secretaries of State compose a council under the presidency of the President of Hayti, or of one of their number delegated to that office by the President. Every deliberation is recorded on a register, and signed by the members of the council. 82 Constitution of Hayti. 135. They have right of entrance in both the Chambers to support projects of laws and objections from the Executive, or to make any other communication from Government. 130. The Chambers can require the presence of the Secreta- ries of State, and can summon them to answer for every act of their administration. The Secretaries of State thus summoned, are bound to enter into explanations, unless they consider such a course liable to compromise the interest of the State. 137. The Secretaries of State are respectively responsible, as much for the acts of the President which they countersign, as for those of their department, as also for the non-execution of the laws. In no case can the verbal or written order of the President, received by a Secretary of State, relieve this latter from respon- sibility. 138. The Chamber of Representatives has the right of accus- ing the Secretaries of State. If the accusation is admitted by two thirds of the votes, they are cited before the Senate, which then forms itself into a high court of justice. 139. Each Secretary of State enjoys an annual salary of five thousand gourdes. Travelling expenses are allowed them by law. SECTION III. Of the Institutions of Arrondissements and Communes. 140. A council for each arrondissement, and a council fur each commune, are hereby established. These institutions are regulated by law. CHAPTER III. OF TIIE JUDICIAL POWER. 141. Litigations which -have for their object some civil right are exclusively within the jurisdiction of the tribunals. Constitution of Hayti. 83 142. Litigations which have for their object political rights are within the jurisdiction of the tribunals, save the exceptions established by law. 143. No tribunal, nor other court for the settlement of dis- putes, can be established but by virtue of a law. No extraordinary commission or tribunal can be created under any denomination whatsoever. 144. There is, for all the Republic, a Court of Appeal, the organization and attributes of which are determined by law. The Court of Appeal has its sittings in the capital. 145. The law determines, likewise, the organization and attributes of the other tribunals. 146. The judges cannot be dismissed except for offence of bribery legally tried, nor suspended except on account of an approved accusation. Nevertheless, the justices of the peace are liable to be dis- missed. 147. Every judge may be called upon to urge his claims to superannuation, if he be in the conditions stipulated by law on the matter. 148. No one can be named judge or judicial officer unless he have attained the age of thirty years for the Court of Appeal, and of twenty-five years for the other tribunals. 149. The President of Hayti appoints and dismisses the judi- cial officers attached to the Court of Appeal and the other tri- bunals. 150. The functions of judge are incompatible with any other public function, except those of representative. Incompatibility, by reason of relationship, is settled by law. 151. The salaries of the members of the judicial body are fixed by law. 152. Tribunals of commerce can be established. The law regulates their organization, their attributes, and the time of ser- vice for their members. 153. Special laws regulate the organization of the military 84 Constitution of Hayti. tribunals, their attributes, the rights and obligations of the mem- bers of these tribunals., and their length of service. 154. The sittings of the tribunals are public, unless such publicity endangers public order and good morals; in this case, the tribunal declare this by a decree. 155. The law regulates the mode of proceeding against the judges, in case of crimes or offences by them committed, either in the exercise of their functions or otherwise. CHAPTER IV. OF THE PRIMARY ASSEMBLIES OF COMMUNES, AND OF THE ELEC- TORAL COLLEGES OF ARRONDISSEMENTS. 156. Every citizen above the age of twenty-one years has the right of vote in the primary assemblies, if he be moreover a landed proprietor, if he have the cultivation of a farm, or if he practise a profession, fill a public office, or follow any business defined by the electoral laws. 157. To be a member of the electoral colleges, it is neces- sary to be twenty-five years of age, and be, besides, in one of the other positions mentioned in the preceding article. 158. The primary assemblies have the right of meeting, by virtue of Article 52 of the Constitution, or on the convocation of the President of Hayti, in the case mentioned in Article 81. Their object is to appoint electors. 159. The electoral colleges meet likewise in their own right, by virtue of Article 53 of the Constitution, or on the convoca- tion of the President of Hayti, in the case laid down in Article 81. Their object is to name the representatives and their substi- tutes. 160. The meeting of two thirds of the electors of an arron- dissement constitute an electoral college, and all elections are decided by the absolute majority of the votes of the members . and by ballot. Constitution of Hayti. 85 161. The primary assemblies and the electoral colleges can have no other object but the elections respectively assigned to them by the Constitution. They are bound to dissolve when this is accomplished. TITLE IV. OF THE FINANCES. 162. No tax for the benefit of the State can be established, but by law. Taxes for the use of communes and arrondissements are established by special laws. 163. No privileges can be granted in the matter of taxes. No exception or abatement of taxes can be established, except by a law. «» 164. Except in cases formally excepted by law, no contribu- tion can be levied from the citizens, unless as a tax for the use of the State, of the arrondissement, or of the commune. 165. No pension, no gratuity, chargeable to the public treas- ury, can be granted, except in accordance with a law. 166. The budget of each Secretary of State is divided into chapters. No sum allowed for one chapter can be carried to the credit of another, and employed for other expenses, without a law. 167. Every year, the Chambers decree, 1st. The account of receipts and expenses during the year or preceding years, for each department separate • 2d. The general budget of the State containing details of the receipts, and the funds assigned for the year to each Secretary of State. Nevertheless, no motion, no amendment, can be introduced into the budget, to the end of reducing or augmenting the sala- ries of the public functionaries, and the pay of the soldiers, already paid by special laws. 168. The Chamber of Accounts is composed of a certain number of members fixed by law. 3 86 Constitution of Hayti. They are named by the President of Hayti, and bold office at his will. The organization and attributes of the Chamber of Accounts, are fixed by law. 1G9. The law settles the standard, the weight, the value, the stamp, the effigy, and the denomination of the currencies. TITLE V. OF TIIE PUBLIC FORCES. 170. The public force is raised to defend the State against exterior enemies, and to insure at home tbe maintenance of order and the execution of the laws. 171. The army is essentially obedient, — no armed body can deliberate. 172. The army is placed on peace or war footing, as occasion requires. No one can receive soldier's pay unless he serve in the army. 173. The mode of recruiting for the army is fixed by law. It regulates, likewise, the promotion, the rigbts and obliga- tions of the soldiers. 174. No privileged corps can ever be created ; but the Presi- dent of Hayti has a special guard, subject to the same military rules as the other corps of the army. 175. The national guard is organized by law. It can be mobilized, entirely or in part, only in the case men- tioned in the law or its organization. 176. Soldiers cannot be deprived of their rank, honors, and pensions, but in the manner fixed by law. TITLE VI. GENERAL MEASURES. 177. The national colors are blue and red, placed horizontally. The arms of the Republic are the Palm-tree, crowned with the cap of Liberty, and ornamented with a trophy of arms, with the motto, V union fait la force, (union is strength.) Constitution of Hayti. 87 178. The town of Port-au-Prince is the capital of the Republic and the seat of government. 179. No oath can bo administered except by virtue of the law. The form thereof is fixed by law. 180. Every, foreigner who happens to be on the territory of the Republic, enjoys the protection given to persons and goods, save the exceptions established by law. 181. The law establishes a uniform system of weights and measures. 182. The national holidays are, that of the Independence, the 1st January ; that of Alexander Petion, the 2d April ; that of Agriculture, the 1st May ; that of Philip Guerrier, the 30th June. The legal festivals are fixed by law. • 183. No law, no decree, or regulation of public administra- tion is binding, until published in the form prescribed by law. 184. No place, no part of the Territory, can be declared in a state of siege, except in case of civil troubles, or of invasion impending, or effected, on the part of a foreign force. This declaration is to be made by the President of Hayti, and must be countersigned by all the Secretaries of State. 185. The Constitution cannot be suspended, either in whole or in part. TITLE VII. OP THE REVISION OE THE CONSTITUTION. 186. If experience demonstrate the inconvenience of some of the measures of the Constitution, the proposal of a revision of these measures can be made in the usual form of the laws. 187. If the Executive and the two Chambers agree upon the changes proposed in one session, the discussion of them shall be deferred to the session of the following year. And if, in this second session, the two Chambers again agree with the Executive upon the proposed changes, the new decrees adopted 88 Constitution of Hayti. Bhall be published in the usual form of the laws, as articles of the Constitution. 188. No motion of revision can be carried out, no change in the Constitution can be adopted by the two Chambers, unless on a majority of two thirds of the votes. TITLE YIII. TRANSITORY MEASURES. 189. The existing members of the Senate are maintained in office, as follows : — One third for three years ; one third for six years ; one third for nine years. This decree shall be executed by the Senate, by the drawing of lots at a public sitting. 100. In future, every Senator shall be elected by the Chamber of Representatives, for nine years, in accordance with Article 63 of the Constitution. 191. The formation of the Chamber of Representatives shall take place, for the first time only, as follows : — The President of Ilayti shall forward to the Senate a general list of three candidates for each Representative, and each sub- stitute to be elected for each arrondissement. The Senate s^all elect, from among the candidates named in the general list, the numbers of Representatives and substitutes fixed by Articles 51 and 53 of the Constitution. 192. In the session of 1847, there shall be proposed to the legislature : — (1.) A law regulating the mode of proceeding against pub- lic functionaries, for misdeeds committed by them during their administration. (2.) A law regulating the form of proceeding before the high court of justice. (.;.) A law regulating the exercise of the right of pardon and of commutation of sentences. Constitution of Hayti. 89 (4.) A law regulating the retirement of judges. (5.) A law fixing the attributes of the Secretaries of State. 193. The present Constitution shall be published and exe- cuted throughout all the extent of the Republic. The codes of laws, civil, commercial, penal, and of criminal prosecution, together with all other laws thereto relating, are maintained in force until they be legally repealed. All measures of laws, decrees, resolutions, regulations, and other acts, which are contrary to the present Constitution, are hereby annulled. Given at the National House of Port-au-Prince, the 14th day of November, 1846, in the 43d year of the Independence of Hayti. LAW MODIFYING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FOURTEENTH OF NOVEMBER, 1846. The legislative body, availing itself of the "initiative" con- ferred by Article 87 of the Constitution, Seeing the decree of the Committee of Gronai'ves, dated the 23d December, 1858, which revives, with modifications, the Constitution of 1846, Considering the importance of making these modifications without delay, has passed unanimously the following laws : — Article 1. The Articles 62, 71, 73, 111, 132, 133, 139, 167, and 182, are modified in the following manner : Art. 62. During the legislative session, each Representative receives from the public treasury, a monthly salary, the amount of which will be fixed by law. Another law shall likewise fix the amount to be allowed to each Representative for travelling expenses, from his commune to the seat of government. Art. 71. The duties of Senator cannot be discharged by any one who may have other public duties devolving upon him. 8* 90 Constitution of Hayti. Neverthel >ldi ir may be elected Senator, but thence- forth he ceases to exercise any military duty. Am\ 73. Each Senator receives from the public treasury a .salary, the amount of which is lixed by law. Art. 111. No Representative of the people can be imprisoned during the time that he holds his commission. Nevertheless, if a Representative discharge any public duty after the session, he can be prosecuted for acts of which he may be guilty, and that before the ordinary tribunals. Alt. 132. The President of Hayti receives from the public ury a salary, the amount of which is fixed by law. He resides at the National Palace at the capital. Art. 133. There will be from four to seven Secretaries of Stale, as the President of Hayti may judge necessary. Their departments will be fixed by the decree containing their nomi- nation. The duties of each department are determined by law. Art. 139. Each Secretary of State will receive an annual salary, the amount of which will be fixed by law. The amount of travelling expenses to be allowed to the Secretaries of State shall likewise be determined. Art. 167. Each year the Chambers pass : 1. The account of receipts and expenses, accompanied by vouchers of the preced- ing year for each department separately ; 2. The general budget of the State, containing the statement of income, and the moneys proposed to be allotted for the year to each Secretary of State, for the business of his department. Nevertheless, no proposal, no amendment can be introduced into the budget to the end of reducing, or aujnnentino: the salaries of the public functionaries, and the pay of the soldiers, already fixed by law. Art. 1S-2. The National holidays arc: that of the Inde- lence of Hayti , the 1st January ; that of T. T. Dessalines, the 2d January; that of Alexander Petion, the 2d April ; that of Agriculture, the 1st May; that of Philip Guerrier, the Constitution of Hayti. gi SOtli June ; that of the Restoration of the Republic, the 22d December. Art. 2. The Articles 189, 190, and 191, of the same Con- stitution, are suppressed ; the Article 192, which by this deci- sion becomes 189, is modified as follows : — Art. J 89. In the session of 1860, if not before, there shall be proposed to the legislative body : (1.) A law regulating the mode of proceeding against pub- lic functionaries for acts of their administration. (2.) A law regulating the form of procedure before the high court of justice. (3.) A law regulating the exercise of the right of pardon and the commutation of sentences. (4.) A law regulating the retirement of the judges. Art. 8. The Article 193, which now takes the No. 190, shall be drawn up as follows : Art. 190. The present law shall be published and executed throughout the whole extent of the Republic. The codes of civil, commercial, and penal laws, those of criminal prosecution, and all laws relating thereto, are main- tained in force until legally repealed. All the provisions of laws, decrees, resolutions, regulations, and other acts which are contrary to the present Constitution are hereby annulled. Given at the National House, at Port-au-Prince, the 14th day of July, 1859, in the 50th year of the Independence. The President of the Senate Hilaire Jean-Pierre. The Secretaries S. Toussaint, B. Inginac. Given at the Chamber of Representatives, at Port-au-Prince, the 15th of July, 1859, year 56th of Independence. The President of the Chamber. . Panayoty. The Secretaries J. Thebaud, B. Guillaume. 92 Constitution of Hayti. In tile Name of the Republic, The President of Hayti ordains that the law subjoined, of the Legislative Corps, be scaled with tho seal of the Republic, published, and executed. n at the National Palace of Port-au-Prince the 18th of July, 1856, year 5Gth of Independence. GrEFFRARD. By the President : Th. St en tary of State, President of the Council J. Paul. The Secretary of State, of Justice, and of Worships, \ charged with the portfolio of the Interior, and of Agriculture F. E. Dubois. The Secretary of State, of War, and of the Marine T. Dejoie. The Secretary of State of the General Police Jh. Lamothe. The Secretary of State of Finances, and of Commerce. . Vn. Plesance. Ceito to tl)e ffiftior. LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. Port-atj-Pkince, Aug. 4, 1859. rpo His Excellency the President of Hayti : In behalf of certain blacks, and persons of color in the United States and the Canadas, who are desirous of emigrating to Hayti, I respectfully ask replies to the following questions : I. "Would Emigrants be subject to military duty \ If so, for how long, and what manner of duty ? II. Would you grant such Emigrants perfect liberty to leave the country whenever they desired to do so 1 Ills, Would they be required, directly or indirectly, to support the Roman Catholic Religion if they are not members of the Catholic Church? .IV. How long ere they would be invested with all the rights, civil and political, of native-born Haytians 1 V. Do you guarantee to such Emigrants as efficient governmental protection as is given to the native Haytians % VI. Is the Government willing that such Emigrants should settle in neighborhoods 1 Is the Government prepared to sell such tracts, on easy terms, to be paid in instalments, or within a reasonable number of years, and what other facilities and encouragements will the Government give to introduce such an emigration, and such settlements of communities ? I ask your particular attention to this head, as, unless it is satisfactorily answered, it will be impossible to induce an emigration of wealthy and intelligent men from America. VII. Provided such settlements were formed, what educational facili- ties would be extended them ? I have the honor to be, &c, James Redpath. 94 Letter to the Editor. reply of the government. Office of the Secretary of State of Foreign* Relations, ) Port-au-Prince, August 17, 1859. ) Sir : I have the privilege of transmitting to you the replies to the questions contained in your letter of the 4th instant, to His Excellency the President of Ilayti, relative to emigration. It is chiefly to the development of Agriculture in Ilayti, that the Government wishes to make this enterprise subservient. To that end it is disposed to accord special favors to persons of that profession who shall decide to emigrate. To agricultur- ists, and to those who shall come here with the intention of devoting themselves to cultivation, it will accord the following advantages : First, It will pay their passage at the rate of fifteen piastres (Spanish or American dollars) for each ahle-hodied man or woman ; and at that of eight piastres for children of twelve and under, and old persons beyond sixty years. Second, It will board and lodge them for eight days, while they are seeking other accommodations. It may be proper to explain here the usage respecting con- tracts which are ordinarily formed between agriculturists and proprietors in the country. The proprietors advance the lands and works, (usincs,) the agriculturists undertake the cultivation and improvements ; the produce is equally divided between the proprietor and agriculturist. The emigrants may each make contracts if they see fit. The emigrants will find land to buy from private individuals. They may also obtain it from the Government, and at a reasonable price, on easy terms of pay- ment, if the State possesses land in the districts where the emi- grants shall establish themselves. The Government will extend to them the same protection as to Haytians themselves. For the rest, shortly after their arrival in the country, they can have the same civil and political rights as the Haytians; for, according to the civil code of Hayti, every person descended from African or Indian blood, can. Letter to the Editor. g$ certain formalities fulfilled, become a Haytian after a residence of one year in the country. The religious belief of the emi- grants, to whatever Christian sect they may belong, shall always be respected. They shall freely exercise their worship. There shall never be occasion to call them to defend the Roman Catholic religion, whether they believe it or not. A recent law fixes the term of obligatory military service for every Haytian at nine years. The citizens required for this service are designated by lot. The Government, as an evidence of its good intentions in favor of emigration, has resolved to exempt the emigrants from military service. But this exemp- tion shall not extend to their children when they shall have attained the prescribed age of drawing lots. The emigrants shall make a part of the National Guard, (militia. ) The National Guard meets only on the first Sunday of each month, and has no exercises to make on that day. In case of extraordinary events, a more active service may be exacted of it. But then it will be a duty to fulfil for the guar- anty of the general, interests, and consequently of their own. The emigrants will be permitted to settle together, in each locality, as much as it shall be a practicable thing ; but they shall not, therefore, cease to be subject to the laws and author- ities of the Republic. The present Government, which is devoting itself seriously to spreading light, has founded, and will continue to found, numerous primary schools. In these institutions instruction is given cheaply, and even gratuitously, to certain children. The children of the emigrants shall enjoy in this respect the same advantages as those of Haytians. Our laws deprive no one of the privilege of leaving the country if they please ; nevertheless, the Haytian who abandons his country in the moment of imminent danger loses forever the- quality of citizen. The emigrants who do not wish to remain in Hayti are free to re-embark ; yet those whose intro- 96 Letter to the Editor. auction into the country shall be at Government expense, can leave only aft it a residence of three years. This, sir, is the communication that I have been charged to make to you. Accept the assurance of my distinguished con- sideration. The Secretary of State of Foreign Relations : A. Jean Siiiox. IV. (Sail for (Emigration. MEN of our race dispersed In the United States ! Your fate, your social position, instead of ameliorating, daily becomes worse. The chains of those who are slaves are riveted ; and prejudice, more implacable, perhaps, than servitude, pursues and crushes down the free. Everything is contested with us in that country in which, nevertheless, they boast of liberty ; they have invented a new slavery for the free, who believed that they had now no masters ; it is this humiliating patronage which is revolting to your hearts. Philanthropy, in spite of its noble efforts, seems more powerless than ever to lead your cause to victory. Contempt and hatred increase against you, and the people of the United States desire to eject you from its bosom. Come, then, to us ! the doors of Hayti are open to you. By a happy coincidence, which Providence seems to have brought about in your behalf, Hayti has risen from the long debasement in which a tyrannical government had held her ; liberty is re- stored there. Come and join us ; come and bring to us a con- tingent of power, of light, of labor ; come, and together with us, advance our own common country in prosperity. We will come by this means to the aid of the philanthropists who make such generous efforts to break the chains of those of our breth- ren who are still in slavery. Our institutions are liberal. The government is mild and 9 98 Call for Emigration. moderate. Our soil is virgin and rich, — we have large tracts of good land, nearly all uncultivated, which only need intelli- gent workmen to till them. Everything assures you in this country of a happy future. Tor those among yon who pos capital, it will be easy to find at once a place among us. The country offers them immediate resources. They can count on the solicitude of the Government, and on its special protection. Our society is ready to adopt them, and prepares for them a fraternal welcome. They will enjoy here all the considerations that they merit ; they will occupy the rank that their respecta- bility assigns them, — all the things that a blind and barbarous prejudice refuses to them in countries inhospitable to our race. The poorer emigrants shall have the right to all that their sit- uation demands. The Government will provide for their first necessities, and will take the proper measures to secure to them a quiet and honorable asylum, as well as to facilitate for them the means of obtaining employment. It is very natural that you should ask, before coming to an unknown country, what are the facilities that will be afforded to you, as well for the satisfaction of your first needs, as for your definitive settlement. This thought has seriously occupied the Chief of the Republic and his Government. I proceed to state the determination to which it has come : — To such of you as arc not able to pay the expenses of your passage, aid will be given from the public treasury. Agents, whom I shall presently appoint in the United States, will be charged to make the necessary arrangements in this respect. On their arrival hero, the emigrants will find lodging gratui- tously, where, during the first few days, their needs will be provided for. Government will occupy itself from this time with providing means to offer to each person, on arrival, either on private estates or the public domains, sufficiently remunerative work. Every individual, the issue of African blood, may, innncdi- Call for Emigration. gg ately on' arrival, declare his wish to be naturalized: and after one year's residence, he can become a citizen of Hayti, enjoying all his civil and political rights. The emigrants will be exempt from military service, but their children, when they are of the requisite age, shall be held to perform the service conformably to the laws of the country ; that is to say, for a limited time, and by the result of conscription. \Par suite du tirage au sort.'] This exception does not con- stitute, in then favor, a modification of the law on the National Guard, of which every citizen must form a part. You will have power, also, freely to exercise your religion. I have spoken here only of the members of the African race, who groan in the United States more than elsewhere, by reason of the ignoble prejudice of color; but our sympathies are equally extended to all those of our origin who, throughout the world, are bowed down under the weight of the same sufferings. Let them come to us ! The bosom of the country is open to them also. I repeat it, they will be able to acquire, either on the public or private estates, fertile lands, where, by the aid of assiduous labor, they will find that happiness which, in their actual condition, they cannot hope to find. The man whom God has pointed out with his finger to elevate the dignity of his race, is found. The hour of the reunion of all the children of Hayti is sounded ! Let them be well convinced that Hayti is the bul- wark of their liberty ! Given at the office of the Secretary of State of the Interior, at Port-au-Prince, the 22d August, 1859, Fifty-Sixth year of Independence. The Secretary of State, of Justice, and of Worship, charged par interim, with the portfolio of the Interior and of Agri- culture. F. E. Dubois. V. QLrtBmv* to (Ducsttona $3rc0cntcfr bjj ilTr. Sfamnan. Port-au-Prince, March 26, 1860. WE are desirous to receive amongst us all men of African orison who are willing to share our fortunes. The reception given at St. Marc, to one hundred and twenty emigrants from Louisiana, is a proof of the good-will of the country people as regards these persons. When they arrive here they will find, either to lease or buy, from the Government or private parties, fertile lands at a reasonable price. For persons unacquainted with the country, and who have to study its peculiarities, the system of leases is not to be despised, the very small annual charge being no obstacle to the prosperity of their labors. Besides, the govern- ment is authorized by law to sell all national lands. They possess a great extent of land, in different parts of the country, and will always place their lands at the disposition of the emi- grants. The mode of sale imposed upon them by law, in this case, is, for cash. In certain quarters these properties are suffi- ciently extensive to allow of the settlement of one hundred families or more. Permission will be granted to emigrants to buy land, on their making the declaration that they wish to become Ilaytians, and on their renouncing every other nationality. Our law authorizes the formation of two sorts of companies : Copartnerships, which do not need any preliminary authoriza- Answers to Questions. 101 tion, and Joint Stock Companies, whose statutes would have to be submitted to the Government for their approval. It deter- mines the conditions on which they exist, and their mode of action. Under the control of this legislation companies could be formed, either for exploring the mines, or for the establish- ment of manufactories, and the Government would look very favorably on all serious undertakings of this sort. The Government cannot bind itself to the adoption of a pro- tective tariff. Manufacturers would, however, have a sufficient guarantee in our actual tariff, whose mean rate for the last twenty years has been 20 per cent, upon the value of goods im- ported. As our fiscal legislation derives its principal revenue from the customs duties, it is not to be supposed that the exist- ing system will be given up, for a long time to come. • We have no law on Patents. The principle, however, exists in our civil law, as regards literary property, and might, if need be, be developed, so as to afford protection to inventions. Though the law of the National Guard prescribes a monthly review thereof, on every first Sabbath in the month, measures would be taken not to disturb the conscientious scruples of the members of those churches which forbid such a use of that day. The sons of emigrants destined to a religious career will be exempted from military service. There will be no exception made in the case of those who may be engaged in secular pur- suits or professions. Provisions of all kinds being always to be had in abundance, there is no need of dispensing with the payment of the customs duties on provisions for the use of those who may arrive. Machines, agricultural implements, and personal effects, will be allowed to be brought into the country free of duty. There can be no exception made to the general rule in such cases, as regards the disposal of produce by the emigrant. The Government will engage to provide remunerating labor for honest and able, but poor laborers, who could not imme- 9* 102 Answers to OucstionS diately purchase property. This tliey would do, either by means of leases or partnerships, or by placing them in such situations as, by economy and good conduct, they could in a few years become proprietors. Lands for schools and chapels would be given by the State. The emigrants would not be compelled to come to Port-au- Prince, but could go directly to that part of the country which they would choose. They would, after the settlement of a year and a day in the Republic, enjoy all the privileges of Ilaytian citizens. To make it easy for those needy persons of African origin who would wish to emigrate to Hayti, the Government has de- cided, since last year, to pay then' passage, at the following rates : — Fifteen dollars Spanish for every able-bodied man and woman. Eight dollars for children under twelve years of age, and for aged persons above sixty. It is well to make known the contracts which are usually made in this country between agricultural laborers and proprie- tors. The proprietors give the land and necessary implements, the others cultivate the }and and dispose of the produce. This is divided equally between the proprietor and the cultivator. The emigrants might enter into such agreements if they saw fit to do so. The Government will always respect the religious belief of the emigrants, no matter to what Christian sect they may be- long. They will never be called upon to defend the Roman Catholic religion, whether they follow it or not. The present Government, in its earnest desire to spread knowledge among the people, has founded and will yet found a number of primary schools. In these establishments instruction \. n cheap, and even gratuitously to certain children. The children of emigrants will enjoy in this respect the same privileges as Haytian children. Our laws do not take away from any one the power to leave Answers to Questions. 103 the country when he pleases. Nevertheless, the Haytian who abandons his country in times of imminent danger, loses forever the right of citizenship. Those emigrants who do not care to remain in Hayti will be free to go back again. Those, how- ever, whose passage the Government may have paid, will not be able to leave the country until after three .years' residence. These, sir, are the communications which I am commissioned to make to you. The Secretary of State of the Interior and of Agriculture, (Signed) Es. Jn. Joseph. VI. tlacixnt £ani*0. Office of the Secretary of State of the Interior and ") of Agriculture, Section of tiie Interior. > RETORT. r\M) His Excellency tiie President of Hatti : President: — I believe the time has come to submit to your Excellency t|^e result of the labors undertaken by your order on the question of Emigration into our country of men of our race. After having examined, from different points of view, this important subject, it is time to substitute action for preliminary studies, and the more so that definitive questions are now pro- posed to the Government of the Republic. Men who have appreciated the riches of our soil, the mildness of our national manners, the working of our institutions, the good intentions of your Excellency, desire to put their hands to the work. Direct propositions have been addressed to us ; demands for informa- tion have been made of us; time presses; they ought to be re- plied to. On the other hand, we ought to state that in all that portion of our hemisphere which extends from the rivers St. Lawrence to Orinoco, a work of expulsion of populations is in prog- ress, to which we ought not to remain inattentive. To profit by this movement in welcoming men of our blood, the victims of these outrageous persecutions, is to continue the work of reha- Vacant Lands. 105 bilitation undertaken .by the Founders of the Republic, and to remain faithful to the National Traditions. I will, firstly, place under your eyes what has been done by my predecessors and by myself to" advance this question to a practical result ; and then I will submit to your Excellency the conclusions which it seems to me proper to adopt. On the :22d of August, 1859, the Government, by a circular of the Secretary of State of the Interior and 1 of Agriculture, made an appeal to all persons of our race who suffer from the prejudice of color. Hayti offers them a refuge, and facilities to come and establish themselves among us. To agriculturalists, particularly, they guarantee an immediate position, in harmony with their pecuniary standing. They may become landed pro- prietors, farmers, or laborers on halves, [a moitie fruits,] or by the week. Those among them who had not the means of pay- ing their passage would be received at the expense of the Gov- ernment. It was stated that the emigrants would be excused from mili- tary service, — the service of the National Guard alone being obligatory on all citizens. Convinced of the importance of informing families who desired to come to our country, of the liberality of our Institu- tions in matters of religious belief, the Government guaranteed, conformably with the disposition of our laws, the public exercise of the worship that each of them professed. This appeal was received abroad with numerous commenda- tions, emanating as well from those who were themselves inter- ested, as from the friends . of humanity. It was a proof of the honorable position of the country which enabled us to throw afar off a ray of civilization. But this first step made by our Government was only a gen- I enunciation of generous intentions. Subsequent relations b men well dis] .: 1 towards our race have called our atten- . to points of detail which it was useful to examine, or to which it becomes necessary to give precise replies. io6 Vacant Lands. The Government declared, first of all, that an absolute sub- mission to the laws of the country was tho principal condition. Liberal and republican, these laws offer [serious] guarantees to all. They Batisfy, as well in regard to civil as to political order, all the legitimate wants of an advanced society. By making known their dispositions, an answer w r as given to many of the questions proposed. Meanwhile all the points of detail were not examined, though light was thrown upon them. Our inte- rior state is little known abroad ; we judged it necessary to dissipate all doubts which might exist in the minds of foreigners. Thus, tho Government said that it possessed, in all parts of the country, demesne lands in large tracts ; that, among them, there were many of excellent quality ; and that the laws authorized us to sell them ; That the price of them was moderate ; That, at different points, the extent was such that groups of a hundred to two hundred families would be able to establish themselves thereon ; • That to each of these groups freehold sites would be granted for the establishment of schools and chapels, whatever might be the religious belief of the members of the settlements. That, on their declaration of then intention to become Ilay- tians. and renounce every other nationality, the emigrants w r ould have the right of purchasing lands ; That, to honest laborers, vigorous but poor, who might not be in a position to purchase, it would give all desirable facilities for obtaining remunerative work, — either as farmers, as interested on shares, [that is, paying one half the crop as rent for the farm, houses, and manufactories,] or as day-laborers. By the profits arising from such work they would be enabled, in a short time, if they were men of economy, and well-behaved, to be- come prosperous; That, further, the public treasury w r ould pay the passage of this class of persons, at the rate of fifteen piastres (American dollars) for each adult man and woman, and of eight piastres Vacant Lands. 107 for each child of less than twelve years of age, or aged persons over sixty ; • That all the immunities which other citizens of the Republic enjoy, will be accorded to them, after a residence of one year in the Republic ; That the exercise of all religions was protected by our laws, and that our national manners guaranteed an unlimited tole- rance to all beliefs ; That the formation of commercial companies, existing in other countries, was authorized by our laws ; That these laws recoonize : — Copartnerships, — which do not need any preliminary author- ization ; Joint Stock Companies, — whose statutes would have to be submitted to the Government for then approval ; That, under the authority of this legislation, companies might be formed, as well for the exploitation of mines or forests as the establishment of manufactures ; That we have no patent-right laws, but that the principle exists in our civil law, and is capable of expansion ; That the Government cannot engage itself to encourage, by a protective tariff, articles which might be manufactured in Hay- ti ; but that manufacturers will find a sufficient guarantee in our actual tariff, which has always averaged 20 per cent, on the cost price. As our fiscal legislation derives its chief revenues from Custom-House duties, it is not likely that it will, for some time to come, abandon the svstem : That, the chief articles of food being always abundant, there is no necessity for emigrants bringing provisions from abroad, nor consequently of waiving the payment of the Custom-House duties thereon ; but that machines, agricultural implements, personal baggage, and firrniture, shall be free of entry ; That, as to the exportation of products, no change will be made in the present Custom-House duties ; That the cordial reception given at St. Mark to the Louisiana ic8 Vacant Lands. emigrants by our people, so naturally hospitable, was a proof of the cordial reception in reserve for those who may subse- quently arrive ; That nothing shall contravene the religious scruples of those who regard it as a duty to abstain from all occupation on the Sabbath. It is proper to state, however, that the monthly re- view of the National Guard is held on the first Sunday of the month ; but it will be easy to make a legal modification of this arrangement ; That a temporary lodging, for the first eight days, shall be offered to those arriving, until they get settled according to their wishes ; That, independently of the schools that these new citizens may create, the existing Government, which occupies itself without ceasing with the duty of public instruction, has found- ed, and will still found, numerous educational establishments in which the monthly charge is next to nothing, and gratuitous to the poor ; That our laws deprive no one of the right of quitting the country when he sees fit ; yet, that the ITaytian who deserts his country in the time of need, loses forever his quality of citizen. The emigrants who may not desire to remain in Hayti, will be at liberty to re-embark ; but those whose introduction into the country shall have been at public cost, shall not be permitted to leave until after three years' residence, or until they repay to Government the expenses to which it has been put on their account. The Government would not have its task regarded as com- plete if it had not collected the most circumstantial facts on every point relating to this grave question. After receiving the order from your Excellency, I addressed, on the 2()th of March last, a circular to the commanders of the arrondisscments and the councils of the communes, instructing them to lay before the population of the country the condition of men of African race abroad, and to ask from them an energetic co-operation, in Vacant Lands. log the event that a great number of persons should resolve to take up their abode in Hayti. These circulars have been made public, and the responses they have called forth testify the most lively sentiments of fraternity. Extending to the ad- ministrators of finances in their capacity of managers of the national domains, this correspondence, which has been carried on rapidly, and of which it is only possible, President, to submit to you a synopsis, we have received proofs of a general good- will. Here there are offers of public subscriptions ; there they wish to charge themselves with the care of a certain number of persons ; in an infinity of places they will give [rent] lands on halves ; some will rent, others sell them ; in fine, all are dis- posed to make all proper arrangements. The lists furnished by the administrators of finances are not complete. Though I had recommended them to omit small parcels of land, I am sure that I have many additions to re- ceive ; some have, moreover, been announced already. Laying aside all information which does not seem sufficiently precise, I have caused a list to be made, arrondissement by ar- rondissement, following the rule of not going further from the sea than twelve to fifteen miles, so as not to lose the advantages of sea carriage. I have, nevertheless, made exceptions in favor of Mirebalais, Lascahobas, and Plaisance, to which localities there are tolerably good roads from Port-au-Prince and Cape Haytian. Here follows the synopsis of this work. ARRONDISSEMENT OE PORT-AU-PRINCE. -In different parts of the communes of the Croix des Bouquets and l'Arcahaie, there are vast lands, belonging to the State, and which offer the means of locating a good number of individuals. Independently of these lands, there are a great many individ- uals who possess extensive tracts which they would wish to see cultivated, either on lease or on half shares. According to gen- eral use, the machinery, etc., for the manufactory of sugar and syrup, on these properties, would be placed in the hands of 10 no Vacant Lands. those who would cultivate them. The great fertility of the plains of Cul-de-Sac, Boucassin, and PArcahaie, offers number- less advantages to emigrants; but if it were a question of pur- chasing, lands in those quarters are considerably dearer than in less central localities ; this, moreover, is ever the ease in the neighborhood of large towns. It is certain, nevertheless, that if serious offers were made for such properties, prices would fall considerably. This same observation which I here make can be applied to every part of the country. Apart from the fanners of these properties, a thousand poisons could probably find occupation there as laborers, sugar- boilers, machinists, and in other trades useful to agriculture. ARRONDISSEMENT OP LEOGANE. This arrondissement has very few State lands which are not occupied, especially in the plain. From Gressier to Petit Groave, a pretty large number of individuals could find employ- ment. But when we speak of private property, wo here find, as in deed throughout all the Republic, a vast extent of land which is of no present use to the owners. Many of them are dis- posed, some to sell, some to lease, or to make any other arrange- ments which might prove reciprocally beneficial to the contract- ing parties. . This important arrondissement possesses, within easy reach of the capital, beautiful rich plains, running down to the sea, and having a great many good landing-places. The navigation of the gulf of Port-au-Prince, easy at all seasons of the year, offers great advantages for the disposal of produce. The mountains produce superior coffee in great abundance, and their cool and fertile lands admit of the cultivation of all sorts of produce. AKRONDISSEMENT OF ST. MARK. From Mont. Bouis to St. Mark, the State possesses, hi the plains, considerable quantities of irrigated lands, of good quality, and several estates in the mountains. Sev- Vacant Lands. 1 1 1 eral private parties in this quarter are willing to sell at moderate rates. In the plain of a the Artibonitc, over an extent of sixty miles, from Verrettes to la Riviere Salee, there are a good many unoc- cupied State lands. These lands are fit for all sorts of cultiva- tion, particularly of cotton, corn, and provisions. Towards Riviere Salee the deposits from the Artibonite have covered the lands with mud. They are easily cultivated, and can he used also for raising stock. There are ponds there which only re- quire to he kept in order to furnish good water during the whole year. Private parties would also sell cheap large quan- tities of land. In order to bring back to this arrondissement its ancient prosperity _, the water-courses would have to be opened as for- merly, and the channels which are now filled up would require cleaning. The commander of this arrondissement makes this observa- tion, that the principal inconvenience which he has met with here is the Want of houses. You can go a long distance with- out meeting a single cabin, and experience has shown him that this is a serious obstacle for men who, on arriving, are obliged to spend considerable time to build themselves a shelter. I do not hesitate, President, to point out to you the arrondissement of St. Mark as one of the most important points for emigration. Here are vast tracts of land thinly peopled, and of known fer- tility, large rivers, easy communication, an open port, a town at an easy distance from two great commercial centres, easy communication with the arrondissements of Mirebalais, Lasca- hobas, and Marmelade; there are in this locality all the ele- ments necessary to bring back its ancient riches. The only thing which is wanting is a population in proportion to its magnificent position. Emigration can supply this. We have already seen a certain number of Louisianians take this direction, and others are announced. 1 1 2 Vacant Lands. RONDISSEMENT OF MIREBALAIS. The Government owns, in this arrondissement, a great amount of land. The mildness of tlic climate, and the fertility of the soil, offer very great advantages. Several proprietors offer large properties for sale. This district would seem to be very favorable to men of our race who, from a long residence in the cold countries of North r'ua, would find it difficult to accustom themselves to the much greater heat of the lowlands. The distance from any seaport would certainly be an inconvenience for the embarkation of produce, but the high road to Port-au-Erince, by way of the plain of Cul-de-Sac, is generally pretty good. ARRONDISSEMENT OF LASCAHOBAS. All that I have said of Mirebalais applies to this arrondisse- ment. There is here a large quantity of land, both public and private property. The land here is of prodigious fertility, and fit for alb kinds of culture. Lascahobas has also vast deposits of coal, and if the Artibonite could be made navigable, this part of the country could attain to a high degree of prosperity. ARRONDISSEMENT OF DESSALINES. At a short distance from the village of Dessalincs, the State owms from two thousand to twenty-five hundred acres of land, or more. Near to St. Mark, and placed in much the same circum- stances, what has been said of the one applies to the other. As it is situated more in the interior, it maybe considered as a con- tinuation of the arrondissement of St. Mark. There are several questions which would require profound study, — such as the regulation of the water supply, the cultivation of different -ivannahs, etc. ARRONDISSEMENT OF GONAIVLS. This arrondissement must be joined to the two preceding ones, to complete a group, the unity of which is scarcely broken by the administrative divisions. In the centre, and forming a vast quadrilateral, is a magnificent basin (or hollow) watered by Vacant Lands. "3 the Artibonite, tlie Ester, and various small water-courses. Cotton has always been grown on these lands, which are in a superior degree adapted to its cultivation. By giving them water, every kind of produce natural to this climate could be grown there. The high road from St. Mark to Gonaives intersects them, and there are numerous landing-places on the seashore. ARRONDISSEMENT OP PORT DE PAIxl There are many demesne lands in this section, of upwards of three hundred and six hundred acres each lot. The quantity of land situated in the plains is small compared to that on the hills and in the mountains. Both are very fertile, and would produce almost anything. Cotton would succeed well on the long line of country which extends from the Bay-des-Moustiques to the Bombardo. The department of the northwest is only thinly peopled. Many private parties wish to come to terms of any kind with emigrants. Large lots of land could be found on very favorable terms. Twelve thousand acres are at present in the market. Landing-places are numerous all along the coasts. Port de Paix, an open port, would facilitate the disposal of all sorts of produce. Besides, its nearness to Cape Haytian presents im- portant advantages. I do not speak of the arrondissement of Mole St. Nicholas, as this part of the country is very poor and barren. ARRONDISSEMENT OP THE BORGNE. As in almost every place, the Government lands are more abundant in the mountains than in the plains, in this section. Private parties are open to arrangements with emigrants. The climate is mild, and the lands are fertile. There is here a great variety in the cultivation of the land. Cocoa is the staple of several districts. There is a bright future awaiting this part of the country, in the matter of agriculture. The price of land is rather high. By means of many harbors and 10* 1 1 a Vacant Lands. knding-phu ion has easy access to Port do Paix and Capo Haytian. AKKONDISSEMENT OP LIMBE. In all the department of the north there arc great numbers of demesne land- in the handsof Bquatters, oi\of farmers who do not pay their rent. The conditions of their leases ought to be Mailed by them. This they should be made to do under pen- alty of cancelling their leases. This is an inconvenience which wc often meet with in this district. There is much waste land hero, the climate is mild, and the lands very fertile. The sympathies of the emigrant will be attracted by its smiling and picturesque aspect, as those of the traveller invariably arc. Plaisance (the very name indicates the advantages to be en- joyed here) rejoices in a climate of imcomparable mildness, and of very great fertility. Though at a considerable distance from any commercial centre, it is, by its position, tho principal mar- ket between the Cape and Gronai'ves, and has the means of taking its produce to the most favorable of these twomaarkets. ARRONDISSEMENT OF CAPE HAYTIAN. The Government lands are more parcelled out here than in many other localities ; this is always the case in the neighborhood of laro-e towns. There is, notwithstanding, a considerable quantity of demesne land. Six miles from the Cape, at Morne Kouge, there are seven hundred and fifty acres of unoccupied land. This virgin soil, of great fertility, is watered by numerous springs. Independently of being near the capital of the dis- trict, they arc near the landing-place of Acul du Nord. The fertility of the plain of the Capo is proverbial. Tho sections of Limonade and Quarticr-Morin, are justly re- nowned for their fertility. In spite of the heat of our climate, the cultivation of tho sugarcane succeeds admirably without irrigation. Vacant Lands. ns Many private parties, owning vast properties, are without workmen. This is a guarantee that emigrants will be able to come to terms with them. ARRONDISSEMENT OP THE GRANDE RIVIERE. The local authorities manifest much sympathy in behalf of emigration. Though the Government lands are cut up into small parts, or partly leased, there is room here for a good number of laborers. Many of the leases are only held for the cutting of the logwood. This fine arrondissement has a largo extent of fallow land of first-rate quality. ARRONDISSEMENT OP THE TROU. Here there are numerous demesne lands. If the quality of the soil is not always equal to that of the arrondissements of which I have already spoken, there are, nevertheless, great advantages to be met with. The drier lands are specially adapted to the growing of cotton. ARRONDISSEMENT OP PORT LIBERTE. This is one of the districts which offer the largest extent of Government land. Tracts of vast extent, in the plains as well as in the mountains, could be placed at the disposal of the emi- grants. There are good and numerous landing-places. Its nearness to Cape Haytian would largely facilitate the sale of produce of all sorts. It would be easy to establish, in this sec- tion, settlements and villages. The mountains which tower above this part of the island are rich in various minerals. ARRONDISSEMENT OP NIPPES. I now pass to the department of the South. There is much sympathy shown, in the arrondissement of Nippes, on the question of emigration. The inhabitants are in- dustrious, and on that account there are not so many large Gov- ernment properties as elsewhere, but large quantities of land have been spontaneously offered for sale, on lease, or to be worked on half-shares. They would also pay the passage of one hundred laborers. Near the seashore, the Government has but little land. At u6 Vacant Lands. Baraderes, however, there are .several unoccupied properties tting a lot, near the shore, of about twenty-four hundred acres. The soil is very fertile, and fit for any kind of lowland cul- tivation. The river of Baraderes flows along this land. Quite near this river, and joining the mainland, from which it is sep- arated by a channel of little depth, is the Ilet a Pornic, meas- uring some twelve hundred acres cf good land. These two lots would be a good site for a settlement cf a thousand persons. From twelve to eighteen miles from Miragoiine, is the Roche- lois, a section of the country, of a mild climate, and of great fertility. Here there is about the same extent of vacant lands, bclon f produce. ARRONDISSEMENT OF TIBURON. In this, one of the most interesting districts in the country, Government owns a large extent of land. The ports of Vacant Lands. 117 Tiburon, Anse d'Hainault, Dame Marie, and Petite Riviere, are quite near to each other, and allow of easy communication. The inhabitants earnestly desire to see this plan of emigration succeed, and are ready to pay the passage of needy farm labor- ers, and would find them work, either by the day, on half shares, or on lease. The natural products are the same as at Jeremie. Cocoa is very largely cultivated, and there is room for great extension in this respect. ' ARRONDISSEMENT OF CAYES. In the commune of Cayes there is but little Government land, but from Torbeck to the Coteaux, and from this latter place to the Anglais and Port a Piment, (on the line from Coteaux to the Anglais,) there are many Government proper- ties in lands of a fertile character. The population is tolerably scattered, and there are large vacancies to be filled up. The plains of the South are justly celebrated for their great productiveness in the article of sugarcane. The inhabitants are industrious, and laborers would receive from them a hearty welcome. There is easy communication by means of numerous ports and harbors. The port of Cayes offers an important market for all sorts of produce. ARRONDISSEMENT OF AQUIN. There are in this district large quantities of Government lands. It would be easy to find in the plains, in large parcels, at least 3,600 acres in the different communes. Besides this, private parties offer about the same quantity in large planta- I tions, on very reasonable terms. They would also welcome a certain number of laborers. This district is very well disposed to second the views of the Government. ARRONDISSEMENT OF JACMEL. Coffee and provisions are the staples of this district; but near Saletrou and Marigot the land would grow cotton. The mountains grow all sorts of produce. The mountainous char^ acter of this district offers but little advantage to those who, on n8 Vacant Lands. arrival, look for good roads and easy communication. If this plan of emi should succeed to any great extent, no doubt its' turn would come. I have not mentioned in tliis report certain rich tracts of land in the interior, as in the arrondissement of Marmelade. I have not done so because I conclude that, at least for the time being, the absence of good roads is a sufficient obstacle to emigration. These splendid table-lands in the interior will, doubtless, one day have ' their turn. The fertile plains of Hinche, St. Michel, Banica, and Valliere, must necessarily attract attention. Their great metallurgic wealth, their coal deposits, and the mildness of their climate will recommend them as districts rich in promise for the future. The surveys which your Excellency will cause to be made will bring out in bold relief all these peculiar advantages. I have taken no notice of mountain lands. It is neverthe- less necessary to note here, that Government has many excel- lent lands of this kind. There is a needless alarm as to the difficulty of transporting produce in a hilly country. This should not be lost sight of, however, that in such parts of the country, much less labor is required ; and that, besides provisions and vegetables, which grow there in abundance, coffee, cocoa, and cotton succeed admirably. It is easy 'to cultivate these things, and they do not require any large outlay. This should not be lost sight of. In all the districts of the Republic there are immense tracts of this description, — all they need is laborers. These laborers are presenting themselves, President. If the small emigration from Louisiana seems to prefer the district of St. Mark, other proposals are made to us in view of the North- western section. All we have to do is to direct these currents to the points where the probability of success is greatest. The direction of agents abroad is necessary in order that our plan may succeed. It is quite natural for a man, before going to a Vacant Lands. 119 foreign country, to wish to know what kind of resources it possesses. The Government, on its part, should know as much as possi- ble of the antecedents of intending emigrants. Other measures will no doubt be subsequently needed, but they will perhaps require the intervention of the legislature. The reasons which have given rise to the creation of emigra- tion offices demand that these offices should be organized, at least, in those localities towards which emigration will most probably be directed in the beginning. For the above-mentioned reasons, I have the honor to pro- pose that your Excellency direct the following steps to be taken : — 1. That agents be appointed in foreign countries to promote an emigration into this country of men of our race. 2. That the towns of Cape Haytian, St. Mark, Fort-au- Prince, Gonai'ves, and Cayes, be named immediately as points where the emigrants can disembark. This measure to be ex- tended, if necessary, to Port de Paix, Miragoane, Jeremie, Aquin, and Jacmel. 3. That emigration offices be opened at Cape Haytian, Gonai'ves, St. Mark, Port-au-Prince, and Cayes. 4. That two inspectors be named, in the North and South, to survey and make a plan of the Government lands. 5. That a certain number of small frame-houses, which could be easily put up, be sent for from the States, to be sold to such emigrants as may need them. 6. That each emigration office should have placed at its dis- posal a building where emigrants may be lodged on arrival, and that authority be given to provide for their wants during the first eight days after arrival. 7. Lastly, that 3,000 copies of this report be printed and sent to our agents in foreign countries. (Signed) F. Jn. Joseph. Port-au-Prince , August 6, 1860. 1 2o Vacant Lands. DECREE. FABBE 1 1 ETFRARD, President of Hayti, On the lleport of the Secretary of State for the Interior and Agriculture ; Considering the Decree on Emigration of April 23, ultimo; By advice of the Council of Secretaries of State, Decrees as follows : Art. 1. Agents will be appointed in foreign parts to promote emigration, and to give all needful information to intending emigrants. Art. 2. An emigration office will be opened at St. Mark. Art. 3. A building will be placed at the disposal of each emigration office, in which emigrants on disembarking will be received. Art. 4. The towns of Capo Haytian, St. Mark, Port-au- Prince, Gonai'vcs, and Cayes, are named as points of disem- barkation. This measure can be extended, if need be, to Port dc Paix, Miragoane, Jeremie, Aquin, and Jacmel. Art. 5. Two inspectors will be named, for the North and South, whose duty it will be to survey and describe exactly such demesne lands as are disposable, with a view of settling emigrants npon them. Art. 6. Wooden houses will be prepared beforehand, by the care of the Secretary of State for the Interior and Agricul- ture. Art. 7. The present Decree will be printed, published, and put into execution by the Secretary of State for the Interior and Agriculture. Given at the National Palace, Port-au-Prince, the 14th of August, 18G0, the 57th year of Independence. (Signed) Geffrard. By the President : The Secretary of State for the Interior and Agriculture, (Signed) F. Jn. Joseph. £cttD0 in fat)or of (Emigration. FROM an official record of the proceedings of the Legislative Chambers of Hayti, we translate the following important documents. Senate. Session of September, 1860. .... The President (of the Senate) announced to the organs of the Government that the Assembly was ready to receive their communications. The Secretary of State of the Interior rose and stated that his colleagues and himself were charged by the Government to submit to the Senate a project of law on emigration. He then made the following exposition of the reasons for the project : Gentlemen : For many years past, tendencies to emigration, more or less decided, have appeared amongst men of our race on the American Continent and in the Islands of our Archipelago. Already, under the fallen government, an agent was sent to New Orleans to endeavor to profit by these dispositions, and the present administration, finding this work already begun, has sought to give to the movement a more vigorous impulse. Recent facts were used as the starting-point ,£o our efforts. A large number of the States of the great North American empire, in consequence of events which it is useless here to retrace, adopted a new policy, the rigors of which were des- tined to produce throughout the world a dismal echo. Our hearts were moved by the sufferings of our brethren on the 122 Laws in favor of Emigration. other side of the water, and we conceived that a great duty was imposed upon our country. To the full extent which our laws allowed, we expressed, under different forms, our wishes and sentiments to the children of the African race. We have re- ceived proofs of their sympathy, and we know that in spite of offers and numerous efforts made to induce them to settle elsc- where, it is still towards Ilayti that they turn their eyes. But, gentlemen, we must not shut our eyes to the fact that, whatever advantage, whatever satisfaction emigration may secure, in the case of a family leaving their country for a dis- tant one, there is always a certain fear of swallowing up their limited capital, and of remaining without resources in the face of an unknown future. Amongst the persons who wish to come, there is a large majority who, from their pecuniary posi- tion, are unable to run risks or trust to chance. Being possessed but of small means, they fear, on their arrival amongst us, being obliged to use their money in the purchase of an estate which they would be unable, from want of capital, to turn to good advantage. Gentlemen, these considerations are important. Government has seriously reflected on the subject. It has, on the one side, consulted the duties of our exceptional nationality, and has asked whether, in the position which we occupy in the world, we are not called upon to fulfil great obligations towards our brethren, whose misfortunes are one of the calamities of the age. On the other side, in presence of our financial embarrass- ment, it has sought the best practical means to be made use of in order to destroy the material obstacle which separates us from men whose hearts yearn towards Hayti. Thus put, the question, matured by more than a year's study, was destined to arrive at a solution worthy of the great men who have founded a country for the children of the African race. It is this solution, gentlemen, that I have the honor t<> submit to you. Laws in favor of Emigration. 123 Government proposes to grant five carreaux of land to every family of agriculturists, or laborers of African or Indian race. The grant shall be reduced to two carreaux for every unmarried cultivator or laborer. This measure is the object of the first article of the law which I now submit to your deliberations. Articles 2, 3, and 4, are intended to regulate this decree. You know, gentlemen, that at least two thuds of our lands are fallow lands. The State, although owning immense domains, derives scarcely anything from this enormous capital. And how can it be otherwise, when the labor necessary to cultivation is wanting, in consequence of our deficient population ? Be- sides, — why not admit it ? — we still practise the agricultural pro- cesses of the ancient colonists, while around us everything has progressed, agriculture and manufactures. The progress at- tained during the last quarter of a century has changed the mode of agriculture, as well as all other arts of production. To remain stationary, when others are making giant strides, would be exceeding dangerous for us. In consequence of the recent decrees, by which we are en- abled to recommence the sale of Government lands, we have sold and are still selling a few estates ; but this operation pro- duces no perceptible change in the general condition of national labor. It is scarce anything else but a removal of laborers. The measure we propose to you will, on the contrary, add to the number of our products, and tend to bring into general use the processes which give wealth to countries possessing a soil and climate identical with our own. It is, then, with entire confidence that I lodge in your hands this project of law, destined to increase the prosperity and power of our beloved country. After which, this high functionary read the said project of law and delivered it to the Bureau, which gave him a receipt in the name of the whole Senate. 124 Laws in favor of Emigration. Law on the Emigration into ike Country, of Persons of . 1 1 r'can and Indian Race. Fabre GtEFFRARD, Prcsidcjit of Hayti, By tho advice of tho Council of the Secretaries of State, Has proposed the following law: Article 1. After the promulgation of the present law, five carreauxof land will he granted, free of all charge, to every family of lahorers or cultivators of African or Indian race who shall arrive in the Republic. This grant will be reduced to two car- reaux, when the laborer or cultivator is unmarried. Art. 2. These grants will be delivered, without expense and with a provisional title, to every family that shall have made, before the proper magistrate, the declarations prescribed by law to the end of obtaining naturalization, and they will be con- verted into final grants after a residence of a year and a day in the country. Aet. 3. The final grants will be given in exchange for the provisional grants, only when it shall have been ascertained by the Government agent that cultivation has already commenced on the property granted. Art. 4. The grantee shall not have the power to dispose of his grant before the expiration of seven consecutive years of occupation. Nevertheless, lie will lie able to obtain the author- ity to exchange his grant for another property, but only on the conditions, terms, and with the provisos above named. The present law shall be promptly executed by the Secretary of State of the Interior and of Agriculture. National Palace of Port-au-Prince, the 1st September, 18G0, year ffty-seventh of Independent. Geffrard. By jifi; President : The Seen tary of State, of tho. Interior, and of Agriculture. I\s. Jx. Joseph. The Secretary of State, of War, and of Marine T. Dejoie. '/'/'■ Secretary of State, of Justice, and of Worship E. Dubois. Th\ Secretary of State, of Finances, of Commerce, and 'rterior Relations V. PLESA The Sxrretary of State of tlie General Police T. LAMOTnE. Laws in favor of Emigration. 125 The Secretary of State of Justice and of Worship, took the floor [prencl la parole] and presented the following project of law, which project, he said, the Government has considered as a measure corollary to the one just submitted to you, inasmuch as it is destined to realize and facilitate its execution, with re- gard to the formalities required to become a Haytian citizen, and to enjoy immediately the benefits of emigration. Fabre Geffrard, President of Hayti, „ On the report of the Secretary of State of Justice, and by the advice of the Council of Secretaries of State, Considering that prompt action is demanded in behalf of those who possess the required qualifications to become Haytians, in order to enable them with facility to enter into the immediate enjoyment Of the rights attached to naturalization, Proposes the following law : Article 1. Article 14 of the civil code is modified as follows : "All those, who by virtue of the Constitution, are able to " acquire the rights of Haytian citizens, must, during the first "month of then arrival in the country, before the Justice of " the Peace of their residence, and in presence of two well- -known citizens, make a declaration to the effect that they " come with the intention of settling in the Republic. They " will, at the same time, before the Justice of the Peace, take " oath that they renounce every other country save Hayti." Art. 2. Provided with the duplicate of the verbal process of the Justice of the Peace, setting forth their declaration that they come to settle in the Republic, and then taking of the oath, they will present themselves at the offices of the President of Hayti, to receive an act from the Chief of the State, recog- nizing them as citizens of the Republic. Art. 3. The present law annuls all laws or measures which are contrary to it, and shall be executed with dispatch by the Secretary of State for Justice. 11* i 26 Laws in favor of Emigration. Given at the National Palace of Port-au-Prince, the 27th day of August, I860, in the 57th year of Independence. Geffrajrd. By the President: The Secretary of State for Justice, Public Worship, and Public Instruction, Dubois. The project was then remitted to the office, and a receipt therefor delivered to the Secretaries of State. The Senate then read the first project of law. Its emergency was voted, on the proposal of Senator Jh. Essaleynes, sup- ported by Senators Inginac and Zamor, Senior. In consequence of this, the project underwent alternatively all the formalities required by the rules for the discussion of laws. The result thereof was that it was unanimously adopted in its principle, in its details, and as a whole. On the adoption of the emergency proposed by Senator Labonte, with regard to the second project of laws, this project was also unanimously voted, in its principles, its articles, and as a whole. These acts were then drawn up in the official form, and were sent to the Chamber of Representatives, in conformity with the Constitution, where they were unanimously passed, without alteration or amendment. |aoli fcjjirS. ROUGH NOTES AND ESSAYS. POLITICAL, SOCIAL, COMMERCIAL. ®l)c Jp.jfflpLe of fjagti. AS in all the Republics of the tropics and Central and South America, the people of Hayti are divided into two distinct parties, — the enlightened class and the uneducated mass. In Hayti we can discover, side by side with the highest intelligence and culture, many traces of the primitive superstitions and ideas. It is sufficient for the purpose of a Guide Book to speak briefly of both classes. The enlightened class may be de- scribed in three words : They are Frenchmen. All the dis- tinguishing traits of the Parisian gentleman are reproduced in the educated Haytian. The uneducated class, and particularly the people of the country — les hahitans — have the character- istics that are attributed to the inland Irish ; they are hospita- able, superstitious, of a never-failing good-nature, thoughtless of the morrow, with a quaint and prompt mother-wit, polite and sociable, but without ambition, and with little disposition to regular work. Their vices are contentment, petty theft, and a tendency to polygamy. With these exceptions, they are characterized by all who know them, even by pro-slavery travellers, as essentially a good people, and capable of creating a great future. The aim of the fallen Government was to crush out the enlightened class, by encouraging the ancestral practices and ideas of the uneducated party ; while all the energy of the present Admin- istration is, by educational and other civilizing agencies, to ex- 130 The People of Hayti. terminate ignorance "with all its pestilential progeny. In this nohle work, it is Imped, the emigrant will come in aid. ORIGIN. The blacks of Hayti are the descendants of between thirty and forty African races. These races, however, are now with difficulty recognized ; and perhaps not half of them have pure representatives. They have mingled bloods, and become one people. In the days of slavery, the Congos were the most numerous of the imported blacks. Their chief characteristics were described to be, a genial disposition, a love of song and of the dance, an intelligent spirit, and a great fondness for plantains. The Senegals, the next in numbers, most nearly resembled the whites in character and feature ; they had fine faces, and were distinguished by their silent habits, intellectual superiority, and bellicose disposition. The Yolofs possessed similar traits. The other imported races were the Calvaires, (from Cape Vert,) the Foulahs, the Bambaras, the Oniambas, the Mandingas, the Bissagots, the Socos. the Bpurignis, the Canvas, the various tribes of the Gold Coast, the Ardras, the Caplavus, the Mines, the Agonas, the Sofos, the Fantins, the Cotocalis, the Popos, the Foedas, the Fonds, the Aonssas, the Ibos, the Nagos, the Benins, the Mokos, the Mousombes, the Mondongas, and a few from Monomotapa, Madagascar, and Mozambique. The relics of their languages preserved in the Creole dialect, are largely of Congo origin ; with the exception of some Vaudoux verses in which the Ardra and Canga tongues predominate. This circumstance, however, is owing to the facts that the Vaudoux worship is of Ardra origin, and that the Ardra ton«nc remained the language of its ceremonies. There are very few traces of the Indian races in Hayti. The aboriginal inhabitants were utterly extinguished by the merciless and mercenary Spaniards. Of the imported Indians, one occasionally sees memorials in the longer hair and more regular beard than ordinarily belongs to the man of pure African The People of Hayti. 131 descent. The present President had ancestors of partly Indian blood. Indians in Hayti have all the rights of Blacks. LANGUAGE. The language of the educated class, of commerce, of the Courts, and of the Court, is the French; and a knowledge of it is absolutely essential to every one who intends to reside in Hayti. Hence the emigrant should provide himself with the necessary text-books, and a Dictionary for the purpose of ac- quiring it. The language of the common people is Creole. From an essay on this dialect, written during my second visit to Hayti, I subjoin as much as is necessary for the guidance of the emigrant. Haytian Creole, it is said, is easily acquired, but is so unlike the French that Frenchmen at first do not understand it. It presents three difficult elements to them : African words, French words mispronounced or abbreviated, and a peculiar grammat- ical or ungrammatical construction. There are several grades of this Haytian patois ; some of them so nearly French that no translation is needed, — others so barbarous or bastard, (le gros Creole,') that hardly any resemblance can be traced to the mother tongue. The Creole of the Eastern Part, the mission- aries say, is much more nearly like the Spanish, than the dialects of the West resemble the French tongue. In the lowest Creole, the proportion of African words is probably about one twentieth ; but in the purest dialect the proportion is exceedingly small. "But the great speciality of the Creole," says Mr. Bishop, in a manuscript now before me, "is abbreviation. Conjunctions and pronouns are mercilessly sacrificed. This gives rapidity to the language. There is a low idiom used by the vulgar in dis- tinction from that used by the more refined class. There is also a slight difference in different localities, similar to the provincial dialects in England, but not so widely different. The Creole can scarcely be acquired by any but a resident, and he must be a good hand at retaining words to do anything in it. A knowl- edge of it is essential to any one who has dealings with the 132 The People of Hayti. lower class iii the country, and small towns especially." Sub- stantive plurals are unknown. They say cheval when they mean horses, and cheval when they speak of a horse. Accents are also changed. Instead of papier, for example, they say papier. " This patois," says Dr. Brown, " has few inflections ve it expressiveness, but this quality is communicated to it in perfection by a vast variety of modifications of voice and ges- ture in the person speaking. But one mood, that known among grammarians by the term infinitive, is applied to the verbs, and the differences of time and circumstances are expressed by pre- fixing the particles before the word. Thus, je parle is express- ed moi purler ; je parlais by moi te parle r ; the particles te and va being corrupt derivations from the auxiliary French verbs etre and alter ; and the phrase signifying literally, — Me speak, Me was spoke, and Me going to speak. It is said that no foreigner is capable of attaining a complete knowledge of all the occult significations and the varied expressions given by the natives to this negro French, by the means of the changes and combinations to which the different phrases arc subjected by the speakers. What cannot be expressed in any other language, can be easily uttered or signified through this singular flexibility of the Creole tongue by means of one or two words adroitly selected and accompanied by the peculiar gesture and intonation significant of the idea. This language runs readily into rhyme, and the blacks express both their joy and grief by song; and by a union of singing and pantomime, they mysteriously describe their future designs of insurrection, pillage, or love.'' To Mr. Bishop I am indebted for the following conjugation of the verb /aire, as it would be conjugated if the Creole had a gram- mar: Indicative. Faire — To do. Present. M'a ])£ fait * — I am doing. Ou'a p<3 fait — Thou art doing. * This, following Dr. Brow a, Bhoald be written faire; bulas both word* are similarly pronounced, I follow Mr. liisliup'.s manuscript. The People of Hayti. 133 L'a pe" fait — He is doing. N'a pe" fait — We are doing. Ou' a pe" fait — You are doing. Y' a pe" fait — They are doing. Imperfect. M 1 ta pe" fait — I was doing. Ou ta pe" fait — Thou wast doing. Li ta pe" fait — He was doing. Nou ta pe" fait — We were doing. Ou ta pe" fait — You were doing. Yo ta pe" fait — They were doing. Pas. Def. Mon fait, or M' te" fait — I did. Ou fait, or Ou te" fait — Thou didst. Li fait, or Li te" fait — He did. Nou fait, or Nou te" fait — We did. Ou fait, or Ou te fait — You did. Yo fait, or Yo te" fait — They did. Pas. Ind. Mon fait — I have done. Ou fait — Thou hast done. Li fait — He has done. Nou fait — We have done. Ou fait — You have done. Yo fait — They have done. Pas. Ante. W te fait, &c, &c, &c. Plus que Parf. W te" fait, &c, &c, &c. Future. M' a or M' va fait — I will do. Ou' a or Ou va fait — Thou wilt do, &c, &c« Fut. Ant. There seems to be no idea, in Creole, answering to — I will have done, except it be the same as the former. Condit. W tafait — I would do. Ou ta fait — Thou wouldst do. Li ta fait. — He would do. Imper. Fait — Do thou. Fait — Do ye, &c. 12 *34 The People of Hayti. The Creole is but little encumbered with rules and tenses. I do not know better how to give the subjunctive than by one or two sentences. French. II veut, II exige, II desire, Li vie, Li exigd, Li desird, que vous fassiez votre devoir. Creole. r ou fait devoir ou. French. M' pas croud, Esse-ou croud Je ne crois pas, > , n vienne? Croyez-vous, ) Ci'eole. (. l'avini? t tt-ench. J' ai jugd qu'il dut faire cela. Creole. Mon juge li doit fait 9a. Examples of Phrases. FRENCH. ENGLISH. Mon pere, My father, Ton pere, Thy father, Son pere, His father, Notre pere, Our father, Votre pere, Your father, Leur pere, Their father, French — La Maison de mon pere. CREOLE. papa-moud. papa-ou. papa-li. papa-nou. papa-ou. papa-yo. Creole — La kaiii papa moud. French — L'ami de son frere. Creole — Z'ami fre li, French — L' argent de cet hornme. Creole — L'agent noinme-la. There is one very expressive word in Creole, used to express anything and everything, and that word isBagale. " Bagaie moud" means every- thing belonging to me. Thus: " Li prend bagaie moud, li pas vld ba moud li — He has taken something of mine, and he does not wish to give it back." There is one singular way of expressing strongly in Creole, which resem- peculiarity of expression: " A116 m'a pour alle\ Literally: ■ I roing, I am going; " or " I am really going." " C'est vld ou pas vld — It is wishing you do not wish," or "You really do not wish." " Ou mizd memc, edst vini <>u sa? You have been very long — are 3 T ou only just come?" " Ou trompd, c'osl joudi mon vini?" " You are mistaken (lit- The People of Hayti. 135 e rally,) is it to-day that I am come? " or "I have been come some time." The meme in Creole is very emphatic : " Li aimd meme — he really loves." "Li pas t^ vie" meme — he would not consent on any account." All the emphasis in pronunciation is thrown upon the meme. " Eh, bien ! com- ment ou (y£)? "Well, how are you?" The usual answer* is: "A la volonte" maite ; " or " a la volante" de Die\" The Lord's Prayer in Creole. "Papa-nou, qui n'en ciel; nou 'mand6 ou fait nom ou sanctified fait regne ou veni, fait la volonte" ou fait nen terre comrne n'en ciel. Ba nou jourdi la nourriture qui va suffit nou pour la jounce ; pardonne" nou p^che nou, comme nou pardonne 9a qui p^che - conte, nou, pas quitte" nou tombe" nen tentation mais oudte" nou nen main satan. Amen." The translation furnished to me by Mr. Ackermann is some- what different. I subjoin it, also, so that both versions may be compared with the French original : — " Papa nou, ou qui nen ciel, nom ou li saint, que royaume ou pour nou, et que volonfre" ou va fait sou terre cou nen ciel. Bah nou di pain 'joudi nou besoin et pardon pour offences nou fait ou, cou nou a pe" bay pardon a tout moun qui offense" nou et pas quitte" nou tombe" nen tentation : mais delivre" nou de tout sa qui mal, ce royaume la tout c'est pour vou, par not seigneur. Amen." Creole can be acquired easily in three or six months if one lives among the people. In order to facilitate the acquisition of the dialect, a grammar, with conversations, phrases, songs, and the proverbs of Hayti, in Creole, will be issued under the supervision of the Bureau of Emigration. "With the blacks," says Moreau de St. Mery, writing of Hayti at the close of the last century, "gestures are very numerous, and they form an intrinsic part of their language. They love, above all, to express imitative sounds. Do they speak of a cannon shot, they add bourne ; of a musket shot, poume ; of a blow on the face, phnme ; of a kick, or blow with a stick,- himme ; of whipping, tflap v'lap. Does one fall down lightly, they add, hap ; heavy, it is bourn; in tumbling down, blou coutoum ; and whenever they wish to render an imitative sound, they repeat the term as far, far, far, far away, — which signifies at a great distance." 136 The People of Hayti. INDUSTRY. The chief manufactures of Hayti are syrup, rum, and taffia, which is a kind of unclarified rum, much used by the lower people. The manufacture of brown sugar has recently been commenced. Measures are said to be in progress for the revival of the manufacture of white sugar, which, since the days of the French, has never been a flourishing branch of industry in Hayti. Ilaytian syrup is of the finest quality, as it contains all the juice, not the mere refuse of the juice of the sugarcane. A variety of preserves arc exported. The cities furnish brick- layers, masons, cabinet-makers, carpenters, saddlers, tailors, cordwainers, coopers, tanners that made good sole leather, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, tinsmiths, wheelwrights, and hatters. There are not enough hatters to supply the demand, and, in- deed, first-rate, industrious workmen, in any trade, would soon be able to establish themselves. There arc no saw-mills in operation in Hayti, no brick-yards, no shingle machines, very few ploughs, and none of our improved agricultural implements. The country offers a large field for their introduction, by per- sons who will themselves employ them. The Haytian women excel in all kinds of needlework, in embroidery in silk and cotton, and in the manufacture of wax flowers and fruits. The Haytian coasters, which are from ten to fifty tons' burthen, are all built by native workmen. The ropes generally used in the country districts are made of the leaves of the latanier ; but fine ropes are also made from the leaves of the great aloe. For domestic purposes water crouches are manu- factured of unglazed ware ; and oil, for burning, is extracted from the nut of the Palma-Christi. This is what we call hot- drawn castor oil. The fine arts have several professors at the capital ; and the Palace has many of the best works of Ilaytian painters. The bust of President Geffrard, to bo found at the Bureau in Boston, will give an idea of the ability of the Hay- tian artists in that department of the fine arts. The People of Hayti. \oj ^ POPULATION. The population of the Dominican Republic is generally stated at 120,000 ; it certainly is not greater, and probably is less. No reliable census of Hayti has been taken since the days of the French ; because the country people, having a traditional aversion to such an enumeration, have thrown numer- ous obstacles in the way of one. Their ancestors associated the census with slavery ; and such conjunctions have hitherto been fatal to every governmental project of the kind. The school- books of Hayti state its population at 800,000. But, after a careful study of all the statistics that have been published since the days of the French, and a review of the various causes which have tended to prevent a rapid increase, I cannot see how the present population of Hayti can be more than 600,000. A census has been ordered by the Government ; and this point, therefore, will soon be decided. There are not five hundred whites in Hayti. 12* II. Note on Religion anb (Education. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. THE history of the Catholic religion in Hayti is unique and interesting. Even in the days of the colonists, the power that the Pope wields in other Catholic countries, was never exercised in Hayti ; and, since the dawn of the National Inde- pendence of the conquering race, that deep-rooted and just jealousy of white domination which led the fathers of the Constitution to confine, forever, to men of African and Indian descent, the right of holding real estate in the Island, has safely guarded the prerogatives that the French formerly enjoyed against all the encroachments of ecclesiastical ambition. Hence, for many years, the Haytian people, although Catholics, have professed no spiritual allegiance to the Pope. The Head of the State has also been the Head of the Church — and the anomaly has been presented of a democratic Catholic church — a church without a bishop or any grade of superior clergy ! All, hitherto, have been priests only, receiving their appointment from the State. This independence, however, has not been of unmixed advantage. The necessity of having priests has often com- pelled the past Governments to appoint any one, qualified to perform the Catholic ceremonies, who presented himself as a candidate for tho office. Hence, the unfrocked priests of Europe, and men who left their country for their country's good, have frequently been appointed the spiritual guides of tho people. Unprincipled, licentious, and mercenary, these men, — Notes on Religion and Education. 139 drunkards, many of them, and living openly with concubines, — having no other interest in the well-being of the people than is implied in the right of receiving their fees, instead of en- couraging marriage and discouraging theVaudoux, and teaching — not only by precept but example — the morality of the Chris- tian religion, have brought discredit on its name, contributed to demoralize their flocks, and united in adding to Obeah rites the ceremonies of the Catholic faith. With a few noble ex ceptions, this has been the general character of the priests of Hayti. With three or four exceptions, also, these men have been whites, — natives chiefly of Corsica ; for the simple country people have a notion that whites only can be efUcient peres. (Many of them, certainly, in one sense, have been very eflicient peres.} Under such a state of things, the moral progress of the- people must necessarily have been slow. This subject has often occupied the attention of past Governments ) but the only remedy — a concordat with the Pope for the purpose of obtaining priests of good repute — has always been an insur- mountable obstacle in the way. For the Haytian Ruler has always refused to abdicate his chieftainship ; and the Pope, on the other hand, has inflexibly insisted on the absolute control of ecclesiastical affairs. This difficulty has at last been overcome by the concession, on the part of the Pope, of the most liberal concordat that has ever been concluded with the Holy See. It provides that the Bishop shall be appointed by the President, subject to the confirmation of the Pope ; and to this Bishop the power shall be given of nominating the priests, subject to the approval of the President. It requires that the bishop and priests shall give an oath of fidelity to the Haytian Government. The concordat has been ratified by the Senate and transmitted to Rome for signature. Under Soulouque, and still, (Septem- ber, I860,) there are only about thirty priests in the Republic. There will be seventy when the Concordat is signed and in force. The church in Hayti is supported by the fees paid by its members for the various rites performed ; and by a trifling 140 Notes on Religion and Education. annual contribution made by the Government for the repairs of ecclesiastical edifices. The law fixes the rate of charges for burials and high masses, which are paid to a church-warden (MarguiUier), who is a civil officer, and who expends it, under the direction of the Communal Council, for the use of the church — cue part to the priest ami his assistants, ami the rest for vestures, and the other necessities of the Catholic service. The Minis paid for baptisms, marriages, and petty masses are the exclusive income of the priest. PROTESTANTISM. Protestantism was introduced into Hayti in 1816, by the Wesleyan Methodists of England, at the special invitation of President Potion ; and to the number of their converts were added, in 1821, many of the emigrants under President Boyer. There are now about 1,-iOO Protestants in the Republic. The English "Wesleyan Methodists support -four stations ; the Eng- lish baptists one ; and the United States one. They arc also two llaytian Protestant churches. The largest liberty is allowed to Protestants in every part of the Republic ; and not only the exercise of their faith, but the fullest right to promul- ;i*e it is guaranteed by the Government and Constitution of the country. RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. Religious toleration is a prominent characteristic of the llay- tian people. Although they are Catholics they have never persecuted Protestants. Xo civilized nation in the world has so Btainless a record on this point. The great principle of toler- ation has been embodied in every Constitution, and maintained under (.very form of Government that has prevailed in Hayti, from the dawn of its National Independence. Dessalines, who completed the extinction of the whites, first proclaimed the doctrine of religious toleration. In the Constitution of 1805 of the Empire of Hayti, the fifteenth article declares that the "laws admit of no governing religion ; " the fifty-first, that " the liberty of worship is tolcr- Notes on Religion and Education. 141 atecl ; " and the fifty-second, tliat " tlie State makes no provision for the support of either worship or minister." Petion, the first President of the Republic of Hayti, made equally liberal provisions. In the Constitution of 1806, the thirty-fifth article is, " The Roman Catholic religion being the religion of all the Haytians, is the religion of the State. It shall be specially protected; as, also its ministers." Article 30 is, " The law allows each minister the extent of his spiritual administration. Their ministers cannot, under any pretext, form a body of State." Article thirty-seventh is, "If here- after, other religions are introduced, no 'person shall he re- strained in the exercise of the religion of their choice ; pro- vided he conforms to the laws." I venture the assertion that the statute book of no other nation contains so remarkable a provision ; — the assertion of the right of religious freedom by a nation of Catholics only, in anticipation of a possible future contingency. Protestantism was introduced under Petion, by his special invitation, in 1817 ; he gave the missionaries a cordial welcome, and assured them of perfect liberty to preach, travel, and build houses of worship where they pleased. In the Constitution of 1816, under Boyer, the forty-ninth article reads, " All religious worship is permitted in the Repub- lic, conformably with the laws." By the Constitution of 1843, (under Reviere,) " All reli- gions are equally free. Each one has the right to profess his religion and worship in freedom ; provided he does not disturb the public order." In the Constitutions of 1846 and 1849, (the last being under the Empire of Soulouque,) the rights of religious freedom and worship are expressed in the language of the Constitution of 1843. The Constitution of 1846 is in vigor now. The emphatic declaration of the present Government, that " no one shall be called on to defend the Roman Catholic religion, whether he 142 Notes on Religion and Education. believes it or not," and the frequent official repetitions of its intention to permit no manner of religious persecutions, are guarantees that the principle of religious toleration will suffer no abatement under the enlightened rule of President Genrard and his ministers. Such official guarantees, however, are un- necessary ; the character and history of the people are all suffi- cient. If there are those, however, who desire to make "assurance doubly sure" in this respect, they will find ample opportunities of doing so in the archives of the Bureau at Boston. EDUCATION. The colonial slaveholders of Hayti, like the slaveholders in our Southern States, kept their bondmen, as much' as possible, in a state of profound ignorance ; but, unlike their American fellow-crhninals of our day, instead of making merchandise of their illegitimate offspring, they freed and educated them, — often sending them to the academies and colleges of France. Dcssalines, the first independent ruler of Hayti, did not en- courage education, for he said that the parade ground was the best school for his people, and a musket the fittest text book. Christophe, however, Petion, and Boycr, pursued a different policy, and established numerous schools in every part of the country. Soulouque did nothing for education ; but, both directly and indirectly, encouraged barbarism. The school sys- tem withered under his blighting influence. Since the estab- lishment of the present Republic, however, energetic efforts have been made to revive and extend educational institutions.* The old schools have been restored, and many new ones * " Primary Instruction has made noteworthy progress; the schools founded in the rural sections, since the Revolution, gather together the youth of both sexes. Government proposes to make these schools agricultural. The work Of 1h<' Gelds, which, in a few years, will be directed and executed by practical men, will produce important results. Four National Lycees, 89 primary boys' Bchools, 21 primary girls 1 schools, 66 rural schools, a girls' boarding-school for the higher branches of instruction, a naval school, a school of medicine, a school of jurisprudence, a school of music, a school of painting, instruct, at the expense or the State, in all the extent of the Republic, 18,000 pupils. In private schools, also, there area considerable number of young pupils of both sexes."— Expo&ition of the General Situation of the Republic, Sept. 27, 1860. Notes on Religion and Education. 14.3 founded. Girls' schools, also, -which had not previously existed, have been recently introduced. Much yet remains to he done in this reform ; and American emigrants, it is hoped, will give to the Government an energetic aid in accomplishing it. The President informs the editor, (August, I860,) that there are now twelve thousand children attending the public schools. There are eight weekly newspapers published in Hayti ; one at Cape Haytian, one at Cayes, and six at Port-au-Prince. X III. iNatrigation anir (doinnura. HITHERTO the science of statistics has been utterly neg- lected in Hayti. Up to the date of the fall of Soulouque, the official statistics of all of the preceding Governments ■were worse than useless ; for they were the result of a delib- erate calculation to deceive on the part of their public agents. Under the Empire, for example, the most responsible Custom- House officers received a nominal salary that was barely suffi- cient to keep them in cigars. Hence, ships heavily laden witli French or English goods, which should have paid a duty amounting to thousands of dollars, were often reported in the Government returns as having arrived — with ballast/ The comptrollers got rich in a few years with the profits of such bal- last, and proslavery politicians in America became Gradgrind- Jeremiahs when they wrote about unfortunate Ilayti. A differ- ent system has been established by GefTrard, but sufficient time has not yet elapsed, owing to other serious and pressing duties, to organize a systematic Bureau of Statistics. The two following articles, however, from the Travail, (Portrau-Priucc,) of September 1G, 1860, are official, and their figures as nearly correct as it is possible to obtain them under existing circum- stances. An addition of ten per cent, on all the figures would give very nearly the true result, — thus allowing for the differ- ence between English and naytian weights and measures, and Navigation and Commerce. 145 admitted errors in the returns. The first article is on the com- merce between Hayfci and the United States : " The navigation of the United States in Hayti employs, under the American flag, one half of the foreign ships that fre- quent our ports. As these vessels are generally smaller than those which come from Europe, they represent only forty-two per cent, of the total tonnage. But it should be remarked that, thanks to their full cargoes both in arriving and returning, they can fix their rate of freight at more favorable terms than their competitors. The remark which has almost become an axiom, that the navigation of a people develops itself in proportion to the products exported, finds here a new proof. The value of the importations from the United States, and the amount of the duty paid by them to the treasury, is about forty per cent, of the total. It represents $2,250,000, [worth of imports,] of which ninety per cent, arrive under the American flag. The chief of these importations are pork, in its different forms, and flour, which amount to about fifty per cent, of them. Subjoined are the figures of the quantities introduced, and of the indication of then value : Candles $20,000 Soap 215,000 Butter and Cheese 40,000 Articles of which similar are Gold and Silver 65,000 produced in the country : Furniture and Manufac- Lumber and Shingles 70,000 tured Wood 25,000 Bice 110,000 Cotton Stuffs 220,000 Other Articles 65,000 Flour 500,000 Tobacco, in Leaves and Salt Beef 20,000 Manufactured 150,000 Fish 230,000 Refined Sugar 15,000 Pork, Ham, and Lard. . . 475,000 $o 2 50 000 Iron 30,000 ' ' " Pork, building wq^ds, tobacco, rice, refined sugar, amount to forty per cent, on the total importation. In proportion as our general industry shall develop itself, the importation of these articles will diminish ; for we are quite as well situated as the United States to produce such articles. It is greatly to be 13 146 Navigation and Commerce. desired that our culture of tobacco, rice, and sugar, should he sufficiently advanced in order to exclude from the list of our consumptions the productions of the Southern States of the Union. This reduction, however, would hardly impede our commerce with the United States, whose growth in the arts and manufactures increases every day. What our exchanges would lose on the one side, they would gain on the other ; but should our economical principles suffer by it, we would be happy to see our relations, even indirect, with the South, disappear from our commercial tables. We have one regret to express in re- lation to our navigation, — it is, that our national flag has dis- appeared from our intercourse with the United States. In 1853, we had twenty entries under the Haytian flag ; to-day we have not one. This result is due to the unskilfulness of the Empire which suppressed the additional duty of ten per cent, on the flags of all States that had not representatives at our Capitol. This was not only a disregard of our own interest, but it was a sacrifice, also, of every sentiment of national dignity to admit an American agent here, when a reciprocal right was refused to us at Washington." * The next article relates to the commerce of Port-au-Prince alone, for the first six months of 1860 : " We are enabled to offer our readers a few remarks on the * Hayti was the first country, after the United States, that successfully threw off European allegiance. Yet, up to the present time, the independence of Hayti has never been acknowledged by the great American Republic, whose example she was the first to imitate; although France, the mother country, England, Spain, Prussia, Belgium, and all Christendom, have done so, — many Of ilicin having ambassadors and consuls in Port-au-Prince, and receiving at their Courts her accredited representatives. We have recognized the indepen- dence of every unwashed and ragged-trousered Republic of Central and South America; even, among the number, petty tribes whose kings, as a royal costume, wear a shirt collar, a cigar, and a pair of spurs. We have expensive embassies in a dozen countries, whose united commerce with us dors not amount to one half of our annual commerce with Hayti. Soulouque, with imbecile indifference, permitted commercial agents, instead of consuls, to be 1 stablished in the open ports of his Empire, on condition only that similar agents, on bis part, cttizt ns qf the United States, should be appointed in Bos- ion. \\u York, and Philadelphia, lie abolished, also, the increased duty mentioned in thetext. No change has yet been made by the Government of the Republic, bu1 should the result of the approaching" Presidential election show that OUT policy low aid llavti is to be continued, energetic measures, it is said, will at once be taken to curtail and transfer to the more courteous pro- vinces North of us, the large and increasing commerce that we now carry on with her. Navigation and Commerce. 147 commercial activity of Port-au-Prince during the first six months of 1860, as well as the amount of duty collected by the Cus- tom-House of the same port in the same time. "The import tonnage has risen to 17,865 tons, and the export to 19,860. As usual, the United States hold the first rank, and are represented in the following tahle by 9,600 tons. Trance 5,000 tons. England 2,200 " Hanover, Denmark, Sweden, Hamburg, Belgium, Holland, and Spain, complete the list, " The amount of the invoices of importation is $1,438,145, Spanish. For the United States $665,400 Tor England 343,870 Eor France 228,680 The countries named above make up the difference. "The amount of exportation, reduced into Spanish dollars, at the rate of fourteen Haytian dollars to one Spanish, $1,408,000. This comprises : France $775,000 United States . / 275,000 England 1 90,000 And the other countries. " The import duties amount to $300,000. United States $104,000 France 74,000 England 53,000 Other countries 69,000 " The export duties amount to $275,000. France $135,00 United States 46,000 England 33,000 Other countries 61,000 ' ' Exportation comprises the following products : Coffee ^15,000,000 pounds. Logwood 8,400,000 " * Add nearly eight per cent. (7.958) for the differencelaetween Haytian and avoirdupois pounds. 148 Navigation and Commerce. Cotton 93,000 pounds. Cocoa 685,000 " Mahogany 88,000 feet. " The exportation of Coffee in French vessels has amounted to 7,500,0 10 pounds. American 2,300,000 pounds. English 1,835,000 " ] Danish 1,000,000 " Swedish 750,000 " Other countries 1,555,000 " "It will be observed on examining the above figures, that the imports and exports arc nearly to the same amount, — a fact which, if it were general, would indicate a healthy condition in tlie commerce of importation. " As is usually the case, the amount of merchandise coming from France is in proportion neither to the special tonnage of that country nor to the exportation. Thus, for a half-yearly im- portation of about 1,200,000 francs, France has received in return, 5,000,000 of francs of our produce. ' ' The difference is explained by the preference given to our Coffee by the French; a preference on which speculators have depended, on the strength of the new law in France; on the other hand, the imports from the United States and England are double the amount of the remittances under their flags. This met proves that the commerce with America and England has been transacted through drafts on France, and that American vessels, of a tonnage so considerable on the comparative table, have been laden with articles of small value. Indeed, out of 8,400,000 pounds of logwood exported, the United States have taken 6,200,000. " Another observation worthy of remark is, that for an impor- tation of $228,680, the French have paid $74,000 for import duty, or 33 per cent., and the English for $343,870, have paid only $53,000, or less than 16 per cent. Although the mer- chandise received from France is often composed of articles of luxury, wo think thero is occasion to examine the question under Navigation and Commerce. 149 its several aspects. Certainly the tonnage duty, weighing ac- cording to our system on the imports, modifies the proportion, since on one hand 5,000 tons represent only a value of $228,- 680, whilst on the other, 2,200 tons give $343,870. But this circumstande is not sufficient to explain so great a difference. We think it would be good in the interest of the consumer to take these observations into consideration. Many articles which have been long looked upon as things of luxury, are made to- day at very low prices, and would be accessible with a moderate duty, but are excluded from our habits by a heavy tax. How- ever, we reason on existing facts, reserving any discussion on sumptuary taxes. The duty on 'American cargoes, which are composed, for the most part, of provisions, has been likewise below 16 per cent." •By far the largest portion of the exports and imports occurs in the months of September, October, November, and Decem- ber. During the first six months of every year, not more than one third of the annual exports and imports are made. The foregoing figures, therefore, must be regarded in the light of this fact, to give a true result in estimating the yearly commerce of the capital. So far, for the commerce between the States and Hayti, and for the trade of the chief port. These subjoined figures, which are also official, will give an idea of the general commerce of the Republic : " The commerce of Hayti employs annually between 500 and 600 vessels, giving a total of about 70,000 tons, dis- tributed among the following nations : SHIPS. TONNAGE. United States 250 30,000 England 90 12,000 France 70 12,000 Gcrmany,Danish, Swedish, Rus- sian 50 ' 8,000 Holland, Belgium, Italian, Cen- tral America, Spanish 50 , 7,000" 13* 150 Navigation and Commerce. To these figures must be added 25 per cent., in order to arrive at their registry tonnage ; for the Haytian mode of computation gives invariably between 25 and 30 per cent, less than the ship's register. " The import duties paid to the State, underline Empire, averaged between $800,000 and $900,000 annually, and were derived as follows : United States $300,000 England 190,000 France 190,000 Other Flags 180,000 ' ' The annual exportations of the principal staples may be estimated thus : Coffee 50,000,000 lbs. Haytian. Logwood 50,000,000 " " Cotton 700,000 minimum. Cocoa 1,200,000 lbs. Haytian. Mahogany 2,500,000 feet reduced." IV. ^Political iNote. TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS OP THE REPUBLIC. "POLITICALLY, the Republic is divided into departments ; ■*■ the departments into arrondissements ; the arrondissements into communes ; and these last into rural sections. The departments have no commanders-in-chief; hut each arrondissement has a commander, who, up to the present time, has always been an officer of superior rank. They receive then orders from the different Secretaries of State, whom they represent in their respective arrondissements; they are the political administrators, and are intrusted with the superintend- ence of the high police. Each commune also is commanded by a military officer, who is responsible to the commander of the arrondissement of which the commune forms a part. The rural sections of the communes are commanded by officers of rural police, who are responsible to the commander of the commune. There are five departments, to wit, the departments of the South, the West, the Artibonite, the North and Northwest. There are twenty-one arrondissements, viz : Cayes, Tiburon, Grand'Anse, Nippes, Aquin, Jacmel, Leogane, Port-au-Prince, Mirebalais, Lascahobas, St. Mark, Gonaives, Marmelade, Mole, St. Nicholas, Port de Paix, Rorgne, Cape Haytian, Limbe, Grande Riviere, Trou, Fort Liberte. There are fifty-five communes. 152 Political Notes. For the administration of justice, the territory of the Repub- lic is divided into seven civil jurisd , which also, as has been ah ice of criminal, correctional, and maritime or admiralty cases, to wit, the jurisdiction of Cayes, Jeremic, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince, Gonai'ves, Cape Hay- fcian, and Port de Paix. The civil tribunals have their sittings in these towns, — the if places of the jurisdiction. The tribunals of Commerce also have their sittings in them, and extend their jurisdiction over the same divisions. The tribunal of Cassation sits in the capital. Each commune has a Police Court, (Tribunal de Paix,) the jurisdiction of which extends over the commune. For the administration of Finances, the territory is divided into thirteen financial aiTondisscments, to wit, Cayes, Aquin, Jeremie, Nippes, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince, St. Mark, Gonai'ves, Port do Paix, Cape Haytian. The administrators reside in these towns, the ports of which are the only ones opened to foreign commerce.'* They have under their orders, the respec- tive treasurers, the directors of customs, and the Government storekeepers; and besides, the Government overseers, who, in the communes, hold all the administrptive functions. STATE REVENUE AND DEBTS. The State Revenues are drawn from the duties on exports and imports, harbor dues, stamps, registry fees, the sales and leases of public lands and buildings, and the "patents" or licenses of merchants. The State income averages over $2,000,000 per annum. Of this amount about $800,000 are derived from the tax on coffee. The import duties range be- tween $800,000 and $900,000. An immense future income will probably be derived from the exploitation of the wood-, islands, and mines of the Republic. The National Debt con- tracted fox the " Indemnity," and a loan from France, amounts * The open port <>f Nippes Is Hiragoane ; the other towus bearing also the names of the arrondissementB* Political Notes. 153 to about $8,000,000 ; which will be totally extinguished in 1879, by the payments annually made according to the treaty. The paper money in circulation amounts to between two and three millions of American dollars in value. ARMY. Every Haytian has been trained to military duty. The armed force of the nation has always been large. The standing army of the Republic, under Boj^er, was 40,000 men ; and under Soulouque, shortly before his abdication, it reached 22,000. The history of the country will explain this extraor- dinary fact, by showing how the maintenance of the national Independence, and the rivalries of rulers, have seemed to render a numerous armed body indispensable. The reduction of this force to the lowest possible point, is a reform that every patriot desires to see accomplished, and one which the present admin- istration is rapidly achieving. The army has already been reduced to 10,900 men. It is thus organized and divided : 32 regiments of Infantry - 4 regiments of Artillery - 8 * Corps de Garde - - Cavalry ------- 10,900 " The police, which is also an armed body, numbers 3,100 men. Not more than one half of the army is engaged in duty at the same time ; for it is otherwise organized than the forces of the United States. " The armed force," says a Haytian author, " is divided into the paid National Guard and the unpaid National Guard. The first class includes all those who live under the rule of military discipline ; the second class, every one capable of bearing arms, — which the law makes the duty of all men between the ages of fifteen and sixty years. Ordi- narily, but a very small number of the soldiers, (the first class,) are in service each week in their respective garrisons or cantons, 6,400 : men. 1,000 t i 3,000 a 500 a 154 Political Notes. while the rest are left at liberty to work at their respective in- dustrial occupations, and particularly at the cultivation of the fields ; but, at the slightest indication of danger, these soldiers rush spontaneously to their colors. The unpaid National Guard drills on the first Sunday of every month, and are reviewed in the communes in which they reside. In case of war they join the military force, and are actively associated with them. The commanders of arrondisscments have under their order the National Guard of their respective arrondisscments ; at their requisition they formed themselves, for the trial of military offences, into special councils, which assembled at the chief towns of the arrondissements." The police receive seven Haytian dollars weekly ; the com- mon soldiers, two dollars, for rations, and an occasional small bounty ; the President's Body Guard, (Lcs Tirailleurs,) two dollars a day, with rations and clothing. In 1859, the expense of the army, including the police, amounted to $555,000 Hay- tian; by the last reduction in numbers, it will cost $350,000 for the present year. Still further reductions will be made in future. NAVY. The navy of Hayti, under Souloucpic, consisted of six small vessels, which were used for the purpose of transporting pro- visions, prisoners, soldiers, or messages from port to port. It is now suppressed. Two steam vessels — " The Geffrard," and " The 22d of December " — made in France, have been sub- stituted for it. LAWS. The laws of Hayti consist of the provisions of the " six codes," which, with some modifications, are a copy of the Code Napoleon. The six codes were published in 1825. The laws passed since that time have not been yet codified. The Presi- dent, in certain prescribed cases, has the power of making pro- visional enactments, " Arretes," which are in force until the meeting of (he Chambers; when, if the Legislative bodies Political Notes. i£j ratify them, they become statute laws ; if not, they lose their efficacy. (See Constitution.) Before a law, passed by the Chambers, is enforced, it must be proclaimed by authority of Ihe President. This proclamation is made by a public reading of the law by a military company in every city, town, village, and commune hi the Republic. CURRENCY. It is the peculiar maxim of Haytian merchants that gold is merchandise ; fluctuating in value like other articles of com- merce. That is to say, the relation that gold (called monnaie forte or piastres) bears to the currency of the country, (or monnaie nationale,) is subject to the ordinary changes of trade. The entire retail commerce of the country is carried on in national money, of which the standard is the gourde, sometimes also called the Haytian dollar. At different times of the year the value of the piastre ranges at from twelve to sixteen gourdes ; but in seasons of political trouble, as when the Revo- lution was progressing, it has even reached nineteen. The most noteworthy fact connected with the national currency is, that it chiefly consists of paper money, — - bills, of about twice the size of American bank notes, of one and two gourdes in value. When the rate of exchange, or, as they say in Hayti, the value of the piastre, is as one to twelve, a gourde is worth 85- cents American currency ; and a bill of two gourdes, there- fore, 16 | cents. There are also metallic coins, — four gourdes, two gourdes, one gourde, and half a gourde, in silver-alloyed pieces ; and the one gourdine, (J gourde,) the gros cob, (of which there are 12 in a gourde,) and the petit cob, (of which there are 24,) of copper. The value of one gros cob and one petit cob, is called an escalin, of which eight would make a gourde ; but, like the pence and shillings of New England, there is no coin of the name. Twelve French pounds weight of copper money is worth a hundred Haytian dollars. You can do noth- ing in the retail and internal trade with gold in Hayti. It is wily the wholesale importing business of the country that takes • 5 6 Political Notes. cognizance of piastres and doubloons. The coins of Hayti have national stamps.* HAITIAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The old French weights and measures are the standards of Haytian weights and measures, as follows : Haytian. American Avoirdupois pounds. Kilos, modern Freud:. 1 lb — 1.0795864 — 0.4895 2 " .... — 2.1591708 - 0.9790 3 " .... — 3.2387562 — 1.4685 4 « — 4.3183416 — 1.9580 5 " — 5.3979270 — 2.4475 10 " .... 100 " .... - 10.795854 - 107.95854 = 4.8950 = 48.9500 LINEAR OR LONG MEASURE. Haytian. American. French. 1 foot 1.065636 feet — 0.3248 metres. 2 feet — 2.121272 " — 0.6596 " 3 " — 3.196909 " — 0.9744 " 4 " — 4.262545 " — 1.3192 " 5 " — 5.328181 " — 1.6240 u 10 " — 10.656363 " c= 3.2480 " 100 " — 106.563632 " — P2.4800 " * The pieces bear the denomination of 1 gourde; 50 ceuis; 25 cents; and i2j cents, silver coins. 6ccuts; 2 cents; 1 cent, copper. In 1852 the value of ail Haytian metallic coins was raised fourfold, thereby bringing them up to their intrinsic value, with a view to prevent the very extensive exportation of them, which was illicitly carried on, and left a handsome profit to the smug- ler. — C. H. B. Political Notes. l S7 SUPERFICIAL OR SQUARE MEASURE. Haytian. American sq. ft. American sq. yd. One carreau, or the square on a base ") of 350 Haytian feet, or 372.97259832 > = 139108.56035076 = 15456.50670 American feet •. ) 2carreaux = 278217.12070150 = 30913.01340 3 " = 417325.68105228 = 46369.52010 4 " = 556434.24140300 = 61826.02680 5 " = 695542.80175360 = 77282.53350^ 10 «« = 1391085.6035076 = 154565.06705 100 " = 13910856.035076 =1545650.67056 100 " equal 319.34931 acres; 1 carreau equals 3.1935 acres. 1 carreau equals 12913.1424 French square metres. LIQUID MEASURE. •Haytian gallon equals, 231 cubic inches, English. or, 0.833111 Imperial gallon, English. or, 3.78520 French litres. 1 French litre equals 61.027051313 cubic inches, English. Haytian gallon equals 3 quarts and nearly }, or 3.332444 quarts. LEGAL EIGHTS OF WHITES. The legal rights of the white race in Hayti are not very numerous. They cannot possess real estate, nor hold mort- gages for longer than nine years ; they cannot become citizens, and, consequently, can neither vote nor attain political position ; if they marry Haytian women, even, they cannot inherit their landed property, but only the proceeds of it when sold at a public action. They can be wholesale merchants, artists, me- chanics, professors, teachers, clerks, engineers, and the lessees of estates ; but the retail trade, the bar, and the bench, military honors and civil distinctions have not been placed within the scope of their attainment. In social life, however, and in the callings for which they are legally qualified, they are treated with all the courtesy and regard to which their character entitles them. Exemplary conduct on their part always enables them 14 1^8 Political Notes. to overcome the social disadvantages attaching to their unfor- tunate color. THE HAYTIAN EMBLEMS. As the Coat of Arms of Hayti will be found in the title-page, it is unnecessary to describe it. The Haytian flag is truly sig- nificant : it is the French flag with the colors reversed and the white clement stricken out. It consists of two colors horizon- tally placed, the red beneath the blue. Y. i ffixszaszz af $>i ctnjbr tljetr Jtemeibw. THE catalogue of diseases in Hayti does not present anything nearly so complex in character, nor so many varieties of types, as are known to exist in colder latitudes, and in countries where annually the four seasons succeed each other more uni- formly, and where each in particular is characterized by sudden thermometric fluctuations and meteorological transitions. In the maritime towns, and in marshy situations near the seacoast, during the hot months, and also towards the fall of the year, remittent, bilious-remittent, or inflammatory remittent, typhus, and simple continued fevers, and intermittents of the tertian type, usually prevail. An attack from any one form of these fevers is more or less serious, if not decidedly dangerous ; the intensity, character, and termination, are always influenced, as in other hot countries, by the habits and temperament of the patient's body, as well as by the nature of the locality where the disease originates. Individuals of sober, regular habits, who are cleanly in their persons, and whose constitutions are not injured by the use of spirituous liquors and other excesses, may live in Hayti to an advanced age without having been subjected to many serious attacks of fever, or other malignant malady ; and this remark applies even to the white or European resident, who is evidently much more predisposed to fall under the evil effects of hot climates, and is more obnoxious to the diseases of torrid coun- tries, than persons of African blood. i6o Diseases of Hayti. The typhus icier odes, or yellow fever of the West Indies, may he considered to be a remittent-bilious, inflammatory fever, of insidious typhoid tendency, and is most intolerant towards the unaccliinaU'd white blood of Northern countries; its malignity is to be dreaded, most especially by those of plethoric, ardent, and irritable habits. The strong and vigorous, the uncleanly and intemperate, are most liable to the disease, when they fall under its influence in the West Indies. Of the several maritime, commercial ports of Hayti, that of Port-au-Prince has acquired great notoriety on account of the predominance there of the yellow fever at certain periods. This is not to be denied. But there are a^Gravating circumstances connected with it that have been seldom examined and classed as such, if not the primary exciting causes of the sickness which so often prevails among foreign shipping in the harbor of Port- au-Prince, as well as in the ports of some other islands, reputed to be equally the seats of yellow fever. The foreign vessels that frequent annually this harbor, with the exception of two or three regular traders, acting as packets, are all of the worst class, in respect to those arrangements necessary to preserve health in a hot country. They are most unwholesome, generally, in their interior conditions, — the pervading atmosphere of their folds, or lower-decks, being essentially mephitic. Such vessels, for the most part, are taken up, no doubt, more on account of the cheapness of freight, than of then* sanitary condition ; in addition to which, they are managed by mariners of different nations, who habitually arc filthy in their persons, reckless, and most intemperate in character and habits, and whose quarters on shipboard, and mode of living in them; are better calculated t<> engender than to prevent disease within the tropics. If, be- sides this, we notice with regard to their manner of clothing and kind and quality of food, that nothing is changed from what they were in frigid climates, it will scarcely be a matter of sur- that so many of th cl of men fall victims when at- Diseases of Hayti. 161 tacked by febrific diseases, and when placed in situations in the West Indies favorable to the development of the yellow fever. It might appear strange when it is known that, even during the period of yellow-fever epidemic, the malady is usually con- fined to the harbor, and among the mariners and strangers on board foreign vessels; the natives enjoy perfect immunity. This form of fever does not attract attention in the town, other- wise than when sailors and others, who have been seized by it on shipboard in the harbor, are carried on shore for treatment or interment. During twenty odd years' practice in Hayti, I cannot recol- lect having treated a black person, or one of color of near affin- ity in blood to the African, who has died in Hayti from black vomit. I have treated many such persons attached to vessels in various capacities, and whose places of birth were reported to be the United States, and different ports in British North America. The blacks were attacked by yellow fever in the same manner as their white shipmates, but in no case has the malady been so deadly with them as with the others ; their re- covery was quicker, — no black vomit, to my recollection, oc- curred. Hence, it may be said that the black and colored per- son, as above stated, natives of cold latitudes, may certainly fall under the influence of the fevers of this country, particu- larly if imprudent and intemperate in their habits ; but that, with certain rare exceptions, the attack will be comparatively less virulent than with the white person. And this is so true, that owners and captains of ships trading to the West Indies and to Hayti, have preferred to have a black or colored crew, rather than a white one, whenever they can procure one. This harbor has been free from epidemic yellow fever since 1857. Not a single case of black vomit has occurred since then. With this brief exposition of the nature of fevers common to Hayti, and of the influence which they may exercise on those of the African race who may emigrate to this country, it will be 14* 162 Diseases of Hayti. seen that they have little to fear from the effects of its climate, and other matters being favorable to all such as lie to come over, the question in respect to their health after they shall have arrived, is not less satisfactory. It might even, perhaps, not he irrational to infer that the climate of the tropics would be more salutary and propitious to the greater part, if not to all, without distinction, than that of the so much colder region now inhabited by them in North America, and which does not appear to have been originally strictly destined by nature for the constitution of the African people. We have shown that sickness is restricted almost to the mar- itime towns, and to marshy situations in the vicinity of the sea- coast, where it will not be to the interest of emigrants to remain when they get here. "We have now to affirm that, away from the towns, in the interior and rural districts, but few diseases or distempers are known ; indeed, the interior of the country is so healthful as not to be at all the physician's El Dorado. Mem- bers of the profession do not get rich in Hayti. People do die out in the country, as they must die everywhere, but it is seldom or rarely we hear talk of any illness of a complicated or alarm- ing character, such as is common in America and elsewhere. During the cool or rainy seasons, one will meet with cases of colds, simple catarrhal affections, sore throat, some looseness of the bowels, arising from the use of crude fruits and change of water, which arc easily remedied by removal of the causes that incite them ; while in the hot, dry season, in certain situa- tions, sore eyes, in its simple form, and deranged stomachs, may also be met with, as in other countries, and which are re- garded in country places as of little importance. "We will finish this paper by subjoining a list of simplo medi- cines, which will be useful to the emigrants who are destined, on their arrival in Hayti, to seek their fortunes by locating them- selves in the rich, rural, and agricultural districts, at a distance from efficient medical aid, — and for this reason especially wo at the same time recommend to all who may decide on coming Diseases of Hayti. 163 over, to have themselves and their children vaccinated without fail. These, then, are the simple medicines which families may want, and which they are counselled to bring with them : \ oz. Sup. Carbonate Soda. \ oz. Sulph. Quinine. 1 oz. Turkey Rhubarb. " 1 oz. Pulvis Jalap. \ lb. Cream of Tartar. \ lb. Calcined Magnesia (in bottles). 1 lb. Epsom Salts. A little Boneset. 2 oz. Spt. Hartshorn. 2 drachms Extract Opium. 2 oz. Spt. Peppermint. These different articles will be used according to circum- stances, by families whose interest it will be to live out in the country. They should have the doses marked on each 'packet or phial. And thus we take leave of this subject for the present. W. Gr. Smith, M. D. Port-au-Prince ■, September 22, 1860. VI. Seaports of ijaiitt. THE seaports of Hayti rather unfavorably impress the travel- ler who has never previously visited the West India Islands or Central American States. From various causes, — earthquakes, chiefly, and fires, the indifference of past govern- ments, and the want of proper workmen, — they do not present that aspect of prosperity and neatness which distinguish our Northern cities or the towns of the British American Prov- inces. Tlie streets are ill-paved, and seldom indicate the scavenger's care ; and the stores and private dwellings very plainly show that the art of house-painting has not attaineu its last perfection. Port-au-Prince, the capital, is a city of 26,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of Government, and consequently the residence of the President and his ministers ; the place where the high courts of justice and the legislative bodies meet. It is the chief port and largest city of the Ptcpublic. It has the most sultry climate of all the cities in the Island; yet at Furcy, only eighteen miles distant, there are forests of pines, and a tempera- ture suited for the growth of all the trees and vegetables of the temperate zones. Cape Haytian, or Cape Hayti, (Cap Hayticn,) is a town of six or seven thousand inhabitants. It was the capital of the kingdom erected by Christophe, and was formerly known as the Little Paris of the Antilles. It was destroyed by an earth- Seaports of Hayti. 165 quake in 1842, which occasioned the death of five or six thousand persons, by the fall of the' houses and the subsequent fires. There are acres of these ruins still there, — beautifully decorated with luxuriant vegetation. Within a day's ride dis- tant from " the Cape," as it is usually called, are the Citadel and Palace of Christophe, — the most wonderful structures in Hayti, and the greatest architectural triumphs of the colored race. Every visitor should see them. The great Plain of the North, of which Cape Haytian is the port, is unexhaustibly fertile and adapted to every kind of tropical staples. Port de Paix has a population of about 2,000 inhabitants. It is healthy and well situated, has a good port and a fine country behind it. During the Empire it was a closed port, but it was opened to commerce by the Republic. Mole St. Nicholas is a closed port. It is a great military point, and was the last place evacuated by the English during then residence in the Island. It is not suited for emigrants ; as the country behind it is barren and rocky. Its population is between 1,200 and 1,500. Gonai'ves is a town of 6,000 or 7,000 inhabitants. It is one of the most thriving towns in Hayti. Its commerce is consider- able; derived, chiefly, from its exports of dye-woods and mahogany. The plain in which it is situated is admirably adapted to the cultivation of cotton. It was from this town that Toussaint L'Ouverture was kidnapped., St. Mark, at the further extremity of the same plain, and the scene of many desperate battles, has a population of two or three thousand persons. It is beautifully situated, — very healthy, and with a mild climate. It is the outlet of the great Plain of the Artibonite, — one of the best localities for emigrants in the Island. Two or three hundred Louisiana exiles have already settled there and are highly pleased with the country. There are among them some of the richest colored planters of Louis- iana. The Plain of the Artibonite, which extends from the Gros Morne of Gonai'ves to the Gros Morne of St. Mark — 166 Seaports of Hayti. a distance of forty-five miles, — and from the Bay sixty miles inland, has no superior, any where, for the cultivation of cotton, sugarcane, and tobacco; while the neighboring mountains of Cahos produce some of the Lest coffee in the Island. There are thousands of carreaux of vacant land in this magnificent tract of country. L'Arcahaie is a little town of two thousand inhabitants, (thirty-six miles from Port-au-Prince,) and is the centre of a settlement of American emigrants who arrived under Boyer. The surrounding country nearly monopolizes the supply of vege- tables for Port-au-Prince. It is not an open port. Miragoane, recently opened to commerce, distant seventy miles from the Capital, has one of the best ports in the Island, and is rapidly increasing in importance. A considerable pro- portion of the American vessels, that discharge at Port-au- Prince, go there to take in cargoes of coffee and d3 r ewoods. The country behind it is mountainous and adapted for the cul- ture of coffee. Jeremie has a population of three or four thousand. Coffee and sugar are the staple cultures. It is a healthy town, carries on a considerable commerce, and is the outlet of a fertile district. The culture of cotton has recently been recommenced there. Jacmel is a city of six or seven thousand inhabitants. It has a beautiful bay, somewhat like that of St. Mark, with the simi- lar disadvantage of not having a breakwater, or adequate pro- tection against storms. The country around Jacmel is suited for coffee and dyewoods, of which very large exports are annually made. The British Royal Mail Steamers stop at Jacmel on their passage from Southampton to Jamaica, and also on their return voyages, for the passengers and mails. Cayes has a similar country near it in producing dyewoods, sugarcane, and coffee in large quantities. The best rum in the Island is made at this town, and it is manufactured on a large Seaports of Hayti. tf 167 scale. It is not exported, but used for home consumption only. Cape Haytian, Jeremie, Oayes, and Port-au-Prince, export also a large amount of cacao. The limits of this volume do not permit us to allude to the inland towns and villages. VII. £)otu to d?o, anir llHjat to Sake. HO TV to go and what to take to Hayti, so evidently depends on the position, geographical as well as pecuniary, of the emigrant, that it is not practicable to make this, to every one, a satisfactory chapter. Correspondence with the Ilaytian Bureau of Emigration in Boston, however, will enable the reader to supply the deficiencies of the Guide. Some general hints are all that we need give here. First, as to going. Vessels will sail as frequently as a suffi- cient number of passengers are procured from Boston and New Orleans. Emigrants from the South will be obliged to defray all the expenses of their passage ; as it is not possible, for the moment, to make satisfactory arrangements with vessels from that part of the country. In Hayti, however, this disadvan- tage will be compensated. An Agent of the Government will be stationed at Xew Orleans to protect the interests of emi- grants. All Southern emigrants, as well as those from the North, are advised to correspond with the Central Bureau at Boston, before selecting a vessel, and the latest information will be sent to them, fully and promptly, and without cost. P -- sengers will be required to carry their own food for the voyi or pay for their board for the trip before starting. Those who prefer to provision themselves will be required to have the ne Baiy tin utensils for holding water, drinking, eating, and cooking. How to go, and what to take. 169 For clothing, take as many summer suits as you can afford to buy; for every kind of manufactured goods is dearer in Hayti than in the United States. Light-colored linen or cotton clothing is the best ; with high-crowned straw or Panama hats. Those who design to cultivate coffee, and will, therefore, live in the high lands, will need woollen clothing and blankets ; for it is often quite chilly in the momcg of Hayti. Every one should wear flannel undershirts always. Sheetings, mosquito nettings, all kinds of female costume, and of household wear, - — such as tablecloths, towels, and the like,— may advantageously be taken by the emigrant. Furniture, unless it is old, and will not pay the expense of transportation to the port of shipment, should also be taken out ; for chairs, and the finer kinds of furniture, crockery, cutlery, water-coolers, mirrors, glassware, earthenware, and tin- ware, are very much higher in the West Indies everywhere than in the United States. Glass for windows, and carpets, are not needed. Sofas in plush or haircloth are too hot for comfort ; the emigrant should purchase cane-bottomed chairs, and sofas or seats. Take all your books with you ; for English books can seldom be had either for love or money. Take your stationery, also. You will be allowed to enter, free of duty, provisions enough to last you for two or three months. While you will not be permitted to take advantage of this guarantee to import pro- visions for sale, you should not fail, if possible, to avail yourself of it for the purposes of legitimate consumption. Soap, fish, pork, candles, oil, and salt beef, should be your main articles. Take such carpenters' tools as you will need. Every family ought to have a saw, hammer, and nails. Take all the agricultural implements you will require,— handcarts, yokes, ploughs, shovels, rakes, hoes, spades, harness, saddles, churns, and hives. 16 ljo How to go, and what to take. Washing-machines, tubs, and sewing-machines would- be in- valuable for your women folk j for you can buy none of these useful allies of the housewife in Hayti. Take the besl varieties of all kinds of seeds. Jf you wish to import blooded cattle, or fine breeds of horses, swine, or poultry, the Bureau of Boston will facilitate your object, by making with you advantageous terms of transportation. 31 parting ft) orb. To the Blacks and Men of Color in America : TN the preceding pages you nave been enabled to see — ■ " as -*- in a glass, darkly"- — tlie history of your race in its sole American possession ; how rich in every kind of natural wealth that terrestrial paradise is ; the character of its people, the nature of its Government, and, by the official papers appended to the Constitution, the disposition of its present Administra- tion. „ ~ The voice of history is the voice of God. Do we not hear it in the existing Black Code of America, and in the acts of the Government of Hayti ? Is not the same command of the Still Small Voice, once given to the Chosen Nation, ages before the Christ was born, again thus repeated to His persecuted children in the States, — Come out oe her, My People ? There is a profound significance in the fact of the diversity of races, — far deeper than many of our sages know. It was for a wise and grand purpose that the European and the African have for a time become different in destiny and in physical capacity ; and it belongs to the same blind and false philosophy that disputes about the relative superiority of the sexes, to in- quire whether the Black man or the White is the more capable of a glorious future. Their missions in the world are different ; and, until these are fulfilled, their identity must be preserved. 172 A Parting Word. Has the Black accomplished his destiny in America? I think that in North America lie has; for he is threatened with extinction there. His future is — annihilation. There is no other possible result, — whether slavery or freedom shall prevail. Ten men against one, — the contest is decided. Whether at the end of two or of ten generations, the solu- tion of the problem is still, — annihilation. Too strong to perish beneath the white man's lash, the black race here will disappear in bis arms. Even the pride of giving birth to a new race will be denied to him ; for the disproportion, daily becoming greater, between the Blacks and the Whites, gives the future also to the ruler of to-day. To preserve the African race in America, emigration from it is the first condition. Everything conspires to promote it. Pride of race, self-respect, social ambition, parental love, the madness of the South., the meanness of the North, the inhu- manity of the Union, and the inclemency of Canada, — all say to the Black and the man of color, Seek elsewhere a home and a nationality. I have spoken of the motives arising from a pride of race, — but is it necessary to show you why self-respect, also, repeats and enforces the same advice ? When even the churches of the " Founder of Democracy " are closed against you, — and solely because of your race, — why allude to the heathenism which displays itself in your exclusion from the theatres, the omni- buses, and the parlors of the country? I have often heard it said, that with time this prejudice will disappear. Perhaps, — but not unless, by an insurrection, successfully conducted, the millions now enslaved exhibit their equality, in courage and in arms, with their masters. The Saxon race is a race of fighters, — its real religion is an evangel of pluck j to men, long-suf- fering, slow to anger, who return a kiss for a blow, patient and enduring to the end, it exhibits no compassion. Have not the slaves, for two centuries, exhibited these Christian qualities? No man denies it. And yet, what is the opinion that these A Parting Word. 173 traits have created in the hearts of the majority of the nation ? Two words give it : "Damned niggers." Is there anything yet that points to the result that our prophets predict ? Have you not already produced eminent men, — able writers, physi- cians, and orators ? And yet, what has their genius hitherto ' availed them ? I once heard of a distinguished lecturer, who, refused a seat in a first-class car, paid his passage as freight, and was charged by his weight. It was told as a good joke. I think there are two centuries between such jests and equality and, in the mean time, you will have disappeared from the earth It is sometimes said that you should remam and fight the battle here, — force a recognition by your genius, industry, character, wealth ; teach America to see, in other words, that in you it possesses an invaluable strength. Morality, so exalted, is surely to be admired ; but a lower standard, I take it, will do well enough for this world. What are the Americans to you, that you should thus continue to heap benefits on them? You have faithfully served them for nearly two centuries, — denying them nothing, charging them nothing ; neither the fruits of your labors nor. the fruits of your loins have you withheld ; and you have asked in return only enough to eat and the coarsest attire. It is time, now, that you should help your- selves. There is yet another thing to be considered, that is seldom thought of in urging such a contest, — the casualties of warfare : that where one conquers, ten fall ; where one asserts, nine submit ; that the voice of prejudice is far oftener the death-knell than the bugle-note of manhood. Parental love ! The schools of New England and other States are open to your children, and they can now receive the advantages of a liberal education. And then? Rendered sensitive by this culture, what prospect is opened to them ? A long, petty war with mean men, a fruitless assault on the citadel of place, political and social. Even lions lose their 15* 174 A Parting Word. strength in fighti and warfare to which your children ai led. It is a nobL i sle to see the ,: that men among you maintain against tLe preju ' Americans, but — "In vain, alas! in vain, ye gallant fe\v! ; ' arc all your efforts, in behalf of your native land ; you are trying to drive back an ocean, which, by its mere physical superiority, -will throw up the bodies of your children, after a generation or two, pale and unrecognizable, on its Saxon chores ! In Ilayti, a far different future is opened to the colored race. There, it can develop itself in freedom; there, exhibit its capacity and genius. Nowhere else is there such an opportunity presented, — absolutely nowhere in the world.* In Africa, the various races arc still separate and hostile; in Ilayti, they are all represented and united. The black Ilaytian, therefore, is the result of the mingling of all of the African bloods; and in him, as is the case with other families of men, this union has produced the best specimen of the race. The men of color there, also, in point of intelligence, ask no favors in any com- parison between themselves and their ancestors. But still another clement is needed in Ilayti, — the Saxon character, which the men of African descent, to a greater or less extent, in the United States and the Oanadas, possess. She invites this element to come to her. . She offers you a home, a nationality, a future. She presents to you the oppor- tunity of not onry exhibiting the capacity of your race, but of creating a new Eden in the most fertile of the Antilles ; and, at the same time, of checking the Slave Labor System of the a at its source, — in the markets that support it. Would I Virginia with a weapon that she will fear as much as dreaded the riflefi of John Brown? Grow tobacco in Ilayti, • Liberia, if a bucc< will be the white man's victory, for he called it into Ltiuy, and has fostered il liom its birth. A Parting Word. 175 then, and fight her with it on the Liverpool Exchange. "Would you retaliate on the Carolinas the punishment that they have often inflicted on your friends ? The way is open. Tar and cotton them in England. Hayti will enable you to do it by producing both staples, and hemp enough to boot to hang every friend of Slavery in Missouri and Kentucky. Hayti, which could produce sugar enough to drive Louisiana out of every market in the world ; which could raise cotton enough every year to corrupt the morals of a hundred generations of Ameri- can politicians ; which could raise rice enough to bury Wilming- ton, Charleston, and Savannah out of sight ; which, if properly and scientifically cultivated, could raise coffee enough to supply all the wants of Christendom, — Hayti, the home of the Black race, the only country in which it has successfully competed in arms against the Slavery to which Europe condemned, and in which America has held it, invites you, common children of her ancient Motherland, to become a part of her household, and share equally with her own sons the destiny which the Almighty Overruler has marked out from the beginning for her and for you ! May your answer be inspired by wisdom and a spirit of religious consecration ! . For myself, firmly believing this work — which, dual in its nature, seeks at once the regeneration of one of the most beautiful Islands of our globe, and the elevation and perpetuity, or, rather, the creation of a coming race, adapted to it and worthy of it — to be one of the most noble and holy enterprises to which any man of our age can be called on to devote his energies and his talents, I accepted the trust confided to me by the Government of Hayti, with a feeling of gratitude to Heaven, which, I trust, will bless with its favor this project for extending civilization, and a true religion, and establishing justice in the Western World. James Redpath. I N D E A Adamanoy, Island of 37 Agricultural Implements free of duty 101, 107 Aid to Emigrants 94, 98, 102, 106, 123 Alia- Vela, Island of 38 Animal Kingdom of Hayti 39-42 'Animals, domestic 39 Annihilation threatened 172 Archaie, Plain of 32 Arms, Coat of 86, 158 Army of the Republic 86, 153 Arrondissements, Councils for. . 82 Arrondissements, Government of 151 Arrondissements, Financial, . . . 152 Arrowroot, Culture of 45 Artibonite. Plain of the. 31 Artibonite' River 32 Association, Right of, guaran- teed 69 Azua, Plain of. 30 B Bahoruco Mountains 28 Baie des Fletches 35 Bale, Treaty of 18 Bauica, Plain of 31 Banica Mineral Springs 33 Baraderes, Bay of. 36 Bays of Hayti 35 Bee clu Marsouin 36 Birds of Hayti 40 Boyer, Administration of 20, 21 Buccaneers, The 16 C Cahos, Mountains of 29 Caimites, The 38 Cape Haytian, Description of. . 164 Call for Emigration 97-99 Capes of Hayti SG Capital of the Republic 87 Cassava Bread 45 Catholic Church in Hayti. . .138-140 Cavaillon, River of. 32 Cayes, Plain of 32 Cayes, River of 32 Cayes, Town of. 166, 167 Chamber of Representatives, how constituted 71 Christophe 17, 19 Ciboa Mountains 28 Citizenship, when and how at- tainable by Emigrants. .94, 95, 102 Civil Rights of Haytians 66 Civil Tribunals 152 Classes of People in Hayti . 129 Climate of Hayti 26, 56-59 Cocoa, Culture of 44 Coffee, Culture of 43 Colors, National 86, 158 Commerce, Tribunals of 83, 152 Commerce and Navigation. .144, 150 Communes, Councils for 82 Communes, Government of 151 Companies authorized by law, 100-101, 107 Constitution of 1804, Adoption of 18 Constitution of 1816, Adoption s of 20 Constitution of 1846, Adoption of 22 Copartnerships, Authorized, 100-101, 107 Cotton, Culture of. 43 Courts and Tribunals 83, 152 Creole Language. . . , 131-135 Cul de Sac, Plains of. 31 i 7 8 Index. Guide Sac, River of "- Currency of Hayti 155, 156 D Debt, National, amount of . .152, 133 Debts, Public, guaranteed 70 Departments, Political 151 ili ies, Administration of . .17, 18 Dimensions of Hayti 25 Discovery of Hayti 15 Diseases of Hayti 159-163 Diversity of Races, Purpose of. 171 Divisions, Territorial, of the Re- public 151, 152 E Earthquakes 28 Faux do Boynes 33 Education in Hayti 142, 143 Electoral Colleges, Members of.. 84 Emblems, National 158 Emigrants, Agricultural, Special Favors to 94, 106 Emigrants, Cordial Reception of 107, 108 Emigration, Call for 97-99 Emigration Agents and Offices.. 119, 120 Emigration Inspectors 119, 120 Emigration, Laws in Favor of 120-124 Emigration, Motives to 171-175 Etang Doux 34 Etang Sale (Salt Lake) 33 Etang Saumatre 34 Executive Authority, in whom vested 70, 79, 80 Exports of Hayti 147, 150 F Fertilizers not known in Hayti.. 55 Finances of Hayti 85 Financial Arrondissements 152 Fishes of Hayti 41 Flag, Haytian 158 Forces, Public, Constitution of.. 86 Freedom of Opinion, of Speed), ami of the Press guaranteed. . 69 Free Passage, who are entitled to it 63,64 Fruits of Hayti 45 G l . igraphy of Hayti 25-38 Ginger, < lulture of 44 Gonalves, Plain of 31 < ronalves, Tovi a of 165 ( lonave, I 'and of 36 Grande Riviere 33 ints i" Emigrants 128 Guerier, Admmistration of. . . .21, 22 II Haytians, Who arc such? 66 Henriquille, Lake of 33 llinchc, Plain of 31 ili tory of Hayti 15-24 Holidays, National 87, 90, 91 Ilotte Mountains 29 How to Go, and What to Take.. 168 I Imports of Hayti 145-150 Independence of Hayti achieved 18 Indians in Hayti " 130,131 Indian Corn, Culture of. . 44 Indigo, Culture of 44 Industry of Hayti 136 Insects of Hayti 41 Instruction, Public, guaranteed, 69, 95, 108 Isabela River 32 Islands belonging to Hayti. . . .26, 36 J Jacmel, River of 32 Jacmel, Town of 166 Jayna River 32 Jeremie, River of 32 Jtremie, Town of 166 Joint Stock Companies author- ized 101, 107 Judicial Authority, Exercise of, 70, 72, 85 Jury, Trial by, guaranteed 69 L La Beate, Island of 37 Labor provided by Government, 101, 102 Laguna de Azuei 34 Laguna Icotea 34 Lakes of Hayti 33 Lands, Purchase or Lease of, by Emigrants 94, 100, 109 Lands for Schools and Chapels, Free 102 Lands, Vacant 104-120 Languages in Hayti 70, 131-135 L'Arcahaie, Town of 166 La Sa6ne, Island of 37 Latitude of llavti 25 La Tortue, Island of 37 haw mollifying Constitution . .89-92 Laws in favor of Emigration 120, 123 Laws modifying the Naturaliza- tion Laws 124,125 Laws,Noteson 154 Leaving the Countrv, Right of 95, 103, 108 Legislative Authority, by whom exercised, and how 70, 74-79 Inde: *79 Leogane, Plain of 32 Leogane, Eiver of 32 Letter from the Editor to the President 93 Letter to the Editor 94-96 Letters, Secrecy of, Inviolable. . 69 Liberty established hi Hayti ... 17 L'ilc-a-Vaches 38 Longitude of Hayti 25 Lord's Prayer in Creole 135 Los Muertos Mountains 29 M Machines and Implements free of duty 101,107 Macoris River 32 Manioc, Culture of. 45 Manufactures of Hayti 136 Massacre, River of. 33 Measures, Linear 156 Measures, Superficial 157 Measures, Liquid 157 Medical Plants 46 Medicines for Emigrants 163 Mexique Mountains 28 Military Service required 95 Military Service, Exemptions from 99,101 Mineral Kingdom of Hayti 50, 52 Mineral Waters 33 Miragoane, Lake of 34 Miragoane, Town of 166 Modification of the Constitution of 1846 89-92 Mole St. Nicholas 36, 165 Mona and Monica, Islands of 38 Monte Christi Mountains 29 Mountains of Hayti 28, 30 Mountain Lands 118 N Napoleon's Expedition against Hayti 17 National Arms 86 National Colors 86 National Guard.. .86, 95, 98, 101, 153 National Holidays 87, 90, 91 Naturalization of Emigrants, 98, 99, 124 Navigation and Commerce. .144-150 Navy of Hayti 154 Newman, Mr., Answers to Ques- tions presented by 100-103 Newpapers in Hayti 143 Neybe, Plain of 31 Neybe River 32 Nippes, River of 32 Noire, Mountains of 29 North, Plains of the 31 O Ozama River 32 P Pahni-Christi 45 Paper Money introduced 21 Parting Word 171 Passage, Payment of. 94, 106 Patents, no Law of 101, 107 Peninsulas of Hayti 36 People of Hayti 129-137 Pepper and Pimentum 45 Perfumes from Flowers 46 Potion, Administration of .17, 19, 20 Petition, Right of, guaranteed. . 69 Pierrot, Administration of 22 Pine and Palm (Poems) 12 Plains of Hayti 30, 32 Plants, Medicinal .46, 47 Plants, Poisonous 47, 48 Political Notes 151-158 Political Rights of Haytians 66 Political Rights, how forfeited. . 67 Political Rights of Emigrants 94, 95, 102 Population of Hayti 137 Port-a-Piment Mineral Springs. 33 Port-au-Prince, Description of. . 163 Port de Paix, Description of. ... 165 Ports of Disembarkation for Emigrants 108, 109 President of Hayti, Qualifica- tions, and Functions of 79, 80 Primary Assemblies, Right of Vote in 84 Productiveness of the Soil 55 Protestantism in Hayti 140 Provisions not exempted from Duties 101, 107 Public Rights of Haytians 67-70 Q Quiabon River 32 R Races in Hayti 130 Religion and Education 138 Religious Freedom guaranteed 69, 99, 102, 107 Religious Toleration 140, 142 Reply of the Government to Questions by the Editor 94-96 Representatives, Chamber of, how constituted 71 Representatives, Qualifications of 72 Republic of Hayti, its Territory 65 Revenues, State 152 Revision of the Constitution 87 i8o Index. Rice, Culture of 44 Riehe, Administration of 22 Rigaud 19 I i f Baytians 6G-70 Rights of Em jrants 04, 95, 102 Bights i f Whites 157 e, Administration of 21 of Bayti 32, 33 Romann River 32 Rural Sections, Division and Government of 151 Samana, Bay of 35 Sch< ■ . I ree, established by law GO, 95, 102, 142, 143 ■ i Bayti 164-167 as of Bayti 66-59 aries i f State, Functions ■ . 81, 62 antains 28, 29 Senate, Constitution of 73 , Qualifications of. . . .73, 74 :i between Spanish and ch parts 21 VQSj, none in Bayti 6G i River ". 32 • f Bayti 53, 55 Sonthonax 17 ouque, Administration of.. 23 utyand its Exercise... . 71 ile Products of Hayti 43, 45 • Revenues 152 Statistics 144-150 St. Jean, Plain of 31 St. Catherine, Island of. 37 I lomingo founded 1G St. Mark, Town of 165 St. .Mi'ry, Quotations from 26, 29 Sugarcane, Culture of 44 101, 107 Taxes, how la. id 65 Temperature of Bayti. . . .27, 58, 59 Tempests 27, 28 ■ f Bayti G5 1 Divisions of the Re- public 151, 152 . I lulture of 44 ation, Religious 140-142 1 . I laud of 37 Louvertnrc 17, 13 in-. 88, 89 • I eed G9 i 83 Trios-Rivi 33 V Vacant Lands 104-120 Vacant Lands — iu Arrondissement of Port-au- Prince 109 in Arrondissement of Ltfogane 110 in Arrondissement of St. Mark 110, 111 in Arrondissement of Mireba- lais 112 in Arrondissement of Lasca- liobas 112 in Arrondissement of Dcssa- lincs 112 in Arrondissement of Cona'ivcs 112 in AiTondissement of Port de Paix 113 in Arrondissement of The Borgne 113 in Arrondissement of Limbd . . 114 in Arrondissement of Cape Baytian 114 in Arrondissement of Grand Rivi6re 115 in Arrondissement of Tbe Trou 115 in Arrondissement of Fort Liberty 115 in Arrondissement of Nippes.. 115 in Arrondissement of Grand 'Anse 116 in Arrondissement of Tiburon 116 in Arrondissement of Cayes. . 117 in Arrondissement of Aquin. . 117 in Arrondissement of Jacmel. 117 in the Mountains US Vega Pea], Plain of 30 Vegetable Kingdom of Bayti. .43-19 Visits to Bayti, by the Editor. 10, 11 Voice of History \ 171 W Weights 156 What to Take 108,170 Whites, Legal Position of 66, 157 Woods(' the general reader. We are not disappointed in this respect; we know thing of the author; he is an impulsive man, but not fickle, and never by halves. His book is truthful, and yet somewhat partial, Ii:- tereresting it is, eminently so; and the author's spirit never flags. The autobiography is one of the most valuable, as it is one of the most enter- taining chapters in the volume." — II oonsocket (i?. I.) Patriot. " This book is well-written for the purpose for which it Avas intended, — namely, for inculcating the doctrine that John Brown was a saint and a hero. To the admirers of the leader of the llarper's-Ferry foray, it will doubtless prove very acceptable, as it is in point of literary merit as well as authen- ticity — so far as the non-political details are concerned — far ahead of any life of the man that has yet been published." — Providence Post. " The accounts of Brown's career in Kansas are very full, and will be read with great interest." — Xcio Bedford Standard. The most exciting book of the day penned in that startling and graphic style which so distinguishes its talented author." — Erie, True American. " A spirited and graphic writer." — Allegan Journal "The book is one of intense interest." — Montreal Transcript. " The book is well got up, the materials of the work well arranged by the author, and is an able tribute to old Osawatomie, who dared to beard the lion in his den to forward the object of his heart, — the liberation of the Blacks from slavery." — Conneaut ( Ohio) Reporter. " . . . . Mr. Redpath loved him, and having the confidence of the family, and being with him personally much, he had abundant opportunities for learning all he wished of his 'life. He sympathizes with him fully. The biographer seems to have performed his task from his stand-point of view in an admirable manner. . . . We think it will meet the expectations which h ive been raised in regard to it." — Dover (JV. //.) Morning Star. '* This is a book which will have few indorsers: for it is a thousand times more fiery than Helper's book, and glorifies John Brown throughout And it will find millions of readers; for Redpath is a live writer, and his r cannot go to sleep over his pages whether he likes or dislikes the discourse. The book is equal to the greatest sensation- story in interest; and then the truth is stranger than fiction." — Portsmouth {X. IT.) Morning * 'hron '• A very interesting book."— Haverhill (Mass. | Gazette. •■ An interesting, tubt not a truthful 1 istory of one of the i r in.'. -, U (Me.) Gazette. "A verj ' and hearty vindication of the life and character of the hero of Harper's Ferry, and, 'at the same time, a minute and accurate his- tory of his public career." — Lynn Reporter. Publishers' Bulletin. " The author, James Eedpath, was peculiarly qualified to undertake the task, and has produced a book which is at once truthful, reliable, and in- teresting, and which will go far toward redeeming the old man's memory from the obloquy attempted to be cast upon it by the violent upholders and justifiers of the slave-power." — Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner and Herald. " There are few books that have so large a sale, and perhaps so few in- dorsers. It is a sensation-book throughout; full of both blood and thunder." — Boston Temperance Visitor. " Mr. Redpath has brought to this ' labor of love ' literary attainments of a high order, the advantage of an intimate personal acquaintance witi the distinguished subject, and thorough devotion to the cause which was nearest the heart of the old captain. He has besides had possession of numerous unpublished letters and manuscripts of old Brown, and enjoyed the confidence and assistance of his family. The book is a noteworthy contribution to literature." — Prarie du Chien Leader. " The book is graphically written." — Amherst (N. H.) Farmer's Cabinet. " A faithful biography of the veteran, by one who is eminently qualified, by ability and inclination, to do his memory justice." — Cape Cod Advo- cate. " Every reading man in Kansas knows that James Redpath is an able historian, one peculiarly qualified to write the life of John Brown." — Leaven- worth Daily State Register. " Full of the fanaticism that led its subject to the scaffold." — N. Y. Ex- press. " A well-executed narrative of Brown's public life, by a man eminently qualified, both by personal knowledge and literary ability, for the task." — Chicopee (Mass.) Journal. " Well written." — Groion R. R. Mercury. " Written in Redpath's nervous and graphic style." — Freedom's Champion (Kansas). " Rather an interesting work." — Nunda (N. Y.) News. " Mr. Redpath knew John Brown in Kansas, and does full justice to his glorious and heroic achievements there." — Yates Co. Chronicle. " Truthful and reliable and full of interest." — Manheim (Pa.) Sentinel. " The letter in which the old man records his own recollections of his . boyhood, is as charming for its simplicity and truthfulness, as anything in the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and no one can read it without - seeing in it a revelation of those qualities which have made the author the remarkable man he was." — Bloomsburg (Pa.) Republican. " It contains a full and interesting life of the old hero, — the representa- tive man of the 19th century." — Ware (Mass.) Standard. " This book is at present having a very extensive circulation, and, judg- ing from the terseness and pungency with which it is written, together with the well-known ability of the author as a writer, we predict that its circu- lation will for a long time continue to increase rather than diminish. It contains a fine steel engraving of Captain Brown, and will be read with interest by thousands, not among the immediate partisans of the writer and his subject." — South Reading Gazette. " Redpath was the companion of Brown in Kansas, and everybody knows the trip-hammer elequence of his style in the historical descriptive. Capt. Brown's life is full of romance, and he was unquestionably a man of heart as well as head. The portion of Kansas history contained in this book is valuable." — Boston Christian Freeman. Publishers' Bulletin. ■• 1 he published life of John Brown by Redpath. proves conclusively that he had been o ui ic on the Slavery question for t wenty 3 1 d in party bias or action, but acted c - trary to Republican views, and in opposition to th of his onal friends in the Republican ranks. 1 ' — Lewisburg (Pa. J icle. collected with diligence and patience, the material i,. essary for forming an accurate biography. To the general publii well as to those who sympathized witlj John Brown, the book will pi much interest. Ir gives all desirable information in regard to its hero, > bis boyhood up to the time of his execution." — Boston Evening lie. " The well-known -Limes Redpath is an Abolitionist of the darkest hue, and upholds every action of Brown. The book can do no harm." — Mont- ■1 I '>. a.' crat. " Wc can recommend it as a very full and good account of the renowed hero.... He has succeeded in producing a book of varied interest." — Spiritual Aye. "John Brown reminds us of old Cromwell; for like him, he trusted in the Lord and kept his powder dry. lie had great piety, good fighting qualities, and unflinching courage, as Mr. Redpath conclusively proves in his entertaining book." — Boston Investigator. "It is a live book from a fearless pen." — Fulton (Pa.) Republican. "It is written by one of the very few whose sympathy has extended even to an unqualified indorsement of his scheme.' There-is much in the book which wc think unwise and cannot approve; yet it ie written with great sincerity and honesty of purpose, and has all the well-known force, point, and vigor of the author's style." — Boston Christian Register. " Redpath is one of the best descriptive writers of the present day." — Westjietd Ncics Letter. " No unprejudiced man or woman can rise from a perusal of the book without being convinced that however fanatical tiny may consider him, yet that he considered that he was doing as he would be done by, in obe- dience to the commands of his Lord and Master, and that he was anything but the bloodthirsty man the slaveocracy of the land would fain make the world believe." — Calais (Maine) Add rtist r. " Mr. Redpath, the author of this book, was in Kansas during the excit- scenes of 1856 and 1857, employed as the special correspondent of the Louis Democrat, and his pungent and graphic letters to that journal. attracted general attention. Here he first encountered John Brown ; and here, perhaps, he acquired much of that spirit which now makes him an open advocate and adviser of slave insurrection. " Since that period, he ha - 1 1 en the warm friend and enthusiastic admirer of the subject of his biography. In a Free St. ire Convention, held in Kansas two years ago, to consider the propriety of .voting for under the Lecompton Constitution, (that the friends of freedom, having ionofaU the offices under that infamous in trument, might the more effectually crush it.) Mr. Redpath advocated the election of old a Brown I rnorship, that the Border Ruffians mi b.t understand Free-State men meant, by voting under their attempted usurpa- tion! More than a year later, Mr. Itedpath published a very radical anti- de licated il to John LJrown. • iVriting i ! 1 volume (under the sanction of the widow and children ot tl to him, therefore, a labor of love. He be- lieves in John Brown first, last, and always; and has no word-, for him but those of the most unqualified laudation. Publishers' Bulletin. 7 " He criticises tlie Republican as bitterly as the Democratic ; has little charity for those who believe that the ballot-box is the proper agency for the removal of slavery; and not only admires the character of '"his hero, for its constant courage, its grand unselfishness, and its simple trust in God ; but also claims that all his public acts were judicious, prudent, and right. " Writing from this point of view, he has naturally fallen into a fatal hero-worship, and often fails in exercising a just discrimination. " He wields, however, a facile pen; and has produced a work, which, not only from the intrinsic interest of the subject, but also from its spirited and graphic style, must obtain a wide circulation." — Boston Congrega- tionalist. " In the present state of political feeling, only a limited class can look impartially on the life of John Brown. On the one hand, he is extolled and sanctified ; on the other, vilified and blackened without limit. " Yet, with all this excited partisan feeling, there are few who could read this biography without being attracted and interested in the displays of independence of thought, energy of action, probity, industry, and self- consecration to a perhaps arbitrary standard of duty with which it is filled. " It is eminently a biography of facts, and as such possesses interest The author heartily indorses every act of John Brown. There are com- paratively few who go so far as that ; but no one, we think, can read the memoir without being impressed with the conviction that he was an honest and remarkable man." — Boston Journal. " The accurate compilation of the facts, in this life of John Brown, shows to poor advantage by the side of the bitter spirit the editor betrays toward, not merely slaveholders, but all men whose opinions are not his own ; rather the contrary. " And his blind hero-worship, we should say, only made him still less qualified to be a just and entirely useful biographer. " In a proper and effective biography, there should be no taking of sides, — no signs of anything like partisanship, — not the least disposition to make out a case I if there is, the real and permanent value of the performance is to that extent impaired. " And this should be our general criticism of the author of the present volume, who has, nevertheless, put his whole heart into his work." — Banner of Light. " The spirit in which such a work as this must *be written, is very fairly indicated in the matter and manner of the dedication, which is to Wendell Phillips, Balph Waldo Emerson, and Henry D. Thoreau, under the title of 'Defenders of the faithful, who, when the mob shouted madman! said saint.' " The point of view from which that man must write of the life and actions of John Brown, who could call him i saint,' and attempt to prove his title to that appellation, may be easily understood ; and, consequently, while the book will fulfil the ardent aspirations of those who regard the hero of the Charlestown insurrection as a martyr, it will mislead no one else, nor aid in any considerable degree in indicating future ages to believe him any such wronged and suffering individual. Neither Mr. James Redpath, nor yet the chivalry of Virginia, are the men who can measure John Brown for the appreciation of future ages, if any such things, there may be with sufficient heed for the doings of to-day to speak of them. ' Madman ' he was not, nor yet exactly ' saint.' ' Fanatic,' he was, of the hardest and least manageable type, with stubborn bravery and endurance to bear him on, and just enough uneducated to make him dangerous " The gallows, in these days, is getting to be a pretty sure precursor of immortality, and a place upon library book-shelves. John Brown has 8 Publishers' Bulletin. taken his turn at '' and Redpatb starts him on his career of the other. That he hat getieaHy, nervously, and with a goodly army of really Lnte its, to make more generally acceptable a book which could otherwise only have found a sectional circle of readers, — there can I"- ii" question. " The public history of John Brown will be canonized on Cornhill, and furnish texts for innumerable lamentations from the Cheeverian pulpit ov< r this degenerate and. evil age. We are quite willing to accord to it a full measure of ability, while we lack words to express the contempt which is for the whining tone of comparison which runs through the whole book, between the Baresark fanatic of Harper's Ferry and the wor- of every portion of Scripture record which can be dragged into ser- vice. — 2V< ir-i'oi-k Leader. " Mr. Redpath is a friend in need, and comes up like a trump to the de- fence of old Osawatomie Brown, at a time when Ins aid is most required to shield the old man's reputation from the attacks of even his professed friends. The great multitude have decided that John Brown was an honest fanatic and enthusiast, whose enthusiasm amounted to the frenzy of madness. But Mr. Redpath does not consider him anything of the Kind. On the contrary, he considers his hero as a cool-headed saint, who acci- fcally tailed to accomplish ins great work. " Whatever may be thought of old Brown and his biographer, whether they be regarded as saints and heroes, or fools or fanatics, all will agree the book is an extremely interesting one, and that Mr. Redpath, in the brief space allowed him, has done wonders in constructing so interesting a narrative of the events of the remarkable man whose mad pranks have convulsed these States as they have never been c 1 before. Mr. Redpath completed his work just in time to escape from the arm of the law which was extended towards him, for the purpose of extracting from him some facts in relation to the conspiracy against the State of Virginia. As Mr. Redpath knew more than any other man on this sub- ject, it is a great pity he could not have been prevailed upon to enlighten Congress on the subject." — N. Y. Courier. "This is a complete life of 'John Brown, of Osawatomie.' It is well and candidly written, by one of bis most ardent admirers; and as a history of one of the most daring, and, at the same time, one of the most infatu- ated men of the age, it is complete. From the first to the last page, it is full of stirring incidents; and, presenting a clear history of the Kansas struggle and Brown's connection therewith, makes it a valuable acquisition to the history of the times." — Independent Banner. " The work is written well, with the exception of being highly colored in some portions." — Home Gazette. " In the book before us, we have his whole history, from his childhood to his honored grave, written by a master hand. Mr. Redpath was a warm, personal friend of the glorious old hero." — Frederick Douglass Paper. " This work contains the materials for the true life of the new Peter the Hermit, who sought to redeem the Holy Places of Humanity. " This Life must be written from a philosophic stand-point, co-ordinate in elevation to Brown's intent, and must not justify to Gideon and Samuel and ! he other model barbarians, whom we venerate at a distance of five thousand years, but would imprison for life in any civilized community. John Brown's method of dealing with slavery was :i piece with his false theology, and his uncultured mind, his virtue, his fidelity, are what makes the world lit to live in. " i/.ok not at the arrow, but the mark; so shall you read from these ab- sorbing incidents, a life which Mr. Redpath, with his honest but coarse pencil, caui portray. Publishers' Bulletin. " A friend lias handed us the following, which we give in lieu of a more detailed account of th^ intensely interesting book." — Dial, Cincinnati, Ohio. " It would have been well if this book had never been written. Mr. Eed path has understood neither the opportunities opened to -him, nor the responsibilities laid upon him, in being permitted to write the authorized life of John Brown. This book, in whatever light it is viewed, whether as the biography of a remarkable man, as a historic narrative of a series of extraordinary and important events, or simply as a piece of mere literary job-work, is equally unsatisfactory. He has shown himself incompetent to appieciate the character of the man whom he admires, and be has con- sequently done great wrong to his memory. . . .Its tone is such, it is so ex- travagant, that it will offend all right-thinking men. . . .This book is written in the spirit and style of an abolition tract. ...The most interesting and the most novel part of Mr. Eedpath's book is the letter written by John Brown ir 1857, giving some account of his early life. It is in all respects a remarkable composition. . . .That John Brown was wrong in his attempt to break up slavery by violence, few will deny." — Professor Norton, in the Atlantic Monthly. " The Atlantic Monthly, in a critical notice of Eedpath's Memoir of John Brown, says : " It reads like an abolition tract. I believe the book is worthy of this praise. It gives us, in a style of great simplicity and directness, a narrative of highly important facts, and of that condition of manners and morals, that depravity in Church and State, which gave birth to them. It is a great and rare advantage to have a book (which must inevitably be so widely read as this) entirely free from the detestable cant which is popu- larly written and read in regard to slavery ; the assumption of the church, that the holding of men and women as property is approved by God, and compatible with Christianity; of the State, that this is a practice which may properly be enforced by a white majority against a black minority ; of the Eepublicans, that, however bad North of Mason and Dixon's line, slavery is sacred and inviolable South of it ; of the merchants, that trade is of more consequence than human rights ; of the literary class, that Southern gentlemen and scholars ought not to be interfered with, merely for the sake of ignorant and stupid people, black or white ; and of the mass of unreflecting men and women, that whatever is established is, of course, to be supported and perpetuated. It is much, I say, to have a popu- lar book, free from these enormous and pernicious public errors. " But the merit of Mr. Eedpath's book is not merely of this negative kind. " It teaches, by implication, positively just and right sentiments upon the momentous subject of slavery. It everywhere takes for granted these great truths, — that freedom, except for the sake of crime, is itself a crime ; that the relation of slaveholder to slave gives no rights to the former, and imposes no obligation upon the latter; that freedom is the right of every slave, and that his duty and interest alike call upon him to assume this right whenever practicable ; that humanity and Christianity alike require the interference of others for the help of the slave, whenever and wherever such help can be made available ; that it is owing to the corruption of manners and morals, naturally engendered by a slaveholding Church and State, and by the labors of clergymen and legislators in behalf of slavery, that so little active interference in aid of the slaves has yet been attempted; that it is becoming more and more manifest that such interference is de- manded, not only for the help of the slaves, but to prevent the rights of white citizens of the North being entirely swallowed up by the increasing incursions of the slave-power, and that it should be remembered, whenever slaves are aided on the soil, where they have spent their lives in enforced labor without wages, that, as a general rule, the movable property found in io Publishers' Bulletin. the possession of the slaveholder, rightfully belongs to the slave, and may ed, by himself or bis agent, in bis ervice. "Being thus free from the prejudices naturally < intel in a slaveholden nation, (because di I and J. their leaders in Church and State,) and being founded iigh morality and a pure religion, the laws ofju I of love, this - the furtb blance to ' an abolition tract,' that it takes : :;t •which . the judgment of the wise and good, aud iopular opinion itself, i ultim ely take. After sli shall havi »olished, the Qimsy defences now patched up for it by priests and politicians will utterly disappear; the arguments of aboli ists, now called fanatical by slaveholders and their Northern tools, will appear manifest truisms, the obvious voice of common sense, humanity, justice, and religion, and the wonder will ho that a popular opinion and a national custom, adverse to them, could have existed in the nineteenth century, after the declaration, by the ancestors of that same people, in the eighteenth, that the inalienable freedom of all men was a self-evident truth. " When we know, in addition to the above, that Mr. Redpath's hook possesses the quality (not enjoyed by all ' abolition tracts ') of being ex- tremely interesting, and that it finds, in consequence, an extensive sale and an increasing number of readers, we may hope that it will sow the seeds of 1.1 my enti rpriscs for the help of the slave, and waken many hearts to inquire what tiny can do, directly as well as indirectly, in his' behalf." — ( . K. Wliipple in the Boston Liberator. 11 The author seems to have done the man justice It exhibits him as a man, a Christian, doing what he believed to be right, — a working rather thf n a theoretical philanthropist. . . .This book is valuable for reference in relation to the disgraceful and bloody scenes which took place in Kansas, during th V % V ■ "j- I- V ^ -> \' ^ > ^ v s < z ,y kP- x e 'V^' ^ ,.** <% *3, I"' v l0 ' * ^0 ^ \- ~ ?^ > ■%