Hayti; or, The black republic.

by Sir Spenser St. John

CHAPTER III.

HISTORY SINCE INDEPENDENCE.

“Que deviendra notre pays quand il sera livré à la vanité et à l’ignorance,” exclaimed Bauvais, one of the leaders of the mulatto party. I am afraid this sketch of the history of Hayti since the war of independence will show what are the results to a country when governed by vanity and ignorance.

Having driven out the French by deeds of unquestioned valour and energy, and with a cruelty which the infamous conduct of Rochambeau could palliate, if not justify, the Haytians determined to throw off all allegiance to France and establish an independent government.

At Gonaives, on the 1st January 1804, General Dessalines assembled all his military chiefs around him and had read to them the Act of Independence, which terminated with the words, “for ever to renounce France, and to die rather than live under her dominion.” In a proclamation, Dessalines was careful to declare that it was not their mission to disturb the tranquillity of neighbouring islands, but in unmistakable language he called upon them to put to death every Frenchman who remained in the island. This was followed by a declaration signed by the chief generals choosing Dessalines as Governor-General of Hayti for life, with power to name his successor, and to make peace or war. He was thus invested with arbitrary power, and proceeded to exercise it.

His first act was the one on which his fame rests, and which endears his memory to the Haytians. He in fact decreed that all the French who were convicted or suspected of having connived at the acts of the expelled army, with the exception of certain classes, as priests and doctors, should be massacred; and this applied not only to those suspected of guilt, but to all their wives and children. Fearing that some of his generals, from interest or humanity, might not fully carry out his decree, he made a tournée through the different departments, and pitilessly massacred every French man, woman, or child that fell in his way. One can imagine the saturnalia of these liberated slaves enjoying the luxury of shedding the blood of those in whose presence they had formerly trembled; and this without danger; for what resistance could those helpless men, women, and children offer to their savage executioners? Even now one cannot read unmoved the records of those days of horror.

Dessalines, like most of those who surrounded him, was in every way corrupt; he is said to have spared no man in his anger or woman in his lust. He was avaricious, but at the same time he permitted his friends to share in the public income by every illicit means. His government was indeed so corrupt, that even the native historians allow that the administration was distinguished “for plunder, theft, cheating, and smuggling.” Dessalines, when he appointed an employé, used to say, “Plumez la poule, mais prenez garde qu’elle ne crie,”—the rule by which the Government service is still regulated.

The tyranny exercised by Dessalines and his generals on all classes made even the former slaves feel that they had changed for the worse. There were no courts to mitigate the cruelty of the hard taskmasters, who on the slightest pretext would order a man or woman to be beaten to death.

In the month of August 1804 news arrived that Buonaparte had raised himself to the imperial throne; Dessalines determined not to be behindhand, and immediately had himself crowned Emperor. His generals were eager that a nobility should be created, but he answered, “I am the only noble in Hayti.” As the eastern portion of the island was still occupied by the French, he determined to drive them out; but he was unable to take the city of Santo Domingo, and retired again to the west.

In June 1805 he published a constitution, which was worked out without consulting his generals, and created discontent among them. A conspiracy was organised; a rising in the south followed a visit from Dessalines, where he had given full scope to his brutality, and the insurgents marched forward and seized Port-au-Prince. When the Emperor heard of this movement, he hastened to the capital, fell into an ambuscade, and was shot at Pont Rouge, about half a mile from the city.

The only good quality that Dessalines possessed was a sort of brute courage: in all else he was but an African savage, distinguished even among his countrymen for his superior ferocity and perfidy. He was incapable as an administrator, and treated the public revenue as his own private income. He had concubines in every city, who were entitled to draw on the treasury to meet their extravagance; in fact, the native historians are in truth utterly ashamed of the conduct and civil administration of their national hero.

The death of Dessalines proved the signal of a long civil war. A National Assembly met at Port-au-Prince, voted a constitution prepared by General Pétion, by which the power of the chief of the state was reduced to a minimum, and then elected Christophe as first President of the republic. He in some respects was another Dessalines, and resented this effort to restrain his authority. He marched on the capital of the west with twelve thousand men, but after various combats failed to capture the city; then retired to Cap Haïtien, and there had a constitution voted which proclaimed him President of Hayti.

The Senate again met in Port-au-Prince in 1806 to elect a President, and their choice fell on Pétion, who, of all the influential men in the west and south, certainly appeared the most deserving. He had scarcely been installed, when his generals began to conspire against him, and the war with Christophe absorbed most of the resources of the country. No event, however, of any great importance occurred till the year 1810, when Rigaud, having escaped from France, arrived in Hayti, and was received with much enthusiasm. Pétion apparently shared this feeling for his old chief, and imprudently gave him the command of the southern department. Rigaud was too vain to remain under the authority of Pétion, his former subordinate, and therefore separated the south from the west. The President would not attempt to prevent this by war, and accepted the situation, so that the island was divided into five states,—Christophe in the north, the old Spanish colony in the east, Pétion in the west, Rigaud in the south, and Goman, a petty African chief, in the extreme west of the southern department.

Christophe in 1811 proclaimed himself King and created a nobility. Rigaud died, and soon after the south rejoined the west, which was menaced by a new invasion from the north. In 1812 Christopher’s army advanced to besiege Port-au-Prince; but finding their attacks frustrated, the soldiers, weary of the war, began to desert to Pétion, and had not the King hastened to raise the siege, it is probable his army would have gone over to the enemy.

King Henry I., as he was called, appears then to have abandoned himself to his savage temper, and his cruelties might be compared to those of Dessalines, and prepared the way for that union of the whole island which followed. Pétion, though rather an incapable ruler, was not cruel, and attached the people to his government.

In 1814, the fall of Napoleon brought about peace in Europe, and the French Government hastened to send agents to Hayti to claim submission to the mother country. Pétion refused, whilst offering an indemnity to the colonists; but Christophe, having secured the secret instructions of the French agent, did not hesitate to execute them. These proceedings of the French made the rival chiefs forget their own dissensions and prepare to receive another French expedition. Orders were given that on its appearance off the coast every town and village should be burnt down, and that the inhabitants should retire to the mountains. The old planters were urging their Government to destroy all the inhabitants of Hayti and repeople it from Africa; but a discovery of their projects produced so great an effect in England, that public opinion forced the Congress of Vienna to declare that the slave-trade was for ever abolished.

In 1816 Pétion named a commission to revise the constitution; the principal alterations were to elect a President for life and to add to the Senate a Chamber of Deputies. Pétion, however, did not long enjoy his new dignity; he died in 1818, at the early age of forty-eight, it is said of fever, but the opinion is still prevalent in Hayti that he died of weariness of life, brought on by the loss of all his illusions and the constant public and private annoyances to which he was subject. During his illness he is said to have refused all restoratives, and even to have rejected food. Pétion, though not a great man, sincerely loved his country, and devoted his energies to govern it well; but he was feeble in his measures, and from love of popularity allowed every kind of abuse to flourish in the financial administration. M. Robin, however, says truly that he was “the most popular and humane chief that Hayti ever possessed.”

Boyer, through the energetic intervention of the military, was unanimously chosen by the Senate President of the republic, and commenced his long career as chief of the state in March 1818. Though he committed many faults, he appears to have been the most energetic and honest of the series of Haytian rulers. His first care was to establish order in the finances; and if his only errors were not to have erected a statue to his predecessor or founded an hospital for beggars, with which M. Robin appears to reproach him, his friends may still be permitted to admire him. Fortune, or rather his energy, everywhere favoured him. In 1819 he put down the long-neglected insurrection of Goman in the far west, and then prepared to move against King Henry, whose savage rule had alienated the affection even of his own guards. Struck down by apoplexy, the chief of the northern department was deserted by all, and sought refuge from anticipated indignities in suicide.

The north almost unanimously determined to rejoin the rest of the republic, and Boyer marched on Cap Haïtien, to be received there with enthusiasm as the first President of United Hayti.

Christophe was no doubt a very remarkable man, with indomitable energy, who saw the necessity of developing his country, but whose despotic nature cared not for the means, so that the end were attained. In spite of many admitted atrocities, however, there is no doubt he acquired a marked ascendancy over the minds of the people, which even to this day is not completely lost. Discussions still continue as to the rival systems of Pétion and Christophe, but if to secure the greatest happiness to the greatest number be the object of government, the laisser-aller system of the former was more suited to Haytian nature than the severity of the latter. As far as material prosperity was concerned, there was no comparison between the two departments, though the productiveness of the north was founded on the liberal application of the stick. On many of the large estates, a certain number of lashes was served out every morning as regularly as the rations.

Boyer’s fortune continued. In 1822 Santo Domingo separated from Spain and placed herself under the command of the President of Hayti, who was welcomed in the Dominican capital with every demonstration of joy.

In the next important event of his Presidency, Boyer was not so fortunate. From the year 1814 France had been continually tormenting the Governments of Hayti with the claims of her colonists, and negotiations were carried on by the two parties without much success till 1825, when Baron de Mackau was sent with a fleet to enforce the acceptance of French terms. Though the wording of the royal ordinance was mortifying to the Haytians, and the indemnity demanded (£6,000,000) out of the power of that little country to pay, yet Boyer and the senate thought it better to acquiesce, to avoid the evils of a blockade which would have followed refusal. The indemnity was so enormous, that although it was subsequently reduced to £3,600,000, it has not yet been completely discharged. The terms of the royal ordinance created great indignation amongst the people, and the French Government acting evasively added to the excitement, and a plot was formed to overthrow Boyer. But he showed his usual energy; arrested four conspirators and sent them before a court-martial, which, with thorough Haytian disregard of justice, allowed no defence, as a pure waste of time, and condemned them to death. They were shot under circumstances of even unusual barbarity.

These negotiations with France continued to unsettle the country until 1838. M. Dupetit Thomars had come to Port-au-Prince, and being convinced that Hayti was really unable to pay this great indemnity, induced his Government to reconsider the matter; and a fresh mission was sent, consisting of Baron de Lascases and Captain Baudin. Two treaties were negotiated—one political, by which France acknowledged the complete independence of the republic; the second financial, by which the balance to be paid of the indemnity was reduced to £2,400,000. As thirty years were allowed for this payment, in annual instalments on an average of £80,000, no doubt Hayti could have paid it had the country remained quiet. The acknowledgment of this debt, however, was seized on by the political enemies of Boyer to undermine his position, and the cry was raised that he had sold the country to the whites. The continued necessity of sending French naval expeditions to enforce the payment of the arrears of this debt has been injurious to the interests of all Europeans, has increased the unpopularity of foreigners, and helped to support the policy of those who wish to keep the white man out of the country. Among the people, the popular song

“Blancs français viennent demander l’argent”

implies that they have unfairly made use of their naval power in order to extract money which was not due to them from a people incapable of effectual resistance. This wretched debt to France has been the cause of half the misfortunes of Hayti.

The Government of General Boyer had certainly the merit of preserving tranquillity, and if ever population should have increased in Hayti, it was during this tranquil epoch, when for above twenty years no blood was shed in warlike operations, and very little in repressing conspiracies. In 1825 England formally acknowledged the republic of Hayti by entering into relations with her, sending Mr. Mackenzie as Consul-General. His reports and writings drew considerable attention to the country.

In March 1836 Dr. England negotiated a concordat by which the Pope was acknowledged head of the Haytian Church, with the power of confirming the nomination of bishops. However, this arrangement had little practical effect, as the clergy remained without control, and were a scandal to every true Catholic.

I am quite unable to reconcile the reports made of the state of affairs in Hayti at this time. After a twenty years’ peace, the country is described as in a state of ruin, without trade or resources of any kind; with peculation and jobbery paramount in all the public offices; an army supposed to consist of 45,000 men, according to the budget; in reality few soldiers, but many officers, among whom the appropriations were divided. I feel as if I were reading of more modern times instead of the halcyon days of Haytian history.

Another of the evils which arose from the indemnity question was the special position which it gave to French agents, who, even after the independence of the republic had been recognised, affected to treat Hayti as a dependency until all the debt should have been paid. The most pretentious of these agents at this time threw the whole country into commotion on account of an article in a newspaper, and continued to harass the Government on every possible occasion with his absurd pretensions.

The close of Boyer’s career was as unfortunate as its commencement had been the reverse. To the humiliations inflicted by the French Consul-General was now added the necessity of saluting the Spanish flag under threat of bombardment. Throughout Haytian history these affairs are continually recurring; no people are more ready to insult foreigners, nor more humiliated by the necessary reparation.

The greatest calamity, however, was the earthquake of 1842, which injured every city in the northern department, and almost annihilated Cap Haïtien. I have referred to this event in a previous chapter, when the peasantry from the plains and mountains, and the officers and soldiers of the garrison, vied with each other in plundering the city, whilst 5000 of their countrymen were buried in the ruins, the cries of many of whom could for days be heard imploring that help which could readily have been afforded, but whose supplications were unheeded by the brutal populace.

This calamity in the north was followed by another in Port-au-Prince, where a large portion of the city was burnt down. These extensive fires appear to be incendiary, as they almost always occur at moments of political disturbance.

The humiliations inflicted on President Boyer by the French and Spaniards, and the discontent that followed the great losses in the northern department, encouraged the ill-affected, and early in 1843 an insurrection broke out under Hérard-Rivière, a fair mulatto. After a brief show of resistance, Boyer abdicated in March, thus closing a Presidency of twenty-five years.

General Boyer showed considerable talent during his administration, but he was essentially narrow-minded, and full of prejudice against foreigners. During the last ten years of his rule he had conceived the project of expelling them from Hayti in a legal manner by refusing any fresh licenses to trade; but though he in some measure succeeded, he increased the discontent against him, as his countrymen are only capable of conducting with success a retail business, and require foreigners for the larger operations of commerce. Boyer had the rare quality of being honest, and left in the treasury, on his departure, the sum of £200,000, the first and last chief who was ever guilty of so unaccountable a weakness. His time is still remembered as one of repose, and the troubles which followed his departure soon made even his enemies regret his fall. Her Majesty’s corvette “Scylla” had the honour of conducting General Boyer and his family to Jamaica. It will be noticed hereafter that almost every President has died prematurely, or claimed the hospitality of a foreign ship of war to bear him into exile.

When the popular army entered Port-au-Prince, it was hailed as the precursor of better days, but scarcely had a Provisional Government been organised than the blacks began to conspire, as they wanted a President of their own colour. General Dalzon went so far as to propose that they should put to death every mulatto. However, the latter had now the upper hand, and the general was taken, and disappeared from the scene.

The most serious result of the overthrow of General Boyer was the separation of the eastern end of the island and its formation into a distinct republic. The brutality of the Haytian officers and soldiers who garrisoned that part of the country no doubt hastened this secession. I have often listened to President Geffrard when he was describing his own conduct and that of others towards the Dominicans, and my only wonder is that they did not separate before.

On December 30, 1843, the Constituent Assembly finished their new constitution, and then elected General Hérard-Rivière President of Hayti; contemporary accounts say “with much enthusiasm.” He soon found it was not a bed of roses. M. Barrot arrived with the object of obtaining a monopoly of the Haytian trade for France, by relieving the Government of the immediate payment of the instalments due on the indemnity. But the President was more anxious to subdue the Dominicans than to negotiate, and on their proclaiming their independence in February 1844, he collected an army, it is said of from 24,000 to 30,000 men, and marched to attack them. The numbers must be greatly exaggerated; but whatever they were, they did nothing, and after many skirmishes they only penetrated as far as Azua, and there the President halted, complaining that he was harassed by French intrigues in favour of the Dominicans.

How Boyer must have smiled when he heard, within a twelvemonth of his departure, that the Government of his successor was considered more arbitrary and was more unpopular than his own. In April, after four short months of power, Hérard-Rivière was deposed, amidst even greater enthusiasm than marked his accession, and banished. General Guerrier was elected in his place, and died after a twelvemonth of debauchery. In his political acts he appears to have managed fairly well, and he had to contend against the French agents, who were working for either a protectorate, or, if that were not possible, commercial advantages for their country. They made themselves so unpopular that their officers and men were insulted in the streets, and their almost open support of the Dominican revolt rendered them obnoxious to the Government.

As the popular wish for a black President had been unmistakably expressed at the election of Guerrier, an incapable black of the name of Pierrot was chosen to succeed him; but his Government was upset in less than a twelvemonth, and President Riché, another black, was chosen by the troops at St. Marc, who did not wish to march against the Dominicans (March 1, 1846). In almost every encounter the Haytian troops were defeated by a handful of their enemies; they had no heart in the war, and the exaggerated stories of the peculiarly objectionable mutilations from which their prisoners suffered, and the arrival of some of these unfortunates, spread a panic in the Haytian army, and they would not march!

Riché has left a very good reputation as a President, which may partly be accounted for by his judicious choice of ministers. He had Celigny-Ardruin and Dupuy among them, and both these men were considered capable administrators, and both will again appear upon the scene.

The black mob in the south rose in arms against Riché, but after some resistance the movement was suppressed. Unfortunately for the country, this Presidency did not last a twelvemonth, as Riché died on the 27th February 1847. He was sincerely regretted, as, although an ignorant man, he was capable of choosing good advisers. He left the country perfectly tranquil, with reduced expenditure, order in the finances, and his firm hand had been felt throughout the republic. He protected foreigners, without whom he saw there was no prosperity possible. During the time of Guerrier and Pierrot there was a perfect mania for public employment, and every officer appeared to wish to live in luxury at the expense of the state; but Riché’s prudent management checked this infatuation. His Government restored the constitution of 1816, which, though it included Article 7, directed against foreigners acquiring real property, yet assured freedom of worship. He too is said to have died at an advanced age from the effects of debauchery.

On March 2 the enlightened Ministers of the late General Riché chose as President of the republic a black captain of the guards of the name of Soulouque. He was an ignorant, stupid man, completely unfit for any public employment, but it is said that he was chosen as an instrument that could be easily handled by his Ministers. He was known to be given up to fetish worship, and soon after his election he began to fear that some wanga or poison might be given him. He put aside Riché’s Ministers, to supply their place with nonentities, and advanced to the first rank the most ignorant blacks of the army. He excited hatred against the men of colour, whom he feared for their intelligence; but, alarmed by his growing unpopularity, he dismissed his incapables and restored Dupuy and others to power.

Soulouque had placed in command of his guards a general of the name of Similien, who was the black the most notorious for his hatred of the mulattoes that he could find. During the absence of the President in the north, this man refused to obey the orders of the Government, seized the palace, and threatened to massacre the mulattoes, but this result was deferred for a short time.

A curious affair occurred towards the end of 1847. A senator of the name of Courtois had written an article in a newspaper at which the President took offence; though Courtois was a scurrilous writer who had been previously tried for an insolent article, but who had been triumphantly acquitted when it was found he only insulted the foreign community, and had on this last occasion written some reasonable comments on the attitude assumed by General Similien and his followers. The Senate, to please the President, sentenced Courtois to a month’s imprisonment. But when Soulouque heard of this, he went into one of his ungovernable passions, assembled his generals, called out his troops, and condemned Courtois to death, and ordered the immediate execution of the culprit. The sentence would certainly have been carried into effect had not our agents, Consul Ussher, Vice-Consul Wyke, and the French Consul-General Raybaud interfered, and persuaded Soulouque to pardon him; he was, however, banished. And Senator Courtois, who owed his life to foreigners, had spent his best energies in abusing them!

Throughout the spring of 1848 an uneasy feeling appears to have pervaded the country that some calamity was about to take place. On the 9th April the rabble assembled round the palace and demanded that the respectable Ministry then in power should be dismissed. As this movement was evidently encouraged by Soulouque, they resigned; but all were assembled at the palace on the 16th April, when suddenly the guards, who had been drawn up before it, opened fire upon the crowd in the galleries and rooms, and a sauve qui peut followed. General Dupuy told me that in a moment he comprehended that a massacre of the mulattoes was meant; he sprang on a horse, and dashed for the high iron railings that surrounded the palace gardens, jumped down, and although closely pursued, managed to get over these high rails, how he knew not, and escaped. Celigny-Ardruin, less fortunate, was severely wounded, and as he lay on a sofa was reviled by the President, who said he should be shot. Consul Ussher was present in the palace during this scene, and acted admirably, with his colleague of France, in trying to save those who had not been able to put themselves under their direct protection. He ran the greatest personal dangers, and narrowly escaped being shot by the excited soldiery.

From the palace the massacring passed on to the town, where every mulatto who showed himself was shot; many assembled in groups to defend themselves, but only hastened their fate, whilst hundreds ran for refuge to the Consulates. The news spread to the southern department, and murder and plunder followed in every district, and the property of the mulattoes was given to the flames. A few black generals who tried to preserve order were shot as accomplices of the mulattoes in their supposed conspiracy. The President was delighted with the energy of his supporters in the south, and went in person to thank them. On his return he pardoned six innocent men, and thus gained a little popularity among his cowed adversaries. It is pleasant to know how our acting Consul Wyke worked to save those menaced with death. But even he had little influence over the faithless President, who would grant a pardon at his intercession, and then shoot the pardoned prisoner. After General Desmaril and Edmond Felix had been executed in 1849 in the market-place, and died after receiving twenty discharges, Soulouque went with his staff to inspect their mangled bodies and gloat over the scene. Naturally Celigny-Ardruin did not escape; he was shot, but Wyke was enabled to save many others and send them out of the country. In fact, the chiefs of the mulatto party who escaped death had all to go into exile.

In January 1849, I may notice, Soulouque had abolished the Ministry and named as Secretary-General Dufrène, and as Minister of Finance Salomon, the present President of Hayti; and in April, invigorated by his massacre of the mulattoes, invaded Santo Domingo with a numerous army. He had some success at Azua and St. Jean, but he was surprised at Ocoa by General Santana, and the whole Haytian army fled before 500 Dominicans. And these were the descendants of the men who fought so bravely against the French. It was after this defeat that Soulouque returned to his capital, and, full of anger at his discomfiture, committed the judicial murders previously recorded.

All black chiefs have a hankering after the forms as well as the substance of despotic power, and Soulouque was no exception to the rule. He therefore decided to follow in the footsteps of Dessalines, and was elected Emperor, August 26, 1849. A fresh constitution was naturally required, and this was a strange medley of republican and aristocratic institutions. Soulouque did not disappoint his generals, and created a nobility: four princes and fifty-nine dukes headed the list, to be followed by innumerable marquises, counts, and barons. This contented the chiefs, and quiet reigned for a short time.

In 1850, England, France, and the United States united to oppose diplomatically the war with Santo Domingo; during these long negotiations the Haytian Government appeared influenced by the conviction that to concede independence to Santo Domingo would introduce the foreign element into the island, and, by the development of the eastern province, end in robbing Hayti of its independence. A year’s truce was obtained, however, in October 1851. The negotiations were admirably conducted by our agent, Consul-General Ussher. One of the difficulties against which the diplomatists had to contend was the personal feelings of the Emperor, which had been outraged by the Dominicans calling him a rey de farsa, an opera bouffé king. There is no doubt but that they really did look for assistance abroad, owing to the poverty of the country arising from their eight years’ war with Hayti, and the internal dissensions which always follow national financial pressure.

On the 18th April 1852 Soulouque was crowned Emperor under the title of Faustin I. He had no fear of exciting discontent by lavish expenditure. He paid £2000 for his crown, and spent £30,000 for the rest of the paraphernalia. He was liberal to his nobility, and had few internal troubles after he shot his Grand Judge Francisque and four companions for supposed conspiracy, and had condemned Prince Bobo for some imprudent words.

Soulouque, it is fair to say, gained the good opinion of many of our countrymen on account of the protection which he generally accorded to foreigners, and a supposed predilection for the English, which the manly and conciliatory conduct of our agents had greatly fostered, and which contrasted with that of the French agents, who brought a fleet to Port-au-Prince under Admiral Duquesne to threaten to bombard the capital (1853). No events occurred worthy of record, except the interminable negotiations to induce the Emperor to conclude peace with Santo Domingo, which occupied 1853 and 1854.

The year 1855 was enlivened by a very comic quarrel between the Haytian Government and the Spanish agent. The Emperor had decided that every one that passed the palace should show his respect for his office by raising his hat. It appears that a Spanish employé did not observe this formality, and was stopped by the guard, who insisted on his complying with it. The Emperor, attracted by the altercation, put his head out of a window of the palace and cried, “Qui moun-ça sacré f—— blanc qui veut pas saluer mon palais, f——?” The Spaniard had a long discussion with the Haytian Foreign Office, and would not accept the denial by the Emperor of his having used these words—in fact, there was much ado about nothing.

In spite of all the efforts of the foreign agents, Soulouque in December 1855 marched with all his forces to attack the Dominicans—those under his personal command numbering, it is said, 15,000 men. But in January 1856 he was disgracefully beaten by the enemy. His troops fled at the first volley, and losing their way in the woods, fell into the hands of their enemies, who did not spare them. The Emperor, furious at his defeat, shot several superior officers for treachery or cowardice, and then returned with the remains of his army to his capital, where he was received in mournful silence, amid the scarcely-concealed murmurs of the people; the muttered curses of the women at the loss of their relatives being particularly remarked.

This dissatisfaction could not escape the notice of the Emperor, and to assuage his outraged feelings he shot sixteen men in Les Cayes, amid such circumstances of barbarity that even Haytians of all classes were moved by feelings of indignation and disgust. But Soulouque cared not; he shot three more and condemned above fifty to his dungeons, where little more was heard of them; in fact, they are said to have been beaten or starved to death.

After renewed efforts on the part of foreign agents, a truce of two years was negotiated with Santo Domingo. The fall of the empire was now a mere matter of time. The people were disgusted with the losses incurred during the last invasion of the eastern province, which had been more disastrous than all the former attacks; the finances were in the greatest disorder; peculation and pillage were the order of the day; a great incendiary fire in Port-au-Prince occurred in 1857, and in 1858 heavy commercial failures followed a wild speculation in bills and coffee. Discontent was rife, and all turned their eyes to General Geffrard as the only man that could rescue them from this disastrous condition of affairs. He had gained great popularity in the army during the last invasion, when he commanded the rear-guard, and it was acknowledged that his bravery and devotion had saved the remnants of the troops from destruction. The Haytians had had four black rulers in succession, and thought they could not be less prosperous under the rule of an intelligent mulatto.

The Emperor kept a watch on Geffrard, but he behaved with so much prudence that there was no excuse to imprison him. At last, in December 1858, the order for his arrest was given; but warned by a friend, he embarked during the night in an open boat with a few followers, and on his arrival at the town of Gonaives proclaimed the deposition of the Emperor and the re-establishment of the republic. He was received “with enthusiasm,” and in a few days all the north and north-west adhered to the revolution, and he began his march on Port-au-Prince with an army of about 6000 men.

On hearing of this insurrection, the Emperor moved out to meet his opponent, but with only 3000 discontented men, who, after a skirmish with the insurgents, retreated, and Soulouque re-entered Port-au-Prince with his forces reduced by desertion to 1500. Finding that the whole country had declared against him, the Emperor abdicated on the 15th January 1859, and retired for safety to the French Legation.

On his first arrival on the 10th, Soulouque, furious with his rival, ordered Madame Geffrard and her daughters to be put to death, but yielded to the intercession of our agents. However, the populace of all colours were so united against the ex-Emperor and some of his chiefs, that fears were entertained that they would break into the French Legation and kill all the refugees. The attitude of the tumultuous crowd became so menacing, and the indifference of the Haytian guard so marked, that M. Mellines appealed to our acting Consul-General Byron for protection.

Hearing of the danger to which all foreigners were exposed in Port-au-Prince, the captain of an English transport, the “Melbourne,” with the consent of Captain M’Crea, who commanded a detachment of artillery on board, steered for the capital and arrived at a critical moment. Seeing that the French Legation was about to be invaded, Byron took the bold resolution of calling on Captain M’Crea to land his artillerymen and protect the refugees. This they did, and, strange to say, the mob, instead of resenting this armed interference, were delighted at the magnificent appearance of the men and their perfect discipline, and cheered them more than ever they cheered one of their own regiments. This movement saved the Emperor; he and his followers were subsequently embarked on board the “Melbourne,” and followed Boyer and Hérard-Rivière to Jamaica.

Too much credit cannot be given to this bold proceeding of Mr. Byron and of Captain M’Crea; it had an admirable effect, and for years after, the landing of these fine men was a subject of conversation among the people. All felt that more had been saved than the French Legation and the lives of the refugees, as once pillage had commenced it would have been difficult to prevent it spreading through the town.

Thus closed the ignoble reign of Soulouque, one of the most contemptible that ever existed even in Hayti. Peculation on the one hand, and cruelty and cowardice on the other, marked almost every event of these disastrous twelve years of misgovernment.

When ignorance ceased to govern, vanity appeared to follow. Judging after the events, it seems clear that General Geffrard might have avoided many of the difficulties of his Presidency, had he called good men to his councils and listened to their advice. He, however, would do all himself, and treated his Ministers as if they were but head clerks. He really thought he knew more than any of those who surrounded him, and perhaps he did.

The revolution was conducted with exemplary moderation, and the great and small plunderers of the preceding reign succeeded in securing their ill-gotten wealth; for though the properties of certain persons were sequestrated, it had little practical effect. I have seen a trustworthy paper of the amounts taken by the Emperor and his followers, and they were so enormous as to surpass belief.

Geffrard’s difficulties were great, as he had to conciliate the black party and appoint as Ministers certain foremost generals of that colour, and their ignorance and stupidity were almost beyond anything that can be conceived; and this is the President’s best excuse for having tried to govern himself. And yet the extreme section of the party was not satisfied, and soon after Geffrard’s advent to power began to conspire against him, and to raise the cry that he was about to sell the country to the whites. As soon as a coloured chief shows the slightest desire to modify any legislation hostile to foreigners, this cry is raised, and prevents many improvements.

To show of what a negro conspirator is capable, I must enter into a few particulars of what was called the conspiracy of General Prophète. In September of 1859, the year of Geffrard’s advent to power, a section of the blacks determined to murder him. They knew that he was a most affectionate father, and accustomed to visit every evening Madame Blanfort, his newly-married daughter; they therefore laid an ambush for him behind a ruined wall that skirted the street that led to her house. The usual hour having passed for the evening visit, the conspirators began to fear that their project might fail that night and be discovered, so they moved quietly towards Madame Blanfort’s residence, and looking through the window, saw the young bride seated reading, evidently awaiting her father’s arrival. The conspirators held a hurried consultation, and decided to murder the daughter, in the expectation that Geffrard, on hearing what had occurred, would rush out. They therefore returned to the window, and a negro named Sarron raised his blunderbuss, fired at the girl, and killed her on the spot. Geffrard heard the shot, and rushing to the palace door, would have fallen into the ambush had not some friends seized and detained him.

Fortunately these conspirators were as stupid as they were brutal, and the whole of them were taken. The chief of the political conspiracy was allowed to depart, whilst the others, to the number of sixteen, were shot. It was stated at the time that too many suffered, but they were all equally guilty, for although all had not been consulted as to murdering the daughter, all meant to assassinate the father. These conspirators were most of them aides-de-camp to the President, and belonged to what are called the best families of the capital. What is a President to do with such people?

In March 1860 a concordat was signed with the See of Rome, an account of which as amended is given in another chapter. In September there was a fresh conspiracy to murder Geffrard, in which a man named Florosin was implicated, and therefore the plot was called after him. In the following year Hayti reaped the fruit of her obstinacy in refusing to acknowledge the independence of the eastern province. Discouraged by the continual state of tension in their relations with the black republic, the Dominicans decided to return to their allegiance to Spain, and in March 1861 Santo Domingo was declared a Spanish colony, with the Dominican General Santana as first Governor-General. Geffrard thus found himself face to face with a new danger, as every question remained unsettled, including the important one of boundaries.

The annexation to Spain had been brought about by Santana and his party, but was opposed by another faction, who crossed over into Hayti, and there being secretly furnished with arms and money by the authorities, invaded the Spanish colony and commenced a guerilla warfare. They were beaten, and twenty-one being taken, were summarily shot by Santana.

Proofs having then been obtained of the complicity of the Haytian Government in this movement, Spain determined to punish these intermeddlers. A fleet was sent to Port-au-Prince, with orders to demand an indemnity of £40,000, to be paid in forty-eight hours, and a salute which was not to be returned. The money was not to be had at so short a notice, and the discontented blacks threatened to upset the Government and massacre the whites if a salute were fired first.

At that time the chief representative of the foreign powers was Mr. Byron, our acting Consul-General, and on him fell the sole responsibility of effecting an amicable arrangement and preventing the threatened bombardment. He saw the Spanish admiral Rubalcava, of whom he ever spoke in the highest terms, explained the difficulties of Geffrard’s position, and obtained important concessions—first, as to the payment of the indemnity, which was ultimately reduced to £5000, and, second, that the Haytian salute should be returned. He then went to the palace, smiled at the fears of the rabble, and gave the resolute advice to brave them and fire the salute. This was done, and all passed off as well as he had predicted. Throughout their history, the Haytians have been thus beholden to the agents of England and France.

In November 1861, General Legros père conspired to upset the Government, but these mild plotters were only banished or imprisoned. This abortive movement was followed (1862) by an attempted insurrection of the Salomon family in the south. This conspiracy, the third in which they were accused of being engaged, was a complete fiasco, but it cost the lives of fourteen of their members.

One of the promises made by the new Government was a reform in the finances and a reduction of useless expenditure; but Geffrard’s incapable or corrupt Ministers had not fulfilled that promise. The Chambers were naturally curious as to the disappearance of millions of dollars without any explanation being forthcoming, and forced two incapables to resign, and General Dupuy, the Minister of Riché, was summoned from London to take charge of the finances. He was a very intelligent man, quite worthy of the post, and his appointment inspired confidence; but the Opposition in the Chambers continued their attacks on the Government, and at last Geffrard was forced to dissolve and order fresh elections. There can be no doubt that so many abuses were protected as to justify much discontent, but the Opposition might have been more moderate considering the difficulties of the situation, the insurrection in the east against the Spaniards, and the continued conspiracies of the blacks.

Geffrard and Dupuy were both anxious to modify Article 7 of the constitution, aimed against foreigners, but the proposition was so badly received that it was withdrawn.

Another rising (May 1863) of the Legros family followed in Gonaives. As they had been the principal instruments of the revolution in favour of Geffrard, their defection can only be accounted for by unsatisfied ambition and the desire to secure the spoils of office. It failed, and eight were shot.

In September 1863 Monseigneur Testard de Cosquer was named Archbishop of Port-au-Prince. He was one of the most agreeable men I have ever met, remarkably eloquent, and of fine presence; he did not, however, arrive at the capital until June of the following year. Disgusted with what was passing in his country, General Dupuy resigned his position as Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, and was succeeded by M. Auguste Elie, than whom a better choice could not have been made.

The year 1864 was distinguished for its conspiracies. In May a Colonel Narcisse denounced four coloured men of the best position in the capital as being engaged in a plot. The proofs of an active conspiracy were wanting. As I have given details of the trial in another chapter, I need only say that they were condemned to death, but their sentence was commuted at the intercession of the diplomatic corps. In July there was a conspiracy at Cap Haïtien by General Longuefosse, but the people not joining, he was taken and shot, with three of his companions. This was followed by another, in which Salnave, afterwards a revolutionary President of Hayti, first made his appearance in rather an interesting manner. General Philippeaux, Minister of War, had been sent by Geffrard to Cap Haïtien to restore order after Longuefosse’s abortive plot, when a conspiracy was formed in an artillery corps to murder Philippeaux, and Salnave was chosen to carry it into execution. One evening the Minister of War was sitting playing cards in a verandah, when Salnave, ensconced behind a neighbouring tree, raised his carbine and fired at him; the ball struck Philippeaux above the temple and glanced off. Not even the solid skull of a black could have resisted the bullet, had not the Minister, at the moment when Salnave fired, slightly turned his head.

I may notice that in 1865 Spain abandoned Santo Domingo, and the Dominican republic was restored. If ever the true history be written of that temporary resuscitation of a colony, Spaniards themselves will be astonished at the revelations of iniquity and fraud that brought about the revolution against them.

The year 1865 was an unfortunate one for Hayti. First a great fire burnt down three hundred and fifty houses in the best part of the capital; then there was a movement in the south; then one in the north, where Salnave, invading that department from Santo Domingo, found all ready to receive him. The regiments joined him or dispersed; but the rapid movement of Geffrard’s troops under Generals Morisset and Barthélemy, both of whom were killed fighting, disconcerted the conspirators, and they were soon driven from the country districts and forced to take refuge in Cap Haïtien. Had not many of the chiefs of Geffrard’s army been traitors to his cause, the whole affair might have been over in a month. A siege commenced, which appeared likely to endure long, when an incident occurred which forced on foreign intervention.

Salnave was a bold, unscrupulous man, who had been put forward by some discontented deputies and others to do their work; but his main reliance was on the mob. Those of Geffrard’s friends who could not escape from the town took refuge with the Consuls, and the English and American naval officers had constantly to interfere, even by landing men, to prevent the violation of the Consulates. Captain Heneage, of H.M.S. “Lily,” conspicuously distinguished himself. At last Geffrard left the capital to command the army, but he found he could do little among his intriguing officers: he, however, certainly showed want of dash on this occasion.

Then came the “Bulldog” incident. Captain Wake had excited the ire of the insurgents by protecting a British vessel; and to show their anger, under the direction of Delorme, Salnave’s principal adviser, they rushed down to our Consulate, and took by force certain persons who were under the protection of our flag. The “Bulldog” steamed into harbour to obtain redress, and ran aground. A combat ensued, and finding he could not get his vessel off, Captain Wake blew her up, and retired with the crew in his boats.

All the persons taken from our Consulate had in the meantime been murdered. On hearing of these transactions, I went up in H.M.S. “Galatea” with the “Lily,” and being unable to obtain any adequate satisfaction, the outer forts were bombarded. Geffrard’s army rushed in, and the insurrection was at an end. Salnave and followers escaped in the United States ship “Desoto,” after leaving orders to burn down the town, which his men only partly effected.

I may notice that the right of asylum under foreign flags is considered so sacred in Hayti, that it was once introduced as an article of the constitution. All parties are equally interested in its observance, as only thus can they hope to escape the first fury of their adversaries, and give time for passions to cool.

If 1865 was a disastrous year for Hayti, 1866 was worse. A great fire broke out in Port-au-Prince, and eight hundred houses are said to have been destroyed. I again noticed the apathy of the negroes, whether official or otherwise. They came and looked on, but did nothing either to check the flames or arrest the incendiaries. Whilst we were working to save our Legation from the fire, which was already scorching its walls, my servant called my attention to some negroes that had entered with torches ill concealed under their coats. I had to seize a revolver and hold it to a man’s head before I could force them to retire. Had our brick house taken fire, they knew the rest of the town must go. Few except the Europeans cared to exert themselves, and when they brought out a fire-engine the mob instantly cut the hose and gave themselves up to pillage. The French chargé d’affaires asked a man why he did not assist in putting out a fire burning before him? His answer was, “My house is already burned: why should I aid others?”

Geffrard could not but notice, in his opening speech to the Chambers, that the northern insurrection had created so great an expenditure that all progress was checked; but it had no effect. Another effort at revolution was made at Gonaives, where the mob plundered and burnt about fifty houses, to be followed by further troubles and incendiary fires at Cap Haïtien, Port-au-Prince, and St. Marc. The arsenal in the capital was blown up in September; two hundred houses were overthrown, and the guard killed, besides many of the inhabitants. One little boy whom I knew had his ear taken off by a piece of shell without further injury. During these occurrences, bands of negroes were wandering through the south burning and pillaging, unchecked by the local authorities. It was asked, how could a people exist under such circumstances? But people must eat; the majority do not join in these disorders, and all the women and children work. The following years showed to what a country can submit from the perverse conduct of interested politicians.

It was now evident that Geffrard must give up power, as, rightly or wrongly, people were dissatisfied with him, find wanted a change. In February 1867 there was a hostile movement on the part of some companies of Geffrard’s favourite troops, the tirailleurs, the only disciplined battalions that I ever saw in Hayti; and though this was suppressed by their companions, the Government was irretrievably shaken. The comparatively bad crops of 1865 and 1866 were said to be the fault of the authorities, and no amnesties or changes in the Ministry could satisfy the discontented. Geffrard determined therefore to abdicate, and on March 13, 1867, he embarked for Jamaica. He had convoked the Senate for the 16th in order to give over the reins of power to them, but his timid friends persuaded him to go at once, as the north was in insurrection. The Spanish chargé d’affaires was with him throughout these scenes, and Geffrard’s last words were, “Poor country! what a state of anarchy will follow my departure!”

In my chapter on the Mulattoes, I have given a sketch of Geffrard, and I need not repeat it here. I was not blind to his faults, but of all the rulers of Hayti he was certainly the most enlightened, and the most thoroughly devoted to his country. Had he been as perfect a ruler as the world could produce, he would never have satisfied his countrymen. The blacks wanted a black, the mulattoes wanted any one else, so that there was a change. And yet I believe the mass of the people cared little except for tranquillity.

A committee was formed to revise the constitution, but Salnave had landed in Cap Haïtien, assumed power, and proceeded to exercise it. He arrested some chiefs of the negroes dwelling in the Black Mountains, and instantly shot them; their friends took up arms, and, under the name of the “Cacos,” were a thorn in the side of the new régime. He then marched on Port-au-Prince, seized the Government, and arrested General Montas, who had commanded in the north under Geffrard. Tired of the delays of a Constituent Assembly, he sent a mob to frighten them. They took the hint, voted the constitution the next day, and, l’epée à la gorge, elected Salnave President of Hayti, June 16, 1867. In July a treaty was signed between Hayti and Santo Domingo, thus ending the long war.

The Chambers met in the autumn, and Madame Montas presented a petition on the subject of the imprisonment of her husband. On some deputies insisting on an explanation, Delorme, the Chief Minister of Salnave, sprang on the table and denounced these deputies as enemies of Government. Pistol-shots were fired; Salnave advanced at the head of his guards, and the Assembly dispersed. Riots followed. The Government attempted to arrest five prominent members of the Opposition, but they escaped and returned home to their constituents, and constitutional government ceased to exist.

The movement of the Cacos in the Black Mountains now began to alarm the Government, and Salnave started for the north to put himself at the head of the army operating against the insurgents. There were many skirmishes, that at Mombin Crochu being the most important, where Salnave lost heavily.

I do not think it necessary to do more than briefly notice the events of Salnave’s Presidency of thirty months. It was one long civil war. Disgusted at the treatment of their deputies, the towns began to declare against the Government. The uprising was accelerated by the meeting of the Chambers being postponed and Salnave being declared Dictator. In April 1868, Nissage-Saget took up arms in St. Marc; the south was in movement and the insurgents marching towards the capital, where a crowd of young men armed with swordsticks and pocket-pistols made a feeble attempt at insurrection, but dispersed at the first fire. In the midst of this commotion Salnave came into the harbour with five hundred men, to whom he gave permission to plunder the Rue de Frentfort, where the principal retail dealers live. The phrase of their colonel on this occasion has become a proverb: “Mes enfans, pillez en bon ordre.” Only the vigorous remonstrances of the diplomatic corps prevented further outrages. Delorme, accused by Salnave of having shown weakness whilst in charge of the Government during his absence, retired from office and left the country.

The insurgent armies closed in round Port-au-Prince, but as the town did not capitulate at their martial aspect, they did nothing, whilst the garrison was only waiting for the excuse of an attack in order to disperse. This delay was fatal; the chiefs, instead of confronting the common enemy, were quarrelling as to the choice of the future President, each thinking himself the most worthy, when the negroes of the mountains, encouraged by the Government, rose in arms to attack the towns, and forced the besieging army to retire to protect their own families and property. These bands of negroes, under the name of “Piquets,” were only formidable from their numbers, but the injuries they did in the south have not been repaired to this day. The insurgents raised the siege of the capital in August; and in September, to prevent further dissensions, Nissage-Saget was chosen President for the north at St. Marc, and Domingue at Les Cayes for the south.

The year 1869 was the most disastrous I have known in Haytian history. Fighting was going on in every district. In the north the insurgents were besieging Cap Haïtien; in the south the Government was vainly attacking Jacmel, Jérémie, and Les Cayes. In the beginning of the year President Salnave had the advantage of commanding the seas with his steamers, and surrounding Les Cayes on every side, he vigorously pressed the siege. When it was about to fall, General Monplaisir-Pierre assembled a small army around him, cut his way through the besieging forces, and arrived just in time to save Domingue and his Government, who were preparing to embark for Jamaica. This was one of the few gallant actions of the war.

Another was General Brice’s splendid defence of Jérémie when attacked by superior forces and bombarded by vessels purchased by Salnave in America.

In July 1869 the insurgents obtained a couple of steamers, and the aspect of the war changed. They were enabled thus to relieve the south by capturing the vessels that blockaded Les Cayes; and then, returning north, excited the fears of the Government partisans. Gonaives surrendered to the insurgents under conditions, and General Chevalier arrived with the garrison to increase the confusion at the capital. The Ministry resigned under his threats, and only the sudden arrival of Salnave from the south prevented Chevalier from usurping his place.

From this time forward the fortunes of Salnave paled. Cap Haïtien surrendered to the insurgents; the President’s army under Chevalier besieging Jacmel went over to the enemy; and suddenly, on the 18th December 1870, the insurgents made the most gallant dash of the whole war. Before daylight, two vessels laden with troops steamed quietly into the harbour, surprised a new gunboat belonging to the Government, and then immediately landed about a thousand men. The leaders of this expedition were Generals Brice and Boisrond-Canal. It was a splendid coup, as Salnave’s garrison consisted of over three thousand men. Some sharp fighting occurred, and the insurgents could just hold their own, when General Turenne-Carrié arrived by land with strong reinforcements, and rendered the combat more equal.

Whilst the fighting was going on, a strong appeal was made by chiefs of both parties to the diplomatic corps to interfere and try to save the town, which was menaced with destruction. The representatives of France, England, and the United States therefore went to the palace, but could do no more than effect a truce till the next morning.

Salnave, however, hoping to surprise his enemies during this truce, made a sudden onslaught on them; but after about two hours’ fighting, his men were repulsed with heavy loss. Early in the morning, the gunboat that had been surprised in harbour opened fire upon the palace under the direction of the insurgents, and its heavy shell falling in the courtyard began to disperse the garrison, when another pitched on the palace ignited a small powder-magazine, and a severe explosion took place. As great stores of powder existed there, every one near fled. Salnave and his troops retired to the mountains viâ La Coupe, and soon after another terrific explosion took place that shook the town, followed by one still more severe. Fortunately the fire did not reach the great magazine, or few houses would have resisted the concussion.

Before leaving, Salnave ordered fire to be set to the town to retard pursuit. Our men were disembarked from H.M.S. “Defence” under the present admiral, Noel Salmon, and greatly contributed to prevent the spread of the flames; but it was calculated that at least a thousand houses and huts were destroyed.

I have passed rapidly over the events of this year, but it was certainly the most trying I have ever known. The diplomatic corps was continually forced to interfere to check the arbitrary conduct of the authorities, who seized our ships, arrested our subjects, insulted us in the streets, and to awe the disaffected employed bands of villanous negroes and negresses to parade the town, who murdered those selected by their enemies, wantonly killing a young Frenchman and many others.

Nothing was saved from them, neither our mail-bags nor our property. Fortunately we were well supported by our naval officers, and we were thoroughly well backed by the French marine. Admiral Mequet and Captain De Varannes of the “D’Estrés” were conspicuous by their friendly feeling; and as Admiral Phillimore was at that time commodore in Jamaica, the English were sure of receiving all the support that it was in his power to give. I think we owed our lives to the aid we received from the presence of our ships, commanded by Captains Kelly, M’Crea, Glynn, Murray Aynesley, Carnegie, Lowther, Allington, and many others.

I may conclude my account of Salnave by saying that he attempted to reach Santo Domingo city, but was stopped on the frontiers by the Dominican insurgent Cabral, who took him and his followers prisoners, and sent them to Port-au-Prince. Six chiefs were shot as insurgents taken with arms in their hands, whilst Salnave was brought into the capital, tried by a military commission under General Lorquet, condemned to death for incendiarism and murder, and shot that same evening at sunset. He behaved with considerable coolness and calmness, and when he heard the sentence pronounced, asked for a quarter of an hour’s respite, and then wrote his wishes as to the disposition of his property, and a few words to his family.

Salnave was in every respect unfitted to be a ruler; he was ignorant, debauched, and cruel; loved to be surrounded by the lowest of the low, who turned the palace into a rendezvous where the scum of the negresses assembled to dance and drink, so that no respectable person ever willingly entered it. He attended the meetings of the Vaudoux, and is accused of joining in their greatest excesses. He first brought himself prominently forward by attempting to murder General Philippeaux, and during his Presidency shot his enemies without mercy. I do not think that he had a redeeming quality, except a certain amount of determination, and perhaps bravery, though he was never known to expose himself to personal danger.

General Nissage-Saget was elected President of Hayti on the 19th March 1870, and four years of peace followed. The country was so exhausted by the long civil war, that although there was some discontent among the followers of Salnave and the extreme black party, no movement had a chance of success. The Chambers occasionally quarrelled with the executive, but their title to esteem rests on their efforts to restore the currency. They decided to withdraw the depreciated paper notes and introduce silver dollars, and in this they completely succeeded. It caused some suffering at first, but on the whole it was a sound measure, wisely carried out.

Nissage-Saget, though incapable in many respects, generally adhered to the constitution. However, in 1872 he created some commotion by pardoning all political prisoners at the demand of the army, though legally such a measure required the previous assent of the Chambers. But Haytians like their Presidents to show authority.

In 1873 there was a formal quarrel in the Chambers which led to all the subsequent disasters. A question arose as to the validity of the election of Boyer-Bazelais, deputy for Port-au-Prince. It was decided in his favour by forty-four to twenty-one, upon which the minority retired, and left the House without a quorum. As the Government sided with the minority, no steps were taken to fill vacancies, but a session was called for the month of July.

The real question at issue was a serious one. The Opposition wished to elect as the next President General Monplaisir-Pierre, a respectable black, whilst the Government favoured General Domingue, an ignorant and ferocious negro born in Africa, whose party had rendered itself notorious by the massacre of all the prisoners confined in the jail in Les Cayes in 1869.

The Senate and Chambers met in July, and it was evident that a great majority were hostile to the Government. Boyer-Bazelais, rendered imprudent by the strong party he led, passed a vote of want of confidence in two Ministers, and refused to receive their budgets, upon which the President adjourned the session to April 1874. He did this to prevent the public discussion of the scandalous jobbery of his Ministers and to aid Domingue in his candidature.

When the Congress met in April 1874, there was no doubt as to the feeling of the people being hostile to Domingue and his nephew, Septimus Rameau, the most grasping and unpopular jobber that the country had ever seen. The Government had used all its influence and had employed the military to support Domingue candidates, but in spite of this pressure his opponents had been returned. But the Government persevered, and Nissage retired May 15, handing over power to a Council of Ministers that named Domingue commander-in-chief. A Constituent Assembly was called for June 10, which was quite unconstitutional, and under violent military pressure Government nominees were chosen, who unanimously elected General Domingue President of Hayti.

As soon as this Government was in power, it was clearly seen that all the constitutional leaders had better go into exile, as their death was certain if they remained. Many prudently retired to the neighbouring colonies, but the three gallant leaders of the war against Salnave, Monplaisir-Pierre, Brice, and Boisrond-Canal, remained, and turned their attention to industrial pursuits. I could not but warn Brice that I knew for certain that if they remained they would fall victims, but they had a better opinion of their rulers than I had.

Naturally a new constitution was voted, by which the President was chosen for eight years; the Senate was to be selected from a list sent in to Government; the executive had power to dissolve the Chambers and to establish a Council of State to aid the Government. Power was also given for one year to change the judges and magistrates, thus to fill the bench with their own creatures.

The Government was not slow to show its intentions. The first was to render the residence of foreigners impossible by passing a law of license to trade which would have been prohibitive; but through the interference of the diplomatic corps the application of this law was postponed. At the head of the Ministry was Domingue’s nephew, Septimus Rameau, who considered that “the whites had no rights which the blacks were bound to respect.” His own friends had foretold an age of peace and enlightenment when Septimus came to power, but of all the narrow-minded negroes with vast pretensions to superiority, none equalled this man. As a rule, the abler a negro is, the more wicked and corrupt he appears. But we could never discover this much-vaunted ability, though the wickedness and corruption were manifest to all.

The only wise act by which Domingue’s Government will be known was the signing of a treaty of peace, friendship, and commerce with Santo Domingo; and this was brought about by foreign aid, which smoothed down the difficulties raised by the intolerable pretensions of the Haytian Ministers.

As usual, when there was political discontent, the year 1875 was ushered in by a great fire in Port-au-Prince. On May 1, taking advantage of an assembly of troops to celebrate the “Fête de l’Agriculture,” Rameau ordered an attack to be made on the three rivals he most feared. General Brice was sitting writing in his office when the soldiers sent to murder him appeared; his bravery, however, was so well known, that they dreaded to approach him, but firing at a distance, gave him time to seize his arms and defend himself. But having only revolvers, he thought it prudent to endeavour to take refuge in the English Legation. He was wounded fatally in doing so, and died, notwithstanding the care bestowed upon him by the Spanish Consul Lopez and his wife, who were then residing there.

Monplaisir-Pierre was also attacked in his own house, but being better armed, he made a long defence; he killed seventeen soldiers, wounded thirty-two, mostly mortally, and could only be subdued by the employment of artillery. Then finding he could do no more, as, severely wounded, he could not escape, he put an end to his existence. General Lorquet commanded this attack of the garrison of Port-au-Prince on two veritable heroes.

The third destined to death by the Government was Boisrond-Canal. Whilst defending himself Brice had thought of his friend, and had sent his clerk to warn him of his danger. On the approach of the soldiers he and his friends readily put them to flight, but then were forced to disperse, Canal taking refuge with the American Minister, who, after five months of tedious correspondence, was enabled to embark him in safety.

Decrees followed banishing forty-three eminent citizens, and later on seventeen were condemned to death for a pretended conspiracy. Thus Rameau thought to clear the country of his enemies or rivals.

The Government finding that the amount received in taxes would not satisfy their cupidity, decided to raise a loan in Paris of about £2,500,000. The history of this scandalous transaction is about the worst of its kind. A portion of the money was raised and divided among the friends of the Government; but the details are not worth recording.

The murder of Brice and Monplaisir-Pierre made a profound impression on the country, as it justified all previous apprehensions; and the conduct of the Government was such, that it appeared as if it were guided by a madman. Decrees against the trade carried on by foreigners, hatred of the whites shown by Domingue, Rameau, and Boco, then insults in the official journal, in which even foreign agents were not spared, followed by the illegal expulsion of Cuban refugees, at length roused the country, and a general movement commenced.

Domingue and Rameau were furious: an order was given to murder all the political prisoners confined in the jail, but the chief jailer escaped with them to a Legation, and leaving the gates open, three hundred and fifty malefactors got away at the same time. Then the Government tried to rouse the masses, and issued orders to fire the town and pillage it, and murder the whites and coloured; but even the lowest negroes felt that these were the decrees of a madman. Finding that the Government could not hold its own in Port-au-Prince, Rameau determined to retire to Les Cayes; but being unwilling to leave behind him the money destined to form the capital of a National Bank, he sent it down to the wharf to be embarked. This at length roused the population, and a tumult ensued. Abandoned by all, Domingue abdicated, and the French Minister De Vorges and the Spanish Consul Lopez went to the palace to try and save the President and his Chief Minister. The crowd was large and threatening, but the two brave diplomats took these despicable chiefs under their protection and endeavoured to escort them to the French Legation; but the crowd was so excited against these murderers, that Rameau was killed in the streets and Domingue was seriously wounded.

General Lorquet had been sent at the head of a force to check the advance of the northern insurgents; but, as might be expected, he joined them and marched at their head to take possession of the Government. But no sooner had he entered the town than a murmur arose. The friends of those he had murdered, as Monplaisir-Pierre, Brice, and Chevalier, began to collect. Lorquet fled to his house, but was pursued and attacked, and killed whilst trying to hide in a cupboard.

Thus fell the very worst Government that even Hayti had ever seen. Cruel and dishonest, it had not a redeeming quality. Domingue, brutal and ignorant, was entirely dominated by his nephew, Septimus Rameau, whose conduct has been only excused by his friends on the ground of insanity. There was too much method in his madness for that plea to be accepted. His hatred of foreigners may be partly accounted for by his being a member of the Vaudoux; it is even asserted that he was a Papaloi or priest of the sect.

When Domingue fell there was a struggle for the succession between Boisrond-Canal and Boyer-Bazelais, but the former was preferred on account of his energy and courage. He had a difficult task, as the dilapidations of the late Government had ruined the finances, and France insisted that the Domingue loan should be recognised before she would acknowledge the new President.

Boyer-Bazelais, although, like Boisrond-Canal, a man of colour, bitterly resented his rival being chosen President, and created every difficulty possible for the new Government. These events, however, are too recent for me to dwell on them. I may, however, notice that the principal attention of both Government and Opposition was directed to the finances, and that in 1879 the French Government forced Hayti to acknowledge the Domingue loan.

In July 1879 a disturbance took place in the House of Representatives, and it was adjourned amidst much tumult. Boyer-Bazelais and his party retired to his house and took up arms, they said, to defend themselves. Their opponents attacked them, and a desperate fight ensued. Fire was put to the adjoining houses, and amidst this fierce conflict our acting Consul-General Byron and the French Chancellor Hullinot intervened, and at the greatest personal risk rescued the ladies from the burning houses and took them to a place of safety. A sauve qui peut soon followed, and Boyer-Bazelais’ party was dispersed with heavy loss, two of his brothers being killed in the fight.

The insane ambition of what was called the Liberal party thus ruined the most honest Government that Hayti had seen since the days of Boyer. These disorders in the capital were followed by others in the provinces; and Boisrond-Canal, disgusted with the treatment he had received from those who should have supported him, resigned, and left the country with his chief Ministers, July 17, 1879. Great sympathy was shown him by the people, who cheered him as he left the wharf. As usual, he was embarked by a foreign officer, Commander Allington of H.M.S. “Boxer.” What would these exiled Presidents do without the foreign element?

Boisrond-Canal, though not a brilliant ruler, was thoroughly honest, and if he had been supported instead of being opposed by the Liberal party, his four years’ Presidency would have been a happy one. His coloured opponents used to call him a putate or sweet potato—in fact, a King Log. They soon had a chance of comparing his Government with that of a King Stork.

Boyer-Bazelais’ party now thought that they would have all their own way, but they soon found that the country would have none of them. The blacks were again in the ascendant, and after some feeble attempts at revolution, the Liberal chiefs had to take the path of exile, and be thankful that it was no worse.

The mob of Port-au-Prince, wearied by the long debates, forced the Assembly to close its discussions, and General Salomon was elected President of Hayti, October 23, 1879, and in December of the same year a twelfth constitution was promulgated, by which the chief of the state was chosen for seven years.

Illegal military executions, murder, and pillage, encouraged by the authorities, have been the principal episodes of the history of the last four years.