Such was the state into which Boyer had thrown the republic by his weak and most improvident policy, and it required some skill and ingenuity to avert the evil likely to ensue from it, for dissatisfaction began to be prevalent. From the press of Hayti being under the censorship of the government, the proceedings with France relative to the recognition of independence were not known in many parts of the country, particularly amongst the cultivators of the interior. Although forming the largest proportion of the people, they had no knowledge of the conditions on which the French had acceded to the recognition, until the members of the chamber of communes returned to the several parishes which they represented, and explained the whole of the measures pursued by the president. No sooner was it made known that the French were to receive one hundred and fifty millions of francs as an indemnity to the old colonists, and that the ships of France were to be admitted on half duties, than a general murmur of disgust was heard, and the members of the communes were most justly censured for having countenanced an act which would entail upon them endless trouble and anxiety. The idea of paying so large a sum, or even any money at all, for so insecure a boon as that of the recognition by France, was declared to be of all acts the most absurd and inconsistent; and to admit them besides to a privilege of trade more favourable than that which was conceded to England, which had always been constant in her intercourse, was deprecated as a measure which was likely to bring down upon them the displeasure of that government, particularly as the President had, only but a very short time previous to his abject submission to France, most unwisely abrogated the law of Petion which admitted the manufactures and produce of Great Britain into the ports of the republic at lower rates of duty than those of other countries.
Such being the impression upon the generality of the people, they hesitated not to say, that the admission of the indemnity to France as a national debt by the legislative bodies was not binding upon the people; for as they had gained their independence by one of the greatest struggles in modern times, and as they had supported it at the expense of a great deal of blood, and as it had become indisputable from twenty-one years’ possession, they could only consider such conduct on the part of President Boyer as the effect of weakness and that want of energy and decision which ought to be conspicuous in the head of any government; and therefore that they were determined to resist any levies that might be attempted for raising the amount of the instalments out of their properties. In this predicament was Boyer placed, and it was made the more awkward to him from the cry of his people, “for arrangements with England,” and “give the English privileges, and down with privileges to France.” They were sensible, they said, that the British government would have protected them against the enemies of their peace and independence; but now, from the precipitancy of their own rulers, they were no better than a colony of France again; and that England could not hold out to them any expectation of support, unless she embroiled herself in a war with her neighbouring state.
Finding such to be the feelings of the people, Boyer had recourse to an expedient which he thought would appease their irritation, and once more soften them to an approval of his conduct. He made indirect overtures to the British government, and afterwards a direct communication, to know if it were the intention of the King of England to recognize the independence of his country, as the King of France had been induced to do; but no assurances were received, further than that his Majesty, for the protection of British commerce in the republic of Hayti, contemplated to send out consuls to that country to preside over the interests of British subjects; and that if the Haytian government had any proposals to offer, on which a treaty of commerce could be entered into upon a reciprocal basis, it would receive that attention which the nature of it demanded. This disposition of the British government was no sooner known in Hayti,—and I had been the bearer of it to Boyer—than the people manifested the highest symptoms of joy and satisfaction, declaring that they were now at the acme of their wishes. Boyer found it an act of prudence to express similar feelings of pleasure, though he secretly hated the English, and would have submitted to any sacrifice rather than have seen them triumphant in the opinions of the people; Inginac, the secretary-general, was not only gratified at the intelligence, but shewed openly that this was the nearest wish to his heart, and as he had always been much attached to the English from having had a good deal of intercourse with them, there was no event from which he could derive so much satisfaction and happiness as to see the representative of the commerce of Great Britain land upon their shores. The inhabitants of the country considered this as a tacit admission of their independence by Great Britain, and Boyer encouraged such an opinion.
It was, indeed, extraordinary to see the people running towards the government-house to congratulate Boyer when the intelligence was first made public, and the respectable citizens congratulate each other with the most happy countenances, as they were likely to be secured in the enjoyment of their properties. That their country would now prosper, and advance in wealth and consequence when recognized by the crown of England, seemed to them certain; and they hailed it as an event of the highest importance to their interests and to their future aggrandizement.
From the moment of its being announced that the British government had come to the determination of sending out a consul-general to Hayti, Boyer’s officers of state and the people in general manifested the greatest solicitude for his appearance; a solicitude, emanating from a great sense of the importance which they attached to it. The president suppressed his feelings, whatever they might have been; but at times he could not resist the temptation of condemning the delay which intervened between the appointment of the consul and his departure from England; and he was often heard to say, that he questioned the sincerity of the British cabinet respecting such intentions, and that he believed it to be only a ruse de commerce. The inhabitants, however, were of a different opinion; they knew the integrity of the British government, and were confident that its commerce would not be neglected, but promoted and extended wherever it could be accomplished. Under this conviction they began to consult each other, and take into consideration in what manner they should best evince their joy, and shew those marks of respect to which a consul from England was so justly entitled.
It was determined by them to receive him on his landing with shouts and acclamations, and to conduct him to his hotel, accompanied by the most opulent and powerful of the citizens, and that the city should be illuminated; but when their plans were communicated to Boyer by the presidential spies, he had it made known indirectly that such manifestations of their pleasure would not only be irregular, but that he should feel it as an insult offered to himself, as he had not been consulted on its propriety, nor applied to for his permission.
On the 25th of May, the consul-general and his suite arrived in his Majesty’s ship Druid, Captain Chambers; but as she did not appear off the harbour till nearly dark, she was not recognised by the government officers, and consequently did not salute before the following morning, when it was returned by the forts, which was the only demonstration of respect offered by the Haytian authorities on his arrival. Nay, President Boyer could not conceal his antipathy, nor restrain his dislike to the English, even though he perceived that the presence of the British mission had a strong tendency to reconcile all classes of his citizens to his impolitic measures. He individually neglected even to congratulate the consul on his arrival; he did not pay him the common civility of sending one of his aides-de-camp to express himself friendly to the object of his visit, as was the case on the arrival of the French consul-general, to whom he sent two of his staff to offer him the assurances of his high consideration and esteem. The consul-general of England was only visited by a subaltern of artillery on the staff of General Inginac, and the general was absolutely precluded paying a higher compliment to him by the positive orders of Boyer; by the express order of that very man who would have been subjected to the animadversions, if not the hatred, of his citizens, had not the British government sent out a representative to give them something like an appearance of protection against the intrigues of France. He would no doubt have set the whole of his citizens in a ferment, had it not been prevented by the timely arrival of the British consul-general, when their animosity and irritation seemed to have been softened by the gratification of seeing the British ensign proudly waving from a British man-of-war.
The consul-general, Mr. Charles Mackenzie, a gentleman of the most refined and accomplished manners, and possessing talents of the highest order, received all this contumely with the most perfect indifference, attributing it to a very just cause. He knew that Boyer was secretly attached to the French, that he cordially disliked the British, that he had arranged with the French for the purpose of giving that nation influence and privileges in Hayti, and that any intercourse with England was forced upon him by his people. He knew also that Boyer was not the individual he was represented to be; that he possessed neither enlarged nor cultivated ideas, and had no correct knowledge of the world; and consequently, from these circumstances, he very judiciously put down all that show of neglect on the part of the government to its proper account, ignorance.
It is necessary now to advert to the proceedings of Boyer after his arrangements with France, and to see what steps he took to provide for the necessities of the government, brought on in a very increased proportion by the improvident measures which he had pursued.