Hayti; or, The black republic.

by Sir Spenser St. John

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.