The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-02 00:00:00

A.D. 1720.

ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE
CORPORATION
(Established by Charter of his Majesty George the First)
FOR SEA, FIRE, LIFE, AND ANNUITIES.
Offices, Royal Exchange, London.
Branch Office, 29, Pall-mall,
OCTA.VIUS WIGRAM, Esq., Governor.
GEORGE PEARKES BARCLAY, Esq., Sub-Governor.
Sir Joux Wtrc.i.am LUBBOCK, Bart., Deputy-Governor.,

DIRECTORS.
Henry Bainbridge, Esq. Wilmot Holland, Esq.
John Garratt Cattley, Esq. Chas. Jno. Manning, Esq.
Edwd. MaxwellDaniell, Esq. Hon. Jno. T. Leslie Melville,
William Davidson, Esq. Sir Jno. Henry Pelly, Bart.
Thomas Dent, Esq. Hon. Jose. W. Percy, M.P.
Alexander Druce, Esq. Alexander P. Prevost, Esq.
Freak. Jos. Edlmann, Esq. Regnld. F. Remington, Esq,
Charles Farquharson, Es,. Charles Robinson, Esq.
Riversdale W. Grenf ell, Esq. William Soltau, Esq.
Robt. Amadeus Heath, Esq. Joseph Somes, Esq.
Wm. Tetlow Hibbert, Esq. William Wallace, Esq.
Jas. Stewart Hodgson, Esq. Chas. Baring Young, Est

Medical Referee, SAMUEL SOLLY, Esq., F.R.S.
NOTICE.—The usual fifteen days allowed for payment of
FIRE PREMIUMS falling due at Christmas will expire on
9th January.
FIRE and LIFE ASSURANCES may be effected with this
Corporation on advantageous terms.
In the Lite Department, assurances are granted with par-
ticipation in Profits, or, at lower Premiums, without such
participation.
The Reversionary Bonus on British Policies has averaged
nearly 2 per cent. per annum on the sum assured, or 48 pgr
been made in the Premiums
cent.
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Profit will take place every Five
palyhabolfeobtyorpeedirs‘oinssiowohsoopreferred that form of Bonus.
years.
£15,000 may be insured on one
LifAen sum not exceeding
.y
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at ito.
tni
ciapffaotri do
ns toin tphreoAfitsss—ur,oe,di
the liabilities of partnership.
Societies—with
Stock.
ofTaroaffidvooanwtrsse guarantee
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ex-
perience of nearly a CENTURY AND A HALE
of
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SPECIAL NOTlCE.,o—wtoisttlei
dthbeysteLurit
IN CASE OF DEATH occurring duriwz the Thirty days
allowed for payment of a Life Premium, and before such pay-
ment has been made, the Corporation hold themselves liable
under the Policy, provided the Premium be subsequently paid
on or before the thirtieth day from that upon which it became
due.

JOHN A. HIGHAM, Actuary and Secretary.
ROYAL EXCHANGE, LONDON.

Las evening M. Kossuth, ex governor of Hun-
gary, in compliance with the 'request of the
members of the " St. John's-wood Literary
Institute," addressed at the Eyre Arms, a numerous
and respectable audience, on the " Difference of
National Character." Mr. Willeock, Q.C., presided.
M. KOSSUTH, in the opening of his address,
apologised for addressing so large an assembly on
this subject, at a time when political affairs on the
Continent should claim his first consideration—
when Austria, the oppressor. o.f.' Italy and Hungary,
was menacing the peace of Europe—and when it
might be naturally expected that polities and not
literary speculations should engage his attention.
But the members of the St. Jon's-wood Literary
Society had done him the honour of soliciting his
services at a time when they were preparing their
annual intellectual bill of fare. That was five
months ago, and he could not relieve himself from
the obligation. He appeared before them now to
redeem his pledge, but he trusted that if he did not
allude to the unexpected turn which had taken place
in public aflairs, it would not be considered that his
aspirations for the freedom of Hungary were the less
ardent, or his sympathies for oppressed nationali-
ties were not as fervent as ever. His excellency
then proceeded to deliver his lecture, which in
November last was substantially reported in the
metropolitan papers, and in which he com-
pared the English, the French, and Germans
With each other. His excellency's 'idea is, that
the language of a people is indicative of their
character ; and in illustration of this hypothesis,
he selected the " common sense" of the English,
the " esprit" of the French, and. "gezzueth " of the
Germans. Those words, though apparently equi-
valent, do not translate one another, and the lecturer
defied any etymologist to do so. Sens commune, in
French, meant the sense of a whole people—a public
sentiment. In England it merely represented the
individual opinion ; in Germany it was a sort of
transcendental spiritualism. England represented
the will, France the heart, Germany the soul. From
these distinctions the lecturer deduced an argument
in favour of forbearance and toleration. Diversity
was necessary to harmony, and to prevent monotony
the Creator .bad made us various, and we should be
pleased, rather than angry, with existing differences.
His excellency, without betraying any subserviency
to the English people, made several observations
in the contrast that he drew between ourselves and
others, which were pleasant enough, perhaps flatter-
ing, and which were very favourably received, as
was the whole of a speech that occupied nearly two
hours in the delivery.
A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the
proceedings.

HISTORY OF THE REVOLUTIONS IN

HAYTL

A retrospective review of the political history of
;his unfortunate island will hardly be unacceptable

to our readers.
The island of St. Domingo is divided into two
separate States—that on the west side being the
empire of Faustin the First, the ex-negro Emperor,
and known as Hayti; and that on the east side
comprising the independent Spanish republic of
Dominica, of which Gen. Santana is the President.
In the year 1791 the negroes of Hayti revolted
against their French masters; and, under Toussaint
L'Ouverture, in 1803, obtained their independence
as a free republic. The eastern side of the island,
which constituted the old Spanish colony of St.
Domingo, took no part in this servile insurrection,
nor were the slaves there liberated untillB2l, when

_'resident Boyer, of Hayti, rendered that portion of
the island subject to the sway of the Republic of
Hayti. Up to 1844 the island remained under one
Government, but the cruelty and ill treatment which
the white races received at the hands of the

negroes, who are largely in the ascendant, drove
those of Spanish and Indian blood into insurrection
when, after two or three decisive conflicts, the sol-
diers of Hayti, then commanded by the present
Emperor (then General) Soulouque, were driven
back to their own side of the island, and the new
Republic of Dominica was proclaimed. The leader
of this revolution was Pedro Santana, a native of
Seybo, in the eastern part of the island, where he
spent his early life among the herdsmen of that
province. But in his retirement he cherished the
idea of redeeming his country from the brutal
enny of the negro race. Santana, with a handful
oen, about 500, rose in arms, engaged and utterly
routed the large army of Soulouque at Carreras and
from that time an incessant war longraged between
the two rival " nations," as they are styled by an
American newspaper now before us. The Republic
of Dominica has, moreover,been a prey to civil war,
Santana and Baez have each been in the Presiden-
tial seat three or four times, and as often in prison
or in exile. General Baez has but recently passed
through New York on his way to exile ix Europe,
and Santana has beon restored to the Presidency.
Thus, while the new Republic was ruining its own
prospects by internecine feuds for the last 10 or 12
years, Soulouque was also plotting its destruction
by conquest. In the year 1847 Soulouque, who was
born a slave on the plantation of M. Vailler, was,
almost by an accident, elected President of the Re-
public of Hayti. The contending candidates were
about even, and enough of the friends of both united
at the last hour upon Soulouque, as an available
man, to succeed in electing him. It was then sup-
posed that he was a man of no strength of character
and might become the tool of his party ; but, like
Louis Napoleon (of whose political history Soulou-
que's is a ridiculous burlesque) he proved himself
not a slave, but a tyrant; and his unfortunate peo-
ple have been since mercilessly dealt with, and his
dominions reduced almost to ruin. After being Pre-
sident of the Republic for two years ho was declared
Emperor, in Aug. 1849, greatly to the astonishment
of every one. It cannot be forgotten that soon after
his elevation to the throne he instituted several
orders of nobility after the fashion of European
monarchies, created a lot of Princes, Dukes, Mar-
quises, and Knights out of his burly negro friends,
and gave them pompous, loud-sounding, and some-
times ridiculous titles, such as the Duke de Lemo-
nade, the Duke de la Marmalade, and so forth. In
1852 he caused himself and his Empress to be
crowned, with great show and ceremony, at Port-
au-Prince, his capital. Never having acknow-
ledged the independence of the Dominican Republic,
but always avowing that it was a portion of his
empire, he undertook to reduce it to subjection in
1855, and in the month of December of that year
advanced with an army of 5,000 men to the fron-
tiers of Dominica. Here the Dominicans, under
the Liberator Santana, met him with a most
inferior force.
Two battles—those of San Tome and Canbronal
—ensued, each lasting about five hours. Victory
at last declared for the Dominicans, Soulouque
sustaining a defeat which like that of Napoleon the
Great at Waterloo, was tantamount to a total over-
throw. 'For a time Soulouque was regarded as
dead—physically as well as politically—but he at
length found his way back to Port-au-Prince, and
recommenced his oppressive and tyrannical rule.
The interference of France and England, however,
and the bold attitude of the Dominicans themselves
prevented any further aggression on the part of
their swarthy enemy, the " Emperor" of Hayti, and
an armistice of three years (which expired on the
15th of January) was granted. Meanwhile Sou-
louque himself has lost his copper crown, after
manner as much the reverse of dignified as old
Louis Philippe when he slunk out of the Tuileries
by a back door and fled from his capital in a hack-
ney coach. After the late commercial crisis in
Hayti want and misery became so great that the
people murmured openly and evinced much dis-
content ; the enlightened portion of the people soon
percived that the moment was propitious to throw
off their yoke, and with one accord decided on the
overthrow of Soulouque, which they have done so
far that half (the French part) of the island is in
their possession, and in the following manner :
On Wednesday, Dec. 22, the General—Fabre
Geffrard—sailed from Port au Prince in a small
sailing boat, with his son, Mr. Ernest Roumain,
and a Frenchman, and landed at a neighbouring
town ; they were there joined by some confederates
—Mr. Aime, Legros, and others, and having pro-
cured horses these five persons rode into town,
pistol in hand, crying " Viva la Republique !"
" Viva la Liberte !" o one stopping them they
arrived at the chief guardhouse, where the soldiers,
either from fear or from being favourable, to the
cause,wyarrivingi nt
hbteheyate
they
ees tyat hicvleheeettad, laatltr mlhe
telling
nGiasgs desired.
Governor's
vnteehr
nresthem
loose
soe
housets Pu
hhaotur Pursuing nr
tvegbtheir
way they reached the Governor's houseS but before
arriving they let all prisoners loose that were work-
rng in the street, telling them to shout "Viva lawork-
ing
Liberte"—and which they were but too happy to
comply
the
Thewithe.ause,
tiut being a veryd
Governoratfirstolhesmitaante,dantdo
accept
wishing also to prevent bloodshed, he at last ac-
cepted, allwtahse
sfaulnemetniolnyariesTheproclaimed
nest and
day
Ge n
ewriatlh himGeffr a
rd
President of the Republic of Hayti, and General
Soulouque condemned to be judged before the High
Court of Justice on several accusations.
After this formality the President repaired to

The Bonen Halle of Hamburg of January 26,
states that a diplomatic note, sent to the court of
Turin by the English Cabinet, was " extremely
severe," and pressed Sardinia to abandon her " pro-
voking attitude" towards Austria. It appears from
an article in the Opinionc, which passes for the
organ of Count Cavour, that a note on the subject
has really been sent from „Itondon, bnt according to
the Opinione it was not so 4 severe" as iepeesented.
That journal admits that the attitude of the Cabinet
of London is not favourable to the cause of Pied-
mont in Italy ; but it thinks that the English
policy with regard, not only to Sardinia, but the
whole Italian peninsula, is as yet in a state of incu-
bation. England, it says, cannot show herself
decidedly hostile to Piedmont without contradicting
all the established principles of her policy. 'Pied-
mont is the only free state in Italy—the only one
which has succeeded in establishing a reunite of
regular progress and civilisation— the only one
which has loyally accepted an English alliance.
Whatever differences of opinion there may be be-
tween the two courts, hostility between the two
countries is scarcely to be conceived, and the
Opinione sees in Lord Malmesbury's note itself
a proof of this position. The English Minister is
very mindful of the excellent relations between the
two States, and the courteous and moderate form
of his note attests that he feels constrained by his
position to give a bias to his Italian policy which
his despatches express, perhaps, but imperfectly.
He no doubt desires to avoid war, but is not the
less fully convinced that the Italian question must
be solved, and that if the solution cannot be
arrived at pacifically there must be war. The
Opinione proceeds to argue that war is not to be
prevented by any congress, but that it is in the
power of England to prevent the conflagration from
becoming general. The war, in its principle and
in its object, will be, if not thwarted by England,
purely national, and consequently circumscribed
within the four corners of the Peninsula. The
Opinione proceeds :—" It is 'certain that Piedmont
does provoke, though her Government does not.
The statute' provokes, the tribune provokes, the
tricoloured flag provokes. Has not Lombardy, who
sees a free State on the other side of the Ticino, a
right to say, ' Cannot this flag protect us also Can-
not our interests be protected in thatvarliamentary
tribune ? Cannot we also be governed by that
statute ?' All this has been said for the last ten
years. What is Piedmont to do ? Is she to abolish
the statute and suppress liberty in order to tran-
quilise Austria and enable her to keep her Italian
possessions ? The dislike of Austria to Piedmont
is not against this or that minister, but against her
liberal institutions. If at this moment Austria
betrays more irritation than usual, it is only be-
cause Count Cavour's Ministry has conquered a
strong position in Europe in spite of her. The
independence of Italy is not to-day a question for
discussion : it is a problem which awaits its solu-
tion."