The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-31 00:00:00

Ny MAY 31, 1850.

solicit this advancement; and, at any rate, he did
not make himself a plagiarist of an idea which has
always been attributed to another President.

" The name of Emperor expresses nothing Na-
poleon-like at Haiti ; it supposes only an authority
better respected than that of President, and recalls to
the Hatian the popular recollection of Dessalines,
who, in reward of the services rendered to his
country, had been proclaimed Emperor. The fol-
lowing is, in few terms, the way in which the
change in the form of government was brought
about :—A certain number of military and civil citi-
' zens addressed, on the 20th of August, 1849, a peti-
tion to the Chamber of Representatives, demanding
that the title :,of ,Emperor should be conferred on his
Excellency the President Soulouque. General
Vil Lubin, commandant of the garrison of Pert-au-
Prince, expressed the same wish, as well as the prin-
cipal officers present in the capital. On the 25th the
Chamber took cognizance of the petition, approved it,
and transmitted it on the. same day to the Senate,
who gave it their sanction. Not a voice was raised
in defence of the expiring republic. On
the 26th the two great bodies of the State
conveyed his promotion .to . Soulouque, accom-
panied with a crown and a cross, and expressing
their devotion in the most monarchical terms.
The coup d'etat, if such it be, was accomplished with
the legal forms, and met with no opposition any-
where. The constitution was immediately put into
harmony with the new order of things. Such as it
is at present, it guarantees the essential rights of.
citizens, and leaves, in appearance, little latitude to arbi-
trary proceedings. Unfortunately here, as elsewhere,
practice continually contradicts theory. Entering com-
pletely into his imperial role, Faustin I. did not delay
creating orders and ' titles of nobility. He is,
greatly honoured for this conception, so favourable
received. by the Haitians, , who, ,aomougst . other
resemblances to their fol Mer rulers, have alwayi
been .as vain as cocks.. There are at present two
orders in the empire—the militaty order of
St. Faustin, and the civil order of the Legion of
Honour. The Emperor proclaimed himself the grand
master, and has made grand crosses, and commanders,
and knights, The titles are those of princes, dukes,
counts, barons, and knights. The princes and the
dukes have been chosen amongst the generals of divi-
sion and the vice-admirals ;.the counts amongst the
generals of brigade and rear-admirals ; the barons
amongst the adjutant-generals, the colonels, and
captains of the navy ; the knights amongst the
lieutenant-colonels and commanders of the navy.
An assimilation of grades has been in some mea-
sure established between the civil and the military.
functionaries. The senators, the representatives,
the judges, the superior officers of the customs,' &c.,
are all barons. For the women, besides the femi-
nine of 'the titles accorded to the men, there
exists the special title of marchioness. The first
ordonnance decrees the creation of four princes, and
fifty-seven dukes. The princes, named at the
same time Marshals of the Empire, were the Generals
Pierrot, Lazarre, Souffrand, and Bobo.- They receive
with the title of Most Serene Highness that of Lord.
To the ducal quality is attached the title of his Grace,
and the name of some locality. From this latter cir-
cumstance arise the denominations which have led
astray, the European and American journals. Thus,
General Geffrard is Duke, of the Table, General Lui-
ding is Duke of Marmalade, General Segrettier Duke
of Frose-Bonbon, General Alberti Duke of Lemonade,
&c. But the Table, Marmalade, Frose-Bonbon, Le-
monade, &c., are all places marked in the ancient geo-
graphy of the country. King Christopher already
made use of them for the same purpose as Soulouque,
and wittily said, ' The French, when they laugh at
my marmalade and lemonade, forget that they have
amongst . themselves des Paii and des Bouillon."
These two illustrious names are certainly lost in
the darkness of times • but hive we not seen
in our own day M. Salvandy desirous of
being called the Count de Chante-Merle ? The
princes and the dukes are all grand crosses of
the order of St. Faustin, and all have the grand cor-
don of the Legion of Honour. Another ordonnance
produced at once ninety-one counts. • They are all
styled 'Excellence, and their titles, like those of the
Dukes, are taken from different localities. Thus we
have, amongst others, the Count de- la Seringue, the
Count de Guepes, the Count de Diamant, the Count de,
Perches,, the Count de la Bombarde, &c. lil the
cperuminlgtsa'aire commanders of the order of St. Faustin,
A officers- And ocers- -of-,the Legion :..of 'Honour: • More
' • ,_;his :favours as he descends: in the
scale of aristocracY,the'Etn—Per-orhiirtretted-ssei • -
numerable mass of barons and knights. Louis XIV.,
in the midst of his splendours, did not perhaps imagine
as many honorary changes as the Emperor Faustin.
Amongst his household figure a grand almoner, a
grand master of the pantry, a grand marshal of the pa-
lace, a quarter-master, gentlemen of honour, governors
of the royal palaces and castles, pages, masters of ce-
remonies, librarians, heralds-at-arms, &c. The Em-
press Adelina has likewise her household, which is
composed of a grand almoner, two ladies of honour,
two tire-women, fifty-six ladies of the palace, twenty-
two ladies of the chapel (all duchesses, countesses,
baronesses, ladies of knights, or marchionesses), cham-
berlains, grooms, pages, &c. The Imperial Princess,
Madame Olivia Faustin, possesses an equally brilliant
household. Her gouvernante is Madame le Che-
valier de Bonheur. The costume of the no-
bility has been regulated with particular care.
The princes, dukes, and counts must wear white
tunics, the barons red coats, and knights blue coats.
They are moreover distinguished by the number of
plumes in their hats. The princes have nine, the
dukes seven, the counts five, the barons three, and the
knights two. An ordonnance decrees in minute
terms the etiquette of the court. The gentlemen must
appear in uniform ; the ladies in full dress. ' The
nobles guard their swords,' the ordonnance says, ' as
their finest ornament.' The tabouret is reserved for the
princes and princesses, the dukes and duchesses, whilst
folding chairs are allowed to counts and countesses, ba-
rons and baronesses, knights and their ladies. Soulou-
que is actively occupied in raising Haiti to the height
of the ancient monarchies of Europe. Ideas of war en
gage him without intermission—a brave soldier, he
is determined to efface the defeat of Azud, where a
few hundred Dominicans, profiting by the inaction of
the Haitian army gained an easy victory. Two war
steamers have been ordered in Europe. The campaign
is to open next month. The chances appear very
bad for St. Domingo, the population of which
is only about 150,000, whilst that of Haiti is
upwards of 600,000. The unfortunate republic
has already in vain appealed to the protection of
France and England, and now solicits the interven-
tion of a power of the second order. Reduced to
extremities she may cast herself into the arms of the
United States; such an eventuality might occasion
grave complications. What especially encourages
Soulouque, in his warlike projects, is that the excel-
lent sale of coffee, the principal article of export, in-
creases greatly the resources of this year.
The system of monopoly introduced by the
Minister of Finance, M. Solomon, has been crowned
with complete success, however contrary it
may appear to sound notions of political
economy. The ordinary revenue of Haiti is
valued at about 240,0001., official situations are paid
accordingly. The Emperor receives about 3,2001. a
year, the empress from 1,0001. to 1,2001., the three
ministers have each a little less than 1201. a year as
their salary. The French indemnity weighs heavily on
the budget. The clergy costs very little, there are not
more than 48 priests in the whole bounds of the em-
pire. People have been mistaken when they spoke of
the influence of the Jesuits at the Court of Port-au-
Prince. The Haitian territory is closed arainst all
monastic orders. The vicar apostolic, the Abbe Cessens,
who has been represented as the agent of the disciples
of Loyola, strictly confines himself to• the religious
duties of his charge. As for the authority of the
ministers it is to be wished that it were somewhat
greater. They are men of acknowledged merit. M.
Dufresne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, of the Interior,
of War, and of Marine would shine in the most civilized
countries. He is a clear mulatto. M. Solomon, Minis-
ter of Finance and of Commerce, and M. Francisque,
Minister of Justice and of Worship, are jet
black. In conclusion, and to resume my general im-
lmnyuaps
country
uosnuagnyet,
rdy that
inw h
ile which
barbarism.hafound
been stheln all
1 l
ele-
mentsposepre s sd i o
tonofs
civilization l
msocial relations I have only had to congratulate myself
on the character of the inhabitants. The highways
afforded a security which appears fabulous. In the
i zle I
tei
towns I met all the charms of civilized life. The
graces of the ladies of Port-au-Prince will never be
effaced from my recollection."

THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851.—A preliminary
meeting of some of the leading inhabitants of Southwark
was held yesterday, at the Bridge House Hotel, whereat Sir
William Molesworth, Bart., A. K. Barclay, Esq.. C. J. Bevan,
Esq., the High Bailiff, A. Pellatt, Esq., T. B. Simpson, Esq.
George Drew, Esq., F. Fuller. Esq., and others, attended. Sir
William Molesworth, Bart.. M.P., having taken the chair, it
was unanimously resolved that the gentlemen present be a
committee, with power to add to their number, to get up a
requisition to the High Bailiff to convene a meeting of the
inhabitants of the metropolitan district of Southwark for the
purpose of considering the propriety of appointing a commit-
tee for procuring subscriptions towards assisting the great
exhibition of 1851, and of appointing local commissioners to
assist the Royal Commission in carrying out such exhibi-
tion. A vote of thanks to the chairman having been unani-
mously paned, tho meeting separated.
•