New-York daily tribune., 1859-05-25
4 VISIT TO EiYTL...v VI.
IN 4 CoVCT-ROOH.

"
aged BY the omnipresent amy. one DAY stepped
into a court-the Court of Cassation' 'h'nA-
and saw on the bench three Judges IN military UNI
form. 4 man was on .rial charged with The crme
Of incendiari.m. lie was detected ~ sn attempt
10 fire the city Two mulattocs were arguing the
csse-moyinp. # ! rightly understood them i"r
new trial or appealing 10 another court They
both wore gowns. in Frsnce, alter whose y stem
Of JURISPRUDENCE the laws of Eayti are framed and
,ts civil courts conducted. The Six Codes OF
Boyer-tbat is To say, the Code Napoleon-pre-
walls, With important yariati ms adapted 10 Tue
tropics. TIE testimony of n white msn. Tor eH-
ample. is not accepted under oath as sgalns1
black or mulatto. White men can bear witness
only against persons of their own unfortunate CON-
pie YiOn: and they can neither hold real estate nor
legally enter the matrimonial state Win Wonah
OF Hay ten birth. These and other laws ol sGli
lar character " hich SO completely turn the tables
on u.s. we're enacted in the days OF Dessalines, and
have never been repealed. but are, some of them,
seldom enforced either BY the civil or military au-
tborities. Il would be imprudent, however, and
perhaps impossible. for any man. however popular
he may be- To attempt To formally Obiterate these
! enactments from the "Six Codes Of Hayti."
The courtroom was spacious one, plain but
well proportioned, and paved with briek-a large
space ThltU Oh, Dr1bS itstihcu io' sNN N"eNSf
lawyers, prisoners and CLERKS.
The Judges sat on pstfOrm st the further end
of the apartment: the prisoner in box near the
wall at their right hand; the center Of the space
being occupied by table, at which two clerks, IL
military uniform, sat busly writing. Tie lawyers
were at the greatest possible distance from the
bencb-next to the railing on the left hand side,
There was kind of desk extending acros, the
platform, on which could See only little band BELL
oh fima 70 mi ba Id mn
violently, and then shouted 'Seelshns." :" or gave
orders, in no very digbifed tones, to the crowd to
be quiet. A barefooted soldier in ragged costu ne
lazily guarded the door of the railing. ] leaned
forward past him, once or twice, To see the law
yers. The senior Judge noticed it, rang the bell
and stopped the proceedings of the Court 10 tell
me to step back As | had not oyerstepped the
limit more than six inches, and that not with my
feet, but head and shoulders only, the learned
Judges ideas Of dignity may easily be inferred from
this trivial incident
FATE OF An INCENDiARY.
The man was condemned 10 die, and was exc
cuted few mornings after my visit TO the Court
He was shot by company of soldiers, in sight Of
the city cemetery. He was compelled 60 bold in
his hand, as they shot him, the ncendiary materials
which he had prepared 10 lire the city. He i" died
game" they said, and / don't doubt it, for there
are brayadO-cOwards in llayt as elsewhere.
MI'RDER.
| No blood was shed in consequence Of the
Revolution; but, simultaneous with IT, an atrOclous
murder was committed near POrt-au-frlncc. Muir
der rObberies, and the more violent crimes are e1
tremey rare in Ilayti; this exception to the rule
therefore, excited very great attention. For Jean
Rabe, the victim OF It, was not only a respected
inhabitant," but man Of color, and his murder
ers, il was rumOred, were of that class Of Blacks
who desire TO eNterminate the Mixed BlOeds.
Four five were arrested on suspicion.
One of them confessed the crime, and said that his
father had compelled him, against his will, 10 par
ticipate in it. The son was pardoned, or his sen
! tence was commuted; but the old and two
others were condemned TO die.
MODE or EXECUTION.
Hanging and behesdiDg are never practiced in
IIayti. The feOn dies the death of the convicted
soldier. He is always shot by company OF
soldiers, and generally in the public square near
the cemetery. Executions usually take place at
ybreak.
THE CITY IN THE EARLY MORNING.
We determined to see it, At about O'Clock IN
the morning, we heard the distant beating OF
drums. We-that is Mr. Woodbury. (Of German
textbooks authority and myself-arOse, dressed
ourselves and walked through the silent streets to
the prison. II was false alarm. 1t was only the
usual indication of change of sentinels or some
other military movement customary IN the night
time.
had frequently been advised to visit the
Cathedral early in the morning; but knowing that
the early morning air is furious to the health ID
every climate and especially in the tropics, | had
hitherto conscientousy kept TO N, bed till a
reasonable hour. But having faced the danger, We
possessed our souls in patience, and went to the
great market. place adjoining the Cathedral. On
the pavement, here and there lay the market
girls, some Of them already preparing to Strange
their vegetables and other country produce Tor
exhibition.
As we walked along the streets, We had fire.
0ue1 tly seen men, carefully dressed, in holiday cos
tune, silently and quietly moving along, some of
them with prayer.book in their hsnds-sii Of
them with serious and devotional aspect.
The cathedral was illuminated Outside ii pre-
sents dapidated appearsnce-yery shabby, indeed
We would call it in America. II has more the ap-
pear ance of gigantic barn thsn the greatest place
Of worship in the Republic of lIsyti. But it is Of
great hight and grand proportions. On tie steps
sat women with home made yellow ware and
candles for sale, and here and there 5 leper or Il
blind beggsr; but there were very fcw now in
comparison with the crowd of halt aud lame, aud
blind, and lepr0us mendicsnts Who thrCng sround
the doors in the day time.
We entered. Ii was sad, and We. beautiful, 70
witness the scene which the interior Of the cathe-
drsl presented. The priests-sll white men save
one-were eleyating the Host; at least fifteen hun
dred women and five hundred Men were reyerently
bOwiDg their heads-Inan! oi them IN their pended
knees or With their faces to the floor, all with he
most devotional expression of yeneraton. The
women, nesrly all let black, with white turbs1s On
their heads and neatly dressed, their faces iunli
mated by the candles; the pictures, especially ttat
extraordinary painting behind the altar; the Little
black boys who attend the priest dressed in their
scarlet and white flowing robes; the tine, the
plsce, the absence Of white faces snd the reminis
ceuces which that fact recalled-it was all in al,
-
YET sadly impressive, tableauI that il wss ever our
fortltup ar Driy,ga fO Nitnass