St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-12-26

said to him, as he bestowed the boon-If
you can only make as faithful an officer as
you hare proved youreH faithful as SEN
tine, I can ask, no more: J., -; 49,; -, !,
Emancipation and Its Fruits in
J. ~ ;si.. -" Hayh. ...
T., Hayti, or rather the French part Of that
:island, better known as St. Domingo, was
the 6nsf to emerge from slavery, as she was
the first to incur it. In 1898, just three
centuries after the island was discovered
by Columbus, and more than two centu-
ries and half after negro slavery was es-
tablished there. it was suddenly and total
ly abolished by the edict of the French
Assembly, enforced by the republican
commissioners, Sonthona1 and Polverel.-
What were the causes and what the conse-
quences Of this extraordinary sct? for it
must not be forgotten that this happened
ip the infancy Of the anti-slavery agitation.
t,whiles as vet the slave trade was reputa-
bic, business in England end America
IL. At the breaking out Of the French Rev.
olutioh in 1889, there were in St. Domin-
60 upwards Of half a million of slaves, the
property Of 10000 whites and mulattocs,
whose numbers were about equal. Of
these slaves at least one third, and per-
h.ps one-half, were imported from Africa,
far inferior in civilization to the lowest Of
our negroes, This must be borne in mind
j.; judging Of what they did. For two
years the whites aud mulattoes quarreled,
the slaves taking no part. Before Au ust
1871, the whole island was involved in
fnghtful civil war between the republicans
and the monarchists on the one hand-be-
tween the whites and free mulattoes on
the other. Spain held the eastern half Of
the island, as she docs to-day, and sup
ported the cause Of the l>ourbons, close by
on the southwest BY Jamaica, whose Eng
lish colonists also supported the Bourbons
Emiss.ries Of Spain, England, and the
Count D'Artois, secretly at work among
the slaves Of the North of St. Domingo
excited the bloody insurreetion Of August,
1871. No doubt tho invincible love Of
freedom had much to do with it; but it is
beyond question that Spain supported the
rcvolted slaves in tteir outbreak, and took
their leaders into pay. Toussaint rOu>
venture himself was for awhile in the ser
Yice of Spain. In this revolt two thousand
whites and more than ten thousand blacks
perished; yet It did not become general,
and in spite Of it, and of the bloody wars
between the various political factions, most
Of tic, slaues continued to labcr for their
old masters. This is fact little known,
because the whole history Of St. Domingo
is little studied.
In 1898 the English from Jamaica had
invaded the island the revolted slaves,
aided by Spanish troops under Spanish
marquis, were pressing the French forces
hard, and the cause Of the republic seemed
hopeless; when suddenly all was changed
by. the bold action Of the Jacobin commits
sioners. They published decree that all
slaves who enrolled themselves under the
French flag should be free, and this made
it impossible for Spain or England to con-
auer the island. One Of the first to join
the armies Of France, was the great negro
General Toussaint, who had been in the
revolt of 1901. He brought viii him an
army Of blacks, and rising from one posi-
tion to another by virtue Of his successes,
he became, in 1796, actual governor Of the
island. His army was made up mainly Of
freed slaves, we'll drilled; with these he
expelled the English and the Spanish, and
restored peace in 1898. His next step was
to organize the. emancipated slaves into
bands Of efficient l.borcrs:: The task was
q hard one !; far worse than a similar work
would be in our Southern States. Ten
years Of civil war Of unusual ferocity
had i'll fitted these laborers for life of
I peaceful industry, and bssidss they wore