The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-07-03
s q. o o MING 8 /.
IT. Pepulatisa-Hhtsry q ID Pregrea-Itl
Present Hunbers,
q DO. TO-. 10.

DO, Z TO-, DO.
Our Havana Correspondenee.
n 70 Net7tn sf N HAvAaA, Juns -, 1895 81
soms time ancs promised you, Whenever failed
me- furnish you with something CONCERNING The popu-
atioa Il st. Domingo whieh may interest Of your
readsn Forths facts I am about 70 present Am In
dsstsd q formerly mentioned 70 the labor End re-
searches Of Don Manuel Fernandez do Castro, writer
we'll known TO the Spanish world. "a a'a.
When Hispaniola, the entire Island OF st. Domingo
was formerly called discovered by Columbus in l402
the population wss estimated according to the historian
Ovtsdo a million souls In nftesn years from
that period the mortality among those simple, timid
natives was 20 awful that tho population was
reduced 70 about sixty thousand In another
seven yean-namely, in l6l4-they were reduced
70 lee than onefourth that number and still constantly
diminished In ths year 1888 there scarcely four
thousand and by the middle Of the century em than
1--WE hundred had remained This miserable remnant
was saved extinction for while By the ntroduc
tion Of slaves from the nelshboring BahAns isandsla
practice which WAS commenced early 1905 many
~ forty thousand being introduced In very few years
But the abogines doomed and continued 70 dsap
pear till 1t length In $780, only few individuals were
known 70 exist and since then all trace Of them Loss
that at the present day may say with confidence
that single descendant Of the aboriginal race Of g.
Domingo exists. F
The causes which led 70 this determination need not
DO mentioned hero Nothing could justify In the case
Of any people, but moro particularly In that Of those poor
and noensvs creatures whose 20 ably but 20
uselessly pleaded by the humane though much abused
Las Casas whose pages have made ndeiibs this stain
upon Christian civilization. Those must be sighted
and ignorant Of the difficulties which surrounded that
distinguished man who defams him for the share he
took in the introduction Of African slavery into the
Spanish West India Islands On his part it was purely
from desire to save from extinction weaker by the
substitution Of stronger race; and In his time was
bring the African within the sphere and influence OF
European civilization has since become the fashion
%ens can b. called By no other 1' nsmef the free
Chnaman In order TO lessen the burden Of labor imposed
on the negro II ia almost parallel case and the re-
suits about tho for Las Casas did not succeed In
emancipating the poor natives from the cruel taskwork
which annhilated them in the latter case did the
Chnaman succeed in substituting his labor for that OF
the negro.
Besides 1t Is not quite that Las Casas introduced
African slavery into those islands Negroes were i'm
ported into st. Domingo early as 1903 but their i'm
portston was violently opposed BY tho then governor,
Ovandoan opposition which for some years prevented
restrained the prosecution OF that trade 1t not
until the year 1917 that the government yielding the
solicitations Of Father Las Casas, legalized the
trade By ordering that -four thousand ,
Antillas This number too insignificant, and not
all the purposes OF Las Casas, who saw no
other means Of saving the poor Indians Accordingly
the Audienca High Court OF ST. Domingo In 1919 adj
dressed representation 10 the Crown which had the do
sired effect and Africans poured into the islands in con-
siderable numbers Two years later there many
that hcy attempted TO dsp0ssoss the Spaniards; but
they failed miseraby and paid dearly for their rashness
Having traced the early history Of the black, let US
take look at that Of tho white in those early Aer
can settlements.
and remained in these islands, after the Great Admiral
had returned to Spain alas what roturn) perisihed
from various causes but their places were quickly
and adventurous Ono Of these, named RodGn,
thought that, with q hundred men, no could take
e ss 81 4e The
above double that number When Governor Ovendo
arrived in that the following year Is thought there
great many had accompanied the Governor and great
many more followed him. So great was the immigra-
there were eve thousand spanards there in the year
1909, although the feves and epdemcs of the island
made sad havoc among them constantly The discovery
and conquest Of Mexico almost depopuated st. Domingo
for all willing exchange the sickly island for
country believed be the lost 0phr not the very gar
den Paradise itself Tho drain upon the white popua-
serious In consequence that order
published in 1914 forbiddng Spanish residents 70 leave
the Antllas though they had permission to move from
one island to another. The sickly climate Of these
islands always great obstacle 70 the rapid increase
of white population and from time 70 time efforts were
made to induce emigration from the mother country but
with little effect may be deduced from the fact
that one hundred and fifty years atern 1605accordng
to Father lie Pers the white and mixed population that
Ia, including muattoos, about fourteen thousand
the pure black being at that time only two thou
sand more-the entire population being about thirty
thousand
In 1906 the smallpox, measles and dysentery ragged
fcarfuy In tho island attacking chiefly the negroes the
great majority OF whom persisted mseraby and the lack
Of hands for the necessary agricultural labor became
pressing that numbers Of tho white survivors emigated
leaving small population behind them that in iii
there only eighteen thousand four hundred and ten
souls in the whole OF the Spanish part
During this period the French part, on the contrary,
aousd 1s the from
upwards of hundred thousand slaves.
In 1877 the population Of the Spanish part had still
further decreased since according report drawn up
by the Audcncia obedience royal order IL did not
exceed six thousand souls
Then came change for the better probably because
those worst of coonsts, the Spanards, copied or
'less the system pursued by their French neghbos Al
any rate matters improved 10 much under Governors
Zorrlla dc can Martin, RubO Azlor &C., that In the
year 1885, according TO Sir James Barsket the popua-
ton less than 16 $40 souls Of whom only thirty
thousand slaves Father valverde estimates Al
only hundred and twenty thousand and distributes
that number In such manner as TO show he knew some
thing about the subject But Barskctt's computation 10
The next change In the condition Of the island was
much memorable, while its effect on the population
was 70 reduce 1t materially Barskst puts IL in 1875 at
ono hundred and twenty-five or thirty thousand while
subsequent events tended to make 1t decrease still more
Is fully evidenced by tho taken In 1872 after
to the French and the of tho Spanish part BY
Dessalnes According 10 that census the population OF
that part sixty thousand and ninety two consd
erably loss than half that OF the year 1855
In the fytwo years that have elapsed since 1919 the
population has quadruped II not quinuplcd One cause
OF this has been the abolition Of slavery whereby the
black has been left 10 itself Its natural increase
has therefore been great Another may be found
In the extreme liberalty Of Dominican legislation,
which permitted any stranger matter from what
country, who settled among them, all the rights and
privileges OF native. This policy attracted many SET
tiers from Hay who, preerrng the mild rule and pos
sbly more fertile soil OF the Spanish part settled there
after the division Of the island into two governmental
Al present. then tho population Of Spanish st. Domingo
may be set down at about three hundred thousand,
may be calculated from the number Of sections
(called commons into which the country s dividedno
district having the right 10 be called common unless II
have three thousand Inhabitants remarked In for
mer letter. few Of these sections like the capital,
Santiago San Cristoba SO, have much more population
than the requisite 1hree thousand and surprising
all TO have double that number there is still liberal