The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-04-24

The Haytian Republic.
The Black Republic, as we generally call
that portion of the Island of Hayti whose in
habitants are Participating negroes, is a
subject which commends itself to the stu
dents Of forms OF governments. The late
political controversy there, which has re-
suited in a change of the personnel Of the gov
ernmcnt by the killing of the Vice President
and the Commander-in-Chief and the fight
piece with what has formed the staple OF
Haytian history during the last seventy
two years. The negro evidently likes gov
eminent and plenty of it. He is none OF
your philosophers who believe in sitting
down year after year to one governmental
dish; he likes variety. 1t is true that the
successive patriots who reached the summit
OF power there, with fixed belief in the in
stability of things, have begun feathering
their nests in manner which Babcock must
have studied from the other side Of the
mountains when he went to SANTANA Bay,
and which, no doubt he communicated to
Belknap and Boss Shepherd, and perhaps
mentioned in presence Of President Grant.
BE that as it may, Belknapism is only Sou
louquism applied to the black mans party
here; and who knows but CGsarism was first
borne to the President on ''stray breaths"
of negro melody that blew from Port au
Prince?
The Haytians have made more expert
ments in government in seventy years than
many another people in seven centuries.
We cannot congratulate the Haytians on
their success in any of them, and still less,
unfortunately, can we sing pseans on their
rulers, whose misfortunes may cause n tear to
fortunes of the great. Hayti, since 1904, has
had two colored opera boufe Emperors, one
colored King, ten colored Presidents and one
minstrel triumvirate Of two black lend men"
and one black middle man" Ofthese rulers
one was assassinated, one shot himself, one
was executed, one was banished, four ran
away one retired in disgust as soon as
elected, one died before he had we'll entered
on his duties, one died when year in Office,
one died after long term, and one completed
his term of Office without any of the usual
incidents occurring to stop his career, al
though his administration was rescued from
insipidity by a series of unsuccessful revolu-
tons Dessalines, the first Emperor, was an
amiable man, who once proposed to kill every
body in the island that was not black. A
black who dissented killed Dessalines. Sou
louque, the second Emperor, had weakness
for creating dukes and princes out of BARRIERS
and whitewashers his strong point was the
Custom House. He knew better than any
ruler before or since how to convey the du-
ties collected to his own private use, and
managed to send enough of the plumber out
of the country to support his family quietly
when the day came for him to ''step down
and out" Since his time the Custom House
has been the strong point of all the republi-
can administrations, the latest practitioner,
Dominique, being an especial master Of the
subject. He has left for St Thomas, but, it
is feared, has carried away more lead in his
body than is convenient. While we mourn
his fate let MS unite in q tribute to the peo-
pie who under all these circumstances stick
to currency of which three hundred dollars
is only worth one dollar in silver; who, after
all their troubles, are about to put another
man in the Presidency, where he will have
chance to look after the few silver dollars
that Providence sends their way. and who
still turn their backs upon effete monarchical
systems and model their government after
our own.