The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-11-16
though ,randostino. growth OF tho hideous 50
perstition known a. Voudousm.

Lot tuUlOnt0 IN u low WOTuS tU0 Hlhua
features OF tho social. Industrial. and moral
blight which has cursed Hayti since its whits
Inhabitants wero literally hacked and burned
of tho face Of the earth. and tho civilization
thcy had renred was loft for tho bncks and the
mulattoes to fight over and pull down. LIST 10
begin with saying that n considerable quantity
OF cofYoo Is still exported. this being produoe
obtainablo with the minimum OF care ana
labor. 1t has often been asserted Sir sponsor
tells us tina, tho Haytlan coffee crop would
come to an end whom the old trees died out. be-
cause the blacks plant no new ones. Inasmucn
as the average age OF the coffee plant Is thirty
Years. while at least thrice as long time has
elapsed since the negro Instruction. tho pre-.
dietion was clearly unfounded-for the reason.
according to the author. that nature has
remedicd the neglect OF man. the old trees
being everywhere surrounded by younger
ones that have sprung up Spontaneously
from seeds scattered by tho wind or rain
in the toeming soil. Nevertheless the col'ec
crop Of recent yonrs falls greatly short OF THO
amount produced whom the French possesscl
the country. Thus the quantity exported.
which in 1850 exceeded s9. 100000 pounds. was
less than 81. 900. 900 in 1880. which was much
above the average OF tho last fifty years. OF
cotton 100000 pounds were exported IN lIS'.
but by 1860 this amount had sunk to 6S3.Ooo.
Under the artificial stimulus impaired by tho
civil war In tho Unitod States tho crop rose In
1850 10 1,UDU.DUU. Uut Wib mo VI pi''e' wa
ton was again neglected. and 1t did not figure
at all IN the latest com mcrca reports inspected
by the author. The only cultivated produc.
which can DO said to havo increased since the
insurrection IL that OF the cacao tree, to which
tho white planters paid but little attention.
or this only GOO. 900 pounds were exported
in 1882 against some 2220 900 in 1868. an
amount however. which docs not seem to hnvo
boon equalled by any subsequent output. Tho
exports OF logwood have naturally increased.
the delivery Of this staple being work that
Just suits the negro. since. as Sir Sponsor
points out 1t can be done by fits and starts. AMI
never requires continuous labor On the other
hand. the shipments OF mahogany have much
declined. since the cutting has involved moro
toll. owing TO the fact that the forests near the
coast are becoming exhausted. But the most
conclusive proof Of Haytian dccndence Is tho
total disappearance OF sugar from the list Of
exports. whereas in 1889 moro than 100. 100000
pounds OF 1t were cent to France. The blacks
could find nothing better to do with the mills
and factories built by the white planters than
to burn thom. and ali the cane now grown in
Hayti is used for making moasses and vile
kind OF rum which is consumed by the negroes
in enormous quantities.
SO much for the compote prostration OF what
was once the foremost industry of Hayt Now
let US see what has become of the fixed i'm
provcmonts and appliances Of civilization with
which the country entered on tho era OF negro
government. The fate which has befaeu the
cities and large towns may be summed up in
the authors comment that the negresses
cook their bananas amid the ruins OF tho best
houses of the capital" Cap Haiticn. the once
populous and opulent seaport OF the northern
province. is now a hoap OF novels and debris
St. Marc. formerly built Of stone is in our day
mostly made up OF wooden shanties. In Port.
au Prince. which was carefully laid out by the
French and was conspicuous for we'll construct
ed edjllces. you are struck" we tod.
with the utter shabblness OF tho build
ings. mean cottages and grovelling huts
by the side of the few decent looking
dwellings," Even the church is srag-
Cling wooden structure mere ovorGrown shed.
with its walls disigursd by numerous wretchod
paintings. in which our Saviour is occasion.
ally represented by An ill-drhwn negro" In all
the towns the supply Of drinking water is de-
plorably defective. and pestil,nce is invited by
the reckless disregard Of sewerage and drain.
age. The streets. periodically torn UP by the
tropical rains. are usually mcnded with stable
dung. and all the of1al from the houses is flung
into the cutters. there to putrefy and breed in
fection until 1t 10 swept away by the floods Of
the wet season. Outside the large towns
although you como everywhere upon the ruins
OF mansions and spacious outbuildings belong
ing to the colonial epoch there is now scarcely
a single decont-looking house. All the noun.
tain districts aro abandoned to small Quilt.
vators. whose wretchsd cabins are destitute Of
every comfort and disgustingly foul. As TO tho
state OF the bridges. which in colonial times
we're kept in admirable repair. 1t will suf-
the th.s should 10 noSnd
are wrecks and in the rainy Season are Guits
impassnbie, though how easy it, would have
means OF communication beaLeathed to them
hy the white coonists may be seen on the road
there is u very remarkable paved way the
work so well done that it has resisted The rain
illustration of the negroes capacity to hold fast
benefits that come to him ready made is fur.
hs oS hr pen aera Of T%d ea
traordinary prodnctlveness of this district de-
which tho French engineers constructed eab-
c ornH fr HAZE rr %oSs dor more than hall
iec,ed by tho blacks. and although repairs were
large part Of the SUN yoisd Was .e embszle sd
that tho distributing canals could not be re-
Tue rayages OF hendlong, hopeless disin-
tesration nre AS nntent on the social and moral
liloring aud lying arc universal and, invet:
iat a3nS ,r massfs Of tine Peorie and
the inyarintle practice, but is actually sane
ton toned by public opinion: Sir spenser tells us
a room VI ihout n thoushtful backward g H
to see !, II he h4s a not rerchance overlooked
nbiIptous Official. corruption. he 1iioies =
sy Dss ".e?sr9 As 70 connp pSSf sSs1x
not honored or expected in any social stratum
on the part Of the males. though in the higher
circles OF cplored society the educated muIatto
ladies" though offensive in many OF their
personal habits. are credited by the author
with exemplary chastity"
The retrogression Of the Haytian blacks to
bbarharism Is, however most decisively and
Noudousm AMI cannibalism. which the Gov.
erhincntis quite unable. or unwilling to pro-
vent. and which even the sincere aud 81 ira nuona
efforts OF the Catholic Church restored siIcs
the cohGordAt OF 1850 to some degree OF infu-
A M amt if,a -
Spensar ~. John devotns chaptcrto this fright
iul snbie:t and The evidence collected and veri-
some three ears ngo in London Journal and
T-rtiallri WIN much bitterness ly the official
Brit