Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-08-09
THE BLACK REPUBLIC.
HAYrI AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
ITS PEOPLE.
Inoendiary Fires at Port-au-Prines-fhe
Crime OF Obsah-Conspiracy
and Bloodshed.

tlondOn Daily lelegrapn.l
A biographer Of Brummell relates that
friend Of the Bean, calling on him one
morning, met descending the staircase
the dandys valet, carrying a Whole arm
ful OF rumpled cravats. "Tbese are our
failures, sir, remarked with com
plascent smirk the gentleman's gentle
man In truth, the elegant Brummell
had been unsuccessfully trying on a
couple OF dozen neck cloths before ne
could adjust bow TO his liking. A po-
litical caricaturist might draw a grimly
humorous cartoon depicting the friend
Of the Liberated African mOurniuily
bending under load of failures
10 regenernte The cniranchised black
man. One kerchief might be la
belled Jamaica, another" Liberia {;
third might bear the INSCRIPTION
Of Cuba; a fourth might serve TO
designate the southern States Of the
American Union while a fifth should
bear ia blOOJ-red characters the word
"Ilayti." The interesting Black Re
public. whose history during the last fifty
years IS little more than a chronicle OF
revolution and massacre, seems 10 have
Just broken ont in 4 fresh place. Accord
inc 70 intelligence received at Washing
ton on Saturday, emansting from the
American Minister at PoIt-su Prince, a
large portion Of the capital ut Hsyti has
Just been destroyed by inceadiary fires.
On the 4th Of July some sable ErOstratus
set light to the upper floor of tue
Chamber Of Deputies even while the
patriotic House WIS IN session.
The flames spread with great IA
piditv, and before they could be extln-
gmshed not Gully the palace cf the Legs
lature, but also many public buildings
and private dwellings, were consumed.
On the III another Bcendiary fire broke
ont At the private residence OF the Minis
torO Justice. and the structure, together
with n considerable portion OF the sur
rounding district, was reduced 10 ashes.
The two CONGREGATIONS ere said to have
consumed about 9Th part Of the town
Of Port-an-prInco but, lest European
readers should be led to imagine that the
Havt.en fires have been Of a nature 10
vie with the iirst-class blGIes OF CHI
cago. Boston. Quebec, or Montreal, 1t
should be explained that the majority az
the houses IN POIt-aU-puncc are built ~
wood, and in summer time, when what
Is termed "the drought Of ~. Jean
prevails, are nearly as inhlmmable as
Under. IN all probability, likewise, II
the normal July temperature is baking
POrt-Au- Prince, the majority of the best
houses iu the town must be deserted, IN
asmuch ns everybody who can afford It
arnigrates to Carrcfour, near one Of the
rorges Of the Cold river, or to Potion
Vile. which is twelve hundred feet above
the level of the sea and comparatively
cool. Thus the mortality due 10 the III
ceniiary fires maybgve been very slight
Port au- Prince however. contains
a presidential palace, IN arsenal, a mint
AMI several large barracks The citizens
aye in partcuiar proud of.the fact that
there are 10 mpaycd streets IN Pori-au-
Prince. This is quite true 10 the extent
that every house has its own pavement,
usually composed Of wooden p!anks. be-
fore it. only IT - isolated from and has
nothing to DO with the pavement OF the
next hsbitation, so that person who Is
so uuWise as u pcrambuiate the tho
rOughiares Of the capital after uIghtiaii
alternates series Of stumhies into the
dust in summermd the mudin the rainy
season by barking his shlus against the
caised trottoir of the intervening dwell
ings.
The inccndiary fires, however, have
more than sulliced to alarm the very
sparse white population Of POrt-au-
Prince. who ere disIiked 10y the mulattos,
and intensely hated by the negroes, prIn-
cipaliy because they ere honest and
l1borious, are not wholly devoted TO
gambling and drinking rum, and have
prejud.ces in favor Of shoesand stockings.
The sailors from the French dispatch
boat Bison did their best TO eXtiDguish
the conhagrations, and the English and
French legations are guarded by French
marines. ID being one OF the merry Gus
toms Of our black brother III Hayti to be-
gin 10 plunder right and left as soon As "a
ire breaks out The French command
or is said also to have expressed his
willingness to place a military Guard over
the United States Ministry; bat the offer
was courteousiy declined. the diplomatic
representative Of the United states being
apparently satisfied with the competency
of the members OF his legation TO meet
any unpleasant contingency with m ade-
quaie display Of presence OF mind and
stockholders. Naturally, no detailed cX-
PLANTATION has as yet been forthcoming
ny to the proximate, or even the remote,
causes Of these incendiary fires. An
American. indeed might attribute such
ou,ragcs against authority IA the Black
Republic to the natural and inyeterate
'cuasedness" of the blacks and
the spirit Of political ambition com
mon to the mulatto hut one must
20 much further to discover the real
secret of the troubles OF Haytl, which
undoubtedly spring from the innate bar
oarlsm Of the majority Of the people,
from their Incorrigible idieness, aud
from their utter incqpacity to govern
themselves. They have been trying to
do 80 for many years and have laInenta-
bly, failed III the attempt, but 1t IS lm-
possible again 10 reduce them 10 a con
dition Of serSitude, nor, unhappIly, can
they be left altogether to work out their
own destiny, which possibly might in the
end be that Of the historical although
perhaps apocryphal, Kilkenny cats.
England, France Germany, and the
United States have all important com
mercial interests in Hayti. The
country il amazingly rich it exports
large quantities of sugar, coffee, cocoa.
wax, cotton, and Campeachy wood, and
il imports an immense amount Of Eu-
ropean products and manufactures, from
French millinery, gold epauiettes, and
to Sheffield cutlery and Lon
don stout and Burton bitter beer; from
eau-de. Cologne and Westphalia hams to
Colts reyolvers, brandy-peaches, and
American watches, which last tick loudly
and therefore please the Ethiopian ear.
In view of our very large trade with
Hayti We are consequently compelled to
keep up diplomatic and consular inter
course with a republic which Sir Spenser
st. John has in a remarkable book con-
shown 10 be about rs barbarous,
as proiligate, As yenal, and altogether as
hopeless community as cen be found
upon the face of the earth.
Tor aught the most sapient politicians