ST DOMINGO.

St Domingo, or Hispaniola, one of the largest and most fertile of the West India islands, extending in length from east to west about 390 miles, and in breadth from 60 to 150 miles, is situated between 17. 37. and 20. 0. north latitude, and between 67. 35. and 74. 15. west longitude. It is called Hayti or the Highland country by the natives, from the mountains with which it abounds, especially in the northern part. The country was formerly divided between the Spaniards, who were the original occupiers, and the French. The last, however, having been expelled by the black population, it became an independent state under the appellation of Hayti; which in 1822, when the Spanish government was overthrown, was extended to the whole country, at that time united under one head. The. line of demarcation which separated these two divisions commenced on the south side from the Pedernales or Flint River, and extended in a weaving direction to the river Massacre on the north side. The country to the west of this line belonged to the French part, whilst that on the east side formed the Spanish part of the island. By far the greatest portion of the country was in the possession of the Spaniards; their division being reckoned 220 miles in length by 120 in breadth, of which, though a considerable part consists of mountains, these are said to be little inferior in fertility to the champaign country, and to be equally capable of cultivation. The French division is of an extremely irregular figure. The land is deeply penetrated by the Gulf of Gonave, and is in some parts 170<miles in length, whilst in others it is not thirty. It is nearly of the same breadth as the Spanish division.

Great part of the coast of this island is rocky and dangerous, affording but an imperfect shelter to vessels overtaken by storms. Many of the shipping places on the southern shore are nothing more than open bays, which lie exposed to the storms and hurricanes of the autumnal months. The harbour of St Domingo, formerly thought so commodious and secure, has become too shallow to admit vessels of large burden. There are, however, besides roadsteads and several small harbours, the bays of Neyba and Ocoa on this coast. Into the first flows the river Neyba, which receives vessels of thirty tons burden; its stream, before entering the ocean, divides itself into various channels, which annually changing, confound the pilot, and render the navigation difficult. These, if they were collected into one, would afford a deeper and safer channel. Ocoa Bay is a large and convenient watering-place, with several small rivers falling into it. The entrance is two leagues across, and it gradually widens to near six. On the east side of this bay is the safe and capacious port of Caldera. On the south-east coast is the great bay of Samana, which, in point of size and situation, is one of the most important on the island. From Cape Raffael, which forms the southern point of entrance into the bay of Samana, to the opposite side of the island or peninsula of Samana, the distance is eighteen miles, which is closed in by a bulwark of rocks and sands, the entrance only being left clear, with a safe and deep channel between the shore of Samana and several detached islands. This bay is about sixty miles deep, and is surrounded on every side by a fertile country, suited to all the purposes of trade. Within the compass of this bay whole fleets might ride at anchor in perfect security. The river Yuna, after being joined by the Cambu, and meandering through the rich plains of La Vega Real, falls into the bay of Samana after a course of nearly one hundred miles. Bahia Ecossaise or Scotch Bay, which is situated on the north side of the peninsula of Samana, is a dangerous rocky place. From thence to Puerto Plata the coast extends about sixty miles in a north-west direction, and in this space stands Balsama Bay, which has only fourteen feet depth of water, and is of difficult navigation. The harbour of Puerto Plata was first discovered by Columbus; the entrance is narrow but safe, and the neighbourhood is rich in every species of woods. There are several other small harbours and bays on this side of the island; but the coast is in general rocky and dangerous.

A country of such magnitude as St Domingo, containing mountains of great height, with valleys of corresponding extent, necessarily comprises great variety of soil, ln general, however, it is fertile in the highest degree, being everywhere watered by copious streams, and yielding in abundance every species of vegetable produce which can minister either to the luxury or comfort of man. The soil consists principally of a rich clay, sometimes mixed with gravel, lying on a substratum of rock. That part of the island formerly occupied by the French is mountainous, but fertile and well wooded, and containing mines both of silver and iron. The Spanish part of the island is mountainous in many parts; whilst in other parts the country is spread out into extensive plains. These are generally in a state of nature, covered with herbage, or with woods of immense growth and the most luxuriant foliage. The mountains intersect the island in two principal chains from east to west. From these, secondary and partial ridges diverge irregularly in different directions, forming beautiful and fertile valleys watered by numerous streams. The highest mountains of the interior, particularly those of Cibao, rise to the height of 6000 feet above the level of the sea. To the north of the capital is the valley called Vega Real or Royal Field, which is by far the largest and finest in the island. Westward it extends to the old French line of demarcation, and in this part it is watered by the river Yaque; to the east, where it is watered by the river Yuna for the space of fifty miles, it projects to the head of the bay of Samana, and is watered by numerous smaller streams, which cross it in various directions. This valley may be said to extend in length about eighty leagues, and in breadth from ten to fifteen.

Edwards, in his Account of the West Indies, is of opinion that this and several other districts would, under proper management, yield a greater return of sugar and other valuable commodities than all the British colonies in the West Indies. Other plains also of less extent, but of equal fertility and of easy access, are everywhere found interspersed among the mountainous tracts. Westward from St Domingo, along the southern coast, is the valley of the river Banis, extending from Nisao to Ocoa. Here the pasture is good; but the country is not so well watered as in the otíier parts of the island; an inconvenience which is sensibly felt by the cattle during the dry months. Farther to the westward and to the north other valleys are found; but where the land, as in this island, is everywhere intersected by ranges of mountains, it is impossible, in any general sketch, to describe particularly that continual succession of hill and dale which diversifies the face of the country. Eastward from the capital are those immense plains called Los Llanos, which stretch out to a vast extent on a dead level. They are covered with herbage, and the eye wanders unobstructed over the wide expanse of waving grass, which is occasionally diversified by natural clumps of trees, which seem planted by the hand of man. These plains occupy almost one sixth part of the [7:8:103] island, extending nearly to its eastern coast, being a distance of more than ninety miles, by about thirty wide. They form an immense natural meadow, covered with pasture for vast herds of cattle, which belong to more than a hundred different owners.

St Domingo is of a hot and moist climate; but the heat is mitigated by the regularity of the sea-breeze, and by the contiguity of the mountains. In the plains the thermometer rises to ninety-six degrees, sometimes to ninety-nine degrees; but in the mountainous tracts it seldom rises above seventy-eight degrees. In the more elevated parts a blanket is not unwelcome during the nights, and in the highest mountains a fire is frequently necessary. In those situations meat may be kept for several days, and in the morning hoar frost is frequent. The seasons, as in tropical countries, are divided into the wet and the dry. The rains are periodical, and are heaviest in May and June, when the rivers, which at other times scarcely supply water for a continued stream, overflow their banks, and, with an impetuous torrent, sweep over the neighbouring plains. The climate of St Domingo is unhealthy to Europeans, owing to these violent heats and heavy rains; and hence all metals, however bright their original polish, soon contract a tarnished appearance. This is more observable on the sea-coast, which is also more unhealthy than the interior parts of the island. Hurricanes are not frequent, but in the southern parts of the island violent gales of wind, generally preceded by a closeness and sultriness in the atmosphere, frequently occur. These, however, are not attended with such fatal effects as the hurricanes in the Windward Islands.

The island of St Domingo abounds in rivers and smaller streams, which flow from the mountains in the interior, in different directions, to the sea. Of these, the principal are the Haina, the Nigua, the Nizao, the Ozama, the Neyba, the Ocoa, the Yanc, and the St Yago or river of Monte Christi. Near the south part of the French line of demarcation is the beautiful lake of Henriquillo, which is about eighteen leagues in circumference; and though it is about eight leagues from the sea, its water is perfectly salt, and of the same specific gravity as that of the ocean. The same fishes are also found in it, such as the shark, seal, porpoise, &c.

The fertile soil of St Domingo is distinguished by the variety of its vegetable productions, many of which are rare and valuable. The mahogany tree grows to a great size, and is of very fine quality. The manchineel tree affords a beautiful species of wood, richly veined like marble, and susceptible of the finest polish. Several species of dye-woods are produced in the forests, though none of them have been tried except fustic. There is a tree called the jagua, the fruit of which is accounted a delicacy by the natives; and of which the juice, as clear as water, makes a stain on linen which is indelible. Different kinds of lignum vitae are found, as also of several other woods with the same properties, which grow unnoticed and nameless in those unexplored forests. The quiebra hacha or iron-wood, remarkable for hardness, as its name implies, is abundant; and the oak also, which differs in appearance from the European oak, frequently furnishes beams of from sixty to seventy feet in length. On the north side of the island are extensive forests of pine, which is much used for the purposes of ship-building; and Brazil-wood is found in many parts of the coast. The satin-wood of this island is heavier than that of the East Indies, and it takes so fine a polish that it does not require to be varnished. The cotton tree is the largest of all the vegetable productions, and is formed into the lightest and most capacious canoes. Every variety of the palm tree is found in the woods, of which they form a principal ornament. The palmetto or mountain cabbage is an erect and equal tree, which grows to the height of seventy feet, with cabbage at the top. In the congenial soil of this fertile island the sugar-cane, cotton and coffee plants, grow in the greatest luxuriance. There is also the calabash, the fruit of which serves as a substitute for earthen-ware; the plantain, the staff of life in the West Indies; vanilla, which is found indigenous in the unfrequented woods; quassia; simarouba, which is a tall and stately plant, weaving gracefully in the wind; sarsaparilla, indigo, tobacco, turmeric, ginger, and rice plants. The fruits and nutritive roots of St Domingo are nearly the same as those of Jamaica; but they are more abundant, and extremely fine. Of these may be enumerated the choux caraib or Indian kale, with a variety of other vegetables that come under the same denomination; the avocato or vegetable mallow, the melon, sapadillo, guava, pine-apple, bread and jack fruit, mango, nuts, rose-apple, plums, &c. of many different species. Flowers in endless variety and splendour adorn the wild scenery of the woods, and exhale their fragrance in the desert air.

In addition to all its other valuable productions, this island formerly contained considerable mines of gold, silver, copper, and iron. But the mines of the two former metals have, according to that strange and perverted policy by which Spain has uniformly sought to depress her colonies, been long closed against the industry of the inhabitants, and a military force was even posted at the different mining stations, to prevent those hidden gifts of nature from being brought to light, and converted into active and productive capital, for the improvement of commerce and the benefit of the world at large. St Domingo also produces jasper, porphyry, agates, antimony, of which there is amine yielding pieces of six and eight pounds; mineral copperas, red ochre in globules as large as a pigeon’s egg, amethysts of a transparent violet colour *and of an excellent water, and in the Neyba and Hincha rivers pebbles have been found containing brilliants.

The indigenous quadrupeds of this island were confined to four species, which the Indians called ∏utia, Quemi, Mohuy, and Cory. Of these, all are extinct except the first. St Domingo, however, has procured, by its intercourse with Europe, a new stock of animals, of far more importance than the diminutive species which it has lost. These consist particularly of horned cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, horses, mules, and asses, which have multiplied prodigiously in the wild and extensive pastures of the interior. Wild fowl are abundant, consisting of various species of ducks, wild pigeons, the flamingo, the wild peacock, the nightingale or mocking bird, the banana bird, the Guinea fowl, the ortolan, and parrots of various species. The rivers abound with fish, some of which are very delicate. Turtle of all kinds are taken, and the. land-crab is much esteemed. The serpents are not dreaded; but the centipedes, which are frequent in old buildings, are large and dangerous. The scorpion is rarely seen; but the venomous crab-spider, which is equally dangerous, is sometimes met with. ∙

The island of St Domingo was, as already mentioned, divided between the Spaniards and the French; the latter 1 possessing about a fourth part of it, and the remaining three fourths belonging to the Spaniards. According to the general and best authenticated estimate, the population of the French portion of St Domingo amounted in 1789 to,
[table]

But other statements add about 10,000 or 11,000 to this estimate.

In 1785 the population of the Spanish side of the island amounted to,
[7:8:104]
[table]

During the troubles which ensued, no records are to be found, on the truth of which we can rely. But it is certain that the population must have been greatly reduced by emigration and death; many proprietors having emigrated with their slaves both to the American continent and to the neighbouring islands, and great destruction of life having taken place in the bloody transactions which occurred between 1791 and1820. Humboldt has estimated, though he does not tell on what data, the entire population at 375,000 in 1802; aftd after the death of Dessalines it has been supposed, though still on uncertain data, to amount to 400,000. Since this period it has greatly increased; and Mr Placide Justin, on information received •since April 1825, considers the whole population as amounting to 700,000, whilst by Humboldt it is reckoned at 800,000. Mr Mackenzie, who was appointed in 1826 consul-general in Hayti by the British government, obtained a population return, which was officially made out and laid before the legislative body, in order to apportion the contribution for the purpose of liquidating the .French indemnity. According to this official account, in the accuracy of which there is every reason to confide, the population of the French part of St Domingo amounted to 351,716, and that of the Spanish division to 71,223, making together 422,939.

This island was discovered by Columbus in 1492, and was soon filled with adventurers, who crowded from Europe to the new world in search of sudden wealth. The natives were reduced to slavery by these settlers, who spread themselves over the island, and by their industry the co- . lony increased “apidly in wealth and prosperity. But as it was chiefly by the desire of gold that settlers were attracted to this distant shore, St Domingo was in its turn abandoned for other countries of greater reputed wealth; and the country gradually declined, and, instead of yielding a revenue, became a burden on the mother country. About the middle of the sixteenth century the island of St Christophers was taken possession of by a mixed colony of French and English, who being attacked by the Spaniards, were forced to fly to the barren isle of Tortuga, where they established themselves, and grew formidable, under the well-known appellation of buccaneers. They at last obtained a firm footing in St Domingo, into which they had made only predatory incursions; and by the treaty of Ryswick that part of the island of which they had obtained possession was ceded to the king of France, who acknowledged these adventurous colonists as his subjects. The French colony languished for a while under the galling restrictions imposed on its trade by the mother country; but these being removed about the year 1722, it attained to the highest pitch of prosperity; and such was its flourishing state when the French revolution commenced in 1789. In St Domingo, as in all the European colonies, the population is composed of three classes, namely, the whites, the people of colour, and the blacks. Of these the whites were the favoured class, who engrossed all public honours and emoluments, and in whose hands all power centred, both civil and military. They considered the people of colour as a degraded caste, with whom it was disgraceful to associate on terms of equality. The black slaves ranked lowest in the scale, and they experienced from both classes all the evils of the most cruel bondage. A society framed of such hostile elements contained in its very constitution the seeds of hatred and contention; and in the course of the revolution which occurred in the mother country these were brought into full activity. The important discussions by which France was at that time agitated kindled a corresponding sensation in the colonies; and the hostile races of the whites and mulattoes ' were already violently inflamed against each other by the eagerness of their contests, when the national convention, in 1791, passed the memorable decree, giving to the people of colour the unlimited enjoyment of all the rights which were possessed by French citizens; thus at once breaking down all the distinctions which had prevailed in the colony, and which were sanctioned by custom and inveterate prejudice. This decree was received as might have been expected. It excited loud and general disapprobation amongst the whites, who immediately adopted the most violent measures. The national cockade, the badge of their attachment to the revolution and to the mother country, was openly trampled under foot, and the authority of the governor-general and the supremacy of the mother country were equally set at nought. The several parishes proceeded to the election of a new assembly, which accordingly met on the 9th of August, under the title of the general assembly of the French part of St Domingo. The mulattoes in the mean time, alarmed at these proceedings, were collecting in armed bodies for their defence; and the whites were so intent on the meeting of the new colonial assembly that they offered no opposition to these assemblages.

Such was the state of affairs octween the two hostile classes of the whites and the mulattoes, when a new and more powerful party, whom all united to oppress, now suddenly combined for their own protection and for the destruction of their enemies. On the. 23d of August reports reached the town of the Cape that the negro slaves in the neighbouring parishes were in arms, and that they were destroying the plantations and massacring the inhabitants. This terrible intelligence was confirmed next day in its full extent by crowds of wretched fugitives from the neighbouring country, who, having abandoned their property, were flying to Cape Town from the fury of their savage enemies. The success of this bold and deep-laid conspiracy spread universal consternation amongst the white inhabitants. The citizens in Cape Town were immediately summoned to arms. The women and children were at the same time sent on board the ships in the harbour; the domestic negroes in the town were placed under a strong guard; and the free mulattoes, protected from the hatred of the whites by the timely interposition of the governor and colonial assembly, were enrolled in the militia, their wives and children being left as hostages for their fidelity. Other measures were also adopted to secure the place against any sudden attack of the infuriated slaves. When these precautions had been adopted, several small detachments of troops were sent out to act offensively against the insurgents; but although partial successes were obtained in these encounters, the general result too fatally demonstrated to the white inhabitants their own weakness and the strength of their enemies, whose fearful superiority of numbers, it was evident, would finally decide the contest in their favour. In this destructive war it was calculated that, about two months after its commencement, upwards of 2000 white inhabitants were massacred; that 180 sugar plantations, and about 900 coffee, indigo, and cotton settlements were destroyed, and a thousand families reduced from opulence to misery. Of the insurgents about 10,000 are supposed to have perished in the field, and some hundreds by the hands of the public executioner; and the rebellion, which had been hitherto confined to the northern parts of the island, now began to spread through the western districts, where the blacks were aided by the people of colour, and where, under their united devastations, the country was laid waste for an extent.of more than thirty miles.
[7:8:105]

At length they approached the town of Port-au-Prince with the intention of setting it on fire; and it was with great difficulty that a treaty was concluded by which the place was saved from destruction. This treaty was ratified by the colonial assembly, which also announced its intention of granting an extension of privileges to the free people of colour. But in the mean time the national assembly at home, under an impression of the ruinous consequences of their rash concessions to the people of colour, had voted a repeal of the law which gave them the same privileges as the whites; and the intelligence of this repeal reached the colonies at the time when the colonial assembly was holding out the expectation of general equality and freedom. The mulattoes, therefore, when they heard that the national assembly had repealed their former conciliating act in their favour, imagining that the offer of the whites was an act of concerted treachery to deceive them into a false security, knew no bounds to their indignation. All thoughts of peace were now abandoned; and the general sentiment was that the contest could only be terminated by the final extermination of one or other of the hostile parties. The war assumed a diabolical character of cruelty, each studying to outdo the other in acts of revenge. On both sides all prisoners were either massacred without mercy, or reserved for the more solemn barbarity of a public execution.

The national assembly at home, alarmed by the intelligence of these disorders, sent out three civil commissioners, with full powers to settle all disputes. But their authority soon fell into disrepute. Other commissioners were sent, and along with them 8000 troops. Unlike their predecessors, however, they adopted the most arbitrary measures; and about the beginning of the year 1793 they became absolute masters of the colony. ∙ But their severities at last provoked resistance to their authority; and having displaced the governor Galbaud, an officer of artillery, and ordered him to France, he, along with his brother, collected about 1200 seamen, with whom they landed, and being joined by other volunteers, attacked the government house, where the commissioners were posted with their force. A fierce and bloody conflict now took place, which terminated without any decisive advantage on either side, and next day the fighting was continued in the streets of the town with various success. In the beginning of these disorders, the commissioners had sought to strengthen their party by the aid of the revolted blacks; and a body of these auxiliaries, amounting to 3000, now entered the place, which immediately became a horrid and revolting scene of conflagration and slaughter. Men, women, and children, were massacred by these barbarians without distinction. The white inhabitants, flying to the sea for protection, were met by a body of armed mulattoes, by whom they were put to the sword without mercy; the half of the town was consumed by the flames; and the commissioners, themselves affrighted at these disorders, escaped to the sea-shore, whence, under cover of a ship of the line, they viewed with dismay the wide-spreading mischief.

Ever since the commencement of these unhappy disorders, the white inhabitants had emigrated in great numbers to the neighbouring islands, and to the United States of America; and some of the principal inhabitants having repaired to Britain, induced the British government, by their representations, to prepare an armament with a body of troops to co-operate with such of the inhabitants as were desirous of placing themselves under its protection. At this period, according to the accurate information of Edwards, the military force of St Domingo consisted of from 14,000 to 15,000 effective troops, and 25,000 free negroes, mulattoes, and slaves. About 100,000 blacks had retired to the mountains to enjoy a savage independence, and in the northern districts 40,000 slaves still continued in arms. It was in these circumstances that the island was taken possession of in September 1793 by a British force. But though the expedition gained some partial advantages, the climate soon began to make the most dreadful havock amongst the troops, and prevented them from achieving any solid success. Toussaint l’Ou-verture, who was appointed general in chief of the black armies of St Domingo in 1797, proved himself an able and an indefatigable enemy; and at length the British were obliged to evacuate the country in the year 1798. On the 1st of July 1801 the independence of St Domingo was formally proclaimed.

But the war in Europe between Great Britain and France being by this time concluded by the peace of Amiens, Bonaparte, now chief consul of France, sent out an armament consisting of twenty-six ships of the line, and 25,000 troops, under the command of General Leclerc, his brother-in-law, for the purpose of reducing the revolted colony of St Domingo. To enter into the details of the barbarous and bloody war now begun against the unfortunate inhabitants of St Domingo would not be consistent with our limits, nor would such a narrative, we are persuaded, be interesting to our readers. It will be sufficient to observe, that the numbers and discipline of the force now landed, joined to the skill of its leaders, overpowered all open resistance in the field; so that the blacks, after several obstinate conflicts, and after burning some of the principal towns, were finally compelled to retire into the inaccessible mountains of the interior, whence they carried on, under their undaunted leader Toussaint, a desultory war against detached parties of their enemies. Elated by this success, Leclerc now threw off the mask, and rashly issued an edict proclaiming the former slavery of the blacks. Toussaint was not slow to profit by this error. Having effected a junction with Christophe, who had still 300 troops under him, and being joined by the cultivators in great numbers, who were no longer deaf to his call, he poured with this collected host like a torrent over the plain; and having everywhere forced the French posts, and driven before him their detached corps, he surrounded the town, to relieve which the French general was compelled to hasten to the spot by forced marches with all the troops he could collect. Here he had recourse to his former arts, and he was but too successful in cajoling the negro chiefs, wearied of war, into a suspension of arms. Having watched his opportunity, he privately seized on Toussaint with his family, and embarked him on board of a frigate for France, where, being thrown into prison, he expired in April 1803. 7' This act of cruel treachery spread universal alarm among the black chiefs; and Dessalines, Christophe, and Cler-veaux soon appeared at the head of considerable bodies of black troops. This last contest for the possession of St Domingo was distinguished by a degree of barbarity which surpasses belief. The whites and the blacks seemed to vie with each other in deeds of cruelty and revenge. Retaliation was the plea still used to sanction every enormity, under which an arrear of vengeance was at length accumulated on both sides, which nothing short of the utter extermination of one of the parties could thoroughly satisfy. The French, however, it was clear, were now gradually losing ground. About the year 1803 they were confined within their fortifications by the vigorous movements of the black armies; and though reinforcements were received from France, the French general was forced to enter into a capitulation with Dessalines, by which he agreed in 1803 to evacuate the whole island. On the 30th November of that year, the standard of the blacks was hoisted in Cape François; and the French troops, amounting to 8000, [7:8:106] surrendered themselves prisoners of war to the British squadron, by which they were closely watched. In 1804 a formal declaration of independence was issued, to which were attached all the names of the generals and chiefs. The ancient aboriginal name of Hayti was revived; while Dessalines, whose military talents were in great esteem, was elected governor-general for life; and in October 1804 he was crowned emperor with great pomp. In this situation he began to display all the cruelties of a tyrant, massacring without mercy the white inhabitants, and committing the most barbarous depredations. A conspiracy was in consequence formed against him; and as he was advancing against the insurgents at the head of a few troops, he fell into an ambuscade where lie was expecting his own advanced guard, and fell pierced with balls. His power was disputed by various chiefs, of whom those best known and most successful were Petion and Christophe, the former ruling over the north of the island, the latter over the southern districts. Each having a powerful body of adherents, a civil war was the immediate consequence of their rival claims. In this war, which continued for several years, many battles were fought and many lives were lost; but the issue of the struggle was still doubtful, when in the year 1810 a suspension of hostilities took place, though no formal treaty was signed. From this period civil war ceased in the island of St Domingo. Christophe was declared king of Hayti under the title of Henry L; and, in imitation of other monarchs, he created various orders of nobility, together with numerous officers of state. He assumed to himself absolute power, and committed the greatest cruelties, according to the mere caprice of his own arbitrary will. His tyranny produced general discontent, and at last an insurrection against him. Being deserted by his troops, he anticipated with his own hand the fate which awaited him. On the 20th of October 1820 he retired to his chamber, where he discharged· two pistols, one through his head and the other through his heart, and instantly fell dead, before any alarm could be given. Petion died in March 1818, after having presided over the republic upwards of eleven years. He was succeeded by General Boyer, who ruled over the northern division of the island until the year 1820; when taking advantage of the death of Christophe, and the confusion occasioned by that event, he pressed forward with a considerable force, and took possession of every strong place in the kingdom; and in this manner the whole French division of St Domingo was for the first time united under one ruler. The Spanish division of the island had been ceded to France in 1795 by the treaty of Basle, but it was restored to Spain by the peace of 1814. The feeble government of the mother country, however, was no longer able to control the revolutionary spirit which prevailed in the colony; and in November 1821 the Spanish governor was arrested by the insurgent party, headed by a lawyer of the name of Nunez, and a declaration of independence immediately issued. A strong party afterwards appeared in favour of a union of the whole island under one chief. On the 21st of January 1822 the Haytian flag was first displayed in the city of St Domingo; and on the 9th the keys of the city, and with them the dominion of the whole island, were surrendered to President Boyer. The independence of the new state was recognised by the mother country in 1825, on condition that its ports should be open to the ships of all nations; that French vessels should pay only half duties; and that 150,000,000 of francs should be paid as an indemnity, in five equal payments, the first on the 31st December 1825. Thus, after a series of struggles, beyond all example bloody and ferocious, the whole island of Hispaniola, with its adjacent islets, is now subject to one government, under the title of the Republic of Hayti.

An independent nation of revolted slaves is a novelty in the political world; and its constitution, laws, policy, and trade, form an interesting subject of inquiry. The original constitution of 1806, which was devised for this state, was founded on the model of the American democracy, but was in all respects very ill adapted to the emancipated blacks of St Domingo. The report of the constituent as- ∙sembly, on which it is founded, is a mere exposition of abstract principles inapplicable to the condition of the community for whose use it was designed; and accordingly this constitution, framed upon the American model, is in practice an absolute elective monarchy, under the forms of a republic. The president-general, Jean Pierre Boyer, holds his office for life, and has the right of appointing his successor. There are two legislative bodies, the senate and house of representatives, who have the power of making laws, of approving or rejecting all treaties, and of negativing the president’s choice of a successor. But the whole efficient authority is nevertheless wielded by the first magistrate, who has the entire patronage of the state, civil as well as military; and who has the means of controlling the legislative bodies, and rendering them subservient to his will. He proposes to the commons all the laws except those connected with taxes; he is charged with the duties of the executive, maintaining foreign and domestic peace, and declaring Avar, subject, however, to the approbation of the senate. He can also issue proclamations in conformity to the laws, and to these he can compel obedience; and he has the command of the armed force. In the case of every vacancy in the senate, he supplies three names, from which a new candidate must be chosen; so that the senate are in some measure his nominees. He has besides the appointment of every public functionary, and the power to dismiss them; the practice of the constitution thus varies entirely from its theory, being little else than a rude military despotism. How far the actual condition of the Haytians under their present ruler is comfortable or otherwise, whether the laws are duly administered for the protection of civil rights, and how far a liberal spirit actuates the government on these and other topics, Ave are not very fully informed. It is certain that the education of the people is an object of public solicitude. But though seminaries for this purpose have been established by the government, no zeal for instruction has been evinced by the people; and hence the progress of improvement has hitherto been s1oav. The Catholic still continues the religion of the state, though the various revolutions which have taken place have impaired the Avealth and influence of the priests. The most perfect toleration is established; and public offices, whether civil or military, are open to all, Avhatever may be their religious creed. Besides the higher courts, which have a supreme jurisdiction, there are eight local tribunals for the trial of civil and criminal cases; and in these trial by jury has lately been introduced. From the peculiar origin and character of the Hayti community, idleness, of Avhich the law of other countries takes no cognisance, is here punishable by imprisonment and by flogging; and every successive government has found it necessary to apply this stimulus to the languishing industry of the revolted negroes. The last lary on the subject is the code rural, which declares that all persons must cultivate the earth, directs the mode of managing landed property, of regulating the rural police, of repressing vagrancy by converting reputed vagabonds, who may be condemned to labour on the public Avorks, or sent to prison until they make a contract to labour for individuals.

But notAvithstanding those severe Ioavs, this fertile island, according to Mr Mackenzie, has not yet become the seat of industry and of commerce. It has never recovered from [7:8:107]the fearful devastations to which it was exposed in the long course of the warsand bloody dissensions which followed the emancipation of the slaves. It was formerly distinguished above all the other West India islands for its beauty and fertility, and for its fine cultivation, and abundant produce of sugar, its great staple. Its sugar-works, and the magnificent aqueducts for the irrigation of its fertile plains, are now destroyed, and scarcely any sugar is produced for exportation. We learn, from the well-informed author of the Notes on Hayti, ^[1. See Notes on IIayti i by Charles Mackenzie, Esq. vol. ii. p. 158. ] that in 1789, the exportation of clayed sugar from St Domingo amounted to 47,500,000 French pounds; under Toussaint’s government it had diminished to 16,500 pounds; and in 1818 to 190 pounds. The exportation of raw sugar in 1789 exceeded 93,500,000 French pounds; in 1801 it had fallen off to 18,500,000 pounds; and it progressively declined, till, in 1825 and 1826, it again advanced to nearly 33,000 pounds. The produce and exportation of coffee has declined in a similar proportion. In 1789 the export of this article amounted to 76,835,219 pounds, in 1801 it had declined to 43,420,270 pounds; and in 1825 and 1826 it amounted only to about 30,000,000 of pounds. Cacao was never exported in great quantities by the French colonists; nor was any great attention paid to the cultivation of indigo, of which the export amounted in 1789 to 750,000 pounds. It has now altogether ceased. Molasses or syrup was never exported in any great quantity, owing to the greater perfection of the colonists in the art of making sugar. With the decline of this more valuable cultivation, its export has increased from 25,749 pounds, its amount in 1789, to 211,927 pounds in 1822. The growth of tobacco has been greatly extended; and cigars are manufactured in great quantities, both for home and foreign use. The French exported no dye-woods, such as logwood, fustic, and lignum-vitae. But the indolent natives of St Domingo, declining the more laborious process of sugar-cultivation, for which they have neither industry nor capital, have greatly enlarged this branch of trade, having in 1801 exported of dyewoods 6,768,634 pounds. This trade still continues to flourish, about five or six millions of pounds of the commodity being annually exported. For a like reason the exportation of mahogany has increased from about 5000 cubic feet, its amount prior to the year 1800, to 2,000,000, and in some years to 3,000,000 of feet; another fact, which, according to Mr Mackenzie, proves the decline of systematic regular industry, “and of the advance of whatever, though chiefly done by nature, may be finished at uncertain periods by man.” Such is the account given by Mr Mackenzie. But it is proper to add, that there are other and different accounts from respectable eye-witnesses, who state, that the negroes are industrious of themselves, that agriculture is in a rapidly improving state, and that the products and wealth of the island are annually increasing.

The principal imports are, from Great Britain printed cottons and muslins of all kinds, cotton cambrics, handkerchiefs, checks, dimities, stockings, quiltings, ginghams, Irish and brown linens, osnaburgs, cotton and coffee bagging, woollen cloths, ironmongery, tin ware, Staffordshire ware, glass, cutlery, and paints. France supplies wines, cheese, taffetas, beer, liqueurs, brandy, oil, silk shawls, silk stockings, satins, linens, boots and shoes, toys, ribbons, parasols, gloves, cambrics, Indiennes, saddlery, hardware, military accoutrements and decorations, perfumery, confectionary, preserved fruits, &c. From Holland the importations are small, and consist of linens of different qualities, chiefly German, cotton and coffee bagging, Russia duck, linen checks, inferior woollens, German wines, provisions, and hardware. The small shipments from Germany consist of the same articles; and from the United States are received chiefly lumber, provisions, candles, mostly spermaceti, soap, tar, pitch, rosin, turpentine and other naval stores, gunpowder, anchors, cordage, copper, oils, nails, pig and sheet lead and shot, leather, India silks, Madras handkerchiefs, besides other lesser articles.

The commerce of the country is oppressed by burdensome restrictions and by heavy duties. All foreign merchants are obliged to take out, at an expense of from 1600 to 2000 dollars, a patent to allow them to carry on a wholesale business at any of the ports, not with each other, but only with the inhabitants. Heavy taxes have also been imposed to pay the French indemnity given to procure the acknowledgment of independence. All foreign merchandise is subjected to a duty of twelve per cent., but French ships are only liable to half-duties. Certain enumerated articles, such as arms, ammunition, and warlike stores, gold, silver, &c. are admitted duty free.

The military force of the kingdom of Hayti consists of thirty-three regiments of the line, amounting to 28,600! men. Of these, according to the accurate account of Mr Mackenzie, there are two regiments of dragoons, amounting to 576 men without the staff, and five regiments of artillery, amounting to 4500 men. There is besides the guard of the president, consisting of three troops of cavalry, amounting to 864 men, and two regiments of infantry, amounting to 600 men. The corps of gens-d’armerie consist of forty-eight troops of cavalry, fifty men in each; and there are, moreover, eight companies of police. There is, besides, the national guard, in which every Haytian serves from the age of fifteen to sixty. (f.)