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ART. XI.-Brief Notices of Hayti, &c. By JOHN CANDLER. Ward and Co.

THE earthquake which has visited St. Domingo, with such dire destruction, since Mr. Candler wrote his Brief Notices of the island, must serve to invite attention to the publication. Independently, however, of the appalling calamity, so recently the theme of numerous pieces of newspaper intelligence, and which could not but excite a deep interest in behalf of a coloured population who have achieved their own independence, and have for a series of years been maintaining a system of self-government, the present small volume would have merited public regard; for it is really worthy of its subject, although that subject has been allowed to drop unaccountably into almost total neglect, on the part of the British nation. The author, it appears, visited the island in the course of a missionary tour; and the results of his observation and inquiries are before us in a shape equally characterized by an unaffected, unobtrusive tone, clear information, impartiality, and benevolence.

However callous the British public might have grown concerning the Haytians, we can hardly believe that the facts connected with the late earthquake, which has wrought such destruction in their island, and when coupled with the sensible and unvarnished accounts in this volume, will fail of attracting something like an adequate regard, both in a political and philanthropic view. The experiment which has been in operation in Hayti, ever since the final modification of its constitution, in 1816, ought surely to engage the sympathies of our fellow subjects and of our government, who have long professed an extraordinary abhorrence of slavery, and, consequently, the greatest anxiety for the success of any struggle for freedom; and who have lavished the wealth and the agencies of the empire in order to abolish negro bondage,-the results of which exertions have been most signally exemplified in islands that press upon the very shores of Hayti itself.

There is a variety of circumstances which recommend the Haytians to our particular consideration. Most of these are embraced in the fact, that while the condition of the community is far from that which the eye of philanthropy can repose upon with thorough complacency; yet it is infinitely preferable to what characterized the French rule, where they, as slave-proprietors, had dominion in the island; nay, that though tardy, there is an advancing civilization to be witnessed; and this is illustrated by a diversity of signs.

It was market day, at Gonaives, says our author, in one passage; hundreds of people had passed us within the last two hours, wending their way homeward to the high mountains: the sight surprised us, and seeing other groups in the distance, we began to count the people. Before entering the town itself we had passed in all four hundred and sixty-five persons, with nearly as many

horses, mules, and asses, drawing light carriages, or loaded with commodities, which the peasantry were carrying back, in return for the small parcels of cotton and coffee which they had carried to market. The women, as usual, were decently dressed; and the men were more respectable in appearance than any we had seen on our route: they were evilently small cultivators who live on their own freeholds. All seemed cheerful and happy. It was one of the most cheering sights we saw in Hayti; and we could not but contrast it with those dark and terrible days, when slave proprietors, under the French dominion, oppressed the people with intolerable hardships; and inflicted cruelties too horrible to relate. In this very region, within the memory of many living witnesses, Deodune, a cotton planter, buried some of his slaves in the earth as deep as their shoulders, and to satisfy his revenge, or for devilish amusement, rolled stones at their heads till they died! The rest of his slaves then rose, and in indignation put the monster himself to death.

The signs described of the industrial habits of the Haytians are truly gladdening; and the more so when one considers the relaxing character of the climate, the deep depression from which the people have so recently emerged, the still imperfect institutions under which they live, and, perhaps, above all, the long reiterated allegation that the negro will not work, unless forced by a master,—that is, through fear of the lash.

True, Mr. Candler honestly states that "the men of Hayti pass much of their time in sauntering, idling, talking, and playing games of chance or skill: some we saw stretched out at their ease under the shade of trees; others were sitting on chairs or stools in the open air, as if they had nothing to do, and were only desirous to kill time." But let these facts be taken in connexion with the following, and others not less significant:-education is still in a very backward condition, the community consisting of persons who at best are the immediate descendants of slaves who were sunk in mental and moral darkness; and the liberty won is greater in name than in reality.

It was after a sanguinary revolt that the Haytians proclaimed themselves free, and this without having precedents to guide them or the sympathizing counsel of friendly European powers. The wonder therefore is, rather that they did not pass into anarchy and such social distraction as would either terminate in annihilation or grosser bondage than before, than that they have not worked out a system theoretically perfect and practically commendable in every particular. Indeed the constitution appears to be more liberal in theory, and at first sight to contain more of the essential elements of a republic, than any wise and honest statesman could ever have hoped for in practice from it. It lays claim, no doubt, to a representative character, under a president, in conjunction with a senate. But then, the president is chosen for life, and naturally takes care in presenting lists to the House of Representatives, for the choice of senators, so to arrange the names, as to ensure the election of the

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persons that he wishes; and, from the comparative poverty and ignorance of many members of the House of Assembly, who are always subservient, he can influence the decision of that body at his pleasure, even so far as to induce them to expel any member who manifests the least show of resistance to his will." And when it is added, that the president is not only governor for life, but generalissimo of the forces, head of the church, and fountain of honour and rewards, it will be at once understood that Mr. Candler is right in saying, that he "is thus sovereign in all but the name ;" and that although the maxims of government are those of clemency, and to rule for the people's good, yet "a mistaken view of what that good really requires, leads him occasionally into acts of substantial injustice.

The political system a few of whose main features we have noticed, was sure to result in something like a military government, that will despotic as well as oppressively expensive. In fact the army is extravagantly numerous, consisting of 28,000 standing troops, and a militia force of 40,000, out of a population of less than a million. This immoderate establishment, no doubt, took its rise in a great measure, from the necessities of the revolt against the French masters, and from the French method of government. Nor has this been the only hard legacy which our Gallic neighbours have left; for the Haytian government found itself obliged to purchase the assent of France to its independence by exorbitant purchases; a loan having been contracted on the extorted condition that the borrowers should pay a thousand francs to their late white rulers, for every eight hundred francs received in cash down. Now, what a weight upon the young state must this debt continually prove; and how cheering must we consider the maintenance of independence, not to speak of the gradual progress that appears really to be made towards a healthier, and a more prosperous condition by the black experimentalists in the walks of industry and peace! How striking, in a word, is the fact, that St. Domingo actually carries on an extensive trade, exporting annually to the value of a million sterling, and maintaining a "commerce in native produce nearly three-fourths as large in proportion to her population, as our United Kingdom, which is the great manufacturing mart of the world."

But the Haytians have to struggle against the exclusiveness of other white nations, as well as under the burden of French exactions. Nay, slave-hating England has, it is said, pursued a narrow policy towards the independent community of blacks, there being no communication to the present moment between St. Domingo and Jamaica, "though they lie within a day's sail of one another; and though a valuable exchange of commodities might often take place between them." "England," continues Mr. Candler, "a short time since, offered to open a trade between Hayti and the British VOL. II. (1842.) NO. IV.

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West India islands, on the condition that certain preferences should be given to British merchants over those of other nations in the ports of Hayti: this the Haytian government very properly refused, and the negotiation ended." The species of narrow policy observed towards St. Domingo now mentioned, has had its natural results in the conduct of the independent Haytians. Says our author,

The exclusiveness of other nations begets exclusiveness in Hayti. No white man is permitted by the law of the republic to hold a foot of land within its territory: no white man can marry a Haytian woman, and thereby become entitled to her real or personal estate; and no white man can trade without a special licence, renewable yearly, with a heavy fine; nor, indeed, generally speaking, can he trade at all without being associated with a Haytian partner. Such restrictions as these tend to exclude capital from the country, to paralyse industry, and to prevent the increased cultivation of the soil.

We shall now proceed to lay before our readers a variety of extracts, each of which is more or less illustrative of the general condition, and anomalous features of society in Hayti; all of them also serving to account for the more remarkable defects described. Begin with the subject of education, as it exists at Port-au-Prince :

There

One of the first objects to claim our attention was the public schools. are two institutions of this sort in the capital; one on the principle of mutual instruction, for the poor; and the other, a lyceum or college for young men who have received preliminary instruction elsewhere, and who go there to complete their studies. Both schools are supported by the government. In the first, or elementary school, the number of those who attend is very small indeed; out of eighty-two boys on the list, only forty-three were present, and these were most of them mullattos: they looked intelligent enough, but had evidently been neglected, and knew very little; being placed under the care of an incompetent master, who received the situation, and enjoys the slender emolument it affords, because, as we were told, the government thought it convenient to pension him off! We examined the classes, and heard some of the boys recite; but found, on the whole, very little to approve. The lyceum is a really respectable institution, and does honour to the republic. The branches of education taught are, the French, English, Spanish, and Latin languages; the mathematics, composition, history, and fencing. The professors, or teachers, are apparently well qualified men; we attended all the classes, and were much gratified at the progress of some of the scholars. One of the black boys construed his Latin verses with much readiness. The students are a hundred and fifty in number, mostly mulattos.

Again,

Education is at a rather lower ebb at Port-au-Prince than at Cape Haytien: the total number supposed to receive instruction in the city is about a thousand. This number is small, but the proportion of black children, unhappily, is still smaller. Out of 23,000 inhabitants, the coloured class may number, perhaps, 4,000, or one-sixth part of the whole; yet this is the class that may be said

to monopolise education. Children who claim their descent from European fathers have no greater aptitude to learn than children of pure African blood; but the ancestors of the latter having been slaves, and not having been taught to read, were unable to appreciate the value of education. Indifference to knowledge, from this cause, has extended from one generation to another, and has become a rooted habit of mind; which requires the most firm, judicious, and persevering care to eradicate.

And yet the Haytians do not appear to be addicted to heinous crimes. Says Mr. Candler,

In a population so circumstanced, where all the nobler faculties of the mind are held in abeyance, we need not wonder if crime abounded. Ignorance is proverbially the parent of crime: yet such is the docility of the negro, such his respect for, and general submission to, the authority of human law, that robberies of the person, and other high crimes and misdemeanors, are but little known. Petty pilfering, such as the masters of slaves once permitted, and such as the boasting Spartans encouraged, is common enough; and it is from offences of this sort and from acts of military insubordination, that the gaols are kept constantly filled. We were assured again and again by persons of every rank in society, that travellers may pass through the country from one end to the other, with known treasure in their possession, and be perfectly safe.

But although crimes do not abound amongst this people, and which would indeed be inconsistent with their simple natures, there is no lack of prisoners, confined too to miserable gaols, but which are in a condition not worse than they were in England half a century ago." Nor need we wonder at the number of incarcerations and other sorts of punishments, when the system of criminal jurisprudence is considered; together with the statement which we have lately read in a communication by an individual who writes from Hayti itself; viz. that the influence of persons in power in the island in such that the guilty may generally escape, even from the form of trial, by means of favouritism; just as the innocent man who is unfortunate enough to incur the dislike and enmity of the dispensers of the law, cannot be sure of his liberty or safety. The particulars which we now copy out afford a striking idea of the faulty system of administrating criminal law which obtains in Hayti:

The officers of the army act in many cases as justices; and pass sentence for petty offences, on summary conviction. The sentences passed by the civil judges in open court, though seemingly the result of deliberation after a patient trial of the parties accused, are said, in all cases thought worthy of government interference, to be prescribed beforehand. That such is sometimes the case is certain; for a grave in the unconsecrated burial ground was pointed out to us, which was open for three criminals charged with sedition, before they had been put on trial! Accompanied by my friend, James Hartwell, the Wesleyan missionary, who had been with us through the prison, I entered the Court-house to witness the trial of a prisoner accused of stealing cloth from a store. The procureur-general, or state-attorney, opened the case. Rising with