The only battalions which, in time of peace, are kept up to their full strength, are those which are sent from their own districts to garrison distant towns, where those not actually on duty are allowed to look for work. THE POLICE. Of all the institutions in Hayti, the police is certainly the worst conducted. There are regular commissaries employed under the prefects, but ordinary soldiers do the work of constables. In my time they went about the streets with a thick stick of heavy wood in their hands called a _cocomacaque_, and they used it in such a way as to confirm the remark that cruelty is an innate quality with the negro. Never did I see a Haytian of the upper classes step forward to remonstrate--probably he knew his countrymen too well--whilst the lower orders simply laughed and enjoyed the sight of punishment. Every one arrested accused of a crime is immediately treated as if he were guilty, and the _cocomacaque_ is brought to play on his head and shoulders. As an observer remarked, “In Hayti no prisoner has any right to be considered innocent.” A woman was arrested near my house accused of having killed the child of a neighbour from motives of jealousy. They said she was a _loup garou_, and as soon as the soldiers seized her they began to beat her. Before she reached the prison she was covered with wounds, and a relative who endeavoured to interfere shared the same fate. One day, whilst at the American Consulate, I heard a disturbance outside. I took no notice at first, but presently looking out, saw the police raising a prostrate man. He had been insolent to his overseer, and a passing general ordered him to be taken to prison by the soldiers who were following him. They fell upon the man, and in a few moments he was a mass of bruises, and died before he reached his destination. A few weeks after, I saw a body of a negro lying near the same spot; this was that of a thief, on whom the police had executed summary justice with their clubs. An English merchant saw two soldiers arrest a man accused of murder. As he resisted, they tied his feet together and dragged him along the streets, his head bumping against the stones. The Englishman remonstrated, but he was threatened with the same treatment. A negro arrested for stealing fowls had his arms bound behind him and a rope attached to one ankle, which was held by a policeman, while another kept close to the prisoner, beating him with his club, and as he darted forward to avoid a blow, the other would pull the rope, and the unfortunate accused would fall flat on his face. And all this done in public before the authorities, both civil and military, and no man raising his voice to stop such barbarous work! I have myself seen so many of these brutal scenes that I feel convinced that no account can be exaggerated.