Hayti; or, The black republic.St. John, Spenser, Sir
History
Hayti; or, The black republic.
St. John, Spenser, Sir
Haiti; Haiti -- History
A committee was formed to revise the constitution, but Salnave had
landed in Cap Haïtien, assumed power, and proceeded to exercise it. He
arrested some chiefs of the negroes dwelling in the Black Mountains,
and instantly shot them; their friends took up arms, and, under the
name of the “Cacos,” were a thorn in the side of the new _régime_. He
then marched on Port-au-Prince, seized the Government, and arrested
General Montas, who had commanded in the north under Geffrard. Tired of
the delays of a Constituent Assembly, he sent a mob to frighten them.
They took the hint, voted the constitution the next day, and, _l’epée à
la gorge_, elected Salnave President of Hayti, June 16, 1867. In July a
treaty was signed between Hayti and Santo Domingo, thus ending the long
war.
The Chambers met in the autumn, and Madame Montas presented a petition
on the subject of the imprisonment of her husband. On some deputies
insisting on an explanation, Delorme, the Chief Minister of Salnave,
sprang on the table and denounced these deputies as enemies of
Government. Pistol-shots were fired; Salnave advanced at the head of
his guards, and the Assembly dispersed. Riots followed. The Government
attempted to arrest five prominent members of the Opposition, but they
escaped and returned home to their constituents, and constitutional
government ceased to exist.
The movement of the Cacos in the Black Mountains now began to alarm
the Government, and Salnave started for the north to put himself at
the head of the army operating against the insurgents. There were many
skirmishes, that at Mombin Crochu being the most important, where
Salnave lost heavily.
I do not think it necessary to do more than briefly notice the events
of Salnave’s Presidency of thirty months. It was one long civil war.
Disgusted at the treatment of their deputies, the towns began to
declare against the Government. The uprising was accelerated by the
meeting of the Chambers being postponed and Salnave being declared
Dictator. In April 1868, Nissage-Saget took up arms in St. Marc; the
south was in movement and the insurgents marching towards the capital,
where a crowd of young men armed with swordsticks and pocket-pistols
made a feeble attempt at insurrection, but dispersed at the first fire.
In the midst of this commotion Salnave came into the harbour with
five hundred men, to whom he gave permission to plunder the Rue de
Frentfort, where the principal retail dealers live. The phrase of their
colonel on this occasion has become a proverb: “Mes enfans, pillez en
bon ordre.” Only the vigorous remonstrances of the diplomatic corps
prevented further outrages. Delorme, accused by Salnave of having shown
weakness whilst in charge of the Government during his absence, retired
from office and left the country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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