AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.
AGRICULTURE.
M. Eugène Nau, in his pamphlet on the influence of agriculture on
civilisation, endeavoured to bring his countrymen to look with favour
on the principal source of prosperity in all tropical countries; but
the seed he sowed fell on revolutionary soil, and agriculture is more
neglected than ever.
And yet in all the wide world there is not a country more suited to
agriculture than Hayti; not one where the returns for labour are more
magnificent; a rich, well-watered soil, with a sun which actually
appears to draw vegetation towards itself with such energetic force
that the growth of plants, though not actually visible to the eye, may
be almost daily measured.
The system of cultivation varies greatly. In the north an effort was
made by King Christophe to keep up large estates, whilst in the west
and south President Pétion encouraged the division of the land among
peasant proprietors. Large estates still remain, however, in these
provinces, which are cultivated under different arrangements, to which
I will hereafter refer. The general rule is that large estates obtain
mostly in the plains, whilst in the mountains the land is practically
in the hands of the peasantry, though many large estates exist
nominally.
In 1877 a law was passed for regulating the management of the State
domains, for selling them or leasing them for nine years. A longer
lease would require a special authorisation of the Legislature. This
last clause is principally aimed at foreigners, whom the Haytians
desire to keep away from all interest in land.
The national estates lie in different parts of the country, and the
extent of them in the aggregate is but imperfectly known, owing to
careless administration. According to an official return published in
1877, there were under lease 2105 farms of national land, containing
about 230,000 acres, let on an average at the rate of two shillings per
acre.
The laws on the tenure of real estate are, with some modifications, the
same as the agrarian laws that were framed by the French during their
possession of the country, and are remarkable for that minute accuracy
and definition of right which characterise French laws in general.
For the better elucidation of the subject a few retrospective notices
are necessary.
Going back to 1804, the year of independence, one of the first acts
of Dessalines was to create a national domain out of the following
elements:--
All the real estate which constituted the State domains during the
French period.
All the real estates of the whites which had not been legally
transferred.
All land without owners.
Confiscated lands.
In furtherance of his project to get the best part of the land into
the hands of Government, Dessalines is accused of resorting to every
kind of arbitrary and cruel act, and did not even disdain to encourage
forgery in order to dispossess those proprietors who stood firm to
their rights. This attack on private property was one of the main
causes of the successful plot against his life.
Of the national estate thus formed a great part was subsequently
parcelled out by Pétion in donations to those who had deserved well in
the war of independence, whilst other lots were sold in fee-simple.
Of the class of large proprietors created under the republic of Pétion,
but few undertook the cultivation of their own lands. The usage at once
came into favour of letting them out in small lots to working men on
the Metayer system, the landlord to receive half the produce, on the
condition of furnishing, on sugar-cane estates, the mill and the other
necessary appliances. With regard to produce, there are two classes
recognised and kept distinct by law, namely, “la grande culture” (large
farming) and “la petite culture” (small farming). The first consists in
the cultivation of sugar-cane and similar articles; the second in the
cultivation of provisions for the market. As in the “grande culture”
half went to the proprietor, the tendency has been for some years
to encroach with the “petite culture” on the lands reserved for the
former. Each peasant is allowed a patch of ground near his portion of
the cane-field on which to grow vegetables, and it has been found that
his attention is more directed to this than formerly. As long as the
sugar-cane is reserved for the manufacture of cheap rum to keep the
population in a continued state of intoxication, the falling off in
its culture is not to be regretted. In fact, the “great” and “little”
culture did very well when anything exportable was cultivated, but now
are of little practical importance, as they do not so much affect the
great stay of the country, the coffee crop.[22]
I may repeat that the first thing in point of importance in Haytian
agriculture is the coffee-tree, which grows almost wild in every
mountainous part of the country and around the cottages of the
peasantry at elevations of from 500 to 7000 feet above the level of the
sea--wild in the sense that the plants appear to spring from the seeds
that have fallen from the parent trees, though occasionally I have seen
them carefully planted round the cottages.
There is a notion in Hayti that the coffee crop will come to an end
by the old trees dying out. I was told this twenty years ago, and
the story is still repeated; but any one who observantly travels in
the interior would find the old trees surrounded by younger ones
that spring from the teeming soil from seeds scattered by the wind or
rain. The idea, also prevalent among many foreigners in Hayti, that
the coffee collected now is taken from the original trees planted by
the French, is untenable. As soon as the civil war caused by King
Christophe’s assumption of power ceased (1820), a marked progress took
place in the production of coffee. There is another fact which is also
forgotten; coffee-plants in wet tropical countries generally bear from
twenty to twenty-five years; therefore their age may be taken at about
thirty years. If this statement be correct, the trees must have been
renewed three times since the old colonial days. Most of the coffee
plantations I saw in Hayti contained shrubs that have seldom exceeded
from seven to ten feet in height, though on the way to Kenskoff I
noticed many from twelve to fifteen feet. At Furcy and at La Selle we
saw some very good plants, properly cleaned and attended to, and kept
at a suitable height for picking the berries. Mackenzie noticed, in
1827, whole sides of mountains covered with coffee-trees of spontaneous
growth, two-thirds of the produce being lost for want of hands to
gather it. So prolific, he says, were the bushes, that many which were
carefully tended produced from five to six lbs. and some were known to
give nine lbs.
I have never noticed the peasantry use more than the _mauchette_, a
sort of chopper almost as long as a sword, whilst cleaning their coffee
plantations. They simply cut down the weeds and creepers, but never
stir the soil around the roots with a hoe. The use of manure is unknown.
The only preventable cause for any decline in the coffee crop would
be the neglect following the withdrawal of the peasantry to take part
in civil wars and revolutions, and the lazy habits engendered by camp
life. When riding through coffee plantations after the civil wars of
1868 and 1869, I noticed a marked deterioration from 1864. Creepers
of every description were suffered to grow over and almost choke
the plants, and poor crops were sometimes the result. In Geffrard’s
time, though the cultivation was slovenly, efforts were made to keep
the plants clean, and during the quiet four years of Nissage-Saget’s
presidency the peasantry returned to their old habits.
Notwithstanding this occasional neglect, there appears no progressive
falling off in the crops; they vary as before, but on the whole keep up
to the average.
The quality of Haytian coffee is excellent, but its price in the market
is low, from various causes. Sometimes the crop is gathered hastily,
and ripe and unripe seeds are mixed; and then it is dried on the bare
ground, regardless of the state of the weather; and when swept up into
heaps, it is too often intermingled with small stones, leaves, and
dirt; and fraudulent cultivators or middle-men add other substances to
increase the weight. I have known carefully-selected parcels sent to
France marked Mocha, and there realising full prices. Nowhere is coffee
made better than in Hayti; it is roasted to a rich brown, ground and
prepared with a sufficient allowance of the material, all on the same
day, and the result is perfect.
As with other crops in the world, there are good years and bad years;
but with neglected plants, the bad come oftener than they would if due
attention were paid to their cultivation.
In 1789, when the French possessed the island, the amount produced
greatly exceeded anything seen since, with the exceptions of 1863,
1875, and 1876. In those years above 71,000,000 lbs. passed through
the custom-house, and it is calculated that about 15,000,000 lbs. were
smuggled.
The variations have been as follows:--
Lbs.
1789 88,360,502
1818 20,280,589
1824 46,000,000
1835 48,352,371
1845 41,002,571
1860 60,514,289
1861 45,660,889
1863 71,712,345
1864 45,168,764
1873 64,786,690
1874 54,677,854
1875 72,637,716
1876 72,289,504
1877 52,991,861
1878 63,255,545
1879 47,941,506
1880 55,562,897
This striking increase in the amount of coffee produced since the great
war would appear somewhat to contradict the theory of the degeneracy
and idleness of the Haytians, but it must be remembered that the women
and children are very hard-working; that the women are in a majority,
and that the work is mostly done by Nature; the men, also, are not
very light-handed taskmasters. If a space be cleared round the bushes
with a _mauchette_--easy work that a child can do--the increase in a
plantation will continue, as I have remarked, by the beneficent hand
of Nature; the heavy rains knock off the ripe berries and scatter them
down the mountain-sides, and give rise to those matted undergrowths of
coffee-bushes whose fecundity often surprises the traveller. It is not
likely that the produce of the coffee-plants will decrease.
During the French colonial days the principal product was sugar,
and in the year 1789 they exported 54,000,000 lbs. of white sugar
and 107,000,000 lbs. of brown. As the slaves left the estates, so
production decreased, and was fast disappearing when Christophe in the
north forced the people by severe measures to resume its manufacture.
He gave the great estates of the old colonists to his generals and
courtiers, with an order that they should produce a certain amount of
sugar under pain of forfeiture. As they had the population under their
command, and an unrestrained use of the stick, they succeeded fairly;
but as soon as this pressure was removed, the manufacture of sugar
ceased, and it is no longer found in the list of exports, except as a
fancy article to obtain bounties.
In 1818 the export of sugar had fallen from 161,000,000 to 1,900,000
lbs., and in 1821 to 600,000 lbs., then to disappear from the
custom-house lists.
The prejudice against sugar-making is still strong, though, could
the owners of estates prove to their people that large profits would
accrue to them from its manufacture, it is very probable that the
prejudice would die out. A friend of mine tried to persuade one of his
cultivators to aid him in a sugar-making project, but the man answered
sulkily, “Moué pas esclave” (“I’m not a slave”), and walked away. The
negroes do not like a bell to be used to ring them to work, as it
reminds them of colonial days, but some bold innovators have introduced
and continued the practice, without producing any other effect than
occasional grumbling.
Sugar-cane, however, is still very extensively cultivated, and succeeds
admirably, the soil appearing peculiarly adapted to it. The cane is
now grown for making tafia or white rum, and for molasses, which
the people use instead of sugar. Most of the factories built by the
French were destroyed, and inferior buildings have been erected in
their stead. Watermills are generally used, as being economical, and
the never-failing streams from the hills afford abundant power. A few
proprietors have put up extensive machinery for sugar-making, but their
success has been so doubtful as not to encourage others. A Haytian
knows that during a revolution his property would not be respected,
and, if a defeated partisan, would be either confiscated or destroyed:
so no encouragement is held out to agricultural enterprise; and, what
adds to his difficulties, a dangerous spirit of communism has spread
among the people, and in many districts the peasantry begin to regard
the estates as their own.
Of cotton 8,400,000 lbs. were exported in 1789. This amount, however,
soon decreased under independent rule:--
In 1835 there were exported 1,649,717 lbs.
” 1842 ” ” 880,517 ”
” 1853 ” ” 557,480 ”
” 1859 ” ” 938,056 ”
” 1860 ” ” 688,735 ”
to rise, on the outbreak of the civil war in the United States, to--
In 1861 1,139,439 lbs.
” 1862 1,473,853 ”
increasing until 1865, when the crop was over 4,000,000 pounds; but
the fall of prices, occasioned by the collapse of the civil war in
the States, from 2s. 6d. to 11d. in the course of a few months,
discouraged the agriculturists, and cotton was again neglected. In the
last commercial reports the amount of cotton exported from the whole
republic is not given.
During the Great Exhibition held in London in 1862, the report on the
cotton exhibited there by Hayti mentioned very favourably the two bales
which were sent as specimens, and it remarked that England required
at least 2,000,000 bales of each of the qualities exhibited. It has
been calculated that there is sufficient suitable land in Hayti to
furnish half the quantity required. This, however, appears to me an
over-estimate.
President Geffrard was fully aware of the importance of taking
advantage of the opportunity offered by the civil war in the United
States, and supported two measures to encourage cotton cultivation. The
first was the immigration of free blacks from America, and the next the
offer of bounties.
The immigration was badly managed, as blacks from the North were sent,
instead of Southern cultivators. Most of those who arrived, being
unfitted for field-labour in a tropical climate, added but little to
the production of cotton. A few kept to the work, but many died, and
most of the others either migrated to the towns or left the country. As
might have been expected, the Haytian arrangements were as bad as they
could be. Settlers were given ground without any water, but were told
that a canal should some day be cut; food and money were distributed
irregularly, and malversation added to the other difficulties.
Bounties were scarcely required, as the price rose from 4d. in 1859
to 1s., 1s. 2d., and 1s. 5d. in 1863, and 2s. 6d. in 1864; and many
Haytians tried to do something in order to win a portion of this
harvest. Field-hands, however, were scarce, and in order to get in
their crops the proprietors had to offer half the amount to those who
would come and gather it for them. One peasant proprietor, in 1863,
managed with his family to secure 8000 lbs. of cotton, which he sold
for £500, a sum to which he was wholly unaccustomed. The comparative
large amounts to be received would have had a very great effect on the
prosperity of the country had there been the necessary hands ready to
take advantage of the opportunity offered. The industrious, however,
were few, and many proprietors had to leave a portion of their crop to
rot on the plants.
When the prices rose to three or four times the former value, the
Government abolished the system of bounties, and imposed a tax of one
penny a pound, but had to abolish it in 1865 on the sudden fall in
prices. The cultivation is now again neglected, as Haytian cotton has
returned to its old level in price, and the land must be more valuable
for provision crops. With the uncertainty which characterises the
supply of labour in Hayti, it is not likely that cotton will again
become an important export.
The French appear to have paid but little attention to the cultivation
of the cacao-tree, and in 1789 only exported 600,000 lbs. Even this
small quantity decreased, and the amount that passed through the
custom-house in 1821 fell to 264,792 lbs. The crops have since much
varied, but the export rose gradually, until, in 1863, the amount was
2,217,769 lbs. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no subsequent
year has produced so abundant a crop.
Cacao is principally grown near the farthest point of the peninsula,
west of Jérémie, amid a population rarely visited, and reported as
among the most barbarous of the island.
Tobacco is not mentioned in the list of exports during the French
period, and only appears in those returns which were published when
the Dominican end of the island formed part of the Haytian republic.
A little has been occasionally grown for home consumption, as at the
Fonds-aux-Nègres.
Logwood is found in all parts of the country, and is a very important
article of export.
There is nothing else grown in Hayti which can be called an article of
commerce, but the peasantry cultivate large amounts of garden produce,
and some rice and Indian-corn, but they do not do so in sufficient
quantities to supply the market. Bananas for cooking purposes are a
valuable crop, as they take the place of bread in the daily consumption
of the people. Fruit-trees abound, particularly mangoes, sour oranges,
and the avocado (alligator pear). The last fruit comes to great
perfection, whilst the mango is inferior except in a few localities,
and is not to be compared to the “number elevens” grown in Jamaica.
The markets of the capital are well supplied with European vegetables,
which are grown in the mountains at the back of La Coupe, the old
summer resort of the people of the capital. When staying there, I have
often walked to the gardens at the foot of Fort Jaques, where not only
vegetables may be found, but many orchards full of peach-trees--sadly
neglected, however--with their branches covered with long moss,
to the exclusion of leaf and fruit. A few apples and chestnuts are
occasionally brought to market. Fort Jaques is situated about 6000 feet
above the level of the sea. I may notice that the peaches are usually
picked before they ripen, on account of the pilfering habits of the
people.
There is little to be said about the domestic animals. The horses are
generally small, but strong and full of endurance, and are of Spanish
breed. Mules and donkeys are plentiful, as no person is satisfied
unless he possesses some beast of burden. The cattle are supplied from
the Dominican part of the island, and are much used for traction. Good
beef may often be found in the markets. Sheep and goats are plentiful,
but of inferior breeds, whilst pigs wander about untended, and are
generally so lean that they warrant the reproach that the Haytians
cannot even fatten a pig. Poultry are thought to be getting scarcer
than formerly: they are generally of an inferior kind.
COMMERCE.
Hayti has for many years carried on a very fair commerce with Europe
and America, though probably not a quarter of what she might have if
her inhabitants were industrious. In the colonial days, the exports
were valued at from £6,000,000 to £8,000,000 a year, and in 1790 had
reached nearly £11,000,000 with a less numerous population, whilst the
highest since the independence has probably not exceeded £2,300,000.
Notwithstanding foreign wars, civil wars, insurrections, and those
continued conspiracies which have almost every year disturbed the
country, the productive powers of the soil are so great, that nothing
appears permanently to depress the exports, and therefore the imports.
The export trade of Hayti in 1835, which then included the whole
island, was as follows:--
Lbs. Value.
Coffee 48,352,371 $6,812,849
Logwood 13,293,737 86,409
Cotton 1,649,717 247,457
Mahogany, feet 5,413,316 405,998
Tobacco 2,086,606 125,196
Cacao 397,321 47,678
----------
$7,725,587
At the exchange of the day this represented just £1,000,000 sterling.
The last year in which the statistics refer to the whole island is 1842.
M. Madiou, in his “History of Hayti,” vol. i. p. 31, gives the amount
of the produce exported in the years 1842 and 1845, but does not affix
a value to them:--
1842.
Coffee 40,759,064 lbs.
Cotton 880,517 ”
Logwood 19,563,147 ”
Tobacco 2,518,612 ”
Cigars 700,000 No.
Mahogany 4,096,716 feet
and various small amounts of miscellaneous articles.
It will be remarked that in the returns for 1845 tobacco has ceased
to appear, as Santo Domingo had by this time separated from Hayti. M.
Madiou considers that about 5,000,000 lbs. of coffee are consumed in
the island, which is probably an under-estimate, considering the lavish
manner in which it is used, and that 20,000,000 lbs. are exported
as contraband, to avoid the heavy duties. This calculation appears
too high. Whilst I was in Hayti, the illicit trade was considered to
represent from 15 to 20 per cent of the acknowledged exports. Much,
however, depends on the character of the men in power.
1845.
Lbs.
Coffee 41,002,571
Cotton 557,480
Logwood and other woods 68,181,588
Mahogany, feet 7,904,285
The other woods consist of lignum vitæ, &c. It is curious that he makes
no mention of cacao.
In the next returns it will be noticed how mahogany decreased--the
cuttings near the coast were beginning to be exhausted--whilst the
exports of logwood were greatly increased. This is work that just
suits the negro; it can be done by fits and starts, and never requires
continuous labour. The following tables may appear superfluous, but
they show the effect of comparatively orderly government. These
six years were free from any serious civil trouble, and no foreign
complications prevented all development that was possible. The war in
the States gave trade considerable impulse.
1859.
Coffee 41,712,106 lbs.
Logwood 88,177,600 ”
Cotton 938,056 ”
Cacao 1,397,364 ”
Mahogany 2,690,044 feet
1860.
Coffee 60,514,289 lbs.
Logwood 104,321,200 ”
Cotton 668,735 ”
Cacao 1,581,806 ”
Mahogany 2,264,037 feet
1861.
Coffee 45,660,889 lbs.
Logwood 105,757,050 ”
Cotton 1,139,439 ”
Cacao 1,304,561 ”
Mahogany 1,659,272 feet
1862.
Coffee 54,579,059 lbs.
Logwood 167,005,650 ”
Cotton 1,473,853 ”
Cacao 1,743,853 ”
Mahogany 2,441,887 feet
1863.
Coffee 71,712,345 lbs.
Logwood 116,669,400 ”
Cotton 2,217,769 ”
Cacao 2,338,400 ”
Mahogany 2,016,557 feet
1864.
Coffee 45,168,764 lbs.
Logwood 153,235,100 ”
Cotton 3,237,594 ”
Cacao 1,399,941 ”
Mahogany 2,369,501 feet
No trustworthy statistics could be obtained for the time of Soulouque,
on account of the monopolies and the various interferences with
commerce. In 1865 the siege of Cap Haïtien, and the disturbances which
followed in 1866, the fall of Geffrard in 1867, and the civil war of
1868 and 1869, completely disturbed trade, and no reliable statistics
can be obtained.
The latest trade return which I have seen is of the year 1880:--
Lbs.
Coffee 55,562,897
Logwood 321,729,801
Cacao 2,729,853
Cotton 957,962
Mahogany, feet 71,478
Sugar 2,397
Mr. Mackenzie, who was English Consul-General at Port-au-Prince during
the years 1826 and 1827, gives a table of the commerce of Hayti in
1825, which includes the whole island.
_Imports._
Vessels. Tonnage. Value of cargoes.
American 374 39,199 £391,784
British 78 11,952 291,456
French 65 11,136 152,681
German 17 3,185 85,951
Others 18 1,328 10,162
--------
£932,034
The large amount of American vessels will be noticed, and the
comparative extent of their trade. In 1864 English-sailing shipping
rose to 281 vessels (of 41,199 tonnage) and 74 steamers, against those
under the American flag, 88 sailing vessels (of 16,316 tonnage) and two
steamers. This, however, was only nominal, the ravages of the _Alabama_
having induced American shipowners to transfer their vessels to the
British flag.
In 1877 the tonnage of vessels calling at the three chief ports of
Hayti (Port-au-Prince, Cap Haïtien, and Les Cayes) was as follows:--
Flag. Tonnage.
British 184,331
French 91,562
German 80,561
American 22,350
It must be noticed, however, that the English, French, and German
tonnage consists principally of steamers, which have ports of call
on the island, whereas the Americans have two-fifths of the sailing
tonnage.
In 1863 the imports into Hayti amounted to £1,743,052, and in 1864 to
£2,045,333. The United States then held the first place, having sent
£762,724 and £994,266, their imports, as usual, being principally
provisions and lumber. England occupied the second position with
£503,630 and £626,624; France, £255,747 and £273,778. Both in the years
1863 and 1864 there was a great decrease in the amount of provisions
grown in the country, partly on account of the increase of cotton
cultivation; hence the very heavy imports of provisions from the United
States.
The exports in 1863 and 1864 were valued at £2,458,000 and £1,895,000,
the decrease arising from the inferiority of the coffee crop, and the
fall in the price of goods. The average value of the principal articles
of export varied as follows:--
Articles. 1863. 1864.
Coffee, per 100 lbs. £2 9 3½ £2 5 0
Logwood, per 1000 lbs. 1 2 9 0 17 10
Cotton, per lb. 0 1 4 0 2 0
Cacao, per 100 lbs. 1 9 4 1 6 0
_Present Prices._
Prices have fallen lately to an unprecedented extent. During the autumn
of the year 1882, coffee was once quoted as low as 16s. per 100 lbs.,
but rose afterwards to 24s.; and all other produce was also depreciated
in value.
In 1876 the total imports into the island were £2,110,000; the total
exports, £2,200,000.
In 1877 the total imports were £1,594,200; the total exports,
£1,694,800, which was below the average.
In 1877 the imports into the capital were as follows, which shows a
marked change in the position of the importing countries:--
Great Britain £619,900
United States 110,200
France 103,100
Germany 36,880
In some of the smaller ports the position of the trade of the United
States was relatively better. In Les Cayes, for instance:--
United States £119,172
Great Britain 23,692
France 22,030
Germany 1,715
A portion of these imports from the United States consisted of
manufactures in transit from England. We appear to be holding our own
everywhere as regards piece goods and iron, whilst five-sixths of the
imports of the United States consist of flour, salt pork, and other
provisions. The Haytians are French in their tastes, but the cheapness
of our Manchester goods enables our importers to hold their own.
The great export, coffee, appears in great part ultimately to reach
French ports, as it is not appreciated in other countries, whereas
its cheapness and good quality recommend it strongly to the French
Government for the use of the army.
When in Port-au-Prince I drew the attention of the Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs to the great discrepancy between their published
returns and those of our Board of Trade. In 1865 our exports are set
down at £1,163,274, and in 1866 at £1,425,402, for the whole island.
Santo Domingo takes but a small amount, whilst the Haytian custom-house
did not acknowledge more than half the amount of our returns. Either we
overvalue our goods in England, or the smuggling must be large.
The imports from the United States appear to have greatly fallen off
since 1864, which must imply that the peasantry are planting more food
and consuming a very much smaller amount of imported provisions.
FINANCE.
As in most American republics, the income of the Haytian state depends
chiefly on the custom-house. It is said the people will not bear direct
taxation, and that therefore the Government must rely on import and
export duties. The heavy debt which was imposed on Hayti by France
nearly sixty years ago has been the principal cause of the financial
embarrassments of the republic.
The mission of Baron Mackau, sent by Charles X. in 1825, had for object
the imperfect recognition of the independence of the republic of Hayti,
on condition of their paying £6,000,000 as an indemnity to the old
colonists--a sum quite out of the power of the country to raise--and
only five years were allowed to complete the transaction. One is at
a loss to understand how President Boyer could have consented to so
burdensome an arrangement. Subsequently the indemnity was reduced to
£3,600,000, but although fifty-eight years have passed, a balance
still remains due. It was not till 1838 that these arrangements were
concluded, and France definitively recognised the independence of
Hayti. The republic had effected a loan in Paris in 1825 of £1,200,000
nominal to pay the first instalment due, and even this debt has not
been completely settled. The whole transaction proved a cruel burden
to the country, and, by introducing heavy export duties and the curse
of paper money, greatly injured agricultural and every other interest.
The import duties average about 30 per cent. on the value, whilst the
export duties are at so much a quintal on coffee, and have varied
according to the exigencies of the moment. Major Stuart’s Report for
1877 enters into many details which may be found interesting. I propose
to give here only the general results; but I may say that the duties
embrace almost every article, and are as high as they can bear.
The progress of the revenue collected in Hayti is another proof to me
that the population has greatly increased.
It is not necessary to examine the budgets of many years. In 1821,
before the union with Santo Domingo, the income is stated by Mackenzie
to have been $3,570,691, and the expenditure $3,461,993. In these sums
must be included some exceptional receipts and expenditure, as the
revenue of the whole island in 1825 was only $2,421,592. The long and
quiet Presidency of Boyer, coupled with his honest administration,
enabled him not only to pay off considerable sums to France, but
to leave a heavy balance in the treasury. Boyer, however, has the
demerit of having introduced the paper currency, and of having put
into circulation $2,500,000 more than he withdrew, thus reducing the
exchange of the doubloon from 16 to 1 (par) to 40 to 1.
After Boyer came the period of revolutions, and consequent deficits
and heavy issues of paper money. In four years they had sent down the
exchange to $60 to one doubloon. But the disastrous period of Haytian
financial history was the reign of Soulouque, when millions of paper
dollars were issued every year, sending down the exchange to $289 to
one doubloon.
In 1849 no less than $4,195,400 were issued to meet the expenses of the
establishment of the empire.
The budget for 1848, the last year of the republic, is nominally a very
modest one (exchange $25 to £1):--
Army $3,232,238 = £129,289
Interior 770,395 = 30,815
Finance and foreign affairs 668,814 = 26,752
Justice, education, public worship 303,393 = 12,135
--------
£198,993
But as 2,200,000 paper dollars were issued during the year, it is
probable that this budget was not adhered to.
The budget for the year in which the empire was established is given as
follows (exchange $40 to £1):--
Army $3,810,216 = £95,255
Interior 735,937 = 18,398
Finance, &c. 2,237,389 = 55,934
Justice, &c. 309,293 = 7,732
--------- --------
$7,092,835 = £177,319
But these budgets are not to be trusted, and do not represent the real
expenses.
When the accounts were examined subsequent to the fall of Soulouque,
it was found that of the coffee monopoly alone £400,000 had been
abstracted for the use of the Emperor and some of his Ministers and
favourites. The comparative large sums of £40,000, £20,000, and £12,000
were taken at a time, without any account being rendered. During
Soulouque’s reign over $28,000,000 were added to the currency.
In June 1863, General Dupuy, Finance Minister to President Geffrard,
published a very clear financial statement. The total debt remaining
due to France was £1,436,000. The custom duties produced:--
In 1860 £511,666
” 1861 463,333
” 1862 566,000
Minor taxes, £26,341.
_Deficits._
In 1859 £30,276
” 1860 35,904
” 1861 81,193
” 1862 81,483
These were calculated on the amount of paper money signed to meet them,
but at the close of 1862 there was £79,834 in hand.
The budget of 1863-64 was fixed as follows:--
Expenses. | Receipts.
Finance £67,776 | Duties £564,050
Foreign Office 171,828 | Minor taxes 24,725
War 138,361 |
Interior 171,692 |
Public instruction 44,825 |
Justice and public} |
worship } 27,714 |
------- | --------
£622,196 | £588,775
The deficit was met by adding ten per cent. to the duties.
During the Presidency of General Geffrard the finances were better
administered than under Soulouque, but millions of dollars disappeared,
without any one being found willing to give an account of what had
become of them. One coloured and two black generals are supposed to
have appropriated the principal portion. On the Chamber of Deputies
venturing to make inquiries on this interesting point, it was summarily
dismissed, and a packed Chamber substituted.
Civil war ended by General Geffrard resigning and quitting the country.
I do not believe, however, that he carried with him more than he
could have fairly saved out of his salary. He, moreover, was the only
President that I knew who kept up the position of chief of the State
with any dignity.
No budgets were procurable during Salnave’s time, and the civil war
that was carried on during three years caused the Government and
insurgents to issue paper money, so that before Salnave’s fall this
paper currency was to be obtained at 3000 paper to one silver dollar.
It was withdrawn by the subsequent Government at 10 to 1 for their own
paper.
The finances under General Nissage-Saget were, for Hayti, at first
decently administered; but when the bad black element from the south
entered into its councils, malversation became the order of the day.
But during this Presidency a great change was made in the currency:
all paper money was withdrawn at an exchange of 300 to 1, and American
silver dollars substituted. This change was much criticised both
before and since, as unsuited to the circumstances of the country.
On the whole, the balance of arguments was in favour of a metallic
currency.
Under President Domingue there were no honest financial measures taken.
Everything was done to suit the pleasure of Septimus Rameau, and a loan
was raised in France, and the largest portion distributed among the
friends of the Minister in a manner which astonished even Haytians. It
was a disgraceful transaction, that the next Chamber endeavoured to
ignore; but as it was supported by the French agents, the Government of
Boisrond-Canal had to yield and acknowledge it.
For the years 1876 and 1877 we have the receipts and expenditure stated
in detail. The income from duties, &c., was £805,900; the expenditure,
£804,737; including £202,876 to the sinking fund. The army and navy
figure for only £167,568, and public instruction was increased to
£82,245. In Soulouque’s budget of 1849, justice, education, and public
worship were credited with only £7732.
_Budget for 1876-77._
Finance and commerce £89,558
Foreign relations 46,714
War and marine 167,568
Interior and agriculture 111,931
Justice 36,095
Public instruction 82,245
Public worship 12,586
District chest (communes) 75,160
Sinking fund 202,876
--------
£824,733
The latest budget I have before me is that of 1881. It is as follows:--
Finance and commerce £67,610
Foreign relations 48,954
War 214,837
Interior 298,913
Justice 54,565
Public instruction 115,037
Public worship 13,875
--------
£813,791
The amount of the income to meet this expenditure is not stated.
The circulating medium in the early days of Haytian independence
consisted of foreign gold and silver coins, and then some fabricated
in the country, of inferior quality and appearance, of both silver and
copper. In 1826, President Boyer beginning to feel the pressure of
his engagements with France, issued paper notes of different values.
Being irredeemable, they soon fell to a heavy discount, 3½ to 1. The
succeeding Governments, as I have noticed, continued the same course,
until, on the accession of Soulouque to power, the exchange was about
4½ to 1. The unchecked emissions after he ascended the imperial throne
gradually lessened the value of the paper, until, in 1858, it was 18 to
1.
Some order having been put into the finances by General Dupuy, the
exchange in 1863 was more favourable, being 12½ to 1; the troubles
which succeeded in 1865 sent it to 17 to 1; and with the revolutionary
Government of Salnave and the civil war that followed it went down
like the assignats during the French Revolution,--in 1857, 30 to 1; in
1859, 3000 to 1.
The issues of Salnave’s Government were so discredited that they were
at one time exchanged at 6500 paper dollars for one of silver. Until
lately the American dollar and its fractions, with a plentiful bronze
currency, sufficed for all wants. Now, however, a special Haytian
dollar is being coined, with the object apparently of preventing its
export--a very futile expedient, as experience proves.
A sort of National Bank, managed principally by Frenchmen, was
established a few years since, but its operations do not as yet appear
to have had much influence on the country. As the bank, however, has
some control over the collection of duties, it may introduce a more
honest perception of these imports; but I do not think the managers
will find that their lines have fallen in pleasant places.
THE END.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
EDINBURGH AND LONDON.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Ever since the reign of Soulouque, professional authors have
been paid by the Haytian Government to spread rose-tinted accounts
of the civilisation and progress of Hayti. But twenty-four hours in
any town of that republic would satisfy the most sceptical that these
semi-official accounts are unworthy of belief.
[2] Mackenzie states that he noticed the thermometer marking 99° every
day for considerable periods.
[3] It is a well-known fact that the noise of the approach of an
earthquake is generally heard; but in Port-au-Prince there is a curious
phenomenon which I have never known explained. A subterranean noise
is frequently heard approaching from the plains, and appears to pass
under the town without any movement of the earth being perceptible. The
Haytians call it “le gouffre,” or “le bruit du gouffre,” and many fancy
the whole of that portion of the island to be undermined, and predict a
fearful fate for the capital.
[4] Our unsuccessful attempt to conquer Hayti does not merit to be
recorded in detail, but it is humiliating to read of the stupidity
of our chiefs at Port-au-Prince, who made our soldiers work at
fortifications during the day and do duty at night. No wonder that
we find a regiment 600 strong losing 400 in two months, and the 82d
landing 950 men, to be reduced in six weeks to 350.
[5] St. Remy, speaking of Toussaint’s capture, says, “Embarquement par
les _blancs_.” How like a mulatto not to say “par les français!”
[6] This biography, as well as the others I have seen, is full of
absurdities; talks of Toussaint advancing with an imposing army, which
turns out to be of 950 men. At the battle of Verretes 1500 blacks drive
3500 English troops from their intrenchments, and then 6000 English are
defeated and cut to pieces by a few squadrons. As far as I can learn,
Brisbane had eighty English soldiers and some untrustworthy black and
coloured allies, mixed with French planters. Even a moderately sensible
Haytian could not accept so absurd a biography.
[7] I am glad to be able to notice that M. Robin (mulatto), in his
“Abrégé de l’Histoire d’Haïti,” remarks in relating Toussaint’s sad
death:--“Ainsi fut récompensé de ses longs et éminents services cet
illustre enfant d’Haïti, qui pouvait bien se dire le premier des
noirs,” &c. &c. Dessalines appears to have encouraged Leclerc to arrest
Toussaint, and then dishonourably betrayed Charles Belair (black),
nephew to Toussaint, and his wife into the hands of the French, who
shot Belair and hung his wife.
[8] One thing I wish distinctly to state, that I never heard of any
mulatto, except Generals Salnave and Therlonge, who was mixed up with
the cannibalism of the Vaudoux, nor of any black educated in Europe.
[9] On the African coast the word is Vodun. Burton mentions that the
serpents worshipped at Whydah were so respected that formerly to kill
one by accident was punished by death. Now a heavy fine is inflicted.
Bosman states that the serpent is the chief god in Dahomey, to whom
great presents are made. They are harmless; white, yellow, and brown
in colour, and the largest was about six feet long, and as thick as a
man’s arm. Fergusson, in his introductory essay on “Tree and Serpent
Worship in India,” mentions that at a place called Sheik Haredi,
in Egypt, serpent-worship still continues, and that the priests
sacrifice to them sheep and lambs. On the west coast of Africa, women,
when touched by the serpent, are said to become possessed; they are
seized with hysteria, and often bereft of reason; they are afterwards
considered priestesses. The whole essay of Fergusson is exceedingly
interesting.
[10] Red, the royal colour at Mdra.--_Bosman._
[11] Burton, in his “Mission to the King of Dahomey,” notices that the
fetish priests are a kind of secret police for the despotic king, and
exercise the same influence as in Hayti. They are supposed to be able
to give health, wealth, length of days, and can compass the destruction
of the applicant’s foes, all for a fee. Bosman, in his account of the
slave coast of Guinea, says that a negro who offered opposition to the
priests was poisoned by them, and became speechless and paralysed in
his limbs; and that if any woman betrays the secrets of the priests,
she is burnt to death.
[12] Barbot states that the common food of the natives of the kingdom
of Ansiko (west coast of Africa) is man’s flesh, insomuch that their
markets are provided with it, as ours in Europe with beef and mutton.
All prisoners of war, unless they can sell them alive to greater
advantage, they fatten for slaughter, and at last sell them to butchers
to supply the markets, and roast them on spits, as we do other meat
(date 1700).--Churchill’s Collection, vol. v. p. 479. Barbot also
notices that the people of Jagos, Congo, and Angola were also cannibals.
[13] Barbot, in his account of the Ansiko kingdom, says: “That which is
most inhuman is, that the father makes no difficulty to eat the son,
nor the son the father, nor one brother the other; and whosoever dies,
be the disease ever so contagious, yet they eat the flesh immediately
as a choice dish.”--Barbot, in Churchill’s Collection, vol. v. p. 479.
[14] I may here notice that the Haytians have chosen the mountain
cabbage-palm (_Palma nobilis_) as the tree of liberty in the national
arms. It is in nature a beautiful palm, with its dark-green foliage and
perfect shape. The cap of liberty stuck on the top of it makes it look
rather ludicrous, and the arms around its base are not very appropriate
to so unmilitary a people.
[15] “Nous ne sommes plus aux temps où quelques rares curés, repartis
dans les principales paroisses de la république faisaient d’énormes
bénéfices par des moyens souvent hélas reprouvés par la conscience et
par les lois de l’église.... Qu’ai-je besoin d’évoquer dans le passé
les lamentables souvenirs de l’église en Haïti. Je suis prêtre, et je
voudrais pour l’honneur du sacerdoce pouvoir laver son opprobre de mes
larmes et de les plonger dans un éternel oubli. Mais il ne dépend ni
de moi ni de personne d’en effacer la triste mémoire.”--Monseigneur A.
Guilloux, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince.
[16] “Ne suffit-il pas d’ailleurs de parcourir les villes et les
bourgades de la république pour rencontrer encore les témoins vivants
d’un libertinage sans exemple.”--Guilloux.
[17] Military trials have always been a disgrace to Hayti. Even under
their model President Boyer (1827) they were as bad as they were under
the Emperor Soulouque or the present President Salomon. Mackenzie, in
his notes on Hayti, states that no defence was allowed, as that would
have been waste of time. Four officers were tried and condemned to
death: their arms were tied, and they were led by a police officer
to the place of execution. They showed great intrepidity, though the
soldiers fired a hundred shots before they killed them. President
Geffrard had certainly more respect for the forms of law.
[18] Mackenzie tells a story of a town-adjutant calling on him in
gorgeous uniform; he next met him cooking the dinner of his host.
[19] Recueil de Proverbes Creoles. Port-au-Prince, 1877.
[20] Vol. ii. p. 24:--“Les légionnaires au nombre de 800 environ furent
enveloppés de toutes parts; ils se trouvaient sans nul espoir; assurés
de leur mort, mais résolus de se bien défendre, ils se retranchaient
sous la mitraille la plus meurtrière, les uns derrière des arbres
renversés, d’autres derrière d’énormes? pierres; percés de coups de
baïonettes, criblés de balles, ils combattaient toujours avec une
intrépidité sans égale: plusieurs ayant le bras coupé se défendaient
avec celui qui leur restait; ceux qui par la perte de leur sang
ne pouvaient plus se tenir debout se trouvaient sur leurs génoux,
combattaient encore avec fureur, se faisaient un rempart des corps
expirés de ceux qui étaient tombés,” &c., &c.
[21] There is a line wanting in this stanza, which the authoress
herself has not been able to remember.
[22] I would refer to Major Stuart’s excellent Report for 1877 for
details on these subjects. I have myself partly founded my observations
on this Report.
Transcriber’s Note
In this file, text in _italics_ is indicated by underscores. Text in
SMALL CAPITALS has been made uppercase.
The following changes were made to the text as printed:
vi “climate; the Senate the House” changed to “climate; the Senate, the
House”.
ix “goodwill of the masses” changed to “good-will of the masses”.
xv “THE ARMY AND POLICE” changed to “ARMY AND POLICE”.
3 “the Artibonite, Arcahaie, Port Margot” changed to “the Artibonite,
Arcahaye, Port Margot”.
17 “hand-to-mouth system” changed to “hand-to-mouth system.”
20 “and yellow-fever too often” changed to “and yellow fever too often”.
21 “as yellow-fever appeared” changed to “as yellow fever appeared”.
22 “Yellow-fever rarely appears” changed to “Yellow fever rarely
appears”.
48 “Biasson then ordered all his white prisoners” changed to “Biassou
then ordered all his white prisoners”.
77 “effort to restrain is authority” changed to “effort to restrain his
authority”.
112 “Nissage-Saget took up arms” changed to “Nissage Saget took up
arms”.
125 “Bosroind-Canal, though not a brilliant ruler” changed to
“Boisrond-Canal, though not a brilliant ruler”.
143 “coromacaque” changed to “cocomacaque”.
169 “exercise which provokes Perspiration” changed to “exercise which
provokes perspiration”.
172 “The mistresses of the firstnamed” changed to “The mistresses of
the first-named”.
194 “The authorities at L’Arcahaie” changed to “The authorities at
L’Arcahaye”.
209 “associaties of the society” changed to “associates of the society”.
212 “cannibals of this society.”” changed to “cannibals of this
society.”
238 “de maintenir l’independance nationale” changed to “de maintenir
l’indépendance nationale”.
243 “Hérard Rivière was proclaimed” changed to “Hérard-Rivière was
proclaimed”.
245 “head-clerks” changed to “head clerks”.
247 A subheading reading “Religion.” was added, to standardise the
formatting of the chapter.
The anchor to the footnote on page 248 was missing from the printed
text; it has been placed by the transcriber in what seemed the most
probable intended location.
250 “arrangements of lesser importance” changed to “arrangements of
lesser importance.”
276 a subheading reading “The Army.” was added, to standardise the
formatting of the chapter.
282 “is purely nominal” changed to “is purely nominal.”
286 “Mr. ---- The lady” changed to “Mr. ----. The lady”.
308 “derrière d’enormes pierres; percès” changed to “derrière d’énormes
pierres; percés”.
308 “Etudes sur l’Histoire d’Haïti” changed to “Études sur l’Histoire
d’Haïti”.
309 “la grace de Lamartine” changed to “la grâce de Lamartine”.
311 “noir couleur me plait” changed to “noir couleur me plaît”.
311 “Regnrgent d’honneurs” changed to “Regorgent d’honneurs”.
311 “Gardez-vous de l’éclair” changed to “‘Gardez-vous de l’éclair”.
315 A subheading reading “Agriculture.” was added, to standardise the
formatting of the chapter.
320 “riding through coffee-plantations” changed to “riding through
coffee plantations”.
321 “amount produce greatly exceeded” changed to “amount produced
greatly exceeded”.
335 “Les Cayes, for instance--” changed to “Les Cayes, for instance:--”.
338 “Justice, education, pub li worship” changed to “Justice,
education, public worship”.
339 “custom duties produced--” changed to “custom duties produced:--”.
Otherwise, as far as possible, original spelling and punctuation were
retained.