Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/116

104, on January 8, 1800, he issued a decree prohibiting, under severe penalty, all kinds of nocturnal dances and meetings, especially the dance designated as "vaudoux." The preambles of this decree show that Toussaint considered "vaudoux" rather as a political sect " Fully convinced," says he, "that the leaders of these dances have but one aim: the disturbance of the peace, … wishing to put a stop to the innumerable evils resulting from the practice of a doctrine which creates disorder and idleness—I order the following: All nocturnal dances and meetings are henceforth prohibited. …

The arrival in the colony of Major-Generals Mitchel, Raymond, and Vincent, sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then first Consul, did not put an end to the encroachments of Toussaint Louverture. In the Southern province he established four military arrondissements: Cayes, Tiburon, Jérémie, and L'Anse-à-Veau. He appointed Dessalines major-general and invested him with the command of the Western and Southern provinces; Moise was given the command of the North. By decrees he conferred correctional jurisdiction on the civil tribunals; he organized courts martial. On October 12, 1800, he adopted a regulation concerning agriculture—the cultivators were subjected to a severe discipline; they were not allowed to leave the plantations to which they belonged, even should they be able to secure better wages elsewhere. He instituted a guard of honor in which former noblemen of the colony were enlisted.