Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/206

 186 resumed until the following year; and on the 2d of April, 1831, St. Macary and Pichon signed a commercial treaty and a convention relating to the indemnity. These two documents, instead of annulling the Ordinance of 1825, which the Haitians had firmly decided to abolish, granted new favors to the French. Thus it was that Louis Philippe lost no time in ratifying them, whilst President Boyer flatly refused to sanction them. This refusal so incensed the King of France that his Consul was immediately withdrawn from Port-au-Prince. This time all semblance of friendliness in the relations between the two countries was at an end. War seemed to be unavoidable. And the people, glad at having an opportunity to wipe out the insult placed upon them by the Ordinance of 1825, showed the greatest enthusiasm. The Haitians were ready to make the greatest sacrifices in order to obtain not the concession, but the recognition of their independence by a treaty voluntarily drawn and agreed upon.

This independence had been recognized by Great Britain, which, in May, 1826, had appointed a Consul-General at Port-au-Prince and Consuls and Vice-Consuls in the various ports open to foreign trade. Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark were also in official relations with the young Republic. Negotiations were being carried on with the Holy See with a view to the settlement of religious matters. In January, 1834, John England, Bishop of Charleston, was sent to Port-au-Prince in the capacity of a Legate. The Pope wanted to control the church of Haiti without any interference from the temporal Power; consequently, he made up his mind to appoint a Vicar Apostolic for Haiti. The Haitian Government claimed the right to appoint the Archbishops and Bishops, reserving to the Pope the right of conferring the canonical investiture. Unable to come to an understanding, Bishop England left Haiti, but returned in May, 1836, and signed a Concordat, which he took with him to Rome, hoping to have it