Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/243



Upon his being appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Haitian Army, General Michel Domingue, who up to that time had been Commandant of the Southern Department, left Cayes for Port-au-Prince, which city he entered with a strong body of troops. His opponents at once realized the impossibility of holding out against his candidacy. Besides, the Council of the Secretaries of State, intrusted with the Executive Power, had taken such measures as to facilitate his election. Profiting by the dissidence which, by want of a quorum, prevented the legislative body from holding its meetings, they declared the two Houses of Congress divested of their functions; upon which orders were issued for the election of a Constituent Assembly. In this manner the Council of the Secretaries of State annulled the Constitution, from which all their authority proceeded; a situation fraught with danger resulted. However, the elections were speedily held; and on the 11th of June, 1874, General Michel Domingue was elected President of Haiti for a term of 8 years.

Domingue, above all things, was a soldier; he possessed neither the penetration nor the tact of a statesman. Therefore he considered it wiser to leave the care of the public affairs to Septimus Rameau, one of his relatives, whom he had appointed Vice-President of the 223