Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/267

 CHAPTER XXII

The Constituent Assembly met at Gonaives on the 24th of September, 1889; and after amending the Constitution, elected on the 9th of October General Hyppolite President of Haiti for seven years. He took the oath of office on the 17th of the same month. As soon as he assumed the power he had to settle a very delicate matter. Considering that they were entitled to some recognition for the sympathy which they had shown for Hyppolite's cause, the United States decided that the time had come to try to get Môle Saint-Nicolas into their possession, with the intention of establishing a naval station. They were, however, greatly mistaken in supposing that the people of Haiti would be willing to give up a particle of their territory; popular feeling is very strong on this subject and all parties would at once unite against the President who would dare to place either the independence of the nation or the integrity of the territory in jeopardy. Unaware of this characteristic of the people, President Harrison, acting under the advice of Mr. Blaine, his Secretary of State, commissioned Rear-Admiral Bancroft Gherardi to negotiate for the acquisition of Môle Saint-Nicolas. With the intention, it would seem, to intimidate the Haitians, a formidable fleet was despatched to Port-au-Prince; 245