Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/327

 Rh real estate, but the foreigner, whatever his color be. Article 6 of the Constitution reads as follows: "None other than a Haitian may own land in Haiti or acquire real estate." This measure is not the outcome of race hatred or prejudice; it is of a merely precautionary nature. Other nations, older and considerably more powerful than Haiti, have seen the advisability of reserving to their own citizens the right of holding real estate. In many States of the United States of America, even in Washington, the very capital of the great Republic whose influence is paramount in the New World, foreigners are not allowed to own real estate. Nobody thinks of blaming the United States for this exclusion. Why then impute a wrong motive to Haiti for adopting the same measure of self-protection? This prohibition, however, does not place foreigners at a disadvantage: by means of mortgages and through emphyteusis they succeed in enjoying almost all the privileges of a land-owner. And in order to gain their cooperation in exploiting the resources of the country, a law enacted in February, 1883, confers citizenship, i. e., the right of acquiring real estate, on all manufactories or corporations organized with a view of improving the grade of coffee, cocoa, tobacco, etc.