Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/509

* HAITI. 457 HAITI. ent parts of the island. The rainfall is heaviest in Way and June. Although there are no active volcanoes, earthquakes occur not infreciucntly and are occasionally very disastrous. Haiti has a re- markably rich rtora. Most tropical products are found on the island, and many species are in- digenous, such as rice, cotton, cacao, ginger, arrowroot, tobacco, and different kinds of fruit. Valuable timber is found in abundance on the mountain slopes. The fauna is relatively i)Oi)r. and most of the domestic animals are of foreign origin. The Republic of Haiti, the first of the negro republics, comprises the western part of the island, and with the adjacent islands of Tortuga. Gonave, and Vache covers an area of 10.200 square miles (or, as estimated by others. 11,000 square miles). The country is almost exclusive- ly agricultural, and has a soil exceedingly well adapted for cidtivation. The principal product during the French occupation was cane-sugar, of which over 176.000.000 pounds were exported in 1701. Coffee was also cultivated in those days, but only on a limited scale. At present coffee ranks first in the exports of the country, showintj. however, a considerable decline during the period of 1801-99. In 1801 the exports amounted to 78.000.000 pounds; in 1809, 61,- 600,000 pounds. In 1900 it rose to 72.000,000 pounds. The cultivation of coffee is carried on by primitive methods, and large planta- tions, equipped with improved machinery, are a thing unknown in the Eepublic. Sugar is grown only in quantities sufficient to meet the domestic demand. While the agricultural pos- sibilities of Haiti are large, the backward con- dition of agriculture clearly shows that they are not fully utilized. This is due to lack of capital, high export duties, the roadless condition of the country, frequent revolutions, and the unprogres- sive character of the people. Many kinds of fruit that are cultivated in Jamaica and find a ready market in the United States could easily be grown in Haiti, which has the same advantages in point of distance as .Jamaica. Cotton, grown extensively in colonial times, now receives only scanty attention, and very little is available for export. The same is also true of indigo. Log- wood is exported in considerable quantities, al- though the exploitation of the forests is hindered by the lack of transportation facilities. The commerce of Haiti fluctuates between $1.5.000.000 and .$19,000,000. of which the exports amount to about .$10,000,000 or $12,000,000. The United States takes only a small portion of the exports. which go mostly to France, Germany, and Great Britain. Two-thirds of the coffee, the principal . article of export, goes to France. Very little of the coffee comes to our market, as Brazil coffee is cheaper and gives a larger profit to importers. The United States supplies over 60 per cent, of the imports, consisting ' chiefly of provisions. flour, aiid textiles. Haiti has fifteen ports, most of which are open to foreign commerce. The most important of them are Port-au-Prince, the capital, Aux Caves, .Jaomel. and Gonalves. The roads of Haiti are so poor that travelers from one port to another almost invariably go by sea. The Republic has only one short line of railway. 15 miles long, connecting Cape Haitien with Grande Rivi&re. Projects for several other lines are on foot, and a concession for a line between Port-au-Prince and Salt Lake, ultimately to be extended to Santo Domingo, was granted in 1000. Haiti has a republican form of government, and its present ConstitutioUj adopted in 1889, is an outgrowth of the original instrument of 1805. which has passed through numerous changes and modifications in consequence of the political up- heavals to which the Republic has been subjected. The President is elected for seven years by the .Senate and Chamber of Communes in joint ses- sion. He is assisted by a Cabinet of four mem- bers, nominated by himself. The Cliamlier of Communes consists of 95 members elecl('<l direct- ly by the people for three years, each commune being represented in proportion to it,s population. The Senate has ,39 members, chosen by the Cham- ber of Communes for six years, from two lists, one submitted by the President and one by the Electors. The administrative divisions of the Republic are modeled after those of France. The country is divided into five departments, sub- divided into arrondissements and C(mimunes. The laws of the Republic are based on the Code Xapo- icon, and the forms of legal procedure are the same as in France. Foreigners, and especially white foreigners, are prohibited from owning real estate, and are otherwise discriminated against. The Constitution provides for a system of free elementary schools, but this provision is hardly observed, the number of schools in the rural districts taeing far from adequate. There are altogether about 400 free elementary schools and 5 public lyc(?es. The revenue of the country is derived almost exclusively from import and export duties, a part of the latter being a guar- antv for several debts. The import and export duties for 1000 amounted to $4.20,3.000 and $3,- 332.300 respectively, showing an increase of over .$2,000,000 against' the preceding year. The ex- jienditures for the same year amounted to $6,- 580.480. The public debt was consolidated in 1900, and amounted to $27,000,000 gold. Haiti adopted the gold standard in 1900. The military strength of the Republic is about 7000 men, chiefly infantry. The navy consists of six ves- sels, which may be rated as third-class cruisers. No accurate figures for the population of the Republic are available, as no census has ever been taken in the country. An ecclesiastical enumera- tion of 1894 placed it at over 1,200,000, while more recent estimates give it as 1.700.000. Ac- cording to general estimates, about 90 per cent, of the total population is black, and the remain- ing 10 per cent, consists chiefly of mulattoes. in- cluding a few Europeans. The mulattoes form the aristocracy of the Republic, and occupy a prominent position in State affairs as well as in the professions. The negroes are, as a rule, inferior in intelligence to the mulattoes, and the relations between them are those of mutual contempt and hatred, a fact which has played a prominent part in the political affairs of the Republic, and hindered considerably its develop- ment. The State religion is Roman Catholic, al- though religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution, and the Protestant churches also leceive considerable support from the State. In its social and intellectual life Haiti is full of in- congruities. The higher classes, who mostly receive their education in France and in many cases travel extensively, do not in any essential respect differ from Europeans of the same class. The peasantry, nn the contrary, seem to show a retrograding tendency, in spite of a century of practical self-government and freedom. A