THE REPUBLIC OF HAITI 267 



near the center of the republic, is that of the West, in 

 which Port-au-Prince is situated. The Department of the 



North, of which (ape Haiticn is the capital, is the most 

 troublesome, on account of the revolutionary ideas of its 

 inhabitants. The people are always restless and dislike 

 the inhabitants of the rest of the republic. The Depart- 

 ment of the South, which includes the western half of the 

 Tiburon peninsula, is the most backward of all, has been 

 generally neglected, and is inhabited by wild people. Anx 

 Cayes is the capital of this province. 



Haiti has an army of 6828 men, chiefly infantry. There 

 is a special ( hiard of the Government, numbering 650 men, 

 commanded by ten generals, who also act as aides-de-camp 

 to th< 1 1 (resident. The republic also possesses a flotilla of six 

 small vessels officered by Americans and Europeans, which 

 may be ranked as third-class cruisers. 



From 1804 to the present the moral welfare of Haiti has 

 been largely neglected by other nations and people, who 

 have extended to it neither sympathy, recognition, nor aid. 

 It was not until 186*2 that the Senate of the United States, 

 on the recommendation of President Lincoln, voted to recog- 

 nize its political independence ; and the concordat with the 

 Pope in 1869, whereby the Catholic Church undertook mis- 

 sion work on the island, is the only spiritual assistance of 

 any kind it has received. It is true that occasional mis- 

 sionaries have attempted work upon the island. Various 

 denominations have labored in the same field without 

 clashing or without friction with one another, and the 

 government has continually endeavored to increase their 

 membership. 



The Roman Catholic Church, although the established 

 religion, has never been popular. Among the Lower class 



the innuen f voodooism and the fanatical opposition of 



the Catholic priesthood to Freemasonry, which is a strong 

 influence, have combined to prevenl the church from gain- 

 ing either the confident r affection of the nation. Even 



over women the priests exercise less influence than in 



