HAYTI. 



425 



the rebels. On May 20th President Geffrard 

 issued a proclamation granting complete am- 

 nesty to the inhabitants of tbe northern and 

 northwestern provinces, including all officers 

 and men belonging to the military or naval 

 forces who might surrender to the legitimate 

 authorities, the members of the provisional gov- 

 ernment being alone excluded from the benefits 

 of the amnesty. The sections continuing in 

 rebellion against the government were by the 

 same proclamation declared in a state of siege, 

 subject to martial-law, and to be considered as 

 public enemies. In another proclamation, dated 

 May 27th, the President appealed earnestly to 

 the people and the military to use every effort 

 to speedily crush the rebellion. 



Soon two columns of rebels abandoned their 

 leaders and went to the ranks of Gen. Pa- 

 pailler, commanding the government forces ; 

 their renewed allegiance being signified by en- 

 thusiastic cheers for President Geffrard. Gen. 

 Marriset, commanding a force of loyal troops, 

 in advancing to attack the town of Plaisance, 

 held by the rebels, was met by a white flag and 

 cheers for Geffrard ; and interpreting these 

 symptoms as the preliminaries to the submission 

 of the insurgents, he proceeded with a few men 

 in advance of his corps to receive the seeming 

 flag of truce, when the rebel party fired upon 

 him, killing him instantly. Infuriated by this 

 act of treachery, the national forces charged 

 upon the rebels, and speedily routed them with 

 great slaughter. 



At the beginning of June the rebels, every- 

 where defeated, were shut up in the town of 

 Cape Haytien. All the members of the pro- 

 visional government soon disappeared, except 

 Gen. Salnave, who kept the city at the head of 

 about six hundred men until November. He 

 captured one of the best blockading steamers, 

 which occurrence greatly increased his power 

 of resistance. 



On October 23d the insurgents had a naval 

 engagement with the British gunboat Bulldog. 

 Some Haytiens had taken refuge in the British 

 consulate at Oape Haytien; and the chidf of the 

 insurgents demanded that they should be given 

 up to him. A refusal was returned by the 

 consul, but they were taken by force from the 

 consulate, and immediately shot. The Bulldog 

 lying in the port, her commander, Capt. Wake, 

 made remonstrances, which were treated with 

 insolent neglect. He then opened fire on one 

 of the forts, but his ship ran aground during 

 the engagement ; and he was compelled to blow 

 her up, and to escape with his crew in his boats 

 to a steamer belonging to President Geffrard's 

 government. 



This accident hastened the end of the rebel- 

 lion. On the 7th of November the British 

 steamers Lily and Galatia arrived from Jamaica, 

 bringing the English Consul General, St. John, 

 from Port au Prince. The rebel leaders, foar- 

 ing the probable object of their visit, at once 

 sent commissioners on board to learn what con- 

 ditions were to be proposed to them. These 



were none other than the immediate delivery 

 of Gen. Salnave and Mr. Delorme, their head 

 and front. Knowing full well the fate re- 

 served for them, it could hardly be supposed 

 these leaders would voluntarily give themselves 

 up. So they declined the honor, but at the 

 same time replied that as they were unable to 

 offer any resistance, they would quietly give up 

 the city. All efforts at conciliation having 

 failed, fire was opened on the morning of the 

 9th from both steamers on the water batteries 

 and all the forts held by the rebels, which were 

 soon demolished. After some three hours' bom- 

 bardment of Fort Madeleine, it was assaulted 

 by Geffrard's troops, and taken without blood- 

 shed, the garrison having evacuated it the night 

 previous, after spiking the guns. All the other 

 forts had been abandoned at the same time, and 

 the guns spiked. Gen. Salnave, having made 

 up his mind at once of the hopelessness of his 

 position, as soon as he learned that the British 

 guns were to be turned upon him, wished to 

 give his devoted adherents a chance to seek 

 their safety in flight and to do the same him- 

 self. Together with most of the leaders, he 

 took refuge on board of the American steamer 

 De Soto, which conveyed them to the neigh- 

 boring Dominican port of Monte Christi. 



During the bombardment, and before Gef- 

 frard's troops entered the city, some desperate 

 characters set fire to the principal quarters, and 

 all the most valuable retail shops and dwellings 

 around the market and in the Rue Espagnole 

 were soon reduced to ashes. They also tried 

 to destroy the foreign warehouses on the sea- 

 side, but without success, as these were saved 

 from fire, though not from pillage, having been 

 mostly broken open and plundered of every 

 thing they contained, particularly the houses 

 of such persons whose occupants were known 

 to be hostile to the rebellion. These were com- 

 pletely gutted, furniture of every description 

 being thrown into the streets and broken up 

 by the mob. 



In opening the Chambers, President Geffrard 

 delivered an interesting speech, in which, after 

 recapitulating various projected reforms, he 

 mentioned the following facts with regard to 

 education : " Public instruction has received 

 fresh developments. A small theological col- 

 lege, where superior education is imparted, has 

 been founded at Port au Prince. At the same 

 time two establishments have been created 

 which promise happy results : one is a school 

 directed by the Brothers of Christian Instruc- 

 tion ; and the other a school conducted by the 

 Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph do Cluny. 

 These two institutions have about 300 scholars. 

 Our other scholastic establishments have been 

 augmented to the number of eighteen new 

 schools, and the number of scholars from 14,600 

 has been increased to 15,697. In Europe we 

 have eighteen students in the colleges at Paris 

 and Versailles, and twenty placed in a grand 

 theological college. The Haytien people, the 

 guide of the African race in the paths of civili- 



