PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



657 



opinion beyond the territory it may temporarily 

 occupy. 



The commission obtained in all parts of the coun- 

 try substantially the same information, viz. : That 

 General Cabral once had the elements of personal 

 popularity, und that in times past he earned the re- 

 spect of many by public services, but that in an ad- 

 ministrative capacity he has proved incompetent, 

 and has lost the confidence of the country. Many 

 even, who still entertain more kindly personal feel- 

 ings toward him than toward Baez, confess that he 

 falls far short of the latter in administrative abilities : 

 that General Cabral does not claim to be the legal 

 head of the republic. That he does not claim to rep- 

 resent the principle of constitutional or legal authority 

 and order is shown by the fact that, in his proclamation 

 and in a communication to the commission, he styles 

 himself "Chief of the Revolution," and the journal 

 pretending to emanate from him at San Juan, but 

 well understood to be printed at the Haytian capital, 

 is styled the Bulletin, of the Revolution. As to Lu- 

 peron, the testimony, both in the Cibao and on the 

 coast, is that he is simply a bandit, stained with 

 crime. He has not, so far as could be learned, dis- 

 tinguished himself in any regular manner, his main 

 exploits being in sundry robberies and piratical 

 operations on the coast the latter by means of a 

 steamer furnished hjm by insurrection brokers on a 

 neighboring island. The disturbance of which Ca- 

 bral is head has its seat in the western part of the 

 republic, on the Haytian frontier. It is claimed that 

 the districts of San Juan and Neyba, in which his 

 operations are conducted, embrace a large population 

 devoted to him ; but the testimony of several refu- 

 gees and heads of families from that district, as well 

 as considerable corroborative evidence, shows that 

 the region named, between the incursionists of the 

 Haytians and the prevalence of insurrection, is near- 

 ly depopulated, and that the force immediately at 

 Cabral's command does not exceed a few hundred 

 men, who, in case of emergency, force into their ser- 

 vice all the male population upon whom they can lay 

 their hands. It has also been claimed that he has 

 controlled the Dominican port of Barohona and re- 

 ceived supplies through it, but this certainly is no 

 longer the case. On the other hand, it is charged by 

 the present Dominican government that he has re- 

 ceived supplies through Hayti, and that Havtian sol- 

 diers and arms have been at his disposal. The com- 

 missioners obtained evidence of this fact from many 

 sources. They also examined Haytian prisoners, 

 speaking only the language of the, Haytians, ana 

 having in their hands muskets bearing the Haytian 

 stamp. 



To the northeast of the country overrun by Cabral, 

 in the neighborhood of the bay of Manzanilla, is the 

 band under the control of Luperon ; but the opinion 

 of trustworthy persons, as taken in that section by 

 the Commission, is that his force is small and of a 

 guerrilla character. He seems to have the strength 

 of a desperado, and nothing more. The commis- 

 sioners believe that, had these leaders wielded only 

 their own forces and resources, they would long ago 

 have been put down. Their whole importance is 

 derived from the help of foreign intriguers, and from 

 the fact that behind them stands the Haytian nation, 

 which has nearly three times the population and rev- 

 enue of the Dominican Republic, which has never re- 

 lented in its aggressive policy, and at whose^head is 

 a President elevated by a bloody insurrection, in- 

 volving the murder of his predecessor. 



Besides the revolts which have been named owing 

 to the Haytian aggressions, some minor causes have, 

 in the weakened condition of the republic, tended to 

 aggravate its difficulties. First of these may be men- 

 tioned the provincial jealousy existing between the 

 people of the great district north of the central chain of 

 mountains and those inhabiting the southern side. 

 The former district embraces the two most thriving 

 cities of the republic, Puerto Plata and Santiago, be- 

 VOL. xi. i2 A 



sides some villages of importance. On the other 

 hand, to the south side belongs the city of St. Do- 

 mingo, with its prestige as the capital city, decayed, 

 but still powerful from its vital connection with the 

 history of the island from Columbus to Baez. In a 

 weakened state of the republic the jealousy between 

 these districts has caused revolutionary leaders to 

 arise; but with a government strong and free, giv- 

 ing better internal communications and developing 

 industry, this provincial jealousy would probably be 

 changed into a healthy political reality. Next, a 

 more serious cause of disturbance to the steady ex- 

 ercise of political rights lies in the existence of a 

 considerable number of petty military chiefs, about 

 whom has grown up a peculiar system of clanship or 

 semi-military attachment. This prevails especially 

 in the central and mountain districts, and is the 

 natural result of long-continued struggles between 

 ambitious men for supremacy in the republic. In 

 the anarchy thus caused, each neighborhood has 

 shown a tendency to group itself about its most dar- 

 ing or capable men. These have received military 

 titles from the heads of various governments or rev- 

 olutions, the rank of each depending mainly on the 

 number of retainers he could bring to the leader 

 whose cause he had espoused. The attachment thus 

 begun in war continues in peace, and as political in- 

 stitutions are weak often becomes stronger than law 

 or political habits ; hence arises a class whose im- 

 portance depends on commotion. Unoccupied and, 

 therefore, uneasy, they are prompt to increase any 

 troubles that may arise. The people of the country 

 clearly understand that these disturbers of their 

 peace are public enemies. ^ Among the reasons con- 

 stantly assigned for desiring annexation to the 

 United States was the necessity of extinguishing the 

 lawlessness and shiftlessness arising from this sys- 

 tem. Firm and judicious measures in administra- 

 tion, immigration, increased activity in agriculture 

 and trade, would, doubtless, rapidly destroy the 

 greater part of this evil. Union with a strong gov- 

 ernment would of itself discourage and put an end to 

 most of these disturbances, and as political habita 

 increase it is probable that these semi-military com- 

 binations of chiefs and retainers may be transmuted 

 into political combinations, under constitutional and 

 legal restrictions. To these causes of disturbance 

 may be added a third, very effective at present, but 

 which would be at once annihilated should the Do- 

 minican Republic be effectually protected by con- 

 nection with a strong nation. 



Within short distances of St. Domingo are various 

 other islands where insurrectionists and destructives 

 freely hatch their plots. To such an extent has this 

 been carried that certain capitalists there invest in 

 prominent revolutionists as a matter of business. 

 Revolution becomes thus a branch of trade, in 

 which capitalists embark with certainty of great 

 risks, but with possibility of great gains. To 

 further these operations, proclamations and docu- 

 ments are forged. These emanate nominally from 

 the leaders of the insurrectionary force of the day, 

 but they generally present the clearest internal evi- 

 dence that their pretended authors never saw them. 

 From these parties and their agents come rumors 

 and even circumstantial accounts of insurrections 

 where none exist. The commissioners encountered 

 several instances of this. This insurrection broker- 

 age would doubtless cease as soon as it is the policy 

 of any strong nation to prevent it. 



In all the struggles of various administrations 

 against revolutionists and destructives, the local and 

 municipal liberties of the provinces, districts, and 

 towns have suffered greatly. The exigencies of the 

 central civil and military authority seem to have 

 prevented the growth on any large scale of that sys- 

 tem of local self-government which forms the 

 groundwork of freedom in the United States. Still, 

 the forms of local liberty are by no means wholly 

 destroyed. " Ayuntamieutos," or town councils, are 



