﻿HISPANIOLA. 



HOANG-HAI. 



210 



winds. Hurricanes are as frequent on the southern coast as in 

 Jamaica, but they occur rarely on the northern shores. Along the 

 low lands and plains the yellow fever is very prevalent. 



Fifty years ago Hispaniola was noted for its extensive plantations 

 of FUgar, coffee, cotton, indigo, and cacao, but they have now almost 

 entirely disappeared, except those of coffee, which are much reduced. 

 The present population having few wants, which the extreme fertility 

 of the soil enables them with little labour or forethought to supply, 

 and valuing their ease more than anything else, employ but a few 

 hours daily, or even weekly, in productive labour. In Haiti a 'code 

 rural,' promulgated by Boyer in 1826, provides for an enforced cul- 

 ture of the soil, but it does not apply to the proprietors of small 

 portions of land, who are extremely numerous. Where pursued at 

 all agriculture is carried on in a wretched manner. Coffee is the 

 <ftief article of cultivation ; the other articles of most importance 

 raised are maize, millet, cassava, plantains, sweet potatoes, &c. Cotton 

 is grown only to a small extent. Besides cocoa-nuts, mangoes, yams, 

 and pine-apples, their gardens produce the fruits of the south of 

 Europe, as figs, oraugcs, pomegranates, and almonds. The principal 

 commercial wealth of the island is derived from the forests which 

 cover the greater part of the mountains. The timber consists chiefly 

 of mahogany-trees, which grow to a large size, and are still very 

 numerous, espinellos, cedars, capa, lignumvitse, fustic, palmettos, 

 especially in eastern Hispaniola, and various other trees used for 

 cabinet-work, ship-building, &c., with logwood and different kinds of 

 dye-woods, which are exported to the United States, England and 

 other parts of Europe. The total exports of the island do not however 

 at the present time reach one-fifth of the exports of French Hispaniola 

 alone under the French occupancy in 1790. The imports from Great 

 Britain in 1852 amounted to 251,4002. Numerous herds of cattle 

 pasture on the plaina of San Domingo, and then' hides and jerked 

 beef likewise make an article of export. The horses arc small, but 

 the asses and mules are large and stroug. Game abounds in the 

 forests. Fish are plentiful along the coast and in the rivers. 



The aborigines are now extinct, though it is stated th.it in 1717 

 there still existed about 100 individuals. But a considerable part of 

 the present population consists of their descendants, mixed with the 

 blood of Europeans and negroes. The relative numbers of the races 

 have been alr«uly given. As far aa con be judged the population is 

 nearly stationary. 



As already mentioned, the island has been, since Fcbniary 1844, 

 divided between the governments of Haiti and San Domitigo. 



The Empire of Haiti occupies the western, or what was formerly 

 the French, part of Hispaniola. The area of Haiti is about 12,000 

 sqnare miles ; the population is about 740,000. The dominant race 

 are negroes. The emperor, and most of the ministers and officers of 

 state are negroes. All natives of Africa, Indians, and their descend- 

 ants, termed alike by the constitution ' blacks,' may, after a year's 

 residence, become citizens of Haiti ; byt whites are not admitted to 

 citizenship, nor can they become proprietors of land. The emperor 

 is to all purposes absolute : he maintains a court, with all its oflicers 

 and paraphernalia, which purposes to be modelled on that of France. 

 The revenue is obtained chiefly from customs and port dues, terri- 

 torial imposts, sale of lands, &c. In 18S0 the customs receipts 

 amounted to 170,000/. ; the expenditure in the same year amoimted 

 to 216,8662. The established religion is the Roman CathoUc ; but 

 other forms of worship are not prohibited. At the head of the 

 church ia the Bishop of ArcadopoUs. Very little attention is given 

 to education. A standing army is maintained. 



The foreign commerce of Haiti is wholly in the hands of foreign 

 merchants, who are however only permitted to reside in certain ports, 

 and whose business ia hampered by many irksome and mischievous 

 restrictions. The coasting trade is carried on by Haitian citizens. 

 The foreign commerce does not now exceed the annual value of 

 1,0(10,0002. The exports are chiefly mahogany and other timber, 

 dye-woods, coffee, tobacco, and cotton. The imports arc British 

 cotton and woollen goods, cordage, hardware, cutlery, fire-arms, 

 carthenwate, glass, gunpowder, &c. From France are imported 

 brandy, wines aud liqueurs, silks and fancy goods ; from the United 

 States, provisions, lumber, and hides ; from Germany and Holland, 

 wines, and various of the commoner kinds of woollens and linens and 

 other manufactured goods. 



Cap •Haitian, formerly Cap Fran9ais, has been made by Faustin I. 

 the capital and seat of government of the Haitian empire. It is 

 situated on the northern coast, about 19° 45' N. lat., 72° 8' W. long., 

 and contains about 13,000 inhabitants. The town ia conveniently 

 situated for commercial purposes, and carries on some trade with 

 England and the United States. There are no public buildings of 

 any consequence, and the private houses are mostly mean. 



Port au Prince, population about 80,000, the former capital, is 

 situated in about 18° 30' N. lat., 72° 10' \V. long., between the large 

 plain of Cul de Sac and a more narrow one extending along the 

 southern shores of the Bay of Gonaive. Both these plains are vei-y 

 fertile, but badly cultivated. The streets of the town are straight, 

 and sufficiently wide and commodious ; but the houses are low and 

 mean, with the excejition of a few built by the French, which 

 outlived the revolution and the fires. Port au Prince has a consider- 

 able commerce with the United States and with Jamaica. On the 



UIOO. OIT. VOL. lu. 



same Bay of Gonaive are Leogane and Gonaive, two small but thriving 

 places. Cayes, on the southern coast, 18° 11' N. lat., 73° 50' W. long., 

 is one of the busiest towns in Haiti, having a considerable smuggling 

 trade with Cuba, Jamaica, and other places. Vessels of large size 

 can lie securely in its harbour; aud the agents of several British 

 houses have establishments in the town, 



Tho Republic of San Domingo occupies the eastern or Spanish 

 portion of Hispaniola. Its area is about 17,000 square miles ; the 

 population is about 200,000, a large portion of whom are mulattoes. 

 At the head of the republic is a president elected periodically ; but 

 the institutions of the country are in a very unsettled condition. 

 The republic is now recognised as au independent state by Great 

 Britain, France, and other European powers, but not by the neigh- 

 bouring empire of Haiti. Of the revenue and expenditure of tho 

 republic we have no recent and reliable particulars. The established 

 church is the Roman Catholic ; at its head ia the Archbishop of Santo 

 Domingo. Other forms of worship are permitted. 



The commerce is chiefly centred in San Domingo city, but a 

 good deal is carried on in the little town of Samand, on the peninsula 

 of the same name. The exports are for the most part the same as 

 those of Haiti — mahogany and other cabinet woods ; dye-woods ; 

 coffee, which grows well and of fine quality, though its culture ia 

 greatly neglected ; cotton, &c. ; with vegetables, cattle, and poultry 

 to the neighbouring islands. The imports are cotton and woollen 

 goods, hardware, cutlery, and the other ordinary useful and fancy 

 manufactured wares, with brandy and wines. But both exports and 

 imports are very small compared with what they might be if tho 

 remarkable capabilities of the soil and the important geographical 

 position of the country were made fairly available. 



The capital of the republic is the city of San Domingo, which is 

 situated at the mouth of the Ozama, on the southern coast, in 18° 28' 

 N. lat., 69° 69' W. long., and is the oldest Europeau establishment in 

 America, having been built by Columbus in 1504 ; tho town of 

 Isabella, which was erected on the northern coast in 1493, was 

 abandoned. The population of San Domingo ia about 13,000. The 

 city is defended by ramparts, bastions, and outworks. The streets 

 are regularly laid out, wide, but ill paved, and lined with houses in 

 the old Spanish style. The city contains a cathedral above three 

 centuries old, several churches, convents, and hospitals, the palaces of 

 the president and archbishop, extensive bariacks, arsenals, &c., but 

 has a listless and decayed appearance. Tho hai-bour of San 

 Domingo is capacious, but owing to a bar at its mouth vessels of 

 much burden are obliged to anchor in the open roadstead. Tho 

 trade of San Domingo is now very limited. 



HISTONIUM. [Abruzzo.] 



HITCHIN, Hertfordshire, a market-towu and the scat of a Poor- 

 Law Union, in the p.irish of Hitchiu, is situated near the small river 

 Hiz, in 51° 57' N. lat., 0° 17' W. long. ; distant 17 miles N.W. from 

 Hertford, 34 miles N. by W. from London by road, and 31 4 miles by 

 the Great Northern railway. The population of the town in 1851 

 was 5258. For sanitary purposes the town is imder tlie m.anagement 

 of a Local Board of Health. The living is a vicarage in the arch- 

 deaconry of St. Albans and diocese of Rochester. Hitohin Poor-Law 

 Union contains 28 parishes, with an area of 61,170 acres, and a 

 population in 1861 of 24,732. 



The town consists of several streets, which are lighted with gas. 

 Much straw plat is made ; there are some breweries, and also a silk- 

 mill ; malting is extensively carried on. The town-hall is a now 

 building. The parish church is a handsome edifice, supposed to have 

 been built about four centuries ago. The south porch is a remarkably 

 fine specimen of the perpendicular style. There are places of worship 

 in the town for Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, aud Quakers. 

 The Free Grammar school, founded in 1640, has an income from 

 endowment of 1282. a year, aud had 32 scholars in 1851. A Girls 

 school provides clothing anil education for 36 girls. Hitchin possesses 

 an infirmary, a mechanics institute, and a savings bank. A county 

 court is held in the town. The market is on Tuesday, aud there are 

 fairs at Easter and Whitsuntide. 



HOANG-HAI (' The Yellow Sea') is a large mediterraneau sea, 

 which nms into the eastern coast of Asia, being inclosed on the west 

 and north by China proper, and on the oast by the peninsula of Corea; 

 on tho south it is open and united to the Pacific Ocean. It lies nearly 

 within the same parallels as the MediteiTanean, which divides Europe 

 from Africa, namely, 34° and 41° N. lat., and extends from 117" 40' 

 to 127° E. long. 



The northern portion extends in length from west to east somewhat 

 more than 400 miles from the shores of the Gulf of Petchili, near the 

 mouth of the river Pei-ho, to the coast of Corea, at the back of Hall's 

 Group ; and it comprehends two basins, being divided nearly in the 

 middle by a peninsula, which projects towards the south-east, and 

 forms a part of the province of Liao-toug. The strait, which lies 

 between the most southern point of this peninsula and the northern 

 shores of the province of Chan-tuug, is about 60 miles wide, and it 

 contains numerous small rocky islands. Between these islands are 

 passages which lead to the most western basin, which consists of two 

 gulfs, that of Petchili and that of Liao-tong. 



The Gulf of Petchili washes the northern shore of Chan-tung and 

 the eastern shore of the province of Petchili. These shores are low. 



