A VISIT TO THE EMPEROR OF HAITI. 



195 



ate, who gave it their sanction. Not a voice was raised in 

 defence of the expiring republic. On the 26th, the two 

 great powers of the State conveyed his promotion to Sou- 

 louque, accompanied with a crown and a cross, and ex- 

 pressed their devotion in the most monarchical terms. 

 The coup d'etat, if such it be, was accompanied with the 

 legal forms, and met with no opposition anywhere. The 

 constitution was immediately put into harmony with the 

 new order of things. Such as it is at present, it guaran- 

 tees the essential rights of citizens, and leaves, in appear- 

 ance, little latitude of arbitrary proceedings. Unfortunately, 

 here, as elsewhere, practice continually contradicts theory. 

 Entering completely into his imperial role, Fans tin I. did 

 not delay creating orders and titles of nobility. He is 

 greatly honored for his conception, so favorably received 

 by the Haitians, who, amongst other resemblances to their 

 former rulers, have always been as vain as cocks. There 

 are at present two orders in the empire — the military order 

 of St. Faustin, and the civil order of the Legion of Honor. 

 The Emperor proclaimed himself the grand master, and 

 has made grand crosses, and commanders and knights. 

 The titles are those of princes, dukes, counts, barons and 

 knights. The princes and the dukes have been chosen 

 amongst the generals of division and the vice admirals ; 

 the counts amongst the generals of brigade and the rear- 

 admirals; the barons amongst the adjutant generals, the 

 colonels and captains in the navy ; the knights amongst 

 the lieutenant colonels and commanders of the navy. An 

 assimilation of grades has been in some measure estab- 

 lished between the civil and the military functionaries. 



