their own choice as to their religion, and are all sects held responsible only to their God for the peculiarity of their views?

With assurances of the highest respect, I am, &c.,

Hon. THOMAS BOBADILLA,

JOHN HOGAN.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominican Republic.

No. 10.

GOD, OUR COUNTRY, AND LIBERTY.

Dominican Republic Ministry of justice, public instruction, and foreign relations, department of State, section of the exterior.

SAN DOMINGO, June 19, 184, and 2d of the country.

HONORABLE SIR: In compliance with your note of the 12th instant, it is gratifying to me to be able to send you a map of this island, on which are marked the boundaries which divide the territory of the ancient French part and those of the Spanish part, which forms the territory of the Dominican Republic, with its political division into provinces, cities, and towns, the latter designated, and the area in square iniles of each part.

It is an admitted fact in history that Christopher Columbus took possession of this island, in the name of the sovereigns of Spain, on the 6th December, 1492, and from that time they exercised sovereignty over it, until the year 1795, when by the treaty of Bâsle they ceded it to France.

At that period the revolution among the blacks and mulattoes of the French part had already taken place, and in the year 1801 the generalin-chief, Toussaint Louverture, in the name of the French government, came to take possession of the eastern part, and the Spanish captain general, Don Joaquin Garcia, delivered it to him in obedience to the orders he had received from the court of Spain.

The troops which the Spanish government had here, those persons in its employment, and a great number of the people, retired into Spanish territory.

General Toussaint remained in possession of the ancient Spanish part until the year 1802, when General Le Clerc arrived, with a French army of more than 20,000 men, to take possession of the whole island, which he accomplished, making himself master of all the cities and fortified places without difficulty. The blacks and mulattoes rose against the whites in the western part, and a war of extermination subsisted between them, in which the French soldiery fell a prey to the influence of the climate; the yellow fever and other diseases committed such havoc upon this fine army that in 1805 there were scarcely 1,500 French left in the city of San Domingo, under the command of General Ferrand. The Spanish part had made an opening into the part formerly French, occupied by the Haytians, and in the same year, 1805, General Dessalines, with an army of 22,000 men, invaded it, burned all the towns, devastated, pillaged, and committed every species of disorder, and met with no obstacle until he arrived before the walls of the city of San Domingo, which he besieged for 21 days, at the end of which time he retired with his army to the western part, where he had himself proclaimed emperor of Hayti.

The French remained in the ancient Spanish part until the year 1808, when the Spanish government declared war against the French, and the natives of that part of the island, with Don Juan Sanchez Ramirez at their head, threw off the yoke of the French, and recovered their rights as Spaniards, regaining possession of the island, which submitted once more to the Spanish crown, and by the treaty of Paris, of 1814, Spain reassumed her right to and possession of the island.

The Spanish government continued in possession of it until December, 1821, when the civil governor, Dr. Don José Nueñas de Castres, proclaimed independence, and planted the Colombian standard. But it seems the public mind was not yet prepared for such a political change; the diversity of opinion, the fear of a disastrous, civil war, induced the natives to bear the yoke of the Haytians, who took advantage of the occasion, and President Boyer, with an army of 10,000 men, marched upon the Spanish part, protesting that he came as a father, friend, and pacificator-protestations which he did not verify; for his government, which commenced in this city on the 11th February, 1822, was tyrannical, arbitrary, and altogether despotic, respecting neither the rights, nor property, nor religion of individuals, their usages and customs, nor anything which civilized nations regard and respect as sacred and inviolable.

The Haytians are characteristically vain, proud, little inclined to labor, fond of idleness, dissolute, immoral, without manners, without religion, disposed to thieving, to lying, to inebriety, and to all the vices. which constitute the degradation of a people, and scarcely a single civil or political virtue can be found among them. Practiced in assassinating, pillaging, and devastating, this is their predominant ambition, and they have never been able to establish a solid government, having lost sight of the elements which constitute a State under those laws of reason and justice which are recognized by the law of nations. Hence it is that instead of progressing they have been constantly retrograding. They are inimical to foreigners; do not permit them to marry in the country, to acquire real estate, nor do they grant them any civil privileges, but on the contrary, they look upon them with general contempt; and the white man carrries with him wherever he goes, in his color, a mark of reprobation among the Haytians.

The character of the Dominican Spaniards, of which you request some notice, is mild, docile, religious to a considerable degree, hospitable, of good manners, with all the qualities requisite to form an excellent nation. The natives love liberty, are animated with the desire of prosperity, are brave and punctiliously honorable.

In the notes given to you by the minister of the interior, in its appropriate place, you will find the receipts and expenditures of the gov ernment, the present commerce, and the productions of the country; and the fertility of the soil is well known, the kindly influence of the climate, the plains which comprise so vast an extent of territory, with an infinity of rivers navigable into the interior of the island; as, for instance, in the south, the rivers Neyba, Osama, Macous, Loui, Camayaso, Romana, Guiaboa and Yunea; in the north, the Yaque, and several others navigable for small vessels. We have the most beautiful ports, bays and inlets, capable of containing an immense number of vessels, such as Baraona, Puerto Viego, Oeed, Samana, Mansanillo Bay, Puerto de Plata, Monte Cristi, and an infinity of harbors on the different coasts and mouths of rivers, where vessels may anchor in all safety.

The territory of the Dominican Republic abounds in gold mines, cop-. per, silver, iron, quicksilver, sulphur, stone coal, gypsum, salt, and other

productions of nature. The gold and copper mines best known, and which have been worked, are those of Cebao, those of Cotuy, of Ste. Rosa de Hayna, of San Cristobal, and those of Samana.

The political power of the republic is divided into legislative, execu tive, and judicial, as you will see by a copy of the constitution which I have the honor to send herewith, as well as the law for the organization of the judiciary, and another for the government of the provinces, which will furnish you the most exact information it is in my power to give. General Pedro Santana is the actual president of the republic, and the four ministers are Colonel Manuel Cabral Bernal, minister of the interior and of police; Ricardo Minra, of the hacienda and commerce; the general of division, Manuel Timenes, of war and marine; and myself, minister of justice, public instruction, and foreign relations. The chief political superiors, being representatives of the executive, are appointed by him, and are, for the capital, the general of division Joaquin Pueblo; for the province of Azua, the general of division Antonio Duberger; for Santiago, the general of division Francisco Antonio Salcedo; for La Vega, the general of brigade Felipe Bargues: and for Leybo, Colonel José Familias.

I send you also a list of the individuals who compose the legislative bodies, elected according to the constitution, and, as you perceive, they form the congress to take cognizance of certain cases defined by the fundamental compact.

I also send you a statement from the ministry of war, in which you will see the number of men able to bear arms in our republic, of eannons, muskets, fortresses, vessels, and other elements of war, with which we count upon defending ourselves from any invasion of the Haytians, and securing the stability of the republic.

Our present population exceeds 230,000 souls, by the nearest calculation, made from the ratio of those capable of bearing arms, a calculation in which the government was particularly interested, during the revolution; for the Haytians will never agree to an exact census being taken of the population, on account of the great interest they have felt and still feel in making it appear that their population exceeds ours, whereas, on the contrary, we have historical and positive data to show that they cannot assemble an army of 35,000 men, more particularly since the year 1842, during which they suffered considerable diminution of population from those who were killed by the earthquake of May in that year; from battles among themselves after the revolution of Riviere; from the invasion they undertook of this part of the island after the separation, in which it is calculated that more than 2,000 were killed in the various battles and encounters that took place; to all which it must be added that the epidemic of small-pox has made, and is still making, the most frightful havoc among them in all corners of their territory—from which the population of the Haytians may be estimated at 300,000 souls at most, of whom the blacks and mulattoes are in the proportion of 25 to 1.

According to some historians of the French part of this island, its population before the revolution amounted to 523,803 souls-30,826 whites, 27,548 mulattoes, and 465,429 slaves; but it has gone on progressively to decrease in consequence of the continued civil war in which they have lived, the relaxation of morals, and the vices in which they indulged: these are the causes which, in the opinion of all travelers and statesmen, have contributed to keep down the increase of population. There is no certain datum by which to estimate the number of Dominicans who, during the revolution in the Spanish part, emigrated to foreign countries; but it may be set down at 10,000 or 12,000, and it

may be regarded as certain that the greater part of these will return to their firesides as soon as the present government shall acquire stability; for the Dominicans in general are great lovers of their native soil, and most of those who emigrated left real estates here which they or their heirs will come to enjoy.

Calculating our population at more than 200,000 souls, the half of them are whites, and of the other half two-thirds are colored, and the rest morenos, the number being very small of those who were formerly slaves, as well because in this part of the island the slaves were never numerous, as because almost all of them, after Boyer came into possession, fled to the western republic and there remained.

It is worthy of particular remark that, among the Dominicans, the prejudices of color have never had much weight, men being distinguished more by their virtues and moral qualities, and hence it is that our men of color, and that class of morenos formerly free, are identified with the whites in sentiment; and even those who were once slaves have fought, and are at any time ready to fight, against the Haytiens, because their government was so infamous, so inconceivably oppressive, as not to gain the sympathies of any of the classes.

The Spanish government, after the events of 1822, abandoned its rights over the old Spanish part of the island, denied to the natives the protection it owed them, and they were compelled to bear the yoke imposed upon them by the brutal force of a cruel and inhuman government. Nor was it until the year 1830, in the month of January, that Señor Felipe Fernandes de Castros was sent to President Boyer, with powers from the King of Spain to reclaim possession of the ancient Spanish part, which was not accorded, and nothing more was afterward done.

In 1825 the King of France, as you will also see by a copy of the decree of Charles X, acknowledged the independence of the Haytians, on condition of an indemnity of 150,000,000 francs, confining his acknowledgment to the ancient French part, because he neither had, nor could have, any right to contract for a territory which belonged to another foreign nation, Spain, who has never to this day ceded her rights by any public convention or treaty.

The Dominicans, masters of the territory, almost the whole of which was their private property, abandoned by the mother country, compelled to suffer outrages, humiliations, and the tyranny of the Haytian gov ernment which took possession of it by force, and which, so far from granting proportionate advantages to the inhabitants, ruined, impoverished, and degraded them, on the 27th of February, 1844, preferring death to a condition so abject, sounded the cry of separation; the whole population of the ancient Spanish part united in a cause so just; public opinion was prepared; the enthusiam was general; our arms triumphed over the attempts which our oppressors made with their imposing forces to reduce us again to subjection. We erected ourselves into a free and sovereign state, and our independence is a fact consummated and irrevocable, "for when a people choose to be free no human power can prevent it."

Our institutions are liberal; we have endeavored to draw toward us the sympathies of all nations, with whom we desire peace and relations of mutual advantages; hitherto, with none have we compromised our public credit, nor have we opened any negotiation; but nevertheless the English merchants, during the last year, offered us a loan of one million and a half sterling, which we did not accept. With the French also some propositions were made on both sides, at the beginning of the

revolution, which must be considered now as null and void. Some foreign commercial houses have already been established in this capital, in Puerto de Plata, and Azua; and it would seem to be a law of nature, and a duty which nations owe to each other, that their beneficial action should be extended in favor of the people who have successfully struggled against those who may be called the enemies of the human race.

If the details into which I have entered should not prove satisfactory to you, I am ready to give any others that you may deem expedient or necessary to the fulfillment of the mission of your government, with all requisite particularity.

I take this occasion to salute you with the most distinguished consideration.

BOBADILLA.

Law for the Provincial Alministration.

GOD, OUR COUNTRY, AND LIBERTY.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

The tribunate, in the exercise of their authority under the provisions of the constitution, have passed the following law:

CHAPTER I.

TITLE 1.-Of the provinces and their subdivisions.

ARTICLE 1. The territory of the Dominican Republic is divided into five provinces, as determined by the constitution, that is to say: Compostela de Azua, Santo Domingo, Santa Cruz del Seybo, Concepcion de la Vega, and Santiago de los Caballeros.

ARTICLE 2. The province of Compostela de Azua is subdivided into nine communes, namely: Neyba, Azua, (head of the province,) San Juan, Hincha, las Matas, Barnea, Caobas, San Rafael, and San Miguel. The military post of Baraona is a dependent of the commune of Azua, as the nearest, and that of Petitsu, of the commune of Neyba. The adjacent islands depending on this province are Beata and Alto Velo.

ARTICLE 3. The province of Santo Domingo is subdivided into seven communes, namely: Santo Domingo, (head of the province,) Banè, San Cristobal, Danos, Monte de Plata, Bayaguana, and Boga. The city of San Carlos, the town of San Lorenzo of the Mines, and the ports of Santa Cruz depend on the commune of Santo Domingo. ARTICLE 4. The province of Santa Cruz del Seybo is subdivided into three communes, Seybo, (head of the province,) Highey, and Samana. The military posts of Hato Mayor and Sabana of the Sea shall be depended, the first, on the commune of Seybo; the second, on that of Samana. The islands adjacent to this province are Santa Catalina, Salvona, and all those upon this coast.

ARTICLE 5. The province of Concepcion de la Vega is subdivided into four communes, namely: La Vega, (head of the province,) Cotuy, Moea, and Macon.

ARTICLE 6. The province of Santiago de los Caballeros is subdivided into four communes, Santiago, (head of the province,) Puerto de Plata, Monte Cristi, and San José de los Mates. The military posts of these communes are Alto Mira, Puerto de Plata, and Dajabon de Monte Cristi.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE.

TIILE 1.-Of the chief political heads.

ARTICLE 7. Each province shall be administered by a superior political chief, who shall represent the executive power and reside in the capital of the province. ARTICLE 8. The superior political chief exercises his functions comformably to the 140th, 141st, 142d, 143d, 144th, 145th and 146th articles of the constitution.

ARTICLE 9. He possesses the following powers: 1. The publication of the acts and orders of the government. 2. The execution of the electoral laws. 3. The exercise of the general police and execution of the laws, decrees and regulations relating to the administrative police. 4. The superintendence of permits and passports, and other licenses granted by law. 5. The installation of public functionaries, who shall take an oath before him when the law does not otherwise direct. 6. The superintendence, organization and administration of the civil guard, in conformity with the law relating thereto, and of the police corps in the communes of his province. 7. The execution of