March 25.
The world at large does not feel called upon asa rule to take much interest in the affairs of Hayti; but the sudden dispatch, at the urgent appeal of British, German and French representatives, of men-of-war to the island which it shares with the sister republic of Santo Domingo indicates that no corner of the earth, however remote, can claim to-day to live for itself and by itself. Another cause for occational attention to this i cant State lies in the fact that it is one of the few territories where the black man remains master of his own destinies, and as such its development is of no less concern to those who are interested in contemporary history than to the actual student of ethnology. The citizens of Hayti, whose numbers are variously estimated between 800,000 and 1,250,000, are for the most part of pure African blood. They are characterized by a general lack of enlightenment and progress; and by common consent it is a question of time only that is to decide the direct intervention and guidance of the white man in order to save the President and two Chambers Hayti should possess the main elements of a successful republic; the people manifest 'a patriotic pride in their Government, but it remains always arbitrary, generally inefficient and not. infrequently corrupt. The troubles of the country are of its own making; for the law that enacts that no alien may own land in Hayti is typical of the exclusiveness of its institutions, and the failure of the Hay to benefit by their opportunities cannot be attributed to foreign interference, unless it be that their attempt to adapt themselves to constitutional government on foreign lines has proved their undoing.
Revolution is almost as familiar an occurrence in Hayti as financial difficulties; and as in the case of the latter exceptional depression of trade will from time to time force attention to economic conditions, with revolutions it requires some special feature to raise the incident from the ordinary level of Haytian history. For twenty years insurrections of yarring dimensions have the day have generally rested with the Government in power. In the present instance General Nord Alexis, who enjoys the distinction of being, at the age of 87, the oldest living raler of a state, has shown no leas than his best known predecessor in office, Louis Hippolite (1889-1896) a rude and vigorous capacity for government. He has retained his position for six out of the seven years of his term of office, and found himself able to cope with yet another revolution Apevlendte to the presidency is that began two months fage. The
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.