receive; he comes there only to learn vices, to increase the rabble of vagabonds and women of ill fame, to disturb the repose of his fellowcitizens by his very existence, and to end it by a capital punishment. The military commanders and the magistrates must be inexorable to this class of men; they must force them, in spite of themselves, to be useful to that society of which they would be the scourge without the severest vigilance. Since the revolution, it is evident that the war has caused the destruction of far more men than women; of these latter also are found a greater number in the towns, whose only existence is founded upon libertinism. Occupied entirely with thoughts of dress, the effects of their prostitution; disdaining not only culture, but every other employment, they entirely refuse to do any thing useful. These are they who conceal all the guilty, who live upon the profits of their rapine, who excite them to robbery for the purpose of partaking the fruits of their crimes. It concerns the honour of the magistrates, generals, and commanders, not to leave one of these in the towns or suburbs; the least negligence in this respect will render them worthy of public censure. Moyse, it is true, was the soul of the late conspiracy; but he could not have completed his infamy had he not been able to find accomplices. As to domestics, every citizen ought only to have as many as are indispensably necessary for his service. The persons with whom they live ought to be the principal observers of their conduct,and to suffer nothing in them contrary to good morals, to submission, and to order; if they are idle, they should correct them for this vice; if they are thieves, they ought to be denounced to the mili tary commanders, to be punished according to the laws. A good ser vant, animated with justice, will do more work than four bad ones; and since, in the new regime, all labour merits wages, so all wages merit labour. Such is the invariable and decided will of the government. There is, besides, an object wor thy its attention; that is, the observing of strangers who arrive in the colony. Some of them only know, from the reports of the enemies of the new order of things, the changes which have taken place, without reflecting upon the causes which have produced them, or upon the difficulties which were to be overcome, that the greatest disorder that ever existed might be succeeded by tranquillity and peace, cultivation and trade; they entertain designs the more dangerous, as they are welcomed by all those who, founding their hopes upon disturbances, only desire pretexts. Such faults ought to be the more severely punished, as the negligence of the public functionaries in this respect would ensure that confidence they require, and would cause them to be justly regarded as the enemies of liberty. The most sacred of all institutions of men who live in society, from whence flows every good, is marri age. A good father of a family, a good husband, entirely occupied by the happiness of his children, ought to be among them the living image of the Divinity. Thus a good government ought always to surround good families with honour, with respect, and with veneration; it ought never to repose till it has pulled up the last root of immorality. The military commanders, the public functionaries, are, above all, without excuse, when they publicly give way to the scandal of vice. Those who, having wives, keep concubines in their own houses, or those who, not being married, live publicly with a variety of women, are unworthy to command, and will be cashiered. As a final analysis: every man existing in the colony owes to his fellow citizens a good example; every military commander, every public functionary, ought accurately to fulfil his duty; they will be judged by their actions, by the good they have done, by the tranquillity and prosperity of the places they command. In a well ordered state, idleness is the source of every disorder, and if it is suffered in a single individual, I shall blame the military commanders, persuaded that those who tolerate idle persons and vagabonds, have bad designs, and are the secret enemies of the government. No person can, under any pretence, be exempt from some task or other, according to his faculties. Fathers and mothers, who have children and estates, ought to go and live there, work, there themselves, make their children work, watch over their labours, and, in the moment of repose, instruct them themselves; or by teaching them the precepts of our religion, impress upon them the horror of vice, explain to them the commandments of God, engrave the principles of them upon their hearts in an ineffaceable manner, and penetrate them with this truth, that as idleness is the mother of every vice, so is labour the father of every virtue. It is by these means that respectable and useful citizens will be formed, that one may expect to see this beautiful colony one of the happiest countries upon VOL. XLIII. earth, and for ever keep away those horrible events, the recollection of which can never be effaced from our memories. In consequence I decree as follows. Art. 1. Every commandant who, since the late conspiracy, has had knowledge of the troubles which since have broken out, and permitted plunder or assassination, who being able to prevent or hinder revolt, has suffered to be broken that law which declares the life, the property, and the home of every citizen, sacred and inviolable, shall be carried before a special tribunal, and punished according to the law of 22d Thermidor, year 9 (August 10, 1801.) Every military commander, who, through want of foresight, or neglect, has not put a stop to disorders when committed, shall be cashiered, and punished with a year's imprison ment. There shall, in consequence, be made a rigorous inquiry into their conduct, and then the governor will pronounce upon their fate. 2. All general commanders of the arrondissements, or quarters, who shall for the future neglect to take all necessary precautions to prevent seditions, but shall suffer the law to be violated, which declares the life, the property, and home of every citizen sacred and inviolable, shall be carried before a special tribunal, and punished conformable to the law of the 22d Thermidor, year 9 (August 10, 1801.) 3. In case of trouble, or indications of its breaking out, the national guard of that quarter or circle shall be at the order of the military commanders, on their simple requisition. Every commander who shall not have taken the necessary preBb cautions cautions for preventing trouble in his quarters, or the propagation of troubles from an adjacent quarter; every military man, either of the line or national troops, who shall refuse to obey legal orders, shall be punished with death. 4. Every individual, male or female, of whatever colour, who shall be convicted of having entertained serious intentions of raising sedition, shall be taken before a council of war, and punished conformably to law. 5. Every individual creole, male or female, convicted of having entertained designs tending to disturb the public tranquillity, but who shall not be thought worthy of death, shall be sent to work with a chain at his foot, for six months. 6. Every stranger in the situation of the article preceding, shall be sent out of the colony as a bad subject. 7. In every commune of the colony,, where there exist municipal administrations, all the citizens, male and female, which inhabit them, whatever their qualities or condition, must provide themselves with cards of safety. This card shall contain the name, surname, domicile, state, profession, and quality, age and sex, of those who bear it. It shall be signed by the mayor and commissary of the quarter where the person inhabits. It shall be renewed every six months, on paying a dollar, by each individual: the sums thus arising to be applied to the communal expense. 8. It is expressly forbidden to the municipal administrations to give cards to any one who has not an estate or profession, well known ir reproachable conduct, and certain means of existence. All those who cannot fulfil the necessary conditions strictly, shall, if creoles, be sent to till the ground, or, if strangers, be sent away from the colony. 9. Every mayor or officer of police, who, by negligence, or to favour vice, shall have signed and delivered a card of safety to an individual who is not qualified to obtain it, shall be cashiered and imprisoned one month. 10. Fifteen days after the publication of the present arrêt, every person found without a card of safety, if a creole, shall be sent to cul→ ture; if a stranger, sent out of the colony, unless he prefers serving in the troops of the line. 11. Every domestic, who, before leaving the house where he has served, shall not have been thought worthy a certificate of good behaviour, shall be declared incapable of receiving a card of safety. Any person, who, to favour him, 'shali give him one, shall be imprisoned one month. 12. Fifteen days after the publication of the present arrêt, all managers or conductors of plantations are charged to send an exact list of all the cultivators of every age and sex in their plantations, under pain of being imprisoned eight days. Every conductor or manager is the principal guard of the plantation; he is declared personally responsible for every kind of disorder committed there, and for the idleness and vagrancy of the cultivators. 13. A month after the publication of this arrêt, all the commanders of quarters are required to send the list of the cultivators of every plantation plantation of their quarters to the commanders of circles, on pain of being cashiered. 14. The commanders of circles are required to send lists of all the plantations of their circles to the generals under the orders of whom they are, without delay, under pain of disobedience. These lists, deposited in the archives of the government, will serve for the future as an immutable basis for the fixing of the cultivators with respect to the inhabitants. 15. Every manager or conductor of a plantation, where a strange cultivator shall have taken refuge, is required to denounce him to the captain or commander of the section, within twenty-four hours, under pain of eight days' imprisonment. 16. Every captain or commandant of a section, who by negligence shall have left a strange cultivator more than three days in a plantation,in his section,shall be cashiered. 17. Vagrant cultivators thus arrested shall be conducted by the military to their own habitations. They shall be recommended to the peculiar inspection of the conductors or managers, and thus shall for three months have no passport to go out of the plantation. · 18. It is forbidden to any soldier to go to any plantation or private house in the town. Those who wish to work, and have obtained their officer's permission, shall be employed at labours for the republic, and paid according to their labour. 19. It is forbidden to any soldier to go to any plantation unless to 'see his father or his mother. If he fails to return to his corps at the 20. Every person convicted of having disturbed or attempted to disturb, a family, shall be denounced to the civil and military authorities, who shall give an account of it to the governor, who will decide ac cording to the case. 21. My order relative to culture, given at Port Republicain, 20th Vendemiaire, year 9,. shall be executed in its form and tenour. It is enjoined to the military commanders to look into it, and see that it is executed with rigour, and literally, and whatever is not contrary to the present proclamation. The present proclamation shall be printed, transcribed upon the administrative and judicial registers, read, published, and posted where need is; and besides inserted in the official bulletin of St. Domingo. A copy shall be sent to each of the ministers of worship, to be read to their parishioners after mass. All generals, military commanders, and all civil authorities in the departments, are enjoined to enforce the most severe, full, and entire execution of its spirit and regulations, upon their personal responsibility, and under pain of disobedience. Given at Cape François, 4th Frimaire, year 10 (November 25, 1801.) (Signed) Touissaint Louverture. Proclamation of the First Consul of France to the Inhabitants of St. Domingo; dated Paris, 8th Nov. 1801. Inhabitants of St. Domingo, HATEVER your origin or hour appointed, he shall be punish- W your colour, you are all ed, according to the case, conformably to military law. French, you are all free, and all equal Bb 2 in in the sight of God, and in the estimation of the republic. France has been, like St. Domingo, a prey to factions, torn by civil and foreign wars. But all is changed; all people have embraced the French, and have sworn towards em peace and amity, all the French ve embraced each other also, and have sworn to be all friends and brothers. Come also, embrace the French, and rejoice to see again your friends and your brothers of Europe. The government sends you the captain-general Leclerc: he has brought with him great forces for protecting you against your enemies, and against the enemies of the republic. If it be said to you these forces are destined to ravish from you your liberty; answer, "The republic will not permit it to be taken away from us," Rally round the captain-general. He brings you abundance and peace. Rally all of you around him. Whoever shall dare to separate himself from the captaingeneral will be a traitor to his country, and the indignation of the republic will devour him, as the fire devours your dried canes. Done at Paris, in the palace of Citizen-general. Peace with England, and all the powers of Europe, which places the republic in the first degree of greatness and power, enables, at the same time, the government to direct its attention to St Domingo. We send thither citizen Leclerc, our brotherin-law,in quality of captain-general, as first magistrate of the colony. He is accompanied with the necessary forces to make the sovereignty of the French people be respected. It is under these circumstances that we are disposed to hope that you will prove to us and to all France the sincerity of the sentiments you have constantly expressed in the different letters you have written to us. We have conceived an esteem for you, and we wish to recognise and proclaim the great services you have rendered to the French people. If their colours fly on St. Domingo, it is to you and your brave blacks that they are indebted. Called by your talents, and the force of circumstances, to the first command, you have destroyed the civil war, put a stop to the persecutions of some ferocious men, restored to honour the religion and worship of God, from whom all things come. The constitution that you have formed, though containing many good things, contains others which are contrary to the dignity and the sovereignty of the French people, of .which St. Domingo forms but a part. The circumstances in which you are placed, surrounded on all sides by enemies, without the mothercountry being able to succour or to feed you, have rendered legitimate the articles of that constitution, which otherwise could not be so. But now that circumstances are so happily changed, you will be the |