pastor at their head. From the beginning, their avowed aim has been to found an autonomous church in Haiti, to be carried on by a native ministry; and, indeed, that church was recognized to be of that character by the house of bishops of the United States in 1874, when the Rev. James Theodore Holly, an American by birth, but a Haitian citizen by adoption, was consecrated as bishop for Haiti. In 1878, the conference of Anglican bishops at Lambeth Palace, at which Dr. Holly was present as a member, formally extended to his church the full recognition of the whole Anglican communion. While having four principal stations in the cities of the Republic, Dr. Holly's most extensive work has been in the rural districts. There are eight organized congregations in these districts of the west. There are twelve ordained clergymen, five deacons, twelve lay readers, all citizens of the country, and seventeen stations of this church in Haiti. It received $3,000 from the Government in 1891-'92.

Let it be noticed that these several Christian denominations work in the same field without clashing and without friction with one another, and that the continual call of the Government is for more of them all. It is only fair that the impartial reader should ask himself how much opportunity there ought to be now in Haiti, in the face of all of these active religious influences, for the practice and propagation of the alleged Voudoux and cannibalistic worship to which so much space has been given in recent works and publications on that country.

From the beginning, the Government of Haiti has manifested. a commendable concern for the education of the youth of the country, and to that end, it has never ceased to encourage the establishment of primary schools and institutions of higher grade throughout the Republic. Although, under Boyer and Soulouque, that concern seemed to lapse somewhat, yet there has been a steady tendency toward increased educational facilities at the public expense. To-day, any intelligent foreigner passing through the cities

When the two Houses meet together according to the constitution, they constitute the National Assembly, and it is this body that elects the President of the Republic, whose term of office is seven years, whose salary is $24,000 per annum, and who can be reëlected only after an interval of seven years from the end of his term. To the National Assembly, belongs also the power to declare war, to approve or reject treaties, and to revise the Constitution.

The Legislature meets yearly in April. Its annual session is limited to four months. Each Deputy is paid $300 a month only while the session lasts, and is elected for three years. The Senate consists of thirty-nine members, each chosen for six years, and each receiving a salary of $150 a month for the whole term. Both Senators and Deputies are indefinitely reëligible. To be eligible as a deputy, a citizen must be 25 years of age, in the full enjoyment of civil and political rights, an owner of real property or following some profession or industry in the Republic. These qualifications are also required in order to become a Senator or President, except that the former must be 30 and the President 40 years of age.

The President is entitled to a cabinet of six Ministers (called Secretaries) of State, and no act of his, other than one naming or displacing his cabinet or any member or members thereof, is valid unless it be countersigned by one of them. The ministers can be and sometimes are elected members of the Congress. In any case, whether members of that body or not, they can appear before it to advocate or explain executive measures or proceedings, and they are bound to appear whenever either House so requests. A Secretary of State must possess the same qualifications as to age, etc., as are required of Senators. Each Secretary receives a salary of $6,000 per annum.

As the origin of the Republic, its language, its traditions, the manners and social customs of its people are essentially French, so its laws and forms of legal procedure are based on those of France.

The Code Napoleon which has so strong a foothold in all countries of Latin origin, is probably more closely followed in Haiti than in any other of the American Republics. Indeed, the codes in Haiti are, as far as possible, an exact copy of those prevailing in France.

Persons falling under the scope of the law in Haiti have often felt aggrieved by its operation and made it the subject of complaint, as if it were a relic of times less advanced than the present. The fact is that when a person from an English-speaking country, who has had no previous knowledge of the French law, finds for the first time in Haiti that there is no common law, no habeas corpus, that only in specified instances is there recognizance or bail in cases to which the public is a party, that the presumptions of the law lean against accused persons, that no court decision forms a binding precedent, and that the mesne processes are much less tender of personal liberty than in countries of English origin, he is apt to make an unjust estimate of Haitian law and Haitian advancement, and accordingly make an appeal, as has in fact often been the case, to his own Government for relief, but he should remember that all the features which to him seem so much in violation of the rights of a defendant belong to the established law not only of Haiti and France, but also essentially to that of all the Latin-American Republics.

The Constitution provides that no extraordinary tribunal whatever shall be created, and it also provides for the administration of justice by the establishment of: (1) One court of cassation for the whole Republic; (2) five courts of appeal, one for each arrondissement; (3) at least one tribunal de paix (corresponding generally to American tribunals of the first instance or resort) for every commune; (4) a civil tribunal "for one or more arrondissements;" (5) tribunals of commerce "in localities fixed by the law;" (6) military tribunals whose attributes, exact functions, direction, etc., shall be precisely defined by special law.

In general, all the judges are appointed directly by the President, but those of the court of cassation, of the courts of appeal, and the civil tribunals have a permanent tenure of office, while those of the tribunaux de paix are removable.

The chief judge of the court of cassation receives a salary of $3,000 a year, while the twelve other judges of that court receive each $2,400 per annum.

The appropriation for the Department of Justice for the fiscal year 1891-92 amounted to $486,817.92.

The entire appropriations which figure in the Budget for that year sum up $7,967,516.11; but the year 1888-89 had seen the whole country torn by a prolonged and exhausting civil strife in the course of which the Republic had naturally been placed under burdensome financial strain. Thus, only a little less than two millions of the appropriations was for the service of the public debt. Still, among the appropriations for the period indicated, were, for the Department of Public Works, $574,125.40; Department of Agriculture, $361,574; Department of Worship (religion), $89,158.08; Department of Public Instruction, $981,816; Department of Foreign Affairs, $135,530.

The largest sums were set aside for the Departments of War and of the Interior, which latter includes that of the Police General, the said sums being $1,147,242.47 and $1,171,184.46, respectively.

The law of Haiti does not allow foreigners to engage in the retail trade, which is reserved for its citizens. Complaints of the existing law have been made, and there are now questions pending in regard to it between the Government and the legations of France and Great Britain at Port au Prince.

President Hyppolite refers in his last annual message to the Congress to the diplomatic discussion, as if he expected modification of the law to be made. "It is to you, Senators and Representatives," says he, "that it appertains to indicate the points upon

which changes in this law are to be made, if you think it useful to the high interests of the country.”

The law of Haiti also requires that persons who engage in business or practice a profession must be provided with a license, which is payable to the commune or city government, though the granting of it must first be approved by the Executive. Applications. for license are seldom, if ever, refused. The fee for them, however, is twice as much to the foreigner as to the citizen; and this on the avowed ground that it is the only direct tax that the foreigner is required or expected to pay toward Government support in the country in which he has chosen his residence and risked his for

tunes.

The licenses to merchants are divided into four classes, and the annual charge as fixed by law for each is as follows: First class: To the foreigner, $300; to the citizen, $150. Second class: To the foreigner, $250; to the citizen, $125. Third class: To the foreigner, $200; to the citizen, $100. Fourth class: To the foreigner, $150; to the citizen, $75.

Merchants at Port au Prince alone are believed to come under the first class; those of Cape Haitien, Jacmel, and Aux Cayes under the second class, and those of the other seaports under the third and fourth classes.

It is easy to see that the restriction to citizens of the right to hold real property has been and still is liable to give rise to embarrassment to the foreigner domiciled in Haiti; as, for instance, in meeting the requirements of bail in civil cases; especially as the law for imprisonment for single debt has not yet been abolished, though recommendations to that end from those in authority have not been altogether wanting. The evil effects, however, of this law have been in a measure offset, at least theoretically, by a provision in the Constitution by which any foreigner can become naturalized.

Owing to the too frequent occurrence of insurrection and revo