Revolution in Haiti.

Highly important and interesting.ーHaiti an EmpireーA bloodless Revolution.ーCoronation of Faustin the First.

From our own Correspondent.

Port-au-Prince,

August 26th 1849.

Dear Friend Douglass:ーI take advantage of the sailing of Her Britannic Majesty's Steamer Plumper for Jamaica, to give you the history of this day, which will in all probability, be regarded hereafter as one of the most eventful that have ever dawned upon Haiti. Doubtless, the news that I am about to communicate will appear incredible; and I must confess, that matters wear almost a dreamlike aspect to myself, who have been a spectator of the various scenes that have transpired within the last twelve hours. But, to be brief, as my time is limited.

This morning, about ten o'clock, palms of triumph were to be seen waving before all the doors, and suspended to all the galleries of this goodly city of Port-au-Prince. The drums beat, the trumpets sounded, the cannons roared, the people shoutedーand Haiti became an Empire! Yes, a veritable empire, with its imperial family in esse, and its dukes, counts, marshals, and other titled dignitaries in futuro. The change, certainly, is a sudden one; and we who, upon rising this morning, snuffed the airs of a republic, and now inhale the atmosphere of a monarchy, might well regard it as nothing but a fantastic vision, were it not for the vast amount of ocular and auricular demonstration to the contrary.

And yet, no violent outburst, no effusion of blood, marked this transition from one form of political existence to another. Usually, when a people, grown tired of the governmental fabric which hitherto has sheltered them, resolve to tear it down and construct another, it chances that some tenacious lover of the time-honored edifice, or some ardent laborer in the work of demolition, finds a willing or unwilling grave beneath the falling stones and flying rafters. But no such event has taken place here. The republican scaffolding which, for forty-six years, has served its purpose but indifferently well, and which many persons regarded as a permanency, has been quietly taken down; and he, who, yesterday, as the President Soulouque, is now, by the grace of God and "the Sovereignty of the People," Faustin the First, Emperor of Haiti. With regard to the new structure, it remains for the future to judge of the correctness and purity of its style, the justness of its proportions, and the strength of its columns.

This change, also, has been almost as unexpected as it was sudden. True, any observer of events might have foreseen it for some time back; but even then, only as a contingency which might take place in the course of years. However, the first intimation that the period was at hand, was the appearance of a Circular on Thursday last, to the effect that, in consideration of the eminent services rendered to the country by His Excellency, the President, he should be named Emperor. This document was signed by a large number of persons; action was taken upon it last evening, in the Senate and Chamber of Representatives; and, in accordance with this action, Haiti ceased, this morning, to be a republic. A very quiet and respectable Revolution, certainly; and in all respects, totally different from those of which Europe recently has been, and still is the theatre. But, to return to the affairs of the day.

Hearing the repeated discharges of artillery, this morning, I hastened out into the streets, and learned that the Senate had just made proclamation of the establishment of the Empire; and that body, accompanied by the Representatives, had already proceeded to the Palace to offer the imperial diadem to his newly created Majesty. On my way, I encountered the troops, crowned with garlands, on their march to the Church, with beating drums and flying colors. Shortly afterwards, the Imperial cortege came into view. It consisted of the Emperor, the Empress and two of their nieces, on foot and attended by the General Officers of the Army, and various other military and high civil authorities of the Government. His Majesty was attired in the most simple uniform; and, indeed, a bearing in all respects, the most becoming, marked the first appearance of the new dynasty in public. Arrived at the Church, a solemn Te Deum was chantedーwild bursts of martial music, over and anon, mingling with the deeptoned harmony of the choir. At the close of this service, the bells pealed, the cannons again fired repeated salutes; and, amidst loud and reiterated cries of Vive l'Empereur, the most important ceremonies of the day were terminated. The Empress and her nieces returned, in a carriage, to the Palace; while the Emperor, mounting his horse, proceeded, with his usual attendance, to make a turn through the city.

Many true friends of Haiti will, perhaps, see in this revolution, much cause of regret; and it certainly is a sad thing to see a republic sink into an empire. But, although an ardent admirer of the political institutions of my native land, and a firm believer in her political creed, still I cannot but think that there are many persons, outside of the walls of lunatic asylums, and yet within the precincts of civilization, who are utterly unfit for self-government. And perhaps, (as with the stiff-necked Israelites, who demanded a king,) it may be necessary for the eventual well-being of this country, that she be ruled with a strong hand and a rod of iron. Possibly, the imperial authority may present a front sufficiently imposing to keep in check the fierce outbreakings, which have for so long a period, saddened her history.

I do not, as yet, know under what consitutional restrictions the power of the Emperor will labor, or, indeed, whether there will be any. It should be hoped, however, that human life, liberty and property will find surer guarantees under the present order of things, than they have ever done, heretofore. Earnestly trusting that this may be the case, and in all confidence that the God who controls the destinies of nations, may inspire the rulers of Haiti, (under what title soever they may exercise their authority,) to take such measures as may render her tranquil, prosperous and happy.

I am, my dear Friend,

As ever, truly yours,

HaroldVashon, George Boyer

George Boyer Vashon (1824–78), the son of abolitionist John Bethune Vashon, was an African American attorney and educator. In 1838, upon the family’s move from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh, Vashon became secretary of the first youth-oriented abolition organization, the Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society. At sixteen he entered Oberlin College in Ohio and became the first African American to receive a bachelor of arts degree from that school upon his graduation in 1844. Then, from 1845 to 1847, Vashon studied with Pittsburgh lawyer Walter Forward. When denied admission to the bar in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, because of his race, Vashon moved to New York and became the first African American admitted to that state’s bar. In February 1848 Vashon emigrated to Haiti, where he became a regular correspondent to Douglass’s North Star under the pseudonym "Harold," and taught Latin, Greek, and English at several schools and colleges. He returned to the United States to practice law in the fall of 1850. From 1854 to 1857, Vashon taught belles-lettres and mathematics at New York Central College in McGrawville, New York. Following the Civil War, he was the first African American teacher at Howard University and a solicitor for the Freedmen’s Bureau. In 1878, while teaching at Alcorn University in Rodney, Mississippi, Vashon died during a yellow fever epidemic. Washington (D.C.) National Era, 15 April 1847; Catherine M. Hanchett, “George Boyer Vashon, 1824–1878: Black Educator, Poet, Fighter for Equal Rights, Part One,” Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, 68:205–10 (1985); DANB, 617; Black Abolitionist Papers, 3:322. .