Self-Determining Haiti Part 3

ARTICLE XIV. The high contracting parties shall have authority to take such steps as may be necessary to insure the complete attainment of any of the objects comprehended in this treaty; and should the necessity occur, the United States will lend an efficient aid for the preservation of Haitian independence and the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty.

ARTICLE XV. The present treaty shall be approved and ratified by the high contracting parties in conformity with their respective laws, and the ratifications thereof shall be exchanged in the City of Was.h.i.+ngton as soon as may be possible.

ARTICLE XVI. The present treaty shall remain in full force and virtue for the term of ten years, to be counted from the day of exchange of ratifications, and further for another term of ten years if, for specific reasons presented by either of the high contracting parties, the purpose of this treaty has not been fully accomplished.

In faith whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention in duplicate, in the English and French languages, and have thereunto affixed their seals.

Done at Port-au-Prince (Haiti), the 16th day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifteen.

ROBERT BEALE DAVIS, JR., Charge d'Affaires of the United States

LOUIS BORNO, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Public Instruction

The New Const.i.tution of Haiti

The new Const.i.tution of the Republic of Haiti, ratified under the American Occupation, altered the former Const.i.tution in regard to the important subject of the right of foreigners to hold land. Article 6 of the old Const.i.tution reads:

No one, unless he is a Haitian, may be a holder of land in Haiti, regardless of what his t.i.tle may be, nor acquire any real estate.

Article 5 of the Const.i.tution of 1918 makes the following provision:

The right to hold property is given to foreigners residing in Haiti, and to societies formed by foreigners, for dwelling purposes and for agricultural, commercial, industrial, or educational enterprises. This right shall be discontinued five years after the foreigner shall have ceased to reside in the country, or when the activities of these companies shall have ceased.

The Haitian President's Proclamation

In the _Moniteur_, official organ of the Republic of Haiti, for September 4, 1915, in a column headed "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,"

the president of Haiti published a proclamation on the situation arising from the occupation by American troops of the customs-house at Port-au-Prince.

Haitians! At the very moment when the Government, engaged in negotiations to settle the question of the presence of American military forces on Haitian territory, was looking forward to a prompt solution in accordance with law and justice, it finds itself faced with the simple seizure of possession of the customs administration of the capital.

Previously the customs-houses of several other cities of the republic had been occupied in like fas.h.i.+on, and whenever the news of such occupation reached the National Palace or the Department of Finances, it was followed by an energetic protest, demanding that the diplomatic representative of the American Government residing at Port-au-Prince restore the customs-houses and put an end to acts so contrary to the relations at present existing between the Government of Haiti and the Government of the United States of North America.

Haitians! In bringing these facts officially to the attention of the country, I owe it to myself to declare further, in the most formal fas.h.i.+on, to you and to the entire civilized world, that the order to carry out these acts so destructive of the interests, rights, and sovereignty of the Haitian people is not due to anything which can be cited against the patriotism, devotion, spirit of sacrifice, and loyalty of those to whom the destinies of the country have been intrusted. You are the judges of that.

Nor will I conceal the fact that my astonishment is greater because the negotiations, which had been undertaken in the hope of an agreement upon the basis of propositions presented by the American Government itself, after having pa.s.sed through the ordinary phases of diplomatic discussion, with frankness and courtesy on both sides, have now been relieved of the only obstacles which had hitherto appeared to stand in their way.

Haitians! In this agonizing situation, more than tragic for every truly Haitian soul, the Government, which intends to preserve full national sovereignty, will be able to maintain the necessary resolution only if all are united in exercising their intelligence and energy with it in the present task of saving the nation....

SUDRE DARTIGUENAVE

Given at the National Palace, September 2, 1915, in the 112th year of our independence.

_The following are from the Nation of September 11, 1920_

Why Haiti Has No Budget

At the session of the Haitian National a.s.sembly on August 4, the President of the Republic of Haiti and the Haitian Minister of Finance laid before that body the course of the American Financial Adviser which had made it impossible to submit to the a.s.sembly accounts and budgets in accordance with the Const.i.tution of Haiti and the Haiti-American Convention. The statement which follows is taken from the official Haitian gazette, the _Moniteur_ of August 7.

MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT

Gentlemen of the Council of State: On account of unforeseen circ.u.mstances it has not been possible for the Government of the Republic to present to you in the course of the session of your high a.s.sembly which closes today (August 4) the general accounts of the receipts and expenditures for 1918-1919 and the budget for 1920-1921, in accordance with the Const.i.tution.

It is certainly an exceptional case, the gravity of which will not escape you. You will learn the full details from the report which the Secretary of Finance and Commerce will submit to you, in which it will be shown that the responsibility for it does not fall on the Executive Power....

In the life of every people there come moments when it must know how to be resigned and to suffer. Are we facing one of those moments? The att.i.tude of the Haitian people, calm and dignified, persuades me that, marching closely with the Government of the Republic, there is no suffering which it is not disposed to undergo to safeguard and secure the triumph of its rights.

DARTIGUENAVE

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF FINANCE AND COMMERCE

Gentlemen of the Council of State: Article 116 of the Const.i.tution prescribes in its first paragraph: "The general accounts and the budgets prescribed by the preceding article must be submitted to the legislative body by the Secretary of Finance not later than eight days after the opening of the legislative session."

And Article 2 of the American-Haitian Convention of September 16, 1915, stipulates in its second paragraph: "The President of Haiti shall appoint, on the nomination of the President of the United States, a Financial Adviser, _who shall be a civil servant attached to the Ministry of Finance_, to whom the Secretary shall lend effective aid in the prosecution of his work. The Financial Adviser shall work out a system of public accounting, shall aid in increasing the revenues and in their adjustment to expenditures...."

Since February of this year (1920) the secretaries of the various departments, in order to conform to the letter of Article 116 of the Const.i.tution, and to a.s.sure continuity of public service in the matter of receipts and expenditures, set to work at the preparation of the budgets for their departments for 1920-21.

By a dispatch dated March 22, 1920, the Department of Finance sent the draft budgets to Mr. A. J. Maumus, Acting Financial Adviser, for preliminary study by that official. But the Acting Adviser replied to the Department by a letter, of March 29: "I suggest that, in view of the early return of Mr. John McIlhenny, the Financial Adviser, measures be taken to postpone all discussion regarding the said draft budgets between the different departments and the Office [of the Financial Adviser]

to permit him to take part in the discussions."

Nevertheless, the regular session was opened on the const.i.tutional date, Monday, April 5, 1920. Mr. John McIlhenny, the t.i.tular Financial Adviser, absent in the United States since October, 1919, on a financial mission for the Government, prolonged his stay in America, detained no doubt by the insurmountable difficulties in the accomplishment of his mission (the placing of a Haitian loan on the New York market).

Since on the one hand the Adviser could not overcome these difficulties, and on the other hand his presence at Port-au-Prince was absolutely necessary for the preparation of the budget in conformity with the Const.i.tution and the Haitian-American Convention, the Government deemed it essential to ask him to return to Port-au-Prince for that purpose. The Government in so doing secured the good offices of the American Legation, and Mr. McIlhenny returned from the United States about the first of June. The Legislature had already been in session almost two months.

About June 15 the Adviser began the study of the budget with the secretaries. The conferences lasted about twelve days, and in that time, after courteous discussions, after some cuts, modifications, and additions, plans for the following budgets were agreed upon:

1. Ways and Means 2. Foreign Relations 3. Finance and Commerce 4. Interior

On Monday, July 12, at 3.30, the hour agreed upon between the ministers and the Adviser, the ministers met to continue the study of the budget which they wanted to finish quickly....

Between 4 and 4:30 the Secretary of Finance received a letter from the Adviser which reads as follows:

"I find myself obliged to stop all study of the budget until certain affairs of considerable importance for the welfare of the country shall have been finally settled according to the recommendations made by me to the Haitian Government.

"Please accept, Mr. Secretary, the a.s.surance of my highest consideration, JOHN MCILHENNY"

Such an unantic.i.p.ated and unjustifiable decision on the part of Mr. McIlhenny, an official attached to the Ministry of Finance, caused the whole Government profound surprise and warranted dissatisfaction....