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Black Republic of Letters

"Le conflit haitiano-dominicain" / "The Haitian-Dominican Conflict"

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1. "A Nos Confrères" / "To Our Fellows" Fraternité - Year 1, Issue 1, Article 1, Page 1
  
  Translation: In the name of Haiti and of the Black Race, La Fraternité, the first Haitian newspaper written in Paris, greets the Press of the whole World.
  It presents special and sincere thanks to l'Évènement, to La Liberté coloniale, to Le Rappel, to Le National, to Le Temps, to Les Débats, to La France, and to La Paix, newspapers of the Parisian Press; to the Courrier des Etats-Unis; to all of the Canadian Press, for the impartiality and benevolence with which have dealt with all questions concerning the cause of Blacks.
  Entire devoted to the defence of the principles of justice and liberty, this newspaper only aspires to the lightening of spirits, to the union of peoples whose role, affirmed by this beautiful law of human solidarity, is to help one another, in order to march more effectively toward the conquest of the progresses of civilization.
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"Le conflit haitiano-dominicain" / "The Haitian-Dominican Conflict"
Translation:
For the past few days there have been rumours of war between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Although the latest letters received from Haiti up to the date of 7 August contain no confirmation of this news, it has taken on a certain consistency a ever since an article appeared in the Guadeloupe newspaper Défense nationale, reproduced by certain Parisian papers, and particularly after two dispatches were sent from Santo Domingo to New York, dating 23 August.

Here is the tenor of the most recent of this information:
New York, 23 August A dispatch from Santo Domingo, via Havana, informs us that a troupe of 800 Haitians have crossed the border, and have invaded the southern districts of Santo Domingo. The Dominican government immediately sent a force that pushed back the invaders, and the president, Ulysse Heureaux, summoned the cabinet to deliberate on a declaration of war against Haiti. Count Tasquez, consul-general of the Dominican Republic in New York, heard news of the event, but has not received official word.
This suggests that war has not yet been declared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as the Défense nationale had claimed, but that on the 23rd of August it seemed imminent.

At the Haitian legation, it is believed that this could have been averted: at least that is what would have resulted from a conversation between an Editor of the Evènement and the Secretary of our Legation.
For a long time, said the latter, products of the Dominican Republic—tafia, tobacco, etc.—have entering Haiti duty free.

About two months ago, General Hyppolite's government resolved to put an end to this practice, and to apply tariffs to Dominican imports. The Republic of St-Domingo looked unfavourably upon—this can be understood from the rest—the new state of affairs which affected its interests. There were, at this time, threats of war; but I believe, since then, an agreement has been reached, and we will not have need to launch a campaign against our neighbours.
The dispute to which he here makes allusion has been related as follows in the "General Exposé of the situation," presented to the Chambers for the year 1890 by the Government of Haiti:
Despite all the precautions taken, a quantity of merchandise and foreign products continues to arrive under the Dominican flag.

Since 1887, we have almost not exported anything to the Dominican, yet imports from there continue to grow in a constant proportion... It has even come to the Government's attention that, for the past six months, no merchandise has been allowed into the Dominican without paying a duty of up to 50% of their value. This it has become impossible for Haitian to go sell products at Dajabon and for Dominican to come make purchases in Haiti, as had previously been customary.

In the face of these facts, the government made the decision to apply a tariff to merchandise coming from the Dominican Republic, just as it is for all foreign merchandise.
An editor of the Paix went to ask General Légitime, who was in Paris, for his opinion on the events.
I do not believe, the president replied, that a conflict between the Haitian and Dominican republics could have political causes. It would have to be a matter of disputes over economic order or customs, as is often the case between bordering countries. A war could not be dangerous because of our political decisions. But the Dominican Republic is not strong enough to try anything against us. We also should not worry about an intervention from the United States, which would go against international law.
Such is the information that the Parisian press was able to obtain on the question that preoccupies us. Now, if we must analyze and judge the value of this information we must admit that it seems, until further information comes to light, a bit exaggerated.

First, it is interesting to note that no telegram coming from Haiti has yet spoken of the Dominican incident. And then, there is in the last dispatch from Santo Domingo, which we cited above, a certain obscurity that troubles our confidence.

It says that a troupe of 800 Haitians "invaded" via the Dominican border. But to what end? If it was simply a tourist excursion, we don't understand why the Dominican government would find it necessary to "push them back" by "force." If, as is logical to suppose, it was a question of enemies, we allow ourselves to admit that this armed invasion would constitute, in and of itself, an act of hostility so manifest that it would seem useless for President Heureaux to summon his Council and deliberate on a declaration of war that was already underway.

Many times we have served as this type of transatlantic canard—heavier even than the legendary canard marseillais—that our readers will forgive us, in the present case, of an excess of suspicion.

In sum, it seems that some diplomatic difficulties were hanging between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

But these types of things happen between all the States of the world. Otherwise, what would be the point of diplomats? These difficulties can be solved all the more quickly because President Heureaux has always had the best relations with the members of Haiti's current government, and in particular with President Hippolyte, to whom he boasts of being related.

We see well what the Dominican Republic would lose in a war; but we do not what they would gain from it. It is incomparably less endowed with men and money than its neighbour; and I terms of politics, the parties are at least as divided there: which is no small thing! President Heureaux can hope, in appealing to the national sentiment, to turn the spirits of his internal politics. But the party would be dangerous: others have lost their place. The only ones who would benefit from a war would be the trouble-makers, those who have made insurrection a sort of specialty; or, otherwise, those honest councillors, always ready to create between us subjects of discord, in the secret hope of fishing in troubled water a good pretext for intervention, or some "rocks without masters" where they will install, for want of a better place, in the proximity of Môle Saint-Nicholas and the Bay of Salamanca.

Neither the Dominican government nor the Haitian government wants to make a game out of the other.

G.S. [Georges Sylvain]