power and the means, and transfer the sceptre into other less. beneficent hands.

The following particulars contained in President Boyer's instructions to Mr Granville, his agent in this country, will show on what terms he is willing to receive emigrants, and what they are to expect in Hayti.

'The advantages which attend emigration are, 1st, that they shall enjoy in Hayti, all civil and political rights, (Article 44th of the Constitution;) 2dly, they shall have entire liberty of conscience, in their religious practices; 3dly, they shall obtain concession of land in fee simple, when they shall have made settlements on the said lands; (copy of my circular to the governors of the provinces ;) the whole, provided they engage to be faithful to the laws of the Republic, whose children and citizens they will become, and provided they undertake nothing contrary to its tranquillity and prosperity.

'To regulate better the interests of the emigrants, it will be proper to let them know in detail, what the government of the Republic is disposed to do, to assure their future well being, and that of their children, on the sole condition of their being good and industrious citizens; you are authorised in concert with the agents of the different societies, and before civil authority, to make arrangements with heads of families, or other emigrants, who can unite twelve people able to work, and also to stipulate that the government will give them a portion of land sufficient to employ twelve persons, and on which may be raised coffee, cotton, maize, peas, and other vegetables and provisions, and after they have well improved the said quantity of land, which will not be less than 36 acres in extent, or 12 carreaux, (the carreau being 100 paces square, and the pace three feet and a half, French,) government will give a perpetual title to the said land to these twelve people, their heirs and assigns.

"Those of the emigrants who prefer applying themselves individually to the culture of the earth, either by renting lands already improved, which they will till, or by working in the field, to share the produce with the proprietor, must also engage themselves, by a legal act, that on arriving at Hayti, they will make the above mentioned arrangements, and this they must do before the judges of the peace, so that on their arrival here, they will be obliged to apply themselves to agriculture, and not be liable to become vagrants.

To all those, and those only, who will engage themselves, as is here prescribed, you are authorised, always acting in concert with the different societies, to contract, that the expense of their passage and maintenance during the voyage, shall be paid on their arrival

at Hayti, by the government, which will give them also the means of subsistence during four months, after their landing and settlement on the ground they are to cultivate, which will be long enough for them to procure by their labor and settlement, the means of supporting themselves.

Nothing will be required of them for what may have been paid for their passage and subsistence, which is a donation made to them by the Republic.

'As for those who wish to come to Hayti, to engage in commercial or mechanical pursuits, you are authorised to assure, them, that the expense of their passage, and maintenance during the voyage, shall be paid in Hayti, provided they bind themselves before civil authority in the United States, to return to the government of the Republic, six months after their arrival here, the advance which shall be made to them. The same privilege of advance, on condition of reimbursement, shall be granted to those who come to buy, rent, or till in shares, lands cultivated, or to be cultivated, or who come to engage themselves as servants, workmen, or laborers, the law granting a right to every Haytian, to exercise his industry as he pleases, provided he does nothing contrary to the good order of society.'

The President moreover declares, in his letter to Mr Dewey, that

'All those who will come, shall be received, no matter what may be their number, provided they submit themselves to the laws of the state, which are essentially liberal and protecting, and to the rules of the Police which tend to repress vagrancy, to maintaiu good order, and to confirm the tranquillity of all. There is no price to stipulate for, as respects the land, since the government will give it gratis, in fee simple, to those who will cultivate it. The emigrants will be distributed in the most advantageous manner possible, and those who may desire it, shall be placed in the neighborhood of each other.

They shall not be meddled with in their domestic habits, nor in their religious belief, provided they do not seek to make proselytes, or trouble those who profess another faith than their own.'

Other facts have also come to our notice, which bear equal testimony to the good intentions of President Boyer in offering a residence and protection in Hayti to the colored people of this country. These facts we now proceed to state. It is well known, that many of the inhabitants of Illinois and Indiana have been desirous of introducing slavery into those states, owing probably to the fact, that they are emigrants

from slave holding states, and accustomed to that kind of labor in cultivating their plantations. It may also be premised, that as these states border on slave states at the south and west, the temptation for kidnapping is greatly enhanced, by the facility with which the victims of this inhuman crime may be hurried into the slave states and sold. When these things

are considered, it is hardly to be supposed, that the free people of color have found Illinois and Indiana very secure or comfortable places of abode. In short, the practice of unprincipled men had for a time rendered their condition little inore enviable than actual servitude, by molesting them in the enjoyment of their rights and property, and annoying them with perpetual alarms at the apprehension of being robbed of their liberty. A daring and wicked attempt was also made, in many instances, to evade the laws of the states, and hold slaves by a fictitious contract. A resident of Kentucky would sell his slave to an inhabitant of Illinois, and give him over to his new master by an indenture, in which the slave bound himself to service for ninetynine years, and confirmed the agreement by a mark made with his own hand at the bottom of the instrument. Thus transferred, the slave was taken into a free state, and was said to be bound to service for a term of years. This trick, the shallowness of which could only be exceeded by its villany, was soon detected, and there were not wanting friends of humanity and justice to see the laws properly executed.

The consequence was, that several persons of color, who had formerly been slaves, were set at liberty. Their original masters had sold them for a stipulated compensation, and their purchasers could not hold them as slaves in a free state. The persons, who had thus defrauded themselves by their own infamy, were extremely exasperated at the result. They entered into a sort of conspiracy against all the blacks, who had been freed, and seemed resolved in defiance of law to seize by force, what they could not retain by injustice. A particular case will illustrate the subject. A man of color came to Mr Flower, of Albion, Illinois, and asked for employment, declaring himself to be free. It was soon found, that he was held by an indenture in Indiana, but Mr Flower, being convinced of its illegal and fraudulent character, retained him in his service. A few days afterwards, a party

came upon the man, and attempted to take him off by force; but this attempt was frustrated, and a temporary reconciliation was effected, by Mr Flower and Mr Ronalds giving bail in the sum of one thousand dollars for his appearance at court. This transaction opened to new plots of villany. The amount of bail was much greater than the man was worth as a slave. A scheme was laid to seize him by artifice before the session of the court, and thus cause the bond to be forfeited, and at the same time send the negro down the Mississippi and sell him into servitude. Armed men lurked for several days around the premises on which he resided, but as their design was early discovered he was kept in safety till brought before the court, where his indenture was proved to be illegal, and himself declared free. If we have been rightly informed, this is but one case out of many of a similar kind, which have happened in the states north of the Ohio.

The interest, which Mr Flower had taken in behalf of the free people of color, brought many of them to his lands as laborers. These persons had heard of the Colonisation Society, and of emigration to Hayti; they expressed a wish to learn further particulars, and a readiness to remove to any country, where they might be relieved from the apprehensions, by which in their present situation their existence was harassed. About this time Mr Flower saw President Boyer's Address, and resolved to send out an agent to Hayti on his own responsibility, and at his own expense, to inquire on what terms he would receive colored emigrants from the United States. The easy intercourse between the western states and the West Indies, through the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, suggested this channel as affording much the greatest advantages for emigration from these states. The agent, Mr Robert Graham, arrived at Port au Prince on the 11th of July, 1822, where he met with a kind reception from the Secretary Inginac, and from President Boyer. He received little encouragement, however, as to the main object of his inquiry, which was whether the Haytian government would pay the expenses of transporting such persons as should emigrate. The President expressed his utmost willingness to receive all that might come, and to provide them with lands to cultivate, and contribute to their subsistence till they should be able to support themselves; but he declined

holding out any temptation by offering to pay their passage. An agent he said had already come over from the United States, and obtained considerable funds for transporting free people of color to the island, but he had absconded with the money in his pocket. Emigrants had also arrived at the island, whose expenses had been paid by the government, but who proved to be vagabonds, and pestilent members of society. After these experiments, the President deemed it necessary to temper his benevolence with caution, and not to hold out a lure, which would draw around him only the idle and the worthless. He generously paid the agent's expenses from Illinois to Hayti, which had already been advanced by Mr Flower, without expecting a remuneration, and he agreed to give lands, protection, and all the privileges of citizenship to any persons of color, who might be disposed to emigrate from Illinois. The President also offered to receive fifty persons, and pay their passage out of his private funds, if they would consent to work his own lands on shares; and the Secretary made the same proposal.

On Mr Graham's return, twentyfour colored people resolved to try their fortunes in Hayti, and being assisted by Mr Flower with such necessary means, as they did not themselves possess, they embarked for New Orleans under the care of Mr Graham in April, 1823. Here they left their guide and took passage for Port au Prince, where they arrived safely, after suffering much from exposure during the voyage, as they were deck passengers. They have written to their friends in Illinois, stating that they reside on the President's lands at Logan, about twenty miles from Port au Prince, that their prospects are good, and that they hope soon to be able to refund the money, which Mr Flower had advanced on their account.

This narrative speaks not less favorably, than President Boyer's instructions to his agent, of the wisdom, the good policy, and fair intention of the Haytien government, in regard to the encouragement held out to emigrants to settle in that island. Mr Graham was much pleased with the aspect of society, and the apparent strength and equitable administration of the government. Great attention is paid to education; schools and the higher seminaries of learning are rapidly multiplying; VOL. XX.-No. 46.

27