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Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future. Otto Schoenrich
Читать онлайн.Название Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future
Год выпуска 0
isbn 4064066122188
Автор произведения Otto Schoenrich
Жанр Документальная литература
Издательство Bookwire
Hardly had the evacuation taken place when Generals Cabral and Manzueta raised an insurrection which overthrew Pimentel's government while he was absent on the Haitian border, and General José Maria Cabral, an educated mulatto, was proclaimed Protector of the Republic. Cabral had formerly been one of the most enthusiastic followers of Baez but it soon became evident that he was working for himself. He convoked a constitutional assembly which was convening when General Pedro Guillermo rose in the east and proclaimed General Buenaventura Baez president. The movement was successful and the Congress, completely convinced by the sight of a sword unsheathed in its presence by one of the victorious generals, elected Baez to the presidency.
Since his overthrow in 1858 Baez had been in exile, but he had accepted Spanish sovereignty and the rank of fieldmarshal in the Spanish army. On the outbreak of the War of the Restoration, he sent Cabral to join the Dominican forces as his representative. He was now living in Curaçao and a commission journeyed there to invite him back to Santo Domingo, a council inaugurated on October 25, 1865, meanwhile taking charge. A new constitution was drafted and promulgated on November 14, 1865, and on the same day Baez entered upon his office. Neither he nor the constitution lasted long. The constitution being too liberal, he had it abrogated on April 19, 1866, and Santana's constitution of December 16, 1854, was adopted in its stead. This action was the excuse for an insurrection which broke out in Santiago on May 1, 1866, under the leadership of Pimentel in combination with Cabral, and quickly assumed such alarming proportions that Baez found it prudent to resign before the end of the month and retire to Curaçao.
As usual a constitutional assembly was called, and a new constitution was promulgated on September 26, 1866. An election was held and Cabral chosen president by a practically unanimous vote. Nevertheless his government had scarcely a day's peace from insurrections. It found time, however, to resume amicable relations with Spain, to make a commercial treaty with the United States and to found a professional institute. Other relations with the United States were also planned; for as Spain and France were eliminated from the annexation idea and the United States had abolished slavery, this country was looked upon with greater favor. The cost of the government's military activities was such that a strong attempt was made to lease Samana Bay to the United States for two million dollars; but as complete control was not offered the plan fell through. Later a special commissioner was sent to Washington to negotiate for the absolute lease of the Samana peninsula and Samana Bay, which negotiations were the prelude to the later annexation negotiations, but they were interrupted by a revolution in favor of Baez which broke out in Monte Cristi on October 7, 1867. and deposed Cabral on January 31, 1868. A council of generals administered affairs until Baez took charge for the fourth time, on May 4, 1868.
In accordance with established usage, the existing constitution was abrogated and Baez' pet constitution, that of December, 1854, placed in force, but with amendments. Baez then began to rule with a firm hand, and though occasionally bothered by small uprisings on the Haitian border, promoted by Cabral, Luperon and other unruly spirits, managed to sustain himself in power for almost his full term of six years. He was able to realize what had been the golden dream of administrations since the birth of the Republic, the contracting of a foreign loan. Hartmont & Co., a firm of London bankers, agreed to issue bonds of the Republic to the amount of £757,700, though at a ruinous rate, and actually paid over £38,095. The dream turned to a nightmare, for when the government annulled the contract on the ground of failure to comply with conditions, the bankers continued to issue bonds and kept the proceeds themselves; and the bonds thus fraudulently issued constituted the nucleus of the enormous debt which later led to American intervention.
Though Baez had, for political reasons, protested against Cabral's negotiations with the United States, he was too sagacious a statesman to fail to recognize the value of American protection. It was now Cabral's turn to indulge in tirades full of patriotic indignation, for Baez actively pursued negotiations for the annexation of the country to the United States. On November 29, 1869, two treaties were signed in Santo Domingo City by representatives of the American and Dominican governments: by one the Samana peninsula and Samana Bay were leased to the United States for fifty years at an annual rental of $150,000, and by the other the Dominican Republic was annexed to the United States. Baez submitted the annexation treaty to a plebiscite in his country in February, 1870, and an overwhelming vote was cast in favor thereof. While the adversaries of the treaty did not dare to oppose it actively within the country, it is probable that the vote represented the true sentiment of the Dominican people, for aside from the evident economic advantages of annexation, the influence of Baez was such that the people were ready to follow blindly whatever he advised. Both treaties lapsed, but the annexation treaty was renewed and President Grant in his messages to Congress strongly urged its passage. Powerful opposition developed in the United States Senate, led by Senator Sumner, and the treaty failed of ratification. By a resolution of Congress, approved January 12, 1871, the President of the United States was authorized to send a commission of inquiry to Santo Domingo. President Grant appointed three eminent men, Benjamin F. Wade, Andrew D. White and Samuel G. Howe, who were assisted by Frederick Douglas, Major-General Franz Sigel and a number of scientists. The commission proceeded to Santo Domingo, travelled across the country in several directions and made an extensive report, which is still an important source of information as to the characteristics of the island. The commission's report was transmitted to Congress, and President Grant made another earnest plea for the annexation of Santo Domingo. Congress took no further action, however, and the United States thus deliberately rejected an opportunity to obtain control of a most important strategical position and to secure peace and prosperity to the Dominican people.
It is interesting to speculate on what the future of Santo Domingo would have been if annexation had been realized. The power of the United States would have maintained peace; salutary laws would have educated the people in self-government; liberal tariff concessions would have stimulated agriculture and industry; the influx of a good stock of immigrants would have developed and settled the interior; honest administration would have provided roads and schools, and soon the country would have attained a high degree of development and prosperity. The failure of the United States to extend a helping hand condemned Santo Domingo to long years of anarchy and dictatorships.
When it became apparent that nothing would come of the annexation plans, the Baez administration, on December 28, 1872, rented the Samana peninsula to an American corporation, the "Samana Bay Company," for ninety-nine years, at an annual rental of $150,000. The company, which intended to found a large city on Samana Bay, actually paid the sum of $147,229.91, the greater part in gold and the remainder in arms and ammunition. This payment, with that received on account of the Hartmont bonds, and with the higher customs receipts due to quiet conditions, afforded relief to the treasury; while peace brought the country a prosperity further increased by the immigration of numerous Cubans driven from their homes by the ten years' war that had begun in 1869.
President Baez did not lose hope in the ultimate realization of annexation, and it was also his intention to have himself reelected for another term of six years. These circumstances were used against him by his ambitious enemies, and on November 25, 1873, a revolution broke out in Puerto Plata which spread so rapidly that Baez was obliged to capitulate on December 31 of the same year. A new generation, grown up since the independence of the country and which had come to look upon civil disorder as a normal condition, now came into power, and the question of foreign annexation ceased to be an issue.
A period of constant revolutionary ferment and frequent changes of the constitution followed, with a wearisome succession of military presidents. General Ignacio Maria Gonzalez