Affairs in the Dominican Republic.

CITY OF ST. DOMINGO, May 16, 1848.

As promised in my last, I now proceed to give a sketch of the constitution of the Dominican Republic, embracing an occasional reference to laws subsequently enacted to carry out some of its provisions. This instrument, the essential features of which seem to have been derived in part from the constitution of the United States, and in part from the French charter of 1830, declares, in the first place, that the Dominicans erect themselves into a free, independent, and sovereign nation, under a government essentially civil, republican, popular, representative and responsible; and defines the territory of the republic as consisting of what it states, embraces the Spanish part of the island of St. Domingo and its adjacent isles—to be identical with those bounds which, in 1793, divided the west from the French part. That is embracing, also, a capacity, at some future period, of the whole area of the island.

Citizenship is limited to be citizens who were born in the territory, and were residents at the time of the drafting of the constitution; as also the children of all Spanish Dominican absentees who have not taken up national citizenship, or borne arms against the new State, return to reside within its limits. There are three ways of foreign born becoming citizens—first, who acquire the requisite amount of real estate, after a two years' residence; dollars; and secondly, those who, by their personal labor establish agricultural or industrial establishments, under the title of proprietors, or owners, after three years' residence. A third and fourth classes cannot enjoy political rights until after a residence of six years in the territory. This period, however, is reduced to two, in both cases, in favor of those foreigners who marry a Dominican female. All foreigners belonging to nations of cultural establishments, the value of which amounts to or exceeds one thousand Dominican national dollars; not belonging to a hostile nation are declared to be under the protection of the republic, while they profess any art, science, or useful industry, or work as day laborers; while those so belonging being declared to be under the safeguard of the public faith from the moment they step upon the soil of the republic.

Dominicans are all equal in the eye of the law; remain free, and equal in right, salary being given for public service; and are all equally eligible to offices and employments. Individual liberty is guaranteed, so that no one can be prosecuted except in conformity with the forms, and in the cases which it prescribes. Nor can any one be imprisoned, except under the authority of a written order of a judge, setting forth the cause of the arrest; and this must be made known to the party arrested at once, or at least within the space of twenty-four hours. Right of property—property can never be imposed as a punishment —can only be taken when the public good requires property be taken from its owner, except where the public good requires it, and then only for a previous indemnified value to be ascertained by a just standard.

The residence or dwelling-house of every citizen is guaranteed to be inviolable, and search warrants and no domiciliary visits are to be allowed, except in cases provided for by law, and with the formalities it prescribes. No censorship of the press is to be established. All Dominicans are permitted to print and publish their thoughts, or cause them to be printed and published, without previous censorship, being responsible only for the abuse of that liberty in cases provided by law.

A subsequent law has defined what shall constitute abuse of this liberty, and limits it to five classes, namely—publishing maxims or doctrines that tend directly to destroy or subvert the religion of the State, or the constitution of the republic; publishing maxims or doctrines intended to excite rebellion, or cause any disturbance of the public peace; publishing maxims or doctrines to subvert any law or legitimate authority, or inciting to this violation by invective or satire; publishing obscene writings, or such as are contrary to good morals; injuring any individual or individuals by infamous libels, stigmatising his or their private character, or wounding their honor or reputation. The author or editor of such writings must be allowed, in exculpation, to offer in evidence the truth of his charges. Allegations against public functionaries are embraced within the same provision.

The constitution proceeds to declare that no person can be compelled to do what the law does not command, nor prevented from doing what it does not forbid. Public instruction is to be established, common to all the citizens, and gratuitous in all the elementary schools. Schools for this purpose are to be established throughout the territory of the republic. The details in regard to those elementary branches, as well as the higher ones, are to be regulated by law. To carry out this provision of the constitution, the Congress has enacted the law of the present year, establishing one elementary school in each of the communes (or parishes) of the republic, and two in each provincial capital, with a power in the government to add to the number, or change elementary into higher schools, if expediency suggests it. In these elementary schools are to be taught the principles of religion, the Castilian grammar, and the other usual branches of a common school education. The law places the general supervision of education under the Minister of Public Instruction.

The Dominicans are declared to possess the right of forming associations, of peaceably assembling, without arms—and of petition to the President, or to the National Congress, as individuals, one or many, but not in the name of a collective or corporate body. No law can be made to have a retroactive effect; nor can any be enacted that is contrary to the spirit or letter of the constitution. In cases of doubt the letter is to prevail.

The Apostolic Roman Catholic religion is declared to be the religion of the State; its ministers, enjoying a salary from the national treasury as ecclesiastical ministry, are dependent solely on the prelates canonically appointed. The article stops here, nor does the constitution say any thing whatever on the subject of freedom of conscience, or make any allusion to other forms or doctrine of religious worship. I shall revert to this subject in the latter part of this letter.

The sovereignty is declared to reside in the universal body of the citizens, and is to be exercised by three delegated powers, corresponding to the three co-ordinate branches of our own government. The members of both houses of the national congress are chosen for six years. The upper house, or as it is called the conservative council, consists of five members, one for each province of the republic, and is renewed integrally every six years. The lower house, or tribunal, is composed of fifteen members, appointed by law bodies are again chosen by vote of the people in their primary assemblies. The qualifications of a voter are citizenship and the possession in fee of real estate, or in place of the last, the exercise of some public office or employment, the practice of some science, art, or useful industry, or the occupation of a farm, with a given length of establishment in active cultivation. In these primary assemblies are likewise chosen the members of the Ayuntamientos (or town councils) of each commune. Each of these last mentioned bodies is presided over by the alcalde, who is chosen by the council itself.

The national mercantile colors designated, and described to be a blue and red background, in four squares, separated from each other by a white cross; the national flag, to have, in the centre, the arms of the republic, which are a cross, with two spears on each side, with national colors, grouped, and both of these rising from amidst a trophy of arms, with the emblem of the gospel, open in the centre, and bearing the following device, Dios, Patria y Libertad, Republica Dominicana. The military colors are the same as the republic.

There are four national festivals, one commemorating the separation; two, important victories; and the fourth, the publication of the present constitution.

In concluding this part of my letter, I promised to again make an allusion to that subject.

When the constitution was under discussion, a division of opinion in regard to religious toleration; a large majority of the convention was opposed to such a concession, and in favor of inserting in the constitution a clause prohibiting the public exercise of any other religion than that adopted as that of the state. The minority, on the contrary, wished to have inserted an express declaration of religious freedom. Now this question deeply interested the foreign residents of the island, and one—of the citizens, namely, the naturalized american, whose name I have had occasion to mention in a subsequent communication. These were Protestant, and wished to have secured to them, if Haytian supremacy, under erran guarantees, such as they had enjoyed under the former regime, in regard to their faith and its public exercise. The zeal of the majority, on the other hand, had reasonably awakened their apprehensions, and many, under the impression that the government had minds to fly over the other part of the island—as it was then very generally believed would be done on the breaking out of the revolution—from a fear that their religious privileges would be imperilled, their own rights of person and property derived from them, would no longer be respected, resolved to quit the island. Under these circumstances were given them that the old guarantees, so long enjoyed by them, would continue to be religiously respected by the new one. Soon after the constitution was adopted, a law on religion had been inserted in its present shape—as a peace-maker, and to allay the irritation to acquiesce in—they again took the alarm; but were again quieted, and are now finally allayed by their being referred to a previous article, which leaves the whole matter where it was, and which compelled to do what the law did not command, indeed, main reason. We have grown up with although the article certainly does not cover, in terms, the whole ground—or indeed much of it—which might be legitimately interpreted to mean any future as well as present enactment, is used in the article in question. My own opinion is, that this circumstance might be thought to afford advantage ground to press for a clause prohibiting the toleration of duties, if any such now exist in any future revision of the constitution. It might be fitting but justice to state that it was well understood and acknowledged on all hands that religious toleration is a fundamental law of the republic, though not expressly so to be, within the writer's knowledge, in written terms; and no guarantee for its continuation can be relied upon as more sacred and irrevocable than this.

In regard to this matter, I might have entered much further into minute, and, in some respects, instructive as well as curious details, having at my command well-accredited materials for this purpose; for the peculiar facility and facility of getting into the secrets of cabinets, councils, and conclaves, not apparent to the uninitiated, is not as we are not accustomed to look for, or suppose certainly to be hoped that it is there only they exist; and the writer's sole reason for not doing so is, that his motives might be misunderstood, a misconstruction he certainly does not entertain.

In order to provide for it, I might here remark this topic, that so far as he has been able to observe and judge of the subject of religious, or rather liberality exist, both throughout the different branches of the government and among the better informed portions of the community at least, such as we are not accustomed to look for, or suppose to exist in American governments and communities south of our own country.

CELSUS.

CITY OF ST. DOMINGO, May 22, 1848.

In order to provide for the new state of things consequent on the separation from Hayti, the new government resorted to the expedient usual in such cases—a paper issue. I have not by me the documents to show the whole amount issued from the beginning. In the second fiscal year of the republic (1845-6) there was issued paper and in copper coin, the sum of $1,128,886, and in the third and last reported year (1846-7), in same, the sum of $771,830, making an aggregate of nearly two millions of dollars. The whole amount in circulation is probably not far from three millions. This issue was based on the credit of the government—and like all similar expedients—has gradually depreciated. A year ago it was worth from eight to ten dollars for one, and for a little over a six and a half, showing a depreciation, within a year, of upwards of thirty per cent, as I have been in some previous ones of its short existence. Its value has remained stationary for several months past. The government is now directing its attention to the devising of some means whereby to avoid the necessity of making any further issues. The only other circulating medium heretofore, and the principal one still, has been the Spanish or South American gold coin, though now, silver, in the form of Mexican and American dollars, is getting into use.

There are four ports of entry in the republic, though this one only on the south, and Puerto Plata ed, in the year 1845-6, to $118,755 43, hard money, and $369,944 22, national currency; and in 1846-7, to $69,493 10, hard money, and $703,708 38 national currency; which showing a falling off in the hard money receipts of about one-half. This arose, not from a corresponding diminution of imports, from which it was chiefly derived, but from the fact that duties on importations was, by a law of that year, made payable three-fourths in paper money.

The proportions of the revenue derived from the principal classes—the last year's alone—were from duties on importations, national currency to $44,630 38, and tonnage from $15,735 46, hard money; while from exportations, it only amounted to, or about $11,827 68 hard money, take it altogether, is little more than half the first mentioned date, July 1, 1847; the two first items of which are for the year 1845-6. It will be seen, by this venue; the whole for that year, reducing the paper in proportion to its value, being only $139,414 77.

The expenditures of the government for the same year were $32,942 32, hard money, and $1,345,217 87 paper money; leaving a balance against it, for the year, before, two amount, in hard money, to the sum of $143,158 52, hard money, and paper, after deducting the receipts over the receipts of the year—taking the paper at the same rate, thirty-six dollars for one, of three dollars—a sum not quite equal, however, to the excess of paper issued over the former reduction made in the tariff of imports.

These statements will show, at a glance, omitting the items of government emission of paper and the small amounts derived from other sources than only those which compose the actual revenue. It will also be seen how inadequate are the present actual resources of the government, as compared with its current expenses.

To devise the means of bringing the receipts of the treasury up to its expenditures, (which it is to be remembered, were considerably within the estimates for the last year,) has occupied the earnest attention of the government during its present session. The President in his annual message recommended an increase of the export duty on the staples, namely, mahogany and tobacco; which measure, indeed, main reason. We have grown up with future, while the Congress has been warmly discussing the policy of an export duty on mahogany—a thing which has yet been decidedly acted upon. Measures, to be sure, sufficiently marked. But we are, as a result, suffering from the extraneous sources of revenue; and, indeed, main reason. We have grown up with of; but no steps have yet been taken, that I am aware of, to carry them into effect.

I pass to a few observations on the general administration of the several departments of the government. In doing so, and omitting those of a occasionally attended, I may remark that their proceedings have been conducted, on the whole, with decorum and parliamentary system and regularity, and with a degree of ability and intelligence, which, to be sure, sufficiently marked. But we are, as a result, under the circumstances. For it is to be consider—the people—on the contrary, they are of trans-atlantic origin, and still clothed in the unnatural duties, if any such now exist in any future revision of the constitution. It might be fitting but justice to state that it was well understood and acknowledged on all hands that rel-it is not indigenous to the soil. This has been in its country; this has been remarked in a previous letter; and it has been grown up with another, and the product of a different state of social and national education; they, or their national political existence, state here as an exotic. It is not indigenous to the soil, the habits and associations of the country, and are still clothed in it; its ideas have been seized upon, introduced and attached to the body politic here, by a few intelligent men, who, having received their own education or study at home, have grasped the ideas of rational political existence, as they exist in more advanced machinery, and transplanted them to their own country; where, if time be given to them to do so, to the condition, wants and capacities of the people, they may, in time, take root, and ultimate success time alone can disclose. Mean-time, it will be one of the principal objects of this series of letters to illustrate this experiment, and to show how far the offshoot, transplanted from the tree of liberty and thrives, is likely to flourish, or if it will wither and die under the influence of the tropical sun, fanned by its soft breezes, and created by nature, as it would seem, in one of her most prodigal moods

The remarks to which my allusion to the legislative department of the government has led, are equally applicable to every department of the administration of the country. The constitution, the various letter, the civil and criminal codes of the country, are all, with few exceptions, having their spring out of the character, condition, and wants of the people—on the contrary, they are of trans-atlantic origin, the offspring of a very different state of society, and still clothed in the unnatural garb of a foreign language. All these circumstances render it often a matter of perplexity and difficulty for the judges to expound the laws. The consequence of all this is, that trans-atlantic ideas and inbred ideas and associations do not come in aid of the judge in the performance of his duties, as is the case under the common law, or even those modified systems of the civil law which the wants and experience of a country have suggested. Thus the judiciary are, so far as the writer's professional knowledge enables him to form a judgment, as well to form an opinion, as a body, upright and intelligent; but there is, nevertheless, as might be expected in such a case, a degree of uncertainty, and a lack of uniformity, and a want of firmness, which all these circumstances tend to produce. The President has recently called the attention of the national Congress to the subject; and the minister who presides over this department, closes his remarks on the subject by recommending such an alteration in the system of laws as will "adapt them to the capacity of those who administer them, and of those who are to obey them."

The subject of popular education has, from the first, engaged the earnest attention of the government. A law made subsequent to the constitution, has sought to carry out the provision on this subject contained in that instrument. This has been of the country, more or less elaborated by human labor. With the exception just stated, there are no agricultural products exported. Of the exports, mahogany is the staple of the south side, from this port; as is tobacco of the north, from Puerto Plata. Besides these, lignum vitae, satin wood, fustic, hides, honey, wax, and various other articles of less importance, complete the list. Of the two most important articles, there were exported