country.

ART. 5. The crews of all the Prussian vessels brought into British ports since the publication of the letters of marque, shall be set at liberty immediately after the conclusion of the present treaty; and the British government shall cause them to return, in the most direct and expeditious manner, into the dominions of his Prussian majesty, to whatever place shall be hereafter agreed upon.

ART. 6. His majesty the king of Prussia engages not to impede, nor to allow any other power to impede, the free navigation of his Britannic majesty in any of the ports of his dominions, but, on the contrary, to afford full liberty to the English flag to enter into and to proceed from the above-mentioned ports, in the same manner as before the late closing of the rivers Ems, Weser, and Elbe.

ART. 7. The two high contracting parties mutually promise and engage to invite his majesty the emperor of all the Russias to take upon himself the guarantee of the renunciation on the part of his Prussian majesty, of his rights and pretensions to the country of Hanover, as stipulated in the second article of the present treaty.

ART. 8. Every other subject of discussion or arrangement between the two courts is reserved for future amicable adjustment.

ART. 9. The ratification, drawn up in due and proper form, shall be exchanged in the space of six weeks, or sooner if possible, in case the present difficulty of communication should allow of it.

In faith of which, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present treaty, and have hereunto

(L. S.) HUTCHINSON. (L- S.) FREDERIC GUILLAUME DE ZASTROW.

CONSTITUTION OF THF STATE OF

HAYTI.

The undersigned mandatories, charged with the powers of the people of Hayti, being legally convoked by his excellency the general in chief of the army, penetrated by the necessity of making their constituents enjoy the sacred, imprescriptible, and unalienable rights of man, proclaim, in the presence and under the auspices of the Allpowerful, the articles contained in the present constitutional pact :—

TITLE 1.-Of the condition of citizens. 1. Every body residing in the territory of Hayti is free, in the fullest sense.

2. Slavery is for ever abolished in Hayti.

3. No one has a right to violate the asylum of a citizen, nor to enter forcibly into his dwelling, without an order emanating from a superior and competent authority.

4. All property is under the protection of the government. Every attack upon the property of a citizen is a crime which the law punishes.

5. The law punishes assassination with death.

TITLE 11-Of the government. 6. The government of Hayti is composed,-first, of a chief magis trate, who takes the title and quality of president and generalissimo of the forces of Hayti, both by land and sea; every other denomination is for ever proscribed in

Hayti; secondly, of a council of

state,

The government of Hayti takes the title, and will be known by the denomination of "The state of Hayti."

7. The constitution names the general in chief, Henry Christophe, president and generalissimo of the forces, both by land and sea, of the state of Hayti.

8. The trust of president and generalissimo of the forces is for life.

9. The president has the right to choose his successor, but from among the generals, and in the manner hereafter prescribed. .

This choice must be secret, and contained in a sealed packet, which shall be opened only by the council of state solemnly assembled, for that purpose.

The president shall take all necessary precautions for informing the council of state where this pack et shall be deposited.

10. The armed force shall be under the direction of the president, as also the administration of the finances.

11. The president has the power to make treaties with foreign nations, as well for the purpose of establishing commercial relations as to secure the independence of the

state.

12. He is to conclude peace, and to declare war, to maintain the rights of the people of Hayti.

13. He has also to consider of the means of favouring and increasing the population of the country.

14. He is to propose the laws to thecouncil of state, who, after having adopted them and drawn them up, send them back to him for his sanction, without which they cannot be executed.

15. The appointments of the president are fixed at 40,000 dollars a-year.

TITLE III.-Of the council of state.

16. The council of state is composed of nine members, nominated by the president, of which, at least, two-thirds are to be generals.

17. The functions of the council of state are, to receive the propositions of laws from the president, and to draw them up in the manner they may judge adviseable; to fix the amount of taxes, and the mode of collecting them; to sanction the treaties concluded by the president, and to fix upon the mode of recruiting the army. An account shall be presented to them annually, of the receipts and expenses and of the resources of the country.

[The fourth and fifth heads respect the appointment of a superintendant-general of the finances, the marine, and the interior, and also the appointment of a secretary of state.]

TITLE VI. Of the tribunals.

There shall be in every division a tribunal, to determine both on civil and criminal matters.

There shall be also a tribunal of commerce in each division.

There shall be a justice of peace in each parish, to determine con troversies up to a limited sum.

Each citizen may, however, have his disputes determined by arbitrators, if he thinks proper.

TITLE VII.-Of religion.

The catholic apostolic and Roman religion is the only one acknowledged by the government.

The exercise of other religions is tolerated, but not publicly.

There is to be an apostolic pre,

fect,

fect, to superintend what concerns divine worship, and to communicate directly to the president upon the subject.

The state gives nothing to the support of any minister, but the law will fix the emoluments and

perquisites that they are to receive. No one has a right to disturb the exercise of any religion.

TITLE VIII.-Pullic education. There shall be established a central school in each division, and particular schools in each division.

It shall be, however, lawful for every citizen to have private semi

naries.

The salaries of the professors and masters shall be settled by a parti

cular law.

TITLE IX. Of the guarantee of the

neighbouring colonies. ·

The government of Hayti declares to those powers who have colonies in its neighbourhood, its fixed determination to give no disturbance to the government of those colonies.

The people of Hayti make` no conquests out of their own island, and confine themselves to the preservation of their own territory.

[After these heads, there fol. low some general regulations, the principal of which are, that every Haytian from 16 to 50 can be called into the army whenever the safety of the state requires it: that the government solemnly gua, ranties the foreign merchants the security of their persons and properties: divorce is strictly forbid in Hayti; and agriculture, which is declared the most ancient, the most noble, and the most useful of all the arts, is to be encouraged and protected.]

This constitution was published

at the Cape on the 17th of Febuary 1807, and is signed by three gene rals of division, eight generals of brigade, four adjutant-generals, and a number of civil officers.

PROCLAMATION.

Henry Christophe, president and generalissimo of the military and naval forces of the state of Hayti, to the army and people.

The light has broke in upon us, and a beneficent constitution has put an end to the plots and machinations of which you were on the point of becoming victims. A wise code, adapted to our manners, our climate, and our customs, has sprung, as it may be said, out of chaos, and fixed once more the destinies of Hayti.

Long had I in vain sought to present you with this precious gift: in vain did I assemble the districts, and urge them to send deputies to Porte-au-prince, to give you a con stitution. My anxiety, instead of being followed with the desired success, only operated as an addi. tional incitement to the factious, to pervert the public opinion, and to establish a constitution favourable to their interests and those of their adherents; but as hostile to the liberty of the people, as it was to the principles of sound reason.

Fellow-citizens, you have all been witnesses to the purity of my views, and the sincerity of my intentions. You know how this sin cerity has been abused by the miscreants who fomented revolt and kindled civil war. Their efforts never intimidated me for a single moment, or diverted me from my design of serving my country. By night or by day I have never ceased to occupy myself in providing for the public safety. What have I not done to effect it? What have

I not suffered in counteracting the secret wiles and plots of the factious?

I have always been in the midst of you, and you can say whether my conduct has ever been influenced, or my honour tarnished, by ambition. Invested with the supreme power, this day, by the wish of my fellow-citizens and my companions in arms, I have yielded to their desires; and I have consented to bear this weighty but honour able burthen, because it was their wish that it should be intrusted to my hands, and because I am will ing again to serve my country. Happy shall I be if my efforts are crowned with success, and if they tend to the happiness of my fellowcitizens !

But to attain this, my efforts alone will not be sufficient: the laws and constitution which have just been presented to you must be observed. It provides for the religious preservation of your rights; it secures to every citizen his personal liberty, his right of property, and that of his family.

The fatal consequences of the wars in which we have been enga ged, and still more the immoral example held out to us by the French, had almost destroyed every principle of religion. The moral system was publicly laughed at, and a corrupted youth abandoned itself without remorse to all the licentiousness of its age; public education was degraded, and con. fined to mercenary instructors. It was necessary to restore to religion its dignity; to cause it to be respected and cherished. It was necessary to receive morality; to give it due distinction; to inculcate into the minds of youth its sacred principles, and those of honour also; in short, to convince the people,

that without religion and morality human society could not exist.

Your interests will be secured to you by proper tribunals; the judg ments pronounced by their ministers will be dictated by equity and justice, It remains for the people of Hayti to make themselves distinguished by their probity and good faith. Essentially a trading country, as well from its situation as the nature of the commodities it produces, it is necessary that it should attract the merchants of every country on the globe, both by its equity and its produce.

Trade being the source of all our wealth, it is important that the foreign merchants who frequent our ports should be equally protected with our fellow-citizens; and that they should receive all that hospitality due to this useful class of society.

To feed this trade-togive it a new spring-agriculture must be prosecuted with perseverance and vigour. Placed under the finest climate of the world, favoured by nature with her most precious gifts, even to profusion, the husbandman has not at Hayti to contend with the rigour of a frozen clime, or to fortify himself against the inclemencies of seasons. seasons. A little labour is sufficient to enrich him, and to place him on a level with the manufac turers of other countries. Exert yourselves, then, industrious cultivators, to fill your warehouses with the produce of our fertile soil; display to the eyes of the merchants of Europe all that can tempt their desires, and you will see your trade flourish much above your most sanguine expectations.

After having re-established religion, defecated morality, restored manners, and encouraged agricul ture and trade, we shall have still

great

great labours to encounter. We must not neglect the use of arms. The enemy watches our movements, and observes our proceedings. We have as yet no guarantee of the affection of our friends. We must bind the latter to us by treaties; we must be ready to meet the former in the field. Abandoned to ourselves, our resources are in ourselves. They are in you, soldiers, who are ready generously to spill your blood sooner than yield to a haughty enemy your liberty, which is the reward of your courage! They are in you, inhabitants and industrious cultivators, from whom the state derives its wealth! it is your union, your submission to the laws, which are to be the cement and bond of our independence.

The line of politics which foreign powers will pursue with respect to us is not yet manifest: whatever it may be, let us place ourselves in such a situation, that, without holding out any defiance to them, we may, at the same time, have nothing to dread from those who may entertain hostile intentions. Let those who wish a political connexion with us, or who would wish to enjoy the advantage of our commerce, find an equitable reciprocity. To the rest, let us only offer death and battles.

At the same time that we are occupied with these thoughts, let us never forget that the safety of a free people is best manifested by

arms.

If cultivation employs a part of our fellow-citizens, let us remember that we are all soldiers, and that it is warlike nations alone who have been able to preserve their liberty. Let us call to mind that a handful of Greeks, devoted to their country, confounded the rage of a million of barbarians,

who endeavoured to wrest from them their liberty. Let us swear to imitate their example; let us swear to observe our sacred constitution, and to cause it to be ob served, and to perish sooner than allow it to be violated in the smallest degree.

Published at the head-quarters at the Cape, Feb. 17, 1807. HENRY CHRISTOPHE, president. ROUANEZ, Secretary of state.

MESSAGE OF HIS MAJESTY THE

EMPEROR AND KING.

Senators,

We have given orders for a project of the senatus consultum to be laid before you, in order for the immediate calling out of the con scription for 1808. The report which our minister of war has transmitted to us will acquaint you with the various advantages which must be the result of this measure. All the nations round us are arming; England has again set on foot an extraordinary levy of 200,000 men. Other powers, as well as England, are adopting the measure of extraordinary levies, astheir last resource. However strong and numerous our armies may be, we are by no means convinced that the regulations of the senatus consultum will be the less necessary and advantageous. At any rate, the sight of the triple barrier of camps which encircle our territory, must have the same effect upon our enemy as the triple line of fortresses which defend our advan ced frontier. This will leave them without the least hope of gaining any advantage over us, will assuage their fury, and, finally, in consequence of their total incapacity to do us any injury, will bring them back to a sense of reason and justice.

The zeal with which our people have executed the senatus con

sultum