Lysius Salomon

Lysius Salomon

Louis Étienne Félicité Lysius Salomon Jeune (born June 30, 1815 in Les Cayes , †  October 19, 1888 in Paris ) was a Haitian politician and President of Haiti .

biography

Family and political career

Salomon came from an influential family in southeast Haiti who stood in opposition to Charles Rivière-Hérard , who was in office from March 1843 to May 1844 . He had both Salomon and his father arrested after confrontations with mulattos and then released them into exile in Neyba , the capital of the Baoruco province in the southwest of the neighboring Dominican Republic . There he completed his studies and prepared himself for his future political career. He saw himself in particular as a representative of a policy to promote the black population at the expense of the mulattos in the tradition of the father of Haitian independence , Jean-Jacques Dessalines .

Upon his return, President Faustin Soulouque appointed him Minister of Finance in March 1847. He also held this office after Soulouque's coronation as Emperor Faustin I of Haiti on April 18, 1852. As finance minister, he began monopolizing the coffee and cotton businesses . At the same time, foreign imports were regulated by the state monopoly administration and capital levies were introduced, which, however, led to a sharp increase in smuggling and piracy .

In 1858 he was appointed Minister of the Interior for a short time by Emperor Faustin I. However, after the fall of Soulouque, who ruled increasingly dictatorially , he had to go into exile in Europe again in January 1859 . In addition to his travels in Europe, he also continued private studies and stayed in France for several years.

Under President Sylvain Salnave he was Foreign Minister from May 1867 to December 1869. After his fall he was in exile in London and Paris until August 18, 1879 . At times, however, there was also an ambassador in Paris. After his return, he worked briefly in import and export .

President 1879 to 1888

Fight for the presidency and election victory

President Solomon with ministers and foreign diplomats (1884)

Immediately afterwards, however, he began running as a candidate for the presidential election. After his election as President of Haiti for a term of seven years on October 2, 1879, he was sworn in on October 26, 1879 and thus took over the office from the previous acting President Joseph Lamothe . One of the reasons for his rather surprising choice was the dispute between the major parties. As part of his presidency program, he planned to increase agricultural production, stabilize the financial situation and improve and reorganize public administration. In a very short time he began to repay loans to France and set up a national bank.

The Liberal Party , which suffered a severe defeat in the Chamber of Deputies elections, did its utmost to regain its previous influence. Its chairman, Boyer Bazelais , who had gone into exile in Kingston (Jamaica) , initiated Jamaica's conspiracies against the new president without any interference from the British colonial power .

On March 27, 1883, Bazelais met on board the US steamship The Tropic in Miragoâne and began an uprising against Solomon from there . This uprising was suppressed at the end of the year, but at a high price for Haiti.

In addition to the expenses caused by the new dispute, Haiti had to pay heavy damages to foreign nationals who suffered damage in Port-au-Prince and other cities. After the US government learned that a US steamship was involved in the uprising, the US had to issue the requested apology. The captain and crew of The Tropic were charged and convicted of violating the law of neutrality in a court in Philadelphia .

Differences with the Catholic Church

Right at the beginning of his term of office, Solomon was called upon to resolve the considerable differences between the civil and religious authorities. In the early years of its independence, Haiti had proclaimed the freedom of cults and introduced civil marriage. According to the applicable laws, clergymen of all faiths were forbidden to celebrate a wedding without submitting a civil marriage certificate. Over time, the Catholic clergy began to disregard this ordinance until they finally claimed the right to a proper marriage without prior civil marriage proceedings.

Thereupon the legislature took up this subject with the Chamber of Deputies and passed a resolution asking the President to repeal the Concordat signed with the Holy See in 1860 . Solomon began the necessary steps to comply with the resolution. However, the priests immediately began to observe the legal situation so that there were no further tensions between the clergy and the civil authorities.

The Lazare, Pelletier and Maunders compensation proceedings

These internal political differences were not the only difficulties Solomon faced. Like his predecessors, numerous claims were made against his government by foreign powers.

The US persisted in claiming compensation for Pelletier and Lazare. In order to end these long discussions, the Haitian government ultimately agreed to submit the two cases to arbitration. Pursuant to protocol signed on May 28, 1884 by the Haitian envoy in Washington, DC , Preston, and the US Secretary of State , Frederick T. Frelinghuysen , the former US Supreme Court Justice , William Strong, was appointed sole arbitrator.

The compensation awarded on June 13, 1885 was of the most astonishing nature. The Republic of Haiti was sentenced to pay AH Lazare US $ 117,500 at six percent annual interest since November 1, 1875, and to the pirate Pelletier US $ 57,200. Haiti filed a complaint with the US Secretary of State about this extraordinary amount of compensation. In addition, Pelletier's previous crime was so obvious that then-US Secretary of State William H. Seward had refused to join Pelletier's favor. In a letter dated November 30, 1863 to the US commission agent in Port-au-Prince , Seward presented his position on the Pelletier case:

"His (Pelletiers) behavior in Haiti and on its coast is sufficient ground for necessary suspicions against him by the authorities of this republic, which led to his arrest, trial and conviction on legitimate grounds and which do not give rise to any interference."

In addition, the US Trade Representative Gorham Eustis Hubbard , who worked in Cap-Haitien in 1861, declared to the arbitrator William Strong on February 22, 1885:

"It has always been my view from then until now that the Haitian government should execute this man as a pirate and confiscate his ship and property in redemption ."

In June 1874, had the United States Senate consideration of the petition rejected by Antonio Pelletier. The United States House of Representatives had also declined in 1868 and again in 1878 to make any recommendation to the State Department on Pelletier's case.

After examining the above-mentioned reasons put forward by the Haitian Legation, the US State Department ultimately canceled the indemnities and exempted Haiti from paying the indemnities to both Lazare and Pelletier. In his memorandum of January 20, 1887, the now US Secretary of State, Thomas F. Bayard , stated on the Pelletier case:

“This case of damage is one, as I am now finding out, that no civilized government can extort for its reasons. I do not hesitate in my decision to say that the claim is Pelletier, because this government is not going to squeeze from Haiti, neither through influence nor pressure, and I come to this conclusion, firstly because Haiti had the right to punish Pelletiers, which he is now complaining about, which is in no way exaggerated in view of the horror of his actions, and secondly because his litigation is inherently so saturated with turpentine and shame that no action, legal or diplomatic, can be based on it. "

Regarding Lazare, Bayard stated:

“Fundamental to the relationship between nations should be highlighted at the moment, through the highest honors as well as honesty, when the United States government discovered that the damage claim brought against a foreign government was not honorable and honorable can be enforced, as well as the moment, regardless of the duration of the procedure, that the claim for damages should be dropped. "

While the United States thereby recognized the rights of a weaker nation, Britain, on the other hand, defended its position regarding payment of damages in the Maunders case. This claim for damages could easily have been transferred to an arbitration tribunal. The Haitian government was disputed whether the concessionaire made the agreed payment, while Maunders said it would have suffered heavy losses. Britain, however, insisted on the payment of damages.

In March 1887, the warship Canada anchored with a special envoy on board in the port of Port-au-Prince and requested an immediate settlement. To keep the peace, Haiti agreed to pay a sum of US $ 32,000.

Establishment of the National Bank and financial crises

Subsequently, foreign powers increasingly criticized Haitian financial management, ignoring the fact that Haiti's financial difficulties and the budgetary burden were based on foreign lending rates. However, Salomon began to take some measures to resolve the financial crisis. First he conducted direct negotiations with the holders of the bonds from the loan taken out by former President Michel Domingue . After a swift agreement, the interest was paid regularly. After that, the loan would have been completely redeemed in 1922.

Convinced of the integrity of the Haitians, French investors began to set up a state bank in Haiti, the Banque Nationale d'Haiti , in 1880 , which was entrusted in particular with the administration of government revenue and government spending. Following the enactment of the law on the National Bank of September 24, 1880, the issue of silver , bronze and copper coins and soon afterwards of paper money began in the autumn of 1880 .

This financial institution did not meet the expectations of strict honesty and careful financial management. A financial scandal broke out barely four years after the Banque Nationale d'Haiti was founded . Securities orders that had already been paid were put into circulation again, so that a criminal investigation followed, which led to a French and an Englishman being sentenced to three years ' imprisonment each . A few years later, this bank was involved in the so-called consolidation scandal in 1904 .

Further events and re-election as President in 1887

In addition to the establishment of the National Bank, the first submarine cable for telegraphy was laid during his tenure . After the establishment of the Universal Postal Union ( Union Postale Universelle ) in 1874, Haiti joined it in 1880 and began to issue the first postage stamps . In his honor, one and three centime stamps were issued with his portrait in 1887 . A national exhibition in Port-au-Prince served to promote agricultural production. A law faculty was also established so that it was no longer necessary to study law abroad . Finally, a national archive was established, primary education reformed, agriculture, government administration and the army reformed. Unfortunately, during his presidency, the National Archives were destroyed by fire, and with it a large collection of jurisprudence donated by France, which was important for law courses.

A key supporter of his reform policy was his longtime advisor François Saint-Surin Manigat, whose grandson Leslie Manigat later became president himself. Manigat first became Minister of the Interior in 1883 and soon after became Governor of the National Bank. In 1887 he was finally appointed Minister of Education.

On May 15, 1887, his term of office would have ended due to the constitution , but remained head of state due to a decision of the National Assembly . To this end, the constitution, which previously prohibited re-election of the president, was amended. On June 30, 1886, he was therefore re-elected President for a further seven-year term and took his new oath of office on May 15, 1887.

In the period that followed, however, there was great dissatisfaction, as there was fear of a re-establishment of a presidency for life. The leader of the group of opponents of Solomon was General Silk Thélémaque , the commander of the army units in the arrondissement of Cap-Haitien , who on August 4, 1888 publicly refused any further recognition of powers. On August 10, 1888, the President had to finally announce his resignation at a hostile rally in Port-au-Prince. He resigned that morning without bloodshed and went on a ship to exile in Paris that afternoon, where he died a little more than two months later as a result of a surgical operation.

With the restoration, a Provisional Government was set up under the chairmanship of the former President Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal .

In 2000, the Haitian government issued a 50 gourde - banknote with his portrait out.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Joan Dayan: Haiti, History, and The Gods. 1998, ISBN 0-520-21368-8 , p. 27 ( digitized version )
2. ^ Troubles In The West Indies; President Salomon Confident Of Suppressing The Hayti Rebellion. In: New York Times. April 24, 1883
3. ^ The Haytian Revolution. In: New York Times. July 3, 1883
4. ^ The Haytian Rebellion; Bombardment Of Jacmel And A Severe Naval Engagement. In: New York Times. December 13, 1883
5. ^ The Haytian Revolution; Particulars Of The Capitulation Of Jeremie And Jacmel. In: New York Times. January 25, 1884
6. ^ A Protest From Hayti. In: New York Times. July 3, 1885
7. ↑ Put In irons In hayti; The Turn In Capt. Pelletiers Good Fortune. In: New York Times. December 23, 1884
8. ↑ Ralph Dietl: USA and Central America: The foreign policy of William J. Bryan 1913-1915. Dissertation University 1995, ISBN 3-515-06914-3 , p. 192 ( digitized version )
9. ↑ Haiti Paper Mony Catalog 1884 ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ Haiti Postage Stamp Gallery ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ^ Events In Hayti; President Salomon Buys Off A Powerful Rival. In: New York Times. July 28, 1888
12. ↑ An Exile And Refugee; Gene. Salomon, The Deposed President Of Hayti, In The City. In: New York Times. August 25, 1888
13. ↑ Death Of Gen. Salomon; The Exiled President Of Hayti Dies After A Surgical Operation. In: New York Times. October 20, 1888

Web links

• Biographical notes in rulers.org
• Chapter XXIII, Haiti History Chapters, in: Haitiwebs.com
• Biography in Haitianmedia
• James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin: Haiti. Stanford University, 2006 (PDF file; 259 kB)
• Dates Principales De L'Histoire D'Haiti
• Decades Of Instability, 1843-1915 , Library Of Congress, 1989
• World History: Haiti 1859-1915

predecessor	Office	successor
Joseph Lamothe	President of Haiti October 2, 1879-10. August 1888	Pierre Théoma Boisrond Canal