population than in the cities. The evidence taken, as well as the observations of the commissioners, and all who accompanied or aided them, establish this fact beyond question. It was deemed unnecessary to accumulate the written testimony of witnesses which was everywhere uniform. The commission did not have to search after evidence of the disposition of the people. Individual citizens, bodies of men, delegations from Masonic, industrial, and mutual aid societies, representatives of ecclesiastical associations-people of all kinds-came to them in such numbers and with such frequency that their visits became almost a burden, all declaring their desire for annexation.

Soon after the treaty of annexation was negotiated, a popular vote was taken in the manner usual in that republic, as required by the treaty, which resulted in an almost unanimous expression in favor of annexation to the United States. Whatever may be individual preferences or opinions as to the best form for taking the vote of an entire nation on a subject of that magnitude, the great mass of the evidence before the commission goes to show that this was a truthful expression of the will of the people; and in all the expeditions, either of members of their own body or their agents, ample corroboration of this opinion met them. at every point.

CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.

The physical, mental, and moral condition of the inhabitants of Santo Domingo was found to be much more advanced than had been anticipated. The population is generally of mixed blood. The great majority, especially along the coast, are neither pure black nor pure white; they are mixed in every conceivable degree. In some parts of the interior considerable numbers of the pure white race are to be found, and generally in the mixed race the white blood predominates. The Dominican people differ widely in this particular from the Haytian, among whom the black race is in complete ascendancy. The cultivated and educated, such as the president, members of his cabinet, senators, judges, and local magistrates, compare well with the same class in other countries; and the uneducated appear equal to the same class in any country with which we are acquainted. They seem to be practically destitute of prejudice of class, race, or color. In their intercourse with each other and with strangers they are courteous in manner, respectful, and polite. In all their relations with them the commissioners found them kind and hospitable. The testimony shows them to be an honest and inoffensive people, among whom, in the rural districts, a person may travel alone and unarmed all over the country, with treasure, without danger. All of the numerous parties attached to the commission, which traversed various parts of the country, bear the same testimony concerning the people. The judicial officers stated that high crimes, such as murder, arson, burglary, and the like, are nearly unknown among them. No pauper class exists, and beggary is almost unknown. They are a temperate people, and drunken men are rarely seen. Among the popular vices is that of petty gambling, which is indulged in openly and extensively, especially by the Spanish portion of the population.

They are all Roman Catholics, except the American emigrants sent out in 1824 and succeeding years, who, with their descendants, now form a number of settlements, and amount to several thousand persons. These are mostly Methodists and Baptists. They live among the Catholics in peace and harmony. No intolerance or religious persecution can be discovered among them.

The people are generally poor, living in cheap and humble dwellings,

which, though well adapted to their country, might appear rude and uncomfortable to those accustomed to houses made for a more rigorous climate. In the country almost every family possess all the land they desire to cultivate, which is usually one small field, for an acre or two well tilled is sufficient, in this fertile land, to furnish a family with their food. The reason they universally assign for not cultivating more, is that amid constantly recurring revolutions, it is very uncertain who may reap the crop; besides, there is no market now for surplus produce.

The commissioners had an opportunity to see the progress which the people of color have made in Jamaica. In that island there is abundant evidence that, in spite of misgovernment and the social oppression which has lasted long after the abolition of slavery, this people are improving and becoming sharers in a higher civilization.

The evidence taken shows that the Dominican people are not averse to work when certain of reasonable reward, but are good and faithful laborers. An abundance of labor can now be had at about ten dollars or less per month. Appearances make it probable that the elements necessary to physical persistency exist among the people, especially in that large proportion in whom Spanish blood predominates. The decline of these people in numbers and in enterprise is sufficiently accounted for by social and political causes, without the gratuitous assumption that the race is dying out or effete.

EDUCATION.

There are few schools in the republic, and consequently the great majority of the people are uneducated. But of all the great number who were examined by the commissioners and their agents on this point not one failed to express the desire that some system of general education should be created and the belief that it would be eagerly embraced. The few schools that exist are maintained by the people with little or no support from the government. School-books prepared in the United States were found in some remote cabins. The basis of original talent is not lacking. The shrewdness of the Dominicans is proverbial among those who are brought into close relations with them. In the schools, few and feeble as they are, may be found abundant evidence to corroborate the assertions of the teachers that the average of native ability is good. But one printing-office, exists within the republic from which newspapers or books are issued. This is at the capital, and is very small and poorly equipped.

GENERAL POLITICAL CAPACITY.

Serious as are these obstacles to general civilization and to the intelligent exercise of political liberties, the condition of the people is by no means hopeless. For several generations there has been neither slavery nor any caste spirit to deprive them of manliness. The people at large are not degraded. They are willing to work when the result of their labor is made secure. From among them, at various times, many noble and capable men have arisen-men combining statesmanship and generalship with patriotism. Many of the people possess very clear ideas of liberty, and show a willingness to make sacrifices for it. The courage and devotion that have been wasted in insurrections and revolutions may yet, under better guidance, ripen into capacity for self-government and regular political action.

POPULATION.

The data furnished by the authorities as to population are very meager and unsatisfactory. An estimate was recently made "by the ecclesiastical

court, counting by parishes," which gave a total of 207,000. There are evident signs of error in this estimate. For instance, the capital was set down at 10,000, while it is obvious to the careful observer who counts streets and houses, that there cannot be over 6,000, if so many. Again, Azua is estimated at 10,000, while an actual count, made a few years ago, showed that it contained only 7,750. The present number is apparently still less. Los Llaños is set down at 3,000; but the military governor now estimates that the number of families does not exceed 150, which would indicate a population of not over 1,000; although, by a tax-list of 1827, in the possession of the commission, it had 397 rate-payers.

The communes of San Juan, Las Matas, Banica, Neyba, &c., are set down at 22,000; but they have been depopulated by revolution and invasion, and their actual number is fixed by local residents and other competent witnesses at from 5,000 to 8,000. Comparing these figures of the ecclesiastical court with certain known facts, and with all the evidence we can gather from intelligent witnesses and personal observation, the commissioners estimate that the actual population of the republic does not exceed 150,000. This does not include the many who have voluntarily expatriated themselves on account of the continual disturbances nor the few who have been banished.

It seems probable that more than nine-tenths, perhaps nineteentwentieths, are native Dominicans. The others are, first, colored immigrants from the United States; secondly, European traders, who do not settle anywhere, but sojourn at commercial points.

Negro blood preponderates very largely in Hayti; but the pure negro of African type is not common even there. White blood preponderates largely in Dominica, but pure whites, in the popular sense of the word, are not numerous. The majority are of a mixed race much nearer white than black.

RESOURCES-MINERAL PRODUCTS.

The resources of the country are vast and various, and its products may be increased with scarcely any other limit than the labor expended upon them. There is evidence of mineral wealth in various parts of the island. The geologists of the expedition report the existence of the ores of iron, of copper, and of gold, with deposits of lignite, rock-salt, and petroleum. Iron ore is abundant, easy of access, and will doubtless in time be made available for the cheap production of pig-iron. The copper ores are of a fair degree of richness, and the beds have been opened to a slight extent. The reported coal of the Samana Peninsula and in the neighborhood of Puerto Plata was examined, and found to be lig nite, of little value as a fuel compared with Pennsylvania or English coal. The gold region is extensive, and, though worked anciently, is at present but little known. It invites patient exploration by practical miners. The salt deposits in the mountains near Neyba are believed to be extensive and valuable. The salt can be quarried out in large transparent blocks, and a chemical analysis, made for the commission, shows it to be of sufficient purity for commercial purposes.

CHARACTER OF THE SOIL.

Summarily and practically viewed, for agricultural purposes, there are five classes of lands in Santo Domingo, viz:

1. The mountain slopes and valleys. These are uniformly rich and productive except in limited regions where rain is deficient, as on the southern slope of the coast range northeast of Monte Cristi.

2. The extensive prairie region of the Llaños lying east and north of Santo Domingo City, south of the Cibao range. This is all admirable pasture land. A large portion of it is capable of profitable cultivation. It is intersected by wooded valleys and groves containing much excellent timber.

3. The rolling plain of the Vega, which is generally wooded and is the finest body of agricultural land on the island.

4. The dry lands, like a portion of the plain of Azua and the valley of the Yaqui, where rain is partly or wholly wanting, from topographical causes. These lands can be made fertile by artificial irrigation.

5. The red-clay lands, mostly along the coast, underlaid by coralline limestone. These are usually covered with timber. They are not generally very rich or deep, but are susceptible of profitable cultivation. The vicinity of Santo Domingo City is a fair average specimen of this class of soils.

PROPORTION CAPABLE OF CULTIVATION.

Although Santo Domingo contains almost every variety of soil, there is very little swampy or sandy land. In this respect it differs widely from Florida and the other Gulf States. The country is varied in surface, unusually well watered, and excels in natural drainage.

There is hardly any portion of the island where the land is not capable of cultivation. The mountains support a vegetation widely differing from that of the lowlands, but they nowhere rise so high as to be covered with snow. Everywhere they are fertile, except the few small districts already mentioned, as the plain of the Yaqui, and a part of the Azua region, whose character could be changed by irrigation.

Taken as a whole, this republic is one of the most fertile regions on the face of the earth. The evidence of men well acquainted with the other West India Islands declares this to be naturally the richest of them all.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

While the geographical position of Santo Domingo within the tropics implies the successful production of all the tropical fruits and vegetables, including the commercial staples, the differences of exposure, elevation above the sea, and character of soil present a variation of circumstances, adapting particular districts to many different classes of growths and branches of agricultural industry.

On the rich lowlands and valleys sugar-cane yields the most profitable returns. The extent and average richness of the tracts suited to this purpose are unsurpassed in the West Indies. The evidence shows that the average quality of soil in Santo Domingo, especially the plains of the Vega and portions of the country on the north shore, are better adapted to raising sugar-cane than are the sugar-growing districts of the adjacent islands. This is corroborated by the observation of the commissioners.

They and their agents inspected several of the principal sugar plantations in Jamaica. The production of these is very great where irrigation is practiced. In some cases it is said to exceed two tons per acre. But in many of the circumstances conducive to the most profitable manufacture, Jamaica is less favored than Santo Domingo. A much larger portion of the latter is naturally watered to a degree suitable for this and other agricultural purposes. In many parts of Santo Domingo the canes do not need replanting for many years. Fifteen successive annual cuttings from the original root are common, and upon

This

the richest lands excellent cane, is found of much greater age. is due partly to the greater frequency and abundance of rain resulting from the easterly or windward position of Santo Domingo, which gives it freer access to the trade-winds than the islands further within the Gulf, and partly, also, to the rich vegetable mold which covers the surface of extensive plains and valleys-the result of centuries of forest growth and decay. The greater abundance of fuel would appear to give Santo Domingo an additional advantage over adjoining islands in this branch of industry.

The mountain regions are especially suited to the culture of coffee and cacao. The soil of the hills is usually rich; even where too steep and strong to be plowed, they can be cultivated with the hoe. The salubrity of the climate and the beauty of the scenery make them exceedingly attractive. To persons unacclimated and accustomed to the northern temperature these mountain regions offer peculiar inducements. At present these high lands, which form more than one half the area of the island, are generally uninhabited and almost unvisited by man. In Jamaica are many fine plantations of coffee in similar situations, at an altitude of 3,500 to 4,000 feet above the sea. The culture of coffee and cacao requires much less labor and capital than that of sugar, and is peculiarly adapted to families of moderate means. The coffee-tree begins to bear at the age of four years, and continues to yield an annual crop for more than fifty years. The cacao is equally productive and easy of culture. Native chocolate prepared from the cacao-bean is of excellent quality and in general use. Both these trees have become thoroughly naturalized and are found growing wild in the woods and seem free from diseases and enemies.

There are a number of plants, varieties of the genus agave, which produce valuable fibers, already employed to some extent in Santo Domingo for domestic purposes. The "cabuya" is the most common; it grows wild in the dryest and most arid districts. It is susceptible of easy cultivation. The Dominicans make it into ropes, halters, hammock fastenings, &c. By the rough process of extracting the fiber by hand, now used, it could not be profitably manufactured; but with suitable machinery it would form an important article of export.

The product of wax and honey is surprisingly large. In many places the rocks and hollow trees abound in bees. The honey is so cheap and plentiful that comparatively little of it is saved. Thousands of hives are destroyed for the sake of the wax alone. Wax candles are in general use among the poorest classes.

Wild ginger and indigo grow everywhere in profusion. The tree-cotton grows even on the dry lands, and bears abundantly. The American cotton shrub is also raised successfully near Azua. Almost every tropical production would seem possible in a soil so rich and a climate so genial.

At a still higher point upon these mountains, the culture of cinchona, or Peruvian bark, can be made a profitable branch of industry. This invaluable plant requires an equable climate, free from excessive heat and frost. It has recently been introduced into the neighboring island of Jamaica, and flourishes at an elevation of from four thousand to six thousand feet. The stems of the trees, only four years old, are already six inches in circumference, and they are about eleven feet in height. At the age of ten years they will have attained sufficient size to be cut down, and will spring up again from the roots without replanting. The British government seem to have considered this production a matter of national importance, and have carefully fostered it.

S. Ex. 9-2