Lysius Salomon
Louis Etienne Felicite Lysius Salomon Jeune (* June 30, 1815 in Les Cayes, † October 19th 1888 in Paris) was a Haitian politician and President of Haiti.
Biography
Family and political career
Salomon came from an influential family from the southeast of Haiti, who stood in opposition to the reigning from March 1843 to May 1844 President Charles Riviere- Herard. This was Salomon, whose father after clashes with mulatto arrest and dismissed them then exiled to Neyba, the capital of the province in the southwest Baoruco the neighboring Dominican Republic. There he completed a program of study and prepared himself for his future political career before. He saw himself as a representative of a particular policy for the promotion of the black population to the detriment of mulattoes in the tradition of the father of Haitian independence, Jean -Jacques Dessalines.
After his return President Faustin Soulouque appointed him in March 1847 Minister of Finance. He held this office even after the coronation of Emperor Faustin I. Soulouques of Haiti on 18 April 1852. As finance minister, he began with the monopolization of coffee and cotton businesses. At the same time foreign imports were regulated by the State Monopoly Administration and introduced capital charges, which, however, led to a sharp increase in smuggling and piracy.
In 1858 he was appointed by Emperor Faustin I. for a short time minister of the interior, but he had after the fall Soulouques, who ruled increasingly dictatorial, go again in January 1859 into exile in Europe. In Europe, he sat next to his travels continued private studies and remained several years in France.
Under President Sylvain Salnave he was from May 1867 to December 1869 Foreign Minister. After his fall he was until August 18, 1879 in exile in London and Paris. At times, however, was ambassador in Paris. After his return he was short in the import and export active.
President from 1879 to 1888
Battle for the presidency and electoral success
Immediately afterwards, however, he began, however, apply to a candidate for the presidential elections. 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 assumed the office of former Acting President Joseph Lamothe. One of the reasons for his rather surprising choice was the dispute between the major parties. As a program of his presidency, he was planning to increase agricultural production, the stabilization of the financial situation and the improvement and reorganization of the public administration. In no time he began the repayment of loans to France and sets the foundation of a national bank to.
The Liberal Party, which suffered a serious defeat at the elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the utmost took to their previous influence recover. Its chairman, Bazelais Boyer, who had gone into exile in Kingston ( Jamaica), directed without any interference of the British colonial power in Jamaica conspiracies against the new president in the way.
On March 27, 1883 Bazelais encountered on board the U.S. steamer The Tropic in Miragoâne and take it from there a revolt against Solomon. Although this uprising was the end of the year, albeit at a high price for Haiti.
In addition to the issues caused by the new dispute, Haiti had to pay a high compensation to foreign nationals who had suffered damage in Port -au -Prince and other cities. After the U.S. government had become aware that a U.S. steamship was involved in the insurgency, the United States had to pronounce the demanded apology. The captain and the crew of The Tropic were tried and convicted in federal court in Philadelphia for breach of the neutrality laws.
Differences with the Catholic Church
Right at the beginning of the term of office Salomon was called to settle the significant differences between the civil and religious authorities. In the first years of independence Haiti had proclaimed the freedom of worship and civil marriage. In accordance with the applicable laws, it was the clergy of all faiths prohibited a marriage without proof of the civil marriage certificate to celebrate. Over time, the Catholic clergy began to disregard this arrangement until they finally claimed the right of a proper marriage without previous civil marriage process in itself.
Then took the Chamber of Deputies the legislature on this issue and adopted a resolution in which the President was asked to terminate the 1860 Concordat signed with the Holy See. Salomon began with the necessary steps to comply with the resolution. However, the priest it began immediately with observance of the law and thus there were no further tension between the clergy and the civil authorities.
The tort of Lazare, Pelletier and Maunders
These internal political differences were not the only difficulties which Salomon had to survive. Like its predecessors were also against his government raised numerous claims of foreign powers.
The United States insisted on their claim regarding compensation for Pelletier and Lazare. To end this long conversations, the Haitian government agreed to end the presentation of the two cases before an arbitration court. In compliance with a May 28, 1884 the Haitian ambassador in Washington, DC, Preston, and the U.S. Secretary of State, Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, signed the protocol was the former judge of the U.S. Supreme Court, William Strong, was appointed as the sole arbitrator.
The pronounced on June 13, 1885 total compensation was of most amazing natural surroundings. The Republic of Haiti was sentenced to AH Lazare 117,500 U.S. dollars with a six percent annual return since November 1, 1875, and the Pirates Pelletier to pay U.S. $ 57,200. Haiti handed because of this extraordinary amount of compensation a complaint with the U.S. Secretary of State. In addition, the previous crimes of Pelletier was so obvious that the then U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward had rejected an immersion rates to Pelletier's favor. In a letter dated 30 November 1863 the U.S. commission agent in Port -au -Prince Seward presented its position on the case Pelletier is:
"His ( Pelletier ) behavior in Haiti and on the coast provides sufficient reason for necessary suspicions against him by the authorities of the Republic represents that led to his arrest, trial and condemnation for legitimate reasons and have no reason for interference. "
In addition, the 1861 operating in Cap- Haitien U.S. Trade Representative Gorham Eustis Hubbard told the arbitrator William Strong on February 22, 1885
"It was always my view then and now that the Haitian government execute this man as a pirate and should confiscate his ship and his property as repayment. "
In June 1874, the United States Senate had rejected a consideration of the petition of Antonio Pelletier. Also, the House of Representatives of the United States had in 1868 and again in 1878 refused to give any recommendation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Pelletier's case.
After examining the arguments put forward by the Haitian embassy above reasons, the U.S. State Department lifted ultimately on the amount of damages and freed Haiti from the payment of indemnities to both Lazare and at Pelletier. In his memorandum of January 20, 1887 led the nunmehrige U.S. Secretary of State, Thomas F. Bayard, the case Pelletier from:
" This is a case of damage, as I realize now that can extort from their reasons out any civilized government. I have no hesitation in my decision to say that the loss Pelletier is one, because this government will not extort from Haiti, either by influencing or by pressure, and I come to this conclusion, first because Haiti had the right to made punishment Pelletier, about which he now complains, which is excessive in any way, given the awfulness of his actions, and secondly, because his lawsuit on its own is so saturated with turpentine and shame that it does not act legally or diplomatically, can be built. "
In terms of Lazare Bayard said:
" The moment should be highlighted by the highest honors as well as the honesty as fundamental to the relationship between nations, in which the Government of the United States has discovered that the claim for damages which it has asserted against a foreign government, not respectable, and honorable can be enforced, and the moment, regardless of the length of the procedure, that the claim for damages should be dropped. "
While the United States had thus recognized the right of a weaker nation, represented the UK on the other hand his attitude with respect to a payment of damages in the case Maunders. This compensation case could be easily transferred to arbitration. For the Haitian government was disputed whether the concession, the beneficiary has paid the agreed amount, while Maunders said that they had suffered heavy losses. However, the United Kingdom insisted on the payment of damages.
In March 1887 the warship anchored Canada with a Special Envoy on board in the port of Port-au -Prince and demanded an immediate settlement. To secure the peace Haiti agreed to pay an amount of 32,000 U.S. $.
Establishment of the National Bank and financial crises
In the following period foreign powers increasingly criticized the Haitian financial management, but it could ignore the fact that the financial difficulties of Haiti and the burden on the budget on foreign lending rates were based. Nevertheless, Solomon started with some action to resolve the financial crisis. First he led direct negotiations with the owners of the Bonds from the loan taken by former President Michel Domingue. After a quick agreement, the interest was paid regularly. After that, the loan would have been completely replaced in 1922.
Convinced of the integrity of Haitians began French capital in 1880 with the establishment of a state bank in Haiti, the Banque Nationale d' Haiti, which was especially entrusted with the management of government revenue and government spending. Following the adoption of the Law on the National Bank of 24 September 1880, yet soon began in autumn 1880 with the issuing of silver, bronze and copper coins and paper money from it.
This money institution has not lived up to expectations this strict honesty and a careful financial management. Barely four years after the founding of the Banque Nationale d' Haiti broke from a financial scandal. Already paid securities order were re- circulated so that a criminal investigation followed, which led to a Frenchman and an Englishman were each sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Some years later this bank was in 1904 involved in the consolidation so-called scandal.
More events and re-election as president in 1887
In addition to the establishment of the National Bank also took place the laying of the first submarine cable for telegraphy under his tenure. After the founding of the Universal Postal Union ( Union Postale Universelle ) 1874 Haiti occurred in 1880 in this and began with the issuance of the first postage stamps. In his honor in 1887 and issued stamps to a three centimes with his portrait. To promote agricultural production was a national exhibition in Port -au -Prince. Furthermore, it was established a Faculty of Law, so that it was no longer necessary to study law abroad. Finally it came to the establishment of a National Archives, the reform of basic education and the reform of agriculture, government administration and the army. Unfortunately, the National Archives has been during his presidency destroyed by fire and therefore an endowment founded by France great jurisprudential reference collection, which was for the jurisprudential studies of importance.
A major supporter of his reform policy was going to be long -time advisor to François Saint- Surin Manigat, whose grandson Leslie Manigat was later even President. Manigat was first minister of the interior in 1883, and soon afterwards Governor of the National Bank. In 1887 he was finally appointed Minister of Education.
On May 15 in 1887, his term of office would have ended by the Constitution, but was due to a decision of the National Assembly of State. To this end, the constitution, the previously banned the re-election of the President, as amended. On June 30, 1886, he was therefore re-elected for a further term of seven years as president and made on May 15, 1887 renewed his oath of office.
However, in the ensuing period there was great dissatisfaction because of the risk of re- establishment of a presidency was feared for life. Leader of the group of opponents of Solomon was General Silk Thelemaque, the commander of the army units in the district of Cap-Haitien, the publicly rejected any further recognition of authority on August 4, 1888. On August 10, 1888, the President ultimately had to announce his resignation in a hostile demonstration in Port -au -Prince. Without bloodshed, he resigned on the same morning and went to the afternoon of the same day on a ship into exile in Paris, where he already died a little over two months later on the consequences of a surgical operation.
With the restoration initially a provisional government was set up under the chairmanship of former President Pierre Théoma Boisrond - Canal.
In 2000, the Haitian government issued a 50 - Gourde banknote with his portrait.