brought closer together through the means of a more intimate personal acquaintance. I am more than satisfied in the few moments that I have been in Haiti that my visit here will be eminently agreeable. Before concluding, sir, I beg to express for Mrs. Knox her and my own deep appreciation for the graceful compliments you have paid her in your address of welcome and for all of us our gratitude for your extreme cordiality.

Speech of Mr. J. N. Léger, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Haiti, at a luncheon given by him to Mr. Knox, Port au Prince, April 3, 1912.

[Translation.]

MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: Upon me devolves the agreeable duty of welcoming you and of thanking you, in the name of the Haitian Republic, for your esteemed visit.

This is the second time that an American Secretary of State has honored us with his presence. The present, like the past, with the folds of our flags once more intertwined, evokes the undying memory of Savannah, where the heroes of Haitian independence rivaled in bravery the intrepid soldiers of Washington. These are ties which can not be forgotten.

I am particularly happy to be, under the circumstances, the mouthpiece of the people and Government of Haiti, because I recall the tender friendship which marks the relations between our two peoples. And your visit, all the more valued on account of the presence of Mrs. Knox, can not but make these relations the more cordial.

If upon our friendship depends the pleasure of your sojourn among us you will both carry from your short stay in Port au Prince the same remembrance which I retain of my mission at Washington, the delicate attentions and the kindly hospitality of the American people, and I do not think it too much to ask that you please convey to that generous people and to their Government our sincere wishes for the prosperity of the United States.

Permit me to raise my glass in honor of President Taft and to drink to the health of yourself and Mrs. Knox.

Reply of Mr. Knox.

MR. MINISTER: It is always a great pleasure to renew an old acquaintance. You can imagine how much that pleasure is enhanced by renewing it under these delightful auspices. We recall with great pleasure your mission to Washingon, where you were accompanied by your charming wife and young children; and I know of nothing that has occurred since I have been in your hospitable country that has given me more pleasure than when your good wife told me here to-day that some of the happiest moments of her life were spent in Washington. My pleasure is largely increased by hearing one who sustains the same relation to his own Government as I sustain to mine express the deep desire that the sympathies,

the friendliness, and the interests of the two countries should become closer and closer. There certainly is no reason why the Republics of this ancient island, which was the seat of American civilization, and their great sister of the north should not be upon the best of terms. I am glad to say that I know of no reason to the contrary. It is a real pleasure for me to propose the health of the President of the Haitian Republic, your own, Mr. Minister, and that of your good wife and your family, and the prosperity and peace of your people; and to express the hope that they may soon reach that point in their development and prosperity which the rich endowments of nature entitles them to attain.

Speech of President Leconte of Haiti at a banquet given to Mr. Knox, Port au Prince, April 3, 1912.

[Translation.]

MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: It gives me great pleasure to reiterate, in the name of the Republic of Haiti, our expressions of cordial welcome. And it is also pleasing to feel that your presence, at this time, among us is an unmistakable evidence of the interest which our great sister of the north takes in us.

You, Mr. Secretary of State, have, without doubt, passed through countries of Latin America that are richer, more prosperous, than ours; a wealth and prosperity which consists, to a large degree, in the same conditions existing when those peoples of this continent won their independence.

But here you will encounter the sincere and loyal expression of our high esteem and our keen sympathies for the people and Government of the United States.

Your visit to us, which we shall cherish as a most precious remembrance, will certainly strengthen the bonds of intimate friendship which unite the two countries, tend to make more cordial our relations, and to develop the economic interests of the two nations.

I pray that you deign to convey my personal respects to President Taft, and that you please assure him that the Republic of Haiti earnestly wishes him happiness and the prosperity and greatness of the American people.

I thank you, Mr. Secretary, in the name of the Government and people of Haiti, for the visit you have been pleased to pay us, and I raise my glass in honor of President Taft, to your health and to that of your friends, and to the success of the mission of friendship and concord which you have undertaken.

Reply of Mr. Knox.

MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMAN: A glamour of historical memories hovers over the Caribbean Sea, and all who feel its influence long to visit the spots where the life of the New World began with the landing of Columbus, and where the foundations of government in the Western Hemisphere were first laid. I have long desired to see

and become acquainted with the island world of the Indies. My wish has come to pass through the determination of the President of the United States to have me carry to the neighboring American peoples a fresh message of friendship and good will in the name of his and my countrymen. It was especially appropriate that the President should do this now, on the eve of the completion of the Isthmian Canal, and that the theme of his greeting should be the benefits to flow to all the nations of the three Americas from the opening of that stupendous channel of intercourse which, by annihilating the barrier between the oceans, must perforce change the currents of the world's commerce.

At a time when the obligation which my country has assumed as the agent of the interest of all America and of the world in creating a highway for international commerce is about to be realized, we are impressed with the conviction that the fullest success of our work is, to a notable degree, dependent on the peace and stability of our neighbors and on their enjoying the prosperity and material welfare which flow from orderly self-development. A community liable to be torn by internal dissension or checked in its progress by the consequences of nonfulfillment of international obligations is not in a good position to deserve and reap the benefits accruing from enlarged commercial opportunities, such as are certain to come about with the opening of the canal. It may indeed become an obstruction. to the general enjoyment of those opportunities.

It is with political communities as with the human organization, body and soul should be alike sound and sane, each attuned to the other, to fit the being for the struggle for existence in which it is the lot of men and states to be constantly engaged. The old Roman adage mens sana in corpore sano is in point for both. Not only must the body politic be healthy, but the public spirit which guides its acts must be equally healthy. Only by the union of these two conditions can a state hold its place in the assemblage of nations, or aspire to win a better station.

It is the fervent desire and the earnest hope of the nation I represent that all its comrades of the American fraternity shall attain to this well-balanced condition, or shall conserve it where already possessed. We wish to see them all independent, contented, orderly, and materially prosperous, each gaining the fullest measure of wellbeing of which it is naturally and physically capable, each bearing good will for its neighbors and deserving their good will in return. We begrudge the success of none; on the contrary, on the few occasions where helpfulness is possible we have gladly given help.

I

The relations of the Haitian Republic with the United States have been singularly intimate for many years. The volume of AmericanHaitian trade is proportionately large. The enterprise of our citizens has contributed to the development of Haitian resources. look for the time, not far distant, when these relations may be expanded and strengthened, not through any invasive activity on our part, but through the steady self-development of the resources of Haiti under the benevolent sway of peace. Your country has almost incalculable native wealth at command. With a self-respecting energy or purpose; with a contented and thrifty population; with wise counsels in the seats of government, devoting the efforts of the nation 67106°- -FR 1912--35

to the great work of internal exploitation of natural resources and perfection of agricultural methods; and with the maintenance of peace, without as well as within, you Haitians have a future before you which other less-favored countries might well envy, and which we of the United States would witness with hearty sympathy.

I have a disposition to emphasize the essential condition of peace, at home and abroad, as a need in working out the material improvement of a country. While it is doubtless true that trade and trade extension are the foundation in practical life of most advances in civilization, yet the great modern movements of accord and good understanding between nations are after all the lofty achievements and the crown of all international relations. The controlling principle of these movements is peaceful and beneficial international intercourse and a peaceful settlement by arbitration of differences and controversies-extending that principle, by friendly diplomacy, as rapidly as possible to embrace an increasing number and variety of disputes. The tide of world sentiment is setting strongly toward the accommodation of international controversies by processes of reason and justice; not by defiance and the sword." That tide is sweeping over my own country, where the ideal of universal peace with justice is dear to every heart. Should not we, of the common brotherhood of all the Americas, share alike. in devotion to that ideal, and stand mutually helpful toward whatever may assure, by pacific means, peace and good will among brethren?

I thank you for the cordial personal welcome you have given me. I shall long treasure the memory of my visit.

Speech of Mr. Knox at a breakfast given by the Municipal Council at the Bellevue Club, Port au Prince, April 4, 1912, in response to a brief speech of introduction by the Mayor.

MR. MAYOR: I thank you very much, sir, for this additional act of kindness, and we have been the recipients of many acts of kindness since we have been in Port au Prince, in your hospitable country, in your hospitable city, and among your hospitable people. My visit, however, would not, from my point of view, be considered an entire success it it were merely confined to pleasures and the delights of intercourse with the people of this city. I have observed here a thing that makes me very glad, and that is that the Haitians seem to have realized that industry is at the basis of prosperity and that the object of their Government is now undoubtedly to maintain peace at home and peace with her neighbors, so that industrialism, which is the sole foundation of wealth and prosperity, shall proceed uninterrupted. You seem to have discovered, as all nations must discover in their march toward the progress of which they are capable, that the true function of government is not to say to a man, "Work and we will reward you", but to say to all of its citizens, "Work and the Government will secure to you the results of your labor, that it shall not be taken away from you by violence or by injustice". You have discovered, further, I believe, that while the true function of government is not what I have just described, it is this: to honestly collect the revenues, as lightly tax the people as the necessities of the govern

ment demands, and then to apply these revenues honestly for the best interests of the country. I am satisfied from a conversation with your worthy President that it is not the intention of this administration of affairs in Haiti to spend the substance of the people upon unnecessary military establishments but extend those great public improvements which make the life of every man better.

These are some of the observations I have made since I have been with you, though the time has been very short and has been occupied very largely with the pleasures of the visit, but I shall carry them. home to the President of the United States and to the people of the United States, and I am satisfied that they, with me, will rejoice that everything in Haiti seems to be on the upward move. I beg to pledge the health of the President and people of Haiti and their prosperity.

DEATH OF PRESIDENT LECONTE AND RECOGNITION OF PRESIDENT AUGUSTE.

File No. 838.001/12.]

The American Minister to the Secretary of State.

[Telegram.-Paraphrase.]

AMERICAN LEGATION, Port au Prince, August 8, 1912. President Leconte was killed this morning in the destruction of the palace by accidental explosion of magazines in which smokeless powder had recently been stored. About one hundred killed. Congress will proceed to elect successor to-day.

FURNISS.

[Telegram.-Paraphrase.]

PORT AU PRINCE, August 8, 1912.

The oath of office as President was administered to Tancrède Auguste this morning.

FURNISS.

File No. 838.001 Au 4/2.]

State.

The Minister of Haiti to the Secretary of State.

LEGATION OF HAITI, Washington, October 3, 1912.

[Translation.]

MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: I have the honor of transmitting to you, accompanied by the customary copy, the autograph letter by which Mr. Tancrède Auguste informs the President of the United States of America of his election to the Presidency of the Republic of Haiti.

In begging you to kindly let this letter reach its high destination, I renew [etc.]

SOLÓN MENOS.