elected president in 1849. In 1853, there was a fierce
contest in which Santana won the presidency and
Baez was banished, but in 1856 the latter was recalled
and put in power, to give way to Santana again in
1858.
Getting discouraged by the difficulty of maintaining
a stable government, the president allowed
Spain to resume control in 1861. But this only made
things worse, and in 1865 the Spanish authorities
were expelled, independence was again declared, the
old constitution was adopted anew, and Baez was
once more made the chief magistrate. But the very
next year he was expelled and a triumvirate was
established, to be succeeded in 1868 by José Maria
Cabral as president, who offered to lease the Bay of
Samana to the United States. Cabral was speedily
displaced b y the persistent Baez, and a commission
was sent to Washington in 1871 to promote the
annexation of Santo Domingo to the United States.
Its mission was a failure, and in 1873 Samana was
ceded to an American company which forfeited its
rights b y failure to pay the stipulated rental the first
year. In 1873, Ignacio Gonzales became president,
and there was a period of comparative quiet but
little progress.
A fte r a renewal of disturbances in 1886, General
Ulisses Heureaux was elected president, and was reelected
for three successive terms of four years. His
administration was disturbed by insurrections and
revolutionary movements, which became serious in
1893 and in 1896, but he put them down with an
energetic hand and maintained his power.
The constitution, which was adopted in 1844 and
reaffirmed in 1865, was revised in 1888, and again
modified in 1896. The legislative body is a single
chamber of twenty-four members, two representing
each province and district, and two the cities of
Santo Domingo and Santiago. T h e y are elected
by popular suffrage for a term of four years, as is
the president, or chief executive. T he judiciary consists
of a Supreme Court at Santo Domingo, and
lower courts in the districts, while every town and
parish has its alcalde, or local magistrate. There are
provincial assemblies with limited jurisdiction, and
town councils, or ayuntamientos, after the manner
of Spanish municipal administration.
T he Roman Catholic Church has continued dominant,
and the archbishop of Santo Domingo still
claims the old title of “ Primate of the Indies,” but
a policy of toleration has been pursued, and there
are many Protestants in the republic, mainly Methodists
and Baptists. Though there is a university,
two colleges, and many schools, education is backward.
While Santo Domingo does not appear to prosper
or to advance very perceptibly, it has maintained a
steadily progressive policy under President Heureaux.
There has been no such jealousy of foreign
influence as prevails in Haiti, and English and
American capital has been encouraged. Railroads
have been begun and are to be extended, and most
of the important towns are connected by telegraph.
In 1888, Santo Domingo, Samana, and Puerto Plata
were connected with the submarine cable system by