HISTORY  OF ST. DOMINGO.
169
179:
the British nation, and the facility of obtaining some ground chap. hi.
with a very small force, he prevailed upon General Williamson
to grant him the aid he required ; a force certainly inadequate to
the invasion of such an island under any circumstances.
The French commissioners, Santhonax and Polverel, who still
retained a disputable power in St. Domingo, were quickly acquaint-
ed with the intended invasion, and began to prepare for it accord-
ingly. Their force consisted of the remnant of the troops they
brought with them from France, a body of whites who continued
attached to their cause, and the slaves which had joined them,
of which power little could be judged, being dispersed through-
out the provinces. To render themselves in a better state to
repel the invaders, they had recourse to a still more deter-
minate step, that of procuring the aid of the whole of the negro
slaves. They,* therefore, declared by proclamation, " That August.
every kind of slavery was abolished, and that the negroes were i^T °*
thenceforward to consider themselves, and to be considered as
free citizens -f-.
I
The inhabitants of St. Domingo, at this period, might  be
be considered under the following classes :—
* It was signed only by Polverel, who was alone at Port-au-Prince, from whence it was
issued.    Santhonax was in the northern province.
t It has been asserted that they were still to exercise the same labour, but in the condi-
tion of annual servants. Those acquainted with the proclamation, recollect no such ex-
ceptions, which would, in fact, have rendered the abolition a nullity.
z                                    1. The