accept the conditions dictated by Germany. This giving way offended the national amour-propre. Nevertheless, no disturbance ensued; Haiti remained calm in the face of the gratuitous humiliation inflicted on her by a powerful nation.
Like his predecessors, President Sam took much interest in public works. At Port-au-Prince the construction of a new building for the sittings of the Court of Justice was begun, as was the railroad connecting the capital with l'Etang-Saumâtre, and that of Cap-Haitien in the North.
Treaties and conventions were signed with France for reciprocity in 1900 and with the United States on naturalization in 1902.
In the mean time, the newspapers had been discussing the duration of the President's term of office. The Decree of the National Assembly concerning General Sam's election had wrongly prescribed that he would be in authority until the 15th of May, 1903. The election had taken place on the 31st of March, 1896, and article 93 of the Haitian Constitution reads as follows: "In case of the death, resignation, or dismissal of the President, his successor is appointed for seven years, and his power must always cease on the 15th of May, even if the seventh year of his term be not completed." Accordingly, General Sam, to whom this article was applicable, was to relinquish the Presidency on the 15th of May, 1902. So as to prevent any misunderstandings the President sent in his resignation to the National Assembly on the 12th of May, 1902, three days before the legal expiration of his term, and left Port-au-Prince on the 13th.
The task of maintaining order was intrusted to a provisional government presided over by General Boisrond Canal, a former President of the Republic.
