March 5th
Samba the cook was the only one of the Negroes who turned up for the meeting that evening, despite that both of the Negro sailors had the night off. He smiled and clapped the whole time. He knew some of the Germans, so he sat with them, saying Gut, gut, when they made room for him. Haymard began talking about the origin and history of slavery, but after a few sentences Decio interrupted him and said we all knew what slavery was, old or new, the important thing was not words but deeds. And that he had come to the meeting to submit an important motion. Lecoq and another Frenchman said that there was no mention of it on the agenda and it would be nice if everyone respected the common bylaws. But we Italians began to whistle and the Germans joined in with us, though they weren’t exactly sure why, since Agottani hadn’t had time to interpret. In the end Decio was allowed to submit his motion. He said we all had plenty of money (some of the Germans cried Nein, nein!), and even if some had less than others, it wasn’t important, because in a few weeks all of it would be shared anyway, and everyone was welcome to give as much as they saw fit. And he said it would be a great symbol and a triumph of our ideals if we were to admit the scorned and downtrodden Negroes and allow them to become full-fledged members of universal human society. And he sat down. Most people clapped for him, but not everyone. After him Zeffirino got up and said the same thing as yesterday, that it was generous but premature, but he didn’t add anything else. Most people clapped for him too. After him a Frenchman got up and said he had nothing at all against Negroes but if we began to make exceptions before we even reached the settlement, it would end up in anarchy. Decio, Paolo, Amilcare, Lorenzo, Alessandro Mansueto, and a few other Italians began clapping and shouting: Long live anarchy! and others whistled and stomped their feet and for several minutes you couldn’t understand a thing. Until finally Haymard shouted everyone down and said we weren’t here to give everyone a chance to voice their political views, since soon we would all be living as a family. He said personally Decio’s motion appealed to him, and suggested we move to a vote, but first we had to be sure everyone knew what we were voting on. He said the question was: Who is in favor of admitting the three Negroes into our settlement and pitching in for their equipment, and he asked me to interpret it clearly and understandably into Italian and Agottani to interpret it clearly and understandably into German. Decio said he also wanted the part about the ideals to be translated. I said there was no point in translating it into Italian, since we had been discussing it among ourselves since morning, but Haymard declared that it had no validity. When it came time to vote, those in favor raised their hands first, and Haymard announced: 88. Then those opposed raised their hands: 20. And when Haymard counted the raised hands, he said that in view of the presence of a majority of more than half the settlers at the meeting and the outcome of the vote, Deci Boni’s motion was accepted. I, Elisabetta, Amilcare, Cursio, Egizio, Lorenzo, Umberto, Paolo, Giacomo, Domenico, Pietro Gavarri, Eugenio Grassi, both Alessandros, and the rest of the Italians voted in favor; Zeffirino, Cattina, and Rina were opposed. Samba raised his hand both times, but it didn’t matter, since he wasn’t a member of the settlement yet at the time of the vote and didn’t have voting rights.
March 6th
Today Zeffirino, Durrieu, and Gorand requested a special meeting with the agenda The Question of the Validity of Yesterday’s Voting and Some Questions of Democracy. But Lecoq and Desmarie, who record the votes and accept the motions, said that the questions could wait until tomorrow. Zeffirino was testy and dissatisfied, he spent the day writing something and in the evening had a long talk with Gorand and a few of the other Frenchmen.
We entered the equatorial regions. The captain is worried about contagion.
March 8th
Even more people came to yesterday’s meeting than the last one, but not one of the Negroes. Gorand took the floor and declared that the day before yesterday’s vote was invalid, having proceeded in violation of all the rules of democracy and in particular two. For one, Decio’s motion had not been placed on the agenda, which meant people hadn’t had time to form a considered mature opinion of it in advance. For another, the vote had been open, which may be allowable in common everyday matters, but on fundamental questions only a secret ballot will do, or at least that was his opinion. And those whose mouths were full of democracy should before all else submit to its rules. And for a third thing, it was questionable whether everyone had understood what they were voting on, as testified to by the fact that Samba, without having even been asked, had raised his hand both for and against. Some of our German friends, said Gorand, had had no idea the vote was about the Negroes, believing it to be about providing equipment to those who for lack of financial means had not been able to purchase it in Europe. He demanded that the vote be declared invalid and a new one be held, by secret ballot, with the question written out clearly and trilingually. At which Decio stood up and declared that he didn’t see why we were talking about democracy when the issue was helping people in need and that was called brotherhood. And that he was deeply disappointed by some of the settlers’ lack of simple humanity. And for that matter that he didn’t know who would translate it into German, seeing as Agottani didn’t know how to read or write, and he wasn’t the only one. And he didn’t see what difference it made whether the subject of the vote was expressed orally or written on a piece of paper, which plenty of people wouldn’t understand anyway. And that, as far as a secret ballot was concerned, that was in conflict with the ideals of our settlement, where people wouldn’t have to hide anything from each other. And that he for one did not intend to hide the fact that Gorand and those like him should have stayed behind in Europe, squatting atop their sacks of gold until their dying day and holding secret ballots every Friday afternoon on whether they should hide the sacks in the barn or in the well.
March 9th
Decio’s speech caused a great uproar, with everyone clapping and whistling and talking over each other, until Lecoq and Desmarie declared the meeting over and said we would meet again today, by which time the more hotblooded meeting-goers should have cooled off. Lecoq said that he hoped everyone would act like adults and responsible members of the settlement and not resort to invective. This afternoon an announcement was hung on the mainmast that in view of the large number of those who wished to speak this evening, no one would be allowed to speak for longer than five minutes and they would take their turns in alphabetical order. Almost all the settlers came to the meeting, even the children. The first to speak, according to alphabetical order, was Decio. He said that he apologized if he had offended anyone yesterday, but he didn’t understand how some people could be so thickheaded. He said he didn’t know whether our meetings were any use, since instead of solving matters they just complicated them. He said he still considered his motion to admit the Negro sailors and the cook into the settlement a good one, as humanity demanded it. And he said that anyone who didn’t understand could go and hang himself. Most of the Italians and the French began to clap, but the Germans didn’t know what was going on, since Agottani wasn’t able to translate fast enough and they couldn’t have heard him anyway. Lecoq rang the bell he had borrowed from the shipmaster, to restore peace and quiet. Everyone quieted down and Agottani began to translate, but then suddenly stopped short and said he didn’t know how to say go and hang himself in German. One Frenchman suggested Gehen in dee shvameh, but Agottani said that that meant something else. Several people shouted that it wasn’t a question of coming up with the exact expression but capturing the meaning as a whole. Decio said he could formulate his thought differently, and anyone who didn’t understand could kiss his ass. Lecoq rang the bell and said that Decio Boni no longer had the floor. Decio said that he wasn’t finished and still had at least a good three minutes. And that he’d like to know whose floor it was. Umberto began shouting Viva l’Italia! and the Italians began clapping. Some of the French joined in with us, sweeping in the Germans, who began clapping and chanting Viva l’Italia! along with Umberto. And the accordionist began to play the Marseillaise and the French began to sing and the Italians were crying Vive la France! with the Germans repeating it after them. Decio was shouting Liberté, égalité, fraternité! Anyone who doesn’t understand, go fuck yourself! Lecoq stopped ringing the bell and Zeffirino, Gorand, and about ten other Frenchmen stood up and walked out. The accordionist began to play another song, about a country where there would be no kings or presidents and everything would be shared, and then it went: No commerce will be allowed, except for casks of wine of course, for wine is something I adore, the color red gives me my strength. The chorus went: Wine? Divine! My strength flows from the blood of wine! and when the French sang the chorus, they would bend their left arm at the elbow and slap it with their right hand and the ladies would grin and giggle. When they were through, they sang Paolo’s song about coffee, and after us the Germans sang some long, sad song. Then the accordionist launched into various tunes and Cursio ran for his violin and people began stomping their feet and dancing in place and some clasped hands and danced together. I squeezed through the crowd to Elisabetta and we danced together for at least a half hour. We were sweating like horses.