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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/ ^f . ///r. V 5^7. -r 35 THE ISLAND OP CUBA : ITS RESOURCES, PROGRESS, AND PROSPECTS, OONSISSBED IN BXLiLTION BBPSCIALLY TO THE INTLUENCS or ITS PBOSPEBITT ON THE INTSBEST8 QU THE BRITISH WEST INDIA COLONIES. . BT R. R. MADDEN, M.R.LA. " I thought it my duty to expoae the monstroni impiety and cruelty, not only of the slave-trade, but of slavery itself, in whatever form it is foond; and likewise to assert that no authority on earth can ever rtiiijj; iniquities legal."— G. Shasp. LONDON: CHARLES GILPIN, 5, BISHOPSGATE WITHOUT. DUBLIN : JAMBS B. OILPIN, 69, DAUE-STREBT. 1849. LONDOH : J. UMWIM, ORKSHAX 8TIAX PE£S3, BUCUJCB8BUET. DEDICATION. TO THE RIGHT HON. SIR JAMES STEPHEN. To one officially connected with colonial affairs for up- wards of a quarter of a century ; who brought to bear on ihem a vast experience, united with consummate ability and strong sense of the obligations of imperial power towards the interests of humanity and justice^ combined with an indefatigable zeal in the discharge of public duties of the most arduous description ; who, so far as it was practicable, in a position environed with many tranmiels and restraints, followed in the footsteps of his illustrious kinsman, William Wilberforce, on many memorable occasions ; to one, I may add, who, amidst the toil and turmoil of the business of a great colonial empire, found leisure to devote to literary pursuits of the highest order, and to the illustration of the great truths and principles of that Divine philosophy which teaches men of all creeds to be charitable, just, tolerant, and forbearing to pne another, I INSCRIBE THIS VOLUME. R. R. MADDEN. INTRODUCTION. Memoranda made in Cuba in the years 1836- 7-8-9, respecting slavery and the slave-trade, the state of society, commerce, religion, and education in that island, when the author filled the office of Superintendent of liberated Africans, and for a large portion of that period, the appointment of Acting Commissioner of Arbitration in the Mixed Court of Justice at the Havana, furnish chiefly the matter of this volume. That which is con- tained in the Appendix comprises all the statis- tical information of a late period, from official documents and other authentic sources, that has reference to the changes our West India Islands have undergone since the abolition of slavery; returns, also, showing the comparative state of agriculture and commerce, prior and subsequent to emancipation ; the exports from other colonies where slavery exists, of late years, and especially from Cuba. All information in regard to that colony, the bearing on our West India possessions of its pros- perity, and in respect to the progress, efficiency, • and extent of our effi)rts for the abolition of the slave-trade, that is calculated to throw a light on VI INTRODUCTION. " the West India question," will be found in this volume. The desire of the author is to state facts, and to leave his readers to form their own opinions with respect to them, and to place before the public the results of his own experience in the British West Indies, in Cuba, and on the western coast of Africa, in various official situ- ations — and in the United States, in a private capacity ; an experience extended over a period of eight years, with the view, solely, of enabling others, more competent than he feels himself to be, to devise plans, or procure measures to be adopted, for remedying evils of great magnitude now impending over our colonies. The present state of those islands makes the subject of the slave-trade and slavery, in the Spanish colonies and the Brazils, one of deep interest for us, and one that must very soon en- gage the attention of statesmen in this country. If the present state of things in our colonies should endure for two years longer, without any effective efforts to ameliorate their condition, the cultivation of sugar must be totally abandoned in them. To prevent this result, we must look to one of the three following occurrences — 1st. The re-imposition of the old differential duties on foreign sugars. 2nd. Our West India colonies being placed in a condition, both as respects capital and labour, to compete with the slaveholding and slave- trading colonies of Spain and the Brazils in the sugar markets of Europe. INTRODUCTION. Vll 3rd. The extinction of the slave-trade in the Spanish colonies and the Brazils. All schemes for the object in question that have not those ends in view are illusory. In regard to the first proposition, the obvious impracticability of any attempt to re-impose the old sugar duties leaves little to be said. Whether the West India proprietors were fairly dealt with or not, in altering those duties at a period when the experiment of free labour in our colonies had not had sufficient time afforded to solve the question of its advantages or disadvantages,, is not now the question. The real question is, the practicability or im- practicability of re-imposing those duties. The probability is, that free-trade principles have been pushed to an extreme extent by the advocates of that system. But the circumstances of the nation would have led to the downfall of the old system of restriction on trade, and mono- polies for the benefit of peculiar interests, if Mr. Cobden or Sir Robert Peel had never existed. It so happens that the advantage of the altera- tion in the sugar duties has been brought home more closely to the pocket intelligence of the people of England than the benefits arising from. the alteration in the laws, affecting the price of corn. The advantage of cheap sugar in England has now been made too generally known to admit of a return to the old system of protection. The country would not stand a repeal of the sugar law, nor of the corn law. Both were necessary VIU INTBODUCTION. consequences of Sir Robert Peel's first change in the tariff. There was a time when a sancti- monious pretence might have passed off in Par- liament for a great moral purpose, but that time is gone by. If we find no immorality in wear- ing slave-grown cotton and eating slave-grown rice, none will be found in using slave-grown sugar. We must, then, look to some other means of removing the evils under which our West India colonies are now labouring. The second proposition, that has reference to the condition of our colonies as influenced by the prosperity of slave-producing countries, is deserv- ing of very serious attention. It is the habit of the West India body to say, that the great evil under which our colonies suffer is the want of labour. That, however, is not the fact. The want of capital is no less suffered from than the want of labour. In Cuba and the Brazils there is no want of either, consequently our colonies are wholly unable to compete with them in the production of sugar. Had the compensation money gone into the pockets of the proprietors in our colonies, things would have been in a very different state to what they now are there. But the twenty millions, of 1834, passed into the hands of the West India merchants, the mortgagees of two thirds of all the large estates in our colonies : into the hands of n^ercantile men, who were not exclusively engaged in West India affairs, but who had East India INTRODUCTION. IX interests, Chinese interests, general mercantile interests, brokerage concerns, and money-market matters for the employment of their capital, as well as in West India investments, and who, moreover, had been engaged for a great many years in advancing money to a ruined proprietary, who were never again likely to be restored to s prosperous condition. Consequently, none of the compensation money was devoted to the acquisi- tion of free labour, or the substitution of ma- chinery for the great loss of manual labour, which the emancipation led to—the loss of female labour, and of that of children, arising from the employment of the women in domestic employ- ments, and the sending of children to school, which took place to so large an extent after compulsory labour was abolished. The good, then, that ought to have been derived from the compensation money was not obtained by our colonies, and want of capital, immediately after emancipation, began to be severely felt. In fact, the colonists felt it fiir more than they did before emancipation, for the merchants at home, when once the compensation money came into their hands, felt less disposed than ever to make advances, and in a great many instances obliged the impoverished, embarrassed colonists to look for other merchants to take charge of their estates. In the meantime, Cuba and the Brazils pro- fited by those unfortunate circumstances of our planters. They imported more slaves from Africa, the Americans poured capital largely into the A3 X INTRODUCTION. former island, and brought a vast number of new estates into cultivation in that colony. It is a folly to suppose that our West India colonies have been robbed of their prosperity by Government measures of a recent date, or even a remote one. The difficulties of them are of older dates than the years 1847, 1834, or 1807. In a report of the committee of the House of Assembly of Jamaica, dated the 23rd November, 1792, on the sugar trade of that colony, we find this passage : — " In the course of twenty years, 177 estates in Jamaica have been sold for the payment of debts, fifty-five estates have been thrown up, and ninety-nine are still in the hands of creditors." The report refers to a return made by the Pro- vost Marshal, wherein it is stated that " 80,121 executions, amounting* to £22,563,786 sterling, had been lodged in his office in the course of twenty years." In 1804, the House of Assembly issued another report, wherein it is stated, "that the West India merchants of England, holding securities on real estate in the colony, were generally foreclosing mortgages, filing bills in chancery, refusing to ad- vance money to the planters, or giving the smallest accommodation to them — without judgments in ejectment, and release of errors, in order at a moment's notice to take out writs of possession, and enter on the plantations of the unfortunate proprietors." . . . "All kind of credit is at an end." ... "A faithful detail (of their distress) would have the appearance of a fnghtful caricature." IKI^RODUCTION. XI In 1807 (before the slave-trade abolition mea- sure came into operation), the House of Assembly of Jamaica made another report^ wherein it was stated, that ''within the last five or six years sixty-five estates had been abandoned, thirty-two sold under decrees of chancery, and 115 more respecting which suits in chancery were depend- ing, and ndany more bills preparing." "The sugar estates lately brought to sale, and now in the Court of Chancery in this island and in England, amount to about one-fourth of the whole number in the colony." In 1812, the case of the planters of Jamaica was recommended in a memorial to the King, in which it was stated, that " the ruin of the original possessors has been completed. Estate after estate has passed into the hands of mortgagees and credi- tors absent from the island, until there are large districts^ whole parishes, in which there is not a single proprietor of a sugar plantation resident. The distress,' it is added, " cannot well be aggra- vated*' Now it must not be supposed that the forearoing statements were applicable to Jamaica alone ; for we have the testimony of Mr. Marryat^ a gentleman deeply interested in West India pro- perty, given in his place in the House of Commons, in 1813, that " there were comparatively few estates in the West Indies that had not, during the preced- ing twenty years, been sold or given up to creditors,'* One quotation more will bring the history of the West India distress up to the year 1832. In the address of the West India body to the British nation, signed by the most eminent of its members XU INTRODUCTION. resident in Great Britain, they say, " the aUtrndng and unprecedented distress in which the whole British West India interest is involved,'* justified them in imploring Parliament '* to adopt prompt and ef- fectual measures of relief, in order to preserve them from inevitable ruin.'' Viscount Goderich, then colonial secretary, in commenting on this sub- ject, in a despatch, dated 6th November, 1831, observes, "The existence of severe commercial distress amongst all classes of society connected with the West Indies is unhappily too evident ;" and with great truth and justice his lordship said, " without denying the concurrence of many causes, it is obvious that the great and permanent source of distress, which almost every page of the West Indies records, is to be found in the institution OF SLAVERY. It is in vain to hope for long-con- tinued prosperity in any country, in which the people are not dependent on their own volun- tary labour for support — in which labour is not prompted by legitimate motives, and does not earn its natural reward." And again, " / cannot but regard the system itself as the perennial spring of those distresses, oftQhich, not only at present merely, but during the whole of the last fifty years, the com- plaints have been so frequent and so just.'* From the period of our abolition of the slave- trade, in 1807, to the year preceding the passing of the Emancipation Act, in 1833, the complaints of distress in the West India colonies were unre- mitting. But they varied nothing in their cha- racter from those we have referred to, from 1792 to 1807. INTRODUCTION. XIU The insurrection in Jamaica, that preceded the Emancipation Act of 1833, brought the colony to the utmost distress it had yet reached. To it a very large portion of the injury to West India interests attributed to emancipation is really due. The greatest mischief to them which arose from that measure was the high rate of wages that prevailed at the beginning of the new system in all the colonies, and the want of capital to meet that charge for labour. At one time, half-a-crown, three shillings, and even more, for job work, was paid for a day's work. In Jamaica, wages now range from Is. to Is. 6d. per diem; in British Guiana, from Is. 4d. to Is. lOd. per diem; and in Trinidad, from Is. 3d. to ls.8d. per diem, for able-bodied, good labourers. When work is done by the job, labourers earn much more. The rate of wages is, however, rather decreasing than rising, throughout the colonies. But there can be no question that, at the present price of sugar, the payment of such wages leaves production without remuneration. That such wages enable the negroes to save money and invest it in land is obvious, from the fact that the number of freeholds purchased by them in Jamaica is nearly 20,000, and in British Guiana nearly 5,000, and in our other colonies in proportion. But the amelioration of the con- dition of the negroes of these colonies is best proved by the large increase in the export trade to the British West Indies and Guiana. We find the total declared value to have been, during the six years ending with 1833, £15,108,876, XIV INTRODUCTION. whilst during the six years ending in 1844, the amount was £17,990,823. And it must be borne in mind, the exports from the United States to our West India colonies had likewise very largely increased. But the exports from our colonies have not increased — far from it — they have fallen oflF con- siderably. How could it be otherwise? Lord Stanley stated that, immediately previous to emancipation — " In all the islands there had been a general increase in the production of sugar, and a corresponding decrease in the amount of the labouring population." In Jamaica, he stated, the medium population, during three years end- ing June, 1832, was 327,464, and the average amount of sugar raised, 1,410,026 cwt., yet the slave population had fallen off, from 1826, to the amount of 6,929, and the production of sugar had increased, since the same term, 55,538 cwts. All evils are referred to 1833, the year of the enactment of the great measure of emancipation ; hut, again and again it ought to be repeated that, if the twenty millions of compensation money had been applied to the wants and necessities of the British West Indies in 1834, — the substitution of machinery as much as possible for manual labour, —the introduction of improved modes of cultiva- tion and production, — much would have been done towards enabling those colonies to meet the com- petition of slave-labour in Cuba and the Brazils. In Cuba, when the equipment clause of the new treaty of 1835 alarmed the slaveholders of that island for the continuance of the introduc- INTBODUCTION. XT % tion of Bozal negroes, a great stimulus was given to legitimate industry: steam-engines were set up, on a great number of estates, and various im- provements that shortened or lightened labour were had recourse to; — Cuba had capital, and the energies that belong to prosperity, to do this. But the case was diflFerent with Jamaica. The twenty millions allotted to the slave-owners went into the pockets of the merchants in London and Liverpool, who were the virtual proprietors of the estates, and the colonies derived no benefit from it. The possible occurrence I h^ve referred to, of our West India colonies being placed, with respect to capital, as well as to labour, in a con^ dition to compete with the slaveholding and slave-trading colonies of Spain and the Brazils, requires to be considered with much attention and freedom from pre-conceived opinions. I have approached this question with a strong desire to divest my mind of all previous notions I have formed or may have expressed on it, and to look on the present position of our W^t Indian affairs as a new ^* situation," demanding new measures and modes of action, to meet a very grave emergency. The views I now set forth are the result of a comprehensive considera- tion of this subject. My experience in Jamaica, the year preceding emancipation, — in Cuba, irom 1836 to 1840, — and likewise my acquaintance with matters connected with the slave-trade on. the western coast of Afiica, in 1841 — are, however, the main foundation on which any conclusion I come to must rest. XVI INTRODUCTION. The West Indians, then, assert that the great want of labour is the grand evil under which our colonies exist. This is the chief difficulty, and the Government is given to understand this evil is to be removed by large immigrations of free negroes, coolies, or Chinese, and some say of white people, into our colonies. My belief is, I repeat, that want of capital, ever since emancipation, constitutes, at least, one half of the evil in question. Let us suppose Jamaica to represent our eman- cipated West In(}ia colonies, and Cuba all the countries from which sugar produced by slave- labour is exported. It would not be sufficient, to restore the prosperity of the former, to equalise the number of labourers now annually introduced into both islands. Cuba has not undergone the ordeal of emancipation. That tremendous change has not shaken the foundations of her agricul- ture, commerce, and credit, or temporarily affected their stability. There are a vast number of affluent mortgagee proprietors in Cuba ; there is a great afflux of American capitalists into Cuba ; there is a very large commerce there with the United States, as well as with the mother country. In these respects there is no parity between Cuba and Jamaica, though it is quite true that in the former colony there are great fears entertained for the maintenance of slavery, and great cause for apprehension, for another insurrection like the last, even though unsuccessful^ would involve the colony in inextricable embarrassment. The actual mer- cantile proprietors of Cuba, the mortgagees living INTRODUCTION. XVU in the Havana, Principe, and St. Jago, are not absentees, however, nor long engaged with the ruinous interests of ill-managed estates, nor deeply involved in other great commercial specu- lations. They are men well to do in the world, grasping, unprincipled men, possessed of capital, beyond the reach of small commercial panics, or agricultural crises. It is, therefore, idle to attri- bute the evils which our West India colonies labour under, to acts of government. It would be no less idle to imagine that all those evils are to be removed by the introduction of free men from Africa into those colonies. Much good, doubtless, may be accomplished by augmenting the number of free labourers there, and I think it possible to increase the number to an extent that would enable our colonies to hold on^ till such time as the introduc- tion of slaves into Cuba and the Brazils was put a final stop to. It is needless to observe; I do not calculate on a very prolonged existence of the Cuban and Brazilian slave-trade, independently of any efforts made for its abolition by means of Mixed Com- mission Courts, cruising squadrons* and all the machinery of treaties with foreign powers for this object, — treaties which have hitherto proved most costly to this country, and calculated, perhaps in defiance of all efforts— even the untiring, most able, honest, and energetic efforts of the present Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs — to prolong the very evil they were intended to abolish or abate. XVm INTRODUCTION. Their eflFect has been only to regulate, by means of partial restraint, the importations of slaves into Cuba and the Brazils, which would otherwise have been excessive for a few years, and then must have proved fatal to slavery, a mortal cause of fear, and occasion of imminent peril to the security of the property in slaves. This fear and peril never becomes a permanent state of being, or one frequently recurring in slave- holding countries, without a fatal influence on the interests of slavery. I believe that slavery cannot exist, however, under any circumstances, many years in Cuba and the Brazils ; and such is the nature of slavery in both, such the utter want of religious instruc- tion, of habits of civilisation, of social improve- ment of every kind, of connexion by intermediate agents, such as teachers, preachers, or magis- trates (appointed by the Crown), between slaves and masters, that in the event of the abolition of the slave-trade, any partial attempt at ameliorating slavery would prove fruitless, and then the inevi- table final measure of total abolition of slavery would be of a very difierent kind from that of ours. It would be utterly vain to expect the settling down of that population of slaves, with all their African instincts, feelings, and passions fresh in them, and still racy of the soil from which they have been taken within a few years, into habits of order and industry, at all resem- bling those of the negroes of our West India colonies immediately previous to emancipation. The abolition of slaverv in Cuba and the INTRODUCTION. XIX Brazils would be looked upon by the negroes as a proof of the superiority of their power over that of their late masters. The motive for any modi- fication of it would be confounded in their ideas with a conviction of an inability to prevent the abolition of slavery, and there would be no agency found in those colonies, no intermediate influence, like that of the missionaries of our islands prior to 1834, acting between slaves and owners, calcu- lated to make a system of modified slavery work with any elements of endurance in it. I repeat, that it is for such contingencies as the abolition of the slave-trade and of slavery in Cuba and the Brazils, we have to endeavour to place our colonies in a state fit to take advantage of these events — less distant, perhaps, than any persons, except individuals acquainted with those countries, may imagine. I see no means of. putting our West Indian colonies in a state of ability to compete with them ; of preventing a vast number of the best estates in the island of Jamaica being thrown up, even within the next year ; and of enabling the proprietors to hold on, for the short term of years I have referred to, or a period that would be determined by the first irar, Euro^ pean or American^ but the introduction into those colonies of free labour on an extensive scale. With respect to the views of Mr. Joseph Hume, there is nothing very new in them ; old pleas, of good intentions towards the people of Africa ; old pretexts for man robbing; old plans for peopling plantations under colour of zeal for the promotion of the interests of civilisation and re- XX iirrRODucnoN. ligion ; the old spirit of fraud and cupidity em- bodied in another form of hypocrisy . Mr. Joseph Home would hare the legislature rescind the law against the slave-trade. He would have our West India merchants send ships to Africa to purchase cargoes of slaves (who must necessarily be kidnapped, captured, carried away from their own homes and kindred, to furnish the man-mar- kets on the coast for Mr. Joseph- Hume's agents), to convey them to our colonies, and there convert them into frbe labourers, who could not, how- ever, possibly escape from those colonies and get back to their own land for a great many years at least. There, Mr. Joseph Hume would have them called '*free labourers;" so that their •* removal " from Africa would be entirely " for their benefit and advantage." What powers of face must this economist of other men's labour — this benevolent Trinidad proprietors-member of parliament — possess ! There is, indeed, nothing new in his plea for devastating the African continent, for devoting that unhappy country anew to the ravages of war, and its people to the plundering Sazias and slave-hunts of the robbers and marauders, who sell their surviving victims on the coast to the European " ransomers, " whom Mr. Joseph Hume, in the innocency of his nature, will have the dealers and chapmen in the flesh and blood of the stolen negrpes — the agents on the coast for this traffic — considered. It was " for the interests of religion " and the ** benefit of the negro race " that Africa has been INTRODUCTION. XXI ravaged for 300 years. Religion and humanity, however, have not been much advanced by the ransomings which have taken place there. But, granting that those ransomings are to be of a bond fide character, what does it matter to Africa that they are so? The negroes that are stolen for us, and sold to us, are to be free in the West India colonies, — the condition of these persons is to be bettered in spite of them, and those colo- nies to be improved by means of them. But what does all this signify to Africa ? She is still to be desolated, in order that our colonies may again prosper. The war of thirty odd years with the giant crime of the slave-trade, and its hard-won victory, are to go for nothing, — the labours of Clarkson and Wilberforce are as dirt in the sight of Mr. Joseph Hume. All the inte- rests of humanity put together are as a feather in the scale, in the opinion of that enlightened, poli- tical economist, compared with those of the free- trade principle applied to the commerce in the flesh and blood of his own species. Mr. Joseph Hume would buy that human commodity, called labour, in the cheapest market, as he would pur- chase bread stuffs, or any other merchandise, and dispose of it, to the best advantage, in those colo- nies in whose prosperity he is more or less inte- rested, for the benefit, of course, of the labouring machines with two hands that he would have the Government sanction the forcible carrying away of from Africa. Perhaps I have said too much on this subject ; but, taking into account the very extravagant XXll INTRODUCTION. length to which free-trade doctrines are now occasionally pashed, and the violation of all notions of morality, which becomes familiar to one's ears when the interests of free-trade are thus illegitimately advocated, — considering how little importance is attached to human rights by those who hold such extreme opinions, — and how much, unfortunately, such extreme opinions begin to prevail, — the few remarks I have made, on this mischievous project of Mr. Joseph Hume, may not be altogether needless. I think the evils of our West India colonies are to be met without re-opening the slave-trade, or declaring war against Spain or the Brazils for their breach of treaties with us. We may, by a well-conducted system of emi- gration, obtain a sufficient number of free la- bourers from the Kjtoo Coast, the Canaries, Ma- deira, and the Azores, to enable our West India proprietors to carry on sugar cultivation for a few years longer, while slavery and the slave- trade do exist in Cuba and the Brazils. We have a right to call on Spain and the Brazils for a bond fide' execution of their treaties; to consider the existence of slavery in Cuba and the Brazils as an undeniable consequence of a flagrant violation of solemn engagements with us ; to look upon the present means of effecting our legitimate anti-slave-trade objects as insufficient for their ends ; to make our claims a question of compensation for the vast expenditure we have been put to, on the faith of engagements that have been broken. INTRODUCTION. XXUl We have, moreover, a right to make our urgent claims troublesome, not only to the Spanish Government, but, through our agents in Cuba, continually perplexing and harassing to the Spanish authorities in Cuba; and« in respect to the Brazils, to pursue the same course in the slave-trading provinces of that empire. But while we do this, it would be better for our interests and the character of our efforts against the slave-trade — ^which ought not only to be unsuspected, but above suspicion— to claim nothing in the way of a prohibition to aid and to abet the slave-trade from foreign powers, which British subjects likewise are not prevented from accomplishing. So long as we seize the ships of Spain, Por- tugal, and the Brazils, under the equipment clause of the treaties entered into since 1835, — when we find a few shackles, planks, or boilers in them, or other articles calculated for the pro- secution of the slave-trade, — and that we ship tons of those identical articles for slave-trading pur- poses, and other manufactures for those purposes alone, for the western coast of Africa, Cuba, and the Brazils, and sell them there to slave-traders well known to be engaged in that commerce only, — our efforts will be made under great dis- advantage and with very indifferent success. Mr. McClean, of Cape Coast Castle, is cit^d by SirT. F. Buxton for the fact, "that one third of the slaves (carried away from the western coast of Africa) were paid for, by the dealers, in cotton goods, which, to the value of £260,000 XXIV INTRODUCTION. yearly, are manufactured in Lancashire and shipped to the Brazils, Cuba, the United States, and elsewhere, intended for the slave-trade, and adapted only for that purpose." But omission is wholly made of the vast exports from Liverpool, London, and Bristol, of gunpowder, muskets, cutlasses, shackles, and spirits, that are sold at the slave-trading factories of Whydah, !Bissaos, the Gallinas, and the Rio Pongos, exclusively for the commerce that is carried on in those places in slaves. In conclusion, I trust the reader will find in the following pages ample data for the consi- deration of the question — the influence of the prosperity of slave-producing countries on the interests of our West India colonies, and for a due appreciation of the resources, progress, and prospects of the, great stronghold of slavery and the slave-trade — the island of Cuba. July, 1849. THE ISLAND OF CUBA, CHAPTER I. POPULATION OF CUBA. The origin of the Castilian race in the West Indies was bad, and the state of colonisation in them is not better now than it was in the times when they were described by Cervantes as *' the refuge of the profligates of Spain — sanctuaries for homicides — skulking places for gamblers and sharpers — receptacles of women of free manners — places of delusion to many — of amelioration to few." "Fueron refugio de los desesparados de Espana; iglesia de los alzados : salvo conducto de les homicidos. Pala y cubierta de los jugadores aquienes llaman ciertos los peritos en el arte ama* gaza general de los niugeres libres : engano com- mune de muchos, y remedio particular de pocos."* Don Antonio Ulloa, in an official communication to Ferdinand the Sixth, speaks of the Europeans, or Chapetones, who came to those colonies, as being for the most part of a low origin in Spain, of an obscure station, without education or other merit of any kind to make them respected: "Sin * Cervantes, Ardid. 4. p. 2 POPULATION OF CUBA. educacion ni otro merito alguno que Ids hagan muy recommendables."* In a remarkable treatise (in manuscript) entitled "La Isla de Cuba, tal cual esta en 1836," the author (Senhor Delmonte) observes, " What have the Spanish inhabitants of Cuba gained by the augmentation of population ' there ? It has not been produced naturally, nor by immigration, or the introduction of foreigners from Europe, but by the clandestine importation of thousands of slaves from the coast of Africa. There is now in Cuba a million of souls, and of these it is calculated 600,000 are men of colour and men in slavery." The population of Cuba in 1827, amounting to 730,882, compared with that of 1775, namely, of 170,370 souls, shows an increase which (if it were natural) would be unparalleled in any age or country. This increase, however, only shows the extent to which the importation of Africans was carried on. The population of Cuba, by the census of 1776, (Padron official) was 170,370 (Consul Tolme's statement to Lord Palmerston, 171,620):— whites, 96,440; free-coloured, 30,847; slaves, 44,333. In 1792, on the same authority, the population had increased to 272,301 -.—whites, 133,659; free- coloured, 64,152; slaves, 84,590. In 1817, on the same authority, the popula- tion was 583,033 :— whites, 239,830 ; free-coloured, 144,068 ; slaves, 199,146. Of the slave population 124,324 were males, and 74,821 females. (See Parliamentary Reports.) * D. Antonio UUoa, Cart. p. 420. POPULATION OF CUBA. 6 In 1827, by the census, so called in the annual statistical account of the trade and finances of the Cuban government, the population was 730,882: — whites, 311,051; free-coloured, 106,494; slaves, 286,942; 26,395 troops and strangers. Of the slaves 183,290 were males, 103,652 females. In 1832, Mr. Tolme estimates the whole popu- lation at 870,000:— whites, 400,000; free-coloured, 110,000; slaves 360,000. In 1839, the best informed people (of Cuba) esti- mated the population of the island at 1,000,000, including 600,000 whites; 30,000 troops and foreigners; 330,000 slaves; 140,000 free people of colour. Mr. Tolme, in his report on the commerce, agriculture, &c., of Cuba, for the year 1837, to Lord Palmerston, states that the amount of female slaves to males is in the ratio of 60 to 100. This is a mis-statement, however. The dispro- portion of the sexes is far greater. Two cargoes of slaves liberated by the Mixed Commission, and placed under my charge, the Empresa in 1836, and the Matilda in 1837, were thus com- posed: — Empresa Males, 337. . Females, 47. Matilda Males, 175. . Females, 100. The total of which is 512 males, and 147 females; the proportion of females to males being nearly as three to one. In most other cases it was more. Mr. Trist, the American Consul (an apologist for slavery), states, that the female slaves form about twenty per cent, of the whole slave population. The result of all my inquiries on this subject is, b2 4 POPULATION OF CUBA. that the proportion of male slaves to females, in Cuba, is as 4j to 1. The state of things at present in Cuba, both as respects the inequality of the sexes, and the num- ber of newly imported slaves, is worse than it was in St. Domingo before the revolution, and infi- nitely worse than in the British West Indian colonies before emancipation. A comparative view of the population in St. Domingo before the revolution, and in Cuba in 1838, by Senhor Saco, is deserving of attention. In St. Domingo, before the revolution, the white (French) population was under 30,000. This was the greatest amount it had reached. In Cuba, in 1827, it reached 311,051. In St. Domingo, at the period referred to, the slaves of the French were estimated at 5^000 ; so that there were eighteen slaves to one white man, to say nothing of free-coloured people. The slave popiQation was not one newly introduced, nor chiefly introduced within a period of twenty years. In Cuba, in 1827, the slaves were 286,942; the whites were 311,051; so that there were nearly five whites to four slaves. While in Jamaica, at the time of emancipation, the whites did not form a thirtieth part of the slave population.* In 1807, the slaves were estimated at 319,351 ; and in 1829, by the last census, they amounted to 322,421. The total amount of negroes introduced into Jamaica is estimated at one million. When the British slave-trade was abolished, the entire popu- * The Slave Population in Jamaica. ORIGIN OF NEGRO SLAVERY. O lation of slaves and free people of colour in Jamaica amounted only to 350,000. So far, Cuba is appa- rently better circumstanced than St. Domingo, or Jamaica, but in all other respects worse. In 1791, the Convention abolished slavery in St. Domingo. In all the Spanish revolutions no similar decree was issued ; therefore, Saco thinks, or rather he states that he thinks, there is no cause for appre- hension from the blacks in Cuba. Yet, with sin- gular inconsistency, he proceeds to tell his readers that the population of Cuba having been, in 1775, 170,370—and, in 1827, 704,487,*— it followed that the population had quadrupled in fifty-two years. "But when it is considered," he adds, "that Cuba received in these fifty-two years more than 450,000 African slaves, if this number be compared with the total population of 1827, namely 704,562, the indigenous population will appear most lamentably reduced," and the barbarous population, he might have added, most fearfully increased. THE ORIGIN OF NEGRO SLAVERY IMPUTED TO LAS CASAS. The Christian philanthropist of heroic bene- volence, " TAe Protector of the Indians^" "cuijo nombre merece ser eterno y non cubrirse con ob- scuro velo,"t lias been more heavily taxed by calumny for the eminence of his fame, as a great Christian warrior in the cause of humanity, than any defender of its rights who ever battled with slavery. This in itself is a signal proof of the virtue and valour of the man, of the vast labours I' Exclusive of troops and strangers, f Jean de Castellanos. 6 THE ORIGIN OF of his life, and the powerful influence of those interests which were hurt by his magnanimous eflPorts in favour of the oppressed. Still, it is humiliating and heart-sickening to reflect how powerful the malignity of the champions of injustice has been in his case, and how general and long enduring has been the ignorance that has prevailed with respect to all the facts, allega- tions, and specific grounds for suspicion, on which the original calumny rests — namely, that " the trade in African slaves originated in a suggestion of Las Casas." It is not necessary to enter into any lengthened historical details of the enslavement and extermi- nation of the Indians, the mission of the Apostle of the Indies, the origin and establishment of the system of negro slavery in the New World, in order to vindicate the memory of Las Casas from this calumny. Little more is necessary to do, for this object, than to cite the original charge, the source of all the subsequent misrepresentation, gathering increased bulk and baseness as it travelled into other climes and ages ; and to quote the dates of the occurrences which are connected with this alleged misdeed, or the anterior or posterior to it still remotely bearing on the question of the truth or falsehood of it. Las Casas was born in the year 1474.* He was ordained a secular priest in 151 0.f He accompanied his father to Cuba, and settled * Quintana. Vide Espanolas Celebes, tome 3, p. 304. t Idem. NEGRO SLAVERY. 7 at a place called Trinidad, having many Indians in servitude under him, " which he never ceased to regret," in 1514.* His first departure from the West Indies, on his return from San Domingo to Spain, was to carry a complaint to his sovereign against the oppressors of the Indians, in ISlS.f His arrival in Spain was in 1516. The title of Protector of the Indians was con- ferred on him in 1616. He returned to San Domingo in 1616. He departed the second time for Spain in 1516; his object was to complain of the commissioners^: sent to the colony. On his arrival in Spain, he sent in a memorial in favour of the Indians to the new sovereign, and in that memorial he is charged with recom- mending '* la saca de negros," the taking of negroes and transport of them to the West Indies, with the view of alleviating the labours of the Indians — " para que con ellos en las grangeras y en las minas, fuesen las Indias mas aliviados," &c.§ * Remesal, liv. 2, ch. 10. "f* Quintana. X It is to be borne in mind, that these fathers of St. Jerome were the commissioners sent but along with Las Casas to devise means to protect the natives ; against whose conduct Las Casas so vehemently protested , and for whose conduct Robertson, with his usual generosity towards the side of oppression, so vigorously stands forth. § " El licenciado B. de las Casas viendo que sus concelhos, hal- landose en todas partes difficultodes, &c., se volvio a otros expe* dientes procurando que a los Castellanos que vivian en las Indias, se diese saca de negros, para que conellos en las grangeras y. en las minas fuesen los Indias mas aliviados, y que se procurarse de levantar buen numero de lavradores que passassen a ellas con ciertos libertades y condiciones que fuesen."— JHw^ de lot Jndiat Occidentales de Herrera, liv. 2, tom. 2, ch. 20. 8 THB ORIGIN OF This was in 1516. He proposed to found a colony on the Main, on the coast of Paria, com^ posed of Spanish husbandmen and ecclesiastics, and to civilise 1 0,000 natives in two years^ making them labour voluntarily for subsistence, and teaching them the rudiments of social life ; stipu-> lating that no sailor or soldier should ever be permitted to settle in the colony, and no Spaniard to enter it without his permission* This was in the year 1517. In his contract with the Government for his Cumana expedition, he stipulates for the privilege, for himself and his companions, of three African negroes each, half the number males, half females. He is charged with having previously pre- sented a memorial to the Council, wherein he states, " The remedy for the Christians is certainly this, that your Majesty should be pleased to grant to each of the islands 500 or 600 negroes, to be placed in the hands of fit persons for dis- tribution among the planters who have now only Indians ;" and in the same document of com- plainingf of the grandees throwing difficulties in the way of the introduction of negro slaves. J * Historia de las Indias Occidentales de Herrera, liv. 2, tome 2, ch. 20. t The valuable unedited papers called ** Extractos de Munos en ]a CoUeccion de Senor Iguina/' Ap. Quintaua. — ^Vid. Celeb. Espan. f *' El remedio de los Christianos es este, muy cierto que tenga por bien aprestar a cada una de estas Islas, 500 o 600 negros a los que pareciere que el presente bastaren para que se distribuyen por ]08 vecinos, que hoy no tienen otra cosa sino Indios.'^ And further on :— " No conceden libremente a todos cuantos queran traerlaslicencias delos negro, lo cual yo pedire alcance de S. M.'^ r— CoUeccion de T- Iguina. Robertson's Hist, of the Indies. Book Third. NEGRO SLAVERY. 9 His plan for establishing a colony on the Main was sanctioned by the Emperor, but the terri- tory limited seaward to about 300 miles on the coast of Cumana ; and accompanied by about 200 husbandmen he set out for Cumana, and after various misfortunes he arrived there in the summer of 1617. He found the coast had been previously ravaged by his countrymen ; the colony did not succeed. Las Casas returned for assistance to San Domingo, in 1517. His colony, in the mean- time, being expelled from Cumana, settled for some time at the island of Cubagua, then aban- doned it ; and Las Casas, grieved and cast down at the failure of his great project, took refuge from the taunts of his countrymen, and his own feelings of disappointment, in the Dominican Convent in San Domingo, where he assumed the habit of that order in 1518. From the preceding data, in the first place, we find that Las Casas' arrival in the West Indies was many years after their discovery. Columbus died the 28th of May, 1506. The memorable day of his landing at the island of Lucayos, which he named San Salvador, was the 12th of October, 1492; Robertson, our great historian, states that Las Casas went out with Columbus. " This was Bartholomew Las Casas, a native of Seville, and one of the clergymen sent out with Columbus in his second voyage to Hispaniola, in order to settle in that island.* * Kobertson's History of Scotland. Book Third. B 3 10 THE ORIGIN OF Las Casas, however, did not go out till 1510 ; and it was only in that year he was ordained. Moreover, the second voyage of Columbus to the New World was in 1493 ; The third was in 1498 ; The fourth and last in 1502. Columbus died in 1506. Las Casas died as he had lived, a reviled, slandered man, with a world of enemies in arms against his heroic virtues. He was a madman, an enthusiast, an exciter to sedition. "Amoti- nabo le gente,** says Herrera. With Robertson he was a man of " rashness and imprudence ; he had the inconsistency natural to men with head- long impetuosity."* With the magistrates of Gracias a Dios he was " a brawler, a bad man, a bad friar, a bad bishop " " Bellaco, mal hombre, mal fraile, mal obispo." The man and his memory, however, bore out- rage well. Loaded with injuries and indignities by the President Maldonado, the venerable pre- late could bow down his head, extend his hands on his breast, and say with profound humility, " I merit truly all that you say of me, Senor Licenciate Alonso Maldonado." + "Away with the madman ! " — " Echad de ahi a ess^ loco," was the cry against him on his way from Guatemala, and yet he could pursue his route without dis- composure or disquiet. It was only at Chiapa, where the majesty of virtue and the dignity of godliness regained their * Robertson's History of the Indies. Book Third, t Quintana. NEGRO SLAVERY. 11 empire over the populace for a time, that as he passed on he was disconcerted, when the cry was raised, "This is the holy Prelate, the venerable Protector, and the father of the Indies !'* " Este es el Santo Obispo, el venerabile Protector, y padre de los Indios." In Spain, he was from first to last " a visionary, a fanatic, a zealot, a turbulent friar, a seditious priest, an enemy to his countrymen in the colo- nies." The Bishop of Burgos confuted "his dangerous opinions;" the Chaplain of Charles the Fifth, a great theologian, a renowned canonist — the Doctor Juan Gines de Sepulveda — com- posed two huge folios against the character and wicked principles of Las Casas.* We imagine this is an obsolete policy, an ancient course, a Roman Catholic specimen of colonisa- tion polemics, an old Spanish device, emanating from Satan and his ministers. Fools that we are ! the argument of Sepulveda pervades the principle and the policy on which the extermination of the natives of Van Diemen's Land has been justified by the colonists and the company who colonised that island ; and that argument, that principle and that policy have virtually, though not avowedly, * Sepulveda, in his work, propounded the monstrous doctrine, that the Indians, and all barbarous people like them, *' were na- turally slaves,' ' and might lawfuUy be held in slavery ; that it was lawful to make war on savages, and to reduce them into servitude : — ** Que se subjugan a aquellos que por su suerte y condicion necessariamente ban, de obdecer k otros, no tenia noda de injusta (y por consequencia) que Siendo los Indios naturalmente siervos, barbaros, incultos e inhumanas de se, negaban solea succeder, a obdecar a otros hombres mas perfectos, era justa, sujetarlas por la fuerza, por la guerra, a la manera, que la materia se sujeta a la forma, el cuerpo al alma, el apetito a la razon lo peor a lo mejor." 12 THE ORIGIN OF received the sanction, the reluctant sanction of the local Government. This is the argument, worded however in less revolting terms, in all the Australian colonies, for the seizure and occupation of the country. This is the principle, glossed however differently, on which they are ruled, against the wishes even of the Imperial Government ; and the policy that is pursued towards them, in spite of the most en- lightened governors of them, varies only from that of the Spaniards, inasmuch as we take the land on which the natives live, without their labour ; for we take their lives as effectually by converting their hunting grounds into sheep runs, as if we killed them off in mines ; while the Spaniards took the land of the Indians chiefly for its gold, and made slaves of the aborigines to procure it, in their greater greediness for present gain. The process of destruction is slower in our colonies, but not less sure than it proved, three centuries ago, in those of Spain in the New World. Need we then marvel at the treatment Las Casas received at the hand of his contemporaries ; at hearing that military adventurers of the New World made war on him ; that the political and mercantile interests of Spain were at daggers drawn with his principles ; that the friars of the order of San Francis preached against his "mon- strous tenets ; " that the children of " the Con- questadores" were taught to hate his name and execrate his memory ? This was all as it should be. Why should Las Casas, "the Apostle of the Indies," have been NEGRO SLAVERY. 13 better looked on than "the Saviour of the World," who was, in the opinion of its wise, learned, and exalted men, " a companion of pub- licans and sinners," " seditious," " pestilent," " a glutton," " a wine-bibber," and " a blasphemer ? " Thus it was before — Socrates was judicially murdered and reprobated — and thus it will be, while one truly wise, heroically humane, and pre- eminently just and merciful being wages war with avarice, cruelty and oppression, with " tlm Prince of Darkness," in any of his shapes amongst us. The Bishop of Burgos (the oldest and most con- stant of Las Casas' enemies) ; Quevedo, Bishop of Darien ; Frias, of Albornoz ; and Sepulveda, the Chaplain of Charles the Fifth, have had their day. Herrera the Spaniard, and Robertson the Scotch historian (the latter furtively and covertly), have lent their aid to those who have obscured the fame of this eminent person by their efforts to prove that nature destined the aborigines to slavery, and religion required that they should be dealt with as an inferior race of human beings. But Las Casas, Francis of Vittoria; Garcia, Bishop of Thalasco ; and Ramirez, Bishop of Segovia ; Pedro de Cordovo, and Antonia de Montesinos! — in which of the Australian colonies are we to look for the prototypes of those men? Herrera brought the charge against Las Casas, of recommending the introduction of negroes into the West Indies, upwards of thirty years after the death of the latter. 14 THE ORIGIN OF He states, that the reason given for this recom^ mendation was, that " one negro worked better than four Indians." How could Las Casas have known this supe- riority of the negro to endure compelled labour in the West Indies, if negro slavery had not already existed there ? If the project originated with him of ravaging Africa, and all the horrors of this traffic had been known to him, how does it happen that Herrera speaks of him as " a man of exemplary zeal, of doctrine full of sanctity," and that he defends his character against Oviedo and Gomara? If Las Casas recommended the introduction of negroes into the West Indies who had been car- ried into Spain, does it follow that no similar introductions had previously taken place, or that he foresaw the systematic ravages of the men robbers of latter times, on the coast of Africa ? If he exaggerated the cruelties practised by his countrymen on the Indians — as Campomanes, Nuix and Munoz assert he did — how came it to pass that the aborigines perished in so short a time? Herrera, while he affects to be wholly unpre- judiced on this subject, cautiously throws the weight of his implied opinions against Las Casas. But Robertson, who derives his information* chiefly respecting Las Casas from Herrera, deals with Herrera's impressions as recorded facts, enlarges on those impressions, and dogmatises on them, with all the cool self-sufficient confidence in NEGRO SLAVERY. 15 his own opinion of a man who had made himself thoroughly acquainted with all that was worth knowing on any given subject, and was privileged to pronounce " ex cathedra" on its merits. It is a singular circumstance, that none of Las Casas* contemporaries among the Indian histo- rians refer to the charge brought against Las Casas by Herrera. Charlevoix reiterates Her- rera's precise assertions, without citing his autho- rity. Sepulveda, the arch enemy of Las Casas, never alludes to it. Clavigero, in his "History of Mexico," imputes many errors to Las Casas, but says not one word on the subject of this charge. But, on the other hand, I must admit it seems strange to find not one word in the works of Las Casas that can be considered as recommendatory of the emancipation of negroes ; except in that portion of them where, speaking of himself and his former opinions, he condemns the error he had fallen into, of recommending some negroes to be brought to the West Indies from Spain, and thus speaks of it : — " And because certain Spaniards of this island (San Domingo) said to the priest Las Casas, after their manner of viewing things, that the Dominican friars refused absolving those who held Indians, if they did not relinquish them ; and therefore, if a licence was obtained from the King, if they might not carry hither from Spain a dozen of Tiegro slaves who would assist the Indians ; the priest according with this proposi- tion, stated in his memorials that it would be an act of grace to the Spaniards in these islands, to 16 THE ORIGIN OF obtain a licence for them * to bring /rom Spain a dozen of negro slaves, more or less/ Tiiis advice that licence should be granted to bring negro slaves into these lands, the priest Las Casas first gave, not considering the injustice with which the Portuguese had taken and made them slaves." Speaking of the representations made to him by the Spaniards of San Domingo, he says, " They informed the priest Las Casas, suiting their statements to their views, that the clergy refused them the sacraments if they would not abandon their Indians, therefore they sought a licence from the King to introduce about a dozen, more or less, of negro slaves, to enable them to relax the severity of the labour of the Indians. And the priest Las Casas consenting to this proposal, in his memorials asked this, to bring from Spain the dozen or so of negroes to relieve the Indians." " Este aviso de que se diese licencia para traer esclavos negros en estas tierras dio primero el clerigo Casas no advirtiendo la injusticia con que los Portugeses los toman y haren esclavos." Las Casas evidently speaks here of the first recom- mendation for the introduction of negroes into which he had been entrapped, not reflecting there was an injustice in holding or taking slaves. In the latest production from the pen of Las Casa^, he confesses the grievous fault he had fallen into, and begs for the forgiveness of God, in the most contrite terms, for the misfortunes he had so far brought on the poor people of Africa, by the inadvertence of his counsel ; " and this confes- gion," says his historian, Quintana, " of his error, NEGRO SLAVERY. 17 SO full of candour and contrition, should disarm the rigour of philosophy, and hold his benevolent disposition absolved before posterity."* The Abb6 Gregoire wrote an able apology of Las Casas, which he read before the Institute, the 12th of May, 1804, " Apologie de Don B. de las Casas, par le Citoyen Gregoire." The author, probably being ignorant of the Spanish language, and certainly unacquainted with the many valu- able stores of ancient historical literature, recently laid open by Quintan a in his great biographical work, in his zeal for the memory of the Apostle of the Indies, denies all the assertions of Herrera, respecting Las Casas* recommendation of the introduction into the West Indies of some- ne- groes, certainly without being warranted in so doing. The documents brought to light by Quintana leave no doubt whatever on the subject. Las Casas himself, in various of his works, refers to it, and in his memorial, in 1516, presented to Cardinal Cisneros, he suggests, " que cada com- munidad mantengo algunos negros," that every district should maintain a certain number of negroes. — Vide " Extractos de Munos." Previous to this memorial, when the Government ordered him to propose some remedies for the state of things in Terra Firma, he presented a memo- rialj and the third remedy proposed in it was, "que llevan francamente los negros y los ne- gras." * Quintana. Vidas Espanoles Celebres, torn. 3, pa. 304, et seq. 18 THE ORIGIN OP Pauw states that the first proposal for negro slavery was rejected by Zimenes, and approved by Cardinal Adrian. This historian, not unfre- quently called " the fabulist," though Robertson appears to have borrowed largely from him, says, that the Spanish minister, in 1616, accorded the exclusive privilege for the purchase and sale of negroes to Chievres, who, not seeing his advan- tage in it, sold it to the Genoese merchants for 43,000 ducats, whose company for a long time bore the name of the Company Grilles. It was to furnish, the first year, 4000 negroes of both sexes ; but it understood its interests too well not to elude a part of its contract ; and it only brought, the first year, 1000 slaves to the Indies, 500 males, and 500 females, who disem- barked, the beginning of 1517, at the isle of St, Domingo. He goes on to state, utterly disregardful of truth, however, that this odious traffic was sanc- tioned by a bull of the Pope in 1440. The Infant Don Henry was the first Christian prince who made use of negro slaves, and Ferdinand, " the Catholic," sent some into America so early as 1510, without asking the Pope's permission. Herrera says. Las Casas' proposal was laid before the Council of the Indies, and was ap- proved by the Cardinal of Tortosa, the Grand Chancellor, and the Flemish ministers ; and that the members of the Tribunal of Commerce of Seville were consulted as to the number of African slaves that it was proper to send into the four islands of St. Domingo, of Fernando, of NEGRO SLAVERY. 19 Porto Rico, and Jamaica. Scarcely had they answered 4000, than cupidity caused certain people to give information to the Governor of Bresa, a Flemish cavalier, member of the Council of the King, and his Grand Major Domo, who obtained the monopoly of this privilege. But slaves were not only bought and sold at Lisbon and Seville before Las Casas was born, but transported from Spain to the West Indies, long before he set his foot on those shores. Negro slaves were brought from Guinea, and sold to the Spaniards by the Portuguese in 1443, according to Anderson; according to C. J. Friere, in his life of the Infant Don Henry, in 1444, in the reign of Don Henry, and under the direction of Gonsalez. Sandoval, in his work on the laws of the Indies, states expressly, that " the traflSLC in African slaves existed long before the discovery of the New World ;" and Munoz, in the first book, page 3, of his " History," says, " the trafiic was very active in Seville at the time the Spaniards passed into America." Herrera says, that some African negroes were brought to Hispaniola in 1498. He states, likewise, that it was ordained by the Spanish sovereigns to allow negro slaves, who were in the power of Christians, to pass into America, and to have the proceeds of the duties established for this purpose applied to fiscal du- ties, so early as from the year 1502. Anderson speaks of slaves being brought to St. Domingo in 1503. 20 THE ORIGIN OP Hargrave states that some negroes were brought to San Domingo in 1508. In 1610, Diego de Nicuesa, in his ship Trini- dady by order and on account of the Government, carried to St. Domingo thirty-six negro slaves. In 1613, the treasury began to issue licences for the slave-trade at two ducats each. In 1514, certain Portuguese were captured off San Domingo, and deprived of their Bozal ne- groes. They memorialised their Government, complaining of this outrage, and ended by saying that they had been deprived of " ciertos negros que Uevaban hurlados de la costa de Guinea."* Fletcher mentions,in his " Life of Zimenes," some negro slave licences for the West Indies, granted by the Cardinal in 1517. Las Casas arrived in Spain that year, in July or August, and the death of the Cardinal took place the same year. This could not be, then, the beginning of the slave-trade, for Fletcher adds, that there was a public market for slaves in Lisbon in 1509. A letter, he observes, of the Chevalier Goes, shows that slaves were bought at Lisbon, at prices vary- ing from ten to fifty ducats each, in 1509. Las Casas did not go to the West Indies till 1514. His proposition for some negroes to be sent from Spain to the West India islands was in 1516, eighteen years after their introduction according to Herrera, thirteen years according to Anderson, and eight years according to Hargraves. The fact is, the Portuguese and Spanish slave- * Quintana, vol. iii, page 467. NEGRO SLAVERY. 21 trade began nearly thirty years before Las Casas was born. Herrera, apparently referring to a period prior to his ardval, states that the Dominican friars, haying vehemently urged the amelioration of the condition of the Indians, an order had been issued " by all possible means to send into the country a great number of negroes of Guinea, finding that an African worked as much as four Indians." (Dec. l,book9,ch. 15.) He likewise states that the fathers of Saint Jerome, who arrived there in December, 1616, " Did not wait long before they demanded black slaves," in 1516. (Dec. 2, book 2, ch. 22.) Modern slavery received its first condemnation from Pope Julian the Third, in 1537. Two briefs were sent from Rome to America ; in the first we find these words : — " By the invention of Satan, many, incited by the most miserable ambition, dare to pretend that the West Indians and other people recently discovered, on the pretext of their not being Christians, ought to be reduced to slavery and submitted to their will, like mere animals. . . . But being truly men, as Christians, are consequently capable of receiving the faith of Jesus Christ, and to possess lands, they cannot be deprived either of their property or of their liberty." Remesal and Torquemada cite this brief. A passage of the second is also cited by Hemesal, wherein the Pope orders the Archbishop of Seville, then Metropolitan of the Indies, to repress, "by canonical penalties the most severe, the temerity of those impious per- 22 THE ORIGIN OF sons, in order that they may no more dare to condemn Indians to servitude, whilst their quality of men admits of their being made Christians, and of saving them. They ought not to perish in slavery, but to be conducted to the faith by preaching and good example." Las Casas, on the strength of these bulls, and of the terms "alias gentes," pleaded, it is pre- sumed, for both Indians and negroes. We are informed by Doctor Mier, of Mexico, in his letter to the Abbe Gregoire, that he did so ; but I have not met with any proof of this assertion in Las Casas* works. It is very strange indeed, as I have already observed, that in Las Casas' " Apology," as far as I have read, not one word in favour of negro emancipation is to be found, except it be in that condemnation of his conduct in his own " History," lib. 3, cap. 101, "Because they (the negroes) had the same rights as the Indians." " Porque la misma razon es de ellos que de los Indios."* There is some consolation in finding, amidst the general perversion of ideas at that period, with respect to the rights and liberties of men not Christians, just notions were even then to be found on this subject, and to be found only in the church and monastic institutions, and even in the synods and councils held in Mexico and Peru.+ In one of the latter is to be found language that breathes the truest spirit of Christian bene- volence. The crime of holding slaves, negroes * Quintana. Vid. Cel. Espanos. t CoUectio Maxima Conciliorum, Art. 3 and 5, cap. 4 and 5. NEGRO SLAVERY • 23 and negresses, is particularly denounced, and especially on the part of ecclesiastics. Las Casas began and ended his mission like a true teacher and preacher of gospel truth. He maintained the obligations of the gospel law on all men, at all times, in all places. He did not compound with avarice or ambition for the sake of preferment, of quiet, or of gain, or from motives of fear or favour, for reasons of state, or from feelings of deference for a prevalent perver- sion of religious principles. He did not com- promise the Gospel, he did not conciliate the rapacious, and therefore Dr. Robertson's autho- rities of the New World find in his conduct evi- dences of " rashness and imprudence," and "headlong enthusiasm." At the commencement of his career as a slave- master, having Indians " both in the mines and fields," on referring to the Scriptures for a text for a sermon he was about to preach, he was arrested in that career on coming to those words in the book of Ecclesiasticus — " The Most High approveth not the gifts of the wicked, neither hath he respect to the oblations of the unjust, nor will he be pacified by the multiplicity of their sacrifices." . . . "He that oflereth sacrifice of the goods of the poor, is as one that sacrificeth the son in the presence of his father." . " The bread of the needy is the life of the poor, he that defraud eth them thereof is a man of blood." " He that sheddeth blood and he that defraudeth the labourer of his hire are brothers." 24 ^ TUE ORIGIN OP From this moment he abandoned his property in men, he renounced his share in the " Reparti- mientos," and devoted his life to the advocacy of the rights of the enslaved natives of the New World. But how does the Scotch divine account for this heroic Christian conduct? *' He early adopted (says Dr. Robertson) the opinion prevalent amongst churchmen^ with respect to the unlawfulness of reducing the natives to servitude." Not one word of commendation could the historian afibrd Las Casas on this occasion for his conduct. From this time he denounced from the pulpit the sin of enslaving the Indians, at the peril of his life, " for it was the same, (to use his own words,) to tell the Spaniards that they could not hold the Indians in servitude, as to say they could not make use of the beasts of the field." " El decir que no podian tenir las Indios en su servicio, era la misma que decir que de lo/^ bestios del campo no podian servirse." The abominable pretext of making the Indians slaves, in order that they might be instructed in the faith, " que pudiesen ser doctrinada en la f&," was rejected by Las Casas ; and it behoves us to bear in mind, that the same impious and hypo- critical apology for subjecting savage nations to our sway, continues to scandalise Christianity, and to outrage civilisation to the present day. Be it remembered that the " Repartimientos," which originated with Columbus, and ended with the extermination of an entire people, with slight variations of form, were couched in these terms : — NEGRO SLAVERY. 25 *'To you, (so and so,) so many Indians are allotted in such a district, to be instructed in our holy religion." " A vos fulano se os encomiendan tantos Indios en tal Cacique, y ensenelas los, cosas de nuestra Santo F^ Catolica." Simon Bolivar began the revolution of South America by the manumission of his slaves. He brought his efforts to a successful termination by the sword. Las Casas began his mission by a similar emancipation of his bondsmen, but it pleased God that the sword of the Spirit, which was his weapon, should not prevail over his enemies. It was decreed by Providence, whose dispensations are not questions of time, judgments of days, of years, or of centuries, that the arms of the Spanish people should be turned against each other in either hemisphere, and that the failure of the eflTorts of the Apostle of the Indies should be a calamity to the Spanish nation, in all probability, to the remotest period of its history. One of the most reprobated of the late acts of the apostolate of Las Casas we find recorded in the work of Remesal (Decad. ii. cap. 8), where he informs us that the good bishop instructed the priests of his diocese to refuse the sacraments to the oppressors of the Indians, " if they would not give their slaves their liberty, indemnifying them for their labour during the period of their slavery." This proceeding may not have been in accord- ance with the principles of modern political econo- mists, but it was in accordance with the precepts of our religion and the golden rule of the Gospel, c 26 THE ORIGIN OF NEGRO 8LAVERY. " Do unto Others as you would that others should do unto you." Did Las Casas depart from it, when he recom- mended African negroes enslaved in Spain to be transferred to the New World, no matter what the numbers were, — a dozen, or a score, or a hundred? Before that question be answered, it behoves us to inquire what was the despair in which he was plunged when that inadvertent counsel was given, at the failure of every effort of his for the alleviation of the miseries of the Indians? What foresight could he have had of the vastness of the horrors of the modern African trade in slaves? What reason have we to disbelieve his own protes- tation of not having considered the injustice with which these Africans had been enslaved, and the declaration of repentance of his proposal, " be- cause they (the negroes) had the same rights as the Indians," or the last record of his conscious- ness of "the grievous fault he had committed, and of the inadvertence of his counsel, which was his plea before God for forgiveness for the misfor- tunes he had brought on the poor people of Africa." Let him whose philanthropy is without fault, and whose nature is superior to error, cast the first stone at the memory of the venerable Bar- tholomew Las Casas. Let him wliose labours for humanity can be compared with those of the Apostle of the Indies, measure the amount of indiscretion which was committed in one parti- cular proceeding by this faithful missionary, single and unaided, in a warfare with oppression and injustice, such as this world never before witnessed. 27 THE COMMERCE OF CUBA WITH AFRICA IN SLAVES. This subject has been treated of by Senor Si^a, in a very valuable paper on the import duties on newly introduced slaves from Africa, or Bozal negroes, as they are termed in Cuba.* The oflScial returns, from which the following statement of his, respecting those duties, is taken, afford very important information. It is to be borne in mind, that the only im- portations from Africa into Cuba are slaves, with the exception of a small quantity of gold- dust, which affects not the exactness of those returns. They represent solely, it may be stated, the value of those Bozal negroes sold in the Cuban market. This very ipportant statistical paper is to be found at p. 60, of Senor Sagra's excellent work. Importations into Cuba from Africa, 1803 2,683,800 doUars. 1804 769,120 „ 1805 1,400,000 „ 1806 1,682,200 „ 1807 960,666 „ 1808 594,590 „ 1809 406,700 „ 1810 2,235,200 „ 1811 2,032,304 „ 1812 2,189,747 „ 1813 1,621,800 „ 1814 1,512,950 „ 1816 2,659,950 „ * " Historica Economica de la Isle de Cuba." c 2 28 COMMERCE OF CUBA From the same work of Senor Sagra the fol- lowing details on the same subject are taken. By the royal contract of 1713, the duty was fixed at 33J dollars a head. By the contract of 1715, at 33J dollars per head, with obligation to sell the negroes at 200 dollars a head to the public. By the royal cedula and contract of 1760, the price was fixed at 290 dollars for the adults (piezas), 260 for the grown-up boys and girls (mulecones), and 230 for the smaller children (muleques) ; fixing the duty at forty dollars for the first, twenty-six for the second, and twenty dollars for the third. The royal cedula of 1766 did away with these duties, and substituted an annual capitation tax, payable half-yearly, of three dollars for each male adult negro or lad ; twelve reals for each adult woman or grown-up girl ; and eight reals for each smaller child, of either sex. In 1768 this tax was found too oppressive, and was removed by royal order of this date. From this time the old duties were in force, till 1 784, when, by royal order, the duty was fixed at nine dollars a head. In 1786 the price of the negroes introduced by Baker and Dawson was fixed at 155 dollars, to the public; and subsequently increased to 185, and 175 for piezas and mulecones. By the royal cedula (1789), the trade was opened for two years, and then for two years more; and in 1791 the people of Cuba were permitted to purchase slaves in foreign markets. WITH AFRICA IN SLAVES. 29 without any duty. In 1792 and 1793 the exten- sion of the Cuban trade in slaves was further privileged by permission to trade direct on the coast of Africa, with exemption from every duty, until the prohibition of the trade in 1817. We have now to refer to the establishment of the Mixed Commission Courts, the operation of which, at the commencement, aflTected consider, ably the commerce in slaves. The Mixed Courts of Justice, presided over by commissioners (in each oourt two British officials, and two also of the country under whose flags the vessels have been captured which are brought before it for adjudication), were instituted in pur- suance of the following treaties with Portugal,— 27th November, 1817. Spain— 22n(l November, 1817. Netherlands— 26th May, 1818. The Brazils— 26th November, 1826. All traffic in slaves by British subjects, or employment of British ships in it, was prohibited by those treaties. The Portuguese were allowed to carry on the trade between Cape Delgado and Lawrence till ] 830 ; at that period their slave-trade north of the equator was to cease to be legal. The Spaniards were allowed to continue the trade south of the equator till the 20th May, 1820 — then the total abolition was to ensue ; and five months subsequent to the period their slave- trade vessels were allowed to complete previous voyages. The Netherlands undertook to abolish entirely 30 COMMERCE OF CUBA tbeir slave-trade within a term of eight months after the treaty was ratified. The Brazils undertook to prohibit the trade totally from the 13th of March, 1830. The pre- ceding year, Mr. Consul Pennell stated, the number of slaves imported into the Brazils was 22,813. In December, 1817, a royal cedula was pub- lished in Madrid, setting forth the progress of the slave-trade : — " The royal proclamations of 28th September, 1789, the 12th April, 1798, and 22nd April, 1804, opened an unrestricted slave- trade in national and foreign vessels ; but deeming the time arrived for the abolition of this trade, it is ordained, &c. "Art. 1st. — That it shall immediately cease north of the line, and the negroes who may be brought on the said coasts shall be declared free^ in the first port of my dominions at which the ship in which they are transported shall arrive." Art. 3rd (of the same cedula ! ! !) declared — That from the 30th of May, 1820, " the traffic in slaves shall cease in all my dominions, as well in Spain as in America — the same penalty extending to the trade south of the line as to the north of it ; AND FRKEDOM TO THE NEGROES SO BROUGHT INTO THE Spanish colonies." This decree succeeded the publication of the treaty of 1817. By the royal cedula of 1817, (never promul- gated, however, in Havana,) all captains, officers, and pilots found on board slavers were declared liable to transportation, and confinement in a WITH AFRICA IN SLAVES. 31 fortress of the Phillippine Islands, for ten years ; but no penalty for seamen is made men- tion of. The penalty decreed by the Spanish penal code for infraction of the law against the slave-trade was ten years' hard labour, for engaging in that traffic as captain, master, and supercargo ; the negroes to be liberated, and to receive 100 dollars, provided half the proceeds of the sale of vessel and equipments realised that sum ; the purchasers of negroes to forfeit their property in them, and to pay a fine equal to the price they paid for them, half of the said fine to go to the pur- chased negro. — Reports^ 1824, Class -B., page 373. This penalty was to be carried into execution from the 21st April, 1823. The decree, however, to this effect was never promulgated in the Havana, and on the fall of the constitutional system it became null and void. SLAVE-TRADE PROTECTED BY THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES IN CUBA. The slave-trade received a great impetus from the sanction extended to it by the venality of General Tacon, the captain-general of the island, in 1836-6-7 and 8. Tacon, on his arrival in Cuba, publicly de- nounced the slave-trade. He said, in one of his proclamations — " No habia venido agui mas que por hacer la felicidad de esta isla : y castigaria con severidad ellos que hallarse en ese traffico infame." " I came to Cuba only to promote the 32 SLAVE-TRADE PROTECTED BT welfare of the island, and I will severely punish all who shall be found engaged in this infamous traffic." In less than four years he received 28,000 doubloons for contributions levied on the slaves he permitted to be introduced clandestinely by the merchants engaged in this infamous traffic. His delicacy did not permit him to let the price of his connivance at it be laid on his table, like former governors, " la venalidad ha su delicadez." He received it at second hand from his confi- dential agent, who, at his departure, accompanied him to Spain. So publicly did he permit the sales of African slaves to take place, that five or *six marts or barjacoons were allowed to exist within gun-shot of his country seat, outside the walls of the Havana. It is indubitable, says the author of the " Bos- queio de D. Miguel Tacon en la Isla de Cuba," that the capitation tax of ten dollars (his portion of the doubloon which was received) which was paid to him, "for importation of slaves, in a little less than four years, the term of his government, produced 600,000 dollars, at least, to General Tacon." The principal Spanish and Portuguese slave- traders had regular agencies in London so late as 1839. Darthez, Brothers, and Company, were not only agents, but for many years had an interest in the house of the Havana slave- trader Forcade, of infamous notoriety in the slave-trade Parliamentary Reports. THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES IN CUBA, 33 At the Gallinas and in Whydah a London house had agents, who carried on large operations in trade with the principal slaye-traders, Don Gaetano and De Souza, at those places. There were two insurance companies at the Havana exclusively, or chiefly, engaged in the insurance of expeditions for slaves. In 1838, however, the insurance companies in the Havana took no slave-trade risks, but private under- writers undertook them at thirty-five and forty per cent., and gained by it, says Consul Tolme ; now, he adds, in December, 1838, the risks are from thirty-three to thirty-six per cent. Insu- rance is made on slave-trade ships, when owners are advised of cargoes being ready to be shipped on the coast. The insurance is the same on Spanish and Portuguese vessels. The insurers are bound not to insure for more than 36,000 dollars, but they are seldom done for more than 20,000. The majority of owners, however, do not insure at all. The slave-dealers are largely assisted by the Bank of San Fernando, at the Havana. The bills of the former are discounted, and other assist- ance rendered to them, when the pressure of their traffic leaves them in need of money. The capital of the bank is one million of dollars ; they pay seven per cent, on deposits, and discount at ten per cent. The temptation to gamble in the slave-trade may be judged of by the following document. c3 34 EXPENSES AND PROFITS OP A SLATE-TRADING VOYAGE. Mr. M'Cleay, the British Commissioner at the Havana, gives the following statement of a slave-trading expedition. — Par, Rep. 1829, Class ^., p. 115. The Firme^ condemned at the Havana, was captured with 484 slaves. From the papers found on board it appeared :— DoUan. The outward cargo and specie for purchase of the slaves (one half of which was in specie, the other half in spirits, gunpowder, printed calicoes and handkerchiefs) was 28^000 By contract found on board for seamen's wages, it appeared there were sixteen able seamen at forty dollars a month ; twenty ordinary, at thirty- five dollars. Wages to be forfeited in the event of capture. The vessel was ten months absent ; had she returned safe, the wages of seamen would have been 13,400 The captain and officers were part owners and had shares. Wear and tear during the voyage calculated at ... . 10,600 Total expenses of voyage 62,000 THE HETUHNS. 484 slaves, market price in Havana (if sold) at 300 dollars a head 146,200 Deduct expenses 62,000 Net profit on voyage 93,200 In sterling, £18,640. This vessel might have made two voyages in a year. 36 FREE LABOUR IN THE WEST INDIES. Senhor Saco, in advocating the introduction of white men into Cuba to supply the place of negro labourers, observes, that the ravages of yellow fever are confined to the coasts and as all the sugar estates are in the interior, the white labourers would have nothing to fear. The premises are false, and the inference is consequently erroneous. The sugar estates are chiefly in the interior, but a great many of them are within a range of from two to five miles from the coast. The yellow fever, moreover, is not confined to the coast in Cuba, nor in any of the West Indies. Its ravages are chiefly in the towns on the sea shore, but not entirely. The German emigrants who came to Jamaica, in 1834, mostly perished of yellow fever in the coffee plantations, which are not situated on the coast. The same happened with the Irish emigrants at a later period. New comers, who are exposed to the sun, and who commit excesses of any kind, I have frequently known attacked with yellow fever in the plains, Am^ ner^er in the mountains at an elevation exceeding two thousand feet above the level of the sea. The great ravages of yellow fever are, however, in the large towns on the coast, and especially in those where rivers fall into the sea. There seems to be some noxious influence particularly preju- dicial to health in the mixture of fresh and saltwater. If a stranger escapes yellow fever the first year, and is attacked the second, the disease will be in a milder form ; and if he escape the second, the probability is, he will not be attacked at all. It is very rarely that the same person is attacked twice. 36 FREE LABOUR Senhor Saco truly observes, that the negroes in Cuba are exempt from yellow fever, but so are the Creoles, or descendants of Spaniards born in the island, and other Europeans, natives of countries with similar climates to that of Cuba. As to strangers, a very large portion of those newly ar- rived escape, he should have added, provided they live temperately, and avoid exposure to the sun. Of those attacked the majority recover. During the years 1 828-9-30, by the hospital returns, there were 1,221 cases in the Royal Marine Hospital, in the Havana. The deaths were only fifty-seven — less than five per cent. ; and in the military hos- pitals the deaths were even less — three and a half per cent. The mortality, however, is certainly much greater in private practice, as far as my ex- perience goes, in Cuba and Jamaica. Senhor Saco gives a statement of the compara- tive expense of free and slave labour in the Spanish colonies : — Dollars. A good master, he says, estimates at the lowest average the yearly expense of mainteDance, clothiiig, and medical treatment; of a hundred negroes for field labour , 4,562 The latter sum, and amount of cost of slaves, in other speculations, ought to yield 10 per cent, per annum, say 4,000 The owners of slaves say the mortality varies from three to seven per cent, a year ; — a few will tell you it amounts to fifteen or eighteen ; and Saco estimates it and loss of labour from old age at ten per cent, per annum, which rate of mortality in a hundred slaves would cause an expense yearly of 4;,000 The charges attendant on loss of time from sickness, child-bearing, running away, capture, fees for baptism and burials, he estimates at per year. . 800 Total charges 13,362 IN THE WEST INDIES. 37 The account stands thus for 100 slaves : — Dollar*. Maintenance, clothing, and medicine 4,562 Interest on capital 4,000 Loss by deaths and old age 4,000 Charges arising from pursuit of runaways, &c 800 Cost of the slave labour of a hundred negroes . . 13,362 The cost of free labour, calculating for 100 labourers, would be : — Dollan. Fifty men, at 12 dollars a month per annum 7,200 Fifty women, at 10 do. „ 6,000 13,200 The balance, by this estimate of Saco's, in favour of free labour, would therefore be 162 dollars; and by another estimate cited by him, of an intelli- gent Havana proprietor, which reduces greatly the wages of free labourers, the balance would be 2,612 dollars. But all my experience in Jamaica and Cuba would lead me to believe both of these estimates to be utterly fallacious. It is absurd to arg4ie in favour of the advantages of free labour over that of slaves, without reference to the circumstances of both ; the expense of in- troducing white men (which is entirely omitted in the preceding calculation), and the interruption in labour from the greater liability to sickness, in the case of white men in tropical climates, from disorders arising from the greater tendencies to excesses of all kinds. It should be borne in mind, that white women will not, and cannot, labour in the field, in the West Indies, like female negroes ; that such con- tinuous labour, above all in crop time, cannot be 38 SLAVE AND FREE TRADE IN PORTO RICO. obtained from them — as the owners of slaves com- pel the latter to yield eighteen, and even twenty hours a day during that season, by means of terror and of torture. It should have been observed by Senhor Saco, that the children of slaves are compelled to do a great deal of that labour which, if slavery were abolished, would have to be done by adult white labourers. It should, in fine, have been candidly, and honestly, and fearlessly of all consequences, been acknowledged —that the terror of the whip is a greater stimulus to labour, which is excessive and destructive to health and life, than the love of gain ; and lastly, that without reference to pros- pective, and even distant permanent advantages, it is a folly to pretend that the same amount of labour can be obtained by the employment of white men, remunerated for their toil, as can be extorted from slaves, whom it is the interest of their owner to work to the utmost possible extent, compatible with the support of health and strength, for a term of eight or ten years — on the same principle as those persons who " horse" coaches calculate on the endurance of the animal's strength for a given time, and are compensated for the shortness of it by the extra work taken out of them, and are enabled, at the expiration of that term, to replace the horses that have been worn off their legs. SLAVE AND FREE TRADE IN PORTO RICO. Colonel Flinter, in his work on Porto Rico, says that in 1832 there were 300 sugar estates worked by slaves, and 1 ,277 small properties in EMANCIPATED SLAVES SOLD INTO SLAVERY. 39 sugar cane (" sitios pequenos*'), with small mills of a simple kind, made of wood (en madera), worked all by free labour; and in 1832, of 414,603 quintals of sugar, the whole produce of the island, 80,000 quintals at least were the pro- duce of free labour. THE SLAVES NOMINALLY EMANCIPATED PREVI- OUSLY TO 1835, DELIVERED OVER TO THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES, SOLD INTO SLAVERY. The negroes of the captured slavers tried and condemned at the Havana, previously to the treaty of 1836, were delivered up to the Spanish authorities of Cuba, liberated from slavery by the sentence of the Mixed Commission Courts. The governor was charged with the care of this class of helpless persons, and was to see their rights as free men protected, while they underwent an apprenticeship for the purpose of learning some handicraft trade in the principal towns in the island. But no sooner did the captain-general receive the emancipados into his hands, than he sold them to the planters of Cuba — nominally for a term of years, usually seven ; but virtually for ever — into slavery. For at the expiration of the seven years it was always found that the eman- cipados were reported, on the books of the estate, dead ; and if any were admitted to have survived, they were sold over again, and the proceeds paid as before to the governor. The most scandalously open traffic of this kind that had been at all prac- tised in the island was that which was carried on by General Tacon. 40 VIOLATION OP It was constantly denounced by the commis- sioners and superintendant of liberated Africans. It was precisely the same in the Brazils. Mr. Consul-general Pennell writes from the Brazils, January 12th, 1837 : — " At present, the services of the negroes emancipated are sold by auction for fourteen years, at about 90,000 reis per annum." Mr. Hesketh writes, August 3rd, the same year : " The emancipated negroes are subjected to a worse fate than that of the slaves regularly purchased." Lord Palmerston, the same year, remonstrated with the Brazilian Government on the treatment of the negroes nominally liberated, that notwithstanding the terms of the decree of the 26th January, 1818, which appointed a tem- porary apprenticeship to some handicraft trade, they were taken to the mines in the Brazils, sold over again, and reported dead. The total number of liberated slaves, from the commencement of the operation of the Mixed Commission Courts in Sierra Leone, to the 1st of January, 1839, amounted to 65,359; of which number those registered there were 48,359. VIOLATION OF THE TREATIES FOR THE SUPPRES- SION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE ON THE PART OF THE SPANISH, PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENTS — CONSTANT DENUNCIATIONS OF THOSE INFRACTIONS BY BRITISH AUTHORI- TIES, AND UNAVAILING REMONSTRANCES OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. The violation of the anti-slave-trade treaties by SLAVE-TRADE TREATIES. 41 the Spanish authorities in Cuba was noticed in the Cortes by Senhor Benavides, deputy for Grenada, in the following terms : — " The fact is, there are treaties which are not observed ; there is a mise- rable cupidity which takes possession of persons who ought to prefer their honour to a grave crime, and this crime is tolerated by the Govern- ment." " Pero es el caso que existen tratados que estos tratados no se cumplen que una ga- nancia mesquina arrastra a personas, que en mas debieran estimar su honra a un delito grav^ y que delito se tolera por el gobierno." — {Revista de Madrid, p. 125.) Mr. Kilbee, the chief commissioner at the Havana, in 1824, speaking of the inefficiency of the measures employed to put down the slave- trade, says: "The evil having become of such magnitude, and the present system having been found utterly ineffectual for its suppression, some alteration would appear to be unavoidable." . . . . . " The slave-trade with this island now is as extensive as ever, and is necessarily carried on with greater cruelty. The abolition by Spain is therefore merely nominal." April 10th, 1825. The commissioners at the Havana say : " We regret to state, that from every information we have received, the slave- trade of the Cape de Verd Islands has rather increased than diminished." In July, 1825, the British minister communi- cated to the Spanish ambassador the fact often complained of, that the additional articles to the treaty of 1817, imposing penalties on those en- 42 VIOLATION OP gaged in the slave-trade, had never been pro- mulgated in Cuba; and again, in 1839, the commissioners complained that the additional penalties ordained by the treaty of 1836 had never been promulgated in Cuba, nor put in force. In January (6th), 1826, the Duke of Infantado addressed, the British minister, in reply to his remonstrances, stating that the Archbishop of Cuba and the Bishop of Havana had been in- structed by the royal cedula to make known to the parochial clergy and their parishioners, " that from the moment of the prohibition of the slave- trade, the* continuance thereof in any way became a matter of conscience;" and further, that a penalty had been promulgated, the one ordained by the Cortes having been annulled in the ease of persons purchasing slaves (a fine of 200 dollars for each), and an ofier of liberty to slaves who may denounce the purchasers or importers. August 19th, 1825, Mr. Kilbee writes from the Havana to the captain-general — " The slave- trade with this island is now fully as extensive, and is carried on in all its branches with very nearly as much publicity as if the treaty of 1817 was not in existence." In 1827, Mr. M'Cleay, speaking of thirty-one vessels cleared out for Africa, says, the number was " twice as many as in any year since the establishment of the commission." In 1828, the commissioners of the Havana say, " the number of slaves could not have been less than 7,000 ; the number of vessels cleared out SLAYE-TRADB TREATIES. 43 for the trade was sixty-three, and twenty-eight had arrived." In 1829, the number of vessels cleared out from the Havana was forty-five. The commissioners state, "they believe, and with good reason, the Spanish laws will never be put in force against them" (the slave-traders). Mr. M'Cleay wrote, in the beginning of the same year, to Lord Aberdeen, — " The slave-trade of this island is at as great a height, and even a greater height than ever." Mr. Canning, in a communication to the British minister at Madrid, July 2lst, 1826, speaks of the utter insuflSciency of the existing measures for suppression of slave-trade. The British commissioner at the Havana, Mr. M'Cleay, July 19th, 1830, speaks of " the noto- rious ineflBciency of the present system." The British commissioners at Sierra Leone, September 21st, 1830, writing to Lord Aberdeen, say, " There would then appear, we regret to say, but little likelihood of the slave-trade ever being completely suppressed by the present re- strictive measures employed to prevent that traffic, which are totally inadequate to effect so desirable an object." In 1835, eighty-one Portuguese and Spanish vessels arrived in Cuba, of which only one was engaged in lawful traffic ; of those, seventy-eight were under the Portuguese flag. See Consul Tolme's report in Slave-trade Papers of 1837, Class A, page 67. Estimating the cargo of slaves in each vessel 44 BXPENSE OF BRITISH BFFORTS at 300, the total number of slaves introduced would amount to 24,000, and the value of each slave at 300 dollars, the entire value of this one year's importation would amount to 7,200,000 dollars, which, in sterling, would be near one million and a half. EXPENSE OF BRITISH EFFORTS FOR THE SUP- PRESSION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. The total cost of our efforts for the suppression of the slave-trade, during a period of thirty years, is estimated, by Sir T. F. Buxton, at twenty millions sterling. "It is lamentable," he ob- serves, " to think that this vast outlay has not been attended with a diminution of the slave- trade, but, on the contrary, with an increase to double its extent, at the expiration of thirty years from the date of these efforts with foreign powers. When they commenced their exports of slaves from Africa, they did not exceed 76,000 ; and now," he says, "they exceed 160,000, and pro- bably reach 260,000 a year, for the western slave- markets alone." My own opinion is, that the increase in the term referred to is from 75,000 to 100,000. There is an observation of Sir T. F. Buxton on this subject well deserving of attention, namely, that the profits of the slave-trade set all our efforts at defiance ; they are more than five times that amount (thirty per cent.) at which it is an axiom with custom-house officers any illicit trade can be suppressed. This opinion seems to be confirmed by the FOR SUPPRESSION OF SLAVE-TRADE. 45 official communications addressed to Viscount Pal- merston, which we find in the Slave-trade Papers. Mr. Ousely, our minister at Rio Janeiro, writes to his lordship, the 19th of May, 1836,—" In- surances can he, and are daily effected at Havrey by the slave-dealers , and those connected with them, at as low a rate as eleven per cent., which proves the great profits and comparatively small risk attending this abominable line of business, the principal, but, by no means, the sole followers of which are Portuguese ; the French are also participators in this trade ; and the authorities of her Most Faithful Majesty more than indi- rectly are interested in encouraging it. " The slave-dealers look upon every efibrt of Great Britain effectually to interfere with the Government of Portugal for destroying their trade, as utterly hopeless, and even express them- selves in slighting and highly improper terms, on the measures hitherto adopted, or about to be put in force, by his Majesty's Government, for its extinction." Some idea of the charges attending our anti- slave efforts may be formed from the following particulars, and likewise of the opinions enter- tained of the sufficiency of those efforts for the great object in question. On the 18th January, 1831, the Board of Trade addressed Lord Palmerston, calling for stronger measures of suppression, stating that the means employed " only led to a partial inter- ruption of the trade." The expense of the cruising squadron on the 46 EXPENSE OF BRITISH EFFORTS, ETC. coast of Africa, in a communication of Sir James Graham, dated January 11th, 1831, is thus noticed — " I have been struck by the increasing charge of the squadron on the coast of Africa, now amounting to £100,000." The charges attending the Mixed Commission Courts may be estimated to some extent approxi- mating truth by those of the Mixed Court at the Havana, as the latter were computed by me in May, 1839. But one of the charges — namely, that of the British receiving ship then stationed at the Havana — no longer exists, and was confined to the latter place. Charges of Mixed Commission Courts at the Havana, and Expenditure connected with them in 1839. Salaries of commissioners, secretary, and charges of office £3,000 Bounty or head money for captures, estimating captures at five in the year and 300 negroes in each capture, say 1600 negroes, at £5 per head 7,600 Incidental expenses of the Mixed Court, British share of those charges 250 Salary of superintendent of liberated negroes 800 Expense of receiving ship for liberated Africans {TheBomsey) 1,800 Removal of five " cargoes" of liberated negroes to our colonies 6,000 Total expense per annum £18,350 We have now Mixed Commissions likewise for the adjudication of captured slave-trade vessels at Sierra Leone, at Loando, at Kingston i:n Jamaica, at Rio Janeiro, and St. Helena. The expenditure for these six commissions, and MORTALITY OF SLAVES, ETC. 47 the establishments connected with them, the attendant charges, head money, and the amount of pensions for retired officers belonging to those commissions, I estimate altogether at £100,000 a year. The total cost of the liberated African depart- ment in Sierra Leone, St. Helena, and its minor branch es« averages about £25,000 a year. The charges and allowances for wear and tear of the cruising squadrons on the coasts of Africa, the West Indies, and the Brazils, I take at Sir James Graham's estimate for the year 1831, at £100,000. Expenditure at home, for additional legal and official services, on account of our anti-slavery efforts, and parliamentary publications, I estimate at £25,000 a year. Total expenditure of our anti-slavery eflForts exceeds a quarter of a million a year by £25,000. MORTALITY OF SLAVES ON BOARD THE VESSELS EMPLOYED IN THE SLAVE-TRADE, BETWEEN CAPTURE AND ADJUDICATION, AND SHORTLY AFTER LANDING. In the parliamentary Slave-trade Papers, from 1817 to 1838, we find numerous instances of an enormous mortality on board the slave-trade vessels, and soon after their arrival or capture. January 9th, 1817, Mr. Chamberlain, from Rio Janeiro, gives a statement of the arrival in the Brazils of forty-two vessels from Africa ; numbers embarked, 21,195; the deaths within a year of their disembarkation were 2,062. In 1818, fifty-three vessels arrived from Africa, he 48 DEATHS OF SLAVES AT SEA. states ; the number of slaves embarked was 22,231 ; and the deaths within the year of their arrival, 2,429. In 1821, the slaves embarked for the Brazils were 24,363 ; the deaths of those newly arrived within the year were 3,311. In 1822, the number embarked for Rio was 31,240, in sixty-nine vessels; the number of deaths on the passage and soon after arrival was 3,484. In 1823, political troubles in Portugal con- tributed to reduce greatly the slave importations into the Brazils ; 20,483 slaves were embarked for Rio, and 1,388 deaths took place out of that number. In 1824, the numbers embarked for Rio were 29,211 ; the deaths were 2,499. In 1825, the numbers embarked for Rio were 27,675; the deaths amounted to 1,906. DEATHS OF SLAVES AT SEA. The Seyunda Maria, condemned at Sierra Leone, March 25th, 1826, took on board 258, of which number seventy-two died before adju- dication. The Orestes, condemned at Havana, March 15th, 1826, took in 285 slaves, of which number seventy-three perished at sea; 212 having been emancipated. The Campeador, condemned at the Havana, 27th September, 1826, took in 300 slaves, of which number forty-seven perished before adju- dication. DEATHS OF SLAVES AT SEA. 49 The Midas, condemned at Havana, 14th July, 1829, took in 562 slaves, of which number 271 died before adjudication. The Fama de Cadix arrived in Cuba 22nd July, took in 983 slaves, landed about 300 ; deaths at sea, 680. The Christina, condemned at Sierra Leone, I9th November, 1829 ; 348 captured. Before ad- judication, 126 died of small pox. In 1829, during the six months from January to July, the consul at Rio Janeiro reported the embarkation of 25,179 slaves for the Brazils, and deaths at sea of 2,230. May 21, 1830, the Santiago, condemned at the Havana, took in 144 slaves ; 105 were liberated, thirty-nine having died before adjudication. May 1, 1831, the Umbelina, condemned at Sierra Leone, took in 377 slaves; 161 were liberated, 216 having died between capture and adjudication. My limits prevent me from giving the details of the mortality on board slave-trade vessels from 1831 to 1839, the period of my departure from the island of Cuba ; but these, if given, would present a picture no less frightful than those of any equal term in the preceding statement. 50 CHAPTER II. CUBAN COMMERCE. Free trade principles — strange to say, in our days — were carried into practical eflTect in a country where slavery and the slave-trade exist, — in Cuba, before they were recognised in any European country. In 1818, this island extorted the privi- lege from the Spanish sovereign of exporting its products to whatever country seemed most advan- tageous for its commerce, and of opening its ports to strangers. This singular fact has been little noticed, and the extraordinary eflfects that followed the freedom of trade in this distant colony seems likewise to have escaped observation in European countries. Previously to 1818, Cuban commerce was con- fined to Spanish ports. In 1511, the Spanish colonisation of Cuba commenced, and in 1774 (the date of the first census), the white population amounted only to 96,000 inhabitants. So that it took 263 years to give the island a white popula- tion under 100,000. From 1774 to 1792, Cuba continued a poor, dependant, struggling colony, without energy, commerce, or agriculture sufficient even for the charges of its government; these were borne by the mother country, or provided for by the American settlements of Spain. Cuba was regarded only by the mother country as a con- <3UBAN COMMERCE. 51 venient military and naval station, adjacent to its possessions in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1778, the misery of the island was so great, that the Spanish sovereign, Charles the Third, was induced, by royal ordonnance, to annul the mono- poly of the trade of Cuba, which was enjoyed by the merchants of Cadiz and Seville. Cuba was privileged to trade with thirteen Spanish ports. This privilege was attended with some advantage, and this first encouragement to Cuban commerce was followed by a remarkable increase in popula- tion. That which took 263 years to reach the amount of 96,000, was augmented in fourteen years (namely, from 1778 to 1792) by an addition of 37,000. So much for the effects even of a partial abo- lition of the slavery of trade. Still the agriculture of Cuba languished till 1792, when the French revolution extended to the island of St. Domingo, and the refugees of that colony carried with them to Cuba a knowledge of the coflfee plant. A large district of the northern parts of the island, called the " Vuelto Arriba," was soon laid out in coflfee plantations, and thus the elements of colonial prosperity, banished from St. Domingo, found a refuge in Cuba. The island, however, suflfered most severely from the ravages of the French cruisers on its coasts in 1793, and some succeeding years. The rigour of the blockade reduced the inhabitants to the greatest misery. In a state of famine, the white inhabitants forced on the attention of the governor and colonial ad- d2 52 CUBAN COMMERCE. ministration the necessity of taking on themselves the responsibility of suspending the laws which prevented the introduction of provisions in neutral vessels, in exchange for the produce of the island, without waiting for the sanction of the mother country. Their supplication was attended to, and in a few weeks the Havana was crowded with American vessels, bearing an abundant provision of flour and salted meats. The famishing people were filled with joy at the arrival of these vessels, and at the fortunate results of a legislative mea- sure, emanating from their own authorities, in opposition to the laws of the Spanish sovereign. ^ new impulse was now given to agriculture, and much land that had never before been tilled was brought into cultivation. The first measure of the colonial administration which led to improvement, that of 1793 (an inno- vation on the imperial legislative power), was soon followed by another. In 1794, a decree was issued in the colony for opening the ports of the island to neutral vessels bringing stufts for cloth- ing (of which the want was then great) into the colony. Cuba thus continued in the enjoyment of the advantages arising from legislative inde- pendence, so far as the measures went for the introduction of food and clothing into the island, till 1801. In the latter year, Charles the Fourth issued an ordonnance, commanding the authorities in Cuba to revoke the two colonial edicts of 1793 and 1794. Spain had only then the will, however, to reduce the distant colony to entire legislative dependence and submission to her laws. CUBAN COMMBRCfi. 53 In 1812, the Constitution being proclaimed in Spain, the whole people of the colonies were assi- milated to the inhabitants of the mother country, with respect to representation. Havana was worthily represented, in the first Spanish Chamber of Deputies, by Senor Arango. In one of his discourses, wherein he spoke of the prosperity arising from the partial operation even of the system of free trade in Cuba, he said, "96,000 in- habitants (white) in 263 years — 160,000 in twenty- four years," was a matter worthy of consideration. In J 818, the good efiects of colonial represen- tation were manifested in the successful efforts of Senor Arango with the King, Ferdinand the Seventh, for Cuban interests. He obtained a royal ordonnance from his Majesty, for the aboli- tion of restrictions on Cuban commerce. From tliis epoch the prosperity of the island may be dated. Instead of being a charge to the Imperial Government, it began to remit large sums of money yearly to the Spanish Government; instead of having authorities and troops paid by the latter, both were henceforward paid by Cuba. An army of 26,000 men, sent from Spain in a miserable plight, was maintained in Cuba, in a few years entirely equipped and clothed, and dis- ciplined in the best manner, without costing a real to the Spanish Government. From 1 830, the treasury of the Havana, in every embarrassment of the home Government, furnished Spain with ipeans, and was in fact a reserved fund for all its pressing emergencies. When the civil list failed 54 CUBAN COMMEBCB. Queen Christina, Cuba furnished the means of defraying the profuse expenditure of the palace. The contributions arising from the island formed no small portion, indeed, of the riches bequeathed by Ferdinand the Seventh to his rapacious widow, and to his reputed daughters. Cuba, moreover, furnished the means of setting on foot the luck- less expedition of Barrados, for the reconquest of Mexico ; and from 1832 to 1 841, it had exchanged thirty-six millions of dollars against an equal amount of government paper.* At the latter epoch, the white population reached to 500,000 souls, and its exportations were four- fold what they were in 1818. With the United States its trade had been prodigiously augmented. The imports from North America amounted to eleven millions of dollars; from England, five millions; Germany, Russia, and the Brazils, four and a half millions. The exports to Spain amounted to twenty-five millions, and the im- posts on them yielded, moreover, a very large revenue ; so that Spain profited greatly by the liberal measure of 1818. Cuba yielded a net revenue to Spain of a million and a quarter sterling, furnished timber and stores largely for the Spanish navy, and entirely supported the Spanish army in Cuba. The revenues of the island, moreover, occasionally served for a gua- rantee for loans, foreign and domestic. The Spanish Government, however, a few years later, was very far from proceeding in its conduct * " L' He de Cuba," par F. Clave, Revae des Deux Mondes, Juin, 1847. CUBAN COMMERCE. 55 toward Cuba in the spirit of the decree of 1818, or with good faith in regard to that free trade measure. The ministries of erery kind of polities con- sidered, not what large revenue the island yielded, but how it was possible to get more from it. The decree of 1818, which gave a free entrance into Cuban ports of the merchandise of other countries^ did not leave the products of the island altogether destitute of protection. An exception was made likewise in favour of Spanish flour, and a heavy duty was imposed on foreign flour. Many cir- cumstances, however, conspired to render the inequality of no avail. The Custom House re- turns for 1826 show the importation of American flour to have been 71,000 barrels, and that of Spanish flour, 36,000 barrels. The contraband introduction the same year is estimated at 20,000 barrels. In 1829, the Spanish Government, in violation of the spirit of the decree of 1818, imposed excessive tonnage dues on foreign vessels in the ports of Cuba. But this law did not produce all the effects expected from it. The Spanish flour imported then amounted to 85,000 barrels. In 1831, it fell to 39,000, and two years later to 25,000 barrels. In 1833, the new Spanish Constitution shut out the colonists from the imperial representa- tion. This most unjust, impolitic, and irritating measure affords a fair specimen of the liberality and wisdom of Spanish liberalism. It produced a feeling of hatred against the mother country 56 CUBAN COMMERCE. that never before existed in Cuba. In 1 836-7-8; and 9, a general feeling of disaffection per- vaded the whole white Creole community of Cuba. All the intelligence, education, worth and influence of the white natives of the island (or Creoles, as they are called in the island) was en- listed against the Government and the sovereign of Spain, and an intense desire for independence excited. The old rapacious policy of Spain was renewed, of considering every species of Cuban produce as a commodity of a distant region, that it was legitimate to burthen with oppressive taxes. Nevertheless, the fertility of the soil and the advantages of freedom of trade which Cuba enjoyed for some time posterior to 1818, (for the law was not formally abrogated, but onjy contra- vened, for some years, by numerous intermediate restrictions,) enabled Cuba to bear up against all the subsequent oppressive and impolitic measures of the mother country. The law of 1818 not only enlarged the interests of, but the ideas of the colonists. It was the means of opening a very extensive trade with America, and intimate relations with Americans. In 1834, the Spanish Cortes passed a law, im- posing a duty of nearly ten dollars a barrel on flour imported into Cuba, and assimilated very nearly the tonnage dues of Cuba and all other vessels. This measure was ruinous to the merchant marine of Cuba ; and when it is remembered that the island offers vast advantages for ship building in her forests of the best woods for construction, and up to 1798 had furnished timber for the con-. CUBAN COMMERCE. 67 ^truction, in the arsenal of the Havana, of 125 vessels ^fifty-three of which were frigates, and six three-deckers — it is obvious how impolitic such a measure must have been. From 1825 to 1840, from one port alone, timber suflScient for the construction of thirty fi'igates had been exported to England. It was no longer required in the colony. Ship building had almost ceased in Cuba. Notwithstanding the new enormous impost on flour (hitherto chiefly imported from America), it was soon found that the American flour, though superior in quality, could be sold nearly as cheap in the Cuban market as the Spanish. From 1835, when the new law came into execution, the importation was nearly equal from the two countries. The law of 1 834, which was virtually enacted against American commerce, provoked reprisals in the Congress of the United States. New ton- nage duties, largely augmented, were laid on Cuban vessels; and, in 1843, on the sugars and tobacco of the Spanish islands. It is to American enterprise, however, in Cuba that the opening may be referred of new markets for its produce in South America, in Yucatan, Carthagena, Vera Cruz, Tampico, and Cam- peachy, since the retaliatory imposts on Cuban shipping in the ports of the United States had shut out the sugar and coffee of Cuba and Porto Rico from them. Notwithstanding this inju- rious interference of the mother country with Cuban trade, and all the expenditure occasioned D 3 68 CUBAN COMMERCE. by railways, improvements in agriculture and manu&ctures of sugar, the pay of the army and the navy on that station, the judicial and other civil establishments of the island — from a million and a quarter sterling to a million and a half- continued to be sent in specie every year to Spain, to the coffers of the State. 69 CHAPTER III. REVENUE OF CUBA, AND ITS SOURCES. Senhor Saco observes of the revenue of Cuba, that the expenses of Government, previous to the independence of the South American colonies, used to be sustained by an annual sum of 700,000 dollars, sent from Mexico ; but, in 1827, all the revenues of Cuba amounted to 8,469,974 dollars, and these were devoted to the charge of Govern- ment, and the imperial treasury. The mercantile movement in Cuba, or amount of exports and imports combined, exceeds, according to the able and accurate author of the " Isla de Cuba, &c., en 1836," thirty-three millions of dol- lars (pase trente tres milliones. des pesos fuertes), say, about six millions and a half in sterling. The earliest accounts of the revenue (given by Sagra in his " Historia Economica") and of the imports and exports are the following. The revenue of thcf island was — In 1759 *... 163,605 dollars. „ 1778 886,868 „ „ 1788 892,393 „ ,,1794 1,136,918 „ ,,1811 ...2,624,140 „ ,,1820 3,491,540 „ „ 1826 6,722,198 „ ,,1826 7,097)000 „ ,,1828 9,086,407 „ ,,1830 8,972,648 „ 60 REVENUE OF CUBA, The imports and exports of Cuba, for seven years : — Dollars. Dollars. 17fi9 Imports 1 ,527,268 Exports 616,664 1770 „ 1,292,630 „ 760,426 1771 „ 1,283,291 „ 786,003 1772-) 1773 [ „ 6,867,396 „ 3,693,939 1774) Total for seven yrs. „ 10,960,474 „ 6,765,032 Dollars. From 1826 to 1830, the Imports averaged yearly 17,336,190 And the Exports 14,206,768 The revenue of Cuba, in 1836 (contribuciones indirectos), amounted to 21,106,159 dollars; in round numbers, about four millions and a quarter sterling. This revenue arose from — Dollazy. The Lottery 1,000,000 Decimal tax on rent • 416,169 Ditto (ovencional) 260,000 Municipal taxes 100,000 Post offices 300,000* Custom Houses and Excise 9,000,000t Products of Census.... , 4,000,000 1 Stamps. 240,000 Ditto Pliegos at ten dollars each 4,800,000 Regalos Cocheros y trampas 1,000,000 Total : $21,106,169 * The foregoing fiye items are taken from Sagra's ** History of Cuba." . t From the Balanca Mercaniilet 1834. X From Sagra's work. AND ITS SOURCES. 61 The duties collected in all the ports of the island, in — Dollars. 1831, were 4,795,405 1832 „ 4,792,178 1833 „ 5,235,371 1834 „ 5,098,288 1835 „ 5,426,060 1836 „ 5,743,793 1837 „ 5,809,775 In the Custom House of the Havana, the duties in — 1836 were $4,018,438. In sterling, £803,608 1837 „ 4,161,284. Ditto 832,257 The whole of the duties collected in the island, in 1837, in sterling, in round numbers (calculating five dollars to a pound) was £1,161,955. Previously to 1838, American flour paid a duty of nine and a half dollars per barrel, and a further duty of one per cent, on the above impost. Since the 9th of August, 1838, an additional tax of four reals per barrel was laid on ; so that the present duty (October, 1839) is, per barrel, ten and three- quarters dollars. While Spanish flour, imported in Spanish vessels, pays only two and a quarter dollars, American flour now costs, in the United States, per barrel, seven dollars. The enormous duty on American flour causes a very large smuggling trade, in American corn, to be carried on in Cuba. To make a good bread, or of a colour sufficiently white for the taste of the Cuban 62 RBYENUE OF CUBA, AND ITS SOURCES. Creoles, to Spanish flour one-fifth part, at least, of American flour must be added. The enormous tax of about 150 per cent, on the prime necessary of life is felt to be a most oppressive one. The price of bread is most exorbitant. In English money, the duty on flour imported into Cuba, in Spanish ships, is 13s. 6d. per barrel, and in American vessels, £2 2s. 9d. per barrel. French wines, English hardware, and German linens pay 34^^ per cent. ; the same commodities from Spain, 7^ per cent. The duties levied on Spanish shipping is 2s. 9d. a ton ; on foreign, 6s. 9d. a ton. The revenue of Cuba, Sagra observes, in his " Historia Economica," is one of the strangest paradoxes in the financial afiairs of any country in the world, taking into consideration the small- ness of the population which yields it. All articles of primary necessity comi^ from abroad ; the clothing and the food of the whole labouring population, with the exception of some roots and vegetables. The quantity of soft goods sold in Cuba, as the foreign merchants well know, in proportion to the population, far exceeds the sales made in any cfther country. All the flour, rice, lard, salt fish, salt beef (tassajo), oil and wine, cheese and butter, come from abroad. Those foreign com- modities consumed in Cuba amount in value, according to Sagra, to seventy-nine dollars for each individual (upwards of fifteen pounds sterling). COCK FIGHTING. 63 Each white person in the island, he estimates, pays in taxes sixteen dollars a year. The editor of the " Gartera" makes the same observation ; but my opinion is, that when local and eccle- siastical imposts and decimal taxes are added to those paid for State purposes, the amount paid by each white person is at the present time, 1 839, forty dollars instead of sixteen. COCK FIGHTING. The " estanco del juego de gallo** is one of the royal sports of Cuba which enriches the Spanish treasury. The sovereigns of Spain condescend to derive their revenue from the vilest sources, as they have been rapacious enough to snatch them from the most sacred ones. The cock-pit and the church have been alike put under contribution to minister to the exi- gences of royalty, or supply the wants of minions like Godoy and Munoz. By a royal cedula of 26th November, 1740, in which his Majesty calls on the Cuban autho-^ rities to give an account of this branch of the revenue, it appears this impost had been pre- viously established ; and Sagra, in his *' Historia Economica," adds, that it was sold for six years in 1763. It passed, then, into the hands of the treasury, and was reduced to two reals for every fight, without artificial spurs, and three reals with them — ^^ dos por cada pelea al pica y tres con- cuchillos." The proceeds of this tax, when the 64 LOTTERIES. privilege was not rented, went directly into the treasury; but, since 1802, it goes into the admi- nistration of the land revenue. From 1775 to 1788, it yielded 46,154 dollars. From 1825 to 1830, „ 70,688 „ The mean income of this tax now is, yearly, 14,163 dollars. In the time of General Vives, a recent go- vernor, Sagra observes, "this sport received every encouragement from his excellency, and, I am sorry to add, still receives, from many of the country clergy." LOTTERIES. Another of the gambling means of obtaining money for the Spanish Government from the people of the island of Cuba is the lottery. In 1803, the king of Spain sent a royal cedilla to the intendant, or chief financial autho- rity of the island, for the establishment of a lottery in Cuba, but the project was not acted on till 1812. The number of drawings vary from twelve to fourteen a year, with two or more extraordinary drawings, with a fund of 140,000 or 160,000 dollars. About a million of dollars is annually spent in this branch of gaming by the people of Cuba. This lottery is conducted i^v-ith perfect fairness. There is scarcely a domestic slave in Cuba who can beg, borrow, or steal the price of a part of a ticket, who does not purchase one. STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 65 I have known several instances of slaves having obtained their freedom by prizes in the lottery. In one case that came within my own know- ledge, a slave boy, belonging to a Miss Lyons, got a prize of 300 dollars. In the absence of the mistress, the money was paid to her agent, the governor's English interpreter, Mr. Payne, on the boy's account. On the return of the mistress, the latter refused to give the boy his liberty or account for the money. I brought the case before the sindico. The lady was summoned to appear before him, but the result of the pro- ceeding was not communicated to me during my stay in the island, " The law's delay," in Spanish settlements, is proverbial, and in all probability this case, like most others, ended in wearing out all hope of redress, and favouring injustice that had time and money to bestow upon its interests. STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA CREOLE AND SPANISH INTERESTS — RAPACITY OF THE SPA- NISH GOVERNMENT AND OF ITS OFFICIALS IN THAT ISLAND. The state of Cuba in 1839 was the subject of several publications and brochures, some clandes- tinely printed and circulated, all bearing very hardly on the Government of the mother country in general, and on the administration of the despotic governor. General Tacon, in particular, who had retired from the government of Cuba in the early part of that year. There were many circumstances at that period which tended to ex- asperate the Creole inhabitants and to indispose them towards the Spanish Government. OO 8TATB OF PARTIES IN CUBA. The representation of Cuba and Porto Rico in the Spanish Cortes was put an end to in Feb- ruary, 1837, by an act of exclusion which shut out " 08 deputados de ultra mar actuales y futu- ros," and proposed to regulate the government of those colonies '* par leyes speciales." A very able pamphlet against this measure, worthy of the most serious attention of the English Govern- ment, was published in Madrid in 1837, by one of the excluded deputies, — Don Jose Antonio Sacco, deputado k Cortes electo por la ysla de Cuba. This pamphlet was entitled, " Examen Analytico del Informe de la Comission Espanol Nombrado par las Cortes, sobre la exclusion de los deputados de ultra mar." The decision of the Cortes was in violation of the new Constitution. The 28th Article of it stated that " the basis was the same for national representation in both hemispheres," and by the 29th Article, in Cuba, the basis was the popula-^. tion of the island, composed of natives who, in both lines, were of Spanish origin. The 6th Article determined the word "Spa- niards " all men bom free, and naturalised in the Spanish dominions, and their children, and the freed people belonging to them (libertos.) The remedy for thfi violence and rapacity of governors the Spanish liberals sought in special laws for the colonies. " I desu-e," says Arguelles, " that the American colonists should be as happy as ourselves ; but, first, let passions cool ; " and then, in the blessing of the " laws of the Indias," he finds the panacea STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 67 for all Cuban evils, as if those same laws could avoid the accumulation of abuses and iniquities which time and slavery must engender. From the reasonings of Sanchez it would seem that the special colonial system renders the con- nection with the mother country more firm. But how, let me ask, have the most civilised nations grown up? They have risen to national great- ness ent of a colonial childhood. Legislative distinctions between the colonies and the mother country ought to be limited to the strictest necessity, for otherwise, in place of educating the colonial child in feelings of attach- ment to the mother country, you bring him up as an alien to your institutions. I do not know any people who have proceeded in this way advantageously with their colonies. Many variations in their condition naturally arise, without officiously augmenting them by difierences in our laws. The misgovernment of the Stuarts in past ages carried to the New World the seeds of republican independence, which quickened in due time, and the new plant of nationality spread at length over Spanish America : — thanks to the ignorance and vices of a despotic Government. If such events happen in coloiiies which grow up with the simulacra, at least, of the laws of the mother country — is it not an indication that the union with it must be strengthened by educating colonies not as aliens, but as children? The policy of the Phoenicians towards their colonists is well known. Even after their colonies m BTATE OF PABTIES IN CUBA. declared their independence, they preserved cer- tain religious anniversaries in honour of their former ties in the temples of the mother country, in which festivities they were assisted by deputies from the emancipated cities ; and their commercial relations, in place of being interrupted, became strengthened and enlarged. The special system, if adopted at all, should consist in an organisation the most similar that can be devised to that of the mother country, both as respects common and municipal laws, in order to admit of a state of things adapted to the growth and advancement of a colony, and to free the mother country from the fatigue and responsibility of too much govern- ment. Colonial questions are not questions only of cloths and hardware, they have grave results for civilisation in general. The civil organisation of Spanish America first began to manifest itself when political liberty was on its last legs in the mother country. Well-regulated colonies may be likened to the absorbent system in the healthy body. The action of each on the aliment of life or liberty is for a similar result : the transmission of the element of vital power for the reparation of wasted strength, the re-production of its material in new formations. But the Austrian dynasty, to which Spain is indebted for its sovereigns, could have no faith in liberal institutions, either at home or in the colonies. Charles the Fifth took the surest STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 69 method to destroy them in Spain and Italy, and transmitted his policy to his successors. It was General Tacon's custom to represent every man who was obnoxious to his views, or unfriendly to himself, as an enemy of the mother country and to the integrity of the nation. From 1820 to 1838, this has been the customary lan- guage of the governors of the island, to recom- mend their loyalty to the Government at Madrid, and to obtain rewards and decorations for feigned services to the State. Tacon, apologising for his des- potism, said that the period of his taking on him the government was a delicate crisis. But how many such conjunctures since 1808 have there not been ? In 1808, was the first crisis in Spain, which produced in the South American colonies the establishment of the legislative assemblies, in the name of Ferdinand the Seventh, which lapsed into independent Congresses. In the island of Cuba, also, there was an idea of establishing an assembly of this kind (Junta de Gobiemo), but it was soon abandoned, and the island recognised the authority of the Supreme Central Junta of Seville, and remained faithful to it. In 1812, came the second crisis, when the Con- stitution proclaimed at Cadiz was extended to Cuba, and, without diflSculty, the same form of government as that of the mother country was established here. In 1814, was the third crisis, when the decrees of Ferdinand the Seventh, of the 4th of May, annulling the Constitution, were received, and promptly obeyed in the island of Cuba. 70 STATB OF PARTIES IN CUBA. In 1820, succeeded the fourth crisis, re- establishing the Constitution of Cadiz (el Codigo de Cadix). In 1830, came the fifth crisis, when the Consti- tution was again abolished, and the old despotism was again quietly returned to, at the mandate of the absolute king, in *' the always faithful island of Cuba." In 1833, came the sixth crisis, when the new law was promulgated in Cuba, and received obediently by the inhabitants. In 1837, came the seventh crisis, with the formation of another Constitution, and in the island of Cuba it was received ; that is to say, the promise contained in the last article of it, of special laws for its government, was received in expectation, but the special laws have not made their appearance. If any governor could have with reason talked of the danger of the crisis of his time, it was. Brigadier- general Kindellan, in 1822, who governed pro tempore. He beheld two parties in hostile array, with arms in their hands, pro- voking one another to fight, like the heroes of Homer, with the most frightful threats and invectives. This poor old man, possessed of neither moral nor physical force to repress these disorders, and no troops suflBicient to restore order, found the country to all appearances in the most imminent danger of a civil war; and what was the result of all this warlike move- ment ? Everything terminated peaceably — as the peaceable inhabitants expected, who knew them- STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 71 selves — in eating and drinking, in laughing and shouting; after a short season of braggadocio, every man went about his own business, or his own vices. Such is the Cuban character, docile or puerile, the anti-revolutionai-y character of a slave country, which Tacon understood not. A three days' riot in the Havana, and on the fourth, the ordinary course of things, without one drop of blood being shed ; and all this ended without the intervention of the Government — all yielded to the old natural instinct of fear and self-pre- servation, which is common to all the residents of the white class in the island of Cuba, to a discreet sympathy with interests strongly linked and carefully fostered — the interests of egotism, which cause social interests to be postponed to any undefined period, if any such interests are known in Cuba. And the period of these disorders, be it recol- lected, was that when the voice of independence was shouting across the Gulf of Mexico — never- theless» the ears of the people of Cuba were shut to the invitation, and not a single movement in all these turmoils was ever made towards a separation from the mother country, which the Grovemment felt called on to put down by force of arms. The conspiracy of 1823, detected in the time of General Vives, deserves not to be con- sidered as an exception ; without plan or object, it was no sooner formed than suppressed. General Vives magnified its importance, and he attained his object — rewards and honours, a title of Castille, "the Conde de Cuba." 72 STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. In 1825, Mexico and Colombia prepared an expedition against, the island of Cuba. The English Government intimated to the former that the expedition would be displeasing to it. Mr. Canning was then minister. The intended expedition was consequently relinquished, not- withstanding the revenues of Cuba were then devoted to the war against their States, and a Spanish fleet was preparing in the Havana for an attack on those republics. Mr, Canniry's inters ference teas a great calamity to the British West Indian colonies. General Tacon, for similar reasons to those of General Vives, found it necessary to give undue importance to an event at San Jago de Cuba, which was neither a tumult, a rebellion, or a movement, but simply a hasty, ill-considered act of the governor of that province, in which no other individual was implicated. General Lo- renzo, on the arrival of the brig Guadaloupe at Cuba, from Cadiz, received the intelligence of the adoption, in the Peninsula, of the Constitution of 1812 by the Queen, which was detailed in a gazette of Madrid that came by that vessel. He had no doubt of the establishment of the Constitu- tion, as heretofore, being intended for the island of Cuba, for up to this time the colony followed the fortunes of the mother country in her constitu- tional changes, and he could not have imagined that in the seventh crisis the Cortes would have decreed special or separate laws for this colony. Under this idea, Lorenzo proclaimed the Consti* tution of 1812 in his province, and obliged the STATE OF PARTIES IN CUBA. 73 authorities to swear to it. The error was General Lorenzo's, to establish a new law which had not been communicated to him by his Government. The people of Cuba were not answerable for it; it was their part to obey their governor as the legitimate authority. During the three months the Constitution lasted at San Jago, no disorder whatever oc- curred. Tacon being informed of this event, first tried pacific means ; but, before he gave them a fair trial, he had recourse to arms, to bring back things to their old state. He fitted out an expe- dition of 3,000 men, which was ultimately, and after great difficulty, despatched, and was wholly unnecessary. Both governors informed the su- preme Government of the measures they had taken, and each expected the determination of the Queen in this grave matter. In three months' time the determination came, and it was such as General Tacon desired — disapproving of the conduct of Lorenzo, and ordering that things should return to their old state, as they were before the Constitution. The Spanish Government regards this colony as its property; most probably it thinks the smallest quantity of liberty it can give to Cuba, the greater quantity of money it can take from it. Cuba produces a revenue of fi'om ten to fifteen millions of dollars; of this amount,upwards of three millions are remitted to Madrid, and these three millions of taxes are paid by a class not exceeding four hundred thousand inhabitants, of free persons of all complexions. The levy of a contribution can E 74 STATE OF PABTIBS IN CUBA. only be effected by a despotic goyernment. Now it is only since the year 1825 that money began to be remitted to Madrid — when extraordinary powers were conferred on the governor and in- tendant, one with the view of increasing the powers of protection of the island, the other with that of promoting the productiveness of the island, the Government being weary of hearing pompous accounts of the opulence of Cuba and deriving no profit from it; and from that time the conduct of governors towards the people of Cuba has taken altogether a new turn. At the arrival of General Tacon, Cuba pre- sented a frightful picture of social disorder in the streets and higliways ; robbery and assassinations were committed with scandalous impunity. The well disposed received him as a reformer, when they saw the firmness with which he restrained the public malefactors. The preservation of order required the exercise of strong power to remedy such great evils. The political opinions of the proprietary mass, which is omnipotent in this island, had little wish for innovations. It feared the various phases which the revolution of the mother country presented ; and it is highly probable that the firmness of Tacon, exercised with sobriety and prudence, would have prepared the country for other reforms, without outraging all sober opinions. The principal objects to which Tacon's energies were directed were the following : — 1. The prevention and punishment of robbery and assassination. 8TATB OF PARTI£S IN CUBA. 75 2. The detection and imprisonment of foment^rs of law-saits (picapleitas). 3. The prosecution of vagrants. 4. The prohibition to carry arms. 5. The destruction of dogs in the streets. 6. The cleansing and macadamising of the principal thoroughfares. • 7. The construction of sewers, slaughter- houses, &c. 8. llie formation of a body of firemen. 9. The building of a fish market — of two other markets for butchers' meat and vegetables — of a prison— a theatre — the formation of a military promenade — and a public square — " El Campo de Martes." 10. and lastly. The putting down of every movement that tended towards liberalism in any shape, and — as he held liberalism^-towards inde- pendence. If these attempts were successful, even during the four years of his administration, it must be admitted there was evidence in them of zeal, courage, and patriotiam ; and his worst enemies must acknowledge, though he might not be a long-sighted statesman, a mild governor, or a liberal politician, he was, nevertheless, an extra- ordinary man, as governors go in this colony. The number deported in General Tacon's ad- ministration of the government of Cuba, from June, 1837, to April, 1839, was 190; of these, 67 were officers, 88 private soldiers, 36 private indi- viduals : all the above were sent to Spain. Be- sides these, there were 720 persons transported E 2 76 STATE OF PARTIBS IK 0X7BA. under sentence of banishment for life, ^* a presidio en ultra mar/' condenmed by the tribunals : 143 of these were military ; the remaining 677 were private persons, chiefly people of colour. This statement is taken from an official document of the tribunal of accounts — "Tribunal das Cuen- tes," — signed by the intendente, and is dated 24th May, 1838. The cost of the deportation of the 190 was 14,760 dollars ; that of the transportation, 720, was 28,406 dollars. The first person of distinction deported by Tacon was Senhor Saco — one of the most popu- lar and enlightened of the natives of Cuba, or Creoles. The next person was the Marquis of Casa Calvo, charged with gaming and other dis* orders (juegos y otros desordines.) The occur- rence which gave rise to this accusation hap- pened at a ball, attended by the principid gentry and nobility of the Havana, on the 28th November, 1836, at a country seat, the Granja, where the Marquis happened to be with his two daughters, — one, the Marquesita de Arcos. The Marquis died in Madrid, in exile^ the 24th Octo- ber, 1837. D. J. Garcia was banished for having stated "that the Constitution, sooner or later, would be adopted in Cuba." Ten or twelve per- sons were seized and imprisoned in October, 1837, on a charge of conspiring to assassinate General Tacon, based on an anonymous letter. Eight of the prisoners, after a confinement of nine months^ were set at liberty by Tacon's successor. General Espeleta, their innocence of the charge being 8TATB OF PABTIBS IN CUBA. 77 dearly proyed. That of the other three was ao less evident, but, for appearance sake, they were still kept in prison. Three of the liberated prisoners had paid 613 dollars for gaol-rent during their confinement. The prisoners were all trades- men, and their imprisonment brought ruin on their families. The Italian singers were likewise frequently •objected to imprisonment, and sometimes to banishment. The famous tenor, Montresor, for haying afironted Madame Pantanelli, was put in solitary confinement for a fortnight Don Oayi- chi, a famous violin player, was banished in 1837, for having quarrelled with the treasurer of the theatre, and attempting to get up a separate musical entertainment on his own account. The prison, in which these persons were confined, had been constructed by Tacon, at an enormous ez- In that part of the gaol called the Oallera, vast multitudes of prisoners, of all grades of crime, and the innocent as well as the guilty, were hud- dled together in one long gallery. No regular chaise for gaol-rent was made ; but any prisoner, who had the means of paying for better accom- modation, could, for six reals a day, obtain the privil^e of being confined in what was called the ^ Sala de distinccion." In this prison, the sole object of incarceration was to secure the persons of culprits, or those eharged with crime, without the slightest care or superintendence calculated to reform, to humanise, pr to improve. Having firequently visited aji 78 STATB OF PABTIBS tS CUBA. Englishman confined in this prison, I had ample opportunities of witnessing scenes of disorder and horror, unparalleled, I believe, in any other prison. Senor Tanco, in one of hb letters, truly styles it^ ^^un infiemo de immoraUdad." The only ap* pearance of any attention to the comfort «^lMk^ttend schools in the SDUCATION. IW ijdand, 812 pay for their instruction 470,664 dollars annually, or about ninety-eight dollars for each a year : 2,295 pay 37,030 dollars, or about fourteen dollars a year for each ; and 1,035 are taught gratis by the same teachers. The remedy proposed by the author for this state of things is the establishment of Normal Schools by the Government, to be placed under the direction of a " Junta de direction," a body of directors — the first step to the establishment of a Normal School for instruction for teachers in each of the three provinces of the island ; and on this subject the Senhor de la Luz, in his treatise on the Institute Cubana, speaks thus: — " If, in more cultivated nations, it is thought indispensable for the advancement of education, to found not only classes, but especial schools, for the instruction of masters in the art of teaching and practice, how much more so in our growing country, in order to reform, from infancy, th^ morals of a people, peculiarmente contaminados por la atmosfera de esclavitud en que nacemos, vivimos, y morimos." The service of slaves as domestics in the Normal Schools to be prohibited. " Primary instruction (says the author) signifies nothing in morality, when it is not directly applied to the discipline of the feelings and afiections of the soul, no less than to the cultivation of the mental powers." How is this discipline to be undergone, he goes on to ask — if the contaminating influence of familiar communication with servants in general, in other countries, denounced by Locke and 102 BDVCATION. Rousseau, is permitted, for how much more is it to be apprehended from servants who are slaves? ** The man (he continues) who is bom and bred a slave, be he of what colour or race he may, finds himself in the precise condition which leads to the ruin and stupefaction of his moral qualities ; and those defects of his are as inseparable from his condition, as light is from the sun, and the tendency of falling bodies as regards the centre." For the honour of human nature, for certain, some noble exceptions are found to this rule ; but they do not vary it, because this would be to over- turn the admirable order that Providence has put in the government of the world. It is to be observed, in considering this irrevocable law, that if the slave, in the debasement of slavery, falls into the lowest depths of mental degradation, no less does the soul of the master suffer from the ^exercise of his absolute dominion, — for the gene- rality become arrogant, vain-glorious, and even to glorying in shame. Sensual and concupiscent in the extreme, they love dissoluteness and de* grading pursuits ; the swaggering tavern-hunter always shows the limits of the understanding of the reckless proprietor of slaves." There is no remedy where there is domestic slavery ; there is no morality, neither in the servant nor in the master — " ni en el servo, ni en el senhor." " Thus it is, for thus things are ; it only remaiiis but to regard this truth, eternal and unchangeable as all other truths, moral and physical,in conjunction with the miserable momentary interests of men." EDUCATION. 103 The attendance of slaves in the public schools as servants is denounced in the strongest terms. ** Per lo tanto pues no consentamos en manera ninguna en las escuelas del Gobierno la peste de la esclavitud de este tifus, peor que el de 1* Asia que infesta y corrompa con su letal influso cuanto toca." Slavery, indeed, in Cuba is, as Delmonte bas truly described it, *^ a pestilence worse than tibiat of Asia, which infects and contaminates every thing it touches." The author's means of carrying his views for public education into execution are — by the im- provement of the existing revenues of the schools, the assistance of the Treasury, and the application of the eleemosynary funds bequeathed for masses and festivals, benefices not collated, and incidental suppression of convents. It appears, from a work cited by the author, that there is a vast revenue in ecclesiastical lands left for pious uses. '^ Misas, fietas, de Santos y objectos del Culto." The author asks, ^^ Que inconveniente habria en solicitar del Supremo Gobierno la autoriza- eion para percibir los reditos de estos caudales y destinarlos al costa de la ensenanzo?" What objection could there be to solicit the supreme Government to authorise the interest on those capitals being collected for, and applied to, public instruction? And to this he answers, with some sophistry, *' It would not prejudice at all the original intentions, nor in the slightest degree interfere with the right of property ; on the contrary, the intention of the testators would be . more rationally fulfilled, making with their 104 BDUCATION. bounty the most noble and charitable of all uses, more so than they themselves, in the retarded intelligence of their times, could conceive or ima- gme. He denies the intention of interfering with the property of the Church in any manner used for the service, or even the pomp of the great festi- vities of the Church, but he adds, " Doloroso es confessarlo, si en alguno Provincia de la Monar- quia Espanola, hay que acudir con evangelica presteza a atapar los estagos de la impietad y de la disolucion de costumbres, es en esta Isla da Cuba, en donde son muy contados principalmente en los Campos los que creen en la existencia de Dios y en la immortalidad del alma. Muchas son las causas que han reducido a este pueblo a semejante estado de embrutimiento moral ; pero es la principal y mas transcendente, la falta de cultivo, en que desde tiempo immemorial han permanecido las potencias de su alma : Siempre le ha faltada la escuela da primeras letras, y casi spirituale de la Iglesia Parroquial. Nuestros Curas no accustumhran predicar el JSvangelio a sus feligres ni depalabra ni de obra : no es estrafia que hombres salvaticos rodeados de esclavos sin bueno consejo que seguir, ni bueno, esempio que imitar, se encuentran baldios para el vicio, y se entreguien malignos, irreligiosos y ignorantes ; muchos hom- bres hay y muchas mugeres en los Campos de la Isla de Cuba que despues que se bantizan no vuelven a entrar en una Iglesia hasta que se Casan ; y miles que ni aun per esto rito acuden al temploy por que viven todo su vida, en asquer- BDUCATION. 106 roso contabemio, negando con insolente desvario la necessitad de consagrar su Union." It is sad to have to confess, if there is in any province of the Spanish monarchy an evangelical eflTort to be made to arrest the progress of im- piety and dissoluteness of morals, it is in Cuba, and principally in the rural districts, where there are very few who believe in the existence of God and in the immortality of the soul. Many are the causes which have reduced this people to a similar condition of moral degradation; the principal cause is the want of instruction, lay and spiritual, which they have suffered, from the earliest period of Spanish rule. Our clergy are not wont to preach the Gospel to their flocks, neUher by word nor work. It is not surprising that brutal men, surrounded by slaves, without good counsel or example, become emboldened in vice, evil-minded, impious and besotted, and given to all kinds of excesses. There are many men and many women in the island of Cuba, who, since they were baptised, have never entered a church until they went there to get married ; and thousands who, even for this rite, are strangers to a place of worship, but who live all their lives in scandalous concubinage, denying with insolent audacity the necessity of consecrating the union they have made by any religious ceremony. This frightful picture of Cuban society, and of the state of religion in Cuba, by Senhor Del- monte, is not exaggerated ; on the contrary, it conveys a very inadequate idea of the deplorable F 3 106 EDUCATIOK. gtate of religion and of society in the island of Cuba. The state of literature in Cuba, or rather in the Havana, has nerer been equalled, nor approached, in the West Indian colonies of England or France. The white inhabitants have sought to accom- plish, for the press, what they did for trade, in 1818, in spite of the laws, and they have been marvellously successful. From 1836 to 1839, they contrived to steal a march on the authorities, to circumvent, to defeat the vigilance, to resist the violence, and to wear out the energies of a triple censorship. I watched with no small interest the course of this war of mind with a crazy despotism, clinging to ignorance as to its chief hold on the loyalty of the people of this colony. Small papers made their appearance from time to time, first professedly to publish accounts of markets, arrivals and departures of vessels, tide tables, decrees, and ordinances ; and then a little political news crept in; small feuilletons were attempted, Creole questions were glanced at, doubtful allusions made to the disadvantage of the slave-trade; and, occasionally, the governor's assessors stirred, then the editors drew in their horns for a brief space, and put them out again when their appearance was least expected. Two scientific societies regularly published their proceedings. The " Memorias de la Sociedad," published monthly, contain a mass of informa- tion, industrial and literary, of the highest value. BDUCATION. 107 There are now five or six daily papers published in the Hayana, and one, the J^oro Industrial^ is superior, in size and matter, to any daily journal in the capital of Spain. The most eminent literary men of Cuba are lawyers. Amongst these, pre-eminent for ability and worth, in my time, were Senhors Jose de la Luz and Domingo Delmonte. The former was the principal of the College of Carraguao ; from it the most distinguished men in Cuban literature, in politics, and in philosophy, have come out. All that was possible for the Glovernment to do, to hinder the progress of this College and that of San Fernando, was done by it. They were supposed by it to be prejudicial to the interests of the Spanish Universities, and of the State. A tax was put on the diplomas of those colleges, which it was thought would have prevented young men from graduating in them. The price of a diploma was fixed by law at 500 piastres, or £100 sterling. Havana, however, continues to have its two colleges flourishing ; its thirty chairs, embracing professorships of all the arts and sciences ; its various literary societies, its museum, its academies, and its scholars and literati, men truly deserving of that name. Cuba has produced several lyric writers of con- siderable merit. Some pieces of Delmonte, Valdes, and Parma are not surpassed by any modem Spanish poets: those, especially, of the ill-fated mulatto, Placido,* for their spirit and * Pladdo was one of the many innocent men of his caste whom the sanguinary O'Donnell shed the blood of, after the suppression 106 CONNECTION OF RELIGION originality, are perbaps superior to the other bard of his name and race, still living, some of whose admirable poems, written while in slavery, have been rendered into English verse. In philosophy, De la Luz takes the highest rank; in history, Sagra; in miscellaneous lite- rature, Arma, Delmonte and Saco. To the two last, especially, Cuba is indebted for a number of treatises, published at various times during the last twelve years, advocating the abolition of the slave-trade and the substitution of free for slave labour. Those efforts have not been altogether vain. A Society has been formed for the encou- ragement of immigration of white labourers from the Canaries, and other places. This Society awarded, in 1844-5-6, a sum of 12,000 dollars to the first three proprietors who established a village of fifty white families, and 20,000 dollars for tbe production of 45,000 arobas of refined sugar by free labour. RELIGION, AND THE EVILS OF ITS CONNECTION WITH THE STATE IN CUBA. The state of religion in this island is most deplorable. Slavery, that contaminates every thing it touches, has not spared even the Church, or its ministers, in Cuba. The clergy, in every slaveholding country that I have known, are incapable of exercising their ministry with advantage or effect. of the revolt of the slaves in 1843. His innocence was weU known to the most respectable people of Matanzas, but it weighed little with a military tribunal. WITH THB STATE IN CUBA. 109 The Government would not suflfer them to do so. The slaveholders would persecute and discredit them with the authorities, if they dared to do their duty as ministers of religion, preachers and teachers of justice, mercy, and purity of life. Woe betide the priest who should dare to admonish his flock to abstain from buying, or bidding for, those slaves on the Lord's day ! Woe betide the priest who should be so forgetful of the tender mercies of a captain-general, and so remindful of his duties to his God, as to exhort his flock to be obedient to the law of the land, that forbade the crime of the slave-trade! Woe betide the confessor, who might be so fearless of banishment, or so indifferent to the vengeance of authority, as to counsel a penitent in high office, who sold his connivance at slave- trading crimes, by the cargo, for ten dollars for every stolen man — to give the bribes he had received to the poor, and their rights to the robbed! Woe betide the priest, who thought so much of the people, and so little of an intendant's power, as to enjoin his parishioners to refrain from gam- bling in the lottery, or betting in the cock-pit, and thereby injuring, by his precept, the revenues of the Crown. I have asked priests, who were not lost to every sense of Christian duty, why they did not do some of these things, and the answer was — either, a shrug, or a look towards heaven, or a mournful admission that they dare not do their duty ; nay, one of them, a parish priest, referring to the subject of the partition of the fees for adminis- tering the sacraments that go to the State, said to me, in a tone which I cannot easily forget, and 110 CONNECTION OF RBLIOION with all the solemnity of a man inwardly moTed and grieved in his spirit : — *^The system is so bad, that the very ministers at the altar must sell the . holy things for money." The royal hankering after Church Property, and the practice of providing for the needy nobility out of the funds set apart for the service of religion, have been indulged even in providing, still more amply in late years, out of those funds, for the titled beggars of the Spanish court. The pension for the Royal Order of Charles the Third was partly secured, by its august founder, by an assignment of 40,000 dollars on the tithe revenues of the cathedrals of the Indies ; the amount levied on that part of the Havana being 2,600 dollars— 1,000 on the Mitre, and 1,500 on the Dean and Chapter. The order of the Jesuits was extinguished in the Havana in 1767. The sale of their tempo- ralities immediately followed. The property of this church sold for 30,000 dollars ; the college for 26,900 ; and their other effects for 303,000 dollars — which went to Spain, to be applied to- wards the payment of the national debt, Alto- gether,church property contributes to the treasury 133,212 dollars a year — a sum equivalent to twenty per cent, on the tithes and other church revenues. The Roman Catholic religion has grievously suffered from its alliance with the kings and courts of Spain. I very much question, if the spoliation of the monasteries, in the time of Henry the Eighth, was so prejudicial to it as the constant rapacity, under the mask of piety, and under the pretext of WITH THE STATS IN CUBA. 11) protection, that has inyariably marked the course of the *< Defiance" of the Church, on the part of the kings of Spain, for centuries past. Surely, no church ever suffered more from the contami- nating influeiice of court protection ; surely, the character of religion, and its ministers, never was so degraded in this world as it has been in Cuba, by this unholy influence — so far, I mean, as it is in the power of politics to degrade the ministry, or to relax the discipline of the Church ! But, if there were anything higher than religion, such is the heart's-core corruption of Spanish authority, it would endeavour to profane its purity, and to contaminate its truth. From all that I have seen, I cannot conceive any species of hostility directed i^ainst the Roman Catholic religion, so replete with mischief, so scandalous and openly injurious to it, as the Spanish State alliance with the Church is to the ministers of the Gospel, and to the morals of the people of the island of Cuba. Would to God that the money of the Church was all that the rapacity of the State deprived religion of! It is the corruption of the State, and the power of it over the church's ministers, which forbids the pastors to preach against wickedness in high places, and compels them to cry out — ** there is peace, when there is no peace." Let the reader peruse such an advertisement as I have now under my eyes, extracted from one of the daily papers of the Havana, and there he will find the archbishop, in condescension to the Spanish authority, compelled to give the sanction of his name, and of his office, to the scenes of riot and 1 12 TITHBS. debauchery that mark the orgies of a public masquerade ball in the theatre of Havana — on a Sunday night, and in the penitential season of Lent. Let the reader, if he doubts the influence of that most unholy Spanish alliance of Church and State, peruse an advertisement now before me, in another Diaro of the present year, and there he will find a sale, by authority, of human beings, duly advertised for the following Sunday, *^ during the celebration of mass^ before the church doors,^* TITHES. Taken from the " Historia Economiea " of Sagra. By an apostolical brief of Adrian VI., 20th April, 1512, tithes were established in the island of Cuba. In conformity with the bull of Pius VI., 10th September, 1787, the king, by his cedula of the 19th July, 1788, ordained the divi- sion of the island into the bishoprics of Cuba and Havana; and, in 1793, the archbishop of San Domingo was appointed metropolitan archbishop of the latter diocese. From that period the tithe revenues diminished considerably, but even from 1804 they began to decline, in consequence of the royal decrees con- ferring the privilege of exemption from tithes on sugar and coffee, on the plantations established subsequent to that year. The cost of collection to the farmers of the tithes cannot be estimated at less than twenty-five per cent. Of the gross proceeds of all the tithes of the island, the follow- ing distribution is made. TITHES. 113 A ninth part goes to the royal treasury, under the name of " Noveno de Consolidacion." The remaining eight ninths are distributed in four equal parts; one part goes to the bishop, another to the cabildo, the chapter, and the two remaining parts are again subdivided in ninths or novenos, of which two more novenos go to the royal treasury, under the denomination of novenos reales, one and a half more to the parish hospitals, and the other four novenos to church benefices. This robbery of church funds was not the sacrilege of a modern constitutional sovereign, but of the old sovereigns of Spain, who are pre- eminently called "Defenders of the Faith," and have about as good a claim to the title as our own Defensor Fidei, Henry VIII. himself. Never did a Church suflfer so much from the protection of the St-ate as that of Cuba. 114 CHAPTER V. CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA.* In the Report preseirted by Mons. A. de Tocque- ville to the Chamber of Deputies, on the 23rd of July, 1839, in the name of the Commission charged with the examination of the proposition relative to the slaves of the French colonies, I find a very important error, and one not only pre- valent in France, but in this country also, on the subject of the treatment of negroes held in bond- age in the Spanish colonies, which, if allowed to pass uncontradicted, might hereafter expose that valuable Report to censure, and lead to the adop- tion of measures for the nominal amelioration of slavery in the other colonies, which would prove abortive. At page 17, of the published Report, I find it stated, that " it is of public notoriety in the New World that slavery has always had with the Spaniards a peculiar cha- racter of mildness ; one can convince himself of this in reading over the ordinances made by the kings of Spain, at an epoch when, amongst the other nations of Europe, the laws for the govern- ment of slaves were so strongly tinctured with barbarity. The Spaniards, who showed them- * The matter of this chapter was embodied in " An Address on Slavery in Cuba, delivered at the General Anti^slavery Con- Tention, by R. R. Madden." CONDITION OF SLATES IN CUBA. 115 selves so crnel towards the Indians, have always ruled their slaves with a singular humanity. In their colonies, the distinction between blacks and whites was less than in all the others, and the authority of the owner resembled more that of a father of a family than of a master. The slave, better treated in these colonies, sighed less after liberty, which ought to be preceded by arduous exertion; hence the legislator accorded him a right which he very seldom wished to avail him- self of." Now, in the above statement, there are six distinct propositions, and five of them are entirely erroneous, namely, these : — L That negro slavery has always had in the Spanish dominions '' a peculiar character of mild* ness/' 2. That sufficient proof of such a character can be fairly drawn from the ordinances of the kings of Spain for the government of their distinct colonies. 3. That the Spaniards, who had been such cruel masters to the Indians, " have always treated their slaves with singular humanity." 4. That the authority of the master resembles that of a father of a family. 5. That, in consequence of good and humane treatment, the slaves have seldom desired to avail themselves of the privilege of claiming their freedom by purchase. And the only statement that is really correct in the whole passage, is contained in these words — ^^ In these colonies the distinction between blacks 116 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. and whites was less than in all the others," pre- suming the meaning of the observation to be that, amongst the Spaniards, the prejudice against the stolen people of Africa, on account of their com- plexion, is less than amongst the colonists of other European States. Such unquestionably is the fact, and there is too much Moorish blood, in the veins of the descendants of the old " Conquie- dadors," for the feeling to be otherwise. Tolerably well acquainted with some of the British West Indian islands, — with one of them, both previously and subsequently to the act of emancipation, — and having seen something of slaver J in luany eastern countries, I brought perhaps some little knowledge of the condition of men held in slavery to the subject which has been the object of anxious inquiry with me, during a residence of upwards of three years in a Spanish colony where slavery flourishes, and where upwards of 400,000 human beings exist in that condition. Perhaps this extensive acquaintance with slavery in various countries, during the last ten years, may have qualified me to form some opinion of the relative evils or advantages of slavery in a Spanish colony. The first proposition—" That slavery has al- ways had with the Spaniards a peculiar character of mildness," is one that I have seen stated in books so often, and heard laid down so frequently by merchants who have resided in Cuba; by naval officers who have visited the shores and harbours of that island ; and by transient visitors who have made tours of pleasure or a winter CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 117 journey, in pursuit of health from one large town on the coast to another, and seen the interior economy of one or two estates of opulent pro- prietors, — what in our colonies would be called " crack plantations," — that I really feel astonished at the amount of error that prevails on this sub- ject — error so great, and held by men entitled to credit, that I have sometimes felt absolutely doubtful of the evidence of my own senses ; and when the irresistible conviction of the excessive rigour of slavery in Cuba has been forced on my mind, and when I have dwelt on the appalling scenes I have witnessed, it often seemed hopeless to me, and even imprudent for me, to attempt to disabuse the public mind, and to set my expe- rience against the opinions of many people, whose sentiments on any other subject I considered entitled to respect. But on a question of such vast importance, and where erroneous sentiments are calculated to do so much injury to the objects of the solicitude of anti-slavery exertion, it would be an act of cowardice to suppress the truth, or at least one's strong persuasion of it, in deference to error, however generally diffused or honestly adhered to, it may be. These erroneous conclu- sions, that Spanish slavery is of a peculiarly mild character, are arrived at by four ways of viewing this question; they may be briefly stated as follows : — 1. It is concluded, that because the laws for the government of slaves in the Spanish colonies are mild, that these laws are executed, and the slaves are happy. 118 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 2. It is considered by some who visit the large sea-port towns, that the condition of the prsedial slaves is similar to that of the domestic servants^ and that because the latter are lazy, well fed, and decently clad, and lightly worked negroes, the poor field slaves are likewise idle and indulged, kindly treated, and contented slaves. 3. The condition of slaves is judged of by men who have no immediate interest in slavery, but who have long resided in slave countries, or been on stations where opportunities of visiting these colonies have made them acquainted with the pro- prietors of estates, and in the course of time familiar with their views, then favourable to their interests, and at length accustomed to the evils of slavery, and insensible to the sufferings of its victims. 4. The treatment of slaves, in general, in Cuba and elsewhere, is inquired into by transient visitors and tourists at the tables of the planters, over the wine of the slaveholders, — and where truth is drowned in hospitality, and the legitimate inquisi- tiveness of a stranger's curiosity is merged in a courteous acquiescence with the sentiments, or at least the statements of a liberal entertainer, and a gentlemanlike host. Now, of these different ways of coming towards conclusions, it is evident, that it is to the first the signal error of the French Report is to be attributed. In fact, it is admitted that the opinion of the mildness of Spanish slavery is derived from the royal ordinances and laws made for the regulation of it. I freely grant that the CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 119 spirit of these laws and ordinances is humane, but the great question is, are such laws compa* tible with the interests of the slave-owners ? Are they put in execution ? Negro slavery, as it ever has existed in the West Indian colonies, has been a condition in which the profitableness to the master of unpaid labour, for the time being, has always rendered the happiness of the labourer a question of comparative unimportance. What we would call humanity to the negro, there is not a proprietor in Cuba who would not deem injustice to the planter. We cannot legislate partially, humanely, and yet efficiently, for any slave colony in a prosperous condition — we may pass measures of general effect for the total aboli- tion of slavery, but we can carry none into execution for effectually modifying its nature, and leaving unpaid labour to be wrung out of its victims, while a show is made of surrounding its compulsion with humane arrangements, duly detailed in the royal cedulas, and set forth in legal books, with all the solemn mockery of Spanish law. This Beport states, as a curious anomaly in the history of Spanish slaves, that while the Indians were treated by the Spaniards with such terrible cruelty, the negroes, it is well known, have always been treated with peculiar mildness. I need hardly observe, that while the poor Indians were writhing under the lash of the most unmitigated cruelty the world up to that period ever saw — while the Spanish colonists were exterminating the whole race of their victims by the astounding 120 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN GITBA. rigour of their slavery — the kings of Spain were dictating benevolent cedulas and humane ordi- nances for the treatment of the unfortunate slaves, while the council of the Indies were continually framing laws for the better regulation of the "re- partimientos," or distributions of the natives — while the heads of the Spanish church, — the mitred politicians of the day — half statesmen^ ha/f church- men — were constantly sending out missions and commissions to co-operate with the illustrious Apostle of the Indies, the protector of the slaves — in fact, while all the machinery of the Government that was four thousand miles off, was brought to bear on this question of the amelioration of slavery in the Spanish colonies, yet the Indians perished in the mines, they died under the lash, sunk under famine in caves, or sought in voluntary death a final refuge from Spanish cruelty. Yes, the whole race perished, while the kings of Spain and its ministers were framing laws impracticable, be- cause they were partial, measures of relief, for the preservation of their Indian subjects. Let me add, the same terrible system of cruelty is going on this day in the Spanish colonies — the same terrible evils are silently in opera- tion. Change the term Indians for negroes, the word mines for plantations, and in every other respect the same bloody tragedy is acting over again — the same frightful work of extermination, the same cruel mockery of staying the evil by laws without enforcement, cedulas without a hope being entertained of their being carried into effect, is now practising in New Spain; and the awful CONDITION OF SLATES IN CUBA. 121 "Waste of human life, that in the time of the Indians was for a limited period made up by the ravages of the man-robbers on the coast of the New World, has now for three centuries been filled up, in Cuba alone, by an annual importation that has now reached to the amount of 26,000 stolen men from the shores of Africa. If it be notorious, as this Report states, that negro slaves have always been treated with pecu- liar mildness in the Spanish colonies, it follows that the slaves of the island of Cuba, for example, ere a contented race, and therefore they are not over-worked, nor under-fed, nor ill-clad ; that the sexes are equalised, that the mortality is small, and the increase by bii'ths considerable ; that the amount of produce obtained by the labour of a given number of slaves is less than it has been in former years in the British colonies ; that there is a considerable number of aged slaves on the estates; that the pregnant women are allowed exemption from hard field-labour in the last six or eight weeks of their pregnancy ; that the females are not usually flogged ; that the children are in- structed in the elements of the Christian faith ; that the negroes on the estates are married by the ministers of religion ; that they are suffered to attend a place of worship on the Sabbath day ; that it is not lawful to hunt them down by dogs when they are fugitives from the estates ; that when they are scourged to death, or killed by violence, the white man who is their murderer may be brought to justice, and punished with the utmost rigour oi' the law — but not one of these measures of justice, G 122 CONDITION OF SLATES IK COTBA. or means of protection for the prcedial slayes are known to exist in Cuba — ^not a single one of these I have pointed oat is to be looked for to the law, and yet the law allows these pririleges, and so* lemnly condemns every withdrawal of them. But the law was never framed with any reasoitable pros* pect of its being enforced ; it never has been en* forced, and, what is more, it never can be enforced against the planters who are the transgressors of it ; because, in fact, these are the men who are entrusted with the execution of it» In the towns and cities, the case is indeed di£» ferent with the domestie slaves — but what a small portion do these form of the number of skvee ib Cuba? These domestic slaves, especially those of the opulent proprietors, comparing their condition with that of the preedial slaves, may be said to be fortunately ciroiimstanced. They have the power^ in the large towns and cities, of availing then^ selves of the privileges the law accords them. If they have a harsh owner, they may demand per* mission to seek another master, and it is compul- sory on that master to sell them, either for the sum he paid for them, or at such a rate as thesindieo^ or the special protector of the slaves, and the judges may determine, in consideration of any reasonable increase in their value, or in conse- quence of their having been; tau^t a trade or calling. But bow is the prsBdial slave to avail himself of these legal privileges? The officers of justice ia the country towns are usually slaveholders them- selves ; the estate may be ten, nay, twenty miles CONDITION OF SLAVES IK CUBA. 123 distant from a town ; the sindicos, the alcades, the iMipitanes de partklos, all are planters. The idea of a preedial slave going to the mayoral, or over-^ seer, and telling him he wants '' a paper" — a per- tnission for two or three days to seek another master (bascar-amo)^ would be laughed at in Cuba ; the unfortunate negro who would make so daring an attempt to obtain his rights, would, in all probability, be flogged on the spot. He dare not leave the estate to seek the sindico in any ad- joining town ; and, no matter what injustice may be done him, were he to pass his master's gate, he would be subjected to punishment, '' boca abajo," without appeal, as a fugitive ; and if he still pre- sumed to talk of the law, and to insist on being taken before a magistrate to claim the privileges which that law gave him, he would then be treated with a degree of rigour " beyond the law," as an insolent and rebellious slave. But, granting that lie succeeded in getting to the sindico, the alcade, c^ the capitane de partido, what chance of justice has an unfortunate slave in Cuba against the powerful influence of a rich, and perhaps a titled, owner ? The planter is the friend of the autho- rities of his district, they dare not disoblige him, and if they dared, they are at last to be gained over by a bribe, or got rid of by a remonstrance to the governor, and a suitable present to the assessor of the governor, who is one of the great law-officers of the Crown. How, in the name of eommon sense, is the law to be looked to in a Spanish colony for the mitigation of the evils of slavery, or the protection of the slave ? G 2 124 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA; The excellence of the Spanish civil law is ad- mitted by every one, yet the iniquity of Spanish tribunals, the corruption of Spanish judyes, and the incomparable villany of Spanish lawyers, is proverbial in all the colonies of Spain. Justice is bought and sold in Cuba with as much scandalous publicity as the Bozal slaves are bought and sold in the barra- cones. Is there a man in Cuba, who had suflPered wrong in property or in person, who would bemad enough to go for redress into a court of law, and expect to obtain it by trusting solely to the merits of his case ? How then are we to expect, from any code for the regulation of negro slavery, justice for the Creole who has not the means to buy the judge? How are we to expect to restrain the cruelty, or to control the cupidity of men who have the means to bribe the bench of every tribunal in the land, to make " impeggnes," as these solicitations are called, with the sons and servants, the cousins and the familiars of the judges in their cause? Is it, then, to cedulas and laws, to parchment justice, or to statute-book benevolence, we are to look for that peculiar character of mildness which this Report assures us is the characteristic of slavery in Spanish colonies ? Surely, what we know of slavery in every country where it has existed, should be sufficient to satisfy every enlightened person that bondage is an evil that cannot be mitigated by any partial measures of reform, so as essentially to serve the slave, to improve the system, to humanise the master, and thus to benefit society at large. CONDITION OF SLAVE8 IN CUBA. 125 But, in Cuba, it is not that I have heard or read of the atrocities of Spanish slavery, but I saw them with my own eyes. I lived for a whole year at the Havana before I could so far disembarrass myself of the merchant-planter influence of that place (that deadening influence of slavery which steals so imperceptibly over the feelings of stran- gers in the West Indies], as to form an opinion for myself, and to trust to my own senses alone for a knowledge of the condition of the prsedial slaves. It was only when I visited estates not as a guest of the proprietors, seeing through the eyes of my hospitable hosts, thinking as they thought, and believing as they saw fit to administer to my credulity the customary after-dinner dose of the ■felicity of slaves — it was only when I went alone, and unknown, and unexpected on their estates, that the terrible atrocities of Spanish slavery astounded my senses. I have already said, and I repeat the words, so terrible were these atrocities, so murderous the system of slavery, so transcendent jthe evils I witnessed, over all I had ever heard or seen of the rigour of slavery elsewhere^ that at first I could hardly believe the evidence of my senses. Nay, I have known men of great intelligence, one in particular, whom it was of great consequence to have well-informed on this subject, and whom I myself accompanied over several estates in various parts of the country; and here in Cuba, so terrible were the admissions made by the mayorals, or overseers, on the estates we visited, that he could not believe he heard correctly the accounts that were given to us, even by the managers them- 126 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN OtTBA, Belves, of the frigfatfal rigour of the treatment they described. Till this gentleman (who is known as an able writer on Cuban affairs) and myself made partially known at the Havana the evils that had come to oar knowledge, on the sugar estates especially, there were British and other foreign merchants in that city, who had resided there for years, who said they were utterly ignorant of these evils, but like the iramers of this Report, having read certain laws for the protection of slaves, and seen certain cedulas for the nominal mitigation of the cruelties of slavery, they actually imagined that the laws were enforced, and the negroes happy and humanely treated. With respect to my own experience, it is not by particular instances of cruelty or oppression the fact is to be established, that slavery in Cuba is more destructive to human life, more pernicious to society, degrading to the slave, and debasing to the master, more fatal to health and happiness tkan in any other slaveholding country on the face ef the habitable globe. Instances of cruelty enough, no doubt, have come to my knowledge-^ of the murder of negroes, perpetrated with impunity —of men literally scourged to death — of women torn from their children, and separated from them — of estates where an aged negro is not to be seen — where the females do not form a third part of the slave population; nay, of estates where there is not a single female ; of labour in the time of crop on the sugar properties being twenty con- tinued hours, frequently for upwards of six months in the year, seldom or never under five, and of CX>9I>ITION OF SLATES IN €UBJL 127 the general impression prevailing on this subject, and generally acted on by the proprietors, that four hoars' sleep is sufficient for a slave* These cases, were I to bring them before the pablic, without a shadow of colouring to heighten the effect of the naked outline, so frightful a detail, I am persuaded, would cause people to marvel that such things could be in a Christian land — eoold occur in the present age— could be done by men who moved in society, who are tolerated in it, and bear the name and wear the garb of gen- tlemen; by persons, in short, professing the religion of Christ, and daring to couple the sanc- tity of that name with rapine, murder, and the iiving death of slavery itselif, which are carried on even in its name — for the purpose, forsooth, of making Christians of African unbelievers. To understand thoroughly the subject of the laws in the Spanish colonies for the protection of slaves, it is necessary to refer to a work not easily to be met with, being only to be found in the hands of the syndics, which is entitled, ^' Expo- sicion sobre el origen, utilidad, prerogativas, dereeho, y deberes de los sindicos procuradores generates de los pueblos, por D. Jose Berapio Majorrietta abogado de la real audiencia." This lK>ok, it is to be noted, is printed at Puerto Principe, in Cuba, by royal authority, by command, and at the expense of the Real Audiencia, the highest law tribunal in the island, and it is the legal guide of the syndics, or protectors of slaves, in the administration of justice between master and slave over the whole island, and by which they are 128 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. bound to act. The work begins by stating that the Supreme Court, in the year 1766, created the office of syndic ; every town was placed under the legal protection of one of these officers ; its rights were to be defended by them ; and in the words of the cedulas, " When there was any grave or important matter, it should be treated by them joining themselves with some of the neigh- bours (juntandose con los vecinos) for the con- sideration of it." Now, here is a most important regulation for the due administration of justice; in fact, one giving to the accused the advantages, to a certain extent, of a jury. And now let us see how the law authorities of Cuba, as represented in this work, interpret these words. The treatise in question says — "These words are not to be understood in their literal sense ; this method is contrary to the nature of our government, and for this reason, so responr sible is the post of a syndic, that he is appointed not by an open meeting (cabildo abierto) of the corporation (ayuntamiento,) but by the votes of the judicial body, or the regidores. Their duties in the rural districts are to watch over the order and maintenance of the public markets, the prevention of monopolies in corn, meat, &c., inspecting the accounts of overseers, agents, &c., protecting the interests of proprietors of estates before the tri- bunals of the district, by all the legal privileges accorded them, even to the point of demanding the suspension of the royal laws, or ordinances, in which they may hurt or harm some private person," (hasta el punto de poder pedir la susr CONDITION OP 8LAVEI9 IN CUBA. 129 pencion, de las cedulas y reales rescriptos, en qua de dana sigun particular.) Behold the value of all the royal laws for the protection of slaves ! The syndic, their protector, is likewise the legal defender of their masters ; and the suspension of every law that is distasteful to the latter, it is in the power of this oflScer to demand of the higher tribunals of the law. In fact, the whole secret of the conduct of the Cuban Govern- ment, with respect to the fulfilment of the treaties with England for the suppression of the slave- trade, and the laws which enforce them, is here left out, and the shamefuU duplicity of the Govern- ment of Spain, with respect to these royal orders, is disclosed, for at page 10 of the treatise in question, the opinion of the legal authorities of the island is laid down as to the proper mode of interpretation of the royal cedulas, when these are opposed to Creole interests, or supposed to be so, in these words : — " It has been laid down by his Majesty, that his sovereign will is (with respect to these laws) that they be obeyed and not fulfilled ;" and reference is made to lib. 16, Nov. Recap, (come se tiene manifestado que su soberana voluntad, es que se obedezcan y no se cumplan.) This seems to me to be the very acme, indeed, of public im- morality ; and there is no reason to doubt the duplicity of the conduct here ascribed to his Spanish Majesty, and the weakness of his sove- reign will, and that he frames laws for the purposes of delusion, to throw dust in the eyes of foreign powers, or to deceive his own subjects at home, laws which are to be obeyed and not executed. G 3 130 aOMDITXON OF SLAVES UT CUBA. Now, with respect to the jurisdiction of the syndics in the case of slaves, and the mode of interpreting the laws for their defence, this treatise lays down very minute rules, and points out a course of proceeding which is universally acted on in Cuba, for, it is to be remembered, this treatise is published with the express sanction and appro* bation of the judges of the highest tribunal of the land, of the Real Audiencia. ^' It is to be ob* served," says the author, *' either the rights which slaves complain of being infringed, are violated by their masters, or a third person. In the first ease, their complaint is to be preferred by their masters, or a third person. In the last case, tbm complaint is to be preferred by their masters — ^by the general rules of right, which subjects them entirely to those who exercise dominion over them; but if the slaves attempt to complain {itttentan presentarse) against their masters, then comes the authority of the syndics, because by no other mode can there be made a true decision, there being no legitimate litigation of parties, which consists in this, that the plaintiff and the criminal should be different persons. But sup- posing this distinction to be made in such a case (as perhaps some one might say it ought to be), it appears the slave ought to have the right of naming an attorney or agent (personero)^ and the law, that so much protects the natural defence of the slave, should leave in his power the exercise of this precious right. But bow many inconve* niences would not this measure cause ? In the first place, slaves have no proper person {los CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 131 eiclavos no tienen persona) y they have no repre- sentation in society^ they are considered as things snbject to the dominion of man, and ill could sach beings name agents or attorneys, who cannot appear in their own character in our courts. And yet, if, abating the rigour of fixed principles, we chose to leave to slaves the free election of which we treat — how many and how expensive would be the causes which would inundate our tribunals "—and what would be the insubordination alone of this class of domestics, when unfortunately inte- rested men are not wanting to derive the advan- tage of lucre from such miserable discord? The qmdics, however, as chosen by the corporation, should be adorned with all the fine qualities we have already stated, and in the degree that they may undertake to protect the rights of these un- fortnnates, they will take care to beware of eneouraging unjust complaints, by maintaining the slaves under due submission and respect, which system is certainly the most happy that ean be adopted to conciliate the private interest of the slaves with those of the owners of them." Now the next interpretation of the royal law, or oedula of 1789, which, at page 3, ordains the regulation of the daily labour of slaves, " so that it should begin and conclude from sunrise till sunset," and, moreover, should leave them two hours of the intermediate time for their own use and benefit, is given in these terms— terms indeed most worthy of profound attention : — " But this is not observed, and neither the magistrates regulate the time of labour, nor do the slaves 132 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. cease to serve their masters at all hours of the day;'* (" Esto no se observa j ui las justitias, ui los esclavos dejan de servir a sus duenos en to das las horas del dia.") Well may the expounder of the sentiments of the Royal Tribunal of the Audiencia of Cuba say, the laws are not observed, '* the slaves cease not at all hours of the day to w^ork for their masters." But this second Daniel, this Cuban commen- tator on Spanish law, rigidly indeed as he sticks to the sense of the colonial judges, tells but half the truth, when he says that " the slaves cease not to work for their masters at all hours of the day ;" he should have said, on the sugar estates, during the time of the crop, for upwards of six months in the year, at all hours of the night, with the exception of four for sleep. It did not suit the purpose of the Royal Audiencia to startle the ears or astonish the weak minds of the people in the towns, with the frightful announcement or the appalling statement that the wretched negroes, in spite of the express terms of the royal law far the regulation of slave-labour, were worked to death on these estates for twenty continuous hours, twelve in the field, and eight in the boiling-house or at the mill ; and that even on the coffee estates, where the necessity for hard labour is so much less, that at certain times of the year it is a com- mon practice, during the bright moonlight nights, to work the slaves at field-work for four or five hours by the " Clara de la luna," as it is called. But what are the sentiments of the Royal Audi- encia, on the subject of the great privilege on CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA^ 133 paper conferred by the laws on the slave, in the power nominally given him of purchasing his freedom, or portions of it, by the payment at once^ or at different periods, of the price his master paid for him. It is to be observed, that the payment of a part of this sum to the master gives the negro the legal right of having that sum deducted from his price whenever he happens to be sold, and entitles him, as it is most erroneously but gene* rally believed^ to an immediate reduction of labour in proportion to the sum paid. In the year 1825, this error was fallen into in a very able statement, addressed to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, by one of the British Commissioners at the Havana, on the treatment of the Spanish slaves, and the mode of manumis- sion in the Spanish colonies. And, no doubt, the origin of this error was the same as of that into which others have fallen, in common with all who estimate the value of Spanish laws by the word- ing, and not the execution of them. The paying a sum of money to a master on the part of a slave towards the purchase of his liberty, renders the payer what is called "coartada," the meaning of which is, in part manumitted. The word is derived from coartar, to cut or separate, and not from quartear, to divide into four parts, as is com- monly supposed. — " Some syndics," says the law treatise in question, " have attempted to alleviate slavery, so as to pretend to concede a half of their time to slaves who are bound in service to their masters," (when they have paid half of their value to their owners ;) '' but this opinion is not in con- 134 OONDITION OF SLAYBS IN CUBA. fbnnity with the law, and the syndics should respect the rights of the proprietary power, with* out allowing themselves to be led astray by a notion of equity badly understood. The coarta* cion (or part payment made to a master by a slave towards the attainment of freedom) was not esta- blished to reduce slavery into halves, but only to prevent any alteration in the price to the slaves. A slave who, being worth 6(90 dollars, gives to his master 400 by way of coartacion, remains as subject to servitude as any slave who is so en- tirely. The master cannot be deprived of the proper rights of his authority, and the slave is under the obligation of devoting all his service to him ; for such reasons the syndics ought to avoid the wish to establish such demands." Then comes the interpretation of the law in Cuba, as laid down in this treatise, on that most important privilege of all to the negroes in Spanish colonies, the power nominally given by the law to the slave who is ill-treated, or discontented with good cause with his master, to seek another owner on pay- ment of the price at which he might be valued by the judicial authorities. Now hear the mouth- piece of the Real Audiencia of Cuba on this subject. ^'The question may also be asked, if slaves (coartados) have the right to go out of the power of their masters whenever they desire, and the answer is not difficult, if we consider that the slaves (enteros) entirely so, are obliged to all^e some great reason to compel their masters to sell them. And what difference can there be between CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CI7BJk. 135 one and the other, when we see that the yoke of slavery on all is the same? If the slaves (coar'» tados) do not enjoy the rights of freemen, on what principle can they claim the right of chang- ing masters at their pleasure? Is it for some light correction ? This is not sufficient to enable them to use this privilege. And then, could the masters exercise their authority, with the due severity which is necessary ? By no means ; and hence we have seen that the Real Audiencia has always repelled similar demands in all the suits that have been promoted on this point, and brought for their superior decision. But some persons desire, notwithstanding, founding their opinion on the royal cedula of the 8th April, 1779,* that slaves (coartados) should be left in possession of the privilege in question. In answer to this, let us refer to the terms of the cedula. We declare, it says, that the masters of slaves (not coartados) have the liberty to sell them for whatsoever price they agree on with the buyers, according to their actual worth ; that when masters for just reasons are obliged by the judicial autho^ rity to sell their slaves (those so entirely), it shall be for the price at which they shall be valued by those authorities ; but if the buyer wishes to take the slave without valuation, {freeing thereon with the master, they can arrange between them the price, and the authorities have no power to prevent it, although the master is compelled to sell, except that in order to diminish the amount of the alcabala duty (or tax on the sale of pro- * In this cedula the precise duties of the syndic are laid down. 136 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. perty) some collusion between the party be sus- pected ; further, that slaves who are * coartado/ or have paid that portion remaining of it, the same obligation being binding on the buyer ; that in all cases the seller shall pay the alcabala tax according to the price paid ; further, that if the slave * coartado' by bad conduct give a reasonable motive for selling him, however slight his crime, the addition to it be made of the alcabala tax on his sale ; and finally, that no slaves of any kind, entire or coartados, who redeem themselves by their lawful earnings, ought to pay this tax. The masters shall be obliged, conformable to the custom, to give them their liberty the moment they bring the due price for it." Now, to any ordinary capacity, the plain mean- ing of the terms of this beneficent law of 1778, is that slaves have the power of demanding to be sold to another master, if another master can be procured to pay the price fixed on by the judges to the actual owner. In fact, the slave by this means puts himself in the position of a coartado, one who has the right to demand his freedom whenever a price has been agreed on, or fixed by judicial valuation ; and having procured a person to advance the money, he is content to have his liberty sold again, in consideration of the change of masters. But mark the chicanery by which every practical utility of this benevolent law is frittered away by the interpretationof the judicial authorities of Cuba. The slave who would change owners is first called on to produce a reasonable cause for his application. He alleges severe CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 137 punishment or harsh treatment, — who is to decide whether the slave has been maltreated or not? The syndic. Who is the syndic? A planter himself. And who is the master ? The neip^hbour of the syndic. But what says the Real Audiencia exposition of the law for the regulation of the practice of these syndics? Why, that the due severity of the discipline of the proprietary powef towards the slaves is not a sufficient cause for a slave's application to be sold, and that the only suffi- cient causes are insufficient nourishment, scarcity of clothing, and dearth of instruction in the Christian religion. Now what does the last obligation on the planters amount to in Cuba ? — to the christening of the slave, and to the burial of him with the ordinary rights of the church. This is the whole amount in Cuba of religious instruction, save and except the teaching the newly-imported Pagans to repeat, like parrots on certain feasts, the Lord's Prayer, the confiteor, and the decades of the rosary ; but as for having the slightest conception of the meaning of the words they repeat by rote, it would be a folly to expect it, for they are never instructed in religion by priest or layman, except on the estate of (some rare phenomenon in Cuba) a pious planter, a scrupulous master, and a Christian man. As to the complaint of insufficiency of food, the syndic of course acts on the general opinion that it is the interest of an owner to feed his slaves well, and to clothe them also, for the sake of the pre* servation of their health and strength. This sounds well, audit passes for the truth with thou- 138 CONDITION OF SliAYBS IN CUBA. sands of people, not only in Cuba but in England. This is an argument stated and re-stated hundreds of times, in answer to the ordinary charge of ill* treatment brought against slave-owners, namely, that it is the interest of a man to give good treat- ment to the beast (and, " pari passu," to the slave) he keeps for use, or sale, or hire. No doubt it is his duty, but is it his interest, according to his ideas, to do this ? Is it the supposed interest of the owners of our own miserable hacks, to treat the animal thus which he lets on hire or rides on daily; or rather, can you persuade the great body of horse-dealers it is their interest to do this ? Unquestionably you cannot. They act on the principle that a quick return of the money outlaid on horse-flesh, no matter how great the wear and tear of the property that is worked or hired, is better than moderate work with small gain, and a longer use of the means from whieh that return is derived. Why, we might as well go to Connemara, or the shores of Leuce, and talk to Mr. Richard Martin's venerable ghost of the humanity of the treatment of the hackney- coach horse-owners in England, on the ground of their interests. That honest ghost, if ghosts in Ireland do speak, as they are said to do, would tell you that these persons deny it is their interest to spare their horses, and admit it is their interest to get the greatest possible quantity of work in the shortest space of time from their hacks, and when they are worked off their legs, to purchase new ones. In fact, it is on this very principle the fast mail-coaches are horsed and run. CiONDXTION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 139 But I have heard it said, however they may work them, it sarely is their interest to feed them well. To this I answer, the universal feeling of the tribe is this, their true interest is to keep them cheaply. True it is, if they gave them treble the quantity of good hard provender, they would last, perhaps, double the length of time, and do half as much more work ; but you cannot persuade these men you understand their interests better than they do; you may, indeed, easily persuade the owner of a stud of race-horses of the soundness of your opinion, but the high-blooded racers that belong, in England, to gentlemen on the turf, in proportion to the hacks and stage-horses, are about in the same ratio as the slaves in Cuba I>elonging to intelligent, considerate, humane pro-* prietors are to the wretched negroes in the hands of unthinking, unprincipled, and grasping owners. But what says the Creole expounder of the Spanish law on the subject of the most important privilege conferred on the slaves ? " We believe," he says, ^' that a slave not having undergone bad treatment on the part of his owner, and having administered to him food, clothing, and religious instruction, he cannot compel his master to sell him to another." So much for the benefit of the parchment privileges of the slaves of Cuba ! And now for their moral condition, and the administration of the laws affecting it, on the high authority of the work published with the sanc- tion and at the expense of the Real Audiencia of Cuba. ''As amongst the Bomans," says the author, '' there could be no marriage solemnised 140 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. except among citizens, the union of the slaves was accomplished by concubinage, and the children followed the condition of the mother ; our district law has adopted the same system (nuestra ley de partida ha adoptado la misma disposicionjy and when recently coartacion was established, the question was discussed, if the infant of a slave coartado should enjoy the same privilege as the mother ; but the doubt has ceased, since the pub^- lication of the royal cedula of the 10th of February, 1789, in which we find the point iii question definitely settled." There can be no doubt of the express meaning of the royal law on this subject being what it is described, and there is, unfortunately, no doubt that the slaves of Cuba have none of the rights of citizens, that they are not suffered to marry, and that a general system of concubinage is that whick the Christian law of the partida sanctions in Cuba, and to which it condemns nearly half-a-million of human beings. Here I take leave of the Cuban exposition of the Spanish laws for the ameliora- tion of slavery. No one can dispute the authority of the treatise I have referred to, for the express sanction of the Real Audienda is prefixed to it. It was with no little difiiculty I procured a copy of that work, for I have already stated it is not allowed to fall into the hands of strangers. I now proceed to show the extraordinary delu* sion which has been practised, not only on foreigners who have visited the Spanish colonies, but even sought to be practised on our Govern- ment, and on the agents of it. It is no wonder. CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA. 141 indeed, if the world has been imposed on by the specious benevolence of the Spanish laws, that have never been carried into execution, or are capable of enforcement in any country where slavery exists, and where the interests arising from it are prosperous. And if the result of the years of turmoil and painful inquiry I have passed through in the West Indies, were produc- tive of no other advantage than the experience which enables me to make these observations, I would fain hope that I have made the best use of my time, and the opportunities afforded me by my position, that it was possible for me to make, in enabling me to disabuse the minds of men in Europe, of an opinion so erroneously enter- tained, that slavery in the Spanish colonies is mild in its character, and that the fact of its lenity is to be established by the laws and ordinances of the sovereigns of Spain. But on this subject I must briefly refer to another source of information. In the year 1824, Mr^ Secretary Canning ad- dressed a despatch to the Chief Commissioner at the Havana, desiring to be furnished with infor- mation on the subject of the manumission of slaves in the Spanish colonies, and enclosing a memorandum which had been presented to our Government at that period, when the question of gradual emancipation in our colonies was forcing itself on the attention of ministers. The document enclosed is in the following terms : — "That slaves (namely, those in the Spanish colonies) are generally appraised at 400 dollars ; that a slave paying down the fourth pairt of his 142 CONDITION OF 8LAYBS IN CUBA. Talue, or 100 dollars, immediately acquires a right to be coartado — that is, that he can work out, paying his master three reals de yellon or bits a-day, nntil he can make a further deposit ; or^ if the master require bis service, he can oblige the man to work for him, paying the slave one real ; thus a deposit of 200 dollars gives the slave a right to two reals daily ; of 300, three reals ; and thus till the completion of the payment of the whole sum in which he had been appraised. A dollar is worth eight reals or bits."— {Vide Slave' Trade Reports, 1824-26, Class A., page 63.) In the first place, the common error with respect to the meaning of the term coartacion, which I have already referred to, is pointed out in the reference made to the question of paying down one-fourth part of the value of the slave. The next error is in the statement, that a slave coartado has the right to work out, or to leave his master's service, paying him wages in a certain proportion to the sum still due for his liberty, the law treatise I have so largely quoted explicitly denying that the slave has any such right against the consent of his master. The next error is, that there is any law which compels the master to pay wages in any proportion to whatever sum the slave may have paid in part liquidation of the price of freedom. The Chief Commissioner replied to Mr. Can- ning's inquiry, October 9, 1824, stating, that he had consulted the most able lawyers and govern- ment authorities on the subject of manumis- sion, and encloses a memorandum— ^a valuable CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 143 paper — though by no means to be considered as practicaUy applicable to the attainable privileges of preedial slaves^ and that distinction is not suffi- ciently drawn in the document, but only slightly, and very slightly, .alluded to at the end of the memorandum. Nevertheless, the extent and ac- curacy of information that it is so difficult to pro- cure on this subject, is surprising to me ; and in referring to it 1 have only to entreat attention to this point, that the information has reference to what the laws decree, and not to the practical working of them ; and when it refers to the latter, the experience adduced is entirely of their execu- tion in towns and cities, and especially at the seat of Government, the Havana. Mr. Kilbee, the Commissioner, informs Mr. Canning that he has been wrongly informed that slayes are valued at any fixed price for " coar- tacion;" that he has known one sell for 1,000 dollars, but that the tribunals discountenance excessive valuation ; that the average valuation of full-grown negroes on estates is 500 dollars ; that house-slaves are valued at six, and mechanics at still higher prices ; that the statement is incorrect in asserting, *' if the master require the service of his coartado slave, he can oblige the man to work, paying the slave a certain sum," the fact being, that in all cases the master is entitled to the service of his slave, whether coartado or not, without any remuneration whatever. That the wages of a common field labourer is about four reals a day, there being eight reals " de plata" and twenty r^ds " de vellon" to the dollar, (the 144 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA; writer of the memorandam previously referred to having confounded these,) and, moreover, that the negro is fed and clothed ; and that as mechanics earn from a dollar and a quarter to three dollars a-day, consequently, a coartado slave, who works out, is able to pay his master the daily quota pro* portioned to his price, and to lay by something towards the further attainment of his liberty. That the regulations for ameliorating the con- dition of slaves are- founded principally on custom which has acquired the force of law, many ot which are confirmed by royal decrees. That when a slave applies to purchase his liberty, the master is not allowed to fix an arbi- trary price, but if he and the slave cannot agree upon it, two appraisers are named, one by the master, and another by the syndic, on the part of the slave, and if they differ, the judge names an umpire ; and in these cases, the slave is exempt from the payment of the alcabala duty, which is six per cent, on the sale of slaves sold in venta real, or by public auction. That a master will be compelled to sell a slave, if a purchaser is found to engage to emancipate the slave at the end of any reasonable time — that ill usage justifies an application for change of masters — that a slave once emancipated, cannot again be reduced to slavery— that the master having once given an " escritura de coartacion," binds himself never to demand more than a stipulated sum, though less than the actual value, has no relation to the actual price originally paid for him — that the coartado slave, when his master allows him to work out on OONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 145 hire, is only bound to pay his master one real a*day for every 100 dollars in which he is coar- tado ; thus, if his appraised price was 400 dollars, and he had paid 100 towards his liberty, he would only have to pay three reals a-day to his master — that a pregnant negress may emancipate her child even when in the womb, at the fixed price of twenty-five dollars ; and from the time of its birth till it be baptised, for fifty dollars— that the system respecting the manumission of slaves, although in the country parts, where there are few magistrates, there may be, and undoubtedly there are, many abuses — yet in the Havana and other lai^e towns, and in other populous districts, it is efficiently observed ; and lastly, on the authority of this able statement of Mr. Killbee, the slave population of the island of Cuba, in the year 1824, was 260,000; the free people of colour, 115,000; and the whites, 290,000. I have attempted to show that the system of manumission, and the regulations in force for ameliorating the condition of the slave in the Spanish colonies, honourable as these are to the apparent intentions of the Spanish Government, are of little real benefit to the prsedial slaves ; that is, to the great body of the slave population in these colonies. There are exceptions, there are instances, where slavery has not rendered masters heedless of all laws human and divine, even where their pecuniary interests are concerned. But these are few on the estates. There are instances, where the owners are persons of high rank and wealth and standing in society — noblemen, like 146 CONDITION OF SLAVBS IN CUBA. the Count Fernandina, and a few others of his order, — where the rights and privileges of the slaves are in some degree respected. These men, however, live not on their properties, and it is only to their occasional visits the slaves on their properties have to look for justice. It is, as I have said before, in the large towns alone, and for the non-p^aedial slaves, that the privileges in question can be said to be available, and where manumission can be hoped for, the means acquired of obtaining it, and the opportunity given of applying for it, and for the partial redress of any wrong suffered by a slave. The murder of a slave by a white man, in no case whatever, is punished with death. During my residence in Cuba, some of the most atrocious murders, that J ever heard ofy came to my own immediate know- ledge, the murder of slaves by their masters or mayorals, and not in any one instance was the murderer punished, except by imprisonment, or the payment of costs of suit. During General Tacon's administration of the government in the latter part of the year 1837, in the village of Guanabacoa, a league from the Havana, where I was then residing, the murder of a slave was perpetrated by his master, a well-known lawyer of the Havana, whose name I consider it my duty to make known, and as far as lies in my power to expose it to the infamy of a notoriety, which it is not in the power of the shackled press of Cuba to give to it, but which I have reason to believe the press of Spain will give to these dis- closures ; so that the reprobation of his country- GOvmriON OF 8i«a.vb8 in cvba^ 147 men will reach this gentleman, whom the laws he outraged were unable to reach or punish. The name of the murderer is Machado, and he moves without reproach in the goodly circles of genteel society at Havana, in that society where the capi- talist, who has acquired his riches in the abomi- nable slave-trade, by the especial favour of his sovereign bears the title of " Hacelkntimmo/' — where the prosperous dealer in human flesh, now retired from the trade, is a noble of the land — where the foreign merchant, who still pursues the profitable traflic on the coast, is the boon com- panion of the commercial magnates of the place — and where the agents of foreign governments themselves are hailed as the private protectors and avowed well-wishers of the interests of the trade. The murdered slave of the lawyer Ma- chado was suspected of stealing some plated orna- ments belonging to the harness of his master ; the man denied the charge ; the customary process in such matters, to extort a confession from a sus- pected slave, was had recourse to. He was put down and flogged in the presence of his master. The flogging, it appeared by the sworn testimony of the witnesses who were present, given before the commandant of Guanabacoa, a colonel in the army, a gentleman of the highest character, com- menced at three o'clock — it ceased at six, the man having literally died under the lash ; a little time before the man expired, he had strength enough left to cry out he would confess if they would flog no more. The master immediately sent for the commissary of police to receive his confession ; tbis^ h2 148 CONDITION OF SLAVBS IN CUBA. officer came, and stooping down to speak to the man, he found him motionless ; he said, the man had fainted. The brutal master kicked the lifeless body, saying, " the dog was in no faint, he was shamming." The commissary stooped down again, examined the body, and replied, " the man is dead." The master hereupon called in two phy- sicians of Guanabacoa,and rightly counting on the sympathies of his professional attendants, he ob- tained a medical certificate, solemnly declaring that the negro had laboured under hernia, and had died of that disease. In the meantime, the atrocity had reached the ears of the Captain- general Talcon, and the alcadis of Guanabacoa were ordered to inquire into the matter ; they did so, and the result of the inquiry was, of course, the exculpation of the murderer. General Tacon, dissatisfied with the decision, immediately ordered the military officer commanding at Guanabacoa to proceed to a solemn investigation, de novOj without reference to the decision of the civil autho- rities, and this gentleman, with whom I was well iEusquainted, proceeded, with all the energy and in- tegrity belonging to him, to the inquiry. The result of this inquiry was an able report, wherein the commandant declared that the testimony ad- duced, plainly proved that the negro had died under the lash, in presence of his master, in con- sequence of the severity of the punishment he received during three hours. I have entered at large into this case, because I speak from actual knowledge of the judicial proceedings, and from the authority of the judge in the cause. Now, what CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA. 1 49 •was the result of this case? Why, in due time, the captain-general communicates to the com- mandant the law opinion of the assessor or legal adviser of his administration, to the effect, that the report was evidently erroneous, inasmuch as the commandant had examined negro witnesses on the investigation, when their masters were not present, which was illegal, and consequently all the proceedings were vitiated. In plain English, the murderer was acquitted, and the upright officer who declared him guilty was rebuked ; nay more, he was ultimately removed from his post atGuana- bacoa. The folly of talking about illegality in the proceedings is evident, when it is considered that the setting aside the civil authorities, and putting the cause in the hands of the military tri- bunal, was a course obviously illegal, but rendered necessary, in the mind of the governor, by the base corruption of the civil tribunal, and the iniquity of its decision. On inquiry into the amount of money paid by Machado, in the way of bribes, to obtain the decision in his favour, and the costs of suit, I found that the expenses amounted to 4000 dollars. The next case I have to direct attention to, has been given to the world in the able work of Mr. TurnbuU on Cuba. I happened to be with Mr. Tumbull on the journey of which he speaks, in reference to this case, when a person who accompanied us on our return from a sugar estate in the vicinity of Guines, informed us that the estate in question was the terror of all the negroes in the vicinity. Of this fact, what we had 150 COllDTTIOlf OF SLAVES IN CUBA. ourselves witnessed of the management of the property, and what we had heard from the mayo- ral himself, left but little cause to doubt ; but it was not without surprise we learnt that this very overseer, who was still left in charge of the estate, had recently been brought before the authorities of Guines on the charge of flogging one of the slaves of the estate to death, and that the result of this investigation was similar to that of the case at Guanabacoa. The body of the murdered slave was examined by medical men, and the usual cer- tificate was given in all due form, satisfactorily accounting for the death of the negro ; and, in the eye of the law of Cuba, the slave that was mur- dered by a white man, and expired under the lash of legitimate authority, died a natural death. The wretch who committed this act left the Court, of course, without a blemish on his character, and the employer of this man — who had taken him back into his service, to the terror of every negro on his estate — this respectable planter was living at ease, fifty miles distant from the scene where the blood of his murdered negro was shed with im- punity, enjoying the pleasures of the Havana, and, perhaps, by the urbanity of his manners, the hospitality of his house, and the indulgent treat- ment of his domestic slaves, convincing the passing tourist, who was fortunate enough to be his guest, of ^Hhe peculiar mildness of slavery in the Spanish colonies." The next case — I know these horrors are pain- ful to be listened to — but it is a sickly sensibility which refuses to hear details, however shocking CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. 151 to humanity, that must be told by those who have the misfortune to be acquainted with them, or the wrongs they treat of cannot be redressed, — the next Case of negro murder committed by a mayoral, of which I have to speak, came to my knowledge in the autumn of 1839. I was travelling in the vicinity of Matanzas, accompanied by a gentle- man who resided in that district. I was informed by my companion that he had just received very unpleasant intelligence of an acquaintance of his, a mayoral of an estate on the Pan of Matanzas, who had unfortunately flogged a worthless negro, and the worthless negro had unfortunately died, and the soldiers had just been sent down to arrest the mayoral, and they did not find him. The mis- fortune of the mayoral touched me indeed less than the murder of the slave ; but, if my sym- pathies had been ever so strongly directed to the inconvenience the mayoral had been put to by his flight, I might have been comforted by the assur- ance that he had only to keep out of the way for some time, and the thing would pass over ; or, if he were taken, at the worst he had only to suffer in purse, and perhaps in person by imprisonment for some time, if he was a poor and friendless mayoral. This was only another vacancy in the negro gang, to be filled up by the purchase of a new Bozal — another life, taken away under the lash, to be added to the list of Cuban crimes — another item in the long account that slavery has to settle with a just God. I know it is painful to dwell on these topics, but the report I have alluded to has proved how necessary it is to enter 152 CONDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. on them most fully, and to show how greatly the people of France, — and, I fear I may add, <^ England, — have been deceived with respect to the subject of slavery in the Spanish colonies. The last case of murder, perpetrated on a slave by a white person, to which I will refer, took place at the Havana in the last year. This crime was committed by an American woman on a poor negro girl, under such horrible circum- stances of cold-blooded cruelty, that I doubt if there is any parallel to be found to it in the records of crime in Cuba. The girl that was murdered belonged to a Spaniard of the Havana, who was the paramour of the American. This woman was possessed of property to a consi- derable amount. She had been long rjesident in Havana, and was somewhat remarkable for her personal attractions. Her friend, the Spaniard, had sent to her house one of his slaves to assi^ her, and this girl became the victim of her jealousy, it is supposed — for no other adequate reason has been assigned for the cruelties prac- tised on her. The cries of the unfortunate girl had been heard in the adjoining houses; at length the usual screams were heard no longer, but night after night the sounds of continued moaning were noticed by the neighbours, and at length they gave information of the matter to the police. The commissary of police proceeded to the house of the American lady. On searching the outhouses in the yard, in one of these offices, converted into a dungeon, they found a dying negro girl, chained by the middle to the wall, in a CONDITION OP SLAVES IN CUBA. 163 state that shocked the senses of all who were present, — so loathsome and withal so pitiful an object the persons who discovered this unfor- tunate girl never beheld. On releasing her from this dreadful dungeon, where she had been she could not tell how long, it was found that the chain round her body had eaten into the flesh, and the ulcers in it were in a state of gangrene. She was taken to the hospital, and she died there iih two or three days' time. If I have added one iota to the truth, or exaggerated a single point in the statement I have given, I am content that every fact I have stated should be disbelieved ; but, in truth, the horrors of the place, and the wretchedness of the condition in which she was found, are understated. In fiact, they could not be described. The monster who committed this murder, when I left the island of Cuba, was alive and well; in prison, indeed, but in one of the halls of distinction (salas de distinction), where the prisoner who has money, no matter what his crime, may always obtain superior ac- commodation. She was visited frequently by persons of my acquaintance. She did not admit that she had committed any crime, and she had no fear for the result of the process that was going on, except on the score of its expense. She looked on her imprisonment as a conspiracy only of the Spanish lawyers to get money from her, because they knew she was rich ; and in this she probably was not much mistaken. The Teniente Gobernador, one of the principal oflBcers of State, was in the habit of visiting her in prison, and h3 164 OOIfDITION OF SLAVES IN CUBA. encouraging her with the assurance that her suit would speedily be terminated, and that she bad nothing worse than banishment to fear. A lawyer of the name of Garcia had defended her, some short time before her committal on the present charge, in another case of cruelty prac- tised by her on a slave, and he publicly boasted that if she had come forward in the present case with a sufficient sum, he would have brought her through her present difficulty without any more inconvenience than in the former instance. Such is the administration of justice in the island of Cuba, and the execution of those laws which are thought so mild in their character, and benevolent in their principles, that the slave who lives under them is protected from injustice, and in conse- quence of their excellence the negroes in the Spanish colonics are comparatively happy. It was said by the late Mr. Canning that all laws for the partial amelioration of the condition of slaves were necessarily defective, because such laws had no executive principle, inasmuch as the persons who were expected to carry them into operation were interested in defeating them. My experience entirely bears out the assertion of Mr. Canning ; and both assertions, I am sorry to say, are at variance with that part of the report to which I have referred, and with the common opinion of the humanity of the system of Spanish slavery, entertained even by well-informed persons in this country. And, in concluding this subject, I would earn- estly desire to impress these facts on the minds of CONDITION OF SLAVBS IN CUBA. 155 all who are interested in the question of negro emancipation : — that the abolition of slavery in our colonies has given great advantages to those colonies where slavery exists; and that it is in vain to expect a beneficial result from our efforts, while slavery flourishes in Cuba and the Brazils,* and leans on the sympathy and support * Dr. Walsh, in his " Notes on the Brazils," gives a tonchini; description of their degradation and sufferings, instanced by ap- palling facts which came under his observation. So intolerable is their misery that they frequently commit suicide or attempt to fly from their oppressors. Of suicide he says, * ' It is the daily practice in Brazil. Besides the instances noticed elsewhere/' he observes, "the harbour is constantly covered with the bodies of blacks, who are known to have thrown themselves in to escape an unsup- portable life." So great is their horror of slavery, he adds, ** tluit the slaves not only kill themselves but their children to escape it." Affectionate as negro mothers are known to be, Dr. Walsh states, that " this very affection impels them to commit infanticide ; " they have, moreover, ** the strongest repugnance to have children, and practise means to extinguish life before the infant is bom, and provide, as they say, against the affliction of bringing slaves into the world." When taken after flight,— and they are regularly hunted by their masters, — Dr. Walsh says, " Besides the punishment of flogging, an iron collar is firmly riveted on their necks, from which a long bar projects nearly at right angles, terminated at the other end by a cross or by a broad curl." " The multitude of slaves,'* he adds, *' seen thus neck-fettered in the streets is a proof of the numbers who are continually attempting to escape, and also a proof how intolerable is the state of existence in which they find themselves." Recent authorities confirm generally the statements of Dr. Walsh. The Dutch in Surinam, Curacoa, Java, Elmina, &c., hold about 5(>,000 slaves. A recent traveller in Surinam, the Hon. Sir Edward Gust, says, *' I grieve to say that the condition of the colonies of the German Protestants is even inferior to that of the Roman catholic nations. There is not the shadow of attention paid by the Dutch or the Danes to the religious or moral amend- ment of their slaves. A few Moravians are tolerated, but not encouraged. The condition of the negroes in Surinam is a degree of degradation but little improved from the state in which tfiey quitted the African shores. Boys and girls of aU ages walk abroad, without shame or decency, both in town and country, with aU the exposure, if not with the innocence of Paradise, and the sound of the church-going bell is never heard upon the fertile shores of the rich and mighty estoaries which fbrm that splendid 156 SUQAR B6TATE8. of countries like America and the colonies of other countries, whose interests are identified with theirs. SUGAR ESTATES VISITED IN 1837-8-9. On the 12th of December, 1838, accompanied by Mr. TurnbuU, I set out for Guines by the railroad, a distance of forty-six miles from the Havana; 1st class, 4 J dollars (17s. 8Jd.) ; 2nd class, 3 dollars (12s. 6d. sterling.) This work was performed by an American engineer. The road lies through an uninteresting country, very thinly populated, and little cultivated. The soil is worn out, and estates are scattered over a wide extent of country in this district. The loan ^r the railroad — a single line — was made through the house of Robertson, of London, on very expen- sive terms. It pays from 600 to 800 dollars a day. The great obstacles to its success are — the timidity of the people ; dependence on foreign engineers, in a country where temperance is a rare virtue among foreigners of that class ; and, lastly, the instability of the institutions of a country where slavery prevails. Guines is a town of about 4,000 souls. The vicinity is thickly studded with sugar estates. colony. The lash is too manifestly in cruel operation, and fettora of great severity are continually obtruded on ^e trayeUer's obser- yation. Among the estates on the Surinam river, we passed some poor fellows who had experienced the most horrible floggings, and many were loaded with chains, for attempting to leave de colony, in order to gain liberty in our adjoining settlements." la Surinam, as well as in Cuba and the Brazils, British subjectsare large holders of slaves. The slaves in the Brazils are estimated by some writers at two millions, by others at two millions and a ludf, and by others at three millions. Their condition appears to be in no respect better than that of the slaves in Cuba. SUGAR ESTATES. 157 We were inyited, on our arrival, to a ball given by the contractors for the railway works to the public. We met there some American naval officers of the Ontario; one of them, a Vir- ginian, entered on the subject of slavery in the United States. Mr. TurnbuU said, " it was a sad inheritance ; " to which the American officer replied, "As for my part, I think it was a glorious one, and I hope it never will have an end." On the subject of peace or war with Europe, he said, " There must soon be a war — blood-letting is necessary, I think ; " and then, in terms which I do not precisely remember, he expressed a wish for war, but acknowledged it was neither the interest of America or England that they should fight. We visited two sugar estates within a league of Gaines, the first called Olanda, Senhor Montalvo, proprietor. We were permitted to enter without any employer of the estate, which was desirable for the purpose of making inquiries of those we found on the spot. On going into the mill-house we found three persons in a dark corner, in the stocks — two negroes and one mulatto boy, all nearly naked, having nothing on but tattered shirts. We asked them how long they had been in the stocks. They said, — " two months." They were not constantly kept there, however, but were taken out to work in the day ; and at meal-time, and during the night, they were kept in the stocks. The crime of the two negro men was vagrancy, wandering at night beyond the precincts of the slave-pen — that of the boy, stealing eggs. 168 SUGAR ESTATES. The latter belonged to a doctor at Ouines, who sent him to the overseer of the Olanda estate, to have him punished there. The nights at this time were not only cool, but extremely cold ; and in this damp, dismal place, in the depth of winter, every night, for two months, had these unfortu- nate wretches been kept in the stocks, without a rug to cover them. We had brought a negro servant with us from Guines, and the poor boy in the stocks begged the former, in the most piteous terms, to intercede with his master for him. We next visited the mayoral. He told us the estate was in pleito (the subject of law), the manage- ment and receipts had passed from the hands of the owner to that of the money-lenders of the Havana. There were now ninety-six slaves on the estate, and forty only fit for hard work. They made 1,000 boxes of sugar a year. The soil was a good deal worn out. I spoke to him about the people in the stocks. He said, " Two of them are runaways ; the other is a thief." I said, two months' confinement in the stocks every night, in that cold, damp place in winter, without a blanket to put round them, or even straw under them, was a hard punishment. " The sooner they were let out, the better it would be for the estate,"— I did not venture to say for them ; for I might as well have spoken to a savage of New Zealand of hu- manity, as to that Spanish mayoral of any interests that were likely to be served by abridging the sufierings of a slave. He was an unreasoning, unfeeling man, of a brutal mind, and yet he was remarkably good looking, had fine, delicately- SUGAR ESTATES. 169 formed, nobly-outlined Spanish features, with something of softness in them, and his manners were courteous — ^naturally so — and pleasing, when he was communicating with us white men. But an awful change I observed come over his counte- nance and whole demeanour, when once or twice he had occasion to give some orders to the slaves, as we passed along. I could not help thinking how thankful men should be who are not thrown into bad circumstances, surrounded by evils, out of the influence of all that is good, with no ex- ample of it, no encouragement for it, no faith in it on the part of those who are above them, or fear of violating it in respect to those who are below them. The Spanish mayoral, I have little doubt, had been brutalised by his calling — had no energy of character, nor sense of religion, nor enlighten- ment, to resist the debasing influence of slavery. Had he been placed in a more fortunate position, he might have been a harmless and good-natured, and perhaps even disposed to be a good man. The time of sleep in the crop time, the may- oral told us, was about four hours, a little more or less.* Those who worked at night in the boiling-house worked also next day in the field. They had two meals a day. They had tassajo (sun-dried beef of the Brazils, with very little nutritious matter in it, extremely hard, ill-fla- * In the month of July, 1839, a friend of mine visited this estate, the Olanda ; the total number of negroes on the property had been then reduced to eighty, and still the working gang was forty ! ! ! The time of sleep in crop time, the same mayoral told him, was from three to four hours. 160 SUGAR BSTATBS. Toured, and worse scented) for one meal, and six plantains and some Indian com for the other. On our return, our negro guide told us " that Tngenio (sugar estate) was a very bad one. They were very bad to the negroes there. Four months ago, the mayoral had a man flogged, and the flogging went on till the poor slave died." He further informed us that the authorities at Guines made a judicial investigation, ordered the body of the murdered negro to be disinterred, and examined by medical men (the planters' doctors of the district), who found, of course, no traces of in- jury to any vital organ, from the scourging under which the slave died, and no further proceedings consequently were taken against the mayoral. It was only one more murder of a slave, committed with impunity, to be added to the long list of Spanish atrocities registered elsewhere, and, as surely as the sun shines at noon-day, destined to bring down the wrath of heaven on the nation whose Government sufiers and sanctions such violations of all law divine and human. On the estate of Olanda crop time lasted four months ; it began in January, and ended in May. The mill was moved by water-power. The pro- prietor was an absentee — like most of his class, an embarrassed man ; the property was mortgaged ; involved in law proceedings, the produce went chiefly to the lawyers ; the management was bad ; the treatment of the slaves inhuman, the sole object of the administrador being, to get the utmost amount of labour in a given time out of the greatest number of slaves that could be MATANZAS, CARDENAS, ETC. 161 worked day and ni^t, without reference to their health or strength, age or sex, or to the future interests of the possessor of the property. The appearance of the negroes on this estate was wretched in the extreme ; they looked jaded to death, listless, stupified, haggard, and ema- ciated : how diflFerent from the looks of the pam- pered, petted, well-fed, idle, domestic slaves of the Dons of the Havana ! The clothing of the Olanda negroes was old and ragged, — of the coarsest sacking stuff. They lived here in huts, near the Ingenio, but very miserable places, unfit for the habitation of wild beasts that it might be thought desirable to keep in health or comfort. MATANZAS, CARDENAS, AGUINILLAS, AND LIMONAL. On the 18th of May, 1837, I embarked on board the Tacon steam-boat, at the Havana, for Matanzas, Cardenas, Aguinillas, and Limonal. Matanzas is sixty miles distant from the Havana — (the fare, six dollars.) Matanzas is a large, well-built town, beautifully situated on the St. Yumuri and St. John rivers, containing 25,000 inhabitants. There is but one church, having four priests, each of whom has the spiritual wants of 6,000 souls to attend to. There is no monastery here, and as for religion, there is not an affectation of being considered mindful that such a thing as Christianity exists. The church is deserted, but the gaol is full. While the lieutenant-governor was paying me a visit, word was brought to him that the prisoners 162 MATANSASy CARDENAS, ETC. had stabbed the alcadi, or gaoler, attacked the soldiers, and were then fighting with the guards. His excellency, with all the composure and formal etiquette of true Spanish politeness, begged me to excuse him, and instantly walked off to the prison with his attendants. The next morning, I found everything quietly settled ; five or six of the prisoners were stabbed — several slightly wounded — two mortally. Some of the former, in the course of the day, were working in chains on one of the roads. The chains of the prisoners at the working gang, at Matanzas, were far heavier than those used in Havana. The census of Matanzas, in 1836, made the population of the town and country, 64,811 ; of which number there were 19,796 whites ; free- coloured, 3,971 ; slaves, 31,045 ; and of the latter, 21,210 were males, and 9,836 females. So that the latter formed rather less than one-half of the number of the male slaves. The name of Matanzas was derived, according to Quintana (vidas de Espanoles Celebres, p. 264), from a massacre of some Spaniards in that part of Cuba, which had been brought to the know- ledge of Las Casas by a Spaniard, whom the Apostle of the Indies liberated from captivity among the Indians. This man gave him an account of his capture, and the massacre of several of his countrymen, at a place which, on that account, was called Matanzas, '^ por este caso se llamo at Matanzas los Indias en cuyos canoas los mataron." I proceeded from Matanzas to Cardenas by the BEJUGAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 163 Steam-boat. The fare to Cardenas is five dollars, the distance about forty-five miles. Cardenas is a new town, counting 1,200 inha- bitants; there is a theatre, but no church — ^the former was commenced about five years ago; the site, a mangrove swamp ; there is plenty of water in the streets, and a great deficiency in the harbour. The loading ships are obliged to lie in the offing, about seven miles from the town. Sla- very here is the same as it is elsewhere in Cuba. BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. On the 23rd of December, 1838, I set out for Bejucal, by railroad six leagues from the Havana, and took a volante to St. Antonio, the same day, a distance of three leagues from Bejucal. The country between those towns is tolerably culti- vated, the products are chiefly maize, yams, yuccos, and edible fruits. At St. Antonio, the population is about 3,000 — they say there, 6,000 ; there are two schools. In the summer it is a place of resort for the Havana people, on account of its baths ; the river disap- pears by a subterranean channel close to the town — at a short distance a deep well, about sixty or seventy feet deep, has been cut down upon its current, where it flows rapidly — it appears again about three leagues ofi*. The nearest sugar pro- perty is about a league ofi* the cofiee property ; there the river also makes its appearance. The country about St. Antonio is picturesque ; in the neighbourhood of the town there is nothing re- markable. I could not procure horses to go on 164 BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. to St. Marco ; the distance from St. Marco to St. Antonio is six leagues. I returned to Bejucal, and slept there, and the next day proceeded to visit three sugar estates, about a league from the town. The first is that of Don Francisco de la Luz, called St. Anna ; there were ninety negroes, in which number there were thirty women — they made on that property 700 cases of sugar, eighty bucoyes of molasses; the negroes were allowed three meals a day. No rum was made on any of the six sugar estates I visited — no distillation was carried on. The mayoral said he was thirty years in the family of Senhor de la Luz ; he seemed a very good, humane man, and the negroes looked well, and were well clothed in thick flannel shirts; he said, that on no other estate was there three meals a day, but here the negroes were well taken care of, and S'** de la Luz was very particular about the negroes hearing mass on Sundays and fiSte days, and had a chaplain frequently there to make the negroes say prayers. This was the second estate only in the island that I heard of having a chaplain. The priest of Bejucal con- firmed this to me ; he said that Senhor de la Luz's was the only estate he knew of having a chaplain — that in crop time, if they were near a town where there was a church, they might go there on a Sunday, but not out of crop time. He told us that they were baptised : my companion said — "What! does it end there?" The priest laughed. The food here consisted of Indian com, salt fish, and tassajo, alternately, and plantains at night. The time for skep^ he said, in crop time was three BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 165 hours. We remonstrated about the insufficiency of sleep, he said they could not carry on the work with less labour. Subsequently, after we left this Quinta, Mr. T. and I differed about the three hours' sleep. I determined on going back, and returned with Mr. T.; we again put the question as to the time of sleep the negroes were allowed, and our informant then said that four hours was the usual time of rest. The time of crop on this estate was from three to three-and-a-half months* We saw here one man in the stocks, his head was in a broken piece of pottery — the stocks are in the boiling house ; there was another man going about heavily laden with chains. The sugar estate of La Pita, belonging to the Marquis San Felipe, we visited the same day, 24th December. There was on this property 161 negroes, of which forty-eight were women. 767 boxes of sugar were made last year ; this year they expect to make 1000 boxes, on account of a new steam engine put up for the purpose of grinding the cane, of eighteen horse power. The engineer, an Irishman, said, that with the steam engine they could grind as much cane in twelve hours, as they could without.it in twenty-four hours, but it could not supersede night- work. We saw the mayoral, and from him got the above numbers ; he told us, that the last year there had been five deaths and only one birth. Here they had but two meals a day allowed. The time of sleep in crop time was from four to four-and-a- half hours. The Irish, alas! I have invariably found, who are t 166 BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. employed in any shape, are advocates for slayeiy in all its horrors. The mayor domo was present — this man's office corresponds to our book-keepers in Jamaica ; the mayoral is the steward of the estate. We visited a sugar estate of Senor Joakim Cardenas. The mayoral was a surly, savage look- ing fellow, with the implement of office in hand, " the cart whip." He said there were a hundred negroes on the property; they made last year 600 boxes of sugar. Deaths last year two, and there was not one birth. Four hours were allowed for sleep during crop time. The system in the boil- ing house was far more imperfect, in point of mechanical contrivance, than any I had seen in Jamaica. The mill was moved by water-power. The negroes resided in huts. Of the slaves thirty were females. The total number of females on the three estates we visited amounted to 108 ; the total number of men, 243. We next visited the sugar estate of the Conde de O'Reilly, "Alexandria." The Conde, who lives in the Havana, is an absentee from his property, like the owner of Olanda. Here the works are splendid, and on an im- mense scale ; the power of the mill, water, like that of the Olanda, the aqueduct one thousand varas long. The mayoral was accompanied by another person, apparently a mayoral of some adjacent property; he was an extremely civil, well-informed, frank, rational man, far superior Jik class in Jamaica. It is fit to remember BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 167 that the mayoral, though generally called and re- garded by us as an overseer, is more in the light of a resident attorney on the estate, who keeps the accounts, records the produce, orders the sup- plies from the owners at Havana — while the head driver, or supervisor, the nearest approach to our Jamaica "book-keeper" (who keeps no books), superintends the labour of the field, and in the boiling house. On each estate there is generally one mayoral. The crop time lasted, on this estate, four months — from the 10th January to the 10th of May, at Alexandria. There was one death here the last year. The mayorals are all Spaniards, the Creoles of the same rank and class being generally so un- educated, even in the first elements of knowledge, as to be incapable of filling this office.* Alexan- dria has 102 negroes, about thirty-five only fit for hard work ; in crop time they hire thirty more ; the soil is worn out. They make 1,000 boxes of sugar, formerly considerably more. The reason given for this falling ofi*, was want of hands. I asked if the Conde sold off the negroes ? My informant said, " No, the Conde was in debt ; he did not sell any off, but he bought no new ones." Now this property formerly produced more than double the amount of sugar, and here was a plain proof, not only that there was no increase by births, but a very great decrease by deaths ; yet the mayoral said that last year there was only one death. Here, too, the negroes were in huts, not in an enclosed yard. About the labour he said, * Vide Delmonte's 'Report on Education in Cuba. 168 BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. the negroes in crop time did not get much sleep. I asked if that did not shorten their lives ? The answer was, " sin duda," without doubt. The Conde paid little attention to his estate, and seldom came there. The alcadi at Guines told me the same thing, and said, these gentlemen think of nothing but their pleasures, gambling, &c. &c. " This would be the richest district in the island if the owners would live on their properties and attend to them ; they do neither." Further, he said of this class : " The proprietors are the aristocracy of the Havana. Tacon made war on them and their disorders, and they hated him for it." I spoke to him about the three men in the stocks at Olanda, who were confined for two months, in the hope of his interfering. He said they must be runaways or rogues, and there could be no other way of securing them. That in the gaol they were also obliged to put men into the stocks, on account of the insecurity of the place. I asked, was it legal to keep a man in the stocks for two months ? He said, " the negroes are protected by the laws, they cannot get more than twenty-nine stripes." I said, "but suppose they do get more, what is their redress ?" " The law." " Who administers it in such a case?" "The syndico," (his office cor- responds to our protector of slaves.) I was on the point of asking how were they to leave the estate to seek the syndico, when the alcadi timely, and with much tact, shifted the discourse. Next day, the 13th, we set off for San Felipe by railroad, and here took horses for Batabano, BBJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 169 three leagues distant ; and from this town to the fishing hamlet bearing also the same name, one league more. The distance is about twelve miles to the sea from the railroad, the worst road (after long rains) I ever travelled. In this district there are several sugar and cofiee estates which we passed — those of Man- tillia, Conde, Canongo, Pedrosi, Massourah, &c. The pueblo of Batabano is distant from the place on the sea-coast bearing that name about one league. It is an open roadstead, containing about twenty-five huts of fishermen, and an en- closed shed, denominated a fort, which has a commandant, who told us his pay was forty-eight doUars a month. There is also an alcadi di mar, whose appointment must be a sinecure. The commandant said that no slaves were landed now, or since his time, at Batabano, but many at Bosario and Ouanimar ; and, before his time, the com- mandant used to send out boats to bring in the Bozals, and had many perquisites this way. The place is healthy, and no commerce except by a few coasters to Trinidad, and the steam-boat between these ports. On our return to the pueblo of Batabano, I met the son of Senhor Massourah and another lad. Massourah has a splendid cofiee estate in the neighbourhood. The lads rode with us, walked about the town, then visited the school ; the only one here was recently established by subscription, under the auspices of the Patriotic Society. The salary of the school- master is about fifty dollars a month. There are twenty-five boys — no girls' school, nor any I 170 BSJUCAL A9D SAX ASCTONIO. school for coloured people. Here there is a church. Massoorah's son and his fiiend dined with as at the inn. The son soon began telling as of all the Tessels his &ther had in the slaye-trade — how many he lost and expected daily. This was the third time, by strange accident, this man Massonrah was thrown into my hands. About a year ago one of his Portuguese Guinea captains entered my house at the Cerro, near the Havana, being informed it was the country resi- dence of Massourah. He told me the driver of his volante had led him all over the Cerro, and finally said that was Massourah's house ; he said it was very unlucky being delayed in seeing him, that he had just brought in the ** Dos Amigos," landed a cargo of Bozals, and had most luckily escaped being taken by a cruiser. I turned the conversation ; we dined together. Their friend, an Italian gentleman, who accom- panied them and us to Batabano for some miles, was about one of the most dissolute men I ever conversed with. He said that his brother had recently married a young wife, whom we had been previously taken to see by the young men ; had abandoned the woman he lived with, and married the sister; and on our questioning the propriety of this step, he said something about custom. We quitted Batabano after having visited the school. There were about twenty-five white scholars. There is no school there for femal^. The schoolmaster's pay is fifty dollars a month. BEJUOAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 171 To avoid an invitation to breakfast at Mas- sourah's, we took a different homeward route. Previously to departure, I had some hours' in- structive conversation with a Frenchman, Mons. Bonhomme, settled near Trinidad, at Cien Fuego. He said, in two years, twenty-seven new sugar properties had been established there. The in- surrection, which had taken place about a year ago at Trinidad, he said was occasioned by the hardships the negroes suffered on Mr« Baker's property, in Trinidad, a hard master. On one estate of his "there was not a single female." The insurgents were the slaves of his estate and an adjoining one, and they amounted to 600; their intention was to seize the barracks at Trinidad and disarm the soldiers. This intention was frustrated by a disclosure made by a female slave to her master. Baker had just time to escape with his life, after they had set fire to his works. The insurgent slaves were attacked by the soldiers. About fifty were taken and put to death, the rest were hunted down eventually in the woods. The number of slain was very great, it was not known how many ; one white man only was killed and a soldier. The Frenchman's account of the labour of the negroes was very different from that given us by Mr. Garcia, of Ubajai, a large coffee-estate pro- prietor, who stated that the time for sleep on board ship and on a sugar estate was the same. Bonhomme was then returning from Havana, after defending himself from proceedings unjustly taken against him for having entertained at his i2 172 BBJUGAL AND SAN ANTONIO. house a man who turned out to be a deserter, but which circumstance he was not aware of. After an absence of several months from his business, he established his innocence. The cost of proving himself innocent amounted to 2,000 dollars, and about 600 for his expenses at the Havana. He was about to quit the country in disgust. He had a saw-mill at Cien Fuego, and had made a moderate fortune. At the CafFetal called the Uva, between Bata- bano and San Felipe, we stopped to visit the estate. We were very well received by the pro- prietor. He had thirty working negroes ; made 550 quintals of coffee ; 70,000 trees, producing i lb. a tree (in Jamaica they reckon about 2 lbs. a tree). This small amount of produce might arise from the system at Uva, allowing the trees to grow their natural height, not topping them at about five feet, as in Jamaica, and in not removing any of the under stems or foliage. In the young plants I observed the proprietor carefully removed the second ratoon, leaving one stem only. He confirmed Bonhomme's account about the labour on a sugar estate; on his own Caffetal, he said, the negroes rose at four, worked till mid-day, again worked from one to eight ; but when it was " clara de la lune," they worked tiD ten, and sometimes later. This would give about fifteen and occasionally sixteen hours' labour. But it was evident, from what he said afterwards, the slaves sometimes had but four hours' sleep. They (the negroes) required, he said, three or four hours' sleep, not more; and if they had more time. BSJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 173 they would not employ it in sleep, they would go out wandering or stealing. But, I said, would they not die rather fast? He said, on sugar estates, without doubt, many do die. This account 80 startled us, and especially Mr. T , that he could not credit it. We cross-examined him, but our earnestness evidently attracted his atten- tion, and put him on his guard; he unsaid almost every thing he had previously said. Never- theless, what he stated was the truth, as to the labour, and the mode of reasoning about the necessary amount of sleep usual with planters. On the 14th of December, we visited the large sugar property of Senor Mantillia, called Los Honores, about a league from San Felipe. 211 negroes. 2000 boxes sugar, last year. The mayoral tpld^us this ; he did not accompany us over the works. Mill not going ; four or five months the duration of crop time. Cattle power; two mills; an improvement for returning the canes. We had previously visited Don Antonio Gar- cia's property at Ubajai, but met him at Marianon, where he then was staying ; he gave an account of his coflTee estate,— 200,000 trees; 110 men; 1,300 quintals of coffee— produce, two-thirds of a pound per tree ; food, for each man, two meals a day, consisting of one pound of tassajo, twelve plantains, one pound yaccos or yams. The slaves went to work at four in the morning, and worked till twelve— then dined, and had one hour free ; at one p.m. went to the field, and worked till eight, being 15 hours' daily labour. Deaths, 5 per cent., but on sugar properties the mortality 174 BBJUGAL AND SAN ANTONIO. and labour were much greater. He stated that the time for sleep oh a sugar estate was the same as in our navy. His account of labour on a sugar estate, in crop time, was as follows : — In the field, From 4 a. m. to 12 mid-day . . 8 hours' labour. „ 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. .• .. 5 „ „ 6 „ to 8 „ •• ..2 „ „ 8t ,9 to 12 midnight ..4 „ 19 hours' labour. Now, from mid-day to one o'clock is the time for food, consequently, four hours— namely, from midnight to four o'clock in the morning, — is the time for sleep. There are two sections for the boiling-house ; out of crop time, he said, the negroes had about eight hours' sleep; but this was evidently untrue. In discussing this point with Bonhomme, in re- ply to a question put to him by me, respecting the time of setting slaves to work on sugar estates in general, the reply was : — " On an estate where the number of slaves is 300, it is usual to assemble them at the Ingenio at three o'clock in the morning, and sometimes at two. They are employed there, in cleaning the court-yards and workhouses, and preparing for the day's work, for about an hour and a half. They then proceed to the field, and work till twelve at noon. They have an hour then allowed for dinner, which consists of plan- tains and tassajo (dried beef) — three generally of the former, and from six to eight ounces of the latter. At one they are set to work again, and continue at it till eight in the evening. They * Light work about mill-house. f ^ into boiling-house. BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. 175 then finish that day's work by cutting and carry- ing to the Ingenio grass, for the cattle of the estate. They then go to their huts (about half- past eight.) This is the routine out of crop time^ and on estates where proprietors are not hard men; but where the latter are severe, and the labour is required, the slaves will be worked later than eight o'clock (the moon serving for work), and they will be set to work at two the following morning. So that on " good estates," out of crop time, the slaves, provided they take no time for a second meal — ^when they go to their huts at half-past eight, and are allowed to rest till three in the morning — ^have six-and-a-half hours for sleep. But on "bad estates" — and nine-tenths of the Ingenios are owned or managed by " hard men " — slaves, out of crop time, have four hours and a half sleep allowed them. The average time, for seven months in the year, may be stated at five hours and a half. In crop time there is less time allowed, and this period occupies generally five months out of the twelve. The average time for sleep, then, on all sugar estates, is four hours. In themill-house (duringcrop) there are twospell gangs of slaves, called " quartillas," attendant on the mill and boilers, and the whole gang is divided into four gangs. They are generally put on, in the boiling-house, and at the mill, in batches of twenty-five at a time. Those who go at eight o'clock in the evening work till twelve. They 9leep till four in the morning, when they are sent oflF to the field, and worked as field-labourers all day, till eight in the evening ; or they take alter- 176 BEJUCAL AND SAN ANTONIO. nate spells of day or night work in the boiling- house and at the mill ; but this does not alter the time for work. The usual time of labour in crop time, on all sugar estates, is twenty hours. An overseer, who was present when this account was given, subsequently said : — ^^ In this part of the country the slaves, who work in the boiling- house (in crop time), are not taken indiscrimi- nately from the working field-gang. Those who are boilers are usually kept in the boiling-hoaard ; the other eighteen cases were proceeded against for being found equipped for the slave-trade. " The locality in which the thirteen vessels having slaves on board were captured, is as follows : — ^Three canoes seized^ with 112 slaves on board, within Britbh waters off this colony ; nine vessels within six degrees north of the equator ; two within four degrees south of the equator ; and one was captured full of slaves in latitude 12 deg. 22 min. south, ftnd longitude 37 deg. 14 min. west. 198 APPENDIX. '' The number of slaves so captured was 6,619, of whom 5,282 were decreed emancipation ; 337 haying died before such decree was passed. This dreadful mortelity may be accounted for by the inhuman master of the slaver captured by Commander Sprigg, of her Majesty's sloop Ferrety having stowed on board his vessel, sidmeasuring only 167 tons, 852 men, women, and children, 127 of whom died before they were emancipated; and. but for the humane conduct of Commander Sprigg, who transhipped about 300 slaves on board the Ferrety the mortality must have proved even still more appalling." . . . " I have the pleasure to report to your lordship, that, by order of the French Government, all the slaves in 'Senegal and Goree have been emancipated. This highly interesting event cannot fail to produce important effects upon the natives of the neighbouring kingdoms, and to conviupe them that Great Britain and France are determined, not only to suppress the slave-trade, but also slavery itself, in every part of their dominions.'' No. VIII. REPORT OP SLAVE-TRADE COMMITTEE. The select committee appointed, in 1847, "to consider the best means which Great Britain can adopt for providing for the final extinction of the slave-trade," having had a large amount of evidence laid before it, and being unable to bring its proceedings to a close during the session, reported its con- clusions on the evidence submitted to it, in a series of reso- lutions to the House, and has been re-appointed, during the present session, to finish its labours. The following is its report : — Besolutions qf Select Committee on the Slave-trade. " The Select Committee appointed to consider the best means which Great Britain can adopt for providing for the final extinction of the slave-trade, and who were empowered to report the minutes of evidence taken before them^ from time to time, to the House, and also their opinion thereupon, APPENDIX. 199 have further considered the matters to them referred, and have agreed to the following resolutions : — " 1. That it appears hy evidence laid before this Committee, that the state of the African slave-trade, with relation to America, at the undermentioned periods, was, as far as can be ascertained, as follows : — No. L^MEMORANDA of the Number of Slaves computed to have been Exported and Imported Westward from Africa, from 1788 to 1840. Ayerage Casu- ffn % |i. i '•'S 4 alties during the ?5,. III 5 •0 a> w DATE. it < w Voyage. IP l!l 353 «». Average Propor- tion. Amount. In 1788 .•....^,. 100,000 14 per ct. 14,000 24,000 18,000 44,000 86,000 ^1708to 1806 85,000 14 » 12,000 15,000 20,000 88,000 78,000 g 1805 to 1810 85,000 14 „ 12,000 15,000 25,000 38.000 73,000 ^ 1810 to 1815 03,000 14 » 13,000 30,000 30,000 20,000 80,000 1815 to 1817 106,600 25 „ 26,600 32,000 81,000 17,000 80,000 1817 to 1819 106,600 26 „ 26,600 34,000 84,000 12,000 80,000 captured by CruiMn. < •2 1810 to 1826 103,000 26 „ 25,800 30,000 37,000 1,200 77,200 k 1825 to 18S0 126,000 26 „ 31,000 40,000 50,000 4,000 94,000 ^ ISaO to 18S5 78,600 ai „ 10,600 40,000 15,000 8,900 68,900 1885 to 1840 136,800 25 „ 33,000 29,000 65,000 7,900 101,900 No. l.^MEMORANDA of the Number of Slaves comp have been annually Exported and Imported Westwan Africa, from 1840 to 1848. to *, J ATflmgp Casualtl?! i Z*%\ during tiie Voj^age. Ipajiorted into imported }dto ChptUKd Totil Amount of 3 IS&i ,_ BTumiah BrmU. Crals«HH SJftTe* < ^ ProporLion. Ajqqunt^ CoLoulei* Imported. 1340 64,114 ^^ percfiut. 19,06a 14,470 so.ooo 3.610 4s,osa 1^41 4%0B7 IftS „ 11,974 11 317 16,000 ft.wa S3,rt^ \M2 ^^Am 2ft „ ?.IO0 3,150 14,200 3,Ufi0 £1,300 1N» fi5,O0B a5 15.705 tt.OOO ao^oo 2.737 4I,S97 1^44 '54,10^ £6 M 13,5i!5 10,D(K) S6,fj(lH 4.577 40.577 \%iU ae,7aH ^a „ 9,11)9 i.ajo 23,700 8,610 27,509 1846 7fl,U7.S5 „ 19,099 l.7<)(» 59,000 2,788 bi,\m IS47 H4.a&0 po „ £1,0^9 l,fiOO 57,800 8,907 G3,S67 200 APPENDIX. *^ 2. That during the progress of the present year ihe skTe* trade has been in a state of unusual yigonr and activity. << 8. That from the end of the year 1845, dofwn to the present period, the strength and efficiency of the British preventive squadron have been raised to a point never before attained, and that squadron has been supported by tiie squadrons of France and the United States, according to treaties. << 4. That the total number of negroes liberated by British cruisers, in the year 1846 and 184T, scarcely exceeded ftur per cent, of the slaves carried off from Africa in those years, as estimated according to the table affixed to the first reso- lution. ^'6. That during the years 1846 and 1847, and daring the progress of the present year, the price of slaves in Brazil has experienced a progressive and very considerable declme. '' 6. That the actual direct expenditure connected with the . suppression of the slave-trade appears at present to be not less than £650,000 per annum, without taking into account, on the one hand, the share of establishments and charges for the non-effective service, which may belong to this portion of the active service, nor, on the other, the question of what proportion of the naval force it may be necessary to maintain for the protection of commerce. "7, That the African slave-trade of Bra^ hasbeen attended witVvery large profit, and that it is now conducted with an amount of organisation, and with a degree of confidence in the success of its adventures, such as have never been before opposed to the efforts of the nations engaged in suppressing it "8. That the extent and activity of the African slave-trade, though in some degree affected by foreign interference, and at times restrained by the exertions of the Governments of Cuba and Brazil, have been mainly governed by the demand for the products of slave-labour in dhe markets of Europe. ^' 9. That the admission of slave-grown sugar to consump- tion in this country has tended, by greatly increasing the demand for that description of produce, so to stimulate the African slave-trade, as to render an effectual check more difficult of attainment than at any former period. APPENDIX. 201 *' 10. That the sufferings and mortality of the slaves in the barracoons and in the middle passage are appalling to hu- manity^ and the intensity of the sufferings, and the amount of the mortality, are unexampled in the history of the slave-trade. '^ 11. That in the uncertainty under which the Committee labour, whether any reconunendations which they might make would be accepted by the Government and Parlia- ment, they have not thought it advisable to take into con- sideration, at this late period of the session, an alteration of the policy heretofore pursued for the suppression of the slave- trade. The Committee have been induced to adopt this course, from a wish not to weaken or embarrass tihie Execu- tive Government during the recess, but they cannot conclude, without urging upon the immediate attention of the Govern- ment the difficulties and embarrassments which attach to the present position of the subject. '^ 12. That the Committee is of opinion that it is expedient that this Committee should be re-appointed at the commence- ment of the next session of Parliament. " 10th August, 1848." The evidence laid before the Slave-trade Committee, pub- lished in the Report of its proceedings in the past session of Parliament, affords much important matter with respect to the only means within the scope of possibility, short of the , abolition of slavery by the voluntary act of emancipation on the part of Cuba and the Brazils, that can be looked to for the destruction of the trade in slaves. Be it borne in mind that, under our treaties with Brazil and Spain, toe have a right to demand the freedom of all slaves who have been imported into their territories and colonies contrary to their stipulations. In the examination of Lord Palmerston, Sir Charles Hotham, and Dr. Lush- ington, we find this subject touched on : — JLord Palmerston, << Does your lordship think, that if the treaties which we already have with respect to those slaves who have been surreptitiously introduced into Brazil were fulfilled, that k3 202 APPENDIX. would be of great effect towards the suppression of the slave-trade 7 That question relates rather to a law, I appre- hend, of Brazil, than to a stipulation of treaty. By the treaty of 1826, the Brazilian Government pledged itself that any slave-trade carried on directly or indirectly by any Brazilian subject should be deemed and treated as piracy. The emperor, moreover, passed a law, according to which any negro brought in and landed in Brazil, after a specified date, should be ipso facto free. No doubt if that law WERB ENFOROBD, A VBRY LARGE PROPORTION OF THE NEGROES NOW HELD IN SLAVERY IN BRAZIL WOULD BE RESTORED TO THAT FREEDOM WHICH BY THE LAW OF Brazil is their right. '^ Does your lordship consider that England is entitled by the treaty to demand the execution of that order ? — Eng- land IS entitled to demand from Brazil a full AND complete FULFILMENT OP ITS TREATY ENGAGE- MENTS. " Does your lordship suppose, if the Spaniards were to fulfil honourably their engagements with us, that in Cuba also, as well as in Brazil, a great number of persons now kept in slavery would be set free ? — What I have said with regard to Brazil applies also to Cuba ; for there is a Spanish law to the same effect as the Brazilian l^w which I have mentioned — namely, purporting that every negro brought into Cuba, after a specified date, should be ipso facto free; there can be no doubt that there must be in Cuba a great number of negroes who are ille- gally HELD in bondage. "Are you aware whether it is easy to distinguish a newly-imported negro from one who has been born in the colony ? I believe perfectly easy, for persons accustomed to see negroes, for a certain time after their importation ; I do not know how long the traces take to be obliterated. *'If, therefore, the Spanish Government were honestly determined to liberate all those who were illegally imported, they would have no difficulty in distinguishing at least a great number of them ? — If they would consent to the esta- blishment of a mixed commission, for the purpose of APPENDIX. 203 examining negroes brought before them, I apprehend such commission would have no difficulty in nine cases out of ten." Sir Charles Hotham, " In reference to the supposition tkat it might be possible to pursue the extinction of the slave-trade by more stringent measures than the present^ you have stated that it would be necessary to adopt two measures in particular : one of them the destruction of barracoons, and the other the treatment of the crews of slaving ships as pirates, in order to attain that end. You are aware that there is also an opinion, strongly held in this country, that the Brazils are bound by treaty to liberate, upon our demand, all slaves who have been illegally imported into that country ? — I have heard so. "Supposing the enforcement of tiiat demand to be attempted by us, if it could be enforced, it would be a very powerful engine wherewith to work upon the Brazils ? — It would immediately amount to a declaration of war, which would bring things to a crisis.* " Do you think it would be practicable for England, as far as you have had the means of judging of the state of opinion, not only among the subjects of this country, but the subjects of other countries, to adopt those three measures : the destruction of barracoons, the treatment ^of slave crews as pirates, and the demand to Brazil to fulfil, under treaty, their engagements to liberate all slaves illegally imported? — Setting aside the question of law, and also setting aside the feelings of foreigners, which are greatly adverse to our present system, / consider England is pledged^ and cannot depart from that pledge, to adopt every possible measure to carry into execution the wishes of the people at large.^* The Right Hon, Dr. Zushington. " Do you imagine that a large number of the slaves now in Cuba and the Brazils are retained in slavery contrary to treaty with this country ? There cannot be a doubt about * Sir Charles Hotham seems not to be aware there are pacific methods of enforcing just demands, as effectual as physical force resources. 204 APPBMDIX. it that a very large number of slayes ba^e been detained in the Brazils and Caba contrary to the treaty. ^' Do yoa think that those slaves are legally entitled to their freedom ? Certain lt, bt yibtue of thx oompact WITH Grbat Britain. *' Is it your opinion that it would be powible for this country to urge upon the countries of Cuba and the Brazils the manumission of those slaves 7 This country would have a perfect right to make that demand. Then always arins the question^ how you are to enforce a demand of this des- cription 7 I fear there are no means of enforcing it except by resorting to war. '^ Would it not be possible to give due warning to those Governments, that unless they will manumit those slaves who have been illegally imported, we will refuse to receive their produce into this country 7 Certainly, we might give that notice,- and we might follow up that threat by the execution of it. Laving fully made up our minds that if we make the threat we would perform it. *^ You think, as they have broken their treaties with us by retaining those persons illegally in slavery, in spite of any construction wl^ch might be put upon the treaty, we should be justified in excluding their produce from this country? I tl^nk so, certainly ; / take it to be an undoubted principle that every breach of treaty gives the offended country absolute rights ; but, in practice and by custom, the offended country always in the first instance makes a representation. If that representation is not attended with effect, the next step has generally been to issue an embargo, and in some instances to seize vessels at sea. Upon the principle of having the power to do all, you may do less tJian all. Therefore, the treaty having been violated, it would be competent to Great Britain to make any demand which she thoughtfit." The solemn farce of a Select Committee, got up for a specific object, by a particular set of persons, for the main- tenance of any peculiar interests, mercantile objects of a class, or a trade, or political advantages of a clique, or a little party of speculators in affiurs of State, is becoming too APPENDIX. 206 stale an entertainment ^^to draw" well. It produces no effect. The plot takes no one by surprise. The piece goes off with a formidable report, but the noise is too great, the public will have nothing to do with it It is to be hoped there are no circumstances in the appointment or composition of *' The Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Slave-trade/' whose report was made in the present year, 1849, to bring it within the terms of that class of perform- Aces we have just spoken of. It is to be feared, at all events, that its ** most lame and impotent conclusions'' will not be found productive of any good, or indicative of any large amount of wisdom, or of earnestness of desire to grapple with the evils of the slave- trade. And it is manifest, that the principal recommendation of ' the Committee — ^namely, the discontinuance of the system of blockade and crmsing for the suppression of the slav^trade, — is based on a great deal of evidence to which we look in vain for any disposition hostile to slavery, or even strongly opposed to the trade in slaves. And equally manifest is it that many persons have come to a similar conclusion of the imprticticability of that system of force, but who have recom- mended other measures of repression and suppression which the Select Committee have thought proper to condemn. The character of this Committee, moreover, appointed to inquire so extensively into the subject of the dave-trade, with a view to its suppression, has not been served by the remarkable omission of that very important part of the mam question — ^namely, the connexion of British commerce and capital with the slave-trade of Spain, Portugal, and the Brazils. I iind, in the Anti-slavery Reporter , of the 1st of June, 1849, some excellent remarks on this subject : — '' One branch of inquiry, however, which ought to have engaged attention, was omitted, viz., the extent to which British subjects are engaged in fostering the system of slavery in foreign countries, and in aiding and abetting the slave-trade. We have from time to time produced official evidence, to show that some of our manu&ctnrers and merchants are deeply implicated in this foul business \ but 206 APPENDIX. the difficulty of bringing the charge home to them by direct legal evidence has been so great, as to render conyiction next to impossible^ or assuredly they would have been made, long before this, to feel the penalties of violated law. A communication was recently made to the Morning Potty which deserves the most attentive consideration. It is as foUows — '' ^Allusion having been made, in your valuable and always important city correspondence of Wednesday, to a repoft which, I trust, is well founded, of the intention of the Brazilian Government to grant emancipation to the slaves, I cannot refrain from addressing a few words to yon, as the constant and unflinching friend of African and other slaves, in the hope that the example of this country, now to be followed by Brazil, may have the effect of remov- ing that blot on human nature — the continuance of the traffic in slav^. The legislative enactments on this subject prohibit Englishmen from purchasing or acquiring slaves in any part of the world. Its letter has been kept, for none have been purchased by the mining companies in Brazil ; hut its spirit is openly evaded by the hiring of slaves for 4erms of years. This has been done to an ^normous extent by the different associations presided ov^ by London capitalists ; and my attention was particularly drawn to the subject by an article in the Mining Journal of last Saturday, in which it was mentioned that the mortality amongst the blacks in Brazil was very great. Eight deaths had occurred m a fortnight, out of 1,000 persons belonging to a mining company. By the published reports, it also appears that new slaves were daily expected to fill up the death vacancies, to swell the profits of the shareholders ; and it is stated, that if they had more hands, the returns would be considerably augmented* It is, in fact, simply weighing the lives of the blacks against gold, the balance in value being the difference in the divi- dends to the whites at home. If this s1»te of things is to continue, it would be far better for the slaves themselves that the Act* above referred to should be repealed. The companies would be allowed to purchase slaves, and it is only natural to suppose that more care would then be taken of APPENDIX. 207 these wretched creatures than of the sliaes of others, hired for a time. There is some reason, therefore, to believe that the mortality would be less, and the slave-trade could not be more encouraged ; for it makes no difference whether the blacks, on arrival in Brazil, are purchased by Englishmen direct, or bought by the Brazilians, to let out to the com- panies. Even the Brazilian masters cease to take much interest in the slaves when let out for six years' annual pay- ment, or to care whether they live or die. The first three payments always refund their cost. The last three are profit, with the reversion of any who survive. It is to this most shameful and open evasion of the Act of Parliament, on the part of these English companies, that it is desirable the attention of the legislature should be directed, and the hope that this communication in your columns may be of service in this respect, induces me to encroach on your attention and space.' " Of ' the practices' referred to by the correspondent of the Post, we have long been aware ; but, instead of ad- vising a repeal of the law which punishes with transporta- tion any British subject engaged in the slave-trade, we would extend its provision to parties hiring slaves under contracts, for any period of time whatever. *' In connection with the communication to the Morning Post J we give the following statement, taken from a letter addressed to Lord Brougham, by a gentleman who resided three years in Brazil, (the greater part of the time at Rio,) and who expresses his conviction, that, until the Brazilian Government carry out their own laws for the suppression of the slave-trade, it will continue to flourish :— " ' Convoys of freshly-imported negroes are to be seen daily on the high road from the capital to the provinces ^f Minas Geraes, Matto Grosso, and Goyaz, within three leagues of the metropolis, passing through towns, without let or hindrance, under the eyes of the authorities, whose duty it is to seize upon and liberate every African iinported since 1831. /' ' It may be true that England cannot interfere in the 208 APPBKBIX. internal governmei|^of Brazil ; bat why are London com- panies permitted to have establishments in that country, where they vie with Brazilian sugar-planters in the con- samption of Africans? ^' ' I beg to enclose, for your Lordship's perosal, the report of an English mining company, (St John del Bey^) of its last year's operations. There are very painful &ct8 in these pagesy and some very painful omissions. It appears, at page 45, that this company has 1,100 slaves ; and at page 38, the number of deaths during the year is given at 59, or 5 l-3rd per cent, — an awful mortality, when it is considered that only one person died of natural decay. But the most striking item, in this fearful list of page 88, is the death of sixteen borers. These are all picked men, young, strong, and able, frpm twenty to thnrty-five years of age. Referring to page 22, it is seen that the average of borers during the year was 194, showing the deaths in this dilss to be 8 l-5th per cent This bears out a statement in a letter lately published in the Morning Pott respecting this com- pany, '' that blacks' lives were weighed against gold, the balance going into the pockets of the shareholders." « ' What sympathy is shown by the officers of the company for those unhappy men who have died in their service? None. The superintendent, in his general remarks, be- ginning at page 41, glorifies himself upon the operations and profits of the past year, anticipating brighter results for the next ; but his only reference to the dead is an indirect and pounds-shillings-and-pence reference — that ''he is taking measures to obtain a further addition of hired labourers (slaves), to enable a still larger supply of store to be ob- tained." This future is undimmed by the black chronicle of the past. '' ' Does the head of the mine department, in which two- thirds of the dead adults were employed, evince even regret for the loss of these men? No ; but, at page 19, he coldly calculates the cost of each borer at £10 to £ll per month, (of course, to be correct, the losses by death must enter into his arithmetic,) and that each would return £1.9 or £20 worth of gold ; and he terminates his report by stating. APPENDIX. 209 >^ that nothing can be more gratifying than theadyancement made and the profits for the futore, and that the greater the force the greater the profits, in proportion to the expenses.'' " ^ If it be admitted that England can only by moral influence induce the Brazilian Government to give efiect to their own laws for the suppression of the 'slave-trade, it cannot be denied that such influence must be weakened, if not entirely destroyed, by the fact of a London company being one of the largest slave-holders and slave-employers in Brazil ; that it is increasing its slave-force as ^t as pos- sible, to make good losses by death, and enable it to increase its operations ; and this in defiance of an Act of Parliament, prohibiting all Englishmen, in any part of the world, from encouraging, or being in any way concerned with, the traffic in Africans/ ''The same remarks apply to the Anglo -Spanish mining companies, who carry on their operations in Cuba. It is an outrage upon the sentiments and feelings of the people of this country, that these companies should be allowed openly and flagrantly to violate the laws of their country.'' Extract from the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Slave-trade, '' That the committee which was appointed in the last session of Parliament to consider the best means which Great Britain can adopt for providing for the final extinc- tion of the slave-trade, adopted certain resolutions, which were reported to the house. In the purport of those resolu- tions this committee is agreed with the committee of last session. ''That a long and large experience of attempts to suppress the slave-trade by a naval force, leads to the conclusion that to put down that trade by such means is impracticable. " That over and above a return to jthe system of dis- couragement by commercial legislation, several measures have been suggested as suitable auxiliaries of the present preventive system, particularly the destruction of barra- coons, the infliction of the penalties of piracy on th^ 210 APPENDIX. captains and crews of vessels engaged in the slaye-trade, and the enforced liberation of all slaves illegally imported into Brazil and the Spanish colonies. ''That yoor committee have considered whether these expedients are practically available, as they coneeive that^ if that were the case, such expedients ought to be tried before the abandonment of the system of forcible suppres- sion should be resolved upon. But, even assuming that Great Britain either is actually entitled, or could by nego- tiation acquire a title, to adopt all of these measures, you committee are still convinced that such a prosecution as could alone be effectual, would not be sustained by the general opinion of other civilised countries, would be at- tended with the imminent risk of very serious calamities, and would scarcely be sooner commenced than abandoned. '' Your committee are, therefore, constrained to believe that no modification of the system of force can effect the suppression of the slave-trade, and they cannot undertake the responsibility. of recommending the continuance of that system. Your committee are not, however, prepared to recommend the immediate and unconditional withdrawal by Great Britain of her contingent from that system which her influence has been so mainly instrumentid in recom- mending to other countries, without any communication with those countries, and without any definite understanding of their views." If a select committee of men earnestly desirous of abolish- ing the slave-trade were appointed, and those persons were thoroughly acquainted with its evils, its violations of solemn engagements, its vulnerable side, its susceptibility of fear, it is probable they would come to some such resolutions as the following : — 1. That the Governments of Spain and the Brazils entered into treaties with Great Britain, solemnly engaging to suppress the traffic in slaves in their dominions, within a given period of time, and have promulgated decrees in their several States, declaring all Africans surreptitiously intro- duced in the Spanish colonies and Brazilian territories libe- rated from slavery. APPENDIX. 211 2. That these engagements have been broken, — that these decrees have not been carried into effect. That vast num- bers of African slaves have been carried into Cuba, in con- travention of the treaties above-named, and such is the mortality in those countries, in the predial slave population, that the entire predial class would be swept away in ten years, were it not reinforced by continual accessions of im- ported African negro slaves. 3. That the great mass of the slave population of those countries are consequently illegally held in slavery, and should be set at liberty, if those treaties are not to be set at defiance. 4. That the violation of them has created the necessity of keeping up a British naval squadron on the coast of Africa, and another on the coast of Cuba and the Brazils ; of maintaining for thirty years an expensive machinery for the repression of the illegal trade,— Mixed Conmiission courts, liberated African departments, a large official staff at home, as well as abroad, for the settlement of contested claims, of complaints of parties injured or inconvenienced by captors, for conducting correspondence with mixed com- missions, consular agents, and foreign Governments, on anti- slave-trade subjects. 5. That the vast expenditure, hardly falling short of twenty millions, thus incurred in consequence of violated engagements on the part of the Brazilian and Spanish Governments, should be made a claim on those respective nations, and either reimbursement of the same demanded, or emancipation of the slaves in those colonies proposed as a substitute for that payment. 6. That the continual pressure of this claim, and urgency of the demand for the settlement of it, would have an influ- ence on slavery and the slave-trade that could not fail to be immediately un^vourable and ultimately fatal to it. The British '< Anti-Slavery" Society, on the 26th of January, 1849, published an address, entitled — ^^The Slave-Trade and its Remedy, "- wherein they recom- mend to the especial notice of members of Parliament a mode of action for the suppression of the slave-trade, 212 APPBMDIX. which 18 baaed on one of the fvmcbunental prindples of the Society, viz. — ^^That so long as slavery ezistB) there is no reasonable prospect of the annihilation of Ihe slaye-trade, and of eztingnishing the sale and barter of human beings ; that the extinction of slavery and the slave- trade will be attained most effectually by the employment of those means which are of a tMral^ religUnUy and padfie character; and that no measures be resorted to by llm Society, in the prosecution of these objects, but such as are in entire accordance with these principles/' The address goes on to say— ^^ There can be little doubt that the band fide demand, on the part of the British Government, for the liberation of all Africans from slavery who have been illicitiy introduced into the Spanish colonies and BrazD, would extinguish the slave-trade, by destroying it at its very root. It will require, however, an energeiie expression of public sentiment and feeling, which, we trusty wfll not be withheld, to secure this great triumph to the anti-slavery cause." . . . ^^ The feulure of the cruising system to accomplish this great object is now so apparent, that the committee conceive the most sceptical must be convinced that to it we must no longer trust, whatever may be our personal view of the principle which it involves, to realise it, but that we must turn to other and better means for its extinction." .... '^ In October, 1846, the committee presented a memorial to Lord John Russell on the subject, in which they reviewed the whole question, and recommended the abandonment of the present system of cruising and blockading, as anti-slave- trade measures. Should the Government, in view of all the facts of the case, resolve upon this step, the committee would urgentiy recommend, that the funds that will be saved thereby may be applied to the development of the free produce of British India. If, in any part of the British empire, the means of competing with slave-labour produce in the markets of the world can be found, it will be found there. Possessed of boundless resources, both of soil and labour, all that is required is, that its means of internal transit should be perfected ; the irrigation of its cultivable APPENDIX. 213 lands secured ; its labour freed from all unjust restrictions^ and that those great public works, the importance of which is universally admitted, should be prosecuted, in order to secure to the capitalist and to the farmer the fair reward of their risks and their toil. Were these things attended to, without unnecessary delay, there would be no necessity for transporting, at an enormous cost, the labourers of India to the British colonies, for the cultivation of sugar. The delta of the Godavery, and the valley of the Ganges, would supply that article in the greatest abundance, and at the smallest cost.'' The views of the Society, with respect to the failure of the cruising and blockading system on the coast of -Africa, are borne out by the accounts of various naval officers. A letter on the slave-trade of the western coast of Africa appeared in the Times of the 29th of January, 1849, from the pen of Lieut. W. T. F. Jackson, R.N., who states that he has <mmi6sion Conrto^ or in the British Yice-Admindty Courts, on the ground of being con- cerned in the illicit traffic, and that sixty-six of them were seized with slaves on board, and two hundred and eigh^ under the equipment article, or without slaves. By returns made in 1841, it appears that, during the preceding eleven years, the number of deaths on the west African statioa amounted to eight hundred and forty, of whom eighteen were killed in action with slavers. The number wounded is not given, nor the amount of invalids sent home during the period, but they must have been considerable. The number of cruisers employed varied from year to year, from seven to nineteen, and the complement of men from 710 to 1536. The deaths, &c., which took place on board of vessels employed in the same service in the West Indies, Brazil, &c., are not given. A more perfect return for 1846 has, however, been laid before Parliament, from which it appears that the number of ships of war of alL classes em- ployed for the suppression of itte slave-trade was fifty-six, mounting 886 guns, and manned by 9,289 men. The mor- tality and casualties are stated as follows: — Number of deaths of officers and men in vessels employed on the west coast of Africa, 166 ; and in those not exclusively employed on that coast, 93 — total, 259 ; officers and men invalided, 271 ; making a grand total of 530.'^ APPENDIX. 219 I g I I ^ r| I ^5 O ewfls I -a— > a I -■. s S:^'i^ ii^iii^i I I iliii^iliiij ^S-2"*^3S' 1^=." g S ... I 11 1 a "3 220 APPBNBUC. Return to an Address rf the HammrabJethe House of Commons f dated 26th November , 1847 j--for, ^* Return of the number of Her Majesty's ships of war employed on the coast of Africa for the Suppression of the Slave-trade, in the month of June, 1847, stating the number of men and guns on board of each, and the aggregate." '< Estimate of the expense of Her Majesty's ships of war employed for the Suppression of the Slave-trade, and of all their appointments, so as to exhibit the Aggregate Charge to the Country for their support in the year 1846-47." << Return of the number of ships of war belonging to France, and the number belonging to the United States of America, employed on the coast of Africa for the Sup- pression of the Slave-trade, agreeable to Treaties with Great Britain, stating the number of ships of each dass, and the number of men and of guns belonging to each, aod the Aggregate, so far as the same can be ascer- tained." ^< And copies or extracts of all the Reports or Despatches received from the officers commanding Her Majesty's ships of war employed for the Suppression of the Slave- trade on the coast of Africa, since January, 1847, on the state of Slavery and the Slave-trade." H. F. AMEDROZ, Chief Clerk. AdmiraUyy 25M Feb.j 1848. APPENDIX. 221 A Return of the number qf Her Majesty's ships qfwar employed on the coast of Africa for the Suppression qf the Slave-trade, in the month of June, 1847, stating the number of men and guns on board of each, and the aggregate. SHIP. J 1 SHIP. 1 1 Penelope Actseon FftYOnrite Promethens , 22 24 14 5 6 16 10 8 8 12 12 12 270 200 130 100 80 130 80 80 80 130 120 110 Brought forward King-Fisher .... Flying-Fish Albatross Ferret 149 12 12 12 8 4 16 6 8 8 8 4 12 1,510 110 110 120 80 Heroine Styx.... ........ 145 Bittern Siren •■■. 140 RoUa Devastation...... Hound 147 Ranger. ......... 80 Water- Witch .... Rapid 80 Wanderer Mariner Contest Sealark Grappler ...... ., Tortoise Total 80 70 109 Carried forward . . 149 1,510 259 2,781 A Return of an BsHmate of the expense qf Her Majesty* s ships qf war employed for the Suppression qf the Slave-trade, and qf all their appointments, so as to eshibit the Aggregate Charge io the Country for their support in this ye^ 1846-47. Description of Charge. Charge. Estimate of the expense of the wages and victuals of the crews of Her Majesty's ships of war, employed in the suppression of the slave trade, in 1846-47 £220,233 Estimate of the expense of the wear and tear of the hulls, masts, yards, rigging, and stores supplied for the use of Her Majesty's ships employed in ihe above service, according to die statement received from the Sur- veyor'^ Department 49,313 Estimate of the expense of the wear and tear of the machinery of Her Majesty's steam vessels employed as above, accordmg to the statement received from the department of the Comptroller of Steam Machinery 17,790 Estimate of the value of coals provided for the use of the above steam vessels, according to the statement re- ceived from the Storekeeper-general's Department. . 14,287 Aggregate Charge. i?301,623 J. T. BRIGGS, JeeoUntoMt-General of the Nuvjf. Admiralty, 13M Dee., 1847. 222 APPENDIX. Return qf the number qf ekipe qf war belonging to France j and the United States qf America, employed on the coast ofJJrica for the Supjftression qf the Slave'trade, agreeable to Treatia with Oreat Britain, stating the number qf ships qf each elstit and the number qf men and guns belonging to each, and thi aggregate, as far as eon be ascertained. Name of Ship. Belonging to France : Mercuro ••••••• ••••••■•• AbeiUe Camille Indienne Infatigable Alcjone Bougainville ComSte Cygnoguc Dnpetit Thonars Fteche Lcger PapiUon Bosaiffiiol SurpniM Phnthere Amaranthe Fr^ Jonqnille HirondeUe Australia, steam-vessel (160 horse-power) Narval, steam-vessel (160 horse-power) 6alib6, steam -vessel (80 horse-power) , Adour, transport , Aube ditto Marsouin ditto , Total number of Guns Belonging to the United States : James Town . Boxer Total number of Guns. 216 Number of Men. The number of men allowed in 'the complonent ofthese ships not known. {The number of men allowed in the complement not known. APPENDIX. 223 No. XII. LIBBBATBB AFRICANS AT SIEBBA LBONB. The number of Africans emancipated by sentence of the Mixed Commission Courts, and duly registered at Sierra Leone, from June, 1819, to 30th June, 1845 56,935 Emancipated at Sierra Leone, but not registered there, daring the same period 7,664 64.599 No. XIII. BBITISH SUBJBGTS IMPUGATBD IN THB SLAYB-TBADB AND SLAYBHOLDING. The gold mines of Minas Geraes, in Brazil, are held by British companies, and are worked principally by slaves who have been purchased contrary to the laws of this country, which declare such dealings in " the persons of men " to be felonious and piratical, and punishable, on conviction, by transportation for fourteen years, or for life, according to circumstances. Men. Women. Children. Total. The Congo Soco mine . . 176 113 129 418 The Cata Branca do. . . 256 The Conc^idU) do 30 The Maeaubas and Cocaes do 328 The St. Joa5 del Key do. 234 1024 Candonga 2093 The Minas Geraes Company having abandoned their mine, sold the negroes to the Imperial mine, and the St. Joad del Key. 86 64 406 10 10 50 136 155 619 96 30 360 441 388 1858 240 224 APPBKDIX. In Cuba, Britisb sabjects are part proprietors in tbe copper mines of that colony. In one, the Cobre, ''the laboiiren employed were nearly 900 in nnmberi" and " nufre than one- half of them were slaves ; some the property of the Mining Company, and others hired out, as is not nncostomary, from their owners in the neighbourhood." British capital is also, unhappily, eztensiyely employed in sustaining the slave-trade and system of slavery in different parts of the world. AIDING AND ABBTTINO SLAVB-TBADB ON THB PABT OF BRITISH MEROHANTS, OB THEIB AOENTS, IN 8LAVB- TRADINO AND SLAVBHOLDINO COUNTBIBS. This crime is thus denounced by Mr. Canning, in a despatch to Mr. Consul Pennell, dated July 24, 1835, re- specting the shipment of commodities from the Brazils for Africa, to be employed in the slave-trade. '' The King's advocate reports that, by the 6th Greo. IV^i for the suppression of the slave-trade, it is enacted, that, except for special purposes permitted by the Act, if any per- sons shall knowingly and willingly ship, tranship, lade, or put on board, or contract for the shipping, transhippuig, lading, receiving, or putting on board of any ship, vessel* or boat, any money, goods, or effects to be employed in accom- plishing any of the objects, or the contracts in relation to the objects heretofore declared unlawful, then, and in every case, the person so offending, and their procurors, counsellors, aiders, and abettors, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence double the value of all the money, goods, or effects so shipped, &c., and to be recovered and applied as herein- after mentioued.''^^' I have therefore to instruct you to discourage undertakings such as you describe in your above- mentioned letters, and to report to me the names, together with a particular description of such Englishmen as may be engaged in them."* * Vide Reports, 1824.1825— Chap. B., page 45. 2LPVMSD1X. 225 BRITISH SUBJECTS IN PORBiaN OOUNTBIBS INTERESTBB IS SLAYB PBOPBBTT. British subjects slaveholders in Venezttela. MB. WILSON TO LORD ABBBDEEN. ''I beg to report to yoar lordship, that some of the principal estates in Yeneznelay on which slave labour is in part employed* «re under the terms of long leases, in the hands of British subjects, and are worked principally by British ciqpital. The feet is noto- rious, although it would be scarcely possible to substantiate it by legal evidence ; and it is for your lordship to determine whether the hiring and employing slaves, after the passing of the Act in question, in cases not excepted by that Act, is comprised within the general prohibition against dealing in or holding slaves,'' &C. In answer to Mr. Wilson's inquiries how such British subjects are to be dealt with, Lord Aberdeen replied :— " Her Majesty's law officers have reported their opinion, that no specific instructions can be given upon^the various points suggested in your despateh above mentioned. They observe, that the application of the law to any case of the buying or selling of a slave must depend on the fects and circumstances of that par- ticular case," ficc. Prohibition of all British functionaries residing in foreign countries where slavery exists^ from administering to the estates of persons in cases in which slaves formed part of the property. Lord Palmerston issued the following circular despatoh to British consuls residing in slaveholding countries : — ''Foreign Office j Nov. 11, 1846. '* Sib, — I have to refer you to the circular issued under date of May 8th, 1841, to her Majesty's functionaries residing in countries where the condition of slavery exists, acquainting them with the opinion of her Majesty's Grovemment, that it would be unfitting that any officer holding an appointment under the British crown should, either directly or indirectly, hold or be interested in slave- property* l3 226 APPENDIX. '' In ftirthennoe of the principle tfau laid down, and in order to pretent her Mijeitf'B ftmctionariei firom being engaged,- andor anj circomitanoea, in the pnrchaae or lale of a alaTe, her Majiitj's Ooyemment has oome to the de^rmination of prohibiting aU Britiah fanctionariea residing in slaveholdmg oonntiies from administering to the estates of deceased persons, in cases in which sUires form part of the property of the deceased; and you are hereby prohibited accordingly. ** Yon will publish this instruction for tiie inforBoation of aB British snl^jectB residing at YeneneU. **B. H.Wilson, Esq., &c." (Signed) « Paxjixmtok.'' THB BNOLISH 8LAYB-TBA.DB. (-From "2%« IHinet," October, 1847.) The slave-trade was instituted by the Crown in 1585, hefare England possessed any West Indian colonies at aU. Up to the year 1710 it was a royal monopoly. It was then partially opened, ^'Jbr the benefit of the manufcicturers of Great Britain" From 1711 until 1749 the demands of the mannftctoren for a more unrestricted trade continued to be the sulgect of parliamentary investigation and dispute. It was found that the trade could not be conveniently and extensively carried on without forts ofi the coast of Africa; and such was the appetite of the Britiah nation for the slave- trade, that in* 1729 a committee of the House of Commons passed the following resolutions : — <' Ist. That the trade should be open; 2nd. That it ought not to be taxed for the support of forts ; 3rd. That forts were neoes* sary for securing the trade ; and, 4th. That an allowance ovght to be made for maintaining such forts.'' All foreigners were excluded from participating in a trade pronounced by Parliament to be ^^ so highly beneficial to the kingdom.'' In 1745, grants from the Crown were made to the British subjects of lands in Jamaica, on condition that the lands so granted should be settied by a stipulated proportion of negro slaves, and that in case such stipulation was not cmnpjied APPENDIX. 227 with within a given time, the patoit was to be deemed null and void. In 1700, the colonists, anxious to limit the vast numbers of wild negroes imported by English speculators, passed laws impoang a duty on them, which Great Britain refused to sanction, rejecting the act with indignation, and declaring that the tlave^trade was beneficial and necessary to the mother country. The governor who passed the laws was reprimanded, and a circular was sent to all other governors, warning them against a similar offence. In 1765 and 1774, the Assembly of Jamaica repeated the offence, and passed bills to restrain the importation of negroes. Lord Dartmouth, then secretary of state, wrote to Sir Basil Keith, the governor of Jamaica, forbidding him, upon '^ pain of removal from his government, to assent to such laws." The despatch proceeds — ** At the same time I am to acquaint you that the alarm taken by the merchants of this kingdom, on accomit of that Act, has been greatlj increased, and fresh complaints, of a very urgent nature, have been made by them, from their having received advice, not only that such additional duty has been oontinaed for another year, by an Act passed in November last, but that propo* sitions have beoi adopted for laying the slave-trade under further restrictions, and subjecting it to impositions thai wiU have the effect qf em entire prohibition, '' It is, therefore, our express will and pleasure, that you do not, upon any pretence whatever, and upon pain of being removed from your government, give your assent to any Act or Acts by which the duties and impositions upon slaves imported into the island of Jamaica, as the said duties stood before the 13th day of February, 1774, shall be in any respect augmented or increased, or any alteration made in the proportion of such duties, which, by the provisions of such laws, was made payable by the importers of such slaves. "G. R. ** Given at our Court of St. James, 28th February, 1775, in the 15th year of our reign.'' The colonies, by the agent of Jamaica, remonstrated against the resolution of the Government ; but the Earl of 228 APPENDIX. Durtmonth replied — '' We eamufi attaw the eohnies toelutk or ditcourage in an^ degree a traffic $o beneficial te Ule nation." Thus, at late at 1776, we find the Wett Indians sapplieatiiig to be relieved from the alarming introdaction of more tlayc^ and the mother country, at the instigation of the dothien, ironworkers, and other trades, whose wares were in requeit on the coast of Africa, insisting on thdr reception. No. XIV. THE OAPTIYBS OF THB AHISTAD. Early in the month of August, 1889, there appeared in the American newspapers a variety of accounts of a schooner, bound coastwise, from Havana to Neubitas, in the island of Cuba, early in July, with about twenty white passengers and a large number of slaves, having been seized by the slaves in the night time, and the passengers and crew all murdered, except two who had made their escape to land in an open boat. About the 20th of the same month, a strange craft was seen repeatedly on the American coast, which was believed to be the captured Spanish coaster, in the possession of the negroes. She was spoken by ^several pilot-boats and other vessels, and partially supplied with water, of which she was very much in want. It was also said that the blacks appeared to have a great deal of money. The officers of the Custom-house department and those of the navy were ordered to go in pursuit of the '* pirates^" as the unknown possessors of the schooner were called. The tl. S. steamer, Fulton, and several revenue cutters were despatched, and notice given to seize the pirate craft to the collectors at the various seaports. The latter part of August the *^ mysterious schooner" was seen near the shore at Culloden Point, on the east end of Long Island, where a part of the crew came on shore for water and fresh provisions, for which they paid with the most extraordinary profuseness. Here they were met by some Ameriean officers, who stated that they had in their possession a large APPENDIX. 229 box filled with gold. Shortly after, on the 26thy the yessel was seen by Captain Gedney, U. S. navy, in command of the brig Washington, employed on the coast sarrey, who despatched an officer to board her. The officer found a lai^ number of negroes and two Spaniards, Pedro Montes and Jose Ruiz, one of whom immediately annouuced him- self' as the owner of the negroes, and claimed his protection. The schooner was thereupon taken possession of by Captain Gedney, and carried into the port of New London. The Judge of the U. S. District Court, and the U. S. Marshal for the district of Connecticut, were sent for by express, and a hurried examination was held on board the Washington^ at which the two Spaniards and the cabin-boy, Antonio, a Creole negro, were examined on oath as to the facts in the case. The schooner proved to be the Amistady Captain Ramon Perrer, from Havana, bound to Principe, about 100 leagues distant, with fifty-four negroes held as slaves, and two passengers, on board. The Spaniards said that after being out four days, the negroes rose in the night, and killed the captain and a mulatto cook ; that the helmsman and another sailor took to the boat and went on shore ; that the only two whites remaining were the said passengers, Montes and Ruiz, who were confined below until morning ; that Montes, the elder, who had been a sea captain, was required to steer the ship for Africa ; that he steered east- wardly in the day-time, because the negroes could tell his course by the sun, but put the vessel about in the night. They boxed about some days in the Bahama Channel, and were several times near the islands, but the negroes would not allow her to enter any port. Once they were near Long Island, but then put out to sea again, the Spaniards all the while hoping they might Ml in with some ship of war that would rescue them from their perilous situation. One of the Spaniards testified that, when the rising took place, he was awoke by the noise, and that he heard the captain order the cabin-boy to get some bread and throw it to the negroes, in bope to pacify them. No person appeared on behalf of tiie Africans, nor was any communication held with them by 230 APPENDIX. the Judge ; bat, after this eiamiiiatioD, the adults remaining, thirty-eight in number, were committed for trial for murder er, 1830, at the trial of this case, before Judge Judson, in the District Court, in a much more complete and accurate form than it has assumed in any other of the papers. << Dr. Madden testified, *' ' That deponent is a British subject, who has been resi-* dent at Havana during three years and upwards ; had held official situations there during that period for three years ; the office he at present holds is Superintendent of liberated Africans ; and for one year that of British Commissioner in the Mixed Court of Justice. That his duties and avocations made him well acquainted with the details of slavery and liie slave-trade in Cuba, and with the class of persons car- ried from Africa and brought into that island as slaves. That he has seen the negroes of the Amistad in the custody of the marshal at Newhaven, with the exception of the small children, and examined and observed their appearance^ manner, and language, and has no doubt whatever but that those negroes have been recently imported from Africa, and are of that class called Bozals. That he spoke with one of them and repeated, in the Arabic language, a Mohammedan form of prayer, and that the words, " Allah Akbar," or ** God is great,'* were immediately recognised by the negro, and some of the words of the said prayer were repeated after him by the negro. That deponent addressed another negro, standing by ^e former, in the ordinary terms of oriental salutation, " Salaam Aleikoum," or, " Peace be to you ;'' and the man immediately replied, '^ Aleikolm Salaam,'' or, << With you be peace." '< ' The deponent has seen and has now befi)re him a do- cument, purporting to be a permit or licence, called a tras- passo, for the removal of forty-nine negroes from Havana to the Amistad, bound to the Porto Principe, granted to 238 # APPBNDIX. Don N. Roiz, wherem those negpes are called ^' Ladinoe," a term given to negroes long settled in Cuba, and acclimated there, and introduced before 1820; a term totally inappli- cable to Bozals or negroes recently introduced. This docu- ment is dated the 526th of June, 1839, and bears the signature of Espeleta, the captain-general of the island, and is endorsed '^ Martinez and Co.," and deponent knows no other Martinez and Co. but the notorious slave-traders of the Havana of that name. ^' ' He has also seen another document similarly signed, purporting to be a permit or traspasso for three negro children, likewise called Ladinos, dated 22ad June, 1839, and which name of Ladinos is totally inapplicable to Bozal African children, who could not have been long settled and acclimated in Cuba. He has further seen an endorsement on the said document, purporting to be a permission for the removal of the said negroes, bearing the signature '^ Mar- tinez and Co." But deponent does not know the hand- writing of Martinez. ^'^That the custom, on landing the negroes illegally introduced by the slave-traders of the Havana, is to take them imme 36 U3 r-l 00 Ok Q r-* A O i-h us OOrMQOift ©» r^ t^o» »ooOr- «M :* i« t^« 1m eO'JoQO eo eo eo QOr-tWJp-l 00»QrH OD^rH^i-l ) 0*52 of ©f eoS.S,»?8^ S O*^^ »o 00 WrHoT «r tCi-Tofo eou5t>.t>^ S5 rMSoa b-^e^iO-^QO US Tjtr-ieOO S^o^di^ii: III. etU»r-4 to eo©t«oeo 31111 i" nti ot^«eoo» eo t-rHeo«b SRggg I isss 'Hit 2" ISli" eo ' (SU30I I INDEX. 4/Hea — ^importations from, into Cuba, 27 — slaves ezported from, during sixty years, 199 Agriculture — of Cuba, 178 Allcoyy Conde de — conduct of, 193 America — afflux of capitalists from, into Cuba, xvi — slaves sent into, 18 — ^increase of Cuban trade with, 56 — commerce of, with Cuba, opposed by Spain, 57 — ^influence of, in Cuba, and Texian policy, 82 — advantages conferred by, on Cuba, 84 conduct of, in regard to the annexation of Cuba to the United States, 85 — Cuba under the flag of, 94 — progress of emanci- pation in, 185 — ^population of, slave and free, 186 — ^vessels of, employed to suppress the slave-trade, 222 Amisiad—the captives of the, 228 to 242. Anderson, Mr. — on the origin of the slave-trade, 19 Anti-slavery — extracts from Reporter, 205 to 209 — address from British Society on the slave-trade, and extracts from its reports, 211, 217 Antonio, San — ^population, &c. of, 163 Arango, Senhor — the advocate of Cuban interests, 53 Baker, Mr. — ^insurrection on his estate, 171 Batabano — description of the pueblo of, 169 Bolivar, Simon — manumits his slaves, 25 Bonhomme, M. — statements of, 171 Brazil — extinction of slave-trade in, vi— increased importation of slaves into, ix — probable duration of slavery in, xviii — ^slaves embarked for, in 1829, 49 — treatment of slaves in, 155 note — ^late accounts of slave-trade in, 191 — treaties with, 200 to 205 Buxton, Sir T. F. — on purchase of slaves, xxiii — the profits of the slave-trade, 44 — the sacrifice of life in the slave-trade, 188 Campeador — ^a condemned slaver, 48 Canning, Mr. — on the slave-trade, 43 — on manumission, 141 — on the inefficiency of the laws to protect slaves, 154 — on British merchants engaged in the slave-trade, 224 Cardenas — description of, 163 — sugar estate of Senhor, 166 Carraguao — royal college of, 99, 107 Caso Calvo, Marquis o/^-banished from Cuba for gaming, 76 Casas, Bartholomew iflw— origin of negro slavery falsely im- puted to, 5 — ^his first visit to Cuba, 6 — receives the title of " Protector of the Indians," 7 — memorials in favour of the Indians, 6, 7 — proposes to found a colony on the Main, 8 — arrives at Cumana, 9 — disappointed at the failure of his colony, retires to a convent, ib. — unjust treatment of, 10 — Herrera's charge against, 13 — singiQar omission of, 15 — extract from his works on the introduction of negroes into the West Indies, 15 — expresses his regret for his errors, 16 — apology for, by the Abbe Gregoire, 17 — character of, 23 to 26 M 2 246 INDEX. Cedulat, Royal — regulatiiig the daty on, and sale of neg^roes, 28— for abolishing the slave-trade, 30— respecting cock-fighting and lotteries, 63, 64— on the treatment of slaves, 120— evasion of the, 128 C«rvan/et— his description of the early West Indian colonists, 1 Chamberlain, Mr,— on the death of slaves, at sea, &c., 47 Channing^ Dr.— on slavery and the annexation of Texas, 87 to 94 Chievru — obtains and disposes of the privilege to purchase and sell negroes, 18 CAm/tmi— condemnation of the, 49 Cigar» — manufacture and consumption of, in Cuba, 181 Clarence^ Duke q/^— advocates the slave-trade, 184 Clarkeofiy Mr, — successM efforts of, 185 Clay^ Mr.— on the slave-question, 186 Coartada — the term explained, 133 — ^remarks on the, 134 to 136 Cock-fighting — a source of revenue to Spain, 63 Coffee estatee— produce of, 172, 173 Colonisation — ancient and modem principles and policy of, U— commencement of, in Cuba, 50— remarks on, 67 Columbus — voyages of, to the New World, 10 — death of, 9 Commission Courts — establishment of, 29— number of slaves liberated by, 40— charges of, 46— reports of, 191, 196— estimated expenses of, 219 Compensation money — misapplication of, viii — ^xiv. Cortes, Spanish — Cuba deprived of representation in the, 66 Creo/e«^--disaffection of the, in Cuba, 56, 85 Crop 'time — hours of labour during — see Labour Cruising squadron — expenses of the, 46 Cuba — supply of labour in, viii — ^increase of slaves in, ix — alarm of slaveholders at, xv — compared with the West Indian colo- nies, xvi — ^probable termination of slavery in, xvii — data for present work on, whence obtained, 1 — population of, at diffe- rent epochs, 2 — ^proportion of sexes in the slave population of, 3— increase of slave population in, during fifty-two years, 5 — commerce of, with Africa, in slaves, 27 — slave- trade protected by the Spanish authorities in, 31 — ^yellow fever not confined to the coast of, 35 — slaves nominally eman- cipated in, re-sold, 39— violation of slave-trade treaties by Spanish authorities in, 41 — commerce of, 50 — increase of white population in, 50 — ^misery of the inhabitants of, and privileges granted to, 51 — ravaged and blockaded by the French, t^.— relieved by America, 52 — remittances to Spain, 53, 54, 58 — trade of, with the United States, 54 — duties on flour imported into, 55, 56, 57, 61, 62 — disaffection of the Creoles in, 56, 165 — extended trade of, 57 — sources and amount of the revenue of, 59, 196 — ^imports and exports of, 60 — duties collected in, 61 — ^taxation on white persons in, 63, 91 — cock- fighting in, a source of revenue, 63 — lotteries in, 64 — state of parties in, 65 — character and conduct of the people of, 69 to 71 —conspiracy in, suppressed, 71 — contemplated improvements INDEX. 247 of General Tacon in, 71 — advantages derived by, from the Americans, 8S— on the annexation of, to the United States, 85 to 96 — state of education in, 97 — teachers and schools in, 98 — cost of primary instruction in, 100 — literature, literary men, and ihe public press of, 106, 107 — connection of reli- gion with the State in, 108 — tithes established in, 112 — condition of slaves in, examined, 114 — agriculture of, 178 — cultivation and consumption of tobacco in, 179 to 182 — ^sugar and coffee exported from, 189 — slave-trade in, 191 Cubagua — expelled colonists from Cumana settled at, 9 Cuban commerce — origin, progress, and present state of, 50 to 58 Cumana — colony at, established by Las Casas, 9 Dartmouth^ Lord — despatch of, on the slave-trade, 227 Delmonte, Senhor Z).— on the population of Cuba, 2— on Cuban education, 97 Domingo, St. — ^population of, 4 — slavery abolished in, by the French Convention, 5 — the inhabitants of, request permissiou to introduce negro slaves, 15 Education— state of, in Cuba, 97 Emancipation — progress of, in America, 185 .Bmi^ra^ion— labour in the West Indies to be obtained by, xxii. Empreaa — ^number of slaves in the, 3 " Equipment clause — seizure of vessels under the, xxiii. Estates— svi^ax, 164, 169, 173, 177--coffee, 51, 172, 173— tobacco, 179, 180 Exports — to the West Indies, xiii. — duty on tobacco in Cuba, 189 — from Havana and Matanzas, 190— of sugar and tobacco from Cuba, 196 Fama de Cadix — a condemned slaver, 49 Farms — ^in Cuba, 178 Felipe, Marquis San — his estate at La Pita, 165 Fernandina, Count q/*— -conduct of, 146 — estate of, 177 Fernando, San — slave-dealers assisted by the bank of, 33 Ferrer, Ramon — ^put to death by the captives of the Amistad, 231 Firme — a slave-ship, her papers, &c., 34 Fletcher, Mr, — his life of Zimenes, 20 Flinter, Colonel — ^his work on Porto Rico, 38 Flour — Spanish and American, imported into Cuba, 55 — ^imposts on, 56, 57, 61--duty on English, in Cuba, 62 Forbes, Commander— on tiie slave-trade, 214 Free-trade— on the principles of, vii — extent of, xxii— early existence of, in Cuba, 50 GaWera—prisoners confined in, 77, 79. Gaol-rent — ^paid by prisoners in Cuba, 77 Garcia, J, C, — ^banished from Cuba, 76 Gavichi, Don — a celebrated violin player, banished, 77 Goderich, Lord — on West India distress, xii Goes, Chevalier — ^letter of, on the sale of slaves at Lisbon, 20 Great Britain — efforts of, to abolish the slave-trade, xviii, 183 — impolicy of, in neglecting to guarantee Cuban liberty, 84 — 248 INDEX. how interested in the annexation of Cvba and Texas to the United States, 90— subjects of, implicated in the alare-trade, 223, 225 — prohibition on the fdnctionaries of, 225 Gregoire, Abb^--hi» ** Apology" for Las Casas, 17 Grille* — a company of Genoese merchants, ooatnct to supply slaves to the Indies, 18 Guanabacoa — murder of a slave at, 146 Guinn — enormities on an estate near, 149 — descriptioii of, 156— statements of the alcadi at, 168 Havana — insurances at, for dealers in slaves, 33— number of slave- vessels cleared out from, 42 — schools in, 98 — news- papers in, 107 — colleges in, 107 — extinction of Jesuits at, 110 — treatment of a slave at, 152 — produce of an estate near, 177— exports from, 190, 196— slave-market at, 234 Henry y Infant Don — ^first employer of negro slaves, 18 Herrera— on the character of Las Casas, 10 — charges him with introducing negroes into the West Indies, 13 — inconsisteney of, 14 — on the proposal of Las Casas, 18 — on the slave- trade, 19 HotioreSf Los-eatate of, 173 Hothatn^ Admiral — ^his evidence on the slave-trade, 183, 203 Hume, Mr. — his remedy for the slave-trade, xix. Jackson, Lieut. — letter on the slave-trade, 213 JaffOf San, de Cuba — ^proclamation of the Spanish constitution in, 72 Jamaica — reports of the house of assembly of, x — memorial of the planters of, xi — ^insurrection in, xiii — wages in, ib, — ^number of negroes introduced into, 4 — grants of land to British subjects in, 226 — efforts of the house of assembly to restrict the introduction of negroes into, 227 Jerome, S. — the fathers of, accompany Las Casas, 7, note— demand black slaves, 21 Jesuits — extinction of, at Havana, 110 Kilbee, Mr. — on the inefficiency of the cruising system, and the increase of the slave-trade, 41, 42 — ^reply to Mr. Canning, 143 Kindellan, Brigadier-Gen. — conduct of, 70 Labour — assumed want of, in the West Indies, viii, xvi— -com- parative expense of free and slave, 36 — hours of, for slaves, 38, 132, 159, 164, 166, 172, 173 to 177 Ladinos — the term explained, 238 — ^improper application of, 239 Licences — to trade in slaves, 18 — issued by the Spanish Govern- ment, 20 Lindegren, Mr. — ^letter of, to Lord Aberdeen, 215 Lorenzo, General — prematurely proclaims the Spanish constitu- tion in San Jago de Cuba, 72 Lotteries — established in Cuba, 64 — ^prizes obtained by slaves in, how employed, 65 Lushington, Dr» — his evidence on tiie slave-trade, 203 INDEX, 249 Luzt Senhor de la^-on education in Cuba, 101 — estate of» at St. Anna, 164 M* Clearly Mr. — on slave-trade traffic, xxiii. IiPCleay, Mr, — his account of a slave-trading expedition, 34 Maehado — atrocious conduct of, 147 Madden, Dr.— evidence respecting the captives of ihe Amiatadt 233 to 242 Maldonado — his treatment of Las Casas; 10 Marryat, Mr,— on the state of the West Indies, xi. Maasourahf Senhor— ^tate of, &c., 169, 170 Matanzaa — ^murder of a slave at, 151— niescription of, 161 — exports from, 190, 196 Matilda — ^number of slaves in the, 3 Memoranda— -of slaves exported and imported westward from Africa, from 1788 to 1848, 199 Memorial--of the planters of Jamaica, xi — ^in favour of the Indians, to the king and also to the Council of Spain, by Las Casas, 6, 7— of the Portuguese on the seizure of their negroes, 20 Midas — slave-trade vessel, condemnation of, 49 Mier^ Dr, — ^his letter respecting Las Casas, 22 Mining Companiea — slaves employed by English, 206— impli- cated in the slave-trade, 223 Mieericordia, La — a slave-market at Havana, 234 Monies f Pedro — and the Amistad captives, 228 Montr eeor — a celebrated singer, imprisoned, 77 Nelson, Lord— on the slave-trade, 184 Olanda — conditions of slaves at, 157, 160 0*Reilly, Conde de — sugar estate of, 166 Orestes — a condemned slaver, 48 Ousely, Mr, — on the inefficacy of the measures to abolish the slave-trade, 45 Palmerston, Lord — ^his remonstrance to the Brazilian Govern- ment, 40 — extracts from his evidence on the slave-trade, 201 — circular of, to British consuls, 225 Paria — ^proposal of Las Casas to found a colony on the coast of, 8 Parliament — ^first efforts in, to abolish slavery, 183 — abolition of the slave-trade by, 185 Parliamentary Papers — on the penalties for dealing in slaves, 31 — on the profits of slave-trading, 34 — on slave-trade mor- tality, 47 — on slave-trading in Cuba and the Brazils, 191 — report of select committee on the slave-trade, .198 to 204, 209, 210 — on West Indian population, 217 — expenses of Commission Courts, 219 — ^retum of the number of ships and expense of the British cruisers, 221 — ^number of vessels employed by France and America to suppress the slave- trade, 222 — on the produce of sugar, &c., 242 Peelf Sir R. — effect of his free-trade principles and tariff, vii. Pennell, Mr, — on the public sale of slaves, 40 Phoenicians — colonial policy of the, 67 250 INDEX. Pita^ La — sugar estate at, 165 Ptectdo—the lamentable ftite of, 108 Pope — sUvery reported to be sanctioned hj the, 12-^iilian III. condemns slavery, 21 Population—of Cuba, 2— of 8t. Domingo, before the revolntion, 4 — of Jamaica, preyious to emancipation, 4 — increase of, in Cuba, 5— present amount of, 181 — of Matanzas, 162 — of Cardenas and St. Antonio, 163 — slaTe and free, ot America, 186--of Porto Rico, 215--of West Indies, 217 Porto Rico — slave and firee-trade in, 38— deprived of representa- tion in the Cortes, 66 — slavery in, 215 Preu — struggles for the freedom of the, in Cuba, 106. Principe — schools in, 98 Qidntana — his account of Las Cases, and quotations firom his works, 6 to 22 Railway t — in Cuba, 83 — fares on, and loans for, 156— to Bejucal from Havana, 163 Repartimientoe — origin of the, 24— share in the, renounced by Las Casas, 24 Ranaomer8 — proposition to establish, xx» Real Audiencia — regulations issued by the, respecting slaves, 127 Religion — state of, in Cuba, 105— evils of its connection with the State, 108 Retenue — ^remitted by Cuba to Spain, 53, 54, 58, 73 — sources of, in Cuba, 59 — amount of, in Cuba, 60, 196— derived from cock-fighting, 64 — ^from lotteries, ib. Robertson, Mr, — ^his opinions and misstatements respecting Las Casas, 9, 10, 14, 24 RuiZt Jose — account of, and the captives of the Amistad, 228 SacOf Senhor — inconsistent statement of, 5— on free labour in the West Indies, 35— on the revenue of Cuba, 59— ^qported by Gen. Tacon, 76 Sagray Senor—hii important statistical work on Cuba, 27 — ^his account of its revenue, 59, 62— on appropriation of tithes, 112 — on farms in Cuba, 179 Sola de cfM/tnccton^-^prisoners in the, 77 Santiago — condemnation of the, 49 Schools — at Havana, Cuba, and Principe, 98^-normal, at Cuba, 101 Segunda Maria — a condemned slaver, 48 SepulvedOt Dr.— on the character and principles of Las Casas, 11 — on the lawfulness of slavery, 11, note Sierra Leone — report of commissioners at, 191, 197 — Africans liberated at, 223 Slaves — increased importation of, into Brazil, ix — how paid for, xxiii — ^number of, in Cuba, 3 — ^proportions of the males to females, 4 — ^introduced into Cuba during fifty -two years, 5 — when first employed, 19 — ^public market for sale of, 20— the holding of, denounced, 23— commerce of Cuba, with Africa, in, 27 — duty on, per head, 28— ^treaties for prohibiting the INDEX. 251 trade in, 29 — ^penalties for trading in, 30 — agencies in London for dealers in, 32 — expenses and profits of dealers in, 34 — comparison between the labour of, and that of free men, 3&~- nominally emancipated, re-sold, 39 — sold by auction, 40 — mortality of, on board slave-trade vessels, 47 — deaths of, at sea, 48 — ^number of, embarked for Brazil in six months, 49 — their mode of employing lottery prizes, 65— attendance of, as servants, in schools, 103 — ^report of M. Tocqueville on the condition of, in Spanish colonies, 114 — ^present state of, 120 — ^in efficacy of regulations to protect the, 122 — on marriages among, 139'~the hours of labour of, 132, 159, 164, 166, 172, 173 to 177 — manumission of, by coartada, or part payments, 133 — estimated price of, 145, 213— cruel treatment of, 146 to 154 — condition of, in the Brazils, 155— on the estate of Cardenas, 166 — ^insurrection of, at Trinidad, 171 — ^number of, in America, the West Indies, Asia, and Africa, 187, 188— number of, from Africa, from 1788 to 1848, 199 — employed in mines, 208, 223 — efforts to limit the introduction of, into West Indies, 227 — sufferings and insurrection of, on board the Amistady 228 to 242. Slave-trade — probable duration of, in Cuba and the Brazils, xviii — result of British efforts to abolish the, xviii — Mr. Hume's panacea for the evils of the, xix — suggested mode of abolishing the, xxii-'-origin of, 19 — royal cedula for abolishing, 30 — ^protected by the Spanish authorities, 31 — increase of, 41 — expense of British efforts to abolish, 44 — progress of efforts in Great Britain to abolish the, 183— evidence before the House of Commons on, 183 — abolished by the British Parlia- ment, 1S5 — statistics of, in 1847, 188 — in Cuba and the Brazils, 191 to 195^— reports of parliamentary committees on, 198, 209 — address from Anti-slavery Society on, 211' — ^letter from Lieut. Jackson on, 213 — remarks of Com. Forbes on, 214 — Commission Courts, expenses of, 217, 219 — ^returns to Parliament of strength, amount, and charges of cruising squadron, 221 — vessels of France and America employed to suppress, 222 — history of the English, 226 — ^protected by the House of Commons, 226 Slave'Vessels^-captuies of, 48, 49, 197 Spain — ^treaties with, to be enforced, xxii — colonisation of Cuba commenced by, 50 — revenue of, from Cuba, 53, 54 — restric- tions by, on Cuban commerce, 57 — various crises in, 69 — favours the North American merchants in Cuba, 82 — ^nobility of, maintained by church property, 110 — royal proclamations of, 236 Stanley f Lord-^-on the West Indies, xiv. Steam engines — employment of, in Cuba, xv. Sugar — ^impracticability of re-imposing old duties on, vii— culti vation of, in West Indies, to be insured by emigration, xxii — estates in Porto Rico, 38— estates visited in 1837-9, 156 to 179— produce of, 173, 242. 2o2 INDEX. Syndici — or protectors of slaves, rules for the ^dance of, 127— when created, 128— conduct of the, 137 Taeon, Creneral — publicly denounces the slave-trade, but in private promotes it, 31, 32 — brochures respecting, 65 — policy of, in regard to San Jago de Cuba, 72 — state of Cuba, on his arrival, and his plans of improvement, 74 — persons deported by him, 75 — character of, 80 — treatment of slaves under his government, 146 Tanca, Senhor — ^his description of Gen. Tacon's prison, 78 Taxation-^in Cuba, 61, 97 I^xM—OTL the annexation of, to the United States, 88 Tithes — appropriation of, 112 Tobacco — cultivation of, in Cuba, 179 TocqucmlUj Motu. A, de — ^his report on the treatment of slaves in the Spanish colonies examined, 114 Tolme, Mr.— on the population, commerce, and agriculture of Cuba, 2, 3 — on slave-trade insurance, 33 Treaties — for abolishing slavery, 29 — violation of, by the Spanish, Portuguese, and Brazilian governments, 40 Tribunal ^ Commerce — its decision on the number of slaves to be allowed, 18 Trinidad — insurrection at, 171 Trist, Mr,-^-ojk the slave population, 3 — ^his policy in Cuba, 86 TSimbulli Mr. — visits Gen. Tacon's new prison, 78 — ^his work on Cuba, 149 JJbajai — coffee estate at, 173 Ulloa, Don A, — on the early West Indian colonies, 1 Umbelina — a condemned slaver, 49 Uva — ^produce of the, 172 Venezuela — British subjects slaveholders in, 225 Vives, General — conduct of, 71 Vuelto Arriba — the district of, laid out in tobacco plantations, 51 Wages — ^rate of, in Jamaica, xiii WaUh^ Dr. — on slavery in the Brazils, 155, note West Indies — state of British colonies in, previous to 1834, x— Lord Goderich on distress in the, xii— exports to the, xiii — importance of assisting the colonists in, xv — ^how that assist- ance may be rendered, xvii — early settlers in the, 1, 226 — arrival of Las Casas in, 7-*licence to introduce negroes into, recommended by Las Casas, 16 — census of population in, 217 — attempts to restrict the importation of negroes into, 227 Wilberforce, Mr. — attempts of, to abolish slavery, 183 Yellow fever — supposed locality of, and death of Irish and Grerman emigrants by, 35 ZimeneSf Carrftmi/— rejects the proposal for negro slavery, 18 — slave-licences said to be granted by, 20 J. Unw-ik, Grmham Steam Preu, 81, Bncklenbnrr, London. if!