North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1852, 1851-05-07
TIE ISLAND OF CUBA.

o,,roested to the Washington Telegram" ',"
account of it would be interesting to 'ne" ~,
roo of ito columns for the beneht oil ours. nc
-;, &c crh. IN our territory, and the Value OIL
ID tho commercial advantages which
our people would derive from lis a"neAoNoN' ma
N' :. =. - ,ooarded by some of them as prize
l. ron: and the only question with them
''"' ' -.a,ner in which that desirable end is to
..oined We trust, however, that 1t never will
~ .ttemnted by other than honorable means; that
ihar ambition nor cupidity shall urge our citizens
. tho violation of international law and good faith in
,ha rrenses and that the distinction between the
N.,amatic invasion of the peaceful territory of a
cona,v nation, and thu rendering disinterested aid
neonle endeavoring by revolution to effect their
Ethical emancipation, may be strictly observed.
!, cnba is the largest and most important of the
,,-os, India Islands. 1t is situated between the Sc
on,y-f fourth and eighty-fifth degrees of longitude
,,est from Greenwich, and the nineteenth and TWEEN
" h;rd DEGREES of north latitude. II is about seven
tnJred miles in length, and seventy in breadth; and
S"tains together with its dependencies, 32,sO7
,are miIes-beng nearly equal in extent to Great
1Si;a;n II commands the entrance to the Gulf of
Mexico, whence it has been calico the key OF the
w., I,dias. The climate is delightful, and very
I,hu FIR which reason it is quite resort for in
Ills Even on the top of the Grande Antlla, the
hiof ranGe of mountains running through the MD
A. f the island from end 10 end, there has scarcely
ovsr beeu ice, and then only few lines thick. The
essaooS are not Distinguished summer and winter,
So, a. the wet and the dry; though the periods at
h;cb thew begn and end are not very well Defined
r%S rsinv season generally begins in May, but some
,itnes in April, and occasionally not till June.
%be soil of Cuba is very fertile, but, as in other
,ncaI countries the people too lazy to cultivate
:, r. anv great extent. The chief agricultural pro-
ductons are sugar, coffee, tobacco, manloc, maize,
and mosquitoes The work on the plantations is
done almost altogether by negroes, whose condition
n far worse than that of the slaves In our country
'rbe whiuping-post is in constant use. AS an In
tanca Of the great fertility of the soil, Turnbull
states that in the district of Sagua la Grande,
cnbaAerin of land, which is nearly equal to thirty
,bres acres has been known to produce 100000 lbs.
of The fair coored muscovado sugar OF that country
being nearly equal four mod crate sized hogsheads
ner acre. What would this DE i'll the hands of eX-
perenced planters
IRON and coal mines, which would be very produce
tive if well worked. Small quantities of gold and
silver have also been found. Since the introduction
of bees, about sixty years ago, honey and wax have
formed important articles OF trade. Manufactures have
been much neglected
OF domestic animals, the OK, the horse, and the
pig are the most useful, and form large part of the
wealth of the land. The oxen numerous that
1nany of them have wild; and they are hunted
for the sake of their hides and tallow which
TO Spain OF domestic fowls, the cock and hen are
the most numerous; houSn Inc goose, turkey, pea
cock, and pigeon we'll known. There are many !
fine turtles on the shores of the sland, from which
the best of torlOse-shelS made. Fresh fish, of
various kinds, abound. Snakes and other reptiles |
are not numerous, but noXious insects Of all kinds
are found in large numbers.
The island is divided into several distinct JurISdc
tons, civil, judicial, ecclesiastical, and military. The
civil jurisdiction consists of Two provinces, with two !
distinct governors, entirely Independent OF each 9TH
er the supreme military chief the whole island, |
81, hnIT1 tho
governor of the province only, called San Girls
tobal de la Havana! while the other, Santiago de
uba has separate governor, who, in affairs purely
political civil, is not in any way subject to the
Captain General. Besides, the island is divided in
10 three military divisions, whose chiefs take their
orders from the Captain General. AT Matanzas,
Trinidad de Cuba, Puerto Principle and Cienfuegos,
there also officers with the title of governor
ed by the Captain General whose Office is of judi
ciaI nature, extending to disputed points of every
sort, civil, criminal, and military. Subordinate to
these are eight lieuienances. The Captain General
has appellate jurisdiction in military matters. Ia the
cities and towns there also municipal bodies,
called GymnhanientOS perpetsoS, perpetual unions
and In the rural districts, jueceS Pedane0s, petty
judges, who named by the local governors. These
exercise both judicial and ministerial functions. The
Captain General presides at the meetings of the Ha-
1aua Union consisting of twelve members. The
chief secular tribunals of Havana are, FIRST, that of
he captain general, who has, in military matters, an
'ors, who likewise exercise the duties of the civil
The tribunal of the ordinary acaldes
las also cognIsance in the first instance of civil and
military disputes. The union has also certain ju-
llcIal jurisdiction. There is, besides, commercial
tribunal, whose Jurisdiction extends only 10 meTcan
lie affairs. The judges of the island all paid by
ees instead of salaries. The judges fees depend on
heir rank, and the number and length of their sitt-
ngs they are, therefore, remarkably sedentary
Judicial proceedings, on the continent of Europe,
in VVrItIn DIDn nj 1InU
md trial by jury being alike unknown. The lawyer
S paid according to the number of pages he writes;
ong pleas are, therefore, by no means uncommon.
ne sutor In Cuban Court cannot move step
Without paying lee to judge, lawyer, clerk, inter-
prefer crier.
Some attention has been paid to education by the
government but those under whose direction il has
een placed, have not accomplished much. In 1910
here was &c., 99 free children in the island between
ne ages OF hve and ten, of whom only tenth
ent to school.
There is no such thing as liberty of the press in
juba. Everything is subjected to the strictest CEN
orsnlp. In the year 1887 there were eight newspa-
'ers published In Cuba, Of which four were dailv
During the constitutional crisis in Spain. when the
censorship was, for time, suspended, a number of
papers win tie most singular names, which are some
ndex 10 the opinions and wishes of the people we've
started at Havana such as, The Constitutinn.i Til;
Or, The Roars of an African Lion brilliant S,roEas
II tyranny, The Mosquito, The Fly, The Wasp.
The Skif, &c.
Authorities differ as to the population of Cuba
According to the of 1927, which is we believe
he last that has been taken, the population was
73O,562. Of this number the whites amounted to
Bill O5l, the free negroes 75I4, and the free peo
pie OF color, not negroes, 1880. The number of
slaves was 2S6942, of whom 1873, 290 Were males
and lO3,652 females. Since 1927 the population has
greatly increased, is shown by the amount of i'm
ports since them and the constantly increasing pro-
duet'Ons of the island. The population at present
amounts, probably, to about 100000.
lhe trade of Cuba is excellent. Its situatan, the