The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-06-25
Slavery I'm Cuba.

From the London News, June OF
There are now at Southampton eighteen selfeman-
them, from the island Of Cuba. The adults were
kidnapped from Lagos and are now about to return
there. They were not all kidnapped at one time,
but became acquainted with each other in slavery,
part of Africa. The adults consist Of ten men and
eight women. Some Of the children are infants.
One Of the women has been in slavery thirtysix
years. Several of them have heard of their rela
Gently imported into Cuba from Arica. All the eman-
cipated negroes in Southampton speak Spanish.
They know little Of religion, although each one was
baptized in the Catholic faith as soon as they were
landed at Cuba. They do not know their own ages.
The husbands and wives have never been married by
any Christian rites, but having selected each other
in slavery they have remained true towards one
another since. Some Of them are good workmen,
hire. One Of them, tobaccoist, and good work.
man, used to earn eight dollars week, give his
master six, two dollars he kept himself to live upon
and tosave money to buy his freedom The person who
thing except main or kill them. In Cubathe price ut
which slave purchase his freedom is fixed by the
State and there greater facilities there for slave
obtaining his freedom than there are in America,
the negroes now in Southampton can read or write.
They paid about EGO piece to get to Southampton
from Havana, in West India packet, and they have
scarcely any money left. Mr.. Joseph Clark, MEM
Der of the Society Of Friends in Southampton, has
taken charge Of them in that towns and has collect
ed from day to day, amongst his friends funds for
their support, and is endeavOring to interest the
English government to send them to Africa free
They prefer going to Lagos rather than to Liberia
or Sierra Leone. They are very timid, and fearful
lest the ship in which they go ont to Africa should
be captured, and they be forced again into slavery
the and the Wei
and others had cruel ones, and were subjected to
much i'll usage. There are about eighty selfeman-
cipated negroes now in Cuba waiting opportunities
to reach this country, on their way TO Africa.
Continental India and Continental Europe.
Gen. Briggs has just published q" Comparative
View of the Population and Superficial Area of Con-
tinental India and Continental Europe within the
Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, exclusive Of Russia
and Turkey"
Continental India, says the General, exceeds in
population and superficial area that Of COntinen-
tai Europe, bordered on the three sides by the Bal
tic, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean seas. Its
vast population comprises thirteen nations speaking
different languages and with peculiar local usages
The religion Of the Hndus Is, like that of Euro
peans, based on one common creed, but 1t is also
subdivided into national schismatic sects.
The written code Of laws probably as ancient as that
of Moses, but much more in detail, Is everywhere
respected as the basis of their civil institut0ns but
In practice these laws have received local modi6ca
TONS and what is adopted by conventional usage by
one nation is no longer applicable to another, re-
moved at the distance of some hundreds or thou
sands of miles. There is a remarkable coincidence
In respect of language between India and Europe.
All the nations inhabtng the regions north Of the
Vindayan range of mountains, dividing upper from
lower India, speak dialects Of the Sanscrit Ian
guage, introduced from the conquering Hindus,
perhaps thirty-fve centuries ago; while, with
the exception of the Mahratta nation, all those
Of the south speak dialects of q language derived
from an aboriginal race of inhabitants anterior
to the HinduB conquest. So in Europe all the
languages north of the Alps with the exception Of
the French, are of Teutonic origin, while France
and the other Southern nations speak languages de-
rived from the Latin. With these facts before rs,
the Legislature has acted wisely IN retaining the
present system for the government of India, under
which 80 vast an acquisition has been made to the
British empire with comparatively little bloodshed
and which has been administered with certain de-
gree Of advantage to both countries The climate
alone must always deter Englishmen from settling
permanently in India If it were not already occupied
by dense and civilized population and while
America and Australasia are open to emigration the
notion Of colonizing India by Englishmen is out
of the question. The main utility of India to
England is in q commercial point Of view, and
our interest," is identified with its improvement and
prosperity. 1t must always be governed by means
of its own inhabitants, requiring sufficient European
supervision only to ensure the just administration OF
the laws, which Is best effected by training the En-
glish civil and military servants, from youth up
wards, to knowledge Of the language and the in
stitutons Of the people India not only pays Its own
the principal of which, howev err falls short Of three
years annual revonuo-a revenue which might
easily be doubled by that attention to the improve
ment of the country which it is duty to bestow
on it. When we are told that excepting in the ex-
IRENE north western provinces, there are scarcely
any permanent roads or canals for traffic; that the
art OF printing has not been introduced beyond
dozen towns; that the use Of pump is unknown
except in the government dockyards Of Bombay
and Calcutta; and that nearly nine years have
elapsed since the project of constructing railways
was entertained, and that only twenty miles have
yet been completed, we need not wonder that the
people ignorant, and the resources of the coun-
try yet to be developed But the attention late.
ly bestowed on the adjustment OF the land tax and
the formation of roads and canals in the Agra Pres
dcncy and in the Punjaub, affords hope that similar
improvements will be extended to the other parts of
India, and that the new constitution of the home
government viii lead to o better state Of things.
Much has been said Of late years Of the danger to
Indian possessions from Russian invasion. With
ordinary foresight and precantion we have nothing
to fear from that quarter, while Indian revenue
enables us to maintain a most efficient standing
army ia time Of peace, Of more than 100000 men,
which might, when required, be increased in a few
months to double that number. We need not appre-
bend external enemies in India our dangeriies at
doors hut bv a Wiae and inst internal adminjgra-