The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1855-02-18

ened him Of his wits the young princess used TO put
him Ia her bosom, like little bird, very much 10 hIs
alarm however for il would have been certain death
him If be had fallen from this perneoGs height Thus
understand the difference between the free negroes Of
Cuba and free negroes. OF course there are
among the white In Cuba many individual exceptions
which stand In bold relief from the free-negro
bat the remark make is nevertheless true IN reference 10
the Creole
To illustrate my meaning more fully take H. that the
Creole about equal to the Mexican be-
the Mexican and their free negroes is
abrupt line Of fdemarkaonthe state of things exists
in Cuba The freenegro stand In great degree,
upon equality with the Creole massesneither have any
political privileges. This equality, which have been
dwelling npon between the races is ostered by the Span
sh government great political idea TO check any
denotes the part Of the Creole to revolution In pur
OF this policy ia instances the free negroes
have had special and exclusive advantages Of schools
rages the encouraged and
what is striking fact STILL tree negroes have been
enrolled in the army taught the of arms and instruct
ed in military tactics while the Creoles have been
arly excluded from the From these various eonsid
eraons bat consider the free negro In
Caba most dangerous and not auguring well for the
institution Of slavery there Two hundred thousand Span
sh free negroesI They strike more like two hundred
thousand haft torches which single fnsss may light
up aud set the whole island in a fame any moment
When remember that il this free-negro race
under the workings of Spanish and French ideas which
upturned the entire social fabric in St Domingo, and
wreaked such infinite slaughter the white race my APP
prehensions from this not by any means dmin
shed Twenty thousand Spanish troops preserve the peace
the absence of standing army would the whites OF Cuba
be safe They would, | think, be sleeping vol
cano.
The element in the population of Cuba is the slaves
there four hundred thousand Of them These slaves are
Chrstanized, hunanzed OF civilized, TO the
extent slaves large portion of them have been
imported from Africa, and still half savage. They
cannot be relied upon for fidelity and loyalty
like the extent slaves Such the slaves Of
Cuba.
would refer briefly to some of the slave regula-
ons of Cuba BY the laws of Cuba every slave has the
right complaint OF isage every year, to hunt
purchaser and his is bound permit him to be alb
sent for sufficient time for that purpose When the slave
finds purchaser his is obliged sell him, not al
his price, but IN of disagreement between the
master and purchaser at price to be fixed by certain
public functonary The slave who change his master
when he peases is hardly slave be is almost Free In
popuous portions of Europe the free aborer has other
privilege OF freedom than the right TO change his employer
Not only has the slave right change his MASTER but he
has the right to buy HIMSELF and only the whole of
himself but any part of himself the one-fourth,
third onehalf of himself if he buys oneourth OF him
self then for three months every year he is free to work
for himself and do he pleases Every mother before
have the child declared free These facts full Of
meaning and they show how the Spanish government
keeps the African idea impending Cuba like por
enous cloud, which she flashes up intervals retain
dominion by the terror of its lurd gares
There another consideration this branch OF the
to which would allude: the slaves brought into Cuba
since 1920 Spain by treaty OF September 23 l8l7 in
sdeaton of 100000 paid by England engaged that the
slave trade should be abolished throughout the Spanish do
mnons from the Both May, 1920 BY the ordinance of the
King of Spain of December lslI is directed that every
African imported into any of the colonies of Spain in vo
ation of the treaty with England shall be declared free
BY the treaty between Great Britain and Spain of June 2s
1885, for the purpose of rendering the for abolish
ing the traffic in slaves eectua the slave trade is
again declared TO be totally abolished Yet in spite of the
treaties and ordinance eco q the King Of Spain Africans in
whom have consulted puts down the number of these A
rcans who called Boza negroes in the island at
wohirds of the entire number of slaves He says they
abound the rural districts and may beeas recognised by
their language and the marks of the tattoo. An nte-
gent Cuban has lately informed that nearly all the
slaves in Cuba Africans imported since 1920 and their
descendants that until recently it estimated the
tire slave population died every ten years Now,
wish to ask what would be the condition of this class if
Cuba annexed and they brought without any mod
hcatop of their condition by any supreme authority inter
mediate between the Spanish power and own, under
the influence of the law of federal government This
very question has already been decided by courts The
Supreme Court of the United States in the celebrated
of the Amstad Is Peters 593 sustaining the decision
the circuit court hold that hee negroes nnawuly
transported to Cuba in violation of the laws and treaties
of SPAIN and the most solemn edicts and declarations Of
that government BY those laws and treaties and edcts
the African slave trade is utterly abolished the dealing in
that trade is deemed heinous crime and the negroes
thereby introduced into the dominion of Spain de
clared TO be free If Cuba directly annexed from
Span without intermediate state of separate independ
in which fundamental law could be passed,
great difficulties might arise this point from the efforts
of the abolitionists.
The next item in the population is the white This
is estimated at six hundred thousand of which small
proportion European Spanards the residue Gre
olesabout equal class to the people of Mexico Now
these people be relied >upon to preserve sayery The
country being old settled country there would be,
have already said great tide of emigration from the
South; the comparatively few southern men who would
go there would be counterbaanced by equal and ad
verse emigration from the North The continuance of
slavery would therefore, depend the Creoes of Cuba
would consider this bad security. Slavery secure
where the masters inferior white There is
marked tendency in the Spanish Creole enancpa-
ton. This is owing to several causes:
lst The equality Of the two races They assimilate
without difficulty there is gulf between them. The
philosophy of African slavery in the superiority
the white race where this superiority is wanting there is
like house without foundation.
I'd The tendency Of the Spanish democratic idea is
urasm they carry liberty to the of anarchy.
Every Spanish revolution is socalistic revolution
3D. Their inability to govern themselves produces bloody
struggles the leaders in which seek the aid Of the slaves
Hence IT has resulted that the Spanish American colonies
who have for themselves though under Spain they
slave communities have all gone into emancipation
Have any right 20 expect anything more from the
Creoles of Cuba than the Creoes Of Central America
think not
From the rapid summary thus taken of the population
and institutions Of Cuba doubt whether Cuba would he
reliable upon the slavery issue Looking at the question
of annexation in ls bearings doubtexceedingly whether
il would be TO the interest Of the South annex Cuba now
il il could be done without money blood But
has any idea that Cuba be thus easily acquired the
present time.
There only modes by which Cuba could be ac-
quired, viz; /. BY purchase. 2 BY war 3 By treaty
with Cuba independent power.
The first method is imprac,cabe because Spain viii not
sell The recent debate in the Spanish Cortes sets that
point AT rest 90 further only Spain will NOT sell