The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-04-02
DISSERTATIONS ON cuBA
IFron tho Richmond VA Iudaz, Aprl ~


IFron the Richmond (ya) Index, April Al
II may turn from the charnel house to peasanier
and mole inviting phase OF humanity, would com
meDt the charities which 20 be found la active
aud extensive operation the island One institution
for the iOundng aud orphan called the Benvecena is
not only Of the very largest but OF the best
ranged Of ali Of the various institutions of this kind which
be found la the great cities Of the world its in
mates to cared for aud its value Is recognised by
every The hospital for epers-an incurabe dsor
der peculiar in hot olinatesno the syrian leprosy but
the offspring of constitutional syphilis-is very Judi
ciously managed, and literally attended 10 besldes all
other public Institutions OF charitable character abound
not only at Havana but in some other parts of the
island On every Friday, at every door ia Havana the
knock of the wooden box from the Hospital OF the Iepers
is heard and careful many of the bousekeepers that
bread ond meat such other offerings they intend
this object carefully laid at the door Who
with his horse, regularly for these gifts Some Of
the wealthy in Havana have day OF week
which they distribute charity TO the poor We may look
with horror much that marks the Spaniard throughout
the world, cruel tyrant but there many soft
points ia his heart and in much that he does we must
sec the gentier and humane portions of nature
showing themselves in generous contributions the suf
ierings OF Others. Whether do them justice in
Cuba Is questionable. Within eighty miles of
coast exclusive in their religious worship, despotic IN
their government restrictive in their commerce. adverse
to progress in any of their systems Of agriculture
mechanism, exactiag, and refusing 10 in
ca intercourse the usual credit and confidence that
awarded to by other nations and in intercourse
with each other real aversion TO be natural TO
MS, for the exploded and WORKOUT and stand still
fogysm in everything, that ready before any
thing is said or done, approaching the island
of Cuba, to find fault aud to condemn AT the
bottom of these sentiments is our envy and lust
for the proprietorshp of the Queen of the Antilles
We have been SO long accustomed to regard all
other nations in merely their horn books on the sub
ject of government and liberty that finding the Cubans
within eighty miles of us, far away from the moorings
which ship of State has that we are taken down
in nIfrpx nfn and
progress have made in converting the world into
publicswhere the chaunt of liberty, equality and fra
terny may be heard on every breeze and uttered by
every tongue The hospitality of the people in the
country is general that every who is travelling
through any part OF the island is welcome guest
every mans houseso universal IS this custom, that
country hotel Is not To be found True the intercourse
B not much. the roads being indifferent and the going
and coming from part of the island to the other
little that houses of entertainment not necessary
as with us, where every man Is traveller The want of
cleanliness and decency to tho person well the
houses OF the inhabitants, Is general to indicate
great caelessness and Incidence with all classes The es
tates not comfortable the spreading palm the
blooming flowers, the fragrant breezes would warrant
in expecting sH" q aas d
In many characteristics tile Cubans may be said to
initiate the French but the of French comfort and
sprightness is too apparent to deceive whilst ind
ference to the culinary department of life through
every condition Of society Poor meats, dirty apart
ments indifferent dinkables are universal In Havana
good bread Is general but in the land of sugar and coffee
the best of neither be had The sovenly ignorance
of all who make these essential ingredients to decent
existence avos every mouthiul of the beverage which
in Paris Is half of ones breakfast and in the United
States the constant drink of all of our people In
$40 the relations Of the several grades Of the nhabi
tants stood in the singular position of being divided into
free colored slaves and free white almost exactly equal
say of whites 80 5l2 free colocd SO SS4 and slaves
SO, 1874 In 1927 it stood whites 81 l. 05l free color
ed, LOG 494 slaves, 2s7 942 and by the last returns
for 1853 is whites SCI 693 coIored free 2Ig ITO
and slaves &C.,, 599 Ii will thus be seen that the
relations have changed between the free colored and
whites from Is 10 up to 1927 in very singular and
markae way and that throughout the whole time slaves
have gradually gained on the whites and at the present
time outnumber the free colored population by three
times. These figures nnquestonably indicate very
great demand for negro labor aud what is certainly
very large addition to the wealth of the people for if in
1910 the whites owned each negro and at the present
time they the of and say half we have
the result that each has added so per cent to the
labor of the island well increased the arabic land
by the figures But in 1910 $500 each was high
estimate of the negroes now 5000 would be fair val
uaton of the negroes producing very great elevation
in the aggregate wealth of the population In other
words Sl2 900 900 would have paid for every negro
the island in 1910 in 1855 it would have required
1896 $3.50 l00 say six hundred millions of dollars pay
for the slaves in Cuba So great advance in property
SO large accumulation Of wealth In single article is
stupendous, and far beyond any similar result the
face of the globe ss $50 A
Let those who have been in the habit of looking to
Yankccdom and to England for great accumulaons Of
wealth study these figures and work out these deductions
in their wild, dreamy hallucinatons respecting the
wealth of the manufacturing districts the value Of
the institution of manufactures to Gnnntry. We
deduce any such results in the American slave States
because statistics imperfect, and merged
up with each other to render deductions deceptive
But here is single item, and the sum is very simple
one But great and splendid es this is what would
have been the fcs IT, instead Of Spanish sluggshness,
American activity could have welded the destiny Of the
island and republican laws and habits have controlled
that powerful fulcrum amongst mankind the dstribu,
ton OF the taxes levied on labor
p,1E uUL