The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-06-09

master and slave. No slave can be nogged
with more than twenty-five lashes, by the mas
ter's authority. If his offence is thought greater
than that punishment will suffice for the pub
lie authorities must be called in. A slave
mother may buy the freedom of her infant, for
twenty-five dollars. If slaves have been mar
ried by the church, they cannot be separated
against their will and the mother has the
rightto keep her nursing child. Each slave Is
entitled TO his time on Sundays, and all other
holidays, beyond two hours allowed for neces
sary labor, except on sugar estates during the
grinding season. Every slave born on the
island is to be baptized and instructed in the
Catholic faith, and to receive Christian burial.
Formerly, there were provisions requiring re
ligious services and instruction on each plant
alton, according to its size but believe these
are either repealed, or become a dead letter.
There are also provisions respecting the food,
clothing, and treatment of slaves IN other re-
spects, and the providing of a sick room, and
medicines, &c.; and the Government has APP
pointed magistrates, styled Sindicos, numerous
enough, and living in all localities, whose duty
it is to attend to the petitions and complaints
of slaves, and to the measures relating TO their
sale, transfer, or emancipation.
4" As to the enforcement of these laws, / have
little or no personal knowledge to offer but
some things, think, | may treat as reasonably
sure, from my own observations aud from the
concurrent testimony of books, and of persons
of all classes with whom have conversed.
"The rule respecting religion is so far OBJ
served rs this-that infants are baptized, and
all receive Christian burial. But there is no
enforcement of the obligation to give the slaves
religious instruction, or to allow them to attend
public religious service. Most of those in the,
rural districts see no church, and no priest,
from baptism to burial. If they do receive.
religious instruction, or have religious services
provided for them, it is the free gift of the
master.
Marriage by the church is seldom cele
brated. AS in the Roman church marriage ia
a sacrament and indissoluble, it entails great
inconvenience upon the master, as regards
sales or mortgages, and is a restraint ON the
negroes themselves, to which it is not always
easy to reconcile them. Consequently. mar
riages are usually performed by the master only.
and of cours; carry with them no le9al riohts
or duties wen this imperfect and dissolnble
connection has been but little attended 10.
While the slave trade was allowed. the planters
supplied their stock with bOzales, NATIVE Az
ricans, and paid little attention, even on eco
nomi, principles, 10 the Improvement or. sneak
ing Alter the fashion of cattle-tarms. TO the IN
erase OF the stock on the plantation. Now
IT,, labor n
IN demand, their attention is more tueDod N
their own stock, and they are beoinnir,, "a
learn, in the physiology OF increase. that canon
which the Everlasting has fixed against pro.
miscuOus intercourse.
The laws respecting valuation the nurcbase
OF freedom at once or by the in.,,lmcn,s. and
the compulsory transfer, know D. B.. - active
operation III the towns, and on plan ms af
lordlnS easy access to towns or Inspi,tr,,ses.
heard frequent complaints from sls ,eholders
and those who sylnnpil,;yoI - - 49,
The operation OF these provisions. A lady Iu
Havana had q slave who WAS an excellent
cook and she had been offered 81 200 for him,
and refused it. He applied for valuation for
the purpose of transfer, and WAS valued AT
: 900 as laborer, which, with the 500 for
his trade, made loss to the owner of 5000
and, Az no slave can be subsequently soil fora
larger sum than his valuation, this provision
gave the slave capital of 5000. Another in
sance was of "A planter near MatanLas, Who
ma slave taught us IL carpenter but after
learning his trade, the slave got himself trans
ienedto IA master in the city, for the emporium
ty OF working ONT his freedom GA holr4uvs ana
IN extra iours. 81 general is "a, cniyrc1uent
ct these re,visions, that it is said tu have Va
suited IN refusal OF many masters Ia teach
their slaves any art or trade, and in the hiring
o! inc laDOr of artisans of all sorts, and the
conhnlng OF the slaves TO mere manual labor
| heard of complaints Of the conduct of indivii-
uals who were charged with attempting to in
tuence the credulous and too ready slaves 90
agree to be transferred to them, either to graft
fy some ill-will against the owaer, or for some
supposed selfish interest. From the frequency
of this tone of complaint and aneclote. as well
rs from positive assertions on good authority,
| believe these provisions 10 have considerable
efficacy.
"As to tho practical advantage the slaves
can GO: from these provisions In remote places
and as to the amount of protection they get
anywhere from the special provisions respect
ing punishment, food, clothing, and treatment
generally, almost everything lies in the region
Of opinion. There is no end to statement and
anecdote on each side. If one cannot &c. IA
full and heightened personal experience, not
only as the guest of the STAKEHOLDER but as the
companion of the local magistrates, OF the lower
officers on the plantation, of save.dealerS and
slave-hunters, and of the emancipated slaves,
advise him to shut his ears to mere anecdotes
and general statements, and to trust tn reason
able deductions from established facts. The
established facts are, that one race. having ali
power in its hands, holds an inferior race ia
Slavery; that this bondage exists in cities, IN
populous neighborhoods, and in remote DIS
trcts that the owners are human beings, of
tropical races, and the slaves are human beings,
just emerging from barbarism and that 10
small part Of this power is exercised by low
lived and low-minded class of intermediate
agents. What is likely to be the effect on all
the parties to this system, Judging from all we
know of human nature
"If persons coming from the North are credu-
lous enough to suppose that they will see chains
and stripes and tracks of blood and if, taking
letters 10 the best class of Shareholders seeing
their way of life, and hearing their dinner
table anecdotes, and the breakfast-table talk of
the ladies, they find no outward signs of vio-
lence or corruption, they will probably, also,
he credulous enough to suppose they have seen
the whole of Slavery. They do not know that
that large plantation, with its smoking chin.
neys, about which they hear nothing, and
which their host does not visit has passed 10
the creditors of the late owner, who is bank
rupt, and is in charge of - manager, who is to
get all he can from it in the shortest time, and
to sell off the slaves as he can, having no inter
est, moral or pecunlary, in their future. They
do not know that that other plantation, belong
ing to the young mau who spends half his time
in Havana, is an abode Of RIGHTEOUSNESS and
cruelty. Neither do they know that the tall
hounds, chained at the kennel of the house,
they are visiting, are Cuban bloodhounds,
trained to track and to seize. They do not
know that the barking last night was a pur
and capture, in which all the white me,
place took part; and that for the ~
men Of the plantation have hsri
of detective and protect
not know that III
there yesterd~
like, and
is