Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-03-02

Guat OuC6 IeSOuuO6O Will LIS praises Oh q
most solemn and impressive service, squal.
lor and filth and beasts of burden now
contest priority Where high affairs Of
solid silver were are now the stables of the
poor. Where slaves waited once on roy.
atty, swine and cattle feed and sleep.
Half the houses are shops or stores OF
some kind. Most ssll only such stock
of fruits, vegetables, sugar-cane and char.
coal as can be packed upon and around a
medium-sized table. The larger stores
make dazzling display of gaudy colors,
and pile the whole variegated material on
hand upon circling shelves which open to
the streets. Each is variety store, and
most add assorted liquors to the rest
The commerce of the city GIBBS and flows
in pack saddles, and the diminutive DON
keys which are everywhere present re-
mind one constantly of patent office
models.
The population is for humanity what
Joseph's coat was for wearing apparel
| Indian, Chinese, negro of the coast, each
and all intermixed with Spanish, French,
English and Dutch, in all possible permu-
tations of each element, present popula-
ton which can be thought of with disgust
but cannot be described. There is the
same corruption of language, and the re-
suit is that there are no old families of
pure blood upon the island, and but few
members of any who speak pure langu-
age. There is no general intelligence, no
energy, no thrift-as these terms are I'M
derstood at home. The church has fallen
in all its features to the lowest levels OF
superstition. The men are stepped in
bigotry, but they do not attend the ser
vice, that is left to the women. The de-
gree of corruption to which the church
has been dragged downward is indicated
by the fact that indulgencies are granted
to such as apply. Those whose ideas OF
right and wrong are keen enough to srg-
gest q need for them are, however, from
the more superstitious class. All stores
are open on Sunday and business goes on
as usual. 1t is the day for games and
festivals, as in all Catholic countries.
Here the public taste runs to bull-hghts
and cock-fghting. And these amusements
in their most brutal forms appear to be
perfectly fair exponent of the savage
natures of even the most listless. Through
all the mixtures of race, the old pride and
love of fighting, and delight in the sight
of blood seems to have been not only tran
smitted, but intensified. The convicts
which first peopled this colony, and the
buccaneers who stamped their piratIcal
habits of thought and action upon it, seem
still to bear sway in their descendants.
The first cock fight, which occurred the
Sunday after the commission landed stag
gerred their faith in the desirability OF
adopting this people more than any little
thing which has happened. 1t began at
nine in the morning and lasted till dark.
The salient fact, however, was, that one
of the chief managers of the ring through
out was one of the three cabinet ministers
who. with President Baez, had formally
received the commission at the palace only
the second day before. This was the
minister of finance and secretary OF the
interior. 1t may be safely said that In
the role of cock fighter, including weigher
and spur-sharpener,h he did not remind the
the commissioners of any thing they reco'
lected of either Governor Boutwell, or Sec
retary Cox. This cabinet officer was ably
assisted in the weighing and sharpening
by the governor of tie province and ImllI-
tary commandment OF its forces. The crowd
was dense, and in its yelling OF bets copied
but exceeded the widest stock exchange.
The fighting was brutal, the crowd insist
ing that victorious chickens should be- al
lowed to pick the eyes cut OF the oppoh-
ents they had knocked over. And the
high officers joined with the rest IN de-
manding this. Every Sunday witnesses
suoh seena, and secures the same official
couutenance.
The commission is as busy as the enerv-
ating influences of the climate will allow.
It is working honestly, and seeking Tor
both sides OF the main question. Its mem
bers say they were advised by President
Grant that he was ready to drop the trou-
bleseme matter if a full and fair report OF
the situation made such course seem
prudent. Upon the question OF the IN
habitants desiring annexation, the com
missien has thus far found few who did
not say the large majority earnestly WISH
ed it. This unanimity, however, has
seemed suspicious to many OF the party );
and there can be no doubt whatever but
that it is produced in considerable degree
bv fear of the authorities. There are more
than a score of persons IN the castle Tor
talking in the towns, not against the gov
eminent, but against annexation; and the
yery general who led the revolution which
overthrew Cabral, and who at its close
himself CdilSd DatZ W tIS PLSckaShSs eAN
established him in power, has for SIX
months been a refugee under the protec-
ton of the British consul in this city, and
dares not step out of his door for fear OF
arrest. Bot many of the prominent cit1-
zens here, both in Office and out OF 1T, do
not hesitate to talk freely in confidence
when they feel that their names will not
become known to the authorities, as they
must if they talk before the commission
There are strong and absolutely certain
evidences that large and influential mi
nority is earnestly opposed to annexation,
Influential prospectively, in case OF
trouble. Aud this testimony comes from
men whose material interests all lie in
the direction of the change if it could be
peacefully secured. This they cannot
bring themselves to believe possible, aud
hence they do not desire to see the pro-
iect tried The chief reasons they give
for the opposition which exists, are the
fear of direct taxation, the rule of foreign
officers, the distribution of the patronage
among American politicians, and the
dread of competing with northern capital,
industry and energy. .z-.
OF the richness of the country and its
vast agricultural resources there can be
but one opinion. Though plantations are
in decay, and the wars and local disturb
ances have led to abandoning all but
patchwork cultivation merely to sustain
the life of family, still the island is ca
pable of being made as rich garden as
the world can show. Coffee, sugar and
tobacco might be produced in such guam
titles as the nation could not dispose of.
The question of labor, however, is
here indeed problem. Nor can it
be solved by any use of the native
population. There is an incidence, lam
guor, and wretched revealing in both,
that no earthly power can breathe life
into. All the natural luxuriance of the
tropics, and all the wealth that the tropics
can pour out for a nation, are here. 1t is
another thing to determine whether the
cost OF acquiring it will pay for the in
vestment The commission has not yet
nrooresaed far enough in it's work to al. |