Morning journal and courier., 1885-04-22

In one room there was a complete brass band. composed of members of the Spanish militia, who were under discipline for minor offences. One was youth with clear olive cheeks, deep liquid eyes, and arms spot less white as those of any aristocratic Spanish donna His singularly winning face fingered with me long time, and the pensive, liquid, almost wistful eyes haunt me still at times.
 In some of the rooms prisoners had been utilizing their spare moments in knitting
 tidy-work, or manufacturing larg, bottles, filled mysteriously with delicate ships and large fancy designs for sale Such
 thing would be the last thing tourist could
 carry away, but some of the crochet-work
 sold.
 Our philosophizing guide himself handed me this mute appeal, worked out laboriously in 'border of penmark scollery:
 "The way of the transgressor is hard!'' "Who giveth to the poor lendeth to God. 2 "Dear Kind Sir: If fortune would smile at me in this my abode of human misery,
 and should meet with a noble-hearted man that might take pity of my condition and
 help me with small gift, united with my thanks go those of desolate wife and child, that from this place I am striving to support, and my only reliance lays on the generosity of those that visit this institution.
 The everlasting gratitude is the only reward which can offer to you, dear sir. iVour humble servant, Victor Allenn I With the rest handed him some small scrip in parting, and then turning to our interpreter said: ''Do you know anything about this moralistsand philosophist of ours? I fancy he has 8 cunning eye." ''He ought to- was the reply.
 "Has he been a prisoner before this times'' ''To my knowledge he has sampled prison diet in Sing Sing, Albany, the Vermont capi- tai and New Orleans"
 What's he in here for now2" Breaking open church here one evening, stealing g, 900 worth of silver, and melting it up dur ing the night to elude detectionI"
 Deliver me from Cuban 'justice." I sup
 pose the handful of Spanish who run this
 military despotism here fancy it is the most enlightened government on the face of the
 eartn-as, indeed, they do complacently main
 tain; and that the system of justice here in vogue is the fairest and most advanced possi- ble. Yet here the prisoner is tried while in his own cell, there is no effective habeas pus law, no damages are available for false imprisonment, and the defendant has not the right to compel testimony in his behalf. The lack of any law granting compensation for false imprisonment is especially rank here,
 because there is almost daily use for such a law. man is arrested, kept in jail a month before he is acquainted with the nature of the offense for which he has thus been arrest ed, and then perhaps released without being informed at al, it having been developed in the meantime that someone else was the real culprit Such cases are not only ire quent here,-they are commonplace. Usually the Spaniards get off when it is a case of Spaniard vs Cuban, while the China men and negroes receive comparatively little favor. I could give instance after instance of the outrages perpetrated in the name of justice under this system which have been l brought to my notice. But you have only to conceive of corrupt yenal officials ad- l ministering such laws, and you can guess what the result is likely to be.
 The whole island is governed by ''decrees" of the captain general and these decrees often partake of the most offensive character, and
 descend into the most trivial matters without
 exciting any popular surprise. Groups of
 threes on the sidewalk may be dispersed,
 (this of course in order to gag revolutionary
 discussion). If you change your residence you must say so in report to the govern ment. Large social entertainments may only be held by governmental permission. If you pro- pose to give grand ball, you must first get permit. Your private letters are liable to be opened at the postofice if the government get whim that your correspondence may be interesting. So, also, the government re- serves the right to peruse all telegrams, and | will not send or receive cipher despatches except in the case of consuls of foreign coun- | tries.
 l One feature we might at least copy The
 pardoning power belongs to the King of l Spain, not to the captain general. Thus par dons are comparatively unknown.
 1 We wound up the day with visit to the largest cigarette manufactory in Cuba,-''or l in the world," added the man who showed us around, and had been almost transform
 ed into cigarette in appearance by his long
 connection with the business. Of course the
 establishment, like everything else here. was
 named, and f'La Honradez'' Honestly | was it's ambitious title. In the office was
 the coat of arms belonging to the establish | ment. We went through the various rooms, where curious little Gattling- guns were shoot l ing out the machine made cigarettes in quite l military style. Then there were other rooms
 where delft fingered Chinese were preparing
 the handmade goods to suit the prefer
 ences of certain fastidious class of custom Owing to our improved machinery" said
 one of the proprietors, ,,we only employ | about 150 hands. We used to employ as | high as nearly 1000. We turn out 400, ,O0(
 cigarettes per ordinary day. EMILE.