The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-01
who occupies q chair in Central Park or

who occupies chair in Central Park or on the Malecon.
 The courts of the early city were not above corruption. It was common say Havana. for he had to pay so much in fees, etc, that even should the case be settled in his favor, he would already have spent more than 1t was worth buy ing the decision. The English Captain General during the ten months his people were in power. checked this and ordered that all cases should be settled with jus tice and with such brevity as the laws of the land permitted.
 The Inquisition existed in this island as well as in other Spanish countries. Auto de Fe possessions. terminating in the death or torture of some victim, were among the most interesting events of the early days. The accusation of so-called religious defection was more often than otherwise an excuse for political of- fense. The power of the Church. both temporal and spiritual, had been tremend- ous in the island. Even now. when its temporal power has departed, the head of the Church tries to believe that he holds the position his predecessors once did In the affairs of the people. He goes to meet the incoming high dignitary with the Gov ernment officials: he Is present to speed the departing one.
 In Its infancy Havana had trials from many sources, not the least of which were the attacks by pirates. As early as l55l the city had been laid in ruins and the pirate chief held the citizens in terror while his squadron lay at anchor In the harbor. Several heavy, hurricanes swep, the city, and a third trouble was from source which might seem trifling to those that have not had to deal with ants These little insects came in such numbers | that they were termed a plague, ana ., a special day was set apart, January Sl on which prayers should be said for de- liverance from them. Many housekeepers can testify that they still prove a grea' | burden. | courtyards: these have been ordered filled | by sanitary authorities, with few excep' tions. At first the wells supplied all Of the
 water to the city. In the poor district: | about the Belen Fathers, the people nae no wells and brought their pitchers anc buckets to the fountain In front or tn' monastery. In front of almost all churcn' | es were small open spaces. n which there were drinking fountains; these no longer exist. When the city grew older the ZauJs Real was dug This was large oper ditch which brought to the ctty the water from the springs near the headWaters ol the Almendarez. It had many prahcnes so that its-water reacled all parts o the city. Although no longer supplylns drinking water, it can be seen in various | places, while the main ditch still carries
 u heavy stream of water. At the tune tn'
 city was attacked by the English the wa ters were turned from their course to | flood the flats to the west or the cta walls, to impede the progress of the enem! | from that side. The city is now supplied | with delicious water from the sam' | springs, brought through ppes instead o | through an open ditch. ,..
 The better houses even in the early cit! were mostly of tiles and stones, and tn. | poorer ones on the outskirts were or straV | and guano. The latter were not only un
 slightly, but liable to destruction by hre In the eighteenth century Mercadere Street was he shopping thoroush1are and not the wholesale street 1t Is today Most of the people lived in the street
 running north and south. Until after tn
 middle of that century few of the street | had names, then those bestowed upol them were of prominent men or families for the most part; Ricla. Aguiar' O Reilly Chacon, Zuleta. Compostela, ana man.
 other names recall the men "no heiP0'
 to make Havana's history.
 Dorothy Stanhope.