®rig id Cubit an^ tin ^aui\txn ^hits, Bo* 7. 



A pleasing land of drowsy-head it was, 



Of dreams that wave before the half shut eye ; 



And of gay castles in the clouds that pass, 

 For ever flashing round a summer sky. 



Castle of Indolence. 



HE despotism exercised in this island, cannot enter fully 

 into the conception of a free citizen of the United States. 

 The only recompense ever received, has been the title of 

 " ever-faithful," bestowed by the sycophants of royalty. 

 The army of twenty thousand foreign troops quartered 

 here, to prevent insurrection, is an incubus upon the na- 

 tive inhabitants which they feel most sensibly. But in 

 addition to this enormous expense, millions upon millions 

 of revenue are collected and sent to Old Spain, to satisfy 

 the rapacity of queens and courtiers. Every barrel of 

 flour not smuggled pays an entry duty of ten dollars, if 

 it does not come from Spain ; the quality of the latter is 

 so inferior as not to be relished by the better classes, 

 while the duty on it also prevents its use among the common people. The favor 

 or the enmity of a Governor-General (who is almost an irresponsible king), makes 

 or ruins the fortunes of families ; he may imprison, hang, or expatriate, all whom 

 he says he even suspects. Mr. Ballon, in his interesting History of Cuba (pub- 

 lished lately in Boston), says : — 



" Cuba is permitted no voice in the Cortes ; the press is under the vilest censorship ; far- 

 mers are compelled to pay ten per cent, on all their harvest except sugar, and on that arti- 

 cle two and a half per cent. The island has been under martial law since 1825 ; over 

 $23,000,000 of taxes are levied ui)on the inhabitants, to be squandered by Spain. Ice is 

 monopolized by the government ; flour is so taxed as to be inadmissible ; a Creole must 

 purchase a license before he can invite a few friends to take a cup of tea at his board ; 

 there is a stamped paper, made legally necessary for special purposes of contract, costing 

 eight dollars jier sheet ; no goods, either in or out of doors, can be sold without a license ; 

 the natives of the island are excluded entirely from the army, the judiciary, the treasury, 

 and the customs ; the military government assumes the charge of the schools ; the grazing 

 of cattle is taxed exorbitantly ; newspapers from abroad, with few exceptions, are contra- 

 band ; letters passing through the post are opened, and purged of their contents before de- 

 livery ; fishing on the coast is forbidden, being a government monopoly; planters are for- 

 bidden to send their sons to the United States for educational purposes ; the slave-trade is 

 secretly encouraged by government ; no person can remove from one house to another with- 

 out first paying for a government permit ; all cattle (the same as goods) that are sold must 

 pay six per cent, of their value to government ; in short, every possible subterfuge is resorted 

 to by the government oflicials to swindle the people,* everything being taxed ; and there is 

 no ajipeal from the decision of the Captain-General !" 



He continues further on, thus : — 



" If it were possible to contemplate only the beauties that nature has so prodigally lavished 

 on this Eden of the Gulf, shutting out all that man has done and is still doing to mar the 

 blessings of Heaven, then a visit to or residence in Cuba would jjresent a succession of un- 

 alloyed pleasures equal to a poet's dream. But it is impossible, even if it would be desirable, 

 to exclude the dark side of the picture. The American traveller, particularly, keenly alive 

 to the social and political aspects of life, appreciates in full force the evils that challenge 

 his observation at every step, and in every view which he may take. If he contrast the 

 natural scenery with the familiar pictures of home, he cannot help also coutrasting the 



No such pxtont of taxation as is now onforcod in CuVia, was ever known or heard of before in any 

 Id ; and no comniuuity relying solely on the products of its own labor, could possibly exist uud 

 Alexander II. Everett. 



