Z050 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



dangers cncounlered on their jour- 

 ney, the Tiew of the face and pro- 

 ductions of the country they passed 

 through, and, finally, their reception 

 at the place of their destination, as 

 all well worthy tlie reader's atten- 

 tion. The description of the latter, 

 however, deserves particular no- 

 tice. 



" This morning, in company with 

 the superior, and attended by the 

 novices and myself, we went round 

 the presidency ; the corregidor, 

 fiscal, and others, escorting us. This 

 town is pretty large, and very regu- 

 larly built. The streets, which are 

 in the Roman style, e\act!y parallel, 

 are divided by plantations of trees, 

 thick set, oranges, lenions, citrons, 

 myrtles, of every various sort, and 

 scores of other odoriferous shrubs, 

 •which as you pass rt-gale the senses 

 most delightfully, and seem to give 

 one a foretaste of those blissful 

 regions where our religion tells us 

 ■we shall rest for ever. Little cur- 

 rents of the purest water run with 

 gentle ripplings underneath the trees, 

 over a smooth bed of small round 

 pebbles. The houses are mostly 

 built of clay, one story high, and 

 covered with tiles ; but the dwellings 

 of the commandant, corrigidor, fiscal, 

 and others of note, are higher, made 

 of brick, and fitted up with every 

 convenience. The public store-house 

 is in the centre of the town ; it is 

 one story high, very long and wide, 

 divided into .several apartments, so 

 contrived as to receive every dif- 

 ferent article for use or barter. For- 

 merly this storc.houfe was under 

 the sole regulation of the rector, 

 and by him only was the produce 

 portioned out to the different fami- 

 lies ; but now the Spanish coin- 

 mandant claims a share in the distri- 

 bution. HoM- far this may be pro- 



ductive of good I will not take upon 

 me to say ; but I will justgive you a 

 slight sketch of the Je&uits' manner 

 of regulating these matters when 

 they possessed an uncontrolled au- 

 thority. 



" All the product of the year, 

 such as corn, maize, fruits, wool, 

 and cotton ; all articles for barter, 

 and in fact every thing the district 

 atlordcd, was brought to these ma- 

 gazines, where proper officers were 

 appointed to receive them, who took 

 account of every particular, which 

 was registered, together ivith the 

 names of the persons who delivered 

 them, and the day. No individual 

 was allowed to keep any thing in 

 his own house save the necessary 

 quantity of corn, which on the firit 

 of every month was delivered to 

 each family in proportion, accord- 

 ing to the number of Avhich it con- 

 sisted ; and in the same miinner 

 they received all other kinds of pro- 

 vision. Every day a certain num. 

 ber of cattle Mere slaughtered for 

 the inhabitants, \\hich, when killed, 

 were taken to the store-house, 

 where the officers attended to de- 

 liver the stated quantity to the mas- 

 ter or mis'ress of each family ; and 

 if at any time they had occasion for 

 more than the general allowance, it 

 Mas immediately given them, but 

 nothing Avas suffered to be wasted. 

 In like manner they Mere supplied 

 M'ith clothes ; for all the cotton they 

 spun and movc, or 3t\y other article 

 which they manufactured — and they 

 always were, and are still, very in- 

 dustrious — was, as soon as finished, 

 taken to the public stock, and at 

 certain j)criods of the year every 

 family received its proper quantity 

 of apparel; and as the articles were all 

 M ithout distiiK'tion of one fashion 

 and colour, there could not postiibly 



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