18 



NARRATIVE OF A 



Island of Cuba, held the office of "Asistente," or Captain 

 General, of Seville, one of the most distinguished posts 

 under the Government of Spain. He accepted his new- 

 command with reluctance, and under certain conditions, in 

 virtue of which he was invested with powers superior to 

 any conceded to his predecessors. One of these powers 

 was that of suspending the execution of any Royal order, 

 or mandate, addressed to him from the Court, which, in his 

 opinion, might be inexpedient or injurious to the interests 

 of the nation,* and even of superseding the tribunals in the 

 administration of justice, in cases of emergency. These 

 powers, invidiously denominated facultades omnimodas, 

 or discretionary powers, were decried by some as favorable 

 to despotism, and approved by others as justified by the 

 demoralization of the people, the corruption of the public 

 officers, and the general circumstances of the Island. 



The General, it must be allowed, availed himself, to a 

 tolerable extent, of the latitude granted him. There cer- 

 tainly were many reforms to make, and many abuses to 

 correct. In the judicial and financial departments, a spirit 

 of venality prevailed which was a disgrace to the country. 

 The city was infested by a swarm of vagabonds, gamblers, 

 and bravos. Twelve thousand individuals were said to 

 exist in it without any certain or honest means of subsist- 

 ence ; robberies, and even assassinations, were committed 

 in open day ; the collection of payments in specie could not 

 safely be effected without the protection of armed men ; 



* The privilege of suspending the execution of a Royal order, is often 

 exercised by the military Governors and the higher officers of the Govern- 

 ment, even when not expressly granted. The form used in such cases, is 

 to write on the margin of the order, " Se obedece, pero no se cumple 

 i. e. the order will be obeyed, but not executed. This practice, singular 

 as it may seem, is not without its good effects. At the commencement 

 of the present struggle between the Carlists and the partisans of the 

 Queen, in Spain, the former forged an order from the War Department to 

 an officer commanding a fortress, for the delivery of the place to another 

 officer who was in the Carlist interest. The order was obeyed in the 

 manner just described, and the fortress was saved. 



