SPANISHTOWN. 



31 



presumes to expect from it the same indulgence to their 

 laziness which is safely reckoned upon, from every other 

 style of conveyance. 



Spanishtown is one of the oldest places on this continent. 

 It is supposed to have been founded by Diego Columbus, 

 the brother of the discoverer, in 1523. No one visiting 

 the place at this time, will dispute its antiquity, nor expe- 

 rience much difficulty in believing that all the houses at 

 present standing, were built before Diego left the island, so 

 old and ruinous is their general appearance. 



The Governor's residence is here ; here the Parliament 

 holds its session uniformly, and the superior courts occa- 

 sionally ; and here are the government offices and public 

 records. The occupants of these public buildings and the 

 persons employed about them, represent the wealth, intel- 

 ligence and industry of the city. I did not see a store in 

 the place, though there may have been one or two per- 

 haps ; it has not a single respectable hotel, nor did I see 

 a dray-cart, or any similar evidence of activity and thrift, 

 although a population of 5,000 people is said to be lodged 

 within its precincts. The city is supported mainly out of 

 the public treasury. Those that have anything are gene- 

 rally connected in some way, directly or indirectly, with the 

 public service, and those that have not anything, wait 

 upon those who have. 



The public buildings form a quadrangle, one side of 



