PRELIMINARY ESSAY. 73 



merly co-equal with, are now subject to the captain- 

 general ; and the authority of all the local organiza- 

 tions has been greatly reduced, so that the governor 

 of Cuba now holds the most completely centralized 

 and irresponsible power in the New World. 



General Concha's first care was to endeavor to 

 calm the public mind, and to reassure it of the 

 safety of the existing social institutions. In this he 

 in a great measure succeeded ; but as none of the 

 measures instituted by General Pezuela have been 

 rescinded ; as the black and mulatto troops have not 

 been disarmed, but have been made a permanent 

 corps of the Spanish army; 1 and as no arms have 

 been returned, or allowed to the white inhabitants, 

 a jealous feeling of insecurity pervades the minds of 

 all reflecting men in Cuba ; and the general impres- 

 sion is, that the new policy has only been delayed 

 to be renewed at a more opportune moment. Before 

 contemplating the possible future of the social ques- 

 tion in Cuba, we will present a few considerations 

 upon the composition of the two unmixed races. 



The black population of Cuba is composed of the 

 negroes born in the island, and a large number 

 which have been imported from the Gold coast, the 

 country around the mouth of the Congo river, and 



General Order, 7 th August, 1855. 

 4 



