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Show 212 CUBA· 11 1 .. and finally, Tacon's prison, which lepers of a co Ol s • . . . . 1 . 1 t hundred cmumals-one s1de of was filled w1t l CJg 1 the bm. ld.m g be ·m g ap propriated to. blacks, the other to wh1. tes. Thc w h1't e, population of Cuba, as compar.e d to the bl ack ' I.S sai'< l to be as one huntl.r cd and thirty to one h un d I.e d . In the prison, the side allotted to the w h1. tes app eared to be the more crowded of the two. The pri soncrs work on the roads and br.e ak stones; but when not at work arc locke~! up n1ght an d d ay, 1· n large companies, and arc> left to them- seI ves to gro'V 'vorse 'a nd worse, corrupted, ami cor- I ruptm· g one another· Within the walls we observed a ·1 rum-sh op, Whl.ch c'a nnot fail to accelerate the <l.e ge- nerat·m g proc ess · We sincerely f.e lt for an Ame.r ican capta·m wh o was shut up with th1s ruffian multitude. He was once much respected, but had been convict.ed of secreting money on board his vessel, ~nd_after SIX· teen months of previous improvement (owmg, I be· lieve, to his own wish to delay his trial) had ~een sentenced to be imprisoned here for six years. Mig~el de Cabrera kindly undertook to lay his ease before the Queen of Spain : and we hope, no~withstanding his acknowledged guilt, he will soon be hberated from his present m1. sera ble a1 1 o t men t · The whole scene afforded glaring evidences of the low, and even d.es· perate state of morals in this slave trading commumty. In the afternoon we were summoned on board the Whitmore, to which we were accompam·e d by our ·• kind friend Cabrera, and the B n·t 1·s h c on sui · .A fteedr taking an affectionate leave of them, we weigh anchor and so concluded our m· terest·m g VI·S it of three days to' the city of Havana. 1n conseque nce ' how· CUBA, 213 ever, of some little nautical accident \Ve c. ·1 .1 1 . ' H.ll Cu to c ear the harbor that mght, and accordingly a vm' ] e<1 our-selves _of a quiet evening, in holding a religious meet-ing With our passengers, apart from all disturbing causes. Early the next morning we again passed under the frown of the Mora, and commenced our voyage to Savannah, in Georgia. I know not that I should have troubled thee with this section of our narrative, had I not wished to solicit thy attention to a subject of deep interest and importance, respecting which this short stay in Cuba gave us an opportunity of obtaining some information-} mean American participation in the African slave trade. I. 1'/te building of tlte vessels. The slave-traders of Cuba require vessels of peculiar powers of speed, and otherwise of a construction suited to the slavetrade. These vessels the Americans are preeminently able to build, having at their command the timber, the capital, and the mechanical skill. The consequence is that there is the usual correspondence of the supply with the demand, and nine-tenths of the vessels employed in the Cuba slave trade, have of late years been built in America-chiefly at Baltimore. There cannot be the least doubt that the builders are aware of their intended purpose, the construction of them being decidedly distinguished from the usual form of merchant ships. Often they are made to the order of the Spanish slave-trading houses in Cuba and when built, belong to those houses. N everthel~ss they are furnished with American registers, and sail t; Havana, |