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Show 156 CUB-'-• Before us lay the wide spreading, old city, said to contain one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants; a few green hills were seen in the distance ; and when we had passed the Moro, the land-locked port full of shipping, including three Britishmen- of-war, and surmounted by some handsome public buildings, were suddenly opened to our view. It is a port of great resort and trallic, far exceeding, in this respect, any other in the dominions of Spain. With the exception of the Governor of Madrid, we continued on board for the night; aml early the next morning, received a notice, that we were all permitted to land, without undergoing ru1y of the usual formalities. 'l'he British Consul, Charles Tolme, came on board to pay his respects to some of our sister passengers. I found that he was an old friend of mine, whom I bad not seen for some thirty years. He gave me a hearty welcome, and accompallicd me, on our landing, to the Government Housel, as I wished to pay my respects to the Prince of Anglona, the Captain General of Cuba. Our friend Cabrera had already conveyed to him a letter of introduction which I had brought with me from the Governor of Jamaica; and I considered that an early call, was due to him from a friend to the slaves, and a Christian minister, whom he had so kindly permitted to land, at all hazards. The Prince, who is one of the old nobility of Spain, is a person of small stature, and by no means imposing in his appearance, but of good talents, and liberal politics. He received us with great politeness, and even apologised to our consul for my having been refused a passport in Jamaica. He spoke French fluently, ru1d talked to us for a few minutes, in a friendly manner. No opportunity o!Tered for conversation on important topics, and we soon retired. I was afterwards informed that it is the uniform practice of the slave traders, both in Porto Rico and Cuba, to fee the respective Governors, pretty largely, for every African imported into those islands. The late Governor of Porto Rico is said to have retired, in consequence, with an immense fortune. The price of connivance, now fixed in Cuba, is reported to be twelve CUBA. 157 dollars per slave. D ouceurs of m. fcr· on subordinate officers. b IOr amount are bestowed , ut alas' the profits f h are such as to render th . . . _- 1 o t e slave trade per centage. ese llll(jllllous aI I owances, but a trifling The streets of the city of I-I r nvana are ext I we. tOtmd the heat O[lpre s.s ,.v e ; but 'e xccll ' remc y narrow, and truned for us at a board· I . ent quarters were ob- . ( mg lOUse kept b an . can famrly of the name f \V Y .rgreeable Ameri- 0 est·andl - easy, by the numerous volant ' ocomotwn is rendered . h cs--small on I . wit overshadowincr loathe t e- lorse carnages o r ops and cnon h ' by negro postillions in hicrh S . h nous w eels, driven , o pan IS boots Tt thronged by a busy popu l· 1. · Ie streets are h. - d Ion- all talkincr S · h t mg 111 Havana, is entirely r . o panrs . Every . toreign to the c d Enghshman or American ' an d . ye an ear of all It was well th t . brera had been traininc"r' som e o f us to the utter a ourf fnend Ca-ken sentences, in the lancruag f th ance o a few bro-o e o e country In the evening, under the guidance of h. . . agreeable lady we · · d h t e Bnt1sh consul's , VISite t e Passeo a bl" menade formed of late years under th' Gpu IC road and pro-s . ' e overnment f T a pamard of extraordinary energy ' h . "d o aeon, Cuba a den of thieves and robbers ~:d ~o~~:m 1 t~ have found fin~ly resigned his trust, in compO.:atively g~o~c c~~l,~r;e~en ~e ~a e examples of some notorious o!Tenders of hi . . e stJtuted an effective police b "lt . gh rank, m- ' UI a great pnson alld attention to roads and tt _ ' gave much but he is sa· o Ier necessary lllternal improvements . t Id to have been no enemy to the slave-trad ' o:~ e~~:f the Passeo is '!'aeon's villa and garden-the 'la~~r la~~ Ve;saill gh on a small scale, after the style of the gardens at form I bes. After a walk through this scene of somewhat . a eauty, we ascended the hill, on which stands l~ort p . c1pe H . ' nnabu~ dan~r~ we _obtamed a noble view of the city, the harbor the heigh~ s dlphpmg, the Moro castle, the Cabanas on the op~site rat h , an t e sea as the bo und ary o f the prospect. In ene-e u:wever_ the country round Havalla, is far from being p~tursql ' and IS cultivated chiefly with maize for fodder M nn es must be travelled m. lalld, before one Call reach· eithearn ay 14 |