sums are raised by taxation ostensibly and militia. Of the first there are, in for the purpose of improving the public ordinary times, seven regiments of inroads of the island, they are most of the fantry of the line, and five regiments of year impassable, so that communications light infantry; one battalion of eight by mail are tediously slow. Even the companies of artillery, one of which is writer in the Diario de la Marina, whom flying; one company of sappers; also, a we have quoted, complains that the brigade of two companies, and six of Junta de Fomento, or Board of Improve- disciplined militia, and four squadrons of ments, has for many years past done but royal lancers. The disciplined militia little for internal improvements, and includes three battalions of free colored that little chiefly in the jurisdiction of troops, and two regiments of dragoons Havana, notwithstanding that its re- (whites). The city militia is composed sources between 1824 and 1850 have of eight squadrons of three companies, amounted to the enormous sum of each containing seventy men. The vol$9,836,836, or $346,307 annually. With unteer companias sueltas include eight all these means in their hands, says the companies of white infantry and thirteen writer, for the improvement of the pub- of cavalry; also twenty-two of free colorlic roads, "we have seen the public ed infantry, mulattoes and blacks. mail detained from three to four days for the want of bridges, boats, etc."

These troops are distributed throughout the island; and as the regular army, The writer, who thus exposes the Junta with all its officers, is from old Spain, the de Fomento, which body, since 1824, has Creole finds but little sympathy in those had the handling of more than $9,836,- who are thus sent to enforce his obe836 for internal improvements, without dience to the exactions of his unnatural making any, recommends that the Junta parent. Havana, the key to the whole be suppressed, and its power and duties island, is garrisoned by six regiments of merged in those of the Captain-General. infantry, generally of the regular army, Whether the Captain-General would one regiment of infantry and one of horse, make a better use of the money intend- of the militia, and two battalions of free ed for internal improvements, is very colored troops. doubtful.

There is great obscurity in all the government returns of Cuba, as regards the gross amount of taxation. The official publications which are made, neither comprehend the whole range of taxes, nor is there generally affixed to each head anything more than the balance subject to the control of the general treasury; that is, after deducting the enormous rates allowed those by whom the revenues are collected, the balance is reported as the amount of tax levied on the people: so that the $12,000,000, officially reported as being the whole tax, is only the balance, after all expenses of collection are deducted. The author of "Cuba and the Cubans" estimates that the amount of money actually collected by the Cuban government annually, for taxes, is about double the amount officially reported. He shows this to have been the case for the year 1844, and the system is now the same. *

ARMY.-The Captain-General of Cuba is commander-in-chief of the army, which is divided into the regular troops

*“Cuba and the Cubans," pp. 167-181. We should, however, receive the statements of either side, in these matters, with some grains of allowance.

RELIGION. The Catholic religion is the only religion tolerated by the government in Cuba. An effort was made, a few years ago, by England, to obtain permission to erect a Protestant church at Havana, but without success. No one can hold property or engage in any kind of business in Cuba, without first acknowledging, in writing, that he is an Apostolical Roman Catholic; but those who have tender consciences leave out the middle term, and it is winked at. The Creoles are said to possess less inimical feeling towards Protestants than the latter, in our northern States, exhibit towards Roman Catholics. The real secret of the matter is, that the Cubans care but little about religion of any kind.

The first cathedral in Cuba was erected in 1518, by Leo X., at Baracoa, which was for a long time the most important place in Cuba. It now contains only 2,600 inhabitants. Adrian VI. removed it to Santiago de Cuba, in 1522. It being destroyed by fire, another was built, but in so bad a manner that it threatened to fall down upon the congregation and in 1672. The island remained without priests. They accordingly abandoned it another until 1690, when another was

Revenues of the Church-State of Morals and Religion.

built by the king of Spain. The early Cuban church was extremely poor. Our Catholic readers will smile at the relation of the historian Morell, that the priests had to dispense with the two monacilloes, (boys attendant on the priests,) and supply their place with a negro belonging to the cathedral, on whom they put clothes and shoes, that he might make a decent appearance before the altar. Such was the state of things in 1716, when Bishop Valdez visited the island.

At first, there was but one diocese, which included not only the whole island of Cuba, but also the whole of Louisiana and the two Floridas, and all under one bishop. In 1788, the diocese of Cuba was divided into two, each embracing half of the island. The eastern diocese, or that of Santiago de Cuba, was erected into an archbishopric in 1804; the other, that of Havana, remaining, as now, under a bishop. The diocese of Havana embraces forty-four parochial churches, and seventy-nine auxiliary ones, while the archbishopric contains only twentyseven parochial churches and twelve auxiliaries; the whole subdivided into curacies.

The revenues of the church are derived from tithes on the products of the island, (sugar estates established since 1805 being alone exempted,) christenings, marriages, deaths, &c. It is true that the possessions of the church were confiscated, some years ago, but the tithes are still collected; and it is generally believed that the amount of tithes finds its way into the public treasury, and is appropriated to other purposes than those of religion. The amount of tithes collected in 1847 is estimated at $267,444 82, as the average amount annually. The laws require that all who are born and die on the island must be christened and buried by the church. The charge for the baptism of every negro (and all are required to be baptized) is 75 cents, and for his burial $4.50, even if he be only an infant. The price for the burial of a white man is $7, but more is given to the priest as a present. The burial charges of the church for a stranger are generally about $34. All the above fees go to the church. No one without special permission, which is seldom granted, can have a family cemetery on his

"Notes on Cuba," p. 209.

117

estate; all must be carried to the public ground, where their remains are not permitted to remain long undisturbed. From 1806 to 1842, a period of thirty-six years, there were buried in the Havana cemetery alone-making allowance for the cholera in 1833-155,304 bodies. The average cost of burial is about $10, which would give the churches of Havana alone, in the thirty-six years, the sum of $1,553,040. What, then, must have been the whole church revenues, from burials, for the whole island? At present, the amount of the free population of Cuba is about 600,000. If the annual mortality of the island is 4 per cent.,* the number of deaths per annum would be, for the whole island, 24,000, which, at $10, would give the church a revenue of $240,000.

The number of marriages in the whole island annually is about 2,400, which, at $5 each on an average, for rich and poor, would yield the church the sum of $12,000. This is, probably, quite too low an estimate. The number of baptisms in the whole island is about 24,000; which, at 75 cents, would be $18,000.

The private extra marriage fees, demanded for marriages under various pretences by the priests, is estimated, by Mr. Sagra,† at $15,000 annually. To all these must be added the burial fees for negroes, slaves, at $4.50 each. The number of slaves in Cuba is about 400,000. A mortality of 4 per cent. would give 16,000, which at $4.50 each would yield the church $72,000. The total revenue then of the Cuban Church, omitting many perquisites, would be:

For tithes..
Burial fees...

-$267,444

.240,000

Marriage fees..

12,000

Marriage fees, extra..
Baptisms...
Burial of slaves..

15,000

18,000

72,000

$624,444

Total.....

The state of religion and morals in Cuba is deplorable in the extreme. The seeds of infidelity find a most propitious soil in all the island, under the influence of its depressing and deteriorating government. "No where," says the author of "Cuba and the Cubans," himself a Cuban and a Catholic, "is presented a more dark and distressing pic

* The author of "Cuba and the Cubans" fixes it at 5 per cent.-p. 175.

+Cuba and the Cubans," p. 175.
Ibid. p. 152.

ture of unbelief, corruption and immoral- the vanities of the world, but that they

might enjoy them the more freely. The Belenites, especially, were celebrated for their great wealth, having a revenue of about $1,000,000 to be divided between 22, of which their number consisted. They dressed in the finest linen, "and fared sumptuously every day."

Eve

ity." At the present day, in all the churches in Cuba, a brief mass, scandalously hurried through, and witnessed by a very few, is all that attests the Sabbath of the Lord. The church is attended as a fashionable place for meeting, gayety and flirtation, says the same writer. "The ladies ply the telegraphic What estimation is set upon the Sabfan in the house of God with the same bath in Cuba, may be inferred from the airs of coquetry and playfulness as in fact, that the law licensing cock-fighting the theatre and at the opera, the young forbids the exhibitions on all days but gentlemen waiting at the doors for the the Sabbath and other religious holidays. interchange of glances with their fair Formerly the robed priest and all his friends; and all seem intent on showing, parish visited the cock-pit regularly. by their smiles and their undisguised Those, by the modern Cubans, are called disrespect, that they are neither be- the palmy days of cock-fighting.* lievers nor ashamed of their unbelief. ry town in Cuba has its cock-pit, the In the church itself are no expounding, amusement being national. Gambling no reading, even of the gospel-no visits is a universal passion. of the pastors-no consolations carried to the dying-none of the charitable the Catholic Church by the priests, rescommunities that abound in other coun- pecting marriage. Padres not only tries, whether Catholic or Protestant." marry, but laugh at the Pope. They Everywhere in Cuba, among all clas- declare themselves Catholicos Apostolises, is seen a sneering contempt of reli- cos, but not Romanos, and say that they gion, and the priests are universally des- do not care a medio for the Papa. Even pised. "The gentry, the masters of es- the common people laugh at his holitates, the officers of government, nay, ness, and pay scarcely any regard to the very priests themselves," says the the ceremonies of the Church, having author above cited, "exhibit the same too poor an opinion of their spiritual painful picture of an all-pervading, all- leaders in general to place any faith in demoralizing infidelity. The country their doctrines. curates may, in general, and as a class, be set down as an example of all that is corrupt in immorality, all that is disgusting in low and brutal vice."*

The monks of Cuba were once immensely wealthy. They owned large tracts of the richest soil on the island, and their revenues from their plantations were very great. Since the confiscation of their property their power has passed away. Most of them have left the island, their number in Havana by the census of 1842 being reduced to 106, and 188 nuns. It is now quite impossible to say, whether these monks, or the government, who plundered them of their possessions, simply because they were monks, were the more corrupt. Many is the scandalous tale told of the old monks of the island. Their convents were dens of infamy. The old St. Augustine convent was so notorious for the joyous life of its inmates, that many young men of the first families entered it as monks, not, however, to relinquish

"Cuba and the Cubans," p. 155, et passim.

But little regard is paid to the rules of

In our article on Mexico we delineated a sufficiently lamentable state of things in the Mexican church; but that of Cuba throws the former completely in the shade. The CaptainGeneral is, in fact, the head of the Church in Cuba, in whose hands are its revenues, property and patronage. He nominates, through his officials, and appoints all church officers. The very members of the chapter of the cathedral at Havana are either named by him or at Madrid, in disregard of the canonical proposals of the board according to law. One thing is very singular, that the bishopric of Havana has been suffered to remain vacant for thirty years; during which time the sacrament of confirmation has not been administered in the several districts of the diocese, which should be regularly visited at least once a year.†

FORTRESSES OF CUBA.-The mouth of every river in the island of Cuba, says

"Notes on Cuba," pp. 89-93. + Cuba and the Cubans, p. 157

Fortresses-Assaults upon Havana-Letter of Albemarle.

119

In 1762, however, they were more successful. With a fleet of 53 vessels, carrying 2,268 guns, under Sir George Peacock, and a land force of 14,400 men under the Count of Albemarle, they took the city, and destroyed the Moro. The Spanish land force consisted of 27,000 men and a fleet of 16 vessels. The booty seized by the English amounted to about $3,500,000* After this, when the island was restored to Spain, more extensive fortifications were made from funds drawn from the mines of Mexico.†

the author of "Notes on Cuba," is a genuine miracle, or the invention of guarded by a fort; he does not, however, some cunning padre, we shall leave it give any detailed account of the fortifi- for our readers to decide. It is related cations of the island, and our knowledge that the English disembarked on the regarding them is very limited. The coast during a dark night, but became most strongly fortified place in the island so alarmed by the noise of the land is Havana-La siempre Fidelisima Ciu- crabs, (of which we have already dad de San Cristobal de la Habana, as spoken,) among the dead leaves of the it is pompously styled in all formal mangroves, and by the lights of the official documents, or when a Spaniard immense numbers of cocullos, (fire-flies,) wishes to speak of the capital of Cuba that they believed they had fallen into an with becoming solemnity, as in ad- ambush; and filled with terror, they fled dresses to the throne. Mr. Turnbull to their boats in the greatest disorder. very justly observes, that the names the Spaniards give to their cities are as high sounding as those they bestow on their children. Havana has been called the Gibraltar of America. It is doubtful whether it deserves the name; but, as all know, it is a place of considerable strength. Besides the walls and ditches which surround it, the city is defended by six strong fortresses, the Moro Castle, the Cabanas, Number 4, the Atares, the Principe, and the Punta. The first and last serve to protect the entrance of the harbor; the second is a sort of citadel; and the others are so placed as to cover the approaches by land. In the arsenal of the Havana there have been built, at different times, 49 ships of the line, 22 frigates, seven packet ships, nine brigs of war, and 14 war schooners. The whole line of fortification embraces a sort of irregular polygon, of an elliptical form, the greater diameter of which is 2,100 yards, and the smaller 1,200 yards in extent. The entrance to the harbor of Havana is between the Moro and Punta castles, and is about 1,500 yards long, and 350 yards wide in the narrowest part. It is undoubtedly one of the safest, best defended, and most capacious harbors in the world. The depth of water at the entrance is not less than eight fathoms, at low water. The tide there rises about 22 inches.

The Moro and Punta fortresses were commenced by the first governor of Havana, Don Juan de Tejada, between 1584 and 1602. The English tried to take Havana by assault, in 1655, but failed, with a great loss of men, having been frustrated, as historians relate, by a miracle, the memory of which is still perpetuated by the name of los congrejos, the crab miracle. It is a Spanish tale told on the English, but whether it was

This fortress cost $40,000,000.

The Spanish authorities at Havana are extremely jealous of the curiosity of foreigners, allowing no one to visit the interior of the fortifications.

The entrance of the harbor of San

tiago is also strongly defended by a fortress called Moro, standing on a rocky eminence; and also by a fortification, La Estrella, erected on the same side, near the level of the water, just within the extreme point on which the Moro stands. The harbor is about four miles in length, from north to south, narrow, but very deep.

No writer, we believe, has attempted to give a detailed account of all the military works of Cuba; indeed, with the excep

*The English plundered the clergy of Havana most unmercifully. The following letter from Count Albemarle, commander of the land forces, to the Bishop of Havana, will show how politely the thing was done:

"MOST ILLUSTRIOUS SIR-I am sorry to be under the necessity of writing to your Lordship what ought to have been thought of some days ago, viz: a donation from the Church to the Commander-in-Chief of the victorious army. The least that your Lordship can offer will be $100,000. I wish to live in peace with your Lordship and with the Church, as I have shown in all that has hitherto occurred, and I hope that your Lordship will not I kiss your give me reason to alter my intentions.

Lordship's hands.
"Your humble servant,

"Havana, 19th Oct. 1762."

"ALBEMARLE."

+ Apuntes, para la Historica de la Isla de Cuba.

tion of those of Havana, nothing is shall fully deserve your excellency's known of the other fortifications except confidence." what can be gleaned from the merely 3. The captain-general is also emaccidental notices of travelers. This powered to suspend the execution of arises from the fact, that travelers whatever royal orders or general decrees, generally are more intent upon making in all the different branches of the ada book than on giving information. We presume, however, that with the exception of those of Havana, the fortifications of Cuba are quite insignificant.