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 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. Marriage fees. Total..... .$267,444 .240,000 12,000 15,000 18,000 72,000 $624,444 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. 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." ture of unbelief, corruption and immoral- the vanities of the world, but that they 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* Evelievers 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 coast during a dark night, but became so alarmed by the noise of the land crabs, (of which we have already spoken,) among the dead leaves of the mangroves, and by the lights of the immense numbers of cocullos, (fire-flies,) that they believed they had fallen into an ambush; and filled with terror, they fled to their boats in the greatest disorder. 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.t 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 most strongly fortified place in the island is Havana-La siempre Fidelisima Ciudad de San Cristobal de la Habana, as it is pompously styled in all formal official documents, or when a Spaniard wishes to speak of the capital of Cuba with becoming solemnity, as in addresses to the throne. Mr. Turnbull 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 give me reason to alter my intentions. I kiss your 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 ministration, or in any part of them, as presume, however, that with the excep- he may think conducive to the royal tion of those of Havana, the fortifications service; his acts only being subject to of Cuba are quite insignificant. the approval of the sovereign of Spain. GOVERNMENT.-The government of Cuba is that of an almost absolute viceroyalty. The governor of the island, who bears the pompous title of Gobernador Superior Civil, Presidente de las Audiencias y Capitan General de la Isla, is, in fact, the Alter Ego of the sovereign of Spain, and dependent upon no other person. His word is law, his decisions are final, and it is an act of sedition for more than two persons to lay at his feet a petition. By the royal order of the Crown of Spain, dated Madrid, 28th of May, 1825, which order has ever since been, and is now, in full force, the captaingenerals are clothed with almost unlimited powers, to enable them, in the language of the order itself, "to keep in quietude H. M. faithful inhabitants, confine within the proper limits such as would deviate from the path of honor, and punish such as, forgetting their duties, would dare commit excesses in opposition to our wise laws;" "and to prevent the embarrassments which, under extraordinary circumstances, might arise from a division in the command, and from the complicated authority and powers of the different officers of government, for the important end of maintaining in that island his sovereign authority and the public quiet," the captain-generals are invested, 1. With the whole extent of power, which, by the Royal Ordinances, is .granted to the governors of besieged towns. That is the isle of Cuba has been, ever since 1825, under martial law. 2. The captain-general has "most ample and unrestricted authority" to remove from the island "such persons holding offices, from the government or not, whatever their occupation, rank, class, or situation in life may be, whose residence there you (the captain-general) may believe prejudicial, or whose public or private conduct may appear suspicious to you; employing in their stead faithful servants of H. M., who On the death of Ferdinand VII. Cuba was included in the constitutional reform, published in the Estatuto Real. In 1837, the democratic constitution of 1812 was proclaimed, and General Lorenzo, Governor of Santiago, repeated its promulgation in Santiago. Captain-General Tacon sent an armed expedition to put down the movement. General Lorenzo took refuge on board of a British man-ofwar, on the invitation of the commander, whose name is suppressed. Lorenzo was taken to Havana, and delivered to Tacon, who banished him from the island. Thus was suppressed all constitutional government and rights in Cuba. Mr. Turnbull declares that the delivery of Lorenzo to Tacon was by the agreement of the former, and not from any treachery on the part of the English commander. To complete the subjugation of Cuba and strip it of its rights, the Cuban deputies legally elected, were, the same year, (1837,) refused admittance at the Spanish Cortes, all colonial representation being denied. The Cortes, at the same time, passed a resolution declaring that hereafter Cuba should be governed by special laws.* The isle of Cuba is divided into several distinct jurisdictions-civil, judicial, military, and ecclesiastical. The mili tary comprises the whole island, and is divided into two departments, a western and an eastern, each embracing one-half of the island. There was a department of the centre, which was suppressed in August, 1851; and the writer of the paper in the Diario de la Marina, which we have so often quoted, intimates that the suppression also of the eastern department is contemplated, and would be an improvement. Each of the two departments is divided into sections, partidos, and cuartones. Each department is under a commander-general; each section under a commander-of-arms; each partido under a petty judge, with the title Cuba, p. *Cuba and the Cubans, pp. 181-2. Turnbull's 22. Government--Civil, Judicial, Military and Ecclesiastical. 121 of captain; and each cuarton under a leader of patrol. The captain-general is the supreme military chief of the whole island. The political division of the island is divided into two provinces-the western, that of Havana; and the eastern, that of Santiago de Cuba. The captain is the civil governor of the western; and the governor of Santiago that of the eastern. The judicial division contains two jurisdictions that of the Royal Pretorian Audience of Havana, and that of the Royal Audience of Puerto Principe. The first comprises the western department, and the second the eastern. The maritime division comprises the whole island, under a general marine command. It is divided into five provinces-Havana, Trinidad, San Juan de los Remedios, Neuvitas and Cuba, which are also divided into districts. Each province has a commander, and each district an adjutant. tricts, and arrest all deserters or delinquents, transmitting annually to the captain-general a statistical return or census of all the inhabitants residing within their jurisdiction. In all the provinces there is a large number of these.* They are a set of worthies generally represented as very corrupt. Such is the character, indeed, given to all the petty officers of the government. They are nearly all of them from old Spain, a Creole being scarcely ever intrusted with any office. Those officers, dependent on their fees, prey like so many vultures upon the unprotected within their jurisdiction. Nor are the rich without the pale of their power; and those having no influence with the heads of the island government, are sometimes largely fleeced by them on most frivolous pretexts. Some of them make a boast of the large fines they constantly collect from the people.† The administration of justice in criminal cases, in Cuba, is unique. The accused is required to prove his innocence, instead of his being accounted innocent until his guilt is established by legal evidence. Trial by jury is, of course, unknown. gidores. They form a body, which perpetuates itself with the aid of the captain-general, who presides over their meetings. They were formerly elected by the people, but under the present improved state of things, the people are relieved from all trouble about their election. Each of the members is bound to take the same oath as is administered to the Spanish military orders of Santiago, Alcontava and Calatrava, which is "to defend the purity of the Conception of the Holy Virgin."‡ The division of the Real Hacienda, as a superintendency, includes the whole island, and is subdivided into three intendencies- Havana, Puerto Principe and Cuba; and these again are subdivided into sub-delegations. The ecclesiastical divisions we have already The ayuntamiento of Havana consists described under the head of Religion. at present, we believe, of twelve correAt Matanzas, Trinidad de Cuba, Puerto Principe and Cienfuegos, there are officers with the title of governor, who are appointed by the captain-general, but whose office is in fact of a judicial nature, extending to disputed points of every sort, civil, criminal, or military. Subordinate to them are eight lieutenancies, called capitanias à guerra. The captain-general of the island has appellate jurisdiction in military matters, and is president ex officio of the Real Audiencia at Puerto Principe, which tribunal has appellate jurisdiction in all The chief secular tribunals of the other affairs, civil or criminal, brought Havana are-first, that of the captainbefore it in foro contentioso. In all the general, who has for his assessors in cities and towns of the island there are military matters an auditor de guerra, municipal bodies called ayuntamientos and in civil disputes the asesores gencperpetuos, exercising judicial functions. rales, who likewise exercise the duties There are also, in the rural districts, of the civil magistracy of their own officers called jueces padaneos, a sort of proper authority. The tribunal of the itinerant village judges or justices of the alcaldes ordinarios has also cognizance, peace, appointed by the local governors. in the first instance, of civil and military Their functions resemble more those of disputes. The ayuntamiento itself also a commissary of police than those of a has a certain judicial jurisdiction, as in magistrate, it being their duty to watch cases involving a sum not exceeding over the movements of the people, to preserve the tranquillity of their dis *Turnbull's Cuba, p. 244. |