ich an aspirant is
most likely to secure the appointment presupposes a character of an
inferior order. The captain-general knows that he cannot reckon on a
long term of office, and hence he takes no pains to study the interests
or gain the good-will of the Cubans. He has a two-fold object in
view,--to keep the revenue well up to the mark, and to enrich himself as
speedily as possible. Hence, the solemn obligations entered into by
Spain with the other powers for the suppression of the African
slave-trade are a dead letter; for, with very few exceptions, the
captains-general of Cuba have connived at the illegal importation of
slaves, receiving for their complaisance a large percentage on the
value of each one landed on the island; for, though the slavers do not
discharge their living freights at the more frequented ports, still
their arrival is a matter of public notoriety, and it is impossible
that, with the present system of espionage, the authorities can be
ignorant of such an event. Nor can we imagine that the home government
is less well-informed upon the subject, though they assume a politic
ignorance of the violation of the law. Believing that the importation of
slaves is essential to the maintenance of the present high revenue,
Spain illustrates the rule that there are none so blind as those who do
not wish to see. It is only the cheapness of labor, resulting from the
importation of slaves, that enables the planters to pour into the
government treasury from twenty to twenty-four millions of dollars
annually. Of this we may speak more fully hereafter.

In 1760, the invasion and conquest of the island by the British forms
one of the most remarkable epochs in its history. This event excited the
fears of Spain, and directed the attention of the government to its
importance in a political point of view. On its restoration, at the
treaty of peace concluded between the two governments in the following
year, Spain seriously commenced the work of fortifying the Havana, and
defending and garrisoning the island generally.

The elements of prosperity contained within the limits of this peerless
island required only a patriotic and enlightened administration for
their development; and the germ of its civilization was stimulated by
the appointment of General Don Luis de las Casas to the post of
captain-general. During the administration of this celebrated man, whose
memory is cherished with fond respect by the Cubans, The Patr