Havana possesses institutions, that the patriotism of the inhabitants, vivified by a happy rivalship between the different centres of American civilization, will know how to enlarge and improve, when political circumstances and confidence in the preservation of internal tranquillity, will permit The University with its chairs of Theology, Jurisprudence, Medicine and Mathematics, established since 1828; of Political Economy in 1818, of Botany applied to Agriculture; the Museum and the School of Descriptive Anatomy; the Public Library; the School of Drawing and Painting; the Nautical School; Lancasterian Schools; the Botanical Garden; besides several Patriotic Societies, are all institutions now rising up, or of long duration. They require, however, ameliorations and reforms to place them in harmony with the spirit of the age, and the wants of society.-Humboldt. vol 1. p. 186.

"The great society of the Havana, resembles in ease and politeness of manners, the society of Cadiz, and of the richest commercial cities of Europe; but if we quit the capital, or the neighboring plantations inhabited by rich proprietors, we are struck with the contrast which this state of partial civilization offers to the simplicity of manners which reigns in the detached farms and small towns. The Havaneros were

the first among the rich Spanish colonists who visited Spain, France and Italy. In the interval of time which separated the peace of Versailles from the revolution of St. Domingo, the Havana appeared ten times nearer to Spain than Mexico, Caraccas or New-Grenada. Fifteen years later, at the epoch of my residence in the colonies, this apparent inequality of distance had already diminished; and at present, since the independence of the Continental Colonies, most of those, at least, which are washed by the Atlantic ocean, appear equally near to our continent.”. Humboldt. vol. 1. p. 183.

"In the isle of Cuba, the class of whites is of a very different composition from that which is commonly found in the West-Indies. In the Islands which belong to England, few proprietors fix their residence; they expend all their revenue in Europe, the great point of attraction to the colonists of the West-Indies. In Cuba, on the contrary, the Hacendados, or great proprietors, are in general natives of the Island; their ancestors were born there, it is their country in every extent of the word, they live and expect to die there. The presence, besides, of twenty-nine resident noblemen, all having the rank of Marquis or of Count, many of whom have never seen Spain, shew how much more the proprietors are residents in Cuba than in the English Islands. Among the colonists and the planters of the most distinction, are often found descendants of the heroes of the sixteenth century, whose names are mingled in the records of Spanish glory. Fixed on the theatre of their enterprises, they have repeopled the countries that their fathers had rendered desolate, and this stability has had the effect of multiplying in this one Island, a white population more numerous than in all the others of this Archipelago taken together; almost all the wealth of the Island is in the hands of the Creoles.-Huber-Aper: p. 42.*

* The work of Huber is prefaced by seven letters on the Havana, translated from the English, bearing the marks of their origin. The tables and statements of Huber have all been examined, but they have been so entirely superseded by the more full and more authentic details collected by Humboldt, that little use could he made of them.

Let us now follow this population to its employment, and ascertain what are the productions which it extracts from the earth-the commerce to which those productions give support, and the revenue which is derived from the increasing wealth of the inhabitants, and their active intercourse and interchanges with other nations.

The first and most important production of Cuba, is sugar. Not only the natives, but all travellers speak of the almost incomparable fertility of the soil of Cuba. Perhaps there are few countries any where of equal size, in which so small a portion of the surface is rendered unproductive by sandy plains, naked rocks, irreclaimable morasses, or precipitous mountains. A proprietor in the Havana to whom Humboldt refers, asserts that, "such is the immense fertility of our soil, that we calculate, in fortunate positions, on 160 to 180 arrobas (of 25lbs.) of clayed sugar to each labourer, 100 as the average produce of the Island; while in St. Domingo, they only reckon on 69, and in Jamaica, on 70 arrobas of muscovado to the hand." The planters of Cuba distinguish their soil into two varieties the black (negra or prieta) which is clayey, deep and rich, and the red land (bermeja or tierra colorada) more siliceous and intermingled with oxid of iron that abounds in the Island. The tierra negra as retaining moisture more tenaciously, is generally preferred for the culture of the cane, although many fine sugar estates are established in the tierra colorada.

The cultivation of sugar, we have already remarked, scarcely commenced before the year 1763. The annual export from the Havana for the years,

The highest amount in any year was in 1823, when 300,211 boxes were exported. This table which we have abbreviated by taking averages, though interesting, and the most extensive,

* Humboldt. Vol. i. p. 242. Note.

The years 1825 and 1826, we have not been able to procure.

* Balanza Mercantil de la Habana Correspondienta, an ano de 1828. Hab. 1829

Humboldt remarks, which has been published to this day, is still imperfect; it only includes the amount exported from the Havana, while much, and latterly an increasing proportion of the crop has been shipped from the out-ports, Matanzas, Baracoa, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad, Mariel, &c.; a considerable portion has also been clandestinely exported.

The following tables will supply these deficiencies, and present many views, which we think will gratify those whose attention may be directed to similar inquiries:

It will be seen from this view how immense would be the production of sugar, if the larger Islands, if Cuba alone was throughout cultivated as perfectly and as successfully as Barbadoes, or St. Vincent, or Grenada, or particularly as Antigua. Over production is complained of at the present day among all

M. Humboldt every where underrates the production of sugar in Louisiana, and consequently the consumption in the United States. He speaks of 40,000 hogsheads for Louisiana as an improbable estimate; a statement, however, of the crop of 1828, made by a person who visited every plantation, and noted down the quantity made on each, gives as the result 87,965 hogsheads of sugar, (39,669,000 kil.) and 39,874 hogsheads of molasses.

civilized nations, but no excess could exceed that which might be created in colonial productions. However, it is more than probable that the productions of the West-Indies will, for some time to come, decline for want of labourers. The example of St. Domingo seems to prove that so laborious a culture as that of sugar, will not be carried on by free blacks-like their ancient predecessors, they will raise enough to eat, and drink, and be merry, and therewith be content.

We will follow our author for a few moments into a wider field, and inquire how the quantity of sugar which is exported from the countries we have enumerated, is actually distributed. We cannot, of course, follow him in his details, the general results are all that we can state.

It appears that 457 millions of kilogrammes (1,014,540,000 lbs.) of muscovado sugar are annually imported into Europe.

Besides this great consumption of sugar in Cuba, which Humboldt adds is common to the Spaniards every where in tropical America, that portion is not included which is consumed by the negroes during the manufacture, which probably amounts to an equal quantity.

In the consumption of the United States, he has erred by miscalculating greatly, as we have already noticed the quantity produced in Louisiana. The average consumption in the United States may, perhaps, be placed at 11 lbs. per head, including the whole population-130,000,000lbs.

From a general view, we will pass, for a few moments, to minute details. The statements we now present, will show, that if on account of soil and climate, sugar is cultivated very advantageously in Cuba, there are many countervailing circumstances which greatly diminish the profits of the proprietor. Humboldt informs us, that during his residence on the Island, he took particular pains to examine every circumstance connected with the management of an estate, and to acquire precise and accurate information respecting the culture of sugar.

He found that a sugar plantation (Yngenio) that would produce from 32 to 40,000 arrobas of sugar, (00 to 1000 hogsheads of 1000lbs. each) required 50 caballerias of land, (each 33 acres and a fraction, altogether a little less than 1600 acres) and 300 labourers. The price of land varies according to its quality, and more particularly in its proximity to the ports of Havana, Matanzas, or Mariel. Within a radius of 25 leagues around the Havana, land is valued at from 2 to 3000 dollars the caballeria, (about $37 per acre); labouring negroes, if acclimatized, 450 to 500, if not acclimatized, 370 to 400 dollars. Of the land, one-half-will be in cane (Cañaveral); the other half devoted to provisions and to pasturage. For such an estate, three cattle-mills or two water-mills will be required, and 12 or 18 boilers, according to the construction of the works. The estimate of produce and expense is stated as follows:

Leaving the sum of $30,500 to pay an interest (equal to about 63 per cent.) on the following items, which are considered as the capital stock invested in the establishment :—

This estimate will certainly appear in this country an extraordinary one. It will be seen that the gross produce of such an estate is not computed at more than $200 per annum to the hand-a' return very inferior to the generally received opinion of the crops on the Mississippi, where, instead of 23 hogsheads, 5 to 7 are said frequently to be made to each labourer. But the other items are more remarkable. Whether it arises from the cheapness of provisions in this country alone, or from other causes we know not, but we should consider $10,500 for the maintenance of the negroes, at $35 to each labourer, a sufficient sum, and $9,500 an ample allowance for every contingent ex