Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/234

Rh various people—there would frequently be heard, late in the evening, the cry of “Assasino!” in the streets; but no one dared to go to the spot whence the cry proceeded, because the cry was not unfrequently a mere trick of the assassin himself. And if one person saw another lying murdered in the fields, he did not dare to render any assistance, because if the wounded man died, and there were not several witnesses to attest his innocence, he ran the risk of being himself accused of murder, and was sure to become involved in an endless legal prosecution. The present improved state of the public safety is attributed to the keen scrutiny and general reform of Governor Jacon. He was a stern man whose despotic temper was beneficial to the public, while it made him hated by many private individuals.

Lawsuits and lawyers abound in Cuba, and the histories of the arbitrary power and venality of the law, and even of the judges' bench, as regards private individuals, and the difficulty which there is for any one to obtain justice, if he cannot purchase it at a great price, are unprecedented. There requires, however, for the full reformation of all these abuses a total reorganisation, not only in the administration of justice, but in the government of the whole island.

During my rambles in Havannah I have always observed the negro population there with great pleasure, because they appear to me freer and happier than in the cities of the United States. Certain it is that one here sees negroes and mulattoes much more frequently engaged in trade than there, and their wives are commonly very well, nay, even splendidly dressed. It is not unusual to see mulatto women, with flowers in their hair, walking with their families on the principal promenades in a manner which denotes freedom and prosperity. Mulattoes are generally to be found in the tobacco-shops, either as shopmen, or as the proprietors of the place. The black inhabitants emulate the white in cigar-smoking; many