Literature.

interests and rights , as well as over the duties of the negroes , he has a hard and anxious life . Sickness to be ministered to , the feigning of sickness to be counteracted , rights of the slaves to be secured against other negroes , as well as against whites , with a poor chance of getting at the truth from either ; the obligations of the negro quasi marriage to be enforced against all the sensual and childish tendencies ol : the race : theft and violeuee , and wanderings from home , to be detected and

prevented ; tbe work to be done , ancl yet no one to be overworked ; and all this often with no effectual aid , often with only obstructions , from the intermediate whites . Nor is it his own people only that are to bo looked to . Tbe thieving and violence of negroes from other plantations , their visits by night against law , and the encroachments of the neighbouring free blacks and low whites , are all to be watched and prevented or punished . The master is a policeman , as well as an economist and a judge . His revolver and rifle are always loadedHe has his dogshis

. , trackers and seizers , that lie at his gate , trained to give the alarm when a strange step comes near the house or the quarters , and ready to pursue . His hedges maj- be broken down , his cane trampled or cut , or , still worse , set fire to ; goats let into his pastures ; his poultry stolen ; and sometimes his dogs poisoned . It is a country of little law and order ; ancl what with slavery and free negroes ancl low whites , violence and fraud are imminent and always formidable . No man rides far uuarnied . The negroes are held under the subjection of f oree . A

quarterdeck organization is established . The master owns vessel ancl cargo , and is captain of the ship ; he and his family live in the cabin and on the quarter-deck . There aro no other commissioned officers on board aud no guard of marines . There ave a few petty officers , and under all a great crew of negroes , for every kind of work , held by compulsiontho results of a pressgaug . All aro at sea together . There are some laws , and civil authorities for the protection of each , but not very near , nor always accessible . "

Mr . Dana bears testimony to the kind treatment the slaves experienced on the estate he visited , ancl the little children , in their innocent trust , coming to him , proves that in this instance he was right . AVe are told that"At six o ' clock the large bell tolls the knell of parting day and the call to the Oraeion , which any who are religious enough can say , whereever they may beat work or at rest . In tho times of more reliious

, g strictness , the bell for the Oraeion , just at dusk , was the signal for prayer iu every house and field , and even in the street , and for tbe benediction from parent to child , and master to servant . Now , in the cities , it tolls unnoticed , and on the plantations it is treated only as the signal for leaving off work I went into tbe quarters before they were closed . A high wall surrounds an open square , in ivhich are the houses of the negroes . This has one gate , which is

locked at dark ; and to leave the quarters after that time is a serious offence . The huts were plain , but reasonably neat , and comfortable in their construction , ancl arrangement . In some were fires , round which , even in this hot weather , the negroes like to gather . A group of little negroes came round tho strange gentleman , ancl tbe smallest knelt down with uncovered heads , iu a reverent manner , saying , "Buenos dias , Senor . ' I did not understand the of this actionand as there

purpose , was no one to explain the usage to me , I did them the injustice to suppose that they expected money , and distributed some small coins among them . But I learnt afterwards that they were expecting the benediction , the hand on the head , and the ' Dios te haga , biieno . ' It was touching to see their simple , trusting faces turned up to the stranger—countenances not yet wrought by misfortune , or injury , or crime , into the strong expressions of mature life . "

Leaving them to rest , we will journey with our author to one of the few remaining eafetals , showing what a contrast there is in the cool , delightful coffee plantation , when eomrwred with the hot , boiling , toiling , sugar estate : — " Tho afternoon is serene . Near , the birds are Hying , or chattering with extreme sociability in close trees , and the thickets are fragrant with Dowers while far offthe hih hills loom in the horizonand all

; , g ; about us is this tropical growth , with which I cannot yet become familiar , of palms , ancl cocoas , and bananas . AVe amble over the red earth ofthe winding lanes , and turn into the broad avenue of Santa Cataliua , with its double row of royal palms . AVe are in—not a forest , for the trees are not thick and wild and large enough for that—but in a huge , dense , tropical orchard . The avenue is as clear and straight ancl wide as a city mall ; while all tbe ground on either side , for hundreds of is

acres , a plantation of oranges and limes , bananas aud plantains , cocoas and pine apples , of cedar and mango , and mignonette and allspice , under whoso shade is growing the green leaved , the evergreen leaved coffee plant , with its little dark red berry , the tonic of half the world . Here we have a glimpse ofthe lost charm of Cuba . No wonder that the aged proprietor cannot find the heart to lay it waste for the monotonous caneheld and make the quietpeaceful horticulturethe natural growth of

, , , tnut ancl berry , ancl the simple processes of gathering , drying , and "' 'big , give place to the steam ancl smoke , and drive and life-consuming toil ofthe ingenio ! ' At a turn in tbe avenue we come upon the proprietor , who is taking » ' 9 evening walk , still in the exact dress and with the exact manners of urban life . AA'ith truly French politeness , he is distressed , and all but ° « smded , that we cannof go to his house . "

Mr . Dana , in his general summary of the hideous crime of slavehold ' mg in Cuba , is very guarded and apparently just in his estimate of the condition of the slaves , ancl he gives us a prett y broad hint that should the " Lone Star , " so much desired by our American relatives , be added to the other stars that appear aloft in her national banner , some further admixture of the stripe-: would be necessaryand that the slaves of Cuba would gain

, nothing Iry the change of masters ; for , as at present , the law in some instances favours the slave , whereas , in the contiiigency referrcd to , it would be the contrary : — " ( . ' hie general remark ( says Mr . Dana ) should be made whieh I deem to be of considerable importance . The laws relating to slavery do not emanate from the slaveholding mind ; nor are they interpreted or executed by the slaveholding class . The . slave benefits by the division of

power and property between the two rival and ever hostile races of whites , the Creoles aucl the Spaniards . Spain is not slaveholding at home , and so long as the laws are made in Spain , and tho civil offices bold by Spaniards only , the slave has at least the advantage of a conflict , of interests and principles , between the two classes concerned in his bondage . " "We cannot follow our author through all the various phases of

his experience , much as his work deserves it , for it is ofthe utmost importance to the whole human family that slavery should be abolished : still we are glad to find that , in ( Juba , emancipation is encouraged , and the laws show- considerable favour towards the

blacks who have been freed . The statistics tell us that twentyfive per cent , of the negroes are free ; that they are trusted with arms ; formed into regiments ; their evidence receivable in all courts of law ; their right to go before a magistrate and be valued for the purpose of procuring their emancipation ; and can even force their master to sell them , if they can provide another person to buy them . Their social condition is bad . They are baptised

Christians , but until the day of their deaths that is the only time they benefit by the services of religion ; although the law enjoins that they should receive relig ious instruction , yet , from their own indolence and the apathy of their masters , this is tacitly alloived to be a dead letter . Marriage , being a sacrament of the B . omish church , entails considerable difficulty in the sale and transfer of a famil andin consequence , the negroes themselves feel it a

y , , restraint : both slave and slaveholder shirk that contract , and the negro population , as well as many of the whites , live in a state of concubinage , marriage being esteemed pretty generally as a superfluous bond . In taking leave of Mr . Dana's work , we shall offer his sensible and just remarks on the whole question , merely adding our own opinion on the state of all slaveholding communities , viz . —that

with the utmost that can be done to better the condition of the slave , slavery must be slavery still , and no men have a right fo trade in the common image of their own and the slave's Creator . AVith these remarks , we beg our readers once more to turn their attention to our author ' s conclusion , who says - . —

"As to the practical advantage the slaves can get from tnese provisions in remote places ; and as to the amount of protection they get anywhere from fche special provisions respecting punishment , food , clothing , and treatment generally , almost everything lies in the region of opinion . There is no end to statement aud anecdote on each side . If one cannot get a full and lengthened personal experience , not only as the guest of tinslave holder , but as the companion of the local magistrates , of the lower officers on the lantationof slave dealers and slave huntersaud of

thep , , emancipated slaves , I advise him to shut his ears to mere anecdotes and general statements , and to trust to reasonable deductions from established facts . The established facts are—that one race , having all power in its hands , holds an inferior race in slavery ; that this bondage exists iu cities , in populous' neighbourhoods , and in remote districts ; that the owners are human beings of tropical races , and the slaves are human beings just emerging from barbarism ; and that no small part ot this of intermediate

power is exercised by a lowlived and low-minded class agents . AVhat is likely to be the effect on all the parties to this system , judging from all we know of human nature ? " If persons coming from the north are credulous enough to suppose that they will see chains and stripes and tracks of blood ; and if , taking letters to the best class of slave holders , seeing their way of life , and bearing their dinner table anecdotes , and the breakfast table talk of the

ladies , they find no outward signs of violence or corruption , they will probably , also , be credulous enough to suppose tbey have seen the whole of slavery . They do not know that that large plantation , with its smoking chimneys , about which they hear nothing , ancl which their host does not visit , has passed to the creditors of the late owner , who is a bankrupt , and is in charge of a manager , who is to get all he can from it in the shortest time , ancl to sell off the slaves as lie can , having no interest , moral or pecuniary , in their future . They do not know thai :

that other plantation , belonging to the young man who spends half hi- , time in Havana , is an abode of licentiousness ancl cruelty . Neither do they know that the tall hounds chained at the kennel of tho house they are visiting are Cuban bloodhounds , trained lo track and to seize . They