The second class, or people of colour, consists or mulattos and mesti=os, with their various collateral branches, from the dark shade of the African to the bright hue of the European. A mulatto is the issue of a white and a negro; and a mestizo of a white and an In dian ; and the descendents ramify into an endless multi plicity of varieties, which the Spaniards pretend accu rately to mark and to define, but which it would he folly to enumerate. This mixed race constitute the most robust and useful class of the community. The me chanic arts, the retail trades, and the other active func tions of society, which the higher class, from pride or indolence, disdain to exercise, are chiefly carried on by them ; and almost all the hired servants are taken from this class. Among them are also found professors and teachers of the liberal arts. The females, however, par ticularly the mulattos, too frequently devote themselves to meretricious allut'ements. They dress with great neatness, possess a considerable share of wit and viva city, and often acquire an ascendency over their para mours, which the Spanish or Crcolian women seldom attain.
The negrocs constitute the third class of inhabitants in this viceroyalty ; and though the Spaniards do not themselves engage in the detestable traffic in human fl. sh to the African coast, yet they are so far partakers in it, that they make no scruple in buying those that are brought by others. The treatment, however, which this unfortunate race experience in the Spanish settlements, is very different from what their brethren receive in our West Indian colonies. " They form," says Wilcocke, " a principal part of the train of luxury, and are cherish ed and caressed by their superiors, to whose vanity and pleasures they are equally subservient. Their dress and appearance are hardly less splendid than that of their masters, whose manners they imitate, and whose passions they imbibe. Elevated by this distinction, they have assumed such a tone of superiority over the In dians, and treat them with such insolence and scorn, that the antipathy between the two races has become implacable." But this description, we fear, must be con fined entirely to those who are employed in domestic service, and that the same attention and humanity will not be shewn to those who are engaged in agricultural labours. By this, however, we do not mean to insinuate, that even these are treated with cruelty or neglect, but merely to regret, that, from the very nature of their si tuation and employment, they are more exposed to the exaction and tyranny of task-masters, who are often lit tle solicitous about the feelings and comfort of those who are under their controul. Yet we must confess, that slavery is not here such a "bitter draught" as it is in the other American colonies ; and that the little indul gencies and comforts which the negro is allowed by his Spanish master, cannot but put to shame our English planters, who, with all their boasted notions of freedom, have reduced this unfortunate portion of their species to the most degraded servitude, and who exact from them their utmost labours, with unmitigated severity. Ac cording to Azara, many of the slaves in this settlement never hear the sound of the whip as long as they live ; during sickness they are treated with great kindness and attention, and are never forsaken in their old age. They are even better fed and better clothed than the poorer classes of the white inhabitants ; and many of them obtain their freedom after a short period of ser vice. We are sorry, however, to observe, that this hn mane conduct has not been ei•ended by the Spaniards to another class of their American subjects, the con verted Indians, who cannot be said to be less deserving of their attention and kindness.
Notwithstanding the constant solicitude of the Spa nish court for the security and preservation of her Indian subjects, and the many regulations which have been made in their favour, this class still groan under many arbitrary and oppressive exactions. The wrongs and
insults which they have been made to endure, have completely estranged their affections from their con querors. They shrink from the voice of a Spaniard, and cherish against him the most bitter but secret ani mosity. On the first conquest of their country, the In dians were parcelled out into departments, or encomien das, which were divided among their conquerors. under whose authority they continued for a certain number of years. At the expiry of this period, they devolved to the crown ; who either employed them in public works, or made them over to other private individuals. The service demanded by their oppressors, consisted in their labouring for two months in the year in whatever way they chose to employ them, and to pay out of their earnings during the other ten months, an annual tribute of five piastres, from which, however, those who were under eighteen or above forty were exempted. In re turn for this, the encomandere was bound to provide them with necessaries, and to have them instructed in the Christian religion. But this severe bondage, and the cruelties with which it was attended, had so reduc ed this class of the American population, that the evil cadet tor some immediate remedy. The Spanish court accordingly appointed officers, with power to deprive of tne.r encomiendas such as could be proved to have been oppressive in their exactions, or tyrannical in their treatment of the Indians ; and the nature and extent of the services which they might be required to perform, were precisely ascertained. The facilities, however, of evading such distant authority, and of corrupting those who were entrusted with the execution of its commands, rendered the wisest precautions and laws but weak bar riers against avarice and oppression. The same evils continued to prevail, and were the occasion of some for midable insurrections, until many of the encomiendas had reverted, and were annexed to the crown. Their condition is now greatly ameliorated, and their services are very different from those originally demanded. The tribute has been reduced to a piastre a head; and it is only in works of primary importance, that they can be compelled to labour : in the culture of maize and other grain of necessary consumption ; in erecting buildings of public utility ; in forming roads ; in tending cattle ; and in working the mines ; which last task is confined en tirely to those Indians who reside within 30 miles of the ore. This labour, however, is most burdensome and deleterious. It annually destroys a large proportion of the inhabitants, either by a rapid mortality, or by en gendering the germs of a slow but certain destruction. Those who are liable to employment are called out by divisions, or metas, but the number must not exceed the seventh part of the population of the district ; and no one can be compelled to go but in his turn. Such as are destined for the mines remain there for six months, and are paid at the rate of four reals per day. In spite of the numerous regulations which have been framed, in order to guard the Indians against the tyranny of their masters, they are still exposed to several arbitrary and burdensome exactions. Unreasonable tasks are often imposed, and the term of their labour is frequently pro longed beyond the legal time. It is only in the more remote districts, where there are but few Spaniards, that they enjoy any degree of relaxation from oppression. In these districts, some of them are even in affluent cir cumstances, possessing numerous herds, and working mines for their own benefit. From the exuberant ferti lity of their country, and their knowledge of some of the European arts, they have risen to a state of comparative civilization, and are plentifully supplied, not only with the necessaries, but with many of the luxuries of life.