One of his first official measures was to have a new census taken, for when the results of the one taken by la Torre were published, many questioned the correctness of the figures. It was said, not without some justice, that, if the population of the island in the year of the British invasion, 1762, was one hundred and forty thousand, it should have been more in 1775 than one hundred and seventy-one thousand six hundred and twenty, since the number of negroes that had been added to the population was in itself enormous, and there were also the immigrants from Florida that had settled on the island. Profiting by the criticism of his predecessor's work, Las Casas took great pains so to systematize the work of the census takers, that their investigations would be unexceptionally thorough and conclusive. When the result became known two years later, the population of the island was found to be two hundred and seventy-two thousand five hundred and one inhabitants. In the second year of his administration, Governor Las Casas had an opportunity to show his generosity and his executive ability when Cuba was visited by another typical West Indian hurricane. It broke upon the island on the twenty-first of June and lasted fully twenty-four hours. The terrible windstorm was accompanied by a deluge of rain, which caused the overflow of the Almendares and its tributaries, uprooted the trees in orchards and nurseries, inundated plantations and damaged houses to such an extent, that great numbers of residents in the districts of Wajay, San Antonio, Managua and others were rendered homeless and reduced to poverty. The governor not only effectively organized the work of relief, but spent freely of his private funds to alleviate the suffering of the people. He showed the same spirit a year later, when Trinidad was visited by a conflagration which consumed property valued at six hundred thousand pesos. The establishment of the Real Casa de Beneficiencia was another work that proved his sincere concern for the welfare of the people, and especially those unfortunates who were dependent upon public charity. The founding of this asylum for destitute orphans of both sexes, including a school, in which they were to be taught a trade to make them self-supporting on reaching maturity, was first proposed by him in a meeting of citizens on the twenty-second of March, 1792. So warm and rousing was his appeal, that large subscriptions to defray its expenses were immediately signed. A royal patent of the fifteenth of December conferred upon the plan official approval. There was connected with the asylum a hospital, and both were temporarily organized and began their work in a provisional building, until on the eighth of December they were transferred to the structure erected for them.