;-'■'•'■ I f i.' "^W^S*,; .CX4>- A WINTER THE WEST INDIES, DESCUIHEU IN FAMILIAR LETTERS HENRY CLAY, OF KENTUCKY. JOSEPH JOHN GlIRNEY. "THUIH by its own sinews shall I'REVAir.." LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET; NORWICH : JOSIAH FLETCHER. 1840. PRINTED BY JOSIAH FLETCHEU, UPPER HAYMARKET. F ^ ^ ' SANTA BAPvBAKA CONTENTS. -♦- LETTER I. PAGE Voyage from New York, and entrance on the Tropics . 1 LETTER II. Santa Ckuz 11 LETTER III. Saint Thomas and Tortola 25 LETTER IV. Saint CHKisToniER's ........ 39 LETTER V. Antigua 49 LETTER VI. Dominica 70 LETTER VII. Jamaica 88 LETTER VIII. Jamaica • 105 LETTER IX. Jamaica I'-l VI CONTENTS. LETTER X. PAUE Jamaica 138 LETTER XL Jamaica 159 LETTER XIL The Contrast . . . . . . . . .177 LETTER XIII. Cuba .199 LETTER XIV. Return to America ........ '222 APPENDIX A. Letter from Samuel and Mary Nottingham, of Bristol . 233 APPENDIX B. Letter from Dr. Davy, Custos of Manchester . . 235 APPENDIX C. Reconciliation 237 APPENDIX D. Free and Frij:ndly Remarks ...... 253 PREFATORY LETTER TO SIR THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON, BART. Earlham, 11 th dth mo. 1840. My dear Buxton, In returning home after an absence of more than three years, spent chiefly in a gospel mission to parts of North America and the West Indies, I have felt peculiar pleasure and satisfaction in my reunion with thyself From our very early years have we been bound together in the ties of friendship and brotherhood, and while we have agreed in almost all our senti- ments, I have long considered it a privilege to assist in promoting those great objects, which have occupied thy attention in public life. Although so far separated from thee, of latter time, I have watched thy proceedings for the benefit of Africa, with the deepest interest. I consider it to be a happy circumstance that the absence of parliamentary duties has afforded thee so ample an opportunity for unravelling and recording the woes of that most afflicted quarter of the globe, and for developing a system of remedial measures, which ought, as I think, to obtain the ap- probation and assistance of all good men, whatsoever their sect, party, or nation. In making this remark, I have no allusion to the advice which thou hast thought proper to offer to our government, respecting the strengthening of the naval force on the coast of Africa, and the protection by arms of any colonies wliich may be planted on that continent. Although I agree with PREFATORY LETTER. thee in the opinion, that these measures class under the head of an armed pohce, rather than under that of" ofFcnsive or defensive warfare, yet they are points in which, for ray own pait, I feel conscientiously restrained from taking any part. In the mean time these points arc under tlie sole care of government, and cannot interfere (as it appears to me) with the claims of the African Civihzation Society, on the christian public.* * There is a third particular connected with Sir T. F. Buxton's views for the benefit of Africa, which is under the sole care and responsibility of Government — I mean the proposed expedition to the Niger. From Lord John Russell's admirable oflBcial letter on this subject, it appears that three iron steam vessels are appointed to be sent up that river, with commis- sioners on board, whose duty it will be to form treaties with the African chiefs and powers, for the suppression of the slave trade, and for the establishment of legitimate commercial relations between Africa and Great Britain. While this object must meet with the cordial approbation of every Christian philanthropist, there is one circumstance connected with the expedition, which stands directly opposed to my own views, and those of many others who wish well to the undertaking : it is that these vessels (as in all similar expeditions sent out by Government) are, to a certain extent, armed for the purpose of protection. Lord John Russell's letter is dated " 26th December, 1839." The Society for the Civilization of Africa, instituted about six months afterwards, cordially approves and encourages the general object herein pursued by Government. In its printed circular, the Society, amongst other things, proposes " to cooperate by every means in its power with the Government expedition to the Niger ; to report its progress — assist its operations — circulate the valuable information it may communicate ; and generally to keep alive the interest of Great Britain in the suppres- sion of the slave trade, and the welfare of Africa." Now the very word " cooperate" seems to point out the action of independent parties, united in the pursuit of a common object. While the Society confines the above mentioned cooperation and assistance, to matters purely pacific (as has hitherto been strictly the case) it seems to me to stand on a safe ground. It cannot, as I apprehend, be fairly considered responsible for a collateral circumstance, distinctly disapproved by some of its members, which it has done nothing to promote, and which belongs exclusively to the independent action of Government. This Society maintains its own independence, not only as it relates to Government, but as it regards all associations formed for the respective PREFATORY LETTER. ix But I can cordially unite with thee first, in thy advice to our rulers to enter into friendly treaties for the suppression of the slave trade, and for other pacific purposes, with the native powers of Africa; and secondly, in the whole of thy nohle plan for the establishment of commercial and agricultural relations with that benighted region, and for the extension of civilization, education, and above all Christianity, among its wretched inhabitants. This plan appears to me to be better adapted than any other which has yet been attempted, for two great purposes — first, for the final sup- pression of the slave trade — that monstrous and intolerable scourge of our race — and secondly, for the raising of Africa to a participa- pation in all those rich temporal and spiritual blessings, which we are ourselves enjoying. When the African princes are practically in- structed in the utter impolicy and folly of the present system, they will no longer bring human creatures to the market, instead of the produce of human labor. They will soon discover that their desire for articles produced or manufactured in Europe, can be gratified to an almost infinitely greater extent than it is at present, by their availing themselves at home of the capabilities of their soil, and of the well rewarded industry of the population. And as the people themselves come to understand the benefits of com merce, agriculture, education, and religion, they will soon present purposes of trade, colonization, and Christian missions. The following paragraph, in the prospectus, explains the views of its founders. " The present Society can take part in no plan of Colonization or of Trade. Its objects are and must be exclusively pacific and benevolent ; but it may by encouragement, and by the diffusion of information, most materially aid in the civilization of Africa, and so pave the way for the successful exertions of others, whether they be directed to colonization and the cultivation of the soil, or to commercial intercourse, or to that which is immeasurably superior to them all, the establishment of the Christian faith on the continent of Africa." As long as the Society in question maintains this simple and unexceptionable ground, so long, (in my opinion) its claims on the support of Christians of every denomina- tion, are clear and unquestionable. X I'UKl'ATOHV LKTTER. a firm moral phalanx against the aggressions of a sliameless cu- pidity abroad, and a reckless violence in their own country. The plan truly is comprehensive, and the work indefinitely large, nor can we conceal from ourselves, that the obstructions to it are at once numerous and formidable. But we must enter upon that work and pursue it, in simple dependence on our Father who is in heaven. " Of one blood" has he made "all nations ;" and on all men has he bestowed those equal and inalienable rights — " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Doubtless the time will come when these rights shall be universally acknowledged ; and when justice, mercy, and peace shall triumph over all their enemies. Till then we must not cease to labor in the cause of the oppressed, and to remember them in our humble and fervent petitions, when we are enabled to draw near to the throne of grace. Before I leave this subject, there is one point which requires to be mentioned. I am glad to observe, that the motto of the African Civilization Society, with regard to commerce, is Free Trade.) and with regard to agriculture. Free Labor. The pre- valence, in Africa, of domestic slavery, is a circumstance greatly to be deplored ; and it will not only become our duty to present to the attention of her people, on her own territory, patterns of free agriculture, and visible proofs of its advantage; but in our communications with persons of influence on that continent, we must never forget to direct our advices and remonstrances against slavery, as well as against the slave trade. We have the two objects before us of developing the resources of the soil of Africa, and of raising the native mind. Were we to pursue the former object alo?ie, though the exportation of the African would be prevented, his bonds at home might, in many cases, be strength- ened. But if the raising of the native inind be kept steadily in view — if it be faithfully pursued in all our transactions — I fully believe that th(; society will work well for the discouragement and PIIEFATOIIY LETTKR. XI final extinction not only of the African slave trade, but of African domestic slavery. At the same time, I rejoice in the existence of a sister institution, which occupies itself with the simple and comprehensive object of promoting the abolition of slavery through- out the world. As it relates to the slave trade, this institution aims at undermining it, by destroying the market for slaves in the Western world — an attempt which perfectly harmonizes with the corresponding endeavor, to cut off the supply of slaves, by im- proving and civilizing Africa. Neither operation can, in my opinion, be spared — both ought to be strenuously supported. For my own part, I am prepared heartily to unite with the African Civilization Society, in its admirable plans for the be- nefit of that continent ; and equally so with the British and Foreign Anti-slavery Society, in its enlarged efforts against the curse of slavery, under whatsoever circumstances, and in whatso- ever part of the world, that curse may be found. The following letters, addressed to Henry Clay of Kentucky, were carried through the press before I left America. On our return from the West Indies to the United States, my compa- nions and myself spent ten days in the city of Washington, while Congress v/as in Session. We found no difficulty in obtaining private interviews with the President, the Secretaries of the dif- ferent departments of government, and many of the most influ- ential members of Congress of both parties. To these gentle- men we related the principal particulars of our West Indian tour, and stated the evidence with which we had been furnished, of the beneficial working of freedom among the negroes of the West Indies, in a pecuniary, civil, and moral point of view. Our nar- ration was listened to with great attention, and by no individual more so than by Henry Clay of Kentucky. Notwithstanding the conspicuous part which that statesman has of late years taken in defence of the slavery of the United States, we had abund- ant proof, that his mind is not steeled against a lively feeling of XII PREFATORY LETTER. interest in the cause of emancipation, and we have a strong hope, that the practical views developed in the present volume will ere long be embraced by him, in reference to the slave states of North America. In the mean time, as it was my object to convince the more reasonable of the pro-slavery party, I believed it best to address my letters to a gentleman who is generally regarded as belonginfT to that class. In making this selection I had of course no reference to the side which he is known to take in the politics of the United States. It was my wish to interest persons of all political parties in America, in the same great cause of sound policy, justice, and humanity. Perhaps I ought to make some apology, for the familiar style in which the letters are written. I have given a simple account of our tour, and of the incidents which befel us, and I have added descriptions of the peculiar scenery we met with, both in verse and prose — I am ready to hope, that these lighter parts of the work may serve to amuse the younger class of my readers on both sides the Atlantic, and lead them on to the consideration of those graver points, so deeply important in the present day, which it is my principal purpose to develop and impress. For my own part, I consider it to be greatly to our advantage, while we are engaged in the pursuit of serious and interesting objects, to catch the passing recreation afforded us by birds, flowers, blue skies, and bright sunsets. It is a trite saying that the bow which is always bent, must break at last. Be that as it may, my narrative, such as it is, is just a transcript of the reality. One more point in relation to mode of writing seems to claim a few remarks. While it is undoubtedly our christian duty to avoid the least concession of principle on the subject of slavery, the use of harsh epithets and violent language towards the slave- holders, is not only objectionable in itself, but has often had an injurious eflPect in arming them against our arguments, and of thus hindering the progress of our cause. I have therefore thought PREFATORY LETTER. Xlll it best to observe towards them the terms and usages ot" christian courtesy ; and I believe there are many of these persons in the United States, who are increasingly disposed to enter upon a fair consideration of the subject. If such individuals are wisely dealt with, by the friends of the slave, they can hardly fail to arrive at conclusions, which will finally entail upon them the moral necessity of openly supporting the cause of emancipation. At the same time, it ought never for a moment to be forgotten that the holding of our fellow-men, as property — liable to be bought and sold like other goods and chattels — is in its own nature a sinful and unlawful practice ; and further, that slavery in the United States is aggravated by certain features of a peculiarly revolting character. 1 need only remind thee, under this head, of the practice of slave-breeding, and of the exten- sive and shameless internal traffic in human beings, with which it is connected. But it may be asked, what are my objects in repubhsh- ing, in this country, a book which is specifically intended to bear on the people of the United States? My answer to this question is as follows — First, I conceive that the British pub- lic is increasingly alive to a feeling of interest, in the pecu- liar condition of the question of slavery amongst our brethren in America. There are features in the political constitution of that country, which throw many difficulties in the way of abolition ; but as the principal inhabitants of the several independent slave states are brought to a conviction, that free labor will answer their purpose better than the compulsory work of slaves, these difficulties will all be surmounted. In the principles and pro- gress of such a work, the British public cannot fail to be in- terested. In the second place, the practical details of the working of freedom in our West Indian colonies, must of course be as interesting to the friends of humanity in our own country, as to those in America. XIV PREFATORY LFTTER. But lastly, in making tliis republication, I have one peculiar object in view — an object which I deem to be of the highest practical importance to the future prosperity of the cause of freedom, and especially to thy own plan for the extinction of the slave trade — I mean the maintenance of the present pro- hibitory duties on slave grown coffee and sugar. If under the difficulties of the present crisis, as it regards the quantity and price of these articles, the duties in question should be relaxed or extinguished, a market of immense magnitude would imme- diately be opened for the produce of the slave labor of the Bra- zils, Cuba, and Porto Rico. The consequence would be, that ruin would soon overtake the planters of our West Indian colo- nies, and our free negroes would be deprived of their principal means of obtaining an honorable and comfortable livelihood ; but far more extensive, far more deplorable, would be the effect of such a change, on the millions of Africa. A vast new impulse would be given to slave labor, and therefore to the slave trade ; and both the number and energy of those who delight to prey on the vitals of Africa, would be indefinitely increased. True indeed it is that the high price of sugar is an incon- venience of no small magnitude to the population of Great Bri- tain and Ireland ; and if that price should be still somewhat increased, the inconvenience will be more severely felt than it is at present. But the following letters contain, I trust, some clear and indisputable evidences that these difficulties are in their nature temporary. The present diminished produce of sugar and coffee in the West Indies, is the result of that unsettlement which took place immediately after the date of full freedom. — Nor can it be denied, that this unsettlement, in Jamaica espe- cially, has been connected with unfair and impolitic attempts to compel the labor of free men. The desertion of estates, oc- casioned by these attempts, has given rise to a corresponding diminution of the crops. PREFATORY LETTER. XV It is certain however, that a better understanding between the parties concerned, has already taken place to a great extent ; and there can be no question that the foundation is now laid, in many of our West Indian colonies, including Jamaica, of an increased production of their staple articles. The drought which has latelv taken place in that island, must indeed have an unfavor- able bearing on the question. But this is a circumstance which has no connection with the subject of labor, and which, as we hope, another year may fully remedy. Give a little time to the working of freedom in these interesting colonies — exercise patience for a year or two, while the seeds of prosperity are de- veloping themselves, under the influence of liberty — and free grown sugar and coffee will, as I believe, be poured, in ample abundance, into the British market. In Antigua, where full freedom is six years old, the production of sugar has been almost doubled. If the genuine operation of freedom is not restricted in Jamaica, I feel a strong hope that it will, before very long, be nearly doubled in that colony also. In the mean time, I cannot but be deeply sensible of the im- portance of a faithful endeavor on the part of abolitionists to pro- mote, by their influence over the emancipated negroes, a steady attention to the cultivation of the staple articles of these and other islands. The negroes in Jamaica, and the friends who in- struct them and maintain their cause, have undoubtedly been exposed to more than a few provocations. But let them not be tempted by such circumstances, to harbor any hostile feelings towards the planters — let them rather endeavor to maintain that christian forbearance which wins its way infinitely better than violence and revenge. In the mean time, for the sake of the slaves in the Brazils, in Cuba, and in Porto Rico, and far above all, for the safety of untold multitudes in benighted Africa — let them direct their energies to the extension of the cultivation of sugar and coffee. I dwell on these articles not for the purpose XVI PREFATORY LETTER. of" excluding other beneficial pursuits of agriculture, but simply because, under the present exigencies, the increased production of them is of obvious and peculiar importance to the cause of justice and humanity. The luxury of sugar and coffee will thus become cheap ; the clamor now existing on the subject will cease ; and in the course of a few years, these and other articles will be produced by free labor, both in the West and East Indies — not to mention Africa herself — in such abundance, and at so reason- able a price, that similar slave grown produce will be driven from every market, even without the aid of prohibitory duties. I am thy affectionate brother, J. J. GURNEY. FAMrLlAR LKTTERS. LETTER I. VOYAGE FKOM NEW YORK, AND ENTRANCE ON THE TROPICS. Flushing, L. I. Sixth vwnth (JtatfiJ I at, 1840. My dear Friend, I seize the first day of leisure that has fallen to my lot, since I left Washington, in order to com- mence a narrative of my late tour in the West Indies ; and I gladly avail myself of thy obliging permission, in addressing a series of letters, on the subject, to Henry Clay of Kentucky. Sure I am that the pre- sent state of the West India Islands, in a pecuniary, political, and moral point of view, cannot be a matter of indifference to any American statesman. I know that thy feelings of interest in the great experiment which is now developing its results, in that part of the world, are deep and lively ; and I venture to believe that thou wilt give no severe reception to the familiar incidents — the trifling descriptions, whether in verse or prose — with which my story may probably be interwoven. B 2 VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK. I must however premise, that I undertook this journey, neither in pursuit of pleasure, nor for the specific purpose of ascertaining the effects of emanci- pation ; much less as the agent or representative of any body of philanthropists, either in England or America ; but in the character of a minister of the gospel. My primary object was to preach the glad tidings of peace and salvation to my fellow men, and from persons of every class, condition, and party in the West Indies, I have met with a cordial welcome, and the kindest attentions. In company with Mahlon Day, a highly respect- able citizen of New York, and a young friend who kindly undertook to act as our attendant and helper, I sailed from that city on the 22nd of last Eleventh month, (Nov.) in the Camilla, Captain Watlington. Our ship's company consisted of about twenty in- dividuals, (mostly in search of a warmer climate and better health) who had taken their passage, in this accommodating little ship, for Santa Cruz. The fine but cold, frosty day, on which we left your shores, gave them a sufficient warning, that the season was at hand, when the rigor of a North American Mnnter would become dangerous. At the same time, it af- forded such of us as were in good health, a delightful opportunity — as we swept along under full sail — of observing, nnder the brightest aspect, the rare beauty of the harbor of New York, the bay, and the neigh- boring islands. We had not continued our voyage more than three days, before we found ourselves in a genial climate. The thermometer stood at 70, and light clothing VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK. gradually came into requisition. The change seemed almost magical, and certainly it was no small luxury thus insensibly to glide into warmth, and as it were, to catch summer again by the skirts. We were now crossing "the Gulph Stream," where it is said to have a breadth of two hundred and fifty miles, and the temperature of the air was probably heightened by the heat of the waves below. To account for this enormous current of warm water, which runs up from the Gulph of Mexico, in a north-easterly direc- tion, to so great a distance, is nearly impossible. What the causes are which occasion the magnitude of the current, and the heat of the water, seems to be mere matter of conjecture ; but its beneficial effect in melting the ice, and unlocking the harbors, of North America, affords one evidence among ten thousand, that even the wildest sports of nature are subservient to good and wise purposes, in the order of a bene- volent Providence. Boisterous weather and a strong adverse gale, were our portion as we crossed " the Gulph." The foaming waves, with tops of a light transparent blue, rose to an unusual height, and were in beautiful contrast with the troughs below, of a deep dull lead color. Camilla, whilom swift of wing, Can now no longer fly. In vain her gallant sailors sing ; She faints and longs to die. The waves o'er which she loved to dance. Now horrid in her eye. In awful alpine forms advance, And curl their snows on high. O, were it not for sore affright, They might have charmed her view, B 2 4 VOYAGK FK(JM NEW VoRlv Dappled and marbled o'er vvitii while. And tipped with azure blue. But the vales and pits that yawn below Are dull and dark as lead ; They bid her every hojie forego — Fit chambers, for the dead ! Now (juail no more, thou blithesome maid, Beneath the howling blast, Sunshine alternates still with shade. Such fury cannot last. Thy guardian sylphs shall soon prevail. To dry those tears of sorrow, A smiling sky, a favoring gale, Await thee for the morrow. This prediction was verified ; for on the following day, the wind was favorable, the weather fair, the sea of the finest ultramarine blue, and nothing could be more delightful than our voyage. We were parti- cularly pleased with our first sight of the flying fishes, which we observed scudding along with wonderful agility over the surface of the water. Our Cap- tain assured us, that he had watched one which flew for the full distance of half a mile, before alight- ing. One of them winged its way on board our ship; and a more exquisitely beautiful creature I have seldom seen, about eight inches in length, his eye black, his back of the brightest dark blue, pure silver below, his v^^ings fibred like a leaf and perfectly transparent. The creature bears not the touch of man — he quivered, and presently died, in my hand. At night the phosphoric illumination around the ship, as she flew before the wind, was extraordinary. Though there was no moon visible, one might easily have supposed that it was moonlight, and the waves sparkled, and almost blazed. The following lines are graphically true, without poetic licence. VOYAGE FROM NKW YORK. O Tlie moon bciiealli the waters sleeps, Tlie stars are veiled with clouds, The vigorous breeze o'er Ocean sweeps. And swells the rustling shrouds. Regardless of the gale, the storm, Camilla flics ahead, And, lo, around her angel form A mystic glare is spread. 'IMie foam she dashes from her side. Dispels the gloom of night, And seems diffusing far and wide, A supernatural light. The myriad sparks of liquid fire Dance to the virgin's fame ; And the billows from her prow retire, All flickering with flame. As we found our way into the tropics, we observed that the atmosphere became clearer and clearer ; no mists were perceptible ; the sun seldom obscured, and the appearance of the sky and stars, at night, peculiarly bright and clear. The moon, in these lati- tudes, often assumes an almost vertical position ; and many of the stars which belong to the southern hem- isphere, are visible. Be-fore daylight one morning, the Captain called me upon deck to look at the southern cross, which is certainly a constellation of rare beauty. One of the five stars which form the cross, however, is of inferior magnitude, and not in the true position, which somewhat mars the image. When I turned towards the east, I enjoyed a still finer spectacle. The horn of an almost expiring moon, Venus, and Mars, were in all their splendor ; and the profusion of azure, lilac, ultramarine, pea- green, orange, and crimson, which mantled the sky, about half an hour before sun-rise, I never before saw cf| nailed. 6 VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK. The sunset in these warm regions, is also remark- able for mellow beauty, but not, as I imagined, of a splendor equal to the sunrise. One evening, a "golden edged cloud" suggested a few lines of con- solation to one of the ladies on board, who with much sorrow and anxiety, was nursing her interesting little boy, as he was sinking by degrees into the arms of death. A dark cloud was skirting the edge of the sea, A frown on tlie brow of the west, And nature was shrouded with sadness to me. As she sank in the ocean to rest ; But the sun that was wrapped in that mantle of woe. His radiance begins to unfold, And the veil that was darkening the billows below, Is fringed and embroidered with gold. The scene is a signal for mental relief. While it charms and refreshes the sight ; It bids me believe that the cloud of my grief, Shall soon wear a border of light. The gilding of hope, and the beaming of love, Victorious o'er sorrows and fears. Are heralds of mercy from heaven above. To illumine this valley of tears. No one needs to lack amusement during a voyage ; especially within the tropics ; — nature is constantly presenting objects of interest, and the sea, in its ever varying phases, is a sight which never tires. We were amused, one morning, by watching the motions of a great shark, called, from its known discernment and cunning, the " Sea lawyer." His broad head, agile body, and flopping green fins, with the nume- rous little myrmidon fishes which accompanied him on his journey, formed a striking spectacle. At another time, a dolphin followed our bait — a much more VOYAGE FROM NEW YOllK. taper and active fish than I had imagined ; liis fine blues and greens quite glittered through the waves. On a third occasion, the sea was seen sparkling with myriads of minute blue fishes, speckled with silver. The " Man-of-war birds," to all appearance bhick, with long wings and swallow tails, were often per- ceptible, soaring above us to a great height. I am told that they form a curious link between the alba- tross and sea eagle. Their gyrations resemble those of the latter bird ; and it is said that during the hurricanes which so often occur in the West Indies, in the autumn, these birds are seen rising, in great numbers, above the sphere of agitation, and enjoying themselves in the tranquillity of the skies above. On the Srd of the Twelfth month (December) we caught our first sight of land — the conical rocky peaks of Virgin Gorda rising before us to a considerable elevation. Soon afterwards we saw Tortola, St. John's, and St. Thomas — all however at a great distance. The next morning, those islands were full in sight to the westward, and, in the distant east, we obtained a view of the mountains of Porto Rico. The appearance of these tropical islands, rising suddenly from the sea, and forming steep, pyramidal elevations, sometimes of bare rock, at other times covered with greenness, was to many of us a perfect novelty ; and one is immediately led, as a matter of course, to trace their existence to some vast impulse from below. There can be little doubt, I suppose, that they are, in general, of volcanic origin ; and that they are not of that fathomless antiquity to which some of the geological strata pretend, is plainly evinced by the 8 VOVACJE FROM NEW YORK. circuiiistaiKC, that the fossil shells aiul corals which are found imbedded in their mountain tops, are often precisely the same kinds as are still discovered in the Carribean seas. Our course lay through the " Vir- gin passage." During the clear but moonless night, we passed by a precipitous rock called " Sail rock." Such is its resemblance to a ship in full sail, that, as the story goes, it was once battered, by mistake, as an enemy, by a French frigate. We seemed to be driving directly upon it, our mate having failed in his endeavours to steer to the leeward of it ; but a sudden tack of the ship was effected, so as to prevent the too probable contact. The next morning we were be- calmed within sight of Santa Cruz, though at a dis- tance, from that island, of forty miles. To our right — also at a long distance — lay Crab island, which is said to be of considerable fertility and value. I understand that the chief part of it, is still covered with fine forest timber, that parrots abound in the woods, with wild animals and game of various descriptions. For a long time this island continued unsettled and unclaimed ; but of late years it has fallen into the hands of Spain, and is said to be a kind of dependency on Porto Rico. The governor is a Frenchman ; and slaves have already been introduced into the island. It is greatly to be feared that it not only affords a refuge for the slavers of Cuba and Porto Rico, but that it will itself be gradually peopled with slaves from Africa. It seems to be a question- able point whether (ireat Britain is not in possession of the first claim on this island. If so, it is surely most desirable, for mercy's sake, that she should assert VOYAGE IROM NEW VUKK. li her rights. As we hiy motionless, on the deep, wc observed two negro boys niaking their way towards us, from a far distant sloop, in a crazy little boat which they were skilfully working with paddles. We fondly hoped that they were bringing us a supply of fruit ; but on their arrival, wc found that their mission was to beg for a little water and provision. The interview, however, was one of considerable in- terest ; for they were the first of the emancipated British slaves whom we saw in the West Indies. They came from Virgin Gorda, and were employed by the Captain of the sloop, himself a negro, with three others, in cutting wood on Crab island, for the use of the hospital in Santa Cruz. Their wages were five dollars and a half per month, for each man, be- sides board ; thus, under the new system, they were earning their living by honest industry ; and they appeared to us to be at once well behaved and con- tented. In the evening — when the patience of some of our company was beginning to flag — a favourable breeze sprang up ; the night was mild and clear, and the sky studded with stars ; our passengers assembled on the quarter deck, enjoying the scene ; every body was in good humour in the prospect of a speedy termina- tion of our voyage ; and fair was the wind, the next n»orning, which wafted us safely to our harbor. The appearance of Santa Cruz, as you approach it from the North, is picturesque and pleasing — to us who had been so long at sea, and were strangers to West Indian scenery, it seemed clad with beauty — a succession of rounded or conical hills and mountains. 10 VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK. cultivated to their very tops ; partly red (being the color of the soil) where the hoe had been at work ; and partly bright green, whc^rc already covered with the sugar cane — neat planting settlements visible in various spots ; severally consisting ot a mansion, a boiling house, a number of negro huts, and a wind mill on some neighbouring elevation, for grinding the sugar — the green wooded dells between the hills — and the cocoa-nut trees, with their tall stems, and strange looking but elegant, deciduous branches, scattered over the whole scene. We landed at Fred- ericksted or West End, exactly two weeks after our departure from New York. Good boarding houses, well suited for invalids, were ready for the reception of all the passengers. For ourselves, we found a peaceful and commodious resting place in the house of our kind friend Rebecca Rogers — a house which we can cordially recommend to the notice of West Indian travellers. The hot-house warmth of the at- mosphere was very perceptible to our feelings on our first landing ; but we were soon refreshed with the delightful easterly breeze which seldom fails to blow in Santa Cruz ; and certainly it was not without a feeling of heartfelt gratitude to the Creator and Pre- server of men, that we first landed on a West Indian shore. One consideration alone was oppressive to us — we had come to a land of slavery. But it is time I should close my first letter. I am, with respect, &c. &c. LETTER II. SANTA CRUZ. Flushing, L. I. Sixth month (June) 2nd, 1840. My dear Friend, The charms of a tropical country, when novel, are calculated to make a delightful impression on the mind ; and as we roamed along the lanes and cane- fields of Santa Cruz, during the first few days after our arrival, we could easily conceive the pleasure en- joyed by Columbus and his followers, when the fer- tility and beauty of West Indian scenery first burst upon their view. Many beautiful productions of na- ture however, not indigenous, are now added to the catalogue of wonders which inflamed the imagina- tion of Columbus. Almost every plant we saw as we drove or rode about the country, from the largest tree to the small weed, was unknown to us, and formed the subject of somewhat troublesome enquiry. It was a new world to us, as well as to its first discoverer ; and several days must be passed amidst these scenes, before one can obtain any thing like a familiar acquaintance with the productions of nature. Splendid exotic plants which would be regarded as rarities, even in \'2 SANTA ( RUZ. the greenhouses ot Knghiiul and America, arc culti- vated in the little gardens of Santa Cruz ; and the M'ild flowers are scarcely less attractive. Amongst them, we observed huge kinds ot convolvolus white and pink, yellow hell-flowers, scarlet creepers, bright blue peas of singular beauty ; and to crown all, the " pride of Barbadoes," sometimes crinison, sometimes yellow, with butterfly petals, long pendent stamina, and acacia-like leaves, adorning the hedges in great profusion. The trees are, for the most part, bearers of fruit, and many of them are covered with luxuriant foliage. To select a few of the most remarkable, I would .just mention the plantain and banana, (nearly the same in appearance,) with pendent leaves of va:st dimension, and a profusion of finger-like fruit grow- ing in clusters — the wild orange tree, covered at the same time with fruit and flowers — the lime, which lines the hedges, and is equally fragrant, producing in abundance a small kind of lemon — the guava, with pink blossoms and pear-like fruit, also frequent in the hedge rows — the mango, heavily laden with foliage, and with fruit in its season — the mammee, growing to a great size, and profusely covered with glazed, dark green foliage — lastly, the tamarind, with its light feathery leaves and long pods which contain the fruit used for a preserve, spreading its branches far and wide, like the British oak. The sweet orange, and those larger species of the same genus, the " forbidden fruit," and the shaddock, are produced only by cultivation ; but they grow in Santa Cruz very plentifully. In company with a young friend, I rode one morning to visit the gardens SAMA LKLZ. \'.i of Prosperity estate, vvhicij, i\>v want oi some of that labor, now monopolized bv the snj^ar eane, are left in wild confusion ; but these (leliij;htful fruits are still produced there in luxuriant |)rofusion ; and a yi^'it to Prosperity, is an easy method of gratifying the sight, the smell, an, on these oecasions, and to examine tlie live hsh, before they are taken ont, or atter they are hiid on the ^rass, under the shade, is a source of almost endless amnse- ment. The variety of the kinds, and the brightness of their coh)rs, are truly surprising. I knoA only their vulgar names, and vulgar indeed they are ; but I cannot do justice to my theme without specifying the grunt, striped with alternate lines of yellow and purple ; the goat^ pink and silver ; the doctor, of bur- nished copper; the fVe Is hman, pink with yellow stripes ; the hind, white with red and brown spots ; the rock- hind, green with brown spots ; the parrot, dark brown, blue and yellow; the silk-Jlsh, of a bright pink ; the blare-eye, pink with a prodigious white eye ; the Span- ish hog, bright yellow and brown ; the angel, of the finest gold and purple ; to which list might be added a multitude of others. These fishes are generally from one to two pounds in weight, and with others of a larger dimension, but not so splendid, are generally good for the table — no small resource even for the poorer inhabitants of Santa Cruz. Our friend, Dr. Griffith, an able naturalist from the United States, who was with us on the island, was very successful in pre- serving these gaudy creatures, without destroying their color. I understand that he has since presented his collection to one of the scientific institutions in Phil- adelphia. The town of Bassin or Christiansted is much larger than West End, well built and agreeable, with a good harbor for shipping, within the reef or bar. The Government House is handsome and commodious ; SANTA CRUZ. 1/ the hills near the town lofty and picturesque ; and the views from them of the port below, the sea coast, and fine tracts of country, both to the east and west, amply repay the labor of the ascent. The same may be said of Bulow Minda, the Gov^ernor's coun- try seat, a handsome residence, on a high hill about two miles west of Bassin. There, fine prospects, and pure, cool air, may be enjoyed in abundance. West End however, from its numerous excellent boardinsr- houses, and the pleasant rides in the neighborhood, is the best place for invalids. The thermometer ran- ged during our stay there from 75 to 85, with little variation at night. The hot sun must be avoided during the day; but, during the early mornings and evenings, the weather and country air are in general delightful. No man need require a more wholesome or agree- able diet than is afforded by the fish, the sweet pork and mutton, the edible vegetables, and the fruits of Santa Cruz. The yams, when in perfection, are a good substitute for a mealy potato ; the ripe plan- tains and bananas, especially the latter, are excellent fruits, and when fried are among the nicest of vege- tables ; the oranges are delicious, and the shaddocks and forbidden fruit, when of the best kind and lully ripe, are not less so. To these may be added the sour- sop, sugar-apple, sappedilla, bell-apple, pomme de Cythere, star-apple, and above all the mango. This last, when of an inferior kind, has the taste of turpentine ; but the belter sorts have somewhat the flavor of a peach, and are very luscious. This de- scription applies, with variations, to the other West c 18 SANTA CRl'Z. India Islands. Nature has done wonders for them. Our friend, Dr. Stedman, who has heen practising for fifty years on the island, as a physician, sent us a present of the hread fruit. It is round, of the size of a cocoa-nut, and covered with a green rind, divided into hexagons like the honeycomb. We were directed to keep it for a day or two, then to bake it, and lastly to cut it in slices to be toasted for breakfast. We found it a sweet, agreeable, farinaceous food, proba- bly the best substitute for bread that has yet been discovered. The sugar crop was now commencing on several of the estates, and we visited the property of our friend Adam Stevenson of North End, to witness the pro- cess of sugar-making. When there is wind enough to turn the mill, the canes (already conveyed to it on asses or mules) are forced between two almost contiguous iron cylinders, kept in constant rota- tory motion. The liquor, thus pressed out, is con- veyed by a long wooden pipe, down the hill to the boiling house. It is there received by a large vesssel called the clarifier, and thence it passes through a succession of boilers, subjected to diiferent degrees of heat. First it is converted into syrup; next into the thicker fluid called sling. The sling is conveyed by troughs into the graining pans, where it granu- lates and assumes the form of sugar mixed with molasses. It is then transferred to the hogsheads, from which the molasses gradually drain into re- ceivers placed below ; and finally, the sugar is left dry and pure, ready for exportation. The sugar of Santa Cruz is generally of a fine grain, and light, 4 SANTA CRUZ. 19 delicate color, — much more so than that produced by moister and more luxuriant soils. Every part of this valuable plant is applied to some use. The leaves form excellent fodder for pigs and cattle ; the refuse cane, after the juice has been pressed out, re- ceives the name of trash, and is carefully stacked under cover, for the purpose of fuel. It is a circumstance much to be lamented, that the distillery is an almost unvarying appendage to the boiling-house, and every two hogsheads of sugar are accompanied by at least one puncheon of rum. The new rum of the West Indies is a tempting, but most unhealthy liquor, and has, doubtless, caused an un- numbered multitude of untimely deaths. Our friend Stevenson drinks only water, and with an honest con- sistency, manufactures no rum. The "scummings" of the sugar liquor, from which (with a mixture of molasses) the rum is usually distilled, are, on his es- tate, pumped back into the clarifier, and converted into sugar as excellent as any that he makes. He is confident that this change of system is economical and profitable ; and greatly is it to be desired that his example may be followed throughout the West Indies. The exports of sugar from Santa Cruz, in 1839, were 19,428 hogsheads, of 1300 lbs. each. In some former years, the produce has been upwards of 30,000. While, on the one hand, this island derives vast ad- vantage from the watchful skill and care of a respect- able body of resident proprietors, there can be no doubt that the dead iveight of the slaves is severely felt, — that many of the estates have passed from the c 2 20 SANTA ( Kl'Z. liiinds of the original owners into those of the mana- gers — that many others are heavily mortgaged, — and that the land for several years past, has been under a process of gradual exhaustion. The emancipation of the property of this island from its burdens, and the restoration of its soil, is reserved as I believe, for the annals of freedom. I understand that the slaves form about four-fifths of the population, and are in number about 19,000. Time was, when the treatment to which they were exposed, was harsh and severe ; and then their num- bers were constantly declining. Of late years, how- ever, the Danish government has instituted various restrictions which have ameliorated the condition of the slaves. They are not allowed, as I understand, to be worked longer in the day, than from 6 o'clock in the morning, to the same hour in the evening, with intervals (not always long enough) for breakfast and dinner. Legal provisions are made respecting food and clothing. The driver in the field is not permitted to carry any more terrible instrument than a tamarind switch of moderate size ; and twelve lashes with the rope, and a short period of solitary confinement, (mostly I believe in a light room) are the extent of punishment which even the manager or master is per- mitted to inflict. This rope however, is a dangerous instrument of torture ; and I am told that the reduc- tion of the allowed number of lashes, from thirty to twelve, is no matter of law, but the simple result of the imperative benevolence of the governor-general. Von Scholten. Any negro has a right to buy his own freedom ; and, in case of need, the price is settled SANTA ( RLFZ. 21 by a public appraiser, llic consequence of these be- nevolent provisions is, that the condition of the slaves is improved, and their number is now kept up, with a very small increase. I cannot, however, refrain from observing, that legal provisions for the amelioration of slavery, are in general of little use. In the British Colonies, the measures of this kind which were enacted by the Par- liament at home, were constantly frustrated by local influence ; and, in spite of law or reason, man will often be found, in the hour of temptation, to abuse arbitrary power over his fellow man. I consider it therefore highly probable, that even in Santa Cruz, where the ameliorating laws are enforced by a local government, at once vigilant and despotic, acts of oppression and cruelty may at times take place, which are wholly unknown to the government ; much more, to an occasional visitor of the island. In the mean time the degradation occasioned by slavery in the Danish islands — the low physical, Intel lectual, and moral condition of the slaves, as com pared with that of the liberated negroes of the British islands — is obvious and unc[uestionable. The worst feature of the system is the " Sunday market," as it is called. The slaves are allowed no one of the working days of the week for their own business. The consequence is, that multitudes of them throng from the country (often from a great distance) into the towns of Bassin and West End, on the First day of the week, with their provisions and fruits for sale. The rum shops are hard by the market places. The buvers, of course, misuse the dav as well as the sell- 22 SANTA CRUZ. ers ; and the scene is one, not only of busy traffic, but of noisy merriment, idleness, and dissipation. Before we left Santa Cruz, we called on General Sobotker, the present Governor, of the island, to take our leave ; and we ventured to press this subject on his consider- ation, not without some remarks on slavery in gene- ral. He listened to us in a very obliging manner, and seemed to look forward to better days ; but his last words to us, as we went down the steps from his door, were, " Patience, patience^ patience^ It was very satisfactory to us, to learn from our friend Captain Van Scholten, the brother of the Gov- ernor General (then in Denmark) that a commission had been appointed at Copenhagen, to enquire into the state of these colonies, with a view to emancipa- tion. In the meantime, seven large buildings have been erected in different parts of the island, to serve as chapels and schools, for the religious and literary instruction of the Negro population. They are not yet in use ; but several of the planters are making laudable exertions for the education of their slaves in reading, and in a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. A colored person of the name of Macfarlane, in every way adapted for the office, is employed for the purpose ; this school circulates, with excellent effect, from one estate to another. Having been taught their moral and religious obligations, the negroes, on these estates, are already greatly improved, and are much more useful to their masters, than in the days of their ignorance. The schools held on the First day of the week, under the care of the members of the Episcopal SANTA CRUZ. 2'A church, tit Bassin and West End, are attended by several hundreds of black, mulatto, and white chil- dren. Some of the planters and their wives are united with colored persons and others, as instructers in these schools ; and the blessed work is carried on, both among the teachers and the taught, without pre- judice of caste, or distinction of color. We were glad to be informed of the existence of an institution, in the Danish West Indian islands, (derived of course from the parent state) which oper- ates most beneficially, in promoting the peace of the inhabitants. It is the Court of Reconciliation, in which all disputes and questions of civil right, must be submitted to arbitration, before they can become the subjects oF suits at law. In this court of amicable adjustment, such matters are almost universally set- tled. The consequence is, that the legal profession in Santa Cruz is nearly a sinecure, and can scarcely be said to exist at all. Such a provision would be inval- uable in the British West Indies, where proceedings at law are a perpetual source of irritation and vexation. I cannot conclude this letter without observing, that the society in Santa Cruz is remarkably agree- able ; and nothing could exceed the kindness and hospitality which we received at the hands of many of the resident proprietors. No denominations of Christians, besides the Danish Lutheran church, are there tolerated by law, except the Moravians, Roman Catholics, and Church of England ; but by the special leave of the Government, we held public meetings for worship in both the towns, before we left the island. These were largely attended by })ersons of various 24 SANTA CRUZ. colors, and conditions, and afforded an opportunity for the free promulgation of those essential principles of Christianity, which lie at the root of pure virtue, and permanent happiness. It is to be hoped that civil and religious freedom, without obstruction or distinction, will ere long exert its genial sway over the Danish colonics. When such is the case, this delightful island, so remarkable for its even climate, and other natural advantages, may reasonably be expected to become as pleasant and desirable a residence as can any where be found. Even as matters now stand, we left Santa Cruz, after a visit of nearly three weeks, with feelings of regret, as well as of gratitude and affection towards many of its inhabitants. But it is time once more to conclude. I am, &c. 6lc. LETTER III. SAINT THOMAS AND TORTOLA. Flushing, L. I. Sixth month (June) Srd, 1840. My dear Friend, Having performed the religious duties which devolved upon us in Santa Cruz, we took a hearty leave of our numerous friends, and sailed for St. Thomas, which port we reached on the morning of the 26th of the Twelfth month (December.) As you approach St. Thomas from the south, and enter the harbor, (the island and town having the same name) the scene presented to the view is one of the most striking in the West Indies. The harbor is formed by a narrow inlet of the sea, and a land-locked bay within, remarkably commodious as a station for shipping. It is a free port, of great business — a little emporium of traffic — and we observed on our arrival, a vast number of vessels lying in the harbor, of various sizes, and belonging to different nations. On the left of the entrance, is a lofty round hill on which the fort is built ; and, on two elevated spots to the right, are seen the remains of fortresses, once the strong holds of the Buccaneers who. in days of yore, 26 SANTA CKL'Z, infested the Virgin islands. The town is neatly built on three hills, running in a parallel line at the north- ern, or inland extremity of the bay ; and these are surmounted by picturesque conical mountains ; com- posed (I believe) of primitive rock, and covered with brushwood. One would have supposed that when once a vessel has entered this harbor it must needs be in perfect security ; but this is far from being always the case. During the fearful hurricane which visited St. Thomas, in the Eighth month of 1837, one hun- dred and seventy vessels in the bay, were, as I am in- formed, driven ashore. The loss of life and property, on that afflicting occasion, was very considerable. We were kindly welcomed, on our landing, by some friends of ours, who have a temporary residence in the place, and were provided with good accommoda- tion at a large boarding house, much frequented by the merchants of the town. The approach of a great ball, about to be given in the house, soon drove us into a more secluded abode ; but quiet was not then to be found in St. Thomas. It was the negro Satur- nalia, the slaves being allowed a perfect liberty, from " Christmas" to New Year's day, to drum, fiddle, dance, and sing, to the utmost extent of their wishes. The evil genius of slavery seemed now to have as- sumed the form of a merry-andrew, and we thought that the dissipation could not fail to be as unprofit- able to the negroes, as the din was disagreeable to ourselves. However, we dared not judge them — we knew it was their only holiday. This island is at once picturesque and barren. The few sugar estates which it contains are of an inferior ST. THOMAS AND TORTOLA. 27 description, and almost the whole population, amount- ing, as we understood, to about 11,000, are concen- trated in the town. Populous as is the town, it contains only one Protestant place of worship — of very moderate size — used on the First day of the week, by the Danish Lutheran, and Dutch Reform churches in succession. By the kind permission of the Dutch Reform pastor, and with the consent of the Governor, Major Oxholm, we held in this building our public meeting for worship. The respectability and attention of the congregation, afforded us an evi- dence, that even in St. Thomas there are more than a few persons, who think and feel seriously on matters of the highest importance. But we greatly fear that among the traffickers of many nations, and the con- fusion of many tongues in this little Western Tyre, the pursuits of religion are generally forgotten. Mer- chandise by day, and gaiety by night, seemed chiefly to engross the attention of the residents. Nor could we hear any favorable accounts of the moral condi- tion of the black and colored population. There are but few married couples among them — loose and low habits appear to be general. No one can aver that slavery in St. Thomas is attended by any one advantage, temporal, civil, moral, or spiritual. We called one evening at the Moravian establish- ment which lies about two miles to the westward of the town, and exchanged kind looks with the German brother, with whom we were unable to converse in his own language. The religious influence of the Mo- ravians in the Danish islands, although to a certain extent decidedly beneficial, is considerably diminished 28 ST. THOMAS AN 13 TORTOLA. by two circumstances ; first, by their practice of preacli- incj and teaching in the Negro-Dutch, a barbarous jargon now but little spoken by the people ; and se- condly, by their holding slaves as part of the mission properties. It is greatly to I e regretted that the local Danish government in both islands, is at present much prejudiced against the Methodists. To be a Methodist, seems to be tantamount to being abso- lutely excluded from the Danish colonies. The suc- cess which these Christians have met with, both among the slaves in your southern states, and among the liberated negroes in the British West Indies, affords a plain proof that they might be admitted with entire safety to the government, and with the most impor- tant benefit to the mass of the population. The worst charge which can be made against St. Thomas, has relation to the slave trade. The Spanish and Por- tuguese slave vessels, frequently come to this port to be fitted up for their nefarious adventures on the coast of Africa ; here they have free ingress and egress, without the smallest interruption from the Danish men-of-war on the station ; and on some occasions, they have actually received their supplies of gunpow- der from the fort itself. Why should not the treaties between Great Britain and Denmark, on the subject of the slave trade, be followed up by an honest and vigorous co-operation ? Under a Christian and even Protestant government, such connivances, on the part of the local authorities, are extremely discreditable; but it can scarcely be doubted, that the present bene- volent rulers of Denmark will bring them to a speedy (ermination. ST. THOMAS AND TORTOLA. 23 It is refreshing to turn from the obliquity and cor- rnption of men, to the charms of scenery, and the rarities of nature. Both these are to be found in St. Thomas. Kindly provided by our friends with horses, we occupied some of our early mornings in scaHng the hills in several directions ; and the views which we obtained of the harbor, the town, and the ship- ping, under various aspects, with the wild country around them, were enchanting. From the top of the heights, to the north of the town, the sea, with its numerous inlets and rocky keys, is visible on both sides; and a ride of a few miles, to the eastward, brings von suddenlv to a near view of St. John's, Tortola, Jos^ Vandyk, and other picturesque islands, with wooded mountains in the fore ground, and ocean rolling between. But perhaps the greatest object of curiosity, in this island, is a prodigious specimen of the Bomhax Seva, or silk cotton tree, which grows about two miles to the westward of the town. This tree, which bears a light foliage and pods full of silky cot- ton (suitable we are told, for the manufacture of hats) loses its leaves once in the year. In the present in- stance it was quite bare — its trunk about fifty feet in circumference, of a contorted shape, with high, thin battlements or projections — its vast branches, spread- ing to a great distance, at right angles with the trunk, and shooting out others nearly at right angles with themselves — some parts of it encumbered with enor- mous knots. This tree is of African descent ; the specimen now described may fairly be called a vege- table monster. We were amused by observing upon it, the works of a species of ant, called the wood- 30 ST. THOMAS AND TORTOLA. louse. The central city oF these little creatures occu- pied a fork formed by two of the branches ; and from this point, streets or avenues were seen diverging over the tree in every direction, all teeming with a busy population. On the last day of the year, we embarked on board the brigantine Eclipse of Trinidad, Captain Aarestrup, which we had hired for a cruise among the islands to the windward, and having taken an affectionate leave of the friends who " accompanied us to the ship," set sail for Tortola. The distance between the two islands is small, but our voyage was slow and boisterous ; and after pass- ing along the highly picturesque coast of St. John's — another Danish island, much more cultivated than St. Thomas — we were overtaken by the night, before we could make the passage between its eastern extremity and Norman's island, which leads to Tortola. A night of discomfort and sea sickness, was however, amply repaid by a safe entrance the next morning, between fine rocks and mountains, into our desired harbor. A skilful negro sailor, whom we picked up at St. Thomas, piloted us along a somewhat difficult course, to Roadstown in Tortola. The island as we approached it, presented a highly interesting appear- ance ; its mountains peaked and picturesque, and the plains below clad with sugar cane. With some difficulty we found board and lodging at a tavern close by the sea, kept by a singular colored old lady, named M'Claverty. Her rooms had been occupied, up to that day, by some of her relatives who had been dangerously ill with fever, and the children ST, THOMAS AND TORTOLA. 31 of the family were creeping about the house, in a most emaciated condition. No alternative offered but to take the apartments ; we were assured that there was no danger, and we happily escaped without the least infection. The constant draughts of a delicious easterly breeze sweeping through the house, were in- deed sufficient to prevent it ; and that we were not in the way of starvation, was evident, from the sight which caught our eye, of a number of green turtles in a small reservoir of sea water, before the door of the tavern. These animals abound among the rocks and keys of the Virgin islands, and are common fare at the tables of the gentry. We could not but feel an intense interest in making our first visit to a British island, peopled with eman- cipated negroes. Out of a population of nearly five thousand, there are scarcely more than two hundred white persons ; but we heard of no inconveniences arising from this disparity. We had letters to Dr. Dyett, the Stipendiary Magistrate, and to some of the principal planters, who greeted us with a warm wel- come, and soon relieved us from our very natural anxiety, by assuring us that freedom was working well in Tortola. One of our first visits was to a school for black children, under the care of Alexander Bott, the pious minister of the parish church. It was in good order — the children answered our questions well. We then proceeded to the jail, in which, if my memory serves me right, we found only one prisoner — with the jailor, and the judge ! Our kind friend, Francis Spencer Wigley, Chief Justice of the British Virgin Islands, happened to be there, and cheered us with 32 THOMAS AND TORTOLA. the information, that crime had vastly decreased since the period of full emancipation. I looked over the list of commitments to the jail, which, for the most part, arc summary for petty offences, and observed that in the last six months of 1837, the number com- mitted was 186, and in the last six months of 1839, only 75, making a difference of 1 II in favor of free- dom. With regard to heavier offences, the three preceding courts of session (embracing a period of nine months) were occasions of perfect leisure — not a single criminal indictment at any of them. In the afternoon, we presented one of our letters to William R. Isaacs, a most respectable old gentleman, who was once President of the Island. He was con- fined to his bed with a sprained ancle, and kindly allowed me the use of his excellent riding-horse, during our stay at Roadstown. He is himself a con- siderable proprietor, and vras then acting as attorney to Reid, Irving, and Co. of London, owners, by mort- gage tenure, of a large part of the island. In these two capacities, our elderly friend had j^jfee?? hundred free negroes under his care ; and since all his habits had long been associated with the old system, we could not but regard his testimony as of peculiar value. He speedily informed us, of his own accord, that his laborers were working well. '^ I have," said he, " no complaint to make." The fact that so large a proportion of the island had passed out of the hands of the proprietors, into those of the merchant and money lender, was a conclusive evidence against slavery. With this evidence we could now contrast the happy testimony of our friend, in favor of freedom. ST. THOMAS AND TORTOLA. IVS The next morning we mounted our horses at an early hour, and, in company with Dr. Dyett, and R. V. Shew, an influential planter, visited President Isaac's principal property. I observed a large company of negroes, male and female, at work on the brow of a lofty hill. I rode up to them, in company with the overseer, and found them heartily at work. They were engaged in the laborious occupation of holing — i. e. digging holes with the hoe, for the reception of the canes ; and protecting each hole (as was neces- sary on that steep declivity) with a firm embankment. Those who best understood the subject, freely ac- knowledged that their work was excellent. We afterwards witnessed similar scenes, and received accounts equally satisfactory, on the sugar plantations belonging to R. V. Shew, and Judge Wigley. The wages of these laborers are small, only sixpence sterling per day, with a trifling increase during crop time ; but I was assured that the privileges which they enjoy, of a cottage, with good provision grounds, rent free, and plenty of pasture for their stock, at least double the amount of their wages. The present con- dition of the planters in Tortola is not very favorable, from long continued droughts, and a consequent short crop ; but I hope that more prosperous seasons will soon lead to an increase of wages. This is obviously the best method of preventing the migration of the peasantry to Trinidad, to which colony many of them have been lured by emissaries sent out for the pur- pose — under the hope of larger returns for their labor. In the mean time I am quite willing to acknowledge, D .'34 ST. THOMAS AND TORTOLA. that the hiborcrs of Tortohi appeared to iis to be in a condition of considerable ease and conifort. Among the vegetables which they cultivate in their provision grounds, we observed the pigeon pea, a shrub which grows here in great quantities, and pro- duces a nutritious pea for the table ; also the cassava. It has been remarked, that a piece of ground culti- vated Avith this root, will produce more food, for man, than under any other cultivation whatever. It is a singular circumstance that its juice is a deadly poison, but after this has been pressed out, the farinaceous substance which remains, is made into an excellent thin bread, like the Scotch oat cake in appearance, but more agreeable to the palate. After regaling ourselves with a plentiful breakfast at Judge Wigley's pleasant residence on the top of a lofty hill, we pursued our course through scenery of uncommon beauty — in parts almost of a Swiss cha- racter. From a mountain called Chateau Bel air, w^e obtained a view, at once, of almost all the islands of the Virgin group, with their satellites or keys. They are very numerous, and mostly rise very boldly from the sea. The principal of them are St. John's, St. Thomas, Tortola, Jose Vandyk, Norman's, Ginger, Peter's, Goodman's, Beef and Guana islands (the latter remarkable for the Guana lizards) and Virgin Gorda or Spanish town. The scene was magnificent. There are no roads, on this island, for carriages — only rocky and precipitous mountain paths, for jour- neys on horseback or foot. The wild flowers are still more beautiful here than in Santa Cruz. The great ST. THOMAS AM) TORTOLA. 35 aloe, called the century plant, abounds, and has a very picturesque appearance, and there are many prodigious plants of the cactus tribe. Pink, purple, red, and yellow convolvoluses, are seen creeping about in all directions ; and the splendid " pride of Barbadoes" is common. The white jasmine occurs in the hedges, and a small tree called the Panchupan, bears pro- fuse bunches of large white flowers of fragrant jasmine odor. The brown pelicans float about the coast in great numbers, and we were told that the neighbor- ing low island of Anegada is frequented by the flam- ingo. At the distance of many hundred yards, when on the brow of a lofty hill, we distinctly saw a shark playing among the waves — an evidence of the remark- able clearness both of the air and water. Many of the hills are covered with luxuriant " guinea grass," and aftbrd excellent pasture for cattle, sheep, and goats. A large proportion of these animals belong to the negroes. The cows are sleek and beautiful, and the milk excellent. Another day was spent in a boat excursion, to the western extremity of the island, in order to visit some of the estates under the care of our friend Isaac Thomas, another of the principal attorneys. In the course of our voyage, the sailors caught some fish so curiously striped and spotted, as to receive the name of " lizard" fish ; and, on landing, we observed the shore strewn with handsome specimens of the echinus, or sea egg. We found the sugar plantations, under the care of our friend, in fair order. He employs two hundred and fifty free negroes, and assured us that " he had not the slightest complaint to make respect- D 2 36 ST. THOMAS ANU TORTOLA. ing them." On the examination of the accounts of two of the properties, it appeared that he was deci- dedly saving money, by the substitution of free labor, on moderate wages, for the dead weight of slavery. After partaking, with several other persons, of this gentleman's abundant hospitality, he accompanied us to Windy Hill, the seat of the President, E. H. Drummond Hay, an agreeable and sensible gentleman, who received us with great politeness. Our friends had now once more provided us with horses ; and a long ride by rocky paths, over steep mountains, brought us home to Roadstown in safety — but not until after nightfall. Tortola was once the seat of a little society of Friends, and one of our most eminent travelling ministers of former days, Thomas Chalkley, found there a field of labor, and a grave. There are no members of the Society now on the island, but there is a small community of black people, settled as tenants in common, on an estate once belonging to Samuel and Mary Nottingham, Quakers of high cha- racter. About sixty years ago, they liberated their slaves, from conscientious motives, and gave them their estate at Longlook, on the eastern coast. A letter of christian advice addressed to their predeces- sors by these pious persons, then living at Bristol, is still cherished by the negroes on the property, about sixty in number, and held as a sort of title deed to the estate.^ We had great pleasure in visiting them. Their land is on the brow of a mountain, and a con- siderable part of it is well cultivated with yams, and 1 See Appendix, A. ST. THOMAS AND TORTOLA. 37 other vegetables. We held a religious meeting with them, in the largest of their cottages, and were en- tirely satisfied with their respectable appearance, and orderly behavior. Our concluding day at Tortola was the First of the week. We had appointed a public meeting for wor- ship in the morning, in the Methodist meetinghouse — the excellent missionaries then stationed there, Bates and Stepney, being kindly willing to make way for us. So effectual have been the labors of these mis- sionaries and their precursors, among the liberated negroes, that they now number nearly 2000 members of their church, besides attenders — more than a third of the whole population ! The attendance of the laboring people, on the present occasion, was large ; they w ere dressed with the greatest neatness, chiefly in white clothing, which I'orms a contrast with their sable hue, pleasing to the eye of a stranger, and pecu- liarly agreeable to their own taste. Without a word being said to them on the subject, they sat for a con- siderable time in solemn silence — a practice to which they had never been accustomed — and afterwards listened to the discourse addressed to them, with eager and devout attention. The occasion was one of deep interest to ourselves, and we could not avoid perceiving that freedom was working well as a hand- maid to religion. In the afternoon we crossed the water on a visit to the African settlement at Kingstown bay. It consists of several hundred Africans, taken out of captured slave ships, and located on a tract of land, allotted them by order of the British Government. We had 38 ST. THOMAS AM) TORTOLA, heard reports of their poverty and idleness ; hut these were helied by their decent and respectable appear- ance. A church is nou' in course of building for their use, under the orders of the Bishop of Barbadoes ; and a school has been already formed for the educa- tion of their children. About three hundred of them assembled, under the shade of a large tamarind tree, and it has seldom fallen to my lot to address a more feeling, or apparently more intelligent congregation. One thing is clear and unquestionable — that the African mind is abundantly susceptible of instruction in the great doctrines and principles of the christian religion. Although the disposition of the planters of Tortola, towards the free negroes under their care, appeared to MS to be decidedly benevolent, we could not approve of certain vexatious taxes, lately enacted by the legis- lature of the Virgin Islands, which bear hardly on the laboring class. One of them is a tax of 10a-. sterling per annum, per acre, on all provision grounds or gar- dens not connected with a sugar estate. All such imposts are obviously improper, and we trust they will be disallowed by the Home Government. I am, &c. &c. LETTER IV. SAINT CHUISTOPHER S. Flushing, L. I. Sixth month (June) 4th, 1840. My dear Friend, A dead beat to the windward, with a rough sea, and on board a small vessel, is certainly no luxury; but such are the inconveniences to which one is very apt to be exposed, during a cruise among the West India Islands. After beating along the coast of Tortola for some hours, we made for the open sea, by the Round- rock passage ; and, after a night of comfortless tossing, found ourselves, next morning, within sight of Saba. The lofty peaks of that island are very striking — its appearance being that of a single mountain, rising precipitously from the sea. It belongs to the Dutch ; and the community of small proprietors who dwell there, are said to be a little world to themselves, de- pending very little on any distant government, but supporting themselves by their own industry, in boat- building, fishing, &c. Our headwind, after a time, was exchanged for a calm, than which scarcely any state of the ocean is less agreeable to the mariner. The rudder no longer acts ; exertion of every kind is fruitless ; the sails flutter ; the vessel rolls, but makes 40 ST. Christopher's. no progress, iind one feels oneself to be imprisoned on the waters, beyond the reach of all human help. On the present occasion we consoled ourselves by endeavoring to describe our trial of patience — " a calm at sea." In vain the mast is reared on high, In vain the sails are spread, Our bark refuses now to fly. Or even creep ahead. From side to side she still can roll. But nought does it avail her ; Lost is her rudder's firm control. Useless her gallant sailor. Patience, grown sullen, drops her wing. And senseless contemplation, Of every brighter, better thing, Seems to usurp the station. But let me for the mind propose A worthier employment. That as each tardy minute flows. May minister enjoyment. Draw from the circumstance and scene A lesson worth the learning, For so ye best may prove, I ween, ■ Your gift of true discerning. The ship of science, sails of art, And rudder of man's reason, Play but a miserable part. Without heaven's breeze in season. Vain are the puny powers of man, And vain his restless action — Nought but the good old gospel plan Can yield us satisfaction. But grace resisted, all is death. E'en where the gospel's given \ Only the Spirit's vital breath Can waft the soul to heaven. This is a scene, and these are verses, which might be better fitted for a page in Pilgrim's Progress — nevertheless the sentiments here expressed are true. As we passed along on our voyage, our bait was ST. Christopher's. 41 taken by a noble dolphin — one of the handsomest creatures I have seen — bright azure, with dark spots above, and white below. We caught a good view of him as sailor Sam, our intelligent negro, was drawing him out of the water; when he gave himself a cunning twist, and escaped. At another time, our fisherman pulled up a baracoota, a noble fish, of the appearance of a pike, and when grown to its full size, as voracious and dangerous as a shark. Fresh fish for dinner was a luxury which we enjoyed on the occasion ; but, for my own part, I paid dearly for our entertainment, which was the probable cause of an indisposition of three weeks' continuance, and not to be controled by medicine. I afterwards found that these creatures are often poisonous, a circumstance ascribed to their feeding on the copper-banks below the waters, which are said to be frequent among some of these islands. During the course of this voyage, we were within sight at once, of several islands, — Saba, already describ- ed ; Anguilla, a small island, deriving its name, I pre- sume, from its snake-like appearance ; St. Martin's, St. Bartholomew, St. Eustatia, and, in the distance, St. Christopher's. We were sorry to learn, that Anguilla is not in so prosperous a condition as many of the neighboring British islands. How it fares with the laborers, I know not; but as it is a poor island, it is probable that many of them have been induced to quit it, under the temptation of higher wages in other colonies. With regard to the white inhabitants, we were told that they had expended their compensation money somewhat too easily, and were reduced to a 42 ST. Christopher's. state of no small poverty and distress. I believe there is some view entertained of converting it into a penal settlement. St. Martin's;, belonging partly to the French, and partly to the Dutch, and St. Bart's, a Swedish Island, once a place of much resort as a free port, but now little frequented, present to the eye, as one passes by, a picturesque outline. This remark, however, applies with greater force to St. Eustatia, which rises to a great height, and has all the appear- ance of an extinct volcano. I am told that it is so in fact. The plain at the bottom of the mountain, of small extent, appeared, in the distant view, to be green with sugar cultivation. The approach to St. Christopher's from the north- west, is highly interesting. The northern part of the island is mountainous and clothed with forest ; and as we drew near to the coast, it was delightful to ob- serve the brows of the hills and plains below, bright and verdant with the sugar cane — the settlements of the planters looking neat and prosperous — some of the wind-mills turning — companies of negroes seen in the distance, at work in the fields — neat places of worship visible — and eight large vessels, with other smaller ones, in the harbor of Basse-terre, waiting, as we presumed, for their cargoes of sugar. A more re- markable prima-facie evidence of prosperity, I have seldom witnessed. This evidence we afterwards found to be fully confirmed. On our arrival at Basse-terre — a low, hot and dusty little town — we met with no small disappointment in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor, Charles Thornton Cunningham, a young friend and connec- ST. ( hristopher's. 43 tion of mine, whom we were very desirous of visiting. He was gone to Antigua, on an official visit to Sir William Colebrooke, the Governor General of the Leeward islands. No suitable accommodation was to be obtained at the taverns, and, with the kind invi- tation of the President of the Council, W. H. Crooks and of J. T. Pedder the Governor's Secretary, we took possession for a short sejour, of the government house, a commodious, airy building, at a little distance from the town. There we found kind attentions and agreeable accommodations, and were glad to be even so far out of the way of an epidemic fever (occasioned probably by the malaria of a salt marsh to the wind- ward) which was then raging in the town — consider- able numbers dying daily. Early the next morning, I mounted one of the Governor's horses, and enjoyed a solitary ride in the country. Although it was the Seventh day of the week, usually applied by the emancipated laborers to their private purposes, 1 observed many of them dili- gently at work on the cane grounds, cutting the canes for the mill. Their aspect was that of physical vigor, and cheerful contentment, and all my questions as I passed along, were answered satisfactorily. On my Way, I ventured to call at one of the estates, and found it was the home of Robert Claxton, the Solicitor Ge- neral of the colony, a gentleman of intelligence and respectability. He was kind enough to impart a va- riety of useful, and, in general, cheering information. One fact, mentioned by him, is highly encouraging. Speaking of a small property on the island belonging to himself, he said, ''Six years ago, (that is, shortly be- 44 ST. Christopher's. fore the act of emancipation,) it was worth only ;£2,000, with the slaves upon it. Now, without a single slave, it is worth three times the money. I would not sell it for £6,000."*' This remarkable rise in the value of property, is by no means confined to particular estates. I was assured that, as compared with those times of depression and alarm which pre- ceded the act of emancipation, it is at once general and very considerable. I asked the President Crook, and some other persons, whether there was a single individual on the island, who wished for the restora- tion of slavery. Answer, " Certainly not one." After breakfast I was joined by our kind friend Archibald P. Burt, a lawyer of eminence, who accom- panied me on horseback for many miles, over lofty hills, to a village called Cayon. The view, from these hills, of the cultivated plains below, the town, the shipping, the sea, and the mountainous island of Ne- vis in the distance, was grand and beautiful. The highlands of St. Christopher's are evidently worthy of a more diligent examination than it was possible for for us to give them. They are clothed with a forest of hard wood ; chiefly, I believe, a tree with laurel-like leaves, and large pink bell-formed blossoms (of which I observed many specimens) called on the island, the white cedar. These woods abound with monkeys, mischievous enough among the canes, but always too cunning to be caught or shot. They regularly employ a sentinel in advance, who sets up a terrible screech- ing as soon as danger approaches. " Mount Misery," the loftiest in the island, is henceforth (the Lieu- tenant Governor afterwards assured us) to be called ST. Christopher's. 45 " Mount Liberty." It is iin extinct volcano, 3,700 feet high ; the crater is 2,600 feet in depth ; the bottom of it is said to be a level of fifty acres, of which seven are covered with a lake, and the rest with grass and trees. Streams of hot water impregnated with sul- phur, still issue from the fissures. Beautiful wild flowers, and flowering shrubs, are common in St. Christopher's, as well as Tortola ; es- pecially large hedges of aloes. One of the most valu- able productions of the island is the " Tous-les-mois," so called from the notion that it blossoms every month. It is a beautiful plant resembling the Canna Indica, and from its root is obtained a substance extremely similar,in appearance and taste, to arrow-root; equally nutritious, and better suited to a delicate stomach. This substance is gradually becoming an important article of export. As to the staple article of sugar, we found the island in a condition of prosperity. It was supposed that the crop on the ground, which to us appeared heavy and luxuriant, would produce at least the usual average of 7,000 hogsheads ; and no diflficulty whatever was apprehended in realising it. We accompanied our friend Burt to Ottley's — a well managed sugar estate, belonging to himself and Judge Wigley of Tortola — where we again examined the process of sugar making, and again saw the negroes diligently at work, on the day which they usually re- serve for their own business. The day's wages, in this island, are from 7d. to 9d. sterling per day, besides the usual privileges ; but the negroes have no difficulty in earning from 2s. to 3s. sterling per day by job work. Under this system, parti- 46 ST. Christopher's. cularly, they perforin a far greater (juantity of work in a given time, than eoiihl he obtained from them under slavery. When we ealled on our excellent friend R. Cleghorn, a faithful and intelligent stipendiary magis- trate, he summed up his favourable report of the laborers of St. Christopher's, by the following em- phatic remark — " 1 hey will do an injimty of work, for ivagesT This state of things is accompanied by a vast in- crease in their own comforts. Our friend Cadraan, the Methodist minister, was on this station, during slavery, in the year 1826. He has now returned to it under freedom. "The change for the better," he observed, " in the dress, demeanor, and welfare of the people, is prodigious''' The imports are vastly in- creased. The duties on them Avere £1,000 more in 1838, than in 1837; and, in 1839, double those of 1838, within £150. This surprising increase is owing to the demand on the part of the free laborers, for imported goods, especially for articles of dress. The difficulty experienced by the gentry living in the town, in procuring fowls, eggs, &c., from the negroes, is considerably increased. The reason is well known, — the laborers make use of them for home consump- tion. Marriage is now become frequent amongst them, and a profusion of eggs is expended on their wedding cakes ! Doubtless they will soon learn to exchange these freaks of luxury, for the gradual ac- quisition of wealth. We had much pleasure in calling at the Moravian establishment at Cayon, under the care of Brother Miinzer. It seemed to be admirably conducted : he ST. Christopher's. 47 has three hundred children in his school. Another of their establishments, at Basse-terre, is equally pros- perous. We visited the school there, and examined the children. Their answers to our questions were lively and correct. Crime, and petty offences, are greatly diminished, since the date of full freedom. Education in useful knowledge, and religious instruc- tion, are rapidly advancing. There are nine churches on the island, under the Establishment ; six Methodist chapels, and three Moravian institutions. The Mora- vians have 3,000 members by birth and otherwise ; the Methodists 2,899 in church communion, besides at- tenders. These numbers include a vast proportion of the population, which is calculated at 20,000. To the favorable account of this island, which our own observation has thus enabled us to give, I will now add the testimony of the able and popular Lieut. Gover- nor, received in a letter, after the lapse of three months from the date of our visit. "I have," says he, '"just received the reports of the stipendiary magistrates, as to the general state of their respective districts on this island. I am thankful to say that they are, without exception, most cheering and satisfactory. These re- ports will be transmitted home ; and, if similar reports are forwarded from the rest of the West Indies, the friends of the negro must feel proud and grateful. I do not mean to say that individual proprietors and laborers do not occasionally complain of each other ; but certainly, in the mass, the proprietors of this island evince a willingness to adopt conciliatory measures, and to pay a fair remunerative price for labor ; and the laborers are eager to work for fair wages." In a 48 ST. Christopher's. subsequent part of his letter he says, "A public dinner was given here a few days since, at which (wonderful to relate) white and colored men sat down together, cheek by jowl, in good humor and good fellowship." Our visit to St. Kitt's, like that to Tortola, ended with the First day of the week, during which we held large religious meetings in the Methodist and Mora- vian meeting houses. These were attended by per- sons of every color and condition — chiefly black. The throng in the evening, notwithstanding the dan- ger of fever, was much too great to be accommodated in the house, but strict attention and good order ne- vertheless prevailed ; and we parted from one another in the flowing of mutual good will. I can scarcely conclude without noticing an instance of that special providence, without which not a spar- row falls to the ground. Disappointed as we were at not finding the Lieut. Governor at home, it was owing to this circumstance that we continued only three days on the island. He has since been assured by the physicians, that had we prolonged our visit, even to the extent of a week, there would have been no pro- bability of our escaping the ravages of the fever. As it was, we left St. Christopher's in peace and safety. I am, &c. &c. LETTER V. ANTIGUA. Flushing, L. I. Sixth month (June) 5th, 1 840. My dear Friend, On the 13th of the First month (January) we set sail from St. Kitt's for Antigua — another beat to the windward, which we accomplished in two days. There is a passage for those who are acquainted with it, through the narrows, between St. Kitt's and Nevis, but our captain preferred the longer course round the latter island. This gave us the opportunity of taking a deliberate view of its beautiful outline ; the concave circular line of its mountain towards the south, sweeps down grandly to the plain below, which appeared to be extensive and well cultivated. Being desirous of over- taking our friend Cunningham before he should leave Antigua, we could not visit either this island, or Mont- serrat, which with its extinct volcano and souffriere, soon appeared in view — tempting enough from its picturesque beauty. Here again we afterwards found occasion to recog- nize the hand of a kind and wise Providence, for dangerous fever was prevalent, at the time, on both these islands. In Montserrat, it was said to be occa- E 50 ANTIGUA. sioned by an animal compost imported from Europe, and imprudently used for manure. Although we were not able to visit these islands, we were afterwards furnished with satisfactory accounts from both of them, of the deportment and condition of the pea- santry. The report of the stipendiary magistrate of Nevis, to the Governor General, for the half year ending with the Eleventh month (November) 1839, states, " that the conduct of the laborers was peaceable and orderly, and that a good understanding generally prevailed between them and their employers — that schools were numerous and well attended, marriages frequent, and the sabbath well observed." The fol- lowing report from H. Hamilton, the President of Montserrat, to Sir Wm. Colebrooke, dated " January 10th, 1840," seems to be every thing that either the politician or philanthropist could desire. " It affords me great satisfaction to report to your Excellency, the orderly and good conduct of our laboring popu- lation. During the Christmas holy-days, our churches and chapels were crowded to excess by a well dressed peasantry, and our jail nearly untenanted. The la- borers have all returned to their agricultural avoca- tions with a degree of punctuality, which, I hope and trust, will insure the future prosperity of the colony. The prospects for 1841 are very promising. The laborers are settling themselves down quietly and con- tentedly, abounding in provisions, and their growing crops in a high state of cultivation. I am happy to say that the differences and jealousies which existed between the parties are wearing away, and giving place to better feelings. Job-work is daily gaining ANTIGUA. 51 ground. The system of weekly cash payments to the laborers, to the almost total exclusion of credit and barter, is now so completely established, and so punc- tually acted on, that a case of complaint rarely occurs, and the absence of a contract act is not felt at present." The stipendiary magistrate of the same island observes, " that repairs and additions to the real property in the town are going on ; that the value of laud in the country is increased ; that an estate which was lately purchased for between five and six thousand pounds, (then considered a good sale,) would not now be parted with for £8000 ; that the amount of imports is much increased ; that marriages among the pea- santry are numerous, schools improved and extended, and the progress in general morals satisfactory." These testimonies were confirmed by our friend John Cox Collins, the Rector of Montserrat, whom we afterwards met in Antigua. He informed us that the free-laborers there are working well, and that the present crop was estimated at 1500 hogsheads, being a high average. Last year, the negroes who attend his church, insisted on expressing, by some thank-offer- ing, their gratitude to God for the blessings which they were enjoying under freedom ; they subscribed £15 15s. to be expended in a silver goblet for the communion table ; and on the same ground, in the present year, they are again subscribing their money to supply the table with silver cups. The reefs near the coast of Antigua are numerous; and as we lay to, on our approach to it during the night, we were exposed to some danger. Early in the morning, however, a pilot boarded us, and we made E2 52 ANTIGUA. a safe entrance into the beautiful harbour of St. John's. The appearance of this ishind from the sea, although singular from the grotesque form of many of the rocky hills, is not so picturesque as that of St. Chris- topher's ; but the green and orderly-looking fields of cane, and the numerous vessels waiting, in the harbor, for sugar, again afforded us a prima-facie evidence ol prosperity. We cast anchor about noon beh)w the fort, and were rowed a long distance in a boat to St. John's. This town is of considerable size, pleasant and airy, and greatly increased and improved since the date of freedom. We had heard much of the yellow fever here ; it had been for some time preva- lent with a decided type, but it was now gone by — the last lingering case expiring soon after our arrival. Good rooms and sufficient entertainment awaited us at an hotel kept by a colored female named Appleby. Although I was in weak health during our stay, of two weeks, in Antigua, objects of interest, and oppor- tunities for religious service, presented themselves in rapid succession. A few brief memoranda from our diary, will lead to some developement of the state of the colony. First month, (January) 15th. " How are the laborers going on ?" said I to the pilot who brought us into port. " Beautifully," replied he — " eight estates which had been broken up under slavery, are now again in cultivation." This information was after- wards substantially confirmed. Only six of these estates, however, had been broken up, namely Pot- ter's, Dunning's, Jennings, Patterson's, Tranquil Vale, and Hill-house ; the other two were stock farms ANTIGUA. 53 — the whole eight are now under cultivation for sugar. It cannot be denied that the first fact of which we were informed respecting Antigua, speaks volumes. On our arrival, we called on William Walker, secretary to the Governor General, and stipendiary magistrate. He informed us that our friend Cunning- ham and the (iovernor, were expected at St. John's, from Dow's Hill (Sir William's country residence) the next morning. In answer to a few enquiries re- specting the state of things, he informed us that the laborers were working well, for the low wages of from sixpence to ninepence sterling per day, with the usual privileges ; but that they could earn two or three shillings sterling per day by job-work which was be- coming general ; and that the last year's crop of sugar was upwards of 20,000 hogsheads. It also appears that the crop now on the ground is one of excellent promise. We also visited our friend James Cox, the able and energetic Methodist Minister. " Things," said he, ''are prosperous ; the planters are doing well, the negroes are working well, and their comforts are greatly in- creased." He kindly offered to give up his service that evening, that we might hold a Friend's meeting in their large new meeting house. We accepted his offer — the meeting was well attended and satisfactory. The Methodists are very prosperous in Antigua ; they have several stations, chapels, and schools, and nearly three thousand members of their church, besides at- tenders. First month (January) 16th. — On calling at the Government house, we found our friend Cunningham, 54 ANTIGUA. with whom I exchanged the warm greetings of old friendship, and was ghid to be able to tell him, that at St. Christopher's, during his absence, we had heard, from all parties, unequivocal accounts of his good government. He introduced us to Sir William Cole- brooke, the Gove rnor General, who received us with great kindness, and warmly invited us to his house. Sir William has occupied many successive stations in the British colonial service, and in various parts of the world. He is a person of much talent, information, and reflection ; sledfast and patient in the pursuit of public good, and of the utmost simplicity of manners. He meets with a sort of passive resistance from the local council and legislature, but bears the opposition of his neighbors with an unruffled temper. One of his favorite plans is the union of all the Leeward islands under one general legislature, which he con- siders to be their original constitution — a plan which at once recommends itself as far more desirable than that of a great number of separate little parliaments ; but in this attempt, he has hitherto been frustrated. Our company was now joined by Nathaniel Gilbert, an evangelical clergyman of the church of England, and a large proprietor and planter on the island. Both he and Sir William, amply confirmed our pre- vious favorable impressions respecting the state of the colony. On my enquiring of them respecting the value of landed property, their joint answer was clear and de- cided. " At the lowest computation the land, without a single slave upon it, is fully as valuable now, as it was, including all the slaves, before emancipation." In other words, the value of the slaves is already 1 i ANTIGUA. 55 transferred to the land. Satisfactory as is this com- putation, I have every reason to believe that it is much below the mark. With respect to real property in the town of St. John's, it has risen in value with still greater rapidity. A large number of new stores have been opened ; new houses are built or building ; the streets have been cleared and improved ; trade is greatly on the increase ; and the whole place wears the appearance of progressive wealth and prosperity. Under the guidance of our friend Cunningham, we next called on Robert Holberton, the Vicar of St. John's, a laborious and devoted minister, and examined his excellent infant school of black children, who gave us answers to our questions (particularly in Scripture history) with surprising readiness and accuracy. The vicar then conducted us to the premises of the daily meal society, where the destitute poor are fed with soup and other wholesome articles, and the sick and disabled, supplied with lodging, boarding, and medi- cal care. This admirable institution which flourishes under his own superintendence, is supported partly by voluntary subscriptions, and partly by grants of the local legislature. We now proceeded to the state house, where we were introduced to several of the leading officials, and listened to a debate in the local legislature which was then in session. A colored member was pleading with " honorable mem- bers" for the refunding of expenses incurred in making a certain road. The application was refused on the ground that " this house" could pay for no roads which did not lead to some sugar estate — an obvious relic of the old system. 56 ANTIGUA. A drive of eight miles over a flat country, well cul- tivated partly with provisions and partly with sugar cane, brought us to " Gilberts" — the spacious old mansion, and one of the sugar estates, of our friend Nathaniel Gilbert who, with his pious and agree- able lady, freely offered us their house for a home, during any part of our stay on the island. Nothing could be more satisfactory than the state of the pro- perty. His molasses alone, last year, paid the whole expenses of the estate, including labor ; the large pro- duce of sugar, which had met with a high price in the British market, was therefore clear gain. Our friend is too consistent a Christian, to manufacture rum. We understood that he received 25,000 dollars as a compensation for his slaves. He assured us that this sum was a mere present put into his pocket — a gra- tuity on which he had no reasonable claim. Since his land, without the slaves, is at least of the same value as it was with the slaves, before emancipation, and since his profits are increased rather than dimi- nished, this consequence follows of course ; but what figures can represent the relief which he experiences in his own emancipation from the trammels of slave- holding ? Our friend has fitted up a neat chapel on his estate, in which we held a religious meeting in the evening, with his black peasantry. The subject which arose before us, was the rest of heaven. The negroes listened with reverent attention, and after our meeting was finished, they broke out, under the guidance of their beloved " mistress," into a sweet sounding hymn, which had reference to the same topic. ANTrCUA. 57 Sir Bethel Codrington, an absentee proprietor, whose land borders on " Gilberts," is said to be de- riving £20,000 sterling, per annum, from his sugar estates in Antigua. Whether this statement is ex- aggerated or not, I cannot say ; but there can be no question, that his revenues, from this source, are large. He was a noted advocate, during the late con- flict for freedom, in our country, for the continuance of slavery. Circumstances have now proved, that emancipation to him, has been any thing rather than the road to ruin. Nearly the same remark applies to a respectable member of parliament, whose property in Antigua, during slavery, was in decay — unprofit- able and by all accounts, almost ruinous. Now it produces an excellent income. I had the pleasure of viewing his cane fields ; they were in fine order, full of pecuniary promise. I understood from our friend Gilbert, that during slavery, half his people were operative at one time, and half dead weight, i.e. doing nothing; when free- dom came, the rate of wages was so arranged by the planters, that the amount paid to the working half should just equal the expense formerly incurred in supporting the whole body. Thus twenty slaves, at ^5 per head, per annum, and ten free laborers at <^10 per head, per annum, would amount to the same sum of £100. In that case the only saving by the change would result from the circumstance, that each free laborer, under the inducement of wages, would do more work than a slave by coercion, especially when (as in the case of N. (iilbert) the coercion was gentle. But had our friend's operative portion of slaves, been 58 ANTIGUA. only one-third, instead of a half, and the number of free labourers whom he now employs, the same, his saving would have been 33^ per cent. Now a subsequent and somewhat extensive enquiry has led us to the conviction, that on most of the properties of Antigua, and in general throughout the West Indies, one-third only of the slaves were operative. What with childhood, age, infirmity, sick-ness, sham sickness, and other causes, full two- thirds of the negro population, might be regarded as dead weight. And further, the number of free laborers employed for the same quantity of work, is now decidedly less than this third. We may there- fore fairly reckon that the pecuniary saving, on many of the estates in Antigua, by the change of slave for free labor, is at least thirty per cent. If the interest of money on the investment in slaves, is added to the debit amount under slavery, the comparison becomes much more favorable on the side of freedom. Besides this affair of arithmetic, however, there is the general consideration, that slavery and waste are twin sisters, whereas freedom is married to economy. Under the generous stimulus of equal liberty, short methods of labor are invented, machinery is introduced, every man black and white is thrown upon his own exertions, and into the whole community, co-operation infuses wealth. " All circumstances considered," says Dr. Nugent, the late speaker of the Assembly at Antigua, " I am happy to say, that the free-labor system is the cheapest, and incalculably so on those properties which were encumbered by an unnecessary quantity of hands." ANTIGUA. 59 First month (Jan.) 1 7th. — We had much satisfac- tion in visiting Newfield, a Moravian establishment — the missionary has a good school and large congrega- tion. The same remark applies to their establishment at St. John's j which we inspected on a subse(|uent occasion. The Moravians liave actually 12,000 souls under their care in Antigua, one-third of the whole population. We are able to bear a clear and decisive testimony to their usefulness in the British Islands; there it is impeded by no Negro Dutch, and by no holding of their fellow men as property. At New- field, we were met by Sir William Colebrooke's car- riage which conveyed us to Dow's Hill. As we passed along through a picturesque country, we ob- served a curious species of cactus, abounding on the road-side ; it is called the Turk's head — bearing a strange resemblance to the head of a man — the blos- soms at the top looking like a red cap or turban. The Governor's house is built on a hill, overlook- ing English Harbor, a snug inlet of the sea, very com- modious for shipping, with a little town adjoining. From a still higher eminence near at hand, called Shirley Heights, the view of the harbor, and surround- ing rocks and mountains, is one of uncommon inter- est and beauty. One object which we just descried in the distance, excited peculiar feelings. It was a small Baltimore clipper used in the slave trade, which some British cruiser had captured, under American colors. After the capture she was sent to the United States, disowned by the American government, and finally brought into this harbor. When captured, she was only fitted up for the trade.; but had previously 60 ANTIGUA. carried 300 slaves across the ocean. By what cruel and expert contrivance, so large a number of human beings had been stowed in so small a space, we were wholly unable to conjecture. The fact however was undeniable. Nothing could be more obliging than the welcome which we received from the Governor, and his lady and family. We soon formed an affectionate friend- ship with them ; our friend Cunningham was of the company ; and in the evening, we held a religious meeting in the saloon, with the family, their at- tendants, friends, and neighbours — white, brown, and black. True liberality was evidently prevailing at Dow's Hill. First month, 18th. — We received a call from an in- telligent lady of rank, who holds considerable pro- perty on this island. Her estate under slavery, was heavily mortgaged ; but under the genial influence of the new system, is now free, or nearly free from its burdens. We were told that many such instances had occurred in Antigua. First month, 19th, First day of the week. We had appointed a meeting at a country village called Par- ham. It was a morning of violent rain ; but about 200 negroes braved the weather, and united with us in public worship. It is said that they are less willing to come out to their places of worship i7i the rain, than was the case formerly. The reason is curious. They now have shoes and stockings which they are unwilling to expose to the mud. In the evening the weather was clear, and we met a congregation, computed to be two thousand in number, ANTIGUA. 61 at the Methodist meeting-house in St. John's. It was an occasion of great solemnity, a hirge proportion of that respectable-looking assembly (for such it was) we afterwards found to have been composed of eman- cipated negroes. I trust it was not unsuitably that we were reminded, on the occasion, of the apostle's words, " Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. Only use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but in love serve one another." The next morning we visited the Mico normal school. One Lady Mico, about a hundred and fifty years ago, bequeathed a property, to be expended in ran- soming christian captives from the Moors. The pro- perty has now become large ; and under a late decree of the British Court of Chancery, the revenues arising from it, are appropriated to the purpose of scriptural education — but without sectarian bias — in the West Indies. The school at St. John's, under this institu- tion, is applied to the instruction not only of children, in reading, writing, &c. but of young persons, in the art of teaching. It is admirably conducted, and is likely to become extensively useful.^ It is a cheering circumstance of no small importance, that there are no less, as we were told, than seven thousand scholars in the various charity schools of Antigua. In all these schools the bible is read and taught. Who can doubt the beneficial effect of these extensive eflforts ? The moral improvement of the negro population is amply evinced by two facts — the increase of marriage, and the decrease of crime. ' By the last report of the Mico charity dated "July, 1840," it appears that its agents in the West Indies have trained 265 teachers. &2 ANTIGUA. The vicar of St. John's, during the last seven years of slavery, married only one hundred and ten pairs of negroes. In the single year of freedom, 1839, the number of pairs married by him, was 185. With respect to crime — it has been rapidly dimin- ishing during the last few years. The numbers com- mitted to the house of correction in 1837 — chiefly for petty offences, formerly punished on the estates — were 850; in 1838 only 244; in 1839, 311. The number left in the prison at the close of 1837 was 147 ; at the close of 1839, only 35. Nor can it be doubted that the personal comforts of the laborers have been, in the mean time, vastly increased. The duties on imports in 1833, (the last year of slavery) were £13,576; in 1839, they were £24,650. This augmentation has been occasioned by the importation of dry goods and other articles for which a demand, entirely new, has arisen among the laboring population. The quantity of bread and meat, used as food by the laborers is surprisingly in- creased. Their wedding cakes and dinners are ex- travagant, even to the point, at times, of drinking champagne ! In connection with every congregation in the island, whether of the Church of England, or among the Dissenters, has been formed a friendly society. The laborers subscribe their weekly pittances to these in- stitutions, and draw out comfortable supplies, in case of sickness, old age, burials, and other exigencies. Thus is the negro gradually trained to the habits of prudence and foresight. ANTIGUA. ^y^ Having taken leave oF the Lieutenant Governor of St. Christopher's, who borrowed our brigantine in order to return in it to his prosperous little king- dom, we availed ourselves of the abundant hospitality of our friends at Gilberts and Dow's Hill for several days. In the course of the time, we again held meet- ings for worship at each place, called at the Mora- vian establishment at Grace Hill, and examined the school kept under the care of the mission ; attended a meeting of the Bible Society, which is working well in this island, and is generously supported by the laborers themselves ; and spent one morning, in com- pany with the Governor, in visiting the free settle- ments near his residence — Augusta and Liberia. A female proprietor who had become embarrassed, was advised to sell off part of her property in small lots. The experiment answered her warmest expect- ations. The laborers in the neighbourhood, bought up all the little freeholds with extreme eagerness, made their payments faithfully, and lost no time in settling on the spots which they had purchased. They soon framed their houses, and brought their gardens into useful cultivation with yams, bananas, plantains, pine-apples, and other fruits and vegetables, including plots of sugar cane. In this way Augusta and Liberia sprang up as if by magic. I visited several of the cottages, in company with the Rector of the parish, and was surprised by the excellence of the buildings, as well as by the neat furniture, and cleanly little articles of daily use, which we found within. It was a scene of contentment and happiness ; and 1 may certainly add, of industry ; for these little freeholders 64 ANTIGUA. occupied only their leisure hours in working on their own grounds. They were also earning wages as laborers on the neighboring estates, or working at English Harbor, as mechanics. During our rides and drives about Antigua, we sometimes observed specimens, lying on the road, of those remarkable petrifactions for which the island is celebrated. They are either of woods found in the trap formation, or of madrepores, mostly discovered in the marl. The woods thus fossilized, are of various kinds, generally those which still grow on the island, perfectly stone, and often filled up with beautiful spe- cimens of jasper and agate. These petrifactions ad- mit of the finest polish, and when polished, are of singular beauty. On our return to St. John's, towards the close of the week, the vicar conveyed me to some of the infant schools which he had founded in the country : the order and success of these institutions was gratifying. In one of them, I was introduced to an aged black woman, who was in the habit of attending the school as an amateur. She could not read herself, but had contrived to obtain a perfect knowledge of the fifty- third chapter of Isaiah, descriptive of our Saviour's vicarious sufferings. She repeated this chapter to me with entire accuracy, and with a nicety of emphasis, which plainly proved how well she understood, and how strongly she felt, its meaning. In the course of our excursion we called at the Cedar Valley estate, which we found in high order and prosperity. The manager, James Bell, made an excellent report of it. '^ It is less trouble," said he^ " to conduct the whole 1 ANTIGUA. 65 concern now, than it was to manage the hospital alone, before emancipation." Afterwards we visited a small hospital, under the vicar's care, for male and female lepers. The dry leprosy which gradually eats up the extremities of the body, and often the features of the face, is a complaint to which the black people, in the West Indies, are very liable — nor is it confined to them. The complaint is said to be incurable. In this hospital, its unhappy victims were well provided for, and under religious care. They seemed very much at their ease, and cordially accepted a few sentences of exhortation and sympathy. In the even- ing our friend Holberton's negro flock assembled in a large school-room, and displayed much devout attention, during a meeting for worship held by us on the occasion. The next morning a friend of ours, a merchant in the town, conveyed me to the estate of a large resi- dent planter and member of the council, who received me at his house with the greatest politeness. The manager, a respectable elderly Methodist, drove me about the cane-fields in a country cart, and seemed to take no small pleasure in pointing out the luxuriant crops of sugar cane, at once so vigorous and so clean. He declared that the crops of Antigua had never been taken off more easily, than during each successive year since the date of freedom. This gentleman's estates had been largely peopled with slaves, and in consequence oppressed by mortgages. Now he works them with less than one-third of the number, and at a vastly diminished expense. " The whole expense F (')6 ANTIGUA. of conducting and working the estate at present," said the manager, " is less than that of the mere feeding of the slaves." Best of all, the mortgages on the pro- perty are mostly paid off; and our friend, once hall a slave himself, is emerging into comfort, ease, and liberty. We overtook a wedding party- Both bride and bridegroom were common laborers on the estate. The bridegroom was attired in a blue coat, handsome waistcoat, with a brooch, white pantaloons, and Wel- lington boots — the bride, in a vast pink silk bonnet, lace cap, and white muslin gown with fashionable sleeves ! We afterwards called on Dr. Daniel, the respected President of the Council, and a large attor- ney. He freely assured us that the laborers, on the properties under his care, were working well, and at a much cheaper rate than in the times of slavery. Here also, the result of the experiment was a saving of expense, and of course therefore, an increase of profit, and a rise in the value of property. Another week had now elapsed ; and, on the First day evening, notwithstanding indisposition, a third meeting was held in the Methodist chapel. It was promiscuously attended, as was supposed, by two thousand five hundred people. The appearance of the congregation, and the deep interest they evinced on the occasion, reminded us of the prophecies in the book of Isaiah, respecting the great moral change to be effected by the gospel of Christ, in a world of vice and sorrow. " The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." ANTIGUA. 67 I was now laid by, under the care of a physician, for two days ; but on the next morning, (First month, 27th) was allowed to unite with my friends, in visiting the jail and house of correction, which we found in a state of cleanliness and order. There was little of which to complain, but the stowage of lunatics in the jail — a practice not unusual in the British West Indian Colonies. I have since heard from the Governor General that a separate place is now allotted to them ; he also informs me that the tread-wheel, which we were happy to find disused, is on the point of being finally demolished. The Chief Judge Nanton — who accompanied us to the prisons, and attended the meet- ings which we held with their aflflicted inmates, fully confirmed the statements which we had previously re- ceived of the diminution of crime. He also gave a cheering account of the behavior and industry of the negroes on his own property. We were now placed in possession of clear docu- mentary evidence, respecting the staple produce of the Island. The average exports of the last five years of slavery (1829 to 1833 inclusive) were, sugar, 12,189 hogsheads ; molasses, 3,308 puncheons ; and rum, 2,468 puncheons. Those of the first five years of freedom (1834 to 1838 inclusive) were, sugar, 13,545 hogsheads ; molasses, 8,308 puncheons ; and rum, 1,109 puncheons ; showing an excess of 1,356 hogs- heads of sugar, and of 5000 puncheons of molasses ; and a diminution of 1,359 puncheons of rum. This comparison is surely a triumphant one ; not only does it demonstrate the advantage derived from free labor during a course of five years, but affords a proof that F 2 68 ANTIGUA. many of the planters of Antigua have ceased to con- vert their molasses into rum. It ought to he observed that these five years of freedom included two of drought, one of which was very calamitous. The statement for 1839 forms an admirable climax to this account. It is as follows : sugar, 22,383 hogsheads (10,000 be- yond the last average of slavery) ; 13,433 puncheons of molasses (also 10,000 beyond that average) and only 582 puncheons of rum ! That, in the sixth year of freedom, after the fair trial of five years, the ex- ports of sugar from Antigua almost doubled the average of the last five years of slavery, is a fact which precludes the necessity of all other evidence. By what hands was this vast crop raised and realised ? By the hands of that lazy and impracticable race (as they have often been described) the negroes. And under what stimulus has the work been effected? Solely under that of moderate wages. The Governor made a parting visit to us at our hotel in the evening, and seemed to derive pleasure from freely imparting to us his just and admirable views of colonial policy. They are founded on the immutable basis of Christian principle. Our brigan- tine had now returned from St. Christopher's, and early on the 28th we sailed for Dominica. I cannot, with honesty, quit my narrative of An- tigua, without acknowledging that, amidst the pro- fusion of evidence poured in upon us, in that island, of the favorable working of freedom, we met with one opposing testimony. It was that of a wealthy old gentleman whom I met one day in the streets of St. John's, and of whom every one who visits Antigua ANTIGUA. 69 is pretty sure to hear. No sooner were we introduced to him than he began to pour forth his complaints of the misconduct of the laborers, impending ruin, &c. &c. It so happens, however, that not an acre of ground is offered for sale, within his reach, which he does not purchase with the utmost avidity ; so that his landed property, already large, is constantly on the increase. His words were sad enough, but every one acknow- ledged, that ample was the refutation of them, furnish- ed by his deeds. Confident we are, that our elderly frieiid is far too much alive to his own interest, to form any exception to the following declaration of the Go- vernor and N. Gilbert. On our asking them, whether there was any person on the island who wished for the restoration of slavery, they answered, without a moment's hesitation, " No — not one." I am, &c. &c. LETTER VI. DOMINICA. Flushing, L. I. Sixth month (June) 6th, 1840. My dear Friend, Our voyage from Antigua to Dominica was one of thirty-six hours. We passed under the lee of Guadaloupe just before night closed upon us. The appearance of that island on the west side, of which alone we had a view, is mountainous and barren — not without much of picturesque beauty. We were in- formed however that on the other side it is highly cultivated, which is also the case with that still more beautiful island, Martinique. It is an evidence that slavery in these French colonies is not without its hardships, that several hundreds of the slaves since the British act of emancipation, have made their escape to Dominica — chiefly I believe from Guada- loupe. The poor creatures run prodigious risks in their attempts to cross the water, in small open boats ; and we were informed that at least one third of them perish before they reach the land. One hardy fellow arrived on the shore of Dominica, after extreme peril. DOMINICA. 71 on the remains of a small raft which he had con- structed of the pithy stems of the great aloe, or cen- tury plant. When at Dominica, we heard excellent accounts of the behavior and industry of these run- away slaves. About two hundred of them remain on the island — the rest have migrated, in pursuit of higher wages, to Trinidad. Devoutly is it to be desired that the steps already taken by the French Government towards the emancipation of the slaves, in these colonies, may be carried forward to their completion without delay. It is a circumstance worthy of obser- vation, that the commission appointed to enquire into the subject, after the most deliberate investigation, have brought in a report recommending — not any gradual dilatory process — but the immediate abolition of slavery. The attention of the French Commissioners was closely given (I believe by personal visits) to the re_ suit of the experiment of abolition in the neighbour ing British colonies ; and it can be no matter of surprise that the excellent working of freedom in Antigua, where the change was made without any intervening apprenticeship, should have brought them to this conclusion. Nevertheless the apprenticeship (as it existed in the other British West India Islands) could by no means be regarded as a preparation for freedom ; and perhaps the strongest argument for the course recommended by the commissioners, might be drawn from the comparison of Antigua and Dominica. Never vt^ere two colonies more contrasted in their circumstances than these. Antigua is a dry island, watered only from the skies, and cultivated nearly to 7*2 DOMINICA. the extent of its capacities, the remaining wild land being oF little value. Dominica is watered by a vast number of little streams which flow (as we were told) from a fathomless lake embosomed in the mountains, at a high level above the sea. It is in consequence, a moist island, and of luxuriant fertility ; and nine tenths of the soil, productive as it is by nature, are wholly unoccupied — in a state of absolute wildness. Antigua again, long before the date of emancipation, was the scene of much Christian labor, and education had been spread extensively among the slaves. On the contrary, in Dominica, the people, who speak a barbarous French patois, were, until lately, almost en- tirely destitute of schools, or any other means of instruc- tion — an ignorant and uncultivated race. And yet — wonderful to say — the experiment of emancipation is working just as well in Dominica as it is in Antigua. The negroes of Dominica, neither squat on the wild land, nor show any wildness themselves ; the trifling unsettlement which took place at the date of full free- dom, soon subsided ; and they are working, in a quiet inoffensive manner, on the estates of their former masters. "" Their conduct," says one of the Stipen- diaries (in his last report to the Governor General, dated " January 1," 1840) " is orderly, quiet, and peaceable." A second says, " They continue to con- duct themselves with every propriety ;" a third ob- serves that " their general conduct is orderly and industrious." The solution of the problem is easy. Educated, or uneducated, the negro loves his home, humble though it be, and has no wish to exchange it for a wild life upon the mountains. With equal sin- DOMINICA, 73 cerity he loves the silver " mochos" which are placed in his hands as the reward of his labor, and it is na- tural to him to work, in order to obtain them. On the following morning we obtained a distant view of Dominica, but did not succeed in reaching Roseau, until nightfall. Columbus discovered this island on the First day of the week — thence its name, Dominica ; and when queen Isabella asked for a de- scription of it, he crumpled a sheet of paper in his hands, in order to give her some notion of the jagged and compressed appearance of its conical mountains. One cannot approach this romantic spot of earth, without feeling a kind of fascination. A late writer describes it as a land of " mists and torrents and rain- bows," and such it truly is. The mountains, peaked and picturesque as they are, and some of them very lofty — the highest five thousand six hundred feet above the level of the sea — are mantled to their very tops, with luxuriant vegetation ; and through the deep ravines and luxuriant dells which divide them, many a sudden gust of wind assails the mariner, and many a mountain stream finds its way into the ocean. As it was quite dark before we cast anchor, we con- cluded not to attempt a landing until morning; but after I had retired to my berth, I was told that two colored gentlemen, Louis Bellot, a planter, and Charles Fillan, clerk to the house of representatives, had come on board to offer us a hearty welcome, and tender their help and hospitality. We declined their kindness for the night ; but the next morning they rejoined our company, and conducted us to the clean and comfort- able abode of Maria Dalrymple, a colored Methodist 74 DOMINICA. matron, whom, not without good cause, they and many others in the place, are accustomed to call their " mother." There we were received with abundant cordiality, and were provided with good accommoda- tion, both of bed and board, during our stay on the island. After partaking of a hearty breakfast, and making a few needful arrangements, we proceeded to the Government House, and paid our respects to Ma- jor M'Phail, the Lieut. Governor. He and his lady had given a kind reception to some missionary mem- bers of our society, when he was governor of Santa Maura, one of the Ionian islands ; and very kind and cordial were they to ourselves. We frequently par- took of their hospitality, and were glad to meet at their table, white and colored persons without distinc- tion. The major is a man of great integrity and liberal views. He was imprisoned two months, on one occa- sion, in Portugal, for refusing to kneel before the host. When in Greece, he was an able and success- ful promoter of education ; and in Dominica, he has proved himself, through no small difficulties, to be the undaunted protector of the rights of the negro. I wish I had the opportunity of introducing to thee, our friends Fillan and Bellot. The former is a young man with the wool of Africa on his head, but full of bodily and mental energy, ardent in the cause of reli- gion and humanity, but naturally prone to merriment. He is a plant of no stunted growth, which would bear a little pruning ; and reminded me of Quintilian's saying, in his work on education, " Des quod ampu- tem — give me something to cut offy I draw this por- trait, at the risk of annoying him, for the sake of the DOMINICA. 75 race with which he is connected. Bellot is an intel- ligent, well-educated person, a member of the legisla- ture, and much respected in the colony. On our return From the Governor's, we found they had pro- vided horses, and were ready to accompany us on our excursion into the country. The day was hot, but the temptation of the scenery was irresistible. We first ascended Mont Bruce, a military station, from which there is an enchanting view of the Roseau valley, which winds along between many shaped rocks and mountains, itself luxuriantly green ; with the little river of that name running, or rather rushing, through the midst of it. As we rode up and down the hill, we observed on its brow, many garden grounds of free settlers, filled with orange trees, plantains, and other fruits and vegetables. We then took our course along the valley itself, for a few miles, until we arrived at one of Bellot's estates, where we found his people busily engaged in making sugar. He has had the good sense to lease out portions of his land to inde- pendent settlers, many of whom are at work upon his estate. His sugar works are in the valley, and after leaving them, we pursued a winding road up a high hill, which led us to his house at Copthall. When there, I observed a curious little building on the pre- mises — of new stone well cemented — out of which the pigs were emerging one after another. On ex- amination I found it was the " bilboes" or "cachot;" an abominable place, without light or air, or as nearly so as possible, in which the wretched negroes had formerly been punished with solitary confinement. During slavery, and the apprenticeship, Copthall had 76 DOMINICA. been in other hands, and had been falling into de- cay — almost the only tight place on the property being these very bilboes. Now, under freedom and the care of Bellot, the estate was rapidly improving, the produce of it had increased £200 per cent, and the bilboes were turned into a pig sty ! Who can deny that here was a delightful proof of the advantage and efficiency of freedom ? After partaking of needful refreshment, we followed the mountain road, to a higher elevation, and visited another estate, also in the hands of a colored planter, where we again found the laborers working well. Several of the people gathered around us, and a woman who could speak English came forward on behalf of the company, to beg for a school. " We are hungry for a school," said she, " we are tired of waiting for it." Nor were these idle words ; for the people on this and a neighbouring property had agreed to subscribe eight dollars per month in part payment of a teacher. Nothing indeed can be more eager, than the desire of the negroes of Domi- nica for education — they seem determined to obtain it ; and it is gratifying to know that the efforts now making for the purpose are at once considerable and successful. There are nearly 700 scholars in the four Mico schools, which are ably conducted, and being quite clear of any peculiar religious bias, are accept- able to the whole population. George Clark, the laborious and exemplary minister of the parish church at Roseau, has four schools under his care. The Methodists have five mission establishments, 1017 members of their church, and eleven schools, besides DOMINICA. 77 two held only on the First day of the week. Thus the cause of Christian instruction is now making rapid progress, and will, I hope, ere very long, per- vade this island, as it does Antigua. The quantity of provisions raised in Dominica, is stated, in a late official report, to have increased 50 per cent, in the year 1839. The soil makes generous repayment for a little culture, and as we rode along, the fruitful provision grounds, either of the indepen- dent settlers, or of free laborers on the estates, met our eye in every direction. The oranges, and other kindred fruits, are peculiarly fine, and we shall not soon forget the refreshment of some ripe and juicy " forbidden fruit," which a negro shook from his tree, and kindly bestowed upon us, in the course of our mountain ride. On our return home, we overtook a peasant with an agouti in his hands. It is a small, hairy animal, which seems to unite the natures of the pig and the rabbit. We bought it, and our " Methodist mother" afterwards cooked it for our breakfast. The zoology of Dominica is quite interesting. The wild boar is found in the woods ; a species of boa constrictor is also met with, and not unfrequently pays a fatal visit to the poultry-yard. Parroqueets are numerous, and several kinds of humming birds abound. Immense numbers of land-crabs, at certain seasons, afford ex- cellent food for all who take the trouble of catching them. The same may be said of the crapeaiis, very large frogs, which frequent the pure, running waters, and are, as we can testify, an excellent article of diet — the meat tasting like that of a chicken. But it is 78 DOMINICA. the vegetable luxuriance of this island, which is the most striking to the eye of a stranger — far exceed- ing any thing that we have elsewhere witnessed, ex- cept perhaps, in some parts of Jamaica. lunumerable shrubs, plants and trees, novel to us, with broad-leaved creepers of various kinds, cover the hills with a re- markable depth of verdure. The most beautiful of these productions is the tree-fern, which grows to the height of 20 or even 30 feet, and waves its bright green feathers over the whole scenery of the island. After riding many hours, we were fairly overtaken by the night-fall, and were glad to return in safety to our comfortable quarters. We afterwards spent an agreeable evening at the Governor's, On the next day, the First of the week, we held our meetings in the Methodist meeting-house morning and evening. In the evening, the Governor and his lady, ahd most of the gentry of the place, attended, with a large number of others, of various shades of color. As the colony is much distracted by parties, it was, we hope, for a good purpose, that we endeavoured to hold up the standard of Christian charity and unity — " There shall be one fold and one shepherd." Our friend Joseph Philips, a stipendary magistrate, had kindly come from a distant part of the island to visit us, and furnished us with a variety of important and encouraging information. He gave us an unqua- lified good account of the conduct of the free-laborers. They are remarkably honest, and bags of small coin, intended for the payment of wages, are conveyed about the country without risk. In the early part of the apprenticeship, the number of punishments per month, DOMINICA. 79 in his district, was 70. They arc now reduced to an average of only two. One invalid constahle is suffici- cient to keep his whole district in order. In a late report addressed to Sir William Colcbrooke, he observes, " The amount of crime in this colony of 20,000 souls, is perhaps less than in any other part of her Majesty's dominions." We received similar re- ports from other magistrates, especially a colored gentleman — William Lynch, an active and intelligent stipendiary, whose firm support of the rights of the laborers has done him high credit. Accompanied by this magistrate, and Fillan and Bellot as before, we devoted the following day to an excursion to the souffriere, on the northern coast. A ride of many miles, through another luxuriant valley, brought us to Geneva, the extensive sugar estate of William B. Lockhart. The views there are delight- ful, embracing the beautiful island of Martinique in the distance. I visited the sugar works, and am not aware that I have ever seen a more healthy or apparently industrious company of laborers, than w^ere there assembled. Their employer assured me that his people were working well — that he had no difficulty whatsoever, in procuring all the labor that he required. In ascending the lofty hill which separates Geneva from the souffriere, we passed by several estates. — The report of " Coolerie," was that " the negroes were w^orking delightfully :" at " Berraquoir," the manager informed us that " they were working cheerfully, and cheaply to their employer as compared with slavery." A third property had been dismantled under slavery. 80 DOMINICA. and was now again in process ot sugar cultivation. Thus from step to step, our evidence, in favor of the present system, accumulated. When we arrived at the top of the hill, the scenery presented to our view was of uncommon sublimity and beauty. On one side lay Grand Bay, a noble inlet of the sea, with the rocky and hilly coast nearly surrounding it ; on the other, the valley of the souffriere, well covered with sugar-cane, winding its way to the sea, between lofty mountains. One of these mountains is supposed to consist almost entirely of sulphur, and the brow of it forms the souffriere ; from which springs a small stream of boiling water, and flows down, through the valley to the sea. As we descended the hill by a zig- zag route, we came into the immediate neighborhood of this mass of sulphur, which fills the surrounding atmosphere with a strong odor. It is of a pure quality, rather white than yellow, and is now exported in con- siderable quantities. The traces of volcanic operation throughout this island, are very conspicuous ; not only in the fantastic shapes of the hills, caused (it may be presumed) by some vast irregular force from below, but in the coloring of many of the rocks, which plainly betrays the action of fire. One of the lofty conical hills which rises from this valley, to the east, appeared to be cultivated to its summit with coffee ; at any rate, the hedges by which the coffee plants used to be protected, were seen in- tersecting the hill in every direction, and formed a pleasing feature in the scenery before us. It is a re- markable circumstance that, since the date of a hurri- cane which ravaged this island a few years ago, the DOMINICA. 81 coft'ee plants have generally withered, from the resist- less attack of a small white fly. In conseqnence of this blight, the exports of coffee have been greatly reduced, and several of the coffee-estates are now coming under sugar-cultivation. They are generally in the hands of small French planters, whose slaves formed part of their families before emancipation, and are now working the properties of their former owners, on shares. The present crop is said to be an improved one ; and hopes are entertained that the miserable effects of the blight will be gradually surmounted. At the little village of Souffriere, by the sea-side, a Mico school, under the care of a pious and able teacher, is in useful operation. Boats were in readiness for us on the shore, and we were rapidly conveyed, by star- light, along a rocky and picturesque coast, back again to Roseau. There we continued for three days longer, visited the prison and the schools, held two more religious meetings, and received kind calls from several of the principal residents. I am not aware that the favor- able reports which we obtained from them, of the or- derly and industrious behavior of the peasantry, were interrupted by a single exception. Among the most interesting of those visits, was that of our friend Du- gald Stuart Laidlaw, an elderly planter of great influ- ence in the island, much respected as a liberal patron of education, but one whose habits had long been associated with the old system. He is a large propri- etor, and still larger attorney, and has no less than twenty-two estates under his care. The valuable in- formation with which he favored us — entirely of his G 82 DOMINICA. own accord — was to the Following effect — " that although his present crops were somewhat diminished in consequence of the slight degree of unsettlement, which took place after the commencement of full free- dom (at the time of planting) he had now no complaint to make — that the laborers were working well on their old locations — that not a single instance of squatting had occured — that he was conducting his estates on the plan of job-work, which was agreeable and profitable to both parties — that whereas he had formerly borne the burden of more than two thousand one hundred slaves or apprentices, he now employed only six hundred free laborers — that he expected to save money by the change — and lastly, that he was taking measures for enlarging the extent of his sugar cultivation." I afterwards met with an agreeable confirmation of this last item in the account. In company with the Governor, and our friend Bellot, I rode out one after- noon, to see a celebrated prospect from a hill, border- ing on the valley of the Roseau, called Watten Waven. When we arrived at the spot, I found it was one of the estates under the care of this gentleman. Before us was an amphitheatre of mountains, of romantic shapes and covered with foliage, and at their feet, an uncultivated glen of extreme luxuriance. The scene was lovely beyond description ; but its beauty, if not to be materially injured, was at least about to change its character, for our friend Laidlaw had already laid his plans for converting this wild, fertile glen, into a sugar plantation. DOMINICA. H',i The export of sugar from Dominica was, in 18.*37, (the last year of apprenticeship) 2,221 hogsheads ; in 18,38, 2,900 hogsheads; in 1839, 2,474 hogsheads ; a gradual but decided increase is now expected. Cheering indeed is the fact that, in the meantime, both the morals and comforts of the laboring popula- tion are rapidly improving ; take for an evidence, the decrease of crime, and the increase of imports. In 1833, (the last year before the act of emancipation) the commitments to the jail were 160 ; in 1839, the first entire year of freedom, only 88 ; difference in favor of freedom, 72. The average imports of the last five years of slavery were of the value of c;£64,000. In 1839 they amounted to £120,000 ; although certain vessels which had been expected, had not yet arrived, when the accounts were made up — difference in favor of freedom, £'56,000; a sum which mainly represents an increase of comforts enjoyed by the emancipated negroes. Two other circumstances, in the present state of Dominica, deserve a somewhat emphatic notice. The first is, that field labor, being no longer the work of slaves, is no longer held to be disgraceful. The black people who were free before the date of emancipation, used to consider it below their dignity to work on the estates. Now it is quite otherwise. We had the pleasure of finding them busily engaged, with their lately emancipated brethren, in cutting the cane and boiling the sugar. The second circumstance alluded to, is of a political nature. A majority of the loiver house, in the Legislature, is composed of colored per- sons — duly chosen, of course, by the freeholders of the G 2 84 DOMINICA. island. It may naturally be asked, whether a body of persons, so ronstitnted, show any tendency to dis- quietude or disaffection. To such an enquiry the answer is most satisfactory ; they are remarkable for their loyalty — the zealous friends and supporters of the British Government ! On the 7th of the Second month, we took our leave of our warm-hearted friends. Maria Dalrymple, who had lodged and boarded us, so greatly to our comfort, refused to receive a penny of repayment ; but we at length persuaded her to take the doubloons which were her due, with our permission that she should apply them to charity. Our colored brethren accom- panied us to the vessel. We parted from them, under the feeling of christian love and friendship ; and as the lateness of the season precluded a farther wind- ward voyage (consistently with our other objects) we set sail for St. Thomas. The wind which, as a matter of course, we hoped to enjoy in our favor, now " hauled" to the westward, and blew strongly ahead. Such are the trials of pa- tience to which one is often exposed at sea. As we slowly receded from Dominica, we amused ourselves with the following memorandum of its history and its charms. 'Twas on the christian's day of rest, While men on shore their faith confessed, In many a song of praise ; The gallant knight of the western star, Descried thy headlands from afar, And traced thy shadowy bays. DOMINICA. ^5 Clouds and mists were over thee flung, And the rainbow on thy rocks was hung, And howled the wind thy vales among, And the mountain torrents roared ; But soon thou wast mantled o'er with smiles, When the sunbeam broke thro' thy deep defiles, And o'er the loveliest of the isles. Beauty and grace were poured. The crumpled sheet in the veteran's hand. Figured thy jagged and pyramid land. But all thy rocks were green ; The tree-fern waved upon thy brow. And the plaintain leaf was broad below. Where the rivulet gushed unseen. The parent of three hundred rills, Asleep amidst thy ravined hills, A fathomless lake was found ; And high around thy mountains rose. But never wore they the wreath of snows. For they were forest crowned. The monkeys, voluble in chat, Within thy bowers in council sat, And roved the bristled boar ; Coiled the vast snake without a sting. Blazed many a bird unskilled to sing, And the sprite that hums on the lustred wing. Glanced o'er thy flowery shore. Far from the haunts of civil men, O'er brake and thicket, glade and glen, The lank-haired Indian wandered then, Untutor'd and untamed ; A hardy, yet a harmless race, That never saw the white man's face. Or heard the Spaniard named. The serpent to their bosom pressed, Poisoned their blood and broke their rest. Then circling, stole their soil ; Their native freedom sank in chains, Barter'd for beads their fruitful plains, Their loss was liberty — their gains Were slavery, stripes, and toil. 86 DOMINICA. As melts beneath the scorching sun, When winter's sturdy course is run, April's untimely snow ; So melted from their father land, The hapless, persecuted band, Before the lash of woe. A few that hear the Caribb's name, Now idly weave the wicker frame. Or beg a scanty meal ; Their native fires for ever gone, They wander listless and alone — Their woes forget to feel. Not so the sorrow-stricken race, Soon kidnapped to supply their place, From home and kindred torn ; In pestilential cabins pressed, Robbed of their wages, scourged, distressed, Degraded, weak, forlorn. Then hail, the holy, happy day, Wlien all their chains were cast away, And freedom spread her genial sway. O'er the islands of the west — Thy verdant hills shall flow with peace. Thy vales, with plenty shall increase. Thy notes of discord all shall cease. Fair Dominique the blest. Our voyage continued four days. Having lost all sight of land, and being without any means of calcu- lating longitude, we were, at length, very much at a loss to conjecture our true position. According to the Cap- tain's reckoning, we were yet far away to the east ; but our own calculations brought us on a line with Santa Cruz. This opinion proved to be correct. On the break of day, one morning, we found ourselves approaching that island. Although bound for St. Thomas, we now thought it advisable to change our course, and soon found ourselves safe at West End, in the midst DOMINICA. 87 of the cordial welcomes and congratulations of our friends. We were a good deal wearied by long-con- tinued excitement and exertion, and found in their society, for a few days, just that refreshment both of body and mind, which was suited to our need. One change which had taken place during the seven weeks of our absence, was remarkable. When we were there before, the subject of slavery was almost unmention- able ; now we could scarcely find time to answer the enquiries made of us, respecting the working of eman- cipation in the islands to the windward. Many of the planters openly professed their willingness to emancipate their slaves, if compensation were but granted. The question of compensation lies between the planters and the Danish Government ; and we sincerely hope that the latter will exercise all due libe- rality on the occasion. Nevertheless, it is clear, that in pure justice, this question can never bar the infi- nitely higher claim of a third party — that is, the negro — to a property in his own person. 1 am, &c. &c. LETTER VII. JAMAICA. Fhishing, L. I. Sixth month (Jrnie) 8th, 1840. My dear Friend, Our second visit to Santa Cruz afForded us an opportunity of uniting with twenty or more of the boarders there — individuals with whom we had for- med a highly agreeable acquaintance — in chartering the ship Whitmore, Captain B. Watlington. It was agreed that the rest of the company should leave Santa Cruz, in the course of the Third month, (March) and after a cruize among some other islands, call for us at Jamaica, and convey us, by Havana, to the United States. For ourselves, we set sail, on the 18th of the Second month, (February) in our little brigantine, in- tending to land at Jaquemel, a port of the southern coast of Hayti, on our way to Jamaica. Our kind friends, the planters of Santa Cruz, loaded us with pre- sents of oranges, shaddocks, syrup, new sugar, &c. for our use during the voyage, and heartfelt was our mutual expression of good wishes, on our departure from the island. We now had the delightful trade wind directly in our favor. Our course lay along the southern shore JAMAICA. 89 of Porto Rico, which extends ninety miles in length. This coast presented to the eye no peculiar aspect of interest or beauty. The mountains to the south of the island are low, and we hardly perceived a speck of cultivation. That much of the interior is well culti- vated and of great luxuriance, we are well aw^are, and melancholy in the extreme is the fact, that the negro population of the island is constantly increasing by fresh importations. We afterwards learned from our friends in the Whitmore, who called on their way to Jamaica, at the port of St. John's, that the slaver " Hound," under American colors, landed nearly four hundred negroes in its vicinity, the day before their arrival. Some of the company visited them, and found them in a miserably emaciated condition. We left the south western extremity of Porto Rico at nightfall one evening, and at daybreak were in sight of the low island of Mona. The next morning we found ourselves Avithin a mile or two of the coast of Hayti ; and w^ere surprised to discover how much we had over-run our calculation of longitude, when in the course of the day, we saw the dome-like rock of Alto Velo, a small island at its southernmost point, rising before our view. Here it was that Columbus and his sailors amused themselves in days of old, with killing the " sea wolves." Our course was now di- rected to the north-west, past another remarkable rock, called Los Frayles. This rock is composed of a row of vertical pillars, which by a fertile imagination, might easily be clothed with sackcloth, and depicted as " Friars." We were glad to pass by such danger- ous brethren before sunset, and were desirous, if 90 JAMAICA. possible, of making the port of Jaquemel, only sixty miles distant, the next morning. But our hopes were frustrated ; for when the morning came, we found ourselves becalmed near the coast, in front of a high cliff, with white hummocks, but at what longitude we had no means of ascertaining. Here we amused ourselves with observing the motions of the Portu- guese Men-of-war — small jelly fishes — which some- times go by this name, and sometimes by that of " Nautilus." Their bodies are hollow and transparent, of a bright pink or purple, and their feelers, by which the animalculae are caught for their sustenance, are composed of many purple cords curiously woven and twined. These cords are poisonous, and often inflict a sting on those who are bold enough to handle the animal. In the evening (when it was dark) a favor- able breeze sprung up, and as we passed by a myste- rious hollow in the mountains, a strong tide appeared to rush in upon us from the land. Perceiving as 1 believed, some tokens that this was our port (for I had been studying the Coast Pilot for the purpose) I requested the Captain to lay to for the night, and the next morning the scene which lay before us was magnificent. The mountains which rose to a great height, were enveloped in clouds ; but I thought I clearly perceived a harbor-like opening between them. The bearing of the land was right, according to the book ; and when, for a moment the clouds broke away, I distinctly saw that remarkable descent of one mountain upon another, in a perpendicular line, which I knew to be a sign of the harbor of Jaquemel. But the Captain, the mate, and my fellow passengers, were JAMAICA. 91 all ot" a contrary judgment, — so the word was given for turning the vessel round ; and we availed ourselves of a fine easterly breeze, in sweeping along to the westward. After a short time, it became evident to all on board that we had lost our port. We had intended to take mules at Jaquemel, ride over the mountains to Port au Prince, pay our respects to the President Boyer, and then return to our vessel; but this somewhat boyish design was now disappointed, and nothing remained for us to do, but to pursue our course to Jamaica. We afterwards found that our matters were ordered much better for us, than we could have arranged them for ourselves ; for had we landed in Hayti, we should have had no time for the accomplishment of some important duties, to which we found ourselves called in Jamaica. A fine breeze was now wafting us along at a noble rate, the weather was bright, the sea of gorgeous blue, and the coast of Hayti, along which we were passing, was formed of a circular line of mountains, clad with forest, and often descending in precipitous white cliffs to the sea. A small island to the South of it, covered with verdure, called L'Isle des Vaches, seemed spread like a carpet upon the waves, and these were tossing about in every direction. A few lines of verse may serve as a brief memorial of the " finest day of our voyage." Old Neptune was dressed in his brightest blue, where winter has no rigor, And the easterly breeze was sweeping along with most salubrious vigor ; And the sea-nymphs now could sleep no more upon their coral beds, For the waves were tossed in a thousand forms, with the white foam on their heads. 92 JAMAICA. Beside us Hayti's Alps arose, in a crescent of true glory, The forest on their summit waved, and their front with age was hoary, Their snowy cliffs, in forms abrupt, were to the sea descending, To the beauty of its azure, the charms of contrast lending. L'Isle des Vaches, spread its level greens on the bosom of the ocean, And the clouds above, like the bark below, were all in rapid motion. The Nautilus pink was floating there, of armed ships the parent, And scudded away the flying fish, on silver wing transparent. The scene was of deepest solitude, but full of animation. And the pilgrims lost their grief and care, in joyous contemplation. Just as the sun was setting, we took leave of St. Domingo, at Point Gravois, and pursued a straight course, across the open sea, for Jamaica. In the course of the night, the Captain called us up to look at a lunar rainbow; it was of a pale yellow, marked with great plainness, the arch perfect and of consider- able extent. The next day we came within sight of Jamaica, and were delighted by the first glimpse of the blue mountains, some ridges of which are seen in the distance, towering over Morant Point, the easternmost extremity of the island. We lay to before the Point during the night, and the next morning, having taken in a pilot, pursued our course towards Kingston. We sailed beside the plains of St. Thomas in the east, which presented to the eye every appearance of fer- tility and cultivation ; and we were pleased to observe some large merchantmen in the small harbor of Port Morant, waiting, as we presumed^ for the usual sup- plies of sugar. The blue mountains in the back ground, were now clearly in view — the highest peak more than 8000 feet above the level of the sea. It was truly a feast of delightful scenery. Kingston harbor is formed by an inlet of the sea, between the main land and a long sand-bank called the Palisades. JAMAICA. 93 At the point of this sand bank stands the neat little town of Port Royal, the principal naval station in the West Indies, and the grave, during slavery, of a mul- titude of British soldiers and seamen. Now there was scarcely a man-of-war to be seen on the station — an agreeable contrast to the large number of merchant- men which we found in port, at Kingston. A com- parative view of the two places, afforded us an impres- sive evidence that freedom is allied both to security and wealth. Do full justice to a population, and you will want no men-of-war to terrify them into obedience. Give fair scope to liberty, and sooner or later com- merce will flourish. By a boat which had supplied us with pink and sil- ver fishes for breakfast, we had sent notice of our approach, to some kind friends at Kingston, and were cordially welcomed on our arrival, by John and Ma- ria Candler, members of our own Society, from Eng- land, W. W. Anderson, a lawyer of eminence of the Episcopal church, much devoted to the cause of reli- gion and humanity, and Charles Lake, a colored member of the Legislature. They conducted us to Grace Blundell's Hotel, in East-street, where we found a clean and airy dwelling, with even luxurious accom- modation. Kingston is a large city, pretty well built, of about 50,000 inhabitants, but unpaved ; the streets hot and dusty. It would have been well had the sums of money lavished on the building of a large new theatre, been applied to the improvement of the streets; but as the commerce of the city is brisk, and the real property in it rapidly rising in value, it may be ex- pected that this object will be effected in its turn. 94 JAMAICA. Here we met with the utmost civility from our kind friends, of the firm of Atkinson, Hosier and Co., who presented us, on our arrival, with letters enough to occupy our attention for two or three days. We could now understand the full meaning of King Solomon's saying, " As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." We landed at Kingston, after a voyage of eight days, on the 26th of the Se- cond month (Fehruary.) John Candler arid his wife had arrived in Jamaica many weeks before us, having come from England, on behalf of our Society there, for the purpose of apply- ing a fund raised among the Friends, for the benefit of the negro population ; not without the further ob- ject in view, of promoting the welfare of all parties in the colony, by setting an example of temperate con- ciliatory conduct, and by extending such Christian counsel as they might be enabled to give. On two successive evenings, at their lodgings, we met circles of religious people of various denominations, to whom was related our story of the islands to the windward ; and we endeavored, I trust, to provoke each other to " lov^e and to good works," in the name of the Lord. On the 29th we commenced our " labor of love" — for such it was, however feeble — with visits to the House of Correction, and County Jail ; the former airy and tolerably commodious, its inmates employed in breaking stones ; the latter utterly inadequate for its purpose — the prisoners being stowed in small rooms, with little air. We held religious meetings in each of these prisons, and I am sorry to add, that our audience in both cases was numerous. The scum of I JAMAICA. 95 the population, since the date of emancipation, has found its way into the city, and the consequence is an increase there of petty crimes. But we were cheered by the information received through various channels, and from the best authority, that taking the island as a whole, crime is decidedly diminished since the aboli- tion of slavery ; in many of the country districts, it has almost ceased. These meetings were attended by several of the magistrates, and it may be worth men- tioning, that amongst them were two hlack aldermen, as respectable in their demeanor, and so far as we could judge, as fit for their office, as any of their col- leagues. The 1st of the Third month (March) was the First of the week, and we were glad to see that the day was remarkably well observed at Kingston — just as it is in many of the cities of your highly favored Union. Wonderful was the scene which we witnessed that morn- ing in Samuel Oughton's Baptist Chapel which we attended, without having communicated to the people any previous notice of our coming. The minister was so obliging as to make way for us on the occasion, and to invite us to hold our meeting with his flock, after the manner of Friends. Such a flock we had not before seen, consisting of nearly three thousand black people, chiefly emancipated slaves, attired after their favorite custom, in neat white raiment, and most respectable and orderly in their demeanor and appear- ance. They sat in silence with us, in an exemplary manner, and appeared both to understand and appre- ciate the doctrines of divine truth, preached on the occasion. The congregation is greatlv increased, both 9(3 JAMAICA. in numbers and respectability, since the date of full freedom. They pour in from the country partly on foot, and partly on mules, or horses, of their own. They now entirely support the mission, and are en- larging their chapel at the expense of £1,000 sterling. Their subscriptions to this and other collateral ob- jects are at once voluntary and very liberal. " I have brought my mite for the chapel," said a black woman once a slave, to S. Oughton, a day or two before our meeting; " I am sorry it is no more ;" she then put into his hand two pieces of gold, amounting to five dollars. This description which would apply, with equal force, to several other scenes witnessed by us in Jamaica, may be sufficient to show the utter fallacy of the notion that the cause of religion has declined in that island, since the breaking of the bonds of the slave. The exact contrary is preeminently the truth. We always endeavored, during our residence in Jamaica, to hold the balance even between the Bap- tists and the Methodists, the chapels of both denomi- nations being freely offered to us. In the afternoon, a meeting was held in pursuance of public advertise- ment, in the Wesley Chapel — a house of similar vast size. The congregation was very large and promis- cuous, consisting of persons of all ranks, parties, and colors. Much had the colony been perplexed and agitated by the strife of parties. No wonder there- fore, that we felt it to be our duty to preach peace and charity, and to uphold the efficiency of evangeli- cal and vital religion, as the radical remedy for all abuses. " Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the -^ch cK^JiM^U^ x^-t^a^. JAMAICA. 97 crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Third month (March) 2nd. Under the guidance of our friends J. and M. Candler, we drove several miles into the country, to breakfast at Papine, the estate of J. B. Wildman, late member of parliament for Colchester. There we were entertained by Wm. Manning, a catechist of the Church Missionary So- ciety, who, like other agents of that institution in the island, is exerting a highly beneficial influence over the peasantry. The house is embosomed in tropical trees of rare beauty, one of them a mahogany-tree, covered with small dark leaves, and spreading its branches like one of our vast oaks. Large red lilies were growing wild among the grass and shrubs. The productions of nature in this island are some- what different from any that we had before seen. For example, the pimento or Jamaica pepper tree, which produces the " allspice" — of lofty grey trunk, and dark polished fragrant leaf; the lignum vitae, profusely adorned with small blue blossoms ; the date palm, much Exceeding the cocoa-nut tree in the luxuriance of its branches, and many delicate kinds of acacia. As to the mango trees, they may be said to cover the country, and during the four sammer months, afford abundance of delicious food to men, mules, horses, cows, and pigs. All animals seem equally fond of this fruit. The birds of Jamaica are also more various and frequent, than in the other islands which Ave visited. The turkey buzzard, so common in your southern states, abounds here, and H 98 JAMAICA. is protected by law from the gunner ; being of great use in clearing the island of carrion, and all other sorts of unhealthy garbage. A sweet songster is heard in the country, called here the nightingale, which, at times it much resembles in its note. It is in fact a variety of the American mocking bird, and is nearly of the same size and appearance. We were disappointed on visiting the sugar works of Papine, to find them stopped ; and we saw young men, doing nothing, in some of the comfortable cot- tages which have been built on this property. The reason assigned was, that there was " a matter to set- tle." The said matter turned out to be the trial of a "myalist," or "black doctor,'' one of those persons who hold communion, as is imagined, with departed spirits, and practice medicine under their direction for the cure of the living — the diseases themselves, being ascribed to Obeah, or evil witchcraft. These super- stitions, although not nearly so prevalent as former- ly, still exist in some places, and deprived as the negroes now are of regular medical attendance, some of them have recourse to these medical quack doctors^ to the great danger of their lives." The whole day was now given up by the people, to this strange con- cern ; but under a promise of their working for their master two of their usual spare days, in lieu of it. The myalist, a young fellow of eighteen or twenty, dressed in the height of the fashion and jet black, was brought up before our friend Manning to be examined — several men, and a crowd of women, being in at- tendance. He openly confessed his necromancy, and as a proof of its success, shewed us two miserable JAMAICA. 99 women, one sick of fever, the other mutilated with leprosy, whom he pretended to have cured. The evi- dence was regarded by the people as resistless, and our plain declarations of disbelief in the myalist, were very unwelcome to them. They said it was "no good." We were sorry to observe the obstinacy of their delu- sion, but such things will be gradually corrected by christian instruction. This object is diligently attended to on Papine estate. The young people are taught to read. The men and women are generally married, and faithful in the maintenance of the marriage tie. Bibles are sold to the negroes here, as in other parts of the island, by the agents of the Bible Society, at the cost price. Many of them make a sacrifice — far beyond the power of the peasantry of Great Britain — in order to obtain quarto bibles with gilt edges ! We were informed that the laborers on Papine es- tate are charged nothing for rent, and receive only one shilling per day for wages. The number employed is 43, whereas, before emancipation, 200 slaves were support- ed on the property. From William Manning we learned that the negroes were working " pretty well," that the crop was better than for some years past, and that it would probably be realized without difficulty. On the other hand, the young overseer whom we saw at the works, complained of the unsteadiness of the people, and of the small number of his hogsheads of sugar. On the whole, our impression respecting the prospe- rity of the estate was not very favorable. From Papine, we went forward to the Hope sugar estate, belonging to the Duke of Buckingham. Un- H 2 100 JAMAICA. (ler the apprenticeship, it had fallen into almost entire decay from mismanagement, and was a very losing concern ; but it is now leased, together with a coffee estate of greater value, to Joseph Gordon, a respect- able resident planter, for £2,000 per annum — I believe sterling.^ This gentleman is bringing the property round, by free labor, and will doubtless make it an- swer his purpose. He has about one hundred and fifty laborers upon it, well at work, under an able over- seer. We had much pleasure in visiting them in the fields. A large company of men were holing, at job, or task work, and were earning at least two shillings sterling per day. Many of them indeed finish their two shillings' worth by noon ; and can double it, if they please, before sundown. On the other hand, they pay their landlord a fair rent, for their cottage and provision grounds — generally half a dollar per week. The fairness and propriety of this arrangement can- not be questioned ; and all that is required to render it complete, is to give to the tenant, by deed or other- wise, an independent lien for a reasonable period, upon his little tenancy. He will then have the oppor- tunity of taking his own stock in trade, namely his labor, to the best market — free from all compulsion, except that of voluntary contract, to work on any particular estate, or for any particular rate of wages. Wherever the peasantry of Jamaica have been thus trusted and honourably treated, they have seldom failed to work on the properties of their old masters, > £1 currency is equal to 12 shillings sterling; or £10 currency, there- fore, to <£6 sterling. 1 JAMAICA. 101 which are the most familiar to them, and the nearest to their homes — provided always that fair wages be given, and these paid weekly in cash. But it has been the unhappy lot of this colony, to be much per- plexed with this subject of rent, which was prema- turely forced on the attention of the people, immedi- ately after the date of full freedom. Had it been permitted to find its own way, by degrees, on the common principles which regulate the affairs of men, there can be no doubt that the laborers of Jamaica would have been just as little disturbed and unsettled, as those in Antigua and Dominica. As it is, the question of tenancy has been mixed up with that of labor, on a great proportion of the es- tates on this island. In case of any misunderstanding between the overseer and the laborers, on the subject of the work, either as to its duration, or price, threats of ejectment have followed. These threats in many cases have been put in forcible execution. Cottages have been unroofed and even demolished. Cocoa- nut and bread fruit trees have been cut down ; pro- vision grounds have been despoiled by the hand of violence, or trodden under-foot of oxen ; and thus the laborers have been driven to seek for themselves a new home, either by moving away to other properties, or by purchasing little freeholds on the neighboring mountains. We often heard of these instances of violence, and saw something of them ; yet I would charitably believe that they have been comparatively rare. Not so, the plan of doubling or trebling the rent, or even multiplying it fourfold, upon the arbi- trary decision of the employer, or of charging it per LIBRARY UNIVER55TTY OF CATJFORNIA SA\'TA BARBARA 102 JAMAICA. capita against husband, wife, and each of the chiklren, as a penal exaction, to compel labor — the screw for this purpose being completed, in many cases, by dis- traint of goods and imprisonment of person. Sor- rowful to say, this plan has been practised through the length and breadth of the island. Every one must perceive that it classes under slavery, of which the very essence is, compulsory labor. The discontent, heart burning, and desertion of estates, to which it has given rise, are the natural consequences of the infraction of pure justice ; and they form the principal explanation of the discouraging accounts, which have from time to time been given of Jamaica, since the date of freedom. On the other hand, the estates which have been managed on those just and equal principles which allow full scope to the freedom of the laborer, have in general been blessed with tranquillity and pros- perity. The favorable and unfavorable accounts from Jamaica (allowing for a little exaggeration on either side) are both essentially true ; and with little excep- tion, they are the respective results of two opposite methods of management. But the evil is correcting itself; a better understanding is gr; dually taking place; and masters and laborers are increasingly in the way of being bound together — not by unfair me- thods of compulsion, but by the surer, safer bond of a common interest. Notwithstanding the kindness with which the ne- groes have long been treated on Papine estate, we are inclined to beh'eve that the comparatively unthrifty condition of that property, as it respects labor, affords JAMAICA. 103 ii continuation ot the above remarks. At Hope, un- der a reasonable arrangement of rent and wages, selt- interest is legitimately finding its vvay to prosperity. At Papirie, where a peculiar degree of kindness has been exerted, a less judicious plan has prevented the thrift which might otherwise have been expected. By the system practised, on that estate, of charging no rents, and paying wages low in proportion, the ques- tions of rent and wages are in fact intermingled ; and women and young persons, as well as the male heads of families, are indirectly involved in the payment of rent. This is obviously unfair. Were the heads of families, on that property, made independent tenants, on moderate rents, and were wages paid to the labor- ers at the higher rate adopted on the generality of the neighboring estates, we have no doubt that under a wise and vigorous management, continuous labor and increased produce, would soon be the consequence. To continue our narrative — after visiting the Hope estate, we rode to an independent village consisting of the settlements of seventy families, who have pur- chased good plots of land, and have built, or are building for themselves, pretty comfortable cottages. We were glad to find that the men of this settlement are still working for wages on the neighboring estates. Our friend Manning was with us, and the people at the village seemed very anxious to obtain, through his assistance, some permanent arrangement for a weekly religious service. The village appeared to us to be a scene of thrift and contentment. " How many dollars should I find in thy purse at home ?" said a friend in our company to a young mar- 104 JAMAICA- ried negro, who was guiding us along one of the mountain passes. "Should I find^veP" "Yes, sir," replied he, " and no great matter neither." How very few of our laborers in England, would be found with twenty shillings in their purse of spare money — was our reflection on the occasion. "How much dost thou pay at one time for liquor ?" " A pound, sir," said he — that is twelve shillings sterling — which lasts this laborer, for wine, porter &c. only six weeks. They are by no means given to intemperance, but some of them keep these articles in their cottages, for their own use in times of hard labor, and for the en- tertainment of their friends — a luxury which we hope vrill be soon exchanged for domestic comforts of a more desirable character. Their provision grounds are often extremely productive, sometimes yielding a clear income of £20 or £25 sterling. They are a de- cent, intelligent race, alive to their own interest, and increasingly cognizant of all that concerns it. On our return to Kingston, we dined with a few of the planters and merchants, at the house of our friend George Atkinson, himself an extensive attorney and planter. They gave us individually, a favorable account of the working of the negroes on their properties. These men of business take a hopeful view of the im- proved condition of affairs within the last few months, and appear to look forward, on substantial grounds, to the future prosperity of the colony. But it is time to conclude this letter. I am, &c. &c. LETTER VIII. JAMAICA. Flmhing, L. I. Sixth month (June) 10th, 1840. My dear Friend, With all due apologies for the familiar mode in which I am telling our story, I shall proceed to make further extracts from the simple diaries of our stay in Jamaica. In this way 1 hope to place thee in pos- session of the facts of the case, and to develop the principles out of which they spring. Third month, (March) 3rd. — Three of our company drove eastward from Kingston, seven miles, to a ta- vern by the road side, where we were provided with an excellent breakfast. Afterwards we rode on horse- back up the Port Royal mountains. A climb of four miles, in the midst of luxuriant vegetation and noble scenery, brought us to Halberstadt, a coffee plantation belonging to a colored gentleman, John Casper Weiss, of which we had heard a dismal report, at Kingston, from an individual who was connected with the owner of the property. We were therefore the more pleas- ed, on entering the plantation, which has somewhat the appearance of an English pleasure-ground, to see it well clad with vigorous coffee-trees, and a large 10() JAMAICA. company of good-looking negroes, diligently engaged in pruning them. There was certainly no lack of pro- duction here, and none of effectual labor. We held a friendly parley with the laborers, whom we encou- raged to continued industry, and then went forward to the great house (as they call the planter's residence on each estate) — in this instance, a neat dwelling em- bosomed in mountains, and commanding an extensive view of the sea. A more lovely spot I have seldom seen. There, on delivering our letter of introduction, we were kindly received and entertained by the pro- prietor, to whom we were entire strangers. One hundred and seventy slaves, or apprentices, used to be supported on this estate. Now, our friend employs fifty-four free laborers, who work for him four days in the week, taking one day for their pro- vision grounds, and another for market. This is all the labor that he requires ; in order to keep up his for- mer extent of cultivation. And willingly did he ac- knowledge the superior advantage which attends the present system. The saving of expense is obvious. I understood our friend to allow that the average cost of supporting a slave was £5 sterling per annum. 170 slaves at £5 per annum, is . . £850 Now he pays 54 free laborers 4s. 6d. per week, one day's labor being set off against rent, for 50 weeks, two weeks being allowed for holydays . 607 10 Saving under freedom, . . <£242 10 Here I would just remark that the setting off of a day's labor, against rent, cannot be regarded as a de- 1 JAMAICA. 107 sirahle plan ; for, in the first place it involves the wife in the payment of rent, as well as the husband — both being required to give their day's labor ; and secondly, it is quite unreasonable to expect that work, already (as it were) paid for, should be executed as well as that for which payment is expected. It was no matter of surprise to us, to hear that the work performed by the laborers of Halberstadt, on the day assigned to rent, was by no means equal to the usual average. J. C. Weiss shewed us his works, and kindly ex- plained to us the whole process of coffee cultivation. First comes the planting of the sucker — a slip with a root to it — five years being allowed for its growth, in a space from five to eight feet square, according to the nature of the soil. The plant looks like a handsome laurel, powdered in the blossoming season, with fragrant white flowers ; the berries red, sweet, and pulpy, each containing two coffee seeds or stones. The average an- nual produce of a coffee plant on these mountains, is one pound of coffee — the height of the plant, varying from three to ten feet. After about fifty years it ceases to bear ; and the land becomes ruinate ; that is incapa- ble of producing any more coffee. But the truth of this prevailing notion may be questioned The prin- cipal field operations, after the plant begins to bear, are pruning and picking — no severe work for the la- borer. Then comes the "pulping" — in a mill formed for the purpose — by which the stones are deprived of the surrounding pulp and outer skin. In a second mill, they are peeled of their inner skin, and separated from it by winnowing, as wheat from chaff'. The coffee is then spread in the sun, on large, open, clay 108 JAMAICA. floors called Barbecues. After being well dried, it is subjected to a process, called house-picking, which is nothing more than the separation by hand, of the broken and inferior seeds, from those of a better qua- lity. Finally comes the packing of the coiFee in bags and barrels, which are conveyed on mules down the mountain paths, to the place of shipment. We saw a number of women diligently at work in the house, picking, and men at the mills. Thus the whole scene was one of order and industry. The proprietor in- formed us, that although a temporary unsettlement, since the change of system, had occasioned a diminu- tion of produce, there was now a decided reaction ; and that if his people continued to work, as they were then doing, an increased crop next year, might rea- sonably be expected. After an early dinner, our kind host conducted us on horseback, to an estate on a higher mountain eminence, called Bloxburgh. As we rode along, and when we had attained the height, the views of the hills, plains, and distant sea, with the palisades, town of Port Royal and Kingston harbor, on one side — and of deep ravines and wooded dells, backed by the Blue Mountains on the other — were of unusual sublimity and beauty. We could not be surprised, that Columbus in his day, was so much delighted with the scenery of Jamaica. At Bloxburgh we found an agreeable young man from Scotland, who was then Bole manager of a very extensive coiFee estate, belonging to Park and Hall of Liverpool. He told us that he had ninety laborers at work, who were doing as well as those on the neigh- boring properties ; and that he was looking forward JAMAICA. 109 to an increased produce for the future. It appeared however, that he had been engaged in some conflicts with them, on the subject of rent and wages, which did not evince an enlightened management. Here it may be well to notice the fact, that the great majority of estates in Jamaica, belong to absentee proprietors who reside in England. In Jamaica, they are placed under the care of some attorney, or repre- sentative of the owner — one attorney often under- taking the care of numerous estates. Under the attorney, is the overseer, on each particular property, on whom the management almost exclusively devolves. This state of things is extremely unfavorable to the welfare of Jamaica. If the proprietors cannot give their personal attention to their estates, it would cer- tainly be a better plan to lease them to eligible tenants on the spot — a practice which has, of late years, been adopted in many instances. It is only surprising that estates never visited by the proprietor, and seldom by the attorney, but left to the care of inexperienced young men, often of immoral character, should pros- per at all. Nor would they prosper, even as they now do, but for two causes ; first, the exuberant bounty of nature, and secondly, the orderly, inoffensive conduct, and patient industry, of the negro race. Many of the coffee estates in this neighborhood are on very high ground, one or more at least four thousand feet above the level of the sea. Our intel- ligent conductor pointed out several of them to us, and, with little exception, gave a good account of their condition under freedom. At Halberstadt we were lodged as well as boarded ; and, the next morn- I 10 JAMAICA. ing, after reading the Scriptures with the black people, we took our leave ; and pursued our course by a mountain path, many miles in length, to Lucky Valley, a dell of great beauty, where there are both coflfee and sugar estates. The path, in parts, was one of extreme narrowness, with a bank on one side, and a precipice on the other ; but our horses were sure footed, and we rode along in safety. For the first time, I observed the great aloe in bloom — its vast stem, profusely covered with bunches of yellow blossoms, and the little green " grass birds," somewhat larger than the humming birds, busily en- gaged in ravishing its sweets. Such a spectacle in England or America, would attract a crowd of visiters. At Lucky Valley, we met with the usual hospitality of a Jamaica planter. Our friend, Hector M. Wood, until that hour a perfect stranger to us, kindly took us in, gave us a good dinner, led us over his sugar works, and showed us his people industriously at work. He assured us that although his present crop was not large, he was expecting a decided increase for the future — a statement which applies, not only to the estates visited during this excursion, but to the gene- rality of properties in the neighborhood. Our friend had long acted as overseer or manager for others, and was one of those persons who had wisely availed him- self of the times of fear and depression, shortly before freedom, in order to purchase landed property for himself I have very little doubt that he will make his fortune. His wife is a colored person, of agree- able manners, and much respectability. JAMAICA. 1 1 I The rapid diffusion of marriage among the negroes and the increase of it even among the white inhabit- ants, in Jamaica, is one of the happiest results of free- dom. We were assured on good authority that four times as many marriages took place, last year in Ja- maica, as in an equal population, on an average, in England — a fact which proves not only that numerous new connections are formed, but also that multitudes who were formerly living as man and wife without the right sanction, are now convinced of the sinful- ness of the practice, and are availing themselves with eagerness, of the marriage covenant. It appears that upwards of 1600 negro couples, Mere married in the Baptist churches alone, during the year 1839. On our way to the tavern, where we had left our carriage the day before, we passed through a narrow and picturesque defile of lofty limestone rocks — the " Falls" river, rushing along between them. At one place it forms a water-fall which reminded me of Wales and Scotland. We returned to Kingston in the evening, much amused and instructed with our excursion. We had selected the Port Royal district, not because we expected any peculiar satisfaction from inspecting it, but rather because we had heard com- plaints of its condition. — After viewing things for ourselves, we returned home, encouraged and con- soled. Third month (March) 5th. A meeting of the Ja- maica Anti-slavery Society was appointed to be held, this evening, at Spanishtown. As we had both inform- ation and advice to communicate, we believed it to be our duty to attend on the occasion ; the society being 112 JAMAICA. wholly divested of party politics, and aiming simply at the extinction of slavery, all the world over. Span- ishtown is the seat of Government — a place of seven thousand inhabitants. It is hot and dusty, like King- ston ; but it is considered to be a very improving place. Many of the houses both in the town and the vicinity, have been rebuilt or repaired, since the date of free- dom. The road leading to it, from Kingston, is flat and uninteresting ; but one object on its side, cannot fail to attract the attention of the traveller. It is a splendid specimen of the silk-cotton tree, equal in size to that in St. Thomas, but excelling it in beauty. It was profusely covered, when we saw it, with bright green foliage, and spread its shade to an astonishing extent. In the evening, nearly two thousand people, white, brown, and black, assembled in the Baptist chapel ; and Judge Bernard, a magistrate and planter of the highest respectability, took the chair. One principal object of the meeting was the appointment of deputies to the World's Convention, for the abolition of slavery, about to be held in London. It was addressed in a lively and pertinent manner, by many of the mission- aries of various denominations, from different parts of the island. Towards the close of it, it fell to my lot to communicate some important information re- specting the working of freedom in the islands to the windward, and to impress upon all parties present, the duty of equal justice on the one hand, and of charity and moderation on the other. I endeavoured to persuade the land owners of the utter impropriety and impolicy of mixing up the two questions of rent JAMAICA. 113 and wages — a practice which has so greatly interfered, in Jamaica, with the unfettered operation of freedom; and I explained to our black brethren, who flocked from the country to the meeting, how greatly they would promote the cause of emancipation, in other parts of the world, by setting an example of patient industry as cultivators of the soil, and by increasing the staple exports of the Island. I ventured to remark that the eyes of North America in particular, were fixed upon Jamaica, watching the pecuniary, as well as moral result, of the great experiment. I am sure thou wilt acknowledge that this was sober and prac- tical doctrine ; and certainly, on their part, it was re- ceived with a degree of intelligence and hearty good will, which I have never seen exceeded on any similar occasion. The interest which these people feel in the freedom of their race, is extreme ; and many of them are liberal subscribers to the Society. The Legislature was not then sitting, and the Go- vernor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, was absent on a visit to some other parts of the island. We had no oppor- tunity, therefore, during this visit to Spanishtown, of communicating with many of the official men, but were well pleased to be introduced to Richard Hill, the Secretary of the Department of Stipendiary Ma- gistrates. He is colored ; and in times of conflict and prejudice, the more violent advocates of slavery on the island, used to call him the " black viper ;" but his unquestionable integrity, talents, and knowledge of public business, have secured him the respect and confidence of the public. The government of St. Lucie, as we were informed, was oft'ered to him, but I 114 JAMAICA. he declined the appointment, from an apprehension that his color would subject him to indignity. His opinion of the working of freedom in Jamaica, ground- ed on an extensive and accurate acquaintance with the subject, is highly favorable. His only fear is, lest unequal laws, or unjust practices, should impede its native force, and mar its operation. In these views we fully agree w^ith him. Let freedom alone, and all will he well. This view of the subject was pleasantly confirmed by some valuable missionaries of the Scotch Kirk, who reside in the Parish (or county) of St. Mary. In that district, rent and wages have been arranged quite independently of each other, and labor has been suf- fered to find its market, without obstruction. The consequence is, that there have been no differences, and the people are working well. The quantity of work obtained from a freeman there, is far beyond the old task of the slave. In the laborious occupation of holing, the emancipated negroes perform double the work of the slave, in a day. In road making the day's task, under slavery, was to break four barrels of stone. Now, by task-work, a weak hand will fill eight barrels, a strong one, from ten to twelve barrels. Afterwards we called on Charles Nicholas Palmer, formerly M.P. for the County of Surrey, who was with us at the anti-slavery meeting, and fully united in the views which were there unfolded. He is in- terested in five estates in Jamaica, which are regulated on fair principles — so powerful, in themselves, as the source of success. He gave us an excellent account of the conduct and industry of his laborers, assured JAMAICA. 11.) US that he was greatly indebted to the influence of their Christian pastors, and added the pleasing in- formation that these properties were now emancipating themselves from the burden of debt, and consequent mercantile restrictions, by which they had been op- pressed under slavery. Third month (March) 7th. — This day was spent in a tete a tete ride on horseback, with J. M. Phillippo, the respected minister of the Baptist congregation at Spanishtown ; and certainly, it was one of uncommon interest. We set off very early in the morning, and pursued a gradually ascending course for thirteen miles, until we arrived at Sligoville, where the Gover- nor has a delightful country-seat, and my friend the Baptist, a missionary station and school. The coun- try through which we passed is rich in fertility and beauty, and we had the pleasure of observing well culti- vated provision grounds and gardens, on the road side, which were entirely the growth of freedom . As we rode along, we met a great number of country people, with large, well-balanced baskets, on their heads, filled with fruits and vegetables which they were carrying to the Spanishtown market. They uniformly met us with a smile of pleasure, and friendly salutations. The minister was well known to them, and many of them had been present at the anti-slavery meeting, with which they were much delighted. Their manners are, in an extraordinary degree, respectful and polite. At the Baptist station at Sligoville, we spent seve- ral hours. It is located on a lofty hill, and is sur- rounded by fifty acres of fertile mountain land. This property is divided into one hundred and fifty freehold I 2 116 JAMAH A. lots, fifty of which had been already sold to the eman- cipated negroes, and had proved a timely refuge for many laborers who had been driven, by hard usage, from their former homes. Some of them had built good cot- tages ; others, temporary huts ; and others again were preparing the ground for building. Their gardens were cleared, or in process of clearing, and in many cases, already brought into fine cultivation. Not a hoe, 1 believe, had ever been driven into that land be- fore. Now, a village had risen up, with every promise of comfort and prosperity, and the land was likely to produce a vast abundance of nutritious food. The people settled there were all married pairs, mostly with families, and the men employed the bulk of their time, in working for wages on the neighbouring estates. The chapel and the school were immediately at hand, and the religious character of the people stood high. Never did I witness a scene of greater industry, or one more marked by contentment for the present, and hope for the future. How instructive to remember that two years ago, this peaceful village had no existence ! After partaking of needful refreshment, in the neat but commodious country house with which J. M. Phillippo was here provided, we returned towards Spanishtown, by a yet wilder path, over stones, and through brakes and briars, until we came to Clarkson- town, another village of the same description, but in rather a more forward state of cultivation. Here we were refreshed, by the hospitable people, with draughts of lemonade. We found them industriously engaged in cultivating their own freeholds. Many of them JAMAICA. 117 had long been laborers on a neighboring- estate, from which they had at last been forced away, by ill treat- ment. Their cocoa-nut trees had been felled — their huts demolished. What could they do but seek a new home? They crowded round us, and expressed the most entire willingness again to work on the property, if they were but treated with fairness and kindness. They were well known to my friend Phillippo, being many of them members of his church, and a better conditioned, or better mannered peasantry, could not easily be found. On our return home, we visited two neighbouring estates, of about equal size (I believe) and equal fer- tility ; both, among the finest properties, for natural and local advantages, which I any where saw in Jamaica. One was in difficulty — the other pros- perous. The first was the estate already alluded to, which had been deprived of so many hands, by vain attempts to compel the labor of freemen. There, if I am not mistaken, I saw, as we passed by, the clear marks of that violence, by which the people had been expelled. The second, called " Dawkin's Caymanas," was under the enlightened attorneyship of Judge Ber- nard, who with his lady, and the respectable overseer, met us on the spot. On this property, the laborers were independent tenants. Their rent was settled, according to the money value of the tenements which they occupied, and they were allowed to take their labor to the best market they could find. As a matter of course, they took it to the home market ; and ex- cellently were they working, on the property of their old master. The attorney, the overseer, and the la- 118 JAMAICA. borers, all seemed equally satisfied — equally iit their ease. Here then was one property which w( nld occa- sion a had re^port of Jamaica — another which would as surely give rise to a good report. As it regards the properties themselves, both reports are true — and they are the respective results of two opposite modes of management. At Dawkin's Caymanas, we had the pleasure of witnessing an interesting spectacle ; for the laborers on the property, with their wives, sons, and daughters, were on that day met at apic-nic dinner. The table, of vast length, was spread under a wattled building erected for the purpose, and at the convenient hour of six in the evening (after the day's work was finish- ed) was loaded with all sorts of good fare — soup, fish, fowls, pigs, and joints of meat in abundance. About one hundred and fifty men and women, of the African race, attired with the greatest neatness, were assem- bled, in much harmony and order, to partake of the feast ; but no drink was provided stronger than water. It was a sober, substantial repast — the festival of peace and freedom. This dinner was to have taken place on New Year's day; but it so happened, that a Bap- tist Meeting House in another part of the island, had been destroyed by fire ; and, at the suggestion of their minister, these honest people agreed to waive their dinner, and to subscribe their money instead, to the rebuilding of the Meeting House. For this purpose, they raised a noble sum (1 believe considerably up- wards of £100 sterling) ; and now, in the third month of the year, finding that matters were M^orking well with them, they thought it well to indulge themselves JAMAICA. 119 with their social dinner. By an unanimous vote, they commissioned me to present a message of their affec- tionate regards, to Thomas Clarkson, and Thomas Fowell Buxton, the two men to whom, of all others perhaps, they were the most indebted for their present enjoyment. In the course of this delightful ride, I observed se- veral beautiful birds entirely new to me — the wood- pecker of Jamaica, finely varied with red, black, and green ; the bright green toady, of the size of a small wren, with scarlet throat ; a larger bird in shape like a robin, green and purple ; and the smallest of the "fowls of the air" — if fowl it may be called — the bee humming- bird, just about the size of a humble bee, and much resembling it, in manner and appearance. Our friend Richard Hill is an ornithologist and artist, and has made an admirable set of drawings of the birds of this island, which I trust, in due season, will be presented to the public. The following day was the First of the week, and brought with it, at Spanishtown, a repetition of the scenes which had so much interested us, the preced- ing week at, Kingston — a vast meeting of negro labor- ers, at the Baptist Meeting House in the morning ; and at the Methodist Chapel in the evening, a pro- miscuous assembly of all classes and colors — both meetings held, of course, after the manner of the So- ciety of Friends. The principles upheld to view on these occasions, were not of a sectarian nature ; but were calculated, we trust, to cement all sound chris- tians, in " the unity of the spirit, and in the bond of peace." In reference to the meeting held in the morn- 120 JAMAICA. ing, one of our company observes, " I watched the people as they sat before us, shoulder to shoulder — I witnessed the tears starting to their eyes, and saw their significant tokens of response — I heard " yes massa," faintly and involuntarily escaping the lips of some of them. In short, here was before me a people only a few years ago, under the grinding iron hand of bondage ; ignorant, degraded, and desponding — now free, feeling, and intelligent." I am, &c. &c. LETTER IX. JAMAICA. Flushing, L. I. Sixth month (June) 12th, 1840. My dear Friend, I will now continue my diary. Third month (March) 9th. At an early hour this morning, my friend Mahlon Day and myself, drove out ten miles on the high road to Old Harbor, to Bravo Penn, a handsome villa, the seat of Alexander Bravo. He is a member of the Council, Gustos of the parish of Clarendon, a large land owner, and once the holder of a thousand slaves. Great as his stake was in the old system, he was even then the firm friend of freedom, in the efficacy of which he felt great con- fidence ; and afterwards when all around him were talk- ing of ruin, he set his apprentices to work to build the capital mansion in which he now resides. He is a married man, the father of a large young family. At his house we were met by our friends. Palmer, late of Surrey, and Ramsay, Custos of St. Catharine's. That confidence in the safety of freedom, which A. Bravo displayed by building his mansion during the apprenticeship, has been farther manifested since eman- 122 JAMAICA. cipation, by his hiring two large properties belonging to the Marquess of Sligo. These he is now conduct- ing, for his own benefit, in addition to several sugar and coffee estates of which he is the owner ; and I find he is yet further extending his sugar cultivation, by forming a new plantation for the purpose, on a farm hitherto in grass. These proceedings involve a practical testimony of the highest value, in favor of the present system. They are, as I understand, con- nected with the fact, that the payment of wages to a comparatively small number of free laborers, produces a far less formidable debit in account, than the sup- port of a thousand slaves, with all its collateral pecu- niary burdens. Our friend Bravo has had the good sense to sepa- rate the two points of rent and wages. He charges the people a fair rent on their cottages and provision grounds, according to the money- value of their occu- pation ; at the same time, he pays them good wages, and leaves them at perfect liberty to take their labor to a better market, if they can find one. The conse- quence is that they are in general happy and contented, and work on his estates willingly and vigorously. The result of his own experience, and of his extensive know- ledge of the island, is just this — that the emancipated negroes, are working well, on the properties of their former holders, wherever they are fairly, kindly, and wisely treated. These adverbs are severally intended to have their distinct force. All infractions of pure justice — all new fangled attempts to compel labor — all oppressive, inequitable modes of management — must in the first place be renounced. Harsh, unkind I JAMAICA. 123 treatment, profane swearing, and all hard language, must in the second place, be avoided. And lastly, there must be discretion and firmness. Where fair- ness and kindness are practised, there will still be little probability of success, if unwise sacrifices are made of the rights of the master — if, for instance, the laborers are allowed to take any quantity of wild land that they please, for their provision grounds, for little or no rent, and so to render themselves independent of wages. Again, the occasional caprices to which they are prone, and which are apt to irritate the tempers of overseers, reqviire to be met by a calm and steady resistance. On one of A. Bravo's estates, the people had, shortly before, struck work for the renewal of an extravagant rate of wages, which had been allowed them, under peculiar circumstances, the year before. Our friend knew that the demand was unreasonable, and quietly yet firmly resisted it. The consequence was that in a very few days, they were all at work again as heartily as before. He is further of the judg- ment, that like other laborers, all the world over, they require a careful superintendence. In the nature of things, their service will be more or less eye-service, until they come to be fully impressed with their moral and religious obligations, as cultivators of the soil. After breakfast we drove to Kelly's, one of Lord Sligo's properties. Here all is prospering, under A. Bravo's care ; and the proprietor has given directions for the building of one hundred comfortable cottages on the estate, which are to be leased to the laborers, with one-acre plots of ground, so as to render them inde- 124 JAMAICA. pendent tenants. By this wise and liberal arrange- ment, the Marquess will I trust succeed, first, in ob- taining a good rental, and secondly, in securing a constant home supply of labor, amply sufficient for the cultivation of his estate. We saw the people on this property, diligently employed in holing — a work for which ploughing is now pretty generally substi- tuted, in Jamaica. " How are you all getting along ?" said my companion, to a tall bright-looking black man, busily engaged with his hoe. " Right well, massa, right well," he replied. "lam from America," said my friend, " where there are many slaves : what shall I say to them from you ? shall I tell them that free- dom is working well here ?" " Yes, massa," said he, " much well under freedom — thank God for it." " Much well" they were indeed doing, for they were earning a dollar for every hundred cane holes — a great effort certainly, but one which many of them accom- plished by four o'clock in the afternoon. " How is this ?" asked the same friend, as he felt the lumps or welts on the shoulder of another man. " O, massa," cried the negro, " I was flogged when a slave — no more whip now — all free." We left " Kelly's" for an hour or two, on a visit to Henry Taylor, the Baptist missionary at Old Harbor, who has under his care a large congregation and excellent school. We observed two large merchantmen in the harbor, and a third ap- proaching it at a distance — no evidence that this part of the country has failed to be productive. On our return to Kelly's, the laborers were assembled, at our request, under the shade of an old silk cotton tree, and listened with eager interest, to the practical ad- JAMAICA. 125 vices which we wished to communicate. It was our desire to encourage them to a lite of honesty, indus- try, and piety. And truly, they are willing to be taught. One estate only, in that district, was said to be under any difficulty, for want of sufficient labor — Bushy Park, a property of great extent and fertility, on which many hundred black people are located. They are said to belong to an African tribe which has been found, since they were transferred to the colo- nies, less easy to control than the generality of their brethren. We visited this estate in the afternoon, and a large number of them were convened, at our request, in front of the Great House — as fine a look- ing race as we any where saw. They were addressed, with much freedom and plainness, on the duties which devolved upon them as free hired labourers, — and most of them received the exhortation with cordiality. We had strong reason to believe, that the difficulties on this property, had arisen from the want of kind and judicious management, on the part of some former overseers. The attorney of the property has since in- formed us, that the obstructions have been removed, and, to use his own expression, that the people " are merrily at work." The evening was now advanced, and under the guidance of our kind friend, Custos Ramsay, we returned to Spanishtown. I can hardly refrain from inserting an anecdote which he told us, illustrative of the mind and man- ners of this people. A tame plover which he kept in his garden, before the date of freedom, frightened at the report of a gun, was seen burying her long beak. 126 JAMAICA. and hiding her head, in the sand. A negro lad was passing by at the time, and after a few moments' me- lancholy musing, was overheard saying, " Every some- thing know him own trouble !" Third month (March) 10th — Having arranged a journey to the northern coast, we left Kingston in two open carriages, being five Friends in company, much united in heart and judgment. J. M. Phil- lippo and his wife, kindly undertook to be our guides, during our first day's journey. This devoted mis- sionary appeared to us to have a far more extensive influence over the laboring population, than any other individual in Spanishtown ; and we can, from our own observation, venture to assert, that he exerts it in a beneficial manner — greatly to the advantage of the planter, as well as the laborer. Through many diflBculties, he has worked his way to a condition of comparative ease, and of great usefulness. He has eight missionary stations and schools under his care, and, like his brethren in other parts of the island, is greatly beloved and respected by the people. By the last accounts, the Baptists of Jamaica have twenty- six thousand members in church communion, and the Methodists, twenty-two thousand ; besides the multi- tude, not in membership, who attend their respective places of worship. Schools are connected, as a matter ol^ course, with most of their numerous congregations. We saw five hundred black children, at once, assem- bled in J. M. Phillippo's chapel. Who can calculate the moral advantages derived to the negro population from these extensive efforts in the cause of religion — efforts which have been almost doubled, in efficacy. JAMAICA. 127 since the abolition ot slavery. That these advantages are at once great and solid, and appeared to us to be counteracted by no unfair bias, we are bound to bear our unequivocal testimony. We can easily suppose that individual missionaries, during that long con- tinuance of conflict and diflliculty to vrhich they have been exposed, have not always confined themselves within the bounds of prudence and moderation. We are ourselves aware of some such instances. But these circumstances are as nothing, when compared to the general influence of these pious men, in promoting both the temporal and spiritual welfare of all classes of the community. The Baptist missionaries in Ja- maica, for many years past, have been the unflinching, untiring friends of the negro. No threats have daunt- ed them, no insults or persecutions have driven them from the field. They are now reaping their reward, in the devoted attachment of the people, and the in- creasingly prevalent acknowledgment of their integ- rity and usefulness. We left Spanishtown under a hot sun, the dust flying ; and after travelling eighteen miles to the northward, we arrived at Jericho, a Baptist settlement in the highlands, in the midst of clouds, mist, and violent rain. This sort of weather is common among the mountains in Jamaica, while the level plains on the coast are almost burning with heat. Our course lay through the fertile and well-wooded parish of St. Thomas in the Vale, partly along the banks of the Bog river, which present a variety of picturesque scenery. The perpendicular rocks of white limestone, close beside the stream, are in one spot very lofty ; ]'i8 JAMAICA. and the trees of various kinds are rendered singular by the immense creepers, which hug their trunks. Some of these creepers bear a large white trumpet blossom, and are very handsome. Near the road-side stands Rodney workhouse, a place of confinement and punishment, notorious in former days, as a scene of cruelty. Under freedom, it has lost at once its in- mates, and its terrors. We were kindly received by the missionary Merrick and his sister, and accommo- dated free of all expense, with bed and board — a mountain kid was cooked for our dinner. A meeting for worship had been appointed for the evening, which, notwithstanding the stormy weather, was attended by many hundreds of the laboring people, and was an occasion of much feeling and interest. Another meeting was appointed for the following evening, at St. Anne's Bay, on the northern coast, at a distance of thirty-five miles, and as our road lay over Mount Diavolo, it was necessary to start very early in the morning. But our horses, which had been turned out to grass, were lost in the fog, and we were foiled in our attempt to commence our journey before the usual breakfast hour. The ascent of Mount Dia- volo is laborious, continuing for many miles ; and, in order to relieve our horses, it was necessary to walk, in the heat, most of the way. But for this exertion we were amply repaid. The scenery was delightful — the hills are covered with forest, and the distant plains, beautifully cultivated, were seen in a succession of views, between their projections. On the steep slopes immediately below the road, are a number of plots of ground, lately purchased by the negroes, who were JAMAICA. 129 busily engaged in cultivating them, and in building their cottages. It is a land of rich pastures ; the fine cattle seemed half buried in the guinea grass ; and the meadows on the brow of the mountain, in which they were feeding, were riciily adorned with fern-like tufts of bamboo. These grow to the height of forty or fifty feet, and wave about in the wind, like gigantic ostrich feathers. The road on the northern side of the mountain, winds down by a gradual descent, into the luxuriant valley of Moneague, which is covered with guinea grass and other herbage, and is very simi- lar, in appearance, to some of the picturesque, fertile valleys of Wales. But, amidst these beautiful scenes, we were under- going the uneasiness of being belated, with an appoint- ed meeting ahead, which we could not reach. Eighteen njiles further had we to tiavel from Moneague, before we could arrive at the place of our destination ; the rain was falling in torrents, and the road, in parts, was steep and difficult. At length we reached St. Anne's bay, and on our arrival at the chapel, found the people in the act of dispersing. They rallied with surprising rapidity; and, tired as we were of travel- ling, and they of waiting, we all derived refreshment, 1 trust, from a short but solemn meeting for worship ; during which the negroes, who had come from the country in large numbers, evinced their usual serious- ness and good behavior. We afterwards found an agreeable resting-place, under ^the hospitable roof of the Baptist missionary, Thomas F. Abbott. His house is on the brow of a high hill, and commands an ani- nuiting view of the thriving little town, the bay, the K 130 JAMAICA. shipping, and the luxuriant cane-tields spreading over the plain, on either side. This small place is increas- ing in prosperity under freedom ; new houses are in course of erection, and property, near the town, is more than doubled in value. The owner of a piece of land which, five years ago, might have been purchased for £100, now refuses to take £500 for it. The in- formation which we here received, was highly satis- factory. Rent and wages are arranged, irrespectively of each other, on several large properties near the town. These are all doing well ; but on others, where rent is made the instrument for compelling labor, con- fusion and disputes have followed. One planter of St. Anne's parish, has cleared £3,000 sterling by the last crop, and freely acknowledges that he cultivates his land more easily and cheaply than he did under slavery. Another planter who had been bitterly com- plaining of approaching ruin, had refused a large sum of money for his estate, and had finally leased it for £600 sterling, per annum. During the last three years and a half, Thomas F, Abbott's congregation — composed almost exclusively of black laborers — have raised £2,600 sterling, for the support of the mission, and other collateral purposes. William and Mary Waters, lately slaves — he a blacksmith — she a pedlar — have saved £100 sterling, since 8th Month (Au- gust) 1838, and are subscribing £10 per annum, to the cause of missions ! Third month (March) 1 2th, 1810. After calling on the Wesleyan Missionaries, and endeavoring (I hope with success) to reconcile a difference which, from a peculiar circumstance, had arisen between them JAMAICA. \',i\ and the Baptists, we set oft' on our journey to Browns- town — an easy road, as we were told — only eighteen miles from St. Anne's Bay. The first half of the route lay by the sea side, through a rich plain which we found under prosperous sugar cultivation. Neither the well clad and well-cleaned fields of cane, nor the neat buildings on the successive estates, indicated any thing of that ruin which some persons had so busily predicted for Jamaica — but just the contrary. On the sides of the road, were neat hedges over-run with several kinds of convolvolus in full bloom. After travelling several miles, we turned away from the sea, (as we supposed, according to direction) and ascended a long steep hill to our left, covered with pimento trees, forming what is called a pimento walk. The beauty of these trees is great, something like the orange tree, but much loftier ; the bark bare, and looking as if it had been peeled of its outer coat, the leaf dark, glossy, and of an aromatic smell. The pro- duce is the berry called allspice, which finds at pre- sent, a very low market, and the cultivation of it pays badly. As we quietly proceeded, on foot, up the steep ascent and through these fragrant bowers, the scenery became very alluring— Cardiff" Hall, an old planting settlement, appearing on a green penn (or park) below, a large grove of cocoa-nuts hard by, and the sea, of bright blue, in the distance. We were told that we should find Brownstown, where a meeting was ap- pointed for the evening, at the top of this mountain ; but to our dismay, when we reached the summit, we found ourselves at an estate called Antrim, on the wrong road, and eight miles from the place of our K 2 1,*}2 JAMAICA. destination ; the mountain road between the two places, was considered to be impassable for carriages. The black people of the villai^e crowded round us, proffered their aid, and refreshed us with draughts of cocoa-nut milk. Many of them were just setting off, though from so great a distance, for the meeting ; for indeed they are a zealous, church-going people. John Candler and myself, escorted by two of them, went forward on poneys which they kindly lent us ; and the rest of the company moved slowly on behind, with the carriages, assisted by a band of these willing- hearted people. Nothing could exceed their kindness and attention ; and by pulling back the wheels in de- scending, and pushing them forward in ascending some of those steep heights, they enabled our drivers at length to accomplish the journey, which otherwise they could not possibly have done. " Don't fret, massa, said one of these zealous helpers, to a friend in the company — " all will come right at last." " Will massa have a little wine ?" said a black woman, in a cottage by the road-side, to the same friend, when he called to ask for a draught of water. The wine, sure enough, was at hand, and was found to be timely in a moment of great fatigue. Several empty bottles, in one corner of the room, showed that this cottager was accustomed so to evince her hospitality. Our friend offered payment, which was politely refused — "thanks," said the woman, " are better than money." We were in the midst of a Christian people ; and as my companion and 1 rode on through a country of wild and enchanting beauty, we overtook flocks of the peasantry, who had just finished their day's work, JAMAICA. 13.S wending" their way to our meeting. It was a touching sight, couj3led as it was with the recollection of the cruelties which many of them had once suffered ; now, without exception, they seemed respectable and happy, Brownstown is a free settlement and country town, rapidly improved, and improving, since freedom, — the land in it is already quadrupled in value. We were hospitably received by our worthy friends, John Clark the missionary, and his wife, and held an interesting and aiFecting meeting for worship, with about twelve hundred black people. After it was concluded, my companion delivered to them a written message sent from the venerable Thomes Clarkson, now in extreme old age, to the peasantry of Jamaica, expressing his Christian love and sympathy, and advising the con- tinuance of that patient and orderly conduct by which they have hitherto been so remarkably characterised. The message was received with respect, and called forth a warm response. The work of religion going on in this district, is remarkable — a multitude have been added to the church, since the date of full free- dom, and hundreds of others are awakened to anxiety respecting their souls. This delightful village is nested among luxuriant hills. Every thing in it seemed to be thriving, with the single exception of a dark-look- ing little building, now forsaken and useless. This was the dungeon and public flogging place, during slavery and the apprenticeship. Our friends assured us, that these scenes of cruelty generally took place once in the week ; and vain were their attempts to escape from the horrid sound of the cries of the suf- ferers. Now, und^r the banner of freedom, the desert VM JAMAICA. of thorns and briars, may truly be said to be blossom- ing like the " rose of Sharon." We heard excellent accounts of the working of the people on the estates in this neighbourhood, except only where they have been oppressed by the misapplication of the rent system. On leaving the place the next morning, we called on the Wesleyan minister, and met at his door a large wedding company, all of them, I believe, laboring people, but handsomely attired, and on horseback. It was a scene which could not be matched among the peasantry of Great Britain. We then drove through the fertile sugar-plains of the parish of Trelawney to Falmouth, a considerable town on the sea coast, and the seat of the useful la- bors of William Knibb, the Baptist minister; so well known as the staunch and effective friend of the negro population. He was now absent on a legation to the Anti-slavery Society, and the Baptists in England, in company with one of his black brethren ; and the at- tachment of the people to their minister, as well as their own prosperous condition, had been amply evinced by their raising a voluntary subscription of £1,000 currency (near three thousand dollars) to de- fray the expenses of the mission. On our way we passed through another prosperous village called Stew- artstown, which contains a large store, a well attended church, Methodist and Baptist chapels, schools of course, and a large number of freehold settlements occupied by the negroes. At Barnstaple, a sugar es- tate on the road, where we stopped to refresh ourselves and our horses, the overseer inforn^ed us that he had JAMAICA. 1.^5 one hundred people well at work, on wages from one shilling sterling to half a dollar per day — " no com- plaints, all comfortable." In our friend William Knibb's absence, we were kindly received at his house, and met a warm welcome from " Brother Ward," his able representative. After- wards we met seven or eight hundred of the people in the chapel, who seemed to lend a willing ear to the plain advice which we ventured to offer them on seve- ral practical points — the cultivation of the soil, the education of their children, the daily use of the Holy Scriptures, the duties of mothers, &c. The next morn- ing we visited the jail and house of correction for the parish of Trelawney, and found only two prisoners in the former, and one in the latter — a white sailor. During slavery and the apprenticeship, there were sometimes from eighty to one hundred miserable in- mates, in this house of correction. We also made agreeable calls on the Scottish and Wesleyan minis- ters, and on the clergyman of the parish church, who has a day school under his care, of three hundred chil- dren. Thus under different administrations, the good work of christian education, is making rapid progress. Much that we saw and heard during our journey, in the parishes of St. Anne's and Trelawney, was of an encouraging nature. The sugar cultivation was evi- dently going on substantially well ; temporary diffi- culties had been surmounted, and so far as we could learn, nothing but a few lingering attempts to compel labor (or in other words to retain slavery under a new form) interrupted the prosperity of these fertile dis- tricts. A better understanding had begun to prevail 1.% JAMAICA. among the parties ; and these parishes were affording abundant evidence that wherever llhertij is left alone, thrift goes along with it, to the comfort and benefit of all classes of the people. We observed one large mer- chantman waiting for sugar, at St. Anne's Bay, three at Falmouth, and about twelve at Montego Bay. A pleasant drive of twenty-two miles, by the sea coast, brought us on Seventh day (Saturday) even- ing, to the last mentioned place. It is a town of about 12,000 inhabitants, situated at the foot of wood- ed hills, and at the inland extremity of a very beauti- ful bay — quite a good-looking place, and like other towns in Jamaica, rapidly improving. We met with the kindest reception from the wife of our friend, Thomas Burchell, the Baptist missionary. He was himself absent at a country station, but his people flocked about us, and seemed overjoyed at our arrival. Although the notice of our coming had been short, and no service had previously been expected, nearly 3,000 of them assembled at the chapel the next morn- ing, with scarcely any mixture of white persons, and displayed a seriousness and propriety of demeanor, which reflected much credit both on themselves, and on their absent pastor. In the afternoon, I was ac- companied by Walter Finlayson and Levi Lewin, two of the magistrates, on visits to the house of correction and jail, for the county of Cornwall — that is, for about one third of the island. The jail was nearly empty. In the house of correction, I found about fifty offend- ers, in a very insecure prison, without classification, and I fear greatly neglected as to religious care or culture. Wretched lunatics were mingled with the other in- JAMAICA. ]',i7 mates of this sad abode. The prisoners, in each place, listened with attentiou to a short address, delivered to them on the occasion, and I trust they will claim the increased christian care of pious individuals living in their own neighbourhood. After an overflowing as- sembly for worship in the evening, at the Methodist meeting house, the day ended in peace. 1 am, &c. &c. LETTER X. JAMAICA. Providence, R. I. Sixth month (June) 24th, ] 840. My dear Friend, After the interruption of nearly two weeks, occasioned by the attendance of one of our Yearly Meetings and other circumstances, I resume the thread of my story — requesting thy farther kind attention to the diary of our tour in Jamaica. On the 16th of the Third month (March) we left Montego Bay, early in the morning, and drove eight miles to Mount Carey, an inland Baptist station, and the country residence of our friend, Thomas Burchell, who met us there, from a third of his stations, at break- fast. Our road lay first, along a fertile valley, and next, up the brow of a mountain, from which we ob- tained delightful prospects of the sea with several low green islands, the town and harbor of Montego Bay, the shipping and the distant hills — the whole scene bespeaking, at once, the bounty of nature, and the essential prosperity of the land. The parish of " St. James" was the principal seat of the " rebellion," (as it was falsely called,) shortly before emancipation. JAMAICA. 139 The long continued acts of provocation and oppres- sion, to which the negroes had been exposed, drove them at last into a state of irritation, not without instances, 1 presume, of crime and violence ; but there can be no doubt that the flame was at once fanned, and exaggerated, by a violent party on the other side, with a view to impede the march of approaching free- dom. Nevertheless, freedom has come ; and in this once agitated parish, virulence and confusion have given place to quietness, order, and gradually progres- sive improvement. We continued for two days, at Mount Carey, en- joying both ease and abundance, under the peaceful roof of our hospitable friend. Thomas Burchell is a gentleman, and a christian, a man of modesty, inte- grity, and talent, and his history affords a remarkable example of the truth of that divine declaration," Him that honoreth me, 1 will honor." He was once in- sulted, persecuted, and imprisoned. Now, he is greatly at his ease, enjoying a delightful country residence, and exercising over many thousands of the peasantry, at his various stations, an influence incomparably greater than that of any other individual in the vi- cinity. During an intimate association with him and his family for two or three days, we could not perceive the smallest tendency in his mind, to any political abuse of his well-earned ascendancy ; and from our own observation, we are able to declare that while he is the firm friend of the laborer, he is anxious to pro- mote, by every means in his power, the fair interest of the planter. The congregation of country people at 140 JAMAICA. Mount Carey is large, and the day school well attended and admirably conducted. The appearance, dress, and deportment of the peo- ple, assembled at our large meetings at Montego Bay and Mount Carey, afforded us ocular demonstration that we were in the midst of a thriving peasantry ; nor can there be the least question that this condition of thrift, on their part, is mainly the consequence of their working for wages, on the estates of their old masters. The remaining exceptions, in this fertile district, to a comfortable understanding between the employer and the laborer, are to be traced, as we had every reason to believe, to a want of good manage- ment on the part of attorneys and overseers. But a gradual improvement, even in these instances, was taking place ; and indeed the mismanagement to which we allude belonged, in some cases, chiefly to the period of apprenticeship, which left behind it roots of bitter- ness by no means easy to eradicate. This appears to have been the case with some noble properties, near Mount Carey, belonging to an English Baron — of course an absentee. We visited the principal of them, on which, during the apprenticeship, much cruelty had been practised ; and even just before our visit, certain provision grounds, improperly occupied (as we were told) by some of the negroes, had been, far more im- properly, despoiled, by the turning in of oxen upon them. We were pleased to find that Lord had transmitted to his agents some admirable written di- rections — especially with regard to the equitable set- tlement of the questions of rent and wages — which, if JAMAICA. 141 fairly acted on, will, as we believe, ensure the future prosperity of his estates. About one hundred and fifty of his people atttended our meeting for worship at Mount Carey ; and after it was over, we entered into a friendly parley with them, with a view of impressing upon them their christian duty, as hired cultivators of the soil. They appeared to us a well-conditioned com- pany of peasants ; and they gave us a respectful hear- ing — fully acknowledging the fair and benevolent dis- position of the absent proprietor of the estates. We parted from them with the bright hope that what- soever remains of misunderstanding between them and their employers, will ere long be removed, and that a tract of land, remarkable for natural beauty and fertility, will soon be equally distinguished by the pro- fit which it yields to its owner, and by the peace and comfort of all who dwell on it. Just such a scene of mutual satisfaction, is " Chil- dermas" estate, in the same neighbourhood, under the care of — Matthews, a kind and intelligent overseer. Our friend employs one hundred and twenty laborers, who are working admirably; he has obtained sixty- two hogsheads of sugar from the last crop, and is lay- ing the foundation of a largely increased produce. He has built his people comfortable cottages, charges them low rents, and pays them good wages. There can be no question that the proprietor's outlay will soon be abundantly repaid. It may however be re- marked, that in this case there was evidently the ad- vantage of a ready capital. It is worthy of more than a passing notice, that the constant tendency of slavery was to diminish capital ; and now that it is exchanged 14*2 JAMAICA. for freedom, the want of labor on many properties, is obviously to be traced merely to the want of money to pay for it. This evil will be rectified by the gra- dual influence of freedom ; as has already been so remarkably the case in Antigua. A third estate, near Mount Carey, called " Anchovy," was given up as a bad concern, at the first date of freedom, but is now resumed, and by virtue of free labor, has already nearly recovered itself. Third month (March) 18th. Early in the morning we left Mount Carey, and, in company with our friend Burchell, drove, through a cultivated country, to Betheltown, another station, where the Baptists have a large congregation, four hundred and fifty members of their church, and a school for one hundred and fifty children. The neighbouring village, consisting of little freehold settlements, occupied and well culti- vated by the negroes, had proved to many of them a place of refuge from oppression, and now presented a scene of quiet prosperity. It was here that we first observed the cultivation of ginger. The plant has long grass-like leaves, and the root which forms the article of commerce, is prepared for sale, by the simple process of cleaning and drying in the sun. It cer- tainly affords the negro cultivator a short and easy method of realizing money. We now took our leave of Thomas Burchell ; and, provided with one of his obliging people, as a guide, pursued our journey over rough narrow roads, until we arrived at Kepp, a ro- mantic penn or park, in the parish of" St. Elizabeth" — the estate of George Marcey, one of the most respect- able resident proprietors ot the island. He is a pious JAMAICA. 143 member of the church of England, and although de- clining in years, devotes his time and talents to the gratuitous education of nearly a hundred negro chil- dren. Though we were total strangers — five in num- ber, with six horses, and three drivers — he received us with cordial good-will, gave us an excellent dinner, summoned the people in the neighbourhood, to a religious meeting in the evening, lodged us most com- fortably, and dismissed us the next morning after breakfast, with as hearty a blessing as any one could bestow. He seemed, however, a good deal discom- forted by the difficulty which was experienced, in that neighborhood, in procuring labor; and although he acknowledged that a gradual improvement was taking place, complained rather bitterly of the state of things around him. On Subsequent enquiry, we had reason to believe that the difficulty in those parts, as in other places, was very much connected with extravagant charges of rent. That our friend himself was some- what too prome to discouragement, appeared from a circumstance of which he informed us, — that a iew years since, he had sold a certain sugar estate^ called G , for the trifling sum of £*1500. " And what dost thou suppose to be the value of that property now, friend Marcey ?" said one of our company. " Ten thousand pounds,'^ was his immediate reply — an asser- tion which afforded us a fresh and palpable evidence, that notwithstanding occasional and temporary diffi- culties, Jamaica is on the road to solid prosperity. Another item of information with which this gentle- man favored us, was equally satisfactory. Few per- sons are so well acquainted, as he is, with the people 14-1 JAMAICA. in the neighborhood, and we were therefore glad to hear him say, that their numbers, under freedom, are increasing, in a geometrical ratio. Compare this statement, with the well-known fact, that, under slavery, the population of Jamaica was constantly de- creasing. The old system was a killing one — the new system, when fairly carried out, is in its very nature, life-giving. Third month (March) 19th. We parted from our friend Marcey with feelings of grateful respect, after which, a long and somewhat tedious stage, brought us to Lacovia, a very small village, containing a church and two taverns. It had once been the "capital" of St. Elizabeth, but the court house having been lately opened at Black-river, on the coast, Lacovia seemed much deserted. We were howevei*, glad to make the acquaintance of the valuable curate of the district, who gave us a generally favorable account of the state of the population ; and although our accommodations at the tavern were miserable enough, we concluded to continue there over the night, in order to hold a meet- ing with the people, in the evening. They assembled on the occasion, in large numbers, in the presence of their minister, and behaved with the utmost attention and decorum. In the course of our drive this day, we observed, as we often did at other times, a large number of negroes industriously at work on the roads ; they were each of them earning four bits, or thirty- three cents per day — the usual day's wages in Jamaica. The circumstance may appear scarcely worthy of notice ; it is nevertheless important ; for in the first place it shows that labor is to be easily obtained, even JAMAICA. 145 in St. Elizabeth, at a very moderate expense ; and secondly, the numerous exertions which are now mak- ing in Jamaica, for the improvement of the highways, are a sure sign of a rising, rather than a falling state. The following day was one which will long be im- pressed on our recollection. We were aware that in attempting to cross the island in this direction, it was necessary for us to surmount some one tremendous hill. Two or three routes were proposed to us, but by all accounts, it was quite problemetical whether, with four-wheel carriages and jaded horses, it would be possible for us to overcome the difficulty. As the alternative was the loss of many days in measuring back our long journey, we were somewhat anxious respecting the result ; but we were soon relieved by the kindness of our friend Ricketts, the stipendiary magistrate, who called at our tavern, requested us to visit the estate which he now manages for a relative in England, and promised that our carriages should be dragged up the inevitable mountain road, by force of eight pair of oxen. Early in the morning, one of his laborers arrived on horseback to guide us six miles, to Bartons. We found the place smiling w^ith pros- perity ; the crops excellent, the works in good order, and the people diligently and cheerfully laboring for moderate wages. The history of this estate throws great light on the practical operation of freedom. During the last year of apprenticeship, its produce was 100 hogsheads of sugar, and 25 puncheons of rum — expense of management, £2000 — profit, small in proportion— 1 believie a cipher. At the date of full freedom, the works ceased, and nothing was done L 146 JAMAICA. upon the property, for many weeks ; the people were called rogues and vagabonds. It was then undertaken by our friend Ricketts, who, in his first year, notwith- standing this deplorable condition of things, realized 70j or (taking the same measure as before) 82 hogs- heads of sugar, and 29 puncheons of rum — planted 18 acres fresh — expended only ^1,090 (about half the amount of the former year) — and obtained a clear profit for his employer of £1,200. He now expects to increase his produce of sugar by twenty hogsheads annually. Who shall say that freedom, when fairly tried, fails to work well in Jamaica ? After breakfast our friend mounted two of us on horseback, and the whole company proceeded several miles, through a rich valley, to the foot of the moun- tain. We made two calls by the way — one at a beau- tiful penn, in excellent order, belonging to W. F. who, with other members of his family, owns 10,000 acres of this fine land. He gave us a good account of the 1000 negroes on his estate. Sometime ago conflicts had arisen with them on the subject of rent ; but now matters were arranged on a right footing, and the peasantry were working well for moderate but regular wages. Our next visit was to a Moravian settlement, which was diffusing a useful influence all around. We found there a German pastor, and a pretty good school ; two elderly negro sisters seemed to take great pleasure in presenting us with some fine shaddocks. They steadily refused all payment — declaring that " thanks were better." Steep and rocky as was our mountain road, and of several miles in length, and impossible as it would JAMAICA. 147 have been for our jaded horses to have siirnioiinted it with the carriages, the oxen performed the task forns with great facility ; and four pair were found sufficient for the purpose. For ourselves, we toiled up on foot, and were well repaid for the exertion, partly by the delightful scenery, and partly by the company of seve- ral intelh'gent persons who happened to overtake us. One of them was a young physician in large practice, and well acquainted with the neighborhood — we were now entering the parish of Manchester. Perfectly did he confirm our previous conclusions — namely, that wherever freedom is thwarted by attempts to compel labor, there are to be found decay and deser- tion ; and that, on the contrary, wherever the new system has its full scope, there all is prosperity. Evi- dences of this fact, more and more abounded as we proceeded on our journey. Among the persons who overtook us on the road, were two coffee planters — resident proprietors. One of them had been acting on the compulsory system, through the medium of rent ; he was full of complaints ; and talked of re- nouncing the raising of coffee altogether. The other intreated us to come and visit his estate, which we were assured, was a most picturesque spot, amidst those verdant mountains. We were obliged to resist the temptation, but were pleased to learn, that his property was managed on sounder principles, and was in a prosperous condition. I must do the former individual the justice to say, that he listened in the most friendly manner, to the practical advices, as to the management of his peasantry, which we ventured freely to impart to him. L 2 148 JAMAICA. When at length we had arrived at the summit of the mountain, we complied with the polite request of two ladies who had overtaken us on horseback, and called at the house of one of the principal coffee- planters of the vicinity. He gave us the usual kind reception ; but it was evident, at first sight, that he had been disappointed and mortified. After a short conversation, on indifferent topics, we took our leave. He followed us to his gate and began, at last, to pour out his troubles. He had been, in days past, a warm friend to the abolition of slavery, but now many of his negroes refused to work for him. " Do tell me," said I, " ichy they will not work for thee ; hast thou been making any attempts, since freedom, to compel their labor?" I have used " a little gentle compulsion," was his reply. The cause of the difficulty was now evident, to my own apprehension ; and I afterwards found, that the questions of rent and labor, had been inter- mingled on his property, and that the former had been exacted, on an arbitrary scale, in order to compel the latter. The peasantry of Jamaica are much too cognizant of their own rights and interests, long to submit to this new form of slavery. Fondly attached as they are to their humble homes, they avail them- selves of every opportunity of obtaining a better lot, and gradually desert the estates on which they are unfairly treated. Weary as we already were with our journey, we had many miles yet to travel, over a rugged and diffi- cult road, before we could reach a well known penn, where we intended, though strangers, to ask for a lodging. We were now on a high elevation above the JAMAICA. 149 level of the sea ; and the face of the country was covered chiefly with woods and pasture land. We looked in vain for some of those flocks of green par- rots, which frequent this district, and supply the in- habitants, as we were told, with excellent pies ; but the Kixuriance of vegetable nature was the constant subject of our admiration. The highlands of Jamaica are adorned with as great a variety of beautiful ferns, as can probably be found in any part of the world ; also with many kinds of palm and aloe. The thatch palm, a plant of low stature, with handsome fan-like leaves, is frequent in the woods, and is used by the negroes, as a cover for the roofs of their cottages. Amongst the aloes (as I presume) we observed a magnificent plant, with a large spike of purple flowers and a pink calix, which is there called the wild pine-apple. The vast creepers which embrace, and sometimes even destroy the trees, are most abundant. One species is remarkable for its juicy stem, which, in the midst of surrounding drought and heat, is said to afford the traveller or the laborer, many a refreshing draught of wholesome water. Our kind friend, the young physician — a new but valuable acquaintance — led the way ; and just as the evening was closing upon us, conducted us in safety to the wild and romantic spot, where we intended to lodge. He afterwards presented me with a perfect specimen of a fossil conk-shell (I believe, of the'common species, still found on the coast) which he had dug out ot limestone, at an elevation of two thousand feet above the level of the sea. 150 JAMAICA. We were now come to the residence of an en- lightened planter and attorney, who has the care of twenty coffee-estates, and whom — not having the liberty to name him — I shall call A. B. He was not at home ; but his servants supplied us with a comfort- able meal, and good lodging ; and greatly were we pleased and satisfied, in having found a resting place, in the midst of delightful scenery, and a happy popu- lation. A. B. joined us the next morning; and we also re- ceived visits from two individuals, the benefit of whose acquaintance, we had particularly desired — Dr. Davy, the Custos of Manchester, and Dr. Stewart, a clergy- man of enlightened views and extensive influence — I believe the stipendiary curate of the parish. Nothing can be more reasonable and effective, than the system adopted by A. B. as well as by Dr. Davy, in the ma- nagement of the estates under their care. Both these gentlemen are said to have been, in former times, much opposed to emancipation ; but they have been wise enough to sail with the stream, and to give freedom a fair, confiding trial. They entirely separate the questions of rent and labor — charging rent according to the money-value of the tenements, and payable quarterly ; and on the other hand, giving fair but mo- derate wages, which they constantly pay weekly, and in cash. They adopt the system of job or piece work, by which the stimulus of wages is vastly mcreased. They build comfortable cottages for their laborers, and let or sell to them plots of ground, so as to ren- der them absolutely independent. Thus they secure JAMAICA. 151 an ample home population ; and for this population, education and religious instruction are provided on a large scale. The consequence is that the people are well at work on the properties under their respective care ; the em- ployers are satisfied, the laborers contented and or- derly, the whole district in a state of comfort and prosperity. " 1 came to this district," says Dr. Stew- art, in a letter which I have since received from him, " in April 1834. There was one place of public wor- ship, not one third filled. It contained 1250 square feet then. It has since been twice enlarged, and now contains 2427 square feet, and is not half large enough for the congregation. I have also in the same district, another place of worship, capable of holding 600 peo- ple, which is regularly attended every Sunday, and is always full. The average attendance has increased from 300 to 1600, at least. The communicants have increased from 27 to 289. In 1835, the Bishop con- firmed, in my chapel, 47. In 1840, he confirmed in the same place, 635. During the same period, two very large Moravian chapels have been erected in the same district. In the last six years of slavery, the number of marriages at this church, was 421 ; in five years and a half of partial or entire freedom, 2014. When I came here, I found two adult negroes who could read a little, but there was no school in the parish ; now more than a 100 adults can read, and almost all the rising generation ; and schools are rapidly increasing." This delightful report of the rapid progress, under the banner of freedom, of education, morals, and reli- 152 JAMAICA. gion, perfectly corresponds with Dr. Davy's account of the decrease of crime. "The parish over which I preside," said he, " contains 22,000 souls. There is no crime in it now. The jail has only three inmates — one old convict, and two persons for an assault." Now I am sure, my dear friend, thou wilt agree with me in the sentiment, that even if emancipation had for ever brought to a close the cultivation of coffee, in the parish of Manchester, such a circumstance, however undesirable, would have been as nothing in the scale, when vreighed against these rich blessings, social, moral, and religious. Had all the planters in the district been deprived of their profits, it would still have been a small point in the comparison. But happily, the prosperity of the proprietors, is linked by an indissoluble tie, to that course of justice, mercy, and wisdom, which insures the well being of the po- pulation at large. The experience of A. B. and of his friend Dr. Davy, affords the clearest evidence, that a fair arrangement with the laborers, on the ground of full and unrestricted freedom, answers for the pochet. In the first place, they have discovered, that a good rental may be obtained from the laboring population, under the character of an independent tenantry, to the great advantage of the proprietor. A. B. showed me a rent-roll of ^€1270 per annum, (whether currency or sterling, I know not) which sum he was levying, on a few of the estates under his care, without the smallest difficulty to himself, or uneasiness on the part of the people. And secondly, they have ascertained the fact, that a freeman, under the stimulus of wages (paid on JAMAICA. 153 job-work especially) will do a great deal more work, than a slave under the impulse of the whip ; and therefore that work on a small scale — as in some par- ticular job — or work on a large scale, as in the whole conducting of an estate — may be obtained at a much cheaper rate now, than it was under the old system. The argument, when fully stated, stands thus : the population being in both cases the same, a larger pro- portion of it becomes operative in freedom than in slavery ; and of the operative part, each individual does more work, in freedom than in slavery — and thus more labor is thrown upon the market — and of course labor becomes cheaper — in freedom than in slavery. But this truth, with A. B. and his friends, is matter not of argument merely, but of account. The expense of working one of A. B's. estates in 1837, during the apprenticeship, was .£2,400 currency ; in 1839, since freedom, it was only £1,200 currency — exactly one half. In this case the produce was somewhat dimin- ished, but the profit was increased. This is a point worthy of peculiar attention. The prosperity of the planters in Jamaica, must not be measured by the mere amount of the produce of sugar or coffee, as compared with the time of slavery. Even where produce is diminished, profit will be increased — if freedom be fairly tried — by the saving of expense. " I had rather make sixty tierces of coffee," said A. B. " under freedom, than one hundred and twenty under slavery — such is the saving of expense, that I make a better profit by it — nevertheless, I mean to make one hundred and twenty, as before'' 154 JAMAICA. "Do you see that excellent new stone wall round the field below us ?" said the young physician to me, as we stood at A. B's front door, surveying the delight- ful scenery — " That wall could scarcely have been built at all, under slavery, or the apprenticeship ; the necessary labor could not then have been hired at less than £5 currency, or 15 dollars per chain. Under freedom, it cost only from 3 dollars and a half to 4 dollars per chain — not one-third of the amount. Still more remarkable is the fact, that the whole of it was built under the stimulus of job-work, by an invalid negro, who during slavery, had been given up to total inaction." This was the substance of our conversa- tion — the information was afterwards fully confirmed by the proprietor. Such was the fresh blood infused into the veins of this decrepid person, by the genial hand of freedom, that he had been redeemed from ab- solute uselessness — had executed a noble work — had greatly improved his master's property — and finally, had realized for himself, a handsome sum of money. This single fact is admirably and undeniably illustra- tive of the principles of the case ; and for that purpose, is as good as a thousand. A few more particulars, however, which bear on the same point, may be interesting and satisfactory. They are contained in the letter already cited, from my friend Dr. Stewart, dated " Mandeville, Jamaica, March 28, 1840." " With regard to the comparative expense of free and slave labor," says he, " I give you the result of my experience in this parish. PVherever rent and labor have not been mingled together, prices have been JAMAICA. 155 reduced, in the picking and curing of coffeCj from one- third, to one half; from £10 per tierce, to from £6 to £6 10s. Grass land is cleaned at one-third of the former expense. A penn in this neighborhood, when cleaned in slavery, cost, simply for the contingencies of the negroes, £80. The first cleaning, by free labor — far better done — cost less than £24. Stone walls, the only fence used in this rocky district, cost £5 6s. 8d. per chain, the lowest £4, under slavery. The usual price now is £l,the highest £1 6^. 8^?. per chain. To prepare and plant an acre of woodland in coffee, cost, twenty years ago, £20 ; up to the end of slavery, it never fell below £16. In apprenticeship it cost from £10 \3s.4d. to £12. Now it never exceeds £5 6s. 8d. I myself have done it this year for £5 ; that is the general price all through the district. In 1833, I hired servants at from £16 to £25 per animm. In 1838, 1839, and since, I have been able to obtain the same description of servants, vastly improved in all their qualifications, for from £8 to £10 per annum." These are pound, shilling, and pence calculations ; but they develop mighty principles — they detect the springs of human action — they prove the vast superi- ority of moral inducement, to physical force, in the production of the useful efforts of mankind. It is the perfect settlement of the old controversy between wages and the whip. " I know the case of a property," observes Dr. Stewart again, " on which there were one hundred and twenty-five slaves — the expense amounting (at £5 per annum, for the maintenance of each slave) to £625. 156 JAMAICA. The labor account for the first year of freedom, de- ducting rents, was only about £220, leaving a balance in favor of freedom, of £400. More improvement had been made on the property, than for many years past, with a prospect of an increasing extent of cul- tivation. On a second property, the slave and appren- ticeship expenses averaged £2,400 ; the labor account, for the first year of freedom, was less than £850. On a third estate, the year's expense, under slavery, was £1,480; under apprenticeship, £1,050; under freedom £637. On a fourth, the reduction is from £1,100 to £770." Allowing a little time for the calming of apprehen- sions, and the development of truth, such results must infallibly find their way into the value of landed pro- perty. That they have already done so^ in Jamaica, to a considerable extent, is undeniable. A person in the parish of Manchester, who never held slaves, avail- ing himself of the general alarm, bought a property, at the date of full freedom, for £1,000 currency. The free laborers work the better for him, because he never was a slave-holder. He cleared the whole purchase money, besides his expenses, the first year. He would, of course, make a miserable bargain, were he now to sell the property for five times the amount, i. e. for £5,000. There can be no better testimony in Jamaica, on this subject, than that of A. B. He assured me that landed property in that island now, without the slaves, is worth its full former value, including the slaves, during the times of depression, which preceded 4he JAMAICA. l.>7 act of emancipation. It has found its bottom, has risen, and is still gradually rising. " I believe in my conscience," says Dr. Stewart, " that property in Ja- maica, without the slaves, is as valuable as it formerly was with them. I believe its value vi^ould be doubled, by sincerely turning away from all relics of slavery, to the honest free working of a free system." Third month (March) 21st. After a comfortable meal, called the " second breakfast," we parted from our intelligent friends at Penn, and again assailed the rough hilly roads. At one spot, we were obliged to use all our force in pushing our carriages up a hill as steep as the roof of a house ; but the constant suc- cession of fine scenes, repaid all our toil. In the evening, we reached the neat little village of Mande- ville, the capital of the parish of Manchester, \vhich is at the height of 2,500 feet above the level of the sea. There, in the midst of green w^oods and pastures, we found an inn, which, for comfortable fare and ac- commodation, would do credit to England or Ame- rica, and were glad to take up our abode in it, for the following day — the first of the week. During the course of our excursion, we had received help and in- formation from the Baptists, the Methodists, the Mo- ravians, and the ministers and members of the Church of England. At Mandeville, we found ourselves among the Independents or Congregationalists. An excellent missionary station has been formed there, under the London Missionary Society, a large chapel, eflPective school, &c. In this chapel we held our pub- lic meetings for worship, morning and evening. Great 158 JAMAICA. were the numbers, and still greater, the love and cor- diality of the negroes who attended on the occasion. A prosperous, well-behaved peasantry, they certainly are — a large number of them came to the meeting, on horseback. To us it was a happiness, of no common order, again to unite with our brethren and sisters of the African race, in drinking at the fountain of the waters of life. But I must bring this long letter to a conclusion. I am, &c. &c. LETTER XI. JAMAICA. Providence, R. I. Sixth month (June) 26th, 1840. My dear Friend, Early in the morning of Third month (March) the 23rd, we quitted Mandeville on our journey back to Spanishtovvn. We had been previously in- troduced to W. D. a planter of high character in the neighborhood. He was once an irreligious man, and warm on the side of slavery. Now he has become the devout Christian, and conducts his estates to the comfort of his peoplej and greatly to his own ease and profit, on the liberal and enlightened system, adopted by A. B. and Dr. Davy. He is selling little freeholds, within his own property to the laborers, with admirable effect. They are working well for him, and his crops are abundant. He grows rich upon freedom, and expends his surplus revenue, in promoting the cause of religion and philanthropy. As I was riding down the Mandeville hills, on a hackney lent me by the missionaries, enjoying the grandeur of nature and the beauties of cultivation, I overtook a good looking young negro, handsomely 1()0 JAMAICA. attired, and mounted on a pony of his own. He was a laborer on Richmond park coffee- estate, in the parish of Clarendon, paid half a dollar per week for his rent, was able to earn four dollars per week by piece work; had paid £10 sterling for his pony; kept wine at times in his cottage ; had gone to Mandeville to ob- tain his marriage certificate from the Rector ; and with his young bride, seemed to be in the way of as comfortable a measure of moderate prosperity as could easily fall to the lot of man. This is one specimen among thousands of the good working of freedom in Jamaica ; but I fear it would be easy to draw the re- verse picture, and to tell of much oppression and exaction to which this people are still exposed in some parts of the island. " Are the people working well," said I to George Wedderley (that was his name) " in the parish of Clarendon ?" " Yes, generally ; but on some properties they are uncomfortable." " Why so, George?" — " When a man has finished his job, he goes for his money and can't get it. Sometimes he hires helpers, but can't get his money, and therefore can't pay them. The rent is set off against him. Then come bad words. The rent is often increased, often doubled." I had every reason to give my young in- formant credit, both for shrewdness and veracity. With his own lot he was perfectly satisfied. In the course of the same ride I met with many of the pea- santry who had attended our meeting the preceding day — they seemed overjoyed to see their friends again. One woman in particular, was at a loss to express the multitude of her good wishes. As far as I could un- derstand her patois, they were, that " sweet massa" JAMAICA. l()l might be " well fed on his journey," and supplied with " plenty of the Holy Spirit," for his work in the gospel. She appeared to understand what it is that can alone adequately qualify any man for such a service. They are surely a people easily susceptible of good impres- sions, and peculiarly affectionate towards those who endeavor to instruct them in the way of righteousness. We took our breakfast at a tavern by the road side, in the village of Porus. This wllage had sprung up under freedom, and appeared to contain at least a hun- dred freehold settlements belonging to the negro la- borers. They had bought their land, and were still buying it, at the price of from thirteen to twenty dollars per acre ; and we were grieved to learn that many of them had settled on spots which had already become unproductive. Thus were their money and labor lost ; but, in common with their brethren, they were earning wages on the neighboring estates. Here there is an- other congregation and school, under the London Missionary Society. We were told by the missionary that part of his flock had been led off the day before, by an ignorant black teacher. There are said to be many such on the island, and we heard a poor account of their character, and of the effect which they pro- duce ; but their influence, as compared with that of the missionaries, is very trifling ; and, as education spreads, it will in all probability entirely cease. We were now once more on a level with the sea, and traversed an uninteresting savannah, (the name given in Jamaica to a flat plain) until we arrived at Four Paths, in Clarendon, the place of our destina- M MVI JAMAICA. tion. There we met with a cordial reception from William Barrett, who has a good chapel and school under the London Missionary Society. Henry Reid conducts another mission establishment in the place, on behalf of the Baptists. Both of them have large congregations, and, like true Christian brethren, are heartily united in the work. These excellent men had just been found guilty, by a Jamaica jury, of assisting in a riotous assembly and assault. The charge had reference to an affray in which some of their people had been engaged with certain wicked disturbers of their meetings for divine worship ; and so conspicu- ously innocent were our friends, that, notwithstanding the verdict of the jury, the court had abstained from inflicting any punishment whatsoever. We were glad, at such a time of aflSiction, to give them the right hand of christian friendship ; and certainly we can speak well of the orderly and devout demeanor of the numerous laborers who assembled that evening at our request, in W. G. Barrett's chapel. After the meeting for worship was concluded, we complied with the Missionary's wishes, in giving the people some account of the con- duct and condition of their brethren in the islands to the windward ; and nothing could exceed their atten- tion, while we explained to them how much the cause of liberty, in other parts of the world, depended on their own continued industry and good conduct. The people of the two churches had voluntarily paid the whole costs attending the trial of their ministers — a libe- rality which, under slavery, would have been at once unthought of and impossible. JAMAICA. 163 We were glad to hear that the generality of the sugar estates in this neighborhood were doing well — many of them affording ample evidence that the ab- sence of oppressive and compulsory measures is followed by prosperity. On one of these estates, called " Seven Plantations," a liberal overseer was making eleven hogsheads of sugar weekly, instead of six, the former average quantity. Fifty acres of cane were accidentally burnt on this property. The negroes came forward of their own accord, and offered to work for a time, without remuneration, in order to make up the loss ! Third month (March) 24th. Our route this day lay through part of the flat but fertile parish of Vere, on the southern coast. We were informed that on the First day, just past, a vast multitude of people of all colors had assembled on the shore to vi^itness a baptism conducted by one of the missionaries ; but all was decency and order on the occasion. The ap- pearance of the cane in this district bespoke a good crop ; much of it had already been taken off; we were told that a difference which had lately occurred be- tween the planters and the laborers on the subject of wages, had been satisfactorily adjusted, and that the people were now working well. In the afternoon we arrived at the Baptist station at Old Harbor Bay, conducted by Henry C. Taylor, who, with his obliging wife, gave us the usual hospitable reception. The people in the neighborhood were invited to a meeting in the evening. Although the notice was short, they assembled in large numbers, many of them from a considerable distance — no slight effort for them to make, after having been at work in the fields the M2 1(>4 JAMAICA. whole of" the day. But wc trust that they met with their reward ; for there was spread over the assembly that peaceful solemnity, which seemed to indicate that the smile of divine loving-kindness was resting on this once persecuted, but now free and happy com- munity. We were now within twelve miles of Spanishtown, to which place we returned the next morning. Third month (March) 25th — our excursion, since we left it, having occupied fifteen days. Three of our company went forward to Kingston, in order to offer a welcome to our friends from Santa Cruz, who were expected to arrive about this time, in the Whitmore. My friend and brother in the gospel, John Candler, remained with me for the day at Spanishtown, as we wished to attend the Legislature which was now assembled, and to pay our respects to some of the principal officers of the government, and other persons of influ- ence. Two or three of our visits may be worthy of a brief notice. We first called on Dr. Lipscombe, the Bishop of Jamaica, with whom we were desirous of obtaining some conversation on the subject of popular education. He is a learned and amiable high-church man, sincerely desirous (we fully believe) of promoting the moral and religious welfare of the community. He received us with much condescension and cordiality, and gave us an excellent account of the large increase of schools, and general progress of education, under the care of the clergy of the Church of England. These schools are at present wholly gratuitous ; and we ventured to suggest to him, that the plan of making a small charge JAMAICA. 165 for instruction — a plan which works well in the Mico, and other schools — would not only be easily borne by the laboring people, but would be the means of in- creasing their sense of the value of education. The peasantry of Jamaica stand in no need of gratuitous charity ; and, in all matters of this sort, we cannot do them a greater kindness, than gently to lead them to feel their own wants, and to help themselves. Our conversation was concluded by an acknowledgment on the part of the Bishop, which is worthy of being recorded in conspicuous characters. He expressly stated that, before emancipation, his efforts for the literary and religious instruction of the people had been comparatively useless. His arm had been pal- sied by the influence of slavery. Now every difficulty was removed. While on the one hand the negroes were manifesting an immensely increasing desire for education, all obstruction to its course on the part of the white inhabitants had ceased. All parties, under the sway of freedom, were united in the desire to pro- mote the intellectual and moral culture of the rising generation. We next stepped into the House of Assembly, and listened for some time to rather a lively debate, which, though relating to a subject of little comparative inte- rest, would not have done discredit either to West- minster or Washington. One of the most animated speakers was a colored member. There are several such in the Assembly ; and some of them are staunch sup- porters of the measures of the home government. Happy would it have been for Jamaica had this been more generally the case with the members of this l()6 JAMAICA. colonial legislature ; for if there is any one circum- stance more than another which endangers the peace and prosperity of the colony, it is, as we helieve, the passing of local laws, opposed to the true intent and purpose of the act of emancipation. That several such provisions have been enacted within the last few months is undeniable ; so that a period of apparently smooth tranquillity, in the house, may possibly prove to have been the seed-time of much future mischief and confusion. I would just specify (as a memoran- dum) the Poundage act, the Fishery act, the Huck- ster and Pedlar act, the Petty Debt act, the Police act, and, worst of all, the Vagrant act. I confess that I am far from being fully acquainted with the details of these several provisions ; but I know enough of them to have formed the deliberate sentiment, that they require the rigorous scrutiny, and faithful check of the British government. The three former laws now alluded to, are calculated, as I believe, to interfere with those pursuits and profits of the labor- ing people, which are independent of the cultivation of the staple articles, but which are nevertheless legiti- mate, and highly desirable for their own benefit, and that of the community at large. If so, the policy on which they are founded is narrow indeed. The petty debt act affords tremendous facilities to that oppres- sive system of penal and fictitious rents, which is now the very bane of Jamaica. A police armed with deadly weapons is always, to say the least of it, a dangerous expedient ; and in country districts, where there is confessedly scarcely any crime, it can be regarded only as a needless source of irritation and alarm. Too JAMAICA. 167 soon may it also become an instrument of oppression and cruelty. Finally, in a country where there is scarcely to be found an instance of real vagabondism, but where laborers are often compelled to leave their homes in search of new locations, one cannot but be alarmed at the tendency of a law which subjects every poor fellow who may be found sleeping under a hedge or in an out-house by the road side, to a long term of imprisonment, with hard labor in a penal gang. These things ought not so to be. At the hour appointed for the purpose, we were in- troduced to the Governor, Sir Charles T. Metcalfe, with whom we enjoyed the privilege of a long and free conversation. He bears about him all the marks of long experience, knows the world well, makes a gener- ous use of his large pecuniary resources, and, by his urbanity of manners, and substantial kindness, readily engages the affections of those who surround him. We fear, however, that his well-intentioned efforts to please all parties in Jamaica, will not in the end suc- ceed. We cannot but believe that an individual of such evident benevolence and integrity, will soon find it his place to make a decided stand against the vari- ous encroachments upon the rights and privileges of the laboring population, which are but too evidently making a silent and insidious progress. We were sorry to hear that several overseers had lately been appointed to the station of local magis- trates ; for since the questions which come before the justices are almost uniformly between the laborers and overseers, it must surely be a dangerous expedient to constitute the latter judges in their own cause. 168 JAMAICA. Between the two evils oF no magistrates at all, and magistrates thus circumstanced, the latter appears to us to be the greater. The same remark applies in a considerable degree to the higher grade of "attorneys," and we appre- hend that nothing Avould more serve the purpose of good order and tranquillity in the colony of Jamaica, than the settlement of a magistracy wholly indepen- dent of all parties in the island, and paid by the Home Government. The present stipendiary magistrates, with many of whom we had the opportunity of mak- ing our acquaintance, appeared to us to be already, to a great extent, answering this purpose. Many of the peculiar functions which they exercised during the apprenticeship have now ceased, and they are in gene- ral acting in the simple capacity of local magistrates. That they are (with little exception,) invaluable de- fenders of the rights of the peasantry, in all the islands which we have visited, we are bound honestly to testify ; nor have we ever observed in any of them, an indisposition to promote the fair interests of the planter. They have now large experience of the moral and civil condition of the communities in which they act. To remove them from their posts, would, in our opinion, be little short of a death blow to the peace and liberty of the colonies. We venture with great deference to express our decided judgment that their original number ought to be filled up, and their office, as local justices of the peace, rendered fully efficacious, and jiermanent. These remarks are made without any feeling of ill-will or prejudice against the planters and their agents, localized in Jamaica. We entertain JAMAICA. l()9 VA'^arm feelings of regard and friendship towards many of these persons ; from all of them, whom we saw or visited, we met with unvarying kindness and civility. We give them credit, in general, for honorable in- tentions. But we know the effect on the minds of men, of the circumstances in which they are placed, and have watched the silent influence of local bias. It is a true though trite remark, that " When self the wavering balance shakes, 'Tis seldom right adjusted ;" and hence it obviously follows— I am sure the plant- ers of Jamaica will admit it — that in him who holds the scales of justice, self ought to have no interest whatsoever in the questions to be decided. We were glad to compare notes with Sir Charles Metcalfe. Like ourselves, he had just returned from a tour of inspection, in other parts of the island. It was therefore a great satisfaction to us, to find that he had imbibed the same convictions as we had, re- specting the impropriety of mixing up the questions of rent and wages, and of all other attempts to com- pel the labor of free men ; that he rejoiced, as much as ourselves, in the rapid increase of villages of independ- ent negro settlers ; and that he fully concurred with us, as to the most efficacious modes of ensuring the continuous labor of the people on the estates of their former masters. These are the regular weekly pay- ment of wages in cash, the system of job or piece work, the letting or selling of tenements and plots of ground to the people, within the properties of the planters, and lastly, moral and religious instruction. 170 JAMAICA. On one point \vc somewhat differed. Sir Charles seems to be of the opinion, with many other persons, that the phmting interest of Jamaica is suffering from the want of a hirger population. That there is scope in that island, for a great increase in the numbers of the people, is unquestionable ; and we are by no means opposed to anyreasonable scheme of immigration. But the result of our own enquiries, is a conviction that the present population of Jamaica, if its force be but fairly applied under a just and wise management, will be found more than adequate to its present extent of cultivation ; and that, as the population multiplies, under the righteous sway of freedom, the cultivation may be indefinitely increased. There is one point, on which a few sentences may he of some use. The only bar that we know of, to that natural increase of the population in Jamaica, which all parties must allow to be desirable, is that grievous want of enlightened medical aid, from w^hich the people are now suffering in all parts of the island. The provision which was in this respect made for them in slavery has now ceased ; and they have in general neither the ability nor the wish to employ regular practitioners at the usual prices. Thus they are thrown on ignorant quacks or myalists, and I have no doubt that many lives are lost in consequence. We appre- hend that the best remedy for this evil, would be the formation of public dispensaries, at various stations throughout the island, by the authority, and in the first instance, at the expense of the local government ; each dispensary to be placed under the care of some regular medical practitioner, vvho should not only dis- JAMAICA. 171 pense medicines, but visit the people at their own houses. Moderate charges should be made for medi- cine and attendance, by which the outlay of the go- vernment might be gradually refunded, and the whole annual expense easily defrayed. We feel a hope that these suggestions may meet with due consideration from persons of authority in the colony. The health and increase of the population cannot be, to them, an unimportant or uninteresting object. I will take the present opportunity of offering to thy attention the account of exports from Jamaica, (as exhibited in the return printed for the House of Assembly) for the last year of the apprenticeship, and the first of full freedom. Sugar, for the year ending 9th month, hm*. (Sept.) 30, 1838 . . . . 53,825 Sugar, for the year ending 9th month, (Sept.) 30, 1839 . . . . 45,359 Apparent diminution . . 8,466 This difference is much less considerable than many persons have been led to imagine ; the real diminution, however, is still less ; because there has lately taken place, in many parts of Jamaica, an increase in the size of the hogshead. Instead of the old measure, which contained 1 7 cwt., new ones have been introduced, con- taining from 20 to 22 cwt. — a change which, for several reasons, is an economical one for the planter. Allow- ing only five per cent, for this change, the deficiency is reduced from 8,466 hogsheads, to 5,175 ; and this amount is further lessened by the fact, that, in conse- 172 JAMAICA- quence ot" freedom, there is a vast addition to the consumption of sugar among the people of Jamaica itself, and therefore to the home sale. The account of coffee is not so favorable. Coffee, for the year ending 9th month, cwt. (Sept.) 30, 1838 . . .• . 117,313 Coffee, for the year ending 9th month, (Sept.) 30, 1839 .... 78,759 Diminution (about one-third) 38,554 The coffee is a very uncertain crop, and the defici- ency, on the comparison of these two years, is not greater, I believe, than has often ^occurred before. We are also to remember that, both in sugar and coffee, the profit to the planter may be increased by the sav- ing of expense, even when the produce is diminished. Still it must be allowed that a considerable decrease has taken place, on both the articles, in connexion with the change of system. With regard to the year 1840, it is expected that coffee will at least maintain the last amount ; but a farther decrease on sugar is generally anticipated. Now, so far as this decrease of produce is connected with the change of system, it is obviously to be traced to a corresponding diminution in the quantity of labor. But here comes the critical question — the real turning point. To what is this diminution in the quantity of labor owing ? I answer deliberately, but without reserve, " Mainly to causes which class under slavery, and not under freedom." It is, for the most part, the result of those impolitic attempts to force the labor JAMAICA. 1 73 of freemen, which have disgusted the peasantry, and have led to the desertion of many of the estates. It is a cheering circumstance that the amount of planting and other preparatory labor, bestowed on the estates during the autumn of 1839, has been much greater, by all accounts, than in the autumn of 1838. This is itself the effect of an improved understanding between the planters and the peasants ; and the result of it (if other circumstances be equal) cannot fail to be a considerable increase of produce in 1841. I am told, however, that there is one circumstance which tends to prevent this result as it regards sugar. It is, that the cultivation of it under the old system, was forced on certain properties which, from their situation and other circumstances, were wholly unfit for the purpose. These plantations afforded an income to the local agents, but to the proprietors were either unprofitable, or losing concerns. On such proper- ties, under those new circumstances which bring all things to their true level, the cultivation of sugar must cease. In the mean time, the imports of the island are rapidly increasing ; trade improving ; the towns thriv- ing ; new villages rising in every direction ; property much enhanced in value ; well-managed estates, pro- ductive and profitable ; expenses of management di- minished ; short methods of labor adopted ; provisions cultivated on a larger scale than ever ; and the people, wherever they are properly treated, industrious, con- tented, and gradually accumulating wealth. Above all, education is rapidly spreading ; the morals of the community improving ; crime in many districts dis- 174 JAMAICA, appearing ; and Christianity asserting her sway, with vastly augmented force, over the mass of the popula- tion. Cease from all attempts to oppose the current of justice and mercy — remove every obstruction to the fair and full working of freedom — and the bud of Ja- maica's prosperity, already fragrant and vigorous, will soon burst into a glorious flower. At the Governor's table in the evening we met most of the principal officials of the island — the Chief Justice, the Bishop, the Attorney General, the Advo- cate General, the Colonial Secretary, several members of the Council, &c. We believed it right to comply with the Governor's kind request, that we should be present on the occasion. Nothing could be more friendly than the treatment which we met with from the company. The dinner was moderate, though handsome ; temperance was strictly maintained, and the conversation was rational and agreeable. We took our leave at night under feelings of Christian love and regard for all present. May they remember that for public, as well as private men, the law of righteous- ness is the only law of safety and of peace ! On the following day we returned to Kingston, where we found our numerous friends just arrived from Santa Cruz, and with them, Miguel Cabrera de Nevares, Governor of Madrid, who had been lately acting as Commissioner from the Queen of Spain, in the revisal of the municipal laws of the Spanish West Indian colonies. Our friends had taken him up at St. John's, Porto Rico, with a view of affording him a conveyance to Havana. This circumstance turned out to be of no small importance to myself. For JAMAICA. 1 Zo after the Spanish Consul at Kingston, full of the fears so natural to the ahettors of slavery, had positively refused me a passport for Cuba, and had even written to the Captain General of that island, erroneously representing me as the President of the Anti-slavery Society, our friend Cabrera induced him to alter his letter ; and afterwards, by his personal influence, pro- cured me a quiet landing and polite reception at Ha- vana. Thus had we again to acknowledge that super- intending hand of our heavenly Father, which provides for all the needs of those who desire to serve Him. At Kingston I was occupied for a short time in carrying through the press a small pamphlet, addressed to the planters, and entitled " Reconciliation recom- mended to all parties in Jamaica." The object of this address was to show the absolute identity of interest, which now subsists among the planters, the laborers, and the abolitionists, and to call upon them all to unite heart and hand, on just and salutary principles, in promoting the prosperity of this noble colony. We have since had the satisfaction of learning that it was well received by all parties. It is inserted in the Appendix. Our last day in Jamaica, was the first of the week — Third month (March) 29th. Great is the privilege of one day in seven, expressly set apart for the pur- poses of rest and worship. For ourselves, we felt it to be salutary to cease from the investigation of secu- lar points, however interesting, and again to unite with our fellow men, in drawing near in spirit to the Fountain of every blessing. We held our morning meeting in one of the Baptist chapels; the congrega- 1 7G JAMAICA. tion, chiefly black, was deeply serious, and when the subject of the afllictions of Africa arose before us, the feeling of the people became intense. Many of them are awakened to a lively interest in the religious wel- fare of the people from whom they spring ; and we have strong reasons to believe that negroes, from the West Indies, will ere long be engaged in disseminat- ing a knowledge of the gospel of Christ, among the benighted nations of Africa. The rising of this spirit of love and zeal, on behalf of the land of their fore- fathers, has been one of the blessed accompaniments of their freedom. In the afternoon we again met, in the Wesleyan Meeting House, a vast assembly of persons of all ranks and classes ; and, after once more pressing upon their attention those fundamental principles, in the maintenance of which the true church of Christ, of every name, country, and color, is one body, we took a last solemn leave of Jamaica and her inhabitants. The next morning we parted from our English Friends who continue for the present on the island, went on board the ship Wliitmore, and, as soon as wind and tides permitted, set sail for Havana. I am, &c. &c. LETTER XII. THE CONTRAST. Providence, R. I. Sixth month (June) -lOth, 1840. My dear Friend, My narrative respecting the British West India islands being now brought to a close, I will take the liberty of concentrating and recapitulating the princi- pal points of the subject, in a few distinct propositions. I. The emancipated negroes are working well on the estates of their old masters. The evidence of this fact contained in the foregoing letters is, I hope, clear and ample. Thou wilt be pleased to recall the case of Tortola — especially the evidence of President Isaacs, who has fifteen hundred free laborers under bis care — of St. Christopher's, that scene of industry and pros- perity — of Nevis and Montserrat, of which the official accounts are so cheering and satisfactory — of Antigua, where, after the trial of freedom for six years, the pro- duce of sugar is largely increased, many estates, thrown up in slavery, are again under cultivation ; and the landed property, once sinking under its burdens, is already delivered from its mortgages — of Dominica, where, notwithstanding the lack of moral culture, N ^7H THE CONTRAST. and the superabundance of fertile wild land, the pea- santry arc working as peaceably and diligently on their old locations, as in Antigua itself. Nor does Jamaica, when duly inspected and fairly estimated, furnish any exception to the general result. We find that, in that island, wherever the negroes are fairly ^ kindly, and iviselij treated, there they are working well on the properties of their old masters; and that the existing instances of a contrary description must be ascribed to causes which class under slavery, and not under freedom. Let it not however be imagined, that the negroes who are not working on the estates of their old masters are, on that account, idle. Even these are, in general busily employed in cultivating their own grounds, in various descriptions of handicraft, in lime-burning or fishing — in benefiting themselves and the community, through some new, but equally desir- able medium. Besides all this, stone walls are built, new houses erected, pastures cleaned, ditches dug, meadows drained, roads made and macadamized, stores fitted up, villages formed, and other beneficial opera- tions effected ; the whole of which, before emancipa- tion, it would have been a folly even to attempt. The old notion that the negro is, by constitution, a lazy creature, who will do no work at all except by com- pulsion, is now for ever exploded. Taking the same population of black people, a larger proportion of them is operative (in various ways) under freedom than was the case under slavery ; and of the operative part, each individual, on an average, performs more work than he did before. Thus the whole quan- tity of work, obtained by the stimulus of wages, is con- THE CONTRAST. 179 siderably greater than the amount formerly procured by the terror of the whip. When I speak of the stimulus of wages, I allude especially to its most effective form — payment by the piece, or job. The peasantry of the county of Norfolk, in England, afford a fair specimen of industrious labor on day's wages, in a cool climate. My own observation has led me to the conclusion that a free negro in the West In- dies, paid by the day, will, in general, perform about three quarters of the quantity of work which would be called a fair day's labor in Norfolk. But employ and pay him by the job, or piece, and he will soon equal, and even exceed the day-labor standard of the Norfolk peasant. I presume it was chiefly to job work that a most intelligent magistrate of St. Chris- topher's alluded, when he said to me with great em- phasis — " They will do an infinity of work for wages." II. An increased quantity of work thrown upon the market, is of course followed by the cheapening of labor. That this is the case in Jamaica, is in the clearest manner demonstrated by the experience of A. B. and his friends, in the parish of Manchester. Great is the pecuniary relief experienced by many of the planters, in the several islands which we visited, in consequence of their deliverance from the dead weight of their slaves. In some cases the saving amounts to the half of their former outgoing. A planter who owned three hundred slaves, for whom he provided food, clothing, bedding, household uten- sils, and medical attendance — not to mention white men for watchers, Avhips, and bilboes — is now deli- vered from the whole of this burden : pays one hun- N 2 180 THE CONTRAST. dred free laborers instead ; and soon, by dint of job Avork, mechanism, and short processes, reduces that number to sixty or seventy. Thus his debit in account comes to be almost as much decreased, as his crosses and his cares. Remember A. B's declaration that he had rather — for the profit's sake — " make sixty tierces of coffee under freedom, than one hundred and twenty under slavery." True indeed it is, that the circumstances of different estates, and even of different colonies, varied consider- ably as to the expenditure occasioned by the support of the slaves ; and the figures, in the comparison now instituted between slavery and freedom, will vary in proportion. But so far we have omitted to take into the account the interest of the capital invested in slaves, and the dead loss occasioned by the excess of deaths over births — items which used to produce tre- mendous debits in every fairly arranged balance-sheet of a West Indian slave holder. Bring these items into view, and the saving- of expense on the side of freedom, is undoubted, uniform, and, in many cases, very large. III. We prove the correctness of a sum in division, by a corresponding- process in multiplication. Just so do we prove the truth of the two preceding propo- sitions by a fact of which there is now taking place a gradual but sure development, in all the islands which we visited ; viz. that real property has risen, and is rising in value. In the towns, both the enhancement and improvement of property are very extraordinary. In the country, the value of the slaves — to say the least of it — is already transferred to the land. Re- member the declaration of our friend in St. Christo- THE CONTRAST. I8l pher's, who had bought an estate before emancipa- tion for £2,000, and now would not sell it for £6,000 ; and that of our friend in Jamaica, who sold " G estate" for £1,500, and now remarks that it is worth £10,000. I wish it, however, to be understood, that the comparison is not here made with those olden times of slavery, when the soils of the islands were in their most prolific state, and the slaves them- selves of a corresponding value ; but with those days of depression and alarm which preceded the act of emancipation. All that I mean to assrrt, is that landed property in the British colonies has touched the bottom, has found that bottom solid, has already risen considerably, and is now on a steady ascending march towards the recovery of its highest value. One circumstance which greatly contributed to produce its depreciation, was the cry of interested persons w^ho wished to run it doAvn ; and the demand for it which has arisen among these very persons, is now restoring it to its rightful value. Remember the old gentleman in Antigua, who is always complaining of the effects of freedom, and always huying land. " It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer : but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth."^ 1 Extract of a letter dated Demerara, August 1 , 1 840 : — " Yesterday at public vendue on twelve months' credit, plantation Montrose and plant- ation Ogle, on the east sea-coast of Demerara, were sold, the former to Sir Michael M'Turk for £38,000, and the latter to the house of George Anderson and Co. for ,£26,500. These are very large prices, as large, if not larger than could have been obtained ten years ago, and prove that the resident planters and merchants do not really consider emancipation to have ruined their properties in this colony, however much they may find it politic to pretend that this is the case. Mr. Retemeyer, attorney of plantation Herstelling, has issued an address to the laborers of the estate, of which he has had the sole and uninterrupted charge for the last 18*2 THE CONTRAST. IV. The personal comforts oFthe laboring popula- tion, under freedom, arc multiplied tenfold. In mak- ing this assertion, I do not mean to insinuate that they enjoyed no comforts under slavery. On many of the estates they were well fed and clothed, and were kindly treated in other respects. Their provi- sion grounds were often ample, the poor and infirm were supported with the rest, medical attendance was given, and many of them found opportunities for sav- ing money. On the other hand, I am fully aware that since the date of full (nominal) freedom, they have been partially subjected in some colonies, to grievous vexation and oppression ; that in others their wages are too low ; that the poor and infirm are not always adequately provided for ; and lastly, that me- dical attendance in many cases has been withdrawn. Yet on the whole, the improvement in their phy- sical condition and comforts is wonderful. In the first place, they are no longer suffering under the per- petual feeling of compulsion ; they are enjoying the pleasures of independence — the whip, the bilboes, the treadwheel, are all withdrawn. And, secondly, their dress and diet are both of them very greatly better than they used to be under slavery. They are con- stant customers now, at the stores of the hosier, the linen draper, the tailor, the shoemaker, and the grocer — of which delightful fact, we find both a sure evi- dence, and a happy consequence, in the vast increase — almost the doubling — of imports. Bread and meat twenty years, in which he tells them that ' he is perfectly satisfied with their conduct.' His crops were as large on an average as they were in the days of slavery. Our bank divided at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum on the last dividend, and there is a large surplus fund." THE CONTRAST. 183 arc now commonly eaten by them. Remember their beautifully neat appearance at our meetings, their handsome wedding dresses, the eggs consumed for their wedding cakes, the wine in their cottages freely bestowed on weary pilgrims, their boots and shoes which they are so much afraid of spoiling in the mud, the mules and horses on M'hich they come riding to their chapels, their pic-nic dinners, their social feasts of temperance and freedom. Above all, remember their thriving little freeholds — their gradual, but steady accumulation of wealth. Wherever they are fairly treated, the laborers of Jamaica are already most fa- vorably circumstanced. Teach them to improve the structure, arrangement, and furniture of their cottages; and to exchange all items of finery and luxury for sub- stantial domestic convenience — and it will be in vain to seek for a better conditioned peasantry in any coun- try of Europe. V. Lastly, the moral and religious improvement of this people under freedom, is more than equal to the increase of their comforts. Under this head there are three points deserving respectively of a distinct place in our memories. First, the rapid increase and vast extent of elementary and Christian education- schools for infants, young persons, and adults, multi- plying in every direction. Secondly, the gradual, but decided diminution of crime, amounting, in many country districts; almost to its extinction. Thirdly, the happy change of the general and almost universal practice of concubinage, for the equally general adop- tion of marriage. " Concubinage," says Dr. Stewart in his letter to me, " the universal practice of the 184 THE CONTRAST. colored people, has wholly disappeared from amongst them. No young woman of color thinks of forming such connections now." What is more, the improved morality of the blacks is reflecting itself on the white inhabitants — even the overseers are ceasing, one after another, from a sinful mode of life, and are forming reputable connexions in marriage. But while these three points are confessedly of high importance, there is a fourth which at once embraces, and outweighs them all — I mean the diffusion of vital Christianity. 1 know that great apprehensions were entertained — especially in this country — lest, on the cessation of slavery, the negroes should break away at once from their masters, and their ministers. But freedom has come, and while their masters have not been forsaken, their religious teachers have become dearer to them than ever. Under the banner of liberty the churches and meeting-houses have been enlarged and multiplied, the attendance has become regular and devout, the congregations have in many cases been more than doubled — above all, the conversion of souls (as we have reason to believe) has been going on to an extent never before known in these colonies. In a religious point of view, as I have before hinted, the wilderness in many places has indeed begun to " blossom as the rose." " Instead of the thorn," has " come up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar," has " come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name — for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut oif." When we were conversing with the intellectual nobility of your land, at Washington, we restricted THE CONTRAST. 185 ourselves, with little exception, to a plain narrative of the working of freedom in the West Indies — leaving it to them to draw the conclusions. But now my dear friend, in a calm retreat, far away from persons in authority, and left to my own reflections, I feel that I may, without impropriety, go a little further. I will therefore solicit thy attention to a plain, prac- tical contrast. I know something of the slave states of North America — many interesting weeks have I spent in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina; and some little time hoth in South Carolina and Georgia; and although I strictly confined myself to my functions as a minister of the gospel, I travelled with my eyes and ears open on the subject of slavery. I will therefore freely submit to thy consideration the result of my own enquiries and observations in the slave states of your Union, on the five points now alluded to. These are, first, the quantity of labor procured under slavery ; secondly, the comparative expense of the system ; thirdly, the effect of it upon the value of property ; fourthly, the comforts of the laboring people ; and lastly, the state of morals and religion. On these several points, 1 beg leave to oflbr the following re- marks. I. The quantity of labor. — Many a time have I seen the slaves of Virginia and the Carolinas, at work in the fields under the surveillance of a white overseer; and 1 could not believe that the work obtained was in quantity comparable to that of freemen ; for the slaves were laboring without vigor, and the overseer was doing nothing. On enquiry, in South Carolina I8(> THE CONTRAST. especially, I found that the ([uantity of work procured from the shives was even much less than I had antici- pated. I understood that in a body of slaves on any estate, the proportion in active service, at any given time, is not greater in America than it was in the West Indies. There are the old, the infirm, the sick, the shammers of sickness, the mothers of young in- fants, the numerous children, &c. &c. All these be- long to the dead weight, and they leave about one-third of the black population in actual operation. Now, this operative class has no stimulus to labor, except compulsion, i. e. the whip ; and people neither ivill nor can perform by compulsion, an average quantity of continuous work. That they should do so, is con- trary to the laws of nature — to the constitution, not only of the negro, but of mankind in general. The result is, that many of the cotton and rice planters of Georgia and South Carolina, are contenting them- selves with half a day's w^ork from their negroes. Their task is finished by twelve, one, or two o'clock ; and for the rest of the day they are left to themselves. Most willingly do I allow that this arrangement is to the credit of the benevolence of their masters, though I fear that this prevailing kindness has its many pain- ful exceptions ; but the plain fact is that the slave cannot, without great violence, do more, or much more, than he is now doing. Compel him to perform the task of a free man, and you drive him to death. True indeed it is that driving to death, whether more or less rapidly, is a frequent concomitant of slavery. The exaction by brute force of such an amount of labor, as entails the unnatural wearing up of the la- THE CONTRAST. 18/ borers, with a corresponding excess of mortality, was formerly a common circumstance in the British West Indies ; it is dreadfully prevalent in Cuba ; nor can it be doubted that numerous instances of it are still to be found in the slave-states of North America — espe- cially ill those ivhich are in the practice of importing supplies of slaves, fresh and fresh as they are wanted, from other parts of the Union. But my present ar- gument is addressed to that better class of slave-hold- ers, whose profession and intention it is, not to exact from their slaves a greater quantity of work than con- sists with the object of preserving them in a fair average condition of health and vigor. These persons will, I am satisfied, be willing to confess, that a slave does not and cannot perform by compulsion, more than half the work of a free laborer of equal powers, under the inducement of wages. Where the only stimulus to labor which survives under slavery — I mean the whip — is withdrawn, the work of course becomes light in proportion. I can easily believe that the slaves of my friend, Isaac E. Holmes, M. C. for Charleston, who would not if he could help it hurt a fly, lead a quiet and easy life. May they continue to enjoy that privilege, until they are finally set free ! It appears then, that the work obtained from a body of three hundred slaves in your southern states, can- not, in many cases, be estimated as more in quantity than the fair day's labor, on wages, of one-sixth of the number, that is, oijiftij freemen. That which was true in the days of Pliny the natu- ralist, is equally certain now. " To cultivate land by slaves," savs that ancient writer, " is the worst of 1H8 THE CONTRAST. follies ; for all work is badly done by people in de- spair. ^ II. But the whole three hundred slaves must be maintained ; and the expense of supporting them in your states, is vastly greater than it was in the West Indies. I was surprised to hear, on excellent autho- rity, when lately in South Carolina, that the average expense of maintaining a slave, on estates where they are liberally treated, is not less than 50 dollars per annum. Three hundred slaves, at 50 dollars, is 15,000 ; or take it for moderation's sake, at 30 dollars, and the result is D,000. But these 300 slaves represent an enormous capital. Even now, the price of a good male slave at Savannah and Charleston, is 1,000 dol- lars — often it has risen to 1,500 dollars. Take 500 dollars as the average price of men, women, and chil- dren, and your 300 slaves represent a capital of 150,000 dollars, on which interest at 6 per cent, is 9,000 dol- lars. This added to the other 9,000 dollars for their support, makes 18,000 dollars — a terrible debit indeed in any man's annual profit and loss account. Such a debit may be overborne for a time by high prices of rice, cotton, or sugar ; but it is ruinous in its nature, and ruin in the end it is pretty sure to produce. Pay 50 free laborers 2 dollars 50 cents per week as wages, and charge them half a dollar weekly for rent, (allowing two weeks in the year for holidays) and the result is the small comparative annual expense of 5,000 dollars. Independently however of this calculation in figures, we are to remember the collateral truth, that slavery ' Coli rura ab ergastulis pessimum est, et quicquid agitur a desperan- tjbus : lib. xviii. THE CONTRAST. 189 is wedded to extraviigance ; whatever may be the par- ticular exceptions, its general tendency is to engender in the slavehold'mg population, those habits of indo- lence and wastefulness, which have as thou canst not fail to be aware, accelerated the downfall of many a reputable family, and many a noble estate. III. The value of landed property. — As the favor- able working of freedom in the West Indies is proved by the rise in the value of property, so I think it must be allowed, that a proof oHhe ruinous tendencies of slavery is forced on the view even of the most superficial observer, who travels through Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Thousands and tens of thousands of acres, which were once cultivated and productive, have fallen back, under the blight of slave labor, into a wilderness ; not indeed, the wilderness of olden times, which teemed with the luxuriance of nature, but one without fertility and without hope. The properties to which I allude, the appearance of which cannot fail to be familiar to thy- self, were once doubtless of considerable value ; now (notwithstanding the general rule that land rises in value, as a nation rises) they are worth little or nothing. A change for the worse in the appearance of the country is conspicuous enough, even when one passes the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland ; but I am told that it is still more striking to the tra- veller who crosses the river from the state of Ohio, into thy own Kentucky. The soil on either side of the magnificent stream being of equal fertility, the free-hanh (it is said) blooms with prosperity, while 190 THE CONTRAST. the slave-bank presents the evident symptoms of neg- lect and decay. I know that the monied value of property depends on a variety of causes — that it vv^ill of course rise, when the wilderness becomes settled, and when the popula- tion increases, as on the fertile shores of the Missis- sippi. I am also aware that the richness of an alluvial country, as in Louisiana, and frequent irrigation, as in the rice-grounds of South Carolina, will long counteract the pauses which would otherwise pro- duce decay. But it is the privilege of a philosophical statesman, in his examination of the statistics of his country, to analyze and classify causes and effects. On this ground I am sure it cannot be concealed from thee, that slave labor viewed in its distinct cha- racter, and separated from circumstances with which it is not essentially connected, has a uniform ten- dency to the exhaustion and depreciation of land. It is a consequence which belongs to the order of nature ; but let lis remember that the order of nature, is the ordinance of God — " He turneth a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein." IV. Comforts of the negroes. — Nothing can be far- ther from my wish, than to heap abuse on the slave- holders of the southern states. Those with whom I have become acquainted are amiable and benevolent men, and I give them credit for kindness and con- sideration, in the treatment of their slaves. I can perfectly understand what must have been the faithful and affectionate feelings of thy own servant Charles, THE CONTRAST. 11)1 when in Canada he had thy full permission to take the flight of freedom, but averred that if all Canada was offered to him as a present, he would not leave his master. Had I been in your company, however, when this conversation took place, I might perhaps have addressed him in the language of Paul — " If thou mayest be made free, use it rather" — avail thy- self of the opportunity — take the upward step in cha- racter and condition, which a good Providence opens before thee. And this advice would have been founded on the conviction that it can never tend to any man's comfort, in the long run, to be the subject of unquali- fied and arbitrary power. I am very much mistaken, if under these circumstances, happiness is not the ex- ception^discomfort the general rule. Ignorance of his own nature and destiny is the only condition, as I believe, in which a slave can be permanently com- fortable. But the infractions of comfort, to which the slaves of the United States are liable, are too notorious to be disputed. The treatment of them, as it regards food and raiment, must and will depend, not merely on the dispositions, but on the means of their mas- ters. The want of ready money in the slaveholder, often bears more severely on the slave, than the want of kindness. Again, we well know that masters are sometimes driven for many months from their proper- ties, by the insalubrity of the location, and that the slaves are left under the care of overseers — persons of sufliciently low grade, to be induced to risk their lives for a pecuniary compensation. This must be a fruit- ful source of sufferinfir. 192 THE CONTRAST. In order to form a correct view, however, on the present subject, it is enough for me to recur to scenes which I have myself witnessed. Although, in travel- ling through some of your slave states, I have often observed the negroes well clad, and in good bodily condition, their general aspect has not appeared to me to be that of happiness. Seldom have I seen any thing among them, like the cheerful smile of the pea- sant of Jamaica ; and sometimes they have been half- naked, and wretched in their demeanor. When I saw large companies of black people following either the masters who owned them, or the merchants who had bought them, to some distant state, the lame ones compelled to keep up with their associates, and yet limping behind, from very weakness — when, in one of the sea islands of South Carolina, I looked on a gang of them, ginning cotton, working as if they were on the tread-wheel, their sweat falling from them like rain, and the overseer sitting by, with his cow-hide alongside of him — when, in the negro jail of Charles- ton, I was surrounded by a large number of negroes, who had been sent thither, without any intervention of law or magistracy, but at the sole will of their holders, to be punished on the treadwheel, or with whipping (not exceeding fifteen lashes) according to directions on the accompanying ticket — when, lastly, in the iron-grated depot at Baltimore, I visited the poor creatures who had been sold away from their families and friends, and were about to be transmitted on speculation, like so many bales of cotton or wors- ted, to the far-distant South — when these scenes passed THE CONTRAST. 1 i)3 one after another, in review before nie — it was im- possible for me to think highly of the comforts of your enslaved negroes. The slave market in Charleston is held, as I under- stand, in the open streets, immediately under the walls of the exchange. There our fellow men are bought and sold without reserve. True indeed it is, that many benevolent holders refuse to sell their slaves under any circumstances, and that many others avoid selling them, except in undivided families. But the laws of bankruptcy and executorship are fraught with no such tender feelings ; and, in the breaking up and disposal of estates, husbands and wives, parents and children, are often sold — irrespectively of each other — each to the highest bidder. With such liabilities at hand, where can be the solid happiness of the slave of North America ? I would, however, recur to my original ground — no man, who i,as sense and knowledge enough to reflect upon himself, can enjoy true comfort, while the law regards him as the property of another. One of your most enlightened senators furnished me with an instructive anecdote in reference to this subject. A pro-slavery Methodist minister, in our friend's pre- sence, was, one day, questioning a well-educated negro, much respected by his master, and amply sup- plied with the conveniences of life. " You have your wife and family about you," said the minister; " you have a good house ; you and your children are well clad ; you sit down, day by day, to a well provided table; you are even engaged as a preacher to your brethren — why then are you anxious to be free ? what can you wish for more ?" " Sir," replied the negro, " I wish to 194 THE ( ONTRAST. lay my liand on my heart, and say, My flesh is my OWN." V. Morals and religion. That there are, in the slave states of North America, a great number of persons, both white and black, who are both moral and reli- gious, I cannot in the least degree doubt. I have wit- nessed some plain tokens of the fact, in a large number of decent and attentive congregations, consisting both of masters and slaves, who have kindly given me their company at meetings for worship of my own appointment. Far be it from me to exclude either of these parties from the pale of salvation ; or to forget the applicability of our common Christianity to bond and free. Nevertheless, as slave-holders give way to the development of divine truth in their own minds, they will not fail to hear a voice whispering within them — " Touch not the unclean thing — cease to do evil." That slavery is sinful, not only in its abuse, but in its own nature, seems to me to be evident from its practical results. Two of these, with which an American statesman cannot fail to be familiar, I may now briefly mention — they are in themselves amply suflftcient to prove my case. The first is the dreadful licentiousness which notoriously prevails in your slave states, not merely among the negroes themselves, but more especially between whites and blacks. Here in- deed amalgamation speeds its course without reserve, and in a criminal form. An institution which con- stantly leads to this result — under which fathers are sometimes known to bequeath or sell their own chil- dren — must needs be, in itself^ a desperate moral evil. The second result alluded to is compulsory ignorance. THE CONTRAST. 195 Evil in its root — incurably evil — opposed to the will of an intelligent and benevolent Creator — and deadly in its moral tendency — must be a system which shuts out half or two thirds of the population of a state, from even sipping at the fountain of knowledge — which proclaims to a multitudinous rising generation the stern decree, " You shall never be taught to read the Bible !" I have now drawn a contrast between freedom in the West Indies, and slavery in North America, on five distinct points — the quantity of labor, the expense of cultivation, the value of real property, the comforts of the negro, and lastly, morals and religion. I have endeavored to avoid exaggeration in the statement of either side ; but who shall deny that the scale pre- ponderates with immense weight and power on the side of freedom ? Who can doubt that the American statesman is bound, by every principle of philosophy as well as philanthropy, of policy as well as justice, to desist from the support of slavery, and henceforth to labor in the good old cause of emancipation P We had much satisfaction in relating our story of the West Indies, to a political rival of thine, for whom I have a sincere personal esteem — 1 mean John C. Cal- houn. He listened with the greatest attention to the narrative, and, after I had brought it to a close, admitted his belief not only in the accuracy of the relation itself, but in that of the five points, partly pecuniary, and partly physical and moral, on which it furnished such ample evidences of the favorable work- ing of freedom. He then fixed his eagle eye upon me, and cross-questioned me respecting the political O 2 19() THE CONTRAST. State of Jamaica. This process was followed up by a rapid, declamatory argument, in which he endea- vored to show that the emancipation of the blacks in the West Indies was safe to the white inhabitants, only because it was guarded by the strong arm of Great Britain — that the two races are so distinct and opposite, that, without the intervention of such a power, they could not be expected to live together in peace, in the capacity of free-men — that where the blacks preponderate in numbers, the whites would be overwhelmed — that where the numbers are even, there would arise interminable violence and strife — that in America, therefore, the political objections to the abo- lition of slavery are not to be surmounted. Such I believe was the substance of his argument, which was listened to with great apparent delight, by several of his allies from the south, who were present on the occasion. To hear the eloquent argumentation of our friend, was indeed a pleasure to ourselves. I said it was a treat to me to hear J. C. Calhoun reason, and that I would not attempt to reply to him — at any rate not without previous reflection. At the same time I ventured to observe, first, that political influ- ence, when obtained in connection with property, is in its nature safe; and secondly, that the principles of the gospel of Christ were the adequate remedy for all prejudices of race, cast, or color. Since that time I have often reflected on the Sena- tor's argument, and my own mind is well satisfied of its essential fallacy. First with regard to Jamaica, the strong arm of the British Government was indeed considered necessary THE CONTRAST. 197 for the protection of the whites, during slavery, when the phinters and their families were on the edge of a volcano which might any day explode ; and, notwith- standing that protection, I believe it may truly be said, that a general explosion must long since have taken place, had it not been for the unrivalled pati- ence and forbearance of the negro race. But now, under freedom, the volcano is extinguished ; the planters and their families are in perfect safety ; the protecting arm of the third party is no longer requi- site, and, to a great extent, it has already been with- drawn. We were thoroughly satisfied, in all the islands which we visited, that the few troops remain- ing in them were, in' a political point of view, utterly needless, and might be withdrawn, to a man, with en- tire impunity — and this I believe is the general opinion of the planters themselves. In the mean time, we did not find that any inconvenience is arising from the constitutional differences of the two races. Cer- tainly there is no antipathy of the blacks towards the whites, but rather the feelings of respect, deference, and affection ; and, on the other hand, the prejudice of the whites against the blacks is greatly on the de- cline. Although there is very little intermarriage between them, the distinctions of color are already forgotten to a degree which we could not have anti- cipated. All are now on one political level ; and the influence of each individual, whether black, brown, or white, is left to depend, as it ought to do, on its legi- timate grounds — namely, property, talent, education, and character. As the negroes make progress in these elements of influence, their political power will of 198 THE CONTRAST. course increase ; but that power will be conservative, and not destructive. That the position of things which I have now described as existing in the West Indies, is one of harmlessness and safety, cannot reasonably be denied. Experience has already proved it to be so to a con- siderable extent. Nor can I perceive a single sound reason why it should be otherwise, were it tried in the slave states of your own union. While it is obvious that the juxtaposition of the two races already exists, and cannot he avoided, it is to me equally evident that the true danger of that juxta-position, lies in the relations o( slaveri/. These are unnatural ; they are opposed to the eternal rule of right, and they contain in themselves the seeds of violence and confusion. Often have they given rise to partial insurrections in America, as they used to do in the British West Indies. Abolish them therefore in faith ; bestow on men of all complexions an equa- lity of political right, and what is the consequence ? The whole population is thrown on the operation of natural and legitimate principles of action, every man finds his own just level, religion spreads under the banner of freedom, and all is quietness, order, and peace. Such is the lot of the British West Indian colonies ; and such, I humbly, but ardently hope, will soon be the happy condition of every one of the United States. 1 am, &.C. &c. LETTER XIII. CUBA. Providence, H. I. Seventh month C July J 1st, 1840. My dear Friend, When we sailed away from Jamaica, as men- tioned in a former letter, we soon found that we were in the midst of an agreeable and interesting company. It consisted of Samuel B. Parsons, a young friend of ours from New York, who had met us in Jamaica, twenty-two other Americans, including several ami- able women, on their return from Santa Cruz to their native shores, and our Spanish friend Cabrera, who was well able to converse with us, both in French and English. He is a person of remarkable intelligence, courteous manners, and, as we have every reason to believe, sound moral and religious principle. During the awful conflicts by which Spain has of late years been so fearfully convulsed, he has been seven times condemned to death. Once, by the decree of a Carlist General, he was sitting, with the handkerchief bound about his eyes, on the point of being publicly shot, when the tables were suddenly turned, and his rescue was effected. Singular indeed arc the providential 200 CUBA. circumstances, which from time to time, turned up for his deliverance, often through the intervention of intrepid women, and he is now one of the most re- spected and useful servants of the Queen Regent. Of the accomplished education, liberal views, and bene- volent intentions of that royal lady, he gave us an excellent account. — Of course we did not fail to im- plore the exertion of his influence with her, for the actual suppression of their already legally abolished slave trade. Our voyage was one of nine days, and although of longer duration than it was reasonable to expect, was remarkably pleasant. One circumstance alone threw a gloom over the circle — the extreme illness of two of our passengers, in whom the genial climate of Santa Cruz had failed to arrest the progress of consumption. One of these individuals has since finished her mortal career, in the faith and hopes of the christian. Every morning after breakfast, we assembled on deck, for the audible reading of a portion of scripture, on which occasions no one was a more willing or at- tentive auditor than our friend the Spaniard. He is a Roman Catholic, as to his habits and connections, but of very liberal views. Our scripture reading was generally followed up by the Governor's school. Ig- norant as we were, even of the right sounds of the letters, he kindly undertook to teach several of our party Spanish ; and certainly, if he manifests in his political duties, the same orderly and perspicacious in- tellect which he then applied to the instruction of his pupils, he must be a valuable agent under any govern- ment. He so far succeeded that they presented to CUBA. 201 him, before we separated, a short address in his own language, which may serve as a memorandum of our pJeasant intercourse. Gentil maestro hiimano Claro, benigno, sano, Tu sabes que lo vano, Solo es de arena iin grano. Por tu noble entereza, Peligro tu cabcza, Mientras horrible guerra Agitaba la tierra ; Mas Dios te ha preservado Dal enemigo hado, Y la gran Reyna bella, Quiso poner la estrella Que el solo honor ha hecho Sobre tu ilustre pecho. Oh, muy felice fuera, Por tener un Cabrera ! The weather was delightful; and the contempla- tion of the ever varying beauties of ocean scenery, oc- cupied many an agreeable hour, as we gradually made progress on our voyage. One day a heron or crane, of speckled white and brown, found her rest on our rigging ; at another time, a number of large birds of a bright scarlet hue, were seen flying in a row at some distance from the vessel. They were probably spe- cimens of the scarlet ibis — or perhaps flamingos. Schools of porpoises were often seen from on board the ship, and never seen without amusement ; the smooth agility of the leap with which they rise for a moment out of the water, and at the same time move rapidly onward on their journey, impresses one with the idea of perfect bodily enjoyment. I was in hopes that we should sail within sight of the Isle of Pines, 202 (uiJA. near the soutliC'rn coast ot" Cuba, which is said to be very beautiful — once the resort of pirates, and still probably of slavers — but we passed it at a distance of thirty miles, and saw nothing of it. Soon afterwards we came in sight of the low cape Antonio, which would have proved to Columbus, had he pursued his voyage a few leagues further, that Cuba was no part of his imagined continent. After doubling the cape, we had about one hundred miles to make to windward, before we could reach our port. Baffling winds and calms detained us for two or three days ; our last pig and fowl had been eaten ; we were beginning, some- what seriously to long for the land — wheuj one delight- ful evening, a favorable breeze sprung up, and brought us, under flying colors and full sail, past the Moro castle and lighthouse, into the port of Havana. It was the 9th of the Fourth month (April.) The scene was very animating and beautiful. The Moro is built on a dark rock, on the left of the entrance ; on a hill above it stand the Cabanas, a fort of prodigious dimensions, in which is stationed a large body of Spanish soldiers. Report makes the numbers of them in Cuba not less than fifteen thousand — a guard, be it observed, for the protection of the white inhabitants against their negroes in a state of slavery ; but I have reason to believe that the number of troops is exaggerated. Before us lay the wide spreading old city, said to contain one hundred and twenty thou- sand inhabitants ; a few green hills were seen in the distance ; and when we had passed the Moro, the land- locked port full of shipping, including three British men-of war, and surmounted by some handsome public CUBA. 2();5 buildings, were suddenly opened to our view. It is a port of great resort and traffic, far exceeding, in this respect, any other in the dominions of Spain. With the exception of the Governor of Madrid, we continued on board for the night ; and early the next morning received a notice, that we were all permitted to land without undergoing any of the usual formal- ities. The British Consul, Charles Tolme, came on board to pay his respects to some of our sister passen- gers. I found that he was an old friend of mine, whom I had not seen for some thirty years. He gave me a hearty welcome, and accompanied me on our landing, to the Government House, as I wished to pay my respects to the Prince of Anglona, the Captain General of Cuba. Our friend Cabrera had already conveyed to him a letter of introduction which I had brought with me from the Governor of Jamaica ; and I considered that an early call was due to him from a friend to the slaves, and a christian minister, whom he had so kindly permitted to land, at all hazards. The Prince, who is one of the old nobility of Spain, is a person of small stature, and by no means impos- ing in his appearance, but of good talents and liberal politics. He received us with great politeness, and even apologised to our consul for my having been re- fused a passport in Jamaica. He spoke French flu- ently, and talked to us for a few minutes in a friendly manner. No opportunity offered for conversation on important topics, and we soon retired. I was after- wards informed that it is the uniform practice of the slave traders, both in Porto Rico and Cuba, to fee the respective (ioveniors, pretty largely, for every African 204 cuiu. imported into those islands. The lute Governor of Porto Rico is said to have retired, in conserjnence, with an immense fortune. The price of connivance, now fixed in Cuba, is reported to be twelve dollars per slave — a sum which is, I believe, shared by sub- ordinate officers. The profits of the slave trade are such as to render these iniquitous allowances, but a trifling per centage. The streets of the city of Havana are extremely narrow, and we found the heat oppressive ; but ex- cellent quarters were obtained for us at a boarding house kept by an agreeable American family of the name of West ; and locomotion is rendered easy, by the numerous volantes — small one-horse carriages, with overshadowing leather tops and enormous \vheels, driven by negro postillions, in high Spanish boots. The streets are thronged by a busy population — all talking Spanish. Every thing in Havana is entirely foreign to the eye and ear of an Englishman or Ame- rican, and it was well that our friend Cabrera had been training some of us to the utterance of a few broken sentences, in the language of the country. In the evening, under the guidance of the British Consul's agreeable lady, we visited the Passeo, a pub- lic road and promenade formed of late years, under the Government of Tacon, a Spaniard of extraordi- nary energy, who is said to have found Cuba a den of thieves and robbers, and to have left it, when he finally resigned his trust, in comparatively good civil order. He made examples of some notorious offenders of high rank, instituted an effective police, built a great pri- son, and gave much attention to roads and other ne- CUBA. 205 ccssary internal improvements ; but he is said to have been no enemy to the shive-trade. At the end of the Passeo is Taeon's villa and garden — the latter laid out, though on a small scale, after the style of the gardens at Versailles. After a walk through this scene of somewhat formal beauty, we ascended the hill on which stands Fort Principe. Here we ob- tained a noble view of the city, the harbor, the abun- dant shipping, the Moro castle, the Cabanas on the opposite heights, and the sea as the boundary of the prospect. In general however the country round Havana is far from being picturesque, and is culti- vated chiefly with maize for fodder. Many miles must be travelled inland, before one can reach either a mountainous district, or those luxuriant fields of sugar-cane, which are managed by a mere process of rattooning, without the insertion of new plants, for twenty, or even thirty years in succession. Rattoon- ing is the annual raising of fresh canes from the same plant, and the number of years during which it may be carried on, is an index of the strength and richness of the soil. While this process may be con- tinued in Cuba for so great a length of years, the virgin land is so rich, that a mere touch of the hoe is suffi- cient to prepare it for the reception of new cane. In most of the British colonies the rattooning lasts only three or four years ; and the ground requires the la- borious process of holing, or some adequate substitute, as a preparation for planting. No wonder therefore, that the sugars of our colonics have always been un- dersold by the planters of Cuba. 20() cuiJA. The; following day, Fourth month (April) 10th, was one of memorable but painful interest. We were engaged to breakfast with the British consul ; but, before going to his house, we availed our- selves of the cool air of the early morning, in order to visit "^ El jardin del Obispo" — the villa and gardens of the late archbishop — which are quite as worthy of in- spection as those of the Governor Tacon. The ob- jects which chiefly attracted us there, were the shady avenues of mango trees, a living alligator kept in a small reservoir, and the greater rarity, in a tropical climate, of a cold stream of clear water, in which it was a luxury to bathe. At the Consul's we met Capt. Hawkins, of the Romney man-of-war, which is stationed in the port of Havana, for the reception of the Africans who may be taken out of slave-ships condemned by the Court of Mixed Commission. As the slave trade of Cuba is now rarely carried on under Spanish colors, neither the judges of that court, nor our friend Capt. Hawkins, have much if any business ; but they are useful, nevertheless, as watchers of the iniquities of Cuba. After breakfast we accompanied Capt. Hawkins, and one of his friends, to his home on the waters, and were well satisfied with the ample accommodations which it is calculated to afford the rescued Africans, whenever such an asylum may be required. The captain and his friend are deeply and honestly inter- ested in the cause of freedom — no frequent virtue, and no slight praise, in any one who even sojourns at Ha- vana! After we had examined the ship, he conveyed CUBA. '207 us in bis boat, on a cruise about tbc harl)or, in ordcM- to give us a quiet view of the slavers. Five of them were then stationed there, in the open face of day, notoriously fitted up for the traffic, and ready to slip off for Africa, for fresh supplies of bultos {hales — so the slave merchants call the negroes) so soon as a dark or stormy night should afford them an opportu- nity oi^ escaping the vigilance of the British cruiser Snake, then in port at Havana. They consisted of two brigs, one of which had already landed three hun- dred and fifty slaves, the Socorro ship built for one thousand ; the Grandes Antillas, for twelve hundred ; and lastly, the notorious Venus, now called La Du- cheza de Braganza, Baltimore-built, which had taken in eleven hundred slaves on the coast of Africa, and, after losing two hundred and forty in the middle pas- sage, had landed eight hundred and sixty in Cuba. We understood that the three larger of these vessels, were intended for Mozambique, on the eastern coast of Africa — a voyage of great length, for which their size peculiarly adapts them. They are fitted up with guns, and, like the brigs or schooners, are constructed with consummate art, for the purpose of swift sailing. They are utterly unsuitable for a legitimate commerce. The painful compression of the wretched negroes, in the holds of these vessels, during their voyage across the Atlantic, is too horrible to be described. Surely this traffic is the most odious wickedness that ever disgraced or afflicted mankind ! On our return to the shore. Captain Hawkins con- ducted us to the office of the British commissioner, Kennedy, with whom, together with his secretary, we 208 CUBA. enjoyed the privilege of a full and interesting- conver- sation. He is well informed respecting the iniquities which are practised at Havana, and gave us a sad ac- count both of the slave trade of Cuba, and of its slavery. The commissioner reckons the number of slaves an- nually imported into Cuba (chiefly in the immediate neighborhood of Havana) at twenty-five thousand. On farther inquiry, however, I found they are often landed in creeks and bays, both on the northern and southern coasts, out of the limits of our friend's observation ; and there is reason to believe that his estimate is vastly below the mark. I am very much mistaken, if the rapid increase of the slave population, (notwithstanding the notorious excess of deaths over births) does not prove that the annual importation of negroes into Cuba, has risen to at least double the number mentioned by the commissioner.^ The profits of the trade are from one hundred to tw^o hundred per cent.; and if only one third of the negroes received on the African coast, are brought safely to Cuba, the speculation answers. Hence, it follows, that neither the risks which they run of capture by the British cruisers, nor the deaths of a large proportion of the negroes on the voyage, are circumstances of any great importance to the slave-merchant — they require only an insurance. Reckless of every consideration connected either with honesty or humanity, the captains of these slavers often make piratical attacks on each other. I saw a letter from one of them, describing to the slave ' See Sir T. F. Buxton's Letter on this subject, addressed to David Turnbull. CUBA. 209 trading house in Cuba, by which he was cniph)yed, his having been forcibly robbed of all his bultos (bales); and of his having replenished his vessel, by commit- ting, in his turn, a similar depredation. But the whole affair is one of robbery and murder. Of one feature in the slave trade and slavery of Cuba, I had no knowledge until I was on the spot. The import- ation consists almost entirely of men, and we were informed that on many of the estates, not a single female is to be found. Natural increase is disregarded. The Cubans import the stronger animals, like bul- locks, work them up, and then seek a fresh supply. This surely is a system of most unnatural barbarity. In the afternoon, after an early dinner at the Con- sul's, we sallied forth on an excursion of rather a deli- cate nature ; it was to visit the barracoons — recep- tacles where the newly imported Africans are stowed, and offered for sale. Our two vouuff friends went in one direction ; M. Day and myself, under the guid- ance of a young Guernseyman, in an other. He and I visited three out of six of these establishments, all of them being within two miles of the city. They have been built, and are conducted, on private specu- lation, and although the whole business is utterly illegal, their proprietors set at defiance all notions of shame, or of concealment from the eye of Government. We were not very successful in our attempt. The first barracoon at which we called was empty, and after walking over it, we had only to acknowledge that it was commodious and airy — for these places, for filthy lucre's sake, are intended to be curative of the effects of the middle passage. At the second, the p •210 CUKA. keeper, who was the friend of our young guide, gave us an equally easy admission. We found in it about forty invalid Africans who had just been imported. They looked emaciated and melancholy. A child lying on a dresser, wrapped in a blanket, was in the article of death. The whole scene, with the exception of an idle laugher, was one of mute sorrow and suffering — heart-rending to ourselves. This barracoon was built to contain one thousand negroes. Just at sundown we arrived at a third of similar size. It is close by the garden of Tacon, which is a place of constant public resort. It was evidently full of negroes, whose voices we distinctly heard. We walked unbidden into the court yard, and saw the keeper turn the key of the last lock, after having shut them up for the night. Our guide timorously approached the scowling master, and begged admission for us into the dormitories. He gruffly replied, '' No son negros aquV — there are no negroes here. We were therefore obliged to retire, not being much disposed to be ourselves incarcerated in this den of iniquity. On the grass outside of the gate however, there were sitting, dressed in coarse shirts marked with the letter D, about forty young men — a lot which had just been selected and pur chased. The buyer was standing over them with a memorandum book in his hand, viewing them as if they had been oxen. Good cause had he for an atten- tive survey of their persons, for he had probably given 400 or 500 dollars per head, for them — from 16,000 to 20,000 dollars for the lot. Work them as he may, we could not conceive that this nefarious investment in human flesh and blood, could answer his purpose — . CUBA. 211 especially as so large a proportion of these miserable beings die in the seasoning. Our young friends found their way to a fourth barracoon, where they saw seve- ral hundred newly imported chihlren. They were in lean condition, and many of them with marks on their skins, of bruises or blows, probably received from rub- bing against the pannels of the vessel, in which they had been unmercifully crammed, like herrings in a barrel. We returned to our quarters at night, well satisfied with having seen these horrors, and with the information which a most interesting day had aiforded us, but heart-sickened and afflicted. Oh, the unutterable difference between these hapless, hopeless creatures, and the well-conditioned free peasantry of Jamaica! The next day was the first of the week. A day of rest and worship it cannot be said to be at Havana. A certain proportion of the population do indeed at- tend the Roman Catholic churches, with a good deal of decency ; but the generality seem to be given up to the utter neglect of religious duty. No Protestant wor- ship is tolerated, not even in the house of the British Consul. A Friends' meeting may happily be held by the very few, as well as the multitude; and in a company of six persons at our boarding house, we were per- mitted to experience some comfort and refreshment, in our usual simple mode of worship. We then placed ourselves under the care of James Norman, a religious merchant of the city, who led us to several of the public institutions — two lunatic asylums in bad order ; a heneficencia, or endowed orphan house, in which we found about three hundred white children, under pretty good tutelage ; an excellent asylum for P 2 212 CUUA. lepers of all colors ; and finally, Tacon's prison, which was filled with eight hundred criminals — one side of the huilding being appropriated to blacks, the other to whites. The white population of Cuba, as compared to the black, is said to be as one hundred and thirty to one huncU-ed. In the prison, the side allotted to the whites appeared to be the more crowded of the two. The prisoners work on the roads and break stones, but when not at work are locked up night and day, in large companies, and are left to them- selves to grow worse and worse, corrupted, and cor- rupting one another. Within the walls we observed a rum-shop, which cannot fail to accelerate the dege- nerating process. We sincerely felt for an American captain who was shut up with this ruffian multitude. He was once much respected, but had been convicted of secreting money on board his vessel, and after six- teen months of previous imprisonment (owing, I be- lieve, to his own wish to delay his trial) had been sentenced to be imprisoned here for six years. Miguel €le Cabrera kindly undertook to lay his case before the Queen of Spain ; and we hope, notwithstanding his acknowledged guilt, he will soon be liberated from his present miserable allotment. The whole scene afforded glaring evidences of the low, and even des- perate state of morals in this slave trading community. In the afternoon we were summoned on board the Whitmore, to which we were accompanied by our kind friend Cabrera, and the British Consul. After taking an affectionate leave of them, we weighed anchor, and so concluded our interesting visit of three days to the city of Havana. In consequence, how- (Lili.V. 213 ever, oF some little nautical accident, we failed to clear the harbor that night, and accordingly availed our- selves of a quiet evening, in holding a religious meet- ing with our passengers, apart from all disturbing causes. Early the next morning we again passed under the frown of the Moro, and commenced our voyage to Savannah, in Georgia. I know not that I should have troubled thee with this section of our narrative, had I not wished to solicit thy attention to a subject of deep interest and importance, respecting which this short stay in Cuba, gave us an opportunity of obtaining some informa- tion — I mean American yarticipat'ion in the African slave trade. I. The building of the vessels. The slave-traders of Cuba requires vessels of peculiar powers of speed, and otherwise of a construction suited to the slave- trade. These vessels the Americans are preeminently able to build, having at their command the timber, the capital, and the mechanical skill. The conse- quence is that there is the usual correspondence of the supply with the demand, and nine-tenths of the vessels employed in the Cuba slave trade, have of late years been built in America — chiefly at Baltimore. There cannot be the least doubt that the builders are aware of their intended purpose, the construction of them being decidedly distinguished from the usual form of merchant ships. Often they are made to the order of the Spanish slave-trading houses in Cuba, and when built, belong to those houses. Nevertheless, they are furnished with American registers, and sail to Havana, 214 CUBA. under American colors. This of course is a fraudu- lent transaction. In many other cases, they are sent to Cuba on speculation ; and on their arrival there, are sold to the slave-traders as required. II. The abuse of the American Jiag. The treaty of Great Britain with Spain, A. D. 1835, renders vessels under the Spanish flaj^, seizable as slavers, even when they have no slaves on board, if they are fitted up for the traffic, with the usual distingnishingarticles. These are shackles, cutlasses, gunpowder, false decks, grat- ings, a superfluity of water-casks, extra supplies of provision, &c. &c. Precisely the same regulations, by a late act of Parliament, are made to apply to Portu- gal. Before that act was passed, the Spanish slave- traders, in order to avoid the effect of this provision in the treaty, constantly made use of Portuguese colors and papers. These are often forged at Havana, or otherwise obtained and used in a fictitious and frau- dulent manner. Notwithstanding the act of Parlia- ment relative to Portugal, the flag of that nation is still preferred to that of Spain ; because when cap- tured under the Spanish flag, the slavers are brought under the notice of the joint-commission court in Havana, and when they are condemned, the parties are heavily fined. We were informed that the Spanish authorities take care to be well feed for the vessels captured, as well as for] the slaves successfully im- ported, and cover their connivance at the traffic, by punishing it severely, when it is detected. On the contrary, when slavers are captured under the Portu- guese flag, they can be condemned only in our own colonial admiralty courts, in which case the crews are CUBA. 215 suffered to depart without punishment. Nevertheless, as neither the Spanish nor the Portuguese flag now afford any protection from the British cruisers, re- course is had, to the greatest possible extent, to the flag of the United States. This object is effected by various contrivances. When an American-built vessel is sold to a slave- trading house in Havana, it is often fraudulently trans- ferred at that port, from the master to the mate, and proceeds to Africa under command of the latter, and with American colors and papers. After obtaining the wished-for supply of slaves (during wdiich process it still maintains its Americanism) it assumes its Portu- guese phase, for which it is secretly prepared at Ha- vana, and returns at a venture to Cuba — using all its speed, to elude the British cruisers. On the return voyage, the mate becomes ostensibly a passenger, but in fact retains his command of the vessel. Another contrivance for retaining the American flag, up to the same point in the iniquitous process, is that of purchasing the Baltimore ship or clipper, deliverable on the coast of Africa — half the price being paid when the bargain is struck, and the other half on her delivery. Under this arrangement, she of course clears out for Africa, with her American regis- ters, and under the flag of the Union. When she arrives on the African coast, her registers are cut in halves, and returned by any two conveyances which may offer, to the grantors ; and again the Portuguese phase is assumed for the return voyage. HI. Aid given hy American merchantmen. If, af- ter all, these slave-ships sail from Havana for Africa 216 CUBA. under the Spanish or Portngncse flag, the parties have still another method left of eluding the force of the treaty, or act of Parliament, already described. It is to sail without those fittings up, and distinguishing articles, which would lead to their condemnation. In the mean time, these are conveyed by American mer- chant ships, which come to Havana in ballast, to the slave depots on the African coast, where the Spanish slaver, after an uninterrupted voyage, finds her needful furniture and supplies ready for her use. And with what cargoes do these American merchant ships return from the African coast ? Generally, as we were informed, with cargoes of bultos — bales — living rational beings from Africa, whom they convey to the Spanish colonies — or sometimes probably to Texas — or possibly even to some safe and hidden re- sort, within the boundary of your own Union. Thou wilt recollect that the slaver Hound which landed three hundred and seventy-two slaves in Porto Rico, and the schooner we saw in Antigua, which had per- formed a similar errand, were both American, and under American colours. Eighteen such vessels have lately been reported nominatim, by the agents of the Colonization Society, as observed on the African coast, in the act of carrying on the slave trade. It may however be considered doubtful whether they are the same vessels which carry articles for the slave trade to the coast of Africa, and slaves from Africa to the Western w^orld, or whether these two objects are separately effected by distinct parties. But the melancholy fact is not to be concealed, that numer- ous vessels built in America, manned in part by CUBA. 217 Americans, and sailing under the American flag, are now actively engaged in the prosecution of this abo- minable traffic. IV. The involvement of the consular office. The sale of American vessels, at Havana, to the slave traders in that city, whether immediate or deliverable at the coast of Africa — the transfer of them from masters to mates — and finally, the clearing out of any vessel un- der your flag, from Havana for Africa — are all of them transactions which necessarily come under the official notice of the American consulate at that port. We were informed that the late consul was doubly cogni- zant of them, because the other side of some of these transactions, must have come before him in his capa- city of Portuguese agent. But cognizance does not prove guilt, and the real question is, whether, under these circumstances, he availed himself of all his op- portunities and powers, in order to put a stop to these iniquities. We may charitably hope, that this was the case. I was however grieved to observe, that a puhlic defender of N. P. Trist, in a late anonymous pamphlet published at Boston, acknowledges that the late Consul entertains doubts "whether the slave trade, considered in itself is not a positive benefit to its sup- posed victims." This is a dangerous state of mind for any British or American resident in Havana. I venture, with great deference, to remark that no per- sons ought to be permitted to occupy your consular office, in that place, who are not placed far above the reach of Cuban douceurs, not only by common hon- esty, but by a deep, determined, and unalterable, ab- horrence of the slave trade in itself. 218 CUBA. V. The application of capital. That a considerable capital is employed in the different modes of aiding the slave trade which have now heen described, and especially in the building- of vessels, cannot be denied. But it is commonly reported, I fear not w^ithout some foundation, that in some of your commercial cities, American capital is invested in the trade itself — that some unworthy citizens of your republic, are actual and direct participants, both in the carrying on, and in the profits of this abominable traffic. It appears then first, that a large proportion of the vessels enga- ged in the Cuban slave trade, are built in the ports of the United States — secondly, that the American flag is borrowed by the Spanish slave traders to a great extent — thirdly, that American merchantmen are en- gaged in conveying the materials of the slave trade to the coast of Africa; and these or other American ves- sels, in the slave trade itself — fourthly, that most of these transactions pass under the official review of your consulate at Havana — and fifthly, that American capital is indirectly — perhaps directly — engaged in the slave trade, to a considerable extent. I have now laid the whole case before thee, as it has come within my own scope of observation and enquiry, and I trust I have done so with clearness and moderation. When I have stated the same case ver- bally, to some of the leading men of America, I have been reminded by them of the inconsistency of Eng- lishmen. Certain it is, that the articles used in the slave trade, and often transmitted to Africa on Ame- rican bottoms, are manufactured in England, and em- CUBA. 219 ploy a large amount of British capital. The lament- ahle fact is, that filthy lucre is often found too strong for moral principle, on both sides the water. But this surely is no affair of national rivalry. It is one under the weight of which, the petty jealousy of poli- tics, and even the pride of an honest patriotism, ought to subside into nothing. The virtuous public of both nations, and the governments of both nations, ought unquestionably to unite, with the utmost cordiality, in their endeavours to extinguish the most inordinate system of cruelty and wickedness, that ever stained the annals of mankind. Let America and England fully join issue on this momentous subject — and the work is done. In the mean time, something may I trust be effected, by legislative enactment. It seems very desirablej^r*^, that the laws against building ships evidently calcu- lated for the slave trade, and only for this purpose, should be rendered as clear and stringent as possible; secondly, that the consular office at Havana, should be armed with greater powers, to stop these iniqui- tous proceeding in transitu. Such were the conclusions to which our own observation and reflection had brought us ; and we were pleased to find, when at Washington, that a bill for these very purposes, had been introduced to Congress, by our worthy friend John Davis, Senator from Massachusetts. I am told that it has since passed into a law. But we conceive that preventive measures on the coast of Africa, are still more important. We were informed, on high authority, at Washington that it was the indefinite extent only, to which the mutual right of search was 2-20 CUKA. granted under the Presidency of Monroe, that was found to be inconvenient, and led to a change of sys- tem on the part of America ; and that had this mutual right been confined to certain limits near the AJrican coast, no objection ivould ever have been made to it. Such being the facts of the case, I would venture to suggest to tliy calm consideration, whether within these safe limits, the provision in question might not yet be conceded. There can be no doubt that such a measure, more than almost any other, would facilitate the suppression of the odious traffic. I entreat thee, to make use of the weight of thy own influence, in favor of the affirmative settlement of this essential point. Before I leave the subject of Cuba, I think it right to remark, that all persons who visit that island, must be aware of the distinction between the newly im- ported slaves, and those who have been born on the island, or have been long employed in the service of their masters. The former called Bozals, being ille- gally introduced, are not regarded by the laws of Spain, as the property of their holders. In the much agitated case of the Amistad, the decision of the local courts of Connecticut, against the delivering up of the slaves, was grounded, as I understand, on the fact that these persons were not Ladinos — i. e. true Cuban slaves — but Bozals, who are no slaves at all, in the eye of the Spanish law. Now we are aware that an appeal has been made against that decision, to the Supreme Court of the United States. I would remark, that should the decree be reversed, it would have the injurious effect of giving the sanction of the highest CUBA. 2-21 legal tribunal of this country, to that shameful traffic by which these miserable men were brought into ille- gal bondage — into the condition of Bozah ; and thus the co-operation of American citizens in promoting that traffic, would be encouraged and confirmed. That so great a calamity may be averted, must be the earnest desire of all who wish well to the cause of justice and humanity. I cannot satisfactorily conclude this letter without expressing my deep sorrow of heart, that the flag of the freest nation upon earth should be found, with such perfect impunity, and to so great an extent, affording its broad shelter to the blackest of crimes against the liberties of mankind ; and that so many Americans, in defiance of your own lavA^, which treats the African slave-trade as piracy, should be taking an active part in promoting it and carrying it on. These I doubt not, are subjects of lamentation to a multi- tude of enlightened and pious Americans, as well as to the friends of the cause in our own country. When this public feeling becomes more general and intense than it is at present, we may hope that adequate re- medies will be applied. I am willing however to con- fess my own apprehension, that we shall never enjoy the full and cordial co-operation of America, in our efforts to extinguish the African slave trade, until she is herself emancipated from her canker within — I mean slavery in all its branches, and more especially her own domestic traffic in the bodies and souls of men. I am, &c. &c. LETTER XIV. RETURN TO AMERICA. Providence^ R. I. Seventh month (July) 3rd, 1840. My dear Friend, In order to bring our narrative to a satisfactory close, I must make a few remarks respecting our voy- age home, which none of our company are in much danger of forgetting. It was a time, generally speaking, of quiet enjoyment ; though we could not hut watch with some sorrow and anxiety, the apparent descent of our two invalids, towards " the valley of the shadow of death." Our course, for the first day, lay to the eastward, and gave us the opportunity of surveying a considerable part of the northern coast of Cuba. We obtained a good view of the entrance of the harbor of Matanzas, about fifty miles east of Havana. The mountains which rise behind it are of greater elevation than any land in Cuba, which we had before seen. One of them, remarkable for its square outline, recalls the idea of a loaf of bread, and is called, " El pan de Matanzas." We now took our last leave of Cuba, and turned towards the north-east, our course lying through the channel which separates the dangerous RETURN TO AMERICA. '223 shores of Florida, from the still more fatal rocks of the Bahama Islands. The wind was contrary, and we should have made slow progress, as we beat along from one side of the channel to another, had it not been for the Gulph stream, which some of us had, more than once, encountered as an enemy, but which now proved an effective friend, in impelling us for- ward, four knots in the hour, in our right course, by the mere force of its current. This stream, is by the mariners, technically called the " Gulph ;" and is re- markable for the frequent and sudden changes of weather to which it is perpetually liable. The follow- ing portrait of it, which served to amuse some of our company, is said to be quite accurate. Of all the creatures here below Or virtuous, or vicious, O Gulph of gulphs, full well we know, Thou art the most capricious. We have seen thee locked in a hopeless calm, And tossed with waves prodigious, We have felt thy gentle breeze's balm, And thy fitful blast litigious. We have shuddered at thy ugly frown, When all thy soul was spiteful, And have watched thy malice melting down, To radiant smiles delightful. One moment — all thy charm is gone, Thy looks are most distressing ; The next — thou hast (hy dimples on. Each sailor-boy caressing. We have stood aghast at thy leaden vest. Thy darksome shroud of mourning — In ultra-marine, we have seen thee dressed, The heaven and earth adorning. Thy bosom boils with love or hate, As thy restless passions waver ; Thy voice is the thunder of regal state. Or a gentle lady-like quaver. 224 ki:tl'rn to America. O Queen ! of Premier, under thy reign, Some conjuror holds the station ; His name, we take it, is Legerdemain, And tliine is Transmutation. Such are the notorious uncertainties of the Gulph Stream ; and in the channel through which we were now passing", seamen are often exposed to danger. Many a wreck takes phice on either side of it, and only a few days hefore our voyage, a vessel of consi- derahle size, was found hottom upwards, on the coast of Florida. For ourselves we passed along, though slowly, yet safely, and found leisure to reflect, that the shores, on either side, were marked hy circumstances of a most interesting character. As the low green coast, and keys of Florida, were gradually developed to our view, it was impossible not to mourn over the Seminole war, undertaken against the unhappy aborigines of the soil, in the support as we fear of slavery, conducted at an immense expense of blood and treasure, and now carried on (strange recurrence to ancient barba- rism !) by the help of blood-hounds. The subject, so afilicting in its own particular features, was of course connected in our minds with a general view of that melancholy topic, the maltreatment of the native In- dians of North America — witness the cruel banish- ment of the Cherokees of Georgia, and the projected expatriation of the Senecas of New- York, under the color of fraudulent treaties, and at the expense of every principle of justice and mercy. I am confident that thy sentiments on these subjects, are in perfect agreement with our own. RETURN TO AMERICA. 225 Our view of the Bahamas was a very distant one ; but it was enough to remind us of the excellent ac- counts which we had received, through Sir William Colebroke, of the favorable working of freedom in those islands. Sir William was their Governor, before he undertook the more important charge of the Lee- ward Islands ; and while we were with him in Anti- gua, he received from a friend whom he had left be- hind him, the accounts to which we allude. It appears that a large number of recaptured Africans are now settled, as free laborers, on the Island of New Provi- dence, and are conducting themselves well. The same may be said of the former slaves or apprentices, who are located chiefly on the outer islands of the group. Friendly societies, and other benevolent institutions, are prospering ; and/ree grown cotton is now produc- ed, in the Bahamas, under the care of the descendants of American loyalists, who settled in that colony, at the time of the revolution. I am reminded by this mention of the Bahamas, of our friend J. C. Calhoun's argument in the Senate, on the subject of the Comet, the Encomium, and the Enterprise, one of which vessels was, if I mistake not, driven by stress of weather, into a port of the Bermudas, and the other two wrecked on the Baha- mas — each containing American slaves, on their pas- sage from one of your slave states to another. As I have not his speech of which he kindly gave me a copy, now before me, I may not be accurate in my recollection of the particulars ; but I think that, in all the cases, the slaves were allowed by the British autho- rities of the islands, to avail themselves of the law of Q 22() RETURN TO AMERICA, the land, and to go free — that, after a long negocia- tion, compensation was made by our Government for those which were on board the Comet and Encomium, and refused for those in the Enterprise — and that this distinction was grounded on the circumstance that the two former cases had occurred before, and the last case, after the British act of Emancipation. J. C. Calhoun's argument on the subject, is both interest- ing and ingenious. In the first place he plainly shows it to be a settled point, in the law of nations, that when vessels belonging to any nation, are driven by stress of weather into the ports, or on to the coasts, of a friendly power, the agents of that power are bound to protect the property which they contain, and to deliver it up or make compensation for it, to its right- ful owners. He then argues that the law of nations cannot change with the municipal laws of individual states ; and therefore, that if Great Britain was bound by the above mentioned principle of international jurisprudence, to make compensation for wrecked American slaves, before her own act of Emancipation, she was equally bound to do so, after that act. All this is very clear ; but there is the previous question to be settled, whether the law of nations does in any case regard living human beings as the property of other persons. If it does, why is not England bound to restore to America, the runaway slaves who find their way into Canada ; and to France, the fugitives who come over on aloe-rafts from Gaudaloupe to Dominica ; and to Denmark, the happy beings who paddle across the water at night, from St. Thomas or St. John's, to free l^ortola.^ For my own part, I con- RETURN TO AMERICA. 227 ceive that the law of nations regards these persons as a third party ^ possessing distinct rights of their own. Professing, as it does, to derive its authority from the law of God, it is, in its own nature, incapable of giv- ing countenance to the notion, that rational human beings may be treated as dumb insensible chattels. If this is a correct view of the case, I think we must conclude that when Great Britain made compensation for the slaves wrecked in the Comet and Encomium, she acted, not in compliance with the law of nations, but merely out of shame ; because before her own act of emancipation, she was herself acknowledging the property of man in man. But no sooner was this act passed, than she rose to the level of the law of na- tions, in denying the rightful possibility of any such property. From that time forward, therefore, she had nothing more to do with making compensation, even to the dearest of her allies, for wrecked or runaway slaves. I trust that these remarks on subjects of high prac- tical importance, suggested by the circumstances of our voyage, will meet, on thy part, with the usual kind reception. But it was not our allotment to pass the whole of our time at sea, in easy pleas^ures and tran- quil reflections. On the 18th of the Fourth month, (April) when we were fifty miles south of Savan- nah, we were overtaken by a fearful storm. About eight o'clock in the evening, we observed some dark clouds over the horizon, and snmmer-like lightning playing to the North and West ; and the moon soon after rose of a blood red color. For some time we imagined that the clouds were gradually dispersing, Q 2 2'2S RETURN TO AMERICA. and vvc hoped thcit the electric fluid which was much diffused through the atmosphere, vvouhl afford us only a succession of beauties to admire. But after about two hours had elapsed, these hopes were annihilated. The clouds met over our heads, and veiled the moon in deep darkness ; the rain poured down in torrents ; the ship flew before the wind ; and awful flashes oF forked lightning, with thunder immediately following, gave ample proof that the weapons of" heaven's arti- lery" were nigh at hand — even at our doors. Never before had we witnessed such a war of the elements ; but our skilful captain had foreseen our trouble, and the well-prepared ship, vv'ith her smallest amount of canvass, moved along steadily. The discharges of light- ningjhoweverjandcrashesof thunder, becamemore and more tremendous, when suddenly the vessel received a terrible shock. Almost all the sailors were knocked down, and, as soon as they could find their feet, rushed into the cabin for safety ; one was dragged in, lightning struck, whether to live or die we knew not. The captain himself received a stroke which left black traces on his legs. Either a blazing rope, or the appearance of it in electric fluid, was seen falling on the deck ; a violent smell of sulphur assailed us ; both the upper and lower cabins were filled with smoke, and it was the general belief and cry, that the ship was on fire. At the same time the cook ran into the cabin, and told us that the hold of the ship (for we were in bal- last) was filling rapidly with water. Although our large company w^as preserved in a good measure of quietness, we could no longer conceal from ourselves that we were now in circumstances of extreme danger. RETURN TO AMERICA. 229 But beyond this climax we were not permitted to pass. The ship was searched, and no fire was discovered ; the water in the hold was found to have flowed only from the hatch-way; the sulphurous smell and smoke gradually vanished ; the storm, after raging for about an hour, rapidly subsided ; the sky became clear ; the moon regained her ascendancy ; our poor stricken sailor began to recover ; and we were left in quiet possession of ourselves — body and mind unhurt. The next morning we soon detected the effects of the lightning. The sails were pierced with holes, some boxes were demolished, a considerable piece of timber was forced out of the deck, the main-mast was crack- ed, and the maintop-gallant and royal yards, shivered. Surely we had cause for humble thankfulness to the God of nature and of grace — the Controller of storms and thunderbolts, and the Preserver of men. To us it was an agreeable circumstance, that the day after the storm, was the first of the week. At the appointed hour, the ship's company, including the sailors, assembled on deck under no common feelings of seriousness. The fortieth chapter of Isaiah was read to us. Thou wilt perhaps recollect that it begins with the exhortation, " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people ;" and ends with the cheering declaration, that ^' they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Afterwards the whole company fell into silence ; and during the solemn hour which en- sued, we were reminded of the Avords of the poet — 230 RETURN TO AMERICA. Unfathomable wonder, And mystery divine ; The voice that speaks in thunder, Says, Christian, I am thine. We were now on soundings, near the coast of (ieorgia, and, on the morrow, Fourth month (April) 20th, arrived in peace and safety, at the city of Savan- nah. So ended, just five months after its commence- ment, our instructive and interesting West Indian voyage. In concluding this series of letters, 1 feel disposed to remind thee of the declafation of scripture, that the " heavens and the earth" shall " wax old as a gar- ment," and that "as a vesture" God shall fold them up, and " they shall be changed." " All the host of heaven," says the prophet Isaiah, " shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll ; and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine^ and as the falling fig from the fig- tree." " But the day of the Lord," says the Apostle Peter, will come as a thief in the night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up." Again, " the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." Then, my dear friend, we shall all stand " be- fore the judgment seat of Christ." The steward shall render up the account of his stewardship ; and every one of US must receive, at the holy hands of the Judge of all iiesh, " according to the deeds done in his body, whether they be good, or whether they be bad." RETURN TO AMERICA. 231 Earnest and affectionate are my desires that the dis- tinguished individual to whom these letters are ad- dressed, may then be found to have cleared himself from all stain of slavery. Fervently do I crave that in that awful day, he may be known to have acted faithfully during his declining years, in promoting its total extinction, in all his several relations — first, as the head of a private family ; secondly, as the most influential individual in the state of Kentucky ; thirdly, as the enlightened statesman and patriot of the North American Federal Union; and lastly, as the friend of all mankind, the citizen of the world at large. Justly applicable to our whole race — to men of every coun- try, clime, and color — is the fundamental principle of your noble constitution, " All men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalien- able rights — among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." With much respect and deference, 1 now bid thee my last farewell. I am, &c. &c. APPENDIX A. Letter from Samuel and Mary Nottingham, of Bristol, to George Nottingham, one of the negroes belonging to the East End Plantation, at Long Look, in Tortola. Bristol, 30th of 9th month, 1782. Dear George, Thy letter of the 8th of last 6th month we received, which was well pleasing to us to hear of the present good disposition of thyself, and the rest of our late servants, whose welfare and hap- piness, both here and hereafter, we have much at heart. But we are sorry to hear of the removal of poor John Venture and Harry, though not without hopes of their partaking of that mercy which is extended to all, without respect of persons whether white or black ; so George, remember what we write to thee, we write to all of you who once called us Master and Mistress. But now you are all free, as far as it is in our power to make you so, because none are free indeed, except they are free in Christ; therefore we admonish you, not as your master and mistress, but as your friends and benefactors, beseeching you to be conscious of your conduct, and circumspect in your behaviour to all, that none may accuse you of abusing that freedom which we, in the course of Divine Providence, have been permitted to give you; remembering also, that as free men and women you are accountable for every part of your conduct, and must answer for the same on your own persons if you do amiss, in which case, the laws where you are, have provided a punishment according to the nature of the offence ; but do well and ye shall have praise of the 234 APPENDIX. same. And that you may be enabled to live honestly among men, we have given you our East End plantation in Fathog Bay, with every thing thereunto belonging, which we will endeavour to have secured to you by all lawful ways and means, that none may deprive you nor your offspring of it, but that you may freely cul- tivate and improve it, to your own benefit and advantage, and thereby be provided with a sufficient subsistence to live comfort- ably together in all friendliness and cordiality, assisting each other, that those more advanced in years may advise the younger, and these submit to the council of the elder, so that good order and harmony may be preserved among you, which will assuredly draw down the blessing of the Most High. But if you have not where-withal to cultivate and improve the plantation your- selves, we advise you to hire yourselves for a season, to whom you please, as also the plantation, if you think it necessary, till you acquire a sufficiency to go on yourselves : but in every step you take of this kind, always remember the good of the whole. And as soon as you can make a beginning on the plantation your- selves, with cotton and provisions, we by all means would have you to do it, that you may not be scattered and too much divid- ed, but endeavour to dwell together and be content with food and raiment, and a blessing will certainly attend you, under the influence of such a disposition. Tell Dorcas Vanterpool we are much obliged to her for her friendly care and attendance of poor John Venture and Harry, during their sickness. We shall be pleased to hear how you go on by any opportunity, and that you cautiously maintain a good report among the neighbours, live in love among yourselves : and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will assuredly be with you and yours, which we earnestly desire and pray for, being your sincere friends and well- wishers. Samuel Nottingham, Mary Nottingham. APPENDIX B. Letter from Dr. Davy, Custos of Manchester, addressed to S. W. Grant, stipendiary magistrate. Devon Penn^ August 20th, 1839. " Sir, — You ask my opinion as to the state of things at the expiration of the first year of freedom. I give it with much satisfaction, because I, from the first, had favorable anticipations ; the result, so far as my observation and experience extend, has issued in a far greater measure of success than I hoped, or con- sidered possible. " When I consider how general the impression was, that during the first year nothing would be done by the laborers — that, in fact, the crops would be lost; when I remember with what confidence, confusion and outrage were predicted, and thefts and all kinds of crime were anticipated ; when I contrast these impressions and these anticipations of evil, with the actual state of things at the present moment, I feel justified in asserting, that whether it be tested by the best hopes of the most sanguine, or by the worst fears of the most desponding, an unexpected measure of success has attended the first year of freedom. " I speak of circumstances which have come under my own observation, and I am bound to say that the conduct of the peasantry has been most exemplary — their demeanor is most re- spectful — and their moral improvement most striking. " The records of our local courts, and of our courts of quarter sessions, prove an extraordinary diminution of crime. " In my intercourse with them, I fin«d them honest in their 236 APPENDIX. dealings, faithful and diligent in the perf'orniantc of their duties, and the f'ulfihiient of their contracts. " With respect to the labor performed, 1 verily believe that more labor has been done, but by fewer hands, than during the latter part of the apprenticeship. Properties are not only cleaner, than they were at the corresponding period last year, but I be- lieve pruning has been very generally effected. " With reference to property under my immediate superintend- ence, work has been completed which could not have been at- tempted. In addition to pruning and cleaning coffee, I have been able to build and rebuild stone walls, to clean pastures, and to reopen those that had gone into a state of ruinate. " In the payment of rent, I find the people honest and punc- tual. This is a matter which (as might have been expected) created some confusion and misunderstanding at first, but I be- lieve now there are few instances where it is made a money charge on fair and legal terms, that much difficulty is experienced in its collection. " Under these circumstances, I hesitate not to say that much, very much, has already been gained by the abandonment of the apprenticeship, and the substitution of unrestricted freedom, and that if we continue to progress in the same ratio, people will be compelled to rejoice in the change. " It may not be useless to observe under what disadvantages, whatever of success has attended the past year, has been obtained. Political disputes with the mother country have agitated the pro- prietary body, and calumnies the most groundless, and vituper- ation the most violent, have been directed against the laborers, who, in the absence of effective laws or physical force to direct or restrain them, have conducted themselves in a quiet, peaceable, and honest manner." N. B. The favourable views expressed as above, by Dr. Davy, in the eighth month, 1839, continued unchanged in the spring of 1840. ^ APPENDIX C. RECONCILIATION, Respectfully recommended to all parties in the Colony of Jamaica f in a Letter addressed to the Planters. The prosperity of Jamaica is unquestionably an object of equally deep interest to persons, in other respects, of very dif- ferent views — persons who are ranged on opposite sides of poli- tics even at the present time, and who, during the agitation of the great question of the abolition of British colonial slavery, were often brought into severe conflict with each other. Those were days of peculiar excitement ; and it is possible that on both sides of the question, ruffled temper may sometimes have led to angry and extravagant expression, and even to exagge- rated statement. But on a calm review of the system which is now happily exterminated, I presume we are all prepared to allow that, both in its origin and operation, it was opposed to the rule of right— —that although often kindly conducted, it was liable to fearful occasional abuse — and that a deliverance from it is a blessing, in various important respects, to all the parties concerned. As matters now stand, it is surely desirable that slavery, with its whole vocabulary, and with all the angry feeHngs to which it gave rise, should, so far as relates to the British colonies, be buried in oblivion, and that Jamaica should hereafter be treated 238 APPENDIX. and thought of only as a colony of free men, of different com- plexions indeed, but of equal rights and privileges, as citizens of the British empire. This grand truth being in the first place settled — fully and freely acknowledged and appreciated — it fol- lows, as a clear consequence, that all classes of the community ought now to unite, heart and hand, in promoting the prosperity of this noble colony. Prosperity is a word of large meaning ; — it embraces the intellectual, moral, and spiritual, as well as temporal welfare of the people ; but for the present I confine my remarks to tem- poral welfare. All parties ought now to unite in promoting the coming of the day (as I believe not far distant, for we already see the dawn of it) when the merchantmen which frequent the harbors of Jamaica shall be multiplied — when her staple pro- ductions of sufjar and coffee shall more than recover their former amount — when abundance of free-grown cotton shall be added to the list — when vegetable provisions shall be poured forth, at a cheap rate, from the mountains into the towns — when flocks of sheep, as well as yet larger herds of oxen and kine, shall cover the pastures — when, in fact, one of the most favored and delightful spots on the globe, shall be distinguished by a corresponding superiority in the wealth and substantial comfort of its inhabitants. This great object cannot be otherwise than interesting—. Firsts to the planters, whether residents on the island or absen- tees, whether proprietors of the soil, or tenants of estates, or man- agers only of the property of others. Their profits obviously depend on the success of our great experiment — on the realizing of the desired result. Secondly, to the merchants and storekeepers. The thrift of these persons depends on the thrift of others — their increase of wealth, on a corresponding increase of it throughout the popur lation. APPENDIX. 239 Thirdly^ to the laborers. To speak of the prosperity of Ja- maica, is chiefly to speak of their prosperity, for they and their famiHes constitute nine-tenths of the whole community. It is delightful to believe that their domestic comforts are increased and increasing, or rather multiplied and multiplying, under free- dom — most gratifying to visit their little freeholds in many parts of the island, and to know that even now, as a body, they are by no means destitute of wealth. But experience amply proves, that by far the surest resource, for the maintenance, and improve- ment of these privileges, is regular wages for regular work. Upon the prosperity of their employers, therefore, essentially de- pends their own. Fourthly^ and lastly, to the abolitionists — to those of every rank and class, who long, pray, and labor, for the extinction of slavery all the world over. The eyes of France, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and above all. North America, are fixed on the British West-Indian colonies, and chiefly on Jamaica. It is of primary importance to the cause of freedom under all these governments, that Jamaica should prosper. I mean, prosper pecuniarily. It is in vain that we address arguments on the plea of moral or religious principle alone, to persons who have long been habituated to slaveholding, as part and parcel of their circumstances, and almost of their existence. We must at the same time make an appeal to their self-interest. We must prove, by the example of such a region as Jamaica, that free labor is more economical and productive than slave labor, and that the just and equal liberty of all the citizens of a state, has an unfail- ing tendency to increase its wealth. If the view now taken is correct — and I believe it cannot be disputed — it certainly follows that planters, merchants, laborers, and philanthropists, are bound by the most obvious principles of reason and common sense, to unite their efforts in promoting the prosperity of Jamaica. 210 APPENDIX. There is, however, a specific point wliich, at the present time, pecuHarly demands such an union of effort. I mean the preven- tion of the proposed equalization of the sugar duties. The duty now levied in England, on sugars not produced in our own colo- nies, amounts to a prohibition ; and thus the whole market of our country is open exclusively to the sugar growers of those co- lonies. Once equalize that prohibitory duty with the lower duty charged on the sugar produced in these islands, and immediately there will be a vast influx into Great Britain and Ireland, of the sugars of Cuba, Brazil, Louisiana, &c. The inevitable con- sequence will be that the sugars of Jamaica will lose their mar- ket, or will fall to a price which cannot remunerate the planter. The next link in the chain of disaster will be a large one. The planter will withdraw from the production of sugar, and will un- dergo great difficulty in his attempts to apply his grounds and apparatus to any other purpose. In the meantime the laborer will lose his employment and his wages ; the merchant and shop- keeper will find their resources of profit suddenly cut off; and, lastly, the abolitionist will discover, to his dismay, that a fresh impetus of vast force is given to slavery and the slave-trade, by the opening of a new market of incalculable value, to the produ- cers of slave-grown sugar. Let not the reader for a moment imagine that this view of the effect of the proposed equalization, is grounded on the notion that slave labor is superior, in point of cheapness, to free labor. Abundant are the evidences which have been afforded me, both here and in other islands of the West Indies, that the contrary is the fact. But there is a vast difference in different regions, as to the capacity of producing sugar at a cheap rate ; and long before freedom was enacted, the protecting duties were in force, to prevent a ruinous competition between the sugars of Jamaica, &c., and the cheaper article pro- duced in Cuba and elsewhere. There is said to be a great saving to the colonists of Cuba and Porto Rico, in the expense RECONCILIATION. 241 of producing sugar, not only from the peculiar nature of the soil, which requires for its cultivation a comparatively small amount of labor, but from the inexpensive character of their buildings and works; also from the circumstance that the proprietors are gene- rally resident on the spot; and there is reason to believe that these persons are satisfied with a lower rate of profit than falls to the lot of the British proprietor. When the energies of freedom are fully developed, they will, I trust, enable Jamaica to cope even with those natural inequalities, which, at present, give an advantage to other sugar-growing regions. In the mean time it is evidently incumbent on the planters and the abolitionists, to lay aside their former jealousies, and to unite in petitioning parliament against the proposed equalization. Their joint appeal, supported as it obviously is by the common principles of justice, as well as those of mercy, could scarcely fail to be effectual. With regard to the laborers, they ought to be informed how greatly the success of such an appeal must depend upon their exertions. The consequence of a diminished supply of sugar from our colonies, is the undue rise of the price of the article at home. Then follows, on the part of the vast manu- facturing and agricultural population, a most natural clamor for cheap sugar ; and from that clamor may as naturally arise a yielding on the part of our rulers, and, finally, the equalization of the duties, with all its fearful results. Here then is a stimu- lus to continuous labor in the production of sugar, which may most legitimately be brought home to the understanding and feehng of every peasant in the West Indies. I am confident that thousands of them in Jamaica, would prove themselves to be very much alive to such a stimulus. They are not only watchful over their own interests, but know how to feel for the woes of their brethren in other parts of the world. In thus stating the grounds on which I feel the necessity of a hearty union of all parties in Jamaica, in promoting the temporal welfare of the island, I am far from intending to insinuate that R 242 APPENDIX. the elements of prosperity in this colony arc not already power- fully at work. That they are at work, under the sway of free- dom, to an extent, and with an energy, which will soon produce conspicuous results, I have not the smallest doubt. Numerous are the acknowledgments which I have myself received from planters, both of sugar and coffee, that the present diminution of produce on their estates has arisen from causes which have now ceased, or are subsiding ; and that they arc looking forward to a decided increase of production for the future. In the mean time, new houses are building, new villages appearing, the towns im- proving, trade increasing, the mass of the population flourishing, the imports nearly doubling themselves, property rising in value, and the cultivated parts of the country wearing an appearance of cleanliness and order, in connection with fair crops, which be- speaks any thing rather than decay and ruin. These indications are exceedingly cheering. At the same time it cannot be denied that many parts of Jamaica are still grievously perplexed by the want of a good understanding between parties, i. e. between the planters on the one hand, and the laborers and their supporters and advisers (call them, if you please, the abolitionists) on the other. What then can be more obviously desirable, than the re- moval of all misunderstandings, and a perfect and absolute recon- ciliation between these parties ? That matters in this respect are already ameliorated, cannot be doubted. The silent influence of a common interest has already been found efficacious, to a great extent, in quelling the heats of passion and prejudice, and in inducing better feelings and juster views of each other, both in masters and servants. But mischief is still at work ; and the discord which continues to subsist must cease and be extinguished, before Jamaica can prosper in the degree which her unquestion- able resources fairly lead us to anticipate. Now, In order to this perfect reconciliation and good under- standing, we must all endeavor to lay aside the feelings of pre- RECONCILIATION. 243 judlce and animosity ; to bear and forbear one with ai^pther, and to put the best construction in our power on each other's actions. But deeply as I feel the importance of such a course, nothing is farther from my view than to recommend concessions of prin- ciple. The more I reflect on the subject, the more satisfied I am that such concessions would only involve an increase of per- plexity and distress. The rule of right is the rule of safety, and the road to peace. The ground for that unity of purpose and action, which would so greatly promote the prosperity of this colony, must be laid in those broad principles which none can deny, and must be cleared by the removal of all infractions of pure justice, in whatsoever quarter these may have arisen, and in whatsoever direction they may be operating. Since my lot has been cast on this island, I have taken many opportunities, in large public assemblies of the people, of im- pressing upon the peasantry the Christian duty of rendering unto all men their due ; and especially of giving fair work for fair waffes. I have endeavored to show them that this fair work, which justice requires at their hands, is not only work well per- formed in the detail, but that measure of continuous labor for which their services are hired, and which they know to be neces- sary in the cultivation of the staple articles exported from this colony. I must do them the justice to say that, so far as my observation has extended, they are alive to this moral view of the case; for I have with pleasure observed that these sentiments, when fairly laid before them, have met, on their parts, with an intelligent and friendly acquiescence. I wish to avoid any ex- aggerated statement on this subject ; but from the numerous tes- timonies which 1 have received, from most respectable members of your body, I think I am justified in the conclusion, that the peasantry of this island have a better understanding now, than they had a year ago, of their true position, and of the duties re- quired at their hands ; and that, for the most part, they are R 2 244 APPENDIX. working, both on tlic sugar and coffee estates, to the increasing satisfaction of their employers. I have lately been engaged in a visit to several of the islands to the windward — Tortola, St. Christopher's, Antigua, and Dominica; and I am happy to in- form you that in these and the neighboring islands, the peasantry are working well — I may almost say, without any exception. I trust that the same good report may now be made, to a very great extent, of the people of Jamaica ; and that the exceptions which still exist, may be traced to peculiar circumstances which will soon disappear and be forgotten. In the mean time, I con- sider it to be a duty incumbent on all pastors and teachers of the laboring class, whether Churchmen or Dissenters, to impress upon their minds their moral obligations as cultivators of the soil ; to explain to them on what grounds, and in what way, they are required, in the sight of the Judge of all flesh, to render to their employers, ya^> work for fair wages. Having thus stated fully the view which I take of the justice of the case, as it relates to the laborers, I am confident you will kindly bear with me, while I endeavor to develop what I believe to be the rule of right, as it regards the landoM'ner, the planter, the employer. I make this attempt under the feelings of respect and Christian charity, and with ardent good wishes for your tem- poral, as well as spiritual welfare. We all know that the abolition of slavery, by the imperial act of emancipation, was total, that it bestows upon the people once in bonds an absolute freedom — a perfect equality, in point of civil right, with the other subjects of the British empire. Since this act has become the law of the empire, all the Queen's sub- jects are bound, on moral and Christian principle, to maintain its grand provisions, and to abstain from all contravention of them in practice. It cannot, I trust, be offensive on my part, to ob- serve that this moral obligation rests, in full force, upon the planters of our West Indian colonies, not only on the general ground of subjection to the laws of the empire, but on the specific ground, RECONCILIATION. 243 also, of their having received twenty millions of pounds sterling from the public purse, as a compensation for their slaves. I just take the liberty of stating, in passing, that so far as my little in- fluence extended, I was never opposed to that liberal grant of money, and I may say the same of some intimate friends and connections of mine, well known as friends to the abolition of slavery, in the British parliament. Now the very essence of slavery is compulsory labor. I apprehend that I can make no mistake in asserting that all attempts to compel labor, be they weak, or be they stringent, be they temperate, or be they violent, are opposed to the true meaning and purpose of the act of emancipation, and to the principles of justice as they bear on the circumstances of the case. One of the methods which has been resorted to in this island, for compelling work, is the mixture of the question of tenure with that of labor ; and I am confident that a little calm reflec- tion will serve to convince any man, that such a mixture is not only at variance with the common-place rules of political economy, but also with the rule of right. It is a system which classes under slavery, and is in its nature opposed to that law of liberty in which, I trust, we all now rejoice. Allow me to explain myself. A planter of Jamaica, at the close of the apprenticeship — the date of full freedom by law — finds himself in possession of a number of cottages and provi- sion-grounds, occupied by certain freemen, who, I suppose, in such a case, might be regarded as tenants at will. Allowing some short interval for the almost inevitable temporary unsettle- ment, it must soon become evident that something is due to the planter, in return for such tenancy. — Now, what is that some- thing, according to universal principles which regulate the rela- tions of landlord and tenant ? Certainly not labor — much less a personal restriction to work on a particular spot — but a fair rent — such a rent as represents the true money value of the property 246 APPENDIX. tenanted. This is tlic only quid pro quo, as I conceive, wliich justice can demand on tlie occasion. To require of the tenant the regular payment of such a rent, and legally to eject in case of the non-payment of it, are neither of tlicm proceedings to vvliich any reasonable objection can be urged. But to require not merely that the tenant should pay rent, but that he should work on a certain estate, at a certain rate of wages, and for a certain number of days in the week, and to eject him if these latter provisions arc not complied with — appears to me to be unjust in principle — a recurrence, as far as it goes, to the old system of slavery. It is the compelling of labor by a penal infliction. I presume that ejectments from tenements on the ground now mentioned, cannot be legal ; and it appears that the object has, in many cases, been effected by manual force. Cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees have been felled — cottages have been unroofed and sometimes demolished — pigs have been shot — provision- grounds have been destroyed — the pleasant fruit of God's earth uprooted by the rude hand of violence, or trodden under foot of oxen. I conceive that such acts of spoliation are, in point of fact, nothing more or less than substitutes for the cart-whip. Notorious as the facts are to which I have now alluded, I men- tion them, because necessary to be mentioned, and with no other than Christian feelings towards those who have perpetrated them. Sure I am, that such proceedings must be abhorrent to the feel- ings of the generality of those persons whom I am now address- ing, as well as to my own. Another method of compelling labor has been the arbitrary increase of rents, with distraint, imprisonment, and ejection in the train, in case of their not being paid. A laborer on a cer- tain estate is under an agreement with its manager, to pay two shillings sterling per week as rent for his house and ground. Some cause of dispute and dissatisfaction arises with regard to his labor, and the rent is immediately raised, by way of penal RECONCILIATION. 247 exaction, to twice, thrice, or four times the amount ; or, strange to sai/i it is demanded for his wife and each of his children, respectively, as well as for himself. He of course is unable to pay it. Complaint is made against him by the overseer to some of the magistrates in the neighborhood ; the debt is adjudicated to be a valid one ; his goods are distrained ; and if there be a deficiency, in the amount thus levied, to pay the debt and the fees, he is imprisoned for ten days. But this is not all ; after he has been discharged, the remainder of the debt still hangs over his head, and whenever his petty articles of comfort and conveni- ence again accumulate, he may be exposed to another distraint. In case of his removing any of his goods to avoid the eftect of this second seizure, he is liable as a fraudulent debtor to impri- sonment, at the discretion of the magistrates, for any term not exceeding three months ; and any members of his family who assist him in so doing may be subjected to the same punishment. Now all this is monstrous. It is a screw of prodigious power, of which the obvious application is to compel labor, or in other words to reduce freemen, a second time, to slavery. I can easily believe that the individuals who have resorted to this system of penal and fictitious rents, have met with their difficulties and provocations ; but I am ready to believe that a calm review of the subject, has already convinced some of them that such exactions serve no good purpose — that they are wrong in principle, and calamitous, in their results, to all the parties concerned. I do not consider it to be my province to enter into a discus- sion of the laws which have been enacted in this colony, during the last few months ; but I cannot with a good conscience refrain from expressing my own opinion, that some of these provisions have an unfavorable bearing on the cause of equal rights and unrestricted freedom. It is unquestionable that the act for the recovery of petty debts, affords great facilities for the fine of pro- ceeding which I have now described. On visiting the gaol of 248 APPENDIX. one of tlic parishes, a few days since, I was alarmed by observ- ing, that whereas the number of debtors confined in it, during the whole of 1839, was only 12 ; more than double that number, viz. 25, had passed through that prison since the commencement of 1840 — that is, in a little more than two months. Of these, 16 were rent cases, under the petty debt act. If is such the operation of this act in a single parish, what must it be in the whole of Jamaica ? Are we to forget that to cast a free laborer into prison — even for ten days — is to break down his respecta- bility, and to undermine his moral worth, as a citizen of the state ? I own I tremble, when I look at the too probable case of a free laborer who cannot agree with his master respecting the terras and duration of his weekly labor. He may be charged one of these penal and fictitious rents. Under the petty debt act he may be despoiled of his goods, and imprisoned for a short period. Driven from his home by repeated vexations, or legally expelled from it by his employer, he may be found traversing the country in search of a new location, or sleeping at night on the road's side, in the open air. Under the police act, he may then be questioned and seized by an armed watchman ; and finally, under the vagrant act, he may be punished with sixty days' im- prisonment, and hard labor in a penal gang. If these things are so, what is his alternative ? It is to yield to the compulsion, to comply with the requirements of his employer, and to labor against his own free-will, for such wages, and for so many days and hours in the week, as his master may see fit to dictate. This surely is a perfect contravention of the intent and purpose of the imperial act of emancipation. In plain English, it is slavery. That these laws may serve some good purposes, is probable ; that the design of those who framed them may have been good, I am quite willing to suppose ; but that they are capable of an abuse most dangerous to the cause of justice and liberty, and therefore to the tranquillity and welfare of Jamaica, is to me a RECONCILIATION. 249 point which admits of little question. Most earnestly do I crave the watchful care of all persons of influence in the island, in guarding against that abuse. Once suffer it to prevail, and our bright and pleasant hopes of the prosperity of Jamaica are dashed to the ground. The injustice of attempts to compel the labor of freemen, is equalled only by its impolicy. The estates on which they have been practised, are precisely those which are the most exposed to perplexity, desertion, and decay. On the contrary, where rent and wages have been kept entirely distinct, and have each been settled at a fair market value, ease and prosperity have, in gene- ral, been the happy consequence. Little difficulties may indeed have occasionally arisen ; but these have been overborne by the superior influence of wholesome and undeniable practical princi- ples. Am I wrong in venturing upon the assertion, that wherever the laborers have been fairly^ kindly, and wisely treated, there they have been working well, and all things prosper ? Certainly, my friends, there is a native virtue in universal freedom, which, when suffered to act without restriction, and under the blessing of Divine Providence, cannot fail to diffuse innumerable advan- tages, and to make a very wilderness of thorns and briars *' blossom as the rose." Taking it for granted then, that both justice and policy dic- tate a total surrender of every contrivance to compel the labor of the peasantry, what are the means of which we are left in possession for procuring that labor ? I answer : First of all — fair though not extravagant wages, paid with undeviating regularity, at a stated hour, once every week, and paid without any reference whatsoever to rent. The more I inquire into the difficulties which have arisen on some properties in Jamaica, the stronger is my conviction of the im- portance of the regular and frequent payment of wages. A credit in account has a much weaker influence as a stimulus to action, especially on uneducated minds, than money placed in the hand. 250 APPENDIX. Lately emerged as they arc from a state of slavery, the laborers of Jamaica may at present be unduly prone to feelings of suspicion. This want of confidence, arising so naturally out of their circum- stances, may greatly undermine the influence of wages, as a sti- mulus to labor, when paid irregularly, or at long intervals. It is of primary importance, for the correction of this want of confi- dence, and for a corresponding certainty in obtaining continuous work, that as soon as his silver bits can be legally demanded by the laborer, so soon they should be willingly and regularly placed in his hands. Secondly — task or piece work. I have enjoyed the satisfac- tion of observing the admirable effect of this arrangement of labor in other islands, especially in Antigua and Dominica; and I am heartily glad to find, that it is increasingly prevalent in Jamaica. It is most desirable for the master — enabling him to obtain his work, at the same ultimate expense as by day- wages, and with greater ease, from fewer hands, and in a shorter period of time. It is equally desirable for the laborer, who doubles his wages by it. It is, in fact, a point of settlement and rest for both parties. Thirdly — leasehold and freehold settlements for the laborers. Nothing has yielded me more satisfaction, in this and other islands, than visiting the newly settled free villages^ which are now becoming increasingly common. I have found industrious families, inhabiting creditable houses, built by their own hands, and surrounded by small plots of land well cultivated with provi- sions; the whole occupation being their own purchased freehold. I have uniformly inquired whether they still work for wages on the neighboring estates, and with a single exception, arising out of a peculiar circumstance, I have received a clear affirmative an- swer. Here the laborers are perfectly independent ; and they work for wages on the estates, for the obvious and sufficient rea- son, that it is their interest to do so. RECONCILIATION. 251 Now I venture to suggest that the same system might be most beneficially applied within the compass of particular estates. 1 hold that it would be wise and prudent, on the part of planters, to give to their laborers an independent settlement, within the bounds of their own properties. This object might be effected in two ways — either by leasing to them their houses and provision- grounds on a moderate rental for a suitable term — say, not less than three years ; or, what would be still better, by selHng them freeholds, large enough for their convenience, but not so large as to divert their attention from daily labor on the estate. I have rejoiced to hear that this plan has been adopted by several proprietors, who have ordered a number of comfortable cottages to be built on their estates, and then to be let or sold, with one or two-acre plots of ground, to the laborers. There can be little doubt of their securing, by this means, a population at home which will at all times afford them a sufficiency of labor. I am aware that this arrangement requires a decided confidence in the laborer, on the part of the master. But this confidence will not fail to excite a corresponding feeling in the mind of the former ; it will be sure to meet with its abundant reward. Fourthly and lastly. Christian education. I am not ignorant of the cry which was once raised, and which is still sometimes heard, in this country, against many serious and devoted ministers of religion, of various denominations. But I am persuaded that a better feeling towards them is gradually diffusing itself. Cer- tain it is, that in those districts of the country where Christian education is going forward, and a decided religious influence is extended over the people, we find the greatest degree of intelli- gence, order, comfort, and industry. The principles of our holy rehgion are in fact, the only radical cure for the vices, follies, and consequent miseries of mankind. Fervently is it to be desired, that men of all parties in Jamaica may cordially embrace those principles themselves, and as cordially endeavor to diffuse them among others. This is the soundest wisdom, temporally and 255:^ APPENDIX. politically, as well as spiritually. This is the surest of all path- ways to peace and prosperity. I heartily hope that the hints which I have so freely thrown out, in this address, will meet with a calm consideration, and kind reception. They arc dictated by no party spirit, but by the feeling of sincere good will for all classes of the people in this delightful island. The views v;hich I have endeavoured to lay before you are practical, and if fairly acted on, would, as I believe, be found beneficial to the whole community. In the mean time may we all " put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." " Charity sufFereth long and is kind ; charity envieth not ; vaunteth not herself; is not puffed up ; doth not behave herself unseemly ; is not easily provoked ; seeketh not her own ; re- joiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, &c." That this cardinal virtue may spread through the length and breadth of Jamaica, Is the hearty desire and prayer of your Sincere friend and well-wisher, Joseph John Gurney. APPENDIX D. FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS On a speech lately delivered to the Senate of the United States, by Henry Clay, of Kentucky^ on the subject of the abolition of North American slavery. It is to me a matter of regret and astonishment that so en- lightened a statesman as Henry Clay, of Kentucky, can treat as a " visionary dogma," and " speculative abstraction," the simple, yet sacred proposition, that man cannot hold a property in his fellow man. Familiar as this gentleman must be with the distinction between de facto and de jure, he must surely have been aware that when tried by the former test — that of actual practice — such a proposi- tion is no philosophical refinement, but a mere falsehood. Every one knows, that in point of fact, man is, to an enormous extent, held as the property of his fellow man ; for example, in Russia, in connection with despotism, and in many of the United States, in connection with democracy. lu both these instances, man — immortal, rational man — is reduced to the condition of a chattel — may be bought, sold, mortgaged, bequeathed by will, given over as security for debts, &c. &c. Farther than this, it must be freely acknowledged, that so far as human laws are concerned, the de facto, in reference to this portentous subject, is supported by the de jure ; since the property of man in his fellow man, is amply recognised — sanctioned, though not as this statesman would 254 APPENDIX. liave it, " sanctifictl" — by the laws of the empire and of tlic states, to which I have now alluded. But when we treat tlic subject with a sole reference to the de jure, and take the de jure in its highest sense, as relating to the principles of justice, the immutable law of God, then the proposi- tion that man cannot hold a property in his fellow man, is neither a speculative abstraction, nor a falsehood; but an unquestionable and irrefragable truth. We may safely appeal to the voice of Almighty God heard in every rational bosom, when we assert that every man has a pro- perty in his own person, by the best of all possible titles — the immediate gift of God ; and farther, that this property is unalien- able, and cannot be contravened by the claims of any other man, who holds Ilia brother as a chattel, by virtue of arbitrary power, or merely human law. When a slave makes his escape from bondage, no one can with any show of reason, pretend that he thereby robs his master. For, although the master has a pro- perty in the slave under the sanction of human law, the slave's property in himself rests on the unquestionably superior ground of the law of nature — that is, the law of God. The individual who restores a runaway slave to his master, contrary to the will of the slave, sacrifices the greater to the lesser right. The individual who refuses so to restore him, may be prompted by feelings of benevolence, but the only stable basis of such a line of conduct, is a preference of the claims of eternal rectitude, to those of merely human law. Henry Clay divides the friends of abolition into three classes. His first class consists of persons who " from sentiments of phi- lanthropy and humanity are conscientiously opposed to slavery, but who are no less opposed, at the same time, to any disturbance of the peace and tranquillity of the Union." In this class he in- cludes the Society of Friends, " one of whose estabhshed maxims •is, an abhorrence of war, in all its forras, and the cultivation of peace and good will amongst mankind." To this class I belong. FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 255 I am utterly opposed to war in all its forms. I heartily desire to cultivate peace and good will amongst all mankind; and though I am not an American citizen, I admire the federal union of this great country, and cordially desire its unbroken permanence, and continued and increased prosperity. Nevertheless, I wish it to be understood that my conscientious objection to slavery is pri- marily grounded, not on sentiments of philanthropy and humanity, but on a conviction that slavery is opposed to the eternal rule of right. The question in my view, is Jtrst, one of justice and truth, and secondly, one of mercy and kindness. No religious society can insist on philanthropy and benefi- cence in its members, for these are voluntary virtues, which in- dividuals must exercise in such a manner, and in such a measure, as they may deem right for themselves. But every religious society has an undoubted claim on its members for an adherence to immutable justice; and this is the ground, as I conceive, of the well known provision which has been so long enforced by the Society of Friends, that no person who holds slaves may retain his right of membership in the body. Thus, for a long period of years, that Society has cleared itself of a participation in the sin of slavery. Would that the same harmless and unexceptionable testimony against this enormous wrong, were borne by every de- nomination of Christians in this country ! When I speak of the eternal rule of right, I have reference to the law of God as it is universally made known to mankind, by a measure of the light of the Holy Spirit — a law which, as Cicero has well observed, is the same in all places, and at all times — incapable of being changed or abrogated — permanent and omnipresent, like the God from whom it comes. ^ I do not, however, forget that this divine law is plainly writ- ten in the pages of Scripture, and that its holy principles are un- folded, in all the maturity of their strength and beauty, under the ^ De Repub. — Quoted by Lactantius. 250 APPENDIX. gospel dispensation, and in tlic volume of the New Testament. The code of Christianity is a code of purity and love. It pro- claims tlie necessity of departing from every infraction cither of justice or hcncvolence. Without making any precise mention either of war or slavery, it destroys them both at the root. It teaches us that all men every where — men of every character, country, and color — are our neighbors, and under this most com- prehensive interpretation of the vi^ord " neighbor," it republishes the ancient precept, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." It institutes the golden rule, " Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them." Here is the true seed, here is the germinating principle of the abolition of slavery I But how greatly is the strength of this principle increased, when we call to mind the grand fundamental truths of the gospel — that the Son of God became incarnate, and died on the cross, a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of all mankind — that life and salvation are equally offered to all of every name who believe in Him — that all such are our brethren and sisters in Christ the Saviour ! Let Christianity spread her genial influence over the face of society without hindrance and without compromise, and slavery must cease. The religion of Jesus in its unfettered oper- ation, and an institution under which man is treated as the pro- perty or chattel of his brother, cannot coexist. I am aware that my knowledge of the constitution and laws of the federal government of the United States, when compared with that of the Senator of Kentucky, is as nothing ; but I own I was greatly startled by that gentleman's assertion, as reported in the newspapers, that not only under all the state constitutions and governments, but under the federal government itself, "ne- gro slaves have been deliberately and solemnly recognised as the legitimate subjects of property." One would hope that this noble federal government — the nation as a nation — has not so com- .;mitted herself. If such a committal has taken place, in any of the laws of the United States, it is surely at variance with that FREE AND FJUENDLY REMARKS. 257 care to avoid it, which evidently marked the formation of tlie censtitution, and the early legislation of Congress. This care is, to my appi-ehension, remarkably, evinced by the provision of the Constitution respecting runaway slaves ; " No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor is due." — • Art. iv, 3. It is obvious that in this provision, there is a pointed avoid- ance of any reference to the notion of a property of man in man. The whole affair is thrown upon " service or labor ;" and the same care is observable in the Act of Congress dated February 12th, 1793, " respecting fugitives from justice, and persons es- caping from the service of their masters." In point of fact, the grand principle, that the property of man in man cannot exist de jure, had been previously settled by a master stroke of justice, sublime in its own simplicity, in the Declaration of Independ- ence ; — " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these ore life, liber- ty, and the pursuit of happiness^'' If God has created all men equal, and every man has an ina- lienable right to his own life and liberty, and if these are self- evident truths, it certainly follows that the holding of our fellow men as our property, to be disposed of according to our own will and pleasure, is a frightful anomaly, radically opposed to the laws of nature and of God. I am aware that the fraraers of the fede- ral government of this country were, some of them, involved in slaveholding, and that they left the question of slavery to be ad- justed by the several states, according to the decision of their respective legislatures. It is matter of deep regret that they were so far induced to connive at slavery ; for the first establish- ment of the Union, on the express ground of the equal rights of S 258 APPENDIX. all men, would seem to have afforded a golden opportunity for the entire extinction of this evil. It is nevertheless ahundantly evi- dent, that in the view of these enlightened persons, the proposition that man cannot laivfully hold a property in man, was no " visionary dogma" or " speculative abstraction," but a sacred truth — a truth which, in the formation of the constitution, they openly embraced as absolutely fundamental. A departure from the eternal rule of right — whether it be by individuals or by bodies politic — can never fail to be productive of evil results. Notwithstanding the praises which some persons in the present day lavish on slavery,^ no impartial person can deny that this remark applies, with full force, to that unchristian in- stitution. When I recollect the liabilities to personal cruelty, of which such a system can never be divested — the tyranny which is at least the occasional companion of a perfectly arbitrary power of man over man — the sale of human beings at auction — the stow- age of them in negro jails — the frequent and violent separation of families — the systematic exclusion of the slaves from all lite- rary education, and from the opportunity of reading the bible for themselves — the ruin of immense tracts of once fertile land, un- der the baneful influence of slave labor — and the demoralization both of the black and white population, which is so notorious an ac- companiment of the system, I cannot possibly conceal from myself — I am sure that Henry Clay cannot conceal from himself- — that slavery, and slavery as it exists in the United States, is a tremendous evil, productive of most dangerous and baneful results. And how awful does the view of the subject become — how por- ' I lately observed a paragraph in one of the newspapers published in Richmond, Va., in which slavery is declared to be a peculiar blessing, cal- culated to afford to the blacks the greatest degree of happiness of which they are capable, and equally adapted to the development of the best faculties of the whites. Is it possible that such a sentiment can be seri- ously entertained by any of the citizens of free and enlightened North America ? FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 259 tentous does the dark cloud appear, which impends over the pros- perity of this great country — when we are informed, on so un- questionable an authority as that of Henry Clay, that the slave population of the United States now amounts to three millions ! Three millions of beings endued like ourselves with intellectual powers, and candidates for immortality, yet liable to be bought and sold, like sheep, pigs, and oxen ! Amonor the evils now described, there is one which claims a peculiar emphasis. Slavery condemns one-sixth part of the population of this country to the total absence of mental cul- ture. Every one knows that " the mind makes the man." To cultivate and enlarge its faculties, and to store it with useful knowledge, according to ability afforded, is a duty to which all men are called, by an universally understood command of the Highest Intelligence. But the slavery of the United States, reverses the high behest of a benevolent Providence. It decrees that three millions of human beings and their descendants for ever, should be trained to the disuse of their understandings, and continue in hopeless ignorance. This flagrant contravention of the known order of God's government, must surely convince every reflecting person, that the root from which it springs is cor- rupt and sinful. Taking it for granted therefore, that there exists within the bosom of this great country, (so blessed by Providence, so capable of almost interminable improvement,) one evil of vast amount and aggravated character, it would seem that the views of every sound statesman in the land, ought to be steadily fixed on the removal of it. The ^ause of justice and mercy, and the reputation of the nation, unite in calling for such a course. What then can be more surprising, than to find America's enlightened patriot di- reeling the whole force of his mind and elocution, not against the evil itself, but against every effort to extinguish it ; guarding, with the most jealous care, every avenue, not to the progress of the disease, but to the application of the remedy ? S 2 260 APPENDIX. Such an anomaly may be compared to tlie case of a sick man, afflicted witli some vast internal abscess, who forgets his greatest danger, hugs the death within, and occupies himself with the single consideration of how he may best escape out of the hands of his physicians. The doctors may indeed be unskilful ; their proposed remedies may be of too bold a character ; but one would think that in all such cases, the true and more legitimate object of fear, must be the disease itself. Ought not the attention of all good and wise men. Southerners and Northerners, Whigs and Demo- crats, to be directed to the timely and judicious removal of the abscess, before it bursts ? If this is a correct view of the subject, (and it is the view of a calm bystander, who earnestly craves the welfare of all the parties concerned) the question iramediateiy arises, What is the first step which the federal government of the United States may best adopt, in order to this grand end ? To me it appears that the first step ought to be the abolition of slavei'y in the District of Columbia. I am aware that the Senate has already passed a resolution against this measure, and that the very petitions of the people, in furtherance of it, are excluded, by a provision which Henry Clay himself allows to be unconstitutional, from the consideration of the legislature. I lament that Contrress has thus for the present, debarred itself from that free discussion of the subject, which would lead to a development of the merits of the case. But I venture to believe that the more the point is con- sidered by individual enquirers, the more general will the convic- tion become, first, that this measure is fair ; and secondly, that it is desirable and even necessary. On a reference to Sec. viii. Art. 17, of the Constitution of the United States, I find it stated that " Congress shall have the power to exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district, (not exceeding ten miles square,) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, be- come the seat of the government of the United States." FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 261 The words of this provision are obviously strong and compre- hensive. I think it probable that the peculiar subject, either of the abolition or non-abolition of slavery, may not have been con- templated, when the article was formed ; but if either of these things veas in view with the framers of the article, one must con- clude from the words ' in all cases tv/iatsoever,' that there was a design to include, rather than exclude, the abolition of slavery. Had there been entertained any secret reserve on this particular point, it is scarcely to be believed that expressions would have been adopted, so full, so explicit, so completely applicable to this, as to any other change, which Congress might deem advisable, in the internal regulation of the District to be ceded. I perfectly agree, however, with Henry Clay, in the opinion, that the true and simple intent of this article, was to give to Congress full power to effect any regulations in the District, which would ren- der it suitable as the seat of government of the people of the United States — that great, free, and happy nation, which I trust is yet destined to afford the world an example of the blessed union of public prosperity with public virtue. No sooner was the District of Columbia placed under the sole legislative control of the federal union, than Congress, and through Congress, the nation at large, became morally respon- sible for the consistency of the laws and customs of that District, with the principles of justice and mercy. It is astonishing that the enlightened statesmen with whom I am venturing to argue, should confine his view of this subject, to the mere question of the convenience of Congress, and the personal accommodation of its members. Higher and larger interests are here at stake. In the circumstance that in the District which surrounds the Capi- tol, six thousand persons are pursuing their daily labors in the character of slaves, there is indeed nothing which effects the per- sonal ease of the debaters within the House. Nay, there is nothing to interrupt their discussions, or even to mar the plea- 262 APPENDIX. surcs of tlieir social intercourse, in tlic notorious facts, that a prison, strictly belonging to the government, is sometimes used as a jail for the stowage of negroes for sale — that human beings are publicly sold by auction, in the streets of Washington — and that companies of our colored brethren, chained together by the neck, are marched through that city, to the Southern States, without let or hindrance. But these are facts which, taking place at the scat of govern- ment, and under the sole control and responsibility of Congress, involve the American people, as a nation^ in the guilt of slavery ; they degrade her character in the view of the nations of the earth, by affording a palpable contradiction to the principles on which her constitution was founded ; and, worst of all, they have a di- rect tendency to separate her from the favor of that perfectly righteous Being on whom the welfare of nations depends. On the simple ground, therefore, of the true meaning of this article in the constitution, (viz. that the legislative control of Congress over the District, should be fully and freely exercised, in all cases which apply to its suitability as a seat of government for the confederate nation,) it seems unquestionably to follow that the abolition of slavery, within these limits, is matter of fairness to the states by which the District was ceded, as well as of jus- tice to the nation herself. And further, the very same consider- ations which evince such a measure to be fair, afford abundant evidence that it is desirable and necessary — necessary to the comfort, the reputation, and the true prosperity of the Union. Henry Clay has treated the abolition of slavery in the District, as a mere introduction to ulterior measures, and as of small im- portance in itself; but the train of reasoning which has now been adopted, may serve to show that this object is, in itself, worthy of the most ardent and persevering endeavors. The Dis- trict of Columbia is the very point at which slavery, and all the guilt attached to it, comes into awful interference with the cha- FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 263 racter of the Union. The nation owes the abolition of it, there, to the cause of her own honor and integrity, in the sight of God and man. In Art. iv. Sec. 3, of the Constitution, power is given to Congress " to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory, or other property belonging to the United States." In one of the territories thus placed under the direct regulation of Congress — Florida — slavery exists. This, therefore, is a case analogous in its nature to that of the District of Columbia. In permitting the continuance of slavery in Florida, Congress, and the federal Union which it represents, are involved in the guilt of slavery. It is not indeed an instance comparable in point of aggravation, or in its bearing on the character of the nation, to that of the District of Columbia. It is more like the involvement under which the British nation labored, while slavery continued in her West Indian colonies — a circumstance widely differing from the open allowance of the system in London, — or in Washington, — at the seat of government itself, at the very heart of the nation's acting. Still, there is an involvement even as it relates to Florida ; one which loudly calls on Congress for the extinction of slavery in that territory, not merely for the sake of the oppressed, but for the welfare and benefit of the na- tion at large. If I am correct in my understanding of Henry Clay's remarks on the subject, Florida was not included within the geographical limits of a certain compromise made between the free and slave states, after that deplorable event, the admission of Missouri, as a slave state, into the American Union. The mere fact of her southerly location, therefore, must surely be regarded as presenting no adequate obstacle to the progress of the cause of justice and mercy within her borders. The eternal rule of right varies not with the direction of the cotnpass. We are now come to two points of the subject, which require 264 ArPENDix. some consideration without further delay. The first is imme- diate abohtion, tlie second is compensatioti. In holding out the abolition of slavery, in the District of Columbia and Florida, as the first steps which ought to be taken in the progress of the great cause of universal liberty, I do not hesitate to declare that I mean immediate abolition. While I en- tertain much respect for sincere friends of the freedom of the slave, who consider that it is not expedient for the slave himself to be entrusted with his freedom, until he is prepared for it by a pro- cess of amelioration, — while I am aware that this was the pre- vailing sentiment many years since, with the advocates for freedom in Great Britain itself, — I think it must be allowed, that both principle and experience are on the side of immediate, rather than gradual, abolition. The principle of the question appears to me to be embraced in the good old Scripture precept, " Cease to do evil." God makes no compromise with sin. When we are con- vinced that any practice, in which we are involved, is sinful in his sight, we must cease from it at once, and without reserve, and leave the result in the hands of Him who judgeth in the earth. Whether we act as individuals, or in our corporate capacity as states and nations, duty is ours, and the consequences may be safely committed to the care of a righteous and benevolent Pro- vidence. This I apprehend to be the dictate, not only of faith, but of common sense and reason. Let us clear ourselves of the sin. Let us get rid of the plague. As it is the shortest and easiest, so I believe it will be found the safest road to a final settlement of the matter. As it is always right, so it is always safe, to depart from evil and sin not. There is no expediency comparable to that of unreserved submission to the revealed w\\\ of God. But this is a subject on which a triumphant appeal may now be made to experience. When the British emancipation act had passed the legislature in 1834, while the generality of the West FREE AND FlUENDLY REMARKS. 265 Indian colonies of Great Britain availed themselves of the prepa- ratory system of apprenticeship, — evidently taking the unrequited labor of six years, as part of the price of their negroes, — one of the principal of these colonies, Antigua, wisely determined to be- stow on her slave population, the precious boon of immediate and unrestricted liberty. It is now nearly five years since this grand experiment was tried, and abundant opportunity has been afforded of ascertaining the results. There are, in Antigua, about thirty thousand negroes engaged in the cultivation of the soil, — and chiefly on sugar plantations. The results are — not tumult, contention for superiority over the whites, rebellion, and massacre, (those frightful dreams of the future, which Henry Clay has per- mitted to haunt his imagination,) — but peace, order, and tran- quillity ; not confusion and misery, arising from the forced juxta- position or mixture of two opposite races, but a quiet possession of equal rights, and pursuit of equal duties, without reference to the color of the skin ; not a descent into a farther depth of vice and barbarism, but a decided improvement, in mental and moral cultivation ; not the diminution of trade, and the depreciation of property, but an increase of commercial prosperity, and a vast improvement in the value of real estate ; not a distraction of sen- timent on the subject which divides so many in this land, but a universal concurrence of opinion, among whites and blacks, plant- ers and laborers, that slavery had been their curse, and that the abolition of it is now their blessing.'^ ' Probably it will be allowed that no test of the propriety of immediate abolition, can be stronger than that arising from the comparative value of real property, before and after the act of justice. The information on this subject, with regard to Antigua, contained in the following paragraphs, is of a most conclusive character. "Eighteenth proposition. — Real estate has risen in value since eman- cipation ; mercantile and mechanical occupations have received a fresh impulse; and the general condition of the colony is decidedly more flourishing than at any former period. " The credit of the island has already improved. The internal pros- perity of the island is advancing in an increased ratio. More buildings 266 APPENDIX. The system of apprenticeship was a most unfortunate attempt, partly to prepare the slave for his freedom, and partly to reconcile the planter to approaching emancipation. It is now universally understood, that the true effect of these intermediate measures has been that of irritating all parties against each other, and of subjecting the West Indian Colonics which adopted it, to so much difficulty and distress, that, with astonishing unanimity, they all arrived at the determination of bringing this anomalous system to a conclusion, two years before the time fixed upon by Parliament. Thus the great mass of the once slave population have been erected since emancipation, than for twenty years before. Stores and shops have multiplied astonishingly 5 I can safely say that their number has more than quintupled since the abolition of slavery.' — Dr. Ferguson. " Emancipation has very greatly increased the value of, and consequently the demand for, real estate. That which three years ago was a drug alto- gether unsaleable by private bargain, has now many inquirers after it, and ready purchasers at good prices. The importation of British manufac- tured goods has been considerably augmented — probably one-fourth. " The credit of the planters who have been chiefly affected by the change, has been much improved. And the great reduction of expense in managing the estates, has made them men of more real wealth, and consequently raised their credit, both with the English merchants and our own.' — J. Scotland, sen., Esq. " The effect of emancipation upon the commerce of the island must needs have been beneficial, as the laborers indulge in more wheaten flour, rice, mackerel, dry fish, and salt-pork, than formerly. More lumber is used in the superior cottages now built for their habitations. More dry goods — manufactures of wool, cotton, linen, silk, leather, &c., are also used, now that the laborers can better afford to indulge their propensity for gay clothing.' — Statement of a merchant and agent for estates. " Real estate has risen in value, and mercantile business has greatly im- proved.' — H. Armstrong, Esq. " A merchant of St. John's informed us, that real estate had increased in value at least fifty per cent. He mentioned the fact, that an estate which, previous to emancipation, could not be sold for £600 currency, lately brought £2,000 currency." — Thome and KimbalVs Six Months' Tour in Antigua, Barhadoes, and Jamaica. The information contained in this work, on the subject of Antigua, will be found fully to substantiate the account I have given, of the effects pro- duced in that island by immediate emancipation. FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 267 of the British West Indies, became free, without restriction, on the first of the Eighth month, (August,) of the last year. If, in some of these colonies, and especially Jamaica, some difficulties have since arisen between the planters and the laborers, those difficulties ought surely to be ascribed, not to the abolition of slavery, but to those four years of wretched altercation — not to say persecution and cruelty — by which all parties were disturbed, and, in some degree, unfitted for any new relations to each other. But, in the mean time, the cause of fair work for fair wages, has been making gradual and certain progress. The cessation from a state of slavery, has been followed by no anarchy, no rebellion, no bloodshed, but by a decrease of crime, and by a marked im- provement in substantial prosperity .^ ^ The following statements respecting Barbadoes present, on the pre- sent point, a most cheering and animating picture. — The first has refer- ence to the decrease of crime. FROM THE BARBADIAN OF DEC. 1. Barbadoes. — Comparative table, exhibiting the number of complaints preferred against the Apprentice population of this colony, in the months of August, September, and to the 15th of October, 1837 ; together with the complaints charged against Free Laborers of the same Colony, during the months of August, September, and to the loth of October, 1838. The former compiled from the INIonthly Journals of the Special Justices of the Peace, and the latter from the Returns of the Local Ma- gistracy, transmitted to his excellency the Governor. " Apprenticeship. Total of complaints vs. Apprentices, from the 1st to 31st August, 1837, 1708 Ditto, from the 1st to 30th September, 1464 Ditto from the 1st to 15 th October, 574 Grand Total, 3746 Total number of Apprentices punished from the 1st to 31st August 1608 Ditto from 1st to 31st September, 1321 Ditto from 1st to 15th October, 561 Grand Total, 3490 268 APPENDIX. Henry Clay, for reasons best known to liinisclf, looks forward to "disastrous" consequences, from West Indian emancipation. But, there can be little doubt, that in sober truth, the abolition of slavery in the West Indies — although in so great a majority of Total compromised, admonished and lUsmissed, from 1st to 31st August, 105 Ditto from 1st to 30th September, 113 Ditto from 1st to 15th Oetober, 38 Total, 256 Deficiency in compromised cases in 1837, compara- tively with those of 1838, 158 Grand Total, 414 " Freedom. Total of complaints vs. laborers, fi'ora the 1 st to the 31st August, 1838, 582 Ditto from the 1st to the 30th September, 386 Ditto from the 1st to the 15th October, 103 Total, 1071 Comparative surplus of complaints in 1837, 2675 Grand Total, 3746 Total of laborers punished from the 1st to the 31st August, 1838, 334 Ditto from the 1 st to 30th September, 270 Ditto from the 1st to 15th October, 53 Total, 657 Comparative surplus of punishment in 1837, 2833 Grand Total, 3490 Total compromised, admonished and dismissed from the 1st to the 31st August, ' 248 Ditto from the 1st to 30th September, 116 Ditto from the 1st to 15th October, 50 Grand Total, 414 " Note. — It may be proper to remark that the accompanying General Abstract for August, September, and to the 15th October, 1837, does not include complaints preferred and heard before the Local Magistrates FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 269 instances unfortunately managed — is gradually proving itself to be a blessing to all classes concerned. May the day be hastened, when the same blessing shall crown the prosperity of the United States ! That nothing disastrous is now to be anticipated from during those months, for such offences — viz. for misdemeanors, petty- debts, assaults and petty thefts — as were not cognizable by the Special Justices ; so that estimating these offences — the number of which does not appear in the Abstract for 1837 — at a similar number as that enume- rated in the Abstract for 1838, the actual relative difference of punish- ments between the two and a half months in 1837, and those in 1838, would thus appear : — " Surplus of Apprentices" punished in 1837, as above, 2833 " Offences in August, September, and to the 15th Octo- ber, 1837, heard before the General Justices of the peace, and estimated as follows : — Petty thefts, 75 Assaults, 143 Misdemeanors, 98 Petty debts, 19 335 Actual surplus of punishment in 1837, 3168 The second gives an account of the general prosperity of the colony. rROM THE MERCURY. Letter from W. R. Hayes, Esq. Barhadoes, W. L, to H. G. Ludlow, of New Haven. "BARBAnoES, Dec. 26, 1838. I gave you, in my last, some account of the manner in which the first day of emancipation came and went in this island. We very soon after- wards received similar accounts from all the neighboring islands. In all of them, the day was celebrated as an occasion " of devout thanksgiving and praise to God, for the happy termination of slavery." In all of them, the change took place in a manner highly creditable to the emancipated, and intensely gratifying to the friends of liberty. The quiet, good order, and solemnity of the day, were every where remarkable. Indeed, is it not a fact worth remembering, that whereas, in former years, a single day's relaxation from labor was met by the slaves with shouting, and revelry, and merry-making, yet now, when the last link of slavery was broken for ever, sobriety and decorum were especially the order of the day ? The perfect order and subordination to the laws, which marked the first day of August, are yet unbroken. We have now nearly five months' experience 270 APPENDIX. this great event, may be safely concluded from the following cheering sentence in the speech of Queen Victoria, at the late opening of Parliament, six months after the date of entire free- dom. — " It is with great satisfaction that I am enabled to inform of entire emancipation ; and I venture to say, that a period of more pro- found peace never existed in the West Indies. There have been disputes about wages, as in New England and in other free countries ; but no con- cert, no combination, even here ; and the only attempt at a combination was among the planters, to keep down wages — and that but for a short time only. I will not enter particularly into the questions, whether or not the people will continue to work for wages, whether they will remain quiet, or on the other hand, whether the island will be suffered to become desolate, and the freed slaves relapse into barbarism, &c. These things have be m speculated about, and gloomy predictions have had their day ; the time has now come for the proof. People do not buy land and houses, and rent properties for long terms of years, in countries where life is insecure, or where labor cannot be had, and the tendency of things is to ruin and decay. In short, men in their senses, do not embark on board a sinking ship. Confidence is the very soul of prosperity ; of the existence of this confidence in this island, the immense operations in real estate since the first of August, are abundant proof. There are multitudes of instances, in which estates have sold for 20,000 dollars more than was asked for them six months ago ; and yet at that time they were considered very high. A proprietor who was persuaded, a few weeks since, to part with his estate, for a very large sum of money, went and hoiight it hack again at an advance of 9,600 dollars. A great many long leases of pro- perty have been entered into. An estate called ' Edgecumbe,' mentioned by Thome and Kimball, has been rented for twenty-one years, at 7,500 dollars per annum. Another, called the ' Hope,' has been rented for ten years, at £2000 sterling, equal to 9,600 dollars per annum. Another, after being rented at a high price was re-let by the lessee, who became entirely absolved from the contract, and took 16,000 dollars for his bar- gain. If required, I could give you a host of similar cases, with the names of the parties. But it seems unnecessary. The mere Impulse given to the value of property, in this island, by emancipation, is a thing as noto- rious here, as \hefact of emancipation. But are not crimes more frequent than before ? I have now before me a Barbadoes newspaper, printed two weeks since, in which the fact is stated, that in all the country prisons, among a population of eighty thou- sand, only two prisoners were confined for any cause whatever ! ' But,' says a believer in the necessity of colonization, ' how will you get rid of the negroes ?' I answer by adverting to the spectacle which is now witnessed in all the islands, of the former proprietors of slaves, now FREE AND FTIIENDLY REMARKS. 271 you, that throughout the wliole of my West Indian possessions, the period fixed by law, for the final and complete emancipation of the negroes, has been anticipated by acts of the colonial legis- latures ; and, that the transition, from the temporary system of employers of free laborers, using every endeavor to prevent emigration. Trinidad, Demerara, and Berbice, want laborers. The former has passed a law to pay the passage money of any laborer who comes to the island, leaving him free to choose his employment. Demerara and Berbice have sent emigration agents to this and other islands, to induce the laborers to join those colonies, offering high wages, good treatment, &c. On the other hand, Barbadoes, Grenada, St. Vincent, and all the old and populous islands, individually and collectively, by legislative resolves, legal enact- ments, &c., loudly protest that they have not a man to spare ! What is still better, the old island proprietors are on every hand building new houses for the peasantry, and, with great forethought, adding to their comfort ; knowing that they will thereby secure their contentment on their native soil. As a pleasing instance of the good understanding which now exists between proprietors and laborers, I will mention, that great numbers of the former were in town on the 24th, buying up pork, hams, rice, &c., as presents for their people on the ensuing Christmas ; a day which has this year passed by, amid scenes of quiet, sabbath devotions, — a striking contrast to the tumult and drunkenness of former times. I cannot close this subject witliout bearing my testimony to the correctness of the statements made by our countrymen, Thome and Kimball. They were highly esteemed here by all classes, and had free access to every source of valuable informa- tion. If they have not done justice to the subject of their book, it is be- cause the manifold blessings of a deliverance from slavery are beyond the powers of language to represent. When 1 attempt, as I have done in this letter, to enumerate a few of them, I know not where to begin, or where to end. One must see, in order to know and feel how unspeakable a boon these islands have received, — a boon which is by no means confined to the emancipated slaves ; but, like the dews and rains of heaven, it fell upon aU the inhabitants of the land, bond and free, rich and poor together. It is here a common thing — when you hear one speak of the benefits of emancipation — the remark, that it ought to have taken place long ago. Some say fifty years ago, some twenty, and some, that at any rate, it ought to have taken place all at once, without any apprenticeship. The noon- day sun is not clearer than the fact, that no preparation was required on the part of the slaves. It was the dictate of an accusing conscience, that foretold of bloodshed, and burning, and devastation. Can it be supposed to be an accidental circumstance, that peace and good wiU have uniform.' ly, in all the colonies, followed the steps of emancipation ? Is it not rather the broad seal of attestation to that heaven-born principle, ' It is safe to 272 APPENDIX. apprenticeship to entire freedom, has taken phicc without any disturbance of pubUc order and tranquillity." Under the pecu- liar circumstances of the case, could any man reasonably ask for more ? I now come to tlie subject of compensation — a subject which is often supposed to involve the question of abolition in greater practical difficulty than any other point. If indeed, it is true, as Henry Clay alleged, that twelve hundred, if not fifteen hundred, millions of dollars must be raised, and pass into the coffers of the slaveholders, before slavery can be rightly abolished, then the great object in view does indeed appear to recede, of necessity, into the distance. But I can scarcely beheve that the orator was serious, when he made this assertion. In the first place, as it regards the aboliton of slavery, so far as it can be effected by Congress, ninety-nine hundreths of this enormous amount, arc immediately to be deducted. When the happy era arrives, at which the independent slave states shall abolish their own slavery, they will, of course, severally settle the question of compensation, as may best suit their views and circumstances. In point of fact, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Kentucky, for example, are no more likely, at that period, to grant compensation for the slaves, than were Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, &c., do right?' Dear brother, if you or any other friend to downtrodden hu- manity, have any lingering fear that the blaze of light which is now going forth from the islands will ever be quenched, even for a moment, dismiss that fear. The light, instead of growing dim, will continue to brighten. Your prayers for the safe and happy introduction of freedom, upon a soil long trodden by the foot of slavery, may be turned into praises, for the event has come to pass. When shall we be able to rejoice in such a con- summation in our beloved America ? How I long to see a deputation of slaveholders making the tour of these islands. It would only be necessary for them to use their eyes and ears. Argument would be quite out of place. Even an appeal to principle — to compassion — to the fear of God — would not be needed. Self interest alone would decide them in favor of immediate emancipation. Ever yours, W. R. Hates." FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 273 when they enacted the abolition of slavery. Undoubtedly, it will be found, in the slave states themselves, as it was in the states now cleared of slavery, that the throwing off of that burden and curse, is a public benefit, in which no parties will have more ample reason to rejoice, than the slaveholders themselves. But, as it relates to the only acts of abolition which can be effected by Congress — of the slaves in the District and in Flo- rida — the difficulty, if there is one, is reduced to a most manage- able compass. I would simply remark on the subject, that no compensation to the slaveholders would be required, as far as I can perceive, on the pure principle of justice. Here is a go- vernment, having under its immediate control and protection, two classes of persons ; — first, a certain number of American citizens, who hold what they deem to be a property in their fellow men ; secondly, a multitude of individuals, who, although strangers in the land, have a claim on the same property, by an infinitely superior title — a title declared by the constitution of the North American Union, to be absolutely inalienable. Is it possible to doubt that the controlling and protecting government, in such a case, is bound by the most sacred obligations, to restore this pro- perty to its rightful owners; and that those who hold it wrong- fully must take the consequences ? But let me not be misunderstood, when I use the word ivrong- fully. I am not accusing the slaveholders of the District and of Florida, of wrongful intentions. I am aware that long habit and custom have cast a thick veil over the wrong which they are do- ing. I have no doubt whatever that many of them, as in others of the American slave states, treat their colored people with kindness ; I feel nothing but christian love and good will towards the parties in question. Still the property which they claim never was, and never can be, their own. No human laws can give it to them. No custom can effect for them a prescriptive right in it. No length of tenure can secure it for them, de jure- They are bound by the principles of justice to resign it to its T 874 APPENDIX. rightful possessors ; — to restore to their slaves that use of their own persons, for their own benefit, which belongs to them, in virtue of the eternal law of nature and of God. I have only to add, that, with this full understanding of the principles of the case, and under the further assurance that the slaveholders would themselves be gainers by the change, I should hope that Congress, with the vast resources of the Union at its disposal, would treat these persons with a liberahty becoming the nation, and accompany the act of abolition with such a gratuity, as would render it easy and popular to all the parties concerned. The sacrifice would, in comparison, be nothing. All the states vpould be equally interested in making it, because it would be intended to facilitate an affair of national justice and honor. Let the glorious act be so performed, as not to call forth a single complaint. Let no voice be heard but that of satisfaction and gratitude ! A few millions of dollars would be a small price to pay for the deliverance of the Union from the stain and dishonor of slavery. I am perfectly aware that, according to the present constitu- tion of the United States, the general government has no power over the internal constitutions of its component republics, in their individual and separate capacity. Should Congress, however, be induced to pay its debt of justice to the slave population of the District, and of Florida, it may be hoped that considerable effect would be produced on the legislatures of the slave states, by the force of example. An example of public virtue, in which the slave states themselves, as part of the Union, would have their share, could scarcely fail to operate on the more enlightened and reflecting part of their own citizens. For my own part, I entertain a firm belief that this example would be rendered efficacious, not only by the perfect harmlessness of the measure of immediate abolition, but by its beneficial results. Florida might present a useful pattern to the states in which the colored population is large in proportion to the white inhabitants ; FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 275 and the District would, as I believe, afford a proof to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, that they might abohsh their slavery with propriety and safety. Kentucky would then no longer be afraid to make those changes in her constitution, with a view to emancipation, which her dis- tinguished Senator, (in contradiction to his good old character of a friend to universal freedom,) declares himself to have been lately engaged in preventing. But there is one step for the benefit of the slaves throughout the Union, which Congress appears to have a constitutional right to take, and which would operate with more than the force of mere example. While the internal institutions of the states, in their individual and separate capacity, are out of its reach, it has the power " to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and AMONG THE SEVERAL STATES, and with the Indian Tribes." — Constitution, Sec. viii. Art. 3. Notwithstanding Henry Clay's objections, it appears to me, on calm and deliberate reflection, that Congress has therefore power to put an end to free America's chief disgrace — namely, her internal traffic in slaves. The plea which he urges against this inference from the article on commerce, is double; — first, that this alleged traffic is not commerce at all, but is only to be regarded as the " removal" of slaves from one state to another; and, secondly, that if it were commerce, the power of the federal government would extend only to the regulation of it. It is a power to regulate, not to annihilate ; and he has declared his judgment, that it would be no more competent to Congress to prevent Maryland and Vir- ginia from supplying the South with slaves, than to prevent Ohio from supplying the East with live stock. This comparison affords an affecting instance of the facility with which, under the prevailing influence of slavery, even en- lightened men are induced to forget the impassable distinctions between human beings of a color different from their own, and the beasts which perish. But it is, nevertheless, an apt corapa- 276 APPENDIX. rison, as evincing the true nature and cluiiacler of tliat whicli is called by this statesman, the removal of slaves. The fact of the case undoubtedly is, that this removal is as strictly and properly a traffic — a branch of the commerce amoiifj the states of this Union — as is the " removal" of live stock from Ohio to Pennsylvania or Maryland. In both cases, tiie living creatures which form the article of traffic, are first raised, or bred, by the land-owner or farmer ; secondly, sold to the merchant or jobber ; thirdly, driven under his orders to their place of destination, and fourthly, resold to the user or consumci-. It is impossible to conceive of any thing more regularly a traffic, than is this " removal" of oxen from Ohio, and of " slaves" from Maryland. It is a trade in the animal productions of the earth, precisely analogous, in its several stages, to a trade in cotton. The planter raises the cotton ; he sells it to the merchant ; the merchant ships it to its place of destination ; and there it is resold to the consumer. Every humane and generous mind must revolt at the notion of breeding human beings for sale ; and the term itself is scarcely tolerable to polite ears. But that they are actually bred for sale, in some of the slave states of North America, is a fact which, I fear, cannot be denied. I confess I feel some compassion for the slaveholder of Virginia, who, seated in his old and gentlemanlike mansion, surveys the wide demesnes which have descended to him from his ancestors. His lands long since exhausted by slave- labor, present to his eye a brown and dreary aspect, except where they have become overgrown by a miserable forest of pines. His black people have multiplied around him, and he scarcely knows how to feed them. His family necessities are perpetually calling for money. The slave jobber is prowling about the neigh- borhood, with his tempting offers of five hundred dollars for a lad or girl, or one thousand dollars for an adult person. The temptation soon becomes irresistible, and slave after slave supplies the southern market. By degrees he discovers that by far the most profitable article which his estate produces, is the slave ; FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 2T7 and, instead of the old fashioned cultivator of the soil, he be- comes, by slow degrees and almost insensibly to himself, a slave breeder. But, whether this be, or be not, the true trade and profession of the slaveholder, it is all one to the slave. He is sold to the merchant, torn from his wife and family, lodged in some negro jail, at Baltimore, Winchester, or Washington, and finally driven, as one of a handcuffed gang, to Alabama or Louisi- ana, — there to be sold, with an enormous profit for the jobber, to the planter of cotton, rice, or sugar. All this is no exaggeration, as the Senator of Kentucky must be fully aware, of the character of this nefarious traffic ; nor can it be questioned that it is a traffic carried on to an enormous ex- tent, I learn, on good authority, that two thirds of the funds of a principal state bank, were last year invested in loans to slave merchants ; and there cannot be the least question of the fact, that the yearly commerce of Virginia and North Carolina, in human beings, amounts to many millions of dollars. Would it not be safe to say that it is the largest article of commerce known in those states ? That it is also an extensive branch of trade in Maryland, and some other parts of the Union, is beyond all doubt. But, allowing that this is the truth of the case, Henry Clay would persuade his hearers that Congress cannot touch the ques- tion, because its power over the commerce between the states, is a power to regulate only, not to destroy. It is matter of sur- prise that the very obvious fallacy of this plea, should not have been perceived by the experienced statesman who urged it. Who can fail to remark that in the article of the constitution, which applies to the subject, the word " commerce" is used in a wide and general sense ? And who does not know that in the due regulation of commerce, in this comprehensive meaning, the pro- hibition of a trade in particular articles is frequently involved ? The celebrated tariff of North America was, I presume, intended at least to impede the introduction of certain articles of British 278 APPENDIX. manufacture, into this country ; and every one knows that duties are sometimes laid on importation, so heavy as to amount to an absolute prohibition. Thus, in the " regulation" of the commerce of the United States with foreign nations, a traffic in particular articles may be legitimately annihilated, for the purpose of serv- ing some larger or higher interest, for the national benefit. The same principle obviously applies to the commerce amongst the states. If a free traffic in some particular article, among some of the states, is injurious to the nation at large, — if it is at variance with great principles, on which the national prosperity depends — if it is illegitimate in its very nature — the prohibition of such an unhealthy branch of trade, must surely form a just and proper part of that " regulation" of commerce among the several states, which is committed to the care and authority of Congress. The subject now before me I feel to be one of most affecting and serious import. In the character of an ardent friend to every class of society in this country, and a hearty lover of her noble constitution, I am constrained to speak in plain terms upon this vital topic. With diffidence, yet with firmness, I must venture to express my own conviction, that the internal slave trade of this country, though differing in circumstances from the African slave trade, is the same with it in principle ; that it is utterly unlaw- ful and spurious, and opposed to the very nature of a healthy commerce ; that it is a blot on the escutcheon of this free and mighty nation, in the sight of all the nations of the earth ; that so far from promoting the prosperity of the states which prac- tice it, it is to them, like doses of brandy to a man sick of a fever — a mere diversion from that sound application of their resources, under the banner of freedom, which can alone restore the prosperity of which slavery has deprived them ; and, finally, that for all these reasons, it is the high, yet simple, duty of Con- gress, OS the authorised regulator of commerce, to extinguish, without delay, this nefarious traffic. FREE AND FRIENDLY REMARKS. 279 Whenever the happy day arrives when the federal government shall be induced to pay this debt to the cause of justice and hu- manity, such a proceeding can scarcely fail to be quickly followed by the abolition of slavery, in all those states of the Union, in which the slaves are becoming comparatively useless. The old outlet for them will be stopped ; and, to issue the final decree, that they shall be free, and at liberty, therefore, to provide for themselves, as may best suit them, will be found to be the only practicable remedy for the inconveniences and miseries of the present state of things. The notion of expatriation must surely be regarded as absurd. Here is a population, for example, of a million of persons, seven hundred thousand whites, and three hundred thousand blacks, mingled together in one great society. It may, possibly, be an unfortunate circumstance, as Henry Clay regards it, that two bodies of men, differing so decidedly in the color of their skin, and the texture of their hair, should be thrown into juxtaposition. But such is the fact, and it is a fact which appears to admit of no material or extensive change ; for as the population of both classes of these inhabitants increases, the rela- tive proportion will of course continue nearly the same. Here I beg leave to offer a few words on the subject of the colonization of Africa, by the sending out of free colored people from North America. As a friend to the African race, I am very far from being opposed to such a measure, so long as it is perfectly voluntary on the part of those who go out as colonists. 1 believe that every well ordered scheme of colonization ought to be encouraged, for the sake of Africa. I am persuaded that colonization and legitimate commerce, connected with plans for civil and christian improvement, are likely to prove the most effi- cacious means of undermining that most tremendous scourge, the African slave trade ; and there is reason to believe, that the colony of Liberia has been valuable to Africa in this, as well as in other respects. 280 ArPENiMX, But to hold up such a scheme as a means of tlie gradual ex- tinction of slavery in the United States, and still more, as a me- thod of expatriating from America the whole of the African race, has always appeared to me to he a chimera of a very mischievous tendency. It diverts the attention of the puhlic from the two grand ohjects, of the aholition of slavery hy law, and of the civil and moral improvement of the mass of the colored population, in that which is its present^ and can scarcely fail to be its permanent location. Takincp it for granted then, that in such a society as I have depicted, (of which, under varied proportions, we have so many examples in the United States) the juxtaposition of white and colored people is perfectly inevitable, we may fairly ask the ques- tion, under what circumstances this mixture is likely to be the most disadvantageous ; and what is the course of policy which is best calculated to render it perfectly harmless ? So long as one part of the population is composed of slaveholders, and the other of slaves, innumerable evils cannot fail to arise from the mixture in question. Extensive cruelty and oppression, the exhaustion of the legitimate resources of the country, and abounding immo- rality — amalgamation in its worst form and on a most exten- sive scale — will ever be found the consequence of so anomalous a state of society. The results to which we are brought by argu- ing from principles, are, in this matter, most amply confirmed by fact and experience. Now, if we set the colored population free — restore them to their inalienable natural rights — leave them at liberty to provide for themselves — and suffer the questions of wages and employ- ment to find their own level — these evils will soon meet with a remedy. Every one must allow that the mixture of white and colored persons, in one vast population, is much less injurious, in Philadelphia or New York, for example, than in Richmond or Charleston. The evils arising from the juxtaposition of whites TREE AND FRIENDLY llEMAKKS. 281 and blacks is, in the former places, comparatively trifling. Free- dom, by its own genial operation, has already wrought a vast cure. Still, it must be allowed, that the condition of the colored po- pulation, even in the free states of this Union, is far from being all that the philanthropist and Christian would desire. It appears to me that, in various respects, their moral and civil condition is a low one. I know that this part of the population contains a large proportion of liighly respectable persons. I rejoice in their crowded meeting houses, and in their increased attention to the improvement of mind, and the formation of character. But I long to witness their further elevation, in the scale of virtue, sobriety, industry, and knowledge. As matters now stand, I can acknowledge that some inconveniences do appear to arise from that mixture of whites and blacks in one society, which Henry Clay so strongly deprecates as one of the most desperate of political evils. And what is the true reason of these inconveniences? . As I believe, it is simply this — that our colored brethren are regarded, in this country, even in the free states, as an inferior and de- graded race of men. If we wish to elevate the character, and increase the usefulness, of any class of persons, the worst pro- ceeding which we can possibly adopt is to cultivate a low opinion of them, and to lead them to entertain that low opinion of them- selves. Let us rather lay hold of the hopeful side of the ques- tion ; let us call to mind that " God has made of one blood all the children of men, to dwell on all the face of the earth ;" let us for ever bury and forget " the aristocracy of the skin ;" let us do every thing in our power, to promote the literary and reli- gious instruction of the colored population ; let them be invested with the full rights of citizenship, on the same terms as other persons ; let every civil prize, every useful employment, every honorable station, be thrown open to their exertions. Let us encourage, and never depress, their natural desire to rise. If u 282 Appr. jiDix. such should be the course happily pursued, I fully believe that the mixture of colors, in the same population, would soon be found perfectly Jiarmless. Every man, white or black, would rest on his own responsibility ; character, like other things, would find its natural level ; light and truth would spread without ob- struction ; and the North American Union would afford to an admiring world, a splendid and unsullied evidence of the truth of that mighty principle, on which her constitution is founded. " All men are created equal, and are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable rights — life, liberty, and the pursuit OF happiness." N. B. The above Tract was published in America, early in the spring of 1 839. It is now reprinted mainly for the purpose of showing that the abolition, by the federal government, of sla- very in the district of Columbia and Florida, and also of the in- ternal slave-trade, would be in perfect accordance both with the letter and spirit of the constitution of the United States. That righteousness, mercy, and truth, call aloud for the adoption of these measures, can scarcely fail to be acknowledged by every reflecting Christian. THE END. PRINTED BY JOSIAH FLETCHER, UPPER UAVMARKET. ALBEMARLE STREET, September 1840. THE FOLLOWING WORKS ARE IN THE PRESS. John Murray SELECTIONS FROM THE DISPATCHES, GENERAL ORDERS, &c. OF FIELD-MARSHAL THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. BY LiEUT.-CoL. GURWOOD, ESQUIRE TO HIS GRACE AS KNIGHT OF THE BATH. IN ONE CLOSELY PRINTED OCTAVO VOLUME. A HISTORY OF INDIA, BY THE HON. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE. VOLS. I. AND II. COMPRISING fft)c lI?introo anil /Wal&omciian l^eriolis. 8 HO. ANCIENT SPANISH BALLADS, TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES, BY J. G. LOCK HART. 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CHARLES WORDSWORTH, M.A. Late Student and Tutor of Christ Cliurch, Oxford, Second Master of Winchester College. " It is tho object of this worlc to correct the errors and supply the defects of the Eton Greek Qrammai', at tho same time retaining, as far as possible, tho language and form of the original." This Grammar has been recently introduced into tho public Schools of Windiester, Harrow, and Rugby. A New Edition, revised and improved, 12mo, 3«. Qd. WASHINGTON. BY M. GUIZOT. Translated from the French by Henry Reeve, Esq. •' M. Guizot does not come forward with the conceited air of one who would force his views from a vanity in originating them, but simply gives his convictions ; being impressive because he is himself impressed with their truth — eloquent, because he himself feels the grandeur of his subject. 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A Scries of Twenty-one Maps of the most frequented roads through Holland, BtcLaiuM, and Germany, and Forty-eight Plans of the Principal Towns on the Continent. Beautifully cngiaved and coloured. PostSvo. )2s. JOURNAL OF THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. No. IV. Witli Lithographic Plate and Woodcuts. Si:u. 2s. 6d. SriADSL'RY AND BVA.VS, PKtNTERS. WHITnFBIABS 3 1205 00555 6996 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 935 021 6 University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. OCT 08 200?