California 
 
 >gional 
 
 cility
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES

 
 AN 
 
 AUTHENTIC REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DEBATE 
 
 IN THE 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS, 
 
 .Tlne the 23d, 1825, 
 
 ON 
 
 MR. BUXTON'S MOTION 
 
 RELATIVE to the 
 
 DEMOLITION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 METHODIST CHAPEL AND MISSION HOUSE 
 IN BARBADOES, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 EXPULSION OF MR. SHREWSBURY, 
 
 A WESLEYAN MISSIONARY, 
 
 FROM THAT ISLAND. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. HATCHARD AND SON, PICCADILLY, 
 
 1825.
 
 VKlHTEi) BY COX AND BAYLIS, GREAT QUEEN
 
 
 
 N 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 It is now generally understood, that the Debate, in 
 the House of Commons, on the 23d of June, 1825, on 
 Mr. Buxton's Motion relative to the Demolition of the 
 Methodist Chapel and Mission House in Barbadoes, 
 and the Expulsion of Mr. Shrewsbury the Missionary, 
 from that Island, has excited much interest throughout 
 this country. 
 
 The result of that Debate being of great importance 
 to the community at large, and especially to the inhabi- 
 tants of the West-Indies, considerable pains have been 
 taken to render as correct as possible, the following 
 Report of the discussion, — a discussion alike memo- 
 rable, for the plain and undisputed Narrative of Facts 
 contained in the Speech of the Honourable Mover — 
 for the unqualified expression of indignation, on the 
 part of His Majesty's Government, at the scandalous 
 and daring Outrage which had been committed — for 
 the testimony which was borne, by every Speaker, to 
 the uniformly good conduct of the Wesleyan Mis- 
 sionaries in the West-Indies — and, for the unanimous 
 declaration of the Commons of England, that there 
 shall be Protection and Religious Toleration, for all 
 His Majesty's subjects in that part of His Dominions. 
 
 S7± 
 
 HISTORY 

 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Speeches of Mr. Buxton ..• 1 
 
 Mr. Wilmot Horton 50 
 
 Mr. William Smith 62 
 
 Mr. Butterworth 67 
 
 Mr. Secretary Canning 75 
 
 Mr. Butterworth, in explanation 88 
 
 Mr. Brougham 89 
 
 Mr. Bernal 102 
 
 Mr. Manning 105 
 
 Mr. Secretary Canning, in explanation. 110 
 
 Dr. Lushington Ill 
 
 Mr. Buxton, in reply 115
 
 DEBATE, 
 
 §y\ §r. §rc. 
 
 Air. FOWELL BUXTON rose, and address- 
 ed the House to the following effect : — 
 
 I rise to state the Case of Mr. Shrewsbury, a 
 Wesleyan Missionary ; and I have, as it was my 
 duty, revolved in my mind, in what way I could 
 bring the matter forward, at once favourably to 
 the cause itself, but with the least possible de- 
 mand on the patience of the House; and I have 
 concluded, that it is my duty to confine myself 
 very much to a matter-of-fact detail ; to give you 
 a plain, dry, abstemious narrative of the events, 
 in the order in which they occurred, leaving those 
 events to speak for themselves — as they do, in- 
 deed, pretty loudly. And, as I shall endeavour 
 to spare the House all extraneous matter, so I 
 hope they will permit me to put them in full 
 possession of the facts, and to give them a history 
 — and a remarkable historv it is — of the events 
 which occurred in Barbadoes. 
 
 B
 
 2 
 
 I now proceed, without preface, without apo- 
 logy, without even remarking— what, indeed, is 
 too obvious to remark — the immeasurable dif- 
 ference between the mode in which this question 
 will now be brought forward, and the manner 
 in which a similar question was introduced last 
 year, by my honourable and learned friend, the 
 Member for Winchelsea. 
 
 Mr. Shrewsbury was, for some time, a Metho- 
 dist Minister in England ; and conducted him- 
 self entirely to the satisfaction of those with 
 whom he was connected In the year 1816, 
 he was sent as a Missionary to Tortola. He 
 remained there two years ; and, on his depar- 
 ture, Mr. Porter, then Senior Member of Coun- 
 cil, now President of the Island, presented him 
 with this testimony : — 
 
 " I do hereby certify, that the Rev. William 
 Shrewsbury, a preacher in the Wesleyan con- 
 nexion, resided in this Island for about two years : 
 during which time, his conduct was such as 
 entitled him to the respect of this community. 
 
 " Geo. R. Porter, 
 
 " Tortola, One of His Majesty's Council 
 April 7, 1818." for the Virgin Islands." 
 
 In 1818, Mr. Shrewsbury went to Grenada. 
 After he had been there somewhat more than a 
 year, he applied to the Governor, Major-Gene-
 
 3 
 
 ral Rial, for his private subscription towards the 
 erection of an enlarged chapel. This is his 
 answer, through the hands of his Secretary, 
 Colonel Wilson. It contained a check for sixty- 
 six pounds, the Governor's donation, and ten 
 pounds, the donation of Colonel Wilson ; and 
 concluded with these words : — 
 
 " In making this communication to you, I 
 am likewise desired to convey to you his 
 Excellency's approbation of your general con- 
 duct, during the time you have resided in this 
 Government ; and particularly of the mild and 
 temperate manner which has marked the exer- 
 cise of your religious duties. 
 
 " J. Wilson, Lieut-Colonel, 
 Secretary." 
 
 Mr. Ross, of Clarke's Court, Grenada, — than 
 whom, I understand, there is not a more respec- 
 table man in the West Indies — the proprietor of 
 one large estate, the manager of twelve others, 
 and having under his superintendence a body 
 of between two and three thousand negroes, — 
 having daily opportunities of witnessing Mr. 
 Shrewsbury's conduct while in that Island, 
 thus wrote of him, in a private letter, at the 
 time : — " Mr. Shrewsbury is a superior man, 
 who would do honour toany Church or Society 
 of Christians." This same Mr. Ross happened 
 
 b 2
 
 4 
 
 to be in England, when the news arrived of the 
 disturbances in Barbadoes, and he had the ge- 
 nerosity to write this testimony : — 
 
 " Having had an opportunity of becoming 
 intimately acquainted with Mr. Shrewsbury 
 during his residence in Grenada, whence he 
 went to Barbadoes, lean with great truth testify, 
 that I never knew a more pious or a better man. 
 Possessed of natural cheerfulness of temper, and 
 without any thing of austerity or moroseness in 
 his manners, he discharged the duties of his pro- 
 fession with zeal and assiduity, and acquired the 
 good- will and esteem of the whole community ; 
 and it was to the great regret of all who knew 
 him, that he was taken from us. I believe Mr. 
 Shrewsbury to be incapable of doing an injury 
 to any human being ; and I am convinced he 
 was eminent! v useful as a Christian Minister, 
 both among the free people and the slaves, in 
 the Island of Grenada." 
 
 Mr. Shrewsbury had devoted himself labo- 
 riously to the improvement of the negroes, and 
 with the best effects. Instruction was gaining 
 ground ; marriages became more frequent ; the 
 marriage tie was held more sacred ; a more or- 
 derly and moral deportment was observed among 
 the negroes ; and, in short, many of those 
 changes so much desired by this House— so
 
 5 
 
 ardently looked forward to by the people of 
 England — but not more ardently, I feel it but 
 justice to say, than by many benevolent and 
 respectable planters, followed his ministry. But, 
 while he had devoted himself to the improve- 
 ment of the negroes, he had won the confidence 
 and esteem of the planters ; and left the Island 
 with the love of the Slaves, the approbation of 
 the Masters, and universal testimonies of regret 
 at his departure. 
 
 In 1820, Mr. Shrewsbury went to Barbadoes ; 
 and, I must explain why he was sent there. A 
 spirit of fierce religious persecution has long 
 prevailed in that Island. The papers laid on 
 the table of this House, in 1802 and 1805, give 
 painful demonstration that it existed then : and 
 it will appear but too clearly, before I sit down, 
 that the same spirit prevails, or rather rages, 
 at the present moment. If the Mission which 
 had been established was to be continued, and 
 a new Missionary sent, it required a man pos- 
 sessing great, but opposite qualities — great pru- 
 dence, or he would do too much in the eyes of 
 the planters — great zeal, or he would do too little 
 for the Slaves — great fortitude, a deep impres- 
 sion in his own heart of the paramount impor- 
 tance of the duties he had to discharge: — without 
 these, he would assuredly have been crushed by
 
 6 
 
 the opposition he was' certain to encounter. But, 
 withal, he must be a man of a meek, quiet, un- 
 contentious spirit — calculated, by his gentle- 
 ness, to subdue and soften those unfortunate 
 jealousies and prejudices. These were his quali- 
 fications. And, besides, it happened acciden- 
 tally, but most fortunately, that he was in some 
 degree a West-Indian, both in feeling and con- 
 nexion. He is married to the daughter of a 
 West-India planter ; and is thus, in some de- 
 gree, linked to the West-India interest. He 
 was any thing, rather than a warm partizan of 
 the Abolitionists. I know he was subsequently 
 accused of being an Agent of the iC villainous 
 African Society," and particularly of corres- 
 ponding with me ; and I understand, that 
 persons in the West-Indies, who ought to be 
 respectable, have asserted, that they have seen 
 letters from him to me, and from me to him. 
 My answer is — I never received or wrote a letter 
 to him in my life — that I did not know that 
 such a man existed in the world, until I hap<- 
 pened to take up a newspaper, and there read, 
 with some astonishment, that he was going to 
 be hanged for corresponding with me. 
 
 And here it may be as well to state — it may 
 allay jealousies — that with the Missionaries in 
 the West-Indies— Church of England, Wesleyan,
 
 7 
 
 Moravian, or London Society — 1 have had no 
 communication. Indeed, I was told by one of 
 the heads of those Societies in England, when 
 I first broached the subject, that though they 
 agreed with me, and their feelings were mine 
 about Slavery, yet, standing in a peculiar si- 
 tuation, and trusted with the confidence of 
 many of the planters, they did not feel justi- 
 fied in furnishing me with any culpatory intelli- 
 gence. I blame them for this. I think they 
 ought to have told the truth, whether it made 
 for or against the system. But, I think it hard 
 that they should be blamed by me and my 
 friends for saying nothing, and blamed more 
 severely by other parties, for saying a great 
 deal too much. 
 
 But, to proceed. In this peculiar predica- 
 ment, and wanting a man of such peculiar qua- 
 lifications, the Wesleyan Missionary Society 
 selected, from the whole body of their Minis- 
 ters, for this arduous and difficult post, Mr. 
 Shrewsbury. And, during the whole time he 
 remained in Barbadoes, he justified their choice 
 — exhibiting the same moderation, forbearance, 
 discretion, abstinence from all political inter- 
 ference, which become a Minister of Religion at 
 all times and in all countries, but which are the 
 indispensable qualifications of a Minister of the
 
 8 
 
 Gospel, placed in circumstances so difficult, and 
 having to tread so narrow a path, as that which 
 is chalked out for a pastor of Slaves in a society 
 of planters. I shall be able to shew, by indis- 
 putable documents — such documents as satis- 
 fied the Governor of St. Vincent, with whom 
 Mr. Shrewsbury found an asylum, and who was 
 bound to ascertain his innocence, before he per- 
 mitted him to preach in his Government — by 
 documents which will convince every man of 
 candour, — that, during the whole time he exer- 
 cised his ministry in Barbadoes, he exercised the 
 same discretion, and forbearance, and silence 
 upon Slavery ; and preached nothing to the 
 negroes, but obedience and fidelity to their 
 masters. 
 
 But, this point will not be disputed. I say so 
 confidently; because, his enemies have ransacked 
 his life, private and public, in order to find, if 
 it were to be found, some excuse for their 
 cruelty towards him. They have found nothing: 
 and he stands delivered over to universal execra- 
 tion, and under sentence of banishment — but, 
 uncharged with any offence in his conduct, his 
 conversation, and his doctrine. 
 
 In February 1820, Mr. Shrewsbury went to 
 Barbadoes, In the March following, he wrote 
 home, as he was required to do by the rules of
 
 9 
 
 the Society to which he belonged, stating 
 the condition in which he found his congrega- 
 tion. A painful description no doubt it was, 
 and must have been, if he spoke the truth ; 
 but, in that letter I find nothing harsh, nothing 
 exaggerated, nothing sarcastic. Now, it may 
 be said, and probably, as my honourable friend, 
 the Under Secretary for the Colonial Depart- 
 ment, has nothing else to say, he may maintain, 
 either that that Letter ought not to have been 
 required from him — or, being required, he ought 
 not to have sent it — or, being sent, it ought not 
 to have been published. That is a doctrine 
 which can be maintained by no Member of this 
 House ; but, least of all, by the Honourable 
 Secretary; for, it so happens, that Lord Bathurst, 
 the whole body of the Clergy in the West- 
 Indies, and this House, have done precisely the 
 same thing. In 1816, Lord Bathurst addressed 
 a Circular to all the Clergy in the West-Indies, 
 requesting to know the moral and religious con- 
 dition of the Negroes. The Clergy sent their 
 answers — true, no doubt ; but containing state- 
 ments infinitely more affronting to the Planters, 
 and more mournful to every friend of humanity, 
 than any thing which is to be found in Mr. 
 Shrewsbury's Letter ; and these answers were 
 published by this House. So that, if it be said, 
 
 c
 
 10 
 
 such information ought not to have been asked— 
 Lord Bathurst asked it: or, that it ought not to 
 have been given — the whole body of the West- 
 India Clergy gave it : or, that it ought not to 
 have been published — the House of Commons 
 published it. In point of fact, however, this 
 letter had nothing to do with subsequent events. 
 It was not heard of in the Colony for three 
 years, even by Mr. Shrewsbury ; and was only 
 raked up at last, when an excuse was wanted 
 for a persecution. 
 
 Mr. Shrewsbury remained in the Island three 
 years and three quarters. During the first 
 three years and a half, he had to endure the 
 common lot of a Methodist Missionary— some 
 persecution, or, if that be too hard a term, some 
 annoyance, some detraction, some bitterness of 
 spirit, evincing itself in petty insults. For 
 example : some of the gentry of Barbadoes felt 
 it to be their duty to walk into his chapel on 
 Sunday, during the time of service, with their 
 hats on, whistling a tune, and keeping time to 
 their own music, by drumming against the 
 benches. In short, something of that little, 
 pitiful, spiteful, ignominious warfare, with which 
 men of paltry minds love to vex those whose 
 stricter lives are a comment and a reproach to 
 their own. Of all this I make but little. The
 
 11 
 
 man who undertakes the high character of a 
 Missionary must be prepared for trifles of 
 this kind : his is an office, than which none is 
 more truly honourable ; but, before he embraces 
 it, he should count the cost, and remember that, 
 accepting it, he must be prepared to accept also 
 pains and perils abroad, shame and contempt 
 at home. For these slight insults Mr. Shrews- 
 bury had full compensation, in an increas- 
 ing and improving congregation — in a very 
 large school for Mulatto and Negro children— 
 in the favour of several respectable planters — 
 and in the approbation of the Clergy ; from 
 many of whom he received at all times, but 
 more particularly in the moment of trial, de- 
 monstrations of kindness, which ought not to be 
 forgotten. 
 
 In June 1823, a fiercer spirit of persecution 
 arose. Mr. Shrewsbury was publicly accused 
 in the streets, in open day, as a villain ; and 
 this, as he says, not by the mere rabble, but 
 by the great vulgar — merchants from their 
 stores, and individuals in the garb of gentlemen. 
 He was assailed in the newspapers, under the 
 name of " Mister Rueful ;" and his antagonists 
 were under the necessity of bearing testimony 
 to the purity of his conduct. " Look at his 
 actions," they say ; " hear his sermons, and 
 
 c 2
 
 12 
 
 you would say the man is a Saint " — a Saint, 
 not in the sarcastic sense in which it is applied 
 to certain members of this House, who would be 
 very well pleased to bear the name, if they did 
 but deserve it — which they do not : but, in its 
 true sense. " Observe him, hear him," they 
 said, " and you will think him a Saint ; but, 
 under this garb of sanctity, by his praying, 
 preaching, and teaching, he is undermining the 
 West India interest \ and is very little better 
 than an enemy of Slavery." He bore this, as 
 his religion taught him to bear it, with the 
 utmost humility. " I was as a deaf man, that 
 heard not," is his own true description of his 
 behaviour. 
 
 On Sunday, October the 5th, 1823, Riot the 
 First took place. A large concourse of persons 
 assembled round the chapel, for the avowed 
 purpose of disturbing the congregation. They 
 came provided with a number of thin bottles, 
 filled with oil, assafcetida, and aquafortis, pre- 
 pared, as there is every reason to think, at the 
 shop of one of the Magistrates, who is a chemist 
 and druggist. These bottles were suddenly dis- 
 charged into the midst of a congregation of some 
 hundreds of females One of them was aimed 
 at Mr. Shrewsbury's head, and narrowly missed 
 its mark, but wounded another man. A second
 
 13 
 
 was wounded in the shoulder ; and one of the 
 bottles discharging its contents on the bosom of 
 a Mulatto female, burnt her severely. A law- 
 yer, Mr. Newsome, chose his decorous station 
 on the railing of the Communion Table, and 
 cheered and encouraged the rioters. Two sons 
 of the Magistrate and Chemist were seen con- 
 spicuously active. Upon this discharge, the 
 utmost confusion arose. The females were 
 greatly alarmed ; and, in point of fact, one- 
 third of the congregation ran away. The 
 preacher retired into the Vestry, in order to 
 protect his wife, who was near her confinement. 
 Having placed her in security, he began to shew 
 somewhat of the manliness of his character. He 
 returned to the Chapel, reascended the pulpit, 
 and, amidst the rattling of stones without and 
 almost suffocating heat within, the windows 
 being closed, resumed and concluded the ser- 
 vice. 
 
 The next day, he offered a reward of thirty 
 pounds for the detection of any of the rioters : 
 but no one came forward to give evidence ; and 
 he soon found, that the interruption met with 
 general approbation. Passing by the shop of 
 a considerable merchant, where a number of 
 gentlemen were collected, he was assailed by 
 such remarks as these — " Serve the fellow right."
 
 14 
 
 " They ought to have gone and pulled the fel- 
 low from the pulpit." And a Magistrate, who 
 was also Senior Member of the Council, told a 
 person of credit, that " if a sufficient number 
 would join him, he would go and pull down the 
 Chapel at noon-day." The name of this Magis- 
 trate is Mr. Haines. I mention it, not only to 
 do him honour, but for the purpose of remark- 
 ing, that persons in a higher station of life were 
 the real instigators of the events which followed; 
 and for the purpose also of stating, that this 
 same Mr. Haines continues a magistrate, and, 
 as a magistrate, is the protector of the Negroes, 
 the dispenser of justice to the Mulattoes, and 
 the guardian of the public peace. How he 
 acted in these capacities will presently appear. 
 
 On the Wednesday evening, Mr. Shrewsbury 
 had his usual week-day service, and experienced 
 somewhat of the same kind of disturbance ; but 
 not to the same extent. On the Friday, which 
 is kept in Barbadoes as a fast day, in comme- 
 moration of the great storm of 1780, the good 
 joke which he heard from all quarters was, 
 " While you are preaching of the storm within 
 doors, you shall have a storm without." And, a 
 storm he had ; but not a severe one. I, there- 
 fore, pass on. 
 
 On Sunday, October the 12th, while Mr.
 
 15 
 
 Shrewsbury was preparing for service, one of 
 his congregation came to him privately, and 
 stated, that something desperate was intended 
 that day. He, however, determined to pro- 
 ceed. He went down to the Chapel ; and, I 
 will tell you, in his own words, what he saw — 
 
 " As I came down from the dwelling-house, 
 and entered the side door of the Chapel, the 
 sight was really intimidating. Without the 
 Chapel, and throughout the whole length of 
 the street, there was an immense concourse of 
 people, some breathing out threatenings and 
 slaughter, and others merely lookers-on : within 
 the Chapel, besides a fine congregation of my 
 regular and serious hearers, there were planted 
 all around the pulpit, and by the pulpit stairs, 
 from twenty to thirty of the gentlemen-mob, ap- 
 parently ready for any mischief, when those 
 without should make a beginning. Just as we 
 arose from prayer, two men, wearing masks, 
 and having swords and pistols, came galloping 
 down the street ; and, presenting their pistols 
 opposite the door, they fired ; but only one pis- 
 tol went off, and that discharged its contents, 
 not within the door amongst the congregation, 
 but without, beside the window, so that the men 
 planted round the pulpit were completely disap- 
 pointed : for it seems the design was to have 

 
 16 
 
 fired crackers amongst the females, to set their 
 clothes on fire ; when advantage would have 
 been taken of the confusion, to have wreaked 
 their vengeance on me." 
 
 It so happened, that two officers were at the 
 Chapel that evening, and their servants were 
 holding their horses Gutside. These men, having 
 none of the feelings of true Barbadians, but 
 feeling as every Englishman would feel under 
 such circumstances, — and as I trust we shall 
 shew by our vote to-night that we feel — think- 
 ing that the authors of such an outrage ought 
 not to be unpunished, pursued them and put 
 them to flight. This spirited attack disconcert- 
 ing their intention of returning, prevented mis- 
 chief, and possibly saved the life of the Mission- 
 ary. As it was, the awning of the window 
 burst into flames. A cry of fire was raised 
 without. The mob of gentlemen within were 
 ready ; when one of the members, with great 
 presence of mind, ran in and said, "Do not be 
 alarmed : it is only a cracker." Tranquillity 
 was restored ; and Mr. Shrewsbury finished the 
 service. 
 
 And now 1 must tell you of whom the mob 
 consisted. Not a negro — not a mulatto. It 
 consisted of planters, merchants, and traders. 
 Mr. Shrewsbury has given me an apt illustration
 
 pif their quality, by saying, " Divide the whole 
 population into four parts — these were the se- 
 cond and third — neither the very highest nor 
 the very lowest." 
 
 You will suppose that, by this time, the Ma- 
 gistrates remembered that they had a duty to 
 discharge — saw that the disturbance began to 
 wear an alarming aspect, and interfered. One 
 of them did interfere. He summoned Mr. 
 Shrewsbury before him — not, however, to state 
 the nature and circumstances of the riot, or to 
 identify the rioters — but, as an offender himself, 
 for not having enrolled himself in the Militia. 
 From which, and from all military service, he 
 being a licensed minister of religion, is exempt, 
 under the Toleration Act : but, it was imagined, 
 that that Act, not being specially mentioned in 
 the Militia Act, did not extend to Barbadoes. 
 Availing himself, therefore, of this pretext, the 
 Magistrate summoned Mr. Shrewsbury to a 
 public meeting, -where he knew that, if he had 
 attended, he would be torn in pieces by the 
 mob. The name of this Magistrate is Mr. 
 Moore. 
 
 On Wednesday, the 15th, Mr. Shrewsbury 
 determined to hold his usual service ; but, so 
 large a concourse of persons assembled, and their 
 conduct and language were so alarming, that he 
 
 D
 
 18 
 
 was glad to escape to the house of a relation ; and 
 he never after returned. But, in order to shew 
 how planned and organized the whole thing 
 was, a party of gentlemen galloped down from 
 the race-ground at seven o'clock, drew up in 
 front of the Chapel, and, seeing the windows 
 and doors closed, cried out, " the coward has 
 fled ; the coward has run away ;" and retired, 
 amid the plaudits of the mob. 
 
 The next day, Mr. Shrewsbury waited on the 
 Governor ; and, as there is some slight imma- 
 terial difference between the report of the Go- 
 vernor and of Mr. Shrewsburv, as to what took 
 place at that interview, I shall follow the ver- 
 sion of the Governor, in all points in which 
 they differ. After introducing himself, Mr. 
 Shrewsbury said, " My congregation are not 
 suffered to worship God in peace." The Go- 
 vernor advised him to apply to the Magistrates : 
 meaning, but not stating, that if they did not 
 do their duty, he would afford him protection. 
 Mr. Shrewsbury said, " There can be no use in 
 applying to the Magistrates : they are among the 
 bitterest of my enemies ; and nothing can prove 
 it more than this : three years and a half have 
 I been in the colony ; I have never been sum- 
 moned to serve in the Militia ; but now that 
 the mob are bearing me down, the Magistrate,
 
 19 
 
 instead of affording me protection, summons 
 me to a meeting, where he knows that if I 
 appear I shall lose my life." Mr. Shrewsbury 
 retired, saying, " In applying to your Excel- 
 lency I have done my duty : I can do no more." 
 But the Governor, it seems, still thought that 
 he would apply to the Magistrates. That is his 
 apology : and, let it pass for an apology. I 
 understand that the Governor is a very respec- 
 table man, and wishes to perform his duty : but, 
 he is placed in circumstances, in which any man 
 might be embarrassed and overawed. Besides, 
 he was very unpopular at that time : and the 
 cause of his unpopularity is remarkable. A plan- 
 ter, named Best, had, a short time previously, 
 flogged a negro to death. He absconded, and 
 a reward was offered for his apprehension. 
 Another planter, seeing a woman plucking a 
 few handfulls of guinea-grass, fired at her. The 
 ball lodged in her back ; and she died. He 
 left the island, and a reward was offered for his 
 apprehension. A white man was found dead 
 in a wood. He was a man of dissolute and 
 drunken habits ; and the Governor, thinking 
 he had fallen a victim to his own intemperance, 
 offered no reward for the apprehension of the 
 murderers ; upon the very intelligible ground, 
 that he did not think a murder had been com- 
 
 d 2
 
 20 
 
 mitted. This gave great offence. It was said, 
 " Here is notorious partiality — a slave or two 
 are unfortunately killed, and a reward is offered ; 
 but now one of our own body, a white man, is 
 found dead, and no reward is offered for the 
 perpetrators of his death" — the perpetrator 
 being, in all probability, the rum-bottle. The 
 Governor was unpopular— he could do nothing ; 
 at least, he thought so. He treated Mr. Shrews- 
 bury very kindly ; said, " I am extremely sorry 
 for you — I wish you well— I have been abused 
 more than any man in the colony — and the arm 
 of protection extended to you would be repre- 
 sented as an arbitrary act," says the Governor — 
 " an act of tyranny," says Mr. Shrewsbury. And 
 that is the most material difference between them. 
 Mr. Shrewsbury did not apply to the Magis- 
 trates. And, as this is the only occasion in which 
 there is any pretext for charging him, even with 
 an error of judgment, I shall inquire, whether 
 he ought to have applied to the Magistrates. 
 To which of them should he have gone ? To 
 Mr. Haynes, who said he would lead the way, 
 and pull down the Chapel at noon-day ? To 
 Mr. Moore, who summoned him before the 
 Court, where to appear was to perish ? To the 
 Magistrate, at whose shop the bottles were pre- 
 pared ? To Mr. Newsome, the lawyer, or to
 
 pi 
 
 Mr. Walton, jun., of whom I will say something 
 presently? To address himself to these, was 
 to address himself to the bitterest of his enemies. 
 And, if it be pretended that, had he gone to 
 them, he would have received protection, I 
 answer distinctly, that it is clear he would not, 
 for this reason — they afterwards, by their own 
 confession, knew that the mob had assembled, 
 were pulling down the Chapel, and, for aught 
 they knew, murdering the preacher ; and their 
 own account of their conduct is, that they went 
 home and went to bed. Now, will it be believed, 
 that those Magistrates, who did not interfere 
 when the rioters were in action, would have inter- 
 fered, from the mere rumour of a riot, coming 
 from so suspicious and obnoxious a quarter as 
 Mr. Shrewsbury? 
 
 But, Mr. Shrewsbury did seek council and 
 assistance : and, he sought it in a remarkable 
 quarter. This fierce sectarian, plotting the de- 
 struction of the Church, and living in bitter 
 enmity with its professors, went to a clergyman, 
 whose kindness then displayed to a poor friend- 
 less Missionary, hunted for his life by an infu- 
 riated mob, I will now return — by concealing 
 his name ; knowing, that if I were to mention 
 his name with approbation, the fate of Mr. 
 Austin of Demerara would await him. There
 
 22 
 
 is in the transaction at Barbadoes, as there was 
 also in that of Demerara, that which, of all 
 things, I hate the most— a rank, fierce, furious 
 spirit of religious bigotry, dominant in the 
 land, and pursuing its victims, the one to death, 
 and the other to exile. But, there is that also 
 which does honour to human nature, and casts a 
 glory round that Church to which I belong, and 
 which I prefer to all others ; namely, that these 
 poor victims— Dissenters, Missionaries, Metho- 
 dists, though they were — found their best friends 
 and their most faithful advisers, in the ranks of 
 our Clergy. Mr. Austin, for the most noble 
 act which has been done in our days, is a ruined 
 and a banished man : and, I spare the name of 
 the other, in order to spare him— the honours, 
 indeed, but — the sufferings of martyrdom. 
 
 The Clergyman advised Mr. Shrewsbury to 
 apply to the Council— (observe, he did not re- 
 commend an application to the Magistrates; he 
 knew them) — and, in the interim, he recom- 
 mended, that the chapel should be closed. Mr. 
 Shrewsbury, in both particulars, followed his 
 advice ; though somewhat contrary to his own 
 judgment. He was rather disposed to brave 
 the storm. He determined to apply to the 
 Council, which was to meet in the ensuing week ; 
 and, the next Sunday, his Chapel was closed,
 
 2.3 
 
 and lie, with as many of his congregation as he 
 could collect, attended the established Church. 
 
 Had matters stopped here, it would have fur- 
 nished the most perfect sample of intolerance, 
 save the sister case in Demerara, which has been 
 exhibited for many a day, in any part of the 
 British dominions. A riot, Sunday, October the 
 5th. A disturbance, Wednesday the 8th. A 
 storm, within and without, Friday, the 10th. A 
 very serious riot, Sunday the 12th. A public 
 and most alarming commotion, Wednesday the 
 15th. And, by Sunday, the 19th, the chapel 
 closed, the preacher fled, his congregation dis- 
 persed, or collected within the walls of the 
 church. No interference on the part of the 
 military — no protection from the Magistrates — 
 no succour from the Governor— no symptom 
 that there was such a thing as law in Barbadoes 1 
 Had it stopped there, it would have deserved, 
 indeed, the name only of a riot — but, a riot of 
 the worst spirit ; and, considering where it was ; 
 in the heart of a negro population — when it was ; 
 at the moment when the minds of the negroes 
 were agitated by rumours of conceded liberty, 
 a riot of the most dangerous kind. 
 
 But, subsequent events cast all these trans- 
 gressions into the shade. Hereafter it assumed 
 a new form, and exhibited a contempt of law,
 
 ±1 
 
 a defiance of authority, which changes the name 
 and the character of the transaction. On Friday, 
 the 17th, a Secret Committee had met, and 
 issued a Circular, which, for distinction's sake, I 
 will call " Proclamation the First." It states, 
 that the gentry and inhabitants of Barbadoes had 
 determined to meet, on the following Sunday, 
 for the purpose of pulling down the Methodist 
 Chapel ; and it invites the person to whom it 
 was addressed to appear in his place, properly 
 provided. The proclamation had its effect. 
 They met. And I must now tell you, of whom 
 they consisted. Not a negro amongst them — one 
 mulatto, and only one. And, in order to shew 
 the feelings of the coloured population, on whom 
 the safety of the Colony, in a great measure, rests, 
 and to offend whom is to risk the safety of the 
 island, it is only necessary to state, that though 
 they behaved with the most perfect propriety, 
 have never repelled force by force, or outrage 
 by outrage ; yet, so sensibly have they felt this 
 insult, that no one of them has held any inter- 
 course, or exchanged a single syllable, with that 
 man of their number, who joined the rioters. It 
 consisted of whites, and was headed by persons 
 of influence. 
 
 And now, as to their numbers. " It consisted," 
 says the Governor, " of an immense concourse
 
 m 
 
 of persons." It consisted, says an eye-witness, 
 a planter, an enemy of Mr. Shrewsbury, of " a 
 thousand head-strong fools." Whether they 
 were or were not head-strong fools, I leave the 
 House to judge ; but, I doubt whether they 
 amounted to a thousand. Mr. Shrewsbury, with 
 that indisposition to exaggerate, which has 
 marked all his communications with me, says, 
 that he thinks that the numbers have been ex- 
 aggerated — that they did not exceed four or five 
 hundred ; part of whom came provided with 
 implements to pull down the Chapel, and part 
 armed with swords to resist the military. That 
 they were thus armed, I state ; first, on the 
 authority of Mr. Shrewsbury ; but, secondly, on 
 the better authority of the planter I have alluded 
 to ; who says, " I am just returned from wit- 
 nessing the effects of an infuriated mob of 
 head-strong fools, so desperate, that they had 
 determined to resist the military." And the 
 Governor puts it out of all question, by saying, 
 11 the Chapel was pulled down by an immense 
 concourse of persons, many of whom were 
 armed." They broke open the windows and 
 doors of the Chapel, destroyed the benches, 
 pews, and pulpit, and tore and trod under foot, 
 a large collection of bibles and tracts, intended 
 for the use of the negroes and the school. They 
 
 E
 
 26 
 
 then stormed the dwelling-house, destroyed 
 every article of furniture, chopped in pieces the 
 tables and the chairs, unroofed the house, and, 
 making a flag of his linen, which they had col- 
 lected, waived it in the air three times, gave 
 three cheers, and, it being now twelve o'clock 
 at night, and they having been occupied labo- 
 riously for five hours, they adjourned until seven 
 o'clock the next evening. At that time they 
 met, according to appointment, in the same 
 number, with the same spirit, with the same dis- 
 cipline, and completed the demolition of the 
 Chapel. " High-handed Work," says the Editor 
 of a Colonial paper — " High-handed Work" he 
 heads his article — " the Methodist Chapel in 
 Bridge-town has shared the fate of the temple of 
 Jerusalem — not one stone is left upon another." 
 The victory being thus obtained, nothing re- 
 mained but to announce it in due form. And, 
 accordingly, announced it was the next day, in 
 these terms : — 
 
 " Great and signal Triumph over Methodism, 
 and total Destruction of the Chapel ! ! ! 
 " Bridgetown, Tuesday, October 21, 1823*. 
 " The inhabitants of this island are respect- 
 fully informed, that, in consequence of the un- 
 merited and unprovoked attacks which have 
 been repeatedly made upon the community by
 
 27 
 
 the Methodist Missionaries (otherwise known as 
 agents to the villanous African Society), a party 
 of respectable Gentlemen formed the resolution 
 of closing the Methodist concern altogether : 
 with this view they commenced their labours on 
 Sunday evening ; and they have the greatest 
 satisfaction in announcing, that by twelve 
 o'clock last night they effected the total destruc- 
 tion of the Chapel. To this information they 
 have to add, that the Missionary made his es- 
 cape yesterday afternoon, in a small vessel, for 
 St. Vincent ; thereby avoiding that expression of 
 the public feeling towards him, personally, which 
 he had so richly deserved. It is to be hoped, that, 
 as this information will be circulated through- 
 out the different islands and colonies, all persons 
 who consider themselves true lovers of religion 
 will follow the laudable example of the Barba- 
 dians, in putting an end to Methodism and 
 Methodist Chapels throughout the West-Indies." 
 The next day, the Governor issued his Pro- 
 clamation, offering a reward for the detection 
 of the rioters ; but, the intreating, almost sup- 
 plicating language, in which it is couched, clear- 
 ly proves that the mob were masters. The real 
 tenour of it is this : " Fray, gentlemen, recol- 
 lect yourselves. If you are pleased thus to pull 
 down the houses and chapels of the teachers of 
 
 e 2
 
 2$ 
 
 the negroes, who can tell but that the negroes 
 may follow the example, and pull down your 
 houses ?" Having thus, as he hoped, seduced 
 the more respectable into a belief, that, upon the 
 whole, it were as well, for the sake of example, 
 not to pull down innocent men's houses, he 
 ventures to offer a reward for the apprehension 
 of the offenders, and ends in the usual form, 
 " God save the King V 
 
 The next day, the rioters put forth a counter- 
 proclamation, mimicking that of the Governor, 
 beginning " Whereas," &c. and ending " God 
 save the King and the People." But, if they 
 mimicked the form, they by no means attempted 
 to imitate the very humble strain, in which the 
 Governor's was couched. Bold defiance of the 
 law — vengeance, desperate retaliation against 
 any who might dare to inform — a boast, that 
 they had done the deed, and would do it again, 
 if opportunity occurred — a boast, that perjury 
 would protect them, is the bold ten our of Pro- 
 clamation the Third. It runs thus : — 
 
 " Bridgetown, Barbadoes, October 23, 1 823. 
 
 " Whereas a Proclamation having appeared, 
 &c. &c, public notice is hereby given to such 
 person or persons who may feel inclined, either 
 from pecuniary temptation or vindictive feeling, 
 that should they attempt to come forward to
 
 29 
 
 injure, in any shape, any individual, they shall 
 receive that punishment which their crime will 
 justly deserve.'* [That is, obey the laws, assist 
 the Governor in this emergency, act the part of 
 a good citizen, and you shall receive the punish- 
 ment due to that crime.] " They are to under- 
 stand, that to impeach is not to convict, and 
 that the reward offered will only be given upon 
 conviction ; which cannot be effected whilst the 
 people are firm to themselves :" [that is, " im- 
 peach you may, convict you cannot ; for we 
 shall be the jurymen, and firm to each other — 
 bring the rioter to trial if you please — make his 
 guilt as clear as the sun at noon-day— an asso- 
 ciation stronger than the laws, which laughs at 
 the obligation of an oath, and converts the Jury- 
 box into the worst engine of political oppression, 
 . will screen the offender. He shall escape, but 
 you shall stand in his place — the Governor tells 
 you, that you shall receive a reward of XlOO ; 
 but, we tell you, that you shall die the death 
 which your crimes have merited."] ** And 
 whereas, it may appear to those persons who 
 are unacquainted with the circumstances which 
 occasioned the said Proclamation, that the de- 
 molition of the Chapel was effected by the 
 rabble of this community, in order to create 
 anarchy, riot, and insubordination, to trample
 
 so 
 
 upon the laws of the country, and to subvert 
 good order: — It is considered an imperative 
 duty to repel the charge, and to state ; firstly, 
 that the majority of the persons assembled were 
 of the first respectability, and were supported 
 by the concurrence of nine-tenths of the com- 
 munity : — secondly, that their motives were 
 patriotic and loyal, namely, to eradicate from 
 this soil the germ of Methodism, which was 
 spreading its baneful influence over a certain 
 class, and which ultimately would have injured 
 both Church and State. With this view, the 
 chapel was demolished, and the villanous 
 preacher, who headed it and belied us, was 
 compelled, by a speedy flight, to remove himself 
 from the island. With a fixed determination, 
 therefore, to put an end to Methodism in this 
 island, all Methodist preachers are warned not 
 to approach our shores ; as, if they do, it will 
 be at their own peril. ' God save the King 
 and the People.' " 
 
 The moment I read this Proclamation, I 
 said, " This is of Irish extraction : it is Captain 
 Rock gone over to the West- Indies : it is his 
 language, and his mode of persuasion." But, I 
 did not dream, that the resemblance which I 
 discovered was designed. It was, however : for 
 the next Proclamation came out with the sig-
 
 31 
 
 nature of" Captain liock." When the Gover- 
 nor saw this Proclamation, he asked the Council 
 what he should do ? and they answered, "Nothing 
 at all" — and, nothing has been done. 
 
 I now follow Mr. Shrewsbury. Me had re- 
 tired, on the Wednesday, to the house of a 
 relative. On the Sunday evening, he received 
 information, that the mob declared, that as soon 
 as they had finished the Chapel they would pro- 
 ceed to the house of his relation, search it, and, 
 if they found him, hang him. Having no reason 
 to doubt that they would be as good as their 
 word, he retired to a house at a short distance 
 from the town, and nearer the sea. His wife, 
 who was not in a condition to move, was con- 
 cealed in the hut of a negro. In the middle of 
 the night, some horsemen galloped up to the 
 house which he had left, crying out, " Down 
 with the Methodists ! down with all the Metho- 
 dists !" but, no attack was made. 
 
 The next morning, Mr. Shrewsbury received 
 communications from many of his friends ; all 
 saying, " leave the island without a moment's 
 delay : no man's life was ever in greater danger : 
 the rioters are in search of you ; and if they 
 catch you, will undoubtedly put you to death." 
 Upon this intelligence, taking his wife with him, 
 little as she was in a condition to move, he em-
 
 m 
 
 barked on board a small vessel, and sailed for 
 St. Vincent's. In the passage, his wife was 
 taken ill ; and was delivered shortly after her 
 arrival at St. Vincent's. 
 
 And this brings me to a part of the conduct 
 of Mr. Shrewsbury, which I cannot mention 
 with sufficient admiration ; especially as con- 
 trasted with that of the rioters. One might 
 suppose that, by this time, their rage was cooled. 
 The chapel was down — the preacher fled — and 
 they had destroyed every shilling of the man's 
 property. One might have thought, that they 
 would have felt, if not remorse, at least weari- 
 ness — satiety — that amnesty which follows gra- 
 tifiedrevenge. They did not. They published 
 their manifesto, glorying in what they had done, 
 regretting only that he had escaped with his 
 life, and vowing vengeance against Methodists 
 and Methodism. It would have been but natu- 
 ral, I say, if their wrath had, by this time, 
 evaporated ; and natural, also, if Mr. Shrews- 
 bury'spassions had been roused and exasperated, 
 by the treatment he had received. A sense of 
 his wrongs and of his innocence — the loss of 
 every shilling of his property — the destruction 
 of his chapel — the extermination of his Mission 
 — I say, it would have been but human nature, 
 if these bitter recollections, rushing upon his
 
 33 
 
 mind, at the moment of his leaving, had driven 
 him, as oppression driveth a wise man mad, so far 
 to forget himselijasto pour forth execrations upon 
 the head of his tormentors. He did write a letter : 
 and, such a letter! — not an angry word in it — not 
 a complaint — not an unmanly lamentation — no 
 attemptto stir up thepassions of the negroes. He 
 just glances at his sudden departure, and then 
 leaves that irritating topic. He expostulates with 
 the negroes. Admonishes them to avenge his suf- 
 ferings? No: but to peace, tranquillity, obedience, 
 and cheerful submission. This is part of the letter: 
 " Be patient towards all men. Never speak 
 disrespectfully of any in authority, nor revilingly 
 of any one who injures you. Whatever you are 
 called to suffer, I beseech you to take it patiently. 
 In general, it will be best for you to be wholly 
 silent. From the affection you bear towards 
 me, you will, perhaps, find it difficult to refrain 
 when you hear me spoken against : but your 
 wisest plan will be to hold your peace, for you 
 would be in great danger of speaking with un- 
 due warmth, were you to undertake to defend 
 my character. You that are slaves will, I hope, 
 be exceedingly careful ' to adorn the doctrine 
 of God our Saviour in all things.' Let no 
 slave who is a Methodist be dishonest, or lazy, 
 or impertinent either in speech or behaviour : 
 
 F
 
 34 
 
 but let every one be sober, honest, industrious, 
 and useful to his owner, even as we have taught 
 you both in public and in private, from day to 
 day. And as to political matters, whether ye 
 be bond or free, never meddle with them ; but 
 mind higher and better things, the things re- 
 lating to God and eternity. Never speak slight- 
 ingly of the regular Clergy. In this respect, 
 imitate the example 1 set you while I dwelt 
 among you." 
 
 On Mr. Shrewsbury's arrival at St. Vincent, 
 he applied to the Governor, who received him 
 very kindly, but told him, that he considered 
 him as coming under circumstances of suspicion, 
 and that he must suspend him from the exer- 
 cise of his clerical duties for the present. In 
 consequence, Mr. Rayner, another Missionary, 
 went to Barbadoes, in order to collect testimo- 
 nials. And this gave a new opportunity for 
 exhibiting the spirit which prevails. He was 
 not permitted to land. He learnt, at one time, 
 that it was proposed to burn the vessel ; at 
 another, that boats were to be manned from 
 the shore, to drag him from the vessel, and put 
 him to death. And Mr. Walton, jun. whom I 
 mentioned before, then a magistrate, but not 
 now a magistrate; — for he has met with an unfor- 
 tunate accident : he was one night caught in com-
 
 35 
 
 pany with Mr. Newsome, the lawyer, in the act of 
 breaking the windows of a hearer of the Metho- 
 dists, and, in consequence, ceased to be a magis- 
 trate — Mr. Walton came on board the vessel, and 
 gave them a second edition of the proclamation. 
 He warned Mr. Rayner to be gone in four-and- 
 twenty hours, or he must take the consequences. 
 So alarmed was the Captain, that he removed 
 from Carlile Bay, where he had anchored under 
 the guns of a ship of war, and the officers of the 
 vessel went on shore. They waited upon those 
 persons of respectability, who had known most 
 of Mr. Shrewsbury ; but, such was the terror 
 that prevailed, that many of them refused to 
 give testimonials, saying, their life would be in 
 danger. Others did give some ; but, in fear 
 and trembling, and under a pledge of the con- 
 cealment of the names. I have these testimo- 
 nials in my hand, nine in number ; and they 
 are exactly what one would have expected. " I 
 solemnly declare," says the first, " that I never 
 heard Mr. Shrewsbury utter one word, tending 
 to insubordination." " As to the negroes," 
 says the second, " he was always particular in 
 teaching them their duty to their masters, as 
 part of their duty to God." And they all run 
 in the same strain. With these testimonials 
 Mr. Rayner returned to St. Vincent, and de-. 
 
 f 2
 
 36 
 
 livered them to the Governor. So satisfied was 
 he with them, that within an hour Mr. Shrews- 
 bury received a letter from him, stating, that he 
 was at liberty to preach in any part of his go- 
 vernment : and he preached accordingly the 
 next day. Mr. Shrewsbury remained for some 
 time in that island, and is now in England. And, 
 if any thing were wanted to complete the tenor 
 of his character, it is the way in which he speaks 
 of the treatment he has received. He never 
 speaks of the transactions, without introducing 
 every imaginable circumstance of palliation ; nor 
 of the actors, except in terms of undissembled 
 charity. 
 
 At Barbadoes the ferment continued. They 
 had then time to refer to the paragraph in their 
 second proclamation : " It is hoped, that as this 
 information will be circulated throughout the 
 different islands and colonies, all persons who 
 consider themselves true lovers of religion will 
 follow the laudable example of the Barbadians, 
 in putting an end to Methodism, and Methodist 
 Chapels, throughout the West-Indies." And, 
 accordingly, they sent a deputation, consisting 
 of from eight to ten persons, to the neighbour- 
 ing Islands, in order to induce them to follow 
 the laudable example of Barbadoes, and pull 
 down the chapels. This commission landed at
 
 d7 
 
 Tobago, stated their object, and the Governor 
 ordered them to be gone in an hour. They 
 landed at Trinidad, the Governor ordered 
 them offin five minutes. And, at Grenada, they 
 met with a still more inhospitable reception. The 
 Governor sent a body of soldiers to take them 
 into custody, if they landed. They returned, 
 therefore, to Barbadoes, from a very unsuccess- 
 ful embassy. 
 
 In that island things remained very much in 
 the same state. The mob had gained an abso- 
 lute victory. No Methodist was allowed to 
 preach : no Missionary was permitted to land : 
 and no man was brought to trial for the demo- 
 lition of the chapel. Month after month elapsed. 
 And now, at all events, you will anticipate, that 
 passion had cooled, and that reason and com- 
 mon sense resumed their sway. It was not so, 
 however. They determined to celebrate the 
 anniversary of the demolition of the chapel, by 
 a similar outrage. They found out, that a re- 
 spectable coloured woman was a Methodist, and 
 proposed to pull down her house. Now, there 
 is something so incredible in this, that I must re- 
 sort to my authority. You will find it in the 
 Governor's despatch, dated December % 1824. 
 
 " It was intended and proclaimed most pub- 
 licly to meet in honour of the anniversary of
 
 38 
 
 the destruction of the Methodist Chapel, and to 
 pull down a house belonging to a coloured Me- 
 thodist woman, who held meetings in her house; 
 in consequence of which, I ordered the whole of 
 the military, town-militia, and life-guards, to be 
 prepared and under arms on the evening of the 
 day so proclaimed, and the magistrates to as- 
 semble near the spot before dark." 
 
 It was "proclaimed most publicly:" and you 
 will like to hear the terms of the proclamation. 
 It beats all the others. It is signed " Rock." 
 It states, that the actors in the former scene have 
 formed themselves into " a Committee of Public 
 Safety ;" that they have taken the name of " the 
 Worthy." It invites the Worthy to meet " in 
 love and harmony," on the 19th of October, and 
 after dinner to proceed to pull down a house, 
 " where Methodism began again to rear its hi- 
 deous head." The Worthy are enjoined to come 
 armed, that in case " any of the pest should 
 resist, they might be sent to sleep with their 
 forefathers," They are animated to their enter- 
 prize by the memory of the former 19th of 
 October, " a day more dear to true Barbadians 
 than Trafalgar to Britons." The whole con- 
 cludes with a solemn oath to extirpate Metho- 
 dism from the Island " by fire and sword. So 
 help us our God !" (Signed) " Rock.' 
 
 j»
 
 39 
 
 The Governor, however, was upon the alert. 
 He ordered out the military; and the 19th of 
 October passed ingloriously. But, let no one 
 imagine, that the Governor has resumed his au- 
 thority, or that the spirit of persecution is extinct, 
 or even asleep. It is as watchful as ever. In 
 April last, the Missionary Society sent some of 
 their number to Barbadoes to rebuild the chapel, 
 with the concurrence of Lord Bathurst, and 
 with the concurrence of the Honourable Secre- 
 tary, as appears in these Papers. I have seen 
 nothing but the Barbadoes newspapers : but, 
 from them I learn, that they were not permitted 
 to land. The mob again assumed the functions 
 of the Governor, and warned them from the 
 shore, under the penalty of death. Lord Ba- 
 thurst is reviled, in the most unqualified terms. 
 His attempt to afford protection to the Metho- 
 dists is described as the most " unlooked-for, 
 uncalled-for, absurd, and dangerous measure, 
 ever contemplated by a British minister j'f and 
 the Right Honourable Gentleman, the Se- 
 cretary of State for Foreign Affairs, is not 
 spared. Jt is said, " the genius of Puritanism 
 has spread its malign influence over the w r hole 
 Cabinet." I make light of all this. I rate it 
 all as nonsense and idle gossip. But, there is 
 a fact stated, to which I do attach importance.
 
 40 
 
 It is stated, that the House of Assembly, who, 
 be it remembered, have never stirred a step to 
 bring the rioters to justice, have moved at last, 
 and ordered a prosecution against a Methodist 
 woman, who has devoted herself, most virtu- 
 ously, to the instruction of the negroes, for the 
 crime of holding religious meetings. Here is 
 the paragraph — 
 
 " The House of Assembly have ordered a 
 prosecution to be instituted against a mulatto 
 woman, for holding public meetings of this de- 
 scription ; whilst His Excellency the Governor, 
 in compliance with Earl Bathurst's instructions, 
 has issued a second Circular to the Magistrates, 
 calling upon them to afford every protection in 
 their power, even aided by the military, to the 
 Reverend Vagabonds above alluded to, which 
 to us has a very portentous meaning, and which 
 may God in his infinite mercy avert !" 
 
 Now, can any thing exceed the effrontery of 
 all this ? Was there ever such a train and clus- 
 ter of enormities ? Look at it in one view — it 
 is religious intolerance, at its highest point of 
 phrenzy ; fire and faggot persecution. Look at 
 it in another aspect — it is unblushing contempt 
 of authority, defiance of law, a triumph not 
 merely over Methodism — (that many gentlemen 
 would approve) — but a triumph over the Gover-
 
 11 
 
 nor there, over the Parliament here, and over 
 the feeling of the people of England. Look at 
 the tenor of their proceedings. First, it was 
 but a riot, an ebullition of popular feeling : and, 
 had it subsided then, and had proper atonement 
 been made, it might not have deserved the at- 
 tention of Parliament, jtfut, it wants the poor 
 apology of a temporary excitement. It has 
 raged too long. The same flame which burst 
 forth in 1823, was raging as furiously as ever, 
 at the moment the last despatches left the is- 
 land. It is a series of riots — a continuity of out- 
 rages — a reign which has lasted long, and, if 
 the islanders are to be believed, which shall 
 last for ever, of the most furious and deadly 
 passions. 
 
 It was but a riot — it has mounted into an in- 
 surrection. I defy any lawyer to deny, that 
 overt acts of rebellion have been committed. 
 The people are invited to attend a meeting to 
 pull down a chapel. They meet, and pull 
 down the chapel — armed to resist the military, 
 and to send any of the " pest " who may inter- 
 fere " to sleep with their forefathers." Procla- 
 mation after proclamation is issued, full of de- 
 fiance to legitimate authority — breathing the 
 spirit of revolt, or rather of triumphant and 
 predominant rebellion. Emissaries are sent 
 
 G
 
 forth ; ambassadors of persecution, to stir up 
 the embers of civil commotion and religious 
 discord in the neighbouring islands. A Com- 
 mittee of Public Safety, on the French plan, is 
 appointed. Captain Rock, on the Irish model, 
 signs the Manifesto. Unoffending men, bear- 
 ing the passport and safe conduct of His Ma- 
 jesty's Chief Secretary of State for the Colonies, 
 are not permitted to land in them. And, so little 
 of penitence is there, that the day of Mr Shrews- 
 bury's sufferings is dedicated to triumph, as a day 
 " more dear to true Barbadians, than Trafalgar 
 to Britons." These tumults, these concerted 
 meetings of armed men, to do a lawless act — • 
 which act they do — these proclamations, em- 
 bassies, committees of public safety; and, above 
 all, this act of outlawry, putting the King's 
 liege subjects out of the King's peace— I want 
 to know what all these amount to. And I 
 want to know this from the Right Honourable 
 Gentlemen opposite. I beg to ask them — Do 
 they amount to contumacy ? Ask any body 
 else— -One man will tell you, they amount to 
 stark-staring rebellion. Another, desirous to 
 palliate to the uttermost, will say, that they are 
 very little more than the most daring riot and 
 mutiny that ever was heard of. But, will any 
 man say, they are not contumacy ?
 
 43 
 
 Now, the Right Honourable Gentleman, the 
 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, once told 
 us, that if he experienced resistance from the 
 West-Indies, partaking of the nature of contu- 
 macy, he would come down to Parliament for 
 counsel and assistance. And, is not this con- 
 tumacy with a vengeance ? Unbridled, un- 
 veiled contumacy ? Contumacy pushed to its 
 extremest point ? Let us look what it is called 
 by the Authorities in the Island. The Council, 
 planters themselves, under the influence of 
 planters, and in awe of the mob, call it " a dis- 
 graceful outrage." Lord Bathurst, who always 
 answers the exasperated language of the Colo- 
 nists in the mildest and most gentleman-like 
 terms, calls it " a daring and scandalous viola- 
 tion of law." The Governor, helpless as he is, 
 almost shorn of his authority, calls it, in his 
 despatch, " an outrageous violation of law and 
 order, defeating the ends of civil association," 
 says the Governor — rendering the laws " a 
 scourge to the weak," says the Governor — 
 pregnant with " the very worst consequences, 
 and the most evil example," in a society of 
 Slaves, and " such as, if it be suffered to pass 
 unpunished" — (this is his language, not mine) 
 — " will render every man unsafe, in person 
 and in property, delivered over to the mercy 
 
 g2
 
 41. 
 
 of a mob." And this he says, upon the first 
 outrage ; which has been aggravated, a hun- 
 dred fold, by what has since occurred. 
 
 Now, the question which I wish to propound 
 is — Shall it pass unnoticed anduncondemned ? 
 — unpunished, I do not say. I ask no punish- 
 ment. I wish every blessing to the planters — 
 and more especially, the blessing of a tolerant 
 and peaceable spirit. I ask only this — First, 
 that law should be re-established in Barbadoes, 
 after a long interregnum : Secondly, that those 
 who pulled down the Chapel should build it up 
 again : and, Lastly, that law and justice, pro- 
 tection and toleration, should be secured to all 
 His Majesty's unoffending subjects, in all parts 
 of his dominions. 
 
 Thus ends my narrative : and I hope I have 
 kept my promise of chronicling the events, in 
 the order in which they took place. But, I 
 would now throw myself on the indulgence of 
 the House ; as there are two observations, or 
 rather two comparisons, which I would fain 
 make. I would compare the case of Smith, the 
 Missionary, in Demerara, with the case of the 
 Magistrates of Barbadoes. I wish to put, side 
 by side, the crime of Smith and his punishment, 
 and the crime of the Magistrates of Barbadoes 
 and their punishment. Mr. Smith knew that a
 
 45 
 
 disturbance was approaching, half an hour, as 
 some witnesses say ; a quarter of an hour, as 
 others depose — before the insurrection began. 
 That is his crime. The Magistrates of Barba- 
 does were summoned before the Council, and 
 asked, " Did you know that a riotous assembly 
 had collected at the Wesleyan Chapel, for the 
 purpose of pulling down that building, and that 
 they were actually engaged in destroying it?" 
 " I did " — is the answer of every magistrate 
 who was in town at the time. So far, then, 
 they stand in a parity of guilt. 
 
 Mr. Smith did something. He remonstrated 
 with the rioters, till his remonstrances were 
 checked by a presented blunderbuss : but still 
 he saved the life of Hamilton, the manager. 
 " Did you," the Magistrates are asked, " make 
 any effort to disperse the meeting, and prevent 
 the destruction of the Chapel ? Did you, Mr. 
 Gill ?" " I used no effort."— " Did you, Mr. 
 Wickham ?" " I used no effort."—" Did you, 
 Mr. Grant?" "I used no effort on either of 
 those nights."—" Did you, Mr. Walton ?" " I 
 used no efforts on either of those nights." — 
 " Did you, Mr. Waith ?" " I made no effort, 
 aware that it was useless." Here, then, Mr. 
 Smith has the advantage of the Magistrates. 
 He, did something ; they, nothing.
 
 46 
 
 Mr. Smith made no communication to the 
 Governor — the time and the distance rendering 
 it physically impossible. The Magistrates are 
 asked, " Did you make any communication to 
 the Governor on the subject ?" " I made no 
 communication to him," is the answer of them 
 all. 
 
 The poor, reviled Missionary, holding no 
 commission, charged with no responsibility, at 
 ten miles distance from the Governor and the 
 Military, because he did not communicate with 
 the rapidity of a telegraph, is sentenced to be 
 hanged by the neck, until he be dead. — And, 
 the Magistrates, the responsible authorities of 
 the town, in the neighbourhood of the Barracks 
 and the Governor, confessing that they knew 
 every thing, did nothing, communicated no- 
 thing — are sentenced to this punishment — " the 
 Council declared their opinion, that the con- 
 duct of the Magistrates was reprehensible, with 
 the exception of Mr. Moore and Mr. Waith, 
 who lived in the country."—" The Governor 
 then inquired, what the Privy Council thought 
 should be done on the occasion, when the Board 
 advised, that his Excellency's displeasure should 
 be expressed to those who had neglected their 
 duty ; which his Excellency desired the Clerk 
 to do." And, even this egregious sentence,
 
 47 
 
 as far as appears from these papers, was never 
 carried into effect. 
 
 So that, for the same crime, one man is sen- 
 tenced to death ; and another to a ridiculous 
 reprimand, from the mouth of the Governor's 
 Clerk. A hundred and ninety-three gentlemen 
 voted last session, that Mr. Smith, sentenced to 
 death, and hurried to an untimely grave, was 
 not punished too severely. Every one of 
 them votes with me to-night, in common consis- 
 tency. For, to them, of all men, must it appear 
 most monstrous, that the same crime committed 
 by magistrates, should be avenged by a sentence 
 of displeasure. 
 
 But, there is another comparison infinitely 
 more revolting to my mind, and which I cannot 
 think of without horror and poignant commis- 
 seration, and without sickening at the idea of 
 West-India justice. The rioters were white 
 men, and not the hair of the head of one of 
 them has been touched. Had men with black 
 skins committed such, one-half, one hundredth- 
 part of such, enormities — had they attended 
 one lawless meeting — had they fired one house 
 — had they sent forth one emissary — had they 
 issued one proclamation of defiance — had they 
 armed to resist the military — or had a negro 
 whispered — (I speak not of an imaginary, but of
 
 48 
 
 an actual case, detailed in the papers lately laid 
 before the House)— had a negro whispered in 
 the secret ear of his son, one sentence of dissatis- 
 faction with his condition, or one natural sigh 
 for liberty, what a massacre, what lashings, 
 what gibbeting, would have followed! — how 
 would the Mac Turks have rioted in the blood 
 of the slaves !— how would the halberds have 
 streamed with the blood of men sentenced, 
 u for mercy's sake," as it was impudently called, 
 to a thousand lashes, which were inflicted! — 
 But, being white men, and not blacks ; civi- 
 lized men, and not savages— "gentlemen," for- 
 sooth, "of respectability," which aggravates their 
 guilt a thousand fold— their riot is patriotic— 
 their proclamation is loyal: because they are 
 " true lovers of religion," they pull down a chapel, 
 and prosecute their neighbour, out of love and 
 harmony ! The black insurgents have quivered 
 under the halberds, and are rotting on the gib- 
 bets of Demerara— the white insurgents hold 
 the King's commission; administer the laws; 
 are the senators and magistrates of Barbadoes ! 
 " Equal-handed Justice " is the boast and glory 
 of the British Constitution. 
 
 My motion is temperate, perhaps to a fault. 
 I ask no punishment on any man. I state a 
 fact: and, in order to prevent misconstruction,
 
 49 
 
 I state, in the words of Lord Bathurst, that 
 a daring and scandalous violation of law has 
 been committed : next, I state, what I believe 
 to be a fact, — and shall continue so to believe, 
 until I am undeceived by a vote of this House ; 
 namely, that we view that outrage with amaze- 
 ment and detestation : next, I say, that we 
 will assist His Majesty, in enforcing the rebuild- 
 ing of the Chapel, at the expense of those who 
 pulled it down : and, finally, I say, that, warned 
 by past events, we will now take especial care, 
 that there shall be law, justice, liberty of con- 
 science, for all His Majesty's subjects in that 
 part of His Majesty's dominions. — The Honour- 
 able Member then moved, 
 
 " That an humble Address be presented to His 
 Majesty, representing to His Majesty that this 
 House, having taken into their most serious 
 consideration the Papers laid before them rela- 
 ting to the demolition of the Methodist Chapel 
 in Barbadoes, and the expulsion of Mr. Shrews- 
 bury, a licensed teacher of religion, deem it 
 their duty to declare, that they view with the 
 utmost amazement and detestation that scanda- 
 lous and daring violation of law ; and to be- 
 seech His Majesty to take such steps as shall 
 secure the rebuilding of the Chapel at the ex- 
 pense of the colony of Barbadoes ; and also, to 
 
 H
 
 50 
 
 assure His Majesty, that this House will afford 
 him every assistance which may be required, 
 in order to prevent the recurrence of such out- 
 rages, and in order to secure ample protection, 
 and religious toleration, to all His Majesty's 
 subjects in that part of His Dominions." 
 
 Mr.WILMOT HORTON said :— He should 
 not attempt to follow the Honourable Member 
 into the details of the complaint which he had 
 just submitted to the House, but should endea- 
 vour to confine himself to such a statement as 
 would put the House in possession of the know- 
 ledge of the real condition of the island to which 
 the motion of the Honourable Member referred, 
 at the time when the facts in question had oc- 
 curred, in order that the House might be en- 
 abled to form a correct judgment of the original 
 causes which had led to so unfortunate a result. 
 In fulfilment of this duty, however, he should 
 endeavour to offer such observations as might 
 be calculated to conciliate angry feelings on 
 either side, and to prevent the recurrence of 
 such evils for the future, rather than attempt 
 to follow, step by step, the minute and substan- 
 tially-accurate statement of facts, which the Ho- 
 nourable Member had just made. 
 
 No Gentleman could feel less inclined than
 
 51 
 
 he was, to justify so gross an outrage as the 
 destruction of the Methodist Chapel at Barba- 
 does. In fact, a reference to the papers which 
 had already been laid before Parliament would 
 sufficiently prove the sense which had been en- 
 tertained by the Noble Lord at the head of the 
 Colonial Department, of the nature of that out- 
 rage At the same time, he felt how unfortu- 
 nate it would be, if any thing occurred of a 
 nature to rekindle feelings of animosity, and 
 place at issue with each other the Missionaries 
 of the Wesleyan Society and certain Proprietors 
 in the West-Indies ; between whom so much 
 misunderstanding had already prevailed. 
 
 In the main, he agreed with what had fallen 
 from the Honourable Member ; but, he must 
 object to the introduction of the case of Mr. 
 Smith, the Missionary of Demerara. The Ho- 
 nourable Member had endeavoured to establish 
 an analogy between the case of Mr. Smith, 
 which was brought before the House last ses- 
 sion, and the present case of the Magistrates of 
 Barbadoes ; but, he thought that it was very 
 unsatisfactory in principle, if not more objec- 
 tionable, to attempt to establish such analogy ; 
 and he thought that the Honourable Gentleman 
 had failed in doing so on the present occasion. 
 It was to be remembered, that the subject of 
 
 h 2
 
 .52 
 
 Slavery generally, never could be approached, 
 without adverting to the fact, that it was a 
 state, however objectionable in itself, which had 
 received, from time to time, in the most une- 
 quivocal manner, the sanction and support of 
 this country. It was mixed up, in the minds 
 of the West-India Planters, with the question 
 of property ; and, if it could be shewn, that the 
 irritation, distrust, and dislike, which had been 
 entertained in the minds of the Planters at 
 Barbadoes against Mr. Shrewsbury and the Wes- 
 leyan Missionaries, arose from an apprehension 
 which they entertained for the security of their 
 property, as involved in the possession of Slaves, 
 some apology would be furnished by that con- 
 sideration. If they considered that the doc- 
 trines held by these Missionaries were danger- 
 ous to their interests, as being subversive of 
 subordination among the Slaves, inasmuch as 
 they inculcated the doctrine that Slavery was 
 incompatible with Christianity, that again would 
 make the present case one which ought to be 
 considered on its own peculiar grounds, and not 
 in analogy with that of Mr. Smith, the Mission- 
 ary of Demerara. — Now, whether Mr. Shrews- 
 bury or the Missionaries ever inculcated these 
 doctrines, or, if they did, whether they acted 
 under a sense of duty in doing so, was a ques-
 
 53 
 
 tion upon which he would not pause to make 
 any observations. He would only say, that the 
 state of Slavery being a recognized state, and 
 certain rights of property being mixed up with 
 that state, it would have been wise on the part 
 of the Missionaries, with reference to late dis- 
 cussions which had taken place in Parliament 
 on the subject of that state, to have conciliated 
 the Planters, by endeavouring to remove from 
 their minds any doubts or apprehensions, that 
 they meant, in any degree, to weaken the spirit 
 of obedience in the Slave. 
 
 Now, with respect to Mr. Shrewsbury him- 
 self, he did not mean, for one moment, to raise 
 any argument against the respectability of that 
 individual. Indeed, he entertained no doubt on 
 the subject. The testimonials to which the 
 Honourable Member had referred came from 
 persons of high character, and were, on that 
 account, entitled to every consideration and all 
 possible weight. At the same time, it was be- 
 yond a doubt, that that Missionary, perhaps 
 unintentionally, had given offence to the great 
 bulk of the white population of Barbadoes, who 
 considered themselves likely to be prejudiced 
 by his conduct. For, only one month after that 
 individual arrived in the island, he had written 
 home a letter to the Wesleyan Missionary
 
 Society, containing some severe strictures on 
 the state of Religious Instruction, as then exist- 
 ing there. These strictures containing, or being 
 supposed to contain, harsh reflections on the 
 white inhabitants in general, did excite against 
 Mr. Shrewsbury strong feelings of disapproba- 
 tion in Barbadoes. Mr. Shrewsbury had written 
 to the Committee of the Wesleyan Missionary 
 Society, on the 28th of March 1820, in the 
 following words : " If we now pause, and take 
 a calm review of the moral condition of this 
 populous Colony, the sight will be painful and 
 affecting in the extreme. Surely, the fear of 
 God is hardly to be seen in this place." And, 
 although, in a subsequent part of that letter, he 
 directed his observations towards the free black 
 and the Slave population, still, a general censure 
 on the whole was considered to have been 
 made. 
 
 And here he wished it to be understood dis- 
 tinctly, that he had no complaint to make 
 against the Wesleyan Missionaries in the West- 
 Indies. On the contrary, speaking generally, 
 from all that he had heard, he was disposed to 
 speak favourably of their conduct and of their 
 usefulness. But he might, he hoped, without 
 giving any offence, recommend the greatest 
 caution to those persons, in the existing state
 
 55 
 
 of feeling in the Colonies. — It appeared, too, 
 that Mr. Shrewsbury, instead of disarming the 
 prejudices which prevailed, had taken steps, 
 which were rather calculated to aggravate 
 them. With the view, as he said, of explaining 
 the real state of the case to the public, he had 
 himself laid a copy of the letter in question 
 upon the table of the public Commercial Room, 
 — a step, which many persons in the Colony 
 considered as not done in the spirit of self- 
 justification, but in that of defiance, and with a 
 view to shew how little he valued his oppo- 
 nents ; — especially as he did this at the time 
 when the alarms of the people of Barbadoes 
 were excited, not only by the discussions 
 that had taken place both in and out of Parlia- 
 ment, but by the intelligence lately received 
 of the formidable insurrection in Demerara, — 
 to the supposed origin and causes of which, 
 he should not now advert. Whatever might 
 have been Mr. Shrewsbury's motive in this re- 
 spect, it was sufficient to say, that his conduct 
 had given rise to feelings, which led to the cir- 
 cumstances which the House was now called on 
 to discuss. 
 
 With regard to the Chapel which had been 
 destroyed, he could inform the House, that at 
 the period of Mr. Shrewsbury's arrival in Barba-
 
 56 
 
 does, in February 1820, so far from its appearing, 
 that there was any general indisposition towards 
 himself or his Mission, — on the contrary, every 
 sort of assistance and support was given him : — 
 and, in proof of this assertion, he could state, 
 that one-third of the expense of building this 
 Chapel which had lately been destroyed, was 
 raised by voluntary subscriptions. Nothing 
 could more clearly establish the fact, that this 
 irritation, on the part of the people of Barba- 
 does, did not arise from original ill-will towards 
 the Wesleyan Missionaries, but from particular 
 circumstances, which had characterized the 
 Mission of this individual. 
 
 The Honourable Gentleman then adverted 
 to the argument of the Honourable Member 
 opposite, who had observed on the continuance 
 of these feelings in Barbadoes up to a late pe- 
 riod. To that he would reply, — and he did so 
 with considerable regret, — that circumstances 
 certainly had occurred, which had a tendency 
 to keep alive and continue, that particular state 
 of suspicion and jealousy, which existed in the 
 minds of the white Inhabitants of Barbadoes, 
 and to which he had alluded ; namely, a jea- 
 lousy of the supposed tendency of the Wesleyan 
 doctrines to diminish the obedience of the Slave. 
 It appeared, that in last September, certain
 
 Resolutions were passed at a meeting of Wes- 
 leyan Missionaries in Kingston, Jamaica, the 
 first of which was expressed in these words : 
 ii That they entertain a decided belief, that 
 Christianity does not interfere with the civil 
 condition of Slaves, as slavery is established 
 and regulated by the laws of the British West- 
 Indies." — The Committee of theWesleyan Mis- 
 sionary Society at home thought it necessary, 
 explicitly and distinctly to protest against the 
 doctrine contained in that Resolution ; and 
 they declared, that they held it to be " the 
 duty of every Christian Government, to bring 
 the state of Slavery to an end, as soon as it can 
 be done, prudently, safely, and with a just con- 
 sideration of the interests of all parties con- 
 cerned :" — and, thus far, they go little beyond 
 the Resolutions of the House of Commons. 
 They then add, that "the degradation of men 
 merely on account of their colour, and the hold- 
 ing of human beings in interminable bondage, 
 are wholly inconsistent with Christianity." Now, 
 of whatever qualification this opinion might be 
 susceptible, to preach to the Slave, that Chris- 
 tianity is his first duty, and to tell him, at the 
 same time, that his state of Slavery is wholly 
 inconsistent with Christianity, was to inculcate 
 doctrines, which would naturally appear dan- 
 
 i
 
 58 
 
 gerous to those who felt, that their property, the 
 property of their families, and their very exist- 
 ence, were necessarily involved in the posses- 
 sion of Slaves. 
 
 The Honourable Member had alluded to cer- 
 tain prosecutions, which, it was said, were about 
 to be instituted by the Law Authorities of the 
 Colony. He could only say, that no such pro- 
 secutions would take place, without a previous 
 consultation with the Government at home. 
 
 The Honourable Member had expressed little 
 or no censure on the conduct of the Governor 
 of Barbadoes, who, he felt assured that the 
 House would consider, had done every thing in 
 his power. In referring Mr. Shrewsbury to the 
 Magistrates for protection, he had felt, that he 
 was only giving that importance to the execu- 
 tion of the law which it was his duty to give. If 
 Mr. Shrewsbury had applied to the Magistrates, 
 and they had refused to act, he might then have 
 immediately returned to the Governor, who 
 would have found himself placed under circum- 
 stances, in which he could have had no hesitation 
 in interfering personally. But, the impression 
 which existed in Mr. Shrewsbury's mind, that 
 he would not receive assistance from the Magis- 
 trates, was pleaded as an excuse for not having 
 made the application. In that exercise of his
 
 59 
 
 discretion, lie considered Mr. Shrewsbury to 
 have been entirely in the wrong ; and that he 
 was so far responsible for the circumstances 
 which had succeeded. 
 
 He would mention another cause of the con- 
 tinued irritation which had existed in Barbadoes. 
 In the Report of the Committee of the Wes- 
 leyan Missionary Society to December 1824, 
 page 105, were the following remarks, with re- 
 ference to the destruction of the chapel : " The 
 whole shews, that even the poor excuse of tem- 
 porary excitement, founded on exaggerated 
 reports as to the insurrection in Demerara, and 
 misapprehensions as to the contents of Mr. 
 Shrewsbury's letter, cannot be allowed to the 
 leaders and exciters of these disgraceful out- 
 rages. They argue a deeper and more perma- 
 nent principle — a settled hostility to religion 
 itself, and to the religious instruction of the 
 negro and coloured population." Now, he 
 thought that he could satisfy the House, that it 
 was not a settled hostility to religion itselfj that 
 existed in Barbadoes, — but a hostility to religion, 
 as they understood it to be preached, or expect- 
 ed that it would be preached, by the Wesleyan 
 Missionaries. The religious establishment which 
 Parliament had provided had been received with 
 the utmost cordiality and gratitude. He un- 
 
 i 2
 
 60 
 
 derstood, that the legislature were prepared to 
 grant .£3,000 towards the expense of building 
 a new Church at Bridgetown, and to make an 
 annual grant of £600 for the support of the 
 Colonial School. The Moravians had lately re- 
 ceived from one individual a donation of £2,000. 
 But, he would refer more particularly to the 
 authority of the Rev. Mr. Hinds, a gentleman of 
 the utmost respectability, the Principal of Cod- 
 rington College, a college under the direction of 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel ; 
 and it was to be remembered, that the statement 
 of that gentleman was upon oath. Mr. Hinds 
 stated, that when officiating as Missionary from 
 the Society for the Conversion of Negro Slaves, 
 he made many applications to the proprietors 
 and overseers of estates, for libertv to instruct 
 their slaves in religion ; that, without any ex- 
 ception, all his applications were favourably 
 received ; and that, in several instances, great 
 zeal and earnestness were manifested in the 
 cause in which he was engaged. He had 
 known the proprietor of an estate himself read 
 prayers and explain the Scriptures to his 
 slaves •, and he adds, " from the inquiries which 
 I made, as well as from my own observations, 
 the impression left upon my mind is, that the 
 general sense of the proprietors is in favour of
 
 (il 
 
 the religious instruction of the Negroes, when- 
 ever undertaken by Ministers of the Established 
 Church." Many additional passages might be 
 quoted, in corroboration of this opinion, and to 
 shew the extent of religious instruction which 
 the Slaves received, not only at the several parish 
 churches (which were open at extraordinary 
 hours, for the special purpose of giving to the 
 Slaves lectures adapted to their capacity), but 
 also at their own houses ; and an estimate had 
 been made, that 10,000 slaves were receiving 
 religious instruction weekly. 
 
 He should conclude his observations by re- 
 peating, that he had nothing to offer in the way 
 of apology for what had occurred in the de- 
 struction of the Chapel, which had given rise 
 to the motion of the Honourable Gentleman. 
 He was willing, however, not only to hope, but 
 to believe, that the actors in that disgraceful 
 outrage, although they might have been under 
 the influence of a sort of moral dementation, 
 were not actuated by any want of intrinsic re- 
 spect for Religion itself. He hoped, that the 
 proof which these circumstances exhibited, of 
 the existence of an angry and a dangerous spi- 
 rit, would have the effect of inculcating caution 
 on all classes of religious Missionary Societies, 
 and of inducing them to endeavour to disarm
 
 62 
 
 that spirit, by adopting measures of conciliation, 
 and thereby to give full effect to those general 
 measures of instruction and improvement which 
 the House and the Country had sanctioned. 
 
 Mr. WILLIAM SMITH said, that not 
 merely for the sake of the Wesleyan Mission- 
 aries, or the religious instruction of the Colo- 
 nies, but for the honour of this country, he 
 considered the motion of his Honourable Friend 
 as highly important. It was absolutely neces- 
 sary, that a lesson should be read to the inhabi- 
 tants of Barbadoes ; who had displayed, through- 
 out this transaction, as well as upon other occa- 
 sions, so dangerous and outrageous a spirit ; 
 and whose language was little short of rebellion. 
 He was happy to find, that the Honourable Se- 
 cretary for the Colonies had allowed their con- 
 duct to be wholly unjustifiable ; though he 
 seemed desirous of finding some ground for it, 
 in the conduct of the Missionary Board, or of 
 Mr. Shrewsbury. For his own part, he had no 
 hesitation in saying, that there was not a sha- 
 dow of a charge against Mr. Shrewsbury. The 
 obnoxious Letter, of which so much had been 
 said, contained no reflections on the white po- 
 pulation of the Colony, half so strong, as those 
 which were to be found in almost every publi-
 
 68 
 
 cation, which had come, even recently, from 
 the hands of gentlemen, who were the best 
 acquainted with the condition of the West- 
 Indies. 
 
 From the days of Bryan Edwards, down to 
 the present year, similar descriptions had been 
 uniformly given, by every writer who had re- 
 sided there. He could, if necessary, furnish 
 instances, abundant and indisputable ; but, the 
 facts were too notorious to be denied ; — and, 
 whether true or false, these representations were 
 not confined to Mr. Shrewsbury, and could not 
 therefore furnish ground of charge against him 
 in particular : nor, however disreputable such 
 conduct might appear in the eyes of the sober 
 part of the British public, were the charges of 
 a nature to excite the Negroes to insubordi- 
 nation j — but, they were amply sufficient to 
 stimulate the Colonists to give vent to their 
 dislike of the Missionary system, and to the sple- 
 netic feelings which they had long indulged 
 against Mr. Shrewsbury and his Brethren; — 
 men, however, whose character neither de- 
 pended on their report, nor was to be ac- 
 cepted from such prejudiced hands. For their 
 objects, their deserts, and the fruits of their 
 labours, his Honourable Friend, the Member 
 for Christchurch (Sir George Rose), would be
 
 f>4 
 
 found a witness of the most accurate informa- 
 tion and the highest authority. To Mr. Bar- 
 ham they could also appeal ; and to almost 
 every gentleman known in this country, as 
 connected with the island in a way to do 
 himself honour. That Honourable Member 
 had also drawn a flattering contrast between 
 the effect produced on the Negro character by 
 the labours of the Wesleyan Missionaries, and 
 those of the Members of the Established Church; 
 who, to say the least of it, with a very few ho- 
 nourable exceptions, had seemed equally defi- 
 cient in power and inclination, to render any 
 services of this nature with general advantage. 
 
 He remembered that, some years ago, an at- 
 tempt was made, by a part of the Magistracy of 
 Kingston, in Jamaica, to put down the Metho- 
 dist and Dissenting Chapels there, by refusing 
 to grant licenses to their ministers. Upon that 
 occasion, he, with some other friends of reli- 
 gious liberty, had remonstrated with His Ma- 
 jesty's Ministers on the subject. In conse- 
 quence of that remonstrance, orders had been 
 immediately sent out, to rescind the measures 
 which had been taken ; and, from that time to 
 the present day, as he believed, no attempt had 
 been there made, again to interfere with the 
 liberty of worship. But, however improperly
 
 65 
 
 those Magistrates upon that occasion might 
 have acted, no riot, no tumult, had occurred ;— 
 no destruction of property had been committed, 
 nor any serious evil felt, but the partial inter- 
 ruption of the religious service. Such was the 
 striking difference between this proceeding, un- 
 justifiable as it was, and the violence perpe- 
 trated by the mob, styling itself " the respecta- 
 ble inhabitants of Barbadoes !" Such men as 
 these, however, he was firmly persuaded, the 
 "respectable inhabitants " of Jamaica would ut- 
 terly disown as Brethren. He was sure that 
 no men would more severely reprobate such 
 transactions, than the Gentlemen connected 
 with that island resident here, with whom he 
 had the pleasure to be acquainted. And yet, 
 some parts of the Honourable Secretary's speech 
 too much resembled an attempt to excuse 
 outrages, which had gone the length of defy- 
 ing all legal authority, and even threatening 
 murder. 
 
 The Honourable Secretary had recommended 
 conciliation and forbearance. Now, concilia- 
 tion had been very long tried; and, he was 
 sorry to say, had not produced the beneficial 
 effects which had been promised. When Lord 
 Seaforth had proposed a Bill, to declare the wan- 
 ton and wilful killing of a Slave to be murder, the 
 
 K
 
 planters pertinaciously opposed the enactment ; 
 — not on the pretext, that the mere supposition 
 of such a law being necessary was an insult ; 
 for its necessity had been demonstrated by a 
 recent occurrence — but merely because they 
 were, forsooth, too high-minded to submit to a 
 law which they disapproved : and the manner, 
 too, in which it had been refused was most 
 offensive. Nor had he been able to trace, from 
 that day to this, any change of feeling in the 
 people of that island, which could lead him to 
 suppose, that such an outrage as was now com- 
 plained of, might not, at any time, have been 
 committed : the extravagance of the action 
 did not, in his mind, form any presumption 
 against its probability. — Stronger measures than 
 any which the House had yet taken, were, he 
 was convinced, necessary to repress this spirit ; 
 and, if some such steps should not be taken, 
 on the first occasion which should present 
 itself, whether a Bishop or a Missionary were 
 employed in the obnoxious work, the most 
 reasonable demands would be rejected, if they 
 happened not to suit the pride of the As- 
 sembly, or the caprice of the people. There 
 had always existed, on the part of the inhabi- 
 tants of that Island, the most inordinate and 
 ridiculous ideas of their own importance. They
 
 67 
 
 seemed, in this instance, to be nearly on the 
 same level with the poor simple Welchman, 
 who exclaimed, when he was about to leave 
 the city of Bristol, " Alas ! what will become 
 of thee, poor Bristol, when I am gone !" They 
 should be taught, that, however valuable to a 
 few individuals may be the Estates they possess 
 there, to the empire of Great Britain, as a na- 
 tional possession, their Island is but as a toy, 
 which, if destroyed, would, in a very short 
 time, be scarcely missed, and ere long be quite 
 forgotten : and that, instead of being one of 
 the props of this country, as had been sillily 
 boasted, her conduct tended only to embarrass 
 and to tease the too-forbearing Government of 
 the Mother Country, and to bring the Colonies 
 into contempt. 
 
 Mr. BUTTER WORTH said, that being con- 
 nected with the Wesleyan Missionary Society, 
 he must request the indulgence of the House, 
 while he made a very few observations on the 
 case now under consideration. The Honourable 
 Colonial Secretary, at the commencement of his 
 speech, had stated, that all these subjects re- 
 lative to Missions in the Colonies, should be 
 treated in a spirit of conciliation, and not with 
 hostility. He could assure the Honourable 
 
 k 2
 
 6S 
 
 Gentleman, that a spirit of conciliation had uni- 
 formly been manifested by Mr. Shrewsbury 
 and the rest of the Missionaries, as well as by 
 those who had the management of the Wesleyan 
 Missions. Nothing could more directly prove 
 this, than the conduct of Mr. Shrewsbury, when, 
 after the destruction of his house and property, for 
 no offence — when he had been forced to escape 
 for his life out of the island of Barbadoes, with his 
 wife, at the very moment she expected to be 
 confined, he sat down as soon as he landed in 
 St. Vincent's, and wrote that most judicious and 
 conciliatory pastoral Letter to his distressed Flock 
 in Barbadoes, which had been alluded to by the 
 Honourable Mover. In this letter he entreated 
 them not to resent the unprovoked injury which 
 they had sustained, but to bear with meekness 
 and patience every insult, and not to render 
 evil for evil. Nothing could be more concilia- 
 tory, nor b.tter evince the Christian spirit of 
 forbearance, than that admirable letter. 
 
 With regard to the conduct of the Wesleyan 
 Mission Committee, although they had deeply 
 felt the gross injury and violent outrage which 
 had been committed, yet they had excited no 
 spirit of resentment at home. The table of the 
 House might easily have been covered with 
 petitions from all parts of the kingdom for jus-
 
 tice in so flagrant a case j but, not one had 
 been presented, and, indeed, the present motion 
 was not made by the instigation of the Mission 
 Committee : it was the spontaneous act of the 
 Honourable Mover. So far from the Society 
 wishing to excite a spirit of resentment, they 
 only lamented, that the Gentlemen of Barbadoes 
 did not see their own true interest, and encou- 
 rage the Missions, as had been done in the other 
 West-India Colonies. For, certain he was, that 
 the Slaves became more industrious, more sober, 
 more honest, and, in every respect, more valua- 
 ble, when brought under the influence of moral 
 and religious principles. He did not give this 
 as his own opinion merely ; for he had abun- 
 dant evidence to prove it. In the year 1817, 
 when prejudices were excited against the Mis- 
 sionaries, he, together with the late Member for 
 Midhurst, Mr. Thompson of Hull, sent a circu- 
 lar letter to the West-India Colonies, addressed 
 to Gentlemen not belonging to the Methodist 
 Society, inquiring into the character and conduct 
 of the Wesleyan Missionaries, and of the effects 
 produced by their preaching and labours on the 
 Slaves ; and he had now in his possession abun- 
 dance of letters, from Governors, Members of 
 Council, Judges, Barristers at Law, Physicians, 
 Planters and Proprietors of Estates, Merchants,
 
 70 
 
 and others, bearing ample testimony to the be- 
 neficial effects of the Wesleyan Missions on the 
 minds of the Slaves, and of the general srood 
 character and conduct of the Missionaries. He 
 was sorry that Barbadoes was almost the only 
 Colony in which the Missions were not encou- 
 raged. Liberal subscriptions had been con- 
 tributed to the Missions by Proprietors of Slaves, 
 in most of the other Islands. 
 
 He regretted, that the Honourable Secretary 
 had made any animadversion on the Annual 
 Report of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. It 
 was surely necessary, that such a flagrant out- 
 rage as the one committed at Barbadoes should 
 be noticed in the Annual Report ; and it cer- 
 tainly had been done in temperate, measured 
 language, considering the unprovoked injury 
 which had been sustained. The Honourable 
 Secretary had also seemed to insinuate, that the 
 doctrines preached by the Missionaries tended to 
 inculcate insubordination among the Slaves, 
 and to lessen their value. [Mr. Wilmot Horton, 
 across the table said, he must correct the Ho- 
 nourable Member ; he had not given this as 
 his opinion, but that it was the opinion of some 
 in Barbadoes.] Well ! whether such an opinion 
 were held here or there, he would challenge any 
 one to prove the fact. These Missions were
 
 71 
 
 not of yesterday : they had been established 
 upwards of forty years ; and, during all that 
 time, there never had been a single charge 
 substantiated against the doctrines taught by 
 the Wesleyan Missionaries. Indeed, their doc- 
 trines and liturgy were those of the Established 
 Church of England. 
 
 With regard to the instruction afforded by the 
 Clergy of the Established Church in the Colo- 
 nies, it was generally admitted, by their own 
 Returns to Lord Bathurst's Circular Letter, 
 printed by this House in 1818, that the Clergy 
 did not consider themselves fitted, or responsi- 
 ble, for the instruction of the Slaves ; nor had 
 they the means of affording instruction. If he 
 recollected right, in the Returns made by the 
 Rev. Mr. Chaderton, Rector of St. Paul's, An- 
 tigua, he had stated, that he could only admit 
 about thirty Slaves into his Church after the 
 Whites were accommodated ; and there were 
 nearly 4,000 Slaves in his parish. 
 
 The Honourable Secretary had charged Mr. 
 Shrewsbury with exciting the violence which 
 had occurred at Barbadoes, by exhibiting his 
 Letter by way of defiance. The very reverse 
 was the fact. The Letter had been printed in 
 the Colony for three years, without exciting 
 any particular observation ; but, when the un-
 
 no 
 
 happy affair in Demerara occurred, it produced 
 a bitter spirit against all Missionaries, and then 
 the Barbadians endeavoured to find some charge 
 against Mr. Shrewsbury. They examined his 
 reports, as printed in the Missionary Notices, 
 and particularly his Letter of 1820, which was 
 a public document in the island, and they gross- 
 ly misrepresented it, Mr. Shrewsbury, merely 
 in self-defence, to prevent such further misre- 
 presentation, and from the best motives, to 
 promote peace and good-will, took the printed 
 copy of his Letter and left it at the Commercial 
 Rooms, that it might speak for itself; and he 
 would beg permission to read to the House a 
 passage from Mr. Shrewsbury's own account of 
 this transaction, written at the time, viz. the 
 18th October 1823, the day before the riot, and 
 which was sent to this country, and printed by 
 the Committee in London, 15th December, 1823. 
 " When the intelligence of the insurrection 
 of the Slaves in Demerara reached Barbadoes, 
 it was publicly posted up in the Commercial 
 Rooms, that ' The Methodist clergymen of De- 
 
 * merara were both imprisoned, they being deep- 
 
 * ly implicated in the insurrection which had 
 
 * broken out in that Colony.' This falsehood, 
 stated in so public a manner, set the people in 
 a flame. Fresh stories were circulated every
 
 73 
 
 day. The Island newspapers (one excepted) 
 teemed with invectives against certain hypocri- 
 tical characters, who, under the pretence of 
 giving religious instruction to the Slaves, were 
 introducing principles entirely subversive of 
 those foundations on which the comfort and 
 happiness of society rested. My letter of 1820, 
 was again revived, and some confidently assert- 
 ed, that I had therein stated, that ' the Slaves 
 ' ought to take their liberty by force, if it could 
 ' not be otherwise obtained.' To silence this 
 report, I carried the number, containing the 
 Letter, to the Commercial Rooms, that any one 
 who chose might read it. This measure con- 
 siderably allayed the public ferment, till one of 
 the printers published scraps of the letter in his 
 paper, with comments upon it, which quickly 
 revived the public resentment, and increased it 
 to a still higher pitch. Not only were my words 
 misrepresented, but it was further said, and by 
 many believed, that the letter I produced was 
 not the real one ; that I had obtained that which 
 I made public from home, merely to blind the 
 eyes of the people ; and that the genuine letter 
 contained the vilest calumnies against the Bar- 
 badians, that were ever sent home to England. 
 Yet more ; every sermon I delivered became 
 
 L
 
 74 
 
 a subject of conversation afterwards; so that, 
 not a week occurred but I was charged with 
 having said something in my public discourse, 
 which endangered the peace of the colony ; and 
 to all this it was added, that I held private meet- 
 ings with the Slaves, to get all the information 
 from them I could, to convey intelligence to 
 the African Institution. These things have all 
 combined to arouse the public feeling against 
 us ; and the official despatches relative to the 
 late discussions in Parliament coming at this 
 crisis, consummated the whole. I especially am 
 now hated of all men." 
 
 With regard, therefore, to Mr. Shrewsbury's 
 motive for taking the letter of 1820 to the Com- 
 mercial Rooms, it was merely to silence clamour, 
 and certainly not to provoke hostility. He had 
 received the most ample testimonials to Mr. 
 Shrewsbury's general good conduct, especially 
 from one highly respectable gentleman in Gra- 
 nada, who owned, or had the charge of about two 
 thousand five hundred Slaves, with whom Mr. 
 Shrewsbury lived some years, and was particu- 
 larly useful in improving the general character of 
 his Negroes. As there did not appear to be any 
 particular objection to the motion, he should 
 refrain from offering to the House some further 
 observations, which he should otherwise have
 
 75 
 
 made, respecting the general object and ten- 
 dency of the Missions. 
 
 Mr. Secretary CANNING observed, That 
 as it was evident that no possible advantage 
 could result from prolonging the present de- 
 bate, he did not offer any apology for address- 
 ing himself thus early to the House, for the 
 purpose of stating the course which His Majes- 
 ty's Government were prepared to take upon 
 the Honourable Gentleman's motion. He beg- 
 ged, however, in the first place, to advert to 
 an expression which had been made use of by 
 the Honourable Member who spoke last, in 
 referring to the speech of his Honourable 
 Friend behind him, the Secretary for the Co- 
 lonies, as an intended justification of the pro- 
 ceedings which had taken place at Barbadoes. 
 The Honourable Member must have given the 
 speech of his Honourable Friend that designa- 
 tion, from mere inadvertence. Upon a little 
 reflection, the Honourable Member would ad- 
 mit, that it was, in no fair sense, applicable to 
 his (Mr. C.'s) Honourable Friend's statement. 
 In all human concerns indeed, it was a difficult 
 process to develope the course of a transaction, 
 involving many persons, and diversified by 
 many different occurrences — and to assign in 
 
 l 2
 
 76 
 
 detail the motives and reasons which led to 
 it, without appearing to use, on the one hand, 
 inflammatory language, or on the other, the 
 language of justification. His Honourable 
 Friend (Mr. W. Horton) had endeavoured to 
 give such an analysis ; — and, the attempt had 
 subjected him to the usual misrepresentations. 
 
 Of the transaction itself, to which the papers 
 on the table of the House related, it was im- 
 possible that there should be more than one 
 opinion : namely, that it was unjustifiable, in- 
 defensible — a violation of law and justice — a 
 defiance of all legal authority — a flying in the 
 face of Parliament, and of the country. [Hear, 
 hear ! from both sides of the House.] In every 
 expression of abhorrence at so great an out- 
 rage, he fully concurred with the Honourable 
 Member for "Weymouth ; and, if he differed 
 from that Honourable Gentleman in opinion, as 
 to the mode in which the House ought to pro- 
 ceed upon the occasion, that difference was 
 solely founded on practical considerations, 
 arising out of the circumstances of the case, 
 and not upon a favourable estimate of the cha- 
 racter of the transaction itself. He admitted 
 even, that it was a case, in which the duty of 
 the House of Commons would be better per- 
 formed by interfering, than by passing it by
 
 77 
 
 unobserved : but, he thought it, at the same 
 time, expedient for the House, so to regulate 
 its interference, as neither to leave unmarked, 
 on the one hand, the expression of its indigna- 
 tion, nor to involve itself, on the other hand, 
 in questions of unnecessary difficulty. 
 
 The case of Mr. Shrewsbury had been placed 
 in comparison with that of Mr. Smith, the Mis- 
 sionary of Demerara ; but very erroneously, as 
 appeared to him (Mr. Canning) ; since, there 
 was this striking difference in the two cases. 
 Of Mr. Smith he was desirous of saying no- 
 thing harsh or disrespectful. His guilt or in- 
 nocence was not the debate of that night; — 
 and, whatever his errors might have been, he 
 had, God knew, more than amply atoned for 
 them. But, in Mr. Smith's case there was an 
 imputation of guilt — or error — (call it by what 
 name you would), which at least provoked, if 
 it did not justify, animadversion. In the con- 
 duct of Mr. Shrewsbury, he must be allowed 
 to say, that there did not appear the slightest 
 ground of blame or suspicion. [Hear, hear!] 
 
 Allusion had been made to the Letter which 
 Mr. Shrewsbury had felt it his duty to address 
 to his correspondents in this country. It could 
 not be denied, that Mr. Shrewsbury was at 
 liberty to write that letter. To Mr. Shrews-
 
 78 
 
 bury, therefore, no blame whatever attached, 
 on account of its contents. But, he must say, 
 that it was a gross instance of imprudence to 
 publish that letter : nor could he conceive any 
 thing more likely to paralyze the future efforts 
 of their Missionary, than that publication by 
 the Missionary Society. The sending back 
 to Barbadoes, to be circulated throughout the 
 colony, Mr. Shrewsbury's free remarks upon 
 its inhabitants, was to mark him out for dis- 
 trust and dislike, if not (as had turned out to 
 be the event) for persecution. The object of 
 the Missionary Society ought to have been, to 
 enable Mr. Shrewsbury to stem the prejudices 
 which prevailed against his sect. Before he 
 had time, however, to conciliate, by his peace- 
 able and steady behaviour, those to whom he 
 was sent, this firebrand had been flung amongst 
 the Barbadians ; and, from that moment, all 
 the prospects of his individual usefulness in 
 that community, were at an end. But, of this 
 unlucky mistake the blame rested not on 
 Mr. Shrewsbury. Nor did he state the pro- 
 vocation — though a most unwise and unneces- 
 sary one — as a justification of the conduct of 
 the Barbadians. 
 
 In considering the course which it was the 
 duty of the House to adopt upon the present
 
 79 
 
 occasion, it was necessary for Honourable Gen- 
 tlemen to bear in mind, that there were four 
 classes of persons to whom the attention of the 
 House had been drawn. In the first place, 
 there was that class of unknown persons in 
 Barbadoes, who had personally committed the 
 outrage which formed the subject of the mo- 
 tion : Secondly, the insular Magistracy, who, 
 it was impossible to say, had done their duty, 
 or had even shown themselves sensible of the 
 duty which they had to do : Thirdly, there 
 was the Governor of the Colony : and, Lastly, 
 there was the Government at home. 
 
 With respect to the conduct of the Governor 
 of the Colony, he was disposed to view it with 
 great indulgence. Indeed, there was no dis- 
 position, in any quarter, to impute blame to 
 him. Undoubtedly, it was in his power to 
 have called out the military forces under his 
 command ; but, that was an extreme course, 
 which, the rather, perhaps, from his being a 
 military man, he was unwilling to take, when 
 informed by his official legal adviser, that such 
 a course was not within the limits of his au- 
 thority. The Governor did not appear to have 
 been then aware of the extent of that autho- 
 rity : but, having been since instructed, by His 
 Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies,
 
 80 
 
 that his authority, as Governor, was much 
 wider than he supposed it to be, he had shewn 
 every disposition to exercise it to its utmost ex- 
 tent : which, indeed, he had so effectually done, 
 as to prevent the repetition of similar outrages 
 in the colony. 
 
 With respect to the conduct of the Govern- 
 ment at home, he thought it was impossible — 
 indeed, no disposition was evinced — to charge it 
 with remissness. Lord Bathurst had done every 
 thing in his power, to avoid a recurrence of the 
 disgraceful scenes that had taken place, by call- 
 ing upon the Governor to exercise an extended 
 authority ; pronouncing animadversions on the 
 magistracy ; and requiring a more accurate in- 
 vestigation into the manner in which that body 
 discharged its functions. 
 
 It had been asked, why the Magistrates had 
 in no way been punished, except by a slight 
 reprimand from the Governor ; and how it came 
 to pass, that their dismissal had not been re- 
 commended? Looking on the face of the Pa- 
 pers, it certainly did appear to him, that many 
 of those magistrates ought to be removed from 
 their offices. But, unacquainted, as he necessa- 
 rily was, with the state of society in Barbadoes, 
 he was not prepared to say, that, if the present 
 magistrates were displaced, others could be pro-
 
 ■81 
 
 cured, who would discharge the duties of their 
 office in a more satisfactory manner. This 
 could be no very satisfactory reason, to be 
 sure, for continuing things on their present 
 footing; but, it was an imperative one, if it ex- 
 isted : and, not knowing whether it existed, or 
 not, the Colonial Secretary of State could not, 
 without great indiscretion, and risk of mischief, 
 have sent an order to displace a whole magis- 
 tracy — even if the Government had the lawful 
 power to do so. 
 
 The fourth Class were the rioters themselves; 
 — guilty, but numerous, and unknown. In de- 
 fence, or in extenuation at least, of the riot, 
 blame had been thrown upon the Wesleyan 
 Missionaries in general. He (Mr. Canning), 
 was not at all inclined to disparage the charac- 
 ter of that body, or to undervalue their labours- 
 But, with every due sense of their merits, and 
 of the good which they had effected in the Co- 
 lonies, — good, not only spiritual, but political — 
 he was not disposed to confine the education 
 and moral improvement of the inhabitants of the 
 West-Indies, to their exclusive protection. He 
 was a friend to toleration, in the full extent and 
 meaning of the term ; but, he did not understand 
 that kind of toleration, which was to be con- 
 fined to one particular class or body, to the 
 
 M
 
 exclusion of other bodies, equally meritorious. 
 He wished the Established Church to live in 
 charity with all Sects ; and to avail itself of all 
 the aids and appliances which they might fur- 
 nish. But, he did not see why the Church of 
 England should be considered as the only Esta- 
 blishment unfit for its own work ; and incom- 
 petent to deal with the subjects and colonies of 
 England. He said this in passing ; because, he 
 thought he observed a disposition to raise the 
 Sectaries, not up to a level with the Church, 
 but beyond it ; and make the Church itself an 
 exception, rather than the rule and standard 
 of our Ecclesiastical Establishment. 
 
 But, to return to the immediate question. A 
 reference had been made to certain expressions 
 which had fallen from him, in a former session, 
 during the discussion of certain propositions, 
 calculated to promote the amelioration of the 
 condition of the Negroes of the West-Indies. 
 Undoubtedly, he had said, that if, in the prose- 
 cution of that cause, he experienced resistance 
 from the West-Indies, partaking of the nature 
 of contumacy, he should consider it right to 
 come down to Parliament for counsel and 
 assistance. To that opinion he still adhered : 
 and it was plain, that he so far admitted its ap- 
 plication to the present case, as to allow that it
 
 m 
 
 was one in which something should be done by 
 the House of Commons. The question was, 
 what that something should be. 
 
 The proposed Address to the Crown pledges 
 the House to assist His Majesty, in enforcing 
 the rebuilding of the Chapel which had been 
 demolished, at the expense of the people of 
 Barbadoes. Such a proposition appeared to him 
 to involve a most dangerous principle. It was 
 one which had very rarely been acted upon in 
 this country. There were, he believed, in the 
 annals of Parliament, two prominent instances 
 of penal infliction upon a large community, for 
 the acts of undiscovered individuals. Those in- 
 stances were that of the Porteous riot, at Edin- 
 burg, and, more recently, the Boston Port Bill. 
 The former had not been without its difficulties. 
 The latter was a most inauspicious precedent ; 
 and one which he was sure the House would 
 not be very precipitate to adopt. If, however, 
 the House were prepared to admit such a prin- 
 ciple, they should also be prepared, with all 
 their hearts, and with every nerve of their frames, 
 to follow it up, and fearlessly meet the result. 
 
 The Executive Government alone could do 
 nothing to accomplish the Honourable Gentle- 
 man's object. The Address would, therefore, 
 be a delusion, if it did not point distinctly to an 
 
 m 2
 
 84 
 
 act of the Legislature. It was by an act of 
 Parliament alone, that the people of Barbadoes 
 could be compelled to do that which the Ho- 
 nourable Member recommended. But, was the 
 House prepared to levy money, for internal 
 purposes, upon the people of that Island, who 
 had an independent legislature of their own? 
 He begged to be understood, as not giving any 
 general opinion, as to the existence or non-exis- 
 tence of that transcendent power in the metro- 
 politan Parliament of the Monarchy. That was 
 one of the questions which lied deepest in the 
 very penetralia of the Constitution, and which (as 
 he had said upon the occasion before referred 
 to) it would be unwise to stir, except upon an 
 adequate occasion. — Was this an adequate oc- 
 casion ? He thought not. 
 
 Was he (Mr. Canning), however, desirous to 
 induce the House to pass over the outrage 
 which had been committed? No such thing. 
 Although he did not think the case was one 
 which called for such an exercise of authority 
 as the Resolution of the Honourable Member 
 indicated, he nevertheless thought it was one, 
 on which it was fitting that the House of Com- 
 mons should express its opinion — not in censure 
 of the Governor of Barbadoes, for the Honour- 
 able Mover did not mean to blame him — nor of
 
 84> 
 
 the Home Government, for that had done con- 
 fessedly every thing in its power — but, in aid of 
 both, and for the purpose of proving to the 
 Colonies, that the opinion of the House and the 
 country was, that the Governor had done his 
 duty, and that they were ready to give him their 
 support, if necessary, in what future exigencies 
 might require to be done. He had prepared an 
 Amendment to that effect, which he would 
 read to the House : 
 
 " Resolved, That an humble Address be pre- 
 sented to His Majesty, to represent to His 
 Majesty, that this House, having taken into 
 their most serious consideration the papers laid 
 before them, relating to the demolition of the 
 Methodist Chapel in Barbadoes, deem it their 
 duty to declare, that they view with the utmost 
 indignation that scandalous and daring viola- 
 tion of the law, and having seen with great satis- 
 faction the instructions which have been sent out 
 by His Majesty's Secretary of State to the Go- 
 vernor of Barbadoes, to prevent a recurrence of 
 similar outrages, they humbly assure His Majes- 
 ty of their readiness to concur in every measure 
 which his Majesty may deem necessary for 
 securing ample protection and religious tolera- 
 tion to all His Majesty's subjects in that part of 
 His Majesty's dominions."
 
 86 
 
 The Honourable Mover would see, that the 
 principal difference between the Amendment 
 and the original Resolution — except in what 
 related to the rebuilding of the Chapel — was, 
 the substitution of the word " indignation," for 
 " amazement and detestation." He believed the 
 substituted phrase was the more parliamentary. 
 At all events, it was, on the present occasion, 
 the most correct : for it did appear somewhat 
 extraordinary, that the Honourable Member 
 should propose to declare the " amazement" of 
 the House at an event, which he had stated, 
 both at the outset and the conclusion of his 
 speech, to have been exactly agreeable to his 
 own expectation. As an admonition to the in- 
 habitants of Barbadoes, and as an expression of 
 the opinion of the House, he (Mr. Canning) 
 thought the amended Address would be equal 
 in effect to any questionable attempt at more 
 serious practical punishment. Let not the prin- 
 ciple of such more weighty infliction be supposed 
 to be disavowed : but, contented to meet the 
 present occasion with what was sufficient for 
 the purpose, let us permit that principle to lie 
 dormant in the omnipotent bosom of Parlia- 
 ment ; never to be brought forth into action, 
 until the Legislature saw itself called upon, by a 
 more urgent exigency, to arm itself with extra-
 
 87 
 
 ordinary terrors ; and was consequently pre- 
 pared, with all efforts and at all risks, to push 
 that principle to its utmost extremity. 
 
 The Amendment further improved, as he 
 (Mr. Canning; thought, upon the original Re- 
 solution, by expressly approving of the con- 
 duct of the Executive Government at home. 
 The effect of passing any resolution, which did 
 not contain such an expression of approval, 
 would be to impeach that conduct; and, sure 
 he was, that it was not the intention of the 
 Honourable Mover to do that, which would 
 be, in effect, to side with the contumacious 
 Barbadians, against the Secretary of State. 
 On the contrary, the Honourable Gentleman 
 would feel, that a cordial approbation of what 
 the King's Government had done, would be 
 the most useful encouragement and support to 
 them, in what they might yet have to do. 
 
 Believing, therefore, that, both as to what 
 it omitted, and as to what it supplied, the 
 Address which he proposed would meet 
 the necessity of the case, the wishes of the 
 House, and even the object of the Honourable 
 Gentleman himself, better than his own Reso- 
 lution, he would conclude by proposing it for 
 the adoption of the House. — The Right Ho- 
 nourable Gentleman then moved, by way of
 
 88 
 
 Amendment, to leave out from the word " Bar- 
 badoes " to the end of the Question, in order 
 to add the words, " deem it their duty to de- 
 clare, that they view with the utmost indigna- 
 tion, that scandalous and daring violation of 
 the Law ; and having seen with great satisfac- 
 tion the instructions which have been sent out 
 by His Majesty's Secretary of State to the 
 Governor of Barbadoes, to prevent a recur- 
 rence of similar outrages, they humbly assure 
 His Majesty of their readiness to concur 
 in every measure which His Majesty may 
 deem necessary, for securing ample protection, 
 and religious toleration, to all His Majesty's 
 subjects in that part of His Majesty's Domi- 
 nions," instead thereof. 
 
 Mr. BUTTERWORTH observed,— That he 
 was quite sure that the Amendment of the 
 Right Honourable Gentleman who had just 
 sat down would afford ample satisfaction to the 
 Wesleyan Mission Committee. They had no 
 feelings of resentment to gratify. All they 
 wanted was protection for their Missionaries, 
 while they conducted themselves properly. 
 With regard, however, to what the Right 
 Honourable Gentleman had stated, that Mr. 
 Shrewsbury's letter of 1820 was very pro-
 
 8!) 
 
 per lor him to write to the Committee, but 
 most injudicious in the latter to publish, and 
 that it was like throwing a firebrand into the 
 Colony — he must confess, that he thought very 
 differently. It was an accurate description of the 
 moral condition of the island; and, unless the 
 Subscribers to the Missions were made acquainted 
 with the actual state of those countries to which 
 the Missionaries were sent, whether to our own 
 Colonies or to Heathen lands, they could not be 
 expected to support the Missions. In respect to 
 the letter being like " a firebrand," it certainly 
 was a very cold one ; for it had lain publicly in 
 the Colony for three years, without producing 
 any light or heat, until it was kindled by the 
 flame which arrived from Demerara, and by 
 gross misrepresentations in Barbadoes. 
 
 Mr. BROUGHAM rose and said—That after 
 the course taken by the Right Honourable 
 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the few 
 observations which he should feel it his duty 
 to offer would be of little importance. He was 
 happy to say, that he highly approved of the 
 Amendment ; which, unlike many other pro- 
 positions bearing that name, and proceeding 
 from the other side of the House, was, in truth 
 as well as in name, an amendment of the origi- 
 
 N
 
 90 
 
 nal motion. But, he would now, as he did upon 
 all other occasions, enter his protest against any 
 parallel being set up, between the case of the 
 Northern States of America and the West- 
 India Islands. He denied that there existed 
 the remotest similarity in their relations with 
 the Mother Country. The defiance of North 
 America was truly formidable, and to encoun- 
 ter it was, on the part of this country, the 
 height of folly : the threats of the Islands were 
 justly a subject of ridicule. 
 
 It wa,s not, however, because they were 
 powerless, that he would argue that any illegal 
 or unjust course was to be adopted towards 
 them. Far from it. He had ever contended, 
 that even the weakness of a community consti- 
 tuted a stronger claim against being trampled 
 upon by oppressive interference. It was be- 
 cause he held the right to be on our side, 
 that he warned the Islands once more against 
 provoking us to shew our power also ; and 
 reminded the House that, as for the safety of 
 exercising our undoubted prerogative, Great 
 Britain had nothing to fear from the West- 
 Indies — from its largest colony, down to the 
 smallest of the Virgin Isles. They might me- 
 nace — but, it was all trifling. The language 
 of this country should be to the West-India
 
 01 
 
 Assemblies — that, if they did not discharge 
 their duties, the United Parliament would do 
 its duty — that it would exercise that legis- 
 lative right, which, except upon the point of 
 taxation, it had reserved to itself, and secured 
 by a declaratory law. No man who knew the 
 least of the question could harbour a doubt on 
 this point. No man who had read the words of our 
 Statutes, or reflected on the events out of which 
 they arose, could hesitate an instant in admit- 
 ting, that Parliament possessed the full right of 
 internal legislation in all the Colonies — fre- 
 quently exercised that right — and had only 
 consented to abandon it upon the single matter 
 of revenue. 
 
 There was, he thought, a very remarkable 
 difference between the tone of the Right Ho- 
 nourable Secretary of State and the Under Se- 
 cretary for the Colonial department, in speak- 
 ing of the outrages which had been committed 
 in Barbadoes. It might be, that as the former 
 was oftentimes obliged to mitigate his language 
 here and elsewhere, to pacify the Holy Allies 
 and their ministers, so the latter was forced to 
 consider the Islands and their agents. While 
 the Secretary of State gave full vent to his 
 feelings on colonial questions, the Under Secre- 
 tary spoke freely on foreign affairs. On this 
 
 N c l
 
 subject, however, the Honourable Under Secre- 
 tary was rather mealy-mouthed. He dealt out 
 his censure very charily, upon the conduct of 
 those by whom the disgraceful outrage in ques- 
 tion had been committed. According to the 
 Honourable Gentleman, they had been be- 
 trayed by their feelings into the course which 
 they had pursued. In an amiable excess of 
 sensibility, they had only burnt down a chapel 
 — only made a great riot — only levied war 
 against the king, and committed high treason ! 
 [A laugh.] The Honourable Gentleman cer- 
 tainly allowed, that the act was much to be la- 
 mented ; and he also lamented the cause of 
 the act. This amiable indiscretion, it seemed, 
 was occasioned by a wish to preserve their pro- 
 perty, on the part of those who committed it. 
 " Just as if a man," said Mr. Brougham, " pro- 
 fessing merely to protect his own purse, should 
 indiscreetly, but through a pardonable, if not an 
 amiable indiscretion, take mine." [A laugh.] 
 To protect their own property, these amiable 
 but indicreet persons went and destroyed a 
 Meeting-house belonging to others. And then, 
 these offences, committed day after day, and 
 night after night, were absolutely gloried in by 
 their perpetrators, and called the triumph of 
 true religion ! They ransacked, pulled down,
 
 03 
 
 burnt, destroyed, demolished the property of 
 others; were nearly committing murder, and 
 did commit treason — and all to give a triumph 
 to " true religion !" Excesses had often been 
 perpetrated in the name of Religion, as well as 
 of Liberty ; but, never before, even in the most 
 barbarous times, had that sacred name been 
 more prostituted, than in Barbadoes. [Hear !] 
 
 With respect to the Missionaries, he must 
 declare, that they had done great good — un- 
 mixed good — in the West- Indian Colonies. The 
 Church must, of course, be protected ; but, he 
 would deal with an equal hand, and afford pro- 
 tection to the Sects likewise. The Church was 
 not adapted to the spiritual exigencies of the 
 colonies. It was quite impossible that the task 
 of instructing the Slaves could be left to the 
 Established Church alone. The very accom- 
 plishments of its Clergymen, the education 
 which they received at Oxford and at Cam- 
 bridge, unfitted them for the task of converting 
 and educating the unfortunate beings, who ought 
 to be the peculiar objects of proselytism and 
 instruction. In a very able Pamphlet on the 
 Treatment of the Negroes, published by an 
 Honourable Member of that House (Sir George 
 Rose), the author, a member of the Church of 
 England, and warmly attached to its doctrines
 
 94 
 
 and discipline, notwithstanding all his preju- 
 dices in favour of the Establishment, had laid 
 down the principle to which he (Mr. Brougham) 
 had just adverted, had supported it by ar- 
 gument, and illustrated it by example. Nay, 
 even the Clergy of the West-Indies themselves, 
 had, many years ago, borne the most satisfac- 
 tory testimony to the superior advantages pos- 
 sessed by the Methodist Ministers, in teaching 
 the negroes ; and had admitted, that if those 
 negroes were to be taught at all, it must be by 
 such instructors. The question, indeed, now 
 was, whether the negroes should be taught at 
 all : for, if they were to be taught, Methodists 
 alone could teach them. 
 
 He was exceedingly sorry, however, to find, 
 that such was not the opinion of a Right Reve- 
 rend person who had lately been sent over to 
 the West-Indies, as Bishop of Jamaica. Bishop 
 Lipscomb (whose First Fruits, remitted to 
 the Colonial Office and treasured in the papers 
 before the House, he (Mr. Brougham) feared 
 would be found, when weighed, of more insig- 
 nificant value, than those of the poorest of the 
 Welsh Bishops), in his despatch to the Noble 
 Earl at the head of that department, asserted, 
 that the negroes were very favourable to the 
 Established Church, and, on the contrary, re-
 
 95 
 
 sardecl the Sectaries with a most unfavourable 
 eye. It was worth observing, that this des- 
 patch from the Right Reverend Prelate was 
 dated the 12th of March. He could not have 
 arrived in the colony long before the beginning 
 of March. [Some Honourable Member denied 
 this.] He (Mr. Brougham) had the means of 
 knowing, that the Bishop could not have ar- 
 rived at Jamaica long before the beginning of 
 March ; because, he happened to know profes- 
 sionally, that the vessel which carried their 
 Lordships, the West- India Bishops, out, sailed 
 pretty far on in the month of December. Not- 
 withstanding which, the moment he gets there, 
 he sees what is the religious disposition of the 
 Slaves. Let the House remark, how very much 
 the Right Reverend Prelate differed from his 
 more humble Ecclesiastical predecessors. He 
 said — « A very strong predilection exists for 
 the doctrines of the Church of England, if op- 
 portunities for attending Divine Service were 
 afforded them." Now, how could the Right 
 Reverend Prelate by possibility discover, during 
 his residence of two or three weeks in the colo- 
 nies, that this predilection for the doctrines of 
 the Established Church existed among the poor 
 negroes? How much did they know of the 
 Thirty-nine Articles, or of the difference be-
 
 tween " consubstantiation " ami *.' transubstuu* 
 tiation ?" But, no matter ! the Bishop ex- 
 presses his conviction, that they entertain " a 
 very strong predilection " for the doctrines of 
 the Established Church : and he adds—" Wher- 
 ever I go, I find the greatest aversion to Secta- 
 rianism, of every kind and denomination ; but 
 every degree of confidence in any teachers of 
 religion, whom I may be pleased to appoint." 
 Why, really, the island of Jamaica must be a 
 perfect Bishop's Paradise, thus delighted as the 
 population were with the Church of England, 
 and abhorring, with a true orthodox abhorrence, 
 all Sectarianism ! 
 
 It appeared also, by the Bishop's de- 
 spatch, that " psalmody and organs had great 
 attractions for them ; that they seemed particu- 
 larly fond of form and ceremony ; and were 
 greater critics than many persons would give 
 them credit for." [Mr. Canning here said, across 
 the table, that the persons alluded to could not 
 surely be the negroes. J Yes, the poor negroes. 
 The Learned Bishop no sooner arrives in the 
 Colony, than, with the eye of a lynx, he thus 
 dives into all the depths of the negro character. 
 — " From the great uncertainty and capricious- 
 ness," continued he, " of the negro character, 
 it is difficult to make sure of their attendance,
 
 97 
 
 even where great pains have been taken ; but, 
 whenever a preacher is popular, they dress out 
 their children and themselves — a sure sign they 
 are in good humour." So, it seemed, that the 
 better the humour the negroes were in, the bet- 
 ter they dressed ! " Psalmody and organs have 
 great attractions for them : they seem particu- 
 larly fond of form and ceremony." No great 
 proof, by the bye, of " the great uncertainty and 
 capriciousness" of their character ; at least in 
 the eyes of a regular Episcopalian, whom we 
 might expect to find prone to rank such predi- 
 lections among the indications of a solid and wise 
 frame of mind — " and are greater critics than 
 many persons will give them credit for ; re- 
 marking every particularity of manner and ges- 
 ture, and have a great predilection for a powerful 
 sonorous voice" [a laugh]. 
 
 The Right Reverend Prelate then proceeded 
 to say — " As soon as my Archdeacon and my- 
 self have visited the several parishes, which we 
 purpose doingimmediately." — It appeared, then, 
 that the Bishop made this Report, before he had 
 seen the people. Elsewhere, investigation gene- 
 rally preceded decision ; in Jamaica, it seemed, 
 it was to follow after. The Learned Divine re- 
 versed the usual course of proceeding — which 
 was to see first and report afterwards ; for he 
 
 o
 
 98 
 
 made up his Report, in the first instance, and 
 then said, that he would go and see what he 
 had been writing about ! The Bishop went on 
 thus — " I shall not fail to communicate to your 
 Lordship whatever I may deem useful and prac- 
 tical. In the mean time, I am happy in being 
 able to assure your Lordship, that a very gene- 
 ral wish to ameliorate the condition of the 
 Slaves, and to instruct them in the principles 
 of the Established Church, seems to pervade 
 the great mass of Proprietors, and every facility 
 is afforded me of visiting the several plantations." 
 Now, whatever the Bishop of Jamaica and 
 his Archdeacon might hold of the opinions of 
 the Negroes, he (Mr. Brougham) really could 
 not help thinking, that the Bishop and the 
 Archdeacon knew very little about the best way 
 of teaching or educating the Negroes. The 
 fact was — and it was known to all who knew 
 any thing of the West India Islands— that the 
 Missionaries were the only real and efficient 
 teachers of the Black population ; and hence 
 the peculiar atrocity of that gross and scanda- 
 lous outrage to the law, to the interests of reli- 
 gion, to sound policy and the best interests 
 of the Planters themselves, which had been per- 
 petrated, in so daring a manner, in the Island 
 of Barbadoes ; and which was the subject of
 
 99 
 
 the present discussion. It had been said, that 
 Mr, Shrewsbury should not have written the 
 letter which had been alluded to. He could 
 not, however, for a moment believe, that the 
 letter was the cause of the ill-treatment which 
 that excellent man had received. Confident 
 he was, that the outrage was not directed 
 against Mr. Shrewsbury as a libeller, but as a 
 Missionary. 
 
 It is now about a year (continued Mr. 
 Brougham) since w r e were occupied in discus- 
 sing another outrage similar to the present, as 
 to the motives in which it originated ; and I 
 then solemnly adjured the House to redeem its 
 pledge, if the planters persevered in forfeiting 
 theirs ; warning the planters, moreover, that 
 we should one day do our duty, if they obsti- 
 nately persisted in breaking all faith, and put- 
 ting off for ever the day of amendment. Month 
 after month has rolled away — and, what have 
 they done ? Nothing — or, rather, I cannot say 
 nothing — but that which far more significantly 
 than mere inaction indicates their determina- 
 tion to violate every vow, and go on deceiving 
 and mocking us, as long as we will submit to 
 be mocked and deceived. In Trinidad, they 
 have offered every impediment short of open 
 resistance to the enforcement of the Order in 
 
 o 2
 
 100 
 
 Council. In no one of the Islands have they 
 carried the great measure of admitting Negro 
 testimony: and, in one only, have they, at- 
 tempted it. Yet, mark the instructive history 
 of that attempt. A Bill was brought in, pro- 
 viding for the competency of Negro evidence, 
 within very limited bounds, it is true — but 
 still an important amendment of the law. The 
 Duke of Manchester reports on this step ; 
 and congratulates the government at home on 
 the prospect of its being carried, as it had been 
 brought in without a division, and by themost 
 respectable and leading member of the Assem- 
 bly. But, soon after the date of his Grace's 
 despatch, came the first reading ; and then, the 
 division being taken, there appeared, out of 
 thirty-five present, exactly thirty-four against 
 the Bill, and one single voice in its favour ! This 
 fact is a volume ; and whoever, after this, shall 
 expect much from Colonial Assemblies, will 
 have himself only, and not them, to upbraid, for 
 whatever disappointment he may experience. 
 
 But, if they abandon their duty — if they will 
 not redeem their pledges — at least I will redeem 
 mine; and unless, before the next session of 
 parliament, 1 shall see them acting in good 
 earnest, to shew that they are at length resolved 
 to make amends for the time thus squandered
 
 101 
 
 away, I desire to be understood as now giving 
 notice of my determination to present a Bill to 
 you, for the purpose of bettering the condition 
 of our fellow subjects, the Negroes, in all the 
 British Colonies. This measure will embrace 
 the following distinct objects : — 
 
 First ; to make Negro evidence admissible in 
 all cases, in all courts, leaving of course its 
 credit to the consideration of the Court and 
 Jury : 
 
 Secondly ; to prevent the use of the Whip, 
 as applied to Women, entirely ; and as a stimu- 
 lus to labour, whether for Men or Women : 
 
 Thirdly ; to attach all Slaves to the soil, ren- 
 dering them inseparable from it, in any circum- 
 stances : 
 
 Fourthly ; to prohibit persons holding West- 
 India property, or any mortgage upon such 
 property, filling any office, civil or military (ex- 
 cept regimental) in the West- Indies : 
 
 And, Lastly ; to secure, by such means as 
 may be safe at once to the Owner and the Slave, 
 the gradual, but, ultimately, the complete ad- 
 mission of that injured class of men, to the bles- 
 sings of personal liberty. [Hear, hear !]] 
 
 If I am alive and in parliament, I will, early 
 next session, move you for leave to bring in this 
 Bill. I know that I shall have the zealous sup-
 
 102 
 
 port of almost all who sit around me. I trust I 
 shall have the concurrence of a majority of the 
 House. I am sure I shall have with me the 
 great body of the people, out of doors. Nor, 
 should I be wanting, will this measure be aban, 
 doned. It is the result of mature deliberation : 
 it is the fruit of extensive concert : it is now 
 pressed forward after long delay, and great for- 
 bearance : and, as it signifies little to whose 
 hands the proposal is entrusted, so by some one 
 or other, will it surely be brought forward, even 
 if I am no longer here present to discharge this 
 duty; and, unless the West-Indians shall of 
 themselves prevent it, let them be well assured, 
 that it will, sooner or later, but probably at 
 no distant day, be carried. | Hear, hear !] 
 
 Mr. BERNAL said, that after the great tem- 
 per and moderation which had been shewn 
 in the early part of the discussion, he could 
 not help thinking it a little hard, that the 
 Honourable and Learned Member for Win- 
 ehelsea, should have excursed into so wide and 
 sweeping a field of invective. Those Honour- 
 able Members, who were either West-India 
 proprietors, or were otherwise connected with 
 the Colonies, had not had any previous notice 
 given to them, that they would thus be put
 
 103 
 
 upon their trial. Could any one have expected, 
 after hearing the terms of the original motion, 
 and the judicious and discriminating amend- 
 ment of the Right Honourable Secretary for 
 Foreign Affairs, that those proprietors would 
 have been exposed to the unsparing abuse of the 
 Honourable and Learned Gentleman ? From 
 authority which was unquestionable, he could 
 boldly state, that the Honourable and Learned 
 Gentleman was not warranted in the attack 
 which he had thought proper to make on the 
 House of Assembly in Jamaica. He denied, 
 that the Bill which that House had passed to 
 prevent the arrest of Slaves on a market-day, 
 was so much for the benefit of the master, as it 
 was for the slave. The legislative Assembly of 
 Jamaica had not been influenced by motives of 
 a selfish nature. They had, he firmly believed, 
 been actuated by the desire of considering the 
 interests of the Negroes ; and of proceeding in 
 a due course of improvement, temperately and 
 steadily. But, why the conduct of the House 
 of Assembly, or of the resident inhabitants of 
 Jamaica, was to be brought under discussion 
 upon the present motion, he was utterly at a 
 loss to determine. — With respect to the imme- 
 diate subject before the House, he admitted, 
 that he had always entertained a great respect
 
 104 
 
 for the labours of the Wesleyan and other Mis-' 
 sionaries in the West-India islands. Those 
 labours had always tended to preserve that 
 peace, which the Gospel of Christ inculcated. 
 Nor would he, for one moment, attempt to jus- 
 tify the outrage which had been perpetrated in 
 the island of L'arbadoes. — With regard to the 
 excitement in that island, that might, in a great 
 measure, be attributed to circumstances con- 
 nected with what had taken place in other West- 
 India Colonies as well as in Barbadoes itself. 
 The Barbadians, apparently, were under great 
 irritation. The Governor of Barbadoes, as would 
 be seen from the Papers which had been laid on 
 the table, had been advised, that the provisions 
 of the Riot Act did not extend to the Island of 
 Barbadoes ; and that the calling out of a mili- 
 tary force in aid of the civil power, would have 
 cast a burthen of considerable responsibility 
 upon the Governor ; and, subsequently, the 
 opinions of the first Law Officers of the Crown 
 were applied for, and obtained, in England. — 
 He must repeat his regret at the tone which 
 the Honourable and Learned Gentleman always 
 assumed, when he spoke of the West-India Is- 
 lands. It was a tone of menace : it was a hostile 
 threat. It had no resemblance to the concilia- 
 tory advice of a sincere friend. If the Honour-
 
 105 
 
 able and Learned Gentleman thought that, by 
 assuming such a tone, he stood a chance of 
 doing good in the colonies, he was entirely mis- 
 taken : for, not only in Jamaica, but throughout 
 the whole of the West-Indies, nothing could be 
 calculated more effectually to create irritation, 
 than the course which the Honourable and 
 Learned Gentleman uniformly thought proper 
 to pursue.. 
 
 Mr. MANNING said :— Mr. Speaker, I am 
 very desirous of being permitted to say a few 
 words, in consequence of what has fallen from 
 the Honourable Member for Weymouth, re- 
 specting the inhabitants of the Island of Bar- 
 badoes. The Honourable Member need not 
 suppose, that it is at all in my intention to 
 justify the outrage committed in that Island, 
 by the destruction of the Chapel. I have, from 
 the moment of its occurrence, always expressed, 
 both in public and in private, my abhorrence 
 of a conduct, which I had believed could only 
 have existed on the coast of Africa From all 
 I have heard of Mr. Shrewsbury, with whom I 
 have no acquaintance, I believe him to be a 
 very respectable man ; and this opinion is con- 
 firmed by Mr. Ross of Grenada, and other 
 West-Indian Proprietors. — It has fallen to my
 
 10G 
 
 lot to have seen a good deal of the inhabitants 
 of Barbadoes, as well those resident in the 
 Colony, as in this country ; and I will take upon 
 me to say, that a more honourable class of 
 persons does not exist in any part of His Ma- 
 jesty's dominions. There are many persons 
 there of liberal education and considerable clas- 
 sical attainment, and who are wholly incapable 
 of giving any sanction to the act, of which the 
 Honourable Member complains. — It is true, 
 Sir, that the Honourable Gentleman divided 
 the community into four classes, and stated 
 that, in the destruction of the Chapel, neither 
 the highest or the lowest classes were con- 
 cerned ; but that the mischief was done by 
 persons of a middling rank.— It is, however, to 
 be recollected, that just previously to this act, 
 the news of the insurrection in Demerara had 
 arrived ; and many persons in Barbadoes were 
 impressed with a notion, that the Methodist 
 Missionary there had been mainly concerned 
 in promoting that tumult.— However lightly 
 the Honourable Gentlemen opposite may think 
 of these matters, I believe that, when any set 
 of individuals conceive their lives and property 
 to be in danger, they do not very coolly deliberate 
 on the probable result of measures which they 
 may take: added to which, about this time
 
 107 
 
 also was most unfortunately published a Letter 
 ' from Mr. Shrewsbury, written three years be- 
 fore to the Society at home, and which tended 
 materially to inflame matters in that island. 
 
 It is much to be regretted, Sir, that the Go- 
 vernor of Barbadoes was advised, that he had 
 no power to call out the Militia of the Colony. 
 I am persuaded that in this conduct he acted 
 from the most honourable and conscientious 
 motives ; but, I conceive it would have been a 
 very justifiable exercise of a constitutional duty, 
 to have instantly suppressed this riot, by every 
 means in his power. Although the Honour- 
 able Member has acquitted the first and the 
 fourth classes of any share in this disgraceful ' 
 conduct, enough has been said, by him and by 
 others, to leave an imputed misconduct upon 
 the majority of the inhabitants. I am old 
 enough, Sir, to remember Lord George Gor- 
 don's riots in 1?80 ; when, for three days, in 
 the heart of this metropolis, the Government 
 was set at defiance by a lawless mob. As well 
 mMvt the Honourable Gentleman, if he had 
 been a Member of the House at that time, have 
 called upon us for a general censure of the 
 inhabitants of London and Westminster. 
 
 We have the best security, Sir, against the 
 recurrence of such measures, in the gracious 
 
 p2
 
 < 108 
 
 act of His Majesty, in sending out the Bishops 
 and Clergy to the West- India Colonies ; and it 
 is gratifying to see the manner in which they 
 have been every where received. This is the 
 best answer to the manv calumnies which have 
 been thrown out against the proprietors of 
 Estates in that part of the world, asserting their 
 reluctance to have religious instruction con- 
 veyed to their Negroes. Although I should 
 certainly prefer this good work being done by 
 Members of the Established Church, let me not 
 on this occasion omit my debt of gratitude to 
 the Moravian and the Wesleyan Missionaries, 
 who have certainly been very active, and done 
 great service, in many of the Colonies. In St. 
 Kitt's alone there are above six thousand Ne- 
 groes in the congregations of the two societies to 
 which I have referred ; and, I believe, in Anti- 
 gua a still larger number. 
 
 While I am on this part of the subject, I 
 cannot omit to express my great regret, that 
 the Wesleyan Society at home should have 
 thought fit to disavow the proceedings of their 
 Missionaries in the Island of Jamaica. A 
 more injudicious measure, with a view to the 
 beneficial results which we are all anxiously 
 looking for, could hardly have been taken. 
 These persons, from motives of conscience,
 
 109 
 
 thought tit to give us their observations of what 
 they were daily witnesses of in that Island — an 
 act of justice on their part, and towards which 
 I can boldly assert, from the best authority, 
 that no influence whatever was exercised with 
 them — it was the pure, honest impression of 
 their own minds, and for which I lament to see 
 they have incurred the displeasure of the Board 
 at home. — I think the conduct of the Society, 
 in this instance, is likely to impede, rather than 
 to promote, their future operations in the West- 
 Indies. — I observe, however, in their Report of 
 December last, that their Funds in the vear 
 have nearly reached £40,000, and that they 
 have applied a very large sum— nearly one-fifth 
 of it — in the West-India Colonies. 
 
 I cannot conclude without expressing my 
 surprise, that the Honourable and Learned 
 Member for Winchelsea should, on this occa- 
 sion, renew his attacks on the West-India Le- 
 gislatures ; as if the application of harsh terms in 
 this House, to persons at that distance, was the 
 best means of obtaining a compliance with the 
 wishes expressed in this place by the Honour- 
 able and Learned Gentleman. I will take leave 
 to express my opinion, that, although they may 
 not advance so rapidly as the Honourable and 
 Learned Gentleman may desire, they are taking
 
 110 
 
 in many of the Colonies— and particularly in 
 Jamaica and Grenada — such measures, as will 
 gradually and safely bring about such an im- 
 provement in the condition of the Slave popu- 
 lation, as all reasonable persons can desire. 
 
 I have no wish, Mr. Speaker, to offer any 
 objection to the Amendment moved by the 
 Right Honourable Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 
 though it is a matter of regret with me, that, 
 after so considerable an interval of time, it has 
 been thought necessary to call upon this House 
 for an expression of its opinion. I should very 
 much have preferred, that the parties offending 
 had been punished by the due course of law. 
 
 Mr. Secretary CANNING said, by way of 
 explanation — That it appeared to him, that the 
 Honourable Gentleman who had just addressed 
 the House, considered the Amendment as com- 
 prehending the whole of the population of Bar- 
 badoes, and as casting a censure upon them all. 
 This, however, was not the case. It reflected 
 upon nothing but the act ; for one of the diffi- 
 culties, and, indeed, the great difficulty of the 
 present case was, that the actors were not 
 known, and therefore could not be brought to 
 justice. The Honourable Gentleman had also 
 alluded to the riots which had taken place in
 
 Ill 
 
 London, in the year I78O. There was, how- 
 ever, this distinction between that and the pre- 
 sent case — the law, for a time, had certainly 
 been defied ; but, every exertion had afterwards 
 been made, by the community, to bring the of- 
 fenders to justice ; and many of them had been 
 so brought to justice. Such had not been the 
 case at Barbadoes : a great outrage had been 
 there perpetrated ; and, although it must have 
 been committed within the knowledge of half 
 the population of the island, not a single indi- 
 vidual had been brought to account. He did 
 not, therefore, intend, in moving the Amend- 
 ment, that all Barbadoes should be censured by 
 it ; but, as that society could not be in a sound 
 and healthy state, in which such outrages could 
 be perpetrated with impunity, and not only 
 perpetrated with impunity, but threatened to 
 be repeated, he considered an expression of the 
 sense of the House, upon so scandalous and daring 
 a violation of the law, was absolutely called for. 
 
 Dr. LUSHINGTON said— It appeared to 
 him, that the Honourable Member for Lyming- 
 ton (Mr. Manning) had failed in making out 
 a defence for the extraordinary conduct of the 
 white population of Barbadoes ; whose supine-
 
 112 
 
 ness, under what had occurred, placed them in 
 a situation, very little better than that of ac- 
 cessories after the fact. The Magistrates of 
 that Island had not only manifested a culpable 
 remissness in the discharge of their duty, but 
 had evidently shewn a disposition to secure im- 
 punity to those who had committed the most 
 disgraceful outrages against the laws of the 
 island, and the peace of the community. It 
 was not negligence, but wilful misconduct, that 
 he imputed to some of those Magistrates. It 
 appeared, from the papers on the table of the 
 House, the correctness of which was not dis- 
 puted, that two of their Magistrates, though 
 cognizant of the outrage about to be committed, 
 had concealed from the Government the know- 
 ledge of the illegal acts intended to be done ; 
 and they had thereby prevented the timely in- 
 terference that might have stopped the com- 
 mencement of the riots, or have enabled the 
 Governor to suppress them before the object 
 was accomplished, and to have detected and 
 brought to punishment the guilty : nor had the 
 Local Authorities, after the disapprobation of 
 the Governor had been publicly declared, re- 
 deemed their character, by any zealous exer- 
 tions to bring to trial the delinquents. He was
 
 11 
 
 -) 
 
 satisfied, that the Magistracy of Barbadoes had 
 no just feeling of the atrocity of these transac- 
 tions, and that their errors were wilful. 
 
 The utter inefficiency of the Magistracy was 
 not more to be censured, than the morbid state 
 of feeling in the white Inhabitants was deserv- 
 ing of reprobation. In what way had the Bar- 
 badians expressed their abhorrence of those 
 scandalous acts ? They had expressed no such 
 abhorrence at all ; and were, consequently, 
 guilty of a criminal acquiescence in the offences 
 which had been committed. He would take 
 that opportunity of telling the West-Indians, 
 that, so long as they continued to shew such a 
 total indifference to the due administration of 
 justice, and the feelings of humanity, and such 
 a contempt for the declared sense of that 
 House and of the country, so long should he 
 continue to take every opportunity of exposing 
 unjust and unjustifiable proceedings. 
 
 Censure had been cast upon the Wesleyan 
 Society at home, for having manifested their 
 disapprobation of certain resolutions published 
 in Jamaica, by some of their Missionaries ; 
 but, instead of censure, that body deserved 
 the highest commendation for their immedi- 
 ate disclaimer of the unauthorized acts of a 
 few of their Missionaries, and for their bold 
 
 Q
 
 114 
 
 and uncompromising avowal of the true prin- 
 ciples of religion, justice, and humanity. 
 That most respectable body had, very pro- 
 perly, declared their conviction, that Slavery 
 was inconsistent with Christianity. And, was 
 there any man in that House who would rise 
 up and say, that Slavery was consistent with 
 Christianity ?— that the mild and benevolent 
 spirit of Christianity warranted a system, under 
 which the wife was torn from her husband, the 
 child from its parent, the sister from her bro- 
 ther ? When Gentlemen set about founding 
 measures of legislation on such a system, the 
 ground sunk from under them : there was 
 nothing in nature or in reason to support the 
 superstructure. It was no wonder that the 
 House should feel itself in an embarrassed situ- 
 ation, with regard to the government of these 
 Colonies : for, whenever an attempt was made 
 to legislate on a system of Slavery, difficulties 
 would always arise, to perplex and confound the 
 sagacity of the most skilful legislator. 
 
 He approved of the recent measures for send- 
 ing out two Bishops to the West-Indies; but 
 he sincerely regretted, that the first act of the 
 Bishop of Jamaica should be to appoint the Rev. 
 Mr. Bridges as his Chaplain— a gentleman who 
 was only known as the libeller of Mr. Wilber-
 
 115 
 
 force. Such an appointment, he must acknow- 
 ledge, had considerably shaken the trust which 
 he might otherwise have been inclined to place 
 in the new Establishment. For, however he 
 might differ from many of the opinions of Mr. 
 Wilberforce, he could not avoid saying, that that 
 enlightened and benevolent man had, by his in- 
 valuable exertions to obtain an abolition of the 
 barbarous traffic in human flesh, built Up for 
 himself a character, which time could not ef- 
 face, and which was entitled to the applause 
 and everlasting gratitude of every one who was 
 an enemy of Slavery. 
 
 Mr. FOWELL BUXTON rose to reply, and 
 spoke as follows : — 
 
 I hardly know that it is necessary for me to 
 trouble the House with any reply No defence 
 of the conduct of the rioters has been offered. 
 The Honourable Under Secretary has borne tes- 
 timony to the accuracy of my statement ; and, 
 the Right Honourable Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs has, with his usual manliness, 
 given vent to feelings of indignation, in lan- 
 guage at least as strong as any that I used. 
 Upon what, then, have we now to dispute? 
 The facts are confessedly true— the inference 
 is undeniable. The Right Honourable Gentle- 
 
 Q 2
 
 116 
 
 man alters a phrase or two of my Resolution. 
 With this I am abundantly contented : for he 
 has left me — and that is all I care for — the de- 
 claration of the Commons of England, that we 
 will have religious toleration in the West-Indies. 
 I rejoice that the discussion has taken place. 
 It has given an opportunity to my Hon. and 
 Learned Friend (Mr. Brougham) to state the 
 course he will pursue, in the next Session ; and 
 every man who is interested in the welfare of the 
 Negro population willjoinmein considering his 
 pledge, and the dedication of his most extraor- 
 dinary talents to the cause, as the greatest 
 matter of congratulation, which we have yet 
 enjoyed. I would hope, however, that the 
 Planters will avert the necessity of his interfe- 
 rence. I would entreat them to take warning, 
 before it is too late ; I would say to them, 
 " You have interests greater far than any other 
 class ; and interests which will be decided by 
 your conduct now. The Abolitionists would 
 pretend, that such enormities as those which I 
 have described, are natural to Slavery. We do 
 insinuate, that, in a state of society where one 
 class are Masters and the other Slaves, there 
 must be, and will be, cruelties, and blood, and 
 a deadly hatred of all those who would impart 
 knowledge or Christianity to the Negro. But,
 
 117 
 
 it is your part to dispel the delusion, if it be 
 one — to separate Slavery from these its wretch- 
 ed accompaniments, — to sever your system 
 from a system of fierce persecution — to give the 
 people of England the satisfaction of knowing, 
 that there is law and justice for the Negro and 
 his Teacher. You are in a perilous condition. 
 The reproach of Slave-holding is as much as 
 you can endure If you expect favour, — if you 
 ask toleration from the people of England, 
 you must demonstrate, that Slavery is not in- 
 separably connected with a host of other, and, 
 if it be possible, greater evils, than itself." 
 
 If I were merely an enemy of Slavery — if its 
 extinction were the single (as I admit it to be 
 the chief) object of my life— I should say—" Go 
 on — persevere — pour needful conviction on the 
 minds of the most incredulous — demonstrate to 
 the world, that for eight hundred thousand of 
 our fellow creatures, there is no mercy to be 
 expected." " Proceed," I should say, " open 
 the eyes of the people of England. You have 
 had your triumphs. The Missionary Smith 
 sleeps in his grave, branded as a traitor — the 
 Missionary Shrewsbury is an exile ; his perse- 
 cutors keep the anniversary of his sufferings, as 
 a festival— the gallant Austin, because he acted 
 with more true heroism than the conquerors of
 
 118 
 
 Austerlitz and Waterloo —because he singly 
 stemmed the torrent of persecution, has lost his 
 golden certainties of preferment, and is at this 
 moment earning the scanty bread of a stipen- 
 diary Curate in an English village. Proceed, 
 then, faster and faster : you are doing our work : 
 you are accelerating the downfall of Slavery. 
 A few more such triumphs, a few more such 
 speaking testimonies to the merits of your sys- 
 tem. — and the people of England, with one 
 heart, will abhor it, and with one voice will dis- 
 solve it." 
 
 But, enemy as I am to Slavery — and nothing 
 human shall win me or drive me to be any thing 
 else than a foe to Slavery — I am not for its ra- 
 pid and terrible overthrow ; and, therefore, I 
 raise my voice in this House, warning the Plan- 
 ters, that if they repeat these outrages — that if 
 they will link persecution to Slavery — Slavery, 
 which already totters, will fall. 
 
 The original Motion, and also the Amend- 
 ment, were then, with the leave of the House, 
 withdrawn, and 
 
 It was resolved, nemine co?itradicente, 
 " That an humble Address be presented to 
 his Majesty, to represent to his Majesty, that 
 this House, having taken into their most se-
 
 119 
 
 rious consideration the Papers laid before 
 them, relating to the demolition of the Metho- 
 dist Chapel in Barbadoes, deem it their duty to 
 declare, that they view with the utmost indigna- 
 tion that scandalous and daring violation of the 
 law ; and having seen with great satisfaction the 
 instructions which have been sent out by his 
 Majesty's Secretary of State to the Governor of 
 Barbadoes, to prevent a recurrence of similar 
 outrages, they humbly assure his Majesty of 
 their readiness to concur in every measure 
 which his Majesty may deem necessary for se- 
 curing ample protection and religious tolera- 
 tion to all his Majesty's subjects in that part of 
 his Majesty's dominions." 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTBD BY COX AMD BAYLIS, GREAT QIKKN STREET.
 
 Recently published, by J. Hatchard and Son. 
 
 I.— THE NEGRO'S MEMORIAL, OR ABOLITIONIST'S 
 CATECHISM : BY AN ABOLITIONIST. 
 
 Contents. — Section I. Of Slavery — II. Of the African Slave 
 Trade.— III. Of Slavery in the West-Indies.— IV. Of the Effects of 
 Slavery, and particularly that of the West-Indies, upon the Morals of 
 those connected with it. — V. Of the Political Consequences of Colo- 
 nial Slavery. — VI. Of the Commercial Results of the West-Indian 
 System.— VII. Of Remedies for the Evils of Slavery.— VIII. Of the 
 Abolition of Slavery. — Appendix. Narrative of the Enslavement of 
 Ottobah Cugoano, a Native of Africa, published by himself. 
 
 *„* Recent transactions at Dernerara induced the author to enter more 
 minutely than he had theretofore done, into the investigation of the sub- 
 ject of Slavery, and particularly of West-Indian Slavery, for the purpose 
 of satisfying his own mind respecting them. From this enterprize he 
 did not allow himself to be deterred by the magnitude and extent of the 
 materials whence his information was to be obtained ; and having, by an 
 examination of a great mass of documents, acquainted himself, as he 
 conceived, with the general merits of the several points at issue, as well 
 as with the history of the facts which are connected with them, it oc- 
 curred to him, that that information which he had thus acquired, if 
 digested into a small compass, and presented in a familiar garb, might be 
 both acceptable and useful to many persons, whose leisure or habits 
 would not permit them to acquire it at such an expense of time and labour 
 as he had been induced to bestow upon it. Should it excite, in the minds 
 of any persons who are rising into active life, a warm interest in this 
 ureat moral question, the labour bestowed upon its compilation will be 
 fully compensated to the Author. 
 
 II.— SUBSTANCE of the DEBATE in the House of Commons on 
 the 15th of May, 1823, on Mr. Buxton's Motion for the 
 Mitigation and gradual Abolition of Slavery throughout 
 the British Dominions ; with a Preface and Appendixes, contain- 
 ing Facts and Reasonings illustrative of Colonial Bondage.
 
 V
 
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