Star. — London, England, 1828-01-21 00:00:00

r;.‘''"T7 " • . 4 ; - j **4 "... Mr" "I . . . . , ..., i , a . i ..or . • t---. ...-- .'.g 7 • • - 1 1 , • .. „. ' 4 w ' , ...10 - A• /044 AP ,•• i• .k . l • • ' ' . '' 4 : . . . - • (Ir t $ • 0 ' *'. 4 k • .ia 4 , .t• . i /Aliil 0 1 4 . . A ...of 1- - . I .., likl OPP 46% • 4 . .. , - . L L Piad-&"e4, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 21, 1828. NumBER 12.771..] [PRICE SEVENPENCE, ON HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. indeed. no reason to suppose that the Jewish teachers have made any converts to their religion among the slaves, and probably, therefore, the distinctiod in their favour is merely nominal ; still it is a preference, which, in principle, ought not to b•given by the Legislature of a Christian country. J us t published, in Oue Volume 12mo. Second F.dit. price 9s. hds. SUKE METHODS of IMPROVING HEALTH, and PROLONGING LIFE, by regulating the Diet and Regimen. Embracing all the most approved principles of Health and Longevity, and exhibiting particularly the remarkable power ' o f proper Food, Wine, Air, Exercise, Sleep. Clothing, ate. in the cure of obstinate Chronic Diseases, as well as in promoting Health and long Life. To which is added, an Account cif the Arland excellent Effects of Training for Health, Rules for re 'doting Corpulence, and Maxims of Health for the Bilious and N e rvous, the Consumptive, Men of Letters, and People of v al ig o o. Illustrated by Cases. should be bound to prove that the complakt was mali cious or frivolous. BY A PHYSICIAN. " The subject of this book is interesting to every individual in .esktence ; and we are disposed to think it the most useful and ra. .pons) work of the kind we have met with. It contains many limo novel to us, and is altogether an admirable Code of Health." Sept. 44 The tendency of this volume to advance the important objects which it proposes, is unquestionable ; and we warmly recommend i t "— New Literary Gazette, Sept. 4 , It is written by one gifted With good sense, as well as right f e eling, and guided, as we conceive, by enlightened views and liberal statinitins.—And is calculated tlitoughout to generate amid preserve Hope, that great alleviator of human ill." Scotsman, Nov. Published by Simpliz and.blarsball, Stationer's -court, London quid by all Booksellers. , 1)1t. COURTENAY'S NEW WORK, Price 45. A N H.srotticAt anJ PRAC L'4CAL TREATISE A on SYPHILIS, Gonorrhea, Gleets, Seminal Weakness, Strictures, Eruptions, Nodes, and Nocturnal Pains, so frequently Mistaken fur Rheumatism. These subjects are illustrated by a variety of highly' interesting cases, together with the Miseries of a Secret Vice, so long and so unbarsily pursued by the youth of both sexes. Yo the one it will be found the unfailing source of Barrenness; the other have its ravages fatally developed by a distressing state of debiHty, which, if not timely remedied, terminates in Impotence • t hese are its remote and ultimate effects, while Consumptions, los s of Muscular Power, and various Nervous Complaints, usually cha racterise the earliest stages of this most destructive and insidious habit; for the cure of which, a mode of treatment, the result of long and successful practice, and at once safe, speedy, and effectual, is adopted by the Anchor. With concluding Remarks on the evils resulting from attempts st Self Cure. Principals obsta ; sere tnedicina paratur. By C. R. COURTENAY, M.D. Robert -street, Adelphi. Printed for the Author : Published and sold by Sutherland, 140. 9, Carlton -street, Edinburgh Sherwood and Co. Paternoster vow; Onwhyn, 4, Catherine-street, Strand ; Walker, 90, High' Holborn; Chappell and Son, Conahill; Marsh, 137. Oxfordetreet ; Chapple, 94, Pall - mall; Br ook, Opera Arcade; and may be had of al/ Booksellers in town and country. " Amongst the numerous Medical and Surgical Works of the day, we coniider that written by Dr. Courtenay, on Syphilis, and other frequently fatal complaints, to be worthy of the highest enco miums, and justly deserving the serious attention of all those persons wbo may unfortunately happen to be afflicted with the maladies which form the subject of this very interesting publication. The luminous views taken of these diseases, together with important warnings against excesses, entitle this work to great praise; and. we may add, as a further recommendation, that it is written with much deßaitY and morality.=—lnspeetsir and Literary Review. '1 EVER ANXIOUS TO PREVENT IMPOSITION, DAY and MARTIN respectfully inform the Public they have, after much labour and at a very considerable ex pense, brought to perfection a Label of sock singular construction and extreme difiwulty of execution, that they trust will effectually prevent the many Frauds that are d aily practised se die Public.— An attention to the following description of the Label 'will ensure the genuine Blacking prepared by them. A pattern like Lace of a pink colour covers the principal part of the Label, the names of , Day sad Mania are printed is whit* inane edged with Oak add black, and pieced au a whits grovalic the address* 97, HIGH-HOLBORN, as alto white letters edged with pink and black, but placed on the lace pattern, the signature and price at foot are black on a white ground, the preamble and directions for use are printed as before block knees an while grausd.-91, iiighellulhorn, Sept. anti. ' JAMAICA. Dispatch Man the itlght Hon. William Huskisson, Ms Majesty's' Principal &emu . , of Sate tor the Colonial Department, 40 Najor Glienorni Sir Jan kLeaue„ LCD. Lieutenant Goviewor et this bland, sent down by him in a Mesaape.to the Honourable House of Assembly, on Friday the 16th of November instant. (Copy.) Downing•street, Sep t. 22,1527. ' Sir—The Act passed by the Governor, ooncil, and Assembly of Jamaica; in the monthof December, 1826," iotitnled, 44 An Act to alter and amend the Slave Laws of this Island," having been referred ty his Majesty in: Council to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council. for the Affairs of Trade and Foreign Plantations, that, Committee have reported to his Majesty in Council ; their opinion that this Act ought tote disallowed. The. Order of his Majesty in Council, approving that report and disallowing the Act, will be transmitted to you by the earliest opportunity. In obedience to the commands of his Majesty in Council, I proceed to communicate to you the grounds of bis Majesty's decision ,npon this subject. The Privy Council did not sal:unit to.his Majesty their advice that this Act should be disallowed without great reluctance. The great importance of the subject has been fully estimated, and his Majesty has . perceived with much satisfaction the advances which the Colonial Legislature have made in many respects to meet the recommendations conveyed to them in Lord ,Flathurst's dispatch of the I.lth May, 1856 ; but, howeserennah his Majesty may be desirous to sanction these valuable im provements in the Slave Code of Jamaica, it has been found impossible to overcome the objections to which other enactments of this law are open. I am com manded to express to you his Majesty'seamothope, that upon a deliberate review cif the subject, the Legis lative Council and Assembly will be disposed to pre sent for your assent another Bill, divested of those enactments which have prevented the confirmation of the present Act. Among the various subjects which this Act presents for consideration, none is more important in itself, nor more interesting to every class of society in this kingdom, than the regulations on .the subject of religions instruc tion. The 88d and the two following .clauses must be considered as an invasion of that toleration to which all his Majesty's subjects„ whatever essay be *ir civil condition, are alike entitled. The prohibition of persons in a state of slavery assuming the Ace of religious teachers might seem a very mild restraint, or rather a.fit restraint, against indecorous proceedings ; but, amongst some of the religion, bodies *ha employ snissionasies in Jamaica, the practice of mutual:instruction is stated to be an,established pert 9f their discipline. So long as the practice is carried on in an inoffensive and peaceable manner, the d istress produced by the preveittion of it will be compensated by no public advantage. The .prohibition ,of :Meetings .for religions worship between sun set And sunrise will, in many um, operate as a total prohibition, and will be felt with peculiar severity by domestic slaves inhabiting large towns. whose 9rdinarye9gagements on Sunday will not afford leisire for attendance on public worship before the even ing.' it is impossible to pass over without remark the invidionsdistinction which is made not only between Protestant Dissenters and .Roman•Catbolics, but even between Protestant Dissenters and the Jews, i have, The penalties denounced upon persons collecting con tributions from slaves, for purposes either of charity or religion, cannot but be felt both by the teachers and by their followers, as humiliating and unjust. Such a law would affix an unmerited stigma on the religious instructor ; and it prevents the slave from obeying a positive precept of the Christian religion, which he be lieves to be obligasory on him, and which is not incon sistent with the duties he owes to his master. The prohibition is, therefore, a gratuitous aggravation of the evils of his condition. It may be doubtful whether the restriction upon pri vate meetings among the slaves, without the knov►ledge of the owner, warintentionally pointed at the meetings for religious worship. No objection, of course, could exist to req tiring that• - notice should be given to the owner or manager wile :ever the slave attended any such meetings; but, on the other hand, due security should be taken that the owner's authority is not improperly exerted to prevent the attendance of the slaves. I cannot too distinctly impress upon you, that it is the settled purpose of his Majesty's Government to sanction no colonial law, which needlessly infringes on the religious liberty of any class of his Majesty's subjects, and you will understand that you are not to assent to any 13t11 imposing arty restraint of that nature, unless a 'clause be inserted for suspending its operation until his Majesty's pleasure shall be known. Having• thus adverted to this most important branch of the general subject, .1 proceed to inquire how far the suggestions contained in L'rd Bathurst's dispatch of the 11;h of May. 1826, have been followed in the Act under consideration. The Council of Protection, established under the thirty-third clause of this Act, cannot be considered as an effectual substitute for the office of s distinct and independent protector. The council in each parish will consist of those individuals over whom the protector was to exercise his superintendence. Their duties are limited to the simple case of extreme bodily injury, and are to bealis.cbarged only " if they think proper." The periodi cal returns requited from theProtector,upon oath,are not to be made by the Council of Protection, nor are they even hound to keep a journal of their proceedings. No provision is made for executing the duties of the office in different pasts of the colony upon fixed and uniform principles, and the number of persons to be united in this trust is such as entirely to destroy the sense of per sonal and iadiyidual responsibility. In the provisions for the due observance of Sunday, - I remark that the continuance of the markets on dist SINN Wass bour of eleven, is contemplated as a per- Moneta re/Onion. It is, however, impossible to sanction this systematic violation of the law prevailing in every. other Christian gauntry. In the proposals transmitted by Leidßalburst to bisOrace the Duke of Manchester, a temporary delpatture frota,this ru►e was permitted, but only as a xelaxation required by peculiar and tran sitory circumstances. The clauses denouncing penalties on persons employing their dares to labour on Sunday, ate expressed with some ambiguity, so as to leave it doubtful whether the penalty will be incurred at any other time than daring csop, or for any work, excepting that required about the, mills.. Neither is it clear that an owner, procuring his, slaves to workon Sunday by persuasion, or by any other means than these of direct compulsion, would violate the law. Ido not perceive that provision is made for those cases of unavoidable necessity which would create Inn exception to the general rule. ?unishments inflicted by the domestic authority of abe owner Are not required to be made the subject of a eeport to any public officer, nor doej the law require , Au any interval •should elapse between the commission niabecrime and the infliction of the punishment. The frosence of free witnesses at the infliction of punishments •u not declared necessary, nor would the law be broken, whateur might be the severity of the punishment, if it were inflicted by any other method than that of whipping or imprisonment. The use of the whip in .the field is not forbidden. Women are not exempted Iron] p%nishment by .flogging, nor is any presumption, of guilt to arise, if the slave shall make a 14 probable, paetieplar, and consistent" charged against his owner, confirmed by the exhibition of his person, bearing the marks of recent and illegal punishment. In all these respects the provisions of this Act fall' short of the recommendations of his Majesty's Govern went. It remains to notice other provisions upon this subject of punishment, which have been originally sug gested by Me Colonial Legislature. The Act appears to sanction an unlimited delegation of the power of punishment, so that even a fellow-slave might be entrusted with it, provided that the correction does not exceed ten lashes. In the presence of the owner or manager, thirty-nine lashes may be inflicted by his authority, an extent of power which cannot be necessary, and which might probably be the source of scrims abuse. The 37th,Seetion of this Act authorises private per- I suns to commit their slaves to prison in the public work. houses of the island, without the warrant of a Justice of the Puce, and the preceding Section (the 36th) enables the gaoler, as well as the owner, to inflict punishment, by whipping in prison, without trial. It is difficult to perceive the necessity for such an extension of domestic authority, and if unnecessary, it is plainly objectionable. ' , The fine of 10/. for inflicting repeated punishments for .the same offence QM scarcely be incurred in any case, since no record is to be kept ascertaining the grounds of any particular punishment, and the party accrued may impute to his slave whatever offences ht mg think proper, without the necessity of proving them. The fioe,on a workhouse keeper inflicting an' eXeeiatiVe number of lashes is 101. a punishment which may, in some oases, be entirely .disproportionate to so serious an offence. The complaint which the slave is authorised to make before any three. Magistrates, would not, I should fear, be a very effectual means of redrew. As .they must always be three Proprietors of the same parish, there is a manifest danger of the influence of local partialities.' As groundless complaint is to be punished, it is to be feared that many well-founded complaints will rombe.prefured. The more failure of evidence in sup• of a complaint is surely not enough to justify the of —the patty complaining. The owner On the subject of marriage, I observe that no security is taken against the possible case of the unreasonable or capricious refusal of the owner to consent. By confining the power of celebrating marriages to the Clergy of the Established Church, every other class of religious teachers are deprived of the means of exercising a salu tary influence over the minds of their disciples, and pro bably the Roman Catholic Priests may be entitled to say that such an enactment takes away from them a I right, which, by the common law, they enjoy in every part of his Majesty's dominions, to which the Marriage Act of George the Second does not extend. The ne• cessisy of undergoing an examination by a Clergyman of the Established Church, as to the nature and obliga tions of the marriage contract, is not very apparent, and might, perhaps, operate as a serious impediment to the formation of such connections. It is difficult to under- stand how the ran to of inquiry respecting the obligao dons" of the marriage oontract is to be limited, since' that expression •mad be supposed to embrace a large variety of mos al and teliglous coosiderations, with which the slave population, in its prezent state s Rasta be very imperfectly conversant. . _ _ I observe that this Act does not require dig any re. gistry should be kept of the marriages of slaves, nor even that any periodical returns should be wade of the number of such marriages. On the subject of the separation of relatiyes, the' word " family" is left without a definition. It is sus• ceptible of so many different meanings, that It would seem peculiarly necessary to ascertain the precise sense in which it is used. The rule laid down in this law seems also to require some better sapction. It is simply a direction to the Provost Marshal; hut if be should disobey that direction, it is not provided that 'beanie should be void. A provision appears to be wanting for enabling the officer to ascertain whether any particular slave is or is not a member of the family. • The property of slaves is left by thisi,aw in an yam. tected state. No action is given to them, or to any person on their behalf, for the defence or recovery of it. The single cue, in which any remedy is provided, is that in which the property of the slave is taken away. No mention is made of that much more important class of cases, in which property may be withheld. The slave could not under this law recover a debt, por obtain damages for the breach of a contract. The 'mode of proceeding by information for penalties befOre three Justices of the Peace is a remedy to which hardly any one would resort, for the Act does not give the amount of the penalty, if recovered, to the injured party, and the slave himself could not make the complaint, except upon the condition of receiving a punishment if the Justices should deem it groundless. The slaves are also excluded by the terms of this law from acquiring any interest in land, a restriction which would appear at once impolitic and unnecessary. On the subject of what has been termed the compul sory manumission of slaves, this Act does not profess to adopt the measures suggested by his Majesty's Govern ment. It is, therefore, needless to institute any come parison between those measures and the enactments of this law; but upon that subject 1 may, perhaps, at no distant period, have occasion to make a further coin munication to you. _ _ On the subject of gratuitous manumissions, and ma numissions effected by v( 'notary contracts, this Act re quires that in all cases security shall be given for the maintenance of the slave. In the case of testamentary' manumission the estate of the testator is'to be liable to the payrisent of an annuity of 101. for the support of the slave, if he should become iucapable of maintaining himself. These regulations must, of course, operate as a great discouragement to disfranchisement in all cases. Without incurring this inconvenience, an effectual se curity might have been tAken against the abase of emancipating saves incapable, from their age or in , firmities, of procuring their own subsistence. It is to be feared ,that lesions inconvenience may arise from the neglect of the proposal to provide a method by which a ,filave could ascertain what 'particular per , son was entitled to receive the price of bra finedom. In the case of plantation slayer, the title 'is eltatally the same with the title to the land itself. and mile s are stated to have occurred, in which a stave has lost the whole earnings of his life by paying the price of his liberty to the wrong person. On the int portent subject of the evidence of the slaves. , his Majesty is graciously pleased to signify his appro bation of the advance wh ch has been made towards a better system of law; but, in reference to .this subject, I am to observe that this law Appears to contemplate the admission of the evidence of slaves in those cases of crimes only, in which they are tooally either the actors or the sufferers, excluding their avidence in other cases, a distinction which does not seem to rest on any solid foundation. There is not eny necessary connection be. ;wen the baptism of a .witnessapd his credibility. The sole, which sequires that twohlaves, at least, shall con tistently depose to the same fact on being examined apart, before any free pervonsan be convicted on slave testimony, will greatly diminish the value of thegeneral sole. In some particular cases, such for example as** case of rape, such a restriction might secure impunity to offenders of the worst description. The ;ejection of the testimony of slaves twelve months after the com mission of the crime would be fatal to the ends of jus lice in many CAW% nor is it easy to discover what solid advantage chuld result from it in any case. If the owner of a slave is convicted of any crime on the testimony of that slave, the Court has no power of declaring the slave free, although it may exercise that power when the coavistion proceeds on other evi- Owe. Highly important ps,it is to deprive a slave of fiery motive for giving false evidence against his owner, that object might be secured without incurring the inconvenience of leaving the slave in the power of an owner convicted of the extreme abuse of his authority. In e theoposal for. stablishing a record of' shena tjti m e e c song proposal for establishing a record of' th. names of all slaves, sufficiently instructed to be 'competent,witnewes the Colonial Legislature appear to have neglected the means of providing a cheap and affectuel encouragement to good conduct, and of lovestiol the religious teachers of the slaves with a powerfis and legitimate influence over them. His Majesty has ,observed with great satisfaction various provisions in this Act for the improvement of the condition of the slaves, which originated exclu sively with the Colonial Legislature. Amon* them I, have particularly to advert to the clause requiring the! gratuitous baptism of slaves, and to the regulation by which SIMS Wallowed one day in each fortnight to r cultivate their provision grounds,exclusive of Sundays, except during the time of crop, the smallest number of days to be allowed in one year being twenty-six. It may, however, be•necessary that some more effectual means should be devised for enforcing Obedience to this law. The enactment requiring a monthly inspection of the provision grounds, and the delivery of an adequate 'supply of provisions, when there is not a sufficient quan tity of such pounds, is calculated to produce the most beneficial effects, and might be rendered still more valuable by some alteration in the terms of the oath, which are susceptible of a construction remote from the real intention of the framers of The law. Greit advantage may be anticipated from the regulations lot the support of the motheri and nurses of large families, and for the protection oft' old and infirm slaves. The provisions for the prevention of excessive labour contemplate the working the slaves for eleven hones and a half daily out of crop, and place no limit to the con tinuance of their work during crop time. Considering the climate in which the labour is to be performed, and that, after the•work of the field is over, there will yet remain to be done many offices, not falling withip the proper meaning of the te r m 44 labour," 4 should fear that the exertions of the slaves, if exacted up to the limits allowed by this law, would be scarcely con- • sistent with a due regard for the health of the labourer. The crimes of murder and rape, when committed on • the persons of slaves, are most propely made punish. able by death; but if these enactments are to be under stood not as declaratory of existing laws, but as intro ductory of new laws, then it is obvious that there are other offences, which might be perpetrated on the per- • sons of slaves, against which the same puisishtbent should have been denounced. The rules for the prevention of mutilation arid other cruelties, however just and valuable in principle. wank I should fear, lose much of their efficacy in practice, from the peculiar complexity of the process which is to be observed in bringing the offender to justice. In the cases suosed of the dismemberment or mutilatioo at a slave , S&e and imprisonment would seem it my iasi dequate punishment. The rules on the subject of runaways claiming to be free, and respecting slaves carried-from place to place for sale, seem well adapted to prevent the recurrence of serious abuses. The provisions for the trial of slaves in criminal cases would also appear to be a material improvement on the former law. I perceive, how ever, that the evidence of slaves on such trials is to be admitted against slaves. It is not said that such evidence shall be admitted for them, sllthough of course this must ' have been the intention. It is to be regretted that no provision is made for the securing the attendance of Judges, regularly educated to the legal profession, on , slave trials. It remains to notice those parts of this Act, which provide for the punishment or the preveution of crimes committed by slaves The crime of harbouring runaways may be punished with much more severity, when the offender is a slave, than when he is *freeman: a .distinction which reverses the established principle of justice, that the malignity of crimes is enhanced by the superior knowledge and sta tion of :he criminal. In many cases both the nature and amount of the punibigoeut to be infic ed en the offending slave are referred exclusively to the discretion of the Coati. I am not aware of any necessity for so unlimited a delegation of authority. Among capital crimes are enumerated rehellien and rebellious conspiracy. As these are terms unknown to the law of England, it is not fit they should remain in the statute book without some legislative definition of their meaning. Felony seems to be generally declared capital when committed by slaves. • The case of clergyable felonies is not noticed. The'enactments by which assault or offering violence to a free person are declared capital. are fiamed with an extreme laxity of expression, and havartan appearance of severity, which I am persuaded was not teally contem plated by the framers of this law. The definition of the offence of Oheah sill be found to embrace many acts, against which it could not have been really intended to denounce the puni s hment of death. The definition of the crime of preparing to ad minister poison is also so extensive as to include many innocent, and even some meritorious acts. Thus also the ofence of possessing materials used in the practice of Obeah is imperfectly described. since no reference is made to the wicked intention, in which alone the crime consists. The owner of a slave condemned to death or trans portation is in all cases to be indemnified settle puhlic expense for the loss of his prape • rty. His Majesty's Gc. vernment have repeatedly expressed their disapproba tion of this rule of law. It weakens the motives for maintaining good domestic discipline. and for prevent ing the commission of crimes by the authority of the owner. It isnolnst to indemnify any man at the pub lic expense foil's) leis, in which his own culpable neglect of duty may have involved him. To the slave it is un just to deprive his owner of all pecuniary interests in the preservation of his life Land when the crime of the slave is, as it often may be. the direct consequence of the owner's positive misconduct, it. is in the highest degree impolitic to relieve the owner from his loss. The power of remitting the sentence of slaves, condemned to bard labour for life, is to be exercised only when the slave evinces, in every respect, a complete reformation of manners. I fear that few men undergo such a total change of character as this under any circumstances, and that a prison is among the last places in which it is to be expected. Independently of this consideration I apprehend that this clause may in some degree dero gate from the power, which, under his Majesty's in structions, you possess of pardoning offenders, or re• milting their punishments. I have thus explained at length the consideraticas which have imposed on his Majesty's Government the necessity of submitting to his Majesty their advice that this Act should be disallowed. It cannot but be a sub ject of deep regret to them, that their sense of public duty has prevented their adopting a different c urse ; but I. trust that, upon a serious and deliberate review bf the subject, the Gentlemen of the Legislative Council d Assembly of J;maica will themselves be eispcsed admit that the decision which has been adopted was inevitable. The preceding remarks will show that this #.ct has not been 'disallowed upon any slight ground's- Ple many wise and beneficent provisions which it ear trans brie .becu fully appreciated, . although . thef ban