The Express.
London, England, 1866-02-13 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 13, 1866.

THE DISTURBANCES IN JAMAICA

(moat ova snow.

KINGSTON, Jar. 93.
Widely different as are the opinions entertained
here as to the real nature of the disturbances at
Morant Bay, and the measures which were adopted
for their suppression, I have as yet met no one who
has questioned the policy of the appointment of a
commission to inquire into the whole subject., or who
has raised the slightest objection to the composition of
the commission to which her Majesty has entrusted
the performance of this delicate and difficult task.
A large proportion of the white population regret
and condemn the supersession of Mr. Eyre as go-
vernor, the more violent of them because they
regard it as a condemnation and a punishment pro-
nounced and inflicted before trial ; and the more
moderate because they apprehend that it will be so
understood, indeed are convinced that it has been
00 eonstrned by the negroes. Men of this clam will
many of them admit that the action of the com.
mission would have been materially impeded if Mr.
Eyre had emstineed: to bold the office of go-
vernor ; bet no sooner have they done this
than they hasten to assure you of the mischief
which will be occasioned by this practical deposi-
tion of the man whom the blacks have been taught
—the expression is not my own, bat that of many
persons with whom I have conversed upoa the sub-
ject—to regard ass their enemy and persecutor.
According to this theory the negroes are firmly
persuaded that Colonel Nelson has been, or is to be,
hanged io England ; that General O'Connor is to
be similarly punished in this island; and that Mr.
Eyre, after being, through the agency of the com-
mission, subjected to a preliminary torturing, is to
be executed in some special and peculiar manner,
In order to atone for the part which he took in
directing the measures which were adopted for the
suppression of the disturbances. This, if true,
would certainly show that the negroes were very ill-
informed sstothe measures which havebeen adopted
by the Imperial government, and as to the real
nature and operation of the royal commission ; but
I am by no means certain that there is any good
foundation for those assertions. The only evidence,
if evidence it can be called, which I have heard
alleged in their support, is, that various negro men
or women have said, "Missie Queen lub we ; she
no lub that bnckra man whip us so." That the
negroes should look upon the change of governor
and the appointment of the commission as mea-
-1 lures intended to protect them from any further
violence, and to afford them some redress for in-
juries which they believe that they have already
,sustained, is both probable and natural ; but it by
no means follows that they have jumped to the
conclusion, as some persons would endeavour to
persuade us, that the affairs of the island are hence-
forward to be administered for their sole benefit
and advantage, and that as part of the inauguration
of the new state of things summary justice is to be
executed upon all those against whom they fancy
they have any cause of complaint. Some mein who
are earnest, and, indeed, enthusiastid, in their
approval of the measures adopted by Mr. Eyre,
aria ready to admit that acts were com-
mitted by the military forces which it is
impossible entirely to justify ; but they allege in
extenuation that the authors of these deeds of vio-
lence had been actively employed for several days,
without proper rest, exposed to the sun for many
hours at a time, and that they therefore may be
fairly presumed to have been in a state of excite-
ment in which it would be unreasonable to expect
them to have acted with perfect moderation and
discretion. Those who take this view are quite as
well pleased as any others that a commission should
have been appointed to inquire into the subject,
because they express great confidence that many
of the accusations which have been made against
the troops will be entirely disproved, and that
even where this cannot be done explanations will be
given which will materially alter the• character of
the actions which are laid to the charge of our
officers and soldiers. All these persons proceed
upon the assumption that the disturbances at
Morant Bay formed part of a contemplated general
insurrection; and that the only question as to
which there can be any doubt is whether the gover-
nor and his officers acted with undue severity in
their suppression ; but I need hardly say that there
is another large party, including some men who
hold permanent positions in the island, who
either doubt or entirely deny the existence
of any scheme for a general risift
of the negroee, and who look to the investigation
to be undertaken by the commissioners as the only
means of clearing up any doubts which exist upon
the subject, and of demonstrating beyond all doubt
or cavil that the disturbance in St. Thomas-in-the-
East arose from no plot or organised conspiracy, but
was merely a riot provoked or aggravated by the
injudicious conduct of those who had the direction
of paths in that part of the island.
Apart too from the immediate question of the
late disturbances, most men anticipate from the
labours of the commission, the collection of valua-
ble information as to the actual condition of the
island, and the causes which have induced the dis-
satisfaction which no one denies has at various
times existed, and now exists &moon the black
population. The planters are confident that they can
clear themselves from the reflections which have been
east upon them, and convince the public that if the
negro is not so well off as he ought to be, he has
no one to blame but himself and his own idleness;
while the friends of the blacks are equally assured
of their ability to prove that the fault lies almost
altogether, if not entirely, with the planters ; and
that if the negro is treated with justice, fairness,
and liberality, he is a peaceful, loyal, and contented
subject, and a faithful, industrious, and zealous
servant. It seems, however, to be by no meatus
certain that these two parties will have the oppor-
the battle befor the

leave no room for doubt that persons who us
affected by the statements of witnesses will
be Wowed the assistance of professional
advisers in producing evidence to rebut

their allegations ; but it is by no means
certain that the learned gentlemen who appear for
Mrs. Gordon or Dr. Underhill will be allowed to
cross-examine witnesses who may be called to ex-

plain or defend the measures adopted by Mr.
Eyre, or the action of the military forces which
were engaged in the suppression of the disturbances,
and the punishment of those who were treated by
the government as rebels and insurrectionists. If
this evidence is not subjected to the most rigid
tests the inquiry will obviously be unsatisfactory
and imperfect ; and it is not improbable that, unless
they are permitted, either directly er through the
commissioners, to cross-examine any witnesses to
whom they may think it necessary to put questions,
the counsel to whom I refer will decline to take any
part in the investigation.
For the last fortnight and more people have been
coming crowds from Morant Bay to the offices
a tb..pitaGawownzatte. in this town, to pour into
the ears of the representatives of that body the sad
story of injuries and losses which were inflicted
upon them in the course of the military operations
which were undertaken for the suppression of the
disturbances. Between three and four hundred
persona, both men and women, have made state-
ments implicating either the regular troops or
the Maroons, but especially the latter, in
deeds pi violence and atrocity which, if they
can be established, will leave an indelible stain upon
the character of all who either encouraged or per-
mitted them. Not a few of these stories have been
related to me, but as I have no means of testing
the veracity of the witnesses, and as they will so
shortly come before the commission for full and
complete investigation, I shall abstain from repeat..
ing any of them now. There is, however, I believe
no fear of my erring when I state that the people
about Morant Bay have been reduced to a state of
the most abject and pitiable distress by the events
which occurred in that neighbourhood. Many
families who were driven from their homes, or fled
from them to avoid the alleged violence of the
troops, found when they returned their houses
occupied by strangers, and have since been unable
to regain possession of them. Many of these people
are, I am assured, almost entirely destitute of either
food, shelter, or clothing, and those who would
willingly assist them feel a not unnatural reluc-
tance in coming to their aid, lest they should be
accused of bribing these poor creatures to give false
evidence before the commission.

JAN. 24.

We have to-day had a constant succession of
alarming rumours of actual or impending distur-
banoes in the parish of St. Thomas-in-the-East, but
after investigating as completely as possible those
which have come to my knowledge, I have found
them all assume more or lees the character of
mares' nests. The first thing I heard was that
all the ladies and children bad left the Plan-
tain Garden River District, and had taken
refuge on board a gunboat in Morant Bay.
The sole foundation for this story turns oat to be
that the only two gentlemen whose families now
reside in the district having come up to Kingston
upon 'business, their wives and children have, as a
measure of precaution, gone on board a merchant-
man which is lying in Monist Bay. It is, there-
fore, strictly true that the women and children
from Plaintain Garden have gone on board ship, but
as only two families are concerned in the emigra-
tion, the movement loses much of the importance
which was attached to it by popular rumour.
Another report which gained great credence during
the morning and afternoon was that a band of
thirty pogrom had assembled at a pleas called
the Your Mile Wood, on the road between
Moran' Bay and Kingston, to intercept the crown
witnesses who were expected from the former place
to give evidence before ithe special commission ;
and late in the evening I heard that some persona
had actually been stopped upon the road. A refe-
renCeito the gentleman upon whose authority this
statement had been made, however, elicited the in-
formation that about lb or 20 ladies and gentlemen
hkd actually come to Kingston in carriages, and
that ail that bad occurred was that onenegro among
a party of ten, whom he, travelliag-in advance of
the party, met upon the way, bad called out to him,in
an insolent tone, " You are going, too, you fellow,'
referrieg to the circumstance that be was going to
a give evidence before one of the oommiesiona.

DESPATCH OF GENERAL LA MARMORA
TO THE ITALIAN MINISTER IN SPAIN.

The Florence papers of the 10th inst., received
yesterday, contain a despatch dated the sth inst.,
from General La Marmora, to the Marquis di
Talia.carne, the Italian Minister at Madrid. In
this despatch General La Marmora referring
to the diplomatic documents recently pub-
lished in the Spanish Red Book, complains of
certain steps taken by the cabinet of Madrid with
regard to the affairs of Rome, especially in asking
the French government to guarantee the temporal
power of the Pope, and in Interpreting the words
delivered by the Emperor of the French in the
Corps Leglslatif as an undertaking towards the
catholic powers that under certain circumstances not
foreseen by the Convention the Roman question
would become nest s
question. General La
Marmara requests tbe Marquis di Taliacarne to
remind Signor Bermudez de Castro that the
conditions of the September Convention ex-
clusively concern Italy and France, and that
no other powers have a right to interfere in
the political affairs of Rome. The writer then
draws attention to a despatch dated Bth last No-
vember to the ambassador of Spain is Rome,
in which Signor Bermudez de Castro ex-
presses the hope that some of the provinces
which now form part bf the kingdom of Italy, may,
in course of time, be separated from it. Such a
manifestation as this, General La Marmora adds,
ought td be formally brought to the notice of the
Minister of state of the Spanish sovereign. Italy
had a right to expect more consideration.