The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-07 00:00:00

other night that no measure reflected greater credit on the
generosity of any nation (a 'measure that could not have
been carried without the enthusiastic determination of the
country to accomplish it, no matter at what cost), but he
was rather pained when the lion. Gentleman added that if he
(Lord S.) understood the greatness of his task in 1833, he
should have this Bill as a supplement to it. Now he (Lord
S.) would-ask the House whether they believed the addi-
tion of such a Bill would have diminished the difficulty of
passing the measure of Emancipation? If the Govern.
ment of that day proposed the abolition of slavery and
together with it the abolition of every legislative assembly
in the colonies, did the Hon. Member believe that it
would have been in human nature to effect it ?—(Cheers.)
The Hon. Gentleman said the Emancipation Act was 'one
of the greatest failures he knew of. He (Lord S.) bowed
with great submission to the opinion of a Gentle-
man whose own •-practice in Colonial legislation was
so extraordinarily extensive, and for its extent
so eminently successful,—(Cheers and laughter). He
asked why did not he (Lord S.) avail himself of the in-
formation afterwards developed, to assiat in meeting his
his first plan ? But he ( Lord S.) was too old a member
of Parliament not to know that any private intervention of
his with the Government would be officious, meddling, use.
less, and obstructive of the public business. But if the
Emancipation was not found to be a signal failure up to
1837, he (Lord S.) considered himself relieved from
responsibility. But he (Lord S.) could not consider that
measure a signal failure, which at whatever risk, gave un-
limited freedom in those five years to 800,000 human
beings and their posterity—(Cheers)—without the loss of
a single life—without much deterioration of property, and
without an extensive violation of Constitutional rights.._.
(Cheers). Lord Glenelg in a despatch of 1837 stated,
that the results of the great measure of Emancipation had
satisfied his most sanguine expectations.—(Cheers).
This despatch was dated three years after he had bad the
honour of serving her Majesty. When the Hon. Member
for Liskeard saw that measure introduced, why did he not
interfere and assist—but heinterferecfai h a counter project
of his own on the Spanish system, that the Emancipation
should be a gradual system—that the slave should
bo allowed to work his own freedom gradually.
If the system introduced by the Hon. Member for
Liskeard were adopted, the people of Antigua would only
next year enjoy the freedom they possessed. now.—( Cheers.)
He would not argue with the Learned Gentleman as to
the inherent right of the British Parliament to controul
the Colonial Legislature. The Hon. Gentleman had spent
a great deal of time in arguing a ease which few disputed.
He had argued as if they were denying to the British Par-
liament the right of paseine. the Prisons' Bill. They had
denied no such thing ; they had admitted the right of the
Legislature to pass it. He had stated in 1833 that
he saw no limit to the power of the British Legislature
except that limit which it bad drawn out for itself, namely,
that of not interfering with the power of the Colonial Le-
gislature to make laws for the taxation of its own colony.
The present Bill was not to introduce a specific law into a
certain colony, but its object was to take away, einder a
false pretence, sacred rights.—( Hear, hear.) The Hon.
Gentleman opposite said he would defend the Bill upon its
preamble, and he asked, in what werda of humiliation or
supposition, was it expected the Imperial Parliament
should address the House of Assembly ? He (Lord Stan-
ley) did not wish to see the Parliament of England making
use of woids of humiliation. but he should recommend a
frank, plain, and sincere mode of proceeding with the Co-
lonial Legislature.—(Hear, hear.) And if it was re-
quired he would say that they might take example from
the message sent to 13erbadoes, and follow the footsteps of
Sir E. Macgregor, upon the receipt of that message. lie
did not say that that message would have been successful,
but he thought the Government were to blame for not
having tried it.—( Cheers.) He contended that the Acts
of the British Parliament bad driven the Colonial Legisla-
ture to the course they had pursued.—( cheers.) What
was the statement of his Noble Friend the Secretary at
War, in 1834, upon the subject of emancipation e Why,
the principle that he had laid down was that while the ap-
prenticeship lasted they could not trust to the planters, but
only let the apprenticeship be done away with, and leave
every man to carry his labour to the best market,
and then there would be no necessity for in-
ternal legislation. If the functions of—the House of
Assembly were to be interfered with, he thought such
measures should be introduced as would give the least
possible offence. His Learned Friend had stated that the
House of Assembly did not complain of the manner in
which the Governor had addressed them: Certainly they
did not 1 What they complained of was, the Act being
thrust upon them in the unceremonious manner it had been.
His Learned Friend had alluded to the state of the law.
Lord Glenelg had sent a num-
ber of queries on sixteen different points, telling them that
it would be necessary that a considerable revision should
be made in the code, in order to adapt them to
the existing state of - affairs, at the same time
observing that it was necessary to perform that revision
alai great circumspection, to prevent, if possible, any col-
lision between the Sovereign power in this country and
the Colonial Legislature—(Cheers)—and the answer
to those queries were to be transmitted to the
Colonial Office in this county.—( Hear, hear, hear )
What was the deliberate boast with- which the approaching
crisis was met? They were forced to have a premature
Act of Emancipation—they were not allowed to make ar-
rangements. The Right lion. Gentleman and Right
Hon. Judge Advocate cheered when it was stated that no
intimation was given of these laws to the House of As-
sembly. When were they sent out? On the 15th of
September, 1838, three months after the total emancipa-
tion of the negroes by the Jamaica Legislature. That
was the eat hest date of any instructions. They were tol
not to legislate before they had received an intimation from
the Governor at home. These intimations were sent out
three months afterwards, and then it was complained that
the Legislature had not made due provision for the eman-
cipated negroes, and that they were not to be trusted.
Ready he must say that upon a subject se important and so
difficult, it was desirable, that the instructions had been
seat out earlier, and if the L-gistature had entertained
some doubt as to making up their minds, they were excuse-
able from veer eareeeesteeere.....-............... flat, ]Gab Eh-pt.

is:ls. On the 15th Sept. 1838, two points were dealt
With-one was the Militia Law, and the Noble Lord the
then Secretary of State for tli. Colot.ics, or whoever
wrote that dispatch—( Hear, hoar)—sent out directions
desiring certain modifications to to made in the Militia
law—recommending the subject to the earnest considera-
tion of the Legislature, and which must have been taken
into consideration in September, 1838. Suppose they
had-acted upon these instructions, the ordinance would
have been disallowed at home. Having given the direc-
tions on the 13th September, on the 15th November the,
Secretary for the Colonies wrote that the Militia Law was
so bad that no modification would answer, and that it must
be done away with altogether. The Noble Lord (Gle-
nelg) had then proceeded to the subject of poll-tax,.
and noticed that nothing could be more absurd than the
principle on which it was based—that the rich and the poor
should be taxed alike, was repugnant to all principles of
English law, and he begged it might be altered ; if he
had not read it, he could not have believed it, that so ales
eurd a statement should have been made by a Colonial
Secretary. Why, it was known to every man in Jamaica,
and he thought it had been known to every Secretary and
Clerk in the Colonial Office, that the poll tax was in
the nature of an assessed tax—that it was not levied on
the white and the black indiscriminately, but on every
proprietor according to the number of slaves he possessed.
--(Cheers.) So far from its being levied equally upon
the rich and poor, it was levied from the rich alone, and
precisely in proportion to the amount of his pro-
perty in slaves or cattle was the amount of
that tax. —(Renewed cheers.) It was of great impor-
tance that that doubt should be cleared up. These final
directions for supplementary legislation having been sent
out, did they wonder that the Legislature of Jamaica,
which was so well acquainted with the nature of legislation
in its own colony did they wonder that laws of this
nature, about which apparently so little was understood by
the Government at home, and which they were required
to modify upon such erroneous opinions—could they wonder
that they should manifest some little ill temper, or any
feeling, or want of good feeling towards the mother
country ?—(Hear.) The Hon. and Learned Member for
the Tower Hamlets said that that was not done in haste—
tliv.l they had time to consider of it, having been prorogued
for a day.—( A laugh.) Six weeks afterwards. theyofwgee
dissolved, and for what purpose?f ft° thatke tremcolonnsstituenc
constituency of the island.l
la.tioenyg with them, and then We
were supporting and
Member wondered that having taken
Hon. and Learned
the sense of the constituency, they could not depart from
the principles on
which they had set out. He wou (I wish
the Honourable and Learned Gentleman to put a
similar case with respect to England. He should like
to ask him bow ho could reconcile his argument with the
case of the dissolution at the time of the Reform Bill,
when an enormous majority was returned in ,favour of it.
He should like to ask him whether the Members so re-
turned would not have committed the greatest act of self-
stultification if they had gone directly contrary to the
wishes of theitecotistituente?—(Loud cheering.) But if
time was given to the Leeislature, times was also given to
the Governor.—( Hear, hear.) Hiss Hon. and Learned
Friend opposite admitted that if the
the
Hon. Baronet,
the
Member for Tarnworth, was at bead of affairs, he
atte
r
very amicably.—( (Lordsettle
the
Stanley) m
does not doubt that be Would beabletoe
Loud cheers.)
H
likelyhe would. Hit He F •
thought it very .. n.Friend did not
ask that be should be allowed to settle tt, h, _ ,y
uni asked of
tho Government to settle it in the way .4 I,
e pointed out,
and that within twelve months they would have the unani-
mous assent o f Parliament to the measure they wanted
now to have. Hoe. The Right Baronet offered them a
equivalent to the necessity f
the cave, and in the
remedy
isiature.re using to proceed to business,
event of the Leg
to continue such are were likely to
to empower them
for twelve months. Ilia Right Hon. Friend
expire
was not a party t uee '
said that the present
..:
_.l lion, and that he
did not wish to make it one. Its. Right We,.
Friend had
been threatened wit thewespssiibi ility of delay, but they
e that rpor. ibi
were ready to take ty upon them. They
were willing to
give her Majesty's Government assistance
to pars such as would meet the
a law exieeneof the
bownecessity, ed a they b y
cese, sod if they 6 would be wit-
ling to go along with them next t year in further measures.
—( Hear.) It was stated n
that some Hon. Gentlemen
oa the other side were extremely unwilling to destroy
•, • but the Hon. Member destroy
a free Constitution, •for Lis-
Jarna;ca
keard had designated the House of Assembly a
little
miserable oligarchy of .
overseers and attorneys,
that they did not represent more than 3,000 out of a po-
pulation of 300,000, and therefore he had no hesitation in
destroying the right of that Constitution, although he would
not destroy one upon a more popular bz.sis. In the first
pace, as to its being unpopular. Was the franchise
so
It admitted a large
exceedingly high ? proportion of the
free coloured, and of the free black population, and within
a limited period it would admit an enormous amount of'the
black population, and yet that was the moment when the
present Government chose to overthrow it. As for their
intending only to suspend it, that was a mere pretext.
Did they mean to say
that they won' I restore it?
alter the milit'
to a laws,
They were goingthe laws of
vagrancy, and, in fact, the whole Constitution of Jamaica,
and they would ba‘e it that they were going to restore it.
That pretext would not do, for they were going to give an
entirely new or.e.—(Cheers.) What acre they going to