The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-19 00:00:00

NEGRO _RIO7S IN ST. VINCENT.

The following letter from St. Vincent, West
Indies, received by the last mail, brings news of a
riot which at one time assumed very alarming pro-
portions. The writer, who is a gentleman of posi-
tion in the colony, bore no inconsiderable part in
the events he describes :

" St. Vincent, Oct. 24•

"You will be sorry to hear that a very serious disturb'
ance has occurred here, which has not been quelled with"
out difficulty and loss of life. For some time past it
has been the custom on several estates here to issue to
the labourers employed on them rum, sugar, &c., in ad-
dition to their regular wages, and the withholding of thee°
allowances was the apparent cause of the first outbreak,
which took place about four weeks ago upon an estate on
the windward side of the island. The labourers on that
property struck work, assembled in large bodies, and
assaulted the overseer. A warrant for the apprehension of
the ringleader having been obtained, the police who at-
tempted to execute it were resisted and beaten. A reinforce^
went of police were therefore marched to the scene of the
disturbance, but the mob, which consisted of several hun-
dred infuriated labourers of both sexes, armed with cutlasses,
fire-arms, and bludgeons, surrounded the mansion-house on
the estate in which the police were posted, and where the
attorney and his family had taken refuge, and commenced
yelling and shouting and blowing conch shells, cutting the
canes, firing houses and cane-fields, and, in short, behaving
like madmen. The officer in command of the police, feeling
that his small force of 24 men was unable to cope with such
overwhelming numbers, communicated the affair to Lieut."
Governor Mll agra vo, who visited tile estate in ni,rni."s
with the Attorney-General, the Hon. C. D. Stewart, an
addressed the rioters, promising an inquiry into their al-
leged grievances, upon which they dispersed,
apparently
satisfied, ,
- -

"A rew flays after a large body of labourece, among
whom *ere' those who had committed the riot at Mount .
Bentinck, collected, and visited several estates nearer Kings-
town, beating the managers and their families and destrer
ing the furniture and contents of their dwellings. The
colony being without any organised force, and the persons
in charge of estates being unable to rely upon the assit-
ance of the better disposed labourers, who were forced 11
the rioters to join in their lawless proceedings, it was
possible to oppose any resistance to the mob, which had
greatly increased and was marching towards Kingstc's°l4
destroying the houses and property of the owners and nI
nagers of estates, and ill-treating every one who calne
its way. Every hour fugitives arrived in the town, s"/'
severely injured, and many deprived of all their property'
The danger became so imminent that Lieut.-Govern
ocri
Musgrave at once placed the colony under martial law, all,
a force of mounted and foot volunteers with some artillery
and two small field-pieces, about 150 in all, were, unctiet,
the command of the Hon. C. D. Stewart, posted 0°11"
milefrom the town so as to check an advance of the rebelSt
who, it was understood, had planned the attack of 10118,.0.
town, where there were a large number of ill-disposed Pe";
sons ready to rise and assist in the work of plunder an
destruction. On Wednesday, the 2d instant, the Inotnl,,tea
8
volunteers, in number about 20, were detached, under I;
command of Major Van Heyningen, and proceeded t 0
estate six miles from Kingstown, where it was unders,,,te:ig
the rioters were committing serious depredations.
small body of horsemen met a mob of about 800 who We
armed, and who drew up to receive the volunteers; a chtt
was made, which the rioters resisted for a few minutes, u"
then breaking into disorder fled to a steep Plans Wile:
horses could not follow them. Some of their number We:
left dead on the spot, and several others were wortalif

wounded. _
"The police and mounted volunteers were subsequently
moved forward as far as Georgetown, about 20 miles fr°—
ra
Kingstown, but the rioters disappeared before them audwhire:
tired into the thick woods in the interior of the island.
advance had the satisfactory effect of discouraging 15°—;,.60
thousand labourers who had procured arms and
threatening the firing and plunder of Georgetown, and -
their progress the force took several prisoners. s
" The Lieutenant-Governor had sent to Trinidad I°'
man-of-war, and accordingly her Majesty's ship Cballeager
22, Captain Kennedy, C. 8., arrived, and landed her cl;
plement of Marines. Her launch was subsequently aell.ta
visit the leeward coast, where, although the labour:raj
population were comparatively quiet and orderly, aest,,,lte
of the principal rioters were stated to be concealed.
ve
presence of the Challenger in the bay had a very seateep.
t
effect on the malcontents in the town, which had '.
guarded night and day by a large body of special coo

stables.
64

ent orivel

A detachment of her Majesty's 21st Regin3---
Bis-
on the 12th from Barbadoes, The rioters being thus
parsed, and the ringleaders and their followers to the !Ai%
ber of 200 having been taken, martial law was abolished
the 20th, and business and the cultivation of estates

being resumed.
"From the confessions already made by some of the Pri'
soners, there remains no doubt that, while the first outbreit
arose apparently on account of the discontinuance of
practice of issuing rum and sugar to the labourers, it Lo
taken advantage of to carry into execution a plot whiell
og
for some time existed among the lower classes of the 1316 to
population, the object of which was to seize and approplo
the several estates in the island, and to dispose of the wilfao
and coloured inhabitants; while it is also stated that a W°. of
fate awaited the female members of their families, son's
.ecl
whom had actually, in anticipation of success, been allot'
to the ringleaders of these scoundrels.
d
"Much praise is due to the Lieutenant-Governor
an
those acting under him for the decisive steps taken' aft
cures
eresen
Legislature,rderedeen ewhsisca,,
which met yesterday, while PassilirTn:i
by this unfortunate affair,
dud
forget to acknowledge the exertions of his Excellency/ is
those who have been mainly instrumental in queliil3gtoe"
serious insurrection—the most serious this island has ,
rienced in the present century. t
"It is estimated that it will have cost the colony If° roe
than £4,000, while the loss to the unhappy planters, sa°for
of whom have lost their all, and some have been inittre_„ of
life, is most serious ; added to which, the suspenan7iti
business and of cultivation, and the feeling of inselo,
which may naturally follow such an outbreak, are pro
tive of great injury to the colony."

says
:e Palace:
The Paris correspondent of the Journal da
An experiment of an electric piano has been trie
at th
of Compiegne. The inventor, who is g
tive of Troves, gives to the instrument great power, ne
the air played was repeated on another piano placed at
it
e
other extremity of the palace. He pretends that
playing a tune in Paris, he can have it repeated ilots1::,
taneously at St. Petersburg, provided the electric wires star,

intact."