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

NEGRO RIO7S IN ST. VINCENT.

+ -
The following letter from St. Vincent, Wel4
Indies, received by the last mail, brings news of $
riot which at one time assumed very alarming PO'
portions. The writer, who is asentleman of poi'
tion in the colony, bore no inconsiderable part is
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 11'
has been the custom on several estates here to issue t°
the labourers employed on them rum, sugar, &c., in ad°
dition to their regular wages, and the withholding of these
allowances was the apparent cause of the first outbrealrt
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'
ment of police were therefore marched to the scene of the
disturbance, but the mob, which consisted of several bun"
dred infuriated labourers of both sexes, armed with cutlasses,
fire-arms, and bludgeons, surrounded the mansion-house cdl
the estate in which the police were posted, and whore del
attorney and his family had taken refuge, and commenc
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 011011
overwhelming numbers, communicated the affair to Lietit''
Governor Musgrave, who visited the estate in compatl,
with the Attorney-General. the Hon. C. D. Stewart, sea
addressed the rioters, promising an inquiry into their 81-
leged grievances, upon which they dispersed, apparantli
satisfied,
A few days after a large body of labourers, v3°115:
whom were those who had committed the riot at Moan'
Bentinck, collected, andvisited several estates nearer Wogs'
town, beating the managers and their families and dogtrot'
ing the furniture and contents of their dwellings.
colony being without any organised force, and the persont:
in charge of estates being unable to rely upon the ass
ante of the better disposed labourers, who were forced In
the rioters to join in their lawless proceedings, it was iln;
possible to oppose any resistance to the mob, which II
greatly increased and was marching towards Kingsta.„l.'
destroying the houses and property of the owners and ""0
nagers of estates, and ill-treating every one who eanle,ala
its way. Every hour fugitives arrived in the town, sodseverely injured, and many deprived of all their propertf't
c• The danger became so imminent that Lieut.-Goveraoa
Musgrave at once placed the colony under martial DO, wile r 7
le ,
a force of mounted and foot volunteers with some artillder
and two small field-pieces, about 150 in all, were, tlx/t a
the command of the Hon. C. D. Stewart, posted ahlev,
milefrom the town so as to check anyadvance of the re
s'
who, it was understood, had planned the attack of 1-1130., •
town, where there were a large number of ill-disposed Poi
sons ready to rise and assist in the work of plat:Li:ler ,ited
destruction. On Wednesday, the 2d instant, the ln°ll.--tae
volunteers, in number about 20, were detached, under ati,
command of Major Van Heyningen, and proceeded tiltaoa
estate six miles from Kingstown, where it was under This
the rioters were committing serious depredations.
Wo"
small body of horsemen met a mob of about 800 vi7.1—,,,e
armed, and who drew up to receive the volunteers; a bat
was made, which the rioters resisted for a few mina
were
then breaking into disorder fled to a steep placelrsore
horses could not follow them. Some of their number ,01
left dead on the spot, and several others were Mg'
wounded.
"The police and mounted volunteers were subseqll e
Ir
moved forward as far as Georgetown, about 20 milesd or.
Kingstown, but the rioters disappeared before them on;ibie
tired into the thick woods in the interior of the island.
008
advance had The satisfactory effect of discouraging swore
thousand labourers who had procured arms and ,o tp
threatening the firing and plunder of Georgetown, s'
their
T p
hro gress the force took several prisoners. for e
"e Lieutenant-Governor had sent to Trinidad
of
man-of-war, and accordingly her Majesty's ship Clool°lo°oo
22, Captain Kennedy, C. 8,, arrived, and landed ileeotto
pleraent uf Marines. her launch was subsequently uria
visit the leeward coast, where, although the labo
veroi
population were comparatively quiet and orderly, se The
of the principal rioters were stated to be concealed•eotiee
presence of the Challenger in the bay had a very ad beer'
effect on the malcontents in the town, which 'jai cell'
guarded night and day by a large body
stables. of oPec
t arrile(l
" A detachment of her Majesty's 21st itegbeiing' raelithusdl e
on the 12th from Barbadoes. The rioters _itte
persed, and the ringleaders and their followers to the
ber of 200 having been taken, martial law was abolist ?era
the 20th, and business and the cultivation of este
e
being resumed. P
ee.
"From the confessions already made by some of te,roaft
soners, there remains no doubt that, while the first 00'; the
arose apparently on account of the discontinuance of
wag
practice of issuing rum and sugar to the labourers, 1h bag
taken advantage of to carry into execution a plot whicipe,
for some time existed among the lower classes of the rote
population, the object of which was to seize and aPProl:vbite
the several estates in the island, and to dispose of the ore
and coloured inhabitants; while it is also stated that awe of
fate awaited the female members of their familieee s, !ll°lliatted
whom had actually, in anticipation of success, br'
to the ringleaders of these scoundrels. and
‘• much praise is due to the Lieutenant-Governor and
those acting under him for the decisive steps tsh, et' DO-
the Legislature, which met yesterday, while Passafija 0(4
sures rendered necessary by this unfortunate affair, „,d
forget to acknowledge the exertions of his Excellen
c ,this
those who have been mainly instrumental in nnellie eepo-
serious insurrection—the most serious this Wand has
riencod in the present century. v.net less
" It is estimated that it will have cost the lano°leati .0 sown
than £l,OOO, while the loss to the unhaPpY Or t
,
of whom have lost their all, and some have been 1"Jroio O
life, is most serious ; added to which, the
'3l-1111e socurilf
business and of cultivation, and the feeling
a'
ru
which may naturally follow such an o,
tive of great injury to thecol22r.L___
sitCr°
/
b
The Paris correspondent of the Jota:i:es ben trl6,
says :—" An expel haent of an electric pi"tor, wh° is A nxia
at the Palace of Compiegne. Tho inven
iano placed •ge
the air played was repeated on another pe
ends
that setaatio
tive of Treves, gives to
other extremity of the palace. He r t
hey
repeated are
playing a tune ire Paris, he can have
electric wite6
taneously at St. Petersburg, provided t a
in,tact." he instrument great poN ,t