The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-31 00:00:00

Not because anything was said at the meeting, but because some news-
paper inserted something which displeased the Noble and Learned Lord.
He therefore said this, that if he were the party who decided by his
casting voice against the immediate abolition of apprenticeship, and who
was now so exceedingly anxious to effect that object, he envied not his
feelings, however much he might envy his great and transcendent ta•
lents.--(Cheers.) Eut to return to the subject in hand. He would
say that the contract was null. They had granted to the planters a
Loon of 20,000,0001. for the extinction of slavery. But it was not

an absolute bcon. There were conditions attached to it,
end it lay upon the planters to prove that those condi'
tiens had been performed. It was not for him to show that thel
had violated those conditions ; he charged them with not having pct. .f
formed the conditions of the grant, tend he challenged them to the proof
Who asserted that they had performed those conditions ? Nobody. HO
had never hear any one assert that they had done so. No man was r.aad
enough to say so. The only assertion made was, that they had 'not vio.
lated the conditions universally. What was the nature of those ccndl.
tons ? If the planters relied on the performance of
those conditions,
they must themselves have completely performed o;ens, A part perfor-
mance would not do. One point out of 101, fi
or 90 out of 100, would
•
not do : there must be a lomplete Perfr'lmance. But those conditions;
had been almost universally broken. e
He appealed in proof of this to the
Government, to the Honourebiee Baronet
pwlhaliictletrhBehsao,ui gnhett
ptoeric.snt.trointlede,e (Sir G. Grey), and to the BP's
the itsAelfftedreamloapnssetreaftedrot.l:iratyeTre,
Government trOught in a Bill to enforce the performance of Cons Of the Act of 1833. What had been done durino 'the fouryears 7
What compensation were they to have for those fie they
do years ? Could
do anything for the sufferings of the nefe.Thes all that time Could
they take the stripes off the ba`.);ss of the female labourers ?nt'
Could they give a proper allowance 'of food for those fo
Ye.M s 7, No, they could s' the condi-
eo nothing to perform the conditions now.
Time was the easee
..ce of the contract, if contract it was—it was the
Dort
"" ".seiw.
of the conditions. The object which the people of
...
..,d had in the tmpancipation had been utterly defeated- He
begged to remind the people of England that the honourable baronet
(Sir G. Grey), with his highly cultivated mind, with his full preparation
for the subject, and after the fullest research, with all the aid of official
industry, came forward to muke out his case, and he (Mr. O'Connell)
firmly appealed to the British people upon the case made by the Hon.
Baronet himself (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Baronet of cottese produ-
ced his strongest documents; for tf there was one gentleman snore
likely to select the documents that suited his purpose, it was no cons-
pliment to say that the Hon. Baronet was the man. The first document.
cited by the Hon. Baronet was from a dispatch dated the oth of July.
1836, and which was as follows :—" I have the honour to enclose hert
with the usual quarterly reports of the special justices in original, Tla
most striking feature contained in the majority of them is the in-
creased kindnesss of the managers to the apprentices ; they }rave, in
fact, found from experience that the most advantageous re: annor of ma-
naging them is by conciliation. While, however, this i. distinctly stated
in several cases, lam sorry to say it is not ttiliseareat, I know several at- •
torneys who continue their old system of
the lb. of flesh, which
I unhesitatingly pronounce to be the worst possible policy, and that
many a proprietor in Englasi will deeply suffer if they do not throw
on one side all the nonsense which is so prevalent about the negro cha-
racter not being known." * " Now the desire to annoy
the people has, touch ceased, though it exists in some places still. At
first, however, I am quite certain that several of the lowest sort of book-
keepers and overseers have, out of spite to the Bill which set the slaves
free, determined *so annoy them ; this of course did much harm, and I
the more re;oiee at the report that this feeling seems to have rapidlY
Passed, away. These people have, in many instances, had all their
fermer allowances of food and indulgences stopped from them, and for•
sonic unwillingness to labour, or some reason, whether deservedly or
not so, their Saturdays are often taken from them. How, then, ale •
they to exist but by theft ? The cases are, however, not very general,
and some bright examples of kind and good conduct are to be seen in all
parts. I would particularly call your attention to the beneficial effects .
of the humane system of management exemplified in Mr. Baynes" re- •
ports of the parish of St. John's, where Spring Vale, under the management
of Mr. J. Wright Turner, exhibits an absence of complaint which is
quite extraordinary." Now, what was this brought to prove ? The well
working of the Bill, though there was the solemn attestation of the
Governer in his dispatch, to the malpractices which had occurred under
the law, to be placed in juxtaposition with the single exception afforded
by the management of Mr. Turner in Spring Vale. It was not he who
read this; it was the Colonial Secretary and it was adduced to support
the ease, that the conditions upon which the Act proceeded were com-
plied with, simply and solely because no complaint proceeded from one
district called Spring Vale.—(Hear, from Lord Stanley.) Would the
Noble Lord cry " Hear" to that part of the dispatch in which the fre-
quent departures from the law were dwelt upon, and in which it Was
stated that there still were attorneys who " exacted the pound of flesh,"
and who, in the insolent spirit of half-defeated tyranny, persisted in
their cruelty towards those unhappy men for whose liberation we !It'
paid twenty millions of our money.—(Cheers.) Did the Noble 1,01. d
cheer now ; Did he approve of such practices ? The Noble Lord talked
of the "extinction" of slavery, and he used the same expression regard-
ing another matter—(Hear)--and in both cases the thing continued onli
in a more aggravated form.---(Hear.) And this plan was the proof of the
Noble Lord's wisdom; this apprenticeship system, by which he over-
ruled the proposition of the Noble Lord the Secretary at War,:
But there was another passage, in a dispatch of the Marquis of
Sligo, dated the Ist of August, 1836, in which that Noble Lord
says—" Your Lordship having been pleased, in your dispatches
of the 24th of April and of the 14th of June, to direct me
to
turn my attention to some enactments to remedy the deficiencies in the
abolition law, for the purpose of preventing the perpetration of such
cruelties as are therein alluded to, I have the honour to state, and I d'
so with much pain, that the necessity for such enactments becoreee.
every day more and more apparent to me, and that the hope I enterta n
of the existence generally of ameliorated feelings, though justified rn
many instances, is not universal. I must, however, remark, that
prevalence of such a system, as 1 must consider to be objectionabse,an e
in particular districts only ; still they must be provided against, 4
though much blame has attached itself to me for having used on
former occasion the same language, I again say, advisedly, that the
_re-
medy must come front home." Nosy this despatch was written lue7
than two years ago, in which distinct warnings were given, and special
instances of the working of this law were supplied, which demonstrates!,
that the conditions on which this Act passed were not performed, 211,
that every species of cruelty still continued to be perpetrated. Th
Government was called on then by the Marquis of Sligo to legislate ill
the year 1936. They did not legislate in 1830—they did not legislate
Its 1837—they did not legislate in 1838, until they introduced an
amendment on a motion, which, if carried, would make all
further legislation on this subject totally unnecessary.—(Heart
hear, hear.) But see how they confirmed the case on which
he relied by their Bill. He thought every part of that
measure was calculated to do so ; but there seas one topic in it
on which he should reply at some length, because it was omitted by the
Honourable Gentlemen who so powerfully introduced the present
motion. motion. Why, the very preamble contained a distinct admission
said'.
the conditions of the Act were not compiled with, for it di •
" whereas it bath since appeared that further provisions are necessary f
for the protection of the apprenticed labourers in the said colonies, o
giving full etilact to the intent and meaning of the said Act for the?'
titian of slavery." Who said this 7 The advocates of the resolutiod;
No; but the opponents of it; those who talked of " compact" an
ndtl4
" violation of engagements." These were the men who admitted
up to the present moment the abolition Act had been carried into effect'
and that teirther enactments were necessary to give it operation. d
(Hear, hear.) Why we gave away our money four years ago ;we ,
the purchase money four years ago ; and why within that Per
of four years which had elapsed—why not in last November he .-
declare that the negroes had been so ill treated that
Government had determined that they should have two ueeJ
of the week to themselves—namely, Friday and Saturday?
they preferred to withhold all legislation until they now came forward
with a measure not for the benefit of the negro, but in order to preiot
vent the benefit which must result from this resolution being earned'
The Bill then went on to appoint a kind of dictator. Nosy he didnot e.
complain of this ; but why did they not appoint him in the beginn'74
before the negro suffered four years of bondage.—(Hear, hear.) Aich
that, seek! the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, is the only rented,' wht.
you now propose for the evils which you acknowledge to exist. yes' .
you never can legislate against nature itself, and expect humane, 3
generous, and beneficent feelings from those who are made the tls is -
masters of their fellow-men.—(Cheera.) There are some men ainn°flegut.
the planters as remarkable as any in the community for their Ito ey_r
Integrity, and charitable feelings ; but I speak of the general and ;e'
whelming mass of the proprietors, and, above all, of the lower inst r,
menta of power—the attorneys and agents. Legislate for them la,
cannot. You cannot possibly entrust to any man dominion over artet: he
and expect that he will adequately discharge the responsibility which of
thus incurs. You cannot give one man a property in the labour
another, and hope that his conduct will be free from fault.—(Cheer of
Well, after four years of admitted suffering, you depute a dictator re
limited authority to do that justice to the negroes which Yon b
failed to afford them. I do not stop to inquire why this Bill does
give full discretionary powers to the Governor, and make hint not 3 n." 11,
handed or left-handed dictator, but invest him with authority to enn° 0
cipate the negro if he should think fit. I am not asking lea°, of
that, but something else infinitely better. What is the next elans
the Act ? How characteristic is the section which follows that eats,n
Wishing a despotism? It is to allow the negro the time spent in g°l A
to and returning from work. If any man in England had stated
c,
doubt, when this Act was under consideration, that the master wouldree
quire the negro to go to his work two or three miles, and work eight
nine hours, without allowing for the time spent in proceeding to and ,
Flt
turning from the place of labour, he would have been laughed at the
the negro were to remain at home for two or three hours, could to,
master be persuaded to consider tune so spent as consumed in hi' egos
ployment ? And yet when he transported hint three, four, or five M
in
in a day, he did not make any allowance for the time thus passedtA
proceeding to the place where his work was to be done, but dednca
it out of the miserable remnant of his labour, allowed to the n.
prentiee after the proprietor's claims were satisfied.—(Hear, vea, it
Was that the intention of the Legislature ? It was not. toe
the intention of the Government ? I admit it was not. We P this
that neither one or the other had any such view by now enacting ,
clause to remedy the universal violation of the conditions of theori to
and to prevent a further spoliation of the negro's time, in addiuquar,
the deprivation of four years, which he has already undergone. `ejot a
hear,) Do we propose to give him any compensation ? I have b 5 it sit
great deal of compensation. I always thought the negro deserve deti
our hands. He, at all events, now deserves that which it is our ere.)
to give him, and which all England demands—his liberty.—("o,in
It is impossible to do justice otherwise. The master obtained a t..,e Gee
the negro's labour only on conditions; anti it is impossible for tn
vornment to resist the emphatic declaration that these conditions what
beets violated, and that the negro ought to bcestomary allowanceew; e free.—(Cheers.) _ 4011
is the next clause ? It provides that their to ,
be continued to the negroes. Why was it not clear and len° ,rep.
everybedy that by customary allowances the law intended the
bee should be allowed so much as to afford him, in the absence of o:_betie
a full subsistence ? What has been the operation of the law in this.
cuter ? Look to Sir Lionel Smith's last speech to the Jamaica a :arse
ture, where it is said that in some instances the apprentice is inu ?
o
condition than the slave. Was it for this we gave the twenty n
Was it that the negro should be stinted in the article of food the
if there is anything which appeals with irresistible force '__,°„,ess
human heart, it is the eotsdition of a man who works without .77),et
and who even then is nut mercifully treated: And shall it be saiferoee
the people of England will endure the continuance of such wk",, of
abuses Oh, but it is said that we cannot speak of the continua:lod/
this system, when two-thirds of the period of apprenticeship have. whirl'
elapsed. Well, I ask you to give the negro the remaining third', s The
is the ouly relief he can now obtain at your hands.—(Hear, beanopar-
advocates sbr immediate emancipation are taunted with referring
tieular instances, and not establishing au thin' like unieersce .iity
wee
abuse ? Why, one of the elausel of this Act gives every Of
thinks fit the power of visiting prisons. And again, the .stllh
this Act stet?: that the proprietors of estates should fund aPs
tiefA While In confinement or in hospital with food and nevi";
„opt
though the word hospital is introduced, there is no proyisiortio! re, gale ,
,would seem a necessary ceensequence—medicine. Do you di_
.to leave the conittlii,tion of this provision to the planters, andl leeee
I
their discretion unfettered as to that which, would naturally suers wells
impose c. 44 spent the obligation of providing food and necessaries,
it,f
,5,113
to the mind of any man legislating for the wants of those negrolee
islate 0
medicine? Thlionle shows how hopeless is the attempt to b
_n in
rtouched
this enieteest its its present position. The next point _ their
the Bill applies to the valuation of the apprentices on ses,,l%buid be
state
set free as soon as lw ilave proof of his ability to enjoy
.ae 6howed
discharge. Now, was it not, ititended that the apprentice s" of
liberty; apsi is not notorious that just in proportion n
ecurnuisted.
hig,saie to be industrious the price of his liberation a
the at are
the law was so arrameete that he was shut out
tfroAran
what are
Sage of purchasing hes creedoni at a fair valuationh'.m a
that right of
you now gone; After four years you give
°lM,ifi+ll foie valuation, which you ought to havei secured beil"