The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-18 00:00:00

MEETING OF THE CO LINTY OF

ESSEX.

A public meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the
county of Essex took place yesterday at the Town I [all, Chelmsford, for
the purpose of taking into consideration the prop: 7iety of petitioning
Parliament for the immediate and entire abolition of ' negro apprentice.
ship in the British Colonies in the West Indies. Th .e meeting was very
numerously and respectably attended, anti the gall ery was filled with
ladies. At a few minutes past twelve the High SI reriff, Wm. Cotton,
Esq., who was accompanied by several of the most respectable and in-
fluential inhabitants of Chelmsford,Colchester, and t he neighbouring dis-
tricts, entered the Hall, and took the chair am: telst loud and general
cheering. Among those present we observed, the Revs. H. Bull, A.
Pearson, E. Yorke, G. Bryan, T. Craig, I. Gray, I. Mark, I. Howell; C.
E. Branfill, Esq., T. Christy, Esq., G. Gibson, Esq,.,
N. Catlin, Esq., T.
Catchpool, Esq., E. Daniell, Esq., W. C. Miles, 3 ?sq., J. H. Pattisson,
Esq., T. Butler, Esq., J. Copeland, Esq., and I des srs. Marriage, T.
Candler, Dixon, Burder, Copland, Perry, Pritch erd, Cremer, Ridley,
Eve, Johns, and Christy.
The HUM SHERIFF, having taken the chair, said that no doubt all
present were aware of the object of the meeting.. 'He had only to ex-
press a hope that whatever observations might lee -.made they would be
made in the kindspirit which had called them tog, ?th or. 'With regard to
the emancipation of the negroes, that had long bet :n determined; and
they had not met to decide on the expediency of alx dishing slavery. No
doubt it was a question on which many entertain e d different opinions,
and therefore he begged again to express a hope that the discussion
would be conducted with a kind feeling. The wt ,rthy Chairman then
read the requisition calling upon him to convel re file meeting.
Mr. MARRIAGE said the friends of Anti-slave ry had thought it right
to address letters to most of the members of P. sal lament attached to the
county. They had received letters from George. Palmer, Esq., declining
to attend, because he did not concur in the obje ct of the meeting ; T.
W. BrRITIStOII, Esq., M.P., expressing his regret th at his engagements in
London would not permit him to attend ; Sit ;corge Henry Smyth,
M.P., stating he would use his best endeavours to promote the object of
their wishes—(Cheers)—although he did not d ire to be placed in so
a resolution ; John
prominent a situation as the mover or secon'Sir ahn Tyrrell, who was
der d-
in savour of the object of
tßound,
meeting,E q P.,un aabnlde
tEo.
aGt
t. e
nßda r; naanrdd ,frEosmq.
of opinion that the subject had been fully agitated and exhausted, both
in and out of Parliament. Some of the Members t )1* the county had not
been written to, because it was thought they wont I have been able to
attend; they had received letters from T. B. Leimard
,Esq,, Lord Western,
and Lord Raleigh, declining to attend ; Th omas Powell Buxton, and
ha epy if the resolution had
SamuelTh e
IGI
euvr. wereu uuni, aL: ovi tilcaabrl yoafb sLeinatizu(
rElye,a.mr. ,ohveeede.
beention.
put H ei
‘tgoouabhlleirmhvaenbdes,etbsutexhceeceadminegittere as the representative of a
should be carried.—
)the first resolu-
woman, or child, who
mien as Wilberforce and
parishwer were
ni
out whichi
yh eor et.
owpasi atnh
ai
tn dtihviisd urna
snauarvr
,comparatively nothing.--
(Cheers.) He and his parishioners had the f
s(Ctehpeleerns.,)
shiotuli,d,ashtaovebelablaonurreeidatesdo tlhoantgsufocrh
'ngs of Englishmen that
liberty was a most desirable objet, and that et ill became those who were
so fund of liberty, to be accessory to slavery at non; t their fellow-creatures.
—(Hear, hear, hear.) An end ought to be put to this dreadful system
of tyranny, oppression, and cruelty ; the e vil Lad only in a very small
measure indeed been removed. Where the nog roes had been partially
e nancipated all had gone on well, and thei 'e was no reason for saying
the whole harvest would not answer to that sample, and that the whole
tnl'siegrre°foproepumlaotsit desirable,
on%vcl d
in his
t actmind,they
as
h. rd —(Hear, hear.) It was
tha t they should no longer be
kept in a stete of servitude and subjection', And expcee I to all the
miseries which it was well known they were t !xpo.:ed to. He would not
detain the meeting any longer but would sinn?ly m ave the resolution that
that bad been put into his hand, trusting th ere ware others who would
more fully speak on this subject.—(Cheers.)
J. H. Perrisos, Esq., willingly seconded the resolution, because it
was one devoid of party feeling and party spirit. He stood there in the
character of an Englishman and a Christian, and he felt it was the
bounden duty of every man %;ho had the welfare of the empire at heart,
to support the motion.—(Hear, hear.) He. fully concurred in the ob-

servations contained in this resolution, as to the expediency of the
measure. When part of the negroes were emancipated on the Ist of
August, it was apparent these negroes who were not emancipated would
be dissatisfied. Ho would at once come to the broad question—was
there or was there not to be slavery in the British Empire?—(Cheers.)
No person ought to be under the dominion of another, or subject to an-
other, without his being a party to the contract. As the meeting would
hear the subject more ably supported, he would close his observations
at once by expressing his strong and zealous hope, that slavery would at
once be abolished.—(Cheers.)
The Resolution w,as then put and carried unanimously.
C. E. BRANFILL rose to propose the next resolution, which was one
in which he entirely and cordially concurred. In fact it embraced the
pith of the question they were called on to discuss. They were all
agreed on the great principle that it was absolutely necessary to abolish
slavery,that foul plague-spot on the laws of this nation. They felt that
slavery in our colonies was degrading to them, and that they could not
hold up their heads as the advocates or liberty throughout the whole
world, while this spot remained to defile our code of laws.—(Hear.)
The nation had agreed to pay the enormous sum of 20,000,000/. for
the abolition of slavery. There could not remain the least doubt on
the mind of any person as to the expediency of altering the Abolition
Act by curtailing the period during which the apprenticeship was to
endure. It was on that particular point of the question that the resolu-
tion which he held in his hand pressed, and he would therefore
read the resolution at once. (Mr. Branfill here read the resolution.)
He contended that no individual had a right to put his fellow men in
bondage.—(Cheers.) And lie would state in the face of the meeting
that his only wish to have a seat in the British Senate had been that he
might propound to it this question—Which was the greatest crime, for
the black people to cut all the white people's throats, or for the white
people to hold the black people in bondage ?—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.)
That was a question which, if he were asked to give ass opinion upon it,
he should doubt very much. He believed it would be a great crime for
the black people to put to death the white people, but he doubted whe-
ther it was not a greater crime for the white people to hold the black in
bondage.—(Hear.) They had all agreed as to the expediency of aboli-
tion of slavery.—(Hear, hear.) The only question was as to the
mode of bringing it into force. There could be no doubt, from the
evidence laid before them, that the negroes at the present time were in
a worse state of bondage than they were during the time of the existence
of slavery in its full vigour. It would seem as if the planters, having
po longer a perpetual term or right in the property of the slaves had
given up all care for the well being or the health of those unhappy indi-
viduals, and that his only object was to wear him out as soon as possible.
—(Hear, hear.) Many of the planters had declared it to be their inten-
tion to render the siave, when he received his liberty, unable to work.—
(Shame.) Their worthy Chairman had told them to speak temperately ;
but if there was a subject on which it was difficult to speak temperately
it was where we saw our fellow creatures subjected to such atrocious
cruelty.—(Hear, hear.) When they heard of a woman with a
sucking infant at her breast deprived of food, and the child
trying to draw nourishment from that fountain, which was
dried up by the cruelty of her master, it was impossible to restrain one's
indignation against such monsters, who were a disgrace to the human
race.—(Cheers.) It was one of the decrees of Providence that he who
oppressed his fellow men, should become debased: and if there was
one thing more historically supported than another, it was the fact of
degradation and depravity which existed in slave-holding colonies.
Those who kept their fellow men in bondage were the last that ought
to be entrusted with the making of the laws by which the abolition was
to be carried out. Lord Glenelg's Bill appeared to entrust the whole
of the management of the bye-laws, as they were called, to the Colo-
nial Assembly.—(Hear, hear.) Ho had no expectation that the
planters would do justice as between themselves and the slaves--
he should as soon expect the wolves to make laws by which
the lambs should be delivered from their prey.— (Hear, hear.) His in-
dignation was not only excited by the cruelties inflicted 'on the slave
under the name of apprenticeship, but it was also roused by the
Banters wringing from the British people 20,000,000/. of taxation.—
Hear, hear.) There might be many at the meeting who felt but little

the pressure of taxation but there were thousands who earned their
livelihood by the sweat of their brow, and the 20,000,000/. formed a
very large item in their national burdens. He felt indignation when he
found that the 20,000,0001. was to be whistled out.of the pockets of the
honest and hard working people of this country,'for the purpose of swell-
ing the coffers of those who had ne just claim whatever on them.—
(Hear, hear.) He contended that the planter had no right whatever
over the labours of the slave whom he had stolen. When he attended
as a delegate in London, from one of the towns of the county, the most
important fact he had ever heard was that stated by Mr. William Knight,
who said it had been calculated that, at the time the Abolition Act
passed, the marketable price of all the British slaves was not more than
15,000,0001, but they had given 20,000,0001. for the absolute purchase
of them.—(Hear, hear)—therefore, if Cley were only worth 15,000,0001.
at that time, if any body had a claim on the slaves it was the English
people; and it would seem by that, there was a balance of 5,000,0001.
in their favour.—(Loud cheering.) However, that was paid to ren-
der easy, as it was said, the transition of the negro from a state
of slavery to liberty.—(Great laughter,, and cheers.) Was the system
which had been carried on calculated to ameliorate the condition of the
slaves? No. It had been termed "apprenticeship." If it was an
apprenticeship to learn how to work hard they had been apprenticed
long enough.— (Cheers and laughter.) Ile could not conceive it was
possible that any good could arise from continuing slavery any longer,
and he was strongly of opinion that the Providence of God would not
allow this matter to terminate without some retribution on the planters.
Ile should be sorry to say one word that could tend to incite the li-
berated negroes to acts of retaliation; but he would say there boldly that
he should not be sorry if, on the let of August next, the apprenticeship
system was not abolished by law, that every negro in our West Indian
colonies threw down his hoe and refused to work.—(Hear, hear.) He
thought one of the greatest objects likely to accrue from this meeting
was to show the negroes had a strong support in this country.—(Hear,
hear, hear.) The transition from slavery to freedom would never
be brought about by the Colonial Assembly, for they appeared to
have a sort of obliquity of vision—(Hear, and a laugh)—therefore the best
thing they could do was to call on the Legislature at once to declare the
negroes free.—(Cheers.) He also trusted that, when he was made free,
there would not be one law for the black man, and another for the white
—that there would be no taw which exposed the back of the black man
to the cat-o'-nine-tails, and which would not expose the back of the
white man to the same punishment, if he committed the same crime.
There was no reason to apprehend that the negro would not work as well
for the wages of his labour, as from the fear of the lash of his master.
—(Hear, hear.) He lio?ed the negroes would combine together, to ex-
tort from their masters an ample and fair remuneration for their labour.
The higher class combined together constantly, and he saw no reason
why the labouring black or white people should not combine together for
a fair remnneration. He did not wish to see men combine together to
break the lawi"; bet he did like to see them combine together for the
purpose of providing for themselves and their fellow-men.—(Hear.) It
was as much for the interests of the planters that the negroes should be
free, as it was for the negroes themselves. The great question
was, whether the negro was a rational human being, and whether he
had a soul. If he had a soul it was absurd for any one to stand up and
say he ought to be held in bondage. If he was only a higher order of
the brute creation, they might then have a right to hold him in bondage,
as they would a horse or a dog. But the negroes were men of intelli-
gence and industry, and from the statement of their own missionaries,
they were aware that the negroes were able to appreciate the great doe.
trines of religion. His only wonder was, that they were unlike what
they had been described to be. In conclusion he apologised for detaining
the meeting so long, and expressed the great satisfaction he felt its
moving the resolution.—(Cheers.)
E. BEM/SHER, Esq., seconded the resolution. He was convinced that
the negroes were fully capable of receiving the benefits of moral and
religious education and of civil liberty, and because he wished to obtain
all the advantages of the splendid sacrifice made by the people of this
country to give 20,000,0001., a sacrifice unparalleled in the history of
the world. Having given a compensation, they were fnlly entitled, as
a nation, to receive that which they had bargained for. The negroes
had shown themselves worthy of liberty, because that which they had
already received was enjoyed by them, not in a state of riot or confu-
sion, but by attendance at places of worship, and by rejoicing in a
Christian and religious manner for the liberty which, under the bles-
sings of Divine Providence, they had attained.—(Hear, hear.) He an-
ticipated a glorious day when they would see the African, though
clothed in a different skin from that of the European, would be ca-
pable of enjoying those privileges which in this land of liberty the
country were preparing for them.—(Cheers.) The island of Antigua
had shown a noble example in the emancipation of its slaves, and that
splendid act had been followed by the best effects. He hoped that this
year, which was the one in which our virtuous and beloved Queen
was to have the British crown placed on her head (and which might she
long live to wear), would not go out without the full and free emancipa-
tion of those poor slaves whose cause they were advocating. Such an
act would give additional lustre to her reign, and be the brightest gem
in the British diadem.—(Cheers.) He sincerely trusted she would,
under Providence, be permitted, through the Legislature of this country,
to have the happiness of emancipating those subjects of her Crown, so
that the descendants of Wilberforce and Stephens might see that the
work of their forefathers had not been in vain.—(Cheers.)
The resolution was put, and carried unanimously.
GEORGE Ginsoer, Esq. then came forward to move the next resolu-
tion. He knew not why he had been selected to take part in the pro.
ceeclings, unless because it was known that he had come from a part of
the country in which a deep, a lively, and an increasing interest upon
the subject was felt. In thus coming forward he did it with diffidence
and embarrassment, being unaccustomed to address a public audience;
but since he came into that Hall, he had been inhaling the exhilerating
air of freedom.—(Cheers.) Ho saw around him gentlemen clothed
in the ample mantle of charity, and he therefore came forward to claim
their indulgence.—(Hear, hear.) He stood there a convert to hume_
diate emancipation. He was one of those who considered an interme-
diate state necessary, but from observing the working of the system in
some of the islands, he had found the opinion to be theoretical, and he
had been compelled to abandon it.—(Cheers.) He had then thought
that the national faith was pledged, and he could only satisfy his mind
by investigation. In proceeding with that investigation, he found that
the money had been paid upon certain conditions, and the question
arose, had those conditions been fulfilled? and he ascertained that they
had not. He would give them an illustration; if any gentleman present
hadpurchased a farm for six years, and the conditions of the lessee were,
that he should make every endeavour to improve the land, if in the
course of four years it was found that, notwithstanding remonstrances,
the occupier was wasting the soil and suffering the buildings to go to
decay, would it be a violation of the contract if he took possession of
'the land before the expiration of the remaining term of the lease? He
would say that that man's interests had been violated—and such was
the present condition of the country. They had granted emancipation
upon certain conditions, which it was proved had not been fulfilled ;
and therefore it would be but an act of justice in the Government to
take possession of that property, and if they were willing to abandon
the pecuniary condition, at least the immediate emancipation of the
negroes should be demanded.—(Cheers.) Since the resolution had been
put into his hands a few memorable words had occurred to him on
another and a very different occasion—" England expects every man
to do his duty,"—(Hear and cheers.) For that reason he had felt it
his duty to come forward, and he would add that they were assembled
there for no insidious purpose—that they were not met to undermine
the institutions of the country, or to excite the spirit of discontent and
hostility to
the powers that be"—not to interfere 'with the
interests of the planters, but in the name of justice, of humanity,
and of religion, to uphold the hand of the Executive to
grant an act of justice, which they sincerely believed would
benefit the colonies and the negroes themselves, and by passing the Act
of Emancipation, be the means of binding and attaching them by grati-
tude to the State, promote the prosperity of the planters, and, he reve-
rently hoped, would ultimately tend to the glory of God, and the ex!en-
sion of the Redeemer's kingdom.—(Loud cheers.)
GEORGE 'Essoetesoee, Esq , then presented himself to the meeting, and
was received with loud cheering. He said—Freeholders of Essex, I am
proud of the privilege of offering to you this day a few observations, and
I will not abuse that privilege. I will say nothing inconsistent with that
religion which constitutes the glory of our country—is at once the cause
of our prosperity, and the foundation and security of that prosperity. I
will utter nothing inconsistent with the spirit of the English laws, as ad-
ministered in this building in which we are assembled. I will say no-
thing at variance with the political views of any party here, be-
cause what I have to address to you, this day, will be in strict
accordance with those great fundamental principles which we hold in
common, and for the triumph of which we are all desirous, however we
may differ as to the best means of carrying out into universal application
those great maxims of moral and political conduct.—(Cheers.) Had
the meeting to-day been convened for political purposes, I should not
have been here. If the object of this meeting had been to promote the
local interests of the county in which we are assembled, and in which
you are residents and electors, I should not have been here ; but I am
here to advocate a cause more than any other cause free from a party
political complexion—free from those imputations which may sometimes
justly be cast, and to which many other qecstions are liable, of being
advanced by persons wino have their own personal and pecuniary bite-
' rests involved, and who either betray, or may be considered latently to
cherish, the desire to advance their own confused and absurd purpesee;

rather than the good of the community at large.—(Loud cheers.) Our
cause today is not the cause of party—it is not a question belonging to
any division of the political world, or any section of the religious world—
it is the cause of man—it is the cause of our country—it is the cause
of God—it is a cause in which all men and all parties have laboured—the
cause of Pitt and Fox—those great rivals on many questions united on this—
the cause of Sheridan, Burke, Wyndham, Wilberforce, and now I boast
to say a cause advocated by men of all religious denominations, as well
as by men of every political party in the State.—(Great cheering.) It is
in the highest sense a religious cause that we advocate to-day. Re-
ligious in its object, it is to carry out those great principles of morality
which have been revealed in the Word of God. Religious in the prin-
ciples, by the advocacy of which we seek to accomplish that object. Our
principles have been derived from that untainted volume which has
been in goodness and wisdom given to us to save us on this great
question from being led astray by leaning to the maxims of men, or by
submitting to be governed by the theories of philosophers and legis.
lators who have not derived their spirit and information from God.—
(Hear, hear.) Our means are religious—our's are not the weapons of
carnal warfare, and we desire not to accomplish our object by unhal-
lowed means. We have repudiated such means hitherto, and we have
sought to achieve our ends by measures purely pacific. We have not
ventured to recommend a course which has been sometimes adopted,
and which I, for one, believe would be a lawful course—we have not
ventured to recommend that course alluded to by my. Hon. Friend on
my right, I mean the acting upon the doctrine of passive resistance.
—(Hear, hear.) What we have done hitherto has been this : we have
sought in the spirit of love and by the propagation of truth to influence
the consciences and hearts of men, and especially the consciencies
and hearts of those who have the power, and with that power also inherit
the will to exert themselves for the extinction of that nefarious system
which, for three centuries, has been a stain upon our national character
—a scandal to religion, the curse of the Colonies, and the disgrace of
the world. And, again, our final object is not to accomplish the extinc-
tion of personal slavery. We are labouring, I trust, under the influence
of a desire to promote an ulterior object. We regard personal liberty,
civil liberty, and religious liberty, as a means to a great end—(Hear)—as
not worth fighting for, sometimes, for their own sakes—as not worth the
sacrifices we have to make, when gained, merely for their own sakes—
but as so many great and indispensable means of revealing nobler, and
ho:ier, and eternal ends. And it is because we believe that without
personal liberty there will be little religious liberty—and, I might say,
where there is no religious liberty, we generally find that there is political
and personal slavery—it is because we believe that the spiritual interests
of these our fellow subjects are intimately connected with—nay, indis.
pensable from—the possession of personal liberty, that we seek to save
them first from the bondage of an earthly thraldom, that, among the
privileges of a better condition, they may arrive at the enjoyment of that
freedom which knowledge, and which a moral and sound religious edu.
cation bestows upon the subjects of such an education, and without which
mass is, after all, a slave; and not the guiltless slave who wears the fetters
of a temporal and servile bondage, but the guilty slaveof passion and of
sin—the vessel and victim of him" who goes about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour."—(Vehement cheering.) I have said
this much to explain the views by which I am influenced in rising to ad-
dress you to.day ; and I may be permitted to say further, that we are not
the enemies of the planters.—(Hear.) Would that they could look
into our hearts—they would there discover no sinister motives, no hidden
desire to abridge the benefits they enjoy under the present system—
(Cheers)—no desire to injure them in their worldly circumstances, or,
what is dearer to them, as it is to every man, their reputation—that we
do not meet to-day to punish. the innocent with the guilty, but to bless
the guilty with the innocent—(Loud cheers)—and if there be any
among the planters who are worse than others, more clue], more indu-
rated, more callous, and more set against their own true interests than
those around them, to save them even against their will, and make them,
by the establishment ofa luster, and a milder, and a holier system, to be
partakers of it, may be so at last, of those blessings which they have
blindly repudiated, and of those influences they are now so strenuously
resisting.—(Great applause.) Now, Sir, I humbly conceive that our
question to-day lies in a very narrow compass. At all events, the mo-
rality of the question lies in a very narrow compass.—(Hear, hear.) It
is not, in the first place in what position we stand—with what difficulties
we have to contend—what are the objections brought against us—and
what are our chances of success. But the first question is this—is the
negro in a suffering condition—has the negro at this hour his privileges
and prerogatives, and rights, which as a man and a subject of the British
Crown, he is by nature and by birth entitled to ?—(Loud cheers.) If
we find, on looking at him, that we are not in a free condition—that his
personal liberty is abridged—that his labour is taken from him and no
wages given as an equivalent, then, Sir, what can be the difficulties,
whatever the objections, whatever the number, or subtelty, or power,
or malignity, or rank of our opponents—we may make up our minds to
this one thing—that we are right in pleading the cause of the negro,
and if there be truth in the Bible or strength in the arm of God, we must
ultimately triumph.—(lmmense cheering.) Now, a word in the first
instance with regard to the character of the negro before we speak of
his condition. On looking at the debate in the House of Commons, I
regret to find that in the speeches delivered in opposition to the motion
of Sir G. Strickland, that the negro was entirely forgotten. Sir G. Grey
reasoned not as though the question had reference to 800,000 living,
sentient, human, rational, immortal beings, the subjects of the Govern-
ment of England, and 20,000 of them our Fellow-Christians, but as
though it was simply a question of compact between man and man, hay.
ing reference to some inanimate or at best some brute irrational crea-
tures. That the negro, if suffering had to be relieved or if wrong had to
be redressed, or if the enslaved hail to be set at liberty, never seemed to
enter for an instant into the minds of Sir G. Grey or Mr. Gladstone, the
two distinguished advocates on the opposite side of the question, who,
though on different sides of the House, and antagonists generally, were
most cordially united as friends and fellow-labourers in opposing the
wishes of a united and enlightened empire —(Loud and continued cheers.)
Surely as Christian men, having or professing to have a philanthropic
object, their:first attention should be directed to the individual respecting
whom the alleged case of suffering had been made out. The negro
stands before us to-day in a very commanding position. He is a man,
and woe be to those who would lay hands upon him and make him pro-
perty, and desecrate his Maker's image—reduce the being created but a
little lower than the angels, to the condition of a beast of burden I Woe
to that legislature!—woe to that government! that dares to barter
away either the liberty or the industry of one solitary human being !
(Loud and continued cheering.) There is not a freeholder within
these walls to-day who is more entitled to the fruits of his lands, or the
wages which he acquires from the exertion of his handicraft skill, than
is the negro entitled to eat the fruit of the soil on which he toils, and to
demand for his labour a fair, and reasonable, and just equivalent.—
(Cheers.) The British Parliament has no more a right to rob the
negro of the fruits of his industry than you have a right to rob him.—
(Hear, hear.) There is not, before God, one morality for Chelmsford,
and another for St. Stephens—we shall be judged according to our
actions and not according to the place where we performed them ; and
I am sorry to say that many of our legislators who are honoura-
able men out of the House—who pay their tradesmen and workmen, and
who would be ashamed to defraud the widows or the fatherless of
their scanty pittance—who pay those who reap their fields or who sow
them—yet go into the House and maintain before God their right to
' rob 800,000 human beings. Now I will not assent to this doctrine—
(Hear, hear)—l bow down before his immortality; I acknowledge
him to be a brother; I bring him within the covenant;
ofgrace, by which I hope to be saved, and I look to live with him
hereafter in the holy and immortal climes of bliss, and what I claim
for my Sovereign and myself, the one the highest and the other the
humblest in the land, I claim for the blackest and the poorest, and the
most insulted negro in the British colonies.—(Great cheering.) We
paid to set that man free, and on no other condition did we submit to
have our pockets emptied of twenty millions of money. We paid it,
not that he might be in a better condition than before, as Sir G. Grey
tells us—not that he might receive fewer lashes, but that he might re.
,oeive none; not that he might have fewer hours to himself, not that he
might have one half of Friday, which they managed however to take
from him—but that he might have every Friday, and every day from
the Sunday dawn, when the church going bell summonses him to the
House of God, till the Saturday night, whets he returns weary with
labour to the hut where he rests his head.—(Great cheering,) I scorn
the appeal made to me to be grateful that the negro is not so badly off
as he was before. I ask, is he free ?—(Vehement cheering.) I ask, has
Lord Stanley's prophecy been fulfilled ?—is he freed from irresponsible
corporeal punishment? Is he freed from the collar, from the stocks,
from unpaid labour, from the taint of a servile condition ? And if Sir
G. Grey cannot demonstrate that lie is, in the language of Lord Stanley,
" for ever absolutely manumitted and discharged from all manner
of slavery," I would say to him, compare not the length of
his chain now with what it was before—be thankful that
it is longer, or lined, or made of better materials—if I see one fetter—
if I see attached to his heel one link of the dehumanizing chain, I shall
come again and again to these men, although they might fear neither
man nor God, and by constant importunity weary them into acquiescence,
and oblige them to yield to moral constraint, that which was withheld
as a spontaneous and gracious act.—(lmmense cheering.) Now the
negro was worthy of this not merely as a rem, but as a man fit for
freedom. Our enemies being the judges—there is not a human being
on the face of the globe more fit for freedom. What a mass—what
volumes of base calumnies have been propagated respecting the fitness
of the negro for freedom, and even now we are told by Mr. Gladstone,
that if two years were necessary to prepare him for a transition state,
how much the more necessary to have two years to prepare him for a state
of freedom : ergo, we must by no means think of emancipating the negro.
It is not the negro whom I consider unfit for freedom—the patient
double-drudging negro attached by a solitary act of kindness to the man
who may have been guilty of 1,000 acts of unkindness—who with a
cutlass in his hand for fifty years, never once raised it against the man
who had spoiled him of his rights. It was not that man who was unfit
for freedom in my eyes—though fair science may not have been
enlightened his mind—though the page of divine inspiration
may present unmeaning hieroglyphics to his gaze, he is not the
man who is unfit for freedom, but I will tell you who. No
matter how polished, how proud, or how pale—no matter what be his
rent. roll—no matter whether lie be a Student of Christ Church, or an
Under Secretary of State—that man, in my estimation, is unfit for free-
dom, who living and enjoying, and being wise, and proud, and happ*,
and strong, because he is free, either grudges it to his neighbour, or,
what is worse, uses the means which freedom gives h m to forge the
chains for his fellowman ; or, worse than all, worshipping at the altar
of the goddess, brings his victim to her shr.ne, and sacrifices him there.
The emotions of thet man's soul must he dull as night—his aft' ctions
must be dark as Erebus—" Let no antis man be trusted." I have the au-
thority of Sir George Grey himself, supported by extract after extract
' from the reports of Governors and Special Magistrates, all speaking in
the mo t eulogistic terms of the conduct of the Negro. But I have
higher authority for the fact. I would point to the beaetiful and in-
controvertible argument referred to by this Gentleman who has pre_
crded me, in the condition of Antigua, where there were 34,000
blacks, and 2,000 whites, which was a sugar colony, and where,
therefc re, the experiment had been fairly tried.—(Hear, hear hear.)
Does its present condition fulfil the prophecies of our opponents, who
sat upon the battlements of their blood.stained superstructure and
watched for the appearance of an enemy, and when they descried his ap-
proach, flapped their raven wings and " frighted the isle from its pro-
priety ?" Not a woman has been defiled—not a man has been injured
__not a cane-piece destroyed—not a trash-house fired—not a single white
man assaulted.—(Cheers.) The cane-piece blooms as sweetly as ever
—the mill goes as merrily as ever—the wharf is laden with sugar as
heavily as ever—the ship floats in the harbour as proudly as ever—and
leaves the shore, now teeming with plenty, with a cargo of natural and
uncontaminated sweets, the produce of a harvest reaped by a grateful
and an honest peasantry.—(lmmense cheering) Have the militia and
the troops beenre.organcsed. There had been such forces in the island,
as was the case in every other slave colony, but the militia had been dis.
banded. It had been the practise to make every book-keeper enrol him-
self as a militia man, and periodically to put on Russian docks, a scarlet
coat, and a plumed hat, with a rifle on his shoulder, to go strut on the
parade, and through certain military evolutions, that he might learn to
be a warrior, and shoot the negroes if they dared to complain. Now all
these gentlemen had lost their vocation.
" Grim-visag'd war bath smootli'd his wrinkled front ;
And now instead of mcunting barbed steeds,
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber."—(Great laughter.)
And there were standing troops in the island. Were they called out?
No. What were they doing? Smoking cigars, drinking sangaree,
fishing on the lagoons, feasting at the planters' houses, and dancing wills
the planters' daughters—and sometimes marrying them too. As to
fighting, that was the very thing they did not do, and had almost for-
gotten to do.—(Cheers ) And a proposal has actually been made by
the Government at home to the Executive in the Colony, to withdraw
every British soldier, and leave it to be defended against intestine fetid
cr foreign aggression by the virtue, the valour, the loyalty, the gratitude,
and, better than all, the piety of the emancipated slaves.—(Great
plaus'e.) But have they a police ? Yes. And who are they ? Blacks.
Who is the head of the police—the controlling mind and directing
authority? An emancipated slave. Where are the eyes of our legis-
lators, where are the eyes of the majority—the odious-1 was going to
say, the infamous majority, when Antigua, wills her 34,000 enfran-
chised, happy, energetic, peaceful, loyal subjects stood before them, to
rebuke their timidity, to win their admiration, and to solicit their suf-

frages in favour of 700,000 fellow men yet unemancipated ?—(Tremen-
dous cheering.) Then there is the Bermudas, where 5,000 have
been emancipated, and there is Nevis, which will be free on the first of
August. Another island, more enlightened than the Legislature' IS
about to do that themselves which the British Cabinet will not do, a.
to set their apprentices absolutely flee on the Ist of August next, whenn
tats
9,000 men will be emancipated.—(Cheers.) Then we have the Virg
islands, and Tortola and Barbadoes, with its population of eighty
thousand, whose planters and legislators grave and reverend
seignors," were never in the habit of doing any
have declared that they were only prevented from freeing their slaves I).y.
tlfe fear of coming into collision with the British Parliament. He held
in his hand a Barbadoes newspaper, in which the debate in the Barba.
does Legislature was reported, and wherein it was stated, that however
they might be convinced of the safety of the measure, they feared
thing
might be thwarting the intentions of the British Parliament.—(nea''
hear.) Oh! but our opponents say, these things may be true, but thin
do not apply to Jamaica. Why, there are 350,000, with its inounta.r
fastnesses, and unexplored wildernescess, and tempting regions, to wie'
the slave might go when he was free, and where he might choose ra-
ther to live upon the fruits of the earth, than serve the white mall to
hastily,
the house or in the field. But if I bring the planters of Jamaica to g',ve
evidence: in my favour, turning to the blue book before me, I fin" 3
letter from Sir Lion(' Smi h to Lord Glenelg, dated the 13th of Novena:
bet, in which he states, that not only on the lot of August next, hu'
on the very next day, the 14th of November, the slaves might be eman-
cipated—. all parties would be glad to abandon the system to-morr"oW--
'ere
for further compensation."—(Cheers and much laughter.)
the difficulties of the law, the troops and the militia, were jumped ever
s
instantly. A little more compensation, and tosmorrow—aye, to-inorrov
—they would abandon the system themselves, and yet Mr. William.,
Ewart Gladstone, wills that dispatch before him, had declared that
two years were necessary to provide for a transition state, a much longer
time would be necessary for immediate freedom. But then it was 'a,
they would run away to the buela What have I to do with tha"
bush,
Granted that every man, woman, and child would run away to the
has it come to this, that we hold them in bondage lest they should rya
away, if they chose, to the bush, rather than dwell in towns or cities,
and the God who dwelt in the bush go with them ? And I would salf,
" Heaven's ble,sing go with you, my, brother—l would rather you shou
remain with me that I might pay you with wages, instead of the whiPee
that I might have cherished and enlightened you ; but if you will to tn.,. ee
bush, prosperity go with you, and if ever you choose to peep out or co
out, I shall be very glad to see you." So much with regard to the fit",
,s
of the negro for freedom. Is their condition one of injustice and ceue',t'a
and severity ? I must remind this assembly that for the last two an" a
half years our case has been most carefully laid before Government 1°..,„
variety of documents—all of the highest authority, and most conclus,
in their evidence. It has been demonstrated to the Government, a!
though perhaps not to the community at large, because the O.
agi-
tation has been comparatively short, that in the matter of Ive
gistration thousands and tens of thousands of the negroes
been defrauded—that by a false classification, or none at all,
been r
two years of their liberty has been put in jeopardy--
that e
an over-valuation they have been prevented from purchasing tbwi
freedom, and where they have bought it they have been obliged. ht
pay a much larger sum than justice prescribed—that by the Kith
hours' system they have been deprived of their half Fridays—that ''„,re
regard to food they are in a worse condition than when they are
slaves—that the scale of punishments was increased, and there .ess,
now thirteen offences for which they could be punished with 50 lastah-as
while under the old system they could not receive more than
on the tread-wheel women were put to have their joints dislocanq
their limbs bruised, their backs lacerated, and their forms wasted:no,
destroyed—that they were prevented from moving from one Ida'
ne
another—that with regard to the aged, mothers and children, their es° e
dision was decidedly worse than before. This was our case ; an
shall not require any lengthened documents to demonstrate it, beeaus,
ae
it has been unequivocally admitted by Lord Glenelg himself But eree
the subject o: registration, I shall direct your attention to the t;ris
principal colonies belonging to the British empire. First, the
tins, an island in the Indian pecan, containing 76,000 negroes-enceo,
British Guiana, containing 100,000—and thirdly, lons
tensing 350,000, the most important of all our slave c", ,' as
According to the Slave Acts, every negro was not duly registereO; or
entitled to his freedom on the first of August, 1834, yet in desPi re-
this law, every negro was subsequently registered and the planter;
just
ceived compensation for him. Now, if the parties had received thor
award of the law, every person guilty of the flagitious act, instca
aiats
receiving compensation for his slave, should have, for foloniouslY e
porting these men, received the halter as Isis reward. And here rim,
bring a great charge against the Government, that when Dlr. Jeths
the Chief Magistrate of Ceylon, when he had lingered for rn°ll,,i- ent
England to give evidence on the state of Mauritius, the Goverb •,,g
one
first endeavoured to get Mr. Jeremy out of the country, by threat
rocs,
the withdrawal of his appointment, and refusing to pay his essPeethei'•
and when the abolitionists undertook to pay all the expences out
6agy
pockets, they refused to open the case of the Mauritius, and iseog
compelled Mr. Jeremy to leave the country without tear.)
one word of evidence on the condition of that Island.—(Hear' eived
I find that in the short space of twelve months 7,304 persons resew 1,0,
23,000 lashes, and
forgone7o67 were punished with hard labour, the
weer,
and imprisonment
made on the authority of returns from Special Magistratee. And too's
come to the negrocs' paradise—British Guiana, where Mr. Glad',
,he
, seleastooe family have large estates, and as many: negroes as have brought `
upwards of 100,0001. in the shape of compensation. Der. e'r,„ talsen
was anxious to prove more especially that the negroes were kin., hie;
care of when sick. Now, by accident I found a Paper this Inehrea tg
containinga long case of gross abuse in one of the hospitals attac.
yes_
an estate on a plantation in Demerara, and I find that after a lone ins
tigation of all the facts, the Acting Governor reported as folio:es of
" The Acting Governor has perused the entire evidence with feel es„
the deepest regret, of the utmost reprobation, 0
- f the hospitalbirybet;
which it reveals, and of the greatest astonishment that it has rs efr.
escaped detection and exposure." But with regard to punisholee,3 were
Gladstone laboured hard to prove that the punishments ingipet7s thaa
very light, but by statements which I hold in my hand it AP- %re were
from the first of August, 1834, to the 31st of July, 1535' th of May,
8,152 inflicted, and from the Ist of June, 1836, to the gist s
Ise s_srs
return
1837, there were 7,596 punishments. By comparing the ,Thsente
Jamaica with those from Guiana, I findithat in Jamaica the leuni°" rdto
were nearly 7 per cent. less upon the aggregate. And now with re° ease
Jaaica. The first thing I shall put in as evidence in proof of our the
beingm made out in that island is the result of a careful analysis of psi
law of Jamaica' made by a gentleman whom I have already named, pieupon Mr. Gladstone bestowed a high compliment in the course ef.
speech. This gentleman, Mr. Jeremy, was lynx-eyed, and
equalled in his knowledge of colonial law, assisted by three otiL
competent persons, went into an examination of the law of '-
maim before a Committee of the House of Commons, and derev""s
strated that the negro might be worked for forty-five consecutive inniri
that he migh the robbed of his own time—that he might be flogg,e;
for complaining to his paid protectors—that he might be imprisoned i°,',
24 hours by the estate constable—that he might be defrauded ot.ht'
contract for task.work—that he might be sent to the treadmill, or '-oes
his wife, mother, or daughter, sent there without redress—that his
visions might be taken away—that he might be flogged with 40 Dew;
for going beyond the precincts of the plantation without a witten,!taisi,
from his owner ; and that his children, if through his death or des:lth,
tion, or disease brought on by persecution, they became a burden trs to
planter, the innocent and helpless might be apprenticed for 21 year' or
payback what the planter did for them in the way of food, cloth,s,eo.,
attention during the years of their infancy.—(Loud cries of la'sest
and shame ) The next evidence he should offer was of the mostocepther
kind. During the time that the Marquis of Sligo was il. re of
of the Island, all the measures affecting the liberty or wees3eiablet
the negroes were sent down to him by the House pf A peas
were repudiated with scorn, or treated with insult or dews, at
A higher testimonial I could not give you. I hold in „assets'',
printed letter, addressed by Lord Sligo to the editor of the ThatColn tee
who, as late as the month of March last, wrote as follows s
negrocs will be more fit for freedom two years hence than the,' a' therse
I do not anticipate ; nothing has been done by the planter to ft is thr
for that. blessing. " He states it is not likely they will do In°re ter ef
succeeding years, and he declares himself to be an earnest suPP the
immediate abolition.—(Cheers.) Doubtless we shall be told :,"05 to
House of Commons that the contumacy of the Planterd
serener
be attributed to the Abolitionists, that they were placid an e trees;
just and generous, impartial and equitable before ; but that wecos n.,
formed them into tyrants and demons b our continued Pertinaci o Y 'f'
the malignant attacks on their ch erecter. Here we have •seshlP
the Marquis of Sligo, that during the first year of the apprenti
moor
tern, they resisted all his attempts to carry any ameliorative
they OA;
in the Colonies, and we have the Marquis's testimony, that, old ill 111:
ttnued that conduct down to the time he left the Island. I " ses ten'.
hand a pamphlet, entitled " Jamaica under the ApprenticesiPre'al posii;
of which the Marquis is avowedly the author. It explains th,e ',save t
floss of the negroes in the Island of Jamaica. You shall n°"os joseP,
declamation of George Thompson, nor the stale ealunenies ssal letre
Sturge—you shall have the testimony of the Marquis of Sliga. sot he
be recollected the Marquis of Sligo tells us himself that everY,Ptee
developed was pressed again and again on the Government of pee
try. What are the liabilities of the negro according to the of ever'
ondition estate
of this Noble Lord. He toile us with regard t c e an lice=
apprentice that "an overseer, a book-keeper, a policerea"ces h•
constable, or even any idler: riding out for amusement, ;
a-
man walking along the road with a bundle, or, what is to hiro---or
a basket of provisions upon his head; hestops him, questionbee
envit
if the man does not give an explanation satisfactory t° t to he •
—if the negro does not succeed in giving what he is
ersa
to ca'
ficient explanation—he takes him up,for which he is (01111( hir3
bro!: opeei
tain premium," a most vicious enactment that—" and
nerally before the nearest local magistrate for examination ,
_esetrst,,
, nve l'
• magistrate would not do—he must be brought before a shicti edit'
a resident proprietor, "and in order to get the reward t° `. al to
coat
colt
entitled for apprehending
a runaway, urges the mane, c" et ban' to-
workhouse. The man, generally, has not the means
proving to the magistrate who and what he is ; and that on
on sospiewor
rally not wishing to let a runaway escape, commits hint
fined
i° !Oat,
As soon as he reaches the workhouse, lie is at once
other fellow-prisoner by a collar 'round his neck, and lien is
or do a s
tow' cla
in the penal, or chain gang, to clean the streets dare to be
.ios
other work, in which the parish penal gang liePPell„ sietP4,e''
ployed." Mark his offence. He is taken uP °,ttblic o
of being a runaway; he is advertised in the load h
pers, imprisoned with an iron collar round his neck, treated
pers, imprisoned with an iron collar roumad isis jeloai iss
felon and driven out like a convict to clean the streets "„"o weele All-
"He is then, as the law directs, advertised for four succesl during d:
the Colonial papers, for the purpose of being claimed ; sat 01e0111.
that time works for the benefit of the parish, and Perba_l;-0311. 081
turns out to be a free person." No earthly redress has On'
this 711°rrtY e
worthy Chairman told us that the question for discussions
that seseociss
was not slavery—that that had been abolished—I ask i thets Il‘ el/
—(Loud cheers.) If that be liberty on British gound, ` the bat
rise
nothing of British liberty.—(Cheers.) Commend me tc'tet asee
Czar—let nct the royal standard float above my head-7, et, the ',poi
treated as this mass is liable to be treated while I am to.`"ans treaheer
time lam living under the British Constitution, that,e.l must -me
let
on British ground.—(Hear.) If I must be a slave---1. et--- eer
1 &We tithe
the yoke--if I must serve the tyrant, let him be a rega
„a ail
cedoe., o
know whom I serve—let me not see the wymbols of fr _ jaws
salet
the praises of the great Redeemer, and know that ttw.id justlY
country, generally speaking, are administered impartiallYoal_s_apleoe,„o„
me not wear the manacle on any rood of British territ
_e.Y.soo,llPoie
where the Grand Turk flourishes his whip in the centre of.,nis' heel co are
or place me where the Autocrat of St. Petersburgh puts
and
neck of the Pole—but let me not, I say, suffer siayere;lavori c.e;
prived of the sympathies of mankind, by having that
of all. ned
" liberty."—(Shouts of applause.) This is the worst os not s
for
they were called slaves, there was not an eye that `lift
netiti°3 toe'
for them— these was not a hand who did not subscribe 3,, ./ ssoneo,
their liberty—there was not a legislator that did not seem 140 pie
cost'
heart abhor slavery." On the hustings they would saY--,,gsssee t°,stor
man can like slavery—it is repugnant to our religion, ao' e
by the Inagieca'llea,
lairs;" but when we gave 20 000,0001.—hoes Focus, -• and - ese •
ward the thing, was changed; we rechristened the monster,ofter esil"the.
him " Apprenticeship," giving him a longer namea.s,_, with
making the condition of the negro to stand in close assocint;so
condition of our brethren, who follow the profession of a
,!otise orl,t,se
cine, and law; and who make watches and shoes, corning:ser, any o
Saturday night to spend his Sunday with his father and mote"
atreane
to church with Isis sister.— (Cheers and laughter.) Thus ler
sympathy is cut off, and the neer° is left alone to the tent:er.
and
Senators, who cheat the deluded people with a show of
ctOrthereoi:
they E. r
that their hands were free front fetters, while
id r°ups jer
the basest bonds." I say apprenticeship is slaveryssasssvory,
hateful, because it wears a mask—(Cheers)—because it eas'S
cheek,'
a disguise. Let us rouse up the great lion of nature:, and theta
growth of the domestic spoiler, who keep men slave:, and te.l , are
te
their charter.—(Cheers.) If that is the condition of the
spetoo
5„
females any better off—let us hear. The Marquis of Sligo th s tit es.'
the females. Young girls, not persons old in crime and o_c eDer.os
but " young girls, of premature age, and probably of excerlls or'ttass *
I ter, sent on suspicion, or for some trifling indolence, ol°

out late to work, are seen working in chains in these penal gangs,
cleaning the streets. Thus any get mof modesty they might possess is
destroyed. One of these girls is probably chained to a thief, or woman
of infamous character; if she has been heretofore pure in her con-
duct, the chances are strongly in favour of her being corrupted by the
vices of her companions. Once seen amangst the criminals in the
sotreetsf disgrace attaches to her name, though she has really been guilty
f
no offence, except one of the most trifling nature, proceeding from
the carelessness of youth ; and yet, for this cause, she is made to asso.
diate with all the vilest criminals of the chain gang. The strongest re-
preseniations were made by the Governor to the different Custodes, in
forming them that he had been directed by the Secretary for the Colo_
nies to call their attention to this circumstance, in the hope that they
would except young females, of the above description, from this dis.
graceful punishment ; but it has never been asserted that, in a single
instance, the practice was in consequence abandoned." Now, I beg you
to remark, lam quoting no individual case of cruelty, what I give you
relates to systems, and it is given by men who if they utter not the
truth, utter it not only in violation of the truth, but against every motive
that could induce them on this question to be guarded and temperate.
Will direct your attention for a few moments to the hospitals of Jamaica.
.1. will not carry you to the prisons where the negroes are slaughtered—
I will not carry you to that place of blood, the workhouse of St. Ann's,
Jamaica, where eleven women died, one of them hanging by her wrists
to the rail above the treadmill, her body dropping blood, while her soul
escaped to its Maker—l will not carry you to that workhouse where
eleven women in one year were slaughtered—an .inquest held on every
One of them, twelve white men sitting to return a verdict on their oaths,
and yet the evidence was complete that they were murdered, they re-
turned in every instance, a verdict of—" Died by the Visitation of God."
—(Loud cries of n Shame, shame.") I will not carry you to the prisons,
but to the hospitals, to the abodes of the sick. You all know what an
hospital is in this country, where it is situate, what is its size, what the skill
°f thaPhysician andi what. thecare of the nurses. The building is large,
it stands on the finest elevation, and that which is the greatest ornament
of Your country is your hospital. What is a Jamaica hospital ? The
Marquis of Sligo introduces the abuses of hospitals with these words :
Into these generally small buildings, males and females, lunatics, aged
people, and those with contagious diseases, are all huddled together.
There is generally no second room, or any other conveniency, such as
health
or even decency requires, for the diurnal necessities of its in-
'slates. These poor creatures all sleep on a guard bed, which extends
along one side of the room, without any bed-clothes whatever, though
the land breeze is piercingly cold at night, and the blacks are peculiarly
sensitive to its effects, To add to the misery of the place, the doors
are generally kept locked,—always said to be so by the doctor's
directions, in order to prevent its occupants from injuring their health
by Walking about. They are often kept thus locked-up the whole of the
twenty.four hours, with the exception of half au hour each morning
and evening, when the doors are opened in order to allow the patients to
receive from their friends their own provisions. There is much
reason to fear that this species of confinement is frequently ordered,
for the purpose of annoying and perseuting the poor unfortunate
apprentices. The stocks are had recourse to, in addition, for the same
purpose; people with sore legs are often placed in them, in order,
as alleged, to prevent them from walking ; when it must strike
every person, that inflammation is much more likely to ensue, if
the diseased limb is placed between thick boards, than if the individual
were allowed to walk about the hospital-room at his own discretion."
Here is the hospital system generally. Now take an instance of cruelty
that occurred in one of these hospitals. In the next page the Marquis
of Sligo says :—" In the case of Parsons, the overseer on the estate of
Mr. Richard Barrett, it was proved that a poor woman, whose death
was the subject of examination, was found by the magistrate, who
made the discovery, lying on a heap of filth, occasioned by her own
illness, which had never been removed since she was placed in a per-
fectly helpless state in that bed; also, that her own daughter had sat
for hours at the doer, imploring in vain for permission to be locked in
with her mother, in order to attend and clean her ! I" That's the hospital
system.—(Shame.) In the 76th pageof this book, we have something in
reference to the flogging of women. I may here state that when the
abolitionists represented to the Government that the flogging of womeis
Was practised in Jamaica in violation of the law, and that the Assembly
of that Island had done nothing to prevent it, he members of that
Assembly drew up a memorial, which was, I believe, unanimously
adopted and sent over to this country, denying the charge, and stating
in the body of it that the House repudiated in the strongest terms the
accusation that the whipping of females was practised in Jamaica. Let
us hear the Marquis of Sligo, who declares that " proofs on oath of
More than 40 cases had been transmitted home by him to Lord Glenelg,
and copies of those 40 cases sent to every Member of that House of As-
sembly. Then, again, I must refer to an extraordinary case
88 illustrative of the system, still, and here I may say that our quarrel
With Lord Glenelg'e Bill that is now on its way to the colonies, is not
so much: with that Bill viewed as an abstract theory, but as a parti-
cular measure, intended to cure certain evils in a certain method, and
by certain instrumentalities. Look at it clause by clause, and although
When first looked at it appears a humane enactment, yet when you re-
member by whom it is to be administered, it is worse than useless, and
I, a cruel and insulting mockery to the unfortunate negro.—(Cries
of " Hear.") Here is a case in point. Nineteen negroes were bru-
tally assaulted by a planter of the name of Giles. They came down
to Spanish Town, the residence of Lord Sligo, in order to put the
Matter into the hands of a humane solicitor of the name of Harvey.
Mr. Harvey took down the depositions, and then proceeded to find a
Magistrate who would swear the nineteen complaining negroes to the
truth of their depositions. So close was the collusion between the
judges of the island and the planters, that Mr, Harvey could not find a
judge or magistrate in the capital of that colony who would swear the
negroes. He applied to the Marquis of Sligo, and the Marquis tells us
he was obliged to make another justice in order to get those depositions
taken.—(Cheers and cries of " Shame.") They were taken.
The Marquis of Sligo tells us the affidavits disclose circumstances of
a serious nature on the part of Giles. After the negros had made good
their case, Mr. Giles brought an action against Mr. Harvey, for har-
bouring nineteen of his apprentices, and got damages to the amount of
1991. 101.—(Cries of Shame.) Where is the negro then to obtain jus-
tice Is--(Hear, hear.) I will now proceed for a moment to another
authority, Sir Lionel Smith. He tells the planters in one of his mes-
sages delivered on the 31st of October, 1837, that the island
was subject to a reproach, because the negroes were now, in
some respects, in a worse condition than they were during the
time of slavery. And I recollect well Lord Glenelg saying in his
Memorable speech on the 20th February last, that it was the duty of
Parliament to see the negro was not in a worse condition now than he
was in the days of slavery.—(Laughter.) I have the testimony of Lord
Glenelg, because in the parliamentary paper of the 9th March, 1838,
there is a long letter from Lord Glenelg to Sir L. Smith, and now let
Us see whether the Government have been ignorant of the abuses of
the system. In a despatch, 'dated 15th Nov. 1837, Lord Glenelg says,
" In my despatch, No. 84, of the 29th Aug. 1835, I urged an amendment
of the law,bywhich the ill-treatment of women in jails might beprevented,"
80 that the ill treatment of women was what Lord Glenelg had written
about so far back as August, 1835, and
.you all know his Lordship is
not celebrated fe r being over "vigilant--(Cheers and laughter.) I
inn st, therefore, assume that the women were ill trc ated in the gaols,
as Lord Glenelg wou d not have given himself the trouble to have writ-
ten. Then he goes on :
" In my despatch, No. 19.5, of the 15th October, 18:45, I desired
that the Assembly should be reminded of the pressing importance of
enactments to secure the attendance of the children of apprentices at
schools.
In my despatch, No. 257, of the 24th April, 1836, I seconded the
wishes of the Marquis of Sligo for laws to restrain cruelty in hospitals,
and to authorize the inspection of them by special justices at all hours.
A Committee of the Assembly alleged, it is true, that the right to in-
spect was not disputed : but I find by the despatches now before me,
that the attendance and proper treatment of the sick is not yet secured
by law, although defects of the law on this head were pointed to by Lord
Stanley at the very beginning of the apprenticeship, in his despatch of
the 20th February, 1834, No. 3.
" In my despatch, No. 285, of the 14th June, 1536, I desired that
the Assembly should be applied to for a law to restrain the powers of
officers in workhouses to the infliction of such punishments only as
should have been authorised in writing by a Magistrate.
" In my despatch, No. 303, of the 28th June, 1836, I directed applica-
tion to be made to the Assembly for a law to prevent the flogging of
Women on the treadmill.

" In my despatches, Nos. 87 and 103, of the 29th April, and 10th
June, 1837, I had to regret the refusal of the Assembly to entertain the
various proposals which you had brought before them, for supplyng de-
4eiences in the Abolition Act, and for the obtaining uniformity in the
distribution of the hours of labour; and in my despatch, No. 176, of
the 31st of last month, I was under the necessity of issuing such instruc-
t.mns as had become necessary, in. consequence of the Assembly hav-
ing failed to adopt the recommendation of the Committee of the
}louse of Commons in the Session of 1836, respecting amendments in
the law which governs the valuation of apprentices for the purchase of
their discharge.
In my despatch, No. 99, of the 25th of May, of this year, I desired
that the Assembly should be called on to exempt the apprentices from
the operation of certain enactments respecting vagrants."
Is not this evidence of the violation of this part of the contract ?
Nc w, I'll turn to a dispatch from Sir L. Smith himself, and I will
shcw you how far they have attend• d to these things.—(Loud
and continued cheering.) Sir L. Smith confirms what the Marquis
of Sligo has said, by sending down to the Parliament of Jamaica a mes-
sage, in which he declares, first, that the apprentices had been de-
prived of cooks and water-carriers while at work in the field. Those
they were never deprived of in the days of slavery. [Mr. Thomp-
son then referred to numerous other official communications, by
Which he proved that the negro was not now so well off as
Ile was previous to the passing of the Emancipation Act.] Now, Sir,
if more evidence be wanting, (and I know not what to think of the un-
derstanding of the man who requires it), we have it in the shape of an
Imperial Act of Parliament. For I find in Lord Glenelg's Act, clauses
regulating the hours of labour, to prevent the obstruction of magistrates
in the discharge of their duty, to prevent the flogging of women, and
so forth. And I put the question confidently to the honest
minds of those before me, is this Bill necessary or is it unnecessary I
Is this a work of superogoration ? Is it a piece of superfluous legis.
lation ? Is it a waste of the time and money and the authority neces-
sary to make British laws ? Have we legislated in 1830 with reference
to the flogging of women, the treatment of the sick, the punish-
ment on the treadmill, and the abandonment of children, use-
lessly, or from sheer necessity ?—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.")
No one will say that Lord Glenelg, and, least of all, Sir George Grey, are
capable of unjustly criminating the planters. Well then, I say ourcase
is made out, by that Bill, and yet with that Bill in his hand, moving the
Second reading of it, conjuring the House to throw over Sir S. Strick-
land's motion. Sir G. Grey told us the cases of cruelty were one in a
thousand; that when they occurred, they were all punishable by law,
and that there was the utmost energy in the Colonial functionaries to
cornet them. This he said, while moving the second reading of a
13111, proving the truth of what we state, of cruelty being the rule, and
iindness the exception.—(Loud cheers.) I will not further go
into our case; but will refer for one moment to the difficulties
which we have had already to contend with.—(Hear.) We are not
here to snake out our cases—that has been done. We are not met to
enlighten the country—that is done; and the sympathy of the land is
awakened. We are not met to inform the Government of the country—
that has been done, by petitions, by memorials, and by dele-
Mations. We are not met here to petition for the first
time, and, as Mr. Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson had
to do, actually to open the eyes of Members by producing the model
of a slave ship on -the table; that has been done. They have been
waited upon at their houses—they have been waited for in the lobbies
--they have been called out of the House—they have been waylaid at
their country seats—they have been found out at dinners; at Cam-
bridge, at Stroud, and Tiverton, and wherever else they went; almost
every Member of Parliament has been enlightened, circulars have
been sent—addresses have been delivered—all these agencies have
been employed.—(Hear.) Then why are we here this moving? Have
we brought our question in a tangible shape before the House of Com-
mons ? Yes—Sir G. Strickland did that on the 29th of the last month.
• Why, then, are we here tuis morning ? Let the truth go forth—the
country is with us, but the Cabinet is against us.—(Loud cheers.)
The genius of this great empire is on our sides—the sympathies of the
World are with us—the literature of the world is ours—the religion of
the country is ours : there is not a deeper feeling on any subject than
on this—there is not a cause lifted higher above the murky and troubled
atmosphere of party-politics than our's—there is not one on which you
can unite men of all parties to such a degree as you can upon
this, not one besides.—(llear, hear, hear.) How is it, then,
we have bees: denied? I cannot tell, I don't know, I know not how it is
that the Government has frowned on the Abolitionists and smiled
°° the West Indians ; or how it is that they have given to twelve
"at they denied to twelve millions.--;Loud cheers.) I know
not know how it is that a Government made by agitation—kept in
place by agitation—when they went out of office brought back by agita-
tion—the very fungus of excitements—l know not how it is they can
now denounce, the purest and most herven-born excitement by which
our country has ever been distinguished since the days of martyrs to the
Protestant faith..—(Cheers.) They have not told us. They have told us
some things, and they have arguments plenty, for they can afford to

pay fm. them— (Laughter)—because they have a dozen scribes to make
them—defences, because there is a man who can write eloquently in
the Edinburgh Review, and insert vindications of the colonial
policy between the blue and buff sheets of that depository of
Scotch philosophy.—(Great laughter.) Their great argument
is the contract, and the only one on which I will touch.
It seems to be their bugbear. There are two opinions as to the exist-
ence of a contract. Some say there is a contract, and some say there is
not. Lord Brougham, Lord Denman, and Lord Seaford say there was
no contract; Lord Glenelg, Sir George Grey, and Sir Edward Sugden
say there was. Did the Parliament make a law, or enter into a
contract ? Blackstone said, " that Parliament were not contractors,
that Governments contract." You see their advertisements on the
walls for butchers' meat, soldiers' caps, bricks, iron fetters,

—negroes' blood—but Blackstone says Parliament does not contract.
The functions of Parliament are to make, amend, abridge, repeal,
and abrogate laws. Well let us admit the contract, we can afford
to do so; and the first remark I have to make on this celebrated
instrument is, that it is necessarily limited because essentially immoral.
--(Cheers.) No lawyer in this place will dispute the truth of what I say
that any contract which is shown to be immoral, is, ipso facto, invalid.
—(Cheers.) I deny that a handful of men have a right to give away
the labour of 800,000 human beings. I ask whether they were compe-
tent to give away the labour of 800,000 beings who were not present,
and not consenting parties ? I deny their competency, and while I have
breath I will preach against such a compact, though it does come to me
in the name of the Imperial Parliament, with the Queen's arms at the
top of it.—(Cheers.) I say, it is constitutionally null and void. We
are not at liberty to enter into an immoral contract, and I deny that
Parliament can do what it is not competent for us to do.—(Cheers.)
Could two Magistrates agree to give the labour of a third party to any
person in this neighbourhood without his consent if that person was
rational and unoffending ? Nothing of the sort. We instructed our
representatives to liberate the negro, not to make him a slave.—
(Great cheering.) In the next place I repudiate it because the
parties most concerned were never consulted.—(Cheers.) The old man
of 70 was not brought into Court to give his assent to an apprenticeship
of six years, and to work or be flogged and murdered on the treadmill.
The contract has been violated by the planters to do injustice,
and why should we not violate it to do justice?—(Hear, hear, and
cheers.) They have violated it to oontinue slavery, we will violate
it to abolish slavery. Lord Glenelg's own Bill is a direct violation of
the contract, for several clauses of the original Act are absolutely re-
pealed.—(Hear, hear.) The Bill does two things. First, it
proves the planters have violated the contact; and, secondly, that
the planters have violated the contract themselves.—(Cheers.)
Now, I will venture to say that though feebly, I know,
that, thanks to these precious official documents around one, I have
made our case, first, that the negro is a man; secondly, that he is
tit for freedom ; thirdly, that he is an injured man; fourthly, that any
contract entered into was without his consent, and that being entered
into, it has been violated by the party whose cooperation and acquies-
ence, was purchased by 20,000,000/. of British gold.—(Cheers.) I have
proved also that this very Bill which has been manufactured in the
Colonial Office for the correction of abuses, proves, in the first
place, that the contract has been violated, and, in the second place,
that it has itself violated that contract.—(Hear, hear, hear.) And
now, I think, I have a right to claim from this assembly, on
behalf of the Negro who is distant, and cannot be heard—who
is disfranchised and cannot help himself—who is friendless ? and there-
fore, unless he be heard by some volunteer like myself, cannot
make known to you his earnest prayer. I have a right to ask
for the negro, no matter what is to be undone or what is to be
done--no matter what will be required in the shape of money, or
what is to be overpaid—that, at all hazards, let justice
be done—the rights of our brethren be respected—the Constitu-
tion of this land be properly administered—our Queen be rescued
from that dishonour which would be hers, though innocently—if, on
the day on which Westminster Abbey shall resound with the Corona.
tion Anthem, and when the sceptre is placed in her fair hand; and
which should be as fair as the hand that grasps it ; it should
be tinged with slavery and blood.—(Loud cheers.) It may be said,

"be satisfied with that Bill." I cannot—l will not—l dare not be satisfied
with the Bill—(Cheers)—and why not ? Not so much because it is not in
itself humane, both in its design and provisions; but because it carries
with it to the Colonies no s elf-executing principle—it is worth no more
than it will bring—it will bring nothing in the shape of good—
it will realize nothing but disappointment and mockery.— (Hear.)
Upon whom did it depend ? Solely upon the special magistrates and
the Governor. And here, by-the-bye, he would remark that it was a
singular sort of Bill. Slavery existed, and therefore must be put down
by despotism. It was the Governor and the special magistrates versus
the planters, the book_keepers, the overseers, the wharfingers, and the
members of the Legislature of the colony. In the first place the Bill
depended upon the Governor, but then he is to act by and with the
consent of the Privy Council. His authority then went for nothing—
for who are the Council ? The planters—men who have a stake in
the country, and who have treated with vituperation and scorn the
recommendations of the British Legislature. Then with respect
to the Governor himself—l don't wish to disparage him, but
I contend that hitherto the West India Colonies have been go.
verned by men who, if honest, have been obliged to return, like
the Marquis of Sligo, the most honest and upright Governor Jamaica
ever had, or if they remain they are compelled to side with the planters,
and swim with the stream. How can the Governors know anything!
The flogging of women had been going on for three months within 200
yards of the Marquis of Sligo's residence, and he knew not of it. Who
then would tell him? Would the planters come post haste and tell him
of the abut es and cruelties that they themselves practised; and when
he knows of them, how is he to execute justice ? The special magis-
trates, says Sir George Grey, are honourable men ; but I have not much
faith in them, for they are on the most intimate terms, and are in the
habit of receiving constant kindnesses from the planters. Then it
should be recollected that these men are going out of office in two
years—that the Government could nothing for them—and that
they are making for themselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness, that when they are put out they may re-
ceive them into their houses.—(Great cheering.) Upon the governors'
and special magistrates then the Bill entirely depends. I call upon
you to reject this Bill, and to demand instead of it, entire, immediate,
unconditional, and uncompensated emancipation.—(Loud cheering.)
And with respect to that word uncompensated, I must observe that the
Government never yet, with all its fine sense of honour towards the
planters, and with all its desire to keep faith with the West Indians, never
uttered the word compensation with respect to the negro. That man
who has been deeply injured, robbed from his birth, no repose in mind
and body, because the one has been neglected, and the ether abused or
polluted— that man now stands before us, and on his behalf
we do not solicit as a favour, but demand as a right
that he should receive that freedom of which he has been so
cruelly and unjustly deprived. Shame, eternal shame upon those
who stand forward as the advocates of the planter, when they
deny to the poor and injured negro his freedom from cruelty and op-
pression for the next two years. And yet Lord Glenelg says, take my
Bill and be thankful. What would you say to a :Magistrate on the
bench who, when called on to adjudicate upon a gross injury sustained
by one individual from another, and when it was proved that the com-
plainant had been injured in person and property—in mind, in body,
and estate, should say " Well, it is all true—l fully admit that you are
an injured man ; but my friend (speaking to the defendant), will you
come here and take a seat beside me—l want to speak to you.
I shall be obliged to deprive you of tho services of that
man, but we shall make a county rate, and settle it all.
Good man stand up. Yost have been deeply injured and insulted—you
have been spit upon and robbed of your privileges—l have taken your
case into consideration—be thankful—go upon your knees and receive
it with unutterable emotion. You shant be injured any more—there,
you may go."---(Loud and continued cheering.) This is the sum total
of the humanity of the Government. By so much as they have esti-
mated what the planters are entitled to, by so much has the negro been
robbed. Tell me of the value of apprenticeship, and I will tell you of
Mr. Gladstone being the arithmetician of how much the negro has been
robbed. The British Government have been talking about their ar-
rangements and their understandings with the planters, and their ne.
cessity of keeping good faith ; but I will put it on this footing
—somebody has been robbing eight hundred thousand indivi-
duals of the fruits of their industry, and settle the guilt, as Lou
please, it must be done away with.—(Great cheering.) The planter says
it is not with me—the money has been given by the Parliament ; the
Parliament says it is not with me—we have made a contract. We, the
people of England, will take the question up; and as the negro has no
friend in Jamaica, or in Downing street, or in Palace-yard, we will tell
him that he has a hallful of friends in Chelmsford ; and that Episcopa-
lians, and Methodists, and Baptists, and Wesleyans, and Independents,
and Friends, and Quakers, men and women too, are with him, and if
we do not make a majority, I don't know who will.—(Great applause.)
Let us but persevere, and we will yet achieve a triumph. The late
division on the question could scarcely be called a Parliamentary de.
feat, and most certainly it was a moral triumph. There were three courses
open to Government on that occasion ; they were not bound to oppose i t
and then we should have a majority of 217, we should have every liberal
Irish Member with us, and a great many others. 'We had Col, Verner
and Mr. Litton, two distinguished Hon. Conservatives, and next to them
Daniel O'Connell and Maurice O'Connell, not often found in such
company.—(Hear.) But the Government did not take that course
Then they might have taken a second course, to leave the question to
be decided upon its own separate and independent merits, by dividing
on Sir George Strickland's motion. That did not suit them, but they
took a third course. I will not call it unfair, but it was unkind. They
moved the second reading of their own Bill—thus placing their
supporters in a dilemma of opposing the Government, and thereby
annihilate their own measure, or by voting with the Government repu.
diate the principle of immediate emancipation. Considering the great
power of the West India planters in the House, I think our minority of
217 a most exhilarating one. Let us think no more then of Lord John
Russell's most strange declaration that he would not be intimidated—that
he would not yield to agitation or the pressure from without. We were
told that we had taken the Government by surprise, and that we had
raised a hurricane about their ears.—(Hear.) The Abolition Bill was
not 12 months old when Mr. Buxton brought forward a case
which induced the Government to go down and ask for additional
powers. Eighteen months afterwards a Committee of Enquiry was
moved for, which was negatived. Then a memorial to Lord Glenelg ;
then, in March 1836, a Committee of Enquiry was granted ; then the
statements of the missionaries—then Joseph Sturge came out—and
then William's narrative—and then the appeals made by the aboli-
tionists to the people of England.—(Hear, hear.) It only remains to
prove that we are not making this a political question. God forbid
that we should do so. But let us tell them that whoever are the Go-
vernment our course is plain and straight-forward. We stand now
where we stood in 1833—the negro is still a slave, and must be free.
Whatever be the results to the Government, we must move forward.
They must either get out of the way, or, keeping in the way, we must
get over them, arid, if they don't allow us, they must move out,—(Loud
cheers.) If we dared—if our principles let us avail ourselves of means
adopted by others, we would obtain our object by that means. It
would not be difficult to say to 300,000 men, you have arms in your
bands—you have powers and dimensions and passions—you have cut-
lasses and firebrands--your masters are only 15,000, and yet they live
in great houses and you in little ones—they get all the money and you
get, all the whip—they arc clothed in purple and fair garment, and you
in rags, and they mean to keep you so. You are 300,000, and
they are but 15,000. We don't do tl is—and we dare not do it.—
(Great cheering) It is gratifying to know that some of the West Ina
dial: Assemblies are going beyond the British Parliament. Antigua
has abolished slavery in 1834. The Mauritius have abolished it pros-
pectively. Nevis and Tortola and Dominique and Barbadoes, are, as
the Americans say, just upon the fence, and are likely to fall on the right
side.—(Laug. ter and cheering.) Ltt us, then, go to Parliana nt again,
and on the Ist of August, and perhaps before her Majesty is summoned
to attend at that august ceremony in which she will be th " oliserved
of all observers," she may he called upon to do that which I belie- e she
waits but to do, arid put her sign manual to the Bill f r the entire and
u qualified emancipation of the slaves in the West Indies. I thank you
for the kind attention with which you have heard me—one who has no
claim on your attention, but that he appears as the advocate of an in-
sulted and enslaved class with the precincts of the British dominions. I
will thank you still more, if you make my cause your cause—my clients
your clients. Your applause is grateful, but if you help the negro lam
thanked indeed; and all your thanks, without the practical effects of
your sympathy and zeal, are to me worse than vain. Arouse public
opinion upon this subject. It is not made in buildings like this, but it
is made everywhere, wherever man meets man. At the Post-office—zit the
Exchange in the streets—at the theatre—at the prayer.meeting—and at
the Church porch--it may be made whenever you have an opportunity
of inculcating on your fellow men the solemn duty of ending the heavy
burdens and letting the oppressed go free. Let us tell the Government
that if they pass ten thousand times ten thousand Bills, if they did not
meet the justice and morality of the question, we will still be found
ranged on the side of the oppressed, demanding every thing that
equity requires.—(Hear, hear.) I trust that we shall see the
Government at the head of this glorious, pure, and interesting work :
then they will do themselves honour—then they will win their way back
to those affections which I can tell them from a large experience they
have lest—then they will gain the confidence they have sacrificed, and