The Sun.
London, England, 1831-04-16 00:00:00

GLvet molt which !sow ruled the colony was not likely
Ito be attended with any difficulty or danger. The differ-
ence, therefore, between that colony/and Jamaica was con-
siderable, for in Jamaica a very different system had pre-
vailed, and yet the House were called on tosay thatthesame
laws which were appleable to Trinidol should be made ap-
wicattle. to lonalea. The latter was right in refusing the com-
pulsory freedom of slaves, for there slaves exiskrl as a property
and were recognised as such by various Statutes. How,
therefore, could such a right to compulsory emancipation
be admitted while these Statutes existed ? for, if it n ere, it
would change the whole course of the law, and the owner,
instead of }adding his property at his own will, would hold
it at that of others.—(Cheers and cries of ",liear, hear,"
especially from Mr. O'Connell.) He repeats f what he
had said, fur if that property Nellie!' the Constitution had
recognised, the title to which had been eta ated and secured
by law, could fairly be called a man's own, this property
was so. It might be very well at a popular hustings, and
for those who consulted popular clamour, to assert that
there was not and could not be such a property, but from
the opinions of such persons he appealed to the grave de-
liberate judgment of those who, from day to day, decided
questions upon the very principle that slaves were a pro-
perty---(Hoer.) Before that position was denied, they
must tear up the charters of the colonies, they must de-
stroy the Statutes that had been passed, awl thus put an
end to all evidence of the existence of this species of pro-
perty. He would now advert to the provisions made by
the Legislative Assemblies. The Noble Lord spoke of
what had been done in the Crown colonies; but he seemed
to forget the amelioration that had taken place in the con-
dition of the slaves in Jamaica, without any invitation
front the Government. The distinction of coliur had
been an objection to emancipation; but the local Legisla-
ture had removed that objection ; and by putting all men
of all colours on the same footing they had done more
to effect the emancipation of the slaves than had
been even attempted by the Government.. He begged
to say that lie was, and always bad been, a friend to
the amelioration of the skives.—( Hear, hear.) He had,
when holding an official station in the colonies, never been
opposed either to their amelioration or emancipation, and
be referred for proof of this to the sentiments he had
always expressed when he had the honour of holding office
there under the Government. In 1816, without any inter-
ference on the pat t of the Government, a great deal was
done for the amelioration of the condition of the slaves.
The Legislative Assembly passed a law to hgalize the
power of devising the freedom of slaves. How had they
done that? The Legislature had said, that any document
which would be sufficient to pass personal property, should
he sufficient to give personal freedom to slaves. The con-
sequence was, that in that mode at least the slaves had no
difficulty in obtaining their freedom. They had also
passed other provisions to extend to the shaves the means
of religious instruction. The number of clergymen had
been increased, and the chapels had been augmented. In
addition to this, slave evidence had been admitted, and in
what manner he would ask ? The principle of the admis-
sion of slave evidence had been adopted by that House;
but, in the instructions sent out by the Government in
Mr. Canning'e time, it had been adopted with the limi-
tation that the evidence of a slave should not be received
against his master. Had the Legislature of Jamaica'
adopted tl;at limitation? They had not; but on the
contrary, they adopted the principle of the admissibility
of slave evidence without the exception, though they
might have retained it in conformity with the resolu-
tions of that House. He appealed to that House, whe-
ther that was not legislating in earnest? It was true,
perhaps, that the colonists had not done all that those
who were sent out by a certain Society required of them,
and that they trusted the Clergymen of the Church of Eng-
land in preference to those persons ; but were they not right
in thinking that they might more safely trust them? for
the others were members of a Society which had perse-
cuted and calumniated them, and which had succeeded in
preventing for a long time any fair and temperate disces-
sian of the question. He wished to -remind those who
talked of the Colonies not having complied with the reso-
lutions of that House, that those resolutions had been fre-
Trendy varied since 1823, as the Government had never
wished them to be carried incautiously into effect. Then
again he would a.k how the measures that had been car-
ried into effect in the Crown colonies could be cited hero
as a proof of what might be done in the other Colonies?
They should recollect that the Orders in Council effecting
changes in the Government of the Crown colonies had
been issued in 1830, so that only nine months had been
allowed in which to observe their operation. They had
only been carried into effect in Demerara and Berbice, and
yet the \Vest India proprietors were called on to carry
them into effect in all others. Now, with respect to Deme-
r ira, the observations he had formerly made upon Trinidad
were applicable to the other colony. But, then, it was
said that the new system worked well in St. Lucia, which,
however, like all the other Crown colonies, was a small
colony, in which if any evils arose from the new system
they could be rapidly remedied. He contended that the
Acts passed by the Legislative Assembly of Jamaica showed
their sincere intention to carry into effect every possible
amelioration of the condition of the slaves. All the reports
of the Church Clergymen were favourable to the exertions
of the Legislative Assembly of Jamaica. They spoke
much of the improvement of the condition of the slaves in
t5-at colony. The Jamaica Legislature had done as much
as they could with safety, and yet they were called on for
immediate emancipation. What, did those who made thia call
expect—a miracle ? Would they not wait for the effect of in-
struction and improvement ?Would they not wait for the same
effect to be produced by the same circumstances upon the
negroes of the colonies as on the population of the countries
of Europe ? With respect to the question of the increase
or decrease of the slave population, there was one point
which had not been adverted to, but which demanded at-
tention, and that was, that no calculation could fairly be
instituted with regard to the slave population, until the
new race of slaves had descendants ; for none could be
formed on the habits and character of these who haul been
brought to the colonies under the operation of the slave
trade. Whatever information the Hon. Member for
Weymouth might have obtained, he (Mr. Burge) could
safely assert that it was not borne out by fact. Besides in
his calculations regarding the population, he had blended
and confounded the whole mass, taking the highest possible
rate at one period, and the lowest amount at another. Ile
(Mr. Burge) had understood that the negro population
exceeded 700,000 ; but it had better answered the pur-
pose of the lion. Mover to state it at only 600,000.
Mr. BUXTON said across the table that he spoke of
600,000 negroes in the fourteen colonies.
Mr. BURGE—On the other hand the number of free
colonists had been exaggerated. He doubted if any accu-
rate returns upon the subject had been, or could be pro-
cured ; and he knew that in Jamaica, for instance, it had
been found extremely difficult to arrive at any thing like a
correct census of the free inhabitants. Those who re-
sided in the colonies were the King's subjects, and
were entitled to the protection of the King's Govern-
ment; and yet not only had the resolution been brought
forward, but the amendment proposed, without the
slightest recognition of the rights of the West India Pro-
prietors. He begged to know of the Noble Lord whether
he was prepared to abandon the policy of the Governments
of 1823, 1824, and 1826, when the resolutions were passed
in this House, admitting the well-founded claims of the plan-
ters ? The amendment only adopted so much of the re-
solutions of 1823 as threw odium on the West Indies,
while it omitted all notice of the indisputable rights of
property. Did the present Government mean to abandon
to popular clamour ail that belonged to the well-being of
the slaves, and to the protection of the colonies ? At a
time when it was not pretended that Ministers were pre-
pared with any measures, they were about to legislate per
sealtuom, and did not care even to look lefore they leapt.
What step did the Noble Lord propose to take ? Not to
proceed upon any recognised principles towards colonies
deriving their charter from the Crown, but to adopt some
fiscal regulation, compulsory upon the West India planters
—to adopt a course which would satisfy those most hostile
to their interests. The Noble Lord did not mean to legis-
late internally but externally, upon a new and untried
principle—and to impose a tax, not for the purpose of
raising a revenue, but of accomplishing a far different ob-
ject. The colonies had been calumniated partly from de-
sign—partly from ignorance; but suppose the owners of
property in them took measures to defeat the object of the
Noble Lord what would be the consequence ? Great in-
jury, undoubtedly, to the mother country. Those who
had incurred debts in this country, whose estates were
free from incumbrance, would send their produce at once
to the Continent, and those who acted as attorneys for
others would not aid in the accomplishment of the pur-
pose of the Noble Lord for the sake of a paltry commis-
sion. Only such proprietors as could not avoid it, from
the obligations they ham incurred, would consent that
their sugar and rum should pay duty in England,
and )et they of all men were the last that ought to
be called upon to sustain the burden of an additional
tax. Hence it was obvious, that the threatened mea-
sure would not touch the delinquent—those who were
must guilty (if, indeed, there were anything like guilt in
the case), would escape punishment, and it would fall
with increased severity only upon the weak and the in-
nocent. Tbe Hon. Member for Weymouth and his friends
had, no doubt, a strong disposition to ameliorate the state
of the slaves in the West Indies ; but the very resolutions
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