The Sun.
London, England, 1824-06-12 00:00:00

the estate to the Courts." This expression might rather nega-
tive than affirm the idea of a revolt. It appeared that they
did not know the forms of the law, laid down by Lord Bath-
urst's order; and they might have contemplated driving the
Managers to the Courts, in order to force them to ascertain
the law for the benefit of the slaves. It might be so, or might
not; but what would be the situation of ;every man, if it were
laid down that a man might be brought to trial for his life, just
because he did not aptly comprehend the meaning of a negro
slave? It appeared' unnatural to suppose that the intention of
any revolt would he comrnonicated to MreSmith, as the lives
of these Negroes depended on their secrecy ; and it was evi-
dent, from many parts of the evidence, that they doubted
Mr. Smith on account of his colour. His Hon. -and Learned
Friend, the Member for Peterborough, had argued against Mr.
Smith, because Mr. S. admitted that he was on the spot at the
time in question. But he (Dr. L.), would shew the fallacy of
such an argument by a very strong example. It might be in
the recollection of many professional men, that about 20 years
ago, the present Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was tried
on the charge of: attempting to commit a rape 'on a woman
who came to consult him at his chambers. Now what would
have been said if the Learned Defendant, instead of relying
on his innocence, though he admitted he was at his chambers,
had denied that he was there ? Would that have been either
wise or proper • or would his Hon. and Learned Friend argue
against the Eearned Gentleman because he admitted that
he was at his Chambers, and that the woman did come and
consult him ? Or, suppose such a charge were to be made
against his Hon. and Learned Friend-4a laugh); would he
think of calling his clerk to provethat, at the time in question,
he was not at his Chambers, but in Court? or would he think
it fair to judge unfavourably of him, because he admitted that
he was actually at his Chambers, though he denied the charge ?
Such an argument was not fit for his Honourable and Learned'
Friend. It ought never to have come befond the purlieus of
the Old Bailey; and was, necked, scarcely worthy of a Deputy
Assistant Judge Advocate. It was a proof that the cause ad-
vocated by his Honourable and Learned Friend must be
weak, when even the subtle mind of his Hon. and Learned
Friend could find no better argument. Another fact, much
relied upon against Mr. Smith, was the note to Jacky, stating
that he had heard some scheme was in agitation. But this did
not speak of any time, place, or detail; and it was not to be
supposed that because Mr. S. vaguely heard of a scheme he
was to denounce his congregation. When Mr. Smith was ar-
rested, lie was in the presence of two white persons, one of
whom swore that Mr. Smith said he had heard. of the revolt
six weeks before. This was impossible; as would be seen on
referring to the dates, skewing the commencement of the con.
spiracy ; and the other person said he had not heard any men.
tion of the kind. His Hon. and Learned Friend condemned
Mr. Smith for not having spoken to Mr. Stuart on the subject ;
but his Hon. and Learned Friend appeared to have read just
enough of the evidence to support an accusation, and had mis-
taken dates. The only evidence there was that Mr. Smith knew
any thing of Quamina's being concerned in the'revolt, except-
ing what occurred on the 1; th August, was what Mr. Hamilton
told him, viz. that he had saved his life from the infuriated ne-
groes. Indeed no Member of that House would get up and
say that he believed that one word which had fallen from the
mouth of Mr. Smith had a tendency to excite rebellion. Such a
charge was to be found no where but in the vulgar censure,
abuse, and slander of the newspapers of that colony. But all
this had assumed the shape of legal accusation. There were
other charges brought against that individual, such as were
never before the subject of inquiry in a Court of Justice. Ile
meant the whole conduct of Mr. Smith during his residence in
the colony for a period of six years. lie hail never -heard of
such a course being pursued by a civilized tribunal, much less
by any tribunal governing its conduct by English law, as put-
ting a man upon trial for all the actions of his life for six yearn,
without stating time, place, or circlimstance. Where was the
man in the Assembly he was then addressing who would dare
to trust his life to such an investigation 1 The charge brought
against Mr. Smith by the Hon, Colonial Secretary was, that
he exacted too strict an adherence to Christian precepts. Now
there was no state of society where the observance of the Sab.
bath was so necessary as where slavery placed the labour ofone
man at the arbitrary disposal of another. It was a law of that
settlement, that the master who set his slave to work on Sunday
should be fined, but it was well known that that law was most
frequently violated. The negrocs had complained of' this to all
the persons in authority in the Colony, and to Mr. Smith among
the rest. As to the doctrine which he preached, they would
find an instance or two in the evidence. Manuel told them that,
" The Parson said, if your master gives you any work on Sun.
day, it is your duty to say it is the lord's day • if the water
break forth, go and stop it, if a boat be stranded, go and draw
it away: if you are drunk, your master will he right to make
you work, that you may not walk about a bad example." There
was only one man who had said any thing to the contrary, and I
he said the Parson told them not to mind a few lashes. It was 1
plain that a Minister of religion, in place of Smith, would lose
all his influence if he breathed one doctrine and allowed a diffe-
rent one in practice. As to the tendency of his precepts,
the Attorney of the estate, who ot,g!:t to be taken as
a competent judge, said that the negroes had become
more obedient in consequence. A. a proof of the spirit
in which the evidence against Mr. Smith was given, they
could not have a better specimen than this witness; so great
was his zeal in the canse, that he had actually built a new
chapel on his own ground. This man said in his evidence in
chief, that Mr. Smith had intruded himself into his room when
he was on a sick bed and obtained from him a certain docu-
ment. In his cross-examination he admitted that he had met
Mr. Smith on the road in the morning, and believed he.might
have asked him to stay breakfast. What a- dastardly witness
was here, one who had not the courage to withstand the
public outcry against the Missionaries, and who shaved his
testimony to suit the case in hand. Such was the nature of the
evidence upon which Mr. Smith was found guilty and.sen-
tenced, and which the Governor of the Colony, to his eternal
shame, and everlasting disgrace, had given his sanction. No-
thing but the spirit of persecution, and minds prepoasessed
against the prisoner could have induced the Court to give such 1
a verdict. He directly accused the Court Martial with having
knowingly and wilfully given a false verdict. This was a
strong charge, and to support it, he need not travel out of the
evidence. In the first place, they had obliged time priioner to
plead, without allowing him to consult Counsel, thus depriving
him of the advantage of raising an objection against the juris-
diction of the Court. Ile next charged them with having admi-
nistered martial law to acts which occurred before martial law
was proclaimed, then depriving him of his just right to a spaci-
,
fication of time, place, and the offence actually charged. his
next charge was for allowing the Judge Advocate to make
such a speech as he did make, embracing every act of the pri-
soner's life from his arrival at the Colony to the moment of
his trial. He charged them with gross partiality and injus-
tice in the course of their proceet.;ings—a disgrace to any
Court of Justice or Law. lie also charged them with ille-
gally admitting hearsay evidence two and three deep ; and
lastly, with having pronounced a sentence contrary to
law, even if the verdict were a just one. But the proceed-
ings were under the guidance of Chief Justice Rae; and who
was he? A Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, a man of
libeial education, and a friend of the Hon. and Learned Aleni-
ber for Peterborough. He knew what was tke law, it appeared,
and what did he do in the face of this illegal conduct of the
the Court ? If his remonstrances were not listened to, he
ought to have indignantly quitted the Court, which desired to
lead him to disgrace. Would not. that have been the conduct
of a man of liberal education anti legal habits ? But he was
ashamed to think that thegown which lie had the honour to wear,
had been also worn by an individual who could so act. Some
allowance might be made for men acting upon the urgency of
the moment, hut this did not occur till some time after the re-
volt, and tire Court took five days to deliberate, before they dare
pass the sentence they had uttered to their eternal shame—the
offspring of cowardice and pusillanimity showing itself in.
cruelty and injustice. The causes of the revolt had been all
traced to Mr. Smith, an interference evidently against reason
and facts; for if ever there were a settlement in which revolt
might be expected it was Demerara. There was an order given
restricting the attendance on places of worship. But the princi-
pal cause of excitment was the Dispatch of Lord Bathurst, than
which nothing was ever better calculated to ensure the result
Which actually ensued.. It arrived on 7th July, when
the spirit of discontent ran very high. The Governor kept
it to himself, hut allowed a rumour to enter the cabins of the
negroes that it contained something good for them. Till the
18th not one word of it got hefcre the Public, when so far from
its being carried into effect, severity was increased. Thus
they had the strongest incentives to revolt that can actuate the
human breast, hope deferred, and the severity of punish-
ment increased: it was the will of God that oppression should
be bore with to a certain extent only, as without such a
principle in human nature, there would be no limits to
slavery. Now at the period that this revolt broke out, they
had it
said, it htevidence that Hamilton, the manager of the Sanvener
that if obliged to lay aside the cart whip in the
punishment of females, he would give them solitary confine-
ment without food, whilst he comforted himself that .Mr. Can-
ning's Project could not be carried into effect. In fact, this
man did remove the cart-whip from the hands of his over-
seers, but he gave them the cat-o'-nine-tails instead, and in.
one instance applied it himself. In the estate called Suc-
cess, to which Quamina belonged, it appeared that twenty.;
five negroes had died from overwork. Surely then, here was
enough to account for a revolt without applying it to the acts'
of Mr. Smith. But the spirit which prevailed in the colony'
was sufficient to account for the whole proceeding. As an
instance of ' this, he would read them a paragraph from a
paer which he had received from the colony that clay. The
individual spoken of was Mr. Austin, the chaplin, whose
zealous services the House were well aware of. The article-
Tilis wok in shee's clothing; this
respecting him ran thus—"

worthless animal we have now 'got in a tangible shape, the
Rev. Mr. Austin is the mane of whom we cannot find language
to denote our abhorrence—an individual whom it is impossible
for the inhabitants of Demerara to permit to remain among
them, pocketing their money at the expence of their lives.—
When we find a minister of the Church of England in rebellion
against us, is it not time to arouse from our lethargy ? They
do take our lives who take the mean's whereby we live."—(A.
laugh.)—The object of, the article was to propose a'prose-
cution against this respectable individual. There were also
such phrases as this The pulpit shall not shelter him frain
shame and disgrace—wherever he goes, the finger of hate will
point him out,' and the article concluded by appealing to the
inhabitants to unite. in -expelling this pest from •the Colony,'
daisscotiniter respected the laws, as Christians
eue attendance at church whilst Mr.
acanidlinal
monentl,ietion
Austin continued to reach, and to place him before the
world as a disgrace to his profession. This piper was dated
on the 26th day nf April, seven months after the transaction
then under discussion. Every ons of the papers which dis-
graced that Colony was dealing in the same sentiments: If
such a course were allowed to continue; the entiLe destruction
of liberty and the disgrace of Courts of Justice must ensue,
cording to law and
unless that House in
justice, eeeo and forced them to govern ac-
' Great responsibility rested on
his Majesty's Government, and on no one so much as the
Right
Foreign Affairs. From the situa-
tion talents and his character, with that
ight
which Hon .
he Secretary
held,hfios r
House, it was notorioux to the country that he could settle the
question. He had hitherto come forward for the amelioration
of the slaves, but if he should negative this motion to night,
what a triumph would be given to Demarara ? How would the
persecutors shout, and how from the silent grave would come
forth the voice of the Missionary in complaints at his injustice ?
They owed it to justice, and to the memory of him, who was
gone to give an account.of his deeds at the bar of Heaven, to
give no decision which was not in every respect consistent with
conscience. Woe to that man, whose vote should go to affix
the stain of guilt on the memory of the martyr, unless he had
well sifted the case. He hoped the House would not be reduced
to that disgraceful predicament, hut that their voice would be
in unison with the general sentiment out of doors—that they
would render justice where it was due, and prevent a repetition
of proceedings diagraceful to the character of British Justice
and of the British Legisleture._(llear !)
TYNDA La 'observed that the-question for the House to
consider was, whether they should vote upon the subject in the
words of the /notion as it stood before them. If he understood
that motion rightly, it was a vote of censure, and he proposed
under circumstances which went to condemn honourable men
who were before them without the benefit of an advocate.—
The House would not forget that there were two parties in
this matter, and that if regard were to be had to the cha-
racter of 3l r. Smith, the parties on the other side were men
bred up in the school of honour, and whose characters were as
dear to theni as to any other persons.a--(llearl)—He must ex-
press his surprise at the turn which the 'debate had taken. On
the preceding evening the question had turned upon the lega-
lity of the tribunal, and he was convinced his Honourable
and Learned Friend who spoke last, would not have omitted to
dwell upon-that topic, had he not convinced himself that there
was law for the proceedings of that tribunal, and that there
was theme legal measure for the punishment which they had
meted out. Be would endeavour to place this fact upon in- •
disputable grounds. The law of Demerara, it might be known
to the House, was the law of Holland, which there could be no
doubt was derived-them the old Homan law. These who were
conversant with the ancient Itontan law, would know that the
punishment of death was awarded to those who concealed the
knowledge of any intended crime against the State. There
was an old author by the name of Lubner of great authority,
who stated this as an unduhitable part of the Roman law.
He was not there to say whether it was a reasonable law or
not, or whether our own law upon that point was not better.
It was enough for him if he showed that by the law of Hol-
land the punishment for concealment of crime against the
State was death, and death alone. Under the administration
of 1806, he believed a Dutch author, Van Luin, was trans-
lated for the guidance of the Dutch Colonies, so that the
law upon this subject was public enough. He humbly con-
ceived, that before that House came to a conclusion that a
gross violation of law, or severity of punishment had been com-
mitted, they must agree upon one of three grounds : either
they must decide that the punishment was too great, the tri-
bunal an illegal one in its constitution, or that gross par-
tiality had been shewn in its proceedings. lie had disposed
of one of these grounds, and he hoped it would not again be
asserted, that the punishment would be too great, according to
the Law. Upon the second ground, he hoped to be able to
skew that the constitution of the Court was the best that could
be under the circumstances. It was said that the offence
charged was not committed whilst the Colony was under Mar-
tial Law, and it was with great justice and Propriety asked
whether they would tolerate old offences being raked up in
order to. bring them under the cognizance of a martial tribunal.
Ile uai by no means advocating such a course. Martial Law
was proclaimed on the 13th, in consequence of an overt act
of treason, and the offence of which the Court Martial took
cognizance occurred,, it was admitted, if at all, on the 17th.
Now it was really not worthy of the case of Hon. Gentlemen
opposite to contend that this. Proclamation had not the retro-
spective scope of twenty-four hours. That which was done
in the morning was the suite of . the previous night's conspire-
tion, and to all intents and purposes, in all fairness of construc-
tion, be deemed an essential inseparable part of the same trans-
action. He would next examine whether the Court-Martial
ought in reality to be deemed a favourable or unfavourable tri-
bursal to. the prisoner, and lie was prepared to contend that it
was the one under the peculiar circumstances of the case which
the prisoner could not but prefer to every other. The ordinary
tribunal would have constituted a certain number of the plant-
ers, men exasperated against the prisoner, judges both of the
law and the fact, and could there be a doubt that the preferable
tribunal in such a case was that which was composed of officers
comperativelyhstrangers to die prisoner and to the Colony,
and in no respect • imbued with tnose prejudices and passions
which might well be supposed to blind the. Colonists in such
a situation ? And here he must take leave to observe, that
his Learned Friend (Dr. L.) had not treated with Isis usual can-
dour Mr. President Rae, whom they both knew through their
professional advocat-ions as a Gentleman of liberal education,
amiable manners, and high honour, and who certainly would
never lend himself to the unworthy steps impated to him. If
he voted, he had no doubt lie was outnumbered by those who
.
composed the Court conjointly with him. Leading ques-
tions had been equally tolerated on both sides, and if any
thing, carried to the greater extent on the part of the prisoner.
There was therefore no ground for the motion on the score of
partiality. As to the verdict of the Court, they could best
judge of that by referring to the evidence.. His Honourable
and Learned Friend had disputed the fact of any proof ex-
isting that Mr. Smith was privy to the nature of the con-
versation of Bristol and Quamirea on the evening of the 17th
August. in page 41, of the Evidence, they would find from
the mouth of the prisoner himself that lie heard them in con-
versation, and distinguished the words, " Managers" and "New
Law." Then it was beyond dispute that on the 18th of Au-
gust the revolt broke out. It was also a fact not disputed
that Mr. and Mrs. Smith were the only whites who did not
quit their house upon the occasion. and fly to the town for
safety, whilst in the evening they were found walking near
the place where the scenes of the morning had occurred. It
was waived that Smith had ample time and opportunity to
communicate to the .Governor what he knew or suspected,—
The important question of the case was, whether • from the
communication known to have been made to. Smith, a guilty
knowledge of the revolt of the 18th was to 'be inferred.--
This was the whole Point of the case. Mr. Smith states that
upon hearing the words before alluded to, he was induced to
" rebuke them fur talking about such things." But if nothing
but the words "managers," and "new law" were uttered,
why rebuke them ?—( Hear, hear !)—Was not the natural in-
ference that more passed within the knowledge of Mr. S. upon
that occasion than he thought proper to admit ? The prisoner's
own witnesses might throW some light upon this part of the.
case. The prisoner said he had no idea the slaves intended
to revolt till the receipt of Jockey's note recalled what he had
heard the evening in
question to his mind. In pages 63 and
65, his own witness, Peter, being asked, " Did Quamina say
any thing to the prisoner ?" answered, " Yes, he said, we
shall drive all the managers front their estates into the town,
and see what is the best thing we can obtain for the slaves."—
Now, what language was this to hold to a person in Mr. Smith's
situation, and was; it to be conceived that Quamina would have
ventured to talk in that manner had no other communications
taken place previously ?—(Hear, hear. hear !)—The prisoners's
answer was stated to be, " Pray don't do that." Again, he
asked whether an
in a Colony where there were 70,000 blacks to 3,000 whites,
Y Man who knew the nature of slaves, being
Must not have known that this was a subject on which he was
bound to have cautioned the Governor ? The case of the let-
ter received on the evening of the 18th was not unimportant.
:
From the letter which he was about to read, it seemed to him
most reasonable to
something of the Suppose that-Mr. Smith must have shewn
scheme which was in agitation. The letter of
Jacky Reed ran thee „ten
I hope you are well, and have writ-
ten concerning our agreement last Sunday," (Sunday was the
day. on whieh the conversation had taken place), and this letter
•was sent, not from the 'slaves generally, but from Jack, and
tto s . Smith
the rest of the brethren 'of Bethel Chapel the slaves who
were afterwards proved to be the ringleaders in this revolt.
le
w letteras bwentr
brought
u g on
Allbiy a quarter after six o'clock.s ready, and we trust we shall
to
;I y
lar."
begin to-morrow night at St. Thomas's at seven o'clock." This
letter
There were yet three quarters of an .hour to elapse before the
rising was intended to take place. Mr. Smith was proved to
have had a pony in the stable, and consequently there was
plenty of time togo or serail to the Ciioyerntitent House, as it was

his duty toed° in a cue of such emergency. The answer re-
turned to this note by Mr. Smith was that to which he par-
ticularly wished to call the attention of the House. In this Mr.
Smith said, "I am ignorant of the affair you allude to." He
had, however, admitted, that on the preceding' night he had
__heard something in-agitation among the slaves, and had heard
them name in a low voice " the Managers" and" the new law."
Must not any man of ordinary capacity on receiving the note
have connected it with the circumstance to which he had last re-
ferred, and doing this, had Mr. Smith acted the part of a good
citizen of Demerara, in rithaining quiescent, and giving the Go-
vernment no intimation of what was intended ? His advice to
the slaves on this occasion proved that he had in his own mind
some idiatitat measures-like those which had been attempted,
were to be resorted to sooner or later. After this had taken
place, Quamina made his appearance on the Wednesday even-
ing, at Mr. Smith's house, sent for by Mr. or Mrs. Smith. They
at any rate proved a more private connexion between him and
Mr. Smith, which was not to be expected. In the observe-
dens he had hitherto made he had, treated the question as if it
had been simply whether Mr. Smith was guilty or not. But
what was the question ? They were now not called upon
simply to acquit Mr. Smith, but they were expected to cen-
sure his judges. Now he would ask if it had ever occurred
with reference to any trial in a regularly organized Court, after
the Judge and Jury had done their beat to discover the truth,
that their decision had thus been made the subject of a vote of
censure. Such was not the usual course of proceeding, and
such a step ought only to be taken in a case where extreme in-
justice appeared to have been committed. In the late proceed-
ings in Demerara, looking at all the circumstances under which
Alf r. Smith had been put on his trial, he could not see any thing
that would justify the House in passing that censure for life on
those Honourable Persons who had formed the Court Martial,
which would be passed on them if the present motion were
carried.
Mr. J. WILLIAMS supported the motion. He remarked
that those laws which were now brought forward to justify the
proceedings had not been mentioned before, and his Honour-
able Friend, the Member for Peterborough, in his short but
ingenious defence, had wholly abandoned the legality of the
sentence. But what said the Judge Advocate in his eighteen
pages of accumulated and exaggerated reply? Where were
the laws now brought forward alluded to ? Where were these
stores of learning touched upon which had been displayed in
the course of this debate ? The Judge Advocate had referred
to Mr. JUstice Blackstone and to the Mutiny Act—(Hear !)
but not to those laws of the Colony which they had just heard.
Ile quoted the opinions of Lords Hale and Coke against Martial
Law in time of peace, denied the importance of that general
and universal panegyric which was bestowed 014 every person
in authority, who had exerted that authority to the utmost, and
maintained that the vague and indefinite intimations which Mr.
Smith had received of the intentions of the Negroes, could not
by any analogy be brought to prove him guilty of misprision
of. treason. It was not enough that sonic kind of communica-
tion had been made to Mr. Smith, the kind of communication
ought to be proved, to enable the Gentlemen opposite to
maintain the only ground on which their defence of the pro-
ceedings now rested. Ile did not know that a stronger condem-
nation could be pronounced than in fact had been pronounced
on the proceedings, by the manner in which the parties bringing
forward the charges had retreated into the narrow comer which
they now occupied. What had become of twelve out of the
eighteen pages of the .Judge Advocate's 'speech ? What had be-
come of the complaints made of the Missionary's Journal ?
What had become of the statement that he had read? Monstrous
to think of! The Old Testament to the slaves. What had be-
come of the other attempts made to heap prejudice on the un-
happy man; and of three charges out of the four on which he
had been sentenced, not to slight suffering, but to the last
punishment of the law ? No immoral conduct had been prov-
ed against Mr. Smith, but one Hon. Member had said that his
offence came " so very near criminality that it bore the aspect
of criminality itself."—(A laugh.)—Baffled in all the rest, the
defenders of the proceedings had been forced to retreat to
that last corner which they now occupied. It was not proved
that a rebellion had been projected against the Authorities of
the State. The offenders were charged with planning a revolt
against their managers and masters. If by the operation of
some law, or-by the absence of all laws—for never would he
condescend to regard as law a set of Institutions which
administered justice in different ways to the black and
the white population of the Colony—if by those Institu-
tions the Negroes had been driven to treasonable atroci-
ties, it ought to be proved that they had revolted against
the Constituted Authorities of the Colony, before it was con-
tended that the charge against Mr. Smith could be well founded.
There was not a tittle of evidence to prove that he had been
properly tried—there was nothing to :thew that he was justly
amenable to that Court, civil or military, before which he
had appeared—for the revolt of the slaves against their ma-
nagers and masters was not high treason ; yet it was on this as-
sumption that the argument of his Hon. Friend elepended. He
proceeded to examine the evidence given on the trial, anti from
that contended that nothing that could be assimilated with high
treason had been proved. ile agreed that it was not necessary
that treason should be successful to make it possible for mis-
prision of treason to be committed. But still he would contend
that it was necessary a defined plan fox committing high treason
should be proved to have been communicated to the party ac-
cused, before he could be convicted of the misprision, and this
he maintained had not been brought home to Mr. S. In proof
of what he had stated, he referred to the evidence of Bristol and
Manuel. The latter deposed, that about ten days before the
revolt, there was niuch talking among the slaves of freedom
having come from England, and Quamina had wished the slaves
"to make a push for it." This, which was all that was prov-
ed to have been said, furnished no proof of the existence of
any regular plot. The evidence given by Bristol stated that
it had been said, " a good law had conic out ;" and upon this
Quamina was represented to have mentioned, " that Jack and
Joseph were talking very much about it, and were for taking
it by force." This was all that was said. Two inuendos
were thrown out in Mr. Smith's presence, and those were
thought sufficient to prove him -privy to a treasonable plot
said to have been formed. Mr. Smith had not only not re-
mained quiescent, but he had declared all violence to be
opposed to religion, and advised them to desist, and con-
demned any attempt to disturb the repose of the Colony.
If it had been intimated that something was to be done, he
defied the most malignant to prove that any defined or specific
plan had been communicated to Mr. Smith. If he had been silent
respecting - what he had heard, it was in all probability from
reluctance to hand over the slaves to the scourges and tortures
of executioners, or to the more merciful stroke of death.—
Were he (Mr. Williams) in a like situation, he should be reluc-
tant to give unhappy men, not to the law, but to that which
was a satire on law, and should pause long, and perhaps for
ever, before he made up his mind to hand them over to torture
and legalized oppression. Nothing was said of the general
character of Mr. Smith. They had no account of the benefit
derived from the piety found in the Missionary's ransacked
closet. They treated the case as if it had been that of an as-
piring adventurer or military chieftain, who, rather than be
without dominion, would ,be content to establish one on the
ruins of Demerara. They did not look at the single-mindedness
of the individual. They did look at the journal which had been
so malignantly exposed ; but they paid attention to the extrava-
gant story told by one of the witnesses that Jack was to be King,
a female slave Queen, and Mr. Smith Emperor ! The Court-
Martial had committed the absurdity in disposing of the first
charge by convicting him of the fact set forth against him, while
they acquitted him of the intent.—(Hear, hear, hear !)—The
Court had sufficient firmness of nerve, and deficiency of in-
tellect, thus to convict, though, in such a case, by every law,
human or divine, the accused was entitled to an entire acquit-
tal. He proceeded to shew the failure of the other charges,
and contended that the Court had only leaped to the conclu-
sion which bad been adopted without proofs to justify it, but
they had gone against the evidence. From the beginning to
the middle, and from the middle to the end of the disturbance,
Mr. Smith had always exerted himself to dissuade the Negroes
from violence; yet notwithstanding this, that melancholy ver-
dict had been given which was now the subject of enquiry, and
it still remained unreversed, untouched, and was even de-
fended in that House. He had no hesitation in saying his
aversion to these proceedings sprung not so much from the in-
juries sustained by Mr. Smith, as from the belief that they ori-
ginated in a wish to prevent instruction, and especially religious
instruction, from being communicated to the slaves. It was
thought that the mild principles of the Christian religion
and slavery could not exist together, and religion was struck
at through the sides of Mr. Smith. , This was clear from
the treatment which Hamilton received. He was no Mis-
sionary—he taught not Christianity, but he advocated additional
punishment, and he therefore was spared, while Mr. Smith,
with his Journal before him, was tortured to deatli.—(llear !)
—He called upon them to act with manly sincerity. If religion
could not be permitted in Demerara, let them pull down the
Chapel, recall the Missionaries, and burn the Bible—(Heer,
hear !)—But while they abstained from doing this—while they
professed to encourage religious instruction as fit and proper,
they ought not to vield to the angry feelings of those who ob-
jected to the introduction of religion, from an idea that religion
must bring freedom to the slaves. Those feelings he hoped
would not be gratified which shewed themselves in opposition
to the most meritorious piety, as in the case of Mr. Austin.
For the sake of religion, he trusted that they would not suffer
their magnanimity to overcome, and themselves worked upon
to do an act of injustice.

The ATTORIEY-GENERAI.4 felt that he should not do
his duty if he were not tomifer some observations on this, which
he admitted to be a most important question. He did not think
it necessary to say that had he assisted at the trial of Mr. Smith,
he could have concurred in the decision which had been come
to in his case.—(Hear, hear !)—When he knew that the Court
which tried that person was composed of persons as little con-

nected with the Colony as he was, because he might possibly
have differed from them, he was not therefore to accuse them
of cruelty and injustice. Ile agreed with his Learned Friend
and the authorities of Lord Hale and Lord Coke, which he had
quoted on the subject of martial law. He admitted that to
have recourse to martial law in a state of peace was unjusti-
fiable. But he called on the House to look at the situation of
Demerara with a population of 4,000 whites and eighty thou-
sand slaves, with only a military force of 400 men in the Co-
lony, a reinforcement having recently been solicited from the
Commander.in-Chief of the forces without success, and an In-
dian force being of necessity called in for the defence of the
Government. it was not merely a question of property. The
Whites had their wives and children to defend, and were they
to leave themselves exposed to such attacks as had been medi-
tated, when by adopting vigorous measures they might hope
to avert the danger ? It was not Co he supposed that they had
forgotten the horrors perpetrated in the Isle of St. Domingo
and admitting that Martial Law ought to cease when tranquil-
lity was restored, they could not draw the line so as to name
the precise moment when this should take place, in opposition
to the judgment of the authorities intrusted with the admini-
stration of the Colony. It was known that there had been a man
of the name of Richard, at the head of a party in the woods who
at that tune had not been taken. The inhabitants of the Co-
lony were generally in a state of alarm, and felt that they
could have no security, but by having recourse to arms. He
explained the constitution of the Court-martial, which he shewed
to be more favourable to the accused, than the ordinary tribunal.
before which he could have been brought, would have been.—
He denied that the Judge had that interest in the sale of slaves
which had been supposed. He was paid by a fixed salary, and
had no participation in such profits. His conduct, and that of
the President Rae, he defended at some length. The latter he
had known long before he obtained his present appointmente-
end knew him to be a man of great learning, great judg-
ment, and cool, d;:liberate, reflecting, and dispassionate,
almost beyond every other person he hadb
known. The Ho-
nourable and Learned Gentleman called the attention (et* the
House to the Court-martial. That tribunal was constituted to
give the defendant an advantage over the common and ordi-
nary tribunal. The latter was composed of nine persons
eight planters and the President. A majority of four planters
and the President would have decided the fate of Missionary
Smith. The evidence of slaves would have been taken, but in
what way ? Betbre a Court' Martial slaves mere examined
openly ; before the other tribunal slaves would have been ex-
amined by two planters upon interrogatories. According to
the law of Demerara hearsay evidence of every description
was allowed; and before the colonial tribunal it would not
have been spared. Improper evidence might have been re-
ceived before the court martial; but it ought to be recollected
that the law of the colony allowed irregularity in that respect.
As to misprision of treason, the concealment of insurrection was•
death by the law of Demerara, accompanied by circumstances
of horror he should not describe. Supposing General Murray
had fallen into an error, and they had no right to try by mar-
tial law, it was still an advantage to the defendant to be tried
in that way rather than by the ordinary tribunal. The Right
Hon. and Learned Gentleman made a close scrutiny of the -
dence, and contended that it was impossible any man could
say Mr. Smith did. not know the object the slaves had in view.
On the day the insurrection was made known to him, he said
he was so agitated he did not know what to do. It was proved
he had a horse, yet he did not attempt to make any communica-
tion. He walked out with his wife, not towards the Manager's,
house, but the other way. He knew at six o'clock the insurrec-
tion was to break out, and at six he walks out, leaving things to
take their own course. And yet it was said a vote of censure
was to be passed on those who found him guilty. Quamina was
a slave on the plantation Success, and Hitty Haverd took re-
fuge in the house of Smith. She was sent to Anges House, and
then Quamina is introduced. He had a conversation with
Smith, and was dismissed with a bottle of porter. That shewed
he was well received, and that Smith knew what was going on-
Six witnesses stated that Quamina was engaged in the revolt:
but then it was said, how did Smith know it ? The secresy
with which he was introduced to the house proved that he was
making communications on the subject to Smith. Looking as
the whole of the evidence through the medium of notes, he did
on his conscience believe, that those who had pronounced judg-
ment on the offender acted fairly and conscientiously between
the country, on one side, and the prisoner, on the other.
Mr. WILBERFORCE:, after the able arguments he had
heard in support of the motion, was unwilling to weaken the-
strong impression made on'the minds of all unprejudiced per-
sons. He felt that the case which had been brought forward
so ably, furnished a strong instance of the violation of jus-
tice. It would perhaps be difficult to point out a case of more'
striking partiality. A Learned Gentleman had selected parts
of the proceedings against the poor unfortunate Mission-
ary to prove impartiality ; but they ought to take under con-
sideration the whole of the proceedings against the poor man,
whose own resources only, bore him during the sad moments of
e
me
calumny.
Colonialau c:c.iahi.
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imaori
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Missionaries
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trial,ou g ought
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to
ongeetfarciat of the Preachers, and try Mr. Smith by a Court 'Martial.—.
set aside that argument. If Mi. Smith had been tried by the Or-
dinary tribunal, he would have had the benefit of an appcaL—
( Hear, hear !)—lf such as appeal had been made, it would
have been curious to hear a statement that passages had been
taken from Mr. Smith's private journal: that his private
thoughts never intended for human eye, were to be brought
forth in support of the prosecution. The Court of Appeal
would have found the Jude-Advocate had urged as a matter
of charge against Mr. Smith that he had not preached a new
religion to suit the interests and circumstances of the Plantens-
-The Honourable Gentleman added, that he should like to
have heard that part of the journal read which said the Mana-
gers flogged the slaves to spite the Missionaries. His Hon.
and Learned .Friend who Had argued that there was proof of
impartiality, well knew that Naval and Military Commanders,-
by living in the Colonies, imbibed prejudices in favour of the
Planters, which often went to the widest extreme. Fourteen
years ago, when various abuses existed, and Parliament was
disposed to put an end to the Slave Trade in toto, a gallant
Admiral went so far as to state, that the treatment of slaves in
the West Indies was the best that could be, and expressed at
the same time a wish that he himself had been a slave. This-
prejudice arose from sympathising with the masters inCead of
the slaves, and therefore a species of Moral jaundice tinctured'
the view of naval and military persons. It was a consolation to.
find that the sentence on Mr. Smith had not been defended by
a single person., Not one had said he believed Mr. Smith guilty
of treason. Mr. Smith was a reasonable man, and having for
some time maintained the character of a Christian Missionary,
Was it probable he could suddenly rush into a contest from
which the most wicked of men might shrink. Mr. Smith must
have known it was impossible for a number of slaves to get pose
session of the Colony, and also that the struggle could produce
no advantage to him. It was then absurd to impute to him
such an intention. If Mr. Smith could have been capable of
the crime, it would have shewn folly in the extreme. Was it
possible to avoid seeing, from end to end of the proceeding,
every species of prejudice had been excited. The speech
of the President was equal to the speech of a Grand In-
quisitor, who mentioned as matter of crimination, every
particle of Mr. Smith's journal. It exhibited a degree of
curious malignity never before witnessed. They ought to
consider the circumstances under which Parliament were
placed. It should be remembered that they had recommended
religious instruction among the slaves. They recorded their
determination considerably to improve the condition of, the
slaVes. Such was the declared intention of the House of Com-
mons. Religious instruction was one of the stem recommended,
and could any one say the transaction before the House had not
retarded the wish to promote religious improvement ? A dis-
positiqn had been shewn to make a distinction between Mr-
Smith and other Missionaries, but who could say all those indi-
viduals were not influenced by Christian principles. All the
. .
Missionaries were suspected. A paper, charging the whole
with crime had been circulated, to the disgrace of the Colonial
Government. In all persecutions purporting to be against re-
ligious persons, the attack was against Religion itself. 11'112
desire was to exclude . the slaves from the benefit of the
Gospel. The House should recollect the proceedings at
Barbadoes, where a Chapel had been destroyed and a Mis-
sionary exf Slled. If lie were to go into the Liculars •
and read the Proclamations of Colonial Governm,p
ste,• they
would be found to contain the most daring instil,. What
would be the feeling of persons at Barbadoes if it appeared
the British Parliament suffered this poor wretched Missionary
to be treated harshly, and the people of Demerara might do
what they thought proper? They would. say the House of
Commons did not support Christianity, and that they had no
desire the slaves should receive religious instruction. Mr.
Austin, a truly good roan hi the Colony, had told the House
that none of the slaves mentioned Mr. Smith as having been the
means of exciting insurrection. The Governor had treated
him as if he had been the greatest criminal. What was he but
a poor Missionary who had acted from feeling for the slaves to
whom he was conveying religious inststruetion. Could any one
believe it possible Ire would have been treated so ? Never be-
fore had there been a case of-similar annoyance except that of
the Dauphin of France. He was disturbed every moment and
prevented from taking sleep, to see he did not escape. The
Hon. Member concluded by calling on the House to reflect,
that if they did not condemn the proceedings of the Court-mare
tial, justice would not be done to the memory of the unfortu-
nate individual. It was but justice to let the world know,
they thoUght the poor man acted like a Christian.
Mr. Secretary CANNING said, that whatever might be the
difference or shades of difference amongst Hon. Members, with
regard to the question before them, there was one fact in which
he was convinced all who heard him would concur, that a more