The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-07 00:00:00

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.

(TUESDAY EVENING.) •
TIME S.--In consequence of an account of the state
of the Danish West India islands, published un the 16th
of September, on the authority of the American Jeurnale,
a letter has been written by a Correspondent in St. Cioixo
or Santa Cruz, as it is indifferently called, in which be
gives a description of wh,,t has been done with respect to
the slaves, his account differing in many points from that
already given. As so long a period has elapsed since the
notice in question, it may be as well to say, that according
to that statement the Governor had returned from the
coronation of the King of Denmark to St. Croix. and
that though his idea was only that of allowing the -loot
every Saturday, in order that they might earn money ta•
purchase their freedom, a notion was prevalent that he had
brought from his home Government papers authorizing
emancipation, which occasioned an insurrection ht St.
Thomas's, after the blacks found that their hopes h,,d baee'
deceived. The letter just received, while it gives several
new particulars, puts those which are already known in,
a new light. The Governor, General Von Scholtee,
says our correspondent, returned to his Government last
June, not from the coronation, but in time to eclebiate
that event in the colonies. In obedience to the com-
mands of the King of Denmark, the General submitted
to the planters a Royal rescript, in which the King ac-
knowledges his satisfaction at the mildness with which
the planters exercise their authority, and recommends that
a free day be given to the slaves every Saturday during
the six months " out of erop," and a weekly pecuniary
donation during the six months of the crop season. Th°
Governor accompanied this document with a communica
Con from himself, in which he suggested that Saturday/
throughout the year should be granted as a free day, in
place of the weekly donation, the particular advantages of
which would be the abolition of the Sunday markets, the
closing on that day of the rum shops, and the prohibition of
labour, since Saturday would suffice for the negroes to obtain
their own domestic comforts. Opinions have been divided
on the island as to which of these measures of ameliorate
tion should be adopted—namely, the granting of Saturday
throughout the year, or only " out of crop," with the
pecuniary donationthe majority of planters have, IA ,
all events, expressed themselves in favour of ameliora.ion
generally. The question of emancipation has, according • ,
to our correspondent, never been raised, and hence, if his
account be correct, the object of the proposed Saturday
could not have been to purchase freedom. The former
statement said, that while expressing their dissatisfaction '
at what had been done for them, the negroes of one estate '!
said they wanted freedom, and not a grant of one day is
the week ; but our correspondent denies that any such
demonstration was made, saying, that the only expression
of feeling that occurred at all was of quite an Opposite ten" 666
-
deucy, being the declaration of some of the blacks to
their catechist, that if their master would only give
them the Saturday to work for themselves and go
to market, they could never (under a continuance
of their present indulgences) desire greater freedom,
they would then be able to attend their church on the Sun'
day. One planter has for nearly a year allowed his 5;100 1
a free day every week, but it is denied that those who have
had that privilege have acted indirectly on the neighbour-
ing States, as was asserted in the American journals, This
denial is of small importance. since whether the negroel
who are not allowed the free day have actually followed
the example of those who have their Saturday or not, such
a result would be too natural not to take place some dal
or other. As for the insurrection at St. Thomas's, the
news of it seems never to have reached St. Croix.
t
These facts are considered to possess some degree - A
interest; since, although the island in question belongs to'
the Danish Government, more than halt the larger sugar
estates are the preperty, it appears, of British subjects.