The Sun.
London, England, 1812-10-16 00:00:00

31,4. A N'E TRADE:

SIXTH. REPORT or THE ArRICAN

BAHAMA ISLANDS, NEW PROVIDENCE.
(Cur.tio,ued from bur IN:per of Yesterd;:y.)

3. §ometinia before the death.of Margaret, one
of the cluOiients saw in the sick-house, a child
about ten years of age, named Tamsen, with the
skinsvutirelY'loffi, The deponent asked the sick-
nurse what was the matter witli the child ; but
the sick-nurse 'refused to give u 4 answer, and
seemed afraid, lest her Master 'should know that
the child had been seen. On inquiry, it appeared,
that the child had been dipped, by I-lodge's order,
into a copper a boiling
4: In thuyitat-1-SO7, a slave called Tom Boiler,
a stout,:!%.ci, hearty man, was, by Hodge's order,
and in:his.p.re,sence, do \en and 'flogged without
intermission, for at hour, After this in-
fliction,-be attempted to rise, hut could not He was
taken up and carried to tbesick-house,:whence he
never came out, but died in about a week. No
doq,or was called to attend him.
$1 Soon after the death'of Tom Boiler, another
slave, named I'iosper, was, by Hodge's order, and
in his presence, laid down, and
_for more than an
hour cart-whipped without intermission, 'He was
then taken up by,frodge's order, :and, with his
hands tied behind his back, lashed to a tree.---,
Hodge then ordered the driver to use " close
quarters," meaning by this expression a more
cruel and severe cart-whippinr,
used, the, whip in 'this .elm6‘ bcius shortenek and
going all round the'bOdy, Cutting every par-.
'ticularly the stomach and belly, and making ax the
same time.comparativelylittlenoise: In this sand-
rtion PrOsper was beaten till lie.iainted; :his, head
hanging down backwards, and was no-longer able,
to cry out: He was; then carried tothetick=notise,
Where, within i fortnight, he.diFd. .
.6. A slave named Jupiter, about nineteen years
of-age, was,: by liodge's oeders:„. severely cart-,
whipped, put 'in heavy irons, erOok-puddiugs, rix.
and allowed little or nothing :to eat: He was'also
burnt in the .mouth with a hot iron. He shortly
after died.

7. On the 27th March, 107, a new .npgro slave
belonging to Hodge was cart-whipped, in his mas-
ter's presence, in the most cruel manner. He died
in two or three, days after. When his body was
carried out on a board to be buried; it was seen
by oncof the witneSses in a shockingly lacerated
state.

8. A free man, named Peter, was hired by
Hodge, asat cooper, at two jots per month. This
man, though free, Was repeatedly cart-whipped at
close-quarters and in every other way, •by order,
and in the presenee,of Hodge, wlio also put chains
upon him, and had him worked-with the field tie-
groes. Peter SC)On died.
9. In 1808, a young slave,. named Cuffy, was,
by order of Hodge, and in his presence; severely
and repeatedly cart-whipped, chained, &c. "He
was cut to pieces," and bad hardly any black skin
,remaining. After a cart-whipping, which lasted
upwards of an hour, he was carried to the sick-
house,
.where he died within a week.
10. Mr. Hodge frequently caused the children
on his estate, about nine years of age, to betaken
up by the heels, and dipped into tubs of. water
with their heads downwards, and kept there.till
stifled, then taken out and suffered to recover and
breathe, when they were again treated in tbe same
Manner, and. so repeatedly, until they have been
seen to stagger and fail. On this, Mr. Hodge has
ordered them to be taken up and suspended to a
tree by their hands tiedtogether, and in this Situ-
ation cart-whipped for some time at close-quarters.
Among others, a mulatto child, reputed to be his
own, named Bella, was repeatedly cart-whipped
by his order ; and he was also seen repeatedly to
strike the child with a stick on the bead,' so as to
break her head ; and also to kick her so 'violently
as to send her several feet on the. gfonnd.)

11. A slave named Cusljoe, a smart active fellow,'
was so severely and repeatedly cart-whipped and
Other Wise ill-treated .by Hodge, that he died. An-
Othet slave, named Gift, who had also previously
been in good hcalth, after having been severely
cart-whipped and chained, was again, •with his
wounds unhealed, subjected to a further severe
cart-whipping, and (lied the same night. • One of
the deponents saw the body carried out for burial
in a dreadful state of laceration.

12. A negro woman named Violet, belonging to
Mr. Hodge, was confined, and severely flogged and
eut by him, for the alleged crime of stealing can-
dles. She died in cOnsequence. A boy, a son of
this woman, run away through his master's'flog-
ging him. When brought back, he was put in
chains, and so severely flogged that he died.. One
of the deponents saw the boy a week before he
tlied, and perceived, from his swelled and lacerated
state, that he could not possibly recover._
13. A boy named Dick, whom Mr. Hodge*
charged with having stolen his geese, *as very
often flogged severely and in quick succession, at
close quarters and otherwise ; in consequence of
which he died. He had also been put
and bad his moutk burnt with a hot iron.

14. One of tite.dePonents, besides Swearing to
several of the above facts, stated, .that for several
years, during which the deponent resided on M;..
Hodge's estate, Mr. 11. had been guilty of re-
peated and excessive acts of .cruelty towards. his
slaves. Another deponent, who had lived at dif-,
ferent periods as a manager on the estate. of, Mr.
Hodge, called Belle Vue, and who was also a
witness to many of the atrocities detailed above,
swore, that at ,most of the numerous and severe
cart-whippings inflicted by Mr. Hodge on his
slaves he was not actually- present, Mr. Hodge
generally choosing to Inflict them without • the
• presence of ally competent witness ; but-that, in
addition to-the instances at which- he happened to
be present, an d which are .mentioned- above, there
Were many others where be saw only the effects
of Hodge's cruelty, in the lacerations, burnt
mouths, &c. of -the slaN'es. He was satisfied these
cruelties wee inflicted by Hodge himself; as other-
wise be should have heard. him inquire and corn-
lilain concerning these marks of suffering in his
• own negroes. It was scarcely possible to remain
in the sick-house on account of the offensive

smell proceeding from the corrupted wounds of
cart-whipped slaves. - When this deponent first
went to live -on Hodge's estate, there was upon it
'a fine gang of upwards of a hundred able negroes.;
but
_when the last wife of Hodge died, in 1808,
.that number was ,so reduced by cruelty, and 'al)
sconding in consequence of cruelty, that negroes
enough were not. to he found on the estate to dig
her grave ; and therefore, the deponent and
Daniel. Ross, Esq. one of the magistrates who
signet! his. deposition, 'assisted in. digging
He could not remember the names of all the ne-
groes who had died in consequence of the cruelties
of Hodge ; but he knew4ne number to be great :
sometimes three and four have died in the course
of a day and night. On such occasions, no doctor
was ever called in. He lived in all about three
years with Mr. Hodge ; and in that time he was
satisfied that Hodge lost sixty negroes, at least,
by the severity of his punishments ; and he be-
lieved that only one negro died a natural death
during the same period=.
Such then are the dreadful facts of this case.—.
On their being brought before Governor Elliot,
he immediately issued a special commission for the
trial' of the offender. The trial took place en
the 29th of April, and lasted from ten in the
morning till half-past five on the morning of the
30th. The Jury, after deliberating for twf: hours,
brought in a verdict of Guilty, on the first indict-
ment, which was for the murder of Prosper;
(there were five other indictments in reserve) ;
and sentence of death having been passed upon
him, he was executed on the Bth of May.
1,3 e verdict of Guilty returned by the Jury was
accompanied by a recOmniendation of the prisoner
to mercy by a majority of the Jurors. To this re-
commendation Governor Elliot refused to pay any
attention. Such, however, was the state of irri-
tation. produced by the novel and unprecedented
circumstance ,of a white Man-condemned to death
on account of the murder of his own. slave, and
such the dread of an attempt on the part of the
white population for his rescue, that Governor
Elliot, who had judged it prudent to proceed to
Tortola in person, that he Might-be at hand to
watch the course of event's, felt himself under the
necessity of proelaiming martial law, calling out
the colonial militia,.and availing himself of the
aid of a frigate, order— to awe the turbulent
into submission. lii consequence of these Mea-
sures, the threatened distrirbanee was. prevented,
and the sentence of the laW was' recrularlyexe-
cuted:

The Governor observes in his dispatch, The
state of irritation, and I may almost say of
anarchy; in which I have found this colony
(Tortola), rendered the above measures indis-
pensable for-the preservation of tranquility, and
for ensuring the due execution of the fatal sen-
tence of the law against the late Arthur Hodge.
Indeed, it is but too probable that, without my
presence here as Commander-hi-Chief, in a con-
juncture so replete with party animosity, un-
pleasant occurrences might have ensued."
The reply of Lord Liverpool to these commu-
nications is so highly honourable to him, that it is
thought right to give it entire. It is dated the
20th of June, 1811.

I received your several dispatches from-No.
34 to No. 41, inclusive ; and however deep the
indignation which your former letters, in refe-
rence to the case of Mr. Haggins, have excited,
and however strong my apprehension that the
law,, as at present administered, is inadequate to
the prevention of similar excesses, I could still
little have expected the additional detail of cruel-
tics that is therein conveyed.

" The 'individual by whom they were perpe-
trated, has suffered the severest and most ignomi-
nious punishment the law can inflict; and it only
now remains for me to express an earnest hope,
that this rare example of just retribution may
effect that chAnge in the treatment of the unfortu-
nate slaves; which it should. requre no other mo-
tives to produce than the common feeling of hu-'
manitY. towards a fellow-creature, .or even the
common regard to public decency.
I am commanded, by his Royal Highness the
Prince Regent, to convey to you the high satisfac-
tion he has derived from your anxious endeavours,
on this occ:lsion,. to secure impartial justice on
the trial, and the solemn execution of the seri,
tence ;
_and his full approbation of your conduct,
.in not permitting the intercession of the indi-
viduals, who partly composed the jury by which
Mr. Hodge was tried, to suspend the termination
of that iniquitous, career which he had but too
long been suffered to pursue.
" You are authorised to make every reasonable
compensation to those individuals who may have.
been inconvenienced by personal attendance on
the, part of the prosecution.
" I have received the further command of his
Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to desire-that
you will take an opportunity of publicly- assuring
the Council and Assembly of the Virgin Islands,
that his Royal -Highness has had the 'greatest
pleasure in witnessing their anxiety to co-operate
with you in the cause of humanity and Justice ;
.and von will acquaint them, on the part of his
Royal Highness, that his Royal Highness cannot
receive from them a more flattering assurance of
their'regard to the wishes of their Sovereign, and
of the interest they feel in supporting the honour
. of the British • name, than. their anxious.endea7
vonrs to ameliorate the ceindition of that class of
beings, 'whose bitter and dependant lot entities
them to every protection and support.''

(To he continued.)

Yesterday a.ballot was taken at the East India
House,.on the following question, viz.
That this Cana confirm the unanimous reso-
lution of the Court of Directors of the sth August
last, whereby the Commander aml Officers of the
ship 'Wind/ ama are fully acquitted of all imputa-
tion of neglect, misconduct, or ►rant of courage,
in respect to the capture of that ship ; and wherc-'
by, also, the Owners of that ship are fully acquit-
ted of all iinptitation of neglect or misconduct, in
respect to the said capture."—At six o'clock the
glasses were finally closed, and delivered to the
crutineers, who reported the question to have
been carried in the affirmative.