The Sun.
London, England, 1833-02-02 00:00:00

ity-prot- tomeetisuch judgment. as the reason- an &-
equity of the case demanded, and accompanied
it with such comments and observations as are
well 'worth y of 'the particular attention of the
British public. In the very outset of the ob-
serest tions which prefaced—his decision Lord
Brougham very clearly showed 'that the in-
structed statement of Counsel-- had -not revealed
the whble truth ; for, although: the fall in West
India property might have had some effect in
keeping down the amount of the accumulated
fund, which was to be divided among the ne-
groes on their manumission, yet that was not the
principal cause. What was the principal cause
of the present smallness of the fund will be best
explained by the following words of his Lord-
ship, who said he " could not avoid expressing
his regret that the conduct of the person
who had the management .of the slaves of
Lord Crawfurd had not been more carefully
attended to. It appeared that this person had let
out the labours of the slaves for a long period of
time, and yet neglected altogether to obtain the
price of their hire. It was, indeed, to be deeply
regretted that this person had not been called to
account, or that the executors of the will had not
striven to obtain justice against him for the be-
nefit of the property. Had the labour been fairly
accounted for, and the proceeds recovered, ac-
cording to the benevolent intentions of the tes-
tator, the Court would not now have been
called on to interfere, as there would not have
been a question to dispute." Thus the main
difficulty in the case, which the Learned Counsel
had dwelt on so much,. arose not from the -fall
in West India produce, or the .perverseness of
the slaves, but from the misconduct of the per-
son under whose management those poor crea-
tures had been placed. It appears that, owing
to such misconduct, no less than 2,5001.
was lost to the fund intended for the future
maintenance of the negroes when manu-
mitted ; and, be it observed, that 2,5001.
was part of the hard earnings of the ne-
groes themselves. We ask if it was any
wonder they should declare they would not
remain located in a place where they had, since
the death of their benevolent master, earned
2,5001., which, according to his will, was to be
a provision for themselves, but not one farthing
of which was forthcoming? This circumstance
alone shows that those slaves were more " sinned
against than sinning." They who allowed their
little pittance to be plundered, and then, because
the fund for their maintenance was so small, ar-
gued against the practicability of their manumis-
sion, were in the situation of persons who took
advantage of their own wrong. That class of
reasoners who make their own facts can never
be at a loss for inferences favourable to their own
views. As to the alleged law of Antigua relative
to the deposit of three hundred pounds with each
negro, as before mentioned, it appeals from the
Lord Chancellor's statement, there was no posi-
tive proof there ever was such a law, or if there
were, there was no evidence that it had ever
been acted on. But as to the capacity of the
negro for the safe and rational enjoyment of
freedom, his Lordship put that question at rest
by a reference to the history of Antigua itself.
He said he " had at that moment lying before
him copies of two despatches transmitted by the
Governor of Antigua to the Secretary of State
for the colonies. In one of them it was stated
that 200 negroes had been liberated in the year
1829. None of those slaves were natives of the
island, and yet nothing could be more satisfac-
tory than the accounts.of their conduct since
they had been set free. The Governor ob•
served, in his despatch, that they employed
themselves wi.h the most exemplary industry
in providing for their livelihood. The other
despatch was not less satisfactory." Here we
may observe that the attempt in this instance to.
damnify the general question
.of abolition has
been the means of producing the most trium-
phant practical refutation of the favourite doc-
trine of the anti-abolitionists, as to the incapacity
of the slaves for the enjoyment of a state of
freedom. After this, well may an evening con-
temporary observe, that the real difficulties con-
nected wiih negro emancipation are increased by
every sinis'er endeavour to which perverted in-
genuity can resort. But interested artifice has,
in this instance, overshot the mark—the arrow
aimed at the cause of justice, reason, and hu-
manity, has recoiled and struck the archer. The
Lord Chancellor finding that there was at pre-
sent in this country the gentleman to whoa' the
management of the aforesaid manumitted slaves
in Antigua had been intrusted—a Mr. Wight,
sent for him, and most properly and wisely has
he made it part of his decision that that gentle-
man shall be appointed to succeed the late re-
ceiver of the estates of Lord Crawfurd and.
Lindsay. To him he has intrusted the duty of
seeing that the slaves are manumitted according
to the will ; ordering, at the same time, that he
should endeavour to recover the arrears due for
their labour, and distribute among them what-
ever funds are or may be available under the
will of the testator. We trust under his auspices
the island of Antigua will afford another satis-
factory experiment of the practicability of negro
freedom.—Morning Herald.

THE CASE OF THE PERSON CALLED

" LAVINIA EDWARDS."

The following case may be put in juxta-position with
that of Lavinia Edwards:—
" At a Quarter Sessions held at Taunton, in Somerset-
shire, Mary Hamilton, otherwise Charles, otherwise George
Hamilton, was tried for pretending to be a man. and mar-
rying fourteen wives, the last of whom, Mary Price, de-
posed in Court that she was married to the prisoner, and
bedded, and lived as a man and wife a quarter of a year,
during which time she thought the prisoner a man, owing
to her vile and deceitful practices. After a debate upon
the nature of the crime, and what to call it, the Court
agreed that she was a most infamous and notorious cheat,
and sentenced her to be publicly whipped in Taunton,
Glastonbury, Wells, and Shepton Mallet, to be imprisoned
for six months, and to find security for her good behaviour
during so long a period as the Justices at the next Quarter
Sessions should think tit."—Boyle's Chronicle, 17-16.
A gentleman, now resident in Taunton, had an account
c)f the evidence in the case front two persons who attended
the trial, one of them as a juryman. The arts which the
impostor practised were as curious as revolting, but of
course are unfit for publication. Her object was to obtain
the little property the females possessed, and that being
accomplished, she disappeared to practise her arts in other
situations, and which she did succ,s fully for some years.
At the trial, those of the first thirteen wives who gave
evidence deposed that they entertained no doubt whatever
but that the prisoner was of the male sex ; but Mary Price,
the fourteenth, who was the first widow-whom the pri-
soner married, discovered the imposition of er three months'
cohabitation, on which she was brought to trial and convicted.
Tile motive for reviving this ancient and extraordinary
case is compassion for the respectable individuals whose
names have been so improperly introduced to the public
in the investigation as to Lavinia EdWards, and to show
the possibility of imposition as much in one case as the
other.— Taunton Courier.

An extension is about to take place in the
Order of St. Patrick. The Knights are to be increased
from fifteen to twenty-four ; those who are now Extras,
to be constituted regular Camp miens of the Order. We
understand that Lord MuNsTER is to be one of the new
Knights. —D Odin Chronicle, •