The Sun.
London, England, 1804-08-04 00:00:00

indulge freely his beneficent wishes for the re-
stitution Of agriculture and coinnieree;* Ills army
was chiefly .employed in the support of a pa.
lice franieil to pro Mote these pacific objeftl, and
it is demonstrable from the French official ac.
counts, that a great part of his military followers
must have been restored to their agricultural rut.
ployments ; for his enemies had more temptation
to exaggerate than to diminish his force and yet
I...tcLEßc's dispatches descrihed the regular black
troops as amounting only to a few th,u,ands,
and the cultivators, who quitted their plantations
in order to flock to the standard t 4. TotIsSAI NT, as
composing the bulk, not only of the general pop-
lation, but of the army by which the cause of free.
dom was sustained.

" We cannot expeft that the successors of this
Hero, unless furnished with better security Owf
that upon which he fatally relied, will rum!, at
the present period, the same course of policy. No
professions, and no pr.tftical measures of the French.
Government, can renew in their minds the confi:
dence which had so dreadful an issue. As Toys-
SAINT was fatally in haste to sink the warrior in
the legislator, the new leaders will, if left to their,
own resources, take on ominsite course. He was at
once the Romulus and the Numa -of St. Dorningo,,
but DEO/0141NRS will be rather the Hostilius. '

" Nothing, in short, but the lecurity which
their dear-bought freedom might derive by being:
placed under the safeguard of Great Britain, can
prevent this new people from devoting all their re.
sources to preparations for future w.ir ; from neglea.
big these arts which might' render them most valu.
able friends to us, and cultivating those habits which
will make them most formidable neighbours.
" I remarked, in the second plaCe, that the ad.
vantages: 'dommercill arid political, of a trade with
Sr. Domingo, would, without the proposed alliance,
‘' be less permanent' than such an alliance might
make them.
46 The Negro Chiefs , will probably be
.willing
etioukgh to enter with us into a treaty simply com.
merctal, should they find that no more can be ob.
tained; or, even without a treaty, they will allow
us freely to trade to their ports, and, under the cir.
cumstances of the moment, amicable conduit towards
the subjeas of this Country will perhaps be care.,
fully observed ; but if we wish for a lasting privi.
lege or preference beyond other foreigners, we
must, as already observed, obtain it by compaa ;
and though we are the only people on earth who
dare at this moment to accept of such a grant, set
in order effeaually to obtain and preserve it, we
must give in return some equivalent benefit.
44 The reciprocity of commercial advantage alone
will not entitle us, for a moment, to any such dig.
tinaion ; for in this respea other nations will have
equal or superior pretensions. Their vessels will
bring the commodities of Europe and America into
the ports of Sr. Domingo for sale upon terms at least
as cheap as those of the British importer ; and will,
receive West India produce in return, at a price at
least as high as our merchants can afford to.offer.
In order, therefore, to outbid all other competitors,
we most add to mere mercantile considerations,
what we alone can offer, and entitle ourselves not
only to'a present predikaion, but future gratitude
and attachment, by the offer of a defensive alli.
ance. •

" Should it be supposed, that the assistance
Which has, for our own sakes, and in a very egoivo. '
cal spirit, been given towards the expulsion of a
common enemy, would at the present moment
be so favourably considered as to procure for
us, without any further consideration, a corn.
mercial preference to other nations, the perma.
nence of any advantages which should upon that
account alone be obtained, might still be reason.
ably doubted. The powerful motive of self.interest
would be wanting to insure their stability ; they
would soon therefore be viewed with a grudging
eye, as the price of services which were past, and
the value whereof had perhaps been over-rated
rival merchants would represent our privileges as-
unreasonable restraints of trade, and labour, not
with:int success, to render them unpopular in the
island, till they might at length become, rather
sources of contention, than bonds of mutual amity.
" Not so, if a great or exclusive preference of
British Commerce, were the. stipulated considers.
tion for a guarantee of their freedom, and a -perpe.
tual defensive alliance. In itiatcae, our privileges
.would stand upon the strongest and mlst durable
pillars that the gratitude and self-love of the new
people could, conjointly, raise to support them ; the
British flag would be regarded as the palladium
of their social happiness and safety, and an attach.
mend might be expetted to ensue, not less powerful
and lasting than their love of liberty, or their an.
apathy to a horrible bondage,
" So assiduous and successful have been the arts of
calumny against this much injured race, that with
those who have viewed them only in the pidures ,
drawn by their oppressors, it may not be here un-
necessary to assert their claim to human chit.' 1
rafter in the sense of benefits conferred. Nitionil
gratitude is certainly a virtue which the page
of history does not often exhibit in the conduct
of polished societies ; but if any one doubts whe.
ther the people of St. 'liming° can distinguish and
adhere to their public benefadors, let him advert
to their unprecedented steadiness of attachment to
all their faithful leaders.. from the first este..
blishment of their freedom, till they were treache.
molly bereaved of l'oussAtive, their fidelity to
that great man, in peace, as well as war, was truly
remarkable ; and since his fall, MISSAL 'Nis and
Cif It tvro a, who were his most faithful adherents; '
and principal officers, have been objeds of as steady
an attachment. 1 rely, however, upon prikiples
• much surer and stronger than gratitude, which
would bind them fur ever to Great Britain, should
she now become the patroness and guardian of their
freedom."