Star.
London, England, 1824-12-10 00:00:00

WEST INDIA SLAVERY:

LETTER 4
TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR:
Stit—ln furtherance of my purpose, I proceed
_to the
consideration of the experiments made by Mr. Steele,
in Barbadoes.

Although the experiments of Mr. Steele are un-
doubtedly interesting, I should not have felt myself
called upon to vindicate the Reviewer's remarks upon
them at much length, had not a very erroneous impres-
sion existed on the minds of many individuals as to the
real importance, as a precedent, of Mr. Steele's system.
ANGLus has attempted to throw discredit on the evi-
dence on which the statements of the Reviewer are
founded :—and as it is highly important to the under-
standing of the remarks which I.shall have occasion to'
make, that the Reader should have a clear idea of the'
order in which Mr. Steele made his experiments, I will
here briefly recapitulate the facts of the case. Mr.
Steele was possessed of two estates in Barbadoes—Plan-
cation Kendall, and Plantation Byde Mill. The former
of these he held by the ordinary tenure, which rendered
his Slaves liable to be attached tor his debts; but the
Slaves, on the latter plantation, were not so liable. On
Plantation Kendall, then, Mr. Steele established the
copyhuld system, hoping to evade the liability of his
Slaves for the payment of his debts, but Plantation
Byde Mill he cultivated by means of the ordinary
slave systems. It was in the year 1783, that the Over-
seers of Mr. Steele's Plantation Kendall, left him—he
then established a Magistracy among the Negroes them-
selves, and made other changes in their government,
and in the latter end of the year 1789, he states that he
gave all his Slaves tenements of land and pecuniary
vralles for their labour and services.

That the experiment was in some degree the result
of accident, is no deduction from whatever there was of
real merit in the system. Mr. Steele's undertaking
comprised a practiCal attempt to mitigate the severities
of Slavery, and as such it is interesting.
It is by no means surprising that ANOLUS is unable
to arrive at the same conclusions as those laid down in
the Review upon this subject. His information, even,
is remarkably limited, and incorrect; and abler men
than himself might have fallen into the confusion which
he has not been able to avoid.

ANOLUS opens his attack by observing, that Mr.
Steele had " conceived the dangerous project of substi-
tuting the stimulus of wages among his Slaves for
" that of the cart-whip." This remark appears to be
made in that same discreditable spirit which led Arr.
Gtos, when he first undertook to refute the Review, to
call into his alliance the prejudices of his Readers by
the unfounded assertion, that the Review was written
in defence of the cart-whip. The Reviewer does not
undervalue the powers of wages as a stimulus to la-
bour : when the time shall have come for their use,
that is, when the Negro shall have beerpsufficiently
elevated from his brutal condition to appreciate the
value of wages ; then they will doubtless prove a co-
gent stimulus. They might even now operate as a
stimulus, though certainly in a very limited degree:
but it does not, therefore, follow that they would prove
a stimulus to agticultural industry, by means of which,
as much productive labour could be as cheaply ob-
tained as is now in action in the West Indies. On the
contrary, this has been shewn to be absolutely impossible.'
The position of the Reviewer is perfectly clear, not-
withstanding the numerous attempts which ANOLUS
has made to perplex it. It is simply this—Productive
industry is now enforced by coercion—that is, by fear
of bodily pain. This is the only physical stimulus
which can be applied, and it is desired to substitute a
moral stimulus. Now, although there certainly are
many exceptions, it is undoubtedly true, of the main
body of the Slaves, that they are so degraded in condi-
tion as to be devoid of moral sensibility. It is, there-
fore, proposed, Ist, to induce in their minds a moral
sensibility by means of moral and religious instruction,
and a gradual extension of privileges, to be regulated
according to the progress in improvement made by the
slave, and with every just consideration of the interests
of the master ; and 2d, upon this basis, when formed,
to superinduce the artificial wants of civilized life, such
as a desire to acquire property and the like, which can
only be gratified by means of industry. True it is,
that this process can only be the work of great time.
But whether or not it be necessary to award compensa-
tion to the Proprietor, it does appear that it is by this
process alone that the Slave can ever be prepared for
emancipation, so that he shall receive the boon with
advantage to himself or security to the Colonies. Now,
admitting (what in fact I wholly deny) that Mr. Steele
did, as is alleged, induce his Slaves to v ork for wages
in any way analogous to the manner in which freemen
work for wages, this will not advance Mr. Steele's case
one single step. Moral and religious Instruction
formed no part of Mr. Steele's system, and to apply
wages as a stimulus to labour to the slave population,
in their present condition, would be to apply a stimulus
to a subject notoriously insensible to the powers of that
stimulus ; whereas, by the system recommended by the
Reviewer, a moral sensibility is to be created, in order
to prepare the Slave for the eventual operation of a
moral stimulus.
I was not, then, surprised to find, that, on accurate
examination, the brilliant success attributed to Mr.
Steele's plan, was founded on little else than on misre-
presentation-.-that there was little of present import-
ance in his system—much conflicting testimony—
mach of the details involved in doubt, and still more in
total darkness. In order to establish the success of the
plan, it would be necessary to shew that, cateris parl-
ous, the profits of his estate were as great as others,
worked under the Slave system. It would not be suf-
ficient to shew merely, that his plan was more pro-
ductive than the system employed before, for that he
states to have been a ruinously mismanaged Slave
system. Therefore, unless it were shewn to what ex-
tent the estate had been before mismanaged, these will
be no standard by which to determine the actual pro-
fits of the estate, as compared with the Slave system.
Now, it is abundantly clear, that Mr. Steele's system is
at this moment worth nothing, if it be not one which
will do for general adoption. We are not to legislate
for particular estates, but for the whole Slave popula-
tion ; and how easy it is to imagine many systems of
controuling labour, which, though wholly incapable of
being universally applied, might yet prove, in a parti-
cular instance, more productive than a ruinous system
of mismanagement. And again, supposing that the
Dr. Diclipon% work, pp. 9, 10, 143,157,180,181, compared
with each other, and personal enquiries, established this point. The
female, by whom Mr. Steele had the two children, mentioned in
his will, was a Save belonging to Byde Mill Estate.

profits•gathered under Mr. Steele's system were not'
only greater than when he was descending to ruin, but
that they were equal to thiSse 'realised in a commonly
well ordered Slave Estate, what would then be proved?
Most assuredly not that the system would admit of a
successful universal application, which is the only thing
that I suppose is contended for, but Merely that there
must have been some accidental circumstance, with
which we may, or may not (for it is immaterial) be ac-
quainted, which placed those particular Slaves, on
whom the experiment was made, in a different position,
in point either of intelligence, industry, or necessity,
from that which notoriously characterises the main
body of the Slave population in the West Indies. In-
deed, Amain, and Mr. Clarkson, have atiorded us a
striking lesson, if one were required, of the futility ul
endeavouring to establish, on the faith of an aleged
isolated instance, conclusions which are at vatiance
with these deduced from sound general reasoning.
I should be quite prepared to dismiss the subject, on
the general considerations which I have stated, but as it
will be necessary that I should, before I close this let-
ter, answer some of the allegations, and expose the
mistakes made by ANGLUS, I shall have occasion to en-,
ter a little into the details of the question.
ANGLUS gives faith to the testimony of Mr. Clark-
son, upon the subject of Mr. Steele's system, while the
Reviewer leans mote to the statements contained in a
work by Mr. M'Queen. ANGLUS employs nearly two
letters in endeavouring to prove that Mr. M'Queen
is inaccurate, in a vast number of particulars which
were not even mentioned in the Review. As Aplomb
professed to be attacking, and as I am vindicating the
,Review, and not Mr. M'Queen's work, any answers
made by me, to the charges preferred against that
work, would be as irrelevant as the charges themselves ;
I shall, therefore, proceed to explain what are the
grounds on which the Reviewer appears to me to have
acted with strict propriety, in relying more on the ac-
curacy of the statements contained in Mr. M'Queen's
work, than on those made by Mr. Clarkson.
• Neither Mr. Clarkson nor Mr. M'Queen professes to
have had any persona) knowledge\ of the details of
Mr. Steele's plan or its result. Mls. Clarkson drew
his statement fiom the work of Dr. Dickson, who
himself had no personal knowledge of Mr. Steele's
system ; and Mr. M'Queen made his statements on the
authority of Mr. Sealy, and Mr. Beckles, the Attorney-
General of Barbadoes, both of whom had personal
.knowledge of the system.
With respect to Mr. Sealy, before his name was re-
ferred to as authority, it was ascertained, at the time
the Review was written, that he was resident in Bristol,
and therefore ready to substantiate his own evidence, if
it were impeached. But with respect to him, ANGLUS
observes, " if he were not himself one of the persons
" displaced by Mr. Steele, when he got rid of all white
" managers, and overseers, and abolished the whip, I
" should say he was of that very class of men who
" were the most likely to view his plan with prejudice
" and aversion." Mr. Sealy never was in Mr. Steele's
service; he is a man of property, and in consequence of
having had the superintendence of his brother's pro-
perty, which was adjoining to that of Mr. Steele's, be
became intimately acquainted- with Mr. Steele's system,
as conducted by the executor, Mr. Francis Bell. Now,
if there be any reason to suspect that Mr. Sealy was
under the influence of any particular bias, that might
be a reason for rejecting his opinion in matters of judg-
ment, when that bias would operate. Or, if there were
any reason to believe that Mr. Sealy had an interest in
perverting the truth, that again would be a reason for
receiving his testimony with all due precaution; but
the circumstance of his being so biassed, or interested,
cannot affect a specific fact, which either did, or did
not take place. If it did not take place, where is the
evidence that it did not ? ANGLUS has brought none—
he has exposed no inconsistency in the statement of
Mr. Sealy—he has not even attempted a disproof, and
has brought no evidence whatever to prove that for
which he contends, namely, that Mr. Sealy is unworthy
of credit. And, on the other hand, if Mr. Sealy has
not misrepresented the fact, how idle it is to attempt to
evade the conclusions to which his testimony would
lead, by a mere assertion, that he is probably a West
Indian in point t,f judgment, or feeling, it having been
matter of fact, and not of judgment, or feeling, on
which Mr. Sealy has given his testimony. It is quite
clear that ANGLGS has completely failed in his attempt
to throw discredit on the statements of Mr. Sealy, whose
testimony must be held to remain wholly unimpeached.
With respect to Mr. Beckles, AutaLus does not at-
tempt to impeach his testimony. He merely avails
himself of it, in order to prove that the usual Slave
system was reverted to on the Kendall estate, on Mr.
Steele's death. ANGLUS dwells upon this, and appears
anxious to have it inferred, that the ancient system was
reverted to before Mr. Steele's death. I need not fatigue
the.itteader with a long explanation on this head. The
following extract from one of the books of the estate,
will establish the fact beyond dispute, that Mr. Steele's
system was in operation so late as the year 1797, and
conducted by the executor, Mr. Bell :

Dste.

Sentence.

1797.
6th Dec.

Plantation against Dorset,
Damage by neglect.

1797.
13th Del

Found Guilty of
the Charge, and sen.
tenced to be locked
up in the Strong-
house, for 4 nights.
Approved.
(Signed)
F. BELL

Although directed by
Mr. Haynes to take a
horse cart, and haul eight
loads of Guinea grass to
the cattle pens, he never
set out till four o'clock,
and hauled only four loads
instead of eight, and kept
out the horses till eight
,o'clock at night.

Having now, I think, clearly established that the
Reviewer did not quote Mr. M,Queen's work without
abundant reason for presuming that the statements of
that Gentleman were founded on good testimony, it
is necessary that I should explain one or two circum-
stances which rendered it in this case impossible to rely
on the statements of Mr. Clarkson. Mr. Claikson has
the following passage :• " It took him (Mr. Steele),
" therefore, six years to bring his Negroes to the state
" of vassalage described, or to the state from whence
"he was sure that they might be transferred without
" danger, in no distant time, to the rank of freemen, if
" it should be thought
,desirable. lie lived one year
" afterwards, to witness the success of his labours. He
-" had, therefore, accompli lied all he wished, and he
" died in the year 1791, in the ninety-first year of his
" age." Now this passage is important. Let it be ob-
served, Mr. Sleek died in 1791. Mr. Clarkson depends
on Dr. Dickson for his account of Mr. Steele's system,
and Dr. Dickson received his accounts from Mr. Steele
• Thoughts on the necesilty of improving the condition of the
Slaves in the British West tudia Colonies, with a view to their
ultimate emancipation, page 40.

'tote copynota system was estatassneo m
1789, and as Mr. Steele died in 1791, he could write
no more letters, and publish no more accounts; but as
the plan succeeded so well, as Mr. Steele witnessed the
accomplishment of all his wishes, the world is left to
ofer, that had Mr. Steele lived, the success of his plan
must have been permanently established. Now, after
this uetailed account, my Herders will hardly be dis-
posed to believe, th.it Mr. Steele did not die at all in
1791, and that he did not even make his will road the
' year 1796! Yet such is undoubtedly the fact.* I have
then to enquire, what became of the Copyhold system
during the intervening years ? during the period from
the 18th Nov. 1789, when Mr. Steele states that he
gave 4, all his Slaves tenements of hnd and pecuniary
" wages, by the hour, the day, or the seek, for their
labour and services," till the year 1797, when we
have shewn, that the system was conducted by Mr.
Bea? It does not appear that Mere are any accounts on
which Mr. Clarkson and ANGLUS rely. Thus this great •
experiment was in operation seven years at least, and
although so much stress has been laid upon it, ANGLUS
and Mr. Clarkson are not cnly in total darkness as to
its results, from the commencernenrto the conclusion,
but so completely ignorant of what was passing there
during these seven years is ANGLUS, that •he believed
the plan to haie been put a stop to during almost the
whole of the time in which it was in operation, while
Mr. Clarkson, whom ANal.us considers the first autho-
rity on the subject, believed the author of the plan,
the conductor of the experiment, and the Correspondent
:with this country, to have been dead during the whole
time when he must have been most actively engaged
on the spot, and in the superintendence of his great
work! But can there be any doubt as to what is to be
infened from the silence oa such a topic, by a man of
the sanguine disposition of Mr. Steele, who had bre I
previously in the habit of corresponding with this
country, about his great experiment ? It is really ridi-
culous to think, with what confidence the success of
the scheme has been vaunted and asserted.

I think I must have convinced almost ANGLIN him-
self, that the Reviewer had just grounds for consider-
ing Mr. M'Queen a safer authority than Mr. Clarkson,
in the case of Mr. Steele. It will also have been made
apparent, how very little is really known of the result
of the Copyhold system, of which we have heard so
much, and what an unfavourable presumption is raised
by the silence preserved by Mr. Steele, during the
whole operation of the plan. -Bat ANOLUS lays great
stress on the "general plan" of Mr. Steele, which was
commenced at the end of the year 1783, and continued
in operation until the establishment of the Copyhold
system in 1789. It is said; that that " general plan"
was very profitable—that arbitrary punishments were
abolished—and that labour was far cheaper, under a
system o&, wages, than when enforced by coercion. As
to the cheapness of labour, or disposition to industry,
it has been unanswerably observed in the Review, that
Mr. Steele was resident amongst his Negroes, with the
" absolute power of instantly resuming every privilege
" which he had conferred. The Negroes would not
" for a moment forget that he possessed this power.
" What inference, then, could be drawn as to the use
" which they would make of the same privileges, if con-
" ferred upon them irrevocably by law? As a test of
" the use which they would make of their entire freedom
" the inference would be still less to be relied upon."
For the real facts of this case, as to the comparative
cheapness of free labour, other persons must be con.
stilted, than either ANGLUS or Mr. Clarkson, both of
whom I have shewn to be very unsafe guides, when
they do not speak from their own personal knowledge.
On the present occasion, as on others, I shall appeal to
the statements of Mr. Steele himself, from wive!) the
Reader will be able to form his own opinion, how far
the circumstances adduced justify the inferences made
from them. •

In page 11 of Dr. Dickson's book, Mr. Steele, in his
letter,,dated 30th September, 1790, states that he at
orie time contracted for the holing of this Cane land.
And it appears, by a singular want of ordinal) pru-
dence on his part, that he contracted for this work
with his own Manager,whose duty it also was to see that
the work was well dune. Mr. Steele also tell) us, that
he had little or no confidence in this person ; and the
result consequently was (what most people would have
expected, when the interest and the duty of ,the Con-
tractor were opposed to each other)—the wink was
very ill done.
No person, free from enthusiasm, would e. er have
thought of considering such a mode of employing
Slave labour as a fair means of comparing its expense
with that of free labour, and particularly with such
free labour as Mr. Steele describes. Yet, as this has
been done, I must proceed to state what Mr. Steele
says on the subject. " For a small pecuniary reward,"
says Mr. Steele, "over and above their usnal allowances,
"the poorest, feeblest, and by character the most indo•
" lent Negroes in the whole gang, cheerfully performed
" the holing of my land for canes (generally said to
"be the most laborious work), for le„ than a fourth
" part of the stated price paid to the Undertakers for
" holing." The enthusiasm of Mr. Steele, in 1790, in
favour of his new plan, is here obvious, in his making
not only the indolent, but the poorest and feeblest of his
Negroes, perform the most laborious work, and in his
instituting a comparison of profit,. on a matter where no
data for accurate comparison existed.
The Undertaker who hired his Slaves •to Mr.

Steele, naturally demanded such a sum as would give
him a fair interest on his capital invested, comrensa-
tion for risk incident to such property, taxes, Doctors
charges, &c. But Mr. Steele was the .owner of his
Slaves, or at least retained the full command over
their persons, and their personal labour ; to himself also
belonged the interest of their productive industry, he
bore all the risks incident to such kind of property,
he paid taxes, doctor's charges, and finally, " over
" and above their usual allowances," he gave them " a
" small pecuniary reward." From this he institutes a
comparison with the expense of hiring Slave labour,
under circumstances entirely different. He might,
with equal reason, have said, lie holed his land at ace
tenth, or 0,,e hundredth " part of the stated pr ice paid
" to the Undertaker for holing," by making hi, pecu-
niary rewards bear those proportions; for, as Mr.
Steele gave his Negroes the "usual allowances," he
could have commanded them, and made them do the
work, without any pecuniary reward whatever. His
giving them any sum of money to stimulate their extra
exertions, may have been prudent, or it may have been
liberal, but it unquestionably afforded no standard of
• In a Pamphlet published in 1802, printed by T. Barfield,
WArtlou c-street, for T. Reynolds, Oxford-street, Loudon, addressed
to John Deckles, &q. Attorney-Cvner.i of Barbadoes, by Sir
Philip Gibbet, nat. in pages 4 and 5, sre a copy of the Will of
the late Mr. Steele, u sign‘il by Joshua Steele, and dated the apti
October, 1796.

~q

comparison, between the expense of free and of Slave.
labour, as state.) by him.
T.) those-who may ecnsider that I enter too minutely
into the various statements which have been made, I
can only' sa,:, that I have been induced to do so, in con-
sequence of the daiiy experience I have of the extraor-
dinary maiii,er in whist. the most ro.founJr..l assertions
are taken up, and reasoned upon a; establi,lle,l truths
—a system of deception for which the general igno-
rance which prevails as to the real merits of the affairs
of the West In:lies, afFords bet too mai)), facilities.*
Tne following extract of a letter from Mr. Steele,
will shew to %%hat extent punishments were actually
abolished no the estate.
" As a b.-ginning of my'general pl iu, sap Mr.
•44 Steele, 1 had, towards the end of 1783, taken the
whips, and all power of arbitrary punishment from
" All the Overseers, and their white servants, which oc-1
" castanet' my chief Overseer to resign ; and I soon dist-
" missed all-his deputies, who could not bear the loss of
" their whips: but at the same time that a proper
" subordination and obedience to lawful orders and
" duty should be preserved, 1 created a Magistracy out
" of the Negroes themselves, and appointed a Court or
" Jury of the elder Negroes, or head men, for trial and
" punishment of all casual offences (and these Courts
" were always to be held in my presence, or in that
" of my -superintendent), which Court very soon grew
" respectable. Seven of these men being of the rank of
" drivers in their different departments, teete also con-,
stitated RULERS, as Magistrates over all the gang, and
" were clenrged to see, at all times, that nothing should go
" wrong on the plantations; but that on all necessary
44 occasions they should assemble and consult together
4• how such wrong should be immediately rectified ; and
" I made it known to all the gangs 'that the authority of
" these R MI/EFS should supply the absence or vacancy of
" an Overseer in all cases: they making daily or occa-
".sional reports of all occurrences to the Proprietor,
" &c.rt On some occasions, it has been stated by those
acquainted with the system, recourse was had to a more
,semmary process, not altogether dissimilar to a drum-
head trial. The punishments inflicted were, in extreme
cases, flogging, in others, fine or imprisonment. It
therefore appears, that the change introduced chiefly
affected the time of punishment, and the manner of its
being authorised, by a Court, or Jury of the elder
Negroes. The mode of punishment by flogging, does
not appear to have been altered, and as to the general
Management of the Estate, it appears that seven Slaves,
of the rank of drivers, were authorised " to supply the
" absence or vacancy of an Overseer in all cases. I
therefore think, that the change of Overseers was more
in the colour, and the name, than in the principle of
coercing labour. These were, however, important
mitigations of the hardships of Slavery, as it existed in
1783. But what are they compared with the great
measures now in progress for the general mitigation of
Slavery? What would ANGLUS say, if the Trinidad
Order in Council contained no more beneficial provi-
sions than were comprised in Mr. Steele's general plan?
What are the mitigations of Slavery effected by Mr.
Steele, under this system, compared with the abolition
of the use s2l the whip altogether with respect to females,
and in a very great degree with respect to male Slaves—
with the abolition of Sunday-markets—with the addi-
tional time for the cultivation of provision-grounds—
with the admission of Slare-evidence—with the insti-
tution of the office of protector or guardian of Slaves—
with the provision made for religious and moral in-
struction—for the promotion of marriages—for the
establishment of Saringt-banks, and for the encreased
facilities of manumissions? And these too, are pri-
vileges not held at the will of another, but irrevocably
established by law. It is clearly quite out of date now
to refer 'to Mr. Steele's general plan as anything but
an interesting experiment at the time when it was made:
and Assosus, in supposing that it was so essentially
different in principle from the Slave.system in general,_
shews that be either has been misinformed, or has not
studied the system.
There is one more point to which I. must advert.
We are called upon by ANGLUS, and Mr. Clarkson, to
observe the great profits which were realized on the
Estate, during the time of the " general plan,' estab-
lished in 1783. Without now insisting much on the
fact, that Mr. Steele only introduced the plan where he
could cln so with the premium of a collateral advan-
tage—or upon the ruinous mismanagement of which
Mi. Steele so frequently coMplained, before the estab-
lishment of the " General Plan,"—or upon the ruin
which had overspread the land in liarbadoes, for many
years previous to the -year l7Bl—fiern the want of
seasonable rains, and the consequent diseases of blasts
and pernicious insects,* although these losses are placed
in opposition to the profits of the " Genet al Plan," in
order to swell the amount of the latter, it will be suf-
ficient to refer to Mr. Steele's own words, to shew how
far the assertions of Mr. Clarkson and ANGLO-are at
variance with the fact.
" Some few months after the dismission of the chief
rr Overseer, and his five deputies, who could not sub-
" u'it to my new rule of government, and which took
44 the power of arbitrary punishment out of their hands,
441 accepted the offer of a near neighbour, well recom-
" mended (who rented a Plantation bounding with
44 mine) to set ve me as superintendent over my new
44 magistracy:l Hero follow the terms of agreement
between them, &c. Now, as Mr. Steele began his gene-
• A French author, last July, wishing to prove that " L'Esela-
" vage West pas ce sped y a de plus avantageux pour les planteura
" eux wines," quotes the speech of Mr. Whitmore, in the Douse
of Commons on the 13th May, 18'.:4, when that Gentleman intro-
duced the Common,
document, and the case of Mr. Steele, in sup-
port of his argument.
The French author takes no notke of the argument arising from
the Haitian document. as in France that case was too well uneler-
Aood, but he thus reasons on Mr. Steele's case :—" Ou a prouvCr au
• Pailement d'Atigktetre. dans la stance de la Chambre des Com-
" munes da 13 Mai, gar dansks Colonies Americaincs, un Itomme
" libre fait deux fois plus- de travail qit'uti escity,... Al. Steele,
• voyant dicroltie sensUernent le revenu d'une. (s..nde plantation
" qu'il wait a la liarbade, s'y traesporta en 1790, pour en decouvir
"la cause et pour Maer d'y remedier. Davait tulle saixatite acres,
" tic terr, et virus cent quatre-vingt,ltuit esciases; nonihre elesll
nas..wees await e:i "{Wont dans les teal, dernli:tres armies et '
"ce ni des de cittquante sent. 11 suppi ima le bow, transfer-
" ma sea octaves en petits fermiers, et etablit un tribunal de Negres
" pour rink les offenses, et les contraventions. Dans les goatee
" annr•es suivantes, les naissances s'atverent a quarante-quatre, les
" quarantemn, rt k remold se gram triple."—Affaire des De-
part ;:s de la Martinique. Page 11.
This cat of Mr. Steele was also held out for imitation in the
rashisborsh Review, and inmany cheap publications, written in order
to influence public opinion, and they appear to have succeeded with
some Mctith:rti of the House of Carnmons, alto, it is presumed;
did not Mend their enquiries farther than the perusal of pam-
phlets, written by .persons_ misuse. minds were under. a peculiar
bias. It is most probable, if these Gentlemen had extended their
enquiries- that they would have come to the same concfusio,u which
the iteviewce ad, " • .
t'Sre4 the Letter written by AD...Steele to Dr. Dickson, dated
13ubadoes, SeptoMbet 30th, 1799, p. 9, of
Dr. Dickson's work.

~/

!4~? K

ral plan is towards the end of the year 1783," and thel
superintendent now employed was not appointed till
some few months sifter the dismission of the former
chief Overseer, it appears certain that the auperur•
tendant now spoken of was placed -on Mr. Steele's

Estate in the year 1784.
Mr. Steele adds afterwards, 44 But this man (the
44 new supeiintendant appointed in 1784) was one
of the old stamp, or school of Overseers, who pro
mised everything, but perhaps only on the probabi.
" lily that some favourable accident, of my death or ab-
" sense, might in some short time leave an uncontrouled
" ironer in his ha;:ds, not only grew careless and indo-,
" teat, but was so imprudent in conversations among
" his old acquaintances, as to publish his opinions that
4: my plan of lenity to the Negroes counteracted all his
" endeavours, and that he held himself in no way ac-
countable for the ill condition of the estate and its
" ruinous CROPS, for he could obtain no labour from
" the Negroes ; and his insinuations and hints among the
' a Negroes themselves tended to the same malignant
"purpose.,'
• Here we have the distinct admission of Mr. Steele, that
the estate, during the period of the management of the
Superintendant appointed in 1784,was in "ill condition,
.and had " ruinous crops." Now, as the Cane plant re-
quires nearly 12 months to come to maturity, there must
have been the experience o f two years before these
" ruinous citops " could have been produced. It is
therefore cei tain, that these ruinous crops were those
produced in the years 1785 and 1786. However, as if
to remove all doubts on this point, Mr. Steele, still
speaking of the Superintendant appointed in 1784:
44 He, like all my former overseers, obliged me to hire all
"my holing at the rate of per acre, he himself, with
" his gang of Negroes, being one of the undertakers to
" serve on these occasions, while, as my Superintend-
" ant, he was indulge n enough to let them do their
" work so ill, that my Owes sunk alniost to nothing;
" and everything was dosie so much out of time, that
" many species of produce never came to perfection, but
" wasted away, choaked up with weeds." This is no very
flourishing account; but such, according to Mr. Steele,
was the condition of Plantation Kendall, during the
years 1784, 5, and 6. I must, however, now refer my
Readers to the statements made by ANGLUS, in his 6th
letter, as to the profits of the estate for these three
years. " From the year 1773 to 1779 (a period of
" seven years), through bad management, the annual
" average profit of Mr. Steele's estate had been only one
" and a half per cent. but in the years 1784, 1785, and
" 1786, of en'his new plan was in operation, besides in-
" creasing his stock, rt cared four and a quarter per
" cent." ANGLUS refers to the page, where, in a letter
of Mr. Steele's, he alleges that the statement which he
has made will be found. The solution of this extraor-
dinary discrepancy affords a striking illustration of the
inconsiderate manner in which Asours will catch even
at a shadow,, if he can found upon it a statement conso-
nant with' the prejudices of his party. The mystery
may be explained in a few words. In the years 1787
and 1788, Mr. Steele published anonymously, in a Bar-
badoes Newspaper, some imaginary dialogues, in which
he recommends, among other things, the experiment of
the Copyhold System, nearly on the same plan as that
which he adopted in the year 1789. These imaginary
conversations are published in Dr. Dickson's work.
" Mr. F." one of the imaginary speakers, makes the
statement given, to prove that the system was also pro-
fitable, and to confute his imaginary opponent, " Mr.
W." no specific reference is made to Mr. Steele's estate;
and ANoLus, who cannot have read that part of Dr.
Dickson's work which I have quoted, takes the imagi-
nary statement of this imaginary speaker, and gravely
'inserts it in his letter as the genuine authentic version,
given by Mr. Steele himself, of. the actual net profits
cleared by virtue of the effects of his "general plan,"
established in 1783, without noticing the statement
given in his own letter, which I have quoted ! And yet
ANGLUS, who thus dips at random into a work for a
quotation for his purpose, and makes a fundamental er-
ror on the very point on which he himself declares the
whole weight of his case to depend ;—who puts forward
Mr. Clarkson as a standard of accuracy, notwithstand-
the detailed and pathetic account of Mr. Steele's death,'
five years before he made his will ;—is so cautious, so
sceptical with respect to evidence on the other side of
the question, that he cannot recei7e the public testi-
mony of a Gentleman of property, on a matter of fact,
for fear that that Gentleman might prove a West Indian
in point of feeling and judgment ! But then, I have no
doubt, it will be said, that ANGLUS and Mr. Clarkson
may have been mistaken, but that they never could
snean to misrepresent. I think it highly probable
that they neither of them intended to misrepresent; but
I will ask, if ANGLUS were taken as a guide in
legislation, which he might be, if all he said n ere cor-
rect; and that some great experiment, made on the
strength of his statements, were to fail altogetherin-
vol wing in ruin the subjects of it, and, in disgrace, itsos-
tensible authors ; what consolation would it afford to be
told, that ANGLUS might have been mistaken, but that
he never could have intended to misrepresent? It is
by these very mistakes, arising out of a hurrying impa-
tience in research to discover statements which shall
tally with preconceived opinions, no less than by the
extreme scepticism on the one side, and, on the other, the
' equally extreme facility, in admitting testimony, that
we discover the precipitate eagerness and determined
bias of the Partisan, and mark him as one whom it is
unsafe to follow, and whose statements never can safely
be received without every precaution that rigid sera-
tin2is can provide. /Omura and his friends have unfor-
tunately ranged themselves on the popular side of this
momentous question. They undertake to prove what
all men must wish to believe; and the majority of
mankind are never backward in giving credit to that
which they desire to believe. ANGLUS, then, will have
many advocates, whether or not his statement be delu-
sive; hut it is obvious that all public measures, founded
on delusive statements, or any other erroneous data,
can only produce failure and disappointment ; and I
shall rest quite satisfied, that to the thinking part of
the community my remarks will not have been ad-
dressed in vain.
I h.:ve now only to sum up the conclusions which I
consider to have been incontestibly established, by my
examination of the evidence on vi hich the success of this
far-famed experiment has been upheld.
Ist, It is said that Mr. Steele's " General Plan" este-.
blislie fin 1783, was very profitable, and ANGLUS refers
especially to the profits alleged to have been realized
on the estate in the years 1784.5, and 6.
It is not impossible that the estate may rave been
mo.e productive than fur twenty years before, when the

!F Vide Mr. Steele's own statements in Dr. Dickson's work,

page 29.
t Ville, Mr. Steele's own Letter to Dr. Dickson, dated 80th
September, 1790, in Dr. Diekson's Work, pages 10, 11.