Star.
London, England, 1825-01-14 00:00:00

of necessity, and not the " Moral motive," which .ks-
GLUS has assumed to be the prime mover of the exer-
tion used, but without affording any reason to support
the truth of his assertion, although the whole argument
depended thereon.
In England, where the stimulus to labour, from ne-
cessity, is so very great and so very powerful, it would
be -difficult to point out the quantum of exertion that
arose exclusiyely from a " moral motive ;" yet, in the
West Indies, where necessity forms so moderate a sti-
mulus, A NOLUS assumes that the " moral motive" alone
produces the little voluntary exertion which is seen in
that country.
As A NOLUS has not followed up his own argument,
by shewing that free Negroes, who are entire masters
of their own time, continue their agricultural industry
'during the other days of the week, to obtain the re-
wards atteudant upon such industry, I am induced to
inquire into the subject, in the absence of all infotma-
Lion from him of a specific nature.
The testimony of a Gentleman who had resided in
Colombia, and now actually employs free labourers in
Trinidal, gives a clear idea of the extent of this stimu-
lus, on that class of persons, in West India agriculture;
and 1 quote this, as being the most successful experi-
ment of any of the numerous failures which I have in-
vestigated. The Gentleman says, in August, 1824,
from Trinidad, " When 1 commenced my agticultutal
" pursuits, about twenty years ago, on the Spanish
" Main, I had a small gang of Slaves, and the country
" abounding in Peons (the country name for free la-
" bourers), I flattered myselt that I-could extend my
" cultivation to any extent; but I was undeceived, by
" discovering that the quantity of labour by one man
41 executed in Europe, or the Eastern States of North
" America, in a month, required five Peons in these
" countries : thus, to get the work of ten men, I was
" obliged to have fifty men. When the Colombian Re-
" volution drove me to this Colony, I was followed by
" many-of my former Peons, and bought a small plan-
" cation, with a few Slaves, and settled my Peons
" around me, possessing Slaves to keep the work of the
" plantation in constant progression. The Peons as-
" sisted, quantum valeat ; and, as they were only paid
" for the labour actually performed, they were profitably
" employed IN AID OF THE SLAVES.
" About four years ago, I took a fertile lot of land
" on the Conubia, and• proposed, as far as practicable,
" to cultivate it in cocoa and coffee, by free labour only.
" I was, however, obliged to send Slaves to make
" trenches, for the free people refused, absolutely, to
" work with spade, or shovel, or hoe."
The following statement is deserving of great attens
Lion :—" I have fourteen field slaves, male and female,
" who maintain 100 acres of cultivation in cocoa, and
"make the crop, and the task of the Slaves (for they
" work task work) is so light that it is always finished
" about two o'clock ; and it would be strange to see a
" Negro working on the Estate after that hour, except
" for himself. On the Conubia Estate, I have ten free
"labourers, who work all day, when they do work at
" all, and maintain, in a slovenly manner, twenty-five
" acres without making any crop, except previsions,
"this is the most that 1 can persuade them to do, and
"it is, ptelrhaps, more than any of my neighbours can
"effect: these facts may be corroborated by reference
" to my annual returns, and I am ready to substantiate
" them in the presence of a Magistrate.
" In reference to my book of labour, I find I have
"credited for the year past—
" Gregory lif days in flu whole year.
" Toval 98 ditto.
" Garcia 130 ditto.
" Eisente 80 - ditto.
Herrara 78 ditto.
" Juan 90 - - ditto."
These persons remained all the year with the same
Gentleman, and worked nowhere else ; others remained
only broken periods of the year, and their quantum of
exertion was still less in proportion. The facts pre-
sented by these details shew ,that the free labourers
only worked about one-third of the year, and that their
exertion during that time, was far below the exertion
of Slaves working by task-work, and finishing it daily
about two o'clock; it-appears also, that the free la-
bourers refused to perform some parts of the work re-
quired, even on cocoa and coffee cultivation, connected
with the trenches. I have already mentioned the dis-
tinction I make between the testimony of West Indians,
as to facts, and as to opinions. The evidence of any
man, as to a fact, is valuable, but the mere expression of
an opinion, whether by AtioLus; the Reviewer, or a
West Indian, must be received with reference to the
facts upon -which such opinion is founded. ANOtUS
avoids the statement of detailed facts, which renders his
opinions in this case of little weight, and in opposing
them by other opinions, it is only meant to be shewn,
that the one is fully as deserving of attention as the
other. The Trinidad Gentleman, speaking of his" free
"blacks," says, "the motive that they have for not work-
" ing is,that they have an abundance of farinaceous food
" at hand, the rivers abound with fish, and the woods
" with wild meat."
If this assertion be not true, it can easily be disproved ;
but reasoning on this assertion, and the other facts
given, he says : "We may adduce, from these facts,
" that any wot k that requires a steady aggregate farce
" of any given number of men, cannot be done by free
" blacks. Coffee, cocoa, and cotton, have been pro-
" duced (with difficulty) by free labourersjor if the
" crop is not gathered to-day it may be to-morrow, and
41 if the gra's is not cut this week, it may be done next
" week ; but to catty on the combined labour of a
" sugar estate, where the least procrastination is ruin,
" with free labourers, in this country, is in my opinion
" hopeless."
This, I admit, is merely the opinion of an individual;
and every reader will exercise his own discretion in
adopting or not, the inferences drawn from the facts
stated. The Reviewer Merely adopted the fact, that
sugar had not been profitably' cultivated by free ne-
roes ;- but he did not express the opinion, that such an
event never could take place. His opinion on this point
he reserved, asd recommended that the facts adduced
on either side should be fairly discussed, between the
Abolitionists and the West Indians. I proceed, there-
fore, to notice the case just cited, by which it appears
this evidence, collected from -Trinidad, ‘oncurs with
all hitherto produced, in shewing that a stimulus has
not yet been found capable of rendering the voluntary
exertions of the free labourers in the West Indies, for
,wages, more beneficial than that of the Slaves to the
Planter owning the soil, the buildings, and machinery of
a sugar plantation ; and that this -circumstance does not
in the least discredit the statements made by Sir Ralph
Woodford to his Majesty's Govert.mmt, shewing the
productiveness of the soil, when
.the_Negroes (whether
slave or free) choose to cultivate it.
With respect to the evidence of those whom ii„NGL.IIII
designates as " Mr. R. Hibbert's affidavit men,
I find