Star.
London, England, 1824-06-02 00:00:00

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this might might have been done without a tithe of that species
of ingenuity which Mr.. Smith certainty possessed. He
'had not done so; an to Whom Jdid they owe it, that the
shockinm scenes detailed inthe, evidence of Mrs. Wal-
d *etc not repeated in a lbousand instances? Why
to the hinimess and exertions of the military, who were!
at that moment arraigned before the House as guilty of
brutality and ininstice--(Cheers).—After this ttatement
he would put it to the House whether the Court-mar.;
tial had recourse to the measures adopted by them with-
out any previous shedding of blood ?.--1 Hear.)—Was
this to be excused upon the ground that what had been
done for the amelioration of the condition of the ne-
groes was not promulgated in sufficient bole? Why had
not the rest of the slaves, amounting to 70,000, re-
course to the same conduct as those who frequented
Bethel Chapel? Theme mast be some local cause to
account for this fact. It must have arisen from circum-
stances that did not affect the test of thenegro population.
Ile begged the House to attend to one part of the evi-
dence—" 1 wish Wilberforce was here in this room, just
to look on me, for we may thank him and then for all
that has happened, that the same might be dealt to him
by some other hand." This shewed the necessity of re-
pressing those enthusiastic feelings by which many; with
the best intentions, were led to speak of the emaucipa-
tion of the Negroes. If the Missionaries held forth as
a point of doctrine that Negro slaver y must be totally
eradicated. no rational hope of improvement could be
entertained. It would be impossible to act upon the
principles recommended by Government unless the
masters were inclined to concur, and contribute their
efforts towards carrying them into effect. Was this
to be done by declaring amelioration hopeless without
the total eradication of slavery ? It was inconceivable
how all Missionaries could be attacked by the trial of
Mr. Smith. Such an individual should not be held out
as a pattern, so long as the Society required that its mem-
bers should be guided in their exertions by prudence.
He had no doubt that when the country became ac-
quainted with the accurate details of the case, they
would see that the conduct of Mr. Smith was, to say
the least of it, highly imprudent. He thought him an
enthusiast. He entertained notions incompatible with
the good of society ; and whatever might have been his
intentions, if his conduct had all the attributes of guilt,
he saw no reason why he wa not to he tt eared as a
guilty person. The same nicety of evidence was not
required in a Court-martial as in a trial at law ; and
taking all the circumstances into consideration, he had
no hesitation in saying that no ground existed for at-
taching blame to the Court-martial. The petition stated!
that the causes of the insurrection were not connected!
with the conduct of Mr. Smith, but arose from cruelties!
practised towards the Negroes. He challenged any per-
son
to shew that the slaves principally concerned in the!
insurrection had any such excuse. The leaders in it were,
of the better class of Negroes ; they were all trusted men,
well fed, and having no ground for complaint, cruelty'
therefore could not be alleged by them as an excuse for
their acts. With respect to thedelay in promulgating the
intentions of Government for ameliorating the condition
of the slaves, it was not suffered to explain the results, for
it did nut produce those results on persons similarly
circumstanced. On the allegation of the Petitioners
that Mr. Smith followed the directions of the Society,
he would only remark, that Mr. Smith's conduct proved
lie did not follow them. The Petition stated, that be
was kept closely in prison. The same charge would
apply, whether he had kmeeu tiled by a civil or military
process. With respect to allowing him ins aavocate, had
he been tried by the civil law he could not have had
one. Ile had the assistance of an advocate, so tar as it
could be of any use to him. It was impossible the lan-
guageattributed to the President by the Hon. and Learned
Gentleman(Mr. Brougham) could have been used by him.
It was not quoted in any of the official authorities
upon the subject. The Petition stated, that the influ-
ence of the Christian doctrines promulgated by Mr.
Smith was visible in the manner of conducting the in-
surrection, and in the absence of mai age by which it
was marked. Oa this head he would refer to the evi-
dence of Mrs. Waldron. Was it necessary, towards the
attainment of the object sought for, that she should
be shot at? It was true she received the ball only in
her arm, but it might as well have reached her heart.
No wonder, after such mistatements, that the table of
the House was deluged with Petitim.s, the whole of
which originated in this. The Petitioners stated that
Mr. Smith was an innocent and unprotected victim.
fie trusted he had sufficiently proved that such was not
the fact. They stated that they were convinced of his
legal and moral innocence. If a man suffered himself
to act in a manner not sanctioned by law, whatever
his intentions might have been, would it not be just
to characterise him as a etiominal ? The imperfec-
tion of human nature was such, and such the im-
possibility of seeing into the consciences of men, that
they must judge from their action, not their inten-
tion—(Hear, Hear). Ile hoped he had sufficiently
proved that the Petition was inaccurate: it was the
parent of all the rest that bad been presented on
the subject, and the same inaccuracies ran through
the whole. The conduct of Mr. Smith, whatever his
intentions might have Leen, had all the characteristics!
of guilt. A man might do wrong with good intentions,
and it appeared clearly that he had been guilty of mis-
prision of treason. The circumstances of the colony re-
quited mat tial laws the wishes of the whole community
a-tee in fa rout of it. !le did not think, therefore, that
they ought to contemplate with alarm the proceedings
that took place. lie believed the motives by which the
Court-mat tial a cie actuated were 9nod, and that Mr.
Smith had been tried by honourable men, incapable of
willingly abwing the in:A reposed in diens. The ques-
tion was, whether substantial justice bad been done, or
wi:ether the conduct of the Authorities was harsh and
unjust? He saw no ground for the motion. The Dutch
law was now in a course of change, and so far the ob-
ject of the Honourable and Learned Gentleman (Nlr.
Brougham) was in a course of being carried into effect.
For these reasons he would oppose the proposition.
Sir J. MACKINTOSH sail, if he had not been
called on to vindicate a Petition he presented some time
since, he should have been anxious to take the oppor-
tunity of giving his testimony in the face of what he
considered the most loul act which had ever disgraced
the law in any part of the Mash dominions. The
Honourabie Gentleman who had preceded him had
stated that the Londan Missionary Society %%etc not
philosophers, but could that be used as an argument
against them ? It was said that cruelty on the part of
the planters could not have produced the insurrection,
because the ringleaders were not in a condition to be
treater: ea ucliy. The ringleaders in all insurrections,
were likely to be persons superior to the class they cli•
meted. The Governor of Dem:want stated that he bad
not heard of w;lites hawing been deliberately murdered.

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