Star.
London, England, 1807-02-06 00:00:00

From 1788, the pet iod of the enquiry, to the prefent
time, near twenty years had elapfed, and, upon
the average of the lair-three years, it was found
that no decteafe had taken place, or that, if any, it
was fb inconfiderable as not to be worth mentioning.
This was the cafe in Jamaica ;—and in Dominic;
the refult was found to be the fame. It is faid, that

if the- itnportation of new negroes be prohibited,
the old population would not be equal to cultivate
the iflands. He was perfuaded of the contrary.--,
He was convinced that all the parts of the old iflands,
which were at prefent in cultivatioa, could he main-
tained in that Rate without the neceflity of bringing
one more negroe from Africa. For what purpofe,
then, was it that fuch efforts were made to continue
this trade? It was for the purpofe of making the
uncultivated parts as produCtive as thofe which
were in culture, a praftice pregnant with much
immediate embarraffment, and, as he feared, it

would prove ultimate ruin to the planter. if the
planter had now to uiruggle with the difficulities re-
fulting from a great diminution in the price of the ar.
tick which he cultivated, a diminution in a great mea-
fume to be attributed to the breaking up of new lands,
it was evident that thefe difficulties mutt be increafed

by furnithing him with themcana of further reduciag
its price. Where would be the policy to encourage
him to import new African naves, for the purpofe of
enabling him to continue a deltruCtive rivallhip,
where even fuccefs mull terminate in ruin ? Examined
as a quellion of detail, confidered merely as to gain
and Ids, he had not the leall fear that he fhould be
able to prove that the continuance of the trade mutt
ultimately terminate in the ruin of the Planters, and,
confequently affeet the fafety of the Empire. But
tome perfons fay it will be time enough to put an end
to the trade when the walle lands are cultivated.
He would ark, what time it would take to import
a firfficiency of slaves for that purpufe ? Had any of
the perfons tsho reafoned in that way taken the
trouble to make the calculation ? He was perfuaded
they had not, for otherwife they would noLhave ad-
vanced fuch an argument. According to the prefent
feale of importation, it would take no lefs than two
or three centuries to import 'laves enough into Ja-
maica, to bring the uncultivated parts of that ifland
into culture. It would require as long a period to
introduce !laves enough into Trinadad, to break op
the new lands in that ifland ; and for thefe purpofes
not lefs than a million more of African Haves would
be neceffary in each of thefe iflands. He wi'bed to
bring this piCture before the molt hardened nave
dealer, before the moll inhuman tyrant that ever
exercifed defpotic foray between the decks of a
thee Quo ; he would with to prefent to him two
millions of Africans, torn from their families and
their deareft ties, doomed to a cruel death, or,
what is more rewriting to human nature, to fpend
a miferable exiflence in a (late worfe than death; and
he would be glad to fee whether his feelings, callous
as they might be, would he proof againft loch a repre-
fentation. And yet this was the boon which the
Legiflature of Jamaica silks from a Britifh Houfe of
Lords; nothing more, forfooth, than the privilege of
dragging the unhappy natives of Africa from their
'homes, their focial ties, their clean& relations, and
of hunting them down for five centuries longer. But
this was a boon which, he untied, a Britjfh Houfe of
Lords would never grant. No; he trufied that the
term of the abolition of this nefarious traffic was at
leng,h arrived, and that both the Legiflature and
thole who were concerned in it had met at a certain
point at lat. One of the great dangers of abolifhing
the trade, as urged either at the bar or in common
converfation, was that refulting from the example
which St. Domingo offered. As one of thole charged
with the general intereft of theimpire, he would fay,
that the greatell danger to the Weft Indies arofe
from the importation of Raves, and that little was
to be apprehended from thole who had been efiablifh-
ed there for fcme time. He would even fay, that
the example cf what had taken place in St. Do.
mingo moll powerfully recommended the immediate
abolition of the trade. If there were no other rea-
fon for putting an end to it, the events which had
occurred there thould induce the Houfe to put an
end to it without delay. If they walled to guard
againft infurreCticn in Jamaica, let them take the
advice 6f Mr. Long, an eminent planter himfelf, and
the hillmian of the ifland. What did he aflign as the
caufes of the frequent rebellions in that Mind ? He
proved that, nine times out of ten, they were entire.
ly owing to the newly imported negroes. The Cre.
ole negroes, who were in tome degree slomellicated,
who had occafional accefs to the family, in general
continued firm in their attachment, while the African
negro, goaded by the refentment of his injuries and
the (cote of his [offerings, rated into rebellion. It was
true, that in the tents which had taken place at St.
Domingo, it was not newly imported negroes who
were the principal eaters; but let any one confider
the caufe of that infurration, and he would fee that
it was not the confequence of emancipation, as was
falfely fopperies!, but that it was produced by the
molt foul and fcandaleus breach of promife. It was
produced by the unjull, inhuman meafure of recal-
ling that freedom which had been granted to Raves.
If we wished to guard againfl fimilar intivration in
our own Wands, it was not by importing frefh car-
goes of Raves every year that it was to be effected,
but by making friends of the negro population which
was already there ; and this he trolled a Britith Par-
liament would do, by putting the Planter under the
neceflity of well-treating his !laves. If we Itioked
regulations for abolition, inflead of to abolition for
regulations, we should never fee the happy period of
the termination of this deteflable traffic arrive. A
refolution had been palled in 1792, to adopt meafures
for the abolition of the trade at a certain period.—
When thefe meafures came to be propofed they were
related, and inked of abolifhing the trade, all that
WAS done was an application to his Majefty to recom-
mend to the Legiflature of the different Minds to
make provifion for bettering the conditien of the
(laves. See in what manlier his Majefly's recom-
mendation was attended to. It would appear in Lord
Seaforth's correfpondence. When that Noble Lord
affumed the command of Barbadoes, he found that
the murder of a negro was only punifhable by a fmall
penalty of t 11. In fail, it was not confidered as a
crime ; fo far from it, that it became a. queftion in
one of the Colonial Courts of Justice whether it was
an offence? Lord Seaforth details three moll (hock-
ing instances of the murder of negroes, and when he
preffed the Legiflature of Baebadoes to alter the law
in this tetra; how was hie propufal received ? How