Star.
London, England, 1818-04-23 00:00:00

~~...

already deacribed,:although It,vras not recor-
eti. Ile was, sure the Hovse muit. be fully sensible
eciis to which the unfortunate slaves must be
tet,
eloas.-.1 under such circumstance,. If the Crown
ors were to be interdicted from interfering
to
in
„.,ehalf when oppressed, to whom were they
0
lok for assistance in obtaining redress? Friends
iobad none, who were not in a state of degrada-
and helplessness similar to their swa. Their
tens ere the persons agnst whoin they invoked ,
eis
delays. From what quarterai, therefore, but from the
comment could they hope for aid? He was really
ierry• to disturb the disposition which appeared to
ei:A in a part of the House tospeak we 1 of West-1
India Isislation ; but of what die were laws, how-
aver -benevolent in their principle, if not carried into
titration? It was well known, that it was the uni.,
versal and declared opinion in the West Indies, that
00411117 C •
' could be more improper than to interfere
isnienn rikoter and slay:, and that any such inter-
rlence =IA always be A.:ended with the most dan.,
gams consequences, a disposition in the
si-ves to reviNt ; the result of wh:ca doctrine was,
that the mister should have an uncontroulable power
over the slaves.—In the it land of Dominica there was
a ptits.ic chain, to which the masters had a right tb
szsd any of their slaves, who, they conceived, deser-,
vedFila.nuent, in order that they mig t endure the
severest labour for any time that the rilasters chose.
He was informed that even feniale slaves of the most
tender are were frequenly subjected to this suffer-
ing--(:.'ear, hear!) It was held in the West Indies,
that althoigh the Royal mercy might be extended to
slaves guilty of crimes against the public, it could
not be eite .ed to those who were thus subjected to
limishmer. by their masters. The Governor of Do-
minica ha.. consulted the Attorney-General of that
colony oa .he subject, and had been told by him that
'lt to remit the punishment of those
aa'l thus been sentenced by a domestic
'though without any judicial inquiry what=
nature of their offence. To what abuses
would lead, every one must see. 'The
and Learned Gentleman here read a de-
the chain which he had mentioned.—
..aove a hundred of these unfortunate
re attached to the same chain,, just at a
nice from one another to enable them
t. They were drivel out into the
mass, wt•.holt miTard t 3 sex, age,
Lod the most distressing scenes were frv-
Isioncd in consequence. And yet the
of tine Crown to extea,. 4aercy to
tote wretches was denied—ikez,-, hear.)
as no daubt that some remedy ougbt to
;vile. If it could be eilec_ed by
it would be vziry deslrable; bat
that tin:. ^ could be no effec-
eacly.: in the iiicniposiion of the
, and in impo:.in7 the duty of
coniu_z observed towards the
iviau al in each island, wholly un-
i, and who should have no
with that of the masters. In this.
plan appeared to him to be more
..t sa3geste3 by Mr. Burke, and'
5t2,11.110.as works, to :Ir. Dundas;
.ute ne Auomey-General in every
in of the 'taint, making their plo-
d part of his ditty. Great objec-
Med by the Colonies .to any legis-
this country, on the ground that
7asen:.ei is Parliament, and that it
le spirit of the British constitution,
.wing those who were not represen-
t Parliament--(Hear, hear, hear!)
however, this had been repeatedly
second place, it was a complete
to persons to talk of the British Con-
ight of bzing. represented was only
tish Constitution. It must be taken
irts of the Constitution. It must be
pal rights of the people in other
present state of the West Indies,
prudent for the planters to talk of
ititution in all its bearings? Would
ace be the resolt of the Slaves, and
of West India property ? An arbi-
mt, according to the argument of
1, might make laws for the protec-
; but the British Legislature was
from doing so, because, by the Bri-
t, no person was bound by the laws
not represented in the Parliament
laws were enacted—(Hear, hear.)—
;rievance is the Island of Dominica,
difficulty in the manumission of
ierson was at liberty to manumit a
nice, without payir.g a tax of 15/. if
. native of the colony, and of 551. if
By an Act of June, I eslo, no person
lag from other Islands was entitled to
except on producing a certificate
and on paying a certain tax. The prin-
,onstitution was, that a slave fondling
:ame free. The pi inciple of the prac-
ica was, that a free person touching its
t a slave, unless he produced a cebrtifi-
a- freedom, a .d paid a fine for his li-
iother law of the Colony a person of
be taken up in Dondnica, on the pre-
t he was a slave, and if he was not
is master in a certain time, he s
merit of the publl,t !—(i!ear, hear.)
nu especially the petial,y or. the maim-
ves, ware Lir-111y tact ar,l;.e. For al-
lona' person efrxr ,he wilJ pro-
!nediate emanti),,,:irn of the Slaves in
a Colonies, yet al in wh.se bt casts ha-
r ext:l ci.,:r;shed .11e hope

vlor

:ome,

.e op.ra on 01

~ by the comn:

4tioa Uf .r,nral al

:ruction, and by im.prove•

:ondition c

L.IC RC

&fs,

about danger to a.).-),tf.h sLverv. Varke
towever existed, to winch he 1:a..1 jat al-
;fortunate beings who were the objects
their unfortunate clispria,-;, would be
nr,ual• chains. That the laws of an
c.ption which looked so well upon paper
iended to be exec,tted was very evident.
!,,nr.ll Prevost, when he was Governor!
;.ty in his answer to the circular letter
-.v,:rrment to the Gose:....,rs of all
Iscertain ti= bate and condition of
Lt. answer, dated the Ist January,

1305, and addressed to Lord Camden, President of
the Council, General -Prevent said, " An Act has
passed the General Assembly fur bettering the condi-
:ion of the Slaves, but it seems to be rather a political
measure for the purpose of averting the interference
of the mother country in the management of Slaves."
ft was an imperative duty on the mother country to
assume this right of interfenence. Let it be recol-
lected that those unhappy individuals, although
Slaves to their masters, were subjects to the King;
and, that as they owed allegiance to the King,. so
from the King they hadd-a right to claim protection.
He would state a single case which had been corn-
enunicated to hint, in order to she the necessity of
the interference that he urged. It was the case of
the same Mr. Huggins whose cruelty had formerly
been the subject of Parliamentary consideration, at,
which period it was spoken of with great detesta-
tion by the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite
This Mr. Huggins, notwithstanding his conduct, was
still a man of great oppleace and weight in the island
of Nevis. The House were aware that he had been
tried for cruelty to his own Slaves. He had lately
been brought to trial again for cruelty to Slaves not
his own. A Mr. Cottle, who quitted his plantation
for a time, left it in the charge of Mr. Huggins, as,
his attorney. Mr. Huggins went to the plantation,
' and by his own authority, and without the interfe-
rence of any Magistrate, ordered two very young
I lads, who had been guilty of receiving some stolen
stockings, to be punished by the infliction of 100
lashes on each, although• by the law of the colony
39 lashes was the utmost that was permitted to be
inflicted at a time. He stated these facts from accu-
rate notes taken on the trial. There were present
when these boys were so punished two female Slaves,
the one a sister of one of them, the other a relation,
who -was a domestic slave of M. Cottle's, and sale
had always been treated with the utmost kindness
and tenderness by that Gentleman. These female
Slaves, unable to restrain their feelings, sTied tears,
and for that offence alone of shedding tears, Mr.
Huggins ordered that they should receive the one 30
lashes, the other 20. For this conduct Mr. Huggins
was prosecuted by the Attorney-General. The facts
were established ; he was acquitted, and it was de-
clared to be a most odious interference on the part
of. the Attorney-General !--(Hear, hear, hear.)—Tne
Honourable and Learned Gentleman concluded by
moving, " That au humble Address be presented to
;his RoYal Highness the Prince Regent, praying that
he would be graciously pleased to order that there
be laid before the House Copies or Extracts of all
Dispatches, Letters, and Papers, in the otfice of the
Secretary of State fur the Colonial Department,
which related to the trials of Jean Baptiste Louis
Petit, Cavigny Lerner, and Christopher Robert,
aeailist whom bills of indictment had been preferred
by the Attorney-General of the Island of Dominica;
as also the Grand Jury Presentment in that Colony,
of the 4th of February, 1,817, as well as any subse-
quent Grand Jury Presentments relative to prosecu-i
tions for cruelty to Slaves; as' also any documents
relative to the power of masters to order their Slaves
to hard laborer at the public chain, zed to the right of the-
Government to remit the punishment of such Slaves.
Mr. GOULBURN observed, that it was not to be
supposed that he would stand there to defend cases
of kith alegriersted cruelty on the part of Masten,
as that stated by the Honourable and Learned Gen-
tleman. Nothing, he was persuaded, could be more
revolting to the feelings of every man in the Horse.
All he wished was, in fairness to the Colonies, that
Honourable Gentlemen would be particularly careful
to guard their minds from any undue impression, or
to entertain an opinion that such was the general
treatment of the Slaves is the West Indies. He ap-
pealed with confidence to all who were acquainted
with the subject—he appealed particularly to an
Honourable Friend of his, whose knowledge of all
that related to the West Indies was not exceeded by
that of any man—whether, in the larger Islands, a
manifest improvement had not taken place, not only
in the legislative enactments for the benefit of the
Slaves, but in the actual protection and care afforded
them. A progress had been made in agricultural
and other knowledge, which was calculated materi-
ally to diminish the labour hitherto required from
the Slaves. In Jamaica many of the Slaves were
possessed of considerable property. There had been
several instances of Slaves having purchased their
own freedom. The Honourable Member for Stock-
bridge had last Session stated to the House, that he
himself had been the purchaser of property acquired
by a Slave in a state of slavery, and that such octur-
rences were by no means infrequent. With respect
to the cases mentioned by the Honourable and
1, Learned Gentleman, as far as be recollected, the Ho-
nourable and Learned Gentleman's description ma-
terially differed from the information received at the
Colonial Office. In order to be enabled to judge
more accurately of the case, the Noble Lord at the
head of the Colonial Department had required from
the Governor of Dominica a specification of all the
evidence relating to it. With respect to what was
stated to have taken place in the Island of Dominica,
he was as little desirous as any Member of the Home
of vindicating any measure of that description. He
believed that a greater good could not be done to
the country than by watching over the conduct of
Public Bodies in the West India Islands. To Met
pert of the Return which related to the measure he
had just alluded to, he could have no objection, and
he had therefore no hesitation in agreeing to the
production of the papers wished for. With respect
to the transaction in the bland of Nevis, he could
not speak at present, as the circumstance was not
present to his recollection.
Mr. R. SMITH was very glad to learn, that the
state of society in the smaller islands was much worse
chap in the larger island of Jamaica, and that the
circumstances which applied to the small islands did',
not aeely to the other. But there was a circum
sauce which also applied to the larger islands ; and
when he considered that no steps had been taken ciu-
ring tee last twenty years to remedy the evil, he
thoi'ght it proved such a state of things in the West
lalias generally, as called for a vigilantesaperinten-
deuce on the part of Parliament. Slaves were incom-
petent to give evidence, and could not be produced
with any qualification. in a Court of Law. the cullsi
inseparable from a state of slavery, such as existed
ail the islands, proved the necessity of a vigilant
terference on lac part of• the House and the Govern-'
meat The House ought to cast a watchful eye oven
the Wesandia islands ; and by this alone could any

that althoighßoy
slaves guilty of crime
• not be ester :e3 to thi
panis:lmmr. by their g
=mica ha...coistilted
colony Oil .te subject,
Lehi- no ritfat to r
$4.,;25117:10 hal thus
Mo,taal, although wit
in:o the nature c
this .ioctrine woull le
e
Bora:able and Lea:
sctiption of the canl
sootrimes aSove a
crer,ures were attach
sus.iia: dis:ance frc,
to wt.; and wor...
pl.- Is in 11S rni
or : and the
.i 7 oic..sioned
of
t miso:abie one,
zca..3 be no d
b. : ''1":
v:ts t..
tati f 0.111.1,
-tz t .11
072: ...le
C,tl 5")..1,11.1.111
IC CL • .
• it,. s. I.t Go a3kl
..
r th.
111 Fli 7 ,
• .
t e,sz
in
no. rcpt.;
ecl w.•.s coa. ;.:-/ to um
•nti to ?at:,.. biasl
Ice, tea
11C Ilf:e place, I
ini done; aril ia the
fur thane
The 14
ate a -a.... cf the Brit:
sri••,,t the other pat
tat • tthen with the ell
aft. teyects. In the
it be quite
lulu the 13.itisli Consti
ar • we conie.queo
ea: o
eat. nary (..iovrnmei
• hi,
e t. Loa t t the slaves
Lint col);
t2t,i..s.iu.Lion,
in ,hey we:e
Y w wa'cla cruise 1
d cv A.i.sallsv great gi
scl 1:..: ;e,l I,se
sisrik b4.4,4C. -- 1,6 F 4
an slave ia Donn')
uri • the slave was a
a c LI was riot so.
• be. •• of colour corsair
• out ' be considered ft
tlictt of freedom, an
is 1I ciple of our Cc
:true our shores beta
tice in Dominic
shores became
Fax• t
:ate of former
ind 13erty. By ant
•dina altar might b
sumptien that
cm -.l.li:b.:it by hit
at to sold for the bei
',ay.'s, an
Slav
:it Pr. rail,
pre( (4. an im:r
• jai's ' •
tuia
,'new rani y was nr,
es tni
nvinc
.N.T•aar,l
jusu r
At 1: • the cc
f ic,bk oil
li.;;G .
sk, tnua...,te(i, cite unf
setect...,;l,and '
ed to :rcr:rl t•.) per
est ,notice des,:e
tat it-v= (;e
yttior " • •,.,nnaca
nn2c•
v:
tat J
•