Star.
London, England, 1828-01-21 00:00:00

On the subject of marriage, I observe that no security
is taken against the possible case of the unreasonable or
capricious refusal of the owner to consent. By confining
the power of celebrating marriages to the Clergy of the
Established Church, every other class of religious
teachers are deprived of the means of exercising a salu-
tary influence over the minds of their disciples, and pro-
bably the Roman Catholic Priests may be entitled to
say that such an enactment takes away from them a
I right, which, by the common law, they enjoy in every
part of his Majesty's dominions, to which the Marriage
Act of George the Second does not extend. The ne•
cessisy of undergoing an examination by a Clergyman
of the Established Church, as to the nature and obliga-
tions of the marriage contract, is not very apparent, and
might, perhaps, operate as a serious impediment to the
formation of such connections. It is difficult to under-

stand how the ran to of inquiry respecting the obligao
dons" of the marriage oontract is to be limited, since'
that expression •mad be supposed to embrace a large
variety of mos al and teliglous coosiderations, with which
the slave population, in its prezent states Rasta be very
imperfectly conversant.
. _ _

I observe that this Act does not require dig any re.
gistry should be kept of the marriages of slaves, nor
even that any periodical returns should be wade of the
number of such marriages.
On the subject of the separation of relatiyes, the'
word " family" is left without a definition. It is sus•

ceptible of so many different meanings, that It would
seem peculiarly necessary to ascertain the precise sense
in which it is used. The rule laid down in this law
seems also to require some better sapction. It is simply
a direction to the Provost Marshal; hut if be should
disobey that direction, it is not provided that 'beanie
should be void. A provision appears to be wanting for
enabling the officer to ascertain whether any particular
slave is or is not a member of the family. •
The property of slaves is left by thisi,aw in an yam.
tected state. No action is given to them, or to any
person on their behalf, for the defence or recovery of
it. The single cue, in which any remedy is provided,
is that in which the property of the slave is taken away.
No mention is made of that much more important class
of cases, in which property may be withheld. The slave
could not under this law recover a debt, por obtain
damages for the breach of a contract. The 'mode of
proceeding by information for penalties befOre three
Justices of the Peace is a remedy to which hardly any
one would resort, for the Act does not give the amount
of the penalty, if recovered, to the injured party, and
the slave himself could not make the complaint, except
upon the condition of receiving a punishment if the
Justices should deem it groundless. The slaves are
also excluded by the terms of this law from acquiring
any interest in land, a restriction which would appear
at once impolitic and unnecessary.
On the subject of what has been termed the compul-
sory manumission of slaves, this Act does not profess to
adopt the measures suggested by his Majesty's Govern-
ment. It is, therefore, needless to institute any come
parison between those measures and the enactments of
this law; but upon that subject 1 may, perhaps, at no
distant period, have occasion to make a further coin-
munication to you.
_ _

On the subject of gratuitous manumissions, and ma-
numissions effected by v( 'notary contracts, this Act re
quires that in all cases security shall be given for the
maintenance of the slave. In the case of testamentary'
manumission the estate of the testator is'to be liable to
the payrisent of an annuity of 101. for the support of the
slave, if he should become iucapable of maintaining
himself. These regulations must, of course, operate as a
great discouragement to disfranchisement in all cases.
Without incurring this inconvenience, an effectual se-
curity might have been tAken against the abase of
emancipating saves incapable, from their age or in-
,
firmities, of procuring their own subsistence.
It is to be feared ,that lesions inconvenience may arise
from the neglect of the proposal to provide a method
by which a ,filave could ascertain what 'particular per-
, son was entitled to receive the price of bra finedom. In
the case of plantation slayer, the title 'is eltatally the
same with the title to the land itself. and miles are stated
to have occurred, in which a stave has lost the whole
earnings of his life by paying the price of his liberty to
the wrong person.
On the int portent subject of the evidence of the slaves.
, his Majesty is graciously pleased to signify his appro-
bation of the advance wh ch has been made towards a
better system of law; but, in reference to .this subject,
I am to observe that this law Appears to contemplate
the admission of the evidence of slaves in those cases of
crimes only, in which they are tooally either the actors
or the sufferers, excluding their avidence in other cases,
a distinction which does not seem to rest on any solid
foundation. There is not eny necessary connection be.
;wen the baptism of a .witnessapd his credibility. The
sole, which sequires that twohlaves, at least, shall con-
tistently depose to the same fact on being examined
apart, before any free pervonsan be convicted on slave
testimony, will greatly diminish the value of thegeneral
sole. In some particular cases, such for example as**
case of rape, such a restriction might secure impunity
to offenders of the worst description. The ;ejection of
the testimony of slaves twelve months after the com-
mission of the crime would be fatal to the ends of jus-
lice in many CAW% nor is it easy to discover what solid
advantage chuld result from it in any case.
If the owner of a slave is convicted of any crime
on the testimony of that slave, the Court has no power
of declaring the slave free, although it may exercise
that power when the coavistion proceeds on other evi-
Owe. Highly important ps,it is to deprive a slave of
fiery motive for giving false evidence against his owner,
that object might be secured without incurring the
inconvenience of leaving the slave in the power of an
owner convicted of the extreme abuse of his authority.
In e theoposal for. stablishing a record of'
shenatjtimeecsong proposal for establishing a record of'
th. names of all slaves, sufficiently instructed to be
'competent,witnewes the Colonial Legislature appear
to have neglected the means of providing a cheap and
affectuel encouragement to good conduct, and of
lovestiol the religious teachers of the slaves with a
powerfis and legitimate influence over them.
His Majesty has ,observed with great satisfaction
various provisions in this Act for the improvement of
the condition of the slaves, which originated exclu-
sively with the Colonial Legislature. Amon* them I,
have particularly to advert to the clause requiring the!
gratuitous baptism of slaves, and to the regulation by
which SIMS Wallowed one day in each fortnight to

rcultivate their provision grounds,exclusive of Sundays,
except during the time of crop, the smallest number
of days to be allowed in one year being twenty-six. It
may, however, be•necessary that some more effectual
means should be devised for enforcing Obedience to
this law.
The enactment requiring a monthly inspection of the
provision grounds, and the delivery of an adequate
'supply of provisions, when there is not a sufficient quan-
tity of such pounds, is calculated to produce the most
beneficial effects, and might be rendered still more
valuable by some alteration in the terms of the oath,
which are susceptible of a construction remote from
the real intention of the framers of The law. Greit
advantage may be anticipated from the regulations lot
the support of the motheri and nurses of large families,
and for the protection oft' old and infirm slaves.
The provisions for the prevention of excessive labour
contemplate the working the slaves for eleven hones and
a half daily out of crop, and place no limit to the con-
tinuance of their work during crop time. Considering
the climate in which the labour is to be performed,
and that, after the•work of the field is over, there will
yet remain to be done many offices, not falling withip
the proper meaning of the term 44 labour," 4 should
fear that the exertions of the slaves, if exacted up to
the limits allowed by this law, would be scarcely con- •
sistent with a due regard for the health of the labourer.
The crimes of murder and rape, when committed on •
the persons of slaves, are most propely made punish.
able by death; but if these enactments are to be under-
stood not as declaratory of existing laws, but as intro-
ductory of new laws, then it is obvious that there are
other offences, which might be perpetrated on the per- •
sons of slaves, against which the same puisishtbent
should have been denounced.

The rules for the prevention of mutilation arid other
cruelties, however just and valuable in principle. wank
I should fear, lose much of their efficacy in practice,
from the peculiar complexity of the process which is to
be observed in bringing the offender to justice. In the
cases suosed of the dismemberment or mutilatioo at
a slave, S&e and imprisonment would seem it my iasi-
dequate punishment.
The rules on the subject of runaways claiming to be
free, and respecting slaves carried-from place to place
for sale, seem well adapted to prevent the recurrence
of serious abuses. The provisions for the trial of slaves
in criminal cases would also appear to be a material
improvement on the former law. I perceive, how ever,
that the evidence of slaves on such trials is to be admitted
against slaves. It is not said that such evidence shall
be admitted for them, sllthough of course this must
' have been the intention. It is to be regretted that no
provision is made for the securing the attendance of
Judges, regularly educated to the legal profession, on
, slave trials.

It remains to notice those parts of this Act, which
provide for the punishment or the preveution of crimes
committed by slaves
The crime of harbouring runaways may be punished
with much more severity, when the offender is a slave,
than when he is *freeman: a .distinction which reverses
the established principle of justice, that the malignity of
crimes is enhanced by the superior knowledge and sta-
tion of :he criminal.
In many cases both the nature and amount of the

punibigoeut to be infic ed en the offending slave are
referred exclusively to the discretion of the Coati. I am
not aware of any necessity for so unlimited a delegation
of authority.
Among capital crimes are enumerated rehellien and

rebellious conspiracy. As these are terms unknown to
the law of England, it is not fit they should remain in
the statute book without some legislative definition of
their meaning.
Felony seems to be generally declared capital when
committed by slaves. • The case of clergyable felonies
is not noticed.
The'enactments by which assault or offering violence
to a free person are declared capital. are fiamed with an
extreme laxity of expression, and havartan appearance of
severity, which I am persuaded was not teally contem-
plated by the framers of this law.
The definition of the offence of Oheah sill be found
to embrace many acts, against which it could not have
been really intended to denounce the punishment of
death. The definition of the crime of preparing to ad-
minister poison is also so extensive as to include many
innocent, and even some meritorious acts. Thus also
the ofence of possessing materials used in the practice
of Obeah is imperfectly described. since no reference
is made to the wicked intention, in which alone the
crime consists.
The owner of a slave condemned to death or trans-
portation is in all cases to be indemnified settle puhlic
expense for the loss of his prape• rty. His Majesty's Gc.
vernment have repeatedly expressed their disapproba-
tion of this rule of law. It weakens the motives for
maintaining good domestic discipline. and for prevent-
ing the commission of crimes by the authority of the
owner. It isnolnst to indemnify any man at the pub-
lic expense foil's) leis, in which his own culpable neglect
of duty may have involved him. To the slave it is un-
just to deprive his owner of all pecuniary interests in the
preservation of his life Land when the crime of the slave
is, as it often may be. the direct consequence of the
owner's positive misconduct, it. is in the highest degree
impolitic to relieve the owner from his loss. The power
of remitting the sentence of slaves, condemned to bard
labour for life, is to be exercised only when the slave
evinces, in every respect, a complete reformation of
manners. I fear that few men undergo such a total
change of character as this under any circumstances,
and that a prison is among the last places in which it
is to be expected. Independently of this consideration
I apprehend that this clause may in some degree dero-
gate from the power, which, under his Majesty's in-
structions, you possess of pardoning offenders, or re•
milting their punishments.
I have thus explained at length the consideraticas
which have imposed on his Majesty's Government the
necessity of submitting to his Majesty their advice that
this Act should be disallowed. It cannot but be a sub-
ject of deep regret to them, that their sense of public
duty has prevented their adopting a different c urse ;
but I. trust that, upon a serious and deliberate review bf
the subject, the Gentlemen of the Legislative Council
d Assembly of J;maica will themselves be eispcsed
admit that the decision which has been adopted was
inevitable. The preceding remarks will show that this
#.ct has not been 'disallowed upon any slight ground's-
Ple many wise and beneficent provisions which it ear
trans brie .becu fully appreciated, . although. thef ban