Star.
London, England, 1828-02-11 00:00:00

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which can come under the utittpahVaay Lebislat Ire.
His Majesty's Ministers do not seem th have heel) atitare:
that the ati A liva Law affords already a certain degree
...t,, • , • of protrcrfo ito ht Inasir from the designs of enthu-
-04.4- ' s. .. 'ZI`, giattastid necessi'ous preachers. The dis.llowince of
" 'then-fa/ taw will only compel him to exact more con.
• stately, and perhaps more rigorously, his authority as
master; and if he cannot by law punish the religious
extortioner, he can at least punish the trespasser, and
drive him off his lands; and he can keep his slave within
limits whete no preacher dare intrude.
The House must regret that, having extended the
rights of the slave, and abridged the authority of the
Master, in the hope of giving satisfaction to the King,
their intentions and their law should be so strangely
misunderstood as to be made the plea for depriving
them of a large part of their constitutional privileges.
What privileges are left to them are of trifling value,
since they too may be reduced, or altogether taken
away, whenever it may please his Majesty s Ministers
to be discontented with the use that is made of them.
The House little expected that the very disrtch that
bears such m irked respect to mendicant bectarians,
would contain a mandate that overturns the ancient and
acknowledged Constitution of this important island.
His Majesty's Ministers "do not consider tl e Cr un-
cil of protection, established under the thirty-third
clause of the new Act, an effectual substitute fur the
office of a distinct and independent Protector." This
House will-never consent to fix an onmerited stigma on
their constituents, by sanctioning the introduction of a
spy into the bosom of Society, under the name of a
Protector of Slaves, and by admitting, in the face of
truth, that our laws are not maintained and respected
by the people. The House never 'will sanction the hu-
miliating and unjust conclusion, that our Magistracy
are incapable of discharging honestly and efficiently the
duties imposed on them. Such an anomaly was never
before heard of ist a countty having its own laws and
legislature, as the introduction of officers from a distant
kingdom to keep watch upon the inhabitant, to pry into
their actions, and to put thereon whatever construction
they please, or rather to construction that will best
please the persons that arpoint them and pay them.—
Besides the shame of being subjected to such controul
and superintendence, what truth and justice could be
hoped for from men, who are to be independent both in
purse and character of the people they are to reside
amongst? Looking to Great Britain, and, postis
bly, to the bitter enemies of the colonies, for reward and
praise, either of which they can only expect in propor-
tion to the diligence they exercise in their inquisitorial
office, it is impossible to doubt that the most innocent,
actions will appear suspicious ; that no one would dare
to inflict the most necessary chastisement on his slaves,
lest he incur the imputation of cruelty; and that, cornea
quently, insubordination will ensue, and the free lobes'
bitants will be forced to abandon their possessions. His
Mjesty's subjects of this island will never permit this 1
novel inquisition to be established am.sngst them, nor
,will they ever cease to regard the proposition to introduce
it as the artfully devised plan of our enemies and rivals
to destroy the colony, by rendering the slaves dis .bedient
and valueless, and thereby inducing a voluntary and
uncompensated surrender of the claims of the owner to
their services. But, throwing aside cur rights of pro-
perty, as Englishmen ourselves, and the descendants of
Englishmen, we view with abhortence that minute in-
terference al:hour domestic affairs, which is only exer-
cised by the weakest Governmedts, and yielded to by
the most degraded to,mlation.
Mr. Huskisson 's dispatch proceeds to state; " that in
the provisions for the doe observance of Sunday, I re-
mark that the continuance cf the mai kets on that day
till the hour of eleven is contemplated as a permanent
reguiati n. It is however, impossible to sanction this
systematic violation a the law prevailing in every other
Christian country." In the proposals transmitted by
Lord Bathurst to his Grace the Duke of Manchester a
estempoiary departure from this rule was permitted,
but only as a relaxation required by peculiar and tran-
sitory circum-tances."
In reply to this annseasureil reprobation of the sixth
clause of the Disallowed Act, it might be sufficient to
say, that by the old law the markets are permitted to
be held till Sunday night (except during the hours of
Divine Service), and that the restriction to eleven o'clock
in the morning was undeniably an improvement on the
ancient mode of:observing the S tbbath. It is submitted
that this amendment of the law does not m-rit the re-
proach of a systematic violation of the Sabbath; nor
were the House assured, until informed thereof by the
dispatch of Mr. Huskisson, that Sunday was held sacred
for religious worship by -the laws of every Christian
country, Jamaica only excepted. It was supposed by
the House that in all Catholic, and mast Protestant.
States, Sunday is considered a day of tectettion, and
even sometimes of agricultural labour. Nevertheless,
though somewhat averse to deprive the slaves of their
accustomed relaxation, and to limit tl e hours of mar-
keting, which it was apprehended would create, and
actually did create mach dissatisfaction, and some
tumult, the House, so far from contemplating the sys-
tematic violation of the Sabbath, complied almost with
the letter of Lord Bathurst's filth proposition. They
ventured, it is true, to extend the time limited in the
proposition from ten till eleven o'clock, that the more
distant negroes might participate in the advantage of
the market. Mr. Huskisson and his Majesty's Ministers
seem to have overlooked the last clse of the Disal-
'rset! Act, limiting its duration to tree yearlyother-
wise they neverwould have contemplad theconthtuauco
of the markets on Sunday till the bohr of eleven' or any
other clause of the Act, as a permanent regulation.
It is apprehended by the House that there is no am-
biguity in the clauses denouncing penalties on persons
employing •heir slaves to labour on Sunday. The
eighth clause enacts "that slaves emit be allowed one
day in every fortnight, exclusive of SendayerSo culti-
vate their own provision grounds, except during the
time of crop, under the penalty of 20i. to be recovered
against the overseer or person having the care of such
slaves."

The plain interpretation of this elan:Xis, that to work
negro.% on Sundays, except during crop, is an offence
punishable by a fine of 2tfl. and to prevent too much
latitude to this exception, the tenth clause provides that,
even during crop, slaves shall be exempted from the
erditiary labour of the estate on Sundays, and that no
mill ‘hall be put about between the hours of 7 o'clock
on Saturday night and five o'clock on Monday morn-
ing ; and, as it is not provided by the law that owners
may persuade or hire their slaves to work on Sunday,
the House conceive that the penalty would be ckarly
incurred, whether the labour was extorted by compul-
Sion, or induced by persuasion. or purchased by money.
It was not thought proper to make 4, provision for those'
of unavoidable necessity, which
Mould create an
kite to the general rule," because is is scarcely
se define all the cases of unavoidable siecessity
may arise, and it was considered that the distin-
)g such cases from the usual plantation labour
;hk be safely left to the tribunals.
t,ty is inspecting punishments, inflicted by

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