New-York daily tribune., 1844-11-30

manner of slavery, and shall be absolutely and
forever manumted; aud that the children there
after bonn 10 any such persons, and the offspring
of such children, shall, in like manner, be free
from their birth; and that from and after The lst
| August, 1884, slavery shall be end is hereby ut
tery and for ever abolished and declared unlaw
ful throughout the British colonies, plantations,
end possessions abroad"
| The ministers, having estimated the slave pro.
ducts OF the colonies in ANNUAL exports of sprar,
rum and coffee, at FL 100000 per Gnaum, cs;i-
mated the total value of the slave property at
30,O0O,000 pounds sterling, and proposed to give
| the planters, as compensation for 81 much q
the slaves time as the act tuck from them, 20,-
000,0GG pounds sterling, to be divided into nine
teen shares for the nineteen colonies, and to be
distributed to the owners Of slaves by colamis-
sioners, whose appointment and duties were re-
gulated by the act. After much debate, the bill
passed by large majori,ies. The apprenticeship
| system is understood TO have proceeded from
Lord Brougham, and was by him urged on his
colleagues, who, 1t is said, were inclined to the
policy of immediate emancipation.
| The colonial Legislatures received the act Of
Parliament with various degrees OF dsplcasure,
and, of course, every provision Of the bill was
criticised with severity. The new relation be-
tween the master and the apprentice, it was fear
cd, would be mischievous for the bill required
the appointment of magistrates, who should hear
every complaint Of the apprentice, and sec that
justice was done him. 1t was feared that the
interest of the master and servant would now pro-
ducc perpetual discord between them. In the
island of Antigua, containing $4,000 people,
10000 being Negroes, these objections had such
! weight, that the Legislature rejected the apprcn-
md ,ro ahc N. inn
ton. In The other islands the system of the
ministry was accepted.
The reception Of it by the Negro population
was equelin nobeness to the deed. The Negroes
were called together by the missionaries and by
the planters, and the news explained 20 them.-
On the night of the 3lst July, they met every
where at ,h9Hchurches and chapels, and at mid
night, ,shen The clock struck twelve on their
knees, the eilent, weeping assembly became
men (; they rose and embraced each ether (;
they cried, they sung, they prayed, they we're
wild with joy, but there was no not no feasting.
| have never read any thing In history more
touching than the moderation Of the Negroes
Some American captains left the shore and put
to sea, anticipating instruction and general
murder With far different thoughts, the Ne
groes spent the hour in their huts and chapcls.
vii! no. repca! to you the wellknown paragraph,
in which hGessrs. Thome and Kim ball, The CON-
missioners sent out in the year 1887 by the
American An!i-Slavery Society," describe the oc-
currences of that night in the island of Antigua.
1t has been quoted in every newspaper, and DR..
ChanniDg has givenit additional fame. But l
must be INDUCED in quoting a few sentences
from the pages that follow it, narTating the bo-
havior ofthc cmancipa;ed people on the next day.
&"The first of August came on Friday, and
release was proclaimed from ell work until the
next Monday. The day was chiefly spent by
the great mass of the Negroes lii the churches
and chepeIs. The clergy and missionaries
throughout the island wcIe actively engaged,
seizirg the opportunity TO enligh;en the people
en- all the duties and responsibilities Of their new
| reiatios. and urging them to the attainment OF
that higher liberty with which Christ msketh his
children free. In every quarter, VIC were as
sured. the day was ike a Sabbath. Work he'd
ceased. The hum of business was still: tran
guilty pcrvaded the towns and country. The
plante rs inform us, that they went 10 the chspels
where their own people wore assembled, greeted
.hem, shook hands with them, and exchanged
the most hearty coed wishes. At Grace Hill
| there were at cist q thousand persons around
the Moravian chapel who could not get In For
once the house of God suffered violence, and the
violent took it by force. At Grace Bay, the peo-
pic, all dressed in white, formed procession, and
walked arm in arm into the chapel We were
told that The dress Of the Negroes on that occa-
sion was uncommonly simple and modest There
was not the least disposition 10 gaiety. Through
out the island, there wes not SINGLE dance
known OF, either day or night, nor 50 much as
a fiddle played"
| On the next Monday morning, with very few
exceptions, every Negro on every plantation was
| in the field at his work. In some places, they
waited to see their master, to know what bargain
he would make; but, for the most part, through
out the islands, nothing painful occurred. In
June, 1885, the ministers, Lord Aberdeen and
Sir George Grey, declared to the Parliament,
that the system worked well that now for ten
months, from lst August, 1884, no injury or vio-
lence had beon offered to any white, and only
ore black had been hu,tin S00,0D0 Negroes; and,
contrary 10 many sinister predictions, that the
new crop Of island produce would not fall short
of that of the last year.
But the habit Of oppression was not destroyed
| by law and day OF jubilee 1t sooa appeared
in all the islands, that the planters were disposed
to use their old privileges, and overwork the ap
prcntces; TO take from them, under various pre-
tences, their fourth part OF their time; aud to
exert the same Gcenlious dcsrotsm as before
The Negroes complained to the magistrates and
TO the governor. In the island of Jamaica, this
i'll blood continually grew worse. The COVER
no-s, Lord Belnnore, The Earl of Sligo, and after
ward Sir Lionel Smith, "a governor of their own
class, who had been sent out to crafty the plant
c.s,) threw themselves on the side CT the oppress-
cd, and are at constant quarre! with the angry
and bilious island Legislature. Nothing can ex-
coed the i'll humor and splkincss OF tire addresses
af this assembly.
may here express general remark, which
the history of slavery to justify, that 1t IS
not founded solely on The avatice of the planter.
We sometimes say, the planter does not want
slaves, he only wants the immunities and the
luxuries which the slaves yield him; give him
money, give him a machine that will yield HIM
as much money as tho slaves, and ne will thank
fully let them go. He has no love of slavery, he
wants luxury, and he will pay even this Price Of
| crime and dancer for IT. But think experience