New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-05-23
Faeet. Of Abolition in Jamaica.

l Il
ton of slavery His account OF the change gong
on among the black pr ation . most sans'ac'ory
II strikes us that sandfsd tnoasand cuiIl'@
~ ,hsi, On LAM o, much better product OF
CO.. earth tnso a. any slaves living at the mercy
IS az w III sfycr begins By stating The
o, ~ he ,pesea state Ct the Island as fol-
AR ,eastioa OF isSor, N consec1sncs Of no
90, .orrsrvev rrceu. existence o. Negro slavery u2ol
-, 49, N productive Industry a1d b-g-s
public opinion calculated 70 discourage Ia-1o' '"
promote Industry among me eoiorod pIP-'-'io"'
SeeoaS-N'ue-sutbs Of The improved land - OWL ~
shsefees-v hich implies unskfli uuaR@i al eAua O.
pense syeTsg. " three ihousnd do.As 49, NJ 1a
sfiOrneys agents aHd oyerseers; great IN proVilenC
management Of the properly, aud few or 20 aooi'a''s
Improvements. r.
Thi,d-The sies under culture were al MORTGAGE ,g
rsssed This measure Increased the en5 AssnsI-. 1
ihoresdenis made them the es,y prey o. ~ s,i,,i TO
dent creditors ana eft them without means :, ~
corduc, the cultivation Of the land to any saYanUko'
FotHTb. uagniiude oflhe estates, aud the prlncipes
upon which hey have been e1S ,,pppi,e The lands
in he baaes ofs lew extermnse The middle e'sssss OF
natural 40 a. onlsn between capital ard laDOr
These causes in my Judgment, would have con
ducted Jarnaica 10 inevitable ruin, had the tarlif
laws never been altered the slaves been set at
liberty.
But Il think hear you ask. how long is this state
ofthngs u continue, or is Il 20 be perpetual 10
this will answer in brief that IL will continue
untilthe land gets into the hands Of people who
are not ashamed TO till it. So long as It Is held oy
English landlords think il will continue to dcpre
ciste in value say this with oil possible respect
for them, many of whom | know, and greatly
esteem. 1t will continue to depreeiate In tner
hands say, because they will not cultivate per
sonalv. nor can they command the capital, fidelity
nd IL IN
agents II viii continue 10 deprecate until the
landholders will consent 10 sell small fragments OF
their estates TO the poorer classes who are Wiling
to work the land with their own hands.
That process is now going on constantly. Ine
colored people are rapidly becoming proprietors IL
ia the highest SEPARATION Of most OF them 10 sc,
piece ofland say from three 10 five acree, which
entities them 10 vote and with two or three
months labor during the cropping OF the sugar en-
ables them TO live in comparative ease and inde-
pendence On five acres they can raise almost
every thing they require.
Upon these tracts they raise no. only what they
require for their own consumption, but surplus
which they take 70 market, usually Ia snal pan
nicrs upon dOnkies, or upon their heads. Most
every colored proprietor, however, has DOGGY
which costs from seven TO ten pounds, upon "hlch
he packs all bis property, and under the custody OF
awoman often, sometimes Of child, he sends tito
town, to be converted into money, with which he
purchases su.h articles OF necessity or luxury rs
his land does not produce and he can aifJrd. One
Of the most interesting spectacles 10 be witnessed
about Kingston, is presented on the hghrOad
through which the market people, with their don
kies in the cool of the morning. pour into the city
from the back country. They form an almost unin
terruped procession OF four Or tive miles IN length
and what strikes the eye of Yankee NJ once is
their perfect freedom from care. Neither poverty
nor desire of gain has written line upon their
faces and they could not show less concern OF the
toff hair If W. n a
You will readily perceive how strong and universal
must be the desire of the poor aborers 70 exchange
their serve drudgery, at less than shilling ster-
ling day, for this life of comparative ease aud in
dependence. OF course it is very hard to get any
thing ahead upon the wages now paid inJ amaica
and it requires little selfdenial and energy to
lay up enough 10 purchase one of these properties
with but when they do get one they never part
with it except for larger or better one. The
planters call them lazy for ndulgiDg in this feeling
of independence; but never could see any thing
in the aversion Of the negroes here to labor which
was not sanctioned by the example OF their
masters. M
think the readers of the Evening Post will be
surprised when ] tell them that the number OF
these small propretors is now considerably over
100000 and is rapidly increasing. Their proper
ties average, should think, about three acres
They have n direct interest in c0tvatlng their
land economically and intelligenty. The practice
of planning their own labor, encouraged by the
privilege of reaping its rewards themselves, exerts
the most important educational Influences, which
will soon be much more apparent than they are
now. When one reflects that sixteen years ago
there was scarcely acoored proprietor Of land upon
the Island, and that now there are hundred thou
sand il is unnecessary to say that this class OF the
population appreciate the privileges OF free labor
and a homestead far more correctly than might be
expected, more especially when 1t is borne IN mind
that seventenths of these propretors were begotten
ala and ma on
bOndsmen.
Ii is very obvious to me that the best estates OF
the Island are to undergo this process OF division be
fore it's real productive capacities can be known
Their prices must fall to level with the means OF
tlose who cultivate them-the laboring population
which being all coored, imports that the land is
to pass from the whites to the colored people before
the Island can pros per This think inevitable, If
il remains British possession.
Ii is objected here that if the estates are so mi
rutely subdvided, the cultivation Of the great sta
pies sugar and coffee and the manufacture of ram,
must cease, because the works upon sugar and
coffee estates are very expensive and require
large capital and the estates must be very large 10
compensate for the outlay in that direction. For
example, good range OF sugar works could not be
erected for less than $4,000. The proprietor OF
twenty FIVE fifty acres could not afford to keep
such costly buildings for the manufacture of his lin
tied stock, much less could the smaller proprietor
ofthree five or ten acres.
The answer to this objection seems perfectly OBJ
vous and yet no one here seems to understand it.
They have only to observe one Of the most familiar
principles Of economical science, and the whole
difficulty is obvated. Let them do what is done
universally in the Northern States of our Republic
separate the functions of the agrculturist from
those of the manufacturer, and then both depart.
ments Of industry will be better conducted upon at
leastone tenth the capital now required. There is
no conceivable reason why central sugar. mills for
example, should not be established where the
planters could take their cane to be ground for
toll or to sell, for return of given quantity Of
sugar, or molasses, or rum, Or money, or whatever
might be agreed upon.
Late News from Ports In Cuba.