Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1856-02-21
NUMBER 40.

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The .Pitiable Condition of Jam.,o,
The following letter, which we take rro,,
e the New Orleans Pieay1ne, portrars clesrlv
ana to all appearance, with fairness and can.
dor the condition of things, under the opora-
uOn oi AholItionism, in a country. once the
gaiden Of tho West Indies. We comnend
: the article TO the social, political ana rali-
gious AbolitiOnists, who would, had they the
power, reduce one-half the States Of ,b;.
Union, to condition as hopeless as that Of
Jamaica:
KINGSTON, ia, Dec. &c. 1855.
, ne impressions which personal view -
the dllapdatlon Of Jamaica, has made upon
me- are Of the most sad and sombre charac-
'er. INC fruits q the lpistakea -socsssl sts-,--
~ % Bnhsh philantbrof5s--s visible .,
every hand, and heard from every lin. This
cry which once countel eighty Thousand
prosperous inhabitants, who resided more in
a great accumulation of beautiful gardens
than IN densely built ltsquarcs, now contains
am told, only about forty thousand poverty
stneken people, composed in a great meas
ure, to use the expression Of am English gen
tlemen resident here, of liberty -crippled
negroes.
The white population has largely dimip-
ished' and is rapidly disappearing. Nearly
every one that have conversed with has az
pressed the greatest regret that poverty. or
the ues OF numerous family, which make
II diiheult for him TO change his residence
ana occupation, prevent his leaving that
hopeless scene. A large number of the bet
Ter class OF houses, which in other times were
mansions oi the wealthy. are now abandoned
r'nhs, with creepers and small bushes cling
ing to their crumbling walls; while their
lhhentors dwell IN miserable cabins in daily
contemplation OF the roofess halls Of their
fathers The wharves and storehonses are
sinking and going to decay telling, in elo-
queDt desolatlon, Of the abandonment of tho
fields and fertile wales Of the interior.
The colored population presents the most
marked contrasts within itself Tho vo,nr
men look hale, well fed and iovons. and The
young girls, if at all good looking. give eyi-
dent tokens OF prosperity in their dress and
adornments; while occasionally some sootv or
cream -cOlOred beauty will sail along with the
gait Of Juno and the simper Of a Venns
dressed in all the elegance Of spotless muslins
and glittering jewels and an air as il she were
queen Of the domain. The middle AGED of
both sexes seem everywhere sad and ioyless:
and the old are images of haggard want and
despair Our ship is now taking in coal
which IS brought on board entirely bv women
most Of whom have passed the bloom of
youth. They bring it upon board in tubs
borne npon the head. each tub containing
about eighty pounds, and are hastened in
their labOrs by dozen strappng Young negro
men, who shout at and hustle the poor wo-
men, but seem 10 hold it beneath their digni-
~ to iil a single tnb of coal Other hearty
and lazy-fellows are lounging about the wharf
and the deck, endeayoring to sell to the pass-
engeB small quantities of fruit and poor ci-
gars, for which they demand most .exOrbitant
prices, mingling with their solicitations 10
purchese, profiers of much more qnesiiensble
service. - -
During ramble through the town yester-
day afternoon, | was panied TO observe the
fruits oi another OF the social errors Of British
phlanthrophy. When il was found that the
freed negroes would not continue the agricul-
tural labors that were the source of the for
mer prosperity OF Jamaica, recourse was had
to the ooolie population of British India, and
a large number were brought over as a social
experiment. This, too. failed to realize the
hopes of the society thinkers Of England, and
they werc left TO their fate. The blacks look
upon the coolies with unfrienlly eve, and
yield them no sympathy. have been told
that their sufferings were so great that a large
number have heen sent back TO India with
funds raised by public subscription in Jamaica.
| could not learn if the philanthropists Of
England contributed aughtto this fund
Every one here complains OF the ruined
state ol agriculture and trade. Some have
expressed 4 wish that the island should be
transferred to the United States, but could
not tell whether this was the real feeling of
the speaker, or the impulse Of wish 10 show
an apparent political affinity in order to in
duce me to purchase some article offered for
sale. ! am told that the commerce with Eng
land presents n steady decline, and that the
greater part Of tho present product of the
country is sent to the United States. The
few merchants who remain here strive contin-
ually, TO devise some measures that shall
bring relief. The evil lies too deep to be re-
moved by such partial remedies, for the old
social organism of Jamaica IL broken up, and
its remnants are diseased unto death. The
elements Of society here are in process of rap
i'll dissolution: knowledge and the lights of
science are being displaced by ignorance and
the darkness of barbarism, and social insignif-
icance and impotence is fast closing around
the island.