New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-03-30

" G announced some time Since Inc Puohe"''"N
Of law abolishing Slavery in the Dutch West
Indies. We give to-day in another column 8
synopsis cf the act lately proclaimed reg
ulst;rg this manumission for the colony Of
Surinsm, 8 settlement in which ne may feel
peculiar Interest, from the fact that, having
been originally planted by English settlers, it was
transferred to the Dutch by way of compensation
for the colony Of New Netherlsud
Surinam is the principal Dutch slave colony, Goa
tain;ng at ire last census, on the first OF January
1856, some thirty eight thousand slaves, OF whom
twenty -n1e thousand and upward were employed
or plantations. Another law, it is to be supposed,
viii be issued. regulating the emancipation in the
island. belonging 10 the Dutch. These islands are
however, inconsiderable. their entire population
not being quarter pat that OF Srrinam.
The emancipation in Surinsm as regulated by
the oct in question, is, it will be seen, not abso-
Lutte, but RATHER transfer Of the slaves from the
ownership Of their masters to the superintendent
and control Of the Government, which is to con-
tinue until by virtue of a certain fixed contribution.
the Government shall be reimbursed the amount
paid TO the owners by way of indemnity. But any
slave able to pay down to the Government the
amount advanced TO his owner, is to become his
own master at once. The maximum indemnify is
$500 for slaves between the ages Of twenty-five
and thirty five. The minimum is twenty dollars
for slaves of fifty five and upward For children
under 6ye nothing is to be paid, and they become
free Immediately. Children between five and ten
are rated at forty dollars These would be thought
very low prices in our Southern slave markets,
where newborn infants are sold at dollar the
pound, ard prime hands at thousand or fifteen
hundred dollars each but the profits of slave labor
and the current prices Of slaves in Surinam during
the last twenty or thirty years, on which the esti-
mate is based, have been but moderate. The
slaves purchased up by the Government are to be
hired out On certain fixed stipulations, and under
certain regulations to the planters two funds to be
deducted from their wages-one to be appropriated,
as already mentioned, to indemnify the Government
for its advances; the other TO be appropriated to
their religious teaching, the education of their chill
dren, and the relief of the sick, poor and aged.
In CIDER TO brig the planters to terms, aud to
compel them to submit to the rules aud regulations
prescribed il IS udic;ousy provided that where the
the planters DO rot choose to employ the regiocs
on the terms sid down they shall be established ID
rursl settlements each Of some fifteen hundred
persons, to be employed in agricultural labor, under
the supervision of officers appointed by the Gov
eminent, having as sssessors elders chosen by the
Inhabitants. The agricultural labor required is to
be pine hours day for five days in the week, the
laboIers to have Saturdays and Sundays to thehl-
selves Separate provisions are made for regulating
the labor of the late household slaves The law
provides, also, for the civil rights of the eman-
cipa.ed on the essential topics of marriage,
divorce minority, guardianship, succession, wills,
&c. So far rs We can judge by the synopsis-for
we have not seen the law at leDgth--it appears to
have been drawn with great care, with an enlight-
ened regard to the interests of all parties, and with
view to avoid as far possible, the inc onveniences
which resulted inthe English West Indies from the
sudden transition from state Of absolute slavery
70 absolute freedom. 1t is evident, however, that
in an experiment of this sort the best plan will avail
but little toward a successful result. Everything
must depend upon the intelligence AID good faith
with which the plan is carried out. 1t is devouty
TO be hoped that tie persons to whom the Dutch
Government may commit the charge of this expert
ment may be found adequate to the grave trust
committed to them.
The principal product of Surin.m is sugar and
molasses. Psramaribo, which 10 the seaport and
capital contains population of twelve or fifteen
thousand. Beside the forty thousand slaves, the
Colony contains free population Of eight or ten
thousand, of whom not above a quarter part are
white.