The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1859-05-05

rallty, which nave Deen propagateu o.
Tie Times, are Indignantly repudiatec
as gross calumnies, and the writer's ar,
challenged to produce the proof of thei
reckless statements. The Committee fee
satisfied that all unbiased persons who
read tho annexed communications mus
come to the conclusion that the ne
gro population of the West India colo
MES have been shamefully maligned. and
that the demand for Immigrant labor
proceeds from desire to graft upon free
labor system of forced service. which is
totally incompatible with the spirit oi
the Act of Emancipation"
So much for Jamaica. | cannot say
much about its present condition; for ]
!. have not been there for ten years. But
sir, | have been in Barbados, and there
| AN laboring at present, as minister a.
mongst the colored churches. and | can
tell you the state of that island. Sir,
that island, even in the most palmy days
of slavery, was never in such state Of
prosperity as it is now. This very year.
the long drought lessening the crop of
sugar yet they have raised, with no
greater amount Of labor than in the time
of slavery, more than double the amount
ofproduce they ever raised under slavery.
That is the result of this years labor.
/ Now, let US look at the value OF prop
erty in that island. If emancipation has
ruined the proprietors or the work -peo-
pie, if emancipation has proved failure,
how is it, sir, that on the island of Bar
BADGES, you cannot get an acre of land
fol- less than four or five hundred dollars
in any part of the island! That is the
truth, sir. | knew of an estate in u
own ueig ghborhood, of not more than two
OF three hundred, which was transferred
to other hands for Els, ,000-equal to
nearly S90,000 of your money-and that
paid in cash. Where is there farm of
the same extent in the United States,
that will bring price equal to that? |
wanted to buy piece of land, within the
last twelve months, TO build a school
house upon. 1t was nine or ten miles a.
way from the town, and consequently not
a building lot, aud there was 10 circum-
stance associated with it to render it of
extraordinary value. / was offered q
piece, the eighth of an acre,-for how
much, do you think! -Four hundred dol
Iay'St That was at the rate of $4,000 per
acre for land in the country.
occupy mission station about nine
miles out of Bridgeton. l have two a.
cres Of land, upon which stand the place
Of worship, the school house, my place of
residence, and the teachers residence. |
wanted to enlarge our boundaries, and
there were two acres of land, belonging
to a small estate in the neig hborhood +,
and separated from it By a road passing
through. 1t joins my residence, and
would be very convenient In all respects,
except that half of it is very rocky; but the
owner would not let ne have it for less than
one thousand dollars, and | could not
make the purchase, because the price was
so high ! have known an estate of
three or four hundred acres sold, within
the last eighteen months, for 9i0, ,000.-
1t is situated very near the city, and that
is the reason why the price was SO much
higher than the other one to which |
have referred. These facts speak VOL
umes in regard to tho ruin" of British
planters by emancipation.
will tel you what sort of "ruin" has
been brought upon those islands. You
will please to understand that | did not
furnish myself with facts before l came a.
way; they come to me incidentally. 1
had no idea that should have a word to
say upon the antislavery question, or l
would have come better prepared with sta
tistics AN building some schools for the
children of our colored congregations; and
| have been round begging money of the
proprietors. Among the rest, | waited
upon Mr.. CarringtoD, who owns two es-
tates within sight of my sitting room, and
be gave me forty dollars towards my OBJ
ject: and while there, | learned these
facts: that last year, be made on the two
estates together, comprising between 600
and 700 acres, three hundred and three
hogsheads Of sugar. This year, be re-
resolved to make an effort to- extend his
cultivation, and enlarge the produce. -
He did SO. He employed laborers to
cover all the rocks with soil, digging mud
out Of the bitches and out of the pond,
and covering up every yard of naked
rock, aud planting canes upon it. He
built, instead of the old wind mills, which
had been in use from time immemorial,
two steam engines, and put up on one es-
tate double row of coppers for the man
ufacture of the sugar. What is the re-
sultl He has raised seven hundred and
fifty bogsbeads from those two estates.-
Now; apart from the capital he expended
in improve nents, and in building, the
molasses, the draining from tho sugar,
would go long way towards paying the
working expenses of these estates; and be
would carry into English market seven
hundred and fifty hogsbeads of sugar,
would sell them, dare say, at not less
than twenty pounds per hogshead. and
would thus realize, from those two estates,
more than sixty thousand dollars for the
present year. That, sir, is the kind of
rnin that emancipation has broue ht upon