Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1860-04-21

is, in fact, capital for his benefit
There are other provisions for the relief of the
slave. which, although they may make even
better show on paper, are of loss practical value.
On complaint and proof of crdo treatment the
law will dissolve the relation between master and
slave. No slave can be aogged with more than
twenty-five lashes, by the masters authority. If
his offence is thought greater than that punish
ment will suffice for, the public authorities must
be called in, A slave mother may buy the free
dom of her infant, for twenty five dollars. II
slaves have been married by the Church, they
bannot be separated against their will; and the
mother has the right to keep her nursing child
Each slave is entitled to his time on Sundays and
all holidays, beyond two hours allowed for neces-
Isary labor, except on sugar estates during the
grinding season. Every slave born on the island
is to be baptized and instructed in the Catholic
faith, and to receive Christian burial. Formerly,
there were provisions requiring religious services
aud instruction on each plantation, according to
its size but believe these are either repealed or
become dead letter. There are also provisions
respecting tho food, rlothing and treatment OF
slaves in other respects, and the providing OF a
sick room and medicines, &C.; and the government
has appointed magistrates, styled SnIcos mum
crous enough, and living in all localities, whose
duty tits to attend to the petitions and complaints
OF slaves, and to the measures relating to their
sale. transfer or emancipation.
AS to the enforcement Of these laws, have lit
| tlo or no personal knowledge to offer; but some
things, think | may treat as reasonably sure,
from my own observation, and from the concur
rent testimony of books, and of persons of all
classes with whom have cOnvorsed.
The rule respecting religion is so far observed
as this that infants are bnptSed and all receive
Christian burial. But there is no enforcement of
the obligation to give the slaves ligous insruc
tion or to allow them to attend public religious
service. Most of those in the rural districts see
no church and no priest, from babtsm to burial
If they do receive religious instruction, or have
religious services provided for them, it is the
free gift of the master.
Marriage by the church is seldom celebrated
As in the Roman church marriage is sacrament
and indissOluble, it entails great incon vehience
upon the MASTER as regards sales or mortgages
and is restraint upon the negroes themselves,
to which it is notalways easy to reconcile them
u
the master only, and, of course, carry with them
no legal rights or duties. Even this imperfect
and dissoluble connection has been but little at.
tended to. While the slave trade was allowed .he
planters supplied their stock with bJzales native
ACricans) and paid little attention, even on econ
omic principles, to the improvement or, speaking
after the fahon Of oatte-arms, to tho increase of
the stock on the plantation Now that importa.
ton is more difficult, and labor is in demand their
attention is more turned to their own stock, and
they are beginning to learn in the physiology of in
crease. that canon which the Everlasting has Fixed
against promscuous intercourse.
The laws respecting valuation, the purchase Of
freedom at once or by in talmentsi and the com
pulsory transfer know to be in active operation
in the towns and the plantations afordiug
easy access to towns or magistrates l heard
frequent complaints from Shareholders and those
who sympathized with them as to the operations
of these provisions. a lady in Havana had a
slave who was an excellent cook; and she had
been offered Sl7OO for hm and refused it. lie
applied for valuation for the purpose of transfer,
and valued at 81 900 as a aborer, which,
with the 500 for his trade, made a loss to the
Ily sold for larger sum than his valuation, this
provision gave the slave capital of 5000 An
other instance was that of planter near Matan-
zas, who had a slave taught as a carpenter but
after learning his trade the slave got himself
transferred to master in the city, for the oppor-
tunity of working out his freedom on holidays and
in extra hours. So general is the enforcement
of these provisions, that it is said to have resulted
in refusal of many masters to teach their slaves
any art or trade, and in the hiring of the labor Of
artzans Of all sorts, and the con6ning of slaves to
mere manual labor. l heard of complaints of
she conduct Of individuals who were charged with
attempting to influence the credulous and too
ready slaves to agree to be transferred to them.
either to crafty ilwill against the owner, or
for some supposed selfish interest. From the fire.
quency of this tone of plant and anecdote, as
well as from positive assertions on good authority
believe these provisions to have considerable
efficacy,
AZ to the practical advantages the slaves can
gee from these provisions in remote places; and as
TO the amount of protection they get anywhere
from the special provisions respecting punishment,
food, clothing, and treatment generally, almost
everything lies in the region of opinion. There
Is no end to statement and anecdote on each side,
if one cannot get full and heightened personal
experience, not only as the guest of the slavehol-
der, but as the companion of the local magistrates
of the lower officers on the plantation of slave
dealers and slave-hunters, and of the emancipated
slaves advise him to shut his ears to mere aneo.
dotes and general statements, and trust to reason
able ded uctions from established facts. The es-
tablished facts are, that race, having all pow
er in its hands, holds an inferior race in slavery
that this bondage exists in cities, in populous
neighborhoods, and in the remote districts; that
the owners are human beings, of tropical races,
and the slaves are human beings just emerging
from barbarism and that no small part of this
power is exercised by a low-lived and low-minded
class Of intermediate agents. What is likely to
be the affect on all the parties to this system,
IL. Ill 4