, 1862-06-07
Especial Correspondence Chicago Tribunal
KINGSTON, Jamaica, April u. 1861


That a state Of servitude Is the natural and
normal condition Of the negro race, is an idea
TINT has been sought to be impressed upon
the public mind Of the United States By its
advocates, with all the pe1sis:eney Of one con-
scious Of = bad cause. Emancipation has
been held forth as the climax Of misguided
philanthropy or. mistaken policy. Nothing
has been adduced in support Of this position
with more confidence than the alleged disas-
trous results to the country and al claSScs Of
its people, Of the emancipation act in the
British West Indies. Il has ever been a fa-
and their dough faced allies at the North,
from TIE arch traitor Calhoun to JEFF. Davis
and Ealtandigham, to point with wary look
and o1nanous finger to the consequences OF
emancipation in these islands; IS though they
stood out to the gaze Of all mankind, like the
pillar cf salt On which was inscribed, Rs,,lens-
DIR Lots w:Jr, monument Of folly aud
warning to all succeeding generations. Every
school boy is well acquainted with the indu-
bitablc character Of testimony drawn from
og'sts, have, with characteristic saga2i:y,
aEailed themselves Of this dcInonstratiye kind
OF reasoning to parade before us the ''statis-
tics " il order to establish tue truth Of what
they aver. It is fact that the material re-
sources OF the i6llId Of Jamaica haAc greatly
declined since the emancipation Of the slaves
our pro slavery mtn Eay-efyo, emanIipa~
ton has ruined Jamaica. During my stay of
scycn months in this country / have met
many Of the sturdy sons Of New England, who
lore liberty as they do 1yss, and hate slavery
slavery as s. the sum Of I'LL viiIanies." I fre-
auently hear these men say, "When was
here nearly thirty years ago, this country
looked 4 paradise aud with deep drawn
sigh add: j" Ii the Southern States Of Ameri-
ca must fall like this, cannot consent to the
examination into the history Of Jamai-
ca for fifty years, and particularly Of that re-
lating to emancipation, lam we'll convinced
that many rho come here, and who only see
The city Of Kingston, as most Americans have
done, and many who only see the statisf5cs
paraded before them, while collateral and rel
atiye facts are carefully suppressed, are guilty
Of 8 common fallacy in human reasoning,
styled by logicians non ca,4s1 pro causd. Tie
conclusion drawn for us by the pro.slayery
demagogue, and By Others referred to above,
is that enanei patton and material decline, sus-
tain the relation Of cause and etfect-not only
iu Jamaica, but necessarily everywhere else.
wish to state that in my opinion, such a
proposition is not sustained BY the example
Of Jamaica, which island is held forth as tho
fitteEt type Of the disasters attending the Brit
ish policy on this subject. Travellers are in
prosperity Of ; country By its capt
tai city. Though tile government
buildings are chiefly a5 Spanish Town, King
ston, may properly be regarded as the capital
tt the country. During period Of eight years
prior to the year 1857, there were from one to
Two thousand Americans in Kingston per
month, perhaps lot more than one out Of five
hundred ever went beyond the city limits :;
yet judging, 'sas travellers do'' from he CAPT
| tai, they concluded, and some wrote, that
"Janlaira is 4 ruined country" I propose to
| begin with Kingston, and TO admit in the out.
| set, that its appearance indicates anything but
| prosperity, to 4 man who Is accustomed TO see
| the cities and towns in " Yankee land" That
| it was once q noble and wealthy city is
! apparent to the most casual observer. In
| Speaking Of this city, wish to call particu,
is very important fact in considering the
! consequences of emancipation here, and which
| have never seen noted with sufficient eu.-
| phasis By any writer on the West 1udicS-thal
is, that neither the prosperity nor the decline o.
| Kingston, the capital OF Jamaica, was due rc
the eSiStfnce or the abolition of slacsry. The
| almost fabulous weo1th ii this island was con,
centrated chlehy-hrat at Port Royal, and af
ter Its destruction, at Kingston. The growti
Of the city was not il answer to the demands
1!t OF the county, county, n nor r., vas its h'gt
other resources Of The island. This place wa
the grfat intermediate mercantile depot be
tween Europe and the South and CentEl
American countries, and was the resort Of tn:
thousands cf1hc merchants WHO were trading
il that vast region. The consequences was tn:,
Ia y aG eoi,nouua @ els.ss alu "afeueus', :,
fonct1or 15,h enc1 ara ,%'h,,e and ,,r,ss
| es1aolslms Its As att tue usual cuucoM.t mi
| Of great commercial city. But the basis q
this immense and lucrative trade WIS nc
| J1naaica staples but Spanish doubloons. I
was a common saying Of these merlhau
I princes, e. care nothing for the country o
its resources. I Can du my business out O.
come Cay if necessary" Such was their in
difference TO the country in which they rc,pe
/ I. 11r.x
in The age oi " shinplasters,' the slo:ics {
tte~r old Kingston nlerch4nts, about the day
when English mt n-of-war discharged specie
tte wharyes as 1nrrchlutmeu d. p1r1 an
! flour now, seem very like the legends of tt
| Arabian Nights. all tnis itnul:nzr tr.du IL
hcen Withdrawn from Kingston, aud 'h,:r. Il,
now numerous buildings on Port Royal an
| Harbour streets clused by Fi1atel bolts. or O.
cu1,icu by some rum Tc,,der, wh:rc formerly
business Of several Eundrd thousands Of do
lars was transacted daily during the season /.
active trade 4 consideration OF the CAUSES th
brought this trade to kingsron, or effected i
Withdrawal is not pertinent to our pre=el
PURPOSE, fnrthcr ttnn to noie tint it was !;
4 fcc,pd III 20 way by the emancipation OF II
slaves. Among the former, however, may
n,ensicrcd thu imposzib:lits 4. that aly
- | speedy communication with EuropG-the CO
scqucnt difficulty in establishing con1iden
iu business Transactions between parties
remotely eiIuattd-Spani6h wars, aad IA
t,cniarlerly the facilities afforded for Bmu
Cling goods into the Spanish countries fro
lhls 1u,rt, It is a Heil-kuowu fact that t,
arbitrary aud oppressive revenue laws
Spain have ever elicited the greatest ingenu;
! | Tor their evasion among truders within t.
Fs S,a1lisll Go1uinieps. To effect this ob}et
puods we're formerly encascd in y s1
| cies Of water. proof oil-cIoth at +
Il s1ore in Kingston. turn taken
board small sljluay yessrls, where !,
,Siekures were iashcd toyether wi
rcpus and proper bucys attached. and 9b
, tlc reyc1,it cutter -luyr ia sirnt OF The So,
IL isl cost. the yot,ds ycra cast overheard. r,
picked IN again AFTER The visit and dcuarsu
X tl,~+ i ,,,i,lso.n .,,,i.s. aJ f.3s 49, :;
o;ro,,..,pla1e -<rax. 49,, 49," ....:
ran4 - -. +1tr 1ir a,,,a1o ,an 4,, gu
l,s. l'nns ~ .s'S s, e'ane: ~. eou'au, tueis
suv rt,;s- c"eon .i';1 -" sn1 Fat ;,
;. tt's 'sA"e oit'ee': b: e4nst'. ~ ene - u
IL enrs sssleui ~ pT::tlsea 10 Cns
IT. .uos ,aG ea,tses ~, .ae s1a. a} " u1e
q q .aoiso tne eo.uis'ou y: III tlt
3 h'e soutn a.neilea9 countries, tue incfeas
II 3ae!Esaee tul spceu5 eo.nnaouis:itloa WI
r. II ;EuopJ, i'..s Iuu.u ~ ~ ~ aaa
taes.a. nrs.he .nao ns, - a." ne''ei 'o' Gu
"a o.iael p'.lts' etG., e.e. ..,c.
an".nei sause WHEEL M nus ue 4i'Ieea @ iol |
oIellAe " ,nas c..s tniI t"lulesly LUIS was
rt n my eonslueiao!e poIs ul enery la nc lslln
nd Ivy plooaceoi sne Hnele coun,rY "as o5ouE
ID 1lele lol eAPolAtlon III ulo.Aels' anu su
~ ~ Piles were taken oaeh III tncuh aor the p1a
u efs. No" There are some ten other pl4t
q where Fesscis diEceafge aho tax. carsu 1or
hA | TtCL VOYAGES 10 EuTlUE aud AJAtT1Ca.