The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1864-03-10

This important question, together with the
scarcely less important one, Can cotton be
proftably grown in the West Indies by free
labor?' seems to be answered very satlsfac-
torily in speech by Mr.. Barnes NJ. 7. Tor
Bolton.
Having bought an estate IN Jamaica, and
engaged a suitable agent, who like his mas
Ter. was impressed with the belief that free
men can do anything better than slaves, Mr..
Barnes first task was to prepare the land for
the reception of the cotton plant. This is the
account he gives of the work that had to be
done before single plant could be put in :
''The first thing we had to do was TO renee
the land round, to clear away the brush-wooo'
to cut down the trees, or destroy ana purh
them. The land was so thickly wooded that
this was work of great labor, and It's prep
aration for the seed was necessarily spade
work. When / understood the great amount
If labor involved in commencing confess 1t
somewhat startled me- especially after hear
ing SO much Of the unwillingness Of the ne
oroes to work Now, we have been told
again and again that the black negroes IN
the West Indies won't work that they are
such an idle set they absolutely won't work !;
that they will do nothing but lie basklnng
in the sun all day over with their black ia
ces turned towards the sun like lizards
0auehter)-that they won't do anything, not
even work for money. Now this was a most
serious objection, and we had to test It's
trutb. We had to fence 200 acres OF land !;
and let ANYBODY walk over 200 acres OF land,
and see how much it is The land had also
to he cleared Of trees and rubbish, SO as to
receive plants eight feet apart. What an
immense amount Of labor" The work be-
can in December, 1862. In the first week
thirty-two free negroes-happily there are
no slaves in Jamaica-ofered themselves as
laborers During the next fortnight fifty
more came, and so the number went on un-
till two hundred and thirty people, OF race
said to be eft for nothing but to eat and
sleep, were busily engaged in the very hard
est work that human hands can be set to do
This fact alone opened Mr. Barnes's eyes tC
the falsehood Of a good deal that has been
said over and over again about the laziness,
stupiditv. and brutishness of the free negroes
If the West Indies The truth is, according
to this new experience, that the West lndl
an NEGROES will work readily and honestly
enough for anybody who will treat them
kindly and pay them regularly This was
the only art employed by Mr.. Barnes's agent.
lie paid the hands fixed wages, on fixed
day, and always in money. Sometimes IN
the West Indies, the laborers are paid irreg-
ularly, and when they expect to get money
they not unfrequently find themselves com
PEELED to submit to the abominable evils of
the 'truck'' system, 1t happens, too, that
when the payment of wages is long delayed,
disputes arse, and in these cases, it seems,
recourse to the law does not invariably prove
satisfactory to the workers The result OF
all this, as Mr.. Barnes puts it, is that ''the
worker, in self defence, won't work for those
who will not pay regularly and in money"
And then he terseIy sums up the result OF
his own experience 1--WE have observed
the rule for paying once week, we have paid
in money, we have paid regularly, and we
have always paid the sum stipulated; and
the result has been such, that the agent has
had to reject as many as 100 offers of labor
ers in a week Now | think that is a most
gratifying circumstance to state respecting
these people 1t forever settles the question
about the black people not being willing to
work. They are willing to work when paid,
and when paid regularly there is no lack Of
labor nor Of their willingness to work. >
Hsretord (EaglanD Times.