, 1865-12-19
THE JAMAICA HORROR.
Letter from Professor GOldWin
Smith.
TIE EXCITEMENT IN ENGLAND.


To the Editor OF the Boston Daily Advertiser;
The second mail from Jamaica siucc the out
break OF the so~ca1lcd 1nsurrcction has now
lu!!y deAsered Its contents, and tho English
pubic ara IN position to form 3 to1erably
accurate opinion IS 10 the nature and slepId-
cance Of these horrib1e crenta ..
Nothing has occurred to prejudice. In the
estimation OF any impartial observer, the
chm actcr or the claims OF the negro 1ace :
though many things have occurred 10 demon
stfate the tmpolicy and Injustice OF allowing
inc ex'sloseo"neE to exercise any power over
the e1-slave.
srsnk as one fully sensible Of the erca.
petplexities Of the negro question and fully
aware bow difficult Ii must be: to introduce
political equality Without SOCIAL fusion, or to
bring about n al social fusion between sscea
sey& red from each other by-co1or, by a physical
antiIathy, and by the fatal memory OF tho
time when the Iuen Of ono. race wcre masters.
and the men OFT other raee weze theh
slaves.
As yoa know, ne abolished at great cost
slavery IN 'ouF West India possession. We
found, after patient, searching and judicial
abolish Il, 1t would bring upon u the judy.
ment OF God.
At FIRST We substituted term Or apprentice.
ship. But We found that apprenticeship was
slavery under another nzrne, If 1t was not
worse. In two yeala, under the hypocritica1
for1ns OF Law, 6ot0oo apprentices received, in
iashes, and 5o,boo other punishments Il 1 BY the ns
tread.Wheel, the chatngang, and other means
OF legal torture.
). We then abolished apprenticeship. But We
coEld not change the ex-siavcholler's heart,
and IN our somewhat exaggerated ;aud iudtss
criu inAte devotion to parliamentary inAtitu-
much scdp@.:. has byyasIods mschiea-
tione cxeiuded The ,gEeai l.,lk et-thenegro
from the exercise ofths Hauclstse.,
mado the assembly an'organ Of his own pre-
j1dlecs and interests, aud by caste Legislation
created among the negroes b deep and natural
dissat1siaction which. without any organized
conspiracy, Ii no doubt always ready TO break
forth in local Manifestations Of dix ,-pntent.;
The intentions of'thc home government,
and Its action, 20 far Is it las interposed,
have been uniformly good and inst Its veto
las probably prevented greater c1cessos Of
caste |egfslation, especially In the direction Of
sagrancy laws. Bat 1t hes not kept power
The spirit OF the negroes had been embIt-
tered by distress, caused bya long drought.
a dispute arose as to the oNnerzhip Of an es-
tate torn which legal claimant Tassecking
TO eject The negro occupants who had Settled
npon 1t. In the course of the dispute, a~col-'
li&ion took place between tho negroes and the
legal authorities. The negroes surrounded
court house y . ;trEHlsne... manner. The
1los act: :Ea. rcd TO tEcsa- rcfhaps they did
not very clearly understand 1t or distinctly
apprehepd the consequences which the disre-
gutd Of it involved. They refused to DIS
perre. They were then fired upon by party
Of volunteers, and some Of them, It appears,
were killed and wounded. They then rushed
upon tho party Who had fired upon them, and
tore some Of them to pieces with circum-
stances Of great atrocity. 1t was most
ehockinE and reyolting Rcene, but not nearly
50 shocking as many that have occurred in
French mud Irish Instructions, where the
mob had not been fired upon and had received
no Immediate proyocnt1ou.
No doubt the feeling Of the negroes against
the dominant caste was unclaimed by this
encounter. Yet the massacre scarcely ex-
tended beyond the scene Of the original col
lision. VERY few atrocities were committed,
50 tar as at present appears, otherwise than
in hot blood On the other hand, We learn,
able instances Of negro mercy.
AS the case at present stands, there Is moth
lng Whatever 10 prove peculiar, much less In
deliblc. ferocity in the negro rnce. Rather
the reverse. But tho whiIcs OF the island,
the English officers who haye been corrupted
by the Establishments Of that dcprayed 60
ciety for 1t Is deeply depraved), and, sad to
say, the Governor himself, have committed
such atrocities, that If the home Government
were to iaIl in its duty Of yindicating' The
character Of this country, it will be time for
m Engl{shman who cares for the honor Of his
nation to look out tor another home.
No evidence of q widespread Conspiracy, or
Of a conspiracy Of any klEi, has set been pro-
duced BY those wto we're most interested In
producing T., since the proof TINT such peril
extssed would. as they we'll knew, be the
only possible excuse Qualification there could
be nonc> Tor their violations Of humanity and
law. Al the evidence before Us tends to show
that the disturbance was local aud accidental
though the discontent ofthe negroes may
WIS first.
This Is all that has yet been proved agatnst
the negro trecho1der Of jamaica; md the
Covetavs hiulsen complains tnar many Of the
difaflectcd esc not poor and ignorant, but
persons Of property and education, which,
without industry and capacity for knowl-
edge they could not have obtained.
The London Times Is Of course justifying
the Governor and the ex-s1ayeowners in their
3nhuman scvcrities, and demanding that the
negro, as an incer1igible barbarian, sbzi 10
that II were compelled to put anybody IN
der tie lash On the ground of batbarism,
should, on the evidence before me, choose to
put, not the ex-s1ave, but the ex-sia7eowners
and the managers Of the Times:
At MI cyents, trust that the negro race
will not be allowed to suEer In the Judgment
u AiAe4OA5 0AQ 1L4lt%A4cH 1pI %1t s+flECu lAul+A
OF the negroes N Jamaics, until Judicial iu-
yestigation shall hare placed the whole case
Of the negroes in Jamaica and uf their enc
mics fairly before the world.
Yours, &C., GoLDwS SMITH.
Oxford, Dec. 2, 1SC5.
OF TIE ENGLISH PRESS on
THE BCTcuERf OF THE NEGROES.
From the London Daily Newsl
II but q thousandth part Of such tales as
form the staple Of tia Jamaica nnMspaners-