The Portland daily press., 1866-04-06

When the first news of the late disturbance
in Jamaica reached this country. 1t was per-
haps natural but certainly unreasonable, to
rush into print with hasty differences and con-
clusions, drawn from alleged but unascertain-
ell facts. The Democratic press was prompt
to point to this result, as the natural conse-
quence of emancipation. AS emancipation Is
an accomplished tact in this country, 1t Is diff
hcult to see any object which these writers
could have had in view, except perhaps the
gratihcation Of chronic disposition to find
fault with the war and all its consequences.-
1t is impossible that any sane man can look
for the restoration of the institution of sla-
very upon this continent.
There are lessons, however, to be drawn
from the recent occurrences in Jamaica.
which are of very great significance in their
bearing upon American affairs at this juno
ture. We copy this morning from the Allan
tic Monthly, sketch of the actual circum-
stances of the outbreak, as they appear when
divested of the exaggerations which beclouded
the earliest reports. We proceed to explain
the causes which led to the outbreak.
/ In 1888, after in vain endeavoring to induce
the colonial governments to take the initia-
tive, the Imperial government of England
promulgated the famous decree, which makes
all slaves free as soon as they step upon Eng
lish soil. The slaves in the colonies were
transformed into aprrenticed iaborers, bound
to labor for the benefit of their former mas
tiers for seven years, and in some cases less.-
The colonial authorities were allowed to ex-
clude from the rank of citizens those who
were by the terms of the decree admitted to
the rank of men. That an English govern
ment, acting under the express sanction of a
small minority of its subjects, should with
hold the elective franchise from black subjects
in the West Indies as well as from white sub
jects in Great Britain, is not wonderful. 9th
er things should be expected of the United
States.
In 1885 the governor of Jamaica reported
Wherever the planters trssh the thing to sue
ceed, it is successful" The minor regulations,
| which had been entrusted to the colonial au-
| thorities, assumed such a forCo as to indicate
that the majority did not wish tbs thing to
succeed. In 1883, modifying act of 1oarlia-
ment abrogated the injudicious measures
adopted by the colonies and undertook to reg
ulate entirely the relations of masters and ap-
prentices. Upon the promulgation of this
act, the colonial Legislatures declared at once
in favor of immediate emancipation.
In 1912, after four years of emancipation, q
Committee of Inquiry reports that I" The re-
ligious, moral and material amelioratiGn of
the negroes is incontestable." In Jamaica,
they had imposed great sacrifices upon them
selves to found chapels and schools A Kings-
ton journal announced, in the beginning or
1S43, that the prison had been five days emp
| ty, for the first time since the settlement of
| the town. -4
In Jamaica 100000 slaves were emancipat-
ed. The white population of the island was
$4,000, and was bitterly opposed to the policy
| of emancipation. Let US now consider lit
tie more narrowly the condition to which the
| freedmen were reduced by their former mas
tiers IN the interval between 1888 and 1885.
1. The lines of caste have deepened. An
| intelligent observer declared in 1850, that the
| gap between the blacks and whites had been
steadily increasing ever since emancipation
| In 1880, the secretary of the Baptist Mission
ary Society reports, "that as a general state
ment there is no generous feeling in the rela-
tions between employer and employed. The
negro can expect nothing but The barest jus
| fice, and Is happy If he gets that"
2. The negroes haze not been educated
| The government is organized and salaIied on
a scale that would suit an empire. The an
nual expense Of running this cumbersome ma
| chinery is not less than million of dollars, or
about three dollars for every man, woman and
child on the island. The appropriation for
| the education of 5000 children is reduced to
s12,500. Not more than sixth part of the
colored children are, or ever were, under in
struction, though the negroes themselves, az
ter paying taxes to support government in
which they have no part, have contrived to
exc out the school fund from their own scanty
earnings. o- -, ..-.. s ...
8. The negroes have been practically de-
priced of the right to uote. An able-bodied
agricultural laborer in Jamaica receives from
IL to 80 cents day. In that island flour Is
now worth $40 barrel; eggs are so cents a
dozen; butter is DO cents pound; and these
prices are not exceptional, or peculiar to the
articles named, but regular and fair inustra-
tions of the prevailing rates year after year.
Even the pittance of wages, averaging hardly
rs cents day, is uncertain. From inability
or Discrimination, the planters are frequently
found to disregard their agreements. Now,
the right to vote, in country where prices
and wages are in this condition, is not dis
tinctly withheld; it is conferred upon all citi-
zens who have an income OF $140 or nav tag
es of SIS year This is practical excIu-
sion o. the entire laboring class, as much so
as a property qualification of $1,000 annual in
come or 500 tax would be in New England.
In fact, only one-fifth of the adult male popu-
lation of Jamaica is represented by the votes
at elections. rIat l- ..is
In view Of these circumstances, the duty Of
the American Congress at the present mo-
ment becomes clear. 1t is not safe to cave
the adjustment of the relations of the black
and white races at the South, entirely to one
partyl The civil rights of the blacks should
be defined and vindicated by the national gov
| eminent Their education should be provid-
ed for, to the end that they may become good
and intelligent citizens. The agency Of
Freedmen,s Bureau in protecting the rights
and restraining the errors of the blacks, is of
primary importance. The jealousy between
the two races may easily lead to disturbance
If they are left to settle their own Disputes
Finally, the essential guaranty of freedom, the