The Washington herald., 1908-07-28

SPECIAL Ca1esDonde-ce The WzshinE-on Herald.
Kingston, Jamaica July $50 serious
has the evil Of stealing become on the
island OF Jamaica that the authorities,
after consultation with the English gov
ernment itself. decided 20 reverse one Of
the very earliest and most rigidly adhered
10 principles OF English law. That law
assumes a man is innocent until he is
proved guilty. They have decided down
here. when a man IS accused OF stealing.
70 assume that he IS guilty until he
proves himself innocent There are $4,000
negroes on this little island and only 800
white people. The negroes are. as a
rule, nliterate. and the commandment
that prohibits stealing lies very lightly on
them They are so poor that II is little
wonder they steal a negro lab0rer get
ting only . cents day. But their thiev-
ing has reached a point where only the
sternest repressive measures VIII secure
respect for movable property
Sir Sidney Olivier, the present governor
Of the island. is responsible fo- the new
order OF things He went 10 England and
laid the matter before The colonial oflce.
which approved IL After The new law
goes into effect possession OF property
proved 10 have been stolen viii be con
sidered a priua facie proof Of guilt. un-
less the defendant can prove that he Sc
cured II IN a legitimate way IN proving
THIS ne VIII nave 10 discover The party
who did steal IT, or al least start tEe
chain Of evidence which viii finally lreacn
the right fellow Il has been proposed 10
mark every proven thief on -he island.
and some OF the leading members Of tnc
Jamaican Agricultural Society are press
ing the proposition. but this step VIII
hardly be taken.
Sr Sidney Olivier is advocating the
wiping out OF the racial lines on the
island While he has never declared
point blank for the amaIga-lation CT the
races, he advocates The gradual obIitera-
ton Of racial distinction. and believes
that social standing should be q matter
Of merit rather than color This view
OF his IS not SHARED by a great many
people, Yet on every hand one sees the
color line much less faulty drawn than
IN the United States. The average
Jamaican negro does not care about IL
one way OF another. He Is almost as
completely deprived Of the right 10 vote
as The American negro IS IN the most
ultra-SoutL=rn state Having never been /
entitled 70 vote he does not object 70 I
not having The right to-day. 50 he IS a I
very easy going Indifferent a1I sarIs-
ned individual where matters political I.
are concerned
The digging OF The Panama Canal has 4
been q great boon 10 The Jamaican negro. /
There he clears about 90 cents a day.
Here al home ne has 70 be satisfied with I
> cents or. II he IS an exceptional hand. +
~ cents Gay. out os which ne must .
pay Tor his living. IN other words. he .
makes about three times as much at i
Sanz ma as he gets al home. There are 4
many thousands OF them on the 5sthuus.
ana new ones are constantly going.
Those who have been there awhile come I
home build little zhacHls for themselves.
and become plGtocrats n their small way. 4
The steamship companies have no end 4
or trouble with stowaways 20 Colon
me fare is s.. deck passage but many
q jamaican negro cannot raise even this
small amount, and so he slows away
one ship recently had over 2-l stowaways
-ro-o Jamaica when she landed al Colon.
The jamaican. negro is not as econou-
-c2l as the BardaGian. The island Of
Jamaica is delsely populated. but not
nearly 50 much so as Barbados. There
they have population Of nearly 2l0s10.
while the island is oaly fifteen miles vide
a1d rwe2ry-one long They have 70 save
everything Even the leaves that fan
from the scattered trees are gathered
Every little scrap OF wood. every little
twig. and every piece Of paper IS carried
home The jamaican Is under no such
necessity, and Is therefore not so thrifty.
This shows IN The reports OF the director
Of posts for the Canal Zone Although
there are almost two Jamaicans 10 every
Saroadian on the Zone. records Of money
orcers show that the latter send home a
great deal more OF their earnings than
the Jamaicals do.
There Is an intense feeling betweer the
Jauaicans and the Bardadians- Some
time ago an English ship called at King
ston with q crowd Of Barbadian Geckers {
ABOARD. No sooner had the ship come Z
alongside the dock than there was one
~ me nneSL pitched battles YOU ever saw
livery sort Of missile 10 be found on r-a
1eck, from Jumps Of coal 10 cocoanuts.
was SHE'D back and forth with a fury I
worthy OF q better cause. II took the {
ships crew and the police q long time 10 G
Iuel the disturbance ?
The Jamaican with ali hfs se-c-s--s
Ind superstition. is something .of q rr;I- =
IsoQher, and he has a stock OF proverbs 2
Nh-cn are pretty wise, even il thev. are (
lonely These are fair examples when J
legro tief- him tief half a bit, br.r when s
lIckra tlef- him t'ief Ge whole estate l- Z S
W hen cockroach give dance him nebber S
invite -0WL When 70 cross de ribbe- 9
leooa call alligator long mouf' TIL vo Z
ASS him Hog. him run foh he lie: 6
log him run fob he rep'tatlon." /
Ihe worship OF Obi is species OF
1eathenism which Is afording the gov +
.-nment no little trouble. All sorts Of
.rimes are committed in its name
hough stringent laws have been enacted
o check f. When man has the spell
Z Obeah upon him. he Is a doomed man
he does not die from sheer fright 4 I
way IS generally found 20 pgt some
round glass in his food. IN the renorer
isrrlcrs of the island one hears a con
tanl beating on toI-tOns. and il he o
lqllres what . means he will be told 4
hat t Is negroes at Obi worship. The z o.
'ltch OF E1dor is called IN the Hebrew =
1nguage Obi, and Obi has come 10 Ia =
aalca VIA Africa The high priests Of I
.ol are known as Obeah-meE- They are U
po1 all occasions looked upon as o-a-Ias
hey are considered able 70 heal dis =
ases and TO discover crime. For rra y
ribe OF gold they viii. through risI- a-5 i
anger, md means 10 satisfy the appjf- Y
ants widest desire for revenge. me Q
giier. the dirtier. and the more forbi5- p
.ag IN aspect the Obeah-men. the better o
he he IS taken 10 be He practices an ~
1rts OF lurid, weird, horror-EfvinR in
calculated 70 deceive the s-u1 "
be inquirer W
When Obi is set for a negro HIS il b
orr1ble existence. Poison is not often
20 bring him TO the crave Di
he effect OF the superstition r5uou his III