The West Indian Controver...
The Times, 1824-02-03T00:00:00

Xzu xkIi BUIMTOR OF-THE TEAMS. ,,`S'r,...F"m the di-t establishment of thea Africarts In'-tftaLtiwn'to TePresent moment, the great weapois wqith whilch tUe %Viiit Indian ~laniers have been asitailed. is slander-a sPecies of attack which tertainly Posaseiss nman,y adantafer. In the-first place, asl the pro- 'vearls aysi, ", throw dirt enoagh, And sorne of it Will stick V'. more Mrti-Warly, in thlscsWe, where so f'ew persons have the means of Oiming aL just judgment of the truthi or falsehood of apenddids, '~VIich are brought formsird in the nanie qf' h(isahit~;. slid philan.- -:!Iropy, and therefore are well calcuilated to excite ti strong interest 5z the puiblic mind. Slander, however ofken- refuted, .may ofllte repeated, ad mrade to answer the same puirpose to -its farcators, as the oldtlbroken lantern didi to the watchman We. read 'Of in the novel, w.ho, for many -ears t::gether, iitrays brought'it fm'w-ardas proofpositive again:r the unfortunate persons whom lie tliqrht prover to-charge with abreachofthepeace. The task of sLfanatin iequires neither extensive knowledge nor, shining tailents. 1'iruleace and asperity, wifth an auzdacious disr~.gard to tt-tth, are the a,dv qalflctu, iecessars-; and exarnples of' these, In the ep f erfection, may be foundl in the charges brought against th West I panters, many of which justify tli e rerrl.k "Sancridd sla ineis,o allran, on the Ciaracrters of Jlie; 'that Ii mght ave eenexpected, that sin,ee the amernimlraipn of the con- ditin o th slveshas bLen undertaken by his i~aet'S MltinsterS, and onfied t rhr bands by anttnas-imous rtpsolutoinsof the House ef Cmmos, o wich Mr. Nl'ilh-rforce and his ferinds were par- tie, acesariu o thse osrlj~s wuldi have taken place ; but the ~ttt..$avey Srset hae pbliheda report of the debate on AMr. asaxton's ~~~~n apdspendir faT miore voluminoius W~~t india viving elitlte old diatribes against time Zn his~q.umetheplanters are toldi that they have emibarkedl tli~tt tngcrty In ve-istetntet whtich at that cltine was considered . t0ticsleble w sth tehit ith justice, buit now is toundi to le laFe- eprinciple-s of juistice and buotta~iIty.`_D,7- tnM.Bron t Motion, piire 2.) Is it -ir-atter of ittist reproach to the W>'st Ir,it planters, that t`--J I ~ w rreseachtes int-3 mnoral phI iosopY diid noat go faritier than tL,.-.ge rfl tre getstts V.On phlsp r. n falte ra tss tritai fo ilosore tand divines, who lth,red in the councils of Oreat Brtain tita~d more thamitw centi. ini, during which ,slavery hi-a been couize'an cotined 6b tiatnot Ill her oinl, but by every ettttm~~,a an maci~j owe inEurope e The WVest India Olanter-, ale also ,'tiargcd -:WitIri crelt'Y"to their slaves ; and the public arenoldtha- t - the. poor ,Nlegroes are dieniedi the common rights of tun; batur-e. End Are oiercilessly lashed and- to-tured at the -t'I of their ma-stems" (Dehate i'n Mlr. Biprians' .'tlolln, page 113.) T!iat slardlrs is great moral evil, and that it occasions the 'ne- tv5itv 01 pnlitini.dm,t is. indisputably Etrite but the platnters rsnlnot gsti v be miatie responsible for the dlefects of that systetn Whicil tie didt not ,-tablish. but tinder which it is ther taisfor- tu t ie e Str ,nve~ urneithier prevetnted f'rom crinie by the aname oer-v Thne lIns, oiv-iharii:ter, ihe contetinpt of'society, the %atit 0f atnViupni, ein. poverty., and dmi-tess, have ro weighlt upon their Tfluo,d.et fur. the l,a" Seuttres te. the most wortblehin amrong themi the isamre allowance of tooth. clothing, and ev-er,- other comfort, a-s to thle mros desLrsitmz; arid 0li only, mibstitute f5r the wanit of these feel- tungs t. the fear 1' punishcncnt. ~A master nlever decllrers up, his Slave TO priblic ttqice fbr atly crime 'short ot' inutroler, because the los o 0ilatelabourtditr-itg at long 'imprisonmient beforetrial,an(d while lie is sitifenneundier hi, sentercPe af'ter it, if niot r:ipitally convicted. anld if he is. the larthier loss arising front thec inadepquacs' of thec sttint atlloe sanipnain o i y ttie colony, operate as a'verv hezav-e purtstttvent: ilponti te rltater -.and itueretore. in cases of'bur- glaLry. robber-. atid( various ofl'enees whlichl in tiHs couittry are ptit- ro,,hed w-ith the valloi-,i trannportati,.ii, long i'llprtsont-ilont ,tIt )~lOur izi chair, iii the hlk , ioggitig is tile tlst,hsii1e in the WestN Indites. Before tt,(, law. set tiny boundis to tile discretion of' the ,iiiater, a tee. instance, of great trurlts- certainll' occutrred hut iv' Reetisra t is pitntshntent is not inihicted srit h cevertlY. In the y ea, 18M,tt tile salls of t le IIeuse o' C'ottmmons re,ostadt.t sith item eat (itt the t'rtiehtr, exercisced upon -some- sl5ves at Nevis, anti a Mr"-sntttee teas aupointed to ex-uuiine intointl rep,ort upotI t'ile caye.__(se P,rlwte,tttsrl Dctai.te,. Mar 2fl, 1D1U.1 This commnit. t~eesat nore that thlree weeks ; and it wa, inconitestablv proved before them,~ notwithstanding thec exaggerated accounts that had been given in the H-ouse iii( toriititot, that nooic of' these cuilplrits (two of a-isom- had rec:eivo,l gouds, knoteing thiei to be stoleit) were prevent- ed be the punishment thee- had receivedl, fromn dattcing all nligILt at -a Ncrro ttitu,sIturnde tilie s,ecund evetning afterwa,ihs. TI'le conise. equence tyas, that ni, report wess ever called for by% those who litd nioved tar, the commrittee. These ohisers'atton,.. while the% reileent t!'e chtaracter 01 the Wcest India planters front dliec ctarg'e of' crueht y. hr ' showing that tIle puni-shnier.t of the whip is lit many cases lenient compared withi thie putnishment inflictedi for sirnilsi ofl'ence.s in this country, trill alo 'hwteipo-sibility of dealing with A aves accordlingt il derived froint European itanners anti the propreity of ditferrine to thec better information of those wlit,, reside aimon;g them), for devisin-g ,he necess.irs- reculations for the imiprovemenet of titeir present rIta. ratrter and cronditiou. It is hipchl et intl-ttnirut to consider thie conusequences oft' ait syss. tem. whtich hlas lIcentis long purstietd. of heaping ittdiscriittinate olt. loqu(Ixv on d i! celtta leislatures, and on all tite' white inhabitants l.tie\iet tdies. Great prejudiices have buvet excited against themn in the milids tif mant of thecir couintrytien, whon hav'e beeii tnur!tt to look ttpon thiemT as a set of wvretches nont enttitled to the pro- tect on of the law. hut who miight jt Jtlsl hle devoted to rnii anti tie. st-.uctionn and in this snitrit nlunterous, petitions %were preset ted to teHouse of('Cot'tttons lIst session, prayingy the House to deprive themu of their proierty- 'by emiancipiating their slaves. Withtotut pro. posming to miake theiutattv cotnpensation whatever. All the se pri- cecdirlp hssre been regimlari and indiistriousIv contmtt'tkatvd the s1avex, who Wre thusti reptleredJ ripe tor atmy cdesperate attcnmpt to free t-hemselves fnin that stare whticit they flee told is 's -repuignant to the prnap:iefs nl' The B-itisl iCntristiut iotn$anti of tIme Cliris;tian reli- The wite inhabiftants atre stirrouttithd by dlifficulties anti .aer they,ie fintiiteinelve, tIle, objects of' unjust clihilunity and reproach, at ottce deplrivedul t1 the aiThel ons ant iprotection of thieir = 1ntyen, attil1 their lives -intlfortuties placed at haZard by the snureunary diey.ositioti of their slaves. Is it possible thiat this state of thijigs canleaed to the coosutumiationtiof the;wish tmnatti.. MOUalt exr essed ~~its the House of tCommiont4-_`such atin oitlioira- nion in the condition of tite slaves, as may be c'om1patible Witii theiir well1 being, with the l.fe-ty of the c-olonies, anld withi a f'air atid eqtiii- table co-nsideration of the intereSts of all parties engaged literriti ?" r'r does it not, on tile conttrary. portenid rtuin to all these interests ane if %o shonild tint-is dttifibren; tvstent 1w adopted What i' the diffZemnce betweeni Mr. Wilberforce iatd his friends. lund thein ihabitants of' tile West Jndia Colonlies?' Tue \West India Legislaturesl ha- pelres,sedl their readitiegs to concur in all safe ricea- ,-ores fur the aturlittra-ion of thie state of rise slaves :and( Mr. Wil- her-fort-e and his frtettih Ilofess to dexire n nore. rThe diflerence bwt-eothe-nttheheri, 0n,is nmerely a qcuestion of tittie. One party cer- 'hap, orerrates the ilamngers of prveitlitation, andt the otlier thte evils if delay. .11r. Wi'ilberfoarce anid his friends lhould recollect, rhata " itt ail rountries whiere slavery has ceased to existt, after havinlc 00c reXtensi'vely trevailed. the utpoly tif foreign slaves lias first been cuit off. Vl2Aen. in the- reigtt of Augusttus anti his early successouw. prnsorter of tv-ir becatnie scarce, the Rlomant masters u-if lareq beg-nit. oftitce-ssitv s,to bend thieir attenitioti to tlte care aitid prese-tyation if those whon; tthey already liosses'sed.- So say ttite African Institution. itt their repot,entitled R!?c%ns tmfi,t r Rg`st n,; adtesaTne necesNsity- arising f romthe same c:tise, is" nowv ope. rsnon the coldu(othitntrn the ~ st India colonie, As the nature oi "I" is the sante in all acves and countries. the samne result, -he ablitiliion of sinvere,%trill uiltiniately Take placer in crne ease as it di-i in mi,e other, thoiugh itil, IperhLps, with thtat rclii. tit'. wlichicheets, tiucixpect-aions of somiitrenthuttsia~stic.indi viduals. All remnedial ineatures, to be. sate, inuit be gradmal for the cK. nterience of history demion3trate,s that thisesetablis'lcttu order ofsoriet v car n or. he alterNd by slow degrees a nil that, attempts at sutddenl snr.ovation gener.ally prove mnischievouis as well as abiortive. Slaves roust imake a cettain pirogress in civilizat ion before thee v ati becotne s~uiihfitd to twie heir oteitmaster-s. with liazv advantage *evets to thent. selve.ci vilization alone can change thieir habits anti manners, atil( introtiuce:srnPr:.g tkem thattdi%position to labouir trhticit is til e greatdis. tinction bescee.i-sav,age ed civilized life. The savage scornislabour, and cuba-its It .t no farther than is tnecessatry toisupport hiis existenee. The civilized man is, taltglit to consider daily labour at, the condition 0of his obta;niror daily thotlu and knows that lie is born to eat htis bread in the sweat of 1tis bio-ov. This, di srosittionl to labovir is thie natuiral pro- gress nnot onut front ,asraLe ro civilizesi life, but also froin lavery to freedom IT is adlitmiurd oti all h,trids, that free labouir is cheaper than elate labour. As th liesiipositioti to veiltitstarv labour growss-, tl witit civ ilization fotrced laburtt will beconte 1unoecessa"`-y. and Slaver-,, tll-s F,nuitt`atn of forceil labseitr, so &.r ferniZt clOt- valutable, 'wiiilIe burtdensome to the roaister. It will then be fctttd as impossible to malintain slavery, as it naor I, to su-rersetle it bt- free labour; anti in such a state tf thingsr freedoui will grow up as tnaturally and mis siilently as the ear of co-n ri-;es front the secd. Slavery tnay indeed be inotrn down at Sancr. b3 the sithe of legislative abolition and utie quiestion at ;issue is, whether we shiall hazard tke conseqluences of that dangerous =CV. which wotih(i Iretably lead to thie extermination of the white inhabitants. and thecdestruction ot their property, ot-suffer it to dler-s ardul'. stride,r thte modific-at ios recommended by thie Colonia'l Leislan11-'tire. Any cirecurittancenspthat occasionr(i tisontent ancti in. ~-subor-dination atitoing the Nerroes,lead to corresponding measures of precauttion and weverity on tlte part nf thett myasters; tfind thui the i e-n classes bemmte totallv alienated f'rom each oIlier. This state of ding- s La revond in time hiastory of the Roian Eitmpire. " Awainst -ndt-l interinalt'rettmiex," (say-s (iibhon), whose desperate inett-L rectriornFhail more thatt one reducedI the Republic to the britik of destrurtion, the Most seer riorandI the mnost cruiel treatmient seemed almos!jut nstfiable hy the great lawt- 05 aelf-preservation."'. it is not by -ccingi feelings of itostility, huit those of conciliation aind kindniess, h,ctwecn thie -maste and time slaves, that thle great work oh emanxcipation catmi be safely accomplished and thlerefo3re, it will be retarded, not a,rceleratedi, iy the present soysteiti of Mr. Wilberforce and Ihi, Irt-,d., ( rie of the as,sertfons by sitiich emancipationminst,been reconmntitid- eed i', ," tbh.5t i will prove' as advantageous ito the masters as -to tite -'isa u-- tloemei.eves."TJ' Mj poositionl, first ;itid (town by , Mr.Chark. won, and 'eagerly supported by others, is founded upoii th idea that free Ins-ner is cheaper than slave labour, and that the slaves, wvliesn imsde free, will co tine to cultivate the sugar-estates. All that is benaitifidlihi theory is tiot rEducible to piscuice t and no instance hiAs yet atipelired, of shares who have graitmed their freedloni hirin,, them.- salves nout as field-lhaburers in tIme Xest Jisdieos. AfSt. t5i-- tne .Ne1t-ocs d , ided pick time berries off the coffee-trees, tylmieha is verb liZht trck, but hlatre abandoned the Ctltivation of sugar, wi(ch requires licarv and) c,t-u;ant labiour. The intlustyv of the s3ave's brought from the b(iithern States t,f America acld settled in Tfitti- dad, sppznrsto) be t1itiich over-ratt-A. A noffici,r report0f 'the Suiper. intendent 1' these Peotdle was laid bsefosre the Govsernor anti Coun- r-l of that island only a fete mnonths ago, whiich st-ates, thait "o al. thomugh free, -working ott their own ;useniunt, wnid sup~plied tvitie every rec,e.sary inean5 by.flovertturrent,- thleY Cbul1 not generituly) be in. euced, after havilg Served their apprenticeship, to cultivate tlipir lands; bite by urgent renionstrances antI th5eatp, accoinpinied-iti onne in!st.nCue. at least. sVitb the necessity' of corporal puimishmen.t.' In all the West indtia islands, the number ofN frCo6u-red persons is mioreor Tea, consieable. atmy'ol thent are-taught handicraft trades, aind obt-be.occ-upy themselves us tishermen, boaumeun,or 'in -rais-ing fruR4 .and vegetablesi; hut noneofthem everhirethefisilves o6ttjodig.cri bol.es amryv otit mnankire,or perform theiotJcr labbrioms tasks necessat- riy hrthbs cltivation ol asuitar estate; and -tbegreatobiect of-timear. ,rtion that they would do all tlis, apileats to h-tso,onale votpric.uto Chf,c7p damitezity among those who have no . disposition t o pay fbr emanciptiordnthemselvtL4, -bat are ver5 ,eady tos petition for it, i' t0 b pad-fo atthc x?7nse9 th *et Indlit planters. How tsi5 imirovcinert in other respects mnay be followved by in- creavsed industry. is a pr oblem jet to he sulvetl. huft it is beo-al jub' that m uclhprevious5 inust uctlon and civijizsthun are ieondsal.- *to make such a Change in the na its ard mantlers of the shave^., as salqualify, them to enjoy theilessinps -se reeaoM~ wivth bitseflt efther to thewsev sOr others and the immsediate object is, how~ to seittre to them t"e'se preparitory adyaistages. This, cani only be acz cOrnpllshed by the cordial c4;-operaiion'of Ilie wbite inhabitants; ina: worti, by- substituting conciliation -for irritationi--an experimfent whichwets tried avid seucceeeded in the case' of; the Registry' Bill. When the West Itsdia Legi'lttttrea vereichargAh y the Afri-can In. stitution wvith violating the laws p:issed for the abolition of the -lave. trade, anti requiredl to pass, Registrv Bills to prevent thecontintiance' of that practice, the Jamaica Houmse ot' Assembly dedlared- that 1,they wvould not pass legislatiVeeanactfnent4 to prevent imaginary' crimes ;" and-all the otheta doncurred in the slune setritmenit: but whien called upon by hiisjMAjcitys M1inisters to patssRvpistry Bills f'or the pu'rpose df giving greatbr security to property, and citabling Parliment o juFe of th chages that took place in the Negro po- pulation. they allimmediately complied. Let the saensexperinitnt draw from this ~preseunt caise. Let.,ehe Aitii-slaverySoie ih derepaw redhi contest,andleav.1 the worktohis Mlajesty's Ainiistes; and let she planters be encouraged, by an assuranice thi.t Paelit. mesnt will provide the means of defr j -the cMriieinses, ilievi~e called upon to incur, and a.' -~ gais h 4gisvhc they s-ay the, ;-Vprehi,'n: Inuf, fu them Against ther Society whichi tl~e NL-tInda Pantrscontend, they are real, the security they require is just and reasonable, and oueht to be given. The distress of thie West'India planters is too notorious to require proof'. It has; been stared in petitions to Parliamnent from al tel colonies. The Hiouse of Assembly at Jamaica have declared, that capital invested in sugar estates in'that colony,hsnt r several years past, given ntoire'than one per cent. intersfomne ;.and a petition fo Trinida4, presented doris- the Iatssino Parlia- mnent, shiowed, by a detailed statement 'thiat the sugar.estates in that island had not even paid the expenses 'of management andI clltiva-. tion for thle year preceding. Unider these circumnstances, the West Intlia planters are required to- form establishments for the edacation anii,atiuctin of the slaves, the expense of whichi, according to the estienate of Mfr. P.atham, if confined to the chiildren alone, would amount to 250,0001. per annum, and if extended to the adutlts, to a muich larger suim. They are farthier ireqUired tb give up the labour of their slaves one day in every wveek, exclusive Of Sunday, in Order that the latter dlay may be dedicated solely to relig isand moral in- struction. if these expenses are necessary to prepare the slaves for' emancipation, andI if the niational character is to be. redeemed from the reproach of slavery at thie earliest possible period, surelv thir ob. ject oughit to be accolnplished at the national expense. If it were' thougfht expedient to devoteone day in every week,,exclusive of Sundlay- totdie insruction of the labouring classes in thiscountry,,whiat wouldI Mr. Wilberforce anc the othiergentlemenof-'lanided property say,t if thley, on Those estates these labourers are emplovetd, w~ere called 1 uron .to pav them for six dlays' work when th-y'only did five ? W1ould thiev'not -exclaim against the injustice of suachi a proposi- tion 00( an.ostle say that the extianse ot a national objectogts he borne as thei expen)se of the Niation rat large ? Such is 'p0re:gA'cicy, thle ease of the WVest India planters. All great changes in a state of society, are attendled withi danger ianid that dlanger increasies, not only in proportion to the rapidity of; thaiw cianges, hut also in proportion as the piopuilation is ignorant allit uncivilized). rThe Wiest India planters are told that they are in no danger fromn the mseasurts recommended but, unfortunAtely for thenm, they) flare a cr-iterion to judg,e by, whichi cannot be contra- vetted by bare assertions. They, find 'that since thiese measqures have been in *aritioni, the value of their property hias been so dle. preciatetd, as to render the sale ol it. at any, price, alinost itulpossible, and that WVes Inrdia credit is itltogether annihilated so tlitt if their estates were destroyed by ant insurrection, the meanes Ci' resettling tite", could itint poisihiy b e fotutd, and their ruin would be irrenie- diablel. It such a state of things, is it reasonable to pre-ss hazardoaus experio'.etts uponl themi, wvithout giving themi an arssunsaiie of in. deniity? ''liejt'ireoh tis lai ilonthir part i.i genermlly ac- knowedgd bu stno o th memer,Of the- Anti-slavery Society, speaolittiltry quivcal emi. ilr. Bt~rn, in hlis ipecc)t, admnits thattueWes Inia lantr tny avea caimagainst the British na. tins;hut dclare, inthe vry sae pae, that "1 to talk abouit right. equty, ustce.ati la'. s cnnetedivithi zlaverv. is downright noens4enst.De.bal ,n .lf,. Bu.t't"'s- 3otis,i, page It9. In his re- Ply lic deniies never hakinlg alluded to coi-npenisation but askcs, ~I hat. if l han inot Is there no diff'srence between a vested in- terest in a hou-tt or tenemient, atid a vestetd interest iii a lItuman being-nio diffe'rence betwveeni a right to bricks andl mnorthr, anti a riglit to the tlesit of nian ?`"Debair:)n Xt-r. Buxt.ton'.e jSlfot oit, page I 0Ol. As thte miatter stands betwveen itle West India pilanters andi tile ctihhic. there is tto difl~reoec tvhiatevor. 'To tise the wvordIs ofM1r. Blaritanl- Whaata~ver may be the abstract righit of tl,te slave to htis f'recedom, it cannot aftect, in tite case before uis, the title of tile master to camperistatioit. Ill the question of conmpensation, the slave is no arts'y: that qutestion lit'F witoily betwe;en the proprietor anti trie Itegis- I ture wehich has constilttitoI tin property the law- niui be bind- ing at least ni, those who n-ladle it. IfP the L,egislature, wvith a view Ito statiottal advantiage, htas comnmittetI in justice, anti tinew, withi a view'to nationil justice, w-ould repair the wrong, it is focr thentation to ml~y the price of its wrong, atid( not for the individual whio actedi in conforitiy to the law." Tie lawivias wiselv fixedllimiits beyonid whicih ite tijie to property shall riot be qI-estio'ned, and to) infringe upon this established orincirple woultd be to shaSke the title 'of jail popertyto isvry, fottntlatioun. So long as thie great stable 11 laws u ritrperty-, col-nuion to us with aill civilizedI na- tibus, are o'atntatietd in their integrity, tintaintedi by faniati- i eel or 'revolutionary injuistice, soi long as pecitv righit is ticknowiedgeud, so long %vill the rightt of thte platter to his slave re- iitali itiinviahte. I' a higher title thian ttite lawt recoanizels is reqluiredi, whiat desctijetion of' property woulki be safe ? The holders of Istited estates m-ighit be toldI that theyv were originially- obtained in' rapinie or ronnil-ection, by frisul or irniutetice arid restituition of themti mi~lht be detanatted fromi rite present proprietors, on the very samie prinetple as the properrty ventei in s1lar-e is, no-w rrqfuired of tue lVcat Irndia plantrers. Even th6 property to which Mr. Buxton alludled, titeI piropertr in bricks sill morta'r, in which he i's mnore pmriticttlarIy in. tere-sted, stands itt the samne predliLanient. Ilublii-llouses were li- cenrsed to promocte tue public good, by securing~ pubtlic morals ; butt itt tmany intlatances these licettees iave ti'ebled the valuetit'o the houses Ito whiie i they were grantedl, anti tlittis hapve becomne a satires of great esnoitteieni t o their piroprietors. They- have also become sources of tintlue mooply anti have tlitus obliged the labouring claisses to tritik a be t, a highi pricee. Jt-.4tiee, thierefore, requiresi that this tubuse should' he rontetdied, that these nuisances should be thated, andi that lfie reoblic sliouilti enjoy tite benefit of fair and open colape- titioni. Tltiicase wvas lately jirgued in triteHottse oh' Gomittoms, IantI Mr. BIurtot, theit mt,st vehienently contended for the rights of those who had, whiat he termed, v'e-tetd ititerests in property of this (le.- 5-criptinat, in opposittion to the doctrine maintained h him IinT ilthe case of the West India pianterg. B3-jt the barrier sehicli the law lias ,et tip tiivtar be respectedl in all casts or ta none ; sod ift' he right of the plant-er to indentitiity flor his -\egroes, ifemnant-ipated for public* pturpose.s, is so be quesuioned, no right to atty property whatever can be val id, anial a precedent is es%tablished for getieral spoliation. i This Weost lnthia planters are treatted xvitht contemnpt as well as 'ith mi jiuslice: they are riot only thireatened hry the A ntlSlas'ers- Society, ivithi loss of their property, but are told thlat so far fromi btAing a be- rlefit, thiey- are a bttrden to titernother coutntrv-tliat they are a stain upati lher character, andi a reproach to iter legislation. 'Pllese taunt-, aggravate the neglect ofriwhich thev have to complitin. They, have been exeltidcedIfron participating irt that relief f-ronti taxatioti which has been granted so every other class ofhiis Majesty's subjects. The -whole of the wvar duty c n sugrar lisa been continuied ; and even an additional dtitty ott molasses of 2-s. Pl. per gallor, lisaF been iml-- po,ied since tit ea10ce. 'rTe dutY on rum is I Is. 74id. per gal- loit, whilie that on Biritisit spirits in Engltatd is only lO.S. &i., !ttn a motcli higher strettgthi ; aiiti in Sc'otiland and Yreland has been retlucud by a late act to 3s. per gallon. so that [lie cop- aumption tof tunioii those patst of the Uiittie(I Kingdom rn,6' be said to be annihilated. The relief giveni to the NVest Indian plait tees, by the atdmission of the vessels of thes UnitedI States inito thleir ports witli Itituber aitidl provisions, has been taken away 4gain by the impositiotn of suich high retaliatory tduties, bothi upon thlose vessels -andtti teir cargoes, as anmoutnt to) a ptrohibiti;on c0.thie intercourse. It,slioot, we are m-aking it their interest to belong to an}- (4nternment ratlher titan tej that of Gireat Brttain anti tdiscfintent. the u-iual consetlitleiice ot tijetre-s, is beginning to shiow itself in rt- ivery fintemperate resolutiriotast'hicii have lately been passesl at snnte at' the parich,al mneetings hel(I in the islantd of Jamaica. These. iss to be hped, may be considered asc ebuillitioits of opui- larfeeing whch ill be discountenanced by the calmnness an dwsis-. '(lm o th ose f' Assembly; but exemplary indeed must tite loyalt of th ~VestIndians be, if. it is proof agtntbthitrs and prvocatin. hIf ites re drircit to desperation by the measures of he svrnmnc f'Great Britain, thev wil naturally tumn their eyes to the Unite States of' America. vwhere ithe laws, while thecy prohiibit the slave trade, respect rid protect the property of masters iof slaves ; andthey wlreeconte advantages of a conniexion wiith that countrYonitwhilci they' are depeodejtit insa great degree, for thieir mos important articles oi supply, and.even for their means of stsibsistence. Lest not our confid ence ire our own strotnyth teach us to dleridle tbhi~ danger. The President of the United States, ini lilsa late niessage to thel-louse ot' Reprrsentatives, has laid it down "as a princilple in which the rights and interest of the United States are involved,. that the American continenits, by the free and findependentt rondlitiots whichi they has's assumed end maintain"I, are henceforth D ot to be consider-ed as sstbjects for future coloniziation by, any Euro. pean Powvers ;" atid it. would not be %i.ore tilificulE to extend tldis principle to thie isl,andsi, thatn to assert it as to the continentg of America. . The stifled resentmnent of ttile Americans against thi COIAT,-teirthirst for naval po-wer an& e:tenRiive commaerce, it-iih cn nlybefully gratified by colonial acquiisitiOns,-their de. stire to give that indepenridence totsite rest of the wggstern world s'inch they, have conquered for themselves, all these poplular feelings woultd be rousted into action at the prospect of an union with the Blritish Wg'st Intlia colonies, and such an invitation be eagerly em. bratced. Once in possesstion of theist by the aid .of the inhabiitants, tute proxinsity of,America womald enable her to retain them, tor ever; Great Britairt wouldl find it just as impossible to wrest theist out o her hatids, es site did to conqtuer Am-erica herself. In filicisresent distressed circuimstanices ot' the Wuest Indians, so call upon theot to niake large pecuniary sacrifices, is to treat thelni as the Egyptian ttask-trasters (lid the Israelites when they cafl6le upon itwoiii to make bricks Withotut stnuwv,-isto requtire thiem two' l itnupossib lities;- antI in expect that they should exoee their.lives anid porttoiaadbycrynino efet an experimental?5%,s, iento itttuininmifeasoth ptitiary eonseq6ei"Q f t least,i qal iraOshen nut The Option is WbM?js,. either torgi hi iahnn ytetn them ivithll~1s andcoidnoortaleaete algeir by porsuting the NSyi tell mtrth C-- - I 1-o'qeo'~ ComuIOl- ,awoIet ori ttue ainanimytotaln rensfolut'ipon orfthe to of the OtotlOis as' ei nizatorto May'th codi. - iton' laves s- maybe comnpatible withl their wccll being, with thle safety, Of' tCbs -coloi;tss ad witlh a fair aind equitable iss ulertioof te 'terets f til, artis egaged thberein ;"btitt if' ve titougt tte-inurrctin o te Daris, r t~ iesfeciondi the Witits,th ~X at Inia rlonis,andall hagrat btec~t cnect,ed' - . Iam, Sr, otr mot obedient. servant. ,. ,i'Wil IINPII.N P'ROPRIETOR. TO TffE EDITOR OF*THE,T.IEES. - Sir,-.i;,your paper of yesterday wo- inserled a letter from -t2e tv. -. W. Bringes, ofJamaica, cotnenting it) very angry'teinls on a coMnmunicaijort of mine, which appeared in 17e 'sof th' - 24th of last A ugust. 11 isirritation appears to ha'e been owin ta coniplete misunderstandinjg of' rny meanin. e upo~ila haid- imtended to controvert the fact of 'his hlins H I olemze 1rh at ldr nirges in the preecding tso yeara. On thv canrary l'm ed-the stu.en1ePnt to be correct, an(d I ibunded my bse vanojl on that as. sumption only, e:xpressing iome ouripiity' as to the cauqes of this new6borr, zeal in the proniotion of itarriai . I noi t Ok *presz.tny dvabro)the fas, but.1 did n e*cYC e any such dloubt. Thc official return of the Goveroor of JanWe hab i been qe panh of :Kaucetr the pamphlet Of Mr. fllgesl g bfeen writtah only a sfith, or at most two0 tbnth Qftitbattime,it did Oeemaf3ubect fin- quiry, how, in that iqf fiitivl,'so mibymore.bstr*i apesened tbsb cbebri a -hai7 s the preced1higfourtee th at. tion ol tIar. Bt idge-is -thiS_dthtt tl:ough the o1fldil . eturn. to 'Par- liament-vas-datedm ingarch,. 182S yeth Mreturtlfo tlie Gorernor WaS dsted in October, '182. . Thts certainly liXk'es'a 'slight differ- cnce7 so that the acconnt now standsthus:-Ftom Jnoary, 1808, to October, 1822, eight marriages; from Octobe 1822, to Anril, 1823, 184 marriages. This rdpid,iticrse, however, Ar. B himself most aSmit; cold nrot have been known to MI.Wjlberforce when he wrote his pamphlet. And~ lzge as is the Ilurnber when compared with formerreturns; yet how small iis if when *nepetf Vith the w-hole ioptllation of the parish, amounting-to 'If,0ovykr. which iltr. Bridges is placed! ir. Bridges is still .pleased- to. rcpresent the statement of '-r.. Wfilberf5xrcere5peexng the absetnce of the mafriage-tie amongthe .slaves in the. WeSt. lndje as false and ealusnious-as a gross and wilful isrsp?esentatoron The part-of that: genttleman. It seems necessary, eberefote, to show somewhat mbre in detail what is the real state of the case. Returns having been called for by-the Hodase of Commont from all the West Indian coloaies, of the r.tumber of marriages le ga1y solemnized between slaves since the 1st of January, 1808, dis- tinguishing each year, these reurns were made from almost all the colonies, and were laid oh the table of the House, some of them on the 4th of Aarcb, and othets on the I4thofUllay, 1823. Tbey were to the following effect (I shall take the colonies in the order in which they stand in the Parliamentary papers):- 1. Dominica.-_No marriages between slaves are reported from this lsland, except about 60 celebriated by a Catholic clergyman. 2. Grenada.-Aril. The Rev. W. Nash states that "' the legal solemnization of marriage between slaves in this island is a thing unheard of." Two other clergyynen, oite of whom had been 37 years a minister in the colonies, fully confirm this statement. 3. St. Vincent's.-Nil. 4. Barbadoes.-The return from ten parishes- is ANil: froui the parish of St. .lMichael's, one marriage in 14 years. 6. Antig-a.-Aril. " During 39 years," says the Rev. G. Collins, "I J nver kAew or lieard that any marriages were performed by clergymen of the Church of England in tld3 Island between slaves." -D uring 42 years and 9 months that I have been rector of St. George's," says the2Rev. Mr. Coull, "I had neevr been calledu marry any slaves but once."_~-" There is not," sayi the Rev. S.W. HIatman, " a single instance of a marriage of slaves onz record in the register either of St. John's or St. Paul's in this island, the circa.m- stahce having been inlvariablyconsidered as illv7a." 6. hlontserrat.._lIt. 7. Tobago..-Mij. 8. Demerara.-.:Vil. The Rev. W. T. Austen, of the Church of England. says-." The marriage of slaves is a theng wOhcard of in this colony.' The ministers of the Scotch and Dutch chrches make similar statenients. The missionaries of the London Alissionary Soicety do not consider themselves " authorioed to solemnize mar- riages in a legal sense, tlhough, with a view of rendering the Negroes more moral, tien rewnired them to malke a -soletnn promise of fi. telity to each7oLr. 9. Berbice.-N il. ln. St. Kitt a-Vis Ll 11. Tortolz-A il. 12. Trinidad.-Three marriages in 14 yeais. 13. llehamaa.-s-V. 14. Nevis..-Nil. After this detail, MIr. W1-ilberforce, I conceive, may well stand ex- cusedl for having affimied the absence of the marriage.tie among the slaves in the Wtest Indies. But there remains the great island of Jamaica, containing a popu- hition of 340,000 slaves: what is the result of the recent returns as they respect that colonv e The island is divided lnto 21 parishes, so that the average slav cpopulation of each is upwards of I6.00. Two of tbese parishes have mande no returns. From four others the retrnl is Nil. From twelve more parishes the number retauned varies from 1 to 102; the aggregate in those twelve parishes, containing about I 0,00 slaves, being 232 marriages in 14 years; heing less than 20 for-eath. The remainins three parishes furnish, it is true, a somnrat less opprobjriouts return. In St. Andrew's there were 4{00 marriages of slaves, in St. Thomas in n the East, 1,612 * and in Kingston, 1,648. in 141 years. Mr. Bridges will now u nderstand that my objection to what hc had said on the subject pf marriage in his pamp hlet, did not arise, as he seems to assume, either fro.n a doubt aKs to the truith of his re!)rt of the num ber of marriages he had celebrated, or from an ap. prehsension that hisproceedings were influenced by thle ilethodists, *.f whom I knew. there was nO establishment in his parish. MIy oh. jections wtere of a different kind. l objected, in the first olace, to his charge of gross misrepresedta- tion against Msr. Wilberforce. for having affirme l the absence of the marriage.tie among the slaves, and proved from the same Pat-ia- mentary returns to which I have again referred, the correctness Of hiS view. And now the very letter of MIr. Bridges, to which I am replying, and w hich reiterates this cha.ge of gross misrepresentation, actulally refutes it almost in the sauna breath; for, w riting in '\OVeM. b -r, 1823, a year after 3,1r. W ilberforce had woritten Isis pamphlet, he observes, that "die marriage-tie has jet non,0- commen1ced its ini- duenace among the slaves." r further objected to Mr. Bridges, that le shoald have rashly af- firmed, on thecerelit of his profeWsionalcharacter, that the labour of the owler clergymen in Je uaica had been equally successful As his uwI,, whet, had lie taken the slighetest pains to asgcrtain the truth, lie wouhl have found that this statement was incorrect. Six parisees made no return of marriages at all; three parishes retum one mar- riane in 1t years three others two e arriages in the samre tine ahid oie, tisl own fulier paris, tbree. And if d Mr. Bridges is proved to have been so egregiously mistaken in a matterpof fact ying so immediately within his owin province, can heexpet inmplicit credit for is bolld and sweepin vermenut on points respecting whieh lie cannot poscess the same -ppe rtunitie of accurate intor- mation ? I atdmit that the re-rv rerarkable disparity between the number of marriages celebraIet in tie parishals c of St. Andrelw, St. Thomes in the East, and Kingstn, anxd the numnber celebrated in the remaining eighteen parishes of the island, excited a doubt as to its cause. I knen tuat it vras in thoscee prishes, thus- honomr- ably distinguished, thlt the o iethodists had formued their earliest establishments, and fail experienced the e. reatest afrcess and a qulestion therefore naturally suggested itself-a question I should ptill wish to see obflcalln reiolved,mwhethen that extraordinary nsmber of marriages (extrwordinnarh' as compared with She rest of the island, thougf small indeed ns compared with the population of the parishes) was, in point of tiat, to be ascribed tO the metho- dists, or to the parchial c ergyK ? ig v inquir ori th s p9int bas dic- tated by no wisn to tepreciate ihelabours of the clergy, but simply y as desire to know the truth. There is one point of my former letter which Mr. Bridges has not deignhe to answer, althoexs it is highly important. 1 must, tlerefore, again beg leave to ask what connubial rights the may- niages of .slaves celebrat rd in Jamaica have conferred ? Do they legally prevent a master from separating a husband and wife, at his pleasure, by sale or transfer ? Do they legally bind the husband to the wife, atd the w.bifae to the hDisband? Do they ive to the hu.s band the right antl the means of redresl against a violator of his conjugal peacet? Shonld these questions be answered in the aflir- mnative, I would flrther request that the specific enactments wBich confer those rights should bc clearly pointe out. Antd even if it shoald he found (which, hownever, I am zssred is not the case), that Jamanca has framed sepah lawis, it is perfctly obvious from the precdins detaios, tha.t that colony muse stand alone in that re- spect, with the exception perhaps of Trimndad, which is subject to the more humane and constderate code of Spain. 1 certainly do no Sotat either to answer or to imitatn that some- what ardentstyle of virtuperarton in hich this Christian Mct inister thlinks prper to indulge. be may continue to charge er. \ilber- force and his frienhs witr being the instigators oftrebellion in Deme- rata; he may C0ntillUtt o heap upon them evey epithet of aluse which lip vocabulrttey c.an supply; he may ring the changes on their" false tsersions,h their " impudent insinuatieo n "theirnshamelesseffron- tery." their "interestae views, their tseiterateo malignant false- ;hoods."T'he public will be left to affix its duc v.alue to this mode of argumentaylon. I would only remark, that if cth harmless ob- servations in my ctter of the 24th of ctuguet last have produced so fomuch irritaion on the part of this reverend soenbelnli, what must lrbe the eflect on his temper of the latter ofy Publitls," which, by a stange coincideuce, appeared in your paper on the very same day with ims own ? i remain, Sir, your most obedient servant. A FRIEND O(F FRE.PDOM1. -lUarY ,U, 10O4. . " er tlz con M "rove s "I'll ell, as far aS we are con ce rned ;: in th*ra rs of P.iaenayrttn,it is quite impossible to findg,roomfZ 1-for log leter,o arilIteet, oee important. THE WEST InwDIANAt coOJRoFEnsrS LETTER V T.