The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — 1818-06-04 (London, England)

TREATMENT OF SLAVES IN THE ISLAND OF NEVIS.  Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY rose to make his promised :notion for a copy of depositions taken before the Coroner in the Island of Nevis, who sate on the body of a negro named Congo Jack. In briugiag forward this stbject, he felt it necessary to state that lie did not call the attention of the House to it alone on the extraordinary barbarity which the particular case developed, for that, glaring as it was, appeared much less important than the light it threw ou the mode of admi n e tering criminal justice iu the West India Islands, where the protection Or slaves was at stake. It was, therefore, to the gross adtuiuistration of justice in these Colonies that he meant particularly to call the attention of the House—and for this purpose it he. cause necessary for him to call fur further information from the Colonial authorities. The facts of the particular case which had occurred were simply these :—A Rev. Mr. Rawlins had the management of an estate belonging to a Mr. Hutchinson ; a slave had ran away from it on the Tuesday, was taken and brought back on the IVeduesday, flogged in the severest manner on Thursday. and chained with another slave who had committed some offence, and dragged to work with the rest of the men on Friday morning; lie was still chained to the other slave, and when brought to his work he was incapable of doing any thing, and complained of severe pain. hunger, and sickness—he tried to lie down in this state, but was severely flogged by the sticks of one or two drivers. The consequence of this brutal treatment was. that the wretched bring died in the course of Friday actually chained to his fellow slave!! He was buried privately on the same day, and no Coroner's inquest was at the moment called. though his body was covered with marks of violence. Some intimation of this cruelty had been given to the Magistrates, and a Coroner was then ordered to ail on the body, which was dug up for examination. The present object of his motion was, for the depositions of the Coroner. which, strange to say, had not been transmitted to this country. But it appeared from the evidence given on the subsequent trial, that, at the Coroner's inquest, Dr. Thos. O'Mealey deposed, that he attended at Hutchinson's estate on the 9th September, between twelve and one o'clock, accompanied by two other doctors; that he had examined the deceased, who was then taken oat of his grave, and found several marks on the body ; one on his right eye, one on his right jaw, one on the right arm, one on the right breast, one on the right side of the belly, soil sonic on his thighs; there might have been others, but those described were the most remarkable. Two of his teeth were recently broken. lie did not dissect the body to examine the stomach ; the contusi mast have been tion, and lie could riot ascertain the precise cause of the deceased's death. %Veil' all this evidence of violence upon the hotly, the House would be shocked and astonished' to hear that the verdict of the Coroner's Jury was—di Died by the visitation (1 God !"—(Hear, hear, hear./—One Pf the drii era had been afterwards tried for the murder, and several slaves were examined on the trial, among the rest the man to whom the dece Aped had been chained, and he on that occasion swore that Mr. Rawlins, the manager, was trot piesent when the last severe punishment hail been inflicted. In this case, if such were the fact, the inaliager was exonerated ; but if done in his pre. sever, as afterwards appeared, he alone was respond, sable, mild the driver, of course, free, at acting under the orders of his master. On the sub, Sequent trial of the Reverend Mr. Rawliiir, it was nut wily proved that he was preseut,