now approaching a sound and natural course of policy, and passing through the crucible of improvement, yet those who have gained advantage by the war, and have been basking in the sunshine of the artificial system that emanated from it, with a long series of mischief occasioned by restrictive legislation, will pertinaciously resist to the last every effort at change. Notwithstanding all circumstances have altered around them, they have vainly hoped to pursue their course without a deviation; and the nearer the change from narrow policy to leading principles approaches them, the more restless they become. Whatever are the failings of the present generation, taking things for granted is not one of them. Unfortunately for those who are stickling for exclusion, and urging the Government to pursue a false policy for the temporary benefit of the few, as they vainly imagine, to the destruction of the best interests of the whole; an inquiring spirit is abroad that exposes the objects of self-interest. Deceptive plausibility and distorted facts will not now be borne with, the country will think for itself; and if the Cabinet were less inclined, than we believe it is, to apply a vigorous attempt at renovation towards the national relations, the current of opinion is too strong in its favour for such renovation to be neglected. In some instances it is proceeding, in others it must be actively and honestly commenced.

These general remarks apply to the West India question as closely as to any other; and as that question is under our present consideration, we shall advert to it without farther preliminary comment. In all the changes that are taking place, considerable irritation very naturally prevails. Persons who have been protected under restrictive enactments imagine, as a matter of course, that they must be cruelly dealt by, when especial interference in their favour is in any degree withdrawn, and the public (which is a party uniformly forgotten on all these occasions by those who are the loudest in defending what they conceive to be their own rights) is about to be admitted upon something like equal terms into any commercial transaction it may have been excluded from. The remark may appear extraordinary to a large portion of the community, but it is no less true on that account, that English legislation, until within these very few years, in all affairs of trade, has pursued a course that has regularly led to the result of serving the few at the expense of the many-of bolstering up individual interests to the neglect of the great interest of the nation; and in proof of this we have only to refer to the conduct of the most opulent and extensively-engaged practical merchants in the world, when the glitter and tinsel of the war, and all the high-colouring of prosperity that it gave to British trade, were fading, and things could be seen in their true light. Then it was that the merchants of the City of London felt it necessary to declare, that individual interests must give way to that of the nation, and, when foreign competition was making rapid strides, the true method of bearing up against it, was by unfettering commerce, and by giving it the opportunity of diffusing itself in all directions. Every sentence of this justly-celebrated petition virtually declares the existence of false legislation in matters of trade; and although it was the production of individuals who practically understood every branch of the subject upon which they were treating, and would be the first to suffer if their views were erroneous, still the quarter from whence it proceeded could not prevent that strong motive of human action, self-interest, from appearing among certain parties that had been nursed in restriction, and showing itself in irritation and every form of opposition that their ingenuity could point out to any change. If angry feelings, in many instances, are felt in the various cases of the recent alterations, they are especially likely to be felt by those connected with the Colonies, whose interests are exclusive. The distance from the mother-country necessarily tending to official discrepancy, if not to malversation; the state of colonial society, and several other circumstances that have a direct influence in creating a predisposition to discontent in our dependencies, render the application of change there, although it should be marked by every feature of improvement to the general reasoner and to those not bound down by local prejudices, a task of extreme delicacy; and if this remark be appli

cable to colonists generally, it is particularly so to those connected with our West India possessions, partaking, as they do, of all the motives of irritation that may be felt under alterations by individuals, either in this country or in the other colonies; to which may be added that question, creating so much difference of opinion-the improvement of the condition of the slave popula tion. Without entering, to any extent, upon that interesting and intricate question, we may be permitted to advert to it, before we proceed to that part of the subject that is at present more immediately attracting the public notice-the depression of West India property. The amelioration of the condition of our slave population is a subject so beset with enthusiasm on the one hand, and bigotry on the other, that it is almost impossible to allude to it without either incurring the charge of wild innovation, that will in its result prematurely sever the colonies from the mother-country, and consequently ruin those connected with them, or of encouraging slavery, accompanied by the most revolting cruelties. We are relieved, however, in some degree from the anxiety consequent upon this subject in those who treat upon it, because, whenever colonial objects have been noticed by us, we have never hesitated to declare our conviction of the necessity of granting every facility to the dependencies of this country to improve their condition, to treat them with liberality, and place them, in all their political and commercial relations, as nearly as circumstances will allow, upon a footing with the parent state. This we have held to be the only course that can make colonies really available so long as they continue in that situation, and faithful friends in the event of their becoming independent; but in all these discussions it is highly necessary not to confound the colonies themselves with individuals who set up their interest as paramount, as inseparably interwoven with the colonial system. Every leading circumstance connected with the West India Islands ought to be regarded under this impression; and although we would not, if it can by possibility be avoided, have individuals suffer in their property in any instance, still they must not stand in the way of higher objects; and the more especially when the connection of many of them with the Islands is referred to. This will be more properly considered in tracing the consequences of depression in West India produce; but, in passing, it may be well to notice, that in no system have excrescences upon it grown larger than in the colonial, almost to equal in size the system itself. These excrescences have taken deep root, and ramified themselves widely; but a sound treatment will tend to reduce them, not indeed without considerable dissatisfaction on the part of individuals themselves, and some embarrassment on the part of the colonies, but, as we believe, in no degree endangering their present security, and tending to increase their future prosperity.

The slave-population question stands precisely upon the same ground as several others at this moment: public discussion has long been afloat with respect to it, and the public feeling has been excited; and although isolated acts of cruelty and mismanagement are swelled, by enthusiasts, into general ill-treatment, and on no occasion, we are aware, does exaggeration prevail in a greater degree than in controversies relating to the management of the slave population,-yet a dispassionate review of the subject cannot, and ought not to be much longer delayed. The Government has long seen this, and has been preparing the way by measures of gradual amelioration. But it is not upon the ground of cruelty that this question ought to be considered; for although that has been made a prominent feature in it by those who have injudiciously advocated slave emancipation, it is not the true motive for action. At this moment, the condition of the West India population is more an object with the politician than the philanthropist; for however we may lament the errors of injudicious advocates for alteration in the latter capacity, their exertions have been highly serviceable in checking the ill-treatment of negroes, although those exertions have been accompanied, in many instances, by very wild notions of amelioration; and it is due to many connected with the West Indies, to declare that they have frequently cheerfully assisted in increasing the personal comforts, and in diminishing the personal evils that are

attendant upon slavery, still leaving the great question untouched, and as determined as ever in their opposition to it. With the regret we experience at this, it ought never to be forgotten, that the individuals of property and influence connected with the West Indies have, for the most part, shown a ready spirit to better the state of their dependents there. The question of illtreatment is certainly not now the one to be mainly considered; the object for negro amendment does not spring from that root; for we have reason to know that, taking it upon the great scale, the population is in a bettered state, and enjoying comforts that, in many instances, are not experienced nearer home by the productive classes. The question, then, of ameliorating the condition of the native inhabitants of the islands is in a great measure reduced to one of policy, and it belongs to the statesman to inquire how far it is safe to delay the consideration of it, and how far the opposition of those who are, undoubtedly, deeply interested in it, but whose stake in the West Indies ought, as we impartially view it, to lead them to a different course, should have influence upon the decision. We leave out of view the anomaly of a country, that enjoys the largest portion of genuine freedom, possessing colonies in which slavery is predominant, and apply ourselves to the practical part of the inquiry,-whether such a state of things, under present circumstances, can continue? The events of the last half-century (in which the abolition of the slave-trade bears a conspicuous part) in Europe and another hemisphere, have all had an influence upon British dependencies; but that which has, more than any other, given an example to those in the West Indies, is the revolution that took place some years since in St. Domingo. There is a case in point, of a black population successfully resisting all the efforts of the parent country to bring it into subjection, which, at an immense sacrifice of lives and treasure, she for years made in vain. Certain motives and circumstances impelled the natives of St. Domingo to this resistance; and, we would ask, if similar motives operate with the 360,000 negroes of Jamaica, why are we to expect a different result from them, and the inhabitants of the other islands, when a favourable opportunity offers? Let it not be said that this is dangerous doctrine to promulgate, that it is putting it in the minds of the slaves to revolt. It may be safely asserted that they require no such memento. They are aware that they are in a state of degradation, and they will take the first opportunity of freeing themselves from it. Let it not be said that the language of prudent apprehension, that would lead to a due and calm consideration of this mighty subject, is calculated to bring the lives of the whites connected with the colonies into jeopardy; its object is to save them, when they are on the brink of a precipice, from impending ruin. As the events of the world have changed, and information has advanced with unparalleled rapidity, a certain portion of persons have been trying the experiment of arresting the march of knowledge, and of keeping things, as nearly as possible, in the state in which they found them. An anxiety to preserve what they conceive the advantage, to place themselves upon higher ground of either personal profit or political power, or some other equally alluring motive, according to their particular views, urges them to prolong a contest, in which a little reflection must convince them they cannot succeed. The course of events, and the opinion of mankind, are against them. These overpowering facts hang upon the flanks of this antediluvian phalanx at every turn it takes, and render this army of martyrs to the prejudices of by-gone days, in which their exploits would have been duly appreciated, every hour less efficient, until it will at length become completely hors de combat and forgotten. But weak as its efforts are, compared with the moral force it has to contend against, it has already, and may again hasten a crisis. The completion of the Catholic question is precisely in point. The civil disabilities of seven millions of fellow-subjects were beneath the notice of this trusty band, that fights so strenuously under the banners of bigotry, whether religious or political, unless it were when it could come into insolent collision with them. The disgrace of being kept without the pale of the constitution, and all the irritation consequent upon that disgrace, were phantoms in their eyes; and when the fright

ful reality of danger appeared to those who, to the surprise of every reflecting mind, had so long been sceptical with regard to its existence, the knights errant of exclusion remained steady in error, and in that course of defiance which had done much to hasten the consummation. So it is with the Negropopulation question. As those who saw the necessity, from policy, of liberalizing the laws respecting the Catholics were anathematized as enemies of the Protestant Church; so are they equally charged with hostility to the colonial interests of the empire, who see the necessity of a gradual change in the condition of the native inhabitants of the West India islands, because they know that the discontent which is engendered by moral degradation cannot be always kept under control. It may, like a body of water that is dammed up, remain quiet for a time, but its own force upon the barriers that repress it will ultimately break them down, and the slightest external impetus will cause it more rapidly to carry away the flood-gates, and in its passage in search of a level, to sweep all before it. Can it be supposed that the Blacks in Jamaica, having the example of St. Domingo before their eyes, with the same facilities of retiring into the woods, and there carrying on a desultory warfare, the only limits to which would be the exhaustion of the numbers of those sent from the parent state to take part in it; (with almost the certainty of aid from the Americans, in any struggle they may carry on with the Government at home, which is well known in the West Indies)-will not take the earliest opportunity of shaking off the disgrace and evils of slavery? Is it to be expected that the Blacks will suffer themselves to be pent up for ever by a handful of Europeans, and not endeavour to break down such an insufficient safeguard for preserving their obedience, the first favourable moment? Can it be doubted that the most appalling desolation, both as regards lives and property, would follow in the train of such a movement?

Whilst the West India interest is cavilling about comparative trifles, and resisting the introduction of just principles for the security of lives and property in the islands, the embankments upon which they rely for keeping the great body of physical force within due control are tottering at every part, and ready to give way at the first rush that may be made upon them. If perpetual slavery for the natives of the West Indies were the policy of the Government, it has gone much too far in ameliorating their condition, because, by the recent measures, it has shown them that their lot is a hard one, and, although some of the trifling causes of irritation may be removed, the great sting of oppression still remains. But Government, we are satisfied, can have no such chimerical notions; it is proceeding upon higher and sounder principles, and is endeavouring, by this partial relief, to clear away the difficulties that surround the subject; in which task every public writer may render his quota of assistance, by an honest endeavour to soften down prejudices that exist against opening the great safetyvalve for the West India dependencies. If it is once admitted that slavery cannot continue there ad infinitum—and we believe no one is rash enough to assert that it can-when will a more favourable opportunity be afforded for removing it than the present; or rather, is not the danger of delay becoming every day more apparent? As we have before observed, a great deal of embarrassment in the discussion of this subject has arisen from the wild efforts of enthusiasts to obtain an immediate abolition of slavery, which we are bold to affirm was never yet contemplated by any reflecting person. Mr. Canning, in his own peculiar strain of eloquence, pointed out the danger of giving sudden liberty to the negro, who, with the bodily strength of the man, possesses only the mental weakness of the child; but the whole course of his policy proved that he always looked to gradual abolition: to that measure that would tend to bring mental and bodily powers more nearly upon a par; to restrain the violence of brute force, that has at present no other mental guide than the sense of injury under which the individuals who compose it labour. Gradual emancipation, effected by giving freedom to the progeny of slaves after a certain period, would strengthen the mind with the growth of the body, because education and other advantages would ensue from it, which

would all have a tendency to improve the state of society in the Colonies. If it were necessary, we are prepared to go into the details of this particular branch of the subject; but on this occasion we shall confine ourselves to two objections, as to gradual abolition, that are the most prominent. The first is the difficulty of giving compensation to the slave proprietors, and the other, the maintenance of children that would become free. The answer to both these objections is the same. The relief that the West India proprietor experiences, is at once his compensation for any loss he may sustain in the freedom of his slaves, and renders the maintenance of children in the predicament we have noticed a just claim upon him. Upon what rational pretence but the contemplation of West India proprietors being called upon to make sacrifices under circumstances that must occur, is an equalization of duties upon East and West India sugars withheld? Is not the monopoly that is still awarded to those who produce the latter, a sufficient compensation for any loss they may sustain in the improvement of the condition of the colonial population? Upon what other ground are the people of England called upon to pay fourpence per pound for their sugar instead of twopence? Why are the West Indians to enjoy an exclusive privilege, and make no return for it? With regard to the maintenance of the children who would become free under a system of gradual emancipation, it may be observed, that the expense attendant upon it would be materially relieved by reason of the early age that children can be employed in the Colonies. At eight years old they can be engaged in picking coffee, and performing other light business. It has been urged, as one objection to this method of abolishing slavery, that it would not satisfy the present generation of negroes, and that any measure short of freedom for themselves would rather engender discontent; but those who assert this, we are convinced, know but little upon the subject, or wilfully misrepresent it. The negroes are attached to their children; and is it probable they would not receive with gratitude the great boon of freedom for them? If the interests of the Colonies prevent immediate abolition, can it be doubted that the present race would contemplate with satisfaction the liberty of their progeny? Unfortunately, in questions like the present, the immediate result of profit and loss is the only object looked at by those who are more especially interested. No matter what advantage may be ultimately gained by the modification of a system, or what difficulty and danger may be at a future period averted from the parties themselves; no matter what general benefit may accrue from it, they watch over with jealousy the advantage they now reap, without reference to general or future good. If it were not so, could the West Indians fail to perceive the ultimate profit they would probably secure to themselves by the employment of labourers who would have the strong influence of gain operating upon them as an inducement to industry, or the still stronger influence of the desire to be preserved from want, so deeply implanted in the mind of man; instead of drudges, whose only impetus to labour now is the apprehension of the lash if they relax in it? But the performance of labour in St. Domingo is brought forward as a proof of the disadvantages of voluntary labour in the islands. The example of St. Domingo is the one we wish to avoid. The inhabitants there gained their freedom by force, without any previous steps having been taken to prepare them for it. They rushed into it with the recklessness of savages, totally unprepared for taking any just advantage of their liberty. St. Domingo is a great beacon, pointing out to this country the danger of permitting her colonial population to become free without due preparation. In our judgment, she only holds out an example as to labour, in the event, which God avert, of the negroes of the British islands becoming free in the same manner as her native inhabitants. The diminished duty on West India sugar is a compensation to those who produce it for sacrifices to be made by them, which ought to be regulated in amount and duration according to circumstances. We should say, let it not be given with a niggardly hand, but liberally awarded when there is a just reason for bestowing it; but at present no such reason, that we are aware of, exists. It is true that this bonus was given