riage is little common among slaves; but that proceeds from the absence of religious instruction, not from any objection on the part of the owners, who would be anxious to encourage it." (Why then do they not?) "Marriage between slaves of different estates, is not known." The husband and wife, and children under fourteen, cannot be sold separately.

On manumissions, a sum of 991. currency, or 431. sterling, is payable as a tax; and for the continuance of this tax, the Governor most ingeniously and earnestly pleads, having discovered that a tâx is a great stimulus to industry, and a promoter of good conduct. He is willing, however, in deference to Lord Bathurst, to abate a part of this tax, but proposes to retain about a moiety of it.

Lord Bathurst had proposed, to require a bond, in case of the manumission of children under a certain age, to prevent their becoming chargeable to the island. General Mainwaring (not being aware how strongly, with a view to defend taxes, bonds, &c. in cases of manumission, the West Indians generally had dwelt on the dangers of pauperism) answers with great simplicity," I cannot conceive a case in which such a bond would be necessary for children, under the existing order of things: your Lordship may not be aware, that there are no paupers in this colony," obviously meaning, no free persons who are paupers. This remark equally applies to every other colony, however the fact may have been concealed or denied by colonial writers or orators, who have falsely alleged the apprehended charges of pauperism as their apology for taxes and other restraints on manumission.

The General entertains serious doubts as to the propriety of discontinuing to flog women. He thinks it may be possible, but speaks very hesitatingly upon the point, by means of tread-mills and solitary cells, to establish a system of punishment which might do away with the necessity of the whip; but the whip or martinet he thinks should be reserved in terrorem. But for female slaves, on estates, he is utterly at a loss to conceive what punishment can be substituted. The unanimous opinion of all with whom he had conversed was, that the whip or martinet must be reserved as a punishment for the females, the women being infinitely more difficult to

manage than the men. He adds, "I have had a special report, from one quarter of the island, that, since the whip has been discontinued for the women, the men make use of their wives to convey to their owners all sorts of insolent and insubordinate requests and observations*. I can perfectly understand the possibility of this being the case, and therefore cannot doubt that it is so †; as I am persuaded that the owner will not unfrequently punish the husband for the wife, if he be deprived altogether of the right of punishing this latter ‡.” As to abolishing the use of the whip in the field," the planters are exceedingly apprehensive that, without this badge of office, the commander (driver) will not be able to enforce his orders." If, however, the means of keeping up order and regularity on their properties, that is, enforcing labour, is reserved to them, they will no longer be disinclined to banish the whip.

To grant to the slaves a right of property, the General thinks would be subversive of the existing law, and will besides induce the slave to be dishonest to his owner, or to steal §. To establish savings banks will be extremely difficult, slaves being both mistrustful and incautious. (p. 231, &c.) The letter of General Mainwaring is accompanied by some observations of the Attorney-General. He conceives religious instruction to be scarcely practicable, from the greatness of the expense, the aversion of the slaves, and the hopelessness of procuring ministers. He defends the holding of the markets on Sunday. He objects to the proposed facilities to manumission, and for this strange reason: There is no greater stimulus to labour for a slave than the desire of obtaining his liberty." And yet he proposes an impost to form

*This would imply, that as early as August 1823, the date of this letter, the flogging of females had actually been discontinued in St. Lucia, This, however, as appears from subsequent statements, must have been a mistake; the planters having doubtless tried to impose upon him, by this unfounded representation.

† And yet what was there to prevent the owner at that time from punishing this insolence in the usual way? The law had not yet been altered.

What a shocking picture of the character of the very men whose humanity the General nevertheless praises, and on whose information he relies! § This mode of treating the subject affords a complete proof of the total want of property in the slave at present.

a fund for their maintenance, because manumitted slaves are averse to work, give themselves up to excesses of all kinds, and are thus brought to a state of infirmity and misery *. The regulations for restraining, deferring, witnessing, and recording the punishments of slaves, he thinks are superfluous and impracticable. "Such changes would give the death-blow to the subordination of the slaves, and would essentially compromise the safety of the master." In short, he adds, with evident horror," the total subversion of the colony would be the result of such innovations." (A. pp. 236-247.)

Col. Blackwall's communications are in a similar strain. The proposed measure could not be made law in Saint Lucia with safety to the planters or advantage to the slave. The existing law is decidedly adverse to the abolition of flogging females, and to the right of the slave to redeem himself. The existing circumstances too of the colony are such, that his Majesty's Ministers will no doubt see the propriety of deferring any amendment of the slave laws. The general state of society is far from being highly civilized. There is not one school in the island. The slaves have the intelligence of contentment and simplicity, but no instruction whatever. The proposed change, therefore, would be too serious a change to be carried into effect, without imminent danger to the public peace, and would impede, rather than advance, the cause of freedom. The owner, who now gives his slave every opportunity of exerting his industry in his own behalf, and of disposing of the produce of it, will at once deprive him, as far as may be in his power, of these indulgencies, and no law can be framed to prevent this. Manumissions, which go on rapidly at present, will be impeded rather than promoted by legislative enactments. The master, grateful for faithful services, may be ready of his own will to make any sacrifice; but if the law compelled him to do so, his feelings would be changed†. The most sanguine well-wisher to emancipation could hardly hope it should proceed faster than.

And yet the Governor affirms that there are no paupers in St. Lucia. The sooner such masters are deprived of the enormous powers they possess, the better.

it does at present. Col. Blackwall views it as indispensable to make the slave look up to his owner alone for his freedom, as the reward of faithful service; and he urges Lord Bathurst that the slave should not be entitled to claim his freedom as a right, without paying a sum beyond his value and producing testimonials of his good conduct. "My object," says this officer, "is solely to preserve to the master the affection of the slave, which he would unquestionably lose if the slave considered every moment he worked for his master as a robbery upon that time he ought to employ to obtain his own freedom, or that of his wife and children. I enter as warmly as any man into the views of Government for the amelioration of the condition of the slaves;" but "I conceive it to be impossible to grant, without limitation, this right to the slave without destroying that relation between the master and himself upon which the happiness of both entirely depends." Such are the views of this West-Indian governor.

In a subsequent letter, he states, that he had made a tour of the island. The slaves were well and regularly clothed, fed, and attended to in every respect; a great degree of leniency and humanity was observed towards them; they appeared happy and contented, and their owners seemed to use their endeavours to make them so. And yet, notwithstanding these flattering representations of Col. Blackwall, the slave population, though consisting of many more women than men, appears to be decreasing at the rate of two and onetenth per cent. per annum *. He ought to have reconciled this fact with his report.

On the 9th of September, 1821, Colonel Blackwall transmitted to Lord Bathurst, agreeably to his Lordship's instructions, the draft of an Order "embodying the whole spirit" of the Trinidad Order in Council. He contends strenuously, however, for the continuance of Sunday markets, for preventing slaves from holding lands, and against the slave's right to be manumitted on paying his value, unless he shall have previously obtained his owner's consent. He also proposes, that in all criminal prosecutions, against any White

See Second Anti-slavery Report, p. 152.

person convicted on the evidence of his own slaves, such slaves shall be sold, together with their husbands, wives, and children, and the produce paid to the owner. Two clauses are pro

posed to be introduced, which are improvements on the Order in Council-first, that no punishment shall be inflicted by any owner or other person upon any slave, in respect of any complaint made by him to the protector; but if any punishment is inflicted, it shall only be after trial and conviction before the proper tribunal; second, that not only slaves, but persons of free condition, shall be at liberty to purchase the freedom of their father, mother, wife, husband, child, brother or sister, who may still be slaves.

It transpires incidentally, that under the existing law all interrogations and examinations are secret, to the exclusion even of the prosecutor; and that of course, unless the law is altered, even the protector of slaves would be excluded from them; but surely this ought not so to be.

XVII. SAINT VINCENT.

An Act had passed the legislature of Saint Vincent in 1820, for consolidating the different laws relative to slaves, the humanity of which was highly vaunted as having anticipated all Lord Bathurst's improvements. It was doubtless an improvement on the old law of Saint Vincent; but, on being examined, it was found to be neither more nor less, with scarcely any variation, than a substantial transcript of the Consolidated Act of Jamaica of December, 1816. On the 26th of July, 1824, Lord Bathurst addressed a letter to the governor, Sir C. Brisbane, commenting on this Act of 1820, and referring him to the Trinidad Order in Council for the general grounds of his objections. Among other clauses he objects to two, which enact, that if one slave assist another to go off the island, he shall suffer death; but that if a White or free person assist him, he shall be transported, without saying for what period. Lord Bathurst's remark on these clauses is important, as involving a general principle of extensive application in colonial legislation, and which will be