from indiscriminately, wantonly, and cruelly exercising the power they possess over slaves; and as the cruelty of punishment by flogging necessarily depends much more on the manner of inflicting it than upon the number of stripes; it is therefore most conducive to the ends of humanity” [not to limit the number of lashes, but]" to trust to the discretion and good feelings of the justices before whom complaints shall be made:" it is enacted, that if any person commits, or causes to be committed, any wanton act of cruelty towards any slave, or shall wantonly, maliciously, and cruelly whip, beat, or bruise any slave, such person, on conviction before two justices, may be fined not more than 257. (about 177. sterling): and if the accuser cannot prove his complaint, yet if the marks of the cruelty appear on the person of the slave, and the slave makes a particular, consistent, and probable statement of the cruel punishment, then the accused shall be considered guilty, unless he shall prove, either by his own oath or the oath of some credible witness, that the punishment was not inflicted by him, or with his knowledge: and if any slave make a complaint, which shall appear to be frivolous, vexatious, or unfounded, then the justices may give him thirty-nine stripes. Any person maiming, mutilating, or dismembering a slave, may, on conviction at the grand sessions, be punished by fine and imprisonment [no minimum is fixed], or either, as the court shall think fit; and if the maiming, &c. shall have been done by the owner, then the slave shall be taken possession of by the Treasurer of the Island, and forthwith sold [not made free, but sold] to some person of good and humane repute, for the best price that can be obtained for him, and the proceeds paid over to the owner or his creditors. For a second offence, the whole of his property in land and slaves shall be vested in trustees, to be managed, for his benefit or that of his creditors, or to be sold, as the case may be, and paid to him or to his creditors; and he shall be declared incapable of holding the possession, or having any controul, management, or direction whatsoever over slaves.

§ 45. All punishments by whipping, whether by order of the magistrates, or by owners, &c. shall be inflicted with the like instrument used in his Majesty's navy and army, except by

owners who may use a milder instrument. When female slaves are punished by whipping, the same shall be inflicted on the shoulders, in a decent manner, without any unnecessary exposure of the body of such female slaves; but pregnant women are to be punished in no other way but by confinement. The penalty for acting in violation of this clause is 57.

§ 46. Any person fixing an iron collar round the neck of a slave, or fixing chains, weights, or irons of any kind on his body or limbs, shall be punished by fine and imprisonment. Owners, however, may confine refractory or run-away slaves in iron or wooden stocks, or by other means of security; or may send them to labour in the chain-gang for six months at a time; provided it is made to appear, by the oath of the owner or some other witness, that the improper conduct of the slave was not caused by want of food or clothing, or cruel treatment.

§ 47. Any slave who shall hear any other slave speak any words TENDING to mutiny or rebellion, or shall know of his having gunpowder or arms in his possession for purposes of rebellion, and shall not immediately disclose the same, shall suffer death without benefit of clergy, or such other punishment as the court may think fit.

§ 48. Any slave giving information which shall lead to the discovery of plots, &c. and shall cause the conviction of the accused, shall be purchased by the Treasurer and made free, and receive an annuity of 107. and be sent where he pleases*.

§ 49. If any White or free person shall sell or give to any slave gunpowder or arms, or any poison or noxious drug or thing, they shall be fined, on conviction by two justices, not more than 501. And if the offence cannot be otherwise proved, then the declaration of the slave is to be evidence, and the party accused shall be deemed guilty, unless he clear himself by his own oath or that of some credible witness. And if the offender knew that the things sold or given were for illegal purposes, then, on conviction before the grand court, he shall suffer death without benefit of clergy, or transportation.

What a temptation is here given to the fabrication of plots, and to perjury! We shall hereafter meet with proofs of this.

§ 50. Every slave who, in the case of invasion or rebellion, shall by any means kill or destroy one or more of the enemy or rebels, shall be rewarded at the public expense, or made frée, if his cost shall not exceed 1007.

§ 54. Any slave running away or absenting himself, or misbehaving himself to his owner, &c., and the owner not choosing himself to punish such slave, complaint may be made to a justice, who may order the slave to be whipped at his discretion, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, or to be worked for six months in the chain-gang.

§ 60." And be it further enacted, that from and after the passing of this Act the evidence of slaves shall, as heretofore, be taken and received, in all cases against each other." The evidence of slaves having a certificate of competency from the clergyman of the parish, shall be received in all cases which do not concern their owners, or affect the life of a White person. But if any White or free person shall associate with a slave in cock-fighting, gaming, getting drunk, &c.; or shall live with any slave as man or wife, then the evidence of any slave shall be received against such person*. Slaves giving false evidence are to be punished as the person would be on whose trial the false evidence was given.

S$ 64, 65. Hanging by the neck shall be the only mode of executing slaves. All slaves sentenced to imprisonment, "shall and may be worked in chain-gangs."

Such is the Act of which Mr. Moe, the Speaker of the Assembly, had such exalted conceptions, that he gave it as his opinion that the "two branches of the Legislature would splendidly close their labours, by forwarding that great work, completed, to the Executive; and in the night-fall of their existence to have given life to this Act would endear their remembrance to posterity." (B. p. 29.) What an extraordinary perversion of all just reasoning and just feeling is implied in such a sentiment, even if we make the fullest allowance for the horrors and abominations of the various Acts which

*This is a virtual interdict of all intermarriages between slaves and free persons.

this splendid Act, the fruit of so" many tedious hours," has superseded! Of course such an Act never can be sanctioned by the King. It is an outrage upon him even to offer it to his approval. And let it also be kept in mind, not only what this Act does, but what it omits to do. It does not remove any of the obstructions to the manumission of slaves, not even the tax of 501.; nor does it enable slaves to purchase their freedom. It does not cause slaves to cease to be chattels, or prevent their being sold at the discretion of the owner, to the disruption of the dearest family ties. It provides no means of instruction for them, and does not abolish Sunday markets and Sunday labour. It does not protect them in the possession or transmission of their property; nor relieve them from the burden of legally proving their freedom when freed; nor legalize marriage among them; nor put an end to the driving system; or to the flogging of women; or to arbitrary punishments, to an almost unlimited extent, for any offence, or for no offence. In short, it scarcely advances one step towards giving the slaves a participation in the civil rights and privileges of British subjects. The very provisions, framed with a professed view to mitigate the rigours of their former state, avail but little to that purpose, while they serve to mark more unequivocally the depth of their degradation. Is it possible that Parliament cau continue to delegate to such legislators its own powers and its own duties; or that they can refuse at length to interfere between 800,000 of our fellow-subjects and such revolting despotism?

Sir Henry Warde, in transmitting this Act to Lord Bathurst, observes, that "though it may not be so complete as your Lordship might wish it to be, yet very great and substantial improvements" (what then must have been the former state of the law?) "have been effected;" and he gives a hope of farther improvements. (B. p. 1.) They must be very large improvements indeed, to satisfy the just expectations either of Lord Bathurst or of the public.

But there is another chapter in the history of Barbadoes, into which, after the recent discussion in Parliament on the subject, it may now be less necessary to enter-namely, the

E

persecution of the Methodists, and the destruction of the Methodist chapel*. The subject was brought forward by Mr. Buxton, in a speech which gave an able and luminous exposition of the whole of that atrocity. The sense entertained of it, both by the Government and Parliament, could not be more strongly marked than it was in the speech of Mr. Canning. He reprobated the conduct of the Barbadians with the most unsparing severity-" It was unjustifiable, indefensible, a violation of law and justice, a defiance of all legal authority, a flying in the face of Parliament and of the country"-and he moved, as an amendment, a resolution which was unanimously adopted by the House, "that they view with the utmost indignation that scandalous and daring violation of the law and having seen with great satisfaction the instructions sent by his Majesty's Secretary of State to the Governor of Barbadoes, to prevent a recurrence of similar outrages, they humbly assure his Majesty of their readiness to concur in every measure, which his Majesty may deem necessary, for securing ample protection and religious toleration to all his Majesty's subjects in that part of his Majesty's dominions +."

The most remarkable circumstance attending this flagitious act is, the general concurrence of all ranks of the White inhabitants, if not in entirely approving what had been done, at least in manifesting no dissatisfaction with it. The magistrates, with scarcely an exception, seem to have exulted in the success of the outrage, and some of them to have even participated in its contrivance and perpetration. We have not heard that any of those magistrates, who were guilty of so scandalous a dereliction of their duty, have yet been removed from the stations which they had so criminally prostituted. It is instructive to compare the total impunity which has attended this insurrection of the Whites, with the massacres in cold blood which followed, in 1816, the insurrection of the Blacks in the same island.

* See Papers C. and D.

"An Authentic Report" of this interesting debate has been published for Hatchard and Son.