A week after, he (witness) brought over a keg of powder on a mule, also from Lecesne." "He (the witness) was taken to Lecesne by Baptiste the Brigand" (p. 104), who introduced him and Oliver to Lecesne. (p. 106.)

""

Corberand's next and last exhibition was in Kingston, on the trial of a slave named Chance, on the 1st of June, 1824. He then stated, that he had known Lecesne since he was a little boy. Some time ago, as he passed his house, he saw him and Chance whispering a long discourse together, and he saw Lecesne give a jug of powder to Chance. Baptiste, the Brigand, and Oliver, were introduced to Lecesne in town, who said, at any time they wished for guns, to send. Witness took Manhertz to Lecesne, got a Spanish bag, and tied fourteen guns together; and they put them on two mules, and walked all night, and got to Balcarras at cock-crow."

It came out, on this trial, that Corberand had been promised his pardon by the St. George's magistrates if he told all he knew about the conspiracy. Mr. Lamotte, a planter of St. George's, testified that Corberand had varied in his testimony, on the present occasion, from all he had said before. "On five trials in St. George's he had always varied, and given something new." (p. 131.) Mr. Beaumont, the editor of the Public Advertiser, gave similar testimony.

In consequence, we presume, of his manifest prevarication on this occasion, Corberand was immediately committed to close confinement in gaol; and it was afterwards made the subject of a recommendation from the assembly that he should be deported from the island, without even the form of a trial*.

* The papers laid before Parliament omit one material circumstance with respect to Corberand, which tended more than any other to ruin his testimony. He was detected, while giving his evidence, with a piece of silver coin in his mouth, which, by the Negroes generally, is supposed to be an effectual charm against the evil consequences of perjury. The universal knowledge in Jamaica of the prevalence of this superstitious belief proved more damnatory of Corberand's evidence than all his contradictions, inconsistencies, and exaggerations. Indeed he did not scruple to avow afterwards, as may be clearly proved, that all he had testified about Lecesne and the St. George's conspirators was false, and had been said to secure the pardon and the rewards that had been promised him. After this, it seems unnecessary to point out the gross discrepancies of his various statements. On the 19th of January, for example, he said that he and Manhertz were introduced to Lecesne by Baptiste; and then that Manhertz

But, amid the various transactions in St. George's, none has struck us with more disgust and horror than the trial and condemnation of a poor sickly female slave, named Venus, who, on conviction, is valued at 257. currency, or about 177. sterling, for "a rebellious conspiracy to kill and murder the White inhabitants of Jamaica, and for compassing and imagining the death of the White people of that island." The slave and daughter of her master, a Frenchman of the name of Paul Lamotte Carrière, appears against her, and testifies to her using violent language, she alone being present, about killing the White people, and saying the Negroes would be free; adding, “Venus always grumbled against her master.” Her

had carried letters to Lecesne from Oliver. He even says, that the plot was contemplated before he knew Lecesne. On the 7th of April, however, his testimony is, that he and Oliver, not Manhertz, were introduced to Lecesne by Baptiste. On the 1st of June he had a different story. He then said that he had known Lecesne since he was a little boy, and Baptiste and Oliver, instead of being the introducers, were introduced themselves to Lecesue. He also took Manhertz to Lecesne. Again, his evidence on the 8th of January goes to prove that Manhertz and two other persons had made several visits to town for guns given by Lecesne, who was Oliver's great support. But on the 19th of January it was he and Manhertz who got the guns. On the 7th of April, it was Manhertz and Grossly; and on the 1st of June, it was he and Manhertz again.

mas.

In the first account of these trials in the Jamaica newspapers, the delivery of arms by Lecesne was said to have been two weeks before ChristThis statement must at once have blasted the whole of Corberand's testimony, Lecesne having been deported on the 29th of November. The time, however, which stood two weeks in the newspapers, stands as two months in the parliamentary papers. But though the change brings the fact just within the verge of possibility, the improbability is still of a very formidable description. Mr. Lecesne had been a prisoner in Kingston gaol from the 7th to the 25th of October, and in five weeks more he was deported from the island. Now that, during any part of those five weeks Lecesne, just as he had escaped the most imminent peril of exile from his family and country, with a full knowledge of the rigid surveillance under which he was placed by Mr. Barnes and Mr. Mitchell, the magistrates of Kingston, who were known to be anxiously looking about for inculpatory evidence against him, should have employed himself in the hazardous work of furnishing arms to slave conspirators, is too absurd to be believed. There is no need, however, to resort to reasoning of this description to prove the charge to be false and unfounded. And this appears to have been the opinion of the Jamaica Assembly, who, in their report on the disturbances, do not once allude to Lecesne, but bestow high praise on the loyalty of the People of Colour generally. (Supra, pp. 50, 51.)

master testifies that she was "ill-disposed, mischief-making, and disorderly;" another White man, that she was "bad tempered, saucy, and lazy." Her defence was, that she was sickly, and could not work, and that the words attributed to her had really been used by her master's daughter. She was condemned to transportation.

One other conspiracy remains to be considered, that of Hanover; and we must do the gentlemen of Hanover the justice to say, that it is the only affair which wears the very slightest semblance of a conspiracy. There, we have at least some overt acts of violence-something which, to a certain extent, might justify alarm, and punishment too.

By the law of Jamaica, the slaves are allowed twenty-six days in the year out of crop, besides Sundays, for cultivating their provision grounds, which form the sole source of their subsistence. This pittance of time, it may be supposed, is highly prized by the slaves generally, but most by those who are the best and most industrious. The crop of 1824 had been long the month of May had nearly closed before it was finished on Argyll, the estate of Mr. J. Malcolm, who was himself resident; so that the season for clearing their grounds and planting their provisions was rapidly passing. Mr. M. had made them to turn out to work on Saturday the 29th of May; and after they had been working some time in the field (one witness says half a day), they were sent to their grounds; but the afternoon proved wet, and was of little use to them. This plan of turning out before going to their grounds is stated to have been unusual on Argyll, nay never to have occurred there before. The Negroes were unwilling to submit to it ; and when Saturday the 5th of June came, they all went to their provision grounds without first going to the field. They were not flogged on the Monday morning, as they seem to have expected, for this act of disobedience. An intimation. however appears to have been given them, that they would be required to attend in the field on the succeeding Saturday. They determined among themselves, that they would not obey the mandate; but that when Saturday the 12th came, they should proceed as they had done on Saturday the 5th, and repair to their grounds without coming first to the

field.

They accompanied this determination, it is affirmed, with some strong expressions of defiance, and with intimations of their right to be free; but this was only among themselves. Early on the morning of Friday the 11th, Mr. Malcolm was apprized by one of his slaves, William Roach, of the above determination, and of the intemperate language said to be used by the slaves. He immediately wrote a letter on the subject to the colonel of the militia, who called out his regiment to rendezvous at Argyll. A part of the corps reached the estate the same day during the dinner hour of the Negroes; and such was the alarm created amongst them by the appearance of the soldiery, that, when the shell blew to call them to their afternoon's task, instead of coming to the field, they all ran away into the woods. One witness describes the matter thus:" They were frightened, having heard that, when they turned out, they were to be surrounded by the troops, and, if any ran away, they were to be shot and handcuffed." Some of them appeared now to consider their case as desperate. They killed seven horses and three mules belonging to Mr. Malcolm; and the trash-house of a neighbouring estate was set on fire on Sunday, but by whom does not appear. Three of the principal offenders, among whom was the head driver of Argyll, killed themselves to avoid being taken, and a fourth failed in an attempt at suicide. A few were taken by the military, and the rest came in and delivered themselves up in two or three days.

Eleven slaves belonging to Argyll and seven belonging to Golden Grove were put upon their trial. The charges against them were, entering into a rebellious conspiracy to obtain their freedom by acts of force and by resistance to the lawful authorities; entering into such conspiracy to resist the lawful authorities and to overturn the constitution of the island; and rising in open rebellion against the lawful authorities of the island. Sixteen were found guilty. Of these thirteen were condemned to be hanged (and, we presume, were hanged*),

*We say we presume were hanged, because there is no statement to the contrary. And yet the reasoning contained in the Duke of Manchester's letter to Mr. Vaughan applies so very strongly to this case, except as far as respected the killing of the cattle, that we cannot but hope that a part of this story is still untold, and that we shall find that mercy was extended to many of these convicts.

and three to be transported. The value put upon these sixteen persons, and paid to their masters, was 15607.

This, it must be admitted, was a sufficiently, terrible example of vindictive justice. We shall be excused for making a few remarks upon it.

1. There does not appear to have existed on the part of the slaves any premeditated design of rebellion. They conceived themselves to have been greatly aggrieved by the wanton abridgment of their Saturday, the only week-day allowed them for cultivating their grounds out of crop, no such day being allowed them during crop; and their measures appear to have been directed solely, in the first instance, to secure to themselves the whole of the day to which they conceived themselves to be entitled by law. Instead, therefore, of obeying the mandate to muster in the field on the Saturday, they determined to go directly to their grounds, which, it is said, had been the usual course, of proceeding. Mr. Malcolm, the proprietor, does not deny that he had summoned them to attend the field on Saturday; but says his object was to ascertain that they were all on the estate, and had not wandered about on Friday night, and "he always sent them away by seven o'clock." He does not, however, contradict the evidence which says that it had not been his previous custom thus to summon them to the field on their own day; neither does he deny the fact, alleged by one of the witnesses, that on the preceding Saturday they had been detained in the field half the day. This statement of Mr. Malcolm's, therefore, is not very intelligible, but we presume that he wishes to have it understood that it was his intention, in summoning them to the field on their own day, not to detain them beyond seven o'clock. He does not say, however, that he made known this intention to the slaves. Now, let it be kept in mind that the Jamaica law makes the hours of field labour to extend from five in the morning till seven at night. Here, then, two full hours, the best hours of the day too, are to be taken from the day allowed to the slaves for labouring in their own grounds, in order to till their master's fields -although that day is the only allowance made them in lieu of subsistence; their master thus depriving them

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