Vol. VII. No. 7.]

225]

SUMMARY OF POLITICS. JAMAICA COMPLAINTS. (Continued from p. 222.) There have been many subjects of great importance discussed, at different times, in this work; but, I recollect no one of greater importance than this. Those who think, that the sooner we lose all our colonies the better, will certainly not feel much anxiety as to the result of the present disputes with Jamaica; but, those who think, that, without colonies, England could not long maintain her naval power, and who, at the same time, perceive (as, I think, they easily may) that insular colonies, and those too, situated as near home as possible, are, in every way, the best; such persons will, I am confident, find, in the following pages, matter well worthy of their serious attention, matter calculated, if not to aları, at least, deeply to interest them.-By a reference to page 222, it will be perceived, that I was proceeding in certain remarks upon the subject of the Jamica petition, inserted în page 210. Since those remarks were written, there has come into my hands a copy of a paper, published by the Assembly, upon the contents of which paper the petition is founded. Here, indeed, is a full and detailed representation of what is only described in general terms in the petition; and, therefore, it will be of great utility, that an analysis thereof should be laid before the public, in order that a correct judgment may be formed of the grounds of the disputes by which so valuable a colony is now agitated. As much as is consistent with that brevity, which my limits compel me to observe, I shall quote the very words of the paper; because, to judge of the temper in which the representatives of the colony are, we must hear their own language. Having thus stated the motive for adhering, as much as may be, to literal quotations, it is not necessary for me to say, that I by no means make the language of the Assembly my own; for, besides that, upon all occasions, perhaps, it might be perfectly proper in the Assembly of Jamaica to speak of the conduct of parlia

[226

ment in a manner that wou'd be quite unbecoming in' an individual. I think it will appear, in the course of my observations, that, if the interests of the Assembly had been well attended to in England, by those who ought, in due time, to have attended to them, irritation such as now exists, language such as now is made use of, would have been avoided. At any rate, to judge of the state of their minds, and to form an opinion as to what ought to be done to prevent, ere it be too late, the mischiefs that threaten the colony, we must hear what they themselves say.The important paper, to which I allude, is entitled, a "Report from a com"mittee of the Honourable House of As

66

sembly, appointed to inquire into the pro

ceedings of the Imperial Parliament of "Great Britain and Ireland, relative to the "Slave Trade, &c." It is dated, “ Jamaica, "House of Assembly, Veneris, 23°. die "Novembris, 1804;" and printed by order of that House. It sets out with describing the purposes for which the committee was appointed; namely; to inquire, 1. Into the steps which have been taken in parliament to abolish the slave trade; 2. Into the measures adopted for equalizing the duties on sugar imported from the East Indies and from the British colonies, and the additional imposts which have been laid upon the principal staples of Jamaica; 3. To consider of the effects which these measures have produced, and are likely to produce, on the agriculture and commerce of Jamaica directly, and indirectly on the manufactures and trade of the mother country; and, to report the facts, with their opinion of the steps which ought to be pursued by the House, in the distressed situation to which the Island is reduced. After stating that, in pursuing the FIRST object of these inquiries, the committee find that a bill for "the abo"lition of the slave trade at a time limited" passed the House of Commons on the 27th of June, 1804, and that the second reading of it was, on the 3d of July, postponed for three months, in the House of Lords, they

proceed in these words: "By the bill, as it "passed the House of Commons, the abo"lition was to take place on the 1st day of "January, 1805; the only reason assigned "in the preamble of the intended act being, "that the slave trade is contrary to the principles of justice and humanity. The "committee are, however, well informed "that, although the House of Commons "contented themselves with this bold pre"amble, the members who introduced and "supported the bill, as has been usual on "former occasions, in their misrepresenta"tions, mistatements of facts, and their ""abnse of the holders of West India pro"perties; a procedure to which they should

not have called the attention of this "House, but that it seems to have had a

most extraordinary influence on that body, "and, at the very moment they were appealing to principle, induced them to 66 swerve from that even handed justice, "which delights to listen with candour to "the claims made on it by all parties, to "investigate them with patience; and ab

hors sacrificing the rights and welfare of 66 one set of men, under the idea of admi

་་

nistering justice to another." The committee, then state the circumstances relating to an application made, on the part of the colony, to be permitted to produce evidence at the bar of the House of Commons, which came, say they, to "the very singular resolution "of rejecting all evidence, assuming, as "they the committee) are informed, that

46

no new facts to vary the aspect of our 66 case, had occurred, except such as were "matter of public notoriety, and that they "were in possession of a sufficient body of "evidence as to the state of the main ques"tion, alluding, as the committee presume,

to the allegations and assertions, not veri "fied by oath, on which a similar procedare "of the House was grounded twelve years "before." Here the committee state, that their interests were not neglected on this "occasion;" and they mention a petition which was presented by Mr. Edmund Pusey Lyon, the Agent for the island. If they think that their interests were not neglected, so much the better for them, as far, at least, as content is a good. But, though I certainly know nothing of either the talents or the character of Mr. Lyon, or any other colonial agent; though I by no means wish to insinuate, that they have ever neglected. their duty, because it is impossible for me to know the extent of their functions and of their means; yet, it has. I must confess, always appeared to me matter of great asto nishment, that so little, so very little, has, at

any time, been done, in this country, to prevent, or to remove, those false impres sions, which have so powerfully operated against the interests, the peace, and security of the West India planters. We see how vigilant all other bodies of traders are; how watchful they and their agents always are; with what activity and vigour they come forward, the moment they perceive even an intention to attack them. What a contrast does the conduct of the West Indians present! All the movements of themselves and of those who, generally speaking, act for them, seem to partake of the lassitude that belongs to the atmosphere they breathe. That this statement is true, that there has been, and yet is, great neglect somewhere, needs no other proof than that which is to be found in the notorious fact, that, of two or three hundred periodical works published in this kingdom, there is not, the Political Register excepted, one which has not been, and is not, hostile to the West India planters. Could this possibly be, unless there were remissness somewhere? The conduc. tors of periodical works sometimes, and, indeed, very frequently, err for want of information. They publish what is written and communicated to them, or what, from information that has been conveyed to them, they are enabled to write themselves. It is absurd to suppose them leagued together against the West India planters, and in favour of the blacks. They may, and do, deeply partake of the popular prejudice upor the subject; but, this is an effect of prior negligence on the part of the West Indians and those to whom their cause has been committed. The conductors of periodical works can have had, originally, and can now have, no interest in lending their pages to the enemies of the West Indies; and, this being admitted, it is quite impossible to account for their conduct, with regard to the subject of the slave trade, upon any other supposition than that of their having been, through the supineness of the West Indians themselves, always left unfurnished with matter, wherewith to take an opposite part from that which they have taken. The committee, whose report I am proceeding to analyse, say: "the particular accusations of

oppression, without the means of redress, "of avaricious and unfeeling rigour exer"eised towards our slaves, heaped upon "the inhabitants of the British West India "colonies, have been repelled and refuted

by such irrefragable evidence, that they

can now make little impression, except on "the prejudiced and uninformed." This is one of those exceptions that swallow up the

position. The committee might very safely have reversed the statement, and have asserted, that the accusations referred to would continue to make great impression, except upon the well-informed and unprejudiced, under which descriptions, thanks to the want of talent, the want of zeal, or the want of means, in the West Indians and their agents, we may venture to rank ninety-nine hundredths of the people of this kingdom, of all stages and states of life. Now-and-then a dull pamphlet has made its appearance in behalf of the West India planters; but, who reads such performances? They may, some of them, be written in a way that secures the perusal of them by those into whose hands they fall. But, as to numbers of copies, how few are they; and how slowly do they creep oạt into even the narrow circle, within which they are, at last, confined? Let not the Assembly of Jamaica wonder, therefore, that there is a popular prejudice" existing here against the slave trade. In short, I am thoroughly convinced, from much observation upon the subject, that there never would have been sufficient ground for the bitter complaints of the planters of Jamaica, if proper mean had, in due time, been taken to prevent their grievances; and, those planters, may be we assured, that a course, which is now pursuing here, is not that whereby to obtain redress; nay, that it is the course of all others the best calculated for prolonging and perpetuating the duration of the hardships and the injuries, of which they complain. To return to the Report; the committee proceed to combat some of the principal arguments which have been advanced against the continuation of the slave trade. "So ingenious," say they, "is the "malice of our fanatical adversaries, that "when driven from this first and leading "ground" [that of the inhumanity of the planters]" of an application for an abolition "of the slave trade, they have endeavoured "to turn the vindication to our destruction." This endeavour they state to have been made, first, by alleging, that, if the slaves were, as the planters asserted them to be, well treated, the increase by births would be equal to the waste by death and other casualties. This is, the committee state, by no means a fair conclusion; because, as it is well known, the eultivation of the island is continually upon the increase, and must necessarily be so to prevent the ruin of the planters; also because, since the commotions in St. Domingo, coffee has become, in Jamaica, a great article of culture, and, the nature of this culture is such, that, though very few hands are wanted to be employed in it till

-

the plants come to a bearing state, the moment they come to that state great numbers of bands are wanted all at once, and that, of course, so sudden an increase can be made by no other means than those of importation from Africa. Here I must confess, that I think that the argument of the abolition. ists remains unrefuted. The committee fail in their answer; but, the failure arises, not so much from the badness of their ground, as from their having taken a weak position. I say with them, that the conclusion of the abolitionists is not fair; for, the slaves may be very well treated, they may live a thousand times better than they did in their own country, and yet the bir hs may not keep pace with the deaths. It was not judicious to blink the question at all. I am for the candid statement, that the great mortality of the West Indies bids defiance to the principle of population; but, that it does so with regard to whites as well as blacks; and that no one has ever pretended, that the whites were ill-treated in the West Indies. It

is a prill, unless checked by some extraorprinciple founded in nature, that, populadinary means, always keep pace, and, indeed, tread upon the heels of, subsistence. Hence, it is frequently argued, that where those extraordinary and violent checks to population exist, that state of society is vicious, and ought, if possible, to be changed. But, is not this a maxim far too general? How, for instance, will it apply to great cities? No one will say, that the births in London keep pace with the deaths. No one will deny, that, if it were not for continual migrations from the country, London would very shortly be reduced to a moderate size. London contains nearly twice as many inhabitants as the whole island of Jamaica; its unwholesome streets and houses destroy more persons annually, perhaps, than there are Africans imported into Jamaica; but, are we hence to conclude, that, upon the whole, in a humane point of view, the migration to London ought to be abolished? The same may be said of many different trades and manufactories; and, without any very great degree of violence, the maxim would apply to the army and the navy. But, as to the Africans, it is not pretended, I believe, that the constant fresh supply is rendered necessary by the destructiveness of the climate, so much as by the effects of celibacy, and other circumstances therewith connected. And, is this an evil? A question not to be settled without a discussion, into which, I should think, that even Mr. Wilberforce would not be inclined to enter, at least not very minutely. If he were, how

ever, it might be quite sufficient to refer him to the profound work of Mr. Malthus, who has not scrupled to recommend checks to population, as conducive to the good of manKind. Armies and navies operate as powerful checks to the increase of the human species; as preventives to propagation. No one can deny this; yet, for this reason, nobody ever has proposed to abolish armies and navies; nobody pretends that soldiers and sailors are miserable and degraded beings, merely because their state of life tends, as far as they are concerned, to the prevention of the propagation of the species. From the necessity of fresh importations of slaves, no argument, therefore, can, I think, be deduced, in support of the presumption, that they are ill treated in the islands.- Another position which the committee regard as worthy of particular attention, is this: " that

*་

a continued importation of Africans, and "an augmentation of the negro population, "must increase the disproportion between "the inhabitants of free condition and the "enslaved negroes, and add to the dangers of "insurrection and all their fatal train of 66 consequences." In answer to this, the committee first observe, that the troubles of St. Domingo were, in no degree, occasioned by the recently imported Africans, than which, indeed, no truth can be better established. Every one of the French writers upon the subject; at least, every one that I have read, has explicitly stated, what was besides fully corroborated by the testimony of the unfortunate sufferers, that the working negroes were not at all discontented; and that it was with great difficulty that they were induced to take part in the revolt.

These troubles," say the committee, “originated in the bosom of the legislature of the mother country. The native Africans "were not even the immediate instruments

of those who lighted the torch of discord "and death in that once happy country, but, with their masters, have been the victims of all-timed discussions and insane decrees." As to the disproportion between the number of the slaves and that of the inhabitants of free condition, the committee allow, that it is one of the great dangers arising from the state of the West India popuTon; but, they deny, that this disparity is likely to be augmented by a continuance of the trade with Africa, or by a positive increase of the number of slaves imported. They state, that the great cause of inequa lity is the number of estates belonging to residents in Great Britain, on which estates one agent frequently represents many absentecs, and is directed to carry on the cul

tivation with the smallest possible number of white people; that these absentees, having realised something at home, and being eye witnesses of what is passing annually in parliament, have not, of late years, been purchasers of many additional negroes; that the new-negroes have, for the far greater part, been distributed amongst tradesmen, jobbers, overseers, and other enterprising persons living always in the island; and that, therefore, though the absolute number of slaves has increased, the relative number of free people is much greater than it would have been if no Africans had been imported. "The only means," say they, "by which "that most useful body of men, the overseers and book-keepers on plantations, can acquire a competence, is by purcha sing a few negroes (at first generally hired "by their employers on liberal terms), and "gradually adding to the number, until it "be equal to the commencing of a planta"tion. Take away importation, then, and 66 you drive from the country the mosten"terprising and intelligent. In future you "would expect in vain adventurers of the "description who have lately resorted to "the island and superintended plantations." Upon this part of the subject, they further state, that the negroes recently imported have been so employed, and that, from the nature of things, those hereafter imported must be so employed, as, by the clearing of woods and the making of new roads, to render any attempts at insurrection much less likely, because attended with much greater difficulties. It is, on the contrary, from a discou tinuance of the importation that the committee would apprehend real danger from the disproportion in the numbers of the slaves and the freemen." If ever," say they, "danger should arise from this source, "it will be when a dereliction of the slave "trade by Great Britain, whilst it is con"tinued and encouraged by other nations, "shall drive your best tradesmen, most en"terprising overseers, and small settlers, to "the foreign colonies, or to the southern

part of the United States, and convert "their moderate but thriving plantations, "into haunts for runaways and thieves, "whilst their negroes will be purchased by "a few overgrown proprietors, when, for

gradually fitted to receive emancipation, 66 is a distinction much too refined for the "understandings of these latter; but, they "will have no difficulty in understanding, "that "the great country of the Bocaras (or "whites) bas refused to permit their masters "to purchase more slaves, and would give

them freedom, were it not opposed by their 16 owners." They will soon see, that the "situation, in which the island is placed, "invites them to assist the wishes of their

spirit, and will admit, that, as Britons,

bearing faithful allegiance to our King, "and zealously attached to our country, we brought with us inherent rights to the "full enjoyment of property lawfully ac"quired: that these rights, if they could "not be strengthened, were, by royal pro"clamations and charters, recognized to "exist undiminished in, our new situation

as colonists that, by repeated acts of "parliament, inducements and encourage"ments have been held forth, on the faith "of which an immense mass of property "has been invested in the West India "Ilands for the cultivation of staples high"ly advantageous to the empire, often with "little profit to the individual: that, but "for assurances, held forth and reiterated "in the most unequivocal manner by the "British legislature, of a constant supply of "African labourers, the settlements of these "islands could never have been attempted, " and the great body of British creditors, "whose fortunes have assisted in opening "the plantations and are now secured upon "them, would not have embarked their ca.

pitals but from an implicit confidence in "the good faith of parliament: that, if "these colonies, which have heretofore been

ence is thought to be inconsistent with "what is due from the British legislature to "the natives of Africa; if their rights and property are to be sacrificed at the shrine of pretended humanity and justice, we "also appeal to enlightened justice for a full "investigation of the damages, which must "follow, for a complete compensation for "the losses, which shall be sustained, and

66

we claim this as a right, founded on the "clearest principles of justice, and sanc"tioned by the uniform practice of the Bri"tish legislature, in all cases where the property of individuals has been trenched on, 66 or dim nished in value, by regulations in "tended for the general benefit. If the "House of Commons, influenced by popu "lar prejudice, and led away by declama

tion, shall disregard our solemn appeal to "its justice, which we never should have "insinuated to be possible, but for the de"cision above alluded to, we trust to an "impartial investigation by the House of "Lords, where the test of an oath will protect us from much of the misrepresenta"tion which has been called evidence in "the other House. We have confidence, "that they will maturely weigh the claims

of all parties, and that, in distributing jus "tice with mercy to the sons of Africa, they "will not forget the unfortunate, the de

graded, the perilous, situation, to which a hasty decision may reduce thousands of "British subjects, against whom no delin

quency can be proved." The committee conclude this part of their report, with recommending to the House of Assembly to cause their Agent in England to be instructed to make every legal exertion in his power to prevent the passing of the act of parlia ment, to which allusion is made; and that, if the act should, nevertheless, be passed, to endeavour to obtain a due inquiry into the losses which shall be sustained by the inha bitants of the colony, and to procure a provision for making full compensation for the destruction or diminished value of their property. The SECOND object of the committee's inquiries, is, the measures adopted, in the mother country, for equalising the duties on sugar imported from the East Indies and on that imported from the West India colonies, and also the additional imposta which have been laid upon the principal sta