REMARKS
UPON THE
SITUATION of NEGROES
IN
JAMAICA,
IMPARTIALLY MADE
From a local Experience of nearly Thirteen Years in that Iſland,
By W. BECKFORD, jun.
FORMERLY OF SOMERLY IN SUFFOLK, AND LATE OF HERTFORD IN JAMAICA.
LONDON:
Printed for T. and J. EGERTON, Military Library, Whitehall.
MDCCLXXXVIII.
TO
W. PARSONS, Eſq;
Maſter and Conductor of the King’s Band of Muſic.
Dear Parsons!
My preſent ſituation might have reduced me to the painful neceſſity of trying your heart; but you have generouſly anticipated what diſtreſs might have extorted, and have conſidered yourſelf obliged not only by conferring, but accumulating obligations. When men like attain to the height of their profeſſion, arreſt the applauſe of the ſcientific, and command the ſervice of the great, not only envy will be ſilent, but juſtice approve.
As this addreſs comes forward without your knowledge or conſent, I am not ſure that it will eſcape your cenſure; but I would rather hazard your diſpleaſure, than not confeſs my gratitude.
I am,
Your very ſincere Friend,
W. Beckford.
PREFACE.
The following remarks were written at the deſire of ſome reſpectable friends, who were pleaſed to think, that a reſidence of nearly thirteen years in Jamaica might ſupply the place of abilities, and the ſubject be an excuſe for the preſumption; and although they were only meant for a private eye, yet I do not now ſcruple to ſay, that they are publiſhed upon another account: the place in which I am, the ſituation to which reduced, muſt therefore be my apology to the candid, and my juſtification to the humane.
I am aware that many repetitions will be found in the courſe of the following obſervations; but for thoſe, and the errors that will occur, I muſt ſolicit the indulgence of my readers (ſhould I be favoured with any) who will generouſly make allowances, I hope, for the want of thoſe ſtrictures and corrections of friendſhip, of which my preſent confinement has unfortunately deprived me.
What I have ſuggeſted has been in conſequence of local experience; I have not wiſhed to miſlead, nor to caſt illiberal or perſonal reflections: if any ſhall occur that may ſeem to bear this imputation, they have ariſen without premeditation from the general ſubject, and were not intended to wound the feelings, nor to apply to the private conduct of any individual. The knowledge I have gained in this place of the miſeries of others, may have excited my feelings; but where I behold ſo many of a deeper completion than my own, it would be weakneſs to deſpond, and injuſtice to complain.
As I have not read any pamphlet whatever that treats of the preſent ſubject, I am not conſcious of having adopted the ideas of others;[1] and although theſe remarks were dictated ſo long ago as the month of February; yet a variety of cauſes has hitherto prevented their publication. I now ſubmit them, with diffidence, to the public opinion, in the hope that thoſe who intereſt themſelves in the cauſe of humanity, will not cenſure the intention, on account of the weakneſs of the execution.
- ↑ I am happy to find that the ſame idea that ſtruck me in reſpect to the number of ſlaves confined in one ſhip, has likewiſe ariſen in other minds, and is likely to undergo a reformation; and it cannot be doubted but juſtice will attend benevolence, and that it will not ſuffer private rights to be infringed by public and popular opinion: it ought likewiſe to be obſerved, that this reform can only affect the African, and does not by any means apply to the comforts of the American ſlaves; ſo far, therefore, it will only be a partial introduction of that humanity, which, I humbly conceive, was meant to be extended to both.
Although many of the remarks in the following pages may ſeem particularly applicable to a pen (or a farm upon which the ſugar cane is not planted) they may ſtill refer to any mountain or part of an eſtate upon which the new negroes may be at firſt ſettled, and from which drawn off, and become domeſticated with the ſlaves of the ſame plantation.
Fleet,
June 22d, 1788.
- SIR,
You have ſacrificed your judgment to your friendſhip, in ſuppoſing me capable of making any pertinent remarks upon the ſituation of African and Creole ſlaves.—I ſhall however obey your commands, and confine my obſervations to ſuch particulars as have fallen within the reach of my own experience.
A reſidence of many years in Jamaica, during which period I had the direction of a conſiderable number of negroes, and a portion of them my own, is the principal ground upon which I mean to build my obſervations; and as for that period I was very attentive, not only from intereſt, but pleaſure, to their labour, their accommodation, and their wants, I may be ſuppoſed to have gained ſome little knowledge; though, I fear, not ſufficient to give my arguments that force, which better talents and more induſtry would have a right to claim.
I ſhall not expoſe my ignorance by attempting to deſcribe the ſituation of theſe unhappy people, (who are now become the objects of public, or private compaſſion) when living in either a ſtate of eaſe or warfare in their own country; nor dwell upon the methods uſed to decoy or force them from thence; upon the hardſhips they encounter during the voyage; their want of food or exerciſe; the cruelties inflicted upon them, nor their treatment in the harboor, until the day of ſale; as theſe I have only obtained from oral information, and cannot therefore inſiſt upon as an honeſt evidence. What I myſelf have ſeen, I may with candour advance; and I ſhall think myſelf fortunate, if any remarks I may be able to make upon this melancholy ſubject may tend to open the eyes of the planter, and help to convince him, that, in the relative ſituation of maſter and ſlave, humanity is the foundation of intereſt, and the advocates of the preſent cauſe, that political and national advantage will be the conſequence of a ſyſtem directed to the alleviation of their general ſufferings; if it can be done without infringing upon the rights of individuals. Whatever effect the petitions may have upon this trade, ſo repugnant to our religion, and to thoſe ideas of liberty under which we live; they will, however deſerve to be attended with the bleſſings of thoſe who feel, ſhould they be the means of reſtraining the rigour of a cruel maſter, and tend to a mitigation of the bodily and mental ſufferings; and add in future to the comforts of the unhappy ſlave: and theſe appear to me, the only good effects that can poſſibly reſult from the ſucceſs of the applications.
While now the flame of humanity ſeems to glow in every breaſt, it ſhould not be ſuffered to cool; for the ſpark once neglected will die away, and receive, perhaps, a blaze no more; but the ſubject muſt be touched with a delicate hand, conſidered in all poſſible points of view, leſt inhumanity ſhould be the conſequence of pity, the end of the petitions be thereby defeated, the intended remedy fail, and the wounds of the negroes left incapable of a cure. The comforts that muſt attend their future ſituation ſhould originate in England, extend to Africa, and be matured in the colonies; and what theſe requiſitions are, I ſhall endeavour to explain.
The firſt object that ſtrikes me is, the neceſſity of making a previous arrangement for their reception on board; no confinement under the hatches, nor chains ſhould be allowed; no indecent liberties taken by the crew; no promiſcuous intercourſe between men and women; no families (if ſuch be found) ſhould be ſeparated, no harmleſs recreations in the day denied; nor warm clothes refuſed at night; and eſpecial care ſhould be obſerved, that too many be not confined in one ſhip.[1] If a reform be intended to be made, for the relief of human creatures, why not begin at the fountain head, and trace the ſtream of miſery through all its channels, where open, confine, or divert it; and where not obvious, let a ſearch be made; nor forego the enquiry, until ſomething efficient ſhall be done, or the project be reſigned in deſpair.
Suppoſe a cargo ſhould conſiſt (as many do) of ſix hundred ſlaves, and one half of them ſhould periſh from neglect, or from a want of the common neceſſaries of life; and the remainder be reduced by inanition to ſkin and bones; what advantage can this large cargo boaſt, thus conditioned, over one of half that number, out of which the loſs has been ſmall, and the paſſengers healthy? That many of theſe indignant people have riſen in rebellion, for a recovery of that liberty, which no treachery has a right to deprive them of, may be ſurely forgiven by the independent, and pardoned by the juſt: that many have periſhed on the voyage for want, and that many have been thrown over board, or left to ſtarve upon iſlands, inacceſſible to relief, or pity, has been too generally credited to remain a doubt. If theſe inſtances of cruelty have happened, the utmoſt efforts of human prudence ſhould be exerted, that they may not occur again.
When theſe unhappy creatures arrive at their deſtined port, particular care is taken to make their ſkins have a gloſſy appearance (this being a ſtrong indication of health) to have their heads ſhaved, wholly or fantaſtically, to have their joints oiled, and to make them practiſe ſudden riſing, leaping, or any action that will give vigour to their limbs. If the cargo be much reduced they are often kept back to recruit (for negroes will thrive in indolence, and gain fleſh, as is obvious, under inoculation:[2]) If plump and healthy they are ſhewn a few days after their arrival, and until the day of ſale. It is a ſight, not leſs indelicate than ſhocking, to ſee theſe poor wretches, theſe outcaſts of humanity when firſt expoſed! indelicate as men, women, and children almoſt appear in a ſtate of nature; and ſhocking as the ſight of fellow creatures thus degraded, muſt harrow up the ſoul of every man who is not entirely dead to ſenſibility. If their appearance ſtrike us with a ſomething at which the mind revolts, what muſt their ideas be at the commencement of a ſale? what muſt they think of their precarious exiſtence, when crouds burſt at once upon, and ſurround them; and by a haſty and indiſcriminate choice awaken their fears for the preſent, and confirm their apprehenſions of the miſeries to come? Upon this occaſion of trial and uncertainty, many have plunged themſelves at once into the ſea, more willing to ſecond the anticipations of deſpair, than ſurvive the apprehenſions of an impending fate.
I would here, with deference, propoſe, that the ſales be in future private; that few be expoſed to purchaſe in a lot, that families and connections be particularly attended to, and ſold to the ſame maſter, or if that cannot be, as near as poſſible to the ſame neighbourhood.[3] Such tenderneſs would be a preſent conſolation to the dejected ſlaves, give a pleaſing confidence in the juſtice and humanity of the maſter, reconcile them to their labour for his intereſt, and prove a ſource to the purchaſer of future emolument. I am convinced that many of theſe neglected creatures have given themſelves up to ſorrow and deſpair, for no other reaſon than a ſeparation from their old attachments; and what makes me more inclinable to this belief is, the conſtant predilection they have upon all occaſions, to thoſe who have been purchaſed from the ſame cargo, and whom they emphatically diſtinguiſh by the appellation of ſhip-mates. A perſon of the ſame country to ſpeak the language, explain the nature of their expected ſervice, and how they are to act to avoid puniſhment, and extort indulgence, ſhould conſtantly attend theſe private ſales, (for public ones I have already reprobated, and given my reaſons) that they may not enter with diſtruſt into their new condition; and this idea ſeems to be no leſs founded upon juſtice than policy.
I could wiſh that every Guinea factor, every planter, every purchaſer of a ſlave, would ſeriouſly reflect upon his natural ſituation, and that he would not aſſume conſequence from power, nor oppreſſion from the means of diſtreſs: that every man who willingly, or is obliged through neceſſity to become an exile from his paternal ſoil, and who foregoes the conſtitutional birth-right of freedom, to ſink into a purchaſed ſlave[4] would only reflect one moment upon what he was, and accordingly uſe with moderation that power, which neither mental abilities, nor acknowledged virtues, but a change of climate and a ſeries of fortune have put into his hands.
I ſuppoſe a parcel of negroes to be now purchaſed,—what would be the general idea of extorted ſlavery? a ſecret ſigh, a ſullen murmur, or a deep revenge! How contrary to ſuch ſuggeſtions is the real fact? One, two, or three ſtrangers at moſt of their own colour, will lead from forty to fifty newly purchaſed from one end of the Iſland to the other; they will dance and ſing throughout the journey, without lamenting a change of life, diſſimilarity of manners, or fatigue of diſtance; but will chearfully follow whereever they are conducted, and refreſh themſelves whenever they halt, without reſentment, without ſuſpicion, without concern: nay, if one of their ſhipmates, from apparent weakneſs of conſtitution, or any accidental diſeaſe of body or mind be left unpurchaſed, he will follow his departing companions with a heavy eye: and would ſooner pine away with ſorrow at his rejection, than dread the moſt inhuman ſituation to which his own fears, or the apprehenſions of his countrymen might reduce him.
If the negroes were particularly addicted to revenge, they would have frequent and ſecret opportunities of gratifying, with all its horrors, this implacable and infernal paſſion. I think them more inclinable to forgive than reſent an injury, they will quarrel indeed moſt violently with their tongues, but ſeldom with their hands, and there cannot be much to dread from their general indolence and timidity. The Coromantee negroes are, it muſt be confeſſed, of a more ſavage appearance and intrepid temper; but as they are ſeldom brought ſo young to the country as thoſe of other nations, and indignant at the idea of labour ſoon pine in ſullenneſs, or ſink their ſpirits in their pride, I would not depend too much upon their exertions, nor flatter myſelf with a continuity of their ſtrength. Nowithſtanding the great. predilection for this people I have ſeldom known them anſwer upon an eſtate;—on the contrary—I have been more unlucky myſelf in the purchaſe of theſe ſlaves than in thoſe of any other country—they may do very well for jobbers, and for thoſe who require immediate work; but as they are not equally docile with thoſe of other nations, do not eaſily domeſticate, and form attachments, or work with pleaſure and perſeverance in their grounds, I would not recommend any number of them at a time to be fixed upon the ſame eſtate.
I now ſuppoſe the African to be arrived upon the ſpot, where his labours are to be exerted, and the remainder of his life confined. His content (for I will not think him capable of happineſs, for who is, or can be ſo?) muſt eventually depend upon a variety of circumſtances—upon the effect that his perſon may make upon the purchaſer, upon his obedience to the overſeer, upon the ſtructure of his body, the openneſs of his face, the vigour of his limbs, and upon his apparent ſenſe and ductability; but more than all, upon the connections he may form, and the protection he may find among negroes of conſequence and power upon the plantation.
A negro man is purchaſed either for a trade, or the cultivation and different proceſs of the cane—the occupations of the women are only two, the houſe, with its ſeveral departments, and ſuppoſed indulgencies, or the field with its exaggerated labours. The firſt ſituation is the moſt honorable, the laſt the moſt independant; for I never knew a negro who would not willingly forego the comforts of the houſe (which ſervice requires a conſtant attendance) to be ſure of the hours of accuſtomed leiſure; and what that leiſure is, I ſhall endeavour in the courſe of theſe obſervations to explain.
It appears to me that too many ſlaves are brought to the Iſlands advanced in life; whereas, if only thoſe who are young, or at the moſt under twenty years of age were imported, there would not be much riſk of their having left behind them thoſe regrets, which thoſe may be ſuppoſed to have done, who have been forced from the endearing ties of wife and children, and under the painful anticipations of their future wretchedneſs and want. Thoſe who are at the period above deſcribed, conſider their entrance into a new ſtate of life, as a temporary paſtime, which muſt be greatly enhanced by the ſudden enjoyment of ideal liberty, after the horrible confinement of a long, and perhaps a tempeſtuous, and dangerous voyage. They take the hoe, the adze, the hammer, or the plane the firſt time into their hands with as much youthful vanity as a boy at ſchool does his bat; and it is not long before they know how to make an ingenious uſe of either.
From the age of twelve to ſixteen is, in my opinion, the period that is moſt likely to anſwer the future views of the purchaſer; for as property in the Weſt-Indies is only valuable according to its capital, (as the land would be of little uſe without negroes or cattle to work it) it is ſurely the intereſt of the proprietor (humanity out of the queſtion) to preſerve it undiminiſhed; and if it can be ſupported without a recruit of foreign purchaſe, (an inſtance of which has not fallen within my experience, or that of any perſon with whom I am acquainted) it argues either prevention, care, or ſome accidental properties of ſoil and climate.
I think it bad policy to puſh the labours of the negro to the utmoſt, and I have never known theſe plantations proſper, the matters of which have been bent upon immediate gain. Even ſtrength may be wrought down to weakneſs, the ſlouteſt cattle become diſabled, and the beſt land be ſo much cultured as to make it poor: it is therefore better to forego a preſent, or accidental profit, (for if hurricanes continue, the additional ſtrength of an hundred negroes would not encreaſe the crop in any proportion to the expence) than to puſh forward to an uncertainty, and a blind dependance upon thoſe ſeaſons which have for ſome years paſt ſo woefully deceived. It muſt be confeſſed that more manual exertion is neceſſary upon ſome properties than upon others; for, wherever an eſtate requires a large portion of land, with a ſmall proportion of ſtrength, to be annually planted, the labour muſt be greatly more than on that which with the ſame number of hands, does not require ſo many acres to be ſteadily put in. An eſtate making two hundred hogſheads of ſugar, and preſerving its capital, will be worth more at the end of thirty years than one making three, that is obliged to depend upon frequent recruits. It is not the quantity of produce that is annually made, but the moderate rate at which it is manfactured, that among planters ſtamps the independent and affluent man.
Excluſive of the firſt coſt of a ſlave, the riſk that is run in ſeaſoning more than one out of two, is ſufficient one would think to diſcourage a prudent man from the purchaſe of ſlaves; but as few planters, I am afraid, are conſidered in this light, and as thoſe in particular who reſide in the country are extremely ſanguine in their purſuits, and will buy ſo long as they have either money or credit to ſupport their ideas; it is not a matter of wonder that the ſales are ſo frequent, ſo advantageous to the merchant, but ſo deſtructive in general to him who buys.
I am ſorry to be obliged to ſay, when treating of the fatal complaints of the negroes, that humanity is ſometimes totally forgotten; and that theſe poor, diſabled creatures, whoſe colour and ſituation ſhould excite compaſſion, are often left in the ſtate of painful helpleſſneſs above deſcribed, to linger out their days, unſeen, unpitied, unprovided. Some law ſhould be made, and rigorouſly enforced to prevent this flagrant enormity; as well as to give protection and ſupport to thoſe who from age and infirmity are no longer able to work, and who ſhould not be left at this period of declining mortality to the caprice and inſult of an overſeer. The ſame proviſion ſhould extend to the ſickly and diſabled in all periods and conditions of life. I muſt here likewiſe take notice of an abuſe, as general as it is erroneous, and as inefficient as it is inhuman. When a negro becomes an invalid from age, accident, or any natural or acquired infirmity, he is put to thoſe ſituations of exertion and truſt, which even the moſt young and robuſt, the moſt healthy and confidential are not always equal to the execution of. He is ſent into the mountains to watch proviſions, to prevent the theft of plantation, or other negroes, and to repel the treſpaſſes of cattle, either there, or among the canes; and as few of the pieces are encloſed, many planted with corn, and the cattle, men, and boys very rarely attentive, much is expected from his vigilance, and more from thoſe exertions, which, in fact, from bodily infirmity, he is not able to make; for how can he be expected to run, who with difficulty can barely walk? The frequent conſequence of his inability is a revenge upon the intruding cattle; for as he cannot ſtir to drive them away, he throws a ſtone to knock out an eye, or a lance to pierce them to the heart.
As many negroes of this deſcription watch the pens, in which the cattle are nightly encloſed, when manuring the land for future cultivation, much, too much I think, is expected from their watchfulneſs, perſeverance, and care; nor are they ſufficiently relieved or ſupported in this painful and uncertain truſt. If by chance, after having toiled all day long to make the pens ſecure, and if after his bodily exertions, he drop to ſleep, or pinched by the deſcending dews, or chilly winds (which often blow with an intenſeneſs that would even make the moſt hardy European ſhudder) he retire to his hut for warmth, or to prepare his food; and if, in this temporary abſence, nay, although he ſhould be intent upon his watch, a refractory mule, or an obſtinate ſteer ſhould break the encloſure, and only trample upon a young, or break a ripened, cane; the poor wretch conceives his crime to be ſo enormous, that if he cannot depend upon the juſtice, or humanity of the overſeer (to which but few will make appeal), he immediately abſconds, a truſty negro is diſpatched in ſearch, he is brought home, and puniſhed for a double crime; for that of neglect, and that of abſence; although the utmoſt ſtrength and circumſpection might not have been able to prevent the firſt. If a dentinel be only expected to give a vigilant watch for two hours, without any previous fatigue of body or mind; why ſhould a worn-out negro, unable in his perſon, and ſunk by toil, be expected to be reſponſible for a watch of twelve? I could here deſcribe the poor negro with patient trembling, and wiſhful thought, lament the want of raiment, food, and ſhelter: but as his feelings are ſuppoſed to be different from ours; his body impaſſive to the ſame intruſions, and his mind not affected by the ſame cares; I ſhall avoid a painting that might be thought more florid than juſt; and content myſelf with tracing a repreſentation of his ſufferings in my own mind.
I ſhall now take up the imported ſlave from his firſt introduction to labour, and mark his progreſs in health and ſickneſs, under a mild, or cruel maſter, and in a warm, or chilly climate; for inconſiderable as is the extent of latitude between one part of the iſland of Jamaica and another; yet the ſeaſons vary, almoſt as much as between ſpring and ſummer, and autumn and winter in other regions.
Every man who purchaſes a negro, ſhould lay it down as a general poſition that he cannot bear the cold; his hut ſhould therefore be erected in a ſituation, impervious to the breeze at night, and under a local protection from the norths at noon, at the ſetting in of which (as they blow with uncommon keenneſs) moſt Europeans who have been long ſettled in the country, have annual viſitations of the fever; and the chilly negroes, attacked by pleuriſies, very ſenſibly feel, and painfully ſuffer, from this alteration of the climate.
There ſeem to be but two plans adopted for the ſeaſoning of African negroes, and neither of which can I, from experience, approve. I only wiſh to broach, not inſiſt upon, my ideas; and I ſhall chearfully beſtow my humble mite of thanks and gratitude, to theſe who may ſucceſsfully labour, and triumph at laſt in the cauſe of humanity.
A ſlave, ſo far as his degraded ſituation will allow, ſhould be made eaſy, confident, and independent. A property ſhould be given to him, as ſoon as may be, in a houſe, in live ſtock, or a ground. Let time be given to him upon his arrival for pleaſure, and encourage him to look forward without concern, to his future work. Let him be taught to build a hovel for himſelf; and for this purpoſe let a man, who ſpeaks his native language, aſſiſt him in felling the wood; let the cattle belonging to the eſtate draw it home; and let him make a pleaſure, not a duty, of his building. Let the ſame indulgence be allowed him, reſpecting his ground, let him work it for himſelf; let it be particularly guarded, and every intruſion upon it for the purpoſe of theft, if diſcovered, be ſeverely puniſhed. If he be led into idleneſs, or neglect, or be taught to thieve by other negroes, (for example is contagious) let the ſeducer, and not the deluded, encounter chaſtiſement, in which the intent and not treſpaſs ſhould be conſidered; for if a negro be not able to provide himſelf with food, and there be plenty, unappropriated, upon the plantation, (of which I have known ſome, I may ſay many inſtances) it cannot be deemed criminal in him to take for ſelf-preſervation, what an inhuman overſeer might deny from humanity.
A new negro ſhould not be threatened with the whip, nor brought where puniſhments are inflicted: as many are reduced, from the chances of war, from independency to ſervitude, they will often feel their reverſe of condition with reſenment; or will brood over in ſilence, thoſe miſeries, which, as they cannot elude, they may treaſure up in their minds to be matured by future events.[5] Some indeed will dare the terrors of the boiling cauldron, ſome attach themſelves to trees and doors, ſome plunge into the rapid torrent, and ſome will end their deſperate exiſtence with a knife. The Eboe negroes are particularly addicted to ſuicide, and a very trifling anticipation of miſery will make them ruſh, almoſt by families, at once into eternity. Great tenderneſs ſhould therefore be ſhewn to ſlaves of this deſcription;—they ſhould be bought young; and in the choice of women, from whatever country they might come, I would ſelect thoſe (although they be not thought to be the moſt valuable) who ſeem to be in a fair way to become mothers. The immediate indulgence which that ſituation requires, and the time allowed after the period of delivery will be the means of preparing them by degrees to their expectted labour; they will inſtantly make acquaintances, or form connections with thoſe who have been before purchased from their own country, and it will reconcile them by a gentle progreſs to the diſcipline, manners, and climate: but the principal advantage to the maſter will be the pledge newly given to his property of the attachment of the parent to that ſpot upon which her child is born. I think that negroes in general are tender of their children, particularly of thoſe who are in a ſtate of helpleſſneſs; and if they were encouraged as nurſes, I am apt to believe that ſo many would not be loſt within ſo ſhort a period as nine days after their birth. I am aware that there are many planters who do not with their women to breed,[6] as thereby ſo much wok is loſt in their attendance upon their infants: but a man who looks forward ſhould conſider that theſe young ſhoots, when become ſaplings, will be fit for a variety of uſes, and when grown up will be the future ſupports of the plantation. Thoſe properties that do not raiſe, muſt be obliged to purchaſe ſtrength; and to thoſe of this way of thinking I can only oppoſe my opinion, while they are left the free indulgence of theirs. I ſhould imagine that there are few planters who would not rejoice at the ſight of a long liſt of negro children, as it muſt reflect ſome credit upon their humanity, that of the overſeer, and upon the value of their negroes; for I have always obſerved thoſe to be the moſt ſteady, the moſt quiet, the moſt obedient, and their labour the moſt to be depended upon, who had theſe tender and pleaſing ties to bind them to the property.[7]
A planter who wiſhes to look forward to future independency, ſhould not be too ſanguine in his purchaſes, under the idea of puſhing his property to decreaſe his debt: he ſhould conſider, that, for what he buys, notwithſtanding the temptations of a long credit, he muſt be at laſt obliged to pay; he ſhould conſider beſides that intereſt is a perpetual motion, and that even with the beſt proſpects, hurricanes may ſweep away, the blaſt deſtroy, or drought burn up his canes. Expence is certain, but the fruits of that expence precarious: and I rather think that eſtate will be the ſooneſt clear of debt (for I conſider almoſt all in the Weſt-Indies to be ſo, particularly ſince the late calamitous viſitations of heaven) which proceeds with a mild and ſteady operation of its ſtrength and means, the proprietor of which is more anxious to do juſtice to his creditors by an annual, although a ſlow decreaſe of his encumbrance, than by augumenting his loan under the idea of puſhing his crops, and of thereby weakening thoſe powers, which at the laſt muſt fail.
The two methods generally adapted for the ſeaſoning of negroes (and both of which I have repeatedly tried, and in both of which I have failed) are the following: either to quarter them upon old ones, under whom they are to learn to make a ground; or to have one ready planted, full of proviſions, and apportioned to them upon their arrival: of both theſe plans I highly diſapprove, and for the enſuing reaſons. If a new negro attend an old one to the mountain, (as it is the undeviating principle of the colour not to do that for themſelves which others will do for them) it is ten to one but he make the ſtranger do the drudgery, while he claims, in conſideration of the uſe of his hut, and the pitiful ſubſiſtence he may give him, the undiſputed poſſeſſion of all the produce—nay more, he will make him his ſlave upon all occaſions, and if he expreſs by ſullenneſs the leaſt diſinclination to do that which he is imperiouſly ordered to perform, threats at leaſt, if not a blow, will be the immediate conſequence. If he complain to the overſeer, he may not be inclined to liſten, the conſequence will be a diſcouragement to future applications, and a more dependent ſituation under the tyrant than he experienced before. In ſhort ſo ſoon as he begins to be handy, to underſtand a few words of the language, and has learned to pleaſe the culinary taſte of his maſter, he is kept awake for this purpoſe, ſent upon meſſages, and goes through the meaneſt ſervice of dependency: ſo that in fact the new negro has not only his overſeer to obey, but his tyrant to pleaſe; and under this double humiliation this part of ſlavery at leaſt may be eaſily conceived. The other mode of ſeaſoning is to give them grounds, and work them all together in one gang on Sunday to clean or plant it; and as this is done under the eye of a driver, it is only accumulating the ſeventh day of labour, inſtead of giving the one of reſt. As negroes of every other deſcription have this day to themſelves all the year round, and out of crop every other Saturday, one would naturally think, from policy, as well as humanity, that the new negroes ought to be more than entitled to this indulgence. It muſt ſurely be attended with mortification to them to behold their fellows-labourers in the ſame plantations ranging over the face of the mountains to chuſe a ſpot for preſent cultivation, or to abandon that at pleaſure, to ſelect another that his inclination may prefer; while they are obliged to work under the hoe, and feel not that day of independency which the others enjoy. But this is not all—a portion of ground with bearing proviſions is given to them, from which they are expected to ſubſiſt, before they are become ſufficiently acquainted with its nature to aſcertain either its uſe or value: The conſequence is, in the end, defeated; what si ready for the pot they indiſcriminately gather; and heedleſs of the morrow, conſume, or deſtroy in one day, what was expected, with labour and foreſight, to laſt a year; and ſo ſoon as they ſhall have gleaned it to the laſt bunch of plantains, or the ultimate root, (which it would be a miracle if the thieves have ſpared) they then neglect its further cultivation, and throw themſelves back upon the indulgence of the maſter, who refers them to the overſeer, and the overſeer perhaps to puniſhment. There is no doubt that many negroes, even upon properties that are abundant in proviſions, abſolutely die, or contract incurable complaints from a want of food; and here it is in vain for the doctor to preſcribe; for his ſkill cannot, although his remonſtrances might, if attended to, have helped to avert the horrors of want. I am ſorry to obſerve, that much reform is wanting, where one ſhould hope that fellow-feeling would rather anticipate, than wait for the ſlow progreſs of thoſe complaints, which cannot fail to bring the unhappy ſufferer to an early grave. It is melancholy to ſee the more than brutal inſenſibility with which the patient negroes are often times in ſickneſs treated—it is more inexcuſable, as their ſilence and reſignation under, and the fortitude with which they bear the moſt excruciating bodily ſufferings, and profeſſional pain, would paſs among divines for a chriſtian obedience to what they feel; and among zealots entitle them to the appellation of martyrs in deſpair. The truth is, the poor negroes are ſeldom conſidered as human creatures, and are conſequently as rarely treated as ſuch.
The plan I would humbly ſubmit for the ſeaſoning of new negroes is eſſentially different from thoſe deſcribed. I would firſt of all prepare them for the climate, give them time to recover the fatigues of the voyage; have them carefully examined by the doctor, left for ſome time to his direction, and worked under his orders; indeed I could wiſh that the practice had more controuling power over the hoſpital, purſes, and diet of the ſick negroes in general than they now have; for where an overſeer has the vanity to think that he can ſupply the place of the doctor; the two provinces muſt naturally claſh, and the poor negro will become the ſacrifice of his temerity.
I now ſuppoſe a cargo of African ſlaves to be arrived upon a property; I would therefore have, in the firſt place a general dormitory prepared for their reception; it ſhould be large, and commodious; but not expoſed to the air, for negroes of all deſcriptions diſlike the cold; nay they will frequently ſleep ſo near the fire, as to have their cloaths burnt, without perceiving it. Proper people ſhould be provided to waſh their cloaths, and dreſs their food. They ſhould be fed, for the firſt twelve months at leaſt, under the eye of the overſeer; they ſhould be worked in ſuch a manner as to make their employment rather a pleaſure than a toil; they ſhould be generally engaged, (but not on Sundays, for that day ſhould be always their own) in planting, cleaning and gathering proviſions; they ſhould be early taught to have ſome pride in, and idea of independency, that they may look forward to their own houſe, their own ground, and in time, their own family. They may now and then be drawn off to do ſlight jobs upon the eſtate; this will make them handy, and tempt them to form connections there; and ſo often as this ſhall happen, the idea ſhould be encouraged; as a negro thus willingly domeſticated, will probably be of more durable ſervice than two or three removed to it at once from the ſhip. It ſeems to me indiſpenſably neceſſary, that the negroes of their own country ſhould attend their wants, and that one of the ſame deſcription ſhould ſuperintend their work. The whip ſhould be diſmiſſed; and ſugar and water given to them when they become weary, or the fun is intenſely hot. They ought not to be ſent out too ſoon in the morning, nor continue too late in the evening, particularly in the rainy ſeaſons; when I think that all, without exception, (more eſpecially thoſe who are nurſes) ſhould be much indulged. They may be employed in the work already mentioned, or in chopping paſtures, cleaning young canes, dropping dung, or attending the tradeſmen; and theſe I would recommend to be their ſole employment, for at leaſt one year, and altogether in one gang; and during which period, I would not ſuffer them upon any account to go into a cane piece after the traſh begins to fall, as it is very apt to excoriate the ſkin, and leave ulcers behind, that are not eaſily cured by time and application. So ſoon as they ſhall know how to open and cultivate a ground, and the overſeer ſhall be aſſured that they are capable, and willing to make it their future dependence, he ſhould ſupply them with materials, and ſend them aſſiſtance to build a houſe; ſhould encourage them to become domeſtic, and ſhould by degrees initiate them into the labours of the field; but I ſhould not ſuffer them to be put into the big gang, until their growth ſhall be confirmed; and unleſs they have ſufficient bodily ſtrength to make their way good with the others. As for thoſe, who are intended for a trade, their labour is proportionably eaſy; but I would, independently of their work, recommend the ſame treatment in every other reſpect, with thoſe intended for the field; and even the houſe negroes ſhould be eſtabliſhed in their own houſes, and grounds.
I think that negroes in general are a healthy ſet of people; and if they were more indulged than they are in ſickneſs, their work more apportioned to their ſtrength, their food certain, and their cloathing warm, that they would ſeldom trouble the hoſpitals with their company, or the overſeer with complaints. If a good negro, ſhould not, by ſome accident, turn out ſo ſoon one morning as the others do, or with from ſlight indiſpoſition to lay up a few hours, or take perhaps a whole day; I think that, in conſideration of his regularity in general, it ſhould be overlooked. It is an eaſy matter to diſcriminate between thoſe who are deſerving, and thoſe who with to make an excuſe for idleneſs; and perhaps it might be better to paſs over a fault in the firſt, than admit of the leaſt excuſe (except in ſickneſs) in the laſt. Many negroes are obliged to reſume the hoe, when with proper indulgences they ſhould ſeek their beds; and if their feelings were to be more generally credited, and more forbearance ſhewn upon particular occaſions, there would not be ſo many really ſick, and by no means ſo many ſkulkers; for when theſe poor creatures are made to turn out, when complaining, before it is morning; and, after the fatigues of the day, are employed amidſt the dews of night, or obliged at any time to work in the rain; the conſequence will be a full hoſpital the enſuing morning. It is ſurely better to obtain a proportionate quantity of labour from many hands, than to expect the ſame work to be done by few; in the firſt place, the buſineſs will proceed with regularity, and promiſe a continuance; in the ſecond it will be overſtrained; and like the bow that is too much bent, will break at laſt.
Negro children, as well thoſe who are creoles, as thoſe who are purchaſed, ſhould be lodged together, and under the particular notice of the overſeer; they ſhould have proper women to attend them day and night; they ſhould be made to move about, that they may have the uſe of their limbs, and kept in health, under the eye of a prudent old woman, whoſe ſole buſineſs it ſhould be, to make them hand-weed paſtures, or to employ them in ſome light work in which they may take delight, and which a gang of children, if it be at all numerous, will do to the full, as well as ſeaſoned negroes. They ſhould not be made to depend upon their mothers for food; but ſhould be daily ſupplied from the overſeer’s houſe; and he ſhould direct them to be fed three times a day, either under his own eye, or that of a book-keeper. They ſhould not turn out too early in the morning, nor be ſuffered to move out of their huts after dark; and to ſpeak my ſentiments, I do not know any quality ſo good in a manager as that of taking eſpecial care of the negro children.
It is obſerved, that negroes are not grateful: that thoſe who have been the moſt indulged, are generally thoſe who will be the firſt delinquent. It has been ſaid, that thoſe who have been kept under a ſteady diſcipline, have been ſeldom known to commit enormities, whereas thoſe who have been treated with peculiar kindneſs have made wanton attacks upon the life of the maſter, and been the firſt perhaps to excite rebellion: ſuppoſe that all this be even granted, (which however in many inſtances I can perſonally deny,) yet ſtill the feelings of the ſlave muſt be conſulted, and general rigour ſhould not be purſued in conſequence of private treachery. If neceſſity can plead an excuſe with the European ſettler, or the planter for the abuſe of power, and reconcile the tyrant to the caprice of puniſhment,—the ſufferer ſhould not therefore meet with oppreſſion when patient, nor cruelty when reſigned—the ſituation of maſter and ſlave ſhould be humanely conſidered; and as the firſt owes his bread to the latter, it is his duty from principle, as I ſhould hope it would be from inclination, to protect him from cruelty, and preſerve him from want.
The ſituation of a good negro under a kind owner or a benevolent overſeer is not to be pitied, indeed it is very ſuperior in many reſpects, (the idea of inidiſcriminate puniſhment excepted) to thoſe of the generality of labouring poor in England—the firſt indeed are ſlaves to their maſters—the laſt to their wants. Under the ſubjection of ſuch as I have abovementioned, even the condition of a worthleſs one is by no means ſo deplorable as the humanity of Europeans ſeems to ſuſpect; nor are their puniſhments ſuch as to ſtrike with horror, when we reflect upon what people of our own colour and language, our own religion and feelings, ſo often ſuffer in the perſons of ſoldiers and ſailors[8]. Under capricious and inhuman managers, who in the tyrant ſink the man, their ſituation is, in ſome reſpects, too lamentable to be deſcribed; for as they are determined not to be pleaſed, they will not give their negroes a good word, grant then any indulgence, or look upon them as human creatures endued with feeling, or ſubject to the laws of humanity; but they will on the contrary inflict heavy puniſhments for the ſlighteſt omiſſions, be conſtantly upon the watch to detect petty errors, and deſcend to ſuch inſtances of low and malignant revenge as would ſhock the greateſt ſavage that ever enjoyed the ſight of human blood. To wretches of this deſcription, whoſe cruelty riſes in proportion to the weakneſs of the object, no excuſe ſhould be made, no protection given; they ſhould be deprived of the powers of puniſhment, hooted through the world as diſhonourers of nature; ſhould find no companion but ſhame, no reſt but in death; and this completion of human puniſhment ſhould be as painful as ignominious.
The diſcipline of theſe degraded mortals ſhould be ſteady, not ſevere, nor ſhould they proceed from malice or reſentment; and the overſeers ſhould be particularly careful not to indulge themſelves in liquor; and ſhould likewiſe reflect, that as the poor negro depends entirely upon their mercy, that in this caſe forgiveneſs becomes a victory. They ſhould not be chaſtiſed in ſuch a manner as to lay them up, for the end of puniſhment is defeated by a loſs of labour; and a long remiſſion from employment may beget indolence, that indolence may ſofter other crimes, and thoſe occaſion ſeverities which too often tranſcend the bounds of juſtice and humanity. When a negro becomes familiarized to the whip, he no longer holds it in terror[9]: for I have generally obſerved, that it does not correct, but multiply faults; that it often makes one who was good become bad; and that inſtead of ſucceeding as an example, it has a contrary effect, and will ultimately drive the idle to villainy, and the feeling to deſpair.
I would propoſe that no ſlave ſhould receive more than the legal ſufferance of nine and thirty lathes, (if the whip be thought indiſpenſably neceſſary, but I would recommend the ſubſtitution of ſome other puniſhment[10]) unleſs it be in the preſence of the doctor, (who ſhould be made reſponſible for the exceſſes of infliction,) and even then the extent of ſeverity ſhould be directed by an attending magiſtrate. Upon many negroes ſhame will operate more powerfully than the laſh; and I do not ſee any reaſon why they ſhould be mortified when they demand our pity; on the contrary—they ſhould be encouraged to take ſome pride in integrity, and know how to value a confidence when repoſed in them: that numbers are radically honeſt, and worthy of truſt, I have the experience of near thirteen years to corroborate; and this poſition I am convinced that many people who are acquainted with the Weſt Indies will ſupport; and I am moreover apt to believe, that they would not labour under that general ſtigma of diſhoneſty they now do, were they better inſtructed, or were they even taught the difference between a good and an evil action, and had better examples before their eyes, from which they might copy the ideas, and perfect the practice of moral rectitude.
I ſhall now ſuppoſe that the African, are aſſimilated as it were, from time, connections, and habitudes of cuſtom, with the Creole negroes; I ſhall therefore, for the better elucidation of my ſubject, deſcribe their general and ſpecific labours upon a plantation, beginning with their hours of toil, and interventions of reſt, and deſcend to their common recreations, and domeſtic œconomy; by which means you will be enabled to form ſome juſt ideas of the real ſituation of a ſlave; and will in conſequence, I hope, believe, that it is by no means ſo dreadful as thoſe, deluded, I fear by a miſtaken, although a laudable motive of humanity, may be led to believe: I ſhall afterwards give my opinion, (which I ſubmit with deference and humility) how their conditions may with a proportional benefit accruing to the maſter, be greatly meliorated, without any local exertion, or mental ſuffering.
When negroes become maſters of their work as much may be done by ſlight as labour; and a conſtant habitude makes that familiar, which to a looker on would be conſidered as a hardſhip under which both ſpirits and ſtrength muſt ſoon ſuccumb. They generally turn out to work at ſix o’clock in the morning, and continue unremittingly employed until the time of breakfaſt, which is generally between the hours of nine and ten. For this meat they are allowed half an hour, but three quarters or more is the general average. They then continue upon the hoe till dinner time, that is, until twelve or one o’clock; and perhaps the medium of theſe hours is the general time of vacancy all over the Iſland. Although this be called the time of refection, and is with the overſeer and the white people upon the plantation that period of the day which is ſet aſide for this particular purpoſe; yet in this interval the negroes ſeldom make a meal, but are rather inclined to indulge their leiſure in converſation with their fellows, or to loiter away the time in uſeleſs inactivity untill the ſhell[11] prepares them for a renovation of toil. They are allowed for a nominal dinner one hour and a half, but it generally arrives at, or exceeds two, before they all aſſemble; and if the ſpot upon which their labour be called, be at any diſtance from their houſes, the time is proportionally elonged. They ſeldom continue in the field, out of crop, after ſun-ſet, which is never later than ſeven, ſo that from this hour until ſix the enſuing morning they may call their time their own; a part of which they conſume in broken ſleep, the reſt in ſupper and a preparation for breakfaſt at the matin ſummons; ſo that the negroes can abſolutely command between thirteen and fourteen hours a day, out of crop, beſides the accidental vacancies during the rainy ſeaſons, without mental care or bodily exertion; and where is the labourer in England who can reſign himſelf to reſt, and be ſoothed by theſe reflections.
An European burns at the very idea of human nature toiling in the fervid regions of the torrid zone, without conſidering that every climate has its inhabitant, and that inhabitant its local cuſtoms and labours to endure. An African would ſhudder at the anticipation of being expoſed to rains that freeze, and colds that numb; and the effects of the laſt (adverting to climates) are more ſudden, and more fatal in point of ſenſation than thoſe of heat: as animal warmth preſerves the ſyſtem in life and health; ſo doth a languor or fatal ſuppreſſion of this principle give rife to ſickneſs, or conſign to death.
In crop time the labour of the negroes is more conſtant, I will not ſay that it is more ſevere. The ſituation of the tiers (or thoſe who collect and bind up the canes for carriage) is that which I have been the moſt often led to compaſſionate; for as they are too weak for the labours of the big gang, one would of courſe imagine that they were entitled to ſome indulgence—on the contrary they are oftentimes kept in the field from morning to night[12] without the privilege of retiring from their work, or enjoying that interval of reſt from the ardours of the mid-day ſun, which other negroes expect invariably to enjoy. To oppreſs the weak with toil is impolitic and inhuman; but as labour in the Weſt Indies is not always apportioned to ſtrength, it cannot be wondered at, if exertions without power, and weakneſs without indulgence, ſo frequently fail.
To enter into a detail of the continued labour of a negro would be as tedious as ta trace the exertions of a hedge-man from morning to night; the firſt works with vacancy, the laſt with thought. So ſoon as the day ſhall cloſe, the one has not any thing to do but to prepare for ſupper, and for reſt. An omiſſion of his labour is not attended with a loſs of bread to himſelf, his wife, and children; a fit of ſickneſs is not followed by an expence, which the labour of ſeven days in the week will not diſcharge; he is not deprived of ſleep by the anticipation of want, nor alarmed in his dreams by the ideal ſummons of an attorney, nor does he dread that utmoſt reach of meanneſs and oppreſſion, that ne plus ultra of vindictive juſtice, that confines misfortune to the horrors of a jail, and ſinks the ſufferer, his family, and hopes to irremediable miſery, and eternal deſpair. Let the unfeeling, who inhumanly trifle with the wretchedneſs of others, but ſeriouſly reflect how ſoon diſappointment may arreſt their means, and juſtice vindicate the cauſe of innocence: of how little avail is that wealth that is accumulated by extortion, and how ſuddenly inflated pride, and unmerited elevation will ſink into ſilence, and be buried with contempt! Let the wretch who fattens upon the means of others, but conſider that rapacity is amenable to juſtice; and that he who cannot live with honour ſhould ſink with ſhame. The accidental ſunſhine of fortune is often found to be an ignis fatuus that leads the bewildered imagination through pleaſant woods and flowery meads, that it may not be conſcious of deſtruction, until it be plunged into the eternal abyſs—the abyſs that humbles pride, the retreat that ſtrengthens ſuffering.
A ſlave, from his ſituation commands protection; and before he can ſink his maſter muſt fall; nay, he is by law conſidered as a fixture, as a vegetable upon the ſoil, which the hand of power cannot eradicate, and which muſt either flouriſh, or wither upon the ſpot. The neceſſitous labourer in England meets with no compaſſion for inability, no indulgence from age, no feeling from deſpair: he muſt pay, or ſtarve; and if he die inſolvent his friends are not aſſured that he will find a chriſtian burial.
The pride of freedom may here learn a leſſon from the ſlave. I know not any ſituation that ought to degrade human feeling. I will not acknowledge any religion that will ſpurn at natural goodneſs; nor will I give more credit upon the ſcore of mental rectitude to the proud in ſcience, than the humble in ignorance. As I wiſh to vindicate humanity, I will defend where I can, and applaud where I aught, thoſe unhappy creatures, who labouring under oppreſſion are entitled to mercy, and as inſtruments of wealth deſerve our gratitude.
The fellow feeling of negroes is either certainly, or apparently ſtrong. They will attend in ſickneſs with patience, will watch the progreſs of diſeaſe with concern, and feel a real, and expreſs an honeſt grief at an unexpected diſſolution: they will ſympathiſe with ſorrow, and pay reſpectful honour to the dead.
Where is the man in ten thouſand who can ſay, that he can lay himſelf down to reſt with a healthy body, and unruffled mind; or awake without the dread of ſome anticipated, and overhanging affliction? Theſe comforts are left to thoſe whom humanity pities, and whoſe ſituation religion condemns. As negroes are not acquainted with the horrors of anticipation, they are relieved from one of the greateſt curſes that human nature can experience: if puniſhment come, it is ſudden at leaſt, and unexpected; and the impreſſion of ſorrow wears away with that of the laſh. In all countries neglect and crimes are followed by puniſhment: and in European governments, (ſo ſanguine is their local policy,) a white man would be hanged for thoſe offences, which negroes perpetrate every day without a chaſtiſement, or ſuch perhaps as is only inflicted for the moſt petty crimes. I do not mean to juſtify the practice, but aſcertain the fact.
I ſhall now ſuggeſt my ideas reſpecting the means that I think may be feaſibly adopted for the perſonal protection of negroes from inſult, and for the alleviation of their general ſufferings, the plans that may with time and perſeverance be reduced to practice, to prevent the infliction of wanton cruel puniſhment, and that may tend to the eaſe and comfort at leaſt, if not contentment of their future ſituations. I muſt beg leave to obſerve, that a life of idleneſs, and general independency will entirely defeat the intended purpoſe. That people of all conditions ſhould be employed, can hardly be denied. The occupations of men in general, (excepting perhaps in ſome arbitrary inſtances) are choſen, or left for others more congenial to their ſtrength, and diſpoſition; and the ſucceſs of their labour in a great meaſure depends upon, or is correſpondent ſo, their conſtitutional ſpirits, or bodily exertions: in thoſe of a negro, his mind is vvacant; and if he be healthy and vigorous, his labour is rather an employment than a toil. I think, however, where he has any predilection for a trade, or other ufſful employment, that it is better policy to indulge than reſtrain his inclination. There are but few men I ſhould ſuppoſe, who could be ſo very weak as to believe, that the climate in which he is born, in which brought up, and to which from nature, and uſe habituated, can be at all repugnant to his ſtate and feelings. His condition is impreſſed upon his birth, it accompanies him through the different ſtages of life, and only ends when life ſhall be no more. He could as ſoon exchange his ſkin as alter his ſituation, he is accuſtomed to what he feels, and the leaſt innovation, be it even an introduction to freedom, would not compenſate his removal from his native ſoil; his dependance upon future events, and the abdication of general protection, and certain food. Negroes are very ſenſibly attached to properties; they reverence a maſter who claims from inheritance; and frequently deſpond when (removed to other hands) they become the chattels of unwilling poſſeſſion. In Ruſſia and Poland a vaſſal is purchaſed with the ſoil; and although this traffic be licenſed in Europe, and over a tract of land, compared to which our weſtern iſlands would be a dot; yet the practice is hardly mentioned in a light to affect, or intereſt humanity.
If negroes be not kept in conſtant motion, they cannot otherwiſe fill up an hour of vacation, or the periods of indulgence by any mechanical, or induſtrious avocation of preſent or future avail to themſelves and families; on the contrary, whether it be from a conſtitutional lethargy, or from a vacuity of ideas, they no ſooner ceaſe to move, than they ceaſe to think; and four out of five would remain in a continual torpor; unleſs they were rouſed by the provocatives of thirſt or hunger. Notwithſtanding this diſpoſition of natural indolence, their work ſhould be regular, and never ſtrained; and I am convinced that it will be better done, although perhaps not quite ſo ſoon, if they were not apprehenſive of impending puniſhment.
As ſo great a portion of labour is loſt during the rainy ſeaſons, it is a diſgrace to the foreſight, and reſources of the country, that ſome domeſtic manufactures are not introduced, in which the negroes might be employed in theſe intervals of idleneſs, as well for their own comfort and emolument as the benefit of their maſter; and the reſources which I could recapitulate would be without end: but then the policy of Europe, (whether ſubſtantial or erroneous) throws a damp at once upon this ſuggeſtion, and makes that nugatory which might be efficient. Great Britain (with humility be it ſpoken) ſeems ignorant, in ſome reſpects of the real value of its weſtern poſſeſſions: I do not mean to oppoſe it to the multitudious reſources, and wealth of the Eaſt: but if commerce be meant to be eſtabliſhed in our diſtant ſettlements, upon a humane and ſettled baſis; why juſtify that rigoutr, that oppreſſion in Aſia, which in America is ſo generally condemned? We execrate the Spaniſh nation, and the name of Cortez: what better title have we, in the ſafety of navigation, and the ſubmiſſion of unprotected innocence, to our eaſtern poſſeſſions, than what they gained by fire and ſword upon the miſeries of Mexico? If Cromwell took Jamaica, and a conſequent policy either deſtroyed or exterminated the wretched inhabitants which the Spanards left; is this an excuſe for power, a vindication of injuſtice? If Great Britain be ſeriouſly bent upon humanity, let it enlarge the ſcale of benevolence, and take in, ſo far as her influence ſhall extend, all colours, and all conditions of men; and reform at home before it venture to make romantic trials of compaſſion abroad! Let it look into itſelf, into its own internal ſyſtem! Let it look into the ſituation of the peaſantry; let it look into the ſtate of the parochial, and canvaſs that of the extra-parochial poor; let it look into priſons where people for misfortunes only, or the treachery and villainy of men, are confined for life. In the preſent appeal to humanity, let its advocates only reflect how many wretches are daily ſent to bridewell and other houſes of correction, by the unfeeling mandate of a deſpotic juſtice of the peace, where they unremittingly labour both ſummer and winter, under the momentary apprehenſions of corporal puniſhment, and as they have not (at leaſt many of them) been uſed to toil, the hardſhip is proportionably ſevere; and this they frequently endure for want of the comforts at leaſt, if not the common neceſſaries of life, which the humanity of England ſhould have provided, and the want of which the law redreſſed. Who can behold the numbers of unfortunate creatures, who nightly ſhiver in the ſtreets, without protection, without raiment, without food, and not conclude, that there is either an error in feeling, or a weakneſs in the execution of our laws; and I am apt to believe, that there are many, who daily periſh, under hedges, or in paths, for want of that common ſuſtenance, which nature provides for all; for miſery, however delinquent the ſufferer may be, is, in itſelf, entitled to compaſſion; and real want, however occaſioned, has a right to food. Let the legiſlature look if there be not ſlaves of their own religion, and colour in England; if there be not others who become willing ones by a ſale of their indentures to thoſe very people whom the European attacks with ſo much rancour on the ſcore of humanity abroad. Although a creole myſelf, I ſhall hope to be excuſed if I vindicate the feelings of my country. Let not a planter be blamed for the act of his agent, nor that agent be cenſured for that barbarity which abſent he could not remedy, but which preſent he would ſcorn to juſtify. I do not deny but there are many wanton acts of barbarity committed upon the perſons of the dependent ſlaves, I likewiſe confeſs that they go unpuniſhed (a reflection upon the weakneſs of our laws) when the perpetrator ſhould be followed with ignominy, if not with death. The abuſes in the colonies are certainly great; and if a more tender ſyſtem of management were to be introduced, which certainly might for the comfort of the ſlave, and the advantage of the planter; it would be a precedent in the annals of England, that would be held forth as an example of virtuous emulation to ſucceeding ages: but let not humanity be too ſanguine, be too haſty in its firſt attempt! Deliberation is the parent of ſucceſs; and to be ſure of worldly profit we ſhould canvas the poſſibility of human means.
The ſubject of the ſlave trade involves a great variety of internal and extraneous matter, and to follow the ideas of the pending bill, the ſubject, I conceive, ſhould be taken up in England, as far as relates to the ſafety of veſſels, and the preſervation of thoſe lives which are to be adventured in this dangerous and deſtructive voyage. A government acquires more wealth by the ſalvation of lives, than by an encreaſe of the revenues; but if the one can be brought to aſſiſt with prudence the encreaſe of the other, it is productive of a double good. If eight or ten thouſand ſeamen be annually employed in this traffic, and one fourth of them do not return to their native country, (which, if their frequent deſertion from the ſhip, and the life of idleneſs and inebriety they conſequently lead in the Iſlands he conſidered, is a moderate calculation) the loſs to the community in the courſe of twenty years could hardly be recompenſed by the moſt extenſive impoſts: if, on the contrary, no greater portion of lives be loſt in one year than Captain Cook experienced, there will of courſe be ſo many ſeamen maintained at a private expence, who when neceſſity requires may be called into the public ſervice. That in different countries different manners obtain, I am well aware; but in reſpect to the Weſt Indies ſome reſerve ſhould certainly take place. The ſudden tranſition of drink from beer to rum has been fatal, and will always be ſo, if not uſed with the greateſt moderation, to an European. As porter is cheap, I would make it a ſubſtitution. It is true, that the latter will go farther in ſpirit, but the firſt in ſtrength: and if it be new, it is a kind of poiſon: The Creole who drinks his dram, very ſoon becomes a martyr to the grave.
I now come to the leading principle of the spending bill, to that principle which is meant to introduce a levelling precept, to make no diſcrimination between colour and climate; to give to ſlavery the rights of freedom, to expunge oppreſſion from the general creed, and to eſtabliſh humanity upon a general ſcale, throughout our Weſtern Iſles. That the plan of unconditional emancipation would anſwer the expected purpoſe, I have, not only my doubts, but my objections. The condition of negroes in their own country, whether hereditary, or accidental, muſt be firſt conſidered, their cuſtoms deſcribed, their maxims explained, and polity known. If we be aſcertained how, as natives they live, we may be brought to conceive what, as emigrants, they endure. That they lead a life of warfare, fatigue, and blood, we are inſtruted by hiſtory to believe; that the priſoners who are taken in battle, if not ſold, would be treated with a cruelty, at which humanity would ſhudder, or would ſuffer the forfeit of an ignominious, or painful death; the zealots of miſtaken compaſſion will hardly deny. If therefore we can reſcue them from a ſlavery that would be intolerable, to a life which we know by experience they can endure, or protect them from that death which would be certain, to place them in a ſituation that might be rendered comfortable at leaſt, if not happy, there conſequently would be much gained upon the ſcore of humanity: but to puſh the idea further, and to make that problematical, which we know to be feaſible, would introduce confuſion, and mar at once, and for ever defeat thoſe ideas of chriſtian charity, which it is the preſent object of the petitions to introduce. There is no doubt that many of thoſe unhappy creatures are deluded, or forced from their native country; and to ſuppoſe them incapable of feeling regret, or reſentment at their cruel ſeparation from the ſpot which gave them being, wives, children, relatives, and friends, is not only weak, but impious, and an arraignment of that equal and univerſal benevolence, and that ſteady and impartial juſtice, ſo obſervable in all the works of our Creator. Whether they are, or are not, endued with equal underſtanding, is a ſubject that does not apply to the preſent caſe; if their faculties be more weak, they may he ſtrengthened by ſcience; if their diſpoſitions more ſavage, they may be ſoftened by examples of humanity; if ignorant of the ſocial and moral obligations of life, they may be taught the firſt, by indulgence, and by religion, the laſt. It is true that African negroes do not ſeem poſſeſſed of ſo much ſpirit and alacrity as the creoles are; may not this be owing to their want of that confidence which a native ſoil gives the laſt, and an ignorance of their cuſtoms, manners, and tongue? The degradation of their condition muſt very much depreſs the exertions of the mind; for being without the gratifications of their wiſhes, but ſubject to their fears, it is not to be wondered at if with the principle, they loſe the appearance of action. Thoſe who are inhumanly forced from real attachments in their native country, are much to be pitied, and the ſeducers deſerve to feel the utmoſt weight of their reſentment: Thoſe who are ſold to avoid a cruel ſlavery, or a painful, and lingering death at home, may conſider, for what we know, their altered condition as their deliverance; and this I am apt to believe they frequently do, from that general patience and reſignation, and ſeeming chearfulneſs which is obſerved to prevail amongſt them all when purchaſed.
That they leave a bad climate for one that is better, for one in which their natural wants may be as eaſily provided, and without that riſk and labour which muſt attend a life of conſtant warfare, can hardly be denied. If they have wives, children, and connections upon the property, thoſe attachments are encouraged and preſerved from intereſt, that primum mobile of the actions of men: they are not ſubject to the chance of war, nor does the breaſt of the mother beat with conſtant trepidation for the danger of a huſband or the loſs of a child; nor is ſhe ſubject to the mortification of ſeeing them ſnatched from her boſom to undergo eternal baniſhment, or ſuffer the anticipation of death. The comforts of certainty in a domeſtic life at leaſt ſhe may gain by an alteration of her ſtate, and conſole herſelf with ſeeing the ſame protection extended to thoſe ſhe loves which ſhe enjoys, and that the chances in her favour are, that they will not ever be disjoined. I firmly believe that there is not a deſcription of people in the world, leſs occupied by uneaſy ſenſations, who are more diſpoſed to be, and who really are, more happy than the generality of negroes after the toil of the day is over, when aſſembled in their huts, converſing over their fires, and anticipating the pleaſures of the approaching meal, (which generally conſiſts of pottage, highly ſeaſoned, and is ſuch as may be conſidered a luxury in any climate) and of theſe the generality of them partake, to their utmoſt wiſh, at leaſt twice a day. I do not think them a greedy people, they have no appearance of haſte in eating, will chearfully let others enjoy their meſs, and are fond of extending, particularly at night, the hours of refection. The women in general drink nothing but water, or ſugar and water as a treat—the men will almoſt all indiſcriminately ſwallow drams when they can get them, and even indulge in ſpirit to intoxication; but yet it is not often that riots enſue, and if they do happen, they are eaſily quelled. They ſeem ſenſible, if it be ſudden, of a ſmall indulgence, and I think they de not abuſe great ones if caution be uſed in the time of conceſſion. I have known a little grog, ſugar and water, an unexpected herring, or a piece of ſalt fiſh give them ſpirits for the remainder of the day, and an afternoon allowed almoſt tranſport them. They are particularly fond of tobacco, and as it chears them in their labour, and is not attended with bad conſequences, a preſent of a little every now and then when they deſerve it, would be but a trifling expence to an eſtate. They ought not to be refuſed the participation of harmleſs recreations; why not make them as contented as their ſituations will allow? A good-natured man not only gains by their enjoyment, but adds felicity to his own mind: where the maſter is determined to be eaſy, it is not likely that his negroes will be wretched. They ſhould rejoice at each others happineſs, and ſympathiſe with each others miſery: the firſt ſhould teach the laſt to conſider themſelves as men. A good ſlave will be attached to a good maſter from principle, and where he has been entruſted with the preſervation of his life, he has never, as far as I have been able to learn, been found a traitor. As confidence begets ſervice, ſo ſhould ſervice be attended with gratitude. Make a negro eſtiamable in his own eyes, and he will be faithful and juſt in yours.
A proper diſtinction is not made between the captain of a ſhip who purchaſes ſlaves in Africa, and the Guinea merchant who takes up a cargo in the Weſt Indies. The firſt may inveigle, the laſt can only ſell: the one carries, the other diſpoſes: after the bargain is ſtruck the captain is relieved of his fears; and it is the intereſt of the merchant to preſerve his purchaſe in health, and to bring it, if in condition, to an early ſale. His engagement is ſoon compleated; and no tax of inhumanity can lie at his door. If he deceive the purchaſer he ſhould be called to an account; if the planter deceive him he muſt abide by the conſequence. The man who truſts has a right to ſay I will be paid. That advantage ſhould not be taken by the rich, nor inſult be the language of the poor, is a datum which ought to be received—that misfortune may claim the indulgence of the firſt, and that petulance is not an apology for the laſt, may be determined by thoſe who feel, and thoſe whoſe tempers may reſent. Service is reciprocal—the man who ſells, and he who purchaſes ſhould hold an equal guard. In buſineſs there ſhould not be liberal, but ſpecific confidence; in the exchange of papers all connections in life ſhould be forgotten, and all friendſhips ſunk; fathers and children ſhould be ſuſpicious, and ſhould exact from one another the ſame bonds of performance as if they were perfect ſtangers. This precaution is melancholy; it is more melancholy that it ſhould be deemed expedient.
Let us now ſuppoſe, for the ſake of argument, and adverting to the adopted idea of humanity, that a total ſuppreſſion of the ſlave trade, in conſequence of the petitions ſhall enſue. What will the negroes gain? What ſhall we not loſe? A reſtriction of our own trade will not be a reſtriction of that of other nations; if we forego the commerce of Africa, will the French, the Spaniſh, the Dutch, the Danes take up, and purſue our notions of benevolence? Would they be leſs rigorous, leſs cruel maſters, than the Engliſh? Where their management is better, their laws more favorable to the comfort, and preſervation of the ſlave, why not adopt them? Why not form a code of inſtitutes for their protection? Before this can anſwer, and be attended with full, or even partial ſucceſs, you muſt new model the manners, the tempers of the people, by whom they are governed;[13] a ſyſtem muſt be introduced to reſtrain their power, to bend them to the obedience of juſtice, to make them ſenſible that negroes are men, that their lives, their property is ſacred; and that the leaſt infringement of either, unleſs authoriſed by legal cenſure, or caſes of neceſſity, will be as ſeverely puniſhed as the ſame offences would be in other countries: and that negroes might the better receive the full benefit of an impartial legiſlation, let them be univerſally baptized, that they may become our equals at leaſt in chriſtianity. Let them be inſtructed, ſo far as they ſhall be capable of inſtruction, in the moral and obedient duties of life; let them not be too much humbled by a ſenſe of their condition, but be taught to love their maſters as protectors, and not to fear them as their tyrants. The overſeers ſhould be taught to keep up their authority, not by puniſhment, but by example; the negroes might then be better governed by ſhame, than the laſh. The inferior ſervants upon a plantation, and the drivers ſhould not be allowed the power of caſtigation. I am aware that theſe maxims will be thought romantic, adverting to the long accuſtomed mode of general management, to the habits under which the white people in the Weſt Indies have been educated, and to the feelings and diſpoſitions of the negroes as they now are, theſe maxims, if ſeriouſly adopted, would be not only romantic, but abſurd. Who would think of ſowing land, before it was properly prepared for the reception of feed? To force nature, to new mould at once the cuſtoms of life, would be more than an Herculean labour, it would be but little ſhort of impoſſibility. Innovations are always dangerous; reforms (particularly in a plan of ſuch extenſive magnitude as the preſent) ſhould be well matured before a ſingle ſtep is made towards their introduction. It ſhould be conſidered whether the negroes will gain in happineſs, or we a gratification to our feelings, by a haſty and indiſcriminate change. The man who gives a ſlave unconditional liberty, beſtows upon him a curſe; he is thrown at once into the world, unprotected, unprovided, and muſt ultimately ſtarve, or gain his bread by thoſe means, which have brought many unhappy wretches of this deſcription to the gallows. If a portion of land, or a houſe upon the property be given to him, the other negroes will not always let him work the firſt, nor the overſeer inhabit the laſt; as a ſlave emancipated is at all times a troubleſome, often times a dangerous viſitor upon a plantation. If an annual ſtipend be allowed him, he will conſume it in riot and debauchery; and not being accountable to any one for the regularity of his life, he will think that he has a right to follow his inclinations without controul, not conſidering that his conduct may bring down private revenge, or public juſtice.
I ſhould think that no reflective man can juſtify the idea of indiſcriminate liberation. The conſequence of the execution would be impolitic, and cruel; would entrench upon public, and be deſtructive of private ſecurity. It is not ſo much in the Weſt Indies as in England, that the evil will be felt, and the loſs oppreſs. A planter who lives in the quiet poſſeſſion of his property, may make it anſwer, if not his wiſhes, at leaſt his wants: if it give him the means of comfortable ſubſiſtence, and he can make that ſubſiſtence certain, it may not be his intereſt, in the line of worldly enjoyments, to ſacrifice his comforts to the ſecurity of him who truſts; but this being a ſelfiſh principle, is erroneous; for the creditor will aſcertain his rights; and if he enforce them with feeling, with honour, and juſtice, ſome gratitude ſhould attend his forbearance, and every nerve exerted to ſecure him from riſk, and loſs: but if he be rapacious, where his ſecurity ſhould make him liberal; and inhuman, where he has occaſioned diſtreſs; if he promiſe with a view to deceive, and inſinuates that he may ſecurely betray: I know not any diſappointent, any loſs, any ruin that ſhould not be the attendant of his crimes.
That the maſter profits by the labour, the ſkill, the independency of his ſlave, cannot I think, be well denied; for him he plants, for him he cleans, for him improves; and the more he is encouraged to induſtry, the better cloathed, the better fed, the more able will he be to labour; and if his work be apportioned to his ſtrength, he may continue his exertions beyond the common period: but if negroes be over-wrought, and no indulgence given to their weakneſs, they ſoon wear away in body and mind, and abſoluely bear the ſymptoms of age, when in point of years they are only in their prime. A proper allowance is ſeldom made for a diminution of ſtrength; for if an eſtate were uſed with two hundred ſlaves to make the ſame number of hogſheads; if ten or twenty of the moſt able were to die, the maſter would expect, and the overſeer puſh to keep up the ſame quantity of produce. If the ſame work be expected to be done with a reduction of hands, the remainder muſt gradully fail in ſtrength, until at laſt they ſhall be brought down ſo low, that the crops will fall at once, new negroes, to a conſiderable amount muſt be purchaſed; they muſt be ſeaſoned, they muſt be ſettled; and let them turn out ever ſo well, it muſt require many years of ſteady, and ſucceſsful management to bring up the property to its former produce.
No man, who is acquainted with the Weſt Indies, can ſuppoſe it poſſible that the average upon eſtates in the iſlands, can preſerve a given number of negroes, without the aid of foreign purchaſe.[14] Some plantations bury more than others; and it is natural to ſuppoſe, that where the labour is diſproportionate, there will be the greateſt mortality. Under the preſent ſyſtem of general managerent, I am apt to believe that, if the introduction of Africa ſlaves were inhibited, in twenty years one third of the number would be diminiſhed; in thirty, more than one half; and in fifty, the whole rage very nearly extinct. As humanity ſhould rather wiſh to relieve than oppreſs labour, and ſave, than be the means of extinguiſhing life, a recruit from other countries, (if treated with proper tenderneſs,) would rather be a ſubject of benevolence, than the traffic of oppreſſion.
If planters would be contented to make only half the quantity of produce, they in a common year, now do, their capital of negroes would be better preſerved, and upon ſome properties, upon pens in particular, (upon which ſugar is not made) the number may be certainly kept up, if not encreaſed: but then the ſituation muſt be healthy, and proviſions abundant. The principal occaſion of a planter’s diſtreſs, is the improvident purchaſe of ſlaves; therefore he, who by a ſteady attention, proper indulgence, and tenderneſs, in ſickneſs, can preſerve his capital unbroken, will at the end of twenty years be more rich than he who makes a larger proportion of produce, but is frequently obliged, by a want of theſe eſſentials, to have recourſe to foreign purchaſe. I am aware that ſome may inſinuate this idea, will not the difference between one hundred and fifty hogſheads and one hundred, furniſh ſufficient means to keep up a full complement? a full complement of negroes it certainly may, but will thoſe purchaſed be ſo valuable, be ſo good, or durable, as thoſe who were formerly able, but who have now failed through exceſs of labour? A creole well eſtabliſhed in family, houſe, and ground, is in my opinion, (which opinion I found upon my own perſonal experience) worth more than any three imported from the coaſt. If it be thought poſſible, that the colonies can ſupply themſelves without any foreign aſſiſtance; a ſuſpenſion of this trade, for a few years, might with certainty determine. But ſuppoſe that the Engliſh ſhould forego this commerce, would not other nations ſmuggle them into the country, and to illegality ſuperadd extortion, to the ruin of him who ſhall be tempted to buy? will it not deprive us of this valuable trade without adding to humanity, and make the labour of thoſe, who are now upon the plantations more heavy, and at laſt ſink them down to languor and deſpair? would not a haſty liberation break down the bounds of juſtice, and obedience, introduce anarchy, confuſion, licentiouſneſs and death? As no ſubordination could be preſerved in ſuch a ſtate, the negroes might unbridle revenge, and make an indiſcriminate ſlaughter of the Europeans, and offer men, women, and children as the firſt victims of liberty: they would next proceed, in the pride of irreſiſtance, to the deſtruction of the buildings, crops, and proviſions; live in a ſtate of conſtant hoſtility, deſtroy one another, and periſh themſelves at laſt, by famine, or diſeaſe; or would be ſwept away by other nations, who would enrich themſelves with our capitals, riſe on the ruin of our trade, take advantage of our loſs; and grow inſolent, oppreſs, or perhaps conquer us with our own wealth. Nay this is not all; new taxes muſt be raiſed to ſupply the deficiencies of our revenues, and millions upon millions added to the public weight, under the preſſure of which ſo many individuals are already to ſink; and a ſurcreaſe of which, perhaps many of thoſe, whoſe zeal is foremoſt in the cauſe of humanity, may think it impoſſible to bear.
The numbers of men, who through intemperance, neglect, and other cauſes, have been loſt in this commerce ſhould be duly conſidered; and if the community ſuffer more by endemial calamity, than it can gain by foreign reſource, the folly of adventure is apparent: but if trade can be extended with a preſervation of ſouls, and a proviſion of ſeamen, it muſt greatly favour our inſular means, and every veſſel would be conſidered as the head of a common-wealth, that raiſes annually ſo many patriots to the ſtate. I will not dwell upon the numbers, that may be annually loſt upon the Eaſtern or Weſtern adventures, but only ſubmit, whether they would not have been more uſeful members if they had ſettled at home, and cultivated tracts of land, that before were barren, had given population to deſerts, induſtry to idleneſs, health to languor, and vigour to want. Whether one man at home, be not worth more than three abroad; and whether the time that is loſt in one month, often might not have been filled up by employments, that would have ſubſiſted four times the number of individuals, is likewiſe a queſtion to be aſked. The Eaſt, the Weſt Indies, and Africa have been the grave of Europeans. The marrow of England has been melted down in the unhealthy regions of the torrid zone: ſome may have eſcaped the partial diſſolution, but the proportion is ſo very ſmall, that theſe emigrations may be conſidered as the general forerunners of deſtruction. If an eſtimate were to be made of all the lives that have been loſt by navigation in the courſe of ten years, the amount would be ſo enormous, that people would turn from the account with horror; and in the ſpirit of humanity, of anticipation of future loſs, be inclined to ſacrifice intereſt to ſupport our population. If the profits of trade be oppoſed by its loſſes, the adventurers would perhaps find that the innumerable cargoes that have been ſwallowed up by the ſea, would ſtartle the ignorant, and ſurprize the calculator. One misfortune, like that of the Halſewell (and that there are numbers with equal concomitants of horror can hardly be doubted) will add more pangs to feeling, than the ſafety of many voyages will give happineſs to wealth.
We will now ſuppoſe, that it ſhall be thought more political to puſh our diſtant poſſeſſions, than to ſtrengthen our domeſtic means; but how can this be effected, if our powers are not equal to our objects, and the aſſiſtance of foreign purchaſe be diſcouraged, or forbidden? If we could form a body of laws, by a ſtrict adherence to which the negroes who ſhall be removed from a worſe ſlavery than they will experience in our colonies, or from that death, which in Africa would be probable, if not certain, to our iſlands, where they would not have that death to fear, the more will it enlarge the ſcale of benevolence; and found a ſyſtem beſides of policicy upon that of humanity.[15]
Of our Eaſtern refources I am an utter ſtranger; of thoſe of Jamaica I can ſpeak with confidence. Though ſugar and rum be the ſtaples of the country, yet the cane is not ſucceſsfully cultivated in every ſoil, and as it is the moſt expenſive, ſo is it the moſt uncertain production of the climate. The accidents to which it is ſubject from a violence of ſeaſons, a contention of the elements, accidents of fire, the treſpaſs of cattle, and inprudence of management, are ſuch, one would think, as would diſcourage the planter from its future culture; and yet for this plant the land is forced, is often impoveriſhed, and at laſt made deſert.
Although not one tenth part of this valuable and beautiful iſland be under a ſtate of cultivation; yet is there not a ſingle ſpot that is not, or may not be, applied to ſome uſe. Where canes do not thrive, the guinea, (an artificial graſs) will grow, and even among rocks, where a particle of mould is hardly ſeen; nay ſuch ſituations will likewiſe produce cotton, ginger, pimento, and wood of the moſt valuable dyes; or the moſt durable for building. Rice will flouriſh in the ſwamps, indigo in drier land, corn, if the ſpot be manured, upon every ſoil, and every where, if it be new; proviſions in the moſt lofty mountains, and natural herbage where theſe ſhall fail. Theſe various reſources might, if properly directed, and prudently extended, very conſiderably augment the public revenues, and thereby help to eaſe thoſe taxes, which at preſent preſs ſo heavily upon all ranks and conditions of men. If I have propoſed an hypotheſis which I have not knowledge to maintain, I ſhall hope the intention may juſtify the fault, and that I may not be cenſured for wiſhing well, although I have not talents to render ſervice.
In the courſe of theſe remarks I have dropt a hint reſpecting baptiſm; and I ſhall now give my reaſons why, I think it may not only be productive of a change of moral ſentiment in the unenlightened ſlaves, but tend to the decency of their lives, the health of their bodies, and the comfort of their minds; and ſhall afterwards give my opinion how their ſituations may, with an encreaſing degree of advantage to the maſter, be much improved.
It is notorious that more ſlaves are ruined in principle and health, at thoſe dances which are allowed at the burials of their dead, than by any other intercourſe or occupation whatever. At the funeral of a chriſtian ſlave, none of theſe ſcenes of tumult and intemperance would be allowed; the ſervice would be read with decency over the grave (and to enhance the reſpect and ſolemnity) the white people upon the plantation ſhould attend, to enforce example, and to ſee that the attendants retire in peace and order to their reſpective houſes. This cuſtom, by a mild and decent introduction of the forms of our religion, might ſoon become, not only univerſal, but be the pledge of future ſecurity; but with this introduction, the doctrine of Chriſtian kindneſs and forgiveneſs ſhould be reduced to practice; the cloud of darkneſs that now covers the minds of the negroes ſhould be gently removed, that their underſtandings might be prepared to receive the new inſtruction, that they might feel comfort from obedience, and protection from power. As the ſlaves in the French iſlands, coming from the ſame coaſt, with the ſame ginorance, the ſame prejudices, and the ſame fears, are univerſally baptized,[16] and treated as Chriſtians; are inſtructed in, and obtain a decent knowledge of religions obſervances, are conſequently more obedient, more quiet, more attached, and more happy, than ours; why ſhould not the ſame practice upon the ſame colour be introduced, encouraged, and ſupported in our iſlands? Many indulgences, many recreations may be ſafely allowed them; but their amuſements ſhould be made to receive a new turn; they might be more frequent, but not ſo long protracted, and ſhould terminate at ſuch an hour, that they might have full time for their domeſtic occupations and reſt, and be able, without fatigue, or regret, to renew their daily toil. If every Saturday were indiſcriminately given to them, either to work in their grounds, or look for proviſions, that Sunday might be a day of reſt and inſtruction; I am apt to believe that the planter would ultimately, with more certainty preſerve his capital, and be aſcertained of more punctual, and efficient work.
The moſt delicate part of the ſubject is now to canvas; I ſhould ſhrink at the idea of a juſtification of ſlavery; did I not, even in that ſlavery, behold comforts, of which liberty is frequently deprived. A ſlave has no feeling beyond the preſent hour, no anticipation of what may come, no dejection at what may enſue: theſe privileges of feeling are reſerved for the enlightened, whoſe fears may dread misfortunes that cannot arrive, and deſpiſe diſtreſs which they know muſt come. As the ſufferings of the mind are infinitely more acute than bodily ſenſations; in the reverſe proportion, is the ſlave more happy in ignorance, than thoſe of an oppoſite colour are in ſcience.
That negroes are capable of bodily influence and mental cultivation, who can be ſo impious as to deny? The ſun that ſhines on all, enlightens them: and if genius be the conſequence of heat, and the beams that fertilize the earth, irradiate the mind; the African in geniality of climate, and warmth of ſoul would blaze; when the inhabitants of Europe would freeze. I have known inſtances of attachment in a negro, that would ſhake the courage of an European; a faithful ſlave will oppoſe his breaſt to the knife that is intended to wound his maſter; he will riſk that life without oſtentation, he will receive his death without a groan.
That negroes have not any ſpecific ideas of moral rectitude, is not a fault of principle, but education. If good examples were held forth for imitation, they would adopt them; if bad be relevant it is their misfortune, and not their fault. If they be not inſtructed to think, to act like men, it is a preſent diſgrace, as it may be a future misfortune, to thoſe who hold them as dependants. That they may be taught to believe, to act as Chriſtians it would be almoſt impiety to deny. The power that gave them being, gave them ſenſe. Though their colour may be a ſhade to their actions, yet let us conſider, who are of a different complexion, that the flower that follows the ſun, is not ſo much cheriſhed as the humble violet that perfumes in the glade.
We ſhould not imagine that negroes are of a different ſpecies from ourſelves, or that they are more inert in mental ſenſations, or leſs vigorous in bodily purſuits, than the natives are of other climates. It is not in the American colonies that we are to look for their exertions; we ſhould trace them in their wilds, the interminable foreſts of Africa: we ſhould behold them in their native woods, their deſarts, and their waters; we ſhould follow them in the chaſe of the lion, the tyger, and the crocodile, in fatigue that would melt down an European conſtitution; in danger that would appal courage, and even add horror to deſpair: we ſhould examine them in the patience of expectation, the cunning of ſurprize, the ardour of purſuit, the vigour of attack, the ſpirit of defence, or the exultation of conqueſt, to form an idea of their local manners, their courage, or their powers. How tame to them would appear our boaſted diverſions of a timid hare, that implores as it runs, and in a voice reſembling that, in which our firſt wants and pains are known, and which is too importunate not to intereſt thoſe who hear, but to which inhumanity in the heat of exerciſe diſdains to liſten; in the chaſe of the ſtag that weeps (another emblem of our condition) as it flies; and laſtly in that of the fox, whoſe cunning, and habits of miſchief have cauſed its perſecutions in ſome places, and its preſervation in others; but which in itſelf is unworthy of the dignity of purſuit. We muſt look for the African in a wild ſtate; the European in a civilized one; the laſt may be the moſt uſeful in the ſupply of thoſe wants imagination has made; the firſt more independent, as not having thoſe wants to gratify. Which of the two is the moſt happy, the one that always craves, without the accompliſhment of its wiſhes, or the one that is ſatisfied, without having its appetites to reform, I leave to thoſe, who are fond of ſpeculation to determine.
That negroes are cruel to one another cannot be denied; they will aſſaſſinate without compunction, and feel not the leaſt repentance at the perpetration of the moſt atrocious crimes. I have obſerved that new negroes are particularly fond of power, and will exert it as if accuſtomed to ſeverity; and when raiſed to the authority of drivers upon a plantation, will be more deſpotic and inhuman than the creoles are.
That new negroes, although they ſeem to be cheerful upon their arrival in the colonies, are apparently heavy in body and mind, is an obſervation that cannot be eaſily refuted.[17] That they have not the leaſt idea of perſonal delicacy, or ſhame, when that want of delicacy is expoſed, is too obvious to require an argument. The creoles are not from nature, but example, ſomewhat more decent, and a further refinement in practical mariners, might be taught, and eſtabliſhed by cuſtom. If overſeers were better inſtructed than they generally are; and would addreſs the negroes with propriety of language, and treat them as human creatures, not as brutes, their commands would be more chearfully, and better performed. If the worſt of treatment cannot render them vindictive,[18] how docile might they be made by gentle conduct?
I am aware that creoles are often taxed with inhumanity, as if they alone were the inſtruments of oppreſſion. The conduct of a plantation is left to the overſeer, and in his abſence to the book-keepers[19] under him; and as they have the command and direction of the negroes work, and as with them lies the power, and preſumption of puniſhment, to their inhumanity alone muſt its exceſs be, in every caſe, attributed. If the proprietor wiſh to ſcreen his own property from bodily ſuffering, and recommend an imploring negro as an object of forgiveneſs to him who is inveſted with authority, it is ten to one but the poor creature receive a double puniſhment for having dared to complain to him who had a right to redreſs; and for ſuppoſing that a maſter ſhould preſume to controul the wanton abuſes of a ſervant.
That negroes are capricious the recurrence of every day will evince. Give them a houſe ready built, they will not inhabit it—a ground ready cleared, they will not work it—if you ſtudy their convenience, their eaſe, and happineſs, they will be diſcontented—they muſt have every thing their own way; and would ſooner complain of a good overſeer, than not covet an exchange by the riſk of one who is bad. That there are of both in this profeſſion, it is hardly neceſſary to form a doubt. That many of this claſs have ſeen better days; and are to this, as they would be to any other vocation both a credit, and an ornament, I can with confidence affirm; and it has frequently hurt me to ſee ſome of this deſcription ſuſtain a ſubordiriate character in the drama of life, when their pretenſions and abilities would enable them to move in the ſphere of independency, wealth and command.
The firſt buſineſs of an indulgent overſeer ſhould be to ſecure the negroes property committed to his charge. His wife, his houſe, his flock,[20] his ground ſhould be always ſacred. No power ſhould be uſed to force, no temptation put in practice to ſeduce the perſon of the firſt—his hut ſhould be his caſtle, and the ground upon which it ſtands his fee. A plague is not ſo deſtructive upon a property as the removal of negroes from their accuſtomed grounds, from thoſe grounds that have been delivered down from father to ſon: when this happens, which is the height of preſent imprudence, and conſequent diſtreſs, they pine away in ſecret, neglect the cultivation of new lands, and pinched by hunger, and unable to work, the conſequence will be, declining health, a broken ſpirit, and an early end.[21]
There is no country in which either a negligent, or capricious management, an imprudent change, or a relaxation of diſcipline are attended with more certain expence, of ruinous conſequence than in the Iſland of Jamaica. Negroes ſhould be directed by a ſteady hand; and a regular ſyſtem ſhould be obſerved upon a plantation. If they are to-receive the benefits of religion, why not the privileges of ſociety? if they are to be inſtructed in morals, let them profit from their introduction; and let them leave by will the little property their labour or their prudence has amaſſed.
I know not any thing in the Weſt Indies ſo ſhocking to humanity, and ſo diſguſting to individuals, as the ſavage and indecent manner in which the trial of ſlaves is conducted. Some tenderneſs at leaſt, if not dignity of conduct, ſhould be obſerved in the arraignment of a man who ſtands a priſoner, at any tribunal, for crimes that may affect his character, or life: but where the delinquent does not obſerve a ſolemnity in the judge, he loſes a reſpect for his office; and hears the ſentence that conſigns him to the grave without horror, without ſhame. Two magiſtrates, and three free-holders, from whoſe deciſion there lies not an appeal, can ſentence to death. This cuſtom ſhould be aboliſhed—they ſhould be tried by the ſame laws, the ſame judges, the ſame jury, as ourſelves; and the Godlike privilege of majeſty to reſpite, or forgive a ſlave, as well as the delinquent who is free, ſhould be tranſmitted, with double recommendations of mercy, to his repreſentatives in the Iſland; that the poor negro may go with confidence to his trial, be aſſured that the fountain of law is his protector; and that compaſſion will be the miniſter of death.[22]
Thoſe who are ſo laudably anxious for the cultivation of the negroes minds, and ſo deſirous that they ſhould be inſtructed in the doctrines of the chriſtian religion, ſhould conſider that in their own country this promiſe of ſalvation cannot be adminiſtred: a removal therefore from their natural ſoil is the only chance they have that the curſe of ignorance ſhall be converted into a bleſſing: ſo that in fact, the abolition of the ſlave trade will counteract the very ſyſtem of humanity, and the diſſemination of that mental comfort, which religion can alone enſure: for I have never known an African negro expreſs the leaſt reverence by ſign or word for a ſuperintending Providence; nor have I ever heard one intimate a hope, (as is the common opinion) that he ſhall paſs after death from a life of ſlavery to one of eaſe and happineſs in his native country.
To further the cauſe of humanity, no jobber ſhould be allowed to purchaſe a ſlave, without it could be proved, that he had proviſions enough at command to ſubſiſt him, at leaſt twelve months, and ſo on in the regular proportions of the numbers that he may be tempted to buy; after this period, if he take kindly to his ground, he may be enabled in ſome meaſure to provide for himſelf. Almoſt every man in Jamaica, let his means be ever ſo many, his ſtrength of negroes ever ſo great, or his ſituation ever ſo dependent, is ſtill anxious to call in the aid of hired labour; but the falacy of this management may be eaſily detected; for if a planter cannot make fifteen pence a day for a ſeaſoned negro, who is worth a hundred pounds, how can he afford to pay fifteen pence a day for the labour of a new negro, who is not worth forty? beſides, a jobber is generally paid for his work ſoon after it is done, and does not run any riſk, except in a delay of payment, if ſtorms ſhould intervene; whereas a planter muſt wait the ſlow progreſs of returning ſeaſons for emolument, and loſe his labour if theſe ſhould fail.
Every negro who is given to run away, to ſteal, eat dirt, (which ſingular affection proceeds from a depravity of appetite, or want of food, and which is incorrigible) or thoſe who require conſtant puniſhments for idleneſs, or other crimes, should be tranſported from the country; a practice however, which is ſeldom adopted, excepting by the independent and affluent owner; and which pethaps favours rather more of polity than kindneſs; if however it ſhould be the means of enforcing example, and deterring from crimes, it will have ſome, and perhaps no inconſiderable effect, in the community of ſlaves.
At the time that a trial of Somerſet was determined at Weſtminſter-hall, a negro very ſhrewdly remarked, that Lord Mansfield had told them they were free, but did not tell them where to get food.—It is of little conſequence to give liberty, if protection be not likewiſe extended to thoſe who are become the legal objects of freedom. Since that deciſion, what numbers of poor neglected negroes are conſtantly ſeen lamenting in the ſtreets, and unfeelingly driven from place to place by pariſh officers, and who become pick-pockets, thieves, or murderers in conſequence of emancipation—for who will take theſe degraded creatures into ſervice, without any recommendation but that of poverty; and that of private, and public dereliction? A liberated ſlave in Jamaica (were the practice frequent) would be almoſt in the ſame condition; he would be thrown out of houſe, ground, and perſonal protection; and the gallows might at laſt end his dreams of liberty.
In treating of the preſent ſubjects it ſhould be conſidered whether the fluctuation of popular opinion ſhould not be fixed by the ſtandard of common experience—whether ideal humanity ſhould not bend to political reaſon; or whether European ſpeculation ſhould triumph over American ſafety. The very endeavour would excite confuſion, without encreaſing benevolence, and eſtabliſh perhaps a permanent ſlavery, in the ſtead of promoting an expected comfort. It may not only convulſe the colonies, but ſhake their intereſts to the very centre; and overthrow the foundations of Weſtern wealth, and its conſequential reſources for ever. If negroes can be admitted to a partial freedom, the protection of laws, and bleſſings of religion, it is as much perhaps as they ought to experience, and more I fear, than would make them happy; for to have that of which we cannot make a uſe, will be, not an enjoyment, but a burthen.
To conclude—the obſervations I have made are to the beſt of my knowledge ſincere. I have not ranged over a romantic field of fiction to bewilder the imagination, and to puzzle truth. As I have not been able to ſhower roſes, I have wiſhed to pluck the thorn from the foot of him who feels. I have not wiſhed to make any diſcrimination of climate, colour, chance, or feeling. My imagination, however feeble it may be, has conſidered the world as a garden, in which flowers of various ſhapes, of various colours, expand, decline, and fade. Some if foſtered will grow to beauty; and ſome if trodden upon will riſe no more. I could here apply the moral to the preſent ſubject; but that ſubject, and my taſk it is now time that I ſhould conclude. I ſhall therefore in my concluſion acknowledge that I am an advocate for humanity, and that in conſequence of this principle, I am not an advocate for the liberation of the ſlave. I am an advocate for all that can make him comfortable, I am an advocate for all that can make him happy; I am an advocate for his removal from his natal ſoil, that he may taſte the comforts of protection, the fruits of humanity, and the bleſſings of religion. I could wiſh that no difference but that of colour, (which nature has made) ſhould contraſt the feelings of the African dependent and that of the European matter; I could with that the national weakneſs of the firſt ſhould be ſupported by the power of the laſt, that he ſhould be employed as a ſervant, but conſidered as a man. I could wiſh that the line of benevolence ſhould be extended, and cut a ray of light through the habitable globe, that it ſhould warm all countries, and fertilize the coldeſt ſoil—that, like the ſun, it ſhould vivify all nature, dry up every tear, and make no diſtinction of manners, or complection. Let the ſlave have freedom of will; let him be taught to reverence God; and then his duty to his maſter may be made efficient—his labour eaſy—his life comfortable, and his end reſigned.
FINIS.
Fleet,
Feb. 26th, 1788.
- ↑ If it be poſſible to make any indulgent regulations upon this head, thoſe regulations will more effectually ſerve the cauſe of humanity, than any idea that can affect the preſent comfort, or ſubſtantiate the future confidence of an African ſlave. If no more negroes be put on board one ſhip, than a ſhip of the ſame burthen, as a tranſport, will accommodate of ſailors and troops, I do not ſee any reaſon why compaſſion ſhould be alarmed, if an African do not receive more indulgence than what an European is entitled to: but if fetters muſt be uſed in conſideration of an encreaſe of numbers; I could wiſh their numbers to be reduced, that the terrors of ſlavery might not be anticipated, and that the poor deluded ſuffererst might not find a tyrant, where they were taught to expect a friend. Of the commercial profits or diſadvantages upon this ſubject, I am not competent to ſpeak, and therefore my ſuggeſtion is only a private idea, which thoſe who are more intelligent may eaſily confute and overrule.
- ↑ It is notorious that negroes however low in fleſh will recruit in idleneſs, I do not conceive an additional quantity of food to be of ſo much real ſervice to them when ſick, as a prudent indulgence of reſt; for under inoculation, when the firſt is partially allowed, I have known them fatten in proportion to the extenſion of the laſt, and of this I can ſpeak with confidence, having been a frequent witneſs of the fact.
- ↑ That private ſales will better anſwer the purport of profit and humanity, I have not a doubt, for the ſame or more eagerneſs will attend the purchaſe of a lot of five, than will be obſerved in one of fifty: relations and attachments may be thence conſidered; and he who cannot realize two families (if families be ſet apart) may be at leaſt able, in conjunction with a neighbour, to purchaſe one.
- ↑ To what this alludes, is too obvious to require an explanation.
- ↑ The deſperation of a negro is more frequently turned upon himſelf, than upon him by whom he has been made deſperate.
- ↑ A negro woman has very little encouragement in general, if ſhe become the mother, to be the ſupport of a numerous offspring, and yet it is aſtoniſhing to ſee, how large a family ſhe will raiſe upon a plantation without any expence to the maſter, or ſeeming diſtreſs to herſelf. It is natural, it may be ſaid, for a parent to provide for its progeny; but nature does not always furniſh ſubſiſtence, eſpecially in latitudes where the concuſſions of the elements will not only render abortive induſtry, but wealth. The proprietor who wiſhes to encourage population, ſhould aſſiſt with tenderneſs thoſe means which from frequent demands begin to fail, ſhould indulge the mother with time appointed to the number of her claims, and ſhould allow, not only leiſure to herſelf, but attendants to her children; for the more moderate the work of a young and healthy negro is, the longer will it endure, and the more likely will ſhe be to continue to raiſe ſupplies for the plantation. To the abſolute liberation of a ſlave who ſhall have brought up a given number of children upon an eſtare, I muſt for the ſake of humanity object; for when ſhe ſhall become unable to work for her family, ſhe will be unable to work for herſelf, and therefore will ſtand in need of double ſupport. She may be made independant as to labour, but ſhould be always dependant upon her maſter for protection and food.
- ↑ I am of opinion that the average of negro children raiſed upon a plantation will be worth more ſeven years after their birth, than the ſame number of African ſlaves ſeven years after their purchaſe. A creole of twelve years old I conſider of more value to the plantation upon which he is born, than the pick of two out of a ſhip would ultimately turn out to be.
- ↑ I am far from preſuming to throw the moſt diſtant reflection upon that diſcipline which is neceſſary to be obſerved in our fleets and armies; as among the liberal and enlightened, who are an honour to theſe profeſſions, as much humanity is found as among any claſs of people exiſting; and if puniſhment follow delinquency, it is only under the idea of eradicating a bad example for the ſubſtitution of one that is good: but when corporal ſeverity exceeds the crime, the end of puniſhment is thereby perverted, and that becomes criminal which before was juſt. It is the wanton abuſe of power in the Weſt Indies that alarms, and not the ſeverity of infliction, although in ſome particular and private cafes it may, and I doubt not has, been carried to exceſs: it is for this reaſon, that I think puniſhments in our colonies ſhould be publickly inflicted, and attended with ſome kind of ſolemnity.
- ↑ This obſervation may be applied to all colours and periods, and all conditions of life.
- ↑ I am ſorry to obſerve, that punishments in Jamica are often inflicted upon the bodies of the negroes without diſcretion, and very frequently rather to gratify revenge than for the ſake of example. An overſeer who is addicted to drink, will not make any diſcrimination in the abſence of reaſon between the generally laborious, and accidentally idle; and there are drivers upon ſome plantations, who will ſleep over the work of the negroes committed to their charge, when the white people are abſent, but who will uſe the whip without neceſſity ſo ſoon as one ſhall appear in ſight. I am willing to believe that it is ſometimes meant as a warning: but why make a mocking of puniſhment, or ſuffer that to be conſidered as ſport to an able nego, that intimidates, and conſequently becomes pain to thoſe who are ſick and weakly? I am convinced that cuſtom and bad example have a fatal influence upon the conduct of the generality of white people in Jamica, many of whom imagine that the appearance of diſcipline is a ſpur to labour, and that negroes will not work unleſs rouſed by the ſound of the whip: how very neceſſary is it then, that people of this deſcription, and with ſuch ideas ſhould be ſhortened in authority, and that the reſponſibility of a plantation ſhould be entruſted only to thoſe who have conſiſtency of conduct: whoſe education will give a pride to feeling, enforce humanity by example, and thereby make the intereſt of their employer the line and rule of all their actions? That there are ſome of the firſt deſcription, who, in ſpite of the want of education, are ſenſible, induſtrious, and honeſt, I do not ſcruple to allow; and that I am acquainted with ſeveral of the laſt whom ſuſpicion may truſt, and in whom confidence repoſe, I have a pleaſure to confeſs; and I muſt conſequently obſerve that encouragement ſhould follow merit without the illiberal diſcriminations of name or climate: for if a planter be well ſerved, it is of little conſequence whether that ſervice be rendered by one who was born on the Southern, or Northern ſide of the river Tweed.
- ↑ Upon ſome eſtates the negroes are ſummoned to work, or to a relaxation from toil, by the blowing of a ſhell, and upon ſome by the ringing of a bell.
- ↑ Of this I have ſeen many inſtances; nay, I could mention ſome properties upon which the poor negroes were employed in cutting canes during the hours of common vacancy at noon; and who have been moreover obliged to labour on a Sunday. A practise as indencent as inhuman!
- ↑ But as this innovation cannot be introduced under any authority, and the abuſe of power reſtrained, or puniſhed by any legal proceſs in our colonies, this reformation muſt be left for time to introduce, or the gradual cultivation of manners more profitable to the maſter and indulgent to the ſlave, to mature; and it is ſurely a matter of conſequence to the owner of a plantation, to ſelect a man for the importance of the truſt, whoſe character at leaſt may be a check upon his paſſions, and prompt him to conſult the intereſt of his employer, in the preſervation and ſafety of his ſlave; and I would here recommend it to the Attornies,[*] and to all thoſe who, in the abſence of the proprietor, have the command of theſe dependent creatutes, to ſuperintend, as often as poſſible, their labour and their wants, that they may, by theſe means, ingratiate themſelves into their confidence, and encourage them to believe that they will be protected by their power, and relieved by their humanity; and this ſurely muſt be a deſirable end to be obtained by thoſe, to whom ſo many muſt look up for comfort and ſupport.
↑ An Attorney is a man who has a delegated power to act for principals in England; but is eſſentially different in practice from an Attorney at law.
- ↑ If properties in the Weſt Indies were only to be conſidered as nurſeries for the preſervation of the human ſpecies, and the occupations of the negroes were to be conformable to this intention; there is little doubt but the capital of ſlaves might be augmented upon every plantation; but it does not follow, that a life of idleneſs, is a life of policy, or that the negroes would be more happy (they certainly would be leſs uſeful) under indolence than toil.
- ↑ I am aware that this idea has too often occured, but as I wiſh, for the ſake of humanity, that it ſhould be particularly enforced, I hope the intention may be an excuſe for the repetition.
- ↑ This obſervation I cannot ſupport from perſonal experience, not having been in any of the French iſlands, nor peruſed their Code Noire; but the practiſe of baptiſm, I have been told, is general in their colonies.
- ↑ The African negroes when firſt imported ſeem not to have any moral feelings, the tenderneſs of ſentiment, or weight of thought. They are unfeeling in the plenitude of power, and ſavage in the cold revenge of ſpilling blood. They look upon ſudden or violent death in others with apathy, and will bear the approaches of their own, not only without dread, but with indifference. It is amazing to ſee how little they intereſt themſelves in the common occurrences of life, they do not foreſee the want of means, are careleſs of what may happen, and thoughtleſs of what they have; in ſhort their characters for many years after their arrival can hardly be defined by the moſt peſpicuous eye of thoſe by whom they are governed, ſo that for what we know they may be happy when ſilent, or dangerous when ſullen. The characters of creole negroes are widely different, and in many inſtances may ſerve as a faithful contraſt.
- ↑ Although negroes of a particular country, ſuch as the Coromantees, may harbour a ſullen, and perhaps a dangerous diſpoſition upon their firſt removal from the ſhip to a plantation, yet their ſpirit is ſoon broken, and they bend to obedience without any ſeeming reſentment in their minds.
- ↑ Book-keepers are in ſubordinate command to the Overſeers, they attend the ſtill-houſes in crop, and out of crop, the the field. There are many ſo little deſerving the name they bear, that ſo far from being able to calculate accounts they cannot many of them even read; and yet from this ſituation, from being frequently indented ſervants they become overſeers, and have the conduct of a plantation.
- ↑ Moſt negroes in Jamaica have either fowls, hogs, or cattle; ſome have all; and ſome, though ſlaves themſelves, have likewiſe ſlaves of their own.
- ↑ Of this ſpecies of miſmanagement I have been unfortunately a witneſs myſelf, and can therefore ſpeak of its effects with confidence.
- ↑ A negro is often condemned in one hour, and receives execution in the next.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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