382 HISTORY OF f [BOOK n. 



The assembly were not unapprizcd that the mea- 

 sure of calling in such auxilliaries, and urging the ca- 

 nine species to the pursuit of human beings, would 

 probably give rise to much observation and animadver- 

 sion in the mother-country : Painful experience on 

 other occasions, had taught them, that their conduct 

 in the present case, would be scrutinized with all the 

 rigid and jealous circumspection, which ignorance and 

 hatred, and envy and malice, and pretended humanity, 

 and fanaticism, could exercise. The horrible enormi- 

 ties of the Spaniards in the conquest of the New world, 

 would be brought again to remembrance. It is mourn- 

 fully true, that dogs were used by those Christian bar- 

 barians against the peaceful and inoffensive Ameri- 

 cans, and the just indignation of all mankind has ever 

 since branded, and will continue to brand the Spanish 



nation with infamy, for such atrocities. It was fore- 



j * 



seen, and strongly urged as an argument against re- 

 curring to the same weapon in the present case, that 

 the prejudices of party and the virulent zeal of fac- 

 tion and bigotry, would place the proceedings of the 

 assembly on this occasion, in a point of view equally 

 odious with the conduct of Spain on the same blood- 

 stained theatre, in times past. No reasonable allow- 

 ance would be made for the wide, difference existing 

 between the two cases. Some gentlemen even thought 

 that the co-operation of dogs with British troops, 

 would give not only a cruel but also a very dastardly 

 complexion to the proceedings of government. 







To these, and similar objections it was answered, 

 that the safety of the island, and the lives of the in- 

 habitants were not to be sacrificed to perverse mis- 



