432 HISTORY 



was that it was necessary to include it in a general registration system for all 

 the West Indian colonies of Great Britain. These colonies were not allowed 

 to trade with the colonies of foreign nations, although they could trade among 

 themselves, and if any one of them, as the Bahamas, were left out of the 

 registration system it might become an entrepot for traffic in slaves, and thus 

 the whole of the British West Indian colonies could obtain a constant supply. 

 This was the final and conclusive reason for the inclusion of the Bahamas in 

 the general system of registration in the British colonies." 



Protest of the Baha^ias. 



On the part of the Colony there was no lack of arguments against the 

 imposition of such a vexatious system. The legislature began with a com- 

 plete denial of the existence, in the Bahamas, of the evils which the registration 

 system was calculated to remedy, and easily came to the conclusion that there 

 was no necessity for the registration of their slaves.'" It was ascertained that 

 the price of slaves had been greater in Cuba and Jamaica than in the Bahamas 

 since the year 1810, thus showing the " absurdity " of registering Bahama 

 slaves to prevent the importation of fresh recruits to the slave population of 

 this Colony.^^ The value of slaves in this Colony had depreciated during the 

 several 3'ears previous to this agitation."^ The Assembly declared, however, 

 that even if the evils complained of had existed, such a system as the pro- 

 posed registration would not be sufficient to put a stop to it.^ It was also 

 argued that it would entail a great expense on the Colony by an unnecessary 

 addition to the civil establishment ; ^ that the measures Parliament had already 

 taken for the suppression of the slave-trade were sufficient to put it down 

 without the necessity of any action on the part of the Colony."" Finally the 

 members of the House found themselves so firmly convinced of the inexpe- 

 diency of the measure that they resolved not to become " the arbiters of the 

 ruin of the Bahamas," and refused to act at all.^' To the Governor, the House 



" H. v., 1816, p. 27, portion of a letter from a member of the African Institu- 

 tion which the Governor laid before the Assembly. 



'"H. v., 1815, pp. 105, 106, and app., pp. 46, 47; 1816, pp. 101-103. 



=^H. v., 1816, pp. 83-101. 



-- Loc. cit., 1815, app., pp. 46, 47. 



^Loc. cit., 1815, pp. 105, 106. 



^ Loc. cit. The item of expense without a return to the treasury of the Colony 

 was sufficient to condemn any measure in this body. 



=^H. v., 1816, p. 103. 



='H. v., 1816, pp. 117, 118. Address of the House to Governor Cameron. 



