474 HISTORY 



the enforcement of the law against the cruel treatment of the slaves.""* In spite 

 of the fact that the grand jury, chosen to prefer indictments in these cases, was 

 the fairest one that had been summoned in the Colony for several years, the 

 several bills were ignored; so nearly was slave evidence, and the complaints of 

 slaves, excluded from the Bahama courts."* 



Masters continued to take advantage of the authority they had over slaves, 

 to inflict punishment on them up to the time of the abolition of slavery. It is 

 possible that there were more cases of this sort of conduct after the coming of 

 Sir James Smyth as Governor than before. Their slaves may have been less 

 disposed to compliance with the master's orders, when they knew that there 

 was a high authority to whom they could complain with the certainty of being 

 heard. The masters may also have been more irritable, and more disposed to 

 inflict punishments, and to enforce subordination, for the same reason. In 

 August, 1833, three magistrates brought to justice an offender, for cruelty to a 

 female slave at Harbor Island. Their conduct caused such a commotion in that 

 place, that the magistrates were compelled to swear in special constables in order 

 to keep the peace. Four out of twelve of these were free negroes. The excited 



'"' Smyth's Ds., No. 202 and 212. Also Ds., S. St., 1831, No. 37. The case of 

 John Wildgoos was one which the Secretary of State deemed it desirable to 

 prosecute. Wildgoos had, however, left the Colony with other rabid slave men like 

 himself, declaring that no man could live under " the present arbitrary Government 

 of this Colony." Ds., No. 202. Wildgoos went to America. The three cases 

 selected for this test were: (1) That of a number of slaves from Eleuthera, who 

 had run away to Nassau to complain to the GoA-ernor of the severity of the punish- 

 ment inflicted on them. They had been taken back to their master, severely whipped 

 again, and on their way to Nassau, making a second attempt to escape, their 

 boat capsized, and the whole company was drowned (Smyth's Ds., No. 187); 

 (2) The case of a female slave at Harbor Island, who had been beaten "by her 

 master with a cow-skin about the back, shoulders, bosom and face. In this case a 

 brother slaveholder, who was a magistrate, interfered to denounce the conduct of 

 the master, the first instance of the kind that had come to the knowledge of the 

 Governor; (3) "The third," writes the Governor, " was that of a wretched worn-out 

 old man, who having served his master all his better days, was sent adrift to seek 

 a new owner, carrying a paper saying that he was to be sold for $25." The Gov- 

 ernor himself found him and referred his case to the police court. Soon afterwards 

 he found the same negro " bleeding from the effects of a flogging which his master 

 had caused to be inflicted upon him for having complained to me (the Governor) the 

 day before." (Ds., No. 202, dated Jan. 1, 1833.) 



"^ Smyth's Ds., No. 212. For other cases of cruelty see loc. cit... Nos. 63, 64, 

 139, 187, 212, 216; Balfour to Rice, Nos. 32 and 41. Also Sess. P., 1831-32, 46, p. 287 

 (24), enclosures in a despatch of Sir James Smyth; letter to a member of the House 

 of Assembly at Nassau on the flogging of women. Also H. V., 1833, pp. 105-106. 

 Also Ds., S. St., 1833, No. 27, and 1827, No. 1 (May 12, 1827), and enclosures. Also 

 Nassmi Gazette of Feb. 17, 1827. Feb. 24, 1827; and Ds., S. St., 1827, No. 2, of Sept. 

 28. 



