612 



SlewarVa Past and Present State of Jamaica. 



Iiably raise an outcry among a certain 

 class of persons, who see danger in 

 every boon of kindness extended to 

 the slaves; but a day will arrive when 

 it will be a subject of wonder, even in 

 the West Indies, that human beings 

 should have been precluded the means 

 of procuring legal redress against in- 

 jury and oppression— that the shadow 

 and mockery of justice should have 

 been held out to them, while an in- 

 superable bar was placed between 

 them and the reality. That there 

 might be danger in the immediate 

 unqualified admissibility of negro evi- 

 dence, in all cases, against the wiiites, 

 will not be denied ; but that danger 

 could be easily guarded against. It will 

 not be said that the low and uneducated 

 whites, in most countries, are in intel- 

 lect and principle greatly superior to 

 the bulk of the negro slaves. One 

 great deficiency of tlie latter is their 

 general ignorance of the doctrines and 

 jtrinciples of the Christian religion. 

 Without some knowledge of its truths 

 and its duties, it is hardly to be ex- 

 pected that the saeredness of an oath 

 can either bo understond or respected 

 by an untutored negro ; but after a 

 competent instruction in these, his 

 evidence, on oath, could not reasonably 

 be objected to. 



The abolition of the slave-trade has 

 pcrh.aps done more towards snlistau- 

 tially improving tlie condition of the 

 slaves than all the laws which have 

 been enacted for that purpose. How- 

 ever beneficent the spirit in which 

 those laws were framed, and howcvt: 

 wisely intended to guard against op- 

 pression, still, as has been shovvn, they 

 are liable to be evaded and violated in 

 various ways by persons so disposed. 



While individuals, holding estates, 

 could supply the decrease of strength 

 on them at an easy rate, this decrease 

 would not alarm them nuich; but 

 when the source of supply came to be 

 cut off, it must necessarily be viewed 

 as an irreparable loss and destruction 

 of capital. The man, who wishes to 

 preserve his property uninipaired, or 

 who would improve its value, must 

 now devote his attention to the means 

 of keeping up, if not increasing, the 

 number and eflieiency of his slaves; 

 for these constitute his wealth; without 

 them his lands would be but an unpro- 

 ductive waste. 



Many, or most of the old abuses, are 

 removed; punishments are more rare, 

 and far less seveie; the slaves arc not 



worked at unseasonable hours (except- 

 ing the night-Work during crop, which 

 will probably continue until methmls 

 are devised for exjiediting the woik 

 by day at that period); labour is more 

 milil ; the slaves are belter fed, clotheil, 

 and lodged, and when sick, experience 

 kinder attention, and arc more amply 

 sup|>lied with necessary comforts ; and, 

 above all, the breeding women are 

 carefully attendtd to, and receive 

 every neiTssary indulgence and assist- 

 anee. In consequence of these relorm- 

 utions, there are now few plantations 

 which have not an increase of slaves 

 (formerly the decrease was so great 

 that the planters conceived it imi)ossildo 

 to carry on their plantations without 

 a regular importation); atrocious cases 

 of cruelly are rarely heanl of; a gieater 

 degree of conlidence, comfort, and 

 contentment is observable in the looks 

 and appearance of llie slave, and tlioso 

 ill-treated, heart-broken, emaciated be- 

 ings wliieli the highways once exhibited, 

 are now seldom to be seen. 



The iilantation-slaves are divided 

 into three classes, or g»ii^s, as they 

 are called, according to ag(! and con- 

 dition. The first gang consists of the 

 ablest of both s(;xes, from sixteen to 

 about iilty 3 ears of age, an<l are em- 

 ployed in the most laliorious of the 

 work; the second gang contains the 

 elderly and weakly men and women, 

 and bo^s and girls of fioni twelve lo 

 sixteen, who have lighter « ink assigned 

 to them ; and the third or what is called 

 small g<iiin\ consists of the t'iiildren 

 from al)oul six lo twelve, altended by 

 a female driver, and are employed in 

 weeding the joung plant-canes, and 

 other easy work adapted to their 

 strength. In most of the jobbing- 

 gangs the dilVeicnt classes, with the 

 exception of children, are very ini- 

 projjcrly bleiidcd logelhrr. When the 

 slaves are renilered uiifit, by ago or 

 infirmity, for fie Id-lalionr, they are em- 

 plo}ed in oeeuj)Htions that reijuiic 

 litlle bodily exertion; the men arc 

 placed as ualclunen over the canes 

 and provisions, anil the women lo take 

 care of the children, or in other light 

 en)plo5ments. The duty of tlie former, 

 though not laborious, is cirlainly ardu- 

 ous : to prevent depredations on that 

 which tln^y arc appointed to protect 

 would require more activity and vigour 

 that many of these superannuated slaves 

 possess. 



The different tribes or nations of the 



nrgiocs are, like the diil'cient nations of 



Euiupe, 



