200 
s¢heme to the speaker and several members 
of the house of assembly, to be laid before 
the lieutenant-governor. The house, how- 
ever, misconcetved the plan: in their anxiety 
to spare the lives of the troops in so unequal 
a warfare, they approved of the means pro- 
posed, but contented themselves with re- 
commending that a pecuniary encouragement 
should be given to the Spaniards trading to 
the north side of the island, to bring over a 
few dogs, in order to see what effect the im- 
portation would have. Colonel Quarrell, 
who had now retained the Spaniard with 
whom he had conversed, and two others in 
his pay, represented the inutility of this 
measure, pressed the conducting of the bu- 
siness on surer grounds and a more extensive 
plan, and, having obtained full information 
on the subject, offered to take the business 
upon himself, provided he were furnished 
with a vessel and a letter from the governor 
of Jamaica to the Spanish governor at the 
Havanna, requesting permission for him to 
purchase dogs. The government, having 
taken the offer into consideration, acceded 
to the proposal ; a schooner called the Mer- 
cury, carrying twelve guns, was sent down 
to Bluefields, an open road at the western 
extremity of Jamaica; and a letter was 
transmitted to colonel Quarrell, addressed to 
don Luis de las Casas, the governor at the 
Havanna, recommending the bearer of it to 
his attentions as a commissioner for the pur- 
poses mentioned in it, and likewise as a 
member of the legislature, and a lieutenant- 
colonel of the troops. When the captain 
of the vessel delivered his dispatches, the 
commissioner was. ill with a fever: but so 
anxious was he that nothing should delay 
the service, that he immediately went on 
board, and the captain requesting orders for 
the time of sailing, he answered, that in- 
stant. The crew of the schooner consisted 
of four British seamen, twelve Curacoa 
negroes, and eighteen Spanish renegadoes ; 
but notwithstanding the unpromising, or 
rather alarming appearance of such a set of 
men, the commissioner, with a friendt, 
whom he had invited to accompany him 
on the voyage, and their two servants, em- 
barked at Bluefields in the end of the month 
of October 1795. 
«« Let us now take leave of general Wal- 
pole and the Trelawney mountains, of the 
Maroons and the cockpits, fora few weeks ; 
let us set sail in the schooner, and let us ac- 
company the commissioner in his expedition 
to Cuba, remembering, at the same time, 
that the sole object of it was to quell the 
Maroon rebellion. We will not, however, 
take our departure till we have investigated 
the justice of the means proposed for the 
end in view. The argument has been stated 
thus: 
«* The assetably of Jamaica were not un- 
apprized that the measure of calling in such 
HISTORY, POLITICS, 
AND STATISTICS. 
auxiliaries, and using the canine species 
against human beings, would give’ rise to 
much animadyersion in England; and that 
the horrible enormities of the Spaniards in 
the conquest of the new world, would be 
brought again to remembrance. It is but 
too true, that dogs were used by those 
christian barbarians against the peaceful and 
inoffensive Americans, and the just indig- 
nation of mankind has ever since branded, 
and will continue to brand, the Spanish 
nation with infamy, for suclr atrocities. It 
was foreseen, and strongly urged as an argu- 
ment against recurring to the same means in 
the present case, that the prejudices of party, 
and the virulent zeal of restless and turbulent _ 
men, 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 allowance 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 énly a cruel, but a very das- 
tardly complexion to the proceedings of go- 
vernment, 
«To these and similar objections, it was 
answered, that the safety of the island and 
the lives of the inhabitants were not ‘to be 
sacrificed to the apprehension of perverse 
misconstruaction or wilful misrepresentation 
in the mother country. It was maintained, 
that the grounds of the measure needed only 
to be fully examined, and fairly stated, to 
induce all reasonable men to admit its pro- 
priety and necessity. To hold it as a prin- 
ciple, that it is an act of cruelty or cowardice 
in man to employ other animals as instru- 
ments of war, is a position contradicted b 
the practice of all nations. The Asiatics 
have ever used elephants in their battles ; and 
if lions and tygers possessed the docility of 
the elephant, no one can doubt that these 
also would be made to assist the military 
operations of man, in those regions where 
they abound. Even the use of cavalry, as 
established among the most civilized and 
polished nations of Europe, must be rejected, 
if this principle be admitted; for wherein, 
it was asked, does the humanity of that 
doctrine consist, which allows the employ- 
ment of troops of horse in the pursuit of 
discomfited and flying infantry, yet shrinks 
at the preventive measure of sparing the 
effusion of human blood, by tracing with 
hounds the haunts of murderers, and rous- 
ing from ambush, savages more ferocious 
and blood-thirsty than the animals which 
track them?” 
The doctrine nakedly avowed by this 
author is, that the philanthropist ‘can- _ 
not justly blame the harshest means, - 
when self-preservation is the end pro- 
posed. This is bad historical morality. 
** { Captain Gilpin of the militia. 
