WISTORY OF EUROPE. [129 
- Mr. Hussey desired: to’ be. in+ 
formed what: was the number of 
effective men among the one hun- 
dred and ninety-five thousand con- 
tained in -the secretary at war's 
statement. ; 
The secretary replied that he was 
not prepared to giveany answer to 
the oe 
r. Fox said he had heard it al- 
leged that the engagement, made 
onthe part of this country, with 
the Maroons, had not been faithful- 
ly adhered to. He understood this 
to be the declared opinion of an of- 
ficer, of whose military talents, and. 
private worth, though not person- 
ally acquainted with him, he n- 
tertained the highest opinion. He 
alluded to colonel Walpole. 
Mr. Bryan Edwards, not having 
had the honour of a seat in that 
house, until the present parliament, 
made an apology for calling the at- 
tention of the house to any observa- 
tions of his. But being perfectly ac- 
quainted with the subject.to which 
the right honourable gentleman al- 
luded, he begged the indulgence of 
the house, while he stated a brief 
history of the Maroon negroes; the 
cause of the late war between those 
people and the inhabitants of Ja- 
maica; and the conduct of the colo- 
nial assembly in the termination of 
the business. The Maroon negroes, 
r. Edwards said, agreeably to 
what has already been stated, in the 
volume of this work for 1795, are 
the descendants of the Spanish ne- 
groes, who, when the island of Ja- 
maica surrendered to the English, 
_ in 1635, betook themselves to the 
woods. ‘They were left in posses 
sion of the interior country, and 
continued masters of the country for 
near a century, murdering, without 
mercy, all such white persons as 
Vor. XXXIX. 
was refused them. 
attempted to: make any settlements 
near them, not sparing even ‘the 
women and children. In theyear: 
1760,:Mr. Edwards became ac- 
quainted with those people: when 
he soonobserved, that they were sus- 
picious allies, and would, some time: 
or other, become very formidable 
enemies. Yet it was not truce, as. 
stated in that house, that the inhabi- 
tants of Jamaica wanted to get rid’ 
of them. The inhabitants, in-gene- 
ral, had conceived the highest opi- 
nion of their utility, and treated 
them with the utmost kindness. 
They never asked a favour of go- 
vernment, or of the assembly, that 
The immediate 
cause of the late war with the Ma- 
roons, Mr. Ed:vards stated to be 
this. ‘ Two of the Maroons, hav- 
ing been found guilty of felony, in 
the town of Montego-Bay, by steal 
ing from a poor man two of his 
pigs, were tried according to law, 
and according to the very letter of 
the treaty, and sentenced to receive 
a few lashes at a cart’s tail. The 
sentence was mild, and the punish- 
ment not severe; but the whole 
body of the Trelawney town Ma- 
roons, in revenge for the indignity 
offered to two of their number, im- 
mediately took up arms, and soon 
afterwards actually proceeded to set 
fire to the plantations. Sir, I shall 
not take up the time of the house 
with a long detail of military opera- 
tions. The gallant officer, whom, 
the right honourable gentleman who 
spoke last named, had undoubtedly 
the merit, under the judicious or- 
ders of the earl of Balcarras, of put- 
ting anend to the most unnatural 
and unprovoked rebellion: and if 
those two distinguished persons dif- 
feredin opinion,concernin gtheterms 
on which the Maroons surrendered 
> 
[K] ir 
