CHAR AC: TERS. 
of America. Though a concourse 
of slaves in their towns was forbid- 
den, the Maroons might have dances 
among themselves whenever they 
pleased, and, provided the dantce 
were in the day time, with a small 
number of slaves. They were not 
to quit their town without leave ; 
and, if they staid seven days beyond 
the time allowed them, they were 
liable to be taken up and sent home 
for trial. They were not permitted 
to purchase or possess slaves. No 
party, in pursuit of runaways, was 
to consist of more than twelve men, 
including officers, except on parti- 
cular occasions; or to go without 
~ written orders from the superin- 
tendant, nor were the party to re- 
main out more than twenty days. 
No Maroons were to be employed 
by any white person without a 
written agreement; and debts due 
to or from them, were to be deter- 
mined by two magistrates in a sum- 
mary way. ‘Their persons were 
_ protected from whipping, or other 
ill-treatment. 
They were bound to repair roads 
leading to their town once a year, 
on being ordered by the superin- 
tendant, for which they were to be 
paid. Lastly, there was a hw 
which, in consideration of their in- 
creasing population, gave them li- 
berty of relinquishing their rights as 
Maroons, and residing in any other 
part of the island, except the Ma- 
_ roon towns, uo longer subject to the 
superintendant, but enjoying the 
privileges of free people. In which 
ease, they were bound to enlist in 
the militia. 
To some of these laws very little 
attention was paid. The Maroons 
bought slaves without any notice 
being taken of it. Parties of them 
793 
were suffered to wander about the 
island, and many of them formed 
temporary connexions with the fe. 
male slaves on the different planta. 
tions in the country. Whole fami- 
lies of them left their towns, and 
were permitted to establish them- 
selves on the back settlements of 
the planters, without complying 
with the forms required by the law 
respecting such removals, from 
which consequences resulted, which 
we shall hereafter have to observe. 
From the neglect of this law, it is 
evident that it was not passed with 
aview of encouraging the Maroons 
to disperse and lose the existence of 
a distinét community, which it has 
been imagined would have been be- 
neficial to the island*, but merely to 
give them room, their limits becom. 
ing unequal to their increase. Whe- 
ther their extermination, as a dis- 
tinét body, would have been bene-’ 
ficial, is highly problematical. The 
war of 1795 would not have taken 
place; but who can say what other 
communities of the slaves might have 
been formed in the woods and 
mountains, and what other wars 
might have been the consequence ? 
It is very probable, that the assem. 
blages of fugitives would have been 
formed in the woody and almost in- 
accessible retreats of the country, 
had it not been for the frequent 
‘scouring of the woods by the Ma- 
roons, in search of runaway ne= 
groes. These assemblages would, 
in time, have formed new Maroon 
bodies, as difficult to be subdued as 
the former ; and so far more dan- 
gerous than the original Maroons 
were in their outset, that their con- 
nexion with the slaves, would have 
been more general. It is very well 
knewn, that notwithstanding the 
vigilance 
* Edwards, 
