| the whole system is bad, the de- 
) grees of atrocity may perhaps be 
| the less discernible. Bad as our 
countrymen are, I am still inclined 
to hope that few are to be found 
among them who would act, ona 
‘similar occasion, in the same manner 
asIam about to relate. An officer 
im the French army, having disco- 
-yered that dealing in slaves was a 
‘more lucrative profession than 
hting, was transportiug a cargo, 
consisting of about three hundred, 
a. Mosambique to the isle of 
They had scarcely put to 
sea when the small-pox broke out 
among them. On three or four the 
" pustules appeared in such a manner 
‘as to leave no doubt as to the nature 
fected. As it was pretty evident 
that none of the cargo had gone 
rough the disease, aud equally so 
that they could not escape infec- 
tion; and as the chances were, in 
this event, that the mortality would 
Breatly exceed seven per cent., 
the  slave-merchant resolved to 
throw the fifteen or sixteen in 
fected persons immediately over- 
board. This man afterwards wrote 
an account of his voyage to the 
East Indies, in which he talks a 
great deal about humanity, but 
_arefully avoids the mention of this 
transaction, , 
_~ Whatever the pretensions of other 
lations may be, in regard to the 
good treatment of their slaves, [ am 
“Inclined to think that the method 
pursued by the Portuguese planters 
of the Brazils is far from being the 
Worst. The master expects from 
Me slave a certain quantity of labour 
#1 the week, which is calculated to 
be sufficient to employ four days of 
Moderate application: tbe other 
CHARACTERS. 
863 
two are for himself; but out of the 
proceeds of the labour of these two 
days he must clothe and feed him. 
self for the whole week. By such 
a system the lash of the whip is un- 
Necessary ; the master is at no ex. 
pence beyond the first cost, which 
is about twenty pounds; and the 
slave, by the surplas produce of the 
labour bestowed on his own account, 
is frequently enabled to lay by a 
sufficient sum to purchase his froe- 
dom. ‘Those who are doomed to 
work at the mines experience worse 
treatment than such as are employed 
in domestic purposes, or in agricul. 
ture. ‘The temptation to secrete 
small diamonds has sometimes induc. 
ed the slaves to swallow’ them. 
Whenever the labour of the day 
has not been usually productive, or 
any other cause of suspicion arises 
that such may have been the case, 
they are put for acertain time in 
close confinement, and a strong dose 
of ipecacuanha is administered. If 
this should not produce the desired 
effect, the next step is to ply them, 
like the pearl fishers of Ceylon, 
with powerful catharties, till the 
poor creatures are nearly exhaust. 
ed; and this happens very often 
when they are perfectly innocent. 
The slave of the Brazils has many 
advantages over the slave of the 
West India islands. The climate of 
the former is infinitely superior to 
that of the latter, and the seasons of 
planting and of reaping are of 
longer duration. The owner. of a 
sugar plantation in the West Indies 
has but a short period allowed him 
during the rains to get his canes 
into the ground. Hqually short. is 
the season of reaping them. If the 
canes are not cut down when fully 
Ripe, the juice evaporates, aud they 
turn to wood: if they are cut down 
and 
