414 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



attaclied to its accomplishment by 

 him whose onlei's are obeyed ; 

 nor does the slave feel that he is 

 doing in any degree more than 

 would be enfoiced if he had made 

 any doubts. The world has heard 

 so much, and from so many ([uar- 

 ters, of the enormities which have 

 been connnitted by slave-owners 

 in tlie colonies witli which England 

 has had any communication ; both 

 from her own possessions, and 

 from those of other nations, that 

 no doidits can be entertained of 

 their existence. That such evil 

 deeds are of frequent occurrence, 

 I would not wish to suppose, 

 though that they are dreadfully 

 too frequeiit is too well known ; 

 } had rather not be persuaded 

 tliat a man in so depraved a state 

 is often to be met witli : — that 

 many civilized beings slionld have 

 made such rapid retiuns to barba- 

 rism. I have to say, that in 

 Brazil, too, such instances of bar- 

 barity are spoken of — thattlioy do 

 exist ; they are, however, of rare 

 occurrence, they are seldom heard 

 of, and are always mentioned with 

 abhorrence; but it is enough that 

 instances should be recorded, of 

 the abuse of this absolute power 

 of one man over another : it is 

 enough that this absolute power 

 itself should be allowed to conti- 

 nue, to render the system upon 

 which it is founded an evil of such 

 great importance, as to sanction 

 all exertions for its removal, as to 

 make any government overlook 

 many inconveniences rather than 

 increase the nimibers of tliose 

 human beings who suffer this 

 dreadful degradation. 



The Indian slavery has been for 

 many years abolished in Brazil, 

 and tije individuals who are now 



in bondage in that country are 

 Africans, and their descendants 

 on both sides, or individuals whose 

 mothers are of African origin ; 

 and no line is drawn at which the 

 near approach to the colour and 

 blood of the whites entitles the 

 child, whose mother is a slave, to 

 freedom. I have seen several 

 pers(ms who were to all appear- 

 ance of white origin, still doomed 

 to slavejy. 



Slaves, however, in Brazil have 

 many advantages over their bre- 

 thren in the British colonies. The 

 numerous holidays of which the 

 Catholic religion enjoins the ob- 

 servance, give to the slave many 

 days of rest or time to work for 

 his own profit ; thirty-live of 

 these, and the Sundays besides, 

 allow him to employ much of his 

 time as he pleases. Few masters 

 are inclined to restrain the right 

 of their slaves to dispose of these 

 days as they think fit, or at any rate 

 few dare, whatever their inclina- 

 tions may be, to brave public 

 opinion in depriving them of the 

 intervals from work which the l;iw 

 has set apart as their own, that their 

 lives may be rendered less irks(mie. 

 The time which is thus afforded 

 enables the slave, who is so in- 

 clined, to accumulate a sum of 

 money ; however this is by law 

 his master's property, from the 

 incapability under which a slave 

 labours of possessing any thing 

 which he by right can call his 

 own. But I believe there is no 

 instance on record in which a 

 master attempted to deprive his 

 slave of these hard-earned gains. 

 The slave c.in oblige his master to 

 manumit him, on tendering to 

 him the sum for which he was 

 first purchased, or the price for 



which 



