GENERAL HISTORY. 



[89 



imposed, for the years 1808, 9, 

 10, 11, and 1^, or any of those 

 years, or by which any returns 

 of slaves were required to be 

 made in the said years, for the 

 purpose of such taxation, or 

 othei'wise ; specifying at what 

 time or times such leturns were 

 directed to be made." 



Mr. C. N. Palmer, rising as 

 the advocate of the planters, said, 

 that if he had entertained any 

 doubt, whether the House shouUl 

 prefer, to an address for infor- 

 mation, the duty of removing an 

 existing agitation, the speech 

 which had just been hearil, and 

 which appeared to him only cal- 

 culated to inciease an irritation, 

 whicii all persons, he should have 

 hoped, would have wished to 

 alUiy, would have removed that 

 doubt. He then entered into a 

 general narrative of the situation 

 of the colonies, followed by a 

 particular account of the insur- 

 rection, in which he brought facts 

 to prove, that it arose from the 

 e.\pectations among the slaves of 

 entire emancipation, fostered by 

 the proposed registry bill. He 

 quoted several passages from the 

 Report of the African institution, 

 and other publications, to confirm 

 tliis opinion, and solemnly as- 

 sured the House, that the colo- 

 nies were at pi'esent in a state of 

 great danger ; and lie concluded 

 with moving an amendment of 

 the hon. gentleman's proposed 

 address, which was lea\ing out 

 the whole, and substituting the 

 following : 



" That an humble addiess be 

 jjrescnted to the Prince Regent, 

 |)raying, that he will be pleased to 

 cause comnmnications to be made 

 to the governors of the several 



islands in the West Indies, signify- 

 ing his Royal Highness 's pleasure, 

 that they do take inunediate mea- 

 sures to proclaim throughout the 

 colonies, which they respectively 

 govern, his R. Highness's highest 

 displeasure at the daring insur- 

 rection which has lately taken 

 place in the island of Barbadoes ; 

 to declare in the most public 

 manner his R. Highness's con- 

 cern and siu'prize at the false and 

 mischievous opinion, which ap- 

 pears to have pievailed in some 

 of the British colonies, that ei- 

 ther his R. Highness or the Bri- 

 tish parliament had sent out or- 

 ders for the emancipation of the 

 negroes -, and humbly to request 

 his R. Highness, that while his 

 R. Highness directs the most ef- 

 fectual measures to be adopted, for 

 discountenancing these unfound- 

 ed and dangerous impressions, 

 his R. Highness would also gra- 

 ciously be pleased to recommend, 

 in the strongest manner, to the 

 local authorities in the respective 

 colonies, to carry into effect every 

 measure which may tend to pro- 

 mote the moral and religious im- 

 provement, as well as the com- 

 fort and happiness, of the ne- 

 groes." 



Mr. Barliam said, that although 

 it was his intention to vote for 

 the amendment, yet in his opi- 

 nion it fell short of what was 

 called for by the occasion, and 

 what the mover v\ould ha\e been 

 supported in proposing, by the 

 present feeling of the House. The 

 honourable gentleman then went 

 into a large and severe censure 

 of the charges which had lately 

 been brought against the colo- 

 nists, to which' he chiefly at- 

 tributed the lale calamitous 



events. 



