GENERAL HISTORY. 



[163 



demeanour. All the neio'!iboi:r- 

 iiig- isliinds were placed under 

 martial law, as it was discovered 

 tliat tiieir negroes had been se- 

 cretly apprised of the conspiracy 

 in Barbadoes, and weie only wait- 

 ing to hear of its success till they 

 should join in a similar attempt. 

 At the colony of Demarara on the 

 continent symptoms of lestless- 

 ness appeared among the slaves 

 on hearing of the insurrection, 

 which occasioned the governor to 

 put forth a proclamation ad- 

 dressed to the united settlements 

 of Demarara and Essequibo, by 

 which., and his precautionary 

 measures, all disordjrs were ob- 

 viated. 



Jn the General Assembly of 

 Barbadoes sever.al messages were 

 delivered from the Governor, in 

 August, containing copies of the 

 Addresses from both Houses of 

 Parliament to the Prince Regent, 

 relative to the insurrection in that 

 island, and also a dispatch from 

 Lord Bathurst, recommending to 

 the Legislative council •iuid the 

 Assembly, that they should meet 

 the views of the sovereign and 

 the parent state by jjassing such 

 acts as might prove benefiL-iul to 

 the true interests of Barbadoes. 

 Mr. Mayers congratulated the 

 House on having, in a bill under 

 consideration, anticipated the 

 views of the British Government 

 by the adoption of measures for 

 ascertaining more accurately the 

 slave population. The House 

 then went into a committee on 

 the bill, and the Speaker gave his 

 sup])ort to it. Its clauses being- 

 read, were agreed to unanimously. 

 On a further conslibration of the 

 bill, Mr. Mayers moved as an 

 anicndment; that the appointment 



of the persons to receive and 

 transmit lists of slav<>s should be 

 left to the Comraan(!er-in-chief, 

 instead of to the Representatives, 

 which was carried ; and a clause 

 was unanimously passed for fix- 

 ing tlie penalty for each sUive 

 omitted to be given in at lOOl. 



In Dominica a correspondence 

 took place l)etwcen the House of 

 Assembly and Governor Jlaxwell 

 on the subject of the policy adojjted 

 by the British ministry since the 

 peace with Ameiica, as to the 

 mode of providing the West In- 

 dia islands with provisions. The 

 House rcj)resented, tliat in con- 

 secpience of the hurricane in Do- 

 minica of the 1.5th and 16th of - 

 September, without the iniporta- 

 tion of supplies, jjarticularly fioni- 

 the United States of America, a 

 great proportion of the slave po- 

 pulation nmst peiish with hunger 

 before his Majesty's Goveinment 

 could be consulted, and an an- 

 swer leturned. They therefure 

 earnestly urged, that the ports of 

 the island ought to be immedi- 

 ately opened to the vessels of the 

 United States for the importation 

 of provisions and lundjcr in barter 

 for the produce of the island. 

 The Governo)' in answer stated, 

 that he had submitted their re- 

 quest to his priA'y council, who 

 were of opinion that the injunc- 

 tions of the royal order were so 

 imperative, that they could not 

 advise compliance : at the same 

 time he sent to the Assembly 

 a copy of Lord Bathurst's instiuc- 

 tions on the subject. This com- 

 munication didnot satisfy the As- 

 sembly, wiiich passed resolutions, 

 that the distress contemplated by 

 the instructions, as reciuiring the 

 openingofthe ports, had occurred ; 



[M 2] that 



