THE BAHAMA ISLANDS 455 



certificate from the masters, which would protect them from being arrested 

 and imprisoned. They were altogether forbidden to sell spirituous liquors, or 

 to sell meats, either of which offenses demanded the application of the lash. 11 * 



Punishments. Slave masters had the right practically to punish their 

 slaves at their own discretion almost to any extent that discretion might allow, 

 with impunity to themselves. They themselves reported that their punish- 

 ments were light, and only such as were essential for the promotion of good 

 deportment among the slaves. There is reason to believe that the punishments 

 inflicted in the Bahamas were generally mild, but there were instances of the 

 most unprovoked brutality, showing the possibilities under a regime in which 

 the law, while expressing itself against cruelty to the bondsman, was impos- 

 sible of enforcement, so that almost full rein was given to the masters. Slave 

 masters could not be punished for ill-treatment of their slaves in a small 

 colony, where the whole family of whites was on their side against the slaves. 

 The grand juries left conscience behind, and did not hesitate even in the pres- 

 ence of a watchful governor to ignore the complaint of a slave against the 

 cruelty of his master. Governor Sir James Smyth made the attempt in three 

 test cases to prosecute masters for cruelty, but diligent and attentive as he was, 

 the grand jury threw out slave evidence and slave complaints, just as if the 

 law had not spoken at all in the matter. 118 This was a time of high excitement, 

 but this was not the only time when such conduct was observed. Wilful mu- 

 tilation was forbidden, under penalty of forfeiture of the claim upon the 

 recipient of it. The death penalty without benefit of clergy nominally threat- 

 ened the murderer of a slave. Placing iron collars on the necks, loading their 

 bodies with weights or chains, offenses which doubtless never found many 

 to inflict them in the Bahamas, were forbidden. The use of the whip, cat-o'- 

 nine tails, or other instruments, to persuade slaves to work were also placed 

 among the forbidden things. 117 



The most common form of punishment for petty offenses was whipping. 

 This must have been inflicted at the nod of the owner in the time before the 

 amelioration was begun. There seems to have been no restriction as to the 

 number of lashes that could be inflicted, until the statute of 1824. At that 

 time a limitation was fixed which was retained in the later code. No more 

 than thirty-nine lashes were to be laid on in one day, and no further punish- 



118 4 Geo. IV, 6, and 10 Geo. IV, 13. 



118 Cap. II, pp. 63-64. 



117 7 Geo. IV, 1, sec. 8, and 10 Geo. IV, 13. 



