SLAVERY. 



275 



per advice for their slaves. # I do not think 

 that the food which the slaves receive is in suf- 

 ficient quantities, or of a quality sufficiently 

 nourishing for the labour which they are re- 

 quired to perform ; and it would be undoubt- 

 edly much too scanty, if the days of intended 

 rest did not supply them with an addition to 

 the stock of provisions which the master affords. 

 I have in another place stated, that the veget- 

 able part of the food of the sugar-plantation 

 negroes is chiefly the flour of the mandioc ; the 

 animal food is generally the came do Seard, salt 

 meat which comes from Rio Grande do Sul ; 

 and sometimes salt-fish supplies its place. The 

 clothing which is given to the slaves by the 

 master consists of a shirt and drawers of the 

 cotton cloth of the country, and a straw hat ; 

 a piece of baize and a mat are likewise afforded 

 to them ; but these things are not renewed as 

 often as a due consideration to their comforts 

 would demand. Although the negroes are fed 

 by their masters, still as lands are to be had in 

 abundance, the slaves are permitted to plant 

 whatever they think fit, and to sell the produce 



* I met with the following passage in a work of much 

 reputation upon the affairs of the British sugar-islands : — 

 w The circumstance wherein the slaves in the West Indies 

 seem mostly indebted to their owners' liberality are, I think, 

 those of medical attendance and accommodation when sick." 

 Would not a man take his horse to a farrier if any thing 

 ailed him ? 



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