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be sufficiently humane in his own nature, and was 

 only complained of for allowing the negroes to 

 be maltreated by the book-keepers, and other in- 

 ferior agents, with absolute impunity. Being an 

 excellent planter, he confined his attention entirely 

 to the cultivation of the soil, and when the negroes 

 came to complain of some act of cruelty or op- 

 pression committed by the book-keepers or the 

 black governors, he refused to listen to them, and 

 left their complaints unen quired into, and con- 

 sequently unredressed. The result was, that the 

 negroes were worse off, than if he had been a 

 cruel man himself ; for his cruelty would have 

 given them only one tyrant, whereas his indolence 

 left them at the mercy of eight. Still they said, 

 that they would be well contented to have hi nr. 

 continue their trustee, provided that I would ap- 

 point some protector, to whom they might appeal 

 in cases of injustice and ill-usage. The trustee 

 declaring himself well satisfied that some such 

 appointment should take place, a neighbouring 

 gentleman (whose humanity to his own negroes 

 had established him in high favour with mine) was 

 selected for this purpose. I next ordered one of 

 the book-keepers (of the atrocious brutality of 

 whose conduct the trustee himself upon examin- 

 ation allowed that there could be no doubt) to 

 quit the estate in two hours under pain of pro- 

 secution ; away went the man, and when I arose 

 the next morning, another book-keeper had taken 



