405 



occasion. " Oh ! quite just, me good, massa ! what 

 massa say, quite just ! me no say nothing more ; me 

 good, massa ! " Then they thanked me "for massa's 

 goodness in giving them so long talk ! " and went 

 away to tell all the others "how just massa had been 

 in taking away what they wanted to keep, or not 

 giving them what they asked for." It must be 

 owned that this is not the usual mode of proceeding 

 after the loss of a chancery suit in England. But 

 to do the negroes mere justice, I must say, that I 

 could not have wished to find a more tractable set 

 of people on almost every occasion. Some lazy and 

 obstinate persons, of course, there must inevitably be 

 in so great a number ; but in general I found them 

 excellently disposed, and being once thoroughly 

 convinced of my real good-will towards them, they 

 were willing to take it for granted, that my regula- 

 tions must be right and beneficial, even in cases 

 where they were in opposition to individual in- 

 terests and popular prejudices. My attorney had 

 mentioned to me several points, which he thought 

 it advisable to have altered, but which he had 

 vainly endeavoured to accomplish. Thus the ne- 

 groes were in the practice of bequeathing their 

 houses and grounds, by which means some of them 

 were become owners of several houses and nu- 

 merous gardens in the village, while others with 

 large families were either inadequately provided for, 

 or not provided for at all. I made it public, that 

 from henceforth no negro should possess more than 



