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perfon who had decreed the punifhment, td 

 inquire further into the merits of it; and were 

 told by him, that the negro had been punifhed 

 f for ftriking a white man, with a. heavy flick % 

 and a large nail in it, and therewith cutting a 

 deep wound in his elbow." As this account 

 differed from that of the Dutchman himfelf, 

 we afked this man of power, if the fentence - 

 had been pronounced barely upon the man's 

 own report. Certainly not, he replied ; the 

 depofition was further fanftioned by the tef- 

 timony of four refpedtable witneffes who ap- 

 peared in evidence, having feen the negro ftrike 

 th$ white man with the great flick with a great 

 nail in it. 



We then ufed the freedom of a (king if 

 he had taken the trouble to look at this wound- 

 ed elbow him/elf, He had, he faid, " and a 

 fad cut it was." Had we not been ftricken 

 dumb with the reply, we might have exclaim- 

 ed, " Alas ! unhappy blacks ! what hope have 

 ye of juftice, if not only private, but alfo 

 public punifhments be thus awarded." 



As foon as our furprife and indignation 

 would permit, we informed this man of juflice 



