60 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE 



them every day for almost seven years, I never could be recon- 

 ciled to such proceedings; my heart and feelings recoiled against 

 them, as inhuman. I now^ suggest the idea to his Excel- 

 lency Governor Bentinck, to have these negroes w^ith fifty 

 or sixty more who are employed at the fortification, taken 

 farther into the interior; let them be well fed and cloathed, 

 and made more comfortable than they are at present. There 

 they may clear the country, cultivate a track of land for the 

 colony, and the proceeds of their industry would not only 

 keep in repair the town, but improve it. 



The only charitable institution supported by the colony is 

 thjB hospital in Labourgade, which takes in a certain number 

 of patients through the medium of directors. They are peo- 

 ple unable to defray medical expences, and principally con- 

 sist of seamen, and free people of color from other parts of the 

 West Indies, and only transient residents. 



The whole face of the country presented a gratifying view 

 of hospitality and munificence on my arrival, and when acts 

 of bounty were necessary, the inhabitants seem to vie with 

 each other in their liberality. I could bring forward many in- 

 stances of their charitable acts ; however a few will suffice. 

 A widow and two children were left destitute by the death of 

 the husband and father, whose only means of supporting them 

 depended on his exertions, while alive; a private subscription 



