I 
^6 ST. HELENA. 
on any complaint of a slave's not being properly fed or clothed. 
The number of dogs kept illegally by the slaves is a great evil ; as 
they are employed not only to kill the game, with which the island 
abounds, but also too frequently to catch sheep in the night, when 
the slave resides so far up the country as to render an immediate 
detection improbable. Two instances of this kind occurred dur- 
ing my stay. These crimes can be attributed only to the want 
of moral instruction. I have no doubt that the slave of St. Helena, 
were he properly taught, would soon become a valuable mem- 
ber of society. He has the usual good qualities of his race, and is 
as well provided for as the labourer of England. The incitements 
to crimes in this isolated spot are few indeed. The importation of 
Negroes has been long at an end ; and it is by no means an unin- 
teresting fact, that since that period their number has increased, 
and is increasing. It would indeed be extraordinary if the human 
species were to do otherwise in any part of the globe, where food 
was in abundance, and no ill treatment counteracted the bounty of 
Providence. The inhabitants of St. Helena treat their slaves with 
great kindness, and indeed in every respect appear to be a worthy 
race of people. 
The fort of James Town, the capital,is inlat. 15° 59' S. 
- - - - - - long. 5° 49' W. of Greenwich. 
The variation of the compass was in 1777, 13° 15' west. 
1796, 15°5^' west. 
- - - - 180^, 16° SO' 
September 27. — From our leaving St. Helena to the present day 
we have been carried pleasantly along by the S.E. trade winds : we 
have only had to regret the society of the Lord Eldon, who sails 
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