22 
East Coast Insurrection. 
however considerably diminished in the year 1819 through the ravages 
of yellow fever.* 
80. Canning's firm determination to improve the lot of the entire 
slave population in all the British colonial possessions, and to pave 
the way even for emancipation, was laid before the House of Commons, 
in 1823, and copies of this noble-minded resolution of the great statesman 
were despatched to Murray, the British Guiana Governor. For some 
reason or another the latter omitted publishing it without being able to 
prevent its contents becoming known. The earliest intimation of the 
existence of such a document, according to which something was said 
to have been done by England for the freedom of their slaves, was first of 
all received from one of the Governor’s servants by certain headmen — 
black overseers of slaves on the individual plantations under whose direc- 
tion the other slaves work — and the rumour soon spread over the entire 
East Coast that the order for their complete freedom had been received 
in the colony from England, but that His Excellency and the slave owners 
had kept the matter secret, and were trying to prevent it being carried 
into effect. 
SI- It was owing to this report that a conspiracy was hatched 
amongst the whole of the East Coast slaves according to which those 
who joined were to seize all the Europeans on the Plantaions, and then 
betake themselves in a body to the capital, and demand their freedom 
by force. The plans for this uprising were drawn up by two young 
negroes; Paris, a boatman of Plantation Good Hope, and Jack Glad- 
stone of Plantation Success. 
82. Under veil of the greatest secrecy, and unsuspected by their 
masters the scheme matured, and the 18th August was fixed for its 
execution. On the morning of that day the revolt blazed into flame, 
the rebels promptly seized practically all the Estates' owners, as well as 
the whole white population in general, who, some of them bound and 
some of them stretched on the stocks, were most cruelly ill-treated by 
the unrestrained and vindictive insurgents. Immediately upon receiving 
notice of it, the Governor headed a detachment of Colonial cavalry and 
started for the East Coast to quell the disturbance, but the superior 
forces of the raging rebels forced Ids speedy return. That same night 
all the free slaves were armed so as to permit of their leaving for the 
Coast at daybreak with the regular troops and remaining soldiery to 
liberate the imprisoned Europeans. 
83- The insurgents, 2,000 in number, were collected at Plantation 
Bacheloi s Ad\ entuie. A fair number were supplied with fire-arms 
which they nevertheless did not know how to use: the remainder carried 
cutlasses, bayonets fixed on poles, and similar weapons. Before 
Colonel Leahj, in command of -the troops, took extreme measures he 
tiied to persuade the licentious crowds to lay down their weapons and 
state the reason for their mutinous conduct, but he was informed 
while that of the mixed races was 33,860 : a total 
of 101,692 shewn in the census of 1817, (F.G.R.) 
lie Report of the Registrar General, was 118,(fl2, 
1 n tjT souls, as compared with the total 
