35S HISTORY OF THE [book r-v. 
3 y for the purpose of making full inquiry into the 
barbarities exercised on slaves, and bringing the au¬ 
thors to punishment at the public expense. With 
this view, it is enacted, that when any complaint, 
or probable intelligence from any slave , or otherwise, 
is made before a justice of the peace, of the muti¬ 
lation and confinement of a slave, the justice is im- 
powered and required to issue his warrant to bring 
the slave before him for inspection. u By this re¬ 
gulation (say the assembly) it is intended, as tar as 
possible, to take from the owner the power of con¬ 
cealment; for the magistrate is enabled to obtain 
a view of the fact, on evidence, which, in other 
cases, is, and ought to be inadmissible.” By ano¬ 
ther clause in the same act, in order more effectu¬ 
ally to prevent the destruction of negroes by ex¬ 
cessive labour and unreasonable punishments, the 
surgeon of every plantation is required to produce, 
and deliver in upon oath, to the justices and vestry, 
an annual account of the decrease and increase of 
the slaves of such plantation, assigning also the 
causes of stich decrease, to the best of his judg¬ 
ment and belief. On this head the assembly remark, 
“how tender and cautious every rational manager 
must necessarily be in the punishments which he 
administers, who considers, that he has a resident 
inspector into his conduct, and that the punishment 
of death may follow an abuse of his authority.” 
Such are a few of the many forcible and decisive 
testimonies, which the resident planters in the West 
Indies have given to the world, of their just abhor- 
