Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Research Library, The Getty Research Institute http://www.archive.org/details/civilcommercialo02edwa THE HISTORY, CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL, OF THE BRITIS.H COLONIES IN T H£ WEST INDIES. By CRYAN EDWARDS, Esq. f.r.s. ,s.a. IN THREE VOLUMES. THIRD EDITION, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS, ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES, VOL. n. London: PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILLY. 1801. Printed by Luke Hao/xrd, GteaC Tutallile> Lincoln' i-Inn Fieldst [ m ] CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. BOOK IV. PRESENT INHABITANTS, CHAP. I. VUMMJR T account of the Inhabit anis of the fever al If,ands./— - Clajfs.— -Emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland.— Predomi- nant charader of the European ref dents,"— Creoles or Nati'ves.'-'' Effe^ of climate.— -Char after of the Creole IVornen and Children. — ■ Of the people of Colour, and their different tribes or caJls.—Limi'- tations and rejlriSlicns on the Mulattoes, and nati've Blacks of free condition. — Their CharaBer at length, concluding nuith an Ode to Sable Venus. - - . - Page i CHAP. n. Of Negroes in a ftcite of Blat'ery. — Preli:ninary Olfer'vaticv.s.—^ Origin of the Sla-ve Trade. — Portuguefe Settlements on the Afri- can Coaf}.— Negroes introduced into Hifpaniola in 1502, and the Sla-ve Trade rc'vi'ued at the injlance of Barth. de las Cafas, in 1517. — Haivkins^s voyages to the Coajl, in 1562 and 1563.— jifrican Company ejlahliped by James I.— Second charter in 163 1 ly Charles I— Third charter in \6bz.'— Fourth charter in 1672. — Ejedofthe Petition and Dcclarationcf Right in 1 683. — AclX of the ^th and \oth of iVilliam and May, c. 26. — Neiv reglu- lations in iji^o.—Defcription of the African Coa/l.— Forts and Factories. — Experts from Great Britain. — Number of Negroes tranfported annually to the Britijh Colonies. — Slate of the Trade from 1771 to \~i%l .'—Number of Negroes at this lime exported annually by tht different Nations of Europe - - 39 i\z CHAP. iir. fv| CONTENTS. C H A P. II J. • Mandingces , cr Natives of the Windvoard CoaJI .—Mahometans.—^ J'heir ff'^a'S, manners, and licrJons.—Koromantyn Negroes, or i^a^ ti'ves of the Gold Coaji. — Their fcrocioufnefs of difpofiiion dif played hy an account of the Negro rebellion in Jamaica, in 1760. — 7heir national manners, ivars, andfuperjlitions. — Nati-ves ofWhi- dah or Fida, — Their good qualities.— -Nagoes. — Negroes from Be- nin.-— Perfons and t&mpers .—Canibals .—-N ati-ves of Kongo and Angola.— -Survey of the charaSlcr and difpojitions of Negroes in a fate offiaverj, - - - - - 70 C H A P. IV. Means of obtaining Slaves in Africa. — Qlfervation thereon. — Ob' jeStions to a direil and imtnediate abolition of the trade by the Bri- tijh Nation only. — The probable confequenccs ofjuch a mcajure, both in Africa and the H'ef Indies, confdcred.—T>ifproporticns offexes in the number of Slaves annually exported from Africa. — Caufes thereof. — Mode of tr anfpor ting Negroes to the Wcji Indies, and re- gulations recently eftahlifhed hy ait of parliament. — Effeil of tkrfe regulations. - - - - - 120 C H A p. V. Arrival ana fale in the Wejl Indies. — Negroes neivly pnrchafed, hoi» difpofed of and employed.— Detail of the management of Negroes en a fugar plantation.— Mode of maintaining them. — Hotfes, clothing, and medical care.—Abu/es. — Late regulations for their protedion tindfccurity. — Caufes of their annual dicrtaje. — Polygamy, Iffc— Slavery in its mildcft form unfricTidly to population —General ob- fervations. — Propofals for the further mtlioraiing the condition cf the Slaves, ivith --vi-hich the fubjeii concludes, - - I49 Appendixes to Book IV. No. I. - - - - - - 187 No. 2. ' - - - - - 226 BOOK V. CONTENTS. ij BOOK V. A G R I C U L T U R K. CHAP. I. Sugar caue.'—Knc-ivn to the ancients. — ConjeSlures concerning its in- troduiiion into Europe.— 'Co7in.- Import of this article into Great Britain, and profts accruing from the manufactures produced by it. —la Hi go, its culti'vation and manufacture. — Opulence of the firft Indigo planters in Jamaica, and refieitions concerning the decline of this branch of cultivation in that ijland. — CoFFEE, i\,hether that of the Wejl Indies equal to the Mocha ? — Situation and foil.-—Exorbitant duty to ixhich it nuas fubjecl in Great Britain. — Approved method of cultivating the plant and curing the berry. — Ejiimate of the annual expences and returns of a Coffee platitation.-^ Cacao, Ginger, Ar- NOTTo, Aloes, ««^ Pimento; brief account rf each. 309 Appendix to Book V. - - - - "374 BOOK vr. GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCE. CHAP, r. Colonial Ejlablifii/nenis.— Of the Captain General or Chief Gover- nor; his Po-Mcrs and Privileges.— Some refeciions on the ufual Choice of Perfons for this high Offcc.—— Lieutenant General, Lieu- tenant Governor, and PreJident.-—Of the Council, their Office and Functions. — Origin of their Claim to af^are in the Lcgijlature.—- Its Necejity, Propriety, and Legality ccnfderea.^-Some Correc- tions tn the ConjUtutiun of t-l^is Body propofd. m . 383 CHAP. II. Houfes of Affcmhly. — Prerogative denied to be in the Crc-ivn of ejla- hlij}:ing in the Colonics Cotijli tut ions lefs free than that of Great Britain. — Mojl of the BritipWeJl Indian IJlands fettled by Emi- grants from the Mother Country.— Royal Proclamations and Char- ters, Confirmations only of ancient Rights.-— Barhadocs^ and fame other If and s, originally tnade Counties Palatine.— "Their local Le* gifatures hoiv ccnjlituted. and the extent of their Jurifdi^ion pointed out.'— Their Allegiance to, and Dependence nn, the CriyivH rf Great Britain hoiv f 'cured. — Ccnjlitutional Extent of Par- iiamentary Authority over them, - - . ^09 CHAP. III. CONTENTS. vii CHAP. III. frincipks on luhich the Kalians of Europe fettled Colonies in Ameri- ca. — Commercial Regulations of Great Britain.-^Remarks on the jiSis of Jsat'igaticn.'—Admiffion of foreign'built Vejfels eiientually beneficial. — Experts from Great Britain to the Zngar Ifiands, and their 'value. — T'he fame f rem Ireland. — IVines from Madeira and the Azores. — Other Profits.- — Summary if the ivhcle.—^ Imports from the Wefi Indies to Great Brttair. and Ireland, and their Va- lue according to the London Prices. -^Amount of Britijh Capital I'cfted in the Sugar Ifiands.— Shipping and Seamen."— General Ohjerijations.— -Appendix. - • • - 443 CHAP. IV. ^rade helnxieex the Britifij Wefi Indies and North America previous to the late Civil War.— Ofiicial Account of American Supplies, and their Value. — Ships and Seamen.— Returns.— Ad-vantages refult~ ingfrom this Trade to GretJtBritain.—^Icafures adopted by Go- 'vernment on the Re-efiablifi>nunt of peace.— Proclamation of the idjfuly, 1783. — Petitions from the Wefi Indies.— Oppofition of the Settlers in Nova Scotia, Ijfc. and the Ship-buiLr-s at Home.— Reference to the Committee cf Privy Council.— Evidence taken by the Committee. — Their final Opinion thereon.^Proceed:ngs cf Go-, vernment .—Defiru^ion of Negroes in the Well Indies in confe- quence. — Act of the 28 Geo. III. Ch. 6. — Prcfent State and Va- lue of the Trade betnueen the Britifij Wefi Indies and the remaining Britifij Provinces in America. — The fame vjith the United States cf America — Inference from the vohole.— Appendix. - 483 C H A P^ V. Charges brought cgainfi the Planters introdudory of Opinions and Doilrines the Defign of vjhich is to prove, that the Settlement of the Britijh Plantations vj as improvident and unvjife. — Tefiimony of the Infpeilor-General en this SubjeSl, and Animadverfions there- on. — Erroneous Idea concerning a dfiinSl hiterefi between Great Britain and her Sugar Ifiands. — The National Income and the Profits cf Individuals arifingfrom thcf Ifiands confidered feparate- Ij. — Opinions of Pofilethvjaite and Child. — Whether the Duties on Wefi Indian Commodities imported fall in the Cotifumsr, and in vjhat via CONTENTS. nvhat Cafes ? — TXranubacks and Bounties : Explanation of thoj^ Terms i and their Origin and Propriety traced and demonfirated. — Of the Monopoly • compail ; its Nature and Origin.-^Rejiri dions on the Colonifls enumerated \ and the Benefits refulting therefrom to the Mother Country pointed out and illufirated. — Ad-vantages nvhich luould accrue to the Planter, the Revenue, and the Public^ from permitting the Inhabitants cf the Wejl Indies to refine tlxir raiu Sugar for the Britijh Confumption .-—Unjuji Clamours raijcd in Great Britain on any temporary Advance of the Wtfi Indian Staples.— -Proje^ cf efiablijhing Sugar Plantations in the Eafi In- dies under ths ProteSIion of Gousmment conftdered. — Remonjlrance •which might be cfj'ered againji this and other Meafures. — Con- elufion, - - - - - -427 APPENDIX Containing Tables of Weft Indian Exports and Imports to and from Great Britain and Ireland - - - * 593 THE HIS- THE HISTORY, CIFIL AND COMMERCIAL^ O F The Britifli Colonies in the Weft Indies, BOOK IV. PRESENT INHABITANTS. CHAP. I. Summary account of the Inhabitants of the fe^-jcval IJlands. — Clajfes. — Emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland. — Predominant character of the Eu- ropean reftdents. — Creoles or Natives. — Ej[[e£l of climate. — Chara^er of the Creole Women and Children.-^Of the people of Colour, and their different tribes or cafs, — Limitations and refiric- tions on the Mulattoes and native Blacks of free condition. — T!heir charader at length, concluding ivith an Ode to the Sable Venus. TH E prefent ftate ( 1 79 1 ) of the population in the Britilh Weft Indies appears, on a fummary of the feveral accounts given in former parts of this work, to be as follows, viz. YoL. II. B Janiiiica History of the BOOK Whites. Blaclcj. IV. Jamaica - CiO,OCO — 250,00c ^— v--^ Barbadocs - - 16,167 — 62,115 Grenada - 1,000 — 23,926 St. Vincent - 1^50 — 1^853 Dominica - - 1,236 14,967 Antigua - 2,590 — 37,8oS Montferat - - 1,300 10,000 Nevis - - - 1,000 — 8,420 St. Chriftopher's 1 ,900 — 20,435 Virgin iflcs - - 1,200 — 9,00a Bahamas - 2,000 2,241 Bermudas - - 5,462 — 4^919 Total _ — — .. , .> 6;,^o; __ 4; ^,684 There is likewifc, in each of the Inlands, a confiderable number of perfons, of mixed bloodjf and Native Blacks, of free condition. In Ja- maica thty are reckoned, as we have fhewn, at ten thouland ; and I have reafon to believe they do not fall Ibort of the lame number in all the other Illands colledively taken. The wholer inhabitants therefore may properly be divided into four great clafles. i. European Whites ^ 2. Creole or Native Whites ; 3. Creoles of mixed blood, and free Native Blacks; 4. Negroes in a ftate of flavery. I fhall treat of each clafs fepa- ratcly ; premifmg, however, that there are per- fons not comprehended in cither clafs ; fuch as emigrants WEST INDIES. emigrants from North America, and a confi- derable body of Jews. In Jamaica, the latter enjoy almoft ever)' privilege poflelfed by the Chriftian Whites, excepting only the right of voting at eledions j of being returned to ferve in the allLmbly, and of holding any office of ma- giiiracy ; but they have the liberty of purchaf- ing and holding lands, as freely as any other peo* pie; and they are likewile allowed the publick exercife of their religion ; for which purpofe they have erecled two or more fynagogues ; and I have not heard that Jamaica has had any reafon to repent of her liberality towards them. As, however, they dijffer but little in manners and cufloms from the reft of their nation which are difperfed in all the countries of Europe, I fliall pafs them bv, without further detail. The other White Inhabitants, not comprehended in this enumeration, are too few to merit particular notice (n). It (a) The foilo'A'iniT account of the White Inhabitant?, Free-Xcgroes, and Slaves, in the French WeA Ir.dies, may ferve to gratify curiolity. It is taken from the authority of Monf. Neckar; bull have reafon to tliink that the Negro Slaves are ne:.rly doubled in the Frerxh Iflands fince this ac- count was taken. Whites. Free Blacks, &c. S'aves. St. Domingo, in i-rg - 32,650 - 7^055 - 24.9,093 JMartitjico, in 1776 - 11,619 - 2,892 - 7^^6S Guad^ilcnpe, in 1779 - 13,261 'b z - i,3S2 - 85,327 St. HISTORY OF THE Ir may reafonably be fuppofed that mod ot* the natives of Europe who emigrate to the Weft Indies, remove thither with the hope of receiving greater encouragement to their abilities and in- duftry than has offered at home. Yet let it not be imagined that the major, or even any conli- derable part, of them arc defperate and needy adventurers, who feek. refuge from a prilon, or expatriate themfelvcs in the fond idea of living luxurioufly without labour. Thefe Iflands give but little countenance to idlcncl^, nor offer any alVlum to vagabonds and fugitives. Many of the Biitilb Colonies were originally compofcd of men who fought, in the wilderneffes of the New World, the peaceable enjoyment of thofe natural or fuppofed rights of which they were deprived in their native country. I extend this defcription to j^erfons of oppofite political fentiments and connedbions, to loyalifis as well as to republicans : for it is hoped that fome of each party were men whofe principles were honeft, though their con- ducl might h.ave been wrong. The advocates of loyalty fought refuge chiefly in Barbadoes, and St. Lucia, in 1776 - -r397 - 1,250 - ^"^ul"^ Tobago, fuppofed to be" nearly tlie {lime as St. , • 2,397 - 1,050 - i^,:s^ Lucia - - - -- Cayenne, iu 17S0 - - i,3sS 63,68a - — ' iO'539 - '3,4=9 - 437'736 many W E S T I N D I E S. S -inany of the adherents of Cromwell, after the chap. reftoration of Charles II. found protedtion in Ja- ^^ maica. At prefent, among the numbers whom accident or choice conduds to the Britifli Weft Indies, the juniors in the learned profeffions of law, phyfick, and divinity, conftitute a confider- able body. Thefe men ought to be, and, gene- rally fpeaking, really are, perfons of education and morals. Few places afford greater encouragement to the firfl and fecond of thefe employments; and, as ability is fofhered and called forth by ex- ercife, no part of the Britifli dominion has, in my opinion, produced abler men in either (in proportion to their number) than thefe iflands. Local prejudice, and bigotry towards great names, may perhaps incline fome perfons to difpute this affertion; but, prejudice and bigotry apart, it will be found, I believe, that Nature has diftri- buted the gifts of genius more equally and gene- rally than is commonly imagined : it is cultiva- tion and favour that ripen and bring them to perfection. The Britilli Navy and Army like- wife contribute confiderably to the augmentation of the White Inhabitants. Individuals in both thefe profeffions, either from the inducement of agreeable connediions, which it would be ftrange if many of them did not form in a long refidence in thefe countries, or captivated by the new prof- pects which open to their contemplation, very B 3 frec^uently 6 HISTORY OFTHE E o o K frequently quit the bulinefs of arms, and the ^^" dangers of a tcmpefiuous element, and become peaceful citizens and induftrious planters. Next to thefe ma)' be reckoned the mercantile part of the inhabitants, fuch as fadors, ftorc-keepers, book- keepers, and clerks ; who are followed by tradef- men and artificers of various kinds, fuch as mill- wrights, carpenters, mafons, copperfmiths, and others ; moft of whom, either through accident or necefiity, after fome )'ears refidence, become adventurers in the foil. Then come the hufbnd- men, or cultivators of the land, profefTcdly fuch ; who are commonly diftinguiflied by the appella- tion of manageis, ovcrfecrs, and plantation book-» keepers ; and they CGnftiiute a numerous body of people, compolcd of men of all countries and characters i tor, unfortunately, every enterprifing adventurer, who l:as either learned no particular trade, or has been brought up to one which is ufelefs in thefe regions, fancies hi mfelf capable of fpcedily acquiring all the various knowledge of the fugar planter, and the right management and government of his fcllow-creaturcs. the Negroes i though in truth a more weighty charge in itfelf, and one more important in its confequences, can fcarcely full to the lot of man. I HAVE, I think, in a former place, afligncd the caufcs to which it is partly afcribable that emigrants from various parts of tlie mother-r S Country, WEST INDIES. country, fucceflively conftltute the bulk of the fugar colonlfts ; of whom it is certain that the major part retain, in a confiderable degree, the manners ard habits of hfe in which they were educated. Yet there are authors who afFeft to defcribe the inhabitants of all the Weft Indies, as a herd of criminals and convifts; and cite the dale crimes and violences of lawlefs men, a cen- tury ago, when thefe iflands were the rendezvous of pirates and bucaniers, as a juft re pre fen tat ion of the reigning colonial habits, manners, and dif- pofitions ! Calumnies fo g^rofs, defeat themfelves by their abfurdity ;— but although it is in the higheft degree ridiculous to imagine that a voyage acrofs the Atlantick creates any fudden or radical change in the human mind, yet, notwithfianding what has been juft obferved concerning local manners and habits in the different claflcs of European fettiers, it cannot be denied that there prevails befides, fomethingofa marked and predominant character common to all the Vv'hite refidents. Of this charader it appears to me that the leading feature is an independent fpirit, and a diiplay of confcious equality throughout all ranks and conditions. The pooreft White perfon feems to confider himleif nearly on a level with the richeft, and, emboldened by this idea, approaches his employer with extended hand, and a freedom* B 4 which^ S HISTORY OF THE BOOK which, in the countries of Europe, is feldom dil- ^^'- ^ played by men in the lower orders of life towards their fuperiors. It is not difficult to trace the origin of this principle. It arifes, without doubt, from the pre-eminence and diftindion which are neceffarily attached even to the complexion of a White Man, in a country where the complexion, generally fpeaking, diftingui flies freedom from ilavery. Of the two great claffes of people in, moft of thefe colonies, the Blacks outnumber the Whites in the proportion of feven to one. As a fenfe of common fafety therefore unites the latter in clofer ties than are neceffary among men who are differently fituated, fo the fame circum^ ilance neceffarily gives birth among them to reci- procal dependance and refpeft. Other caufcs con- tribute to the fame end. " Where ilavery" (fays a great judge of human nature) " is eftabliilied in ♦' any part of the world, thofe who arc free, are ** by far the mofh proud and jealous of their frce- ** dom. Freedom is to them not only an en- " joyment, but a kind of rank and privilege. *' Not feeing there, that freedom, as in countries " where it is a common bleffing, may be united *' with much abjedl toil, with great mifery, with " all the exterior of fervitude, liberty looks ^* among them like fomething that is more noble ^* and liberal. Thus the people of the Southern I* Colonics (of America) are much more flrongly, *^ and WEST INDIES. 5, " and with a higher and more ilubborn fplrlt, chap. " attached to Hberty, than thofe to the North- i- " ward. Such were all the ancient common- " wealths; iuch were our Gothick anceftors; " fuch in our days are the Poles ; and fuch will *' be ail mailers of flaves, who are not Haves *« themfelves (cjr Possibly too, the climate itfelf, by increafing fenfibility, contributes to create an impatience of fubordination. But, whatever may be the caufe of this confciouinefs of felf-importance in the Weft Indian charader, the confequences refulting from it are, on [he whole, beneficial. If it fome- times produces an oftentatious pride, and a ridi- culous affectation of Iplendour, it more fre- quently awakens the laudable propenfities of our nature — franknefs, fociability, benevolence, and generofity. In no part of the globe is the virtue of hofpitality more generally prevalent, than in the Britifh Sugar Iflands. The gates of the planter are always open to the reception of his guefts. To be a ftranger is of itfelf a fufiicient introdu6tion. This fpecies of hofpitality is in- deed carried fo far, that, as Mr. Long has re- marked, there is not one tolerable inn through- out all the Weft Indies {dj. To fcj Burke's Speech in Parliament, 22 March, 1775. (dj There are fome peculiarities in the habits of life of the White Inhabitants, which cannot fail to catch the eye of an European newly arrived ; one of which is the contrail be- tweea lo HISTORY OFTHE To the fame caufe may perhaps be afcribed^ on the other hand, that eagernefs for litigation and juridical controverfy, which fo remarkably predominates in mod of thefe Iflands. From this unfortunate pafiion, ruinous as it frequently proves to individuals, this advantage however refults to the community at large ; that the lower orders of men, from their frequent attend- ance at the courts of law as jurymen, acquire a degree of knowledge, and a ciearnefs and pre- cillon of reafoning, which are not generally to twcen the general plenty and magnificence of their tables (at leaft in Jamaica) and the meanncfs of their houfes and apartments; it being no uncommon thing to find, at the country habitations of the planters, a fplendid fideboard loaded with plate, and the choiceft M'incs, a table covered with the fineft damafk, and a dinner of perhaps fixtten or twenty covers; and all this, in a hovel not firperior to an Englifli barn. A ftranger cannot fiail alfo to obferve a ftrange incong-uity and iiicor.lillcncy betweeen the great number of Is'egro don.efticks, and their appearance and apparel. The butler (and he but feldom) is the only attendant that is allow- ed the luxury of fhoes and (lockings. All the others, and tiiere is commonly one to each gueft, wait at table in hart- fioted mojejty \ fome of them perhaps half-naked. Another peculiarity in the manners of the Englifli in the Weft- Indies (in Jamaica efpecially) is the nuniber of nautical exprefTions in their converfa'.ion. Tiuis they (ay, hand Juch a thing, in- (lead of bring or give it. A phntution well liockrd with Negroes, is faid to be w-rV h :n(kd : an office or employment 5s called <7 ^VM ; th.e kitchen is denominated the took room } a warehf ufe is calKd zjhrr, or ftorr-room; a fopha is called acot\ a waiOcoat is termed a jacket; ani in fpcaking of the Eaft au'l Weil, tney fay to to.nJ-vard anerior to falfehood themfelves, they fufpedl it not in others. How far this noblencfs of difpofition may be afcribed to the influence of a genial climate, and how far to education and example, I prefume not to difcriminate. The effeds of heat on the body are fufficiently vifible ; but perhaps Philofo- phers have relied too much on a fuppofed fvm- pathy between the body and mind. " The Na- *' tives of hot climates" (fays one writer) " are " ilothful and timid ;" but timidity is by no means the necelfar)' confequence of indolence. The mind may require great force to roufe it to due exertion; but, being properly urged, may difplay qualities ver}' oppolite to thofe of a timid difpofition. At leaft, timidity conflitutes no part of the charader of the Natives of the Britifh Wefl-Indies. Indolence, I admit, is too predo- minant among them ; but that the)- are deficient in perlonal courage, no man, who has the Imalleft acquaintance with them, will allow for a moment. Even WEST INDIES. 17 Even the indolence of which they are accufed, is chap. rather an averlion to ferious thought and deep i- rejection, than a flothfalnefs and fluggillinefs of ^'-'^ nature. Both fexes, when the Iprings of the mmd are once fet in motion, are remarkable for a warm imagination and a high flow of fpirits. There feems indeed univerfally to reign among them a prompitude for pleafure. This effect has been afcribecl, and perhaps juftly, to the levity of the atmofphere fiJ. To the fame caufe is com- monly imputed the propenfity obfer\-able in moit of the Weft Indians to indulge extravagant ideas of their riches ; to view their circumfiances through a magnifying medium, and to feaft their fancicb on what another year wiii effect. This anticipation of imaginary wealth is fo prevalent as to become juftly ridiculous; yet I am inclined to think it is a propenfity that exilTis independent of the climate and atmofphere, and that it arifes principally from the peculiar fituation of the Weft Indian Planters as land-holders. Not having, like the proprietors of landed eilates in Great Britain, frequent opportunities of letting their plantations to fubftantial tenants, they are, for the moft part, compelled to become practical farmers on their own lands, of which the returns are, in the higheft degree, fluctuating and uncer- C^J Mofeley on the Climate of the Well Indies. Vol.. II. C tain. iS HISTORY OF THE tain. Under thefe circumftances, a Wefl-Indian property is a fpecies of lotten', and as fuch, it gives birth to a fpirit of adventure and enterprife, and awakens extravagant hopes and expectations; — too frequently terminating in perplexity and dil- appointment. Such are the few obrer\-ations which I have noted concerning the charadler, difpofition, and manners of the White inhabitants of thefe iflands. I proceed now to perfoiis of mixed blood (ufually termed People of Colour) and Native Blacks of free condition. Of the former, all the diiferent claiTes, or varieties, are not eafily difcriminated. In the Britifli ^Yefl Indies they are commonly known by the names of Samboes^ Mulattoes, Quj- droons^ and AlejUzes (h) ; but the Spaniards, from whom thefe appellations are borrowed, have many other and much nicer diilindions, of which the following account is given by Don Anthonio (h) A Sambo is the oflTs^pring of a Black Woman by a Mulatto Man, or vice 'verfa. Mulatto — — of a Black Woman by a White Man. Quadroon — — of a Mulatto Woman by a Wiiite Man. Mrjiiz^ or Muftee — of a Quadroon Woman by a White Man. The offspring of a Meftize by a White Man are white by law. A Meftize therefore in our iflands is, 1 fiippofe, tht (^uinteroH of the Spaniards. de W E S T I X D I E S. 19 de Ulloa, in his defcription of the inhabitants of Carthagena : " Among the tribes which are derived from an intermixture of the Whites with the Negroes, the firfi: are the Mu/attoes ; next to thefe are the Tercerones^ produced from a White and a Mu- latto, with fome approximation to the former, but not fo near as to obliterate their origin. After thefe, follow the Quarterones, proceeding from a White and a Terceron. The laft are the Quinterons, who owe their origin to a White and Quarteron. This is the laft gradation, there being no vifible difference between them and the Whites, either in colour or features; najs they are often fairer than the Spaniards. The children of a White and Quinteron confider themfelves as free from all taint of the Negro race. Every perfon is fo jealous of the order of their tribe or caft, that if, through inadvertence, you call them by a degree lower than what they acflually are, they are higlily offended. Before they attain the clais of tlie Quinteroiies, there are feveral inter- vening circumftances which throw them back; for between the Mulatto and the Negro, there is an intermediate race, which they call Sa:-7ibQeSy owing their origin to a mixture between one of thefe with an Indian, or amons; themlelves. Be- twixt the Tercerones and Mulattoes, the Quar- terones and the Tercerones, Sec. are thofe called C 2 Taite »o H I S T O R Y O F T H E Tcnte en el Ay re, Sufpended in the air ; becau|^ the)-^ neither advance nor recede. Children, whole parents are a Quarteron or Quinteron, and a Mulatto or Terceron, aie Salto atras retrogrados ; becaufe, inflead of advancing towards being Whites, they have gone backwards towards the Negro nice. The children between a Negro and a Quinteron, are called Sambos de Negro, de Mulatto, de Terceron, &c." Jjj Jamaica, and I b..^lieve in the reft of our Sugar Illands, the defcendants of Negroes by- White people, entitled by birth to all the rights and liberties of White fubjecls in the full extent, are fuch as are above three fteps removed in li- neal dlo-rellion from the Negro venter. All be- low this, whether called Meftizcs, Quadrons, or Mulattoes, are deemed by law Mulattoes. Anciently there v*as a diftintlion in Ja- maica between fuch of thefe people as were born of freed mothers (the maxim of the civil law, partus fequiter ventrem, prevailing in all our co- lonies) and fuch as had been immediately re- leafed from flavery by deed or tcfiament of their owners. While the former were allowed a trial by jury in criminal cafes, the latter were tried in the fame way as the common flaves, by two juf- tices and three freeholders. Neither were the latter admitted as evidences agalnft frce-bora tjerfons, until the year 1748, when an acft was palTcd WEST INDIES. sr paffed In their favour, putting both clafTes on the fame footing. At the fame time, the legal capacities which they poflelfed, were very imperfectly defined : The Mulattoes were allowed no other privilege than the freed Negroes, concerning whom (few of them being baptized, or fuppofed to be fen- fible of the nature of an oath) the courts of law interpreted^the a<5l of manumiilion by the owner, as nothing more than an abandonment or releafe of his own proper authority over the perfon of the Have, which did not, and could not, convey to the objeft of his bounty, the civil and poU- tical rights of a natural-born fubjedl ; and the fame principle was applied to the iffue of freed mothers, until after the third generation from the Negro anceftor. The principal incapacities to which thefe people are now fubjedt, as diflinct from the Whites, are thefe ; First; In mod of the Britiili Iflands, their evidence is not received in criminal cafes againffc a White perfon, nor even againft a perfon of Colour, in whofe favour a particular ad; has been palled by the legiflature. In this refpect they feem to be placed on a worfe footing than the enflaved Negroes, who have mafters that are interefted in their protedion, and who, C3 if aa HISTORYOFTHE BOOK if their flaves are maltreated, have a right to rc« 1^"- cover damages, by an action on the cafe*. Seconply ; They are denied the privilege of being eligible to fcrve in parochial veftries and genf.ral aflcmbliesi or of ading in any office of publick truft, even fo low as that of a conflable ; neither are they permitted to hold commiflions even in the Black and Mulatto companies of militia. They are precluded alfo from voting at elections of members to fervc in the aflembly. It may be urged, however, that the laws of England require baptifm, and a certain degree of property, in fimilar cafes. Thirdly ; By an ad of the aflembly of Ja- maica, pafled in the year 1762, it is enafted, that a teftamentary devife from a White perfon to a Negro or Mulatto, not born in wedlock, of real or perfonal eftate, exceeding in value £. 2,000 currency, fliall be void, and tlie pro- perty defcend to the heir at law. As fome counterbalance however to thefe re- ftridlions, the aflembly, on proper application, is readily enough inclined to pafs private adls, granting the privileges of White people, with fome limitations, to fuch pcrfons of Colour as have been regularly baptized, and properly edu- • In Jamaica, this grievance has been partly rcdrefled fince the publication of the former editions. cated. WEST INDIES. 23 cated. On the fame ground, private bills are fometlmes pafled to authorize gentlemen of for- tune, under particular circumftances, to devife their eftates to their reputed Mulatto children, notvvithftanding the ad of 1762. But there is this mifchief arifing from the fyftem of rigour oftenfibly maintained by the laws againft this unfortunate race of people; that it tends to degrade them in their own eyes, and in the eyes of the community to which they belong. This is carried fo far, as to make them at once wretched to themfelves, and ufelefs to the publick. It very frequently happens that the loweft White perfon, coniidering himfelf as greatly fuperior to the richeft and bed-educated Free man of Colour, will difdain to affociate with a perfon of the latter defcription ; treating him as the Egyptians treated the Ifraelites, with whom they held it an abomination to eat bread. To this evil, arifing from publick opinion, no partial inter- pofition of the legiflature in favour of individuals, affords an efFedual remedy ; and the confequence is, that inftead of a benefit, thefe unhappy people are a burthen and a reproach to foclety. They have no motives of fufiicient efficacy either to engage them in the fervice of their country, or in profitable labour for their own advantage. Their progrefs in civility and knowledge is animated by no encouragement; their attachment is re- C 4 ccived J4- HISTORY OFTHE BOOK ceivcd without approbation ; and their diUgence ^^'' exerted without reward (i). I AM happy however to afTert with truth, that their fidelity and loyalty have hitherto remained unimpeached and unfufpeded. To the Negroes they are objects of envy and hatred ; for the fame or a greater degree of fuperiority which the Whites alTume over them, the free Mulattoes lay claim to over the Blacks. Thefe, again, abhor the idea of being: ilaves to the defcendants of 'iD (}) It would fiirely be a wife and humane law that fliould grant to everv free Negro and Mulatto, the right of being a con:petLnt wltnefs, m ail criminal cafes, and more ef[)eci'.IIy in thofe of perfonal injury to himieU *. — Perhaps indeed it might be proper to require of fuch perfoiis the proof of bap- tifm, and the ability to read and write; and 1 think that fome ufeful regulations might be made to apportion greater privi- leges to the coloured people according to their approximation to the Whites ; a fyftem which would not ferve tn confound, but to keep up and render ufeful thofe diftinclions which local caufes have created, and which it is not in liie power of man to abolifli. To the Quadrons and Mefiizes for inftance (who poflefs the neceilary qualification in real property) I would grant the right of voting for reprefentatives in tj;eaf- fembly. Such a privilege would give them an intercf! in the community, and attach them powerfully to its government. In favour of fuch perfons alfo, the aft of 1 762 might be mo- dilied. Whtiher it would be wife to repeal it altogether, is a deep and difficult quedion. IMen who are unnrquninted with local manners and cuftom , arc not competent to pronounce an opinion in this cafe. • The AflTembly of Jamaica have lately granted this privilege to the freed people in that Ifland, WESTINDIES. 2J flaves. Thus circumftanced, the general cha- racter of the Mulattoes is flrongly marked by the pecuHarity of their fituation ; ana I cannot but think that they are, on the whole, objedls of favour and compaflion. In their deportment towards the White people they are humble, fubmiffive, and unaffuming. Their fpirits feems to fmk under the confciouf- nefs of their condition. They are accufed how- ever of proving bad maflers when invefted with power; and their condu6l towards their Haves is faid to be, in a high degree, harfli and imperious. I fufpedt there is fome truth in this reprefenta- tion ; for it is the general characteriflick of human nature, that men whofe authority is moft liable to be difputed, are the mofb jealous of any infringement of it, and the moft vigilant in its fupport. The accufation generally brought againfl the free people of Colour, is the incontinency of their women ; of whom, fuch as are young, and have tolerable perfons, are univerfally maintained by White men of all ranks and conditions, as kept miftreffes. The fadt is too notorious to be concealed or controverted; and I truft I have too great an efteem for my fair readers, and too high a refpedl for myfelf, to ftand forth the ad- vocate of licentioufncfs and debauchery. Un- doubtedly, the conduct of many of the Whites in 26 HISTORYOFTHE in this refpeft, is a violation of all decency and decorum; and an iniult and injury to fociety. Let it not offend any modeft ear, however, it I add my opinion, that the unhappy females here fpoken of, are much lefs deferving reproach and reprehenfion than their keepers. I fay this, from confidering their education and condition in lite ; for fuch are the unfortunate circumftances of their birth, that not one in fifty of them is taught to write or read. Profitable inftruflion there- fore, from thofe who are capable of giving it, is withheld from them ; and unhappily, the young men of their own complexion, are in too low a ftate of degradation, to think of matrimony. On the other hand, no White man of decent ap- pearance, unlcfs urged by the temptation of a confidcrable fortune, will condefcend to give his hand in marriage to a Mulatto ! The very idea is fhocking. Thus, excluded as they are from all hope of ever arriving to the honour and hap- pincfs of wedlock, infcnfible of its beauty and fandity ; ignorant of all chrifiian and moral obligations ; threatened by poverty, urged by their paflions, and encouraged by example; upon what principle can we expect thefe ill-fated women to aft otherwife than they do ? Neither ihould it be forgotten, at the fame time, that ver}' few of thcfe poor females, in com- parilbn of the whole, are guilty of that infamous fpecies WEST INDIES. 27 fpecies of profligacy and proftitution, which fiourifhes, without principle or (hame, and in the broad eye of day, throughout all the cities of Europe. In their drefs and carriage they are modeft, and in convertation referved -, and they frequently manifell a fidelity and attachment to- wards their keepers, which, if it be not virtue, is fomcthing very like it. The terms and manner of their compliance too are commonly as decent, though perhaps not as folemn, as thofe of mar- riage ; and the agreement they conlider equally innocent ; giving themfelves up to the hufband (for fo he is called) with faith plighted, with fen- timent, and with affeftion. That this fyftem ought to be utterly abolifli- ed I moft readily admit. Juftice towards the many beautiful and virtuous young ladies rc- fident in thefe illands, cries aloud for a thorough reformation of manners : But by whom is fuch a reform to be begun and accompli fhed ? It can hardly be expedted, I think, from the objefts of our prefent enquiries, who are confcious of no vices which their chriftian inflrudiors have not taught them ; and whofe good qualities (few and limited as they are) flow chiefly from their own native original character and difpofition. Of thofe qualities, the mofl: fl;riking is ten* dernefs of heart ; a foftnefs or fympathy of mind towards afflidtion and diltrefsj which I conceive 28 HrSTORYOFTIIE BOOK is feldom d'.fplayed in either extreme of pro- ^^'- fperity or vvretchednefs. Thofe who have never experienced any of the vicifTitudes and cala- mities of hfe, turn averfe from the contempla- tion of them ; and thofe again who are wretched themfclves, have no leifure to attend to the luf- ferin^rs of others : but the benevolence of the o poor people of whom I treat, is not merely foli- tary and contemplative , it is an aclive principle, in which they may be faid particularly to excel ; and I have the authority of a great writer before quoted (Don Anthonio De UUoa) to fupport me in this reprefentation. Speaking of their kind nets to many poor Europeans, who, in the hopes of mending their fortunes, repair to the Spanifli Weft-Indies, where they are utterly un- known, he has the following account of fuch of them as are called at Carthagena Pulizones-y being, he fays, men without employment, flock, or re- commendation. " Many of thefe (he obferves) after traverfing the ftreets until they have no- thing left to procure them lodging or food, are reduced to have rccourfe to the laft extremity, the Francilcan hofpital ; where they receive, in a quantity barely fullicient to preferve life, a kind of pap made of cafTada, of which the Na^ tives themfelves will not eat. This is their food; their lodging is the porticoes of the fquares and churches, until their good fortune throws them in W E S T I N D I E S. aj) in the way of fome trader going up the country, chap. who wants a fervant. The city merchants, ftand- i- ing in no need of them, difcountenance thefe ad- venturers. AiTeded by the diiierence of the cli- mate, aggravated by bad food, dejedted and tor- tured by the entire difappointment of their ro- mantick hopes, they fall lick ; without any other fuccour to apply to, than Divine Providence. Now it is that the charity of the people of Co- lour becomes confpicuous. The Negro and Mu- latto free women, moved at the deplorable con- , dition of thefe poor wretches, carry them to their houfes, and nurfe them with the greatcil care and affection. If any one die, they bury him by the alms they procure, and even caufe mafies to be faid for his foul." I BELIEVE that no man, who is acquainted with the general conduifl and difpofition of the fame clafs of people in our own iflands, will doubt that they would ad: as benevolently and humanely, under fmiilar circumftances, as thofe of Carthagena. Their tendernefs, as nurfes, to- wards the fick ; their difmtereded gratitude and attachment where favours are lliewn them j and their peaceful deportment under a rigorous fyf- tem of laws, and the influence of manners ftill more opprelTive, afford great room to lament that a more enlightened and liberal policy is not adopted towards them. The enfranchifcment of fuck 3«> HISTORYOFTHE fuch as are enflaved, Chriftian inftrudion to tli€J whole, and encouragement to their induftry, would, in time, make them a ufeful and valuable clafs of citizens j induce them to intermarry with each other^ and render their prcfent relaxed and vicious fyflem of hfe, as odious in appearance, as it is baneful to fociety (k). Hitherto I have confined myfelf to thofe people who, having fome portion of Chriftian blood in their veins, pride themfelves on that circumftance, and to the confcious value of which it is probable that fome part of what is commendable in their conduct is owing. The (k) The Rev. Mr. Ramfay has enlarged on the fame idea concerning thefe unfortunate people. " Children of Mulatto *' women, he obferves (meaning, I prefiime, their children *' by White men) fhould be declared free from their birth* *^ Intendants fliould be appointed to fee them placed out ia " time to fuch trade or bufinefs as may bed agree with their " inclination and the demands of the colony : this fliould be *' done at tlie cxpence of their fathers, and a fufficient fum " might be depofited in the hands of the churchwardens, *' foon after their birth, to anfwer the purpofe ; the intendant " keeping the churchwardens to their duty. By tlicfe means *' the number of free citizens would infenfibly increafe in " the colonies, and add to their fecurity and ftrength. A new " rank of citizens, placed between the Black and White '• races, would be eftabliflied. They would naturally attach " themfelves to the White race as the mofl: honourable re- " lation, and fo become a barrier againft the dcfigns of ihe *' Black, &:c." All this, however, is eafily propofcd in theory, but, I am afraid, more diflicult to adopt in pradice than Mr, Ramfay was aware of. free WESTINDIES. 31 free Blacks, not having the fame advantage, chap. have not the fame emulation to excel. In truth, i- they differ but little from their brethren in bonds, whofe manners^ genius, and charaifter, will be the fubjecft of my next enquiries. I fliall therefore conclude the prefent chapter by prefenting to my readers, a performance of a deceafed friend, in which the charafter of the fable and faffron beauties of the Weft-Indies, and the folly of their paramours, are pourtrayed with the delicacy and dexterity of wit, and the fancy and elegance of genuine poetr}% HISTORY OF THE THE SABLE VENUS; An ODE. ( lilt t ten in yamaica.) Alba liguftra cadiint vaccinia nigra leguntur. ViRC. 1 LONG had m)^ gay lyre forfook. But ftrung it t'other day, and took T 'wards Helicon my way ; The mufes all, th' aflcLnbly grac'd. The prefideiit hiinielf was plac'd. By chance 'twas concert-day. Erato fmil'd to fee me come ; Afk'd why I ftaid fo much at home -, I own'd my condu(5t wrong ; — But now, the fable queen of love, Refolv'd my gratitude to prove. Had fent me for a fong. The ladies look'd extremely fhy, Apo L L o's fmile was arch and Hy, But not one word they faid : I gaz'd, — fure filence is confent, — • I made my bow, away I went ; Was not my duty paid ? Come \r "^^ ^. H ^ ^=» \ f e^ ^ ^ "v > h' 2; £? i/: Tlii-Vin-AhE i.illiF SABILK VEKl^.S.n-oiiiANIiOILA 1" l!ii-^W"E.ST lI>-J.iy.S V WEST INDIES. j5 Come to my bofom, genial fire, chap , ^oft founds, and lively thoughts infpire ; i. Unufual is my theme : ^—"V Not fuch diflblving Ovid fung, Nor melting Sappho's glowing tongue,—* More dainty mine I deem. Sweet is the beam of morning bright^ Yet fweet the fober fliade of night .; On rich Angola's fliores. While beauty clad in fable dye. Enchanting fires the wond'ring eye^ Farewell, ye Paphian bow'rs. fable Queen ! thy mild domain 1 feek, and court thy gentle reign. So foothing, foft and fweet ; Where meeting love, fincere delight. Fond pleafure, ready joys invite. And unbought raptures meet. The prating Frank, the Spaniard proud, The double Scot, Hibernian loud. And fuUen English own The pleafing foftnefs of thy fway. And here, transferr'd allegiance pay^ For gracious is thy throne. Vol. II. D Fronn 34 BOOK IV. HISTORY OF THE From Eaft to Weil, o*er either Jnd' Thy fcepter fways ; thy pow'r we find By both the tropicks feit ; The blazing fun that gilds the zone. Waits but tlie triumphs of thy throne. Quite round the burning belt. When thoa, this large domain to view, Jamaica's ifle, thy conquefl new, Firft left thy native fhore, Bright was the morn, and foft the breeze. With wanton joy the curling feas The beauteous burthen bore. Of ivVy was the car, inlaid With cv'ry Ibell of lively fhade; The throne was burniOi'd gold : The footftool gay with coral beam'd, The wheels witli brightcft amber gleam'd. And glifl'ring round they roll'd. The peacock ajid the oftrich Ipread Their beauteous plumes, a trembling (hade. From noon-day's fultry flame : Sent by their fire, the careful Eafl, The wanton breezes fann'd her breaft. And fluttcr'd round the dame. The i WEST INDIES. "I'he winged fifh, in purple trace The chariot drew ; with eafy grace Their azure rein flie guides : And now they fly, and now they fwim ; ^Jow o'er the wave they Hghtly ikim, Or dart beneath the tides. Each bird that haunts the rock and ba)^ Each fcaly native of the fea, Came crowding o'er the main : The dolphin fliews his thoufand dyes. The grampus his enormous fize. And gambol in her train. Her ilcin excell'd the raven plume, Her breath the fragrant orange bloom. Her eye the tropick beam : Soft was her lip as filken down, And mild her look as ev'ning fun That gilds the Cobre (I) flream. The loveliefh limbs her form compofe. Such as her fifter Venus chofe. In Florence, v/here fne's (ctn^ Both jull alike, except the white. No difference, no— -none at night. The beauteous dames between, nj A river fo called in Jamaica, ^ 2 With 36 HISTORYOFTHE With native eafe ferene flie fat, In elegance of charms compleat. And every heart fhc won : Falfe drefs deformity may fliade. True beauty courts no foreign aid : Can tapers light the fun ?— The pow'r that rules old ocean wide, 'Twas he, they fay, had calm'd the tide. Beheld the chariot roll : Aflum'd the figure of a tar, The Captain of a man of war. And told her all his foul. She fmil'd with kind confenting eyes;— Beauty was ever valour's prize ; He rais'd a murky cloud : The tritons found, the firens fmg, The dolphins dance, the billows ring, And joy fills all the crowd. Bleft offspring of the warm embrace ! Fond ruler of the crifped race ! Tho' flrong thy bow, dear boy. Thy mingled ihafts of black and white, Are wing'd with feathers of delight. Their points are tipt with joy But, WEST INDIES. 37 But, when her flep had touch'd the ftrand, Wild rapture feiz'd the ravifli'd land. From ev'ry part they came : Each mountain, valley, plain, and grove Hafte eagerly to fhew their love ; Right welcome was the dame. Port-Royal fhouts were heard aloud, Gay St. I ago fent a crowd, Grave Kingston: not a few : No rabble rout, — I heard it faid. Some great ones join'd the cavalcade— The Mufe will not fay who. Gay Goddefs of the fable fmile ! Propitious Hill, this grateful Ifle With thy protedion blefs ' Here fix, fecure, they conftant throne; Where all adoring thee, do one. One Deity confefs. For me, if I no longer own Allegiance to the Cyprian throne, I play no fickle part ; It were ingratitude to flight Superior kindnefs -, I delight To feel a grateful heart. D3 Then 38 H I S T O R Y O F T H E Then, playful Goddcfs ! ceafe to change. Nor in new beauties vainly range ; Tho' whatfoe'er thy view, Try ev'ry form thou canft put on, I'll follow thee thro' ev'ry one ; So ftaunch am I, fo true. Do thou in gentle Phibia fmile. In artful Ben neb a beguile, In wanton Mimba pout ; In fprightly CuBA'seyes look gay. Or grave in fober Quasheba, 1 ftill fliail find thee out. Thus have I fung ; perhaps too gay Such fubjedl for fuch time of day. And fitter far for youth : Should then the fong too wanton feenit You know wlio chofe th' unlucky theme^ Dear Bryan tell the truth. WEST INDIES. 39 CHAP. II. Of Negroes in ajiate of Slavery. — Preliminary Ob- fer-vations. — Origin of the Slave Trade. — Por^ Uigv.efe Settlements on the African Coajl. — iV>- groes introduced into Hifpaniola in 1502, and the Slave T!rade revived at the inftance of Earth, de las Cafas, in 151 7. — Hawkins's Voyages to the Coajl, in 1562 and 1563- — African Company eJiabli/Jied by James I. — Second charter in 1631 by Charles I. — Third charier in 1662. — Fourth charter in 1672. — EffeB of the P£tition and Declaration of Right in 1688. — Acis of the <)th and loth of William and Mary., c. 26. — Nezv regulations in 1750. — Defer iption of the African Coaji. — Forts and Factories. — Exports from Great Britnin. — Number of Negroes tranfported annually to the Brifijh Colonies. — State of the Trade from 1 7 7 1 to i 787. — Number of Negroes at this time exported annually by the different Ncit ions of Europe. 1 H E progrefs of my work has now brought me chap. to the contemplation of human nature ia ks ^^• moft debafed and abje61: ftate \, — to the fad pro^ fpcd of 450,000 reafonable beings (in the Englifh iflands only) in a ftate of barbarity and Haver)' ; of whom — I will not fay the major part, but — D 4 great AO HISTORY OF THE BOOK great numbers afluredly, have been torn from IV. their native country and dearefl connedllons, Sy means on which no good mind can refiecl but with fentiments of dlfgufl, commifcration, and forrow ! I AM not unapprized of the danger I incur at thisjundlure fa) in treating the fubjeft of African Slavery, and the Slave Trade. By endeavouring to remove thofe wild and ill-founded notions which have been long encouraged by mifinformed writers in Great Britain, to the prejudice of the inhabi- tants of the Brltifh Sugar Iflands, I am confcious that I fliall be expofed to all that " bitternefs and wrath, and anger and clamour, and cvil-fpeaking and malice," with which it has long been popular to load the unfortunate flave-holder : yet nothing is more certain than that the Slave Trade may be very wicked, and the planters in general very innocent. By far the greateft part of the prefent inhabitants of the Britifli Weft Indies came into polTellion of their plantations by inheritance or accident. Many perfons there are, in Great Britain itfelf, who amidft the continual flu6tua- tion of human atfalrs, and the changes incident to property, find thcmfelves poffetred of eftates ir^ the Weft Indies which they have never leen, and invefted with powers over the;r fellow creature^ (aj Alliuiing to the petitions depending in parliament ( 1 79 1 ) for an ;ibolition of the Slave Trade, there. WEST INDIES. 4C there, which, however extenfively odious, they have never abufcd : fome of thefe gentlemen, un- acquainted with local circumftances, and milled by the popular outcry, humanely gave orders to emancipate all their flaves, at whatever expence ; but are fince convinced that their benevolent purpofes cannot be carried into efFecfl confidently even with the happinefs of the Negroes them- felves.- — The Reverend Society eflabliflied in Great Britain for propagating the Gofpel in foreign parts, are themfelves under this very pre- dicament. That venerable body hold a planta- tion in Barbadoes under a devife of Colonel Co- drington ; and they have found themfelves not only under the difagreeable neceffity of fupport- ing the fyftem of llavery which was bequeathed to them with the land j but are induced alfo, froni ihe purefl and beft motives, to purchafe occa- lionally a certain number of Negroes, in order to divide the work, and keep up the flock. They well know that moderate labour, unaccompanied with that wretched anxiety to which the poor of England arc fubjcd:, in making provifion for the day that is paffing over them, is a ftate of comparative felicity : and they know alfo, that men in favage life have no incentive to emula- tion : perfuafion is loft on fuch men, and com- pulfion, to a certain degree, is humanity and i'harity. The 42 HISTORY OF THE The queftion then, and the only queflion wherein the character of the planters is concern- ed, is this: — Making due allowance for human frailty under the influence of a degree of power ever dangerous to virtue, is their general conduct towards their ilaves fuch only as necefTarily re- fults from their fituation ? If to this enquiry, an affirmative be returned, furely Chriftian cha- rity, though it may lament and condemn the firft eftablifliment of a fyltem of flavery among them, and the means by which it is ftill kept up and fupported, will not haflily arraign thofe who neither introduced, nor, as I fhall hereafter Ihew^, have been wanting in their beft endeavours to correct and remedy many of the evils ot it. Having premifed thus much, I Iliall now proceed to lay before my readers fome account of the origin and prefent ftate of the Slave Trade, between the nations of Africa and fuch of the States of Europe as are concerned in it : this will conflitute what remains of the prefent chapter. In the next, I Ihail offer fome thoughts on the Negro character and difpofition : after which I fhall treat ; firft, of the means by which flaves are procured in Africa ; iecondly, of the mode of conveying them to the Weft Indies ; and thirdly, of their general treatment and lltuation when fold to the planters there : an arrangement whicJi will afford opportunities of illuftrating the fore- going II. WESTINDIES. 45 going obfervations, b)' enabling me to Interfperfe chap. fuch refledions as occur to mj^ mind on the feveral petitions now depending in parliament for a total abolition of the Slave Trade, all or thegreateft part of which are grounded on abufes charged to exift under thofe feveral heads. In the year 1442, while the Portuguefe, under the encouragement of their celebrated Prince Henry, were exploring the coaft of Africa, An- thony Gonfalez, who two years before had felzed fome Moors near Cape Bojador, was by that prince ordered to carry his prifoners back to Africa : he landed them at Rio del-OrOj and received from the Moors in exchange, ten Blacks, and a, quantity of gold dull, with which he returned to Lilbon. TfiE fuccefs of Gonfalez, not only awakened the admiration, but flimulated the avarice of his countrymen ; who, in the courfe of a few iucceeding years, fitted out no leis than thirty- ieven fliips in purfuit of the fame gainful traf- fick. In 1 48 1, the Portuguefe built a fort on the Gold Coaft ; another, fome time afterwards, on the Ifland of Aro;uin ; and a third at Loanso Saint Paul's, on the coaft of Angola; and the king of Portugal took the title of Lord of Guiney. So early as the year 1502, the Spainards began to employ a few Negroes in the mines of Hifpa- niola J 44 HISTORYOFTHE niola; but, in the year following, Ovando, thq governor of that ifland, forbad the further impor- tation of them i ailedging, that they taught the In- dians all manner of wickednefs, and rendered them lefs tradable than formerly i^i^^ . So dreadfully rapid, however, was the decreafe of thefe laft-men- tioned unfortunate people, as to induce the court of Spain a few years afterwards, to revoke the or- ders ilfued by Ovando, and to authorize, by royal authority, the introdu6lion of African Slaves from the Portuguefe Settlements on the coafk of Guiney. In the year 151 7, the Emperor Charles V. granted a patent to certain perfons for the exclufive fupply of 4,000 Negroes annually, to the illands of Hifpaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (c). This patent having been af- figned to fome Genoefe merchants, the fupply of Negroes to the Spanifh American plantations became from that time an eflablilhed and regular branch of commerce. The concurrence of the Emperor in this meafure was obtained at the folicitation of Bar- tholomew de las Cafas, Bilhop ot Chiapa, the celebrated protedor and advocate of the Indians 5 and the condud of this great prelate, on that oc- cafion, has been the fubjed of much cenfure and (hj Herrei-H, Decad. 1. lib. 5. c. 12, (c) Herrera, Decad. 2. lib. 2. c. 20. animad-i WEST INDIES. i}5 unimadverfion. He is charged with the ini- quitous abfurdity of reducing one race ot men to ilavery, while he was concerting the means of refloring freedom to another. " While he con- tended," fays a late writer (d)^ " for the liberty of the people born in one quarter of the globe, he laboured to enllave the inhabitants of another region; and, in the warmth of his zeal to fave the Americans from the yoke, pronounced it to be lawful and expedient to impofe one, Jiill heavier, upon the Africans." It would be dif- ficult perhaps to fay what yoke could well be heavier than the rigorous one impofed by the Spaniards on the wretched Indians ; under which, as the fame Hiftorian elfewhere relates, the Na- tives of Hifpaniola " were reduced, in the fliort (pace of fifteen years, from at lead a million, to fixty thoufand." But the condu6t of Las Cafas is not fully and fairly ftated in the foregoing re* prefentation ; for it fuppofes that each clafs of pleople (the Negroes and Indians) was found in a fimilar condition and fituation of life, whereas it is notorious that many of the Negroes import- ed from Africa, are born of enflaved parents, are bred up as Slaves themfelves, and as fuch have been habituated to labour from their infancy. On this account we are told, that one able (d) Roblafon, Hift. Anjer. Negro 46 i-i I S T O R Y O F T ri fe E o o K Negro was capable of peiforming the \vork*of 'V- four Indians. On the other hand, the condition of thefe lafl-mentioned people was widel}'' re- moved from a ftate of flavery. " The inhabi- tants of thefe iflands,'* fays a cotemporary writer j *' have been fo ufcd to the enjoyment of liberty, in a life of plenty and paftime, that the yoke of fervitude is infupportable to them ; and af- furedly, if they would but embrace our holy re- ligion, they would be the happiefl of human beings in the enjoyment of their ancient free- dom (c).''* Las Cafas therefore contended, rea- fonably enough, that men inured to fervitude and drudgery, who could experience no altera- tion of circumftances from a change of mrfl:ersj and who felt not the fentiments which freedom alone can infpire, were not fo great objedts of commileration, as thofe who, having always en- joyed the fweets of unbounded liberty, were fud* denly deprived of it, and urged to taiks of la- bour which their ftrength was unable to perform* Las Cafas could neither prevent nor foiefee the abufes and evils that have arifen from the fyfleni of traffick recomrncnded by him, and is not therefore juftly chargeable with the raflinefs, ab- furdity, and iniquity, which have fmcc been im- puted to his conduct. (t) Fer. Martyr. Decad. Of W E S T I N D I E S. 47 Ot: the Engliili, the firft who is known to have been concerned in this commerce, was the celebrated John Hawkins, who afterwards re- ceived from Queen EHzabeth the honour of knighthood, and was made treafurer of the navy* His adventures are recorded by Hakluyt, a co- temporary hiftorian. Having made feveral voy- ages to the Canary iHands, and there received information (fays Hakhjyt) " that Negroes were " ver)' good merchandize in Hifpaniola, and that " fcore of Negroes might eafily be had on the *' Coaft of Guiney, he refolved to make trial " thereof, and communicated that device, with " his worfhipful friends of London, Sir Lionel " Ducket, Sir Thomas Lodge, Mafter Gunfon " (his father-in-law) Sir William Winter, Maftef " Bromfield, and others ; all which perfons liked " fo well of his intention, that they becam.c li- *' beral contributors and adventurers in the ac- *' tion ; for which purpofe there were three good " fl:kips immediately provided, the Salomon of " 1 20 tunne, w^herein Mafter Hawkins himfelf " went, as general; the Swallow, of 100 tunnes, " and the Jonas, a bark of 40 tunnes ; in which " fmall fleete, Mafter Hawkins took with him " 100 men." Hawkins failed from England for Sierra Leone, in the month of October 1^62, and in 4 4 fhort HISTORY OF THE a ILort time after his arrival on the coaft, got into his poffcffion, partly (faj-s Hakluyt) by the fword, and partly by other means, to the number of 300 Negroes, befides other merchandize, with which he proceeded directly for Hifuaniola, and touching at different ports in that illand, dif- pofed of the whole of his cargo in exchange for hides, ginger, fugar, and fome pearls ; and arrived in England in Septem.ber 1563, after a verypro- fj^erous voyage, which brought great profit to the adventurcrsi The fuccefs which had attended this firft ex- pedition, appears to have attracted the notice, and excited the avarice of the BritiQi govern- ment J for we find Hawkins, in the year follow- ing, appointed to the command of one of the Queen's fliip?, the Jefus of 700 tons, and with the Solomon, the Tiger, a bark of 50 tons, and the Swallow, a bark of 30 tons, fent a fecond tim.e on the fame trading expedition j but with what part of the profits for his own fliare, is not mentioned. He failed from Plymouth, the i8th of Oftober 1564, and the fame day joined at fea the Minion, another of the Queen's fliips, com- manded by captain David Carlet, and which, with two others, the John Baptifl, and the Mer^ lin, were likewife bound for Guiney. The hiftory of this voyage is related at large in W E S T I N D I E S. 49 m Hakluyt's Collcdion, by a perfon who em- barked with Hawkins ; from whofe account it appears, that the fleet was difperfed by a violent gale of wind, in the Bay of Bifcay ; that the Merlin caught fire and blew up ; that the John Baptifl: put back, but that all the other veflels arrived at length at Cape Verde, on the Coaft of Africa. " The people of Cape Verde," fays the writer, " are called Leophares, and are counted *' the goodlieft men of all others faving the " Congoes, who inhabit this fide the Cape de *' Buena Efperance. Thefe Leophares have wars *' againft the Jalofis, which are borderers by " them. Thefe men alfo are more civil than " any other, becaufe of their daily trafficke with " the Frenchmen, and arc of a nature very gentle *' and loving. Here we flayed but one night, ** and part of the day, for the 7th of December ^•* we came away j in that intending to havQ *' taken negroes there perforce ^ the Minion's ^ men gave them to underftand of our coming, ■** and our pretence ; wherefore they did avoyde *' the fnares we had lay'd for them." It fcems probable from this account, that the captain of the Minion having an independent command, was jealous of Hawkins's authority, or, it is rather to be hoped, was Ihocked at the cxcelTes to which his avarice urged him, in laying fnares to feize and carry off the unojfending Na- VoL. II. E tives. 50 HISTORY OFTHE tlves. After this, the Minion no longer acTicd in concert, nor failed in company with Hawkins and his fquadron. Oln the 8th of December, Hawkins anchored at a fmall iHand called Alcatrafa. At this place we are informed that the Jefus and Solomon riding at anchor, the two barks with theii' boats, went to an ifland belonging to a people called the Sapies, to fee if they could take any of the inhabitants. The Englidi landed, to the number of eighty, with arms and ammunition j but the Natives flying into the woods, they returned without fucccfs. A fliort time afterwards, we find this righteous commander at one of the iflands which are called Sambula. " In this " ifland (fays the writer) we ftayed certain daj'es, *' going every day on fliore to take the inhabi- *' tants with burning and fpoiling their towns. *' Thcfe inhabitants (who were called Samboes) *• hold divers of the Sapics taken in v;ar as their *' flaves, whom they kept to till tlie ground, ** of whom we took many in that place, but of *' the Samboes none at all ; for they fled into ** the maine." The writer then proceeds to give an account of the manners and cuftoms of thefe people ; and relates, among other particulars, that ilavery is the eflablilhed punifliment for theft'. " Jf a man (fays he) deals but a Portugal cloth " from another, he is fold to the Portugals for w « aflavc.'* W E S T I N D I E S. 5» '^^ a flave." He relates further, that the Samboes, in a time of fcarcity, devoured their captives, for want of better food. The reftof Hawkins's adventures are nothing to my prefent purpofe. What has been quoted, is fufficient to demonftrate that a regular traffick had been eflabliflied, fo early as the year 1564, both by the Portuguefe and the French, with fome nations of Africa, for the purchafe of Slaves; that this intercourfe was founded on mutual con- tract, and tended to civilife the Natives on the Coaft ; fome nations of whom were polTeffed of Slaves, which they kept for the purpofes of agriculture; and occafionaily killed for food ; a horrid pradice, that, I believe, no longer exifts in this part of Africa. In regard to Hawkins himfelf, he was, I admit, a murderer and a robber. His avowed purpofe in failing to Guiney, was to felze by ftratagem or force, and carry away, the unfufpeAing Natives, in the view of felling them as Slaves to the people of Hifpaniola. In this purfuit, his object was prefent profit, and his employment and paflime devaftation and murder. He made a third voyage to Africa in 1568, for the fame purpofe, with a fquadron of fix fhips, which the reader will not be forry to find ter- minated mod mllerably; and put a flop, for fome years, to any more piratical expeditions of the Englifli to the coaft of Africa. E2 The Sa HISTORYOFTHE The firfl notice which I find in hiftory of ^ aflual attempt by the Britifli nation to eftablifli a regular trade on the African Coaft, is in the year 1618, when King James I. granted an ex- clufive charter to Sir Robert Rich, and fome other merchants of London, for raifing a joint flock for a trade to Guiney : fhips were accord- ingly fitted out ; but the profits not being found to anfwer expe(ftation, the proprietors foon after- wards withdrew their contributions ; and the charter was fufFered to expire f/J. In 1 63 1, King Charles I. erefted by charter a fecond compmy for a trade to Africa ; granting to Sir Richard Young, Sir Kenelm Digby, and fundry merchants, to enjoy the fole trade to the Coaft of Guiney, between Cape Blanco and the Cape of Good Hope, together with the ifles ad- jacent, for 31 years to come. As the Englifli had by this time began the fettlement of planta- tions in the Weft Indies, Neo;roes were in fuch demand as to induce the new company, at a great expence, to eredt forts and wai"ehoufcs on the Coaft, for the protection of their commerce ; but Co many private adventurers and interlopers (f) Queen Elizabeth is faid to have granted a patent in the 30th year of her reign, for canying on an cxchifive trade from the river Senegal to a hundred leagiits beyond Sierru Leone ; but I do not find that any voyage was ever made in confequence of it. cf W E S T I N D I E S. 53 of all nations, broke in upon them, as in effefl chap. to force the trade open, and fo it continued n- until after the reftoratlon of Charles II. In the 5'ear 1662, a third exclufive African company was incorporated, confifting of many perfons of high rank and diftinflion 3 at the head of whom was the king's brother, the duke of York. This company undertook to fupply our Weft Indian plantations with 3,000 Negroes an- nually; but in 1664, the king intending to make war on the Dutch, fecretly fent Sir Pvobert Holmes to the Coaft, with orders to feize the Dutch forts near Cape Verde ; in which fervice Holmes fucceeded, and built at the fame time a new fort at the mouth of the River Gambia, called James Fort, which we ftill hold. Thence failing fouthward, he maftered all the Dutch faclorics on the Guiney Coaft, except St. George D'Elmina and Acheen; all of which were how- ever retaken in 1665, by De Ruyter, the Dutch admiral ; together with the Fort of Koromantyn, belonging to the Englilli company, which (if I miftake not) the Dutch hold at this day, by tho name of Fort Amfterdam... In 1672 (the third company having in this year furrendered their charter to the crown) the fourth and laft exclufive company was eftablilhed. It was dignified by the title of the Royal African Company, and had, among its fubfcribers, the E 3 King, 54 HISTORYOFTHE King, the duke of York, and many other perfons. of high rank and quahty; and the whole capftal of ;^. 1 1 1,000 was raifcd in nine months. Out of this fubfcription, the late company was allow- ed f^. 34,oco for their three forts of Cape Coaft Caftle, Sierra Leone, and James Fort. The new company foon improved their trade, and in-. creafed the numbert of their forts; and, as all former companies were obliged to fend to Hol- land to make up an aflbrtment for the cargoes of their fliips, they now introduced into England the making of fundry kinds of woollen goods^ and other manufactures not before known; and they imported from the Coail great quantities of gold, out of which, in 1673, 50,000 guineas (fo named from the country) were coined. They alfo imported redwood for dyers, ivory, wax, and fome other valuable commodities, and they ex- ported to the value of £. 70,000 annually in Englilh goods. But the revolution in 1688 changed the fcene; for by the ifh of William and Mary, as the Pelition and Declaration of Right is com-, monly called, the African and all other exclufive companies not authorized by parliament, were aboliihed : the African trade, therefore, became in fad:, free and open; although the company ftill perfifhed in fcizing the fl:iips of feparate traders ; a meafure which occafioned much cla- mour. WEST IN' DIES. 55 mour, and no fmall obftruclion to tlie Negro- trade. The difputes which this condud: gave rife to, arc however too uninterefting at preient to be brought again to remembrance. In 1689 was eftabhfhed the firft AJfiento com- pany for fupplying the Spanilli Weft Indies with Negroes from Jamaica ; and in 1698 the trade to Africa, which, by the Petition of Right was virtually laid open, was exprefsly made fo, under certain conditions; for by ftatutes 9 and 10th of Will, and Mary, c. 26. it was enacted — " That for the prefervation of the trade, and for the advantage of England and its Colonies, it fhould be lawful for any of the fubjeds of his Majefty's realm of England, as well as for the company, to trade from England and the Plantations in America to Africa, between Gape Mount and the Cape of Good Hope ; upon pay- ing for the aforefaid ufes a duty of 10 per cent, ad valorem^ for the goods exported from England or the Plantations, to be paid to the coUedor at the time of entry outwards, for the ufe of the company. The fame liberty was given to trade between Cape Blanco and Cape Mount ; but, in addition to the 10 -per cent, on exportation, there was to be paid a further fum of 10 per cent, ad ^V7- loreni^ on all goods and merchandize, redwood E 4 ^xcepted^ 56 HISTORYOFTHE excepted, which was to pay only 5 per cent, at the place of exportation, imported into Englarlcr, or the Plantations, from the coaft between Cape Blanco and Cape Mount. The duties fo paid were to be applied to the maintenance of the forts and cafdes, the providing ammunition, and foldiers. The company were yearly to render an account of the receipt of thefe duties and their application, to the Curfitor Baron of Ex- chequer. Perfons paying thefe duties were to have the fame proteftion and defence for their perfons, fliips, and goods, from the forts and caflles, and' the fame freedom and fecurity for their negocia- tions and trade, as the company. They might fettle facflories within their limits, and were to be free from all moleftations from the company. No duty impofed by this ad: was to e:!itend to Negroes exported, or to gold and filver, nor was the ad: to be fo conftrued as to hinder any one from trading to that part of Africa, com- monly called South Barbary, extending foutherly as far as Cape Blanco." Against the regulations of this law, which was to continue ii; force for 13 years, both the company and many of the private traders re- monftrated without effed ; and the company's affairs, in the courfe of a few years, declined to * fo. W E S T I N D I E S. S7 To great a degree, that they were unable either c h a p. to fupport their fadories with new inveftments, ^^• or to pay the debts which they had already in- curred. Parliament, at length was induced to give them fome afliftance ; and in 1739 voted £. 10,000 for that purpofe, and the like funi annually until the year 1 744, when, by rcafon of the war with France and Spain, the grant was doubled. In each of the two fucceding years ^.10,000 was again voted s — but nothing was granted for 1747. In the year 1750 the African trade, after having pafTed, as we have feen, through dif- ferent conflitutions and conditions, affumed a new appearance ; for in that year the law took place under which it ftill exifts, and is at prefent regulated. It is entitled, " An a6t for extending and improving the trade to Africa;" the terms and conditions whereof I need not fet forth, as the a6t itfelf is fo eafily referred to. Of the feveral countries, however, which with the trade is at pre- fent carried on, and the ftate of it for fome years paft, fome particulars may be neceflary. My ac- count will be brief; there being many defcriptions of Guiney extant ; and an abridgment and fum-, mary of the bed hiftories (collated and arranged with great judgment and accuracy) are given to ^he public in Aftley's colledion of voyages ; wherei^^ 58 HISTORYOFTHE wherein the reader will find much curious and ufeful information (g). That part then of the African coaft on the Atlantick Ocean, with which the people of Eu- rope have an intercourfe, extends from Cape Blanco, in 21° N. latitude, to a Portuguefe fet- tlement called Loango St. Paiifs, in the kingdom of Angola, lat. 9" S. comprehending a line of coafh of upwards of 1,300 EngliQi leagues, and confifling of various countries, inhabited by a great number of lavage nations, differing widely from each other, in government, language, man- ners, and fuperflitlons^ The firlt of thefe countries, in which the Britifli have an eftablifhment, is the province of Senegambia ; including the river Senegal, which opens into the Wcflern ocean in nearly 1 6 degrees, and the river Gambia in 1 3° | N. la- titude. Both thefe rivers are navigable many* hundred miles up the country. The Negroes obtained from this part of Africa are known ta C^J In the year i 763 Senegal and its dependencies were vcfted in the African Company; but in 1765 the fame be- came veiled in the crown, and the trade was laid open. Thus the whole African trade is free to all his Majefty's fubjefts ; but that pari of it which is carried on between Port Sallee and Cape Rouge is luider the direilion of govern- ment. From Cape Rouge to the Cape of Good Hope, the Englifli foru are under the diredion of a committee of the co^npany. the WESTINDIES. 59 the Weft Indian planters by the general name of Matidingoes. From Cape Roxo (or Rouge) to Cape Appol- lonia, the European fettlements, except a fmall Englifli factory in the river Sierra Leone, are chiefly thofe of the Portuguefe.— The Negroes obtained through their means, as well as from the Englifli fadlory, are likewife called Mandin- goes — I believe improperly ; as many different languages are fpoken on the coaft between Senegal and Appollonia. This part of Africa is commonly called the Windward Coaft. The Gold Coaft extends from Cape Appol- lonia to the river Volta, comprehending a line of 100 leagues. The maritime country is divided into a number of petty ftates or principalities, feemingly independent of, and often at war with,, each other ; the chief of which are Axim, Ante, Adom, Jabi, Commani, Fetu, Sabou, Fantyn (a rich and powerful people) Acron, and Agonna; fome of which are faid to maintain a republican, or more properly an ariftocratical, form of govern- ment. Of the inland country we know hut little more than that it confifts of three extenfive kingdoms, called Afliantee (or Shantee) Akim, and Aquambou; each of which fupplies the mari- time ftates with great numbers of flaves, which they fell to the Europeans. In the Britifli Weft Indies, moft of the Negroes purchafed on th^ 6o HISTORYOFTHE Gold Coaft, are known by the general appella- tion of KoromanteeSy from Koromantyn, one 'ol the earlieft of our factories on this part of the African coaft, as hath been already obferved, but which is now become an infigniiicant village, or fadory, in poffcffion of the Dutch. It is fituated in the kingdom of Fantyn, two miles from the fort of Anamaboe. — I believe that the fame, or different dialeifts of the fame language, is fpoken throughout all the Gold Coaft countries. From the river Volta to the river La^os, ex- tends the Whidah country, (at prefent a province to the king of Dahomey, a great inland king- dom) by fome geographers confidered as part of the Gold Coaft; by others denominated ^/le Slave Coaft proper. It begins with the friiall and barren ftate of Koto or Lampi, next to which is the kingdom of Adra, comprehending the fubordi- nate maritim.e principalities of Great and Little Popo, or Papaw ; from whence the Whidah Ne- groes are called generally, by the Britifh traders, Papazvs. The Whidah language, excej:>t as to the inhabitants of Koto, is peculiar and appro- priate. The people of Koto fpeak a dialed of the Gold Coaft, and there is a tribe of Whidali Negroes called Nagoes^ who have a dialed which, though underftood by the Papaws, differs from the Whidah language in many particulars. West of the river Lagos begins the great kingdoiix WEST INDIES. 61 !45S - lC,2o8 - 809 - •S,399 I7R4 - 93 - 13.301 - 28,5^0 - 5,263 - 23,287 1785 - 73 - 10,730 - 21,598 - 5,018 - 16,580 1786 - 67 - 8,070 - 19,160 - 4,3«7 - 14.843 1787 - 85 - 12,183 - 21,023 - 5,3(^6 - 15,657 Of tlie whole number now annually exported from Africa, by the fubjeds of Great Britain, France, Holland, Denmark, and Portugal, and the particular countries whence fupplied, the following account was traufujittcd by the mer- (ihants WEST INDIES. 6^ chants of Liverpool to the Lords of the Privy chap. Council, and it is undoubtedly as authentick ,^ ^^• and particular a return as can pofTibly be ob- tained : viz. By the Britifli French Dutch Danes Portuguefe Total Of which Gambia furnidies about Ifles Delosj and the adjacent rivers _ _ . From Sierra Leone to Cape Mount From Cape Mount to Cape Palmas . , _ From Cape Palmas to Cape Appollonia Gold Coal! Quitta and Popo Whydah Porto Novo, Eppee, and Bidagry - - . Carried forward - N" of Shvei exported. 38,000 20,000 4,000 2,000 10,000 74,000 N"> of Slaves. 700 1,500 2,000 3,000 1,000 10,000 1,000 4,500 27,200 F2 Lagos 68 HISTORY OF THE OO K IV. NO of SlaiK. -y ' Brought foi-ward 27,200 Lagos and Benin 3>5^^ Bonnj^ and New Calabar - 14,500 Old Calabar and Cameroons 7,000 Gabon and Caj^ Lopez 500 Loango, Melimba, and Cape Renda - . - ^3^5°^ Majumba, Ambris, and Mif- foula - . . 1,000 Loango St. Paul's, and Ben- guela . - . 7,000 Total 74,200 Of the miferable people thus condeinned to perpetual exile and fervitude, though born in various and widely-feparated countries, it is not cafy to difcriminate the peculiar manners and native propenfities. The fimilar and uniform fyftem of life to which they are all reduced ; the few opportunities and the little encourage- ment that are given them for mental improve- ment; are circumftances that necefTarily induce a predominant and prevailing caft of character and difpofition. " The day," fays Homer, " which makes man a flave, takes away half his worth," and, in fad, he lofes every impulfe to adion, ex- cept that of fear. Neverthclcfs, there arc among fevcrai- WEST INDIES. 69 fcveral of the African nations fome ftriking and predominant features, which cannot eafily be overlooked by a perfon refiding in any one of the fugar plantations. Thefe peculiarities I fhall endeavour to defcribe with candour and impar- tiality ; after which, I lliall attempt a delineation of their general charadter, as it is difplayed under all the various modifications and circumftances of original habits, and prefent fituation and condition. Pi 79 HISTORYOFTHE CHAP. III. Mandingoes, or Natives of the Wmdward Coajl,-^. Mahometans. — Their zvars, matiners^ and per^ fons. — Koromantyn Negroes , or Natives of the Gold Coojl. — Their feroc!oiif)iefs of dtfpojition dif- played by an account of the Negro rebellion in Jamaica in 1 76c. — Theirnational manners^ wars, and fuperjiitions. — Natives of llliidah or Fida, —^Tlieir good (qualities. — N a goes. — Negroes from Benin.— Perfons and tempers. — Canibals. — A^^- iives of Kongo and Angela. — Survey of the charaEier and difpofitions of Negroes in a fate of flavery. JVlosT, if not all, the nations that inhabit that part of Africa which lies to the northward and eaflward of Sierra Leone, are Mahometans ; and following the means of converfion prefcribed by their prophet, are, as we are told, perpetually at war with fuch of the furrounding nations as re- fufe to adopt their rehgious tenets. The pri- foners taken in thefe religious wars furnifh, \ doubt not, great part of the Haves which are ex- ported from the fadories on the Windward Coaft; and it is probable that death would be the fate of moft of the captives, if pur^hafcrs were not to be met with. But in. W E S T I N D I E S. 7' But the Mandingoes have frequent wars with chap each other, as well as with fuch nations as they confider enemies of their faith j and I am afraid that fome of thefe wars arife from motives even lefs juftifiable than rehgious zeal. An old and faithful iVTandingo fervant, who (lands at my elbow while I write this, relates, that being fent by his father to vifit a diflant relation in a country wherein the Portuguefe had a fettlement, a fray happened in the village in which he refided ; that many people were killed, and others taken prifoners, and he himfelf was feized and carried off in the ikirmifli ; not, as he conceives, by a foreign enemy, but by fome of the natives of the place ', and being fent down a river in a canoe, was fold to the captain of the fliip that brought him to Jamaica. Of his national cufloms and maniiers he remembers but little, being, at the time of his captivity, but a youth. He relates, that the natives pradife circumcifion, and th^t he himfelt has undergone that operation ; and he has not forgot the morning and evening prayer which his father taught him ; in proof of this affertion, he chaunts, in an audible and (hrill tone, a fentence that I conceive to be part of the Alcoran, La ilia, ill ilia ! (a), which he fays they £ng aloud at the firfl appearance of the new fnoon. He relates, moreover, that iw his owa (a^ There is no God, but God. F 4 country HISTORY OF THE country Friday was conflantly made a day ot ftrift falling. It was almoft a fin, he obferves, on that day, to /wallow his fpittle^ — fuch is his expreffion. Besides this man, I had once another Man- dingo fervant, who could WTite, with great beau- ty and exadlnefs, the Arabick alphabet, and fome paflages from the Alcoran. Whether his learning extended any further, I had no oppor- tunity of being informed, as he died foon after he came into my polTeffion. The advantage poireffed by a few of thefe people, of being able to read and write, is a cirr. cumftance on which the Mandingo Negroes in the Weft Indies pride themfelves greatly among the reft of the flaves ; over whom they confider that they polfefs a marked fuperiority ; and in truth they difplay fuch gentlenefs of difpofition and demeanour, as would feem the refult of early education and difcipline, were it not that, gene- rally fpcaking, they are more prone to theft than any of the African tribes. It has been fuppofed that this propenfity, among other vices, is natural to a ftatc of flavery, W'hicli degrades and corrupts the human mind in a deplorable manner i but why the Mandingoes fliould have become more vicious in this refpedl than the reft of the Natives of Africa in the fame condition of life, is a quef- tion I cannot anfwer. In their complexions and perfons, the Man- * dingoes WEST INDIES. 73 dingoes are eafily to be diftinguiflied from fuch chap. of the Africans as are born nearer to the equator ; ii i. but they confift neverthelefs ofverydiftindl tribes, fome of which are remarkably tall and black, and there is one tribe among them (called alfo the Foolah) that feems to me to conftitute the link between the Moors and Negroes properly fo called. They are of a lefs glofly black than the Gold Coaft Negroes ; and their hair, though bufliy and crifped, is not woolly, but foft and Iilky to the touch. Neither have the Mandingoes, in common, the thick lips and flat nofes of the more fouthern Natives ; and they are, in a great degree, exempt from that (Irong and fetid odour, which exhales from the fkin of mofl of the latter ; but in general they are not well adapted for hard labour *. After all, they differ lefs in their perfons, than in the qualities of the mind, from the Na- • There is a remarkable anomaly of nature fometimes ieen in the children born of Negro women by black men. Their features are thofe of the Negro, but their complexions are ivhite : not the white of the European, but a cadaverous paienefs without any mixture of red, and their hair is of the fame colour, though crifped and woolly. I have infpeifled feveral of thefe poor creatures, and always found them weak lighted, and, in general, defedive in underiianding. Thefe are the people called by the Spaniards Albiim ; but that a nation of them exifts in any part of the world, as aflerud by Voltaire, I do not believe. Vol, II. F5 tives 7+ HISTORYOFTHE tives of the Gold Coafl ; who may be |^id to conftitute the genuine and original unmixed Negro, both in perfon and charadter. The circumftances which diflinguifh the Ko- romantyn, or Gold Coaft, Negroes, from all others, are firmnefs both of body and mind ; a ferocioufnefs of difpofition ; but withal, aftivity, courage, and a ftubbornnefs, or what an ancient Roman would have deemed an elevation, of foul, which prompts them to enterprizes of difficulty and danger ; and enables them to meet death, in its moft horrible fhape, with fortitude or in- difference. They fometimes take to labour with great promptitude and alacrity, and have confli- tutions well adapted for it j for many of them have undoubtedly been flaves in Africa : — I have interrogated great numbers on this fubjeft, and although fome of them afTerted they were born {rcCy who, as it was afterwards proved by the teftimony of their own relations, were adually fold as Haves by their mafters, others frankly con- fefled to me that they had no claim to freedom in their own country, and were fold either to pay the debts, or to expiate the crimes, of their owners. On the other hand, the Gold Coaft being inhabited by various different tribes which are engaged in perpetual warfare and hoflility with each other, there cannot be a doubt that I many WEST INDIES. 75 many of the captives taken in battle, and fold chap. in the European fettlements, were of free con- ^^^• dition in their native country, and perhaps the owners of flaves themfelves. It is not wonderful that fuch men fliould endeavour, even by means the mod defperate, to regain the freedom of which they have been deprived ; nor do I con- ceive that any further circumftances are necef- fary to prompt them to adion, than that of being fold into captivity in a^ diftant country. I mean only to flate fadls as I find them. Such I well know was the origin of the Negro re- bellion which happened in Jamaica in 1760. It arofe at the iniligation of a Koromantyn Negro of the name of Tacky, who had been a chief in Guiney^ and it broke out on the Frontier plantation in St. Mary's parifh, belonging to the late Ballard Beckford, and the adjoining eftate of Trinity, the property of my deceafed relation ^nd benefador Zachary Bayly, to whofe wifdom, activity and courage on this occafion, it was owing that the revolt was not as general and deftruftive as that which now rages in St. Do- mingo (i 791). On thofe plantations were up- wards of one hundred Gold Coaft Negroes newly imported, and I do not believe that an individual amongft them had received the leafl fliadow of ill treatment from the time of their arrival there. Concerning thofe on the Trinity eftat?, 76 HISTORY OF THE cflate, I can pronounce of my own knowledge, that they Were under the government of an over- feer of fingular tendernefs and humanity. His name was Abraham Fletcher j and let it be re- membered, in juftice even to the rebels, and as a leflbn to other overfeers, that his life was fpared from refpect to his virtues. The infurgents had heard of his charafter from the other Negroes, and fuffered him to pafs through them unmolefted — this fa6t appeared in evidence (b). Having colleded (h) Mr. Bayly had himfelf left the Trinity eftate the pre- ceding evening, after having perfonally infpefted into the fituation of his newly purchafed Africans, and delivered them with his own hands their clothing and knives, little ap- prehending the bloody bufinefs in which thefe knives were foon afrersvards employed. He flept at Ballard's Valley, a plantation of Mr. Cruikfhank, a icw miles diftant ; and was awoke by lus fervant at day-break, with the information that his Trinity Negroes had revolted. The intelligence was brought by fome of liis own people, who had fled in fearch of their Mafter, and reported that the infurgents were clofc at their heels. No time therefore being to be loft, Mr. Bayly- recommended to Mr. Cruikfliank, and fome other Gentle- men who were with 1iim, to proceed forthwith, with fuch arms as they could colleft, to an eftate in the neighbourhood, •which having a defenfible houfe, was fixed on as a proper place of rendezvous ; promifing to join therp in a few hours. He then mounted his horfe, and proceeded himfelf in fearch of the rebels, conceiving (as he knew they had no reafon to complain of ill treatment) that his prefence and perfuafions would reduce them to obedience. As he defcended the hill on which Mr. Cruikfliank's houfc was fituated, he heard the Koromantyn yell of -mary and faw the whole body of rebel Ncgroef WEST INDIES. 77 collected themfelves into a body about one chap, o'clock in the morning, they proceeded to the ^ ^^j^ fort at Port Maria ; killed the centinel, and pro- Negroes in full mafch for the habitation of the Overfeer ; a fmaller houfe CtiHited within half a mile of the other. He approached them nottvithftanding, and waving his hat, endeavoured to obtain a hearing, but v/as anfwered by a dif- charge of miifquetry, by which his fervant's horfe was fiiot under him, and both himfelf and the fervant very narrowly cfcaped with life. The Savages then proceeded to the maf- facre of the White people in the Overfeer's houfe ; and Mr* Bayly rode round to all the different plantations in the neigh- bourhood, giving them notice of their danger, and fending all the Whites to the place of rendezvous. By this meafure he had collected before noon about 130 Whites and trufty Blacks, tolerably armed ; whom he then led in purfuit of the rebels. They were found at Haywood -Hall, roafling an ox by the flames of the buildings, which they had fet on fire. The Whites attacked them with great fury, killed eight or nine on the fpot, took feveral of them prifoners, and drove the reft into the woods, where they afted afterwards wholly on the defenfive, and werefoon exterminated. Thus a timely check was given to a confpiracy, which was found to have been general among the ^?w;/a«^ Negroes through- out the Ifland, and the country was probably faved from utter deftrufl:ion by the prudence and promptitude of an indi- vidual. — I have related thefe circumftances concerning my deceafed relation's conduft on this occafion for tworeafons; firft, becaufe it prefents an example to be imitated in fimilar emergencies ; and fecondly, becaufe I have thus an oppor- tunity given me of paying a juft tribute to the memory of one, whom I loved and honoured when living, and lamented when dead, with more than filial affection and picly; for he poflefled the cleareft head, the moft enlarged and compre- henfive mind, the fweeteft temper, and the kindeft and moft benevolent difpofition, of any man that it has been my fortune to meet with, in my diverfified journey through life ! See vol. i. p. joS. vided j« HISTORYOFTHE vided themfelves with as great a quantity of arrm and ammunition as they could conveniently dif- pofe of. Being by this time joined by a num- ber of their countrymen from the neighbouring plantations, they marched up the high road that led to the interior parts of the country, carrying death and defolation as they went. At Ballard's Valley they furrounded the overfeer's houfe about four in the morning, in which finding all the White fervants in bed, they butchered every one of them in the moft favage manner, and literally drank their blood mixed with rum. At Efher^ and other eftates, they exhibited the fame tra- gedy i and then fet fire to the buildings and canes. In one morning they murdered between thirty and forty Whites and Mulattoes, not fparing even infants at the breaft, before their progrcfs was flopped. Tacky, the Chief, was killed in the woods by one of the parties that went in purfuit of them ; but fomc others of the ringleaders be- ing taken, and a general inclination to revolt ap- pearing among all the Koromantyn Negroes ifi the ifiand, it was thought necefTary to make a few terrible examples of fome of the moll guilty. Of three who were clearly proved to have been concerned in the murders committed at Bal- lard's Valley, one was condemned to be burnt, and the other two to be hung up alive in irons, and left to perifli in that dreadful fituation. The wretch that was burnt was made to fit on the ground. WEST INDIES. 7^ gfoundj and his body being chained to an h'on chap. ftake, the fire was appHed to his feet. He utter- ^^^' ed not a groan, and fliw his legs reduced to afhes with the utmoft firninefs and compofure ; after which, one of his arms by fome means getting loofe, he fnatched a brand from the fire that was confuming him, and flung it in the face of the executioner. The two that were hung up aHve were indulged, at their own requeft, with a hearty meal immediately before they were fufpended on the gibbet, which was eredled in the parade of the town of Kingflon. From that time, until they expired, they never uttered the leafl com- plaint, except only of cold in the night, but di- verted themfelves all day long in difcourfe with their countrymen, who were permitted, very im- properly, to furround the gibbet. On the feventh day a notion prevailed among the fpectators, that one of them wiflied to communicate an important fccret to his mafler, my near relation ; who being in St. Mary's parilh, the commanding officer fent for me. I endeavoured, by means of an in- terpreter, to let him know that I was prefent ; but I could not underfland what he faid in re- turn. I remember that both he and his fellow fufferer laughed immoderately at fomething that occured, — I know not what. The next morn- ing one of them filently expired, as did the other ©n the morning of the ninth day. ThK 8o HISTORY OF THE The courage, or unconcern, which the people of this country manifefh at the approach of death, arifes, doubtlefs, in a great meafure, from their na- tional manners, wars, and fuperftitions, which are all, in the higheft degree, favage and fanguinar}^ A power over the lives of his flaves is poffefled, and exercifed too, on very frivolous occafions, with- out compunction or fcruple, by every mafter of flaves on the Gold Coaft. Fathers have the like power over their children. In their wars they are bloody and cruel beyond any nation that ever exifted ; for all fuch of their captives as they re- ferve not for flaves, they murder with circum- ftances of outrageous barbarity ; cutting them acrofs the face, and tearing away the under jaw, which they preferve as a trophy, leaving the miferable viftims to perifli in that condition. I have colleded this account from themfelves. They tell me likewife, that whenever a confider- able man expires, feveral of his wives, and a great number of his flaves, are facrificed at his funeral. This is done, fay they, that he may be properly attended in the next world. This cir- cumftance has been confirmed to me by every Gold Coaft Negro that I have interrogated on the fubjecft, and I have enquired of many (c). In (c) The following particulars I collefted from fome of my own Koromantyn Negroes, whofe veracity I had no reafon to ibubt :— C/(?rarity, feem afhamed of their own weaknefs. A gentleman of Jamaica vifiting a valuable Koro- mantyn Negro that was fick, and perceiving that he was thoughtful and dejeded, endeavoured by foothing and encouraging language, to raife his drooping fpirits. Maja, faid the Negro (in a tone of felf-reproach and confcious degeneracy) fince me co^ne to White mans country me lub (love) life too much ! Even the children brought from the Gold Coaft manifeft an evident fuperiority, both in hardinefs of frame, and vigour of mind, over all the young people of the fame age that are im- ported from other parts of Africa. The like lirmnefs and intrepidity which are difbinguifliable in adults of this nation, are vifible in their boys at an age w^hich might be thought too tender to receive any lafting impreflion, either from pre- cept or example. — I have been myfelf an eye- witnefs to the truth of this remark, in the cir- cumflance I am about to relate. A gentleman of my acquaintance, who had purchafed at the ■ fame time ten Koromantyn boys, and the like number of Eboes (the eldefb of the whole ap- parently not more than thirteen years of age) caufed them all to be collected and brought before him in my prefence, to be marked on the breaft. This operation is performed by heating a fmall filver brand, compofed of one or two G 2 letters. 82 H 1 S T O R Y O F T H E r. o o K terrors ; and the natives in genera!, confcious tliey IV. have no fecurity even for the day that is padng ^^"^ over them, feeni prepared for, and refigned to, the fate that probably awaits them. This con- tempt of death, or indifTcrence about life, they bring vvith them to the Wefl Indies ; but if for- tunately they fall into good hands at firft, and become well fettled, they acquire by degrees other fentiments and notions. Nature refumcs her lawful influence over them. With the con- fcioufnefs of fecurity, the love o^ exiftence alfo, amidfl: all the evils that attend it in a flate of flavery, gains admifnon into their bofoms. They feel it, and, fuch is the force of habitual bar- them tD Jamaica. I afked him, whnt right his brother had , to fell iiim? ' Bccaufe^^ iaid he, ' n:y father ivai dead,' and by his account fatlicrs hnve an iirniiieftionable right to fell their children, and probably, on the deinife of the father, the fame power is affumed by the eldeft fon over the younger branches. He relates further, that the king has the power of life and death, and that executions are very frequent. That when the king or any confideiable man dies, a great number of his flaves are facrificcd at his tom.b. He pretends not to afcertaiii any particular mm. ber, but remembers ptr- fe£lly \vell the death o( the old king w liom Poco fucceeded, and is poficively certain that upwards of one hundred people vere Ibughtered on that occafion. To convince me that he undL-rfrood what he faid when he mentioned that number, he counted the fingers of both his hands ten times. He f.uth further, that wars are very frequent ; that all able niun are compelled to bear arms; and that when they take prffoners, the old and infirm are killed, and the yoimg and able pre- ferved to be fold for llavcs. barlty. WEST INDIES. 83 barlty, feem afhamed of their own weaknefs. A gentleman of Jamaica vifiting a valuable Koro- mantyn Negro that was fick, and perceiving that he was thoughtful and dejecled, endeavoured by Toothing and encouraging language, to raife his drooping fpirits. Maja, faid the Negro (in a tone of felf-reproach and confcious degeneracy) fince me come to White mans country me lub (love) life too much ! Even the children brought from the Gold Coall manifefl an evident fuperiority, both in hardinefs of frame, and vigour of mind, over all the young people of the fame age that are im- ported from other parts of Africa. The like firmnefs and intrepidity which are diftinguifliable in adults of this nation, are vifible in their boys at an age which might be thought too tender to receive any lafting impreflion, either from pre- cept or example. — I have been myfelf an eye- witnefs to the truth of this remark, in the cir- cumflance I am about to relate. A gentleman of my acquaintance, who had purchafed at the ' fame time ten Koromantyn boys, and the like number of Eboes (the eldefh of the whole ap- parently not more than thirteen years of age) caufed them all to be colleded and brought before him in my prefence, to be marked on the bread. This operation is performed by heating a Imall filver brand, compofed of one or two G 2 letters. 84 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK letters, in the flame of fpirits of wine, and apply- '"^- ing it to the ikin, which is previoufly anointed with fweet oil. The application is inflantaneous, and the pain momentary, Neverthelefs it may be eafily fuppofed that the apparatus muft have a frightful appearance to a child. Accordingly, when the firil boy, who happened to be one of the EboeSj and the flouteft of the whole, was led forward to receive the mark, he fcreamed dreadfully, while his companions of the fame nation manlfefled flrong emotions of fympathetic terror. The gentleman flopt his hand ; but the Koromantyn boys, laughing aloud, and, imme- diately coming forward of their own accord, of- fered their bofoms undauntedly to the brand, and receiving its impreffion without flinching in the leaft, fnapt their fingers in exultation over the poor Eboes. One cannot furely but lament, that a people thus naturally emulous and intrepid, fliould be funk into fo deplorable a ftatc of barbarity and fuperftition i and that their fpirits fliould ever be broken down by the yoke of flavery ! What- ever may be alledged concerning their ferociouf- ncfs and implacability in their prefent notions of right and wrong, I am perfuaded that they pof- fefs qualities, which are capable of, and well de- ferve cultivation and improvement. — But it is time to conclude my obfervations on this na- tion. WESTINDIES. 85 tion, which I fhall do, with fome account of their chap. religion; for which my readers are indebted to m- the refearches of an ingenious gentleman of Ja- maica, who is well acquainted with their lan- guage and manners. Its authenticity has been frequently confirmed to me, on my own enquiries among the Koromantyn Negroes themfelves. They believe that Accompong, the God of the heavens, is the creator of all things; a Deity of infinite goodnefs ; to whom however they never offer facrifices, thinking it fufficient to adore him with praifes and thankfgiving. AssARCi is the god of the earth; to him they offer the firft fruits of the ground, and pour out libations of the liquors they drink to his honour. Ipeoa is the god of the fea : if the arrival of fhips which trade upon their coaft is delayed, they facrifice an hog to deprecate the wrath of Ipboa. Ob BO NET is a malicious deity, who pervades heaven, earth, and fea; he is the author of all evil, and when his difpleafure is fignified by the inflidion of peftilential diforders, or otherwife, nothing will divert his anger but human facri- fices ; which are feledled from captives taken in v\ ar, or, if there be none prefent, then from their ^aves. Besides the above deities, every family has G 3 a peculiar g6 HISTORYOFTHE a peculiar tutelar iliint, who is fuppofed to ha¥© been originally a human being like one of them- felvcs, and the firft founder of their family ; upoi> the anniverfary of whofe burial, the whole number of his defcendants aflemble round his grave, and the oldeft man, after offering up praifes to Ac- compong, Affarci, Ipboa, and their tutehr deity, facrifices a cock or goat, by cutting its throaty and fliedding the blood upon the grave. Every head of an houlehold of the family, next facri- fices a cock, or other animal, in like manner, and as foon as all thole who are able to bring facri- iices have made their oblations, the animals which have been killed, are drcffed, and a great feftival follows. Among their other fuperftitions alfo, mull not be omitted their mode of adminifterlng an oath of fecrecy or purgation. — Human blood, and earth taken from the grave of fome near re- lation, are mixed with water, and given to the party to be fworn, who is compelled to drink the mixture, with an imprecation, that it may caufe the belly to burfl;, and the bones to rotj^ if the truth be not fpoken. This tcft is fre- quently adminidcrcd to their wives, on the fuf- picion of infidelity, and the refemblance which it bears to the trial of jealoufy by the bitter ijoater defcribed in tie book of Numbers (chap, v.) is a curious and llriking circumftance. 4 I NOW W E S T I N D I E S. S7 I NOW proceed to the people of Whldah, or Fida. The Negroes of this country are called generally in the Weft Indies Papazvs, and are nnqueftionablv the moft docile and beft-difpofed (laves that arc imported from any part of Africa. Without the fierce and favage manners of the Koromantyn Negroes, they are alfo happily ex- empt from the timid and defpondlng temper of the Eboes, who will prefently be mentioned. The clicerful acc}uiefcence with wliich thefe people apply to the labours of the field, and their conftitutional aptitude for luch employ- ment, arife, without doubt, from the great atten- tion paid to agriculture in their native countr)% Bofman fpeaks with rapture of the improved flate of the foil, the number of villages, and the induftr}% riches, and obliging manners of the Natives. He obferves, however, that they are much greater thieves than thofe of the Gold Coaft, and very unlike them in another refped, namely, in the dread of pain, and the apprehen- fion of death, " They are," faj^s he, " fo very apprehenfive of death, that they are unwilling to hear it mentioned, for fear that alone ihould haften their end; and no man dares to fpeak of death in the prefence of the king, or any great man, under the penalty of fuffering it himfelf^ as a punifnment for his prefumption." He relates further, that they are addicted to gaming beyond G 4 any 88 HISTORYOFTHE any people of Africa. All thefe propenfities^if I am rightly informed, are obfervable in the cha- radler of the Papaws in a ftate of flavery in the Weft Indies. That puniftiment which excites the Koromantyn to rebel, and drives the Ebo Negro to fuicide, is received by the Papaws as the chaftifement of legal authority, to which it is their duty to fubmit patiently. The cafe feems to be, that the generality of thefe people are in a ftate of abfolute llavery in Africa, and, having been habituated to a life of labour, they fubmit to a change of fituation with little reluftance. Many of the Whidah Negroes arc found to be circumcifed. Whether it be a religious cere- mony common to all the tribes that go under the appellation of Papaws, I know not. It is praftifed univerfally by the Nagoes ; a people that fpeak the Whidah language ; but I have met with Negroes from this part of the coaft that difavow the pradlice. We are now come to the Bight of Benin, comprehending an extent of coaft of near 300 Englifh leagues, of which the interior countries are unkaown, even by name, to the people of Europe. All the Negroes imported from thefe vaft and unexplored regions, except a tribe which are diftinguiflicd by the name of Alocoes^ are called in the Weft Indies Eboes; and in general they appear to be the loweft and moft wretched of WEST INDIES. S9 of all the nations of Africa. In complexion they are much yellower than the Gold Coafl and Whidah Negroes; but it is a fickly hue, and their eyes appear as if fuffufcd with bile, even when they are in perfed health. I cannot help obferving too, that the conformation of the face, in a great majority of them, very much refembles that of the baboon. I believe indeed there is, in mofl of the nations of Africa, a greater elonga- tion of the lower jaw, than among the people of Europe ; but this diftinftion I think is more vifible among the Eboes, than in any other Africans. I mean not however to draw any con- clufion of natural inferiority in thefe people to the reft of the human race, from a circumftance which perhaps is purely accidental, and no more to be confidered as a proof of degradation, than the red hair and high cheek bones of the Natives of the North of Europe. The great objedion to the Ebocs as flaves. Is their conftitutional timidity, and defpondency of mind ; which are fo great as to occafion thera very frequently to feek, in a voluntary death, a refuge from their own melancholy reflexions. They require therefore the gentleft and mlldeft treatment to reconcile them to their fituation j but if their confidence be once obtained, they manifeft as great fidelity, affection, and grati- tude, as can reafonably be cxpeded from men in 90 HISTORY OFTHE in a ftate of Havery. The females of this nation are better labourers than the men, probably from having been more hardly treated in Africa. The depreffion of fpirits which thefe people fcem to be under, on their firft arrival in the Weft Indies, gives them an air of foftnefs and fubmiffion, which forms a ftriking contraft to the frank and fearlefs temper of the Koromantyn, Negroes. Never thelefs, the Eboes are in faeft, together with fome ikill in plants of the medicinal and poifonous fpecies, have quali- fied them for fuccefsful impofition upon the weak and credulous. The Negroes in general, whether WWSTINDIES. 109 whether Africans or Creoles, revere, confult, and fear them ; to thefe oracles they refort, and with the mod implicit faitli,upon all occafions, whether for the cure of difordcrs, the obtaining revenge for injuries or infults, the conciliating of favour, the difcoverj' and punifliment of the thief or the adulterer, and the predidtion of future events. The trade which thefe impoftors carry on is ex- tremely lucrative ; they manufadure and fell their Oiit's adapted to different cafes and at different prices. A veil of myftery is fludioufly thrown over their incantations, to which the midnight hours arc allotted, and every precaution is taken to conceal them from the knowledge and dif- covery of the White people. The deluded Ne- groes, who thoroughly believe in their fuper- natural power, become the willing accomphces in this concealment, and the ftoutefl , among them tremble at the very fight of the ragged bundle, the bottle or the egg-fhells, which are ftuck in the thatch or hung over the door of a hut, or upon the branch of a plantain tree, to deter marauders. In cafes of poifon, the natural effects of it arc by the ignorant Negroes^ afcribed entirely to the potent workings of Ol^i. The wifer Negroes hefitate to reveal their fufpicions^ through a dread of incurring the terrible ven- geance which is fulminated by the Obeah-men againfl any who ftiould betray them ; it is very difficult lib HISTORY U¥ THE diflicult therefore for the White proprietor to dif- tinguifli the OI?ea/i profejfor from any other Ne- gro upon his plantation ; and fo infatuated are the Blacks in general, that but few inflances occur of their having aflumed courage enough to impeach thefe mifcrcants. With minds fo firmly prepoflefled, they no fooner find Obi Jet for them near the door of their houfe, or in the path which leads to it, than they give themfelves up for lofl. When a Negro is robbed of a fowl or a hog, he applies direftly to the Obeah-mdiVi or woman ; it is then made known among his fellow Blacks, that Obi is fet for the thief; and as foon as the latter hears the dreadful news, his terrified imagination begins to work, no refourcfe is left but in the fuperior flcill of fome more emi- nent Obeak-man of the neighbourhood, who may counteract the magical operations of the other ; but if no one can be found of higher rank and ability, or if, after gaining fuch anally, he fhould ftill fancy himfelf affedted, he prefently falls into a decline, under the inceflant horror of impend- ing calamities. The llighteft painful fenfation in the head, the bowels, or any other part, any cafual lofs or hurt, confirms his apprehcnfions, and he believes himfelf the devoted vidim of an invifibic and irrefiftible agency. Sleep, apj^etite, and cheerfulnefs forfake him, his ftrength decays, his difturbcd imagination is haunted without o ^ rcfpite. WEST INDIES. Ill rcfpite, his features wear the fettled gloom of de- fpondency : dirt, or any other unwholefome fub- ftance, become his only food, he contracts a mor- bid habit of body, and gradually links into the grave. A Negro, who is taken ill, enquires of the Obeah-man the caufe of his licknefs, whether it will prove mortal or not, and within what time he fliall die or recover } The oracle generally af- cribes the diftemper to the malice of fome particu- lar perfon by name, and advifes to fet Obi for that perfon ; but if no hopes are given of recovery, immediate defpair takes place, which no medicine can remove, and death is the certain confe- quence. Thofe anomalous fymptoms which originate from caufes deeply rooted in the mind, fuch as the terrors of Obi, or from poifons, whofe operation is How and intricate, will baffle the ikill of the ableft phyfician. " Considering the multitude of occafions which may provoke the Negroes to exereife the powers of Obi againft each other, and the alio- nilhing influence of this fnperftition upon their minds, we cannot but attribute a very confider- able portion of the annual mortality among the Negroes of Jamaica to this fafcinating mifchief. " The Obi is ufually compofed of a farrago of materials, moft of which are enumerated in the Jamaica law (h), viz. " Blood, feathers, parrots (h) Faffed 1 760. " beaks. II z II I S T O R Y OF TH E " beaks, dogs teeth, alligators teeth, broken " bottles, grave-dirt, rum, and egg-fliells." " With a view to illuftrate the defcription we have given of this practice, and its common cffedls, we have fubjoined a few examples out of the very great number which have occurred in Jamaica ; not that thej^ are peculiar to that ifland only, for we believe fimilar examples may be found in other Weft India colonies. Pere Labat^ in his hiftory of Martinico, has mentioned fomc which are very remarkable (i). *' It may feem extraordinar}^, that a practice alledged to be fo frequent in Jamaica fliould not have received an earlier check from the legiflature. The truth is, that the ikill of fome Negroes, in the art of poiloning, has been noticed ever fince the colonifts became much acquainted with them. Sloane and Barham, who praclifed phyfick in Jamaica in the laft centur}', have mentioned par- ticular inftances of it. The fecret and infidious jnanner in which this crime is generally perpe- trated, makes the legal proof of it extremely difficult. Sufpicions therefore have been fre- quent, but detections rare : thefe murderers have fomeumes been brought to juftice, but it is reafon- able to believe that a far greater number have efcaped with impunity. In regard to the oilier (i) Tonieii. p. 59. 447- 499- S<=^^' and WEST INDIES. Mj and more common tricks oiObi, fuch as hanging up feathers, bottles, egg- (hells, &c. &c. in order to intimidate Negroes of a thievilli difpofition from plundering huts, hog-ftyes, or provifion- grounds, thefe were laughed at by the White in- habitants as harnilefs ftratagems, contrived by the more fagacious, for deterring the more fimplc and fuperftitious Blacks, and ferving for much the fame purpofe as the fcarecrows which are in general ufed among our Englifli farmers and gardeners. But in the year 1760, when a very formidable infurreftion of the Koromantyn or Gold Coafi: Negroes broke out in the parifli of St. Mary, and fpread through almoft every other diftricl of the ifland, an old Koromantyn Negro, the chief inftigator and oracle of the infurgents in that parifh, who had adminiftered the Fctifli or folemn oath to the confpirators, and furniflied them with a magical preparation which was to render them invulnerable, was fortunately ap- prehended, convi(5led, and hung up with all his feathers and trumperies about him ; and his ex- ecution flruck the infurgents with a general panick, from which they never afterwards re- covered. The examinations which were taken at that period, firft opened the eyes of the publick to the very dangerous tendency of the Obeah praftices, and gave birth to the law which was then enaded for their fuppreflion and punifli- VoL. II. I ment. 114 HISTORY OF THE » o o K mcnt. But neither the terror of this law, the ^^* ftrict inveftigation which has ever fince been made after the profeflbrs of Obi^ nor the many examples of thofe who from time to time have been hanged or tranfported, have hitherto pro- duced the dcfired effedl. We conclude, there- fore, that either this fed:, like others in the world, has flourifhcd under perfecution ; or that frefh fupplies are annually introduced from the African feminaries. The following is the paper referred to in the precede ing account. OBEAH PRACTICE. " We have the following narratives from a planter in Jamaica, a gentleman of the flricleft veracit}', who is now in London, and ready to attefl the truth of them. " Upon returning to Jamaica in the year 1775, he found that a great many of his Negroes had died during his abfence ; and that of fuch as remained alive, at leaft one-half were debilitated, bloated, and in a very deplorable condition. The mortality continued after his arrival, and two or three were frequently buried in one day -, others were taken ill, and began to decline under the lame lymptoms. Every means were tried by me- dicines. III. WEST INDIES. ri5 dicines, and the mod careful nurfing, to preferve chap. the lives of the feeblcft ; but in fpite of all his en- deavours, this depopulation went on for above a twelvemonth longer, with more' or lefs inter- miffion, and without his being able to afcertain the real caufe, though the Obeak pra^ice was ftrongly fufpe6led, as well by himfelf, as by the dodor and other White perfons upon the planta- tion, as it was known to have been very common in that part of the illand, and particularly among the Negroes of the Papazv or Popo country. Still he was unable to verify his fufpicions, becaufe the patients conftantly denied their having any thing to do with perfons of that order, or any knowledge of them. At length a Negrefs, who had been ill for fome time, came one day and in- formed him, that feeling it was impodible for her to live much longer, fne thought herfelf bound in duty, before (lie died, to impart a very great kcret, and acquaint him with the true caufe of her diforder, in hopes that the difclofure might prove the means of flopping that mifchief, which had already fwept away fuch a number of her fellow-flaves. She proceeded to fay, that her ftep-mother (a woman of the Popo countr}', above eighty years old, but dill hale and adive) had put Obi upon het\ as Ihc had alfo done upon thofe who had lately died ; and that the old woman had praftifed Obi for as many years pad as flie could remember. I z " The ij6 history of the " TfiE other Negroes of the plantation no fooner heard of tliis impeachment, than they ran in a body to their mafter, and confirmed the truth of it, adding, that (he had carried on this bufincfs ever fince her arrival from Africa, and was the terror of the whole neighbourhood. — Upon this he repaired diredly, with fix White fcrvants, to the old woman's houfe, and forcing open the door, obferved the whole infide of the roof (which was of thatch) and every crevice of the walls ftuck with the im{)lements of her trade, confi filing of rags, feathers, bones of cats, and a thoufand other articles. Examining further, a large earthen pot or jar, clofe covered, was found concealed under her bed. — It contained a prodi- gious quantity of round balls of earth or clay of various dimenfions, large and fmall, whitened on the outfide, and varioufly compounded, fome with hair and rags, or feathers of all forts, and ftrongly bound with twine; others blended with the upj/cr feftion of the fkuUs of cats, or iluck round with cats teeth and claws, or with human or dogs teeth, and fome glafs beads of ditierent colours ; there were alio a great many egg-Oiells filled with a vilcous or gummy fubftance, the qualities of wliich he neglected to examme, and many liitle bags flutied with a variety of ar- ticles, the particulars of which cannot at this dif- tance of time be rccoUcded. The houfe was inftantly WEST INDIES. 117 inftantly pulled down, and with the whole of its contents committed to the flames, amidft the ge- neral acclamations of all his other Negroes. In regard to the old woman, he declined bringing her to trial under the law of the illand, which would have punilhed her with death ; but, from a principle of humanity, delivered her into the hands of a party of Spaniards, who (as Ine was thought not incapable of doing fome trifling kind of work) were very glad to accept and carry her with them to Cuba. From the moment of her departure, his Negroes feemed all to be animated with new fpirits, and the malady fpread no farther among them. The total of his lofTes in the courfe of about fifteen years preceding the difcovery, and imputable folely to the Obeah fra£iice, he eflimates at leaft, at one hundred Negroes. OBEAH TRIALS. " Having received fome further information upon this fubjecR: from another Jamaica gentle- man, who fat upon tzvo trials, we beg leave to deliver the fame in his own words, as a fupple- ment to what we have already had the honour of fubmitting. " In the year 1760, the influence of the pro- I 3 felibrs ii3 HISTORY OF THE BOOK fefTors of the Obeah art was fuch, as to induce a ^^' great many of the Negro flaves in Jamaica to en- gage in the rebellion which Iiappened in that year, and which gave rife to the law which was then made againft the pradice of Obi. " Assurance was given to thefe deluded people, that they were to become invulnerable ; and in order to render them fo, the Obeah- men furniflied them with a powder, with which they were to rub themfelves. " In the firft engagement with the rebels, nine of them were killed, and many prifoners taken ; amongft the latter was one very intelligent fellow, who offered to difclofe many important matters, on condition that his life fhould be fpared; which was promifed. He then related the adivc part which the Negroes, known among them by the name of Obeah-men, had taken in propagating the infurredlion ; one of whom was thereupon appre- hended, tried (for rebellious confpiracy) convi(5t- ed, and fcntenccd to death. N. B. This was the Koromantyn Obeah- man alluded to in our firft paper. "At the place of execution, he bid defiance to the executioner, telling him, that " It was not in the power of the White people to kill him." And the Negroes (fpeftators) were greatly per- plexed when they faw him expire. Upon other Obeah' WEST INDIES. 119 ObeaJi-men, who were apprehended at that time, chap. various experiments were made with eledtrical ^^^• machines and magic lanterns, but with very Httle effcd, except on one, who, after receiving fome very fevere (hocks, acknowledged that " his maf- ter's Obi exceeded his own." *' The gentleman from whom we have this account, remembers having fat twice on trials of Oheah-men^ who were both convifted of felling their Obeah preparations^ which had occafionei the death of the parties to wliom they had been adminiflered J notwithftanding which, the lenity of their judges prevailed fo far, that they were only puniflied with tranfportation. To prove the fact, two witneiTes were deemed necelfary, with corroborating circumftances." 320 HISTORY OFTHE CHAP. IV. Means of obtaining Slaves in Africa. — Ohfervations thereon. — Obje5iions to a dire^ and immediate abolition of the trade by the Britifli Nation only. — 1'he probable confequences of fuch a meafure^ both in Africa and the IVefi Indies^ confidered. — Dif- ■proportions of fexes in the number of Slaves an- mtally exported from Africa. — Caufes thereof. — Mode of tranfporting Negroes to the Wefl Indies, and regidations recently eflabliflied by a5i of par- liament. — Effe^ of thofe regulations. 1 T hath been obferved in a former chapter, that no certain and precife account is eafily to be ob- tained of the means by which the market for flaves is annually kept up and fupported in Africa. The fevcral inftances that are given of ilavery arifing from captivity in war, delinquency and debt, fecm inadequate to fo regular and abundant a fupply. It is difficult to imagine that cafual contributions of this kind, can ]iof- fibly furnilh an annual export of 74,000 (a). Having (a) Bcfidcs which jrrent numbers are fiipplicd from the nations bonlering 011 the rivers of Senegal and Gambia, for the emperor of Morocco and the ftates of Barbary. Ca- ravans alio travel from thence acrofs the continent to Uj)per W E S T I N D I E S. 121 Having an opportunity, a few years ago, of con- fulting a very intelligent perfon on this point, who had vifited many parts of the coaft, and ap- peared to be a man of veracity and candour, I re- ceived from him, in writing, an anfwer, which I lliall prefent to my readers verbatim ; and fubjoin fuch further information as I have been able to collecft. The anfwer which I received, was given in the words following: — " In all parts of the coaft, and I apprehend it to be the fame inland, the body of the people are in a ftate of abfolute and unlimited flavery : their children are born to no other inheritance, and are liable to be fold by their owners as they think proper. Moft parts of the coaft differ in their governments j fome are abfolute monarchies, while others draw near to an ariftocracy. In both, the authority of the chief or chiefs is unlimited, extending to life, and it is cxercifed as often as criminal cafes require, unlefs death is commuted into flavery ; in which cafe the offender is fold, and if the fliipping will not buy the criminal, he is immediately put to Egypt with confiderable fiipplies of Negroes, fome of which are fent afterwards to Conflaiitiiiople. A very curious and interefting account of this traffick is given in the Report of the Lords of the Privy Council. Great numbers of flaves are likewife fent from Mozambique, and the ports on the eaftern coaft, to Perfia, Goa, and other parts of the Eaft Indies. Hence it has been calculated that Africa is drained annually of not lefs than 150,000 of itsuatives. death. 121 HISTORYOFTHE death. Fathers of free condition have power to fell their children, but this power is but veFy feldom enforced. I never knew an inftance of it but once, and then the father was fo execrated by his neighbours, for the aft of felling a fon and daughter, that he fliortly afterwards fell into a flate of defpondency and died. The family was of fome difhin(5tion, and the fon and daughter were bought by a friendly captain, who I know afterwards gave freedom to one of them, and I be- lieve he gave it to both. I never knew another inftance of this kind, nor do I believe there is one Have in a thoufand procured in this way. Neither do I imagine that there are many procured by wars or inteftine broils. The truth is, the bulk of the people are born Haves to great men, reared as fuch, held as property, and as property fold. There are indeed many circumftances by which a free man may become a flave : fuch as being in debt, and not able to pay ; and in fome of fuch cafes, if the debt be large, not only the debtor, but his family ]ikewife, become the flaves of his creditors, and may be fold. Adultery is commonly punilhed in the fame manner; both the offending parties being fold, and the purchafe-money paid to the injured hufband. 0<^/, or pretended witchcraft (in which all the Negroes firmly believe, and it is generally accompanied with the crime of poilon- mg) is another, and a very common offence, for which W E S T I N D I E S. 123 ^vhich flaver)^ is adjudged the lawful punifh- ment ; and it extends to all the family of the of- fender. There are various other crimes which fubjecl the offender and his children to be fold ; and it is more than probable, that if there were 110 buyers, the poor wretches would be murdered without mercy. Such is the account which I received, and It is confirmed by feveral of the witnelTes that were examined by the Committee of the Privy Council, and by others that appeared before the Houfe or Commons; but it is contradicted in fome ma- terial circumflances by other gentlemen, whofe examinations were taken at the fame time, and to whofe authority much refpefl is due. Mr. Penny alTerts, that although three -fourths of the inhabitants of the Windward Coafh are Haves to the other fourth, yet that thefe local and domef- tick Haves are never fold, unlefs for crimes. He is of opinion that in no country, either in the ma- ritime diftricls or in the interior parts of Africa, are Haves bred for fale, but that moft of thofe which are difpofed of to the Europeans, are fold in confequence of delinquency, or captivity in war. Tlie fame, or nearly the fame, account is given of the Fantyn nation by Mr. Norris ; who obferves, that " a confiderable portion of the community are perfons born Haves, but that thefe have peculiar privileges, and enjoy many advantages. 124 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK advantages, which the flaves of the neighbouring ^^'' countries do not, and cannot be fold at the ca- price of their mafters.'* His opinion is, that the number of flaves furnifhed in the Fantyn country (about 2,000 annually) is made up by delin- quency and debt fi^J. Under fuch contradictory information, it oc- curred to me, during my refidence in Jamaica, to examine many of the Negroes themfelves. I mean Negroes newly arrived from Africa; for from thofe who have refided any length of time in the Weft Indies, it is difficult to obtain, even to enquiries of an indifferent nature, fuch anfwers as carry with them conviction of their truth. It is feldom, for inftance, that any Guiney Negro will acknow- ledge that he was in a ftate of flavery in his native country. Obferving the refi)ed: and pre-emi- nence allowed to wealth and confequence among the Whites, and the privileges which attach to freedom in the Weft Indies, among thole of his own colour who are born or rendered free, he is tempted, whether juftly or not, to affcrt his claim ('i) Several other witncHes fpeak. of the privileges which attach to domeftick flaves in Africa, but it is obfervable that many of thefe admit, and not one I believe denies, that the African mafter has the power of putting fuch flaves to death, with impunity, whenever he thinks proper; and it will pre- fently be flievvn from the lelVimony of lome ot the Negroes thtmfclves, that it is a miftake to fuppofe the mailer cannot iell them at pleafure. to WEST INDIES. 125 to fomc degree of confideration from his paft, chap. If not from his prcfent condition; and it is a ^^• natural and excufable propenfity. Conceiving therefore that the truth might be beft obtained from Negroes recently imported, I enquired of many young people, from different parts of Africa, concernino; the clrcumftances of their captivity and fale, and, having reduced their in- formation to writing, I interrogated many of them again on the fame fubjecb, after an in- terval of feveral months. If the fame account precifely was given by the fame people a fecond time, I commonly confidered it as grounded In truth. On other occafions, I have examined brothers and lifters apart. If their informa- tion agreed In minute particulars, I could have no reaion to fufpe6t them of falfehood. Of five-and -twenty young perfons of both fexes whom I thus interrogated, fifteen frankly de- clared that they were born to flavery, and were either fold to pay the debts, or bartered away to fupply the w^ants of their owners. Five were fecretly kidnapped In the Interior country, and fold to Black merchants, who conveyed them from an immenfe diftance to the fea-coaft, and fold them to the fhlp-mafters that brought them to Jamaica. The other five appeared to have fallen vlftims In fome of thofe petty wars which it is probable rapacity and revenge reciprocally inftigate IV, 1*6 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK iiifilgate throughout the whole continent of Africa frj. On fuch occafions, the young and the able arc carried into captivity by the vidlors, and ^cj Perhaps the reader will not be difpleafed to be pre- feiited with a few of thefe examinations, as they were taken down at the time, and without any view to publication. ^'liiam (a Congo) a boy as I guefs about fourteen, his country name Sarri, came from a vail: diflance inland, was waylaid and ftole, in the path about three miles from his own •village, by one of his countrymen. It was early in the morn- ing, and the man hid him all day in the woods, and marched him in the night. He was conducted in this manner for a month, and then fold to another Black man for a gun, fomc powder and fhot, and a quantity of fait. He was fold a ffcond time for a keg of brandy. His lafi-mentioned pur- chafer .bouglit feveral other boys in the fame manner, and when he had collefted twenty, fent them down to the fea- coaft, where they were fold to a captain of a fliip. He relate* further, that his father, ScmJia Qiiante, was a chief or captain under the king, and a great warrior, and had taken many people, whom he fold as flaves. Quaw and ^lamina (brothers) from the Gold Coafl, one of them, as I guefs, about twenty years old, the other eighteen, were born flaves to a man named Banafou, who had a great many other flaves, and fold thefe two to the captain that brought them to Jamaica. On being afl^ed for what caufc their mafler fold them, they fuppofed the queflion implied a charge againfl them of mifconduft, and one of them replied with great quicknefs, that they were not the only flaves that were fold in Guiney without having been guilty of any crime : their mailer, they faid, owed money, and fold them to pay his debts. Afiba^ a Gold Coaft girl, aged about fifteen, was a flave to a man named Quamina Yati. Her mafter fold her and two others to the fame captain, for a quantity of linen and other goods. WEST INDIES. iij tnd the aged and infirm commonly murdered on chap. the fpot. By thefe means, and the commutation ^^' of death into flavery for crimes real and pretend- ed, are the nations of Europe fupplied ; and it cannot furely be a queftion, amongfh a humane Yamcufa, a Chamba youth, about fixteen, was a flave to a perfon named Soubadow, who fold him, together with a cow, for a gun, a quantity of other goods, and fome brandy. Oliver, from Ajjlantee — his country name Savg — a young man, as I guefs, about twenty-two or twenty- three years of age. His father was a free ma;i, a carpenter — lived in a vil- lage far from the fea. The village was attacked by a paity of Fantees, who came in the night, and fet fire to the houfes, and killed molt of the inhabitants with guns and cutlafles— particularly the old. The young people they took prifoners, and afterwards fold him and two other?, for a piece of gold called fica, to a Black merchant, who carried them to the Fantee country. — He was afterwards fold or transferred over to fix different Black purchafers ; the laft of whom carried him down to the fea-coaft, and fold him on board a fliip.-— Was much frightened at the fight of White men, and thought he was to be eaten. EJiher relates that flie was born in the Ebo country, about one day's journey from the fea-coaft, where her grandmother lived, to whom flie was fent on a vifit by her father. While there, the village was attacked by a body of Negroes (the knows not of what country, nor on what account) on whofc approach flie and all the women were fent into the woods, where a party of the enemy found them, and carried away all fuch as were able to travel. The old, and thofe who were averfe to remove, were put to death ; her grandmother among the reft. The third day fhe was fold to the White people. She has many marks about the cheft, which Ihe ap- peals to as a proof of free birth, and aflerts that her father had a plantation of corn, yams, and tobacco, and poflefled n.iany flares, and iza H I S T O R Y O F T H E and enliglitened people, concerning the injuflicc of a trafiick thus lupportcd. To attempt it^de- fence in all cal'es, were to offer an infult to the common fenfe of mankind, and an outrage on the beft feelings of our nature. Yet a good mind may honeftly derive fome degree of conlb- lation, in confidering that all fuch of the wretched vidims as were flaves in Africa, arc, by being fold to the Whites, removed to a fituation infinitely more dcfirable, even in its worft f!:ate, than that of the beft and moft favoured flaves in their native country. It is, on all hands, admitted that the condition of thofe poor people, under tlicir own governments, is the moft deplorable that we can conceive a human creature to be fubjecft to. They have no fecurity for property, nor protection for their perlons; they exill at the will and caprice of a mafler, who is not amenable to any law for his ill treatment of them, and who may flaughter them at his pleafure. He has in truth but very little intereft in their prefervation, having no means of employing them in profitable labour, and when provilions are icarce, he has even a ftrong inducement to deflroy them. The chief objedtion to the Have trade arifes from the great encouragement which, I fear, it unavoidably holds forth to ads of violence, op- prefTion, and fraud, among the natives towards each other. Without doubt, this is the flrong f^ part WEST INDIES. 129 part of the petitioners cafe; and I admit it to be fo, with that franknefs which I truft no honefl Weft Indian will condemn. At the fame time it deferves very ferious confideration, whether a dire6l and immediate difcontinuance of the trade by the Britifh nation only (the other nations of Europe continuing to purchafe as ulual) would afford a remedy to thofe miferies, the exiftence of which every enlightened mind cannot but admit, and every good mind muft deplore ; or rather, whether a partial and fudden abolition (fo inveterate is the evil) would not aggravate them in a hio;h decree. In confidering this queftion, we muft have in view not only the circumflances attending the Slave Trade on the Coaft, but alio the fituation of the enflaved Negroes already in the Sugar Colonies. On the firft head, it is to be enquired whether, fuppofmg Great Britain (liould abandon her fliare in this commerce, a lefs number of flavcs would in confequence thereof be brought down for fale in Africa } Admiral Edwards, who ferved on the ftation, and was on fliore feven months at a time, is decidedly of opinion that, fo long as other nations continue to purchafe, the number would not be diminilhed in the leaft fd) ; and a little refledlion may perhaps convince us ("(/J See his evidence in the Report of the Committee of Privy Council 1789. Vol. II. K that I30 HISTORYOFTHE that his opinion is founded in reafon, and the nature of the cafe. Among the commercial na- tions of Europe, it is true that, in mod cafes of purchafe and barter, the demand and the fupply grow up together, and continue to regulate and fupport each other : but thcfe are the arrange- ments of v/ell-informed and civiHzed men. In Africa, it is apprehended the flave merchants polfefs no ideas of this kind, neither does the nature of their traffick allow of fuch regulations. When two African ftates are at war witii each other, the aim of each undoubtedly is to deftroy as many enemies, or feize on as great a number of captives, as pofiible. Of thefe lail unfortunate vidlims, all fuch as are able to travel, are com- monly fcnt down to the coafl: for fale, the reft are malLicrcd on the fpot, and the fame fate at- tends thofe unhappy wretches who, being fent down, arc iound unl'aleable. The prices indeed on tlie coafl: have been known to vary as the market is more or lefs plentifully fupplied ; but, fo long as fliips from Europe create a market, whether the prices be high or low, it can hardly be doubted, that wars will be as frequent as ever, and that the fame acts of opprcflion, violence and fraud, which are laid to be committed by princes on their fubjefts, and by individuals on each other, for the pur[)ofe of procuring flaves for lale, will cxift, as ufual, without regulation or reftraint. Behold WEST INDIES. 131 'Behold then an exccfs of 38,000 of thefe miferable people (the prefent annual export in Britifli (hipping) thrown upon the market, and it is furely more than probable that one or the other of thefe confcquences will follow : Either the French, the Dutch, and the other maritime nations of Europe, by feizing on what we furren- der, will encreafe their trade in proportion to the encreafed fupply (e)^ or, having the choice and rcfufal of 38,000 more than they have at prefent, will become more difficult to pleafe j confining their purchafes to fuch only as are called prime flaves. Thus the old, and the very young, the fickly and the feeble, will be fcornfully rejected ; and perhaps tzveyity poor wretches be confidered as unfaleable then, and facrificed accordingly, to one that is fo confidered and facrificed now. That this latter fuppofition is not a mere fpeculative contingency, is abundantly proved by many refpediable witnefTes, whofe examina- tions were taken by the committee of the privy council : — Being aiked concerning the difpofal of fuch Haves as are rejeded by the European traders, either becaufe their cargoes are already (e) Admiral Edwards being a/ked, Whether, if Great Britain were to relinquifti the trade in (laves, the number fold to Europeans would, in his opinion, be much diminifli- ed ? replied, Mod certainly it would not be diminiflied. The French and Dutch would immediately get pofleffion of this trade. K 2 aflbrted. iji HISTORY OF THE afTortcd, or becaufc the mlferable vldllms arc confidercd as too old or too feeble for labour, it was given in evidence, as a fact too notorious to be controverted, that they are very frequently, if not generally, put to death. The flave merchant, not having the means of maintaining his captives for any length of time, makes no fcruple to avow that it is his intention to dcftroy them, provided they are not fold by a certain day ; and the work of death, on fuch occafions, is fometimes performed in fight of our lliipping. Shocking as this ac- count may feem, it is verified by undifputed tefti- mony ; and to fuppofe that a difcontinuance of the trade by one nation only, will put an end to this enormity, is to fuppofe that the African flave- holder will become more merciful, as his ilaves are rendered of lefs value ; a conclufion which I am afraid experience will not warrant (f). The (fj Mr. Newton (an evidence in Aipport of the applica- tion to parliament for an abolition of the trade) admits that fome of the flaves, that have been rejeJled by the Enropeanb, have been knocked on the head with the paddles of the boat that brought them, and thrown overboard. On th.e Gold Coaft, Mr. Miles fuppofed they are muftly referved for the piirpofe of being facrificed at the burial of great men. One inftance of this came within his own knowledge. Mr. M euves knew an inftance of a woman being deftroyed, who was accufed of witchcraft, and could not be fold. In order t» fave her life, he otfercd to give an anker of brandy for her ; but her head was cut off before his mcfl'enger arrived. Other inltances, fimilarto this, are related by Mr. Mathews and Mr. Gandv. WEST INDIES. 133 The effed which a partial abolition would probably have in our fugar iflands is now to be confidered ; and here it muft, in the firft place, be obferved, that it feems not to be known, or is not adverted to, in England, that the fugar eftates arc not only very much underflock- ed in general, but that there is fcarce one of them, for reaibns that will prefently be feen, that poffefles a fuiiicient number of Negro women, in proportion to the men. Of courfe there being fewer pairs, there are fewer children born. Thus fituated, there muft neceffarily happen a decreafe on the whole number of the flaves, even under the mildefh treatm.ent, and enjoying the greateft plenty of wholelbme provifions. — Secondly, it muft be remembered, that moft of the fugar eftates, having been fettled on credit, are burthen- ed with heavy incumbrances to perfons in Great Britain. Many planters are under covenants to Gandy. Sir George Young faved the life of a beautiful boy, about five years old, at Sierra Leone. The child being too young to be an objeift of trade, would have been thrown into the river by the perfon that had him to fell, but Sir George, to fave his life, offered a quarter calk of Madeira wine for him, which was accepted— he brought him to England, and made a prefent of him to the Marquis of Lanfdown. — Admiral Edwards, Mr. Penny, Mr. Dalzel, Mr. Anderfon, and others, concur in the fame account of the difpofal of fuch as are re- jefted by the Europeans. Report of the Lords of the Committee of Council, 1789, Part ift. K 3 confign 134 HISTORYOFTHE confign thither annuall}'^, certain fpecifick quan- tities of fugar and rum. Tiie effedt therefore ^f a dire(5t and unquahned abolition would be this, that while the few perfons who have money at command, would be waiting, and perhaps con- triving, opportunities to ftock their plantations with the flaves of their diftrefled and harafled neighbours, the great majority of planters would find themfelves in a mofh cruel and uncomfort- able fituation i their eflates already weak-hand- ed, deprived of the pofTibility of felling their lands, and no means in their power of augment- ing their flock of labourers by purchafe i their creditors, at the fame time, clamorous and im- portunate for produce, which can only be obtain- ed by great exertions of labour : in fuch circum- ftances what are they to do ? I cannot better illuftrate this part of my fubjed, than by the cafe of the Dutch planters of Effequebo and Demerary : by an impolitick interdidlion of foreign Have fhips into thofe provinces, they have, for fome time paft, felt all the effeds of a virtual abolition ; and here follows the account which they give of their fituation, tranfcribcd from a late memorial to the States General : — *' It is impoffible (fay the petitioners) to inform your High MightinelTes of the real annual dimi- nution of our flaves, but it is generally calculated at five in the hundred, or a twentieth part. This is WEST INDIES. r35 Is little felt the firft year: nineteen remaining chap. Negroes hardly perceive that they do the work _ ^' which the preceding year employed twenty. But the fecond year the fame work falls to the (liare of eighteen, and, if another year paiTes without an augmentation by purchafe, feventeen muft do the work firft allotted to twenty. This muft give rife to difcontent, defertion, and revolt ; or, if the Negroes put up patiently with this fur- charge of labour, illnefs and an earlier death muft be the confequence. Or, laftly, if the planters feek to avoid all thefe inconveniences, they muft gradually contradl the limits of their plantations, and of courfe diminilh their produce." — Thus immediate intereft in all cafes, and urgent dif- trefs in many, are oppofed to the principles of juftice and the didates of humanity fgj ! What I have thus deliberately written. Is not, if I know my own heart, the language of felfilh- (^) The prefent annual decreafe of tlie Negroes in the Britifli Wefl Indies is eftimated at two and a hsU per cmt. on the whole number ; but if the {lime quantity of labour which they now perform, flir/il continue to be exafted from them as their numbers dimini(h, it cannot be doubted that the lofs will be greater every year, and augment with ac- celerated rapidity. The fugar eftates will, undoubtedly, fuffer moft, %iid it is no difficult matter to calculate in what time they will be entirely difmantled. In Jamaica, the number employed in that line of culture in 1789 was 128,728, all of whom, without frefh fupplies from Africa, would probably be extindl in lefs than thirty years. K 4 nefs 136 HISTORYOFTHE nefs or party. 1 confefs that, refleding on the means by which Haves are very frequently ob* tained in Africa, and the deftruftion that formerly attended the mode of tranfporting them to the Weft Indies, I was at one time of opinion it became this great and renowned nation, inftead of regulating her condudl by that of other ftates, to fet a laudable example to ihem^ by an im- mediate and unqualified fuppreflion of this re- probated commerce ; and I ihould ftill maintain and avow the fame fentiments, were I not, on fuller enquiry and better information, led to fuf- pedt that the means propofed are not adequate to the end. I fear that a diredt and fudden abolition, by one nation alone, will not ferve the purpofes of humanity in Africa ; and I am fully convinced that fuch a meafure will tend to aggravate, in a very high degree, the miferies of a great majority of the Negroes already in the Weft Indies ; whole decrealing population is at prefent unavoidable ; and who, therefore, unlefs recruited by fupplies from Africa, muft find their labours augment, as their numbers diminifti. A queftion too arifes in this place, the dif- cuflion of which might probably render all further debate on the fubjedl of abolition fuper- fluous. It extends to nothing lefs than the prac- ticability of the meafure. Whether it be pofiible for any nation in Europe, fingly confidered, to prevent WEST INDIES. 137 prevent its fubjeds from procuring flaves in c h a p. Africa, fo long as Africa Ihail continue to fell, is ^^* a point on which I have many doubts ; but none concerning the poffibility of conveying the flaves fo purchafed into every ifland of the Weft Indies, in fpite of the maritime force of all Europe. No man who is acquainted with the extent of unin- habited coaft in the larger of thofe iflands; — the facility of landing in every part of them ; — the prevailing winds, and the numerous creeks and harbours in all the neighbouring dominions of foreign powers (fo conveniently fituated for contraband traffick) can hefitate a moment to pronounce, that an attempt to prevent the intro- dudlion of flaves into our Weft Indian colonies, would be like that of chaining the winds, or giving laws to the ocean (h). (hj It was faid (with what truth I know not) that befides confiO-'ation of fliip and cargo, it was meant to confider the clandeftine importation of flaves into our colonies as a felo- nious aft, and to punifli it capitally. The Spaniards treat many fpecies of fmuggling in this manner, and in no part of the world is the contraband traflick fo prevalent as in the Spanifli dominions. It is a curious queftion, in what manner a cargo of flaves, feized as contraband, would be difpofed of? To declare a fet of poor helplel's favagesy^c^, and turn them loofe in a ftrange country, without food or clothing, would hardly be thought of, and to fend them back to Africa, be- tides the expence and length of the voyage, would be to con- fign them over to certain deftruflion. This difficulty feems to have been altogether overlooked, during the difcuflion of tlie Have bufinefs in parliament. The 138 HISTORYOFTHE The next objecft to which it was propofed to diredl our enquiries, is the mode of convcj^ng flaves from Africa to the Weft Indies, and their mortahty in the voyage ; conftituting the fecond ground on which moft of the petitioners to par- liament for an abolition of the trade, have refted their apphcation. But before I proceed to con- fider this part of my fubjcct, it may not be im- proper to offer a few obfervations concerning the great difproportion of fexes in the purchafes that are made on the coaft; it being a well-known fadl, tliat of the vaft numbers of Haves annually exported from Africa, about one-third only arc females. This circumftance has been tortured into a charge of criminal negleft and improvident avarice againft the planters of the Weft Indies, who are fuppofed from thence to have no wifli of making their Haves even as happy as their fituation will admit, or of keeping up their numbers by natural encreafe. How far thcfe charges are founded, let the following teftimony of a very competent witnefs determine : — " The difproportion in the number of male and female ilaves exported from Africa (fays Mr. Barnes (i) ) appears to me to be imputable to the three fol- lowing caufes ; Firft, to the practice of polygamy which prevails throughout Africa. Secondly, to (ij Report of the Committee of Council 17S9. fome W E S T I N D T E S. 139 fome of the very caufes of Slavery itfelf ; men are more apt to commit civil offences than women, and in all fuch cafes, where males and females are involved in the fame calamity, the firft caufe dill has its operation : the young females are kept for wives, and the males are fold for Haves. Thirdly, to the circumitance that females become unfit for the flave-market at a much earlier period than the males. A woman, through child-bearing, may appear a ver}' exceptionable ilave at twenty-two, or twenty-three years of age, whereas a healthy well-made man will not be objeded to at four or five-and-thirty ; confcquently, if an equal number of males and females of like ages were offered for fale, a much greater proportion of the females would be rejefted on that account onlyj With regard to the queflion. Whether the Eu- ropean traders prefer purchafing males rather than females ? I have to obferve, that thou2:h it is impofiible to conduct the bufinefs, either of a houfe or of a plantation, without a number of females, yet as the nature of the flave-fervice in the Weft Indies (being chiefly field labour) re- quires, for the immediate intereft of the planter, a greater number of males, the European trader would of courfe wilh to purchafe his alfortment acco'-ding to the proportion wanted ; but the fa(fl is, he has not an option in the cafe for the reafons already X40 HISTORYOFTHE already mentioned ; io that in moft parts of Africa it is with great difficulty he can get*as many faleable females as will form any tolerable afTortment." The application of thefe remarks will hereafter be feen. — I now return to the man- ner of tranfporting the flaves thus purchafed, from Africa to the Weft Indies. It is difficult, I think, to affign any probable reafon or motive why the treatment of thefe poor people at fea Ihould be otherwifc than as humane and indulgent as the fafety of the crew will admit. Many Ihocking inftances were how- ever adduced, in the evidence delivered to the committee of privy council, of moil outrageous and wanton barbarity and cruelty exercifed to- wards them in different fliips; but, as the wit- nefles that were brought forward to eftabliQi thofc charges were not the moft refpeclable in point of character ; and in iome cafes were proved to have fuits at law with the captains againft whom they gave evidence, I Ihall colled: my ac- count from lefs difputable authority. It is admitted on all hands that the mcn- flaves are fecured in irons when they firft come on board ; but Sir George Young, a captain in the royal navy, who appears to be well acquainted with the trade in all its branches, is of opinion, that this is not praftifed more than neceffity re- quires. The mode is, by faftcning every two mca WEST INDIES. j^, men together, the right ancle of one being lock- ed, by means of a fmall iron fetter, to the left of the other; and if marks of a turbulent difpofi- tion appear, an additional fetter is put on their wrifts. On the paflage, when danger is no longer apprehended, thefe irons are commonly taken off; and women and young people are exempt from them from the beginning (^/(-j. They are lodged between decks, on clean boards, the men and women being feparated from each other by bulk-heads ; and frefli air is admitted by means of windfails or ventilators. Covering of any kind, as well from the warmth of the climate as from the conftant practice of going naked, would be infupportable to them. Every morning, if the weather permits, they are brougiit upon deck, and allowed to continue there until the evening. Their apartments, in the mean time, are waflied, fcraped, fumigated, and fprinkled with vinegar. The firft attention paid to them in the morning is to fupply them with water to wafli their hands and faces, after which they are provided with their morning meal : this, accord- ing to the country from whence they come, con- fifts cither of Indian corn, or of rice or yams. Before noon they are conftantlyand regularly made to bathe in falt-water, and nothing can be more (i) The bulk of the cargo is generally young people from fixtecn years of age to thirty.— The lowed fize four feet. a2;reeablt 144 HISTORYOFTHr: BOOK agreeable and refrefliing. Their dinner is varied, IV. confiding fometimes of food to which they have been accuftomed in Africa, as yams and Indian corn, &c. and at other times of provifions brought from Europe, as dried beans and peafe, wheat, flielled barley, and bifcuit ; all thefe are boiled foft in fteam, and mixed up with a fauce made of meat, with filli, or palm-oil ; this laft is a conftant and defirable article in their cookery. At each meal they are allowed as much as they can eat, and have likewife a fufficiency of frefli water ; unlefs when, from an uncommon long voyage, the prefervation of the (hip compels the captain to put them to a Ihort allowance. Drams alio are given them when the weather is cold or wet; and pipes and tobacco whenever they defire them. In the intervals between their meals, they are encouraged to divert themfelves with mufick and dancing ; for which purpofe fuch rude and uncouth inftruments as are ufed in Africa, arc colleftcd before their departure; and they are aUb permitted to amufe themfelves with games of chance, for which they are likewife furnifhed with implements of African invention. In fick- nefs, the invalids are immediately removed to the captain's cabin, or to an hofpital built near the forecaftle ; and treated with all the care, both in regard to medicine and food, that circumflances will admit ; and when, fortunately for the Ne- ^ groes. W E S T 1 N D I E S. 14J groes, the fliip touches at any place in her voy- age, as frequently happens, every refrediment that the countrv affords, as cocoa-nuts, oranges, hmes, and other fruits, with vegetables of all forts, are diftributed among them; and refrefhments of the lame kind are freely allowed them at the place of their deftination, between the days of arrival and fale. From this account, which is confirmed by the teftimony of a great number of refpedable men, many ot whom were] wholly difinterefted in the queftion, and could therefore have no motive to violate or fupprefs the truth, it may be fuppofed that every fcheme which can eaiily be devifed to preferve the Negroes in health, cleanlinefs, and cheerfulnefs, is adopted in the voyage. So dreadful, notwithftanding, has been the mortality in feveral (hips, wherein thefe pre- cautions were uled, as to evince, beyond all con* tradiclion, that there was fomething in thofe in- ftances intrinfically wrong ; and it cannot be doubted that the mifchief has been afcribed to its proper caufe, namely, the criminal rapaciouf- nefs of many of the fhip-mafters in purchafmg more Negroes than their accommodations were calculated to convey. It appeared in evidence before the Houfe of Commons, that a Ihip of 240 tons would frequently be crowded with no lefs than 520 Haves j which was not allowing tea 144 H I S T O R Y O F T H E ten inches of room to each individual. Thff confequence of this inexcufable avarice, was of* tentimes a lofs of 15 per cent, in the voyage, and 4 f per cent, more in the harbours of the Weft Indies, previous to the falc, from difeafes con- tracted at fea; — a deftruftion of the human (pecies on which it is impofllble to reflect with- out indignation and horror I To the feveral arguments, however, which have been raifed on the ground of theie abufes, in fupport of the fcheme of aboHtion, a very fhort anfwer may be given : — Admit all the mi- feries and deftrudlive wretchednefs which have been placed to this account to have exifted in full force, and it will ftill remain to be enquired whether meafures of lefs powerful operation than a total fuppreflion of the trade, will not obviate in future the evils complained of; becaufe, if regulations alone are fufficient lor that purpofe, abolition cannot be neceflary. Regulations have accordingly been framed and inforced under the authority of the Britifli parliament, of which the certain effe6t ought furely to be known, before the evils they are meant to redrefs are pronounced irremediable. By an adt of the 28th year of his prefent Majefty (fince renewed and amended) the flave fliips are reftridled to the conveyance of five flaves to every three tons ; and even this proportion is allowed only as far as 201 tons. For everv WEST INDIES. 14^ «very additional ton they are limited to one ad- ditional flave (I). To thele important ]:)recau- tions for fecuring to the Negroes a lufficiency of room, is added the necellary provifion of a regu- larly-qualified furgeon ; to whom, as well as to the fliip-mafter, very liberal encouragement is given, to induce both of them to exert every provident endeavour in preferving their unfor- tunate captives in health and fpirits : the funi of one hundred pounds being allowed to the mafter, and £. 50 to the furgeon, if the lofs on the voyage amounts to no more than two in the hundred, and half thole fums if the lofs fhall not exceed three in the hundred. Of the full effecl which this fyflem of reftric- tion and encouragement hath hitherto produced in all the Britifli colonies, I am not informed i but judging by returns which I have obtained from one of the principal marts in the Weft In- dies, it would feem to have been found, in a very eminent degree, advantageous and falutar}'. At the port of Montego-Bay, in Jamaica, the Ne- groes imported between the iSth day of No- (I) It is alfo provided, that vcfTtls not exceeding 201 tons fhall not carry oi male (laves (exceeding four feet four inches in height) more than one for each ton, and veflels of larger fize more than three fuch ?tiaki for every five tons. This re- gulation feems intended as an encouragement to the export of a greater proportion of females. Vol. II. L vember 146 HISTORY OF THE }< o o K vcmber 17S9 and the 15th of July 1791, were ^^ • 9,993, in 38 Ihips ; the mortality at fca, cxclTi- five of the lols of 54 negroes in a mutiny on the coafr, was 746, which is fomewhat under feven per cent, on the whole nun)ber of flavcs. This, though much Icfs, I believe, than the average lofs which commonly happened before the regu- lating lav/ took place, is, I admit, fufficiently great ; and, had it prevailed in any degree equally on the feveral fliips concerned, might, perhaps, have been confidered as a fair cilimatc of the general mortality confequent on the trade, not- withftandlng the precautions and provifions of the regulating acl. But on examining the lift, Lfind that eight of the 38 fliips, were entitled to, and aclually received, the full premium ; two others received the half premium ; and one other ;'a fchooner that failed from Jamaica to the coaft before the act took place) returned without the lofs of a fmgle negro. Ot the 746 deaths, no Icfs than 328 occurred in four Ihips onlv, all of which, with five other veflels, compreliending the. whole number of fliips in which thrcc-fitths of the mortalitv occurred, came from the lame part of the coafl, the Bight of Benin ^ a circum- flance that gives room to conclude (as undoubt- edly was the fa<5l) that the negroes from that part of tlie country brought dill-afc and conta- 4 gion W E S T I N D I E S. ,47 gion with them from the land ; an epidemic fever and flux generally prevaiHng on the low marfliy lliores of the Bonny rivers, during the autumnal months, which Ibmetimes proves even more deftrudiive on Ihore than at fea. Perhaps the trued criterion by which to cftimate the beneficial effed of the regulating law, is the comparatively trifling lofs that novv^ occurs in the harbours of the Well Indies before the Guiney fliips open their fales. This morta- lity, which was formerly eftimated at 4! per cent. and was manifeftly the confequence of licknefs or improper treatment in the voyage, is now happily mitigated in fo great a degree, that out of the whole number of 9,993 flaves imported into Montego-Bay as before fhatcd, the lofs be- tween the days of arrival and fale, was no more than 69, or not quite % per cent. Enough there- fore hath been effected to demonftrate, that it is by no means impollible, nor indeed a very diffi- cult matter, to render the conveyance of Negroes from Africa to the Weft Indies, as little prejudi- cial to their healths, as the tranfportation of any other body of people acrofs the ocean in any part of the world. Few voyages were more deftruc- tive to the feamen than that of Lord Anfon, and none lefs fo than thofe of Captain Cook ; an inconteftable proof that the mortality, which has commonly occurred at fea, has at all times arifen L 2 from 148 H I S T O R Y O F T H E from ill-conflruclcd (liips, and negled, or Impro- per management on board (m.) * Concerning the Weil India Planters, as they are entirely innocent and ignorant of the manner in which the Slave Trade is conducted (having no other concern therein than becoming jmrchalers of what Britifh acts of parliament have made objects of fale) fo it is equally confonant to their intereft and their wifhes, that effedual means fhould be puifued for preferving the health of the negroes, by fecuring to them proper and reafonable accomnx)dation on the paflage. The affembly of Jamaica, inftead of remonftrat- jng againft that augmentation in the price of flaves, which they mull have forefccn that the act of the Britifii parliament would neceflarily create, with tlie liberality of digniticd minds ap- plauded the principle of the meafure, declaring it to be founded in ncceflity, juilice, and huma- nity, and expreffcd their opinion that the wiidom and authority of Parliament might be benefi- cially exerted in further regulations of the African commerce, particularly in preventing the detcn- (mj Perhaps no plan is lb likely to fave the Titcs and prc- ferve the healths of the Negroes at fea, as that of limiting the flave-fliips to 2co tons burthen, and allowing them to rtceive on board only 2, or a j^ fo a ton. Small velfels are foon load- ed ; and from a multitude of examples that 1 have ften, it appears to me that the greateft mortality happens in the larger fliips. tion W E S T I N D I E S. 149 tion of fliips on the coaft ; in prohibiting the chap. purchale of flaves who fhould appear to have ^^'• been kidnapped ; in compelUng the ilave-iliips to tranfport an equal number of both fexes, and to provide ventilators and a fufficient quantity of provifions, efpecially water : fuch a recom- mendation it might bt iuppofed would engage immediate attention, not only as coming from men who are certainly the beft judges of its pro- priety and neceflity, but alfo becaufe the means of enforcing moft of the regulations which they recommend are prafticablc and apparent. Having thus, I prefume, fufficiently treated of the means by which Haves are procured for fale in Africa, and the regulations that have been eftablilhed by the Britifli parliament for their better conveyance to the Sugar Wands, I Ihall proceed, in the next chapter, to a detail of their general treatment and fituation there, imme- diately on and after their arrival, and diftribution among the planters. I.3 J50 HISTORY OF THE C H A l\ V. Arrival and fale hi the IVeJl Indies. — Negroes newly pur chafed, how difpofed of and employed. — Detail of the manageme^u of Negroes on a fugar plantation. — Mode of maintaining them. — HoiiJeSy clothing, and medical care. — Abifes. — Late regu- lations for their proteBion andfecurity. — Caufesof their annual decreafe. — Polygamy, ifjc. — Slavery In its mildeft form unfriendly to population. — General obfcrvations. — Propofals for the further meliorating the condition of the Slaves, with ivhich the fubjeSl concludes, 1 H E arrival of a Gulncy fliip in the Weft In- dies is announced by publick advertifement, fpecifying rhe number of Negroes imported, the country from whence, and day of fale. It was the praclice until of late, to open the fale on fliip- board, the males being arranged in one part of the iTiip, and the females in another : but, as vifitors of all defcriptions were admitted without hefita- tion or enquiry, it frequently ha}:)pened, when ilave-fliips were fcarce, that fuch crowds of peo- ple went on board, and began lb difgraceful a fcramble, as to terrify the poor ignorant Africans with the notion that they were feized on by a herd of WEST INDIES. 151 of cannibals, and fpeedily to be devoured. The wifdom of the legillature of Jamaica has correftcd this enormity in that ifland, by enacting that the lales fliall be conduced on fliore, and that care fliall be taken not to feparate different branches of the fame family. I am afraid it hath been found difficult, in all cafes, to enforce this latter regulation ; but it is ufual with moil planters, I believe, to enquire of the Negroes themfelves, by means of an interpreter, whether they have rela- tions on board, and to purchafe families together; or, by exchanging with other buyers, to prevent, if poffible, that cruel feparation between parents and children, and brothers and lifters, which muft fometimes, I doubt, unavoidably take place. I never knew an inftance where fuch purchafe or accommodation was knowingly declined or re- fufed (a). Although there is fomething extremely fhocking to a humane and cultivated mind, in the idea of beholding a numerous body of our unfortunate fellow - creatures, in captivity and exile, expofed naked to publick view, and fold like a herd of cattle, yet I could never perceive (except in the cafes that have been mentioned of (a) Soon after this was written, the author of this work had the honour of propofing to the affembly of Jamaica, of which he was a member, an aft which was unanimoully adopted, and is now an exifting law, by which the Guiney faftors are compelled, under the folemnity of an oath, to do their utmoft to enforce the r^e-gulation alluded to. L 4 a fcramble 15^ HISTORY OF THE a fcramble on fliipboard) that rhe Negroes them- felves were oppretred with many of thofe painful fenfations which a peribn unaccuftomed to the icene would naturally attribute to fuch apparent wrctchednefs. The circumftance of being: ex- pofed naked, is perhaps of little account to thofe who were never fenfible of the neceflity or pro- priety of being clothed. The climate requires not the aid of drefs, nor are the Negroes, though naked, deflitute of decorations, on which, at their firft arrival, they feem to fet a much higher efli- mation than on raiment ; moft of the nations of Africa having their fkin, particularly on the fore- head, the bread, and round the waifl, pundured or imprefled with figures and reprefentations of different kinds (fquares, circles, triangles, and crefcents) fimilar to the practice which prevails in Otahche^ and the other illands of the South Sea, called tatowhig^ as defcribed in the voyages of Captain Cook. Like thofe inlanders too, fome of the newly-imported Negroes difplay thefe marks with a mixture of oflentation and plea- fure, either confidering them as highly ornamen- tal, or appealing to them as tcftimonies of dif- tinclion in Africa ; where, in fome cafes, they are faid to indicate free birth and honourable pa- rentage (h). The Negroes arc apprifed alfo, before (b) Some of the Negroes of the Gold Coaft, or the ad- jacent countries (t.ie Chamba Negroes for inftance) appear to me WEST INDIES. 153 before their arrival, that they are to be employed in tillage ; and, knowing that they were bought; with money, expedl to be ibid in the fame man- ner. They difplay therefore, on bc!ng brought to market, very few figns of lamentation for their pad, or of apprehenfion for their future condi- tion i but, wearied out with confinement at fea, commonly exprefs great eagerneis to be Ibid ; prefenting themfelves, when the buyers are few, with chearfulnefs and alacrity for ieleftion, and appearing mortified and difappointed when re- fufed. If it happens, as it frequently does, when the purchafers have leiiure and opportunity to infpect them individually, that fome bodily de- fect or blemifh is difcovered in any of them, the majority feem highly diverted at the circumftance ; manifcfling, by loud and repeated burfts of rre to ufe the fame, or nearly the fame, marks as the favages of New Zealand; liz. deep incifions on each cheek drawn chxularly from the ear to the mouth. CFiJe Haickejivcnli s Voyages^ vol. iii. c. 9.) It is ridiculous enough, tiiat fome of the writers againft the flave-trade fliould afcribe thefe marks of fuperftition or falfe tafteto the cruelty of the planters, and gravely alTert that they are the fears of horrible gaflies in* flifted by the bloody hand of tyranny in the wantonnefs of punifliment. The Reverend JNIr. Clarkfon catches very ea- gerly at this idea, and aflerts with great folemnity, that " it is *' a matter of conftant lamentation with difinterefted people, " who, out of curiofity attend the Negro markets in Jamaica, *' that they are not able to turn their eyes on any group of " Negroes without beholding thefe inhuman marks of paf- ** fion, defpotifm, snd caprice !" laughter. 154 HISTORY Of THE BOOK laughter, that reflection conftitutes no very pre- ^^'- dominant part of their character (c). * The buyer having completed his affortment, and clothed his newly- acquired fubjects with a coarfe German linen, called oznaburghs, and pro- vided them alfo with hats, handkerchiefs, and knives, fends them to the place of their intended reiidence (d) : and now a pradicc prevails in Jamaica, which I myfelf, unacquainted as I then was with the aclual management in detail of a fugar plantation, and refiding in a diftant country, ufed to reprobate and exclaim againftj but to which I now fubmit, from a full convidlion, founded on experience, of its ufefulncfs and ne- cefiity. The pradice is that of diflributing the newly- imported Africans among the old Negroes, as pcnlioncrs (with fomc little afliftancc occafion-. ally given) on their little peciiliimL, and provifion- (cj The pnccs of new Negroes in the Weft: Indies, at this time (i/c;!) are nearly as follows: — An able man in his prime, j^- i;o fterling; an able woman, j^. 49 fterh'ng; a youth approaching to manhood, j^. 47 fterling; a young girl, ;^. 46 fterling; boys and girls from £. \o to £-4^ fterling, exdufive of the Colonial tax or duty on importa- tion, about twenty ftiillings more. (d) It is the ciiftom among fo.me of the planters in Ja- maica, 10 mark the initials of their name on the ftioulder os breaft of frach ncv\ ly-purrhafed Negro, by means of a fmall ,{ilver brand lieattrd iii the flame of fpirits, as defcribed in a _fonncr chapter; but it is growing into difufe, and 1 believe in the Windward Illands thought altogether unneceflary. grounds. WEST INDIES, grounds. This I ufed to confider as an Infup- portable hardlhip on the poor people already let- lied and domellicated, and I politively and ex- prefsly forbad a continuance of the cuitoni in plantations over which I had authority. On my return to the Wefb Indies, I was fur- prifed to find the old-eftabliQied Negroes, when young people newly arrived from Africa, were fent among them, requeft, as a particular inftance of favour and indulgence to themfelves, the re- vival and continuance of the ancient fyftem ; af- furing me they had the means of fupporting the ilrangers without difficulty. Many who thus ap- plied, propofed each of them to adopt one of their young country-folks in the room of children they had loft by death, or had been deprived of in Africa; others, becaufe they wifhed, like the pa- triarchs of old, to fee their fons take to themfelves wives from their own nation and kindred ; and all of them, I prefume, becaufe, among other confi- derations, they expecif ed to revive and retrace in the converfation of their new vifitors, the remem- brance and ideas of paft pleafures and fcenes of their youth. The ftrangers too ivere beft pleafed with this arrangement, and ever afterwards con- fidered themfelves as the adopted children of thofe by whom they were thus protected, calling them parents, and venerating them as fuch j and I never knew an inftance of the violation of a truft thus folicited HISTORY OF THE folicited and bcftowed. In the courfe of eight or ten months, provided they arc mildly ufed and kept free of difeafe, new people, under thefe cir- CLimftances, become reconciled to the country ; begin to get well eftabllQied in their families, their houfes and provifion-grounds ; and prove in all refpedls as valuable as the native or Creole negroes (e). What has hitherto been obferved concern- ing the difpofal of Africans newly imported, is, 1 believe, applicable to Weil Indian ellates of all defcriptions j but, as my own perfonal atten- tion has been chiefly diredled to fugar planta- tions, I would be underftood to fpeak of thole more particularly ; and fliall now proceed to de- icribe the methodical arrangement and diftribu- tion of the labour with which they are conduct- ed, as it is unquellionably more fevere and con- Ttant than that on any other fpecies of landed pro- perty in the Weft Indies. The Nesrroes are divided into three fets or claifes, ufually called ^^«^i; the firft confifting of the moft healthy and robufl of the men and v/omen, whofe chief bufmefs it is, out of crop- (e) Generally fpenk.injr, a Creole Negro is confulered as worth more than one imported; but in a valuation, hy indif- ferent perfons, of two able well-difpofcd Negroes, nearly of the fame age, the one an African, the other a native, no great difference (if any) would be nude. A child jull born is valued at £. 5. time. WEST INDIES. i^^7 time, to clear, hole and plant the ground ; and, in croptime, to cut the canes, feed the mills, and attend the manufacture of the fugar. It is com- puted that, in the whole body of the negroes on a well -conditioned plantation, there are com- monly found one-third of this defcription, ex- clufive of domefticks and negro tradefmen, viz. carpenters, coopers and mafons, with which each well-regulated plantation is provided (f). The fecond gang is compofed of young boys and girls, women far gone v/Ith child, and convalefcents, who are chiefly employed in weeding the canes, (f) The annual profit arifing to the owners from the labour of each able field Negro employed in the cultivation of fugar, may be reckoned at twenty-five pounds flerling money. I reckon thus : — A fugar plantation, well conduced, and in a favourable foil, ought to yield as many hogflieads of fugar, of l6c\vt. annually, as there are Negroes belonging to it, the aver- age value of which, fo; t-ju years pafl, may be ftated z\ £.\t^ flerhng the hogfliead ; but as every lantation is not thus pro- dui^ive, and the rum, which is generally appropriated to the paynxnt of contii gent charges, not being always fufficient for that purpofc, I will allow i^. lo flerling only, as the clear profit ptr hogfliead of the fugar, which therefore is the averaoe value of the labour of each Negro, ol.i and young; and one- third only of the Negroes being able people, their labour mav be put at ^. 30 a head; out of which however mull bededii61-ed, the interdi on their firfl: coft, and an allowance for the rifque of lofing them by death or defertion (their maintenance, &c. being included in the contingent expences of the eftate.) far both which I allow fifteen /tr cent. This leaves about £.1:, llerling clear, or nearly a fourth part of the a^lual value of each il.Lve. and rs? HISTORY OF THE and other Uglit work adapted to their ftrength and condition ; and the third fct confifls of young children, attended by a careful old woman, vvha arc employed in collecting green-meat for the pigs and flieep ; or in weeding the garden, or fome fucli gentle cxercife, merely to prefervc them from habits of idlenefs. The firft gang is fummoned to the labours of the field either by a bell or tlic blowing of a conch-fhell, juft before fun-rife. They bring with them, befides their hoes or bills, provifions for breakfaft ; and are attended by a \Vhite per- fon, and a Black fuperintendant called a driver. — The lilt being called over, and the names of all the abfcntees noted, they proceed with their work until eight or nine o'clock, when they fit down in the Ihade to breaktaft, which is prepared in the mean time by a certain number of women, whofe fole employment it is to acl as cooks for the rcil. This meal commonly confifts of boiled yams, eddoes, ocra, calaluc and plantain?, or as many of thofe vegetables as they can procure ; fcafoned with fait, and cayenne pepper; and, in truth, it is an exceeding palatable and wholefomc mefs. By this time moft of the abfcntees niake their appearance, and are ibmetimes punillied for their lluggilhnefs by a few ftripes of the driver's whip. But I am hap}:)y to fay that of late years a very flight cxcufe is generally admitted. The fad WEST INDIES;r»' 159 fa6l is, that when the mornings are chill and fogg)', as frequently happens even under the zone, the fenfations of the Negro are diftrefsfui beyond the imagination of an inhabitant of frozen regions. Inftead of deriving firmnefs and adiivity from the cold, he becomes inert, fluggifh and languid ; and neither labour nor punifhment will animate him to great exertion, until he is revivified by the genial warmth of the lun. At breakfaft they are feldom indulged with more than half or three quarters of an hour; and, having refumed their work, continue in the field until noon, when the bell calls them from la- bour. They are now allowed two hours of reft and refrertiment ; one of which is commonly jpent in lleep. Their dinner is provided with the addition of falted or pickled fifli, of which each Negro receives a weeldy allowance. Many of them, however, preferring a plentiful fupper to a meal at noon, pafs the hours of recefs, either in ileep, or in collefting food for their pigs and poultry, of which they are permitted to keep as many as they pleafe ; or perhaps a few of the more induflrious, will employ an hour in their provifion-grounds. At two o'clock they are again fummoned to the field, where, having been rcfreflied both by reft and food, they now ma- nifeft fomc figns of vigorous and animated ap- plication; although I can with great truth affert, that i5o HiStORVOFTHfi that one Englifh labourer in his own climate would perform at lead three times the worlf of any one Negro in the fame period. At fun-fet, or very foon after, they are releafed for the night, (the drudgery, fo much complained of in fome of the iflands to windward, of picking grafs, being happily unknown in Jamaica) and if the day ha;^ been wet, or their labour harder than ufual, they are fometimes indulged with an allowance of rum. On the whole, as the length of the days in the latitude of the Weft indies differs very little throughout the year, I conceive they are employed daily about ten hours, in the fervice of their mafter, Sundays and holydays excepted. In the crop feafon, however, the fyftem is different ; for at that time, fuch of the Negroes as are em- ployed in the mill and boihng-houfes, often work very late, frequently ill night ; but they are di- vided into watches, which relieve each other, ac- cording to the pracftice among feamenj and it is remarkable, that at this feafon the Negroes enjoy higher health and vigour than at any other period of the year; a circumftancc undoubtedly owing to the free and unreftrained ufe which they are allowed to make of the ripe canes, the cane- liquor and fyrup. The pradlice which prevails in Jamaica of giving the Negroes lands to cultivate, from tlie produce of which they arc expedcd to maintain a thcmfclves WEST INDIES. i6i thenlfelves (except in times of fcarcity, arifing from hurricanes and droughts, when afliftance is never denied them) is univerfally allowed to be judicious and beneficial ; producing a happy coali- tion of interefts between the mailer and the Have. The Negro who has acquired by his own labour a property in his mailer's land, has much to lofe^ and is therefore Icfs inclined to defert his work. He earns a little money, by which he is enabled to indulge himfelf in fine clothes on holydays, and gratify his palate with falted meats and other provifions that otherwife he could not obtain ; and the proprietor is feafed, in a great meafure, of the expence of feeding him. In fome of the Windward Iflands they have not land enough for the purpofe ; nor in any one of them, are the Negroes fo happily accommodated, in this re- fpe6l, as in the large iiland of Jamaica ; where they are feldom either ftinted in quantity of land, or confined as to fituation. In fa6l, if the owner's territory is fufficiently extenfivej the Negroes make it a pradlice to enlarge their own grounds, or exchange them for frefli land, every year. By thefe means, having quicker and better returns, they raife provifions in abundance, not only for their own ufe, but alfo a great furplus to fell. The misfortune is, they trull more to plantain- groves, corn and other vegetables, that are liable to be deftroyed by ftorms, than to what are . Vol. II. M called ifiz HISTORY OF THE BOOK callcci gyoiind-proi'ijions ; fuch as yams, cddoes, IV. potatoes, caflada, and other efculent roots; all which are out of the reach of hurricanes ; but prudence is a term that has no place in the Ne- gro-vocabulary. To obviate the mifchiefs which fatal experience has proved to flow from this grofs inattention, the Slave Aci of Jamaica obliges, under a penalty, every proprietor of lands to keep, properly cultivated in ground -prdvifions, one acre for every ten Negroes, exclufive of the Negro grounds ('^) . The (g) In Jamaica the Negroes are .7lIo\ved one day In a fort- night, except in time of crop, befides Sundays and holydays, for ciilrivaling their grounds and carrying their provifions to market. Some of them find tim.e on thefe days, befides raifing provifions, to make a few coarfe manufactures, fuch as mats for bed-, bark ropes of a flrong ond durable texture, wicker chairs and baficets, earthen jnrs, pans, Ilz. for all which they find a ready fale; but I cannot fiiy miicii for the fkiil and elegance of their workmanlhip. The moft induftrious of the Negroes do not, I believe, employ more than fixteen hours in a month in the cultivation of their own provifion- gardens (leaving all further care of them to the beneficence of nature) and in favourable fcafons this is fufficient. Sunday is their day o{ market, and it is wonderful what numbers are tlien feen, haflening from all parts of the country, towards the towns and fliipping places, laden with fruits and vege- tables, pigs, goats and poultry, their own property. In Ja- maica it is fuppofed that upwards of 10,000 afiemble every Sunday morning in the market of Kingfton, where fhey barter their provifions, &c. for faked beef and pork, or fine linen and ornaments for their wives and children. I do nor believe that an inftance can be produced of a mafler's inter- fering CHAP. V. WEST INDIES. 163 The cottages of the Negroes ufually compofe ti fmall village, the fituation of which, for the fake of convenience and water, is commonly near the buildings in which the manufaAure of fugar is conduded. They are feldom placed with much regard to order, but, being always inter- mingled with fruit-trees, particularly the banana, the avocado-pear, and the orange (the Negroes* own planting and property) they fometimes ex- hibit a pleafing and pidurefque appearance. To affirm that they are very tolerable habitations, according to the idea which an untravelled Englifliman would probably form of the word, were an infult to the reader; but it may honeftly be faid, that, allowing for the difference of cli- mate, they far excel the cabins of the Scotch and Trifli peafants, as defcribed by Mr. Young, and other travellers. They are fuch, at leaft, as are commenfuratc to the dcfires and necelTities of their inhabitants, who build them according to their own fancy both in fize and fhape, the fering with his Negroes in tbe\r prcul/'um thus acquired. They are permitted alfo to difpofe at their deaths of what httle pro- perty they polTefs ; and even to bequeath their grounds or gardens to fuch of their fellow-llaves as they think proper. Thcfe principles are fo well eftabliftied, that whenever it is found convenient for the owner to exchange the negro- grounds for other lands, the Negroes muft be fatisfied, in money or otherwife, before the exchange takes place. It is wnivcrlally the pradice, M 2 mafter i64 HISTORY OF THE BOOK mafter allowing the timber, and frequently per- ^^' mitting the eftatc's carpenters to aflift in the building. In general, a cottage for one Negra and his wife, is from fifteen to twenty feet in length, and divided into two apartments. It is compofed of hard pofts driven into the ground, and interlaced with wattles and plaifter. The height from the ground to the plate being barely fufficient to admit the owner to walk in upright. The floor is of natural earth, which is commonly dry enough, and the roof thatched with palm- thatch, or the leaves of the cocoa-nut-tree ; an admirable covering, forming a lading and im- penetrable fliclter both againft the fun and the rain. Of furniture they have no great matters to boafl, nor, confidering their habits of life, is much required. The bedftead is a platform of boards, and the bed a mat, covered with a blanket; a fmall table; two or three low ftools; an earthen jar for holding water; a few fmaller ones ; a pail ; an iron pot ; calabaJJies (h) of dif- ferent fizes (ferving very tolerably for plates, dilhes, and bowls) make up the reft. Their cookery is condudled in tlie open air, and fire- wood being always at hand, they have not only a fufficiency for that purpofe, but alfo for a fire within doors during the night, without which a (hj A fpecies of gourd. Negro WEST INDIES. ' 165 Negro cannot lleep with comfort. It is made in the middle of one of the two rooms, and the jmoke makes its way through the door or the thatch. This account of their accommodation, however, is confined to the loweft among the field-negroes : tradefmen and domefticks are in general vaftly better lodged and provided. Many of thefe have larger lioufes with boarded floors, and are accommodated (at their own expence it is true) with very decent furniture :— a few have even good beds, linen fheets, and mufquito nets, and difplay a Qielf or two of plates and dillies of queen's or StafTordfliire ware. Of clothing, the allowance of the mafher is not always fo liberal as might be wifhed, but much more fo of late years than formerly (i). Few of the Negroes, however, on Sundays and holyda3'^s, appear deficient in this point, or fhew any want of raiment, not only decent but gaudy. The circumftances wherein the Haves in the Weft Indies feem moftly indebted to their owners* liberality, are, I think, thofe of medical attend- ance and accommodation when fick. Every plan- tation, that I am acquainted with, is under the daily or weekly inipedion of a pradlitioner in ( i) I believe the Negroes on every plantation in Jamaica, without exception, receive a yearly allowance of oznaburg- linen, woollen, baize, checks, &cc. and but very few planters deny them hats, handkerchiefs, and other little articles, as knives, needles and thread, &c. &c. M 3 phyfick IV i66 HISTORY OF THE BOOK pliyfick and furgery, who very frequently refidcs on the rpot ; and the planters, being in general men of education themfelves, are not eafily recon- ciled, in fo important a matter, with fuch illite- rate pretenders in medicine as are very often found in the country parts of England, to the difgracc of the profeffion. Young men of fkill and fciencc are therefore fought for and encouraged j and as but few fingle plantations can afford a very liberal allowance, they are permitted to extend their practice in the neighbourhood (k). For (kj The ufual recompence to the fiirgeoii for attendance and medicines, is fixfliillings a head per annum for all the Ne- groes on the eftate, whether fick or well. Amputations, dif- ficult cafes in midwifery, inoculation, &c. are paid forexclu- lively, and on a liberal fcale. A property having 500 Ne- groes contributes about ^. 1 50 fterling per annum ; and the fnrgeon, if he chufes, is entitled to board, wafliing, and lodg- ing; and this is altogether independent of the profits of his practice \\ ith the Whites. I fuppofe there are few planta- tion dnftors in Jamaica, that have lefs than 500 Negroes un- der their care; fevcral (with their affiftants) have upwards of 5,000. Among the dlfeafes which Negroes bring witli them from Africa, the moll Inathfome are the cacabayzn^ x\iQyavjs\ and it is difficult to fay which is the worft. The former is the leprofv of the Arabians, and the latter (much the moil com- mon) is fuppofrd, by fon^.e writers, to be the Irprof)- men- tioned in Leviticus, c. xiii. Both are very accurately de- cribed by Doftor Hillary, in his Obfervations on the Dif- cafcs of Barbadoes Young Nerro children often catch the vaws, and gel through it wi'Jiovit medicine or much incon- veniency. At a later j'eriod it is feidom or never thoroughly eradicated ; WEST INDIES. 167 For the better accommodation of invalids and women in child-birth, every plantation is provided with a fick-houfe or hofpital, divided into different apartments ; and over which one or more aged women prefide as nurfes. The proprietor commonly fupplies blankets, flour, rice, fugar, and oatmeal : thefe things I have feldom known to be denied, and Ibme gentlemen afford, befides frefli beef and mutton, more coflly articles ; fuch as fpiccs, fago, and wine. eradicated ; and as, like the fmall-pox, it is never had but once, the Gold Coall Negroes are faid to communicate the infeftion to their infants by inoculation. I very much doubt if medicine of any kind is of ufe in this difeaie.— But the greatefl: mortality among the Negroes in the Wert Indies arifes from two other complaints ; the one affecting infants between the fifth and fourteenth days after their birth, and of which it is fuppofed that one-fourth of all the Negro chil- dren perifli. It is a fpecies of tetanus, or locked jaw; but both the caufe of it in thefe poor children, and the remedy, remain yet to be difcovered. The other complaint affe6ls adults, or rather Negroes who are paft their prime. They become dropfical, and complain of a conftant uneafinefs in the ftomach ; for which they find a temporary relief in eat- ing fome kind of earth. The French planters caJl this difcafe mal-d'ejiomacy or the flomach-evil. I have formerly heard of owners and managers who were fo ignorant and favage as to attempt the cure by fevere punifliment ; confidering <•//>/- fating, not as a difeafe, but a crime. I hope the race is extinft. The bed and only remedy is kind ufage and whole- fome animal food ; and ptrhaps a fteel drink may be of fome fervice. Of one poor fellow in this complaint, I myfelf made ■ii perfect cure by perfifting fome time in this method. M 4 On i68 HISTGRYOFTHE On the whole, notwithflanding fome defe(fj^, let allowance be made for the climate and ibil, and it may be a^Terted with truth and modefty, that, if the fituation of the Haves in the BritiH-i Weft Indies were, in all cafes, on a level with their eircumftances in regard to food, lodging, and medical afiTiftancc, they might be deemed objefls^ of envy to half the peafantry of Europe, At the fame time let it not be forgotten, that the legiflaiive authority in many of the fugar illands, has been, and flill is, moft humanely and laudably exerted in exalting the condition of the ilavc in all refpe^is, and circqmfcribing the power of the maftcr. — " Protedion of their Haves (fays " the Report of the Privy Council) made but a ^* very fmall portion of their earlier policy. This " branch has of late been taken up, and exprefs " directions have been given to enfure to the « Negroes, the enjoyment of many advantages " tending to alleviate their condition. In three "iflands particularly (Jamaica, Grenada, and Do- " minica) the wifli to foften the rigours of their " fituation has manifefted itfelf more decidedly. *' Meafures have been devifed by the legiflatures " of thofe iflands for placing them in a flate of *^ fociety, where they will be entitled to a pro- " teftion that in former times would have been " thought incompatible with the dcpendanco *.' ^nd fubordination of flavery." W E S T I N D I E S. J69 To this diftinguiflied and honourable tefli- mony it may be added, as a circumftance of ilill greater importance, that the age itfelf is hourly improving in humanity : and that this improvement vifibly extends beyond the Atlan- tick. Its influence is felt where the law is a dead letter. This, however, is to be underftood with confiderable allowance , for it is a melancholy truth, that authority over thefe poor people fnuft, on feveral occafions, unavoidably devolve into hands that will employ it only in its abufe ; and in cafes too, in which, if redrefs be fought, the teftimony of the injured party is inadmiffiblc in a court of juftice. Under thofe circumftances, while the law lofes its authority, I am afraid that the fenfe of decorum alone affords but a feeble rcftraint againft the corrupt paflions and infirmi- ties of our nature, the hardnefs of avarice, the pride of power, the fallies of anger, and the thirft of revenge. That the narratives therefore of exceflive whippings, and barbarous mutilations, which have lately awakened the fympathy of the publick, arc (ill of them " abfolutely falfe ;" — though it has been afTerted by others, (hall not be aflerted by ;iie. If they have happened but fcldom, they have happened too often. The difference be- tween me, and thofe who, on this ground, con- tinue to urge the neceiTity of an immediate and total i7«> H I S T O R y O F T H i: BOOK total fuppreflion of the flave-trade, is this : thc^' IV. aflert that it is not unfreqiient^ but common, tho- occurrence of every hour, to behold the miferablc Negroes fall viclims to a feries of cruelties of which no other age or country affords an exam- ple ; and they maintain that the planters, in ge~ neraly are guilty of thefe cruelties, without com- miferation or remorfe. I, on the other hand, aver that, although fuch enormities have cer- tainly fometimes happened, and may happen again, yet that the general treatment of the Ne- groes in the Britifli Weft Indies is mild, tem- perate, and indulgent ; that inftances of cruelty are not only rare, but always \inivcrfally repro- bated when difcovered ; and, when fufceptible of legal proof, fcvcrely puniflicd (/). The (I) As the latter part of this afTertion has been very con- fidently denied by fome of the witneffes that have appeared before a Committee of the Hoiife of Commons, I beg leave to trouble the reader with the fallowing cafes in point : " Spanifli Town, Jamaica, Feb. 1777. Thomas Fell was indliSled for aflaulting a Negro man Have, the property ot Richard Welch, Efquirc, and found guilty. Sentenced to pny a fine to the king of twenty jwunds, and to be imprifoned in the common naol one week, and until payment of the fine." " Kingfton, Jamaica. At the Surry aflize, 1786; George Geddes v»-as tried, and found guilty on two indictments, for cruelly beating and maiming two ot his own flaves. Sen- tenced to pay a fine to the king of j^. 100, on each indiftment, and to be imprifoncd fix months in the jail of Kingfton, and until payment of the fine, and afterwards to find ffcurity for his good behaviour, & c." " .Surrv WEST INDIES. 171 The great, and I tear incurable, defed in the chap, fyftem of flavery, is the circumftance aheady mentioned, that the evidence of the Have cannot *' Surry Aflizc, 1 77b'. John Durant, 3 free man of Colour, was fndifted and found guilty of affaulting a Negro man (lave, named Sacco, the property of Eliza Wheeler, a free Negroe woman. Sentenced to be publickly flogged at the Beef market." "Quarter Seilion, Kingfton, Auguft, 1791. The Khig verfus Thojnfuji, for affaulting and falfcly imprifoning a Negro boy, the property of Francis Robertfon. Found guilty and fined £. 10. — King verfus Bender ^ for wantonly and immode- rately punifliing a Negro man, his own property, named For- tune. Found guilty and fined jT. 20." The above are extrafts fairly abridged from the records in. the proper office in Jamaica. Teftimonies of the fame kind, more fully llated, from the Ifland of St. Chriftopher, appear in the Report of the Committee of Privy Council ; to whom evidence was likewife given, that a White man, in the liland of Grenada, was, in the year 1 776, convicfted of the murder of his own flave, and executed. If many other cafes cannot be cited, it may fairly be fuppofed, from thofe which have been adduced, that frefli occafion has not often been given. The following fliocking inftance, however, happened in the Ifland of Jamaica, in the fummer of 1791 :— William Rat- tray, a carpenter at the port of Rio Bueno, in a fit of drimk- ennefs, threw an axe at a Negro boy, his own flave, which unfortunately killed him on tiie fpot. The coroner's inqueft finding it wilful murder, the man was apprehended, and fent to gaol in irons. He was not, it is true, publickly tried and banged for the crime ; for, being well afllired that fuch would be his fate, he thouglu it bed: to execute juftice on himfelf, and found in fuicide an efcape from the gallows. This faifl", which is within my own knowledge, is certainly no proof that the murderers of their own (laves efcape with im- punity, be 172 HISTORY OF THE be admitted againfl aWhite perfon, even in caiea of the moil atrocious injurj^ This is an eyil to which, on feveral accounts, J fear no direct and efficacious remedy can be appHed. In fome of the iflands, however, attempts have been made, with an earneftnefs fuited to the importance of the fubjecl:, to fupply the defecl ; and expedients have been adopted for that purpofe, which, in moft cafes, it may be hoped, will have the good confequence of a folid proteftion. By the new flave act of Grenada, the juftices are required annually to nominate three freeholders to be guardians of the Jlaves ; who are to take an oath to fee the law duly executed. They are not only to infped the provifion-grounds, the clothings and maintenance, and to enquire into the ge- neral treatment of the flaves, but alfo to inter- rogate on oath the managers and overfeers, con- cerning the due obfervance of the law ; and in cafe of breaches thereof, to profecute the offen- ders. Of this meafure the Report of the Privy Council exprcfies the higheft approbation :— *' The obliging managers and overfeers (it ob- ferves) to anjiver upon oath, gives peculiar efficacy to a regulation intended for the benefit of perfons whofe tcflimony, by the law of the country, could not be heard in a profccution againft a White perfon." In the Hime liberal fpirit, and co-operating to the WEST INDIES. 173 k\\t lame generous end, the legiflature of Jamaica have conftituted the juflices and vdkry of each pariih in that iiland, a council of proteciion^ ex- prefsly for the purpofe of making full cnquiry into the barbarities exercifedon Haves, and bring- ing the authors to punifliment at the pubhck cxpcnce. With this view, it is enafted, that when any complaint, oint of labour was wonderful, and I believe that the fyftem would in time have taught the Negroes alfo, that honeftv was better policy than thieving. Sec and have led by degrees to confequences ftill more important and beneficial both to the matter and theflavc." (o) About one (hilling Engliih. J£ND OF THE FOURTH BOOK, ^ ^ • J- NT N' ^ ^^ '^ ^v -i ^ > >v r^ ^- i^ >v •-C >=l ^ ^y: X r w ^ \. '• M Xi^ x -^ ^ ^ :, :y: \ ■ A , ^ '^ i:^ % s A s. s AWEIVRO IFESTIVAi liVMWii U-wu TS;i\m-v nillu- ^[.S1LA^'0 of S'l'Vlpf r 1•:^:T. W E S T I N D 1 E S. 187 APPENDIXES T O BOOK IV. NUMBER I. AS a fuppkimnt to fuck part of the preceding appen- hook^ as relates to the treatment of the Negroes in the o^^- J^ritijh Wefi Indies^ it is thought neceffary to prefent the reader zvith the Consolidated Slave Act OF Jamaica, paffed the id of March 1 792. // is prefumed that this law will demonfirate to general (onvi5limi, that the kgiflature of Jamaica^ availing themfelve% as zvell of the reproaches of their enemies, as of the fiiggeftions of their friends, have given all poffihle encouragement to the raifing of Negro children in the ifland, and fecured to their labourers as much freedom, and as great a latitude of enjoyment of the neceffaries, conveniencies, and comforts of life, as can be done confifiently with their own prefervation. 'The humane reader will not complain of the length of this Appendix, if he fliall hereafter find that the other Britifli Iflands in the JVefl Indies, encouraged by the example before them, fliall introduce the bene- volent provifwns of this Acty into their oivn Negro code. 188 HISTORY OF THE BOOK Jamaica, f. IV. An A C T to repeal an a6l, intituled " An acl to repeal feveral adls and claufcs ot a6ls refpedling Haves, and for the better order and government of flaves, and for other purpofes j" and alfo to repeal the feveral a- faid, That all maflers and miflreffes, owners, or, in their flaves in abfence, overfeers of flaves, fhall, as much as in them lies, ^^^ ^^'■.'^■' endeavour the inftruiflion of their flaves in the principles gion. of the Chriftian religion, whereby to facilitate their con- yerfion, and fhall do their utmofl endeavours to fit them for baptifm, and as foon as conveniently they can, caufe to 193 HISTORY OF THE Owners to give in an account of provi (ion- ground. Premium to jljvcs for informing on runa- ways, &c. to be baptifcd all fuch as they can make fenfible of a Deity and the Chriftian faith. • VII. And be it further Enacted by the authority afore- faid, That every mafter, owner, proprietor, or poilcflbr of flaves, his or her overfeer or chief manager, at their giving in an account of their flaves and ftock to the juftices and veftry, on the twenty- eighth dav of December in every year, fhall, under the penalty of fifty pounds for every neg- lect:, alfo give in, on oath, an account of the quantity of land in ground-provifions, over and above the negro- grounds, upon fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, where there are lands proper for the cultivation of fuch provillons ; and, where there are not lands proper for fuch purpofes, then an account, on oath, of the provifion made on fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, or means adopted for the maintenance of the flaves thereon j and ihall alfo, at the fame time, and under the like penalty, give in an account, on oath, of the nature and quantity of the cloth- ing actually ferved to each flave on fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, for the approbation of the juftices and veflry as aforefaid ; and (liall, likewife, at the fame time declare, on oath, that he hath infpedted the negro- grounds (where fuch grounds are allotted) of fuch plantation, pen, or fettlement, according to the diredtions of this ail. VIII. And, in order to encourage flaves for every good and worthy a6l that they fliall do. Be it further En- acted by the audiority aforefaid. That every flave or flaves that (hall take up any runaway flave, or inform againft any perfon who fhall have or conceal any runaway flave or flaves, fo that fuch runaway flave or flaves may be taken and reftored to his owner or owners ; every fuch flave or flaves, fo informing, fhall be entitled to fuch re- ward as any juftice fliall in reafon and juftice think juft and reafonable, and be paid by fuch perfon or perfons as fuch jultice fhall determine ought to pay the fame, not ex- ceeding twenty fliiUings . IX. And WEST INDIES. S93 IX. And be it further Enacted by the authority afore- APPEN- faid, That if any flave or ilaves fhall kill or take any dix. flave or flaves in aclual rebellion, he or they (hall receive ^— *^r— ^ from the churchwardens of the refpecUve pariuies v.'here ^^1.'^',/" fuch flave or flaves lliall have been killed, the fuin of three hcnding le- 1 1 1 r c r 1 • - 1 1- J beilious pounoi., and the lum ot nve pounds it taken alive, and a flaves re- blue cloth coat, with a red crofs on the right Hioulder, to w"'^"^'** be paid by the churchwardens of the re(i:'c£live parifties where fuch flave or flaves (hall have been killed or taken ; the whole expence whereof fliall be reimburfed by the receiver-general for the time being, out of any monies in his hands unappropriated. X. And, in order to prevent any perfon from mutilat-' Perrins n-,u^ ing or difmembering any flave or flaves, Be it further lu^.'^^p.ei Enabled by the authority aforefaid, That if any mafter, ^"'^ impri- miftrefs, owner, pofl'eflbr, or other perfon whatfoever, fhall, at his, her, or their own will and pleafure, or by his, her, or their direction, or with his, her, or their know- ledge, fufFerance, privity, or confent, mutilate or difmem- ber any flave or flaves, he, fhe, or they fhall be liable to be indifled for each offence in the fuprcme court of judi- cature, or in any of the alTize courts of this ifland; and, upon conviction, fliall be puniilicd by fine, not exceedin'»- one hundred pounds, and imprifonment, not exceeding twelve months, for each and every flave fo mutilated or difmembercd ; and fuch punifliment is declared to be without prejudice to any action that could or might be brought at common law, fur recovery of damages for or on account of the fame: And, in very atrocious cafes, where the owner of fuch flave or flaves fhall be convicted of fuch offence, the court before whom fuch offender fhall have been tried and convicted, are hereby empowered, in cafe they fhall think it neceffary, tor the future protec- tion of fuch flave or flave?, to declare him, her, or them Mutilated free, and difchara;ed from all manner of fervitude, to all ^^'•'°-' '" , "" certa n mtents and purpolcs whatfoever: And, in all fuch cafes, caici, de. Vol. II. O the '^''"^^''^ 194 enquire into iuch muti- lations, and profecure the offen- ders. Ownen fufd for Coftj. HISTORY OF THE the court are hereby empowered and authorized, if t« them it (hall appear ncceflary, to order and d:re6l the fiiid fine of one hundred pounds to be paid to the juftices and veftry of the parirti to which the faid (lave or flaves be- longed, to the ufe of the faid parifh, the faid juftices and veftry, in confideration thereof, paying to fuch of the faid flave or flaves fo made free, the fum of ten pounds per an- num, for his, her, or their maintenance and fupport dur- ing life; and in cafe any flave or Haves fhall fufFcr any before-defcribed mutilations, fuch flave or flaves, on his, her, or their application to any juftice of the peace, the faid juftice of the peace (hall be, and is hereby direfted, required, and empowered, on view, and certain convic- tion of the fa6t, to fend fuch flave or flaves to the nearefl workhoufe where fuch offence fhall be committed, and fuch flave or flaves {hall be there fafely kept, and carefully attended, at the expence of fuch parifli, until fuch time as there may be a legal meeting of the juftices and veftry of fuch parifh; which juftices and veftry fo met, are hereby created and appointed a council of protection of fuch flave or flaves: And the faid juftices and veftry, fo met, are hereby direiTled and empowered to make further and full enquiry, upon view, into the commitment of the mu- tilation of fuch flave or flaves ; and, if to them it fhall appear proper, the faid juftices and veftry are hereby em- powered and required to profccute to effect fuch owner or owners ; the expence of which profecution fhall be paid by the parilh where fuch cftence fhall be committed : And in cafe the owner or owners of fuch flave or flaves fhall appear capable of paying the cofts and charges of fuch before-mentioned profecution, the faid juftices and veftry are hereby empowered to commerice fuit or fuits asainft fuch owner or owners of fuch flave or flaves, and recover all cofts and charges out of purfe, by them laid out and expended in fuch fuit or fuits : And the keeper or fupervifor of the workhoufe where fuch mutilated flave or 8 ilavss x.:f r w.'r WEST INDIES. 195 flaves (hall have been firft committed, is hereby directed ai'PF>*- and required, upon due notice of the firft meeting of the 7>. i\ juftices and veftry of the parifh where the offence was v— ^-y— -^' committed, to produce fuch mutilated flave or flaves, for the infpection and dirc<5lion of fuch jufliices and veftry, Under the penalty of twenty pounds for every neglect, in not producing before fuch juftices and veftry fuch ftave or flaves. XI. And be it further Enacted by the authority afore- jufikf"? m faid. That in cafe any juftice of the peace fiiall receive any complaint or probable intelligence from any flave or other- w-rg. wife, that any flave or flaves is or are fo m.utilateJ, or is 'J^eci i^a^. . or are confined without fuflicient fupport, it ftiall and may be lawful for fuch juftice of the peace, and he is hereby empowered and required, forthwith to ifiiie his warrant to any conftable, ordering him immediately to proceed to the place where fuch flave or flaves, fo mutilated, are con- fined, and fuch flave or flaves to releafe and bring befi/re fuch juftice, who, on view of the fa6t, is hereby autho- rized to fend fuch flave or flaves to the workhoufe for prote61:ion, and who is there to be kept, but not to be worked, until enquiry ftiall be made into the fail accord- ing to law. XII. And be it further Enafted by the authority afore- Peif r>^ ,, fruit, provifion^, or fmall ftock and other goods, which they may fcui tickets" J-^vvfully fell, to m'.rket, and returning therefrom, fhall hertafier be fuftercd or permitted to go out of his or her mailer or owner's plantation or fettlemcnt, or to travel from one town or place to another, qnlefs fuch flave fhall have a ticket from his mafter, owner, employer, or ovcr- feer, cxprcfling particularly the time of fuch flave's fetting out, and where he or fhe is going, and the time limited for 1 1 •• 'heir WESTINDIES. »9SI for his or her return, under a penalty not exceeding forty fhillings for every flave fo offending, to be recovered from the mafter, owner, employer, or overfecr, in a fummary manner, before any one juftice of tlie peace, by warrant under pc- of diftrefs, complaint being made to him upon oath, unlefs "^ '^* the mafter, owner, employer, or overfeer, of fuch flave fhall prove, upon oath, before any juftice of the peace of the parifti or precindl where fuch mafter, owner, employer, or overfeer, may or ftiall live, or happen to be, that he did give the faid flave fuch ticket as aforefaid, or that fuch flave went away without his confent ; and if fuch juftice Penalty on (hall refufe or neglect his duty, either in cauftng the pe- ^*f '"'^ nalty to be forthwith levied, on complaint being made to him as aforefaid, on the owner, overfeer, or any other perfon, who ftiall fuft^er a flave, being under his or their diredtion, to go without a ticket as aforefaid, every juftice fo off^ending ftiall forfeit the fum of five pounds ; any law> cuftom, or ufage, to the contrary notwithftanding. XVllI. And be it further Enaited by the authority Slaves al- aforefaid. That for the future, all flaves in this ifland ftiall i^^J,-* ^"^^ be allowed the ufual number of holidays that were allowed at the ufual feafons of Chriftmas, Eafter, and Whitfun- tide : Provided, That, at every fuch refpe£live feafon, no two holidays (hull be allowed to follow or fucc;;ed imme- diately one afcer the other, except at Chriftmas, when they ihall be allowed Chriftmas-day, and alfo the day imme- diately fucceeding ; any law, cufto:n, or ufage, to the con- trary notwithftanding : And if any mafter, owner, guar- dian, or attorney, of any plantation or fettlement, or the overfeer of fuch plantation or fettlement, ftiall prefume, at the feafons aforefaid, to allow any holidays to any flave belonging to any fuch plantation or fettlement, other thaa as directed by this act to be given, every perlbn fo offend^ ing, ftiall forfeit the fum of five pounds. XiX. And whereas it hath been ufual and cuftomary with the planters in this ifland, to allow their flaves one O 4 day coo H I S T O R Y O F T H E BOOK ^'^y ^" every fortnight to cultivate tlieir own provifion- IV. grounds (exclufive of Sundays j except during the time ^•"""v ^-^ of crop ; but the fame not being compull'orv, Be it there- Siavt^ ai. foj-e J£nailid by the r^uthority aforefaid, Th it the flaves lowed ore ■' -' day intvery belonging to, Or employed on, every plantation or fettle- '^'''" ment, fhall, over and above the holidays herein before- mentioned, be allowed one day in every fortnight, to cul- tivate their own provifion-ground?, exclufive of Sundays, except during the time of crop, uiuler the penalty of hfty pounds, to he recovered againft the overfeer or other per- fon having the care of fuch flaves. Time ai- XX. And be it further Enai^ed by the authority nforc- Io(Ae ment, and playing and diverting themfelvcs in any inno- cent amufcments, fo as they do not make ufe of military drums, horns, or fhclls ; but that they fliall and may grant fuch liberty when and as often as they pleafe, any thing in this, or any other a6t, to the contrary notwith- flanding : Provided, that fuch amufements arc put an end to by twelve of the clock at night. Negro XXIV. And, in order to prevent riots and nightly burials to be meetings amono; negro and other flaves, to the difturbancc «J» day-time. fc> to fc _ ' of the public peace, and the endangering their healths, Be it further Enabled by the authority aforefaid, That all negro burials (hall in future take place in the day-time only, fo that the fame may be ended before funfet ; and if any mafter, ovj^ner, or poflefibr of flaves, his or her overfeer, or chief manager, fhall knowingly fufFer or per- mit the burial of any flave otherwife than as before diredted, he fhall forfeit the fum of fifty pounds. Impnfon- XXV. And be it further Enaded by the authority ment for ne- gforefaid. That if any Indian, free negro, or mulatto, fhall ingaffem hereafter fufrer any unlawful aflen'bly of flaves at his or slies at their j^^j. ]^Q^fQ qj- fettlement, every fuch Indian, free negro, or mulatto, fhall, upon due convidtion thereof, fufter im- prifonment, not exceeding fix months; Provided never- thelefs, Tliat information thereof fhall be given, on oath, within five days of fuch unlawful meeting. Slaves not XXVI. And be it further Enadted by the authority l^mi.*^^ "" aforefaid, that all flaves who fhall hereafter be found to have in his or their cuftody, any fire-arms, gun-powder, flugs, or ball, fuch flave, being thereof convidted before two juftices, fhall fuffer fuch punilhment as the faid juftices fhall think proper to inflidt, by whipping or hard labour in the workhoufej not exceeding the term of fix months. XXVII. And »rms W E S T I N D I E S. 205 XXVIT. And be it further Ena£led by the authority APPEN-. jiforefaiJ, That if any flave ftiall ofFer any violence, by DIX. ftrilting or otherwife, to any white perfon, fuch flave, ^ — ^v -* upon due and proper proof, fhall, upon convidlion, be onflavesof, punillied with deaih, tranfp jrtation, or confinenrient to fer'ng vio» hard labour, not exceeding two years, or otherwife, as whites. the court ftiall, in their difcretion, think proper to infli(SV : Provided fuch ftriking or conflict be not by command of his or iheir owners, overfeers, or perfoiis entrufted over them, or in the lawful defence of their owners perfons or goods. XXVIlf. And be it further Ena<51:ed by the authority PuniUmenc aforefaid. That any flave or flaves, who (hall knowingly harbou^m harbour or conceal any runaway flave or flaves, (hall be flares, liable to be tried for the fame at the flave court hereinafter appointed, and on conviction, fuffer fuch punifhment as the jullices of the faid court ihall think proper to inflict, pot extending to life or limb. XXIX. And whereas it is very dangerous to the peace "^h" »re \ r r r ^ • • n \ - n- n • deemed riwi'* and fafety or this illand, to lurrer ilaves to continue out as awajs. runaways, and it is abfolutdy necefl'ary to declare and make known to the publick what flaves (hall be deemed fuch ; Be it therefore Knadted by the authority aforefaid, That from and after the pafling of this act, any flave or ilaves who fhall be abfent from his owner or employer, without leave, for the fpace often days, and fhall be found at the diftance of eight miles from the houfe, plantation, or other fettlement, to which he, fhe, or they belong, without a ticket or other permit to pafs, except as before excepted, in going to and returning from market, (hall be deemed a runaway. XXX. And be it further Ena£ted by the authority Reward f©i aforefaid. That any perfon whatfoever, who (hall appre- yun^awlyS' bend fuch flave or flaves, (hall, for every one fo apprehend- ed, be entitled to receive from the owner, employer, over- seer, or manager of fuch flave or flaves, the fum of ten (hilliags, 20+ HISTORYOFTHE fhillings, and no more, befides mile-money, at the rate of one (hilling per mile for the firfl five miles, and fix- pence per mile afterwards : Provided fuch flave or flavcs had abfcnted him, her, or themfelves, ten days, without the privity, knowledge, or confent, of the proprietor, overfeer, or other white perfon, refiding on the planta- tion or fettlement to which fuch flave or flaves (hall belong ; which time of abfence of fuch flave or flaves (hall be declared on the oath of fuch proprietor, over- feer, or other white perfon, as aforeIaid,if the party talcing up fuch flave or flaves (hall require it : But it is the true intent and meaning of this aft, that every perfon or pcr- foas who fliall apprehend any flave or flaves, ihrt ufually refide in, or are employed in, any of the towns of this ifland, and that at the time are actually runaway or abfent from their owner, employer, or manager's fervice, ten days, (hall be entitled to the reward of ten (hillings, although the flave or flaves (hould not be eight miles Tiot'ih. diflant fiom their employer's habitation : Provided nevcr- thelefs, That nothing in this act contained, (hall be con- ftrued to extend to an allowance of the faid fum of ten (hiihngs and mile-money, in addition to the fum allowed to maroon negroes f.>r apprehending runaways ; And pro- vided alfo, That it is nut hereby intended to deprive the faid maroons of their legal and cftablifticd reward of forty fhillings for each negro. How run- XXXI. And be it further Enacted by the authority aways arr to aforefaid, That the perfon or pcrfons fo apprehendinp; be dilpulcd /it,, , 8f. fuch flave or flaves, Inall convey him, her, or them, to their rcfpe£tivc owner, employer, cr manager, or to the workhoufc of fuch p:iri(h, if any workhoufe is eitablifl-A;d there ; and in cafe of there being no workhoufe, to th;i next gaol, in cafe the owner, employer, or manager, of fuch flave or flaves (hall refufc to pay the faid fum of ten (hillings, and mile-money as aforefaid, or take the oath as to the time of abfence i in which cafe, the gaol W E S T I N D I E S. 205 or workhoufc-keeper is hereby required and ordered to receive fuch flave or flaves into his or their cuftody, and to pay the party delivering fuch flave or flaves the faid fum often {hillings, and mile-money as aforefaid, and no more, for each flave fo delivered, under the penalty of five pounds ; Provided neverthelefs, That if fuch flave or flaves is or are brought to any gaol or workhoufe by any white perfon, free negro, free mulatto, or Indian, no gaoler or workhoufe-keeper (hall pay fuch fum before fuch perfon fhall have taken an oath, (which oath fuch gaoler or workhoufe-keeper is hereby required, under the penalty of five pounds, to file in his office and produce, whenever thereunto required by the owner or poffeiror of fuch flave or flaves) that the flave or flaves fo apprehend- ed was or were at the reputed diftance of eight miles from the houfe, plantation, or fettlement, to which fuch flave or flaves do belong (except as before is excepted), and that fuch flave or flaves had no ticket or other permit in writing from his mafler, miftrefs, overfeer, employer, or manager, at the time fuch flave or flaves was or were apprehended, for hicn, her, or them, to pafs unmolefted, and that the faid flave or flaves had been carried firft to the owner, employer, or manager, of fuch flave or flaves (provided fuch owner, employer, or manager, (hall be in the parifli in which fuch flave or flaves Tnall be appre- hended), and that the m after, miftrefs, overfeer, or manager, had refufed to pay for the apprehending him, her, or them, according to the intent and meaning of this adl. , XXXII. And be it further Enadled by the authority Timeoftic- aforefaid. That no ticket fhall be granted to any flave or ke^i'iiited. flaves for any time exceeding one calendar month. XXXIII. And be it further Ena6tcd by the authority Account of afore fa id, That on the twenty- eighth day of December ^''^''s '■*"') in every year (the time of giving in as aforefaid), or with- be given io. ia thirty days after, the owner, overfeer, or manager of every so6 HISTORY OF THE Ovfrfetr to pay if his KcgleQ. Surgeons to give in an account of flaves dying. Inceursge- ment for en- CTi-.ite of fijves. every plantation, pen, or fettlemcnt, {hall give in, on oathj an account of all the births and deaths of the (laves 4if fuch plantation, pen, or fettlement, for the preceding yearj under the penalty of fifty pounds, to be recovered from the owner of fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement. XXXIV. And be it further Enaded by the authority aforefaid, That, if the not giving in upon oath fuch feveral accounts fhall be owing to the neglect of the overfeer or manager of fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, it fhall and may be lawful for the owner, proprietor, or polTeflbr of fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, to flop and detain the penalty he or (he fhall fufFer by this law, out of the wages of fuch overfeer or manager. XXXV. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforefaid. That the doctor or furgeon of every plantation, pen, or other fettlement, fhall, on the twenty-eighth day of December, in every year (the time of giving in as afore* faid) or within thirty days after, give \n an account, on oath, of the deaths of fuch flaVcs as have died in the pre- ceding year, or during fuch time as fuch do<5lor or furgeon hath had the care of the flavcs on fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, with the caufe of fuch death?, to the beft of his knowledge, judgment, and belief, under the penalty of one hundred pounds for every negle£t : And in cafe it fhall appear, to the fatisfaction of the jufliccs and veftry, from the return of the owner, overfeer, or manager afore- faid, that there has been a natural encreafe in the number of Haves on any fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlemcnt, the overfeer fhall be entitled to receive from the owner or proprietor of fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, the fum of three pounds for every flave born on fuch plantation, pen, or other fettlement, in the time aforefaid, and which fhall be then living, after deducting the de- creafe ; and the owner or proprietor of fui h plantation, pen, or other fettlement, fhall have a deduction from the iirfl of his or her publick taxes that fhall become due, of the WEST INDIES. «07 the Cam (o paid to the overfeer, on producing a certificate of the jufticcs and vedry of fuch encreafe, and a receipt of the overfeer for the fum fo paid. XXXVI. And, in order that further encouragement may be given to the encreafe and prore£lion of negro infants, Be it further Enabled by the authority aforefaid, That every female flave, who fliall have fix children liv- ing, (hall be exempted from hard labour in the field or otherwife, and the owner or pofleflbr of every fuch female flave fhall be exempted from all manner of taxes for fuch female flave, any thing in the act commonly called the poll-tax law, or any other of the tax laws of this ifland pafTed, or annually to be pafled, to the contrary notwith- ftanding ; and a deduction fliall be made for all fuch fe- male flaves from the taxes of fuch owner or pofleflbr, by certificate of the jufl:ices and veftry^ at the fame time, and in manner as directed in the cafe of an annual encreafe of the number of flaves as aforefaid ; Provided neverthelefs. That proof be given, on oath, to the fatisfa£tion of the faid juftices and veftry, not only that the requifite number of children, together with the mother, are living ; but alfo that the mother is exempted from all manner of field or other hard labour, and is provided with the means of aa cafy and comfortable maintenance. XXXVil. And whereas the more efFv^clually to con- Penalty b» ceal runaway flaves, or prevent their beinp; apprehended, ^""'^ negioes, ■'. ' '. fell » Sec. gram- tickets are given by Indian?, free negroes, or free mulat- in^ ticket* toes, Be it therefore Enacted by the authority aforefaid, ^® ^■""* That any Indian, free negro, or mulatto, granting or giv- ing fuch ticket, with fuch intent, {hall be deemed guilty of forgery, and fhall be liable to be tried for the faid offence before the fupreme court of judicature, or in either of the courts of aflize in this ifland where the offence fhall be committed ; and, on conviction, fhall fuifcr the lofs of freedom, tranfportation, or fuch other punifhment as the court, in their di(cretion, fhall tliink proper to inflidt. XXXVIII. And, 20S HISTORY OF THE Whi-es granting iuch tickets punifhable. Ktepers of {aoh, Sec, »o aijvern;e ruaawa; s. detain thrm until paid tbcir UcS} XXXVIII. And be it further F nailed by the autho- rity aforeCaid, That if fuch ticket (h..\\ be granted ov given by any white perfon, with fuch intent as aforefaid, to any flave or flaves, before or af:er his or their abfcnting tbenifjlves from t"heir owner, employer, overfeer, or ma- nager, fuch white perfon fhall be deemed guilty of for2;ery, and fliall be liable to be tried for the fame before the fu- preme court of judicature, or cither of the aflize courts of this ifland, where the offence {hall be committed ; and, on conviction, (hall fuffer fuch punifhment as th^court, in their dilcretion, fhall think proper to infiicl. XXXIX. And, to the end that the owners and pro- prietors of runaway flaves may have a due knowledge where fuch flaves are confined, after their being appre- hended and font to any workhoufe or gaol in this ifland, in order that fuch owners and proprietors may apply for fuch flaves ; Be it further Enacted by the juthority afore- faid, That, from and after the pafTtng of this act, all and every the keepers of the workhoufes, or gajl-keepers, in any of the pariflies of this iflaiu!, ftiall, and they are hereby obliged, once in every week, ro advcrtife in the Gazette of Suint Jago de la Vega, the Royal Gazette of Kingf- ton, and the Cornwall Chronicle, the heighth, name?, marks, and fcx, and alio the country, where the fame can be afcertaincd, of each and every runaway flave then in their cuftody, together with the time of their being fentr into cuftody, and the name or names of the owner or owners thereof, if knov/n, and that upon oath, under the penalty of ten pounds for every flave fo iTeglecled by him to be advertifed j and, for the expence of fuch advertife- ment, they the faid workhoufe-kcepers or gaol-keepers fhall and may, and they are hereby authorized to charge the owner or proprietor of fuch runaway flaves fo adver- tifed, at and after the rate of one fliiiling and tfuce-pence per month for each paper, and no more ; and that it fliall and may be lawful for the keeper of the workhoufe or gaol. W E S T I N D T E S. 209 gaol-keeper to detain anJ keep In his or their cudody iuch" runaway flave or flaves lb brought unto him or them, until the owner or owners thereof, or fonie perfon on their behalf, properly authorized, fhall pay unto him or them what he or they fo paid to the perfon or perfons who apprehended and brought fuch flave or flaves into cuftody, with two fliillings and fix-pence in the pound for laying out his or their money, the coll of advertifing, after the rate above mentioned, and fix-pence for every twenty-four hours fuch flave or flaves fball have been in cuftody, for maintenance, and two-pence per day for medical care and extraordinary noutiihment where neceflary, and alfo the charges of advertifing above directed, and no other fees whatever j and that the gaoler, workhjufc-keepei-, or fu- atteft riie pervifor, and no other perfon, (hall atieft, upon oath, that n-.iie-money the charges in the account for mile-money, and the reward ^'^' for apprehending fjch flave, were actually paid to the perfon who brought fuch runaway, and that the whole of the charges in the faid account are ftri^lly conformable to this law. XL. And be it further Enacled by the authority afore- ^"^•:' ''■■^'"» faid. That the keeper of every workhoufe or gaol in this ifland fnall, unJer the penalty of ten pounds for every neglecl, provide and give to every flave confined in fuch workhoufe or gaol, a fufficient quantity of good and wholefome provifions daily ; that is to fay, not lefs than one quart of ungrouud Guinea or Indian corn, or three pints of the flour or meal of either, or three pints of wheat flour, or eight full-grown plantains, or eight pounds of cocoas or yanis, and alfo one herring or (had, or ether faked provifions equal thereto. XLI. And be it further Ena(5led by the authority aforcr ^'}'^ ^'."^ faid. That no gaol-keeper in this ifland, or any perfon out. ^ctin^ under him as clerk or deputy, fliall, on any pre- tence whatfoevcr, v/ork or employ any flave or flaves fent to his cuftody, upon any plantation, pen, or fettlemcn^ Vol. II. P bclonaine 310 HISTORY OF THE Certain runaways, how liable to be pu- niihcd* Runaways ai-fent fix months, how puniihable. Slaves guilty of Obvah, how pujiifli- able. belonging to or in the pofleflion of any fuch gaol-keeper, nor hire or lend fuch flave or flaves out to work for arty other perfon or perfons, during fuch time fuch flave or flaves fliall be in his cuftody, but that all fuch flaves (hall be and remain in the common gaol of the county or pa- riftj, in order to be infpeclcd by any perfon or perfons de- firing the fame ; and in cafe any gaol-keeper (hall offend herein, he fhall, for every offence, forfeit the fum of fifty pounds. XLII. And be it further Enadled by the authority aforefaid, That all flaves who fhall have been in this ifland for the fpace of two years, and (hall runaway, and continue abfent for a term not exceeding fix months, fhall be liable to be tried by two jufliccs ; and, upon convidtion thereof, fuch flave or flaves fhall fuffer fuch punifhment as the faid juftices fhall think proper to inflift. XLIII. And be it further Enafted by the authority aforefaid, That if any flave fhall run away from his owner or lawful poflfeiror, and be abfent for more than fix months, fuch flave, being duly convitSled thereof, fhall be fentenced to be confined to hard labour for fuch time as the court fhall determine, or be tranfportcd for life, according to the ma^-nitude of the offence. XLIV. And, in order to prevent the many mlfchiefs that may hereafter arife from the wicked art of negroes going under the appellation of Obeah men and women, pretending to have communication with the devil and other evil fpirits, whereby the weak and fuperftitious are de- luded into a belief of their having full power to exempt them, whilft under their protection, from any evils that might otherwife happen ; Be it therefore Ena£ted by the authority aforefaid. That, from and after the pafTing of this aft, any flave who fhall pretend to any fupernatural power, in order to promote the purpofes of rebellion, fhall, upon conviftion thereof, fufi^cr death, tranfportation, or fuch Other punifhment as the court fhall think proper to dired; any WEST INDIES. 2ir any thing in this, or any other a6l, to the contrary in any- wife notwithftanding. XLV. And be it further Enafted by the authority aforefaid, That if any nee-ro or other flave fhall mix or Slaves at- _ _ ' ^_ _ tempting to prepare, with an intent to give, or caufe to be given, any poifon, to poifon or poifonous drug, or fhall actually give, or caufe " " " • to be given, any fuch poifon or poifonous drug, in the praflice of Obeah or otherwife, although death may not enfue upon the taking thereof, the faid flave or Haves, to- gether with their acceflaries, as well before as after the fadt (being flaves) being duly convidled thereof, (hall lufFer death, or tranfportation for life, as the court fhall determine; any thing in this, or any other aft, to the con- trary notwithftanding. XLVI. And whereas great number of horned cattle. Slaves pu- fheep, goats, horfes, mares, mules, and afles, are frequently ^j^^^ ^^^ ftolen and killed by negro and other flaves, in fo fecret and pofTemon private a manner that it is with the greateft difficulty they quantities of can be found out and difcovcred, in fuch manner as to ^'^^^ "^"'* convift them of fuch offence, although large quantity of beef, mutton, and the flefh of other valuable animals, are found upon him, her, or them ; in order, therefore, to pre- vent fuch evils in future, and to punifli the perpetrators of fuch acls, agreeably to their crimes, Be it further Enacted by the authority aforefaid, That if any negro or other flave fhall fraudulently have in his, her, or their cuftody or pof- feflion, unknown to his or h-^r mafter, owner, overfecr, or other perfon, who Ihall have the overlooking or employ- ing of fuch flave, any frefh beef, veal, mutton, or goat, or the flefli of horfe, mare, mule, or afs, in any quantity ex- ceeding five and not exceeding twenty pounds weight, fuch negro or other flave, upon due conviction thereof b;:fore any two magiftrates, fhall be whipped in fuch manner as fuch magiftrates fhall dircft, not exceeding thirty-nine lafhes ; and if there fhall be found in his, her, or their cuf- tody or pofTefTion, a larger or greater quantity than twenty P 2 pounds 2 12 HISTORY OF THE pounds wei^^ht of frcfli beef, veal, mutton, or goat, or the flelh of horfe, mare, mule, or ^fs, and fuch flave (hall not give a fatisfaciory account how he or fhe became poflefied of fuch meat, that then fuch negro or other flave, upon conviction thereof, fhall fufFer fuch punifliment as the faid two jufticcs fhall think proper to dircfl, not extending to life, or imprifonn-ient fui lite. Slaves ftcal. XLVII. And be it farther Enacted by the authority ini; horned i n n n r i cattle ho.v aforefaid, Tnat if any negro or ether flave fhall, after the puniihed. pafTing of this a£t, fteal any fuch horned cattle, fticep, goat, horfe, marc, mule, or af*, or (hall kill any fuch horned cat- tle, (heep, goat, horfe, mare, mule, or afs, with intent to Heal the whole carcafs of any fuch horned cattle, fhcep, goat, horfe, mare, mule, or afs, or any part of the flefli thereof, fuch negro or other flave (hall, on conviction thereof, fuffer death, or fuch other punifhment as the court fliall think proper to inflict. SI 'W5 guilty XLVin. And whereas it is nccefTary to declare how, of crimes ^^^ j^^ what manner, flaves fliall be tried for the feveral how t:ie(l. crimes which they may hereafter commit. Be it Enacted by the authority aforefaid. That from and after the paf?ing of this a6t, upon complaint made to any juftice of the peace of any felony, burglary, robbery, burning of houfe?, cane-pieces, rebellious confpiracies, compafHng or ima- gining the death of any white perfon or perfons, or any other ofFencc whatfocver committed by any (lave or flaves, tliat liiall fubjedt fuch flave or flaves to fufFer death or tranfportation, fuch juftice fliall ifTue out his warrant for appiehending fuch offender or offenders, and for all per- fons to be brought before him, or any other juftice of the peace, that can give evidence ; and the evidence of flaves againft one another, in this and all other cafes, fhall be received ; and if, upon examination, it appears probable that the flave or flaves apprehended is or are guiltv, the juftice before whom fuch examination fhall be had and taken, fhall commit him, her, or them, to prifon, and bind over WEST INDIES. 213 over the witnefTes to appear at a certain day, not lefs than ten days from the day on which the complaint fhall be made, and at the place where the quarter feffions are ufually held, and, where there are no quarter feHlons held, at the place where the parochial bufuiels is ufually tranfadled, and fhall certify to two other juftices of the peace the caufe of fuch commitment, and require them, by virtue of this afl, to aflbciate themfelves to him, which faid juftices are hereby feverally required to do, under the penalty of twenty pounds for every negle£l or refufal ; and the faid juftices, fo aficciated, ftiall iflue cut their warrant to fummon twelve perfons, ftich as are ufually warned and impanelled to ferve on iuries (the mafter, owner, or proprietor of the flave or flaves fo complained of, or the attorney, guardian, truftee, ovcrfeer, or book-keeper of fuch mafter, owner, or proprietor, or the perfon profecuting, his or her attor- ney, guardian, truftee, ovcrfeer, or book-keeper, always excepted) perfonally to be and appear before the faid juf- tices, at the day and place aforefaid, to be exprcfled in fuch warrant, and between the hours of eight and twelve in the forenoon, v^hen and v.'hcre the faid perfons fo warn- ed are hereby feverally required to attend, under the pe- nalty of five pounds ; and when and where the faid juftices fhall caufe the faid flave or flaves fo complained of to be brought before them, and thereupon nine of the faid per- fons fo fummoned as aforefaid, fhall compofc a jury to try the faid flave or flaves, and ftiall by the faid juftices (the charge or accuf^tion being fii ft read) be fvvorn to try the matter before them, and to give a true verdict according to evidence ; and fuch charge or accufation ftiall be deem- ed valid, if fufHcient in fubftance; and if the faid jurors ftiall, upon hearing the evidence, unanimoufly find the f-iid flave or flaves guilty of the oftence wherewith he, fhc, or they ftand charged, the faid juftices ftiall give fcntence of death, without benefit of clergy, or tranfportation, or confinement to hard labour for any limited time not ex- P 3 cecding 214- H I ST OR Y OF TH E ceeding two years, according to the nature of the offence, and fhall caufc fuch fentence to be carried into executioif? and at fuch time and place as they (hall think proper, wo- men with child onl"y excepted, whofe execution (hall be refpited until a reafonable time after delivery : Provided always neverthelefs, That at every court of quarter fcf- fions held in each and every parifh or precinfl: within this ifland, the juftices there aflembled (hall and may, after the ufual bufincfs of the faid court fhall be done, form them- felves into a court, for the purpofc of enquiring into, hear- ing, and determining all manner of offences for which any flave or flaves are liable to be puiiifhed with death, or tranfportation, or confinement to hard labour, as aforefaid, and (hall open the faid court by proclamation, declaring the fame to be a flave-court for fuch purpofe, and (hall thereupon, on the like charge in writing, and in like manner, in all other refpcdts, as the three juftices affo- ciated and met as herein before mentioned are, by this acf, diredled to proceed in the trial of (laves for fuch of- fences, proceed to try, and deliver the gaol or workhoufe within the faid parifh or precinct, of all and every (lave and flaves who (hall or may then be in the cuftody of the mar(hal or keeper of the workhoufe, within each and every parifli or precinifl as aforefaid, and fliall forthwith caufe a jury, coniifling of nine jur rs, to be called and taken from the panncl returned to the faid court of quarter fef- fions, and (liall caufe them to be feverally fworn, as they fhall appear, to try all and every fuch flave and flaves as (hall be brought before them, charged with any fuch of- fences as aforefaid, and a true verdi6l give according to evidence, as in other cafes. Jurors to XI .IX. And be it further Enaded by the authority lervc under aforefaid. That all and every the jurors who fhall be re- penalty. ' . , turned to ferve as jurors at the quarter-fcffions, to be holdcn as aforefaid, are hereby required, under the penalty of (ive pounds, to be and appear at the faid flave-court, fo WEST INDIES. aiS fo to be formed and holden as aforefaid, and to ferve as jurors thereon as they (hall refpeclively be called : Pro- vided alfo, that nothing in this adl contained fhall hinder or prevent the faid juftices, upon any fuch trial, where any flave or flaves fhall be condemned to die, from refpiting the execution of fuch fentence for any term not exceeding thirty days, or until the pleafure of the commander in chief fhall be known, in cafe proper caufe fhall appear to them forfo doing; and that if the jury upon any fuch trial fhall apply to the faid judices to fufpend the execution of any fentence until the pleafure of the commander in chief is known, the faid juftices fliall be obliged to fufpend the fame for thirty days, except in cafes of trial of any flave or flaves convicted of a£lual rebellion ; in all which cafes the faid juftices fliall, if they think it expedient, order the fentence pafTed on fuch flave or flaves to be carried into immediate execution. L. And be it further Enacted by the authority afore- Three jnf- faid. That not lefs than three juftices fhall conftitute a acourt. court for the trial of any flave or flaves for any crime or offence that fhall (libject fuch flave or flaves to fuffer death, tranfportation, or confinement to hard labour as aforefaid; an 1 that, upon all fuch trials, no peremptory challenges of any of the faid jurors, or any exception to the form of the indictment, fhall be allowed. LI. And be it further Enacled by th^ authority afore- Howexe- faid. That in all cafes where the punifliment of death is "'eXJ'meT inflidled, the execution fhall be performed in a publick part of the parifli and with due folemnity; and care fhall be taken by the gaoler or deputy-marfhal, that the cri- minal is free from intoxication at the time of his trial, and from thence to and at the time of his execution, under the penalty of Five pounds ; and the mode of fuch execution fhall be hanging by the neck, and no other; and tbe body fhall be afterwards difpofed of in fuch manner as die court (hall dire(51:: And provided alfo, that where P 4 feverai Z1& lUSTORYOFTtlE BOOK ftrvcral flavcs (hall be capitally convidled for the fanij? IV. offence, one only (hall fuftcr death, except in cafes o^ ' yr— ' murder or rebellion. Slaves giv- LJI. And be it further Enadled by the authority afore- evidence faid, That in cafe any flave or flavcs (hall wilfully, and niAed"' ^'^^ ^^'^^ intent, give falfe evidence in any trial had under this acl, fuch flave or flaves being thereof convicted, fhall fufter the fame punirtiment as the perfon or perfons on whofe trial fuch falfe evidence was given would, if con- victed, have been liable to fuffer. Wow f-es of LIII. And be it further Enacted by the authority afore- chlrged'by ^^''^^ That, where any flave or flaves fhall be difcharged prociaiTia- by proclamation, the deputy marfhal or workhoufe^kecper paij^ fliciii be entitled to receive all fuch fees as (hall be due to him or them for fuch flave or flaves at the time of fuch difcharge, from the publick, upon application and due proof made, in the moft folemn manner, to the aflembly, or any committee thereof, and that fuch flave or flaves, during the time they were in the cufliody of fuch dep'jty marfhal or workhoufe- keeper, was and were four^.d and provided with proper and fufficicnt provilions equal to v/hat is allowed by this law. Clerk of the LIV. And be it further Enacted by the authority cor"flavJ^' ^^•^'■cfaid. That a record fiiall be entered up of all pro- trials, ccedings on the trials of flavcs, for any crime that fhall fubjed any flave or flaves to fuffer death, tranfportaticn, or confinement to hard labour for the V^rm of two year?, in a book kept for that purpofe by the clerk of the peace, or his lawful deputy, of the precinct; who is hereby obliged to attend all fuch trials, and to record the pro- ceedings within thirty days after fuch trial, und.r the pe- nalty of twenty pounds for each neglect ; and he fhall be entitled to receive from the churchwaidens of fuch parifh the fum of two pounds fifteen fhillings, and no more, for attending each trial, entering up the record, and any other bufinefs incidental thereto ; And further, that the deputy* WEST INDIES. 217 il'eputy-marflial for the faid paridi, or feme proper perfon j^^ppE^^ acting under him, fliall alfo be obliged to attend fuch triai, j)ix. under the fame penalty of twenty pounds for each negledl ; i- -y- ,1 and that he fliall be entitled to receive from the church- wardens of fuch parifli forty fliillings, for attending at the trial and execution of fuch offender as (hall be condemned to die, and no more. LV. And be it further Enacted by the authority afore- Five days faid, That in all trials of any flave or flaves under this a£t, "•l'|"o**be fufficient notice of fuch trial fliall be firft given to the S'ven. owner, proprietor, or poffeffor of fuch flave or flaves, his, her, or their lawful attorney or attornies, or other re- prefentative or reprefentatives ; any law, cuftom, or ufage to the contrary notwith Handing. LVI. And be it further Ena«5led by the authority afore- Slaves exe- faid, That in all cafes where any flave or flaves fliall be taniJorted, put upon his, her, or their trial, and fliall receive fentence to be valued. of death or tranfportation, the court, at the time of trying fuch flave or flaves, fliall alf > enquire what fum or funis of money fuch owner, proprietor, or employer of the faid flave or flaves ought to receive for fuch flave or flaves, and certify the f:ime, fo that luch fum or fums of money do not exceed the fum of flxty pounds for each fl,ave fen* tenced as aforefaid. LVII. And be it further Enailed by the authority Suchvalua- aforefaid, That in all cafes where any flave or flaves fliall paid by rs- be brou2,ht to trial, and fliall be valued accordino; to the *^''"'"-S'=- bill, plaint, or information, wherein no cflbin, protec- tion, wager of law, or non vult ultcrius profequi, fhall be entered; one moiety of which penalties fhall be to the parifh where the offence is committed, and the other moiety to the informer, or him, her, or them who fhall fue for the fame. Vol. IL 2z6 HISTORY OF THE Book IV. o « u •2 .'* *-• -r} = cl (J O gj •.< •i: !>« -^ "o .S -:: -5 5 5 .S -i^ fs 2 y to ,"0 u) O O < ^ o "2 '^ o «»« S - '^ Ci] " rt 1-, '^ « w CO -5 (^ ^ . a «u '^ X C - " •7 ^-^'S H a! O ej W - J -g M o <: <^ ^ - «^ ^ c ■£ " •S »i: w -J v.- •> .S < o ;; £ > ■3 -T3 S? OS q O 00 .. VO N OS - ON \0 L^ 0\ O 00 t-^ ^ OS M 6s 00 ITS VO VO ^ » d « LCI T^- «^ OS o" OS OS 00 VO I I I 1 1 I ) I I I I I -t- o ij->iy^rnN ivor^—r^i-'vo — Os-+-t^voc«Dco OsOsr>.vo <^i-n^O f^^ro" t^wOSi^sOO -< rou~,-^ec O f^O t<^OS"- Cs — t^ 00 n <^ ir\ O t^ i^ t^ -i- rt- CO -^ CO N 4- ij-\ r> —• „ M t<^ •+ "^ vn r«. 00 0\ ^ M u u C) M ►-< r^ r^ 1 ^ t>^ r^ r^ r>» 1-^ r^ t>. t-^ 1- >» ■^ ■^ M M M « M " " Ap PINIJIX. WEST INDIES. ^^^ S ^ N N VO c< VO u^ \r\ Ml rv tn VO '-' ■" — •J . oo {-^ VO N N VO '*- Th ro ■^ m N un N Th *^ " "* "* •- -" •" "« -" •» h U-l r^ N \r\ o\ t<^ » o VO VO I\ 00 -"t- rf- rv. o • o NH ** OO 'f »^ ■H- W-i •-0 i<> o vO N o o H ^ oo -#• ON OO^ "^ ro HT- <<-) q u-> yj> r^ q r^ vq »^ r^ ** r^ N^ tn vn 6 VO VO 00 vO >+■ oo a* »-" VO y^ ON ^^ OV VO "*> N OO M-> CO ro " "" ^ ^* " N r< IM -5 •^ - I - 00 N e\ ON -^ ■^ N r«l OO 1 On rn jr. . 1 N U-l M CO o U-l On 1 t^ l~x n N ^ VO *n 1 "* •^ -" 1 ^ -^ '* ►- s « OO «<-» 00 t<-> 00 Ov N 00 00 -*- N ^ -^ ^ , r>« MD VO -;t- VO N U-, N tJ- r<^ VC o LT) N oo G ^? 00 i^ c*^ ^~r\ N o^ q Tt- ^4 CO N ^H t^ V/l to ea «\ •> r<~) OO tv. «^ t^ rC r>. o\ r^ VO vO H^ rg r^ 4- o N N N '>^ LA '^^ r<-> VO r^ ■-• t^ N >o i>^ r^. " m* " *^ o o 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 -5 ►H li 3 S r<^ rt M o 1 Ov N t-^ "-« r<-> 1 ■-< o VO m 1 1 ^J <2 3 C >4 00 Lr\ •^ 1 r}- v/-^ 0\ tJS r*• 00 0\ t^ VO » N Ob 00 tv. N VO m o «J^ C*! •<4- 'i*- ro oo r<~) OO r) O »4 ^T- VO t>. oo C4 •^ i^ "^ .t; 00 T<^ N ur> ur, '^ N O ■^ 1^ O CN N O VO CQ N i-TN oo t- >-■ N < -+• 0\ ■^ CO ^ VO M% VO U/l W-i tr> r^-<*-tovO t>»00 OnO "< Q.Z 228 HISTORY OF THE Book IV. ;S ^ c:i ei Co 'A < •>5 j^ vr\ t^ -^ tJ-\ 0\ w^ O o t^ N 1 1 „ r^ "* •^ 1 1 -' u . t 1^ 00 N < •*» "" -" "" "■ ►" h o rr^ o O M^ O t-- 'J- 0\ m O 00 ro r^ ^ W^ , O 00 o\ o O OO co 1-4 <-<-> o "1- r^ -t- ov OO ^ rf r^ VC o r^ >q • O vo 4- OO 00 d r^ ■«♦- t-^ dv O rT O 00 LTl vO O o N M ro C\ «<^ 1^ m f^ " N N N N " n ts H " *^ ** c N ■-3 c >: VO \o r<-> N -. tJ^ -+• ON r^ -<*- Ln -^ O - M N t^ ut „ 1 t^ r-^ ■<1- i^ o\ o\ 00 o^ N o\ t W "* — 1 -< •^ "» "" •" ■" i <^ •^ „ r^ '*• ^ o oo -* r^ po «~o O PO VO o OO O N iO 00 r<^ C7\ ro N VO tJ- r^ 00 r^ c 10 S? o •Hh q q N r^ U/-1 vq m N p^ N qv q rv N VO i-i «j-> VO OO VO r>\ Lr> o" vd N d\ vd r^ i-. ^H u-> Lr> o mm t>. r^ o\ C tM i-<^ r^ VO VO r^ O *^ " " *^ " " " •a o o o 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 ■-5 c 3 •^ ■* N "^ -*- t<^ K^ o\ 00 N o N « "^ '"' ^* 'i! . ^^ ■^ t^ rn N tv. t^ 1 ^ -+ u~l VO c> VO c<-i 3 C H — •* 1 ►" "- n O i^ 00 VO VO u^ -^ ^ 0\ N Tt- o r'^ 00 00 ^ o o\ OO ^^ ■>*• o -*- N t^ 00 r^ VO O o ^ '<^ 00 vq q r^ O^ r^ vq 00 CO •o u^ r^ VO tS •s «« i<-> VO o\ ^* c^ d N O tC r^ o tC. O i^ M ,ti t^ a\ o o 00 u-> U-i fO 00 O N 00 -+- so U^ a l-l ** " ^ O • VO c 1 1 — J^ 1 1 1 1 1 1 <-o 1 1 1 1 I o 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ^ 1 1 1 1 H o o en 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 1 OS 1 1 1 1 1 Q. 1 1 ►* 1 1 1 1 1 1 o 1 1 1 1 1 Ic •" •-■ cn » oo CN o „ N »»^ ■^ ur> VO 1^ 00 OS O „ N k. N N ^»^ t^ ro rn »0 ro r<-> m <^ «-n -*• -<»- -*- 4i t^ 1-^ t^ t^ r>. r^ r>< rv r^ t->. r^ r-^ r^ 1^ 1-^ >< " '^ m M « w ** " "* Appendix, WEST INDIES. 229 •^' M » 1 00 C?\ f^ •<^ 1 » -<1- VO 1 VO cc VO , . 1^ tn r^ « f<^ ■<^ ^ rt- f*N 00 r^ 1 ON N VO l-J >^ 1 < h 00 r^ o\ ^ M On n VO 1^ N 00 ON , ■^ C\ r~^ r-^ r<^ ON ^ N VO >o r^ 00 c^ 0\ ^ q 0^ fo •dh MD ^ t^ vq q r^ q vq T -^ 00^ d\ u-> t^ r^ vd r^ 00 d 'J- vd u-» ur\ en 00 -?• tc C> r^ »• 00 ro CN MD -^ fn h^ ro f^ 00 Ln VO N ■^ """ N ^^ N N M N ** " "^ " N ->^ ^ 1 K^ ly-i 1 ro 00 VO VO N I f^ 00 o\ ■<*- t-» -5 1 1 1 n . 1 *J> VO 1 't- c 1 \o f<^ "< t^ Ov 00 ro ■^ *^ 1 1 f w s M •^ vy% «^ rj- OS M >*■ u-» li-i M N VO . tJ-1 00 r^-, 00 LO «^ »4 m VO lJ-> ro t<^ 00 fc* r^ r2 '-sj l-r> r^ r^ r^ U-, vy~. NO^ N Cl q q »M ON OS r-. 1^ So '^ »* d r^ 4- r^ r>. VO 00*" ro -t- c5\ 00 " N U1 rj- nO N 00 00 "« 00 VO 00 VO ^ 't- »j-» Uh -0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -5 3 >3 0\ - Ox r<^ o\ '!»- 00 VO t^ N - -+■ 0\ - ^^ N ■4 M " " N " "^ "* VD r^ t^ •^ N t^ N vO r>. • M 'd- N •-0 O-v »4 r<-» >-o c 1 ro 1 I 1 1 1 1 00 ro q^ r^ VO CTs 00 M 1 4- 1 1 1 1 1 1 C3N - N 0" tC CO r^ N ^ 1 r<-) 1 1 1 1 1 1 -t- VO VO H- VO '^ <~0 cu 1 *-r\ 1 1 1 1 1 1 ON CM N 00 1^. 15 Imt »4 1*4 ^4 in ^ r<-i •«*- u-v VO r^ CO Os ^ n r« 'i- ur\ VO r^ 00 p: -+ -&■ -4- Tt- Tf- 'i- ^ >^ l^ '^\ vn vr» vr^ wo 10 >0 >' t^ r^ t^ t~^ r>» r^ t^ t^ t-^ r>. t^ t^ as 210 HISTORY OF THE Book IV. • >: 1 - « r>i ■<1- N ■^ I 00 00 ^ o\ 'J- r<^ - ITS O 1 „ 00 On 'i- -*• N LT, C\ t^ NO f^ » o N "" 1 -" "-< « ■" '-' "" •* H o CO r^ r^ 00 CO -<1- O »J% o o ^ O N M rv. ro oo vn C7\ 00 o rr) O t* b V •<*- UAl rn ~ 00 00 O r^ o f^ o v/» t*^ ■^ vr> iy> in ro ro •*- rr\ vn 00 N m tart N VO oo Vii N rt- N r-^ VD ^ vO OS i-r\ .^ O r^ ^m O oo ■>♦• w tO ro C4 ■^ -t •*■ ^ iJ-\ VO MD ur> J~^ 00 VO s i «5 S •^ .■S- V 1^*^"" I 0\i-iij-irJ-u-iNCNON*^»"fOO\ ^? - uo i^ r^ ■sh O 00 O tr> — N 00 o r-^ r^ C\ vn ^ N o O r^ o VO t^ un oo <> 0\ r> o l^ *- L/^ oo i^ IJ-l o »<^ V.O 0\ o o t^ 1^ vO J ^ () r^ o «j-> M 0\ V.O oo ro 'i- Tt- ( ^ L« tJ- «<-i r^ uri CN •-■ M ON ~" N ro 1 I I I i I 1 1 I I i I 0\ O >-i 00 «- «-^ 00 f^ ^ N o o\ •«^ o ON'-^'^«~n<^vo 0\ " — ro 00 ■»}- 00 NO 00 -^ in CO — N -^ O 4- »o ON m Os 00 1 N t-v o On ON N Th U-N C7\ «n ^ VO ^ NO 00 • -*• 00 vo ro O lil VO On r^ t1- »m 0\ N ON •M N vn vn •4- ON o. r^ NO f^ 'i- I-. N N u VO N e c rP. i»-> Vi-l -^ 00 »«^ ao m NO rn ■^ NO o o in r^ ^. . O 00 ra f*^ «^ r<-i t -* u. >>-> ■o NO NO VO NO VO NO NO VO NO l>. t>^ r-* 1^ r>. t^ r^ 1^ r -^ t-N r^ M r-^ t^ r^ Jv. Ap pendix. WEST INDIES. *3' ^ \ oo o\ 00 VO r^ t^ *) '>*- » N VO o c^ ^ On l^ N ^^ r^ to t>. 00 CO CO t^ to lA <-<-> iA to^ L/% oo M oo •0 VO t^ -<*- N t<^ r>. VO VO oo NO >j ooo c^^ vot^voONt^rvoo o ■-• i? 0\** O\tototo>i00 no t^w "-• <^ to OO T*- n „ M VO Oi 00 00 NO ON to o\ -*- N C7\ l~>. tj On T*- O O O VO N o On ^4 N VO co NO ^4- N ^ ■* t^ ^4 r^ O (^ 00 On O -*■ t< to N NO -* VO N QQ •-« to 00 to to "^ 00 to N NO VO ON ^ I ^ On t^ T^ N tv. M -^ o\ ^ to NO 00 M ■^ tJt »• N ON t.r\ — N to r-^ ly to NO o NO o-> U NO NO ^ O r* NO NT) ^ M-) vO to ^M to N sO NO o Cn U-v to ■t VO 1^ r^ VO N „ r^ 00 ^ O On VO On "- oo O to On ON t* O to — — N "^ O N to -1 1^ NO — 00 O VO cr^ T^ VO ■»!• to ^O NO oo On — O -* to O -< f~- to -"^ to »o to — r>. oo NO 00 NO rv. to o ro O ■* N ON On o -^ \0 •-> N^ N M » N N to N ^ 00 00 to r-. On o On NO NO r-v .^ VO O VO ^ t< VO r^ NO to On rj- to »H N4 K^ f~^ i-i CO VO NO r-» 00 On O _ f< to ->*- VO NO t^ C] r^ r^ r^ r^ oo 00 cc oo 00 OS oo 00 r>« 1^ r^ r~x rv t^ f^ 1^ 1^ r>. r^ 1^ rv. >* •• M >•» pm •-• ►" ■• M »^ ON NO CN ON to « NO *~* »o N VO N VO to O to ON o On to 00 00 00 M VO o^ o VO N VO N O^ NO VO VO VO O to ON VO i4 o o o h M < w h o Q 25 0.4 THE HISTORY, • CIFIL AND COMMERCIAL, O F The Britifli Colonies in the Weft Indies, BOOK V. AGRICULTURE. CHAP. L Sugar cane. — Known to the ancients. — ConjeSIures concerning its introdu5iion into Europe. — Con- veyed from Sicily to the Azores, &c. in the i c^th icenttiry, and from thence to the PFefi Indies. — Evidence to prove that Columbus himfelf carried it from the Canary IJlands to Hifpaniola. — Sum- mary of P. ]Labat's reafoning to demon/Irate that it was found growing fpontaneoufly in the Wefl Indies. — Both accounts reconciled. — Botanical ^ame and defcription. — Soils befis adapted for its cultivation, and their varieties, dcfcribed.—Ufe find advantage of the plough. — Ujual method of holing and planting. — Seafon proper for planting, ' — Blafl, — Manures.' — Improvements fuggefled. N treating of the agriculture of the Weft Indian Iflands, the firft obje>fl that naturally excites attention is the c^ne which produces their W E S T I N D I E S. 23J their great ftaple commodity, fugar ; — a plant chap. which, from its commercial importance and ge- ^ ^• neral utility, we may venture to pronounce one of the mod valuable in the creation. The an- cient name of the cane was Sacchariim. This word was corrupted, in monkifh Latin, into Zu- charum^ and afterwards into Ziicra. By the Spa- niards it was converted into A(ucar, from whence Sugar. The plant is a native of the eaft, and was probably cultivated in India and Arabia time immemorial. The fweet- cane is mentioned twice in the Old Teftament *, as an article of mer- chandize ; and there is a pailage in Diofcorides which feems to imply, that the art of granulating the juice by evaporation was pradifed in his time ; for he defcribes fugar as having the ap- pearance of fait, and of being brittle to the teeth, Salis modo coaBum eji ; dentibus lU Jal fragile. Lucan, enumerating the eaftern auxiliaries of Pompey, defcribes a people who ufed the cane- juice as a common drink, Qulque bibiint tenerd dukes ah arundine fuccos. Lafitau conjedures, however, that the plant itfelf was unknown in Chriftendom, until the time of the Croifades. Its cultivation, and the niethod of expreffing and purifying the juice, as * Ifaiah, ch. xliii, v. 24. Jeremiah, eh, vi. v. zo. pradifed 234 HISTORYOFTHE pradVifed by the inhabitants of Acra and Tripoli, are defcribcd by Albertus Aquenjis, a monkifli writer, who obferves, that the Chriftian foldiers in the Holy Land frequently derived refrefhment and fupport, in a fcarcity of provifions, by fucking the canes *. It flouriflied alfo in the Morea, and in the Iflands of Rhodes and Malta, and from thence was tranfported into Sicily ; but the time is not precifely afcertained : Lafitau recites a donation of William, the fecond king of Sicily, to the monaftery of St. Bennet, of a mill for grinding fugar-canes, with all its rights, mem- bers, and appurtenances. This happened in 1166. From Sicily, the Spaniards are faid to have conveyed the cane to the Azores, Madeira, the Canary and Cape-de-verd Iflands, foon after they were difcovered in the 15th century ; and from fome one of thofe iflands it has been fuppofed to have found its way, at an early period, to Brafil and the Wefl Indies j " producing a commerce (fays Lafitau) which has proved more valuable than the mines of Peru." Such is the commonly-received opinion re- fpedling the hiflory of this valuable produdion. • The fame author, in his account of the reign of Baldwin, relates, that the Crufaders took eleven camels, laden with fugar, lb that it muft have been made in confidcrable quan- tities. Herrera WEST INDIES. 235 Herrera pofitively afTerts, that the fugar-cane chap. was tranfplanted into Hifpaniola from the Ca- ^ Jj nary Iflands, in the year 1506, by a Spaniard of the name of Aguilon (a) ; but in this inftance the refpedtable hifhorian, however correal in ge- neral, is clearly miftaken ; it appearing by the teftimony of Peter Martyr, in the third Book of his firft Decad, written during Columbus's fecond expedition, which began in 1493, ^'"'^ ended in 1495, ^^"'^^ ^^^^ fugar-cane was, at that period, fufficiently known in Hifpaniola. The fa6t feems to have been, that Columbus himfelf carried it thither among other articles and productions which he conveyed from Old Spain and the Canary Iflands, in his fecond voyage. Martyr's account is as follows : — " Ad foetus " procreandos, equas, oves, juvcncas, et plura " alia cum fui generis mafculis : legumina, tri- " ticum, hordeum, et reliqua ijs limilia, non *' folum alimenti, verum etiam feminandi gratia, " prcefeclus apparat : vitcs et aliarum noftratium *' arborum plantaria, quibus terra ilia caret ad " eam important : nullas enim apud eas infulas " notas arbores invenere prseter pinus palmafquc *' et eas altiffimas, ac mira^ duritiei et proceritatis *' ac redVitudinis, propter foli ubertatem ; atque " etiam ignotos frudVus alias plures procreantes. (a) Vol. i. p. 320. *' Terram 236 HISTORYOFTHE " Terrain aiunt efle terrarum omnium quas am- " biunt fidera, uberrimam." Although in th*s pafTage the fugar-cane is not exprefsly enu- merated, it is evident that it was not confidered by Colnmbus as a native of the countr)' ; for he could not pofTibly have been unacquainted with this production, which grew in great perfe(5lion in Valencia, and other parts of Spain j yet he found, it feems, on his arrival, no trees or plants in the newly-difcovered country, of which he had any previous knowledge, excepting only the pine and the palm. That the cane was then there, appears from a fubfequent palTage ; in which, fpeaking of fuch vegetable productions as the Spaniards had fown or planted in an inclofed garden immediately after their arrival, Martyr has thefe words, which, combined with the former, are, as I conceive, decifive of the quef- tion. — " Melones cucurbitas, cucumeres et aha id genus, in diem fextum et trigefimum carp- ferunt. Sed nulcjuam fe mcliores unquam co- rned iffe aiebant. H^c hortenfia, toto anno ha- bent recent ia. Cannarum radices ex quarum fucco face arum extorqueter,Jed non coagulatur JuclUS^ cu- bit ales carinas intra quindecimum etiam diem emi" Jerunty On the other hand, there are authors of great learning and induftry, who maintain that the fugar-cane is a native both of the iflands and the ■2 continent WEST INDIES. 237 continent of America, within the troplcks. They affert, that it was found growing fpontaneoufly in many parts of the new hemifphere, when firft explored by the Spanilh invaders. P. Labat, who appears to have confidered the qucftion with a laborious attention, is decidedly of this opi- nion (b), and he quotes, in fupport of it, among other authorities, that of Thomas Gage, an Englifhman, who went to New Spain in 1625, and of whom I have had occafion to fpeak in a former part of this work. Gage's voyage is now before me, and it is certain that he enumerates fugar-canes among the fruits and provifions fup- plied the crew of his fliip by the Charaibes of Guadaloupe. " Now," obferves Labat, " it is a fa<5t that the Spaniards had never cultivated an inch of ground in the fmaller Antilles. Their Ihips commonly touched at thofe iflands indeed, for wood and water, and they left fwine in the view of fupplying with frefh provifions fuch of their countrymen as might call there in future ; but it were abfurd in the higheft degree to fup- pofe, that they would plant fugar-canes, and put hogs alhore at the fame time to deftroy- them. " Neither had the Spaniards any motive for bellowing this plant on iflands which they (h) Tom. III. c. XV. p. 20. confidered 238 HISTORYOFTHE confidered as of no kind of importance, except for th^ purpofe that has been mentioned ; anld to fuppofe that the Charaibes might have cul- tivated, after their departure, a produ6lion of which they knew nothing, betrays a total ig- norance of the Indian difpofition and chara(fter. " But," continues Labat, " we have furer teftimony, and fuch as proves, beyond all con- tradiction, that the fugar-cane is the natural produdion of America. For, befidcs the evi- dence of Francis Ximenes, who, in a Treatife on American plants, printed at Mexico, aflferts, that the fugar-cane grows without cultivation, and to an extraordinary fize, on the banks of the river Plate (c), we are allured by Jean de Lery, a pro- teftant minifter, who was chaplain, in 1556, to the Dutch garrifon in the fort of Coligny, on the river Janeiro, that he himfelf found fugar- canes in great abundance in many places on the banks of that river, and in fituations never vifited by the Portuguefe. Father Hennepen, and other voyagers, bear teflimony in like manner to the growth of the cane near the mouth of the .MilTiflippi J and Jean de Laet to its fpontaneous produftion in the Illand of St. Vincent. It is not for the plant itfelf, therefore, but for the (^cj Pifo obferves, " In provincia Rio de la Plata, Cannas Saccliari f^jonte cnafci, adolefcereque in arbori jToceritatem, atquc chr)ftalla iaccharea xftu foils exfudare, conftat." fecret W E S T I N D I E S. 239 fecret of making lugar from it, that the Weft Indies arc indebted to the Spaniards and Por- tuguefc; and thefe to the nations of the eaft." Such is the reafoning of Labat, which the learned Lafitau has pronounced incontrovertible ; and it is greatly ftrengthened by recent difcove- ries j the fugar-cane having been found in many of the iflands of the Pacifick Ocean, by our late illuftrious navigator Captain Cook. In thefe accounts, however, there is no con- tradiction. The fugar-cane might have grown fpontaneoufly in many parts of the New World ; and Columbus, unapprized of the circumftance, might likewife have carried fome of the plants to Hifpaniola, and fuch I believe was the fact. But be this as it may, the induftry with which the Spanifli fettlers applied themfelves to its cultiva- tion, affords a wonderful contrafl to the manners of the prefent inhabitants ; it appearing by the teflimony of Oviedo, that no lefs than thirty mgenios, or fugar-mills, were eflablifhed on that ifland fo early as 1535. The botanical name of the fugar-cane is Anin- do Saccharifera. It is a jointed reed terminating in leaves or blades, whole edges are finely and Iharply ferrated. The body of the cane is ftrong but brittle, and when ripe of a fine ftraw colour, inclinable to yellow ; and it contains a foft pithy fubftance, which affords a copious fupply of juice f4o HISTORY OF THE BOOK juice of a fvvcetnefs the leaft cloying and mofl V. agreeable in nature. The intermediate dif- tance between each joint of the cane varies according to the nature of the foil ; — in general it is from one to three inches in length, and from half an inch to an inch in diameter. The length of the whole cane depends likewife upon circumftanccs. In llrong lands and lands richly manured, I have feen fome that meafured twelve feet from the ftole to the upper joint. The general height however (the flag part excluded) is from three feet and a half to feven feet, and In very rich lands the ftole or root has been known to put forth upwards of one hundred fuckers or fhoots fdj. (d) The tops of canes fometimes flioot up in arrtnvs^ de- corated at the top with a pinnacle, the ghimes of which con- tain a whitifli duft, or rather feed ; yet thefe being foued never vegetate, as 1 have heard, in the Weft Indian iflands ; a circumftance which perhaps may be adduced as a proof that the cane is not the fpontaneous produdion of this part of the world. In Abyflinia and other parts of the Eaft it is eafily raifed from the feed. Fid. Bruce's Travels. Since the firft edition of this work was pubiiflied, Sir Jofeph Banks has fatisfied me that there are feveral varieties exifting in the cane with which we are vvholly unacquainted in tlie Weft Indies. I have feen, in his pofTeflion, a dried fpecimen that was brought originally from the South Seas, which, as far as can be judged by its prefent appearance, is of a far fupcrior fort to the fpecies cultivated in our iflands. It is not only of greater length in the whole, but the diftance between the joints is nearly twice as great as in the fineft canes I ever beheld. It WEST INDIES. a4» It may be fuppofcd that a plant thus rank c h A P^ and fucculent, requires a ftrong and deep foil to ^' bring it to perfedion, and, as far as my own obfer- vation has extended, I am of opinion that no land can be too rich for that purpofe. — When bad fugar is made from fat and fertile foils, properly Ctuated, I am inclined to impute the bhme, rather to mifmanagement in the manufaa/ftv/ X'^/^fi// r/n>/ ,/,y,m;,/ SI'GARMILI. /y ('t/„;i n' Vlrc/Avf/C.'y V/' '^'•' ft V W E S T I N D I E S. 263 eight parts of pure water, one part of fugar, and c h a p. one part made of grofs oi! and mucilaginous gum, ^ ^^• with a port*on of effential oil. The proportions are taken at a medium; for fome juice has been fo rich as to make a hogfhead of fugar from thirteen hundred gallons, and fome fo waterj' as to require more than double that quantit3^— By a hogfliead I mean fixtecn hundred weight. The richer the juice is, the more free it is found from redundant oil and gum ; fo that an exaft analyfis of any one quantity of juice, would con- vey very little knowledge of the contents of any other quantity ff J. The ment, the addition to the middle roller of a lantern-wheel, with trundles or wallowers, was purely his ow n. Thefe act as fo many friclion-wheels, and their utility and importance are beft demonftrated by their efFecl. A cattle or mule-mill on the old model was thought to perform exceedingly well if it paffed fufficient canes in an hour to yield from 300 to 3^0 gallons of juice. — The common return of a mill on Mr. WooUery's conftru(9:ion is from 4 to 500 gallons.— I have authority to fay, that one of thefc mills in particular, which is worked with ten' mules, produces hourly 500 gallons ; at this rate, allowing four hours out of the twenty-four for lofs of time, the return per diem is 10,000 gallons ; being equal to 36 hogfheads of fugar of 16 cwt. for e/ery week during the crop, exclufive of Sundays. — Few water-mills can exceed this. Tne iron-work of the mill in queftion, as well as of moft of thofe which have been made on Mr. Woollerv's model, was prepared at the foundery of Mr. Thomas Gould- iiig, of the Bank Side, Southwark, to whom I ovve it in juftice to declare, that his work is executed w ith fuch truth and accuracy, as refleft the higheft credit on his manufadory, (c) A pound of fugar from a gallon of raw liquor, Is S 4 reckoned a64 HISTORY OFTHE The above component parts are natural to, and are found in, all cane -juice ; befides whichr the following matters are ufually coLiained in it. Some of the bands or green tops, which ferve to tie the canes in bundles, are frequently ground in, and yield a raw acid juice exceedingly dif- pofcd to ferment, and render the whole liquor four. Some pieces of the trafh or ligneous part of the cane ; fome dirt ; and lafliy, a fubftance of fome importance, which, as it has no name, I will call the cruji. The cruft is a thin black coat of matter that furrounds the cane between th« joints, beginning at each joint and gradually growing thinner the farther from the joint up- wards, till the upper part between the joints ap- pears entirely free from it, and refumes its bright yellow colour. It is frequently thick enough to be fcalcd off by the point of a penknife. It is a fine black powder, that mixes with the clammy exudations perfpired from the cane, and is mod probably produced by animalcula. As the fairnefs of the fugar is one of the marks of its goodnefs, a fmall quantity of iuch a fubftance muft con- fiderably prejudice the commodity. The procefs for obtaining the fugar is thus condudled. The juice or liquor runs from the receiver to the boiling- houfe, along a wooden reckoned in Jamaica ver}' good yielding. Sugar, chemically analyfed, yields phlegm, acid, oil, and fpongy glofly charcoal. gutter W E S T I N D I E S. a65 gutter lined with lead. In the boIUng-houfe It is received (according to the modern improved fyftem v^hich almoft univerfally prevails in Ja- maica) into one of the copper pans or cauldrons called clarifiers. Of thefe, there are commonly three ; and their dimenfions are generally deter- mined by the power of fupplying them with liquor. There are water-mills that will grind with great eafe canes fufficient for thirty hogfr heads of fugar in a week. On plantations thus happily provided, the means of quick boiling are indifpenfibly requifite, or the cane-liquor will un- avoidably become tainted before it can be ex- pofed to the fire. The pureft cane-juice will not remain twenty minutes in the receiver without fermenting (d) . Clarifiers, therefore, are fome- times feen of one thoufand gallons each. But as powers of the extent defcribed are uncommon, I (liall rather confine myfelf to fuch properties as faU (J) As cane-juice is fo very liable to ferment, it is ne- ceflary alfo that the canes fliould be ground as foon as pof- lible after they are cut, and great care taken to throw afide thofe which are tainted, which may afterward be ground for the ftill-houfe. Perhaps it is not an extravagant hope that the time will come, when the fait of the cane which we call fugar, will be made to chryftallize, by the aftion of fire on the juice of the cane, in as pure and tranfparent a form, as the fait of fea- water is frequently made to do in thefe climates, by the adion of the fua's rays. The brown colour of mufcovado fugar, feems 266 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK fall within the reach of daily obfervation ; to i)ian- V. tations, for inftancc, that make on a medium during crop-time, from fifteen to twenty hot^f- heads of fugar a week. On fuch eftates, three clarifiers of three or four hundred gallons each, are fufficient. With pans of this fize, the liquor, when clarified, may be drawn off at once, and there is leifure to cleanfe the veflels every time they are ufcd. Each clarifier is provided either with a fyphon or cock for drawing off the liquor. It has a flat bottom, and is hung to a feparate fire, each chimney having an iron Aider, which being fhut, the fire goes out for want of air. Thefe circumdances are indifpenfible, and the advantages of them will prefently be fhewn (e). The feems to me to be derived chiefly from the effect of fire, operat- ing on the gummy parts or mucilage of the raw juice; to de- flroy or feparate which, in the firft clarifier, is the great de- fideratum. If this could be accompliflied, the more watery particles might afterward be evaporated without injuring the colour of the eflential fait, which would then ftrike into chryflals nearly tranfparent. (c) The clarifiers are commonly placed in the middle or at one end of the boiling houfe. If at one end, the boiler called the teache is placed at the other, and fevtral boilers (generally three) are ranged between them. The teache is ordinarily from 70 to 100 gallons, and the boilers between the clarifiers and teache diminifli in fize from the firft to the laft. Where the clarifiers are in the middle, there is ufually a fet of three boilers of each fide, which conftitute in efFeift a double boiling-houfe. On very large eflates this arrange- a mtnt WEST INDIES. The ftream then from the receiver having filled the clarifier with frefli liquor, and the (ire being lighted, the temper^ which is commonly Briftol white-lime in powder, is ftirrcd into it. One 2;reat intention of this is to neutralize the fuperabundant acid, and which to get properly rid of, is the great difficulty in fugar- making. This is generally efFefted by the Alkali or lime ; part of which, at the fame time, becomes the bafis of the fugar. The quantity necefTary for this purpofe, muft of courfe vary with the qua- lity both of the lime and of the cane-liquor. — Some planters allow a pint of Briftol lime to every hundred gallons of liquor; but this pro- portion I believe is generally found too large. The lime is perceptible in the fugar both to the fmell and tafte, and precipitates in the copper pans a black infoluble calx, which fcorches the bottom of the vefTels, and is not detached with- out difficulty. I conceive therefore that little more than half the quantity mentioned above, is a better medium proportion, and, in order that lefs of it may be precipitated to the bottom, an inconveniency attending the ufe of dry lime, Mr. Boufie's method of diflblving it in boiling water, rr.ent is found ufeful and neceflary. The objetflion to fo great a number is the expence of fuel, to obviate which in feme degree, the three boilers on each fide of the clarifiers arc comironly hung to one fire. previous 266 HISTORY OF THE previous to mixing it with the cane-juice, appears to me to be highly judicious (f). As the fire encreafes in force, and the liquor grows hot, a icum is thrown up, which is formed of the mucilage or gummy matter of the cane, with fome of the oil, and fuch impurities as the mucilage is capable of entangling. The heat is now fuffered gradually to encreafe, until it rifes (f) This gentleman (Mr. Boufie) to whom the alTembly of Jamaica gave j^. i,oco for his improvements in the art of fugar-boiling, in a paper diftribiitcH by him among the members, recommends the ule of a vegetable alkaliy or afhes of wood calcinated, fuch as pimento-tree, dumb-cane, fern- tree, cafhcw, or logwood, as affording a better temper than quick-lime; but he was afterwards fenfible that fugar formed on the bails of fixed alkaline falts never Hands the fea, uniefs fome earth is joined with the falts. Such eaj-th as approaches neareft to that which is the bafis of allum, would perhaps be moft proper. As fugar on a vegetable alkaline bafis, is ge- nerally as much fupcrior in colour, as that on iime is in grain ; how far a judicious mixtiire of vegetable alkaline falts and lime, might prove a better temper than either lime or alkaline falts alone, is an enquiry that ought to be purfued. If there were no redundant acid in cane-liqunr^ lime and any other clkal'i would be hurtful, as may be flievvn by adding a few o-rains of lime or alkali to a clear folution of refined fuaar : a precipitation will enfue. In fome parts of Jamaica, where the cane-liquor was exceedingly rich, Mr. Boufie made very good fugar without a particle of temper, I have faid, that too much temper is perceptible in the fugar, both to the fmell and tafte ; it might be added, and alfo to the fight. It tinges the liquor firft yellow, and if in excefs turns it to a dark red. Too much temper Ukewife prevents the mclafles from fepa- rating from the fugar when it is potted or put into tlie hogfliead. i WEST INDIES. 269 to within a few degrees of the heat of boiling g h a p, water. The liquor muft by no means be fuffered 1 1 to. boil : it is known to be fufficiently heated when the fcum begins to rife into bliders, which break into white froth, and appear in general m about forty minutes. The damper is then ap- plied, and the fire extinguillicd ; after which, the liquor is fuffered to remain a full hour, if circumftances will admit, undifturbed ; during this interval great part of the teculencies and impurities will attract each other, and rife in the fcum. The liquor is now carefully drawn oft*, either by a fyphon, which draws up a pure de- fecated ftream through the fcum, or by means of a cock at the bottom. In either cafe the fcum fmks down unbroken as the liquor flows, its tenacity preventing any admixture. The liquor is received into a gutter or channel, which con- veys it to the evaporating boiler, commonly called the grand copper, and, if originally produced from good and untainted canes, will now appear al- moft, if not perfeftly, tranfparent fg.) The advantage of clarifying the liquor in this manner, inftead of forcing an immediate ebullition, as pradlifed formerly, is vifible to the CgJ The merit of introducing into Jamaica the clarifiers at prefent in ufe, witli fyphons and dampers, was claimed by- Mr, Sam-nel Sainthill, and an'exclufive patent, to feciire his claim, was granted to him in 1778 by an adt of the aflembly. mod 270 HISTORY OFTHE mofl inattentive obferver. The labour which it faves in rcumming Is wonderfuL Neither can fcumming properly cleanfe the fubjcft ; for when the liquor boils violently, the whole body of it circulates with fuch rapidity, as to carry down again the very impurities that had come up to the furface, and with a lefs violent heat would have ftaid there. In the grand, or evaporating, copper, which fhould be large enough to receive the net con- tents of one of the clarifiers, the liquor Is fuffered to boil J and as the fcuni rifes, it Is continually taken off by large fcummers, until the liquor grows finer and fomewhat thicker. This labour is continued until, from the fcumming and eva- poration, the fubjeft is fufficiently reduced in quantity to be contained in the next or fecond copper, into which it is then laded. The liquor is now nearly of the colour of Madeira wine. In the fecond copper the boiling and fcumming are continued ; and if the fubjcdl Is not (q clean as is expefted, lime-water is thrown into it. This addition is Intended not merely to give more temper, but alfo to dilute the liquor, which fome- times thickens too faft to permit the feculencies to run together and rife In the fcum. Liquor is faid to have a good appearance in the fecond copper, when the froth in boiling arlfes in large bubbles, and is but little difcoloured. When, from II. WEST INDIES. 2;i from fuch fcumming and evaporation, the liquor chap. is again fulBciently reduced to be contained in the third copper, it is laded into it, and fo on to the lad copper, which is called the teache. This arrangement fuppoles four boilers or coppers, exclufive of the three clarifiers. In the teache the fubjed is ftill further eva- porated, till it is judged fufficiently boiled to be removed from the fire. This operation is ufually called Jiriking; i. e. lading the liquor, now ex- ceedingly thick, into the cooler. The cooler, of which there are commonly fix, is a fliallow wooden veffel, about eleven inches deep, feven feet in length, ard from five to fix feet wide. A cooler of this fize holds a hogf- head of fugar. Here the fugar grains ; i. e. as it cools, it runs into a coarfe irregular mafs of femiformed ciyftals, feparating itfelf from the melaffes. From the cooler it is carried to the curing-houfe, where the melaflcs drains from it(h). But, before we follow it into the curing- houfe, it may be proper to notice the rule for (h) It may be proper in this place to obferve, that, ia order to obtain a large-grained fugar, it mull be fuffered to coo] Jlowly and gradually. If the coolers are too fliallow, the grain is injured in a furprifing manner. Any perfon may be convinced of tliis, by pouring fome of the hot fyrup, when fit for ftriking, into a pewter plate. He will imme- diately find it will have a very fmall grain. judging 272 HISTORYOFTIIE judging when the fubjedl is fufBciently evapo- rated {or Jinking y or become fit for being laded from the teache to the cooler. Many of the negro boilers guefs folely by the eye (which by long habit they do with great accuracy) judging by the appearance of the grain on the back of the ladle j but the praftice moft in ufe is to judge by what is called /^e tmich ; i. e. taking up with the thumb a fmall portion of the hot liquor from the ladle ; and, as the heat diminifhes, drawing with the forefinger the liquid into a thread. This thread will fuddenly break, and fhrink from the thumb to the fulpendcd finger, in different lengths, according as the liquor is more or lefs boiled. The proper boiling height for ftrbtig mufcovado fugar, is generally determined by a thread of a quarter of an inch long. It is evi- dent that certainty in this experiment can be attained only by long habit, and that no verbal precepts will furnidi any degree of flcill in a matter depending wholly on conftant prac- tice (i). \ NOW fi) It is probable that from this praftice of trying by the t6uch (uKl'io) fht velTd called the teiche derives its nariTc. A inefhotl more certain and fcientifick was rtcommended fome years ago to the publick, by my learned friend John Pro- culiis Baker, Efquire, Barriftei' at Law, in the Ifkind of Ja- maica, in a Treatife pubUfhcd by hrm, in 1775, intituled, An Ejfay on the Art of tttaklng Mufcovaeio Sugar. It is as fol- lows : — " Provide nf fmall thin pane of clear crown glafs, fet " in a frame, which 1 wouid call a trja ; on this drop two or *' three WEST INDIES. 273 I NOW return to the curlng-houfe, which Is a large aTy building, provided with a capacious melalTes ciftern, the fides of which are floped and lined with terras, or boards. Over this ciilern there is a frame of maffy joift-work without boarding. On the joifts of this frame, empty hogflieads, without headings, are ranged. In the bottoms of thefe hogfheads eight or ten holes are bored, throudi each of which the ftalk of a plantain leaf is thruft, fix or eight inches below " three drops of theri.bjecV, one on the other, and carry your *' tryer out of the boiling-houfe into the air. Obferve your " fubjeft, and more particularly whether it grains freely, and *' whether a fmall edge of melalTes feparates at the bottom. *' I am well fatlsfieu that a little experience will enable you to *' judge what appearance the whole fkip will put on, luhen. " cold, by this fpecirren, which is alfo cold. This method is *' ufcd by chemifts, to try evaporated folutions of all other ** falts, it may feem, therefore^ fomewhat ftrange, it has not ** been long adopted in the boiling-houfe." — I cannot mentioa Mr. Baker's Treatife, without obferving, that I am confi- derably indebted to it in the courfe of this chapter, having adopted (with fome fmall variation, founded on late im- j>rovements) his account of the procefs of boiling fujar. But the inhabitants of the fugar iflands are under dill greater obligations to Mr. Baker ;— for it appears to me, that the pre- fent improved fyflem of clarifying the cane-liquor, by means of vefTcls hung to feparatc fires, and provided vvith dampers to prevent ebullition, was firll fuggeftcd to jNIr. Sainthnl (who three years afterwards claimed the merit of the invention) by the treatife in queftion ; a performance that, for ufcfui know- ledge, lucid order, and elegance, both in arrangement and compolition, would have done honour to the firll writer of the age. Vol. II. T the 274 Hi STORY OF TH E HOOK the joifts, and is long enough to fland upright V. above the top of the hogfhead. Into thefe hot- heads the mafs from the cooler is put, which is called potting j and the melafles drains through the fpungy ftalk ard drops into the ciftern, from whence it is- occafionally taken for diftillation. The fugaF in about three weeks grows tolerably dry and fair. It is then faid to be cured, ami the procefs is finifhed (k). Sugar, thus obtained, is called mu[covadoy and is the raw material from whence the Britifli fugar- bakers chiefly make their loaf, or refined lump. There is another fort, which was formerly much approved in Great Britain for domeflick purpofes, and was generally known by the name of Lifbon fugar. It is fair, but of a foft texture^ and in the Weft Indies is called clayed fugar j the procefs is conduced as follows : — A QUANTITY of fugar from the cooler is put into conical pots or pans, called by the French /orw^i, with the points downwards, having a hole about half an inch in diameter at the bottom, for the melalTcs to drain through, but which at firft is clofed with a plug. When the fugar in thefe pots is cool, and become a fixed body, which is difcoverable by the middle of the tup falling in (generally about twelve hours from the (k) The curing-houfe fli(nild be clofe and warm— as warnith coiuributcs to Aee the fugar from the melalTes. firft WEST INDIES. 275 firft potting of the hot fugar) the plug is taken out, and the pot placed over a large jar, intended to receive the fyrup or melalfes that drains from it. In this flate it is left as long as the melafles continues to drop, which it will do from twelve to twenty-four hours, when a ftratum of clay is fpread on the fugar,' and moiftened with watery which oozing imperceptibly through the pores of the clay, unites intimately with, and dilutes the melafles, confequently more of it comes away than from fugar cured in the hogfhead, and the fugar of courfe becomes fo much the whiter and purer. The procefs, according to Sloane, was firft difcovered in Brafil, by accident ; " a hen,'* fays he, " having her feet dirty^ going over a pot " of fugar, it was found under her tread to be " whiter than elfewhefe." The reafon affio-ned why this procefs is not univerfally adopted in the Britilh fugar iflands, is this, that the water which dilutes and carries away the melafles, dilFolves and carries with it fo much of the fugar, that the difference in quality does not pay for the differ- ence in quantity. The French planters probably think othervvife, upwards of four hundred of the plantations of St. Domingo having the neceflluy apparatus for claying, and actually carrying on the fyfl:em (l). OF (I) The lofs in weight by claying is about one third; thu3 a pot of 60 lbs. is reduced to 40 lbs. but if the jnelalTes which T 2 is »7^ HISTORYOFTHE OF RUM. Having now furniihed the reader with the bcft account I am able to give of the art of mak- ing fugar from the cane -juice, I fliall proceed to a fubfequent procefs, to which this Invaluable plant hath given birth ; 1 mean that of extrand of cold wa- ter abate the fermentation. ( p) Whtn the liquor is firll fit at the beginning of the crop (the houfe being cold, and the cifterns not faturated) it will not be fit for diftillation under ten or twelve days. which W E S T I N D I E S. 281 which a little fuel will ferve. In about two hours the vapour or fpirit being condenied by the am- bient fluid, will force its way through the worm in the (hape of a ft ream, as clear and tranfparent as cryftal ; and it is fuffered to run until it is no longer inflammable. The fpirit which is thus obtained goes by the appellation of low-wines. To make it rum of the Jamaica proof, it undergoes a fecond diftil- lation, of which I fliall prefently fpeak ; but pre- vioufly thereto, I fliall point out fome little va- riation between the pradice of the Jamaica dif- tillers and thofe of the Windward Iflands, ob- fervable in the firft procefs. This confifts chiefly in a more copious ufe of dunder ((i). The fol- lowing (q) As the life of dunder is to diflblve the tenacity of the faccharine matter, it flio\ild be proportioned not only to the quantity, but alfo to the nature of the fweets. ThuSj whea the fweets in the fermenting ciftern conCft of melaffes alone, as generally happens after the bufinefs of fugar-boiling is finiflied, when no fcummincs are to be had, a greater propor- tion of dunder is neceflary ; becaufe melafles is a body of greater tenacity than cane-liquor, and is rendered fo vifcous and indurated by the aftion of the tire, as to be unfit for fermentation without the moft powerful faline and acid flimulators. For the fame reafon, at the beginning of the crop, when no melafTcs is to be had, and the fweets confift of cane-juice or fcummings alone, very little dunder is necefTary. In fuch cafe I fhould not recommend above 20 per cent, at the utmoft. Dunder, in a large quantity, certainly injures X\\& flavour^ altliough it may encreafe the quantity of the fpirit. We are informed by Dr. Shaw, that the diftillers ia England add V. a^ HISTORYOFTHE BOOK lowing being a very general, and, I believe, an improved method, in Jamaica, of compounding the feveral ingredients, viz. Dunder add many things to the fermenting liquor, or wafh, in order to augment the vinofiry of the fpirit, or give it a parricular flavour. He obftrves, that a little tartar, nitre, or common fait, is fometimes thrown in at the beginning of the operation, or in their ftcajd a little of the vegetable or finer mineral acid. Thefe are thought to be of great ufe in the fermenting of folutions of treacle, honey, and the like fweet and rich vegetable juices, which contain a fmall proportion of acid. I have heard, that a fimilar practice prevails among the diftillers in St. Chriftopher's ; fome of whom confider an addition of fea-water to the fermenting liquor (in what pro- portion I cannot fay) as a real and great improvement. Shaw recommends the juice of Seville oranges, lemons, and tama- rinds, or other very acid fruits, and, above all other things, an aqueous folution of tartar; but I conceive that dunder alone anfwers every purpofe. He likewife recommends to the diiiiller to introduce into the fermenting ciftern a few gallons of the reftified fpirit, which he fays will come back, with a large addition to thequantity of fpirit that would other- wife have arifen from the diftillation.— As I have tried none of thefe experiments, I can fay nothing in their favour of my own knowledge; but I believe that a fmall quantity of vege- table allies, thrown into the rum-llill, will be found fervice- able. The alkaline falts are fuppofed to attenuate the fpirit and keep back the grofs and fetid oil, which the diftillers call ths/amfs ; but if ufed in too great a quantity, they may keep back alfo a proportion of the fine elTential oil, on which the flavour of the rum wholly depends. Perhaps the moft impor- tant objeift of attention, in the making rum of a good flavour, is cUanlinefi ; for all adventitious or foreign fubftances deftroy or change the peculiar flavour of the fpirit. In truth, it ijiould be a conftant rule with the manager or diftiller to fee tUt W E S T I N D I E S. aSs Dunder one half, or - 50 gallons •Melaffes - 6 gallons Sweets 12 J Scummings 36 gallons I 4* (equal to 6 gallons | gallons, more of meiafles) Water - - - 8 gallons r Meiafles - 6 gallons •» Sweets 12 J Scummings 36 gallons I /i*r cent. | (equal to 6 gallons f j I. more of meiafles) J 100 gallons. Of this mixture (or waJJ!, as it is fometimes called) one thoufand two hundred gallons ought to produce three hundred gallons of low-wines ; and the flill may be twice charged and drawn off in one day. The method of adding all the melaffes at once, which is done foon after the fer- mentation commences, renders the procefs fafe and expeditious; whereas by charging the me- iafles at different times, the fermentation is checked, and the procefs delayed. Let us now complete the procefs according to the Jamaica method. The low-wines obtained as above, are drawn off into a butt or vefliel, and, as opportunity ferves, are conveyed into the fe- cond flill of fix hundred gallons, to undergo a further diftillation. The fteam begins to run in about one hour and a half, and will give, in the courfe of the day, two hundred and twenty gal- that the cifterns are fcalded, and even cleanfed with ftrong lime-water, each time they are ufed ; not merely on ac- count of the rum, but alfo becaufe it has frequently happened that the vapour of a foul ciftern has inflantly killed the firft perfon that has entered it without due precaution. Ions, 3^4 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK Ions, or two puncheons, of 'oil-proof rum, i. e. ^' of fpirit in which oUve oil will fink ; and thus the manufadure, if it may be fo called, is com- plete. There will remain in the ftill a confider- ablc quantity of weaker fpirit, commonly about feventy gallons, which is returned to the low- wine butt. Thus two hundred and twenty gal- lons of proof rum are, in fad;, made from five hundred and thirty gallons of low-wines; or about one hundred and thirteen of rum from one thou- fand two hundred of wafh (r). By means of the apparatus and procefs which I have thus defcribed, the Jamaica diftiller may fill weekly, working only by day-light (a necef- fary precaution in this employment) and at a fmall expence of labour and fuel, twelve pun- • cheons of rum, containing each one hundred and ten gallons of the Jamaica ftandard. The pro- portion of the whole rum to the crop of lugar, is commonly eflimated in Jamaica as three to four. Thus a plantation ot the above delcrip- tion is fuppofed to fupply annually one hundred and fifty puncheons of rum of one hundred and (ij Proof fpirit of any kind weighs fcvcn pounds twelve ovmcts J>cr gallon. According to the Englifli hydroftatical table, the cubic inch of proof fpirit weighs g p. wt. i<).y$ gr. troy, or 8.62 dr. avoirdupois. But it has been found that a cubic inch of good brandy is 10 grains heavier in winter than in fummer, and that 32 gallons of fpiritij in winter will uiak« 33 in fummer. Un I WEST INDIES. ten gallons each ; or eighty-two gallons of Ja- maica proof to each hogfhead of fugar; — and this return I do believe is fometimes fairly made from canes planted in rich and moift lands ; but on a general eilimate, I think it too great an al- lowance, and that two hundred gallons of rum to three hogfheads of fugar, which is in the pro- portion of about two-thirds rum to the crop of fugar, is nearer the truth fsj. The fsJ This will be better underflood by attending to the following particulars :^The general fupply of fcummings to the ftill-houfe is feven gallons out of every loo gallons of cane-liquor. Suppofing, therefore, that 2,000 gallons of cane-jviice is required for each hogfliead of fugar of 16 cwt. the fcummings, on a plantation making 200 hogfheads f>er annum, will be 28,000 gallons, equal to - 4,666 gallons of raelalles. Add the melaflesfrom the curing-houfe," which, if the fugar is of a good qua- :} lity, will feldom exceed fixty gallons *" ' /t I will allow nothing for a dead capital veiled in unproduftive woodland^ but fix on fix hundred acres, as fufficient for all the purpofes that have been mentioned ; appropriating one-half of the whole, inflead of one-third, to the culture of the cane. The price of woodland in Jamaica depends chiefly on its fituation. In feafonable parts of the country, and in the vicinity of the fea, I con- ceive it would be difficult to purchafe a quantity of a fugar land fufiicient for a good eftate, unlefs at a very high price. On the north fide, in a fertile and feafonable pariih, I have lately known a tra£t of eight hundred acres, with a fine river running through it, fell for ten pounds currency per acre, but it was at the diflance of ten miles from the fea ; and the purchafer had a ne\V and difficult road to make for three miles of the way. Such another territory, without the inconve- niencies to which this was fubjeft, would, as lands fell in Jamaica, be well worth, and cafily obtain, fourteen pounds currency, or ten pounds flcrling -per acre. Six hundred acres at this price is £\ 8,^ GO currency. The coft of clearing one- half, and planting it in canes, including four U % cleanings. xoz H I S T O R Y O 1" T n E BOOK cleanings, would be f^. 12 currency per acre, or' ;^. 3,600. Clearing and planting 100 acres*ln pvovifions, would be £. 7 an acre, or £. 700; the fame for clearing and planting 100 acres in- Guiney grafs. Inclofmg and fencing the whole would coft, on a moderate eftimate, 1^. 700 more. —Total £^. 14,100 currency, being equal to £. 10,071 ilerling. BUILDINGS. The buildings which will be found necefTary on a plantation of the magnitude defcribcd are, I ft. A water-mill, (if water can be Jamaica obtained) the coft of which, con- __^ fidering that a great extent of ftone guttering is commonly requifite, may be ftated, on a very low efti- mate, at £. 1,000 fterling. In cafe no water-mill can be ereded, I do not conceive that a fingle mill, whether worked by cattle, mules, or wind, is fufficient to take off the crop in due time, a moft important object, on which the future fuccefs of the plantation depends. 1 allow therefore for a wind-mill and one cattle-mill, or for two cattle-mlUs without a wind-mill, a fum equal 10 Uic coft of a water-mill, or i ,400 iid, A o W E S T I N D I E S. • 293 2\3. A bolllno;-hourc, 45 by iz feet, Jamaica c H A. P. to contain 3 copper clarlfiers, of : ^^^• 350 gallons each, and 4 other pans or boilers, including the coll of the fame, and other utenfils - - 1,000 d. A curing-houfe, adjoining to the boiling-houfe, calculated to hold one half the crop, with ftrong joifls of folid timbers inftead of a floor, having a terraffed or board- ed platform underneath, leading to a melalles cillern, lined with terras, fufficient to contain 6,000 gallons - - - - - 800 4th. A diftilling-houfe, 70 feet by 30 i the difhillery part to contain z ftills of 1 ,200 and 600 gallons, with worms pioportionate ; alio a ftone tank Gx ciflern, to hold 30,000 gallons of water j the fermenting part t© contain two, or more, vats, or cifterns, for the dunder and fliimmings : alfo 1 2 cifterns of iblid plank fixed in the earth, of 1,200 gallons each, with copper pumps, and other necelfary apparatus : to- gether alfo with a rum ftore under the fame roof - _ , , 1,600 5th. A dwelling-houfe for the overfeer 600 U 3 6th. Two »94 HISTORYOFTHE 6th. Two trafh-houfcs, each 120 feet Jamajpa by 30; the foundation flone, the l[ fides open, the roof fupportcd by llone pillars, and covered by fliingles, £. 300 each - - 60Q 7th. A hofpital for the fick negroes, containing alfo a room for lying-in women, a room for confining dif- orderly negroes, a fhop for the dodtor, and one or more ftore rooms for fecuring the plantation ■utenfils and provifions - - 30Q 8th. A mule flable, for 60 mules, with a corn-loft above - - 150 9th. Shops for the different tradef- mcn, viz. carpenters, coopers, wheelwright, and fmith - - 150 joth. Sheds for the waggons, wains, carts, &c. _ - - - ^o Add extra expences, fuch as the cofl: of the wains, utenfils for the fmith's Ihop, houfehold furni- ture, &c. &c. - - - - 3^0 The total is >C'5jO°o flcrling, ■ being equal to - currency - 7,000 5 T o c J?:> WEST INDIES. *95 STOCK. CHAP. III. Thb ftock on a plantation of the magnitude u . . ^ ■^ ^efcribed, cannot prudently confijl of lels than two hundred and fifty negroes, eighty fleers, and lixty mules. It is not futficient to objeft, that two hundred hoglheads of fugar have been pro- duced by the labour of a lefs number of negroes than is here allowed. I am treating of an eflate which produces that quantity on a medium ; con- fequently, as, from droughts and unfavourable feafons, the crops will fometimes flUl fhort of, at other times they mufl greatly exceed the numbers prefcribcd 9 and under thefe circumflances, I do not believe a plantation will eafily be named that pofTefles (or employs, in job zvork and otherzvife) a lefs number of negroes annually. If fuch an -eflate there is, I hefitate not to pronounce that it is in improvident hands ; for what management can be worfe than that which, by over- working the negroes, facrifices the capital for the fake of a iemporary augmented income ? — The cofl of the ilock, therefore, may be flaied as follows j Jamaica Currency. 250 Negroes, at ^.jo each - - 17,500 80 Steers, at ;^. 15 - - - 1,200 60 Mules, at ;^. 28 - - - i,6So Total in currency (equal to £. 14,557 ^ ilcding) - - . jC'2o>38o U 4 Let HISTORY OF THE Let us now bring the whole into one poyit of view. Jamaica Currency, LANDS, - - - - 14,100 BUILDINGS, - - - - 7,000 STOCK, - - - - 20,380 Total in Currency - - 41,480 Which Is only £. ^lo fliort of jT. 42,000 Ja- maica currency, or £. 30,000 fterling, the fum firft mentioned ; and I am further of opinion, that if the owner of fuch a property were to fell it by appraifement, the valuation would amount to nearly the fum expended. It would therefore be more advifeable, undoubtedly, to purthafe a plantation ready fettled, rather than attempt to create a new one from uncleared lands ; inalmuch as the labour and rilk of the undertaking would be thereby avoided ; — but, however this may be, it mufb be confidered as a fixed and well-efta- bhflied fad-, that a fugar plantation of the extent and returns which have been fqppofed, whether ^icquired by purchafe, or by the rifk and labour pf clearing the lands, will unavoidably coft (the neceifary buildings and flock, included) £. 30,000 fterling, before any adequate intereft can be re- ceived from the capital. Thb produce of fuch a plantation has been * flated WEST INDIES. 297 ilated at 200 hogfheads of fugar, of 16 cwt. and chap, 130 puncheons of rum, of no gallons, commu- m. nibus amiis; the value of which, according to the average prices at the London market for ten years previous to 1791, may be reckoned as follows ; Sterling. 200 Hogflieads of fugar, at £.1$ fterling per hogfhead - - 3>ooo J 30 Puncheons of rum, at ;i^. 10 fterling per puncheon - - T3300 Grofs Returns » - ^T. 4,300 But the reader is not to imagine that all this, or even the fugar alone, is fo much clear profit. The annual difburfements are firft to be deduc- ed, and very heavy they are ; nor is any opinion more erroneous than that which fuppofes they are provided for by the rum. If fuch indeed were the fadl:, the capital would yield precifely an annual intereft of ten per cent. : but a reference to the feveral items, which I have particularized in a note (a)y will dcmonftrate the fallacy of this too r«; ANNUAL SUPPLIES from Great Britain and Ireland. la. NEGRO CLOTHING; viz. 1,500 Yards of Oznaburgh cloth, or German linen. 0^0 Yards of blue bays, or penniftones, for a warm (rock, for each negro. 350 Yards »98 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK too common mode of calculation. They amount, at a very moderate edimate. (including freight, charges, and merchants cc it^. ffions, and adding a proportional part of the coit of many CApenfive articles, fuch as coppers, ftills, wain-tyre, grating- bars, * 350 Yards of flriped Unfeys for the women. 250 Yards of coarfe check for fliirts for the boilers, tradefmen, domeflicks, and children. 3 Dozen of coarfe blankets for lying-in womeq, ancj fick negroes. 1 8 Dozen of courfe hats. 2d. TOOLS. For the carpenters and coopers, to the amount of ^. i^, fterling, including a or 3 dozen of falling axes. 3d. MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES, 160,000 Nails of difFereut fires. 2,500 Puncheon rivets, 6 Cattle chains. 6 Dozen of hoes. 6 Dozen of bills. 20 Dozen of fmall clafp knives for tlie negroes, 4 Dozen of ox bows. 50 Bundles of iron hoops. 1 Sets of puncheon trufs hoops. a Sets of hogfhead ditto. £0 Gallons of train oil for lamps, a Barrels of tar- 2 Boxes of fhort tobacco pipes for the jicgroes* »8o Bundles of wood hoops. 2 Sheets of lead. 6 Large copper ladles 7 /- .... « n-.r n • ("for the boi crs. 8 Dozfft W E S T I N D I E S. 299 bars, Sec. which would perhaps be wanted once In c h a p. five years) to the fum of ^ 850 fterllng. To this m^ iiim are to be added the following very heavy CHARGES within the IJland; viz. Currency. Overfeer's or manager's falary - - 200 Diftiller's ditto ^ - - - 70 Two other white fervants, £. 60 each ^ 120 A white carpenter's wages - - 100 Maintenance of five white fervants, exclufive of their allowance of falted provifions, £. 40 each - - 200 Medical care of the negroes, (at 6 s. per annum for each negro) and extra cafes, which are paid for feparately 100 Millwright's, Wi' > ■' ■■■ 8 Dozen of fmall iron pots for the negroes, Z puncheons of Briftol lime for temper. 4 Grindftones. PRO riS IONS, ^c. chlefiy from Ireland. 80 Barrels of herrings, or falted cod equal thereto, 6 Barrels of falted beef. a Barrels of falted pork. 4 Firkins of falted butter. 2 Boxes of foap. 2 Boxes of candles. * Hogflieads of fait, 6 Barrels of fiour, 6 Kegs of peaie. J Jugs of groats. V. 300 HISTORYOFTHE o o K Millwright's, copperfmith's, plumber's, Cnrrencr. and Ihiith's bills, annually - - 250 Colonial taxes, publick and parochial - 200 Annual fupply of mules and fteers - 300 Wharfage and floreage of goods landed and fhipped - - - - 100 American fhaves and heading, for hogf- ■ heads and puncheons - - 1^0 A variety of fmall occafional fupplies of different kinds, fuppofed - - 50 Equal to ;^. 1,300 flerling; being in Currency ^ - - /;. 1,840 The total amount, therefore, of the annual contingent charges of all kinds, is ^T. 2,15a fterling, which is preciiely one-half the grofs re- turns j leaving the other moiety, or ^T. 2,150 fterling, and no more, clear profit to the planter, being feven per cent, on his capital, and £. 50 over, without charging, however, a Ihilling for making good the decreafc of the negroes, or for the wear and tear of the buildings, or making any allowance for dead capital, and fuppofing too, that the proprietor refides on the fpot ; for if he is ab-? fent, he is fubjecV, in Jamaica, to an annual tax of fix pounds per cent, on the grofs value of his fugar and rum, for legal commifilons to his agent. With thefe, and other drawbacks (to fay nothing of the devaflations which are Ibmctimes occa- ' iioncd WEST rNDIES. 301 (lOned by fires and hurricanes, deftroylng In a few hours the labour of years) it is not wonderful that the profits fliould frequently dwindle to nothing; cr rather that a fuger eftate, with all its boafted advantages, fhould fometimes prove a mill-flone about the neck of its unfortunate proprietor, which is dragging him to deflrudlion (b) ! Admitting even that his prudence, or good fortune, may be fuch as to exempt him from molt of the loffes and calamities that have been enu- merated, it muft neverthelefs be remembered, that the fugar planter is at once both landlord and tenant on his property. In contrafting the profits of a Weft Indian plantation with t4iofe of •A landed eftate in Great Britain, this circuni- ftance is commonly overlooked ; yet nothing is more certain than that an Englith proprietor, in Hating the income which he receives from his capital, includes not in his eftimate the profits made by his tenants. Thefe conftitute a diftindl objedt, and are ufually reckoned cqLial to the clear annual rent which is paid to the proprietor. Thus a farm in England, producing an income of 3 f per cent, to the owner, is in fad: propor- tionably equal to a fugar plantation yielding (b) In Jamaica, the ufual mode of calculating, in a ge- neral way, the average profits of a fugar eftate, is to allow j^. 10 fterling^^r annum for every negro, young and old, em- ployed in this line of cultivation. double SCI HrsTORYOFTHE double the profit to the planter; and poflelle^ befides all that ftabillty, certainty and fecurity^ the want of which is the great drawback on thd Jatter. An Englifli gentleman, when either ex-* treme of dry or wet weather injures the crop on his lands, has no other concern in the calamity than fuch as the mere feelings of humanity may dictate. Nor is he under the difagreeable ne- ceflity in time of war, of paying large premiums for infuring his eftatc from capture by a foreign enemy. This is another tax, which the unfortunate Weft Indian, refident in Great Britain, muft add to his expences ; or fubmit to the difagreeable alternative of pafling many an uneafy day and lleeplefs night, in dreadful anxiety for the fate of his poflefllons, and the future fubfiftence of his family ; — harafled, perhaps, at the fame time, by creditors whofe importunity increafes as their fccurity becomes endangered. But there is a queftion, naturally arifmg from the premifes, to which it is proper that I fliould, in this place, give an anfwer; and it is this: Seeing that a capital is wanted which few men can command, and confidcring withal, that the returns arc in general but fmall, and at beft un- certain, how has it happened that the fugar iflands have been fo rapidly fettled, and many a great tftate purchafcd in the mother-country, from the profits that have accrued from their cultivation? It WEST INDIE?. 3(35 tt were to be wifhed that thofe who make fuch chap. enquiries would enquire, on the other hand, how ^^^• many unhappy perfons have been totally and irre- trievably ruined, by adventuring in the cultiva- tion of thefe iflands, without poflelling any ade- quate means to fupport them in fuch great under- takings ? On the failure of fome of thefe un- fortunate men, vafl eftates have indeed been raifed by perfons who have had money at com- mand : men there are who, reflecting on the advantages to be derived from this circumftance, behold a fugar planter ftruggling in diftrefs, with the fame emotions as are felt by the Cornifti peafants in contemplating a fliipwreck on the coaft, and haften with equal rapacioufnefs to participate in the fpoil. Like them too, they fometimes hold out falfe lights to lead the un- wary adventurer to deftruclion ; more efpecially if he has any thing confiderable of his own to fet out with. Money is advanced, and encourage- ment given, to a certain point ; but a fkilful pra6litioner well knows where to ftop : he rs aware what ver}' large fums mufl be expended in the purchafe of the freehold, and in the firfl opera- tions of clearing and planting the lands, and erect- ing the buildings, before any return can be made. One-third of the money thus expended, he has perhaps furnidied ; but the time foon arrives when 304 HISTORYOFTriE when a further advance is requifite to give liie and adivity to the fyftem, by the addition of the negroes and the flock. Now then is the moment for oppreffion, aided by the letter of the law, and the procefs of office, to reap a golden hanxfl. If the property anfwers expeAation, and the lands promife great returns, the fagacious creditor, inftead of giving further aid, or leaving his too confident debtor to make the befl of his way by his own exertions, pleads a fudden and unexpeft- ed emergencv ; and infifts on immediate re-pay- ment of the fum already lent. The law, on this occafion, is far from being chargeable with delay j and avarice is inexorable. A fale is hurried on, and no bidders appear but the creditor himlelf. Ready money is required in payment, and every one fees that a further fum will be wanting to make the eflate productive. Few therefore have the means, who have even the willi, efficacioufly to afTifl the devoted viftim. Thus, the creditor gets the eflate at his own price, commonly for his firfl advance, while the miferable debtor has reafon to thank his ftars if, confoling himfelf with only the lofs of his own original capital, and his labour for a ferics of years, he eicapes a prifon for life. That this is no creation of the fancy, nor even an exaggerated pidurc, the records of the courts oi WEST INDIES. 30s of law, in all or moll of our Iflands (Jamaica efpecially) and the rccoUeftion of every inhabi- tant, furnilh inconteftablc proof. At the fame time it cannot juflly be denied that there are creditors, efpecially among the Britilh merchants, of a very different charadter from thofe that have been defcrlbed, who, having advanced their money to refident planters, not in the view of deriving undue advantages from their labours and necef- fities, but folely on the fair and honourable ground of reciprocal benefit, have been compelled, much againfl their inclination, to become planters them- felves i being obliged to receive unprofitable Wefl Indian elliates in payment, or lofe their money altogether. I have known plantations transferred in this manner, which are a burthen inflead of a benefit to the holder j and are kept up folely in the hope that favourable crops, and an advance in the prices of Weft Indian produce, may, fome time or other, invite purchafers. Thus oppreffion in one clafs of creditors, and grofs in- juftice towards another, contribute equally to keep up cultivation in a countr)', where, if the rifques and lolTes are great, the gains are fome- times commenfurate ; for fugar eftates there arc, undoubtedly, from which, inftead of the returns that I have eftimated as the average intereft on the capital, double that profit has been obtained. It is indeed true, that fuch inftances are extremely Vol II. X rare; V 5c6 K I S T O R Y O i- T H E BOOK rare; but perhaps to that vcr\' circumflance^ which to a philofopher, Ipeculating in his clofetj would ieem luiiicient to deter a wife man from adventuring in this Hne of cultivation, it 'h> chiefly owing that fo much money has been expended in it : 1 mean the fluctuating nature of its re- turns. The quality cf fugar varies occafionally to lb great a degree as to create a difference in its marketable value of upwards of ten fliillings fterl- ing in the hundred weight, the whole of which is clear profit, the duties and charges being pre- cifely the fame on Mufcovado iugar, of whatevef quality. Thus fine fugar has been known to yield a clear profit to the planter of no lefs than /. 1,500 fterling on 200 hogfheads of the ufual magnitude, beyond wliat the fame number, where the commodity is inferior in quality, would have obtained at the fame market. To ?.ver that this difference is imputable wholly to foil and feafons in the Wefl Indies, or to the flate of the Britilh market, is to contradict common obfervation ajid fixperiesice. Much, undoubtedly, depends on &ill in the manufacture ; and, the procefs being apparently fimplc, the beholder (from apropenfity natural to the bufy and inquilitive part of man-* kind) feels an almofl irrefiflible propenlity to en- gage in it. In this, therefore, as in all other enterprifcs, whole fuccefs depends in any degree on human ir.gacity and prudence, though perhaps not WEST INDIES. 36> not more than one man in fifty comes away fortunate, every fanguine adventurer takes for granted that he Ihall be that one. Thus his fyftem of life becomes a courfe of experiments, and, if ruin fliould be the confcquence of his rafhnefs, he imputes his misfortunes to any caufe, rather than to his own want of capacity or fore- fight. That the reafons thus given, are the only ones that can be adduced in anfwer to the qucf- tion that has been dated, I prefume not to affirm. Other caufes, of more powerful efiicacy, may perhaps be affigned by men of wider views and better information. The fafts however which I have detailed, are too ftriking and notorious to be controverted or concealed. Having now, I believe, fufiiciently treated of the growth, cultivation, and manufadlure of fugar, &c. and pointed out with a minutcnefs (tedious perhaps but) fuited, as I conceive, to the importance of the fubjed, the firft coft, and current contingencies attending the eftablifh- ment and profitable maintenance of a fugar plan- tation, together with the rifque and gains even- tually arifing from this fpecies of property, I fhall proceed, in the following chapter, to furnifh my readers with fuch information as I have been able to colledl concerning the minor ftapie?, X 2 elpecially 3o8 HI8TORYOFTHL BOOK efpecially tliofe impertant ones of cotton, Indigo, ^' coffee, cacao, pimento, and ginger, which, with fugar and rum, principally conflitute the bulky freight that gives employment to an extent of fhipping, nearly equal to the whole commercial tonnage of England at the beginning of the prefent centur)'. W E S T I N D I E S. 30$ CHAP. IV. Of th^ minor Staple Commodities \ viz. CottoKi its growth and various /pedes. — Mode of ciilti- vatioH, and rifques attending it. — Import of this article i?ito Great Britaitty and profits accruing from the manifaElures produced hy it, — Indigo, its cultivation and mamfadure, — Opulence of the firji Indigo planters in Jamaica^ and refle£iions con- cerning the decline of this branch of cultivation in that ijland. — Coffee, whether that of the Wefl Indies equal to the Mocha ? — Situation and foil. E.xorbitatit duty to which it was fubjed in Great Britain. — Approved method of cultivating the plant and curing the berry. — Eflimate of the amiual e?:pences and returns of a Coffee plantation. — Cacao, Ginger, Arnotto, Aloes, ancl Pimento ; brief account of each, COTTON, 1 H A T beautiful vegetable wool, or fubflance called cotton, is the fpontaneous produdion of three parts of the earth. It is found growing naturally in all the tropical regions of Afia, Africa, and America ; and may juftly be comprehended among the moft valuable gifts of a bountiful Creator, fuperintending and providing for the peceflities of man. X 3 The 310 HISTORY OF THE Th e cotton-wool, which is manufactured into cloth (for there is a fpecies in the Weft Indfe<, called fiik or wild cotton, unfit for the loom) confifts of two diftinct kinds, known to the planten by the name of Green-eeed Cotton, and Shrub Cottok; and thefe again have fiib- ordinate marks of difference, with \s-hich the cul- tivator ought to be well acquainted if he means to apply his laboun to the great eft advantage. Green-seed cotton is of two fpecies ; of one of which the wool is fo firmly attached to the feed, that no method has hitherto been found of feparating them, except by the hand ; an opera- tion fo tedioxis and troublefome, that the value of the commodity is not proportionate to the pains that are requifite in preparing it for market. This fort therefore is at prefcnt cultivated prin- cipally for fupplying wick for the lamps that are ufed in fugar-boiling, and for domeftick pur- pofts ; but the ftaple being exceedingly good, and its colour perfectly white, it would doubtlels be a valuable acquifition to the muilin manufac- tOTYy could means be found of detaching it caiily firom the feed. The other fort has larger feeds, of a duller preen than the former, and the wool is not of equal fineneG ; though much finer than the cotton-wool in general cuitivation ; and it is eafilv ferarated from the Ictd by the common method. WEST INDIES. 311 method, hereafter to be defcribed. I have been told that this fpecies of the green-feed cotton is not fufficiently known to the planters in general, (being ufually confounded vvitli the former) or that probably it would be in high eftimation. Both the fpecies above-mentioned, though they produce pods at an early ftage, when they are mere flirubs, will, if fuffered to fpread, grow into trees of confiderable magnitude, and yield annual crops, according to the feafon, without any kind of cultivation. The bloiioms put forth in fucceffion from Odober to January, and the pods begin to open fit for gathering from Fe^ bruary to June. I come now to the Shrub Cotton, properly fo called. The ilirub itfelf very nearly refembles an European Corinth bulh,and maybe fubdivided into fcvcral varieties, all of which however very nearly refeni' ble each other (a). Thefe varieties (fuch of (a) The flowers are compofed of five large ycilow leaves, each ftained at the bottom with a purple 1) ot. They are beautiful, but devoid of fragrance. The piftil is flrong and large, furrounded at and near the top with a yellow farinaceous duft, which, when ri[;e, falls into the matrix of the pifiil. This is likewife furrounded, when the 1 etals of the flowers drop, with a capfular pod, fupported by three triangular . reea Leaves deeply jagged at their ends. The inclofed pod opens, when ripe, into three or four partitions, difcovering the cotton i\ as many white locks as there are partitions in the pod. In thefe locks are interfperfed the feeds, which are commonly fiT'.all and black. X 4 them $1* HISTORYOFTHE them at leaft as have come to my knowledge) arc, I ft, Th e Common Jamaica ; the feeds of which are oblong, perfedlly fmooth, and have no beard at the fmaller end. The ftaple is coarfe, but flrong. Its greateft defed is, that the feeds are fo brittle it is fcarce pofTible to render it per- fectly clean ; on which account it is the loweft- priced cotton at the Britifh market. Such how- ever is the obftinacy of habit, that few of the Britifh cotton planters give themfelves the trou- ble to feledt a better fort, or feem indeed to wiQi for it. 2d, Brown Bearded. — This is generally culti- vated with the fpecies laft-mentioned, but the ftaple is fomewhat finer, and the pods, though fewer in number, produce a greater quantity of wool. The fhrub gives like wife a better ratoon. It is therefore the intereft of the cotton planter to cultivate it feparately. The only difadvantage attending it is, that it is not fo eafily detached from the feed as the other, and therefore a negro will clear a few pounds lefs in his day's work. 3d, Nankeen. — This differs but little in the feeds or otherwile from the fpecies lafl-mentioned, except in the colour of the wool, which is that of the cloth called Nankeen. It is not fo much in demand as the white. 4th, French or Small-ficd, with a whitilh beard. This WEST INDIES. 3ti This is the cotton in general cultivation in Hif- paniola. Its flaple is finer, and its produce equal to either of the three fpecies laft-men- tioned, as the fhrub is fuppofcd to bear a greater number of pods than the Jamaica, or the Browa Bearded, but is lefs hardy than either. 5th, Kidney Cottony fo called from the feeds being conglomerated or adhering firmly to each other in the pod. In all the other forts they are feparated. It is likewife called C/iain Cotton, and, I believe, is tlie true Cotton of Brafil.— The ftaple is good, the pod large, and the pro- duce confiderable. A fmgle negro may clear with eafe fixty-five pounds in a day, befides which, it leaves the feeds behind unbroken, and comes perfe(flly clean from the rollers. It is therefore improvident, in the highefl degree, to mix this fpecies with any other. On the whole, the moft profitable forts foi general cultivation feem to be, the fecond of the Green-feed, the French or Small-feed, and the Brafilian. The mode of culture is the fame with all the different fpecies, and there is this advan- tage attending them all, that they will flourifli in the drieft and moft rocky foils, provided fuck lands have not been exhaujled by fort?} er cultivation. Drynefs, both in refped: of the foil and atmo- fphere, is indeed eflentially neceflary in all its ftages J for if the land is moift, the plant expends itfelf in branches and leaves, and if the rains are heavy, 3H HISTORY OF THE heav5% either when the plant is in bloflbm, or when the pods are beginning to unfold, the crop is loft. Perhaps, however, thefe obfervations apply more immediately to the French cotton than to any other. The plant is raifed from the feed, the land requiring no other preparation than to be cleared of its native incumbrances ; and the feafon for putting the feed into the ground is from May to September, both months inclufive. This is ufu- ally done in ranks or rows, leaving a Ipace be- tween each, of fix or eight feet, the holes in each row being commonly four feet apart. — It is the pradlice to put eight or ten of the feeds into each hole, becaufe fome of them are commonly devoured by a grub or worm, and others rot in the ground. The young fprouts make their ap- pearance in about a fortnight, but they are of flow growth for the firft fix weeks, at which pe- riod it is neceflary to clean tlie ground and draw the fupernumcrary plants, leaving two or three only of the ftrongeft in each hole. One plant alone would be fufHcient to leave, if there was any certainty of its coming to maturity ; but many of the tender fprouts are devoured by the grub. At the age of three cr four months, the plants are cleaned a fecond time ; and both the ilcm and branches pruned, or, as it is called, topp\i ; an inch (or more if the plants arc luxu- 8 riant} WEST INDIES. 315 r'lant) being broke off from the end of each (hoot ; which is done in order to make the ftems throw out a greater number of lateral branches. This operation, if the growth be over luxuriant, is fometimcs performed a fecond, and even a third time. At the end of five months, the plant begins to bloflbm and put forth its beautiful yellow flowers, and in two months more, the pod is formed. From the feventh to the tenth month the pods ripen in fucceflion ; when they burft open in three partitions, difplaying their white and glofTy down to the fight. The wool is now gathered, the feeds being enveloped in it ; from which it is afterwards extricated by a machine refembling a turner's lathe. It is called a gin^ and is compofed of two fmali rollers placed clofe and parallel to each other in a frame, and turned in oppofite diredtions by different wheels, which are moved by the foot (h). The cotton being put by the hand to thefe rollers as they move round, readily paffcs between them, leaving the feeds, which are too large for the interfpace be- hind. The wool is afterwards hand-picked, that it may be properly cleared of decayed leaves, broken feeds, and wool which has been ftained and damaged in the pod (c) . It is then packed into (b) It is a very flight and fimple inftrument, and cofts only from two to three guineas. (c) The cotton manufa£lory of England, fince the year 1780, 3i6 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK i"to bags of about two hundred pounds weight, V. and fent to market. * The fined grained and mofl perfedlly cleaned cotton, which is brought to the Englilli market, is, I believe, that of the Dutch plantations of Berbice, Dcmarara, and Surinam, and of the ifland of Cayenne; but before the year 1780 England had no fme manufadories. In the latter end of that year, however, cotton wool of all kinds found a ready fale at the following, piices : s. d. Berbice - - 2 i per lb. Demarara - - 1 11 io is. id, Surinam - - 2 — Cayenne , - 2 — St. Domingo • i 10 Tobago - - I 9 Jamaica - - i 7 Since that time the prices have indeed varied, but the relative value has continued nearly the fame ; that is, the ditference of price between the cotton of Berbice and that of Jamaica has been from 25 to 30 per cent, in favour of the former ; a circumflance which alone fhould con- 1 780, hath made a rapid improvement, owing to the large fpinning machines which are worked by water. Thefe re- quire the cleaneft cotton, as the fnialleft particle of a brokea feed breaks the thread in this mode of fpinning. vince WEST INDIES. 3,7 vince the mod bigotted planter of the Britlfli Weft Indies that, if he wilhes to turn his labours to account, the choice of a better fpecies of cot- ton, at leaft of a fort more eafily cleaned than that in general cultivation, is indifpenfably requifite. I SHALL now bring into one point of view the feveral particulars attending the firft coft and fettlement of a plantation in this fort of huf- bandry, and the returns which may reafonably be expefted from a fmall capital thus employed. I fix on a fmall capital j becaufe I conceive that a cotton plantation may be ellablinied on a more moderate fund than any other; and it is for the intereil of the community that men of fmall fortunes fhould be inftrucfled how to employ their time and labours to the befl advantage ; fince it is to fuch men chiefly that the Weft Indies are to look for fafety in the hour of danger. It is prefumed that land proper for the growth of cotton, fituated near the fea, may be pur- chafed, in many parts of the Weft Indies (Ja- maica efpecially), at £. ^ Jamaica cuncncy per acre; and as it is prudent, in moft cafes, to change the foil after the third crop, by replanting fredi land (d)^ I will allot fifty acres for the firft purchafe, (J) If the land is extraordinary good, four and even five annual crops arc fometimes gathered from the lame oriTinal plants; after which, inftead of replanting, it is not un- common V. 3i8 HISTORY OFTHE BOOK purchafc, in order that the planter may I\gve room for that purpofe. Suppofing therefore that one half only is planted in cottort at the fame time, the capital will be invefted as follows : Cofl of fifty acres of land, at ;^. 5 £. s. //. currency /^r acre - - 250 Expence of cleaning, fencing, and planting 25 icres^ at £.j per acre - - - -jy^.,- — Purchafe of twelve negroes, at £.'jO each - - - 840 1,265 One year's interefi:, at 6 /'fr r??//. 75 18 — • One year's maintenance, cloth- ing, and medical care of the negroes - - - - 120 ■ — I " Total expenditure in Jamaica cur- rency (equal to /. i ,040 flerhng) i ,460 i S — common to cut the cotton buflies down to within three or four inches of the ground, and mould the ftenis in the May- rains, and treat them afterwards in the fame manner as plants. Some labour is undoubtedly faved by this practice, but, in nine cafes out often, it will be found more profitable to re- fort to frefli land, every third or fourth year. I confidcr, at the fame time, land to be frefli enough which has lain fallow, or been ufed in a different line of culture for three or four years together, the great intention ofchani^ing the land being to get rid of that peculiar fort of grub or worm which preys ©n the cotton-plants. The WEST INDIES. 319 The returns are now to be confiJered : — In Jamaica it is commonly reckoned that one acre of cotton will yield annually i :;o pounds weight, and in iome years nearly twice as much j but I am afraid that, on an average of any con- fiderable number of fucceflive crops, even the former is too great an allowance. By accounts, which I have procured from the Bahama iflands, it appears, that in 1785, 1786, and 1787 (all which years were confidered as favourable), the produce of the cotton-lands, on an average, did not exceed one hundred and twelve pounds -per acre ; viz. In 1785 — 2,476 17S6 — • 3,050^ acres 1787 — 4,Soo produced < 3,000 r ^, I o \ Cotton. The price in the Bahamas and Jamaica was the fame, viz. is. 3 J. flerling -per pound. — Allowing therefore the average produce per acre to be one hundred weight, the returns are thefe; viz. Sterl-ng, 25 cvvt. at I J. 3 d. flerling/)^/' |X)und £- i']S Dedu(5l incidental expenccs, as 1 materials for bagging, colonial > 25 taxes, &c. (e) - - - J Remains in flerling money - • - 1^0 Which CeJ The maintenance, &c. of the negroes, after the firft year, is not charged, becaufe it is conceived, that the land ia cotton not being fmlicient to find them in full smplovmenf, the-/ 320 H15T0RY0FTHE BOOK Which gives an intereft of upwards of fourteen V. per cent, on the capital; arifing too from the loweft-priced cotton. If the fame calculation be applied to cotton-wool, of two (hillings per pound value (the prelent price of the cotton-wool of St. Domingo) the profit on the capital is twenty-four per tent. From this difpla)', the rapid progrefs which the Dutch and French planters have made in the culture of this commodity, cannot be thought extraordinary; but there remain ibme circum- fiances, of a lefs favourable nature, to be taken into the account. Of all the produdions to which labour is applied, the cotton-plant is per- haps the moft precarious. In its firft ftage, it is attacked by the grub ; it is devoured by cater- pillars in the fecond ; it is fonietimes withered by the blaflj and rains frequently dcllroy it both in the blolfom and the pod. The Bahama iilands afforded a melancholy inftance of the un- certainty of this production in 1780; no lefs than 280 tons, on a moderate ellimate, having been devoured by the worm, between September and March, in that year. After this the reader will hardly fufpecl: me of having rated the aver- they may raifc corn and other articles on the remaining twenty-five acres, more than fufficient to pay for their clothing and fupport. It is iifual even to raife corn, po- tatoes, Ac between the ranks of the cotton bullies. age WEST INDIES. 321 age produce of this plant, for a feries of years, too low *. With every difad vantage, however, the de- mand for cotton-wool, for the BritiCh manufac- tories, encreafes with fuch rapidity, that it can- not be doubted the cultivation of it, with the cautions recommended, will be found highly pro- fitable ; the Britifli dominions not fupplying, at prefent, much more than one-fourth part of the home demand. If, after a careful fele6tion and trials of the different fpecies of the feeds already in our poffeffion, the cotton-wool of the Britifh Weft Indies fliall ftill be found inferior to that of the Dutch, no difficulty can occur in obtain- ing from them a better fort. It is evident that the French cotton lofes its fuperiority in our iflands, by being fown promifcuoufly with aa inferior fpecies. I SHALL conclude the fubjed, with prefent- ing to my readers the following tables, drawn from authentick fourccs; which cannot fail to furnifh abundant encouragement for fpeculation and adventure. * It has been fuggefted, that the ravages of the worm or grub might be prevented hj raijtng the ^lant from Jlips or layers. Vol. II. y An 3tz HISTORYOFTHE BOOK • V. An Account of foreign Cotton-zvool imported itti& ^-^^"^^ the BritiJJi Wefl Indies^ in Britifli Ships, Years. lbs. J784 - - - 1,135,750 1785 - - - i,398,5<^ 1786 - - - 1,346,386 1787 . - . 1,158,000. An Account of Foreign Cotton-wool imported int& the BritiJJi IVefl Indies, under the Frecport Aft. Years. lbs. 1784 - - 2,169,000 1785 - ■ 1,573,280 1786 - - 1,962,500 1787 - - i»943»ooo An Account of Cotton-zvool^ BritiJJi aud Foreign y imported from the Britijh IVeJl Indies into Great Britain. Years. lbs. 1784 - . . - - 6,893,959 1785 - - 8,204,611 1786 - - ■ - 7'S30w34 17S7 - . - - 9'396,9^i An WEST INDIES. 325 An Account of Cotton-wool imported into Great Britain, from all Parts. Years. lbs. Suppofed Value in M«nuf«£lures. 1784 - 11,280,338 - ^.3,950,000 fterling, 1785 - 17,992,888 - 6,000,000 1786 - 19,151,867 - 6,500,000 1787 - 22,600,00c* - 7,500,000. Machinery eJlahUJJied in Great Britain {}'1^'f) for the Cotton Mamfa5lory. 143 Water Mills, which coft - £.^1 5,000 20,500 Hand-mills, or jennies, for Ipinning the ihute, for the twifted yarn fpun by the water-mills, (in- cluding buildings and auxiliary machinery) - - _ - 285,000 Total - ' £' 1,000,000 • Of the following growths ; viz. Britifli fugar iflands - - - 6,600,000 French and Spanifli fettlements 6,000,000 Dutch fettlements - - - - 1,700,000 Portuguefe fettlements - - - 2,500,000 Eaft Indies - - - - . - 100,000 Smyrna or Turkey - - - - 5,700,000 22,600,000 Ya The 5*4 IIISTORYOFTHE The water-mills work 286,000 fpindlj.s and the jennies 1,665,100 — Total of fpindles 1,951,100. — And it has been aflerted, that a pound of raw cotton-wool from Demarara, has been fpun into 356 hanks, each hank being 840 yards ; fo that the thread would have extended 169 miles. On the whole, it is computed that not lefs than three hundred and fifty thoufand people in Great Britain find full employment in th'C cotton manufac^tory. In point of importance, therefore, even the produce and manufadlure of the great flaple commodity of this kingdom, zyoo/, does not exceed it in a two-fold propor- tion. According to the information of a very able and diligent enquirer, there are from ten .to twelve millions of fheep in England. The value of their wool may, one year with another, amount to ;^. 3,000,000 i the expcncc of manu- facturing this is probably £. 9,000,000, and the total value £. 12,000,000. J N D I G O. THE Plant which yields the valuable com- modiiy called Indigo (probably .fo named from India, where it was firfl known to be manufac- tured) IV- WE ST INDIES. ■ 32> tured *) grows fiXintaneouily in all the Weft c ha p. Indies. In the Britifli Sugar Iflands, they reckon three diftindb fpecies : the Wild, Guatimala, and French. The firft is faid to be the hardieft, and the dye cxtraifled from it is fuppofed to be of the beft quality, both in colour and clofenefs of grain ; but one of the other two fpecies is com- monly preferred by the planter, as yielding a greater return ; and of thofe, the French furpafTes the Guatimala in quantity; but yields to it in finenefs of grain and beauty of colour (f) . That the richeft foil produces the moft luxu- riant plant, and that good feafons accelerate its growth, cannot, I think, be doubted ; but, ob- ferving its long tap-root, and fpontaneous growth, in almoft every dry and barren favannah, I am convinced it will thrive on foils that are fit for • L'Abbc Rayn?! by a grofs miflake aflerts, that the plant itfelf was originally CJirrled to the Weft Indies from the Eaft. It was found growing fpontaneoufly in all parts of St. Domingo, by Columbus himfelf, on the firft; difcovery of the Weft Indies; and was indigenous alfo in Mexico, and other parts of the continent, as appears from the teftimony of Pet. Martyr and all the early Spanifti writers, not one of whom does it feem that L'Abbc Raynal ever read. (f) The "joild indigo ( indi^ofcra arrcnUa) has fliort crooked pods and black feeds : the Guntima'a is diftinguilhed by the red.'iefs of the ftalk, and the colour of the feeds, which is green. This is the mdigofera dijptrma of Linnaeus. The French is a fliort bufhy plant, with roundifh leaves. It has long crooked pods, and its feeds are yellow. The French call it Indigo f rune. It is the indigofcra tiniiaria of Linnaeus. Y 3 nothing y.6 H I S T O R Y O F T H E BOOK nothing elfe. The longed dry weather will not V. totally kill it ; though much water will have that efFedt, if fuffered to remain long on the plant. The cultivation and manufadture are con- ducted in the following manner : The land being properly cleared of weed?, &c. is hoed into Imall trenches of two or three inches in depth, and twelve or fourteen inches afunderj in the bottom of v/hich, the feeds are ftrewed by the hand, and covered lightly with mould ; but as the plants fhoot, the field muft be fre- quently weeded and kept condantly clean, until they rife and fpread fufHciently to cover the ground. A bufhel of feed is fuliicient for four or five acres of land. In the Weft Indies, the beft feafon for plant- ing is fuppofed to be the month of March, but the plant will flouriih at any other period ; and, if fown in new land, will come to full blofTom (and it is then in perfeftion) in about three calendar month?. In the fouthern provinces of America, the feafon for planting depends greatly on the nature of the fpring, which varies much in thofe countries. If the plants appear above ground by the firft day of March, they will be fit for cutting about the twentieth of Auguft ; and are fometimcs equal to the beft in the Weft Indies. There is this difference, however, between the two countries i that in the Weft Indies, in feafonablc WEST INDIES. 327 feafonable fituations, they have fometimes four chap. cuttings in the year from the fame roots, where- ^^'• as in North America they have never more than two, and not often more than one. The plant 4S a child of the fun, and can be cultivated, I doubt, with great advantage, no where but with- in the tropicks (g). But that fun which thus improves and Invigo- rates the plant, propagates at the fame time an infed; defl:rud:ive to it, This is a fpecies of grub or worm, which becomes a fly, and preys on the leaves, and never fails, in the Weft Indies, to dif- appoint the planter's expedations the fecond year lipon the fame land : the only remedy is to change the foil every year. The want of due attention to this important circumftance, has probably been one of the caufes that fo many perfons have failed of late years in their attempts to revive the culture of this valuable commodity. If this deftru(5tive peft be happily prevented, or greatly mitigated, the produce -per acre of the firft cutting, will be about eighty pounds weight of what the French call pigeon' s-neck ; or about iixty pounds of a quality equal to the Guatimala. The produce in North America is fometimes (g) The ratoons, or fubfequent growths from the fame plants, ripen in fix or eight weeks ; but the produced! mini flies faft after the fecond cutting, fo that it is abfolutely neceflary to fow the feeds anew ev_ry year. Y 4 nearly 3*8 H I S T O R Y O F T H r. nearly as much j but when Fahrenheit's thermo- meter falls to 60°, the returns there are very un- certain, both in quality and quantity; a greater heat being abfolutely neceffary both for vegeta- tion and maceration. The yielding for the fub- fequent cuttings fomewhat diminifhcs ; but in Jamaica and St, Domingo, if the land is new, about 300 \bs. per acre of the fecond quality, may be expeded annually, from all the cuttings together, and four negroes are fufficient to carry on the cultivation of five acres, belldes doing other occafional work, fufficient to reimburfe the expences of their maintenance and clothing. The procefs for obtaining the dye is generally conduced in two cifterns, which are placed like two fleps, the one afcending to the other. The higheft (which is alio the longed) is called the Jieeper \ and its dimcnfions are about fixteen feet fquare, and two feet and a half in depth. There is an aperture near the bottom for d'.fcharging the fluid into the fecond, which is called the buttery^ and is commonly about twelve feet fquare, and four and a half in depth. Cifterns of thefe di- menfions, are proper for about leven acres ot the plant : but if Hone work cannot cafily be creded for want of materials, vats of firong timber, well fecured from leakage, will anfwer as well (h). The (h) There is alfo requirfd a lime-vat, fix by eight feet fquare, and four feet ilecp ; and it may lie proper to obl"er\ c, that thevtap or plug hole ought to be placed at lealt eight inches W E S T I N D I E S. 3*9 The plants are cut with reap-hooks or fickles, a few inches above the root (ij^ and placed by Jirata in the deeper, until it is about three parts full. They are then ftrongly preffcd down by boards or planks, which are wedged or loaded, to prevent the plants from buoying up j and as much water is admitted as the weed will imbibe, until it is covered four or five inches deep, and in this ftate it is left to ferment, until the pulp is extradled : but the utmoft attention and nice management are now required i for, if the fluid is drawn off too foon, much of the pulp is left be- hind ; and if the fermentation is too long con- tinued, the tender tops of the weeds occafion putrefaftion, by which all the dye is deftroyed. To obtain a certain knowledge therefore of the proper degree of fermentation, has hitherto inches from the bottom, to leave fufficient room for the lime to fubfide, before the lime-water is drawn off into the battery. (i) Some perfons are of opinion that the plants fhould npt be cut nearer the ground than fix inches, and that a few branches fhould be left on the ftem. — This practice, they fav, will draw up the fap better, and produce a more luxu- riant ratoon than when a naked ftalk only is left. During rhe firft cutting it is ufual to leave fome of the moft flourifhing flalks for feed, which ought not to be gathered until it is well hardened in the pod. — It generally requires ten buftiels of the pod to produce a fingle bulhel of clean dry feed fit for fowing. It may alfo be obferved, that many indigo planters have a notion that the plant yields the greateft quantity of the dye, when cut at the full of the moon.— Of this faifl I can afTert nothing of my own knowledge. been 330 HISTORY OFTHE been the grand deftderatum of the cultivator. Repeated experiments for this purpofe, were made fome years ago in the illand of Hifpaniola, under the fan(ftion and encouragement of the Chamber of Agriculture, and inftruftions (which were faid to be practiied with great fucccfs by Meflrs. Dangdale and Mongon, indigo planters in that iiland) were publilhcd by authority, to this cffed: " After the Indigo has been fteeped in the ciftern eight or nine hours, draw off a little of the water, and with a pen dipped into it, make a few fhrokes upon white paper. The firft will probably be high coloured, in which cafe the indigo is not fufficiently fermented ; this operation is to be re- peated every quarter of an hour, until it lofes its colour; when it is arrived at the true point of fermentation." It is aftonifliing that an experiment fo fimple in itfelf, if it anfwers, fhould have been for fo many years unknown to the indigo planters in general ; and 1 confefs, that, although I have had no opportunity of giving it a trial, I am myfelf fomewhat doubtful of its efficacy. The follow- ing method, which I give on tlie authority of Mr. Lediard, is, I conceive, attended with much greater certainty : " Let a fmall hole be made in the deeper, fix or eight inches from the bottom, exclufive of the opening WEST INDIES. opening or aperture for drawing off the impreg- nated water; let this hole hkevvile be flopped with a plug, yet not (o firmly but that a fmall ftream may be permitted to ooze through it. After the plants have been fleeped fome hours, the fluid oozing out will appear beautifully green, and at the lower edge of the ciftern, from whence it drops into the batter}', it will turn of a cop- perifh colour. This copperifh hue, as the fer- mentation continues, will gradually afcend up- wards to the plug, and when that circumflance is perceived, it is proper to flop the fermenta- tion. " During the progrefs of this part of the bufinefs, particular attention fliould be paid to the fmell of the liquor which weeps from the aperture ; for fliould it difcover any fournefs, it will be rieceflary to let the fermented liquor run immediately into the batter}^ and lime water of fufficient ftrength mufl be added to it, until it has lofl its fournefs As it is running off, it will appear green, mixed with a bright yellow, or ftraw colour, but in the battery it will be of a mofl beautiful green." The tindure being thus difcharged into the battery, it is there churned or agitated, until the dye begins to granulate, or float in little flakes on the water. This was formerly done in Ja- maica with manual labour, by means of paddles, and, 33» 332- HISTORYOFTHE and, in the French iflands, by buckets or cylin- ders fixed to long poles; — but far more con- venient machines are now conftruded, in which the levers are worked by a cog-wheel, and kept in motion by a horfe or a mule. When the fluid has, by fuch means, been well churned for the fpace of fifteen or twenty minutes, and, being tried in a cup or plate, appears curdled or co- agulated, a ftrong impregnation of lime-water is gradually added, not only to promote a fepara- tion, but likewife to fix the colour and preferve it from putrefadion. But the planters (as Brown obferves) " muft carefully diftinguifh the diflferent ftages of this part of the operation alfo, and attentively examine the appearance and co- lour as the work advances, for the grain pafTes gradually from a greenifli to a fine purple, which is the proper colour when the liquor is fufEcicntly worked; too fmall a degree of agitation leaving the indigo green and coarfc ; while too vigorous an adion brings it to be almofl black." The liquor being properly and fufFiciently worked, and the pulp granulated, it is left un- diflurbed until the flakes ox fiocnU fettle at the bottom, when the incumbent water is drawn off, and the indigo diftributcd into fmall linen bags to drain, after which it is carefully put into little fquare boxes or moulds, and fuffered to dry W E 3 T I N D I E S. 53j dry gradually in the fhadci and this finilhcs chap. the manufa^5J 35^ HISTORY OF THE Brought over - £. 13,0^3 ANNUAL EXPENCES; viz. Wliite overfecr and maintenance ;r. 2 00 One other white fervant - - 70 Medical attendance on the negroes 25 Negro - luppHes, viz. clothing, tools, faked fifh, and other provifions, exclufive of the produce of their own grounds 200 Colonial taxes - - - 100 395 3 Total for three years, before an)^ return can be expefted - - 1,7 S5 Compound intereft, as it ariies in the feveral j'ears - -221 ,006 Total Expcnce - - £. 15,059 Returns the fourth year^ at £. 4 per cwt. being the average price of Coffee for five years -previous to 1792 J viz. From 1 50 acres of young coffee may be £. expeded the fourth year 45,000 lbs. i,Soo Dedudl annual charges for the fourth year - - L- S^^ Sacks and faddlcs - - 40 ■ ^2>S Clear profit (being equal to £,, 7. 145. "7 per cent, on the capital) - ^ _ ' Returns WEST INDIES. Rehir us the fifth and J'ubfequeHt years -, viz. 150 acres, yielding 750 lbs. per acre, 1 12,500 lbs. at^. 4 Deduft annual charges, as before £. 595 Sacks and faddles - - - 80 Repairsof mills, &c. - - 100 77 153 Clear profit (being equal to 24I per') cent, on the capital) - .3 -^'^ -^ 4- tl It ought to have been obferved in the firft edition of this work, that I am indebted for the eftimates in this and the two preceding pages, to rny worthy friend Samusl Vaughan, Efq. of St. James's parifli Jamaica, Member of the Airembly of that ifland, who has directed his attention to the cultivation of Coffee with great afliduity and fuccefs. He hns fince favoured me with the following interclting ob- fervations, which I have great pleafure in laying before the publick : Observations concerning the cultivation of COFFEE in St. Domingo, and its probable increafe in Jamaica, if the Slave Trade ihall not be aboliflied by A6t of Parliament. THE French part of St. Domingo, in 1770, exported only five millions of pounds of coffee, but in 1784, a bounty of 40 livres per ton hav- ing been allowed to Have veiTcb arriving from Vol, II. A a Africa, 354 HISTORYOFTHE Africa, and in 1786, a further bounty of 20c livres per head on flavcs imported, the import of negroes increafed annually from 12 and 15,000 to 25 and 30,000; and the effed in that colony of this augmentation of African labourers was a very rapid progrcfs in every fpecies of cultivation , but that of coffee almofb exceeds belief; for the export of this article in 17S9 had increafed to above 76 millions of pounds, which, valued at the prefent price (90 fljillings per cwt.), is equal tO;^. 3,420,000 fterling ! Of this enlarged export, no Icfs than 25 millions of pounds (worth £. 1,250,000 fterling) were produced between the years 1786 and 1789; and it was fuppofed that the crop of 1792 (if the troubles had not inter- vened) would have been 80 millions, fo little had the depreciation at market, from the additional quantity brought to fale, affeded the cultivation. It feems probable, that the exceflive price of the Mocha and Eaftern coffee had formerly the effed of a prohibition of the ufe of this beverage among the middling and lower claffes of people in Eu- rope ; for the quantity raifed in this fmgle ifland of St. Domingo was fo great, the increafe of its cultivation fo rapid, and the price of Weft Indian coffee, though 2 j. 3 J. per lb. Icfs than that of Mocha, ftill continuing, at the time of the greateft export, at a profitable height for the cultivator ; that it is difficult to account for thefe fads, but by WEST INDIES. 355 by fuppofing the confumers to be augmented by chap, new and numerous people. On this luppofition, i^- It IS impoflible to forelce the extent to which the cultivation of this article in the Weft Indies may be carried. It is not enough to fay, it will equal that of lugar, nor is it likely, as in the cafe of fugar, to be checked by importation from the Eaft, inafmuch as it has rifen to its prefent won- derful importance in the Weft Indies, notwith- ftanding the rivalry of both the Eaft Indies and the Levant. — The diminution of the quantity of coffee produced in St. Domingo (upwards of one thoufand coffee plantations having beendeftro3'cd) will moft certainly be felt in a remarkable manner for fome years to come : many perfons from thence are o( opinion, that the exportation will be re- duced at leaft one half (that is, forty millions of pounds) fuppofing even that the prefent rebellion was to terminate without further devaftation. The export from the whole Britifli Colonies in 1787 did not amount to four millions of pounds j and therefore, excepting by new cultivation, they cannot fupply the deficiency occafioned by the troubles in St. Domingo, nor is the reft of the Weft Indies able to make it up ; for fmce thefe troubles, the price has augmented near one- tourth, viz. from 70 j. to 90 j. This advance of price will, if not (as in former times) checked by additional duties, be a prcmi7 millions of pounds ; that is above eighteen times as much as was produced before 1783, and feven times as much as was produced lafl year. It may be added, that the lowlands of Jamaica are air ready fettled, the highlands, generally fpeaking, are improper for fugar, but proper for coffee; they are new, they are equal to near two thirds of Jamaica : the ifland is now well interfered with roads, &c. &c. In fhort, the country is prepared, and the time is proper for it. From all thefe circumftances, taken together, it is reafonable to conclude, that if labourers fliall continue to be procured from Africa at moderate prices, and every advantage be made of the prefent moment, we fiiall eftabliOi in Jamaica a moft extenfive cultivation of coffee, which, as an export ftaple, will be of the utmoft confequence to Great Britain, perhaps, exceed- ing in value the ftaple of fugar. But this new and important commerce is entirely dependent on a continued importation of labourers. The increafe of the cultivation of coffee to the extent here fuggefted is, in the prefent times, of peculiar confequence in two other points of view : Firft, it will augment the number of that middle clafs of Whites who, though not rich enough to live in a diftant country, are fufficiently opulent and independent to fupport their families in comfort and competence in a refidence on their own Aaj eftates; 35S HISTORY OF THE eftates ; Iccondly, mountain fettlements in ge- neral increafe in Negro population, being more healthy than the lowlands. The firft circum- ftance will add to our fecurity, fo neceliary at prefent, and which, at all periods, we have in vain attempted, by other means, to effcft. The fecond opens a profpedt of an abolition of the Slave Trade, and tliat at no diftant period of time, by natural caufes, which will gradually taka place wiihout giving reafon for complaint to any body of men. Jamaica^ ^793* HAVING thus copioully treated of the cultivation of thofe produds which chiefly give value and importance to the Britifh colonies in the Well Indies, and contri- bute, in a very eminent degree, to the wealth, commerce, and navigation of the parent ftate, it is the lefs neceflary for me to dwell at great length on minor ftaples \ yet thefe cannot be wholly overlooked in a comprehenfive furvey of the tropical king- dom i neither indeed are they to be con- fidercd as unimportant, except by com- parifon with thofe rich and profitable com- modities of which fo much has been faid in this and the preceding chapters. The j-emaining WEST INDIES. 359 remaining clafles, of which I fliall briefly treat, are cacao, ginger, arnotto, aloes, and piemenio. As my obfervations will be few, they will be chiefly pradtical and commer- cial ; a fyftematical dcfcription of each being to be found in Sloane, Brown, Hughes, and other writers. CACAO. THE cacao or chocolate nut, a produdion equally delicate, wholefome and nutritive, is a native of South America, and is faid to have been originally conveyed to Hitpaniola from fome of the provinces of New Spain; where, befides affording to the natives an article of nourilhment, it ferved the purpofe of money ; and was ufed by them as a medium in barter; one hundred and fifty of the nuts being con- lidered of much the fame value as a royal by the Spaniards. From this circumftance it feems pro- bable, that if the ancient inhabitants of South America were emigrants from Europe or Afia, they muft have detached themfclves at an early period, before rnetals were converted into coins, or from fomc fociety which had made but mo- derate advances in civilization. Among the Spaniards, with whom the cacao •{lill forms a confiderable article of commerce, its cultivation is conduded In the following manner. A a 4 Having 36o H I S T O R Y O F T H E Having chofen a fpot of level land (a deep black mould is preferred) fheltered round with a thick wood, fo as to be well fcreened from the wind, efpecially the north, and caufed it to be cleared from all manner of ftumps and weeds, the planter digs a number of holes at eighteen or twenty feet diftance, each hole being about a foot in length and width, and fix or eight inches deep. In the mean time, having feledled the largeft and faireft pods of the cacao when full ripe, he takes out the grains and puts them into a velTel of water. Such of them as fwim are rejeded i the others, being wadicd clean from the pulp and ikinned, are fuffered to remain in the water till they begin to fprout, at which time they are fit for planting. The owner then takes the banana, or fome other large leaves, and places one leaf within the circumference of each hole, {q as to line it round ; leaving however th.e fides of the leaf fome inches above the ground, after which he rubs in the mould, very lightly, till the hole is filled. He then feleds three nuts for each hole, and plants them triangularly, by mak- ing a fmall opening for each with his finger, about two inches deep, into which he puts the nuts, with that end downwards from which the fprout ifTues, and having lightly covered them with mould, he folds over the leaf, and places a fmall {lone on the top to prevent its opening. In 2 this WEST INDIES. 36J this manner he plants his whole walk, or orchard. At the end of eight or ten days, the plants will generally be found to rife above the earth. The leaves are then opened, that their growth may not be impeded ; but, in order to flielter them from the fun, other leaves or branches are placed round the hole ; for which purpofe thofe of the palm kind are generally chofen (for having a ftrong ftem, they are eafily fixed in the earth) and they are changed as often as they decay, for the fpacc of five or fix months. It is alfo thought advif- able to plant fome other tree (the erythrina or bean-tree is generally chofen for this purpofe) to the fouth-wefl of the cacao plant, which may grow up with it, and ferve it for (belter ;— for it mufl always be remembered, that young cacao trees will flourifh only in the fhade. If all the three nuts placed in each hole fpring up, it is thought neceflary, when the plants are eighteen or twenty inches high, to cut one of them down. The other two, if they fpread dif- ferent ways, are fometimes fufFered to remain; but it feldom happens that all the nuts, or even more than one of them, will take root, which is the reafon of planting three in a hole. The fifth year the tree begins to bear, and the eighth attains its full perfeAion : it then produces in general two crops of fruit in the year, yielding at each, from ten to twenty pounds weight, 3^24 HISTORYOFTHE weight, according to the foil and feafons ; and it will Ibmetimes continue bearing for twenty years i but the fame delicacy of ftamina which marks its infancy, is vifible in all the flages of its growth. It is obnoxious to blights, and fhrinks from the firfl appearance of drought. It has happened that the greateft part of a whole plan- tation of cacao trees have periihed in a fingle night, without any vifible caufe. Circumftances of this nature, in early times, gave rif^ to many fuperftitious notions concerning this tree, and, among others, the appearance of a comet was always confidered as fatal to the cacao planta- tions. In fpite however of the influence of comets, and notwithftanding the care and precaution that are requifite in the firft eftablifliment of a cacap plantation, it is certain that the cultivation of this plant was both extenfive and iuccefsful in the Britifli fugar iflands, for many years after they had become fubjedt to the Britifli government. Blome, who publiflied a fhort account of Jamaica in 1672, fpcaks of cacao as being at that time one of the chief articles of export : " there are, fays he, in this ifland, at this time, about fixty cacao walks (plantations) and many more now planting." At prefent I believe there is not a finglc cacao plantation from one end of Ja- maica to the other. A few fcattered trees, here and WEST INDIES, and there, are all that remain of thofe flouridiing and beautiful groves which were once the pride and boaft of the country. They have withered, with the indigo manufadure, under the heavy hand of minifterial exadlion. The excife on cacao, when made into cakes, rofe to no lefs than twelve pounds twelve fhillings per cwt. exclufive of eleven fhillings and eleven pence halfpenny, paid at the cuftom-houfe ; amounting together to upwards of four hundred and eighty per cent. on its marketable value ! It is to be hoped that the error of impofing fuch heavy impofitions on our own colonial growths, is at length become fufficiently ma- nifeft. After all, there is reafon to apprehend that our fugar illands can never again enter into com- petition with the Spanifh Americans in the cul- tivation of the article of which I treat. At prcr fent the only cacao plantations of any account, in our colonies, are in Grenada and Dominica; and the quantity annually exported from both thofe illands cannot, I believe, be eftimated on an average at more than four thoufand bags of one hundred weight each, which may be worth, at the London market, between ten and eleven thoufand pounds fterling (f). (f) The cacao tree, both in fize and {hape, fomewhat re- fsmbles a young blackhcart cherry. The flower is of a faffroa colour, 364. » I 3 T O R Y O F T H E GINGER. THIS grateful aromatick root had a very early introdu(5lion into Hii'paniola, and I fhoultl not have fuppofed it an exotick, but that Acofta relates it was conveyed from the Eaft Indies to New Spain, by a peribn named Francirco de Mendoza. If colour, extremely beautiful, and the pods, which in a green ftate are much like a cucumber, proceed immediattly tron> all parts of the body and larger branches. As they ripen, they chance their colour, and turn to a fine bluifh red, almoin purple, with pink coloured veins. This is the commoa fort ; but there is a larger fpecies, which produces pods of a delicate yellow or lemon colour. Each pod mav contain from t'venty to thirty outs or kernels, not unlike almonds, which are again inclo'.f-l in a white pulpy lubltance, loft and fweet, and immediately enveloped in a parchment fliell. Thefe nuts, being fiift fimply dried in the fun, are packed for market, and require very little preparation, after re- moving the fhell, to be made into good chocolate. Tha cakes which are generally ulal under this name in Eng- land, appear to me to be compofed of not more than one- half genuine cacao; the remainder I lake to be^.- »> WEST INDIES. 37,- extend itfclf, to lop or cut down the coffee tree neareft appen- to it. Every poflible care was taken of" this plant; it DIX. was kept clean, and every time I went on my eftate I U— v-i-J vifited it; knowing of what confequence it would be to the publick in general, and to me in particular, if i could bring this experiment to i'ucceed. it may be eafily fup- pofed with what anxiety I viewed the growth of the plant ; but, alas ! what was my grief, when 1 found the clove tree hardly vegetating, lofing irs old leaves, as new ones fprung at the top ; and, in the long fpace of near fix months, not gaining an inch in height: difappointed in my hopes, I informed my friend of the little fuccefs I had had, and intreated his aiTiiiance in procuring other trees, if poflible. In the month of December 17B9, two more trees were fent to me. From my firfl difappoint- ment, I wifhed to plant thefe new trees nearer to my houfe, and in a place that would be convi-nlent for watch- ing and promoting their growth. My dwelling-houfe is fituatcd on a hiil, to the eart ward, which hill is compofed of a ftiff, red-clay foil ; at the foot of this hiil, and on the eaft fide, is fituated my garden ; to obtain a flat of about one hundred and twenty feet fquare, one part of that hill has been dug and levelled, which in fome parts has made a bank of nearly eleven feet high ; the ground was fpread over, in order to fill up the inequalities of the furface : it will readily be obferved how poor fome part of that furface muft be, particularly on that fide, where elevea feet were cut from the hill. Here, I planted the above mentioned two trees, but, at the fame time, took care to place them as far as I could from that fide of the hill, which had been pared down, as I had obferved its foil was a flifF, red-clay; I therefore dug two holes at about twelve feet from each other, of about eighteen inches diameter, and two feet deep ; finding the fubftratum to be of a )'ellow, flrong, gravelly nature, I filled up thefe two holes with fome good mould, and in e::ch of them I -planted a clove tree ; they grew faft and with luxuriance ; B b 4 whicli 11^ ^ HISTORY OF THE which induced me to tranfplant the firft clove tree I had received into the fame garden, obferving the fame fteat- mcnt; but whilft that tree was growing to my fatisfaction, an infect dcftroyed the top of it, and cccafioncd its death. In the month of November 1791, being at Martinico, I viiited the different gardens in and about the town of Saint Pierre : as I was waking in the ^larden belonging to the Don.nican friars, 1 remarked feveral young clove trees, each in a feparate bafket ; they were the property of a gardener from Cayenne, and were to be difpofed of. I purchafed the whole of them, con fill mg of fourteen trees : after collecting, from the generofuy of my friends, different other plants, I returned to Dominica, rich with my new acquifitioii of clove trees, and determined to try different foils. Holes were dug in feveral parts of my garden, from twelve to fourteen feet diftance, and of about the fame dimenfions as thofc mentioned before: on examining the foil, I found fo ne of a ftiff gravelly nature ; in other parts, the fubftratum was of a yellow fandy kind; in fome holes, after taking out about fix inciies of the furface, I found a ftiff red-clay; mixing I'ome black mould wih the different earths taken out of thefe holes, 1 filled them up, and planted in them ten out of the fourteen trees, referving four trees for that part of the garden nearer the foot of the hill, where ten or eleven feet had bjen cut from the furface ; there I dug no more than v/as neceffary to plant my trees : the ground was a clofe, compadt, ftiff, red-clay. In order to make a;i experiment, I mixed no mould, dung, fand, or other loi!,with dcfi^n to open the pores of the clay, but planted th fe laft four trees in that clay, without the afHttance of any thing whatever ; abandoning their fate to nature, being ref ived to run the rii'k of lofmg them, for the pur- pof^: of afcertaining, whether the clove tree required a ricii foil or not. At the moment I now write, (October 17^3,) twenty-three months hav? elapfed, fince the planting W E S T I N D I E S. 377 planting of thefe laft fourteen trees ; and it is with fatis- faction 1 can aflert, that the four trees, which were planted in the clay, have grown, with at leaft as much, if not more luxuriance, than the other ten : they are from five to fix feet high, growing with vigour, fully furnifhed with branches at the bottom, and terminating in a point at the top, like a pyramid : out of thofe four- teen trees, fix of them were planted in a row, in the flat- teft part of the garden j the ground, with which the holes had been filled up having funk a little below the furface, a hollow round three of thefe trees was funned, and the water, not having a fufficient current, colkiled round them : one tree died ; the other two appearing to be in a declining ftate, 1 raifed them above lix inches, that they might be rather above the furface of the ground. Although thefe trees were planted with the others in No- vember 1 791, one of the two declining trees is not above fix inches high, and the other twelve inches, whilft the other trees are three feet in height; this is a fufficient proof, that the clove tree requires a dry fituation, and dreads a fpringy damp foil ; though a certain degree of moilUirc will promote its growth. In the month of January 1793, with much trouble and expence, ( i fay trouble, becaufe the exportation from the French iflands is prohibited), I procured two boxes of mother of cloves * '. the berries were packed, fome in fand, others in loofe earth : upon receiving them, I ordered beds to be prepared in it y garden, and in different parts of my eflate, for the convenicncy of tranfplanting, and of faving diftance, when the nurferies fhould be fit for that purpofe. I planted thefe feeds at ^bout fix inches dif- tance, covering them with about one inch of earth. I had been previoufly told, that the clove tree, when young, requires to be fheltered from the fun ; but rcfledling on the latitudes of Cayenne, and of the Moluccas, which are yader the fourth and fifth degrees, the one north, the other • Berries of the clove tree ripe and fit for vegetation. fouth, 37« HISTORYOFTHE fouth, and the latitude of Dominica, which is betweej^ the fifteenth and fixteenth de^^rees north, i knew tflat tea degrees would make a material difi-"erence in t;-je cirnatc, particularly on Montpellicr eftatc, which is (itiiated on an elevated fituation, and about three miles diftant froTJ the fea. I thought, that if I could rear thofc feeds without the afliftance of any {hade, they would, from their infancy, be inured to the fun and air, would be more hardy, and confequently, would bear tranfplanting with lefs rifk and danger; but in this 1 \v.\s deceived. The mother of clove, on its firft vifible vegetation, appears like a fmall, ftraight, red dart; when it comes to two inches high, two fmall red leaves are feen on its lop ; on the firll appear- ance of thefe leaves, when hardly perceptible to the naked eye, I found, that on the fun ihinmg wiui any degree of heat, the plants drooped and periftied; whereby many feeds were loft : I therefore caufed fmall frames to be erected over all the beds, about three feet high from the ground, and I fpread on them plantain leaves, in order to fhade the young plants : I kept fupplying thofe leaves for near nine months; after which time I iufFered the leaves to decay gradually, that the fun m'ghtbe admitted to the plants, as they acquired ftiengtii ; and in the fpace of twelve months, they were fit to be tranfplantcd. Out of fix thoufand mother of cloves, I faved from fifteen to fixteen hundred trees, which I began to tranfplant in January 1794, in the open field, at fixteen feet diftance. They are growing very luxuriantly ; I have loft but few, and none but fuch as were in places, where the water collecSled. They are now fifteen months old, from the day they were tranfplantcd, and moft of them are be- tween three and four feet high, apparently very healthy. The ground, wherein they are planted, had been under coffee for forty years ; the coffee trees had decayed, which I tried in vain to replace, but they would not grow. Being difappointed, I turned it into a pafture, which, from negled, was covered with guava buflies, a planjc very WEST INDIES. 379 very prejudicial to any foil ; I then refolved to clear it, and p'.mt my clove trees in it. This pafture ground, on the whole, is of a compad, ftrong, gravelly foil ; in fome parts it is of a clayey nature ; but the trees grow well in both. As Abbe Raynal has been very exaft in his defcription of the clove, I ftiall adopt the fame from his hiftory. *' Thefoivers of the clove tree are difpofed i?i a corymbus ** terihivalis ; they have each of them a long quadrificl *' cal'tx^ which bears as many petals, and a great number •* offlannna ; thepi/iil, inclofed at the bottom of this calix, <* becomes along tuith it an oviform fruit-, filed up with a « fngle kernel, and known by the name of mother of clove y « this fame calixy gathered before the unfolding of the petals <* and the fecundation of the piflil-, is the clove as fold in the ** fiops. %he clove is fit to be gathered when it has ac- ** quired a reddijh cafl, and a certain degree offirmnefs.'" The two clove trees, which I planted in December 1789, appeared with clove buds, on or about the 20th January 1795 ; fome of the cloves were fit to be gathered in May and June following ; and fuch of the cloves as were left on the trees for the purpofe of obtaining the mother of cloves, for feeds, acquired a proper degree of maturity, in July and Auguft : fo that allowing thofe two trees to be about one year old, when they came to me, from the feeds, which I planted, I judge they were of that age ; I think the clove tree becomes productive, in the courfe of little more than fix years, inftead of nine years, as mentioned by Abbe Raynal. I have this year (1795) but tvi^o clove trees that are bearing; in the year 1796, I fhall have twenty-four more ; and in the year 1799, 1 ftiall have from fifteen to fixteen hundred trees, in a ftate of produ6lion. Such of the trees, as are fituated in flat grounds, I fhall leave to their natural growth, by which more profit will be got, and fhady walks obtained, an obje61: of confideration in a warm climate j and thofe trees that are placed on a decli- vity, 38o HISTORYOFTHE vity, I (hall top at eight or nine feet, for the convenience of gathering. Having few cloves to gather this ^ear, (1795), they were picked with the hand. In the Mo- luccas, the planters either fpread cloths on the ground, or fweep the ground clean under and about the trees, and with the affiftance of reeds they caufe the cloves to fall down ; after which they expofe them, for a few days, to fmoke upon hurdles, which are covered with large leaves; and this fumigation is followed by drying the cloves in the fun. In order to afct rtain the beft mode of rendering the cloves merchantable, 1 tried feveial ways of deficcating them when gathered. The firft, th-t I cured, in the fhadc, and in a warm room, were a fortnight bciore they appeared dryj and on breaking them witn the nail, the ball, which is on the top of the clove, I found in the infide to be mouldy i and on chewing the clove, they had a mufty tafte : I from thefe circumftances foiiiid, that this mode of curing the cloves would noi anfwer. The fecond gathering of cloves, 1 deficcatcd entirely by the hc;.t of the fun. When dried, they appeared of a blacker hue than thfe Fait India cloves, bu:, of a ftronger and more pungent tafte. The third trial, after gathering the cloves, on a very rainy day, 1 put them in a ftove which 1 had conftruded for that purpofe, and left for two nights and a day : the heat was rather ftrong, and the rainy weather having pre- vented me from going to town, hindered me from getting a thermometer to afccrtain the degree of heat of the flove. At the end of the fecond night, I took the cloves from the ftove, and completed the deficcation by the fun ; which operation, when perfcdcd, gave the cloves a brownifti hue, a good pungent tafte, but not fo ftrong a flavour, as thofe that had been deficcated by the fun only. The fourth deficcation was nevcrthelefs done in the {ame way i but, having got a thermometer, 1 obferved this WEST IXDIES. 3^1 this difference: After putting my green cloves in the APPEN- ftove, I took care that the heat was more moderate than dix. that of the third trial ; I left the cloves in the ftove for '— t only one night, and half a day, until they were faded, and had acquired a brown colour. I hung my thermometer in the ilove, and found the heat to vary from I20 to 130 degrees : this done, I took out the thermometer, and let the heat decreafe to the ufual degree of my eftate, which was, on that day, feventy-hx degrees i after this, from one o'clock to two, 1 expofed the thermometer to the fun ; the day was fair ; and the thermometer getting up to 128 degrees, this {hewed the heat of the ftove to be nearly equal to that of the fun. After taking the cloves out of the ftove, the reft of the deficcation was done by the fun. I found thefe cloves, when perfedly dry, to be of a brown- ifh hue, not fo ftrong in tafte as thofe deficcated by the fun only, but ftronger than thofe that had been, for two nights and a day, expofed in the ftove to a greater heat than thefe laft. Having fet afide the firft curing by the fhade, I have numbered the cloves that underwent the three laft deftccations, No. i, 2, and 3: the perfons, to whofe judgment thefe fpecimens will be fubmitted, will decide on the beft quality amongft the three forts ; all of which are far fuperior in their ftrength, and pun- gency, to thofe that come from the t!aft Indies, and ap- pear to me to coritain a great deal more eflential oil : for, when expofed to heat, on prefling the nail on a clove, the eflential oil is perceived to come out of it; which is not the cafe with the Eaft India cloves, at leaft fuch as I have bought, in this ifland, for the purpofe of comparinp- them with mine. In curing the clove, I find it indifpenfable to have a ftove, for the following reafons ; After gathering cloves, I perceived that if they were not, within a ftiort time after fuch gathering, faded, either by the heat of the fun, or by that of a ftove, that the greateft part of the cloves, on being dried afterwards, acquired a light brownifti hue, 382 H I S T O R Y O F T H E hue, loft their firmncfs, ftrength, or pungency ; and giany appeared as damaged cloves, and, as the weather is ex- ceedingly variable in this part of the world, and the air, in general, damp, particularly iji the country, it will be abfolutely neceflary to have a ftove heated to the deo-ree before mentioned, and to leave the cloves in it till they are faded, I mean, until they iiave acquired a brown hue ; after which, the reii of the dcficcation may be done at eafe, by the heat of the fun, or by expofure in a dry airy room. The annual produ6lion of a clove tree in the Molucca Iflands, according to Abbe Raynal's account, is about three pounds for each tree. There, they are topped, at from eight to nine feet, for the conveniency of gathering; but, in Cayenne, where they are left without topping, and where there are clove trees larger thaa our orange trees, it b reported, they produce from forty to fifty pounds each tree. The two trees, which, under my management, have produced cloves this year, on the Montpeilier eftate, have netted me four pounds and a half of cured cloves, befides two pounds, at ieaft, of cloves, which I have left on the trees, to obtain mother of cloves, for the multi- plication of that fpice ; and befides this, I have about half a pound of cloves, which having (alien on the ground before their degree of maturity, have been dried, and are very good for domeftic ufe : thefe laft are ftrong, but fmall ; fo that thefe two trees have produced more than feven pounds of cloves. As this is the firft time of their produtSion, and they are young, it may be rcafonably ex- pelled, that when older, they will acquire more ftrength, and more branches; and coiifequently> will be a great deal more produdive. Ti WEST INDIES. 383 ^0 the preceding Exiraof it is thought necejfary to add the folloxving Letter to the Earl of Liverpool. Soho Square, Auguft 1 1, 1 796, MY LORD, I BEG leave to acquaint your Lordfhip, that I have read with attention the paper on the fuccefsful culture of the clove tree in Dominica, which your Lordfhip did me the honour of referring to me, and am of opinion, that it ought to be printed for the information of His Ma- jefty's fubjedts in the Weft Indies, and other intertro- pical colonies. Mr. Buee is, as far as I know, the firft perfon, who has obferved, that the pimento' tree profpers beft in thofe ftcril foils v\here trees whofe wood is of a hard texture abound, and that fugar cannot be cultivated to advantage in fuch places ; alfo, on the other hand, that where trees whofe wood is foft, are naturally found, pimento trees rarely are met with, and fugar plantations will fucceed ; on fuch fteril foils he has tried clove trees, and found them congenial to its nature. Thefe obfervations open to the cultivators of hot cli- mates a new fource of wealth, which will not probably be confined to the growth of cloves; other fpices may alfo profper beft in the barren foils of the Weft Indies, as lavender, thyme, and other aromatic plants, are known to do in thofe of Europe. I have the honour of fending to your Lordfliip, with this, a paper containing famples of cloves received by me from iVIr. Buee fome months ago: Numbers i and 2, mentioned by him p. 1 9, (38 1 .) are mixed ; No. 3, his beft fort, are feparate. Your Lordfhip may, if you think fit, order a comparifon to be made, by fome dealers in Ipice, between thefe and the cloves we ufually receive from the Dutch; APPEN- DIX, 38+ HISTORY, Sec. Dutch : I (hall only add, that when I applied for informa- tion on the fame fubjecl to an eminent whokTale dealer in that article, the only anfwer 1 obtained, v/as, that he thought me grievoufly deceived, in fuppofrng the cloves to be the produce of the Weft ndies, he being abfolutely certain they came from the Eaft. I have the honour to be, With infinite regard and cfteem, Your Lordfliip's obedient liumble fervant, JOS. BANKS Earl of Liverpool. USD OF THE FIFTH BOOK. THE HISTORY, CIFIL AND COMMERCIAL, O F 71ie Britifli Colonies in the Weft Indies. 3S5 BOOK VI. GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCE. CHAP. I. Colonial EJInbliJJiments. — Of the Captain General or Chief Governor ; his Pow:rs and Privileges. ^^ Some Refieclions on the ufual Choice of Perfons for this high Office. — Lieutenant General, Lieu- tenant Governor, and Prefident. — Of the Council ^ their Office and Funciiojis. — Origin of their Claim to a Share in the Legiflature. — Its Neceffity, Pro- priety, and Legality conftdered. — Some Correc- tions in the Confitiition of this Body propofed. np H E BrltlOi eftablifliments In the Weft chap. -*- Indies are commonly termed king's govern- ^' ments, in contradiftindlion to t\\Q proprietary ^n(\ charter governments which were known in North America; and, from what has been ftated in fome preceding parts of this work, the reader Vol. II. C c muft 3S6 HISTORY OFTHE nruft have obferved, how very nearly their in- ternal conflitutions conform to that of the %io- ther-counlry. Their different orders of judica- ture are cxadlly like thofe of England, and their legiflatures, in general, rcfpedively confift of three dlfllnd branches j /. e. a governor, reprefenting the crown, a council or upper houfe, and a body of delegates reprefenting the people at large. The two firfb are neceffarily imperfe(fl, bccaufe they are not independent ; but the members of the lafl are more fairly and equally chofen by their conftituents, than thofe of the Britifli Houfe of Commons by the people of Great Britain. Of the powers and privileges claimed and exer- cifed by thefe feveral branches refpcftively, in their own little fyftem, and whence derived, I fliall now briefly treat. And firft of the GOVERNOR. Every chief governor in the Britifh Weft Indies is appointed by letters patent under the great feal of Great Britain. He receives through courfefy the title of Excellency, and is vefted with the following powers : * First, as captain-general and commander in chief, he has the adual command of all the land forces within his government (except only when a general officer is employed on the llafl) and he commiffions all oliiccrs of the militia. He ap- points I. I WEST INDIES. 387 p-jints'the judges of all the different courts of chap. common law, and even thefe gentlemen, in all the idands, I believe (Jamaica exceptedf^J) hold their leats during the governor's good pleafure. He nominates and fuperfedes at will, the cuf- todes of the feveral parifhes, juftices of the peace, and other fubordinate civil officers j and altliough in relpe^fl to fome of the above appointments and difmiflions, he is direcled to afk the advice of his council, this diredlion is of little avail, inaf- much as the members of this body are themfelves liable to be fufpended by the governor, on the moft frivolous pretences, or even vv^ithout any cauie affignedi ^ circumftance, by the way, which not unfrequently happens ; and having thus re- duced the board under a number limited by his inftrudions, he can fill up the vacancies injiayiter, with fuch perfons as will hQ properly obedient. He has authority, with the advice of his council, to fummon general affemblies ; he appoints the place of their meeting, and when met, he poflefTes (a) By an acl pafled in Jamaica in 1781, intiruled, "An ucr to make the places of the judges, &c. more permanent and rclpetlahle/' it is declared, that no judge (hall be removed but by the king's pleafure, fignified under his majefty's fign ruannal. It i, provided however that the governor, with the confent of five of Jiis council, vc\7Cj fuj'paid, until tlie king's pleafure be known, accounting to his majeity for, and deli- vering to the party fufpended a copy of his reafons in writing for fuch fufpenllon. This provifo feems to me to render Inis act in a great meafure nugatory, C c 2 a negative 388 H I S T:0 R Y OF T rf E a negative voice in the legiflature, for withouf his confent, no bill pafTes into a law ; and h^may, from time to time, as he alone (hall judge need- ful, adjourn, prorogue, and diflblve all fuch ge- neral afTemblies. He has the dilpofal of all fuch civil employments as the crown does not difpofe of; and with refpeft to fuch offices as are ufually filled up by the Britifli government, if vacancies happen, the governor appoints pro tempore, and the perfons fo appointed are entitled to all the emoluments, until they are fuperfeded at home, and until the perfons nominated to fuperfede them, arrive in the colony. The governor claims the privilege alfo, In extraordinary cafes, and has been known frequently to exercife it, of fufpend- ing fuch civil officers even as a(ft immediately under the king's authority, or by commiffioK from the boards of treafury and admiralty, in high and lucrative employments, as the attorney and ad- vocate-general, the colledtors of the cuftoms, &:c. and of nominating other perfons to adl in their room, until the king's pleafure fhall be known therein. To all which is added authority, when he fhall judge any offender in criminal matters a fit objed: of mercy, to extend the king's gracious pardon towards him, except only in cafes oi murder and high treafonj and even in thefe cafes, the governor is permitted to reprieve until the fignification of the royal pleafure. Secowdly, W E S T I N D I E S. 389 Secondly, the governor has the cuftody of chap. ■the great fcal, and, in mod of the colonies, pre- ^ ^• iides folely in the high court of Chancery. Tn^^ deed, in fome of the Windward Illands, as we have feen, the council fit as judges in the court of Chancery with the governor : Procefs however is iflued by the governor alone, and tefted in his name ; and in general the governor exercifes within his jurirdi(5tion, the fame extenfive powers as are pofTefled by the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Thirdly, the governor is Ordinary, and col- lates to all vacant church benefices. He hath alfo the power of granting probate of vvills, and adminiftration of the effects of perfms dying inteflatc. He grants licences for marriages, and licences for fchools, &c. and is fole judge in all matters relating to the confiiiorial or ecclefiaftical law. Fourthly, the governor prefides in the court of Error, of which he and the council are judges, to hear and determine all appeals, in the nature of writs of error, from the fuperior courts of com- mon law. Fifthly, the governor is alfo vice-admiral within the extent of his government. As fuch, he is entitled to the rights oljetfan, Jlotfam, he. and in time of war, he ilfues his warrant to the C c 3 judge 390 H I S T O R V O F T H E BOOK j udge of the court of vice- admiralty, to granrcom- "^'^' mifTions to privateers (b) . Lastly, a colony-governor, befides various emoluments arifing from fees, fines, forfeitures, and efchcats, has an honourable annual provifion fettled upon him by aft of aflembly, for the whole term of his adminitlration in the colony. For, in order that he may not be tempted to proflitute the dignity of his ftation by improper condefccn- fions to leading men in the aflembly, he is re- flraincd by his inflrudions from accepting any falary, unlefs the fame be fettled upon him by law, within the fpace of one year after his entrance into the government, and exprefsly made irrevo- cable during the whole term of his refidence in the adminiftration. And this, in my opinion, is a wife and moft neceflary reftridion. Armed with fuch various authorities, and pof- feffing fuch tranfcendent pre-eminence and privi- (b) It may not be improper to obferve in this place, that the court of v;ce-adniiralty in the Colonies, by the iv. of Geo. 111. chap. 15, is invefted with a concurrent jurifdi£lion witli the courts of record, in cafes of forfeitures and penalties in- curred by tlie breach of any ainion of Governor Lvttelton is quoted mora at large in the Hiilory of Jamaica by Mr. Long, vol. \. p. 1 56. Vol. II. D d the 40Z H I S T O R Y O F T H E u o o K the governor's difpofal, and bound to fuppoit all l^L . ^^^^ meafures,' however incompatible witif the general good. Again : From the power which the governors affume of arbitrarily inflicting the rod of fulpenfion, the board has not liability fuf- ficient to infure refped to its refolutions. It has neither ilrength nor independency. Such of the members therefore as have property in the coun- try, may perhaps fometimcs find themfelves in a more difagreeable predicament than even thofe who have none ; for they may be compelled to vote as a governor fliall diflatc, in fupport, pofTi- bly, of meafures ruinous to the community in which all their concerns are centered, or be expofed to the affront of publick degradation; to the confequent malignant mifconftruClions of the vulgar; and perhaps to the contempt of their own minds, in having accepted a ftation which fubjeds them to cenfure, for honeflly difcharging the duties of it. I DO not indeed know that many great evils have adually been felt by the colonifts at large, from the inefficiency and inftability of this body. However, as it is the excellency of the Britilh government, not merely to corrcd exilling abules, but alfo to obviate and prevent (as far as human forefight will permit) fuch as may pofTibly or pro- bably happen ; many inLelligent pcri'ons have been led to controvert the claim of the council al- togqthtF W E S T I N D I E S. 403 together to a participation in the Icgiflature. They deny that this claim derives any jufl fup- port either from analogy to the conftitution of the parent ftate, from the royal delegation, or from any law of fuiRcient comprehenfion and efficacy to warrant fuch a pretenfion in a body fp conftituted. The principal arguments which have beerx advanced in fupport of this opinion, are to this effed:. The peers of Great Britain are hereditary members of the legiflaturc, and fit in parliament for the fupport of their own great interefts and inherent dignity, and as an intermediate body between the crown and the people. In civil pro- Cefs their perfons are facred, and in criminal, they are tried by their own order. Neither can their privileges be taken from them but in extraordi- nary cafes, and then only by the ientcnce of the whole houfe, as a court of the higheft jurlfdicftion, or by an aft of the whole legiflaLure. The fove- relgn, it is true, can create as many new peers as he pleafes, but having once raifed a fubjecl tg this high dignity, his privileges thenceforward, as a peer of parliament, are his own ; founded, not on royal conceffions, but on the ancient funda- mental conftitution of the realm. Thus, the houfe of lords forms a feparate branch of the legif- latu.'^c.diftlnft from, and entirely indeoendsnt of, J) d 2 ths 40* H I S T O R Y O P T H E the crown on the one hand, and the commons on the other. Now, in all thefe refpefts, it is main- tained, that a colonial council has no conformity or fimilitude with, and therefore could not origi- nally have been intended to form a feparatc cftate, and fupply in the colonies the place of, the houfc of peers in Great Britain. If is contended further, that the power of the crown is not of itfelf fafficiently extenfive to con- ftitute fuch a legiflative branch, or fcparate eflate in the colonies. The king, it is true, has a ne- gative in legiflation, but the king has no right to propofc a law to, or to alter a law propofed by» the lords or commons. His power is the power of rcjedting, and nothing more j which therefore is not (o properly a Icgillative power, as a nega- tive on the Icgiflation of the other branches ; a mere defenfive privilege to enable him to with- fland the encroachments of the legiilature, and preferve the government entire. As the king cannot confer on others what he pofleffes not him- felf, nothing lefs than a folemn and precifely de- claratory law, propoied by the reprclentativcs of the people, and confirmed by the crown, could, it is pretended, have given the fhadow of autho- rity to a colonial or provincial council to form thcmiclvcs into a di-ftinft legislative eilate. It follows, that their claim to Icgifuilivc powers, thus unfupported, is ufurpation and tyranny. These W E S T I N D T E S. W These arguments, or arguments to the fame irfTcifl, are urged with great ability in Mr. Long's Hiftory of Jamaica. I (hall not attempt to con- trovert them by elaborate difcuffion, but content myfelf with briefly ftating the origin, as it is infaEi^ 'according to my conception) of the pretenfions of this branch to a difiind fhare in colonial iegiflation. If it be (l^ewn that the exercife of thefe pretenfions may,on feveraloccafion"^, be ab- folutely ncccfTary to the welfare and fafcty of the community ; a very few words will fuffice on the queftion of their conftitutional iegility. That it was originally intended lo eftablifli in any of the colonial governments three diftinct independent legiflative powers a6iing on the fpor, in the view of forming conftitutions on tlie mcdel of England, I do not however believe ; becaufe, while the crown retains its necefiary and confti- tutional right of difannulling ail axfts of the pro- vincial legiflatures, and while the privilege of giving a negative is likewife exercifed by its go- vernors in the colonies, independent of the coun- cil, there :xxq four diftincl eftates, inftead oi three. The cafe feems to have been, that there being no order of hereditary nobility in the plantations, out of which to conllitutc a dignified and efficient intermediate body, like the peers of England and Ireland, a legiflative authority was at an early pe- riod cntrufted to the governors and their council, D d 3 a£iing 40^" Jl I S T O R Y O F T U E acting conjointly y and forming a middle brancii be- tween the crown on the one hand, and the re- prefentatives of the people on the other. The prefence and concurrence of the governor were probably thought advifeable, in the view that the interefts of the crown might generally preponde- rate; while by fele(fling the members of the coun- cil from men of the firft confequence in each colony, it was perhaps conceived that a falutary check was contrived againft thofe abufes to which power, in the beil: hands, is fometimcs liable ; and on this plan the colonies pofiefied the fem- blance, at leaft, of an Englilh legiflative con- flitution (f). That fuch was the firft intention in the for- mation of all or moft of the king's governments in the plantations (imperfect as the fy(l:em con- felledly is, from the inftability of the council) Appears from the inilance of Barbadoes, where this arrangement ftill exi(ls ; the governor an^l coLUicil, in matters of lcgiflation,conRitu,ting, not two feparate r.nd diilincV bodies, independent of he gets no jow er by his cciKjueft over thofe that coiv-iucipJ II. WEST INDIES. 4iS Considering therefore the further difcuffion chap. of this point as fuperfluous, I come to the con- clufion which neceffarily refults from the premifes, •onquered with hitn. They that fought on his fide cannot fiiffer by the conqiieft, but muft at leaft be as much freemen as they were before. And moft commonly, they ferve upon terms, and on condition to ftiare with their leader, and enjoy a part of the fpoil, and other advantages that attend the con- quering fword : or, at leaft, have a part of the fubdued coun- try beftowed upon them. And th- conquering people are not, I hope, to be flaves by conqueft, and werr their laurels only to (hew they are facrifices to their leauei 's triumph. We are told by fome, that the Fnglifli mon:»rchy is founded in the Norman c^nqueft, and that our princes have thereby a title to abfolute dominion ; which, if it were troe (as by hiftory it appears otherwife) and that William had a right ro make war on this ifland, yet his dominion by conqueft could reach no farther than to the Saxons and Britons, that were then inhabitants of this country. The Normans that came with him, and helped to conquer, and all defcended from them, are freemen, and no lubjeifls by conqueft ; let that give what dominion it will." So far Mr. Locke — His friend and ccrrefpondent Mr. Mollyneux, of Dublin, in his Treatife of the cafe of Ireland's being bound by Englifti afts of parliament, repeats the fame argument, and illuftrates it as follows. '' Suppofmg (he ob- ferves) that Hen. H, had a right to invade Ireland, and that he had been oppofed therein by the inhabitants, it was only the ancient race of the Irifti that could fufFer by this fubju- gation ; the Englifli and Britons, that came over and con- quered with him, retaine maica, S:c. 5<:c. * ^lay it pleafe your Honour, * We, his majefly's moft dutiful and loyal fubjecls, the * aflembly of Janinicn, thoroughly convinced of your honotir^ I * readiner:> W E S T I N D I E S. 421 This reflrlction was intended probably as aa chap. auxiliary to other means for preferving the unity ^^ of ' ^ ' * -readiners to hear, and incHintion to rcdrefs, as much as in ' you Hes, even,* grievance that may aQ'eA r.uy of his mnjefty's *■ iubjecls, beg leave to reprefetit to you one which c&lls aloud * for immediate relief, it l>eing in itfeif of the moft dangerous * and alarming nature, and having already given birth to foch ' confufions and diftraftions in this unhapjiy ccuRtry, ashave * not at any time before been known in it. ' Our anceftors, fir, who fettled litis BiitiHi colony, were * Engliflimen, and brought with them a right to the ia«s of * England as tlieir inheritance, which they did not, nor cowlJ ' forfeit by fettling here. Ever fmce civil government was firit ' eftabliQied among us, which was very foon after the rellora- ' tion of king Charles the Second, we have enjoyed in this ' colony a conftitution and form of •government 2S nearly re- ' fembling that of our mother-country as it was perhaps pof- ' fiWe to make it ; our lives, our liberties, and our propcfties, * fecured to us by the fame laws, have ever been determined * anil adjudged by fimilar juriftticftions, and fuch monies as ' have been necefiary for the fupport of his majefty's govern- * meut here, have, as in England, ever been raifed upon the ' people with their own confent given by their rcprefentatives * in alTembly ; our courts of juftice, where life, liberty, and * property are adjudged, are governed by the fame laws, and * {land in the fame degree? of fubordination to one another, * as the courts which they refpciflively ftand for, do in Eng- * land', our houfe of aHembly, as reprefenting the whole body * of our people, does and ever did hold the fame rank in the ' fyftem of our conftitution, as the houfe of commons does :;i ' that of our mother-country ; here, as in England, our re- ' prefentatives in aflembly are the grand inqueft of our com- •* nuuuty ; they have the power, and it is their duty to en.]uiic * into the corruptions of ofhce, tiie abiifes of government, sjid ' tl>e ill adminillration of juftice, and for that purpofe it is E e 3 ♦ ihat VI. 4*i H I S T O R Y O F T H R BOOK of the empire, and maintaining the fuperintent^ng and controuling power of the mother-country in matters * that this, body has here, as in our mother- country, ever en- * joyed a fuperiority over all the courts of juftice, and a power ' of examining their condu*51: ; and all judges, magiftrates, and ' publick officers, have ever been amenable to the airembly, * and their conduft liable to its infpe(5>ion ; and here, as in * England, we owe it to the wholefome and frequent exer • * tions of fuch a power in the reprefentative body of the peo- * pie, that we are at this day a free people; without it we * car. have no fecurity or defence againft the corruption of * judges, and the abufes which may happen in every depart- * ment of adminiftrntion. * It is againft a moft flagrant, unprovoked, and unprcce- * dented attack and violation which Mr. Lyttelton, our late * chancellor, made upon this indubitable right ol the people, * that we now refort to your honour for redref:>. ' In December 1764, Pierce Cooke and Lachlan M'N'eil, ' two men who had been committed by the allembly for ' breach of privilege, and wertf in cuftody of Edward Bolt, * the nielFenger of thehoufe, by virtue of the fpeakei's warrant, * di', ill contempt of the power nnd jurifdiftion of the houft^ * apply in the firfl inftance to Mr. Lyttelton as chancellor, ' fi)r Writs of Habeas Corpus upon t'.ie ftatute of the thirty- * fnil of Charles the Second, and upon ihc return of the faid * writs, he did, in a court of Chancery which he called for * that purpofe, relcafe the prifoncrs, and declare as follows : " That it did not appear to him from the words of any aft *' of parliament, or of any afl of the governor, council, and " aflcmbly of this idand, or of his majefly's commilllon or " inftruftions to his excellency as governor of this ifland, or *' by any other means whatfoever, that the commitment of " the faid Pierce Cooke into the cuftody of the faid Edward *' Bolt is legal ; and his excellency the chancellor was there- " fore pleafed to order, adjudge, and decree, and it is hereby *' ordered, adjudv^ed, and decreed, That the faid Pierce " Cooke II. WEST INDIES. 423 matters of trade ^ but it implies alfo a reciprocal cha p. ■engagement or obligation on the part of the Bri- tilh " Cooke be, bv the authority of this rourt, releafed and " difchargtd from the cullody of the faid Edward Bolt ; and *' did alfo make the lame declaration aiul order as to the faid ■*' Lachlan M'Neii," which orders and declarations of his, ' he did moft irregularly call decrees, and order them to be * enrolled among the records of the court of Chancery. ' It is evident from the opinions of the ablefl lawyers in * England, ever Gnce the paiTing of tiiat ilatute, from the opi- * nior.s and declarations of judges, the uniform determiua- * tions of all the courts in England, and the conftant decla- * rations and praflice of the houfe of commons, that the faid * ftatiite was not, nor could be, intended to exteiwd to com- * mitments by either houfe of parlianient, and that the houfe * of commons is the onlv proper judge of i^s own privileges * and commitments; this determination of Mr. Lytttlton's * tends, therefore, raanifeftly to degrade the reprefentatives * of the poople, in the fyftem of our conftitution, from that * rank and authority which is held by the like body in our ' mother-country, and if fuffered to remain, would inbvert * the fundamentals of that fyflem, by giving the court of chan- * eery a power to controul the progeedings oi the aflembl}-, and * by reducing them to a dangerous and unconfritutional de- * pendance upon governors, would leave the people without * that protcftion againft arbitrary power, which nothing but a * free and independent aOembly can give them. * Every court of juftice, from the meanelt quarter feflion * up to the two houfes of parliament, has a power of com- * mitting for contempt, and this power requires no a6t of * parliament to confer it, it being incident to the iiiftitutlon ' of every court of juftice, and necedary for its exiflence, * for it would be impolhble to fupport any authority with- ^ out it. ' The courts of juilice here, Handing in the fame degrees ' of fubordination to one another, as they refpe«Sively do in * England; commitments by the inferior, may be, and fre- E e 4 * quently 4^4- HISTORYOFTHE ]J o o K tifli parliament, not to interpofe its authority in ^'i- matters to which the colonial aflemblies are iuf- ficientJy * quently are, examined and determined by tlie fuperior courts; ' and as commitments by the houfe of comnioni cannot be, * nor ever were, difcharged by any of the inferior courts, (o * this extraordinary aft of Mr. Lyttelton ftands in our country * without a precedent, fuch a thing having never before his * time been attempted. * The power of commitment by the houfe of commons is * their's by the common law, as well as their privileges, of * which they are the only competent judges, for they judge * of thefe matters by llie law cad ufage of parliament, which ' is part of the common law, ' As all the inferior courts here enjoy and exercife the fame * powers with thofc they f^and for in England, it is furely * reafonable and jufl that thereprefentativesof the people here, * called by the fame authority, and conftituted for the fame ' ends, fliould alfo enjoy the fam^ powers with thofe of Great * Britain. * We beg leave to reprefcnt further to your honour, that * by the thiriy-firfl claufe of an act of the governor, council, * and aflembly of this ifland, intituled, '' An aft for granting a * revenue to his majefty, his heirs, and fucceflors, for the ' fupporr of the government of this idand, and for reviving * and I erpetuating the afts and laws thereof," which has * rcceved the royal approbation, it is declared, •' That all * fuel, laws and fiatutes of England as have been at any time * efttenied, introduced, ufed, accepted, or received as laws * in this ifljnd, fliall and are hereby declared to be and con- * tinue laws of this hismajefty's ifland of Jamaica for ever;'* ' and that the aflemblies of Jamaica, as appears by their mi- * nutes, confidering it their duty to alGmilate their proceed- * ings to thofe of the houfe of commons, have conflantly go- * verned themfelvrs in cafes of commitment, and in the exer- ' cife of their jurifdictiun, by the law and ufage of parliament, * vvhich being undoubtedly part of the law of England, the * life W E S T I N D I E S. 425 jficiently competent. With powers fo extenfive chap. and efficient, thefe afiemblies muft nccefianly n- be * ufe and benefit thereof was confirmed to them by virtue of * the above aft beyond a poffibility of doubt. * This arbitrary meafure of IMr. Lyttelton, fo totally unpre- * cedented either in England or here, fo repugnant to reafon, * to jiiftice, and law, and fo evidently fubverfive of our rights, * liberties, and properties, will therefore, we doubt not, be * confidered by your honour as it deferves to be; and as it * marks that gentleman's adminiftration with the moft odious * colours, fo, we truft, that the deftruftion of it willdiflinguifli ' and adorn your's. * It is in full confidence of your honour's juftice and love ' of liberty, that we this day, in the name and behalf of our- * felves, and of all the good people in this colonv, lay before * your honour the ill confequences and injuftice of theafore- * faid determination, and befeech you, as the only means of * quieting the difturbance and apprehenfions they have raifed * in the minds of his mnjerty's moft loyal and faithful fubjecls, * to give orders that the f^me be vacated, and the enrolment * thereof cancelled from the records of the court of Chancery, * in fuch a way, that no traces may remain of fo wicked and * dangerous a precedent.' The preceding application from the houfe of aflembly having been fubmitted by the lieutenant-governor to the council for their advice, the board addrefled him as follows : ' May it pleafe your Honour, * We, his majefty's moft dutiful and loyal fubje<5ls, the * council of Jamaica, have, agreeably to your honour's mef- * fage, laying before us the addrefs of the houfe ofaflembly to * your honour, taken into our ferious confideration the fub- * jeft-matter thereof: we have alfo examined and confidered * the proceedings now in the office of the regifter of the court * 0/ Chancery, uiid the determination of his excellency the ' late VI. 4i6 HISTORYOFTHE J? o o K ^e fovereign and lupreme within their own jurif- didion ; unobftrucled by, and independent of all * late chancellor, toiKhin from the earl of CarliHe, JM-flTieurs Eden and JohnOone, three of tl)e faid commiffioners, to the prefident of the congrefs, dated the 9th of June 1778, they declare a difpofition to concur in fuch an arrangement as (hould provide that no military force fliould be kept up in the different ftates of North America, without the confent of the general congrefs Of particular alTemblies. Vol. II. F f as 434 HIST ORY O F THE as the fovereign head and lupreme executive in the government of Great Britain and its domi- nions, I fliall proceed to another enquiry, of no lefs importance (and to which indeed fome of the laft obfervations naturally lead) and that is, how far the joint authority and collective power of king, lords, and commons, conltitutionally extend, and, on the principles of a free govern- ment, ought to be exercifed in fupporting the unity of the empire, and preferving that fubor- dination and dependence which the coloniils, as fellow fubjeifls with the inhabitants of the king- dom, owe to Great Britain and its government, in return for protection received. It is a maxim maintained by political writers, that in all focieties there muft exift fomewhere an abfolute and defpotickjurifdiftion, unlimited and irrevocable. " This abfolute and dejpotick power (fays Judge Blackftone) is, by the Britifli conflitution, entrujiedio parliament :" But I con- ceive that the learned judge has not expreffed himfelf on this occafion with his ufual accuracy ; inafmuch as all " entrujled" authority is necef- farily accountable^ and therefore not " abfolute and defpoticky The truth is, that this defpotick and unlimited power is referved by the people in their own hands (not to be reforted to indeed but in the laft extremity) and it never was the inten- tion of any fociety of free agents, from the creation of WEST INDIES. 435 of tlie world to this day, to delegate to any man, or body of men, an abfolute and defpotick au- thority in all cafes over them. Such a delega- tion indeed, if ever it had been made, would have manifefted infanity in the agents, and, on that account alone, muft have been void from the beginning. As the leglflative power of Great Britain there- fore is fupreme only i n a relative fenfe, even within the realm, where the people themfelves partici- pate in its authority, much lefs can it be faid to be fupreme, /;/ all cafes whatfoever^ over the co- lonies. It has indeed been foiemnly declared by ■parliament itfelf, that parliament has Jnch a pozver : but if parliament had not the power before, cer- tainly their own declaration could not inveft them with it. Considering the conftituent branches of the Britifh legiflature feparately, it vvill be diffi- cult to point out any juft authority whatever, exifting either in the peers or the reprefentatives of the people over the colonies. We have feen that the firft fettlers in mofl of the Britilli plan- tations, were a part of the Englifh people, in every refpedt equal to them, and poffeffed of every right and privilege at the time of their emigration, which the people of England were poflefTed of, and irrefragably to that great right of confenting to all laws by which they were to be governed.. F f 2 The 43^ H I S T O R Y O F T M E BOOK The people of England therefore, or their |^pre- LIL j ^^"^^^'^''-■^' having no rights, powers, or privileges tobeftowon tijc emigrants^ which the latter were not already pofTefTed of equally with thcmfelves, had no claim to their allegiance, or any pretence to exercife authority over them. As to the I^nglilli peers, they are poffcfTed of very eminent privileges ; from none of v\1uch however can they communicate any advantage to the colonies. They arc a court of juftice in the dernier refort for all appeals from the people of Great Britain; but they acfV in no fuch capacity for the inhabitants of the colonies ; the houfe of peers having never heard or determined caufes in appeal from the plantations, in which it ever was, and is their duty to ferve the fubjects within the realm. Thus, incapable from their fituation of being admitted to a participation with the people and peers of Great Britain in the Britifli legiflaturc, the colonifts have legislatures of their own, which are fubjecl to the king of Great Britain, as to their own proper head. The perfon, who, by the laws of Great Britain, is king of Great Bri- tain, is //leir king; but they owe no allegiance to the lords and commons; to whom they are not fubjeds, h\M fellow fubjeds with them to the fame fovereign. Justly confidering, ncverthclcfs, the protec- tion WEST INDIES. 437 tion which they receive in the name of the fovc- chap. reign, as affo'dcd by the Jlate, and that the colo- ^^• nies are parts of one great empire, of the various branches of which the king in parhament, is ar- b.(er, controuhng and regulating all intercourfe with foreign nations, they readily admit that they ftand towards the Britilh legiflature in the degree of fubordination, which implies every authority in the latter, eflential to the prefervation of the ivliok ; and to the maintenance of the relation be- tween a mother-country and her colonies. " We are (faid the Americans) but parts of a whoL'y and therefore there muft exifL a power fome- where, to prefide and pr the Britilh legiilature has, and has not, a right to interpofe, is perhaps impoffible ; becauie cir- cumftances may occur to render its interpofition peceffary, which cannot be forefeen. " But al- *' though it may be difficult (fays governor Pownall) " to draw the line of limitation, yet fome fuch " line there certainly muft be, and I think thofe " are not to be heard who affirm, that no line *' can be drawn between the fupreme authority *' of parliam.ent, and no authority at all." Nevertheless, it were not difficult to point out naany cafes, and to, imagine others, wherein the authority of parliament has been, and may ** There is a part of empire not communicable, and which muft refide fovereignly fomewhere ; for there would be fuch a perpetual clafliing of power and jurifdictions, as were in- confiftent with the very being of communities, unlefs this lail refort were fomewhere lodged. Now this incommuni- cable power we take to be the fupreme judgment of what is befl and moft expedient for the whole ; and in all reafon of government, this ought to be there trufled and lodged fron; whence prote£tion is expected. " That Ireland fliould judge of what is beft for itfelf, this is jiift and fair ; but in determinations that are to reach the whole, af, namely, what is moft expedient for England and Ireland both, there, without all doubt, the fupreme judg- ment ouglit to rtft in the king, lords, and commons of Eng- land, by whofe arms and treafure Ireland ever was, and muft always be defended." — \ idc Davcnant's Works, publiflie4 by Sir Charles Wiiitworth, vol. ii- p. 247, 4 again W E S T I N D I E S. 439 again be, conflitutionally exerted, in regard to the chap, colonies, without abolilhing every reftriclion on the part of governors^ and extinguifliing every right on the part of the governed (n). Previouily excluding, (n) Such is the general fyftem of the laws for regulating the commerce of the colonies; and I will now add fome in- ftances of parliamentary interference, on other occafion?, wliich I conceive to be coiifillent with the principles I have laid down. Thus, when the firfi: princes of the Stewart fa- mi lyaffedled to confider the plantations as their owndemefucs, with a view of making them a fource of revenue tothem- felves, the commons oppofed and defeated a claim which, if it had been eftabiiflied, might have rendered the king inde- pendent of the Britifli parliament. (See the Journals of 1624 and 1625, and Vsughan's Reports, 402.) Nobody doubts the propriety of the commons* interpofition on this occafion. Again, we have feen in the Hiftory of Barbadoes, a great minlfler (the Earl of Clarendon) impeached by the houfe of commons, among other things, for introducing an arbitrary government into the plantations. It was never al- ledged, that the houfe in this bufinefs exceeded the limits of its proper and conllitutional functions. Soon after the re- volution, fome laws were pafled by one or two of the pro- vincial aflemblies, which were fuppofed to weaken the chain that holds the colonies dependent on the mother-country. This gave occafion to a claufe in the 7 and 8 of W. III. c. 22, which declares, "that all laws (meaning the laws for regulating trade) which are any ways repugnant to the laws of England, fliall be deemed null and void." This, though a ftrong, was certainly a juftifiable exertion of Englifli fupre- macy. By the 6 Anne, c. 30, a general poll-office is efla- bliflied in the colonies. This may be deemed an internal regulation ; but, as Dr. Franklin obferved, it was a regula- tion which one colony could not make for another; and as the revenue which it raifed was confidered in the nature of a F f 4 quantum 440 11 I S T O R Y O r T H E BOOK excluding, however, every idea of its inttrpo- VI. fition in the concerns of internal legiflation, and all other matters to which the colonial affemblies quantum meruit, a rew ard for fervice (a fervice too which th& colonifts were not bound to accept, for a man might, if he had thought proper, have fent his letters as before by a pri- vate niefTcnger) the ad wns fubniitted to. After this, fome laws were pafTed, which were thought to bear hard upon the rights of the coloiiifts. By the 5th Geo. II. c. 7. in confequence of forne petitions from ditferent bodies of Englifli merchants, complaining that the colonial laws af- forded but an inadequate remedy for the recovery of deb's ; it is ena£led, " that lands, houfes, negi-oes, and other *' hereditaments, and all real eftate whatever, fliould 1>€ " liable to, and chargeable with, all debts, due either •' to the king, or any of his fubjefts, and be alfets for the " {iitisfai'^ion thereof." And by the 24th Geo. II. c. 53. " the governors and afTmblies of the refpeftive provinces *' are redrained from prafling any a(f>, order, refolution, or " vote, whereby paper bills, or bills of credit fliall be in- *' creafed or ilTiitd." As both thefe laws were pafTcd in fa- vour of Fnglifh merchants, who had advanced money for the life of the colonif^s, it was thought diflionourable to objeft to the regulations which they cftablifhed. The laws were there- fore fubmitted t.t, but not without nuirmurs on the part of the provincial legiflatures, who confidered them as infringing their liberties. Their fubmilfion to them, though on very laudable principles, was afterwards quotedagainft them, and alligned as the beft of all poflible reafons for requiring un- conditional fubmilRon on all other occafions. From what has been faid above, and what will hereafter be ftated on the fubjecl of the commercial fyflem, the reader will be enabled to form fome idea of the boundary contended for, between a conftitutional, fuperintending, controuling j)Ower in the Britifli parliament, and a fyftem of perfect un- qualified tyranny, the po-.ver of bimling tlie colonies in all cafei •Khatjofver, are W E S T I N D I E S. 441 are fufiiclently competent ; for, to the reafons already dated for this abfolute exclufion, may be added, the utter impoffibility that two different legiflatures can, at all times, and in the fame moment, enforce their authority on the fame ob- jedl, in as much as they may happen to differ in opinion, and in that dilemma, this confequence muft follow ; either the BritiOi muft yield to the provincial, or prevail over it in points, for which, from the practical or conftitutional unfitnefs of the former, the latter was formed. Such incon- fiftency would render government at once oppref- five and ridiculous (o). (o) If Great Britain bad no right to interfere with the in- ternal legillation of the colonies, fhe could have had no pof- fible right to (ax them for the purpofe of revenue; yet, it does not follow, that (lie would have had a right to tax them, even if flie had pofTefled juft authority to make laws for their internal government. " Taxation (faid Lord Chatham) *' is no part of the governing or legijlative power. Taxes are " a voluntary gift and grant of the commons alone. In leglf- " lation, the three eftates of the realm are alike concerned : " but the concurrence of the peers and the crown to a tax, " is onlv neceflary to clothe it in the form of a law. The " gift and grant is of the commons alone." It is unneceflary to fay more concerning the right of parliamentary taxation of the colonies, becaufe parliament itfelf (when indeed it was too late) has formally relinquiflied the claim. By the i8 Geo, III. c. 12. the king and parliament of Great Britain declare, that from thenceforth they will not impofe any duty, tax, &-c. payable in any of the king's colonies, provinces, and plan- tations in North America and the Weft Indies, except for the regulation of commerce : the produce whereof is always to be applied to the ufe of the colony in which it is levied. But, 442 HISTORYOFTHE But, in a government of which freedom is the bafis, and of which it is the boaft that it promotes, equally and impartiall)'', the happinefs of all its fubjeds, it might be fuppofed that no other au- thority over its dependencies could be neceflary, than that which effectually provides, that every addition to their wealth and greatneis fhould con- tribute, at the fame time, to the augmentation of its own riches and power. And fuch, before the late unfortunate divifions, was the commercial fyflem adopted by Great Britain, and fubmitted to by her American colonies. To difcriminate the feveral parts, properties, and effects of this great arrangement of reftridtion and monopoly ; to fliew that it fecured every degree of authority in the parent over the child, which is confiftent with the happinefs and freedom of mankind » (the ends of all jufl government) ; and finally that it might have anfwered, in the fulled degree, even the objects of revenue and contribution, if Great Britain had happily confined her pretenfions to thelimitsoriginallyprefcribed by herfelf for thefe purpofes it would be neceffary to enter into a large and comprehenfive difcuflion, to which the defign of my work does not extend. How far the Britifh fugar iflands conftitutcd a part of, and were comprized in, the general fyftem, I fhall endeavour to point out in the fubfequcnt chapters. W E S T I N D I E S. 443 CHAP. III. Principles on which the Nations of Europe fettled Colonies in America. — Commercial Regulations of Great Britain. — Remarks on the A5ls of Navi- gation. — Admiffion of foreign-built FeJJels even- tually beneficial. — Exports from Great Britain ta the Sugar IJlands, and their Fa lite. — The fame from Ireland. — Wines from Madeira and the Azores. — Other Profits. — Summary ofthezvhole. •—Imports from the Wefi Indies to Great Britain and Ireland^ and their Value according to the London Prices. — Amount of Britifli Capital vejled in the Sugar Iflands. — Shipping and Seamen.— ^ General Obfervations . — Appendix. The eflabllfhmeflt of colonies in America by the nations of Europe (fays Montefquieu) was contrived, not in the view of building cities and extending empires ; but for the purpofe of carry- ing on trade to greater advantage than could be done with rival ftates. Commercial mono- poly therefore, and with great reafon, is the lead- ing principle of colonial intercourfe. This account, with fome little qualification, may be admitted ; and a very flight enquiry will demonflrate that it applies as pointedly to the Englilh, ^4^ HISTORY OF THL Englifh, as to any other nation. The ij^eans indeed which Great Biiuin has adopted for retaining to herfelf the full benefit of the mono- poly, have, in fome cafes, proved more liberal than thofe of rival ilates ; but the principle by which the various nations of liLurope were influ- enced, was prccifcly the fame : To fecure to them- felves rcfpeflively, the mod important of the produdions of their colonies, and to retain to themfelves exclufivcly, the great advantage of fupplying thofe colonies with European goods and manufaftures, was tl^e chief aim and endea- vour of them all. Whether the feveral parts of this fyftem, as adopted by the Britifli government, and its con- fequcnt train of duties, reflriclions, and prohibi- tions, were originally as wife and politick, as they are evidently felfifli, is a quedipn that of late has been much controverted. But this is a difcuf- fion into which it can anfwer no good purpofe to enter, becaufc the prcfent arrangement has been too long, and is now too firm.ly eflabliflied amongfl us to be abrogated j and thus much at lead has been truly faid in its fiivour, that it is calculated to correipond with the regulations of foreign ftates : for fo lona as other nations confine the trade of their colonies to themfelves, to affirm tha,t Great Britain derives no advantage from following their W E S T I N D I E S. 44; their example, is to contradiA both experience c ir a p. and reafon*. ^^^• Of the commercial regulations of this king- dom, the memorable law which was pafled in the 1 2 th year of King Charles II. chap. 1 8, commonly called, by way of eminence, the Nav i g at i on Act, may be considered as the foundation. By this law it is, among other provifions, declared. First, That no goods or commodities (liould be imported into, or exported out of, any of his < Majefty's plantations or territories in Afia, Africa, or America, but in fhips belonging to the fubjeds of England, Ireland, Wales, or Berwick, or in fuch as are of the huilt of, and belonging to, fuch plan- tations, and whereof three-fourths of the mariners and the mafter are Englifh fubjedls, on pain of the forfeiture of fhip and cargo ; and all admirals and commanders of king's fliips are authorized to make feizure of fiiips offending herein. Secondly, That no perfon born cut of the allegiance of his Majefty, who is not naturalized, * " Free commerce and navigation are not to be given " ill exchange for reftriftions and vexations, nor are they •■ likely to produce a relaxation of them." So fays Mr. J':tTerfoa, the American Iccretary of ftatc, in his admirable report to the congrefs of the United States, dated 16 De- cember 1793; wherein the reader will find many deep and important obfervations on the fubjeift of free commerce, «liich apply to all the maritime powers of Europe ^s well 3S to the ilates of Airerica. or 445 HI3T0RY0FTHE or made a free denizen, (liall aft as a mercbant or faftor in any of the faid places, upon pain of forfeiting all his goods and chattels. Thirdly, That all governors, before they enter into the exercife of their office, fhall take an oath to do their utmofl:, that the above-men- tioned regulations fhall be puncflually and bona fide obferved ; and a governor neglecting his duty therein, fliall be removed from his government. Fourthly, That no goods or commodities whatever of the growth or manufadlure of Africa, Afia, and America, fliall be imported into Eng- land, Ireland, Wales, Guernfey and Jerfey, or Berwick, in any other (hips but thofe belonging to the faid places, or to the plantations, and navi- gated in the manner aforefaid, under penalty of forfeiting both fliip and cargo. Fifthly, That no fugars, tobacco, cotton^ iri' digo, ginger, fitjiick, or other dying woods, of the produftion of any Englilh plantation in Afia, Africa, or America, fliall be exported therefrom to any place, except to fome other Englifh plan- tation ; or to England, Ireland, Wales, or Ber- wick. The above commodities being named in the a6t are called generally enumerated, in con- tradiftindion to all others ol plantation growth ; and, Lastly, Bond fecurity is required from all fliips trading to or in the plantations, and lading on WEST INDIES. on board fuch commodities, for the due obfervance of this part of the law. Such, together with the conditions under which foreign-built fliips were to enjoy the privi- lege of Englifli (hips, are the chief reftridions and provifions of this celebrated ftatute, yo/zr as they relate to the plantation trade, and they are extended and ftrengthened by a law which paffed three years afterwards, which the plantation governors are alfo fworn to enforces for by the 15th of Cha. 2. c. 7, it is enacted, that no commodity of the growth, produdion, or rnanufadure of Europe, fhall be imported into the Britifh plan- tations, but flic h as are laden and put on hoard in England, Wales, or Berwick •■, and in Eitgli/Ii- built (hipping, (or fhips taken as prize, and certified according to a former adl) whereof the mafter and three-fourths of the mariners are Englilh, and carried diredly to the faid plantations. There is an exception however as to fait for the fiflieries of New England and Newfoundland, wines from Madeira and the Azores, and horfes and viduals from Ireland and Scotland ; and the preamble to the ad, after ftating that plantations arc formed by citizens of the mother-country, afTigns the motive for this reftridion to be, '^ the main- taining a greater correfpondence and kindnefs be- tween the fubjeds at home and thofe in the plan- tations. ^47 448 H I S T O R Y O F T H E BOOK tat ions, keeping the colonies in a firmer depoidant'e ^^' upon the mot her -country^ making them yet more bene- ficial and advantageous to it in the fiurther employ- ment and encreafe of Englijh Jliipping^ vent of Eng- lifii manufati tires and commodities ; rendering the navigation to and from them more fafc and cheap, and making this kingdom afiaple, not only of the commodities of the plantations, but alfo of the commo- dities of other countries and places for the fupply of them, it being (continues the preamble) the ufage of other nations to keep their plantation trade to themf elves (a). Ten years after this, another ad pafTcd (2^ Cha. II. c. 7.) impofmg duties on fugar and other (a) Thedefign of this aft, fays Pofllcthwaite, was to make a double vovage necellary, where the colonies ufed any com- modities of the growth and manufaflure of Europe but Britifli : for if they could not be {hipped in Great Britain, they mufl firft be brought thither from the places of their growth and maniifaftnre, and Great Britain would confc- quently have the benefit, not only of that freight, but of as many (lups and failors as muft be emi)loyed in bringing them from thence. It is rcnarkable, that by this aft Ireland wai indir^ftly deprived of the benefits allowed that kingdom by the aft of navigation, for it is required, that none of the enu- merated goods fliall be carried from the plantations to any country or place whatfoever, until they have been firll imlnden and put afliore in fome port or haven in Englar.tt, ff^ales, or Berni'ick. By a fubfequent aft this intention was avowed, and Ireland was exprefsly fliut out from a dina trade with the plantations. commodities WEST INDIES. 449 commodities C^j exported from one colony to chap. another, and the following is afligned as the reafon: ^^^• " that the inhabitants offome of thefaid colonics, not content with being fupplied with thofe com- modities for their own ufe, free from all cuftoms, had, contrary to law, exported confiderable quan- tities to divers parts of Europe, and did likewifc vend great quantities to the fhlpping of other na- tions, to the great injury of the trade and navi- gation of the parent ilate." For the prevention of this inconvenlency in future, the duties in quef- tion are laid on the export of thofe commodities from the plantations ; unlefs fecurity be given to tranfport them diredly to England, Berwick, or AVales. The duties were the fame, I believe, as were then paid in England on moft of thofe com- modities imported for home confumption. This aft was foon found to require explanation and amendment ; for the payment of the afore- faid duties having been conlidered in the colonies as an exoneration from giving fecurity not to go to any foreign market in Europe j it was provided by the 7 and 8 W. III. c. 22, that, notwith- ftanding the payment of the duties in queftion, the lame fecurity (hould be given as was required by former afts ; and it was enafted and declared, CiJ White fugar 5 s. and miifcavado is. Od. per cwr.; tobacco id. cotton-wool -Jd. indigo 2d. cacao id.perib.; logwood £. $. ginger i s. the cwt. ; fuftick, &;c. 6 d. yoL. 11. G g that 450 H I S T O R Y O F T H E that no commodities of the growth or maniifac- lure of the plantations, fhould, on any pretence vvhatfoever, be landed in Ireland or Scotland, unlefs the fame were firft landed in England, and had paid the rates and duties wherewith they were there chargeable by law. By the lame acl it is declared, that no goods or merchandize whatever (hall be imported into, or exported out of, any Britifli colony or plan- tation, but in fliips hiiilt in England, Ireland, or the plantations, wholly owned by Englifh fub- jeds, and navigated as before ; and provifions are cftabliQied concerning the regiflering of ihips, to prevent the fraud of pafling foreign-built fliips as Englifh i together with various regulations to prevent counterfeit certificates, and frauds in the import and export to and from the colonies ; for all which, reference mud be made to the adl at large, which is fyllematick and comprehenfive in a high degree. These ads therefore, and fome intermediate ones, which it is not neceflary to particularife, may be confidered as fupplcmental to the naviga- tion ad, and they form altogether the foundation of our colonial code ; moft ot the fubfeciuent ads now in force, being framed in the fame Ipirit, and intended to enforce and ftrengthen the fyftem ; with fome few alterations and exceptions only, which however do not extend to any great and 3 fubftantial WEST INDIES. 451 lubflantial change in the principle or ground- chap. work (c). ^"• The CcJ The following, I believe, are the chief ndditions, alter- ations, and exceptions, fo far as the Britifli fiigar iflands are principally concernt-d. If the reader is defirous of the fulled and moft correft information on this head, lie is referred to u late Hiftory of the Law of Shipping and Navigation, by John Reeves, Efq. an admirable work, in which the dried fubjeifts are treated with fuch clearnefs, precifion, and ele- gance, as to render the book not only indrudllve, but in a very high degree entertaining and interefting. By ftatute 3 and 4 Ann, c. 5. Rice and melafleswere put into the enumeration, and by c. 8. Irifli linens, laden in Ire- land in Englifli-built (hipping navigated according to law, were admitted into the plantations. By 7 Ann, c. 8. Jefuits bark, and all other drugs, are permitted to be imported into Great Britain from the Britifli plantations, ori payment of the fame duties as if imported dire^ly irom the place of their growth. By 13 Gto. I. c. !<;. and 7 Geo. II. c. iS. Cochineal and indigo were allowed for a certain time to be imported from any port or place, in Britilli or other fliips; which acts were afterwards renewed, and are now in force. By 3 Geo. II. c. 28. Rice was permitted, under certain conditions, to be carried from South Carolina to any port of Europe fouthward of Cape Finiderre ; a privilege afterwards extended to North Carolina and Georgia. By 4 Geo. II. c. 15. Non-en'Mncrate J goods (viz. goods not enumerated in the 12 of Cha. II. c. i8.) are admitted to be imported directly iBto Ireland from the colonies, notwith- danding the 7 and 8 of W. III. c. 22. — Hops, by a fubfequent datute, are excepted out of this indulgence. By 12 Geo. II. c. 30. Sugars, under certain regulations find reflriftions, are permitted to be carried immediately from the Brltiih phnt:'.tioni to any port or place fouthward of G g 2 Cape ^p HISTORY OF THE BOOK The reader will fAid that the fyftem cmbface" two diflind objefts j firft, the augmentation cf our Cape Fininerre, atid alfo to any foreign port of Europe in licenfed Hiips, which are to call firft at fome port in Greac Britain. — This was confidered as a great indulgence, but the conditions and regulations on which it was granted were fo firi(5t- and numerous, as to defeat u\ a gf^at mcafure the inten- tion of the legiflature. By 4 and 5 Geo. III. feiT. 27. Britifh plantation coffee, piemcnto, and cacao-nuts are put into the enunreration ; a-; are likewife whalt fins, raw filk, hides, and fkins, pot and pearl aflies ; and by fecft. 28. fecurity is recjuired that no iron, nor any fort of wood called lumber, the growth, pro- (iuflion, or manufaflure of any Britifli colony or plantation, lliall be landed in any port of Europe except Gr^at Britain ; an exception however was afterwards made by 5 Geo. III. c. 45. by which iron might be canied to Ireland, and lumber to Madeira, the Azores, or any part of Europe fouthward of Cape Finifterre. By 5 Geo. III. c. 39. Bond is required to be given in the Britifli plantations, that no rum or other fpirits flialt he landed in the Ifle of Man ; and by the 6 Geo. III. c. 52. fecurity is required for all non-enumerated goods, that the fame fliall not be landed at any port of Europe to the north- ward of Cape Finifterre, except in Great Britain, and (by a fubfcquent law) Ireland. By 5 Geo. III. c. 52. Any fort of cotton wool may be imported in BritiHi-built fliips from any country or place, duty free. By the 6 Geo. III. c. 49. was eftablifhcd the meafure of opening free ports in Jamaica and Dominica. By this a«5V, live cattle, and all manner of goods and commodities whaf- foever (except tobacco), the produce of any foreign colony in America, might be imported into Prince Rupert's Bay and Roffeau in Dominica, and into Kingfton, Savanna-ltt- Mar, W E S T I N D I E S. v^53 sO'df naval (Irength, by an entire exclufion of fo- c n a p Tcign (hipping from our plantation trade i fc- ^i^- condlv !Mar, Montego B^ty, and Santa Lvioea in Jamaica, from a;iy foreign colony or plantation in America, in any foreign floop, fchooner, or other veflel, not having more than one dec'k. This aft was temporary, b\it was afterwards continued, ainiil materially altered by the c; Geo. Til. c. 27. wherein, among fundry other regulations, two more ports are opened in addi- tion to the former, viz. St. George, in the ifland of Grenada, and the port of Naflau, in the ifland of New Providence, one of the Bahamas, into which cotton wool, indigo, cochineal, drugs of all kinds, cacao, logwood, fuftick, and other dve M'oods, hide?, and tallow, beaver, and all fort of furs, tortoife- fliell, rrrill timber, mahogany, &c. horfes, afles, mules, and cattle, bei»!g the growth -or production of any colot:y or plan- tation in America, belonging to or under tive dominion of any foreign Europeafi fovereign or ftale, and all coin and bullion, fee. may be imported in any foreign fl^op, fchooner, or other vefl^el, not having more than one deck, and not ex- ceeding the burthen of feventy tons, and provided alfo that iuch vefiel is owned and navigated 'by the fubjefts of fome foreign European fovereign or llate. It is permitted a.lfo to the fame defcription of perfons and yefTels to export from ihefe parts Britifli plantation rum, negroes, and all manner of goods that had been legally imported, except naval ftores and iron. The foreign articles thus permitted to be brought into the free ports by this aft, may be exported again to Great Britain or Ireland ; and by a fubfequent law (30 Geo. HI. c. 29.) the rellriftion in regard to the tonnage of foreign veflfcls is taken oif, but thefe velTels are flill limited to one deck. The next great meafure was, the opening the plantation trade to the people of Ireland, which was firft partially done by the jS G.en. III. c. JJS- and more fully by the zo Geo. III. c. 10. under which they enjoy the like unlimited intcrcourfe G g 3 with VI. 4S4 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK condly, the fecuring to Great Britain all the emo- luments arifing from her colonies, by a double monopoly over them : viz. a monopoly ot their whole import, which is to be altogether from Great Britain j and a monopoly of all their export, which (as far as it canferve any ufeful purpofe to the mother-country) is to be no where but to Great Britain. On the fame idea, it was con- trived that they fliould fend all their producls to us razv, and in their firfl Aate ; and that they fliould take every thing from us in the lad ftage of manufacture. Most of our commercial writers, and many of our ftatefmen, have confidered the two great leading principles above-mentioned to be fo clofely interwoven together, and dependent on each other, as not to be disjoined without violence to both ; whereas, in truth, the monopoly of our colonial producls, and the advantages arifing from the fupply of the wants of the colonifts, might not only be fupported, even though foreign-builr veflels with the colonies, borh in refpctfl of import and export, as Great Britain; on conilition only that the goods fo imported and exported are made liable to equal duties and drawback^ and fiibjircl to the fame fecurities, regulations, and rellrit- tions as in Great Britain; a condition to which the Parlia- ment of Ireland confented, by parting an aft impofing duties on the imports, conformable to thofe of Great Britain. The regulations with regard to America, fince the inde- pendence of the United States, will be difculled in a fubfc- quent chapter. WEST INDIES. 455 veflbis were incorporated into the great body of chap. our fliipping, but it may eventually happen, that ^i^ both our trade and navigation would be greatly improved and extended by fuch a mealure *. That the maintenance of o^r naval ftrength is one of the moft important objects to which the Britilh government can diredl its attention, no perfon of common underftanding will venture to. difpute ; and fo long as Great Britain can herfelf iarni{]i lliipping on the cheapeft terms, fufficient for all the great branches of her commerce, every poflible encouragement ought undoubtedly to be given to our own fhipwrights, and every difcou- ragement to the participation of foreigners in the fliip-building trade : but it is the intereft of the merchant to get his freight as cheap as poffiblci it is equally fo of the manutaftureri becaufe every increafe in the price of (liipping and freight, ope- rates as a tax upon the commodities (hipped, and affeds the foreign demand in proportion. If therefore, from progreflive improvements in our * " There are fome who confound commerce and navi- gation together, as one and the fame thing : but the one is only an inftrument of the other, and not always an eflential one. Commerce confifts principally in the exchanore of commodities, if it exifts in inland countries, where there can be no navigation. China has a commerce with all Europe extremely beneficial to her, but (he has no navigation to any part of Europe. The fliips of Europe are her carriers." Smith of S. Carolina. G g 4 agriculture HISTORY OF THE agriculture and manufaclures, the two great founders and employers of flilpping, the mari- time commerce of all the Britilli dominions fliall at any time require a greater number of ihips than Great Britain and her dependencies can fumilli on any faving terms, cither recourfe muft be had to foreign vehicles, or our trade, like the vidims of Procruftes, muft be lopped and fliortened to make it fuit the meafure of our own (d). N Av I G AT I ON and naval power are the childreuy not the parentSy of commerce ; for if agriculture and manufafturcs, and mutual wants, did not furnilh the fubjed-matter of intercourfe between dlftant countries, there muft be an end to navi- gation. The remark therefore of a very diftin-r guiflied fenator (e), concerning that branch of our commercial lyftem of which we are now treat- ing, appears to be undoubtedly true, *^ that if (t!) " Can it be reconciled to common fcnfe to alTert, that if the Americans, or any other people, were to offer us 500 fail of velfeh every year gratis^ it would be againft the intereft of the nation (as a nation) to accept them, becaufe it might prove detrimental to fome individuals among us (our fliii'Wjlolits, &:c.) ? If the argument will not hold good, confidered in this extended liiihr, it can never, by parity of reafon, be admitted in cafes where vefltls can be purchafed at one- half the price it would cod to build them." — Vide a fliort Addrcfs from a manufacturer, on the Importance of the Trade of Great Britain with the United States of America.— 7 Printed for Stockdale, 17S5. (e) Mr. Burhe. WEST INDIES. ^.^ the navigation afl be fuffered to run the full chap length of its principle, and is not changed and i^'i. modified according to the change of times, and fluduation of circumftances, it mud do great mif- chicf, and frequently even defeat its own pur- pofe (f)." Having (f) An American writer of a periodical work called the Mu/eum, publiflied at Philadelphia in 179 1, having been in- formed, that France had permitted the introduclion of Ameri- can veffels into her trade (in which, however, he was mif- taken) exprefTes the following fentiments; which, to my un- derftanding, convey conviftion in every word. " If France *' (faith he) had rejefted American velfels, flie would have " fo far facrificed her carrying-trade to the maniifadure of *' fhips. She wifely purchafes, upon the cheaped terms, the *' cradles for her marine nurfery. The firfi: and great object- " of the maritime powers ought to be, the increafe of the " mmher of their failors, which is beft done by multiplying the '' chances of their employment. Among the means of doing *' this, one of the mod obvious and rational is, the multipU' *' cation of vrjjeh. The French-built fliips coll from fifty- '* five to fixty dollars ^^j- ton, when fitted to receive a cargo, *' e^cclufive of fea-ftores, infurance, the charges of lading, " outward pilotage, and other expences incidental totheem- f' ployment, and not to the building and outfit of a veflel. " The American live-oak and cedar fliips, to which none are f' fuperior, coft in the fame fituation, from thirty-three to " thirty-five dollars, finiflied very completely. If the French " require 10, coo tons of new velTcIs, on any occafion, or in '' any term of tim.e, they may be procured in the United *' States, on a computation of the medium price of thirty- " four dollars per ton, for the fum of 340,000 dollars : but, if *' bought at fifty-five dollars, the lowefi price in France, rhey ^' would coft the much greater fum of 550,000 dollars. No f argument is necelTaj-y to ihew, that fuch a nation, ceteris " paribui^ 45B H I S T O R Y O F T H E Having obferved thus much on the leading principles, or general Cyftem of our colonial trade> the application whereof will hereafter be feen, I fhall now proceed to the more immediate objedt of our prefcnt refearches, and endeavour to furnifl\ the reader with fome leading data^ or fadls, whereby to appreciate the value and importance of the Britifli fugar iflands, and the commerce which they create ; by inveftigating, ift. The nature and annual amount of the export trade from Great Britain and her depen- dencies, for the fupply of their wants, and the profits of the Britifli merchants and fliip owners thereon. zdly. The particulars and value of the various rich commodities, the growth of thefe iflands, annually imported into Great Britain, Ireland, &:c. 3dly. The value of the fugar iflands conlidered as fo much Britifh capital. 4thly. A STATE of the lliipping and feameii to which the Britifli fugar iflands afibrd employ- ment. A FULL '' paribus, mufl produce feamen more rapidly than thofe who *' refufe thefe cheap veflels. It would appear much Icfs un- *' reafonable, that the government of the United States fiiould " prohibit the fale of fliips (the vitam of obtaining naval Jirmgth) '' to foreign nations, than that any of them fliould rejeft the ** great advantage of fo cheap and excellent a fupply." Such is the rcafoning of this author, and it is no proof that his arguments are weak, becaufe the circumftance which o;ave rife to them did not exill. WEST INDIE^S. 459 A FULL enumeration of the various articles which furnifli the fhips bound to the Weft In- dies with an outward freight, would indeed com- prife a confiderable proportion of almoft all the productions and manufadtures of this kingdom, as well as of many of the commodities imported into Great Britain from the reft of Europe and the Eaft Indies. The inhabitants of the fugar iflands are wholly dependent on the mother-coun- try and Ireland, not only for the comforts and elegancies, but alfo for the common neceflaries of life. In moft other ftates and kingdoms, the firft objed: of agriculture is to raife food for the fupport of the inhabitants ; but many of the rich productions of the Weft Indies yield a profit fo much beyond what can be obtained from grain, that in feveral of the fugar iflands, it is true oeco' nomy in the planter, rather to buy provifions from others, than to raife them by his own labour. The produce of a fingle acre of his cane fields, will purchafe more Indian corn than can be raifed in five times that extent of land, and pay befides the freight from other countries. Thus, not only their houfehold furniture, their implements of huf- bandry, their clothing, but even a great part of their daily fuft,enance, are regularly fent to them from America or Europe. On the firft head therefore, it may generally be obferved, that the manufacturers 46o H I S T O R Y O F T H E manufaAurers of Blrmingliam and Manchefter, the clothiers of YorkChire, Glouceflerfliire, and Wilts, the potters of Stafford fli ire, the proprietors of all the lead, copper, and iron works, together with the farmers, victuallers, and brewers, throughout the kingdom, have a greater vent in the Britifli Weft Indies, for their refpedlive commodities, than perhaps they themfelves conceive to be pof- fible. Who would believe that woollens con- ftitute an article of great confumption in the torrid zone ? Such however is the fact. Of the coarfer kinds efpecially, for the ufc of the negroes, the export is prodigious. Even fugar itfelf, the great ftaple of the ^Veft Indies, is frequently re- turned to them in a refined ftate j fo entirely do thefe colonics depend on the mother-country ; centering in her bofom all their wealth, wiflies, and affedions. *^ Why fliould England (fays an " old planter) grudge at the wealth and prof- " perity of the plantations, fmce all that is ours " fhe may account her own, not only becaufe wc " are a part of England as it is taken largely, but . *' alio becaufe all comes to the kingdom of Ena;- *' land, properly fo called ? By a kind of magnetic *' force, England draws to it all that is good in " the plantations : it is the centre to which all *' things tend. Nothing but England can vvp " relifh or fancy j our hearts arc there, wherever \V E S t I N D I E S; 46X ^' our bodies are. If we get a little money, we " remit it to England : they that are able, breed ** up their children in England. When we arc a *' little eafy, we defire to live and fpend what wc *' have in England i and all that we get is brought *' to England*." To the laudable refeafches of the lords of the committee of council on the fubjeft of the flave trade, the publick have been lately indebted for fuch a body of evidence and information refpe-il- ino; the 2:eneral commerce of the Britifh Wed Indies, as could not poffibly have been collefled by any exertions lefs extenfive and efficient than thofe of government (gj. I have frequently had recourfe to their lordfhips report in former parts of this work, and fhall refer to it on this occa- fion. From that authority it appears, that the value of the exports from Great Britain to the BritiOi Weft Indies, in the year 1787 (fince which time they certainly have not diminifhed) amounted to ^.1,638,703. 13 j. lorf. the whole of which (except about £. 200,000) confided of Britilh goods and manufaftures. The exports for the fame year to Africa, which, with all fubfequent profits, mud be charged to the fame account, • Groans of the plantations, publiftied tlie iatter end of the iaft century. (S) Report of the Lords of the Committee of Council on the Slave Trade, J/89. amount 462 H I S T O R Y O F T H E amount to /. 668,255.' H-^- \d.(h). Bgfides this, the cofl is to be dated of manufliclures and provifions from Ireland, and of wines from Ma- deira and the Azores ; the fame having hitherto been purchafed by Britifh capitals, and conveyed to the Weft Indies in veffels trading clrcuitoufly from Britifli ports, and the returns likewifc made, for the moft part, to Great Britain. For the fame reafon, the coft and freight of lumber, fifli, and other produ6lions of Ame- rica, both from the American ftates and the Britifli provinces, tranfported from thence to the Britifli fugar illands, in Britifli velTcls, muft likewife be added to the eftimate. Concerning Ireland, I have no account for 1787, but the reader will find, in an Appendix to this volume, official accounts for the years 1790, 1791, and 1792, as well of the exports from that kingdom to the Britifli Weft Indies, as of the imports received from thence in return; both in a dired; trade. Of the former, the average value is f^. 294,353 Irifh, being equal to ;^. 277, 218 fterling: the amount of the imports will be given hereafter. (h) The goods fliipped for the purchafe of gum, ivory, and gold, in the trade direift between Africa and Great Bri- tain, conftitute fome fmall part of this ; but I make no deduc- tion on that account, becaufe the freight of, and merchants commiffions on, fuch part as are applied to tiie purchafe of flaves, and the profits on the fale of thofe flaves in the Wefl: Indies, not being charged in the Infpeftor General's books, I fet one againft the other. Of WEST INDIES. Of wines, from Madeira and the Azores, the yearly confumption in thefe illands may be efli- mated, on an average, at ^.30,000. Respecting America, the lupplies that were annually furnilhed by thofe provinces which now conftitute the United States, were valued, at the places of delivery, at no lefs than ;r. 720,000 Iterling ; and they confided of articles fo eflentially neceffary, that the reftri<5lions to which this trade is now fubjedt (how grievoufly foever they are felt by the planters) have not, I think, dimi- ni(hed the demand, or ieflened the import f/^. Official accounts of the prefent ftate of this inter- courfe are no where given to the publick : a re- trofpecflive furvey of its nature and extent, as it fubfifted previous to the war, will be given in the fubfequent chapter. There are yet to be reckoned the imports from the American provinces which ftill remain to Great Britain, including Newfoundland ; of which, in like manner, no account, that I have feen, has been publifhcd. Suppofing they were equal in value to the Weft Indian commodities (liipped thither in return (a conjedure probably (ij Jamaica, for a while, found feme refourcc witliin itfelf for Itaves and lumber ; but the country is, I believe, by this time, nearly exhaufted of thofe articles. The profit to Great Britain arifing Irom the freight alone of the whole fupply, isfiated by the lords ofthe privy council at ^.245,000 fer annum, not 405 404 H I 5 T O R V O F T H £ ^: (^ <^ K nof vfvy w«dp of the trutli) the {iimto be (^j^argcr! an this accouiU for 1787, is /^. roc-a*^. 17:. """^"^ \<^J.(k). T ;Hon ro the merchant- rrportf r in (oxrvt cafc^ and the profits in others of fh« n'WfT Gt«K Barium, / ^^*ti> f Q I t I ftrwft^, I«;Ja»*i S — — Ai» fom U few fi(h from fir .ion 6* iJKtf ankle from thence into 1l»f =i> urtTMfr i'83t» it Um p«m ol (kfivt/y tboitt i;^. 6i:. Uk quwui. \V E S T I N D I E S. 465 Perhaps it were nocxcefs to ftatd^e whole amount at this time at four milhons of pounds fterling. Hence then appears the \*all depend- ence of the Britilh Weft Indian colonies on their parent countn% for almoft ever)* thing that is ufeful and ornamental to civilized life ; and it was juftly obfened, by the accurate and intel- ligent Mr. Glover, that fuch a market for the vent of our manutadure?, furnillies irrefragable proof, that, through whatever channel riches have llowed into thofe colonies, that influx hath made its palVage to the mother-countr\-, " not (con- tinued he) like the dalh of an oriental torrent, but m falubrious, \-arious, placid, and copious dreams ; refrefhing and augmenting fober induftry by additional employment to thoufands and ten thoulands of fkmilies, and lightening the burthen upon rents, by reducing the contributions of pariflies to poverty unemployed," After all, it is not fo much by the exports to, as by the imports from, the fugar iHands, that we are to judge of their \'alue : every article of their products and returns being in tact as truly Britilh property, as the tin which is found in the mines of Cornwall ; and their ftaples are the more N-aluable, inafmuch as they differ from the com- modities produced at home : for they fupply the mother-countr)', not only with what flie muft Vol. II. H h othcnvife 466 H I S T O R Y O F T H E ROOK otherwlfe purcbafe trom foreigners for her own ^^- ufe, but with a fuperfluity bcfides for foicign confumption. Let us now then, as propofed, enquire into the particulars, and eilimate the value of their various productions and commo- dities with which Great Britain and her depend- encies arc annually lupplied. Here too, I might refer to the year 1787, and avail myfelf, as I have done in the hiftory of each particular iiland, of the very exad:, comprehenfive, and valuable ftate- ment of the returns of that year, as prepared by the Infpec'^or General of the exports and imports, with the marketable prices of each article, and annexed by the committee of the privy-council to their report on the Have trade; but I choofe rather to look to the year 1708, chiefly becaufe the exports of any one year are fet properly againtt the imports of the fuccecding one ; it being ulual, in moft articles of Britilh export to the Wefl Indies, to give twelve or fixteen months credit. The imports into Great Britain from the Britilh fugariflands in 1 788, and the value thereof, will appear in the following table. The quan- tities are taken from the Infpci^lor General's re- turn (l)\ but that olhcer has not, in this cafe, as in the account of the former year, affixed the (I) Report of the piivy-council, part iv. marketable W E S T I N D I E S. +67 marketable prices fwj. Thefe therefore are col- lefled from the opinions of relpectable brokers, on a low average of the year j the mlfcellaneous articles excepted, which Hand as dated by the Infpedor General with the addition of one-third, being the ufual difproportion between the aftual prices current, and thofe in the cuftom-houfe books. (f!i) The marketable prices, are the current prices after the duties have been cleared, and thefe are paid on importa- tion, except as to the duties and excife on rum, which is periiiittcd to be bonded. The latter therefore cannot be faid to be paid by the planter in the firft inftance, as in the former cafe thev certainly are, and nine times out often are not refunded by the confumer, as will hereafter be demon- {Irated. HA % IMPORTS 468 HI S TORY OF THE IMPORTS fr§m the Britis Sugar, Montferrat, Nevis, and St. Kitt's Antigua - - - - - Grenada - . . . - Cwt. i8i,Si3 193.783 - St. Vincent's, Tortola, and Anguilla - Jamaica . - . - - 164,976 1,124,017 Barbadoes • » » - - Dominica - . . - _ 110,955 47,610 Rum, Jamaica - . . - - other iflands . - - - - Coffee .... . - Cotton .-_._. Ginger, Jamaica - . - . . Barbadoes - - , - . Gallons. 2,917,797 728,645 Cwt. 32,^83 lbs. 11,618,382 Cwt. 3,292 5.755 - Mifcellaneous articles valued at the cuftom-houfe prices Add one-third, the ufual difference between the prices in thi| books, and the current prices at market - ... The amount is ;^.6,488,3i9. iis. 4^. and this fum is altogether exclufive of bullion, of which the annual import from thefe iflands into Great Britain is very confiderable : it is prefumed that, ^.320,000 is a moderate average, which being added to the foregoing, gives a total of jr.6,808,319. lis. 4 J. I will call it fix million eight hundred thoufand pounds only; and the calculation is confirmed by the teftimony of a merchant WEST INDIES. 469 /est Indies into Great Britain in 1788. Cwt. 442,542 at 47 i. £. ,. d. 569,973 14 — 375,596 at 461. 863,870 16 — 1,288,993 at 44 f. 1,835,784 11 — 158,565 at 45*. 356,771 5 — 2,065, 696 - - - - - - £.' it IS. 2d. ' at 2 J. 316,094 13 6 72,864 10 — at 96 i. - at i47DIES. 47? one hundred and eleven pounds for each white perfon, and thirteen pounds eighteen (hillings and fix pence per head per annum, for man, wo- man, and child, black and white, tiiroughout alj the BritiQi Weft Indies. From this immcnfe fupply, the revenues of Great Britain and Ireland received, in grofs du- ties, upwards of £. 1,800,000 fteriing, exclufive of the duty of 4 i per cent, colleded in Barba- does, and fome other of the illands, and which being paid in kind, is, I prefume, included in the general imports above ftated. Of the re- mainder, we have already feen how large a fiiare was the property of the manufaclurer, the mer- chant, and the navigator. A further fum, not lefs than ^.1,037,000, muft be placed to the fame account, for freights and infurance home- wards, commiflions on the fale, and a long train of other charges. The balance, reduced, as it neceflarily muft be, by fuch a multiplicity of claims and deductions, to a very fmall proportion of the grofs returns, is paid over to the planters, their agents, mortgagees, or annuitants, moft of whom- are refident in Great Britain, and by whom it is partly employed in extending cultivation in the Weft Indies, and partly expended or invefted in the mother-country ; in the one cafe giving H h 4 vigour 474 HISTORYOFTHE BOOK vigour to induftry, in the other upholding the ^'* price of Britifli lands, or the credit of the Britifh funds. With great truth, therefore, did the merchants and planters declare to the houfe of commons, " that the fugar colonies, and the commerce thereon dependent, have become the moft confiderable fource of navigation and na- tional wealth out of the limits of the mother- country ; and that no part of the national property can be more beneficially employed for the publick, nor are any interefls better entitled to the protec- tion of the legiflature, than theirs (p)'* I SHALL now flate the value of this great pro- perty, confidered as Britifh capital. In the re- Cp) The following are the particulars of freight and in- furance homewards, commiflions, &c. as enumerated in the valuable chain of evidence by George Hibbert, Efquire, be- fore referred to, viz. Received by the fliip owners, for freight home- £. wards, about - - - - 560,000 Underwriters, for infurance - - 150,000 Britifli merchants and brokers, for commiflions, &c. - - - 232,000 Whai fingers, &c. including primage 95,000 £. 1,037,000 port WEST INDIES. 473 port of the privy-council, it iseftimated at feventy chap. millions of pounds flerling, as follows : viz. /.^ m • 450,000 negroes at £. 50 per head 22,500,000 Lands, buildings, utenfils, mules, &c. and crop on the ground, double the value of the negroes 45,000,000 Value of the houfes, &c. in the towns, the trading and coafling veflels, and their crews belong- ing to the iflands - - - - 2,500,000 Total - - ;^. 70,000,000 Another mode propofed by their Lordfliips of afcertaining the capital, is to reckon twelve years purchafe on its annual produce, it being, they obferve, not unufual in the Wefl Indies, to fell eflates at that price. I think that the fale of Weft Indian eftates at ten years purchafe, is much more common j and reckoning the mercantile value of the capital at feven millions per nnnuniy the refult, by this mode of calculation, agrees pre- cifely with the former ; a circumftance which gives room to conclude, that it is nearly as ac- curate as the fubjedt will admit : There can be no poflible inducement to exaggerate, where acknow- ledged fads are of fo much weight. There yet remains to be added a brief fiate of the fhipping and feamen to which the fugar colonies diredly give employment 3 and it appears that 47+ H I S T O R Y X3 F T H E K o o K that the number of vcfTcls which in the year 1 787 ^^' cleared from tlie fcveral Britifli Weft Indian inlands for Great Britain and Ireland (including 14 from Honduras) were 689, containing 148,176 tons, and navigated by 13,936 men, being about nine feamen to every 100 tons : an extent of lliipping nearly equal (as I have clfewhere ob- ferved) to the whole commercial tonnage of Eng- land a century ago. At the fame time it is not to be overlooked, that the feamen fo employed, being in conftant fervice, are always at command ; and on this account, they are a more valuable body of men than even the feamen employed in the Newfoundland fifhery ; of whom a great pro- portion remains in the country during the winter, and cannot therefore, on any fudden emergency, be added to the naval force of the kingdom (/j). On CqJ The French writers ftate the number of fliips em- ployed in //r/V Wift Indian trade at 600, and the average of their burthen at 300 tons one with another : their feamen at 1 ^,000. The following account of the aver.ige imports from the French fiigar iflands, and the duties paid thereon, was pub- lifliedin 1785; viz. PUTIES. J p,ooo cafkb of fugar valued at 90,000,000 livres. Droit* dc domalne d'occidf nt ' 5,600,000 60 millions of pounds of coffee 45,000,000 Droits d'oaroi a rAmerique 7'344.oco 2 millions ofpoundsof indigo iS,ooo,ooo Duti»3 on fugar refined in France 4,591,000 I J million of pound* of cacao i, 000,0c o Duties on coffee 750,000 3 millloni of pounds of cotton 6,ogo,cco Dulie* ob indigo 37*5°° Total - - i6o,coo,ccD T.tjl - - >S,3a3>S''' W E S T I N D I E S. 47S On a retrofpect of the whole it may be truly affirmed, that the Britifh fugar iflands in the Weft Indies (different in all refpedts from colonies in northern latitudes) anfwer in every point of view, and, if I miilake not, to a much greater extent than is commonly imagined, all the purpofes and expeftations for which colonies have been at any time eftabliflied. They furnifti, as we have feen, a fure and exclufive market for the merchandize and manufadures of the mother-country and her dependencies, to the yearly amount of very near four millions of pounds fterling. They produce to an immenfe value, and in quantities not only fufficient for her own confumption, but alfo for a great export to foreign markets, many valuable and moft necelTary commodities, none of which interfere in any refped with her own produftions; and moft of which, as I fliall demonftrate here- after, flie cannot obtain on equal terms elfewhere: — accompanied too with this peculiar benefit, that in the transfer of thefe articles from one part of her fubjeds to another part, not one Oiilling is taken from the general circulating wealth of the kingdom. Laftly, they give fuch employment to her (hips and feamen, as while it fupports and encreafes her navigation in time of peace, tends jiot in the fmalleft degree to obftrud, but on the contrary, contributes very eminently to aid and invigorate, her operations in war. It is evident therefore, HISTORY OF THE therefore, that in eftimating the value ar^j im- portance of fuch a fyftem, nojuft conclufions can be drawn, but by furx'eying it comprehenfivelyy and in all its parts, confidering its feveral branches as connected with, and dependent on, each other, and even then, the fum of its advantages will exceed calculation. We are told indeed, among other objedions which I fhall confider more at large in the concluding chapter of my work, that all the products of the Britifli Weft Indies may be purchafed cheaper in the colonies of foreign nations. If the fact were true, as it certainly is not, it would furnifti no argument againft the propriety and neceffity of fettling colonies of our own i becaufe it muft be remembered, that fo- reign nations will allow few or none of our ma- nufactures to be received in their colonies in pay- ment : that their colonifts contribute in no de- gree, by the inveftment and expenditure of their profits, to augment the wealth of the Britifh nation, nor finally do they give employment ex- clufively to Briti(h fhipping. To what extent the naval power of Great Britain is dependent on her colonial commerce, it is difficult to afcertain : If this trade be confidered in all its channels, col- lateral and dired:, conne(5ted as it is with our fiflieries, &c. perhaps it is not too much to affirm, that it maintains a merchant navy on which the maritime ftrength of the kingdom fo greatly de- pends. WEST INDIES. 477 pends, that we (hould ceafe to be a nation with- chap. out it Cr J. III. (r) The following is a comparative view of the two greateft branches of the Britifli commerce ; the Eaft and Weft Indian trades. East Indian Trade. Capital employed. Eighteen miilions. Value of goods exported an- nually to India and China, both by the company and their officers. One million 4ind a half. Import fales by the company, and iales under licence. Five millions. Duties paid to government, cuftoms, &C. Seven hundred and ninety thoufand pounds. Chartered ftiipping of the company. Eighty thou/and tons. West Indian Trade. Capital employed. Seventy millions. Value of goods exported from Great Britain and her de- pendencies, including the profit of freight on the fe- veral branches of fupplv, infurance, &c. Three mil- lions eight hundred thoufand founds. Imports into Great Britain and Ireland, and fhippcd to other parts, the profits of which center in Great Bri- tai n . Seven millions t tvo hun- dred thoufand pounds. Duties paid to government. One million eight hundred thoufand pounds. Shippingemployed dircvfl. One hnndred and fifty thoufand tons. But the great difference arifes from the circumftance that the trade to the Weft Indies is carried on with our own colonial pofl"effions, which the fettlements in the Eaft never were, nor even can be confidered. 478 H I S T O R Y O F T H E APPENDIX T O CHAP. iir. OF BOOK v:. BOOK 1 H E following authentick ftatement of the exports ^^' and imports between the Weft India Iflands and Great Britain, in the year I79S> was read in the Houfe of Commons by the Right Honourable Mr. Secretary Dun- das, in his fpeech on the Slave Trade (April 1796.) It difplays fuch an aftoni{hing encreafe as might appear ut- terly incredible, were it not recollected that in 1795 many of the French fugar iflands were in our pofTefTion: Value in pounds * 7 9 5* fterlin!:. Exports of Britifli Manufadures - - 3,212,431 of Foreign Manufa6lures - - 53 ',0^0 Total of Exports from Great Britain for 1795 . - - . - - - Imports of Weft India produce into } 3.743,431 Great Britain for 1795 e into 7 I 8,881,673 3^73.000 Value of Weft India produce re-cx- "> ported in 1 795 to foreign markets 3 Mr. Dundas, in the very eloquent fpeech which he delivered on this occafion, after introducing the pre- ceding ftatement, made the following important obferva- tions : " If any perfon (hall tell me, that fome of thefe ad- vantages would be enjoyed by us even w the Weft In- 2 dies WEST INDIES. 479 cies flood In the lame relation to this country as America ftands at this moment, I (hall readily admit, that as much of this account as arifes out of the exportation and laleof our manufaittures might poilibly be the iame in cafe of a reparation. I do not think the manufacturers of America are yet, nor indeed likely to be for a great many years, in a ftate to rival the manufiiilurers of Great-Britain. But when I have admitted thus much, it muft, on the other hand, be allowed, that fuch an event, befides the operation it would have on the navigation of t us king- dom, w^ould put out of our power the whole produce that comes from the Well-Indies, and for which tiie planters can eafily find a market elfe where. Such a confequcnce would inevitably follow, and does it not form a moll im- portant confideration i We ihould lofe all tliC furplus which makes fo great an article in the foreign trade of this country. The whole of that important advantage would, by fuch an event, be loll for ever. Such would be one of the confequences of Weft-India independance, and fuch, as I have ftated, is de fado the relative fituation cxifting between the motiier-country and her fugar co- lonies. Is it then. Sir, a crime in any Member of this Houfe in this cafe to talk of policy ? Is this the only queftion from which all confiderations of policy are to be excluded ? Is it a crime in me to call on Genticmen, who, paft the levity of youth, have arrived at a more fober and delibe- rate mode of thinking, maturely to weigh the confe- quences of rafh and intemperate councils on this occa- fion. Shall it be faid, that I do not confult the interefts of humanity, becaufe I, who have attained a more ad- vanced period of life, do not ruih precipitately on, with- out clearly feeing my way before me ? This leads me, Sir, to another confideradon, which I wift) to prefs upon the attention of the Houfe, — :ind this confideration relates to America. Gendemen fhould recollect. 48o HISTORYOFTHE rccolle^lj that the indepcndance of America is ^ready eftabliihed. The feparation of the Weft-India iflands from the mother-country is, therefore, at this time, a very different queftion from what it would have been, if the connexion between Great-Britain and America had ftill fubfiftcd ; — before Gentlemen permit themfelves to think luch an event poflible, before they revolve in a fit of generofity, or in a moment of anger, to declare the Weft- India colonies independant, I wifti they would at leaft confider, what fecurity there is, that thofe iflands would continue in that ftate of indepcndance in which we might place them, if they were abfolved from their allegiance and difmifled from the patronage of this country ? I would afk, whether there is no other power in the world to be found, who would ftretch out a fatherly hand for their prote£tion ? If, by the egregious folly and the madncfs of this country, fuch an event fliould occur, if any unjuft and intemperate decifion of this Houfe fhould unfortunately produce the independance of the fugar co- lonies, it is but too probable, that, with exultation over our folly, fome other nation would read fuch a paper as I have this day produced, to demonftrate to the world the confequences of our infanity, by difplaying the extent of our loiTes, and the magnitude of iheir gains ! I feel myfelf impelled, by the importance of the fubje(Sl, to prefs this again and again upon the minds of the Houfe, and to inform them how greatly they are miftaken, if they think they are confulting the true interefts of this country in giving the fmalleft encouragement to the moft diftant idea of Weft-Indian independancy !" Ably as the foregoing confiderations were enforced by the Right Honourable fpeaker, it may be ufeful to fuggeft fome views of the fubjed which he omitted,— and, Firft, W E S T 1 N D I E S, 48r Firft, It Is a conclufion not logically juft, thatjbecaufe yi^ p p en- the commerce of Great-Britain has been profperous and pj-.. progreiTive fince the reparation of the North-American l -,— -■* colonies, it is, therefore, indebted to that fcparation for any part of its profperity, and might not hare arrived to a much higher pitch if I'uch an event had not happened. Do the American States ufe none but Britifti manufac- tures, employ none but Britidi agents, enrich none but Britifh capitalifts ? Are they not become formidable rivals to us in commercial navigation, and has not France in the prefent war, found in their neutrality a powerful refource ? Their advance in population and wealth, for feveral years immediately preceding the revolution, was fo obvious and rapid, that, confidering the drains and burthens which the war impofed, it would be too much to fay, that their independance has given a peculiar fpur to their advancement, from which Britain, as a trading nation, has derived a compenfation for her lofs of their exclufive trade. Could any probable expenfe of their proteiSlion have nearly reached the amount of that debt incurred in the war by which they were loft ? The ar- guments by which free trade is ufually recommended do not app'y to this cafe. Such arguments imply a general liberation, but here there was no quid pro quo. Some- thing, doubtlefs, was conceded, and nothing obtained in return. Secondly, Whatever may be determined refpecSling the advantages which Great-Britain derived from her North- American colonies, no fair conclufion can thence be drawn as to the value of thofe (he pofTefTes in the Wefl- Indies, in fo many and fuch material points diflimilar in nature and fituation. So early as the time of Sir Jofiah Child, who wrote in 1660, while the colonies of both kinds were yet in their infancy, this diftin(51ion was marked ; their relative fitncfs for raifmg rival manufac- tures, building rival fhipping, and draining the mother- VoL. II. i i country 432 HISTORYOFTHE country of people, are by him flated in plain, but forciblej terms. (See Child on Trade, cap. 10.) It {hould never be torgotten, that the cultivation of the Weft-India iflands is entirely devoted to objects which the mother- councry cannot produce, yet cannot do without, and which, from their cxtenGve confumption, afford the furcfl means of balancing her foreign trade ; — thofe colonics poflefs no exclufivc Ibippmg, and their acquirements centre, not by indirect channels, but immediately, in the bofo;n of Great-Biitain. Political economifts may theorize concerning the utility of colonies, and the pre- ference of concentring the national induftry and wealth) but they forget that fuch eftabliihments are infeparablc from the genius of a maritime people, and eflential to its profperity. And, if the comparative merit of colo- nies be examined, we may fafely aflert, that none ever exifted fo reconcileable with the bcft principles of poli- tical economy as thofe which the European nations pof- fefs in the Weft-Indies. Thirdly, The vickpetulancy of the Weft-India ifiand'^, all things confidered, is not a fubject of probable fpecu- lation; theyare conftituted for an interchange of exclufive benefits, like that in which they now cxift, and have hitherto flouriftied; and Great-Britain would impofe a tafk upon htrfeU greater than any fhe ever undertook, were (he to attempt to counteract their natural bias in that refpect. Now, if any of our political economills {hould be difpofed to maintain, that, in a ftate of depen- dance upon fume other nation, Great-Britain might de- rive advantages from their commerce, let him be afkeJ, what benefits did (lie derive from the trade of Marti- nique and St. Domingo ten years ago ? Thofe which France enjoyed from her exclufive colonies are ftated ver) rlcarly in the valuable Analyfis of the French Com- merce publiftijd about the time of the revolution, by M; Arnould. It is there fhewn that France imported from her W E S T I N D I E S. 483 her colonies a value of about eight millions fterling, of which fhe exported about fix millions, by that, and by that alone, turnma; the general balance of trade in her favour. After accounting for the rapid progrefs which the commerce of Europe has made in the eighteenth century, that intelligent writer concludes: — " Toutes " ces circonftances, reunics ont produit la plus grande *' adtivite et une forte emulation dans le commerce des " Europeens. Elles ont multiplie les confommations, et ** ce mouvement produdleur a particulierement etc favor- " able a la France^ devenue, vers le commencement du " fiecle, proprietaire d'objels nouveaux de confommation. *' Avec le fecours des denrecs de nos Ijles d* Jmcrique, la " France a fonde une marine cohnlale importante^ elle a " fait ainfi valoir les marchandifes navales du Nord, pen- *' dant que les capitaliftes, les armateurs, et les negoclans '*• Francois, en s'enrichilTant par le commerce, cornme " lesagens du gouvernement, par la part qu'ils obtenoient *' dans la progrefljon des impots fur les confommations, " fe font livres a un luxe qui a augmente le debouche des *' produits du fol et de I'induftrie des Contrees Meridio- ** nalcs de I'Europe." Arnould, Balance de la Commerce, p. 268. I'lZ 484 HISTORYOFTHE CHAP. IV. Trade betiveen the BritiJIi Weft Indlei and T^orth America previous to the late Civil IVar. — Official Account of American Supplies^ and their Value. — Ships and Seamen. — Returns. — Advantages re- julthigfrom this 'Trade to Great Britain. — Mca- fures adopted by Government on the Re-eJiabliJJi- ment of peace. — Proclamation of the id Ju/y^ 1783. — Petitions from the IVcft Indies. — Oppo- fition of the Settlers in Nova Scotia^ iSc. and the Ship-builders at Home. — Reference to the Com- mittee of Privy Council. — Evidence taken by the Committee. — Their final Opinion thereon. — Pro- ceedings of Government. — Defiruciion of Negroes in the Pl'ejl Indies in confequence. — A£l of the 2 8 Geo. III. Ch. 6. — Prefent State and Value of the Trade between the BritiJIi IVcjl Indies and the remaining BritifJi Provinces in America. — The fame with the United States of America. — In- ference from the JVhole. — Appendix. BOOK Having purpofel)' referved for fepamte difcuf- VI. fion, the commercial intcrcourfe between the ^'~^ ^ BritiOi Weft Indies and North America, I iLall now proceed to inveftigate its nature and extent, as it fubfifted previous to the late unfortunate civil W E S T I N D I E S. 485 civil war : and offer fome confiderations on the policy of Great Britain, in the regulations and reftridions (as they affeded the fugar iflands) which government afterwards thought proper to adopt concerning it, in confequence ot the ac- kowledgment of American independency : after which, I fhall endeavour to furnifli an account of the prefent ftate of the V/eft Indian trade, both with the United States, and the continen- tal colonies yet remaining to Great Britain. It may, I think, be affirmed, without hazard of contradidlion, that if ever there was any one particular branch of commerce in the world, that called lefs for reftraint and limitation than any other, it was the trade which, previous to the year 1774, was carried on between the planters of the Weil Indies and the inhabitants of North America. It was not a traffick calculated to anfwer the fantaftick calls of vanity, or to admi- nifler gratification to luxury or vice ; but to pro- cure food for the hungry, and to furnifh materials (fcarce lefs important than food) for fupplying the planters in two capital objeds, their build- ings, and packages for their chief ftaple produc- tions, fugar, and rum. Of the ncceffity they were under on the latter account, an idea may be formed from the ftatement in the preceding chapter of the importation of thofe commodities I i 3 into 4^6 HISTORY OFTHE BOOK into Great Britain ; the cultivation of which ifiuit ■ ^^- abjolutcly have flopped without the means of con- veying them to market. For the fupply of thofe efTential articles, lum- ber, fidi, flour, and grain, America feems to have been happily fitted, as well from, internal circum- ftances, as her commodious fiiuation ; and it is to a ne:g',boii;]y inLercourfe with that continent, continued during one hundred and thirty years, that our fugar plantations in a great meafure owe their profperity; infomuch that, according to the opinion of a very competent judge fa), if the continent had been wholly in the hands of a foreign power, and the EngliO-i precluded from all commerce or intercourfe with rt, it is a very' doubtful point, whether, m fuch cafe, we fliould at this hour have pofTefled a fingle acre of land in the Weft Indies. The following is an official account of the total import from North America into the Britilh Weft: Ind.an iflands for the years 1771, 1772, and 1773, allowed by Mr. Stanley, fecretary to the> commiftioncrs of the cuftoms in London, dated; the 15th March 1775. (a J Mr. Long. M W E S T I N D I E S. 487 An account of the total Import from chap- North America into the Britilli AV^cIl Indian ^^■■ Iflands in the years 1771, 17 72, and 1773. From From Canada r- xt .u II ■ J J From New- c • r /- J tfi6 uiiKsj and r ,, I Species or Goods. „^ ^ -t _ . foundland. ■^ states. Nova Scotia. BoarJban;i Timber, Feet 76,767,69^ 23^,040 2,000 Shingles - - N° 59,586,194 185,000 Staves - - N° 57,998,661 27-350 Hoops - K- 4,712,005 16,250 9,000 Corn - Buflis. 1,204,389 24 Peafe and Beans D^ 64,006 1,017 Bread and Flour Bbls. 396,329 991 Ditto - Kegs 13,099 Rice - Bbls. 39,912 Eice Tierces -',777 Fiih Hhd?. 5', 344 449 2,307 Ditto Bbls. 47,686 664 202 Ditto - 1 Qiiinta'.s 21,500 2,958 11,764 Ditto Kegs 3,304 609 Beef and Pork - Bbls. 44,78a 170 24 Poultry - Dozs. 2,739 10 Horfes - N" 7,130 23 Oxen No 3,647 Sheep and Hogs N° 13,815 Oil Bbls. 3,189 139 118 Tar, Pitch, and Turpentine D° 17,024 Mails Is- ^57 Spars N° 3,074 30 Shook CaHss - No 53,857 40 14^ Soap and Candle; i Boxes 20,475 Ox Bows and Yol kes N" 1,540 Houfe Frames - N" 620 Iron Tons 399? li 4 Of 4S8 H I S T O R Y O F T H E Of this great iupply, the value at the poits of delivery, including freight, was £.1,160^000 fterling, or ^T. 720,000 annually; confifting of about 1,200 annual cargoes j but it is proper to obferve, that the vcfTels employed in this trade (which were generally floops and fchooners, fingle decked, and without topmafts) commonly made two, and fometimes three, voyages in the year; fo that the aftual number never exceeded in any one year 533, which were navigated by 3,339 Teamen, including negroes : of the latter, the number was eftim.atcd at about 1,000. Thus, the Ihoitnefs and cheapnefs of the navigation in a great degree fupported the trade. The chief articles with which the Britilli Weft Indian iflands fupplied America, in return for the produce of that continent, were fugar, rum, melaffes, and coflee. Of rum, the quantity an- nually fliipped thither, before the war, on an average of three years, was 2,800,000 gallons ; and the quantity of mclafTes was 250,000 gallons. Thisvlaft may be confidcred as fo much addi- tional rum, each gallon of melaffes producing an equal quantity of fpirit of the American proof, which augmented the annual fu])ply of that ar- ticle to 3,050,000 gallons. The fupply of fugar was eftimated at 5,000 hogflieads, of i6 cwt. ; and of coffee, at about 400,000 lbs. The value of the whole (including fomc other fmall articles) 4 was IV. W E S T I N D I E S. 489 was £. 420,000 fterling, leaving a balance of chap, jT. 300,000 in favour of the Americans, which was commonly paid in dollars, or bills of ex- change, furnllhing them fo far with the means of remittance to Great Britain, in redudion of their debts to the Britifli merchants. From this account of the exports from the BritiOi Weft Indies to the continental colonies, it appears that America, befides affording an in- exhauftible fource of fupply, was alfo a fure market for the difpofalof the planters y//?-/>/7/j pro- ductions J fuch, 1 mean, for which there was no fufficient vent in Europe, efpecially rumj the whole importation of that article into Great Bri- tain and Ireland, having been little more than half the quantity confumed in America. On whatever fide therefore this trade is confidered, it will be found that Great Britain ultimately re-, ceived the chief benefits refulting from it ; for the fugar planters, by being cheaply and regu- larly fupplied with horfes, provifions, and lumber, Vv'ere enabled to adopt the fyftem of management not only moft advantageous to themfelves, but alfo to the mother-country. Much of that land which otherwife muft have been applied to the cultivation of provifions, for the maintenance of their negroes and the raifing of cattle, was appro- priated to the cultivation of fugar. By thefe means, the quantity of fugar and rum (the mofl profitable 490 HISTORY OFTHE BOOK profitable of their flaples) had increafed to« fiir- ^ ^" prifing degree, and the Britiih revenues, naviga- tion, and general commerce, were proportionably augmented, aggrandized, and extended. Having an advantageous market for their rum, the planters were enabled to deal fo much the more largely with the mother-country. On the other hand, the Americans, being annually indebted to Great Britain for manufafturcs, in a larger fum than fheir returns of tobacco, indigo, rice, and naval ftores, were fufficient to difcharge, made up the deficiency, in a great degree, by means of their circuitous trade in the Weft Indic-s, foreign as well as Biitifli ; and were thus enabled to extend their dealings with Great Britain. Thus the eflfedl was juft as advantageous to her, as if the fugar planter himfelf had been the purchafcr to the fame amount, inftead of the American (b). Such (h) Dr. John Campbell in his treatile, intituled, Candhl and imlartial Confulcrations on the Sugar Trndc^ (1763) has cotiritiercd this fubjcft in the lame light, and exprtlfed him- felf as follows : " As the inhabitants of the Suj^ar Colonies are continual purchafers from fuch as are fettled upon the continent of America, the amount of their piirchafes con- flitutcs a balance from them in favour of thofe of whom they purchafe. But on the other hand, the inh.ibitants of the northern colonies drawing large and conftant fuppliesof com- mcviities and maiuihiftures from hence, wc, for the fame rcafon, have a like balance in om- favour againft them. It is evident, therefore, th.tt by their nansferring the balance due WEST INDIES. 491 Such having been the nature, necefTity, and advantage of this commercial intercourfe, there was certainly every reafon to expedl that, on the termination of hoftilities, the fyltem which had unavoidably been interrupted and difarranged during the war, would revive as of courfe, and be re-eftabliilied under every poffible encourage- ment. Accordingly, the liberal and accomplilhed minifter, who was in the diredlion of the finances, loil no time in prefenting to parliament a provi- fional bill for that purpofe ; a copy of which the reader will find in a note (cj. By due to them in fatisfaftion of that which is due from them to us, the whole accumulated profits ultimately center with the inhabitants of Great Britain." {"cj The following is a copy of the American Intercourfe Bill which was brought in by the Right Honourable William Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, March 1 783. *' A Eill for the provifional enablifliment and regulation of trade and intercourfe between the fubjefts of Great Britain and thofe of the United States of North America. " WHEREAS the following thirteen provinces of North America, namely, New Hampniire,M:.urachufet's Bay, Rhode Ifland and Providence Plantations, Connefticut, New York, New Jerfey, North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennfylvania, South Carolina, and Georgia, have lately been folemnly acknowledged by his Majefty to be, and now are, free, independent, and fovereign S'ates, by the name and defcription of the United States of America: " Be it therefore enafled and declared by the King's Moft Excellent Majefty, by and with the advice and confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this prefent Parliament 49» HISTORYOFTHE By what means thefe rcafonable expoclations of the planters, and good intentions of the mi- niller towards them, proved ill-founded and abor- tive. Parliament aJembled, and by the nuthority of the fame, that all ftatutes heretofore made to regulate the trade and com- merce between Great Britain and the Britifli Plantations in America, or to prohibit any intercourfc between the fan^.e, fliall, (o far as they regulate or prohibit the intercourfe and commerce between Great Britain and the territories now compofina the faid United States of America, wholly and ab- folutely ceafe: " And whereas, whilft the aforefaid Thirteen Province? were annexed to and conftituted a part of the dominions of Great Britain, the inhabitants of the faid provinces enjoyed all rights, franchifes, privileges, and benefits of Britifli fub- ]e€ts born in Great Britain, as well in refpecft to the trade and commerce with Great Britain as in other infbnces ; and in confequence thereof the fl)ips and veflcls of the faid inha- bitants, being navigated in like manner as Britifli fliips and veflcls are by law directed to be navigated, were admitted into the ports of Grent Britain, with all tliC juivileges and advantages of Britifli-buiit fliips : '* And whereas, by tlie fevcral laws now exifting, for regu- lation of the trade and commerce of Great Britain with foreign States, tiie fubje6ls of the latter are, as aliens, liable to various commercial rcflritftions, and alfo to various duties and culloms at the ports of Great Britain, w hich hitherto have not been applicable to, or dcmandable ironi, the inha- bitants of the feveral provinces now compofing the faid United States of America : " And whereas it is highly expedient that the intercourfe between Grt at Britain and the fait! United States flionld be eflabliflieil on the mofl enlarged principles of reciprocal benefit to both countries; but, from the dilhmce between Great Britain &nd America^ it mull be a coafiderable time before W E S T I N D I H S. 493 tive, and the fatal confequences which flowed from chap, the meafures reforted to by the BritiQi govern- ^v- ment, 1 fliall now proceed to point out. The before any convention or treaty for eftablifhing and regu- lating tlie trade and intercourfe between Great Britain and the faid United States of America, upon a permanent founda- tion, can be concluded : *' Now, for the purpofe of making a temporary regulation of the commerce and intercourfe between Great Britain and the faid United States of America, and in order to evince the difpofition of Great Britain to be on terms of the mofi perfed. amity with the faid United States of America, and in confi- dence of a like friendly difpofition on the part of the faid United States towards Great Britain, Be it further enacfbed. That from and after the the fliips and veffels of the fubjecls and citizens of the faid United States of America, with the merchandizes and goods on board the fame, (hall be admitted into all the ports of Great Britain in the fame manner f.s the ftiips and vclTels of the fubie(EVs of other independent fovereign States; but the mer- chandizes and goods on beard fucli fliips or vefTels of the fubjeds or citizens of the faid United States, being of the growth, produce, or roanufadure of the faid United State?, lliall be liable to the fame duties and charges only, as the fame merchandizes and goods would be !"ubje61: to, if they were the property of Britifh fubjecls, and imported in Britifli- built fliips or velTels, navigated by Britifli natural-born fubjefts. " And be it; further enafbed, That during the time afore- faid, the (liips and veflels of the fubjefts and citizens of the faid United States, fliall be admitted into the ports of Kis Majefty's iflands, colonies, or plantations, in America, with any merchandizes or goods of the growth, produce, or manu- fa6ture, of the territories of the aforefaid United States, with liberty to export from His faid Majefty's iflaad*, colonies, oi 494 H I S T O R y O F t H E The preliminary articles of peace were figned at Verfailles on the 27th of January 1783* foon after which, the houfe of commons having pafled a vote of ccnfure on the treaty (with what regard to juftice or confiftency, it is not my bufinefs at prcfent to inquire) this event was followed by the refignation of the miniftry by whom the treaty was adjufted. The new adminiftration, it may be prefumed, had too many objedls to attend to, on the'ir firft elevation to power, to find leifure for confidering the bufinefs of a commercial treaty or plantations in America, to the faid territories of the faid United States, any merchandizes or goods whatfoever; and fiich merchandizes and goods, which fiiall be fo imported into, or exported from, the faid Britifh iflands, colonies, or plantations, in America, (hall be liable to the fame duties and charges only, as the farnx merchandizes and goods would be fubjeft to, if they were the property of Britifh natiiral-born Aibjed^s, and imported or exported in Britifli-built Ihips ci- veflcls, navigated by Britifli feamen. " And be it further enaftfd, That di.'rino all the ti-ne herein-before limited, there (liall be the fan.e drawbacks, ex- emptions, and bounties, on merchandizes and goods exported from Great Britain into the territories of llie faid United States of America, as are allowed in the cafe of exportation to the iflands, plantations, or colonies, now remaining, or belonging to the crown ol Great Britain, in America. " And be further enacted, That all fliips and velfels belong- ing to any of the citizens or fiibjtifts of the faid United Statea of America, which fliall have tome into ai y port of Great Britain fince the together with the goods and merchandizes on board the fame fliips and velfels, Ihall have the full benefit of this ad." with W E S T I N D I E S. i;95 with America. As, however, it was indifpcnfably c ii a i\ necelTary to repeal the prohibitory laws which ^^• had exiftcd during the war, this was done by an acl paired for that purpofe i but as to the reft, parliament took the fliorteft courfe pofliblc to iave themfelves trouble, by vefting in the crown, for a limited time, authority to regulate the com- merce with A.merica in fuch mannner as his ma- jefty in council ihould deem expedient (dj. New and extraordinary as it certainly wasv that fuch extenfive authority fliould be delegated by parliament to the executive power, neither this circumftance, nor the proclamation, or order of council, that iflued in confequence of it, on the 2d July 1 7 S3 (afterwards renewed annually) ex- cited much inquiry. Although by this procla- mation, the Importation into the Britilh Weft Indies of every fpecies of naval ftores^ ftaves, and lumber, live flock, flour, and grain of all kinds, the growth of the American dates, was confined to Britifh lliips legally navigated i and the export to thofe ftatcs of Weft Indian produdlions, was made fubjed; to the fame reftriction ; while many necelTary articles (as falted beef and pork, fifli, and train-oil) formerly fupplied by America, were prohibited altogether, it was confidcred as a mea- sure merely temporary and experimental ; and {JJ Vide Stat, aj Geo. III. c. 39. until 49^ HISTORY OFTHE BOOK until a plan of permanent regulation fliould be ^^' agreed to by both countries, it was thought neither impolitick nor unjuft, that Great Britain Ihould referve in her own hands the power of reftraining or relaxing her fyflem of commercial arrange- ments, as circumftances might arife to render the exercife of fuch a power prudent and ne- ceiTarv. In thefe reafons the Weft Indian merchants, and fuch of the planters as were refident in Great Britain, acquiefced j but on the firft meeting of a new parliament, in May 1784, (another change having taken place in the mean time in the Britifh adminiftrationj /^t'j the bufinefs of a com- mercial intercourfe between the Weft Indies and the States of America, prefled itfelf on the atten- tion of government with a force which was not to be refifted. Petitions, complaints, and remon- ftrances, were poured in from every ifland in the Weft Indies. Some of the petitioners reprcfented that they had not fix weeks provifions in ftore, and all of them anticipated the moft dreadful confequences, if the fyftem of reftridiion ftiould be much longer perGfted in ; expelling nothing (e) Tlie Fight Honourable William Pitt, \v!io had beeq Chancellor of the Exchequer from loth July i782to5tfi April 1783, was re-appoiiitC(.l to that office, and alfo nomi- nated Firft Lord of the Treafury, on the 27th of December 1783, fooii after which th.e parliament was diirolved. kfs WEST INDIES. 497 !efs than a general revolt of their llaves, in the apprehenlion of perifliing of hunger. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the re- maining continental colonies, efpecially fuch of the new fettlers there as were emigrants from the United States, promifed to themfelves the acqui- fition of fudden and immenfe riches from the vafl advance of price which it was forefeen their few exports, when no longer deprefTed by competi- tion, would obtain at the Weft Indian markets. Every exertion, publick and private, was there- fore made by their friends in Great Britain, to convince adminiftration, and innumerable pam- phlets were circulated to fatisfy the publick, that the Weft Indies might be very amply fupplied with every article of North American produce (rice excepted) from Canada, Nova Scotia, and the ifland of Saint John. Hence they not only ftrenuoufly recommended a fteady adherence to the fyftem of reftridtion on the part of Great Britain, but openly expreffed their wifties, that the United States, might retaliate, by prohibiting, in return, Britilh fliips from trading in the ports of America. The complaints and remonftrances of the Weft Indians, they treated as the turbu- lence of difappointed faction. They accufed them of having abetted the American rebellion, and their apprehenfions while wallowing in wealth. Vol. II. K k of V. ^y8 HIS r O K V OF THE BOOK ot a icaicity of food were fpurned at and ^idi- ^^' culed, as if hunger was no part of our nature. It is impoflible, J think, not to perceive in thefc, and fimilar arguments, a lurking taint of refentment and malignity, the relicks of former provocation againft the Americans j and at leafl as ardent a defirc to wound the new rcpublick, through the fides of the Weft Indians, as to benefit Nova Scotia at tb.eir expence. Thefe paffions are among the frailties of our nature, and may be for^ven. But there was another, and a numerous clafs of people, who ftood for- ward on this occafion, in fupport of the fyftem of reftri<5l:ion and monopoly, on different ground : thefe were the (hip-builders, fhip-owners, and their various dependants in London ; who aife<5ted to believe, that if American fhips were fuffered to take fugar iVom our iHands, they would convey it — not to America, but— to foreign countries, and rob us of the carriage of it ; or they might, it was alledged, enter into a competition with Britilh fliips for the freight of goods to Great Britain. To this it was anfwered, that a limita- tion of tonnage to fiiips employed in the Ame- rican intercourfe, to rvhicli the planters would not objci^, confining it to veflels having only one deck, and not exceeding fevcnty or eighty tons, muft latisfy the mofl: fcrupulous on that head ; inafmuch WEST INDIES. inafmuch as fuch velTels could never be employed in tranfporting fugar acrofs the Atlantick, nor could they be got infured if fuch attempts fliould be made. But although this anfwer mufl have fatisfied every well-informed and confiderate per- ron,it was found infufficient to filence the clamour which at that time was induftrioufly propagated on the fubje<5t of the carrying-trade, as if the future exiftence of the commercial navigation of Great Britain had been involved in the dif- cufllon. So vehement was the uproar, that the minifler himfelf was compelled to give way to the torrent. Although Mr. Pitt was now placed at the head of the Britifh adminiftration, he found himfelf unable, on his return to power, to enforce his firft intentions on this fubjeft. InRead of re- viving the provifional bill which, a few months before, he had prefented to parliament, he thought it advifeable to refer the confideration of the whole matter to the lords of the committee of privy council for the affairs of trade, by whom many of the Weil Indian merchants and planters, refideht in Great Britain, were interrogated on the fubjeft ; and the writer of this had the honour to be of the number. It was readily admitted by the fugar planters, that on every principle of honour, humanity, and juftice, the unfortunate loyalills of Canada and Nova Scotia were entitled K k 2 to 499 Soo H 1 S T O R Y O F T H E to a preference of their cuftom, provided thore- provinces poffelTcd, in any degree, the means of iupplying their wants ; but this, they contended, was the main point in difpute. They therefore requefted, that before any permanent regulations fliould be adopted by government, enquiry might be made, ift. How much of the annual confump- tion of American flaples thofe provinces had fup- plied hitherto ? and, zdly. how far, from their prefent, or probably future, fituation, they might be fuppofed capable of exceeding their former produce and exports ? Such an enquiry was accordingly entered upon, and abundance of evidence coliedied on the fub- jedl ; when it appeared, from the cuftom-houfe returns, that of 1208 cargoes of lumber and pro- vifions imported from North America into the Britifh fugar colonies, in 1772, only ^^wo^n. of thofe cargoes were from Canada and Nova Scotia > and that of 701 topfail veffels, and 1681 Hoops, which had cleared outwards from North Ame- rica to the Britilh and foreign Weil Indies, only two of the topfail veffels, and eleven of the floops, were from thofe provinces. It ftood therefore incontrovcrtibly prcrved, that, previous to the war, the fuppllcs which they afforded, did not amount to a proportion of the whole confump- tion of the fugar illands, in any degree worthy national attention; and, on the fecond ground of enquiry, WEST INDIES. 501 tnquiry, it was fhewn refpeding Canada, not only c h a i\ that the navigation of the river Saint Lawrence ^ ^ o was fo greatly obflrufted by the ice in the winter, and by wefterly winds in the fummer, as to render more than one voyage in the year impracticable; but that in the province itfelf, the climate renders the crops of wheat altogether precarious. It was proved, that in the years 1779, 1780, 1781, and 1782, the fcarcity in Canada had been fuch, as to occafion the export of all bread, wheat, and ilour, to be prohibited by authority ; and it was Ihewn that, at the very time of the enquiry, a fhip in the river Thames was a&ually loading with flour for Quebec. On the whole, it appeared that, although in favourable feafons (as in 1774) there might fometimes be found an overplus of grain, beyond the confumption of the inhabitants, yet that a regular and fufficient fupply could by no means be depended on from that province ; that the frequency of difappointment muft prove an infurmountable obftru(5lion to new inhabitants fettling there with a view to the cultivation of wheat ; and, with regard to lumber, the price of labour in Canada was fuch, as to cut off all hopes of fupply from thence, even if the navigation iiad been fubjedt to no delay and obflacle what- ever. Respecting Nova Scotia, it was (hewn that it never had, at any one period, produced grain K k 3 fufficient ioz HISTORYOFTHE fufficicnt for the fuftenance of its inhabitants : it had never exported any lumber worthy the name of merchandize i and fo far from having any to export, it appeared that a confiderable importa- tion into the province was at that time taking place, from the oppolite fide of the bay of Fundy, to enable the new (ettlers at Port Rofeway to build houfes for their own reiidence. Lastly, as to theifland of Saint John, it was proved that, like Nova Scotia, it had never yet furnilhed food enough t© keep its few inhabitants alive, nor exported any one article the produce of the ifland. Its fituation, within the gulph of Saint Lawrence, fhut it up from all intercourfe during five months of the year ; and its fogs, more prevalent and durable than even thofe of Nova Scotia, rendered the country too uncomfortable for population, while land remained unoccupied in happier climates. THii advocates for the prohibitory fyftem, however, were not eafily filenced. They declared it would be more for the intereft of Great Britain, that the Weft Indians ihould be deprived of American fupplies altogether, rather than, by receiving them from the United States in Ame- rican veflels, contribute to aggrandize the naval power of the new rcpublick. They maintained, that the fugar iflands had rcfources within them- felves, which, with occafional aid from Great * Britain, WEST I xN D 1 E S. 503 Britain, might enable them to exift very comfort- ably, even though the accuftomed intercourfe with all pans of the American continent was en- tirely cut off. If not, it was triumphantly afked, in what manner were they fupported during the war, when all regular communication with the United States was fupprefled ? In reply to this objedVion, it was proved that the Britifh fugar iflands, during the war, had been very badly fupplled, both with lumber and pro- vifions i and at an expence which, if it had con- tinued, would have been equally ruinous with the not being fupplied at all. Their chief re- fource was the American veffels that had been captured in their way to the French iflands ; a refourcc which had terminated with the war, and at beft proved fa uncertain and inadequate, that many of the Britilh iflands had been driven by neceflity to the worft of all applications (as Britilh colonifls) of their labour ; the railing provifions, and cutting lumber upon their own eftates. In- flead of direfting their attention to the culture of thofe valuable and bulky flaples which con- tribute, in fo eminent a degree, to form the dig- nified mafs of fupport which the Britilh naviga- tion derives from her didant colonies, they had been compelled to change their fyftem : They had abandoned the cultivation of fugar, and applied their land and labour to the purpofes of K k 4 raifing 504 H I S T O R Y O I T H E raifing food. In what degree the Britlfh naviga- tion and commerce had fuffered by this meafure, the cuftom-houfe books would demonflrate : — From that authority it would appear, that in 1777, previous to the capture by the French of any of the fugar iflands, the import of fugar into England only, had fallen ihort of the Tmport of 1774 upwards of 45,000 hogQicads, of 16 cwt. ; in value nearly one million, creating a lofs in freight of ^^".i 50,000 on that article alone, and a defalcation in the publick revenue of ;^. 300 a day, for every day in the year ! Flere then, it was laid, was a full and fatisfa(flory refutation of the popular clamour on the fubjeet of the carrying- trade. Compared with thefe loffes, and their confequences to every part of the empire, fo inconfiderable, fo truly contemptible was the trifling interference of American fliallops, carrying food to invigorate the hungry labourer, and timbers to repair mills and houfes, that it feemed not to be an object deferving a moment's folici- tude in the bread of a great nation. Such were, in part, the evidence and argu- ments offered on behalf of the Wefl Indies ; and if the qucfllon had met with unprejudiced and temperate difculiion, I am inclined to think, notwithflanding the jealous and monopolizing fpirit of tralhck, that regulations widely difTerent from the prcfent fyflcm of reilri6lio(i and exclu- fion \^ -^ M II l> W E S T I N D I E S. 505 fion towards America, would have been efta- chap. blilhedi but, unfortunately, the private interefts iv. of fome,and the prejudices and pafTions of others, were allowed to mingle in the inveftigation. I am aware that, in common cafes, it ill becomes an undiftinguiQied individual to arraign the wif- dom and propriety of the national councils ; but although there is a degree of refpeft due to men in authority, which T would willingly prefer\-e, yet I dare not maintain it either by the violation or the fuppreiTion of trvith. The confequences which flowed from the proceedings recommended and adopted on this occafion, will prefently be feen ; and they cannot be remembered with indif- ference. To fupprefs fads, therefore, in which the interefts of humanity are fo deeply con- cerned, is to facrifice both the dignity and utility of hiftory ; the great end of which is to make the errors and mifcondudl of one fet of men, a leflbn and a warning to their fucceflbrs. The cafe was, to fpeak plainly and undifguif- edly, that the committee of council, to whom the confideration of this important bufinefs de- volved (with the beft intentions I beHcve, for it cannot be fuppofed that they wiflied to injure the Weft Indian colonies) fuffered thcmfelves to be guided in their refearches by men who had refentments to gratify, and fecret purpofes to pro- mote. Some of thefe, were perfons whom Ame- rica So6 H 1 S T O R Y O F T H E rica liad profcribed for their loyalty, and unj^ftly deprived of their pofleflions. That they had be- come, on this account, objects of companion, and claimants on the publick of Great Britain, I have no vvilh to deny ; but, without doubt, they were the laft men in the world whofe opmions fhould have been adopted, concerning the eftablifliment of a fyflem of reciprocity and conveniency between the mother-countr}'-, and that which they had left. To fuppofe that fuch men were capable of giving an impartial and unbialFed teftimony in iuch a cafe, is to fuppofe they had di veiled them- felves of the common feelings of mankind. The firft enquiries of the committee of council (thus influenced) were diredled to difprove the affertions contained in an addrefs of the aflembly of Jamaica, concerning the diftrefs in which that illand was dated to be, at that time, involved, from the want of provihons and lumber. Al- though thofe aflertions were abundantly con- firmed by the declarations and fubfequent con- duft of the governor himfelf, to whom the addrefs was prefented (e) -, their lordfhips reported, that the alTcmbly were by no means warranted in the flrong terms they had ufed i it appearing, they faid, " from private letters laid before them, that the Icarcity complained of did not exiji^ When (i) Sir Arch. Campbell. their W E S T I N D I E S. 507 their lord (hips were humbly defined to communi- cate the names of the parties who had written fuch letters, that fome judgment might be formed what degree of credit was due to their teftimony, againft that of the legiflature of the colony, they refuled, with tokens of manifeft difpleafure, to difciofe them. Their lord (hips, in the next place, proceeded to eflimate the refources of Canada and Nova Scotia ; and in contradidion to the evidence and conclufions which had been given and adduced by the Weft Indian merchants and planters, they afferted, in general terms, " that the exportation of grain from Canada would revive and increafe, provided the Weft Indian market was fecured to the inhabitants of that province ;" and they added, " that feveral perfons of great experience, were of opinion, that an annual export of 300,000 buftiels might in a few years be de- pended on." They admitted that the natural impediments in the navigation of the river Saint Lawronce, might affedt the fupply of lumber, but denied that this circumftance would injure the trade in flour. They ftated, " that Nova Scotia would be able in about three years to fupply great quantities of lumber, and moft of the other articles which the Weft Indies are in want of from North America, provided grants of land were properly 5o« H I S T O R Y O F T H E properly made and fecured to the inhabitants , for that (although the fea-coall is rocky and barren) the interior parts, and the banks of the rivers, have as fine a foil as any part of the world, admirably fitted for d-airy farms , and the growth of garden vegetables.'" They averred, " that the climate of Nova Scotia is fine and healthy ; that the new fettlers were induftrious, and that the neutral French who flill remain (when no longer in a precarious ftate withrefpedt to the government under which they are to live) would probably follow the ex- ample of the new fettlers, and learn from them to improve the country j efpecially if due encou- ragement fhould be given to their induflry, by fecuring them proper markets." Their lordfhips were further alTured, from good authority, that upon the like encouragement, the population of Nova Scotia would be increafed. Such a detail of probabilities, provifocs, and pofiible contingencies, with the mention, among other refources, of dairy farms and garden vege^ tables, feemed, to tlie difappointed planters, fome- thing very like derifion and mockery. They com- plained, that inflead of affuranccs of relief, they were put off with airy conjectures, with frivolous ifs and may be's ; with promifes inconliftcnt with the laws of nature, and with declarations negatived both by experience and rcafon ! In WEST INDIES. 509 In truth, the argument which appeared to have moft weight with their lordfhips themfelves, was that which (tacitly admitting all expedation of fupply from Canada and Nova Scotia to be chi- merical and delufive) took for granted, that by excluding American fhips from the ports of the Weft Indies, Great Britain would find full em- ployment for as many additional veflels as Ame- rica formerly employed in that commerce, and reap all the profits which America reaped, of which they calculated the freightage alone, at the annual ium of ;^. 245,000 flerHng. On the whole, the lords of the committee llrongly recommended a ftrid: and rigid ad- herence to the meafure of confining the inter- courfe between our Weft Indian Ifiands and America, to Britifti Ihips only, as a regulation of abfolute necefiity ; conlldering any deviation from it, as expofing the commerce and navigation of Great Britain to the rivalry of revolted fubjedts, now become ill-aifeded aliens. They exprefled, indeed, fome apprehenfion, left the congrefs of the United States might retaliate, by prohibiting, in return, Britifli veffcls from being the carriers between them and the BritiHi Weft Indies ; but feemed to think this circumftance not very pro- bable, inafmuch as the people of the United States would, in that cafe, they faid, fuffer much more than any of his Majefty's fubjeds ; a conclu- fioii 5IO HISTORYOFTHE BOOK fion not very' decifive j the experience of alleges VI- abundantly proving, that confiderations of in- tereft are frequenly overpowered by motives of refentment. These dodVrines and opinions of the lords of the committee of council were unfortunately approved and adopted in their fulleft extent by the Britifh government ; and the only folitary hope which now remained to the inhabitants of the Weft Indies was, that the apprehenfion of their lordfhips, concerning American retaliation, was ill-founded ; and that the United States, not- withftanding the prohibitory fyftem of Great Britain, would ftill open their ports to Britifli (hipping; and freely indulge them with the liberty of importing the products of the Britilh fugar iflands ; carrying away American produce in return. The planters could not indeed but forefee a very great cxpence, delay, and uncer- tainty attending fuch circuitous navigation; but to this they were prepared to fubmit, as the only alternative of efcaping inevitable and impending dellrudion. But ther© was this misfortune attending the fugar planters, that their wants were immediate} and of a complexion aftcding not only property, but life. Whatever refources might ultimately be found in the opulence and faculties of the mo- ther-country, it was impofliblc, in the nature of" things. WEST INDIES. 511 things, to cxped from fo diftant a quarter an adequate fupply to a vaft and various demand, coming fuddenly and unexpedtedly. Many of the fugar iflands too had fufFered dreadfully un- der two tremendous hurricanes, in 1780 and 1 78 1, in confequencc whereof (had it not been for the cafual affiftance obtained from prize- veflels) one half of their negroes muft abfolutely have perifhed of hunger. Should fimilar vifita- tions occur, the moil dreadful apprehenfions would be realized ; and I am forry to add, that realized they were ! I HAVE now before me a report of a commit- tee of the affembly of Jamaica, on the fubjed of the ilave trade, wherein the lofs of negroes in that ifland, in confequence of thofe awful concuffions of nature, and the want of fupplies from America, is incidentally ftated. It is a document of the beft authority ; and the following extradt from it while it abundantly acquits the Weft Indian mer- chants and planters from the charge of turbu- lence and fad:ion, which on this occafion was il- liberally brought againft them, will, I hope, ferve as an awful leflbn to future minifters how they lufFer the felfifhnefs of party, and the prejudice of perfonal refentment, to have an influence in the national councils. " We fhall now (fay the committee) point out the principal caufes to which tiiis mortality of 512 HISTORY CF THE BOOK of our ilaves is juftly chargeable. It is but t6(> ^'* , well known to the houfe, that in the fe vera! years 1780, 1781, 1784, 1785, and 1786, it pleafed Divine Providence to vifit this iiland with repeated hurricanes, which fpread delblation throughout mod parts of the ifland i but the pariflies which fuffered more remarkably than the reft, were thofe of Weftmoreland, Hanover, Saint James, Trelawney, Portland, and Saint Thomas in the Eaft. By thefe deftrudive vifitations, the plantain walks, which furnifli the chief article of fupport to the negroes, were generally rooted up, and the intenfe droughts which followed, def- troyed thofe different fpecies of ground provi- fions which the hurricanes had not reached. The ftorms of 1 7 So and i 7S1 happening during the time of war, no foreign fupplics, except a trifling afliftance from prize-veflels, could be ob- tained on any terms, and a famine enfucd in the leeward parts of the iiland, which deftroyed many thoufand negroes. After the ilorm of the 30th of July 1784, the lieutenant-governor, by the advice of his council, publiflied a proclamation, dated the 7th of Auguft, permitting the tree importation of provilions and lumber in foreign bottoms, for four months from that period. As this was much too fliort a time to give fufficient notice, and obtain all the fupplies that were nc- celTary, the fmall quantities of floUr, rice, and other WEST INDIES. other provlfions, which were imported in confe- quence of the proclamation, foon role to fo exorbi- tant a price as to induce the affembly, on the 9th of November following, to prefent an addrefs to the lieutenant-governor, requefting him to pro- long the term until the latter end of March 1785; pbferving, that it was impoffible for the natural productions of the country to com.e to fuch ma- turity as to be wholelbme food, before that time. The term of four months not being expired when this addrefs v/as prcfented, the lieutenant-governor dechned to comply therewith j but on the ift of December following, the houfe reprefented, that a prolongation of the term was then abfolutely neceflary : They obferve that, perfuaded of the reluctance with which his honour would be brought to deviate from regulations wdiich he felt himfelf bound to obferve, it u'ould give them much concern to addri:ls him on the fame occaiion a fecond time, were they not convinced that it was in a cafe of fuch extreme neceffity as to juf- tify fuch a deviation. Accordingly, the lieutenant- governor, by the advice of his JVIajefty's council, direfted, that the time formerly limited (hould be extended to the 3ifL of January then next en- fuing (i 7S5) : but, at the fame time, he informed the houfe, that he was not at liberty to deviate any longer from the regulations which had been eftablhlied in Great Britain. Vol. II. LI "From 5»4 HISTORY OF T H F. */ From tlie 3ifl of January 17S5, ther^re, the ports continued Ihut, and the lufferings of the poor negTOes, in confequcnce thereof, for fome months afterwards, were extreme : Providentially, the feafons becanie more favourable about May, and confiderable quantities of corn and ground provifions were gathered in by the month of Auguft ; when the fourth ftorm happened, and the lieutenant-governor immediately fhut the ports againft the exportation of any of our provifions to the French and Spanilh iflands, which were fuppofed to have fuffcred more than ourfelves ; but not thinking himfelf at liberty to permit the importation of provifions in American veflels, the productions of the country were foon exhaufted, and the ufual attendants of fcanty and unwhole- fome diet, dropfies and epidemic dyfenteries, were again dreadfully prevalent in the fpring and fummer of 1786, and proved fatal to great num- bers of the negroes in all parts of the country. " On the 20th of Odober in that year, hap- pened the fifth dreadful hurricane, which again laid wafte the leeward ]^arilhes, and completed the tragedy. We decline to enlarge on the con- fequences which followed, left we may appear to exaggerate ; but having endeavoured to compute, with as much accuracy as the fubjecfl will admit, the r.unibcr of our flaves whofe deftrudlion may bp fairly attributed to thefe repeated calamities, and WEST INDIES. ^515 &nd the unfortunate meafure of interdlding fo- reign fupplies, and for this purpofe compared the imports and returns of negroes for the laft feven years, with thole of feven years preceding, we hefitate not, after every allowance for adventitious caufes, to fix the whole lofs at fifteen thoufand : This wu.mber we firmly believe to have perished of famine, or of diseases con- tracted by scanty and unwholesome diet, between the latter end of i/so, and the beginning of i787." Such (without including the lofs of negroes In the other iflands, and the confequent diminution in their cultivation and returns) was the price at which Great Britain thought proper to retain her exclufive right of fupplying her fugar iflands with food and neceffariesi Common charity muft compel us to believe (as I verily <^o believe) that this dreadful profcription of fo many thoufand in- nocent people, the poor, unoffending negroes, was neither intended nor forefeen by thofe who re- commended the meafures that produced it. Certainly no fuch proof was wanting to demon- llrate that the refentments of party too frequently fuperfede the common feelings of our nature. It is indeed true, that the evil did at length in fome meafure furnifh its own remedy : The in- habitants of Jamaica, by appropriating part of their lands and labour to the raifing of provifions, ■^ ^ ^ and 5i6 HISTORY OF THE and the hewing of ftaves, found fome refoUtcc withhi thcmfelv-cs ; and, happily for the other iflands, the United States did not, as was appre- hended, adopt any fcheme of retahation ; fo that Britifli veflels uhimately obtained the profits of tlie carriage (whatever it was) between the Weft Indies and America ; and thus at length the fyllem became recognized and confirmed by the legiflature ffj. But, C/J By the :18th Geo. U\. c. 6. which took effea the 4th of April 1788, it is enaftcd, " That no goods or commodi- ties whatever fliall be imported or brought from any of the territories belonging to the United States of America, into any of his Majeffy "s Weft India lilands (in which defcriptioq the Bahama Iflands, and the Bermuda, or Somcrs Iflands, are includLd) under the penalty of the forfeiture thereof, and alfo of the fliip or veilel in which the fame fliall be imported or brought, together with all her gun?, furniture, ammunition, tackle, and app-irel; except tobacco, pitch, tar, turpentine, hemp, flax, maUs, yards, bou fprits, ftaves, Jieading, boards, timber, ftiingles, and lumber of any fort ; borfts, neat cattle, fliecp, hogs, poultrv, and live Itock of any fort; bread, bif- cuit, flour, peafe, beans, potatoes, wl.eat, rice, oats, barlev, and grain of any fort, fuch commodities, refpeolively, being the growth or produdion of any of the territories of the faid United States of America : And that none of the goods or commodities herein before excepted, enumerated, and dc- fcribed, (hall be imported or brought into any of the faid iflands from the territories of the faid United States, under the like penalty of the forfeiture thereof, and alfo of the fljip or vcflVl in which the fame fl.all be fo imported or brought, together with all her gun<:, furniture, ammunition, tackle, and apparel, except by Britifli Cubjefts and in Dritifli-built fliips, owned by hib Majefly's fi:bje<^b, and navigated according to> law. — By another claufe, none of the aforefald articles are to 3 ^ WEST INDIES. 517 But, whatever benefit has accrued to the mother-country, from the regulations and ar- rangements which the Britilh parliament thus confirmed and perpetuated, it is certain that her remaining coloxnies in North America, at whofe inftance and for whofe benefit the fcheme of ex- clufion and reflridiion was principally promoted, derived few or none of thofe advantages from the meafure, which they had promifed to themfelves in the outfet. They difcovered, when it was too late, that the decrees of Providence were irrevo- cable. The river Saint Lawrence remained, as ufual, locked up feven months in the year by an impenetrable barrier of ice; and Nova Scotia ftill continued inexorably fterile ; fo much fo in- deed, that the very men who, in 1784, had con- fidently reprefented this province as being capable, in be brought from any of the foreign iflands, under the like penalty, except in times of publick emergency and diftrefs, wiien the governors of any of our iflands, with the advice and confent of the council, may authorize the importation of them by Britifli fubjcifts in Britifli-built fliips for a limited time." Such is the law as it now ftands witli regard to the import of American articles into the Britilh Weft Indies: Concerning the export of Britifli Weft Indian produce to tlie United States, it is permitted to export, in fliips Britifli-biiilt and owned, any goods or commodities whatfoever, which were not, at the time of pafling the ad, prohibited to be ex- ported to any foreign country in Europe, and alfo fugar, me- lafles, coffee, cocoa-nuts, ginger, and piemento ; bond being ^ivon for the due landing of the lame in the United Scates. ^ LI :; Si8 HISTORY OF THE in the courfe of three years, of fupplyiiig all the Weft Indies with lumber and provifions, found it neceflary, at the end of thofe three years, to apply for and obtain the infertion of a claufe in the prohibitory aid, to authorize the admifFion of both lumber and provifions into that province from the United States: On this circumftancc it is unneceffary to anticipate the reflexions of the reader ! In confequence of this perniiflion, there were fhippcd in the year 1790, from the United Str.tes to Nova Scotia alone, 540,000 ftaves and head- ing, 924,980 feet of boards, 285,000 fliingles, and 1 6,000 hoops ; 40,000 barrels of bread and meal, and 8a,ooo bufhels of grain ; an irrefragable proof that Canada had no furplus of either lumber or grain beyond her own confumption, or un- doubtedly the Canadian market would have been reforted to, in preference to that of the United States. And thus vanifbed all the golden dreams and delufive promifes of a fufficient fupply from Canada and Nova Scotia to anfwcr the wants of the Weft Indies ; and the prcdiAions of the plan- ters and merchants have been verified and con- firmed by the experience of years. I regret that J am unable to furniHi the reader with an accurate account of the adtual exports from thofe pro- vinces to the Weft Indies fince the war (the re- port of the con\mittec of council on the ilavc trade. WEST INDIES. 519 trade, though fraught with information in all chap. other cafes that relate to the commerce of the ^^ • colonies, being filent on this head) or of the fifli which they fend annually to the fugar iflands. The quantity of this latter article imported into the Britini Wefllndies fioni Newfoundland, on an average of four years (1783 to 1786, both in- clufive) was 80,645 quintals (^^). The exports, for the year 1787, from the Britifli fuQ;ar iflands to all our remainlno; Ame- rican pofTcffions, Newfoundland included, con- fided of 9, 891 cwt. of fugar, 874,580 gallons of rum. Si cwt. of cacao, 4 cwt. of ginger, 26,350 gallons of melaffes, 200 lbs. of piemcnto, 575 cwt. of coffee, 1,750 lbs. of cotton wool, and (g) The imports, into Jamaica fi-om Canada, St. John's, and Nova Scotia, between 3d of April, 1783, and the 26th of October 1 784, have been ftated in a report of the Aflembly of that Ifland. The "negative catalogue" is very copious. No flour, — no fliip-bread or bifcuit, no Indian-corn, or other meal, — no horfes, cattle, (lieep, hogs, or poultry. — The only provifions were, one hundred and eighty bufliels of potatoes, and 751 hogfiieads and about 500 barrels of failed fifli,— rather a fcanty allowance for the maintenance of 30,000 white people, and 250,000 blacks, fjr the fpace of nineteen months! Of lumber, &c. the qi:antity was 510,088 feet, 20 bundles of hoops, and 301,324. fliingles.—^— Previous to the war, on an average of the five years from 1768 to 1772, the whoje imports into Jamaica from Canada, Nova Scotia, * and St. John's, were 33 barrels of flour, 7 hogfiieads of fid), 8 barrels of oil, 3 barrels of tar, pitch, and turpentine, 56,000 fliinglcs and ftav^s, and 27,235 lect of lumber. L 1 4 fome S-^ H I S T O R Y O F T H E fome Imall article?, fruit, &:c. of little accotnt ; the value of the whole, agreeably to the current prices in London, was ^T. 100,506. lyj. lod. flerling, and the (hipping to which it gave em- ployment was nominally 17,873 tons, navigated by 1,397 ^^'-men. As this however Includes repeated voyages, the quantity of tonnage and the number of men mufl be reduced one-half. To the United States of America the fame year the exports in Britifh fliipping were thefe: 19,921 cwt. of fugar, 1,620,205 g^^ons of rum, 124! cwt. of cacao, 339 cwt. of ginger, 4,200 gallonr of melafles, 6,450 lbs. of plemento, 3,246 lbs. of coffee, 3,000 lbs, of cotton w^ool, 291 hides, and 737 barrels of fruit. The value in flerling money, according to the prices current in London, was ;^. 196,460. Si. a? hath been ftated in the former chapter (Ji). The amount of the freiglit on thefe exports, and alfo on American produdlions fupplied the Weft Indies, is the monopoly which Great Britain has exacted by her late regulations. It cannot there- fore be faid, that if flie has loft much, five has gained nothing; but eftimating her profit at the iitmoft, tc what docs it amount, compared with the coft of the purchafe ? Admitting it even to fiand at the fum fixed by the committee of coun- (h) Number of veflels (induoing repeated voynges) 386, tonnage 43,380, men 2,854. cll W E S T I N D I E S. 521 til (iji how fubordinate is fuch a confideration, Xvhen placed in competition with the future growth and profitable exiftence of our fugar iflands, the whole of whofe acquirements center in the bofom of the mother-country, enriching her manufadures, encouraging her fiflieries, uphold- ing the credit of her funds, fupporting the value of her lands, and augmenting, through a thoufand channels, her commerce, navigation, revenues, ftrength, wealth, and profperity ! On the whole, it is a confideration of very fe- rious importance that the benefits of the prefent reflraining fyftem are by no means commenfurate to the rifle which is incurred from it. Jamaica, it is true, in time of fcarcity, may find fome re- fource within herfelf, and America has not yet adopted, and perhaps may not adopt, mcafures of retaliation ; but it mufl always be remembered, that every one of the Weft Indian iflands is occa- fionally fubjedt to hurricanes, and many of them to excelTive droughts, which, by deftroying all the produ(5ls of the earth, leave the wretched negroes no dependence but on imported provi- fions fupplied them by their owners. Antigua has been frequently rendered by this calamity a fcene of defolation, as it was particularly in 1 770, and twice again, in the years 1773 and 177S. {'J ;^'245)Coo llerling. Should 5*^ H I S T O R Y O F T H E P. o o K Should the lame irrefiftible vifitation ovcr^^kff thefe unfortunate countries hereafter, — as the planters have no veffels of their own, and thofe of America are denied admittance into their ports, • — how are even the moft opulent among them to avert from their unhappy labourers the miferies of famine, which in a like cafe fvvept off fuch numbers in Jamaica? Concerning the permiflion that is held ouc to the planters to refort, in time of emergency, to the foreign iflands, it is fo mani- feftly nugatory, that I choofe not to fpeak of it in the language which my feelings would dic- tate (k). Compared with the danger thus impending over the feeble and defencelefs Africans, the incon- veniency which of late has been felt and com- plained of in Great Britain, from the high price of Weft Indian commodities, dcferves not the confideration of a moment. It is the nccefTary and unavoidable confequence of our own arrange- ments. Yet, perhaps, it is this circumflance alone that comes home to our feelings j and to this (ij Under the prefent limited intebcourfe with America (exckifive of the uncertainty of being fuppHcd at all) the Weft Indians are fiibjeift to three fets of devouring mono- polilh. lit The Britifli fliip-owners, ad. Their agents at the ports in America. 3d. Their agents or fa6tors at the chief ports in the iflands, all of whom exaft an unnatural profit from the planter; by which means thofe moft efTcntial neceflarif5, ftavei and lumber, have rlfcn in price no Icfs than WEST INDIES. ji^ this caufe, more than to any other, I verily be- lieve, may be attributed the clamour which has been induftrioufly excited againft the planters, concerning their fuppofed ill ufage of their ne- groes. Dllcontent at the high price of fugar, is called fympathy for the wretched, and the mur- murs of avarice become the didlates of humanity. What inconfiftency can be more grofs and lamen- table ! We accufe the planter of cruelty to his Haves, and contemplate, at the fame time, with approbation or indifference, our own commercial policy, under which many thoufands of thofe un- happy people have already perilhed, and to which (I grieve to add) many thoufands more will pro- bably fall a iacrifice ! 37 fer cent, as the followirtg comparative table will de- monftrate : Prices cf ftave:^ lumber^ ^c, at Kingjien, Jamaica, during two periods \ the firji from I'J'^t to ijy^ (both years inclujive) the fecondfrom 1788 to 1791. J772. Firft Period : £, s. Red Oak Staves frr M. 8 o White Oak Staves /iott from, and not exrort to them, is to be confidered as the meafure of their value. mon W E S T I N D I E S. 535 mon candour ever denied, until tb.e motives that I have already afligned, gave birth to a contraiy pretence; and that many individual proprietors have, at the fame time, luftered confiderably by adventuring therein, I am afraid it is too notorious to difpute. But the argument that comes more imme- diately home to the bulk of the community, is the very prevalent idea which I have before fliglitly noticed, that all the products of the Britilli Weft Indies, sind more efpecially the great article fugar, are from twenty to thirty per cent, dearer than thofe of the foreign plantations. Againft this circumftance, (if it were well founded) it might feem fufficient to oppofe the national benefit arifing generally from the whole fyftem ; but the confumer, mindful of himfeif only, conceives that he ought to have permiffion to purchafe fugar at the cheapeft rate, wherever he can procure it. The refiner, whofe aim it is to buy cheap and fell dear, claims the famp privilege; to which indeed there would be lefs objection, if he would content that another part of his fellow-fubjefts, the growers of the comm.odity, (hould enjoy the lame freedom from commercial reftraint which he requires for himfeif. Unluckily however, the fad itfelf is altogether deftitute of foundation. The exiftence of fuch difparity of price, inde- pendent of accidental and temporary fluctuations, M m 4 is 53$ H I S T O R Y O F T H E BOOK is neither true nor poflible, as is demonflratc^ by ^^* the magnitude of the Britifli export, both of raw and refined fugar, for the fupply of foreign mar- kets ; it being evident, that foreigners would not refort to our market for the purchafe of a commodity, which they might buy cheaper at home (cj : Nor do I recolleft when it was other- wife. (cj Refpefting the French fugar iflands, I can fpeak of my own knowledge. Moll of their largeft planters having adopted the praftice of clayvig, they pay lefs attention to the maniifitclme of good mujcavado than is given to it in our iflands, This latter therefore, being generally of inferior quality, may be fold proportionally cheaper than ours; but whenever it is of equal goodnefs, the price alfo is equal, and fometimes higher. Of twelve famples of mufcavado fugar produced to me in Saint Domingo, as of the befl quality of fucre brut made in that ifland, I could not honeftly pronounce that any one was well manufadured ; and 1 am perfuaded I eould have purchafed better fugars in Jamaica at a lels price than was adted for thofe. This was in 1791, foon after the revolt of the flaves, when it might have been fuppofed that the diftrdfes of the French planters would have compelled them to fell their fugars more reafonably than they had done for feveral years before. In fad, the only dafum for afcertaining the relative vnlue of foreign and Britifli fugar, is the price of each at the cclonial ?narket ; inftead of which, the price always referred to, is tlie price in Europe^ after the charges of freight, duty, &c. are added to the priginal cofl. The not attending to this necefTary diftinftion, has probably given rife to the veiy erroneous idea above noticed, which has occafioncd more ill-will and groundlefs complaint againfl the Britifli fuc;ar planter, than any other circumftance. While I am on this fubjeft it may not be improper to take fome notice of the difparity between the profits obtained on their fugar by the WEST INDIES. wife. There was indeed a time when England, having no plantations of her own, was compelled to purchafe of foreign nations, and at their own prices, many articles of prime neceffity, for a fupply the BritiQi and French planters in Great Britain and France. In a French publicaiion of character, * the author ftates the whole year's import into France on an average at 130,000 cafks, valued at 90 million of livres, equal to jT.Her. 3,937,509- Againft this value he fets the duties and im- pofts, viz. Livres. Duties of the weftern domain ~ - 5,600,000 - £, 245,000 Ditto in the Weft Indies - - 7,344,000 - - 321,300 566,300 Ditto on 50,000 cafks confum- •% edorreiined in France | 4,59^,000- -200^ Total of imports and duties, including the •% charges of Government, civil and mili- C - 76 ".zoo tary, in the iflands - - - - j =^ • - ^ 537 According to this ftatement, 1 •^* ^' thefe fugars are valued, J>er r 3° 5 Sl calk, at - - - - . 3 And the duties thereon efli- 7 q mated at -----J ^ Leaves, clear of duties - - 24 17 9^ fterllng money. Le-t us now look to Britifli fugars. I fuppofe 14 cvvt. a good average weight /^r cafk at fale, and that 2 1. 5 $. pa- cwt. was a high medium of price in Great Britain (duty, Sec. included) for feveral years pre- vious to.the revolt of the Haves in St. Domingo: J compute * Refleilions d'un Vieillard, &c, 1785. 55^ HISTORY OF THE BOOK fupply of which, thofe very nations now refojt to VI. the Britifli market. " Before the fettlement ot ^'^^ ' our colonies (fays Pofllethwaite) our manufac- tures were few, and thofe but indifferent. In thofe I compute the publick charges, civil and military, paid in our iflands by grant of afTembly, at not lefs than 200,000 1. p£r annum : And that this reds as a charge upon their fugars of about two fhillings /^er cwt. The amount of thefe colonial impofts upon a cafk of 14 cwt. will therefore be - - -^.18 The Britifii duties which were formerly paid on importation were I2J-. 3!-/. />tr cwt. - 8 is In all, per calk - - j(;. i o o o Then, fuppofing the grofs value of one calk of 14 /■n- cwr. at 45 J. /)f;- cwt. to be - - jC-S^ 10 o Dedu6t publick impolts and duties - 10 o o Leaves - - /■. 21 10 o N. B. 5I. !?s. (the French Duties) is rather lefs than iSper cent, on the value, and lol. the impofts and duties paid by the Britifli planters, is 3 1 {- per cent. From the preceding calculation it appears, that out of lool. value of the French planter's fugar, there is left hiin, after pr.vmcnt of duties to his government abroad and at home, 82I.— But to the Britifli planter, out of his fugar, no more than 681. 5 s.— and although the grofs apparent value of the Britifli planter's hogfliead of fugar is higher than that of the French planter's by il. 4s. 3d. yet he receives, after paying the taxes upon it, lefs than the other by 3I. 7s. gd.— This fuperior advantage enables the French planters to pay a higher price for negroes, and to carry on their plantations at a greater expence than the Englifli — circumftances which pro- bably make the fcale between the planters of the two natio^js nearly even. WEST INDIES. 539 thofe days, we had not only our naval {lores, but Dur (hips, from our neighbours. Germany fur- nifhed us with all things made of metal, even to nails. Wine, paper, linens, and a thoufand other things, came from France. Portugal fupplied us with fugar. All the produ6ls of America were poured into us from Spain j and the Venetians and Genoefe retailed to us the commodities of the Eaft Indies, at their own priced The fame account is confirmed by Sir Jofiah Child. " Por- tuguefe fugar (fays this author) before we had plantations of our own, fold for feven and eight pounds fterling the quintal or cwt. ;" and it is a remarkable and well known circumftance, after that the cultivation of indigo in Jamaica, was fup- prefled by an exorbitant duty of near i^.^o the hundred weight, Great Britain was compelled to pay to her rivals and enemies jT. 200,000 annually for this commodity, fo elTential to a great variety of her moft important manufadures. At length, the duty being repealed, and z^ bounty, fome time after, fubftituted in its place, the provinces of Georgia and South Carolina entered upon, and fucceeding in the culture of this valuable plant, fupplied, at a far cheaper rate than the French and Spaniards (receiving too our manufadures in payment) not only the Britifti confumption, but alfo enabled Great Britain to export a furplus at an advanced price to foreign markets. 540 HISTORY OFTHE If thefe writers then were well informed^nd the commcJcial world has thought highly of their induftry and knowledge, it would be difficult to prove (though it is ealily faid, and as eafily denied) that the fettlement of the Britilh fugar plantations was unwife or improvident ; nor will it be found very eafy to point out any other channel in which the money which has been expended in their improvement, could have been applied to greater national benefit. Againft advantages of fuch magnitude and permanence as I have fhewn to refult from thofe colonies, and the various branches of our commerce dependent thcreoii, neither the lofs to individuals in the plantations, by impro- vident fchemes in the outfet, or improper con- du(fl in their fubfequent purfuits, nor the tem- porary inconvenience which is fometimes fuf- tained by the purchafers and confumers at home, from an occafional advance of price in fome few of the colonial produdls, outweighs in the fcale of reafon a feather ! I SHALL now proceed to con(ider thofe other pofitions and dodrines which have been advanced concerning the duties that are paid, and the drawbacks that are granted on the produces of the BritiQi fugar iflands, and fliall afterwards treat fomewhat largely of the monopoly compadl, or the privilege which the planters of thofe iflands poflefs, of fupplying exclufively the Britifh con- fumptioa W E S T I N D I E S. 54r fumptlonof fugar, and other articles. The fub- jed is naturally dr}', and not fufceptible of orna- ment ; but its importance will not be difputed, and perhaps there are but few commercial regula- tions whole principles are lefs underftood than thofe of the compact laft mentioned. The points to be confidered are briefly com- prlfed in the following objeftions : — It is af- Terted, First, That the duties which are levied on the produ6ls of tli€ Britifli Weft Indies imported into Great Britain, though paid in the tirft in- flance by the proprietor or importer, ultimately fall on the confumer, and on him alone fd). SecondlYj (J) The following are correifl tables of the duties payable St this time (1792) on the principal articles of Weft Indian produce, both in Great Britain and the United States of America : Duties />fl}'fl3/^a^o« Importation into Great Britain of the Produce of the Britijh Weji Indies^ agrceablt to the Con- folidattd Ad^ nioji of ivhich are dra'-jon back upon Exportation. c s. d. £• s. d Refined fugar, cwt. 4 18 8 Indigo, mahogany, Mufc. fugar, - - 15 Nicaragua wood. Rum, />er gallon, cuf- logwood, lignum- toms ^d. excife \ii2E, and fuftick. ^s. id. - - 4 8 free. Piemento, per lb. 3 * Coffee, /fr cwt. 036 Cocoa, * If the Coffee is for heme confumptioji, it pays a further duty of 3 /. I 5 J. per cwt. to the cujioms., and 6| d. per Ih. to the excife. — Cocoa alfo, if for home ccufumpt ion, pays I2s, 6d. perczvt.'-'exci/e 6i d. per Ih. 542 HISTORY OF THE BOOK Secondly, That the pradlice of allowing VI- drawbacks on their re-export, is dangerous and deflrudlive. Third ly^ Cocoa, ditto. - - o i Gingtr, black or white, /er cwt. o ii Cotton, from any place in Britifh bottoms,/)?^. /;. s. J. Gum Guaiacum, 009 Jalap - -009 Aioes, /ifr cwt. - 6 10 8 Sarraparilla,/)fr lb. o o 8 Tamarinds,red, cwt.i o 6 Impojl of the United States upon West India Produce. Cents. ftiftilled fpirits, if more than ten per cent, below proof, /)f»' gallon - - 20 If n-.ore than five, and not more than ten, per cent, below - - 2 1 If of proof, and not more than five pa cent, be- low - - - 22 If above proof, but not exceeding twenty per cent. - • " 25 If of more than twenty, and not more than Cents. forty per cent, above proof - - - 30 If of more than forty /)tTfw/. above proof 40 Brown fugar - I- Melaffes - 3 Coffee, per pound - 4 Cocoa - I Piemento - - 4 Indigo - =5 Cotton - 3 Tonnage on foreign vef- fels per ton - S^ N. B. One hundred Cc:ts is ei]ual to a Spanifi Dollar. Not lefs than 50 Gals, to be imported into the United States. •^^ • An at'ilition of ten per centum to be made to the feveral rates of duties before fpeciticd and impofed, excepting rum^ wliich fliall be imported in fliips or vclLls not of the United States. (c:^ Broun or Mufcavado fugar, net of the Britifli plan- tatioiis, is fubjcft, on its importation into Great Britain, to a duty W E S T I N D I E S. 543 Thirdly, That the monopoly of fupply chap. V. Vefted in the planters is partial, oppreffive, and unjuft. I SHALL confider thefe feveral pofitions in the order in wh?ch 1 have placed them. The invef- tigation of them is neceflary to the completion of my work, and, with a few general obfervations, will conclude my labours. If daily experience did not evince that argu- ment has very little effe6l on the avarice of go- vernment, and the felfifli prejudices of indivi- duals, it might be a matter of wonder that the firft of thefe pofitions (in the full extent to which it is carried) fhould ever be ferioufly repeated, after the clear and unanfwerable refutation which has been given to it, both in parliament and from the prefs, a thoufand times -, and what is more, by fad experience in a thoufand inilances ! So long, however, as it continues to be the language of prejudiced or intercfted men, it is the duty of the planters to give it attention ; and although they may have nothing new to offer on a quef- tion which has been fo frequently and fully invef- tigated, duty oi £.1. y s. id. and white or clayed fugar of foreign growth to ^. 2. 5 J. 6 J. the cwt ; Eaft Indian fugar being ranked among the company's imports as nianufa£lured goods, pays ^.37. its, id. fer cent, ad vakrem. It is all white or clayed fugar. 54+ HISTORY or THE BOOK tigated, they have no reafon on that accou^it to VI- be filent ; inafmuch as the dodrine itfelf has not,- unfortunately, the grace of novelty to recom- mend it. The planters then have affirmed, and they repeat, that there is not an axiom in mathema- ticks more inconteftible than this maxim in com- merce, t/iat the value of all commodities at market depends entirely on their plenty or fear city, in propor- tion to the demand or confumption. — If the quantity at market is not equal to the demand, the feller undoubtedly can, and always does, fix his own price on his goods. On the other hand, when the quantity at market greatly exceeds the vent or demand, then it is out of the feller's power to influence the price, for the plenty will necelfarily keep it down in fpite of his utmofl endeavours to raife it. The truth therefore undoubtedly is, that in the latter cafe the original coil of the goods, and all fubfequent charges thereon, fuch as freight, warehoufe rent, duties and taxes of all kinds, arc objects of no concern to the buyer. The quan- tity, and the quantity alone, regulates the price at market, and augments or diminilhcs the pro- fits of the feller. If the demand be great, and the quantity fmall, the feller has fome times an opportunity not only of reimburfing himfelf the original West INDIES. 545 briginal cofl, and all fubfequent charges and duties, but likewife of making great profit be- fides. Reverfe the circumftances, and he finds himfelf a confiderable lofer. All this is the ne- celTary and unavoidable nature of commercial adventure, which is only profperous as it contrives io feed the market i^xo^tr\y ', or, in other words, to make the fupply no more than adequate to the demand : Thus the taxes on leather, foap, can- dles, malt, beer, and fpirits, by enhancing the price to, may be faid to fall on, the confumers ; for as the manufacturers have it in their power, fo they proportion the fupply to the demand, and bring to market no more than fufficient to anfwer the confumption, and if, after all, they cannot obtain a living profit, they ceafe to deal in thofe commodities. It is the fame in regard to Tea, wines, and other commodities, the growth or manufacture of fo- reign nations, over whofe exports zve have no con- troul. The merchant importer governs his im- ports by the demand which he computes there will be at the Britifli market for the commodity 5 and ceafes to import fuch goods as he finds will not yield him a profit, afrer the duty and all other charges are reimburfed. But, in the cafe of articles which the fituation and neceffities of the owner bring- to fale, and for which no other vent can be found, it is impoffibic Vol. J I. N n tha^ 54^ HI5TORYOFTHE that any duties or taxes which the commodity may have paid in its way to market, can have any effed: on the price ; for the price arifes from the demand, and the demand from the buyer's wants, which it would be abfurd to fay the laying any duty can create, or the not laying it diminifli. — Thus, when wheat is fcarce, the price rifes ; and two or three good harvefts make it cheap again, without any reference to the land-tax whether it be 3^. or4J. and without any regard to the farmer's expences. Nor will corn afterwards bear a good price, until the flock is Icflened by exportation, or otherwife, to fuch a quantity as is barely fufficient for home confumption. Hops, hay, cyder, and a thoufand other commodities, are fubjedt to the fame rule. Such too is precifely the fituation of the Weft Indian planters : they are compelled to fend their goods to market, or ftarve ; and (with a few un- profitable exceptions) there is no market to which they are permitted to refort but that of Great Britain. Their produce therefore, when brought to fale, can obtain no other than its natural price, I mean that price which a greater or Icfs fupply necefTarily and naturally creates. Tiie confumers of fugar neither care tor, nor enquire after, its original coft, or the duties and charges which it has paid in its way to market. The importer however mufl pay the duties before he can WEST INDIES. 547 can bring his fugar to Tale, for no man will buy chap. unlefs the duty is firft cleared ; and whether the ^■ importer can compel the buyer to refund the whole, or any part of it, by adding it to the price of the commodity, depends altogether, as I have obferved, on the quantity at market ; it being an abfolute contradiftion to affirm that great plenty and a high price on the one hand, or on the other, great fcarcity and a low price,^ can exift at one and the fame time. That fugar, like other commodities, is fometimes bought up in Great Britain by engroflers on fpeculation, may be very poffible ; but this is a traffick in which as neither the planters in the Weft Indies, nor their fadlors at home, have any concern, fo neither are they anfwerable for any confequences arifmg from it. It is true that, when providential calamities have overtaken the Weft Indies, the evil has fometimes been remotely felt by the inhabitants of Great Britain. When it pleafed the Almighty to lay wafte the fugar iflands by a fucceffion of tremendous hurricanes, it was reafonable to exped: that the reduced ftate of their exports, would en- hance their value in Europe. It might then per- haps be faid that the confumer of fugar reim- burfed in fome degree the charges and expences of its culture and tranfportation, and the duties N n 2 which '548 H I S T O R Y O F T H E which had been levied upon it. It was the na* tiiral and only relief (inadequate at the befl) which the lugar planters could receive ; but if, from fome occafional increale of price on luch emergencies, they are made fubjeft to permanent burthens, founded on the vain and fallacious idea that, becaufe the confumcr has replaced them once, he will replace them again ; the devaftations of the elements are only the IcH'cr evil. Admitting however that the confumer really does, in a great many cafes, pay the duty, or, in other words, that the vender has it very frequently in his power to force his own price ; who does not fee, as an inevitable confequence, that a decreafe in the confumption will foon bring the price back to its level ? The products of the Well Indies are rather among the luxuries than the neceflaries of life, and the great confumption of fugar efpecially, is with the middle and lower clafles of people, who can, and undoubtedly will, lay it afide when reafons of frugality require it. .[f any one doubts that, this will be the effedt, let him only enquire of any country grocer as to the facfl, at a time when Mufcavado fugar, in con- fequence of the calamities that have been ftated, and from captures in war, rofe fuddenly one- fourth in value : he will find that the diminution in the confumption in many parts of the king- dom. W E S T I N D I E S. 549 dom, was in a much greater relative proportion ; — a more fatal fymptom cannot attend any branch of commerce. If the arguments which have thus been ftated are not fufficient in themfelves to juftify the re- monftrances which the planters of the Weft Indies have thought it incumbent on them, from time to time, to urge againft the increafe of du- ties, there are fads to be adduced, which mult convince the moft felfifli and incredulous. The inftance of indigo has been mentioned already ; and it cannot be repeated too often. — The planters complained of the duties on that article, as they have lince complained of thofe on fugar, and they were told then, as they are conftantly told in other cafes, that the duties fell ultimately on the conlumcr. Government how- ever at length, by abrogating all the duties, faw, and acknowledged its errors but the remedy was applied too late ; for if the duties had either been taken off in time, or if the weight of them had fallen on the confumer, inftead of the planter, the cultivation of indigo, beyond all difputc, had never been wrefted out oi our hands. Cacao, or chocolate, furniflies another in- ftance of the fatal effects of high duties on impor- tation. Strange as it may lecm that an article which our own colonies can raife in the greatcft plenty and perfection, fliould be fubie<5t to a N n 3 higher- 5P HISTORY OFTHE higher proportionate duty than the foreign eoni- modity tea ^the place of which chocolate or coffee might have fuppliedi) fuch however was the cafe even when the duties on tea were nearly double what they are at prefent ! The confequence was, that whether the duties on cacao fell on the con- fumer or the planter, the effeft on the latter was precifely the fame ; for if through want of a living profit, the planter could not afford to continue the cultivation; or if, in exading a living profit, he loft his cuftomers, becaufe they could no longer afford to purchafe, his fituation became equally diftreffing; until ncceffity compelled himtochange his fyfteni, and apply his land and labour to other obje<5ts. Thus the growth of cacao, which once conftituted the pride of Jamaica, and its prin- cipal export, became checked and fuppreffed be- yond the power of recovery. I think I have elfewhcre obferved, that there is not at this day a fingle cacao plantation, of any extent, from one end of the ifland to the other. The cultivation of ginger fucceeded that of cacao, and met with a fimilar fate : but perhaps the inftance of coffee will come more immediately home to the imagination of miniftcrs, becaufe the ]:)roof which it affords arifcs, not from what has been loji by impoliiick taxation, but from what has been gained by a prudent redudlion of exifling duties. In the one cafe, the Icifon it Q affords WEST INDIES. Sit affords is too mortifying to be acceptable : the other they will receive as a compliment to their wifdom. Having however ftated the circum- ftance in a former part of this work (e), it is unne- cefTar}' to enlarge upon it here. From the whole of what has been obferved on the queftion of duties, this conclufion appears to me to be incontrovertible ; that in nine cafes out of ten, the duties which are paid on the pro- duds of the Britifli plantations, fall chiefly (either immediately or eventually) on the colonift in the Weft Indies, who is commonly the importer, and not on the confumer in Great Britain ; — and it is equally certain that, in the tenth cafe, when the confumer pays thern, he ought to pay them ; inaf- much as all taxes fhould in jufiiice prefs with equal weight on every member of the commiunity, in proportion to his ability to fuftain them ; of which, in the cafe of taxable commodities, con- fumption is the criterion. To this confideration muft be added the well-known and eftabliilied axiom, that taxes paid by the publick at large diftribute themfelves fo equally on the whole, as eventually to raife the price of all other commo- dities J each man repaying himfelf for taxes which he pays on other articles, by advancing the price of his own. Let the planters then no longer be (c) Book V. c. iv. p. 349. N n 4 contcmptuoufly 553 HISTORYOFTHE ji o o K contemptuoufly told (for fuch has been the^n- VI. guage of their adverfaries) that they have groaned^ without a grievance. I have fhewn that they have been driven, from time to time, by duties accumulated on duties, from the cultivation of one produdion to another j and if (apprehenfive that the few valuable ftaple commodities which now remain to them are in danger of being facri- ficcd, as others have been, to a fyflem of impo- litick taxation) they flatc their apprehenfions to miniilers, by a recital of plain facls, and a per- feverance in well grounded complaints, it fcems to me they are equally ferving government, and defending their own rights and properties. — Supplies muft neccflarily be raifed ; they admit it ; but contend that there is a point at which taxation on any particular objcdl muft ftop, or it will not only defeat its own purpofe, but have the effedl alfo of endangering all former duties laid on the fame object, by totally deftroying its cultivation or manufacture. The fubjed now naturally leads me to the confideration of draw- backs and bounties, on the re-export of Brililh plantation produdts, the fecond head of our pre- Jbnt enquiries j and as the principal of thofe pro- clud:s is fugar, I Ihall confine my remarks to that article. The term Drawback, in the language of tlic Cuftom-houfc, is applied to the tax repaid upon W E S T I N D I E S. 5$j upon the exportation of raw fugar, and the word Bounty to the money which is paid upon the exportation of what is refined, and exported in loaf unbroken. The word drawback fufficiently expreffes its meaning ; for (excepting the gain to government by intereft, in confequence of having had a depofit of the tax for fome time in its hands, and excepting the duty retained on the quantity wafted while the fugar continued in a Britifh port) the original duty paid at importa- tion, is refunded on exportation, without dimi- nution or addition. This at prefent (including the laft duty of 2 j. 8 d. laid in 1 79 1 , and declared to be temporary) is 155. the hundred weight. But as to the bounty, the cafe was once different. To encourage the refining trade in Great Britain, government gave an a<5lual premium on the export of refined fugar in loaves, in addition to the drawback, and the colledive fums fo refunded and paid, amounting together to 26 s. the hun- dred weight, obtained generally the name of bounty ; a name which is ftili retained, although in faft, fmce the laft duty was laid, the extra luni which is paid beyond the drawback, is but little, if any thing, more than a compenfation for the duty which is paid on the extra quantity of raw fugar expended in producing a given quantity of refined. 554 HISTORY OF THE BOOK refined, and loft by pilferage and wade, between "^'- _ the importation and day of fale, as will prefently be demonftrated /TV. tt '■'^ Having (f) The ftatute book denominates that fpecies of refined fugar upon which what is called tlie bounty is granted, " Sugar in the loaf and luhde^ being nett.^* Upon the export of this fort of fugar the bounty was raifed by the 5th George III. c. 45. to 14 J. 6d. and a further bounty of 1 1 j. 6 d. was granted by the 21 George III. c. 16. making together 26 j. per cwl. and fo it continues at prefent. The laft bounty of 1 1 j. 6d. was grantetl in confequence of an additional duty of 6 /. per cwt. laid in 1781, on raw fugar imported, when Lord North was Chancellor of the Exchequer, who frankly declared that he propofed the aforefaid bounty purpofely to remunerate tke planters from the import duty, which he admitted they were unable to bear. It is evident however, that the duty is permanent and certain; the relief, temporary and cafual; inafmuch as the export of refined fugar isaltogetheroccafional, depending on the fluctuating ftate of foreign markets. Should the foreign demand fail, on whom will this additional duty fall but on the planter? This coniideration alone is a good rcafon why the bounty Ihould be more than proportionate to the drawback. Yet when parliament, in 179 1, by the 31 George III. c. 15, laid a further duty of 2j. id.per cwt. on raw fugar imported from the Britifli plantations (appro- priating the fame, for the term of four years, towards the dif- charge of certain exchequer bills) making the import duty 15/. per cwt. in the whole, no addition was made to the bounty on the export of refined loaf. All that could be ob- tained was an addition of 3 /. 4^/, to the drawback, on what the ftatute calls baftards^ and ground or povjdired fugar \ and alfo on refined loaf broke into pieces^ and all fugar called candy. Upon the export of thefe fpecies of fugar, the drawback pre- vious to the 3 1 Geo. III. ftood at 1 1 j. 8 ^. only, while the duty W E S T I N D I E S. 555 Having thus explained what is meant by the terms dawback and bounty, in the cafe of fugar exported, I fhall now endeavour to prove that the repayment of the duties, under either appel- lation, is not a matter of favour to the colonift or importer, but of rigourous juftice, and is founded on a (Irid and confcientious right which he poffeffes, and of which he cannot be deprived, fo long as a fenfe of moral duty, and a regard to equal juftice, fliall be found among the principles of a free government. An importer of merchandize either comes vo- hmtarily into our ports, to feek the beft market for dutypaid on raw fugar imported was izs. \d. and it being but juft, that the drawback fhoiild at leaft be equal to the duty paid, 3 J. \d. was added in that aft ; which, with 1 1 j, 8 ^. makes i^s. per cwt. the precife amount of the import duties paid fince that aft took place. The minifler who moved the additional duty of 2 s. 8 d. in 1 791, propofed alfo at firfl to augment the bounty in the ufual proportion ; but the fugar refiners remonftrated againft the m.eafure, as being, they faid, leneficial only to th planters. It is remarkable however, that in the memorial which they prefented on that occafion to the chancellor of the exchequer, they furnifli an unanfwerable argument in fupport of an aftual bmus on the export from Great Britain of refined fugar ; for they admit that a greater proportion of the refined article is now made from mufcavado than was formerly produced, oiuing^ they fay, to improvements made by the planters in the raw commodity. As thofe improve- ments were nc t effefted but after many coftly, and fome fruit- lefs, experiments, it feems no way confonant either to juftice orreafon that the refiners alone fliould reap the advantages of them, and the planters, who fuftained the rifk, fit dowa quietly under the expence. 556 HISTORY OF THE for the fale of his goods ; or is compelled to ^nter them, that the nation may fecure to itfelf the pre-emption at its own market. If he comes vo- luntarily, he is apprized of the regulations and duties to which, by the laws of the port, he will be fubjeft ; he makes his option, and if he meets with difappointment, has no right to complain ; much lefs to expeifl a return of the duties which he has paid on importation, in cafe he fhall after- wards find it more to his advantage to rc-fhip his goods, and try another market. He comes in the fpirit of adventure, and as his profits, how- ever great, are wholly his own, if his adventure proves fortunate ; fo it is but reafonable that he Ihould fubmit patiently to his lofs, if lofs is the confequence of his experiment. This conclufion is, I think, too evident to require farther iliuflra- tion. On the other hand, the cafe of thofe who are compelled to bring their goods to our ports is widely different. The fugar planter, for inftance, is not only obliged to bring his fugar at all times and feafons to a market which perhaps is already overloaded ; but to bring it too in Britilh fhips, that the mother-country may have the benefit arifing from the freight. On the fuppofition that tlie whole may be fold for home confumption, he is furthermore compelled to pay down the duties on the full quantity imported, before he is per- mit tc-d WEST INDIES. 557 mltted to fell any part. The home confump- tion is then fuppUed ; and a furplus remains, tor which a vent offers in a foreign market. The foreign purchafer, however, buys nothing for which the people of Great Britain choofe to pay an equal price : they have the firft offer, and re- fufal of the whole. Under what pretence then can the Britifh government, whofe language it is that all duties are, and ought to be ultimately paid by the confumer, retain the duties on fuch part of the goods as are not purchafed for the home fupply : The mother-country has already received the benefit of the freight ; has had a preference in the fale of the goods, and obtained other mercantile advantages from its importation ; and the owner has fuffered the inconveniency of advancing a large fum of money for duties on goods which fhe refufes to purchafe, — an incon- veniency of no fmall account, inafmuch as, befides the lofs of intereft, fliould the goods perifh by fire, he would lofe both his goods and the duty (g J ; — perhaps, as an interefted man, I am not com- (g) Since this work was firft publiflied, the author has had reafon to (peak /eelifigly on this point. In the month of December 1793. no leisthan 1,600 hogflieads of fugar, lying in the London warehoufes, were confumed by fire, on which there had been paid in duties to government upwards of £. 1 7,000 ; all this was a lofs to the unfortunate owners, ex- cliifive of the goods. The author's (lure of this lofs was /^. 1,200, petent SS8 H I S T O R Y O F T H E petent to decide Impartially on this quefhipn; but to me, it appears that a final retention of the duties here fpoken of, would be an outrageous exercife of power, without a fliadow of right ; a proceeding in the higheft degree unjuft, fraudu- lent, and oppreflivc. As the foreign market will not bear the ad- dition of the Englifh duty, fifteen fhillings per cwt. if the money is not refunded, are taken from the colanift, for having, againft his will, and at a great cxpence of freightage, fent his fugar cir- cuitoufly through Great Britain. Such an ex- tortion for pafTmg through a market to which he does not voluntarily refort, is virtually fixing a forced price upon the commodity j and to do this, or by force to take the commodity from him, without giving any price for it, — what is it but an adt of the fame nature, differing only in de- grees of violence ? — The plea of neceflity is not applicable to the cafe ; the objcd: not being, as in the cafe of corn, a necejfary but a luxury of life ; and the colonifts, to whom it belongs, have no fhare in the power of regulating, if regulations are to be made concerning it. If it be urged that foreigners have otherwife the advantage of fometimes buying Britifh plan- tation fugar on cheaper terms than the people of Great Britain, it is anfwered that this isacircum- ftance W E S T I N D I E S. 555 fiance for which the planter is no way refponfible, and in truth it is in itlelf but little to be regarded ; fince whenever it happens, the national gain is fo much the greater ; becaufe the kingdom profits much more by the quantity purchafed, and paid for in money by foreigners, than it would have done, if the fame quantity had been confumed at home. — Government has no means in this cafe of taxing the confumption of foreign nations, for if the duty be added to the price of the commo- dity, the foreign demand is at an end (h). Hitherto, (h) Since the foregoing was written, an aft of the Britifli legiflature has pafTed, intituled, *' An Aft for regulating the " allowance of the drawbackj and paynoent of the bounty on " the exportation of fugar, and for permitting the importation " of fugar and coffee into the Bahama and Bermuda iflands " in foreign fliips." Concerning the latter part of the aft, as the foreign fugar and coffee are not to be confumed in Great Britain, but put en depot in warehoufes until re-exported, the planters of the Britifn Weft Indies have no right to objeft to its provifions; but with regard to the regulations of the drawback, &c. the cafe is widely different. By this law it is enafted that " after the year 1792, whenever the average of the prices of brown or mufcavado fugar (to be taken weekly upon oath before the Lord Mayor of London, and publiflied in the Gazette) fhall exceed, in the fix weeks which refpec- tively precede the middle of February, June, and Oftober, the amount of fifty fliillings /i^r cwt. (exclufive of the duty) the drawback on mty fugar exported is immediately to ceafe for four months, and the bounty on refined is to ceafe during a like term, but commencing after an interval of one month." Such 56o HISTOR.YOFTHE Hitherto, I have fpoken of the t]raw])ack on raw fugar only. I am now to (hew that my obfervations apply equally to that which is refined-, by proving that what is called the bounty^ is but little more than merely a modification of the drawback ; the money allowed beyond the original duty being an allowance not more than adequate to the lofs of weight in the raw commodity for which the full duties have been paid by the im- porter, and the lofs of interefl thereon, between the time of the payment thereof, and the time of the receipt of the bounty. The proportions of refined fugar &c. procured by melting 112 lbs. of raw fugar, have been af- certained Such is the outline of this acfl;, on which what I have already iaid in the text, is perhaps a fufficient comment ; yet it may not be improper to take fome notice of the great argument which was urged in fiipport of the meafure in the Houfe of Commons ; namely, that it was formed on the modtl of the corn trade fyftem. But the corn trade laws, though defigned to reduce prices, are alfo contrived to encourage produflion. They therefore check exportation when the prices are high, anJoive a bounty on exportation zolun the pricts are low. If the fugar bill had been formed on the fame principle, and had been meant to keep the price of the commodity at a fair niey. Thus (p) It IS not my bufinefs to feek out refources for increaf- ing the publick revenue, but as a matter of curiofity, I beg leave to fubjoin the following fafts : The quantity of raw or mufcavado fugar imported from the Britifti plantations into Great Britain in the year 1787, was 1,926,121 cwt. and the grofs duty paid thereon was £^. 1,187,774. 12 s, %d. If Vol. II, Pp this HISTORY OF THE Thus have I fhevvn the magnitude of the price at which the Britifh colonids in the Weft Indies have purchafed, for a century paft, the monopoly of the Britifh market for their chief ftaple com- modities. this fugnr had been kept to be refined in the plantations, it would have been one-eighrh more in quantity ; that pro- portion having been loft at fea by drainage. This would have made 2,166,886 cvvt. which according to the compu- tation of the London refiners, would have yielded 1,003.443 cwt. of loaf, ai'd 425,638 cwt. of baftards (excluding frac- tions.) Now fuppcfing the duty on loaf fugar had been only 10 s per cv.'t. more thaa the prefent duty on mufcavado (which it would have well afforded) and the baftard fugar to have continued at i \s ptr cwt. the Britifli revenue in tliat cafe would have received as follows ; (both the publick and the planter being at the fame time benefited in a high degree) viz. On 1,083,443 cwt. of loaf - at 25.; /frcvvt. .--.-.-. 1,354,303 15 — 425,658 cwt. of baflards, at 15J /-(/cut. ------ 319,228 10 — . Duties which might have been levied - 1,673,532 5 — Duties aftually paid in 1787 - - - 1,187,774 iz 8 Difference in favour of the revenue - - 485,757 la 4 Such is the facrifice which is made by the planters of tlic Weft Indies, and the publick of Great Britain, in fupporting. the priv.ite interefls of that ufelefs intermediate body of peo- ple, the fugar refiners in England : who, whenever the cafual- ties of war, or providential calaniitit-s, have overtaken the Weft Indies, and thereby created a temporary advance in the price of raw fugar, have been the firft to raife a clamour a^ainft WEST INDIES. 579 tnodities. It is monopoly for monopoly; an chap. arrangement not framed by the colonies, but by the mother-country herfelf, who has fuffcred it to grow facred by time, has recognized it by a multitude of laws, and enforced it by flridler ties and recent provifions. Well, therefore, did a great Sgainft the monopoly of fiipply enjoyed by the planters, themfelves at the fame time pofleffing the monopoly which I have defcribed ! It may not be ufelefs to add, that thofe peo- ple are, in a proportion unknown in any other branch of trade, foreigners; who live in the moft frugal way in England (about one thoufand in the whole) and retire with their favings to their own country. There are few operations more (imple, or which require a lefsexpenfive apparatus, than that of refining fiigar. Can it then be juft or reafonable to facrifice to a manufafiure, thus fubordinate in its nature and limited in its extent, the efTential interefts of 65,000 Britifli fubje£ls in the Weft Indies, and half a million of money, which is now annually loft to Great Britdn, that this manu- fadure may be fupported ? It is remarkable that the fame obfervation occurred to Davenant, who wrote foon after the re- volution in 1688. Speakingoftheimpropriety of laying heavy .duties oa the produca of the Britifli Weft Indies, he proceeds in thefe words : " And here it may not be improper to take notice particularly, of the high impofition hud upon refined fugars imported hither, upon a wrong notion of advancing our manufa6lures, whereas in truth it only turns to the ac- count of about fifty families (for the refiners of England are no more) and is greatly prejudicial, and a bar to the induftry of at leaft 14,000 perfons, which a^e about the number of thofe who inhabit our iflands producing fugar." (Davenant^ Dl/courfe 3, on the Plantation Tra.ie.) What would this author have faid, had he known the fa^Tt which I have ftated above \ P p z HISTORY OF THE great flatciman (q) obfervc, " that it wa-^ acmn- pact more folemn than any that an aft of parli- ament could create;" and when fpeculative men affert, and interetled men complain, that a com- pa6l thus founded and fupported is at this time not fufficiently favourable to Great Britain ; the anfwer is obvious : If Great Britain regrets its operation and willies to dlffolve it, let her firft make compendition to the colonifls for all that they have undertaken, and the facrifice they have made, under it ; and next, when (he releafes her- felf from all future obligation to obferve it, let the releafe be reciprocal ; extending equally to one party and the other. This done, the colo- nifls will have no caufe to accufe her of injuftice, ■ — but this not done, they will aflert that fhe has violated her faith with them ; that her condudl is oppreffive and fraudulent ; and her ftatutes fnares to the unwary. In the mean time, it is impoflible not toconfider as exceedingly partial and unjuft, thofe clamours and attempts by which, on any temporary ad- vance in the prices of Weft Indian produfts, the publick difcontent is pointed towards the inhabi- tants of our fugar iflands. They are partial, in- afmuch as their authors confider the burthens and lyants of the confuraers on one fide, without ad- CqJ Mr. Fox. verting W E S T 1 N D I E S. 581 verting to the burthens and diftreffes of the colo- nifts on the other. They are unjufl, as their manifefl aim is to extend to rivals and foreigners, whofe trade is not fubjeft to be controuxd by Britifn laws, thole advantages which have been purchafed by, and ftand exclufively pledged to, the Britilli Weft Indies, whole trade is ftiil to be left bound by our regulations. — At this juncture indeed, now that the largenefs of the exportation has demonftiated, that no foreign colonies in the "Weft Indies can fupply us with lugar, cheaper than our own, another projecft, of more fatal and extenlive mifchief, is reforted toj and the na- tional attention is awakened by the hopes of a vaft and profitable fugar culture, under the fof- tering proteftion of government, in the boundkis regions of the Eaft Indies. Thofe plantations which have hitherto proved more than adequate to our wants ; which from proximity and infular fituation, are eafily defended ; which enrich our manufacturers, encourage our fillieries, and re- turn all their acquirements into the bofom ot their alienated parent, are it feems to be neglc(5led, and the national encouragement diverted to dif- tant independent countries, whofe iniiabitants purchafe but few of our commodities, and con- fume none of our fi(h, but take bullion inftead of them ; who rather fend manufadures to ovir markets, than receive them from us 5 and whofe P p 3 exports HISTORY OF THE exports may be checked and controuled bf a thouland accidents which, at this diftance, can neither be obviated nor forcfeen. In fliort, by recommending the fet tlement of iugar planta- tions beyond the Cape of Good Hope, this pro- jedt maintains that it is wife to remove encourage- ment from proximate and dependent colonies, to countries which, being placed beyond the reach of civil regulations from hence, can be go- verned only by the fword, and which, at no very remote period, may regain their independence ; — when however it will be too late to refort back to our ruined and deferted colonies in the Weft Indies ! If the reader imagines that the intention of this fcheme is to open a fugar trade with the Eaft Indies, to Britilli fubjefts without diftindion, it is neceliary he (liould be informed that nothing is farther from the thoughts of its advocates and promoters. Their aim is to transfer the monopoly of the Weft Indies, to the monopolifts of the Eaft ; being well apprized that a great importa- tion of iugar, for a few )ears, from India, would cffedually ftop the cultivation of this article in the Britilh colonies, after which the market would be their own ; and the fupply, as in the cafe of all other articles oifcreign growth, be encreafed or diminifhed, as the intereft of the importer, not of the publick, Qiould regulate and dired. 2 For W E S T I N D I E S. 583 For myfelf, I am unvvilllng to believe that the chap, Britifli government has at any time meditated ^• intentional injury towards the lugar i'llands ; and thereiore cannot be perfuaded that i'uch a project will ever receive the ian H I S T O R Y O F T IT E not perfect freedom, yet comparing it with tkC ordinary circumllances of human nature, may be pronounced a happy and a Hberal condition. To the candid and ingenuous, I truft I need not offer any apology for thus having fuggefted con- fiderations, which may tend to obviate mifappre- henhons,removeprejudices, and mitigate angerbe- tweenthofe, who though divided by local fituation, are allied to each other by the deareft ties of in- tereft, affection, and confanguinity. I have thought this the more neceffary, as it appears, by the bit- ternefs and acrimony with which fome men fpeak of the fugar colonies, that their aim is to inftigate the national refentment, and heighten the pub- lick animofity towards them. Inftead of mani- fefting a difpofition, " fond to fpread friendfhips and to cover heats," thefe gentlemen feem to me to exert their talents in mifreprefentations, which can anfwer no other end than to fet the remain- ing parts of the empire at variance with each other. I look not in this place to any of thofe fanatical writings on flavery and the flave trade, which, equally difgraceful to hun^anity and letters, pro- pagate the moft daring and outrageous falfehoods without fcruple or fhame. I allude to authors of a very different ftamp ; to perfons who, having the means of better information, and poffeffing at)ilities to influence the publick opinion, have fuffcred W E S T I N D I E S. 59X fuffcred the prejudices of party to bias their judgment. As a man perfonally interefted in the welfare of the fugar colonies, I have attempted, by difplaying their importance and value, to point out the wifdom and neceffity of lenient councils, and a liberal indulgence in the government of this kingdom towards them. In aiming however to encourage forbearance and kindnefs on the one fide, 1 have, as a loyal and dutiful fubjedl, en- deavoured to conciliate afFedion, and promote filial obedience on the other. If the colonifls refled foberly, I am periuaded they will perceive that, in a conteil with the mother-country, they liave nothing to gain, and every thing to lofe. Reficdions of this kind, it is hoped, may difpofc to mutual confidence and moderation ; and tend equally to' promote the welfare of the colonies, and the flrcngth, profperity, and glory of Great Britain. END OF THE SECONP VOLUME. Printed by Luke Hanfard, N' 6, Great Turnftile, Liiicoln's-Iun Fields. t 593 i APPENDIX TO Vol. IL CONTAINING TABLES O F WEST INDIAN EXPORTS AND KvIPORTS TO AND FROM GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND : Made up from Returns to the Houfe of Commons in GREAT BRITAIN, And from Official Dosvments in IRELAND. Vol. IL Q q WEST INDIAN IMPORTS. 59i TABLES. No. I. An ACCOUNT of the Value of the WEST INDIA IMPORTS into GREAT BRITAIN, according to the Rates in tlie Infpeftor General's Office *, FOR. THE FOLLOWING YEARS} VJZ. YEARS - VALU E. 1 YEARS. —1 VALUE. 169S X- 629^533 1723 ;. 1,087,154 1699 — — 586,:i55 1724 — — 1,160,36? 1700 — — 824,246 1725 — — i^3S9>i85 1701 — — 738,601 I7i6 — — I,222,5H 1702 — — 476,168 1727 — — i>039>5'3 1703 — — 626,488 1728 — — j,49V2 3 1704 — — 489,906 1729 ~ ~ 1,515,421 J 705 — — 706,574 1730 -- — J, 571,608 • 1706 — — 537>7>1 + 1731 — — 1,310,580 1707 — — 604,889 1732 — — 1,315.45s 1 70S — — 592,750 1733 — — 1,6.2,015 I7C9 — — 645,689 1734 — — 1,141,06s 1710 — — 780,505 1735 — • — 1,460,609 I7II — — 556,198 1736 — — ' 1,425,039 1712 — ' — 64S;)9o 1737 — — 946,423 I7I3 — — 762,248 1738 *- -- I.-475.9IO 17:4 — — 843,390 1739 — — 1,566,832 I7I5 — — 999,412 1740 — — 1,135,107 1716 — — 1,104,188 1741 — — 1,402,986 1717 — — 1,204,057 1742 — ~ 1,300, 836 1718 — — 896,031 1743 •— — 1,404,6:0 I7I9 — — 875,358 1744 — — 1,156,932 1720 — — 1,117,576 1745 — — 1,024,097 J72I -- — 852,579 1746 — — • 1,148,124 1722 — — 1,015,617 1747 — — 941,116 * No alteration has been made in the Rate of V.-vlue of this OiTice finceAe year 1697. — According to the prices in the market, for fome years paft, the a'^Bllal va- lue would greatly uxcccd the Infptdtor'e calculation, 59' \V ST INDIAN YEARS V .\ I, i; »; . Y r. A K 3 VALVE. • I74S — —^r.i.'s. 5,122 >774 — — ^•5.574.:c- 1749 ~ — ';-;-;?.075 1775 — — 3,688,795 1750 — — 1,514,452 1776 — — 3.340,949 J75I — — 1444.775 1777 — — 2,840,802 175* — — 1,428,824 1773 — — 3.059»92i 175? — — 1,838,137 1779 — — 2,836,489 '754 — — 1^.62,601 1780 — — 2,612,236 1755 — — 1,867,256 i78r — — 2,023,546 1756 — — 1,687,177 1782 — — 2,612,910 1757 — — 1,906,147 1783 -- — ;,82o,387 1758 — — 1,558,425 1 7 ^'4 — — 3>53i>70S 1759 — ~ 1,833,646 1785 — — 4,400,956 J760 — — 1,861,668 1786 -- — 3>434>02 5 1761 — — ,,953,522 17S7 — — 3,758,087 1762 — — 1,762,406 17^-8 •— — 4,307,866 1763 — — 2,254,231 1789 — — 3.9'7.3oi 1764 — — 2>39i.552 1790 — — 3,854,204 176s — — 2,196,549 1791 — — 3,651,611 1766 — — 2,704,114 1792 ~ — • 4,128,047 1767 — ~ 2,690,673 '793 — — 4.339.613 176S — — 2,942,717 1794 — — 5,294,742 1769 — — 2,686,714 1795 — — 4,645,972 1770 — •— 2,1 10,026 1796 — — 4,541,217 1771 — — 2;979)37S 1797 — — 5,173,069 1772 — — 3,530,082 ,798 — — 6,390,65g 1773 "~" ■~" 2,902, 4»7 EXPORTS AND I ?v^ PORTS. 597 No. II. An ACCOUNT of the Q^anhy of BRITISH PLANTATION SUGAR Im- ported into England, between the 5th of January 1699 anJ the 5th of January J755, and thercaiter into Gnat Britain, to the 5tb of January 1775; alf'. An Account, for the fame periods, of the Quantity of RAW and REFINED SUGARS Export2d : Diftinguiining each year, and the Raw from the R;rin.fi. Rjw S J2ar Refined bug ar Iinp^jited. Exported. Exported. YEARS. Q."* A N T 1 1 y (i.UANTITy. <1,U A N T n Y , — - c-wt. ?"• lbs. ctvt. t/n. lbs. CfJt. jrs. /Z.f. 1699 427.^73 2 25 182,325 2 4 14.302 20 1700 489,526 I 7 165,391 3 16 17,644 2 23 I7OI 435'4<55 I 21 '33,9'7 3 II 3 475 I 17 1702 259,c6> 3 6 45,036 I 5 2,908 z 24 1703 4-V.14 I 84,016 2 :6 621 I 25 J 704 315.8.^7 z 12 « 3 3.7^3 T 8 i>339 15 -.705 370,157 I 7 71,822 I 7 690 3 )8 1706 33S.S73 3 3 107,217 16 1,846 2 23 1707 388,267 3 261 131,832 2 25 2,150 2 '3 1703 377.107 2 II 64,180 3 6 2,365 1 i3 . 1709 397,570 3 12 74»377 3 23 924 iS I7IO 507,662 I 21 117,075 2 5 2.146 2 21 I7II 366,394 I 26 82,142 2 -4 i.SoO 2 16 I7I2 4^3-541 I i!9,s67 1 8 8:57t^ 2 iS I7J3 503,523 I 8 i?4.6o9 12 3.-403 I 10 I714 512,221 3 158,996 3 6 ;,4Si 3 5 1715 617414 3 TI »43'337 1 13 4.tSr 3 14 I716 t^4.7S9 16 j6i,9it 3 3 4,5-r9 I »7'7 763,175 3 14 290.^79 2 II C.90: a 1718 566,885 I '24-37.- 1 '3 11,15 3 I 9 1719 544 > 6 -4 25 167,622 20 2 644 ^ 19 -17ZO 706,585 3 20 121,778 9 3, 06 3 7 1721 497,611 21 66,743 3 i: :,-:-'6 2 25 1722 616:941 9 83609 2 5 *5--45 2 2 1723 660,7; 6 2 9 63,479 I 7 4 "'4 2 12 1724 729, '33 3 13 iio,o;58 I 1 1 5-"' 2 = 9 '7-5 85i,9<;2 z 25 147,408 a I {, 293 3 5 1726 66S,3i6 1 9 146.915 3 22 {; 414 7 T7i7 645,1 58 I 112,699 3 21 11,C75 -, 1 172S 972,240 I 210,320 3 23 -9 '34 1 4 J729 994-6' 3 24 i5ii,746 2^ '3 i3,oS6 1 2 J7 1,024,0-3 2 3 t6",'.)8o 1 12 '4.53S 23 1731 Si8,.77 I 12 95,832 I 21.077 2 26 1732 S22,S44 3 '5 121,904 3 iS 10,5. 1 3 18 >733 1,001,754 2 c 102.274 5 27,00^ 2 5 1734 691;, 6-79 3 9 4f:93'- 8 J3,2:-5 20 1735 903, 6:4 z 22 6c, 1)99 z 25 21,070 : 1736 877.591 24 58.369 3 26 19 7C0 2 -4 1757 550,900 I 10 4c,779 3 17 11.331 3 1738 864,^5^- I 49'437 I 6 p.i.-)7 1 23 »739 95',073 3 4 05.-49 3 15 So. 2 10 1740 706,947 i 67,144 2 16 I ^,c.;6 I 9 »74i 886,124 I c 6i,45o 3 : 9,449 3 15 Q^q 3 59S WEST INDIAN Iinpor ted. Raw Sugars I'xjsjrted. RcliriL-d Sugar • Exported. Y K A R S , Q.UANTITY. Q^U ANTITV. ,„,.- /A. Q.UANTITY. ClVtm Qfi* ICJ» tiff. T" iVi C*iVf» ?"• •"'• 1742 73J,4'0 3 II 50,231 10 12,599 3 24 1743 8j5.'34 I 26 151,126 3 11 26,624 3 H 1744 724-411 2 14 :S,ig8 19 I7.6S7 2 1745 655.199 3 78.-44 3 9 17,689 11 1746 753-47* I 19 92,826 2 22 13,616 3 27 1747 6g8,4sX 2 '4 5i>03S I 15 10,111 I 3748 932,588 2 13 '15.727 I II 10,801 3 21 3749 933.17' 3 9 127,921 1 30,928 2 2 1750 915.344 2 5 107,964 22 21,846 3 15 175' 825,536 2 43.769 3 6 22,3:5 2 15 1752 825,121 I 16 35'7'i 2 16 i3.5°8 3 20 3753 1,114,084 3 26 55.687 2 6 11,224 3 7 1754 859,131 2 12 42,818 2 17 12,298 1 15 3755 1,202,679 3 14 110,853 26 14.364 2 I 1756 1,051,265 3 6 206,336 2 30,017 3 2 J757 1,250,843 20 70,625 9 16,758 23 J75S 1,145,628 2 3 220,824 3 14 62,771 3 '759 1,199,682 2 26 174.^34 9 107,626 2 10 1760 1,374,720 2 5 ,43,683 I 23 58,650 3 '8 J761 i'49i>3'7 3 16 593.3-4 13 108,891 I 7 1762 1,444,581 I 4 322,253 2 7 87.033 2 23 1763 '.73',i74 I 5 413,199 3 22 102,514 3 19 3764 1,488,079 15 197.579 25 176,302 3 23 J765 1,227,159 3 18 149,125 I 5 114,851 2 J766 1,522,732 2 19 129,236 2 4 27,602 10 1767 1,538,834 I 8 209,533 I 25 35.968 I 12 1768 1,651,512 2 14 227,193 3 21 39.273 2 27 1769 1,525,070 5 216,384 34.041 2 16 J770 1,818,229 I ^3 199,738 I 9 47,609 I 19 1 77 1 1,492,096 2 24 195,859 I 1 55.2JO 13 1772 1,786,045 I 173.661 I 3 31,300 3 23 1773 1,762 3S7 3 15 186,649 3 19 29.54? 3 26 1774 2,015,911 I li 223,250 2 34,089 14 1775 2,002,224 3 £ 545,012 2 69,790 3 20 EXPORTS AND IMPORTS. 599 - -i ""■*" -^ o O CO 1 Z bo ^ . un oo v£> . >.s , •i- "^ - " " 1 1 ■g«g N »-i O - 00 '> Vh. 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SI r I u 000 o . .00.0 ,5 ^ - «». • ,3 1 u ' ' Vj ' U > 1 '1 Vol. II. y^IO CJ V-sqeH ••".'"H SSH, t>)0 WEST INDIAN o O ■4- o C/i CO ■<*- O o u. . o w o M o «i- o vo t^ c»» o fO CO 3 M « "* • „ ^ ro ro yr\ M ■+ O Wt o C?i oc •1- cr> <> er> VD o lO 0^ o Qi ^ c*> OO O W1 M ^ " •f c^ o ■4- iri rl O < 1!! •^ O oc o rt 1^ ^5' n <-o l" 1^ ir> VO ro ro ■" t^ 1-^ CO ro o O O •|EI3U33 Ul ■4- n 1 r- «ri ^ M 1 r» 1 saipuj ya^ O 1 oo TO to 1/1 ro 1 oo O •o •C]05aoj[_ 1 1 1 o t - 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 o •+ n u •^""■H -35 1 1 1 1 ■O cT 1 1 •SIAOfJ I I I I MI •JMJOJIUOJ^ •EJIEUicf u o o o O rt o r< o ssopeqaca 0\ 1 ° ro 1 ^ ^ 1 I 1 rO ^ - r^ •eriSijuy i I I I O CI > CO -§ ■^ ^ ^ J^ ^ eg •UPJ£ J p »J o •U»i:i'2 S >> t^ o •1?.!^ EXPORTS AND IMPORTS. 611 O vo r^ O O O «•'> O <^ O vo m .< r^ O 11 11 o^ N 0^ ^ f* "^ I^ 1^ r~. t^ 10 v^ Si o> r-l 00 r-~ rn 1^ •*■ t\ c O 00 c» «J I o % t i ^ U C3 5 " S O Cu •sui^S OT •iJ-.upp'JJS «j «;5' H H :s R r 2 6l2 W E ST INDIAN c) <> 1^ * ti <0 00 C\ o O - •"l-O •o •«- o «'l\0 OO o vrs ,>-•:>-> « O o V-l ^ DO CI -^ U-. i" CO r*> r'N f^ M <0 « en c 00 6/ r> -}- Tj- ►- •+ f^ o \0 " fT. 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