Remarks upon free system--State of affairs before emancipation
--Trials and casualties--Improved price of land--Sugar estate
during slavery--Benefits of emancipation in the moral state of
the colony--Benefits arising to the planter--Pretended illness
among the negroes--Propositions in their favour--Decrease of
crime--Hopes indulged--"The first of August."
After dwelling so long upon the gloomy subject of slavery, it is
pleasing to turn to the more cheering prospects of the country
under a system of perfect freedom.
It must be allowed that, for a few years previous to
emancipation, the Antiguan planters were in a state of great
perturbation. They plainly perceived, from the state of affairs,
that the thraldom of slavery must be broken--that Britain would
no longer allow her children to traffic openly in flesh and
blood; and, finally, that they must, whether with a good grace or
sullen deportment, give up their right to slaves. Still the
change from slavery to freedom was a great revolution, a mighty
crisis; and urgent and inevitable as it was, who could tell what
would be its results. From this cause, property in Antigua
diminished, for some few years, greatly in value; and many
estates might have been then purchased for a comparative trifle.
But this depression did not continue long, for no sooner was the
deed done, and the chain which bound the negro to his fellow-man
irrecoverably snapped asunder, than it was found, even by the
most sceptical, that free-labour was decidedly more advantageous
to the planter than the old system of slavery. That, in fact, an
estate could be worked for less by free labour than it could when
so many slaves--including old and young, weak and strong--were
obliged to be maintained by the proprietors. Indeed, the truth of
this assertion was discovered even before the negroes were free;
for no sooner did the planters feel that no effort of theirs
could prevent emancipation from taking place, than they commenced
to calculate seriously the probable result of the change, and, to
their surprise, found, upon mature deliberation, that their
expenses would be diminished, and their comforts increased, by
the abolition of slavery.[38]
The lapse of eight years has proved this to be true; and there is
now scarcely one person, if any, in the island of Antigua, who
would wish to become again a slaveholder.
Since the period of emancipation, (1834,) Antigua has suffered
from many casualties. There were the severe hurricane, and the
long and harassing droughts of 1835. In 1836, and part of the
following year, the drought returned with increased severity, and
blasted, in great measure, the crops. In 1840, the planters had
again to contend with a season of dry weather, and yet, under all
these disastrous circumstances, the free system has gloriously
worked its way; and by producing larger average crops, (as well
as other advantages, both as regards exports and imports,) has
claimed from all a tribute of praise.
Although there are some few persons who deny that free labour is
less expensive than slavery, yet the general voice pronounces it
to be a system beneficial to the country. It has been proved to
demonstration that estates which, under the old system, were
clogged with debts they never could have paid off, have, since
emancipation, not only cleared themselves, but put a handsome
income into the pockets of the proprietors. Land has also
increased greatly in value. Sugar plantations that would scarcely
find a purchaser before emancipation, will now command from
10,000l. sterling, while many estates that were abandoned in days
of slavery; are now once more in a state of cultivation; and the
sugar-cane flourishes in verdant beauty, where for so many years
nothing was to be seen but rank and tangled weeds, or scanty
herbage.
In days of slavery it required an immense capital to establish a
sugar plantation, as well as a large annual expenditure to carry
on the affairs of the estate when established. Perhaps a sugar
estate had a gang of two hundred slaves upon it, yet out of this
large number possibly there might not be more than sixty or
seventy efficient negroes, the surplus being composed of helpless
old men and women, children and infants, and emaciated and
cureless invalids. Still the law obliged the owner to feed,
clothe, house, and procure medical attendance for the entire
number; and little as their allowance was, yet, in dry seasons in
particular, when the crops of yams and other island provisions
failed, the maintenance of so many persons was attended with
great expense, while at the same time, perhaps, not more than
one-third the number were of any use in agricultural employments.
Under the free system, this tie upon the planter is entirely
annulled; for he now employs but a sufficient number of labourers
to carry on the estate-work, and the negroes support themselves,
as well as their old people and children, out of their weekly
earnings and the privileges which they still enjoy upon the
properties where they are domiciled.
But this diminishment of expense in the cultivation of the
sugar-cane is not the only benefit which emancipation has brought
to the colony. Setting aside religious principles--which
evidently point out the _sinfulness_ of slavery, as it is known
among modern nations--there were many, very many circumstances,
which tended to render the system obnoxious in the highest
degree.
I have already spoken of the immorality practised in the West
Indies. It is a topic most harrowing to the feelings, and one
that a sensitive mind cannot descant upon. What was the origin of
that awful state of society? _Slavery!_ Illicit love was not only
countenanced, but actually encouraged upon estates between the
white masters and their black slaves, in order that the gang of
slaves might be enlarged by such unholy means! In these brighter
days of freedom there is, at least, not this inducement to
licentiousness in its most hideous form, and consequently, that
degraded state of morals which marked the annals of former years,
has, in great measure, disappeared.
Again, slavery occasioned the _planter_ immense trouble and
perplexities in managing his slaves; it engendered continual
heart-burnings and jealousies; it soured his temper, rendered him
callous, deadened those feelings of humanity which the Spirit of
Love has implanted in our breasts, and, however kind and
benevolent he might be in his domestic circle, a few months spent
in managing slaves, and he forgot to exercise his self-control,
and gave way to bursts of passions which, in his calmer moments,
he perhaps bitterly repented of.
Nor was this all: slavery engendered suspicion. There was not a
single slave-holder or slave-manager who, one time or the other,
was not made the prey to apprehensions, and had his brain filled
with thoughts of rebellions and insurrections. Emancipation has
entirely banished this hydra-like train of evils, and paved the
way for more enlightened and happier times. It has also put an
end, in great measure, to pretended illness among the negroes.
During slavery, this was a practice universal. No sooner did
Monday morning arrive than the manager's door was thronged with
self-elected invalids, and more diseases were then complained of
than even Dr. Buchan would have us believe "flesh and blood are
heir to." Some made their appearance with their heads tied up in
a bundle of banana-leaves--a negro prognosticator of a severe
head-ache; others were suffering from pains in the knees and
ankles, and consequently, such parts of their frame were duly
enveloped in sundry particles of old cloth or dried snake-skins;
while some, again, with woe-begone countenances, expressed "dat
dey felt bad all ober dem." In vain the poor manager protested
their pulse was good, the tongues in a healthy state--the negroes
only groaned the more, gave a longer detail of their aches and
pains, or else, in a very doleful voice, exclaimed--"Massa no
b'leive he, (pointing to their tongues and wrists,) he no worth
b'leiving, for he no 'peak true!" and so the end of the confab
was, that the slaves in question were put upon the sick-list.
But now the case is generally different. The negroes work for
_money_; they know if they feign illness for a week, they will be
the losers at the end of the month; and as they are very quick in
discovering where their own interest lies, they stick to the hoe
for the sake of the dollars.
Still, however, pretended illness is not entirely extinct,--there
are some of the labourers who practise it in these days of
freedom, as of erst they did in slavery. In illustration of this
remark, it is a customary plan upon sugar plantations, that if
any of the people quit their work for a certain period, they,
after that time, are required to pay rent for the cottages, with
which, as stationary labourers, they are provided. This is done
in order to ensure their labour, and prevent them from working
upon other estates, where they may receive higher wages as
strangers.[39]
In order, then, to gain this increase of wages, without having to
pay rent for his house, the negro calls up some pseudo complaint,
and very early in the morning, presents himself before the
manager, with the usual bandages, and the notification that he is
"quite sick." The manager feels grieved at this intelligence, for
he had contemplated doing a particular quantity of work that
week, and required all the labourers he could procure; but as the
negro represents himself so very ill, and he cannot deny the
statement, he is obliged to remain content. No sooner, however,
has the indisposed negro gained his hut, than he throws off all
symptoms of illness, and choosing his best hoe, he secretly
starts away to some other estate, where he is sure to obtain the
additional wages; while his proper master supposes he is
reclining upon his bed, a prey to ill-health.
It must be remarked, that although the free labourer acts at
times in this disingenuous manner, it is a general opinion that
they work better, and in a more cheerful manner than they did in
days of slavery, when a driver stood over them with his long and
heavy whip, to chastise their least cessation from labour. It
cannot be supposed that I am perfectly cognizant of the real
truth of this statement. I must, therefore, along with my own
observations, take the opinions and arguments of planters, and
other persons connected with agricultural employments, as the
basis of my remarks.
The facts brought forward in support of this affirmation are
these:--That upon some estates the extent of acres in a state of
cultivation is greater than before the abolition of slavery,--
other properties make a larger annual crop with one-third the
number of labourers,--and that although many efficient negroes
have emigrated to other islands, estates that were dismantled
have been re-cultivated. In _job-work_, as it is termed, the
negroes accomplish twice as much work as when employed by the
day; the simple reason of which is, that they gain a larger sum
of money by such arrangements. It is a fact that has fallen under
my own observation, that when a piece of land is holed[41] by
_task-work_, the negroes will rise by one or two o'clock during
moonlight, go to the field, and accomplish the usual day's work
(300 cane-holes) by five or six in the morning; and after resting
for a short time, are prepared to take another task, which they
also complete, and have some hours left, in which to till their
own little spot of provision-ground. When the excessive heat of
the climate is taken into consideration, as well as the labour it
requires to dig one _cane-hole_, the work of a negro who can open
_six hundred_ in one day, can be better estimated by those who
are more acquainted with such matters than myself.
Another proposition in favour of the free system is said to be
the greater docility of the negroes now they are emancipated. Of
this circumstance I am not able to give _personal_ information.
To me they appear as aggravating as ever: equally suspicious,
quarrelsome, and uncivil. Still there are many and great excuses
to be made for them, when we consider how short has been their
life of freedom!--how untutored their minds are!--how debased has
been their state!--the very beast that eats the grass of the
field has, in times past, been equally esteemed with the negro!
Many planters, as well as other intelligent individuals, have
affirmed to the truth of the statement, "that negroes are more
easily managed as free men, than they were as slaves;" and
certainly such persons ought to be better judges than myself,
whose intercourse with the negro population is, of course, more
restricted.
Crime is also said to have decreased--that is, in offences of the
higher character. We seldom or ever hear of a murder, or arson;
but petty faults, such as small thefts, breaking canes, breaches
of contract, and insolence to their employers, swell at times
into a large amount. Still it must be remembered, such is not a
proof that misdemeanours are more frequent in freedom than they
used to be during slavery. The reason that these minor violations
of the law appear to have increased is, that under the present
system all defaulters are brought before a magistrate, and their
offences thus published in the eyes of the world; whereas, in
days of slavery, their owner was their judge and corrector, the
whip their punishment, and they received their corporeal
chastisement without any notice of the event reaching the ears of
any stranger.
It is true, as I have already remarked more than once, the
negroes are a class of individuals very difficult and tiresome to
deal with; the greatest patience is requisite in order to bear
with their strange and harassing dispositions. It is now ten
years since I first came among them; and although great part of
that time has been spent in England, I have lived long enough in
Antigua to know what negroes are. I have studied their characters
in every point, and well as I would wish to speak of them, truth
obliges me to confess I have found them to be very far from
perfect. Still I glory in emancipation, for I looked upon slavery
as a foul and hideous monster, which ought to be exterminated
from every corner of the world; and consequently, I would not
have the bright star of liberty robbed of one of its rays by any
remarks of mine. I yet hope to see the negroes improved in their
mental, as they already are in their temporal affairs. I trust
that, as years roll round, their ill qualities will be
ameliorated, and their virtues increased; that they, as well as
their employers, may learn and practise that golden maxim, "Bear
and forbear;" and that eventually the Antiguan peasantry may be
held up to the other colonies as bright examples of humble worth,
adorning the sphere of life in which they move.
It is my fervent wish that the negroes may learn properly to
estimate their state as a _free people_, and instead of using
their liberty as a cloak for insolence and impertinence, they may
fulfil the several duties which are required of them with
becoming diligence, and finally meet their reward.
In summing up this chapter upon free labour, it may be deemed
necessary for me to mention some few particulars of the 1st of
August, 1834, that eventful day, when about thirty thousand human
beings were released from the trammels of slavery, and entered
upon a new state of existence as free men!
Before the abolition of slavery, it had been supposed by many of
the inhabitants of Antigua, that the negroes, at such an
important era of their lives--the transition from slavery to
freedom, would be led into great and serious excesses, or, at
least, that they would pass the first days of freedom in dance
and song, in riotous feastings and drunken carousals. But when
the time arrived, far different was the result. Instead of that
day being the scene of wild revelry and disorderly jollity, the
negroes passed it as a "Sabbath of Sabbaths," a solemn feast,
"One bright day of gladness and of rest."
The churches and chapels throughout the island were thronged to
overflowing; and those persons who were unable to procure seats
within the sacred walls, crowded around the open doors and
windows with eager looks of joy. All the shops and stores in the
island were closed--
"The roar of trade had ceased, and on the air
Came holy songs, and solemn sounds of prayer."
From every valley and dingle and from every height came trooping
joyous groups. Old men and women, whose woolly locks were
silvered by the hand of time--young men and maidens--the robust
and the weak--the parent and the child--all rejoicing that the
day had at length come when the iron yoke of slavery was removed
from their shoulders, and they, like their masters, could boast
that they were free!
The 1st of August fell upon a Friday, and after enjoying
themselves upon the following day with their friends, and joining
in the ordinances of God upon the Sabbath, the greater part of
the negroes returned to their agricultural and other employments
on the Monday morning with the utmost decorum and good temper.
Defective as the negro character may be, their behaviour at that
eventful period of their lives must elicit praise from the lips
of all, and prove a lasting theme of gratification to the friends
of liberty.
------
[38] My readers must clearly understand, that in my remarks upon
free labour, I confine myself exclusively to Antigua. In Jamaica,
Trinidad, and some of the other islands, great complaints are
made upon the working of the free system. Many estates are almost
out of cultivation in Jamaica, and serious fears are entertained
for the future prosperity of the island. To enter into any
disquisition respecting where the fault lies in that colony,
comes not within the focus of the present work; but no doubt, if
the cause be minutely and candidly inquired into, it will be
found that blame is to be attached to _both parties_.
[39] It may be necessary to explain what is meant by _strangers_,
as well as the reason they receive higher wages. The average rate
of wages is eightpence sterling, per day,[40] with the additional
privilege of a cottage, a plot of ground in which to plant
provisions, and medical attendance. Some estates which are short
handed, endeavour to procure labourers from other plantations,
and as they have not to provide them with anything but their
actual wages, they are enabled to give these strangers (as they
are termed, to distinguish them from the resident labourers) a
few pence more per day.
[40] Since the late awful earthquake, 8th Feb. 1843, wages have
increased greatly. The sum of 4s. currency, per diem, is now the
usual rate; but some estates have to give from 6s. to 8s.
currency, for the daily work of negroes, when grinding or cutting
canes.
[41] The process of opening the ground for planting the cane.
This is most laborious work; it is performed with a heavy hoe,
and the holes are from three to four feet square, and about a
foot deep.