(Vol. vii., p. 107.)
The occurrence noticed by W. W. is, I believe, the only instance on record
in the West Indies of the _actual_ execution of a gentleman for the murder,
by whipping or otherwise, of a slave. Nor is this strange. In the days of
slavery every owner of slaves was regarded in the light of a gentleman, and
his "right to do what he liked with his own" was seldom called in question
by judges or juries, who were themselves among the principal shareholders.
The case of Hodge was, however, of an aggravated character. For the trivial
offence of stealing a mango, he had caused one of his slaves to be whipped
to death; and this was, perhaps, the least shocking of the repeated acts of
cruelty which he was known to have committed upon the slaves of his estate.
During slavery each colony had its Hodge, and some had more than one. The
most conspicuous character of this kind in St. Lucia was _Jacques O'Neill
de Tyrone_, a gentleman who belonged to an Irish family, originally settled
in Martinique, and who boasted of his descent from one of the ancient kings
of Ireland. This man had long been notorious for his cruelty to his slaves.
At last, on the surrender of the colony to the British in 1803, the
attention of the authorities was awakened; a charge of murder was brought
against him, and he was sentenced to death. From this sentence he appealed
to a higher court; but such was the state of public feeling at the bare
idea of putting a white man to death for any offence against a slave, that
for a long time the members of the court could not be induced to meet; and
when they did meet, it was only to reverse the sentence of the court below.
I have now before me the proceedings of both courts. {504} The sentence of
the inferior court, presided over by an European judge, is based upon the
clearest evidence of O'Neill's having caused two of his slaves to be
murdered in his presence, and their heads cut off and stuck upon poles as a
warning to the others. The sentence of the Court of Appeal, presided over
by a brother planter, and entirely composed of planters, reverses the
sentence, without assigning any reason for its decision, beyond the mere
allegations of the accused party. Such was criminal justice in the days of
slavery!