Commons.—Smith also, who visited the coast in the service of the
African Company in 1726, says “The Natives who came off to trade with
us were mighty timorous of coming aboard, for fear of being panyard.”
Footnote 6:
Vide Nyendael and Artus of Dantzic, in De Bry’s India Orientalis,
&c.—Bosman,—Barbot.
Footnote 7:
Moore, many years factor to the African Company, about 1730, says,
‘Since this trade has been used, all punishments are changed into
slavery, there being an advantage in such condemnations. They strain
for crimes very hard, in order to get the benefit of selling the
criminal. Not only murder, theft, and adultery, but every trifling
crime is punished by selling the criminal for a Slave.’
Footnote 8:
Vide Smith’s Voyage to Guinea, p. 266.
Footnote 9:
Surely Mr. Parke, when he suggested this, forgot that experience as
well as reason teach us, that we must first abolish the Slave Trade
before we attempt to diffuse among the Africans the lessons of peace
and love; lest we are asked the same well-known question, and receive
the same reply, as the Spanish priest from the poor dying Peruvian,
when the Spaniards in America were acting on the plan which is here
advised, of at once ravaging and converting: “Are there to be any
Europeans in this Heaven, where you wish me to secure a place?” Being
told yes, “Then it is no place for Peruvians.”
Footnote 10:
This is the more astonishing, because it is mentioned by the older
writers as well as by more recent travellers, as Captain Sir G. Young
and Sir T. B. Thompson, as a term of which the meaning is clear, and
the use perfectly familiar. Thus, as a single instance, Smith, after
saying “the natives were afraid of being panyard,” (p. 104.) subjoins
the meaning in a note,—“To panyar is to kidnap or steal men. It is a
word used all over the Coast of Guinea.”
Footnote 11:
The account given of this Slave trade by an almost contemporary
historian, will be found in the Appendix.
Footnote 12:
Atkins was a surgeon in the Royal Navy, who visited all the British
Settlements in Africa, with the Swallow and Weymouth men of war, in
1721; and whose account is the more to be credited, from his being a
disinterested witness, whose testimony also was given before the
justice or humanity of the Slave Trade had been called in question.
Footnote 13:
See Parke, p. 26. 290. 356.—So Lieutenant Matthews (an Opponents’
witness, Privy Council Report p. 27.) says, “The Slaves that are
purchased before the rainy season commences are employed upon their
plantations, and are sold to the Europeans, and sometimes among
themselves, from one master to another, after the rice is planted.”
Footnote 14:
Vide Report of the Committee of the House of Assembly of Jamaica, in
the Privy Council Report.—Vide also Long’s History of Jamaica.
Footnote 15:
Vide evidence of Mr. Newton, Mr. Claxton, and others.
Footnote 16:
I cannot vouch for the following fact, but it was related at the time
with every appearance of authenticity. A few years ago the male
convicts suffered very severely during their passage to New South
Wales, and if I mistake not, for I speak from memory, several of them
at length died from the hardships which they endured. On inquiring
into the cause, it was stated to be, that the person whose province it
was to provide necessaries for the voyage, had, by mistake, purchased
such fetters as were used on board Slave ships, instead of the common
fetters for convicts.
Footnote 17:
Vide evidence taken before the House of Commons.
Footnote 18:
Vide the late Publication of a professional Planter.
Footnote 19:
Vide Practical Rules for the Management of Negro Slaves, by a
professional Planter. “New Negroes says he, court the warmest
situations they can find, nothing less intense than actual fire being
too hot for them. Hence we see that when they turn out in the morning,
even in the low lands in the West Indies, they embrace their bodies
closely with their wrappers to defend them from the cold.”
Footnote 20:
Vide the evidence of —— Botham, Esq. in the Minutes of Evidence taken
before the Privy Council.
Footnote 21:
Vide Hume’s Essays, vol. i. page 407. Edinb. 1777. Cadell.
Footnote 22:
The professional Planter’s own words well deserve to be inserted: “For
I aver it boldly, melancholy experience having given me occasion to
make the remark, that a great number of Negroes have perished annually
by diseases produced by inanition. To be convinced of this truth, let
us trace the effect of that system, which assigned, for a Negro’s
weekly allowance, six or seven pints of flour, or grain, with as many
salt herrings; and it is in vain to conceal what we all know to be
true, that in many of the islands they did not give more. With so
scanty a pittance, It is indeed possible for the soul and body to be
held together a considerable portion of time, provided a man’s only
business be to live, and his spirits be husbanded with a frugal hand;
but if motion short of labour, much more labour itself, and that too
intense, be exacted from him, how is the body to support
itself.”—“Their attempts to wield the hoe prove abortive, they shrink
from their toil, and, being urged to perseverance by stripes, you are
soon obliged to receive them into the hospital, whence, unless your
plan be speedily corrected, they depart but to the grave. It may
possibly be urged in palliation of this practice, that in cases of
such short allowance as I have mentioned above, Negroes do not depend
upon that solely for their subsistence, but that they derive
considerable aid from little vacant spots on the estate, which they
are allowed to cultivate on their own account. Though frequently
otherwise, this may sometimes be the case; yet even there it is to be
observed, that such spots, in the low-land plantations, are capable of
producing only for a part of the year, either through the drought of
the season or the sterility of the soil, and when that happens, the
Negro is again at his short allowance; and having no honest means of
eking it out, to make it square with the demands of nature, he is
compelled to pilfer.”—The writer goes on to state, that the
delinquent, extending his thefts, is detected and apprehended, is
severely whipped and chained, and confined; but as neither chains nor
stripes, nor confinement, can extinguish hunger, he returns, when
released, to the same practices, till, partly from the discipline,
partly from scanty nourishment, and colds from exposure during his
desertion, he, ten to one, falls into a distempered habit, which soon
hurries him out of the world. The close is very remarkable, “Now this
was set down as a vicious incorrigible subject, and his death is
deemed a beneficial release to the estate.”
Footnote 23:
Vide Privy Council Report—head, Antigua and Barbados—and some
following articles.
Footnote 24:
Vide Captain Wilson’s evidence.
Footnote 25:
Vide a late publication on the beneficial effects of Christianity, by
the venerable Bishop of London, a prelate in whom, whether in the
closet, the pulpit, or the senate, the poor and the oppressed have
ever found a zealous, and eloquent advocate.
Footnote 26:
“_Are they Slaves?_ No, they are men; they are comrades; they are
humble friends. Are they Slaves? Nay, rather fellow servants; if you
reflect on the equal power of fortune over both you and them.”
“Were you to consider, that he, whom you call your Slave, is sprung
from the same origin, enjoys the same climate, breathes the same air,
and is subject to the same condition of life and death, you might as
well think it possible for you to see _him_ a Gentleman, as he to see
_you_ a Slave. In the fall of Varus, how many born of the most
splendid parentage, and not unjustly expecting, for their exploits in
war, a senatorial degree, hath fortune cast down! She hath made of one
a shepherd, of another a cottager. And can you now despise the man,
whose fortune is such, into which, while you despise it, you may
chance to fall?”—Seneca, Epistle 47, p. 158.
Footnote 27:
Edwards’s History of the West Indies, 4to. vol. ii. page 124.
Footnote 28:
Dr. Pinckard’s Notes on the West Indies, printed for Longman. It
ought, perhaps, in fairness to be mentioned, that the Author appears
originally to have had no prejudices against the West Indian system.
Footnote 29:
Even before Mr. Long wrote, between thirty and forty years ago, this
was a great evil. “And it is inconceivable,” says Mr. Long, “what
numbers have perished in consequence of the law for recovery of debts,
which permits Negroes to be levied on and sold at vendue. By this
means they are frequently torn from their native spot, their dearest
connections, and transferred into a situation unadapted to their
health, labouring under discontent, which co-operates with change of
place and circumstance to shorten their lives.” Long’s Jamaica, vol.
ii. p. 435.
Footnote 30:
But a nearer, and more particular view of the manner of working may be
necessary to those who have never seen a gang of Negroes at their
work:
“When employed in the labour of the field, as for example, in _holeing
a cane piece_, i. e. in turning up the ground with hoes into parallel
trenches, for the reception of the cane plants, the Slaves of both
sexes, from twenty perhaps to four score in number, are drawn out in a
line, like troops on a parade, each with a hoe in his hand; and close
to them in the rear is stationed a driver, or several drivers, in
numbers duly proportioned to that of the gang. Each of these drivers,
who are always the most active and vigorous Negroes on the estate, has
in his hand, or coiled round his neck, from which by extending the
handle it can be disengaged in a moment, a long, thick, and strongly
platted whip, called a _cart-whip_, the report of which is as loud,
and the lash as severe, as those of the whips in common use with our
waggoners, and which he has authority to apply, at the instant when
his eye perceives an occasion, without any previous warning. Thus
disposed, their work begins, and continues without interruption for a
certain number of hours, during which, at the peril of the drivers, an
adequate portion of land must be holed.
“As the trenches (continues our Author) are generally rectilinear, and
the whole line of holers advance together, it is necessary that every
hole or section of the trench should be finished in equal time with
the rest; and if any one or more Negroes were allowed to throw in the
hoe with less rapidity or energy than their companions in other parts
of the line, it is obvious that the work of the latter must be
suspended; or else, such part of the trench as is passed over by the
former, will be more imperfectly formed than the rest. It is therefore
the business of the drivers not only to urge forward the whole gang
with sufficient speed, but sedulously to watch that all in the line,
whether male or female, old or young, strong or feeble, work as nearly
as possible in equal time, and with equal effect. The tardy stroke
must be quickened, and the languid invigorated, and the whole line
made to _dress_, in the military phrase, as it advances. No breathing
time, no resting on the hoe, no pause of languor, to be repaid by
brisker exertion on return to work, can be allowed to individuals: all
artist work, or pause together.”
Footnote 31:
Vide Evidence taken before the Committee of the House of Commons.
Footnote 32:
Dr. Pinckard’s late publication adds some painful instances of this
sort to others contained in the evidence of very respectable men.
Footnote 33:
Vide House of Commons papers.
Footnote 34:
The very words which I am now writing suggest to my mind another
possible explanation of the conduct of the Assembly of Barbadoes.
Possibly the majority, in rejecting the Governor’s proposition, acted
not so much from their own judgment and feelings, as from deference to
those of the bulk of the community. Considering that, as is stated
above, it must be regarded as a part of their duty to set the tone of
public judgment and feelings, this would not be a very creditable
plea; nor have I found any hint of it in the papers laid before the
House of Commons; but, on the contrary, an expression of resentment
against the Governor, with an intimation of the danger of interfering
between Master and Slave. But as the idea in question has occurred to
me, I think I should scarcely be acting candidly in suppressing it.
Footnote 35:
Long’s History of Jamaica, vol. ii. page 406.
Footnote 36:
The passage to which I allude, contains such important truths, and
bears so strongly on the point now under discussion, that I shall take
the liberty of inserting a large part of it. I should place it in the
Appendix, but that, for various reasons, I wish not to introduce in
the Appendix any article respecting the West Indian branch of the
subject.
“To superior morality I lay no claim; but I understood my interest,
and happily, interest and morality were not in that case, as in many
others, at variance. I lost very few Negroes in comparison with other
gentlemen, even of such as were purchased out of Guinea yards, and
surprisingly few of the infants born on the estate.
“It may be urged, as an objection to this system of management, that
the expence attending it would be too great to be defrayed with such a
portion of the produce of the estate as it is consistent with prudence
to apply to that object alone. That the expences of estates will be
considerably larger than at present I admit, because it is proposed
that the Negroes should be fed and clothed more liberally than they
now are, and be more indulged during their indisposition; whence an
excess of expence, and an apparent decrease of income: But let it be
remembered at the same time, that an expenditure, when judiciously
applied, is not a waste, but the investment of a capital with a view
to productive return. It will be found so in this case; for, when
Negroes are so treated, there will be fewer sick than in the common
mode of management, and they will certainly be enabled to make much
more vigorous efforts when engaged at their labour; for they will be
more robust of body, more alert and contented in mind, so that,
performing more work, the gross income of the estate, far from being
reduced, will necessarily experience a considerable increase. But not
only the gross income will be greater, but it may be presumed that
fewer Negroes will die, and that more will be born, so as to afford a
reasonable hope that your number may be kept entire without any
foreign recruits; whence a saving in itself, probably equivalent to
the extraordinaries incurred by the proposed melioration of their
treatment; and the balance at the end of the year, so far from being
against the planter, will probably be in his favour. Were it, however,
otherwise, who would not submit to a small pecuniary loss, for the
inappreciable advantage resulting from a mind contented with itself,
and conscious of no neglect of duty? As to those who are unfortunately
in such a situation, with respect to incumbrance and credit, as to be
disabled from supplying their Negroes as they ought, it behoves them
to consider whether by the utmost their undue savings can effect, they
can possibly be retrieved from their embarrassments, and if they can,
they ought seriously to ponder on the consequence by which their
relief is to be obtained; that it must be by the blood of their own
species—a horrid thought; and if they cannot, how much better would it
be for them to surrender at once their property to their creditors,
and to repose in the humble, though exquisite enjoyment of ease of
mind, and a fair name, and to trust to recommendations for a future
subsistence, which, in the West Indies, is never denied to the
industrious, while it is frequently conferred on the undeserving.”
Footnote 37:
Vide Privy Council Report, Part III. Jamaica, A. N^o. 5.
Footnote 38:
Edwards’s History of the West Indies, vol. ii. p. 20.
Footnote 39:
Edwards’s History of the West Indies, vol. ii. p. 18.
Footnote 40:
It is a mistake however to suppose, that, from any natural or moral
infirmity, the Negroes are not as willing as the people of other
countries to perform ordinary out-of-doors work for hire, as free
labourers. This was decisively proved both in the Sierra Leone and
Bulam Colonies. Vide Sierra Leone Company’s Report; and Beaver’s
African Memoranda. This fact, through inadvertency, was not inserted
in its proper place; but it ought not to be left unnoticed, because
several authors have confidently stated the contrary as an undoubted
fact. Their works were in general, I believe, written before the
publication of the intelligence from Sierra Leone and Bulam.
Footnote 41:
Vide Privy Council Report, Nov. 12th 1788; 2d Report of the House of
Assembly of Jamaica.
Footnote 42:
Institute schools for their children.
Footnote 43:
Why should not a right of giving evidence, with perhaps some other
civil distinctions, be granted to any Slaves who have lived creditably
in the marriage state, for three or five years. They might think
little of these distinctions at first; but accompany them with some
outward mark, and they will produce their effect. No distinctions are
more impressive, than those which are arbitrary, and the essential
nature of which is little understood.
Footnote 44:
See the publication of Mr. Canes, a most experienced and benevolent
West Indian proprietor.
Footnote 45:
Vide Report of the Committee of the House of Assembly of Jamaica, in
the Papers presented to the House of Commons.
Footnote 46:
See evidence taken before the House of Commons.
Footnote 47:
This is fully confirmed by the Assembly of Jamaica. See Privy Council
Report.
Footnote 48:
These expectations have been just now confirmed by the welcome
tidings, that, on the recommendation of the President of the United
States, Congress are passing an act for abolishing the Slave Trade on
January 1st 1808.
Footnote 49:
Vol. ii. p. 442–3.
Footnote 50:
Ibid. p. 444.
Footnote 51:
Vol. ii. p. 442.
Footnote 52:
Nothing can shew more clearly the degree of this security, than that
the Jamaica newspapers have been allowed to print, not only the
detailed account of all our parliamentary debates about the abolition
of the Slave Trade, but even the particulars of the St. Domingo
transactions.—Surely the West Indian Petitioners to the House of Lords
were ignorant of these facts, or rather perhaps they thought the
Abolitionists were ignorant of them, when the mere discussion of the
question here was stated to be so alarming.
Footnote 53:
See Dr. Pinckard’s late work; Notes on the West Indies.
Footnote 54:
The petition of the Assembly of Jamaica, in 1775, plainly recognizes
the source of danger here alluded to. “Weak and feeble (says the
Assembly) as this colony is, from its very small number of white
inhabitants, and its peculiar situation, from the incumbrance of more
than 200,000 Slaves,” &c. &c.
Footnote 55:
For the illustration of this part of the subject, and of many other
topics which I have slightly touched, I must refer my readers to Mr.
Brougham’s Colonial Policy; a work from some parts of which I must
express my decided dissent, but which contains a most valuable fund of
commercial and financial, political and moral facts, and suggestions
on all the various subjects connected with colonial interests and
affairs.
Footnote 56:
See Mr. Parke’s account of his journey to the coast from the interior.
Footnote 57:
Let it be considered what immense numbers of Negroes have of late
years been removed from our older islands to Trinidad, or to Guiana.
Footnote 58:
Compare this with Captain Hill’s and Wilson’s, and especially with Mr.
Wadstrom’s evidence.
Footnote 59:
Compare this with Mr. Howe’s evidence.
Footnote 60:
Compare this with the absolute denial of such practices, or of any
term for them, by Opponents’ witnesses.
Footnote 61:
Page 42.
Footnote 62:
Vol. ii. 237. English translation by Blagdon.
Footnote 63:
Vol. ii. 340–1.
Footnote 64:
House of Commons Evidence, p. 4, 5.
Footnote 65:
Ditto, p. 81–2.
Footnote 66:
House of Commons Evidence, p. 40.
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. P. 1, added a missing chapter title "INTRODUCTION."
2. P. 135, changed “Never was scene more distressful” to “Never was the
scene more distressful”.
3. P. 319, changed “cruelty, a contrary” to “cruelty, as contrary”.
4. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
5. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.
6. Footnotes were re-indexed using numbers and collected together at
the end of the last chapter.
7. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
8. Superscripts are denoted by a caret before a single superscript
character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in
curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.