being resisted by a small body of volunteers, they killed the Custos,
and every white man who opposed them, to the number of twenty-eight,
released all the prisoners and burnt the building. Immediately
afterwards there was a general rising in the district, which spread for
about fifty miles.
Governor Eyre, when he heard the news, at once determined to suppress
the insurrection before it affected the whole island. Martial law was
declared, a body of maroons employed, and within a few days the riots
were suppressed. Many of the negroes were shot as they tried to escape,
others taken and hanged at once, their villages burnt to the ground, and
altogether they received such a lesson as effectually put a stop to
anything of the kind in the future. It was stated that 439 people were
killed and 600 flogged; a thousand houses were burnt and a great deal of
property destroyed by both parties.
The severity of Governor Eyre caused a great outcry in England,
especially among the Baptists. Among those who were executed was Mr.
Gordon, a member of the Assembly, who no doubt fell a victim to the
feeling aroused among the whites. He was charged with being a prime
instigator of the revolt, but it does not appear that he went beyond
what is generally allowed to a political agitator. Such agitation,
however, amongst ignorant people, who are easily excited, is
particularly dangerous, and likely to recoil on the heads of those who
initiate it, who must be prepared to risk the consequences.
Governor Eyre was recalled, and prosecuted without success. He
undoubtedly saved the island, and, although such executions as were
committed can hardly be excused, yet when we consider the alarm and
excitement, we must make some allowances. And, after all, it must be
remembered that the loss of life would probably have been much greater
had not the insurrection been nipped in the bud.
Barbados is unique in several respects, and as may be supposed there is
something remarkable even about her riots. The patriotism of the
inhabitants, both black and white, is proverbial all over the West
Indies. There is no place in the world to equal Barbados--no colony but
what has been conquered by the enemy at some time or other. "Little
England" was said to have offered an asylum to King George the Third
when Buonaparte intended to invade England, and no doubt if such an
offer was ever made it was done in all sincerity. Barbadians are proud
of their constitution, and jealous of its infringement in the slightest
degree. This feeling led to a disturbance in 1876, which was the
nearest approach to an insurrection on that island in late years.
It has often been suggested that a confederation of the British West
Indies would be advantageous in many ways, and in 1876 the Secretary of
State was of opinion that a closer union of Barbados and the other
Windward Islands was desirable. The Governor of all the islands was then
Mr. Pope Hennessy, who had lately been appointed, and who had been
directed to obtain the consent of Barbados to a partial union. The
measures proposed were of little importance, consisting only of the
amalgamation of the prisons, lunatic asylums, and lazarettos, and the
extension of the powers of the Chief Justice, Auditor-General, and the
police force to cover the whole of the islands.
An outsider would suppose that there was nothing offensive in these
changes, but that, on the contrary, they would be beneficial in many
ways, but most of the Barbadians opposed them strongly. Barbados, they
said, was solvent, while some of the islands were on the verge of
bankruptcy--their island should not be taxed to support paupers. They
held meetings at which six points were agreed to, and on which the
leaders harangued crowds throughout the island. These were, first, that
their Court of Appeal would be abolished; second, that all the mad
people from other islands would have to be supported by them; third,
that all the lepers would come there; fourth, that the officials of
other islands would live on them; fifth, that the power would be taken
from the people and given to the Governor; and sixth, that as the House
of Assembly had always been faithful they resented any interference with
it.
The Governor was desirous of carrying his project, and possibly went
farther than was consistent with his instructions, which were to bring
about the arrangement in an amicable manner. He did all he could to
create a party in its favour, and was charged by the other side with
using underhand means to this end. The main point, however, on which he
laid stress, and which seems to have caused the trouble, was the
advantage to the Barbadians of having the other islands so close as to
become virtually like their own parishes, so that the surplus population
would be able to take up lands that were then useless, and lying waste.
Barbados is densely populated. All the lands are occupied, and it is
very difficult to procure even a small lot--this makes the people all
the more eager to get possession of a little freehold. Yet, with all
this, they will not settle in other islands, where they can get a piece
of ground for next to nothing.
Somehow or other the more ignorant people seem to have got the notion
that the Governor was promising them land in Barbados, and this made
them enthusiastic for his project. Something like communism would, they
thought, follow if the Confederation Act were passed, and this was the
reason in their opinion why the other party fought against it. The
planters spoke as if Mr. Hennessy had laid himself open to such a
misunderstanding, and that made them all the more virulent against him.
The anti-Confederation party said that it had always been the pride and
glory of Barbados to have a separate political existence, and if under
their own institutions they had achieved a success which made them the
envy of their neighbours, why should they change? The majority of the
House of Assembly were on their side, and it is difficult to understand
why the Governor pressed the matter in the way he did. The opposition
was no doubt foolish, but still, if the people chose to be silly, he
could not overcome their prejudices. Party feeling ran high, only the
mob shouting for Hennessy and Confederation. Those on one side would
hiss him as he appeared--the others took the horses from his carriage
and drew him along in triumph. It was reported that he never went out
without a guard, and that even his wife lived in continual fear. She had
been threatened with the abduction of her child, and one ruffian went so
far as to pelt the little one as he was driven along the street, for
which he was prosecuted.
At last, on the 18th of April, 1876, when the party feeling had existed
over six weeks, matters came to a crisis. A man went into the yard of
Byde Mill plantation, flourishing a cane-cutter, and bearing a red flag.
He was, he said, a Confederation man, had just come from the Governor,
and wanted some liquor (cane juice). Getting nothing he went out and
brought his brother who bore a sword, and the two quarrelled with the
man in the boiling-house, the one with the sword attempting to stab him.
They defied a constable who came to arrest them, and one blew a shell
which brought a mob of women and children, who went into a field of
sweet-potatoes and began to carry them off. Three mounted police
arrived, but they were pelted with stones, and one who attempted to
arrest the man with the sword got wounded. A magistrate then came and
read the Riot Act, but the mob refused to disperse. As usual there were
grievances, some complained that their pay had been stopped, which the
manager said was because they could not work the mill full time for want
of wind.
Two cane-fields were now set on fire, and the disturbance spread, its
great characteristic being raids upon the potato fields. In several
places live stock were killed, dwellings broken into, and everything
chopped or broken to pieces. A few shots were exchanged, but no one
appears to have been killed, although many got wounds and bruises from
sticks and stones. Everywhere the mob declared they had the authority of
the Governor for what they were doing, and the sufferers from their
depredations charged Mr. Hennessy with delay in putting down the
disturbance. This, however, was probably due to the effect of the
persecution of Governor Eyre, which has made every West Indian Governor
hesitate before going to extremes. However, when the people from the
country districts began to fly to Bridgetown he sent out a few soldiers
who very quickly dispersed the mobs. A sensational telegram to London
stated that five hundred prisoners had been taken, forty people killed
and wounded, rioting was suspended, but their position was threatened,
and that confidence in the Government had entirely gone. This was highly
exaggerated, but a great deal of property was destroyed or injured,
fifty estates pillaged, and probably over fifty persons received more or
less serious blows.
Quite a storm fell upon Hennessy, who on the 26th of April had to issue
a proclamation threatening to direct the law officers to take prompt
measures against those who libelled him, by saying that he had sent
emissaries through the island to mislead the people, and that he
countenanced and abetted the disgraceful and lawless acts of the
marauders.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
XVI.
THE ISTHMUS TRANSIT SCHEMES.
By the second half of the last century the supply of gold and silver
from Peru had much diminished, and the road across the isthmus almost
fell into disuse. In 1780, during the great war, the British appear to
have had some vague notion that it would be good policy to secure the
track across Nicaragua, for which purpose an expedition was fitted out.
Early in that year Nelson sailed from Jamaica with five hundred men, and
after getting a number of Indians from the Mosquito shore and a
reinforcement of British troops, the party made the difficult ascent of
the San Juan river, and captured the fort of the same name. But, through
ignorance, the whole affair proved disastrous--the fort was useless, and
the losses through sickness very great. Of eighteen hundred men only
three hundred and eighty survived, and Nelson himself nearly lost his
life. He was obliged to go home to recruit, and it was only after
spending two or three months at Bath that he recovered to continue that
glorious career which made him so famous.
However, it was not long afterwards that a project for utilising the
isthmus was brought under the consideration of the British Government by
General Miranda, of whom we have spoken in another chapter. He wanted
Pitt to assist him in his projects for the emancipation of the Spanish
colonies, and, as a means to this end, in 1790, proposed that the
British should take possession of Darien, and thus further their
commerce in the Pacific. Nothing was done at that time, and a few years
later Miranda made a second proposition that the United States should
join with Great Britain, and open roads and canals for both nations.
Mr. Pitt seems to have agreed to this, and was only prevented from
attempting to carry it out by the delay of President Adams. The United
States were to furnish ten thousand men, and Great Britain money and
ships. In 1801, under Lord Sidmouth, an expedition was actually set on
foot, only to collapse at the Peace of Amiens. Again, in 1804, Pitt
tried to carry out the project with Miranda, but the condition of Europe
stood in the way of expeditions to the Spanish Main.
[Illustration: ATLANTIC ENTRANCE TO DARIEN CANAL.
(_From Cullen's "Darien Canal."_)]
In enumerating the advantages likely to accrue from the emancipation of
South America, a writer in the _Edinburgh Review_ of January, 1809, laid
great stress upon a passage across the isthmus. It was the most
important to the peaceful intercourse of nations of anything that
presented itself to the enterprise of man. So far from being a romantic
and chimerical project, it was not only practicable, but easy. The river
Chagre, about eighteen leagues westward of Porto Bello, was navigable as
far as Cruzes, within five leagues of Panama. But there was even a
better route; at about five leagues from its mouth the Chagre received
the river Trinidad, which was navigable to Embarcadero, from which
Panama was only distant thirty miles through a level country. The ground
had been surveyed, and not the practicability only, but the facility of
the work _completely ascertained_. Further north was the grand lake of
Nicaragua, which by itself almost extended the navigation from sea to
sea. The Governor of St. John's Castle (Fort San Juan) had been
instructed by the king of Spain to refuse permission to any British
subject desirous of passing up or down this lake, "for if ever the
English came to a knowledge of its importance and value they would soon
make themselves masters of this part of the country."
But not only had the best places for a canal been selected at this early
time, but the many advantages to be derived from its construction had
been well considered. The same writer went on to say that from this
splendid and not difficult enterprise, not merely the commerce of the
western shores of America would be brought, as it were, to their doors,
but that of the South Sea whalers, who would be saved the tedious and
dangerous voyage round Cape Horn. Then the whole of the vast interests
of Asia would increase in value to a degree that was then difficult to
conceive, by having a direct route across the Pacific. It would be as
if, by some great revolution of the globe, they were brought nearer.
Immense would be the traffic which immediately would begin to cover the
ocean--all the riches of India and China moving towards America. Then
also the commodities of Europe and America would be carried towards
Asia. As a result of this, vast depots would be formed at the two
extremities of the canal, to soon develop into great commercial cities.
Never before had such an opportunity been offered to a nation as Great
Britain had then before her, owing to a wonderful combination of
circumstances.
Mr. Robinson, a United States merchant, in 1821, said that the most
ardent imagination would fail in an attempt to portray all the
important and beneficial consequences of such a work, the magnitude and
grandeur of which were worthy the profound attention of every commercial
nation. The powers of the old and new world should discard all selfish
considerations, and unite to execute it on a magnificent scale, so that
when completed it might become, like the ocean, a highway of nations,
the enjoyment of which should be guaranteed by all, and be exempt from
the caprice or regulation of any one kingdom or state.
Such were the views promulgated at the beginning of this century, but
nothing was done until about 1850, when the pressure of circumstances
again brought the isthmus into note.
Darien and Panama are in the Republic of New Granada, but north of these
come the small states of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, San Salvador,
and Guatemala. All of these are inhabited by true Americans--native
races who have to a considerable extent absorbed the slight admixture of
European blood introduced by their conquerors. Some places are so
inaccessible as to be virtually outside the pale of civilisation. The
roads are nothing but mule tracks, full of quagmires where the animals
have to wade up to their girths in mud--in fact, little better than the
paths so well described by Lionel Wafer. The rivers are numerous, and,
on account of the heavy rainfall, their currents are very strong, and
all the more dangerous from the numerous sandbanks and rapids which
obstruct their course. Since the states gained their independence they
have passed through so many changes of government that at the beginning
hardly a month passed without a revolution in one or the other. This
went on until 1848 without interference from outside, but with the
discovery of gold in California came an invasion of ruffians of all
nations.
The old freebooters almost seemed to have come to life again. Hardy
adventurers from all parts of the world rushed off to the new "El
Dorado," woke the sleepy Nicaraguans on the San Juan river, and roused
the people of Chagres. Over the isthmus of Panama or through the
Nicaragua lake they flocked by thousands, necessitating the
establishment of Transit Companies to provide them with mules, boats,
and steamers. The easiest, although longest, route was through
Nicaragua, which was controlled by the Vanderbilt Company, and during
the time the "rush" lasted they took over two or three thousand per
month. The Company had steamers on the lake to meet the throng of
diggers as they arrived, and they passed through at regular intervals
like a tide. The overland part of the route presented a strange
spectacle, with their pack mules and horses. Men of all nationalities,
armed with pistols and knives, which they were prepared to use on the
Greasers (natives) at the slightest provocation, put these altogether in
the background. A traveller has spoken of them as a string of romantic
figures that could not be matched in any other part of the world. Some
glowed with fervent passion, as if on fire, others were hard, cold, and
rugged as the rocky passes they traversed, while a few were worn, old,
and decaying, under the effects of the hardships and reverses of their
stormy existence. Every line in their faces had a meaning, if it could
only have been interpreted, telling of sin and suffering--of adventures
more terrible than were ever portrayed by the pen of the romantic
writer, and of experiences as fascinating as they had been dangerous.
Among the results of this rush through Nicaragua was the expedition of
William Walker, the great filibuster of this century. With fifty-five
men he went forth from California to conquer Central America, and in the
end nearly succeeded. He got himself elected President of Nicaragua, but
ultimately raised such a storm that he was brought to bay by some forces
from Honduras and Costa Rica, and had to surrender to the captain of a
British man-of-war, by whom he was handed over to his enemies to be
shot.
With this wonderful traffic across the isthmus arose the old canal
schemes, as well as a new one for a railway. Easy and rapid transit must
be obtained in some way or other, and this time being in the age of
steam, it naturally followed that the project for a railway gained
immediate support. It was commenced in 1850, at which time the terminus
on the Gulf side was settled, and the foundations of the new town of
Aspinwall or Colon laid a few miles east of Chagres. The difficulties
were enormous, on account of the marshy ground and the number of rivers
to be crossed. The wooden bridges were almost immediately attacked by
wood ants, floods carried away the timbers, but more distressing than
all was the loss of life through sickness. Chinese labourers were
imported in great numbers, only to fall victims to the same deadly
climate which had given Porto Bello and the isthmus generally their evil
reputation. However, the railway was completed in 1864, at the enormous
cost of $7,500,000, although its length is only 47-1/2 miles. Thus one
part of the great project was carried out, and a good road provided for
passengers and light goods, the annual value of which latter is now
about L15,000,000.
But those in favour of a canal were not sleeping all this time. The old
routes were again mooted, that through Lake Nicaragua being put down at
194 miles in length, while the other, since known as the Panama, was
only 51. Dr. Edward Cullen, however, in 1850 went out and made some
surveys, with the result that he advocated the old Darien line as the
shortest and most practicable. He would start from the same Port de
Escoces that witnessed the downfall of William Paterson's scheme, and
which he said was a most commodious harbour for the terminus of a canal.
The isthmus was here only 39 miles across, and free from many of the
difficulties which beset the other routes.
As a result of Dr. Cullen's reports, in 1852 it was proposed to
establish "The Atlantic and Pacific Junction Company," with a capital of
fifteen millions sterling. The prospectus stated that the period had
arrived when the spread of commerce and the flow of emigration to the
western shores of America, Australasia, and China, demanded a passage
more direct than those by way of the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.
Various projects had been formed for uniting the two oceans, but all
these were open to the objection that they fell short of supplying a
continuous channel from sea to sea, for vessels of all dimensions, by
which alone transhipment could be obviated. Sir Charles Fox, Mr. John
Henderson, Mr. Thomas Brassey, and Dr. Cullen had received a concession
of territory from New Ganada to the extent of 200,000 acres, on
condition that a deposit of L24,000 be made within twelve months. It was
believed that the work could be completed for twelve millions.
The _Times_ spoke disparagingly of the new Company, and this probably
prevented its acceptance by the financial world. The line, it said, had
not been actually surveyed, but only superficially examined, and, after
all, if it were finished, it could only come into competition with the
Nicaragua Canal, every foot of which had been the subject of precise
estimates, and which would only cost _four millions_. Several letters
from the projectors and supporters of the Company followed, with other
leaders, the result being that the Darien Canal never went beyond a
project. Presently also the rush for California abated, and the railway
met the wants of the passengers; all the canal schemes were therefore
again shelved for a time.
Then came an almost Utopian project for a ship railway, the cars of
which would run down into the water, take up the largest vessel, and
carry it over without trouble or difficulty. This met with little
encouragement, and was soon dropped.
In 1879 Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had achieved such a glorious success
with the Suez Canal, took up the matter of a canal between the two
oceans, and summoned a congress of savants, engineers and seamen, to
inquire into and discuss the questions of its possibility, and of the
most suitable place for its excavation. A number of projects were
considered, among them that of Dr. Cullen, brought forward by M. de
Puydt, which, however, did not receive much attention, as there was a
difference of opinion as to the reliability of the figures.
The schemes were ultimately reduced to two--those for the Nicaragua and
Panama routes. The position of the great lake caused the former to be
thoroughly discussed; but there were several almost insurmountable
difficulties in the way of its adoption. To clear the San Juan river,
and make it into a great canal, would entail great labour and expense,
and then seven or eight locks would be required. On the Pacific side
locks would also be required for the Rivas, while the harbours of
Greytown on the Gulf side, and Brito on the Pacific, were quite unsuited
as termini for a canal. The total length would be 182-1/2 miles, and the
time occupied in the passage four and a half days. There was also
another great draw-back: Nicaragua was and is subject to earthquakes,
which would be likely at times to interfere greatly with such heavy
works as were required. It followed, therefore, that notwithstanding the
powerful support of the Americans, this line was abandoned in favour of
that from Port Simon to Panama, not far from the railway.
Two French officers, MM. Wyse and Reclus, had explored the country, and
proposed to carry the canal through the Chagres river, and thence, by
means of a great tunnel, into the valley of the Rio Grande; but, on
consideration, the tunnel was abandoned in favour of a deep cutting,
which would not exceed 290 feet. The great objection to this was the
floods of the Chagres river, which sometimes rose twenty-five feet in a
single night; but this was got over by arranging for a separate bed for
the canal. There were a few other difficulties, but propositions were
made to obviate them; and at last the sub-commission reported that "the
Panama Canal on the level technically presents itself under the most
satisfactory conditions, and ensures every facility, as it gives every
security, for the transit of vessels from one sea to another."