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the Weft-Indies, for men by the feverity of their punishments to deprive themselves of their property, or even of the labour of their flaves, is too abfurd for people, even in this abfurd age, to credit. Ten, twenty, or even thirty lashes, is in general the punishment of negroes for ftealing pigs, poultry, lands, or Theep, or for desertion: repeated acts of delinquency, may occafion these punishments to be doubled, but all thefe flagellations are inflicted with fo much care, as rarely to disable the offender from work; and the part leaft fufceptible of a dangerous wound, is that to which the whip is applied; nor is there ever occafion to have a furgeon ftand by, to give his opinion (as in the case of the foldier when punished at the halbert) that the criminal can support no greater degree of torment and live! Repeated defertions, fheep-ftealing, houfe-breaking, &c. induce the masters or overseers to chain two or three of them together, and make them, in that fituation, do their duty in the day time, and confine them at night, and on Sundays: these are the fevereft punishments for offences, confidered as meriting death in England, and in almost every nation in Europe. *

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* As a proof of the lenity with which Negroes are now punished in the Weft-Indies, I beg leave to relate what happened a short time fince in this island:

Three negroes contrived to break open the King's Stores, wherein were depofited goods to a large amount, which had been condemned in a Court of Vice Admiralty for having been fmuggled. They carried off a confiderable quantity of their goods undetected; in a fhort time after they repeated their crime, with equal fuccefs, and the goods carried away were of fome hundred pounds value. They were at length discovered in difpofing of their goods, tried, and convicted. The ringleader was condemned by the Magiftrates and Freeholders

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That the foregoing is a true and faithful expofition of facts, I appeal to the teftimony of the officers of rank and character, who have ferved in the Weft-Indies, either in the army or navy; and I hope what I have faid in the foregoing fheets, will remove the bad. impreffions made by the affertions of people, who ought to reflect, that those whose good name they have endeavoured to take away, can say to them, Are we not men?-Are we not your brethren?

To the fame teftimony I appeal (for they must often have obferved it) for an account of the confidence and freedom with which the negroes approach their masters, and apply to them to relieve their little wants, or for fuch favours as they ftand in need of; their applications have more the appearance of thofe of a relation to his parent and protector, than of a flave prostrating himself before his tyrant. Particular inftances of kind treatment, which flaves have received from their mafters, and numberlefs accounts of the ftrong attach

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Freeholders who tried him, to receive thirty-nine lashes on the public parade, in the town of Kingston, and be banished the island, in consequence of which, his owner fent him off to the Bay of Honduras, and fold him there; and the other two received the fame number of lashes, and were restored to their owners. Thus, though the laws in the Weft-Indies appear fanguinary, from death being made the penalty of many crimes, yet, as the Judges have generally the power of mitigating the punishment from the law, adding, after the word death, the words," or fuch other punishment as the Court fhall approve ;" and as the execution of almost all capital fentences, except in Jamaica, in fome inftances, are fufpended until they receive the approbation of the Governor or Commander in Chief, I may venture to affirm, there are fewer capital punishments in feven years in the Weft-Indies, than are inflicted in one feffion at the Old Bailey.

ment which they have manifefted for them and their families, even to the facrifice of their lives, would furely be fair and fufficient answers to particular inftances of cruelty or oppreffion; but we can go further: -although many of the islands were attacked and taken, and the whole menaced in the late war, and left in fo unprotected a state, that the inhabitants of many of them were often in great diftress for a fufficiency of provifions, and other neceffaries, for their negroes, we challenge our adverfaries to thew a fingle inftance, where these poor, miserable, oppreffed flaves, manifested the smallest inclination to change their masters. The only two islands, indeed, where the refiftance made was such as gave the negroes an opportunity of acting without restraint, were St. Kitt's and Tobago. Their fidelity to their masters in both, and the zeal and intrepid courage with which fuch of them as had arms behaved, in defence of the islands, and of their own property, deserve the highest praise. Perhaps the reader may smile at my mentioning their own property; but, whatever gentlemen in England may think, the negroes in all the British sugar colonies, have a property, a peculium, well worth defending.

In Tobago, the French were fo alarmed at the marked fidelity the negroes fhewed to their masters, that they published a declaration, they would hang all the negroes they found in arms. Yet the negroes were not in the least intimidated thereby, but were anxious to march against the enemy, wherever their mafters would lead them; and after the furrender of the island, Lieut. Colonel Fitzmaurice, of Welch's brigade, an officer of great merit and reputation, declared that he could not have conceived fuch an attachment could

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have fubfifted between flaves and their mafters, as he had experienced upon that occafion; for that although he had, for several days together, after the landing of the troops, offered an handful of gold to any negro who would fhew him the roads through the country, no one could be found who would undertake to be their guide. I doubt much if such an inftance of fidelity to their lords would be often met with amongst the peafants in any part of Europe. Much is faid of the mifery which the Slave Trade occafions in the country. Although I know very little of the nature of the trade upon the coaft of Africa, I much doubt the truth of the observation, as there are very strong reasons to believe the contrary, fome of which I fhall mention hereafter; but I cannot help remarking, that the fame unfair mode is pursued to decry that commerce, by the writer of the letters on the Slave Trade, published in the newspapers, as in the accufation against the planter. Stories are picked up of matters faid to have happened seventy years ago, refpecting the conduct, not of English traders, but of Meffrs. Brue, Adanson, and Bofman, Frenchmen-Papers, faid to be journals of furgeons of Guinea fhips, as long fince as 1724, the credit of whofe pretended authors, or even their exiftence, are equally problematical. Indeed, I fancy, few fober men will believe the tale of the battle between two negro princes, for the purpose of procuring flaves, in which 4,500 men fell, and that this furgeon of a Guinea fhip was on the field of battle, and faw the dead bodies. I am equally ignorant of the manner in which flaves are treated, or the difcipline on board the fhips in which which they are brought to the West Indies; but it is natural to suppose, both merchant and mariner take all poffible care of the health and condition of them,

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during their paffage. If, however, the avarice of the traders should so far blind them to their own intereft, as to make them crowd too many negroes together in one ship, fuch conduct may, with great propriety, be reftrained by proper regulations, without injuring, or abolishing the trade itself.

That in the fale of negroes to the Europeans, frauds, or improper conduct may have been committed by the natives towards each other; that there have been masters of ships who have carried off free people, whom they have inveigled on board, and committed other acts of injuftice, violence, or depravity, I do not doubt; yet I will not believe, without good evidence, that fuch actions are common. The knowledge every man has of human nature will teach him, that very enormous crimes are daily committed in fociety; but, if they became general and unreftrained, fociety could not exift. It is the bufinefs of legiflation to prevent crimes, or, where they cannot be prevented, to punish them. Sure I am, both the merchant and planter would be happy to know, that fuch crimes as above were prevented,, or, if committed, moft exemplarly punished.

I should here be inclined to fpare both my reader and myself further trouble; but, as I have promised to do myself the honour of paying my compliments, particularly, to the Rev. Dr. Robert Bouchier Nichols, Dean of Middleham, I cannot think of breaking my word.

Your being, Reverend Sir, a dignified clergyman of the church of England, and a native of the West Indies,

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