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Nothing will, at any time, reftrain them from pursuing their amours, or their amufements: Dancing they are paffionately fond of; and they will travel several miles, after their daily labour is over, to a dance; and after dancing the greatest part of the night, they will return to their owners plantations, and be in the field at the usual hour of labour. They regard neither rains nor bad roads, which are common at that time of the year. Every perfon who knows the nature of the West India climate, the violent exercife of negro dancing, and the repofe which nature requires after fatigue, will cease to wonder that fuch nocturnal excurfions, in bad weather, fhould occafion a ftoppage of perspiration, and bring on dyfenteries and other fatal diforders. Would it not be more reasonable and candid to impute those maladies to fuch irregularities, rather than to the negroes "never tafting milk and fresh meat," even if they really were entirely deprived of those enjoyments? But, I boldly affirm, the fact is otherwife.

It is inconceivable to me that any gentleman fhould have refided in Barbadoes, though but for a very short time, and be ignorant of what is fo extremely notorious, That, in none of the other colonies have the negroes nearly the fame abundance of poultry, fuch numbers of goats, kids, and hogs, as thofe in Barbadoes; nor do they, any where, make such expensive feafts, particularly at funerals, and at the ceremony of throwing water, as they call it, on the graves of their friends and relations. At fome of thefe entertainments,

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Every Officer of the Navy and Army, who were in the West Indies during the laft war, know, that the Fleet and Army were fupplied with poultry, fheep, &c. from that ifland, at most reasonable rates.

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there are more turkeys, capons, Guinea fowls, &c. than would fuffice at a parifh feaft; nor are hams, tongues, and fish of different kinds, wanting to increase the good cheer; plenty of rum at least, and not unfrequently wine and porter, abound at these meetings.

Although I am willing to allow the Dean of Middleham may have forgotten the manner in which negroes affemble themfelves together in Barbadoes, and the frequency of their entertainments, and has not therefore in this inftance willingly or knowingly exaggerated facts, or given falfe information, yet, I cannot be fo indulgent to him, in commenting upon the remaining part of the paragraph of this letter, where he describes the diet of the negroes. The marks of exaggeration are fo ftrong, and fo evident, that it is impoffible they fhould efcape the observation of any person whose imagination is not heated and prepoffeffed by the accounts which have been circulated of the inhuman and savage treatment the negroes receive in the Weft Indies.

"Their food," the Dean fays, "confifts of maize, vegetables, and either a little rancid falt-fifh, or, rarely, a fmall portion of falt beef, or falt pork, from Ireland, that is of the worst quality the market affords." Can any perfon read this account and not remark that it is exaggerated in a malevolent degree? To fay nothing of the low price of flying fish at Barbadoes (which are often caught in fuch abundance, as not only to be within the compass of the abilities of the negroes to purchase, but even the poor white people can afford to eat them,) fuppofing they had nothing to eat with their vegetables, but falt fish, why must that falt fish be

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rancid? It is notorious that many veffels go yearly from Barbadoes to Newfoundland for fifh. As foon as they get their lading they return; and, as foon as they do return, they unload and fell their cargoes.

It cannot be prefumed the fhips ftay at Newfoundland until the fish grow rancid, before they purchase their cargoes, even if they catch none of it themselves; neither will any perfon readily believe, that the merchant will keep his fish to grow rancid, before he fells it to the planter; or that the planter, when he has bought it, will keep it until it is spoiled before he gives it to his negroes. It is equally contrary to fact, to say the Irish provifions given to the negroes, are of the worft quality the market affords. I must beg leave to afk the Dean of Middleham, whether he means the Irish, or the Barbadoes market? If the former, there is not a merchant in London or Cork, but will contradict him. The worst Irish beef is never shipped to the British fugar iflands. If the Barbadoes market is alluded to, perhaps, the poorer people, who are obliged to purchase it in the island, buy the cheapest kind there is for fale, on account of their inability to pay for better, yet even that, which is the lowest priced beef for fale, is what is called common cargo beef, which is not by feveral degrees the most inferior.

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But it is well known that the beef ordered by the planters, and fhipped from Ireland by their correspondents, is of the most fuperior quality, and is from that circumftance denominated and branded on the head of the cafks, mess beef, by way of pre-eminence. There is much lefs difference in pork than in beef, and the former is more commonly given to the negroes than

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than the latter. The quality of cargo The quality of cargo pork, and mess park, the only different defcriptions of that article of commerce, is the fame; in the former, the whole carcafs is packed in the barrel; in the latter, the heads, necks and thanks, are omitted.

The Dean goes on to fpeak of their drink," which is commonly water from ponds, occafionally with a little rum in it." Is not the fame unfortunate biafs towards abufing the planter manifefted in this, as in the former description? can any reason be affigned, or will any body credit, that the planter fhould forbid his negro to quench his thirft with well, fpring, or rain water, when he can get it, and oblige poor Tom to drink" the green mantle of the ftanding pool?" I think I may venture to fay that no one will believe the negroes commonly drink pond water, but where better is not to be had, which may be the cafe in fome fituations, and at fome times of the year, in Barbadoes and Antigua; but in Granada, St. Vincents, Dominica, Montferrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and the greateft part of Jamaica, the negroes could scarcely find pond water, if they were to feek for it.

The Dean, however, allows that, whatever be the water the negroes drink, they occafionally have a little rum in it. I hope I may be at liberty to expound this affertion of the Dean, in fuch a manner, as will render it confiftent with truth, and not do him fo much difcredit, as if it was conftrued more confiftently with the other parts of his declamation. I will therefore fuppose the Dean means, that they have as much rum given them in their water, as they have any occafion for; and really that is generally the fact.

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The Dean's zeal for the flaves, or rather his enmity to the planters, is manifest in that part of his accufation, which fhews that they merit praife, where he bestows his cenfure ;-he fays, "in the rainy feason, the negroes are not always withdrawn from their labour to fhelter." The very terms of the accufation fhew they generally are-If the charge was more pointed, I fhould only have to urge, that as the preservation of the health of his negroes, is the most effential object of the planter's care, who has any regard for his own intereft, there cannot be a reasonable apprehenfion that he will not attend to it.

I fhall leave it to the Dean himself, to fettle his account with the planters of his native ifland, for the character he gives of them as "guilty of extravagancies in England, and riotous living in their own country, of having paffions upon which there is no check in law, in favour of the negroes, for whofe murder, if the property is invested in the murderer, they are not accountable to the magiftrate, and who being confirmed in habit, inflexible in obftinacy, and rooted in prejudice, are unwilling to try the effect of a lenient and novel fyftem."-I must, however, beg leave to affert, from my knowledge of many of the inhabitants in almost all the Weft India iflands, Barbadoes not excepted, that a lenient fyftem is not a novel one, and that, amongst the same number of gentlemen in England, or any other part of the British dominions, there will not be found a greater number of men of better education, of more enlarged ideas, of more charitable, humane, difpofitions, or, in fhort, more diligent, fober, valuable and induftrious citizens, or deferving better of their country, than do the planters inhabiting

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