of the planters there, to that degree, that the poor Negroes are very much over-worked, to increase the enormous produce, and to cause their masters' pockets to overflow with money, that root of all evil.

In Trinidad, the humane and merciful intentions of government (towards the whole of the bondmen in our colonies, if they had been quietly permitted to persevere) have been put in practice, and I shall only say respecting it, that I trust these changes for the better will succeed (without any disturbance) for the benefit of the Slaves, and with no great detriment to the masters; that the vociferous mouths, of the fearful and hard-hearted among the colonists and their advocates and partisans, may be in some measure stopped.

So infatuated and enraged are these men, at any attempt at the least change for the better, amongst the enslaved Negroes, that they fill the whole world with their complaints, and cry aloud that ruin and destruction will come speedily upon them, unless the humane and religious in Britain give up,-not only their efforts against the present system of Slavery, but also writing and talking upon the subject!! Ye Britons; "Bona verba quæso." To what a pass are we come. I trust however that they will be shortly proved to be false prophets,

and that none of their property will be destroyed, much less any of their lives taken away, or healths injured, unless, as to the latter, they wound themselves for very rage and disappointment, as did the false prophets of Baal, when crying aloud, from morning till evening,— “O Baal, hear us!" And certainly the colonists cannot invoke any greater god for the continuance of such a state of things. It is not a trifling or ridiculous subject, but surely they do make themselves ridiculous, by the manner in which they talk and write about England, themselves, and their highly-fed and happy Slaves.

With respect to religion, in the other colonies, there is still less provision made for its propagation among the Slaves (Antigua and St. Kitt's excepted) than even in Jamaica; for in several of them, containing many thousands of Slaves, besides other inhabitants, there is only one clergyman (perhaps two), with the same number of dissenting ministers; and in one or two, no clergyman at all. From two or three colonies, ministers of the gospel, of different persuasions, it is well known, have been driven; and in one or two instances clergymen of the established church have been obliged to quit; but as his Majesty's Ministers seem determined to persevere (on the score of religion at least), and as Bishops have been appointed to preside over,

inspect into, and encourage that department, let us hope that brighter days are in store for all classes in the West Indies; that the rust of bigotry, and superstition, and infidelity will gradually be wiped away; that toleration will be generally granted, and encouragement given to all good men; for I will venture to say, that nothing but true and vital religion can soften the rigour of things there, and give stability, comfort, and prosperity to the different classes. In this sentiment some of the best and most religious men in Jamaica, I well know, are perfectly agreed with me, as I have it in a way that cannot be doubted or disputed.

PART III.

REMARKS HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL; PROBABLE EFFECTS OF THE PRESENT COERCIVE SYSTEM, &c.

MUCH has been said by the colonists and their supporters and abettors, of the tendency of Earl Bathurst's instructions (which were sent out to the governors of the different West Indian islands, last year, for the amelioration of the condition of the Slaves) to excite the Negroes to conspiracy and rebellion. That the mischievous rumours spread abroad, in the colonies, about the said humane instructions, caused discontent amongst the Slaves generally, cannot admit of a doubt; but had the governors acted more wisely and prudently, and caused these instructions or a part of them (that part of them relating to the suppression of the Sunday markets, and allowing them more time for cultivating their grounds) to be proclaimed or read on every estate, so that no misconceptions could have taken place, the effects on their ignorant minds would have been very different.

But, instead of this, in Jamaica, I well

recollect, that the real nature of the instructions was kept secret, whilst doubtful and mischievous rumours were spread abroad, and the daily and weekly newspapers teemed with the crude and dangerous remarks of the silly editors and their injudicious friends; stating, generally, what would be the horrid consequences resulting from the instructions sent out: viz. "That they would excite immediate rebellion amongst the Slaves; that the troops in the island would be quite insufficient to prevent insubordination and insurrection; that parties of them ought to be sent to such and such places, for that the white people were in danger of having their throats cut by the savage blacks, and that they would all be murdered in their beds." And all this before the least symptom of disobedience or conspiracy had shewn itself in any one parish in the island.

These imprudent, ill timed, and dangerous remarks, were no doubt read by some of the free people, or whites themselves, in hearing of some of the Slaves, and spread like wildfire through the great mass of the population, who not knowing the real facts, thought, I verily believe, that they were to have two or three days in the week to themselves, and many of them imagined that, after Christmas, they were to be emancipated:

The manner in which these instructions were