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A 


HISTORY    OF    JAMAICA 


VBOM 


ITS    DISCOVERY   BY   CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS 
TO    THE    PRESENT    TIME; 

mOLUDDfO 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  ITS  TRADE  AND  AGRICULTURE; 

SKETCHES  OF  THE   MANNERS,  HABITS,  AND  CUSTOMS 

OF  ALL  CLASSES  OF  ITS  INHABITANTS ; 


ARD 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION  IN  THE  ISLAND, 


W.   J-    GARDNER. 


ELLIOT  STOCK,  62,  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  E.G. 

1878. 


Szi.     c.     2  as-. 


PREFACE. 


-M- 


No  work  has  been  published,  attempting  to  give  a  detailed 
and  systematic  history  of  Jamaica,  since  the  year  1828, 
when  the  Eev.  G.  W.  Bridges  printed  his  "  Annals." 
Thirty-five  years  before,  Mr.  Bryan  Edwards  had  pub- 
lished his  compendious  "History  of  the  West  Indies;'* 
and  as  early  as  1774,  the  elaborate  work  of  Mr.  Long 
appeared. 

Nearly  half  a  century  having  elapsed  since  the  date  of 
the  latest  of  these  publications,  during  which  time  im- 
portant events  have  occurred,  there  was  ample  room  for 
another  history,  which,  while  not  neglecting  the  records  of 
the  past,  should  faithfully  register  those  of  more  recent 
days. 

The  books  above  alluded  to  were  written  by  men  who 
were  identified  with  slavery,  and  looked  upon  all  public 
events  as  they  affected  the  maintenance  of  that  system. 
Mr.  Edwards  was  the  most  liberal  in  his  views,  but  Mr. 
Bridges,  though  a  clergyman,  was  one  of  its  most  deter- 
mined advocates. 

The  history  of  the  colony  naturally  presents  itself  under 
a  very  different  aspect,  to  men  of  the  present  day,  to  what 
it  did  to  those  writers.  And  yet  the  fierce  struggle  for 
emancipation  is  so  far  an  event  of  the  past,  as  to  allow  a 
calm  and  dispassionate  estimate  to  be  made  of  the  cha- 
racter of  men  who,  trained  amid  the  influences  of  slavery, 
struggled  to  uphold  a  system  now  almost  universally  con- 
demned. 


IV  PBBFACE. 

In  writing  the  history  of  the  colony  during  the  days^  of 
slavery,  the  author  has  availed  himself  of  the  labours  of 
those  who  have  preceded  him,  but  the  sources  from  which 
they  derived  their  information  have  been  carefully  in- 
vestigated. The  public  records  of  the  colony  have  been 
searched,  and  a  great  mass  of  books  and  pamphlets,  pub- 
lished from  time  to  time,  examined.  In  fact,  no  source  of 
information  to  which  it  was  possible  to  gain  access  has 
been  neglected.  Whether  the  writer  has  succeeded  in 
eliciting  the  truth,  so  often  obscured  by  party  strife,  his 
readers  must  determine.  He  can  honestly  say  that  such 
has  been  his  endeavour. 

The  sketches  of  the  habits,  manners,  and  customs  of 
the  people  will,  it  is  hoped,  illustrate  the  progress  which 
has  taken  place  in  the  social  life  of  the  island ;  while 
the  history  of  religion  and  education  has  been  penned 
in  a  spirit  of  kindly  sympathy  with  all  earnest  Christian 
workers. 

If  in  any  quarter  complaint  may  be  made  that  the  work 
does  not  enter  so  largely  into  certain  recent  occurrences  as 
might  be  desired,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  what  is 
still  the  subject  of  controversy  can  hardly  be  said  to  belong 
to  the  domain  of  history ;  and  yet  the  hope  is  expressed 
that  the  statements  made  may  be  accepted  as  facts,  and 
thus  prove  of  value  in  forming  a  correct  judgment  of  the 
true  character  of  those  painful  events. 


CONTENTS. 


-♦♦- 


PERIOD  I. 

Discovery  by  Columbus^  and  Spanish  Occupation, 

Chapter  I. — The  Discoveet  of  Jamaioa. 

First  visit  of  Columbus — Exploration  of  southern  coast — Shipwreck 
and  detention  on  island 1-6 

Chapter  II. — Spanish  Occupation. 

Assigned  to  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  —  Claimed  by  Diego  Columbus,  who 
appointed  Juan  de  Esquivel  governor  —  Erection  of  and  early 
desertion  of  the  city  of  Sevilla — Francisco  de  Garay — Don  Pedro 
de  Esquimel  —  Spanish  Town  built  —  Invasions  by  EngUsh 
buccaneers — Condition  of  island  during  Spanish  occupation.    7-16 

Chapteb  III. — ^Abobioinal  Inhabitants. 

Origin  —  Appearance  —  Dress  —  Dwellings  —  Food  —  Agriculture — 
Fishing — Amusements —  Government — Religious  ideas — Idols — 
Priests   17-26 


PERIOD  n. 

From  the  Conquest  by  the  Enylish,  1665,  to  tJie  Great 

Earthquake,  1692. 

Chapter  I. — ^Historical  Events. 

Motives  of  Cromwell  for  seizing  the  island — ^Invasion  and  conquest 
— Dissensions  between  the  commanders — Mortality  among  the 
soldiers — ^Fortescue,  president  of  executive  council — Dies,  and  is 
succeeded  by  D*Oyley — Sedgewicke  sent  out  as  commissioner — 
Dies,  and  D  Oyley  again  assumes  oonmiand  until  the  arrival  of 
Brayne,  who  also  dying,  D'Ovley  is  once  more  reinstated  — 
Expedition  against  the  Spaniards,  who  have  returned  to  the  north 
side  of  the  island,  and  are  totally  defeated — ^A  council  appointed 
—  Lord  Windsor  arrives  as  governor,  and  brings  a  charter  — 


VI  CONTENTS. 

First  assembly — Bnccaneers — ^Early  prosperity  of  the  colony — 
Earl  Carlisle  arrives  as  governor,  and  attempts  to  subvert  the 
constitution  of  the  island — Duke  of  Albemarle  attempts  to  in- 
troduce popery  —  Freedom  of  election  tampered  with  —  First 
negro  rebellion — Great  earthquake 27-78 

Chapteb  II. — Commerce  and  Aoricultube. 

First  exports— Early  accounts  of  the  island — Salt  ponds — Cocoa, 
tobacco,  and  dye-woods — Progress  of  sugar  cultivation  ...    7&-87 

Chapter  III. — Belioion  and  Education. 

Chaplains  accompanied  invading  army  —  Liberty  of  conscience 
guaranteed  to  early  settlers — Congregational  church — Quakers — 
Visit  of  George  Fox — Jews — Church  of  England  established  in 
island — Education  87-98 

Chapter  IV. — Manners  and  Customs. 

Houses  and  habits  of  white  settlers — Indentured  and  bond-servants — 
Indians — Negro  slaves — Their  cruel  treatment  —  Labours  and 
holidays  98-100 


PEEioD  m. 

From  the  Earthquake  to  the  Commencement  of  the  Anti-slavery 

Struggle,  1782. 

Chapter  I. — ^Historical  Events. 

French  invasion  and  repulse — ^Victories  of  Benbow — Serious  disputes 
between  assembly  and  council — Hurricane  of  1712 — Settlement 
of  important  constitutional  questions — Maroon  depredations  and 
ire&tj — Long  administration  of  Governor  Trelawny — Disastrous 
expedition  of  Vernon  —  Storms  and  earthquakes  —  Governor 
Enowles  attempts  to  make  Kingston  the  capital  of  the  island — 
Serious  negro  rebelHons  in  1760  and  1765 — Stormy  administra- 
tion of  Lyttleton  —  Fears  of  invasion,  and  victory  of  Lord 
Rodney 101-162 

Chapter  II. — Commerce  and  Aqrioulture. 

The  slave  trade — Intercolonial  trade — Value  of  exports — Growth  of 
sugar  cultivation — Value  of  sugar  estates — Modes  of  agriculture 
—  Cotton  —  Indigo  —  Cocoa  —  Pen-keeping  —  Introduction  of 
Guinea  grass  —  Logwood  —  Manufactures  and  general  trade  — 
Absence  of  public  conveyances 152-164 

Chapter  HI. — Manners  and  Customs  op  the  Inhabitants. 

Whites  and  white  Creoles  —  Ladies  —  Improvement  in  dwellings  — 
Number  of  servants — HospitaUty — PubUo  amusements — General 


CONTENTS.  VU 

moral  character — White  bond-servants — White  soldiers  —  Free 
people  of  colonr:  gradnal  improvement  in  their  condition — 
Maroons — Slaves — Different  races — Division  into  working  gangs 
—Domestic  slaves — Punishments — Houses — Sunday  markets — 
Amusements  —  Superstitions  —  Funerals — Obeah-men  —  Myal- 
men   164-191 

ChAFTBB  rV. — BSLIOION  AND  EDUCATION. 

Character  and  emoluments  of  the  established  clergy — Jews — Quakers 
— Moravian  missionaries  —  Their  early  labours  —  Bequests  for 
educational  purposes — Character  of  tne  education  imparted  — 
Literary  characters :  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  Dr.  Brown,  Mr.  Long, 
WilliaiDS,  the  negro  poet   192-210 


PERIOD  IV. 

From  the  Cammencenunt  of  the  Anti-slavery  Struggle  to 

Emancipation^  1888. 

Chaftkb   I. — ^Historical  Events. 

Emigration  of  Boyalists  from  the  United  States — Trade  suspended 
with  those  States  —  First  inquiries  into  legality  of  slavery  — 
Efforts  of  early  abolitionists — Abolition  of  slave  trade — Expe- 
dition to  Hayti  —  Bebellion  of  Trelawny  Maroons — Alarms  of 
French  invasion  —  Duckworth's  victory  —  Arrival  of  Duke  of 
Manchester  —  Mutiny  among  black  troops  —  Succession  of 
calamitous  events — Law  for  registration  of  slaves — Government 
of  Sir  John  Eeene  and  of  the  Earl  of  Belmore  —  Great 
rebellion,  1881 — Colonial  Unions — Arrival  of  the  Earl  of  Mulgrave 
— Bill  passed  to  abolish  slavery — The  Marquis  of  Sligo  assumes 
the  government — 1st  of  August,  1884 — ^Apprenticeship^Difficul- 
ties  of  the  executive — Sligo  recalled — Sir  Lionel  Smith  appointed 
— ^Apprenticeship  terminated  in  1888 211-817 

Chapter  II. — Commerce  and  Aoriculturb. 

Variations  in  prices  of  sugar  and  coffee — Increase  in  cultivation — 
Embarrassments  of  sugar  planters  — Exports  and  imports  — 
Bestrictions  on  trade  with  United  States — Few  manufactures 
— ^Botanic  garden — Minor  products     818-880 

Chapter  III. — Belioion  and  Education. 

Provision  for  ecdesiastioal  supervision  of  clergy — Incomes  of  rectors 
— Curates  appointed  to  instruct  slaves — First  Bishop  of  Jamaica 
arrives,  1824--Increase  in  number  of  clergy — Presbyterian  Kirk 
aided  by  legislature — Boman  Catholics  and  Jews — Progress  of 
the  Moravian  mission — Native  Baptist  preachers — Dr.  Coke,  the 
WMleyaa  missionary,   visits    the    isluid,    1789  —  Success    of 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

Methodist  missions  —  Persecution — First  Baptist  missionaries, 
1814 — First  Presbyterian  missionaries,  1824 — Hostility  of  assem- 
bly and  others  to  Christian  efforts  among  the  slaYes---Oharaeter 
of  early  converts,  and  modes  of  church  discipHne — Persecutions 
in  1831 — Chapels  destroyed  by  Colonial  Unionists — Subsequent 
prosperity — London  Missionary  Society  commence  operations 
— Education — Earnest  efforts  made  by  missionaries  to  establish 
schools — Abuse  of  trust  funds  —  Controversial  works  —  Mr. 
Bridges*  "Annals  of  Jamaica." 880-876 

Chapter  IV. — Manners  and  Customs. 

Gradual  improvement  in  character  and  education  of  white  inhabitants 
— Absentees — Planting  attorneys — overseers — ^book-keepers,  &c. 
— Habits  of  the  wealthy  classes — Increase  in  number  and  influ- 
ence of  the  mixed  race^^ — Amelioration  of  the  condition  of  slaves 
— ^Amusements  less  coarse — Crop-over  festival — Strange  customs 
at  funerals — Degree  of  labour  exacted — Allowances — Diseases — 
Superstitions — Proverbs — Fairy  tales 876-894 


PERIOD    V. 

From  Emancipation  to  1872. 

Chapter  I. — First  Days  op  Freedom. 

Government  of  Sir  Lionel  Smith — Serious  altercations  in  assembly — 
Attempt  to  change  the  constitution  of  the  island  by  the  British 
cabinet 895-404 

Chapter  11. — ^Administration  of  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe. 

405-418 

Chapter  III.  —From  the   Betirement  of  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe 

TO  THAT  of  Sir  Charles  Gret. 

418-448 

Chapter  IY. — Besponsiblb  Government. 

448-459 

Chapter  Y.— Bblioion,  Education,  and  Social  Progress,  from 

1889  TO  1865. 

459-472 

Chapter  VI.— The  Outbreak  at  St.  Thomas  in  the  East. 

472-496 

Chapter  VII. — Administration  of  Sir  J.  P.  Grant. 

496-510 


HISTOEY  OF  JAMAICA. 


i**- 


PEEIOD    I. 
Discovery  by  ColumbuSj  and  Spanish  Occupation. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE    DISCOVERY. 

When  Christopher  Columbus,  worn  out  with  years  of  hard- 
ship, anxiety,  and  cruel  neglect,  was  dead,  Ferdinand  of 
Spain  ordered  a  magnificent  monument  to  be  prepared,  on 
which  was  inscribed  :  A  CASTHiLA  Y.  A.  Leon  Nuevo  Mundo 
Dio  Colon.  (To  Castile  and  Leon,  Columbus  gave  a  new 
world.)  Yet  it  was  not  to  Spain  alone,  but  to  mankind  the 
New  World  was  given.  For  though  prior  to  the  brilliant 
discoveries  of  Columbus  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere  were  ignorant  of 
the  vast  continent  of  America,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
in  coming  ages  its  history  is  destined  to  surpass  in  interest 
that  of  most  other  portions  of  the  globe. 

The  early  history  of  Columbus,  his  long,  and  for  years 
meffectual  struggles  to  gain  attention  to  his  ideas ;  the  un- 
favourable circumstances  under  which  he  at  length  set  forth 
on  his  voyage  of  discovery,  cannot  be  recapitulated  here ; 
they  belong  to  the  life  of  the  great  navigator.  It  can  only 
be  briefly  recorded  that  on  his  first  voyage  he  discovered 
some  of  the  Bahama  Islands,  Cuba,  and  Hayti ;  and  that 
on  his  second  voyage  he  made  arrangements  for  the  partial 
colonization  of  Hayti,  and  then  proceeded  to  visit  Cuba. 
He  was  as  yet  quite  ignorant  of  the  true  character  of  the 

2 


2  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

discovery  he  had  made,  and  was  under  the  impression  that 
Cuba  was  the  extreme  eastern  point  of  the  continent  of 
Asia.  He  supposed  that  by  sailing  along  the  coast  he  would 
ultimately  arrive  at  Cathay,  and  other  countries  described 
by  Marco  Polo  and  Mandeville.  While  thus  engaged  he 
heard  repeatedly  from  the  natives,  with  whom  he  kept  up 
constant  communication,  of  an  island  lying  to  the  south 
abounding  in  gold.  Of  this  place  he  had  heard  something 
during  his  first  voyage,  and  on  Saturday,  May  3rd,  1494, 
he  changed  his  course  and  sailed  in  the  direction  indicated. 

In  a  few  hours  the  blue  summits  of  lofty  mountains  were 
discerned,  and  an  Indian  fisherman  who  accompanied  him 
inforflaed  him  that  the  land  was  called  "  Xaymaca,"  a  word 
signifying  "  a  land  of  springs."  This  word,  with  a  slight 
modification,  the  island  still  retains. 

It  was  not  until  tVo  days  later  that  the  great  navigator 
reached  the  shore,  and  this  fact  may  explain  the  discrepancy 
found  in  the  dates  ascribed  to  the  time  of  discovery.  Co- 
lumbus was  filled  with  admiration  as  he  looked  upon  the 
magnificent  scenery.  Hills  and  valleys,  forests  and  savan- 
nahs, or  prairies,  diversify  the  northern  coast  he  was  then 
approaching.  He  was  also  much  struck  by  the  signs  of 
abundant  population,  indicated  by  the  numerous  little 
villages.*  As  he  came  within  two  or  three  miles  of  the 
shore,  he  was  met  by  a  fleet  of  seventy  canoes,  filled  with 
Indians,  all  gaily  painted  and  adorned  with  feathers.  They 
appeared  less  peaceful  than  the  inhabitants  of  Hayti  and 
Cuba,  for  they  brandished  wooden  lances  and  swords,  and 
uttered  yells  of  defiance.  The  conciliatory  measures  of 
Columbus  prevented  any  collision,  and  presently  his  ships 
anchored  in  a  harbour  to  which,  on  account  of  the  beauty 
of  the  surrounding  scenery,  he  gave  the  name  of  Santa 
Gloria.  It  is  now  called  Port  Maria.  +  This  harbour  not 
being  sufficiently  sheltered,  especially  as  one  of  his  three 
vessels  required  repair,  he  next  day  sailed  a  few  leagues  to 
the  westward,  to  a  more  secluded  place,  which  he  called 
Ora  Cabecca,  or  as  it  is  now  pronounced,  Oracabessa.  He 
was  not  allowed  to  enter  without  molestation ;  a  boat  he 
had  sent  to  take  soundings  was  attacked  by  two  large 

*  Peter  Martyr.    "  Decades,"  pp.  20,  21.    English  translation. 
f  Sonthey  thinks  it  was  St.  Ann's  Bay,  but  evidence  is  in  favour  of 
Port  Maria. 


THE   DISCOVERY.  8 

canoes,  but  the  Indian  arrows  fortunately  fell  short.  The 
boat  was  recalled,  and  Columbus  with  his  little  fleet  sailed 
boldly  into  the  harbour,  the  shores  of  which  were  sur- 
rounded by  armed  people.  Though  reluctant  to  proceed  to 
extremities,  Columbus  thought  it  necessary  to  overawe  the 
natives.  The  whole  of  the  boats,  well  armed,  were  sent 
ashore,  and  a  few  Indians  wounded  by  arrows  discharged 
from  crossbows  :  a  large  bloodhound  was  let  loose,  which  so 
terrified  the  poor  creatures  that  they  fled  in  the  greatest  con- 
fusion. Columbus  then  took  possession  of  the  land  in  the 
name  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  Spanish  sovereigns. 
•  Very  early  next  day  six  Indians  appeared  on  the  shore  as 
messengers  of  peace.  They  were  kindly  treated  and  pre- 
sented with  trinkets.  Very  soon  the  shore  was  lined  with 
great  multitudes  of  people,  who  brought  provisions  of  a 
superior  quality,  though  similar  in  kind,  to  those  cultivated 
on  the  neighbouring  islands.  During  the  few  days  that 
Columbus  remained  in  harbour  nothing  occurred  to  disturb 
the  friendly  relationships  thus  established.  Leaving  this 
spot,  Columbus  coasted  the  island  in  a  westerly  direction, 
almost  constantly  surrounded  by  the  canoes  of  the  natives, 
who  came  off  from  all  parts,  and  manifested  the  greatest 
desire  to  exchange  whatever  they  possessed  for  trinkets. 

Having  reached  the  extremity  of  the  island,  and  the 
wind  being  favourable  for  reaching  Cuba,  the  fleet  steered 
in  that  direction,  attended  by  a  young  Indian  who,  not- 
withstanding the  entreaties  of  his  friends,  insisted  on  ac- 
companying the  wonderful  strangers  to  their  own  land. 

From  the  18th  of  May  to  the  22nd  of  July  Columbus 
continued  to  explore  the  coast  of  Cuba.  He  then  crossed 
over  to  Jamaica  once  more,  and  for  nearly  a  month  sailed 
very  slowly  along  the  southern  coast,  baffled  by  the  trade 
wind,  but  enraptured  by  the  surpassing  loveUness  of  the 
scenery.  During  this  cruise  numbers  of  canoes  put  off 
from  the  shore  and  attended  his  vessels.  At  length  he 
reached  what  is  now  known  as  Old  Harbour  Bay.  Here  he 
had  a  remarkable  interview  with  a  cacique,  or  chief,  who, 
accompanied  by  his  family,  approached  with  all  the  state 
and  dignity  that  prevailed  among  that  primitive  people. 
On  the  19th  of  August,  the  exploration  of  the  southern 
coast  being  complete,  Columbus  again  left  the  island,  the 
last  point  visible  being  that  called  Port  Morant. 

2  * 


4  HISTOBY   OF   JAMAICA. 

With  the  exception  of  a  circumstance  to  he  presently 
referred  to,  nothing  more  was  known  of  the  island  for  eight 
years,  when  it  was  again  visited  by  the  great  navigator 
under  circumstances  of  the  most  painful  character.  Though 
basely  used  by  the  nation  he  had  served  with  such  fidelity, 
the  fourth  voyage  of  Columbus  was  marked  by  many 
brilliant  discoveries.  Great  disasters,  however,  followed, 
and  at  length,  with  only  two  shattered,  leaky  vessels,  he 
put  into  Puerto-Beuno  (or  Dry  Harbour)  on  the  23rd  of 
June,  1508.  Finding  no  natives  and  no  good  water,  he 
next  day  sailed  to  a  sheltered  spot  since  called  Don  Chris- 
topher's Cove.  Here  he  ran  his  vessels  ashore  side  by 
side,  and  having  lashed  them  together,  erected  a  thatched 
roof  over  all.  In  this  pitiable  condition  the  heroic  dis- 
coverer remained  for  twelve  months,  his  hardships  aggra- 
vated by  the  ravages  of  a  cruel  disease,  the  misconduct  of 
many  of  his  men,  and  above  all  by  the  heartlessness  of  the 
governor  of  Hayti,  who  for  a  long  time  delayed  to  send 
succour,  though  early  informed  of  his  misfortunes. 

Columbus  endeavoured  to  establish  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  natives,  and  arranged  to  pay  for  all  the  provisions 
they  brought.  At  the  same  time  he  endeavoured  to  main- 
tain rigid  discipline  amongst  his  men.  Diego  Mendez 
explored  the  island  as  far  as  its  eastern  extremity,  and 
made  arrangements  with  the  different  caciques  to  send  in 
ample  supplies  of  food,  for  which  payment  was  to  be  made 
in  trinkets,  and  other  articles  of  European  manufacture. 
This  valuable  service  performed,  he  volunteered  to  carry 
a  letter  to  Ovando,  the  governor  of  Hayti,  describing  the 
circumstances  in  which  Columbus  was  placed,  and  re- 
questing that  a  ship  might  be  inunediately  sent  to  his 
relief. 

With  one  Spanish  comrade  and  six  Indians,  Mendez  set 
forth  in  a  canoe  on  his  perilous  errand,  but  hostile  Indians 
encountered  him,  and  obliged  him  to  return. 

Nothing  daunted  he  again  started,  but  with  six  Spaniards 
and  ten  Indians,  and  after  terrible  hardships,  and  the 
death  of  an  Indian  from  thirst,  he  reached  Cape  Tiburon. 
After  a  series  of  adventures  he  arrived  in  the  presence  of 
Ovando.  This  man  delayed  for  months  to  send  the  re- 
quired assistance,  and  it  was  not  till  the  faithful  Mendez, 
with  great  difficulty,  procured  a  ship  on  his  own  responsi^ 


THE   DISCOVERY,  5 

bility,  that  Ovando  sent  another  to  accompany  it,  and  thus 
enabled  Columbus  to  leave  the  island. 

The  period  which  elapsed  between  the  departure  and 
the  return  of  Mendez  had  been  an  eventful  one.  Sickness 
had  broken  out  and  intensified  the  feelings  of  despondency 
with  which  the  crews  regarded  their  wearisome  detention. 
About  the  sixth  month  two  brothers  named  Forras  headed 
a  mutiny.  The  kindly  endeavours  of  Columbus  to  con- 
ciliate the  infuriated  mob  having  failed,  his  brother 
Bartholomew  adopted  sterner  measures,  and  ultimately 
the  brothers  Porras  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  crew 
seized  ten  canoes  which  had  been  bought  from  the  Indians, 
and  put  to  sea,  intending  to  reach  Hayti.  The  attempt 
failed,  provisions  fell  short,  and  the  Indians  who  had  been 
forcibly  impressed  by  the  mutineers  as  rowers  were  cast 
overboard:  some  clung  to  the  sides  of  the  canoes,  but 
their  hands  were  cut  off.  The  Spaniards  returned  to  land, 
and  subsequently  made  two  other  equally  fruitless  at- 
tempts to  reach  Hayti.  For  a  long  time  after  this  they 
wandered  about  the  east  end  of  Jamaica,  ill  treating  the 
Indians  and  seizing  their  provisions ;  and  to  add  to  their 
perfidy,  told  these  poor  people  to  go  to  Columbus  for  pay- 
ment, and  to  kill  him  if  he  refused. 

The  supplies,  which  had  hitherto  been  freely  brought  to 
the  stranded  vessels,  now  began  to  fail,  and  it  was  at  this 
crisis  that  Columbus  resorted  to  the  often  told  expedient 
to  work  upon  the  fears  of  the  Indians. 

Knowing  that  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  was  at  hand,  he  gave 
out  that  the  great  God  he  worshipped  was  angry  with  the 
people  of  the  land  for  not  supplying  his  wants,  and  that  at  a 
certain  hour  he  would  hide  the  moon  in  darkness.  So  it 
happened.  In  terror  the  Indians  besought  him  to  intercede 
on  their  behalf ;  this,  after  some  reluctance,  he  promised 
to  do,  and  as  the  darkness  passed  away  they  ascribed  it  to 
his  prayers.  From  that  day  there  was  no  scarcity  of  food, 
though  the  Indians  could  not  understand  how  these 
strange  foreigners  could  consume  ten  times  as  much  as 
they  were  acpustomed  to  do. 

A  heavy  trial  now  arose  from  another  quarter.  Ovando 
had  secretly  sent  a  small  ship  under  the  command  of 
Diego  de  Escobar,  an  avowed  enemy  of  Columbus,  to  see 
in  what  position  that  great  navigator  was  really  placed. 


6  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

This  man  delivered  a  piece  of  bacon  and  a  barrel  of  wine 
to  Columbus,  waited  a  few  hours  for  a  letter,  and  then 
sailed  away.  A  deep  gloom  now  fell  upon  the  minds  of 
all,  even  the  courage  of  the  most  faithful  began  to  fail. 
About  this  time  the  great  navigator  addressed  one  of  the 
most  pathetic  letters  to  be  fountj  on  record  to  the  Spanish 
sovereigns,  in  which  he  pourtrayed  the  accumulating 
horrors  of  his  position.  The  letter  is  even  more  affecting 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  but  little  hope  that  it  would  ever 
reach  its  destination. 

Though  Columbus  had  sent  to  Porras  a  portion  of  the 
trifling  present  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  Escobar, 
that  bad  man  was  far  from  reciprocating  this  act  *of 
generosity,  and  endeavoured  to  excite  the  evil  feelings  of 
his  companions  still  more  by  declaring  that  no  vessel  had 
arrived ;  that  what  people  thought  they  saw  was  only  a 
phantom  ship,  caused  by  the  magical  arts  of  Columbus ; 
and  foolish  as  this  may  appear,  it  gained  credence  in  that 
superstitious  age.  At  length  the  mutineers  returned  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  ships,  and  took  possession  of 
Mayma,  an  Indian  village  situated  near  the  spot  where 
Seville  was  subsequently  erected. 

They  soon  after  proceeded  to  attack  Columbus;  but 
Bartholomew,  with  a  few  brave  men,  sallied  forth,  and 
failing  in  an  attempt  to  make  an  amicable  arrangement, 
he  took  Francisca  de  Porras  prisoner,  and  slew  several  of 
his  followers.  Thus  the  rebellion  was  crushed,  and  soon 
after  the  ships  sent  by  Diego  Mendez  and  Ovando  arrived. 
Columbus,  in  the  joy  of  deliverance,  was  ready  to  forget  past 
misconduct,  and  all  save  Francisca  were  freely  pardoned. 
On  the  28th  of  June,  1504,  the  island  was  left,  and  for  a 
few  years  appears  to  have  remained  unvisited.  But  the 
quietude  of  Indian  life  was  again  to  be  disturbed ;  and  a 
reign  of  cruelty,  followed  by  the  total  annihilation  of  all 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  was  only  too  soon  inaugurated. 


SPANISH   OCCUPATION. 


CHAPTER  n. 

SPANISH  OCCUPATION. 

The  only  authentic  notice  we  have  of  Jamaica,  between 
the  first  and  second  visit  of  Columbus  to  its  shores,  is  of 
an  incidental  character. 

The  enterprising  though  unscrupulous  navigator,  Alonzo 
de  Ojeda,  during  his  explorations  in  these  seas  ran  short 
of  provisions,  and  despatched  a  caravel. to  Jamaica,  under 
the  command  of  Juan  de  Yergara,  to  see  what  could  be 
obtained.  An  ample  supply  of  food  was  procured  from 
the  natives,  though  on  what  terms  does  not  appear.  This 
was  about  the  year  1502. 

To  this  same  Alonzo,  in  concert  with  Diego  Nicuessa,  the 
island  was  subsequently  assigned  by  the  court  of  Spain  as 
a  kind  of  common  appanage  to  the  government  of  Darien, 
which  had  been  conferred  upon  them.  These  men  soon 
quarrelled  about  the  limits  of  their  respective  districts, 
but  Diego  Columbus,  the  son  of  the  great  discoverer,  settled 
the  difficulty  so  far  as  it  related  to  Jamaica.  The  same 
dishonourable  course  of  conduct  pursued  towards  Chris- 
topher Columbus  had  been  adopted  in  reference  to  Diego. 
But  he  was  not  disposed  to  submit  quietly  to  the  wrong, 
and  instituted  proceedings  in  the  grand  court  of  the  Indies 
to  obtain  possession  of  all  the  privileges  which  belonged 
to  him  by  right  of  inheritance  from  his  father.  The  result 
was  that  he  was  declared  to  be  hereditary  viceroy  and 
high  admiral  of  all  the  lands  Columbus  had  discovered ; 
and  that  he  was  entitled  to  one-tenth  of  the  gold  and 
silver  which  should  at  any  time  be  procured.  In  face  of 
this  verdict,  the  king  refused  to  confirm  him  in  anything 
beyond  the  government  of  Hayti,  and  it  is  questionable  if 
he  would  have  done  even  this  had  not  Diego  strengthened 
his  position  by  marriage  with  a  lady  connected  with 
several  of  the  most  powerful  families  in  Spain. 

He  arrived  at  the  seat  of  government  in  July,  1509, 
and  with  his  wife,  who  was  commonly  addressed  as  the 
vice-queen,  established  a  reign  of  splendour  and  refinement 


8  HISTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

wonderful  in  a  new  colony.  Soon  after  he  sent  Juan  de 
Esquivel  with  seventy  men  to  take  possession  of  Jamaica. 
Ojeda  on  hearing  this  declared  that  he  would  have  the 
head  of  Esquivel  if  he  found  him  in  the  island.  The 
latter,  however,  proceeded  on  his  errand  in  November, 
1509,  and  succeeded  in  bringing  the  Indians  under  sub- 
jection without  bloodshed.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
though  this  man  had  subdued  an  insurrection  among  the 
Indians  in  Hayti  a  few  years  before  by  the  adoption  of  the 
most  severe  jneasures,  he  was  the  mildest  governor  the 
aborigines  of  Jamaica  ever  had.  The  nobility  of  his  cha- 
racter was  very  strikingly  illustrated  a  few  months  after 
his  settlement  in  the  island.  Ojeda,  after  a  series  of  extra- 
ordinary adventures,  had  been  cast  upon  the  shores  of  Cuba 
in  great  distress,  so  that  notwithstanding  his  former 
threats  of  vengeance  he  was  compelled  to  send  to  Esquivel 
for  succour.  A  ship  was  immediately  despatched  to  bring 
him  to  Jamaica.  Esquivel  received  him  into  his  dwelling, 
treated  him  with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  when  suffi- 
ciently refreshed,  enabled  him  to  proceed  to  Hayti.  Ever 
after  they  were  the  best  of  friends. 

The  adventures  of  Columbus  naturally  rendered  the 
neighbourhood  of  Santa  Gloria  a  place  of  interest  to  all 
who  had  served  under  that  great  hero.  Juan  de  Esquivel, 
probably  assisted  by  Diego  Columbus,  accordingly  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  first  city,  near  the  site  of  the  deserted 
Indian  village  of  Mayma.  It  was  called  Sevilla  Neuva,  and 
a  few  fragmentary  remains  may  still  be  traced  among  the 
cane-fields  of  Seville  estate.  When  Sir  Hans  Sloane  visited 
the  island,  some  of  the  ruins  were  in  a  tolerable  state  of 
preservation  ;  and  from  his  account,  and  from  other  sources 
of  information,  an  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  original 
design  of  its  founders.*  One  inscription  bore  the  name  of 
Peter  Martyr,  who  is  described  as  being  the  abbot.  On 
this  accoimt  he  is  often  spoken  of  as  having  resided  on  the 
island,  but  of  this  there  is  no  evidence.  He  was  originally 
a  soldier,  then,  after  the  fashion  of  many  in  those  days,  he 
became  a  priest,  and  was  subsequently  appointed  a  member 
of  the  coimcil  of  the  Indies,  abbot  of  Seville  in  Jamaica, 
and  prior  of  the  church  at  Grenada  in  Spain.  He  died  in 
1626.     Three  years  before  his  death  he  wrote  a  valuable 

*  Sir  Hans  Sloane's  "  History  of  Jamaica,"  vol.  i. 


SPANISH  OCCUPATION.  9 

work  on  the  West  Indies.  It  contains,  however,  no  allusion 
to  his  ever  having  seen  his  distant  cure.  In  one  place  he 
refers  to  the  increasing  growth  of  cassia  trees,  introduced, 
he  says,  hy  a  Spaniard  of  distinction  ''into  Hispaniola, 
Cuba,  and  Jamaica  (whose  rich,  abbilike  priory,  gratious 
Geaser  lately  gave  me)."*  He  speaks  again  of  '*  my  priory 
Jamaica,  by  a  new  name  called  the  island  of  St.  James ;"t 
and  of  a  household  servant  sent  to  the  West  Indies  ''to 
looke  into  the  affairs  of  my  Paradisian  Jamaica.*'! 

Peter  Martyr  was  personally  acquainted  with  most  of  the 
early  Spanish  navigators. 

'*  He  loved  to  talk  with  marineres 
That  come  from  a  far  coontree." 

He  must  have  known  all  the  circumstances  of  the  deten- 
tion of  Columbus  near  his  abbey,  but  his  account  displays 
no  personal  acquaintance  with  the  spot,  and  for  some  rea- 
son he  omits  aU  reference  to  Ovando.§ 

Betuming  to  the  accoimt  of  Sloane,  it  would  appear  that 
Seville,  if  completed  according  to  the  original  design,  would 
have  been  a  place  of  considerable  size.  The  foundations 
of  houses  were  found  nearly  two  miles  distant  from  the 
church ;  wells  were  scattered  about,  and  some  remains  of 
graveyards  indicating  a  considerable  population.  A  tower 
or  castle  provided  with  battlements  had  been  commenced, 
its  walls  some  feet  thick  of  mingled  stone  and  brick. 

The  materials  for  erecting  a  very  spacious  dwelling  were 
also  seen,  probably  designed  for  the  governor,  as  a  ducal 
coat  of  arms  was  engraved  on  one  of  the  stones.  Bridges, 
in  his  "  Annals  of  Jamaica,"  says  the  city  was  often  enlight- 
ened by  the  frequent  visits  of  Columbus  and  his  vice-queen. 
Of  this  there  is  no  proof.  The  fact  seems  to  be  that, 
though  Diego  Columbus  evidently  contemplated  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  powerful  and  prosperous  appanage  to  his 
other  possessions,  the  design  was  abandoned,  and  the  island 
never  attained  to  anything  approaching  the  splendour  of 
Hayti  and  Cuba. 

The  enforced  abandonment  of  Seville  led  with  other 
causes  to  the  comparative  neglect  of  this  beautiful  island, 

:((•' Decades  of  Peter  Martyr"  (old  English  translation),  Dec.  7, 
chap.  ix.  p.  271 ;  see  also  Dec.  8,  chap.  i.  p.  282. 

f  Dec.  8,  chap.  ix.  pw  811.  %  Ibid.,  pp.  808,  809. 

§  Deo.  8,  chap.  iv.  pp.  116, 117. 


10  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

and  yet  the  reason  that  occasioned  the  early  desertion  of 
this  infant  city  will  probably  never  be  known  with  certainty. 
By  some  it  is  ascribed  to  an  assault  by  the  Indians,  who 
are  said  to  have  cut  ofif  all  the  inhabitants,  but  this  is  most 
improbable.    Other  writers  ascribe  it  to  a  plague  of  ants 
making  the  place  utterly  uninhabitable.     Those  who  know 
most  of  tropical  ants  will  not  be  so  ready  as  others  to 
pronounce  the  story  incredible,  especially  as  Herrara  gives 
a  graphic  account  of  the  miseries  inflicted  by  these  creatures 
at  Hayti  in  1518.*     Probably  the  position  of  the  city  ren- 
dering it  peculiarly  accessible  to  the  attacks  of  freebooters 
was  the  chief  if  not  the  only  cause  of  its  desertion.     The 
Spaniards  had  assumed  the  exclusive  right  of  traffic  in 
these  seas,  and  in  consequence  a  host  of  daring  adventurers, 
chiefly  French  and  English,  sought  to  wrest  by  violence 
some  portion  of  the  enormous  wealth  occasionally  to  be 
obtained.     As  early  as  1526  special  instructions  were  given 
to  Spanish  vessels  to  sail  in  company,  in  consequence  of 
the  depredations  of  French  corsairs  ;  +  and  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  they  frequently  landed  near  Seville.    Still  it 
was  not  deserted  during  the  days  of  Juan  de  Esquivel : 
after  governing  the  island  many  years  he  died,  generally 
respected,  and  was  buried  at  Seville.     He  had  founded  two 
other  settlements :    Oristan,  on  the  south-western  coast, 
probably  Bluefields ;  1  and  the  place  now  called  Old  Har- 
bour, but  then  known  as  Puerto  de  Esquivella.     Here  he 
established  a  shipbuilding  yard,  and  long  after  the  port  was 
a  favourite  resort  of  the  Spanish  galleons  on  their  home- 
ward voyage.    Sugar  plantations  were  established  in  several 
places,  cotton  was  cultivated,  and  also  the  vine,  from  which 
good  claret  was  made.    The  cattle  introduced  into  the  island 
nourished,  and  numbers  were  exported  to  Cuba  for  sale. 

Esquivel  was  succeeded  by  Francisco  de  Garay.  He  was 
a  cruel,  avaricious,  and  vain  man.  On  reaching  Jamaica 
he  at  once  introduced  that  system  of  slavery  which  had 
already  reduced  the  Indians  in  Hayti  and  Cuba  from 
millions  to  thousands,  and  which  resulted  there,  as  in 
Jamaica,  in  their  utter  extermination. 

*  "  Herrara  Decades,"  2,  book  iii.  chap.  18. 
f  Southey*8  "  Histoiy  of  West  Indies,"  vol.  i.  p.  156. 
I  So  frequently  alluded  to  by  Gosse,  the  naturalist,  in  his  works  on 
Jamaica. 


SPANISH   OCCUPATION.  11 

An  expedition  in  which  he  engaged  was  almost  equally 
fatal  to  the  few  white  inhabitants.  On  the  27th  of  June, 
1518,  he  set  forth  with  eleven  vessels,  nearly  nine  hundred 
Spaniards,  and  a  great  number  of  Indians,  to  establish  a 
colony  at  Panula,  on  the  mainland.  But  the  geography  of 
these  districts  was  then  so  imperfectly  understood  that  De 
Garay  found,  on  his  arrival,  that  the  place  had  already  been 
annexed  by  Cortes.  Most  of  the  men  who  had  accompanied 
him  from  Jamaica  put  themselves  under  the  command  of 
that  distinguished  but  unscrupulous  leader.  De  Garay 
himself  soon  after  died,  not  without  suspicion  of  poison, 
though  Herenensis,  the  executioner  of  justice  in  Jamaica, 
quoted  by  Peter  Martyr,  ascribes  his  death  to  pleurisy.* 
His  unfortunate  expedition  and  subsequent  emigration  so 
reduced  the  white  population,  that  a  law  was  passed  pro- 
hibiting any  vessel  taking  away  a  man  from  the  island, 
unless  another  was  left  in  his  place. 

The  next  governor  was  Don  Pedro  de  Esquimel,  who  is 
declared  by  the  historian.  Las  Gasas,  to  have  been  the  most 
cruel  of  ail  the  oppressors  of  the  Jamaica  Indians.  He 
was  the  last  governor  who  resided  in  Seville,  but  very  little 
is  known  of  his  administration.  His  name  is  perpetuated 
in  many  parts  of  the  island,  which  are  called  after  him. 
The  Pedro  plains  of  St.  Ann,  the  Pedro  Bluff  in  St. 
Elizabeth,  and  Pedro  river,  are  instances. 

For  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  afterwards, 
only  a  few  circumstances  can  be  related  of  the  progress  of 
events.  Driven  from  Seville,  the  Spaniards  crossed  over  the 
island  and  settled  in  the  plain  near  the  Rio-Golre,  where 
they  built  the  town  of  St.  Jago  de  la  Vega,  or  as  it  is  now 
generally  called,  Spanish  Town.  It  was  thought  to  have 
all  the  advantages  of  an  inland  town,  in  comparative  immu- 
nity from  the  attacks  of  freebooters,  and  yet  was  within 
a  convenient  distance  of  the  ocean.  The  square,  laid  out  in 
the  manner  of  all  Spanish-American  towns,  still  remains. 
The  old  Hall  of  Audience  was  in  existence  when  Sloane 
wrote  his  history,  and  its  simplicity  quite  sets  aside  the 
extravagant  stories  which  are  sometimes  told  of  the  former 
magnificence  of  the  town.  Still  it  attracted  all  the  more 
wealthy  inhabitants  of  the  colony,  became  the  seat  of 
government,  and  for  a  little  while  gave  the  title  of  marquis 

*  "  Decades,"  pp.  288,  289. 


12  raSTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

to  Don  Luis,  the  grandson  of  Columbus.  This  man,  who 
soon  after  cRed,  without  issue,  entered  in  1545  into  a  com- 
promise with  the  court  of  Spain,  by  which  he  gave  up  all 
claim  to  the  viceroyalty  of  the  New  World  for  a  pension  of 
one  thousand  doubloons  in  gold,  and  the  title  of  Duke  de 
Veragua  and  Marquis  de  la  Vega.  A  monastery,  an  abbey, 
and  two  churches  were  soon  built,  but  of  these  no  vestiges 
remain. 

In  1580  Portugal  was  connected  with  the  crown  of  JSpain, 
and  in  1608  one  of  the  many  law-suits  which  the  descen- 
dants of  Columbus  had  to  institute  for  the  maintenance 
of  their  rights  was  decided  in  favour  of  a  branch  of  the 
Portuguese  house  of  Braganza;  and  thus  the  inhabitants  of 
Portugal  began  to  feel  an  interest  in  Jamaica,  and  many 
emigrated  to  it.  Among  these  were  a  few  Jews,  who, 
if  known  as  such,  suffered  no  persecution.  Their  descen- 
dants returned  in  many  instances  to  the  colony  after  the 
British  conquest,  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  present 
numerous  Jewish  community.  Some  new  life  was  thus 
infused  into  the  colony,  but  too  little  to  overcome  the 
indolence  into  which  the  old  Creole  inhabitants  had  gradu- 
ally sunk. 

A  smart  shock  was  given  early  in  1597  to  their  lethargic 
habits.  On  the  29th  of  January  an  English  bucaneer 
dropped  anchor  in  what  is  now  known  as  Kingston  harbour, 
and  landing  near  Passage  Fort,  marched  some  six  miles  up 
the  country  to  Spanish  Town,  which  he  plundered  without 
opposition.  Other  parts  of  the  island  were  visited,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  6th  of  March  that  the  unwelcome  visitors 
took  their  departure.  They  subsequently  asserted  that 
they  got  very  httle  of  any  value. 

Thirty-nine  years  later  Colonel  Jackson,  another  roving 
adventurer,  invaded  the  colony.  He  collected  a  force  in 
the  Windward  Islands,  and  landed,  like  his  predecessor,,  at 
Passage  Fort,  with  about  five  hundred  men.  The  colonists 
had  learnt  a  lesson  from  their  former  defeat,  and  probably 
had  received  notice  of  the  danger  which  threatened  them. 
Jackson  found  them  prepared  to  oppose  his  progress,  and 
in  the  sharp  fight  that  ensued  he  only  gained  the  victory 
with  the  loss  of  forty  men.  When  he  reached  Spanish 
Town,  he  plundered  it  of  all  it  contained  of  value,  and  only 
spared  it  from  destruction  on  payment  of  a  large  ransom, 


SPANISH  OCCUPATION.  13 

obtained,  it  would  appear,  from  treasure  previously  hid- 
den. Many  of  the  English  deserted  their  commander, 
delighted  with  the  beauty  of  the  country ;  and  the  survivors 
were  handed  over  to  the  English,  who  conquered  the  island 
seventeen  years  later. 

Internal  divisions  were  soon  to  prove  even  more  disas- 
trous than  the  visits  of  bucaneers.  The  Spanish  settlers 
quarrelled  with  those  from  Portugal,  and  some  of  the  latter 
were  expelled  from  the  colony,  while  many  Spaniards 
sought  safety  in  the  more  prosperous  island  of  Cuba.  These 
circumstances  explain  the  large  disproportion  between  the 
number  of  inhabitants  and  houses  in  Spanish  Town  when 
taken  by  the  English.  The  town  was  then  thinly  populated 
compared  with  former  years. 

Never  during  the  whole  period  of  Spanish  occupation  had 
it  been  a  prosperous  colony.  Its  trade  was  at  all  [times 
very  insignificant.  The  old  port  of  Esquivel  had  been 
superseded  by  Gaguaya,  or  Port  Royal,  though  this  was 
not  a  place  of  much  importance.  Passage  Fort  was  the 
point  of  communication  with  Spanish  Town.  The  trade  of 
the  island  consisted  chiefly  in  the  supply  of  food  to  the 
homeward  bound  ships  from  Mexico  and  other  parts  of  the 
main  land,  and  a  few  articles  of  export.  The  splendid 
grazing  properties  of  the  soil  in  St.  Ann's  and  the  western 
parishes  had  been  very  early  recognised ;  and  though  after 
the  decline  of  Seville  that  part  of  the  island  was  nearly 
deserted,  innumerable  herds  of  swine  fed  there,  and  at  one 
time  it  was  computed  that  as  many  as  80,000  were  annually 
killed  for  the  sake  of  their  lard,  which  was  sent  to  Havannah 
to  meet  the  homeward  bound  fleets  from  that  place.  The 
chief  shipping  place  was  the  little  village  of  Manteca,  now 
called  Montego  Bay. 

The  forests  yielded  valuable  woods ;  mahogany  is  spoken 
of  thirty-six  feet  in  girth ;  lignum- vitsB  of  fabulous  size ; 
fustic,  and  some  other  varieties.  Hides,  indigo,  and  cocoa, 
the  latter  quoted  at  three  shillings  a  bushel,  were  also  ex- 
ported in  small  quantities.  The  ships  which  reached  the 
colony  supplied  the  inhabitants  with  dress,  wine,  and  a  few 
other  articles  of  necessity  or  luxury.  Some  sugar  and 
tobacco  were  grown,  but  chiefly  for  home  consumption. 
Pine-apples  at  sixpence  each  are  alluded  to  by  old  writers, 
and  Avocado  pears — that  unrivalled  luxury — at  threepence 


li  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

each.  Naseberries,  guavas,  plantains,  bananas,  melons, 
lemons,  oranges,  and  limes,  are  all  known  to  have  been 
tolerably  abundant. 

Peter  Martyr  says  that  the  island  had  beautiful  trees, 
some  indigenous,  others  introduced.  He  describes  two 
sorts  of  bread ;  the  maize  or  Indian  com,  which  multipUes 
its  seed  two  or  three  hundred-fold,  and  which  yields  two  or 
three  crops  a  year,  and  what  he  calls  the  iucca  or  cassava. 
He  describes  it  as  being  made  into  cakes  (carribi),  which 
would  keep  for  two  years  uncorrupted.  This  plant  is  now 
little  used  for  bread,  but  is  well  known  as  the  source  from 
which  casareep  is  derived. 

A  careful  comparison  of  the  conflicting  accounts  to  be 
found  in  the  pages  of  Sloane,  Brown,  Blome,  and  other 
early  writers,  gives  to  Spanish  Town,  at  the  time  of  the 
English  conquest,  about  8000  inhabitants,  of  whom  half 
were  Europeans,  or  their  descendants,  and  half  slaves. 
The  condition  of  these  bondsmen  was  better  than  that  of 
most  of  their  class;  they  lived  imder  the  eye  of  their 
owners,  and  were  not  therefore  exposed  to  the  caprice  of 
middle  men,  or  overseers.  That  they  were  generally 
treated  with  consideration  is  also  apparent  from  the 
fidelity  with  which  they  clung  to  the  fortunes  of  their 
masters  after  the  invasion.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that 
a  negro  is  spoken  of  as  holding  the  office  of  priest  when 
the  English  conquerors  landed.  The  other  parts  of  the 
island  were  very  thinly  inhabited.  Scattered  in  the  vil- 
lages, and  on  the  plantations,  or  hatos,  there  was  not  a 
larger  number  than  Spanish  Town  contained. 

The  habits  of  the  inhabitants  generally  were  not  un- 
affected by  the  comparative  freedom  of  colonial  life,  and 
yet  restrained  by  that  dignity  which  marked  the  old 
Spanish  families.  Amid  the  staid,  yet  congenial  amuse- 
ments in  which  they  indulged,  and  the  homely  plenty 
with  which  the  woods  and  plantations  supplied  them,  they 
had  so  much  of  real  enjoyment,  as  to  look  upon  the 
demand  of  the  English  conquerors,  that  they  should  leave 
the  island,  as  a  sentence  of  banishment  from  all  they  held 
dear.  They  had  ceased  to  be  colonists  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  term ;  Jamaica  was  their  home ;  there 
was  no  other  spot  on  earth  to  which  they  could  give 
that  name. 


SPANISH   OCCUPATION.  15 

The  statements  of  early  writers  render  it  possible  to 
form  a  fair  idea  of  the  general  aspect  of  the  island.  To 
the  east  of  Spanish  Town,  beyond  the  swamps,  was  the 
plain  of  Liguany,  at  the  sea  border  of  which  Kingston  now 
stands.  It  was  then  called  the  Hato  de  Liguany,  and  in 
many  parts  was  covered  with  cedar  and  other  trees. 
Homed  cattle  and  horses,  to  the  number  of  40,000,  grazed 
on  the  luxuriant  herbage.  When  the  English  captured 
the  island,  the  hato  belonged  to  a  rich  widow,  who  re- 
sided at  the  place  then  as  now  called  the  Cavaliers.  Here 
she  had  a  goodly  dwelling,  and  also  some  sugar  works. 

Still  farther  to  the  east  was  the  Hato  of  Ayala,  or  Yalos, 
now  called  Yallahs.  Here  also  were  vast  herds  of  cattle, 
and  some  smalt  sugar  works  by  the  rivers.  It  was  much 
exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  freebooters,  who  frequently 
landed  at  Los  Ana,  now  Bull  Bay,  and  at  La  Cruz  de 
Padre,  now  called  Yallahs  Bay.  Yet  more  to  the  east  was 
the  Hato  of  Morant,  abounding  in  hogs  and  homed  cattle. 
General  Venables,  in  his  report  to  Cromwell,  thus  described 
it: — "It  is  a  large  and  plentiful  hato,  being  four  leagues 
in  length,  consisting  of  many  small  savannahs,  and  has 
wild  cattle  and  hogs  in  very  great  plenty,  and  ends  at  the 
mine  which  is  at  the  Cape,  or  Point  of  Morant  itself,  by 
which  towards  the  north  is  the  Port  Antonio." 

The  whole  of  the  north  side  of  the  island  was  nearly 
deserted.  The  ruins  of  Seville  were  commonly  reported 
to  be  haunted  by  the  ghosts  of  the  old  cavaliers.  A  very 
smaU  plantation,  developed  into  a  fine  sugar  estate  by  a 
Captain  Hemming  after  the  conquest,  and  still  bearing  the 
name  of  Seville,  was  the  only  cultivated  spot  for  many 
mUes.  There  was  also  the  little  port  of  Manteca  or  Mon- 
tego  Bay.  The  Indians  had  long  been  exterminated,  their 
villages  had  mostly  been  situated  within  sight  of  the  sea, 
if  not  on  the  coast.  But  very  far  up  the  lulls,  approach- 
able then  only  from  the  north,  may  be  seen  in  the  parish 
of  Manchester  traces  of  one  of  their  last  retreats.  The 
sites  of  their  villages  are  now  covered  by  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  ferns.  These  places,  known  as  the  fern  grounds, 
are  from  twenty  to  eighty  acres  in  extent,  and  all  around 
are  magnificent  forest  trees.* 

No  better  proof  of  the  utter  desolation  of  this  side  of  the 

*  Bridges'  '*  Parish  of  Manchester,''  pp.  19,  20. 


16  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA.  ^ 

island  towards  the  close  of  the  Spanish  occupation  can  be 
given  than  the  fact,  that  when  their  forces  retired  to  it  to 
make  a  final  stand,  the  English  troops  had  to  be  sent 
round  by  sea ;  there  was  no  road  across  the  island  which 
could  be  used  for  such  a  purpose.  Returning  to  the  south, 
the  extreme  western  point  occupied  by  the  Spaniards  could 
not  have  been  far  beyond  where  the  town  of  Savanna  la 
Mar  now  stands.  The  point  of  Negril  was  known  as  Punto 
l^Tegrillo.  The  Hato  Cabonico  was  near  Oristan,  now  Blue- 
fields.  More  towards  Spanish  Town  the  Hato  of  El  Ebano, 
80  called  from  its  forests  of  ebony;  a  few  miles  further 
was  Gaobano,  or  Black  Biver,  near  which  were  forests  of 
mahogany.  The  Hato  of  Fereda  came  next  on  the  home- 
ward route ;  here  the  English  found  a  small  village.  The 
now  populous  parish  of  Manchester  was  uninhabited,  many 
traces  of  Indian  villages  were  found  between  Milk  River 
and  Alligator  Pond,  but  the  Spaniards  had  exterminated 
them,  driving  one  party  over  the  Devil's  Bace,  and  causing 
others  to  hide  in  the  caves  of  the  sea-bound  rocks,  where 
their  bones  have  been  found.  In  Vere  the  Hatos  Yama 
and  Guatibocoa  appear  to  have  been  the  only  settlements, 
but  in  the  more  mountainous  parts  of  Clarendon  there  was 
a  little  cultivation.  At  Porus  there  was  a  settlement,  and 
a  well  of  Spanish  construction  yet  remains.  In  the  low- 
lands of  Clarendon  a  little  tobacco  was  grown.  In  6ua- 
naboa  (a  district  in  the  English  parish  of  St.  John's)  cocoa 
trees  flourished.  In  the  Healthshire  hills  there  was  some 
copper,  from  which  it  is  believed  the  bells  in  the  old  abbey 
church  were  cast.  The  country  between  Passage  Fort 
and  Old  Harbour  had  been  cleared  by  Indians,  and  was 
in  some  parts  cultivated  by  Spaniards. 

Such  was  the  island  after  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  of 
Spanish  occupation.  The  Indians  had  been  exterminated, 
but  the  soil  had  not  been  cultivated  to  any  considerable 
extent.  Cuba  and  Hayti,  with  the  rich  mines  of  Mexico 
and  the  South  American  States,  attracted  the  Spaniards 
far  more  than  a  country  in  which  honest  persevering  in- 
dustry was  required  to  secure  the  advantages  which  the 
island  has  yielded,  and  will  yet  yield  to  a  far  larger  extent. 
Before  tracing  the  progress  made  under  British  rule  it  is 
desirable  to  record  some  facts  relative  to  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  the  land. 


THE   ABORiaiNAL   INHABITANTS.  17 


CHAPTER  ni. 

THE  ABORiaiNAL  INHABITANTS. 

The  West  Indian  Islands  were  at  the  time  of  their  discovery 
occupied  by  two  distinct  races  of  Indians.  The  most  war- 
like of  these,  called  Garibbs,  were  not  found  in  Jamaica. 
They  mostly  inhabited  what  are  now  known  as  the  Wind- 
ward Islands.  The  Bahama  Islands,  Cuba,  Hayti,  Porto 
Bico,  and  Jamaica,  were  occupied  by  a  far  more  gentle  race  : 
indeed,  the  smaller  islands  were  once  inhabited  by  the  same 
people,  but  an  incursion  of  the  warlike  Caribbs  from  South 
America  destroyed  the  more  effeminate  tribes;  and  pro- 
bably  it  was  only  the  distance  and  extent  of  the  larger 
islands  that  preserved  them  from  the  same  fate. 

Any  inquiry  into  the  origin  of  the  race  which  formerly 
lived  in  Jamaica  would  not  be  attended  with  satisfactory 
results,  and  would,  moreover,  occupy  considerable  space. 
Leaving  this  question,  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  describe 
them  as  fully  as  the  imperfect  records  handed  down  will 
permit. 

Their  complexion  was  of  a  tawny  or  copper  hue,  but  they 
were  painted  with  a  variety  of  colours.  They  were  destitute 
of  beards,  but  their  hair  was  long  and  straight ;  they  were 
of  medium  height  and  gracefully  proportioned,  but  that 
they  were  so  very  beautiful  as  some  assert  is  fairly  open  to 
question.  No  doubt  a  few  of  the  women  were  so,  but  such 
cases  must  surely  have  been  exceptional.  As  a  rule  their 
faces  were  broad,  and  the  nose  flat  and  wide.  But  the 
habit  of  pretematurally  compressing  the  forehead  in  in- 
fiancnr  gave  an  unnatural  elevation  to  the  hinder  part  of  the 
head,  and  must  have  imparted  a  most  unpleasant  aspect 
to  the  countenance.  The  only  advantage  that  appears  to 
have  resulted  from  this  practice,  was  the  hardening  of  the 
skull  to  such  a  degree  as  not  only  to  enable  it  to  resist  the 
blow  of  their  wooden  swords,  but,  it  is  said  by  Herrara,  to 
blunt  and  even  break  Spanish  blades. 

Their  clothing  was  scanty  in  the  extreme,  but  they  were 
exceedingly  fond  of  paint  and  feathers.    When  Columbus 

8 


18  mSTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

first  saw  the  multitude  who  crowded  the  shore  on  his 
arrival  at  Jamaica,  he  observed  that  they  were  painted  of 
almost  every  colour,  black  predominating.  Some  were 
partly  covered  with  palm  leaves,  others  wore  garlands  of 
flowers,  and  occasionally  the  neck  and  arms  were  similarly 
decorated.  The  little  squares  of  cloth  worn  by  the  elder 
women  were  often  dyed.  The  houses  occupied  by  the 
Indians  were  of  very  simple  construction.  They  usually 
consisted  of  a  tall  central  post,  around  which,  at  equtd 
distances,  were  placed  a  number  of  smaller  posts  forming 
a  circle :  to  these  wild  canes  were  lashed ;  the  roof  was 
formed  of  the  same  material,  and  covered  either  with  the 
tops  of  canes  or  by  palm  leaves.*  Slight  as  thesci  struc- 
tures were,  they  withstood  the  violence  of  ordinary  storms. 

The  caciques  dwelt  in  buildings  similarly  constructed, 
though  larger  and  occasionally  much  ornamented.  They 
were  kept  clean,  the  floor  was  sometimes  strewn  with  palm 
leaves,  just  as  rushes  were  once  laid  down  in  England,  and 
a  shady  place  beneath  trees  was  usually  selected.  These 
cottages  often  stood  alone,  surrounded  by  a  little  garden, 
sometimes  in  clusters  of  four  or  five,  and  occasionally  they 
were  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  square. 

For  sleeping,  hammocks  were  used ;  Immac  was  the  old 
Indian  name.  These  were  made  of  twine,  netted.  The 
twine  itself  was  made  from  the  cotton  which  grew  abun- 
dantly in  this  and  other  islands,  and  was  often  dyed  a 
variety  of  beautiful  colours.  These,  with  a  few  flat  plates 
on  which  to  dry  cassava,  some  earthen  pots  and  cala- 
bashes, comprised  as  a  general  rule  the  furniture  of  their 
huts.  Some  of  the  caciques  were  however  more  favoured. 
The  early  invaders  speak  of  seats  and  other  articles  of  fur- 
niture, curiously  wrought  out  of  single  pieces  of  wood 
(generally  ebony)  into  the  shape  of  animals.  But  such 
articles  were  far  from  common:  that  they  should  be  seen 
at  all,  speaks  much  for  the  ingenuity  and  perseverance  of 
the  people,  especially  as  they  were  without  tools  of  iron. 

The  Indians  were  very  abstemious  in  their  use  of  food. 
It  consisted  chiefly  of  roots,  among  which  the  potato  may  be 
mentioned,  cassava,  and  maize.  The  cassava  was  prepared, 
much  as  it  is  now,  by  scraping  the  roots,  cutting  it  in  small 
pieces,  which  were  then  dressed  and  strained  with  great 

♦Peter  Martyr. 


I 
J 


THE  ABOBIGINAL  INHABITANTS.  19 

care,  to  extract  the  water,  which  is  poisonous.  It  was  then 
made  into  cakes,  which  kept  good  for  some  time.  The 
other  species  of  cassava  which  has  no  poisonous  properties 
they  eat  either  roasted  or  boiled. 

They  were  very  partial  to  fruit,  of  which  there  was  a 
considerable  variety.  Fish  was  in  great  demand,  especially 
crabs  and  other  shell-fish.  The  utia,  or  Indian  coney,  was 
regarded  as  a  delicacy.  Birds  were  also  eaten  at  their 
feasts.  But  the  dish  most  appreciated  was  the  guana. 
The  Spaniards  first  looked  with  cQsgust  upon  this  creature ; 
the  idea  of  eating  a  monstrous  lizard  some  three  feet  long, 
and  very  repulsive  in  appearance,  was  something  very 
shocking  to  them.  They,  however,  learned  to  like  it. 
Among  the  Indians  it  was  royal  game.  The  common  people 
reserved  them  for  their  chiefs,  and  they  are  still  tolerably 
abundant  on  the  islands  in  Old  Harbour  Bay. 

The  practice  of  smoking  tobacco,  now  so  common,  was 
first  nol^ced  among  these  people.  The  Spanish  discoverers 
were  astonished  at  beholding  so  many  of  the  natives  walk* 
ing  about  with  what  appeared  like  little  firebrands  in  their 
hands  or  mouths.  They  soon  ascertained  that  these  were 
leaves  which  they  folded  within  each  other,  and  from  which, 
when  lighted,  they  proceeded  to  inhale  and  then  puff  out 
the  smoke.  The  surprise  expressed  at  this,  to  the  Spaniards, 
novel  habit,  was  very  great,  but  they  soon  learned  to  adopt 
it.  The  natives  called  the  plant  cohiha^  and  the  word  Uibaco 
was  applied  to  a  tube  they  sometimes  used.  Different 
shapes  of  tabacos  or  tubes  were  seen :  a  very  common  form 
consisted  of  a  small  straight  tube  with  two  branches  at  one 
end,  which  were  inserted  in  the  nostrils.  This  mode  of 
using  the  plant  speedily  occasioned  semi-stupefaction,  and 
was  used  by  the  priests  for  a  purpose  to  be  presently 
described. 

Some  little  attention  was  given  to  rearing  this  plant,  but 
beyond  this,  and  the  cultivation  of  cassava,  maize,  pepper, 
and  cotton,  very  little  was  done  to  supplement  the  bounti- 
fnlness  of  nature.  Their  agriculture  was  of  the  most  sim- 
ple character,  and  consisted  in  burning  off  the  dry  grass 
and  weeds :  the  signs  of  this  improvident  system  may  be 
seen  in  many  parts  of  Jamaica  to  this  day.  If  maize  was 
to  be  planted,  the  earth  was  drilled  with  a  sharp-pointed 
stick,  and  four  or  five  grains  dropped  in  the  hole,  over  which 

8* 


20  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

the  earth  was  cast  by  the  foot.  For  cassava,  little  hillocks 
were  prepared,  into  which  a  few  pieces  of  the  root  were 
put.  As  among  all  uncivilised  nations,  this  work  was  chiefly 
done  by  women.  As  with  agriculture,  so  with  most  other 
pursuits,  little  energy  was  displayed.  Not  only  the  earth, 
but  the  rivers  and  the  sea,  yielded  so  easily  all  that  was 
required,  that  like  most  other  people  similarly  situated,  and 
having  no  artificial  wants,  they  indulged  habits  of  indo- 
lence. Their  canoes  were  well  made,  of  various  sizes; 
some  so  small  as  only  to  hold  a  single  person,  others  could 
receive  forty,  fifty,  or  even  more.  They  were  hollowed  out 
of  a  single  trunk  of  a  ceiba,  or  cotton  tree,  and  not  only 
propelled,  but  guided  by  paddles.  Those  made  in  Jamaica 
were  of  a  very  superior  description  and  highly  ornamented, 
Columbus  measured  one  that  was  ninety-six  feet  in  length 
and  eight  broad.  They  were  formed  by  the  agency  of  fire 
and  the  stone  hatchets  still  occasionally  discovered.  The 
weapons  seen  among  the  people  were  of  a  very  simple 
kind;  a  sort  of  wooden  sword,  clubs  and  lances,  hard- 
ened at  the  end  by  fire,  and  sometimes  tipped  by  a  fliint 
or  the  sharp  bone  of  a  fish,  completes  the  list. 

They  had  fishing  hooks  made  of  bone,  and  fastened  to  a 
bark  Ime.  For  larger  fish  they  used  lances  as  harpoons, 
and  they  had  fishing  nets  made  of  cotton  and  of  fibres. 
The  most  extraordinary  mode  of  fishing  used  among  them 
is  thus  described  by  Oviedo.  He  says  :  ''  The  Indians  of 
Jamaica  and  Cuba  go  a  fishing  with  the  remora,  or  sucking 
fish.  The  owner  on  a  calm  morning  carries  it  out  to  sea, 
secured  to  his  canoe  by  a  small  but  strong  line,  many 
fathoms  in  length ;  and  the  moment  the  creature  sees  a 
fish  in  the  water,  though  at  a  great  distance,  it  darts  away 
with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow,  and  soon  fastens  upon  it. 
The  Indian  in  the  mean  time  loosens  and  lets  go  the  line, 
which  is  provided  with  a  buoy  that  keeps  on  the  surface 
of  the  sea,  and  serves  to  mark  the  course  which  the  remora 
has  taken,  and  he  pursues  it  in  his  canoe  until  he  conceives 
his  game  to  be  nearly  exhausted  and  run  down.  He  then, 
taking  up  the  buoy,  gradually  draws  the  line  towards  the 
shore,  the  remora  still  adhering  with  inflexible  tenacity  to 
its  prey."  In  this  way  turtle  have  been  caught,  if  we  believe 
the  testimony  of  Oviedo,  Herrara,  and  Peter  Martyr.  * 
*  Peter  Martyr.    "  Decade*'  7,  book  vii.  pp.  268,  269. 


THB  ABOBIOINAL  INHABITANTS.  21 

There  was  only  a  very  little  gold  found  among  the 
natives  of  Jamaica.  It  was  obtained  by  digging  small 
holes  by  the  side  of  a  rapid  part  of  a  river.  As  the 
water  flowed  through  these,  portions  of  the  sediment  were 
deposited :  if  any  sign  of  metal  was  observed,  the  sands 
were  collected  and  subjected  to  repeated  washings  until 
the  grains  were  separated.  The  process  was  rude  in  the 
extreme,  but  was  imitated  by  the  Spaniards,  who  caused 
basins  to  be  hollowed  out  on  the  banks  of  the  Bio  Minho 
near  the  Longville  Estate.  The  Indians  wrought  the 
gold  they  obtained  into  flat  plates  and  coronets,  and  used 
it  also  to  form  the  noses,  eyes,  and  some  other  parts  of 
masks  made  out  of  wood,  but  the  use  of  which  is  not 
known. 

Like  many  people  who  are  given  to  habits  of  indolence, 
they  displayed  considerable  grace  and  activity  in  dancing 
and  other  amusements.  Not  only  the  evening,  but  fre- 
quently the  whole  night  was  spent  in  dancing :  this  they 
accompanied  with  songs,  and  also  the  rude  music  of  a 
kind  of  drum.  They  had  also  a  sort  of  timbrel  made  with 
shells,*  but  this  could  only  be  used  by  the  chief  person  of 
the  village.  These  dances  were  often  attended  by  great 
numbers  of  people,  and  were  not  unfrequently  very  licentious 
in  their  character.  Sometimes  the  performers  waved  palm 
branches  as  they  danced,  and  often  these  festivities  were 
connected  with  religious  ceremonies. 

A  very  favourite  game  among  the  people  was  called  Bato : 
men  and  women  jomed  in  it,  and  each  considerable  village 
had  a  ground  set  apart  for  the  game.  Sometimes  the 
village  was  divided  into  two  parties ;  occasionally  one  village 
played  against  another,  in  which  case  the  conquered  regaled 
the  conquerors  at  a  feast.  It  was  played  with  a  light  elastic 
ball,  curiously  compounded  of  roots  and  herbs.  This  was 
thrown  from  one  to  another,  and  was  not  only  caught  by 
the  hand,  but  on  the  head,  shoulders,  elbow,  knee,  back,  or 
foot,  and  thence  propelled  again  with  wonderful  dexterity. 
Sometimes  mimic  flghts  or  tournaments  were  organised,  but 
what  commenced  in  sport  often  terminated  in  bloodshed. 
The  women,  and  even  men  had  their  household  pets,  parrots 
especially,  and  also  alcds,  a  small  dog  which  never  barked. 
In  their  intercourse  with  each  other  they  appear  gene- 
*  Petor  Martyr.    *'  Decade  "  8,  book  yii.  pp.  182. 


22  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

rally  to  have  been  kind.  They  were  extremely  so  to  the 
strangers  who  first  visited  these  shores.  Many  touching 
instances  of  this  are  given  in  the  records  of  the  voyages  of 
Columbus ;  and  when  that  great  mariner  was  wrecked 
upon  the  northern  coast  of  this  island,  and  on  another 
occasion  at  Hayti,  the  good  feeling  of  the  people  was  exhi- 
bited in  a  striking  maimer.  The  utter  extermination  of 
these  races  by  the  Spaniards  is  one  of  the  darkest  blots 
upon  the  page  of  history. 

As  to  the  moral  purity  of  the  people  little  can  be  said. 
They  were  grossly  licentious,  but  truth  requires  that  it 
should  be  recorded  that  even  here  they  do  not  contrast 
unfavourably  with  their  conquerors.  The  tale  of  lust  and 
rapine,  inseparable  from  the  complete  record  of  Spanish 
occupation,  is  sickening  in  the  extreme.* 

Their  mode  of  government  was  very  simple  in  its  character, 
yet  not  altogether  devoid  of  dignity.  The  princes  or  chief- 
tains were  called  caciques.  In  some  of  the  small  islands  a 
few  men  of  energy  obtained  authority  over  a  number  of  infe- 
rior chiefs.  Thus  Hayti  was  divided  into  five  principalities, 
some  of  which  were  ruled  by  caciques  of  very  considerable 
ability.  There  was  one  custom  in  relation  to  these  chiefs  of 
very  questionable  advantage.  It  was  not  thought  right  that 
they  should  die  like  ordinary  mortals,  and  so  when  it  was 
supposed  that  they  were  near  their  end,  they  were  strangled. 
A  cacique  might  suffer  one  of  the  common  people  to  be 
disposed  of  in  the  same  way,  as  a  mark  of  favour,  other- 
wise they  were  left  in  their  hammocks,  with  bread  and 
water  near  at  hand,  to  die  in  solitude.  The  departed  chief 
was  disembowelled,  the  body  dried  in  an  oven,  and  then 
placed  in  a  cave.  Occasionally  the  remains  of  the  common 
people  were  burnt,  more  frequently  they  were  buried,  but  with 
far  less  ceremony  than  the  caciques.  Amonp:  the  Garibbs 
it  was  nsual  to  bury  one  of  the  Uving  wives,  or  sometimeB 
one  of  the  slaves,  with  a  chief,  t  The  dignity  of  cacique 
was  hereditary,  with  certain  restrictions.  Among  his  many 
wives  there  was  one  who  was  chief  or  queen.  If  she  had 
children  the  eldest  son  inherited  the  title,  but  if  she  was 
childless  the  dignity  did  not  go  to  the  brothers  of  the 
caciques  or  their  descendants,  as  in  Europe,  but  to  the 

*  Peter  Martyr.    "  Decade  "  7,  book  x.  pp.  279,  280. 
t  Ibid.    "  Decade  "  8,  book  ix.  pp.  188-144. 


THE  ABOBiaiNAL  INHABITANTS.  2  8 

eldest  sister  and  her  offspring.*  The  reason  assigned  for 
this  was  that  her  children  most  belong  to  the  favoured 
family,  but  the  supposed  children  of  the  brothers  might 
only  be  such  by  repute,  and  not  in  fact.  It  was  in  conse- 
quence of  this  arrangement  that  Anacaona  became  cacique 
or  princess  of  one  of  the  provinces  of  Hayti  on  the  death  of 
her  brother  Behechio. 

It  now  only  remains  to  describe  the  religious  ideas  and 
customs  of  the  aborigines.  Like  almost  every  people  they 
believed  in  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being.  He  was 
immortal,  invisible,  omnipotent,  but  not  uncreated;  for 
he  had  a  mother  who  presided  either  in  the  sun  or  moon. 
He  was  called  by  several  names,  chiefly  by  that  of  Jocahima, 
and  lived  in  the  skies,  but  they  never  ventured  to  address 
worship  to  him.  They  had  a  number  of  inferior  deities,  to 
whom  they  offered  the  homage  they  withheld  from  the 
Supreme.  These  were  called  Zemes.  They  were  of  seve- 
ral kinds ;  each  cacique  had  one  as  his  peculiar  divinity. 
Some  belonged  to  families,  but  it  would  appear  that  they 
were  equally  beneficent  to  any  one  who  happened  to  possess 
them;  hence  they  were  often  stolen,  just  as  Rachel  carried 
away  the  gods  of  her  father  Laban.  The  size  and  shape 
of  these  idols  varied  greatly  ;  some  were  made  of  cotton;! 
most  were  so  small  that  they  could  be  bound  to  the 
forehead  of  the  owner  when  going  to  battle,  to  shield 
him  from  danger ;  others  were  considerably  larger,  t  One 
preserved  to  a  recent  date,  and  probably  now  in  exist- 
ence, is  described  as  being  "  about  seven  inches  in  height, 
composed  of  a  mixture  of  earth  and  pulverised  stone,  baked 
to  the  hardness  and  consistency  of  granite,  and  represent- 
ing the  rude  features  of  a  human  being ;  a  flattened  head, 
with  knobs  on  each  side  representing  ears,  and  fixed  on  a 
conical  base."  To  some  of  these  idols  particular  powers 
over  the  elements,  seasons,  rivers,  seas,  woods,  &c.,  were 
ascribed. 

Like  most  other  nations  whose  legends  have  been  ex- 
amined, these  people  had  traditions  which,  though  strangely 

*  Peter  Martyr.    "  Decade  "  8,  book  ix.  pp.  148. 

+  Ibid.    "  Decade  "  1,  book  ix.  pp.  60-52. 

I  Peter  Martyr  obtamed  mnch  of  his  information  on  the  religion  of 
the  i>eople  from  a  book  written  by  a  priest  named  Ramonus,  who  lived 
among  the  Indiuis. 


'24  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

perverted,  clearly  indicate  a  misty  acquaintance  "with  the 
facts  of  creation.  In  Hayti  there  was  a  large  cavern  of  a 
very  remarkable  character,  in  which  were  images,  and  to 
which  in  times  of  drought  the  natives  would  come  with 
offerings  of  fruit  and  flowers.  It  was  from  this  place  the 
sun  and  moon  were  said  to  have  issued.*  Men  came  from 
another  cavern,  Peter  Martyr  says  from  two  caverns,  one 
large,  from  which  big  men  came,  while  a  smaller  cave  pro- 
duced those  of  a  lesser  stature.  They  were  for  a  long  time 
destitute  of  companions,  but  one  day  they  saw  strange  crea- 
tures that  proved  to  be  women :  these  they  could  not  catch 
at  first,  as  they  were  so  slippery.  The  feat  was  at  last 
accomplished  by  some  hard,  rough-handed  men,  and  so  the 
world  was  peopled.  A  tradition  of  the  deluge  also  existed : 
it  was  believed  to  have  covered  the  whole  earth,  leaving 
only  islands,  which  were  once  mountain  tops. 

In  some  of  the  villages  houses  were  set  apart  for  the 
purposes  of  their  religion.  These  were  under  the  charge 
of  priests,  called  Butios  ;  they  professed  to  see  visions,  to 
dream  dreams,  and  to  foretell  coming  events.  Protracted 
fastings,  and  the  fumes  of  tobacco  in  the  way  they  used  it, 
produced  these  trances.  These  men  were  accustomed  to 
paint  their  bodies  with  pictures  of  the  Zemes,  and  their 
influence  was  increased  by  the  knowledge  they  possessed 
of  the  healing  art.  They  however  made  great  use  of 
charms  and  incantations.  Like  the  African  Myal  man  of 
the  present  day,  they  appeared  to  suck  certain  parts  of  the 
bodies  of  their  patients,  and  would  then  exhibit  substances 
they  professed  to  have  brought  away.t  At  other  times 
they  would  assert  that  they  had  banished  the  malady  to 
the  sea,  to  the  mountains,  or  to  some  distant  part.  Sir 
Hans  Sloane,  in  his  magnificent  work  on  Jamaica,  quotes 
from  Lopez  de  Gomara  to  the  following  effect. 

He  says  the  Butios  used  tobacco  to  dream  and  see  visions 
by.  They  "  do  eat  of  this  bray'd  or  made  small,  but  the 
smoke  of  it  is  taken  into  the  nostrils  when  they  are  to  give 
answers,  by  which  they  see  many  visions,  being  not  them- 
selves :  the  fury  being  over,  they  recount  for  the  will  of  God 
what  they  have  seen.  When  they  cure  they  shut  them- 
selves with  the  sick,  surround  him,  smoaking  him  with  the 

*  Peter  Martyr.    *'  Decade  "  1,  book  ix.  p.  51. 
t  Ibid.    •*  Decade  "  1,  book  ix. 


THE  ABORiaiNAL  INHABITANTS.  25 

same,  suck  out  of  his  shoulders  what  they  say  was  the 
disease,  showing  a  stone  or  bone  they  had  kept  in  their 
mouthy  which  women  do  keep  as  relics."* 

Occasionally  grand  festivals  were  held  in  honour  of  the 
Zemes.  A  day  having  been  proclaimed  by  the  caciques, 
the  people  from  all  parts  would  assemble.  A  proces- 
sion was  formed,  in  which  men  and  women  appeared  in 
their  ornaments,  the  younger  females  naked.  The  cacique 
marched  at  the  head,  beating  a  drum,  but  remained  at  the 
entrance  of  the  house  where  the  idols  were,  and  into  which 
the  women  went  singing,  and  bearing  baskets  of  cakes  and 
flowers.  These  the  Butios  received  with  loud  cries,  and 
having  offered  to  the  Zemes,  broke  and  distributed  to  the 
heads  of  families :  these  fragments  were  kept  as  amulets. 
Some  of  the  people  thrust  short  sticks  in  their  mouths 
to  occasion  vomiting,  the  females  danced,  and  songs  were 
sung  in  praise  of  the  Zemes  and  the  caciques. 

The  priests  were  far  from  honest  in  their  proceedings. 
Once  a  party  of  Spaniards  surprised  some  people  who  were 
listening  to  sounds  which  seemed  to  proceed  from  one  of 
the  Zemes,  and  which  were  received  as  oracles.  On  break- 
ing the  image  it  was  found  that  it  was  hollow,  and  that  a 
tube  passed  from  it  to  a  bed  of  leaves,  under  which  an 
Indian  was  concealed,  to  produce  the  sounds  they  heard. 

Many  of  their  dances  were  closely  connected  with  their 
religious  worship,  and  symbolized  the  more  remarkable 
events  in  their  history.  The  songs  with  which  they  were 
accompanied  were  called  Areytos.  In  some  of  these  the 
worthy  deeds  of  the  departed  caciques  were  related  in  a 
sort  of  metrical  history,  very  much  the  same  as  Homer 
sung  the  praise  of  Trojan  heroes.  Other  songs  were  of  a 
sacred  character,  and  had  reference  to  their  religious  faith, 
while  others  were  prophetic.  Among  this  class  was,  it  is 
said,  one  which  predicted  that  strangers,  covered  with 
clothing  and  armed  with  the  thunders  and  lightnings  of 
heaven,  would  come  among  them.  These  songs  were  taught 
the  children  of  the  caciques  by  the  Butios,  and  were  ac- 
companied with  the  music  of  the  drum  and  the  kind  of 
timbrel  before  described,  called  a  maguey,  t 

*  Peter  Martyr  goes  more  into  details  in  his  '*  Decades/*  1,  book  ix. 
pp.  52-54«  and  *'  Decade  "  7,  book  x.  p.  277. 

f  Ibid.    *' Decade"  8,  book  vii.  pp.  182,  188,  &o. 


26  HISTORY    OF   JAMAICA. 

8ach  were  the  habits  and  oostoma  of  these  people.  The 
only  qnestioii  that  nov  remains  has  relation  to  their  ideas 
of  a  mtore  world.  They  supposed  that  the  dead  roamed 
abont  at  night,  and  remained  m  gloomy  retreats  during  the 
day ;  occasionally  they  were  said  to  mingle  with  the  living 
and  visit  them  in  bed.  They  might  be  known  by  a  parti- 
cular sign  on  their  person.  Sach  however  was  not  the  fate 
of  those  who  had  been  good  in  their  lifetime.  They  were 
taken  to  a  place  of  happiness  called  Coyaba.  Here  they 
were  united  to  all  they  had  loved  best  npon  earth.  In  this 
happy  valley  they  were  regaled  with  lascions  &mts,  chief 
of  which  the  guava  and  mamey  were  mentioned.  No  cares 
or  anxieties  disturbed  their  peace ;  but  all  who  remember 
the  habits  of  their  life,  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that 
they  anticipated  nnlimited  sessnal  gratification  as  one  of 
the  highest  enjoyments  of  the  fatore  state. 


PERIOD  II. 

From  Conquest  by  tlie  Englishj  1655,  to  the  great 

EartJiquakey  1692. 

CHAPTER  I. 

HISTORICAL    EVENTS. 

The  greater  nninber  of  writers  on  Jamaica  history  have 
thonght  it  desirable  to  enter  upon  a  consideration  of  the 
motives  which  induced  Oliver  Cromwell  to  undertake  the 
expedition  to  the  West  Indies ;  and  their  views  have  not 
mmaturally  been  aflfected  by  the  opinion  they  had  previously 
formed  of  the  general  character  of  that  remarkable  man. 

The  investigations  of  Carlyle  and  others  of  late  years 
have  contributed  greatly  to  the  better  understanding  of  that 
period  of  English  history ;  facts  which  prejudice  had  con- 
cealed for  nearly  two  centuries  have  been  brought  to  light, 
and  errors,  disseminated  from  generation  to  generation, 
have  been  corrected.    Without  entering  into  details,   it 
may  be  observed  that  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  British 
traders  and  colonists  in  the  West  Indies  were  such  as  no 
man  really  concerned  for  the  glory  and  honour  of  his 
country  could  behold  without  resentment,  or  refrain  from 
taking  measures  to  redress  as  soon  as  the  opportunity  was 
afforded.    That  the  kings  of  the  Stuart  dynasty  had  tamely 
submitted  to  Spanish  arrogance  and  cruelty,  was  no  reason 
^hy  a  true-hearted  Englishman  like  Cromwell  should  do 
the  same. 

As  soon  as  the  Protector  was  able  to  turn  his  attention 
to  the  relations  of  the  British  nation  with  foreign  powers, 
jMproceeded  to  vindicate  its  honour  where  it  had  been 
«*ted  with  indignity.  The  gallant  Blake,  having  humbled 
ina  Datch  by  a  succession  of  brilliant  victories^  was  sent  in 


as  msTOEt  OF  JAKAIOA. 

the  year  1655  with  a  well-appointed  fleet  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  Boon  adjasted,  in  his  own  practical  manner, 
Bondiy  diBpnteB  with  different  states.  The  Duke  of  ToBuany 
was  compelled  to  give  indemnity  for  wrongs  inflicted  upon 
English  merchants,  and  the  pirates  of  Barbary  were  taught 
a  wholesome  leaaon.  These  victories  were  not  without 
effect  in  secoring  rehgions  liberty  for  the  persecuted  Wal- 
denses,  a  race  in  which  Cromwell  and  his  secretary  Milton 
were  deeply  interested. 

The  attention  of  the  Protector  was  not  however  wholly 
engaged  by  these  trndertakings  :  another  fleet  had  been  pre- 
pared,  the  destination  of  which  was  kept  a  profound  secret. 
When  the  sealed  orders  were  opened,  it  was  found  that 
the  commanders  were  instructed  "to  obtain  an  establish- 
ment in  that  part  of  the  West  Indies  which  ia  possessed  by 
the  Spaniards."  Had  Blake  been  in  command,  it  is  very 
probable  thai  Spanish  dominion  in  the  West  Indies  would 
have  been  annihilated,  and  Cuba,  Hayti,  and  Forto  Bico 
have  become  British  colonies;  but  this  naval  hero  was 
engaged  elsewhere,  and  so  the  command  of  the  fleet  was 
entrusted  to  Admiral  Fenn,  and  that  of  the  army  to 
General  Venables. 

That  neither  of  these  men  were  to  be  trusted  seems 
almost  indisputable :  they  were  both  willing  to  serve  the 
cause  of  the  exiled  Staarts  when  opportonity  offered,  but 
whether  Cromwell  had  any  reason  to  qnestion  their  fidelity 
is  not  so  clear.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  not  free  from 
euspicion,  and  that  it  was  on  that  account  he  appointed 
three  commisaioners  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  and 
were  invested  with  power  to  control  the  operations  of  the  com- 
manders.    Their  names  were  Butler,  Searle,  and  Winslow. 

Divided  responsibility  usually  results  in  disaster,  and  in 
this  case  a  variety  of  causes  combined  to  augment  the 
danger.  The  force  under  the  command  of  Fenn  and 
Venables  numbered  between  six  and  seven  thousand  soldiers 
and  sailors.  Of  the  former  only  a  very  small  proportion 
were  veterans,  or  even  men  of  military  experience,  many 
were  volonteers,  and  more  were  far  better  acquainted  with 
jails  and  vagabondage  than  martial  exploits.  It  is  quite 
true  that  victories  have  been  won  by  ai'mies  no  better  con- 
stituted, but  in  such  cases  ihita^Mmheieji  commanded  by 
men  of  a  higher  order  fc*  ~ 


HISTORICAL  EYBNTS.  29 

It  has  been  customary  with  Spanish  writers  to  speak  of 
this  West  Indian  invasion  as  wholly  unwarranted  and  un- 
proYoked.  Some  English  authors  and  writers  of  Jamaica 
nistory  have  impugned  the  motives  of  Cromwell  in  directing 
it,  yet  it  may  not  unreasonably  be  asserted  that  few  warlike 
expeditions  have  had  so  good  a  warrant.  Fortunately,  one 
of  the  most  clear  and  convincing  state  papers  to  be  found 
in  the  records  of  these  times  is  extant  in  reference  to  these 
transactions.  It  was  originally  written  in  Latin  by  the  poet 
Hilton,  Cromwell's  secretary,  and  an  English  translation 
of  the  same  may  be  found  in  the  collective  edition  of  his 
prose  works.* 

The  cruel  wrongs  endured  by  Englishmen  from  the 
Spaniards  in  the  West  Indies  are  fully  recapitulated  by 
Milton,  including  not  only  such  wholesale  massacres  as 
those  at  St.  Eitts  in  1629,  at  Tortuga  in  1687,  and  at 
Santa  Cruz  in  1650 ;  but  a  number  of  attacks  on  English 
vessels,  accompanied  by  plunder,  and  often  by  the  murder 
or  torture  of  the  crew,  the  latter  often  followed  by  hope- 
less slavery  in  the  mines.  The  plea  put  forth  by  the 
Spaniards  that  dominion  in  these  seas  belonged  to  them 
exclusively,  by  right  of  discovery  and  the  authority  of  the 
pope,  is  ably  dealt  with.  That  Cromwell  had  ample  justi- 
fication for  his  dealings  with  the  Spanish  nation  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  But  when  Milton,  true  to  his  deep  religious 
convictions,  wrote  of  ''the  most  noble  opportunities  of 
promoting  the  glory  of  God,  and  enlarging  the  bounds  of 
Christ's  kingdom,  which  we  do  not  doubt  will  appear  to  be 
the  chief  end  of  our  late  expedition  to  the  West  Indies,"  he 
described  his  own  aspirations  and  those  of  Cromwell,  but 
certainly  not  those  of  many  who  at  that  time  went  forth  to 
the  Western  Archipelago. 

The  armament  was  fitted  out  by  General  Desborough, 
and  sailed  from  Portsmouth  on  the  26th  of  December,  1654. 
At  the  end  of  next  January  it  arrived  at  Barbadoes,  and 
notwithstanding  the  dissensions  which  even  thus  early  had 
arisen  between  the  commanders,  a  number  of  colonists 
joined  it.  The  4000  soldiers  who  had  sailed  from  England 
were  reinforced  by  8000  volunteers  from  Barbadoes,  Nevis, 
and  some  other  islands;  additions  were  made  to  the  orig^al 
fleet  of  thirty  ships,  and  on  the  81st  of  March  the  combined 

*  VoL  iL,  Bohn*B  Edition. 


80  mSTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

forces  sailed  for  Hayti,  and  reached  their  destination  on 
the  18th  of  April,  1655. 

The  calamities  which  befell  the  expedition  at  this  place 
do  not  properly  belong  to  the  history  of  Jamaica.  They 
furnish  the  darkest  blot  on  the  history  of  the  Protectorate. 
What  better  could  be  expected  when  neither  admiral,  general, 
or  commissioners  worked  in  unison  ?  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
other  causes  helped  to  aggravate  the  mischief.  Pepys  in 
his"  diary  gives  his  authority  for  recording  a  statement 
seriously  reflecting  on  the  personal  courage  of  the  admiral ; 
while  Bridges,  in  his  "  Annals  of  Jamaica,**  refers  to  an 
alleged  subservience  on  the  part  of  Venables  to  female 
charms.*  Mr.  Hill,  in  his  "  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Jamaica 
History, "t  tells  as  a  fact,  received  as  historical  in  Hayti,  of 
an  attachment  on  the  part  of  Venables  to  a  Spanish  young 
lady,  taken  on  board  his  vessel  from  a  prize.  This  lady, 
though  not  reciprocating  his  feelings,  managed,  it  is  said, 
so  to  influence  him  as  to  lead  him  into  errors  which  made 
the  capture  of  Santo  Domingo  almost  impossible.  What- 
ever share  cowardice  and  folly  had  in  the  repulse,  the 
results  were  disastrous  in  the  extreme  ;  and  at  length  the 
troops  were  re-embarked,  after  suffering  loss,  not  only  from 
the  enemy,  but  by  hunger  and  disease.  One-third  of  those 
who  arrived  in  the  ships  must  have  been  cut  off,  for  when 
the  fleet  sailed  for  Jamaica,  sailors  and  soldiers  only 
numbered  6550  men,  according  to  the  statement  of 
Venables.  Winslow,  one  of  the  commissioners,  died  soon 
after  leaving  Hayti. 

On  the  8rd  of  May,  1655  (jus*  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
years  after  the  date  of  the  discovery  of  the  island),  the 
British  fleet  rounded  the  point  of  Gaguaya,  or  Fort  Boyal 
as  it  is  now  termed,  and  anchored  off  Passage  Fort.  No 
opposition  of  a  serious  character  was  offered,  the  Are 
of  the  few  guns  was  soon  silenced,  and  on  the  landing 
of  the  troops  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English ;  and 
the  four  or  Ave  hundred  colonists,  who  had  been  hastily 
gathered  together  as  the  fleet  appeared  in  sight,  fled  to- 
wards Spanish  Town.  Instead  of  a  prompt  and  vigorous 
pursuit,  time  was  wasted  in  holding  a  council  of  war,  at 
which  it  was  decided  to  advance  against  the  capital  and 

*•  vol.  i.  p.  202. 

la^wB,'*  pp.  18, 19. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  81 

Bdxe  it  without  delay.  The  troops  had  hardly  began 
their  march,  the  rear  in  fact  was  not  yet  in  motion,  when 
Yenables  discovered  that  there  were  woods  between  the  fort 
and  the  city:  these  it  was  feared  might  conceal  a  foe,  and 
the  general  having  ordered  a  retreat  to  be  sounded,  went  on 
board  ship  to  spend  the  night.  While  the  troops  were  thus 
left  exposed  to  the  night  air  loaded  with  the  miasma  of  the 
adjacent  swamps,  the  inhabitants  of  Spanish  Town,  in 
which  they  might  have  slept  securely  had  they  been  led  by 
a  man  of  spirit,  were  busily  engaged  in  hiding  their  more 
valnable  effects.  Next  day  the  troops  advanced,  and  as 
they  drew  near  the  little  city  a  flag  of  truce  approached, 
negotiations  commenced,  and  Yenables,  instead  of  com- 
pleting them  in  the  city,  which  was  utterly  defenceless  in 
the  midst  of  an  open  plain,  marched  his  troops  back  once 
more  to  the  swamp-surrounded  fort !  How  they  passed  the 
night  may  be  faintly  conceived  by  any  one  who  has  visited 
the  spot ;  but  morning  came  at  last,  and  ere  long  the  abbot 
and  the  town-major  of  Spanish  Town  appeared  to  treat 
with  the  invaders,  and  gravely  assured  General  Yenables 
that  while  the  terms  were  under  discussion  he  and  his  men 
should  be  unmolested.  Whether  this  speech  awakened 
Yenables  to  a  sense  of  the  absurd  position  in  which  he 
had  placed  himself,  is  not  recorded,  but  it  appears  that  he 
now  told  the  ambassadors  that  the  army  had  come  to  occupy 
the  island,  and  demanded  immediate  supplies  for  its  sup- 
port. These  were  granted,  though  for  another  week  the 
troops  remained  inactive.  An  offer  was  made  that  if  the 
Spaniards  would  become  British  subjects  they  should  retain 
their  possessions,  or  if  they  wished  to  return  to  Europe 
they  were  at  liberty  to  do  so ;  but  they  declared  that  they 
had  no  other  home  than  Jamaica,  and  would  rather  die  in 
it  than*beg  their  bread  in  another  country. 

The  governor  of  the  island  at  this  time  was  Don  Amoldi 
Sasi,  an  old  man,  not  destitute  of  courage,  but  wanting  in 
that  promptness  of  action  which  might  have  enabled  him 
to  force  the  English  back  to  their  ships,  a  step  which  was 
strongly  urged  upon  him  by  some  of  the  Portuguese  settlers. 
On  the  11th  of  May  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed. 
They  provided  that  any  of  the  inhabitants  who  wished  to. 
leave  the  island  could  do  so,  but  they  were  only  to  take 
with  them  wearing  apparel  and  food  sufficient  for  the  voyage. 


82  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Time  was  allowed  for  this,  and  the  colonists  availed  them- 
selves of  it  to  retire  to  the  north  side  of  the  island  with  all 
their  valuables  and  slaves.  Previous  to  this,  some  of  the 
inhabitants  had  driven  away  their  cattle,  bat  a  Portaguese, 
Don  Acosta,  who  had  assisted  in  negotiating  the  treaty, 
sent  a  negro,  who  is  also  described  as  a  priest,  to  remon- 
strate against  this  breach  of  faith.  The  unfortunate  am- 
bassador was  hanged,  and  Don  Acosta  retaliated  on  his 
cruel  countrymen  by  informing  the  English  commander  of 
the  places  where  the  cattle  were  secreted. 

At  last  the  British  troops  entered  the  city  and  took 
possession  of  the  empty  dwellings.  There  was  not  much 
left  to  plunder,  but  that  little  was  soon  appropriated, 
and  such  houses  as  were  not  required  for  the  use  of  the 
troops  were  destroyed.  Some  diligence  was  displayed  in 
digging,  not  only  in  the  town,  but  in  the  neighbourhood, 
for  hidden  treasure :  a  good  deal  of  copper  money  about 
the  size  of  a  farthing  was  discovered,  but  no  gold  or  silver. 
To  these  copper  deposits  the  list  of  secreted  money  so  often 
spoken  of  as  existing  in  Cuba  doubtless  referred.*  The 
stories  of  buried  treasure,  long  handed  down  among  the 
English  settlers,  are  still  occasionally  heard,  and  spots  are 
even  now  pointed  out  in  which  it  is  supposed  they  are 
hidden. 

A  small  leaven  of  puritan  feeling  and  a  large  amount  of 
ruf&anism  led  the  troops  into  a  display  of  energy  of  an- 
other kind.  Spanish  Town,  or  St.  Jago  de  la  Vega,  as  it  was 
then  called,  contained  an  abbey  and  two  churches :  these 
were  demolished,  and  the  bells  melted  down  for  shot.  The 
anti-papal  feeling  which  led  the  men  to  call  these  places 
the  Bed  and  White  Gross  Churches,  and  then  to  destroy 
them,  was  too  strong  to  allow  the  thought  that  they  might 
have  been  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  a  purer  worship. 

Events  of  a  painful  nature  soon  followed  ;  the  miserable 
disputes  between  Penn  and  Yenables  became  more  bitter. 
The  troops  were  not  properly  supplied  with  provisions,  and 
what  they  had  was  bad  in  quality.  A  letter  written  by 
General  Fortescue  asserts  that  for  forty-eight  hours  the 
soldiers  in  Spanish  Town  had  been  without  food.  This  was 
in  the  middle  of  May:  in  another  month  two  thousand 
men,  or  about  one  half  of  the  army,  were  prostrated  by  sick- 

l  LoDg's  '*  History  of  Joxnaioa,"  vol.  i.  p.  584. 


HISTOBIOAL  EVENTS.  83 

Dess.  The  swamps  near  Passage  Fort,  and  bad  and  insuf- 
ficient food,  had  done  their  work,  and  now  want  of  clothing 
ani  medicine  began  to  be  experienced.  The  contractors  for 
the  expedition  were  no  doubt  very  guilty,  but  it  must  be 
added  that  the  infatuated  soldiery  had  ruthlessly  destroyed 
vast  numbers  of  the  herds  of  cattle  which  a  little  before 
had  covered  the  plains  around  Spanish  Town  and  that  on 
the  edge  of  which  Kingston  now  stands.  General  Ven- 
ables  soon  fell  ill,  and  only  five  field  officers  were  left  fit  for 
duty.  When  matters  had  thus  reached  a  crisis,  a  council 
of  war  was  held.  It  was  recommended  that  Yenables 
should  return  to  England  and  represent  the  condition  of 
the  army.  But  Penn,  not  thinking  it  desirable  that  the 
general  should  reach  England  before  him,  at  once  set  sail 
with  a  portion  of  the  fleet.  Yenables  followed ;  and  it  is 
some  satisfaction  to  know  that,  on  arriving  in  England, 
they  were  both  sent  to  the  Tower  by  Cromwell.  Yenables, 
in  a  narrative  preserved  in  the  council  chamber  of  Jamaica, 
endeavoured  to  defend  his  conduct.  It  was  simply  indefen- 
sible. It  has  been  said  that  he  was  a  sincere  friend  of  the 
Stuart  dynasty,*  but  no  dynasty  could  be  effectually  served 
by  such  an  incompetent  man.  He  brought  reproach  and 
dishonour  on  the  British  flag,  and  then  left  his  unhappy 
soldiers  to  perish. 

The  command  of  the  ships  still  remaining  in  the  harbour 
was  taken  by  Goodson,  a  man  of  sterling  piety  and  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  British  seaman.  Major-General  Fortescue 
assumed  command  of  the  army ;  he  also  was  a  worthy 
man,  and  enjoyed,  as  he  deserved,  the  confidence  of  the 
Protector.  Notwithstanding  the  demoralised  state  of  the 
army,  he  had  shown  considerable  activity  in  sending  parties 
after  the  fugitive  Spaniards  and  their  slaves,  who  hung 
about  the  neighbourhood  of  Spanish  Town,  surprising  small 
bodies  of  stragglers.  Some  fifty  of  these  were  taken  pri- 
soners, and  half  that  number  killed.  When  he  was  left  to 
the  supreme  command  he  found  that  Don  Sasi  had  been 
able  to  get  over  to  Cuba,  leaving  a  considerable  number  of 
men  and  their  slaves  to  harass  the  English,  encouraged 
by  the  hope  that  he  would  soon  return  with  reinforcements. 
Fortescue  had,  some  time  before,  pointed  out  to  Yenables 
the  road  Don  Sasi  had  taken,  and  the  route  by  which  he 

*  Bridges,  &c. 
4 


84  HISTOBY   OF   JAMAICA. 

might  be  pnrsned.  When  he  could  act  independently,  that 
wary  Spaniard  had  made  good  his  escape: 

By  this  time  Cromwell  had  been  informed  of  the  disaster 
at  Hayti  and  the  caj)ture  of  Jamaica.  While  indignant 
that  so  little  had  been  effected,  he  was  not  the  man  to  lose 
any  advantage,  however  imperfect,  and  he  at  once  took  the 
needful  measures  to  preserve  and  improve  the  new  colony. 
Sedgewicke  was  immediately  despatched  to  supply  the  place 
of  Winslow,  and  furnished  with  the  requisite  instructions, 
together  with  reinforcements  and  provisions.  Cromwell, 
though  he  had  expected  some  more  important  conquest 
than  Jamaica,  was  determined  to  make  the  best  of  it.  He 
saw  that  it  was  a  place  from  which  the  Spaniards  could  be 
assailed,  for  already  his  war  ships  and  privateers  were 
bringing  valuable  prizes  into  harbour.  Twelve  vessels 
belonging  to  the  Dutch,  whose  carrying  trade  he  was  deter- 
mined to  suppress,  had  arrived  at  one  time.  Other  vessels 
soon  followed,  and  from  these  prizes  the  necessities  of  the 
soldiers  were  opportunely  supplied.  Goodson,  who  could 
not  remain  inactive,  made  a  dash  at  St.  Martha,  on  the 
Spanish  Main ;  and  though  the  inhabitants  fled,  with  their 
valuables,  into  the  woods,  he  burnt  the  town,  captured  a 
few  ships,  and  thirty  brass  guns.* 

Letters  written  to  Fortescue  and  Goodson  by  Cromwell, 
during  the  autumn  of  1655,  have  been  preserved,  t  From 
that  addressed  to  the  former,  we  learn  that  supplies  had 
been  liberally  sent,  and  that  active  measures  had  been  taken 
to  secure  colonists  from  New  England  and  the  Windward 
Islands.  It  is  added:  ''Both  in  England,  and  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  you  will  have  what  men  and  women  we  can 
well  transport."  Fortescue  was  in  his  grave,  with  thou- 
sands beside  of  the  first  settlers,  ere  this  letter  reached 
the  island;  but  the  tide  of  emigration,  such  as  it  was, 
poured  in.  A  thousand  "  Irish  girls"  are  spoken  of  ;t  and 
no  doubt  many  made  good  wives  for  such  as  chose  to  settle 
down.  Scottish  "rogues  and  vagabonds,"  also  alluded  to, 
were  a  less  desirable  importation  ;  and  yet  modem  wisdom 
has  helped  to  people  the  magnificent  provinces  of  Australia 
with  colonists  of  a  still  worse  description. 

*  Goodson's  letter,  in  "Thurloe,"  iv.  p.  150. 

t  Carlyle's  "  Letters  of  OUver  Cromwell."    Letters,  141-148. 

I  Long,  vol.  i.  p.  224. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  85 

Cromwell's  letter  to  Goodson  is  full  of  pious  references, 
but  it  is  by  no  means'  deficient  in  warlike  directions.  For 
the  Spaniards  are  likely  to  send  **  a  good  force  into  the 
Indies."  Twenty  ships  have  been  already  sent  by  Eng- 
land, and  seven  more  of  thirty  or  forty  guns  each  will  soon 
follow;  and  so  Cromwell  hopes  that  **  the  Lord  may  have 
blessed"  the  admiral,  so  that  he  may  fight  the  Spaniards  ; 
a  people  upon  whom  the  Protector  looked,  not  without 
some  cause  at  that  time,  as  an  incarnation  of  evil. 

In  October,  1655,  Sedgewicke  arrived,  and  on  the  8th 
of  that  month  he  and  others  formed  themselves  into  a 
sort  of  executive  council  for  the  administration  of  govern- 
ment. Fortescue  was  president,  but  dying  immediately 
after  its  formation,  D*Oyley  took  his  place.  This  officer 
never  seems  to  have  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Cromwell, 
who  suspected  him,  with  good  cause,  of  attachment  to  the 
Stuarts.  He,  however,  steadily  devoted  himself  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  fortifications,  and  as  letters  from  Eng- 
land and  the  statements  of  prisoners  justified  the  belief  that 
a  large  Spanish  fleet  would  soon  arrive,  he  strengthened 
Passage  Fort,  and  erected  a  battery  at  Careening  Point, 
mounting  twenty-one  guns. 

While  D'Oyley  is  thus  engaged,  it  will  be  desirable  to 
take  a  general  view  of  the  infant  colony  as  it  was  seen  by 
Sedgewicke  on  his  arrival.  The  brave  Fortescue,  writing 
to  the  Protector  not  long  before  his  death,  had  described 
Jamaica  as  a  ''  fruitful  and  pleasant  land,  and  a  fit  re- 
ceptacle for  honest  men."  But  these  he  affirmed  to  be  the 
greatest  want.  Others  wiser  than  himself,  as  he  modestly 
observed,  declared  it  to  be  the  best  land  upon  which  they 
had  ever  set  their  foot.  All  it  wanted  was  "  godly  society," 
and,  "  for  the  present,  bread."  This  the  new  commissioner 
found  to  be  only  too  true.  Sedgewicke's  letters  describe 
the  army  as  being  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Many  of  the 
officers  were  sick,  many  were  dead,  and  not  a  few  had 
left  the  island. 

The  mortality  among  the  soldiers  has  already  been 
alluded  to.  It  still  continued,  and  their  carcases  in 
numerous  instances  lay  unburied  among  the  bushes  and 
on  the  highways.  The  living  were  more  like  ghosts  than 
men,  and  numbers  lay  about  the  streets  crying  piteously, 
*'  Bread,  for  the  Lord's  sake."    Distressing  as  these  scenes 

4* 


36  mSTOBY   OF  JAMAICA. 

were,  Sedgewicke  saw  plainly  that  they  were  in  no  small 
degree  the  result  of  gross  neglect  and  reckless  folly. 
Twenty  thousand  cattle  had  been  ]^ed,  and  the  rest 
driven  so  wild  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  catch  them. 
Horses,  once  accounted  as  **  the  vermin  of  the  country," 
bad  become  so  scarce  that  ships  had  been  sent  to  New 
England  to  fetch  some  from  thence.  Provisions  had  been 
rooted  up  and  destroyed,  with  the  connivance,  if  not  by 
the  command,  of  some  of  the  officers,  who  wished  to  throw 
every  obstacle  they  could  in  the  way  of  colonisation,  being 
anxious  to  return  home. 

While  such  feelings  actuated  so  many  of  the  leading 
men,  it  can  scarcely  be  wondered  at  if  they  per- 
mitted deeds  which  tended  to  depreciate  the  value  of 
the  island  as  a  colony.  But  the  culpable  neglect 
of  property  required  for  daily  wants  is  less  explicable. 
Though  provisions  were  scarce,  still  Sedgewicke  found 
thirty  thousand  pounds  of  bread,  which  was  mostly  re- 
served for  the  use  of  parties  sent  into  the  interior,  but  it 
was  left  in  casks  exposed  to  the  weather  in  the  open  air. 
Clothing,  shoes^  arms,  and  ironware  lay  about  the  shore, 
exposed  to  sun,  rain,  and  thieves.  Though  provisions 
were  expected,  no  preparation  whatever  had  been  made  to 
receive  them.  Sedgewicke  wondered,  as  well  he  might, 
that  so  many  wise  men  who  had  been  before  him  should 
allow  the  property  of  the  state  to  be  thus  injured,  when  a 
few  men  might  have  erected  a  shed,  at  least  to  cover  it 
from  the  weather.  If  he  was  tempted  for  a  moment  to 
blame  Fortescue,  he  soon  discovered  of  what  wretched 
materials  his  army  was  composed,  and  how  determined  the 
officers  were  to  throw  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  settlement. 
He  had  brought  a  thousand  tuns  of  provision  with  him,  but 
he  was  told  that  not  a  man  could  be  spared  to  erect  a  shed 
to  receive  it,  and  he  had  to  get  sailors  from  the  fleet,  by  whom 
a  storehouse,  a  hundred  feet  long  and  twenty-five  in  width, 
was  erected  in  a  week.  Here  all  the  food  he  brought,  as 
well  as  what  he  could  find  undamaged,  was  stored  away,  a 
supply  sufficient  with  care  to  last  for  six  or  eight  months. 
There  was  no  longer  occasion  for  the  men  to  eat  dogs, 
cats,  rats,  and  lizards,  as  they  had  been  doing.  Sedge- 
wicke had,  however,  grave  misgivings  as  to  the  future. 
It  was  the  conduct  of  the  soldiers  that  gave  him  concern. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  87 

**  Such  kind  of  spirit  breathing  in  Englishmen,"  he 
said,  "I  never  met  with  till  now."  Not  only  were  they 
unwilling  to  work  themselves,  but  they  threw  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  others ;  while  choosing  rather  to  starve  than 
work,  they  claimed  all  the  land  near  the  town,  so  that 
Sedgewicke  could  with  great  difficulty  supply  land  to  a  few 
planters  who  had  lately  arrived.  He  could  not  refrain 
therefore  from  writing  to  the  Protector,  advising  him 
that  there  would  again  be  a  want  of  food  unless  further 
supplies  were  sent. 

In  the  mean  time  the  deadly  fever  of  the  West  Indies  was 
doing  its  work.  When  satiated  with  victims  from  among  the 
earlier  arrivals.  Colonel  Humphrey  (the  son  of  the  Hum- 
phrey who  had  borne  the  sword  before  Bradshaw  at  the 
trial  of  Charles  I.)  arrived  with  his  regiment  of  850  men. 
Within  a  few  weeks  not  one-third  remained  fit  for  duty, 
and  among  these,  only  four  of  the  officers.  Tradition 
says  that  fifty  died  on  the  5th  of  November :  this  is  an 
exaggeration,  but  the  mortality  was  dreadful,  often  twenty 
a  day.  The  water  and  food  were  bad;  there  was  no 
proper  hospital  accommodation,  and  no  female  nurses. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  discontent,  desolation,  and 
death,  the  brave  Sedgewicke  kept  heart  of  hope,  like  a  true 
hero  as  he  was.  Cruisers  were  sent  out,  and  brought  in 
many  prizes.  The  parties  despatched  against  the  Spanish 
slaves,  who  kept  up  a  kind  of  guerilla  warfare,  met  with  oc- 
casional success,  and  many  slaves  were  brought  into  subjec- 
tion. A  number  of  the  Portuguese,  who  had  never  completely 
amalgamated  with  the  Spaniards,  offered  to  surrender  on 
condition  that  they  might  remain  as  settlers,  or  leave  the 
colony :  among  these  were  a  few  Jews.  The  navy  seems 
to  have  enjoyed  a  remarkable  exemption  from  the  sickness 
which,  by  the  end  of  the  year,  had  reduced  the  army  to 
less  than  half  its  original  strength.  Goodson  worked 
harmoniously  with  Sedgewicke,  and  on  the  4th  of  January, 
1666,  they  unitedly  issued  a  strong  proclamation  to  the 
soldiers,  urging  them  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil,  and  proposing  to  allot  lands  to  each  man. 
The  officers,  who  declared  that  they  were  urged  by  the 
importunities  of  the  men,  immediately  prepared  and  pre- 
sented a  petition  to  D'Oyley,  urging  the  necessity  of  their 
withdrawal  from  the  island.    Of  course  it  could  not  be 


88  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

complied  with,  but  it  no  doubt  helped  to  shorten  the  days 
of  the  gallant  Sedgewicke.  If  now  and  then  a  few  soldiers 
commenced  a  plantation,  it  was  soon  neglected  and 
overrun  with  weeds,  though  some  gardens  established  by 
the  ^sailors  at  Green  Bay,  for  the  supply  of  vegetables 
and  herbs,  throve  well. 

Among  the  fugitive  Spaniards  on  the  north  side  of  the 
island,  famine  and  disease  was  as  disastrous  as  among 
the  English.  Some  five  hundred  are  supposed  to  have 
perished,  and  only  three  hundred  remained  in  huts  at 
Bio  Hoja  in  St.  Ann's.  Some  small  parties  also  still 
lingered  along  the  western  coast,  and  early  in  February 
a  party  of  a  hundred  soldiers  was  sent  against  them. 
About  sixty  were  found  in  ambush  near  Parratty  Point ; 
after  a  slight  engagement,  seven  of  these  were  taken 
prisoners,  but  the  rest  escaped.  From  the  prisoners  it 
was  learnt  that  a  force  of  a  thousand  men  was  soon  ex- 
pected at  Pedro  Point.  These  tidings  were  not  without  good 
results ;  the  prospect  of  an  attack  made  officers  and  men 
more  reasonable  for  a  time.  A  dozen  of  the  former  met 
together,  and  decided  that  if  the  island  was  planted,  the 
crops  would  be  luxuriant,  and  not  only  would  there  be 
an  abundance  of  food,  but  they  now  saw  what  the  sagacious 
Cromwell  had  observed  long  before,  that  the  island  was 
admirably  situated  for  inroads  on  the  Spanish  possessions, 
and  that  in  fact  it  might  become  the  magazine  of  all  the 
wealth  in  the  West  Indies.  Unfortunately,  too  many  of 
the  officers  remained  obstinate;  they  failed  to  encourage 
the  men,  and  not  a  ship  sailed  for  England  without  crowds 
importuning  Sedgewicke  for  permission  to  return. 

In  April  bread  was  again  scarce.  The  soldiers  deserted, 
not  only  singly,  but  in  small  parties,  and  though  on  one 
occasion  three  out  of  a  band  of  twenty  were  executed,  the 
officers  generally  were  disposed  to  look  on  with  indifference. 
Six  out  of  the  seven  ministers  sent  by  Cromwell  with  the 
army  were  now  dead.  Trouble,  and  want  of  "godly 
society,"  had  nearly  broken  Sedgewicke's  heart.  In  deep 
anguish  he  wrote  of  those  around  him:  "I  believe  they 
are  not  to  be  paralleled  in  the  world;  a  people  so  lazy 
and  idle,  as  it  cannot  enter  into  the  heart  of  any  Enlish- 
man  that  such  blood  should  run  in  the  veins  of  any  born 
in  England,  so  unworthy,  slothful,  and  basely  secure." 


HISTOBIGAL  EVENTS.  89 

Still  he  felt  the  oflScers  were  most  blameworthy;  they 
alleged  the  men  were  unwilling  to  work,  but  the  truth 
was,  ''  most  certain  that  they  are  not  willing  the  soldiers 
should  plant.*' 

Early  in  June  orders  came  that  Sedgewicke  should  as- 
sume supreme  command,  but  his  days  of  heroic  toil  were 
nearly  over,  and  on  the  24th  of  June  Ins  noble  spirit  passed 
away.  His  sagacity  discerned  the  serious  blow  the  retreat- 
ing Spaniards  had  inflicted  on  the  colony  in  liberating  their 
slaves.  He  expressed  his  conviction  that  they  must  be 
brought  to  terms,  though  he  feared  their  total  destruction 
was  the  only  effectual  plan  of  subjugation.  They  have,  he 
wrote,  ''  no  moral  sense,  and  do  not  understand  what  the 
laws  and  customs  of  civil  nations  mean :  we  know  not  how 
to  capitulate  or  treat  with  any  of  them ;  but  be  assured 
they  must  either  be  destroyed  or  brought  in  upon  some 
terms  or  other,  or  else  they  will  prove  a  great  discourage- 
ment to  the  settling  of  the  country."  Had  he  lived  he 
might  have  succeeded  in  bringing  them  into  subjection. 
But  for  one  hundred  and  forty  years  these  people — afterwards 
known  as  Maroons — with  numbers  continually  augmented 
by  runaway  slaves,  were  a  plague  to  the  colony.  To  sketch 
the  history  of  Maroon  depredations  would  be  impossible. 
They  became  less  ferocious  in  after  years,  but  in  the  earlier 
days  of  colonial  history  they  rarely  gave  quarter  to  any 
who  fell  into  their  hands.  Soon  after  Sedgewicke  died  a 
party  of  forty  soldiers  were  cut  off  by  these  people  as  they 
straggled  carelessly  from  their  barracks.  Detachments  sent 
in  pursuit  only  killed  some  seven  or  eight,  for  the  Maroons 
readily  retired  into  mountain  fastnesses,  where  they  could 
exist  in  comfort  without  any  of  those  appUances  which  are 
indispensable  to  a  white  man. 

Sedgewicke*s  death  once  more  reinstated  D'Oyley  as 
governor.  This  general  was  in  secret  correspondence  with 
the  exiled  Stuarts.  Apart  from  this  he  was  a  good  officer, 
though  by  no  means  well  fitted  for  any  other  than  a 
miUtary  government.  It  is  not  very  easy,  from  the  im- 
perfect  records  of  these  troubled  times,  to  understand  clearly 
all  the  different  agencies  which  were  at  work  in  the  colony, 
but  it  may  be  assumed  with  tolerable  correctness  that 
hostility  to  the  planting  interest  and  to  civil  government, 
combined  with  hatred  to  the  personal  adherents  of  Crom- 


40  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

■ 

well,  explains  the  severity  with  which  D'Oyley  treated 
certain  persons.  Colonel  Holdip  was  removed  from  his 
command :  his  men  charged  him  with  oppression,  and  he 
was  cashiered.  The  charges  were  subsequently  declared 
false,  and  the  Protector  received  him  kindly.  The  truth 
is,  he  desired  a  civil  instead  of  a  military  government,  and 
he  was  the  **best  and  most  forward  planter"  in  the  colony, 
if  the  statement  of  Admiral  Goodson  is  to  be  believed. 

Major  Throckmorton  was  accused  of  insubordination, 
tried  by  a  court-martial,  sentenced  to  death,  and  shot  next 
day.  Archbould  would  have  shared  the  same  fate,  but  the 
charge  was  too  trumpery,  and  he  was  acquitted.  Barring- 
ton  is  the  name  of  another  officer  also  obnoxious  to  the 
governor,  but  he  had  powerful  friends  in  daily  intercourse 
with  Cromwell,  and  it  was  not  safe  to  meddle  with  him. 
The  fact  is  that  these  men  had  opened  plantations  in  the 
fine  district  of  Liguany :  like  Holdip  and  all  planters  they 
desired  a  civil  government.  This,  and  their  industry,  was 
enough  to  condemn  them  in  the  eyes  of  the  majority  of  the 
leading  men  around  them. 

Cromwell,  oil  receiving  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Sedge- 
wicke,  lost  no  time  in  supplying  his  place,  and  appointed 
General  Brayne,  who  had  been  governor  of  Lochabar,  in 
Scotland.  Brayne  arrived  on  the  14th  December,  1656, 
with  about  one  thousand  recruits.  About  the  same  time 
Governor  Stokes  arrived  with  sixteen  hundred  persons 
(men,  women,  children,  and  negro  slaves)  from  Nevis.  It 
was  stipulated,  on  behalf  of  these  settlers,  that  masters 
should  have  the  same  proportion  of  land  assigned  for  their 
slaves  as  was  allowed  for  hired  or  indented  servants. 
Other  planters  came  from  Bermuda  and  Barbadoes,  and 
about  three  hundred  more  from  New  England.  These  last, 
after  much  hesitation,  were  persuaded  by  the  favourable 
accounts  which  reached  them  of  the  fertility  of  the  new 
colony. 

When  men  of  substance  were  thus  being  attracted  to  the 
shores,  it  was  extremely  unfortunate  that  some  of  the  inost 
unhealthy  spots  in  the  island  should  have  been  selected  for 
their  abode.  The  richness  of  the  soil  around  Port  Morant 
is  unquestionable,  but  the  Spaniards  had  always  declared 
the  place  to  be  very  unhealthy.  Goodson,  hoTgever,  recom- 
mended it,  and  Stokes  with  his  followers,  delighted  with  its 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  41 

fertility,  settled  there.  Until  houses  could  be  erected  they 
dwelt  in  tents,  but  heavy  rains  soon  fell,  and  this  mis- 
fortune, combined  with  the  fatigue  and  exposure  insepar- 
able from  the  establishment  of  a  new  settlement,  added  to 
the  natural  unhealthiness  of  the  spot,  speedily  occasioned 
a  frightful  mortality.  By  the  middle  of  January  three 
hundred  were  dead.  Still  these  brave  pioneers  persevered, 
and  not  only  proceeded  with  their  houses  but  erected  a 
fort.  At  the  end  of  February  Stokes  and  his  wife  both 
died ;  he  commended  his  three  sons  to  the  care  of  Crom- 
well ;  the  eldest  was  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  but  their 
descendants  continued  for  a  long  time  to  occupy  land  in 
that  locality. 

Notwithstanding  the  continued  mortality,  sweeping  away 
according  to  Long  two-thirds  of  these  planters  by  the  end 
of  March,  they  still  persevered,  and  sixty  properties  ap- 
pear to  have  been  settled  according  to  a  return  published 
in  1671.  In  other  districts  more  favourable  to  European 
life  the  mortality  in  the  early  part  of  1667  was  very  great, 
and  some  food  sent  from  England  being  exhausted,  a 
partial  famine  was  once  more  experienced. 

Brayne,  like  the  most  noble-mmded  of  his  predecessors, 
still  toiled  on.  He  left  no  effort  untried  to  encourage  agri- 
cultural operations,  and  cashiered  some  officers  who  con- 
tinued to  oppose  the  employment  of  the  soldiers.  Where 
small  grants  of  land  were  made  to  the  men  they  succeeded, 
in  many  cases  remarkably  well ;  but  where  they  were  em- 
ployed by  officers  and  planters  to  work  on  their  estates 
disastrous  results  too  often  followed.  The  natural  desire 
to  obtain  the  largest  possible  amount  of  work  from  the 
labourer  was  not  modified  by  the  reflection  that  a  tropical 
climate  is  ill-adapted  for  the  out-door  toil  of  the  European, 
unless  great  care  is  exercised ;  and  the  result  of  over  work 
and  exposure,  mingled  with  intemperate  and  dissolute 
habits,  occasioned  much  mortality  among  the  white  ser- 
vants. Free  emigration  was  in  consequence  greatly  retarded, 
and  the  colony  obtained  an  ill  name  which  it  has  not  en- 
tirely lost  to  the  present  day. 

Alarmed  by  the  mortality  among  English  labourers, 
Brayne  was  induced  to  apply  to  Cromwell  for  an  importa- 
tion of  African  slaves,  enforcing  his  plea  by  the  argument 
that  as  their  masters  would  have  to  pay  for  them,  they 


42  HI8T0BY  OF  JAMAICA. 

would  feel  a  greater  interest  in  the  preservation  of  their 
lives  than  in  that  of  mere  labourers,  and  therefore  be  more 
careful  only  to  work  them  with  moderation. 

While  busily  engaged  in  raising  the  island  to  the  position 
of  a  flourishing  colony,  Brayne  did  not  forget  the  Spaniards, 
who  were  preparing  to  regain  it  if  possible.  Military  pre- 
cautions were  not  neglected.  The  buildings  at  Careening 
Point  were  greatly  improved,  and  the  importance  of  the 
spot  now  called  Port  Boyal  was  fully  recognised.  In  March 
a  couple  of  Spaniards  were  captured  by  a  hunting  party. 
They  stated  that  most  of  their  companions  were  gone  to 
Cuba,  but  that  about  two  hundred,  including  women  and 
children,  remained  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Oristan.  A 
considerable  number  of  negroes  still  lurked  in  the  woods. 
Against  these  a  party  was  sent,  which  met  with  some  suc- 
cess, but  it  was  no  secret  that  a  vigorous  effort  would  soon 
be  made  to  recover  the  colony.  Ships  were  accordingly 
sent  home  to  ask  for  help,  and  these  bore  the  first  speci- 
mens of  exportable  produce  in  the  shape  of  a  few  tons  of 
fustic. 

The  effort  of  Brayne  in  fostering  a  love  for  agricultural 
pursuits  was  greatly  impeded  by  the  fact  that  the  arrears 
of  pay  due  to  the  soldiers  remaining  in  the  colony  were 
unpaid,  while  those  who  had  returned  to  England  were  paid 
in  full.  This  could  not  fail  to  occasion  great  dissatis- 
faction, though  Brayne  did  what  he  could  to  allay  it,  by 
paying  a  portion  of  the  arrears  due  to  married  officers  out 
of  a  fund  at  his  disposal :  he  also  represented  the  injustice 
in  strong  terms  to  the  Protector.  In  other  respects  affairs 
generaUy  were  beginning  to  wear  a  more  hopeful  aspect. 
Provisions  were  plentiful.  Colonel  Barrington  and  other 
planters  had  succeeded  admirably  in  the  growth  of  tobacco 
and  sugar  cane.  Small  herds  of  cattle  and  flocks  of  sheep 
were  now  to  be  seen  in  the  pastures,  and  by  August  of  the 
year  which  had  begun  so  disastrously  the  hearts  of  all  who 
were  not  negroes  or  bond  slaves  were  comforted.  For  these 
last,  the  now  undoubted  fertility  of  the  soil  only  promised 
an  increase  of  toil.    But  over  the  minds  of  all  men  a  tem- 

Eorary  cloud  soon  cast  its  shadow.  Brayne  was  dying.  He 
ad  suffered  much  from  the  fever  of  the  country,  and  he 
sought  by  excessive  blood-letting  to  regain  his  health.  The 
remedy  was  as  bad  as  the  disease,  especially  as,  notwith- 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  48 

standing  his  weak  state  of  health,  he  would  not  allow 
himself  the  needful  rest.  He  had  applied  for  permission 
to  return  home,  but  so  long  as  he  was  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  colony  he  could  not  relax  his  efforts  to  promote 
its  welfare;  and  so  on  the  2nd  of  September,  within  ten 
months  of  his  arrival,  he  died,  worn  out,  as  thousands  of 
gallant  Englishmen  have  been  before  and  since,  in  estab- 
Ushing  the  magnificent  colonial  empire  which  some  in  the 
present  day  affect  to  despise.  An  infant  colony  could  do 
but  little  to  emulate  the  funeral  pomp  of  other  countries, 
but  all  the  posthumous  honours  that  were  possible  were 
conferred  on  the  remains  of  the  lamented  governor.  To 
him  belongs  the  credit  of  having  established  what  has  been 
called  the  ''  planting  interest."  But  he  was  far  in  advance 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  when  he  proposed  that  Jamaica 
should  be  allowed  free  trade  with  all  the  nations  of  the 
world  at  peace  with  England.  Port  Royal,  so  long  the  chief 
commercial  mart  of  the  West  Indies,  was  founded  by  him. 
Ga^aya  was  the  name  given  to  the  spot  by  the  Spaniards. 
This  was  a  corruption  of  the  Indian  word  Coratoe,  given 
to  the  great  aloe  which  covered  the  opposite  hills,  and  was 
retained  by  the  English  until  the  restoration  of  the  Stuart 
dynasty. 

In  consequence  of  the  death  of  Governor  Brayne,  D'Oyley 
was  once  again  called  to  assume  the  government  of  the 
colony.  In  this  position  he  was  subsequently  confirmed, 
and  he  held  office  not  only  during  the  remainder  of  the 
Protectorate,  but  during  the  earlier  years  of  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  To  this  monarch  he  was  undoubtedly  attached, 
and  it  was  owing  to  Cromwell's  knowledge,  or  at  least 
suspicion  of  this  fact,  that  he  had  been  superseded  on 
former  occasions.  He  appears  to  have  anticipated  a  similar 
course  of  conduct  now  that  he  was  obliged  once  more  tem- 
porarily to  take  the  management  of  affairs.  His  letters  to 
Cromwell  and  Fleetwood*  are  so  worded  as  to  indicate  no 
anxiety  for  a  permanent  appointment,  while  they  show  that 
he  would  not  decline  it  if  offered.  He  was  appointed,  and 
in  his  subsequent  administration  of  affairs  he  gave  many 
indications  of  talent :  he  had  evidently  profited  by  former 
experience. 

*  Bridges'  "  Annak,"  vol.  i.  pp.  226,  227. 


44  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

His  military  qualities  were  soon  called  into  requisition  by 
a  most  determined  attempt  of  the  Spaniards  to  regain 
possession  of  the  colony.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  Vice- 
roy of  Mexico  and  the  Governor  of  Cuba  a  formidable 
expedition  was  fitted  out,  and  in  May,  1658,  Don  Sasi 
landed  on  the  north  side  and  encamped  at  Ocho  Pios.  He 
was  accompanied  by  about  five  hundred  men,  and  at  once 
took  steps  to  call  in  and  unite  the  scattered  parties  of 
negroes,  and  the  band  of  fugitives  last  heard  of  at  Oristan 
or  Bluefields.  These  measures  had  no  sooner  proved 
successful  than  a  force  of  one  thousand  soldiers  arrived 
from  Spain ;  these  landed  at  Bio  Nuevo,  and  strongly  for- 
tified a  cliff  near  the  river.  They  were  able  to  do  this 
without  interruption,  as  some  days  elapsed  before  D'Oyley 
was  aware  of  their  presence.  To  advance  by  land  was 
impossible,  for  the  interior  of  the  island  was  Uttle  known, 
the  tract  followed  by  the  Spaniards  across  the  mountains 
was  not  passable  for  heavy  baggage  or  artillery,  and  more- 
over large  bodies  of  troops  might  easily  be  cut  off  by 
ambuscades,  which  would  be  easily  planned  by  the  fugitive 
negroes,  to  whom  the  mountains  were  familiar. 

D'Oyley  was  obliged  to  advance  against  the  enemy  by 
sea.  On  the  11th  of  June  he  sailed  from  Port  Royal  with 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Eleven  days  were  occupied 
in  the  voyage,  and  as  soon  as  the  ships  were  brought  to 
anchor  opposite  the  Spanish  fortifications,  the  soldiers  were 
landed,  and  immediately  drove  in  an  opposing  party,  with 
a  loss  of  four  and  twenty  men.  An  attempt  was  then  made 
to  bombard  the  fortress,  but  it  was  too  high  to  be  reached 
by  the  guns  of  the  ships  D'Oyley  had  at  his  command. 
During  the  night,  which  was  now  commencing,  the  English 
were  busily  engaged  in  preparing  scaling  ladders.  The 
Spaniards  are  said  to  have  spent  the  time  in  prayer.  In 
the  morning  D*Oyley  sent  a  messenger  with  a  flag  of  truce 
to  demand  immediate  capitulation.  The  Spanish  com- 
mander  made  a  very  handsome  present  to  the  messenger, 
and  sent  a  jar  of  sweetmeats  to  D'Oyley,  but  refused  to 
surrender.  He  probably  deemed  his  position  impregnable, 
elevated  as  it  was  on  a  towering  cliff,  with  a  rapid  river 
flowing  at  its  base.  Another  night  passed,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  24th  the  besieged  saw  two  of  D'0yley*8 
ships  working  to  leeward ;  they  soon  opened  a  brisk  fire  on 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  45 

the  fort,  and  as  they  thus  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
enemy,  D'Oyley  havmg  directed  the  other  ships  to  open  fire 
in  front,  forded  the  river  at  the  flank  of  the  battery  with 
most  of  his  soldiers.  An  entrenched  position  rather  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  fort  was  carried  without 
difficulty,  and  the  troops,  elated  by  success,  dashed  on  with 
their  scaling  ladders  to  the  walls  of  the  fort,  headed  by 
their  general.  Five  times  they  sought  to  gain  the  summit, 
and  as  often  were  they  repulsed,  but  the  English  were  be- 
coming desperate ;  on  all  sides  they  attempted  to  scale  the 
walls.  The  Spaniards,  perplexed  by  the  cross  fire  to  which 
they  were  exposed,  at  length  recoiled,  and  in  a  moment  the 
English  were  masters  of  the  position.  The  carnage  was 
terrible,  and  as  the  now  conquered  Spaniards  sought  to 
escape  to  the  hills  behind,  they  were  shot  down  in  great 
numbers.  Upwards  of  four  hundred,  or  one-third  of  those 
actually  within  the  fort,  were  slain ;  among  these  were  two 
priests.  More  than  a  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  to- 
gether with  a  royal  standard,  many  other  flags,  guns,  and 
ammunition.  Provisions,  wine,  and  spirits  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  conquerors,  to  whom  such  refreshments  were 
peculiarly  welcome. 

The  loss  on  the  part  of  the  English  was  inconsiderable : 
four  officers  and  twenty-three  privates  were  killed.  The 
victory  was  attended  by  results  that  could  scarcely  be 
anticipated.  It  impressed  the  Spanish  conunanders  in 
these  seas  with  a  profound  respect  for  British  valour,  and 
a  powerful  fleet  of  fourteen  ships,  which  was  about  to  sail 
with  large  bodies  of  troops,  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the 
island,  changed  its  destination,  and  left  the  Spanish 
fugitives  to  their  fate.  Many  of  these  hapless  men  made 
good  their  escape  to  Cuba.  Some,  however,  remained,  with 
Don  Sasi  at  their  head.  Their  old  slaves  still  co-operated 
with  them,  and  a  party  of  these,  under  the  command  of 
St.  Juan  de  Bolas,  whose  name  still  lives  in  that  of  certain 
hills  in  the  centre  of  the  island,  were  very  formidable. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  next  year  these  Spanish 
and  negro  guerilla  bands  gave  great  anxiety  to  the  colonists, 
but  early  in  1660,  D'Oyley  learning  that  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  of  them  had  left  the  mountain  fastnesses,  and 
irere  encamped  at  the  old  spot  at  Ocho  Bios,  determined  to 
attack  them.    Colonel  Tyson  was  detached  with  a  party 


46  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

of  about  eighty  men  and  a  number  of  negroes  to  carry  rations 
and  baggage.  Advancing  overland  they  surprised  the  en- 
campment^ and  slew  about  fifty  men;  the  rest  immedi- 
ately fled.  Don  Sasi  was  with  them,  but  managed  to 
reach  a  spot  a  few  miles  distant :  here,  with  some  of  his 
friends,  he  embarked  in  a  canoe  and  reached  Cuba.  The 
place  of  his  final  departure  is  still  known  as  Bunaway 
Bay. 

The  cruelties  so  long  inflicted  on  British  subjects  by  the 
Spanish  in  the  West  Indies,  forbid  much  sentimentality  in 
reference  to  their  defeat  byD'Oyley;  but  it  is  impossible 
to  contemplate  the  departure  of  Don  Sasi  and  his  few 
remaining  followers  without  emotion.  Jamaica  had  been 
to  them  a  much-loved  abode,  and  it  had  all  the  charms  of 
home  in  their  estimation;  therefore  they  lingered  when 
others  fled,  and  only  departed  when  every  hope  was  de- 
stroyed. 

It  is  pleasing  to  record  that  Don  Sasi  lived  to  a  great  old 
age.  Following  the  example  of  many  in  the  middle  ages, 
he  exchanged  the  sword  of  the  warrior  for  the  cowl  of  the 
priest.  In  a  monastery  in  Spain  the  remainder  of  his  days 
were  passed.  It  may  be  hoped  that,  soothed  by  religious 
exercises,  he  enjoyed  a  tranquillity  he  could  not  have  known 
in  the  days  of  earthly  power,  and  that  thus  the  evening  of 
life  was  passed  in  peace. 

Soon  after  the  news  of  the  victory  of  Bio  Nueva  reached 
England,  the  man  by  whose  energy  Jamaica  had  been 
annexed  to  the  British  dominions,  closed  his  eventful  career. 
Cromwell  died  on  the  8rd  of  September,  1658.  His  suc- 
cessor, Bichard,  was  not  equal  to  the  responsibilities  and 
dangers  of  the  government  at  home,  and  it  is  therefore  not 
at  all  surprising  that  he  paid  little  or  no  attention  to  this 
distant  colony.  And  though  Charles  II.  was  restored  to  the 
throne  on  the  29th  of  May,  1660,  exactly  twelve  months 
passed  before  any  communication  from  that  monarch 
reached  his  subjects  in  Jamaica. 

Before  entering  fully  upon  this  new  phase  of  local  his- 
tory, it  will  be  necessary  to  review  the  events  which  had 
transpired  between  the  return  of  D*Oyley  from  his  victory 
on  the  north  side  until  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence. 
One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  make  an  excursion  to  the 
Spanish  possessions  on  the  mainland.    Here  he  plundered 


HISTOBICAL  EVENTS.  47 

the  town  of  Tolu,  burnt  some  galleons,  and  then  returned 
laden  with  spoil.  The  bucaneers  now  began  to  resort  in 
great  numbers  to  Caguaya,  where  they  were  not  only  free 
from  molestation,  but  found  an  excellent  market  for  their 
spoil,  the  proceeds  of  which  they  freely  expended.  The 
planters  here  found  a  ready  sale  for  all  they  produced,  and 
looked  in  consequence  with  complacency  on  the  deeds  of 
the  freebooters.  The  town — as  the  result  of  the  increasing 
traflSc — was  greatly  improved,  and  constituted  a  naval 
depot.  The  population  of  the  island  was  steadily  in- 
creasing, notwithstanding  the  mortality  among  many  of 
the  new  comers.  It  was  unfortunate  for  the  peace  of  the 
colony  that  among  recent  arrivals  were  some  Boyalists, 
who  sought  beyond  the  seas  a  safer  asylum  than  they 
found  in  their  own  home.  And  soon  after  the  death  of 
Cromwell  led  many  of  his  attached  friends  to  seek  safety 
in  the  possession  with  which  his  name  was  so  naturally 
associated.  Among  these,  Waite,  Blagrove,  and  some 
other  prominent  republicans  might  be  mentioned.  Mr. 
Bryan  Edwards  mentions  a  prevailing  rumour  that  Presi- 
dent Bradshaw  died  in  Jamaica,  and  his  grave  was  said  to 
be  marked  by  a  cannon  placed  upon  it.  Mi.  Bridges,  while 
denying  this,  says  a  son  of  Bradshaw  subsequently  came 
to  the  island,  but  neither  statements  are  correct.  Brad- 
shaw never  came  to  Jamaica,  and  he  had  no  son.  During 
the  Protectorate  an  Independent  or  Congregational  Church 
worshipped  within  the  walls  of  Westminster  Abbey.  Brad- 
shaw was  a  member  of  this  church,  and  when  he  died  he 
was  buried  within  the  Abbey — a  funeral  sermon  from 
Isaiah  Ivii.  1,  being  preached  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Howe,  the 
pastor  of  the  church.*  His  bones,  with  those  of  Cromwell 
and  Ireton,  were  subsequently  exhumed  and  carried  to 
Tyburn,  but  there  is  not  the  slightest  proof  that  they 
were  subsequently  brought  to  the  island.  A  son  of  Scott, 
one  of  the  judges  of  Charles  I.,  subsequently  arrived 
and  established  the  plantation  of  Y.  S.  in  St.  Elizabeth. 
Harrison  was  urged  to  escape  to  the  colony,  but  declined 
to  do  so.  His  children,  however,  came  after  his  execution, 
and  settled  in  St.  Andrews.  The  pedigree  of  some  of  the 
best  of  the  old  families  in  the  island  may  be  traced  back 

*  "  ChriBtian  Witness,"  1868,  pp.  812-816.    Article  by  Rev.  T. 
Oolflsnan. 


48  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

to  prominent  Royalists  and  republicans  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

However  disposed  such  men  might  be  to  forget  their 
former  differences  when  landed  on  a  distant  shore,  it  was 
impossible  that  they  should  never  come  into  collision,  and 
both  Bridges*  and  Hill t  have  committed  themselves  to 
the  opinion  that  it  was  to  such  political  animosities  the 
execution  of  Colonels  Tyson  and  Raymond  is  really  to  be 
attributed.      If  so,  that  event  was  a  very  dark  stain  on 
the  character  of  D'Oyley.    But  it  is  simple  justice  to  his 
memory  to  say  that  he  appears  to  have  held  the  reins 
of  government  impartially  in  his  later  years  ;  and  though 
the  mutiny  headed  by  those   brave  though  unfortunate 
officers  was  not  altogether  uninfluenced  by  old  animosities, 
D*Oyley  seems  to  have  dealt  with  it  on  its  simple  merits. 
Long  declares  the  causes  which  led  to  the  mutiny  to  be 
doubtful.     Sir  William  Beeston,  subsequently  governor  of 
the  island,  who  arrived  at  the  end  of  April,  1660  (three 
months  before  the  mutiny),  says :  "  The  men  wanted  to 
live  no  longer  as  soldiers,  but  to  settle  as  colonists."  J 
This  seems  to  be  the  simple  truth.     D'Oyley,  as  a  military 
man,  was  strongly  attached  to  a  military  form  of  govern- 
ment, and  he  may  have  felt  that  it  was  the  one  best 
adapted  to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  colony :  he 
accordingly  held  a  monthly  court-martial  at  Spanish  Town. 
The  planters  naturally  desired  a  civil  government,  and 
many  soldiers,  weary  of  military  rule,  which  was  all  the 
more  burdensome  as  their  pay  was  in  arrears,  joined  them 
in  their  demands.    A  meeting  was  held  at  Guanaboa,  in 
St.  John's,   when  it  was  determined  to  set   up  a  civil 
government.     The  regiment  of  which  Tyson  was  colonel 
advanced  towards  Spanish  Town,  accompanied  by  num- 
bers of   others  who  sympathised  with  them,  and  deter- 
mined to  place  Raymond  at  the  head  of  affairs.     D'Oyley 
hastily  gathered  together  his  adherents,  and  having  suc- 
ceeded in  making  Raymond  and  Tyson  prisoners,  their 
followers  were  soon  dispersed,  mainly  through  the  per- 
suasions and  personal  mfluence  of  Major  Hope,  of   St. 
Andrews.     The  two  colonels  were  immediately  tried  by 

*  ••  Annals,"  vol.  L  pp.  241,  242. 

t  Hill,  "  Lights  and  Shadows,"  pp.  84,  85. 

J  •*  Long's  History,"  vol.  i.  p.  682. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  49 

court-martial  and  shot.  Tradition  still  points  out  the 
tamarind  tree  in  Spanish  Town  beneath  which  they  fell. 
In  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  D'Oyley  either  did  not 
remember,  or  did  not  care,  that  he  had  no  legal  authority 
to  sanction  such  a  punishment.  This  was  on  the  2nd 
of  August,  1660,  twelve  days  after  tidings  of  the  restora- 
tion of  Charles  II.  reached  the  island. 

The  absence  of  any  official  instructions  from  the  new 
monarch  occasioned  considerable  anxiety.  As  the  island 
had  been  captured  by  Cromwell,  a  general  idea  prevailed 
that  Charles  would  restore  it  to  the  Spaniards,  with  whom 
he  had  been  on  friendly  terms.  The  newly-developed  zeal 
of  the  planters  was  in  consequence  checked ;  the  sugar- 
works  and  plantations  were  neglected,  and  many  prepared 
to  leave  the  colony.  At  length  the  king  found  time  to 
think  of  Jamaica,  and  on  the  29th  of  May,  1661,  D*Oyley 
got  his  commission  and  instructions.  The  former  was 
read  at  Caguaya,  which  has  ever  since  been  called  Port 
Boyal.  The  latter  substantially  conferred  the  very  pri- 
vileges struggling  for  which  Baymond  and  Tyson  lost  their 
lives.  They  provided  that  D*Oyley  should,  as  soon  as 
possible,  call  together  the  principal  planters,  some  other 
white  inhabitants,  and  the  chief  officers  of  the  army,  and, 
having  read  his  commission,  proclaim  Charles  II.  as  king. 
A  council  of  twelve  persons  was  then  to  be  appointed, 
including  a  newly-made  secretary.  Five  were  to  con- 
stitute a  quorum.  They  were  empowered  to  make  laws, 
provided  they  were  not  repugnant  to  those  of  England ; 
to  constitute  civil  courts,  direct  the  military  forces,  pro- 
claim martial  laws,  &c.  The  governor  was  directed  to 
discourage  drunkenness  and  debauchery,  and  to  maintain 
the  Protestant  religion  according  to  the  Church  of  England. 
He  was  also  to  complete  the  fortifications  at  Port  Boyal, 
to  encourage  planters,  and  allot  and  register  lands.^  A 
council,  which  was  rather  irregularly  constituted,  was  con- 
vened. Its  members  proceeded  to  frame  laws  and  levy 
taxes.  The  expenses  of  the  government  were  estimated  at 
jei640  per  annum;  of  this  £800  was  awarded  to  the 
governor  and  £100  to  the  chief  justice.  Colonel  Ward  was 
the  first  to  hold  this  office ;  Colonel  Barry  succeeded  him. 
That  military  men  should  hold  such   a  position   seems 

^  Appendix  to  **  Journals  of  House  of  Assembly,'*  vol.  L  pp.  2-4. 

5 


50  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

strange,  but  there  were  those  who  seemed  to  long  for  a 
continuance  of  the  absolute  power  of  the  court-martial. 
And  in  reference  to  the  execution  of  a  certain  man, 
D*Oyley  said  it  was  necessary  "to  let  them  see  that  the 
law  could  do  as  much  as  a  court-martial.''  * 

D'Oyley  never  took  kindly  to  the  new  form  of  govern- 
ment. He  had  been  trained  to  the  law,  and  had  held 
a  civil  government  in  Ireland,  but  the  military  profession 
was  the  choice  of  his  maturer  years,  and  inilitary  rule 
seems  to  have  been  his  idea  of  what  a  colony  required. 
The  establishment  of  the  new  order  of  things  was  by 
no  means  agreeable  to  him,  and  gave  opportunities  to 
the  friends  of  Eaymond  and  Tyson  to  exult  over  him.  He 
soon  professed  a  desire  to  lay  down  his  office,  and  his  wish 
was  gratified.  A  large  number  of  emigrants,  who  arrived 
about  the  middle  of  1662,  brought  word  that  Lord  Windsor 
might  shortly  be  expected.  The  intelligence  was  correct ; 
his  lordship  soon  came,  and  D'Oyley  left  the  colony  in 
September.  His  faults  were  those  of  inilitary  commanders 
of  the  age.  He  had  saved  the  colony  by  his  brilliant 
victory  at  Eio  Neuva,  but  the  time  had  assuredly  arrived 
when  it  was  desirable  that  another  should  take  his  place. 
Lord  Windsor,  subsequently  Earl  of  Plymouth,  reached 
Jamaica  on  the  11th  of  August,  1662,  but  was  only  about 
two  months  in  the  island. 

If  we  may  receive  the  testimony  of  Pepys,  he  was  ill- 
suiied  for  the  position  he  occupied.  His  early  return  to 
England  was  evidently  regarded  with  suspicion.  Pepys 
writes  :  **  Lord  Windsor  being  come  home  from  Jamaica, 
unlooked  for,  makes  us  think  that  these  young  lords  are 
not  fit  to  do  any  service  abroad."  t  Ten  days  after  we 
learn  from  the  same  authority  that  **  Lord  Windsor  came 
to  kiss  the  duke*s  hand."  He  told  the  duke  of  his  having 
taken  a  fort  from  the  Spaniards,  and  how  he  got  sick  on 
reaching  a  certain  degree  of  latitude,  and  never  got 
well  (though  he  did  take  the  fort)  till  he  got  to  the  same 
spot  on  his  way  home.  What  the  duke  thought  we  are 
not  informed,  but  Pepys  was  of  opinion  that  the  young 
nobleman  was  weary  of  being  out  of  his  own  country  where 
he  might  have  pleasure,  and  that  it  was  a. great  shame  for 

*  Bridges'  "  Annals,"  vol.  i.  p.  247. 
t  Pepys'  "  Diary,"  Feb.  18,  1663. 


mSTORICAL   EVENTS.  61 

him  to  go  to  the  playhouse  on  the  first  afternoon  of  his 
being  in  town. 

Apart  from  all  personal  merits  or  demerits,  Lord  Windsor's 
name  is  a  very  important  one  in  Jamaica  history.  His  in- 
structions, though  in  many  respects  similar  to  those  of  his 
predecessor,  differed  in  some  important  particulars.  A  salary 
of  £2000  per  annum  was  awarded  him.  In  four  quarters 
of  the  island  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  were  to  be 
set  apart  as  a  royal  demesne ;  he  was  also  empowered  to 
grant  to  himself  and  his  heirs  for  ever  fifty  thousand  acres. 
Provision  was  made  for  a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  on  exports, 
not  to  commence,  however,  for  seven  years ;  and  this  in 
instructions  afterwards  given  to  Modyford  was  extended  to 
twenty-one  years.  But  the  most  important  clause  was  one 
empowering  the  governor,  with  the  advice  of  his  council,  to 
call  assemblies ;  the  laws,  however,  were  not  to  be  in  force 
above  two  years,  unless  they  had  obtained  the  approval  of 
the  crown.* 

The  loss  of  many  valuable  records  in  the  earthquake  at 
Port  Royal,  then  the  principal  seat  of  government,  explains 
the  difficulty  which  attends  a  proper  investigation  of  the 
early  history  of  the  colony.  Bridges  states  that  Windsor 
called  no  assembly.!  This  is  opposed  to  a  statement  to  be 
found  in  the  twelfth  volume  of  the  **  Journals  of  Assembly," 
which  is  to  the  effect  that  **  he  named  a  council  of  twelve 
persons,  and  called  an  assembly  freely  chosen  by  the  people 
at  large,  who  passed  a  body  of  laws,  containing  among 
others  one  for  raising  a  revenue,  the  collection,  disposition 
and  accounting  for  which  was  regulated  by  the  Assembly.*'! 
These  laws,  it  would  appear,  were  not  confirmed  by  the  king, 
and  so  expired  in  two  years. 

Of  more  importance  than  the  instructions  was  the  pro- 
clamation §  from  the  king,  dated  Dec.  14,  1661,  which  was 
brought  over  by  Lord  Windsor.  After  setting  forth  the 
great  fertility  and  other  advantages  of  the  island,  and 
providing  thirty  acres  of  land  for  all  over  twelve  years 
of  age  residing  in  it  or  who  should  arrive  within  two  years, 
it  proceeds: — **And  we  doe  further  publish  and  declare, 

*  Appendix  to  vol.  i.  "  Journals  of  Assembly,"  pp.  5-6. 
t  Bndges*  "  Annals,"  vol.  i.  p.  252. 
J  **  Journals  of  Assembly,"  vol.  xii.  p.  167. 
§  Appendix  to  **  Journals,"  vol.  i. 

6* 


52  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

that  all  children  of  our  naturall  home  suhjects  of  England, 
to  hee  borne  in  Jamaica,  shall  from  theu*  respective  births, 
bee  reputed  to  bee  free  denizens  of  England ;  and  shall 
have  the  same  priviledges,  to  all  intents  and  purposess,  a 
our  free  borne  subjects  of  England." 

Lord  Windsor  also  brought  a  seal  designed  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  a  mace.  He  soon  proceeded  to 
apportion  lands.  Little  was  heard  of  thirty  acre  lots,  but 
six,  ten,  and  even  twenty  thousand  acres  were  given  to  some 
favoured  individuals.  Lynch,  Hope,  Archbould  and  Bee- 
ston  had  extensive  domains;  the  three  last  divided  about 
half  the  parish  of  St.  Andrews.  It  was  inevitable  that 
such  vast  tracts  should  remain  for  the  most  part  unculti- 
vated. Suspicions  as  to  Lord  Windsor's  intentions  led  to 
a  great  deal  of  discontent,  but  if  the  alarm  was  justified 
it  soon  subsided,  the  planters  being  satisfied  that  no  steps 
were  contemplated  likely  to  affect  their  interests :  the 
more  martial  among  them  were  gratified  by  the  announce- 
ment that  an  expedition  was  about  to  be  despatched  against 
St.  Jago  de  Cuba.  The  justness  of  such  a  measure  was  a 
question  into  which  few  were  likely  to  look.  Port  Koyal 
was  full  of  adventurers,  and  twelve  ships  and  upwards  of  a 
thousand  men  were  soon  equipped.  The  town  was  plundered, 
how  many  were  killed  of  the  inhabitants  cannot  now  be 
known,  but  according  to  Long  two  thousand  houses  were 
destroyed,  and  thirty-four  cannon,  of  which  four  were  sent 
to  the  Tower  of  London ;  seven  ships,  and  a  thousand  barrels 
of  gunpowder,  were  taken,  with  a  loss  to  the  English  of  only 
six  men :  the  conquerors  returned  laden  with  spoil. 

Lord  Windsor,  satisfied  with  his  exploit,  did  not  even 
wait  to  review  the  militia  which  had  been  organised,  but 
securing  his  share  of  the  plunder,  sailed  for  home  on  the 
28th  of  October,  to  lose  his  mysterious  malady  on  the 
voyage,  tell  the  duke  of  the  fort  he  had  captured,  and  give 
honest  Pepys  something  to  trouble  his  mind  and  record  in 
his  diary.  This  closing  transaction  of  the  **  young  lord's  " 
administration  is  recorded  simply  as  a  matter  of  colonial 
history.  In  estimating  the  character  of  this  and  similar 
transactions  regard  must  be  had  to  the  character  of  the 
age,  and  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  provocations 
the  English  had  endured  for  many  generations  from  the 
Spaniards. 


mSTOaiCAL  EVENTS.  5S| 

The  sudden  departure  of  Windsor  was  not  attended  by 
the  inconvenience  that  might  have  been  expected.  Sir 
Charles  Lyttleton  had  accompanied  him  to  the  island  as 
lieutenant.  This  gentleman  at  once  assumed  the  govern- 
ment. He  was  well  connected,  and  was  also  a  distinguished 
adherent  of  the  Stuarts.  Though  after  his  return  to  Eng- 
land he  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  the  Duke  of 
York's  regiment,  and  the  governorship  of  Sheemess  and 
Landguard,  he  resigned  these  valuable  appointments  rather 
than  take  the  oaths  at  the  Revolution,  and  died  at  a  great 
old  age  in  the  quiet  retirement  of  his  country  seat  at  Hag- 
ley,  in  Worcestershire.  His  first  wife  having  died  in 
Spanish  Town,  he  was  married  to  **  La  belle  Temple,"  one 
of  the  beauties  of  the  court  of  the  second  Charles,  and  for 
a  time  maid  of  honour  to  the  queen.  But  these  associa- 
tions were  no  hindrance  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  his 
duties.  The  first  of  these  was  to  provide  for  the  reception 
of  the  Spaniards,  who  might  soon  be  expected.  Fort 
Charles  was  commenced,  and  guns  mounted  to  protect  more 
fully  the  rising  town  of  Port  Royal. 

While  this  necessary  work  was  in  progress,  all  the 
nen-ous  people  in  the  colony  were  nearly  frightened  into 
fits  by  an  announcement  of  Beeston,  who  having  paid 
some  attention  to  astrology,  declared  that  '*  all  the  planets 
in  the  heavens  were  in  Mars  ascendant  of  the  Spanish 
nation ;"  an  astronomical  fact  which  it  seems  was  indica- 
tive of  no  little  evil  to  Jamaica.  There  really  appeared 
to  be  some  truth  in  the  prediction,  for  early  in  1663  a 
dozen  ships  and  about  fifteen  hundred  men  having  sailed 
for  Campeachey,  three  of  the  vessels  were  wrecked. 
Then  another  small  fleet  sent  to  expel  the  French  from 
Tortuga  was  also  unsuccessful.  But  now  the  stars  played 
the  Spaniards  false,  for  the  Campeachey  expedition  con- 
quered after  all,  the  town  was  sacked,  and  twenty  ships 
filled  with  treasure  taken.  For  a  long  time  after  this  the 
harbour  of  Port  Royal  was  continually  filled  with  prizes 
of  immense  value  brought  in  by  the  buccaneers.  The 
leading  inhabitants  were  delighted  with  the  treasures 
which  were  thus  poured  out  upon  the  shores,  though  they 
could  not  forget  their  internal  foes.  The  Maroon  negroes, 
though  comparatively  few  in  number,  virtually  kept  pos- 
session of  the  centre  of  the  island^  and  did  not  spare  a 


54  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

single  white  inhabitant  who  attempted  to  form  a  settlement 
in  the  interior.  The  governor  first  tried  what  conciliation 
could  do,  and  offered  twenty  acres  of  land  and  freedom  to 
all  who  would  surrender.  The  offer  was  unheeded.  The 
Maroons  were  free  as  the  birds  of  the  forest  already,  and 
as  for  land,  they  had  thousands  of  acres  of  the  richest  in 
the  colony  amid  those  mighty  mountains,  had  they  cared 
for  cultivation.  At  length  their  old  commander,  Juan  de 
Solas,  was  sent  against  them ;  but  he  had  lost  his  ancient 
skill,  fell  into  an  ambuscade,  as  any  raw  EngUsh  recruit 
might  have  done,  and  was  killed.  Next  year  a  party  of 
whites  imder  Captain  Colbeck  went  against  them,  but  his 
success  was  very  partial.  A  treaty  they  made  with  him 
was  soon  broken.  The  country  had  to  pay  £240,000  from 
first  to  last,  and  the  legislatures  of  successive  generations 
to  pass  forty-four  laws  before  they  were  even  partially 
brought  under  subjection. 

The  first  assembly  of  which  there  is  any  oflBcial  record 
was  convened  early  in  1664  :  writs  for  the  election  of  thirty 
persons  had  been  issued  in  the  preceding  December.  They 
met  at  Spanish  Town,  on  the  20th  of  January,  sat  till  the 
12th  of  February,  and  then  adjourned  to  the  17th  of  May, 
when  they  assembled  at  Port  Royal.  Viewed  as  legislators, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  these  gentlemen  were  extremely 
jovial ;  they  seem  to  have  enjoyed  themselves  heartily.  It 
might  have  been  better  for  the  land  had  all  their  successors 
been  as  light-hearted  and  genial,  for  the  laws  they  passed 
were  very  sensible  ones.  But,  while  granting  a  revenue, 
they  took  good  care  to  keep  its  disposal  in  their  own 
hands,  a  right  their  successors  never  relinquished. 

It  was  rather  unfortunate  for  the  colony  that  on  the  12th 
of  May  Sir  Charles  Lyttleton  returned  to  England.  And 
like  a  true-hearted  English  gentleman,  he  gave  an  honest 
report  of  the  country.  The  government  was  not  dis- 
agreeable, and  the  people  were  contented ;  but  while  easy 
to  govern,  they  were  "  yet  apter  to  be  led  than  driven." 

On  the  4th  of  June  Sir  Thomas  Modyford  arrived.  Four 
hundred  planters  from  Barbadoes  had  preceded  him  by  a 
few  days,  and  he  was  accompanied  by  two  hundred  others. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  he  issued  writs  calling  a  general 
assembly,  but  unfortunately  its  meetings  were  not  charac- 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  55 

terized  by  the  same  spirit  of  ananimity  as  the  former  one. 
From  this  period  must  be  dated  the  commencement  of  the 
incessant  struggles  between  the  assembly  and  council  on 
questions  of  privilege  and  the  limits  of  their  respective 
powers.  The  earliest  quarrel  was  so  severe  as  to  result 
in  bloodshed,  Major  Joy,  of  the  council,  being  killed  by 
Captain  Abraham  Butter,  of  the  assembly.  Early  in  1665, 
the  first  assembly  having  been  dismissed,  a  second  was 
convened  by  the  new  governor,  but  party  feeling  again  ran 
so  high  that  it  was  soon  dissolved,  and  Sir  Thomas  did  not 
venture  to  convene  another. 

Setting  aside  all  the  unworthy  personal  animosities  that 
prevailed,  it  appears  that  the  point  aimed  at  by  a  condder- 
able  party  in  the  assembly  was  to  exclude  the  name  of 
the  king  from  money  bills,  on  the  ground  that  they  took 
immediate  effect,  and  ought  not  to  await  his  sanction  like 
other  acts.  This,  not  without  reason,  was  regarded  as 
simply  a  step  towards  asserting  that  the  governor,  being 
the  representative  of  the  king,  could  by  his  acts  bind  the 
crown,  and  thus  all  laws  might  ultimately  be  put  into 
operation  irrespective  of  the  king's  consent.  In  the  absence 
of  an  assembly,  Sir  Thomas  Modyford  and  his  council 
appear  to  have  issued  several  ordinances  which  had  all  the 
force  of  law,  provision  being  made  that  they  should  only 
continue  in  operation  until  another  assembly  was  convened, 
when  they  might  be  either  confirmed  or  annulled.* 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  cobnists  would  not  have 
submitted  so  quietly  to  this  suspension  of  the  sittings  of 
the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature  had  the  time  been  one 
of  adversity.  But  the  planters  prospered,  and  Port  Boyal 
was  crowded  with  ships ;  gold  poured  into  the  coffers  of  the 
leading  settlers,  and  patriotism  was  in  consequence  at  a 
low  ebb.  Sir  Thomas  inaugurated  some  active  measures 
during  1665  against  the  Dutch,  and  the  whole  of  his  ad- 
ministration was  marked  by  a  series  of  depredations  against 
the  Spaniards.  This,  it  is  true,  was  quite  contrary  to  the 
letter  of  his  instructions.  In  these  the  king  enjoined  **  the 
inhibition  of  all  commissions  granted  to  private  ships 
and  frigates  preying  upon  the  neighbouring  territories  and 
making  prizes  at  sea.'^t     Trade  with  these  colonies  was  to 

"   "Journals  of  AsRembly,"  vol.  xii.  p.  167. 

f  **  Instructions,  Appendix  to  Journals,*'  vol.  i.  p.  10. 


56  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

be  enconraged,  and  Modyford  was  instructed  to  make  it 
known  that  a  British  ambassador  resided  at  the  Spanish 
comrt.  In  spite  of  all  this,  the  buccaneers  pursued  their 
avocation  without  material  interruption  during  this  and 
many  succeeding  govemments,  and  helped  to  make  Port 
Boyal  the  most  wealthy  city  then  in  the  West  Indies. 
There  seems  no' reason  to  doubt  that  Modyford  perfectly 
understood  the  wishes  of  Charles  II.  in  this  business.  Long, 
who  had  ample  means  of  arriving  at  the  truth,  declares 
there  was  actually  a  kind  of  partnership  entered  into  be- 
tween the  king  and  the  governor.*  Beeston  goes  even 
further,  and  says  that  the  king  gave  Modyford  authority  to 
prey  upon  the  Spaniards,  and  ''  to  commission  whatever 
persons  he  thought  good  to  be  partners  with  his  majesty  in 
the  plunder,  they  finding  victuals,  wear  and  tear."f 

There  could  be  no  diflSculty  in  communicating  to  Mody- 
ford the  real  wishes  of  the  king  in  this  profitable  but  unholy 
business.  Though  Modyford,  originally  a  barrister  of  Lin- 
coln's Inn,  had  acquired  a  fortune  as  a  planter  in  Barba- 
does,  of  which  island  he  was  once  governor,  he  owed  his 
title  to  the  influence  of  his  second  cousin,  Monk,  Duke  of 
Albemarle.  Charles  was  not  only  fateful  to  the  duke  for 
the  important  part  he  had  taken  m  the  Restoration,  but 
found  in  him  a  safe  vehicle  of  communication  with  the  new 
baronet.     Possibly  Monk  shared  in  the  spoils. 

The  commencement  of  the  operations  of  the  buccaneers 
dates  back  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Spain 
had  claimed  the  exclusive  right  of  trade  with  the  West 
Indies,  a  right  which  other  maritime  nations  were  not  at 
all  disposed  to  pass  unquestioned.  Desperate  adventurers 
consequently  resorted  to  those  parts,  and  as  Spain  was  a 
common  enemy,  all  other  national  animosities  were  for- 
gotten in  one  general  alliance ;  hence  the  term  brethren  of 
the  eoast,  by  which  they  were  frequently  known.  As  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  that  these  men  should  find  some  means 
of  victualling  their  ships,  they  took  possession  of  an  ex- 
tensive district  on  the  coast  of  Hayti,  well  filled  with  wild 
cattle.  Comparatively  secure  from  interruption,  they  lived 
there  a  wild  but  jovial  life,  exchanging  it  as  inclination  or 
necessity  prompted  for  the  adventures  of  the  ocean.  While 

*  Long,  vol.  i.  p.  626. 

f  Bee8ton*B  **  Journal  in  Lanan*8  Jamaica  Tracts,*'  p.  284. 


mSTOBICAL  EVENTS.  67 

on  shore  they  employed  a  good  deal  of  their  time  in  hunt- 
ing down  the  wild  cattle.  These,  when  killed,  were  skinned, 
and  the  bones  carefully  extracted  for  the  sake  of  the  mar- 
row. The  flesh  was  then  salted  and  seasoned,  placed  on 
large  wooden  grates  over  a  slow  fire,  and  deposited,  when 
properly  dried,  in  large  sheds,  called  by  the  Indians  hoiicans : 
and  hence  the  term  buccaneers,  applied  not  only  to  the 
hunters  on  shore,  but  ultimately  to  the  rovers  at  sea.  The 
French  adventurers  were  frequently  called  filibusters,  which 
was  most  likely  a  corruption  of  the  English  word  freebooter. 

These  men  were  rarely  known  among  their  companions 
by  their  true  name ;  an  alias  was  almost  always  adopted  if 
they  belonged  to  a  good  family,  as  was  frequently  the  case. 
Begard  for  the  ancient  reputation  of  their  house  was  often 
mingled  with  a  rough  sort  of  religious  feeling.  A  com- 
mander, known  by  the  name  of  Daniel,  shot  one  of  his 
sailors  in  church,  for  misbehaviour  during  mass.  And 
others  exhibited  their  piety,  such  as  it  was,  by  having 
prayers  daily  when  at  sea. 

After  a  time  Hayti  became  less  desirable  as  a  settlement, 
owing  to  frequent  attacks  by  the  Spaniards.  The  island  of 
Tortuga  was  then  selected,  and  though  the  buccaneers 
were  after  a  while  expelled  by  the  Spaniards,  they  soon 
returned  to  it  in  greater  force,  and  it  continued  a  favourite 
rendezvous  until  the  capture  of  Jamaica  by  Cromwell.  The 
buccaneers  were  too  acute  not  to  perceive  the  magnificent 
market  they  might  here  find  for  their  spoil,  and  the  facili- 
ties it  afforded  for  repairing  their  ships  and  obtaining 
supplies.  Their  operations  soon  began  to  assume  more 
formidable  proportions,  and  powerful  fleets  sailed  on  their 
work  of  plunder.  Pierre  le  Grand,  Mansfelt,  D'Olonnois, 
and  Morgan,  are  all  well-known  names  among  the  leaders 
of  these  expeditions.  Their  adventures  can  be  read  in 
other  pages ;  they  need  not  be  recorded  here.  The  Spa- 
niards had  acted  cruelly  and  selfishly  in  the  days  of  their 
early  power,  but  the  retaliation  of  the  buccaneers  was  often 
absolutely  devilish  in  its  character.  It  is  impossible  for 
a  man  possessed  of  the  strongest  nerves  to  read  without 
horror  the  account  given  by  Esquimelling  of  the  proceedings 
of  Morgan,  who  was  perhaps  less  brutish  than  many  others.* 

*  The  quaint  book  of  Esqaimellmg  should  be  read  by  those  who  wish 
to  obtain  an  insight  into  the  habits  and  customs  of  these  people. 


58  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

The  courage  of  these  men  was  unquestionable ;  their 
brutality  was  utterly  indefensible.  Mutilations  of  the  per- 
son and  roasting  over  slow  fires  were  even  light  tortures 
compared  with  some  they  inflicted,  to  extort  from  captives 
the  secret  hoard,  which  in  many  cases  had  no  existence 
except  in  the  avaricious  imagination  of  the  conquerors. 
On  the  return  of  these  adventurers  from  a  successful  foray, 
Port  Boyal  became  a  scene  of  unbridled  lust  and  dissipa- 
tion. A  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  their  spoil  would  be 
expended  on  arms,  ammunition,  provisions,  and  other  neces- 
saries, but  the  bulk  was  devoted  to  purposes  of  debauchery. 
In  a  few  weeks  heaps  of  treasure  would  be  expended.  The 
ingenuity  which  was  displayed  in  spending  money  on  pur- 
poses of  sensuality  and  folly  was  remarkable,  and  as  an 
illustration  that  may  be  reproduced  in  print  of  the  minor 
follies  of  the  time,  it  may  be  noted  that  Esquimelling  tells 
of  his  own  master  broaching  a  cask  of  wine  in  a  street  in 
Port*  Royal,  and,  pistol  in  hand,  threatening  to  shoot  every 
passer-by  who  would  not  stop  to  drink  with  him. 

These  men  found  a  patron  in  Modyford,  who  obtained  a 
share  of  their  gains.  During  the  latter  period  of  Mody- 
ford's  administration,  the  king's  brother,  the  Duke  of  York, 
who  was  lord  high  admiral,  established  a  court  here.  It 
simply  legalised  piracy  and  prevented  unlicensed  pirates, 
for  none  might  murder  or  plunder  "but  such  as  were 
authorised  by  powers  from  our  dearest  brother,  the  Duke 
of  York." 

In  June,  1671,  a  treaty  of  peace  being  signed  with  Spain, 
it  was  thought  desirable  to  recall  Modyford.  He  was  ac- 
tually sent  home  as  a  prisoner  and  cast  into  the  Tower,  but 
this  was  simply  a  blind.  In  1675  he  was  back  again  in 
Jamaica,  and  was  appointed  chief  justice.  Four  years 
after  he  died,  and  his  monument  in  Spanish  Town  church 
declares  that  he  was  '*  the  soule  and  life  of  all  Jamaica, 
who  first  made  it  what  it  now  is ;  •  •  .  the  best  and 
longest  governor,  the  most  considerable  planter,  the  ablest 
and  most  upright  judge  this  island  ever  enjoyed."  In 
Lunan's  tracts  a  contemporary  describes  him  as  ''the 
openest  atheist  and  most  profest  immoral  liver  in  the 
world.'**  Setting  aside  his  moral  character,  and  his  com- 
plicity with  buccaneers,  not  then  regarded  as  a  crime,  he 

*  Lunan'B  "  Tracts,"  p.  112. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  59 

appears  to  have  been  a  really  good  friend  to  the  island. 
The  testimony  of  Oldmixon,*  Leslie,!  and  Poyer,t  all  tend 
to  prove  this.  He  encouraged  others  by  his  example  in 
establishing  salt  works;  the  ponds  still  remain  in  St. 
Catherine's.  He  planted  cocoa  groves  ;  he  also  paid  great 
attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane,  and  to  the 
management  of  pimento  groves.  "There  was  no  one," 
says  Leslie,  **that  ever  contributed  so  much  to  reduce  the 
island  to  good  order,  or  improved  an  estate  to  better  advan- 
tage.'* The  improved  condition  of  the  island  was  not, 
however,  effected  without  an  immense  influx  of  African 
slaves.  It  is  from  the  period  of  Modyford's  administration 
that  the  slave  trade  assumed  a  prominent  position  in  the 
affairs  of  the  colony.  Seventy  sugar  works  were  in  opera- 
tion in  1670,  and  their  demands  for  more  labourers  were 
incessant.  England  still  continued  to  send  forth  to  the 
colony  a  considerable  number  of  bond  servants. 

Modyford  was  superseded  by  Sir  Thomas  Lynch,  who, 
in  compliance  with  the  instructions  he  had  received,  soon 
called  a  meeting  of  the  assembly.  On  the  8th  of  January, 
1672,  the  newly  elected  members  met,  and  sat  until  June. 
Several  laws  were  passed  and  approved  of  by  the  governor, 
but  their  duration  was  by  his  instructions  limited  to  two 
years.  Among  the  provisions  for  raising  a  revenue  was 
one  laying  a  tax  on  savannah  and  cleared  land  of  one 
penny  per  acre,  and  a  halfpenny  per  foot  on  land  at  Port 
Royal.  A  license  to  sell  liquor  cost  forty  shillings.  The 
tonnage  dues  on  English  ships  wexe  fixed  at  one  shilling  a 
ton,  foreign  vessels  paying  double.  An  effort  was  made  to 
induce  the  men  engaged  in  privateers  to  settle,  by  offering 
them  a  free  gift  of  thirty-five  acres  of  land.  This  was  not 
much  of  a  temptation,  for  war  was  now  raging  with 
Holland.  Valuable  prizes  were  in  consequence  brought 
into  Port  Royal ;  one  of  these  contained  six  hundred  negro 
slaves. 

In  May  next  year  the  assembly  again  met,  but  not  in 
an  amiable  mood.  The  king's  assent  to  the  laws  passed 
in  the  former  session  had  been  withheld,  and  they  now 
refused  to  vote  money  that  was  urgently  required  for  forti- 

*  **  History  of  British  Empire  in  America." 

f  **  History  of  Jamaica."        I  **  History  of  Barbadoes." 


60  HISTOBt  OF  JAMAICA. 

fications.*  In  T'ebruary,  1674,  a  new  assembly  was  called 
together;  they  worked  steadily  and  hopefully,  but  though 
in  about  a  month  they  framed  and  passed  a  useful  body  of 
laws,  the  assent  of  the  king  was  not  obtained,  and  so  in  two 
years  they  expired.  Whether  the  merry  monarch  was  in- 
different to  the  welfare  of  the  infant  colony,  or  whether 
there  were  reasons  that  seemed  to  justify  the  withholding 
of  the  royal  sanction,  is  not  quite  clear  ;  but  though  for  a 
time  the  imcertainty  relative  to  the  duration  of  existing 
laws  kept  the  country  in  subjection  to  the  imperial  will,  the 
day  was  not  very  far  distant  when  the  lesson  thus  taught 
was  turned  to  good  account  by  the  colonists,  who  often 
gained  their  purposes  by  limiting  to  short  periods  the  dura- 
tion of  their  money  bills. 

During  Lynches  administration  the  colony  continued  to 
prosper.  Early  in  1673  an  official  letter  to  the  secretary  of 
state,  Lord  Arlington,  described  it  as  containing  upwards  of 
7700  whites;  of  these,  4050  were  men,  as  many  indeed  as 
there  are  now  in  the  island.  There  were  also  rather  more 
than  2000  women  and  1712  children.  In  addition  to  these  it 
was  reckoned  that  800  seamen  belonged  to  the  ports.  The 
slaves  numbered  9504.  Only  611  of  all  classes  lived  on  the 
north  side  of  the  island.  St.  Catherine's  contained  upwards 
of  4000  inhabitants,  nearly  a  fourth  of  the  whole  island. 
St.  Andrews,  including  the  little  village  of  Kingston,  was 
next  in  point  of  population,  containing  2677  bond  and  free. 
St.  Thomas,  in  the  east,  numbered  some  400  less ;  while 
Clarendon  and  Port  Royal  contained  each  about  2000  in- 
habitants. In  the  estimate  of  the  latter,  the  sea-going 
portion  is  not  included.  With  this  account  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Port  Boyal  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  receive 
the  statement  that  it  contained  800  houses :  this  number, 
if  correct,  must  have  included  workshops,  stores,  &c. 
That  the  buildings  were  not  in  excess  of  the  demand 
seems  to  be  proved  by  the  fact  that  rents  were  as  high  as 
in  London. 

It  seems  a  strange  commentary  on  the  professed  desire 
of  the  imperial  government  to  put  down  piracy,  to  find 
that  when  in  1675  Sir  Thomas  Lynch  retired  from  the 
government,  he  was  succeeded  as  lieutenant-governor  by 
Morgan,  who,  having  been  knighted,  was  ilow  known  as 

*  Journals,  vol.  i.  p.  6. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  61 

Sir  Henry  Morgan,  and  who,  during  this  and  two  other 
brief  periods  of  administration,  had  to  inflict  the  death 
penalty  on  some  of  his  old  companions  in  arms  !  On  this 
first  occasion  he  was  soon  set  aside  by  the  arrival  of  Lord 
Yaughan.  His  lordship  brought  instructions  somewhat 
different  in  their  character  to  those  of  his  predecessors. 
The  council  of  twelve  persons  by  whom  he  was  to  be 
assisted  were  all  named,  but  he  had  full  power  to  suspend 
or  expel.  No  change  was  made  in  the  constitution  or  powers 
of  the  assembly,  but  all  laws  were  to  be  assimilated  as 
far  as  possible  to  those  of  England,  yet  they  were  only  to 
be  in  force  for  two  years,  unless  specially  sanctioned  by  the 
king;  they  might,  however,  be  disallowed  at  any  time.* 
Lord  Yaughan,  when  he  opened  the  assembly  on  the  26th 
of  April,  declared  **  that  he  should  guide  himself  according 
to  the  usage  and  custom  of  parliaments  in  England."  One 
of  those  disputes  between  the  assembly  and  the  council, 
which  soon  became  chronic  in  their  character,  gave  him 
an  opportunity  of  proving  that  he  was  sincere.  The 
assembly  wished  to  adopt  a  plan  of  reading  their  bills 
twice,  and  then  sending  them  on  to  the  council,  and  when 
returned  by  that  body  they  would  read  them  the  third  time. 
To  this  novel  innovation  Lord  Yaughan  replied  that  it  was 
not  so  done  in  the  British  parliament,  and  the  idea  was  at 
once  abandoned.!  But  none  of  the  laws  passed  during  his 
administration  received  the  royal  assent.  It  is,  however, 
quite  impossible  to  examine  the  public  records  of  this  period 
without  perceiving  that,  whatever  mistakes  may  have  been 
committed  by  imperfectly  trained  legislators,  governor, 
council,  and  assembly  were  all  alike  anxious  to  act  upon 
English  precedents,  and  to  respect  the  rights  of  each  other 
while  maintaining  their  own.-  If  Jamaica  has  a  constitu- 
tional history,  this  period  may  be  cited  as  the  proper  date 
of  its  true  commencement. 

In  the  peace  which  had  been  made  with  the  Dutch  it 
was  arranged  that  the  colony  of  Surinam  should  be  restored 
to  the  Dutch  in  exchange  for  the  province  of  New  York, 
which  the  latter  had  captured  in  1673.  The  question 
naturally  arose,  what  should  be  done  with  the  Surinam 
settlers  who  might  wish  to  remove  ?  Jamaica  appeared 
to  o£fer  a  suitable  home.    Lord  Yaughan  was  accordingly 

"*"  JoomalB,  vol.  xii  p.  167.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  i  p.  12. 


62  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

instructed  to  prepare  for  their  arrival,  and  to  allot  them 
double  the  quantity  of  land  apportioned  to  other  settlers.* 
During  the  latter  part  of  1675  twelve  hundred  of  these 
people  arrived,  and  settled,  for  the  most  part,  in  St. 
Elizabeth.  For  a  long  time  the  selected  district  was 
known  as  the  Surinam  quarters.  Some  years  later,  the 
settlers  from  Darien  found  a  home  in  the  same  part  of 
the  island.  The  prevalence  of  Scottish  names,  both  of 
proprietors  and  properties,  still  indicate  how  many  of 
these  must  have  claimed  that  nationality.  The  tide  of 
emigration,  from  several  quarters,  was  at  this  time  con- 
siderable. Bond  servants  from  Bristol,  and  settlers  of  a 
higher  social  class,  alike  contributed  to  swell  the  ranks  of 
the  colonists.  About  the  end  of  Lord  Vaughan's  adminis- 
tration there  were  4526  persons  enrolled  in  the  militia, 
which  included,  as  we  are  told,  "none  of  the  blacks.*' 
The  taxes  were  not  burdensome,  and  justice  appears  to 
have  been  fairly  administered  (to  the  whites).  There  was 
at  Spanish  Town  a  supreme  court,  and  also  quarter 
sessions  in  other  places.  The  English  settlers,  who  even 
yet  formed  the  largest  half  of  the  population,  seem  to  have 
been  anxious  to  establish  all  they  regarded  as  valuable  in 
British  laws  and  customs. 

The  chief  revenue  of  the  crown  arose  from  quit  rents, 
and  was  in  all  a  little  under  £2000  per  annum.  Export 
duties  were  unknown,  those  on  imports  were  confined,  with 
some  trivial  exceptions,  to  wine  and  spirits ;  but  parochial 
taxes  were  levied  to  provide  and  maintain  roads  and 
public  buildings.  The  cultivation  of  sugar  was  increasing 
rapidly:  during  four  years,  commencing  with  Vaughan's 
administration,  the  produce  was  from  three  to  four  times 
as  great  as  during  the  preceding  four  years.  In  March, 
1678,  Lord  Yaughan  left  the  island.  His  administration 
had  been  a  prosperous  one.  Keferring  to  his  private 
character,  it  would  seem  that  he  was  possessed  of  con- 
siderable literary  ability.  The  poet  Dryden  found  in  him 
An  early  patron,  and  the  Koyal  Society  subsequently  chose 
him  as  its  president.  This  distinguished  position  he 
occupied  from  1686  to  1689.  He  is  also  remembered  as  a 
member  of  the  celebrated  Kit-cat  Club.  Though  twice 
married,  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  his  example  was  not 

"^  Journals,  vol.  i.  app.  pp.  19,  20. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  63 

at  all  calculated  to  improve  the  morals  of  the  island  he 
governed.  A  friend  of  Pepys,  **  an  understanding  gentle- 
man/'  described  him  as  **  one  of  the  lewdest  fellows  of  the 
age.*'*  He  was  afterwards  known  as  Earl  of  Carberry, 
having  succeeded  to  that  title  on  the  death  of  his  father. 

The  government  of  Lord  Yaughan  lasted  exactly  one 
year,  and  on  his  departure  Sir  Henry  Morgan  was  rein- 
stated as  lieutenant-governor  for  another  period  of  four 
months.  The  differences  between  the  French  and  English 
governments  led  to  serious  apprehensions  of  invasion. 
Morgan  lost  no  time  in  proclaiming  martial  law ;  negroes 
were  impressed  from  the  different  parishes ;  fortifications 
were  improved,  and  others  commenced ;  nor  did  the  alarm 
subside  until  tidings  reached  the  colony  that  eleven  ships 
belonging  to  the  French  fleet  had  been  lost  in  a  hurricane. 
The  alarm  was  repeated  during  the  following  year,  but  no 
invasion  was  attempted. 

On  the  19th  of  July,  1678,  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  arrived 
in  Jamaica.  The  government  of  this  nobleman  is  chiefly 
remarkable  in  consequence  of  the  commission  with  which 
he  was  charged  to  change  the  system  of  making  laws  which 
had  hitherto  prevailed,  and  to  assimilate  the  practice  to 
that  which  was  in  force  in  Ireland,  under  what  was  called 
**Poyning's  Act."  The  history  of  the  struggle  which  en- 
sued is  of  less  practical  impoi*tance  at  the  present  time 
than  it  would  be  had  the  colonial  legislature  of  1865  not 
relinquished  all  their  ancient  rights  and  privileges.  The 
constitutional  government  which  preceding  generations  had 
sought  to  preserve  was  then  tamely  surrendered,  and  when- 
ever the  inhabitants  of  Jamaica  shall  regain  the  right  of 
choosing  their  own  representatives,  the  new  charter  will  be 
independent  no  doubt  of  old  prescriptive  forms,  however 
important  such  forms  may  once  have  been. 

Those  who  may  now,  or  hereafter,  be  anxious  to  study  in 
all  its  details  the  patriotic  struggle  which  commenced  at 
the  period  under  review,  will  find  the  information  they 
require  in  the  first  volume  of  Edwards's  **  History  of  the  West 
Indies,"  where  many  of  the  records  of  the  home  government 
are  preserved,  and  also  in  the  pages  of  Long,  and  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  Journals  of  the  Assembly. t     Most  readers 

*  Diary,  p.  460.  +  Pp.  28-66. 


SI  SSBTDCT   or  JAMAlCJu 

wm  proh&blr  be  ssia^&ed  Kith  the  fcUXaxz^em  thfii.  for  Bon>e 
caxtse  not  xerj  inteDigiiitkt.  tbe  lards  of  the  ctcizziiziittee  for 
trades  and  plinl^oaiB  adriBed  the  trng  lo  restrsizi  the 
poirers  of  t2>e  Jiinaica  &g&eziLh}T :  bo  ih&3  inKtiCuid  of  tbedr 
irtalrTTig  umI  cc^nang  lan^  and  then  s^ihziiiniziLg  tbem  for 
tqtmI  approTsL  the  goremor  and  ctcvcDcu  fiio-uld  prepare 
such  drafts  of  lair?  as  "they  nd^i  dti«m  desraibk'^  forward 
tfaem  ta  his  ma^estj.  and  wbesi  tber  ^«re  rBtouDed  iritfa  bis 
approbaticML.  then  tbfj  irere  t«  be  s^imiticid  lo  an  asfvembl j 
ecmTcnedforthepoiposefQrtiieirasBtsit.  As  an  appiropriale 
iiitrodiicti<Hi  to  this  irondeifxd  le^gislatiTe  ccaitnTanoe^  a 
bodj  of  lavs  firamed  in  aorafdinoe  with  some  fcomerly 
sent  home,  and  amended  and  mh^i^  bj  the  king's  pixy 
eoancil,  vere  handed  to  the  earl  to  be  submitted  by  hrm  to 
the  first  assembly  for  their  consent,  as  arts  **ongin&llj 
eoming  from  as.***  The  earl  obeyed  orders,  but  the  assembly 
refused  to  do  as  they  were  requiied,  and  with  due  respect, 
bnt  with  firmness,  remonstrated. 

The  earl  at  once  acquainted  the  British  goremment 
with  the  dilemma  in  which  he  found  himself,  and  m^ed 
a  more  conciliatory  policy;  still  in  his  intercomse  with 
the  assembly  he  act<^  with  very  little  forbearance.  Con- 
ference after  conference  followed,  as  recorded  in  the 
journals.  Private  interviews  were  also  sought  with  the 
representatives  of  the  people.  Writing  to  Mr.  Secretary 
Coventry,  who,  according  to  Pepys,  had  been  taught  by 
Sir  W.  Penn  to  understand  the  map  of  Jamaica/  Carlisle 
says  that  he  asked  the  members,  most  of  them  being  in 
military  trusts,  **  Do  you  submit  to  this  form  of  govern- 
ment which  his  majesty  has  been  pleased  to  order  for  this 
island  of  Jamaica  ?'*  The  replies  were  not  generally  satis- 
factory. "  Several  of  them  neither  gave  me  a  dutiful  nor 
a  cheerful  answer;  some  did,  and  at  this  some  are  dissatis- 
fied." Beeston  says  that  the  earl  called  the  troublesome 
members,  **  fools,  asses,  beggars,  cowards,"  and  as  speaker 
of  the  house,  he  probably  knew  all  that  transpired.  The 
earl  in  his  indignation  spared  no  one.  Long  was  deposed 
from  his  seat  as  chief  justice,  and  suspended  from  his 
place  in  the  council.  He  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  re- 
turned as  member  for  the  assembly  on  the  first  opportunity, 

*  King  Charles  II.    InBtructions  to  Earl  of  Carlisle, 
t  Diary,  p.  09. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  65 

but  provision  had  been  made  for  such  a  contingency  l)y 
j)roviding  that  no  one  excluded  from  the  council  could  be 
returned  to  the  lower  house. 

Neither  threats  nor  promises  could  move  the  assembly 
from  the  patriotic  position  it  had  taken.  Eevenue  bills  for 
short  periods  to  provide  for  pressing  emergencies  were 
passed,  but  the  proflfered  body  of  laws  remained  untouched. 
At  length  the  assembly  was  dismissed ;  and  in  1680,  Long, 
who  had  been  imprisoned,  and  Beeston,  were  sent  to  Eng- 
land, the  former  under  bond  to  the  amount  of  £10,000  to 
appear  before  his  majesty's  council.  Carlisle  also  returned 
home,  and  preferred  a  series  of  charges  against  Long.  The 
latter,  who  had  been  at  the  age  of  seventeen  secretary  to 
Cromwell's  commissioners,  Serle  and  Butler,  and  was  well 
acquainted  with  public  business,  rejoiced  in  the  opportunity 
now  afforded  of  defending  the  cause  of  his  adopted  country : 
he  not  only  answered  the  charges  brought  against  himself, 
but  presented  a  series  of  counter  charges  against  the  earl. 
With  such  power  also  did  he  plead  the  cause  of  the  colonists, 
that  after  repeated  meetings,  the  points  at  issue  were  re- 
ferred to  the  opinion  of  the  lord  chief  justice  and  the 
other  judges,  especially  in  relation  to  the  power  of  the 
crown.  The  opinion  pronounced  was  not  made  public,  but 
it  was  evidently  favourable  to  the  colonists,  for  **  Colonel 
Long  and  the  other  gentlemen  of  Jamaica  "  were  called 
into  the  council  chamber  at  Whitehall,  on  the  30th  of 
October,  1680,  and  in  the  presence  of  Prince  Rupert,  the 
Duke  of  Albemarle  (afterwards  governor  of  Jamaica),  and 
others,  were  **  acquainted  with  the  resolution  of  the  com- 
mittee to  report  to  his  majesty  that  they  may  enjoy  the 
same  method  of  making  laws  as  is  now  appointed  for  Bar- 
badoes,  with  which  the  gentlemen  express  themselves  very 
well  satisfied."  Three  days  later  Charles  IL  issued  the 
necessary  instructions  to  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,*  providing 
for  the  election  by  the  freeholders  of  representatives  to  sit  in 
a  general  assembly,  who  having  taken  the  oaths  of  supre- 
macy and  allegiance,  should  have  full  power,  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  governor  and  council,  to  make,  constitute, 
and  ordain  laws,  statutes,  and  ordinances,  which,  however, 
were  to  be  as  nearly  agreeable  as  possible  to  the  laws  of 

*  This  is  the  last  of  the  collection  of  documents  on  this  subject  pre« 
served  by  Bryan  Edwards. 

6 


66  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

England;  such  enactments  to  be  forwarded  within  three 
months  to  England  for  the  royal  approval,  but  until  ex- 
pressly disallowed  they  were  to  have  the  effect  of  law. 

No  change  was  made  in  these  privileges  till  1716,  when 
instructions  were  forwarded  that  the  governor  was  not  to 
agree  to  any  law  repealing  one  previously  confirmed  by  the 
crown,  unless  it  contained  a  clause  suspending  its  operation 
until  his  majesty's  pleasure  was  known.  This  was  only 
reasonable.  Some  eighteen  years  later  the  same  rule  was 
rather  arbitrarily  extended  to  all  laws  repealing  others, 
even  if  not  confirmed. 

Such  was  the  struggle  by  which  the  members  of  the 
house  of  assembly  secured  the  privileges  which  belonged 
to  them  as  British  subjects.  Earnestly  they  had  contended 
for  "  a  deliberative  power  in  the  making  of  laws ;  the  nega- 
tive and  barely  resolving  power  being  not  according  to  the 
rights  of  Englishmen."  The  justice  of  the  plea  was  con- 
ceded. These  men,  with  all  their  faults  (and  they  were  by 
no  means  untainted  by  the  vices  of  the  age  and  of  the 
colony),  clearly  understood  what  was  meant  by  the  liberty 
of  the  subject.  The  barons  of  Bunnymead,  the  warriors  of 
Marston  Moor,  had  true  descendants  in  the  Jamaica  legis- 
lature of  that  day.  The  idea  of  relinquishing  their  legiti- 
mate privileges  as  the  representatives  of  the  people  never 
for  one  moment  occurred  to  them.  It  would  have  been 
impossible  to  persuade  such  men  that  by  doing  so  they 
would  only  ''  immolate  themselves  on  the  altar  of  patriot- 
ism." Such  delusions  were  left  for  men  of  another  order 
and  a  later  age.  The  senators  of  1680,  in  refusing  to 
Borrender  their  undoubted  rights,  afforded  indubitable  proof 
that  they  were  not  unworthy  to  enjoy  them. 

Carlisle  did  not  return  to  Jamaica,  and  after  a  brief 
period,  during  which  Morgan  again  acted  as  lieutenant- 
goyemor.  Sir  Thomas  Lynch,  who  had  previously  admin- 
istered the  government,  was  once  more  called  to  office. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  assembly  was  to  pass  a  revenue 
bill  of  seven  vears*  duration,  and  also  a  number  of  other 
law8«  Most  of  these  were  confirmed  by  the  king,  but  some 
irere  disallowed,  and  among  them  one  declaring  the  laws 
of  England  to  be  in  force  here.  For  nearly  fifty  years  the 
disallowance  of  this  was  the  source  of  continual  irritation 
between  the  assembly  and  the  home  government.     The 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  67 

latter  had  obtained  from  the  legislature  at  Barbadoes  an 
act  securing  a  perpetual  revenue  to  the  crown ;  this  the 
assembly  of  Jamaica  hesitated  to  grant,  nor  was  it  until  the 
year  1728  that  it  yielded  the  point  by  securing  the  sum  of 
£8,000  per  annum  to  the  imperial  government ;  then,  and 
not  till  then,  were  the  laws  of  England  admitted  to  be  in 
force  in  the  colony. 

Sir  Thomas  was,  however,  much  pleased  with  the  first 
meeting  of  the  assembly ;  indeed,  his  delight  was  hardly 
kept  within  reasonable  bounds.  "  Surely,"  said  he, 
^'  since  heaven  is  best  described  by  saying  it  is  the  place 
of  perfect  peace  and  union,  you  that  have  brought  down 
and  fixed  such  a  resemblance  of  it  here,  ought  to  expect 
and  have  all  our  praises,  all  our  thanks."*  The  earthly 
paradise  was  not  left  without  suitable  oversight,  for  when 
the  house  next  met,  the  governor  assured  the  members 
that  the  English  rulers  were  kind  to  them  as  "  guardian 
angels."  But  this  was  not  all ;  he  went  on  to  exclaim : 
**  See,  heaven  seems  pleased  as  well  as  the  king ;  for  if  the 
last  year  it  appeared  brass,  this,  it  melts  into  showers  to 
rain  blessings  upon  us  ;  for  who  has  ever  seen  Port  Boyal 
80  full  of  ships,  or  known  the  planters  sell  their  goods  so 
dear  ?  Within  these  fifteen  months  every  man's  freehold 
is  almost  risen  in  value  from  50  to  200  per  cent."t 
This  was  true  in  a  certain  degree,  but  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  attempt  to  subvert  the  constitution  of 
the  island  had  led  to  a  great  depreciation  in  the  value 
of  property,  from  which  it  was  now  recovering.  Though 
there  were  those  who,  in  the  days  of  Albemarle,  en- 
deavoured to  asperse  the  government  of  Sir  Thomas,  and 
even  to  cast  reflections  upon  his  character,  t  there  is  no 
doubt  that  he  diligently  sought  to  discharge  with  faithful- 
ness the  duties  of  his  office,  and  we  have  the  testimony  of 
Long  §  that  he  was  much  respected  by  his  fellow  colonists, 
who  deeply  sympathised  with  him  under  the  afflictions 
which  cast  a  shadow  over  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life. 
His  wife.  Lady  Vere  Lynch  (from  whom  one  of  the  low- 
land parishes  derived  its  name),  was  lost  with  her  two 
young  sons  on  their  passage  from  England  in  1683.  Sir 
Thomas  did  not  long  survive;  he  died  on  the  24th  of 

*  Journals,  vol.  i.  p.  68.  f  ll)id.,  vol.  i.  p.  65. 

J  Ibid.,  vol.  i  p.  182.  §  "  Hiatory,"  voL  i.  p.  612. 


68  HISTDET  OF  JAlLUCl. 

August  in  the  folloirmg  year,  and  in  ihe  church  at  Spanish 
Town  it  is  recorded — 

**  Here  Ires  Sir  Thomas  Lt3?ch  is  Fea^tt^  as  £jls«.  acd  Blest. 
Would  jon  know  more,  the  \^o^A  wi^  s^eaJk  ye  Best.'' 

But  the  world  can  tell  little  now.  He  was  to  a  great  extent 
the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes.  As  provost-marshal, 
general,  and  member  of  council,  he  served  the  island 
many  years,  and  was  knighted  in  1670.  As  lieutenant- 
governor  and  governor  his  name  appears  in  these  pages. 
His  wife,  who  was  so  suddenly  taken  away,  belonged  to  a 
fieimilv  of  historic  renown :  her  father.  Sir  Henrv  Herbert, 
was  attorney-general  to  Charles  I.,  and  cousin  to  Lord 
Herbert  of  Cherbury.  One  brother,  as  lord  chief  justice, 
presided  at  the  tnal  of  the  seven  bishops.  Another 
brother,  subsequently  known  as  Earl  Torrington,  com- 
manded the  fleet  which  brought  WiUiam  UI.  to  England. 
The  West  Indies  in  those  days  were  to  England  what  the 
East  Indies  subsequently  became,  and  still  are.  Members 
of  the  most  illustrious  families  sought  fame  or  fortune  in 
the  plantations,  as  they  were  long  called ;  and  where  fortunes 
were  achieved,  the  daughters  of  the  successful  planters 
were  regarded  as  suitable  wives  for  men  with  time-honoured 
names.  The  history  of  old  creole  families  is  far  more 
closely  connected  with  that  of  the  English  aristocracy  than 
many  suppose.  A  surviving  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  and 
Lady  Lynch  married  the  second  baron  of  Combermere ; 
from  her  descended  two  whose  names  were  not  unknown 
in  later  years,  Sir  Willoughby  Cotton,  who  commanded 
the  troops  in  the  rebellion  of  1832,  and  the  renowned 
veteran,  Stapleton  Cotton,  Viscount  Combermere.  Many 
other  and  far  more  striking  illustrations  could  easily  be 
given. 

When  Sir  Thomas  L^nch  died,  Morgan  was  not  in  the 
island  to  resume  the  reins  of  power.  The  sturdy  buccaneer 
was  in  trouble.  He  had  bought  and  improved  an  estate  in 
Clarendon,  which  still  bears  his  name.  In  the  midst  of 
the  most  delightful  scenery  he  possibly  anticipated  years 
of  quiet  rest.  But  the  Spaniards  demanded  his  arrest  and 
imprisonment,  and  it  suited  the  government  of  the  day  to 
yield  to  their  wish ;  but  prison  was  insupportable  after  the 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  69 

free  life  of  the  ocean  and  the  plantations,  and  he  died  soon 
after  his  removal  to  England.  Colonel  Hender  Moles- 
worth  was  in  consequence  the  person  upon  whom  the 
temporary  guidance  of  affairs  devolved.  He  does  not 
appear  to  advantage  in  the  records  of  the  assembly.  He 
not  only  dictated  to  the  members  what  bills  they  ought  to 
pass  on  general  topics  of  legislation,  and  the  form  in  which 
they  should  be  prepared,  but  even  proceeded  to  deal  with 
money  bills  in  the  same  manner.*  Continual  altercation 
was  the  inevitable  result. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1685,  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Charles  II.  was  communicated  to  the  council.  The  as- 
sembly was  in  consequence  dissolved,  and  the  inhabitants 
waited  with  some  anxiety  to  learn  into  whose  hands  the 
management  of  affairs  would  be  committed  by  the  new 
sovereign.  In  the  mean  time  there  was  trouble  in  the 
colony;  in  1684  the  first  outbreak  of  any  importance 
happened  among  the  negro  slaves ;  it  was  soon  suppressed, 
but  in  1686  one  of  a  more  sanguinary  character  occurred 
in  Clarendon. 

James  II.  had  no  sooner  ascended  the  throne  of  England 
than  he  manifested  his  attachment  to  the  Church  of 
Bome.  While  evidently  anxious  to  bring  England  back  to 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  true  faith,  he  did  not  regard 
Jamaica  as  too  insignificant  a  colony  to  be  won  over  to  the 
all  embracing  arms  of  the  pope.  He  had  little  difficulty 
in  finding  a  governor  sufficiently  unscrupulous  to  attempt 
the  task.  General  Monk,  subsequently  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
had  left  an  only  son,  who  had  not  only  wasted  his  fortune, 
but  seriously  impaired  his  health  by  vicious  practices.  A 
colonial  government  seemed  the  most  convenient  way  of 
rescuing  him  from  his  distresses,  and  James  could  hardly 
refuse  this  to  the  son  of  the  man  who  had  restored  the 
Stuart  dynasty  to  the  throne.  Possessed,  moreover,  of  no 
religious  principles  whatever,  he  was  quite  ready  to  attempt 
the  propagation  of  that  religion  to  which  James  sought  to 
bend  the  necks  of  the  people  in  Great  Britain.  Albemarle 
came  to  Jamaica  in  1687.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  goodly 
retinue,  and  among  others  were  two  men  widely  differing  in 
character  and  pursuits.  The  one  was  Father  Churchill,  a 
most  devoted  and  self-denying  Romish  priest ;   the  other 

*  Joomals,  vol.  i.  pp.  94-101.         t 


70  mSTOBY   OF  JAMAICA. 

was  Dr.  Sloane,  better  known  as  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  the 
founder  of  the  British  Museum. 

The  Duke  was  accompanied  also  by  the  Duchess  of  Albe- 
marle. The  arrival  of  two  persons  so  exalted  in  rank  fairly 
turned  the  heads  of  the  colonists.  The  house  of  assembly 
in  an  address  to  the  duchess,  declared  through  its  speaker 
that  it  was  "  an  honour  which  the  opulent  kingdoms  of 
Mexico  and  Peru  could  never  arrive  at ;  and  even  Columbus's 
ghost  would  be  appeased  for  all  the  indignities  he  endured 
of  the  Spaniards  could  he  but  know  that  his  own  beloved 
soil  was  hallowed  by  such  footsteps."  * 

But  if  ghosts  might  be  appeased,  it  was  soon  found  that 
even  a  duke,  though  highly  belauded,  could  not  mould  the 
independent  members  of  the  assembly  into  any  shape  he 
wished.  It  is  rather  remarkable  that  the  house  commenced 

Proceedings  by  voting  a  sum  of  money  to  its  chaplain  for 
is  sermon  preached  at  its  opening,  as  if  to  testify  its  ap- 
proval of  Protestant  teaching;  £S0  was  awarded  at  the 
first  session,  and  d£31  at  the  second.  The  arbitrary  pro- 
ceedings of  the  duke  disgusted  every  honest  man.  Soon 
after  the  opening  of  the  first  assembly,  Mr.  Towers,  mem- 
ber for  Clarendon,  quoted  the  words :  **  Salus  populi  est 
suprema  lex.''  The  matter  under  discussion  was  simply  a 
horse  race ;  but  Colonel  George  Nedham,  who  probably 
was  anxious  to  display  his  loyalty,  as  his  sister  had  been 
mistress  to  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  objected  to  the  words 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  only  suited  for  a  common- 
wealth, and  not  for  a  monarchy.  Some  debate  ensued,  and 
Nedham  appealed  to  the  governor, and  council.  For  this 
he  was  reprimanded  by  the  speaker.  The  governor  im- 
mediately called  him  to  the  council,  caused  Towers  to  be 
arrested  and  tried,  and  he  was  ultimately  fined  £600, 
having  previously  had  to  enter  into  recognizances  for 
£4000. 

The  house  protested  against  these  arbitrary  proceedings, 
and  was  dissolved,  t  The  provost-marshal  and  some  of 
the  judges.  Colonel  Bourden  of  the  council,  and  others 
were  dismissed,  while  the  creatures  of  the  duke  were  put 
into  their  places.  The  events  which  attended  the  election 
for  members  of  the  assembly  were  scandalous  even  for 
those  times.  Legal  voters  were  imprisoned,  and  two 
*  JonmalFf  vol.  i.  p.  105.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  110,  &o. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  71 

gentlemen  who  endeayoored  to  obtain  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpiLs  on  behalf  of  some  of  their  friends  so  treated,  were 
threatened  with  a  whipping.  Discharged  seamen,  soldiers, 
and  indented  servants,  destitute  of  any  legal  qualification, 
were  taken  to  the  poll  as  voters,  and  in  some  places  carried 
from  one  parish  to  another.  But  though  Albemarle  could 
pack  a  house  he  could  not  destroy  the  spirit  of  the  people. 
Some,  it  is  true,  left  the  colony,  alarmed  at  the  spread  of 
despotism  ;  but  others  protested  against  the  arbitrary  pro« 
ceedings  of  the  duke,  and  laid  their  grievances  at  the  foot 
of  the  throne. 

James  would  not  have  paid  much  attention  to  their  com- 
plaints, but  his  days  were  numbered,  and  William  III.  had 
taken  his  place.  The  abdication  of  the  last  of  the  Stuarts 
led  to  the  dissolution  of  the  packed  assembly,  and  the  laws 
they  had  passed,  and  which  had  been  sent  home  for  the 
approval  of  James  II.,  were  laid  before  his  successor. 
William  III.  withheld  his  consent  until  he  had  heard  the 
representations  of  persons  who  were  either  interested  in,  or 
had  lately  arrived  from  Jamaica.  And  as  soon  as  he  was 
made  acquainted  through  their  council  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  elections  had  been  tampered  with,  and  the  objec- 
tionable character  of  the  laws  which  had  been  passed,  he 
ordered  the  whole  to  be  remitted  back  for  the  consideration 
of  a  legislature  legally  convened.  At  the  same  time  he 
directed  all  fines  unjustly  imposed  to  be  remitted,  and 
restored  to  office  all  who  had  been  unjustly  removed.*  The 
feelings  of  a  great  majority  of  the  colonists  were  some  time 
after  well  expressed  by  the  grand  jury  at  Spanish  Town, 
who  in  reference  to  the  past  events  declared,  "  All  hopes 
of  enjoying  any  longer  our  religion,  laws,  and  liberties  were 
taken  from  us,"  when  God  **  was  pleased  in  our  utmost 
distress  to  show  His  miraculous  power  in  raising  your 
majesty  to  be  the  glorious  instrument  of  our  deliverance 
from  that  Philistine  bondage  which  had  extended  itself  to 
these  remotest  parts  of  your  majesty's  dominions.'*! 

Albemarle  died  in  1688,  and  Sir  Francis  Watson,  who 
was  a  wealthy  planter  residing  at  Seven  Plantations,  in 
Clarendon,  succeeded  him  as  lieutenant-governor.  Before 
death  the  duke  had  given  proof  that  he  was  as  mindful 

*  See  Commtmication  from  the  King.   Joiunals,  vol.  i.  p.  185,  dated 
the  22nd  of  February,  168a-«9.  \  Long,  vol.  i.  p.  696. 


72  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

of  his  own  interests  as  those  of  his  royal  master.  So 
far  back  as  1659  a  richly  laden  Spanish  galleon  had  been 
wrecked  on  a  shoal  lying  to  the  north-east  of  Hayti.  The 
duke  determined  if  possible  to  recover  the  treasure.  He  ac- 
cordingly entered  into  partnership  with  Sir  William  Phipps, 
who,  aided  by  divers,  recovered  some  twenty-six  tons  of 
silver  and  other  treasure,  valued  in  all  at  nearly  £300,000. 
What  share  fell  to  the  sailors  and  subordinate  officers  is 
not  known ;  the  greater  part  was  divided  between  the  two 
principals,  and  with  his  portion  Phipps  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  fortunes  of  the  house  of  Mulgrave.*  Little  remains 
to  be  recorded  of  the  other  events  which  marked  the  govern- 
men  of  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  beyond  the  fact  that  a  post- 
office  was  established  in  the  colony,  and  that  numerous  exiles 
reserved  for  transportation  by  Jeflferies  after  Monmouth's 
rebellion  were  sent  here.  The  king  had  expressed  his 
desire  to  bestow  a  thousand  of  these  convicts  on  certain  of 
his  courtiers,  and  one  or  two  hundred  on  a  favourite  of  the 
queen,  provided  security  was  given  that  they  were  enslaved 
in  some  West  Indian  colony  for  ten  years.  The  exact 
number  sent  to  Jamaica  is  not  known,  but  it  was  consider- 
able, probably  the  larger  portion  of  the  eight  hundred 
and  forty  who  were  actually  transported.  In  dealing 
with  the  condition  of  the  people  at  this  period,  their  fate 
will  be  more  particularly  described.  At  present  it  need  only 
be  said  that  under  Albemarle  they  could  expect  little 
mercy,  as  he  had  been  among  the  first  to  gather  together 
the  militia  of  the  western  counties  to  oppose  Monmouth, 
by  whom  he  had  been  proclaimed  a  rebel,  t 

In  the  excited  state  of  public  feeling  in  the  colony,  it  can 
hardly  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  reports  were  circulated 
to  the  effect  that  Albemarle  had  met  his  death  by 
poison,  t  Inquiry  was  instituted,  and  it  was  made  clear 
that  there  was  no  foundation  whatever  for  the  charge,  and 
the  body  having  been  embalmed,  was  sent  to  England.  In 
May,  1690,  the  Earl  of  Inchiquin  arrived  as  governor ;  he 
was  hasty  and  ill-tempered  to  an  immoderate  degree. 
Among  his  instructions  was  one  directing  him  to  send  back 
to  England  the  bondsmen  who  had  been  condemned  for 

*  HiU's  "  Picaroons,'*  p.  66. 

I  Letter  .in  British  Museum,  publislied  in  Sir  Henry  Ellis'  Collection. 

I  Joumalfl,  vol.  i.  p.  182.     Sir  H.  Sloane's  "  History,"  vol.  i.  p. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  78 

complicity  in  Monmouth's  rebellion ;  but  all  of  the  very 
first  party  of  these  men  who  appeared  before  him  were 
flogged  by  his  order,  nor  was  it  until  after  some  days  that 
he  discovered  the  injustice  of  which  he  had  been  guilty,  for 
he  had  taken  no  pains  to  ascertain  the  merits  of  the  case 
laid  before  him.  To  the  assembly  he  was  equally  arrogant. 
That  body  had  commenced  proceedings  by  framing  a  bill 
annulling  the  laws  passed  by  the  former  illegal  assembly, 
and  soon  after  they  presented  an  address  to  the  governor. 
He  replied  in  language  as  little  worthy  of  his  own  position 
as  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  courtesy  due  to  a  legislative 
body,  and  then  contemptuously  tossed  back  the  address.* 
His  administration  was  brief,  for  on  the  16th  of  January, 
1692,  he  died,  and  Mr.  John  White,  president  of  the 
council,  was  called,  according  to  colonial  precedent,  to 
direct  the  affairs  of  the  island. 

They  were  sufliciently  embarrassing,  but  White  was  a 
man  who  not  only  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-colo- 
nists, but  was  endowed  with  a  remarkable  degree  of  self- 
possession.  During  the  great  earthquake  which  happened 
during  his  administration,  the  rector  of  Port  Royal,  who 
was  dining  with  him,  hurriedly  exclaimed,  as  the  earth 
began  to  tremble,  **  Lord,  sir,  what  is  this  !**  With  the 
utmost  composure  W^hite  replied,  **  It  is  an  earthquake,  be 
not  afraid,  it  will  soon  be  over;**  and  it  was  only  when  the 
church  fell  that  he  sought  .safety  in  flight,  t 

From  the  time  of  Albemarle  a  variety  of  events,  disas- 
trous in  their  character,  had  followed  one  another  in 
swift  succession.  In  1689  a  violent  hurricane  did  great 
damage  to  houses,  ships,  and  growing  crops.  This  was 
the  first  of  a  serious  character  after  the  British  occupation, 
but  it  was  the  precursor  of  many  others  far  more  violent. 

The  island  contained  within  itself  elements  of  a  far  more 
dangerous  and  destructive  kind.  The  negro  slaves  had  for 
some  time  past  been  increasing  rapidly  in  number.  The 
first  parliament  of  William  and  Mary  had,  by  the  Declara- 
tion of  Rights,  opened  the  trade  in  slaves  to  private  enter- 
prise, and  thus  it  developed  itself  with  great  rapidity.  The 
cargoes  now  brought  in  did  not  consist  almost  exclusively 
of  children  and  young  persons,  as   in  former  years,  but 

*  Joamals,  vol.  i.  p.  141. 

t  "  Gentleman's  Magazine,"  May,  1750. 


74  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

included  many  adults  taken  prisoners  in  battle,  some  of 
whom  had  enjoyed  considerable  power  in  their  native  land, 
and  could  not  therefore  submit  patiently  to  the  thraldom 
and  cruelty  of  the  plantations.  In  1690  the  first  really 
dangerous  outbreak  occurred. 

About  a  mile  below  the  pleasantly  situated  village  of 
Chapelton  is  an  estate  called  Suttons.  It  was  among 
the  first  settled  of  all  the  sugar  estates  in  the  interior  of 
the  island,  and  was  then  the  residence  of  the  gentleman 
whose  name  it  still  bears.  At  the  moment  of  revolt  he 
was  absent,  and  only  a  single  white  man  was  in  charge. 
Suddenly  this  man  was  assailed  and  killed  by  a  body  of 
between  three  and  four  hundred  slaves,  and  the  arms 
and  ammunition  immediately  seized.  As  a  rule  these  dis- 
tant plantations  were  well  provided  with  weapons,  as  a 
means  of  defence  against  the  incursions  of  the  Maroons,  and 
it  was  the  careless  manner  in  which,  as  in  this  instance, 
they  were  guarded,  that  led  to  some  legal  enactments  of  a 
precautionary  character  in  1730  and  1744.  At  Suttons 
the  rebels  obtained  not  only  firearms,  powder  and  shot, 
but  four  small  cannons.  After  securing  these  prizes  they 
proceeded  to  the  next  plantation,  but  there  fortunately  the 
slaves  were  terrified,  and  instead  of  joining  the  rebels  they 
fled  into  the  woods.  The  overseer,  however,  fell  into  their 
hands,  and  was  murdered.  The  party  now  returned  to  Sut- 
tons, and  prepared  to  defend  the  house  against  the  whites, 
who,  to  the  number  of  fifty,  some  on  foot,  some  on  horses, 
were  rapidly  assembling.  Next  day,  having  been  joined  by 
others  from  a  distance,  the  whites  commenced  an  attack. 
After  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  hold  the  house,  the  rebels 
retreated,  setting  fire  to  the  cane  pieces  as  they  did  so. 
The  militia  now  ventured  to  spread  themselves  out  over  a 
large  space  of  country,  and  attacked  the  rebels,  not  only 
in  front  but  on  either  flank.  A  hasty  flight  was  the  conse- 
quence, many  were  killed,  two  hundred  threw  down  their 
arms  and  begged  for  mercy.  Most  of  the  others  were  taken 
prisoners  and  the  ringleaders  executed.* 

Though  after  this  no  outbreak  of  any  importance 
occurred  for  some  years,  considerable  numbers  of  slaves 
from  time  to  time  made  good  their  escape  to  the  mountains, 
where  they  joined  the  Maroons. 

*  LoDg's  "  History." 


mSTORICAL  ETENTS.  75 

While  the  colony  was  endangered  by  the  foe  within,  a 
restless  enemy  prowled  along  its  shores.  Soon  after  the 
accession  of  William  and  Mary  war  was  commenced  with 
France,  and  the  cruisers  of  that  nation  at  once  com- 
menced a  series  of  predatory  attacks  on  the  seaside  plan- 
tations, exceedingly  harassing  in  their  character.  They 
were  aU  the  more  dangerous  in  consequence  of  many  in 
the  island  siding  with  the  French  and  giving  them  secret 
information :  this  was  clearly  proved  by  intercepted  letters. 
These  traitors  justified  their  conduct  on  the  plea  that 
the  French  were  anxious  to  restore  James  II.,  who  they 
asserted  was  England's  rightful  king,  and  that  they  were 
not  bound  to  any  allegiance  to  the  ruling  monarch. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  the  buccaneers  were  pre- 
pared to  take  advantage  of  this  state  of  things,  and  a  party 
of  these  men,  under  the  command  of  a  noted  leader  called 
Daviot,  was  actually  engaged  in  plundering  on  the  north 
side  when  the  earthquake  occurred.  Fifty-two  slaves  had 
been  seized,  but  the  captors  were  detained  on  shore,  as  a 
storm  had  blown  their  vessel  off  the  coast.  The  first  shock 
of  the  earthquake  so  alarmed  them  that  they  took  to  their 
boats,  but  succeeding  shocks  created  so  much  commotion 
in  the  water,  that  some  were  swamped,  and  fifty-three  out 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  buccaneers  perished.  Those 
who  escaped  were  nearly  all  destroyed  by  the  cruisers,* 
soon  after. 

The  great  earthquake,  as  it  has  just  been  termed,  oc- 
curred on  the  7th  of  June,  1692.  The  day  was  exceedingly 
sultry,  the  sky  glowed  like  a  furnace,  and  the  ocean  was 
imruffled  by  a  single  breath  of  air.  The  harbour  was  well 
filled  with  ships,  and  among  them  were  two  vessels  just 
returned  from  plundering  the  French  settlements  in  Hayti, 
and  which  had  thus  made  some  considerable  additions  to 
the  wealth  stored  in  the  city.  Long  before  twelve  o'clock 
the  legislative  council  had  met  for  the  despatch  of  business, 
and  then  adjourned.  Early  hours  were  the  rule,  and  many 
even  of  the  higher  classes  had  gathered  around  the  dinner 
table,  or,  as  in  the  house  of  the  president,  had  already  de- 
spatched that  meal.  At  twenty  minutes  to  twelve  o'clock 
a  noise  not  unlike  thunder  was  heard  in  the  hills  of  St. 
Andrews,  to  the  north  of  Port  Royal.     Then  three  shocks 

*  HiU's  "  Picaroons,"  p.  13. 


76  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

were  felt :  the  first  comparatively  gentle,  the  next  more 
severe,  the  last  so  violent  as  to  fill  all  with  alarm,  and 
only  too  plainly  showing  the  true  character  of  the  calamity. 
Not  only  did  the  earth  tremhle,  and  in  some  parts  open 
beneath  the  feet  of  the  terror-stricken  inhabitants,  but  the 
horrors  of  the  event  were  intensified  by  the  mysterious, 
awful  sounds,  that  one  moment  appeared  to  be  in  the  air, 
and  then  in  the  ground.  Houses  built  by  the  seaside  were 
the  first  to  fall ;  then  the  church  and  tower.  Morgan's 
Fort,  to  which  many  fled  as  to  a  place  of  security,  was 
next  observed  to  disappear,  the  sea  rolling  completely  over 
the  place  where  it  stood.  And  now  on  every  hand  nothing 
was  to  be  seen  or  heard  but  the  crash  of  falling  houses 
and  walls.  The  earth  still  continued  to  tremble,  and 
places  partly  injm-ed  continued  to  fall.  The  wharfs  loaded 
with  merchandise,  and  most  of  the  fortifications,  together 
with  all  the  streets  near  the  shore,  sunk  into  the  harbour 
and  were  completely  overwhelmed.  The  situation  of  the 
town  added  to  the  fearful  nature  of  the  calamity.  The 
part  which  suffered  most  severely  was  built  upon  a  spit 
of  sand  thrown  up  by  the  sea.  When  Jackson  invaded 
the  island,  little  more  than  fifty  years  previously,  the  point 
on  which  this  portion  of  the  town  stood  was  an  island  : 
when  Venables  landed,  the  sand  was  only  just  showing 
through  the  waves.  This  fact,  while  explaining  the  fearful 
character  of  the  calamity,  and  especially  the  submerging 
of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  city,  does  not  in  any  way 
support  the  assertion  that  the  violence  of  the  earthquake 
has  been  overrated.  Though  there  was  no  breeze,  the  sea 
rose  in  mighty  waves,  tearing  ships  from  their  anchorage, 
and  sweeping  them  over  the  sunken  ruins  of  the  town. 
Some  of  these  were  utterly  destroyed,  while  others  were 
saved,  and  proved  the  means  of  rescuing  many  that  were 
struggling  in  the  waves.  In  places  the  earth  opened, 
swallowing  up  many  hapless  creatures  ;  but  in  some  cases 
persons  were  seen  only  partially  covered,  with  dogs  feast- 
ing on  the  parts  left  exposed.  Not  two  hundred  houses  were 
left,  and  in  all  it  was  computed  that  nearly  two  thousand 
persons  had  perished.  As  Port  Royal  was  the  residence 
of  many  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  a  very  considerable 
proportion  of  those  who  perished  belonged  to  families  of 
influence  in  the  colony. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  77 


For  days  after  the  harbour  was  covered  with  dead  bodies 
floating  up  and  down,  and  the  noxious  exhalations  from  these 
and  others  unburied  on  shore  soon  added  the  horrors  of  a 
pestilence  to  that  of  the  earthquake.  For  three  weeks  suc- 
cessive shocks  were  felt  and  sulphurous  vapours  issued  from 
the  fissures  of  the  rocks.  The  heat  was  insupportable ;  for 
many  days  no  welcome  sea  breeze  fanned  the  plague-stricken 
shore.  Thunder  and  lightning  added  to  the  terrors  of  the 
scene,  and  the  pastures  on  the  savannahs  near  the  shore 
were  scorched  as  if  a  fire  had  passed  over  them,  so  intense 
was  the  heat.  In  the  pestilence  that  followed  the  mortality 
could  have  been  little  less  than  by  the  earthquake.  Tem- 
porary huts  had  been  hastily  constructed  where  Kingston 
now  stands,  and  here  it  is  asserted  five  hundred  graves 
were  dug  in  a  single  month,  two  or  three  bodies  being  in 
many  cases  laid  together. 

The  night  that  followed  the  earthquake  in  Port  Boyal 
was  in  some  of  its  aspects  more  terrible  than  the  day  had 
been.  Esquimelling  has  left  a  fearful  description  of  the 
lewdness  and  corruption  of  the  doomed  city.  When  night 
came  a  number  of  the  most  abandoned  creatures,  men  and 
women,  inflamed  with  drink,  poured  forth  to  plunder  what 
yet  remained.  It  is  feared  that  they  did  not  scruple  to  mur- 
der any  who  opposed  them.  They  were  reckless  also  of 
their  own  lives,  for  the  ruins  were  falling  around  them  on 
every  side. 

That  the  shock  was  one  of  extreme  severity,  apart  from 
the  unfortunate  location  of  the  town,  is  evident  from  the 
destruction  that  visited  every  part  of  the  island.  At  Pas- 
sage Fort  not  a  house  was  left  uninjured;  in  all  the  district 
of  Liguany  (now  St.  Andrews)  only  one.  The  residences  of 
the  planters  and  their  sugar  works  in  every  parish  sustained 
injury :  on  the  north  side  local  tradition  told  for  generations 
of  a  plot  of  nearly  a  thousand  acres  submerged,  with  thirteen 
residents.  Rocks  were  rent  on  every  hand,  and  immense 
blocks  hurled  down  from  the  hills  on  to  the  plantations 
below.  Between  Spanish  Town  and  Sixteen  Mile  Walk  the 
course  of  the  river  was  dammed  up  by  the  fallen  masses 
from  the  hills,  until  at  last  the  river  became  a  lake :  the 
force  of  the  water  ultimately  swept  all  before  it. 

In  St.  Davids  a  portion  of  a  mountain  was  torn  away, 
and  covered  a  house  and  plantation  at  its  foot.    The  bare 


78  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

hill  side  is  still  pointed  out,  and  is  called  Judgment  Hill, 
for  local  tradition  tells  a  sad  story  of  incest  and  other 
crimes  of  which  the  inhabitants  were  guilty.  It  was  re- 
marked that  in  Spanish  Town  the  houses  erected  by  the 
Spaniards,  though  shaken  and  split,  were  not  destroyed 
to  the  same  extent  as  the  more  recent  buildings  of  the 
English.  The  courses  of  rivers  were  changed,  in  some 
places  old  springs  disappeared,  in  others  new  fountains 
burst  forth.  The  aspect  of  the  country  was  in  places 
materially  altered,  and  throughout  it  there  was  one  loud 
wail  of  desolation  and  woe.  There  were  many  instances  of 
hair-breadth  escape,  of  deliverance  when  death  seemed  in- 
evitable. One  case  has  been  so  often  recorded  that  it  is 
never  likely  to  be  forgotten  :  indeed  its  record  still  remains 
at  Green  Bay,  to  the  westward  of  Port  Eoyal,  on  the  oppo- 
site shore. 

There  lies  the  body  of  Lewis  Galdy,  who  died  on  the  22nd 
of  December,  1739,  forty-seven  years  after  the  earthquake, 
eighty  years  of  age.  He  was  a  native  of  Montpeller  in 
France,  but  being  a  Protestant,  had  left  that  country  and 
sought  a  home  in  Jamaica.  The  inscription  on  his  tomb 
tells  that  he  was  swallowed  up  by  the  earthquake,  then  by 
another  shock  cast  into  the  sea,  whence  he  escaped  by 
swimming  to  a  boat.  After  this  he  flourished  as  a  merchant 
in  Port  Royal,  represented  four  parishes  in  successive  as- 
semblies, and  seems  to  have  been  generally  loved  and 
respected.* 


CHAPTER  II. 

COMMERCE   AKD  AGRICULTURE. 

The  best  illustration  of  the  condition  of  the  island  when 
occupied  by  the  English  is  furnished  by  the  fact  that 
hides  formed  the  first  article  of  export.     Cocoa  and  a  few 

♦  This  sketch  of  the  earthquake  is  drawn  from  Sloane^s  acconnt 
in  the  "Philosophic^  Transactions,*'  vol.  ii. ;  his  History,  vol.  i. ; 
Long's  "  History,"  vol.  ii. ;  and  sundry  other  publications,  especially 
Letters  of  Rector  of  Port  Royal,  preserved  in  "  Gentleman's  Maga- 
zine" for  1760. 


COMMERCE   AND  AORICULTURE.  79 

other  minor  articles  had  been  cultivated  by  the  Spaniards, 
but  the  vast  plains  in  the  lowlands  were  for  the  most 
part  covered  with  herds  of  cattle ;  while  not  only  on  the 
plains,  but  in  the  mountains,  innumerable  quantities  of 
hogs  were  found.  The  reckless  manner  in  which  the 
homed  cattle  were  destroyed  by  the  first  soldiers  soon 
diminished  the  supply  of  food;  and  hides,  though  long 
after  spoken  of  as  large  and  good,^  were  not  exported  in 
any  considerable  quantity  after  the  first  few  years.  As 
soon  as  the  government  of  the  island  was  established  on  a 
firm  basis,  attention  was  drawn  to  the  excellent  quality 
of  the  pasturage,  and  cattle  soon  received  a  proper 
share  of  attention  from  the  early  settlers,  who  were  not 
long  in  discovering  that  they  not  only  throve  better,  but 
were  larger  than  in  the  plantations  of  North  America.!  One 
thousand  to  twelve  hundred  pounds  is  mentioned  as  the  com- 
mon weight  of  a  full  grown  ox.  J  Modyf ord  was  somewhat  ex- 
travagant when,  in  his  *'  View  of  the  Condition  of  Jamaica,'* 
published  in  the  appendix  to  the  first  volume  of  the  **  Jour- 
nals of  the  Assembly,''  he  refers  to  the  cattle  as  being  nu- 
merous, but  adds  that  they  are  "not  enough  by  millions." 
Still,  as  the  interior  forests  were  then  undisturbed,  and  rain 
was  consequently  far  more  abundant  than  now,  the  low- 
land pastures  must  have  conveyed  the  impression  of  in- 
exhaustible fertility.  The  hogs  were  highly  valued,  as 
being  better  tasted  and  more  digestible  than  those  in  the 
mother  country. §  They  were  kept  on  plantations,  but  far 
more  were  wild  in  the  woods.  Numbers  of  old  soldiers  found 
a  congenial  occupation,  after  their  discharge,  in  hunting 
them.  II  The  sport  was  sufficiently  exciting,  for  when 
unable  to  evade  the  hunters  and  their  dogs,  the  hogs  were 
accustomed  to  come  to  bay,  with  their  rear  well  protected 
by  a  rock  or  large  forest  tree,  and  could  only  be  destroyed 
by  lances  or  a  well-directed  shot.     The  animal  was  then  cut 

*  Bichard  Blome*s  **  Description  of  Jamaica.**    London,  1678. 

t  Ogilby.  (This  writer,  John  Ogilby,  was  master  of  the  revek 
in  Ireland  in  1671.  He  pubhshed  *'  An  Account  of  America,  or  the 
New  World.**  It  is  very  scarce,  but  from  a  copy  found  in  Yale 
College  Library,  Mr.  W.  W.  Anderson,  of  Kingston,  made  an  abstract 
of  all  relating  to  Jamaica,  which  he  published.) 

I  Cranfield.    App.  to  Journals,  vol.  i.  p.  42.  §  Ogilby. 

I|  Modyford*B  "  View,'*  Ac.  Appendix  to  "  Journals  of  Assembly,** 
vol.  L 


80  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

open,  the  bones  and  entrails  removed,  and  the  flesh,  being 
gashed  in  several  places,  was  well  salted,  and  either  dried  in 
the  sun  or  over  a  slow  fire,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  buc- 
caneers. Occasionally  homed  cattle  in  a  wild  state  were 
found  in  the  woods  :  these  were  similarly  treated.  Sheep 
Boon  began  to  multiply,  though  it  was  observed  that 
their  fleece  was  of  little  value.*  Goats  were  still  more 
abundant.  Almost  every  kind  of  domestic  fowl  increased 
abundantly,  especially  in  the  little  farms,  called  palenques. 
Guinea  hens,  and  a  great  variety  of  ducks,  teal,  pigeons, 
&c.,  filled  thp  woods.-f  At  Pigeon  Island,  in  Old  Harbour 
Bay,  the  birds  were  so  abundant  that  a  couple  of  men  in  a 
canoe  were  able  in  a  few  hours  to  load  it  to  the  water 
edge  with  those  they  knocked  down.  These  primitive 
hattues  soon  exhausted  the  supply.  I  But  the  interior  woods 
and  the  lagoons  long  continued  to  furnish  game,  nor  ia 
the  supply,  though  diminished,  yet  exhausted.  The  fish, 
which  through  the  neglect-  of  any  means  lor  preserving  it, 
is  now  failing  in  all  but  a  few  interior  mountain  streams, 
was  in  those  early  days  abundant.  A  very  striking  illus- 
tration of  this  is  given  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane.  Visiting  Sir 
Francis  Watson,  at  Seven  Plantations,  by  the  banks  of  the 
Eio  Minho,  below  the  spot  where  in  dry  seasons  the  river 
is  lost  beneath  the  sand,  he  found  that  in  the  rainy 
weather  immense  numbers  of  mullet  and  other  fishes  were 
swept  down.  As  the  river  again  sunk,  these  were  left  in 
the  little  pools,  and  though  immense  numbers  were  taken 
by  the  peojfle  around,  or  devoured  by  birds,  enough  would 
remain  to  taint  the  air  as  the  pools  dried  up.  **  I  was 
sensible  of  this  corrupted  air  when  I  was  here,"  is  the 
assertion  of  this  great  naturalist. 

Fish  of  the  finest  description,  and  turtle,  abounded  in 
the  ocean.  These  last,  though  captured  on  the  sandy 
keys,  near  the  coast,  were  also  brought  in  immense  numbers 
from  the  Cuban  cays  and  the  Caymanas.§  Sloane  states 
that  forty  sloops  belonging  to  Port  Eoyal  were  engaged  in 
this  business.  As  a  branch  of  commerce  he  was  not  in- 
sensible of  the  value  of  the  turtle,  as  an  article  of  food  he 
detested  it.  His  denunciation  of  this  magnificent  soup- 
producing  animal  is  most   amusing.     He   says :    "  They 

*  Ogilby.        t  Ogilby,  Sloane,  «&c.         \  Sloane. 
§  Ogilby,  Blome,  Sloane,  &c. 


COMMERCE   AND    AORICULTURE.  81 

infect  the  blood  of  those  feeding  upon  them,  whence  their 
shirts  are  yellow,  their  skin  and  faces  of  the  same  colour, 
and  their  shirts  under  the  arm-pits  stained  prodigiously." 
The  shell  appears  among  the  earliest  lists  of  exported 
articles. 

The  tables  of  the  early  settlers  were  well  supplied  with 
fruits,  but  of  these  the  pine-apple  was  most  highly  valued. 
Ogilby  says  it  exceeds  all  other  dainties.  Sweet  potatoes 
and  cassava,  which  was  then  used  by  all  classes  as  bread, 
were  largely  cultivated.  The  sailors,  encouraged  by  Good- 
son,  had  raised  all  kinds  of  English  garden  herbs  and 
roots  near  Passage  Fort,  and  the  lesson  thus  taught  was 
not  forgotten  by  succeeding  settlers.*  Harrison's  garden 
on  the  hills  behind  Kingston  contained  all  kinds  of  English 
flowers  and  garden  produce.  The  island  was  found  not 
only  to  be  admirably  supplied  with  food,  but  to  the  indige- 
nous products  it  was  thus  seen  could  be  added  many  of  the 
articles  of  consumption  most  valued  in  England.  Nor 
were  the  inhabitants  willing  that  in  such  a  fruitful  land 
too  much  should  be  charged  for  its  productions  ;  for  when 
the  farmers  of  Luidas  Vale  exacted  high  prices  for  their  veal, 
the  legislature,  after  the  fashion  of  those  times,  interposed, 
and  fixed  one  shilling  a  pound  as  the  maximum  price. 
Horses,  though  so  foolishly  destroyed  by  the  invading 
soldiery,  soon  began  to  multiply.  At  first  some  were 
brought  over  from  New  England,  and  though  costing  but 
five  pounds  there,  sold  for  three  times  as  much  in  Jamaica. 
In  time  the  great  increase  in  number  reduced  prices  so 
much,  that  forty  shillings  is  quoted  as  a  common  sum  for  a 
decent  hack. 

The  earliest  settlers  seemed  to  have  been  far  more  alive 
than  those  of  later  days  to  the  importance  of  preserving  for 
use  the  numerous  articles  of  food  with  which  the  island 
and  the  seas  surrounding  it  abounded ;  and,  moreover,  they 
did  not  at  first  discover  the  adaptation  of  the  sbil  for  the 
cultivation  of  sugar.  Perhaps,  had  they  even  done  so,  they 
would  not  have  expended  all  their  energies  in  the  production 
of  this  single  staple  to  the  almost  utter  neglect  of  the  other 
gifts  of  a  gracious  Providence  so  abundantly  scattered  on 
every  hand.  This  was  the  folly  of  a  later  age.  To  preserve 
for  use  such  food  as  it  was  not  necessary  or  desirable  to 

*  Ogilby,  Sloane,  &o. 
7 


82  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

consnme  at  once,  salt  was  requisite.  This  article  is  now 
imported:  the  first  settlers  prepared  it  themselves.  The 
traveller  to  the  eastern  parishes  will  notice  by  the  side  of 
the  main  road  beyond  Yallahs,  three  ponds  or  lagoons,  one 
upwards  of  two  miles  in  length,  and  from  half  to  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  the  other  two  about  a  mile 
long.  Earthquakes,  inundations,  and  neglect  are  fast  con^- 
verting  them  into  unwholesome  mangrove  swamps.  But 
they  were  once  the  salt  ponds  of  Captain  Joseph  Noyes, 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers;  here  he  made  ten  thousand 
bushels  of  salt  in  a  single  year  (1670),  and  declared  he  could 
make  as  many  tons  if  he  could  only  find  a  market.*  The 
salt  ponds  of  St.  Catherines  were  contrived  by  Modyford.t 

It  is  evident  from  the  foregoing  statements  that  the 
island  was,  as  it  still  is,  capable  of  yielding  an  abundant 
supply  for  the  necessities  of  its  inhabitants.  Yet  articles 
of  food  were  largely  imported  when  Sloane  wrote,  for  sugar 
cultivation  had  then  become  the  leading  idea  with  men  of 
substance.  Wheaten  flour  is  better  for  many  purposes  than 
maize,  and  much  more  palatable  than  cassava,  however 
well  prepared.  Its  importation  need  not  therefore  excite 
surprise.  But  that  salt  beef  and  pork,  salt  fish  and 
mackerel,  should  be  then,  as  now,  imported  largely,  can 
only  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  contribution  to  the 
history  of  human  foUy.  Spirits  and  wine,  particularly 
Madeira,  early  appear  among  the  list  of  imports.  A  con- 
siderable proportion  of  articles  brought  from  England,  both 
food  and  wearing  apparel,  were  re-exported.  A  trade  half 
contraband  in  its  character  early  sprang  up  with  some  of 
the  surrounding  Spanish  possessions.  Small  vessels 
(Sloane  speaks  of  one  himdred  and  eighty  belonging  to  Port 
Eoyal)  carried  over  English  goods  in  exchange  for  cocoa, 
cochineal,  sarsaparilla,  hides,  mules,  precious  stones, 
bullion,  &c.  The  trade  was  lucrative,  but  attended  with 
considerable  risk,  and  it  was  a  generally  understood  thing 
that  the  merchant  should  share  his  profits  with  the  owner 
and  master  of  the  vessel.  Some  trade  was  also  done  with 
the  Dutch  at  Corosal,  provisions  being  taken  in  exchange 
for  such  productions  as  the  Dutch  had  obtained  in  their 
dealings  with  the  Spaniards.  As  nearly  all  articles  of 
clothing  were  imported,  there  was  no  attempt  at  manufac- 

*  Long,  Blomo.  |  Oltlmixon. 


COMMERCE   AND   AGRICULTURE.  83 

tares  properly  so  called.  Shoemakers,  tailors,  hammock- 
makers,  coopers,  together  with  masons  and  carpenters, 
almost  exhaust  the  list  of  artisans. 

It  is  now  time  to  tmm  attention  to  the  exportable  pro- 
duce of  the  island.  Cocoa  had  received  a  good  deal  of 
attention  from  the  Spaniards,  and  some  of  the  earliest 
English  settlers  continued  its  cultivation.  The  district  of 
Guanaboa  was  the  chief  scene  of  this  branch  of  industry. 
Sanguine  expectations  of  success  were  felt  but  never  fully 
realised.  In  1670  there  were  no  less  than  forty-seven 
plantations.  Modyford  was  one  of  the  proprietors,  and  in 
an  official  report  he  estimated  the  yield  at  188,000  pounds 
of  nuts.*  A  few  years  later  Blome  speaks  of  sixty  planta- 
tions, and  proceeds  to  give  directions  for  planting  a  cocoa 
walk,  and  calculations  as  to  the  profit,  which  would  make  it 
appear  as  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and  lucrative  of  all 
agricultural  operations ;  but  somehow  the  plantations  failed, 
why,  is  by  no  means  clear.  Explanations  were  offered  at 
the  time,  but  they  are  not  satisfactory.  Beeston  said  it  was 
the  comet  of  1664  that  did  the  mischief.  The  Spaniards 
said  the  English  were  heretics,  and  omitted  the  religious 
services  that  had  made  their  efforts  succeed.  Others  with 
greater  probability  suggested  that  the  English  were  igno- 
rant *of  some  important  point  in  managing  the  plantations, 
without  which  full  success  was  impossible.  Some  attempts 
on  the  north  side  seemed  more  successful  at  first,  but 
soon  shared  the  same  fate  as  in  Guanaboa.  Another 
branch  of  industry  ultimately  abandoned  was  the  cultivation 
and  manufacture  of  indigo.  Forty-nine  plantations  are 
reported  in  1670.  Blome,  eight  years  later,  speaks  of  sixty. 
A  few  years  later  still  it  would  seem  that  there  were  no  less 
than  seventy  indigo  planters  in  Vere  alone.  This  profitable 
branch  of  industry  continued  to  flourish  beyond  the  period 
under  review. 

Tobacco  was  cultivated  in  small  patches,  and  was  con- 
sidered inferior  to  Spanish,  but  superior  in  quality  to  that 
grown  in  Barbadoes.  It  was  readily  bought  at  sixpence 
per  pound,  but  the  supply  was  not  equal  to  the  demand.! 
Some  little  cotton  was  planted,  and  esteemed  as  excellent 
in  quality.     Ginger  was  also  very  early  cultivated,  but  no 

*  App.  to  Journals,  vol.  L  p.  28.  f  Blome,  Ogilby,  Sloane. 

7* 


84  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

statistics  relative  to  the  amount  of  produce  are  available. 
The  minor  products  of  the  island  were  by  no  means  neg- 
lected. Dyewoods,  such  as  brasiletto  and  fustic,  are  enu- 
merated, but  Blome  was  in  error  when  he  included  logwood. 
Eich  woods  for  the  cabinet-maker,  such  as  cedar,  mahogany, 
lignum- vitffi,  and  ebony,  abounded.  And  according  to  the 
statement  of  Blome,  Sloane  was  anticipated  in  his  valuable 
researches  into  the  medicinal  productions  of  the  island  by 
a  doctor,  whose  list  of  discoveries  would  go  far  to  exhaust 
the  list  of  the  most  important  drugs  in  the  pharmacopseia. 
The  magnificent  pimento  groves  could  not  be  overlooked, 
though  it  was  only  gradually  that  this  berry  assumed  a 
prominent  position  among  the  exports  of  the  colony. 

Logwood  has  been  alluded  to ;  the  error  of  Blome  may 
arise  from  the  fact  that  it  was  an  export,  though  not  then 
a  product  of  Jamaica.  About  two  hundred  adventurous 
Englishmen  had  settled  in  Campeachey  before  the  close  of 
the  -seventeenth  century,  and  maintained  their  position  by 
force.  This  valuable  wood  they  cut  down,*  and  sold  to 
traders  from  Jamaica  for  £3  a  ton,  and  the  latter  disposed 
of  it  in  Port  Royal  for  exportation  at  double  that  price. 
Money  was  rarely  given  to  the  Campeachey  settlers,  who 
were  more  desirous  to  obtain  its  value  in  clothes,  beef,  pork, 
rum,  and  sugar.  Other  traders  brought  tortoiseshell  from 
the  Mosquito  Coast,  and  hides  and  tallow  from  Hayti.t 

The  treaty  of  1671,  by  which  Spain  yielded  up  all  claim 
to  Jamaica,  had  not  been  signed  before  the  initiatory  steps 
had  been  taken  by  which  the  island  became  for  a  long 
series  of  years  the  finest  sugar  colony  in  the  world.  It  is 
idle  to  mourn  over  the  events  of  the  UTevocable  past,  but 
it  is  impossible  to  overlook  the  fact  that,  if  sugar  had  not 
become  the  chief  staple  of  this  magnificent  island,  it  would 
in  all  probability  have  become  the  home  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  Englishmen  and  men  of  English  ancestry, 
who  in  farming  occupations,  and  the  cultivation  of  what 
are  now  called  minor  products,  would  have  founded  a  colony 
almost  if  not  quite  equal  to  those  on  the  northern  conti- 
nent. The  glorious  mountain  districts  would  gradually  have 
been  penetrated,  and  in  such  climates  as  that  of  the  Pedros, 
the  highlands  of  Manchester,  Clarendon,   St.  Elizabeth, 

*  Appendix  to  Joumals,  vol.  i.  p.  24.  f  Ibid. 


COMMEBCE  AND  AOBICULTUBE.  85 

and  the  corresponding  elevations  of  the  north,  the  Eng- 
lish settlers  would  have  found  a  healthy,  pleasant  home. 
With  a  few  needful  precautions,  and  regular,  temperate 
habits,  an  English  colony  would  then  have  flourished.  To 
some  the  idea  may  seem  fallacious.  The  experience  of  many 
who  have  sought  a  home  in  such  districts  may  be  cited, 
but  the  supposed  conditions  are  now  to  a  very  great  extent 
impossible.  The  picture  of  "  what  might  have  been  "  is 
not  that  of  a  few  white  settlers  surrounded  by  multitudes 
belonging  to  a  different  race  and  country.  It  is  one  of 
English  towns  and  villages,  only  changed  so  far  as  is  requi- 
site in  semi-tropical  climates,  and  of  farms  and  gardens 
covering  the  country,  occupied  by  men  to  whom  occupation 
is  a  necessity,  and  who  to  their  gorgeous  island  home  would 
have  brought  those  qualities  which  have  placed  Britain  fore- 
most among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Imperfect  as  the 
records  of  the  first  twenty  years  of  our  history  are,  enough 
remains  to  show  that  when  the  scum  which  floated  on  the 
surface  of  the  first  tide  of  conquest  and  emigration  had 
drifted  away,  a  large  body  of  colonists  remained,  whose 
ranks  were  continually  augmented,  who  sought  to  bring 
with  them  all  that  was  precious  in  the  social  life  of  the 
country  whence  they  came,  and  who  would  in  time  have 
madeYamaica  what  [heir  countrymen  were  making  the  New 
England  states  of  America.  This  was  not  to  be :  colonists 
gave  place  to  sugar  planters,  sugar  planters  required  slaves, 
and  gradually  the  island  became  a  mighty  aggregation  of 
cane-fields,  in  which  negroes  toiled  and  white  men  were  the 
taskmasters. 

The  cane  is  indigenous  to  the  island,  but  the  native 
plant  was  of  inferior  quality.  In  1668  some  far  superior 
was  introduced  from  Barbadoes.  Three  years  later  Ogilby 
wrote  that  the  sugars  of  Jamaica  were  worth  five  shillings 
a  hundred-weight  more  than  those  of  Barbadoes,  so  greatly 
had  the  soil  improved  the  plant.  Seven  years  later  Blome 
made  the  same  statement  as  to  their  relative  value.  Seventy 
sugar  works,  yielding  upwards  of  800  tons  of  sugar,  were 
then  in  existence,  and  the  number  was  rapidly  increasing. 
In  1675  Mr.  Cranfield  stated  that  there  were  twenty  sugar 
works,  each  making  150,0001bs.  to  200,0001b8.  of  sugar,  fifty 
that  made  100,0001b8.,  and  forty  others  in  a  state  of  forward- 
ness, some  ready  to  grind ;  and  he  adds  that  as  the  soil  is  rich 


86  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

and  new,  sixty  negroes  can  raise  as  much  sugar  as  one 
hundred  can  in  the  Gharibee  Islands.  The  price  he  states  at 
18s.  to  20s.  per  hundred-weight.*  With  such  a  fruitful  soil, 
and  with  negroes  so  plentifid  whenever  there  was  a  market 
for  them,  it  is  not  surprising  that  sugar  cultivation  rapidly 
increased.  It  has  been  seen  how  a  few  favoured  persons 
obtained  grants  of  large  districts  of  country.  It  was  not 
long  before  small  farms  were  for  the  most  part  swallowed 
up  by  their  gigantic  neighbours,  and  the  sugar  estate,  with 
its  thousands  of  acres,  the  greater  portion  in  woodland,  and 
uncultivated,  became  the  prominent  feature  in  the  land- 
scape. 

Dr.  Trapham,  who  came  to  the  island  in  1676  as  physician 
to  Lord  Vaughan,  and  remained  for  upwards  of  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  describes  a  sugar  estate.  The  description  applies 
in  most  particulars  till  the  abolition  of  slavery.  He  says  : 
**  The  stranger  is  apt  to  ask  what  village  it  is  ? — for  every 
completed  sugar  work  is  no  less,  the  various  and  many 
buildings  bespeaking  as  much  at  first  sight ;  for  beside  the 
large  mansion  house,  with  its  ofiices,  the  works,  such  as 
the  well-contrived  mill,  the  spacious  boiling  house,  the 
large  receptive  curing  houses,  stiU  house,  commodious 
stables  for  the  grinding  cattle,  lodging  for  the  overseer,  the 
white  servants,  working  shops  fOr  the  necessary  smiths, 
others  for  the  framing  carpenters  and  coopers ;  to  all 
which,  when  we  add  the  streets  of  negro  houses,  no  one 
will  question  to  call  such  complicated  sugar  works  a  small 
town  or  village." 

Trapham  had  no  doubt  one  of  the  most  perfect  establish- 
ments before  his  mind,  and  it  should  also  be  noted  that,  in 
describing  the  character  of  the  different  erections  he  would 
compare  them  with  the  farm  buildings  of  his  day.  Cattle, 
either  oxen  or  mules,  were  almost  invariably  then  used  to 
turn  the  ponderous  mills  for  expressing  the  juice  from  the 
cane.  Occasionally,  but  very  seldom  according  to  Sloane, 
was  the  plough  used.  The  richness  of  the  soil  he  says 
made  it  unnecessary,  and  that  was  thought  a  poor  soil 
that  did  not  yield  at  least  a  ton  for  each  acre  in  cultivation. 
Double  this  quantity  he  asserts  was  often  produced. 

In  1690  there  were  two  sugar  refineries  in  the  island,  one 
at  Seven  Plantations,  and  one  at  the  Angels  near  Spanish 

*  Appendix  to  Journals,  vol.  i. 


BELIOION  AND  EDUCATION.  87 

Town.  A  small  quantity  of  refined  sugar  was  exported,  but 
the  greater  part  was  consumed  in  the  island.  Just  in  pro- 
portion to  the  extension  of  sugar  cultivation  was  the  activity 
of  trade  in  slaves.  Chartered  companies  and  private  enter- 
prise united  in  supplying  the  necessities  of  the  colony. 
More  were  brought  to  the  island  than  were  required  for  its 
immediate  wants,  and  hence  a  considerable  export  trade 
was  carried  on.  To  those  brought  here  as  to  a  depot,  and 
ultimately  shipped  to  other  colonies,  must  be  added  such 
as  were  unmanageable  on  the  plantations,  and  were  there- 
fore, as  a  measure  both  of  safety  and  of  punishment,  shipped 
off  to  other  colonies,  chiefly  to  those  in  the  possession  of 
the  Spaniards.  Negroes  were  not  the  only  slaves.  The 
white  bond-servants  were  numerous,  and  few  ships  arrived 
from  England  without  some  of  this  class  on  board. 


CHAPTER  m. 

RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION. 

The  military  force  by  which  Jamaica  was  conquered  was 
accompanied  by  seven  chaplains.  Men  like  Baxter,  the 
author  of  the  **  Saints'  Best,"  had  occupied  a  similar 
position  in  the  English  army,  and  there  seems  reason  to 
suppose  that  those  who  came  to  the  island  were  worthy, 
earnest  men.  Cromwell  manifested  great  concern  for  the 
religious  interests  of  the  men  he  had  sent  forth.  In  one 
letter  to  his  commanders  he  writes :  ''  The  Lord  Himself 
hath  a  controversy  with  your  enemies,  even  with  that 
Boman  Babylon  of  which  the  Spaniard  is  the  great  under- 
propper."  After  the  defeat  at  Hayti  he  wrote :  "  We  have 
cause  to  be  humbled  for  the  reproof  God  gave  us  at  St. 
Domingo,  upon  the  account  of  our  sins  as  well  as  others." 
The  Protector  was  even  more  humbled  on  account  of  the 
disorders  among  the  soldiers.  He  refers  to  the  ''  extreme 
avarice,  pride  and  confidence,  disorders  and  debaucheries, 
profaneness  and  wickedness,  commonly  practised  among 
the  army ;  '*  and  adds  :  '^  We  can  not  only  bewail  the  same. 


88  HISTORY  OF  JA^IAICA. 

but  desire  that  all  with  you  do  so,  and  that  a  very  special 
regard  may  be  had  so  to  govern  for  time  to  come,  as  that 
all  manner  of  vice  may  be  discountenanced  and  severely 
punished ;  and  that  such  a  frame  of  government  may  be 
exercised  that  virtue  and  godliness  may  receive  due  en- 
couragement/' 

The  chaplains  who  came  with  the  army  all  died  within  a 
few  months,  according  to  Long.  Other  nonconforming 
clergy  followed,  but  the  records  of  the  period  are  very  im- 
perfect. In  June,  1655,  an  officer  of  the  army  named 
Daniel  How  wrote  a  letter  to  a  brother  in  London,  in  which 
he  says :  **  In  our  poor  army  we  have  but  few  that  either 
fear  God  or  reverence  man.  But,  blessed  be  God,  those 
that  are  in  the  chief  place  are  godly  men,  and  we  have 
teachers  amongst  us,  so  that  I  hope  God  will  carry  on  His 
work  amongst  us." 

In^  1662  the  Act  of  Uniformity  not  only  ejected  2000 
clergymen  from  their  livings  in  England,  but  affected  the 
religious  life  of  the  infant  colony  in  Jamaica.  It  was  only 
gradually,  for.  at  first  the  government  of  Charles  II.  seemed 
disposed  to  allow  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  who  would 
resort  to  the  plantations  in  the  West  Indies.  In  February, 
1664,  Colonel  Modyford,  the  governor,  received  instructions 
from  the  king  to  the  following  effect :  **  Because  we  are 
content,  in  the  infancy  of  that  our  plantation,  to  give  all 
possible  encouragement  to  persons  of  all  opinions  and 
parties  to  transport  themselves  hither  with  their  stocks, 
for  the  benefit  thereof,  that  they  may  not  under  pretence  of 
scruples  of  conscience  receive  any  discouragements  there, 
you  shall  dispense  with  the  taking  of  oaths  of  allegiance 
and  supremacy  to  those  which  bear  any  part  of  the  govern- 
ment, except  the  members  and  officers  of  the  council,  to 
whom  you  are  hereby  particularly  directed  to  administer 
the  same."*  These  instructions  were  repeated  to  Sir 
Thomas  Lynch  seven  years  later,  +  and  again  to  Lord 
Vaughan  in  1674.  J  It  was  not  until  1677  that  the  oath  of 
supremacy  was  taken  by  members  of  the  assembly.  §  Sir 
Thomas  Lynch  testified  that  nonconformists  made  a  **  mo- 
dest use  "  of  these  privileges,  **  being  respectful  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  ready  to  comply  with  all  civil  or  military  duties." 

'•'  Appendix  to  **  Journals  of  Assembly,'*  vol.  i.  p.  10. 
+  Ibid.,  p.  14.  I  Ibid.,  p.  17.  §  Ibid.,  p.  11. 


BELiaiON  AND   EDUCATION.  89 

It  is  thus  evident  that  the  bigotry  which  at  this  period 
cast  such  a  shade  over  English  life  was  unknown  in  the 
colony.  Still  it  was  thought  desirable  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  doctrines  adverse  to  those  of  the  Established  Church. 
In  1675  the  appointment  of  conforming  ministers  in  the 
colony  was  urged  upon  the  governor,  that  they  might 
"  convert  sectaries  and  suppress  atheism  and  irreligion, 
which  people  in  these  parts  much  incline  to."  Atheism  and 
irreligion  had  far  more  power  in  succeeding  years  than 
conforming  or  nonconforming  clergy.  Buccaneering  and 
slaveholding  are  alike  incompatible  with  true  religion ;  and 
any  religious  observances  for  the  next  century  or  more 
were,  with  few  exceptions,  of  a  veiy  formal  character.  A 
Mr.  Hanson,  writing  in  1682,  says :  **  We  have  very  few 
papists  or  sectaries,  for  neither  Jesuits  or  nonconforming 
parsons  do  or  can  live  amongst  us :  some  few  have  at- 
tempted, but  never  could  gain  proseljiies  enough  to  aflFord 
them  sustenance."  This  was  not  quite  true ;  one  exception 
at  least  can  be  found.  The  public  opinion  of  the  colony 
had  constrained  two  ministers,  whose  views  were  in  har- 
mony with  those  ejected  on  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  to 
resign  their  livings.  These  were  Mr.  Bridges  and  Mr. 
Robert  Spere.  Mr.  Bridges  left  the  island  and  went  to  the 
Bahamas.  Mr.  Spere  became  the  pastor  of  a  congregational 
church  in  St.  Thomas  in  the  East. 

Among  the  convicts  sent  to  the  island  in  consequence  of 
Monmouth's  rebellion  was  a  carpenter  named  John  Goad, 
whose  journal  has  been  preserved.  Goad  had  no  sooner 
landed  at  Port  Royal,  worn  out  by  fatigue  and  ill-treatment 
from  which  nearly  a  fourth  of  his  fellow-suflferers  had 
perished,  than  he  met  with  Mr.  Spere.  This  good  man  did 
all  in  his  power  to  assist  him  and  his  companions.  At  the 
sale  of  convicts  which  followed,  Goad,  by  the  kind  arrange- 
ment of  a  friend,  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  man  favour- 
ably disposed  towards  the  exiles,  and  who  was  then  the 
attorney  or  manager  of  four  estates  in  St.  Thomas  in  the 
East.  On  reaching  his  destination,  he  described  himself 
as  *'  cast  into  a  remote  and  dark  place,  a  barren  wilderness, 
where  there  was  spiritually  no  water."  There  were  six 
other  servants,  and  these  he  induced  to  meet  with  him  for 
prayers  morning  and  evening.  His  eflForts  to  keep  the 
Sabbath  from  desecration,  and  to  bring  about  a  better  state 


90  mSTOBY   OF  JAMAICA. 

of  things  in  the  honsehold,  were  so  successful,  that  Mr. 
Hawkes  Garbrand,  who  had  come  to  the  island  as  an  officer 
in  Cromwell's  army,  and  who  resided  on  an  estate  which 
still  bears  his  name,  induced  him  to  undertake  more  public 
services.  Several  persons  were  in  consequence  gathered 
into  Christian  fellowship,  and  Mr.  Spere  being  now  removed 
from  Port  Royal,  was  invited  to  become  the  pastor  of  this 
little  flock.  The  four  largest  proprietors  of  estates  in  the 
district  subscribed  ten  pounds  a  year  each,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  Coad's  servitude  we  hear  of  the  progress  of 
these  simple  but  earnest  worshippers.  That  this  infant 
community  ultimately  ceased  to  exist  is  not  surprising,  but 
as  a  congregational  church  its  establishment  in  the  colony 
at  such  a  time  is  an  interesting  fact. 

At  this  early  period  several  Quakers  were  found  settled 
in  the  island.  They  came  originally  from  Barbadoes,  and 
were  kindly  treated  by  D'Oyley  and  other  governors.  In 
1671,  George  Fox  being  at  Barbadoes,  **  found  drawings  to 
Jamaica.'*  He  reached  the  island  in  November,  and  spent 
seven  weeks:  some  friends  accompanied  him,  and  he  found 
three  others  who  had  been  labouring,  as  he  expresses  it,  in 
the  service  of  truth.  He  travelled  up  and  down  the  island, 
which  he  describes  as  large  and  **  brave,**  but  the  people 
generally  as  debauched  and  wicked.  Still  "  there  was  a 
great  convincement,  and  many  received  the  truth,  some  of 
which  were  people  of  account  in  the  world.**  The  meetings 
were  large  and  quiet,  the  people  civil,  and  he  met  with  no 
opposition.  Fox  was  twice  with  the  governor  and  some 
other  persons  of  importance,  all  of  whom  were  kind  to  him. 
One  aged  companion  in  travel,  Elizabeth  Hooton,  died 
while  he  was  engaged  in  his  visitation.  Before  Fox  and 
his  companions  had  left  the  island  things  had  been  brought 
into  good  order,  '*  friends  and  truth  prosperous,**  as  there 
is  reason  to  believe  they  continued  to  be.  But  gradually 
one  after  the  other  they  left  the  island,  though  enough 
remained  to  render  necessary  a  special  enactment  in  their 
favour  half  a  century  later.  And  Lascelles  Winn,  it  will  be 
seen,  more  than  a  hundred  years  after,  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  flourishing  Baptist  churches  in  the  northern  and 
western  parishes,  by  the  introduction  of  Moses  Baker  as  a 
pastor  among  his  bondsmen.  The  good  seed  planted  thus 
early,  brought  forth  fruit  after  many  days. 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  91 

Many  Jews  returned  to  the  colony  soon  after  the  British 
occnpation.  It  is  currently  reported,  and  even  recorded  in 
the  pages  of  Long  and  Bridges,  that  they  obtained  per- 
mission on  the  plea  of  pointing  out  certain  mines  in  the 
Healthshire  HiUs.  Walton  and  some  others  were  natura- 
lized in  1668,  and  twenty-one  years  later  they  obtained 
permission  to  erect  a  synagogue.  Only  six  are  known  to 
have  possessed  landed  estates  :  then  as  now  they  were  en- 
gaged in  good  retail  trades,  and  gradually  assumed  the 
position  many  still  hold  as  merchants  and  importers.  For 
a  great  number  of  years  a  tribute  was  demanded  from  them : 
in  1682  it  was  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  after- 
wards it  was  increased  to  a  higher  sum. 

Betuming  to  the  early  records  of  Protestantism,  it  will  be 
found  that  though ''  sectaries  '*  did  not  long  flourish,  the  efforts 
made  to  supply  conforming  ministers  were  not  successful. 
Twenty  years  after  the  conquest  there  were  only  four  in 
the  island :  two  of  these  were  Swiss.  In  the  valuable  and 
interesting  appendix  to  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Journals 
of  the  House  of  Assembly"  is  a  full  account  of  these 
clerg^en,  written  in  May,  1675.  The  minister  at  Port 
Boyal,  the  predecessor  of  Mr.  Spere  before  alluded  to,  was 
Mr.  Hayne,  who  was  a  good  scholar  and  orthodox  preacher. 
At  Spanish  Town  there  was  Mr.  Hausyer,  one  of  the  Swiss 
noticed  above :  he  is  described  as  ''  a  honest  man,  a  good 
liver,  and  reasonable  preacher.''  In  St.  John's,  Guanaboa, 
was  Mr.  Lemon,  "  a  sober  young  man  and  a  very  good 
preacher."  He  it  seems  doubled  his  income  of  £100  by 
keeping  a  free  school  erected  by  Colonel  Goape,  but  to 
which  no  later  allusion  is  made  in  the  records  of  the 
colony.  Mr.  Zeller,  the  other  native  of  Switzerland,  was 
in  St.  Andrews,  where  he  was  esteemed  as  a  sober,  honest 
man.  This  early  record  supplies  almost  the  only  insight 
we  have  into  the  character  of  the  clergy  in  those  days. 

After  Mr.  Spere  retired  from  Port  Eoyal  a  clergyman 
from  Ireland,  Mr.  John  Crow,  took  his  place.  He  was  a 
time-serving  man.  On  the  arrival  of  John  Coad  and  his 
companions  he  preached  a  sermon  of  which  that  good 
man  sorely  complained.  He  says  that,  **  instead  of  show- 
ing them  (their  masters),  like  Obadiah,  their  pride,  cruelty, 
and  wrong,  and  what  a  cursed  thing  it  was  to  separate  men 
from  wives  and  children,"  he  exhorted  the  captives  to  serve 


92  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

as  those  who  had  neither  remedy  nor  hope.  This  clergy- 
man could  not  very  long  have  retained  his  incumbency,  for 
a  man  of  very  different  spirit  was  the  rector  of  Port  Royal  at 
the  time  of  the  great  earthquake.  The  revocation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes  brought  many  Huguenots  to  the  island. 
Among  these  men  were  Calvin  Galpine,  who  was,  after 
Mr.  Lemon,  rector  of  St.  Johns ;  Mr.  Gaultier,  who  left 
lands  to  endow  a  school;  and  Lewis  Galdy,  so  strangely 
preserved  in  the  great  earthquake. 

Churches  had  been  erected  at  Withywood  and  Yallahs, 
but  were  for  a  long  time  without  pastors.  At  first  the 
stipends  of  the  clergy  depended  entirely  upon  the  pleasure 
of  the  vestry,  but  in  time  a  law  passed  making  £100  per 
annum  the  lowest  they  could  offer.  The  king  was  recog- 
nised as  the  head  of  the  church,  but  the  governor  really 
nominated  to  the  livings,  though  a  license  was  required 
from  the  Bishop  of  London.  In  thirty  years  after  English 
occupation  nine  churches  had  been  built ;  and  the  clergy 
wherever  appointed  were  made  members  of  parochial 
vestries  and  surveyors  of  highways.  Their  registries  of 
births,  marriages,  and  deaths  were  the  only  legal  records  of 
such  events,  and  where  no  clergyman  had  been  located, 
the  churchwardens  of  the  parish  were  charged  with  the 
duty. 

The  stipends  secured  by  the  parish  clergymen  were  not 
inconsiderable,  regard  being  had  to  the  value  of  money  at 
that  time;  but  they  were  supplemented  by  the  fees  given  for 
the  celebration  of  the  above  services,  and  in  many  cases 
private  schools  were  kept.  Endowments  were  far  more  com- 
mon in  the  early  days  of  the  colony  than  later.  Their  mis- 
application in  so  many  cases  deterred  others  from  posthu- 
mous liberality.  A  house  and  sixty  acres  of  land  was  one 
of  the  earliest  legacies  to  the  church  at  Spanish  Town. 

Had  James  II.  been  able  to  carry  out  his  plans,  there 
would  have  been  much  trouble  among  the  few  devout 
Protestants  in  the  island.  In  1685  he  appointed  Sir  Philip 
Howard  governor,  but  this  gentleman  never  came.  He  was 
to  have  entrusted  the  clergy  with  great  powers,  but  at  the 
price  of  entire  subserviency  to  his  will.  The  Duke  of  Albe- 
marle came  instead ;  he  had  less  earnestness  of  any  kind 
about  him.  But  Father  ChurchiU  spared  no  pains,  as 
*'  chief  pastor  of  his  majesty's  Catholic  subjects  in  Jamaica," 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  93 

to  effect  the  subjugation  of  the  people.  Happily  his  time  was 
short,  and  the  Toleration  Act  of  1688  was  welcomed  here 
as  at  home.  A  proclamation  from  William  and  Mary 
followed  it,  affording  "  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  persons 
except  papists." 

It  was  unfortunate  for  the  proper  position  of  the  clergy 
that  so  many  secular  duties  were  thrust  upon  them.  Every 
parish  vestry  and  local  board  was  more  or  less  under  their 
influence.  The  right  discharge  of  their  spiritual  duties 
was  in  consequence  impeded. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  bring  all  educational  efforts  in 
the  colony  under  the  control  of  the  clergy.  James  II.  ordered 
that  no  person  coming  from  England  without  the  license 
of  the  Bishop  of  London,  should  keep  a  school ;  and  Sir 
Philip  Howard  was  charged  on  his  arrival  to  see  that  no 
person  then  in  the  island  continued  to  keep  one  without  his 
license.  These  laws  were  not  enforced,  but  few  beside  the 
clergy  were  employed  in  education.  There  is  ample  proof 
that  many  legacies  were  left  both  for  religious  and  educa- 
tional purposes,  though  in  very  few  cases  were  the  wishes 
of  the  testators  carried  out. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS. 

The  first  English  occupants  brought  with  them  the  habits 
and  tastes  peculiar  to  military  men  of  the  age  to  which 
they  belonged ;  and  as  the  capture  of  the  island  was  easy, 
and  no  formidable  foe  remained  to  test  the  prowess  of  the 
British  forces,  inactivity,  so  dreaded  by  wise  captains,  soon 
told  with  fearful  effect  on  the  morale  of  the  army.  The 
greater  number  were  swept  away  by  sickness  and  famine, 
but  gradually  other  men,  willing  and  anxious  to  cultivate 
the  soil,  took  their  place,  and  laboured  with  that  steady 
industry  so  essential  to  successful  colonisation. 

In  dealing  with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  island,  several  classes  must  pass  under 


94  HISTORT  OF  JAMAICA. 

review.  The  planters,  free  white  servants,  white  bond- 
servants, and  negroes,  are  found  thus  early.  Other  classes 
Boon  mingled  with  them,  or  sprung  from  their  combination. 

As  far  as  possible  the  white  inhabitants  conformed  to 
the  habits  of  the  same  classes  in  England.  Early  rising 
was  general,  and  meals  were  taken  at  hours  which  would 
now  seem  ridiculously  early.  The  intercourse  of  planters 
and  merchants  with  buccaneers  and  seafaring  men,  and 
not  unfirequently  the  interchange  of  occupations,  gave  a 
peculiar  character  to  the  style  of  conversation.  Planta- 
tions stocked  with  servants  or  slaves  would  be  called  well- 
handed  ;  if  otherwise,  it  would  be  said  to  want  hands ;  a 
kitchen  would  be  called  the  cookroom  ;  a  pantry  or  cellar 
a  storeroom.  The  eastern  and  western  extremities  of  the 
island  were  spoken  of  as  "to  windward"  or  "leeward," 
according  to  the  prevaiHng  wind,  and  so  with  many  other 
terms. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  England,  after  the  Kesto- 
ration,  the  puritanical  rules  of  the  former  age  were  ex- 
changed for  the  reign  of  freedom  and  licentiousness.  In 
inquiring  into  the  manners  of  the  English  in  Jamaica, 
during  this  or  any  subsequent  period,  regard  should  be  had 
to  those  of  the  same  classes  at  home :  they  will  as  a  con- 
sequence appear  in  a  more  favourable  light  than  if  con- 
trasted with  those  of  the  present  day.  If  at  this  time  the 
English  in  Jamaica  exhibited  considerable  energy  and 
enterprise,  it  is  equally  true  that  in  many  cases  they  were 
grossly  immoral. 

With  a  few  exceptions  in  Port  Eoyal  and  Spanish  Town, 
the  houses  of  the  best  settlers  were  of  a  very  rough  and 
homely  description.  The  heavy  pointed  roof,  with  massive, 
rough-hewn  beams  exposed  to  view,  the  apartments  being 
merely  separated  by  partitions  a  few  feet  high,  and  which 
is  still  sometimes  seen  in  country  parts,  was  then  the  com- 
mon style  of  architecture ;  but  the  sideboards  would  often 
be  loaded  with  massive  plate,  and  other  indications  of  rude 
wealth  were  frequently  seen.  The  tables  were  liberally 
supplied  with  food.  Madeira  was  the  favourite  wine,  and 
brandy  was  esteemed  more  highly  than  rum.  Sloane  gives 
a  description  of  a  variety  of  beverages,  highly  valued  in 
his  day,  but  now  almost  unknown.  Coffee  was  not  then 
introduced  into  the  colony ;  chocolate  was  the  article  most 


MAXXEBS  AND  CTSTOXS.  95 

nsed  at  break&ist.  For  sleeping,  hammocks  were  preferred 
to  beds,  being  cooler :  little  covering  was  required,  bat 
mosquito-nets  were  thos  early  highly  valned. 

Among  the  poorer  white  inhabitants  may  be  enamerated 
the  tradesmen  or  artisans  in  the  towns,  overseers  and 
others  on  estates.    Not  a  few  of  these  gradually  worked 
themselves  up  to  high  positions  in  the  colony.     These  men 
being  free,  were  at  liberty  to  avail  themselves  of  any 
opening  that  afforded  promise  of  success.    Little  in  any 
way  remarkable  can  be  recorded  of  this  class.     The  white 
bond-servants   were   in   a   position   altogether    peculiar; 
some  had  come  under  indentures  to  serve  a  certain  time, 
while  others  had  been  transported  for  vagrancy,  or  for 
political  and  other  offences.     In  either  case  their  condition 
was  deplorable.    In  the  pages  of  Esquimelling,*  who  was 
once  a  bond-servant  under  indentures  to  a  French  master, 
there  is  a  pitiful  account  of  the  sufferings  to  which  these 
people  were  exposed.    A  variety  of  painful  examples  given 
in  detail  fully  bears  out  his  statement  that  not  only  did 
persons  in  England  and  continental  countries  induce  young 
men   and  boys  to  transport  themselves  under  indenture 
by  fair  promises,  but,  "  having  once  allured  and  conveyed 
them  into  the  islands,  they  were  forced  to  work  like  horses, 
the  toil  they  impose  upon  them  being  much  harder  than 
what  they  usually  enjoin  upon  the  negroes,  their  slaves. 
For  these  they  endeavour  in  some  measure  to  preserve, 
as  being  their  perpetual  bondmen ;  but  as  for  their  white 
servants,  they  care  not  whether  they  live  or  die,  seeing 
they  are  to  continue  no  longer  than  three  years  in  their 
service."  t    Some  contracts  were,  however,  for  seven  years  ; 
not  less  than  ten  years  was  named  by  James  II.  as  the 
term  for  which  those  spared  from  the  bloody  assize  were 
to  be  transported. 

It  may  at  first  sight  appear  as  if  there  was  a  wide 
difference  between  the  indentured  and  the  transported 
servants.  There  was,  however,  hardly  any  in  the  treat- 
ment they  received,  and  little  in  their  character.  Lord 
Yaughan  once  wrote  relative  to  servants  who  had  crept  up 
to  estates,  and  says  there  were,  **  among  others,  some  who 
chose  transporting  rather  than  hanging."     But  men  were 

*  "  The  History  of  the  Buccaneers  of  America,"  hy  John  Esqui- 
meDing.     London,  1696.  t  Ibid.,  p.  86. 


96  mSTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

hung  for  very  trivial  offences  in  those  days ;  and  it  is  not 
easy  to  regard  the  victims  of  the  Eye  House  Plot,  or  of 
Jeffreys'  bloody  assize,  as  moral  offenders.  Specimens  of 
the  '*  rogue  and  vagabond  class"  *  did  come ;  but  as  many 
or  more  whose  only  crime  was  poverty,  or  political  adher- 
ence to  the  losing  side. 

In  the  laws  of  Jamaica!  may  still  be  seen  a  very  sug- 
gestive enactment  for  the  regulation  of  bond-servants.  It 
is  the  second  act  of  the  newly-elected  assembly.  It  indeed 
provides  for  the  supply  of  food  and  clothing  to  the  servant, 
and  also  that  no  servant  be  whipped  naked  without  an 
order  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  but  it  provides  for  many 
years  of  extra  service  as  the  punishment  for  very  minor 
offences.  Moreover,  if  a  servant  married  without  his  mas- 
ter's consent,  he  must  serve  two  years  longer;  but  if  he  was 
the  parent  of  a  child  without  marriage,  he  must  serve  twice 
as  long  as  the  woman  had  to  do  at  the  time  of  the  offence.  J 
In  cases  where  there  was  no  indenture  made  before  ar- 
riving in  the  island,  seven  years  was  fixed  as  the  period  of 
service  if  the  servant  was  under  eighteen,  and  four  years  if 
over  that  age.  These  people  were  shipped  from  England 
like  so  much  merchandise,  bills  of  lading  being  given  just 
as  if  they  were  barrels  of  pork  instead  of  human  beings,  and 
great  numbers  constantly  perished  on  the  voyage.  Leslie 
describes  a  visit  to  one  of  these  ships:  *'We  went  on 
board,  when  he  (the  consignee)  viewed  the  servants,  gave 
them  clothes,  and  ordered  them  to  be  well  cared  for  till 
they  were  disposed  of.  It  was  diverting  to  see  the  shoal 
of  buyers.  The  poor  feUows  were  made  to  pass  in  review 
before  their  future  tyrants,  and  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
a  parcel  of  horses.  Each  chose  whom  he  liked  best :  a 
good  tradesman  went  off  at  about  £40,  and  others  at  £20 
per  head."  With  such  a  commencement  of  the  servitude 
we  can  readily  credit  Esquimelling's  assertion,  that  masters 
were  accustomed  towards  the  close  of  the  allotted  time  so 
to  ill-treat  their  servants,  as  to  lead  them  to  beg  that  they 
might  be  sold  to  another  master  for  a  renewed  term  of 
service.  "Thus,"  says  he,  "many  served  for  fifteen  or 
twenty  years."     The  food  and  clothing  of  these  people  was 

*  "  Cromwell's  Letter,"  &c.  (Carlyle),  vol.  iii.  letter  206. 
f  "  Acts  of  Assembly,"  from  the  year  1681  to  1768,  in  two  vols., 
published  in  Si  Jago  de  la  Vega,  in  1769,  pp.  1-5.        |  Clauses  9,  10. 


MANNEBS  AND   CUSTOMS.  97 

little  superior  to  that  of  negroes ;  their  only  bed  was  a 
mat.  Sloane  observes  that  they  did  not  speak  of  going  to 
bed,  but  **  to  sleep." 

Indians,  though  few  in  number,  were  also  found  among 
the  bondsmen.  They  were  occasionally  imported,  but 
some  were  taken  from  the  Spaniards  in  the  forays  on  their 
possessions.  They  were  of  little  value  except  as  hunters 
or  fishermen.  As  a  rule  they  were  well  treated,  for  if 
whipped  they  became  so  despondent  as  to  become  useless, 
if  they  did  not  commit  suicide. 

Negro  slaves  were  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers:  like 
Israel  in  Egypt,  all  their  service  was  with  rigour.  They 
came  from  different  parts  of  the  African  coast,  principally 
from  Guinea.  Some  were  brought  from  Madagascar,  but 
were  not  so  valuable  as  those  from  the  west  coast,  not 
being  so  hardy  in  person,  besides  being  choice  about 
food.  The  term  Madagass  is  still  applied  to  certain  light- 
complexioned  negroes,  especially  those  whose  hair  is  less 
woolly  than  common.  These  are  found  in  families  where 
there  is  just  a  very  slight  mingling  of  European  blood; 
and  the  name  therefore  only  indicates  that  there  was  a 
period  when  people  light  in  complexion  and  possessing 
rather  straight  hair  were  known  in  the  colony  by  that 
term.  Slaves  bom  in  the  island  were  more  highly  esteemed 
than  such  as  were  imported.  Those  of  mixed  blood  were 
generally  employed  as  assistant  tradesmen,  or  in  domestic 
occupations.  Though  Sloane's  visit  to  the  island  only 
dates  a  little  more  than  forty  years  after  the  British  con- 
quest, it  is  remarkable  that  the  different  varieties  of 
coloured  people  were  well  known.  He  speaks  of  mulattoes 
(the  offspring  of  whites  and  blacks) ;  of  quadroons  (the 
offspring  of  mulattoes  and  whites) ;  and  even  of  mustees 
(the  offspring  of  whites  and  quadroons). 

The  usual  habitation  of  the  slaves  was  a  small  thatched 
hut ;  its  only  furniture  a  mat,  a  pot  for  cooking,  and  a  few 
vessels  made  out  of  the  calabash.  They  had  a  yearly 
allowance  of  clothing,  but  at  work  in  the  fields  they  went 
nearly  naked.  It  has  been  said  that  they  were  better 
treated  as  slaves  in  the  British  colony  than  they  had  been 
in  the  same  capacity  in  their  own  country.  It  is  quite 
true  that  slavery  is  a  very  ancient  institution  in  Africa, 
and  its  miseries  there  may  have  equalled  anything  known 

8 


98  mSTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

in  the  plantations.  But  it  is  equally  trne  that  the 
European  slave  trade  added  intensity  to  that  of  Africa; 
and.  by  leading  to  internal  wars,  occasioned  the  slavery  of 
multitudes  who  would  otherwise  have  remained  free.  These 
could  not  fail  to  feel  most  acutely  the  misery  of  their  lot. 

To  Sloane,  who  is  the  only  writer  of  the  period  who  has 
fuUy  described  the  discipline  of  the  estates,  reference  must 
be  made  for  illustrations.  For  negligence,  he  says  they 
were  "  whipped  by  the  overseer  with  lancewood  switches 
till  they  be  bloody,  and  several  of  the  switches  broken.** 
Formerly,  straps  made  of  the  hide  of  the  manati,  or  sea 
cow,  were  used  :  these,  it  was  said,  were  abandoned  because 
they  were  too  cruel.  A  more  probable  reason  is  that  the 
marks  they  made  remained  for  life ;  and  as  the  slave 
market  was  well  supplied,  it  was  thought  best  to  transport 
those  who  were  too  troublesome,  but  the  Spaniards  would 
not  buy  them  if  marked  with  the  whip,  as  it  indicated  their 
character.  The  switching  was  not  always  the  termination 
of  the  punishment.  Sloane  continues :  **  After  they  are 
whipped  till  they  are  raw,  some  put  on  their  skins  pepper 
and  salt  to  make  them  smart ;  at  other  times  their 
masters  will  drop  melted  wax  on  their  skins,  and  use 
several  very  exquisite  tortures.*'  All  this  for  negligence ! 
For  running  away,  we  are  told  by  the  same  authority  that 
"they  put  iron  rings  of  great  weight  upon  their  ankles^ 
or  pothooks  about  their  necks,  which  are  iron  rings  with 
two  long  rods  riveted  to  them,  or  a  spur  in  the  mouth." 
This  last  was  probably  a  ^ag.  Sometimes  half  the  foot  was 
cut  off  by  an  axe.  BebeUion  was  a  capital  offence :  burning 
rather  than  hanging  was  the  punishment.  The  poor 
wretch  was  fastened  "  down  on  the  ground  with  crooked 
sticks  on  every  limb ;  they  then  applied  the  fire  by  degrees, 
from  the  feet  and  hands,  burning  them  gradually  up  to 
the  head,  whereby  their  pains  are  extravagant." 

If  any  one  looks  for  some  expression  of  compassion  from 
the  founder  of  the  British  Museum,  it  will  be  in  vain.  He 
adds :  **  These  punishments  are  sometimes  merited  by  the 
blacks,  who  are  a  very  perverse  generation  of  people  ;  and 
though  they  appear  harsh,  yet  are  scarce  equal  to  some  of 
their  crimes,  and  inferior  to  what  punishments  other  Eu- 
ropean nations  inflict  on  their  slaves  in  the  East  Indies.*' 
He  might  have  added  that  tortures  quite  as  exquisite  were 


KANNEBS  AND  CUSTOMS.  99 

inflicted  by  English  on  Spaniards,  and  by  Spaniards  on 
English;  or  he  might  have  cited  the  whippings  and  burn- 
ings in  the  west  of  England  not  long  before. 

Slavery  had  its  brighter  aspects.  Not  only  were  some 
raised  to  lighter  occupations,  as  domestics,  but  even  negroes 
thus  early  were  made  overseers.  It  does  not  appear  that 
the  race  had  cause  to  rejoice  in  the  honour  thus  conferred 
on  a  few.  To  be  a  servant  of  servants  is  to  drink  the  dregs 
of  human  misery.  Sloane  cites  the  case  of  two  black  over- 
seers  he  attended  professionally,  at  the  request  of  their 
masters,  and  he  notes  that  they  had  used  their  position  to 
conmiit  unbridled  licentiousness.  Some  of  these  people 
were  rather  famed  as  doctors,  and  consulted  even  by  the 
whites ;  they  had  some  knowledge,  not  always  lawfully  used, 
of  plants  and  herbs. 

To  these  slaves,  upon  whose  minds  no  ray  of  Christian 
truth  was  ever  shed,  death  had  few  terrors.  It  would  only 
take  them  across  the  ocean  to  their  own  country :  hence 
suicide  was  not  unfrequent ;  it  was  especially  common  with 
the  negroes  from  Angola,  if  ill-treated.  Still  great  lamen- 
tation was  made  over  the  graves  of  the  departed,  and  as 
the  spirit,  or  '*  duppy,"  was  supposed  to  hover  for  some 
days  about  the  spot  before  it  took  its  final  departure  for 
A&ica,  food  and  rum  was  placed  upon  the  grave,  and  the 
supply  renewed  from  day  to  day. 

According  to  the  usual  routine  of  the  plantations,  the 
slaves  were  called  at  daylight,  in  the  busy  seasons  one  or 
two  hours  before ;  a  conch  shell,  or  on  large  properties  a 
bell,  was  the  signal.  At  twelve  o'clock  they  went  to  dinner, 
when  they  were  expected  to  carry  to  the  great  house  a 
bundle  of  wood  or  grass.  At  one  o'clock  they  returned  to 
labour,  and  continued  until  nightfall,  often  carrying  in 
another  load.  Infants  were  carried  to  the  field,  secured  to 
the  back  of  the  mother.  Sloane  attributes  the  flattened 
nose  of  the  negro  to  this  custom.  When  able  to  walk  they 
ran  about  at  liberty  for  a  time,  but  at  an  early  age  were  put 
to  weed  paths  and  other  trifling  jobs,  under  the  care  of  an 
old  woman,  who  rarely  failed  to  use  her  switch  with  toler- 
able freedom. 

Sundays  and  half  of  Saturday  were  accounted  holidays, 
but  the  negroes  had  at  these  times  to  cultivate  their  own 
grounds,  for  they  were  expected  to  raise  all  the  native  food 

8* 


100  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

they  required.  Two  or  three  days  were  given  at  Christmas 
and  also  at  Easter,  which  the  slaves  called  pickaninny 
Christmas.  What  holidays  they  had  were  usually  spent  in 
dancing.  These  dances  were  almost  invariably  of  a  licentious 
character.  The  music  was  produced  by  small,  hollow 
gourds,  across  which  were  laid  strings  of  horsehair,  and 
some  of  the  dancers  had  a  kind  of  rattle  fastened  to  their 
wrists  and  legs.  The  favourite  instrument  was  a  drum, 
made  of  a  skin  stretched  tightly  over  a  hollow  piece  of 
timber ;  but  as  this  was  the  war  drum  of  Africa,  it  was 
long  prohibited,  from  the  fear  it  might  be  employed  for 
a  similar  purpose  here.  The  dances,  though  not  graceful, 
were  energetic ;  at  times  they  assumed  a  fancy  dress  cha- 
racter. No  appendage  was  too  preposterous,  but  the  most 
correct  style  of  thing  was  to  affix  the  tail  of  a  cow  to  that 
part  of  the  human  frame  where  in  tailed  animals  that 
appendage  invariably  grows. 


PEEIOD  m. 

From  the  Earthquake   to   the  commencement   of 
the  Anti- Slavery  Strug gle^  1782. 

CHAPTEE  I. 

HISTORICAL     EVENTS. 

When  the  alarm  occasioned  by  the  earthquake  had  a  little 
subsided,  the  legislature  was  convened,  and  almost  its  first 
act  was  to  appoint  the  anniversary  of  that  eventful  day  as 
a  solemn  fast.  Kingston,  to  which  considerable  numbers 
were  now  flocking,  was  constituted  a  parish,  and  a  new 
city  laid  out  by  Colonel  Lilly,  an  engineer  of  considerable 
ability.  The  defenceless  state  into  which  the  whole  colony 
was  thrown  afforded  great  facilities  to  filibustering  attacks, 
and  they  were  of  frequent  occurrence  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  following  year.*  In  May,  1694,  the  safety  of  the 
island  generally  was  imperilled  by  an  expedition  of  a  really 
formidable  character,  of  which  a  full  account  has  been 
preserved  from  the  pen  of  Sir  William  Beeston,  who  at 
the  time  administered  the  government.  White,  who  was 
president  and  acting  governor  during  the  earthquake,  died 
on  the  22nd  of  August  following,  as  appears  by  the  registry 
of  burials  in  St.  Andrews.  John  Bourden  succeeded  him 
for  a  short  time ;  then  Beeston  commenced  his  career, 
which  lasted  for  about  nine  years.  He  was  descended 
from  an  ancient  English  famUy,  long  settled  at  Beeston 
Castle,  in  Cheshire,  and  emigrated  to  Jamaica  in  1660. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  assembly,  of  which  he  was 
for  some  time  speaker,  and  greatly  distinguished  himself 
in  opposition  to  Poyning's  Act.    He  enjoyed  not  only  the 

*  Journals,  vol.  L  pp.  144-146. 


102  BISTORT   OF  JAMAICA. 

confidence  of  the  people  generally,  but  had  been  greatly 
esteemed  by  some  previous  governors.  Sir  Thomas  Mody- 
ford  had  officially  described  him  as  a  ''good,  discreete 
person ;"  and  Sir  Thomas  Lynch  had  spoken  highly  of  his 
"  courage  and  conduct.**  All  these  qualities  were  soon 
put  to  the  test.  There  was  at  this  time  in  the  island  a 
considerable  number  of  Koman  Catholics,  chiefly  Irishmen, 
who  were  anxious  if  possible  to  create  a  diversion  in  favour 
of  James  II.  There  were  many  others  ready  for  any 
desperate  enterprise,  and  who,  prohibited  from  buccaneering 
by  Jamaica  law,  found  the  desired  liberty  with  the  French 
in  Hayti.  These  uniting  together,  formed  a  really  dan- 
gerous confederacy.  Among  the  desperadoes  thus  brought 
together,  one  named  GrubUen  was  much  dreaded  on  ac- 
count of  the  frequency  and  success  with  which  he  landed 
at  sea-side  plantations,  and  carried  off  negroes  and  other 
plunder.  Among  his  exploits  was  the  capture,  not  only  of 
all  the  slaves  of  a  Mrs.  Barrow,  a  minister's  widow,  re- 
siding in  St.  Elizabeths,  but  of  her  daughter  Rachel. 
But  an  enterprise  far  more  serious  than  these  sudden  raids 
was  in  contemplation,  though  happily  discovered  in  time 
for  plans  to  be  organised  for  defence.  A  Captain  Elliot, 
whose  ship  contained  a  valuable  cargo,  was  captured  and 
carried  into  Petit  Grave.  There  he  picked  up  some  valu- 
able information,  and  then  managed  to  effect  his  escape  in 
a  small  canoe,  and  after  five  days  and  nights  at  sea,  reached 
Jamaica.  He  hastened  to  inform  the  governor  that  Staple- 
ton  and  Lynch,  two  Irishmen,  had  given  information  that 
Port  Royal  was  almost  defenceless,  and  that  five  hundred 
men  favourable  to  King  James  would  at  once  join  an  in- 
vading  force.  Twenty  ships  and  some  three  thousand  men 
had  been  prepared  to  effect  a  landing,  under  the  command 
of  Ducasse.  This  intelligence  was  communicated  by  Elliot 
on  the  31st  of  May,  at  nine  o'clock.  That  night  the  council 
was  convened,  and  martial  law  proclaimed.* 

The  fortifications  at  Port  Royal  were  repaired,  and  some 
new  ones  extemporised.  The  narrow  pass  east  of  Kingston, 
where  Rock  Fort  now  stands,  was  defended,  some  outlying 
and  indefensible  places  abandoned,  and  Old  Harbour  and 
Carlisle  Bay  hastily  fortified.  On  Sunday,  the  17th  of 
June,  the  expected  fleet  appeared,  but  instead  of  making 

*  Journals,  vol.  L  pp.  148,  149. 


mSTOBIOAL  EVENTS.  108 

Port  Boyaly  one  portion  anchored  at  Port  Morant  and  the 
other  in  Cow  Bay.     This  circumstance,  combined  with 
Bubsequent  operations,  has  led  some  to  assert  that  plunder 
was  the  only  object  of  the  expedition.*     The  fact  seems  to 
be  that  information  of  Elliot's  arrival,  and  of  the  prepara- 
tions made  to  receive  him,  had  been  communicated  to 
]>ncas8e  on  reaching  the  coast,  and  led  to  a  change  of  plan. 
It  was  thought  that  if  Port  Boyal  could  not  be  sacked, 
booty  might  at  least  be  obtained  from  the  sea-side  planta- 
tions.   For  nearly  a  month  the  work  of  plunder  went  on, 
not  only  on  the  east  coast,  but  on  the  north  side,  to  which 
ships  were  despatched.     These  parts  were  almost  defence- 
less, for  the  militia  had  been  withdrawn  to  defend  Port 
BoyfiJ.      Prisoners  were  tortured,  women  were  violated, 
plsuitations  fired,  and  in  all  some  thirteen  hundred  negroes 
taken.    At  last,  after  a  feint  before  Port  Boyal,  some  ships 
were  left  in  Cow  Bay  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  the  greater  part  of  the  fleet  ran  down  to  Carlisle 
Bay  before  the  breeze.    Here,  on  the  19th  of  July,  a  body 
of  1600  French  landed.     They  were  opposed  by  about  two 
hundred  militia  and  a  few  negroes.    After  a  gallant  re- 
sistance, in  which  Colonel  Claybom,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Smart,  Captain  Vassell,  and  Lieutenant  Dawkins  were 
killed,   and  many  others  wounded,  together  with  large 
numbers  of  men,  it  became  necessary  to  retreat  across  the 
Minho.     Many  were  drowned  in  the  passage,  but  at  this 
critical  moment  five  companies    arrived    from    Spanish 
Town.     They  had  marched  thirty  miles  without  refresh- 
ment, but  at  once  fell  with  such  fury  on  the  foe,  that  they 
in  turn  were  compelled  to  fall  back.    For  three  days  skir- 
mishing continued ;  but  at  last  the  English,  having  gathered 
some  seven  hundred  men,  appointed  a  new  commander, 
Major    Lloyd,   and  an  express  was   sent  to  obtain  the 
governor's  concurrence.     This  obtained,  Lloyd  made  an 
admirable  disposition  of  his  forces,  and  drove  the  French, 
with  considerable  loss,  to  their  ships,  but  not  until  they 
had  secured  their  booty.    The  colonists  lost  in  all  upwards 
of  one  hundred  killed  and  wounded.    The  loss  of  the 
French  was  stated  at  seven  hundred,  but  this  is  a  palpable 
exaggeration.t 

*  Hm*8  **  Lights  and  Shadows,"  pp.  50,  51. 

f  Long,  Edwards,  Beeston's  Despatch,*'  Journal  of  Assoc."  voL  L 


104  HI8T0RT  OF  JAMAICA. 

The  plunder  was  valuable;  including  negroes,  it  must 
have  been  worth  more  than  £60,000 ;  De  Graffe,  a  notorious 
pirate,  was  second  in  command.  Ducasse  was  accused  of 
keeping  too  large  a  share  of  plunder  for  himself  and 
oflBcers.  However,  he  had  the  approval  of  his  govern- 
ment, who  gave  him  a  pension  of  one  hundred  pistoles  per 
annum.  Fifty  sugar  estates  and  as  many  plantations  were 
destroyed,  and  2006  negroes  were  reported  as  missing.* 
Captain  Elliot  was  rewarded  for*  his  timely  information  by 
a  grant  of  d£500,  and  the  men  who  accompanied  him  in 
the  canoe  were  not  forgotten ;  but  the  assembly  did  not 
display  that  zeal  in  providing  for  the  future  defence  of  the 
island  that  might  have  been  expected.t  More  energy  was 
displayed  in  preparing  armaments  for  purposes  of  retalia- 
tion. In  October  five  ships  sailed  for  St.  Domingo,  and 
bombarded  the  town  of  Esterre  for  seven  hours,  and  burnt 
a  ship.  Next  year  a  more  formidable  fleet,  under  Com- 
modore Wilmot,  together  with  1200  men  under  Colonel 
Lillingston,  sailed  for  the  same  quarter.  It  did  a  good  deal 
of  damage,  captured  in  all  one  hundred  and  twenty  cannon, 
and  secured  among  other  prisoners  the  wife  and  children 
of  De  Graffe.  She  was  treated  with  respect  by  her  cap- 
tors, and  knew  how  to  obtain  it,  for  De  Graffe  had  married 
her  in  admiration  of  her  spirit,  she  having  once  pointed  a 
pistol  at  his  head  when  he  offered  her  an  insult. 

The  dangers  by  which  the  island  was  beset  did  not  teach 
the  colonists  the  necessity  of  mutual  forbearance  with  each 
other.  The  whole  of  Beeston's  administration  was  marked  by 
quarrels  between  the  two  legislative  bodies.  Personalities 
were  freely  indulged  in,  and  much  time  lost  in  dealing  with 
the  guilty  parties.  The  council  claimed  the  right  not  only  of 
rejecting  but  amending  money  bills,  a  right  never  conceded 
by  the  assembly.  The  British  government  still  sought  to 
obtain  the  grant  of  a  perpetual  revenue,  and  Beeston,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  support  the  claims  of  the  crown,  was  exposed 
to  much  ill-will  in  consequence.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to 
attribute  to  this  fact  the  imputations  of  dishonesty  by  which 
he  was  assailed.  £4000  had  been  granted  as  a  royal 
bounty  after  Ducasse's  visit ;  this  it  was  said  Beeston  had 
not  properly  distributed.  It  was  also  alleged  that  booty 
taken  from  pirates,  and  property  recovered  after  the  earth- 

*  Journals,  vol.  L  p.  203.  \  Ibid.,  pp.  151-171. 


HISTORICAL  EVKNT8.  105 

quake,  had  not  been  accounted  for.  These  charges  were 
not  made  until  Beeston  had  come  into  personal  collision 
with  the  assembly.  They  were,  however,  persisted  in, 
though  his  death  not  long  after  they  were  first  made 
prevented  the  explanations  he  might  have  been  able  to 
oflfer.  He  had  incurred  suspicion  by  the  haste  with  which 
he  withdrew  from  the  island,  in  spite  of  some  efforts  made 
to  prevent  him.* 

He  was  superseded  by  Major-General  Selwyn  on  the  21st 
of  January,  1702,  and  died  in  London  early  in  the  follow- 
ing November.  Selwyn  had,  however,  preceded  him  to  the 
tomb:  this  general  had  passed  unscathed  through  the  siege 
of  Namur,  to  perish  of  Jamaica  fever :  his  administration 
only  lasted  seventy-four  days.  Little  remains  to  indicate 
that  he  was  ever  governor  of  the  island  but  his  monument 
in  Spanish  Town  cathedral,  and  a  record  in  the  **  Journals 
of  the  Assembly,"  that  in  respect  to  his  memory  jB2000  had 
been  voted  to  his  heir-at-law.  Had  he  lived  he  probably 
would  have  rendered  good  service,  for  he  commenced  some 
important  additions  to  the  means  of  defence,  and  also 
reviewed  and  improved  the  troops.  After  his  death  Colonel 
Beckford  became  lieutenant-governor  by  virtue  of  a  dor- 
mant commission  he  had  held  for  some  time.  Beckford 
told  the  legislature  in  his  opening  speech  that  he  had 
passed  through  most  of  the  public  offices  in  the  island, 
"  with  no  great  applause  yet  without  complaint ;  *'  and  this 
humble  praise  which  he  claimed  for  himself  may  be  fairly 
awarded  him  in  the  higher  position  he  now  filled,  but  in 
which  he  was  soon  succeeded  by  Mr.  T.  Handasyd.  For 
nine  years  this  gentleman  presided  with  considerable  success 
over  the  affairs  of  the  colony.  Yet  his  first  appointment 
was  only  designed  to  fill  up  the  time  until  the  Earl  of 
Peterborough  arrived.  But  this  nobleman  never  came, 
and  some  few  years  later  gained  more  renown  at  the  siege 
of  Barcelona  t  than  he  could  have  done  in  Jamaica. 

On  the  24th  of  June,  1702,  Queen  Anne  was  proclaimed 
in  Jamaica.  The  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  is 
memorable  as  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  a  number  of 
energetic  colonists  from  the  unfortunate  colony  of  Darien. 
The  record  of  that  enterprise  belongs  to  British  rather  than 

*  Jonmals,  vol.  i.  pp.  146-224 
t  "  Pictorial  History  of  England,"  vol.  iv.  pp.  179, 180.    Burnet,  Ac. 


106  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICLl. 

to  colonial  history.*  Paterson,  the  founder  of  the  bank  of 
England,  had  so  far  turned  to  account  the  knowledge  he 
had  picked  up  among  the  buccaneers,  as  to  persuade  the 
cautious  Scots  that  an  El  Dorado  was  after  all  waiting  for 
their  occupancy  in  the  West  Indies.  Goodly  fleets,  with 
some  thousands  in  all,  sailed  for  the  land  of  promise,  and 
all  would  have  been  well  but  for  the  jealousy  of  the  East 
India  Company  and  the  too  ready  assent  of  King  William 
to  the  assertion  of  the  Spaniards,  that  they  had  a  prior 
claim  to  the  country  Paterson  sought  to  colonise. 

The  emigrants  were  accordingly  proscribed.  Beeston,  in 
1699,  was  instructed  to  forbid  all  communication  with  the 
unfortunate  adventurers,  and  the  result  was  that  many 
perished.  It  was  not  till  the  horrors  of  famine  and  the 
effects  of  climate  had  swept  many  to  a  premature  grave, 
that  the  survivors  were  permitted  to  remove  to  Jamaica, 
and  settle  near  those  who  had  formerly  come  from  Surinam. 
Paterson  was  in  advance  of  his  age :  he  saw  the  importance 
of  communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  It 
was  left  for  the  nineteenth  century  to  execute  this  portion 
of  his  plan.  The  merchants  in  Port  Boyal  and  Kingston 
were  not  insensible  to  the  value  of  the  projected  colony,  and 
several  among  them,  Sir  James  de  Castillo,  in  particular, 
were  involved  in  considerable  trouble  through  sending  help 
to  the  colonists. 

The  war  with  France  gave  rise  to  a  system  of  privateering 
which  soon  poured  treasures  into  Port  Royal  surpassing 
even  the  days  of  the  buccaneers ;  while  the  victory  of 
Benbow  over  Ducasse  (whose  predatory  visit  to  Jamaica 
has  been  related)  filled  the  colonists  with  delight.  It  was 
on  the  11th  of  July,  1702,  that  the  brave  admiral,  the  hero 
of  so  many  sailors'  songs,  left  Port  Eoyal.  On  the  19th  of 
August  he  fell  in  with  the  French  fleet  of  which  he  was  in 
search.  Benbow*s  ships  were  inferior  in  number  and  weight 
of  metal,  but  he  immediately  engaged  the  enemy,  and  kept 
up  for  some  days  a  running  fight.  On  the  fifth  day  his  leg 
was  broken  by  a  chain-shot :  still  he  remained  on  deck,  sup* 
ported  in  a  cot  placed  on  the  quarter-deck.  He  continued 
the  battle  till  night,  when  Kirby  and  Wood,  two  of  his 
captains,  persuaded  the  rest  to  withdraw.    Benbow  was 

*  See  Dalrymple,  and  "  Pictorial  History  of  England,'*  book  iz. 
chap.  1. 


mSTOBICAL  EVENTS.  107 

more  tronbled  by  the  '^yillanons  treachery  of  his  captains" 
than  by  the  loss  of  his  leg.  On  returning  to  Port  Boyal  a 
conrt-martial  was  assembled.  Eirby  and  Wood  were  shot, 
and  others  pnnished  less  severely.  Benbow  lingered  long 
enough  to  Imow  that  his  conduct  was  applauded  at  home, 
and  died  on  the  4th  of  November.  Next  day  his  remains 
were  laid  in  the  parish  church  of  Kingston,  where  his  grave 
may  still  be  seen  beneath  the  pews.  The  local  poet  of  the 
period  immortalizes  the  fact  that — 

"  The  Kingston  town  folk  with  sorrow  did  ^o 
To  see  the  last  of  brave  old  Benbow." 

Dncasse  was  thankful  for  his  escape,  and  wrote  to  tell  Ben- 
bow  BO,  and  to  advise  him  to  hang  up  his  rascally  captains. 
People  had  not  ceased  talking  of  the  naval  hero  whose  form 
was  BO  familiar  in  Port  Boyal,  when  that  town,  which  had 
been  steadily  recovering  from  the  effects  of  the  earthquake, 
was  nearly  destroyed  by  fire.  On  the  9th  of  January, 
1708y  it  broke  out  among  warehouses,  some  of  which  con- 
tained gunpowder.  As  they  were  covered  with  shingles  the 
flames  spread  rapidly,  and  in  a  short  time  scarcely  a  place 
except  the  forts  was  left.  Eangston,  in  consequence  of  this 
calamity,  increased  in  importance,  and  to  encourage  persons 
to  settle  there,  taxes  were  remitted  for  seven  years,  while  a 
law  was  passed  prohibiting  the  use  of  American  shingles 
in  Port  Boyal. 

Kingston  soon  required  a  court  of  quarter  sessions  and 
of  common  pleas.  The  house  of  assembly  was  convened 
there  occasionally.  In  fact,  the  legislators  of  those  days 
were  not  very  particular  where  they  met.  When  the  supreme 
court  was  sittmg  in  Spanish  Town  they  often  assembled  in 
the  parish  church,  as  numerous  entries  in  their  journals 
show.*  Committees  were  convened  in  taverns,  coffee- 
houses, and  even  at  private  residences.  Spanish  Town 
also  profited  by  the  desolation  of  Port  Boyal.  It  had  a 
stand  of  coaches  in  the  great  square.  Vehicles  plied  for 
hire  between  it  and  the  now  forsaken  town  at  Passage 
Forty  which  had  then  two  hundred  houses,  and  was  a 
favourite  resort  of  seamen. 

The  records  of  legislative  proceedings  throughout  Han- 
dasyd's  government  are  marred  by  fierce  party  contentions. 

*  Journals,  pp.  41,  265,  840,  857,  889,  &c. 


108  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

Queen  Anne,  like  former  monarchs,  demanded  a  perpetual 
revenue,  but  this  the  assembly  would  not  give.  A  ques- 
tion which  had  been  raised  relative  to  the  support  of  troops, 
complicated  the  difficulty,  so  that  when  Admiral  Groy<ion 
arrived  to  succeed  Benbow  he  was  not  allowed  to  land 
some  soldiers  he  brought.  The  order  was  not  rescinded 
until  sickness  and  death  had  commenced  their  ravages. 

As  the  assembly  refused  to  make  what  was  considered 
an  adequate  provision,  only  one  regiment  was  left  in  the 
island,  and  in  consequence  of  its  undefended  state,  French 
cruisers  and  privateers  greatly  harassed  the  outlying 
plantations,  and  did  so  much  damage  to  the  coasting  trade 
that  two  small  vessels  were  subsequently  fitted  out  for  its 
defence.  Ducasse  again  alarmed  the  colony,  and  later  still, 
in  1709,  it  was  thought  that  the  presence  of  Commodore 
Wager  alone  averted  an  invasion. 

At  all  times  the  Maroons  continued  their  harassing 
attacks,  and  the  legislature  found  no  relief  from  its  intes- 
tine feuds.  There  were  eight  general  elections  and  fifteen 
sessions  in  nine  years.  The  speaker's  post  was  no  sinecure, 
his  authority  was  openly  defied.  Occasionally  members 
were  expelled,  but  their  constituencies  seemed  to  feel  it  a 
point  of  honour  to  send  them  back.  One  night  the  place 
of  meeting  was  entered  by  stealth,  and  the  journals  torn 
and  cast  into  the  street.  Five  hundred  pounds  were  offered 
for  the  detection  of  the  offenders,  but  they  were  never  dis- 
covered, and  the  members  in  succession  swore  that  they 
were  innocent  of  the  outrage. 

In  one  thing  the  council  and  assembly  agreed,  namely — 
that  the  laws  of  England  were  in  force  in  the  colony,  and 
had  always  been  observed.*  At  one  here,  they  were  at 
variance  on  most  other  points.  Personal  disputes  in  the 
assembly  ran  high.  A  question  had  been  raised  whether 
the  house  had  a  right  to  adjourn  longer  than  from  day  to 
day.t  This  had  blown  over  for  a  time,  but  in  the  last 
year  of  Handasyd*s  government  it  was  revived.  The  dis- 
cussion waxed  so  furious  that  the  governor,  in  proroguing 
the  house,  frankly  told  the  members  that  their  conduct  re- 
minded him  of  *'  a  party  of  barbarous  people  who  took  off, 
the  head  of  Charles  II.  of  ever  blessed  memory.''  There 
was  no  king  to  decapitate,  but  the  richest  subject  of  the 
*  Journals,  voL  ii.  pp.  29,  80.  f  Ibid.,  voL  i.  pp.  408,  409. 


msTOBiCAL  smrs.  109 

queen  (according  to  the  statement  of  a  contemporary 
writer)  was  killed  through  excitement.  This  was  old  Beck- 
ford,  the  father  of  Peter  Beckford,  the  speaker.  He  was 
in  the  council  chamber,  and  heard  his  son  calling  for  help. 
Help  was  needed,  for  when  Peter  Beckford,  having  sought 
in  Tain  to  restore  order,  attempted  to  adjourn  the  house» 
some  of  the  members  barred  the  doors,  while  others  drew 
their  swords  and  forced  him  to  reoccupy  the  chair.  His 
father,  alarmed  by  his  cry  for  help,  hastened  to  the  go* 
Temor,  who  was  quite  equal  to  the  emergency;  for  drawing 
his  sword,  he  called  a  few  soldiers  around  him,  and  causing 
the  doors  of  the  assembly  chamber  to  be  broken  open,  dis- 
solved the  house  with  the  caustic  reproof  quoted  above.* 
Greatly  as  the  governor  revered  the  blessed  memory  of  the 
king,  he  seems  to  have  been  quite  willing  to  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  Cromwell.  In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  the  elder 
Beckford  feU,  the  shock  was  too  much  for  him,  and  he 
soon  after  died.  He  had  twenty-two  plantations,  and 
nearly  four  thousand  slaves.  His  personal  property  was 
immense,  and  was  computed  at  the  time  at  not  far  short 
of  a  million  sterling :  one  account  mentions  a  still  higher 
sum. 

In  the  middle  of  1711  Lord  Hamilton  arrived  as  governor. 
The  assembly  still  claimed  as  a  right  the  declaration  that 
the  laws  of  England  were  in  force,  but  were  not  yet  willing 
to  purchase  the  acknowledgment  of  this  by  the  grant  of  a 
perpetual  revenue  to  the  crown,  and  so  the  wordy  warfare 
continued.  This  was  the  real  grievance  that  lay  at  the 
root  of  nearly  all  the  troubles  in  the  assembly.  Lord 
Hamilton  found  they  were  determined  to  carry  their  point. 
He  had  been  instructed  to  pass  no  money  bill  for  a  shorter 
period  than  a  year,  but  he  was  compelled  to  accept  one  for 
three  months  only  or  to  be  left  without  means.  So  making 
a  grace  of  necessity,  he  signed  the  bill,  remarking  that  it 
must  not  be  drawn  into  a  precedent.!  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  made  at  first  a  favourable  impression  upon 
the  members,  and  he  told  them  he  should  cast  a  veil  over 
the  late  transactions.  But  their  feeling  of  wrong  was  too 
deep  to  secure  more  than  a  transient  peace ;  and  though 
next  session  they  passed  a  revenue  bill  for  the  usual  time, 

*  Journals,  vol.  ii.  p.  42.    Bridges,  vol.  L  pp.  888,  889. 
t  JonmalSi  vol.  ii.  p.  42. 


110  mSTOBt  OF  JAMAIOA. 

and  in  1712  supported  the  governor  in  a  dispute  he  had 
vnih  Admiral  Walker,  he  had  next  year  to  dismiss  them 
without  any  provision  being  made  for  the  support  of  the 
troops.  In  this  emergency  he  did,  in  concurrence  with  the 
council,  an  unconstitutional  though  a  humane  act.  The 
troops  could  not  be  allowed  to  starve,  so  money  was  found 
to  pay  them.  These  advances  the  next  assembly  refused  to 
recognise.  "  They  were  disbursed  without  a  law,  or  the 
public  faith  given  for  reimbursing  the  same ;"  and  there- 
fore could  not  be  discharged  without  '*  infringing  the 
liberties  of  subjects  of  this  island,  and  betraying  the  trust 
reposed  in  them."  They  never  were  discharged  by  this  or 
any  succeeding  assembly,  though  a  recommendation  to  that 
effect  came  signed  by  the  king,*  for  George  I.  was  now  on 
the  throne  of  England. 

The  quarrel  soon  became  more  serious.  In  Octoberi 
1715,  the  legislature  was  convened  by  express  command  of 
the  king,  who  deplored  the  low  state  into  which  the  island 
was  sinlong,  for  the  ravages  of  war  had  been  followed  by  a 
fearful  hurricane  in  August,  1712.  The  house  now  turned 
round  on  the  governor,  and  presented  a  long  string  of 
complaints  against  him,  the  attorney-general,  and  some 
others.  The  governor  reminded  them  how  harmoniously 
former  houses  had  worked  with  the  other  branches  of  the 
executive,  but  ill  feelings  were  aroused.  The  assembly  sat 
on  Christmas  Eve,  met  again  on  the  26th,  and  then  only 
adjourned  for  the  New  Year's  Day ;  but  no  good  coming  of 
this  relinquishment  of  the  holiday  season,  the  governor 
adjourned  them  on  the  6th  of  January,  telling  them  that 
they  were  attempting  to  usurp  the  executive  part  of  the 
government.  When,  on  the  16th,  he  called  them  together 
again,  he  said  that  if  they  **  did  not  provide  for  his  majesty's 
government,  measures  would  be  taken  elsewhere  to  do  it."  t 

Lord  Hamilton  left  in  the  middle  of  the  year,  and  Mr. 
Heywood,  a  large  planter,  much  respected,  succeeded  him* 
The  disputes  continued,  and  the  house,  while  not  neglecting 
absolutely  necessary  legislation,  was  much  employed  in 
preparing  long  memorials  relative  to  its  grievances.  Practi- 
cally it  carried  out  the  old  claim  of  a  right  to  adjourn  at 
will.  Heywood  said  the  members  might  as  weU  claim  a 
right  to  meet  when  they  pleased. 

*  Joomals,  vol.  zii.  p.  169.  f  Ibid.,  voL  ii.  p.  167. 


HI8T0BIGAL  BYHHT8.  Ill 

Sir  Nicholas  Lawes  succeeded  Heywood.  He  it  was  who 
in  1728  had  inirodaced  the  coffee  plant  to  Jamaica.  Seven 
berries  were  brought  from  St.  Domingo,  and  planted  at  his 
estate  at  Temple  Hall,  in  St.  Andrews.^  He  had  come  to 
Jamaica  soon  after  the  conquest,  with  his  mother,  who 
married  a  second  time,  and  being  again  left  a  widow  was 
subsequently  united  to  Colonel  Archbould,  formerly  an 
officer  in  Yenables'  army,  and  who  has  been  mentioned  as 
one  of  three  who  divided  the  Liguany  district  between 
them.  Of  Sir  Nicholas  the  remarkable  fact  may  be  re- 
corded that  he  married  no  less  than  five  times.  On  each 
occasion  he  chose  a  widow,  and  thus  he  became  connected 
with  many  of  the  most  influential  families  in  Jamaica  and 
with  some  in  England.t  The  task  of  government  was  in 
consequence  comparatively  easy,  though  it  must  have  been 
to  some  extent  that  of  a  family  clique. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  out- 
lying plantations,  the  coasting  and  other  vessels,  were 
much  annoyed  by  pirates.  Among  the  most  notorious  of 
these  was  Tench,  popularly  called  Blackbeard;  another 
celebrated  pirate  was  named  Martel.  The  Bahamas  had 
become  the  resort  of  great  numbers  of  these  men.  Three 
ships  were  sent  against  them.  Vane,  the  leader,  with  about 
fifty  desperadoes,  escaped,  but  was  soon  after  seized  and 
executed  in  Jamaica.  After  this  two  or  three  hundred 
pirates  remaining  in  the  Bahamas  surrendered  and  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  became  for  the  most  part  quiet 
and  reputable  inhabitants.  A  love  of  adventure,  rather 
than  innate  villany,  seems  to  have  influenced  the  majority 
of  these  men.t  In  the  vessel  in  which  Vane  escaped  a  man 
named  Rackam  was  second  in  command.  He  subsequently 
assumed  the  supreme  direction  of  affairs.  Vane,  with  some 
sixteen  others,  having  been  turned  adrift  for  refusing  to 
fight  a  French  vessel.  For  two  years  Rackam  and  his 
crew  were  a  perfect  terror  to  seamen,  constantly  turning  up 
where  least  expected.  During  August  and  September,  1720, 
he  hovered  about  the  north-western  coast  of  Jamaica, 

*  Lmittn's  "  Hori.  Jamacensis,**  vol.  i.  p.  226. 

f  One  granddanghter  was  married  in  1771  to  the  Duke  of  Ctunber- 
land,  brother  of  George  III. 

I  «*  History  of  Pirates.'*  Atkins's  "  Voyage  to  West  Indies,**  p.  249. 
Souihey'B  **  Chronological  History,**  vol  iL  pp.  21^219. 


112  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

occasionally  running  over  to  Cuba  and  Hayti.  In  October 
Sir  Nicholas  Lawes,  who  had  heard  of  his  whereabouts, 
sent  round  a  small  armed  vessel,  under  Captain  Bamet, 
who  found  him  in  Negril  Bay.  He  attempted  to  escape, 
but  was  taken,  with  the  smaU  crew  yet  remaming  faith- 
ful to  him,  and  brought  round  to  Port  Eoyal,  where  they 
were  tried  and  executed.*  Eackam  was  gibbqted  at  a 
place  near  Port  Boyal,  still  marked  on  the  charts  as 
itackam  Bay. 

When  sentence  of  death  was  passed  on  the  pirates,  two 
pleaded  for  exemption  on  the  ground  that  they  were  women, 
and  with  child.  This  was  found  to  be  the  case.  Though 
they  had  been  the  most  desperate  of  the  band,  they  were 
reprieved.  Mary  Bead,  however,  died  in  her  cell;  the 
other,  Anne  Bonny,  was  set  at  liberty.!  Two  other  adven- 
turers.  Brown  and  Wynter,  still  managed  to  elude  all 
search,  though  a  reward  of  £500  was  offered  for  the  latter, 
dead  or  alive,  and  ^6300  for  Brown.  J  They  were  infamous 
characters.  On  one  occasion  they  surrounded  with  their 
party  a  house  in  St.  Anns,  near  the  shore,  and  burnt  it, 
with  all  its  inmates,  sixteen  in  number. 

On  the  28th  of  August,  1712,  a  terrible  hurricane  had 
burst  over  part  of  the  island,  and  on  the  same  day,  1722, 
another  fearful  storm  devastated  the  island  generally. 
Houses  and  sugar  works  were  thrown  down,  plantations 
seriously  damaged,  and  in  some  instances  destroyed.  As 
usual,  Port  Eoyal  suffered  most.  A  naval  officer  stated  that 
for  forty-eight  hours  before  the  storm  the  waves  broke  with 
much  noise  on  the  cays  outside  the  harbour,  and  the  sea 
generally  was  disturbed  in  a  manner  altogether  dispropor- 
tioned  to  the  breeze.  There  was  also  much  thunder  and 
lightning.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  the  storm 
burst  in  all  its  fury,  and  veered  round  to  every  part  of  the 
compass.  In  Port  Royal  the  water  rose  sixteen  feet  above 
the  usual  mark ;  two  lines  of  houses  near  the  sea  fell  in 
consequence  of  being  undermined  ;  a  battery  of  twenty-one 
guns  was  also  thrown  down,  and  twenty  seamen  at  work  at 
Gun  Quay  were  washed  off  and  drowned.      The   gallant 

*  Journals,  voL  ii.  pp.  846-600. 

t  A  full  but  rather  too  favourable  account  of  these  women  may  be 
seen  in  the  "  Picaroons,"  by  the  Hon.  B.  Hill,  pp.  80-48. 
I  Journals,  yoL  iL  p.  888. 


raSTORICAL  EVENTS.  118 

fellows  had  motioned  back  boats  that  were  coming  to  fetch 
them  away  when  the  storm  began,  seeing  too  plainly  that 
no  boat  could  reach  them  safely.  Out  of  fifty  sail  only  four 
men-of-war  and  two  merchantmen  were  saved,  and  these 
only  with  the  loss  of  all  their  masts.  The  greater  part  of  the 
squadron  was  fortimately  at  sea. 

Wrecks  and  drowned  men  covered  the  shores,  and  when 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  hurricane  ceased,  there  was  a 
fearful  stillness  in  the  air.  For  many  days  the  calm  con- 
tinued, and  in  the  absence  of  the  sea  breeze  the  air  seemed 
to  become  poisoned,  the  smell  of  stagnant  water  was  most 
oppressive,  the  insects  became  a  perfect  plague,  and  soon  a 
destructive  epidemic  spread  through  the  island.*  At  least 
four  hundred  persons  are  known  to  have  perished,  and  the 
legislature  at  its  first  meeting  appointed  the  anniversary 
of  these  two  visitations  as  a  solemn  fast.t 

In  that  wonderful  scene  in  Old  Testament  history,  when 
Elijah  hid  himself  on  Horeb,  there  was  a  wind,  an  earth- 
quake, a  fire.  In  none  of  these,  but  in  the  calm  which 
followed,  the  prophet  heard  the  still  small  voice.  Here, 
too,  there  was  the  earthquake,  the  fire,  the  wind.  But,  alas ! 
the  inhabitants  seemed  to  hear  no  still  voice  from  heaven 
succeeding.  The  land  was  almost  entirely  given  up  to 
iniquity,  for  few  indications  of  piety  or  of  virtue  can  be 
traced  during  this  period  of  Jamaica  history. 

Sir  Nicholas  Lawes  did  not  retire  from  the  government 
until  the  way  had  been  prepared  for  settling  the  long- 
standing dispute  relative  to  the  revenue  bill.  **  An  Act  for 
making  the  revenue  of  the  island  perpetual,  and  ascer- 
taining the  rights  and  Hberties  of  the  subjects  of  this 
island,"  &c,  had  passed  the  lower  house,  but  while  pending 
a  conference  with  the  council  relative  to  some  of  its  pro- 
visions, an  adjournment  was  rendered  necessary  in  conse- 
quence of  the  prevailing  sickness.!  Lawes  was  quite 
paternal  in  his  closing  address  :  he  reminded  the  assembled 
legislators  that  he  was  not  only  personally  acquainted  with 
them,  but  had  been  with  most  of  their  fathers  before  them, 
and  affectionately  urged  them  to  set  aside  those  animosities 
which  hindered  the  general  prosperity. 

*  Atkins's  "  Voyage  to  West  Indies,"  p.  240,  &<5. 
f  Journals,  voL  ii.  I  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  449. 

9 


114  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

The  Duke  of  Portland,  who  had  long  been  expected  as 
governor,  arrived  in  December,  1722.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Colonel  Dubourgay  as  lieutenant-governor,  to  whom 
a  salary  of  £1000  a  year  had  been  promised ;  but  this  was 
an  innovation,  as  no  salary  had  previously  been  given 
during  the  administration  of  the  governor.  The  house  of 
assembly  refused  to  grant  it  except  for  one  year,  and  then 
only  to  defray  his  return  passage  to  England.*  The  duke 
was,  however,  well  received,  and  his  stipend  fixed  at  £5000 
per  annum,t  double  what  had  formerly  been  given.  He 
probably  spent  far  more.  His  hospitaUty  was  unbounded, 
and  it  was  remarked  that  the  requirements  of  his  table 
raised  the  price  of  fowls  fifty  per  cent.t  His  first  assembly 
was  harmonious,  but  the  old  question  about  the  revenue 
bill  soon  gave  trouble,  for  each  session  the  struggle  was 
revived  with  increasing  intensity.  The  duke,  though  often 
compelled  to  censure  the  course  taken  by  the  assembly, 
was  invariably  courteous  and  dignified  in  his  reproofs. 
He  had  cause  also  to  complain  of  the  time  that  elapsed 
before  his  letters  were  answered  by  the  home  government, 
even  though  important  matters  were  left  unsettled  in  con- 
sequence. 

The  inhabitants  of  Jamaica  have  always  been  partial  to 
dukes,  though  the  Duke  of  Portland  alone  seems  to  have 
deserved  their  respect.  It  was  therefore  not  surprising 
that  they  should  spend  some  thousands  of  pounds  in  im- 
proving the  house  he  occupied,  but  they  were  equally  liberal 
with  respect  to  other  public  buildings  and  fortifications. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  to  the  Duke  of  Portland  would 
have  belonged  the  honour  of  settling  the  long  disputed 
question  of  revenue,  and  reconciling  the  local  legislature 
to  the  home  government,  had  he  not  died  suddenly  in  July, 
1726.  The  island  was  not  ungrateful  for  his  services.  His 
widow  was  maintained  while  she  remained  in  the  colony, 
and  when  she  left  it  was  in  a  vessel  specially  provided  for 
the  purpose,  while  a  handsome  present  testified  the  kindly 
feeling  of  the  inhabitants.  §  The  name  is  still  perpetuated 
in  the  parish  of  Portland,  which  was  settled  during  the 
administration  of  the  duke,  and  the  chief  village,  Titchfield, 
was  named  after  his  family  seat. 

*  Journals,  vol.  ii.  pp.  45(>-461.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  460. 

+  AtkiuB'B  "Voyage  to  West  Indies,"  p.  246.     §  Long's  "  History." 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  115 

For  a  few  months  the  government  devolved  on  John 
Ajscough,  president  of  the  council.  He  attempted  to  com- 
pel newly-elected  members  of  the  assembly  to  attend  him 
in  the  council  chamber  to  be  sworn  in,  but  this  was  very 
properly  declared  to  be  a  violation  of  the  undoubted 
privileges  of  the  lower  house.  He  soon  widened  the  breach 
by  complaining  that  the  assembly,  in  not  dealing  with  cer- 
tain bills,  were  evading  his  majesty's  commands.  They 
reminded  him  that  this  was  not  the  way  in  which  the  king's 
recommendations  should  be  spoken  of  to  a  free  legislature, 
and  refused  to  do  any  further  business  until  reparation  was 
made.*  Ayscough  was  not  the  man  to  do  this,  and  the 
assembly  accordingly  adjourned  from  day  to  day  for  three 
weeks.  A  new  assembly  was  equally  deteriiiined,t  and 
nothing  more  was  done  until  Ayscough  was  superseded;  and 
he  was  then  impeached,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  ''  per- 
verted justice  while  president  and  chancellor." 

On  the  22nd  of  October,  1726,  another  hurricane  did 
considerable  damage.  It  only  lasted  three  hours  and  a 
half,  but  in  that  short  time  many  houses  in  Kingston, 
Spanish  Town,  and  Port  Royal,  were  injured,  and  some 
thrown  down.  The  east  end  of  the  island  also  suffered, 
but  the  western  half  was  almost  untouched.  In  all,  about 
fifty  vessels  were  cast  on  shore  or  sunk. 

In  the  middle  of  1727,  Major-General  Hunter,  who  had 
been  governor  at  New  York,  arrived.  He  was  well  received 
by  the  colonists,  and  next  year  the  long-disputed  revenue 
bill  passed  through  its  several  stages.  The  measure,  as 
finally  adopted,  secured  to  the  crown  the  sum  of  £8000 
per  annum.  This  was  contributed,  in  part,  from  quit-rents, 
then  amounting  to  nearly  £1500  a  year,  and  the  remainder 
was  raised  by  duties  on  articles  of  foreign  growth  and 
manufacture,  foreign  wines,  liquors,  &c.  To  these  items 
were  added  sums  arising  from  fines,  forfeitures,  escheats, 
&c.  Out  of  this  money  iE2500  was  appropriated  towards 
payment  of  the  governor's  salary,  about  £2000  more  to 
forts,  fortifications,  and  other  defensive  pm^poses  ;  and  the 
balance  was  to  be  paid  to  certain  officials.  All  was  to  be 
spent  in  the  colony.  In  consideration  of  this  act,  the  body 
of  Jamaica  laws  received  the  royal  assent,  and  it  was 
moreover  declared  that — 

*  JoumalB,  voL  ii.  pp.  687,  588.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  C07-C11. 

9* 


116  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

'*  giU  Stttfe  lafes  anb  BtntxtUs  as  l^abc  bwn  at  ang  timt  tstttmtb, 
itdxohxtttbf  uBtbt  arapteb,  or  xtttxbt)^  as  lafajs  of  t^is  islanlr,  sfeall,  aiti 
arc  fetrtbg  htlarcb  to  be,  aai  tontiimt  lafes  of  i\iiB  ^s  Pajcstg's 
islanb  of  |amaica  for  tbtx," 

The  royal  approval  of  the  bill  was  given  on  the  29th  of 
May,  1729,  and  made  known  to  the  legislature  in  a  speech 
from  tiie  governor,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1730. 

It  may  not  unreasonably  be  asked  why  a  settlement, 
apparently  of  such  a  simple  character,  had  been  so  long 
delayed  ?*  The  legislators  objected,  on  two  grounds,  to  the 
grant  of  a  perpetual  revenue.  They  were  unwilling  to 
commit  themselves  to  an  irrevocable  act  involving  annual 
expenditure,  for  they  asserted  that  in  Barbadoes  such  a 
revenue  had  been  appropriated  to  other  than  its  legitimate 
purposes ;  while  .the  crown,  wishing  to  secure  its  servants 
from  a  capricious  withholding  of  stipends  on  the  part  of 
the  assembly,  declined  to  confirm  the  laws  passed  in  the 
island  till  a  fixed  revenue  was  granted.  The  results  of  the 
protracted  controversy  were  serious  in  the  extreme.  The 
administration  of  justice,  and  the  titles  upon  which  some 
of  the  best  estates  in  the  island  were  held,  had  been  open 
to  question.  All  this  was  now  adjusted.  It  should  be 
observed  that,  though  the  first  settlers  had  an  undisputed 
right  to  any  British  statutes  in  force  at  the  conquest  of  the 
island,  they  were  not  held  to  have  a  right  to  any  passed 
subsequent  to  it :  unless  Jamaica  was  specially  mentioned, 
the  act  of  1728  put  an  end  to  this  anomaly. 

For  years  past  the  island  had  been  kept  in  a  state  of 
alarm  by  the  guerOla  warfare  and  system  of  plunder  main- 
tained by  the  Maroons.  Indians  had  been  brought  from 
the  Mosquito  Coast  to  hunt  them  in  their  mountain  fast- 
nesses. Barracks  were  erected  in  the  mountains  of  Cla- 
rendon, St.  Elizabeth,  and  elsewhere ;  packs  of  dogs  had 
been  procured ;  but  still  five  hundred  mountain  negroes 
kept  the  colony  in  alarm.  The  ** Journals  of  Assembly" 
are  occupied  for  hundreds  of  pages,  particularly  from  1728 
to  1739,  with  references  to  inquiries,  reports,  and  plans  for 
capturing  them.  Only  during  the  latter  year  was  the  task 
completed,  but  a  few  details  of  the  closing  struggle  will 
satisfy  most  readers. 

*  Bridges'  "  Annals,"  vol.  i. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  117 

The  chief  seat  of  Maroon  depredations  was  in  Portland 
and  its  neighbourhood,  but  it  was  by  no  means  confined  to 
that  district.     Planters  on  the  north   side  generally  are 
described   as  being  in  despair.     Many  plantations  were 
abandoned,  and  the  commencement  of  a  new  one  in  the 
disturbed  districts  was  looked  upon  as  an  act  of  folly. 
The  facilities  for  escape  and  the  certainty  of  welcome  led 
numbers  of  slaves  to  run  away,  while  those  who  remained 
were  becoming  increasingly  dissatisfied.     There  were  at 
this  time  80,000  negroes  in  the  island,  and  only  8000 
whites.     Few  of  these  were  really  reliable ;  about  one  thou- 
sand were  heads  of  families,  or  masters.     A  large  propor- 
tion of  the  rem&inder  were  indentured  servants,  who  felt 
little  inclination  to  risk  their  lives  in  warfare  among  the 
mountain  fastnesses.     Parties  of  armed  men  were  fitted 
out  from  time  to  time,  and  liberally  rewarded  if  they  met 
with  success.     One  of  the  most  successful  of  these  was 
engaged  at  Porus.  The  fertile  and  prosperous  parish  of  Man- 
chester was  at  this  time  almost  unexplored,  and  the  large 
village  of  Porus  was  a  desert.     In  former  ages  the  Indians 
had  a  large  settlement  there,  and  more  recently  a  Spanish 
hacienda  had  been  established  ;  but  all  through  the  period 
of  English  conquest  it  had  been  neglected,  except  by  a  gang 
of  runaway  negroes,  who  could  hide  securely  in  the  moun- 
tain fastnesses.     Against  these  a  party  went,  and  several 
of  the  gang  were  killed  and  others  captured.     A  grant  of 
j£650  was  made  to  the  party  for  their  exertions. 

Such  occasional  successes  as  these  could  never  check 
the  evil,  and  a  regiment  of  soldiers  was  sent  out  from  home 
in  1730,  the  assembly  pledging  itself  to  allow  twenty 
shillings  a  week  subsistence  money  to  officers,  and  five 
shillings  to  the  men.  These  were  soon  after  recalled ;  in  a 
year  or  two  others  were  sent  out,  but  the  house  of  assembly 
complained  of  the  expense.*  The  fact  was,  such  troops  were 
not  suited  for  the  work  required.  A  party  sent  out  in  1730, 
under  Captain  de  Lemelia,  was  defeated  with  loss.  Many 
reverses,  or  very  partial  successes,  were  recorded  in  succeed- 
ing years;  but  no  triumph  until  1734,  when  Captain  Stoddart 
and  a  body  of  determined  men  penetrated  the  deep  recesses 
of  the  Blue  Mountains,  beneath  the  Carrion  Crow  Peak. 
Here  the    Maroons    had  a  village  called  Nanny  Town. 

*  Journals,  vol.  ill.  p.  1255,  &c. 


118  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Silently  and  unnoticed  the  party  reached  a  commanding 
height,  and  though  only  able  to  go  one  or  at  most  two 
abreast,  they  dragged  up  a  few  swivel  guns.  These  they  soon 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  huts  of  the  Maroons.  Many  were 
slain,  the  rest  fled,  and  in  the  pursuit  some  threw  them- 
selves over  the  precipices,  and  others  were  made  prisoners. 
The  settlement  was  destroyed  by  the  captors.  The  spot  is 
now,  and  has  been  ever  since,  a  scene  of  superstitious  awe 
to  the  Maroons  :  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  persuade 
one  to  guide  a  traveller  to  the  place.  The  spirits  of  those 
slain  in  the  battle  are  said  to  linger  there  ;  while  it  is  a  fact 
that  men  whose  personal  courage  is  unquestionable,  have 
been  bew^ildered  by  the  strange,  mysterious  noises  they 
hear  when  camping  down  for  a  night.  The  fears  of  the 
Maroons  have  afifected  their  own  spirits,  for  the  falling 
stones  are  no  doubt  occasioned  by  the  wild  hogs  rooting 
among  the  hills ;  and  the  flapping  of  the  wings  of  strange 
low-flying  creatures  is  occasioned  by  sea-going  birds  who 
roost  among  these  mighty  heights,  and  ere  dawn  hasten 
away  to  the  ocean  below.* 

Renewed  efforts  were  made  to  suppress  the  rebels  in 
following  years ;  parties  called  white  and  black  shot  were 
formed ;  expeditions  were  sent  out,  and  Lynch  or  Navy 
Island,  in  Port  Antonio,  being  fortified  and  made  a  naval 
station,  a  feeling  of  security  was  imparted  to  those  who 
settled  in  the  neighbourhood.  Sir  Chanelor  Ogle,  the  ad- 
miral in  command,  rendered  great  assistance  to  the  local 
authorities.  On  one  occasion  he  sent  a  party  of  two 
hundred  seamen,  who,  in  company  with  three  or  four 
hundred  militia,  penetrated  almost  to  the  new  Maroon 
town ;  but  for  forty-eight  hours  they  were  exposed  to  a 
tropical  rain,  and  the  rivers  were  so  swollen  that  for  a  time 
both  advance  and  retreat  seemed  equally  impossible.  In 
this  state,  wet,  weary,  and  perplexed,  they  were  attacked 
by  invisible  foes,  about  twenty  were  killed,  many  wounded, 
and  when  they  made  good  their  retreat,  a  considerable 
number  were  prostrated  by  sickness,  t  In  1738  renewed 
efforts  were  put  forth  to  bring  the  Maroons  to  terms. 
Mosquito  Indians,  militia,  volunteers,  all  united  in  their 

*  A  graphic  account  of  a  visit  to  this  place  has  been  lately  written 
by  Mr.  Harrison,  the  crown  surveyor,  whose  explanation  of  the  mys- 
terious noises  is  given  above.  f  Journals,  vol.  iii.  p.  267. 


HISTORICAL  ETENTS.  119 

efiforts.  Guthrie,  one  of  the  Darien  settlers,  rendered 
yaluable  assistance.  He  penetrated  the  wilds  in  which  the 
Maroons  lived,  and  conceived  the  idea  of  bringing  them  to 
terms  by  engaging  them  in  a  treaty  to  serve  as  a  kind  of 
mountain  police.  On  the  Ist  of  March,  1738,  the  treaty 
was  made,  and  in  May  next  year,  1739,  it  was  confirmed 
by  the  legislature ;  the  contracting  parties  on  the  one  hand 
being  Colonel  Guthrie  and  Captain  Sadler,  and  on  the 
other,  Accompong,  Johnny,  CuflFee,  and  Quacco.  To  these 
persons,  and  all  their  followers  who  had  joined  them, 
perfect  freedom  was  assured.  One  thousand  five  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  Trelawny  were  assigned  them,  and  they 
were  pledged  to  assist  the  government  in  case  of  war  and 
'  rebellion,  and  to  capture  and  deliver  up  all  runaway  slaves. 
Cudjoe  and  his  successors  were  to  have  power  to  deal  with 
offenders,  and  inflict  any  punishment  not  extending  to 
death  upon  their  followers.  Only,  two  white  men  were 
to  live  among  them,  as  representatives  of  the  governor  in 
the  settlement.*  Next  year  a  similar,  though  in  some 
respects  better  treaty  was  made  between  Colonel  Bennett 
and  Quao,  the  leader  in  the  Portland  district,  and  thus 
Accompong  Town  in  Trelawny,  Scot's  Hall  in  St.  Mary's, 
Moore  Town  in  Portland,  and  Charles  Town  in  St.  George's, 
were  recognised  as  Maroon  settlements. 

The  assembly  was  liberal  in  its  rewards.  One  thousand 
pounds  was  voted  to  Guthrie,  the  same  to  Bennett,  six 
hundred  pounds  to  Sadler,  and  from  five  to  six  thousand 
pounds  to  their  men.  Several  negroes  who  had  rendered 
special  service  were  made  free.  Guthrie  dying  soon  after, 
the  money  awarded  him  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  creditors, 
but  a  pension  of  a  hundred  pounds  per  annum  was  granted 
to  his  widow,  t  Soon  after  this  business  was  settled  the 
Maroons  were  called  upon  to  capture  some  negroes  who 
had  absconded  from  a  plantation  and  joined  some  Coro- 
mantyns  still  at  large.  Cudjoe  pursued  them,  captured 
some,  killed  others,  and  so  gave  an  earnest  of  his  fidelity.  I 

One  advantage  arose  out  of  this  long  war  :  it  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  settlers  large  tracts  of  fertile  country 
which  could  now  be  safely  cultivated.  During  the  eight 
years  of  Maroon  war,  several  changes  had  taken  place  in 

*  Journals,  vol.  iii.  p.  468 ;  Dallas's  **  History  of  the  Maroons." 
f  Journals,  vol.  iii.  p.  513.  J  Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  594. 


120  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

the  government.  Major-General  Hunter  died  in  1734,  and 
Ayscough  had  another  short  but  troubled  lease  of  power. 
He  also  died,  and  Mr.  Gregory  succeeded  him  for  a  brief 
term,  when  Henry  Cunningham,  a  personal  friend  of  Sir 
Robert  Walpole,  arrived.  In  a  few  weeks  he  too  was 
numbered  with  the  dead,  and  Mr.  Gregory  resumed  office 
as  lieutenant-governor :  he  was  not  again  superseded  until 
1738,  when  Governor  Trelawny  arrived. 

Gregory's  administration  deserves  special  notice  from 
the  fact  that  he  brought  forcibly  to  the  notice  of  the  legis- 
lature the  fact  that  though  the  land  was  capable  of  yielding 
abundance  of  food,  its  inhabitants  were  largely  dependent 
on  other  countries  for  suppUes.  He  advised  that  efforts 
should  be  made  to  convert  Jamaica  into  a  **  good  poor 
man's  country,''  by  encouraging  white  settlers,  who  should 
grow  cotton,  cofifee,  and  articles  of  food.  He  wished  also 
to  suppress  negro  tradesmen,  boatmen,  and  others  of  a 
similar  class,  that  poor  whites  might  have  abundant  occu- 
pation.* The  last  idea  was  not  very  feasible,  and  it  was 
after  a  bungling  fashion  that  some  laws  were  framed  to 
encourage  small  settlers.  In  1736  a  bill  was  passed, 
appropriating  15,000  acres  in  and  about  Manchioneel,  and 
the  same  quantity  at  Norman's  Valley,  in  St.  James's. 
Passages  were  provided  for  the  emigrant,  his  family,  and 
slaves,  the  latter  not  to  exceed  twenty.  An  ample  supply 
of  beef,  fish,  and  biscuit  was  allowed  for  each  person  for 
one  year,  with  fifty  acres  of  land  for  the  head  of  the  family, 
the  same  for  his  wife,  twenty  for  each  child,  and  ten  for 
each  slave,  but  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  in  all.  The  land 
was  free,  but  passage  and  subsistence  were  to  be  repaid  in 
seven  years.  No  taxes  were  payable  for  five  years,  but 
the  land  could  only  be  disposed  of  by  will — not  sold. 

This  was  liberal  enough,  much  more  so  than  a  measure 
adopted  in  1723.  Some  families  with  slaves  came  to 
Manchioneel,  and  a  few  to  St.  James's ;  but  in  1749  they 
petitioned  for  relief  from  the  payments  for  which  they  were 
liable.  Seven  years  more  were  allowed  them,  but  the 
amount  was  never  recovered.  The  different  cases  may  be 
seen  in  detail  in  the  records  of  the  assembly.  The  scheme 
was  for  all  practical  purposes  a  failure.  The  deamess  of 
food,  the    number  of   negroes    learning  trades,    and    so 

*  Journals,  vol.  iii.  pp.  402,  403. 


mSTOBICAL   EVENTS.  121 

excluding  the  more  expensive  white  artisan,  and  the  want 
of  schools,  were  mentioned  as  chief  causes  of  ill-success. 
There  might  have  been  schools,  however,  as  Mr.  Gregory 
said,  if  bequests  for  such  purposes  had  been  properly 
applied,  which,  however,  was  not  the  case. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Trelawny  is  one  of  the 
longest  on  record.  His  earlier  efforts  had  been  directed  to 
the  settlement  of  the  Maroon  business,  and  he  was  equally 
energetic  in  his  efforts  to  reconcile  contending  factions,  and 
bring  the  council  and  assembly  into  greater  harmony  of 
action. 

In  April  and  May  of  1739,  the  latter  body  devoted  a 
great  deal  of  time  to  listening  to  a  number  of  very  disgust- 
ing details,  and  then  vindicated  its  morality  by  expelling 
one  of  its  members,  Mr.  Ballard  Beckford.  This  gentleman 
had  committed  adultery  with  a  Mrs.  Manning,  whose 
husband  appealed  to  the  house,  and  not  only  obtained  the 
exclusion  of  the  transgressor,  but  also  a  bill  of  divorce. 
The  council  wished  to  secure  the  insertion  of  a  clause 
suspending  the  operation  of  the  bill  till  the  royal  pleasure 
was  ascertained,  but  the  house  felt  quite  competent  to 
settle  the  matter  at  once,  and  the  bill  passed.* 

Next  year  some  legal  reforms  were  effected,  and  many 
complaints  heard  relative  to  the  assize  courts,  t  Local 
events  for  some  years  appear  to  have  been  less  thought  of 
than  usual  on  account  of  the  war  in  which  the  British 
nation  was  now  plunged  with  Spain,  and  which  was  waged 
in  these  seas,  costing  not  only  much  treasure,  but  thousands 
of  Uves — lost  not  so  much  in  conflict  with  the  enemy  as  by 
yellow  fever.  The  detailed  account  of  these  transactions 
may  be  best  read  in  connection  with  English  history,  and 
will  only  be  recorded  here  so  far  as  Jamaica  was  specially 
interested  in  them. 

By  the  treaty  of  Seville,  signed  in  1729,  Spain  conceded 
to  England  the  right  of  selling  slaves  in  her  colonial 
possessions,  and  of  sending  one  ship  annually  to  them. 
If  British  ministers  intended  to  observe  this  treaty,  British 
seamen  did  not,  and  felt  that  its  acceptance  was  a 
national  disgrace.  If  Spain  would  not  have  free  trade, 
they  were  determined   it  should    have   contraband.     The 

*  Journals,  vol.  iii.  pp.  478-499,  &c.       t  Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  520-638. 


122  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

latter  might  be  perilous,  but  it  was  profitable.  It  was  true 
that  from  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  down  to  1726, 
forty-seven  English  vessels  were  captured  by  the  Spaniards, 
worth  on  an  average  three  thousand  pounds  a-piece ;  but 
the  profit  and  loss  account  was  in  favour  of  the  English. 
Some  dozen  years  later  the  guarda-costas  became  more 
vigilant,  and,  it  was  said,  treated  English  sailors  who  fell 
into  their  hands  with  great  cruelty,  but  no  story  stirred 
the  great  heart  of  the  British  nation  like  that  of  Captain 
Jenkins.  His  ear  had  been  cut  or  torn  off  by  the  Spaniards, 
as  he  asserted ;  and  the  dismembered  organ,  properly  pre- 
served, was  displayed  before  the  imperial  parliament. 
When  Jenkins  was  asked  what  he  felt  when  suffering  the 
cruel  indignity,  he  said  (surely  some  one  skilled  in  oratorical 
claptrap  prompted  him),  **  I  recommended  my  soul  to  Gfod 
and  my  cause  to  my  country.*'  The  country  accordingly 
loaded  the  tables  of  the  House  of  Commons  with  petitions 
for  vengeance  on  the  Spaniards,  and  war  soon  followed. 
Some,  it  is  true,  asked  if  Jenkins  had  really  lost  his  ear,  or 
supposing  he  had,  if  the  Spaniards  were  guilty  of  its 
abstraction  ? 

In  Jamaica,  where  Jenkins  had  inherited  an  estate,  he 
was  known  for  his  efforts  in  seizing  treasure  from  a  lost 
galleon  which  the  Spaniards  were  themselves  endeavouring 
to  recover.  Jenkins  drove  away  the  Spaniards  and  plun- 
dered their  effects,  and  then  captured  one  of  their  vessels. 
Complaint  was  made  to  the  governor  of  Jamaica,  and  a 
warrant  was  issued  for  the  apprehension  of  this  unscrupu- 
lous treasure-seeker,  who  without  loss  of  time  made  good 
his  escape.* 

If  Jenkins's  story  was  doubtful,  it  is  nevertheless  true 
that  the  English  generally  had  just  cause  of  complaint. 
Spain  virtually  admitted  this  ;  for  alarmed  by  the  attitude 
of  the  British  nation,  and  the  despatch  of  ships  to  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  West  Indies,  she  released  some  prizes 
and  sent  home  a  number  of  prisoners.  But  Walpole,  urged 
on  by  the  nation,  demanded  a  renunciation  of  the  right  of 
search  for  ever,  and  proposed  sundry  other  stipulations 
relative  to  our  trade  in  America. 

War  was  now  inevitable,  and  while  the  people  rejoiced, 
and  bells  rang,  and  even  the  Prince  of  Wales  draiik  suc- 
*  "  Gentleman's  Magazine  "  for  1739,  p.  121. 


HISTOBICAL  EVENTS.  123 

cess  to  the  war  at  a  tavern  in  Temple  Bar,  Walpole  saw 
too  clearly  how  France  would  take  advantage  of  the  war 
to  attempt  the  restoration  of  the  Stuart  dynasty  by  means 
of  the  disaffected  in  Scotland. 

The  waters  around  the  West  Indian  islands  were  soon 
filled  with  war  ships  and  privateers  of  both  nations.  If 
prizes  were  brought  into  Port  Royal  and  other  ports, 
Spanish  ports  received  captured  English  ships.  By  the 
end  of  1739  Admiral  Vernon  arrived  at  Port  Royal,  having 
captured  Portobello,  with  the  loss  of  twenty  men  killed 
and  wounded.  England  went  mad  with  joy  at  the  easy 
victory,  and  thought  not  of  the  sailors  who  day  by  day 
were  carried  from  the  naval  hospital  to  feed  the  crabs  on 
the  Port  Royal  palisades.  And  yet  they  might  have  known 
what  West  Indian  expeditions  cost.  Some  ten  years  before 
a  fleet  had  been  sent  out  under  Admiral  Hosier,  and  in  a 
couple  of  years  two  admirals,  ten  captains,  fifty  lieuten- 
ants, and  four  thousand  men  had  perished.  Far  worse 
than  this  was  soon  to  be  recorded.  In  1740  Vernon  bom- 
barded Carthagena,  and  Captain  Knowles  captured  the 
little  town  of  Chagres.  January,  1741,  arrived,  and  with 
it  Sir  Chalenor  Ogle  and  a  splendid  fleet.  Ogle  and  Vernon 
now  joined  their  forces,  and  the  harbour  of  Port  Royal  was 
crowded  with  twenty-nine  line-of-battle  ships,  and  a  great 
number  of  frigates,  sloops,  and  transports.  In  all,  fifteen 
thousand  sailors  and  twelve  thousand  soldiers,  with  few 
exceptions,  doomed  never  to  cross  the  threshold  of  an 
English  home  again !  Governor  Trelawny  added  a 
negro  contingent,  and  at  the  end  of  January  the  armada 
sailed. 

The  sickening  story  of  what  followed  has  been  told  by 
others.  Councils  of  war  were  held.  Vernon  and  Went- 
worth,  the  military  commander,  quarrelled.  Carthagena 
was  approached,  and  after  some  days  of  delay,  which  the 
enemy  turned  to  good  account,  the  fortifications  of  Boca 
Chica,  or  little  mouth,  at  the  entrance  of  the  magnificent 
harbour,  were  attacked,  and  after  a  vigorous  defence, 
taken.  Vernon  was  in  ecstasies,  and  sent  home  a  despatch 
on  the  first  of  April,  in  which  he  said :  **  The  wonderful 
success  of  this  evening  and  night  is  so  astonishing  that 
one  cannot  but  cry  out  with  the  psalmist,  it  is  the  Lord's 
doing,  and   seems    marvellous  in  our  eyes.''      But  the 


124  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

attack  upon  the  city  failed.  The  troops  were  landed,  and 
behaved  well ;  they  fought  till  half  the  storming  party  lay 
dead  beneath  the  ramparts.  Vernon  pretended  he  could 
not  get  near  enough  to  render  assistance,  which  was  un- 
true, and  so  the  captured  fortifications  were  destroyed,  the 
troops  were  re-embarked,  and  the  fleet  returned  to  Jamaica. 

The  sharks  followed  in  its  wake,  for  while  numbers  had 
died  on  shore  by  sleeping  on  the  bare  ground,  in  an  at- 
mosphere impregnated  with  malaria,  thousands  of  others 
perished  at  sea.  Incompetence  had  not  yet  done  its  worst: 
the  surviving  troops  were  landed  and  encamped  at  Green- 
wich, a  mile  or  two  to  the  west  of  Kingston.  Here  the 
Eio  Cobre  and  other  streams  discharge  themselves  into  the 
shallow,  muddy  waters  of  Hunt's  Bay,  and  all  around  are 
swamps.  It  was  May ;  the  usual  rains  were  very  heavy, 
the  ground  at  Greenwich  was  a  bog;  and  here,  as  if 
British  soldiers  were  worthless  chattels,  they  were  left 
to  gaze  upon  the  glorious  healthy  mountains  but  a  mom- 
,  ing*s  march  to  their  rear,  to  listen  to  the  ripple  of  the 
waves  on  the  muddy  shore,  until  sight  and  hearing  failed, 
and  death  released  the  sufi'erers.  When  Vernon  again  sailed 
in  July,  three  thousand  out  of  twelve  remained  alive  and 
fit  for  duty !  The  mortality  among  seamen,  though  less 
in  proportion,  was  very  great.  The  fleet  anchored  in  the 
harbour  of  El  Guantanamo ;  the  troops  were  landed  in 
August ;  they  marched  twenty  miles  up  the  river  towards 
St.  Jago  de  Cuba,  and  found  it  well  fortified.  The  naval 
and  military  commanders  quarrelled  as  before,  and  nothing 
was  done  except  to  expose  the  men  to  malaria,  and  help  its 
ravages  with  bad  food.  In  November  they  were  re-em- 
barked, one  thousand  being  left  in  their  graves.  By  this 
time  two-thirds  of  the  seamen  and  soldiers  who  had  ar- 
rived eleven  months  before  were  dead.  The  fever  which 
prevailed  was  of  a  most  deadly  character,  and  had  spread 
from  Greenwich  to  Kingston ;  its  ravages  were  unparalleled. 
Mr.  Long  mentions  that  a  merchant  of  his  acquaintance 
dined  with  a  friend  who  appeared  in  perfect  health  ;  next 
day  he  was  summoned  to  the  funeral  of  that  friend,  and 
with  five  others  bore  him  to  the  grave :  in  a  few  days  all 
the  bearers  save  himself  were  dead. 

In  January,  1742,  three  thousand  more  soldiers  arrived 
from  England,  and  now  it  was  aiTanged  that  Panama 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  125 

should  be  taken.  Governor  Trelawny  determined  to  ac- 
company the  expedition,  and  raised  a  regiment  in  the 
island,  of  which  he  took  the  command.  It  was  resolved 
to  sail  for  PortobeUo,  land  the  troops,  who  were  to  march 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  capture  the  coveted 
city.  Portobello  was  reached,  a  council  of  war  was  held, 
and  the  project  declared  impracticable ;  for  nine  hundred 
and  thirty-five  more  men  were  dead,  only  two  thousand 
were  available,  and  that  was  considered  too  small  a  force. 
In  September  Vernon  and  Wentworth  returned  home ;  and 
after  having  wasted  millions  of  treasure,  and  lost  twenty 
thousand  men — to  a  great  extent  from  preventible  causes — 
they  found  some  friends  who  extolled  them  as  heroes.* 

During  the  waar  a  small  settlement  had  been  formed  on 
the  island  of  Rattan  or  Ruatan,  but  this,  the  only  accession 
to  the  crown  during  all  these  transactions,  was  neaorly  lost 
by  a  mutiny.  In  four  months  forty-four  courts-martial  were 
held.  It  was  only  by  shooting  or  flogging  the  malcontents 
to  the  extent  of  five  or  six  hundred  lashes  that  order  was 
preserved,  and  logwood-cutters  at  last  induced  to  settle. 

Once  more,  in  quick  succession,  the  hurricane,  the  earth- 
quake, and  the  pestilence  visited  Jamaica.  On  the  20th  of 
October,  1744,  there  was  a  dreadful  storm,  accompanied 
by  an  earthquake.  Its  horrors  were  aggravated  by  dark- 
ness, for  it  commenced  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and 
continued  until  the  same  hour  next  morning.  Port  Royal, 
again,  suffered  most;  all  its  fortifications  were  injured, 
and  that  at  Mosquito  Point  destroyed.  The  streets  of  the 
town  were  deluged  with  water,  and  the  inhabitants  all 
through  the  dreary  night  were  looking  for  instant  death. 
The  wharves  and  warehouses  there  and  at  Kingston,  Old 
Harbour,  and  Passage  Fort  were  swept  away  or  greatly 
damaged.  Out  of  one  hundred  and  five  ships  in  harboiu:, 
only  one,  his  Majesty's  ship  Ilipon,  was  saved,  with  the 
loss  of  all  her  masts.  Hundreds  perished  by  the  storm, 
but  far  more  by  the  pestilence  that  followed.  Stores  were 
thrown  open,  and  temporary  houses  erected  for  the  home- 
less. Food  and  medicine  were  also  supplied,  free  of  cost, 
but  the  mortality  was  very  great. 

*  '*  Gentleman's  Magazine  "  for  1739-40-41 ;  Long's  "  History ;" 
Smollett's  "History  of  England,"  vol.  ii. ;  "Pictorial  History;" 
Memoir  of  Sir  C.  Knowles,  "  Naval  Chronicles,"  voL  i,  &o.  &c. 


126  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

Nothing  of  importance  relative  to  the  closing  years  of 
Mr.  Lyttleton*s  administration  remains  to  he  mentioned, 
except  tHe  frequent  alarms  of  insurrection  among  the 
slaves.  Their  numher  was  rapidly  increasing,  and  the 
superior  strength  of  the  fierce  and  warlike  Coromantyns 
led  to  the  introduction  of  numbers  of  that  formidable  race. 
The  measures  adopted  to  enforce  subjection  were  harsh  in 
the  extreme.  The  planters  defended  them  on  the  plea  of 
necessity.  In  1748  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  assembly 
to  prevent  owners  from  mutilating  or  dismembering  their 
slaves  without  the  authority  of  the  magistrates,  but  it  was 
rejected.*  Next  year  these  cruel  slave  laws  were  increased 
in  severity. 

A  number  of  bills  had  been  passed  in  former  years  pro- 
viding that  a  stipulated  number  of  white  persons  should 
be  kept  on  every  estate  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
negroes.  The  legislature  endeavoured  to  alter  these  laws  so 
as  to  require  a  greater  number  of  whites  on  estates  where 
the  proprietor  was  an  absentee.  The  governor  approved 
of  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  assembly,  but  the  alteration 
was  not  sanctioned  by  the  home  government. 

The  arguments  of  the  Jamaica  legislature  on  this  subject 
were  powerful,  and  the  facts  urged  in  illustration  strikmg. 
It  was  said  that  owners  were,  as  a  rule,  kinder  to  slaves 
than  mere  agents,  and  in  all  cases  they  had  far  more  influ- 
ence over  them.  One  master,  they  asserted,  had  more  real 
power  than  twenty  or  thirty  white  servants  without  him.t 
They  attributed  the  Maroon  war  to  the  vast  accessions  to 
their  number  of  the  slaves  of  absentees,  especially  from  one 
estate,  where,  there  being  no  owner  to  appeal  to,  the  over- 
seer perpetrated  unheard-of  cruelties,  until  the  negroes 
rose,  killed  him,  and  fled  to  the  woods. 

The  conspiracy  of  1745  may  be  traced  to  the  same  source. 
In  this  case  some  nine  hundred  negroes  had  planned  a 
rising  on  a  certain  day,  when  all  the  whites  were  to  be 
murdered.  The  affection  negro  nurses  so  generally  feel  for 
the  children  entrusted  to  their  care  alone  prevented  the 
execution  of  the  plot.  A  woman  stipulated  that  the  child 
she  nursed  should  be  spared ;  the  boon  was  not  granted, 
and  she  betrayed  the  scheme.  About  ten  of  the  ringleaders 
were  executed  and  a  few  transported.  I     In  connection  with 

*  Joumals,  voL  iv.  119-121.  f  Ibid.,  voL  iv.  p.  181. 

t  Ibid,,  vol.  iv.  pp.  27,  48,  44. 


HISTOBICAL   EVENTS.  127 

this  plot  a  party  of  slaves  killed  a  man  and  four  women  at 
Bull  Bay.  Being  pursued,  they  retreated  towards  Yallahs, 
where  they  committed  another  murder,  and  retiring  to  the 
hills,  defeated  two  parties  sent  against  them.  They  were  at 
length  overcome  by  Colonel  Bennett,  who  killed  some,  took 
a  few  prisoners,  and  dispersed  the  rest.  It  was  quite 
in  accordance  with  the  customs  of  those  times  for  Bennett 
to  cut  off  the  heads  of  the  slain,  and  expose  them  in  Kings- 
ton.  He  received  A750  for  his  exploit,  and  others  who 
accompanied  him  were  rewarded.*  The  story  of  the  con- 
spiracy is  told  on  the  authority  of  contemporary  writers, 
and  of  oflScial  documents.  It  is  noteworthy  that  while 
the  testimony  of  any  number  of  slaves  was  not  admissible 
against  a  white  man,  the  testimony  of  one  slave,  unsup- 
ported by  any  other  evidence,  was  enough  to  lead  to  the 
execution  of  many  others.  A  slave  woman  named  Debo- 
rah gave  evidence  which  led  to  the  execution  of  three 
persons,  and  the  transportation  of  eleven  more.t  So  late 
as  the  year  1825  eight  persons  were  hung  on  the  unsup- 
ported evidence  of  a  slave  who  had  been  threatened  with  a 
whipping. 

In  November,  1751,  Governor  Trelawny  retired  from  the 
colony.  His  official  duties  appear  to  have  been  discharged 
with  firmness  and  discretion.  His  name  is  perpetuated 
in  that  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  flourishing  of  the 
north  side  parishes. 

Admiral  Knowles  now  assumed  the  government :  he  was 
no  stranger  to  the  colony.  The  inhabitants  of  Port  Royal 
and  Kingston  looked  upon  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  naval 
heroes  of  the  day  ;  and  it  seems  very  likely  that  with 
Vemon*s  opportunities  he  would  have  added  a  very  differ- 
ent page  to  the  naval  history  of  his  country.  To  his  zeal 
and  energy  it  was  mainly  owing  that  Kingston  and  Port 
Royal  were,  after  the  last  hurricane,  placed  in  such  an 
excellent  state  of  defence.  He  had  been  on  the  station  for 
many  years,  and  loved  the  place  and  people. 

Twelve  years  before  he  became  governor  he  had  brought 
into  Port  Royal  two  Spanish  prizes,  with  120,000  pieces  of 
eight,  and  clothing  for  six  thousand  men.  J     To  him  had 

*  Journals,  vol.  iv.  pp.  19,  20,  88,  89.  |  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  48,  44. 

\  Southey'B  "  Chronological  History  of  West  Indies,"  voL  ii  p.  278. 


128  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

been  entrusted  the  work  of  destroying  the  fortifications  of 
Portobello  after  its  capture.  He  had  distinguished  himself 
at  Chagres,  and  had  done  the  greater  part  of  what  was 
accomplished  at  the  Boca  Chica.*  It  is  true  he  was  un- 
successful with  the  squadron  he  commanded  in  an  attack 
.on  La  Guira;+  but  the  strength  of  the  place  had  been  un- 
derrated. Smollett,  who  was  in  the  ship  commanded  by 
Enowles  on  this  occasion,  made  some  statements  on  his 
return  home  which  led  to  an  action  for  libel,  when,  it 
being  proved  that  he  had  misrepresented  the  actions  of 
Knowles,  he  was  fined  ^£100,  and  imprisoned  for  one  yeajr 
in  the  Marshalsea  prison.  Smollett,  though  not  on  this 
account  an  impartial  historian  of  the  services  of  his  former 
commander,  has  given  in  his  history,  and  also  in  **  Roderick 
Eandom,"  a  fair  insight  into  the  treatment  and  sufferings 
of  British  seamen  in  those  days.  I  But  Knowles  had  other 
enemies  beside  Smollett.  The  historian  Long  was  greatly 
influenced  in  his  judgment  by  his  dislike  to  the  scheme  of 
removing  the  seat  of  government  from  Spanish  Town  to 
Kingston.  The  attempt  to  carry  this  project  into  effect 
is  the  chief  event  which  marked  the  administration  of 
Knowles.  It  was  approved  of  by  all  who  resided  in  Kings- 
ton and  the  eastern  parishes,  at  that  time  a  far  larger 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  than  now.  It  was  opposed 
by  nearly  all  living  in  Spanish  Town  and  in  the  parishes 
to  the  west.  The  bitterness  of  feeling  it  excited  was  very 
great ;  no  such  controversy  has  either  before  or  since  agi- 
tated the  inhabitants  of  the  island.  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  both  parties 
exchanged  accusations  and  recriminations.  The  journals 
of  the  assembly  are  full  of  them ;  the  few  periodicals  of 
the  day  furnished  them  more  abundantly.  Knowles  said 
some  very  bitter  things,  and  on  one  of  the  frequent  proro- 
gations of  the  assembly,  asserted  that  there  was  a  wicked 
secret  association  which  sought  to  invade  the  royal  preroga- 
tives and  the  liberty  of  the  people;  and  that  to  bribe  others 
to  help  in  this  project,  it  had  spent  £90,000  professedly  on 

*  "  Naval  Chronicles,"  Biograpliical  Memoir,  vol.  i.  pp.  95-98. 

•  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  101,  &c. 

;  SmoUet  resided  iu  different  parts  of  Jamaica,  and  for  some  time 
in  Kingston,  where  he  lodged  in  a  house  now  occupied  as  a  store  in 
Harbour  Street.  Dr.  Wolcott  (Peter  Pindar)  once  lodged  nearly  op- 
posite, bat  the  house  has  long  been  burnt  down. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  129 

fortifications,  but  mostly  in  jobbery.  He  would  ask  the 
people  to  send  better  men.*  The  new  house  was  not  less 
objectionable  +  to  Knowles,  and  another  was  convened.  By 
this  assembly  the  bill  authorising  the  desired  removal  was 
passed.  It  is  said  that  the  most  disreputable  tactics, 
combined  with  intimidation,  characterised  the  elections. . 
If  so,  it  only  proves  that  the  colonists  were  not  better  than 
English  politicians  at  the  same  period. 

Apart  from  the  means  employed  to  secure  the  desired 
end,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  change  was  a  most  desir- 
able one.  Spanish  Town  had  then  no  building  suited  for 
the  residence  of  a  governor,  or  convenient  for  legislative 
purposes.  These  the  inhabitants  of  Kingston  offered  to 
erect,  and  they  also  offered  compensation  to  any  who  suf- 
fered by  the  change.  It  was  maintained  that  Spanish 
Town  was  indefensible,  but  that  Kingston  was  defended 
both  by  swamps,  mountains,  and  excellent  fortifications. 
The  wealth  and  commerce  of  Kingston  pointed  it  out  as 
the  proper  seat  of  government.  Two-thirds  of  all  civil 
actions  in  the  island  originated  in  Kingston,  and  half  the 
jurors  were  found  among  its  inhabitants.  In  fact,  Kingston, 
and  not  Spanish  Town,  was  the  proper  place.  Knowles 
gave  his  assent  to  the  bill  on  the  7th  of  May,  1755,  and  a 
week  after  the  house  agreed  to  an  address  to  the  king  in 
support  of  it,  in  which  the  reasons  given  above  were  urged,  t 

Many  petitions  were  sent  home,  praying  that  the  bill 
might  be  disallowed,  but  steps  were  at  once  taken  to  carry 
it  into  effect,  and  the  public  records  were  brought  over  to 
Kingston.  The  bill  was  not  sanctioned  by  the  king,  but 
Knowles  had  left  the  colony  before  the  fact  was  officially 
made  known.  Only  two  members  of  the  legislative  council 
disapproved  of  the  measure.  §  This  body  estimated  aright 
the  advantages  of  Kingston  as  the  seat  of  government. 

Admiral  Knowles  was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
Moore :  his  private  secretary  was  Edward  Long,  the  his- 
torian, whose  sister  he  had  married.  It  was  this  lady  who 
was  the  first  of  her  sex  to  ascend  the  highest  peak  in  St. 
Andrews,  called  after  her  Catherine's  Peak.  On  the  3rd  of 
October,  1758,  Moore  issued  the  royal  command  which 
restored  Spanish  Town  to  metropolitan  dignity.   Four  days 

*  Journals,  vol.  iv.  p.  485.  |  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  p.  492. 

I  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  526,  527.  §  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  607-609. 

10 


130  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

later,  thirty  waggons  containing  the  records  and  other 
ofi&cial  documents  filed  out  of  Kingston,  escorted  by  a  de- 
tachment of  soldiers.  At  the  Ferry  they  were  met  by  an- 
other detachment,  who  escorted  the  waggons  to  Spanish 
Town.  The  good  people  at  the  ancient  Uttle  city  became 
well-nigh  delirious  with  joy.  They  illuminated,  displayed 
flags  and  banners,  had  a  grand  exhibition  of  fireworks,  and 
gave  some  splendid  entertainments.  But  in  the  midst  of 
their  joy  they  displayed  very  bad  taste,  for  they  burnt  the 
ship  which  Knowles  had  recently  commanded,  in  effigy. 
The  assembly  met  on  the  same  day,  and  formally  thanked 
his  majesty  for  having  disallowed  the  bill.  They  sought  to 
secure  the  assent  of  the  council  to  their  address,  but  that 
body  was  not  so  willing  to  stultify  itself,  and  refused.  Six 
members  of  the  lower  house  refused  also,  and  five  others 
absented  themselves. 

But  the  matter  was  not  quite  over  yet :  on  the  14th  of 
October  the  ^'Kingston  Journal' 'published  a  well- written  and 
really  sensible  article,  commenting  on  the  burning  in  effigy 
of  the  CormvalL  It  was,  the  writer  observed,  an  insult  to 
the  king,  whose  ship  the  Cornwall  was ;  and  the  flag  which 
had  been  ignominiously  struck  was  that  of  the  British  na- 
tion ;  and,  moreover,  the  act  was  not  calculated  to  restore 
peace  and  good- will  to  the  distracted  community.  Why  the 
house  should  choose  to  identify  itself  with  such  a  childish 
affair  is  not  clear,  but  it  ordered  the  printer  of  this  docu- 
ment into  custody,  and  he  being  sadly  wanting  in  chivalry, 
gave  up  the  name  of  the  writer,  a  lady  whose  signature 
was  Theresa  Constantia  Montgomery.  She  was  forthwith 
ordered  into  custody,  while  Woolard  the  printer  was  dis- 
charged. The  house,  on  calmer  reflection,  wisely  decided 
to  leave  the  lady  alone.  Her  name  just  then  was  Lanti- 
niac,  though  better  known  as  Constantia  Phillips.  Of  her 
something  more  will  be  said  in  connection  with  the  habits 
and  customs  of  those  days.  After  all,  something  was 
gained  by  the  struggle :  shipmasters  had  no  longer  to  go 
to  Spanish  Town  to  enter  and  clear  their  ships,  as  formerly. 
Not  only  Kingston,  but  Savannah  la  Mar,  Montego  Bay,  and 
Port  Antonio,  were  made  ports  of  entry  and  clearance.  An 
assize  and  other  legal  courts  were  established  in  Kingston, 
though  previously  all  causes  over  forty  shillings  were  tried 
in  Spanish  Town. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  131 

It  was  now  resolved  to  erect  in  Spanish  Town  a  group  of 
spacious  buildings  around  the  central  square,  comprising  a 
residence  for  the  governor,  a  hall  and  suitable  apartments 
for  the  house  of  assembly,  and  sundry  public  offices,  toge- 
ther with  assize  courts.  Thirty  years,  however,  passed  away 
before  all  were  completed. 

The  colonists  cooled  down  at  last,  and  then  got  excited 
once  more  in  consequence  of  martial  law,  owing  to  the  war 
with  France.  The  council  refused  to  sit  during  its  con- 
tinuance, but  it  was  oflScially  declared,  on  behalf  of  the 
crown,  that  "  The  ordinary  course  of  law  and  justice  is  not 
suspended  or  stopped  (by  martial  law)  any  further  than  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  answer  the  then  military  service  of 
the  public  and  the  exigencies  of  the  province."  This  was 
forgotten  in  1865. 

Another  constitutional  question  was  settled  about  this 
time.  In  1753  the  assembly  in  a  money  bill  appointed  an 
oflScer  of  its  own  to  receive  and  issue  the  public  money 
instead  of  the  receiver-general  nominated  by  the  crown, 
and  on  Governor  Knowles  refusing  to  assent  to  this  bill, 
and  some  others  in  which  a  clause  suspending  operation 
tiU  the  king's  pleasure  was  known  had  been  omitted,  it 
passed  a  string  of  resolutions  asserting  its  right  to  raise 
and  expend  money,  and  questioning  the  necessity  of  the 
suspending  clause  in  the  other  cases.  The  matter  came  at 
last  before  the  House  of  Commons,  where  it  was  decided 
that  the  implied  claim  of  the  assembly  to  raise  and  expend 
money  without  the  consent  of  the  governor  and  council  was 
illegal,  and  so  also  was  their  appointment  of  a  receiver- 
general.  As  for  the  suspending  clause,  it  was  explained 
that  it  need  only  be  inserted  in  bills  which  affected  his 
majesty's  prerogative,  the  property  of  his  subjects,  or  the 
trade  and  shipping  of  the  kingdom.* 

A  brief  suspension  of  Mr.  Moore's  duties  occurred  in 
1759.  Mr.  Haldane  was  appointed  governor.  The  house 
voted  him  a  salary  of  £5000  a  year,  and  appropriated 
±12,000  to  purchase  and  stock  with  negroes,  &c.,  a  pen  in 
the  hills  of  St.  Catherines.  The  council  suggested  that  an 
additional  stipend  of  ±'2000  a  year  would  have  been  better, 
but  assented  to  the  measure.  Haldane  was  not  destined  to 
enjoy  this  liberality :  in  a  few  weeks  more  he  was  numbered 

*  Journals,  vol.  v.  p.  28. 
10* 


132  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

with  the  dead.  Mr.  Moore  again  resumed  the  government 
of  the  colony,  and  next  year  was  called  upon  to  deal  with 
a  formidable  rebellion.  Great  numbers  of  negro  slaves 
were  now  constantly  imported  from  Africa,  representing 
tribes  as  diverse  in  character  as  different  European  nations. 
Among  these  the  fierce  Coromantyns  occupied  a  very  pro- 
minent place,  but  though  their  dangerous  character  was  so 
well  known,  their  superior  strength  was  so  highly  valued  as 
to  lead  to  the  rejection  of  all  measures  proposed  to  check 
their  importation.  It  was  by  men  of  this  race,  Fans, 
Akims,  and  Ashantees,  that  the  insurrection  of  1760  was 
conducted.  The  conspiracy  extended  throughout  the  island, 
and,  aided  by  the  mysterious  terrors  of  Obeah,  was  hatched 
with  the  greatest  secrecy. 

St.  Mary's  was  the  place  fixed  upon  for  the  commence- 
ment :  the  whites  there  were  few  in  number,  the  prospects 
of  success  therefore  greater.  These  rude  savages  seemed 
in  some  fashion  to  have  understood  that  it  is  the  first  few 
hours  that  usually  decide  the  fate  of  a  revolution.  More- 
over, if  they  failed,  there  were  vast  mountain  tracts  behind 
them  to  which  they  could  retire.  The  name  of  the  leader 
was  Tacky,  who  claimed  to  have  been  a  chieftain  in  Africa. 
On  two  estates,  Trinity  and  Frontier,  he  had  one  hundred 
countrymen  on  whom  he  could  implicitly  rely.  Easter 
Monday  was  fixed  upon  for  the  outbreak,  and  in  the  dead 
of  the  preceding  night  a  party  of  slaves  marched  down  to 
Port  Maria,  and  murdering  the  solitary  storekeeper  in 
charge  of  the  fort  and  magazine,  possessed  themselves  of 
four  barrels  of  gunpowder,  forty  muskets,  and  some  bullets. 
Reinforced  towards  morning  by  other  parties  of  insurgents, 
they  marched  towards  the  interior.  Heywood  Hall,  Esher, 
and  other  properties  fell  into  their  hands.  The  whites  were 
for  the  most  part  murdered,  and  not  only  women,  but  children 
at  the  breast,  shared  the  same  fate. 

Flushed  with  victory,  and  with  numbers  now  augmented 
to  four  hundred,  the  insurgents  returned  to  Ballard's  Valley, 
and  with  that  recklessness  which  has  rendered  so  many 
negro  rebellions  failures,  began  to  carouse  as  if  their  work 
was  accomplished.  But  a  faithful  slave  named  Yankee  had 
fled  from  Esher  to  arouse  the  whites  on  other  estates  in 
the  parish  to  a  sense  of  their  danger;  and  two  other 
slaves  made  the  best  of  their  way  over  wretched  roads  to 


mSTOBICAL  EVENTS.  133 

inform  the  governor  in  Spanish  Town  of  what  was  taking 
place. 

Seventy  or  eighty  horsemen  were  soon  got  together  in 
consequence  of  the  zeal  of  Yankee,  and  rode  in  upon  the 
party  of  revellers  at  Ballard*s  Valley.  The  rebels  poured 
in  an  irregular  fire.  It  was  not  returned  by  the  militia, 
for  they  had  only  one  charge  of  ammunition  per  man,  but 
a  flank  movement  so  disconcerted  the  rebels  that  they 
hastily  retired  into  the  woods.  The  governor  lost  no 
time  in  sending  by  different  routes  two  parties  of  soldiers, 
each  accompanied  by  a  troop  of  the  mounted  militia.  Orders 
were  also  sent  to  the  Scott's  Hall  Maroons  to  advance  from 
the  east,  and  thus  it  was  hoped  to  surround  the  rebels. 
The  Maroons  behaved  badly,  they  marched  to  the  rendez- 
vous appointed,  but  refused  to  act  unless  certain  arrears 
they  claimed  were  paid. 

The  insurgents  displayed  considerable  valour.  Some 
engagements  in  which  they  took  part  might  almost  be 
dignified  by  the  name  of  battles.  On  one  occasion  they 
attacked  a  house  in  which  a  party  of  the  74th  regiment 
was  quartered,  killed  the  sentinel,  poured  in  repeated 
volleys  of  musketry,  and  at  length  retired  uninjured. 
For  some  time  the  rebellion  seemed  to  gain  ground  and 
spread  to  other  parishes.  The  negroes  were  greatly 
stimulated  by  their  confidence  in  the  powers  of  the  Obeah 
men ;  a  powder  was  distributed  by  these  impostors  which 
was  said  to  make  its  possessor  invulnerable.  Tacky,  it 
was  asserted,  could  even  catch  the  bullets  of  the  soldiers, 
and  throw  them  back  among  them.  At  last  an  Obeah 
man  was  captured,  dressed  up  in  all  the  grotesque  costume 
of  his  craft,  and  hung  in  a  public  place.  His  death 
did  something  to  convince  the  negroes  of  the  falseness 
of  his  pretensions.  As  the  colonial  forces  began  now  to 
muster  in  greater  strength,  the  rebels  retired  to  a  valley 
surrounded  by  rocks,  among  which  they  concealed  them- 
selves, and  fired  in  ambush  on  the  troops ;  but  here 
they  were  overcome,  many  were  killed,  and  others  taken 
prisoners.  Still  Tacky  was  at  large  with  a  number  of 
adherents.  At  length  he  was  seen  by  Davy,  a  Maroon ; 
a  chase  followed  ;  it  seemed  as  if  the  African  leader  would 
escape,  when  Davy  raised  his  piece,  aimed  while  both  were 
running  at  full  speed,  and  the  rebel  leader  fell  dead.      It 


134  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

was  asserted  by  numbers  of  white  people,  and  never  denied 
by  the  Maroons,  that  the  latter  roasted  and  devoured  the 
head,  heart,  and  other  portions  of  the  body  of  Tacky. 
Twenty-five  of  his  more '  immediate  followers  now  retired 
to  a  cave,  where  they  committed  suicide.  The  Maroons 
falsely  asserted  that  they  had  killed  them,  and  presenting 
their  ears,  claimed  the  stipulated  reward.  This  trick  of 
cutting  ears  from  dead  bodies  had,  it  was  asserted,  been 
before  practised  on  those  killed  by  the  soldiers. 

While  these  events  had  been  transpiring  in  St.  Mary's, 
Westmoreland  was  the  scene  of  an  outbreak  that  at  one 
time  threatened  to  be  even  more  serious  in  its  character. 
On  Captain  Forest's  plantation  a  party  at  supper  was 
surrounded,  and  nearly  all  slain.  Tidings  of  the  outbreak 
soon  spread,  and  one  gentleman,  too  confident  of  the 
fidelity  of  his  negroes,  armed  about  twenty  Coromantyns, 
who  then  saluted  him  with  great  respect,  assured  him  he 
should  not  be  injured,  and  quietly  marched  off  to  join  the 
insurgents.  A  number  of  negroes,  taken  a  little  before 
from  the  French,  when  Guadaloupe  was  captured,  and 
well  trained  in  the  use  of  arms,  also  joined  the 
party.  Thus  reinforced,  the  insurgents  took  up  a  strong 
position  among  the  hills,  and  built  temporary  huts. 
Here  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  militia.  But  the 
negroes  were  too  powerful  to  be  overcome  by  such  oppo- 
nents. The  fire  of  the  attacking  party  was  so  ill-directed, 
that  the  oflScer  in  command  had  to  implore  them  not  to 
shoot  one  another.  They  soon  broke  and  fled,  some  being 
shot  down  by  the  rebels,  and  others  fell  over  precipices. 
This  repulse  brought  every  Coromantyn  in  the  district 
under  arms,  and  the  rebel  encampment  numbered  a 
thousand  men  and  women. 

Martial  law,  which  had  expii-ed,  was  now  once  more  pro- 
claimed by  request  of  the  assembly.*  A  large  body  of  militia 
was  collected,  the  49th  regiment  sent  down,  and  the  Trelawny 
Maroons  called  out.  The  latter  marched  through  the  woods 
to  the  rear  of  the  position  taken  by  the  rebels.  The  troops 
who  were  to  attack  in  fnmt  did  so  before  the  appointed  time, 
and  having  driven  the  rebels  from  their  position  with 
considerable  loss,  stopped  in  their  deserted  huts  for  shelter, 
and  to  partake  of  the  food  stored  up  in  large  quantities. 

'•'  Journals,  vol.  v.  p.  164. 


mSTOBICAL  EVENTS.  136 

The  rebels  at  once  took  advantage  of  this  indiscretion,  and 
fired  down  from  the  rocks  above.  The  result  would  have 
been  disastrous  had  not  the  Maroons  now  appeared  on 
the  scene,  and  driven  in  the  rebels  with  loss  from  their 
ambuscade. 

No  other  engagement  of  importance  happened  after  this, 
but  there  were  frequent  skirmishes.  For  some  months 
after  a  Captain  Hynes  with  a  party  of  free  mulattoes 
scoured  the  woods,  in  conjunction  with  the  Mstroons, 
capturing  runaways.  They  frequently  came  on  parties  of 
several  men  hung  by  withs  to  the  trees,  for  the  Coro- 
mantyns  sought  rather  by  suicide  to  secure  as  they  thought 
a  return  to  the  land  of  their  fathers,  than  to  be  brought 
back  again  to  bondage. 

In  other  parishes  conspiracies  were  detected;  in  most 
cases  by  the  treachery  of  those  privy  to  the  plot.  In 
St.  Thomas,  in  the  east,  a  slave  named  Guffee  betrayed 
the  plans  of  his  comrades.  In  St  John's  three  negroes 
divulged  a  plan  to  murder  all  whites,  and  to  bum  their 
houses  and  cane  pieces.  In  Kingston  a  woman  named 
Cuba  presided  at  the  meetings  of  conspirators,  attired  in 
what  were  supposed  to  be  royal  garments.  She  was 
transported.  In  St.  James's  an  outbreak  occurred,  but  was 
soon  suppressed,  though  for  a  long  time  stragglers  gave 
trouble  in  the  Carpenters  Mountains,  and  one  party  long 
evaded  pursuit  in  the  Mile  Gully  HiUs. 

During  the  whole  of  this  really  formidable  outbreak 
about  sixty  white  people  were  killed,  and  from  three  to  four 
hundred  slaves,  the  latter  number  including  those  killed  in 
battle,  those  who  committed  suicide,  and  all  who  were 
executed.  About  six  hundred  others  were  transported  to 
the  Bay  of  Honduras,  and  sold  to  the  logwood  cutters. 
The  atrocities  committed  by  the  rebels  were  great ;  but  if 
they  drank  the  blood  of  their  victims  mixed  with  rum,  and 
perpetrated  other  savage  deeds  learnt  in  Africa,  their  con- 
querors do  not  show  to  greater  advantage.  Bryan  Edwards 
tells  how  one  was  burnt  to  death  by  the  slow  process 
described  on  a  former  page  from  the  statements  of  Sloane, 
and  on  the  parade  of  Kingston  two  men  were  hung  up  in 
iron  frames  and  left  to  starve  to  death,  one  living  for  seven 
and  tlie  other  for  nine  days.  The  loss  to  the  colony  was 
upwards  of  j£100,000,  but  when  tranquillity  was  restored  no 


136  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

steps  were  taken  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  slaves,  and 
BO  make  them  hetter  contented  with  their  lot.  Instead  of 
this,  the  slave  laws  were  made  more  severe.  Fom-teen 
slaves  who  had  betrayed  or  rendered  service  against  the 
rebels  were  set  free  and  pensioned,  and  about  twenty  others 
rewarded.* 

Many  laws  in  old  statute  books  and  entries  in  the  journals 
have  reference  during  this  century  to  services  rendered  by 
slaves.  Just  before  this  outbreak  the  legislature  was  called 
on  to  reward  two  women,  Sarah  and  Mimba.  Sarah  had 
been  carried  away  into  the  woods  by  Ancouma, .  a  noted 
outlaw,  with  whom  she  lived,  but  not  contentedly.  Whether 
her  heart  yearned  for  some  one  on  the  plantation  from 
which  she  was  taken,  or  whether  she  was  jealous,  does  not 
appear,  but  Ancouma  had  another  companion,  Mimba,  a 
Maroon.  The  two  women  made  common  cause,  and  one 
night  Sarah  slew  her  sleeping  paramour  by  a  blow  with  an 
axe.  The  assembly  not  only  paid  for  the  freedom  of  this 
African  Jael,  but  secured  her  a  pension  of  £5  a  year,  while 
to  Mimba,  already  free,  they  gave  a  pension  of  £10 A 

Nothing  of  importance  remains  to  be  noted  of  the  re- 
maining period  of  Moore's  administration.  The  death  of 
George  II.,  in  17G0,  led  to  no  important  change  in  colonial 
affairs.  In  February,  1762,  William  Henry  Lyttleton, 
Esq.,  late  governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  brother  to  the 
poet  of  that  name,  assumed  the  government  of  the  colony. 
He  was  the  grandson  of  Sir  Charles  Lji-tleton,  who  had 
governed  the  colony  from  1662  to  1664. 

Lyttleton  arrived  in  Jamaica  at  a  critical  period.  War 
was  declared  with  Spain  early  in  the  year,  and  on  the  5th 
of  March,  1762,  a  formidable  expedition,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lord  Albemarle  and  Admiral  Pococke,  was  fitted 
out  against  Havannah.  Sir  James  Douglas  joined  it  with 
the  Jamaica  fleet,  having  on  board  great  numbers  of 
negroes,  granted  by  the  legislature  in  answer  to  an  appli- 
cation from  the  imperial  government. t  The  fleet  now 
consisted  of  nineteen  ships  of  the  line,  as  many  frigates, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  transports,  with  some  ten 
thousand   soldiers.      The   Moro   at   the   entrance   of   the 

*  Long's  "History;'*  Bryan  Edwards'  "History;"    Smollett,  vol. 
XV.;  "Journals  of  Assembly,"  vol.  v.,  &c. 
t  Journals,  voL  v.  p.  149.  J  Ibid.,  voL  v. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  137 

harbour  of  Havannah,  hitherto  reputed  impregnable,  was 
attacked,  and  notwithstanding  the  valour  of  the  Spanish 
defenders,  stormed  on  the  forty-fourth  day  of  the  siege. 
The  city  held  out  a  fortnight  longer,  and  then  capitulated. 
A  large  district  of  country  aroimd  was  also  surrendered ; 
nine  ships  of  the  Une,  besides  frigates,  were  captured; 
others  were  destroyed ;  and  booty  to  the  value  of  three 
millions  sterling  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  conquerors. 
The  loss  to  the  English  was  rather  under  eighteen  hundred 
men,  and,  as  usual  in  the  tropics,  most  of  these  perished 
of  fever. 

A  great  deal  of  the  prize  money,  which  was  most  un- 
fairly distributed,*  was  spent  in  Port  Royal ;  and  as  this, 
with  the  succeeding  victories  of  Rodney,  placed  the  West 
Indian  seas  in  possession  of  British  ships,  many  very 
valuable  prizes  were  brought  into  the  harbours  of  the  island. 
At  the  peace  which  soon  followed,  Havannah  was  restored 
to  Spain ;  other  possessions  taken  from  both  France  and 
Spain  were  returned  ;  but  the  latter  power  conceded  to  the 
British  government  the  long  disputed  right  of  cutting  log- 
wood in  the  Bay  of  Honduras. 

The  year  1763  opened  with  many  indications  of  in- 
creasing prosperity.  The  residence  of  the  governor  was 
completed  and  furnished,  at  a  cost  of  £18,000  sterUng,  and 
many  pleasant  residences  were  built  along  the  banks  of  the 
Eio  Cobre.  But  a  frightful  accident  happened  on  the  14th 
of  September.  Fort  Augusta  was  struck  by  lightning. 
The  officers'  apartments  were  entirely  destroyed,  and  those 
of  the  men  greatly  injured.  Forty  men  were  killed,  and 
great  numbers  injured.  The  magazine,  at  the  time  of  the 
explosion,  contained  upwards  of  two  thousand  barrels  of 
powder.  + 

Serious  altercations  between  the  governor  and  the 
assembly  characterised  the  next  two  or  three  years.  Mr. 
Lyttleton  is  condemned  in  strong  terms  by  Mr.  Bridges, 
in  the  **  Annals  of  Jamaica;**!  and  Mr.  Bryan  Pidwards, 
while  speaking  of  him  as  an  able  and  accomplished  man, 
laments  that  he  should  have  written  approvingly  of  those 
who  in  1680  sought  to  limit  the  powers  of  the  Jamaica 
assembly. §     In  a  historical  account  of  the  constitution  of 

*  "  Pictorial  History  of  England,"  vol.  v.  p.  16. 

t  Journals,  vol.  v.  pp.  404,  405.        |  "  Annals,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  108,  109. 

§  Edwards'  "  History,"  book  ii.,  appendix. 


138  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

Jamaica,  drawn  up  in  1764  for  the  information  of  his 
majesty's  government,  Mr.  Lyttleton  ably  reviewed  the 
past  history  of  the  colony,  and  in  the  concluding  para- 
graph clearly  conveyed  his  approbation  of  what  the 
colonists  had  always  regarded  as  a  most  arbitrary  form 
of  government.*  Some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the 
trying  ordeal  through  which  he  had  passed  before  he  was 
guilty  of  this  indiscretion. 

On  the  2nd  of  October,  1762,  he  sent  a  message  to  the 
assembly  concerning  a  long  report  from  the  lords  com- 
missioners of  trades  and  plantations,  relative  to  certain 
acts  which  had  been  passed  in  1761.  These  acts  related 
first  to  the  regulation  of  prize  ships  and  goods,  and  next 
to  the  prohibition  of  any  importation  of  rum,  sugar,  and 
molasses  of  foreign  production  into  the  colony.  They  were 
highly  objectionable;  the  regulations  relating  to  prizes 
were  not  only  oppressive  in  their  character  as  they  affected 
British  subjects,  but  infringed  on  the  recognised  rights  of 
neutral  powers,  and  assumed  a  right  on  the  part  of  a 
colonial  parliament  to  deal  with  questions  which  could  only 
properly  become  a  subject  for  imperial  legislation.  More- 
over, the  person  who  imported  foreign  rum,  sugar,  or 
molasses  into  Jamaica  was  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  death  ! 
and  the  informer  to  receive  a  reward  of  £500 ! !  The  lords 
commissioners  recommended  that  these  acts  should  be 
disallowed,  which  was  formally  done  at  a  royal  coimcil 
attended  by  many  of  the  first  statesmen  in  the  kingdom.! 

The  governor  in  his  message  recommended  the  assembly 
to  enact  other  laws,  which,  while  meeting  the  necessities  of 
the  case,  should  not  be  in  opposition  to  those  of  Great 
Britain.  This  they  refused  to  do,  as  they  could  not  admit 
the  force  of  the  objections  urged,  or  suffer  the  commis- 
sioners to  influence  their  proceedings  by  any  objections 
whatever.!  The  governor  expressed  his  astonishment  at 
their  decision,  and  reminded  them  that  the  opinion  of  the 
commissioners  had  been  confirmed  by  the  king  in  council. 
The  assembly  then  asserted  its  inviolable  attachment  to 
the  king,  but  persisted  that  its  action  had  been  misrepre- 
sented by  the  commissioners.  § 

*  Edwards*  **  History,"  book  ii.,  appendix ;  Journals,  vol.  i.,  appendix, 
f  Journals,  vol.  v.  pp.  346-350.  I  Ibid.,  vol.  v.  p.  352. 

§  Ibid.,  vol.  V.  pp.  352,  353. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  189 

The  assembly  was  prorogued,  and  when  next  session  it 
resumed  its  sittings,  a  string  of  resolutions  was  adopted 
recounting  its  rights  and  liberties,  condemning  the  com- 
missioners, and  virtually  asserting  that  it  could  supersede 
perpetual  laws.*  The  session  was  allowed  to  continue,  the 
governor  observing  in  his  speech,  when  the  business  was 
concluded,  that  he  had  not  permitted  a  faction  to  prevent 
the  passing  of  such  bills  as  were  necessary  for  the  support 
of  his  majesty's  government.!  The  faction,  however,  drew 
up  an  address  to  the  king,  asking  for  the  removal  of 
Lyttleton  on  the  ground  of  exacting  unusual  fees  on  com- 
missions, general  neglect  of  duty,  and  want  of  due  respect 
to  the  naval  officer  in  command.! 

Thus  far  the  governor  was  right  in  the  course  he  pur- 
sued :  his  next  step  was  unfortunate.  In  December,  1764, 
two  bailiffs  were  committed  to  prison  for  an  alleged  breach 
of  the  privileges  of  the  assembly  then  sitting,  in  seizing  the 
property  of  a  member.  They  appealed  to  the  governor, 
and  he  as  chancellor  released  them  by  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus.  The  excitement  which  followed  this  act  was  intense, 
and  the  assembly  declared,  in  a  series  of  resolutions,  that 
the  act  of  the  governor  was  a  flagrant  breach  and  contempt 
of  the  privileges  of  the  house— -that  it  would  proceed  with 
no  other  business  till  satisfaction  was  given,  and  drew  up 
an  address  to  the  king,  setting  forth  the  misconduct  of  the 
governor  in  pronouncing  the  committal  of  the  speaker 
illegal.  Fresh  warrants  for  the  arrest  and  recommittal  of 
the  two  men  were  ordered  to  be  issued.  § 

The  house  was  at  once  dissolved  by  proclamation ;  but 
when  a  new  assembly  met  in  March,  1765,  almost  its  first 
act  was  to  prepare  another  address  to  the  king,  praying 
that  the  objectionable  record  in  chancery  might  be  ex- 
punged. In  reply  to  the  governor's  speech,  the  assembly 
repeated  that  it  could  proceed  with  no  business  until  re- 
paration was  made.  II  Another  dissolution  followed,  but 
matters  were  becoming  serious.  No  supplies  had  been 
voted,  and  to  save  the  troops  from  privation  Lyttleton 
obtained  permission  to  draw  upon  the  imperial  treasury 
for  considerable  sums. 

*  Jonmals,  vol.  v.  p.  859.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  v.  p.  884. 

:;  Ibid.,  vol.  V.  p.  382.  §  Ibid.,  vol.  v.  p.  528. 

!|  Ibid.,  vol.  V.  p.  628 ;  Edwards'  "  History,"  book  vi.  .chap.  2,  on 
whole  question  at  issue. 


140  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

On  the  14th  of  August  another  assembly  met.  The 
governor  made  a  speech,  but  the  speaker  did  not  ask  as 
usual  for  the  customary  privileges.  On  the  16th,  the  house 
was  called  into  the  council  chamber,  when  the  governor, 
addressing  the  speaker,  reminded  him  that  he  had  not 
made  the  usual  demands  when  his  choice  by  the  house  had 
been  approved  of,  and  he  therefore  wished  to  know  if  he 
(the  speaker)  intended  now  to  do  so.  The  speaker  replied 
in  the  negative.  Once  again  the  governor  asked  if  he 
would  not  make  application.  '*  I  shall  not,"  was  the  curt 
reply.  The  governor,  observing  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
preserve  the  privileges  of  the  house  as  well  as  the  royal 
prerogative,  once  more  dismissed  the  assembly. 

Next  year  Lyttleton  was  recalled,  and  Mr.  Elletson  met 
the  assembly  in  June,  as  lieutenant-governor.  The  matter 
in  dispute  was  now  still  more  complicated  in  consequence  of 
one  of  the  two  bailiffs  who  had  been  committed  to  prison 
having  taken  legal  proceedings  against  the  messenger  of 
the  house  by  whom  he  had  been  arrested.  The  house 
ordered  the  bailiff  and  his  solicitor  into  custody,  and 
declared  it  would  hold  its  messenger  harmless.*  To  Mr. 
Charles  Price,  its  late  speaker,  it  .voted  £300  for  a  service 
of  plate ;  and  on  the  2nd  of  July  it  presented  a  long 
address  to  the  lieutenant-governor,  setting  forth  its  griev- 
ances, claiming  the  same  powers  of  commitment  pos- 
sessed by  the  House  of  Commons,  and  again  asking  that 
the  record  in  chancery  should  be  expunged.  The  council 
also  addressed  the  governor  in  a  similar  spirit ;  and  on  the 
4th,  Elletson  set  the  matter  at  rest,  as  far  as  he  was  able, 
by  drawing  a  line  through  the  hated  record,  and  entering  a 
vacatur  in  the  margin.! 

But  the  house  had  not  forgiven  Lyttleton.  Twenty-five 
folio  pages  of  its  journals  were  occupied  with  allegations 
of  misgovemment  and  treachery.  1  Then  followed  a  string 
of  thirty  resolutions  embodying  these  charges,  and  denounc- 
ing him  as  '*  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace,  and  an  enemy 
to  the  commerce,  interest,  welfare,  and  prosperity  of  the 
island."  §  The  legislators  got  violent,  as  was  too  common 
when  excited,  and  Elletson,  whose  policy  was  one  of  con- 
ciliation, had  nevertheless  to  prorogue  them  for  a  day,  for 

'^'  Journals,  vol.  v.  p.  537.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  v.  p.  544. 

I  Ibid.,  vol.  V.  pp.  609-684.  §  Ibid.,  vol.  v.  pp.  638-648. 


raSTORICAI.   EVENTS.  141 

they  were  fast  infringing  on  the  royal  prerogative.  Next 
day  they  sought  to  free  themselves  from  the  imputation  of 
disloyalty.  And  yet  when  the  king  issued  an  instruction 
exempting  the  equipages,  as  well  as  the  persons  of  members 
of  the  council  and  assembly  from  arrest  for  six  days  before 
and  after,  as  well  as  during  the  sitting  of  the  legislature, 
the  assembly  declared  that  it  had  all  the  privileges  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  that  no  instruction  could  abridge 
or  annihilate  them.  * 

Mr.  EUetson  failed  in  his  efforts  to  get  the  assembly  to 
reimburse  the  moneys  Lyttleton  had  drawn  from  the  im- 
perial treasury.  The  amount  was  between  d£ll,000  and 
iil2,000,  and  was  never  repaid  :  it  wa's  drawn,  these  sturdy 
legislators  asserted,  to  subvert  their  liberties.! 

While  these  matters  were  in  progress  the  safety  of  the 
island  was  again  imperilled  by  the  Coromantyns.  Several 
of  the  leaders  met  in  St.  Mary's  in  July,  1765,  when  the 
solemn  fetish  oath  was  administered.  Into  a  quantity  of 
rum,  with  which  some  gunpowder  and  dirt  taken  from  a 
grave  had  been  mingled,  blood  was  put,  drawn  in  succession 
from  the  arm  of  each  confederate.  With  certain  horrid 
ceremonies  this  cup  was  drunk  from  by  each  person,  and 
then  came  the  council.  It  was  agreed  that  during  the  en- 
suing Christmas  holidays  the  rising  should  take  place,  and 
in  the  mean  time  all  were  to  obtain  companions.  Among 
these  men  was  one  Blackwall :  he  had  been  tried  but  ac- 
quitted for  complicity  in  the  rising  of  1760;  his  im- 
petuosity now  frustrated  the  plans  of  his  associates.  On 
the  23rd  of  November,  with  a  few  others,  he  set  fire  to  the 
works  and  trash-houses  on  Whitehall  estate.  One  white 
man  was  killed,  the  rest  escaped  to  Ballard's  Valley,  and  a 
lady  was  saved  through  the  fidelity  of  two  of  her  slaves. 
The  party  at  Ballard's  Valley  was  besieged  by  the  insurgents, 
but  a  negro  attempting  to  set  fire  to  the  roof  was  shot  down ; 
his  faU  occasioned  a  momentary  panic  among  his  followers, 
during  which  the  little  garrison  made  a  sally,  killed  several, 
and  drove  the  rest  to  the  woods,  where  they  were  soon 
captured. 

The  plan  for  the  rising  appears  to  have  been  well  laid, 
but  this  premature  action  frustrated  it.  A  good  deal  of 
alarm  was  occasioned  by  the  statements  of  some  of  the 

*  JoQiuals,  voL  vi  p.  4.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  vL  pp.  85,  86. 


142  HISTORY   OF   JAAIAICA. 

prisoners,  that  the  Maroons  were  to  have  joined  them  and 
divided  the  country  with  them.  Some  thought  this  was 
only  designed  to  destroy  confidence  in  these  uncertain 
allies,  but  the  matter  was  never  properly  investigated.  * 
Of  the  prisoners  taken,  thirteen  were  executed  and  thirty- 
three  transported. 

Next  year  thirty-three  Coromantyns  in  Westmoreland 
suddenly  arose,  and  within  an  hour  or  two  killed  and 
wounded  nineteen  black  and  white  persons  who  opposed 
them.  The  party  was  soon  afterwards  overcome,  and  those 
not  killed  at  the  time  were  executed.  Some  three  years 
later  a  negro  damsel  belonging  to  a  Jew  in  Kingston  gave 
information  of  a  conspiracy  hatching  in  that  place  to  bum 
it,  and  kill  the  inhabitants.  A  large  body  of  armed  men 
were  seized  in  consequence,  but  the  records  of  the  trans- 
action are  too  imperfect  to  show  the  real  character  of  the 
movement. 

The  question  of  patent  offices  was  now  engaging  attention. 
So  far  back  as  1699  a  law  had  been  enacted  **to  oblige 
patentees  of  offices  to  reside  in  the  colony.'*  In  1711  an- 
other was  passed  to  prevent  any  person  from  holding  two 
or  more  offices  of  profit,  and  in  1715  another  to  the  same 
effect,  but  all  these  were  disallowed  by  the  crown.  In  fact, 
the  imperial  government  always  sided  with  the  patentees. 
Their  appointment  was  one  mode  by  which  political  ad- 
herents were  pm'chased,  or  opponents  bribed  to  silence. 
The  working  of  the  system  was  very  bad,  for  the  most 
lucrative  posts  in  the  island  were  held  by  persons  who 
were  total  strangers.  These  men,  residing  in  England,  ap- 
pointed deputies  to  do  the  work,  these  substitutes  promising 
to  pay  a  stipulated  sum  per  annum.  To  raise  this,  to  re- 
munerate themselves  in  a  manner  they  thought  adequate, 
and  to  pay  their  own  clerks,  was  often  no  easy  task ;  and 
thus  the  temptation  arose  to  demand  more  than  the  legal 
fees  for  the  work  done.  In  1765  the  assembly  asserted 
that  the  fees  amounted  to  four  times  the  legal  rate.  This 
was  not  denied,  but  defended  on  the  ground  that  living  was 
more  expensive  than  when  the  fees  were  first  fixed.  But 
the  business  was  far  greater,  and  often  a  patentee  put  up 
the  post  of  deputy  to  auction :  the  highest  bidder  obtained 
it,  and  came  out  to  Jamaica  determined  to  make  the  most 

*  Journals,  vol.  v.  pp.  692-596. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  143 

he  could  of  his  bargain.  One  gentleman  held  nine  offices 
which  had  been  combined  in  the  early  days  of  the  colony 
for  convenience.  He  was  island  secretary,  clerk  of  the 
records,  clerk  of  the  council,  clerk  of  court  of  errors,  clerk 
of  court  of  ordinary,  clerk  of  committee  of  correspondence, 
associate  judge  on  trials  for  piracy,  commissary-general, 
and  notary  public.  This  fortunate  patentee  resided  in 
England,  and  received  £1500  sterling  per  annum.  His 
first  deputy,  who  was  also  often  in  England,  received  about 
£1120  per  annum,  and  two  assistant  deputies  still  managed 
to  get  about  £500  per  annum  each. 

The  office  of  the  provost-marshal  was  in  a  very  dis- 
reputable state.  In  three  years  £30,000  was  received  for 
levies  but  never  accounted  for.  Goods  seized  for  debt  were 
often  sold  at  less  than  half  their  value  to  agents  of  deputies 
and  their  assistants.  The  comptroller  of  customs  of  course 
was  an  absentee  :  he  had  sixteen  deputies  in  forty  years, 
from  1725  to  1765.  Each  did  all  he  could  for  himself,  and 
as  an  illustration  of  the  result  of  their  united  efforts  it  was 
noted  that  fees  on  shipping  were  five  times  higher  in  Kings- 
ton than  in  most  North  American  ports.  In  the  secretary's 
office  eighteen  thousand  judgments  lay  unrecorded,  and 
great  numbers  had  been  lost  by  carelessness.  But  the 
complaints  of  the  assembly  and  the  expose  of  Mr.  Long  in 
his  history  were  alike  unheeded;*  for  nearly  two  genera- 
tions longer  favouritism  triumphed,  and  official  neglect  and 
jobbery  continued  to  enjoy  protection. 

When  Sir  William  Trelawny  arrived  in  October,  1768, 
he  found  that  though  a  good  understanding  had  existed 
between  Mr.  EUetson  and  the  late  house  of  assembly,  that 
gentleman  had  been  obliged  to  dissolve  it,  for  it  was  impos- 
sible to  induce  the  members  to  refund  the  money  Lyttleton 
had  drawn  from  home  for  the  troops.  The  new  assembly 
met  in  November,  but  Trelawny  soon  found  that  he  could 
not  move  the  house  from  the  position  it  had  taken.  Some 
other  difficulties  arose  about  revenue  bills ;  the  coimcil 
could  not  pass  them  in  the  form  they  were  sent  up,  and 
at  the  prorogation  the  governor  remonstrated  with  the 
assembly.  When  they  next  met  the  inevitable  string  of  re- 
solutions, justifying  their  course  and  blaming  the  governor, 
followed.    But  Sir  William,  defending  his  course  and  that 

*  Journals,  vol.  v. ;  Long's  **  History." 


144  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

of  the  council,  dissolved  the  house.*  This  was  for  many 
years  the  last  struggle  of  any  importance  between  the 
different  branches  of  the  legislature.  The  next  assembly 
speedily  despatched  the  necessary  business  in  a  manner 
which  was  in  perfect  accordance  with  their  own  undoubted 
privileges,  and  in  no  way  violated  those  of  others.! 

The  remaining  years  of  this  governor's  administration 
were  peaceful.  Possessed  of  an  ample  fortune,  he  exercised 
a  somewhat  profuse  hospitality,  and  when  on  the  11th  of 
December,  1772,  he  died,  after  a  lingering  illness,  the 
assembly,  to  testify  its  respect  to  his  memory,  voted  a 
thousand  guineas  to  defray  the  cost  of  a  public  fimeral. 

Colonel  Dalling  now  became  Ueutenant-governor.  He 
retained  office  until  the  arrival  of  Sir  Basil  Keith  in  1773, 
and  resumed  it  again  in  1777,  when  the  office  of  governor 
was  once  more  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Keith.  Dalling 
had  by  this  time  attained  the  rank  of  major-general,  and 
ruled  the  island  until  the  year  1782.  During  this  period 
the  American  colonies  were  engaged  in  the  struggle  for 
independence.  The  inhabitants  of  Jamaica  had  also  cause 
to  complain  of  some  of  those  unwise  acts  which  had  driven 
the  northern  states  into  rebellion. 

Throughout  the  island  there  was  much  uneasiness  in 
consequence  of  th'e  hostile  attitude  of  Spain  and  France. 
Taxes  were  heavy,  and  insurances  on  homeward-bound 
ships  ranged  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  per  cent.  Serious 
fears  were  expressed  by  many  colonists  as  to  the  conse- 
quences of  the  great  influx  of  negroes.  In  1775  there  were 
no  less  than  200,000  in  the  colony,  and  only  12,737  whites. 
The  assembly  passed  two  bills  restricting  the  traffic.  They 
were  disallowed  at  home.  Bristol  and  Liverpool  petitioned 
against  them,  and  Lord  Dartmouth,  as  president  of  the 
board  of  trade,  declared  they  could  not  **  allow  the  colonies 
to  check  or  discourage  in  any  degree  a  traffic  so  beneficial 
to  the  nation.**  Strange  to  say,  that  very  year,  in  King- 
ston, a  debating  club,  composed  largely  of  slaveholders, 
had  decided  that  the  slave  trade  **was  neither  consistent 
with  sound  policy,  the  laws  of  nature,  nor  morality.''! 

The  war  with  the  North  American  states  met  with  little 

*  Journals,  vol.  vi.  pp.  250-264.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  vi.  p.  276. 

I  Southey'B  "  Chronological  History  of  West  Indies,"  vol.  ii.  pp. 
420,  421. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  145 

sympathy  in  the  West  Indies.  The  assembly  of  Jamaica 
petitioned  the  sovereign  to  interpose  and  prevent  free 
colonies  from  being  reduced  to  a  state  of  slavish  dependence 
on  the  mother  country ;  and  maintained  that  all  colonial 
legislatures  were  free  and  independent  bodies.  The  isola- 
tion of  the  sugar  colonies,  and  the  overwhelming  proportion 
of  the  slave  population,  alone  prevented  more  tangible 
co-operation  with  the  struggling  colonists  of  the  American 
states. 

Maroons  and  slaves  were  alike  a  source  of  uneasiness. 
It  was  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and  after  what 
threatened  to  be  a  serious  mutiny,  that  the  Maroons  at 
Moore  Town  were  induced  by  the  superintendent  to  give  up 
one  of  their  number  who  had  been  guilty  of  a  double 
murder  at  Old  Harbour.*  Soon  after  this  aflfair  there  was 
an  outbreak  among  the  slaves  in  Hanover  and  St.  Jameses. 
Thirty  of  the  ringleaders  were  executed,  but  so  great  was 
the  consternation,  that  a  large  homeward-bound  fleet  of 
more  than  one  hundred  ships  was  detained  for  some  days. 

At  this  time  two  culprits  of  very  different  nationalities 
greatly  troubled  the  colony.  One  was  a  Scotchman,  the 
other  a  rimaway  negro.  The  former,  Hutchinson,  resided 
at  Pedro  Vale,  in  St.  Anns  :  he  occupied  a  lonely  house, 
and  was  sinc^ularly  morose  in  his  habits.  The  murder  of  a 
neighbourmi  overseer  by  bis  band  baving  become  known, 
he  fled,  and  was  picked  up  at  sea  in  a  canoe  by  a  vessel 
sent  in  search  of  him  by  Lord  Eodney.  A  number  of 
human  bodies  were  discovered  cast  into  a  cockpit  near  his 
house,  and  several  watches  were  found  in  his  possession; 
hence  it  is  probable  that,  as  asserted  by  Bridges,!  he  was 
guilty  of  many  murders  besides  that  for  which  he  suffered. 
Local  tradition  asserts  that  he  was  a  friend  of  Bums,  whom 
he  endeavoured  to  persuade  to  come  to  Jamaica ;  but  the 
letters  of  the  Hutchinson  who  was  a  correspondent  of  the 
poet  are  dated  some  years  after  the  execution  of  the  St. 
Anns'  ogre. 

The  other  culprit  is  well  known,  not  only  in  the  nursery 
tales  of  Jamaica,  but  in  melodramatic  literature  as  Three- 
fingered  Jack.  His  great  haunt  was  in  St.  David's,  among 
the  hills  near  the  Falls,  nine  miles  to  the  windward  of 
Kingston.     He  was  the  Turpin  of  the  Windward  Eoad,  but 

*  Joiimals,  vol.  viii.  p.  512.  +  **  Annals,"  vol.  ii  pp.  161-166. 

11 


146  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

was  really  more  dreaded  than  might  have  been  expected. 
Beadu,  a  Maroon,  killed  him  at  last,  and  produced  the 
three-fingered  hand  as  evidence  of  the  fact.  Readu  had  no 
cause  to  complain  of  an  ungrateful  government ;  for  forty 
years  he  enjoyed  a  pension  of  £20  for  his  exploit.  Others 
who  assisted  him  were  rewarded  with  corresponding  Ube- 
rality,  and  a  lad  who  accompanied  the  party  received  an 
allowance  to  a  very  great  old  age.  Negro  stealers  and 
small  piratical  gangs  figure  in  the  criminal  records  of  this 
period. 

In  March,  1778,  the  French  recognised  the  independence 
of  the  United  States,  and  war  was  declared.  The  West 
Indies  suffered  greatly  in  the  conflict ;  Dominica  and  St, 
Lucia  were  speedily  captured  by  the  French.  D'Estaing, 
with  a  fleet  of  twenty-six  ships  of  the  line,  boasted  that 
before  a  year  had  passed  away  he  would  capture  every 
British  island  in  the  West  Indies.  Grenada  and  St.  Vin- 
cent were  taken,  but  the  undecisive  engagement  of  Byron, 
who  with  vastly  inferior  force  attacked  the  fleet  of  D'Es- 
taing,  stopped  him  in  his  career ;  and  the  colonists  were 
able  to  breathe  more  freely  when  they  heard  he  had  sailed 
for  the  coast  of  Georgia.  The  Kingston  papers  of  1779 
give  a  lively  picture  of  the  excitement  that  prevailed  in 
that  city.  Ships  were  continually  coming  in  with  reports 
that  D'Estaing*s  fleet  had  been  seen  at  sea  approaching 
the  island.  Vessels  arriving  to  reinforce  the  fleet  were 
often  mistaken  for  the  frigates  of  the  French. 

Calling  was  calm  and  collected.  Additional  fortifications 
were  thrown  up  on  all  sides.  All  the  prisoners  and  a  thou- 
sand slaves  were  employed  in  entrenching  Spanish  Town, 
or  on  other  military  works.  The  militia  displayed  great  en- 
thusiasm, and  was  brought  by  the  governor  into  good  order. 
There  was  an  encampment  near  Bock  Fort,  and  Port  Boyal 
was  greatly  strengthened.  The  people  generally  bore  the 
burdens  imposed  by  this  state  of  things  with  cheerfulness, 
but  bad  food  supplied  by  contractors  nearly  occasioned  a 
mutiny  among  the  troops.  Nelson,  who  was  then  on  the 
station,  was  appointed  commander  of  Fort  Charles.  He 
was  so  impressed  with  the  danger  by  which  the  island  was 
threatened,  that  he  warned  his  English  friends  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  his  next  visiting  Europe  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 
However,  the  gathering  storm  was  averted.    D'Estaing 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  147 

was  heard  of  soon  after  as  helping  the  republicans  in 
North  America,  and  large  naval  and  military  reinforce- 
ments arrived  from  England.* 

As  soon  as  the  immediate  danger  had  passed  away. 
General  Calling  proceeded  to  carry  out  a  projected  plan  of 
attack  on  the  Spanish  possessions.  Fort  St.  Juan,  on  the 
river  Nicaragua,  was  to  be  captured,  and  the  expedition 
was  afterwards  to  take  possession  of  the  cities  Leon  and 
Granada.  This  Would  have  been  done  if  Nelson  had  been 
in  supreme  command,  but  time  was  wasted  on  the  imhealthy 
coast.  When  the  party  at  length  moved  up  the  river,  Nelson 
was  not  allowed  to  storm  the  castle  of  St.  Juan,  as  he  had 
done  the ,  intervening  batteries.  It  was  taken,  but  only 
after  a  formal  siege.  The  climate  helped  the  foe,  and  at 
last  men  were  not  left  in  sufficient  numbers  to  bury  the 
dead.  Out  of  1800  men,  1300  of  whom  came  from  Jamaica, 
only  380  survived,  and  Nelson,  half-poisoned  by  manchio- 
neel  and  prostrated  by  fever,  was  carried  ashore  at  Port 
Koyal  in  his  cot,  and  narrowly  escaped  death.  + 

Sir  George  Eodney  was  now  in  the  West  Indies  with  a 
powerful  fleet,  and  in  April  of  1780  engaged  that  of  France. 
The  action  was  not  decisive ;  the  British  fleet  was  not  suf- 
ficiently compact.  Soon  after  the  Spanish  fleet  joined  the 
French,  and  the  combined  armament  was  too  great  for  the 
force  at  Rodney's  command.  Circumstances  favoured  the 
British :  the  allied  transports  were  too  crowded,  and  sickness 
made  great  havoc  among  the  troops,  who  were  in  conse- 
quence landed  at  Martinique.  The  French  and  Spanish 
commanders  could  not  agree  on  a  joint  plan  of  action, 
but  sailed  together  as  far  as  Hayti.  Once  more  the  in- 
habitants of  Jamaica  trembled  at  the  tidings  that  reached 
them,  but  at  Hayti  the  combined  fleets  separated.  The 
French  convoyed  home  the  sugar  ships  from  the  colonies 
in  their  possession.  The  Spaniards  put  into  Havannah, 
and  Rodney,  unable  to  discover  the  end  they  had  in  view, 
sailed  to  the  northward.  It  was  well  he  did  so,  for  he  thus 
escaped  the  most  terrible  hurricane  which  ever  spread  death 
and  destruction  even  in  West  Indian  seas. 

On  the  3rd  of  October  the  storm  occurred  by  which  part 

*  "Journals  of  Assembly,"  vol.  vii. ;  Bridges'  "Annals,"  vol.  ii.; 
"  Kingston  Mercury,"  1779. 

t  Southey's  "  Lite  of  Nelson ;"  Journals,  vol.  vii.  pp.  816-886, 

11  * 


148  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

of  Jamaica  was  devastated.  Seven  days  later  there  was 
another  at  Barbadoes  and  the  neighbouring  islands.  The 
morning  of  the  3rd  was  comparatively  fine,  little  wind,  and 
now  and  then  a  light,  drizzling  rain ;  but  towards  noon  the 
wind  became  very  violent,  and  the  roar  of  the  sea  was  most 
unusually  loud.  Slightly-built  buildings  now  began  to 
totter  and  fall ;  still  it  was  not  until  4  p.m.  that  the 
hurricane  really  began.  The  wind,  which  had  hitherto 
come  from  the  north  and  east,  then  veered  to  the  south, 
and  blew  with  unparalleled  violence.  Fortimately  the  se- 
verity of  the  storm  was  limited  to  the  south-western  portion 
of  the  island,  but  by  nightfall  not  a  building  of  any  descrip- 
tion was  left  standing  in  the  town  of  Savannah  la  Mar,  or 
for  thirty  to  forty  miles  on  either  side  of  it.  The  face  of 
the  country  was  changed :  valleys  and  mountains  were 
alike  stripped  of  verdure ;  all  the  sugar  canes  but  the  very 
youngest  plants  were  entirely  destroyed,  and  these  suffered 
greatly.  Eivers  were  running  through  new  channels; 
large  lakes  were  seen  in  districts  which  a  day  before  had 
been  covered  with  cane-fields  ;  huge  rocks  were  hurled  down 
from  the  highest  mountains ;  deep  ravines  formed  across 
the  roads,  which  were  everywhere  impassable.  In  many 
cases  it  was  quite  impossible  for  proprietors  to  point  out 
the  bounds  of  their  respective  estates.  Without  exception, 
every  negro  ground  was  utterly  destroyed,  plantains  and 
fruit  trees  thrown  down,  and  hardly  a  yam  hill  left  unin- 
jured. 

At  Savannah  la  Mar  the  waves,  rolling  in  upon  the 
place,  swept  away  the  very  materials  of  which  the  houses 
had  been  built.  The  loss  of  life,  even  on  shore,  it  was 
impossible  to  estimate  :  in  one  strong  building  forty  persons 
had  congregated  in  the  hope  of  safety,  and  were  all  killed. 
It  seemed  as  if  no  circumstance  of  horror  was  wanting  to 
add  to  the  terrors  of  the  scene.  A  fire  broke  out,  oc- 
casioned by  the  violence  of  the  wind,  and  was  raging 
furiously  when  the  full  fury  of  the  hurricane  commenced. 
In  the  midst  of  the  desolation  that  followed  a  succession 
of  earthquakes  was  felt.  Then  the  sea  rose,  a  mighty 
wave  swept  up  the  beach  for  nearly  a  mile,  and  as  it 
retired,  left  two  ships  and  a  schooner  stranded  among 
the  trees. 

The  morning  of  the  next  day  presented  a  scene  of  misery 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  149 

and  despair.  Husbands  were  searching  among  the  ruins 
for  their  wives,  mothers  for  their  children.  And  here, 
as  after  the  earthquake  at  Port  Royal,  the  viDany  of  the 
colony,  whether  clothed  in  white  skins  or  black,  saw  in  the 
ruin  an  opportunity  for  plunder.  Bodies  lay  unburied,  and 
horrid  stenches  filled  the  air.  As  usual,  after  such  visita- 
tions in  the  tropics,  pestilence  raged  in  so  malignant  a  form 
that  death  frequently  occurred  within  an  hour  of  the  first 
attack.*  Famine  followed ;  flour  rose  to  a  fabulous  price  ; 
d£10  sterling  was  demanded  for  a  barrel  of  less  than  two 
hundred  pounds  in  weight,  and  of  an  inferior  quahty,  nor 
could  supplies  be  obtained  from  North  America,  owing  to 
the  war.  The  British  government,  when  it  heard  of  the 
calamity,  permitted  free  trade  with  Ireland  for  a  season  ;  but 
till  then  little  imported  food  could  be  obtained,  except  from 
the  prizes  brought  in  from  time  to  time. 

d£10,000  was  subscribed  in  a  few  days  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Kingston  to  relieve  the  distress,  and  d£40,000  was 
sent  by  the  British  government.  But  a  report  of  the 
house  of  assembly  described  the  relief  given  as  like  a 
drop  in  the  ocean  when  compared  with  the  distress.  This 
must  be  regarded  as  extravagance,  but  the  country  not 
only  sustained  incalculable  loss,  but  was  put  to  heavy 
charges  to  replace  the  barracks  and  other  public  buildings 
destroyed.  Barbadoes  was  by  far  the  greatest  sufferer: 
there  4326  of  the  inhabitants  perished,  and  the  loss  of 
property  was  estimated  at  £1,820,000.  In  Martinico,  in 
one  of  the  series  of  hurricanes  which  happened  in  the  firpt 
days  of  October,  seven  thousand  people  were  killed,  sixteen 
hundred  being  patients  and  nurses  in  the  hospital  of  Notre 
Dame.t  The  shores  of  the  West  Indian  Islands  were 
strewn  with  wrecks  :  English,  French,  and  Spanish  navies 
suffered  alike. 

When  the  year  1781  commenced,  another  foe  was  added 
to  the  list  of  nations  with  whom  England  was  at  war. 
Unfortunately  for  themselves,  the  Dutch  joined  the  French 
and  Spaniards.  Eodney,  who  was  still  in  command, 
captured  St.  Eustacia,  with  nearly  two  himdred  ships,  and 
booty  valued   at  three  millions   sterling.     Saba  and   St. 

*  Beckford's  "  Account  of  Jamaica,"  vol.  i.  pp.  90-140 ;  "  Annual 
Register,*'  1781 ;  Edwards'  "  History  of  West  Indies." 
t  Southoy's  "  Chronological  History,"  vol.  ii.  475,  476. 


160  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Baxtholomew  soon  followed,  and  then  Berbice  and  De- 
merara.  Prizes  began  to  fill  the  harbour  of  Port  Eoyal 
once  more :  those  were  the  most  welcome  that  contained 
food. 

On  the  1st  of  August  another  hurricane,  only  less 
disastrous  than  that  of  the  former  year,  damaged  property 
and  destroyed  the  newly -planted  provision  grounds .  of  the 
negroes.  Nearly  one  hundred  vessels  were  driven  on 
shore,  and  several  men-of-war  totally  lost. 

Governor  Bailing  having  left  the  island.  General  Campbell, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  forces,  assumed  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  as  a  powerful  fleet  was  known  to  be  under  the 
command  of  Count  de  Grasse,  preparing  for  the  invasion 
of  Jamaica,  he  was  soon  busily  engaged  in  providing  for  its 
defence.  While  thus  employed  another  calamity  befel  the 
afflicted  colony  :  a  fire  broke  out  in  Kingston.*  In  seven 
hours  valuable  stores  were  destroyed,  and  property  to  the 
value  of  d£300,000  sterling.  A  change  in  the  wind 
alone  prevented  further  damage.  As  illustrative  of  the 
character  of  the  times,  it  is  mentioned  that  a  negro  girl 
perished  in  the  flames  through  being  chained  to  a  heavy 
weight  which  retarded  her  flight. 

The  gallant  Eodney,  with  Hood  as  second  in  command, 
was  determined,  if  possible,  to  frustrate  the  designs  of  Be 
Grasse,  who  on  the  5th  of  April  received  on  board,  at 
Martinique,  the  troops  designed  for  the  invasion  of  Jamaica. 
On  the  8th  Eodney  learned  from  his  frigates  that  the 
French  fleet  had  sailed  for  Guadaloupe.  It  was  clearly  no 
part  of  their  plan  to  come  to  an  engagement  "v^dth  Eodney. 
Be  Grasse  wished  to  effect  a  junction  with  a  Spanish  fleet 
off  Hayti,  which  would  have  increased  his  strength  to  sixty 
ships  of  the  line.  To  prevent  this  was  of  course  the  object 
Eodney  had  in  view.  He  immediately  left  his  anchorage 
at  St.  Lucia,  and  on  the  9th  both  fleets  lay  becalmed  off 
Bominica.  As  the  breeze  sprung  up,  the  French  made  for 
Guadaloupe.  That  morning  the  wind  favoured  the  French  ; 
it  only  reached  the  van  of  the  British  line,  but  Hood  lost 
no  time  in  following  with  such  ships  as  were  able.  The 
British  centre  and  rear  still  lay  becalmed,  and  Be  Grasse, 
believing  that  the  daring  of  Hood  had  placed  him  in  his 
power,   bore  down  upon   him  with  his  whole  fleet.     By 

*  February  3. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  151 

9  a.m.  Hood's  ship  was  engaged  with  three  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  other  ships  with  him  were  in  a  similar  predicament. 
De  Grasse  was  anxious  to  secure  a  victory  before  the 
freshening  breeze  could  bring  down  assistance,  but  no 
heart  in  Hood's  gallant  van  failed ;  all  fought  like  those 
old  Vikings  whose  blood  still  flows  in  British  veins. 
Terrible  loss  was  inflicted  on  the  crowded  crews  of  the 
French  ships,  and  presently  the  steady  trade  wind  brought 
down  the  whole  of  Rodney's  fleet. 

No  effort  was  spared  to  bring  on  a  general  engagement, 
but  the  French  had  the  advantage  of  the  wind,  and  got 
away.  Three  of  the  English  ships  were  damaged,  and  the 
fleet  lay  to  while  tliey  were  repaired.  Admiral  Drake  now 
took  the  van,  while  Hood's  ships  fell  back  to  the  rear  of 
the  line.  Next  day  the  French  were  still  in  sight,  but  on 
the  11th  they  were  hardly  visible ;  it  seemed  as  if  the 
junction  with  the  Spanish  fleet  would  now  be  effected.  At 
midday  two  of  their  ships,  crippled  in  the  late  action,  fell 
astern ;  an  attempt  was  at  once  made  by  the  British  fleet 
to  cut  them  off,  and  the  movement  led  De  Grasse,  with  his 
whole  fleet,  to  bear  down  to  their  assistance.  This  brought 
him  so  far  to  leeward  that  Bodney  at  length  saw  that  his 
hour  was  come. 

Both  fleets  lay  in  close  order  all  night,  and  with  the 
morning  of  the  12th  a  general  engagement  began.  By 
noon  the  breeze,  which  had  been  light,  freshened,  and  the 
British  admiral  perceived  that  a  plan  over  which  he  had 
meditated  for  years  was  now  practicable.  He  made  signals 
to  break  the  line  of  the  enemy.  In  the  Formidable,  followed 
by  the  Namur  and  Canada,  he  sailed  through  the  French 
centre,  the  ships  in  his  rear  followed,  and  the  enemy  was 
thrown  into  the  utmost  confusion.  Unfortunately,  Hood 
was  too  far  in  the  rear  to  render  efficient  help.  The  French 
made  a  desperate  resistance,  but  it  was  in  vain.  When 
night  fell  five  of  their  ships  were  in  possession  of  the 
English;  another  had  been  sunk  in  the  action.  The 
carnage  had  been  fearful ;  the  6000  men  destined  for  the 
invasion  of  Jamaica  only  crowded  the  ships,  but  were 
useless  in  the  fight.  Some  3000  were  kiUed  and  wounded. 
Seven  days  after  Hood  captured  four  more  ships  in  the 
Mona  Passage  ;  nearly  all  the  rest  were  damaged. 

Thus  was  Jamaica  saved.   The  battering  cannon  intended 


152  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

for  the  attack  on  her  fortifications  was  on  board  the 
captured  ships,  and  Count  De  Grasse  was  among  the 
prisoners.  As  Eodney  brought  his  prizes  into  Port  Royal, 
the  inhabitants  were  filled  with  delight,  and  throughout  the 
island  men  once  more  breathed  freely.  England  rewarded 
Rodney  with  a  peerage,  and  an  addition  of  £2000  per 
annum  to  the  pension  he  had  previously  received.  In 
Jamaica  a  marble  statue  by  Bacon,  costing  £3000,  com- 
memorates the  event.  A  picture  of  Rodney  breaking 
through  the  French  Une  is  in  the  commodore's  residence 
at  Port  Royal.  The  intrepidity  of  this  renowned  naval 
commander  and  of  his  fleet,  alone,  under  God,  preserved 
Jamaica  from  the  horrors  of  invasion. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COMMERCE   AND   AGRICULTURE. 

The  traffic  in  human  flesh  was  the  most  lucrative  of  all 
the  commercial  interests  in  which  Jamaica  was  concerned ; 
its  agricultural  operations  depended  on  it.  The  constant 
increase  in  the  number  of  sugar  plantations  gave  a  tre- 
mendous impetus  to  the  slave  trade,  and  owing  to  the 
demands  made  on  the  African  market,  the  price  of  negroes 
increased  rapidly.  It  was  repeatedly  asserted  that  the 
West  Indian  planters  were  not  responsible  for  the  existence 
of  West  Indian  slavery — that  they  found  the  system  in 
existence,  and  that  British,  not  colonial  merchants,  were 
chiefly  engaged  in  the  traffic.  But  it  must  be  obvious  that 
if  there  had  been  no  demand  the  supply  would  have  soon 
ceased.  The  attempt  to  place  the  guilt  of  slavery  on  any 
one  class  of  people  is  unjust.  Both  the  slave  trade  and 
slavery  may  be  charged  to  several  European  nations,  and 
to  the  colonists  simply  as  parts  of  those  nations.  English 
participation  in  the  traffic  dates  back  to  the  days  of  Queen 
Elizabeth.  She  knighted  Hawkins,  the  first  British  slave 
dealer,  and  made  him  treasurer  of  the  navj%  though  she 
condemned  the  system  at  one  time.     A  century  before  this,. 


COMMERCE  AND   AGRICULTURE.  158 

in  1442,  Anthony  Gonzales  had  brought  ten  negro  slaves 
to  Lisbon.  Immediately  expeditions  to  the  African  coast 
for  slaves  became  the  order  of  the  day  among  his  country- 
men. Two  generations  later  the  benevolent  Las  Casas 
made  the  great  blunder  of  his  life.  Filled  with  sympathy 
for  the  Indians  who  pined  away  under  the  privations  of 
bondage,  he  saw  in  the  African  negro  a  powerful  race, 
capable  as  he  conceived  of  enduring  captivity,  and  per- 
forming an  amount  of  labour  far  beyond  the  ability  of  the 
Indian.  Little  dreaming  of  the  misery  he  would  occasion, 
he  suggested  the  employment  of  Africans  in  the  Spanish 
colonies,  and  so  prepared  the  way  for  the  most  iniquitous 
system  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

In  1517  Charles  V.  granted  a  patent  to  certain  favoured 
individuals  to  export  four  thousand  slaves  into  Cuba, 
Porto  Rico,  and  Jamaica.  Forty-five  years  after,  Hawkins 
sailed  to  Sierra  Leone,  whence  he  carried  three  hundred 
negroes  to  Hayti,  and  sold  them  at  highly  remunerative 
prices.  The  trade  now  commenced  in  good  earnest,  and 
church-going  men  and  women  pocketed  its  proceeds  and 
felt  no  pangs  of  conscience.  Chartered  companies  with 
exclusive  rights,  after  the  fashion  of  those  days,  soon 
monopolised  the  trafl&c.  The  first  charter  was  granted  by 
James  I.  in  1618.  This  company  failing,  Charles  I. 
granted  a  second  charter  in  1631.  And  in  1662  we  find 
a  third  charter  granted  by  Charles  II.  to  an  association, 
with  the  Duke  of  York,  his  brother,  at  its  head.  Ten 
years  later  a  fourth  charter  was  bestowed,  and  not  only 
the  duke,  but  the  king  himself,  was  connected  with  the 
new  partnership.  In  1688  this  and  other  companies  not 
authorised  by  parliament  were  deprived  of  their  exclusive 
rights.  The  African  Company  still  continued  in  existence, 
though  the  trade  became  more  open ;  but  it  was  not  until 
the  passing  of  an  act  in  1750,  for  extending  and  improving 
the  trade  to  Africa,  that  the  traffic  in  slaves  could  be  called 
free. 

The  exact  number  of  slaves  brought  to  Jamaica  from 
1680  to  1700  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  during  that  period 
three  hundred  thousand  had  been  taken  from  the  coast  to 
different  colonies.  From  1700  to  1786,  six  hundred  and 
ten  thousand  slaves  were  landed  in  Jamaica,  of  whom 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  were  re-exported. 


154  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

This  gives  an  average  of  rather  more  than  five  thousand 
per  annum  retained  in  the  colony.  The  number  varied 
very  greatly  in  different  years.  In  1732  more  than  thirteen 
thousand  were  imported;  in  1767  only  a  fourth  of  that 
number. 

Kingston  was  for  a  long  period  the  seat  of  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Assiento  Company.  Sir  John  Castello,  the 
great  leader  in  the  trafl&c,  was  a  merchant  prince  in  the 
estimation  of  its  inhabitants.  The  business  was  lucrative 
in  the  extreme,  and  anything  that  affected  it  was  viewed 
with  great  alarm  by  the  legislature.*  More  than  half  the 
ships  engaged  in  the  slave  trade  sailed  from  Liverpool, 
rather  more  than  a  fourth  from  London,  and  the  great 
proportion  of  the  remainder  from  Bristol.  Montego  Bay 
was  next  to  Kingston  the  chief  port  of  disembarcation,  as 
sugar  estates  began  to  multiply  in  the  western  parishes. 
One  merchant  sent  home  j650,000  in  1771  for  slaves  he 
had  sold  in  that  rising  seaport. 

Commerce  of  a  more  legitimate  character  was  greatly 
hampered  by  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  it  by  the  parent 
state.  The  colonies  (those  in  North  America  not  excepted) 
were  looked  upon  as  appropriate  spheres  for  commercial 
monopoly.  Foreign  shipping  was  excluded  from  all  share 
in  the  trade  of  the  plantations.  Great  Britain  received 
the  articles  they  could  export,  and  supplied  them  with 
nearly  all  that  was  required  in  exchange.  Trade  between 
colonies  of  the  same  nation  could  not  be  prohibited,  and  a 
considerable  amount  of  intercourse  therefore  existed  between 
Jamaica  and  the  North  American  states,  previous  to  the 
war  of  independence.  The  average  value  of  the  goods 
imported  from  those  states  to  the  British  West  Indies,  for 
four  years  before  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  ex- 
ceeded j6700,000  sterling  per  annum.  For  a  hundred  and 
twenty  years  this  trade  had  been  a  source  of  great  advan- 
tage to  all  the  colonies,  and  its  suspension,  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  brought  Jamaica  to  the  verge  of  famine. 
Necessaries,  rather  than  luxuries,  were  imported  from  New 
England.  Corn,  flour,  rice,  beef,  pork,  and  fish  were  ex- 
changed for  sugar,  rum,  and  other  tropical  products. 

A  good  deal  of  intercourse  was  maintained  with  the 
Spanish  colonies.     At   Honduras  three  thousand  British 

*  Journals,  vol.  iii.  p.  802. 


COMMERCE   AND   AQRICULTUTE.  155 

subjects  found  employment  as  logwood  cutters.  Though 
often  in  a  chronic  state  of  warfare  with  the  Spaniards, 
they  exported  to  the  value  of  £80,000  per  annum.  A  little 
trade  was  also  done  with  the  Mosquito  Coast  Indians,  in 
hides,  dyewoods,  and  cochineal.  One  enterprising  man 
from  Jamaica,  Mr.  Corrin,  sailed  up  a  river  on  the  coast 
far  into  the  interior,  and  did  quite  a  thriving  trade  with  the 
Indians. 

The  value  of  Jamaica  exports  in  1734  was  a  little  short 
of  £540,000.*  In  less  than  thirty  years  the  amount  was 
all  but  doubled,  having  reached  £1,076,155. t  But  seven 
years  later  (1770)  it  was  £1,538,730.  t  At  the  last-named 
period  freight  to  London  was  quoted  at  three  shillings  and 
ninepence  a  hundred-weight  for  sugar;  sixpence  a  gallon 
for  rum ;  coflfee,  ginger,  tortoiseshell,  and  cocoa,  one  penny 
a  pound;  pimento,  cotton,  and  indigo,  one  penny-half- 
penny. Dyewoods,  being  packed  amongst  the  hogsheads, 
were  carried  at  thirty  shillings  a  ton.  A  shilling  a  cubic 
foot  was  a  common  rate  for  other  goods.  But  this  was  in 
times  of  peace.     During  war  higher  rates  were  demanded. 

The  legal  rate  of  interest  on  money  was  gradually  re- 
duced. It  was  fixed  at  10  per  cent,  in  1681,  at  8  per  cent, 
in  1739,  and  at  6  per  cent,  in  1752.  These  rates  were 
merely  nominal ;  needy  men  paid  5  to  15  per  cent,  ad- 
ditional in  the  way  of  premiums ;  and  as  the  merchants  to 
whom  planters  were  indebted  required  all  produce  to  be 
consigned  to  themselves  or  their  agents,  other  disadvantages 
were  incurred,  and  many  estates  hopelessly  involved  thus 
passed  into  the  hands  of  commercial  houses. 

English  and  several  Spanish  coins  passed  current  in  the 
island,  but  none  of  smaller  value  than  threepence.  This 
was  regarded  as  a  halfpenny  would  be  in  England,  and 
improvidence  was  thus  taught  to  those  who  had  much  need 
of  economy. 

Sugar  was  now  recognised  as  the  great  staple  of  the 
colony.  The  rapid  increase  of  production  was  marvellous. 
In  1675  seventy  small  plantations  were  reported,  but  the 
average  production  of  each  was  inconsiderable.  In  1739 
there  were  429  estates,  yielding  33,000  hogsheads  of  sugar 
and   13,200   puncheons   of  rum.     In  a   little   more  than 

*  Edwards'  "  History,"  vol.  i.  p.  286. 

f  Campbell's  "  Political  Survey  of  Great  Britain."  J  Ibid. 


156  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

twenty  yeaors  after  the  estates  had  increased  to  640,  and  the 
production  was  close  upon  45,000  hogsheads  of  sugar  and 
22,400  puncheons  of  rum.  In  1772  as  much  as  75,000 
hogsheads  were  produced,  by  about  700  estates. 

The  fluctuations  in  prices  during  this  period  were  con- 
siderable. In  1760  the  price  of  Muscovado  sugar  in  the 
London  market  ranged  from  32s.  to  47s.  per  hundred- 
weight. In  1782  the  quotations  were  from  40s.  to  73s., 
according  to  quality.  Seven  years  before  they  had  been  as 
low  as  258.  to  39s.,  and  immediately  after  the  peace  they 
again  fell  to  from  26s.  to  46s. 

The  character  of  the  stimulus  given  by  high  prices  was 
not  altogether  unhealthy.  Though  in  some  localities  it 
led  to  the  opening  up  of  estates  which  could  only  be  made 
to  pay  under  the  system  of  protection  and  slave  labour, 
and  which  were  abandoned  in  many  cases  on  the  aboUtion 
of  slavery,  and  in  others  on  the  abolition  of  protective 
duties,  yet  in  some  particular  instances  an  impetus  was 
given  to  cultivation  where  only  capital  and  enterprise 
were  required  to  overcome  some  natural  obstacles  and 
secure  an  ample  reward  for  years  to  come.  The  Plantain 
Garden  district  furnishes  the  most  striking  illustration  of 
this.  The  whole  of  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island  had 
been  pronounced  imhealthy  by  the  Spaniards,  and  so  indeed 
Governor  Stokes  and  his  eleven  hundred  followers  had 
found  it.  Still  the  soil  was  fertile.  On  either  side  of  the 
Plantain  Garden  river  lay  eight  thousand  acres  of  rich 
but  swampy  land.  The  first  sugar  property  was  established 
here  about  the  middle  of  the  centuiy,  and  a  system  of 
judicious  drainage  so  augmented  the  value  of  the  land,  that 
a  few  years  after  its  settlement  the  estate,  with  buildings 
and  slaves,  was  sold  for  £105,000.  The  whole  valley  was 
soon  after  brought  into  cultivation,  and  is  still  one  of  the 
best  cultivated  and  most  remunerative  portions  of  the 
island. 

£30,000  to  £40,000  was  regarded  as  a  fair  price  for 
a  sugar  estate  yielding  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty  hogsheads  of  sugar,  and  rather  more  than  half 
that  number  of  puncheons  of  rum  ;  the  negroes,  num- 
bering from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred,  being 
included,  as  constituting  one  half  the  value  of  the  whole. 
The  annual  income  derived  from  such  a  property  has  been 


COMMERCE   AND   AGRICULTURE.  157 

variously  stated.  Much  would  necessarily  depend  on  soil, 
situation,  and  management.  Mr.  Beckford,  who  owned 
properties  in  several  districts,  on  which  he  had  three 
thousand  five  hundred  slaves,  estimated  his  profits  at  £10 
sterling  per  annum  for  each.  As  only  about  a  third  of  the 
whole  number  would  be  really  eflfective,  the  amount  seems 
large,*  and  yet  it  would  be  only  some  seven  per  cent,  on 
his  reputed  capital.  Ten  per  cent,  has  been  stated  as  an 
average  return  on  capital  invested  in  sugar  plantations  a 
century  ago.  Mr.  Long  estimated  £11  a  hogshead  for 
sugar,  and  dCQ  a  puncheon  for  rum,  as  a  fair  rate  of  profit. 
On  an  estate  sellmg  for  £30,000  or  £40,000,  this  would  give 
£3000  to  £4000  per  annum,  or  £12  to  £14  for  each  slave. 
As  Mr.  Long  further  adds  that  an  estate  usually  sold  for 
about  ten  years'  purchase,  the  general  accuracy  of  the 
estimate  seems  confirmed.  In  Mr.  Beckford*s  lower  esti- 
mate allowance  is  probably  made  for  losses  by  hurricanes 
and  floods,  which  ought  to  be  allowed  for  in  calculations 
extending  over  a  series  of  years.  The  profits  of  one  year 
would  often  be  a  very  unsafe  criterion  for  those  of  another. 

A  great  difference  existed  in  the  case  of  the  active,  intelli- 
gent proprietor  superintending  his  own  affairs  and  free  from 
pecuniary  embarrassments,  and  that  of  the  man  who,  bor- 
rowing from  the  merchants,  had  large  sums  to  pay  for 
interest  and  premiums,  and  could  neither  buy  nor  sell  at 
his  own  discretion.  No  property,  however  productive,  could 
long  withstand  such  drains  as  these,  above  all  where 
economy  in  domestic  expenditure  was  entirely  disregarded. 

The  case  of  the  absentee  proprietor  was  in  some  cases  as 
bad  as  that  of  the  involved  resident.  True  he  had  usually 
the  command  of  capital,  but  its  wise  and  careful  employ- 
ment depended  on  the  character  of  his  representative  or 
attorney.  Among  negro  proverbs,  not  of  African  origin,  is 
the  one  that  **Massa's  eye  makes  the  horse  grow  fat." 
Some  shrewd  old  slave  surely  uttered  this  as  the  result  of 
long  observation  of  the  comparative  condition  of  estates 
belonging  to  resident  or  absentee  proprietors.  The  com- 
mission paid  the  planting  attorney  (as  the  representative 
of  the  absentee  was  called)  was  six  per  cent,  on  the 
proceeds,  no  small  tax  in  itself.  But  these  gentlemen  had 
often  several  estates  under  their  care :  their  visits  to  each 

*  Edwarda*  "  History,"  vol.  ii.  p.  120. 


158  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

were  in  consequence  brief,  and  often  at  long  intervals  ;* 
their  supervision  was  in  consequence  only  nominal. 

A  strange  traffic  sprung  up  in  slaves  as  the  result  of  the 
pecuniary  embarrassments  of  many  proprietors.  The 
merchants  would  no  longer  sell  such  men  slaves  for  a  long 
term  of  credit  as  they  had  previously  done,  but  commenced 
a  system  of  hiring.  Eight  pounds  to  twelve  pounds  per 
annum  was  the  sum  charged  for  a  newly-imported  AMcan 
leased  or  hired  for  a  term  of  seven  years,  with  the  proviso 
that  in  the  event  of  death  the  hirer  was  responsible  for  the 
full  value  of  the  slave.  At  the  end  of  the  term  the  mer- 
chant received  back  his  living  chattel,  fuUy  acclimatized 
and  trained  for  labour,  and  thus  worth  at  least  a  third  more 
than  when  he  was  imported.  As  the  owner  had  paid 
nothing  for  his  food  and  clothing,  he  had  reaped  a  profit  on 
his  original  outlay  of  fifteen  to  twenty  per  cent,  per  annum 
for  the  seven  years  of  hiring,  in  addition  to  the  improve- 
ment in  value. 

This  system  was  distinct  from  that  of  the  "jobbing 
gangs.''  Persons  who  had  negroes  they  could  not  employ 
on  their  own  lands  were  accustomed  to  hire  them  out  to 
planters,  by  whom  they  were  employed  on  the  heavy  work 
of  the  estate.  For  digging  cane  holes  and  planting,  £6\ 
currency  per  acre  seems  to  have  been  a  common  price.  As 
fifty  of  such  slaves  were  expected  to  do  an  acre  and  a  half 
per  day,  about  two  shillings  and  twopence  sterling  would 
appear  to  have  been  the  value  of  a  day's  labour  a  century 
ago.: 

As  agriculture  was  not  then  studied  as  now,  even  in 
England,  the  crude  notions  that  prevailed  in  the  colonies 
ought  not  to  be  severely  censured.  The  old  cattle  mill 
described  by  Trapham  was  still  coiomon,  and  often  where 
water-power  could  have  been  made  available.  Even  at  the 
close  of  the  centmy  the  plough  was  in  very  partial  use. 
Whatever  trifling  improvements  in  agriculture  were  effected 
emanated  from  resident  proprietors.  In  1769  an  attempt 
was  made  to  form  an  agricultural  society,  but  it  soon  failed. 
A  few  works  on  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane  were 
written  by  experienced  planters.  Mr.  Sainthill  made  some 
improvements  in  the  construction  of  cattle  mills,  hanging 

*  Long*8  **  History,"  &c.  f  About  £3  12s.  sterling  money. 

J  Edwards*  *•  History." 


COMMIBRCE   AND   AGRICULTURE.  159 

coppers,  and  purifying  the  cane  liquor,  which  were  generally 
recognised.*  Some  years  later  Mr.  Bousie  received  £1000 
from  the  house  of  assembly  for  improvements  in  the  art  of 
sugar  boiling ;  and  later  still  Mr.  Baker  contributed  some 
important  suggestions  in  the  same  direction. 

■  Cotton  was  cultivated  with  partial  success,  the  crops 
ranging  from  five  hundred  to  two  thousand  bags,  according 
to  the  season.  The  green  seed  and  shrub  cotton  were  most 
cultivated.  In  1780,  one  shilling  and  sevenpence  per  pound 
was  obtained  in  London  for  Jamaica  cotton,  &om  two- 
]>enc6  to  sixpence  per  pound  less  than  that  brought  from 
Berbice  and  Demerara.  The  climate  of  the  West  Indies 
is  far  too  variable  for  successful  cotton  cultivation.  The 
immense  impetus  given  to  the  cotton  manufacture  by  the 
introduction  of  machinery,  had  no  effect  in  increasing  the 
supply  from  these  islands. 

The  failure  of  indigo  plantations  was  a  fact  more  to  be 
regretted.  Still  it  was  only  by  means  of  a  protective  duty 
they  were  kept  in  existence,  and  when  this  was  withdrawn 
they  failed ;  nor  have  succeeding  attempts  to  revive  this 
branch  of  industry  been  successful.  The  undertaking  was 
one  well  suited  to  men  of  moderate  means.  In  the  days  of 
protection  twenty  negroes  were  found  sufficient  for  a  plan- 
tation yielding  on  an  average  J6600  per  annum  to  its  owner. 
Withywood  in  Vere,  now  almost  a  desert,  was  at  one 
time  a  scene  of  great  prosperity.  As  an  illustration  of  this 
it  was  recorded  that  seventy  carriages  were  kept  by  the 
resident  proprietors  of  the  compact  and  well  cultivated 
cotton  and  indigo  plantations  which  lay  on  either  side  of 
the  banks  of  the  Minho. 

The  cultivation  of  cocoa  is  another  branch  of  industry 
which  passed  out  of  existence  during  this  period.  In  1672 
there  were  sixty  plantations,  in  1772  not  one.  There  had 
been  failures  in  the  crops,  but  English  legislation  did  far 
more  to  check  the  cultivation  of  this  wholesome  berry. 
The  duties  levied  on  it  raised  its  cost  to  six  times  its 
original  value.  It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  the 
cultivation  of  coffee  was  not  checked  b^  the  same  folly. 
The  production  reached  735,392  pounds  m  1780. 

Little  can  be  said  of  the  minor  products  of  the  island. 
The  land  was  to  an  injurious  extent  in  the  hands  of  large 
*  "  JoumaLs  of  Assembly,"  voL  iii.  p.  884,  &c. 


160  raSTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

proprietors,  and  immense  tracts  were  uncultivated.  There 
was  indeed  a  law  requiring  patentees  of  land  to  open  up 
five  acres  every  year,  and  from  1739  to  1760  fifty-five  thou- 
sand acres  were  forfeited  either  for  neglect  of  this  provision 
or  for  the  non-payment  of  quit-rent.  But  as  a  rule  quit-rents 
were  most  irregularly  collected.  From  1756  to  1760  only 
£'1100  per  annum  was  paid  on  this  account :  at  a  halfpenny 
an  acre  it  ought  to  have  heen  four  times  as  much.  In 
spite  of  legislation,  which  was  never  very  earnest  in  the 
matter,  a  few  individuals  monopolized  land  which  they  did 
not  and  could  not  properly  cultivate.  The  parish  of  St. 
James  contains  only  one  himdred  and  twenty  acres  less 
than  the  island  of  Barbadoes ;  yet  in  1765  there  were 
one  hundred  and  thirty-two  landed  proprietors  only  in 
that  large  parish,  and  nearly  four  thousand  in  Barbadoes. 

Attempts,  it  is  true,  were  made  to  introduce  a  middle 
or  secondary  class  of  planters,  and  also  skilled  artisans. 
During  1750  and  some  succeeding  years  a  hundred  and  eight 
families  were  introduced,  at  an  average  cost  to  the  colony 
of  j£160  each ;  but  the  scheme  was  a  failure,  like  aU  others 
having  reference  to  white  emigration  subsequently  at- 
tempted. Had  the  mountain  districts  been  as  accessible 
then  as  they  are  now,  the  result  might  have  been  different  ; 
but  to  place  white  labourers  in  the  lowland  districts  of 
Jamaica  is  simply  to  consign  them  to  a  premature  grave. 

The  life  of  a  tolerably  successful  pen-keeper  was  at  this 
period,  as  it  is  now,  the  most  enviable  to  be  found  in  the 
colony.  Cattle  thrive  well,  an<J  few  servants  are  required 
when  once  a  pen  is  well  established.  Before  1750  or  1760 
Scotch  grass  was  the  favourite  fodder;  it  grew  best  in 
marshy  places.  Dr.  Patrick  Brown  estimated  the  annual 
value  of  a  single  acre  of  this  grass  at  ii*120,  and  asserted 
that  five  horses  could  be  maintained  upon  it.*  If  so,  it  is 
indeed  surprising  that  it  should  have  been  so  easily  super- 
seded by  Guinea  grass,  even  in  places  where  swampy 
ground,  useless  for  any  other  purpose,  abounds.  The  in- 
troduction of  Guinea  grass  dates  back  to  1745.  The  captain 
of  a  slave  ship  had  brought  to  Mr.  Ellis,  the  chief  justice, 
some  rare  African  birds,  and  also  a  bag  of  the  seed  on 
which  they  fed.  The  birds  soon  died,  and  the  bag  contain- 
ing the  seed  was  shaken  out,  and  almost  forgotten.     Soon 

*  Dr.  Brown's  **  History." 


COirMERCE   AND   AOMCULTURE.  161 

after  the  cattle  were  observed  to  gather  on  a  certain  spot, 
feeding  with  apparent  relish  on  some  unknown  grass.  The 
African  seed  was  remembered,  and  the  place  carefully  fenced 
in.  From  this  time  the  grass  has  continued  to  spread,  and 
is  now  found  in  all  parts  of  the  island.  It  was  soon  exten- 
sively cultivated  in  the  Pedro  district,  lying  between  St. 
Anns  and  Clarendon.  Here  one  enterprising  proprietor 
cleared  on  an  average  £1200  per  annum  for  a  long  series 
of  years,  by  buying  lean  stock  from  the  estates,  and  fatten- 
ing them  for  market  on  the  newly-found  herbage.  Soon 
after  its  introduction  a  good  deal  of  hay  was  made  from  it, 
but  few  care  for  this  as  a  food  for  cattle  when  green  fodder 
is  available  all  the  year  round. 

'  Taking  a  general  view  of  the  extent  of  cultivation  towards 
the  close  of  the  period  under  review,  it  appears  that  rather 
less  than  half  of  the  four  millions  of  acres  in  Jamaica  had 
in  1780  been  patented  from  the  crown,  but  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  unpatented  land  was  rocky,  mountainous, 
and  of  little  value.  Upwards  of  seven  hundred  sugar  es- 
tates occupied  on  an  average  one  thousand  acres  each. 
There  were  about  four  hundred  breeding  pens ;  some  six 
hundred  plantations  of  provisions,  such  as  yams,  potatoes, 
com,  &c. ;  about  one  hundred  cotton  plantations  ;*  as  many 
pimento  walks ;  eight  indigo  farms,  though  these  were  all 
soon  abandoned ;  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  cofifee  planta- 
tions, these  last  rapidly  increasing  in  number  and  power 
of  production. 

Logwood,  which  was  introduced  in  1715,  and  spread 
rapidly,  soon  became  an  important  article  of  export ;  but 
mahogany  was  becoming  scarce,  and  only  found  in  the 
mountain  districts,  from  which  carriage  was  almost  im- 
possible. In  those  higher  districts  which  were  as  yet 
opened  for  cultivation,  fruits  and  vegetables  were  produced 
in  considerable  quantities,'  many  new  varieties  being 
occasionally  introduced  from  other  countries.  Mr.  Hinton 
East,  at  what  is  still  known  as  the  Botanic  Garden,  a  few 
miles  from  Kingston,  had  a  fine  collection  of  native  and 
exotic  plants,  of  which  a  catalogue  is  given  by  Edwards 
in  his  **  History  of  the  West  Indies."  In  1773  the  house  of 
assembly  established  gardens,  of  which  Dr.  Dancer  was 
the  first  curator.     Soon  after  they  were  planted  they  were 

*  The  return  of  cotton  plantations  was  made  in  1778. 

12 


162  HISTORY   OP   JAMAICA. 

greatly  enriched  by  a  collection  of  plants  presented  by 
Lord  Eodney,  who  had  seized  a  French  ship  sailing  to  St. 
Domingo  with  botanical  specimens  from  Bourbon.  The 
mango,  the  cinnamon,  and  some  other  plants,  now  widely 
diffused,  were  among  them. 

With  a  soil  so  luxuriant,  it  ought  not  to  be  a  matter  for 
surprise  that  any  mineral  treasures  Jamaica  was  supposed 
to  possess  should  be  almost  disregarded.  The  Bio  Minho 
had  been  searched  for  gold  in  the  days  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  basins  which  had  been  constructed  for  washing 
the  sand  were  to  be  traced  near  Longville  estate,  in 
Clarendon,  for  many  years  after  the  British  occupation. 
But  Mr.  Beckford,  who  inherited  this  property,  cared 
nothing  for  the  wealth  it  was  supposed  to  contain.  A  piece 
of  gold  found  in  the  river  did  not  induce  him  to  institute  a 
proper  investigation.  He  simply  pointed  to  the  cane  fields, 
and  observed,  that  with  such  a  mine  of  wealth  on  the 
surface,  it  would  be  idle  to  search  for  one  beneath  it. 
Silver,  though  sought  for  in  the  Healthshire  Hills,  was 
never  found.  Copper  was  obtained  in  small  quantities. 
Two  mines  opened  in  hills  near  Kingston  were  not  re- 
munerative, and  though  Sir  Simon  Clark  spent  a  consid- 
erable sum  in  mining  operations  in  St.  Johns,  the  attempt 
was  ultimately  abandoned.  A  good  copper  mine  would 
have  been  a  great  boon  to  the  island  :  the  metal  is  largely 
used  in  sugar  works,  and  from  £30,000  to  £40,000  were 
sent  home  annually  in  payment  for  it  during  the  flourishing 
days  of  sugar  cultivation. 

Manufactures  could  hardly  be  said  to  exist.  One  of  the 
most  successful  enterprises  of  this  description  was  that  of 
Mr.  John  Eeeder,  who,  in  1771,  established  a  foundry  in 
Kingston,  and  was  chiefly  employed  in  casting  the  various 
utensils  required  on  sugar  estates.  Ten  years  after,  it 
produced  a  clear  annual  income  to  its  proprietor  of  £4000. 
In  1782  it  was  considered  advisable  to  dismantle  the 
foundry,  lest  it  should  prove  serviceable  to  the  enemy  then 
daily  expected.  Mr.  Eeeder  received  £2000  from  the 
house  of  assembly  as  indemnity  for  the  losses  he  sustained 
in  consequence,  and  the  home  government  was  recom- 
mended, though  in  vain,  further  to  recompense  him; 
especially  as  Admirals  Eowley  and  Parker  both  testified 
that  he  had  assisted  in  repairing  ships  of  war,  which,  but 


COMMERCE   AND   AGRICULTURE.  168 

for  his  establishment,  would  have  lain  nseless  in  the 
harbour  till  supplies  could  have  been  obtained  from 
home.*  Some  years  later,  Reeder,  whose  foundry  was 
again  at  work,  obtained  a  patent  for  a  new  mode  of 
erecting  and  preserving  coppers  from  rust. 

The  business  done  by  the  merchants  was  as  a  rule  of  an 
extensive  character,  but  retail  shops  were  almost  unknown. 
Drapery  goods  could  only  be  bought  by  the  piece  from 
the  stores.  Pedlars  travelling  on  their  own  account,  or  as 
the  slaves  or  servants  of  free  coloured  people,  did  almost  the 
only  retail  business  then  transacted.  The  proprietors  of 
estates  procured  most  of  the  articles  required  by  their 
families  or  slaves  direct  from  England.  Provision  stores 
and  spirit  shops  were  more  common.  From  1770  to  1780 
the  sum  paid  for  licenses  to  retail  spirits  averaged  £8000 
per  annum,  of  which  three-fourths  came  from  Kingston. 

Kingston,  which  was  a  mere  hamlet  at  the  time  of 
the  earthquake,  had  grown  by  the  year  1780  into  a 
goodly  sized  town.  Spanish  Town  was  a  thriving  place, 
containing  about  four  thousand  inhabitants,  of  whom 
half  were  slaves,  a  fourth,  free  people  of  colour,  and 
the  remainder  whites.  A  good  deal  of  business  was  done 
in  this  place.  Many  visitors  from  the  western  parishes 
did  not  extend  their  journey  to  Kingston,  as  since  the 
opening  of  the  railway  is  almost  always  the  custom.  Port 
Boyal  had  dwindled  into  a  collection  of  two  hundred  houses. 
Its  only  importance  arose  from  its  being  the  station  of  the 
royal  navy.  Savannah  la  Mar,  during  the  first  half  of  the 
century,  seemed  likely  to  become  a  place  of  considerable 
importance ;  but  the  hurricane  of  1780  almost  completed 
its  decay.  On  the  north  side  two  new  towns  rose  rapidly. 
Montego  Bay,  by  the  close  of  the  century,  contaiued  six 
hundred  white  inhabitants.  Falmouth,  which  in  1771 
contained  only  thirty  houses,  had  seven  times  that  number 
in  1790. 

Most  persons  of  any  position  kept  their  own  convey- 
ances ;  about  five  hundred  carriages  were  counted  in  King- 
ston, and  double  the  number  in  other  parts  of  the  island. 
A  rather  clumsy  covered  gig,  made  at  Kettering  in 
Northamptonshire,  and  called  a  kitureen,  was  the  most 
common  vehicle.     The  post  went  once  a  week,  it  took 

*  Journals,  vol.  viii.  p.  844. 
12* 


164  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

twelve  days  to  get  an  answer  in  Kingston  from  Savannah 
la  Mar.  There  were  public  conveyances  between  Kingston 
and  Spanish  Town,  and  also  between  Spanish  Town  and 
Passage  Fort,  six  miles  distant.  The  fare  to  the  latter 
place  was  twelve  shillings  sterling. 


CHAPTER  m. 

MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS   OF  THE   INHABITANTS. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  island  at  this  time  may  be  divided 
into  three  general  classes.  Whites,  and  Creole  whites, 
freedmen,  and  slaves.  These  again  occupied  positions 
very  different  in  their  character.  The  ruling  class  was 
composed  of  natives  of  Great  Britain  and  their  descendants 
bom  in  the  island.  In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
it  was  ascertained  that  about  one-third  of  those  of  Euro- 
pean birth  were  natives  of  Scotland.  One  hundred  of  the 
name  of  Campbell  were  counted.  The  native-bom  descen- 
dants of  British  settlers  did  not  present  any  very  marked 
difference  to  their  parents.  They  were  alike  distinguished 
for  hospitality ;  the  former  were,  perhaps,  least  careful  to 
keep  their  expenditure  within  their  income.  A  fondness 
for  luxuriant  living,  and  improvident  habits  generally, 
involved  many  of  both  classes  in  difficulties  that  might 
easily  have  been  avoided.  The  desire  to  be  accounted 
large  landed  proprietors  often  resulted  in  money  being 
borrowed  at  a  high  rate  of  interest  to  purchase  and  culti- 
vate several  estates;  and  when  the  unhappy  speculator  was 
thus  involved,  it  was  rarely  that  he  ever  succeeded  in 
extricating  himself . 

Qambling  was  carried  to  a  great  extent,  and  cases  were 
not  infrequent,  when  all  the  money  in  possession  being  lost, 
the  carriage  and  horses  standing  before  the  door  would  be 
staked  and  lost  also,  and  the  former  proprietor  compelled  to 
go  home  on  foot.  Duelling  was  perhaps  even  more  common 
than  in  England  or  Ireland  at  the  same  period.  Whether 
conjugal  unfaithfulness  on  the  part  of  husbands  was  more 
common  than  in  England  at  the  same  time,  is  questionable, 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS  OF  THE  INHABITANTS.  166 

but  where  it  existed  it  was  certainly  more  generally  known. 
Bachelors  did  not  regard  it  as  at  all  reprehensible  to  live  in 
undisguised  relationship  with  some  negro  or  mulatto  slave ; 
and  Lon^  speaks  of  the  shock  to  the  feelings  of  those  newly 
arrived  m  the  colony  when  they  saw  white  legitimate 
and  coloured  illegitimate  children  living  beneath  the  same 
roof.  As  a  rule,  the  coloured  offspring  of  the  more  respect- 
able classes  were  weU  cared  for. 

EngUsh  ladies  were  comparatively  few  in  number,  out  of 
all  proportion  to  the  men.  The  white  Creole  ladies  were, 
and  are  still,  remarkable  for  their  fine  figures.  The  light 
clothing  they  wear  as  children,  and  the  use  of  mattresses 
instead  of  feather  beds,  may  be  among  the  causes  of  this. 
In  the  towns,  or  their  immediate  neighbourhood,  their  man- 
ners were  substantially  those  of  English  gentlewomen  of 
the  period ;  but  in  the  country  districts  a  degree  of  languor 
and  lassitude  was  remarkable  in  almost  every  action,  and 
was  only  cast  off  when  an  opportunity  was  afforded  of 
dancing,  from  which  amusement  no  elevation  of  temperature 
was  sufficient  to  deter  them.  As  a  class  they  were  affable, 
cheerful,  and  kindly  disposed:  faithful  as  wives,  affec- 
tionate  as  mothers/and  sincere  in  the  friendships  they 
formed. 

The  houses  occupied  by  the  more  wealthy  differed  greatly 
in  their  character.  In  Kingston  some  were  tolerably 
stately,  but  sanitary  arrangements  were  unknown,  dung- 
hills abounded,  and  from  these  the  ruts  in  the  streets  and 
lanes  were  filled  up  after  every  heavy  rain.  In  the  early 
morning  ne^o  slaves  might  be  seen  bearing  open  tubs 
from  the  various  dwellings,  and  emptying  their  indescribable 
contents  into  the  sea.  The  churches  were  for  a  long  time 
used  as  places  of  sepulture ;  the  marshes  around  the  city 
were  undrained ;  the  jungle  was  in  many  places  uncleared; 
and  the  inhabitants  generally  set  at  defiance  every  law  of 
health,  and  paid  the  penalty.  In  1771,  988  children  of  all 
colours  were  bom,  while  2085  persons  died. 

In  the  countrv  it  was  by  no  means  uncommon  to  see 
a  bam-like  dwelling,  occupied  by  the  proprietor  of  a  mag- 
nificent estate,  surrounded  by  extensive  and  strongly- 
built  works.  In  other  cases,  really  stately  mansions 
were  provided.  Teak  Pen,  in  Clarendon,  had  a  building 
of   this   description,  situated  in  the  midst  of   the  most 


166  HISTORY  OF   JAMAICA. 

beautiful  scenery  in  Jamaica.  One  of  its  occupants,  Chief 
Justice  Fearon,  had  never  been  oflf  the  island,  and  yet  was 
a  gentleman  of  superior  education  and  a  great  reader. 
About  one  hundred  yards  from  his  residence  he  erected 
a  handsome  building,  approached  by  a  portico,  supported 
on  massive  pillars  of  the  Tuscan  order  of  architecture. 
This  led  into  a  spacious  hall,  on  one  side  of  which  was  an 
extensive  library,  and  galleries  so  arranged  as  to  afford 
a  succession  of  views  of  the  most  romantic  character. 

Sir  Charles  Price,  another  native,  though  educated  in 
Europe,  had  adorned  his  residence — the  Decoy,  in  St. 
Mary's — with  considerable  skill  and  taste;  the  gardens 
and  surrounding  grounds  were  truly  beautiful.  Here,  too, 
he  had  succeeded  in  naturalising  many  of  the  animals  and 
birds  of  foreign  climates.*  It  was  a  truly  hospitable 
home ;  few  persons  of  any  position  in  society  left  the 
island  without  being  invited  to  visit  it.  In  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Monlego  Bay  was  the  splendid  residence  of  Mr. 
Palmer,  said  to  have  cost  £60,000,  and  containing  some 
remarkable  specimens  of  choice  wood-work.  This  place 
has  a  weird  ghost  story  connected  with  it  that  might  not 
inappropriately  be  related  of  an  ancient  tower  on  the 
Ehine,  or  of  some  feudal  keep.  It  has  lately  appeared  in 
an  English  periodical,t  but  names  are  changed,  and  the 
wildest  pieces  of  romance  are  omitted. 

Any  dwelling  of  importance  was  attended  by  a  numerous 
retinue  of  servants ;  twenty  to  forty  was  not  unusual  where 
there  were  children,  for  each  had  a  nurse,  and  most  nurses  an 
assistant;  butlers,  grooms,  cooks,  and  at  lieast  half-a-dozen 
housemaids  completed  the  establishment.  The  tables  were 
well  supplied  with  English  and  colonial  viands.  In  addi- 
tion to  fresh  meat,  there  was  turtle  and  many  kinds  of 
excellent  fish.  Beautiful  varieties,  now  scarce,  owing  to 
the  reckless  manner  in  which  the  supply  has  been  ex- 
hausted, were  then  abundantly  supplied  from  the  mountain 
streams.  Near  the  coast,  Jew  fish,  calapever,  mullet, 
king  fish,  and  other  kinds  are  easily  procured;  to  say 
nothing  of  the  black  crab,  the  bon  bouche  of  epicures,  or 
the  native  oyster,  gathered  from  the  branches  of  the 
swamp  mangrove  tree.    By  the  Creole  nothing  was  con- 

*  Long's  **  History ;"  Gosse's  **  Naturalist's  Sojourn  in  Jamaica." 

t  "  Leisure  Horn,"  1870. 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS  OP  THE   INHABITANTS.  167 

sidered  more  desirable  than  the  pepper-pot,  that  strange 
compound,  possible  only  to  a  native  cook,  of  fresh  fish, 
shrimps,  plantains,  ockro,  and  a  variety  of  vegetables  un- 
known in  Europe,  all  strongly  seasoned  by  the  condiment 
which  gives  its  name,  but  which  can  only  be  enjoyed  by 
those  who  are  well  acclimatised.  Madeira  was  the  favourite 
wine,  but  many  preferred  very  old  rum  to  any  other 
beverage. 

The  duties  of  hospitality  were  so  generally  observed 
by  planters,  that  taverns  were  almost  unknown  out  of 
the  towns.  The  charges  at  these  could  hardly  be 
called  exorbitant.  A  bill  rendered  at  a  respectable  place 
in  Kingston,  in  the  year  1716,  gives  the  following  items : — 
Dinner,  five  bitts ;  small  beer,  one  bitt ;  a  bottle  of  ale, 
four  bitts ;  a  jorimi  of  rum  punch  (one  quart),  four  bitts ; 
bed,  eight  bitts ;  cofifee  in  the  morning,  one  bitt.  A  bitt, 
it  must  be  explained,  was  fourpence-laalfpenny  sterling. 
The  morning  coffee  is  still  a  Jamaica  institution,  and  a 
very  excellent  one.  A  sable  handmaid  will  present  herself 
soon  after  daybreak  with  a  cup  of  steaming  coffee,  always 
most  refresbiLg  after  the  broken  night's  repose,  inevitable 
when  prickly  heat  torments  and  mosquitoes  wage  unceasing 
war.  Legislators  dined  in  more  substantial  fashion  than 
the  above  quoted  tavern  bill  would  indicate.  A  person  at 
Port  Eoyal  received  for  a  number  of  years  £60  sterling 
to  supply  a  dinner  to  the  people's  representatives  when 
they  came  over  once  in  the  year  to  inspect  the  fortifications. 
It  is  not  said  if  the  inspection  was  post-prandial. 

The  grandest  festivities  in  Jamaica  were  those  attend- 
ing the  arrival  of  a  new  governor.  For  three  days  he  was 
feasted  in  Spanibh  Town,  and  on  two  in  Kingston,  first  by 
the  custos  and  then  by  the  chief  inhabitants.  The  enter- 
tainment given  by  the  council  was  a  costly  one.  At  length 
the  assembly  refused  to  sanction  the  expense ;  it  voted 
£8866  for  1781,  1784,  and  1790,  and  then  intimated  that 
such  expenditure  must  cease.*  From  October  to  Christ- 
mas, when  the  legislature  was  sitting,  Spanish  Town  was 
usually  very  gay :  routs,  balls,  and  concerts  followed  one 
another  in  quick  succession.  £3000  to  £4000  were  fre- 
quently spent  in  connection  with  the  governor's  grand  ball. 

Places  of  public  amusement  were  to  be  found  in  both 

=»'  Journals,  vol.  ix.  pp.  162-176. 


168  HISTOBY   OF  JAMAICA. 

the  chief  toxvns.  In  addition  to  a  theatre,  where  per- 
formances were  well  sustained,  Kingston  had  two  places 
of  public  resort,  called  Eanelagh  and  Vauxhall,  after  well- 
known  taverns  in  London.  The  former,  which  was  so 
situated  as  to  command  an  extensive  view  of  the  town 
and  harbour,  had  a  fine  room,  much  used  for  balls  and 
concerts.  Some  country  places  had  their  assemblies : 
those  at  Halfway  Tree  and  Clarendon  were  the  most 
celebrated. 

The  oflBce  of  master  of  the  revels  is  alluded  to  in  old 
publications.  The  last  to  hold  it  was  Thomas  Dennis,  clerk 
of  the  peace  in  Kingston  and  major-general  of  militia. 
He  died  in  1822.  The  duties  of  this  appointment  included 
authority  over  theatrical  performances,  and  the  direction 
of  all  balls  and  entertainments  given  by  the  governor.  A 
vivid,  but  painful  view  of  the  state  of  society  in  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  is  afforded  in  a  sketch  preserved  in  the 
"  Gentleman's  Magazine,***  of  Teresa  Constantia  WiUiams, 
who  for  many  years  held  office  as  mistress  of  the  revels. 
After  a  career  of  fashionable  dissipation,  which  included 
two  Fleet  marriages,  she  came  to  Jamaica  in  1738  as  the 
mistress  of  Mr.  Nedham,  a  very  wealthy  planter,  and  a 
legislator  of  some  celebrity.  In  a  few  years  she  returned 
to  England,  but  again  appeared  in  Jamaica  as  the  wife  of 
a  prosperous  land-surveyor.  Her  husbands  never  lived 
long,  and  this  gentleman  soon  died,  leaving  her  considerable 
property.  Again  she  was  induced  to  put  her  weeds  aside, 
and  was  almost  as  soon  left  a  widow,  once  more  with  an 
additional  fortune.  She  now  set  up  a  splendid  equipage, 
lived  in  great  style,  and  again  endured  the  bonds  of  matri- 
mony. What  became  of  her  fifth  husband  is  not  known. 
In  1757  she  was  appointed  mistress  of  the  revels.  By  this 
time  she  had  got  through  her  money,  and  was  deeply  in 
debt ;  her  carriage  was  often  seized,  and  as  often  redeemed 
by  her  friends.  The  hundred  guineas  which  she  annually 
received,  as  the  proceeds  of  a  benefit  at  the  theatre,  became 
an  important  matter  to  her. 

At  length  her  friends  got  weary,  and  in  1765  she  died. 
She  had  just  before  exclaimed,  **Alas!  what  is  beauty? 
I,  who  was  once  the  pride  of  England,  am  become  an  ugly 
object.**     She  was  highly  accomplished,  after  the  fashion 

*  February,  1766. 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS  OF  THE  INHABITANTS.  169 

of  those  days.  Lord  Chesterfield,  who  knew  her,  appre- 
ciated her  talents ;  and  a  letter  written  under  the  name 
of  Montgomery,  during  the  controversy  as  to  the  seat  of 
government,  indicates  considerable  shrewdness  and  ability. 
Yet  at  last  she  had  no  higher  wish  than  that  she  might  die 
on  Saturday  night,  90  that  by  being  buried  on  a  Sunday, 
her  corpse  might  not  be  arrested  for  her  debts,  according 
to  the  horrid  custom  of  the  times.  Her  wish  was  granted, 
but  not  one  of  either  sex  followed  her  to  the  grave.  This 
was  a  posthumous  insult  in  a  land  where  a  large  number 
of  persons  attend  almost  every  funeral. 

The  higher  classes  in  Jamaica,  like  those  in  England, 
had  their  watering  place.  The  favoured  spot  was  Bath,  at 
St.  Thomas  in  the  East.  About  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  Colonel  Stanton,  a  landed  proprietor  in  this  loca- 
lity, discovered  a  valuable  medicinal  spring  on  his  estate. 
Soon  after,  two  persons,  afflicted  by  a  painful  malady,  were 
healed  through  using  the  waters,  and  the  assembly  in  con- 
sequence were  induced  to  pay  the  colonel  a  considerable 
sum  for  the  place.  A  grant  from  the  legislature,  aided  by 
public  subscriptions,  secured  a  fine  road  from  Kingston ; 
houses  were  erected,  and  visitors  flocked  from  all  parts  of 
the  island.  Pleasure  perhaps  more  than  health  attracted 
the  majority.  A  billiard  table  was  established ;  musical 
parties,  dances,  and  card  tables  were  plentiful ;  and  Bath 
was  soon  distinguished,  on  a  small  scale,  for  all  the  dissipa- 
tion that  marked  its  English  namesake.  After  th'e  disputes 
in  the  time  of  Enowles  the  place  was  deserted ;  society  was 
too  much  divided  to  mingle  as  before.  The  poor,  however, 
were  cared  for  through  the  liberality  of  a  Mr.  ViUette  and 
annual  grants  from  the  legislature. 

It  was  observed  that  profligacy  among  the  higher  classes 
was  more  frequent  in  the  case  of  the  recent  settlers. 
The  descendants  of  the  early  proprietors  retained  some  of 
the  old  puritan  ideas  of  morality.  Five  baronets  of  the 
Modyford  family  are  buried  in  St.  Catherines.  Their  mar- 
riages can  all  be  traced — some  of  the  males  at  the  early 
age  of  eighteen  or  nineteen,  and  females  at  twelve  or  thir- 
teen. Early  marriages  appear  to  have  been  encouraged  by 
parents  aware  of  the  temptations  of  the  plantations.  The 
average  longevity  of  those  families  where  marriage  was  the 
rule  presents  a  remarkable  contrast  to  that  of  most  others. 


170'  HISTORY  OF   JAMAICA. 

Of  the  less  wealthy  white  inhabitants,  some  were  small 
landed  proprietors  employing  a  few  slaves,  and  cases  were 
not  unfrequent  where  such  men  rose  to  be  large  proprietors. 
Others  were  employed  as  overseers,  bookkeepers,  and  me- 
chanics on  estates,  or  as  clerks  in  mercantile  houses.  The 
salaries  of  this  class  were  liberal,  and  many  became  part- 
ners in  process  of  time. 

The  deficiency  law,  which  required  a  certain  number  of 
white  men  to  be  kept  on  each  estate  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  slaves,  was  strictly  enforced.  The  efforts  em- 
ployed to  obtain  them  were  often  of  a  very  questionable 
character.  In  a  former  chapter  it  has  been  seen  how  the 
earlier  bondsmen  were  obtained,  and  soon  after  kidnapping 
was  a  very  common  mode  in  Scotland  of  supplying  the 
wants  of  the  West  Indian  colonies.  In  1703  a  law  was 
passed,  exempting  from  port  charges  all  ships  that  brought 
thirty  white  servants.  These  people,  as  they  arrived,  were 
arranged  in  a  line  like  negro  slaves,  for  the  planters  to  pick 
from.  If  any  remained  undisposed  of  they  were  sent 
on  to  the  custodes  of  the  parishes  where  there  was  the 
greatest  deficiency.  English,  Welsh,  and  Scotch  servants 
cost  about  £18  currency,  Irish,  about  £15;  but  in  war 
time  they  realised  twenty  to  twenty-five  per  cent.  more. 
Such  a  system  could  not  last,  and  a  little  later  in  the 
century  arrangements  were  made  by  leading  planters  with 
persons  in  Great  Britain  to  come  out  for  a  term,  generally 
of  four  yefars,  at  a  salary  of  from  £35  to  £40  per  annum. 

In  1786  a  law  was  passed  regulating  the  conduct  of  such 
servants.  Justices  of  the  peace  were  to  adjust  disputes 
between  them  and  their  masters,  but  they  could  no  longer 
inflict  the  severe  punishments  of  the  former  code.  Still 
their  position  was  often  painful,  little  better  than  that  of 
slaves.  They  had  to  take  watch  with  the  negroes  in  the 
boiling  house  at  night,  and  go  forth  by  day  to  superintend 
them  in  the  fields,  amid  the  alternations  of  the  heavy  dew, 
the  burning  sun,  and  the  drenching  shower.  Their  habits 
were,  with  rare  exceptions,  dissipated,  as  the  consequence  of 
their  wretched  accommodation,  and  this  combined  with 
exposure  occasioned  a  very  high  rate  of  mortaUty.  Marriage 
was,  as  a  rule,  peremptorily  forbidden,  not  only  to  them, 
but  also  to  the  overseers,  and  hence  the  frequent  connection 
with  slaves. 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS  OF   THE   INHABITANTS.  171 

The  condition  of  the  white  soldiers  located  in  the  island 
was  deplorable.  Their  general  treatment  was  harsh  and 
cruel  everywhere,  but  in  the  tropics  their  sufferings  were 
intensified  by  the  climate,  and  the  absence  of  any  correct 
ideas  as  to  the  sanitary  arrangements  required.  The  mor- 
tality in  some  years  was  frightful.  The  legislature,  as  a 
rule,  contributed  fairly  for  their  support  and  for  barrack 
accommodation,  but  much  of  the  money  was  squandered, 
or  misapplied  by  the  jobbing  contractors. 

There  was  now  a  steadily  increasing  class  of  free  black 
and  coloured  people  in  the  colony,  whose  condition  demands 
special  notice.  Those  who  stood  highest  in  the  social  scale 
were  such  as  had  been  manumitted  by  private  acts  of  the 
assembly ;  they  were  entitled  to  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  white  people,  with  this  exception — they  could  not  be 
members  of  either  branch  of  the  legislature,  nor  could  they 
act  as  justices  or  jurymen.  Some  were  allowed  to  vote  at 
elections,  if  possessing  the  necessary  qualifications.  The 
number  who  enjoyed  these  privileges  was  small,  and 
consisted  chiefly  of  those  to  whom  estates  had  been 
left  by  white  fathers. 

There  were  others  occupying  a  lower  social  position, 
who  had  been  manumitted  by  their  owner  in  his  life- 
time, or  by  will,  and  their  descendants  would  in  con- 
sequence be  counted  as  free  bom.  The  civil  rights  of 
freed  slaves  and  of  those  bom  free  at  one  time  greatly 
differed.  Those  who  were  free  born  were  allowed  trial  by 
jury,  but  their  evidence  could  not  be  taken  against  a  white 
person,  nor  could  they  vote  at  elections  or  hold  a  commis- 
sion in  the  militia  :  they  laid  also  under  some  other  disa- 
bilities. Those  who  had  simply  been  made  free  by  their 
owners  were  liable  to  trial  and  punishment  in  the  same 
way  as  slaves,  before  two  justices  and  three  freeholders. 
Sentences  of  mutilation  inflicted  on  such  persons  may  be 
seen  in  the  St.  Anns'  Bay  parish  records  so  late  as  1780. 
These  people  were,  in  fact,  but  a  single  step  removed  from 
the  condition  of  the  slave :  freedom  had  merely  released 
them  from  the  proprietorship  of  their  former  owner,  but  it 
conferred  no  civU  or  political  rights.  In  1748  an  act  was 
passed  which  permitted  those  who  had  been  free  not  less 
than  six  months  to  give  evidence  against  free  people  of 
colour,  except  the  first  class,  which  had  been  exempted  by  a 


172  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

special  act.  It  must  be  understood  that  slave  evidence  was 
not  admissible  against  white  persons  or  the  highest  class 
of  freed  men.  A  hundred  slaves  might  see  a  felony  or 
murder  committed  by  such  persons,  but  their  testimony 
could  not  be  received. 

In  1768  the  assembly  instituted  an  inquiry  into  the 
amount  of  property  left  to  coloured  children,  when  it  was 
found  to  amount  to  between  two  and  three  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds,  including  both  real  and  personal  property. 
Amongst  the  former  were  four  sugar  estates  and  thirteen 
pens.  Feax  was  expressed  lest  the  colony  should  be 
injured  by  the  accumulation  of  so  much  property  in  such 
hands,  and  a  bill  was  passed,  declaring  that  a  devise  from 
a  white  person  to  a  negro  or  a  mulatto  exceeding  in  value 
£1200  sterling  should  be  void.  Nevertheless  private  bills 
were  passed  occasionally,  enabling  gentlemen  to  bequeath 
their  property  free  from  such  limitations,  though  only 
where  the  legatee  had  been  baptised  and  fairly  educated. 

The  result  of  this  class  legislation  was  to  lead  even  the 
poorest  and  most  dissipated  white  person  to  look  down  on 
the  free  coloured  people,  however  respectable  or  superior  to 
himself  in  manners  or  morals.  The  position  of  such  of 
these  ostracised  classes  as  had  been  educated  in  England 
was  the  most  painful  of  all.  A  wealthy  planter  or  mer- 
chant, strongly  attached  to  the  coloured  mistress  he  had 
selected,  would  determine  to  give  her  children  every 
advantage.  They  would  be  sent  home  to  receive  a  first- 
class  education,*  over  which  no  expense  was  spared.  On 
returning  to  the  colony,  their  treatment  contrasted  most 
unfavourably  with  that  they  had  received  in  England. 

Whether  it  was  well  for  English  gentlemen  to  form  the 
connections  they  did,  is  a  question  to  which  but  one 
answer  can  be  given.  They  did  not  then  marry  coloured 
women,  and  therefore  their  offspring  was  illegitimate.  But 
when  they  made  the  only  atonement  in  their  power,  by 
educating  and  providing  for  these  children,  it  was  cruel  to 
visit  those  who  were  innocent  with  a  social  ban.  Mr.  Long 
affirms  that  almost  without  exception  these  mistresses  were 
unfaithful  ;*  Mr.  Edwards,  with  far  more  truth,  asserts  the 
contrary.t  '*In  their  dress  and  carriage,"  he  says,  "they 
are    modest,    in    conversation  reserved;    and   they   very 

*  Long*8  **  History."         f  Edwards'  "  History,"  book  iv.  chap.  1. 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS  OF  THE  INHABITANTS.  173 

frequently  manifest  a  fidelity  and  attachment  towards  their 
keepers,  which,  if  not  virtue,  is  something  very  like  it. 
The  terms  and  manner  of  their  compliance  therefore  are 
commonly  as  decent,  though  perhaps  not  as  solemn,  as 
those  of  marriage ;  and  the  agreement  they  consider  as 
equally  innocent,  giving  themselves  up  to  the  husband 
(for  so  he  is  called)  with  faith  plighted,  with  sentiment, 
and  with  affection."  It  would  be  d&cult  to  show  wherein 
many  of  these  unions  differed  from  certain  Scottish 
marriages,  except  in  legal  status.  As  nurses  to  the  sick, 
these  women  were  remarkable  for  their  skill  and  kindness ; 
and  when  the  cruel  disabilities  under  which  they  laboured 
are  considered,  their  forbearance  and  gentleness  is  remark- 
able. 

In  1761  an  act  was  passed,  requiring  all  free  persons  to 
take  out  a  certificate  of  freedom,  and  as  the  result  of  this 
legislation,  it  was  found  next  year  that  there  were  8408  in 
all,  black  and  coloured.  Of  these,  1093  were  in  Eongston, 
and  872  in  the  parish  of  Saint  Catherine,  mostly  in 
Spanish  Town. 

Another  class  of  free  people  was  constituted  by  the 
Maroons.  After  peace  had  been  concluded  between  them 
and  the  colonists,  they  were  located  in  three  or  four  interior 
towns.  Surrounded  by  vast  mountain  forests,  and  away 
from  all  civilising  influences,  destitute  of  education  or  re- 
ligious teaching,  they  maintained  a  savage  independence. 
The  public  duties  they  were  required  to  discharge  were 
calculated  to  keep  them  fierce  and  unfeeling.  Obeahism  in 
its  worst  forms  was  rampant,  virtue  was  unknown,  and  the 
more  pleasing  among  the  younger  women  were  offered  as  a 
simple  act  of  rude  hospitality  to  any  whites  who  happened 
to  visit  their  settlements.  Polygamy  was  common  among 
the  chiefs.  At  first  they  received  £3  head  money  for  every 
runaway  slave  they  captured  or  killed.  This  was  subse- 
quently reduced  to  £2,  but  mile  money  was  afterwards 
allowed  in  addition,  for  every  slave  led  back  to  his  plan-, 
tation ;  for  it  had  been  found  that,  the  fee  being  the  same 
whether  the  slave  was  brought  in  alive  or  killed,  the  easier 
mode  was  adopted,  and  the  ears  being  cut  off,  were  pre- 
sented with  the  claim  for  payment.* 

*  Long*8  *'  History,**  chapter  on  Maroons ;   Edwards,  vol.  i.,  fifth 
edition,  pp.  541-545 ;  Stewurt,  pp.  818,  814. 


174  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

In  1764  Governor  Trelawny,  during  a  tour  round  the 
island,  was  met  at  Montego  Bay  by  a  party  of  eighty-four 
of  these  people,  anxious  to  display  their  tactics.  A  horn 
or  shell  was  sounded,  and  the  whole  party,  joining  in  a 
fearful  yell,  fired  their  muskets,  and  then,  falling  on  the 
ground,  rolled  in  all  directions,  to  escape  the  fire  of  the 
enemy,  who  was  supposed  to  be  aiming  in  the  direction  of 
the  flash.  After  many  other  volleys  had  been  fired,  the 
horn  again  sounded,  and  the  entire  party  drew  their  swords, 
and,  with  well  assumed  looks  of  demoniacal  fury  and  fan- 
tastic capers,  rushed  upon  the  governor.  Some  flourished 
their  swords  over  his  head,  some  laid  their  naked  blades 
upon  it,  others  clashed  their  swords  together  to  increase 
the  din :  then  they  fetched  their  muskets  and  laid  them  at 
the  governor's  feet,  which  they  kissed  with  every  appear- 
ance of  abject  humility.  The  chief  captain  then  made  a 
speech,  to  which  he  obtained  a  reply,  together  with  a 
dinner  to  the  whole  party. 

Once  a  year  the  officers  of  all  the  clans  were  accustomed 
to  present  themselves  to  the  governor,  and  presents  of 
swords  or  of  old  laced  coats  or  vests  were  made  to  some 
of  them.  These  were  highly  valued,  and  worn  on  all  great 
occasions.  In  1779,  during  martial  law,  a  party  was 
brought  into  Kingston  and  quartered  at  the  theatre.  While 
there  a  striking  illustration  of  their  savage  character  was 
given:  for  some  unknown  reason,  one  of  the  men  shot 
himself.  The  chief  declared  he  was  a  worthless  fellow, 
and  was  only  restrained  by  the  intercession  of  his  brother 
and  some  other  of  the  dead  man*s  relatives  from  cutting 
the  body  in  pieces  and  giving  it  to  the  pigs.* 

About  the  year  1750  it  was  ascertained  that  the  number 
of  these  people  in  the  Maroon  towns  was  under  seven 
hundred.  The  men  were  in  excess  of  the  women.  This, 
together  with  the  existence  of  polygamy,  led  many  to 
cohabit  with  female  slaves  on  estates.  As  the  child  followed 
the  fortunes  of  the  mother,  it  happened  that  many  of  the 
children  of  Maroon  fathers  continued  slaves. 

The  condition  of  the  slaves,  by  far  the  most  numerous 
portion  of  the  community,  now  demands  attention.  Many 
of  these  were  native  Africans,  the  rest  were  their  Creole 

*  "  Jamaica  Mercury,"  August,  1779. 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS   OF  THE   INHABITANTS.  175 

descendants.  Several  parts  of  the  African  coast  and  of 
interior  districts  helped  to  keep  up  the  supply.  Coroman- 
tyns,  Mandingoes,  and  Eboes  were  the  most  numerous. 
Of  these,  about  a  fourth  had  been  free  in  their  native  land, 
some  even  chiefs ;  the  remainder  had  been  slaves. 

The  Mandingoes  came  from  that  part  of  the  coast  lying 
north  of  Sierra  Leone.  They  were  Mahomedans,  but  as 
they  were  mostly  brought  away  very  young,  their  religious 
knowledge  was  imperfect,  consisting  of  little  more  than  an 
acquaintance  with  a  few  Arabic  prayers.  Some,  however, 
had  learnt  to  read  and  write,  were  not  ignorant  of  the 
Koran,  and  were  very  strict  in  their  observance  of  Friday. 
The  superstitious  regard  which  so  many  of  the  earlier 
Christian  converts  had  for  that  day,  and  which  the  native 
Baptists  in  some  places  still  retain,  may  be  traced  to  the 
influence  of  these  people.  In  general  appearance  and 
habits  they  were  superior  in  many  respects  to  other  negroes, 
but  they  had  the  reputation  of  being  more  addicted  to 
stealing. 

The  negroes  from  the  Gold  Coast  were  known  generally 
as  Coromantyns.  The  Ashantees  and  the  Fans  described 
by  Chaillu  were  included  in  this  term.  They  were  strong 
and  active,  and  on  this  account  valued  by  the  planters. 
The  Spanish  and  French  colonists  shunned  them  on  account 
of  their  ferocious  tendencies ;  but  attempts  to  prohibit  their 
importation  into  Jamaica  failed,  though  they  were  the 
instigators  and  leaders  of  every  rebellion. 

In  direct  contrast  to  these  savage  races  were  the  Papaws, 
who  came  from  Whiddah,  and  who  were  remarkable  for 
their  docility. 

The  Eboes,  from  the  Bight  of  Benin,  were  also  highly 
valued,  especially  the  women,  who,  from  the  state  of  sub- 
jection in  which  they  were  kept  in  Africa,  proved  the  best 
field  labourers.  The  men  if  at  all  ill-treated  were  much 
given  to  commit  suicide.  Other  slaves  were  brought  from 
Congo  and  Angola.  They  were  as  docile  as  the  Papaws, 
more  intelligent,  and  better  suited  for  domestic  service  or 
mechanical  arts  than  for  the  field.  They  were  also  con- 
sidered more  honest  than  any  of  the  other  tribes. 

In  course  of  time  these  races  naturally  intermingled  with 
one  another,  and  distinctive  features  were  to  some  extent  lost. 
Still  traces  may  be  observed  of  the  original  stock ;  and  the 


176  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

traveller  in  Jamaica  will  often  be  struck  with  the  difference 
observable  in  the  negro  settlers  in  neighbouring  districts 
and  parishes,  indicating  the  preponderance  of  some  par- 
ticular race  in  former  days.  In  many  respects  the  Creole 
negroes  were  superior  to  their  African  parents,  they  in  fact 
regarded  themselves  as  a  higher  order  of  beings ;  and 
though  they  never  forgot  the  respect  due  to  their  own 
father  or  mother,  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  of  Africans 
generally  as  '*  Guinea  birds,"  **  Salt  water  nagurs,"  &c. 

In  the  field  the  slaves  were  divided  into  three  gangs. 
The  first  consisted  of  the  stronger  men  and  women :  their 
duty  was  to  clear  the  land,  dig  and  plant  the  cane  holes^ 
and  in  crop  time  cut  the  canes  and  attend  the  mill-house. 
The  second  gang  was  chiefly  composed  of  the  bigger  boys 
and  girls,  pregnant  women,  and  others  who  from  age  or 
infirmity  were  unequal  to  heavy  work :  they  had  to  weed 
the  canes  and  attend  to  duties  not  requiring  great  strength. 
A  third  gang,  composed  of  young  children,  weeded  the 
gardens,  collected  fodder  or  food  for  pigs,  and  performed 
other  trivial  duties.  The  two  first  gangs  were  under  the 
care  of  male  drivers  always  armed  with  a  whip.  The  third 
gang  was  entrusted  to  an  old  woman,  whose  long  switch 
was  no  mere  emblem  of  authority. 

At  daybreak,  or  even  before,  the  slaves  were  called  to 
work  by  the  ringing  of  a  bell  or  the  blowing  of  a  horn  or 
conch  shell.  Those  who  were  late  rarely  escaped  the 
driver*s  whip.  After  three  or  four  hours'  labour,  half  an 
hour  was  allowed  for  breakfast,  always  a  substantial  meal, 
chiefly  of  vegetables  from  the  grounds  of  the  slaves.  Soon 
after  noon  two  hours  more  were  allowed  for  dinner.  Some 
would  then  take  a  meal;  others  preferred  to  wait  till 
evening,  when  they  would  enjoy  a  plentiful,  and  in  many 
cases  an  enormous  repast.  The  midday  recess  was  by 
such  persons  spent  either  in  sleep,  or  by  the  more  diligent 
in  attending  to  their  pigs,  poultry,  or  provision  grounds. 
The  work  of  the  field  when  resumed  continued  till  nightfall, 
and  on  estates  not  well  managed  was  often  protracted  on 
moonlight  nights  for  some  time  longer.  During  crop  time 
gangs  of  negroes  worked  all  night,  but  this  was  not  re- 
garded as  the  hardship  it  might  appear,  as  they  had  free 
access  to  the  ripe  cane  and  syrup :  at  no  time  were  they 
more  robust  or  healthy. 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OP  THE  INHABITANTS.      177 

A  number  of  the  more  intelligent  slaves  were  trained  as 
carpenters,  blacksmiths,  masons,  coopers,  &c. :  they  had 
more  comforts  and  privileges  than  those  in  the  field,  who 
were  anxious  to  get  their  sons  apprenticed,  after  a  rude  but 
well  understood  manner,  to  the  artisans.  Such  lads  had 
usually  to  submit  to  harsh  treatment  from  their  work- 
masters,  but  were  sustained  by  the  prospect  of  reaching  a 
higher  social  grade. 

In  addition  to  these  there  were  considerable  numbers  of 
domestic  servants,  male  and  female.  Their  food  and 
treatment  was  as  a  rule  better  than  that  of  the  field  hands. 
In  some  families  the  position  of  a  favoured  domestic  was 
in  all  but  the  name  superior  to  that  of  servants  in  Eng- 
land. Nurses  and  many  other  old  slaves  were  treated 
with  a  degree  of  kindness  and  consideration  surprising  to 
any  one  who  supposed  that  serfdom  had  no  alleviations. 
As  a  general  rule  the  old  white  creole  families  were  more 
indulgent  to  their  negroes  than  those  newly  arrived  from 
England ;  and  of  the  latter,  those  who  resided  long  in  the 
colony  became  gradually  more  lenient.  The  greatest  cruelty 
was  found,  with  rare  exceptions,  where  an  estate  was  left 
for  a  lengthened  period  without  the  supervision  of  the  pro- 
prietor. The  attorney  might  be  a  humane  man,  ever 
ready  to  listen  to  complaints,  but  having  many  proper- 
ties under  his  care,  the  condition  of  the  slaves  depended 
very  much  on  the  temper  of  the  overseer,  who  was  ex- 
pected to  make  good  crops :  his  character,  his  situation 
depended  on  this.  What  wonder  if  he  used  coercion? 
Throughout  the  colony  field  negroes  were  looked  upon  in 
the  light  of  beasts  of  burden,  and  as  such,  might  be  goaded 
to  excessive  toil  if  the  case  seemed  to  require  it.  The 
proprietor,  far  away  amidst  the  quietude  of  an  English 
home,  or  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  the  capital,  received 
-vvith  gladness  the  proceeds  of  the  plantation,  nor  looked  to 
see  if  his  gold  was  defiled  by  human  blood. 

The  free  use  of  the  whip  was  perfectly  legal.  The  slave 
code  was  cruel  in  the  extreme ;  it  gave  the  master  almost 
unlimited  power,  and  sanctioned  some  of  the  most  horrid 
enormities  ever  tolerated  by  law.  It  was  passed  in  1696, 
and  continued  in  force  until  some  time  after  the  period 
now  under  review.  Striking  a  white  person,  having  stolen 
goods  in  possession,  and  many  other  offences,  were  punish- 

18 


178  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

able  either  with  death  or  any  other  punishment  the  judges 
might  wish  to  inflict,  dismemberment  being  particularly 
specified.  And  when  in  1748  an  effort  was  made  to 
abolish  this  latter  punishment,  petitions  were  presented 
against  any  alteration  being  made.  Mr.  Long,  in  his 
history,  justly  calls  it  an  ''inhuman  penalty,"  but  says 
it  was  obsolete.  Eeference  to  the  records  of  the  slave 
courts  of  St.  Anns'  Bay,  and  of  St.  Thomas  in  the  East, 
prove  that  it  was  not  so.  Such  punishments  were  inflicted 
while  Mr.  Long  was  in  the  island,  and  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century  after. 

Passing  by  tortures  which  must  be  nameless,  legs 
were  cut  off,  or  one  or  both  ears;  noses  were  split  or 
otherwise  mutilated ;  branding  on  the  forehead  and  cheeks 
was  common,  and  cases  are  on  record  where  two  or  more 
of  these  punishments  were  inflicted  on  the  same  person 
for  the  same  offence.  Flogging  was  often  added.  Three 
men  at  St.  Anns  had  their  ears  and  noses  cut  off,  and 
received  thirty-nine  lashes  every  Sunday  for  three  weeks. 
Another  wretch  was  put  to  death  by  a  mode  of  torture  too 
horrible  too  relate  or  to  read  of  without  a  shudder.  Some 
one,  evidently  at  a  much  later  period,  has  tried  to  erase 
the  record,  but  in  vain.* 

Li  St.  Thomas  in  the  East,  in  1783,  a  slave  named 
Mercury  was  found  with  ten  pounds  of  fresh  veal  in  his 
possession.  No  proof  is  given  that  he  came  dishonestly 
by  it,  but  he  had  his  right  ear  cut  off ;  fifty  lashes  were 
inflicted  at  the  same  time,  and  he  received  fifty  more 
twice  a  month  for  six  months,  and  during  that  period  was 
worked  in  chains.  Two  women  ran  away :  they  were 
branded  on  both  cheeks,  and  received  thirty-nine  lashes 
once  a  week  for  a  month,  and  worked  in  chains.  But 
poor  Priscilla  fared  far  worse  in  1783  and  1784.  She  too 
had  made  an  effort  to  escape.  Both  ears  were  cut  off.  She 
was  placed  in  chains,  and  sentenced  to  receive  thirty-nine 
lashes  on  the  first  Monday  in  each  month  for  a  whole 
year.t  These  are  only  specimens  of  what  two  planter 
magistrates  sitting  in  a  slave  court  might  do.  They 
could  also  put  to  death  by  hanging  or  burning,  or  if  they 
hung,  they  could  bum  afterwards,  or  else  expose  the  body. 

*  "Records  of  St.  Anns*  Bay  Slave  Court,**  MSS. 

t  Hill's  "  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Jamaica  History,"  pp.  147-150. 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS  OF   THE   INHABITANTS.  179 

In  fact,  all  kinds  of  demoniacal  cruelty  came  within  the 
scope  of  **  death  or  any  other  punishment." 

Another  species  of  cruelty  to  which  the  slaves  were  sub- 
jected, was  the  liability  to  be  seized  for  their  master's  debts. 
The  guilt  of  this  lay  at  the  door  of  the  British  legislature. 
In  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  George  II.,  an  act  was 
passed  to  provide  for  the  more  easy  recovery  of  debts 
in  his  majesty's  plantations.  It  made  slaves  liable  to 
be  seized  like  other  goods  and  chattels.  The  colonists 
protested  against  it,  but  in  vain.  On  an  average  it  led  to 
some  four  hundred  slaves  being  sold  from  the  estates  to 
which  they  were  attached  every  year.  At  first  sight  it 
might  appear  that  a  change  of  masters  could  make  little 
difference  to  people  in  a  servile  state.  But  the  slaves 
formed  friendships  like  other  people,  and  they  had  their 
allotted  plantations  and  houses.  Their  love  to  parents 
and  old  shipmates  was  great ;  and,  moreover,  if  there  was 
no  wedded  bond,  there  were  relationships  held  by  many  of 
them  as  sacred.  When  thus  torn  away  from  all  that  was 
dear  to  them  they  became  morose  and  sullen,  while  many 
pined  and  died.  Moreover,  health  would  often  be  affected 
by  the  change.  The  negro,  whether  born  or  acclimatized 
in  a  mountain  or  a  lowland  district,  suffered  when  removed 
from  one  to  the  other. 

It  is  not,  however,  just  to  attribute  solely  to  any  or  all 
of  the  causes  named  the  fact  that  the  slave  population 
would  have  rapidly  declined  but  for  the  continued  impor- 
tations from  Alrica.  The  disproportion  of  the  sexes  was 
one  cause ;  only  about  one-third  of  the  negroes  introduced 
into  the  island  were  females.  So  late  as  1789  there  were 
thirty  thousand  male  slaves  in  excess  of  the  number  of 
females ;  but  in  the  middle  of  the  century  it  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  find  four  or  five  males  for  each  female 
on  a  sugar  estate.  When  to  this  disproportion  of  sexes 
is  added  the  practice  of  polygamy  among  the  negro  drivers 
and  tradesmen,  no  surprise  can  be  felt  if  the  number  of 
slaves  could  only  be  kept  up  by  fresh  drafts  on  the  African 
barracoons.  Still,  hard  labour  most  undoubtedly  affected 
the  natural  increase ;  women  on  sugar  estates  had  less 
children  than  those  employed  on  pens  or  in  domestic 
service ;  and  the  greater  the  produce  of  sugar  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of   slaves,  the  less  the  increase  in  their 

13* 


180  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

numbers.  On  estates  where  the  negroes  were  pressed, 
sufficient  time  was  not  allowed  to  the  mothers  to  suckle 
their  children,  who  were  early  committed  in  numbers  to 
the  care  of  a  woman  appointed  for  the  purpose,  to  look 
after  them  as  she  might  do  after  a  litter  of  pigs. 

Each  estate  was  provided  with  a  hospital,  or,  as  it  was 
more  generally  termed,  hothouse.  Medical  men  were  paid 
BO  much  a  head  for  attending  these  places.  The  remunera- 
tion ought  to  have  secured  a  better  class  of  men  than  were 
usually  found  out  of  the  large  towns.  Slaves  afflicted 
with  ulcers  or  sore  legs  were  usually  put  in  the  stocks, 
to  prevent  them  retarding  recovery  by  walking  about. 
Yaws  and  smallpox  made  fearful  havoc  on  some  planta- 
tions, the  latter  often  spreading  through  the  whole  island. 
Dirt-eating  was  generally  treated  as  a  crime,  but  was  in 
reality  a  disease :  cases  have  been  known  where  half  the 
negroes  on  a  plantation  have  been  swept  away  by  it. 
Dissatisfaction  or  fear  of  Obeah  seem  to  have  induced 
it  in  uiany  cases,  but  it  may  be  traced  also  to  a  disordered 
state  of  the  system,  such  as  leads  young  girls  sometimes 
to  eat  chalk,  slate-pencils,  and  other  substances.  Dr. 
Dancer  has  entered  into  a  lengthy  inquiry  into  its  causes 
and  cure  in  his  work  on  Jamaica  maladies.*  During 
slavery,  lockjaw  carried  off  great  numbers  of  children 
between  the  seventh  and  tenth  day  after  birth. 

The  houses  or  huts  occupied  by  the  slaves  were  usually 
found  in  close  proximity  to  the  works.  The  mode  of  con- 
struction was  simple  :  a  few  posts  were  put  into  the  ground, 
three  or  four  feet  apart ;  the  intervening  space  was  wattled, 
and  then  plastered  with  clay ;  the  floor  of  bare  earth  was 
beaten  hard,  and  the  roof  thatched  with  grass  or  palm 
fronds,  but  sometimes  with  nothing  better  than  cocoa-nut 
leaves.  A  platform  of  boards,  on  which  a  rush  mat  was 
laid,  served  for  a  bed.  Two  rooms  was  the  extent  of  the 
accommodation,  while  the  furniture  consisted  of  little 
more  than  a  table,  a  stool  or  two,  a  few  yabbas  or  earthen 
pans,  an  iron  pot,  and  perhaps  a  few  rough  vessels  made 
of  the  calabash.  Cooking  was  performed  out  of  doors,  or 
beneath  a  rude  shed.  The  tradesmen  and  drivers  had 
houses  of   a  superior  class,   with  boarded  floors,  better 

*  Dancer's  *'  Medical  Assistant ;  or,  Jamaica  Practice  of  Physio,'' 
pp.  170-178. 


MANNEBS  AND   CUSTOMS  OF  THE   IKHABITANTS.  181 

furniture,  and  generally  a  sideboard,  covered  with  glass 
and  crockery,  intended  more  for  ornament  than  use. 
Kough  as  these  negro  villages  were,  they  presented  a 
pretty  aspect,  being  surrounded  by  dense  groves  of  fruit 
trees  and  plantains. 

Other  grounds  were  also  assigned  the  slaves  at  some 
distance  from  the  plantation :  the  produce  of  these  sup- 
plied them  with  nearly  all  the  food  they  required,  and 
enabled  the  industrious  to  acquire  property.  No  attempt 
was  made  to  interfere  with  what  was  thus  accumulated, 
and  at  death  the  owner  willed  it  as  he  pleased.  Pigs  and 
poultry,  clothes,  furniture,  and  money,  were  often  devised 
by  word  of  mouth  as  safely  as  by  the  more  elaborate 
documents  of  the  wealthy.   , 

The  Sunday  markets,  at  which  the  slaves  sold  their 
surplus  produce,  were  quite  a  carnival.  As  many  as  ten 
thousand  people  were  often  seen  in  Kingston  on  what 
ought  to  have  been  a  day  of  rest.  Here,  in  the  midrt 
of  indescribable  noise  and  merriment,  pigs,  goats,  fowls, 
yams,  and  vegetables  were  disposed  of.  Such  small  manu- 
factures as  mats,  baskets,  bark  ropes,  yabbas,  jars,  &c., 
were  also  to  be  obtained.  The  proceeds  were  as  a  rule 
carefully  put  up  to  swell  the  little  hoard  of  money  con- 
cealed at  home,  a  small  portion  being  reserved  to  purchase 
an  article  of  clothing,  a  trinket,  or  some  coveted  delicacy. 
All  that  was  irksome  in  their  lot  would  for  a  few  hours 
be  forgotten,  as  with  pleasant  talk  and  laughter  they  re- 
turned to  their  huts  to  a  supper  more  varied  than  usual, 
followed  by  a  sound  sleep,  too  soon  to  be  disturbed  by  the 
blast  of  the  horn,  or  the  warning  crack  of  the  driver's 
whip,  calling  them  to  another  week  of  toil. 

Sixteen  or  twenty  hours'  work  in  the  month  was  sufficient 
to  supply  their  wants  ;  nearly  all  they  required  was  produced 
in  their  allotments.  The  tendency  to  grow  plantains  rather 
than  ground  provisions  had,  however,  occasioned  so  much 
misery  when  hurricanes  were  frequent,  that  of  late  it  was 
made  compulsory  on  all  planters  to  cultivate  one  acre  of 
yams  for  every  ten  slaves.  A  small  supply  of  salt  fish, 
herrings,  &c.,  was  periodically  distributed  by  the  owner,  and 
from  time  to  time  pork  and  fresh  fish  could  be  obtained  by 
such  as  cared  for  it.  Some  slaves,  especially  Africans, 
had  singular  tastes :  the  rats  which  fed  in  great  numbers 


182  mSTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

among  the  canes  were  regarded  as  great  delicacies.  These 
may  have  heen  palatable  enough,  but  cats  seem  a  less 
desirable  dish ;  yet  there  were  some  who  enjoyed  them, 
and  follT  believed  that  those  who  eat  cat's  flesh  would 
acquire,  not  only  the  activity,  but  the  endurance  of  that 
animal.  The  domestic  servants  were  more  dependent  on 
their  owners  for  food  and  clothing,  and  in  respectable 
families  they  had  no  just  ground  for  complaining  that 
they  were  not  weU  supplied.  The  field  hands  had  to  be 
content  with  a  few  yards  of  osnaburg,  some  coarse  woollen 
baize,  a  handkerchief  or  two,  and  some  needles  and  thread, 
distributed  once  a  year.  Gayer  garments,  reserved  for 
Sundays  and  holidays,  were  purchased  from  their  little 
savings. 

Some  interesting  facts  present  themselves  to  notice  when 
an  attempt  is  made  to  understand  what,  in  the  absence  of 
a  less  imposing  term,  must  be  called  the  social  life  of  the 
slaves.  When  a  Guinea  ship  arrived,  the  slaves  were  ex- 
posed for  sale,  and  care  was  taken  not  to  separate  the 
families  who  were  on  board.  This,  which  was  long  a 
custom,  became  a  law  through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Bryan 
Edwards.  When  the  newly-purchased  slaves  were  brought 
to  the  estate,  they  were  generally  quartered  on  some  of  the 
older  Africans.  This  may  appear  a  hardship  inflicted  on 
the  latter,  but  they  did  not  regard  it  as  such  ;  they  were 
glad  to  revive  old  memories  by  converse  with  these 
strangers.  Some  wished  to  fill  up  a  gap  made  by  the  death 
of  a  son  or  daughter,  and  the  strangers  would  almost 
always  look  upon  their  hosts  as  parents,  and  address  them 
as  such. 

The  new  arrivals  frequently  found  aged  couples  living  to- 
gether as  faithfully  as  if  united  by  marriage,  for  advancing 
age  in  numerous  cases  led  to  a  relinquishment  of  the  laxity 
BO  common  in  earlier  life.  Where  a  couple  were  anxious  to 
enter  upon  a  more  permanent  union  than  ordinary,  some 
little  ceremony  attended  the  event.  The  act  of  separation 
was  more  marked.  The  immense  loads  the  negroes  carry 
on  their  heads  are  supported  by  what  is  called  a  corta,  a 
round  pad  made  of  plantain  leaves  or  some  other  tough 
fibrous  substance.  When  a  couple  disagreed  this  was 
taken,  cut  in  twain,  and  then  each  party  retained  a  half  as 
a  sign  of  separation — a  bill  of  divorcement. 


HAKNEBS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  INHABITAKTS.     188 

As  a  rule,  a  good  deal  of  aflfection  was  shown  to  children, 
and  sacrifices  made  to  promote  their  comfort,  though 
strict  parental  authority  was  maintained,  and  personal 
chastisement  occasionally  inflicted  when  the  days  of  child- 
hood had  long  passed  by.  Children  were  very  frequently 
named  accordmg  to  the  days  on  which  they  were  bom. 
Those  negro  names  so  often  the  cause  of  merriment,  have, 
like  scriptural  names,  a  signification,  as  the  following  list 
will  show  :— 

MALB  NAME.  FEMALE  NAME.  DAT  OF  BIRTH. 

Cudjoe Juba Monday. 

Cubbenah   Beneba Tuesday. 

Quaco Cuba    Wednesday. 

Quao    Abba    Thursday. 

Cuflfee Phibba Friday. 

Quamin  Mimba Saturday. 

Quashie  Quasheba    Sunday. 

The  respect  paid  by  children  to  their  parents  was  to  some 
extent  exhibited  to  all  aged  persons.  Ta  and  Ma  were 
terms  of  homage  freely  given. 

The  negro  village  was  not  without  its  sources  of  amuse- 
ment. Music  was  one  of  the  great  attractions.  In  one 
sense  the  negro  has  an  ear  for  music ;  a  new  tune  is  quickly 
acquired,  but  their  ideas  of  time  and  expression  are  sadly 
at  fault.  Music  of  some  sort  they  must  have,  no  festival 
could  be  complete  without  it,  but  horrible  instruments  were 
used  for  the  purpose.  Among  these  were  the  goombah,  a 
hollow  block  of  wood  covered  with  a  sheep  or  goat  skin,  and 
which,  when  struck  with  a  stick,  emits  the  most  terrific 
sounds.  The  merry -wang  was  a  variety  of  banjo  or  rude 
guitar,  capable  of  producing  four  notes ;  and  the  dundo 
may  be  described  as  a  kind  of  tabor.  Their  songs  were 
impromptu,  and  it  is  simple  justice  to  the  rude  birds  to 
say  that  they  rarely  indulged  in  the  panegyric  so  common 
among  their  more  civilized  brethren  of  the  same  age  ;  for 
they  contrived  to  ridicule  very  effectively  any  one,  white  or 
black,  who  had  incurred  their  displeasure.  Any  mental  or 
physical  peculiarity  of  a  bookkeeper  or  overseer  was  sure 
to  be  noticed,  and  if  he  was  at  all  obnoxious,  severely 
satirised.  The  song  usually  consisted  of  a  solo  part  or 
recitative,  in  which  the  key  was  varied :  this  was  followed 


184  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

by  a  chorus.  The  strains  of  the  Coromantyns  rarely 
descended  to  satire,  they  were  fierce  and  warlike.  To  beat 
the  goombah  all  night,  or  in  lieu  of  it  a  fiat  board,  and  to 
sing  in  accompaniment,  was  not  uncommon  among  the 
slaves.  They  were  also  fond  of  dancing ;  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  deny  the  vivacity  with  which  they  pursued  this 
amusement,  or  to  refrain  from  denouncing  the  lascivious 
attitudes  with  which  the  greatest  favourites  were  charac- 
terised. 

The  rough  Merry-Andrew  festivities,  alluded  to  in  a 
former  chapter  on  manners  and  customs,  were  now  im- 
proved upon.  About  1720  there  was  a  noted  personage  on 
the  Guinea  coast,  called  John  Connu.  In  what  way  he  got 
associated  with  such  festivities  is  not  very  clear;  but  about 
Christmas  time  crowds  of  men  dressed  up  in  a  fantastic 
manner,  with  cows'  horns  on  their  heads,  horrid  masks  and 
boars'  tusks  on  their  faces,  and  followed  by  numbers  of 
excited  women,  danced  through  the  streets  and  lanes,  yelling 
at  every  door — "  John  Connu,  John  Connu !"  About  fifty 
years  after  the  introduction  of  this  custom  a  number  of 
new  devices  were  introduced,  and  gradually  the  more 
elaborate  spectacles  called  **  Sets  "  came  into  vogue. 

Little  can  be  said  with  confidence  as  to  the  religious 
beliefs  of  these  people.  The  influence  of  the  Coromantyns 
seems  to  have  modified  if  not  entirely  obliterated  whatever 
was  introduced  by  other  tribes.  They  recognised,  in  a  being 
called  Accompong,  the  creator  and  preserver  of  mankind  : 
to  him  praise,  but  never  sacrifice,  was  oflFered.  Assaici 
was  another  being :  to  him  they  offered  first-fruits,  and  the 
festival  of  the  new  year  was  kept  in  his  honour.  Ipboa  was 
god  of  the  sea.  The  devil  was  represented  by  Obboney,  a 
malicious  being.  It  is  said  that  human  sacrifices  were  some- 
times oflFered  to  appease  him :  no  Jamaica  records,  however, 
allude  to  such  an  event.  The  tutelary  deities  included  the 
departed  heads  of  families,  and  the  worship  of  such  was 
almost  the  only  one  observed  to  any  great  extent  by  Africans 
or  their  descendants  in  Jamaica. 

It  is  and  ever  has  been  very  diflBcult  to  extract  from  an 
old  negro  what  his  religious  belief  really  was,  but  it  seems 
probable  that  there  was  some  idea  that  departed  parents 
had  influence  with  the  supposed  rulers  of  the  world  beyond 
the  grave,  and  that  prayers  were  offered  to  them  in  some 


MANKEBS  AND   CUSTOMS   OF  THE   INHABITANTS.  185 

such  spirit  as  that  of  the  Boman  Catholic  who  appeals  to 
the  saints  in  his  calendar.  At  certain  times,  and  often  at 
the  festival  of  the  new  yam,  a  family  of  two  or  three  suc- 
cessive generations  would  gather  around  the  grave  of  a 
departed  ancestor ;  a  sacrifice  of  a  cock  or  a  goat  was 
offered,  and  the  blood  poured  upon  the  grave.  Each  head 
of  a  household  then  offered  another  fowl  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  when  this  had  been  done  the  animals  were  cooked 
and  eaten.  Occasionally  these  acts  of  worship  assumed  a 
form  of  intense  melancholy.  Death  had  been  busy  in  the 
family ;  one  and  another,  perhaps  the  young  and  strong, 
had  passed  away,  and  just  as  the  savage  tribes  in  Africa 
sacrifice  hundreds  of  slaves  at  the  death  of  a  chief,  that 
they  may  serve  him  in  the  world  to  .which  he  had  gone, 
so  in  Jamaica  families  the  idea  prevailed  that  the  dead 
ancestor  might  wish  some  of  his  descendants  to  be  with 
him  in  the  next  world,  and  the  death  of  relatives  was  fre- 
quently attributed  to  his  influence.  In  these  cases  earnest 
supplications  were  offered  that  those  taken  might  suffice, 
and  such  as  remained  on  earth  be  spared.  More  solemn 
and  affecting  were  those  occasions  when  a  mother  bereaved 
of  some  of  her  children  went  at  the  midnight  hour  to  the 
grave  of  their  dead  father,  taking  the  living  children  by  the 
hand ;  and  then,  while  gently  reproving  him  for  what  he 
was  supposed  to  have  done,  earnestly  entreated  him  not  to 
take  from  her  those  who  yet  remained. 

Not  only  were  oaths  administered  in  the  horrid  manner 
alluded  to  in  the  account  of  the  rebellions  of  1760  and 
1765,  but  sometimes  the  mixture  of  human  blood,  grave 
dirt,  and  other  abominations,  was  administered  to  a  woman 
whose  fidelity  was  questioned ;  and  who  on  taking  it  was 
required  to  express  a  wish  that  her  belly  might  rot,  and 
other  evils  come  upon  her,  if  she  had  not  been  faithful. 
The  Bible  reader  will  at  once  perceive  the  similarity  of  this 
custom  to  that  commanded  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  book 
of  Numbers.  Nor  will  the  reader  of  modem  African  travels 
fail  to  note  the  resemblance  of  the  custom  to  that  described 
by  ChaiUu.* 

Among  the  Africans  there  was  a  wide-spread  fear  of 
charms  and  incantations,  and  the  creole  negroes,  though 
not  superior  to  the  same  kind  of  superstition,  sought  to 

"^  ''Adventures  in  Equatorial  Africa,"  p.  802-442. 


186  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

preserve  their  property  by  hanging  cats'  teeth,  feathers, 
and  other  Obeah  signs  about. 

The  funeral  ceremonies  bore  some  resemblance  to  Irish 
wakes.  A  feast  was  provided,  at  which  there  was  singing, 
drumming,  and  dancing.  When  at  length  it  was  time  to 
carry  the  coffin  to  the  grave,  it  was  borne  more  frequently 
on  the  heads  than  on  the  shoulders  of  the  bearers.  After 
a  little  progress  had  been  made  a  sudden  stop  was  almost 
sure  to  take  place :  the  corpse,  it  was  said,  was  obstinate, 
and  would  not  go  on ;  something  was  surely  the  matter. 
Presently  the  cause  would  be  explained.  Perhaps,  just 
by,  a  man  lived  who  had  been  at  variance  with  the  dead  : 
he  must  be  visited  and  soundly  scolded,  and  then  the  de- 
parted spirit  would  rest.  Quietude  seemed  to  come  much 
quicker  if  the  accused  person  was  liberal  in  his  offers  of 
rum. 

Occasionally  the  corpse  was  displeased  with  the  mode  of 
conveyance,  and  this  had  to  be  changed.  When  at  length 
the  grave  was  reached  and  the  coffin  was  lowered,  cooked 
food,  in  which  no  salt  had  been  put,  was  placed  upon  it; 
and  in  covering  up  the  grave  the  attendants  often  turned 
their  backs  to  it  and  threw  the  earth  in  from  between  their 
legs.  This  was  an  infallible  way  of  preventing  the  spirit 
of  the  departed  from  returning  with  them  to  their  homes. 
Sometimes  the  spirit  was  caught  with  many  ceremonies  in 
a  box  provided  for  that  purpose,  and  then  the  box  was 
carefully  buried.  The  surviving  widow  of  the  departed  was 
expected  to  go  more  careless  in  dress  than  usual  for  some 
few  weeks ;  but  when  tired  of  the  single  state  she  cooked 
a  fowl,  and  carried  it,  with  the  broth,  to  the  grave,  ac- 
companied by  friends  who  either  sympathised  with  her  or 
perhaps  merely  wished  to  spend  a  pleasant  evening.  A  sonpt 
was  sung  expressive  of  confidence  in  the  happiness  of  the  de- 
parted, fresh  earth  was  piled  upon  the  grave,  some  of  the 
viands  were  cast  upon  it,  and  the  rest  eaten.  More  singing, 
and  also  dancing  followed,  and  the  party,  returning  home,  left 
the  bereaved  one  to  select  another  companion.  No  pro- 
pitiatory offerings  could,  however,  keep  the  departed  from 
occasionally  breaking  bounds.  Hence  every  negro  trem- 
bled at  the  mention  of  duppies ;  these  are  the  ghosts  of 
northern  climes.  Even  now,  among  the  ignorant,  when  a 
corpse  is  prepared  for  the  grave,  dressed,  as  is  not  unusual. 


HANNEBS  AND   CUSTOMS  OF  THE   INHABITANTS.  187 

in  a  full  suit  of  clothes,  the  pockets  are  often  cut  away,  lest 
the  duppy  should  fill  them  with  stones  and  annoy  the  living  • 
on  his  return.  For  nine  days  the  room  in  which  death  took 
place  was  undisturbed,  and  a  light  left  burning  at  night ; 
nor  were  little  conveniences  to  which  the  departed  was 
accustomed,  as  water  to  bathe  the  feet,  &c.,  omitted.  Food 
was  often  prepared,  and  if  a  bold-hearted  but  hungry  mem- 
ber of  the  household  consumed  it  in  secret,  the  appetite  of 
the  duppy  became  the  occasion  of  remark. 

Of  all  powers,  temporal  or  spiritual,  the  one  of  whom 
the  negroes  stood  most  in  awe  was  that  of  the  Obeah  man. 
The  word  was  sometimes  spelt  Obia  or  Obi ;  the  latter 
term  refers  rather  to  the  practice  of  the  art  than  to  the 
practiser.  This  dread  superstition  is  evidently  a  perverted 
form  of  one  far  more  ancient,  and  may  probably  be  traced 
back  to  Egypt.  There  the  name  of  a  serpent  was  Ob, 
Oub,  or  Obion.  The  Israelites  were  commanded  not  to 
inquire  of  Ob;  and  accomplished  Hebrew  scholars  state 
that  the  literal-  translation  of  the  words  in  1  Sam.  xxviii.  7, 
rendered  in  the  English  Bible  ''  a  woman  that  hath  a 
familiar  spirit "  is  *'  a  mistress  of  the  Ob."*  In  the  trans- 
mission of  this  very  ancient  form  of  superstition  across 
the  continent  of  Africa,  and  thence  to  Jamaica,  it  would 
naturally  assume  new  forms,  and  ultimately  shape  itself 
into  that  by  which  it  became  so  familiarly  known. 

The  professors  of  this  art  were  almost  exclusively  native 
Africans,  and  were  consequently  more  numerous  when  the 
importations  from  Africa  were  most  abundant.  Women 
occasionally  practised,  in  which  case  age  and  ugliness 
were  great  recommendations.  The  power  these  people 
possessed  was  almost  unlimited.  It  was  believed  that  they 
could  cause  disease  or  cure  it,  and  by  their  mystic  rites 
punish  an  enemy,  or,  if  it  was  desired,  win  his  favour. 
They  could  not  only  detect  a  thief,  a  murderer,  or  an 
adulterer,  but  by  incantations  bring  down  the  most  fearful 
judgments  upon  them.  They  could  make  men  impervious 
to  bullets,  or  restore  them  to  life  if  by  some  chance  they 
had  been  killed.  Implicit  confidence  being  given  to  their 
pretensions,  what  wonder  if  a  people  untaught  in  the  sim- 
plest elementary  truths  of  Christianity  regarded  the  Obeah 

I  Articles  on  Witchcraft  and  the  Serpent,  in  Eitto's  '*  Cyclopaedia  of 
Biblical  Literature." 


188  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

men  as  gods,  who  could  kill  or  make  alive !  The  temple 
of  the  Obeah  man  was  a  secluded  hut,  the  time  usually 
selected  for  his  incantations  the  midnight  hour.  The 
charm  used  was  a  strange  mixture  of  heterogeneous  mat- 
ters. A  quotation  from  the  records  of  a  trial  held 
in  1776,  at  Morant  Bay,  will  illustrate  it :  **  Deponent, 
on  searching  prisoner's  house,  found  sundry  matters,  such 
as  egg-shells  tied  up  in  plantain  trash,  fowls'  feet,  fish- 
bones, feathers,  and  sundry  other  matters  in  a  basket ;  also 
a  coney-skin,  or  some  such  thing,' stuffed  in  a  bottle,  which 
those  who  practise  Obeah  commonly  make  use  of."  *  The 
teeth  of  dogs,  cats,  alligators,  and  sharks,  together  with 
grave  dirt,  parrots'  beaks,  blood,  &c.,  might  be  added  to 
the  above  inventory. 

So  late  as  1861,  during  the  revival,  as  it  was  termed,  a 
party  of  young  women,  in  a  state  of  religious  excitement, 
went  to  the  house  of  a  reputed  Obeah  man,  residing  in 
one  of  the  suburbs  of  Kingston,  and  brought  him,  with 
all  the  implements  of  his  art,  to  the  parade.  His  box  con- 
tained not  only  nearly  all  the  abominations  mentioned,  but 
several  lizard  and  snake-skins.  There  was  also  a  bell, 
said  to  be  used  to  summon  a  sort  of  familiar  spirit,  and  a 
pack  of  cards.  In  the  midst  of  all,  sad  to  say,  was  a 
number  of  class  tickets,  indicating  that  he  had  been  a 
member  of  a  religious  body  for  a  great  number  of  years.t 

When  Obi  was  set  for  a  suspected  thief,  the  magic  charm 
was  usually  buried  at  his  gate,  or  in  some  place  over  which 
he  was  accustomed  to  walk.  The  tale  of  what  had  been 
done  reached  his  ears.  He  could  no  longer  rest,  for  the 
mighty  power  was  at  work !  The  first  pain  he  felt  was 
an  intimation  that  the  work  of  retribution  had  commenced. 
Every  symptom  was  magnified,  and  not  unfrequently  he 
would  pine  away  and  die.     The  same  results  often  followed 

*  Session  Book  of  St.  Thomas  in  the  East,  quoted  in  Hill's  "  Lights 
and  Shadows/'  p.  148. 

I  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  under  the  influence  of  strong,  though 
ill-directed  reUgious  feeling,  the  women  who  captured  this  old  man  did 
not  hesitate  to  handle  these  articles,  taking  them  out  one  by  one,  and 
explaining  their  nature  to  the  writer :  all  fear  was  gone.  Yet  when 
a  few  years  before  he  had  obtained  possession  of  a  parcel  of  Obeah 
trash,  a  promise  of  money  to  any  lad  in  a  large  school  who  would 
step  over  it  when  laid  on  the  floor,  failed  to  secure  more  than  one 
volunteer. 


MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS   OP   THE    INHABITANTS.  189 

a  quarrel,  when  one  or  other  of  the  contending  parties 
sought  the  aid  of  the  Obeah  man  to  revenge  his  real  or 
supposed  injuries.  Sometimes  it  would  happen  that 
counter  spells  were  used,  and  the  services  of  another 
Obeah  man  secured  to  counteract  the  evil  the  other  was 
working,  and  if  possible  make  it  to  recoil  upon  the  head 
of  the  first  mover  in  the  business.  The  attempt  rarely 
succeeded.  Superstition  cannot  be  cured  by  stratagem, 
for  had  not  the  spell  been  buried  ?  It  was  now  too  late :  the 
mysterious  power  was  even  now  acting  in  the  body  of  the 
offender,  and  there  could  no  longer  be  any  hope. 

Sickness  was  rarely  attributed  to  natural  causes,  if  at  all 
unusual  in  its  character.  The  Obeah  man  would  there- 
fore be  consulted ;  and  with  the  knowledge  he  possessed  of 
all  the  little  bickerings  and  jealousies  on  the  estate,  he 
was  seldom  at  a  loss  to  ascribe  it,  with  great  appearance 
of  plausibility,  to  some  particular  person,  who  might  be  ex- 
pected to  have  no  good  feeling  towards  the  sufferer.  If  with 
the  rude  knowledge  of  medicine  he  usually  possessed  he 
saw  hope  of  recovery,  he  would  propose  counteracting 
spells,  and  gain  great  glory  from  the  result  of  his  sup- 
posed skill.  In  those  cases  where  the  sufferer  gradually 
got  worse  and  died,  the  power  of  Obeah  was  magnified 
more  than  ever.  Sometimes  by  a  little  clumsy  jugglery  the 
practitioner  appeared  to  extract  all  sorts  of  rubbish,  or 
even  living  things,  such  as  frogs  and  Uzards,  from  the 
body  of  the  sufferer.  The  arms,  the  legs,  the  head,  or  the 
stomach  of  the  patient  was  manipulated  upon,  and  pre- 
sently the  cause,  or  one  of  the  causes  of  the  painful 
symptoms,  fell  out  upon  the  floor !  For  a  long  time 
planters  and  men  in  authority  ridiculed  the  thing  as  an 
idle,  senseless  superstition,  and  regarded  Obeah  spells  in 
much  the  same  light  as  the  scarecrows  of  English  corn- 
fields ;  but  the  rebellion  of  1760,  and  some  extraordinary 
facts  that  soon  after  came  to  light,  disclosed  the  deadly 
character  of  the  superstition. 

In  Bryan  Edwards'  *' History  of  the  West  Indies,"* 
copious  extracts  are  given  from  a  document  forwarded  from 
Jamaica  to  the  privy  council,  and  illustrating  the  evils  of 
this  terrible  superstition.  A  striking  instance  is  added  of 
a  plantation  on  which  great  numbers  died  in  consequence 

*  Book  iv.  chap.  8. 


190  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

of  the  dread  inspired  by  a  female  practitioner  of  the  art 
over  eighty  years  of  age.  One  hundred  negroes  are  re- 
ported to  have  perished  through  fear  in  fifteen  years.  When 
the  cause  of  the  mortality  was  discovered,  her  cottage, 
with  all  its  disgusting  contents,  was  burnt  down,  and  the 
old  woman  sent  away  to  Cuba.  From  that  moment  the 
sick  began  to  recover,  and  no  fresh  cases  appeared.  It  is 
remarkable  how  leniently  the  owner  of  this  estate  dealt 
with  the  culprit.  It  appears  also,  from  records  of  slave 
trials,  that  though  sentences  of  pitiless  floggings,  mutila- 
tions, and  even  death,  were  passed  on  runaways  and  others 
guilty  of  venial  transgressions,  those  found  guilty  of 
Obeah  practices  rarely  suffered  the  extreme  penalty  of  the 
law.  Two  cases  are  on  record  where  actual  poisoning  was 
proved,  and  yet  the  culprits  were  only  transported.  This 
unaccountable  lenity  had  the  tendency  of  making  the 
negroes  believe  more  implicitly  the  assertion  that  "  Buckra 
could  not  kill  Obeah  man." 

The  Obeah  men  were  commonly  reputed  to  be  skilled 
poisoners :  their  ability  in  this  respect  has  been  greatly 
exaggerated.  Tales  were  at  one  time  current,  and  are 
still  repeated,  of  a  knowledge  and  use  of  poisons  so 
potent,  that  suflScient  to  destroy  life  could  be  concealed 
beneath  the  finger  nail,  and  so  be  quietly  dropped  into  a 
glass  of  rum  or  a  cup  of  coffee.  Other  poisons  were 
supposed  to  cause  insanity,  or  a  slow  lingering  death.  It 
is  quite  possible  that  some  Africans,  like  savages  of  other 
countries,  had  a  knowledge  of  vegetable  poisons  beyond 
what  most  are  disposed  to  give  them  credit  for.  Yet,  in 
nearly  every  case  of  known  poisoning  in  Jamaica,  the 
crime  has  been  committed  in  the  most  clumsy  manner  ; 
arsenic,  rat  poisons,  or  some  other  well-known  compounds 
being  employed.  A  very  common  method  of  revenge  has 
been  to  put  powdered  glass  in  the  food  offered,  but  the 
effect  of  this  is  of  course  only  mechanical. 

Sir  Hans  Sloane,  in  his  history,  mentions  two  cases, 
proving  that  poisoning  was  practised  by  negroes  in  his  time. 
Dr.  Brown  also  speaks  of  the  savannah  flower  as  frequently 
used,  and  Barham  says  that  two  drachms  of  expressed 
juice  killed  a  dog  in  eight  minutes.  This  writer  quite 
believed  in  the  possibility  of  its  being  so  administered  as 
to  delay  death  for  days,  weeks,  and  even  years.    He  gives 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  INHABITANTS.      191 

a  case  in  point.  "  Some  years  past  a  practitioner  of 
physic  was  poisoned  with  this  plant  by  his  negro  woman, 
who  had  so  contrived  it  that  it  did  not  despatch  him 
quickly,  but  he  was  seized  by  violent  gripings,  inclination 
to  vomit,  loss  of  appetite,  and  afterwards  small  convulsions 
in  several  parts  of  his  body,  a  hectic  fever,  and  continual 
wasting  of  his  flesh."  At  length  he  was  cured,  but  it  was 
some  time  before  the  convulsive  symptoms  left  him.  This 
narrative,  founded  on  some  misapprehension  of  the  case, 
may  have  given  rise  to  the  exaggerated  notions  which 
prevailed  as  to  the  power  of  the  negro  poisoner.  The 
stipendiary  magistrate,  Madden,  during  his  short  residence 
in  Jamaica,  collected  some  curious  statements  on  these 
points.* 

Of  late  years  Myalism  has  generally  been  regarded  as  an 
art  by  which  that  of  the  Obeah  man  could  be  counteracted. 
Its  fiirst  mode  of  development  was  as  a  branch  of  Obeah 
practice.  The  Obeah  men  introduced  a  dance  called  the 
Myal  dance,  and  formed  a  secret  society,  the  members  of 
which  were  to  be  made  invulnerable,  or  if  they  died,  life 
was  to  be  restored.  Belief  in  this  miracle  was  secured  by  a 
trick.  A  mixture  was  given  in  rum,  of  a  character  which 
presently  induced  sleep  so  profound,  as,  by  the  uninitiated 
and  alarmed,  to  be  mistaken  for  death.  After  this  had  been 
administered  to  some  one  chosen  for  the  purpose,  the 
Myal  dance  began,  and  presently  the  victim  staggered  and 
fell,  to  all  appearance  dead.  Mystic  charms  were  then 
used ;  the  body  was  rubbed  with  some  infusion ;  and  in 
process  of  time,  the  narcotic  having  lost  its  power,  the 
subject  of  the  experiment  rose  up  as  one  restored  to  life, 
a  fact  for  which  the  Obeah  man  claimed  all  the  merit. 
The  plant  said  to  be  used  was  the  branched  calalue,  or 
solanum.  If  so,  it  can  only  be  the  cold  infusion  which 
has  the  narcotic  power,  and  which  is  stated  to  belong  to 
the  European  variety;  for  when  boiled  it  is  harmless. 
It  is  commonly  used  in  Jamaica  as  a  substitute  for  spinach, 
and  enters  largely  into  the  composition  of  the  famous 
pepper-pot. 

*  Mftdden'B  «*  Letters,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  76-80,  92-106. 


192  raSTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

RELIGION  AND   EDUCATION. 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  pourtray  the  religious  history  of  the 
colony  daring  the  period  now  under  review.  With 
the  exception  of  some  letters  written  by  the  rector  of  Port 
Boyal,  immediately  after  the  earthquake,*  there  appears 
to  be  no  document  in  existence  which  in  any  way  illustrates 
the  spiritual  labours  of  the  clergy.  From  Mr.  Bridges,  as 
a  clergyman,  we  might  have  expected  some  account  of  the 
labours  of  his  brethren  ;  but  though  he  devotes  considerable 
space  to  the  history  of  the  established  church,  it  is  only 
so  far  as  the  emoluments  and  status  of  its  clergy  were 
concerned. 

Amidst  this  dearth  of  information,  the  letters  of  the 
Port  Boyal  rector  are  of  peculiar  interest.  Writing  of  the 
day  of  the  earthquake,  he  says :  "On  Wednesday,  the  ^Tth, 
I  had  been  at  prayers,  which  I  did  every  day  since  I  was 
rector  of  Port  Boyal,  to  keep  up  some  show  of  religion 
amongst  a  most  ungodly  and  debauched  people."  This 
description  of  the  general  character  of  the  population 
applies,  it  is  to  be  feared,  to  the  whole  island ;  but  it  is 
questionable  whether  the  incumbent  of  the  doomed  city 
was  not  almost  singular  in  his  zeal.  Having  escaped 
from  the  falling  houses,  he  says  :  "  The  people  seeing  me, 
cry'd  out  to  come  and  pray  with  them.  When  I  came 
into  the  street,  every  one  laid  hold  of  my  clothes,  and 
embraced  me,  so  that  I  was  almost  stifled  with  their 
kindness.  I  persuaded  them  at  last  to  kneel  down,  and 
make  a  large  ring,  which  they  did.  I  pray'd  with  them 
near  an  hour,  when  I  was  almost  spent  with  the  sun  and 
the  exercise.  They  then  brought  me  a  chair;  the  earth 
working  all  the  while  with  new  motions  and  tremblings, 
like  the  rolling  of  the  sea,  insomuch  that  sometimes  when 
I  was  at  prayers  I  could  hardly  keep  upon  my  knees.  By 
that  time  I  had  been  half  an  hour  longer  with  them,  in 

*  Preserved  in  "  Gentleman's  Magazine." 


BELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  198 

setting  before  them  their  sins  and  heinous  provocations, 
and  seriously  exhorting  them  to  repentance." 

He  then  went  on  board  a  vessel  which  had  escaped, 
where  he  found  the  president  of  the  council,  and  remained 
the  night.  Of  the  next  day  he  writes  :  *'  I  went  from  ship 
to  ship,  to  visit  those  who  were  bruised  and  dying;  likewise 
to  do  the  last  office  at  the  sinking  of  several  corpses  which 
came  floating  from  the  Point.  ...  I  have  been  twice 
on  shore,  to  pray  with  bruised  and  dying  people,  where  I 
met  too  many  drunk  and  swearing.  I  did  not  spare  them, 
nor  the  magistrates  neither,  who  have  suffered  wickedness 
to  grow  to  such  a  height.  I  have,  I  bless  God,  to  the  best 
of  my  skill  and  power,  discharged  my  duty  in  this  place. 
In  the  last  sermon  I  delivered  in  the  church,  I  set  before 
them  what  would  be  the  issue  of  their  impenitence  and 
wickedness  so  clearly,  that  they  have  since  acknowle4gdd  it 
was  more  like  a  prophecy  than  a  sermon.  I  had,  I  confess, 
an  impulse  on  me  to  do  it ;  and  many  times  I  have  preached 
in  the  pulpit  things  which  I  never  premeditated  at  home, 
and  could  not,  methought,  do  otherwise."  Soon  after  we 
find  the  worthy  rector  preaching  in  a  tent.  The  people,  he 
wrote,  "  are  overjoyed  to  see  me  among  them,  and  wept 
bitterly  as  I  preached.  I  hope  by  this  terrible  judgment 
God  ^inll  make  them  reform  their  lives,  for  there  was  not  a 
more  ungodly  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

For  more  than  two  generations  we  shall  search  in  vain 
among  the  records  of  the  colony  for  any  other  illustration 
of  ministerial  zeal  and  fidelity.  Still  it  need  not  be  in- 
ferred that  such  cases  were  quite  unknown.  The  first  law 
passed  after  the  earthquake  was  one  establishing  a  perpetual 
fast  on  the  anniversary  of  its  occurrence  ;  the  preamble  to 
the  bill  declaring  that  it  had  pleased  Almighty  God  "justly 
to  punish  the  inhabitants  of  this  island  for  the  manifold 
sins  and  wickedness  committed  against  His  Divine  Ma- 
jesty."* 

In  1706-07  an  act  was  passed  "  for  the  encouragement  of 
good  and  able  ministers  to  come  to  the  island."  Persons 
who  had  previously  laid  themselves  under  obligation  to 
supplement  the  salaries  formerly  allowed  by  law,  were 
released  from  their  engagements,  and  the  stipends  of  the 
clergy  increased;   in  St.  Catherines,  from  j£150  to  j£250 

*  "  Laws  of  Jamaica,"  vol.  i. 
14 


194  HI5TOKT  or  JAXAICi. 

steriing  per  ammm ;  in  other  parishes  to  £100  or  £150  per 
annnm,  to  which  the  justices  and  Testrv  might  add  another 
£50  if  thej  thought  fit.  It  will  be  obvioas  that  this  latter 
arrangement  was  objectionable,  as  it  pot  the  clergy  too 
mnch  onder  the  power  of  the  vestries,  and  was  calculated 
to  prevent  any  effective  interposition  between  the  master 
and  slave  in  eases  of  injustice.  Bat  little  regard  was  paid 
to  the  wants  of  the  bondsmen.  Jb'l.  8s.  9d.  was  the  fee 
payable  by  law  for  the  simple  ceremony  of  baptism  in  the 
ease  of  a  slave,  a  snm  few  owners  woold  affoid  for  snch  a 
purpose. 

Mr.  Wood,  in  his  preface  to  the  ''Laws  of  Jamaica/' 
written  in  1716,  speaks  of  some  benefices  as  worth  £400, 
while  others,  he  adds,  were  worth  less  than  £100.  In  the 
cases  last  referred  to,  the  grants  from  the  assembly  and 
vestry  conld  not  have  been  paid,  while  in  more  favoured 
jp«Lrishes  glebe  lands  and  fees  made  up  the  sum  mentioned. 
The  same  writer  speaks  of  the  king  as  head  of  the  church, 
and  of  the  governor,  as  his  substitute,  appointing  the 
clergy. 

In  1722  the  assembly  appointed  another  fast  for  the 
29th  of  August,  in  commemoration  of  the  great  storms  of 
that  year  and  of  1712.  Seven  years  later  the  same  body 
was  led  to  manifest  wonderful  zeal  on  behalf  of  pro- 
testantism, and  passed  a  law  to  prevent  dangers  which 
might  arise  from  the  presence  of  disguised  papists.  Long 
asserts  that  this  was  done  to  annoy  an  obnoxious  member 
of  the  house,  but  the  practical  working  of  the  measure  was 
found  so  objectionable  that  next  year  it  was  repealed. 

In  1748  it  was  thought  that  the  provision  made  for  the 
clergy  was  **too  scanty  for  a  proper  and  suitable  main- 
tenance;'* and  that  as  part  of  it  depended  on  the  pleasure 
of  vestries,  the  clergy  were  placed  in  "  an  improper  state 
of  dependence."  It  was  accordingly  arranged  that  the 
vestries  should  be  relieved,  and  the  salaries  of  clergymen 
augmented,  and  paid  from  the  colonial  funds.  Vestries, 
however,  were  either  to  pay  £*50  per  annum  as  rent  for  a 
rectory,  or  erect  one  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  £500.  Though 
£800  per  annum  is  the  highest  stipend  mentioned  in  the 
act,  some  benefices  were  worth  far  more.  In  1745,  a  bill 
had  been  passed,  empowering  the  rector  of  St.  Andrews  to 
lease  some  six  hundred  acres  of  land  bequeathed  to  the 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  196 

church.  Some  years  later  this  living  was  said  to  be  worth 
upwards  of  a  thousand  pounds  a  year.* 

The  Bishop  of  London  had  always  claimed  spiritual 
jurisdiction  in  the  colony,  but  the  act  of  1748  is  the  first 
in  which  it  was  recognised.  This  distant  supervision  was 
of  little  value ;  even  the  more  public  duties  of  the  sacred 
oflSce  were  frequently  grossly  neglected,  and  in  1773  a  law 
was  passed  allowing  a  clergyman  to  be  absent  from  his 
parish  one  month  at  a  time,  or  two  months  in  a  year,  but 
imposing  a  fine  of  £50  on  all  who,  being  in  health,  drew 
their  stipend  and  (with  the  above  exceptions)  failed  to 
officiate. 

In  1773,  parishes  were  empowered  to  raise  iE5000  for  a 
church  and  burial-ground  where  none  had    as  yet  been 

Erovided.  Some  of  the  existing  churches  were  good 
uildings :  that  in  Spanish  Town,  repaired  in  1762,  was 
the  best ;  it  was  also  provided  with  a  superior  organ.  In 
Hanover,  iE7000  was  expended  on  the  church,  but  in  some 
parishes  Divine  service,  where  held,  was  conducted  in 
private  dwellings,  notwithstanding  the  authority  bestowed 
upon  the  vestries.  Gradually  we  find  the  incomes  of  the 
clergy  improving.  Surplice  fees,  of  the  most  exorbitant 
character,  for  marriages,  baptisms,  and  burials;  glebe 
lands,  and  the  produce  of  slave  labour,  all  combined  to 
improve  their  worldly  position.  One  rectory  was  endowed 
with  twelve  slaves,  and  another  with  twenty. 

There  is  happily  no  necessary  connection  between 
augmented  worldly  resources  and  diminished  spiritual 
power;  nevertheless  the  two  kept  company  in  the  church 
of  Jamaica.  The  clergy  seem  gradually  to  have  become 
less  worthy  of  their  position.  In  1722,  men  like  Galpin, 
Johnston,  and  May  could  be  referred  to  as  men  of  un- 
blemished lives.  But  of  the  rest  it  was  said  by  a  contem- 
porary writer  that  they  were  "  of  a  character  so  vile,  that 
I  do  not  care  to  mention  it ;  for  except  a  few,  they  are 
generally  the  most  finished  of  all  debauchees.**  t  It  was 
added  that  their  churches  were  seldom  opened. 

Some  forty  years  later  Mr.  Long  drew  a  picture  equally 
dark.  There  were,  he  says,  some  equally  respectable  for 
learning,  piety,  and  exemplary  good  behaviour;  while  others 

*  Edwards'  "  Histonr,"  vol.  i.  p.  206. 
t  "  New  History  of  Jamaica,"  p.  803. 

14* 


196  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

"have  been  detestable  for  their  addiction  to  lewdness, 
drinking,  gambling,  and  iniquity/'  Some,  he  declares, 
were  better  qualified  *"*  to  be  retailers  of  salt  fish,  or  boat- 
swains of  privateers,  than  ministers  of  the  gospel."  He 
gives  illustrations  of  his  statement,  and  records  the  par- 
ticulars of  a  fight  between-  a  rector,  his  clerk,  and  some 
others,  and  a  party  of  sailors  who  objected  to  the  hasty 
manijer  in  which  the  rector  desired  to  commit  the  bodies  of 
three  of  their  comi-ades  to  the  grave.* 

The  hfe  of  Dr.  John  Wolcot  (Peter  Pindar)  furnishes 
another  illustration  of  the  reckless  manner  in  which  the 
pulpits  of  the  colony  were  supplied.  He  accompanied  Sir 
W.  Trelawny  to  Jamaica,  in  1762,  as  medical  attendant. 
His  social  qualities  made  him  quite  a  favourite,  and  he 
soon  received  as  a  reward  an  appointment  to  a  vacant 
church.  In  some  way  not  clearly  explained,  he  obtained  a 
license  from  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  entered  upon  his 
duties.  It  was  rarely  that  any  person  entered  his  church, 
and  after  waiting  a  few  minutes,  Wolcot  and  his  clerk  were 
accustomed  to  spend  the  rest  of  the  holy  day  in  pigeon 
shooting  !  t  Happily  his  residence  was  not  prolongeii,  but 
others  little  better  qualified  continued  for  many  years  to 
hold  the  highest  oflices  in  the  church. 

Neglect  of  religious  duty  is  frequently  accompanied  by  a 
persecuting  spirit  towards  those  who  diflfer,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  the  Jews  in  the  colony  is  an  illustration  in  point. 
They  were  tolerated,  but  that  was  all.  So  far  back  as  the 
time  of  Governor  Molesworth  they  obtained  permission  to 
build  a  sjnagogue.  One  was  erected  in  Spanish  Town, 
and  another,  far  more  elegant,  in  Kingston.  In  each  town 
they  had  commodious  burying-places.  A  sect  of  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  Jews,  which  subsequently  became  very 
numerous,  at  first  met  in  a  private  dwelling.  They  were 
accused  by  the  more  orthodox  party  of  having  departed 
from  some  important  points  in  the  ritual  during  the  perse- 
cutions they  had  endured  from  the  Inquisition.  Too  httle 
allowance  was  made  by  their  co-religionists  for  the  trials 
and  temptations  they  had  undergone. 

With  aU  their  disabilities  these  people  regarded  Jamaica 
as  their  home  far  more  commonly  than  most  other  colonists. 

*  Long's  "  History  of  Jamaica.*' 

t  Chambers's  **  Cyolopiiedia  of  English  Literature,"  Art.  *'  Wolcot.*' 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  197 

They  were,  generally  speaking,  very  successful  in  business. 
Some,  indeed,  were  in  a  small  way  as  retail  traders.  Others 
were  connected  with  large  English  houses,  and  a  great 
portion  of  the  trade  with  the  Spanish  Main  was  in  their 
hands.  Temperate  in  their  habits,  they  enjoyed  better 
health  than  most  of  their  neighbours,  and  their  national 
shrewdness  and  activity  more  than  counterbalanced  the 
disadvantages  of  their  position. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  colony  the  king  had  been 
petitioned  to  sanction  their  expulsion,  on  the  ground  ''that 
they  descended  from  the  crucifiers  of  the  blessed  Jesus  !  " 
This  absurdity  was  one  which  would  not  bear  repetition ; 
but  laws  were  passed  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  pro- 
hibiting their  employment  in  any  public  office,  and  they 
were  debarred  from  many  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
other  white  flubjects.  Moreover,  they  were  subjected  to 
special  taxation,  large  sums  being  imposed  upon  them  as  a 
people.  This  act  of  injustice  was  defended  on  the  ground 
that  they  did  not  perform  the  same  duties  as  other  citizens 
— duties  which  were  expressly  denied  them  by  law.  In 
1736  they  were  so  impressed  by  a  sense  of  the  injustice 
with  which  they  were  treated,  thp,t  they  sent  a  petition  to 
the  king  on  the  subject.  They  denied  the  charges  made  by 
the  assembly,  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  falsifying  their 
accounts  and  of  carrying  on  treasonable  dealings  with  the 
Spaniards.  They  asserted  that  they  paid  taxes  like  others, 
and  as  for  the  plea  that  a  special  tax  was  just,  inasmuch  as 
they  were  free  from  public  duties,  they  declared  that  it  was 
only  from  honourable  offices  they  were  exempt.  If  there 
was  a  deficiency  in  the  number  of  whites  in  their  employ, 
they  could  not  secure  emigrants  or  convicts  like  others,  but 
must  hire  at  great  expense ;  and  in  every  way  they  com- 
plained that  they  were  exposed  to  disabilities  which  were 
in  express  violation  of  the  rights  conceded  by  royal  charter 
to  British  subjects.* 

In  consequence  of  theso  representations  the  governor 
received  instructions  not  to  assent  to  any  bill  in  which 
Jews  were  taxed  as  such.t  The  assembly  was  obstinate, 
and  soon  after  was  prorogued  on  three  several  occasions 
before  the  objectionable  clauses  were  omitted  from  a  bill. 
It    yielded    at    last,   but   not  without   assigning  reasons 

*  Journals,  vol.  iii  pp.  460,  461.  ]  Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  608. 


I 

I. 

:< 
■I 


198  HISTORY  OP   JAMAICA. 

why  the  Jews  were  unworthy  of  such  considerate  trcj 

ment.     It  is  not  easy  to  realise  in  these  days  the  spirit 

intolerance  which  could  dictate  such  a  production.     Jewi 

enterprise  was  pronounced  a  crime.     They  sold  articles 

clothing,  and  so  induced  people  to  dress  above  their  meai 

They  lent  out  money  at  interest.     They  did  not  consur 

spirituous  liquors,    the    chief    source   of  revenue  in   t 

':  colony.     The  dry  goods  they  sold  were  not  liable  to  dul 

]■  and  they  smuggled  cocoa  and  indigo,  which  were  dutiabl 

j  They  were  liable,  it  was  true,  for  their  share  in  the  gener 

i  taxation,  but  surely  they  ought  to  pay  a  special  tax  wh< 

they  were  exempt  from,  civil  and  military  duties,  & 
Moreover,  the  assembly  had  a  right  to  make  what  la^ 
it  liked,  and  the  king  could  never  have  sent  out  the  i 
structions  he  had  unless  the  truth  had  been  misrepresentc 
Finally,  there  was  no  injustice  in  the  mode  of  raising  t 
special  tax:  a  roimd  sum  was  fixed,  and  the  heads 
synagogues,  who  surely  ought  to  know  the  circumstanc 
of  their  co-religionists,  distributed  the  burden  among  t 
diflFerent  families.  Of  late,  too,  the  amount  was  not 
large  as  in  former  years,  when  the  Jews  were  poorei 
Such  is  an  abstract 'of  this  extraordinary  document. 

Some  years  later,  a  Jew  named  Sanches  attempted 
vote  at  an  election  in  Kingston.     The  vote  was  of  com 
'^  refused,  and  he  petitioned  the  assembly  on  the  subjei 

Counter-petitions  poured  in  from  all  sides.  One  of  the 
recounted  all  the  real  and  supposed  transgressions  of  t 
race  **  since  they  renounced  the  right  of  government 
Pontius  Pilate  in  order  to  destroy  and  put  to  the  m( 
cruel  and  ignominious  death  the  Lord  and  Saviour  of  t 
world. ''t  The  very  persecutions  they  had  endured  we 
quoted  as  proofs  of  their  unfitness  for  political  rights 
The  Jews  in  answer  expressed  their  hope  that  the  days 
persecution  had  now  terminated. §  But  the  assembly  (] 
cided  that  Jews  were  debarred  from  all  ci^dl  and  judici 
authority,  and  it  would  be  dangerous  to  the  religion  a] 
constitution  of  the  island  if  the  law  was  changed.il 

Though  now  free  from  spocial  taxation,  the  Jews  thoug 
it  desu'able,  for  many  years,  to  present  a  handsome  gift  t( 

^  !l  *  Journals,  vol.  iii.  pp.  570-572.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  p.  24n 

;  5  J  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  p.  247.  §  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  p.  249, 

II  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  p.  250. 


II 


BELiaiON  AND  EDUCATION.  199 

newly-appointed  governor.  About  two  hundred  doubloons 
was  the  amount  usually  given ;  about  one  hundred  or  one 
hundred  and  fifty  doubloons  was  the  amount  presented  to 
a  lieutenant-governor;  and  fifty  doubloons  were  sent  to 
the  governor's  secretary.  From  Long,  who  in  the  last- 
named  capacity  had  received  the  gift,  we  learn  that  the 
governor's  purse  was  called  a  pie,  his  lieutenant's  a  tart, 
while  the  secretary's  portion  was  denominated  a  tartlet. 
There  were  others  beside  Jews  who  made  tartlets.  Posts 
in  the  militia  and  other  coveted  appointments  were  thus 
obtained ;  Jews,  in  their  bribes,  simply  followed  Christian 
example. 

A  few  Quakers  still  resided  in  the  colony,  but  their  num- 
bers were  rapidly  decreasing.  The  last  public  reference  to 
them  is  found  in  a  law  passed  in  1732,  by  which  their 
affirmation  was  declared  to  be  equivalent  to  an  oath. 

If  any  other  dissenters  remained  in  the  island,  their 
meetings  were  held  in  private  houses.  No  reference  of 
any  kind  to  such  assemblies  can  be  traced  after  the  com- 
mencement of  the  18th  century. 

The  slaves,  with  very  few  exceptions,  were  left  in 
heathen  darkness.  Here  and  there  some  member  of  a 
planter's  family  might  be  found  labouring  to  impart 
religious  instruction  to  a  few  favoured  domestics,  but  such 
cases  were  rare.  Though  so  little  can  be  traced  of  Chris- 
tian eflFort,  better  days  were  at  hand.  Towards  the  close  of 
the  century  the  missionary  spirit  was  revived  in  the  churches, 
and  Jamaica  became  a  scene  of  anxious  solicitude  to  many. 

The  Moravians  were  first  in  the  field,  and  the  West 
Indies  attracted  their  attention  at  an  early  period.  Four 
sugar  estates  in  the  parish  of  St.  Elizabeths  belonged  to 
the  Fosters  and  Barhams,  families  honourably  known  in 
early  Moravian  history.  Through  their  influence  four 
missionaries  were  sent  out,  and  landed  on  the  7th  of 
December,  1754.  They  were  located  on  the  Bogue,  a 
magnificent  estate  for  sugar  cultivation,  but  very  un- 
healthy. Here  they  at  once  entered  upon  a  career  of 
Christian  devotedness  unsurpassed  even  in  the  records 
of  Moravian  missions. 

Among  the  Mandingo  slaves  they  found  a  few  Moham- 
medans, who  recited  prayers  in  Arabic:  all  beside  were 
sunk  in  the  grossest  idolatry.     The  fear  of  Obeah  and  the 


200  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

practice  of  Fetishe  worship  were  universal.  The  slave 
gangs,  almost  in  a  state  of  nudity,  toiled  from  sunrise  to 
sunset,  often  longer  on  moonlight  nights,  and  the  Sundays 
were  spent  in  the  cultivation  of  their  own  allotments,  or 
in  disposing  of  their  surplus  produce  in  the  markets. 
How  could  missionaries  instruct  slaves  whose  time  was  so 
fully  occupied,  and  to  whom  a  season  of  repose  was  almost 
unknown?  The  little  time  the  overseers  were  at  first 
disposed  to  allow  was  soon  refused  when  it  was  discovered 
that  the  missionaries  were  not  willing  to  submit  to  the 
dictation  of  those  who  wished  them  merely  to  lecture 
the  slaves  on  idleness,  deception,  and  other  such  vices,  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  cheermg  and  elevatmg  promises  of  the 
gospel. 

But  the  boundless  love  which  is  taught  by  the  Saviour's 
sacrifice  is  ever  fertile  in  expedients.  There  was  a  short 
period  every  day  when  the  slave  families  gathered  together 
to  prepare  and  eat  their  evening  meal.  Then  would  the 
zealous  missionaries  go  from  hut  to  hut,  and  sitting  down 
on  a  rude  block  of  wood,  often  half  blinded  by  the  smoke 
of  the  fire  the  negro  delights  to  kindle,  tell  in  simple  words 
the  wondrous  story  of  redeeming  love,  and  assure  the 
wretched  bondsmen  that  they  were  the  objects  of  Divine 
compassion.  The  tired  slaves,  when  their  supper  was  eaten, 
were  only  too  ready  to  sleep  ;  but  these  words  of  tenderness 
mingled  with  their  dreams,  cheered  them  in  their  daily  toil, 
and  in  some  instances  changed  their  hearts  and  lives. 

More  might  have  been  willing  to  listen  to  the  teaching  of 
the  Moravians  had  their  influence  with  the  overseers  been 
greater ;  but  too  often,  when  some  terrified  slave  entreated 
the  missionary  to  plead  on  his  behalf,  and  save  him  from  a 
threatened  punishment,  the  plea  was  disregarded,  and  the 
stripes  were  inflicted  with  augmented  severity.  Yet  there 
were  those  whose  desire  for  instruction  was  so  great  that 
they  would  work  on  their  grounds  during  the  Saturday 
night,  that  they  might  attend  the  Sabbath  services. 

The  managers  of  the  Barham  estates  were  restrained 
from  the  more  open  forms  of  opposition  by  the  express  wish 
of  the  proprietors  that  facilities  should  be  afforded  for  the 
instruction  of  the  slaves.  These  were  virtually  disregarded, 
but  other  managers  could  go  to  greater  lengths.  Loud 
murmurs  were  heard,  and  when  in  1763  the  missionaries 


REUGION  AND  EDUCATION.  201 

pleaded  exemption  from  militia  duties,  the  legislature  was 
petitioned  by  their  enemies,  but  that  body  declined  to  inter- 
fere. The  gentlemen  at  whose  request  the  missionaries 
were  sent  out  were,  on  the  other  hand,  dissatisfied  with  the 
conduct  of  their  agents  in  the  colony,  and  sent  out  a  Mo- 
ravian to  act  as  attorney  on  the  plantations.  He  remained 
seventeen  years,  but  in  1780  he  left,  and  no  one  of  similar 
sentiments  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

During  the  first  year  of  missionary  labour  twenty-six 
slaves  were  baptised,  and  about  double  that  number  duritig 
the  following  year.  There  were  also  about  four  hundred 
catechumens  under  instruction,  and  as  many  more  attended 
the  public  services.  It  is  often  the  case  that  the  later  ar- 
rivals at  a  field  of  missionary  enterprise  are  apt  to  think 
that  the  first  labourers  have  manifested  undue  haste  in  the 
admission  of  professed  converts  to  Christian  ordinances. 
It  is  difficult  for  those  who  have  been  accustomed  to  that 
civilization  and  Christianity  which  is  the  growth  of  ages  to 
estimate  aright  the  statements  of  those  who  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  heathen  darkness,  and  to  whom  the  most  imper- 
fect manifestations  of  Christian  life  and  love  are  exceedingly 
encouraging.  Moreover,  the  missionary,  long  absent  from 
his  early  home  and  all  its  sweet  Christian  associations,  is 
apt  to  contrast  the  converts  he  has  gathered  around  him 
with  the  heathenism  they  have  forsaken,  but  by  which  they 
are  still  surrounded  ;  while  those  newly  arrived  are  apt  to 
compare  the  same  people  with  the  Christians  from  whom 
they  have  lately  parted. 

To  some  extent  this  may  explain  the  fact  that  Eauch,  a 
missionary  who  arrived  at  the  close  of  1756,  was  of  opinion 
that  sufficient  care  had  not  been  exercised  in  the  case  of 
those  who  had  been  baptised.  Henceforth  the  rite  was 
less  frequently  administered,  and  the  attendance  at  the 
religious  services  declined  in  consequence. 

For  some  years  after  the  arrival  of  Eauch  little  could  be 
reported  in  the  way  of  additions  to  the  church.  Yet  the 
instruction  given  was  so  practical  in  its  character  that  not 
one  member  of  the  Moravian  congregations  was  implicated 
in  the  wide-spread  rebellion  of  1760.  Other  facts  tend  to 
show  that  if  the  knowledge  of  the  early  converts  was  de- 
fective, their  hearts  were  sincere  and  their  consciences 
tender.   In  1764  a  most  devoted  man  named  Schlegel  joined 


202  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

the  mission.  The  good  seed  which  years  of  diligent  teach- 
ing had  planted  in  the  hearts  of  many  seems  to  have 
yielded  fruit.  He  infused  new  life  into  the  mission,  and  in 
1767  and  1768  two  hundred  and  sixty  persons  were  bap- 
tised. These  were  exceptional  years,  for  during  the  first 
half-century  of  missionary  labour  the  number  who  received 
this  initiatory  rite  was  under  one  thousand. 

The  manner  in  which  these  missionary  pioneers  laboured 
is  of  more  importance  than  the  numerical  results.  Statis- 
tics rarely  disclose  the  whole  truth  on  any  subject,  none 
more  imperfectly  than  religious  statistics.  The  Moravians, 
soon  after  their  settlement,  established  five  regular  preach- 
ing stations.  They  also  preached  by  invitation  on  several 
other  estates  than  those  to  which  they  were  specially  sent ; 
and  byjvisitation  of  the  sick,  and  in  a  variety  of  other  ways, 
they  sought  to  accomplish  the  great  end  of  their  mission. 
In  addition  to  their  spiritual  duties  they  had  to  make  pro- 
vision for  their  temporal  necessities.  Some  few  perquisites 
were  allowed  by  the  Fosters  and  Barhams,  but  not  enough 
to  support  them.  They  had  to  wash  their  own  clothes,  and 
perform  a  variety  of  other  duties  regarded  as  menial  by  the 
slaves.  After  a  few  years  they  acquired  seven  hundred 
acres  of  land,  but  more  than  half  of  it  was  a  swamp.  On 
the  best  part  they  built  a  large  house,  at  the  station  now 
caUed  Old  Carmel,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  a  large 
preaching  hall.  They  attempted  to  cultivate  the  land,  but 
finding  themselves  unequal  to  the  toil,  they  had  recourse  to 
the  labour  of  slaves. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  even  the  Quakers  were  at 
this  time  only  beginning  to  see  the  sinfulness  of  slavery. 
The  Moravians  equally  detested  the  cruelties  which  attended 
it,  though  not  protesting  against  it  as  a  system.  The 
diaries  kept  by  the  missionaries  display  their  anxiety  to  treat 
their  slaves  with  kindness ;  if  they  wrote  of  offences  which 
must  be  punished,  it  is  clear  that  they  regarded  such  a 
necessity  as  an  evil  to  be  deplored.  Each  missionary 
worked  at  some  trade  or  calling,  and  so  set  an  example  of 
industrious  habits;  and  each  was  laborious  in  teaching  those 
truths  which  were  so  precious  to  his  own  soul.* 

The  white  settlers  in  Jamaica  were  given  to  the  practice 

*  Bachner's  '*  History  of  Moravian  Missions." 


RELIGION  AND   EDUCATION.  203 

of  posthnmons  charity,  but  it  appears  that  executors  and 
trustees  were  seldom  disposed  to  carry  out  their  intentions. 
The  list  of  charitable  bequests  actually  appropriated  is 
strangely  disproportionate  to  those  bequeathed.  In  the 
third  volume  of  the  "Journals  of  the  Assembly"*  is  a 
return  of  no  less  than  two  hundred  and  eighteen  legacies 
to  churches,  the  poor,  and  for  education,  made  between 
1667  and  1786.  There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  even  a 
moiety  of  these  were  appropriated  to  the  proper  purpose. 
Some  parishes  were  richly  provided  for.  In  St.  Catherines 
forty  bequests  had  been  made;  in  Port  Boyal  nearly  as 
many. 

A  few  of  the  more  important  made  available  for  edu- 
cational purposes,  before  and  after  1786,  can  be  noted.  In 
1710  Mr.  Thomas  Manning  left  property  with  which  to 
endow  a  school  in  Westmoreland.  In  1788  a  law  was 
passed  to  carry  his  intentions  into  effect.  In  addition  to 
land,  we  read  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  head  of  cattle, 
thirteen  negroes,  and  one  Indian  slave.  In  1780  Mr.  Peter 
Beckford  provided  for  the  endowment  of  a  free  school  in 
Spanish  Town;  fifteen  years  later  the  legislature  gave  a 
corporate  character  to  the  trust.  In  1786  a  bill  was  passed 
giving  effect  to  the  will  of  John  Wolmer,  a  goldsmith,  of 
Kingston,  who  died  in  1729,  and  who  left  the  bulk  of  his 
property  to  endow  a  free  school.  Perhaps  no  trust  has  on 
the  whole  been  so  well  administered,  or  effected  so  much 
good  in  Jamaica,  as  this. 

It  is  painful  to  think  that  these  are  almost  the  only  cases 
in  which  educational  trusts  were  administered'  with  even 
some  degree  of  faithfulness  and  discretion.  As  examples 
of  neglect  or  dishonesty,  many  cases  might  be  cited.  Sir 
Nicholas  Lawes  left  a  fine  dwelling-house  and  nearly  three 
acres  of  lanS,  in  St.  Andrews,  for  a  free  school.  In  1695 
a  bill  was  passed  constituting  a  trust  and  granting  a  seal, 
but  no  school  was  ever  established,  and  the  property  was 
subsequently  attached  to  the  rectory.  The  history  of 
another  legacy  left  about  the  same  time,  but  never  appro- 
priated, was  investigated  about  a  hundred  years  after,  when 
it  was  found  that  principal  and  interest  amounted  to 
i:  15,000,  but  not  one  penny  was  ever  recovered.  In  Cla- 
rendon,  public   subscription,   added  to  a  bequest  of  Mr. 

*  Vol.  iii.  pp.  417-420 ;  vol.  xi.  p.  479. 


204  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Pennant,  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  school,  but  which 
was  soon  allowed  to  decay,  and  passed  out  of  existence. 
In  other  cases,  after  long  years  of  delay,  eifect  was  given 
to  the  wishes  of  testators.  Martin  Busea  left  property  in 
1764 ;  yet  eleven  years  elapsed  before  proceedings  in 
chancery  led  to  the  establishment  of  what  is  known  as 
Busea's  free  school. 

Schools,  when  established,  did  little  to  meet  the  edu- 
cational wants  of  the  colony.  The  different  endowments 
made  available  produced,  on  an  average,  JCllOO  per  annum, 
between  1760  and  1770,  and  only  provided  for  the  education 
of  some  forty  boys.  There  were  a  few  private  schools,  but 
theit  character  was  seldom  of  a  high  order.  Every  man 
whose  means  would  allow  the  expenditure  sent  his  children 
to  England  for  education.  Contemporary  writers,  such  as 
Long,  draw  mournful  pictures  of  the  consequences  which 
in  too  many  cases  followed.  Shipwrecks  were  more  frequent 
then  than  now,  and  in  the  almost  perpetual  state  of  war 
then  prevailing,  not  a  few  were  made  captives,  or  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  pirates.  At  one  time  many  of  the  first 
families  in  the  colony  were  bereaved  by  an  explosion  at 
sea.  It  not  unfrequently  happened  that  men  who  made  a 
great  effort  to  send  home  their  children  found  themselves 
unable  to  continue  the  payments  for  their  education,  and 
their  unfortunate  offspring  then  experienced  the  treatment 
of  charity  children  of  a  century  ago.  Payment  did  not 
always  secure  kind  treatment,  for  school  discipline  in  those 
days  was  generally  barbarous,  and  youths  whose  parents 
were  five  thousand  miles  away  would  assuredly  suffer  most 
at  the  hand  of  petty  tj-rants.  There  was  a  greater  evil,  in 
many  cases,  than  this.  Eemittances  were  often  lavish,  and 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  West  Indian  nabobs  must  have 
every  indulgence ;  their  fancies  were  studied,  their  whims 
consulted,  and  the  seeds  of  vicious  habits  implanted. 

Girls  were  more  frequently  retained  in  the  colony  than 
boys.  In  a  fow  families  governcssoR  were  kept ;  in  others, 
reading  and  writing  were  taught  by  some  domestic  arrange- 
ment, and  itinerant  dancing  and  music-masters  supplied 
the  accomplishments,  especially  the  former.  Those  young 
ladies  who  did  not  acquire  the  patois,  or  any  of  the  habits 
of  the  domestic  slaves  around  them,  might  be  esteemed  as 
fortunate. 


RELIGION  AND   EDUCATION.  206 

When  such  was  the  state  of  education,  it  is  obvious  that 
literary  pursuits  would  be  rare.  With  a  few  exceptions, 
those  who  resided  in  the  island  wrote  little  except  occa- 
sional political  pamphlets.  Two  newspapers  were  pubUshed 
in  Kingston,  and  in  the  days  of  Admiral  Knowles  a  weekly 
paper,  defending  the  claims  of  Spanish  Town,  was  com- 
menced there.  About  the  middle  of  the  century,  a  well- 
printed  and  creditable  journal  was  published  at  Montego 
Bay.  The  journals  of  the  council  were  printed  in  Kings- 
ton, those  of  the  assembly  in  Spanish  Town.  The  local 
papers  did  not  give  much  information  ;  English  and  foreign 
news,  with  advertisements,  filled  the  greater  part  of  their 
columns.  Vestry  boards  were  private  cliques,  and  the 
legislature  was  too  tenacious  of  its  privileges  to  allow  free 
discussion  on  its  proceedings 

A  few  literary  characters  were  connected  with  the  island. 
In  the  year  1725  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  the  founder  of  the 
British  Museum,  published  his  magnificent  work  on 
Jamaica.  Though  principally  devoted  to  the  natural 
history  of  the  island,  it  contains  much  valuable  informa- 
tion relative  to  its  settlement  and  early  progress,  and  also 
of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants.  Sloane 
was  physician  to  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  and  though  only 
fifteen  months  in  the  island,  he  collected  a  wonderful 
amount  of  information. 

Another  physician — Dr.  Patrick  Brown — also  produced 
a  very  useful  work.  His  **  Civil  and  Natural  History  of 
Jamaica  "  describes  briefly  the  situation,  soil,  government, 
revenues,  and  trade  of  the  island.  This  is  compressed  into 
twenty-seven  folio  pages ;  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
more  are  devoted  to  its  botanical  and  zoological  produc- 
tions. There  are  nearly  fifty  well-executed  plates,  though 
hardly  equal  to  those  in  Sloane*s  volumes.  It  must  have 
passed  through  more  than  one  edition.  The  copy  used  in 
writing  these  pages  is  dated  1789.  Dr.  Brown  was  bom 
in  1720,  and  came  to  Jamaica  when  he  was  about  thirty 
years  of  age.  He  resided  in  Kingston  until  his  death,  in 
1790.  He  was  so  fond  of  this  city  as  to  recommend  it 
as  the  seat  of  government ;  and  to  him  in  no  small  degree 
is  to  be  attributed  the  effort  which  was  made  in  the  time  of 
Knowles  to  remove  the  public  offices  from  Spanish  Town. 


206  raSTORY   OF   JxVMAICA. 

The  writer  whose  labours  shed  most  light  on  the  history 
of  the  island  down  to  the  year  1770  is  Mr.  Edward  Long. 
His  comprehensive  volumes  were  printed  in  London,  in 
1774,  in  three  quarto  volumes,  and  illustrated  with  maps 
and  plates,  under  the  title  of  **  The  History  of  Jamaica;  or 
a  General  Survey  of  the  Ancient  and  Modern  State  of  that 
Island,  with  Eeflections  on  its  Situation,  Settlements,  Li- 
habitants.  Climate,  Products,  Commerce,  Laws,  and  Govern- 
ment." It  is  not  a  continuous  history,  but  various  matters 
relating  to  the  island  are  discussed  in  separate  books  and 
chapters.  The  description  of  the  several  parishes,  the 
account  of  the  capture  and  settlement  of  the  island,  of  its 
early  constitutional  struggles,  together  with  the  sketches 
of  manners  and  customs,  are  very  instructive. 

The  author  belonged  to  a  family  rather  celebrated  in  the 
island.  Samuel  Long  arrived  with  Cromwell^s  fleet,  and 
obtained  extensive  grants  of  land  :  he  flrst  settled  the  once 
magnificent  estate  of  Longville,  in  Clarendon.  The  his- 
torian, who  was  his  great-grandson,  was  bom  in  England, 
at  Rosilian,  in  the  county  of  Cornwall,  on  the  23rd  of 
August,  1734.  Having  completed  his  studies  at  Gray's 
Inn,  he  came  to  Jamaica  in  1756,  as  secretary  to  his 
brother-in-law.  Governor  Moore.  Two  years  later  he  mar- 
ried Mary,  the  heiress  of  Thomas  Beckford.  In  1765  he 
was  returned  as  member  of  the  house  of  assembly,  of 
which  body  he  was  chosen  speaker  in  1768,  but  he  soon 
after  left  the  island.  On  the  13th  of  March,  1813,  he  died 
at  Arundel  Park,  Sussex.  He  wrote  other  works  besides 
his  history ;  on  the  sugar  cane,  and  the  colonies,  and  also 
contributed  to  the  lighter  literature  of  the  day. 

Peter  Pindar,  Dr.  Smollett,  and  other  literary  celebrities, 
also  resided  for  some  time  in  the  island.  To  these  men  of 
English  birth  must  be  added  one  who  was  a  native  of  the 
soil,' and  of  unmixed  negro  blood.  This  remarkable  person 
was  named  Francis  Williams,  the  son  of  John  and  Dorothy 
Williams,  free  negroes.  Of  the  parents  very  little  is 
known,  beyond  the  fact  that  they  were  among  the  first 
negroes  in  Jamaica  who  were  freed  from  some  of  the  civil 
disabilities  to  which  even  free  people  of  colour  were  ex- 
posed. In  the  old  statute  books  of  the  island  may  be 
seen  the  law  passed  in  1708  (the  first  of  its  kind),  to 
prevent  slave  testimony  being  received  in  evidence  against 


RELIGION   AND   EDUCATION.  207 

Manael  Bartholomew  and  John  Williams:  this  accorded 
to  them  one  of  the  privileges  hitherto  confined  to  white 
people. 

Williams  soon  after  nearly  lost  the  social  status  he  thus 
acquired,  through  having  incurred  the  displeasure  of  a 
member  of  the  house  of  assembly.  The  latter  had  called 
him  a  "  black  negro."  Williams,  who  it  would  appear 
was  not  original  in  his  ideas,  simply  retorted  by  calling  his 
antagonist  a  **  white  negro."  Still,  the  retort  was  thought 
of  sufficient  importance  to  engage  the  attention  of  the 
learned  legislators,  by  some  of  whom  it  was  proposed  to 
revoke  the  act  of  1708,  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  culprit. 
The  matter  was  at  length  allowed  to  drop,  and  in  1716 
another  act  was  passed,  conferring  the  same  privileges  on 
Dorothy  his  wife,  and  their  sons  John,  Thomas,  and 
Francis.     The  last  of  these  was  a  scholar  and  poet. 

It  is  to  be  deplored  that  Mr.  Long's  history  is  almost 
the  only  source  of  information  relative  to  the  career  of 
Williams,  for  his  prejudices  arouse  the  suspicion  that  a 
black  man  would  not  receive  impartial  justice  at  his  hands. 
It  appears  that  the  Duke  of  Montague  was  anxious  to 
know  whether  a  negro  lad,  trained  at  a  grammar  school 
and  then  at  a  university,  would  be  found  equal  in  literary 
attainments  to  a  white  man.  Francis,  who  was  a  lively, 
intelligent  lad,  was  selected  as  the  subject  of  the  experi- 
ment. After  the  necessary  preliminary  training  at  an 
English  school,  he  was  sent  to  Cambridge  University,  and, 
having  completed  his  studies,  returned  to  Jamaica.  The 
duke,  anxious  that  his  protege  should  display  his  abilities 
to  the  best  advantage,  endeavoured  to  obtain  for  him  a 
seat  in  the  council,  but  Governor  Trelawny  strongly  op- 
posed this  project,  urging  that  the  slaves  would  not  tamely 
submit  to  bondage  if  one  of  their  own  colour  was  so 
exalted. 

Mr.  Williams  then  opened  a  school  in  Spanish  Town, 
where  he  imparted  a  classical  and  mathematical  education. 
The  picture  drawn  of  him  at  this  time  by  Mr.  Long  is  not 
flattering.  He  writes :  "  In  regard  to  the  general  character 
of  the  man,  he  was  haughty,  opinionated,  looked  down 
with  sovereign  contempt  on  his  fellow  blacks,  entertained 
the  highest  opinion  of  his  own  knowledge,  treated  his 
parents  with  much  disdain^  and  behaved  towards  his  own 


208  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

children  and  slaves  with  a  severity  bordering  on  cruelty. 
He  was  fond  of  having  great  deference  paid  to  him,  and 
exacted  it  in  the  utmost  degree  from  the  negroes  about 
him.  He  affected  a  singularity  of  dress  and  a  particularly 
grave  cast  of  countenance,  to  impart  an  idea  of  his  wisdom 
and  learning ;  and  to  second  this  view,  he  wore  in  common 
a  huge  wig,  which  made  a  very  venerable  figure."  * 

If,  however,  Williams  looked  with  contempt  on  the  blacks, 
he  had  even  less  regard  for  a  mulatto.  His  argument  was 
thus  stated  :  "A  simple  white  or  a  simple  black  complexion 
is  respectively  perfect ;  but  a  mulatto,  being  a  heteroge- 
neous medley  of  both,  is  imperfect — ergo,  inferior."  Yet 
he  was  fond  of  saying,  **  Show  me  a  negro,,  and  I  will  show 
you  a  thief.'*  He  was  anxious  to  prove  that  he  had  a  white 
man's  feelings  though  his  skin  was  black :  hence  the  line — 

"  Candida  quod  nigra  corpora  pella  geriaJ*^ 

In  estimating  (so  far  as  imperfect  information  will  per- 
mit) the  character  of  this  man,  the  prejudices  of  the  times 
in  which  he  lived  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  The 
race  to  which  he  belonged  was  then  almost  universally 
despised,  and  the  temptation  to  curry  favour  with  the 
whites  by  denouncing  the  negroes  was  too  great  for  him 
to  resist.  He  was  simply  tolerated,  and  even  if  he  had 
possessed  that  nobility  of  character  which  constitutes  the 
patriot,  by  making  him  willing  to  suffer  for  a  proscribed 
people  or  cause,  his  career  would  soon  ^lave  been  cut  short. 
His  disposition,  too,  was  soured  by  the  contemptuous  way  in 
which  his  abilities  were  spoken  of,  even  by  men  removed 
from  the  influence  of  colonial  prejudices,  as  well  as  by 
those  who  were  personaUy  acquainted  with  him.  Self 
assertion  may  have  seemed  to  him  the  only  way  by  which  to 
.  meet  the  unfair  depreciation  of  his  real  ability.  Compai^ed 
with  his  own  race,  he  was  unmeasurably  the  intellectual 
superior  of  any  who  then  lived  in  the  island.  Hume,  the 
historian,  wrote  disparagingly  of  his  attainments,  but  he 
was  not  personaUy  acquainted  with  him,  or  he  would  hardly 
have  said,  **It  is  likely  he  is  admired  for  very  slender  ac- 
complishments, like  a  parrot  who  speaks  a  few  words 
plainly." 

Mr.  Long  has  preserved  a  poem  he  presented  to  Governor 

*  Long's  **  History  of  Jamaica/' 


RELIGION  AND   EDUCATION.  209 

Haldane  on  his  arrival  in  the  colony.  In  examining  it, 
it  should  be  remembered  that  extravagant  panegyric  was 
one  of  the  vices  of  the  age.  It  is  copied  entire  &om  the 
pages  of  Long. 

Iniegexrimo  et  Fortissimo 

Viro 

Georgio  Haldano,  Armigero, 

InsulflB  Jaznaioensis  Gnbematori ; 

Gni,  omnes  moram,  virtutmnqne  dotes  bellicanim, 

In  OTunulum  aocessemnt, 

Carmen. 

Deniqub  yentnram  fatis  volentibus  annum 

Cnncta  per  extensmn  Iseta  videnda  diem, 
Excnssis  adsont  ouris,  sab  imagine  olara 

Felices  popoli,  terraqae  lege  virens. 
Te  dace  que  faerant  nialesuada  mente  peracta 

Irrita,  oonspecta  non  reditora  tno. 
Ergo  omnes  popolos,  neo  non  plebecnla  oemet 

Hffisorom  ooUo  te  relegasse  J  ngam, 
£t  mala,  que  diris  quondam  oruoiatibus  insons 

Insula  passa  fuit ;  condoluisset  onus. 
Ni  yictrix  tua  Marte  manus  prius  inclyta,  nostris 

Sponte  ruinosis  rebus  adesse  velit. 
Optimus  es  servus  Begi  servire  Britanno 

Dum  guadet  genio  Scotioa  terra  tuo  : 
Optimus  heroum  populi  fuloire  ruinam ; 

Insula  dum  superest  ipse  superstes  eris. 
Victorem  agnoscet  te  Guadaloupa  suorum 

Despioiet  merito  diruta  castra  duoum. 
Aurea  vexiUis  flebit  jactantibus  Irisy 

Cumque  suis  populis,  oppida  victa  gemet. 
Crede,  meum  non  est,  yir  Manrti  care  I     Minerva 

Denegat  iBthiopi  bella  sonare  duoum. 
Concilio,  caneret  te  Buchananus  et  armis, 

Carmine  Peleids  scriberet  ille  parem. 
nie  poeta,  decus  patrise  tua  fiebcta  referre 

Dignior  altisono  vixque  Marone  minor. 
Flammiferos  agitante  suos  sub  sole  jugales 

Vivimus ;  eloquium  deficit  omne  farcis. 
Hoc  demum  acoipias,  multa  faligine  fiisum 

Ore  sonaturo,  non  cute,  corde  valet. 
Pollenti  stabilita  manu,  Deus  almus,  eandem 

Omnigenis  animam,  nil  prohibente  dedit. 
Ipsa  coloris  egens  virtus,  prudentia ;  honesto 

Nullus  inest  animo,  nuUus  in  arte  color. 
Cur  timeas,  quamvis,  dubitesne  nigerrima  celsam 

CcMorii  ooddm,  soandere  Musa  domum  ? 

16 


210  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

Vade  salntatum,  neo  sit  tibi  causa  pudoris, 

Candida  quod  nigra  corpora  pelle  geria, 
Integritas  zuorum  Maurum  magis  omat,  et  ardor 

Ingenii,  et  docto  dulci^  in  ore  decor; 
Hunc,  mage  cor  sapiens,  patrisB  virtutis  amorque, 

Eziinit  e  sociis,  conspicunmque  facit. 
Insula  me  genuit,  celebres  aluere  Britanni, 

Insula,  te  salvo  non  dolitura  patre, 
Hoc  preoor ;  o  nullo  videant  te  fine,  regentem 

FLorentes  populos,  terra,  Deique  locus  1  * 

Fbangisous  Williams. 


*  A  translation  of  this  poem  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


PERIOD    IV. 

From    the    commencement    of    tJie    Aiiti'Slavery 

Struggle   to  Emancipation. 

CHAPTER  I. 

mSTOBICAL  EVENTS. 

The  exultation  of  the  colonists  at  the  victory  of  Lord 
Bodney  was  somewhat  abated  when  the  heavy  taxation, 
rendered  necessary  by  martial  law,  was  announced  :  some 
consolation  was,  however,  found  in  the  high' prices  obtained 
for  sugar  and  rum.  Gojusiderable  accessions  were  also 
made  to  the  material  strength  of  the  colony  by  the  intro- 
duction of  emigrants  from  Honduras  and  the  United  States 
of  America.  In  January,  1783,  a  large  convoy  arrived 
from  Charleston  with  sixteen  hundred  troops,  four  hundred 
white  families,  and  four  thousand  five  hundred  slaves.* 

A  considerable  number  of  these  persons  settled  in 
Kingston,  and  succeeded  so  well  in  business  as  to  call 
forth  loud  complaints  at  their  exemption  from  taxation  for 
a  term  of  years.  Others,  however,  were  poor,  and  some 
thousands  of  pounds  were  contributed,  by  private  sub- 
scription and  parochial  funds,  for  their  support.  Others 
again  became  planters,  and  were  exposed  to  the  same 
misfortunes  as  attended  large  bodies  of  white  emigrants  in 
former  days.  A  list  is  still  in  existence  of  183  heads  of 
families  to  whom  grants  of  land  were  made  in  St.  Eliza- 
beths. This  land  was  little  better  than  morass,  and  a 
claim  for  the  payment  of  ^£4696,  by  the  gentleman  who 
surveyed  the  spot  and  apportioned  it,  led  to  an  inquiry  on 
the  part  of  the  house  of  assembly,  when  it  was  stated  in 
evidence  that  none  but  amphibious  creatures,  such  as  fishes, 

*  Soutliey^s  **  History,"  vol.  ii.  p.  640. 

15* 


212  HISTOBY   OF  JAMAICA. 

frogs,  and  "  Dutchmen,"  could  live  there.  One  poor  gentle- 
man, named  Frogge,  said  he  had  tried  the  experiment,  and 
buried  most  of  his  family,  and  that  his  case  was  only  one 
of  many.* 

Next  year  General  Campbell  relinquished  the  govern- 
ment. He  appears  to  have  gained  the  esteem  of  all 
classes  of  the  community,  for  while  diligent  in  preparing 
for  the  defence  of  the  colony  at  a  most  dangerous  crisis,  he 
had  not  neglected  the  other  duties  of  a  governor.  A  service 
of  plate,  valued  at  £1000  sterling,  was  voted  to  him  by  the 
assembly.  During  his  administration  the  long  disputed 
right  of  cutting  logwood  and  mahogany  at  Belize  was 
conceded  by  Spain. 

Brigadier-General  Clark  succeeded  to  the  government. 
The  first  years  of  his  residence  were  marked  by  a  succession 
of  hurricanes,  the  last  by  bountiful  crops.  The  storms 
were  on  the  80th  of  July,  1784,  27th  of  August,  1785,  and 
20th  of  October,  1786.  The  first  was  the  most  destructive. 
Every  vessel  in  Kingston  harbour  was  either  sunk,  driven 
ashore,  or  dismasted.  The  barracks  at  Up  Park  Camp  and 
the  workhouse  were  blown  down.  Many  lives  were  lost, 
and  two  shocks  of  earthquake  added  to  the  general  alarm. 

In  these  days  of  free  trade,  when  the  necessities  of  one 
country  can  be  readily  supplied  from  the  abundance  of 
another,  it  seems  almost  incredible  that  thousands  of  slaves 
should  at  this  time  have  perished,  and  many  of  all  classes 
have  suffered  considerable  privations,  in  consequence  of  the 
commercial  regulations  of  the  parent  state.  The  famine 
which  followed  the  hurricanes  of  1780  and  1781  was 
partly  owing  to  the  war  of  independence.  But  now,  though 
peace  had  been  proclaimed,  the  trade  with  the  States  was 
restricted  by  the  imperial  government.  On  the  2nd  of 
July,  1783,  an  order  in  council  was  promulgated,  and  for 
some  time  annually  renewed,  limiting  the  importation  of 
American  lumber,  grain,  live  stock,  &c.,  into  the  West 
Indies,  to  British  ships;  while  salt  beef,  pork,  and  fish 
were  entirely  prohibited. 

In  1784  nearly  every  island  sent  remonstrances  and 
petitions  to  the  British  parUament,  showing  how  dependent 
they  were  on  America  for  supplies.  The  legislature  of 
Jamaica  declared  that  free  trade  with  America  was  abso- 

*  "  Journals  of  Assembly,"  vol.  viii. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  218 

lutely  necessaoTT  to  "  afford  a  chance  of  carrying  on  our 
estates,  or  of  supplying  our  families  with  bread.  We 
claim  it  (said  they)  as  the  birthright  of  every  member  of 
the  empire  ;  we  demand  it  as  one  of  the  gifts  of  nature,  to 
enable  us  to  avert  impending  ruin."  These  gentlemen  were 
not  free  traders  in  respect  to  sugar,  coffee,  and  rum ;  and 
they  were  told  that  their  request  could  not  be  granted 
vnthout  material  injury  to  the  commercial  interests  of 
Great  Britain.  The  inhabitants  of  Canada  and  Nova 
Scotia  were  very  jubilant,  declaring  that  they  could  supply 
all  the  sugar  islands  needed ;  and  if  prices  were  high,  the 
planters,  who  were  **  wallowing  in  wealth,"  could  afford  to 
pay  them. 

August,  1784,  however,  saw  Jamaica  on  the  brink  of 
famine.  On  the  7th  of  that  month,  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  who  was  vested  with  some  discretionary  powers 
for  such  an  emergency,  issued  a  proclamation,  with  the 
advice  of  the  council,  permitting  the  importation  of  pro- 
visions, in  foreign  bottoms,  for  four  months.  This  period 
was,  soon  after,  extended  for  two  months  longer.  The 
planters  paid  increased  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  com 
and  other  ground  provisions,  which  were,  providentially, 
harvested  before  the  storm  of  1785  again  spread  desolation 
over  the  land.  After  this  new  calamity.  General  Clark 
prohibited  the  exportation  of  provisions  to  other  suffering 
colonies,  but,  under  pressure  from  home,  refused  again  to 
open  the  ports  to  American  ships.  All  through  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year  there  was  much  scarcity,  but  the 
climax  of  misery  seemed  to  be  reached  when  the  storm  of 
1786  burst  upon  the  land. 

Good  resulted  from  these  visitations.  Far  more  attention 
was  paid  to  the  cultivation  of  yams,  cocoas,  and  such 
provisions  as,  unlike  the  plantain,  are  not  readily  destroyed 
by  storms;  but  the  West  Indies  must  ever  be,  to  some 
extent,  as  dependent  on  temperate  climes  for  many  of  the 
necessaries  of  life  as  such  countries  are  on  tropic  climes 
for  many  luxuries.  1787  was  a  year  of  anxiety,  but  the 
average  sugar  crops  of  the  three  next  years  exceeded 
ninety  thousand  hogsheads.  The  coffee  crops  were  far  in 
excess  of  all  former  years,  though  inferior  to  what  they 
subsequently  reached.  From  this  time  the  wonderful 
increase  in  the  production  of  that  staple  may  be  dated. 


214  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

In  December,  1784,  the  assembly  prayed  that  General 
Clark  might  be  confirmed  in  the  government  of  the  island. 
He  accordingly  remained  six  years  longer,  and  had  cause  to 
rejoice  in  an  immunity  from  those  legislative  contests  by 
which  others  had  and  have  since  been  tried.  Only  two 
events  of  this  character  occurred.  In  1786  a  Mr.  Kenreys 
brought  serious  charges  reflecting  on  the  governor's  con- 
duct as  chancellor :  he  included  the  judges,  the  provost- 
marshal,  and  the  clerk  of  court  in  his  complaints ;  but  the 
assembly,  after  a  patient  investigation,  declared  all  the 
charges  entirely  groundless.  Three  years  later  the  council 
and  assembly  again  quarrelled  on  the  old  question  of 
privileges.  The  former  body  sought  to  amend  the  poll-tax 
biU.  This,  being  a  money  bill,  the  assembly  denied  their 
right  to  do.  The  governor  interposed  by  an  adjournment 
of  the  house ;  but  both  parties  being  obstinate,  a  dissolution 
was  the  only  course  open  for  the  adoption,  of  the  governor, 
who  courteously  informed  the  legislature  that  he  was  un- 
willing to  embarrass  his  successor,  who  had  then  been 
appointed.* 

In  1790  the  Earl  of  EflBngham  arrived  in  the  colony  as 
governor.  He  had  been  a  soldier,  but  as  a  civil  adminis- 
trator soon  obtained  a  very  enviable  degree  of  respect  and 
confidence.  Reserved  in  maimer,  he  was  calm  and  prudent 
in  council,  and  determined  in  action.  His  stay  was,  how- 
ever, short.  The  countess  was  first  seized  by  a  severe 
illness.  A  voyage  in  one  of  the  cruisers  failed  to  restore 
her  health,  for  she  died  on  the  13th  of  October,  and  her 
remains  were  brought  back  to  the  island  for  interment. 
On  the  19th  of  November  the  earl  also  died.  In  each  case 
the  legislature  decreed  a  public  funeral,  no  expense  was 
spared,  nor  was  any  mark  of  respect  wanting.  iJlOOO  was 
also  voted  for  a  monument  in  Spanish  Town  cathedral.  A 
bill  had  subsequently  to  be  passed  to  indemnify  the  rector 
for  allowing  the  bodies  to  be  interred  within  the  walls  of 
the  sacred  edifice. 

Two  events  were  now  seriously  engaging  the  attention  of 
the  colonists :  the  revolution  in  Hayti  and  the  agitation 
in  England  respecting  the  slave  trade.  The  year  1789 
saw  the  commencement  of  the  French  revolution.  There 
were    many    republicans    in    Hayti,    and    forgetting   the 

*  "  Journals  of  Assembly,"  vol.  viii.  p.  558. 


mSTOBICAL  EVENTS.  216 

volcano  on  which  they  lived,  they  freely  expressed  their 
sympathy  with  the  cry  for  human  freedom.  Men  of  African 
race  heard  of  this  declaration  of  human  rights,  and  no 
sooner  had  they  realised  its  significance  than  they  also 
declared  that  freedom  was  their  birthright.  Except  so  far 
as  the  revolt  in  Hayti  affected  Jamaica,  it  is  unnecessary 
to  record  its  progress.  The  sad  baptism  of  blood,  the 
cruelty  and  self-sacrifice,  the  patriotism  and  savagery  so 
strangely  blended  in  Hayti,  belongs  not  to  the  history  of 
this  colony. 

It  is  more  important  to  record  the  leading  events  of  that 
social  revolution  by  which  freedom  was  ultimately  secured 
for  the  bondsmen  here ;  for  though  it  gave  birth  to  no  such 
characters  as  Touissant  la  Overture,  Christophe,  Petion, 
Geffrard,  and  others,  it  has  at  least  preserved  us  from  the 
domination  of  such  odious  characters  as  Soulouque. 

In  styling  the  period  under  review  that  of  the  anti-slavery 
struggle,  it  is  admitted  that  the  term  is  only  approximately 
correct.  That  struggle  really  commenced  a  generation  before. 
Thoughts  that  afterwards  possessed  the  minds  of  millions, 
had  at  even,  an  eatlier  period  found  utterance.  Baxter, 
the  nonconforming  divine,  in  his  **  Christian  Directory," 
printed  eighteeen  years  after  the  capture  of  Jamaica,  had 
written :  **  They  who  go  out  as  pirates  and  take  away  poor 
Africans,  and  make  them  slaves  and  sell  them,  are  the 
worst  of  robbers,  and  ought  to  be  considered  the  common 
enemies  of  mankind ;  and  they  who  buy  them  and  make  use 
of  them  as  beasts  of  burden,  are  fitter  to  be  called  demons 
than  Christians."  Still  earlier,  Pope  Leo  X.  and  Queen 
Elizabeth  had  protested  against  slavery.  The  former  said 
that  "not  only  the  Christian  religion,  but  nature  itself, 
cried  out  against  slavery;"  while  the  British  queen  stigma- 
tised the  kidnapping  of  negroes  ''as  a  detestable  act,  which 
would  call  down  the  vengeance  of  heaven  ui)on  the  under- 
takers." 

The  legal  question  of  man's  right  to  property  in  his  fellow- 
man  was  first  judicially  raised  in  England  in  the  days  of 
William  and  Mary.  Chief  Justice  Holt  then  decided  that 
a  negro  coming  to  England  was  free:  for  **one  may  be  a 
villeyn  in  England,  but  not  a  slave."*  Unhappily  this 
decision  was  suffered  to  fall  into  abeyance.    Men  did  not 

*  Salkeld's  "  Reports,"  vol.  ii.  p.  666. 


216  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

then  think  suflSciently  of  rights  other  than  their  own,  still 
less  could  they  see  the  logical  deduction  that  might  be 
drawn  from  such  a  decision.  It  was  nearly  a  century 
before  men  said  :  **  We  have  no  slaves  at  home ;  then  why 
abroad  ?*'  The  decision  of  Holt  was  called  into  question 
about  forty  years  after  he  uttered  it.  In  1729,  the  opinion 
of  Attorney-General  York  and  Solicitor-General  Talbot  was 
obtained  by  some  interested  parties.  They  said  it  was  a 
mistake  **that  slaves  became  free  by  their  being  in  Eng- 
land, or  by  being  baptised."  This  opinion  was  not  con- 
sidered final,  and  three  years,  and  again  ten  years  later, 
verdicts  contrary  to  it  were  given.  No  public  interest  was 
displayed,  and  soon  after  there  were  as  many  negro  slaves 
in  London  and  the  larger  seaport  towns  as  in  many  of 
the  less  important  West  Indian  islands.  Advertisements 
respecting  them  appeared  in  English  papers,  of  a  character 
similar  to  those  so  familiar  in  slave  colonies.  For  example. 
On  the  16th  of  May,  1768,  the  well-known  Jamaica  name 
of  Beckford  appears  in  an  advertisement  in  the  London 
"Daily  Advertiser  :"  his  negro  boy  had  absconded.  Next 
year,  April  18th,  the  **  Gazetteer  *'  announced  a  sale  at  an 
inn  in  Holbom,  of  "A  chestnut  gelding,  and  a  well-made, 
good-tempered  black  boy." 

In  1754  the  Quakers  in  America  issued  their  first  protest 
against  the  iniquity  of  the  system,  and  shortly  after,  with 
their  accustomed  consistency,  liberated  their  slaves ;  Mr, 
Anthony  Benezet,  of  Philadelphia,  becoming  an  earnest 
champion  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  In  1765  Mr.  Granville 
Sharpens  efforts  in  the  same  direction  commenced.  He 
providentially  became  acquainted  with  a  negro  named 
Jonathan  Strong,  who  had  been  beaten  on  the  head  with  a 
pistol  by  his  master.  As  a  serious  illness  resulted,  he  was 
turned  out  of  doors,  and  was  met  by  Mr.  Sharpe.  When  the 
poor  fellow  had  regained  his  health  a  situation  was  obtained 
for  him,  in  which  he  remained  two  years.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  this  period  he  was  seen  by  his  old  master,  who  at 
once  claimed  him.  Mr.  Sharpe  heard  of  it,  and  instantly 
brought  him  before  the  lord  mayor,  by  means  of  a  writ  ol 
haheas  corpus.  By  this  time  his  master  had  sold  bini  for 
i^80  to  a  Mr.  James  Kerr,  of  Jamaica,  and  the  bill  of  sale 
was  produced  in  court.  The  lord  mayor  refused  to  recog- 
nise the  claim,  and  an  attempt  to  can-y  Strong  on  board  a 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  217 

ship  bound  for  Jamaica  having  been  frustrated,  legal  pro- 
ceedings were  commenced  against  Mr.  Sliarpe  for  robbing 
Lisle  (the  original  owner)  of  a  negro  slave.  This  suit,  for 
pmdential  reasons,  was  soon  dropped. 

Two  other  bondsmen,  Hylas  and  Lewis,  next  benefited 
by  Mr.  Sharpens  philanthropy.  The  latter  had  actually  been 
bound,  gagged,  and  conveyed  on  board  a  vessel  which  lay 
in  the  Downs,  ready  to  sail  for  Jamaica,  when  the  officer 
boarded  her,  armed  with  the  writ  of  habeas  carpus  procured 
by  Mr.  Sharpe.  On  the  22nd  of  June,  1772,  the  question  as 
to  whether  slavery  could  exist  in  England  was  set  at  rest. 
The  case  was  that  of  Somerset.  The  first  volume  of  the 
life  of  Granville  Sharpe  records  the  details  of  the  memorable 
trial.  This  man,  like  Lewis,  had  also  been  taken  from  a 
vessel  about  to  bear  him  back  to  slavery  in  Jamaica.  Lord 
Mansfield,  assisted  by  other  learned  judges,  presided  at  the 
trial,  and  after  a  protracted  hearing  the  chief  justice  pro- 
nounced the  decision  which  set  the  man  at  liberty,  and 
clearly  established  the  axiom  proposed  by  one  of  the  counsel, 
Serjeant  Davy,  that  **  As  soon  as  any  slave  sets  his  foot  on 
English  ground  he  becomes  free."  The  first  grand  point 
was  settled,  the  next  was  to  abolish  the  traffic  in  slaves. 

Four  years  later,  Mr.  Hartly,  member  of  parliament  for 
HuU,  and  a  son  of  the  celebrated  metaphysician,  made  a 
motion  that  "  The  slave  trade  was  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
God  and  to  the  rights  of  men."  Sir  George  Saville  seconded 
the  motion,  but  it  was  not  supported.  Different  states  in 
America  sent  petitions  and  remonstrances  on  the  subject, 
and  in  England  thoughtful  men  sought  to  awaken  the 
national  conscience.  It  will  be  remarked  how  prominently 
Jamaica  was  brought  forward  in  the  trials  already  noted, 
and  in  1781  a  fearful  tragedy  occurred  off  its  coasts  which 
could  not  fail  to  leave  lasting  impressions  of  the  iniquity 
connected  with  the  slave  trade.  A  vessel  called  the  Zong 
left  Africa  on  the  6th  of  September  with  four  hundred  and 
forty  slaves  on  board,  bound  for  Jamaica.  By  the  29th  of 
November  she  had  lost  sixty  slaves  by  death,  and  a  very 
large  number  of  the  survivors  were  sick,  and  not  likely  to 
live.  On  this  day  the  captain  spoke  to  the  mate,  and 
pointed  out  that,  if  the  sick  slaves  died  a  natural  death, 
the  loss  would  fall  on  the  owners,  but  if  they  were  thrown 
overboard  the   loss  would  be  that  of  the  underwriters. 


218  mSTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

Want  of  water,  and  the  comparative  humanity  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  misery  of  the  **  poor  sick  wretches,"  were 
reasons  assigned  for  this  step. 

The  mate,  who  afterwards  gave  his  consent  to  the  mur- 
derous deed,  at  first  pleaded  that  no  one  had  then  been 
placed  upon  a  short  allowance  of  water,  and  in  point  of 
fact  Jamaica  had  been  sighted  two  days  before ;  but  the 
captain,  asserting  that  he  believed  it  to  be  Hayti,  went  to 
leeward.  That  evening  fifty-four  negroes  were  cast  into 
the  ocean.  On  the  1st  of  December  forty-two  more  shared 
the  same  fate,  though  there  was  still  some  of  the  old  supply 
of  water  on  board,  and  heavy  rain  had  that  day  fallen, 
affording  eleven  days  of  full  allowance  for  all  on  board. 
On  the  9th  of  December,  Jamaica  being  only  two  to  three 
leagues  distant,  twenty-six  more  were  thrown  overboard, 
while  ten  others,  driven  to  desperation  by  what  they  saw, 
leaped  over  and  were  drowned.  One  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  were  thus  disposed  of.* 

The  owners  claimed  £30  for  each  slave  from  the  under- 
writers. The  claim  was  disputed,  but  after  a  trial  the  ver- 
dict was  given  in  favour  of  the  owners.  When  a  prosecution 
for  murder  was  not  unnaturally  suggested  by  Mr.  Sharpe, 
it  was  spoken  of  as  *'  madness ;  the  blacks  were  property." 

While  these  and  other  disclosures  were  producing  their 
effect  upon  the  public  mind,  Mr.  Eamsey,  who  had  resided 
for  some  years  in  St.  Kitts,  published  a  work  on  the  treat- 
ment of,  and  the  traflSc  in  slaves.  Mr.  Thomas  Clarkson 
also  wrote  an  **  Essay  on  the  Slavery  of  the  Human 
Species ;"  and  in  1787  the  Society  for  the  Abolition  of  the 
Slave  Trade  was  formed.  On  the  9th  of  May,  Mr.  Pitt,  an- 
ticipating the  action  of  the  abolitionists,  moved  for  a  par- 
liamentary committee  to  inquire  into  the  actual  character 
of  the  slave  trade,  but  cautiously  refrained  from  any  ex- 
pression of  his  own  sentiments  on  the  subject.  Many  were 
much  displeased  at  this  tame  method  of  procedure,  and 
Sir  William  Dolben  introduced  and  carried  a  measure  cal- 
culated at  once  to  lessen  the  horrors  of  the  traffic,  so  far 
as  they  arose  from  overcrowding. 

In  1789,  Mr.  Wilberforce  moved  a  series  of  twelve  resolu- 

^  About  this  time  it  was  stated  in  Jamaica  that  the  deaths  among 
nejrroes,  after  arriving  in  harbour  but  before  distribution,  were  five  per 
cent. 


mSTOBICAL  ETENTS.  219 

tions  bearing  on  the  abolition  of  the  trade,  but  immediate 
success  was  impossible  in  the  face  of  the  tremendous  oppo- 
sition he  had  to  endure.  The  slaves  in  the  British  West 
Indies  were  estimated  at  450,000,  and  valued  at  ^*50  a  piece, 
while  the  value  of  property  of  all  sorts  was  put  down  at 
seventy  millions.  The  West  Indian  interest  was  very 
powerful  in  those  days. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1791,  Mr.  Wilberforce  moved  for 
leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  to  prevent  any  further  impor- 
tation of  slaves  to  the  West  Indies.  In  depicting  the 
horrors  of  the  traffic,  he  also  pointed  out  the  fearful 
penalty  paid  by  those  directly  engaged  in  it.  Two 
thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-five  British  seamen  had 
died  in  one  year,  or  nearly  twenty-two  per  cent,  of  those 
employed.  He  closed  a  powerful  speech  by  observing  that 
"it  became  Great  Britain  to  be  foremost  in  this  work. 
One  half  of  this  guilty  traffic  (he  observed)  has  been  con- 
ducted by  her  subjects ;  and  as  we  have  been  great  in 
crime,  let  us  be  early  in  repentance.  .  .  .  Let  it  not 
appear  that  our  superior  power  has  been  employed  to 
oppress  our  fellow  creatures,  and  our  superior  light  to 
darken  the  creation  of  our  God.'*  Though  both  Fox  and  Pitt 
supported  the  motion,  it  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  seventy- 
five  in  a  house  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  members. 

The  professed  sympathy  of  Mr.  Clarkson  and  some 
other  leading  abolitionists  with  the  French  revolutionary 
pdxty,  taken  in  connection  with  the  events  transpiring  in 
Hayti,  had  an  adverse  influence  on  the  cause  of  freedom. 
William  IV.,  then  Duke  of  Clarence,  was  a  devoted  friend 
of  the  slaveholding  interest,  and  as  he  had  been  in 
Jamaica,  his  opinions  had  great  weight ;  nor  were  the 
inhabitants  of  the  island  ungrateful  to  their  royal  patron. 
Addresses  had  been  presented  to  him,  together  with  a  star 
set  in  diamonds.*  Some  years  later  the  assembly  voted 
him  a  service  of  plate  worth  three  thousand  guineas.t 

But  royal  favour  and  personal  interests  were  alike 
unable  to  check  the  growth  of  public  opinion.  The 
evidence  laid  before  parliament  was  abridged  and  widely 
circulated.  Mr.  Clarkson  traversed  the  country,  addressing 
public  meetings,  and  at  one  time  no  less  than  300,000 
persons  abstained  from  the  use  of  sugar,  because  it  was 

*  Journals,  vol.  viii.  p.  466.  f  Ibid.,  vol.  x.  p.  686. 


220  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

the  produce  of  slave  labour.  Five  hundred  and  seventeen 
petitions  were  in  one  year  sent  to  parliament  by  aboli- 
tionists, and  among  these  were  petitions  from  the  city 
of  London  and  other  corporate  bodies.  Each  year  brought 
greater  prospects  of  success. 

In  1806,  Mr.  Pitt  died,  and  Lord  Grenville  and  Mr.  Fox 
being  called  to  the  cabinet,  at  once  espoused  the  cause 
they  had  supported  in  opposition.  Fox  was  in  earnest : 
on  his  deathbed,  soon  after,  he  spoke  of  **  peace  with  Europe 
and  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  "  as  two  things  he 
earnestly  desired.*  The  surviving  ministers  were  equally 
zealous.  Li  1807,  Lord  Grenville  introduced  a  measure 
into  the  House  of  Lords,  providing  for  the  total  abolition 
of  the  slave  trade.  Many  thought  that  to  Wilberforce 
should  have  been  assigned  the  honour  of  thus  completing 
the  work;  but  he  shared  the  fate  and  enjoyed  the  dis- 
tinction belonging  to  all  great  benefactors  of  mankind. 
Pioneers  in  the  race  of  social  progress  must  ever  expect 
long  years  of  misrepresentation  and  opposition;  then  at 
length  others  find  that  it  will  be  to  their  honour  to  take 
up  the  work  and  achieve  the  crowning  triumph.  Posterity 
will,  however,  do  justice.  Grenville  is  remembered  by  few, 
while  the  names  of  Clarkson  and  Wilberforce  are  house- 
hold words.  Not  the  men  who  completed  Solomon's 
glorious  temple,  but  those  who  commenced  the  work  in  the 
solitude  of  the  forest,  are  commemorated  in  sacred  song. 
*'Iji  those  days  a  man  was  famous  who  lifted  up  axes 
against  the  thick  trees.'* 

When  Lord  Grenville's  measure  was  before  the  house, 
counsel  for  four  days  argued  the  case  of  the  West  Lidian 
planters.  One  of  the  most  memorable  debates  in  English 
history  followed,  but  the  bill  was  carried  by  a  majority 
of  one  hundred  against  thirty-six.  Li  the  Commons  the 
majority  was  even  more  overwhelming.  On  the  25th  of 
March,  the  royal  assent  was  given,  and  a  few  minutes  after 
the  ministry  retired  from  office.  It  was  now  decreed  that 
no  vessel  should  clear  out  of  any  British  port  for  slaves 
after  the  1st  of  May,  and  that  no  slave  could  be  landed  in 
the  colonies  after  the  1st  of  March,  1808. t 

*  Clarkson's  "Abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade,"  vol.  ii.  p.  667. 
t  Ibid. ;  "  Lives  of  Granville  Sharpe  and  Wilberforce  ;'*  Bandinel's 
**  Account  of  the  Trade  in  Slaves  from  Africa,"  &c. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  221 

Though  these  proceedings  were  vehemently  opposed 
by  the  colonists,  they  did  not  altogether  overlook  the 
necessity  of  some  measures  by  which  the  condition  of 
the  slave  population  could  be  improved.  In  November, 
1788,  an  elaborate  report  was  presented  to  the  house  of 
assembly  by  a  committee  which  had  been  appointed  to 
examine  into  and  report  upon  the  statements  which  had 
been  made  in  Great  Britain  relative  to  the  slave  trade 
and  the  treatment  of  slaves.  The  report  which  was 
adopted  and  forwarded  to  England  laid  great  stress  on  the 
ameliorating  measures  which  had  from  time  to  time  been 
adopted.  In  1781  a  law  was  passed  inflicting  a  heavy 
penalty  on  any  one  who  mutUated  his  slave,  or  who 
flogged  or  mutilated  the  slave  of  another.  In  1787  a 
consolidated  slave  law  was  passed,  and  in  1792  another, 
which  contained  some  further  modifications,  and  which 
may  be  seen  in  Edwards'  "  History  of  the  West  Indies." 
So  long  as  slave  evidence  was  not  received  against  a  white 
man,  these  laws  could  do  little  real  good  ;  and  cruel  flog- 
gings and  horrid  mutilations  could  still  be  inflicted  by 
the  slave  courts  of  the  colony. 

Bad  as  these  things  were,  those  who  ordered  their  in- 
fliction pleaded  they  were  not  so  severe  as  were  inflicted  on 
British  soldiers.  Sir  Charles  Napier,  in  his  remarks  on 
"  Military  Law,"  writing  of  the  close  of  this  century, 
observes,  that  he  had  seen  six  hundred  to  one  thousand 
lashes  inflicted  on  the  sentence  of  a  regimental  court- 
martial.  Slave  courts  ordered  two  or  three  up  to  a  dpzen 
or  thirteen  whippings,  but  thirty-nine  or  fifty  lashes  was 
the  extent  of  each  at  one  time. 

The  laws  limited  an  overseer  to  one  punishment  for  an 
offence,  and  that  not  exceeding  thirty-nine  stripes;  but 
this  was  often  a  dead  letter.  Who  was  to  say  how  many 
stripes  were  inflicted  if  no  white  person  was  present  to  give 
evidence  except  the  one  who  ordered  the  punishment? 
So  far  as  the  general  treatment  of  the  slaves  was  con- 
cerned, it  was  assumed,  as  some  safeguard,  that  the 
doctor  in  attendance  had  to  report  annually  the  increase 
or  decrease  among  the  negroes;  but  he  was  the  paid 
officer  of  the  estate,  not  of  the  government. 

The  returns  of  death  punishments  were  favourable  in  com- 
parison with  those  at  the  same  period  in  England.    There 


222  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

were  from  220,000  to  240,000  slaves  in  the  island  in  the 
year  1785 ;  but  it  appears  that  from  the  1st  of  January, 
1784,  to  the  30th  of  September,  1788,  only  fifty-two 
executions  had  taken  place,  rather  more  than  eleven  a 
year.  During  four  years,  from  1792  to  1796,  ninety-three 
slaves  were  transported,  the  owners  being  paid  their  com- 
puted value. 

General  Adam  Williamson  succeeded  the  Earl  of  Ef- 
fingham in  the  duties  of  government.  His  name  is 
chiefly  associated  with  the  revolutionary  war  in  Hayti,  and 
in  connection  with  the  affairs  of  that  island.  He  was  soon 
embarrassed  by  proceedings  in  the  assembly. 

In  September,  1791,  two  gentlemen  arrived  as  com- 
missioners from  Hayti,  soliciting  aid.  Three  or  four  vessels 
of  war  were  sent  to  assist  the  terror-stricken  white  in- 
habitants, but  troops  and  money  were  also  asked  for.  A 
loan  of  ^9180,000  was  solicited,  for  which  the  plantations 
in  the  island  and  the  duties  on  exports  were  offered  as 
security.  At  first  the  assembly,  to  whom  the  proposal 
was  made,  declared  that  it  could  not  pledge  the  public 
credit  for  such  a  purpose.  A  few  days  later  this  line  of 
policy  was  abandoned,  and  a  clause  inserted  in  the  poll- 
tax  bill  empowering  the  receiver-general  to  issue  certifi- 
cates for  a  small  portion  of  the  sum  required.  This  was 
objected  to  by  the  council  as  an  appropriation  of  money 
not  justified  by  any  powers  possessed  by  the  legislature. 
The  assembly  retorted  by  declaring  the  action  of  the 
council  to  be  ''officious,  indecent,  assuming,  and  irregu- 
lar;" it  adhered  to  its  resolution,  and  in  consequence  the 
upper  chamber  rejected  the  bill. 

A  brief  prorogation  followed,  and  when  General  William- 
son convened  the  legislature  once  more,  he  expressed  him- 
self in  a  way  which  was  regarded  as  a  censure  on  the 
assembly.  The  offended  legislators  agreed  to  thirteen 
resolutions,  in  which,  among  other  things,  the  right  of  the 
council  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the  appropriation  of 
public  money  was  denied,  and  astonishment  and  grief 
expressed  that  the  lieutenant-governor  should  have  sus- 
tamed  them  by  his  opinion.  An  address  to  the  king 
followed,  uj  which  his  majesty  was  told  that  the  union 
of  the  functions  of  a  privy  and  an  executive  council  in  one 
body  was  productive  of  great  inconvenience,  and  the  never- 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  228 

failing  source  of  discord  and  distrust  between  that  house 
and  the'  king's  representative.*  Fortunately  the  com- 
missioners declined  to  accept  the  £10,000  it  had  been  pro- 
posed to  raise,  as  altogether  inadequate,  but  the  Kingston 
merchants  gave  them  credit  to  a  very  considerable  amount. 

About  this  time  it  was  felt  that  the  troops  in  the  island, 
amounting  to  about  two  thousand  men,  were  inadequate  to 
its  defence  at  such  an  emergency.  The  home  government 
was  accordingly  requested  to  augment  the  force  of  the 
several  regiments  from  four  hundred  to  seven  hundred 
men,  and  to  send  out  a  regiment  of  light  cavalry.  The 
usual  island  subsistence  was  promised,  together  with  the 
requisite  barrack  accommodation,  and  the  estimates  for 
military  expenditure  were  raised  from  about  jE40,000  to 
£70,000  for  1792.  This  did  not  satisfy  the  English  govern- 
ment,  who  demanded  that  the  whole  of  the  extra  cost 
of  the  estabhshment  should  be  paid  by  the  colony.  The 
demand  was  resisted,  on  the  ground  that  colonial  produce 
yielded  a  large  revenue  to  the  imperial  government,  and 
that  the  colonies  were  therefore  entitled  to  the  protection 
of  the  troops.  At  first  the  assembly  declined  to  receive 
the  troops  on  such  terms,  but  ultimately  yielded  the  poiut. 
An  addition  was  made  to  the  poll-tax,  and  very  soon  after 
the  army  cost  the  colony  £120,000  a  year. 

The  arrival  of  refugees  from  Hayti  was  closely  watched ; 
some  were  arrested  as  suspicious  characters — a  step  which 
subsequent  disclosures  fully  justified.  But  where  inquiry 
proved  that  no  danger  was  to  be  apprehended,  but  that  the 
refugees  were  really  peaceful  people,  needing  help,  there 
was  no  want  of  hospitality  and  kindness.  The  assembly 
granted  considerable  sums  for  their  temporary  support, 
and  private  liberality  was  even  more  munificent.t  But 
the  fears  which  many  entertained  of  dangerous  political 
opinions  being  introduced  into  the  island,  and  thus  causing 
the  scenes  which  were  desolating  Hayti  to  be  repeated  here, 
were  intensified  by  the  fact  that  large  numbers  of  French 
prisoners  had  been  brought  to  the  island  in  consequence  of 
the  successful  operations  of  the  squadron.  Martinique  and 
Guadaloupe  had  been  captured,  and  many  prizes  taken  at 
sea. 

At  this  juncture  the  governor  received  orders  to  des- 

*  Journals,  vol  ix.  p.  108,  &o.  f  Ibid.,  vol  ix.  pp.  286-242. 


224  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

patch  what  troops  he  could  spare  to  Hayti,  to  co-operate 
with  others  to  be  sent  from  Great  Britain.  Like  most 
tropical  expeditions  of  the  same  character,  sickness  speedily 
decimated  the  ranks  of  the  hapless  men.  Their  com- 
manders were  miequal  to  the  task,  and  Whitelock,  who 
commanded  the  force  sent  from  Jamaica,  was  greatly 
blamed.  His  conduct  at  Buenos  Ayres,  some  years  later, 
affords  strong  proof  of  his  incapacity  as  a  commander. 
The  first  detachment  under  this  general  consisted  of  less 
than  seven  hundred  men.  It  sailed  from  Port  Royal  on 
the  9th  of  September,  1793,  and  captured  the  town  and 
fort  of  Jeremie  without  difficulty  ten  days  after.  Being 
reinforced  by  about  two  hundred  negro  soldiers,  St. 
Nicholas  was  seized,  and,  encouraged  by  success,  the  ex- 
pedition sailed  for  Tiburon  Bay,  where  the  first  disaster 
occurred. 

Williamson  sent  over  seven  hundred  soldiers  more  from 
Jamaica,  leaving  only  about  four  hundred  regulars  to 
defend  the  colony.  Thus  reinforced.  Cape  Tiburon  was 
captured  with  but  little  loss  to  the  English.  Some  slight 
engagements  followed,  but  the  promised  troops  from  Eng- 
land did  not  arrive  until  May  next  year,  by  which  time 
yellow  fever  had  reduced  the  Jamaica  contingent  to  nine 
nundred  men.  On  the  4th  of  June  Port  au  Prince  was 
captured,  with  booty  amounting  to  £400,000,  but  it  was  a 
dear  bought  victory,  for  the  enemy  still  occupied  the 
heights  commanding  the  town,  and  thus  compelled  the 
conquerors  to  strengthen  the  fortifications  on  the  land 
side.  The  labour  of  digging  trenches  at  such  a  season 
told  fearfully  on  the  troops.  Immense  numbers  perished, 
and  convalescent  patients  had  to  be  withdrawn  from  the 
hospitals  to  discharge  the  duties  of  sentinels. 

Five  to  six  hundred  men  were  hurried  from  the  Wind- 
ward Islands  to  assist  the  plague-stricken  garrison,  but  the 
deadly  fever  did  not  await  their  arrival.  One  hundjred  died 
on  the  voyage  from  Guadaloupe  to  Jamaica,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  were  left  in  hospital  at  Port  Royal.  Few  of  the 
remainder  ever  left  Hayti.  In  two  months  forty  officers 
and  six  hundred  soldiers  out  of  the  small  force  at  Port  au 
Prince  died.  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  the  fright- 
ful mortality  continued.  Brigadier  Horneck,  with  fifty 
men,  all  that  could  be  spared^  went  over  from  Jamaica, 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS,  225 

and  in  May,  1795,  Major-General  Williamson  followed, 
with  the  title  of  Governor- General  of  St.  Domingo. 

Daring  the  remainder  of  that  and  the  following  year 
reinforcements  were  poured  into  the  colony,  to  the  extent 
of  18,000  men.  They  came  to  die ;  by  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember 7530  were  in  their  graves ;  5000  more  followed  by 
the  end  of  the  next  year.  The  82nd  regiment,  numbering 
880  men,  landed  in  August,  the  most  unhealthy  time,  and 
lost  all  but  fifty  in  ten  weeks.  Another  regiment  in  the 
same  time  lost  seven  hundred  out  of  a  thousand.  It  is 
stated  that  the  96th  regiment  perished  to  a  man.*  William- 
son now  proceeded  to  organise  large  bodies  of  negro  troops, 
great  numbers  of  slaves  being  sent  from  Jamaica ;  but  all 
was  in  vain,  and  at  the  close  of  1798,  General  Maitland, 
who  had  succeeded  to  the  command,  left  the  colony. 
Millions  of  treasure  had  been  wasted,  twenty  thousand 
soldiers  and  sailors  had  perished,  but  there  never  had  been 
any  reasonable  prospect  of  conquering  the  island. 

When  the  project  was  finally  abandoned,  Williamson's 
negro  regiments  were  disbanded,  and  numbers  of  them 
joined  the  enemy.  About  one  thousand  white  soldiers  who 
survived  were  brought  to  Jamaica.  K  Williamson  was  the 
party  mainly  responsible  for  this  gloomy  episode  in  British 
history,  it  may  be  pleaded  that  he  was  grossly  misled  by 
adventurers  from  Hayti,  and  lost  health,  and  what  fortune 
he  possessed,  in  the  struggle.  He  now  left  the  island, 
but  before  doing  so  he  received  several  proofs  of  the* 
respect  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  leading  colonists. 
His  wife,  who  died  in  1794,  was  buried  within  the  walls 
of  the  cathedral,  and  a  monument  erected  to  her  memory 
by  the  assembly.  The  same  body  voted  a  splendid  service 
t)f  plate  at  his  departure.  He  had  received  the  honour 
of  knighthood  shortly  before  he  sailed  for  Hayti. 

The  Earl  of  Balcarras  succeeded  him.  On  arriving  in 
the  island,  he  found  that  difficulties  had  arisen  with  the 
Maroons  of  Trelawny.  These  people  complained  of  not 
being  well  treated.  A  white  superintendent,  to  whom  they 
were  much  attached,  had  been  removed  against  their  will, 
chiefly,  it  would  appear,  because  he  had  suffered  them  to 
roam  about  the  country  as  pedlars,  and  to  form  alliances 

*  Bryan  Edwards*  **  History,"  vol.  iii.  p.  411. 

16 


226  HISTORT  OF  JAMAICA. 

with  slave  women  on  the  estates.  The  new  superintendent 
was,  unfortunately,  lamentably  deficient  in  personal 
courage,  and  when  the  wild  young  men  in  the  Maroon 
village  fell  out  and  fought,  he  was  accustomed  to  hide  him- 
self until  the  affray  was  over.  Influential  magistrates  in  the 
neighbourhood  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  he  was  unfit 
for  his  office,  for,  as  one  truly  observed,  the  Maroons, 
above  all  other  negroes,  required  a  leader  of  undoubted 
firmness  and  courage. 

A  far  more  serious  complaint,  on  the  part  of  these  inde- 
pendent mountaineers,  was  that  two  of  their  number  had 
been  flogged  in  a  workhouse,  by  a  slave-driver,  in  the 
presence  of  other  slaves,  some  of  whom  had  been  captured 
and  brought  in  as  runaways  by  the  Maroons.  The  indignity 
was  aggravated  by  the  taunts  of  these  slaves  while  the 
punishment  was  being  inflicted.  Had  the  culprits  been 
handed  over,  as  usual,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to 
Maroon  law,  they  would  have  been  even  more  severely 
punished  for  their  offence,  but  such  a  violation  of  their 
privileges  awakened  the  most  bitter  feelings.  There  was 
an  older  but  comparatively  trivial  grievance  still  un- 
redressed: three  years  before,  they  had  petitioned  the 
assembly  to  grant  them  more  land,  as  the  original  location 
was  becoming  unproductive;  but  no  notice  was  taken  of 
the  application. 

Threatening  as  the  aspect  of  affairs  really  was,  with  the 
colony  almost  denuded  of  troops,  and  the  secret  agents  of 
the  infamous  Victor  Hugues  at  work,  seeking  to  fill  the 
West  Indies  with  insurrectionary  ideas  and  bloodshed;  a 
little  quiet  firmness,  mingled  with  judicious  conciliation, 
would  have  calmed  the  agitation.  Unfortunately,  ♦  the 
governor  was  altogether  unfit  for  his  position,  and  his 
integrity  of  purpose  was  very  questionable.  Mr.  Bridges 
does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he  was  induced  to  take  ex- 
treme measures  in  consideration  of  the  additional  £20  a  day 
to  which  he  was  entitled  during  the  existence  of  martial 
law.*  In  September,  1795,  the  earl,  in  addressing  the 
legislature,  took  great  credit  for  having  availed  himself  of 
the  impetuosity  of  the  Maroons  to  begin  active  measures, 
and  pen  them  up  in  a  confined  district  of  country,  where, 
their  villages  being  destroyed,  they  could  only  exist  as  a 

*  Bridges'  "  Annals,"  vol.  ii. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  227 

band  of  robbers.  The  documents  he  laid  before  the  house 
fail  to  justify  the  statements  he  made  relative  to  the  conduct 
of  these  people,  or  those  respecting  the  triumphant  results 
of  his  strategy.  Gentlemen  trained  in  the  colony  were 
surely  more  competent  to  give  an  opinion  than  one  who 
had  resided  in  it  for  a  few  weeks,  and  almost  all  who 
occupied  important  positions  in  the  locality  recommended 
conciliation.  The  custodes  of  St.  James  and  Trelawn^s 
with  other  magistrates  in  those  parishes,  some  of  whom 
visited  the  Maroons,  declared  that  they  were  willing  to 
listen  to  reason.  Tales,  it  is  true,  were  in  circulation,  that 
they  had  threatened  to  kill  the  obnoxious  superintendent, 
to  repeat  in  Jamaica  the  doings  in  Hayti,  and  that  they 
had  boasted  of  the  hosts  of  slaves  who  would  follow  their 
lead.  But  all  this  was  slave  evidence,  never  received 
against  a  white  man ;  and  with  respect  to  one  white  person 
who  was  industHous  in  circulating  such  evil  reports  of  the 
Maroons,  Mr.  Lascelles  Winn,  a  Quaker,  so  far  forgot  the 
gentle  language  of  his  people  in  his  righteous  indignation, 
as  to  say  that  **  he  was  an  ignorant,  credulous,  babbling 
creature ! " 

Mr.  Thorp,  the  custos  of  Trelawny,  and  the  other  gentle- 
men who  went  up  to  the  chief  Maroon  settlement,  had  no 
reason  to  complain  of  their  conduct.  True,  they  once  said 
they  wanted  **  nothing  but  battle,"  but  they  added  they  did 
not  want  Mr.  Craskell  again — this  was  the  hated  superin- 
tendent ;  and  thus  it  seems  that,  like  most  uneducated 
negroes,  their  big  words  meant  nothing  but  annoyance  at  a 
personal  grievance.  It  was  Balcarras  who  wanted  battle, 
and  he  took  steps  which  made  it  inevitable.  He  began  by 
sending  for  six  leading  Maroons  to  meet  him  at  Spanish 
Town.  The  letter  was  not  sent  by  post,  but  by  a  private 
messenger,  who  arrived  twenty-four  hours  after  the  post. 
The  return  mail  bringing  no  reply,  the  hot-headed  ruler  set 
oflf  for  the  scene  of  action,  met  the  ^ix  Maroons  at  St  Anns' 
Bay,  where  the  authorities  had  detained  them,  and  having 
put  them  in  irons  proceeded  on  his  way. 

All  the  troops  he  could  collect  were  ordered  to  the  spot ; 
some  about  to  sail  for  Hayti  were  brought  round  by  sea  to 
Montego  Bay,  and  the  first  of  several  grandiloquent  pro- 
clamations was  issued.  It  was  on  the  8th  of  August  that 
the  Maroons  were  informed  that  they  were  surrounded  by 

16* 


2*28  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

thousands  of  troops,  that  a  price  was  put  upon  their  heads, 
but  that  they  would  be  allowed  until  the  12th  to  surrender; 
andif  they  were  contumacious  then,  on  the  13th  the  "dreadful 
command  "  would  be  put  in  force,  for  they  should  be  put  to 
death,  and  their  town  afterwards  be  destroyed  for  ever — a 
loss  they  would  not  feel  if  their  lives  had  been  first  taken. 
There  was  now  great  controversy  in  the  Maroon  settlement. 
Some,  including  nearly  all  the  older  men,  were  for  surrender, 
but  the  majority  were  for  fighting.  From  childhood  up,  their 
parents  had  told  them  stories,  handed  down  from  a  former 
generation,  of  the  long  conflict  waged  with  British  and 
colonial  troops,  and  of  terms  made  at  length,  not  as  the 
result  of  conquest,  but  of  peaceful  treaty.  Their  forefathers 
had  not  been  vanquished ;  why  should  they  be  ? 

On  the  11th,  the  aged  chief  Montague,  with  nearly  forty 
men  and  about  as  many  women  and  children,  surrendered. 
Those  who  held  out  watched  their  departure  with  emotion, 
and  would  in  all  probability  have  followed  their  example  but 
for  the  folly,  or  worse  than  folly,  of  the  Earl  of  Balcarras. 
Maroon  spies  watched  their  reception  from  heights  over- 
looking the  English  camp,  and  when  they  came  back  with 
intelligence  that  all,  not  excluding  the  white-haired  veteran 
Montague,  had  been  put  in  irons  and  hurried  off  to  prison — 
perhaps  to  death — aU  hesitation  was  at  end,  and  nothing 
but  resistance  to  the  last  was  thought  of.  Five  thousand 
men,  more  than  a  third  British  soldiers,  the  rest  colonial 
militia,  were  now  placed  in  the  unenviable  position  of  being 
defied  and  harassed  for  months  by  three  hundred  half- 
naked  semi-savages. 

The  83rd  Regiment,  consisting  of  1000  Inen,  and  a  party 
of  130  well-mounted  dragoons,  had  arrived.  The  local 
forces  were  all  assembled,  and  the  earl  proceeded  to  execute 
his  threats. 

On  the  12th  of  August,  a  party  of  400  men,  which  had 
been  despatched  to  destroy  some  provision  grounds,  found 
that  the  Maroons  had  anticipated  their  movements  by 
leaving  everything  in  a  state  of  desolation.  The  detach- 
ment then  proceeded  to  rejoin  the  main  body,  and  suddenly 
fell  into  an  ambuscade.  Not  a  Maroon  could  be  seen,  so  well 
had  they  concealed  themselves  among  the  rocks  and  trees, 
but  their  fire  was  deadly.  Colonel  Sandford,  of  the  dra- 
goons, fell ;  another  officer  and  fourteen  men  of  the  regulars 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  229 

were  also  killed,  together  with  Colonel  Gallimore,  of  the 
militia,  and  many  others,  some  of  them  connected  with 
leading  colonial  families.  Had  the  courage  of  the  Maroons 
been  equal  to  the  secrecy  of  their  movements,  few  would 
have  escaped,  for  the  soldiers,  after  looking  about  in  vain 
for  a  foe,  fled.  No  advantage  was  taken  of  the  panic.  The 
Maroons  refrained  from  pursuit.* 

Next  day  the  governor  offered  a  reward  of  £20  for  each 
Maroon  brought  into  camp,  and  £10  for  each  woman  or 
child.  Higher  sums  were  offered  for  certain  leaders,  dead 
or  alive.  The  rains  now  began  to  fall  with  unusual  violence ; 
active  operations  on  the  part  of  the  troops  became  im- 
possible, and  the  Maroons  had  taken  up  an  inaccessible 
position  a  little  in  the  rear  of  the  scene  oi  the  late  conflict. 
The  earl  returned  to  town  to  meet  the  legislators,  but  before 
they  assembled  another  disaster  had  befallen  the  troops. 
Colonel  Fitch,  who  had  been  left  in  command,  opened 
communications  with  the  foe,  and  permitted  two  of  them  to 
visit  their  friends  who  had  previously  surrendered :  these 
they  found  on  board  a  ship,  to  which  they  had  been  removed 
for  security.  Both  visitors  and  captives  believed  that  the 
ship  was  destined  to  convey  them  into  banishment. 
Degraded  in  many  respects,  and  barbarous  as  these  people 
were,  they  had  the  passionate  love  for  home  which  charac- 
terises all  mountaineers.  The  two  messengers  returned  to 
their  friends  still  at  liberty,  and  all  resolved  to  struggle  to 
the  last  in  the  deep  recesses  of  their  native  wilds. 

Colonel  Fitch  resolved  if  possible  to  penetrate  these 
unknown  forests,  and  assisted  by  a  body  of  Accompong 
Maroons,  who,  contrary  to  expectation,  had  remained  faith- 
ful, commenced  the  task.  The  troops  again  fell  into  an 
ambuscade.  The  colonel  was  first  wounded,  and  presently 
shot  through  the  brain  ;  Captain  Leigh  and  several  of  the 
soldiers  and  Accompongs  were  killed  ;  two  other  ofificers  and 
many  men  wounded.  Safety  was  only  found  in  retreat ; 
volley  after  volley  was  fired  by  the  troops,  but  all  was  use- 
less against  an  unseen  foe.     Had  the  commanders  in  both 

*  Two  remarkable  events  happened  during  this  affair.    A  negro  ser- 
vant,  with  quicker  eyes  than  the  rest,  saw  a  Maroon  auning  at  his 
master.   He  at  once  threw  himself  before  him  and  received  the  shot : 
happily  it  was  not  fatal,  and  he  lived  to  enjoy  his  master  s  lasting 
gratitude.    Another  person  was  saved  by  a  bullet  ^9^°f J^^fP^^^^     a 
volume  of  Wakes'  "  Catechism  '*  he  had  placed  m  his  breast  pocket. 


230  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

these  engagements  been  less  particular  about  military  forms, 
the  result  might  have  been  different.  Heavy  regimentals 
were  ill  adapted  for  climbing  precipices,  and  the  drum  and 
fife  gave  warning  to  the  lurking  foe.  Wisdom  was  gained 
by  experience ;  lighter  clothes  were  provided  for  the  soldiers, 
and  a  thousand  slaves  collected  from  the  estates,  and 
armed  with  matcheats  and  axes,  to  fell  the  forests  and  open 
roads.  A  party  of  negroes,  called  the  black  shot,  was  formed, 
and  rendered  essential  service.  The  English  troops  were 
saved  by  one  of  these  men  from  another  disaster  in 
November.  They  would  have  got  into  an  ambuscade  had 
the  negro  not  seen  their  danger,  and  led  them  to  more 
open  ground:  a  conflict,  which  lasted  some  hours,  ensued. 
The  British  were  compelled  to  retreat,  but  being  pursued, 
drove  the  enemy  back  with  some  loss. 

The  Maroons  now  began  to  harass  the  outlying  estates ; 
many  valuable  properties  were  seriously  injured.  Cada- 
dupa,  Lapland,  and  Mocha,  with  others,  are  mentioned  in 
the  newspapers  of  the  period.  Many  skirmishes  took 
place,  but  the  Maroons  were  still  free  as  the  birds  in  their 
much-loved  woods.  Those  peculiarly-formed  precipitous 
hollows  in  the  limestone  rock,  called  cockpits,  were  safe 
places  of  retreat,  for  if  driven  from  one,  they  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  reaching  others  by  paths  only  known  to  themselves. 
Towards  Christmas  fresh  fears  possessed  the  minds  of  the 
colonists.  The  rains  had  been  followed  by  a  protracted 
period  of  unclouded  sunshine  and  drying  winds.  The  cane- 
fields  were  ripe  for  the  torch  of  the  incendiary.  A  mid- 
night sally  of  Maroons  into  the  plains  might  do  incalculable 
damage ;  and  it  was  felt  that  if  they  continued  much  longer 
in  arms,  the  negroes  would  see  that  their  hour  to  strike  for 
freedom  had  come.  What  plots  might  not  be  formed  during 
the  fast  approaching  holidays  ?  The  fears  of  foreign  inter- 
ference continued,  and  the  governor,  at  the  request  of  the 
assembly,  sent  off  the  island  all  Frenchmen  not  enrolled  in 
the  militia. 

It  is  impossible  to  approve  of  another  step  which  had 
been  taken  some  time  previously,  and  to  which  many 
military  men  and  leading  colonists  were  vehemently  op- 
posed. This  was  no  other  than  the  importation  of  blood- 
hounds from  Cuba,  to  hunt  down  the  Maroons.  A  militia 
colonel,  named  Quarrell,  was  despatched  to  that  island. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  281 

He  soon  succeeded  in  securing  the  services  of  a  party  of 
chasseurs  and  their  dogs,  and  on  the  14th  of  December 
these  strange  allies  landed  at  Montego  Bay. 

They  found  the  town  in  a  state  of  alarm  and  excitement. 
Major-General  Walpole  had  assumed  the  command,  and 
estabUshed  a  chain  of  posts  along  the  mountains,  from 
which  detachments  were  sent  into  the  interior  woods,  but 
all  was  in  vain.  The  lightest  of  all  infantry,  these  Maroons 
had  only  to  snatch  up  their  musket  and  matcheat,  and  retire 
to  another  post,  more  inaccessible  perhaps  than  the  one 
they  left.  In  those  woods  a  negro  could  live  for  ever:  he 
found  no  lack  of  food,  and  as  for  water,  he  had  but  to  cut 
a  with  {vitus  Indica"*),  and  apply  the  end  to  his  mouth  and 
drink,  or  where  these  failed,  the  wild  pine  would  supply  the 
need.t 

The  day  before  that  on  which  the  chasseurs  arrived,  a 
conflict  had  taken  place  between  a  party  of  soldiers  under 
Captain  Drummond  and  one  of  Maroons,  in  which  the 
latter  were  certainly  not  beaten.  It  was  generally  thought 
that  success  was  unattainable  against  these  mountain 
warriors ;  and  soon  after  it  was  found  that,  had  the  dogs 
not  brought  the  conflict  to  a  close,  it  was  their  intention, 
when  pressed  too  closely  by  the  troops,  to  cross  over  to 
'  Clarendon  on  the  other  side  of  the  island,  where  they  had 
many  friends,  and  so  compel  the  army  to  break  up  its  camp 
and  recommence  operations  in  another  part  of  the  colony, 
which,  with  their  accoutrements,  they  could  only  reach  by  a 
tedious  march  or  by  sea.  Such  a  line  of  tactics  would  have 
been  quite  practicable  when  so  little  of  the  interior  was 
opened  up,  and  its  adoption  would  have  augmented  the 
risk  of  rebellion  among  the  slaves. 

Orders  were  promptly  issued  to  bring  the  bloodhounds  up 
the  country  as  quickly  as  possible.  Major-General  Walpole 
went  to  meet  them  on  their  way,  and  having  done  so, 

*  This  with  is  not  unlike  the  stem  of  a  grape  vine,  it  hangs  from 
the  branches  of  many  forest  trees,  and  is  sometimes  as  thick  as  a 
man's  wrist.  If  severed  with  a  knife,  and  the  extremity  applied  to 
the  mouth,  a  stream  of  pure  water  flows  from  it. — Gosse's  "Natu- 
ralist's Sojourn  in  Jamaica,"  p.  125. 

f  Tillandsia  lingulata, — The  leaves  are  long,  and  shaped  like  those 
of  the  pine-apple,  but  very  much  larger.  The  large  sheathed  bases  of 
the  leaves  form  a  natural  reservoir,  to  which  birds  resort  for  water. — 
Ibid.,  p.  42. 


232  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

proceeded  to  review  these  strange  auxiliaries.  There  were 
forty  chasseurs  and  about  one  hundred  dogs.  The  former 
were  swarthy,  active,  well-made  men,  evidently  inured  to 
great  fatigue,  dressed  in  loose  check  trowsers  and  shirt,  a 
brojid-brimmed  straw  hat,  and  shoes  of  untanned  leather. 
A  heavy  sword  of  the  old  cavalry  style,  sharpened  like 
a  razor,  was  secured  to  a  stout  leather  belt,  to  which  also 
the  dogs  were  fastened  by  strong  cotton  ropes.  A  small 
crucifix  was  their  only  ornament.  The  dogs  were  the  size 
of  a  large  hound,  the  ears  erect  and  cropped  at  the 
point,  strong,  hardy,  and  broad-chested;  but  only  about 
half  of  those  brought  to  the  island  had  been  properly 
broken  in. 

These  men  and  their  dogs  were  employed  to  hunt  robbers 
and  runaway  slaves  in  Cuba.  With  a  few  ounces  of  salt, 
they  would  stay  for  weeks  in  the  woods ;  wild  hogs  were 
easily  run  down,  and  these,  with  birds  and  other  fare,  were 
found  in  abundance  in  the  unopened  forests.  When 
Walpole  met  them,  the  chasseurs  fired  a  volley  with  guns 
served  out  to  them  after  their  arrival^  but  of  which  they 
afterwards  declined  the  use.  The  dogs  thus  incited  to  fury 
dashed  on  towards  the  general,  dragging  their  masters  after 
them,  and  compelling  that  officer  to  seek  safety  in  his 
carriage,  the  horses  of  which  narrowly  escaped  being  torn 
to  pieces.  A  few  hours  after,  an  old  woman  cooking  in 
the  open  air  was  less  fortunate.  One  of  the  hounds  at- 
tempted to  seize  a  piece  of  meat ;  she  imprudently  struck 
him,  when  he  seized  her  throat,  nor  was  his  hold  relaxed 
till  his  head  was  cut  off — ^the  woman  was  then  dead. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  General  Walpole  that  he  endeavoured 
to  make  terms  with  the  Maroons  instead  of  employing  these 
brutes  against  them,  for  he  had  heard  of  the  terror  occa- 
sioned by  their  arrival.  Colonel  Hull,  with  part  of  the 
62nd  Foot  and  17th  Dragoons,  was  sent  on  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  their  camp  with  a  flag  of  truce.  The  Maroons  did 
not  at  first  understand  what  it  meant,  and  fired  some 
shots.  When  its  significance  was  explained,  they  displayed 
their  confidence  in  the  white  man's  word  by  approaching 
the  troops  and  remaining  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream 
on  the  bank  of  which  the  soldiers  encamped  at  night,  and 
of  which  both  parties  partook. 

Next  day  Walpole  arrived,  and  after  some  discourse,  the 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  283 

Maroons  proposed  and  the  general  agreed  to  the  following 
terms.* 

First. — The  Maroons  would  on  their  knees  ask  his 
Majesty's  pardon. 

Secondly. — They  would  go  to  Old  Town,  Montego  Bay, 
or  any  other  place  that  might  be  pointed  out,  and  would 
settle  on  whatever  lands  the  governor,  council,  and  assem- 
bly might  think  proper  to  allot. 

Thirdly. — They  would  deliver  up  all  runaways. 

These  articles,  which  were  agreed  to  on  the  2l8t  of 
December,  were  ratified  by  the  governor  on  the  28th,  and 
before  that  day  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  governor 
knew  of  a  secret  article  which  General  Walpole  had  con- 
firmed by  oath,  that  the  Maroons  should  not  be  sent  off 
the  island.  Balcarras  fixed  the  let  of  January  following, 
only  three  days  after  that  on  which  he  ratified  the  treaty, 
as  the  day  on  which  all  Maroons  should  surrender. 

If  this  was  the  record  of  a  great  continental  war,  instead 
of  a  conflict  with  three  hundred  black  woodsmen,  the 
question  would  long  be  earnestly  discussed  whether  Bal- 
carras did  not  really  design,  when  he  signed  the  treaty, 
to  occasion  the  embarrassment  which  followed.  The  Ma- 
roons were  accused  soon  after  of  breach  of  faith,  and  on 
this  plea  were  sent  from  the  island.  Whether  they  had  no 
excuse  for  not  immediately  surrendering,  may  be  judged 
from  the  following  facts.  At  the  time  Walpole  and  the 
Maroons  were  negotiating,  two  parties  were  in  the  woods 
searching  for  them,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Steven- 
son and  Colonel  Skinner.  With  the  latter  officer  was  a 
detachment  of  chasseurs,  who  were  very  anxious  to  show 
what  they  and  their  dogs  could  do,  but  a  timely  letter  from 
General  Walpole  prevented  mischief. 

It  had,  however,  been  foreseen  that  the  Maroons  on 
leaving  Walpole,  to  communicate  with  their  wives  and  chil-  . 
dren,  hidden  safely  away,  what  had  been  done,  would  very 
probably  encounter  Stevenson's  force ;  and,  to  prevent 
bloodshed,  they  were  provided  with  a  letter  to  that  officer. 
They  met,  as  was  anticipated,  and  a  Maroon  went  on 
before,  holding  the  letter,  fixed  in  a  cleft  stick,  towards  the 
troops.  It  was  either  disregarded  or  not  seen ;  the  soldiers 
fired,  and  a  battle  ensued,  in  which  Captain  Dunbar  and 

*  **  Journals  of  Assembly,'*  vol.  ix.  p.  487. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 


several  of  the  militia  were  killed.  In  the  dark  recesses  of 
the  woods  the  Maroons  kept  up  their  fire,  and,  as  the 
night  was  coining  on,  the  mUitia  retreated. 

That  such  an  accident  should  occasion  mistrust  is  surely 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  and  on  the  1st  of  January  only 
three  men  and  two  boys  had  surrendered.  Two  days  after 
one  of  these  volunteered  to  go  back  and  fetch  more :  he 
was  permitted  to  do  so,  and  soon  returned  with  thirteen 
relatives.  Nine  more  followed,  and  it  was  then  understood 
that  in  memory  of  what  had  been  done  to  Montague  and 
others  who  had  surrendered  themselves  in  August,  there 
was  a  desire  on  the  part  of  many  still  in  the  woods  to  see 
how  those  who  now  gave  themselves  up  were  treated  before 
they  followed  their  example.  Still  a  few  stragglers  came 
in,  and  on  the  12th,  on  Walpole  advancing  in  force,  ac- 
companied by  the  chasseurs,  towards  the  Maroon  quarters, 
he  was  met  before  he  had  marched  a  quarter  of  a  mile  by 
an  assurance  that  every  Maroon  would  soon  be  within 
his  lines. 

Three  days  after  he  officially  reported  that  three  hundred 
and  twenty-six  Maroons  of  all  ages  and  of  both  sexes  were 
in  his  camp.  Others  quickly  followed.  It  was  stated  by 
these  people,  among  other  explanations  of  delay,  that  their 
wives  and  children  were  scattered  about  the  hiUs,  as  also 
many  men,  and  that  measles  had  broken  out  among  the 
children.  Many  no  doubt  were  reluctant  to  surrender  that 
liberty  they  had  so  long  enjoyed,  and  to  leave  their  moun- 
tain home ;  and  such  as  still  held  out  found,  or  affected 
to  find,  reason  for  suspecting  treachery  when  they  saw 
the  company  of  their  compatriots  within  the  British  lines 
marched  off  to  Montego  Bay.  But  this  was  clearly  within 
the  terms  of  the  covenant  they  had  made.  Several  parties 
with  dogs  were  sent  after  the  runaways,  but  after  searching 
for  days  in  vain,  they  returned  worn  out  with  fatigue. 
Walpole  said  that  if  these  people  had  only  had  an  engineer 
to  direct  them,  any  advance  into  the  wilds  would  have 
been  impossible.  He  did  by  negotiations  what  he  could 
not  accomplish  by  force,  and  late  in  March  the  last  of  the 
Maroons,  together  with  all  runaway  slaves,  were  in  his 

camp. 

AU  war,  even  between  civilized  nations,  is  sure  to  be 
attended  with  painful  atrocities,  and  it  cannot  therefore  be 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  286 

a  matter  of  surprise  that  many  tales  were  in  circulation 
relative  to  cruelties  to  the  living  and  post-mortem  insults 
to  the  dead.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  copious  documents 
relative  to  the  war  in  the  journals  of  the  assembly  contain 
no  proofs — a  fact  all  the  more  significant,  as  there  was  a 
purpose  to  serve  by  making  the  conduct  of  the  Maroons  ap- 
pear in  the  worst  possible  light.  Equally  questionable  are 
the  tales  told  of  newly-buried  bodies  of  Maroons  being  taken 
out  of  their  graves  and  exposed  to  insult  by  the  militia. 

Some  very  painful  events  followed  the  surrender  of  these 
people.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  secret 
clause  of  the  treaty,  they  were  sent  away  from  the  colony. 
As  soon  as  a  rumour  of  what  was  intended  reached 
Walpole  he  communicated  with  Earl  Balcarras  on  the 
subject,  who,  on  his  part,  contended  that  the  matter  must 
be  left  to  the  assembly,  who  would  be  quite  justified  in 
taking  advantage  of  the  Maroons  not  having  surrendered 
on  the  1st  of  January.  The  assurance  of  the  general,  that 
they  had  all  surrendered  in  full  dependence  that  the  pro- 
mise he  made  would  be  kept,  was  of  no  effect. 

A  joint  committee  of  the  assembly  and  council  was  ap- 
pointed to  consider  the  best  way  of  disposing  of  the 
prisoners.  The  tendered  evidence  of  General  Walpole  was 
refused,  though  no  man  was  so  competent  as  himself  to 
explain  the  sense  in  which  the  treaty  should  be  under- 
stood ;  and  a  report  was  soon  adopted  and  approved  of  by 
both  branches  of  the  legislature,  recommending  the  trans- 
portation of  all  the  Maroons,  except  the  five  who  sur- 
rendered on  the  31st  of  December.  These  nobly  declined 
to  accept  the  boon,  and  became  exiles  with  their  friends. 
The  entire  tribe  was  thus  expatriated.  The  decision  ar- 
rived at  included  the  six  delegates  who  were  on  their  way 
to  Spanish  Town,  and  also  Montague  and  his  companions, 
who  respected  the  governor's  first  proclamation,  and  sur- 
rendered before  hostilities  began.  Against  this  most  ini- 
quitous act  the  noble-minded  general  protested  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  a  true  English  gentleman.  For  the  Ma- 
roons, as  such,  he  had  no  special  regard  ;  *  but  dangerous 

*  Walpole  snggested  that  the  Maroons  should  be  settled  near 
Spanish  Town,  or  some  other  large  town  in  the  lowlands,  where  they 
would  have  access  to  spirits,  the  use  of  which  would  decrease  their 
numbers,  and  destroy  the  hardy  constitution  gained  in  the  mountains. 


286  HISTOBT   OF  JAMAICA. 

as  they  might  be,  he  felt  that  a  treaty  even  with  savages 
should  be  observed.  He  regarded  as  a  mere  quibble  the 
argument  that  they  did  not  surrender  before  the  1st  of 
January.  They  had  given  themselves  up  to  him,  he 
pleaded,  in  faith  that  they  would  not  be  deported,  and 
without  this  confidence  they  would  not  have  come  at  all. 
As  for  conquest,  he  asserted  that  treble  the  number  of 
troops  he  had  could  not  have  brought  them  in  in  twelve 
months.  Nor  was  this  his  opinion  only.  Writing  under 
date  March  18th,  he  says  on  this  point :  "  Your  lordship 
will  permit  me  to  observe  that  the  opinions  of  field-oflBcers 
on  the  spot  have  never  differed."  He  added  his  conviction 
that  Jamaica  had  been  saved  by  the  terms  of  surrender. 

The  couiitry,  it  must  be  remembered,  had  not  been 
opened  up  as  it  has  since  been,  and  the  slave  population 
needed  Uttle  more  to  stir  up  universal  rebellion.  Walpole 
felt  so  keenly  the  breach  of  faith  that  he  soon  after  retired 
from  the  army,  having  first  refused  a  sword,  valued  at  five 
hundred  guineas,  voted  him  by  the  assembly.  Acknow- 
ledging a  vote  of  thanks  awarded  to  him,  he  called  atten- 
tion to  the  zeal  and  gallantry  of  his  officers,  and  with 
respect  to  himself  wrote:  **  As  the  house  hfts  thought  fit 
not  to  accede  to  the  agreement  entered  into  between  me 
and  the  Trelawny  Maroons,  and  as  their  opinion  of  that 
treaty  stands  on  their  minutes  very  diflferent  to  my  concep- 
tion of  it,  I  am  compelled  to  decline  the  honour  they  have 
intended  for  me."  This  letter,  though  at  first  entered  on 
the  minutes  of  the  house,  was  after  ordered  to  be  expunged. 

To  others  rewards  were  freely  given — ±700  for  a  sword 
to  Balcarras,  who  had  also  drawn  nearly  £5000  more  for 
extra  pay  during  martial  law;  four  hundred  guineas  to 
Quarrel,  for  fetching  bloodhounds,  large  sums  to  their 
keepers,  and  compensation  to  all  whose  property  had  bei'ii 
injured.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  what  this  wretched  affair 
really  cost :  in  April,  1796,  £872,000  sterling  was  stated  in 
the  assembly  as  the  amount  then  known.  Other  bills  came 
in  afterwards,  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  it  was  found  that 
from  a  comparatively  small  amount  the  island  debt  had 
risen  to  nearly  half  a  million.* 

*  See  Dallas's  "History  of  Maroons;"  Bryan  Edwards'  "History 
of  West  Indies;"  Bridges'  "Annals ;"  "  Journals  of  Assembly,"  voL  ix. 
pp.  385-600. 


raSTORICAL   EVENTS.  287 

The  Maroons  were  shipped  on  the  6th  of  July  for  Nova 
Scotia.  To  plead  on  their  behalf  was  to  expose  one's  self  to 
insult.  The  Honourable  J.  Palmer,  one  of  the  most  in- 
fluential men  in  the  colony,  was  rudely  snubbed  by  Bal- 
carras  for  calling  them  **  poor  deluded  creatures."  An 
action  was  commenced  at  the  instance  of  the  assembly 
against  the  proprietor  of  the  '*  New  Annual  Eegister,"  for 
an  alleged  Ubel  against  Balcarras  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  island.* 

Walpole  did  not  allow  the  matter  to  rest.  Betuming  to 
England,  he  obtained  a  seat  in  parliament,  where  he  de- 
nounced the  conduct  of  the  Jamaica  assembly,  and  asserted 
that  the  Maroons  had  been  basely  treated,  he  being  made 
an  instrument  to  entrap  them,  while  his  evidence  on  their 
behalf  had  been  refused.  The  ministry  sustained  the  conduct 
of  the  local  legislature,  and  opposed  Walpole's  motion  for  a 
committee  of  the  whole  house  to  inquire  into  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case.  The  subject  attracted  little  atten- 
tion ;  the  house  was  thinly  attended,  only  five  supporting 
Walpole  and  thirty-four  the  ministry.  It  is  more  to  the 
credit  of  the  British  parliament  that  the  use  of  bloodhounds 
had  been  vehemently  condenmed  as  soon  as  the  tidings 
reached  England. 

Seven  to  eight  hundred  Maroons  not  implicated  in  these 
affairs  still  remained.  About  a  third  of  these  were  at 
Charles  Town,  and  were  very  nearly  the  occasion  of  an- 
other struggle.  They  had  been  ordered  to  Spanish  Town. 
The  order  was  obeyed,  but  soon  after  a  panic  seized  them, 
and  they  hastened  back  to  the  mountains.  They,  however, 
begged  pardon,  and  took  an  oath  to  be  faithful  to  the  king 
and  obedient  to  the  governor,  and  so  the  trouble  passed  by. 

The  subsequent  history  of  the  Trelawny  Maroons  is  soon 
told.  £47,000  was  expended  in  providing  for  their  wants 
for  three  years  after  their  arrival  in  Nova  Scotia,  which  was 
too  cold  a  place  for  them  to  live  in  with  any  comfort.  It 
seemed  as  if  they  would  become  pensioners  for  life,  and 
when  the  assembly  refused  to  pay  more  for  their  support, 
the  government  of  Nova  Scotia  demanded  £10,000  a  year 
from  that  of  Great  Britain  for  their  maintenance.  After 
wearisome  correspondence,  some  of  which  is  preserved  in 
the  **  Journals  of  Assembly,"  they  were  removed  to  Sierra 

*  Journals,  vol.  ix.  p.  618. 


238  HISTORY   OP   JAMAICA. 

Leone.  To  this  infant  colony  many  of  the  slaves  made  free 
by  Granville  Sharpens  efforts  in  England  had  been  sent,  and 
also  some  discharged  black  soldiers  who  had  been  located  in 
Nova  Scotia  at  the  close  of  the  American  war  of  indepen- 
dence, but  who  had  asked  for  a  warmer  climate.  These 
last  subsequently  rose  in  rebellion,  and  the  very  existence 
of  the  colony  was  imperilled,  when  the  Maroons,  to  the  num- 
ber of  five  hundred  and  fifty,  arrived.  They  at  once  offered 
their  services  to  restore  order,  and  under  the  command  of 
a  naval  officer  soon  crushed  the  rebellion.  Lands  were  as- 
signed to  them,  on  which  they  settled  quietly,  and  their 
descendants  are  now  among  the  most  respectable  of  the 
negro  settlers  in  Free  Town  and  its  neighbourhood. 

Returning  to  Jamaica,  it  will  be  found  that  the  Maroon 
war  had  not  been  the  only  source  of  trouble  in  the  colony. 
Li  1795,  the  rising  town  of  Montego  Bay  was  nearly  entirely 
destroyed  by  fire.  More  than  a  hundred  houses  were  burnt, 
great  numbers  were  left  homeless,  valuable  property  on 
wharfs  and  in  stores  was  consumed,  and  a  total  loss  sus- 
tained of  from  ^£300,000  to  ^£400,000.  So  rapidly  did  the 
flames  spread,  that  three  out  of  the  four  fire-engines  had 
to  be  abandoned  to  their  fury. 

Other  events  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  colonists 
towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  have  little  in- 
terest now,  though  some  of  them  occasioned  much  excitement 
at  the  time.  Another  outbreak  occurred :  hardly  a  hundred 
negroes,  under  the  leadership  of  Cuffee  and  Polydore,  were 
involved  in  it,  and  yet  the  colony  was  in  a  ferment.  The 
presence  of  more  than  two  thousand  soldiers  and  six  thou- 
sand militia,  three-fourths  white  men,  did  not  seem  enough. 
A  few  houses  were  burnt,  and  some  obnoxious  individuals 
had  a  narrow  escape,  but  the  Accompong  Maroons,  and 
some  negro  militia  called  black  shot,  soon  hunted  the 
scattered  rebels  down.  In  the  mean  time  the  governor  had 
convened  the  legislature  to  devise  measures  for  the  re- 
pression of  the  outbreak. 

Though  the  value  of  coloured  troops  had  been  shown 
both  in  this  affair  and  the  Maroon  war,  the  legislature 
poured  forth  the  most  prophetic  declarations  of  innumerable 
evils  to  come  if  the  British  government  persisted  in  its 
proposal  to  substitute,  even  in  part,  black  for  white  soldiers.* 

"^  Journals,  vol.  ix.  pp.  647,  648. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  239 

Instead  of  this  it  was  suggested  that  a  thousand  men  should 
be  raised  in  England  as  a  Jamaica  contingent,  and  that  as 
a  reward  lands  should  be  assigned  them  in  the  colony  at 
the  termination  of  seven  or  nine  years'  service.  After 
much  correspondence,  it  was  agreed  to  send  the  first  and 
fourth  battalions  of  the  60th  Begiment,  but  the  king  re- 
served the  right  of  changing  these  corps  at  pleasure,  and 
thus  prevented  the  plan  of  obtaining  a  kind  of  white  mili- 
tary militia  settled  among  the  hills  from  the  soldiers  whose 
term  had  expired. 

The  first  two  or  three  years'  residence  in  the  West  Indies 
is  the  most  fatal.  When  once  acclimatised,  the  risk  of 
perishing  from  the  yellow  fever  is  very  greatly  diminished. 
The  house  now  commenced  the  erection  of  barracks  in  more 
healthy  localities  than  had  hitherto  been  selected,  and  there 
was  at  length  accommodation  for  more  than  three  thousand 
men.  Great,  however,  was  the  indignation  when  a  negro 
regiment  from  St.  Domingo  was  landed,  nor  was  it  abated 
until  the  governor  directed  its  removal. 

Another  grievance  was  the  ari^ival  of  a  number  of 
planters  and  others  from  Hayti.  They  had  been  under 
British  protection  there,  but  after  the  evacuation  sought  it 
in  Jamaica.  Lord  Balcarras  did  all  in  his  power  to  awaken 
sympathy  on  behalf  of  these  people,  but  with  little  success. 
Their  presence,  and  especially  that  of  their  slaves,  was  de- 
clared to  be  dangerous.  The  latter  had  been  heard  to  sing 
Jacobin  songs,  and  were  not  respectful  to  white  people. 
Great  numbers  both  of  planters  and  slaves  were  sent  away, 
and  only  about  two  hundred  were  allowed  to  settle,  and 
from  these  some  of  the  most  respectable  of  the  families  in 
the  island  have  descended. 

The  alarm  felt  at  their  arrival  was  not  quite  without 
foundation.  Early  in  1797  a  letter  had  been  picked  up  in 
the  Kingston  streets,  detailing  a  plan  for  invading  Jamaica 
from  Hayti.^  Some  regarded  it  as  a  hoax,  some  as  a 
friendly  warning,  and  many,  as  the  name  of  Santhonax 
was  appended,  believed  it  to  be  a  genuine  production. 
But  not  long  after  more  authentic  information  came  to 
hand.  Mr.  Douglass,  the  British  civil  commissioner  in 
Hayti,  obtained  information  of  several  plots  to  stir  up 
rebellion  among  the  slaves  in  Jamaica,  and  so  prepare  the 

*  Journals,  vol.  x.  p.  820. 


240  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

way  for  a  French  invasion.  He  also  described  two  spies, 
then  in  the  island,  who  had  been  in  communication  with 
prisoners  of  war  and  others  in  Kingston. 

These  men,  Duboison  and  Sas  Portas,  were  seized,  with 
all  their  papers.  The  former  was  allowed  to  become 
king's  evidence,  but  it  was  evident  that  they  had  met  with 
little  success.  Sas  Portas  was  hung  on  the  parade,  the  day 
before  the  Christmas  of  1799,  as  a  spy.  Martial  law  was 
once  more  proclaimed,  but  a  box  of  arms,  hid  in  the 
sand  near  Fort  Charles,  and  another  box  of  cockades,  were 
the  only  other  evidences  of  conspiracy  to  be  found. 

The  country  soon  after  began  to  complain  of  having  too 
many  soldiers  to  support.  In  anticipation  of  increasing 
trouble  with  France,  the  garrison  had  been  raised  to  five 
thousand  men.  It  was  a  common  custom  to  cry  out  for 
soldiers,  and  then  to  complain  of  the  burden  of  support ; 
but  the  complaint  made,  liberality  was  usually  displayed 
in  framing  the  estimates.  The  colony  had  frequently  cause 
to  assert  that  barracks  and  other  works  undertaken  at  the 
request  of  one  general  officer  were  objected  to  by  another. 
A  military  control  department  was  greatly  needed.  This, 
indeed,  it  was  attempted  to  form,  so  far  as  related  to  the 
barrack  department;  but  as  the  commander-in-chief  was 
to  be  the  only  authority,  the  assembly  declined  to  place  the 
funds  it  raised  at  his  sole  disposal. 

While  the  support  of  troops  was  yet  a  question  of  con- 
troversy. Earl  Balcarras  left  the  island.  A  service  of 
plate  and  a  vote  of  thanks  was  the  closing  acknowledg- 
ment he  received  of  his  services  from  the  assembly. 

Major-General  George  Nugent  suisceeded  him.  He  appears 
to  have  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  with  discretion, 
though  by  no  means  so  popular  as  many  who  have 
occupied  the  same  position.  There  were  two  grievances, 
of  which,  to  some  extent,  he  shared  the  odium.  The 
dispute  with  the  British  government  relative  to  the  sup- 
port of  troops  still  continued,*  and  a  good  deal  of  ill- 
feeling  existed  with  regard  to  the  restrictions  of  trade  with 
the  United  States. 

The  danger  which  now  threatened  the  island,  allayed,  to 
some  extent,  the  anger  of  the  colonists.  On  the  1st  of 
April,  1805,  a  council  of  war  was  held  in  the  Court  House 

*  Journals,  vol.  xi.  pp.  185, 155, 280,  &o. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  241 

at  Kingston/  and  martial  law  proclaimed.  The  great 
fleet  which  Lord  Nelson  subsequently  destroyed  at  Tra- 
falgar had  arrived  in  West  Indian  waters.  Every  port 
was  put  in  the  best  possible  state  of  defence,  and  men 
waited  anxiously  for  tidings  of  its  destination.  They  were 
able  to  breathe  more  freely  when  a  British  squadron, 
with  troops,  anchored  at  Port  Royal;  and  shortly  after 
news  came  that  the  enemy,  having  ravaged  Dominica,  had 
sailed  for  Europe. 

In  nineteen  days  martial  law  ceased,  but  in  May  it  was 
renewed,  as  seventeen  French  ships  were  heard  of  at  Mar- 
tinique. But  Nelson  was  in  pursuit;  and  though  the 
coasts  and  the  windward  passage  were  long  harassed  by 
privateers,  it  was  felt  that  invasion  was  no  longer  very 
probable.  Nearly  five  thousand  regular  troops,  inclusive 
of  five  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  2nd  West  Indian  Regiment, 
were  in  the  island ;  and  General  Nugent  had  been  in- 
defatigable in  making  the  militia  a  more  reliable  body  of 
men  than  it  had  hitherto  been.  It  now  numbered  nearly  ten 
thousand  infantry,  beside  one  thousand  who  were  mounted. 

The  services  of  Nugent  as  a  military  leader  had  been 
gratefully  acknowledged,  and  it  seems  impossible  to  ac- 
count for  his  being  suffered  to  leave  the  island  without 
one   of  those  gifts  of  plate,  or  other  public   acknowledg- 
ment,  which  had  become    quite   a   Jamaica  institution, 
except  on  account  of  some  rancoroua  feeling  with  respect 
to  the  trade  with  America.     In  their  haste,  the  colonists 
seemed  to  forget  that  the  governor  could  only  obeyin  this 
matter  the  instructions  he  received  from  home.    He  had 
been  expressly  ordered  not  to  open    the   ports  for  the 
admission  of  American  vessels  except  in  cases  of  great 
necessitv 

For  some  years  past,  indeed  from  1793,  the  navigation 
laws  had  not  been  enforced  in  the  West  Indies,  Bntish 
shipping  had  been  so  greatly  in  demand  in  the  east  and 
elsewhere;  but  in  1804  British  BhipovmersbecMne  anions 
to  increase  their  trade  in  the  west,  and  caUed  the  attention 
of  the  government  to  the  irregularities  which  had  been 

*  In  1802  an  a^  had  passed  the  le^^^ne^^ve^XX* 
corporate  city.     The    royal    assent    1»»^*^«      The  Hon.  J   JannT^ 
election  took  place  on  thi  16th  of  November.  ^«^^^J^^a^8 
was  the  first  majror,  and  there  were  twelve  aiaernwu,  »uu  me  aam© 
number  of  conncillors. 

17 


242  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

permitted.  In  consequence  of  this,  a  proclamation  was 
issued  in  Jamaica  on  the  21st  of  November,  1804,  intimat- 
ing that,  at  the  expiration  of  six  months,  the  neutral 
trade  would  be  stopped.  The  governor  was  induced,  on 
account  of  the  existence  of  martial  law,  and  considerable 
scarcity  of  food,  to  extend  the  time  six  months  longer. 
But  the  last  session  over  which  he  presided  was  greatly 
occupied  by  disputes  on  the  subject.  He  had  received  a 
petition  from  about  fifty  Kingston  merchants,  in  which  it 
was  stated,  that  if  the  ports  were  definitely  shut  against 
the  United  States,  they  could  obtain  an  abimdance  of 
British  and  Canadian  provisions;  while  four  himdred 
very  respectable  inhabitants  had,  at  a  meeting  in  the  same 
city,  asserted  that  trade  with  the  United  States  was  indis- 
pensable. 

There  was  no  free  trade  principle  involved  in  all  this. 
The  greatest  colonial  advantages  were  sought.  The  King- 
ston merchants  had  little  cause  for  complaint,  though 
American  houses  derived  some  profit,  for  the  harbour  was 
filled  with  vessels  trading  with  South  American  ports. 
The  palmy  days  of  Port  Eoyal  were  altogether  surpassed 
by  the  more  legitimate  trade  of  its  younger  rival. 

In  the  heat  of  the  controversy  General  Nugent  departed, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Eyre  Coote.  He  brought  with 
him  a  certain  passport  to  popularity  in  being  able  to  an- 
nounce that,  in  consequence  of  a  bill  which  had  passed 
the  British  parliament,  the  restrictions  on  American  produce 
had  been  removed. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  also  on  another  account. 
Sir  J.  T.  Duckworth,  who  had  for  some  time  been  in  com- 
mand at  Port  Royal,  had  greatly  gladdened  the  hearts  of 
the  merchants  by  the  prizes  his  cruisers  were  continually 
bringing  in.  Early  in  1806  he  encountered  the  French 
fleet  under  Leisseques  near  Hayti,  captured  three  ships  of 
the  line,  and  drove  two  others  on  shore  :  only  two  frigates 
and  a  corvette  escaped.  One  of  the  captured  vessels  was 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  guns,  the  largest  vessel  then 
afloat. 

The  assembly  had  previously  given  Duckworth  a  thousand 
guineas,  to  buy  a  sword  ;  three  times  that  amount  was  now 
added  to  procure  a  serv-iee  of  plate  ;  but  the  vote  was  not 
unanimous :  thirteen  members  wished  an  address  to  the 


HISTORICAL   EYVNTS.  243 

king,  humbly  recommending  him  to  a  special  mark  of 
royal  favour.  This  would  have  been  better,  perhaps,  for  a 
colony  that  had  been  complaining  of  the  low  price  of  pro- 
duce, and  the  high  rates  of  marine  insurance,  &c. ;  and  so 
thought  many  outside  the  house.  In  Kingston,  a  public 
meeting  declared  that  such  a  wanton,  improvident  expen- 
diture of  public  money  had  deprived  the  house  of  assembly 
of  all  claim  to  public  confidence.  The  very  influential 
gentlemen  who  composed  this  meeting  might  have  used 
milder  language  than  they  did;  but  they  were  quite  as 
dignified  as  their  law-makers,  who  altogether  forgot  their 
position  as  representatives  of  the  people,  and  declared  it 
to  be  a  breach  of  privilege  for  "  any  set  of  individuals  to 
presume  to  censure  the  proceedings  of  the  house." 

Four  newspapers,  the  "Daily  Advertiser,"  the  "Chro- 
nicle," the  "Courant,"  and  the  "Royal  Gazette,"  had 
published  the  resolutions  passed  at  the  meeting;  and  all 
the  editors  were  arrested  for  invading  the  privileges  of  the 
house.  They  made  their  peace  with  the  irate  legislators, 
after  some  trouble.  The  two  Aikmans,  father  and  son,  had 
the  most  to  fear,  as  they  were  in  the  receipt  of  from  £7000 
to  £10,000  currency  per  annum  as  public  printers.  The 
fiather  pleaded  ignorance  of  publication,  the  son  innocence 
of  any  wrong  intent.  Strupar,  of  the  "Courant,"  and 
Lunan,  of  the  "Chronicle,"  said  they  would  have  been 
ruined  if  they  had  refused  publicity  to  the  proceedings  of 
such  an  influential  meeting.  So  Aikman  senior  was  let  off 
on  paying  his  fees,  and  the  rest  on  doing  the  same,  after  a 
severe  reprimand.  The  widow  of  a  former  proprietor  who 
owned  the  "  Advertiser  "  was  not  spared,  but  was  punished 
through  her  foreman,  who  was  only  liberated  on  paying  the 
heavy  fine  called  fees,  though  some  members  were  con- 
siderate enough  to  oppose  this.  Thus  ended  a  most 
remarkable  illustration  of  the  amount  of  civil  and  political 
freedom  enjoyed  in  those  days. 

Sir  Eyre  Coote  paid  great  attention  to  the  island  defences 
and  militia.  Three  general  officers  were  now  stationed  in 
the  colony.  £5000  per  annum  continued  to  be  spent  in 
each  county,  to  improve  the  roads.  Robertson's  maps  of 
the  counties,  at  a  cost  of  £7500,  had  some  time  before 
been  completed,  and  found  useful  for  military  and  civil 
purposes. 

17  * 


244  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

A  good  deal  of  alarm  was  felt  at  the  close  of  1806,  by 
the  discovery  of  a  conspiracy  in  St.  George's,  thongh  no 
evidence  on  record  justifies  the  assertions  made  by  some 
of  its  dangerous  character.  There  had  been,  as  usual,  a 
great  deal  of  talk  among  a  few  negroes  about  what  they 
meant  to  do,  but  no  violence  was  committed.  One  slave 
was  executed,  one  transported,  and  of  six  others  acquitted 
at  the  same  time,  the  governor  thought  it  well  to  order  the 
deportation  of  four. 

In  1808,  Sir  Eyre  Coote  left  the  colony,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Duke  of  Manchester,  who  arrived  in  Jamaica  early  in 
tL  year,  and  remained,  ^th  occasional  brief  visits  to  eW 
land,  for  twenty  years.  By  some  he  has  been  spoken  of  in 
terms  calculated  to  convey  the  idea  that  his  private  life  was 
as  correct  as  his  inherited  title  was  exalted.  Happily,  it  is 
only  with  his  public  career  that  the  historian  has  to  deal, 
and  it  may  suffice  to  express  regret  that  Jamaica  should 
have  been  so  long  exposed  to  the  pernicious  influence  of 
evil  example  in  high  places. 

Apart  &om  such  considerations,  the  appointment  was 
one  of  sound  policy.  The  planters  were  conciliated  by  the 
termination  of  that  somewhat  inexplicable  policy  which, 
for  eighteen  years,  ever  since  the  death  of  the  Earl  of 
Effingham,  had  committed  the  administration  of  affairs  to 
men  whose  actual  position  was  that  of  lieutenant-governor; 
while  the  slaves,  who  loved  high-sounding  titles,  were  awe- 
struck and  impressed  by  the  fact  that  they  had  a  real  duke 
to  govern  them.  Was  not  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  of  whom 
all  had  heard  when  he  visited  the  island,  the  king's  son  ? 
It  was  no  "  soldier  officer"  who  reigned  at  King's  House 
now  (they  were  familiar  with  such  persons),  but  one  of  far 
higher  rank,  and,  according  to  plantation  logic,  of  far 
greater  power. 

On  the  Ist  of  March,  1808,  the  slave  trade  was  at  an 
end.  It  may  excite  surprise  that  the  colonists,  who  in 
former  years  had  found  a  grievance  in  the  hordes  of 
savages  cast,  as  they  said,  upon  their  shores,  should  now 
complain  that  the  traffic  in  human  flesh  had  terminated. 
They  were  never  tired  of  reiterating  the  statement  that  not 
one  half  of  the  land  was  xmder  cultivation,  that  no  new 
lands  could  be  opened  up,  and  that,  in  many  cases,  existing 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  245 

estates  must  be  abandoned.  Happily,  the  rights  of  the 
human  race  have  a  higher  claim  than  the  interests  of 
individnals ;  and  so,  as  the  first  step  in  the  path  to  eman- 
cipation, the  trade  which  Spaniards  commenced  and  Eng- 
lishmen developed,  terminated,  so  far  as  the  latter  were 
concerned.  From  the  time  of  the  conquest,  in  1656,  to  1808, 
upwards  of  a  million  slaves  had  been  introduced  into  the 
colony.  823,827  negroes,  bond  and  free,  were  reported  as 
being  in  it  in  1808. 

The  cessation  of  the  trade  produced  little  apparent  eflfect 
on  the  minds  of  the  slaves.  To  the  planters  it  was  most 
undoubtedly  a  measure  of  safety,  even  though  it  involved  a 
prospect  of  pecuniary  loss.  Native  Coromantyns  could 
no  more  arrive,  to  foster  and  take  the  lead  in  rebellion,  and 
a  Creole  slave  was  confessedly  of  more  value  than  the  best 
of  Africans.  Long  after  it  was  common  to  say  that  the 
cessation  of  the  slave  trade  was  the  first  step  in  the  deca- 
dence of  the  island.  The  returns  of  involved  estates,  laid 
before  the  assembly  and  printed  in  its  journals  many 
years  before,  prove  the  fallacy  of  such  an  assertion. 

The  intense  dislike  displayed  by  the  planters  to  the 
introduction  of  black  soldiers  was,  a  few  months  after  the 
arrival  of  the  duke,  intensified  by  an  event  which  happened 
at  Fort  Augusta.  The  2nd  West  India  regiment  was  on 
parade  early  in  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  May,  and  about 
fifty  recruits,  Coromantyns  and  Chambas,  were  being 
drilled  within  the  fort.  Suddenly,  thirty-three  of  the  latter 
fixed  their  bayonets,  pushed  by  the  sergeant,  who  sought  to 
restrain  them,  and.  yelling  furiously,  rushed  out  of  the  fort, 
passed  the  flank  companies  on  parade,  and  made  for  the 
centre,  influenced  by  some  wild  idea  that,  if  they  killed  the 
officers,  they  would  then  be  able  to  return  to  their  own 
country.  Adjutant  Ellis  rode  towards  them,  and  was 
instantly  killed.  Major  Darley  followed  ;  but  seeing  some 
men  breaking  ranks  to  protect  him,  he  ordered  them  to  fall 
in,  and,  proceeding  alone,  was  also  murdered.  The  re- 
cruits now  formed  in  line,  but  the  old  soldiers  were  faithful, 
and  ammunition  being  supplied,  nearly  half  the  mutineers 
were  shot,  and  the  rest  made  prisoners.  Nine  of  these  were 
shot,  after  trial  by  court-martial,  and  seven  others,  whx) 
were  also  condemned,  were  subsequently  reprieved  and 
pardoned. 


246  HISTORY  OF   JAMAICA. 

A  few  other  men  accused  of  connivance  in  the  plot  were 
acquitted  for  want  of  evidence,  but  two  of  them  were  sent 
from  the  island.  The  whole  affair  was  one  of  those  out- 
breaks of  sudden  desperation  not  unfrequent  among  savages, 
and  the  older  soldiers  were  in  no  way  implicated.  With 
the  military  inquiry  the  affair  should  have  terminated,  but 
the  assembly  would  not  let  it  rest. 

The  Kingston  newspapers  told  how  the  soldiers  took  the 
bullets  from  the  cartridges  before  they  fired,  while  the  fact 
was  that  the  officers  had  difficulty  in  restraining  them  from 
putting  the  prisoners  to  death.  The  white  soldiers  in  the 
fort  were  not  even  called  out,  and  though,  as  a  military 
precaution,  their  numbers  were  increased  and  some  of  the 
blacks  removed,  inquiry  proved  that  no  real  necessity  for 
such  a  step  had  arisen. 

An  unfortunate  omission  on  the  part  of  the  surviving 
officers  gave  occasion  for  misrepresentation.  The  coroner, 
hearing  of  what  .had  occurred,  came  to  the  spot,  but  was 
not  asked  to  hold  an  inquest,  and  the  murdered  officers 
were  buried  with  military  honours  that  evening.  Exag- 
gerated accounts  of  what  had  really  happened  were  sent 
through  the  island ;  meetings  were  held  in  almost  every 
parish,  and  the  assembly  urged  to  make  a  full  inquiry.  Of 
late  the  smallest  outbreak  seemed  to  be  perversely  used  as 
an  opportunity  for  impressing  the  negroes  with  the  idea 
that  the  whites  were  in  mortal  fear  of  them. 

The  legislature  was  convened  as  usual  in  October,  and 
called  on  General  Carmichael,  who  was  in  command,  to 
furnish  copies  of  the  proceedings  at  the  court  -  martial. 
This  he  declined  to  do,  as  he  did  not  regard  himself  as 
responsible  in  matters  relative  to  the  military  except  to  his 
superior  officers.  He  also  issued  an  order  prohibitiug  those 
under  his  command  from  giving  evidence  touching  the 
government  or  discipline  of  his  Majesty's  forces.* 

The  assembly,  according  to  custom,  passed  a  string  of 
resolutions,  and  then  summoned  the  general  to  appear 
before  them.  He  at  once  wrote  to  the  duke,  and  said  that, 
without  any  disrespect  to  the  assembly,  he  really  could  not 
obey  the  summons  without  orders  from  the  commander-in- 
chief.  The  duke  at  once  sent  the  letter  to  the  house,  with 
an  expression  of  general  approval  in  the  course  adopted  by 

*  Joui'uals,  vol.  xii.  p.  58. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  247 

the  general.  The  message  was  immediately  voted  a  breach 
of  privilege,  and  the  house  declined  to  do  further  business 
till  reparation  was  made.  A  prorogation  immediately  fol- 
lowed, the  duke  reminding  the  house  that  the  enforcement 
of  their  summons  would  **tend  in  fact  to  devolve  the  com- 
mand of  any  British  army  in  the  island  upon  that  house." 
This  was  on  the  1st  of  December.  Next  April,  when  the 
duke  again  convened  the  legislative  bodies,  he  informed  the 
assembly  that  his  majesty  had  given  the  requisite  permis- 
sion, and  not  only  would  the  minutes  of  the  court-martial 
be  laid  before  them,  but  the  officers  had  been  directed  to 
obey  their  summons.  Next  day  the  general  appeared  in 
custody  of  the  serjeant-at-arms,  and  assured  the  house 
that  his  former  refusal  to  appear  before  them  had  simply 
been  induced  by  his  high  sense  of  military  authority,  and 
that  now,  by  his  sovereign's  command,  he  was  ready  to  attend 
them.  The  condescension  of  the  king,  the  conciliatory 
speech  of  the  governor,  and  the  stately  courtesy  of  the 
general,  were  ill  repaid  by  the  assembly,  who  complained, 
in  reply  to  the  opening  speech,  that  what  they  demanded 
as  a  right  was  only  conceded  as  a  favour.  They  then  spent 
much  time  in  an  inquiry  which  elicited  the  facts  above 
stated.  It  appeared  afterwards  that  the  permission  for 
Carmichael  to  appear  was  only  granted  in  the  royal  council 
in  deference  to  the  opinion  of  the  lord  chancellor. 

The  assembly  had  hardly  disposed  of  this  affair  when 
another  alarming  discovery  was  made.  A  few  desperate 
men  had  formed  a  design  of  setting  fire  to  Kingston  in 
several  places,  and  in  the  confusion  they  proposed  to  mur- 
der all  the  white  inhabitants.  It  is  ^uite  clear  that  no 
extensive  organization  existed,  and  rehance  was  placed  on 
the  co-operation  of  the  slaves  when  the  mischief  began. 
But  slaves  do  not  co-operate ;  they  look  on,  for  the  most 
part,  as  the  history  of  Jamaica  abundantly  proves.  In  all 
parts  of  the  island  there  had  been  outbreaks,  but  alwayB 
local,  and  while  the  great  body  of  slaves  were  waiting  to  see 
what  success  the  actual  rebels  met  with,  they  were  crushed 
by  superior  numbers,  and  the  onlookers  bent  their  necks 
once  more  to  the  yoke.  A  general  rising  would  long  before 
have  made  Jamaica  a  second  Hayti.  Burgess,  a  discharged 
soldier  of  the  2nd  West  India  Regiment,  who  exposed  the 
plot,  was  probably  the  biggest  rascal  of  the  lot.     He  saved 


248  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

his  life,  which  had  never  been  reputable,  but  two  others 
were  hanged  and  several  transported. 

The  city  must  have  been  sadly  deficient  in  all  proper 
police  supervision  when  twenty  or  thirty  so-called  negro 
dukes,  generals,  &c.,  could  meet  in  the  suburbs  to  discuss 
their  plans,  and  practise  pistol-shooting  at  trees  every  Sun- 
day afternoon.*  The  assembly,  in  a  very  unconstitutional 
manner,  attempted  to  send  away  from  the  colony  between 
twenty  and  thirty  slaves  who  had  been  arrested,  but  against 
whom  there  was  no  evidence,  offering  to  indemnify  their 
owners.  The  council  most  properly  rejected  two  bills  passed 
for  this  purpose,  when  the  assembly  resorted  to  the  old 
trick  of  inserting  a  grant  for  the  money  required  in  the 
poll-tax  bill,  the  rejection  of  which  would  have  left  the 
military  without  support,  and  thrown  the  finances  of  the 
colony  into  confusion. 

Legislative  proceedings  at  this  time  were  very  pitiable. 
The  duke,  in  common  with  all  colonial  governors,  had  re- 
ceived instructions  not  to  accede  to  any  law  affecting  reli- 
gion, unless  it  contained  a  clause  suspending  its  operation 
until  his  majesty's  pleasure  was  known.  It  was  explained 
to  the  house  that  this  in  no  way  affected  the  right  of  debate, 
but  the  string  of  resolutions  could  not  be  omitted ;  and  it 
was  most  intemperately  resolved  that  no  supplies  should  be 
voted  for  the  mUitary  after  the  first  of  May  then  following, 
unless  the  instructions  were  revoked.  Next  day,  the  14th 
of  December,  1809,  the  duke  dissolved  the  house,  with  a 
well-merited  rebuke. 

These  infatuated  legislators  forgot  that  they  trembled 
when  half  a  dozen  slaves  broke  out  in  rebellion,  though 
they  talked  so  glibly  of  not  providing  for  the  military.  The 
new  assembly,  to  some  extent,  sustained  the  action  taken 
by  their  predecessors,  for  they  did  not  provide  for  the 
inilitary  from  May  to  the  end  of  November,  when  they 
met.  Conciliation  was  so  far  thrown  away,  for  they 
had  been  assured  by  the  governor,  in  his  opening  speech, 
that  the  king  did  not  desire  to  restrict  any  privileges  they 
possessed  as  one  branch  of  the  legislature,  though  he  could 
not  relinquish  his  equally  undoubted  right  to  give  instruc- 
tions to  the  governor,  as  the  branch  of  the  legislature  by 
which  he  was  represented.     The  house  was  also  made  to 

*  Journals,  vol.  xii.  pp.  224-230,  284,  &c. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  249 

nnderstand  that  the  promnlgation  of  the  instmctions  had 
been  wholly  onanthorised,  and  was  neither  sanctioned 
or  approved  by  his  majesty's  government.* 

The  island  was  shortly  after  left  for  some  time  to  the 
care  of  Lientenant-General  Morison,  the  Duke  of  Man- 
chester having  visited  England  during  1811,  where  he 
remained  until  1813.  Morison  distinguished  himself  in 
a  manner  hardly  to  have  been  expected  in  a  military  man. 
He  made  an  admirable  chancellor,  and  cleared  off  the 
arrears  of  business  in  the  court  in  a  most  remarkable  and 
satisfactory  manner.! 

In  retracing  the  events  of  this  period  one  is  impressed 
with  the  long  series  of  calamities  which  followed  in  quick 
succession.  In  1808,  Falmouth  was  only  saved  from 
destruction  by  fire  through  the  efforts  of  the  officers  and 
crew  of  H.M.  ship  Favourite,  then  lying  in  the  harbour. 
The  consequences  were  very  lamentable.  The  exertions 
put  forth  by  these  men  resulted  in  fever ;  three  or  four 
died  day  after  day,  and  less  than  a  fourth  were  at  last 
left  to  bring  the  ship  round  to  Port  Royal,  where  she  was 
brought  to  anchor,  and  her  sails  furled  by  men  sent  from 
other  vessels.  Two  actions  at  law,  for  having  impressed 
the  captain  of  a  drogger,  I  who  never  mentioned  his  position, 
was  the  reward  of  the  quiet  heroisni  of  the  commander, 
who,  in  his  plague  ship,  had  escorted  a  fleet  to  Negril  Bay, 
and  chased  off  five  privateers  hovering  about  the  coast. § 
Montego  Bay  had  another  narrow  escape  from  destruction ; 
thirty-five  of  the  best  houses  and  wharfs  were  burnt  on  the 
1st  of  April,  1812.  There  were  no  proper  police  arrange- 
ments, and  no  ready  access  to  water ;  plunder  was  almost 
unrestrained ;  and  five  more  incendiary  fires  followed  in 
two  months,  prompted  by  the  desire  to  secure  other  oppor- 
tunities for  theft. 

•;  A  storm,  later  in  the  year,||  did  great  damage  to  houses, 
and  destroyed  immense  quantities  of  growing  provisions, 
a  calamity  more  serious  on  account  of  the  war  with  the 
United  States  preventing  importations  from  that  quarter. 
Within  a  month  after  the  storm,  H  four  separate  shocks  of 

*  Letter  of  Lord  Liverpool ;  **  Votes  of  Assembly,"  1881-82,  pp. 
29-81.  I  Journals,  vol.  xii.  p.  485.  |  Or  coasting  vessel. 

§  "  Votes  of  Assembly  "  for  1880,  pp.  67,  68,  77-180. 
II  October  12, 1812.  IT  November  11, 1812. 


250  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

earthquake  were  felt.  The  first  was  at  twenty  minutes 
past  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  very  anxiously  the 
inhabitants  waited  for  daylight.  It  came,  but  only  to 
augment  the  alarm,  for  before  six  o'clock  there  were 
three  other  shocks  in  quick  succession.  Many  buildings 
were  greatly  injured,  some  thrown  down.  The  cause  was  a 
terrible  volcanic  eruption  on  the  Spanish  main  land ;  hence 
Jamaica  only  felt  a  small  portion  of  its  violence,  and  the 
vast  tidal  wave  was  almost  spent  before  it  rolled  upon 
its  shores.  Next  year  there  was  another  and  more  violent 
storm.* 

Port  Royal  was  once  more  nearly  destroyed,  t  and  only 
by  blowing  up  numbers  of  houses  could  the  flames  be 
arrested  before  they  reached  the  dockyard.  Sailors  and 
soldiers  exerted  themselves  nobly ;  and  when  the  homeless 
people  could  be  gathered  together,  tents  were  prepared  till 
temporary  houses  were  ready.  £11,000  was  soon  con- 
tributed for  their  relief  in  Kingston,  to  which  the  assembly 
added  £5000  more.  In  this  the  distress  was  local;  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  island  suffered  next.  J  A  fearful  hur- 
ricane and  an  unprecedented  deluge  of  rain  almost  changed 
the  aspect  of  the  parishes  of  St.  David's  and  St.  George's. 
The  rivers  rose  to  a  height  before  unknown ;  not  a  planta- 
tion near  the  banks  of  the  Yallahs  escaped  injury ;  fourteen 
miles  of  road  were  entirely  washed  away,  while  the  land- 
slips on  the  mountain  sides  swept  coffee  fields  and  ex- 
tensive provision  grounds  into  the  ravines  below.  In  some 
places  not  a  quarter  of  the  coffee  crop  remained,  and  the 
works  were  so  injured  that  what  remained  could  not  be 
prepared.  At  Annotto  Bay  many  vessels  were  stranded, 
while  in  St.  George's  cane  fields  were  rooted  up,  and  in 
some  places  covered  with  the  debris  left  by  the  swollen  rivers 
or  washed  from  the  hills. 

Three  years  later  the  county  of  Cornwall  suffered,  but 
not  so  severely.  §  The  storms  were  experienced  during 
three  days.  Pubhc  and  private  buildings  were  destroyed ; 
great  injury  was  done  to  provision  grounds  ;  and  at  Lucea 
the  troops  had  to  be  removed  from  their  barracks  to  the 
church  for  safety. 

The  legislative  doings  of  1814  deserve  notice  on  account 

*  August  1, 1813.     t  July  13,  1815.      J  October  18  and  19,  1815. 

§  November  17,  19,  and  20,  1818. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  251 

of  a  rigid  and  greatly  needed  investigation  into  the  working 
of  what  were  known  as  patent  offices.  The  inquiry  had 
indeed  begun  some  years  before,  with  that  of  the  provost- 
marshal,*  but  reform  was  prevented  by  instructions  from 
home,  where  Lord  BraybrooKe,  the  patentee,  had  influential 
friends.  The  office  of  the  registrar  of  chancery  and  of  the 
island  secretary  now  came  under  review.  They  were  both 
held  by  gentlemen  in  England,  one  of  whom  obtained  his 
nomination  while  yet  a  minor.  They  stipulated  with 
individuals  to  act  as  their  deputies,  and  received  from 
them  a  certain  sum  :  all  that  could  be  obtained  beyond  this 
the  deputy  was  to  regard  as  his  own. 

The  inquiry  disclosed  the  fact  that  not  only  were  exor- 
bitant and  illegal  fees  exacted,  amounting  to  several 
thousand  pounds  a  year,  but  that  this  princely  recompense 
did  not  preserve  from  neglect  important  documents  upon 
which  the  security  of  property  depended.  While  these 
Augean  stables  were  being  partially  cleansed,  the  post- 
office  received  attention.  The  revenue  of  this  department 
was  considerable;  in  1814  it  amounted  to  nearly  £8000, 
and  the  outlay  was  little  over  j£5000.  But  all  classes  of 
public  officials  had  pickings,  and  in  this  department  .there 
was  a  surcharge  of  7}  to  10  per  cent,  on  the  postage  of  all 
English  letters. 

For  some  years  past  changes  had  been  gradually  made 
in  the  administration  of  justice.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the 
colony,  judicial  positions,  not  excepting  that  of  chief  justice, 
were  held  by  gentlemen  who  had  received  no  special  legal 
training,  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  many  really  adorned 
the  bench  by  their  impartial  and  sound  judgments.  As 
colonial  affairs  became  more  complicated,  legal  training 
was  thought  desirable,  and  in  1804  the  salary  of  the  chief 
justice  was  increased  to  £2000  per  annum,  and  only  barris- 
ters were  in  future  to  be  appointed.  The  assistant  judges 
who  were  not  barristers  were  thus  shut  out  from  the  pros- 
pect of  promotion,  and  became  negligent  in  their  attendance, 
to  the  great  inconvenience  of  suitors.  It  became  necessary 
in  1810  to  remedy  this  by  the  appointment  of  barristers  to 
the  lower  office,  and  thus  a  more  elaborate  judicial  system 
was  provided.t 

*  Journals,  vol  lii.  pp.  187-218. 

+  Ibid.,  vol.  xii.  pp.  284,  286  ;  Bridges*  "Annals,"  vol.  ii.  p.  802. 


252  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Still  there  were  complaints,  and  in  1815  one  of  those 
painful  circumstances  happened  which,  though  at  times 
unavoidable,  cannot  fail  to  occasion  great  regret.  For 
many  years  much  dissatisfaction  had  been  expressed  with 
the  decisions  of  the  Chief  Justice  Lewis.  A  protracted 
investigation,  prompted  by  Mr.  Stewart,  one  of  the  assistant 
judges,  was  instituted  in  the  assembly,  and  some  grave 
charges  were  clearly  proved.  Disappointed  suitors  were 
not  likely  to  allow  such  an  opportunity  to  pass  of  pouring 
forth  their  complaints.  But  all  such  cases  were  carefully 
sifted,  and  the  assembly,  in  an  address  to  the  prince  regent, 
alluded  only  to  flagrant  instances  of  corruption  or  incom- 
petence, and  on  such  grounds  sought  the  removal  of  the 
offender  from  office.* 

Early  next  session  a  message  was  sent  to  the  assembly 
that  the  chief  justice  was  anxious  to  retire  from  office  on 
account  of  age  and  infirmity,  and  it  was  agreed  to  allow 
him  a  retiring  pension  of  dElOOO  per  annum.  However 
just  and  proper  the  action  of  the  assembly  may  have  been 
in  the  conduct  of  this  business,  it  was  followed  by  evil  con- 
sequences. Against  both  of  the  next  holders  of  the  office 
accusations  were  made  by  parties  who  thought  themselves 
aggrieved;  nor  was  the  assembly  sufficiently  careful  to 
avoid  unnecessary  interference  with  important  judicial 
functions.  On  the  17th  of  May,  1816,  the  assembly  was 
dismissed  by  proclamation.  It  was  remarkable  as  being  the 
only  one  dissolved  after  having  fulfilled  its  full  term  of 
seven  years  during  the  administration  of  the  governor  who 
convened  it. 

Its  last  sitting  had  been  somewhat  tumultuous,  owing 
to  the  indignation  and  wrath  with  which  the  proposal  of 
Mr.  Wilberforce  to  provide  for  the  registration  of  slaves  had 
been  received.  In  introducing  this  measure  to  the  British 
parliament,  it  was  stated  that  many  slaves  were  clandes- 
tinely imported  to  British  colonies,  or  removed  from  one 
colony  to  another ;  and  also  that  many  free  people,  negroes, 
mulattoes,  and  mustees,  were  illegally  held  in  bondage.  To 
prevent  this  it  was  proposed  to  appoint  registrars,  to  be 
paid  by  the  colonies,  and  from  fees  levied  on  the  proprietors. 

The  treaty  obligations  upon  which  England  had  entered 
with  other  powers  demanded  the  most  scrupulous  activity 

*  JoarualB,  vol.  xii.  p.  831. 


HISTOBIOAL  EYBNTS.  253 

on  her  part  to  prevent  illicit  importations  by  her  own  sub- 
jects,  but  in  Jamaica  the  proposal  was  only  regarded  as  it 
affected  its  leading  inhabitants.  It  was  overlooked  that  a 
most  influential  committee  of  the  house  of  assembly  had 
said,  when  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  was  under  dis- 
cussion, that  the  coasts  of  the  island  presented  splendid 
facilities  for  smuggling  cargoes  of  slaves,  and  that  pre- 
vention would  be  impossible.  Now  it  was  maintained  that 
no  precautions  were  required,  as  no  clandestine  trade  had 
been  attempted  beyond  one  single  importation  of  five 
slaves,  and  that  if  necessary  the  legislature  of  Jamaica 
would  pass  the  requisite  laws  to  prevent  it.  It  was  esti- 
mated that  the  cost  of  registration  would  be  about  £40,000, 
a  tax  all  the  more  objectionable,  as  it  would  for  the  most 
part  swell  the  fees  of  the  island  secretary's  office,  the 
extravagance  and  bad  management  of  which  was  already  a 
source  of  complaint. 

When  the  newly-elected  assembler  met  in  October,  1816, 
the  Duke  of  Manchester  informed  it  that  immediate  action 
on  the  registration  bill  had  been  suspended  by  the  imperial 
government,  in  the  hope  that  the  colonial  legislatures  were 
prepared  to  pass  the  necessary  laws.  Great  care  was  taken 
to  assure  the  assembly  that  the  measure  was  not  proposed 
as  a  step  towards  emancipation,  or  from  an  idea  that  slaves 
had  been  clandestinely  imported ;  though  it  was  pointed 
out  that  a  time  of  peace  afforded  greater  facilities  for  such 
a  trade  than  one  of  war.  Wearisome  debates  followed,  and 
it  was  only  through  the  personal  influence  of  the  duke  that 
action  on  the  part  of  the  imperial  government  was  pre- 
vented. Two  bills  were  passed  to  effect  the  desired  regis- 
tration, and  to  improve  the  condition  of  slaves ;  and  next 
session  the  special  approval  of  the  prince  regent  was  com- 
municated to  the  legislature.* 

When  the  registration  was  effected,  it  was  ascertained 
that  there  was  a  far  greater  number  of  slaves  in  the  island 
than  had  been  supposed.  Hitherto  returns  had  only  been 
given  in  of  those  for  whom  the  poll-tax  was  paid ;  but  of 
slaves  in  the  possession  of  small  proprietors  who  paid  no 
tax,  /'eturns  were  never  made.  This  simple  fact  disposes 
of  the  assertion  once  made,  that  the  discrepancy  of  num- 
bers between  the  old  poll-tax  and  the  registration  lists, 

*  Jotumals,  vol.  xiii. 


254  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

indicated  clandestine  importations.  Had  such  importations 
taken  place,  the  discrepancy  would  of  course  have  been 
more  marked  in  the  great  sugar  parishes  :  the  very  reverse 
was  the  case. 

In  Trelawny,  a  parish  chiefly  occupied  by  large  sugar 
planters,  27,739  slaves  were  on  the  poll-tax  returns, 
and  but  28,497  were  registered ;  but  in  Kingston,  where 
few  slaves  were  held  by  one  individual,  and  concealment  of 
any  kind  was  less  easy,  a  little  over  eight  thousand  had 
been  returned  as  liable  to  tax,  but  very  nearly  eighteen 
thousand  were  registered.  The  total  number  registered  in 
1817  was  845,252.  The  great  preponderance  in  the  num- 
ber of  males  as  compared  with  females  in  the  days  of  the 
slave  trade  had  been  corrected  by  births :  there  were  now 
seventy-four  females  more  than  males. 

Two  years  later,  2555  runaway  slaves  were  reported  to 
be  at  large.  Some  of  these  managed  to  pass  as  free  in 
places  distant  from  those  they  had  lived  in  as  slaves;  others 
were  secreted  in  the  woods,  and  not  a  few  united  together 
and  formed  dangerous  confederacies.  A  considerable  num- 
ber of  these  had  located  themselves  in  a  wild  range  of 
mountainous  land  known  as  the  Healthshire  Hills,  situated 
between  Kingston  Harbour  and  Old  Harbour  Bay.  Here 
they  had  built  little  villages,  whence  they  now  and  then 
descended  into  the  plains  to  steal  cattle  and  whatever  else 
came  handy.  In  August,  1819,  Major-General  Marshall, 
a  militia  officer,  was  instructed  to  take  a  party  of  Maroons 
and  hunt  out  these  people.  No  complaint  was  ever  made 
of  want  of  zeal  or  discretion  in  the  way  this  duty  was  per- 
formed, though  Scipio  and  his  gang,  a  most  notorious  lot 
of  banditti,  escaped ;  and  to  secure  them,  Marshall,  on  his 
own  responsibility,  had  called  out  a  party  of  the  militia. 

As  a  rule  the  country  was  profoundly  grateful  to  those  who 
signalised  themselves  in  crushing  rebellion  or  catching 
runaways ;  but  Marshall's  bill  for  £3000,  for  clearing  away 
several  bands,  was  voted  too  much.  It  is  a  pity  that  all 
accounts  for  public  services  were  not  as  closely  scrutinised. 
There  was  £640  to  0.  D.  Pennington,  for  rations ;  £70  to 
a  copying  clerk ;  Jarge  sums  for  a  quarter-master;  rent  for 
head-quarters  and  temporary  prison,  &c.  0.  D.  Pennington, 
it  turned  out,  was  a  brown  woman,  holding,  according  to 
Jamaica  parlance  in  those  days,  the  position  of  housekeeper 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  255 

to  Marshall.  The  copying  clerk  was  their  daughter,  and  the 
quarter-master  their  son.  The  head-quarters  was  the  house 
in  which  they  lived,  and  the  prisons  the  cellars  beneath  it. 

The  assembly,  it  will  be  seen,  was  looking  more  closely 
than  usual  into  the  items  of  public  expenditure.  The  pub- 
lic printing  was  complained  of  as  too  expensive.  Thirteen 
volumes  of  the  **  Journals  of  the  Assembly,"  from  its  com- 
mencement, had  been  reprinted  at  a  cost  of  nearly  £8000 
each !  Yet  when  the  second  volume  was  again  out  of 
print,  it  was  reprinted  in  London  at  a  fourth  of  the  price. 
Other  printing  cost  from  £3000  to  £6000  a  year.* 

The  year  1820  had  almost  expired  when  an  accident,  that 
nearly  proved  fatal,  befel  the  Duke  of  Manchester.  He  was 
thrown  from  his  carriage  and  trampled  under  the  feet  of 
the  horses,  which  had  become  unmanageable.  For  a  time 
recovery  seemed  hopeless ;  the  skull  was  injured  so 
seriously  that  a  fragment  of  it  was  picked  up  from  among 
the  dust  on  the  road.  Yet  on  the  8th  of  January  the 
duke  again  met  the  house,  and  prorogued  them  with  a  few 
sentences,  in  which  he  expressed  his  sense  of  the  wide- 
spread sympathy  he  had  received.  Five  medical  gentlemen 
who  attended  him  each  received  a  hundred  pounds  from 
the  public  funds,  in  acknowledgment  of  their  undoubted 
skill.  Soon  after  the  duke  left  the  colony  for  a  season, 
and  Major-General  Conran  acted  as  lieutenant-governor. 

This  gentleman  was  very  unlike  the  duke  in  his  mode  of 
transacting  public  business,  and  consequently  had  not  been 
long  in  office  before  he  was  beset  by  opponents,  to  whom 
his  stately  courtesy  and  military  bearing  was  not  so  agree- 
able as  the  ease  and  indulgence  of  his  chief.  He  did  not 
fail  to  secure  the  approval  of  his  government  and  the 
colonelcy  of  a  regiment  when  he  retired  from  the  colony. 

That  he  was  an  impartial,  upright  ruler,  was  proved  by 
an  event  which  happened  during  his  administration.  On 
the  north  side  of  the  island  a  slave  had  some  time  before 
been  tried  for  an  offence  for  which  the  penalty  of  death 
might  have  been  inflicted.  His  life  was  spared,  but  he 
was  transported  from  the  colony.  In  a  short  time  he 
returned,  and  being  brought  before  three  magistrates  in 
Hanover,  was  condemned  and  executed,  in  utter  disregard 
of  a  law  lately  passed,  which  required  a  jury  of  twelve 

*  Journals,  vol.  xiii.  p.  170,  &c. 


256  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

persons  before  a  capital  sentence  could  be  pronounced. 
The  lieutenant-governor  immediately  deprived  the  magis- 
trates of  their  appointment,  and  also  the  custos  of  the 
parish,  and  directed  the  attorney-general  to  prosecute  them 
for  wilful  murder.  The  grand  jury  threw  out  the  bill  as 
it  affected  the  custos  and  one  of  the  magistrates;  the 
other  two,  though  tried,  were  acquitted.  All  appeals  to 
restore  them  to  ofl&ce  were  sternly  rejected;  but  the  custos, 
the  Honourable  B.  0.  Yassall,  as  a  connection  of  Lord 
Holland,  had  sufficient  influence  with  the  colonial  office  to 
secure  his  restoration  in  a  year  after  the  event.  It  was 
pleaded  that  he  was  absent  from  the  parish  when  the 
event  took  place.  It  is  clear  Gonran  did  not  hold  him 
blameless. 

The  inquiries  into  the  expense  and  management  of  the 
public  offices  were  greatly  needed,  and  it  is  therefore  the 
more  to  be  deplored  that  the  assembly  did  not  confine  itself 
to  constitutional  modes  of  reform.  The  fees  exacted  by  the 
customs  were  exorbitant ;  but  the  council,  as  a  very  con- 
servative body,  was  not  inclined  to  sanction  any  alteration 
in  the  existing  laws.  The  thing  was  annoying,  but  the 
assembly  had  no  patience,  and  instead  of  waiting  for 
another  opportunity  of  securing  the  passage  of  a  law  in 
the  usual  mode,  had  recourse,  as  of  old,  to  the  poll- 
tax  bill.  By  inserting  clauses  in  this,  effecting  the  desired 
changes,  it  was  hoped  to  coerce  the  council,  and  obtain  the 
desired  end.  This  time  the  council  was  firm,  and  deter- 
mined to  throw  upon  the  lower  chamber  the  responsibility 
of  the  loss  of  revenue.  They  protested  against  the  in- 
sertion of  matter  in  a  money  bill  entirely  opposed  to  its 
character,  and  rejected  it.  Nearly  £200,000  of  revenue 
was  thus  in  danger  of  being  lost,  for  the  assembly  sent 
a  message  to  the  Ueutenant-govemor  and  asked  for  a 
recess. 

If  Conran  longed  for  a  little  of  that  despotic  power  he 
had  seen  so  much  of  in  his  East  Indian  campaigns,  he 
had  such  command  over  himself  as  not  to  display  his 
feelings.  He  blandly  prorogued  the  house  until  the  next  day, 
then  made  a  wonderfully  conciliatory  speech,  and  left  the 
members  to  their  devices.  The  first  step  was  obvious, 
resolutions  vindicating  their  conduct  and  asserting  their 
rights  were  passed,  happily  only  three  in  number.  They  then 


mSTOBICAL  EVENTS.  257 

passed  the  bill  in    its  original  form,   and  the  council, 
choosing  the  least  of  two  evils,  thought  it  best  to  agree  to  it. 

In  December,  1822,  the  Duke  of  Manchester  once  more 
returned  to  the  colony,  and  was  welcomed  with  the  warm 
congratulations  of  the  legislative  bodies.  Times  of  great 
excitement  soon  followed ;  the  total  abolition  of  slavery 
had  been  proposed  by  certain  influential  parties,  and  the 
sugar  colonies  took  the  alarm.  When,  thirty  years  before, 
the  agitation  against  the  slave  trade  commenced,  the 
leaders  of  that  movement  asserted  that  they  did  not  con- 
template the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  already  in  the 
colonies.  They  were  honest  in  their  declaration,  but  some 
of  the  planters  shrewdly  suspected  that  if  the  public  voice 
declared  the  trade  in  slaves  to  be  improper,  it  would  soon 
be  impossible  to  justify  the  continuance  of  slavery.  Never- 
theless, fifteen  years  passed  without  any  very  decided 
struggle  for  abolition. 

Wilberforce,  shortly  before  he  retired  from  public  life, 
expressed  his  conviction  that  emancipation  would  be  found 
a  necessity,  inasmuch  as  no  man  could  righteously  hold 
property  in  his  fellow  man.  To  his  friend  Buxton  he 
resigned  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  work.  On  the 
15th  of  May,  1823,  the  crusade  commenced.  Mr.  Fowell 
Buxton  rose  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Commons  and 
moved  the  following  resolution  :  **  That  the  state  of  slavery 
is  repugnant  to  the  principles  of  the  British  constitution 
and  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  that  it  ought  to  be 
gradually  abohshed  throughout  the  British  colonies  with 
as  much  expedition  as  may  be  found  consistent  with  a 
due  regard  to  the  well-being  of  the  parties  concerned." 

It  is  clear,  from  the  terms  of  this  motion,  that  Mr. 
Buxton  had  no  idea  that  the  cause  he  espoused  would 
so  speedily  triumph.  Had  his  plan  been  accepted  and 
adhered  to,  some  would  be  in  slavery  at  this  hour ;  for, 
fearing  to  injure  the  cause  he  had  at  heart  by  asking  too 
much,  he  only  proposed  the  emancipation  of  all  children 
bom  after  a  given  day,  and  the  amelioration  of  those  who 
would  still  remain  in  bondage. 

Mr.  Canning  met  this  motion  by  another,  to  the  effect, 
**  That  it  is  expedient  to  adopt  effectual  and  decisive 
measures  for  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  slave  popu- 
lation in  his  Majesty's  colonies.     That  through  a  deter- 

18 


258  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

mined  and  persevering,  but  at  the  same  time  judicious  and 
temperate  enforcement  of  such  measures,  this  house  looks 
forward  to  progressive  improvements  in  the  character  of 
the  slave  population,  such  as  may  prepare  them  for  a 
participation  m  those  civil  rights  and  privileges  which  are 
enjoyed  by  other  classes  of  his  majesty's  subjects. 

''That  this  house  is  anxious  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  purpose  at  the  earliest  period  that  shall  be  compatible 
with  the  well-being  of  the  slaves  themselves,  with  the 
safety  of  the  colonies,  and  with  a  fair  and  equitable  con- 
sideration of  the  interests  of  private  property."  * 

In  advocating  these  resolutions,  Mr.  Canning  pointed 
out  that  if  slavery  was  all  that  Mr.  Buxton  had  described, 
it  ought  to  be  dealt  with  by  a  demand  for  immediate 
abolition.  But  it  had  existed  for  ages,  and  he  could  not 
see  his  way  clear  to  its  abolition  within  any  period  of  time 
which  could  be  specified;  ameliorating  measures  alone 
were  practicable.  These  measures  included  the  discon- 
tinuance of  Sunday  markets,  the  cessation  of  the  practice 
of  carrying  a  whip  in  the  field,  and  the  exemption  of 
women  from  corporal  punishment  under  any  circumstances 
whatever. 

On  the  24th  of  May  a  circular  was  issued  from  the 
colonial  office,  calling  upon  West  Indian  governors  to  carry 
into  effect  the  resolutions  agreed  to  in  parliament,  and 
intimating  the  particulars  in  which  reform  was  expected. 
The  dire  wrath  of  Achilles,  as  pourtrayed  by  Homer,  was 
hardly  so  terrible  as  that  of  the  Jamaica  assembly  when 
these  things  were  officially  brought  to  their  notice.  The 
duke  was  more  than  usually  bland  and  conciliatory  when, 
in  October,  he  expressed  his  conviction  that  the  same 
liberality  of  sentiment  hitherto  displayed  by  the  assembly, 
in  securing  so  many  comforts  for  the  slaves,  would  now 
still  more  fully  be  shown  in  securing  other  ameliorations. 
The  house,  in  their  address,  echoed  the  sentences  of  the 
duke,  and  then  prepared  for  battle. 

When  the  proceedings  in  the  House  of  Commons  had 
been  referred  to  a  committee,  an  extraordinary  course  was 
adopted.  Surprise  and  regret  were  expressed  that  his 
Majesty*s  ministers  had  ''  sanctioned  the  principles  laid 
down  by  enemies  in  the  mother  country,"  and  had  pledged 

*  **  Bandinel  on  Slave  Trade,"  p.  19a 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  259 

themselves  to  measures  which  tended  ultimately  to  abo- 
lition, without  any  pledge  to  compensate  slaveholders  for 
the  losses  they  would  sustain.  They  refused  to  revise  the 
slave  code,  as  it  was  **  as  complete  in  all  its  enactment s, 
as  the  nature  of  circumstances  would  admit,  to  render  the 
slave  population  as  happy  and  comfortable,  in  every 
respect,  as  the  labouring  class  in  any  part  of  the  world." 

In  their  address  to  the  king,  they  said  it  was  altogether 
a  false  assumption  that  the  slaves  were  either  ill  treated 
or  unhappy.  They  recapitulated  their  own  sufferings,  as 
planters,  in  consequence  of  English  wars  and  war  duties ; 
said  they  had  never  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
English  parliament,  and  would  not  submit  to  the  degra- 
dation of  having  their  internal  affairs  regulated  by  a  body 
whose  power  in  Great  Britain  was  not  greater  than  their 
own  in  Jamaica.  They  prayed  the  king  to  reject  any 
measure  which  assumed  such  authority ;  for  Jamaica  would 
soon  be  lost  to  England,  as  Hayti  was  to  France,  if  the 
negroes  were  thus  taught  to  look  for  their  protectors  in 
England,  and  regard  their  owners,  their  natural  protectors, 
as  foes.  If  this  island,  they  added,  '*  is  to  be  the  scene  of 
a  dreadful  experiment,  we  claim  that  we  may  not  be  in- 
volved in  the  awful  consequences.  K  slavery  be  an  offence 
to  God,  so  are  anarchy,  desolation,  and  blood.  Let  your 
royal  parliament  become  the  lawful  owner  of  our  property 
by  purchase,  and  we  will  retire  from  the  island,  and  leave 
it  a  free  field  for  modem  philanthropy  to  work  upon.  The 
Deity,  who  sees  into  the  heart,  is  not  to  be  propitiated  by 
laying  on  His  shrine  the  possessions  of  our  brethren,  but 
only  by  the  sacrifice  of  what  is  our  own  to  offer."* 

It  is  clear  from  these  proceedings  that  the  assembly 
anticipated  a  course  of  policy  which  had  not  been  definitely 
pronounced,  and  upon  which  it  would  have  been  more 
statesmanlike  to  have  remained  silent.  Apart  from  this, 
there  was  a  measure  of  justice  in  their  demand.  Slavery 
was  not  a  purely  colonial  institution.  It  had  been  estab- 
lished under  the  sanction  of  British  laws,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Great  Britain  could  not  rightfully  demand 
its  abolition  at  the  sole  cost  of  the  owners.  This  fact  could 
not  justify  the  assembly  in  their  refusal  to  comply  with  the 
expressed  wishes  of  parliament  with  regard  to  ameliorating 

*  Journals,  vol.  xiy.  p.  280. 
18* 


260  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

measures,  and  the  home  government  was  equally  unwilling 
to  have  recourse  to  coercion. 

It  was  thought  that,  where  there  were  legislative  bodies, 
to  these  the  work  of  reform  should  be  left,  but  in  crown 
coUmies  the  necessary  provisions  were  at  once  made. 
Earnest  abolitionists  complained  that  the  three  hundred 
thousand  slaves  of  Jamaica  were,  in  consequence,  left  in  a 
far  worse  condition  than  the  thirty  thousand  in  Trinidad. 

Another  act,  or  rather  series  of  acts,  of  egregious  folly 
followed.  The  planters  were  unable  to  conceal  their 
indignation  at  the  course  pursued  in  England.  In  the 
presence  of  slaves,  in  stores  and  other  public  places,  at 
the  dinner  table,  and,  in  short,  wherever  they  met,  they 
anathematisod  Wilberforce,  Clarkson,  Buxton,  and  others, 
unmindful  of  eager  listeners,  who,  with  false  though  not 
foolish  logic,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  some  great 
boon,  of  which  the  slaves  were  yet  ignorant,  had  been 
conferred  upon  them.  When,  soon  after,  a  petty  rebellion 
broke  out,  it  was  declared  that  the  slaves  were  "contented 
and  happy  till  thoy  imbibed  the  notion  that  the  king  and 
Wilberforce  had  made  them  free."  From  whom  had  they 
derived  such  impressions  but  from  their  own  masters? 
though  in  Jamaica,  and  to  a  more  fatal  extent  in  Demerara, 
it  suited  these  men  to  put  the  blame  upon  the  missionaries. 

Happily  the  outbreak  was  not  of  a  serious  character. 
In  St.  George's,  for  some  time  before  the  Christmas  of 
1823,  there  had  been  frequent  meetings  of  the  slaves, 
chiolly  on  Balearras  estate,  and  other  properties  about 
l^uflf  BiU".  If  the  statement  of  a  rimaway  slave  named 
Muck,  who  was  in  the  plot,  may  bo  believed,  a  general 
rising  was  contomphittd,  involving  the  destruction  of  the 
while  inhabitants.  The  district  was  Ciirefully  guarded,  and 
sevonvl  persons,  said  to  be  k adi  rs,  were  arrested.  Of  these, 
sevenil  were  capitally  connoted  early  in  the  following 
voiir. 

In  St.  Mary's  the  same  kind  of  meetings  were  held,  as 
rfato^l  by  another  conspirator  who  turned  king's  evidence. 
In  anothiT  part  of  the  is'aiui.  St,  James's,  night  meetings 
of  slaves  were  held  at  Unity  Kail.  S}  ring  Gardens,  and 
$k>mo  other  estates.  Hero  also  there  was  treachery,  and 
nine  slaves  wore  transpone-d.  and  double  the  number 
summarily  punished. 


mSTOBICAL   EVENTS.  261 

About  the  middle  of  the  following  year  Hanover  was 
thrown  into  a  state  of  great  excitement,  though  treachery 
once  more  baffled  the  designs  of  the  conspirators,  whatever 
they  may  have  been.  At  a  given  time,  it  was  stated,  all 
the  estates  were  to  be  set  on  fire,  and  the  whites  murdered 
as  they  hastened  to  extinguish  the  flames.  On  the  very 
night  fixed  for  the  purpose,  a  slave  named  Boach  gave 
information  of  the  plot.  The  outbreak  followed,  but  it  was 
not  of  a  character  to  justify  the  extravagant  statements 
made.  At  Golden  Grove  estate,  well-aflfected  slaves  almost 
immediately  put  out  the  fire  that  was  kindled,  and  re- 
covered some  fire-arms  stolen  from  the  overseer's  house. 
At  Argyle  ten  horses  were  killed,  and  as  many  acres  of 
growing  crops  burned.  Elsewhere  little  damage  was  done. 
Six  slaves  were  hung  at  Argyle,  five  at  Golden  Grove,  and 
a  number  of  others  transported  or  flogged.,  A  small  band 
about  the  same  time  created  alarm  between  Eongston  and 
Tallahs.  Of  these,  four  were  hung,  and  others  punished 
in  different  ways. 

These  really  petty  disturbances  cost  the  colony  jB15,000. 
In  an  address  to  the  king,  it  was  stated  that  the  value  of 
property  had  deteriorated,  in  consequence,  one  half,  and 
indemnity  was  asked  from  the  British  parliament,  whose 
discussions  had  stirred  up  the  slaves  to  rebellion  !  * 

The  legislature  now  displayed  less  inclination  than  ever 
to  meet  the  views  of  the  home  government  with  respect  to 
improving  the  condition  of  slaves.  The  orders  in  council 
adopted  first  in  Trinidad  and  subsequently  in  all  the  other 
crown  colonies,  were  commended  by  the  Duke  of  Manchester 
as  suitable  models  from  which  a  proper  slave  code  might 
be  drawn,  but  two  more  sessions  passed  away  without  any 
action  being  taken. 

A  committee  was,  however,  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
desirability  of  permitting  slave  evidence  to  be  received  in 
certain  cases.  Some  interesting  facts  were  elicited.  The 
Honourable  Peter  Bobertson,  the  custos  of  St.  Thomas  in 
the  East,  and  who  had  resided  for  fifty  years  in  the  island, 
was  quite  favourable  to  the  proposed  measure,  and  testified 
to  the  vast  improvement  in  negro  character  during  the  past 
ten  years.     The  custos  of  Kingston,  a  forty  years*  resident, 

*  "Buxton's  Life,"  p.  168 ;  "  Reports  of  British  Parliament,"  1826; 
'*  Joomals  of  Assembly,'*  vol.  xiv.  pp.  824-534. 


264  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

or  other  denomination,  without  permission  from  owner  and 
from  the  magistrates  at  quarter  sessions,  was  liable  to  whip- 
ping and  hard  labour.  To  crown  all,  it  was  asserted  that 
ample  provision  having  been  made  for  the  proper  instruction 
of  slaves,  it  was  desirable  to  prevent  "  designing  men  pro- 
fessing to  be  teachers  of  religion  from  practising  on  the  igno- 
rance and  superstition  of  the  negroes.*'  Therefore  *'it  shall 
not  be  lawful  for  any  dissenting  minister,  religious  teacher, 
or  any  person  whatsoever,  to  demand  or  receive  any  money 
or  other  chattel  whatever  for  affording  such  slave  religious 
instruction."  The  penalty  for  infringing  this  law  was  i£20, 
half  to  the  informer,  who  might  be  an  unbaptised  slave, 
though  such  evidence  would  be  worthless  in  any  other  case : 
and  only  one  such  witness  was  needed,  though  two  giving 
corroborative  evidence  were  demanded  when  a  missionary 
was  not  the  subject  of  prosecution. 

A  fresh  illustration  of  human  perversity  is  all  that  is 
afforded  by  such  legislation  as  this.  It  could  not  save  the 
slaveholder,  it  precipitated  him  into  greater  trouble.  Men 
that  would  not  have  interfered  with  old-established  institu- 
tions were  aroused  by  these  violations  of  all  justice  and 
natural  right. 

Mr.  (afterwards  Lord)  Denman  had  declared  some  months 
before  in  the  House  of  Commons,*  that  oppression  in 
Jamaica  had  reached  the  pinnacle  of  power.  He  denounced 
some  of  the  executions  in  the  so-called  rebellion  of  1824, 
and  asserted  (nor  was  the  assertion  denied)  that  the  only 
evidence  against  eight  who  were  capitally  convicted  was 
that  of  a  mere  youth,  who  confessed  his  Imowledge  of  the 
plot  when  laid  down  to  receive  a  flogging.  And  yet  in  face 
of  this  ready  acceptance  of  slave  testimony  against  slaves, 
he  quoted  many  cases  where  justice  had  clearly  failed  in 
consequence  of  the  inadmissibility  of  slave  evidence  against 
free  men.  Only  four  years  before,  in  Kingston,  a  man 
chained  down  a  girl  nine  years  old  for  a  criminal  purpose. 
When. tried  for  the  rape,  his  counsel  pleaded  the  gii-1  was  a 
chattel,  and  that  her  evidence  could  not  be  taken.  The 
case  was  remitted  to  the  English  judges,  and  they  could 
only  decide  that,  in  the  existing  state  of  the  law,  the  plea 
was  valid,  and  so  the  wretch  escaped. 

The  result  of  these  and  other  disclosures  was  the  passing 

*  March  1,  1826. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  265 

of  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  recent  trials  in  Jamaica 
afforded  fresh  evidence  of  the  evils  inseparable  from  a  state 
of  slavery.  This  strengthened  the  hands  of  the  cabinet, 
and  the  new  slave  code  was  disallowed.  Apart  from  the 
sectarian  clauses,  there  were  other  reasons  for  the  course 
adopted  by  the  home  government.  Mr.  Huskisson,  in  his 
admirable  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Manchester,  pointed  out 
some  of  these.  The  bill  did  not  provide  for  a  protector  of 
slaves,  but  for  what  was  called  a  council  of  protection, 
chosen  from  among  the  very  class  slaves  would  be  likely  to 
appeal  against ;  severe  punishments  of  women  as  well  as 
of  men  were  still  permitted  ;  Sunday  markets  were  not  at 
once  abolished ;  while  many  of  the  clauses  were  so  am- 
biguous as  to  be  easily  perverted  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
slaves.  To  this  letter  a  long  reply  was  sent  by  the  assembly, 
but  the  course  of  action  required  was  delayed  till  its  refusal 
would  have  entailed  the  loss  of  legislative  privileges.* 

Some  relief  to  the  sad  picture  of  obstinacy  is  to  be  found 
in  the  removal  of  certain  disabilities  under  which  the  Jews 
laboured.  The  bills  passed  for  this  purpose  were,  at  first, 
disallowed  on  the  ground  that  they  legislated  with  regard 
to  some  disabilities  that  did  not  actually  exist,  but  after 
much  conference  the  Jews  were  placed  in  precisely  the  same 
position  as  other  white  persons  in  the  colony.  A  clause  of 
an  act  passed  in  1711  was  also  repealed,  which  prohibited 
the  employment  in  any  public  office  of  Jews,  mulattoes, 
Indians,  or  negroes.  Though  the  assembly  was  not  yet 
prepared  to  render  to  coloured  people  generally  the  same 
privileges  as  were  accorded  to  Jews,  the  fees  on  private 
biUs,  asking  the  concessions  which  for  many  years  had  been 
granted  by  the  legislature  to  more  wealthy  and  influential 
coloured  people,  were  now  frequently  remitted,  so  that  many 
artisans  and  other  respectable  persons  of  colour  obtained 
privileges  hitherto  confined  to  the  rich.  An  attempt  to 
confer  the  franchise  on  such  people,  however,  failed. t 

Piracy  was  now  very  rarely  known  in  these  seas.  The 
capture  of  the  Zaragozana,l  in  1823,  and  the  execution  of 

*  HuskisBon^s  letter  in  fall  in  "  Barclay's  Practical  View  of  Slavery," 
pp.  433-444 ;  Journals  for  1827,  pp.  272,  and  445-471. 

+  Ibid.,  voL  xiv.  pp.  179-182,  194-200,  202. 

I  Ibid.,  vol.  xiy.  p.  281.  Local  papers,  March,  1828.  The  ac- 
count of  this  affair  in  **  Tom  Cringle's  Log  "  has  far  less  of  fiction  thou 
might  be  supposed. 


264  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

or  other  denomination,  without  permission  from  owner  and 
from  the  magistrates  at  quarter  sessions,  was  liable  to  whip- 
ping and  hard  labour.  To  crown  all,  it  was  asserted  that 
ample  provision  having  been  made  for  the  proper  instruction 
of  slaves,  it  was  desirable  to  prevent  "  designing  men  pro- 
fessing to  be  teachers  of  religion  from  practising  on  the  igno- 
rance and  superstition  of  the  negroes.''  Therefore  "it  shall 
not  be  lawful  for  any  dissenting  minister,  religious  teacher, 
or  any  person  whatsoever,  to  demand  or  receive  any  money 
pr  other  chattel  whatever  for  affording  such  slave  religious 
instruction."  The  penalty  for  infringing  this  law  was  £20, 
half  to  the  informer,  who  might  be  an  unbaptised  slave, 
though  such  evidence  would  be  worthless  in  any  other  case : 
and  only  one  such  witness  was  needed,  though  two  giving 
corroborative  evidence  were  demanded  when  a  missionary 
was  not  the  subject  of  prosecution. 

A  fresh  illustration  of  human  perversity  is  all  that  is 
afforded  by  such  legislation  as  this.  It  could  not  save  the 
slaveholder,  it  precipitated  him  into  greater  trouble.  Men 
that  would  not  have  interfered  with  old-established  institu- 
tions were  aroused  by  these  violations  of  all  justice  and 
natural  right. 

Mr.  (afterwards  Lord)  Denman  had  declared  some  months 
before  in  the  House  of  Commons,*  that  oppression  in 
Jamaica  had  reached  the  pinnacle  of  power.  He  denounced 
some  of  the  executions  in  the  so-called  rebellion  of  1824, 
and  asserted  (nor  was  the  assertion  denied)  that  the  only 
evidence  against  eight  who  were  capitally  convicted  was 
that  of  a  mere  youth,  who  confessed  his  Imowledge  of  the 
plot  when  laid  down  to  receive  a  flogging.  And  yet  in  face 
of  this  ready  acceptance  of  slave  testimony  against  slaves, 
he  quoted  many  cases  where  justice  had  clearly  failed  in 
consequence  of  the  inadmissibility  of  slave  evidence  against 
free  men.  Only  four  years  before,  in  Kingston,  a  man 
chained  down  a  girl  nine  years  old  for  a  criminal  purpose. 
When. tried  for  the  rape,  his  counsel  pleaded  the  gii-1  was  a 
chattel,  and  that  her  evidence  could  not  be  taken.  The 
case  was  remitted  to  the  English  judges,  and  they  could 
only  decide  that,  in  the  existing  state  of  the  law,  the  plea 
was  valid,  and  so  the  wretch  escaped. 

The  result  of  these  and  other  disclosures  was  the  passing 

*  March  1,  182G. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  265 

of  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  recent  trials  in  Jamaica 
afforded  fresh  evidence  of  the  evils  inseparable  from  a  state 
of  slavery.  This  strengthened  the  hands  of  the  cabinet, 
and  the  new  slave  code  was  disallowed.  Apart  from  the 
sectarian  clauses,  there  were  other  reasons  for  the  course 
adopted  by  the  home  government.  Mr.  Huskisson,  in  his 
admirable  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Manchester,  pointed  out 
some  of  these.  The  bill  did  not  provide  for  a  protector  of 
slaves,  but  for  what  was  called  a  council  of  protection, 
chosen  from  among  the  very  class  slaves  would  be  likely  to 
appeal  against ;  severe  punishments  of  women  as  well  as 
of  men  were  still  permitted ;  Sunday  markets  were  not  at 
once  abolished ;  while  many  of  the  clauses  were  so  am- 
biguous as  to  be  easily  perverted  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
slaves.  To  this  letter  a  long  reply  was  sent  by  the  assembly, 
but  the  course  of  action  required  was  delayed  till  its  refusal 
would  have  entailed  the  loss  of  legislative  privileges.* 

Some  relief  to  the  sad  picture  of  obstinacy  is  to  be  found 
in  the  removal  of  certain  disabilities  under  which  the  Jews 
laboured.  The  bills  passed  for  this  purpose  were,  at  first, 
disallowed  on  the  ground  that  they  legislated  with  regard 
to  some  disabilities  that  did  not  actually  exist,  but  after 
much  conference  the  Jews  were  placed  in  precisely  the  same 
position  as  other  white  persons  in  the  colony,  A  clause  of 
an  act  passed  in  1711  was  also  repealed,  which  prohibited 
the  employment  in  any  public  office  of  Jews,  mulattoes, 
Indians,  or  negroes.  Though  the  assembly  was  not  yet 
prepared  to  render  to  coloured  people  generally  the  same 
privileges  as  were  accorded  to  Jews,  the  fees  on  private 
bills,  asking  the  concessions  which  for  many  years  had  been 
granted  by  the  legislature  to  more  wealthy  and  influential 
coloured  people,  were  now  frequently  remitted,  so  that  many 
artisans  and  other  respectable  persons  of  colour  obtained 
privileges  hitherto  confined  to  the  rich.  An  attempt  to 
confer  the  franchise  on  such  people,  however,  failed,  t 

Piracy  was  now  very  rarely  known  in  these  seas.  The 
capture  of  the  Zaragozana^l  in  1823,  and  the  execution  of 

*  HuBkisBon^s  letter  in  fall  in  "  Barclay's  Practical  View  of  Slavery," 
pp.  433-444 ;  Journals  for  1827,  pp.  272,  and  445-471. 

+  Ibid.,  voL  xiv.  pp.  179-182,  194-200,  202. 

\  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv.  p.  281.  Local  papers,  March,  1828.  The  ac- 
connt  of  this  affair  in  "  Tom  Cringle's  Log  "  has  far  less  of  fiction  than 
might  be  supposed. 


266  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

her  crew  at  Port  Eoyal,  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the 
pirates  who  had  long  infested  the  lagoons  of  Hayti  and 
Cuba.  In  1827,  the  Duke  of  Manchester  finally  left  the 
colony. 

Major-General  Sir  John  Keene,  an  old  Peninsular  soldier, 
and  commander  of  the  troops  in  the  colony,  administered 
the  affairs  of  the  island  for  some  time  after  the  departure 
of  the  Duke  of  Manchester.  He  had  to  meet  the  legis- 
lature at  a  critical  period.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Huskisson, 
already  described,  had  arrived,  and  on  the  16th  of  No- 
vember, 1827,  was  sent  down  to  the  assembly.  It  was 
accompanied  by  a  message  from  Sir  John  Keene,  in  which 
he  assured  the  house  of  the  regret  felt  by  his  Majesty  in 
rejecting  the  bill,  and  his  hope  that  another  one  would  be 
framed,  imposing  no  restraints  on  religious  liberty,  which 
was  the  right  of  aU  his  majesty's  subjects.  He  added, 
that  though  the  measure  they  prepared  might  fall  short 
of  the  wishes  of  the  English  government,  yet  one  which 
really  embodied  substantial  improvements  would  be  received 
in  a  favourable  light.  Conciliation  was  in  vain.  The 
house  appointed  a  committee  to  report  the  names  of  all 
"  sectarians  or  dissenters  licensed  to  preach,  to  ascertain 
what  moneys  or  other  offerings  they  received  from  slaves 
or  other  persons  attending  their  places  of  worship ;  how 
such  offerings  were  disposed  of,  and  what  regulations  were 
necessary  in  respect  to  these  contributions.**  They  then 
repUed  to  the  lieutenant-governor's  message,  defending 
the  clauses  in  the  act  which  had  reference  to  religious 
worship,  and  declaring  that  every  real  and  substantial 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  slaves,  consistent  with  the 
safety  of  the  colony,  had  been  embodied  in  the  act ;  and 
that  they  would  not  incorporate  others  inconsistent  with 
such  safety,  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  the  parliament 
and  government  of  Great  Britain.  They  added,  that  as 
they  were  aware  that  the  lieutenant-governor  had  in- 
structions not  to  sanction  any  bill  on  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion, without  a  suspending  clause,  they  would  make  no 
deliberate  surrender  of  their  undoubted  and  acknowledged 
rights  by  legislating  in  the  manner  proposed,  and  would 
therefore  prepare  no  other  bill  respecting  the  slave  popu- 
lation. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  267 

Next  year  they  so  far  revoked  their  word  as  to  pass  a 
t)ill  similar  in  all  respects  to  that  which  had  been  dis- 
allowed, and  to  which  the  lieutenant-governor  refused  his 
assent.  A  bill  designed  to  remove  ci^  disabilities  under 
which  certain  coloured  people  laboured,  was  after  much 
discussion  lost.  A  petition  from  some  free  black  people, 
asking  for  an  enlargement  of  their  privileges,  was  referred 
to  a  committee,  from  which  no  report  was  ever  presented. 

The  management  on  many  estates  was  still  very  impro- 
vident, and  it  is  surprising  that  no  more  vigorous  efforts 
were  put  forth  to  reduce  to  subjection  the  bands  of  run- 
away slaves.  The  captain  of  the  Accompong  Maroons 
stated  their  number  as  six  thousand;  one-third  being 
in  Kingston  and  its  vicinity,  passing  as  free,  a  third  in 
country  parishes,  and  the  remainder  secreted  in  negro 
grounds  and  woods.*  It  does  not  appear  from  what  source 
he  derived  his  information,  but  emancipation  proved  that 
his  estimate  was  under  the  mark.  He  admitted  that  the 
Maroons  took  bribes,  and  thus  few  were  caught  and  re- 
turned to  their  owners. 

Now  and  then  a  troublesome  party  was  hunted  down, 
but  always  at  great  expense  to  the  colony.  The  Accompong 
Maroons,  in  connection  with  some  black  shot,  had  killed 
or  captured  eighteen  troublesome  negroes  in  Trelawny. 
They  had  £50  for  each  one,  and  JB500  to  JB600  more  was 
spent  in  the  exploit. 

When  Sir  John  Keene  retired  from  the  colony,  three 
thousand  guineas  were  voted  as  a  testimonial  from  the 
assembly.  A  stem,  uncompromising  soldier  on  the  battle- 
field, he  was  most  luxurious,  almost  effeminate,  in  his 
private  habits;  and  rarely  if  ever  had  the  hospitalities 
of  the  Eing*s  House  been  so  lavish  as  during  his  brief 
administration  of  affairs.  Yet  he  spared  not  himself  when 
duty  required  the  exercise  of  his  undoubted  energy  of 
character. 

Inquiries  into  some  needful  reduction  in  public  ex- 
penditure, commenced  long  before,  were  still  prosecuted. 
Salaries  were  exorbitantly  high  for  a  colony  which  had 
now  begun  the  cry,  perpetuated  for  forty  years,  of  **  ruin." 

*  1874  mnaways  were  confined  in  workhouses  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1827.  Three  parishes  made  no  returns,  so  there  were 
probably  more. 


268  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

The  receiver-general  had  JE7000  a  year;  the  governor's 
secretary  had  nominally  £3000,  though  what  Bullock,  the 
favoured  secretary  of  the  Duke  of  Manchester,  really  got, 
no  one  knew.  Influential  as  he  was,  he  had  to  submit  to 
searching  inquiry  into  excessive  fees  he  had  exacted,  and 
which  he  was  called  upon  to  refund.  The  island  agent  in 
London  was  paid  £2500  a  year.  The  customs  depsitment 
was  perhaps  the  worst :  £26,000  was  the  cost  of  collecting 
duties  to  the  amount  of  £90,000;  but  the  Earl  of  Bel- 
more  came  out  with  instructions  that  greatly  improved  this 
department.  An  act  was  passed  providing  salaries  in 
lieu  of  fees,  and  the  work  of  economical  reform  gradually 
progressed. 

The  Earl  of  Belmore,  who  arrived  in  the  year  1829,  was 
early  enabled  to  take  a  tour  of  the  island,  and  on  the  12th 
and  18th  of  September  was  present  at  a  great  cattle  fair 
held  on  the  Pedro  Plains.  This  was  a  most  successful 
enterprise,  originated  by  Mr.  Hamilton  Brown,  and  re- 
markable as  one  of  the  first  attempts  made  in  good  earnest 
to  develop  the  vast  agricultural  resources  of  the  island.* 

On  the  3rd  of  November  the  earl  met  the  legislative 
bodies.  Conciliation  was  the  order  of  the  day :  he  hoped 
that  time  had  healed  the  wounds  inflicted  by  former  dis- 
cussions, and  observed  that  the  assembly  was  left  entirely 
to  its  own  judgment  in  reference  to  the  slave  bill.  This 
the  members  understood  to  mean  that  the  imperial  govern- 
ment would  no  longer  press  the  improved  code  upon  their 
attention,  an  impression  the  earl,  took  an  early  oppor- 
tunity of  correcting.  The  fact  was,  the  British  cabinet 
had  imagined  that  if  all  appearance  of  coercion  was  re- 
moved, the  Jamaica  legislature  would  quietly  adopt  some 
measure  that  would  be  satisfactory,  an  expectation  that 
was  not  to  be  realised.  At  length  a  bill  was  passed,  altered 
in  many  particulars  from  that  of  1826,  but  still  retaining 
many  of  the  most  objectionable  features,  and  prohibiting 
all  meetings  of  slaves  between  sunset  and  sunrise.  The 
governor  gave  his  assent,  but  expressed  his  regret  that 
such  a  clause  should  have  been  inserted.  The  king  re- 
fused his  consent. 

The  death  of  George  r\^.  rendered  it  necessary  to  call  a 
new  assembly.    Before  this  body  the  question  was  once 

*  A  second  iajx  was  held  iu  Aagost  of  the  foUowiog  year. 


HISTOBIOAL   EVENTS.  269 

more  reopened.  The  governor  explained  that  he  had  quite 
anticipated  the  fate  which  had  befallen  the  last  bill,  and 
had  only  given  his  assent  to  it,  that  the  latest  labours  of 
the  assembly  in  the  way  of  amelioration  might  come  fully 
under  the  consideration  of  the  ministry  at  home.  Now, 
however,  he  had  been  *'  expressly  instructed  to  pass  no  law 
restraining  the  liberty  of  religious  worship.***  An  attempt 
was  then  made  to  revive  the  slave  law  of  1826,  with  all  its 
objectionable  clauses  unexpunged;  but,  ill-judged  as  the 
proceedings  of  the  legislators  were,  this  was  too  bad  to  be 
adopted,  and  the  bill  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  eight. 
A  law  giving  unrestricted  liberty  to  free  people  of  colour 
was,  however,  passed. 

Early  in  1831  the  governor  once  more  convened  the 
assembly.  It  was  at  length  clear  to  the  most  infatuated 
that  the  people  of  Great  Britain  would  tolerate  no  further 
trifling  with  the  slave  code.  It  was  felt  to  be  an  outrage 
that  in  Demerara,  Trinidad,  and  other  crown  colonies,  the 
condition  of  bondsmen  had  heen  improved,  while  in 
Jamaica  all  attempts  had  failed  through  the  obstinacy  of 
a  free  assembly.  According  to  a  return  published  at  this 
time,  it  appeared  that  there  were  307,254  slaves  in  the 
island.  The  island  debt  was  accumulating.  It  had  now 
reached  dB882,054,  of  which  jB349,205  were  treasury  certi- 
ficates, or  checks  —  in  other  words,  inconvertible  paper 
money.  + 

Buin  was  not  altogether  a  false  cry,  for  in  twenty  years 
22,661  slaves  had  been  sold  under  writs  of  venditioni 
exponas.l  It  was  dangerous  to  go  too  far  in  defiance  of 
the  loudly-expressed  demands  from  home,  and  so  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1831,  a  slave  code,  stripped  of  sectarian  clauses, 
passed  the  assembly,  and  on  the  1st  of  November  it  came 
into  operation.  It  was  bad  enough ;  it  left  the  whip  in  the 
driver's  hands,  and  cruel  punishments  could  still  be  in- 
flicted by  irresponsible  men.  There  were  those  who  sought 
to  make  it  better,  but  only  three  voted  for  abolishing 
the  flogging  of  women,  only  two  supported  a  motion  for 
inquiry  into  the  desirability  of  allowing  slaves  to  pur- 
chase their  freedom,  and  not  a  few  still  strove  to  retain  the 
sectarian  clauses.     Though  too  late  to  preserve  the  island 

*  Ck>vemor'8  speech,  **  Votes,"  1880,  p.  10.    See  also  pp.  27-29. 
t  "  Votes,"  1831,  pp.  120, 121.  J  Ibid.,  1831,  pp.  161-168. 


270  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

from  the  terrible  consequences  of  oppression,  the  measure 
passed,  and  on  the  24th  of  February  the  earl  prorogued 
the  legislature,  with  warm  congratulations  on  having 
adopted  measures  which  gave  equal  liberties  with  whites 
.  to  free  coloured  people,  and  provided  for  the  better  govern- 
ment of  slaves. 

In  the  October  session  a  demand  was  presented  from  the 
imperial  government  for  a  fixed  sum  for  the  support  of 
troops  and  barrack  accommodation.  At  first  it  was  feared 
that  this  would  be  made  a  perpetual  charge,  which  the 
assembly  could  never  modify  or  abolish,  and  on  this  point 
the  long  struggle,  beginning  with  the  Stuart  dynasty  and 
ending  in  1728,  had  made  the  colony  very  cautious.  It 
was,  however,  explained  that  aU  the  home  government 
really  asked  was  an  annual  grant,  to  be  appropriated  at 
the  discretion  of  the  military  authorities.  An,  estimate 
based  on  the  actual  cost  of  the  five  preceding  years  was 
suggested.  At  last  ^111,200  currency  was  voted  for  the 
support  of  troops,  and  £10,000  more  for  barracks,  with 
the  understanding  that  the  force  should  not  fall  below 
three  thousand  white  men. 

Hitherto  the  time  of  the  house  had  been  frittered  away 
in  discussing  little  items  of  military  expenditure.  Often  an 
outlay  of  a  few  pounds,  which  could  have  been  at  once 
disposed  of  by  a  respectable  parish  vestry,  led  to  long 
discussions.  More  serious  consequences  resulted  from  the 
commissioners  of  public  accounts  (really  a  committee  of  the 
whole  house)  spending  considerable  time  in  determining 
the  appropriation  of  the  sums  voted  for  general  military 
purposes.  Often  troops  could  not  be  removed  from  one 
station  to  another,  though  decimated  by  dysentery  or  fever, 
for  want  of  funds,  or  permission  to  employ  money  for  the 
purpose.  The  barracks  were  mostly  built  in  unwholesome 
places,  and  ill-provided  with  the  comforts  required  in  such 
a  climate.  In  1820  and  the  two  following  years,  one 
thousand  and  fifty-seven  died  out  of  a  force  of  three 
thousand. 

Officers  were  generally  willing  to  advance  money  for 
necessary  purposes  in  an  emergency,  but  were  too  often 
refused  repayment.  On  one  occasion  a  company  of  British 
troops  was  compelled  to  lie  on  the  ground  in  Spanish  Town 
for  months,  because  beams  and  hooks  from  which  to  swing 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  271 

their  hammocks  were  refused.  One  year,  while  Sir  John 
Keene  was  in  command,  the  mortality  rose  to  an  unpre- 
cedented degree.  Iron  bedsteads  were  recommended  by 
the  medical  men  instead  of  hammocks,  and  the  assembly 
ordered  them  to  be  supplied,  advancing  £1500  to  a  con- 
tractor, who  never  made  them.  Sir  John  Keene  procured 
them  himself,  but  the  house  refused  to  refund  the  cost; 
nor  was  the  amount  paid  until  the  British  government 
ordered  the  removal  of  a  portion  of  the  troops.*  The 
terms  of  contract  for  provisions  and  other  supplies  were 
often  grossly  violated,  while  complaints  from  the  military 
authorities  were  rarely  heeded,  for  the  transgressors  had 
generally  friends  in  the  assembly. 

The  closing  days  of  1831,  and  the  opening  weeks  of  1832, 
were  destined  to  be  marked  by  a  series  of  sad  and  startling 
events.  A  negro  rebellion  was  no  novelty  in  the  history  of 
the  colony.  From  the  outbreak  in  Clarendon,  towards  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  down  to  1824,  there  had 
been  a  series  of  insurrections  more  or  less  alarming,  but 
none  were  really  formidable.  They  were  confined  to  com- 
paratively few  active  offenders;  and  though  the  white 
inhabitants  were  often  startled  by  reports  that  extensive 
conspiracies  had  been  organised  to  destroy  them  all  and 
seize  the  country,  such  reports  were  either  found  to  be 
greatly  exaggerated,  or  their  premature  disclosure  pre- 
vented their  execution.  The  war  with  the  Maroons, 
terminating  with  the  peace  of  1738,  and  the  rebellion  of 
the  Trelawny  tribe,  in  1795,  were  far  more  serious  than 
any  slave-rising.  The  outbreak  in  1831  was  the  first  really 
dangerous  rebellion,  and  was  alike  deplorable  both  with 
regard  to  the  properties  destroyed,  the  planters  and  other 
persons  murdered,  and  the  terrible  retaliation  with  which 
the  deluded  rebels  were  visited. 

For  some  time  there  had  been  considerable  excitement 
among  the  slaves.  They  could  not  be  unconcerned  listeners 
to  the  discussions  at  their  masters'  tables,  and  in  all  places 
where  white  men  congregated,  relative  to  the  doings  in  the 
British  parliament,  nor  would  they  fail  to  note  the  terms 
of  condemnation  in  which  they  were  alluded  to.  It  has 
been  common  to  attribute  the  rebellion  to  the  missionaries ; 
some  have  gone  so  far  as  to  ascribe  it  to  their  direct  insti- 

*  "  Votes,"  1880,  pp.  22-27. 


274  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

The  Christmas  of  1831  fell  on  a  Sunday,  and  many  of 
the  overseers  wished  to  make  this  day  comit  as  one  of  the 
three  to  which  slaves  were  entitled  at  this  season.  The 
majority  of  the  slaves  m  the  north-western  parishes  had 
determined  not  to  turn  out  at  all.  On  the  28th  of  Decem- 
ber, the  Rev.  G.  Blyth  counted  sixteen  incendiary  fires 
from  his  residence  in  St.  James's.*  The  contest  had  clearly 
begun,  yet,  had  the  militia  been  more  efficient,  the  outbreak 
would  have  been  quelled.  The  exploits  of  this  body  were 
afterwards  greatly  extolled  in  the  local  papers,  but  their 
first  encounter  imparted  confidence  only  to  the  rebels. 
Colonel  Grignon,  better  known  locally  as  "  Little  breeches," 
with  a  party  of  militia,  met  a  number  of  insurgents  soon 
after  the  outbreak  commenced.  He  gained  what  others 
would  have  thought  an  advantage.  Many  of  the  slaves 
were  killed,  and  more  wounded.  His  party  had  only  lost 
one  man  killed  and  four  wounded,  yet  he  thought  fit  to 
retreat  to  Montego  Bay,  and  most  of  the  white  people 
deserted  their  properties  and  fled.  To  the  credit  of  num- 
bers of  the  head  negroes  on  these  properties,  it  is  stated  that 
in  many  cases  they  preserved  them  from  the  torch  of  the 
incendiary.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  those  slaves 
who  had  been  under  the  teaching  of  the  Presbyterians, 

Intelligence  of  the  outbreak  having  reached  the  seat  of 
government,  martial  law  was  proclaimed  on  the  30th  of 
December,  and  Sir  Willoughby  Cotton  hastened  with  re- 
inforcements to  the  scene  of  action,  invested  by  the 
governor  with  all  the  military  authority  it  was  possible 
to  confer.  The  general  established  his  head-quarters  at 
Montego  Bay,  and  on  the  2nd  of  January  issued  a  brief 
soldier-like  address  to  the  negroes.  He  assured  them  that 
the  idea  that  the  king  had  made  them  free  was  entirely 
without  foundation.  He  pointed  out  that  resistance  was 
folly,  and  that  though  rebels  deserved  death,  yet,  if  they 
would  surrender,  mercy  would  be  shown  to  all  but  the 
actual  ringleaders.  For  some  of  these  rewards  were 
offered,  three  hundred  dollars  each  for  slaves  known  as 
Colonel  Gardner,  Captain  Dove,  Captain  Johnson,  and 
Samuel  Sharp.  This  last  was  generally  called  "  Daddy 
Sharp,"  and  was  described  in  the  proclamation  as 
"  preacher  to  the  rebels." 

*  **  Missionary  Beminiscences,"  p.  57. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  275 

Troops  being  sent  out  in  all  directions,  a  party  of  the 
22nd  Begiment  came  up  with  a  considerable  number  of 
insurgents,  and  killed  thirty,  wounding  many  more.  A  day 
or  two  after,  a  detachment  of  the  84th  encountered  another 
body  of  rebels,  and  dispersed  it  with  considerable  loss.  At 
Hazelnymph  and  Catadupa  similar  successes  were  achieved, 
but  the  general  soon  discovered  that  he  was  not  likely  to 
encounter  any  combined  force,  and  in  one  of  his  earliest 
despatches  he  observed  that  the  rebels  were  in  small 
scattered  parties. 

The  slaves  in  Jamaica,  like  other  half-civilised  people, 
never  gave  any  indication  of  ability  for  extended  organi- 
sation. In  1831  there  was  a  sort  of  general  understanding, 
but  no  combined  movement.  Still,  the  scattered  bands 
could  do  much  harm  ;  and  for  many  days  after  the  arrival 
of  the  general,  he  saw,  night  after  night,  incendiary  fires 
breaking  out  in  all  directions,  while  the  mountains  of 
Trelawny,  St.  James,  and  Hanover  were  occupied  by  con- 
siderable bands  of  negroes,  who  were  all  of  them  ready 
for  mischief. 

Troops,  both  of  English  soldiers  and  militia,  were 
scouring  the  country  in  all  directions.  In  the  mean  time 
the  work  of  retribution  began ;  great  numbers  expiated 
their  offences  by  death,  and  others  received  severe  floggings. 
General  Cotton  was,  however,  a  humane  man,  and  as  early 
as  possible  he  commenced  a  tour  of  the  disturbed  districts, 
addressing  the  negroes  he  could  get  together,  kindly  but 
firmly.  He  also  issued  an  order  forbidding  the  destruction 
of  their  houses. 

While  thus  endeavouring  to  bring  matters  to  an  end 
with  as  little  loss  of  life  as  possible,  loud  complaints 
appeared  in  many  newspapers  of  his  conduct, — mistaken 
leniencj  it  was  called.  The  importation  of  bloodhounds 
from  Cuba  was  advocated  by  some  people,  and  a  great  deal 
said  of  what  the  militia  would  do  if  they  were  only  allowed 
freedom  of  action.  How  they  would  have  acted,  was  clearly 
indicated  by  the  conduct  of  a  certain  lieutenant.  Arriving 
at  an  estate  which  had  just  before  been  visited  by  General 
Cotton,  he  assembled  the  slaves,  called  out  one  of  their 
number,  and,  without  any  trial  whatever,  ordered  him  to 
be  shot.  For  this  offence  he  was  tried  by  a  court-martial, 
when  he  coolly  stated  that  he  had   several  times  done 

19* 


276  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

the  same  thing,  and  his  conduct  had  been  highly  com- 
mended, but  in  this  particular  instance  he  was  not  aware 
that  the  general  had  previously  visited  the  estate.  He 
was  acquitted.* 

The  anxiety  of  the  general  to  prevent  unnecessary 
effusion  of  blood  left  no  cause  for  complaint  that  mercy 
was  overstrained.  Only  a  dozen  white  men  fell  at  the 
hands  of  the  insurgents,  but,  up  to  the  4th  of  February, 
ninety-four  reputed  rebels  had  been  hung  in  the  town  of 
Montego  Bay  alone,  and  frequently  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
were  flogged  on  a  single  day.  Some  twenty-one  had  been 
shot  or  hung  in  Falmouth,  and  double  that  number  flogged. 
All  through  the  district  the  work  of  retribution  was  pro- 
ceeding to  a  more  limited  extent.  Martial  law  was  pro- 
claimed for  another  month,  for  most  of  the  ringleaders 
were  still  at  liberty,  and  numbers  of  slaves  remained  out 
in  the  woods. 

In  other  parishes  a  spirit  of  discontent  was  plainly 
visible,  though  not  attended  by  such  serious  consequences. 
In  St.  Elizabeths  a  large  body  of  negroes,  suffered  to 
escape  by  Colonel  Grignon*s  uncalled-for  retreat,  had 
crossed  over  the  hills,  and  effected  a  junction  with  the 
disaffected  in  that  parish,,  especially  those  at  Y.  S.  estate. 
The  militia  attacked  them  with  success ;  many  were  slain, 
and  great  numbers  taken  prisoners,  more  in  fact  than  could 
be  put  into  the  crowded  jail,  and  a  ship  in  Black  River 
harbour  was  consequently  converted  into  a  temporary 
prison.  A  ship  of  war  and  a  wing  of  the  77th  Regiment 
were  at  once  sent  down.  In  this  parish,  as  in  those  on  the 
north  side,  properties  deserted  by  the  whites  were  protected 
by  faithful  slaves ;  and  many  prisoners  declared  that  they 
never  would  have  joined  the  rebels  had  they  not  been  told 
that  the  king's  troops  would  not  fight  against  them.  Most 
of  the  estates  resumed  work,  the  slaves  being  greatly 
assured  by  a  timely  visit  of  the  indefatigable  genersd.  An 
attempt  was  made,  by  two  leading  insurgents  from  St. 
James's,  to  incite  the  Accompong  Maroons  to  join  them, 
but  it  entirely  failed. 

Kingston  and  Spanish  Town  remained  perfectly  quiet. 
In  addition  to  the  troops  stationed  in  both  places,  a  mer- 
chant ship  was  anchored  opposite  the  end  of  each  of  the 

*  "  Courant,"  January  27,  1882. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  277 

streets  and  lanes  in  Kingston  leading  to  the  harbour.* 
These  sixteen  vessels,  maimed  by  360  seamen,  and  mount- 
ing thirty-five  guns,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Barclay,  a  noted  trader  of  those  days,  could  have  rendered 
essential  service  in  the  event  of  an  outbreak.  Clarendon, 
though  the  scene  of  the  first  insurrection,  and  the  early 
home  of  the  Maroons,  remained  perfectly  quiet.  Man- 
chester was  more  excited.  Several  negroes  suffered  death, 
and  the  Bev.  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  a  most  estimable  Moravian 
minister,  vras  arrested  on  the  11th  of  January.  On  the 
same  day  there  was  a  fight  in  another  part  of  the  parish, 
between  some  slaves  and  the  militia,  the  former  losing 
six  of  their  number ;  but  general  .tranquillity  was  soon 
restored. 

In  Portland  the  people  on  three  estates  refused  to  work, 
and,  on  soldiers  being  sent  for,  fled  into  the  woods.  On 
another  estate  the  men  fled,  but  the  women  continued  to 
work.  In  the  neighbouring  parish  of  St.  George's,  and  in 
St.  Thomas  in  the  East,  there  was  some  disaffection,  but 
no  actual  collision  took  place,  though  at  Port  Antonio, 
Manchioneel,  and  Morant  Bay  several  were  executed,  and 
many  others  flogged.  The  "Jamaica  Courant"  was  not 
likely  to  describe  in  gentle  terms  the  offences  of  these 
people,  yet  its  virulent  description  of  negro  iniquity  fur- 
nishes no  adequate  explanation  of  the  reason  for  these 
inflictions. 

On  the  1st  of  February  Earl  Belmore  reached  Montego 
Bay.  He  found  three  hundred  and  sixty-three  prisoners  in 
the  jail,  and  ascertained  that  there  was  a  general  inclina- 
tion among  the  negroes  yet  in  the  woods  to  surrender,  could 
they  be  assured  of  kind  treatment.  He  accordingly  lost  no 
time  in  issuing  a  proclamation,  offering  free  pardon  to  all 
who  would  surrender  in  ten  days,  excepting  only  the  actual 
ringleaders  and  incendiaries.  Two  days  after  he  declared 
martial  law  to  be  at  an  end.  Then  was  heard  a  loud  cry 
of  discontent*  among  those  whose  vengeance  was  not  yet 
satiated,  and  complaint  was  made  that  the  governor,  in  his 
proclamation,  had  said  that  '*  unlawful  proceedings  on  the 

*  The  city  is  laid  out  in  straight  lines,  the  streets  and  lanes  running 
from  east  to  west  and  north  to  south.  The  latter  are  visible  through- 
out their  entire  length  to  the  harbour.  A  well-directed  cannon-ball 
could  bo  sent  up  most  of  them  to  the  open  country  beyond. 


278  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

part  of  the  slaves  can  have  no  other  tendency  than  to  defeat 
the  humane  intentions  of  the  government  to  improve  their 
condition."  By  some  occult  process  of  reasoning,  it  was 
maintained  that  this  was  an  intimation  that  what  the 
slaves  failed  to  obtain  by  force  would  be  conceded  to  them 
by  the  imperial  parliament.  This  proved  to  be  true,  but 
assuredly  Lord  Belmore's  words  did  not  declare  or  imply  it. 

To  use  the  late  deplorable  events  as  means  by  which 
the  shackles  of  slavery  could  be  bound  more  firmly,  was  the 
undoubted  purpose  of  many.  To  silence  the  missionaries 
and  to  destroy  their  chapels,  seemed  one  way  by  which  this 
purpose  could  be  effected.  On  all  sides  it  was  asserted  that 
the  rebellion  had  been  caused  by  the  teaching  of  mission- 
aries, and  particularly  by  that  of  the  Baptists  and  Wes- 
leyans.  The  former,  it  was  said,  were  the  most  guilty ;  in- 
deed, the  rebellion  was  frequently  spoken  of  as  the  Baptist 
wkr.  The  most  ridiculous  stories  obtained  currency:  a 
meeting  of  four  Baptist  ministers,  to  open-  a  new  chapel  at 
Salter's  Hill,  in  St.  James's,  arranged  months  before,  in 
anticipation  of  the  Christmas  holidays,  was  adduced  as 
proof  of  complicity  in  the  plot.* 

The  Kingston  papers  were  filled  with  preposterous  stories. 
One  dayt  the  "Courant"  announced  that  a  Methodist 
preacher  was  cruising  off  the  north  side  in  a  small  schooner, 
keeping  out  at  sea  by  day  and  running  in  shore  at  night,  to 
communicate  with  the  rebels.  Unfortunately,  for  melodra- 
matic writers,  the  name  of  this  clerical  Paul  Jones  was  not 
mentioned.  In  the  next  day's  issue  the  concentrated  hatred 
of  the  upholders  of  slavery  was  displayed  more  strikingly. 
Intelligence  had  reached  Kingston  that  Messrs.  Knibb, 
Abbot,  and  Whitehome  were  under  arrest.  A  most  virulent 
article  on  the  event  terminated  thus:  —  "The  Baptist 
ministers  are  now  in  custody,  and  as  we  are  satisfied  they 
would  not  have  been  taken  into  custody  upon  slight  grounds 
by  Sir  Willoughby  Cotton,  we  hope  he  will  afford  them  fair 
and  impartial  justice.  Shooting  is,  however,  too  honourable 
a  death  for  men  whose  conduct  has  occasioned  so  much 
bloodshed  and  the  loss  of  so  much  property.  There  are 
fine  hanging  woods  in  St.  James's  and  Trelawny,  and  we  do 
sincerely  hope  that  the  bodies  of  all  the  Methodist  preachers 

*  Cox*8  "  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii.  p.  81. 
t  January  6, 1882. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  279 

• 

who  may  be  convicted  of  sedition  may  diversify  the  scene. 
After  this  our  hostility,  even  to  men  so  reckless  of  blood, 
carnage,  and  slaughter,  shall  cease." 

Even  louder  were  the  shouts  of  triumph  when  Mr.  Bur- 
chell  on  the  next  day  (January  7th)  arrived  from  England, 
and  was  arrested.  Mr.  Barlow  and  Dr.  Prince,  also  identi- 
fied with  the  Baptist  society,  were  taken  into  custody  at 
Annotto  Bay.  No  accusation  was  too  gross,  no  language  too 
scurrilous  to  employ  in  reference  to  these  gentlemen.  The 
most  iniquitous  means  were  resorted  to  in  the  hope  of  ob- 
taining some  legal  proof  of  their  complicity  in  the  rebellion. 
Leading  ciuestions  were  put  by  officers  in  the  militia  and 
others  to  prisoners,  in  the  hope  of  eliciting  some  answer 
which  might  criminate  the  hated  missionaries.  Even  in 
the  midst  of  pitiless  floggings  the  punishment  was,  on  some 
occasions,  suspended,  in  the  hope  that,  in  the  midst  of  ex- 
cruciating pain,  words  would  be  uttered  of  which  use  could 
be  made. 

If  English  gentlemen  like  Mr.  Eoby,  the  collector  of 
customs  at  Montego  Bay,  interposed  to  obtain  simple  justice 
for  a  prisoner,  or  to  defend  innocent  men  from  infuriated 
mobs,  they  were  denounced  as  accomplices.  Eoby  was 
actually  burnt  in  effigy  on  a  gallows,  though  it  was  well 
known  that  he  had  no  sympathy  with  Baptists,  as  such. 
The  record  of  the  un-English  treatment  of  missionaries  at 
this  period  may  be  found  in  many  works,*  and  is  not  given 
in  detail  here  except  where  necessary  to  the  general  nar- 
rative. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  a  society  called  the  Colonial 
Church  Union  was  formed.  Its  professed  object  was  to 
defend,  by  constitutional  means,  the  interests  of  the  colony, 
to  expose  the  alleged  falsehoods  of  the  Anti-slavery  Society, 
and  to  uphold  the  church  and  kirk.  The  destruction  of 
dissenting  chapels  was  another  and  principal  object  not 
noted  in  the  programme.  Immediately  after  the  cessation 
of  martial  law,  the  work  commenced.  Salter's  Hill  chapel, 
the  one  before  alluded  to,  was  the  first  object  of  vengeance ; 

*  "  life  of  Knibb ;"  "  Life  of  BurcheU ;"  "  The  Voice  of  Jubilee ;" 
Clark's  "  Memoriids  of  Baptist  Missionaries ;"  Cox's  "  History  of  Bap- 
tist Missions,"  vol  ii. ;  Duncan's  **  Wesleyan  Missions  in  Jamaica,"  pp. 
268-356 ;  Brown's  "  History  of  Missions,"  vols.  i.  and  ii. ;  "  Moravians 
in  Jamaica,"  p.  84-112  ;  "  Jamaica  Courant,"  1832 ;  **  Narrative  of 
Recent  Events  (Baptist),"  &c. 


280  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

it  was  set  on  fire  by  a  party  of  St.  James  militia,  led  by  an 
English  half-pay  naval  officer.  On  the  7th  of  February, 
Mr.  Enibb's  chapel,  which  had  been  used  for  barracks,  was 
destroyed  by  another  party  of  militia,  and  on  the  same  day 
another  chapel  at  Stewart  Town  was  partially  demolished. 
Next  day,  at  noon,  the  spacious  chapel  at  Montego  Bay,  in 
which  Mr.  Burchell  had  often  preached  to  nearly  two  thou- 
sand people,  was  entirely  destroyed;  and  the  Baptist  chapel 
at  Lucea  shared  the  same  fate.  Chapels  at  Brown's  Town, 
Savannah  la  Mar,  Fullers'  Field,  and  St.  Anns'  Bay,  followed. 
At  Bio  Bueno,  the  solid  stone  structure  was  too  much  for 
the  destructive  powers  of  the  infuriated  mob.  The  leaders 
in  these  doings  were  men  well  known  in  the  community. 
Many  names  have  been  preserved  :*  staff  and  other  officers 
of  militia,  magistrates,  members  of  assembly,  public  offi- 
cials, and  even  the  rector  of  Hanover,  subsequently  shot  in 
a  duel,  appear  in  the  list  of  incendiaries  and  destroyers. 

The  governor  issued  a  proclamation  denouncing  these 
outrages,  and  calling  on  the  custodes  and  magistrates  to 
do  their  duty;  but  martial  law  was  not  proclaimed  again,  as 
it  would  have  been  if  negroes  had  been  the  aggressors,  and 
sugar  works  instead  of  chapels  the  objects  of  attack.  No 
one  was  ever  convicted  for  complicity  in  these  proceedings. 
Other  outrages  followed  the  proclamation,  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  burn  Wesley  chapel,  in  Kingston.  This  affair 
was  thus  referred  to  in  a  city  paper : — **  This  act  of  outrage 
we  sincerely  deplore,  as  those  who  in  mere  wantonness  would 
set  fire  to  the  chapel,  might  destroy  the  property  of  inno- 
cent individuals.  If  the  populace  are  determined  to  sweep 
these  dens  of  infamy  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  best 
plan  would  be  to  pull  them  down.'*t 

While  these  events  were  disturbing  the  minds  of  all  right 
thinking  people,  some  of  the  leading  negro  rebels  were 
arrested  and  executed ;  Wilberforce  and  Wellington  at  the 
end  of  January,  Dove  and  Gardner  about  the  middle  of 
the  next  month.  The  Baptist  missionaries,  Knibb,  Burchell, 
and  Gardner,  were  committed  for  trial,  bail  for  their  ap- 
pearance being  accepted.  The  result  of  the  attempt  to 
implicate  them  in  the  rebellion  had,  however,  been  indi- 
cated by  a  circumstance  which  had  happened  in  Manches- 

*  Cox*B  "  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  145-147,  &c. 
t  "  Courant,"  February  18,  lb32. 


mSTOEICAL  EVENTS.  281 

ter.  The  Eev.  H.  G.  PfeiflFer,  who,  after  his  arrest,  had 
been  confined  in  the  gallery  of  Mandeville  church,  was 
brought  to  trial  on  the  15th  of  January,  before  a  court- 
martial  of  thirteen  militia  officers.  Some  slave  witnesses 
deposed  that  on  a  certain  Sunday  he  had  told  them  in  the 
chapel  that  they  were  aU  to  be  free  after  Christmas;  but  the 
chief  witness,  it  was  proved,  had  not  been  in  the  place  at  aU 
on  the  Sunday  referred  to.  Other  persons  contradicted  one 
another  both  as  to  time  and  place.  For  the  defence,  a  host 
of  witnesses,  hastily  brought  from  the  distant  place  at 
which  Mr.  Pfeiffer  preached,  declared  that  on  none  of  the 
Sundays  spoken  of  had  he  uttered  words  even  susceptible 
of  such  a  misconception.  Mr.  Pfeiflfer  had  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  many  influential  men  by  insisting  that  the 
wishes  of  the  absent  proprietors  of  Frontier  estate,  in  St. 
Elizabeth,  should  be  carried  out  with  respect  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  slaves;  but  prejudice  could  not  convict  in  the 
total  absence  of  all  proof  of  guilt,  and  on  the  following  day 
a  verdict  of  not  guilty  was  returned.* 

Towards  the  end  of  March  the  Baptist  missionaries  were 
brought  to  trial  for  inciting  slaves  to  rebellion.  The  grand 
jury  of  Cornwall  ignored  the  bill  against  BurcheU,  but 
found  true  bills  against  Gardner  and  Knibb.  On  the 
23rd,  the  former  was  brought  to  trial.  Had  his  persecutors 
desired  to  expose  themselves  to  ridicule,  they  could  not 
have  succeeded  better :  the  case  broke  down  in  every  parti- 
cular. The  attorney-general  threw  up  his  brief,  and  the 
chief  justice  directed  an  acquittal.  A  noUe  prosequi  was  at 
once  entered  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Enibb.  Three  hundred 
persons  were  in  attendance  to  swear  that  these  missionaries 
had  never  incited  them  to  rebellion.t 

Another  trial  in  Kingston  followed,  which  awakened  the 
most  intense  interest.  Mr.  Edward  Jordon,  one  of  the 
most  estimable  coloured  gentlemen  in  the  colony,  was  at 
this  time  joint  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  "Watchman*' 
newspaper.  On  the  7th  of  April  a  reference  was  made  in 
that  paper  to  a  certain  member  of  the  house  of  assembly, 
in  which  was  the  following  sentence:  —  "Now  that  the 

*  "  Jamaica  Courant,"  Feb.  18,  1882 ;  "  Moravians  in  Jamaica," 
pp.  90-96. 

f  Ibid.,  May  80;  Cox's  **  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
127,  &c. 


282  HISTORY    OF   JAMAICA. 

member  for  Westmoreland  has  come  to  our  side,  we  shall  be 
happy  with  him,  and  other  friends  of  humanity,  to  give  a 
long  pull,  and  a  strong  pull,  and  a  pull  altogether,  until  we 

bring  the  system  down  by  the  run Knock  off  the 

fetters,  and  let  the  oppressed  go  free."  Such  language  was 
pronounced  sedition,  and  Mr.  Jordon  was  put  on  trial. 
The  prosecution  broke  down  through  the  impossibility  of 
proving  that  Mr.  Jordon  was  really  editor  of  the  paper.* 
It  was  well  known  in  the  city  that  he  did  not  write  the 
paragraph,  or  even  see  it  before  it  appeared.  The  fact 
that  such  language  should  be  regarded  as  seditious,  is  one 
of  the  best  illustrations  that  could  be  given  of  the  state  of 
society  and  feeling  in  the  colony  at  this  time. 

The  sad  list  of  executions  and  punishments  on  account 
of  the  rebellion  was  not  yet  complete.  Through  April,  slave 
courts  were  sitting,  and  many  slaves  were  condemned  to 
death,  or  floggings  of  two  or  three  hundred  lashes. 

A  trial  held  at  Morant  Bay,  on  the  15th  of  March,  illus- 
trated the  feelings  of  many  planters  on  the  great  question 
of  slavery.  The  presiding  justice  was  a  Mr.  McComock,  a 
justice  of  the  peace :  four  others  were  associated  with  him 
at  the  trial  in  question.  The  culprit  was  a  mulatto,  named 
Barclay ;  the  charge  was  rebellion.  The  trial  was  a  patient 
one,  and  the  prisoner  was  defended:  he  was,  however, 
found  guilty.  McCoraock,  in  passing  sentence,  said  to  the 
prisoner :  **  You,  and  many  more  of  your  class  in  different 
parts  of  the  island,  have  been  led  by  evil,  designing,  and 
discontented  individuals,  to  believe  that  the  king  had  made 
you  free,  and  your  owners  unjustly  withheld  that  freedom 
from  you,  and  this  belief  has  urged  you  on  to  acts  which 
have  brought  you  into  the  fearful  state  in  which  you  stand. 
The  king  cannot  make  you  free,  and  whoever  has  told  you 
so,  has  told  you  a  falsehood."  t  Two  months  after,  the 
**  Courant "  echoed  these  sentiments  in  a  still  more  start- 
ling manner.  **  Be  it  remembered  that  our  slaves  are  not 
his  Majesty's  subjects:  they  are  the  property  of  their 
owners,  by  laws  which  his  Majesty's  ancestors  have  recog- 
nised, and  which  are  now  in  force." 

Throughout  Jamaica,  the  attitude  of  the  planters  was 
more  defiant  than  ever.     But  in  England,  the  news  of  the 

*  "  Jamaica  Coiirant,"  April  18, 1882 ;  "  Watchman,"  &c 
t  "  Jamaica  Courant,"  April  18, 1834. 


HISTOEICAL  EVENTS.  283 

rebellion  and  the  unwarranted  treatment  of  the  mission- 
aries deepened  the  conviction  that  slavery  must  be  abolished. 
On  the  23rd  of  March,  Lord  Howick  reminded  the  House 
of  Commons  that  since  1823,  three  successive  colonial 
secretaries  had  sought  to  induce  the  Jamaica  legislature 
to  adopt  the  orders  in  council  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  the  slaves,  but  their  remonstrances  had  proved 
in  vain.  The  time  for  expostulation,  he  added,  had  now 
terminated. 

The  legislature  of  Jamaica  seemed  resolved  to  prove  that 
his  warning  was  true,  when  it  met  on  the  28th  of  February. 
Earl  Belmore  stated  in  his  opening  speech  that  he  had 
been  commanded  to  submit  to  their  consideration  measures 
for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  slaves.  The 
house  immediately  declined  to  consider  any  measures  not 
emanating  from  themselves.*  Petitions  were  presented 
from  several  parishes,  denouncing  sectarians,  and  praying 
for  the  expulsion  of  all  missionaries.  The  newspapers  were 
filled  with  abuse  of  English  philanthropists,  and  of  any  in 
or  out  of  parliament  who  expressed  sympathy  with  slaves  ; 
and  thus  encouraged,  the  assembly  proceeded  to  greater 
extremes.  Early  in  March,  a  despatch  from  Lord  Goderich 
was  sent  down  by  the  governor  :  its  proposals  and  sugges- 
tions for  more  considerate  treatment  were  rudely  rejected,! 
and  some  resolutions  moved  by  excited  members,  too  out- 
rageous for  the  assembly,  blinded  as  it  was,  to  adopt.  One 
member  proposed  to  put  aU  missionaries  on  their  trial,  and 
moved  that  none  should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  island ; 
also,  that  any  one  who  might  hereafter  be  allowed  to  preach, 
should  first  pay  a  stamp  duty  of  £500  on  his  license. 
Another  gentleman  went  further,  and  proposed  perpetual 
expulsion.  I 

The  British  cabinet  and  his  Majesty's  council  were  not 
treated  with  more  deference.  Mr.  Berry  moved  that  the 
orders  in  council  should  be  carried  into  the  square  before 
the  house,  and  burned  by  the  common  hangman  :  to  facili- 
tate the  process,  he  tossed  the  copy  he  held  over  the  bar.§ 
Mr.  Stamp  suggested  utter  disregard  of  the  orders,  and 
then  began  to  talk  wildly  of  physical  force,  and  the  ability 

*  "  Votes,"  1882,  pp.  8-19.  +  Ibid.,  1832,  p.  86. 

I  Clark's  "  Memorials  of  Baptist  Missions,*'  p.  129  ;  Duncan's  *' Wes- 
leyan  Missions,"  p.  808.  §  Ibid.,  pp.  808,  809. 


284  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

of  the  militia  to  resist  with  bayonets  the  forces  of  the 
mother  country. 

A  series  of  resolutions  followed  the  hot  discussion,  con- 
taining, among  other  matters,  the  assertion  that  the  worst 
slaves  were  those  who  had  been  best  treated.*  The  house 
soon  after  manumitted,  or  in  other  ways  recompensed  eighty 
slaves,  for  their  good  conduct  during  the  rebellion.t  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  what  their  previous  treatment 
had  been. 

The  Hon.  Eichard  Barrett,  the  speaker,  and  the  Hon. 
Abraham  Johnson  were  appointed  to  proceed  to  England, 
and  instructed  to  represent  the  condition  of  the  colony  at 
the  next  sitting  of  the  imperial  parliament, — the  body  the 
assembly  so  often  declared  had  no  right  to  control  its  pro- 
ceedings. dBlOOO  was  voted  to  each  of  these  gentlemen  to 
defray  expenses.  Their  mission  was  to  represent  the  ruinous 
consequences  of  the  policy  which  had  been  pursued  in 
relation  to  the  colony — to  afford  information  as  to  the  actual 
condition  of  the  slaves — to  oppose  the  progress  of  opinions 
which,  it  was  said,  had  stirred  up  rebellion — to  ascertain 
the  views  of  his  Majesty's  government — and,  last  of  all,  to 
ask  the  said  government,  if  they  emancipated  the  slaves, 
"  in  what  state  they  expected  to  leave  the  island  ?"  I  All 
this  being  settled,  an  address  was  prepared  to  the  king, 
praying  to  be  relieved  of  the  expense  of  supporting  the 
troops,  followed  by  another,  complaining  of  the  injustice  of 
patent  offices  being  held  by  absentees.  § 

During  the  session  an  inquiry  was  instituted  by  the 
assembly  into  the  causes  of  the  rebellion.  The  report  of 
the  committee  was  presented  on  the  15th  of  April,  too  soon 
for  the  excited,  angry  feelings  to  have  calmed  down,  if  the 
committee  had  desired  to  do  justice.  The  evidence  attached 
to  the  report  is  entirely  ex-parte  in  its  character  ;  no  mis- 
sionary was  examined,  or  any  one  known  to  regard  their 
operations  mth  favour.  After  this  partial  investigation,  it 
was  reported  that  several  causes  had  contributed  to  excite 
the  slaves  to  rebellion.  The  most  influential  was  "the 
increasing  and  unconstitutional  interference  of  his  Majesty's 
ministers  with  local  legislation  in  regard  to  the  passing  of 
laws  for  their  government,"  and  the  intemperate  expression 

*  "  Votes,"  pp.  110,  111.  t  Ibid.,  1882,  pp.  163,  167. 

J  Ibid.,  pp.  186-239.  §  Ibid.,  pp.  240-245. 


HISTOBIOAL  EVENTS.  285 

of  sentiments  on  the  part  of  his  Majesty's  ministers  and 
other  persons  in  Great  Britain  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 
It  was  asserted,  secondly,  that  delusive  expectations  of 
freedom  had  been  produced  in  the  minds  of  slaves  by 
crafty,  ill-disposed  persons.  Thirdly,  that  it  was  owing  to 
"  a  mischievous  abuse  existing  in  the  system  adopted  by 
different  religious  sects  in  the  island,  termed  Baptists, 
Wesleyan  Methodists,  and  Moravians,  by  their  recognising 
gradations  of  rank  among  such  slaves  as  had  become  con- 
verts to  their  doctrines ;  whereby  the  less  ambitious  and 
more  peaceable  among  them  were  made  the  dupes  of  the 
more  artful  and  intelligent,  who  had  been  selected  by  the 
preachers  of  those  particular  sects  to  fill  ther  higher  offices 
in  their  chapels,  under  the  denomination  of  rulers,  elders, 
leaders,  and  helpers." 

The  committee  assigned  yet  another  cause,  namely,  the 
free  discussions  of  the  white  inhabitants  on  the  measures 
proposed  in  England.  Yet  from  this  they  digressed  to  the 
missionaries,  particularly  the  Baptists,  who,  it  was  asserted, 
taught  the  slaves  to  believe  that  they  could  not  serve  two 
masters ;  and  thus  led  them  to  resist  the  temporal  master, 
under  the  idea  that  they  would  thereby  render  themselves 
more  acceptable  to  the  spiritual  one. 

The  evidence  on  which  these  charges  were  based  utterly 
failed  to  bear  out  the  assertions  made.  Mr.  Codrington,  of 
St.  Thomas  in  the  East,  thought  he  heard  Buswell,  a 
slave,  say  that  he  overheard  a  driver  tell  his  wife  that 
Parson  Burton  had  told  him  that  the  king  had  made  the 
negroes  free  after  New  Year's  day.  He  also  thought  that 
the  said  slave  had  said  that  Mr.  Burton  uttered  the  words 
on  the  Sunday  before  Christmas  day.  Mr.  Codrington,  in 
another  part  of  his  evidence,  said  there  had  been  much 
excitement  among  the  slaves  since  August,  owing  to  the 
unguarded  manner  in  which  the  acts  of  the  imperial  govern- 
ment had  been  discussed  by  the  planters. 

The  speaker,  Mr.  Barrett,  also  custos  of  St.  James, 
stated  that  he  had  examined  the  papers  of  Mr.  Burchell, 
but  found  nothing  whatever  that  could  in  any  way  criminate 
him.  Nevertheless,  he  was  decidedly  opposed  to  the  plan 
of  leadership  prevailing  among  the  Baptists,  as  it  was  cal- 
culated to  enable  evil  disposed  persons  to  foment  rebellion. 
These  two  gentlemen  are  fair  examples  of  the  kind  of 


286  HISTOBT   OF  JAMAICA. 

evidence  adduced — a  good  deal  of  mere  hearsay  and  strong 
opinion,  formed  not  so  much  on  the  basis  of  actual  facts, 
as  on  mere  inferential  deductions.  Two  clergymen  sup- 
plied several  confessions  they  had  taken  from  the  lips  of 
convicted  criminals :  these  clearly  show  that  the  negroes 
thought  the  king  had  made  them  free,  but  that  the 
planters  kept  back  the  boon.  It  is  clear  that  some  Baptist 
leaders  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  planning  the  outbreak, 
but  there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  cast  blame  on  their 
pastors.  The  charge  is  so  incredible  that  it  would  not  be 
noticed,  but  it  is  even  now  frequently  repeated,  and  it  is 
therefore  desirable  to  show  that  no  evidence  whatever  was 
ever  given  in  support  of  it.* 

By  the  same  committee  it  was  stated  that  the  losses 
incurred  by  therebeUion  amounted  toil,  154,000 currency. 
In  St.  James,  one  hundred  properties  suffered  to  the 
extent  of  £606,000 ;  in  Hanover,  sixty  properties,  to  the 
amount  of  £425,000.  The  balance  was  distributed  between 
Westmoreland,  St.  Elizabeth,  Manchester,  Portland,  and 
St.  Thomas  in  the  East ;  but  in  the  three  last  places  the 
claims  were  chiefly  for  slaves  put  to  death.  The  expenses 
of  repressing  the  rebellion  were  at  first  put  down  at 
£161,000,  but  finally  reached  £200,000  currency. 

The  house  was  prorogued  at  the  end  of  April,  but  it  had 
previously  agreed  to  an  address  to  the  governor,  who  had 
been  recalled,  and  left  for  England  on  the  12th  of  June, 
1832.  He  was  said  to  be  amiable  in  all  the  relations  of 
private  life,  but  he  had  not  the  strength  of  character 
necessary  for  the  crisis.  It  is  questionable  if  any  good 
man  regretted  his  departure  from  the  colony.  It  is  certain 
that  the  Church  Unionists  felt  it  to  be  a  fatal  blow  to  their 
projects. 

The  West  Indian  party  in  England  was  as  unwise  as 
the  planters  in  its  action,  and  hastened  the  final  abolition 
of  that  system  of  slavery  it  was  so  anxious  to  uphold. 
In  April,  at  a  large  and  influential  meeting  held  in  London, 
the  blame  of  all  that  had  taken  place  in  Jamaica  was 
attributed  to  the  English  government,  and  an  indemnity 
claimed  for  the  losses  sustained.  On  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic  the  West  Indian  party  felt  quite  confident  that 
it  could  manage  slaves  well  enough  if  they  were  only  left 

*  "  Votes,"  1832 ;  "  Evidence,"  pp.  807-847. 


HISTOBICAL  EVENTS.  287 

to  its  legislation.  The  British  nation  was  not,  however, 
prepared  to  endorse  the  sentiments  of  Mr.  McComock  and 
the  editor  of  the  **  Courant."  Slaves  were  his  Majesty's 
subjects,  in  the  judgment  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain, 
and  must  be  legislated  for  accordingly. 

On  the  24th  of  May  a  petition  was  presented  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  signed  by  185,000  persons  in  or  near 
London,  praying  for  the  speedy  abolition  of  slavery; 
twenty-one  petitions,  signed  by  163,815  persons  in  the 
provinces,  were  soon  after  handed  in  by  one  nobleman. 
Mr.  T.  F.  Buxton,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  moved  for 
a  committee  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  speedy  abolition 
of  slavery ;  and  though  defeated  by  the  ministry,  it  was 
soon  clear  that  the  nation  would  tolerate  no  more  trifling 
with  the  gigantic  wrong.  Next  year  its  doom  was  pro- 
nounced. 

In  the  mean  time  a  true  nobleman,  not  only  by  royal 
patent,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  was  sent  to  govern 
Jamaica.  On  the  26th  of  July,  1832,  the  Earl  of  Mul- 
grave  landed,  and  at  once  commenced  an  administration 
of  untarnished  lustre,  of  uncompromising  fidelity.  Mr. 
Cuthbert,  president  of  the  council,  had  acted  as  lieute- 
nant-governor during  the  brief  interregnum. 

The  Earl  of  Mulgrave,  immediately  after  his  arrival,  made 
a  tour  of  the  island,  and  very  carefully  examined  the 
condition  of  those  districts  which  had  been  the  chief  scenes 
of  the  late  rebellion.  He  saw  little  or  nothing  to  confirm 
the  idea,  so  freely  entertained  in  some  quarters,  that 
another  outbreak  was  impending.  A  very  different  source 
of  apprehension  presented  itself  to  his  mind.  The  Colonial 
Church  Union  was  endangering  the  peace  of  the  community 
far  more  than  any  slave  confederation  had  ever  done. 
Some  most  disgraceful  proceedings  had  already  taken  place 
at  Savannah  la  Mar,  and  when  the  earl  reached  that  little 
town,  he  saw  many  painful  indications  of  the  sanguinary 
spirit  of  the  unionists. 

Towards  the  close  of  October,  Earl  Mulgrave  met  the 
assembly.  The  reply  to  his  opening  address  made  it 
evident  that  the  time  for  expostulation  with  Jamaica 
legislators  had  gone  by.  In  a  very  conciliatory  and 
guarded  manner  the  earl  alluded  to  his  recent  tour,  and 
expressed  his  conviction  that  no  further  acts  of  insubor- 


288  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

dination  on  the  part  of  the  slaves  could  be  expected ;  and 
with  great  delicacy  he  alluded  to  the  unlawful  proceedings 
of  the  Colonial  Union.  He  informed  the  members  that 
he  was  instructed  not  to  press  the  adoption  of  the  order 
in  council  of  the  2nd  of  November,  1831,  as  a  committee 
of  the  imperial  parliament  was  engaged,  at  the  instance 
of  the  West  Indian  body  in  England,  in  investigating  the 
actual  state  of  affairs  in  the  slave  colonies.  StiU  he  hoped 
they  would,  of  their  own  accord,  initiate  measures  of  an 
ameliorating  character.  He  also  announced  a  bill  affording 
relief  to  Jamaica  in  consequence  of  the  losses  sustained 
during  the  late  rebellion ;  and  assured  them  that  he  would 
faithfully  examine  into  the  real  state  of  the  island,  and  as 
faithfully  report  his  impressions. 

To  this  address  a  long  and  petulant  reply  was  returned. 
The  assembly  bluntly  declared  that  it  was  no  party  to  the 
inquiry  instigated  by  the  West  Indian  proprietors  at  home, 
nor  would  it  admit  that  the  House  of  Commons  could 
institute  any  effectual  inquiry  in  relation  to  the  social 
institutions  of  the  colony.  It  had  never  recognised  the 
parliamentary  resolutions  of  1823,  or  admitted  the  right  of 
the  House  of  Commons  to  legislate  on  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  island.  Jamaica  was  not  represented  in  the  British 
parliament ;  and  as  actual  representation  was  the  fountain 
from  which  just  legislation  must  flow,  any  attempt  to 
dictate  to  the  assembly  or  people  of  Jamaica  would  be 
tyranny.  The  irate  legislators  then  proceeded  to  express 
their  gratification  that  his  excellency  had  not  been  com- 
pelled to  make  the  unavailing  effort  to  induce  them  to  give 
effect  to  the  late  order  in  council,  which  only  proved  how 
unfit  theorists,  who  had  never  visited  the  colony,  were  to 
legislate  for  it.  They  were,  however,  much  gratified  to  find 
that  his  excellency  intended  to  examine  thoroughly,  and 
report  faithfully,  the  state  of  affairs,  as  they  had  previously 
had  to  complain  that  distance,  want  of  adequate  infor- 
mation, bigotry,  and  political  intrigue,  had  caused  them  to 
be  misrepresented  in  the  mother  country. 

To  this  long  tirade  the  governor  calmly  replied,  thanking 
them  for  their  personal  references  to  himself,  while  ex- 
pressing regret  at  the  general  tone  of  the  address.  Leaving 
them  to  settle  with  the  West  Indian  body  in  England  the 
question  of  the  parliamentary  committee,  he  reminded 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  289 

them  that  their  own  speaker,  accredited  by  them  as  their 
representative,  had  pressed  the  appointment  of  this  com- 
mittee on  the  government  at  home.  He  could  not  listen  to 
their  denial  of  the  right  of  the  imperial  parliament  to 
legislate  on  the  internal  affairs  of  the  colony,  **  without 
asserting,  in  the  most  unequivocal  maimer,  the  transcendent 
powers  of  the  imperial  legislature,  regulated  only  by  its 
own  discretion."  The  earl  then  adroitly  turned  upon  them 
the  complaint  that  distance  led  to  misapprehension,  and 
suggested  that  they  also  might  obtain  a  larger  measure  of 
consideration  from  the  reformed  parliament  than  they 
expected. 

The  assembly  soon  after  proceeded  to  pass  a  resolution, 
in  which  the  view  of  the  governor  as  to  the  transcendent 
powers  of  the  British  parliament  was  stated  to  be  subversive 
of  the  common  rights,  and  dangerous  to  the  lives  and 
liberties  of  the  colonists  !  They  acknowledged  the  supre- 
macy of  the  sovereign,  but  could  not  admit  the  supremacy 
of  a  portion  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  parent  state 
over  another  portion  of  those  subjects  in  Jamaica. 

During  the  session  the  governor,  in  compliance  with 
instructions  from  home,  called  upon  the  legislature  to 
provide  indemnification  to  the  proprietors  of  the  chapels 
which  had  been  destroyed.  To  this,  reply  was  made  that, 
while  deploring  such  acts  of  lawless  violence,  the  house 
could  not  afford  compensation  to  all  who  had  suffered 
during  the  late  disturbances,  and  it  would  be  an  act  of 
injustice  to  indemnify  a  few.  Moreover,  the  proprietors 
had  a  remedy  at  law.  When  this  nonsense  was  penned, 
every  man  in  Jamaica  knew  that  proceedings  had  been 
taken  against  the  men  who  destroyed  the  chapels  at  Ocho 
Bios  and  Oracabessa,  but  that  the  grand  jury  had  ignored 
the  bills.* 

The  planters  were,  to  some  extent,  assisted  by  the  im- 
perial parliament.  A  loan  of  £800,000  was  voted ;  another 
of  £200^000  followed  next  year,  and  the  colony  was  relieved 
of  the  payment  of  the  troops. 

Some  other  proceedings  in  the  aBsembly,  during  this 
session,  showed  that  its  members  not  onl^  disputed  the 
superior  privileges  and  power  of  the  imperial  parliament, 
but  actually  claimed  rights  not  belonging  to  that  body. 

*  Duncan*B  "  Narrative,"  pp.  821-^24. 

20 


290  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

For  an  indefinite  period,  the  assembly  had  arrogated  to 
itself  and  its  committees  the  right  of  examining  witnesses 
on  oath.  Earl  Mulgrave  imagined  that  this  right  had  been 
conferred  by  some  express  enactment,  for  which,  however, 
he  sought  in  vain.  A  message  was  sent  down  to  the  house, 
pointing  out  that  this  custom  was  unknown  in  the  British 
House  of  Commons,  and  that,  in  the  absence  of  some  law 
on  the  subject,  no  prosecution  for  perjury  could  be  main- 
tained by  the  house.  All  that  could  be  said  in  answer  was 
that  the  custom  was  interwoven  with  the  constitution  of 
the  house,  and  had  never  been  disputed  or  called  in 
question  before. 

With  this  and  other  assumptions  of  high  prerogative, 
the  assembly  was  not  willing  to  concede  to  the  council  the 
privileges  enjoyed  by  the  corresponding  branch  of  the  im- 
perial legislature.  The  council  had,  during  this  session, 
framed  two  bills,  one  empowering  justices  of  the  peace  to 
take  probate  of  wills  and  other  conveyances,  the  other  to 
enforce  the  attendance  of  magistrates  on  the  summary 
trial  of  slaves.  These  were  sent  down  to  the  assembly, 
who  refused  to  receive  them,  declaring  that  the  upper 
chamber  had  no  right  or  power  to  originate  bills.  The 
coimcil  refused  to  do  any  more  business  until  their  rights 
were  acknowledged,  and  a  dissolution  followed. 

The  earl,  in  his  remarks  on  this  occasion,  pointed  out 
that  those  who  claimed  privileges  not  parliamentary  should 
at  least  concede  those  that  were  to  the  other  branch  of  the 
legislature ;  more  especially  as  their  own  journals  proved 
that  they  had  often  adopted  measures  originated  in  the 
council.*  He  reminded  them  that  his  views  as  to  the 
superior  authority  of  the  British  parliament,  which  they 
had  stigmatised  as  subversive  of  their  rights  and  dangerous 
to  their  lives,  were  not  his,  but  those  of  every  constitutional 
lawyer,  maintained  by  the  practice  of  their  own  courts,  and 
asserted  in  official  correspondence  with  his  predecessors. 
As  a  cautious  statesman,  his  lordship  reminded  them  that 
the  question  had  been  raised  by  themselves,  and  with  them 
any  consequences  resulting  from  its  agitation  must  rest. 

*  On  the  29th  of  October,  1758,  the  assembly  passed  a  resolution, 
declaring  that,  by  letters  patent  granted  by  Charles  II.,  in  the  time  of 
Sir  Thomas  Lynch,  both  branches  have  the  power  of  proposing  laws, 
statutes,  and  ordinances,  for  the  pubUc  peace,  wel&o^,  and  good 
government  of  the  island. 


mSTOBIOAL  EVENTS.  291 

The  vehemence  of  their  denial  could  not  negative  the 
existence  of  imperial  rights,  though  moderation  might 
avert  their  exercise.  But  should  the  necessity  arise,  it 
vfTOuld  not  be  for  any  purpose  of  display,  but  in  furtherance 
of  measures  for  the  ultimate  accomplishing  of  which  the 
parliament  of  Great  Britain  vtras  pledged,  and  then  only 
when  experience  had  shown  that  the  legislature  of  the 
colony  would  not  itself  adopt  them. 

Dissolution  did  not  immediately  disperse  the  assembly. 
A  considerable  number  remained  and  held  meetings,  at 
which  resolutions  were  passed.  The  new  assembly,  like 
that  of  England,  represented  an  enlarged  constituency. 
Jews  and  men  of  colour,  possessed  of  the  necessary  quali- 
fications, were  now  eligible  to  vote. 

The  Colonial  Unions  had  been  declared  illegal  by  the 
attorney-general,  and  instructions  were  received  from 
home  respecting  their  suppression.  The  parish  of  St. 
Ann's  had  long  possessed  an  imenviable  notoriety  for  its 
hostility  to  missionaries,  and  here,  too,  the  union  feeling 
was  strong.  Two  officers  of  the  St.  Anns  regiment  of 
militia  had  been  very  active  in  inducing  their  men  to  enrol 
themselves  as  members  of  the  union  while  on  duty,  and 
were  in  consequence  dismissed  by  the  earl.  Colonel  Hilton 
loudly  condemned  this  proceeding,  and  seemed  disposed  to 
set  the  executive  at  defiance.  A  brief  correspondence  en- 
sued, resulting  in  his  removal  from  the  command  of  the 
corps. 

Colonel  Brown,  who  now  succeeded  to  the  command, 
addressed  the  men,  and  in  angry  terms  commented  on  the 
conduct  of  his  excellency.  Conciliatory  measures  having 
failed,  the  governor  ordered  the  regiment  to  be  mustered 
on  a  certain  day,  and  proceeded  to  the  place,  accompanied 
by  a  few  gentlemen,  chiefly  members-  of  his  staff.  Efforts 
were  made  to  stir  up  the  worst  passions  of  the  people. 
Placards  were  posted  about,  with  such  words  as  ''tar  and 
feather  him,"  &c.  The  governor,  on  his  arrival,  found  the 
men  mustered,  with  Colonel  Brown  at  their  head.  In  a 
few  brief  and  manly  words  he  addressed  them,  and  then 
ordered  Colonel  Brown  to  sheath  his  sword,  and  consider 
himself  as  dismissed.  Many  of  the  officers  now  tore  off 
their  epaulets  and  trampled  them  imder  foot,  and  in  the 
general  confusion  nearly  all  the  men  broke  from  the  ranks. 

20* 


292  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

The  governor  was  quite  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  under 
the  command  of  the  next  senior  officer  the  line  was  re- 
formed, and  marched  past  in  review  order,  although  eflforts 
were  made  by  those  officers  who  had  sympathised  with 
Brown  to  prevent  them.  So  for  a  time  the  affair  ended. 
A  great  deal  of  discussion  followed,  but  this  review  on 
the  Huntly  pasture  was  the  death-blow  to  the  Colonial 
Unions. 

In  May,  1833,  Mr.  Stanley,  the  colonial  secretary,  stated 
in  parliament  that  recommendation,  advice,  exhortation, 
had  all  failed  to  impress  the  minds  of  the  infatuated  slave- 
holders, and  that  the  British  nation  must  now,  through  its 
representatives,  suppress  the  evil  of  slavery.  He  accord- 
ingly introduced  a  series  of  resolutions  providing  for  its 
gradual  abolition.  Children  bom  after  the  passing  of  the 
act,  and  all  those  imder  six  years  of  age  at  that  time,  were 
declared  free.  Others,  it  was  proposed,  should  be  regis- 
tered as  apprentices,  and  work  for  their  former  owners  for 
twelve  years,  if  field  labourers,  and  for  seven  if  engaged 
in  domestic  work.  A  loan  of  fifteen  millions  sterlmg  to 
the  planters  was  proposed;  and  a  special  magistracy, 
together  with  a  system  of  education,  was  suggested  as 
necessary  to  the  efficient  working  of  the  plan.  These 
propositions  were  warmly  discussed :  some  opposed  most 
vehemently  the  project  of  emancipation  under  any  form. 
Others  sought  better  conditions  for  the  planters,  while 
great  numbers  thought  that  too  much  had  been  conceded 
to  them.  A  few  argued  that  as  human  beings  could  not 
be  regarded  in  the  light  of  property,  no  compensation 
should  be  afforded  to  those  who  held  them  as  such.  Amidst 
men  whose  hatred  to  slavery  was  undoubted,  differences  of 
opinion  on  this  last  point  arose.  Mr.  Sturge,  and  many 
others  connected  with  the  Anti- Slavery  Society,  not  only 
opposed  all  compensation,  but  passed  a  vote  of  censure  on 
Mr.  Buxton  for  supporting  that  proposition.*  In  many 
quarters  fears  were  expressed  that  the  system  of  apprentice- 
ship would  not  work  well,  nor  were  these  fears  groundless. 
Mr.  Buxton  strongly  opposed  the  provision,  and  Lord 
Howick  resigned  his  office  as  a  member  of  the  government 
through  inability  to  sustain  it. 

The  sterling  honesty  and  sound  sense  of  the  British 

*  ••  Life  of  Buxton,*'  pp.  83G-888        Life  of  Sturge,"  pp.  105, 106. 


mSTOBIOAL  EVENTS.  293 

nation  settled  the  vexed  questions  arising  in  the  coarse  of 
controversy.  It  was  felt  that  the  planters  ought  not  to 
suffer  exclusively  by  emancipation,  great  as  their  folly  had 
been,  for  slavery  as  a  system  had  been  recognised  and 
fostered  by  English  laws.  The  proposed  loan  of  fifteen 
million  pounds  was  changed  into  a  gift  of  twenty  millions, 
of  which  rather  more  than  six  millions  was  appropriated 
to  Jamaica.  The  term  of  apprenticeship  was  limited  to 
six  years  for  field  hands,  or  predials,  as  they  were  termed, 
and  four  years  for  house-servants,  or  non-predials.  Chil- 
dren of  six  years  of  age  were  declared  free.  Stipendiary 
magistrates,  unconnected  with  the  planting  or  local  inte- 
rests, were  appointed,  and  some  very  inadequate  provision 
made  for  education. 

So  much  excitement  was  occasioned  in  Jamaica  by  the 
discussion  of  these  questions,  that  on  the  29th  of  June  the 
governor  issued  a  proclamation  to  guard  the  slave  popula- 
tion from  mistaken  notions  as  to  the  intentions  of  the 
British  government.  On  the  5th  of  August  he  was  able  to 
write  to  the  colonial  secretary  to  the  effect  that  the  in- 
creased amount  awarded  for  compensation  had  modified 
previous  dissatisfaction,  and  that  a  better  spirit  was  begin- 
ning to  prevail.  It  was,  however,  no  part  of  the  policy  of 
the  colonists  to  yield  a  graceful  assent  even  to  the  in- 
evitable ;  and  on  the  19th  of  the  same  month  the  speaker, 
Mr.  Barrett,  Mr.  Hodgson,  the  other  island  delegate,  and 
the  island  agent,  Mr.  Surge,  presented  an  address  to  Earl 
Grey,  who  was  then  premier,  protesting  against  the  bill. 
At  the  end  of  that  month  it  passed  the  House  of  Lords,  and 
on  the  1st  of  September  the  Plover  mail-packet  brought 
into  Kingston  copies  of  the  bill  in  its  amended  form.  A  few 
weeks  after  another  packet  brought  intelligence  that  it  had 
received  the  royal  assent. 

The  braggadocia  of  men  who  had  denied  the  superior 
authority  of  the  British  parliament  was  thus  confounded ; 
though,  as  Mr.  Stanley  had  said  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
on  the  20th  of  May,  '*  It  was  not  without  extreme  reluct- 
ance, nor  without  a  conviction  of  the  absolute  necessity  of 
such  a  course,  that  his  Majesty's  government  had  taken 
upon  themselves  the  responsibility  of  recommending  to  the 
imperial  parliament  the  exercise  of  their  indisputable  right 
to  interpose  the  paramount  authority  of  this  country  in 


294  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

legislating  for  the  internal  regulation  of  the  chartered 
colonies." 

The  readiness  with  which  the  British  people  consented 
to  the  payment  of  twenty  millions,  to  secure  emancipation 
for  the  slaves,  stands  pre-eminent  as  one  of  the  grandest 
acts  of  national  self-sacrifice  for  the  cause  of  justice  and 
humanity  the  worldTias  ever  witnessed. 

On  the  8th  of  October  the  new  assembly  was  convened. 
The  speech  of  the  governor  was  chiefly  in  reference  to  the 
great  question  of  the  day.  Though  not  then  in  receipt  of 
official  intelligence,  he  had  no  hesitation  in  telling  the 
legislative  bodies  then  assembled  that  the  almost  unani- 
mous voice  of  the  British  people  had  pronounced  against 
the  continuation  of  slavery,  and  that  a  grant  of  twenty 
millions  had  been  made  by  way  of  compensation.  He 
reminded  them  that  they  had  not  expressed  any  desire  to 
perpetuate  slavery  if  compensation  was  given,  and  he 
therefore  depended  on  their  co-operation  in  carrying  out  aU 
the  requisite  details.  He  went  on  to  urge  a  kind  and  con- 
siderate course  of  conduct  on  the  part  of  proprietors,  and 
especially  on  that  of  their  subordinates;  so  that  the 
personal  authority  which  must  soon  expire  should  seem 
rather  to  be  abandoned  voluntarily  than  abruptly  taken 
from  them  at  the  period  fixed  by  imperial  enactment.  The 
kindly  caution  was  not  imneeded,  though  not  in  all  cases 
regarded.  On  the  very  evening  of  the  31st  of  July,  1884, 
the  eve  of  emancipation,  some  foolish,  vindictive  men  in- 
flicted corporal  punishment  on  slaves — in  one  case  in  face 
of  a  special  appeal  from  a  newly-appointed  stipendiary 
magistrate. 

Early  in  the  following  year  Mr.  Stanley  *  was  able,  not 
only  to  express  high  approbation  of  Earl  Mulgrave's  con- 
ciliatory and  dignified  address,  but  much  satisfaction  at 
the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  received  by  the  council 
and  assembly.  The  latter  body  did  not,  in  some  subse- 
quent proceedings,  display  the  spirit  shadowed  forth  in 
their  reply  to  the  speech ;  still,  justice  demands  that  their 
language  should  be  recorded.  The  people  of  Jamaica,  it 
was  said,  "  have  never  advocated  slavery  in  the  abstract, 
but  as  connected  with  the  rights  of  property.  Upon  the 
principle  of  compensation  they  are  ready  to  relinquish  the 

*  Despatch,  January  8,  1834. 


HISTORICAL  E7EXTS.  295 

system,  and  will  be  proud  to  show  that  they  have  feelings 
as  favourable  to  the  improvement  of  the  labouring  popula- 
tion as  their  fellow-subjects  in  the  mother  country.  All 
they  claim  is  to  be  fairly  dealt  with." 

The  parish  of  Trelawny  sent  up  a  petition,  urging  the 
assembly  to  put  aside  all  past  differences,  and  so  far  from 
resisting  the  wishes  of  the  mother  country,  to  carry  them 
into  effect  in  such  a  manner  as  should  combine  the  welfare 
of  the  slaves  with  the  wishes  of  their  owners.*  From 
St.  James  and  Westmoreland  petitions  of  a  similar  cha- 
racter followed.  On  the  15th  of  October  the  **  act  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  throughout  the  British  colonies*'  was 
laid  before  the  house,  and  a  measure  for  the  adoption  of 
its  principles  by  the  local  legislature  was  also  presented. 
During  the  sitting  of  the  committee  to  whom  it  was  re- 
ferred, Dr.  Pine,  a  holder  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  slaves, 
sent  in  a  petition  recommending  immediate  emancipation 
without  the  intervention  of  apprenticeship.  There  were 
those  in  the  assembly  who  sympathised  in  his  views,  and 
were  prepared,  with  the  more  astute  statesmen  in  Antigua, 
to  welcome  immediate  emancipation.  They  proposed  to 
dele  all  the  clauses  in  the  bill  that  had  relation  to  that 
period  of  suspense,  and  provide  that  on  the  1st  of  August, 
1884,  slavery  under  any  form  should  cease  throughout  the 
island,  on  the  one  condition  that  the  sum  awarded  as  com- 
pensation should  be  previously  paid  into  the  Bank  of 
England.  The  amendment  was,  however,  only  supported 
on  the  division  by  four  votes  against  thirty.t 

The  bill  at  length  passed  through  its  several  stages, 
when,  instead  of  being  sent  to  the  council,  it  was  referred 
once  more  to  a  committee  of  the  whole  house.  Few 
amendments  of  any  importance  were  made.  Among  the 
rejected  ones  was  a  proposal  to  the  effect,  that  though 
accepting  the  compensation,  the  assembly  expected  more 
would  be  given  if  the  sum  awarded  was  found  insuflBcient. 
At  length  the  bill  got  into  the  hands  of  the  coimcil :  there 
many  amendments  were  made.  The  assembly  fortunately 
regarded  these  as  improvements  (which  they  really  were), 
and  adopted  them.  On  the  12th  of  December  the  governor 
gave  his  assent,  and  the  bill  became  law.  The  will  of 
Great  Britain  with  respect  to  slavery  had  been  so  clearly 

*  "  Votes,"  1833,  p.  36.  \  Ibid.,  1883,  p.  174. 


296  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

pronounced,  that  opposition  on  the  part  of  any  colony 
would  have  been  perfectly  futile.  The  measure  was  a 
national  one,  though  opportunity  was  afforded  to  the  dif- 
ferent local  legislatures  to  give  effect  to  its  provisions.  Of 
necessity,  though  most  unwillingly,  that  of  Jamaica  gave 
its  assent,  and  so  avoided  a  collision  which  would  have 
proved  ruinous  to  the  planters,  and  detrimental  to  the 
good  order  of  the  emancipated  peasantry.  Yet  so  infatuated 
was  a  considerable  party,  that  it  is  questionable  if  the  bill 
would  have  passed,  even  as  soon  as  it  did,  had  not  the  Earl 
of  Mulgrave  exercised  a  very  considerable  degree  of  per- 
sonal influence.  No  good  end  could  be  gained  by  reviewing 
more  fully  the  bitter  party  politics  of  the  day.  The  con- 
ciliatory manners  and  manly  firmness  of  the  earl  greatly 
contributed  to  the  speedy  adjustment  of  the  important 
question. 

Though  the  assembly  yielded,  they  did  not  act  grace- 
fully. They  did  what  was  done  under  protest,  notwith- 
standing all  they  said  about  desiring  freedom  on  equitable 
principles  of  compensation.  That  the  compensation  was 
adequate,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  Property  in 
Jamaica  would  not  have  been  worth  a  year's  purchase 
if  freedom  had  been  denied.  And  yet,  on  the  very  day  on 
which  they  were  summoned  for  prorogation  to  the  council 
chamber,  they  prepared  a  "  protest  against  the  act  of  the 
imperial  parliament  for  the  abolition  of  slavery."  The 
document  is  preserved  in  the  printed  votes  of  the  assembly, 
and  there  it  may  well  remain  undisturbed.  One  hundred 
and  thirty-five  years  before  the  **  Groans  of  the  Planta- 
tions "  were  published ;  and  now  that  the  groans  of  those 
who  in  bitter  bondage  had  toiled  in  those  plantations  were 
almost  at  an  end,  the  last  groans  of  the  descendants  of  the 
grumbling  plantocracy  of  1698  may  well  pass  unheeded  by. 
Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  they  were  seven  in  number.  The 
unconstitutional  character  of  the  proceedings  in  the  British 
parliament  was  asserted.  The  act  of  emancipation  was 
declared  to  be  one  of  spoliation,  which  could  produce 
nothing  but  clamour,  discontent,  and  rebellion.  The  com- 
pensation was  inadequate,  and  its  appropriation  uncertain, 
indefinite,  and  expensive.  No  protection,  it  was  added, 
was  afforded  to  the  free  men  in  the  island  against  the 
dangers  of  emancipation.     And,  last  of  all,  the  bill  was 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  297 

the  fruit  of  a  coercive  system  of  policy,  which  had  sub- 
stituted hypothesis  and  speculation  for  history,  fact,  and 
experience.* 

Now,  when  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  which  formerly 
attended  the  meetings  of  the  legislative  bodies  have  passed 
away,  and  the  simple  forms  of  a  parochial  vestry  are  sub- 
stituted in  their  place,  it  may  be  well  to  recall  the  scene 
which  presented  itself  to  the  gaze  of  those  who  were 
present  at  Earl  Mulgrave's  last  interview  with  the  legis- 
lature. The  place  of  assembly  was  the  spacious  Council 
Hall.  The  Countess  of  Mulgrave,  with  a  number  of  ladies 
and  a  few  male  guests,  occupied  the  gallery.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  council  were  seated ;  those  of  the  assembly 
stood  on  their  right  hand.  At  the  head  of  the  council 
table  was  the  governor,  in  full  'military  uniform,  wearing 
the  blue  ribbon  of  the  Bath  and  the  grand  cross  of  the 
Boyal  Hanoverian  order.  The  officers  of  his  staff  and  a 
numerous  gathering  of  military  and  naval  officers  sur- 
rounded him ;  but,  strangest  of  all  on  this  occasion,  was 
the  presence  of  coloured  and  black  men,  who  crowded  the 
space  below  the  bar,  and  thus  significantly  gave  indication 
of  the  great  change  which  had  come  over  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  people.  The  speech  delivered  by  the  earl  on 
this  occasion  was  congratulatory;  yet  words  of  caution 
were  not  wanting,  rendered  more  impressive  by  the  deep 
emotion  of  the  speaker.  It  was  almost  the  last  important 
act  of  a  brief  and  eventful  administration,  for  the  inces- 
sant labour  and  excitement  of  the  past  few  months  were 
only  too  plainly  evident  in  the  failing  health  of  the  noble- 
minded  governor. 

As  the  assembly  dispersed,'many  of  its  members  returned 
to  their  homes  with  the  most  gloomy  forebodings.  A 
repetition  of  the  events  of  1881  on  a  larger  scale  was  pre- 
dicted by  not  a  few.  The  slaves,  however,  were  at  rest ; 
there  was  light  now  in  all  their  dwellings,  for  the  day  of 
deliverance  was  at  hand.  They  understood  that  Christmas 
time,  as  they  had  never  done  before,  the  grand  meaning  of 
the  angels'  song,  ''  Peace  and  good-will  to  meiL"  The 
Lord  in  whom  (though  often  with  imperfect  knowledge) 
they  trusted  had  done  great  things  for  them.  '*  He  had 
exalted  them  of  low  degree."     Sweet,  soothing  Magnificat ! 

*  "  Votes,"  1888,  p.  296. 


298  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Bung  thoughtlessly  oftentimes,  rarely  perhaps  with  a  full 
comprehension  of  the  promise  given  to  suffering  humanity 
in  its  blessed  words,  yet  ever  pronouncing  the  coming 
downfall  of  all  wrong  and  cruelty,  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion. Its  promise  to  the  suffering  of  all  ages  was  in  part 
fulfilled  in  Jamaica,  and  will  one  day  be  realised  by  all 
mankind. 

Towards  the  close  of  1833  six  stipendiary  magistrates 
arrived  from  England,  and  early  in  1834  many  others 
followed.  On  the  tact  and  energy  of  these  gentlemen  the 
efficient  working  of  the  abolition  act  in  no  small  degree 
depended.  A  board  of  assistant  commissioners  was  also 
formed,  to  settle  the  questions  which  now  arose  as  to  the 
apportionment  of  compensation  to  slaveholders.  In  other 
ways,  pressing  duties  engaged  the  attention  of  the  governor, 
whose  departure  at  such  a  juncture  was  in  many  respects 
unfortunate. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1834,  he  embarked  for  England. 
In  reviewing  his  administration,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how 
firmness  and  discretion  could  have  been  more  firmly 
blended  than  in  the  character  of  this  nobleman.  The 
colony  had  passed  through  a  fiery  ordeal :  a  single  false 
step  on  the  part  of  its  ruler  might  have  led  to  frightful 
calamities.  The  simple  fact  that  peace  was  preserved  at 
such  a  crisis  is  in  itself  no  small  testimony  to  the  states- 
manship of  the  governor. 

At  no  former  period  were  the  hospitalities  of  King's 
House  more  gracefully  dispensed.  The  high  accomplish- 
ments and  amiable  disposition  of  the  earl,  and  the  affable, 
genial  manners  of  the  countess,  shed  a  lustre  on  Spanish 
Town,  and  influenced  society  throughout  the  colony.  The 
brilliant  entertainments  of  the  governor  and  his  lady  were 
not  confined,  as  in  former  days,  to  the  white  population. 
Ladies  and  gentlemen  of  colour  now  mingled  with  others, 
and  experienced  the  same  courtesy  and  attention  from  their 
distinguished  hosts.  It  could  not  be  expected  that  the 
descendants  of  old  Creole  families  would  set  aside  the  pre- 
judices of  generations,  and  follow  at  once  the  example  set 
at  King's  House.  Still,  to  the  Earl  and  Countess  of 
Mulgrave  belongs  the  honour  of  having  broken  through  the 
caste  notions  that  prevailed,  and  which  unhappily  still 
linger  amidst  a  very  limited  section  of  West  Indian  society. 


mSTOBICAL  EVENTS.  299 

Never  was  such  a  tribute  more  gracefully  rendered  than 
when,  in  addition  to  the  customary  tokens  of  respect,  a 
number  of  beautiful  maidens  of  colour  strewed  the  path  of 
the  countess  with  flowers  as  she  approached  the  place  of 
embarcation.  A  seat  in  the  cabinet,  and  subsequently  the 
lord-lieutenancy  of  Ireland,  marked  the  esteem  in  which 
the  Earl  of  Mulgrdve  (afterwards  Marquis  of  Normanby) 
was  held  by  the  British  nation.  It  was  confessed  at  the 
time  that  Ireland  had  never  been  better  governed  than 
during  his  administration.  None  ever  ruled  Jamaica  with 
more  wisdom,  or  deserved  from  its  inhabitants  a  higher 
tribute  of  gratitude ;  yet  no  statue  has  been  erected  to  his 
memory,  no  district  has  been  called  by  his  name.  Nothing, 
in  short,  has  been  done  in  Jamaica  for  the  man  whose 
memory  will  be  venerated  by  the  great  and  good  in  all 
succeeding  ages  of  the  world's  history. 

For  fifteen  days  after  the  departure  of  the  earl,  Mr. 
Cuthbert,  president  of  the  legislative  council,  acted  as 
lieutenant-governor.  Then  Sir  Amos  G.  R.  Norcutt  arrived 
as  commander  of  the  troops,  and  assumed  the  temporary 
administration  of  affairs;  but  in  less  than  a  week  after  the 
Marquis  of  Sligo  arrived,  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  1834,  was 
sworn  in  as  governor.  Like  most  of  his  predecessors,  he 
made  a  tour  of  the  island,  visiting  nearly  every  parish. 
The  exigencies  of  the  public  service  did  not  allow  him  to 
stay  long  m  any  one  spot,  for  early  in  June  he  found  it 
necessary  to  convene  the  legislature,  to  supply  some  omis- 
sions in  the  emancipation  bill,  to  which  attention  had  been 
called  by  the  colonial  oflSce.  The  jails  and  workhouses  * 
also  were  not  only  insecure,  but  required  important  changes 
in  management  and  discipline.  An  efficient  poUce  was 
greatly  needed,  some  arrangement  for  circuit  courts  of 
justice  seemed  indispensable,  together  with  weekly  courts 
for  jurisdiction  in  minor  offences.  The  old  slave  courts 
would  soon  be  obsolete,  but  the  machinery  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  in  their  place  had  yet  to  be  organised. 

Though  the  abolition  bill  passed  during  the  former 
session  had  received  the  royal  assent,  and  the  right  of  the 
island,  in  consequence,  to  participate  in  the  compensation 

*  Not  poor-houses,  as  the  word  signifies  in  England,  but  houses  of 
correction— slave  prisons. 


800  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

had  been  proclaimed  on  the  10th  of  April,  complaints  as 
to  the  principle  of  distribution  were  heard,  to  be  soon 
followed  by  indications  of  the  fierce  contentions  which 
subsequently  threw  the  affairs  of  the  colony  into  confusion 
and  imperilled  its  constitution.  When  the  marquis  had 
delivered  his  opening  address  to  the  legislature,  the  as- 
sembly proceeded  to  vote  an  address,  in  which  they  set 
forth  their  grievances,  and  declared  that,  in  giving  effect  to 
the  act  of  emancipation,  they  did  so  against  their  better 
judgment,  and  only  to  avert  the  still  greater  danger  of 
opposing  it.  There  was  good  reason  to  believe  that  they 
would  not  now  amend  the  bill,  and  only  the  wild  fear  that 
the  negroes  would  rise  preserved  the  island  at  this  critical 
moment  from  a  collision  between  the  governor  and  the 
assembly.  With  no  good  will,  but  under  the  pressure  of 
necessity,  the  "  act  in  aid  "  of  the  abolition  bill  was  passed, 
with  all  the  provisions  but  one  recommended  by  Mr. 
Stanley.*  The  police  bill,  as  at  first  passed,  could  not  have 
received  the  governor's  assent,  but  a  prorogation  of  a  day 
enabled  some  judicious  members  to  enact  one  of  an 
improved  character. 

On  the  4th  of  July  the  legislative  assemblies  were  dis- 
missed :  in  less  than  four  weeks  the  slaves  would  be  free. 
It  was  a  great  and  untried  experiment — ^what  wonder  if 
men,  not  only  in  the  colonies,  but  in  Europe,  awaited  it 
with  anxiety.  Many  were  convinced  that  the  emancipated 
classes  would  make  good  use  of  their  freedom,  while  others 
indulged  in  the  most  gloomy  forebodings.  There  were  a 
few  who  would  have  rejoiced  had  the  change  been  marked 
by  riot  and  disorder,  and  were  quite  prepared  to  aggravate 
any  angry  feelings  that  might  be  displayed  by  the  use  of 
severe  measures.  The  marquis  foresaw  this,  and  secretly 
took  steps  to  secure  the  military  stores  and  ammunition 
from  being  employed,  except  under  the  direction  of  compe- 
tent  military  authority.  His  words  at  the  closing  of  the 
session  were  very  sign&cant.  He  spoke  of  the  necessity  of 
mutual  forbearance,  and  expressed  his  confidence  that  the 
slaves  would  gradually  attain  the  virtues  of  free  men.  But 
he  added:  "Let  not  the  expression  of  their  joy  be  mis- 
taken for  a  disposition  to  riot — let  not  those  under  you  so 
mistake  their  feelings,  and  misuse  authority." 

*  Despatch,  February  20, 1834. 


HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  801 

Every  precaution  had  been  taken  for  immediate  suppres- 
sion in  the  event  of  an  outbreak.  The  military  force  was 
one  thousand  men  in  excess  of  the  number  located  in  the 
island  during  the  most  perilous  period  of  the  French  war. 
A  large  fleet  was  stationed  around  the  coast,  and  as  steam 
was  now  introduced  into  the  navy,  it  was  possible  speedily 
to  land  a  force  at  any  spot,  irrespective  of  the  trade  wind, 
which  had  often  before  prevented  rapidity  of  movement. 

The  1st  of  August  fell  on  a  Friday.  It  was  announced 
that  a  holiday,  lasting  till  Monday,  would  commence  on 
Thursday  night.  On  Friday  every  chapel  was  open  for 
Divine  worship,  and  nearly  every  church,  except  in  King- 
ston, where  by  some  blunder  they  were  kept  closed.  Every 
place  was  crammed  by  apparently  devout  and  grateful 
worshippers.  No  riot  of  any  kind  occurred.  In  Kingston, 
Montego  Bay,  and  some  other  places,  there  were  grand  fes- 
tivities in  the  evening,  but  the  vast  majority  devoted  the 
day  to  worship  and  quiet  gatherings.  No  people  on  the 
face  of  the  globe  could  have  celebrated  a  day  of  such  vast 
importance  to  themselves  and  their  posterity  with  so  much 
resA  devotion  and  so  little  uproarious  hilarity. 

The  following  Sabbath  was  even  more  remarkable. 
Sunday  markets  had  been  abolished  with  slavery.  No 
groups  of  people  with  baskets  on  their  heads  could  now 
be  seen  crowding  the  roads  as  heretofore.  All  shops 
were  closed,  and  thousands  of  cleanly-dressed  and  happy- 
looking  peasantry  thronged  the  roads,  flocking  to  their  re- 
spective places  of  worship.  It  was  a  high  day,  a  Sabbath 
long  to  be  remembered,  a  foretaste  of  better  things  to 
come.  For  though  in  one  respect  a  day  of  freedom, 
there  were  yet  four  years  of  that  strange  social  solecism 
called  apprenticeship  to  be  endured;  and  if  all  hearts 
were  joyful,  the  full  blessedness  of  their  changed  condition 
could  only  be  realised  when  "  full  free,"  as  the  negroes 
soon  learned  to  call  it,  had  come. 

The  Marquis  of  Sligo,  in  a  despatch  dated  the  18th  of 
August,  described  the  conduct  of  the  late  bondsmen  as 
most  exemplary ;  and  after  alluding  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  holidays  were  spent,  stated  that  on  the  Monday  all 
turned  out  to  work,  except  in  St.  Anns.  In  this  parish 
white  rioters  had  taught  insubordination  to  negroes.  On 
the  7th  of  August  the  governor  was  informed  that  in  the 


802  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

eastern  part  of  this  large  parish  refusals  to  work  were 
general.  The  deputy  adjutant-general  was  immediately 
despatched,  in  the  Eh<idamanthuSy  with  two  companies  of 
the  37th  Begiment,  and  reached  Ocho  Bios  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th.  Their  appearance  struck  terror  into 
the  heaxts  of  the  negroes,  yet  they  were  evidently  unwilling 
to  return  to  work. 

The  special  magistrate  warned  them  of  the  conse- 
quences, but  it  was  not  until  several  of  them  had  been 
nogged,  and  others  sent  to  the  workhouse,  that  his  advice 
was  taken,  and  work  resumed.  A  great  deal  was  made 
out  of  this  affair,  but  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  masters 
and  overseers  of  these  people  were  far  from  blameless  in 
the  matter.  In  St.  James,  Westmoreland,  St.  Elizabeth, 
and  St.  Thomas  in  the  East,  some  very  petty  disturbances 
occurred.  They  were  very  easily  accounted  for.  In  many 
cases  mothers  were  not  aUowed  to  take  time,  during  work 
hours,  to  suckle  their  children ;  the  old  women,  who  had 
formerly  been  appointed  as  nurses  and  field-cooks,  had 
been  withdrawn ;  and  many  little  privileges  and  perquisites, 
granted  by  most  proprietors  in  slavery,  but  not  specially 
secured  during  apprenticeship,  were  withheld  by  short- 
sighted men.*  Where  proprietors  treated  their  people  with 
consideration,  they  had  as  a  rule  little  cause  for  complaint. 

In  one  case,  the  special  magistrate  was  thought  in 
England  to  have  been  too  harsh  in  his  treatment  of  the 
apprentices,  but  searching  inquiry  exonerated  him  from 
blame.  The  occurrence  referred  to  was  at  Belvidere,  in 
St.  Thomas  in  the  East.  In  consequence  of  many  con- 
tinued acts  of  insubordination,  the  magistrate  ordered 
certain  apprentices  to  be  sent  to  the  workhouse  at  Morant 
Bay.  While  arrangements  were  being  made  for  this, 
the  prisoners  were  locked  up  in  the  boilmg-house.  One  of 
them  called  out  to  his  friends  without  to  bum  the  trash- 
house.  This  was  done :  first  one  and  then  the  other 
trash-house  was  set  on  fire,  and  not  a  single  field  negro 
would  assist  in  putting  out  the  flames.  The  prisoners  did 
not,  however,  succeed  in  escaping  during  the  excitement, 
as  was  no  doubt  intended,  but  were  marched  off  to  jail.  In- 
stigated by  an  aged  woman,  three  of  whose  children  were 
among  the  number,   an  abortive  attempt  was  made  to 

*  Parliamentary  Papers,  1836.    No.  88. 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  303 

rescue  them.  Trials  for  arson  followed,  and  punishments 
were  inflicted  on  the  original  offenders,  when  matters 
quietly  settled  down.  With  the  exception  of  the  affair  in 
8t.  Anns,  this  was  certainly  the  most  serious  charge  of 
insubordination  that  could  be  found  to  justify  the  pro- 
phecies of  evil  in  which  the  opponents  of  emancipation 
mdulged. 

The  governor  was  at  this  time  sorely  harassed  by  tho 
complaints  and  inquiries  which  poured  in  upon  him  from 
all  quarters.  The  task  he  had  to  accomplish  was  one  of 
the  most  delicate  and  difficult  ever  imposed  upon  a  colonial 
governor,  and  his  position  was  very  imperfectly  understood 
at  the  colonial  office.  He  had  to  enforce  laws  held  in 
perfect  detestation  by  the  great  mass  of  proprietors  and 
their  subordinates,  who  also  were  quite  certain  that 
nothing  but  ruin  and  bloodshed  could  follow  emancipation. 
There  was  continual  alarm  lest  the  people  should  rise  in 
rebellion.  First,  it  was  to  be  in  August,  the  August  whose 
peaceful  festivities  have  been  noticed;  then  Christmas, 
then  the  anniversary  of  freedom.  Sligo  had  no  such  fears, 
or  if  he  feared  at  aU,  it  was  the  planters  rather  than  their 
labourers.  The  planters  hated  him,  for  they,  identified 
the  man  with  the  measures  he  was  bound  to  enforce.  Had 
he  been  faithless  to  his  trust,  had  he  carried  out  the  great 
scheme  of  emancipation  in  another  spirit  than  that  in 
which  it  was  understood  by  the  British  nation,  and  sup- 
ported the  special  magistrates  in  acts  of  severity,  he  might 
then  have  escaped  the  storm  which  was  about  to  burst 
upon  him. 

The  legislature  assembled,  as  usual,  in  October.  In  the 
opening  speech  the  governor  frankly  admitted  that  the 
special  magistrates  were  not  sufficiently  numerous  to  dis- 
charge the  onerous  duties  they  were  called  on  to  perform, 
and  that  many  practical  difficulties  had  arisen  in  the  work- 
ing of  the  scheme  of  apprenticeship.  These,  he  hoped, 
would  soon  be  overcome,  and  he  virtually  acknowledged 
that  coercion  was  necessary  in  some  cases,  by  alluding  to 
the  absence  of  treadmills  in  many  parochial  workhouses. 
The  assembly  took  a  far  more  doleful  view  of  the  state  of 
affairs.  It  was  asserted  that,  not  only  were  the  special 
ma^strates  few  in  number,  but  many  were  partial  in  their 
decisions.    The  slaves  were  not  gaining  the  virtues  of  free 


804  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

men,  but  were  insubordinate  and  impatient  of  restraint; 
they  worked  badly  in  legal  hours,  and  very  few  would  work 
in  their  own  time  for  wages.  Life  and  property  would  not 
be  safe,  but  anarchy  would  soon  universally  prevail,  if  the 
apprentices  were  not  taught  by  an  efficient  magistracy  that, 
**  though  the  domestic  authority  of  the  master  no  longer 
existed,"  another  form  of  control  had  been  substituted.* 

In  reply,  the  governor  did  not  attempt  to  deny  that  some 
magistrates  had  made  mistakes ;  still,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  they  had  no  precedents  to  guide  them,  and  each 
one  necessarily  gave  his  own  interpretation  of  the  law.  As 
for  the  apprentices,  he  suggested  that  three  months  was  too 
short  a  time  for  them  to  gain  the  virtues  of  free  men  and 
lose  the  vices  of  long  ages  of  slavery ;  but  where  insubor- 
dinati6n  existed,  the  magistrates  would  teach  them  that 
proper  control  really  existed.! 

A  few  days  later  the  assembly  appointed  a  committee  to 
inquire  into  the  proceedings  of  the  commissioners  charged 
with  the  duty  of  apportioning  the  compensation  awarded 
to  slave-owners.  The  governor  courteously  reminded  the 
house  by  message  that  those  gentlemen  were  not  under  the 
control  of  the  local  legislature,  but  acted  under  authority 
derived  from  the  imperial  parliament.  After  a  long  search 
for  precedents,  the  assembly  voted  the  message  a  breach  of 

Erivilege,  and  received  an  assurance  from  the  governor  that 
e  did  not  suppose  his  informatioli  could  be  regarded  in 
such  a  light,  he  merely  wished  to  afford  them  information. 
This  question  of  privileges,  of  which  the  house  was  never 
weary,  was  soon  revived  in  another  form. 

In  an  address  to  the  king,  the  assembly  called  the  eman- 
cipation act  a  **  frightful  experiment,"  and  asked  for  many 
privileges,  not  only  with  regard  to  protection  from  competi- 
tion with  slave  colonies,  but  with  the  English  possessions 
in  the  east.  It  also  proceeded  to  pass  some  measures  which 
infringed  on  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  emancipation  ;  but 
a  despatch  from  the  colonial  office  clearly  laid  down  the 
principle  that  no  local  measure  could  alter  that  agreed  to 
by  parliament,  and  upon  which  alone  the  planters'  claim 
for  compensation  rested. 

A  committee  of  the  house  accumulated  a  vast  amount 
of  evidence  as  to  the  maimer  in  which  the  apprenticeship 

*  «•  Votes,''  1884,  pp.  18, 19.  f  Ibid.,  1884,  pp.  20, 21. 


HISTORICAL  EYENTS.  805 

system  worked.  An  epitome  of  evidence  given  by  some  of 
the  largest  proprietors  and  attorneys  in  the  island  can 
briefly  be  given.  Mr.  Gordon,*  who  had  thirty  properties 
and  bom  seven  to  eight  thousand  slaves  under  his  care, 
stated  that  on  the  whole  the  system  worked  well,  better 
than  he  had  expected  ;  though,  owing  to  the  shortening  of 
the  hours  of  labour,  only  three-fourths  of  the  work  formerly 
completed  could  be  done.  Other  gentlemen,  Mr.  Far- 
quharson  and  Mr.  Barrett,  who  had  each  eleven  hundred 
slaves,  said  their  work  was  done,  and  saw  no  material  dif- 
ference in  the  properties  under  their  care.  Mr.  Miller,  with 
four  thousand  slaves,  simply  said  it  did  not  work  so  well  as 
he  could  wish;  and  the  colonial  engineer  found  that  he 
had  to  add  fifteen  per  cent,  to  his  estimates  of  the  cost  of 
labour.  A  great  planting  attorney  of  St.  Thomas,  who  had 
two  thousand  six  hundred  slaves,  spoke  of  the  system  as 
working  indiflferently ;  while  five  or  six  others,  managing 
about  seven  thousand  slaves  between  them,  complained 
strongly  of  the  change.  It  is  amusing  to  find  some  of  these 
gentlemen  lamenting  that  children  of  slaves  were  not  ap- 
prenticed. The  law  had  only  set  free  those  under  six  years 
of  age.t 

In  December  of  1884,  the  Marquis  of  Sligo  was  able  to 
report  that  the  negroes  had  lost  all  fear  of  making  com- 
plaints if  they  imagined  themselves  wronged,  and  in  many 
cases  these  complaints  were  unfounded ;  while  the  owners 
were  becoming  more  reconciled  to  the  new  system.  The 
apprentices  were  more  ready  to  work  during  overtime  than 
they  had  at  first  been.  Half-a-crown  seems  to  have  been 
an  ordinary  recompense  for  twelve  hours*  labour.  Copious 
reports  were  sent  in  by  the  stipendiary  magistrates,  and  on 
the  whole  their  character  was  favourable.     On  some  pro- 

Eerties  peculation  was  complained  of,  or  occasional  out- 
ursts  of  discontent,  chiefly  among  the  women,  t 
When  the  first  year  of  the  apprenticeship  had  expired,  a 
difficulty  arose  in  consequence  of  the  expiration  of  the  bill 
appointing  a  police  force.  It  ought  to  have  been  passed  for 
the  whole  term  of  apprenticeship,  but  to  this  the  assembly 
would  not  agree.  In  the  expectation  that  an  efficient  police 
would  be  provided,  no  grant  was  asked  for  the  support  of 

♦  Father  of  the  late  G.  W.  Gordon.       f  "  Votes,"  1884 ;  appendix. 

I  Parliamentary  Papers,  1884-85. 

21 


806  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

the  troops.  The  assembly  was  not,  however,  disposed  to 
make  any  permanent  provision  for  the  preservation  of  the 
public  peace ;  and  the  session  convened  in  Augast,  1885, 
was  so  unsatisfactory,  that  the  marquis  was  compelled  to 
dissolve  the  house  and  appeal  to  the  constituencies. 
Among  other  extraordinary  proceedings  in  relation  to  the 
apprentices,  it  was  found  that  in  some  parishes  their  little 
possessions  had  been  taxed.  To  this  the  governor  strongly 
objected,  asserting  that  they  had  neither  the  rights  nor 
privileges  of  free  men,  and  ought  not  therefore  to  be  liable 
to  taxation,  a  view  in  which  the  colonial  office  agreed. 

During  the  elections,  some  ground  was  given  for  hoping 
that  a  better  spirit  would  be  displayed  by  the  new  assembly 
towards  the  Marquis  of  Sligo.  In  many  instances  candi- 
dates were  urged  not  to  oppose  him,  and  the  first  days  of 
the  session  afforded  some  promise  of  a  better  state  of 
things.  It  seemed  likely  that  the  measures  passed  would 
be  such  as  to  satisfy  the  reasonable  expectations  of  the 
English  government,  and  give  full  effect  to  the  great 
scheme  of  emancipation ;  when,  unfortunately,  a  letter 
from  the  island  agent  called  the  attention  of  the  house  to 
some  remarks  made  by  Lord  Sligo,  in  reference  to  a  certain 
parish  in  which  harsh  treatment  prevailed.*  Documents 
clearly  proved  the  correctness  of  the  statements  made,  but 
they  affected  the  reputation  of  men  able  to  create  a  power- 
ful opposition,  and  all  harmony  was  at  once  at  an  end. 
There  were  frequent  adjournments,  and  one  from  the  14th 
of  December  to  the  26th  of  January,  1886.  At  this  latter 
sitting  the  assembly  sent  in  to  the  council  a  most  imperfect 
measure  in  aid  of  the  abolition  act,  quite  failing  to  supply 
the  deficiencies  which  had  been  pointed  out  by  the  colonial 
secretary.  The  council  proceeded  to  make  the  requisite 
amendments,  and  so  altered  the  bill  as  to  bring  it  into 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  abolition  act.  To  these 
changes  the  assembly  would  not  agree,  and  the  marquis 
then  appealed  to  them  to  reconsider  the  subject,  and  to 
modify  the  measure  so  as  to  bring  it  into  accordance  witib 
the  wishes  of  the  English  people.  This  proceeding  was 
immediately  voted  a  breach  of  the  privileges  of  the  house, 
and  it  was  resolved  that  no  business  should  be  done  until 
reparation  had  been  made. 

'*'  Parliamentary  Papers  on  Slavery,  No.  242. 


mSTOBIGAIi  BYBNTS.  807 

Next  day,  assent  having  been  given  to  some  bills,  the 
governor  prorogued  the  house.  His  speech  was  a  most 
severe  rebuke.  He  reminded  them  how  every  recommen- 
dation he  had  made  in  the  interests  of  the  apprentices  had 
been  disregarded.  He  had  asked  them  to  revise  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  jails,  and  to  prevent  the  administration  of 
corporal  punishment  by  the  supervisors :  to  prevent  the 
whipping  of  females,  of  which  complaint  had  been  made, 
and  also  the  cutting  off  of  their  hair  before  conviction  ;  and 
to  put  an  end  to  the  imposition  of  taxes  on  the  property  of 
apprentices;  yet  to  none  of  these  recommendations  had 
the  slightest  attention  been  given.  He  had  sent  four  mes- 
sages on  the  subject  of  education,  but  all  were  unheeded, 
while  other  matters  of  the  utmost  importance  had  been 
neglected.  He  denied  that  there  was  any  breach  of  their 
privileges  in  the  message  he  had  sent,  for  the  constitution 
of  the  assembly  was  not  the  same  as  that  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  There  the  cabinet  ministers  were  the  legitimate 
interpreters  of  the  wishes  of  the  crown ;  but  in  the  house  of 
assembly,  in  the  absence  of  such  a  body,  a  message  from  the 
eovemor  was  the  only  way  in  which  the  wishes  of  the  execQ. 
tive  could  be  conveyed  to  the  representatives  of  the  people. 

Next  day  a  new  session  was  convened,  but  the  house 
still  resolved  not  to  proceed  to  business  until  reparation 
was  made  for  the  alleged  breach  of  privilege.  The  governor 
reminded  the  members  that  it  was  unusual  to  refer  at  one 
session  to  what  had  been  done  during  the  previous  one; 
and  that,  where  no  offence  had  been  contemplated  or  really 
committed,  no  reparation  could  be  made.  The  house  ad- 
hered to  its  position,  and  another  prorogation  followed. 

Reasonable  as  the  position  taken  by  Lord  Sligo  was,  it 
turned  out  that  he  was  legally  wrong,  and  the  course  he 
had  adopted  was  not  approved  by  the  colonial  minister. 
Accordingly,  on  the  24th  of  May,  he  called  the  assembly 
together,  and  stated  that,  having  been  informed  by  an 
authority  of  more  experience  than  his  own,  and  to  which  it 
was  his  duty  to  submit,  that  the  delivery  of  the  message 
relative  to  the  act  in  aid  involved  a  breach  (not  contem- 
plated, as  he  had  assured  them)  of  their  privileges,  he  had 
only  to  express  his  regret  at  its  having  taken  place.*    It 

*  Letter  of  Lord  Glenelg,  March  81,  1886 ;  Votes  of  May  sessiony 
1886,  pp.  6, 82-84, 164. 188. 

21* 


808  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

■was  not  to  be  expected  that,  after  such  an  occimrenee, 
Lord  Sligo  could  remain  much  longer  in  the  colony,  and 
he  was  soon  succeeded  by  Sir  Lionel  Smith. 

From  the  first,  the  planters  had  not  taken  kindly  to  the 
introduction  of  the  stipendiary  magistracy ;  and  the  mis- 
takes naturally  made  by  men  to  whom  the  negro  character 
was  a  new  study,  were  made  the  subject  of  severe  ani- 
madversion. The  number  at  first  sent  out  was  altogether 
unequalto  the  duties  which  had  to  be  discharged ;  and  the 
incessant  work,  the  exposure  to  all  weathers,  together  with 
mental  anxiety,  occasioned  twenty  deaths  during  the  first 
two  years.*  The  assembly  urged  Lord  Sligo  to  appoint 
gentlemen  of  local  experience  to  the  work,  but  this  he 
refused  to  do,  and  the  British  government  soon  sent  out  a 
much  larger  staft*.  A  specimen  of  the  work  which  devolved 
on  these  officials  is  found  in  the  statement  that  in  May, 
1885,  fifty-six  stipendiary  magistrates  travelled  (mostly  on 
horseback)  14,196  miles,  visiting  3440  properties,  on  1282 
of  which  there  were  complaints  to  be  heard.  This  was  not 
a  special  season  of  hard  work,  for  the  returns  of  one  year, 
from  May,  1885,  to  1886,  show  journeys  extending  to 
170,469  miles,  and  involving  visits  to  88,664  estates. 

The  salary,  at  first  ^6800  a  year,  but  subsequently  raised 
to  £450,  was  altogether  inadequate,  as  many  horses  had  to 
be  kept.  In  part  from  the  want  of  taverns,,  these  gentle- 
men had  to  partake  of  the  hospitality  of  the  planters ;  and 
however  impartial  a  man  might  be,  it  was  natural  that  the 
apprentices  should  argue  that  those  who  had  been  enter- 
tained by  the  master  would  be  disposed  to  favour  him  in 
any  case  against  his  people.  That  they  had  reason  to 
complain  in  some  cases,  is  unquestionable.  In  instances 
where  magistrates  were  dismissed  for  improper  conduct, 
purses  or  plate  were  presented  by  certain  planters,  while 
those  who  were  not  regarded  with  favour  were  harassed  by 
civil  suits ;  and  in  several  inquiries  instituted  by  the  as- 
sembly, they  were  brought  up  to  Spanish  Town  to  give 
evidence,  and  kept  waiting  for  days,  at  great  expense,  which 
was  never  refunded.  When  the  number  of  these  gentlemen 
was  only  thirty,  it  was  customary,  in  many  quarters,  to 
speak  of  them  as  the  thirty  tyrants. 

In  the  great  majority  of  cases  they  faithfully  and  con- 
*  Sligo*8  '*  Jamaica  under  the  Apprenticeship,"  p.  &8. 


mSTOBIOAL  EVENTS.  809 

Bcientiously  discharged  the  duties  entrusted  to  them ;  but 
that  some  should  have  been  partial  in  their  decisions  is 
hardly  to  be  wondered  at,  when  all  the  strong  party  feelings 
of  the  time  are  taken  into  account. 

A  serious  diflSculty  arose  out  of  a  very  simple  matter. 
There  was  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  way  in  which 
the  forty  and  a  half  hours  of  work  required  of  the  appren- 
tices was  to  be  divided.  The  plan  which  became  most 
common  was  to  take  nine  hours  on  each  of  the  first  four 
days  of  the  week,  and  four  and  a  half  on  Friday ;  the 
remainder  of  the  week  being  at  the  disposal  of  the  appren- 
tice, who  could  either  hire  himself  out  for  wages,  or  work 
in  his  provision  ground  for  the  maintenance  *  of  himself 
and  family,  as  he  had  done  in  the  days  of  slavery.  While 
the  apprenticeship  had  not  set  the  labourer  free  from  this 
obligation,  it  secured  for  him,  if  properly  interpreted,  the 
privileges  and  allowances  of  slavery.  In  many  instances 
these  were  refused,  and  great*  discontent  ensued.  Where 
kindness  was  blended  with  firmness,  and  proprietors,  adapt- 
ing themselves  to  the  new  order  of  things,  sought  to  secure 
the  good  feeling  of  their  apprentices,  things  as  a  rule  worked 
well.  In  some  cases  larger  crops  were  taken  off  than  in 
slavery,  and  there  was  much  less  loss  of  stock  and  other 
property  than  previously. 

Yet  thus  early  it  was  seen  that  some  sugar  estates,  which 
flourished  under  slavery,  were  so  unfavourably  situated  as 
to  soil  and  climate,  as  to  be  losing  concerns  under  the 
ordinary  conditions  of  the  free  labour  market,  and  they 
were  in  consequence  abandoned  soon  after.  The  equaliza- 
tion of  sugar  duties,  ten  years  later,  led  to  the  relinquish- 
ment of  other  properties.  It  is  to  the  fact  that  protection 
and  high  prices,  combined  in  the  first  instance  with  slavery, 
had  led  to  the  opening  of  many  estates  that  could  not  pay 
under  any  other  conditions,  that  to  some  considerable 
extent  the  great  diminution  in  the  exports  of  the  colony  is 
to  be  ascribed. 

Sir  Lionel  Smith  arrived  on  the  30th  of  August,  1836. 
He  had  been  governor  of  the  Windward  Islands  during  the 
introduction  of  the  apprenticeship  there,  and  his  retirement 
had  been  generally  regretted.  High  expectations  were 
formed  by  the  planters  in  Jamaica  as  to  the  results  of  his 


810  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

administration  among  them.  He  was  destined,  however,  to 
find,  as  Lord  Sligo  had  done,  that  the  time  had  not  yet 
arrived  when  a  governor,  anxious  to  do  even-handed  justice 
to  all,  would  be  appreciated  by  the  ruling  class.  His 
opening  speech,  when  the  legislature  met  on  the  Ist  of 
November,  must  have  sounded  strangely  to  many  who 
heard  him.  After  alluding  to  the  fact  that  Jamaica  had 
been  the  first  to  give  effect  to  the  act  of  emancipation,  and 
deploring  the  diJBSculties  which  had  arisen  as  to  details,  bat 
which  he  trusted  would  be  soon  adjusted,  he  went  on  to  say : 
''There  is  one  most  important  subject  which  I  cannot 
resist  submitting  to  your  grave  consideration.  It  is  the 
religious  and  moral  condition  of  the  negroes.  No  man  has 
had  such  enlarged  opportunities  of  observation  among  this 
class  as  I  have  had,  either  in  the  immediate  government  of, 
or  the  eventual  control  of,  seven  colonies ;  and  I  am  sorry 
to  proclaim  that  they  are  in  this  island  in  a  more  deplor- 
ably backw.ard  state  than  any  other.  Yet,  gentlemen,  men 
must  be  taught  to  fear  God  before  they  can  be  made  to 
respect  the  laws.  It  is  physically  impossible  for  the  minis- 
ters of  the  established  church,  few  in  number,  with  an 
extended  surface  of  population,  to  do  more  than  they  have 
done.  The  first  object  is  to  instil  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  not  to  insist  on  any  particular  form  of  church 
discipline.  I  firmly  believe  that  the  assistance  of  the 
missionaries  is  most  necessary  to  this  end.  Gentlemen, 
you  have  hardly  four  more  years  to  watch  over  the  experi- 
ment of  apprenticeship :  give  every  facility  you  can  to  the 
missionaries'  labours.  Banish  from  your  mind  the  idea 
that  they  are  your  enemies.  I  will  answer  with  my  head 
for  their  loyalty  and  fidelity.  Encourage  their  peaceable 
settlement  among  your  people.  Let  every  four  or  five  con- 
tiguous estates  combine  for  the  erection  of  chapel-schools ; 
and  knowing,  as  you  well  do,  the  attachment  of  the  negro 
to  the  place  of  his  birth  and  the  burial-place  of  his  parents, 
you  may,  I  sincerely  believe,  by  these  means  locate  on  your 
estates  a  contented  peasantry." 

These  were  words  of  wisdom.  The  house  replied  that  the 
clergy  had  not  done  all  they  could,  and  that  the  missionaries 
had  not  been  opposed  so  long  as  they  confined  themselves 
to  their  legitimate  duties.  However,  the  members  were 
anxious  to  do  all  they  could  to  promote  the  moral  and 


mSTOBIOAL  EVENTS.  811 

religious  welfare  of  the  people,  and  to  establish  schools,  if 
habits  of  industry  were  inculcated.  Certain  parties  seemed 
willing  to  believe  this,  and  so  sent  in  petitions  for  aid  in 
their  efforts  to  promote  the  religious  welfare  of  the  people, 
generally  speaking  without  success.  Very  little  can  be 
recorded  of  the  proceedings  of  this  session.  Great  abuses, 
especially  in  the  hospital  and  lunatic  asylums,  were  brought 
to  light,  and  disclosures  made  as  to  the  deplorable  want  of 
efficient  police  supervision,  even  at  the  seat  of  government. 
Sir  Lionel  Smith  complained  that  his  family  could  not  rest 
in  consequence  of  the  disorderly  bands  which  paraded  the 
town  at  night. 

Of  far  more  importance  to  the  island  than  the  proceedings 
of  its  local  legislature,  was  a  select  committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  moved  for  by  Mr.  Buxton,  "  to  inquire  into 
the  working  of  the  apprenticeship  system  in  the  colonies, 
the  condition  of  the  apprentices,  and  the  laws  and  regula- 
tions affecting  them  which  have  been  passed."  The  first 
report  made  by  this  committee  had  relation  chiefly  to 
Jamaica.  It  stated  that  many  legal  difficulties  had  arisen, 
involving  substantial  and  practical  consequences  as  well  as 
important  principles.  The  tribunals  for  valuing  the  ap- 
prentices who  might  claim  their  freedom  were  pronounced 
defective.  The  valuations  were  in  many  cases  excessive, 
owing  to  the  local  justices  outvoting  the  stipendiary  magis- 
trate. From  August  1st,  1884,  to  May  8l8t,  1886,  581 
persons  bought  their  freedom  at  a  cost  of  rather  more  than 
JS18,000.  These  valuations  were  made  up  to  the  81st  of 
July,  1840,  at  which  period  it  was  at  first  intended  slavery 
should  expire. 

That  corporal  punishment  had  been  inflicted  on  females, 
notwithstanding  the  prohibitions  of  the  Abolition  Act,  was 
clearly  proved  :  it  was  generally  done  in  workhouses  which 
were  under  the  supervision  of  local  magistrates.  Many 
questions  arose  during  this  inquiry  as  to  the  allowances 
and  indulgences  common  in  slavery,  to  times  of  labour,  the 
marriage  of  apprentices,  and  other  matters  affecting  the 
well-being  of  the  people.  The  conmiittee  elicited  the  fact 
that  on  627  estates  slaves  were  working  for  hire  in  their 
own  time,  and  that  on  only  sixty-nine  had  they  refused  to 
do  so.  The  average  rate  of  payment  was  about  twopence 
per  hour.     This  was  currency,  so  the  pay  for  ten  hours 


812  mSTOBY   OF  JAMAICA. 

would  only  be  one  shilling.     Two  shillings  sterling  was 
given  for  digging  a  hundred  cane-holes. 

The  punishments  were  shown  to  be  very  numerous. 
During  the  first  year  of  apprenticeship  upwards  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  were  inflicted;  but  during  the  first  eight 
months  of  the  next  year  twenty-seven  thousand  punish- 
ments are  recorded.  Neglect  of  duty,  disobedience,  and 
insolence,  were  the  chief  offences. 

Yet,  on  the  whole,  the  committee  thought  that  the 
system  of  apprenticeship  was  working  favourably.  The 
conduct  of  the  apprentices  generally  was  good,  they 
worked  for  wages,  were  fairly  treated,  and  more  heartily 
than  during  slavery.  Mutual  suspicion  and  irritation  were 
subsiding;  industrious  habits  and  desire  for  improvement 
were  increasing.  Such  being  the  opinion  of  the  committee, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  report  wound  up  by  the  declara- 
tion that  it  would  ''  regard  as  unfortunate  any  occurrence 
which  should  have  a  tendency  to  unsettle  either  party  in 
regard  to  the  determination  of  the  imperial  parliament  to 
preserve  inviolate  the  compact  by  which  the  services  of 
apprentices  are  secured,  under  certain  restrictions,  for  a 
definite  period."  Mr.  Sturge  and  other  leading  aboli- 
tionists were  by  no  means  satisfied  with  this  conclusion ; 
and  in  company  with  Mr.  Harvey,  he  determined  to  ascer- 
tain, by  personal  inspection,  the  true  state  of  the  appren- 
tices. The  result  of  the  personal  inquiries  of  these 
gentlemen  was  embodied  in  ,a  volume  they  published,  and 
excited  immense  attention  throughout  the  British  empire. 
The  disclosures  they  made,  relative  to  the  state  of  the 
workhouses,  or  slave  prisons,  the  treadmill  system,  and  the 
unsatisfactory  condition  of  a  great  number  of  properties, 
revived  the  anti-slavery  feeling  which  had  partially  slum- 
bered, and  it  began  seriously  to  be  debated  whether 
the  term  of  apprenticeship  must  not  be  cut  short,  as  its 
working  was  so  unsatisfactory. 

Another  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  inquired 
further  into  the  condition  of  the  colonies,  and  on  the  20th 
of  February,  1888,  Lord  Brougham  moved,  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  a  series  of  resolutions,  among  which  was  one  to 
the  effect  **  that  it  is  expedient  that  the  period  of  predial 
apprenticeship  in  all  the  colonies  should  cease  and  deter- 
mine on  the  1st  of  Augua};,  1888."    On  this  occasion  only 


s 


.      HISTORICAL  EVENTS.  818 

seven  peers  supported  him.  On  the  29th  of  March  a 
resolation  to  the  same  effect  was  brought  before  the  House 
of  Commons.  It  was  sustained  by  petitions  signed  by 
over  a  million  of  people.  Delegates  came  up  from  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  crowded  the  lobby  of  the  house 
on  the  night  fixed  for  the  debate.  The  government 
opposed  the  motion,  but  two  hundred  and  fifteen  voted 
for  it,  and  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  against  it.  On 
the  22nd  of  May  another,  and  still  bolder  proposal, 
was  laid  before  the  house,  to  the  effect  "  that  negro 
apprenticeship  in  the  British  colonies  should  at  once 
cease  and  determine."  The  government  was  unprepared, 
and  the  motion  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  three.  A 
week  after,  the  government  induced  the  house  to  adopt  a 
resolution  which  virtually  rescinded  this,  but  it  was  quite 
clear  that  the  struggle  was  hopeless,  and  the  colonial  legis- 
latures were  induced  to  give  effect  to  the  wishes  of  the 
British  people. 

The  death  of  William  IV.,  and  the  accession  of  Queen 
Victoria,  had  led  to  a  dissolution  of  the  Jamaica  house  of 
assembly,  and  on  the  24th  of  October,  1887,  the  newly- 
elected  members  met.  The  prospects  of  the  colony  were 
rather  gloomy;  for  several  months  it  had  suffered  from 
drought,  and  there  was  considerable  scarcity  of  provisions. 
The  first  weeks  of  this  assembly  were  occupied  by  a  variety 
of  local  questions.  The  condition  of  the  apprentices  was 
the  subject  of  more  than  one  message  from  the  governor, 
and  of  much  discussion  in  the  house.  In  the  treatment 
of  the  negroes,  some  owners  or  overseers  had  made  a 
distinction  between  the  allowances  and  the  indulgences 
of  slavery.  The  former,  such  as  certain  grants  of  food, 
clothing,  &c.,  were  still  secured  by  law ;  the  latter  were 
optional,  but  their  cessation  had  occasioned  an  immense 
amount  of  ill-feeling.  Cooks  to  the  field  labourers, 
persons  to  fetch  water,  nurses  in  hospitals,  and  an  allow- 
ance to  the  sick,  were  things  that  might  be  refused,  and 
often  were.  Then,  in  slavery,  mothers  of  six  children,  aged 
people,  and  pregnant  women,  were  exempted  from  all  but 
the  lightest  labour,  and  often  entirely  excused,  but  this 
was  not  generally  done  during  apprenticeship.  Sir  Lionel 
thought  all  this  to  be  deplored,  and  pointed  out  that 
though  the  people  might  henceforth  work  for  their  former 


814  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

masters,  their  feelings  woald  not  be  so  cordial  as  if  they 
were  considerately  treated  during  the  transition  period. 

Another  class  of  residents  had  grounds  for  complaint  as 
strong  as  any  of  the  apprentices:  these  were  the  white 
emigrants.  The  house  of  assembly  had  hatched  a  project 
for  hnporting  white  emigrants  into  the  island ;  an/a  Mr. 
Myers  was  quite  ready  to  bring  almost  any  number  from 
Germany,  at  a  charge  of  £15  a  head.  The  records  of  the 
house  of  assembly  afford  ample  information  relative  to 
the  progress  of  this  experiment,  and  of  the  money  paid  on 
account  of  it  from  time  to  time.  £29,270  is  the  sum  put 
down  for  premiums.  This  would  represent  1950  emigrants : 
fifty-three  came  in  the  middle  of  1834,  five  hundred  and 
six  later  in  the  year,  and  five  hundred  and  thirty-two  soon 
after.  The  catalogue  of  names,  and  of  the  location  of  the 
different  parties,  is  complete,  but  not  the  record  of  death 
and  misery.  Three  viUages  were  provided,  at  the  cost  of 
several  thousand  pounds,  for  these  people,  one  in  each 
of  the  counties  into  which  the  island  is  divided.  At  first 
the  reports  from  these  villages,  especially  from  Seaforth 
and  Altamont,  were  encouraging.  Land  was  brought 
under  cultivation,  and  some  progress  made ;  but  how  these 
settlements,  even  in  their  most  flourishing  state,  yielded 
any  return  for  the  immense  expenditure,  it  is  impossible  to 
see.  The  chief  object  of  Mr.  Myers  would  appear  to  have 
been  to  secure  emigrants.  Their  previous  habits  of  life 
could  have  been  of  little  importance,  for  in  the  list  of  oc- 
cupations may  be  found  millers  and  weavers,  dyers  and 
colliers,  musicians  and  comedians,  for  none  of  whom  was 
there  occasion  in  Jamaica. 

Great  indignation  was  expressed  by  the  assembly  on 
account  of  the  disallowance  by  the  colonial  office  of  several 
acts  passed  during  former  sessions.  A  very  long  report, 
in  reply  to  sundry  messages  of  the  governor  on  these  topics, 
defends  the  action  of  the  legislature.  That  the  colonial 
minister  was  anxious  to  secure  the  liberties  and  rights  of 
the  labouring  classes,  is  evident;  and  that  the  assembly  was 
anxious  to  coerce  where  possible,  is  equally  plain.  Other 
messages  had  reference  to  bills  affecting  the  revenue,  a 
point  upon  which  the  house  was  always  tenacious  of  its 
privileges ;  but  the  question  of  prisons  was  the  most  serious, 
and  soon  came  up  again  in  a  form  that  led  to  serious  com- 


HISTORICAL   EVENTS.  815 

plications.  This  session  cannot  be  regarded  as  satisfactory, 
but  only  a  brief  adjournment  could  be  given.  The  5th  of 
June,  1888,  saw  the  legislature  once  more  assembled,  with 
business  of  the  most  momentous  character  to  transact. 

The  governor,  in  his  opening  speech,  explained  that  he 
had  called  them  together  at  such  an  unusual  time  in  con- 
sequence of  the  great  agitation  in  England.  The  efforts  of 
the  ministry  were  found  barely  sufficient  to  preserve  the 
original  duration  of  the  apprenticeship  as  an  obUgation  of 
national  faith.  There  was  also  no  little  excitement  among 
the  negroes,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  secure  their  labour 
in  agricultural  operations,  when  not  only  had  other  colonies 
declared  for  an  earlier  day  of  freedom,  but  some  proprietors 
in  Jamaica  had  determined  to  release  predials  and  non- 
predials  from  labour  at  the  same  time.  The  assembly 
professed  to  be  ready  to  consider  the  subject,  and  observed 
that  the  apprenticeship  had  been  forced  on  its  acceptance  as 
one  of  the  precautionary  measures  to  be  adopted  in  the  tran- 
sition from  slavery  to  freedom,  and  was  a  portion  of  their 
compensation.  In  discussing  its  early  cessation,  it  was 
added  :  *'  We  neither  assume  the  responsibility,  nor  exone- 
rate the  public  faith."  * 

The  despatches  which  had  been  received  from  the 
colonial  minister  accelerated  the  action  of  the  house.  The 
first  of  these,  dated  April  2nd,  alluded  to  the  agitation  in 
and  out  of  parliament  on  the  question  of  the  apprenticeship. 
The  public,  it  was  said,  had  been  excited  by  exaggerated 
statements,  while  facts  favourable  to  the  existing  state  of 
things  had  been  suppressed.  Still,  it  was  felt  that  abuses 
really  existed  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  supply  the  means  of 
provoking  public  indignation ;  and  while  the  complaints 
had  not  exclusive  reference  to  Jamaica,  the  evils  alluded  to 
existed  there  to  a  larger  extent  than  in  any  other  colony. 

But  it  was  only  after  all  attempts  to  obtain  from  its  legis- 
lature a  correction  of  the  defects  in  the  abolition  ''act  in 
aid  "  had  failed,  that  the  imperial  parliament  was  asked  to 
interfere.  The  bill  which  had  been  submitted  to  the  House 
of  Lords,  to  supply  the  defects  in  that  of  the  Jamaica  legis- 
lature, had  passed  that  and  the  lower  house  without  any 
expression  of  opinion  that  it  outran  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  while  many  thought  that  it  did  not  go  far  enough. 

*  "  Votea,"  1888,  p.  10. 


816  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

It  received  the  royal  assent  on  the  11th  of  April,  and 
copies  were  at  once  sent  out  to  Jamaica,  with  instructions 
that  it  should  be  proclaimed  in  the  colony,  and  a  day 
named  when  it  should  come  into  force.  It  dealt  with  all 
those  questions  which  during  the  term  of  apprenticeship 
had  occasioned  such  bitterness  of  feeling,  and  led  to  so 
much  hostility  between  all  classes.  The  hours  of  labour 
were  regulated,  and  one  hour  deducted  for  every  three  miles 
the  labourer  had  to  journey  in  going  to  or  coming  from  his 
work.  It  dealt  with  allowances  and  indulgences,  and 
appointed  official  umpires  in  cases  of  valuation.  Prisons, 
hospitals,  and  workhouses  were  regulated,  and  power  given 
to  stop  actions  against  stipendiary  magistrates  where  they 
had  clearly  acted  in  discharge  of  their  duty.  Authority 
was  given  the  governor  to  release  from  all  further  obligation 
to  labour  any  apprentice  who  had  been  subjected  to  cruelty 
and  wrong;  and  in  addition  to  other  provisions  of  an  ame- 
liorating character,  it  abolished  corporal  punishment  for 
all  offences  peculiar  to  the  apprenticeship. 

Thus  far  the  British  government  was  prepared  to  go, 
and  the  proclamation  of  this  measure  would  have  declared 
that  the  imperial  parliament  could  overrule  colonial 
legislation  whenever  the  necessity  might  arise.  It  was 
hoped,  and  not  in  vain,  that  the  Jamaica  legislature  would 
choose  the  other  alternative,  and  by  bringing  the  term  of 
apprenticeship  to  an  end,  satisfy  the  demand  which  wad 
gaining  more  and  more  strength  in  England,  and  obviate 
the  necessity  which  might  yet  arise  of  more  direct  inter- 
ference with  the  original  terms  of  emancipation.  The  house 
lost  very  little  time  in  proceeding  to  business.  On  the  third 
day  of  their  sitting  a  bill  to  terminate  the  apprenticeship 
on  the  1st  of  August,  1838,  was  read  the  first  time  ;  after  a 
brief  adjournment  it  was  again  read ;  next  day  it  passed 
through  committee,  and  having  been  read  a  third  time,  was 
sent  to  the  council.  In  the  council  it  was  amended,  and 
after  repeated  conferences  between  the  two  branches  of 
the  legislature,  all  the  amendments  were  with  one  excep- 
tion adopted.  On  the  16th  of  June  it  received  the  governor's 
assent,  and  the  legislature  was  at  once  prorogued. 

This  act  was  not,  however,  performed  with  the  best  grace. 
Jamaica  was  the  last  of  all  the  slave  colonies  to  enact  this 
measure,   and  there  it  was  done  under  protest.      This 


mSTORIGAL  EVENTS.  817 

document  is  so  extraordinary,  that  some  memorial  of  it 
should  be  preserved.  It  set  forth  in  glowing  terms  the 
constitutional  history  of  the  colony,  the  ^eatness  of  its 
resources,  and  the  liberality  of  its  legislators.  It  pro- 
tested vehemently  against  interference  in  its  internal  affairs 
by  the  government  of  Great  Britain,  and  asserted  that  its 
legislation  would  bear  favourable  comparison  with  that  of 
the  mother  country.  Its  laws  were  not  resisted,  as  they 
were  in  Ireland ;  no  bands  wandered  forth  at  night  to  bum 
bams  or  com-ricks ;  there  were  no  combinations  to  raise 
wages ;  burking  was  unknown ;  families  were  not  mur- 
dered,, as  in  England,  to  save  them  from  the  pangs  of 
starvation ;  mothers  did  not  outrage  nature,  **  by  the 
destruction  of  their  newborn  offspring,  to  avoid  the  cmel 
persecution  of  a  hajrd-hearted  and  destroying  morality." 
There  were  no  com  laws,  no  poor  laws,  and  therefore  no 
temptations  to  commit  suicide  to  avoid  the  workhouse. 
The  House  of  Commons  was  accused  of  perjury ;  and  as 
a  mock  assembly  was  worthless,  it  was  suggested  that  the 
power  of  levying  taxes  in  the  colony  should  be  delegated 
to  the  House  of  Lords,  to  console  it  for  the  want  of  such 
power  in  Great  Britain.  After  some  further  uncompU- 
mentary  remarks  on  the  English  cabinet  and  parliament, 
the  document  concluded  by  a  protest,  on  behalf  of  the 
assembly  and  the  people  of  Jamaica,  before  God  and  man, 
against  the  English  p.ct  to  amend  the  act  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  British  colonies,  and  its  proclamation  by 
the  governor  on  the  Ist  of  June.  It  was  declared  to  be 
illegal  and  unconstitutional. 

In  a  milder  address  to  the  youthful  sovereign  the 
assembly  demanded  indemnity  for  the  loss  sustained  by 
Bhorten^ig  the  apprenticeship,  and  asked  for  a  reduction 
in  the  duties  levied  on  the  produce  of  the  island,  and  the 
prohibition  of  slave-grown  sugar  in  Great  Britain.^ 

Nevertheless,  the  perfect  freedom  of  the  apprentices  was 
secured,  and  soon  the  first  of  August  came,  and  with  it 
quiet  but  hearty  rejoicing  throughout  the  land.  The  last 
vestige  of  serfdom  had  been  destroyed,  and  upwards  of 
three  hundred  thousand  human  beings  were  entirely  disen- 
thralled. How  they  would  use  their  liberty  was  the  great 
question  now  to  be  answered. 

*  '*  Votes,**  June  seBsion,  1888,  pp.  41.  46. 


818  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 


CHAPTEB  II. 

COMMERCE    AND   AGRICULTURE. 

The  difficulty  of  forming  any  really  satisfactory  idea  of 
the  state  and  progress  of  agriculture  and  commerce  in 
Jamaica,  in  former  years,  is  considerable.  One  of  the 
highest  authorities  on  such  matters^  has  stated  that  ''the 
blue  books  of  Jamaica  are  the  worst  returns  in  the  colonial 
office;"  and  he  adds  that  the  registrar-general  of  shipping 
had  stated  that  a  similar  negligence  prevailed  in  his  re- 
turns.  Mr.  Martin  has,  however,  done  not  a  little  to 
reduce  the  imperfect  returns  to  order;  and  sundry  pro- 
ceedings on  the  part  of  the  legislature  also  help  still 
further  to  illustrate  the  commercial  condition  of  the 
island. 

In  November,  1792,  an  elaborate  report  on  the  state  of 
the  island  was  laid  before  the  assembly,  and  most  certainly 
furnished  a  strong  argument  in  favour  of  those  who  sub- 
sequently contended  that  slavery  was  not  so  conducive  to 
the  prosperity  of  the  master  as  was  generally  alleged  by 
its  advocates.  A  great  quantity  of  ships  traded  with  the 
island ;  the  tonnage,  in  1791,  is  put  down  as  188,149  tons, 
though  four  years  before  it  had  only  been  85,788.  From 
five  to  six  thousand  seamen  found  employment  in  these 
vessels.  In  1799  the  shipping  was  put  down  at  178,196 
tons.  From  100,000  to  120,000  tons  is  a  fair  average  for 
many  succeeding  years. 

During  the  same  time  considerable  increase  in  prices 
was  noted,  not  only  on  articles  required,  but  on  those  pro- 
duced in  the  colony.  Comparing  the  report  of  1792  with 
one  made  in  1799,  it  will  be  seen  that,  notwithstanding  the 
extensive  importation  of  slaves,  their  value  gradually  in- 
creased. From  1772  to  1775,  an  average  price  seems  to 
have  been  £84  10s.  sterling.  In  1791  it  was  £59.  In 
1799,  £72  4s.  is  named  as  the  average.  And  comparing 
the  official  report  of  1792  with  that  of  1799,  it  will  bie  seen 
that  freights,  probably  owing  to  war,  had  gone  up  from  £6 
*  Mr.  Montgomery  Martin,  **  Statistics  of  Britiflh  Colonies,*'  p.  17. 


MANNERS  AND  OUSTOMS.  819 

to  £10  a  ton.  Draught  oxen  required  on  estates  had  risen 
in  price  from  £18  to  £80,  and  mules  from  £28  to  £45. 
The  price  of  negro  labour  had  gone  up  from  Is.  2d.  a 
day  in  1772,  to  Is.  9d.  in  1791 ;  though  at  the  close  of  the 
century  some,  no  doubt  of  a  higher  class,  were  charged  for 
at  the  rate  of  8s.  4d.  American  provisions  and  lumber  had 
risen  greatly  during  the  same  period. 

The  planters  obtained  high  prices  for  their  produce. 
Sugar,  the  great  staple,  was  produced  for  the  last  few 
years  of  the  eighteenth  century  at  the  average  rate 
of  upwards  of  90,000  hogsheads  a  year.  In  1798  the 
produce  was  95,858  hogsheads.  Next  year  the  Bourbon 
cane  was  introduced  into  the  island,  and  at  once  led  to  a 
considerable  addition  to  the  production.  In  1799,  110,000 
hogsheads  were  exported.  In  1800  the  jdeld  was  rather 
less,  but  in  1801  it  sprung  up  to  186,000  hogsheads,  a  little 
more  the  year  after,  then  an  average  of  114,000  for  the 
next  two  years,  and  in  1805  came  the  largest  jdeld  of  any 
year,  when  150,852  hogsheads  were  sent  out  of  the  island. 
The  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  in  1807,  affected 
the  production,  yet  about  120,000  hogsheads  may  be 
put  down  as  an  ordinary  yield  for  the  next  fifteen  years. 
Whenever  it  fell  much  below  this,  the  explanation 
will  be  found  either  in  a  storm  or  a  drought.  In  1822, 
when  the  question  of  the  iibolition  of  slavery  was 
gravely  raised  in  the  British  parliament,  the  cultivation 
began  to  decline,  and  a  decreased  production  also  marked 
the  passing  of  the  emancipation  bill.  All  that  is  further 
necessary  to  illustrate  the  great  fluctuations  in  the  jdeld  of 
sugar  in  the  colony,  will  be  found  in  the  following  table, 
wherein  the  average  of  different  septennial  periods  is 
stated : — 

From  1794  to  1800      92,806  hogsheads. 

Bourbon  cane  introdnoed. 
Slave  trade  abolished. 

Mr.  Canning's  resolutions. 

The  average  of  1886,  1887,  and  1888,  was  66,070  hogs- 
heads. During  these  periods  the  prices  greatly  varied. 
From  the  assembly's  report  of  1791,  we  find  that  the 
accounts  of  one  of  the  largest  merchants  in  Kingston 


w 

1801  „  1807 

188,755 

ft 

1808  „  1814 

117,765 

ft 

1815  „  1821 

118,859 

>l 

1822  „  1828 

96,665 

tf 

1829  „  1885 

91,899 

820  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

proved  that,  from  1772  to  1775,  the  average  price  of  sugar, 
in  the  English  markets,  was  34s.  8d.  per  hundredweight, 
free  of  duty,  and  that,  from  1788  to  1791,  the  average  was 
58s.  7d.  After  this,  prices  continued  to  rise ;  in  1793  it 
was  78s.  per  hundredweight.  The  war  with  France  ran  it 
up  to  87s.  in  1800.  It  was  as  high  as  97s.  in  1815,  but 
had  been  as  low  as  one-third  of  this  price  at  some  of  the 
intermediate  periods.  Only  half  the  price  realised  in  1815 
could  be  obtained  next  year,  and  after  the  peace  it  gradually 
fell.  These  variations  could  not  fail  seriously  to  affect  the 
planter,  though  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  net  sum  he 
actually  realised  would,  in  war  time,  be  by  no  means  so 
great  as  may  appear,  if  allowance  is  not  made  for  the  extra 
cost  of  freight  and  insurance. 

Fifty  years  before  emancipation  the  trials  of  the 
Jamaica  planter  had  fairly  commenced.  An  iniquitous 
system  such  as  slavery  could  never  be  permanently  pros- 
perous. Extravagant  and  wasteful  expenditure  must 
sooner  or  later  bring  on  disaster ;  and  when  to  this  it  is 
added  that  the  soil  adapted  for  sugar  cultivation  in  Jamaica 
is  limited  in  extent,  and  that  sugar  estates  in  the  interior 
could  only,  with  rare  exceptions,  be  successfully  cultivated 
in  times  of  high  prices  and  protective  duties,  the  decline 
in  cultivation  is  not  by  any  means  surprising. 

The  report  of  1791  discloses  some  startling  facts  relative 
to  the  actual  position  of  many  proprietors.  In  that  year 
there  were  769  sugar  plantations  in  Jamaica.  Of  these, 
only  451  were  in  the  hands  of  the  men,  or  their  descend- 
ants, who  possessed  them  in  1772.  Since  that  date  177 
had  been  sold  in  payment  of  debts,  92  remained  in  the 
hands  of  mortgagees  or  receivers,  and  55  had  been  aban- 
doned, though  47  had  been  newly-established  during  the 
same  period.* 

The  returns  of  the  provost-marshal  from  1772  to  1791 
showed  great  pecuniary  embarrassment  among  vast  num- 
bers in  the  colony.  Astounding  as  it  must  appear,  80,021 
judgments,  amounting  to  £22,563,786,  had  during  that 
period  been  lodged  in  his  office  ! 

It  was  noted  as  an  encouraging  fact  in  the  last-named 
year,  that  only  about  two  thousand  judgments  had  been 

*  Journals,  vol.  ix.  Also  quoted  in  Edwards'  **  History,"  fiiUi 
edition,  vol.  i.  p.  818. 


OOHHERCE  AND  AOBICULTUBE.  821 

lodged  against  double  or  even  treble  the  number  in  most 
preceding  years.  Things  were  looking  a  little  brighter: 
there  was  to  be  for  a  few  years  a  certain  kind  of  prosperity, 
but  no  lasting  welfare  could  be  expected  in  face  of  the 
declaration  made  to  the  assembly  in  1796,  that  six  hundred 
and  six  sugar  plantations  were  in  the  hands  of  one  hundred 
and  ninety-three  attorneys  of  absentees  and  mortgagees. 
The  commissions  obtained  by  these  gentlemen  was  stated 
to  be  upwards  of  jE240,000  per  annum.* 

During  the  last  seven  years  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
eighty-three  new  sugar  estates  were  settled,  and  yet  a 
report  made  to  the  assembly  in  1802  was  full  of  bitter 
complaints  of  the  conduct  of  the  imperial  government  in 
keeping  up  so  high  a  rate  of  duty  on  the  staples  of  the 
colony.  The  cry  was  renewed  two  years  later,  but  coupled 
with  the  demand  that  a  protective  duty  should  be  laid  on 
sugar  imported  from  the  East  Indies,  where  it  was  as- 
serted that  coolie  labour  was  obtained  for  only  two  shil- 
lings a  month.  The  duty  then  imposed  on  West  India 
sugar  was  27s.  per  cwt. :  on  that  from  the  East  Indies  it 
was  2s.  8d.  more.  The  duty  had  been  increased  to  278. 
since  1799,  when  it  was  only  17s.  6d.  per  cwt. 

In  1807,  it  appeared  that  though  many  new  estates  had 
been  settled,  sixty-five  others  had  been  abandoned,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  had  passed  into  chancery  since  1799. 
But  during  the  year  a  boon  was  granted  to  the  sugar- 
planter  by  the  prohibition  of  spirits  in  England  made  from 
com  or  grain,  and  thus  an'  increased  demand  for  rum  was 
created. 

Turning  from  the  sugar  to  the  coflfee  planter,  we  find 
things  more  cheerful.  Jn  1799  it  appears  that  there  were 
no  less  than  six  hundred  and  eighty-six  plantations  of 
coflfee ;  about  thirty  thousand  acres  out  of  two  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand  being  occupied  in  the  culture  of  the 
berry.  The  high  rate  of  duty  levied  by  the  British  govern- 
ment was  loudly  complained  of,  but  in  1811  it  was  reduced 
from  2s.  to  7d.  a  pound.  The  increase  in  production  was 
marvellous :  from  1791  to  1794  the  average  quantity  ex- 
ported was  only  1,608,066  lbs.;  in  1804  it  had  risen  to 
22,000,000  lbs.  In  1808  it  was  little  under  80,000,000  lbs., 
while  in  1814  the  largest  yield  was  gathered  in,  being  very 

*  Journals,  voL  ix. 
22 


822  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

little  short  of  80,500,000  lbs.  From  this  period  down  to 
1884  the  average  yield  was  about  22,000,000  lbs. ;  during 
the  four  years  from  1835  to  1838,  the  average  was  under 
12,000,000  lbs. 

The  price  in  1808  may  be  put  down  as  120s.  per  cwt.  in 
the  colony.  Three  years  later  we  find  54s.  to  78s.  quoted 
as  the  price  in  London,  and  three  years  later  it  had  again 
risen  to  from  118s.  to  1428.  After  the  peace  of  1815  it 
ranged  from  77s.  to  104s.,*  and  then,  as  now,  was  more 
highly  valued  than  most  other  varieties  in  the  market. 
No  production  increased  so  rapidly  in  public  favour.  In 
1801,  only  a  little  more  than  an  ounce  per  head  was  con- 
sumed, on  an  average,  by  each  person  in  Great  Britain : 
after  the  duty  was  reduced  to  7d.  a  pound,  the  consumption 
increased  seven-fold.t  It  is  greatly  to  be  deplored  that  the 
average  yield  since  apprenticeship  has  only  been  about  six 
million  pounds  per  annum. 

The  increase  of  cultivation  noted  above  was  a  source  of 
gratification  to  all  truly  interested  in  Jamaica.  The  coffee 
planters  were  for  the  most  part  residents,  and  the  proceeds 
of  their  industry,  which  for  many  years  varied  from  a 
million  to  a  milUon  and  a  half  per  annum,  were  expended 
in  the  colony. 

Pimento,  ginger,  and  rum  are  the  only  other  staples 
that  figure  largely  in  the  exports  of  the  island.  Pimento 
being  an  indigenous  product  of  the  island,  gaining  nothing 
by  cultivation,  and  simply  requiring  to  be  gathered,  dried, 
and  sent  in  bags  to  the  place  of  embarcation,  is  one  of  the 
few  staples  that  has  continued  gradually  to  increase.  Low 
prices  have  at  times  made  it  hardly  worth  the  while  of  the 
proprietor  of  the  fragrant  trees  to  gather  the  berries; 
seasons  of  drought  have  been  unfavourable ;  but  on  the 
whole,  a  gradual  increase  in  the  quantity  exported  may  be 
noticed.  From  1793  to  1807  the  average  quantity  exported 
was  1,767,500  lbs. ;  from  1808  to  1834  the  average  was 
8,280,000  lbs. ;  from  1835  to  1838  it  amounted  to  5,347,900 
lbs.  Since  the  last-named  period  the  exports  have  reached 
far  higher  figures  :  in  1858  it  exceeded  nine  million  pounds. 
What  was  neglected  by  the  slave-holding  proprietor  or  his 
attorney,  is  well  worth  the  attention  of  the  free  negro. 

*  Tooke's  "  History  of  Prices." 

f  "  Pictorial  History  of  England,"  vol.  viii.  p.  728. 


COMMEBCE   AND   AGRICULTURE.  828 

Ginger  is  a  plant  depending  so  much  on  careful  cultiva- 
tion and  favourable  seasons,  that  the  export  returns 
exhibit  greater  variation  than  perhaps  any  other  staple. 
Moreover,  though  cultivated  largely  when  Jamaica  was 
occupied  by  resident  proprietors,  it  was  neglected  after 
sugar  cultivation  extended,  and  the  far  more  remunerative 
coffee  plant  engaged  the  attention  of  so  many  of  the 
smaller  landholders.  In  1797  the  largest  ginger  crop  was 
produced :  it  amounted  to  8,621,260  lbs.  Next  year  it  was 
a  little  over  two  millions,  and  then  from  1800,  on  to  1815, 
the  average  was  only  between  500,000  lbs.  and  600,000  lbs. 
Three  years  of  increased  production  followed,  then  five 
years  on  a  lower  scale,  and  after  this  for  ten  years,  from 
1825  to  1884,  the  average  rate  of  export  was  2,870,592  lbs., 
and  from  1885  to  1888  it  was  nearly  as  much.  It  again 
declined  for  many  years,  but  to  no  great  extent. 

The  produce  of  rum  depends  to  a  great  extent  on  that  of 
sugar,  though  far  more  puncheons  have  of  late  been  made 
in  proportion  to  hogsheads  of  sugar  than  was  formerly  the 
case.  Years  can  be  pointed  out,  as  for  example,  1797, 
1802,  1822,  and  1886,  and  some  later  ones,  when  only 
one  puncheon  was  exported  for  every  three  hogsheads  of 
sugar ;  but  as  a  fair  general  statement,  an  average  of  two 
puncheons  for  five  hogsheads  may  be  taken.  Since  1854 
the  average  is  as  one  to  two. 

Minor  products  do  not,  all  through  the  period  under 
review,  amount  to  much.  A  few  hides,  some  logwood, 
dyewoods,  cotton  wool,  indigo,  &c.,  may  be  mentioned. 

Mr.  Montgomery  Martin  gives  the  following  estimate  of 
the  value  of  exports  in  1884: — Arrowroot,  i67,488;  cinnamon, 
je548;  cocoa,  ^61200;  coffee,  ^6612,199;  cotton  wool, 
£60 ;  fustic,  ^68855  ;  logwood,  ^688,710 ;  mahogamy,  £184  ; 
ginger,  £89,466 ;  hides,  £6986 ;  indigo,  £5822 ;  molasses, 
£8288;  lime  juice,  £1070;  pimento,  £52,159;  sarsaparilla, 
£8051;  rum,  £850,228;  sugar,  £1,589,946;  succades, 
£4989 ;  tortoiseshell,  £5491 ;  tobacco,  £488 ;  wood  spars, 
£8480 ;  miscellaneous,  £82,626. 

In  addition  to  these  island  products,  British  manufactures 
to  the  amount  of  about  £400,000  were  re-exported  from 
the  island,  chiefly  to  the  ports  in  Spanish  America, 
making  the  total  value  of  exports,  £8,148,797. 

In  1886  the  exports  were  valued  at  £8,278,188.    Of  this, 

22* 


824  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

£2,661,978  were  sent  to  Great  Britain,  £70,248  to  North 
America,  £111,916  to  the  United  States,  £374,599  to 
foreign  states,  £51,760  to  the  West  Indies. 

782  ships,  with  a  burden  of  119,066  tons,  and  manned  by 
7510  men,  were  employed  in  this  service.  One-third  more 
in  ships,  tonnage,  and  men,  are  stated  as  the  returns  of 
1828.  These  figures  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  average 
commerce  of  many  preceding  years. 

An  order  of  the  king  in  council,  dated  July  Sth,  1804, 
threw  open  to  the  merchants  of  Jamaica  the  trade  with 
the  Spanish  colonies  in  South  America,  on  condition  that 
a  license  was  obtained  from  the  governor  of  the  island. 
Kingston  became,  in  consequence,  a  kind  of  emporium, 
from  which  the  Spanish  colonists  obtained  large  supplies 
of  British  manufactured  goods,  chiefly  cottons.  Naval  and 
military  stores  were,  however,  the  only  prohibited  articled. 
In  return,  considerable  quantities  of  indigo,  cochineal, 
drugs,  cocoa,  tobacco,  logwood,  mahogany,  dyewoods, 
hides,  tortoiseshell,  together  with  cattle  and  horses,  were 
imported.  Most  of  these  articles  were  re-exported  to 
Great  Britain. 

The  difficulties  thrown  in  the  way  of  commercial  inter- 
course with  the  United  States  have  been  noticed  elsewhere, 
in  connection  with  the  want  of  food  occasioned  by  the 
series  of  hurricanes  commencing  in  1780.  When  some  of 
these  restrictions  were  in  part  removed,  enough  remained 
to  deprive  the  colony  of  many  advantages  she  might  have 
enjoyed.  Still,  the  loud  complaints  of  the  Jamaica  legis- 
lature and  of  the  merchants  were  often  very  unreasonable. 
They  asked  for  free  trade  so  far  as  it  suited  their  own 
interests,  but  in  some  respects  they  were  the  most  uncom- 
promising of  protectionists,  even  in  those  days.  They 
would  have  a  prohibitory  duty  imposed  on  East  Indian 
sugar,  though  from  parts  belonging  to  Great  Britain ;  they 
were  constantly  on  the  alert  lest  in  some  way  their 
produce  should  be  depreciated  by  competition,  but  they 
would  have  taken  it  into  every  market  in  the  world  if  they 
had  been  able.  In  1811,  they  complained  that  they 
could  only  export  to  the  United  States,  rum,  molasses, 
and  dyewoods,  but  that  sugar  and  coflfee  were  prohibited. 
Hence  the  Americans  took  specie  for  a  large  part  of  the 


COMBfERCR   AND   AGRICULTURE.  325' 

lumber  and  provisions  they  sold  here,  and  carried  it  over 
to  Cuba,  where  they  obtained  the  articles  last  named.  The 
sale  of  ram  to  the  States  also  declmed.  In  1804,  20,000 
puncheons  were  exported  there,  but  the  average  from  1808 
to  1811  was  only  5888  puncheons  per  annum.  The  British 
government  was,  of  course,  not  accountable  for  this. 

In  1812,  war  commenced  between  Britain  and  her  old 
colonies,  and  Jamaica,  for  a  time,  felt  the  shock  severely. 
There  were  then  only  a  few  vessels  of  war  on  the  station, 
and  the  seas  soon  swarmed  with  American  privateers. 
But  at  last  the  eyes  of  the  colonists  seemed  to  open  to  the 
folly  of  being  so  dependent  on  others  for  food.  Not  only 
had  insuritnce  gone  up  in  a  few  days  an  additional  ten  per 
cent.,  but  food  was  likely  to  be  scarce,  and  the  grave  pro- 
blem was  mooted  how  the  rum,  now  produced  in  increasing 
quantities,  was  to  be  sent  home.  Hitherto  the  white  oak 
staves  had  been  used  for  puncheons,  and  it  was  doubted  if 
the  island  could  find  a  substitute.  Still  the  food  question 
was  a  far  graver  difficulty,  and  another  hurricane  had 
reduced  the  small  supply.  The  men  of  the  present  day 
have  not  yet  been  sufficiently  awakened  to  understand  the 
folly  of  depending  so  largely  on  other  countries  for  food,  or 
they  would  smile  at  the  fact  that,  in  1811,  the  year  before  the 
American  war,  88,200  bushels  of  maize  had  been  imported. 

The  legislature  saw  the  dilemma  in  which  the  island  was 
likely  to  be  placed,  and  offered  liberal  premiums  to  en- 
courage native  production.  Few  of  the  prizes  were  ever 
claimed,  but  the  list  is  interesting  as  the  first  attempt  of 
the  kind,  and  as  indicating  the  degree  of  anxiety  which 
was  felt.  *  For  curing  and  salting  not  less  than  ten 
barrels  of  beef,  £200 ;  for  a  field  of  not  less  than  twenty 
acres  of  cocoas,  £200 ;  for  the  next  largest  field,  £100  ;  for 
a  twenty  acre  field  of  white  or  negro  yam,  each,  £200 ;  for 
the  next  largest  of  each,  £100 ;  for  twenty  acres  of  bitter 
cassava,  or  fifty  of  maize,  each,  £200 ;  for  the  next  largest 
of  each,  £100 ;  for  not  less  than  ten  acres  of  mountain 
rice,  £200 ;  for  the  next  largest,  £100 ;  for  the  greatest 
number  of  casks,  not  less  than  ten,  of  island-growth  wood, 
capable  of  holding  sixty-three  gallons  of  spirits,  £200. 

The  drought  of  1818,  together  with  a  storm  on  the  1st 
of  August  of  that  year,  was  subsequently  assigned  as  a 

*  Journals,  vol.  xii. 


326  HISTORY    OF    JAMAICA. 

cause  why  so  little  was  done  to  secure  these  very  liberal 
premiums.  The  peace  removed  many  of  the  difficulties  by 
which  the  island  was  beset,  and  little  of  importance 
remains  to  be  related  with  respect  to  the  trade  or  agricul- 
ture of  many  succeeding  years. 

In  1825  there  were  some  changes  favourable  to  commer- 
cial prosperity.  The  British  West  Indian  ports  were 
thrown  open  to  foreign  ships,  and  duties  on  West  Indian 
produce,  in  one  or  two  particulars,  were  lowered.  A  con- 
siderable reduction  also  took  place  in  the  fees  levied  by  the 
custom-house  officers,  and  increased  faciUties  were  afforded 
for  warehousing  goods  intended  for  re-exportation  to  other 
countries,  and  so  facilitating  the  increase  of  the  trade  with 
the  South  American  colonies.* 

The  imports  of  cattle  from  these  places  were,  however, 
decreasing,  as  the  pens  or  grazing  farms  in  the  colony  were 
now  on  the  increase,  especially  in  St.  Anns,  and  some 
other  parishes.  In  1833,  upwards  of  one-fourth  of  the 
slaves  in  St.  Anns  were  attached  to  cattle  farms,  feeding 
nearly  thirty  thousand  homed  stock.  On  many  of  these, 
coflfee  and  some  other  minor  products  were  cultivated,  and 
nearly  all,  on  the  north  side,  contained  groves  of  pimento. 
English  farmers  will  hardly  wonder  that  the  proprietors 
made  a  formal  complaint  to  the  legislature,  in  1838,  of 
small  returns,  when  they  are  told  that,  on  most  of  these 
farms,  there  were  two  slaves  for  every  seven  head  of  cattle, 
and  that  there  was,  on  an  average,  only  one  ox  or  cow  to 
every  four  acres  of  land.t 

Manufactures  continued  to  be  very  few  in  number,  and 
thus  entries  in  the  journals  of  the  assembly,  and  references 
in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  which,  under  any  other 
circumstances  would  seem  childish,  may  be  quoted  as 
showing  that,  now  and  then,  cases  were  found  in  which 
ingenious  and  enterprising  men  sought  to  remove  this 
drawback  to  colonial  prosperity. 

The  importance  of  establishing  sugar  refineries  from 
time  to  time  engaged  attention,  but  the  heavy  duty  imposed, 
£4  2s.  6d.  per  cwt.,  on  all  exported  to  Great  Britain, 
repressed  any  effort  in  this  direction  beyond  preparing 
small  quantities  for   colonial  consumption,!   but   several 

*  Journals,  vol.  xiv.  p.  885.  f  "  Votes,"  1838,  p.  49. 

I  Journals,  vol.  viii.  pp.  54,  55. 


COMMERCE   AND   AQBICULTUBE.  827 

improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  raw  sugar  were 
made.*  A  treatise  by  Dr.  Wiggins,  on  an  improved  mode 
of  making  sugar,  attracted  so  much  attention,  that  he  was 
invited  to  come  to  the  colony.  Leaving  a  lucrative  prac- 
tice in  London,  he  established  himself  at  Constant  Spring,  a 
few  miles  from  Kingston.  A  vote  of  £1000,  and  then  another 
of  £500,  were  made  by  the  assembly,  and  a  committee  of 
the  house  inspected  and  reported  favourably  of  his  plans. 
Unfortunately  his  health  soon  failed,  and  he  left  the  island. 
jBIOOO  sterling  was  also  voted  to  Mr.  Boussie  for  improve- 
ments in  making  Muscovado  sugar.  In  1808,  £500  was  voted 
by  the  assembly  to  Mr.  Blackford  for  an  improved  mode  of 
making  sugar.  La  1810  and  1811,  £1200  more  was  given.  In 
the  latter  year,  £480  was  voted  to  two  gentlemen  for  valuable 
suggestions  relative  to  the  manufacture  of  sugar  and  rum ; 
and  it  also  appears  that  £1000  was  voted  to  Louis  Duboc 
for  coming  to  the  island  to  explain  a  plan  of  Monsieur 
Dorion  of  clarifying  cane  juice  by  the  use  of  the  bark  of  the 
bastard  cedar.  Dr.  JefiErey  also  obtained  £700  as  a  reward 
for  certain  improvements  in  the  construction  of  stills.t 
Other  c^ses  of  liberality  might  be  noted.  The  real  value 
of  the  different  plans  suggested  can  only  be  appreciated  by 
experienced  planters ;  but  the  facts  recorded  serve  to  show 
that  the  legislature  was  not  so  indifferent  to  improvement, 
either  in  the  cultivation  of  the  great  staple,  or  in  its 
preparation  for  the  market,  as  some  have  asserted. 

In  other  matters,  a  few  sentences  will  comprise  what 
little  can  be  said.  The  possibility  of  tanning  excellent 
leather  was  early  recognised.  Joel  Evans  laid  some 
information  before  the  house  of  what  he  had  done  before 
the  close  of  the  last  century.  Good  strong  leather  for 
boots,  harness,  and  carriage  tops,  was  produced  in  con- 
siderable quantities  at  his  establishment.!  Two  other 
tanners,  one  a  Frenchman,  also  stated  they  could  manu- 
facture as  cheaply  as  was  done  in  England. 

Some  attention,  about  the  same  time,  was  given  to  a 
plan  of  a  George  Ashbridge  for  making  artificial  stone  for 
roofing  and  building  houses.  § 

Just  before  the  apprenticeship,  Mr.  Ralph  Tumbull 
presented  an  interesting  memorial  to  the  house,  stating 

*  Jonmals,  vol.  viii.  pp.  97,  98,  102-104.     +  Ibid.,  vol.  xi.  p.  51. 
}  Ibid.,  vol.  viii.  p.  106.  §  Ibid.,  vol.  viii.  p.  189. 


:V28  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

that  he  employed  sixty  journeymen  and  apprentices  in 
making  up  the  woods  of  the  country  into  furniture ;  but 
the  pecuniary  results,  it  appears,  were  not  so  satisfactory 
as  he  deserved  they  should  be. 

A  manufacturer  on  a  smaller  scale  was  John  Conery. 
He  was  at  first  a  maker  of  tobacco  pipes,  but  was  after- 
wards Jmown  for  many  years  as  a  manufacturer  of  very 
good  pottery,  for  which  some  of  the  clays  in  the  island  are 
well  suited. 

The  island  has  always  been  rather  proud  of  its  Botanic 
Garden,  and  not  without  reason.  Dr.  Broughton  and  Dr. 
Dancer  both  paid  considerable  attention  tor  it.  About  the 
year  1790  a  fine  collection  of  plants  was  sent  to  the  royal 
gardens  at  Eew,  at  the  expense  of  the  colony.  This  was, 
however,  but  a  small  return  compared  with  the  royal  gift 
intended  for  the  island  on  board  the  Bounty,  but  which 
never  reached  it  in  consequence  of  the  mutiny.  The 
assembly,  however,  voted  five  hundred  guineas  to  Bligh,  as 
some  consolation  for  his  sufferings.  In  1798  Captain 
Bligh  made  a  second  and  more  successful  voyage.  He 
brought  three  hundred  and  fifty  plants  of  bread-fruit,  and 
many  other  valuable  plants.  The  former  were  distributed 
through  the  island,  and  also  some  of  the  latter ;  others  were 
for  a  time  carefully  tended  at  the  gardens  in  Bath.  With 
a  view  of  making  the  best  of  the  boon  thus  conferred,  the 
valuable  gardens  of  the  late  Hinton  East,  below  Newcastle, 
were  bought  of  his  executors,  together  with  thirty-nine 
slaves,  and  many  of  the  plants  were  put  there.  Dr. 
Broughton  displayed  great  zeal  in  the  matter,  and  well 
deserved  the  service  of  plate  voted  him  by  the  assembly. 
To  Captain  Bligh  a  thousand  guineas  were  voted,  and  five 
hundred  to  his  lieutenant,  Portlock.  Bligh,  however,  was 
offended  at  this  last,  and  wrote  one  or  two  letters  about  it, 
by  no  means  creditable  to  his  judgment  or  temper.* 

The  gardens  in  St.  Andrews  were  sold  some  years  later, 
but  considerable  sums  continued  to  be  spent  over  those  at 
Bath.  In  other  places,  as  at  Milk  River,  moneys  were 
liberally  expended  to  secure  to  the  public  the  benefit  of  the 
mineral  waters  with  which  Jamaica  is  so  well  supplied.  It 
was  even  more  difficult  then  than  it  is  now  to  reach  those 

*  Journals,  voL  ix. 


COMMERCE  AND  AGRICULTUHE.  829 

places,  while  the  main  roads,  even  to  important  places, 
were  very  bad.  St.  Mary's,  one  of  the  worst  places  in 
these  respects,  was,  however,  the  first  to  try  the  plan  of 
macadamising.  Some  years  after,  the  legislature  offered 
a  premium  of  £100  for .  the  best  piece  of  road,  of  not  less 
than  one  mile,  repaired  on  this  principle,  and  it  was 
awarded  to  the  Hon.  R.  Barrett,  of  St.  James's,  in  1826. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  renewed  attention  was 
spasmodically  given  to  the  importance  of  opening  up  other 
resources  than  the  cane-fields  afforded.  £100  premium 
was  offered  for  five  thousand  weight  of  tobacco  grown  in  the 
island,  and  another  £100  for  a  ton  weight  of  a  really  good 
substitute  for  hemp.  There  was  some  debate  about  the 
propriety  of  awar(fing  £250  for  the  best  manufacturing 
estabUshment  giving  employment  to  free  people,  but 
nothing  came  of  it.  The  Kingston  tanneries,  and  two 
foundries  in  Kingston  and  at  Falmouth,  were  just  then 
attracting  attention,  especially  the  former,  where  the  use 
of  mangrove  bark  was  found  to  produce  excellent  leather, 
and  cheaper  than  it  could  be  imported.  Unfortunately, 
industrial  efforts  in  the  manufacturing  department  have 
seldom  succeeded.  Foundries,  tanneries,  and  cabinet- 
making,  furnish,  though  on  a  small  scale,  almost  the  only 
exceptions.  Capital  and  pierseverance  seem  to  have  been 
wanting,  yet  it  cannot  truthfully  be  said  that  there  is  no 
mechanical  skill  among  the  people.  About  the  year  1800, 
John  Lodge,  a  free  coloured  man,  a  cabinet-maker  in 
Kingston,  contrived  a  most  ingenious  model  of  a  sugar- 
mill,  with  rollers  to  revolve  more  rapidly  than  those  then 
used,  without  an^  additional  labour  to  the  cattle.  The 
model  was  pronounced,  by  a  committee  of  the  best  planters 
in  the  assembly,  really  excellent,  though  they  had  some 
doubts  as  to  certain  details  of  importance  in  its  erection. 
Lodge  received  a  douceur  of  £100  sterling  for  his  labour, 
and  the  promise  of  a  bill  giving  him  the  exclusive  right 
of  his  discovery,  should  any  mill  be  erected  successfully 
within  two  years.  This  seems  to  be  the  last  heard  of  the 
matter. 

In  these  days,  and  indeed  till  some  time  after  appren- 
ticeship, retail  dry  goods  or  drapery  stores  were  unknown. 
Shops  with  windows  and  counters  are  hardly  yet  a 
quarter  of  a  century  old.    No  lady  ever  entered  a  store : 


830  HISTORY  OF  JA3IAICA. 

goods  or  patterns  would  be  sent  for  her  approval,  but 
pieces  were  not  cut  by  the  storekeepers,  they  were  bought 
entire.  A  good  deal  of  trade  was  done  on  what  is  still 
known  as  the  drogger  system.  People,  as  mentioned 
in  a  former  chapter,  chiefly  coloured  women  in  good 
position,  continued  to  buy  goods  of  the  merchants,  and 
send,  them  out  with  persons,  generally  slaves,  to  the  houses 
of  residents  in  the  towns,  and  far  into  the  country.  The 
business  done  in  this  way  was  very  considerable. 


CHAPTER  m. 

RELIGION   AND    EDUCATION. 

The  early  part  of  this  period  presents  little  to  be  recorded 
in  the  lives  and  labours  of  the  clergy  very  different  to  what 
has  been  related  in  the  previous  chapter.  Their  number,  it 
is  true,  was  small;  nevertheless,  they  might  have  done 
more  good  if  so  disposed.  In  no  part  of  the  world  was  the 
influence  of  the  clergy  so  insignificant  as  in  the  British 
West  Indies,  untU  far  on  into  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
legislature  was  not  illiberal ;  a  fair  stipend  was  paid  to  each 
rector,  from  the  colonial  funds,  munificent  fees  were  pro- 
vided by  law,  and  legacies  and  gifts  combined  to  make 
some  livings  extremely  valuable.* 

The  culpable  neglect  of  duty  on  the  part  of  many  of  the 
rectors,  and  the  fact  that  the  Bishop 'of  London  never 
exercised  the  authority  delegated  to  him  in  1745,  rendered 
some  mode  of  ecclesiastical  supervision  necessary.  The 
legislature  proposed  to  vest  this  power  in  the  governor  for 
the  time  being,  and  the  question  was  submitted  for  legal 
advice  in  England.  Sir  William  Scott,  afterwards  Lord 
Stowell,  was  requested  to  report  to  his  Majesty's  govern- 
ment on  the  subject.  He  clearly  pointed  out  the  evil 
consequences  which  would  attend  the  proposed  arrange- 
ment, as  a  colonial  governor,  however  high  his  quaM- 
cations,  could  not  have  **  any  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
nature  and  exercise  of  the  pastoral  office ;"  and  recom- 

*  Bridges'  "  Annals,"  vol.  i.  p.  549. 


REUGION   AND   EDUCATION.  331 

mended  that  the  king,  as  supreme  head  of  the  church, 
should  appoint  three  or  more  respectable  clergymen  in  the 
island  as  commissaries,  to  exercise,  jointly  and  synodically, 
discipline  over  the  clergy;  provided  that  no  sentence  of 
deprivation,  by  which  freehold  rights  would  be  affected, 
should  be  carried  into  execution  without  the  concurrence  of 
the  governor.* 

In  this  view  the  Bishop  of  London  concurred,  and  the 
legislature  having  conferred  the  necessary  powers,  the 
rectors  of  Kingston,  St.  Andrew,  St.  James,  St.  Elizabeth, 
and  St.  Catherine,  were  appointed  commissaries  in  the 
year  1800.  But  so  irregular  was  the  conduct  of  the  clergy, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  pass  a  law,  providing  that  the 
receiver- general  should  not  pay  the  quarterly  stipends  of 
the  rectors  without  a  certificate  from  the  churchwardens 
of  their  residence  and  conformity ;  but  if  these  gentlemen 
should  refuse  the  said  certificate  on  insufficient  grounds, 
they  were  liable  to  a  fine  of  £500.  The  result  was  that  it 
never  was  refused.  Bectors,  however,  might  obtain  leave 
of  absence  for  a  term  not  exceeding  eighteen  months,  from 
the  governor ;  and  as  concessions  were  always  made  when 
any  kind  of  pressure  was  put  upon  the  clergy,  the  same 
law  provided  glebe  lands  where  required.  Trustees  were 
provided  for  the  widows*  fund,  established  some  years 
before,  and  a  salaried  registrar  and  an  apparitor  provided 
for  the  new  ecclesiastical  court,  t 

In  1804  this  law  was  found  to  require  amendment. 
Bectors  got  leave  of  absence,  and  no  one  was  left  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  the  parish ;  so  it  was  provided  that 
they  should  obtain  curates  to  act  for  them  when  away,  or 
failing  to  do  this,  the  governor  should  appoint  one,  and 
give  him  all  the  emoluments  of  the  living,  the  glebe  only 
excepted;  but  should  the  rector  be  absent  more  than 
eighteen  months,  then  the  benefice  was  to  be  declared 
vacant. 

The  fees  paid  the  rectors  were  enormous.  The  amounts 
fixed  by  law  were  generally  exceeded.  A  doubloon,  or 
£S  4s.  sterling,  was  considered  a  small  recompense  for  a 
baptism,  a  funeral,  or  a  marriage ;  double  this  sum  was 
usually  given  by  all  who  laid  claim  to  any  position  in 

*  Letter  of  Sir  William  Scott  (Lord  Stowell),  quoted  by  Bridges, 
vol.  L  pp.  552-554.  f  *'  Laws  of  Jamaica,**  1801. 


332  HISTORY  OF   JAMAICA. 

society.  Three  and  even  four  doubloons  were  often  pre- 
sented by  the  more  wealthy.  Fees  were  also  given  for  the 
erection  of  monuments  in  churches,  &c.  In  some  parishes 
these  fees  exceeded,  by  three,  four,  or  even  six  times,  the 
fixed  stipend.* 

If  a  clerical  income  of  from  iBlOOO  to  £3000  per  annum 
had  secured  the  services  of  painstaking,  good  men,  there 
would  have  been  less  cause  for  complaint ;  but  bankrupt 
merchants,  overseers,  miUtary  and  naval  officers,  who  could 
obtain  sufficient  interest,  were  appointed  in  some  cases  to 
rectories.  Early  in  the  centuiy  the  church  doors  in 
country  districts  were  not  opened,  even  on  Sundays,  for 
weeks  or  months  together,  as  admitted  by  a  staunch  de- 
fender of  the  colony .t  As  for  the  instruction  of  slaves,  it 
was  hardly  ever  attempted.  So  late  as  1817,  when  a  better 
feeling  was  beginning  to  exist,  the  Eev.  John  West,  rector 
of  St.  Thomas,  declared  that  negro  slaves  could  derive 
little  or  no  advantage  from  attending  church,  and  that  few 
attended  catechising,  as  they  were  conscious  of  their  defects 
of  understanding.! 

At  the  close  of  1815,  the  assembly,  before  it  separated, 
unanimously  resolved  at  the  next  meeting  to  take  into 
consideration  the  state  of  religion  among  the  slaves,  '*  and 
carefully  investigate  the  means  of  diffusing  the  light  of 
genuine  Christianity,  divested  of  the  dark  and  dangerous 
fanaticism  of  the  Methodists  which  has  been  attempted  to 
be  propagated,  and  which,  grafted  on  the  African  supersti- 
tions, and  working  on  the  uninstructed  minds  and  ardent 
temperament  of  the  negroes,  has  produced  the  most  per- 
nicious consequences  to  individuals,  and  is  pregnant  with 
imminent  danger  to  the  community."  § 

This  was  plain  speaking.  For  more  than  a  dozen  years 
they  had  been  seeking  to  crush  the  missionaries,  now  they 
would  endeavour  to  compete  with  them.  When  they  next 
met,  they  passed  a  bill  providing  for  the  appointment  of 
curates  to  assist  the  rectors  in  propagating  the  gospel 
among  the  slaves.  The  parishes  were  required  to  provide 
proper  places  besides  the   church,   where   divine   service 

*  "Account  of  Jamaica,"  by  Williams,  1808,  pp.  44-46;   Stewart's 
"  Present  State  of  Jamaica,"  1828,  pp.  149-162. 
+  Barclay^s  **  Practical  View  of  Slavery,"  p.  124.        J  Ibid.,  p.  121. 
§  '*  Journals  of  Assembly,"  vol.  xii.  p.  833. 


BELiaiON  AND  EDUCATION.  883 

might  be  performed  on  Sundays  and  holidays  ;*  and  the 
baptismal  fee  for  a  slave  was  reduced  to  two  shillings  and 
sixpence.  The  house  not  only  passed  the  bill,  but  ac- 
companied it  with  a  message  to  the  governor,  requesting 
him  to  employ  his  influence  with  the  Bishop  of  London,  so 
that  he  might  send  prudent  and  discreet  clergymen  to  act 
as  curates,  promising  them  iCSOO  currency,  about  £180 
sterling  per  annum,  together  with  every  possible  encourage- 
ment and  assistance.  Such  a  stipend  secured  missionaries 
in  the  face  of  discouragement,  but  not  clergymen.*  The 
bishop  soon  wrote  to  say  he  had  little  hope  of  securing  the 
services  of  any  clergymen  to  come  to  such  a  climate  for 
that  sum.  The  legislature,  by  a  bill  passed  in  1818, 
augmented  it  to  £500  currency. 

Four  years  later  it  was  found  that  only  twelve  had 
come  to  the  island,  instead  of  one  for  each  parish.  In 
only  two  or  three  parishes  had  chapels-of-ease  been 
erected,  and  it  was  asserted  that  little  good  had  been  done 
except  in  such  parishes.  The  governor  was  therefore 
requested  by  the  assembly  not  in  future  to  nominate  a 
curate  to  any  district  in  which  no  chapel  had  been  pro- 
vided, t 

In  most  cases  these  curates  were  mere  assistants  to  the 
rectors,  and  neither  they  nor  the  planters  cared  about  the 
instruction  of  slaves.  I  There  were,  however,  two  or  three 
noteworthy  exceptions.  The  Eev.  Francis  Humberstone, 
a  young  clergyman  trained  at  Newport  Pagnell  college,  in 
Buckinghamshire,  an  institution  sustained  by  churchmen 
and  dissenters,  arrived  in  Kingston  at  the  close  of  1818, 
and  officiated  for  the  rector  of  that  parish,  then  absent  in 
Ent^land.  He  only  lived  a  few  months,  but  before  his 
dealh  he  had  borne  ^compromising  testimony  against  the 
disregard  of  the  marriage  tie,  the  violation  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  the  more  common  sins  of  the  community.  In  his  last 
sermon,  preached  on  the  anmversary  of  the  great  earth- 
quake, he  not  only  referred  to  these  transgressions,  but 
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  slave  in  a  way  that  would  have 
led  to  the  bitter  persecution  of  any  missionary.  Eeferring 
to  the  repentance  of  Nineveh  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  he 

*  Stewart*8  <*  Present  State  of  Jamaica,"  pp.  291,  292. 

t  Journals,  vol.  xiv.  p.  70. 

J  Stewart's  *•  View,"  pp.  292,  298 ;  Briilges' "  Annals,"  vol.  i.  p.  656. 


834  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

said :  "  How  many  poor  slaves  rejoiced  on  that  day.  The 
fast  required  of  us  (and  no  other  will  be  acceptable  to  the 
Lord)  is  to  loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo  the 
heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free."  The 
communicants  at  the  Lord's  table  had  increased  from  a 
very  few  to  upwards  of  six  hundred  when  his  brief  but 
earnest  ministry  closed.  Nor  was  he  a  mere  philanthro- 
pist or  moralist ;  there  was  no  possibility  of  forgetting  the 
great  sacrifice  of  Calvary  when  he  preached.  His  funeral 
sermon,  delivered  by  the  Rev.  A.  Campbell,  the  rector  of 
St.  Andrews,  bore  unmistakable  testimony  to  the  purity  of 
his  doctrine  and  the  holiness  of  his  life.* 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Trew,  afterwards  archdeacon  of  the 
Bahamas,  was  another  early  labourer  among  the  bonds- 
men. Soon  after  his  settlement  in  Manchester,  he  ad- 
dressed a  circular  letter  to  the  proprietors,  urging  upon  them 
the  duty  of  attending  to  the  religious  instruction  of  their 
slaves,  and  offering  to  visit  their  properties,  if  they  would 
appoint  a  portion  of  a  week  day  once  a  month  for  that 
purpose.  With  the  same  zeal  and  earnestness  he  laboured 
in  the  parish  of  St.  Thomas,  to  which  he  was  soon  re- 
moved, t     Here  in  seven  years  he  married  1744  couples. 

Other  clergymendisplayed  considerable  activity  in  making 
proselytes,  though  unaccompanied  with  efforts  for  their 
instruction.  The  Rev.  G.  W.  Bridges,  the  annalist,  stated, 
in  1828,  that  he  had  baptised  9418  slaves  during  two  years, 
and  that  many  of  them  attended  church.  J  The  proportion 
must  indeed  have  been  small,  for  the  church  he  refers  to 
(Mandeville)  could  not  at  that  time  have  held  a  twentieth 
part  of  the  number.  Most  of  these  slaves  paid  half-a-crown 
each  as  a  baptismal  fee.  Mr.  Bridges,  in  happy  oblivion  of 
what  he  had  said  of  the  money  given  to  missionaries  being 
the  result  of  a  cruel  and  heartless  imposition  on  their 
superstition  and  ignorance,  observes  of  the  fees  he  received, 
that  **  this  laudable  desire  of  exchanging  worldly  goods  for 
celestial  rewards,"  evinces  "  a  measure  of  faith  words  can- 
not express."  §     By  the  end  of  another  year  this  zealous 

* "EvangelicalMagazme,"1819;  "Jamaica Pioneer,*' 1868, pp. 27-29. 
f  "Report  of  Society  for  Conversion  of  Negroes  in  British  West 
Indies,"  1824. 

^  Bridges'  "  View  of  Jamaica,"  p.  27 ;  published  in  1828. 

§  "  Dreams  of  Dolocracy,  or  the  Puritan  Obituary,"  1824,  p.  82. 


RELIGION   AND  EDUCATION.  885 

baptiser  was  able  to  report  that  12,000  out  of  17,000  slaves 
in  the  parish  had  received  the  holy  ordinance,  and,  he 
adds,  "  happily  there  are  no  sectarians."  * 

The  parish  is  now  filled  with  flourishing  and  intelligent 
congregations  of  Moravians,  Presbyterians,  and  Congre- 
gationaJists.  If  Mr.  Bridges  wished  to  keep  out  sectarians 
he  should  have  taught  the  slaves,  but  he  was  satisfied 
because  some  had  learnt  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  ten 
commandments,  t  And  what,  after  all,  were  these  baptisms 
which  displayed  such  unutterable  faith,  and  in  recompense 
for  which,  or  for  the  half-crown  fee,  celestial  rewards  were 
supposed  to  be  obtained?  In  the  majority  of  cases  the 
clergyman  paid  a  hasty  visit  to  the  estate  at  an  appointed 
time.  The  slaves  to  be  baptised  were  assembled;  after 
some  words  of  explanation  the  service  was  read,  the  appli- 
cants were  duly  baptised  in  the  name  of  the  triune 
Jehovah,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  was  devoted  to  feasting 
and  dancing.  I  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  nature  of  the 
marriage  tie  was  better  explained ;  for  in  this  new-bom 
zeal  which  was  to  crush  the  dissenters,  and  bind  the  slaves 
to  the  Church  of  England,  3897  couples  were  joined 
together  in  a  short  term  of  years.  § 

In  1824,  it  was  deemed  desirable  by  the  British  govern- 
ment to  appoint  two  bishops  to  the  West  Indies.  The 
Bight  Bev.  Christopher  Lipscombe  was  nominated  for  the 
see  of  Jamaica,  with  which  Honduras  and  the  Bahama 
Islands  were  connected.  He  arrived  on  the  11th  of  February 
of  the  following  year,  was  duly  installed  four  days  later, 
and  took  a  seat  as  member  of  the  legislative  council.  On 
the  18th  of  April  following,  he  held  his  first  ordination ; 
and  the  first  session  of  the  legislature  after  his  arrival  was 
not  allowed  to  pass  without  providing  a  bill  consolidating 
and  amending  the  laws  relating  to  the  clergy. 

It  enacted,  among  other  thinis,  the  reception  in  the  island 
of  all  the  ecclesiastical  canons,  laws,  and  ordinances  used  in 
England,  so  far  as  they  related  to  the  due  government  of  the 
clergy  ;  but  no  power,  spiritual  or  temporal,  was  given  over 
the  laity,  nor  were  the  powers  of  the  governor,  as  ordinary, 

*  **  Statistical  History  of  Parish  of  Manchester,"  published  in  1824. 
+  "  View  of  Jamaica,"  p.  27. 

I  Sir  Henry  de  la  Beche ;  pamphlet  pnbUshed  in  1825,  p.  27 ;  local 
information,  &c.  §  "  Dreams  of  Dalocracy,"  p.  28. 


886  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

infringed  upon.  A  considerable  increase  was  made  in  the 
salaries  of  the  registrar  and  apparitor,  and  those  of  the 
rectors  were  increased  to  £600  per  annum,  the  additional 
J6180  being  compensation  for  loss  of  fees  from  slaves, 
which  were  no  longer  to  be  taken.  A  very  handsome  scale 
of  fees  was,  however,  provided  for  church  services  performed 
for  free  people.*  Banns  were  in  future  to  be  published 
where  a  license  had  not  been  obtained,  but  the  consent  of 
owners  was  requisite  in  the  case  of  slaves  ;  and  an  efficient 
system  of  registry  was  provided,  not  only  for  the  future, 
but  to  preserve  records  of  baptisms,  burials,  and  marriages, 
of  which  the  only  account  hitherto  kept  was  in  the  church 
books.  All  these  registers  had  to  be  copied  and  sent  to  the 
bishop's  office  for  preservation.  Great  was  the  outcry  about 
the  trouble  of  complying  with  this  law,  and  heavy  clauns 
were  sent  in  for  the  expenses  said  to  have  been  incurred. 
Many  of  the  clergy  did  not  fail  to  criticise  with  some 
severity  the  acts  of  the  bishop ;  while  he  is  reported  to 
have  said  that  no  good  could  be  expected  from  his  mission 
till  the  old  clergy,  especially  those  appointed  by  the  Duke 
of  Manchester,  were  exterminated,  t 

The  newly-appointed  bishop  and  archdeacons  cost  the 
British  government  £6000  per  annum.  This  would  have 
sustained  twenty  working  clergymen,  and  some  years  later 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  showed  that  such  could  be 
found.  They  were  not  much  more  welcome  than  mission- 
aries had  been.  Mr.  Pauton,  whose  zealous  labours  in  St. 
Thomas  were  above  all  praise,  had  to  encounter  opposition, 
just  as  the  Wesleyans  had  done. 

From  the  statements  made  by  the  bishop,  the  archdeacon, 
and  the  Eev.  Lewis  Bowerbank,  to  a  committee  of  the 
assembly  in  1832,  it  appears  that  thirteen  churches  had 
been  erected  since  his  arrival,  and  that  nine  others  were 
in  progress.  There  were  then,  in  the  island,  forty-five 
clergymen  and  thirty-two  catechists  and  schoolmasters. 
Beligious  instruction  was  imparted  on  two  hundred  and 
eighty  properties,  by  clergymen,  catechists,  and  book- 
keepers. In  few  cases  were  the  last  named  religious,  or 
even  moral  men.  Instruction  appears  to  have  been  given 
twice  a  week  for  about  one  hour.     On  seventy  of  these 

'''•  Bridges'  "  Annals,"  vol.  i.  Appendix,  p.  569. 

t  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  pp.  668-575  ;  vol.  ii.  pp.  888-887,  495. 


BEUGION  AND  EDUCATION.  887 

estates,  visited  by  the  archdeacon,  rather  more  than 
eighteen  thousand  slaves  were  under  instruction.  Two 
thousand  he  pronounced  proficient,  that  is,  they  could  repeat 
either  a  quarter,  a  half,  or  in  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  cases,  all  the  church  catechism.  Some  who  had  not 
attempted  the  catechism  knew  the  ten  commandments ; 
about  fifteen  hundred  knew  the  creed,  and  about  as  many 
half  of  it,  while  others  had  only  managed  to  learn  the  Lord^s 
prayer.  Other  clergymen  in  their  evidence  admitted  that 
what  the  negroes  wanted  was  to  be  taught  to  read,  and 
that  they  did  not  much  value  mere  oral  instruction ;  others 
complained  of  the  impossibility  of  instructing  them  ade- 
quately till  Sunday  markets  were  abolished.* 

The  commencement  of  the  apprenticeship  was  attended 
by  the  arrival  of  some  excellent  missionary  clergymen ; 
many  of  the  stations  they  occupied  are  among  the  most 
flourishing  of  all  the  episcopal  churches  in  the  colony. 
In  1886  there  were  fifty- seven  clergymen  in  the  island, 
and  the  average  cost  of  the  establishment  for  that  and  the 
four  preceding  years  exceeded  £48,000  currency  per  annum. 
Congregations  of  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  thousand 
people  were  gathered  on  fine  Sundays.  From  a  parliamen- 
tary return  made  at  the  close  of  1888,  it  appears  that  there 
were  then  fifty-three  churches  in  the  island,  sixty-one 
clergymen,  and  seven  catechists. 

The  Episcopal  church  was  not  the  only  form  of  religion 
established  in  Jamaica.  A  Presbyterian  kirk  had  also 
succeeded  in  obtaining  an  endowment.  So  far  back  as 
1788  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  house  of  assembly, 
showing  that  there  was  only  one  place  of  worship  in 
Kingston,  and  that  a  very  large  number  of  the  white 
persons  who  arrived  in  the  colony  were  Presbyterians, 
who,  not  finding  in  Kingston  or  elsewhere  a  church  of 
their  denomination,  acquired  a  habit  of  entirely  neglecting 
all  religious  worship,  and  at  length  lost  all  regard  for 
religion.  Aid  in  erecting  a  church  to  be  aflB.liated  with 
the  established  church  of  Scotland  was  accordingly  asked 
for.  An  attempt  was  made  to  refer  the  petition  to  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  house,  but  it  failed:  it  was  ordered 
to  lie  on  the  table,  and  no  further  notice  taken  of  it. 

"^  Evidence  before  Committee  of  Assembly,  1882. 

28 


838  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

Some  twenty  yeaxs  later  another  effort  to  engage  the 
sympathies  of  the  legislature  was  made,  but  without  suc- 
cess. In  1814  the  matter  once  more  came  before  the 
house.  The  Presbyterians  were  then  in  a  position  to 
report  that  they  had  themselves  commenced  the  task. 
Beferring  to  their  numbers  in  the  colony,  they  stated  that 
a  large  sum  had  been  contributed  to  erect  and  endow  a 
place  of  worship,  with  which  it  was  proposed  to  connect 
a  seminary  for  the  instruction  of  youth,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  minister,  and  they  merely  asked  for  legislative  aid 
to  enable  them  to  appoint  trustees  to  receive  and  appro- 
priate the  donations  and  bequests  that  might  be  given.* 
A  bill  was  accordingly  prepared,  and  passed  through  the 
usual  stages  in  the  assembly.  About  a  week  before  it 
came  under  the  consideration  of  the  council,  another  peti- 
tion was  laid  before  the  assembly,  stating  that  though  the 
contributions  had  been  very  liberal,  the  desired  end  could 
not  be  gained  without  the  aid  of  the  house.  This  seems 
to  have  alarmed  the  council,  who,  though  perhaps  willing 
to  afford  any  necessary  powers  to  the  proposed  body  of 
trustees,  had  no  wish  to  entail  upon  the  colony  the  expense 
of  a  second  establishment :  they  accordingly  rejected  the 
bill  which  had  been  sent  up  to  them.  As  soon  as  the 
assembly  was  made  acquainted  with  this,  a  clause  was 
inserted  in  the  poll-tax  bill,  granting  to  certain  trustees 
therein  named  the  sum  of  £5000,  to  be  laid  out  in  com- 
pleting a  Presbyterian  kirk.t  The  poll-tax  bill  only 
reached  the  council  the  day  before  that  fixed  for  proroga- 
tion. To  have  thrown  it  out  would  have  involved  the 
affairs  of  the  colony  in  confusion  by  depriving  it  of  the 
chief  source  of  revenue,  and  thus  by  a  trick  unworthy 
of  legislators  the  first  step  was  taken  to  impose  a^,  fresh 
ecclesiastical  burden  on  the  colony. 

It  was  destined  to  be  a  very  expensive  institution.  The 
corporation  gave  a  liberal  donation,  but  ere  long  the 
trustees  came  before  the  house  with  the  statement  that 
£16,000  had  been  spent,  but  more  was  required  to  provide 
an  endowment.  They  thus  obtained  another  vote  of 
£3500.1 

The  kirk  was  opened  in  1818,  and  not  only  whites  but 

*  Jonmals,  vol.  xii.  p.  666  f  Ibid.,  voL  xii.  p.  609. 

I  Ibid.,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  84-85. 


BEUGION  AND  EDUCATION.  889 

great  numbers  of  slaves  and  free  coloured  people  attended. 
These,  it  was  stated  in  a  petition  to  the  assembly,  had, 
from  want  of  accommodation  elsewhere,  been  obliged  in 
former  days  to  resort  to  "  Methodist  meeting-houses,*'  but 
had  **  been  rescued  from  their  former  sectarianism."  Many 
more,  it  was  hoped,  would  be  "delivered  from  the  control 
of  their  former  instructors,  and  the  injurious  habits  ac- 
quired from  their  influence."  Still  the  aid  of  the  assembly 
was  needed,  and  £500  was  given  to  effect  the  desirable 
objects  indicated. 

Again  and  again  petitions  were  presented.  In  1825  a 
committee  of  the  house  visited  the  Sunday-school,  and 
granted  £500  to  the  minister,  Mr.  Wordie,  for  his  assiduity 
in  instructing  the  young  there.  In  1828,  though  it  was 
admitted  that  only  one-third  of  the  pews  were  free,  the 
house  was  asked,  "by  one  act  of  durable  munificence,"  to 
elevate  the  Scotch  church,  and  uphold  so  important  an 
institution.  This  was  not  acceded  to,  but  the  annual 
grant  was  raised  to  £700  currency ;  and  though  from  time 
to  time  some  alterations  have  been  made,  the  kirk  has 
since  remained  a  charge  upon  the  revenues  of  the  colony. 
More  recently  an  annual  sum  of  £365  sterling  was  granted, 
besides  £187  received  as  interest  of  money  in  the  public 
treasury.  This  income  it  still  continues  to  receive,  but  the 
sum  first  named  will  cease  on  the  demise  of  the  present 
incumbent. 

About  1882  application  was  made  for  a  grant  to  aid  in 
the  erection  of  a  kirk  at  Falmouth.  Though  this  was  not 
acceded  to,  a  grant  for  £500  currency  was  made  two  years 
later,  to  support  the  minister  and  the  Sunday-schools.* 
Annual  grants  were  made  for  several  succeeding  years, 
until  at  length  a  pastor  connected  with  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland  was  appointed,  and  the  expenses  have  since 
been  met  from  the  contributions  of  the  people,  aided  by 
missionary  funds. 

Boman  Catholics  and  Jews  had  congregations  in  King- 
ston and  elsewhere.  The  first  application  for  aid  from  the 
Catholics,  but  which  was  unsuccessful,  was  from  the  Rev. 
Edmund  Murphy,  who  stated  that  numbers  of  children 
were  instructed  in  their  schools ;  and  suggesting  that  the 
house,  by  extending  aid  to  this  invaluable  work,  would 

*  "  Votes,"  1884,  p.  241. 
23* 


840  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

confound  their  enemies,  who  were  ever  ready  to  brand 
them  with  intolerance.  Next  year  the  application  was 
renewed,  but  without  success.*  At  the  close  of  1838  the 
Catholics  had  four  chapels  and  four  priests  in  the  island. 
The  number  of  both  has  since  increased. 

The  Jews  have  always  sustained  not  only  their  own 
religious  services,  but  to  a  very  great  extent  their  own 
poor.  In  1808  a  section  made  an  attempt  to  secure  the 
adequate  support  of  the  latter  by  their  own  body,  through 
means  of  a  legal  enactment.  In  a  petition  to  the  assembly, 
the  wardens  and  elders  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  syna- 
gogue stated  that  it  was  the  custom  of  their  nation  all 
over  the  world  to  sustain  their  own  poor,  and  that  this 
was  usually  done  among  them  by  assessment ;  but  of  late 
some  in  their  synagogue  had  refused  to  pay  their  portion, 
and  in  consequence  had  thrown  an  unduly  heavy  burden 
upon  the  more  willing.  Legislative  provisions  were  sought 
to  prevent  this  in  the  future  by  compelling  payment.  A 
bill  was  introduced,  but  rejected — no  doubt  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  more  intelligent  members  of  the  Hebrew  com- 
munity, who  understood  so  well  the  true  principles  of 
voluntaryism. 

With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  denominations,  copious 
accounts  have  been  published  by  missionaries  of  the  labours 
in  which  they  have  taken  part  in  Jamaica.  It  may  be 
asserted,  without  any  violation  of  Christian  charity,  that 
the  most  glowing  descriptions  of  the  results  which  have 
foUowed  such  labours  are  the  least  trustworthy.  Honest, 
well-meaning  men  have  frequently  described  as  fruit  that 
which  was  only  blossom ;  while  vain,  though  pious  men,  too 
anxious  for  the  praise  of  their  fellow-creatures,  and  am- 
bitious of  the  ephemeral  fame  of  missionary  chronicles  or 
the  applause  of  public  meetings,  have  sometimes  injured 
the  cause  they  wished  to  serve  by  too  highly-coloured 
descriptions  of  their  success. 

U  the  numbers  reported  as  having  been  baptised  on 
confession  of  faith,  or  otherwise  received  into  fellowship, 
could  be  accepted  as  representing  in  any  large  proportion 
converted  men  and  women,  then  the  success  of  missionary 
effort  in  Jamaica  is  unsurpassed  by  anything  that  has  ever 
been  recorded  since  apostolic  times.     But  if  the  general, 

*:^  "  Votes,"  1833,  p.  80. 


BELIOION  AND   EDUCATION.  341 

moral,  and  religious  character  of  the  community  is  care- 
fully considered,  it  must  be  evident  that  though  the  field 
has  not  been  barren,  and  no  faithful  minister  has  toiled  in 
vain,  yet  amidst  abundant  evidence  of  the  restraining, 
converting,  and  elevating  power  of  the  gospel,  there  yet  re- 
mains a  wide  field  for  Christian  philanthropy.  The  work 
which  some  of  the  religious  communities  of  England  in- 
augurated at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  to  which  such  general 
attention  and  help  was  given  at  the  time  of  emancipation, 
is  most  assuredly  not  yet  completed. 

The  period  now  under  consideration  comprises  upwards 
of  fifty  years  of  slavery,  and  but  four  of  semi-freedom. 
That  so  much  was  accomplished  under  such  disadvantages, 
and  in  the  face  of  unceasing  opposition,  is — divested  of  all 
undue  colouring — one  of  the  most  wonderful  stories  to  be 
found  even  in  the  annals  of  missionary  triumphs. 

The  only  proper  object  of  missionary  enterprise  is  the 
same  in  all  societies ;  and  in  pourtraying  the  labours  of 
the  missionaries  during  this  period,  a  brief  sketch  of  their 
general  operations  will  be  given,  and  an  account  of  the 
circumstances  by  which  all  were  alike  affected,  favourably 
or  otherwise. 

The  Moravians,  as  the  only  body  labouring  in  the  island 
before  1783,  must  first  be  noticed.  The  relation  they  bore 
to  the  proprietors  of  the  estates,  their  own  connection  with 
slavery,  and  the  daily  labour  they  were  obliged  to  undergo, 
oould  not  fail  to  affect  their  usefulness.  The  first  event  of 
much  significance  for  many  years  was  the  arrival  of  a 
zealous  missionary,  named  Lang,  from  England  in  1805. 
His  untiring  efforts  to  revive  the  languid  religious  life  of 
the  converts,  and  to  lead  others  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  were  not  in  vain,  and  the  somewhat  erratic,  but  it 
may  be  hoped  sincere,  efforts  of  a  slave  named  Lewis,  who 
travelled  as  a  pedlar  from  Kingston,  are  described  as 
having  had  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  people  among  whom 
the  Moravians  laboured.* 

Li  1823,  Mr.  Stobwasser   arrived  in  the  island  from 
Antigua,  charged  by  the  mission  board  to  effect  some  im- 
portant changes.     Henceforth  it  was  decided  that    the 
missionaries  should  be  relieved  from  any  necessity  for 
*  Baohner,  "  Moravians  in  Jamaica,*'  pp.  47-53. 


342  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

manual  or  other  secular  employment,  all  their  expenses 
being  in  future  defrayed  from  the  mission  fund ;  and  their 
whole  time  and  energies  were  in  consequence  to  be  devoted 
to  their  special  work.  Old  Carmel  was  sold,  and  only  the 
burial-ground  retained,  where  already  rested  thirteen 
brethren  who  had  died,  mostly  after  brief  periods  of  labour, 
and  eleven  of  their  wives.  Fairfield,  on  the  Manchester 
mountains,  a  place  of  wonderful  loveliness,  was  selected  as 
the  principal  station.  The  congregation  that  had  assembled 
at  Old  Carmel  lived  mostly  near  Fairfield,  and  thus  little 
inconvenience  was  felt  by  the  removal,  which  was  so 
desirable  on  the  score  of  health. 

Gradually  new  chapels  were  opened,  but  always  in  near 
communication  with  each  other,  and  thus  a  circle  of  com- 
pact and  well-appointed  stations  was  established  in  Man- 
chester, St.  EUzabeths,  Westmoreland,  and  St.  James. 
Beyond  these  parishes  they  have  never  gone,  but  their 
missions  have  in  consequence  a  completeness  which  only  in 
a  limited  degree  belongs  to  any  other.  In  1816,  the  mis- 
sionary, Ward,  mentioned  with  delight  that  he  had  met  for 
the  first  time  with  a  black  man  who  was  able  to  read. 
This  simple  acquisition  was  indeed  rare  in  the  country 
parts;  but  it  was  not  until  1826  that  the  brethren  saw 
their  way  clear  to  attempt  the  establishment  of  Sunday  and 
day  schools.  The  first  of  these  latter  was  opened  that  year, 
and  afterwards  each  year  was  marked  by  progress  in  this 
direction.  During  slavery  these  schools  could  only  be  at- 
tended by  the  children  of  free  people :  the  attendance  at 
each  rarely  exceeded  twenty,  and  little  was  taught  but 
reading,  texts  of  Scripture,  and  hymns. 

To  meet  the  case  of  slave  children,  evening  schools  were 
attempted,  but  they  were  soon  abandoned ;  the  kind  mis- 
sionaries saw  that  it  was  positive  cruelty  to  attempt  to 
teach  children  who  all  the  day  had  been  toiling  in  the 
fields.  Mr.  Bryan  Edwards  tells  of  a  negro  who  declared 
that  "  sleep  hab  no  massa.'*  The  poor  little  urchins  soon 
proved  that  it  had  no  "  schoolmassa,**  for  soon  after 
school  began  they  would  be  found  dropping  from  the 
benches  fast  asleep.  Sabbath  schools  proved  rather  more 
successful,  but  of  course  the  instruction  given  was  very 
limited.  Knowledge,  however  imperfect,  is  incompatible 
with  slavery,  and  through  these  weary  years  the  Christian 


.-J 


RELIOION   AND   EDUCATION.  848 

labourer  among  the  slaves  was  chiefly  confined  to  such 
instraction  as  he  could  communicate  orally. 

The  unjust  accusations  preferred  against  Moravian  and 
other  missionaries  are  related  elsewhere,  together  with  the 
trial  and  acquittal  of  Mr.  Pfeififer.  For  a  time  the  negroes 
were  so  terrified  by  these  proceedings  that  the  chapels  were 
almost  deserted ;  but  by  April,  1832,  those  of  the  Mora- 
vians were  as  crowded  as  ever.  During  this  year  a  school 
for  orphan  girls  was  established  at  Fairfield,  and  for  twelve 
years  proved  a  most  valuable  institution.  The  commence- 
ment of  apprenticeship  set  at  liberty  all  children  under  six 
years  of  age,  and  for  these  infant  schools  were  arranged. 
Six  new  mission  stations  were  opened,  and  increasing  num- 
bers attended  these,  as  well  as  others  long  established.  It 
was  a  time  of  much  outward,  and  not  a  little  deep  spiritual 
interest  in  religious  things. 

Statistics  have  a  certain  value,  though  not  so  much  in 
relation  to  missionary  efforts  as  many  good  men  suppose. 
As  illustrative  to  some  extent  of  the  progress  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Jamaica,  it  is  recorded  that  in  1818  there 
were  2282  persons,  including  children,  connected  with  all 
their  stations  in  the  island.  In  1831  there  were  4100  per- 
sons, and  in  1837  there  were  9913.  Of  these,  2100  were 
communicants.  At  this  last  date  there  were  twenty-five 
day  schools,  with  rather  more  than  a  thousand  scholars. 

The  missionaries  during  slavery  did  all  in  their  power  to 
encourage  marriage  among  the  converts.  The  loose  mode 
of  life  in  which  they  had  so  long  indulged  was  not  the  only 
obstacle.  The  marriages  celebrated  among  them  had  not 
the  sanction  of  the  law.  It  was  not  until  1835  that  all 
previously  celebrated,  and  others  henceforth  to  take  place, 
were  declared  to  be  legal.* 

The  work  of  Christian  instruction  which  had  been  com- 
menced by  the  Moravians  was,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  taken  up  by 
other  denominations.  The  Wesleyans  were  the  first  of  these 
in  order  of  time ;  but  before  Dr.  Coke  visited  the  island, 
in  January,  1789,  some  black  ministers  were  engaged  in 
Edngston  and  elsewhere  in  preaching,  and  other  Christian 
work.     The  career  of  some  of  these  men  was  remarkable. 

*  Buchner*8  '* Moravians  in  Jamaica,**  pp.  43-121;  Brown's  "His- 
tory of  Missions,*'  vol.  i.  pp.  267-269. 


844  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Early  in  January,  1783,  when  the  struggle  for  independence 
in  the  United  States  had  been  decided  in  favour  of  the 
colonists,  about  four  hundred  white  families,  and  between 
four  and  five  thousand  of  their  negro  slaves,  arrived  in 
Jamaica,  preferring  a  colony  still  under  imperial  rule  to 
residing  under  a  new  and  untried  republican  government.* 
Among  the  men  of  colour  thus  brought  to  the  island, 
George  Lisle  and  Moses  Baker  exercised  considerable 
influence  over  its  future  religious  interests.  The  former 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  native  Baptist  churches  in  the 
island,  and  the  latter  prepared  the  way  for  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

Lisle  came  from  Virginia ;  his  master,  a  deacon  of  a 
Baptist  church,  had  given  him  his  freedom.  On  his  arrival 
in  Kingston  he  began  to  preach  on  the  race-course  ;  great 
numbers  were  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  the  spectacle,  and 
a  few  of  the  merchants  encouraged  him.  Having  procured 
a  dray  and  horses,  he  laboured  for  his  own  support ;  but  a 
little  church  of  four  persons  being  formed,  he  erected  first 
a  shed  and  then  a  chapel  on  the  Windward  road.  Many 
persons  of  influence,  and  among  them  Bryan  Edwards,  the 
historian,  contributed  towards  the  erection  of  this  place. 
It  had  not  been  opened  long  before  a  sermon  Lisle  preached 
was  misrepresented,  and  he  was  arrested,  put  in  irons, 
and  tried  on  a  charge  of  exciting  the  slaves  to  rebellion. 
He  was  acquitted,  but  soon  after  was  involved  in  fresh 
trouble  on  account  of  the  debt  remaining  on  his  chapel. 
He  was  now  cast  into  jail  once  more.  Some  merchants 
advised  him  to  declare  himself  insolvent,  and  take  the 
benefit  of  the  act.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and  remained  in 
prison,  until,  aided  by  his  friends,  he  had  paid  the  debt. 
The  keeper  of  the  prison,  who  highly  appreciated  his 
integrity,  often  allowed  him  to  visit  his  family  or  any  of 
his  congregation  who  were  sick,  at  night,  a  privilege  he 
never  abused.  There  is  abundant  evidence  that  though 
this  earnest  and  good  man  held  some  peculiar  views,  such 
as  the  washing  of  feet  and  anointing  the  sick,  he  taught  the 
essentials  of  religion,  and  maintained  strict  discipline  in  the 
church.  +     It  would  have  been  well  for  Jamaica  if  all  of  the 

*  Southeys  "  Chronological  History,"  vol.  ii.  p.  540. 
f  The  Covenant  of  the  Anabaptist  Church,  begun  in  Jamaica,  De- 
cember, 1788. 


RELIOION   AND  EDUCATION.  845 

native  preachers  had  been  like  him.  He  had  from  time  to 
time  to  endure  much  personal  rudeness  and  petty  persecu- 
tion from  the  irreligious  whites  around ;  but  for  a  long 
period  he  continued  feithfully  to  labour  among  the  flock  he 
had  gathered,  many  of  whom  resided  in  the  town,  but  most 
in  the  country  districts  around.* 

Another  remarkable  man  was  Moses  Baker.  He  also  came 
from  America,  and  for  some  time  after  his  arrival  lived 
in  utter  disregard  of  religion.  When  brought  to  a  better 
state  of  mind,  by  the  efforts  of  an  illiterate  but  good  man, 
he  was  baptised  by  Lisle  in  1787,  and  next  year  went 
down  to  the  estate  of  a  Quaker  named  Winn,  in  St. 
James's,  where  he  was  provided  with  a  residence  and  a 
small  stipend,  as  the  religious  instructor  of  the  slaves. 
Baker  found  them  living  in  the  grossest  immorality,  and 
all  firm  believers  in  Obeah.  But  he  pursued  his  labours 
with  diligence,  and  introduced  among  the  converts  the 
form  of  covenant  that  Lisle  had  prepared,  t  Some  other 
black  men,  separating  from  Lisle,  established  churches  in 
other  places.  In  some  instances  they  were  altogether 
unqualified;  in  others  they  mingled  many  superstitious 
observances  with  what  they  had  learned  from  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  but  it  is  undeniable  that  many  of  the  early  disciples 
of  these  people  and  their  children  may  be  numbered  with 
the  most  exemplary,  though  not  the  most  intelligent,  of 
the  Christian  converts  during  the  time  of  slavery.! 

Dr.  Coke,  the  pioneer  of  Wesleyan  missions,  first 
visited  Jamaica  on  the  19th  of  January,  1789.  He 
preached  several  times  in  Kingston  in  private  houses,  and 
then  in  a  large  concert  room,  which  was  placed  at  his 
disposal.  Though  on  one  occasion  he  was  violently  in- 
terrupted, as  many  as  four  hundred  whites  and  two 
hundred  slaves  attended  these  services;  and  the  doctor, 
though  unable  to  make  a  prolonged  stay  himself,  arranged 
for  Mr.  Hammett,  who  had  rendered  good  service  in  the 
smaller  islands,  to  take  up  his  residence  in  Kingston. 
This  missionary  arrived  in  August,  and  rented  a  house  in 
Hannah's  Town  for  temporary  use  as  a  chapel.     Soon 

*  Cox's  "  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  12-15,  &o. ;  Bip- 
pon*8  "  Begister,'*  vol.  i. 

f  **  Eyangelical  Magazine,'*  September,  1808 ;  Hill's  "  Lights  and 
Shadows,"  pp.  77-80.  J  Coke's  "  History  of  West  Indies,"  vol.  i. 


846  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

after,  he  formed  the  first  class,  or  society,  consisting  of 
eight  persons.  The  obscurity  of  the  meeting-house  pre- 
served the  little  flock  from  interruption,  but  when,  at  the 
close  of  1790,  a  large  house  at  the  east  side  of  the  Parade 
was  purchased,  enlarged,  and  opened  as  a  chapel,  con- 
siderable opposition  was  displayed.  The  grand  jury  of 
Kingston  presented  it  at  the  court  of  quarter  sessions  as  a 
nuisance.*  The  newspapers  for  months  were  filled  with 
controversial  letters,  and  at  length  a  mob  tore  down  the 
gates  at  midnight,  and  serious  damage  was  only  prevented 
by  the  arrival  of  the  town  guard.  Those  of  the  rioters 
who  were  apprehended  were  acquitted  in  the  face  of  the 
clearest  evidence.  Mr.  Hammett  was  obliged  to  refrain 
from  preaching  after  dark,  almost  the  only  time  when 
slaves  were  able  to  attend ;  but  two  or  three  estates  in  the 
neighbourhood  were  opened  for  his  ministrations,  and  a 
society  was  formed  at  Port  Eoyal. 

Dr.  Coke  revisited  the  island  in  1791  and  1792,  and 
preached,  not  only  in  Kingston,  but  at  Montego  Bay  and 
some  other  places.  Two  other  missionaries  were  sent, 
but  one  soon  died,  and  the  other,  with  Mr.  Hammett,  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  island  through  ill-health.  For  a  short 
time  the  infant  societies  were  left  without  a  pastor,  but  in 
May,  1792,  the  mission  was  once  more  supplied,  and  has 
never  since  been  without  resident  English  missionaries. 
In  1793  Dr.  Coke  paid  his  last  visit  to  the  island.  For 
some  years  after,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  trifling  dis- 
turbances, not  more  serious  than  those  to  which  dissenters 
were  exposed  in  some  parts  of  England,  the  missionaries 
laboured  without  interruption.  In  Kingston  and  in  some 
of  the  eastern  parishes,  about  six  hundred  persons  were 
gathered  into  church  fellowship  towards  the  close  of  the 
century,  t 

The  first  religious  intelligence,  in  the  year  1800,  can 
hardly  be  read  without  a  snule.  On  the  5th  of  February 
an  honourable  member  rose  in  his  place  in  the  house  of 
assembly,  and  with  serious  countenance  read  to  an  at- 
tentive auditory  an  important  communication  with  which 
a  Mr.  David  Dick  of  Edinburgh  had  favoured  him.  It 
announced  that   a  body  of  missionaries  were  to  sail  for 

*  Coke's  "  Journals,'*  pp.  101-135 ;  Duncan's  "  Wesleyan  Missions 
in  Jamaica,"  p.  16.  f  Ibid.,  pp.  1&-42. 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  847 

Jamaica  early  that  year.  Mr.  Dick  did  not  know  what 
doctrines  they  would  preach,  bnt  he  was  assured  they  were 
opposed  to  slavery,  and  that  their  coming  would  be  "preg- 
nant with  mischief  to  the  colony."  He  promised  to  send 
some  magazines  to  show  what  maimer  of  men  they  were. 
The  extract  from  Mr.  Dick's  letter  was  referred  at  once  to 
a  committee  of  the  whole  house,  then  inquiring  into  the  state 
of  the  island.*  The  committee  must  have  soon  found  that 
the  missionary  invasion  was  not  so  dangerous  as  Mr.  Dick 
supposed.  The  party  consisted  of  the  Bev.  J.  Bethune,  a 
minister  of  the  church  of  Scotland,  and  Messrs.  Clark  and 
Beidy  catechists.  Within  three  weeks  after  landing  Mr. 
Clark  died  of  yellow  fever.  A  few  days  after  Mr.  Bethune 
fell  a  victim  to  the  same  malady.  He  was  a  married  man, 
but  his  wife  and  child  died  on  the  passage  home,  and  Mr. 
Beid  was  soon  the  only  survivor  of  the  party.  He  was 
not  dismayed  by  the  sad  fate  of  his  companions,  but  at 
once  commenced  meetings  among  such  of  the  black  and 
coloured  people  as  he  could  gather  together,  and  opened 
a  school  for  their  children.  He  was  soon  interrupted  in 
his  labours  by  persecuting  measures  now  to  be  recorded, 
and  obliged  to  accept  a  situation  as  teacher  in  a  school, 
where  he  secured  the  esteem  of  large  numbers  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  city.t 

In  the  year  1802  a  determined  effort  was  made  to  put  an 
end  to  missionary  labours  in  the  island.  The  chief  insti- 
gator was  Mr.  Simon  Taylor,  a  man  of  degraded  habits, 
though  possessed  of  many  estates,  and  the  attorney  for 
several  absentees.  For  some  reason  not  quite  clear  he  had 
conceived  a  great  hatred  to  the  Wesleyans,  and  having 
failed  in  shutting  them  out  from  St.  Thomas,  of  which 
parish  he  was  custos,  he  determined,  if  possible,  to  restrain 
them  by  legislative  enactment.  Perhaps  no  planter  was 
ever  possessed  of  more  power  than  this  imperious,  vulgar 
man,  and  on  the  17th  of  December  the  assembly,  at  his 
instigation,  passed  '*  an  act  to  prevent  preaching  by  persons 
not  duly  qualified  by  law."  Next  day  it  passed  through  the. 
council,  and  the  lieutenant-governor,  Nugent,  immediately 
gave  his  assent. 

The  bill  provided  that  any  persons,  not  qualified  by  the 
laws  of  the  island  and  of  Great  Britain,  who  should  preach 

*  Jonmals,  vol.  x.     f  Brown's  "  History  of  Missions,"  vol.  ii.  p.  427. 


848  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

or  teach  in  meetings  of  negroes  or  persons  of  colour, 
should,  if  free,  be  committed  to  prison,  there  to  be  kept  at 
hard  labour ;  if  slaves,  they  were  to  be  imprisoned  for  the 
first  offence,  and  whipped  for  every  subsequent  one ;  but 
if  the  offence  committed  by  a  white  person  should  appear 
to  be  one  of  extraordinary  heinousness,  then,  on  conviction, 
he  was  to  receive  such  punishment  as  the  court  should  see  fit 
to  inflict,  not  extending  to  life.  This  ambiguous  phrase, 
when  used  in  reference  to  slaves,  had  for  a  number  of  years 
meant  repeated  whippings,  ear  clipping,  nose  splitting,  and 
other  forms  of  dismemberment ;  what  it  might  mean  in 
reference  to  Christian  missionaries  cannot  now  be  known, 
as,  in  1804,  the  disallowance  of  the  act  by  the  king  was 
announced  to  the  assembly.  The  members  were  highly 
indignant  in  consequence,  and  pronounced  certain  recom- 
mendations with  which  the  disallowance  was  accompanied 
a  breach  of  their  privileges,  to  which  they  could  not  submit.* 

In  the  mean  time  several  preachers  had  been  silenced. 
The  first  victim  of  the  iniquitous  law  was  Mr.  Williams,  a 
Wesleyan  local  preacher  residing  at  Morant  Bay,  where  he 
held  some  property.  He  had  refrained  from  preaching 
until  he  could  obtain  a  license,  but  early  in  January  next 
year  a  few  friends  were  at  his  house.  They  sang  hynms 
and  prayed  together ;  this  was  all,  and  for  this  Williams 
was  sent  to  the  workhouse  for  a  month !  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Campbell  hastened  down  from  Kingston  to  console  the 
afflicted  church,  and  as  he  was  authorised,  according  to  the 
laws  of  Great  Britain,  he  felt  at  liberty  to  preach  ;  but  he 
was  arrested,  and  the  magistrates  decided  that,  by  the  laws 
of  the  island,  he  was  not  qualified.  What  or  where  the  law 
was  by  which  he  could  qualify,  the  magistrates  declined  to 
say.  There  was,  in  point  of  fact,  no  such  law  upon  the 
statute  book. 

When  Mr.  Campbell,  by  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  brought 
the  case  before  the  Kingston  assizes,  then  sitting,  the  chief 
justice,  who  was  a  lawyer,  pronounced  in  his  favour,  but 
the  puisne  judges,  who  were  planters  and  merchants,  out- 
voted him,  and  the  decision  of  the  magistrates  at  Morant 
Bay  was  confirmed. 

In  1807  the  common  council  of  Kingston  passed  an 
ordinance,  which  came  into  operation  on  the  1st  of  July, 

*  Journals,  vol.  xL  p.  287. 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  849 

providing  that  no  person  not  duly  authorised  by  the  laws 
of  the  island  and  Great  Britain,  should  teach  or  preach, 
under  penalty  of  fine,  imprisonment,  or  whipping,  according 
to  the  condition  in  life  of  the  offender ;  and,  moreover,  that 
no  person,  though  qualified,  should  conduct  service  before 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning  or  after  sunset,  under  a  penalty 
not  exceeding  £100,  or  imprisonment,  or  both.  Persons 
were  also  prohibited  from  allowing  their  places  to  be  used 
for  purposes  of  worship.  Intolerant  as  the  common  council 
was,  the  assembly  was  equally  so,  and  introduced  into  the 
consolidated  slave  law  clauses  requiring  masters  and  others 
having  care  of  slaves  to  instruct  them  in  the  Christian 
religion,  according  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  forbidding 
any  methodist,  or  **  other  sectary  or  preacher,**  to  instruct 
slaves,  or  to  receive  them  into  their  houses,  chapels,  or 
conventicles.  There  was  no  penalty  for  masters  not  in- 
structing, but  d620  was  imposed  if  they  were  instructed  by 
the  missionaries.  The  clauses  were  introduced  not  as  a 
separate  bill,  but  in  one  with  which  they  had  no  real  con- 
nection. In  this  way  it  was  supposed  that  the  vigilance  of 
his  Majesty's  advisers  would  be  eluded. 

This  expectation  was  disappointed.  The  act  was  dis- 
allowed, as  containing  clauses  opposed  to  the  principles  of 
toleration  prevailing  in  Great  Britain,  and  the  conduct  of 
the  legislature,  in  inserting  them,  was  pronounced  to  be 
more  objectionable  from  the  fact  that  the  law  of  1802  had 
been  disallowed  on  similar  grounds.  Instructions,  dated 
the  9th  of  June,  1809,  directed  colonial  governors  in  future 
to  withhold  consent  from  any  laws  relating  to  religion  till 
his  Majesty's  pleasure  was  known. 

But  though  the  act  passed  by  the  assembly  was  thus 
disallowed,  the  ordinance  of  the  Kingston  common  council 
remained  in  force ;  and  in  November,  1810,  the  assembly 
passed  another  bill  relative  to  the  licensing  of  preachers 
and  places  of  worship,  limiting  its  duration  to  a  year,  and 
to  this  the  Duke  of  Manchester  gave  his  consent,  in  face  of 
the  instructions  he  had  received ;  but  no  attempt  was  made 
to  renew  the  iniquitous  measure. 

The  full  review  of  all  the  petty  persecutions  which 
marked  these  years  would  be  wearisome.  They  affix  a 
lasting  stigma  to  the  men  by  whom  they  were  encouraged. 
The  sole,  object  of  these  restrictions  was  to  prevent  the 


350  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

instruction  of  slaves,  for  Catholics  and  Jews  could  assemble 
after  nightfall.  The  first  victim  was  Mr.  Gilgrass,  who  was 
found  guilty  of  singing  a  hymn  after  sunset,  and  imprisoned 
for  a  month.  The  fact  was  this  minister,  who  had  just 
arrived,  had  been  teaching  a  new  tune  to  the  young  people 
who  used  to  come  to  the  chapel  on  certain  afternoons  to 
learn  psalmody,  and,  interested  in  the  melody,  the  moment 
of  sunset  was  not  accurately  observed.  Such  was  the 
offence,  such  the  penalty. 

Licenses  were  refused  to  all  new  missionaries,  and 
among  those  who  were  thus  prevented  from  preaching  was 
Mr.  Johnston,  a  minister  in  the  prime  of  life  and  of  great 
prudence,  who  had  brought  credentials  from  many  of  the 
leading  men  in  other  colonies  where  he  had  laboured. 
When  the  act  of  1807  was  disallowed,  he  applied  to  the 
common  council  of  Kingston  for  permission  to  open  the 
chapel  in  the  parade,  promising  to  confine  himself  to  the 
hours  prescribed  in  the  ordinance.  The  application  was 
refused.  He  was,  however,  allowed  to  qualify  at  St. 
Thomas's,  and  services  were  resumed  at  Morant  Bay  in 
1810,  great  numbers  crowding  the  chapel,  for  persecution 
had  awakened  inquiry. 

If  the  common  council  of  Kingston  was  persecuting,  it 
was  not  proud.  In  1811  it  wanted  some  temporary  accom- 
modation for  the  free  school,  and  applied  for  the  use  of  the 
Wesleyan  chapel.  It  was.  granted,  and  occupied  from 
October  until  August,  1812.  As  the  prohibitory  act  of  the 
legislature  of  1810  had  expired  some  months  before,  Mr. 
Wiggins  opened  the  chapel  after  the  scholars  of  the  free 
school  had  vacated  it,  and  preached  morning  and  after- 
noon. For  this  he  was  arrested,  tried,  and  imprisoned  for 
a  month,  and  every  kind  of  slander  was  put  in  circulation 
concerning  him.  Thus  again  restrained  from  preaching, 
he  visited  distant  societies  in  St.  Thomas  in  the  Vale, 
Spanish  Town,  Morant  Bay,  and  elsewhere ;  great  numbers 
were  added  to  the  list  of  members,  and  some  fifty  meetings 
were  held  among  the  people  weekly.* 

At  length,  in  1814,  the  council  seemed  disposed  to  relent. 
A  Mr.  Davies,  just  from  England,  was  licensed,  but  within 
three  months  he  died  of  fever.  Other  missionaries  followed, 
but  for  a  time  their  licenses  were  refused,  notwithstanding 

"^  Duucan*8  "  History  of  Wesleyan  Missions  in  Jamaica,*'  p.  94. 


RELIGION   AND   EDUCATION.  851 

repeated  applications.  By  the  end  of  1815  a  better  spirit 
prevailed,  and  licenses  being  given  to  Messrs.  Shipman  and 
Burgar,  the  chapels  at  Morant  Bay  and  Kingston  were 
opened,  after  eight  years  of  trial  and  anxions  expectation. 
Good  Mrs.  Smith,  the  first  friend  of  Methodism  in  Jamaica, 
opened  the  gates  in  Kingston  herself,  with  earnest  prayer 
that  they  might  never  be  closed  against  the  worshippers 
of  God  again.    Her  prayer  was  answered.* 

For  many  years  after  this  the  Wesleyans  pursued  their 
work  without  serious  interruption.  New  stations  were 
gradually  established  in  different  parts  of  the  island,  and 
Srom  time  to  time  missionaries  arrived  from  England. 
The  first  district  meeting  was  held  in  Kingston  early  in 
1817 ;  there  were  then  four  missionaries  in  the  island,  and 
it  was  stated  that,  in  the  four  societies  at  Kingston, 
Spanish  Town,  Morant  Bay,  and  Grateful  Hill,  there  were 
4151  members :  of  these,  only  twenty-five  were  whites,  and 
one-third  were  free  persons  of  colour,  t 

In  the  mean  time  a  valuable  accession  to  the  missionary 
band  had  been  made.  The  English  Baptists,  whose  sym- 
pathies had  been  enlisted  on  behalf  of  their  coloured  co- 
religionists in  the  island,  had  sent  forth  missionaries  to 
carry  on  and  extend  the  work  which  the  black  preachers 
had  commenced.  So  far  back  as  1806,  Moses  Baker,  Lisle, 
and  Swiegle  appear  to  have  commenced  a  correspondence 
with  Doctors  Bippon  and  Byland,  distinguished  Baptist 
ministers  in  England,  and  Dr.  Ryland  was  much  impressed 
with  the  desirability  of  an  English  minister  being  sent  to 
help  them.  Swiegle  and  Baker  had  then  about  seven 
hundred  members  each,  while  those  connected  with  other 
black  preachers  must  have  amounted  to  some  thousands. 
Dr.  Byland  succeeded  in  enlisting  the  sympathy  of  Mr. 
W.  Wilberforce  in  the  matter,  but  owing  in  part  to  the  jperse- 
cuting  enactments,  and  perhaps  also  to  the  want  of  suitable 
agents,  no  one  was  sent  until  the  beginning  of  1814.  On 
the  28rd  of  February,  Mr.  John  Rowe  landed  at  Montego 
Bay.  This  gentleman  had  been  for  several  years  a  student 
at  Bristol  college,  then  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Byland. 

On  arriving  at  Flamstead,  the  residence  of  Moses  Baker, 
about  twelve  miles  distant  from  Falmouth,  he  found  that 

*  Duncan's  "  History  ofWesleyan  Missions  in  Jamaica,'*  p.  94. 
f  Ibid.,  p.  102-180;  Brown's  *'  History  of  Missions,  voL  i. 


852  HISTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

for  eight  years  that  venerable  man  had  been  prevented  by 
the  prohibitory  law  from  preaching  to  the  people.  The 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  had  not  been  administered 
all  that  time,  and  though  some  had  been  baptised,  no 
record  had  been  kept  of  numbers.  Mr.  Eowe  found  diffi- 
culties thrown  in  the  way  of  his  obtaining  a  license,  but 
hoping  to  disarm  opposition  by  courtesy  and  forbearance, 
he  commenced  a  day  school  at  Falmouth,  as  a  means  of 
usefulness  and  support.  On  Sunday  he  instructed  as  many 
children,  bond  and  free,  as  were  sent,  and  after  a  time 
began  to  preach  at  Falmouth  and  at  Flamstead.  His  quiet 
and  amiable  deportment  secured  the  favour  of  the  custos 
and  others,  who  promised  to  obtain  for  him  legal  protection, 
but  in  June,  1816,  he  died.  A  few  months  before  his  death 
Mr.  Compere  had  arrived,  and  having  obtained  a  license 
from  the  mayor  of  Kingston,  he  commenced  preaching. 

There  was  at  this  time  nearly,  if  not  quite,  two  thousand 
native  Baptists  in  that  town.  Most  of  these  were  strongly 
attached  to  their  peculiar  views  and  practices;  but  about 
two  hundred  soon  connected  themselves  with  Mr.  Compere, 
and,  after  due  examination,  were  formed  into  a  Christian 
church :  the  number  was  doubled  in  a  month.  In  1817, 
Mr.  Coultart  succeeded  Mr.  Compere,  who,  for  some  reason 
not  very  intelligible,  had  failed  in  giving  satisfaction  to  the 
Baptist  committee :  but  apart  from  this,  his  health  had 
completely  failed,  and  as  soon  as  Mr.  Coultart  arrived  he 
left  the  island. 

In  1822,  the  large  Baptist  chapel  in  Kingston,  then 
capable  of  seating  1600  persons,  was  opened,  and  crowded 
with  eager  worshippers.  The  church  alone,  by  this  time, 
had  increased  to  a  thousand  persons.  In  the  same  year  a 
new  chapel  was  opened  near,  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Mr.  Tinson.  Mr.  Godden  was  also  labouring  successfully 
in  Spanish  Town,  though  the  destruction  of  the  chapel  by 
a  drunken  and  apparently  half-witted  negro,  for  a  time  re- 
tarded operations.  They  were,  however,  successfully  carried 
on  by  Mr.  Phillippo,  who  arrived  at  the  close  of  1823, 
though  his  Ucense  was  not  granted  for  nearly  a  year,  on 
the  ground  that  he  had  not  taken  the  usual  oaths  before 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  The  certificate  of  this  high 
official,  though  deemed  so  important  in  this  case,  was,  as 
has  already  been  seen,  always  supplemented  by  an  island 


BELIOION  AND  EDUCATION.  853 

license.  Mr.  Burchell,  early  in  the  following  year,  arrived 
at  Montego  Bay,  where  he  took  charge  of  what  yet  remained 
of  the  scattered  followers  of  Moses  Baker,  and  in  other 
places  laid  the  foundation  of  several  flourishing  Christian 
communities.* 

In  1824,  the  Scottish  Missionary  Society,  after  an  interval 
of  twenty-four  years  from  the  date  of  their  first  effort,  sent 
out  the  Eev.  G.  Blyth  to  Jamaica.  Mr.  Stirling,  the  princi- 
pal proprietor  of  Hampden  estate,  and  Mr.  Stotheii;,  pro- 
prietor of  Dundee,  engaged  to  pay  half  the  expense  of  the 
mission,  Mr.  Blyth's  labours  being  chiefly  directed  to  the 
instruction  of  the  slaves  on  their  estates,  which  were  near 
Falmouth.  Many  of  the  first  missionaries  sent  out  by  the 
Baptists  were  men  possessed  of  scholastic  attainments  far 
superior  to  those  of  the  majority  of  the  early  Wesleyan 
missionaries ;  but  the  Scottish  society  was  even  further  in 
advance  in  this  respect.  Mr.  Blyth  was  in  all  respects  well 
qualified  for  mission  work  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and, 
moreover,  had  already  had  some  experience  of  missionary 
life  in  Russia.  The  state  of  Jamaica  at  this  time  was  such 
as  to  demand  the  presence  of  thoughtful,  judicious  men, 
and  the  committee  did  wisely  in  sending  an  agent  of  ex- 
perience. 

How  delicate  the  position  of  a  missionary  was,  is  evinced 
by  the  simple  fact  that  one  of  the  colonial  newspapers 
recommended  that  Mr.  Blyth  should  be  sent  home  by  the 
vessel  that  brought  him ;  because,  at  a  farewell  meeting 
held  in  Edinburgh,  a  Dr.  Stark  had  observed  that :  **  If  the 
slaves  were  still  to  be  retained  in  the  galling  yoke  of  bond- 
age, the  Gospel  would  support  their  minds  under  their  trials, 
and  cheer  them  with  the  hope  of  a  better  world."  t  Mr. 
Blyth  had  not  long  commenced  his  labours  before  four 
slaves  expressed  a  desire  to  be  married  to  the  women  with 
whom  they  cohabited.  Mr.  Blyth  at  once  wrote  to  their 
manager,  mentioning  their  wish,  and  offering  to  perform 
the  ceremony,  unless  he  desired  the  rector  to  do  so.  The 
manager,  though  ordinarily  a  mild  man,  was  urged  on  by 
another  gentleman  to  give  each  of  the  negroes  a  flogging, 
and  then  commenced  a  prosecution  against  Mr.  Blyth  for 

*  Cox's  "  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii. ;  Underbill's  "  West 
Indies;"  Phillippo's  "  Past  and  Present  State ;"  "Life  of  Burchell,"  Ac. 
I  Blyth's  "  Missionary  Reminiscences,"  pp.  44,  45. 

21 


854  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

violating  the  law  in  teaching  the  slaves  after  sunset.  The 
case  was  heard  by  a  full  bench  of  magistrates,,  and  ended 
in  the  missionary  promising  to  observe  the  law,  and  the 
manager  promising  to  allow  the  slaves  to  go  for  instruction 
on  the  Sabbath.  A  large  proprietor  was  induced,  in  conse- 
quence of  what  he  then  heard,  to  request  Mr.  Blyth  to  take 
the  religious  oversight  of  his  slaves  on  several  properties, 
promising  to  allow  additional  time  at  noon-day,  when 
required  for  purposes  of  instruction.*  In  1827,  two  other 
Scottish  missionaries,  Messrs.  Chamberlain  and  Watson, 
were  sent  out  by  the  society,  and  another,  Mr.  Waddell,  in 
1829.  Hampden  chapel,  the  first  connected  with  this  mis- 
sion, was  opened  in  1828.  It  was  erected  at  the  cost  of  the 
society,  aided  by  liberal  contributions  from  Messrs.  Stothert, 
Sterling,  and  other  proprietors.  No  contributions  appear 
to  have  been  accepted  from  the  slaves  who  attended,  on  the 
ground  that  if  they  gave  money,  it  must  have  been  the 
proceeds  of  their  earnings  on  the  Sabbath,  f  Soon  after 
the  chapel  was  opened,  a  church,  consisting  of  seventy 
members,  was  formed,  and  thus  was  the  foundation  laid 
upon  which  such  a  solid  structure  has  since  been  built  by 
the  Presbyterian  missionaries. 

The  Wesleyans  during  these  years  had  met  with  much 
encouragement  in  their  work.  Its  progress  was  more 
marked  in  the  towns  than  in  the  rural  districts,  and  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  free  coloured  people  continued  to 
connect  themselves  with  the  societies.  Considering  how 
small  a  relative  proportion  these  bore  to  the  slave  popula- 
tion, the  numbers  who  became  Wesleyans  is  very  remark- 
able. At  the  close  of  1823,  Wesley  chapel,  in  Kingston, 
erected  at  a  great  cost,  was  opened,  and  throughout  the 
island  new  places  of  worship  were  continually  in  progress. 

In  1826,  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Bridges,  who  was  then  rector  of 
St.  Anns,  began  to  show  that  hostility  to  missionaries  which 
some  years  later  led  him  to  identify  himself  with  the 
infamous  Church  Union.  On  the  night  of  the  25th  of 
December  a  party  of  militia  fired  into  the  Wesleyan  Mission 
House  at  St.  Anns,  happily  without  injury  to  the  missionary 
or  his  family.  Some  fruitless  inquiries  into  the  outrage 
were  made  by  the  magistrates,  and  a  reward  was  oflfered  for 
the  apprehension  of  the  guilty  parties.     Dr.  Lushington 

*  Bljrth's  "  Missionai-y  ReminiBcences,'*  pp.  48-50.     f  Ibid.,  p.  52. 


REUOION  AND  EDUCATION.  855 

brought  the  matter  before  the  British  House  of  Commons, 
and  the  Duke  of  Manchester  anticipated  the  inquiries  of  the 
colonial  office  by  a  letter,  in  which  he  described  the  affair 
as  a  mere  drunken  frolic  of  militia  men  out  on  guard,  and 
in  no  way  attributable  to  a  sermon  preached  by  Mr.  Bridges 
on  the  morning  of  the  day.*  Such  was,  however,  asserted 
to  be  the  case,  not  only  by  Dr.  Lushington,  but  by  well- 
informed  persons  in  the  colony.  Mr.  Bridges  thought  it 
necessary  to  defend  himself,  not  only  by  vehement  letters, 
but  by  the  publication  of  the  sermon,  which  the  governor, 
in  his  despatch,  stated  was  **  not  written  by  Mr.  Bridges, 
but  by  the  Archdeacon  of  Colchester."  Certainly  Mr. 
Bridges  must  have  altered  it,  as  it  not  only  denounced 
Methodist  preachers,  but  alluded  to  the  effect  of  their 
teaching  on  the  **  unstable  minds  of  the  ignorant  negroes 
around." 

It  is  remarkable  that,  though  a  few  y^ars  later  far 
greater  antipathy  was  displayed  towards  the  Baptists  than 
the  Wesleyans,  yet  at  this  time  the  latter  only  were  exposed 
to  any  particular  annoyance,  and  they  probably  would 
have  escaped  but  for  the  ill-feeling  which  had  been  created 
in  St.  Anns  by  the  rector.  The  progress  made  by  both 
denominations,  in  obtaining  a  hold  upon  the  slaves  and 
free  coloured  people,  was,  to  some  extent,  shown  in  the 
course  of  an  inquiry  instituted  by  the  assembly,  and  a 
formal  report  of  which  was  presented  in  December,  1828. 
Connecting  the  statements  made  to  this  committee  with 
official  and  other  returns,  it  appears  that  the  Wesleyans 
had  increased  the  number  of  their  circuits  to  eleven,  pre- 
sided over  by  thirteen  missionaries,  and  containing  over 
twelve  thousand  members.  The  Baptists  had  nine  mis- 
sionaries, and  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  members. 
The  Moravians  and  Presbyterians  did  not  number  nearly 
so  many  communicants. 

The  examinations  tended  more  to  ascertain  the  cost  of 
the  missions,  and  the  amount  contributed  by  the  people, 
than  in  any  other  direction ;  but  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
inquiry  the  following  brief  but  extraordinary  report  was 
presented.    It  is  so  brief  that  it  is  given'  entire. 

"  Your  committee,  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  establish- 
ment and  proceedings  of  the  sectarians  in  this  island, 

*  Despatch  to  Colonial  Secretary,  April  80,  1827. 

24* 


856  HI8T0BY  OF  JAMAICA. 

report  that  they  have  taken  the  examinations  of  sundry 
persons,  which  examinations  are  annexed,  and  find  that  the 
principal  object  of  the  missionaries  in  this  island  is  to 
extort  money  from  their  congregations  by  every  possible 
pretext,  to  obtain  which  recourse  has  been  had  to  the  most 
mdecent  expedients.  That,  in  order  to  further  this  object, 
and  to  gain  an  ascendency  over  the  negro  mind,  they  incul- 
cate the  doctrines  of  equality  and  the  rights  of  man.  They 
preach  and  teach  sedition  even  from  the  pulpit,  and,  by 
misrepresentation  and  falsehood,  endeavour  to  cast  odium 
upon  all  the  public  authorities  of  the  island,  not  even 
excepting  the  representative  of  majesty  itself.  That  the 
consequences  have  been  abject  poverty,  loss  of  comfort,  and 
discontent  among  the  slaves  frequenting  their  chapels,  and 
deterioration  of  property  to  their  masters.  Your  committee 
therefore  feel  themselves  bound  to  report  that  the  interfe- 
rence of  the  missionaries  between  the  master  and  the  slave 
is  dangerous,  and  incompatible  with  the  political  state  of 
society  in  this  island,  and  recommend  to  the  house  to  adopt 
the  most  positive  and  exemplary  enactments  to  restrain 
them."* 

The  examinations  referred  to  occupy  upwards  of  seventy 
quarto  pages,  and  the  most  careful  collation  of  the  various 
statements  entirely  fails  to  sustain  the  allegations  of  the 
committee.  The  assertion  that  the  people  were  made  poor 
and  wretched  by  their  contributions  to  the  religious  objects 
sounds  strange  in  contrast  with  the  much  belauded  state- 
ments of  the  Honourable  Alexander  Barclay,  who  in  a  book 
published  that  very  year,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Stephens'  work 
on  **  Slavery  in  the  British  West  India  Colonies,"  altogether 
rejects  the  idea  that  the  slaves  were  poor,  and  asserts  that 
their  property  on  one  estate  under  his  care  (Hollands) 
would  be  a  bargain  if  bought  for  dE10,000  ;  and  that  many 
slaves  all  through  Jamaica  had  money  to  the  amount  of 
from  £50  to  £500,  and  even  as  much  as  dElOOO.t 

In  the  account  of  historical  events,  the  successive  rejection 
of  bills  intended  to  restrain  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries 
has  been  referred  to.  In  1831,  the  last  serious  struggle  to 
restrain  the  preachers  of  the  gospel  by  legislative  enact- 
ments terminated.     But  the  day  was  soon  to  come  when 

*  "  Votes  "  (appendix)  for  1828. 

f  Barclay's  **  Practical  View  of  blavery,"  pp.  264,  205. 


I 

RELIGION   AND   EDUCATION.  857 

brute  force  would  try  its  strength  under  the  form  of  zeal  for 
the  Established  Church,  and  urged  on  in  more  than  one 
instance  by  its  ministers. 

For  a  time  the  mission  churches  had  rest,  and  increased 
greatly  in  numbers.  Now  and  then  the  hearts  of  the 
ministers  were  deeply  wounded  by  the  punishments  inflicted 
on  slaves  by  their  owners  on  account  of  their  attendance 
at  the  chapels.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  in  many  cases  the 
slaves  neglected  their  work  on  the  plea  of  religion,  and  so 
gave  some  just  occasion  for  displeasure;  but  when  due 
allowance  is  made  for  such  instances,  there  yet  remains  the 
fact  that  men  and  women  were  flogged  or  otherwise  punished 
for  no  other  offence  than  praying  or  attending  preaching  in 
their  own  time. 

A  case  in  point  was  brought  before  the  colonial  secretary, 
in  consequence  of  a  communication  from  Mr.  Whitehouse, 
a  Wesleyan  missionary.  He  immediately  wrote  to  Lord 
Belmore,  directing  inquiry  to  be  made.  The  scene  of  out- 
rage was  St.  Anns,  and  Mr.  Bridges'  name  was  once  more 
mixed  up  with  the  transaction ;  but  the  governor's  secretary 
was  Mr.  Bullock,  a  most  intimate  friend  of  Bridges.  He 
conducted  his  correspondence  with  Mr.  Whitehouse  on  the 
subject  with  so  little  of  the  decorum  and  civility  usual  in 
ofScial  documents,  as  to  draw  from  Lord  Goderich,  who 
was  then  at  the  colonial  office,  a  severe  and  dignified 
rebuke.* 

By  the  close  of  1831  the  several  missions  in  the  island 
had  attained  a  considerable  degree  of  power  and  influence, 
and,  in  conjunction  with  the  labours  of  earnest  men  con- 
nected with  the  Established  Church,  had  done  not  a  little  to 
dispel  the  gross  darkness  in  which,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  century,  the  slaves  were  found.  Nevertheless,  con- 
siderable numbers  altogether  neglected  the  opportunities 
which  were  afforded  them  of  obtaining  religious  instruction, 
while  others  had  not  yet  even  heard  or  seen  a  Christian 
teacher.  An  examination  of  the  returns  of  the  different 
societies,  and  a  comparison  of  the  stations  with  a  map  of 
the  island,  will  show  that,  while  the  ports  and  places  near 
the  coast  were  well  supplied,  the  interior  was  for  the  most 
part  unoccupied.  This,  too,  will  in  part  account  for  the 
great  mortality  among  the  missionaries. 

*  Duncan's  *'  Wesleyan  Missions  in  Jamaica,"  pp.  256-260. 


358  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

Of  the  native  Baptists  it  is  not  easy  to  say  mnch ;  no 
returns  exist,  and  few  materials  remain  from  which  to  form 
any  estimate  of  their  actual  number.  But  it  is  undeniable 
that  the  successors  of  Lisle  and  Baker  were  not  men  of  the 
same  spirit.  The  best  of  their  members,  and  the  really 
good  people  who  had  joined  the  numerous  offshoots  from 
the  church  of  the  former,  were  attracted  by  the  Buperior 
teaching  and  more  scriptural  discipline  of  the  missionaries, 
and  their  withdrawal  left  the  superstitious  and  often  grossly 
immoral  men  who  had  assumed  the  ofSce  of  teachers  and 
leaders  to  pursue  their  course  with  less  restraint.  With  a 
few  exceptions,  native  Baptist  churches  became  associations 
of  men  and  women  who,  in  too  many  cases,  mingled  the  be- 
lief and  even  practice  of  Mialism  with  religious  observances, 
and  who  perverted  and  corrupted  what  they  retained  of  these: 
among  them  sensuality  was  almost  entirely  unrestrained. 
Their  leaders,  or  "  daddies,"  as  a  class  were  overbearing, 
tyrannical,  and  lascivious,  and  united  the  authority  of  the 
slave-driver  with  the  darkest  forms  of  spiritual  despotism. 
Of  scriptural  teaching  there  was  Uttle.  Simple  facts  were 
80  perverted,  that  they  would  have  been  ridiculous  had 
they  not  been  blasphemous. 

Evidence  of  conversion  and  qualification  for  baptism  was 
sought  not  so  much  in  repentance  and  faith  as  in  dreams ; 
but  if  the  applicant  had  experienced  a  "  convince,"  that 
is,  had  swooned  away,  and  while  in  that  state  had  a  vision, 
or  passed  through  a  stage  of  great  excitement,  attended 
by  physical  contortions,  then  all  was  well.*  Mr.  Thomas 
Knibb  wrote,  in  1822,  concerning  Mammy  Faith,  a  creature 
to  whom  deluded  negroes,  Uke  herself,  prayed  for  pardon, 
and  who  asserted  that  she  had  power  to  forgive  sin.  This 
wretched  woman  was  only  one  of  many  scattered  over  the 
island.  A  worthy  Baptist  missionary  has  given  a  list  of 
several  early  native  preachers.  The  charity  of  the  writer 
is  known  to  all  who  have  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  his 
acquaintance ;  but  he  writes  guardedly  even  of  the  best  of 
those  he  names,  for  they  were  generally  unwilling  or  unable 
to  restrain  the  **  daddies,"  though  they  might  not  always 
be  themselves  equally  ignorant  or  depraved. 

Some  reports  unfavourable  to  the  purity  of  the  Baptist 
mission  churches  had  reached  England;  and  when  Mr. 

*  John  Clark's  "  Memorials  of  the  Jamaica  Mission,**  pp.  lfi-18. 


RELIGION    AND   EDUCATION.  359 

Burchell  visited  that  country  in  1831,  he  drew  up  a  detailed 
account  of  the  churches  under  his  care,  and  of  the  course 
he  pursued  to  maintain  the  strictest  purity :  it  is  a  straight- 
forward, honest  statement  of  facts  as  they  appeared  to  him.* 
That  he  and  other  co-workers  thought  highly  of  the  churches 
gathered  by  their  labours,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  How 
could  it  be  otherwise  ?  They  had  seen  these  people  daily 
exposed  to  the  horrors  of  slavery,  surrounded  by  scenes  and 
circumstances  calculated  to  debase  the  soul.  They  had 
watched  them  crowding  to  the  chapels,  often  walking  miles, 
and  frequently  spending  no  small  part  of  the  night  in  the 
journey ;  and  when  there,  they  saw  them  listening  with 
eager  attention  to  the  word  of  life,  and  heard  them  in  their 
broken  sentences  expressing  their  sorrow  for  sin  and  their 
love  to  Christ.  That  thousands  upon  thousands  did  love 
the  Saviour  is  unquestionable ;  that  many  failed  to  see 
what  His  service  required  is  equally  true. 

The  love  of  Jesus,  though  imperfectly  understood,  was  a 
wondrous  story  to  them,  more  wonderful  in  some  respects 
than  to  those  who  have  heard  it  in  cradle  songs,  and  from 
a  mother's  lips.  For  who,  during  the  long  ages,  had  loved 
them,  poor  hapless  slaves,  or  ever  spoken  to  them  in 
words  of  hope  and  mercy  ?  But  now  they  heard  of  One 
who  had  been  buffeted  and  beaten  as  they  had  been,  and 
who  had  died  a  cruel  death  that  they  might  be  made  happy, 
and  taken  at  last  to  a  home  of  peaceful  rest. 

Poor  sons  of  Africa,  dark  and  dreary  as  their  superstitions 
were,  they  yet  pointed  to  something  after  death.  But  the 
golden  streets,  the  garland  of  victory,  the  pure  white  robes, 
so  lovely  in  a  negro's  estimation;  the  cheerful  home, 
where  the  crack  of  the  whip  would  be  exchanged  for  the 
melody  of  the  harp ;  and  the  aching,  weary  body  for  the 
tearless  eye ;  the  cry  of  the  suffering  for  the  society  where 
none  are  sick — ^these  were  tidings  they  first  heard  from  the 
missionaries  of  the  Cross.  Who  shall  wonder  that  they  loved 
the  men,  and,  above  all,  the  Master  whom  they  served  ? 
That  their  reUgion  was  to  a  great  extent  merely  emotional, 
is  just  to  say  that  it  was  what  the  religion  of  the  uneducated 
African  always,  to  some  extent,  will  be.  To  say  that  their 
lives  were  often  very  unworthy  is  also  true ;  but  the 
ameliorating  infiuences  of  the  gospel  began  to  work  but  as 

*  Cox's  **  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  69-76. 


860  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

yesterday,  while  African  superstitions  and  wretchedness 
were  old  and  horrible  when  the  foundations  of  the  pyramids 
were  laid. 

The  early  missionaries  were,  no  doubt,  too  sanguine ; 
they  saw  the  apparent  piety  of  the  slave,  but  forgot  to 
consider  whether  church  fellowship  ought  not,  in  most 
cases,  to  be  longer  delayed.  In  fact,  their  work  was  too 
laborious  to  afford  sufficient  leisure  for  calm  consideration, 
and,  moreover,  slavery  precluded  pastoral  visitation  and 
strict  personal  examination,  even  if  the  number  of  mis- 
sionaries had  been  equal  to  the  task.  As  it  was,  Mr. 
Burchell  had  frequently  to  travel  upwards  of  one  hundred 
miles  a  week,  for  months  in  succession,  in  attending  to  the 
different  places  under  his  care. 

The  vast  numbers  who  connected  themselves  with  the 
Baptist  churches,  combined  with  the  smaU  number  of  mis- 
sionaries, rendered  some  mode  of  supervision  necessary 
beyond  that  of  the  pastor  and  a  limited  number  of  deacons, 
as  usual  in  English  churches.  The  well-known  plan  of  the 
Methodists,  and  the  practice  of  the  native  Baptist  churches, 
suggested  one  which  has  often  been  the  subject  of  severe 
animadversion  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  undue  praise  on  the 
other.  This  was  the  appointment  of  leaders,  and  the  use 
of  tickets.  The  plan  obtained,  in  course  of  time,  the  name 
of  the  "  ticket  and  leader  system.*' 

The  churches  were  subdivided  into  classes,  and  over 
each  a  leader  was  appointed.  These  leaders,  in  all  cases, 
were  expected  to  become  personally  acquainted  with  each 
member  of  the  class,  to  visit  them  as  often  as  possible,  and 
report  from  time  to  time  to  the  minister  concerning  the 
conduct,  both  of  members,  of  inquirers,  and  of  candidates 
for  church  fellowship.  Perhaps  not  always  at  first,  but  in 
course  of  time  these  leaders  began  to  hold  services  among  the 
people,  and  gradually  the  erection  of  what  were  called  class- 
houses  was  common  in  almost  every  negro  village.  Their 
opinion  as  to  the  fitness  of  a  person  for  baptism  was  not 
in  itself  satisfactory,  at  least  to  really  judicious  men,*  but 
the  candidate  was  personally  and  often  repeatedly  examined. 
Still  Mr.  Burchell,  whose  report  to  the  committee  is  above 
referred  to,  and  who  had  four. thousand  persons  under  his 

*  Burchell,  in  Cox*s  **  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  voL  iu  pp. 
76,  76. 


REUOION   AND   EDUCATION.  361 

pastoral  care,  observes  that  many  he  could  only  see  on 
Sunday.* 

The  class  system,  as  worked  in  the  Baptist  churches,  had 
one  grave  disadvantage  as  compared  with  the  Wesleyans. 
A  very  large  proportion  of  the  members  of  the  latter 
denomination  were  free  persons,  and  from  among  these,  or 
the  whites,  the  leaders  were  invariably  selected ;  no  slaves 
were  appointed  to  this  office,  t  Among  the  Baptists  they 
were  generally  slaves,  and  consequently  illiterate.  Their 
meetings  were  therefore  more  likely  to  awaken  suspicion, 
especially  in  a  time  of  general  excitement ;  and  that  some 
of  the  leaders  were  active  in  the  rebellion  of  1831  is  un- 
questionable. That  the  ministers  in  any  way  encouraged 
them  in  so  doing  was  a  baseless  and  malicious  libel. 

The  system  was  most  effectual  in  increasing  the  numbers 
of  adherents.  In  1827  there  were  eight  Baptist  churches, 
and  5246  members.  In  1831  there  were  twenty-four 
churches,  presided  over  by  only  fourteen  ministers,  contain- 
ing 10,838  members,  of  whom  1931  had  been  baptised 
during  the  preceding  year;  2937  of  the  members  were 
connected  with  Mr.  Goultart*s  church  in  Kingston.  In  the 
eleven  Wesleyan  circuits  there  were  nineteen  ministers  and 
close  upon  13,000  members.  The  Presbyterian  mission 
had  five  ministers,  but  though  they  visited  a  considerable 
number  of  estates,  and  instructed  the  people,  their  congre- 
gations were  not  very  large  at  this  time.  In  1826  the 
general  Baptists,  whose  mission  in  Orissa  has  been  so 
successful,  commenced  one  in  Jamaica.  Three  missionaries 
were  sent  out ;  one  soon  died,  another  returned  on  account 
of  ill-health,  and  the  third  resigned  his  connection  with 
the  society.  The  stations  they  occupied  were,  in  conse- 
quence, transferred  to  that  portion  of  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation which  had  been  longer  in  the  field.: 

So  much  of  the  religious  history  of  1831  is  inseparably 
mixed  up  with  the  general  affairs  of  that  time,  that  it 
has  already  been  alluded  to  in  the  account  given  of  the 

• 

*  Borchell,  in  Cox's  "  History. of  Baptist  Missions/*  voL  ii.  p.  71. 

f  Bey.  Mr.  Barry's  evidence  before  Committee  of  Assembly. 
"  Votes,"  1828. 

I  Coz*B  *'  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii.,  Appendix,  pp.  88» 
84 ;  Clark*8  "  Memorials  of  Baptist  Mission,"  pp.  149. 


862  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

rebellion  and  the  events  that  immediately  followed  it.  The 
Baptists  were  most  severely  handled ;  the  Methodists  escaped 
more  easily,  but  not  unscathed.  The  only  case  of  persecu- 
tion among  the  Moravians  was  that  of  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  while 
the  Presbyterians  suffered  little,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  hard  words.  That  all  were  innocent  of  any  complicity 
in  the  rebellion,  and  that  most  had  used  every  eflfort  in 
their  power  to  restrain  the  misguided  people,  is  unques- 
tionable. 

Mr.  Knibb  was  the  first  to  obtain  information  of  the 
intended  rising,*  and  immediately  communicated  the  in- 
telligence, in  terms  strongly  censuring  it,  to  Messrs.  Abbot 
and  Whitehorne :  the  first  discredited  it,  the  latter  warned 
his  people  against  any  participation  in  it.  On  Christmas 
Eve  inquiries  were  made  by  several  slaves  of  Mr.  Knibb,  if 
**  free  paper,**  as  they  termed  it,  had  come  out.  He  as- 
sured them  to  the  contrary,  and  told  them  that  any  mem- 
bers who  did  not  go  to  work  after  Christmas  would  be  put 
out  of  the  church.t  Mr.  Blyth  heard  of  the  projected 
outbreak  on  Christmas  Day,  and,  in  common  with  all  the 
DMSsionaries  in  the  quarter,  did  everything  that  could  be 
done  to  appease  the  people  and  secure  tranquillity.!  On 
the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  the  incendiary  fires  began, 
Mr.  Gardner  and  Mr.  Knibb  were  at  the  opening  of  a  new 
chapel,  and  in  the  strongest  terms  warned  the  people 
against  any  compUcity  in  deeds  of  violence. §  The  result 
of  these  and  other  appeals  was,  in  many  cases,  to  irritate 
the  excited  slaves  against  the  missionaries,  particularly 
Knibb  and  Blyth.  There  was  talk  of  personal  violence 
towards  the  former,  ||  and  some  native  Baptists  threatened 
to  burn  the  latter  in  his  own  chapel. H  The  missionaries 
could  not  answer  for  these  people :  an  excited,  uneducated 
negro  is,  perhaps,  of  all  men  the  least  amenable  to  reason 
while  his  passion  lasts. 

On  many  estates  the  chief  men,  drivers  and  others,  pre- 
served the  property  when  their  masters  fled ;  and  not  a  few 
of  these  faithful  people  were  members  of  the  mission 
churches.**     The   Presbyterians  were  certainly  the  most 

♦  Cox'8  "  History  of  Baptist  Missions,"  vol.  ii.  p.  79.        f  Ibid,  p.  8(). 
I  Ibid,  pp.  80,  81 ;  Blyth's  "  Reminiscences  of  Mission  Life,'*  pp. 
57-69.  §  Cox's  "  History,"  pp.  82-84.  ||  Ibid,  pp.  88,  84. 

H  Blyth's  "  Reminiscences,"  pp.  58,  69.    **  Cox's  "  History,"  p.  84. 


KEUGION    AND   EDUCATION.  3G3 

faithful,  no  property  on  which  they  had  influence  was 
destroyed.*  Certain  of  Bjiibb*8  members  were  blamed  by 
the  rebels  for  arresting  some  of  their  number,  and  were 
commended  by  their  pastor.t  The  first  indication  of  bad 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  was  shown  in  requir- 
ing the  missionaries  to  take  up  arms.  Mr.  Heath,  the 
rector  of  Hanover,  had  done  so,  but  as  his  character  is 
best  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  he  lost  his  life  in  a  duel, 
his  example  was  of  no  weight  in  such  a  matter.  However, 
one  Presbyterian  and  one  Wesleyan  missionary  residing  at 
Lucea  did  the  same.  The  curate  at  Falmouth,  with  a  more 
becoming  sense  of  the  proper  duties  of  his  office,  said  it 
was  not  his  place  to  fight,  but  to  perform  the  last  offices  of 
the  church  for  the  dying  and  dead,  which  he  was  ready  to 
do  ;  and  as  there  was  an  instruction  that  dissenters  should 
only  be  required  to  render  militia  duty  when  the  clergy  did, 
Messrs.  Waddell  and  Blyth  were  left  in  peace.  J 

The  Baptists,  being  more  obnoxious,  were  more  hardly 
treated ;  and  Messrs.  Knibb,  Whitehome,  and  Abbot,  who 
were  at  Falmouth,  were  obliged  to  enter  the  militia.  They 
were  soon  after  taken  into  custody,  and  sent  in  a  canoe  to 
Montego  Bay,  where  they  vere  treated  with  much  indignity. 
Mr.  Burchell's  arrest  followed  as  soon  as  he  arrived  from 
England,  and  after  being  detained  on  board  ship  some  time, 
he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  island.  So  bitter  was  the  feel- 
ing against  them,  that  Mr.  Waddell  and  Mr.  Blyth,  together 
with  Mr.  Barrett,  a  wealthy  proprietor  and  the  custos  of 
the  parish,  sent  down  a  memorial  to  the  authorities,  de- 
claring their  belief  that  the  Baptists  had,  neither  directly 
nor  indirectly,  any  hand  in  occasioning  the  revolt.  §  Mr. 
Roby,  the  collector  of  customs,  also  interested  himself,  and 
they  were  released  on  bail  next  day,  Mr.  Eoby  and  another 
gentleman  of  high  position  standing  as  security.  Mr. 
Gardner  was  also  arrested,  but  released  on  bail.||  So  far 
as  actual  incarceration  was  concerned,  they  all  suffered  very 
much  less  than  Wesleyan  missionaries  had  formerly  done,  or 
than  Mr.  Rowden,  the  Wesleyan,  suffered  at  Morant  Bay, 
later  in  the  year.  Their  enemies  were  not  pleased  at  this, 
and  complained  that  they  were  kept  guarded  in  the  jury 

♦  Blyth'B  "  ReminiflcenceB,"  pp.  62,  68.      f  Cox'b  "  History,"  p.  84. 
I  Blyth*B  "  BeminiscenceB,'*  p.  62.  §  Ibid,  p.  61. 

II  Cox'b  "  History,"  vol.  u.  p.  96. 


364  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

box  of  the  court  house,  instead  of  being  cast  into  jail  with 
the  slaves.*  The  attempt  to  convict  them  miserably  failed, 
though  the  most  virulent  abuse  was  bestowed  upon  them. 
The  custos  was  strongly  condemned  for  the  course  he  pur- 
sued, which  was  calm  and  dignified.  He  carefully  examined 
Mr.  Burchell's  papers,  but  his  declaration  that  they  a£fordel 
no  proof  whatever  of  his  complicity  in  the  outbreak  was 
coarsely  criticised  in  the  *'  Courant." 

A  very  considerable  number  of  the  leaders  of  the  re- 
bellion were  men  of  no  religious  profession,  but  some  were 
Baptist  members.  The  most  prominent  of  these  was 
Samuel  Sharp,  a  man  of  considerable  intelligence,  and  a 
deacon  at  Montego  Bay.  From  English  papers  and  the 
'*  Jamaica  Watchman  "  he  had  learned  how  slavery  was  re- 
garded in  Great  Britain,  but  unhappily  he  did  not  see  that 
the  friends  of  the  slave  would  not  rest  till  their  object  was 
attained  by  peaceful  means.  He  accordingly  formed  a 
secret  association,  and  administered  a  solemn  oath.  The 
object  kept  in  view  by  his  followers  was  simply  to  secure 
their  freedom ;  this,  it  is  asserted,  they  did  not  expect  to 
gain  by  bloodshed,  but  by  the  simple  expedient  of  refusing 
to  work.  They  thought  that  the  masters  would  then  be 
obliged  to  pay  them,  as  the  work  must  be  done ;  others 
saw  that  this  cou  d  not  be  attempted  without  fighting,  and 
guns  were  procured.  Samuel  Sharp,  however,  did  not 
forsake  them,  but  became  a  sort  of  chaplain  in  the  rebel 
ranks.  He  may  by  some  be  accused  of  cowardice,  but  he 
really  possessed  a  great  deal  of  moral  courage.  When  he 
surrendered  himself  he  declared  that  the  missionaries  were 
blameless  in  the  matter,  and  that  he  was  the  prime  mover 
in  the  insurrection,  though  he  never  contemplated  the 
shedding  of  blood,  and  that  he  had  done  much  to  prevent 
it.t  In  his  dying  words  he  declared  that  he  had  never 
heard  evil  advice  from  the  pulpit ;  and  in  reference  to  his 
hopes  of  salvation,  there  was  none  of  that  confidence  of 
pardon  which  some  criminals  express,  to  the  grief  of  every 
thoughtful  mind,  but  a  humble  hope  that  God  would 
pardon  through  the  Saviour's  merits.  I  Sharp  was  a 
mistaken  man  :  he  might  have  greatly  injured  the  cause  of 
freedom,  but  with  all  his  errors  there  seems  little  room 

*  Cox*8  "  History,''  vol.  ii.  p.  91. 

t  Clark's  "  MemorialB,"  pp.  101, 102-107.     J  "ComwaU  Chronicle." 


RELIGION  AND   EDUCATION.  865 

to  qnestion  that  he  was  one  of  the  best  men  who  suffered 
at  this  time. 

Against  the  list  of  Baptists  who  suffered  for  rebellion, 
must  be  put  the  fact  that,  out  of  seventy-four  slaves  re- 
warded in  Cornwall  for  their  services,  twenty-five  were 
Baptists,  a  very  large  proportion  with  respect  to  their 
numbers  in  the  county.*  The  conduct  of  the  Colonial 
Church  Union,  with  such  men  as  Sectors  Heath  and 
Bridges  to  urge  it  on,  was  far  more  reprehensible  than  that 
of  the  most  misguided  among  the  slaves.  The  latter  fought 
for  freedom ;  the  Union  destroyed  property,  and  ill-used 
those  who  fell  into  its  hands,  that  slavery  might  be  estab- 
lished on  a  firmer  basis,  and  that  the  progress  of  gospel 
truth  retarded.  Chapels  valued  at  upwards  of  £22,000 
were  destroyed  by  the  unionists,  but  the  British  govern- 
ment gave  nearly  £12,000  to  replace  them,  and  £14,000 
was  contributed  in  England  by  the  friends  of  missions,  t 
Some  of  the  other  proceedings  of  the  illegal  unions  have 
been  recorded  elsewhere,  for  the  Earl  of  Mulgrave  had  soon 
to  interpose  with  vigour  to  repress  the  prevailing  lawless- 
ness. 

One  missionary  was  tarred  and  otherwise  maltreated, 
and  his  wife  knocked  down  by  a  brutal  mob.t  Another 
was  assaulted,  and  would  have  been  seriously  injured,  if 
not  killed,  had  he  not  hidden  himself  in  a  negro  hut.§ 
While  another  was  from  home,  his  house  was  fired  into, 
and  his  wife  and  infant  child  having  escaped  the  first 
assault,  an  attempt  was  made  to  bum  the  place.  ||  Several 
missionaries  were  imprisoned  for  preaching,  and  many 
members  of  their  congregations  punished  for  coming  to 
hear  them.lT  The  case  of  Messrs.  Barton,  Barlow,  Nichols, 
and  Abbott,  among  the  Baptists,  and  of  Barr,  Wood,  Green- 
wood, and  Murray,  among  the  Wesleyans,  are  recorded  at 
length  in  the  publications  relative  to  these  disgraceful 
proceedings. 

St.  Anns,  as  usual,  was  unenviably  notorious.  There 
missionaries  were  hung  in  effigy,  and  every  effort  to  restrain 

*  Clark'fl  "  Memorials,"  p.  107. 

f  "  T^racts  and  Docnments,"  p.  8 ;  Beport  of  Baptist  Mipsionary 
Society,  1886.  J  Duncan's  "  History,"  pp.  805,  806. 

§  Clark's  "  Memorials,"  p.  116.  ||  Ibid.,  p.  121. 

1[  Ibid. ;  Duncan's  «*  History." 


366  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

them  from  preaching  was  made,  even  after  the  Earl  of 
Mulgrave  had  removed  Colonels  Hilton  and  Brown  from 
the  command  of  the  militia,  and  superseded  several  magis- 
trates. Mr.  Barrett,  who  was  appointed  to  the  office  of 
custos,  was  rudely  interrupted  hy  some  of  the  suspended 
magistrates  and  others  when  listening  to  the  application 
of  Mr.  Greenwood  for  a  license.  He  was  told  to  order  the 
parson  out,  and  the  only  reply  to  a  calm  and  dignified 
rebuke  was :  "  Our  determination  is  above  law.  We  set  the 
law  at  defiance.  Turn  out  the  Methodist.  Down  with  the 
villain."  And  as  bludgeons  had  been  freely  distributed, 
the  custos  was  compelled  to  help  the  missionary  to  escape 
by  a  window,  and  had  soon  after  to  secure  safety  by  flight 
himself. 

This  was  almost  the  crowning  act  of  violence.*  The 
governor  immediately  placed  a  detachment  of  troops  at 
St.  Anns*  Bay,  and  the  rioters  were  prosecuted  by  the 
attorney-general,  who,  having  no  confidence  in  a  bill  being 
found  by  a  grand  jury,  proceeded  by  ex-officio  information ; 
but  in  the  face  of  overwhelming  evidence  a  verdict  of  not 
guilty  was  found.  There  was  no  hope  for  the  missionaries 
in  a  Jamaica  jury  at  that  time.  They  had  sought  legal 
redress  for  the  burning  of  their  chapels,  but  in  vain. 
They  had  appealed  for  justice  when  assaulted  and  falsely 
imprisoned,  but  always  in  vain.  When  Mr.  Greenwood  was 
in  prison,  he  applied  to  the  new  chief  justice,  Sir  Joshua 
Eowe,  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  This  had  been  granted 
by  the  lamented  Scarlett  to  Mr.  Orton  under  similar  cir- 
stances,  but  Sir  Joshua  refused  the  application.! 

Before  the  introduction  of  apprenticeship,  the  outward 
persecution  of  missionaries  ceased,  the  Toleration  Act  being 
judicially  declared  to  be  in  force  in  the  island ;  and  the 
English  Emancipation  Act  set  any  remaining  doubt  as  to 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  Nonconformists  for  ever  at 
rest.  To  rebuild  the  ruined  chapels,  to  erect  others,  and 
to  gather  increasing  numbers  into  fellowship,  became  the 
work  of  Christian  ministers. 

With  the  commencement  of  apprenticeship,  renewed 
efforts  were  put  forth  by  all  the  missionary  societies  then 
labouring  in  the  island.  It  is  pleasing  also  to  note  that 
the  virulent  opposition  to  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries, 

*  Duncan's  "  History,"  pp.  849,  850.  \  Ibid.,  p.  829. 


RELIGION   AND   EDUCATION.  867 

especially  the  Wesleyans  and  Moravians,  began  to  abate, 
and  soon  they  were  able  to  number,  among  those  friendly 
to  their  labonrs,  some  who  had  been  their  most  bitter 
opponents. 

The  abolition  of  slavery,  the  firm  and  manly  support 
afforded  by  Earl  Mulgrave,  the  Marquis  of  Sligo,  Sir  Lionel 
Smith,  and  Lord  Metcalfe,  to  the  missionaries,  as  opposed 
to  the  weak  and  imbecile  concessions  of  the  Duke  of  Man- 
chester and  the  Earl  of  Belmore  to  their  foes,  all  con- 
tributed to  this  end.  Nor  were  the  colonists,  now  that  the 
moral  and  mental  incubus  of  the  slave  system  was  re- 
moved, uninfluenced  by  that  growth  of  public  feeling  and 
liberality  of  sentiment  which  was  so  marked  in  Great 
Britain.  The  habits  and  prejudices  of  the  slaveholder 
were  not  overcome  at  once ;  but  as  a  general  rule  it  may 
be  asserted  that  there  is  no  part  of  the  British  dominions 
where  a  nonconforming  minister,  who  respects  himself  and 
his  office,  is  more  respected  by  the  mass  of  the  inhabitants 
of  all  classes  than  in  Jamaica.  The  change  in  the  senti- 
ments of  the  white  population  towards  them  may  be  dated 
from  the  time  of  abolition,  though  not  fully  seen  until 
some  years  after. 

The  Wesleyans  sent  out  the  Eev.  Valentine  Ward,  a 
valued  minister  of  some  thh-ty  years*  experience  at  home, 
to  act  as  chairman  of  the  Jamaica  district.  Other  younger 
men  arrived,  so  that  early  in  January,  1835,  five  and 
twenty  ministers  met  in  Kingston  at  the  annual  gathering. 
Compared  with  their  position  three  years  before,  there  was 
little  to  report  in  the  way  of  progress,  so  far  as  membership 
was  concerned.  But  the  way  was  now  opened  for  the  free 
proclamation  of  the  gospel,  and  when  the  district  meeting 
was  convened  a  year  later,  upwards  of  three  thousand 
seven  hundred  persons  had  been  received  into  church 
communion,*  and  year  after  year  reports  were  published 
almost  if  not  equally  gratifying  to  those  who  regard  such 
statistics  as  indications  of  spiritual  progress. 

It  is  curious  to. note  the  change  in  the  conduct  of  the 
assembly  at  this  time.  A  member  of  the  denomination  and 
also  of  the  house  proposed  a  grant  of  £500  to  assist  in 
erecting  a  new  chapel  on  the  Kingston  Parade,  in  place 
of  the  old  building.     The  money  was  not  only  granted,  but 

*  Duncan,  p.  880. 


868  HISTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

several  members  spoke  of  the  Wesleyan  ministers  in  terms 
of  the  highest  respect.*  The  town  council  of  the  city 
atoned  also,  in  some  degree,  for  the  persecuting  spirit  of 
bygone  days,  by  a  munificent  grant.  The  mission  was 
not,  however,  exempt  from  trials  of  another  kind.  In  one 
year  Mr.  Ward  and  five  other  missionaries  died ;  but  the 
Wesleyans  rarely  want  volunteers  for  mission  work,  and 
the  places  of  the  fallen  were  almost  immediately  supplied. 
More  serious  in  its  character  was  a  secession,  chiefly  in 
the  Kingston  and  one  neighbouring  circuit,  in  1837.  Of  this 
Mr.  Thomas  Pinnock  was  the  leader;  he  took  away  with  him 
great  numbers  of  the  people ;  but  the  exact  cause  of  the 
defection  is  not  very  clear.  There  had  been  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  in  the  denomination  in  England,  and  the  com- 
plaints made  there  were  preferred  here  by  Mr.  Pinnock; 
something  was  also  said  about  a  native  ministry.  A 
separate  denomination  was  thus  called  into  existence,  and 
a  great  deal  of  bitter  feeling  created  when  union  was 
peculiarly  desirable.  Whatever  loss  of  membership  was 
sustained  by  the  Wesleyans,  it  was  more  than  made  up  by 
fresh  accessions.  By  the  close  of  1838  they  reported 
upwards  of  twenty  thousand  members.  The  annual  cost  of 
the  mission  to  the  parent  society,  during  these  years,  was 
about  £4000  sterling.! 

The  Baptist  records  of  these  days  are  full  of  the  most 
glowing  accounts  of  the  prosperity  of  the  mission.  The 
enthusiasm  with  which  Messrs.  Knibb,  and  Burchell  were 
received,  after  an  absence  of  about  two  years,  could  not 
fail  to  be  gratifying  in  the  extreme;  and  as  the  burnt  chapels 
were  rebuilt,  they  were  crowded  with  worshippers.!  Early 
in  1836  the  first  meeting  of  the  Jamaica  Baptist  Association 
was  held  in  Kingston.  There  were  then  fifteen  missionaries 
in  the  island,  having  fifty-two  stations  under  their  care, 
and  nearly  14,000  communicants,  together  with  vast 
numbers  of  inquirers. §  From  1835  to  1838  the  mission- 
aries baptised  no  less  than  10,550  persons.  Five  or  six 
hundred  persons  were,  in  some  instances,  baptised  in  a 
single  year  by  one  minister.  ||     Surely  the  society  at  home 

*  Duncan,  p.  886 ;  "  Votes,'*  1886,  p.  286. 

+  Petition  to  Assembly,  •*  Votes,"  1836,  vol.  ii.  p.  286. 

I  "Lives  of  Knibb   and  BurcheU;"    Cox's  "History  of  Baptist 
Missions, '^  vol.  iL  §  Ibid.,  voL  ii.  p.  281. 

II  Reports  of  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  for  1836  and  1837. 


RELIGION  AND   EDUCATION.  869 

was  greatly  to  blame  for  not  sending  forth  more  labourers 
to  such  a  harvest  field  :  only  four  arrived  during  the  whole 
period  of  apprenticeship.* 

Had  the  Baptist  churches  in  England  done  their  duty, 
and  given  practical  illustration  of  the  interest  they  appeared 
to  feel  when  Knibb  and  others  stirred  up  their  hearts,  they 
would  have  sent  at  least  one  minister  to  each  of  the  fifty- 
two  stations,  and  not  have  left  a  single  man  to  do  work 
which  could  only  be  adequately  done  by  three  or  four. 
Then  would  the  inquirers  have  been  more  fully  instructed, 
and  the  newly  baptised  more  carefully  guided  onward  to 
the  higher  walks  of  the  Christian  life ;  then  would  they 
have  been  spared  the  humiliation  they  must  have  felt  when 
a  process  of  decay  commenced,  almost  as  marked  and 
striking  as  the  day  of  triumph  had  been.  In  proportion  to 
the  population  of  the  island,  additions  were  being  made 
to  the  churches  numerically  unequalled  since  the  Apostle 
Peter  preached  in  Jerusalem,  not  only  during  these  years, 
but  during  the  first  few  that  followed  perfect  freedom.  The 
harvest  truly  was  great,  but  the  labourers  were  few. 

The  numbers  in  connection  with  the  Moravian  churches 
were  also  considerably  increased  during  the  period  of 
apprenticeship.  At  the  close  of  1837  nearly  ten  thousand 
persons  were  under  their  care,  double  the  number  reported 
in  1831. 

The  London  Missionary  Society  commenced  operations 
at  the  close  of  1834,  when  six  missionaries  arrived  in 
the  island,  and  occupied  stations  in  St.  Anns,  Trelawny, 
Clarendon,  Manchester,  St.  Thomas,  and  Kingston. 
Next  year  four  schoolmasters  were  sent  out.  Two  other 
missionaries  and  four  more  schoolmasters  arrived  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  apprenticeship ;  and  allowing 
for  deaths  and  retirement,  thirteen  European  agents 
were  in  the  field,  occupying  ten  stations,  at  the  close  of 
1838.  The  excellent  schools  then  in  existence  were  in- 
strumental in  training  many  who  subsequently  became 
superior  teachers.  But  the  missionaries,  warned  by  the 
inconsistent  character  of  great  numbers  of  professing 
Christians  among  the  people  around  them,  were  slow  in 
forming  churches,  and  cautious  who  they  received  as  com- 
municants;   Only  183  had  been  received  into  fellowship, 

*  Clark's  '*  Memorials  of  Baptist  Missions." 

25 


870  HISTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

by  the  eight  churches,  at  the  close  of  1888.  The  more 
guarded  the  missionaries,  the  more  successful  has  their 
work  been.  Nearly  1400  children  were  in  the  day  schools 
at  the  time  of  freedom,  and  several  hundreds,  in  addition, 
were  connected  with  the  Sunday  and  night  schools.* 

Throughout  the  whole  colony  great  efforts  were  being 
made  to  educate  the  children,  now  at  hberty  to  receive 
instruction.  In  Kingston  the  means  of  education  were 
plentiful  from  an  early  period,  and  large  numbers  of  free 
coloured  children  w^e  sent  in  from  the  country  districts. 
In  1880,  nearly  one  thousand  children  were  attending 
Woolmer's,  the  national,  and  mission  schools,  and  upwards 
of  eight  hundred  boys  were  found  in  twenty-eight  private 
schools,  and  almost  as  many  girls  in  thirty-three  schoolB.t 
Two  years  after,  a  still  larger  number  was  mentioned  as 
attending. 

A  valuable  addition  was  made  to  the  educational  insti- 
tutions of  Kingston,  and  indeed  of  the  island  at  large,  in 
1886,  by  the  establishment  of  the  Mico  Institution.  More 
than  one  hundred  years  before.  Lady  Mico  had  left  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money,  to  be  appropriated  in  purchasing 
the  liberty  of  Christians  held  in  bondage  by  the  Algerines. 
The  victory  of  Lord  Exmouth  and  the  liberation  of  all 
captives  rendered  such  an  appropriation  of  the  funds  im- 
practicable for  the  future.  At  the  suggestion  of  Lord 
Brougham,  Mr.  Lushington,  and  others,  steps  were  taken, 
and  an  order  in  chancery  obtained,  to  employ  the  property 
(over  jGIOOjOOO  sterling)  in  the  education  of  the  eman- 
cipated negroes.  Schools  were  at  once  established  in 
Mauritius,  Jamaica,  and  other  West  Indian  islands,  and 
an  efficient  body  of  teachers  sent  out.  Gradually  this  plan 
of  operations  was  changed,  and  large  Normal  schools  for 
the  education  and  training  of  teachers  of  all  denominations 
established  in  Jamaica  and  at  Antigua.  The  former  estab- 
lishment is  still  in  existence,  and  has  sent  forth  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  best  teachers  now  engaged  in  the 
work. 

In  1885,  the  British  government  granted  £6000  in  aid  of 
Normal  schools  in  the  West  Indies.     Half  of  this  fell  to 

*  Reports  of  London  Missionary  Society,  1835-1889. 
t  •*  Votes,*'  1832,  pp.  845,  846. 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  871 

the  share  of  Jamaica,  £2000  was  given  to  the  Mico  Charity, 
and  £500  to  a  school  called  the  Metropolitan,  at  Spanish 
Town.  £25,000  were  also  voted  this  and  during  the  follow- 
ing year  for  school-houses.  Grants  for  education,  to  the 
amount  of  £80,000  in  all,  were  also  made  during  each  of 
the  succeeding  years  of  apprenticeship,  and  continued  up 
to  1842,  when  they  were  reduced  by  £6000,  and  the  same 
amount  was  taken  off  each  year  until  1846,  when  the  grants 
entirely  ceased.  In  the  island  of  Jamaica,  about  eighty 
schools  were  aided  by  the  grants  for  building,  more  than 
half  being  connected  with  the  Established  Church,  and 
to  these  by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  succeeding  grants 
was  given. 

The  labours  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Trew  at  the  Mico,  of  the 
Rev.  T,  H.  Bewley,  among  the  Wesleyans,  and  of  other 
educators,  were  greatly  assisted  by  a  visit  from  Mr.  Latrobe, 
who  was  sent  out  by  the  British  government  to  inspect  the 
schools  to  which  parU'amentary  aid  had  been  given,  and  to 
famish  a  report  of  the  state  of  education  generally.  He 
arrived  in  Jamaica  in  AprU,  1837.  Though  somewhat  sur- 
prised to  find  that  few  school-houses  had  been  completed,  he 
saw  that  this  was  not  owing  to  want  of  zeal  on  the  part  of 
those  to  whom  grants  had  been  made,  but  to  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  sites,  though  in  most  cases  schools  had  been 
commenced  near  the  intended  locations. 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  able  to  report  favourably  on  the  whole 
as  to  the  progress  of  the  children  in  most  rudimentary 
branches  of  education,  while  in  writing  and  arithmetic  he 
described  it  as  extraordinary.*  About  three-fourths  of  those 
in  attendance  were  the  free  children  of  apprentices ;  the 
remainder,  of  free  coloured  people  and  Maroons.  At  the  Sun- 
day and  evening  schools  a  large  number  of  young  and  of 
adult  apprentices  attended.  Mr.  Latrobe  was  struck  by  the 
absence  of  really  good  private  schools  for  the  middle  and 
higher  classes,  and  the  want  of  an  institution  of  a  collegiate 
character.  Throughout  the  island  he  foimd  nearly  43,000 
children  and  adults  under  instruction;  but  of  these  only 
12,580  were  in  day  schools,  5300  in  evening  schools,  and 
20,870  in  Sunday  schools,  while  rather  more  than  4000 
were  in  private  schools :  these  for  the  most  part  were 
described  as  little  better  than  what  were  known  as  dame 

*  Report,  p.  11. 
25* 


872  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

schools  in  England.     The  average  attendance  was  about 
one-fifth  less  than  the  number  on  the  books. 

A  large  number  of  teachers  were  brought  from  England ; 
out  of  153  masters  and  104  schoolmistresses  alluded  to  by 
Mr.  Latrobe,  only  forty-one  of  the  former  and  sixty-one  of 
the  latter  were  persons  of  colour.  Nearly  half  of  the 
children  in  public  and  private  day  schools  were  to  be  found 
in  Kingston,  or  its  immediate  neighbourhood.  So  great 
was  the  desire  for  instruction,  that  many  of  the  boys  at 
Woolmer's  free  school  were  able  to  clothe  themselves,  and 
in  some  cases  their  brothers  and  sisters,  from  the  fees, 
varying  from  threepence  to  a  shilling  a  week,  they  obtained 
from  little  classes  of  three  or  four  up  to  half-a-dozen 
adults  they  taught  in  the  evenings  and  on  Sundays.  It 
was  estimated  that  about  fifteen  hundred  persons  were 
under  the  instruction  of  these  children  and  of  itinerant 
teachers.  Ninety  private  schools  in  the  city  contained 
upwards  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  more. 

It  is  painful  to  find  that  though  there  were  several  well 
,  endowed  schools  in  the  colony,  they  did  but  very  little  to 
elevate  the  educational  status  of  the  people.  The  funds 
were  in  many  cases  misappropriated,  in  nearly  all  mis- 
managed ;  and  even  where  a  liberal  education,  with  board 
and  lodging,  was  professedly  provided,  there  was  grave 
cause  for  complaint.  Woolmer's  free  school,  in  Kingston, 
was  almost  the  only  instance  of  tolerably  good  manage- 
ment ;  and  though  the  corporation  of  the  city  was  not  very 
remarkable  for  its  wisdom,  either  in  educational  or  religious 
matters,  it  had  made  such  changes  in  the  management  of 
the  charity  as  the  times  required.  Latrobe  found  upwards 
of  five  hundred  scholars  in  attendance. 

At  Titchfield,  in  Portland,  between  three  and  four 
hundred  acres  had  been  granted  as  a  common  for  the  use 
of  the  inhabitants  generally.  A  few  persons,  however, 
managed  to  get  possession  of  it,  fenced  it,  and  planted  it 
with  canes.  This  led  to  complaint,  and  the  wish  of  the 
inhabitants  appearing  to  be  that  the  land  should  be  vested 
in  trustees,  and  the  proceeds  appropriated  to  the  support 
of  a  school,  so  as  to  remove  the  necessity  of  sending 
children  to  England,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  legislature 
for  this  purpose  in  December,  1785.  Trustees  were  ap- 
pointed, and  a  seal  provided,  upon  which  Apollo  was  repre- 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  873 

sented  inviting  youths  to  the  temple  of  Fame,  with  the 
inscription,  "  Virtute  et  eruditione."  *  In  1828,  the  lands 
yielded  a  rental  of  £600  per  annum,  but  the  number  of 
youths  in  attendance  it  is  difficult  to  say.  In  this  year  a 
Mr.  Williams  became  master,  and  secured  the  praise  of  the 
trustees  for  his  attention  to  the  boys,  one  of  whom  secured 
a  prize  for  high  classical  attainments,  and  others  for  Latin 
oidy  or  other  branches  of  study.  + 

In  November,  1790,  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
house  of  assembly,  to  inquire  into  the  bequests  and  gifts 
which  had  been  made  from  time  to  time  for  the  establish- 
ment of  free  schools,  but  which  had  not  been  properly  ap- 
propriated, and  into  the  steps  necessary  to  recover  them.t 
Next  year  Mr.  Bryan  Edwards,  as  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, presented  the  report ;  from  which  it  appeared  that, 
confining  attention  only  to  such  funds  as  might  be  recovered, 
there  was  sufficient  available  to  establish  schools  in  St. 
Anns,  St.  Andrews,  Vere,  and  Westmoreland. 

Fifty  years  before,  Charles  Drax,  of  St.  Anns,  had  pro- 
vided funds  for  the  education  of  a  few  children.  These  funds 
were  secured  on  estates  called  Shelton  and  Drax  Hall.  By 
an  arrangement  by  no  means  creditable,  these  estates  had 
passed  into  the  possession  of  William  Beckford,  so  well 
known  in  connection  with  Fonthill  Abbey.  According  to 
legal  opinion,  they  were  liable  to  the  amount  of  arrears, 
dE57,978,  or,  with  simple  interest  added  at  the  Jamaica  legal 
rate,  to  £155,028  currency.  Legal  proceedings  were  taken 
to  recover  this  amount,  but  they  were  terminated  in  a  com- 
promise, by  which  £11,200  were  paid.  This,  and  other 
sums  added  by  public  contributions,  procured  Walton  Hall, 
and  thus  what  was  called  the  Jamaica  free  school  was 
established  in  St.  Anns  early  in  the  next  century.  § 

Gregory's  Trust  in  Spanish  Town,  and  Manning's  in  West- 
moreland, had  also  been  greatly  mismanaged,  but  were  now 
turned  to  some  account.  ||  The  more  thoughtful  men  in  the 
assembly  were,  however,  far  from  feeling  satisfied  with  the 
results  of  this  inquiry,  and  in  1805  another  committee  was 

*  Journals,  vol.  viii  p.  187,  Ac.     f  "Votes,"  1844,  appendix, p.  219. 
I  Jonmals,  vol.  viii.  p.  587. 
I  Ibid.,  vols,  ix.,  xi. ;  Bridges,  vol.  i.  p.  557. 

ji  Ibid.,  vol  ix.  pp.  162-165;  vol.  xl  pp.  48,  49 ;  vol.  xii.  p.  255; 
*'  votes,"  1844,  appendix,  pp.  194-287 ;  Bridges,  voL  L  p.  558. 


874  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

appointed  to  ascertain  what  funds  were  available,  or  might 
yet  be  recovered,  to  establish  a  seminary  on  a  broad  and 
liberal  basis.  Letters  were  sent  to  all  the  churchwardens, 
but  it  was  soon  made  clear  to  the  minds  of  all  on  the 
committee  that  the  funds  withheld  could  only  be  ascertained 
by  a  search  of  all  the  wills  recorded  in  the  island  secretary's 
office.  After  a  good  deal  of  inquiry,  few  tangible  results 
were  arrived  at.  It  was  thought  that  Walton  would  be  a 
fine  spot  for  a  school  on  a  more  extended  basis,  and  if  aU 
the  funds  available  could  be  secured  to  make  this  the 
grammar  school  of  the  island,  about  £41,000  would  be 
provided ;  but  as  the  board  and  education  of  fifty  boys  was 
estimated  to  cost  J97780  currency  per  annum,  subscriptions 
or  other  funds  would  be  necessary.  A  bill  was  prepared  oir 
this  basis,  but  was  thrown  out.  Walton  was  established 
with  the  funds  properly  available.  A  school  at  Montego 
Bay  was  commenced,  and  then,  from  1808  to  1815,  the 
journals  of  the  legislature  are  silent  on  the  subject  of 
education. 

Little  of  importance  appears  to  have  transpired  for  some 
years  later.  The  transactions  relative  to  what  is  known  as 
Munro  and  Dickenson's  charity,  though  commencing  early 
in  the  century,  were  exposed  in  the  report  of  the  school 
commissioners  in  1844  and  later  years.  Throughout  this 
period  the  influence  of  the  endowed  schools,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Woolmer's,  was  small  in  the  extreme.  Upwards 
of  £3000  per  annum  were*  spent  to  about  as  little  purpose 
as  it  is  possible  to  conceive. 

During  these  years  it  is  hardly  possible  to  refer  to  a 
single  native  of  the  colony  who  occupied  any  distin- 
guished position  in  literature.  A  very  great  number  of 
works  relating  to  Jamaica  were  published,  but  they  were 
chiefly  controversial  in  their  character.  It  is  remarkable 
how  much  more  was  written  about  Jamaica  by  people  who 
had  never  seen  the  island,  or  who  merely  paid  it  a  hasty 
visit,  than  by  those  who  had  long  resided  in  the  colony. 
Still  such  productions,  when  written  by  men  of  well  culti- 
vated minds,  were  of  considerable  value ;  and  among  the 
pamphlets  which  the  controversies  of  the  early  part  of  the 
century  produced,  that  of  Sir  Henry  de  la  Beche  is  ex- 
tremely valuable,  as  giving  a  most  impartial  description  of 
the  state  of  affairs,  especially  with  respect  to  the  slave  popu- 


RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION.  87ff 

lation.  The  only  work  of  any  permanent  value,  published 
since  the  history  of  Bryan  Edwards  (an  edition  of  which 
was  reprinted  in  1822,  with  additions  to  1819  by  an  anony- 
mous writer),  is  that  written  by  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Bridges,  and 
published  in  1827  and  1828.  It  is  entitled  the  '*  Annals 
of  Jamaica,"  and  although  it  is,  in  many  respects,  a  very 
valuable  and  reliable  work,  it  must  not,  however,  be  for- 
gotten that  Bridges  was  an  advocate  of  slavery,  and  had 
an  intense  hatred  of  missionaries  and  of  dissent  under  any 
form.  In  addition,  therefore,  to  his  strong  expressions  of 
opinion  on  these  subjects,  it  will  be  found  that,  like  many 
partisans,  he  concealed  or  misrepresented  facts  which  an 
unbiassed  historian  would  have  recorded. 

Mr.  Bridges  came  to  Jamaica  in  1816.  He  had  previously 
held  curacies  in  Essex,  Norfolk,  Hampshire,  and  London. 
For  some  time  after  his  arrival  in  Jamaica  he  was  rector 
of  Manchester,  and  subsequently  of  St.  Anns.  As  an 
author,  he  first  attracted  attention  by  a  pamphlet  entitled 
a  "  Voice  from  Jamaica."  This  was  written  in  reply  to 
Mr.  William  Wilberforce,  who  had  published  an  appeal  on 
behalf  of  the  slaves. 

Next  year  he  printed  another  controversial  paper,  called 
the  "  Dreams  of  Dulocracy,"  and  about  the  same  time  he 
issued  a  prospectus  of  his  projected  history  of  Jamaica, 
which,  it  appears,  was  to  have  been  more  extended  in  its 
character  than  that  actually  published.  The  statistical 
and  topographical  account  of  parishes  was  not  completed. 
If  an  opinion  may  be  formed  from  the  execution  of  **  The 
Statistical  History  of  the  Parish  of  Manchester,"  which 
appeared  in  pamphlet  form,  this  is  greatly  to  be  regretted. 
The  house  of  assembly  voted  him  a  sum  of  £700,  to  assist 
him  in  his  literary  labours. 

The  feelings  with  which  Mr.  Bridges'  hostility  to  missions, 
his  treatment  of  slaves,  and  his  sympathy  with  the  dis- 
graceful acts  of  the  Colonial  Church  Union,  were  regarded 
by  large  numbers  of  people,  were  almost  forgotten  in  the 
all  but  unparalleled  calamity  with  which  he  was  visited  in 
the  early  part  of  1837.  Four  of  his  daughters,  the  eldest 
only  eighteen  years  of  age,  had  gone  with  a  party  of  friends 
on  a  boating  excursion.  They  had  passed  a  httle  beyond 
the  reef  without  St.  Anns*  Bay,  but  still  in  sight  of  their 
father,  who  was  watching  them  from  the  shore,  when  the 


876  msTORY  OP  Jamaica. 

boat  suddenly  overturned.  The  poor  girls,  and  most  of 
their  companions,  perished  in  their  father's  sight,  nor  were 
their  bodies  ever  recovered.  The  unhappy  man  was  com- 
pletely prostrated  by  this  great  agony,  and  for  weeks  re- 
mained like  one  bereft  of  reason.  Shutting  himself  up  in  a 
little  room,  surrounded  by  the  toys  and  personal  possessions 
of  his  children,  he  refused  to  be  comforted.  At  length  he 
admitted  the  visits  of  the  Wesleyan  minister,  and  soon 
after  those  of  Mr.  Sturge,  who  was  then  visiting  the  island 
on  behalf  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  The  quiet  Christian 
demeanour  of  this  good  man  had  a  happy  effect  on  the 
mind  of  the  almost  broken-hearted  father,  and  he  was 
induced  to  return  into  society.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to 
publish  a  little  tract  of  eight  pages,  entitled  ''  A  Gall  to  his 
Parishioners."  It  is  an  impassioned  and  impressive  pro- 
duction.  He  refers  to  his  calamity  in  terms  of  poignant 
sorrow ;  confesses  how,  in  his  love  to  the  creature,  he  had 
forgotten  the  Creator ;  and  urges  those  he  addressed  to 
recognise,  as  he  had  not  done  in  former  days,  the  over- 
ruling hand  of  God  in  human  affairs,  and  by  faith  in  "  a 
crucified  Saviour,  to  yield  themselves  to  His  service." 

This  appeared  on  the  10th  of  May.  Soon  after  he  left 
the  island,  and  visited  the  western  states  of  America.  He 
was  then  heard  of  as  a  wanderer  in  the  east.  For  years 
he  was  in  considerable  pecuniary  difficulty,  and  was  assisted 
in  the  education  of  his  only  surviving  chUd  by  grants  from 
the  house  of  assembly.  At  length  he  settled  in  England, 
and  in  charge  of  a  rural  congregation  spent  the  evening  of 
his  days.  A  few  years  ago  an  announcement  of  his  death, 
at  an  advanced  age,  appeared  in  a  Jamaica  paper. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MANNERS     AND     CUSTOMS. 


In  many  respects,  little  change  in  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  people  during  the  early  part  of  this  period  can  be 
mentioned,  as  compared  with  those  of  the  preceding  one. 
But  with  the  commencement  of  the  century,  and  more 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  877 

especially  after  the  peace  of  1815  had  made  ocean  travelling 
less  perilous,  a  great  improvement  may  be  observed  in  the 
habits  of  the  more  respectable  white  people,  in  consequence 
of  the  greater  number  of  families  whose  children  were  sent 
to  England  for  education.  Removed  at  a  very  early  age 
from  the  debasing  influences  of  a  slaveholding  colony 
into  scenes  of  European  delicacy  and  refinement,  they  not 
only  received  a  superior  education,  judged  by  the  standard 
of  the  day,  but  were  spared  the  contaminating  scenes  too 
common  on  a  plantation. 

The  Creole  child,  trained  in  the  colony,  had  almost  in- 
variably a  little  slave  allotted  as  a  servant.  Both  boys  and 
girls  were  too  apt  to  tyrannise  over  these  dependants,  and 
foolish  parents  in  many  instances  encouraged,  rather  than 
checked,  such  exhibitions  of  youthful  cruelty.  Some  of 
them  even  suffered  their  children  to  witness  the  punish- 
ments inflicted  on  the  household  or  plantation  slaves,  never 
reflecting  on  the  brutalising  effects  of  such  exhibitions,  or 
on  the  fact  that  they  ultimately  became  sources  of  amuse- 
ment. 

Children  so  trained  would  see  in  future  days  no  evil 
connected  with  a  state  of  slavery,  and  they  were  among  the 
most  determined  opponents  of  every  measure  proposed  for 
its  amelioration;  while  those  who  had  enjoyed  the  ad- 
vantage of  an  English  education  could  not  fail,  on  their 
return,  to  contrast  the  state  of  things  they  saw  on  every 
hand  with  those  they  had  left ;  and  if  the  result  was  to 
create  an  intense  longing  to  return  to  Europe,  it  also, 
where  this  desire  could  not  be  gratified,  induced  many, 
especi^y  females,  to  labour  for  the  improvement  of  those 
dependent  upon  them,  and  to  discountenance  the  lax 
morality  which  prevailed. 

There  were  some  women,  however,  not  only  amon^  those 
who  had  never  left  the  colony,  but  others  whose  familiarity 
with  slavery  had  blunted  the  finer  feelings  of  womanhood, 
who,  while  retaining  tender  sentiments  towards  their  own 
kindred,  and  conducting  themselves  as  affectionate  wives 
and  mothers,  would  not  hesitate  to  order,  or  in  some  cases 
to  inflict,  severe  punishment  on  such  slaves  as  had  incurred 
their  displeasure.  Such  instances  gradually  became  more 
rare  with  the  improvement  in  manners,  and  though  visitors 
of  undoubted  veracity  have  told  of  ladies  leaving  their 


878  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

drawing-room  to  chastise  some  transgressing  handmaiden, 
these  cases  must  not  be  taken  as  illustrative  of  general 
feeling. 

It  is  wonderful  that  in  other  respects  the  character  of 
the  white  creole  ladies  proved  so  excellent,  and  amiable  as  it 
most  undoubtedly  was,  their  position  was  a  trying  one.  It 
was  rarely  that  an  offer  of  marriage  was  received  from  any 
one  who  did  not  maintain  at  least  one  coloured  or  black 
hotisekeepery  for  so  in  the  colony  it  was  customary  to 
designate  a  concubine.  This  all  but  universal  appendage 
of  a  bachelor's  household  would,  in  most  cases,  retain  her 
position  until  a  few  days  before  the  marriage.  If  a  good- 
natured  person,  as  was  usually  the  case,  she  would  prepare 
the  home  she  was  quitting  for  the  expected  bride;  while  that 
lady  would  often  take  an  interest  in  the  future  welfare  of 
herself  and  children,  astonishing  to  any  woman  trained 
amidst  other  associations.  It  was  well  for  her  domestic  peace 
if  she  had  not  to  submit  to  the  existence  of  one  or  more 
establishments  other  than  that  of  which  she  was  the  head. 

It  had  become  even  more  common  than  in  the  earlier 
history  of  the  colony  for  the  more  wealthy  proprietors  to 
reside  in  England.  Thus  it  was  that  the  planting  attorney 
ranked  among  the  most  important  personages  in  the  island. 
Generally  the  proprietor  of  one  or  two  estates,  he  would 
have  from  half-a-dozen  to  twenty  others  under  his  manage- 
ment. He  had,  in  some  cases,  an  interest  in  a  mercantile 
firm,  or  he  might  be  a  doctor  or  a  solicitor.  Occasionally 
two  attorneys  were  appointed  to  one  property,  one  having 
care  of  its  mercantile  affairs,  and  the  other  superintending 
its  cultivation.  As  so  many  properties  were  under  one 
general  superintendence,  it  is  evident  that  very  much,  both 
in  the  details  of  cultivation  and  the  management  of  the 
slaves,  was  left  to  the  overseers. 

The  attorney's  was  the  most  lucrative  post.  Though  in 
some  instances  a  salary  was  given,  the  general  mode  of 
remuneration  was  five  or  six  per  cent,  on  the  purchases 
and  sales.  Moreover,  they  lived  not  only  on,  but  as  far  as 
possible  out  of  the  property,  during  their  periodical  visits. 
The  number  of  great  attorneys,  as  those  having  many 
estates  under  their  care  were  called,  diminished  somewhat 
of  later  years,  and  more  frequently  a  few  estates  only  were 
entrusted  to  the  same  individual. 


_  J 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  379 

There  were  other  colonists  whose  emoluments  often 
equalled  those  of  the  planting  attorney,  and  whose  mode  of 
life  and  general  habits  were  not  dissimilar.  There  were 
large  mercantile  houses  in  Kingston,  and  though  then, 
as  now,  the  senior  partners  usually  resided  in  England, 
those  who  were  entrusted  with  the  management  of  the 
business  were  enabled  to  live  luxuriously,  and  in  many 
cases  returned  at  length  to  the  greater  ease  and  comfort  of 
an  EngUsh  life.  Lawyers,  doctors,  and  in  a  few  instances, 
surveyors,  were  frequently  exceedingly  prosperous,  £2000 
to  £4000  a  year  being  stated  as  the  income  of  several  in  the 
two  first-named  professions.  £500,000  a  year  was  said  by 
a  competent  authority  to  be  the  sum  often  paid  during  the 
earlier  part  of  the  century  for  legal  expenses.  Medical 
charges  were  very  high,  and  the  care  of  several  estates 
was  the  most  lucrative  thing  in  the  profession  out  of  King- 
8ton  or  Spanish  Town. 

The  lower  classes  of  white  inhabitants  led  in  many  cases 
nnenviable  lives.  Some  artisans,  such  as  coppersmiths, 
saddlers,  coopers,  and  a  few  other  working  trades,  were  able 
to  secure  not  only  the  comforts  of  life  but  its  luxuries ; 
though,  perhaps,  for  every  one  who  succeeded,  twenty 
succumbed  to  the  climate,  or  became  victims  to  vicious 
indulgences. 

The  most  numerous  class  was  employed  on  estates. 
The  old  system  of  bond-servants  was  at  an  end,  but  large 
supplies  of  young  men  could  be  found  as  book-keepers. 
If  coarse  and  uneducated,  their  mental  suffering  on 
reaching  the  colony  would  not  be  great,  but  to  a  young 
.  man  accustomed  to  a  cheerful,  quiet  home,  the  shock 
must  have  been  very  painful.  He  found  he  had  no 
books  to  keep,  but  that  his  duty  consisted  in  following 
the  gangs  of  slaves  to  the  field  in  all  weathers,  and  super- 
intending their  labours  there  or  in  the  boiling  and  still- 
house  :  he  was  thus  exposed  to  the  influence  of  heavy  dews, 
sudden  showers,  and  burning  heat.  No  wonder  that  large 
mmibers  soon  fell  victims  to  the  climate,  or  that,  shut  out 
from  civilizing  influences  and  virtuous  female  society, 
many  lived  a  life  of  riotous  debauchery  night  after  night, 
and  also  on  the  Sabbath  day.  New  rum  and  yellow  fever 
hurried  hundreds  yearly  to  an  untimely  grave. 

In  a  few  years  the  book-keeper  who  survived  might 


380  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

hope,  if  he  secured  the  good-will  of  his  employer,  to  become 
an  overseer;  but  though  his  emoluments  were  increased 
from  d£50  or  £80  a  year  to  double  or  treble  the  larger  sum 
in  many  cases,  with  considerable  perquisites  in  addition, 
his  social  position  was  little  improved.  Marriage  among 
these  classes  was  still,  with  few  exceptions,  discouraged  by 
their  employers :  why,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  say,  for  a 
black  or  coloured  housekeeper  was  not  objected  to.  Many 
young  men  of  good  disposition  were  debarred  from  con- 
nections of  the  most  promising  character  by  the  existence 
of  this  absurd  and  most  immoral  prohibition. 

The  recreations  accessible  to  any  class  of  the  white 
community  were  very  limited.  Dancing  was  still  the  chief 
household  amusement :  it  stirred  the  most  languid  Creole, 
especially  ladies,  into  almost  preternatural  activity.  Public 
balls  were  common  in  Kingston  and  some  large  towns: 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  was  not  thought  too  far  to  go  for  a 
dance,  with  the  thermometer  at  80°  or  90°.  The  Hindu 
Mogul  who,  visiting  the  governor-general  of  India,  gazed 
with  astonishment  at  the  high-bred  ladies  joining  in  the 
quadrilles,  and  exclaimed,  with  astonishment,  '*  We  make 
our  nautch  girls  do  that,"  would  have  been  still  more 
astounded  in  Jamaica.  The  fair,  delicate  lady,  who  at 
ordinary  times  was  accustomed  to  ring  for  a  maid  to  pick 
up  a  fallen  handkerchief,  could  dance  night  after  night, 
until  the  rising  of  the  morning  star  indicated  the  approach 
of  dawn.  The  day  was  of  course  mostly  spent  in  sleep, 
and  care  was  taken  not  to  eat  too  heartily,  as  that  would 
unfit  for  the  laborious  pleasure.  In  most  other  respects 
the  habits  and  occupations  of  the  wealthy  families  were 
similar  to  those  of  the  same  kind  in  England. 

When  the  furniture  of  the  houses  was  diflFerent,  the 
climate  was  the  cause.  Carpets  were  all  but  unknown ;  the 
floors,  generally  of  mahogany  or  rare  woods,  were  polished 
most  beautifully  by  half-a-dozen  or  a  dozen  maids,  by 
means  of  oranges  and  brushes  made  of  the  husk  of  the 
cocoa-nut.  No  diminution  of  the  number  of  domestic 
servants  can  be  noticed  during  this  period,  as  compared 
with  the  former  one. 

A  dinner  party  was  usually  a  very  sumptuous  entertain- 
ment,  though  far  more  expensive  in  town  than  in  country, 
where  so  many  things  were  produced  on  the  property. 


MANNEBS  AND  CUSTOMS.  881 

The  snccessive  conrses  were,  to  a  great  extent,  dispensed 
with,  the  table  being  loaded  to  profusion  with  the  diflFerent 
viands,  pastry  and  dessert  alone  excepted.  Often  the  ladies 
withdrew,  as  in  England,  but  sometimes,  when  singing  was 
introduced,  they  remained  for  a  considerable  time.  Bache- 
lor's parties  were  not  as  a  rule  less  sumptuous,  but  not 
unfrequently  very  uproarious,  nor  were  rough  practical 
jokes  uncommon. 

In  towns,  English  times  for  meals  were  common.  In  the 
country  the  hour  for  rising  was  daybreak,  and  that  of 
retiring  to  rest,  unless  when  visitors  were  present,  was 
usually  a  couple  of  hours  after  sunset,  which  varies  from 
six  to  seven  o'clock.  Everywhere  hospitality,  not  always 
limited  by  the  means  of  exercising  it,  was  the  rule.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  century,  and  for  a  long  time  previous, 
visits  on  an  extended  scale  were  not  uncommon;  an 
entire  household,  personal  attendants  and  nurses  included, 
would  journey  to  the  residence  of  a  friend.  The  party  might 
consist  in  all  of  twenty  persons,  or  even  more,  together  with 
horses,  mules,  carriages,  &c.  For  weeks  they  would  stay 
at  the  place  so  honoured ;  in  fact,  it  was  not  unusual  to 
remain  till  the  poultry-yard  was  entirely  cleared  of  every- 
thing eatable,  and  no  small  havoc  was  made  on  the  supply 
of  the  larger  animals.  The  month  or  six  weeks  so  spent 
was  a  perfect  carnival  —  feasting,  dancing,  and  gossiping, 
filling  up  the  time.  The  entertainers  would  themselves  be 
treated  after  the  same  fashion,  if  desirous  of  returning  the 
visit,  or,  as  it  has  not  inaptly  been  termed,  the  visitation. 

These  customs  gradually  declined  as  education  and  refine- 
ment diffused  higher  sources  of  pleasure.  But  the  almost 
titter  disregard  of  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  the  neglect  of 
religious  duties  (except  perhaps  the  ordinance  of  baptism), 
and  the  custom  of  transacting  business  on  Sunday,  as  on 
any  other  day,  were  evils  which  were  not  cured  until  after 
this  period. 

The  coloured  people,  by  which  is  meant  the  mixed  races 
(not  black),  had  increased  in  numbers  and  importance. 
They,  too,  were  divided  into  classes.  Those  of  the  coloured 
people  who  were  slaves,  were  as  a  rule  exempted  from  the 
naid  work  of  the  plantations,  and  the  males  were  usually 
brought  up  to  trades,  and  the  females  as  domestic  servants, 
more  frequently  as  nurses.    But  by  far  the  greatest  portion 


882  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

of  those  fairer  than  the  mulattoes  were  free.  Amopg  the 
free  coloured  women  there  was  a  somewhat  general  desire 
to  obtain  the  protection  of  a  white  man.  It  has  been  said 
by  some,  only  superficially  acquainted  with  the  colony,  that 
they  desired  this  merely  that  they  might  obtain  the  oppor- 
tunity of  a  more  lavish  display  of  dress  and  a  more  Inxurions 
style  of  living  than  was  usually  attainable  through  honour- 
able marriage  with  a  man  of  their  own  class.  With  some, 
this  may  have  been  the  chief  or  only  motive,  but  certainly 
not  with  all.  Many  women  felt  deeply  the  fact  that,  as  a 
proscribed  race,  debarred  from  the  enjoyment  of  civil 
privileges,  a  coloured  man  could  not  protect  them  from  in- 
jury or  insult  as  a  white  man  could,  and  they  were  as  faith- 
ful to  their  protectors  as  they  could  have  been  if  married. 
Some  of  these  ladies  were  possessed  of  considerable  pro- 
perty of  their  own,  but  it  was  not  till  after  the  abolition  of 
slavery  that  matrimonial  alliances  with  white  men  were  at 
all  common. 

Shut  out  from  all  equal  familiar  intercourse  with  the 
white  races,  they  did  not  fail  to  provide  amusements 
of  their  own.  Their  balls  were  grand  affairs.  To  some  of 
these  men  of  their  own  colour  were  invited,  while  from 
others  they  were  excluded,  and  only  white  men  admitted. 
Where  religion  had  failed  to  elevate  and  purify  the  character 
of  these  people,  some  consolation  for  social  proscription 
was  sought  in  a  round  of  pleasures,  and  too  often  of  that 
reckless  character  which  shuts  out  higher  hopes  and  as- 
pirations. 

Of  the  state  of  the  slave  population  it  can  only  be  said 
that  their  condition  had  gradually  improved  ever  since 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade.  More  care  became  es- 
sential on  the  part  of  their  owners  when  losses  occasioned 
by  neglect  or  ill-treatment  could  not  be  replaced ;  nor 
could  the  great  and  increasing  interest  awakened  in  the 
British  dominions  on  the  subject  of  slavery  fail  to  engender 
greater  cautiousness  on  the  part  of  the  owners.  In  a 
former  section  it  was  observed  that  the  slaves  of  resident 
proprietors  fared  better  than  those  of  absentees.  Intelligent 
observers,  such  as  Sir  Henry  de  la  Beche  and  others,  who 
visited  the  island  before  emancipation,  perceived  that  even 
where  the  treatment  was  harsh,  the  slaves  of  residents  were 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  883 

more  content.  The  fact  that  there  was  some  one  to  whom 
they  could  complain  of  any  wrong  they  suflfered  at  the 
hands  of  subordinates,  was  in  itself  a  relief ;  and  however 
long  the  story  might  be,  no  wise  West  In^an  proprietor 
would  refuse  to  listen  to  it. 

On  estates  confided  to  the  supervision  of  attorneys,  the 
slaves,  as  a  rule,  fared  worse  when  many  were  under  one 
individual.  If  the  overseer  was  a  considerate  man,  all 
worked  as  well  as  was  possible  in  such  a  state  of  society, 
and  perhaps  things  were  still  better  where  the  overseer  was 
appointed  joint  attorney.  But,  given  a  harsh  overseer,  and 
an  attorney  whose  numerous  avocations  prevented  him 
being  on  the  spot  above  once  or  twice  a  year,  and  the  cup 
of  negro  misery  was  sure  to  be  full.  Of  later  years  some 
attorneys  would  not  allow  an  overseer  to  infiict  corporal 
punishment  until  he  had  been  six  months  on  the  property, 
and  had  become  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the 
people. 

Where,  from  any  of  the  causes  cited,  there  was  much 
oppression,  complaint  was  of  little  use.  The  large  attorneys 
could  not  know  much  of  the  thousands  of  slaves  under 
their  charge,  and  if  in  any  case  they  interposed  on  behalf 
of  any  one  who  had  been  ill-used,  the  poor  sufferer  would 
only  be  exposed  to  worse  treatment  as  soon  as  the  attorney 
had  left  the  place.  In  courts  of  justice  an  impassable 
barrier  to  substantial  redress  was  interposed  in  most  cases 
by  the  fact  that  slave  evidence  could  not  be  received  against 
white  men.  All  the  slaves  on  a  plantation  might  witness 
the  murder  of  one  of  their  number  by  a  white  man,  and  yet 
their  evidence  was  absolutely  worthless  according  to  exist- 
ing law. 

The  dwellings  of  the  slaves  were  of  the  same  character 
as  described  in  the  former  period.  Unfortunately,  too 
many  may  still  be  found  throughout  the  colony  quite  as 
unfit  for  human  habitation. 

Their  amusements  had  become  more  elaborate  in  some 
particulars,  and  less  coarse  in  their  character.  Dancing 
was  still  the  favourite  recreation,  especially  on  moonlight 
nights.  On  Saturdays,  the  slaves  of  an  estate,  and  often 
many  from  adjoining  properties,  would  assemble,  permission 
being  first  obtained,  and  spend  hours  in  boisterous  revelry. 
A  large  ring  was  formed,  and  the  horrid  goomba  drum 


384  msTORT  OF  Jamaica. 

beaten.  By  law  this  should  have  been  silenced  by  ten  o'clock, 
but  unless  in  troublous  times  the  rule  was  generally  relaxed. 
Battles  made  of  calabashes,  filled  with  hard  seeds  called 
Indian  shot,  were  shaken,  and  when  the  drum  was  silent 
formed  the  only  instrumental  accompaniment.  A  woman 
usually  led  the  singing,  in  a  kind  of  recitative  or  solo, 
the  whole  body  joining  in  the  chorus.  Thus  stimulated, 
two  persons,  male  and  female,  leapt  into  the  middle 
of  the  ring,  and  danced  till  ready  to  sink  from  exhaustion. 
As  one  couple  retired  another  would  take  their  place, 
continuing  the  exercise  till  near  the  dawning  of  the  day. 
At  Christmas  and  at  other  holiday  seasons  these  or  similar 
amusements  were  prolonged  from  night  to  night. 

In  town  places  domestic  slaves  had  learnt,  in  process  of 
time,  to  devise  recreations  of  a  more  attractive  kind.  At 
the  Christmas  carnival  the  younger  women  adorned  them- 
selves with  all  the  finery  they  could  procure :  this  was  often 
of  a  Superior  kind,  for  their  savings  for  months  were 
devoted  to  the  purpose.  Nor  would  their  mistresses,  whether 
white  or  coloured,  refuse  to  assist  them,  either  with  gifts  or 
the  loan  of  jewellery  and  other  ornaments.  Gaily  adorned, 
the  damsels  paraded  the  streets  in  parties,  known  as  the 
Reds  and  Blues,  or  the  Yellows  and  Blues,  each  seeking  to 
outshine  the  other.  A  kind  of  rivalry  existed,  in  which  their 
owners  often  seemed  to  feel  an  equal  interest.  Any  indica- 
tion of  want  of  taste,  or  of  imperfection  in  the  arrangements 
of  the  opposite  party,  was  sure  to  meet  with  very  caustic 
criticism. 

The  effect  was  striking.  These  young  women,  with 
elastic  figures  which  many  a  fair  lady  of  wealth  and 
fashion  might  have  envied,  and  adorned  with  considerable 
taste,  presented  a  spectacle  the  beholder  was  never  likely 
to  forget.  Their  frocks  were  usually  of  fine  muslin,  with 
satin  bodices  of  the  colours  named  above.  In  Kingston 
and  Montego  Bay,  groups  of  twenty,  thirty,  or  even  more, 
passed  though  the  streets,  singing  and  dancing  as  they 
went.  Each  party  had  its  queen,  dressed  far  more  gor- 
geously than  the  rest,  and  selected  for  much  the  same 
reasons  as  the  May  queen  of  an  English  village. 

Sometimes  the  **  setts,'*  as  these  companies  were  termed, 
were  all  of  the  same  height.  Others  varied  greatly  in  this 
respect,  but  were  carefully  arranged,  the   line  tapering 


UANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  .  885 

down  from  the  portly,  majestic  women,  who  led  the  proces- 
sion, to  quite  little  children  in  the  rear.  But  every  one  in 
the  sett  was  dressed  exactly  alike,  even  in  the  most  minute 
particulars,  not  excepting  the  parasol  and  the  shoes,  the 
latter  frequently  of  white  kid,  then  costing  nine  or  ten 
shillings  sterling  a  pair.  There  was  another  rule  from 
which  departure  was  unknown — ^blacks  and  browns  never 
mingled  in  the  same  sett.  The  Creole  distinction  of  brown 
lady,  black  woman,  was  in  those  days  of  slavery  and  social 
distinctions  strictly  observed ;  and,  except  in  the  smaller 
towns,  different  shades  of  colour  did  not  readily  mingle. 

While  these  setts  were  parading  the  streets,  John  Canoe 
parties  also  displayed  themselves :  from  an  artistic  point 
of  view  it  might  be  said  that  these  had  improved  on  the 
original  idea.  The  different  trades  and  occupations  formed 
separate  parties,  each  with  its  John  Canoe  man,  or  some 
quaint  device.  In  some  cases  a  resemblance  might  be 
traced  to  the  English  mummers  of  olden  time.  Now  and 
then  these  people  were  dressed  up  to  represent  characters 
they  had  seen  on  the  stage.  Shakespeare  was  sadly 
parodied  on  such  occasions.  Richard  III.,  for  example, 
after  shouting  vociferously  for  a  horse,  would  kill  an 
opponent,  who,  however,  again  revived,  and  performed  a 
sword  dance  with  the  monarch. 

A  simpler  and  more  picturesque  scene  was  presented  at 
Whitsuntide  and  Easter,  when  groups  of  people  often 
danced  around  the  American  aloe,  then  found  in  bloom, 
and  which  was  familiarly  known  as  the  Maypole. 

Many  of  the  younger  people  were  accustomed  to  give 
dances,  in  imitation  of  the  balls  of  their  English  masters. 
The  expense  was  met  by  subscription,  and  many  of  these 
entertainments  were  of  a  very  pretentious  character.  At  a 
more  private  baU,  given  by  a  black  doctor  of  some  local 
celebrity.  Sir  H.  de  la  Beche  was  present,  and  bears  testi- 
mony to  the  excellence  of  the  arrangements  and  to  the 
profusion  of  poultry,  hams,  and  wines  which  had  been 
provided.  A  trifle  to  the  musicians  was  expected  from  the 
guests,  but  this  was  all.  On  these  occasions  toasts  were 
proposed,  as  in  more  refined  circles  of  the  same  period, 
songs  were  sung,  and  in  too  many  cases  the  vice  of  gambling 
was  not  unknown. 

Besident  proprietors  were  generally  disposed  to  contribute 

2G 


886  HISTORY  OF   JAMAICA. 

to  the  enjoyment  of  their  domestics.  A  kindly  disposed 
lady  would  often  play  her  piano  for  hours  while  the  house- 
hold slaves  and  the  friends  they  had  invited  danced  in  the 
great  haU  of  the  mansion ;  nor  were  suitable  refreshments 
refused  on  such  occasions. 

On  the  sugar  plantations  a  festival  not  altogether  dis- 
similar to  the  harvest-home  of  England  was  observed. 
When  the  last  ripe  cane  had  been  cut  and  carried  to 
the  boiling-house,  what  was  known  as  Crop-over  com- 
menced. The  largest  rooms  in  the  great  house  were  given 
up  to  the  slaves,  and  an  ample  supply  of  food,  rum,  and 
often  wine,  was  provided.  Fiddlers  were  called  in,  and  a 
perfect  saturnalia  ensued  ;  dancing  was  kept  up  with  great 
vigour,  nor  did  the  white  men  employed  on  the  plantation 
refuse  to  take  the  hand  of  sable  damsels  on  such  occasions. 
Early  in  the  century  different  tribes  of  negroes  and  their 
descendants  formed  separate  parties,  but  as  the  creole 
element  gradually  predominated  after  the  abolition  of  the 
slave  trade,  all  amalgamated.  Something  of  the  same 
kind  of  festivity  was  common  at  Christmas,  but  as  religions 
feelings  spread,  these  merry-makings  became  less  common, 
and  even  the  Crop-over  celebration  gradually  lost  its 
charms. 

From  amusements  to  funerals  may  appear  a  strange 
transition,  yet  it  is  fairly  open  to  question  whether  the 
latter  were  not  in  their  way  a  most  agreeable  relief  to  the 
tedium  of  plantation  life.  Some  changes  had  taken  place 
in  the  mode  of  conducting  them  as  compared  with  those 
related  in  a  former  chapter  on  manners  and  customs. 
When  a  person  of  any  kind  of  importance  died,  preparations 
were  made  for  a  wake.  If  the  family  were  not  able  to  bear 
the  expense,  plates  enveloped  in  black  crape  were  sent  round 
from  house  to  house,  and  the  gifts  of  those  kindly  disposed 
collected.  It  was  thought  something  extremely  mean  not 
to  contribute  for  such  a  purpose.  All  who  chose  to  come 
to  the  wake  were  freely  welcomed :  it  was  a  grand  time  for 
gossip,  feasting,  and  too  often  drunkenness.  Similar  cus- 
toms to  those  described  under  the  former  period  prevailed. 

The  ceremony  of  catching  the  shadow  of  the  dead  person 
was  usually  gone  through  with  many  strange  antics ;  and 
when  this  wonderful  feat  was  declared  to  have  been 
accomplished,  the  shadow  was  put  into  a  small  coffin  and 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  887 

carefully  buried.  After  this  there  was  no  fear  of  the  dappy, 
or  ghost,  giving  any  trouble. 

Still  the  dead  man  could  not,  as  a  rule,  go  quietly  to  his 
last  resting-place  unless  all  outstanding  matters  were 
adjusted.  The  friends  or  relations  who  bore  the  coffin 
often  received  some  hint,  the  nature  of  which  was  best 
known  to  themselves,  and  then  placing  their  ears  to  the 
coffin,  they  professed  to  interpret  the  utterances  of  the 
departed,  who  it  seems  had  not  yet  lost  the  gift  of  speech. 
Slanders  spoken  against  him,  or  injuries  not  yet  redressed, 
were  now  publicly  proclaimed.  More  frequently  the  corpse 
was  declared  to  proclaim  the  name  of  its  debtors :  the 
creditors  were  invariably  forgotten.  Woe  to  the  man  who 
owed  anything  to  the  estate  of  the  departed.  No  matter 
what  superhuman  efforts  the  bearers  seemed  to  make,  the 
corpse  was  obstinate,  and  would  not  go  past  the  residence 
of  the  delinquent.  A  living  dun  is  usually  a  very  inconve- 
nient visitor,  but  what  can  a  man  do  with  a  dead  one  ?  A 
coffin  before  one's  door,  which  no  power  on  earth  can  lift 
until  the  debt  is  paid,  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  unpleasant 
modes  of  enforcing  payment  that  can  be  well  imagined,  and, 
as  a  rule,  it  was  most  successful.  Yet  it  sometimes  turned 
out  that  the  corpse  was  not  honest,  that  the  alleged  debt 
had  been  paid ;  and  then  it  was  wonderful  how  Ught  the 
coffin  of  the  claimant  became,  and  how  rapidly  the  bearers 
proceeded  on  their  way. 

In  1831,  night  funerals  were  prohibited  by  law  :  owners 
permitting  them  were  liable  to  a  penalty  of  d950,  and  slaves 
attending  them  to  a  whipping  of  thirty-nine  lashes.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  century  they  were  very  frequent.  The 
scene  presented  on  these  occasions  was  wild  in  the  extreme, 
though  rarely  witnessed  by  white  people,  and  only  then  by 
stealth.  One  or  more  negroes  played  upon  the  goomba, 
and  another,  at  intervals,  blew  a  horn  made  of  a  conch 
shell;  another  took  the  solo  part  or  recitative  of  a  wild 
funeral  wail,  usually  having  reference  to  the  return  of  the 
departed  to  Africa ;  while  a  party,  sitting  in  a  circle,  gave 
the  chorus.  These  melancholy  dirges  were  often  protracted 
through  the  night,  the  coffin  not  being  laid  in  the  grave 
tm  the  morning  star  arose.  Food,  consisting  of  pork, 
yam,  rum,  &c.,  was  placed  in  the  coffin,  for  the  use  of  the 
departed  in  his  long  journey  across  the  blue  water  to  the 

26* 


888  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

fatherland.  In  later  years  it  became  common  to  use 
more  expedition  at  the  grave,  and  when  the  funeral  was 
over,  and  a  few  dirges  sung,  to  return  to  the  house  and 
spend  the  night  in  feasting,  often  accompanied  with 
dancing. 

The  progress  of  public  opinion  in  Great  Britain  on  the 
subject  of  slavery  tended  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
bondsmen,  not  only  by  laws  passed  by  the  imperial  parlia- 
ment, such  as  the  ^Registration  Act,  but  in  leading  the 
masters  to  see  that  a  milder  system  of  general  treatment 
must  be  adopted.  There  was  a  growing  sense  in  the  colony 
of  the  danger  of  defying  public  sentiment.  In  a  defence 
published  by  certain  magistrates  who  had  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  a  member  of  the  council,  whose  slaves  they 
had  shielded  from  his  tyranny,  it  was  observed :  "  What 
would  they  have  said  in  England  if  we  had  not  acted  as  we 
have  done  ?'*  *  The  overseers  and  book-keepers  were,  as  a 
rule,  selected  from  a  better  class  of  men  than  formerly, 
and  their  power  of  inflicting  corporal  punishment  was 
more  limited.  So  greatly  had  things  gradually  changed 
for  the  better,  that  Mr.  Barclay,  writing  in  1824,  asserted 
that  not  one-twentieth  of  the  number  of  punishments 
were  inflicted  then  as  compared  with  1803,  when  he  came 
to  the  island,  t 

The  number  of  holidays  had  been  gradually  increased, 
and  with  the  Saturday  half-holiday  there  was  time,  not 
only  for  the  slaves  to  secure,  in  favourable  seasons,  an 
abundant  supply  of  food  for  their  families,  but  to  supply 
the  markets.  All  kept  pigs  and  poultry,  and  as  wealth  was 
carefully  hoarded,  and  handed  down  from  parent  to  son, 
many  were  possessed  of  considerable  property.  There 
was  never  any  interference  with  the  rights  of  slaves  to 
such  possessions :  and  if  the  grounds  allotted  to  them  were 
changed,  compensation  was  almost  invariably  given.  The 
regard  which  was  shown  to  the  feelings  of  the  people  in 
these  respects  during  slavery,  rendered  the  conduct  of  their 
former  owners  in  ejecting  them  after  freedom  more  aggra- 
vating. No  allowance  was  made  for  improvements  they 
had  made,  or  for  valuable  trees  they  had  planted ;  yet  in 
1807  the  notorious  Simon  Taylor  allowed  his  slaves  sixteen 

*  "  View  of  Jamaica,"  by  J.  Stewart,  p.  240. 
f  Barclay's  **  Practical  View  of  Slavery." 


MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS.  389 

shillings  for  each  cocoa-nut  tree  he  cut  down  in  their 
grounds,  to  effect  certain  improvements  on  one  of  his 
estates.  Wills  were  made  and  property  bequeathed  by 
slaves,  just  as  among  white  men,  without  the  legal  formali- 
ties, but  with  quite  as  much  certainty  of  the  wishes  of  the 
testator  being  observed.  In  some  places  the  slaves  estab- 
lished courts  of  justice  among  themselves.  Three  judges 
were  usually  appointed,  and  decided  all  disputes.  These 
officials  were  commonly  well  plied  with  drink,  yet  they 
listened  patiently  to  the  long  stories  generally  told  on 
either  side,  and  finally  awarded  damages  and  costs  of  suit, 
which  latter,  like  those  in  all  law  courts,  from  the  court  of 
chancery  downwards,  were  very  exorbitant.  Marriages 
became  more  common  as  Christianity  spread,  and  gradu- 
ally influenced,  though  at  first  imperfectly,  all  the  habits 
of  the  people. 

Sir  H.  de  la  Beche  has  given  a  sketch  of  the  course  of 
daily  labour  on  his  estate  in  Vere  about  fifty  years  ago, 
and  as  a  fair  description  of  a  well  and  humanely  managed 
estate  in  those  days,  it  deserves  preservation,  if  only  in  an 
abbreviated  form.  Halse  Hall,  the  property  referred  to,  had 
rather  more  than  two  hundred  slaves  upon  it,  of  whom 
ninety-six  were  males  and  one  hundred  and  eleven  females : 
these  were  all  Creoles,  with  the  exception  of  ten  Africans. 
The  occupations  of  the  day  began  early,  from  five  o'clock  to 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  according  to  the  season  of  the 
year,  but  mothers  with  children  came  an  hour  or  two  later. 
On  many  estates  the  slaves  were  summoned  by  the  loud 
crack  of  the  driver's  whip,  which  was  often  laid  on  those 
who  were  late.  At  Halse  Hall,  as  at  many  other  places,  a 
bell  was  rung. 

At  nine  o'clock,  from  half-an-hour  to  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  was  allowed  for  breakfast,  which  had  been  previously 
prepared  by  the  field  cooks.  About  half-past  twelve  o'clock 
the  overseer  blew  a  conch  shell,  which  was  the  signal  for 
dinner,  for  which  two  hours  were  allowed,  the  more  in- 
dustrious usually  taking  part  of  the  time  to  labour  on 
their  own  grounds.  Work  was  again  resumed  until  half- 
past  five  o'clock,  or  half-past  six  o'clock  in  the  longer  days. 
Half  of  the  mothers  worked  in  the  gangs,  and  another  half 
took  turn  in  minding  the  very  young  children  under  the 
trees.    The  driver  on  this  and  some  other  estates  did  not 


890  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

carry  a  whip :  all  complaints  were  taken  to  the  overseer, 
who  alone  could  punish. 

The  gangs  into  which  the  workers  were  divided  were 
three  in  number.  The  first,  or  great  gang,  consisted  of 
strong  and  able  men  and  women :  these  dug  cane  holes,  and 
did  other  heavy  work.  The  second  gang  was  made  up  of 
weakly  men  and  women,  and  of  young  people  from  ten  to 
seventeen  years  of  age :  these  did  hoeing  and  other  com- 
paratively light  work.  The  third  gang  was  composed  of 
children  from  six  to  ten  years  of  age,  who  were  employed 
in  weeding  and  other  odd  jobs.  During  crop  time,  which 
lasted  four  months,  the  slaves  were  divided  into  two  spells, 
and  the  work  went  on  without  intermission  day  and  night, 
except  on  Saturday  afternoon  and  Sunday.  At  this  l^e 
the  slaves  were  exceedingly  healthy,  as  they  were  allowed 
to  eat  as  much  cane  as  they  liked.  It  was  this  free  use  of 
sugar,  the  nourishing  properties  of  which  are  known  to 
every  Creole,  that  led  the  slaves  to  prefer  sugar  to  coflfee 
estates,  though  the  hours  of  work  on  the  latter  were  usually 
shorter,  and  the  work  itself  lighter. 

Halse  Hall  is  in  the  lowlands,  and  more  food  was  of 
necessity  allowed  to  the  slaves  than  on  upland  properties, 
where  the  provision  grounds  allotted  to  the  slaves  were 
more  luxuriant.  Thus  a  gallon  of  Guinea  com  was  issued 
weekly  to  each  adult  at  Halse  Hall.  Salt  fish,  pork,  and 
herrings,  to  the  value  of  about  four  dollars  a  year,  was  about 
the  average  cost  of  food  for  each  slave  on  most  estates. 
On  Easter  Monday  and  at  Christmas  clothes  were  usually 
distributed.  The  list  given  by  De  la  Beche  is  a  fair 
average  account  of  these  gifts.  To  the  head  driver  a  cloth 
jacket  and  a  couple  of  shirts  were  given  as  extras,  and 
about  twenty  yards  of  osnaburg  and  eight  yards  of  baise : 
to  other  head  people  a  trifle  less.  Men  and  women  in  the 
gangs  had  ten  to  twelve  yards  of  osnaburg  and  four  of 
baise :  to  women  a  few  yards  of  calico  were  given  in  addi- 
tion, and  to  children  about  half  the  quantity  afforded  to 
their  parents.  A  hat,  a  cap,  a  handkerchief,  a  knife,  some 
tape,  thread,  and  needles,  with  an  iron  pot  every  two  or 
three  years,  were  also  bestowed.  Only  to  this  extent  was 
the  toil  of  slaves  for  five  days  and  a  half  in  each  week 
removed  from  the  category  of  altogether  unrequited  labour. 
Where   the   superior   fertility  of   the    provision  grounds 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  891 

rendered  an  allowance  of  Guinea  com  unnecessary,  nine- 
pence  a  week  may  be  estimated  as  the  average  cost  of  the 
maintenance  of  a  negro  slave  when  liberally  treated ! 
Women  were  allowed  six  weeks'  holiday  after  confinement, 
and  usually  ceased  work  about  two  months  before.  An 
allowance  of  rum,  from  a  pint  to  a  quart  a  week,  was 
common  to  the  adult  negroes. 

It  will  be  seen  that  though  the  slaves  were  dependent 
for  food  on  their  half  day's  labour  on  their  allotments  or 
provision  grounds,  they  had  generally  the  means  of  pro- 
curing clothing  of  a  superior  kind  to  that  allowed  by  their 
owners,  and  also  of  saving,  if  so  disposed :  this  was 
chiefly  by  disposing  of  their  surplus  produce.  The  follow- 
ing list  of  prices  in  the  markets  of  Lower  Clarendon  and 
Vere,  in  1823,  may  be  interesting  for  the  sake  of  com- 
parison, and  as  illustrating  the  sources  by  which  slaves 
acquired  money,  and  many  years  later  were  able  in  some 
cases  to  buy  their  freedom : — A  fat  pig,  36s.  to  54s. ;  a 
medium  size,  18s.  to  28s. ;  a  sucking  pig,  4s. ;  a  good 
milch  goat,  20s.  to  24s. ;  a  kid,  4s.  or  5s. ;  two  pigeons. 
Is.  6d. ;  a  capon,  Ss. ;  a  pullet  or  hen,  Is.  6d. ;  a  large 
bunch  of  bananas.  Is. ;  pine-apples,  3d.  to  6d. ;  a  water 
melon,  6d. ;  a  large  pumpkin,  6d.  to  9d. ;  beans,  4^.  to 
6d.  a  quart.  Any  of  the  following  articles  might  be  bought 
for  threepence : — Six  large  sweet  potatoes,  three  pints  of 
maize,  two  cocoa-nuts,  twelve  oranges  or  mangoes,  six  star 
apples,  eighteen  naseberries,  six  sweet  sops,  four  Avocado 
pears,  one  shaddock,  a  quart  of  ockroes,  or  a  yard  of 
tobacco.  As  a  whole,  the  above  list  is  not  very  different 
to  the  prices  now  asked  in  the  Kingston  market. 

Medical  advice  was  provided  for  the  slaves  at  the  cost  of 
the  estate :  four  shillings  a  head  was  now  a  common  charge 
as  remuneration.  The  sketch  of  life  on  a  plantation  wSl 
hardly  be  complete  without  some  reference  to  certain 
pecuhar  maladies  common  among  slaves.  The  yaws  was 
a  terrible  scourge:  it  may  be  described  as  a  species  of 
leprosy.  It  was  originally  introduced  from  Africa,  and 
gradually  declined  after  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade, 
though  it  still  lingers  among  the  less  elevated  classes  of 
the  emancipated  peasantry :  dirt  and  bad  habits  are  favour- 
able to  its  propagation.  With  proper  attention,  it  is  curable 
in  from  six  to  nine  months.     It  can  be  communicated  by 


392  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

inoculation,  and  in  slavery  mothers  frequently  thus  gave  it 
to  their  children,  to  escape  from  the  labours  of  the  estate. 

Fearful  ulcers  and  even  elephantiasis  were  occasioned  by 
filth,  and  allowing  the  chigoe  flea  to  burrow  in  the  feet  and 
toes.  These  troublesome  insects  are  easily  removed,  but 
if  left  under  the  skin  they  soon  produce  a  numerous  pro- 
geny. Lameness  for  life  was  often  the  result  of  this  gross 
neglect. 

The  ravages  of  the  Guinea  worm,  described  in  most 
books  on  tropical  diseases,  were  chiefly  confined  to  Afri- 
cans. A  most  peculiar  disease  to  which  negroes  were  subject 
was  called  mal  de  stomach,  or  dirt-eating.  This,  though 
often  treated  by  planters  as  a  vicious  propensity,  and 
punished  as  such,  is  really  occasioned  by  a  diseased  state 
of  the  stomach.  The  body  swells,  and  assumes  a  bloated 
appearance,  and  the  countenance  an  unnatural  colour. 
There  are  violent  retchings,  and  great  shortness  of  breath. 
Where  the  propensity  cannot  be  cured  by  the  administra- 
tion of  wholesome  food  and  mild  restraint,  death  soon 
terminates  the  suffering. 

The  dread  of  Obeah  killed  many,  as  in  former  days,  but 
the  spread  of  Christianity  gradually  diminished  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Obeah  men,  and  the  cessation  of  African 
importations  reduced  their  numbers.  Baptised  negroes 
were  supposed  to  be  less  subject  to  the  power  of  magic 
arts.  Still,  superstition  is  among  the  last  of  all  evils  cor- 
rected by  Gospel  teaching,  and  many  who  had  ceased  to 
fear  Obeah  themselves  continued  to  play  upon  the  credulity 
of  others,  and  were  accustomed  to  hang  up  a  bundle  of 
feathers,  teeth,  &c.,  in  a  conspicuous  part  of  their  pro- 
vision grounds,  as  an  effectual  guard  against  the  depre- 
dations of  thieves. 

Where  Obeah  was  practised  it  was  more  secretly  than 
before,  and  Creole  pretenders  were  never  supposed  to 
possess  the  same  powers  as  their  African  predecessors. 
It  was  only  by  these  latter  that  the  mysterious  rites  per- 
formed under  the  shadow  of  the  gigantic  cotton  trees  were 
celebrated.  Many  superstitions,  originally  brought  from 
Africa,  were  modified,  and  often  blended  with  others  which 
had  been  introduced  by  Christian  or  Jewish  colonists.  An 
idea,  certainly  not  of  African  origin,  is  still  current  — 
namely^  that  the  room  in  which  a  person  dies  should  not 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  893 

be  swept  or  disturbed  for  nine  days.  Water  and  other 
requisites  are  placed  in  it,  and,  as  among  the  Jews,  a  light 
is  kept  burning  during  the  prescribed  period. 

The  negroes  had  floating  among  them  a  variety  of  terse 
proverbial  expressions.  The  following  are  examples  selected 
from  about  three  hundred  collected  during  a  long  period 
of  intercouse  with  them.  "  Softly  waters  run  deep," 
meaning  that  a  wise  man  is  usually  quiet  and  reserved. 
**  Poor  man  never  hex  (vexed)  " — ^he  is  humble,  *and  cannot 
afford  to  take  affront.  **  When  man  dead  grass  grow  at 
him  door:"  this  is  indicative  of  the  neglect  which  follows 
death.  "  When  trouble  catch  bull-dog,  monkey  breeches 
fit  him,"  meaning  that  a  blustering  man  collapses  when 
his  pride  is  taken  down  by  adversity.  "  Greedy  choke 
puppy,"  or  the  puppy  chokes  itself  by  eating  too  fast ;  and 
thus  a  man  who  charges  too  much,  or  seeks  to  monopolise 
aU  he  can,  will  overreach  himself  at  last,  and  suffer. 
"Rocky  tone*  a  ribba  bottom  no  feel  sun  hot."  This 
shrewd  proverb  was  applied  to  people  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances, who  did  not  sympathise  with  the  sorrows  of 
others.  "When  cockroach  gib  dance,  him  no  ax  fowl." 
Fowl,  like  birds  of  paradise,  love  to  feast  on  cockroaches; 
but  the  idea  rather  seems  to  be  that  people  in  inferior 
circumstances  should  not  seek  the  friendship  of  those 
above  them,  or  they  may  come  to  grief.  As  a  specimen  of 
the  coarser  kind  of  proverb,  "FuU  belly  tell  hungry  belly 
keep  heart,"  may  be  quoted,  as  indicative  of  the  kind  of 
consolation  too  often  given  by  the  prosperous  to  the  needy. 
Many  others  might  be  cited,  proving  that  the  old  negroes 
were  careful  observers  of  men  and  things,  and  did  not 
fail  to  hit  off  the  weaknesses  and  follies  of  their  fellow 
creatures. 

There  was  another  strange  kind  of  traditional  literature 
extant  among  the  people,  called  "  Anancy  Stories."  The 
word  Anancy  signifies  a  spider  in  the  Creole  African  patois, 
but  the  meaning  of  the  word,  as  applied  to  the  foremost 
character  in  this  fairy  mythology,  is  not  illustrated  by  any 
reference  it  contains.  Anancy  is  an  inferior  character, 
and  more  concerned  about  eatmg  and  drinking  than  any- 

*  "  Or  stone  at  the  bottom  of  the  river."  The  nnedncated  negroes 
had  a  habit  of  putting  the  letter  S  where  it  should  not  be,  and  of 
leaving  it  out  where  it  should  be. 


894  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

thing  else.  He  has  a  wife  named  Crookie,  and  they  have 
a  son,  Tacooma.  This  Being,  though  described  as  much 
stronger,  is  not  so  cunning  as  his  father,  and  disagrees 
with  him,  as  Anancy  also  does  with  his  wife.* 

Some  of  these  Anancy  stories  would  form  no  bad  addi- 
tion to  the  fairy  stories  of  the  world ;  but  the  race  of 
nanaSf  or  Creole  nurses,  who  used  to  tell  them  to  de- 
lighted audiences  in  the  old  country  residences,  is  fast 
passing  away.t 

*  Introduction  to  "  Lectures  on  Negro  Proverbs,"  by  Rev.  J. 
Badolifife. 

f  The  materials  for  this  chapter  have  been  obtained  from  Stewart, 
De  la  Beohe,  Barclay,  Monk  Lewis,  Michael  Scott,  Madden,  con- 
temporary magazines,  newspapers,  local  information,  &o. 


PERIOD  V. 

From  Emancipation  to  1872. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE   FIBST   DATS   OF  FREEDOM. 

When  the  Ist  of  August,  1888,  had  passed,  a  succession  of 
difficulties  demanded  the  attention  of  the  governor.  Before 
the  day  of  full  emancipation,  indications  had  not  been 
wanting  to  show  on  how  insecure  and  unsatisfactory  a 
footing  the  future  position  of  master  and  labourer  was 
placed.  In  one  respect,  the  latter  seemed  to  be  entirely  in 
the  power  of  the  former,  for  his  cottage  and  the  little 
garden  around  it,  together  with  the  provision  lands  he 
cultivated,  were  on  the  estate  of  the  master,  who  might 
summarily  dispossess  him  if  at  all  unruly.  Under  any 
circumstances,  the  adjustment  of  the  grave  questions  which 
arise  when  a  long  enslaved  people  are  suddenly  restored  to 
freedom,  must  be  of  a  character  to  demand  the  highest 
statesmanship. 

Sir  Lionel  Smith  was  a  warm  friend  of  the  negro,  and 
heartily  sympathised  with  the  missionaries,  but  he  had  not 
sufficient  generosity  to  forgive  the  planters  for  the  hard 
things  they  had  said  about  him,  nor  did  he  consider  suffi- 
ciently what  a  trial  to  their  temper  and  judgment  the  ordeal 
was  through  which  they  were  passing.  But  if  Sir  I^ionel 
was  not  the  man  to  conciliate,  it  must  be  conceded  that 
even  his  occasional  want  of  judgment  was  trifling  in  com- 
parison with  the  almost  utter  absence  of  this  quality  on  the 
part  of  the  assembly  and  the  planters  generally.  These 
last  appeared  to  think  that  they  could  coerce  the  negroes 
as  they  had  hitherto  done,  not  indeed  by  the  whip,  but  by 


896  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

means  of  vagrant  laws  perverted  from  the  proper  purpose 
of  such  provisions,  by  ejecting  offenders  from  their  estates, 
and  other  modes  of  petty  persecution.  They  forgot  that 
there  were  vast  tracts  of  virgin  land  upon  which  the 
negroes  could  find  a  home,  and  be  far  more  independent  of 
the  planter  than  he  could  be  of  them. 

West  Indian  parliamentary  papers,  from  1838  to  1840, 
government  despatches  and  returns,  together  with  volumi- 
nous controversial  documents,  illustrate  to  some  extent  the 
struggles  of  the  period.  For  several  weeks  before  the  day  of 
emancipation,  the  planters  were  engaged  in  making  pre- 
liminary bargains  for  work.  In  some  cases  the  labourers 
demanded  the  rate  at  which  they  had  seen  valuations  made 
during  the  apprenticeship  ;  in  other  cases,  a  shilling  a  day 
sterling  was  asked.  In  July,  Sir  L.  Smith  embarked  on 
board  a  man-of-war,  and  visited  most  parts  of  the  parishes 
near  the  coast.  He  found  nothing  settled  as  to  the  question 
of  wages,  but  an  idea  generally  prevalent  that  a  shilling  a 
day  sterling  should  be  given  if  rent  was  to  be  paid  for 
houses  and  grounds,  or  a  shilling  currency  if  these  were  to 
be  free.  In  many  cases,  notices  had  already  been  given  to 
the  negroes  to  quit  their  houses,  in  the  hope  of  thus  coercing 
them  to  accept  low  wages.  This  was  chiefly  done  by  small 
proprietors.* 

Sir  L.  Smith  issued  a  plain,  simple  address  to  the  ap- 
prentices, advising  them,  if  possible,  to  remain  on  the  old 
properties,  but  reminding  them  that  they  had  no  legal  right 
to  their  holdings.  He  at  the  same  time  urged  a  steady 
industry,  and  recommended  them  to  spare  their  wives 
**  heavy  field  work,"  that  they  might  attend  to  the  duties 
of  home.  When  the  day  of  emancipation  arrived,  he  was 
able  to  report  how  soberly  and  quietly  it  had  been  observed; 
but  on  the  13th  of  August  he  officially  stated  that  the 
negroes  had  not  generally  returned  to  plantation  work. 
The  only  approach  to  a  disturbance  had,  however,  been  in 
Falmouth,  where  a  good  deal  of  alarm  had  been  excited  by 
a  threat  to  bum  Mr.  Knibb  in  effigy,  and  which  was  soon 
perverted  into  a  report  that  he  was  to  be  hung  in  reality. 
Immense  numbers  assembled,  with  sticks  and  cutlasses,  to 
defend  him,  but  soon  dispersed.  A  few  days  after,  the 
excitement  was  even  greater,  in  consequence  of  a  report 

*  Sir  L.  Smith's  Letters  to  Lord  Glenelg,  July  27,  Sept.  7, 10. 


THE   FIBST   DATS  OF  FREEDOM.  897 

that  Knibb  was  actually  killed.  Great  crowds  of  people 
assembled,  with  cries  for  vengeance,  and  at  Eio  Bueno 
the  report  being  communicated  to  a  crowded  congre- 
gation by  an  excited  messenger,  the  alarm  and  fury  was 
as  great  as  at  Falmouth.  It  was  soon  allayed,  and  during 
the  week  Mr.  Knibb  showed  himself  at  numerous  estates, 
to  assure  the  people  of  his  safety.* 

After  some  little  delay,  the  question  of  wages  was,  on 
the  whole,  satisfactorily  settled  ;  but  a  shilling  sterling  for 
a  day's  work  by  no  means  represented  what  an  able-bodied 
negro  could  earn.  Eighteen-pence  a  day  was  quoted  in 
many  parishes,  and  piecework  realised  fair  prices,  less  than 
the  same  work  cost  in  apprenticeship  or  slavery,  but  still  a 
sum  of  which,  where  fairly  paid,  there  was,  as  a  rule,  no 
just  cause  of  complaint.  The  real  grievance  of  the  negro 
lay  in  another  quarter.  The  rate  of  wages  was,  by  a  most 
unparalleled  system  of  oppression,  made,  in  many  cases, 
a  mere  delusion  and  snare.  The  negroes,  it  has  been 
stated,  occupied  cottages  on  the  estates :  around  these  their 
fathers,  and  even  remote  ancestors,  had  been  buried,  and 
the  spots  were  thus  peculiarly  sacred  to  their  mind.  If  a 
little  ordinary  wisdom  had  been  exercised  by  the  proprietors 
and  their  agents,  the  former  slaves  and  their  descendants 
might,  by  means  of  these  feelings,  have  been  attached  to 
the  estates.  It  was  a  provision  of  the  Emancipation  Act 
that  the  holders  of  these  places  should  occupy  them  for 
three  months  after  freedom,  and  it  was  generally  under- 
stood, even  by  many  of  the  stipendiary  magistrates,  that 
this  meant  rent  free.  The  attorney-general  of  Jamaica 
decided  otherwise,  and  the  result  was  deplorable.  It  led  to 
general  excitement,  and  retarded  or  interrupted  many 
negotiations  on  the  labour  question  then  proceeding,  t 
This  opinion  was  subsequently  set  aside,  on  the  judgment 
of  her  Majesty's  attorney  and  solicitor-generals,  Bolfe  and 
Campbell. 

What  rent  a  man  should  pay  for  a  small  plot  of  generally 
worn-out  land,  containing  some  fruit  trees  of  his  own  or 
parents'  planting,  and  a  hut  which  he  had  for  the  most 
part  built  and  repaired  himself,  was  a  question  to  which  a 
moderate  reply  should  have  been  given.   But  the  reply  was 

*  "Life  of  Knibb,**  p.  260. 

t  Sir  Lionel  Smitli  to  Lord  Glenelg,  Sept.  24, 1888. 


898  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

seldom  moderate.  In  some  instances,  only  a  shilling 
sterling  per  week  was  asked,  and  the  same  for  the  pro- 
vision ground ;  but  in  many  cases  more  was  demanded. 

But  this  was  not  all.  It  will  hardly  be  credited,  but  it 
is  a  simple  fact,  recorded  on  the  concurrent  testimony  of 
hundreds  of  letters  from  forty  to  fifty  stipendiary  magis- 
trates, that  immense  numbers  of  people  were  compelled  to 
pay  rent  for  every  inhabitant  of  a  cottage ;  that  is,  rent 
for  himself,  rent  for  his  wife,  and  rent  for  each  child !  In 
other  cases,  a  system  equally  objectionable  prevailed.  No 
rent  was  professedly  charged,  but  it  was  understood  that 
the  occupant  and  his  family  should  work  on  the  estate;  but 
when  any  one  was  absent,  tenpence  a  day  currency,  or  six- 
pence sterling,  was  a  common  sum  to  charge  as  the  rent  of 
such  an  absentee.  In  one  instance,  the  wife  being  unable 
to  go  to  the  field  in  consequence  of  illness,  sixpence  a  day 
was  forthwith  charged  for  the  shelter  she  enjoyed.  The 
rent  roll  of  a  certain  property  was  found  to  amount,  at 
these  rates,  to  JG1800  per  annum,  a  sum  the  estate  had  not 
for  many  years  been  known  to  yield  under  slavery.*  In 
another  case,  a  man  was  summoned  for  rent,  at  the  rate  of 
jG40  per  annum,  for  a  place  that  could  not  have  cost  one- 
fifth  of  the  sum.  But  even  now  the  negroes  would  not 
have  been  driven  from  their  cottages  and  grounds,  if  for 
any  settled  sum,  at  all  reasonable,  they  could  have  retained 
them  with  any  prospect  of  permanency.  But  though  a 
year  was  needed  to  gather  in  most  of  the  crops  planted  by 
the  negroes,  no  lease  or  even  fixed  terms  were  granted. 

On  some  caprice  or  other,  the  overseer  woidd  raise  the 
rent,  and  if  remonstrance  was  made,  the  cattle  were  turned 
into  the  grounds,  and  the  growing  crops  destroyed.  Cot- 
tages were  pulled  down  without  notice,  and  in  short,  from 
one  end  of  the  island  to  the  other,  acts  of  tyranny  were 
perpetrated,  embittering  the  minds  of  the  more  immediate 
sufferers,  and  teaching  others  that  they  could  not  be  sure 
of  a  home  imless  they  obtained  freeholds  of  their  own. 

Wise  and  benevolent  owners  found  their  profit  in  a  mild 
and  conciliatory  course,  though  every  effort  was  made  by 
the  island  agent  and  others  to  persuade  the  British  people 
that  the  negroes  would  not  work,  but  the  statements  of  the 

*  Letter  from  Mr.  Ewart,  in  Parliamentary  Papers  on  West  Indies, 
1887,  p.  121. 


THE   FIBST   DAYS  OF  FREEDOM.  899 

stipendiary  magistrates  refute  this.  Then  it  was  pro- 
claimed that  they  believed  they  had  an  indisputable  right 
of  possession  to  the  cottages  and  gardens  they  held  on  Mie 
estates.  The  Marquis  of  Normanby,  notwithstanding  his 
previous  acquaintance  with  the  people  and  colony,  was 
induced  to  believe  this  statement,  and  actually  sent  out  a 
proclamation  to  disabuse  the  negroes  of  the  idea.^  Sir  L. 
Smith  circulated  it,  though  regarding  it  as  uncalled  for, 
and  it  resulted  in  a  perfect  inundation  of  addresses  from 
Baptist  and  other  congregations,  declaring  that  they  never 
had  such  an  idea,  and  did  not  believe  it  had  ever  been 
entertained  except  by  a  very  few.  A  large  amount  of  cor- 
respondence, from  ministers  of  all  denominations,  also 
confuted  a  statement  made  by  the  rector  of  St.  Thomas 
in  the  East,  that  female  profligacy  had  increased  in  con- 
sequence of  Sir  Lionel's  advice  relative  to  women  not 
working  on  estates ;  and  that  Morant  Bay  and  other  sea- 
side towns  were  daily  receiving  accessions  of  young 
women  of  loose  habits,  in  consequence. 

Sir  Lionel  exposed  himself  to  animadversion  in  conse- 
quence of  a  somewhat  unguarded  reply  to  the  Baptists,  in 
which  he  spoke  of  the  abundance  of  labourers  where  they 
were  properly  treated.  But  only  a  few  days  after  he 
was  obliged  to  issue  a  proclamation  urging  them  to 
return  to  work  after  the  Christmas  holiday  of  1838.  For 
a  time  it  seemed  as  if  they  would  not  return,  but  they 
eventually  did  so,  explaining  their  delay  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  their  first  free  Christmas.  The  rent  difficulty 
was  not  removed  by  the  lapse  of  time,  and  the  result  was 
the  purchase  of  land  and  the  erection  of  free  villages.  In 
this  movement  the  ministers  of  all  religions,  the  Baptists 
especially,  exerted  themselves. 

From  one  point  of  view  it  was  a  pity  to  withdraw  so 
many  from  the  immediate  scenes  of  labour,  but  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  settlers  gained  greatly  both  on  the 
score  of  morality  and  comfort.  Some  of  these  villages 
still  remain,  and  are  among  the  most  picturesque  in  the 
island ;  though  others,  settled  as  estates  more  favourably 
located  came  gradually  into  the  market,  have  in  many 
respects  surpassed  them.  This  drafting  of  the  negroes 
from  their  old  locations  on  the  estates  was  a  gradual  work. 

*  Letter  of  Marquis  of  Normanby  to  Sir  L.  Smith,  April  15, 1889. 


400  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

That  new  settlements  should  have  sprung  up  was  una- 
voidable, but  the  absurd  and  wicked  rent  system  is  ac- 
countable for  the  rapidity  with  which  the  change  was 
effected,  and  the  results  it  produced  on  the  labour  market. 
As  few  planters  would  sell  land  near  their  estates,  the 
location  of  the  people  on  that  at  a  distance  became  a 
matter  of  course.  All  difficulties  in  the  labour  market 
now  are  to  no  small  extent  the  fruits  of  that  folly,  which 
originally  drove  the  labourer  from  the  soil  he  had  formerly 
cultivated,  and  to  which  he  was  attached. 

That  the  negroes  were  as  a  class  disposed  to  do  what 
was  right,  is  to  some  extent  proved  by  the  fact  that  for  the 
first  two  years  of  emancipation  there  was  a  remarkable 
absence  of  crime  among  them,  as  shown  by  the  reports 
of  almost  all  the  stipendiary  magistrates.  Bumours  of 
intended  outbreaks  were  not  unfrequent,  but  the  governor 
wisely  ordered,  that  in  the  event  of  any  disturbance  requir- 
ing military  suppression,  only  the  regular  troops,  and  not 
the  militia,  shoiQd  be  called  into  action. 

The  session  commencing  in  October,  1838,  nearly  proved 
fatal  to  the  legislative  privileges  of  the  planters.  The 
imperial  parliament  had  passed  a  bill  to  provide  for  the 
better  government  of  jails  in  the  West  Indies,  and  this 
was  regarded  as  impinging  on  colonial  rights.  When  the 
usual  motion  was  made  to  appoint  a  committee  to  prepare 
^n  address  in  reply  to  the  governor's  opening  speech,  it 
was  only  supported  by  ten  votes ;  and  an  amendment  was 
carried  to  refer  it  to  a  committee  of  the  whole  house  to 
inquire  into  the  state  of  the  island.  Next  day  five  resolu- 
tions were  reported. 

The  first  declared  that  an  Act  of  the  British  parliament, 
entitled  **  an  Act  for  the  better  Government  of  Prisons  in 
the  West  Indies,*'  was  an  infringement  on  the  inherent 
rights  of  the  legislature  in  Jamaica ;  that  it  '*  has  not 
and  ought  not  to  have  the  force  of  law  in  this  island, 
and  that  the  authorities  will  not  be  justified  in  acting 
on  it." 

The  second  resolution  pronounced  this  violation  of 
colonial  rights  to  be  less  excusable,  as  the  house  was 
prepared  to  enter  upon  a  consideration  of  prison  discipline 
as  soon  as  the  report  of  her  Majesty's  commission  was 
before  them. 


THE   FIRST   DATS   OF  FREEDOM.  401 

Begret  was  next  expressed  on  account  of  the  unmerited 
censures  passed  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  (the  eman- 
cipated peasantry  were  not  included  in  the  term  inhabitants), 
the  extent  to  which  the  public  mind  had  been  poisoned 
against  them,  the  reckless  manner  in  which  laws  passed 
by  the  legislature  had  been  disallowed,  and  the  system  of 
legislation  for  the  colonies  which  had  been  adopted,  so  that 
the  assembly  had  ceased  to  exist  for  any  useful  purpose. 

In  the  fourth  resolution  the  members  of  the  assembly 
declared  that  they  would  abstain  from  all  exercise  of  any 
legislative  function,  except  such  as  might  be  necessary  to 
preserve  inviolate  the  faith  of  the  island  with  the  public 
creditor,  until  it  was  known  if  they  were  to  be  treated  as 
subjects  having  the  power  of  making  laws,  or  to  be  governed 
by  the  British  parliament  and  by  orders  in  council,  as 
instanced  in  the  late  amended  Abolition  Act. 

An  address  to  the  governor  was  then  ordered  to  be 
prepared  by  a  committee.  It  echoed  the  opening  speech 
of  the  governor,  but  declared  an  intention  of  adhering 
to  the  course  of  action  indicated  in  their  fourth  resolution. 
The  governor  prorogued  the  house  for  a  day,  in  the  vain 
hope  that  having  recorded  its  opinions  it  would  then 
proceed  to  business.  On  the  3rd  of  November  he  reopened 
it  with  a  conciliatory  address.  The  police  bill,  he  observed, 
would  soon  expire,  together  with  other  bills  providing  for 
the  collection  of  taxes  and  other  important  matters.     He 

Eromised  to  lay  before  the  house  the  communications  he 
ad  received  explaining  the  grounds  upon  which  her 
Majesty  had  exercised  her  prerogative  of  disallowing  certain 
laws,  and  of  recommending  important  measures  regulating 
the  duties  of  masters  and  servants,  the  prevention  of 
vagrancy,  &c.  But  the  house  was  determined  to  adhere 
to  the  resolutions  that  had  been  passed  in  the  former 
session.    It  was  therefore  dissolved. 

On  the  18th  of  December  the  new  assembly  was  convened, 
and  opened  with  a  brief  speech,  in  which  no  allusion  was 
made  to  the  past.  But  next  day  it  resolved :  **  That  this 
house  do  adhere  to  the  resolutions  which  were  agreed  to 
by  the  house  of  assembly  on  the  Slst  of  October  last,  and 
which  have  been  fully  sanctioned  by  the  constituency  of  the 
island."  On  the  following  day  stronger  language  than 
ever  was  employed.    It  was  asserted  by  the  members,  in  an 

'     27 


402  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

address  to  the  governor,  that  their  liberties  as  legislators 
had  been  invaded  by  a  law  to  regulate  the  jails,  which  was 
a  measure  of  internal  regulation ;  that  even  some  of  the 
laws  were  rendered  inoperative  by  influences  biassing  the 
decisions  of  the  stipendiary  magistrates ;  and  that  so  long 
as  the  present  state  of  things  continued,  and  '*  her  Majesty's 
government  continued  to  throw  its  weight  into  the  already 
preponderating  scale  of  physical  strength  and  natural 
repugnance  to  labour,  they  saw  no  prospect  of  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  plantations  being  conducted  with  advantage 
to  the  proprietors." 

Captain  Darling,  afterwards  governor  of  Jamaica,  and 
three  other  gentlemen,  alone  opposed  the  adoption  of  this 
address.  Thirty-two  supported  it.  When  it  was  presented, 
Sir  Lionel  Smith  expressed  his  regret  at  its  tone,  and  his 
gratification  that  his  conduct  had  not  provoked  it.  Nothing 
remained  but  once  more  to  appeal  to  the  constituency. 
But  on  the  provost-marshal  proceeding  to  summon  the 
assembly  to  the  council  chamber,  an  extraordinary  scene 
ensued :  the  doors  were  closed  against  him,  and  admission 
denied.  He  attempted  to  gain  an  entrance,  but  was  pre- 
vented by  superior  numbers.  The  assembly  then  passed  a 
resolution,  from  which  only  two  dissented :  **  That  the 
conduct  of  the  provost-marshal-general,  in  attempting  to 
force  an  entrance  into  this  house,  with  violence,  after  the 
closing  of  the  doors,  is  a  breach  of  the  privilege  of  this 
house." 

The  doors  were  then  opened,  and  the  excited  legislators 
duly  summoned  to  the  council  chamber ;  when  the  governor, 
having  thanked  the  council  for  the  readiness  with  which 
it  was  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  business  of  the  colony, 
thus  addressed  the  members  of  the  assembly : — "  The 
authority  of  the  imperial  parliament  to  legislate  for  the 
colonies  having  been  gratuitously  denied  by  the  late 
house  of  assembly  in  their  reckless  declaration,  that  laws 
passed  by  the  lords  and  commons  of  the  empire,  and 
sanctioned  by  the  sovereign,  ought  to  have  no  power  or 
effect  in  this  colony,  I  did  my  duty  in  appealing  to  the 
sense  of  the  electoral  body ;  and  I  remark,  with  regret, 
that  the  majority  of  you  gentlemen  of  this  house  of  assem- 
bly, in  pursuing  the  same  destructive  course,  consider  such 
conduct  corroborated  by  the  full  and  cordial  sanction  of  the 


THE   FIBST  DATS  OF  FREEDOM.  408 

constituency  of  the  island.  Although  I  am  fully  sensible 
of  the  dangers  and  diflftculties  to  which  your  resolution 
exposes  your  country  and  my  administration,  I  shall  be 
found  firm  at  my  post ;  and  without  resorting  to  that  physi- 
cal strength  alluded  to  by  you,  I  am  confident  I  shall  be 
able  to  defend  the  weak,  to  punish  oppression,  and  to  uphold 
the  majesty  of  the  laws." 

Thus  was  this  short-lived  house  of  assembly  dismissed ; 
and  when  men  began  to  reflect  calmly  on  the  events  of  the 
past  few  months,  they  saw  little  cause  for  comfort  or  hope, 
except  in  the  wise  action  of  the  imperial  government.  The 
council  supported  Sir  L.  Smith  all  through  this  trying  time, 
but  by  the  end  of  December  seventeen  of  the  annual  laws  had 
expired,  and  among  these,  that  providing  for  a  police,  and 
to  a  great  extent  for  a  public  revenue.  Sir  Lionel  was 
powerless,  for  the  assembly  would  not  act,  and  no  other 
constituted  power  remained. 

When  the  British  government  became  acquainted  with 
the  state  of  affairs,  it  was  felt  that  the  rebellious  legislature 
must  be  brought  to  terms ;  and  it  was  determined  to  intro- 
duce a  measure  into  parliament,  suspending  the  constitution 
of  the  island  for  a  term  of  five  years,  during  which  period 
a  provisional  government,  consisting  of  the  governor  and 
council,  was  to  administer  its  affairs.  This  was  certainly 
a  mild  remedy,  and  it  would  have  been  happy  for  Jamaica 
if  the  change  of  1865  had  been  effected  then.  The  progress 
of  decadence  would  have  been  to  some  extent  arrested,  and 
years  of  useless  party  conflict  avoided.  The  assembly  had 
proved  itself  totally  unfit  for  the  proper  discharge  of  the 
duties  demanded  by  the  changed  conditions  of  the  colony. 

But  mild  as  the  ministerial  measure  was,  there  was  a 
strong  West  Indian  interest  that  viewed  it  with  suspicion  ; 
while  others,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  the  planters, 
could  not  bear  the  idea  of  a  British  parliament,  and  that 
one  lately  reformed,  depriving  a  colony  of  the  constitutional 
rights  it  had  enjoyed  from  the  days  of  Cromwell.  Moreover, 
Lord  Melbourne's  ministry  was  weak  and  unpopular  in  the 
extreme.  On  the  9th  of  April,  1839,  Mr.  Labouchere,  then 
under-secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies,  brought  forward 
the  proposed  measure.  Counsel  was  heard  on  behalf  of  the 
assembly,  and  their  pleading  was  far  from  ineffective. 

That  this  body  had  been  very  blameworthy,  all  parties 

27* 


404  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

admitted ;  so  much  so,  that  the  very  tenderness  occasionally 
suggested  for  naughty  children,  was  spoken  of  as  the  only 
proper  course.  Others  were  for  enlarging  the  constituency, 
which  only  consisted  of  about  1500  voters  ;  while  not  a  few 
felt  that  a  change,  sooner  or  later,  would  have  to  be  made 
in  the  constitution  of  the  island,  and  saw  that  no  time 
could  be  more  favourable  than  the  present.  The  ministers 
pressed  their  measure,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of 
May  obtained  in  a  full  house  a  majority  of  only  five  in 
favour  of  it.  This  was  tantamount  to  a  defeat ;  and  on  the 
ground  that  the  Jamaica  assembly  would  believe  that  its 
conduct  was  upheld  by  the  British  parliament,  and  that 
the  authority  of  the  crown  would  be  weakened  there  and  in 
other  colonies,  the  ministers  announced  their  resignation 
of  office. 

Sir  Eobert  Peel  was  called  upon  to  form  a  cabinet,  a 
work  in  which  he  met  with  unexpected  difficulties  in  conse- 
quence of  the  questions  which  arose  relative  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  ladies  of  her  Majesty's  household.  The  result 
was  the  return  of  Lord  Melbourne  to  office.  On  the  80th 
of  May  a  new  Jamaica  bill  was  introduced  to  the  house  by 
Mr.  Labouchere.  It  was  greatly  amended  in  its  passage 
through  the  lords :  in  fact.  Peel  and  his  party  held  it  in 
their  own  hands.  In  the  shape  in  which  it  finally  passed, 
it  allowed  the  assembly  time  to  re-enact  those  annual  laws 
which  were  so  necessary  to  the  credit  and  good  order  of  the 
island ;  but  should  the  assembly  refuse,  the  governor  in 
council  was  empowered  to  pass  them  at  the  expiration  of 
two  months  from  the  time  of  the  assembly's  failure  to  do 
so.  This  simple  measure  passed  through  its  final  stages 
on  the  9th  of  July.  Soon  after,  Lord  John  Eussell  became 
colonial  secretary,  in  the  place  of  the  Marquis  of  Normanby, 
who  had  held  that  office  for  some  months.  It  was  evident 
that  a  new  and  firm  hand  would  be  required  to  guide  the 
colony  at  this  trying  period,  and  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe,  an 
Indian  statesman  of  deserved  celebrity,  was  appointed  to 
the  onerous  task. 


ADMINISTBATION   OF   SIR   CHARLES   AIETCALFE.  405 


CHAPTER  II. 

ADMINISTRATION   OF   SIR   CHARLES   METCALFE. 

The  announcement  of  the  appointment  of  Sir  Charles 
Metcalfe  to  the  government  of  the  colony  was  not  at  first 
received  with  much  favour  by  the  West  Indian  interest. 
As  an  East  Indian  ruler,  they  were  disposed  to  infer  that 
he  would  wish  to  change  all  those  constitutional  modes  of 
government  upon  which  they  set  so  much  value.  Mr. 
Burge,  the  island  agent,  however,  smoothed  the  way  for  his 
reception  by  his  constituents,  and  it  soon  became  manifest 
that  Sir  Charles  united  in  his  person  those  qualities  by 
which  men  of  tHe  most  opposite  feelings  could  be  conciliated. 
He  arrived  at  Port  Boyal,  in  Jamaica,  on  the  25th  of 
September,  1889,  and  landing  next  day,  at  once  assumed 
the  government  of  the  colony.  Four  days  after,  Sir  Lionel 
Smith  left,  amid  the  plaudits  of  the  emancipated  peasantry, 
and  the  kindly  feelings  of  all  unblinded  by  prejudice. 

The  government  of  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  was  professedly 
one  of  justice  and  conciliation.  Writing  to  the  colonial 
office  four  days  after  his  arrival,  he  observed :  **  I  shall 
regard  it  as  my  duty,  first  and  principally,  to  do  justice  to 
all  classes  of  the  population,  as  far  as  may  depend  on  me  ; 
and,  secondly,  to  conciliate  all  by  all  means  in  my  power." 
"  But,"  he  added,  "  in  the  latter  object  I  have  little  hope 
of  success,  for  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  attempt  may 
dissatisfy  all  the  conflicting  parties,  by  not  being  sufficiently 
exclusive  to  be  agreeable  to  any." 

Sir  Charles  succeeded  on  the  whole  far  better  than  he 
anticipated.  His  manners  and  general  bearing  were  much 
in  his  favour.  He  looked  and  acted,  to  a  great  extent,  like 
a  genial  English  gentleman,  rather  of  the  olden  than  of  the 
modem  school.  The  people  of  Jamaica  of  all  classes  like 
a  pleasant,  good-tempered,  and  affable  ruler.  But  beyond 
all  this,  he  was  truly  anxious  to  restore  peace  and  concord, 
and  spared  no  pains  to  attain  his  object. 

He  met  the  legislature,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  22nd  of 
October,  and  his  opening  address,  which,  like  most  he 


406  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

delivered,  was  somewhat  lengthy,  was  received  by  the  as- 
sembly with  a  general  burst  of  applause.  He  expressed 
his  anxiety  that  past  differences  should  be  buried  in  obli- 
vion, and  his  hope  that,  though  he  would  have  to  lay 
beforeTthem  the  recent  act  of  the  imperial  legislature 
occasioned  by  their  past  differences,  there  would  be  no 
occasion  to  call  it  into  exercise.  He  was  there  to  preserve 
inviolable  their  laws  and  constitution,  subject  to  those  laws 
by  which  the  whole  empire  was  regulated.  Peculiar  cir- 
cumstances had  necessitated  a  considerable  amount  of 
legislation  for  the  colonies  at  large,  but  the  great  measure 
of  emancipation  being  completed,  there  was  no  reason  to 
anticipate  further  interference  with  the  action  of  local 
legislatures,  unless  it  was  of  a  tendency  to  counteract  or 
retard  the  benefits  designed  by  that  measure.* 

On  the  25th,  the  house  presented  its  reply.  It  defended 
its  past  conduct,  and  asserted  that  it  had  only  contended 
for  the  free  exercise  of  deliberate  judgment  in  enacting  its 
laws,  and  had  never  claimed  a  right  to  pass  any  incon- 
sistent with  the  general  interests  of  the  empire.!  The 
struggle,  it  was  evident,  was  now  at  an  end,  though  pre- 
vious to  the  adoption  of  this  address,  resolutions  were 
passed  recounting  the  encroachments  of  the  British  go- 
vernment, especially  in  the  Prisons  Act,  but  rejoicing  in  the 
recent  proceedings  in  parliament  as  affording  ground  for 
hope  that  the  colony  would  be  protected  from  the  unwar- 
rantable acts  of  the  ministry,  and  preserved  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  its  ancient  rights,  t 

The  legislature  having  voted  £2000  to  Mr.  Burge,  the 
island  agent,  ^for  having  defended  the  privileges  of  the 
colony  before  the  imperial  parliament,  went  steadily  to 
work ;  and  with  the  exception  of  a  diflSculty  respecting  the 
Stamp  Act  in  1842,  the  greatest  harmony  characterised  the 
proceedings  of  each  branch  during  Metcalfe's  administra- 
tion. No  other  governor  ever  maintained  so  good  an 
understanding  with  the  assembly,  and  no  other  possessed 
the  authority  he  did  of  dispensing  with  its  services  in  the 
event  of  diflSculty  arising.  New  laws  and  institutions  suited 
to  a  state  of  general  freedom  were  needed,  and  though 
Metcalfe  gave  his  assent  to  some  measures  of  very  ques- 

*  "  Votes,"  1839,  p.  7-13.  f  Itid.,  1839,  pp.  81-^. 

I  Il)id.,  1839,  pp.  16-18. 


ADMINIBTBATION   OF   SIB  CHABLES   METCALFE.  407 

tionable  prudence,  the  legislation  of  the  time  deserves  some 
praise. 

The  mere  list  of  laws  passed  daring  this  administration 
would  fill  several  pages.  Perhaps  the  most  important  were 
those  relating  to  the  administration  of  justice.  The  ap- 
prenticeship had  removed  upwards  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand people  from  the  absolute  control  of  their  masters  and 
of  the  old  slave  courts,  which  in  the  nature  of  things  had 
ceased  to  exist.  Freedom  had  placed  all  these  emancipated 
people  in  precisely  the  same  position  as  the  rest  of  her 
Majesty's  subjects,  so  that  the  courts  of  justice,  which  in 
former  years  had  jurisdiction  only  over  the  free  people  of 
the  colony  as  distinct  from  slaves,  had  now  to  deal  with 
the  entire  community.  The  supreme  court  and  two  courts 
of  assize  were  altogether  unequal  to  the  work,  and  as  the 
chief  justice,  Sir  Joshua  Bowe,  pointed  out  at  the  close  of 
1888,  the  necessity  of  delivering  the  jails  led  to  a  most 
inconvenient  delay  in  civil  cases,  both  kinds  of  business 
being  then  transacted  by  the  same  court.* 

In  September  of  the  next  year.  Sir  Joshua  wrote  more 
strongly  on  the  subject,  and  urged  that  the  supreme  court 
should  consist  of  the  chief  justice  and  three  assistant 
judges,  sitting  three  times  a  year  as  a  court  in  banco,  and 
holding  three  courts  of  assize  in  each  county  during  the 
year.  In  addition  to  this  he  proposed  that  the  island 
should  be  divided  into  eight  districts,  and  that  to  each  a 
barrister  should  be  appointed  as  chairman  of  quarter 
sessions.  Thus,  he  thought,  stipendiary  magistrates  could 
be  relieved  of  the  duties  they  then  performed.t  A  com- 
mittee appointed  to  inquire  into  the  subject,  recommended 
that,  with  some  modifications,  these  suggestions  should  be 
carried  into  effect.!  A  bill  was  in  consequence  introduced, 
and  after  passing  through  its  several  stages,  received  the 
governor's  assent  in  April,  1840.  It  provided  for  a  most 
elaborate  judicial  establishment,  costing  nearly  £20,000 
per  annum,  and  consisting  of  a  vice-chancellor,  two  as- 
sistant judges,  and  nine  chairmen  of  quarter  sessions. 
Barristers  of  two  years'  standing  at  the  English  bar,  or 
solicitors  of  ten  years'  island  practice,  were  made  eligible 
for  the  latter  office ;  but  the  judges  must  have  practised  two 

*  "Votes,"  1889,  pp.  75,  76.  f  Ibid,  1889,  pp.  78,  79. 

X  Ibid.,  1889,  pp.  828-827,  and  appendix,  pp.  826-862. 


^ih  m^-i'iBii  cff  - 


ofiiW:-  ^illII^i  lii^  ilI  vt;f  tlinK'-nL* 

Vi^i*:  iiiiiJW:  niusvtfTf  v-sr*:  miis"  dkii'ii^aiL  Sir  Chtries 
yL^mfasJk  Jiiikikr:  h  'V'<t:l-iiit2&ii:  uui  TiiisatitsesaSiil  €&xti  to 
{dBLbiciiu.  'vinbi  iH:  ^Llied  Cfnurzf  a:  rttfrmmigrinn-  These 
Lm  pFererr*!?!  uni'jiL  iiiirrKsaitL  ix  SarwiiT.  "wiflre  i^ier  hid 
€3dfi«^  iiT  fc  ai&r  'lizzke.  Sir  <I!ii&rief  iioiiftd  tihsi  tfa^ripoiili 
«iifc<i*k  iiH:  Ifc^:nirii;r  j^r^piiiKiiDi.  *!'  sesik  most  of  their 
di£pir»e(  "pitL  C!ii*:  aainiitir  "wiiJi  jm  iifcTmr  rectonrae  to  Itv, 
szifcd  iuiB:^  ihss  iiKj  'vciXLid  iLSsifS  ir  prgph.TiT}x:  xii€3ii  far  their 
Xi^fw  imMH  h£  tiiiz^z&,  Fcsr  *  "izm*,  Tmoer  xbe  infiiifinoeflf 
UTrdJj,  tLe&e  conriE  st^fSiTia  v:  vark  vtZ :  bnt  bs  sabxmsaok 
Vj  iitiisi  d&dacQS  ^vhs  oininn&L  ibf  inre  for  TirigtttkHi  kd 
tLe  p&oplc  to  pKf €2-  iLf  JATir  Miznis.  ma  thus  the  ocHnts  of 

Tike  impaiii  gcT^jrziKrin  "wms  &zixi:ms  %o  see  the  iieees- 
B&xj  pnson  TrricTHis  frrniiiiriiciei  ftzkd  iir»d  tlie  nuittar 
Qpcm  l[tt<e:a2fe  l»cfore  Lc  b^  t»etii  miHT  w«eks  in  the 
€oVjnj.l  He  sa-r  ciearlj  bc^T  d^iie&jc  the  sabjeet  really 
vas  afuex  irb&t  bad  a]re4dTtra2i?rcr<eii,  and  delayed  recfGH' 
inz  the  qnesdan  uniil  be  pe^^ciTtid  sc-me  prospect  of  a 
sati^fa^orj  i=.5iie.  Captain  Piinirir,  -wbo  bad  been  ap- 
poinxed  in  1S37,  bj  Lc*id  Glenelz.  K»  i>epjit  upon  prisons  in 
the  We=t  Indies,  at  lengib  eoEipIeicd  bis  task,  and  in 
November.  1S39.  Metcalfe  sent  a  coi*t  of  bis  report  to  the 
a^semblv.f  It  was  len<nhT.  but  concInsivrlT  demonstrated 
tLe  necessity  of  a  radical  change  in  the  existing  srstem. 
Very  little  time  was  lost  by  the  assembly  in  declaring  that 
it  bid  only  waited  for  this  document  Wfore  legislating  on 
the  subject.  Still  it  was  pleaded,  not  without  reason,  that 
want  of  funds  prevented  the  immediate  erection  of  a  peni- 
tentiary. In  the  mean  time  it  was  recommended  that  the 
numerous  convicts  under  sentence  of  transportation  should 
be  sent  either  to  Africa,  or  to  some  settlement  it  was  pro- 
posed to  establish  on  behalf  of  all  the  West  India  islands. 

But  for  the  tact  and  temper  of  Sir  Charles,  little  further 
progress  would  have  been  made  with  this  question.    He, 

*  "  Votes."  1842,  pp.  391, 392. 

t  Ibid.,  1840,  p.  14 ;   Speech  of  Sir  C.  Metcalfe,  Kaye's  "  Life  of 
Metcalfe."  J  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  261. 

5  Appendix  to  "  Votes,"  1839,  pp.  96-195. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   SIR  CHARLES   METCALFE.  409 

however,  made  good  use  of  some  discretionary  powers 
vested  in  him  by  a  bill  passed  at  the  close  of  the  session 
for  the  better  government  of  jails  and  houses  of  correction, 
and  by  using  different  prisons  for  the  same  description  of 
convicts,  some  kind  of  classification  was  secured.  When 
the  assembly  next  met,  he  reported  at  some  length  what  he 
had  done,  and  secured  a  vote  for  the  commencement  of  a 
penitentiary.  While  it  was  in  progress  a  temporary  estab- 
lishment was  set  up  at  the  Kingston  district  prison.  But 
exclusive  of  ^£25,000  voted  for  the  new  penitentiary,  the 
ordinary  prison  expenditure  was  enormous.  In  1841  it  cost 
i>44,000.  In  no  jail  was  the  cost  of  each  prisoner  less 
than  £42  per  annum,  and  in  one  it  mounted  up  to  £186.^ 

The  cost  of  courts  of  justice  and  of  jails  was  only  ex- 
ceeded by  that  of  the  established  church.  The  votes  for 
1841-42  on  this  account  were  only  a  little  short  of  ^£66,000. 
Of  this,  £22,930  was  appropriated  out  of  the  general  taxa- 
tion to  the  support  of  fifty-nine  clergymen,  and  £7480  for 
church  extension.  The  parochial  vestries,  however,  ex- 
pended £30,906  for  church  purposes,  and  £4603  for  what 
was  called  education.  These  liberal  grants  were  assisted 
by  £8100  more  from  the  English  government,  and  £3000 
from  the  Propagation  Society.  The  Church  Missionary 
Society  had  also  agents  in  the  colony. 

While  the  governor  was  guiding  the  legislature  to  some 
practical  action  on  the  prison  question,  and  in  the  face  of 
existing  extravagance  preparing  the  way  for  the  present 
economical  system  of  management,  he  was  equally  zealous 
in  effecting  ameliorations  in  the  penal  code.  The  prisons 
were  filled  with  people,  against  whom  sentence  of  death 
had  been  recorded  for  sheep  stealing,  larceny,  and  other 
offences.  It  was  never  intended  that  such  sentences  should 
be  carried  into  effect,  and  the  governor,  after  consultation 
with  the  judges,  either  commuted  the  punishment  to  trans- 

Eortation,  which  was  impossible,  or  to  imprisonment  for 
'om  six  months  to  three  years.  Thus  was  the  most  awful 
sentence  of  the  law  tampered  with.t  The  law  was  now 
changed,  and  the  sentence  of  death  only  passed  in  the  case 
of  offences  for  which  it  could  be  legally  inflicted  in  Eng- 
land,  while  the  punishment  of   whipping  was    entirely 

*  "Votes  "  1842  p.  160. 

t  Ibid.,  1889,  pp.  182-192 ;  Ibid.,  1840,  pp.  10, 11. 


410  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

aboliahed.*  The  police  were  a  tolerably  efficient  body, 
but  cost  upwards  of  a£40,000  per  annum,  while  some 
£16,000  was  expended  on  the  militia.  Allowances  were 
also  made,  as  in  former  years,  to  the  officers  of  English 
regiments  servmg  in  the  colony,  and  to  these  were  now 
added  those  in  command  of  negro  troops.  The  popularity 
of  Sir  W.  Gomm,  the  commander-in-chief,  no  doubt  secured 
this  act  of  justice  from  the  assembly. 

To  this  general,  in  connection  with  Metcalfe,  belongs  the 
credit  of  having  established  the  barracks  at  Newcastle  for 
European  troops.  The  fearful  mortality  among  these  men 
has  been  referred  to  again  and  again  in  these  pages,  but 
so  late  as  1840,  great  numbers  of  the  82nd  Begiment  were 
swept  away  by  a  terrible  visitation  of  yellow  fever.  Metcalfe, 
as  soon  as  possible,  on  his  own  personal  responsibility, 
caused  temporary  barracks  to  be  provided  on  the  hills. 
The  buildings  at  Newcastle,  beneath  the  shadow  of  Cathe- 
rine's Peak,  were  soon  after  erected ;  and  here,  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  the 
mortality  among  the  men  has  fallen  from  an  average  of 
140  out  of  1000  per  annum  to  from  22  to  23.  The  services 
of  General  Gomm  in  this  and  other  respects  were  gratefully 
acknowledged  by  the  assembly,  t 

While  these  and  other  reforms  were  in  progress,  a  better 
understanding  had  been  gradually  growing  up  between  the 
employers  and  the  peasantry,  though  enough  of  hostile 
feeUng  remained  to  create  anxiety.  Relatively,  the  peasantry 
were  the  most  prosperous  and  independent;  they  were  rapidly 
acquiring  small  freeholds  of  their  own ;  and  though  as  a  rule 
the  cottages  they  erected  were  little  better  than  those  they 
occupied  in  the  days  of  slavery,  they  felt  the  joyousness  of 
freedom,  and  in  many  cases  acquired  comforts  and  even 
luxuries  to  which  they  had  been  strangers  in  the  days  of 
bondage.  They  were  fast  becoming  quite  independent  of 
estate  labour,  and  consequently  only  worked  when  it  suited 
them,  for  others ;  and  as  their  own  grounds  required  atten- 
tion at  the  same  time  as  it  was  most  wanted  on  the  sugar 
estates,  the  planters  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  labour  when 
it  was  most  needed  for  the  safety  of  their  crops.  Had 
the  planters  at  the  time  of  emancipation  been  more  con- 
ciliatory, the  cry  for  labour  which  soon  followed  would  not 

*  "  Votes,''  1840,  pp.  867,  868.  f  Ibid.,  1842,  p.  428. 


ADMINISTBATION   OF   SIB  CHARLES   METCALFE.  411 

have  been  heard  to  the  same  degree ;  but  Metcalfe  was  not 
then  in  the  colony,  and  Sir  Lionel  Smith,  with  all  his  noble 
hatred  of  oppression,  was  too  much  of  a  partisan  and  too 
little  of  a  statesman  to  mediate  between  the  opposing 
classes. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  owners  of  broad  acres 
wonld  be  willing  to  see  them  he  waste;  and  thus,  as  in  all 
other  sugar  colonies,  except  those  densely  populated  like 
Barbadoes,  a  cry  for  emigration  was  raised.  In  Jamaica, 
no  less  than  £160,000  was  voted  for  the  purpose.  It  seems 
almost  incredible,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  attention 
was  turned  in  the  first  instance  to  Europe  as  the  source  of 
supply.  Some  years  before,  emigration  of  this  description 
had  been  attempted.  A  Mr.  Myers  had  brought  hundreds 
of  Germans  to  the  colony,  and  thousands  of  pounds  had 
been  spent,  and  many  lives  sacrificed,  to  say  nothing  of  a 
succession  of  miseries  truly  heartrending.  Considerable 
sums  had  also  been  paid  by  way  of  bonus  to  planters  and 
others  who  had  brought  out  labourers  for  their  own  pro- 
perties. But  now  more  treasure  must  be  wasted,  and  lives 
sacrificed,  before  the  legislature  and  the  planters  who 
elected  them  would  learn  that,  except  in  a  very  few  cases, 
the  European  constitution  cannot  endure  hard  outdoor 
labour  on  the  plains  of  Jamaica.  Yet  just  before  this  last 
scheme  was  decided  on,  certain  Scotch  settlers  at  Alta- 
mont,  brought  out  in  1837,  had  been  telling  their  simple 
but  suggestive  story  to  the  assembly.* 

The  interposition  of  Lord  John  Russell  prevented  any 
emigrants  being  brought  to  the  colony  under  indentures 
to  serve  for  any  longer  period  than  twelve  months.  Of 
course  the  contract  could  be  renewed,  and  no  doubt  would 
be  if  the  labourer  was  kindly  treated.t  Late  in  1840, 
seventy-one  emigrants  arrived  from  America,  and  in 
January,  1841,  three  hundred  and  twenty-two  came  from 
Stranraer,  in  Scotland.  A  month  later,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  arrived  from  Limerick,  but  they  were  brought 
away  with  difficulty,  for  O'Connell  denounced  the  emigra- 
tion scheme  with  all  his  vigour,  declaring  it  to  be  nothing 
else  but  a  system  of  white  slavery — a  new  wrong  inflicted 
upon  suffering  Ireland  by  the  Saxon  race.    The  ship,  while 

*  "  Votes,"  1889,  pp.  216,  216. 

t  Despatch,  printed  in  *'  Votes"  of  1840,  pp.  59-61. 


412  HISTORY   OP   JAMAICA. 

in  the  Irish  port,  was  guarded  night  and  day  by  the  police : 
only  one-third'  of  the  number  she  was  intended  to  carry 
Bailed  in  her,  and  no  steam-tug  would  venture  to  tow  her 
out  of  harbour.*  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  six  hundred 
other  emigrants  sailed  from  Aberdeen  and  London,  in 
addition  to  some  two  hundred  and  seventy  Africans,  in- 
cluding many  descendants  of  the  expatriated  Maroons  from 
Sierra  Leone.  A  list  of  the  names  of  aU  these  emigrants 
has  been  preserved,  t  but  comparatively  few  of  them  sur- 
vived :  exposure  and  intemperate  habits  swept  away  large 
numbers. 

Out  of  sixty-three  brought  by  one  ship  from  London, 
twenty-seven  were  sent  back  at  once,  in  consequence  of  the 
loud  complaints  they  made  of  the  deception  which  had 
been  practised  upon  them.  Those  who  were  induced  to 
come  by  the  Jamaica  emigration  agents  appear  to  have 
had  no  reaso^nable  cause  for  complaint  on  this  score ;  but 
an  association  called  the  ''  West  Indian  Emigration  So- 
ciety "  had  sprung  into  existence  in  England,  and  made  a 
traffic  of  the  business.  I 

Those  who  were  landed  at  Eangston,  and  located  for  a 
time  at  Admirals  Perm,  near  the  city,  were  far  less  healthy 
than  those  removed  at  once  to  the  mountains.  But,  as 
Mr.  Barclay  pointed  out,  the  emigrants  most  likely  to 
serve  the  required  purpose  would  be  found  on  the  coast  of 
Africa.  Yet  how  to  encourage  free  emigration  from  the 
coast  of  Africa,  and  yet  not  foster  the  slave-trade,  is  a 
problem  English  statesmen  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
solve.  Hopes  were  at  this  time  held  out  that  captured 
Africans  from  slave  ships  would  be  sent  to  the  colony,  and 
an  official  estimate  of  the  cost  of  erecting  buildings  at 
Lime  Cay,  opposite  Kingston,  to  receive  them  on  first 
landing,  was  laid  before  the  assembly.  § 

In  addition  to  the  larger  bodies  of  emigrants  above 
aUuded  to,  some  three  hundred  others  were  brought  from 
Great  Britain  by  individual  residents ;  but  though  these 
were  imported  simply  to  fui-ther  their  employers'  interests, 
their  passage-money  was  paid  from  the  Jamaica  exchequer. 
For  example,  a  clergyman  brought  out  two  young  girls  as 
domestic  servants  in  his  family,  and  received  ^20  as  the 

*  "  Votes,"  1841,  appendix,  pp.  67-76.         f  Ibid.,  1841,  pp.  l-2a 
t  Ibid.,  1841,  pp.  80-109.  §  "Votes,"  1841,  pp.  148-146. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   SIB   CHABLES   METCALFE.  418 

cost  of  their  passage !  This  was  no  exceptional  case.  The 
principle  of  this  emigration  scheme  was  that  of  importing 
labourers  and  servants  for  the  few  at  the  cost  of  the 
entire  family.  It  was  argued  that  the  whole  colony  pro- 
fitedbytheWriment.    V 

During  this  and  the  succeeding  government  the  planters 
were  not  so  indifferent  as  many  supposed  to  the  improve- 
ment of  their  estates  and  the  introduction  of  machinery. 
A  Mr.  Lockhart  received  a  liberal  reward  for  improvements 
he  introduced,  while  suggestions  of  a  practical  character 
from  other  quarters  were  acted  upon.  Agricultural  societies 
were  formed  in  several  parishes,  and  encouraged  by  the 
governor  and  other  leading  inhabitants.  Premiums  were 
also  offered  by  the  assembly  for  the  cultivation  of  indigo, 
cocoa,  divi-divi,  silk,  cotton,  and  tea.  a£300  was  the  sum 
to  be  given  for  the  production  of  600  lbs.  of  the  latter,  in 
the  colony.*  An  attempt  to  grow  cotton  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Kingston  seemed  for  a  time  to  afford  much  promise 
of  success.  Ten  thousand  pounds  weight  was  in  one  year 
obtained  by  Mr.  Gourgues  from  ten  acres :  twenty-eight 
thousand  shrubs  were  planted,  t  The  experiment  ultimately 
failed. 

Silk  for  a  time  seemed  to  afford  greater  promise  of  suc- 
cess. A  company  was  formed,  and  commenced  operations 
in  St.  Anns,  upon  a  property  to  which  the  name  of  Metcalfe 
was  given.  One  hundred  and  thirty  acres  were  planted 
with  mulberry  trees,  which  flourished  luxuriantly  For 
several  successive  generations  worms  were  produced  in  a 
cocoonery,  erected  at  great  expense.  Other  buildings  and 
the  necessary  machinery  were  erected,  and  it  was  hoped 
that  many  hundred  persons  unfit  for  estate  labour  would 
here  find  suitable  employment.  When  a  few  samples  of 
silk  had  been  produced,  £20,000  had  been  expended.  Appli- 
cation was  then  made  to  the  assembly  for  a  loan  of  £3000 
to  carry  on  the  works.  This  was  granted,  t  but  the  ex- 
periment ultimately  failed. 

Attention  was  once  more  given  to  the  copper  mines  scat- 
tered about  the  colony,  but  with  no  remunerative  success. 
An  abortive  attempt  was  also  made  to  produce  tobacco  on  a 

*  "  Votes/'  1840,  pp.  17-854. 

+  Ibid.,  1841,  pp.  70,  71 ;  Ibid,  1842,  pp.  65-275. 

;  Ibid.,  1841,  pp.  48-142,  166,  287,  289,  293,  411. 


414  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

large  scale.  The  miserable  state  of  the  main  and  parochial 
roads  was  a  great  drawback  to  any  great  development  of 
the  undoubted  resources  of  the  colony.  Metcalfe  thought, 
not  without  justice,  that  the  sums  voted  for  these  purposes 
might  be  far  more  usefully  spent  than  they  had  been. 

Without  the  colony,  an  undertaking  was  commenced 
which  contributed  greatly  to  its  prosperity.  The  old  line 
of  packet  brigs  was  displaced  by  the  splendid  steamers  of 
the  Boyal  Mail  Company.  This  not  only  effected  desirable 
improvements  in  the  postal  service,  but  was  a  great  ac- 
commodation to  travellers,  and  also  tended  to  elevate  the 
general  tone  of  society,  by  the  freer  communication  thus 
established  with  England  and  other  European  colonies. 
No  good  is  unmixed  with  some  evil,  and  in  one  respect  the 
trade  of  Kingston  suffered  loss  by  the  change.  It  was 
now  easy  for  the  Spanish  American  merchants  to  visit 
European  markets  and  make  their  purchases.  Formerly 
Kingston  had  been  a  great  emporium  for  trade  with  the 
republics  around  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  even  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama. 

The  streets  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  had  once  been 
frequented  by  these  foreign  visitors  going  from  store  to 
store,  followed  by  servants  bearing  treasure  on  their  heads; 
but  many  valuable  stores  at  the  west-end  of  Harbour  Street 
and  Port  Royal  Street  were  speedily  deserted,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  decay  of  this  lucrative  branch  of  colonial 
trade,  and  grass  grew  in  what  had  once  been  the  most 
thriving  portion  of  the  city.  The  improved  condition  of 
the  working  classes  afforded  some  compensation  in  the 
increasing  internal  trade  of  the  island,  and  the  demand 
for  retail  establishments,  which  have  continued  to  increase 
in  importance  and  number. 

In  1841,  the  value  of  British  manufactured  goods  re- 
exported from  the  island  was  only  £220,030,  as  compared 
with  £392,694  in  the  former  year.  Under  the  old  slave 
system,  banking  business  had  been  transacted  through  the 
medium  of  large  mercantile  houses,  but  the  growth  of 
joint-stock  banks  in  England  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
Colonial  Bank  in  1837.  The  success  of  the  Jamaica  branch 
led  to  the  establishment  of  two  local  institutions  —  the 
Jamaica  Bank  and  the  Planters'  Bank.  In  1839  it  was 
thought   desirable   by  the  legislature  to  pass  some  laws 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   SIB  OHABLES   METCALFE.  415 

restricting  banking  operations  in  the  colony.  This  action 
was  prompted  by  a  communication  from  the  Colonial  Bank, 
showing  that  in  June,  1838,  the  Jamaica  Bank,  with  a 
capital  of  only  £56,000  currency,  had  notes  in  circulation 
to  the  amount  of  £269,000,  besides  other  liabilities.  By 
April,  in  the  following  year,  these  notes  amounted  to 
£318,000.  To  add  to  the  peril,  it  was  found  that  though 
at  first  the  notes  issued  bore  the  signatures  of  several 
persons  of  considerable  wealth,  the  late  issues  were  simply 
signed  by  the  manager  and  cashier,  although  the  bank 
had  no  charter  of  incorporation.  Moreover,  these  notes 
were  not  redeemable  in  specie,  but  might  be  paid  by  island 
cheques— one  kind  of  paper,  in  other  words,  being  sub- 
stituted for  another. 

Though  this  subject  first  engaged  attention  when  Sir 
Lionel  Smith  was  in  the  island,  the  changes  recommended 
could  not  be  carried  out  for  some  time.  A  committee  of 
the  council,  with  Sir  Lionel  at  its  head,  strongly  urged  the 
importance  of  all  notes,  whether  issued  by  banks  or  by 
the  island  treasury,  being  redeemable  in  silver.  This  de- 
sirable change  was  gradually  effected.  A  part  of  the 
treasury  notes  were  exchanged  for  certificates,  bearing 
interest,  and  thus  some  paper  money  of  questionable 
character  was  withdrawn  from  circulation.  Other  banking 
operations  were  so  arranged  as  to  afford  the  security  which 
before  had  been  wanting,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of 
silver  money  was  imported,  to  supply  a  long  felt  want. 
The  absence  of  such  coinage  is  the  only  excuse  that  can  be 
offered  for  such  a  disproportionate  supply  of  paper  money. 
So  great  had  been  the  scarcity  of  sUver,  that  6  to  6^  per 
cent,  premium  was  commonly  paid  by  the  planters  for  it, 
when  required  for  the  payment  of  wages.*  The  improved 
system  of  keeping  accounts  in  sterling  money,  as  in 
England,  instead  of  in  currency  of  twelve  shillings  ster- 
ling to  the  pound,  was  at  this  time  introduced. 

Serious  and  well-substantiated  complaints  were  made, 
about  the  same  time,  of  the  manner  in  which  the  cor- 
poration of  Kingston  discharged  its  functions.  There  were 
those  who  urged,  not  without  reason,  that  the  Act  of  1801 
should  be  repealed,  and  the  management  of  affairs  be 
entrusted  to  the  magistrates  and  elected  vestrymen,  as  in 

*  "  Votes,"  1839,  pp.  224-226. 


418  mSTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

freely  and  cordially,  each  according  to  his  means,  for  the 
benefit  of  those  in  less  fortnnate  circumstances,  who  tread 
the  thorny  paths  of  life  and  need  assistance.  No  purpose 
can  be  conceived  having  stronger  demands  on  onr  best 
exertions,  than  that  on  which  the  pious  ministers  of 
Christianity  in  this  island  unceasingly  labour — the  intel- 
lectual, moral,  and  religious  instruction  of  the  great  mass 
of  its  inhabitants,  who  were  formerly  in  the  chains  of 
mental  as  well  as  bodily  bondage."  . 

The  subsequent  career  of  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  does  not 
belong  to  these  pages.  It  was  watched  with  deep  interest 
by  multitudes  in  the  island,  and  his  death  was  generally 
deplored. 


CHAPTER  m. 

FROM  THE  BETIBEMENT  OF  SIB  CHARLES  METCALFE  TO  THAT 

OF  Sm  CHARLES  ORBY. 

Major-General  Sir  William  Gomm  acted  as  lieutenant- 
governor  until  May,  1842,  when  the  Earl  of  Elgin  arrived. 
His  predecessor  had  happily  succeeded  in  healing  the 
dissensions  which  bad  troubled  the  colony,  and  in  restoring 
as  near  an  approach  to  harmony  between  different  classes 
as  was  possible  in  so  short  an  interval  from  the  days  of 
slavery,  especially  in  a  community  where  caste  prejudices 
were  so  strong.  To  Lord  Elgin  belongs  the  distinguished 
honour  of  endeavouring  to  improve  the  social  condition  of 
the  colony,  and  of  developing  its  varied  industrial  resources. 
He  anticipated  the  coming  struggle  on  differential  duties. 
The  cry  for  cheap  sugar  had  now  commenced,  and  though 
earnest  and  true-hearted  philanthropists  had  succeeded  in 
obtaining  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves,  they  were  power- 
less to  prevent  the  introduction  of  that  policy  by  which  the 
produce  of  slaveholding  colonies  was  introduced  at  length 
mto  Great  Britain  on  the  same  terms  as  that  from  her 
own  free  possessions.  The  struggle  between  the  friends  of 
the  slave  and  the  advocates  of  free  trade  with  slave  colonies 
was  intense;  and  though  conscientious  men  were  found 


LORD  Elgin's  government.  419 

who  were  resolved  never  to  use  sugar  which  was  the  pro- 
duce of  slave  labour,  they  were  too  few  to  resist  the  general 
demand. 

The  demand  for  sugar  and  coffee  was  greatly  on  the 
increase,  while  the  supply  from  the  free  colonies  was 
declining.  For  the  four  years  (1805  to  1808)  before  the 
abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  the  exports  from  Jamaica  had 
averaged  rather  more  than  141,000  hogsheads  of  sugar. 
For  the  four  years  before  emancipation,  the  average  was 
91,000  hogsheads.  During  the  apprenticeship  it  was 
69,000  hogsheads ;  while  from  1839  to  1842,  the  produce 
feU  to  a  little  less  than  42,000  per  annum. 

Admitting  the  force  of  much  that  has  been  said  of  the 
blind  prejudices  of  planters  trained  amid  the  influences 
of  slavery,  and  of  the  palpable  folly  which  characterised  the 
conduct  of  many  towards  the  emancipated  peasantry,  it 
must  be  obvious  that  in  a  country  like  Jamaica,  with 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  a6res  of  land  to  be  purchased  for 
a  mere  trifle,  and  with  materials  on  every  hand  to  erect 
cottages  suited  to  the  requirements  of  uneducated  negroes, 
it  was  useless  to  expect  that  amount  of  continuous  labour 
on  estates  which,  in  slave  colonies,  could  be  extorted  by  the 
coercion  of  the  whip.  That  free  labour  is  as  cheap  as  that 
of  slaves,  may  be  conceded,  but  men  will  not  work  for 
others  when  they  can  turn  to  equal  or  better  advantage  a 
freehold  of  their  own. 

The  Earl  of  Elgin  saw  very  clearly  that  whatever  depres- 
sion affected  the  sugar  market,  there  was  hope  for  the 
colony  in  its  capability  of  producing  so  many  other  things 
besides  sugar  and  rum.  To  the  development  of  these 
resources,  the  improvement  of  roads,  and  the  introduction 
of  machinery,  he  directed  the  attention  of  the  legislature 
at  his  first  meeting.  The  planting  interest,  by  which  term 
in  Jamaica  the  large  sugar  planters  is  usually  meant,  had 
no  reason  to  complain  that  it  was  ignored.  It  was  still  the 
most  powerful  in  the  assembly,  though  other  classes  of  the 
community  were  more  fully  represented  than  formerly;  and 
this  power  was  again  exercised  to  obtain  fresh  supplies  of 
imported  labour  at  the  expense  of  the  general  revenues. 

Of  late  years,  under  the  more  immediate  control  of  the 
imperial  government,  coolie  emigration  has,  in  some 
instances,  been  made  conducive  not  only  to  the  general 

28* 


420  raSTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

prosperity  of  the  sugar  colonies,  but  to  those  of  the  coolies ; 
but  the  first  attempt  to  employ  such  immigrants  under  Lord 
Elgin's  government  was  as  miserable  a  failure  as  the 
attempts  which  have  been  related  in  former  years.  From 
a  return  laid  before  the  assembly,  it  appears  that  £128,000 
had  been  spent  over  immigration  up  to  the  end  of  September, 
1844.  For  this,  2686  immigrants  had  been  introduced  from 
Great  Britain,  1038  from  Germany,  and  about  two  thousand 
Africans  from  Sierra  Leone,  St.  Helena,  and  America.* 
A  loan  of  ^£45,000  was  now  voted  to  import  coolies.  +  The 
first  lot  brought  to  the  island  were  the  sweepings  of  the 
streets  of  Madras ;  they  had  no  knowledge  of  agriculture 
whatever,  and  little  inclination  for  labour  of  any  kind. 
Yet  in  October,  1845,  Mr.  Darling,  the  immigration  agent, 
reported  that  he  had  applications  for  eight  thousand  oJf 
them.t  More,  it  was  declared,  would  be  applied  for,  if 
there  was  any  chance  of  obtaining  them. 

The  legislature  of  1843  assembled  in  October,  under 
somewhat  gloomy  circumstances.  Earthquakes  had  deso- 
lated some  of  the  West  Lidian  islands,  and  though  Jamaica 
had  escaped,  its  principal  town  had  been  greatly  injured  by 
fire.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-four  houses  had  been  utterly 
destroyed,  and  more  than  one  hundred  others  partially 
burnt  or  pulled  down,  while  some  had  been  blown  up  by  the 
soldiers  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  flames.  Public  buildings, 
together  with  the  valuable  stores  and  wharves,  escaped 
injury,  and  the  total  loss  did  not  exceed  £94,000.  The 
poverty  and  misery  occasioned  was  very  great ;  indeed,  many 
respectable  but  struggling  families  never  recovered  them- 
selves. A  vote  of  £5000  from  the  assembly,  £1000  from 
that  of  Barbadoes,  and  some  £5000  or  £6000  from  private 
subscriptions,  was  some  assistance  to  the  sufferers ;  but 
very  few  were  insured,  the  unreasonably  heavy  premiums 
demanded  by  insurance  companies  being  a  sad  hindrance 
to  the  general  exercise  of  this  provident  precaution.  § 

The  crops  had  not  been  good,  owing  to  drought,  and  it 
was  admitted  by  Lord  Elgin,  in  his  opening  address  to  the 
assembly,  that  capital  was  not  yielding  a  fair  return 
where  invested  in  agricultural  pursuits.     The  plans  for  the 

*  "  Votes,"  1842,  pp.  43,  44.     f  H^id.,  1844     |  Ibid.,  1845,  p.  89. 
§  The  rate  now  demanded  for  most  houses  in  the  town  is  508.  per 
cent,  per  annum. 


LORD  ELGIN'S  GOVERNMENT.  421 

penitentiary  and  lunatic  asylum  were  making  more  pro- 
gress than  anything  else  to  which  the  governor  alluded  in 
his  speech.  The  taxation  of  the  colony  was  very  burden- 
some, exceeding  as  it  did  half  a  million  per  annum.  Any 
comparison  with  the  amounts  then  apparently  raised  an? 
the  present  time  would  be  deceptive,  from  the  fact  that  the 
parochial  vestries  had  power  to  raise  money  by  local 
rates:  thus,  in.  1844,  £390,000  was  raised  by  the  authority 
of  the  assembly,  and  £118,000  by  that  of  the  vestries. 
The  manner  in  which  these  taxes  were  assessed  was  very 
oppressive.  Hereditaments  which  .were  valued  at  thirteen 
million  sterling  were  estimated  at  an  annual  value  of  six 
per  cent. ;  but  on  this  valuation  the  rate  of  taxation  varied 
from  one  to  three  shillings  in  the  pound  in  country 
districts,  and  was  four  shillings  and  sixpence  in  Kingston. 
Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  parochial  income  came  from  this 
source.  The  balance  was  made  up  from  taxes  on  horses, 
homed  stock,  asses,  wheels,  dogs,  &c.  In  Kingston  there 
was  a  tax  for  church  and  poor,  realising  from  £4000  to 
£6000  per  annum.  It  seems  to  have  been  levied  more  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  corporation  than  on  any  fixed  equitable 
principle.  The  parochial  taxes  in  that  city  amounted  in 
all  to  upwards  of  £20,000  a  year,  and  there  was  a  debt  of 
nearly  £25,000.  The  leading  merchants  and  wealthy  men 
in  the  city  were  content  quietly  to  surrender  the  control 
of  the  public  moneys  and  the  conservation  of  the  peace  to 
a  clique  of  persons  for  the  most  part  totally  unworthy  of 
the  trust  reposed  in  them.  The  streets,  with  all  this  lavish 
outlay,  were  so  neglected  as  to  be  dangerous  to  the  life  and 
limbs  of  those  who  walked  in  them  after  nightfall;  and 
there  was  not  a  public  building  in  the  whole  city  worthy 
of  the  name.  The  wonder  is,  not  that  the  long-suflfering 
inhabitants  now  and  then  petitioned  for  the  abolition  of 
the  jobbing  corporation,  but  that  their  protests  were 
couched  in  such  mild  language. 

The  revenue  generally  was  raised  to  a  far  greater  extent 
than  now  by  direct  taxation,  the  total  of  the  import 
duties  being  far  less  than  in  later  years :  in  1842  they  only 
amounted  to  £69,000.  During  the  same  year  a  most 
objectionable  plan  was  adopted  to  provide  for  the  repairs 
of  roads  and  bridges :  this  was  no  other  than  a  capitation 
tax  on  all  inhabitants  of  the  island.     Its  adoption  elicited 


422  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

the  strong  animadversions  of  Lord  Stanley,  *  and  it  was 
soon  abandoned. 

The  importance  of  railways  engaged  much  attention. 
One  from  Kingston  to  Spanish  Town  was  completed  and 
opened,  but  other  projects  of  railways  around  and  across 
the  island  were  not  carried  out,  though  in  some  cases  bills 
were  passed  giving  the  necessary  powers.  The  Kingston 
Water  Works  proved  a  successful  undertaking,  but  a  num- 
ber of  other  projects  for  the  development  of  the  internal 
resources  of  the  island,  though  freely  ventilated  and  ably 
sustained  in  some  quarters,  were  abandoned  in  despair 
when  the  bill  equalising  the  duties  on  sugar  from  slave 
colonies  with  those  of^  British  &ee  colonies  passed  the 
imperial  parliament  in  1846.  Many  who  till  then  had 
been  hopeful,  now  felt  that  the  fate  of  the  colony  was 
sealed. 

All  that  wise  patronage  and  judicious  advice  could  effect 
to  stimulate  and  encourage  the  colonists,  was  done  by  the 
governor.  Prizes  were  offered  for  the  best  essay  on  the 
cultivation  of  the  sugar  cane,  and  for  another  on  industrial 
schools.  Local  agricultural  societies  were  supplemented 
and  fostered  by  the  establishment  under  royal  patronage 
of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society.  Intelligent  men  of  all 
classes  were  connected  with  it  or  its  branch  associations, 
and  communication  was  opened  up  with  similar  associa- 
tions in  Great  Britain,  America,  and  elsewhere.  As  the 
result  of  these  efforts,  a  variety  of  improvements  were 
introduced  in  modes  of  cultivation,  machinery,  &c.;  and 
new  breeds  of  cattle  introduced.!  Proposals  then  made 
by  Lord  Elgin  to  establish  central  sugar  factories  for 
several  estates  were  not  seriously  entertained ;  yet  surely 
the  day  wUl  come  when  each  estate  will  no  longer  keep  up 
its  separate  sugar  mill  and  distillery,  except  in  isolated 
cases.  On  the  plains,  with  good  roads,  there  seems  to 
be  no  reason  why  one  central  manufactory,  provided  with 
the  best  appliances,  should  not  manufacture  the  sugar  and 
rum  produced  on  the  fields  of  several  estates.  Such 
factories,  conducted  on  equitable  principles,  ought  in  many 
districts  to  be  invaluable  to  small  settlers,  who  now  keep 

*  Despatch,  printed  in  "  Votes,"  1843,  pp.  47,  497. 
+  Dr.  Stewart's  Reports,  &o.;  "Votes,"  1845,  pp.  888;  Reports  of 
Royal  Agricultural  Society. 


LORD  Elgin's  government.  428 

their  little,  but  comparatively  costly,  sugar  mills  idle 
during  the  great  part  of  the  year,  and  make  very  little 
profit  from  that  which  in  larger  estates  is  converted  into 
rum. 

In  consequence  of  the  general  spirit  of  enterprise  called 
forth  by  the  governor's  example,  Mr.  Edward  McGeachy, 
the  crown  surveyor,  produced  his  valuable  pamphlet  on 
irrigation.*  Plans  similar  to  those  he  recommended  are 
now  engaging  the  attention  of  government. 

Societies  of  a  social  and  benevolent  character,  unknown 
in  the  days  of  slavery,  began  to  spring  into  existence;  A 
mutual  life  assurance  society  was  formed,  and  has  con- 
tinued to  prosper.  Dispensaries  were  established,  but  have 
not  proved  so  successful.  Friendly  societies  among  the 
working  classes  were  more  efficiently  supported,  and  their 
success  seems  to  prove  that  men  of  African  origin  are  not 
so  devoid  of  the  power  of  co-operating  for  their  mutual 
benefit  as  many  have  asserted. 

Under  the  eflScient  superintendence  of  Mr.  Daughtrey, 
the  system  of  prison  discipline  was  greatly  improved,  and 
any  adaptation  of  existing  buildings  being  impossible,  the 
foundation  stone  of  the  present  penitentiary  was  laid  in 
February,  1845,  by  the  Earl  of  Elgin.  Several  other 
colonial  governors  were  present  at  the  ceremony,  having 
come  to  Jamaica  to  discuss  the  feasibility  of  establishing 
a  convict  settlement  for  all  the  West  Indian  islands,  a  pro- 
ject which  was,  however,  ultimately  abandoned,  as  it  was 
surrounded  by  insuperable  difficulties.t  The  penitentiary 
has  gradually  become  less  burdensome  to  the  public 
through  the  labours  of  the  prisoners,  and  is  still  so  to  a 
very  creditable  extent.  The  public  hospital  during  this 
administration  was'  enlarged  and  improved,  but  radical 
reforms  greatly  needed  were  deferred  for  many  years  later. 
Attention  was  also  called  to  the  wretched  condition  and 
treatment  of  lunatics,  and  a  spacious  and  costly  building 
commenced  for  their  reception,  though  not  completed  and 
occupied  for  nearly  twenty  years  later. 

Some  of  the  most  able  lawyers  in  the  colony  were  labo- 
riously employed  in  the  consolidation  of  the  laws  during 
this  period.     Another  commission,  first  appointed  in  1843, 

*  PubliBhed  by  De  Cordova,  Kingston,  1846. 

f  "Votes,"  1845  pp.  8-9  ;  Prison  Reports  of  same  year. 


424  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

was  also  discharging  the  duty  of  inquiring  into  the  extent 
and  management  of  the  different  charities  of  the  island, 
and  quietly  preparing  the  way  for  some  wholesome  reforms. 
Many  painful  facts  were  brought  to  light  relative  to  the 
culpable  alienation  of  benevolent  bequests  from  their  in- 
tended purpose  ;  and  other  facts,  equally  discreditable,  in 
reference  to  the  mode  in  which  existing  charities  were 
managed. 

Dickenson's  charity  was  a  sad  illustration  of  the  first- 
named  form  of  neglect,  and  the  Vere  school  of  the  second. 
The  valuable  and  comprehensive  reports  of  the  commis- 
sioners are  preserved  in  the  votes  of  the  house  of  assembly 
from  1843  to  1847,  and  supply  all  the  information  that  can 
be  desired  on  this  subject  up  to  the  later  date.  Some 
£60,000  was  found  to  the  credit  of  the  different  charities 
in  the  treasury.  On  this  different  rates  of  interest,  averaging 
about  eight  per  cent.,  were  paid.  Yet  an  expenditure  of 
£4600  per  annum  only  secured  the  education,  such  as  it 
was,  of  1016  children,  of  whom  only  thirty-eight  were 
boarded.  Over  five  hundred  were  at  Woolmer's  school  in 
Kingston,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Reid,  whose  arrival  in  the 
year  1800  had  so  terrified  the  assembly.  In  this  establish- 
ment the  cost  of  education  was  under  thirty  shillings  a 
head,  and  its  character  seems  to  have  been  in  advaxice  of 
any  endowed  school  in  the  island.  When  Messrs.  Sturge 
and  Harvey^  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  visited  the  island, 
they  pronounced  it  to  be  the  best  of  any  school  they  had 
seen  in  the  West  Indies  at  that  time. 

The  grants  which  the  imperial  government  had  for  some 
years  made  for  the  education  of  the  emancipated  peasantry 
had  now  ceased.  The  parochial  vestries  sustained  a  few 
schools,  chiefly  distinguished  as  being  the  most  expensive 
and  least  efficient  of  any  in  the  colony.  As  the  colonial  office 
pressed  the  matter  of  education  upon  the  attention  of  the 
legislature,  a  return  was  sought  of  all  schools  in  the  island, 
and  special  information  was  solicited  respecting  any  of  an 
industrial  character.  As  the  custodes  of  the  parishes  were 
asked  to  provide  these  returns,  they  were  most  imperfect, 
and  in  the  crude  form  in  which  they  were  laid  before  the 
assembly  could  have  been  of  little  value.  The  legislators 
cared  very  little  about  the  matter :  if  any  planter  interested 
himself  in  education,  it  was  in  that  of  an  industrial  character. 


LOBD  Elgin's  government.  426 

Mr.  Niven,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  saw  through  the  hoUow- 
ness  of  this  new-bom  educational  zeal,  and  indiscreetly, 
though  not  perhaps  untruthfully,  said  the  proposer  of  the 
scheme  was  more  fit  to  be  in  school  himself  than  in  the 
house  of  assembly.  This  was  pronounced  a  breach  of 
privilege,  and  the  offender  was  ordered  into  custody. 

At  the  close  of  1843  an  Act  was  passed,  forming  an  edu- 
cational board,  and  £1000  voted  for  educational  purposes. 
The  dole  was  ridiculous :  forty  Wesleyan  and  six  Presby- 
terian schools  were  aided  to  the  extent  of  about  £5  each 
on  an  average.  Only  one  Baptist  and  one  Congregational 
school  applied.  The  bulk  of  course  went  to  the  Establish- 
ment. Next  year  the  grant  was  increased  to  £2000.  This 
latter  amount  is  little  below  the  average  of  all  the  annual 
grants  for  education  voted  by  the  assembly  from  this  time 
until  its  abolition  in  1865. 

While  the  purse  strings  were  being  slowly  unloosed  for 
education,  loud  complaints  were  not  unreasonably  made  in 
many  quarters  relative  to  the  lavish  expenditure  on  other 
matters.  Grave  reasons  were  urged  against  the  immigration 
schemes  of  the  day,  and  others  even  more  cogent  against 
the  heavy  grants  for  ecclesiastical  purposes,  all  the  more 
grievous  because  the  largest  proportion  of  the  people  at- 
tended nonconforming  places  of  worship. 

Dark  days  in  colonial  history  were  clearly  looming  when 
the  Earl  of  Elgin  retired  from  the  colony.  His  sojourn 
had  been  clouded  by  a  painful  domestic  affliction.  The 
countess,  who  had  endeared  herself  to  all  who  had  the 
privilege  of  personal  friendship,  died,  and  was  buried  in 
Spanish  Town  cathedral,  where  a  chaste  monument  ordered 
by  the  house  of  assembly  testifies  to  her  worth.  Amid  the 
intricacies  of  Indian  politics  the  earl  subsequently  gained 
renown  as  governor-general,  but  Jamaica  was  destined  to 
become  a  scene  of  social  disorder  and  of  political  and 
public  bankruptcy. 

During  this  administration  a  census  of  the  island  was 
taken.  There  is  good  reason  to  doubt  its  correctness,  but 
according  to  the  published  returns  there  were,  on  the  3rd  of 
June,  1844,  377,433  persons  in  the  island,  who  were  more 
minutely  described  in  the  following  table  : — 


426  HISTOBT    OF   JAMAICA. 


MALES. 

FEMAIiBS. 

TOTAL. 

Whites 

Coloured  ... 
Black   

...      9,289 
...    81,646 
...  140,688 

6,487 

86,883 

152,530 

16,776 

68,529 

293,128 

Total...  877,433 

On  the  retirement  of  Earl  Elgiu  the  government  devolved 
on  Major-General  Berkeley,  then  in  command  of  the  troops. 
It  was  soon  announced  that  Sir  Charles  Grey  had  been 
nominated  by  the  colonial  office,  and  in  expectation  of  his 
arrival,  the  lieutenant-governor  delayed  calling  the  as- 
sembly together  imtil  some  weeks  after  the  usual  time. 
When  further  delay  became  impossible,  and  the  legislative 
bodies  met,  Berkeley  carefully  refrained,  in  his  brief  opening 
remarks,  from  any  allusion  to  the  affairs  of  the  colony, 
confining  himself  to  the  mere  welcome  of  the  legislative 
bodies. 

But  the  long  dreaded  blow  had  been  struck  by  the 
imperial  parliament.  The  equalisation  of  sugar  duties  was 
one  of  the  first  measures  of  Lord  BusselFs  ministry,  and  was 
carried  into  effect  by  the  Act  passed  in  August,  1846.  The 
object  aimed  at  was  at  once  to  reduce,  and  ultimately  to 
abolish,  all  differential  duties  on  foreign  sugars  as  compared 
with  those  of  British  colonial  production ;  in  other  words,  to 
admit  slave-grown  sugar  into  the  market  on  the  same  con- 
ditions as  that  which  was  the  product  of  free  labour.  The 
question  had  been  fiercely  debated,  not  only  in  parliament, 
but  at  public  meetings.  West  Indian  protectionists  and 
determined  abolitionists  were  imited  in  their  protest  against 
the  project.  Some  of  the  latter  thought  that  free  labour 
might  compete  successfully  with  that  of  slaves,  but  they 
were  few  in  number,  and  exposed  themselves  to  the  censure 
of  their  former  friends  by  the  expression  of  their  senti- 
ments. 

Earl  Grey,  in  his  '*  Colonial  Policy,"  has  entered  fully 
into  the  reasons  which,  in  his  judgment,  rendered  the 
change  desirable.  Under  a  system  of  monopoly  the  planters 
invariably  complained  of  their  position,  and  declared  that 
their  capital  never  yielded  a  fair  return.  Earl  Grey  thought 
that  too  high  a  price  was  paid  for  labour ;  he  asserted  that 
the  more  a  negro  earned  the  less  he  worked,  and  that  in 


Sm  OHABLES  GBET's  OOYERNBfENT.  427 

conseqnenoe,  the  dearer  labour  became,  the  less  was  the 
amount  of  production — precisely  the  same  assertion  as  in 
1873  is  made  of  the  Welsh  and  English  colliers.  In  British 
Guiana,  two  shillings  and  fourpence  was  paid  for  a  day  of 
six  hours ;  but  with  wages  more  proportionate  to  those  paid 
for  agricultural  labour  in  England,  this  statesman  thought 
that  free  colonies  could  compete  with  those  in  which  slavery 
still  existed. 

Parliament,  in  equalising  the  sugar  duties,  provided  for 
other  alterations  which  it  was  thought  would  benefit  the 
colonies.  The  free-trade  policy  of  the  day  threw  open 
colonial  ports  to  the  admission  of  foreign  goods  on  the 
same  terms  as  those  of  British  manufacture,  and  the  repeal 
of  the  navigation  laws  led  to  a  considerable  reduction  in 
freights.  Every  possible  effort  was  made  to  suppress  the 
slave  trade,  and  emigration  was  greatly  encouraged.  The 
policy  thus  inaugurated  was,  to  some  extent,  justified  by 
results.  The  quantity  of  sugar  imported  from  all  the  sugar 
colonies  increased  from  less  than  two  hundred  thousand 
tons,  in  1844,  to  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
tons  in  1851.  During  the  former  year,  British  sugar  cost, 
without  duty,  34s.  9d.  per  cwt.,  against  23s.  8d.  in  the  latter, 
while  no  marked  change  was  noted  in  the  price  of  that  sent 
from  Cuba.  Such  statistics  were  quoted  for  very  different 
purposes  by  the  free  trade  party  and  those  who  advocated 
protection ;  but  that  the  policy  of  the  government  ultimately 
led  to  greater  economy  in  the  cost  of  production,  is  unques- 
tionable. 

When  Major-General  Berkeley  reluctantly  met  the  as- 
sembled legislature  at  the  close  of  1846,  he  found  that  the 
greatest  excitement  and  indignation  prevailed  in  conse- 
quence of  these  free-trade  measures.  The  assembly  declared 
that  the  recent  policy  of  the  imperial  government  made  it 
impossible  longer  to  maintain  the  existing  institutions  of 
the  colony  on  their  old  footing,  and  thus  was  sounded  the 
key-note  of  a  struggle  as  bitter  and  disastrous  as  ever 
marked  the  financial  history  of  the  colony.  In  reply  to 
this  declaration,  the  lieutenant-governor  simply  expressed 
his  hope  that  such  a  conclusion  had  not  been  arrived  at 
without  a  deep  conviction  of  its  necessity,  and  that  some 
means  would  be  devised  of  maintaining  the  credit  of  the 
colony. 


428  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

Resolutions  were  then  passed  by  the  assembly,  in  accor- 
dance with  the  character  of  their  reply  to  the  governor's 
speech.  A  petition  to  the  queen  was  also  prepared,  in 
which  all  the  evils  which  had  fallen  on  Jamaica  were 
attributed  to  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  which  was 
the  first  blow  to  the  extending  commerce  of  the  island. 
The  recent  change  in  sugar  duties  was  declared  to  be  "a 
flagrant  violation  of  national  faith,  consistency,  and 
honour."  African  emigration,  and  a  measure  of  continued 
protection,  might  have  enabled  the  free  colonies  to  compete 
with  those  in  which  slavery  still  existed ;  but  now  it  was 
declared  that  the  chains  of  slavery  were  riveted,  and  the 
British  character  for  humanity  compromised.  The  house 
woimd  up  by  demanding  compensation  from  the  imperial 
parliament  for  the  loss  entailed  upon  the  colony  by  its 
recent  legislation.* 

The  next  step  was  to  send  a  message  to  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  stating  that,  owing  to  the  sugar  duty  bill,  the 
house  could  no  longer  defray  the  expense  of  coolie  emi- 
gration, and  requesting  that  it  might  immediately  be 
arrested,  even  though  forfeits  should  have  to  be  paid  to 
the  vessels  engaged  for  the  service.  This  hasty  decision 
occasioned  the  greatest  embarrassment  to  the  immigration 
department,  for  5000  coolies  had  been  ordered,  of  whom 
1850  had  arrived  early  in  the  year,  and  about  2000  more 
were  on  their  way  before  the  wishes  of  the  assembly  could 
be  carried  into  effect.t 

The  assembly  adjourned  a  week  before  Christmas.  On 
the  21st  of  December,  three  days  afterwards.  Sir  Charles 
Grey  arrived  as  governor.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable 
experience.  He  had  been  a  judge  in  India,  had  served  in 
Canada  as  a  commissioner  after  the  rebellion,  and  more 
recently  had  been  governor  of  Barbadoes.  His  talents 
were  respectable,  if  not  brilliant,  and  if  his  administration 
in  Jamaica  failed  to  gain  for  him  distinction,  it  should  be 
remembered  that  the  condition  of  the  colony  was  such  as 
to  perplex  the  most  astute  statesmen  of  the  age. 

On  the  16th  of  February,  1847,  Sir  Charles  met  the 
assembly.  The  courtesies  of  a  first  public  interview  were 
soon  followed  by  scenes  of  disorder  and  personal  animosity. 
A  party  known  as  determined  advocates  of  retrenchment 

*  "Votes,"  1846,  pp.  22-27.  f  Ibid.,  1846,  p.  181. 


SIR  CHARLES  GREY'S  GOVERNMENT.  429 

was  springing  into  existence,  and  though,  during  this 
session,  they  were  unable  to  overcome  the  opposition  of 
men  who  were  not  prepared  suddenly  to  alter  all  the  public 
institutions  of  the  colony,  they  gradually  secured  a  ma- 
jority in  the  house.  The  session  terminated  on  the  3rd  of 
April,  and  Sir  Charles  Grey,  in  his  closing  speech,  con- 
gratulated the  legislators  on  having  made  sufficient  pro- 
vision for  the  public  revenue  to  enable  him  to  dismiss  them, 
though  he  expressed  surprise  at  the  desponding  spirit  they 
exhibited.  But  the  struggle  which  was  to  involve  the  island 
in  bankruptcy  had  commenced.  A  bill  to  tax  the  salaries 
of  all  officials,  from  the  chief  justice  downward,  had  passed 
the  assembly,  but  had  been  rejected  by  the  council.  Still, 
a  reduction  of  a  fourth  was  made  in  the  police  expenditure, 
and  parochial  salaries,  to  the  extent  of  about  j620,000, 
were  taken  to  the  public  account,  to  relieve  the  direct 
taxation  so  much  complained  of  in  the  parishes.  This 
measure,  though  allowed  in  1848,  was  at  first  vetoed  by  the 
colonial  office,  for  reasons  which  betrayed  profound  igno- 
rance of  the  character  of  a  Jamaica  vestry  board. 

In  October,  1847,  the  legislative  bodies  were  again  as- 
sembled. The  course  initiated  by  the  advocates  of  re- 
trenchment had  been  sustained  by  public  meetings, 
convened  in  all  parts  of  the  colony ;  petitions  were  pouring 
in,  urging  the  assembly  to  reduce  the  public  expenditure, 
and  protesting  against  the  recent  policy  of  the  English 
government.  Some  of  the  petitioners  thought  that  African 
emigration  should  be  asked  for,  at  the  cost  of  the  English 
nation,  while  others  urged  the  repudiation  of  the  debt  of 
£200,000,  owing  to  the  imperial  treasury  by  the  colony. 
Sir  Charles  opened  the  proceedings  of  the  session  in  a 
speech  of  unusual  length.  He  suggested  that,  while  hon- 
ourable members  deplored  the  changes  in  imperial  policy, 
it  would  be  wise  to  limit  their  demands  to  what  they  might 
reasonably  expect  to  obtain,  and  not  waste  time  in  vain 
references  to  the  days  of  protection,  gone  beyond  recall. 

Yet  they  had  claims  on  the  imperial  government,  and 
though  he  had  no  instructions  to  promise  relief,  he  thought 
they  might  justly  ask  for  a  reduction  of  duty  on  their 
sugar,  especially  as  English  finances  were  improving.  The 
facts  by  which  he  supported  this  opinion  may  be  of  interest 
to  some  at  the  present  time.    In  August,  1844,  Muscovado 


430  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

sugar  averaged  328.  4^.  per  hundredweight  apart  from 
duty :  foreign  sugars  were  virtually  prohibited.  In  March, 
1845,  the  duty  on  sugar  from  British  colonies  was  reduced 
from  24s.  to  14s.  a  hundredweight,  and  that  from  foreign 
colonies,  where  slavery  did  not  exists  was  fixed  at  238.  4d., 
instead  of  the  former  prohibitory  rate.  In  August,  1846, 
foreign  sugars,  whether  slave  or  free  grown,  were  admitted 
at  the  same  rate,  namely,  21s.  a  hundredweight ;  but  this 
was  to  be  gradually  reduced,  until,  in  1851,  they  would 
r^ach  the  same  rate  of  duty  as  was  imposed  on  the  free- 
grown  produce  of  English  colonies. 

The  result  of  this  legislation  had  been  a  considerable  fall 
in  the  value  of  sugar.  In  August,  1844,  under  protective 
duty,  British  colonial  sugar  was  quoted  at  56s.  4^.,  of 
which  24s.  was  duty,  leaving  32s.  4^.  to  the  merchant. 
In  August,  1846,  the  price  was  39s.  5^d.,  of  which  148.  was 
paid  to  the  revenue,  leaving  25s.  5J<i.  only  as  the  price  for 
production,  &c. ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  selling  price  was  . 
16s.  lid.  less,  though  the  duty  was  only  reduced  lOs.  The 
idea  entertained  by  Sir  Charles  Grey,  that  these  facts 
justified  a  claim  for  a  further  reduction  of  duty  in  favour, 
of  English  colonial  produce,  would  have  been  feasible  if 
finance  was  the  only  consideration  involved.  But  the  demand 
for  sugar  was  increasing  daily,  and  not  only  refiners,  but 
those  who  consumed  it  in  its  raw  state,  wanted  it  at  the 
cheapest  possible  rate.  A  reduction  of  the  duty  on  British 
produce  would  not  have  been  acceptable  in  England  if  its 
only  design  had  been  to  protect  West  Indian  free  colonies : 
equalisation  of  duties,  so  as  to  secure  the  article  as  cheap 
as  possible,  was  what  was  required. 

A  few  honest,  consistent  men  would  not  admit  into  their 
dwellings  any  sugar  which  was  the  product  of  slave  labour; 
but  multitudes  would  shout  themselves  hoarse  in  applaud- 
ing an  orator  who  denounced  the  evils  of  slavery,  and  yet 
would  not  give  three  farthings  a  pound  more  for  their  sugar, 
that  a  differential  duty  of  seven  shillings  a  hundredweight 
might  be  imposed  on  the  slave-grown  article. 

The  effort  to  retain  protection  was  defeated  by  parliament 
in  1848.  K  it  was  wrong  to  admit  slave-grown  sugar  it  was 
equally  wrong  to  admit  slave-grown  cotton ;  but  had  the 
latter  been  prohibited,  what  would  have  become  of  the  in- 
dustries of  Lancashire  ?    Happily,  the  result  has  proved 


BIB  CHARLES  OREY*S  GOVERNMENT.  431 

that,  under  similar  conditions  of  climate  and  soil,  free 
labonr  can  compete  with  that  of  slaves ;  bat  it  would  be 
idle  to  claim  prescience  of  this  fact  for  any  but  a  very  few 
at  this  period  of  political  controversy. 

Sir  Charles,  in  his  address  to  the  legislature,  strongly 
recommended  that  permanency  should  be  given  to  some  of 
the  annual  votes,  especially  such  as  related  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  and  the  preservation  of  order.  There 
was,  however,  a  greater  evil  than  this.  Any  member  could 
propose  a  grant  of  public  money,  and  during  the  whole 
period  when  the  assembly  was  not  sitting,  its  members  were 
constituted  into  a  body  called  the  commissioners  of  public 
accounts,  and  as  such  exercised  free  control  over  the  revenue. 
Even  after  the  dissolution  of  the  assembly  this  body  retained 
power  until  new  members  had  been  returned.  Perhaps  the 
recommendations  made  by  Sir  Charles  Grey  of  a  really 
sterling  character  would  have  received  more  attention  if 
they  had  not  been  coupled  with  so  many  that  were  purely 
visionary  in  the  existing  state  of  the  colony.  He  saw 
clearly  the  anomalies  connected  with  what  was  known  as 
the  tax  on  hereditaments,  which  was  really  an  impost  on 
progress ;  but  his  proposed  substitute  of  a  tax  of  two  shillings 
an  acre  was  a  perfect  absurdity.  Equally  impracticable 
was  his  proposal  that  government  should  borrow  money  at 
6  per  cent,  and  lend  to  planters  at  7  per  cent. 

The  assembly,  by  reply,  and  in  a  series  of  resolutions, 
declared  its  inability  to  consider  any  measure  involving  the 
expenditure  of  public  money,  and  would  only  pledge  itself  to 
provide  for  the  existing  expenditure  of  the  colony  for  a  single 
year,  and  that  only  in  the  hope  that  relief  by  reduction  of 
duties  on  colonial  produce  would  be  granted,  and  the  island 
saved  from  destruction.  The  assembly  did  not  fulfU  its 
promise,  there  was  a  deficiency  of  £15,000  on  the  face  of 
the  printed  estimates,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  actual 
revenue  would  be  far  less  than  was  estimated. 

Considerable  time  was  occupied  by  a  committee  of  the 
whole  house  in  inquiring  into  the  distressed  state  of  agri- 
culture, and  the  extent  to  which  cultivation  had  been  aban- 
doned since  the  passing  of  the  Emancipation  Act  in  1832. 
This  committee  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  sugar  could 
not  be  produced  for  less  than  27s.  a  hundredweight,  and 
that  therefore  competition  with  slave  colonies  was  hope- 


432  HISTORY   OP  JAMAICA. 

less ;  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  elicit  any  facts  proving 
that  more  economical  plans  could  be  adopted.  Every 
disaster  was  put  down  to  emancipation  and  to  negro  idle- 
ness ;  nothing  to  the  fact  that  so  many  proprietors  were 
absentees,  or  to  old-fashioned  modes  of  management  and 
cultivation.  Nor  was  any  allusion  made  to  the  fact,  now 
generally  understood,  that  very  many  of  the  old  sugar 
estates  were  located  in  spots  which  could  never  be  success- 
fully cultivated  except  imder  a  system  of  protective  duties. 
The  committee  sorrowfully  declared  that  one  hundred  and 
forty  sugar  estates  and  four  hundred  and  sixty-five  coffee 
plantations  had  been  abandoned  since  1832.  Much  was 
said  about  the  withdrawal  of  labourers  from  the  estates  and 
their  settlement  elsewhere,  but  this  was  the  result  of  the 
want  of  conciliation  already  recorded.  The  planters  were 
in  too  many  instances  reaping  the  fruits  of  their  ill-judged 
policy  during  the  first  year  or  two  of  freedom.  The  report 
concluded  with  the  declaration  that  the  only  alternatives 
were,  ''protection  or  destruction." 

Happily,  experience  has  shown  the  fallacy  of  this  assertion. 
The  sugar  planters  of  the  present  day,  after  nearly  twenty 
years  of  equalized  duty,  are  far  more  prosperous  than  the 
men  who,  leaning  on  protection,  thought  of  no  other  remedy 
for  the  evils  of  their  position ;  and  who,  in  the  petition  to 
the  queen  which  followed  their  investigations,  asked  for  a 
continuance  of  distinctive  duties,  emigration  from  Africa 
on  a  large  scale  at  the  cost  of  the  imperial  treasury,  and 
the  remission  of  the  debt  of  £180,000  due  by  the  colony.* 

The  death  of  the  receiver-general  at  this  time  prepared 
the  way  for  some  improvement  in  the  system  of  keeping 
public  accounts.  Mr.  Barclay  was  appointed,  at  a  salary 
of  about  one-third  that  of  his  predecessor,  and  soon 
after  a  system  of  audit  was  introduced,  a  step  which  had 
been  only  too  long  delayed.  The  excitement  occasioned 
by  the  discovery  of  deficiencies  to  a  great  amount  in  this 
department  was  intensified  by  the  difficulties  into  which  the 
Planters'  Bank  was  plunged.  One  of  its  local  agents  had 
absconded,  and  bills  to  a  large  amoimt  were  returned  from 
England.  A  loan  of  £40,000  from  the  assembly  was  asked 
for,  but  refused :  had  it  been  carried,  the  governor,  as  he 
informed  Earl  Grey,  would  have  refused  his  assent.     The 

*  "Votes,"  1847,  pp.  861-^8,  421-424. 


SIR   CHARLES   GREY'S   GOVERNMENT.  433 

bank  soon  after  wound  up  its  affairs,  which  were  far  from 
hopeless.  Its  assets,  as  stated  in  evidence,  were  £193,000 ; 
its  liabilities,  not  including  £93,000  due  to  shareholders, 
were  only  £78,000,  of  which  £43,000  was  for  notes  in 
circulation. 

An  autumnal  session  had  become  necessary  in  conse- 
quence of  the  embarrassed  state  of  the  colony.  Public 
meetings  in  several  parishes  urged  this  step  upon  the 
governor,  for  the  commissioners  of  public  accounts  had 
refused  to  exercise  the  right  they  had  hitherto  claimed  of 
issuing  treasury  certificates,  to  make  the  ways  and  means 
tally  with  the  expenditujre.  A  scramble  of  public  creditors 
at  the  treasury  seemed  probable,  to  see  who  could  first 
secure  payment,  or  else  the  treasurer  would  be  compelled 
to  select  from  the  rival  claimants  which  should  be  paid.  It 
will  be  understood  that  at  this  time  certain  revenues  were 
not  applied  to  specific  purposes,  as  at  present. 

The  time  was  not  favourable  for  those  theories  for 
establishing  a  better  state  of  affairs  of  which  Sir  Charles 
Grey  was  so  fond.  He  saw  that  something  in  the  form  of 
responsible  government  was  desirable,  but  his  proposal  of 
six  specific  subjects  for  consideration  was  listened  to  with 
indifference,  if  not  contempt.  They  embraced  the  better 
control  of  public  accounts  ;  the  funding  of  the  island  debt ; 
the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  bank ;  the  abolition  of 
the  tax  on  hereditaments ;  the  formation  of  reservoirs  for 
purposes  of  irrigation ;  and  sundry  improvements  in  the 
practice  of  courts  of  justice.  In  answer  to  all  this,  the 
assembly  declared  its  **  utter  inability  to  enter  upon  im- 
provement of  any  kind."  * 

Controversy  upon  another  point  raised  by  the  governor 
was  very  bitter.  He  had  referred  to  rumours  of  an  effort 
being  in  contemplation  to  restore  slavery.  That  some  such 
plan  was  not  unlikely  to  be  attempted  was  believed  by  many 
negroes,  and  considerable  excitement  was  occasioned.  The 
very  injudicious  remarks  of  some  leading  men  were  mis- 
represented or  exaggerated ;  and  an  idea  generally  prevailed 
that  the  Americans  might  be  induced  to  take  possession  of 
the  island,  and  reduce  the  peasantry  once  more  to  bondage. 

Persons  who  had  helped  to  create  the  alarm,  were  among 
the  first  to  urge  the  governor  to  take  strong  measures  in 

*"VoteB,"1848,p.  22. 

29 


484  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

every  case  of  local  riot.  In  June  and  July  there  were  many 
rumours  of  insurrection,  and  large  bodies  of  police  were 
despatched  to  two  districts  where  acts  of  violence  were 
apprehended.  The  governor  soon  after  issued  a  proclama- 
tion, assuring  the  people  that  there  was  no  danger  of  any 
attempt  being  made  to  reduce  them  again  to  slavery.* 

The  members  of  assembly,  alluding  to  the  passage  in  the 
governor's  opening  address,  declared  that  in  their  belief  the 
idea  of  restoring  slavery  had  never  entered  into  the  mind 
of  any  man  in  Jamaica ;  and  sent  an  address,  asking  for 
the  grounds  upon  which  he  had  ventured  to  make  the 
statement  he  had  done,  and  of  the  reason  of  a  circular  he 
had  sent  on  the  subject  to  the  custodes  of  the  several 
parishes.  He  declined  to  furnish  the  voluminous  corre- 
spondence he  had  received,  but  pointed  out  that  it  was 
frequently  and  publicly  asserted,  that  while  two  centuries 
had  been  required  in  England  to  relax  the  bonds  of  villein- 
age, all  the  intermediate  conditions  had  been  passed  by  in 
Jamaica ;  and  that  plans  had  been  discussed  by  which 
severe  vagrant  laws  should  be  made,  to  restrict  change  of 
residence  and  make  labour  attainable  on  easier  terms,  and 
also  to  secure  a  large  amount  of  African  emigration  under 
indentures  which  could  not  be  cancelled.  The  governor 
could  not  well  say  more,  but  he  assuredly  knew  right  well 
that  in  some  quarters  the  United  States  had  been  spoken 
of  as  affording  hope  for  the  revival  of  the  same  system  as 
then  prevailed  in  its  southern  states.  He  reminded  the 
house  that  the  liberty  of  speech,  which  was  their  privilege, 
might  be  so  freely  indulged  as  to  have  a  most  injurious 
effect  on  an  uneducated  people.  That  very  day  he  had 
seen  it  necessary  to  send  a  military  force  to  a  disturbed 
district. 

This  was  the  25th  of  August.  On  the  preceding  day  the 
house  had  declared  its  inability  to  raise  the  customary 
amount  of  supplies  for  1849.  Though  the  assembly  remain^ 
in  session  for  seven  weeks  longer,  it  did  nothing  but  call  for 
returns,  send  messages  to  the  governor,  and  wrangle.  At 
length,  a  fall  from  his  horse  prevented  Sir  Charles  from 
coming  down  from  his  mountain  residence ;  and  the  house, 
taking  advantage  of  the  circumstance,  asked  for  an  adjourn- 
ment to  October,  which  was  granted. 

*  Grey's  "Colonial  Policy,"  vol.  i.  pp.  179-181. 


Sm  CHABLBS  OREY*S  GOYEBNMENT.  435 

Sir  Charles  Grey,  in  a  despatch  written  about  this  time  to 
the  colonial  office,  stated  that  the  assembly  would  have 
transacted  the  necessary  business,  but  for  the  advice  of 
influential  persons  in  England,  who  urged  them  to  with- 
hold the  supplies,  as  a  means  of  embarrassing  the  govern- 
ment at  home  in  relation  to  the  question  of  protection. 
In  this  opinion  he  was  sustained  by  that  of  the  governor  of 
British  Guiana,  whp  spoke  of  the  policy  of  stopping  supplies 
in  that  colony,  so  similar  to  what  was  done  in  Jamaica,  as 
generally  understood  to  be  instigated  by  the  West  Indian 
party  in  England. 

By  thus  throwing  the  colonies  into  confusion,  it  was 
hoped  that  the  free  trade  cabinet  of  the  day  would  apply  to 
parUament  for  means  to  carry  on  the  government  in 
Jamaica  and  Guiana,  irrespective  of  their  legislatures.* 
In  the  existing  state  of  parties  such  an  application  would 
have  been  as  unfortunate  as  that  made  by  Lord  Melbourne's 
cabinet  in  1839,  and  thus  protection  for  a  period  might 
have  been  restored.  A  very  significant  proceeding  on  the 
part  of  the  assembly  showed  how  intimate  its  relationship 
was  to  the  opponents  of  free  trade.  In  December,  1848,  a 
resolution  was  passed  deploring  the  death  of  Lord  Bentinck, 
the  great  protectionist  leader  :  for  such  an  act  there  was  no 
precedent.  His  father,  the  Duke  of  Portland,  acknowledged 
the  resolution  of  the  house.  + 

The  October  session  of  1848  was  opened  as  usual  by  a 
long  address,  in  which  this  alleged  co-operation  with  pro- 
tectionist leaders  was  referred  to.  Sir  Charles  freely  spoke 
of  the  advice  given  to  colonial  legislatures  to  use  extra- 
ordinary powers  of  opposition,  so  as  to  secure  concessions 
in  the  matter  of  differential  duties.  He  urged  them  to 
establish  some  system  of  mutual  credit,  and  pointed  out, 
that  while  measures  of  judicious  and  economical  reform 
would  be  supported  by  the  colonial  office,  those  destructive 
of  existing  interests  would  be  opposed. 

The  imperial  government,  in  sympathy  with  the  colonies 
now  exposed  to  competition  with  slaveholders,  had  sought 
to  afford  some  relief  by  a  loan  of  half  a  million,  of  which 
£100,000  were  appropriated  to  Jamaica.  This  was  felt  by 
many  leading  statesmen  to  be  unequal  to  the  exigencies  of 

*  Grey's  "  Colonial  PoUoy,"  voL  i.  pp.  147-181. 
t  "  Votes,"  1848,  p.  176. 

29* 


436  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

the  colonies ;  and  a  motion,  to  the  effect  that  the  remedial 
measures  proposed  by  the  government  were  inadequate, 
was  only  rejected  in  a  full  house  by  a  majority  of  fifteen, 
245  voting  for  it.  This  greatly  strengthened  the  hands  of 
the  protectionist  party,  and  encouraged  the  local  legisla- 
tures of  Jamaica  and  Guiana  in  the  contest  on  which  they 
had  entered.  The  purposes  to  which  this  loan  might  be 
appropriated  were  defined  to  be — the  introduction  of  free 
labourers,  the  formation  of  roads,  railways,  works  for 
irrigation,  or  public  undertakings  of  a  similar  character. 
The  mode  of  appropriation  in  Jamaica  was  the  subject  of 
much  angry  controversy  :  a  suggestion  of  the  governor's 
was  voted  a  breach  of  privilege,  and  ultimately  the  house 
refused  to  accept  the  loan.* 

This  session,  like  the  former  one,  transacted  little  busi- 
ness of  any  importance.  In  the  middle  of  December  a 
resolution  was  passed,  intended  as  a  menace  to  the  council, 
declining  to  raise  any  revenue  after  the  15th  of  next 
February,  unless  a  measure  of  retrenchment  was  passed 
into  law ;  and  a  week  after  the  assembly  adjourned,  withoat 
the  governor*s  consent,  imtil  the  23rd  of  January.  The 
day  after  Christmas  he  called  it  together,  and  pointed 
out  that  in  five  days  the  annual  bills  would  expire,  and  the 
greatest  confusion  result.  The  defence  offered  was,  the 
governor  had  departed  from  the  old  custom  of  assenting  to 
bills  from  time  to  time  as  they  were  passed  by  the  legis- 
lature— a  charge  easily  replied  to  by  the  fact  that  this 
had  only  been  done  when  the  bills  were  contingent  on 
some  other,  by  which  alone  the  necessary  revenue  could  be 
provided.  Such  bills  would  have  been  perfectly  useless  in 
many  cases,  if  the  revenue  ceased,  as  had  been  intimated, 
in  some  six  weeks.  However,  a  few  bills  were  passed 
during  that  and  the  following  day,  and  once  more  the 
house  adjourned,  leave  being  asked  of  the  governor  until 
the  day  previously  named. 

Waste  paper  is  cheap,  and  at  the  price  of  this  article 
many  goodly-sized  volumes  of  the  votes  of  the  house 
of  assembly  for  these  and  succeeding  years  may  be  pur- 
chased. If  there  are  those  who  feel  disposed  to  study  care- 
fully the  doings  of  the  Jamaica  legislators  from  1849  and 
onwards,  the  materials  are  ample ;  but  most  assuredly  the 

*  "  Votes,"  1848,  pp.  183,  184 ;  Earl  Grey's  "  Colonial  Policy." 


BIB   CHABLES   GRET's  GOVERNMENT.  437 

nnmber  of  readers  is  exceedingly  limited  who  would  care 
for  any  but  the  most  condensed  account  of  the  last  sixteen 
years  of  the  existence  of  the  house  of  assembly.  That  it 
still  numbered  many  noble-hearted  men  is  imquestionable, 
some,  indeed,  white  and  coloured,  who  would  have  done  no 
discredit  to  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain ;  but  its  gene- 
ral character  was  fast  changing,  and  those  who  saw  more 
clearly  what  was  required  at  the  hands  of  the  rulers  of 
Jamaica,  were  too  few  to  preserve  the  general  character  of 
the  house,  and  keep  the  colony  from  anarchy  and  distrust. 

Jealousy  of  the  council  chamber,  leading  to  bitter  strife, 
was  no  unfrequent  incident  in  Jamaica  history,  but  now  it 
appeared  in  a  still  more  virulent  form.  Mr.  Whitelock 
had  accused  that  body,  in  a  letter,  of  most  dishonourable 
conduct,  and  when  the  assembly,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, was  appealed  to  for  redress,  it  was  refused.*  The 
contest  on  the  retrenchment  scheme  was  intensified  by  the 
ill-feeling  which  existed,  for  the  council  had  declared  the 
determination  to  raise  no  revenue  after  the  15th  of  Feb- 
ruary to  be  an  attempt  to  deprive  it  of  the  right  of  free 
deliberation,  and  therefore  dangerous  and  unconstitutional. 
The  retrenchment  bill,  the  passing  of  which  was  the  con- 
dition of  a  continued  revenue,  was  remarkable  from  the 
fact  that  it  swept  away  almost  every  institution  by  which 
it  was  likely  that  the  people  at  large  would  be  pecuniarily 
benefited.  It  was  proposed  to  terminate  all  allowances 
for  dispensaries  and  health  ofl&cers ;  grants  to  improve  the 
hospital  and  lunatic  asylum  were  also  withheld.  That  ior 
expenses  of  commissioners  of  charity  shared  the  same  fate. 
The  dole  for  education  was  reduced  to  £1000,  or  about 
a  halfpenny  a  head  for  each  inhabitant  of  the  island ;  and 
though  the  assembly  proposed  to  reduce  the  salaries  of  its 
speaker  and  clerk  from  £960  to  .£500  per  annum,  this 
clause  was  not  in  the  copy  sent  to  the  council.  A  general 
reduction  of  salaries  was  proposed  ;  on  those  ranging  from 
£100  to  £300  per  annum,  ten  per  cent.,  gradually  increas- 
ing on  the  higher  rates,  and  reaching,  on  those  over  £1000 
a  year,  twenty-five  per  cent. :  from  the  two  or  three 
stipends  over  £2000,  one-third  was  to  be  deducted. 

That  the  colony  was  paying  too  much  for  certain  services 
is  unquestionable.     The  expensive  judicial  system  intro- 

*  "Votes,"  1849,  pp.  40-^7. 


488  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

dnced  after  freedom  was  generally  complained  of,  yet  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  persons  who  had  accepted 
these  or  other  appointments  had  done  so  on  a  reasonable 
understanding  that  they  would  be  regarded  as  permanent. 
Some,  indeed,  pleaded  too  strongly  for  what  were  called 
vested  rights,  while  others  more  temperately  maintained 
that  no  proof  had  been  adduced  to  show  the  necessity  of 
reduction ;  for  the  taxes,  it  was  said,  were  most  imperfectly 
collected,  and  public  money  shamefully  squandered.  The 
average  expenditure  on  roads,  by  the  assembly  and  paro- 
chial vestnes,  exceeded  i£34,000  per  annum,  and  yet  their 
general  condition  was  bad  in  the  extreme. 

Prorogations  of  the  assembly,  though  necessary,  led  to 
no  practical  results ;  nor  did  a  timely  warning  of  the 
governor  that  he  had  no  resources  with  which  to  carry  on 
the  government,  if  ordinary  supplies  were  refused,  avert 
the  threatened  evil.  The  assembly  was  determined  upon 
forcing  its  retrenchment  scheme  on  the  council,  and  as 
that  body  resisted,  passed  a  resolution  declaring  that: 
"A  legislative  body  depending  on  the  crown,  irrespon- 
sible to  the  people,  and  composed  of  judges  of  the 
land  and  salaried  officers,  is  opposed  to  the  principle  of 
the  British  constitution."  Its  reform  was  asked  for  in 
a  petition  to  the  queen  and  to  parliament.  The  latter 
took  no  action  in  the  matter,  but  from  the  colonial 
office,  on  behalf  of  the  sovereign,  it  was  replied  that 
on  the  occasions  to  which  the  assembly  had  referred, 
the  council  had  been  actuated  by  a  regard  for  the  publio 
welfare.* 

The  assembly  went  beyond  its  resolution,  and  passed 
some  bills  providing  a  revenue  to  the  1st  of  October,  but 
so  marred  by  clauses  designed  to  stop  the  payment  of 
salaries  to  which  objection  was  made,  that  the  council 
could  not  pass  any  but  the  import  duty  bill.  No  provision 
was  made  for  receiving  immigrants,  though  numbers  were 
on  their  way  at  the  cost  of  the  English  government.  The 
parochial  assessments  were  unprovided  for,  and  prisons 
were  left  without  means  of  support.  With  the  colony  in 
utter  confusion,  the  house  was  prorogued  on  the  8rd  of 
March.  On  the  26th  of  June  it  was  again  convened.  In 
the  mean  time  Sir  Charles  Grey  had  been  strengthened  by 
*  "Votes,"  1849 ;  Despatch  of  Earl  Grey. 


sm  CHABLES  gbey's  govebnment.  439 

a  despatch  from  Earl  Grey,  dealing  with  all  the  points  at 
issue,*  which  was  laid  before  the  assembly. 

This  fully  sustained  the  governor  in  the  action  he  had 
taken,  and  commended  the  tone  and  temper  of  his  com- 
munications with  the  legislature.  Apart  from  the  fact  that 
the  salaries  of  the  governor,  the  judges,  clergy,  and  others 
had  been  secured  by  acts  not  then  expired,  it  was  shown 
that  the  retrenchment  proposed  would  not  equalize  the 
income  and  expenditure  of  the  colony;  and  that  a  per- 
sistent refusal  on  the  part  of  the  assembly  to  provide  the 
needful  revenue  could  only  result  in  disaster,  as  no  autho- 
rity was  vested  in  any  other  quarter  to  levy  taxes  or  con- 
trol the  expenditure.  The  desire  which  had  been  expressed 
in  some  quarters  for  responsible  government  now  came 
under  review,  and  Earl  Grey  sketched  out  a  plan  similar 
to  that  of  Canada,  and  which,  with  some  modifications, 
was  introduced  a  few  years  later. 

The  assembly  could  not  receive  the  despatch  of  the  earl 
without  attempting  to  justify  its  recent  proceedings.  Nine 
members  attempted  to  introduce  an  acknowledgment  that 
the  change  of  government  suggested  would  be  acceptable, 
but  nineteen  voted  against  them.  Other  efforts  to  tone 
down  the  angry  and  exaggerated  character  of  the  reply 
proved  equally  ineffectual,  and  it  was  moreover  resolved 
that  the  house  would  abstain  from  all  further  exercise  of 
its  legislative  functions  imtil  the  people  had  expressed  their 
opinion  on  the  course  hitherto  pursued  by  their  repre- 
sentatives ;  the  people  meaning  about  two  thousand  per- 
sons, spread  over  twenty-three  constituencies,  who  had  the 
privilege  of  voting.  A  dissolution  immediately  followed, 
the  voters  being  reminded  by  Sir  Charles,  in  his  speech, 
that  the  best  proof  they  could  give  of  their  loyalty  would 
be  to  elect  as  their  representatives  "  men  of  temperate  and 
considerate  minds,  not  likely  to  lead  them  into  trouble." 
With  few  exceptions,  they  returned  the  very  men  who  had 
brought  them  into  trouble,  for  there  were  few  new  mem- 
bers in  the  next  assembly. 

In  the  meantime  anxiety  and  distress  prevailed  on  every 
hand ;  public  ofl&cials  and  other  creditors  could  only  obtain 
money  by  selling  their  claims  at  a  considerable  discount. 

♦  Grey's  "Colonial  Policy,"  Appendix  C;  "VoteB"  of  June  session, 
1849,  pp.  19-25. 


440  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

The  island  cheques  issued  from  the  treasury,  and  commonly 
known  as  **  red  cheques/'  were  at  a  discount  of  from  thirty 
to  forty  per  cent. 

The  new  assembly  did  not  at  its  earlier  meetings  afford 
much  indication  of  its  willingness  to  bring  this  unsatis- 
factory state  of  things  to  a  close,  but  it  soon  became 
evident  that  the  colonists  generally  were  weary  of  the 
contest,  and  saw  nothing  but  disaster  as  likely  to  result 
from  its  continuance ;  while  in  England  the  success  of 
the  free  trade  policy  had  destroyed  the  hopes  of  the 
protectionist  party,  on  whom  the  planters  had  so  largely 
depended.  Not  indeed  without  great  controversy  and  fresh 
struggles  with  the  council,  the  assembly  at  length  passed 
the  necessary  bills  to  support  the  credit  of  the  island  and 
provide  for  the  loss  of  revenue  occasioned  by  the  former 
dissensions.  An  intimation  from  the  governor,  that  a 
conference  between  the  assembly  and  council  might  lead  to 
an  arrangement  for  reducing  the  expenditure  on  equitable 
principles,  failed  to  effect  the  desired  object,  and  thus  this 
question  was  left  to  be  revived  after  a  little  time  with 
undiminished  acrimony. 

The  next  session  opened  more  harmoniously.  Sir  Charles 
once  more  hopefully  unfolded  plans  for  the  advancement 
of  the  island.  Dame  schools  and  industrial  schools  were 
spoken  of,  as  well  as  a  possible  university.  Convict  labour 
was  to  be  turned  to  good  account,  and  an  Encumbered 
Estates  Act  hinted  at.  The  reply  was  so  favourable  that 
the  governor  said  he  could  not  wish  to  change  a  single 
word. 

Perhaps  it  was  the  dark  shadow  then  looming  over  the 
land  that  had  so  calmed  the  minds  of  men.  Political 
questions  were  almost  forgotten  in  the  presence  of  the 
dread  mysterious  visitor  who  now  took  possession  of  the 
country.  The  governor  had  alluded  to  the  appearance  of 
Asiatic  cholera  at  Port  Eoyal,  and  the  possibility  of  its 
spreading.  The  year  had  not  terminated  before  almost 
every  parish  had  suffered  severely  from  its  ravages.  It 
will  probably  be  below  the  actual  fact,  if  the  mortality  is 
estimated  at  thirty-two  thousand  persons,  or  about  one  in 
thirteen  of  the  population  at  that  time.  Every  attempt  to 
arrest  its  progress  by  isolation  and  stopping  communica- 
tion with  infected  districts  was  in  vain.      The  terrible 


Sm  CHARLES  qrey's  goyebnment.  441 

malady  exhibited  all  those  peculiarities  as  to  progress  so 
well  known  in  the  east. 

The  towns  and  villages  were  alike  destitute  of  all  proper 
sanitary  regulations,  while  such  precautions  as  could  be 
taken  were  too  late  to  be  of  much  service.  Kingston,  the 
largest  town,  was  in  a  most  unsatisfactory  state;  filthy 
hovels,  utterly  unfit  for  the  habitation  of  human  beings, 
without  any  means  of  ventilation,  were  crowded  by  large 
families.  There  was  no  drainage;  hogs  roamed  at  large 
in  the  streets  and  lanes,  rooting  up  the  pathways  and 
roads,  and  seeking  for  garbage  among  the  heaps  of 
manure  cast  into  the  ruts  made  by  the  rains.  It  will 
hardly  excite  surprise  that  out  of  about  thirty  thousand 
inhabitants  3675  fell  victims.  The  military  prisoners  were 
removed  from  the  penitentiary  the  day  after  the  disease 
appeared,  but  out  of  506  others  who  were  left,  128  died. 
In  the  little  town  of  Port  Maria  more  than  one  half  of  the 
people  perished :  one  eighteenth  of  the  population  died 
in  a  single  day. 

Some  parishes  suffered  far  more  than  others.  St. 
Thomas,  St.  Catherines,  and  St.  Andrews,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  island,  suffered  a  loss  of  seven  thousand.  In 
St.  James  and  Trelawny,  on  the  north  side,  nearly  five 
thousand  fell  victims.  The  mortality  was  greatest  near 
rivers  and  morasses,  while  in  Manchester,  where  the  in- 
habitants are  dependent  on  ponds  for  water,  only  twenty 
persons  died. 

A  central,  and  several  local  boards  of  health  were 
formed.  Medical  men,  though  comparatively  few  in  number, 
distinguished  themselves  as  members  of  that  noble  pro- 
fession almost  invariably  do  in  times  of  real  danger ;  while 
in  most  parts  of  the  island  persons  were  found  ready  to 
act  under  their  instructions,  and  minister  to  the  suffer- 
ing around,  in  many  cases  with  satisfactory  results. 
In  Kingston  and  other  towns  gentlemen  volunteered 
their  services,  and  went  from  house  to  house,  giving 
advice,  watching  for  the  first  indications  of  disease,  and 
helping  the  wretched  sufferers.  The  spectacles  they  were 
in  some  instances  cpmpelled  to  witness  were  frequently  of 
the  most  awful  character :  the  misery  they  prevented  or 
alleviated  wiU  only  be  known  when  the  good  deeds  of  true 
Samaritans  shall  be  proclaimed. 


442  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

The  peasantry,  where  under  Christian  influence,  dis- 
played a  readiness  to  assist  their  suffering  friends  worthy 
of  all  commendation,  and  if  there  were  deeds  which  dis- 
honour the  name  of  man,  they  were  comparatively  excep- 
tional. Clergymen  and  missionaries  were  foremost  in 
setting  an  example  to  their  flocks ;  yet  thousands  died 
without  assistance,  so  rapid  was  the  spread  of  the  malady. 
The  British  government  sent  out  Dr.  Milroy  to  Jamaica, 
who  subsequently  published  a  valuable  report,  containing 
many  suggestions  for  the  future  sanitary  government  of 
the  island,  which  were  for  the  most  part  unheeded  when 
the  danger  bad  passed.*  The  assembly  voted  the  necessary 
funds  for  medical  and  other  expenses,  and  not  only  in  the 
colony,  but  in  England  and  Barbadoes,  contributions  were 
raised  for  the  relief  of  the  families  of  sufferers. 

When  the  disease  abated,  and  the  assembly  proceeded 
with  the  public  business,  little  satisfactory  progress  was 
made.  Several  of  the  bills  which  were  passed  were  sub- 
sequently disallowed.  The  police  bill  was  lost,  and  one 
passed  in  its  stead,  enabling  each  parish  to  appoint  its  own 
constabulary  and  frame  regulations  for  its  government. 
Other  measures  having  reference  to  a  new  loan,  and  another 
to  promote  emigration,  were  so  unsatisfactory,  that  though 
the  session  had  been  prolonged  from  October  to  the  end  of 
May,  the  governor  only  prorogued  the  house  for  a  fortnight 
in  the  first  instance.  He  intimated  that  he  indulged  the 
hope  that  he  should  be  given  to  understand  that  the  mem- 
bers wished  to  be  called  together  again,  that  they  might 
reconsider  some  of  these  measures  ;  and  with  the  view  of 
aiding  them  in  so  doing,  he  pointed  out  changes  and 
amendments  he  thought  desirable. 

When  the  house  once  more  assembled  in  October,  its 
first  thoughts  were  occupied  by  the  consideration  of  this 
well-meant  but  unfortunate  prorogation  speech.  The  go- 
vernor anticipated  the  coming  storm  by  remarking  that  in 
England  the  views  of  the  government  were  made  known  to 
parliament,  and  he  was  anxious  to  prevent  the  inconveni- 
ence of  measures  being  passed  to  which  it  was  impossible 
for  the  executive  to  consent.  The  assembly,  however,  as- 
serted its  rights  and  privileges  in  twelve  resolutions. 

*  Grey*B  "  Colonial  Policy,"  pp.   191  - 195 ;    Appendix,   p.  867 ; 
"  Votes,"  1851,  pp.  281-295. 


sm  CHABLES  grey's  oovebnment.  443 

Some  time  before  Mr.  William  Smith,  a  man  of  con- 
siderable energy  and  forethought,  had  suggested  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  system  of  responsible  government.  The  scheme 
had  met  with  the  approval  of  Earl  Grey.  A  bill  was  now 
introduced  to  give  effect  to  the  proposition,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  limit  the  power  of  parochial  vestries,  and  especially 
to  deprive  them  of  the  power  of  imposing  taxes.  The 
colony  was  not  then  prepared  for  the  change.  Petitions 
against  it  were  sent  up  from  several  parishes,  and  the  bill 
was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  eighteen  in  a  house  of  thirty 
members. 

Eesolutions  were  passed  declaring  the  colony  to  be  on 
the  verge  of  ruin,  and  an  address  to  the  queen  adopted,  in 
which  the  evils  of  competition  with  slave  colonies  were 
pointed  out.  With  singular  inconsistency  the  assembly 
passed  a  bill  for  promoting  emigration,  providing  for  the 
expense  by  imposing  a  tax  on  exports,  though  they  had 
declared  that  these  were  in  danger  of  ceasing  altogether. 
These  emigration  schemes  were  all  most  unfortunate.  Two 
thousand  one  hundred  and  twelve  coolies  had  been  imported 
in  the  years  1845  and  1846,  but  in  1847  two  thousand  four 
hundred  and  forty-four  were  introduced.  The  mortality 
among  them  was  very  considerable.  The  agent-general 
for  immigration  stated,  in  1851,  that  only  about  fifteen 
hundred  of  those  imported  in  1847  were  alive,  while  those 
who  lived  were  but  ill-fitted  for  the  labour  of  sugar  estates. 

Attention  was  given  to  a  plan  for  introducing  free 
coloured  people  from  Canada  and  the  United  States. 
£100  was  voted  to  meet  the  expense  of  preliminary  in- 
quiries. Mr.  W.  Wemys  Anderson  was  requested  to  under- 
take a  mission  to  these  people,  and  ascertain  their  views  on 
the  subject.  He  was  greatly  assisted  in  Canada  by  Mr. 
John  Scoble,  formerly  secretary  of  the  Anti- Slavery  Society, 
and  met  many  coloured  people  at  Toronto  and  elsewhere. 
Jamaica,  however,  presented  few  attractions  to  them  :  the 
wages  offered  were  too  low,  and  the  idea  of  being  inden- 
tured was  not  approved  of.  Mr.  Anderson  did  all  in  his 
power  to  meet  their  objections,  but  if  the  free  people  of 
Canada  emigrated  at  all,  it  was  clear  it  must  be  on  other 
conditions  than  those  proposed.* 

The  house  during  this,  as  in  the  former  session,  passed 

*  "  Votes,"  1852,  p.  641,  &c. 


444  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

a  bill  to  borrow  money  to  the  amount  of  £450,000,  to  meet 
the  growing  deficiencies.  To  this  the  governor  once  more 
refused  his  assent,  for  the  measure  was  most  imperfect. 
The  financial  state  of  the  colony  was  most  deplorable. 
The  deficiency  in  1846  exceeded  £64,000 ;  in  1847,  £44,000 ; 
in  1848,  £16,000  ;  in  1849,  £38,000.  The  expenses  of  the 
cholera  had  reached  about  £50,000,*  and  altogether  there 
was  a  debt  of  £680,000  in  January,  1851,  with  every  pro- 
spect of  further  increase — a  mere  trifle  if  the  colony  had 
been  prosperous,  or  even  in  its  adversity  had  been  wisely 
governed ;  but  the  assembly  was  altogether  unequal  to  the 
crisis,  and  while  it  held  the  purse-strings  of  the  island,  the 
other  branches  were  almost  powerless.  Public  buildings 
were  falling  into  disrepair,  and  the  roads  were  becoming  in 
places  almost  impassable. 

The  assembly  made  one  attempt  to  preserve  public 
morality  by  expelling  a  member  who  had  received  sums  of 
money  on  account  of  roads,  which  he  had  not  expended, 
and  suspended  certain  others  for  forty-eight  hours  for 
disturbing  the  dignity  of  the  house  by  a  fracas,  in  which 
glasses,  books,  and  inkstands  were  used  as  missiles.t  It 
also  appointed  a  committee  to  report  on  the  condition  of 
the  place  in  which  it  held  its  sittings,  and  thus  secured  an 
official  statement  that  the  furniture  was  in  a  very  dilapi- 
dated condition,  not  only  endangering  the  raiment  of 
honourable  members,  but  their  limbs ;  that  the  walls  of 
the  assembly-room  were  stained  and  dirty,  and,  like  Joseph's 
coat,  of  many  colours ;  that  from  lamps  and  chandeliers 
oil  and  candle  grease  fell  on  the  heads  of  the  assembled 
legislators ;  and  that  in  the  retiring-room,  the  only  place 
of  escape  from  uninteresting  speeches,  there  was  no  chair, 
but  a  large  collection  of  old  bottles,  ink  jars,  and  oil  cans.! 

While  the  assembly  was  seeking  by  such  means  as 
emigration  to  stem  the  progress  of  decay,  public  meetings 
were  held  in  all  parts  of  the  colony  to  consider  the  state  of 
aflFairs,  and  to  press  upon  the  home  government  the  necessity 
of  some  remedial  measures.  In  1852  three  gentlemen  were 
sent  home  as  delegates  from  the  island  to  describe  its  con- 
dition, and  if  possible  secure  assistance  :  these  were  Messrs. 
Thompson,  Girod,  and  W.  Smith.     Their  mission  had  little 

*  "  Votes,"  1851,  pp.  194-449.  +  Ibid.,  1851,  pp.  153-184. 

I  Report  of  Special  Committee,  1851. 


SIR  chahles  grey's  oovernmext.  445 

practical  result.  On  the  10th  of  May  a  petition,  signed  hy 
Jamaica  clergymen  and  missionaries,  was  presented  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  complaining  of  the  prevailing  distress, 
and  asking  for  assistance.  For  once  these  gentlemen  and 
the  planting  interest  were  in  harmony :  they  all  felt  that 
the  gradual  equalisation  of  the  duties  on  free  and  slave- 
grown  sugar  was  a  gross  injustice.  It  had  developed  the 
resources  of  Cuba,  while  the  production  in  Jamaica  was 
declining. 

Sir  Charles  Grey  was  of  opinion  that  nothing  could  ulti- 
mately avert  ruin  from  the  colony  but  the  abolition  of  all 
duties  then  levied  on  Jamaica  produce.*  In  return,  he 
would  stipulate  that  no  import  duties  should  be  imposed 
on  British  manufactures  brought  to  the  island :  he  would, 
in  fact,  make  Jamaica,  as  one  of  its  earlier  governors  had 
suggested,  a  great  free  port,  for  which  its  position  in  the 
GuJf  of  Mexico  renders  it  peculiarly  adapted. 

The  existing  distress  was  very  great ;  wages  had  sunk  to 
the  lowest  rate  ever  known  in  the  colony,  crime  was  on  the 
increase,  and  it  really  appeared  as  if  the  condition  of  all 
classes  was  becoming  desperate.  Happily  the  worst  of  the 
crisis  was  passing  by,  and  though  not  without  much  in- 
dividual suflfering,  brighter  days  began  to  dawn  upon  the 
colony. 

A  return  to  the  proceedings  of  the  house  of  assembly  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  explain  the  course  of  events.  Its 
fourth  session  commenced  in  November,  1852,  some  weeks 
after  the  usual  time  of  meeting,  but  even  then  no  business 
of  importance  was  done  for  several  days.  The  governor 
did  not,  in  his  opening  address,  make  the  usual  demand 
for  supplies,  as  a  measure  calculated  to  relieve  the  finances 
of  the  colony  was  then  under  the  consideration  of  the 
imperial  parliament.  When  on  the  15th  of  February,  1853, 
he  did  so,  he  informed  the  assembly  that  a  guaranteed  loan 
of  £100,000  had  been  provided  for.  He,  however,  was  told 
that  provision  could  only  be  made  on  a  reduced  scale. 

A  committee  was  then  sitting  to  investigate  every  depart- 
ment of  public  and  parochial  expenditure,  and  devise  a 
comprehensive  plan  of  retrenchment.  It  recommended  a 
reduction  of  twenty  per  cent,  on  all  salaries,  with  certain 
exceptions.     The  members  of  the  judicial  bench  petitioned 

*  Despatch  to  Sir  John  Pakington,  June  26th,  1852. 


446  HISTORY  OP  JAMAICA. 

against  this,  and  asserted  that  the  public  were  as  much 
pledged  to  them  for  the  amount  of  their  salaries  as  to  any 
other  public  creditors,  and  this  view  was  maintained  by 
most  of  the  officials,  the  clergy  included.  The  cost  of  the 
established  church  was  certainly  considerable  in  relation 
to  the  total  revenue  of  the  colony.  It  exceeded  j640,000 
per  annum.  There  were  eighty-one  clergymen  and  ninety- 
six  churches,  accommodating  about  fifty  thousand  people, 
but  the  clergy  claimed  124,586  adherents,  or  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  population  of  the  island. 

One  of  the  judges,  Mr.  Stevenson,  was  not  satisfied  with 
petitioning,  but  on  the  28th  of  March  he  published  a  letter 
in  the  "  Morning  Journal,"  protesting  against  the  conduct  of 
the  assembly  in  attempting  to  retrench  without  affording 
compensation.  This  letter  being  brought  to  the  notice  of 
the  house,  was  pronounced  a  breach  of  privilege,  and  on  the 
80th  the  judge  was  arrested  and  brought  to  the  bar  of  the 
house.  He  protested  against  his  arrest,  as  unconstitutional. 
The  house  asserted  that  its  privileges  had  been  violated, 
and  proceeded  to  take  the  unprecedented  course  of  com- 
mitting one  of  the  judges  of  the  land  to  what  was  called  in 
the  warrant  the  common  gaol  for  the  county  of  Middlesex.^ 
Friends  were  not  wanting  to  console  the  prisoner  in  his  cap- 
tivity,  but  after  such  an  event  the  colonial  office  saw  he  could 
not  advantageously  retain  his  office  in  Jamaica.  He  was 
therefore  appointed  to  the  government  of  British  Honduras, 
and  some  years  later  to  that  of  Mauritius,  a  position  then  far 
more  desirable  than  that  of  Jamaica.  He  had  consequently 
no  reason  to  regret  the  course  the  assembly  adopted  to- 
wards him. 

The  revenue  bills  passed  by  the  assembly  failed  to  secure 
the  approval  of  the  council,  and  it  was  told  with  bitterness 
how  that  chamber  had  rejected  six  bills  since  1846,  in 
which  retrenchment  had  been  aimed  at.  The  council, 
though  certainly  largely  composed  of  officials  whose  stipends 
would  be  affected  by  the  proposed  changes,  nevertheless 
contended  for  a  principle  maintained  by  the  English 
government,  and  generally  recognised  as  equitable  in  its 
character. 

The  legislature  was  now  prorogued  for  a  few  days,  but 
when  again  convened  it  refused  to  do  business  with  the 

*  "  Votes,"  1853,  pp.  486-491. 


Snt  CHARLES  grey's  GOVERNMENT.  447 

conncil.  Another  prorogation  followed,  and  at  the  next 
meeting  the  governor  pointed  out  the  critical  state  into 
which  these  dissensions  were  plunging  the  colony.  The 
revenue  laws  had  expired  on  the  30th  of  April,  and 
j£100,000  would  be  due  to  the  public  creditors  before  the 
ordinary  meeting  in  October,  if  things  were  allowed  to 
remain  in  their  present  condition.  It  would  soon  be 
necessary  to  discharge  all  prisoners,  and  the  police,  not 
receiving  pay,  would  be  released  from  their  engagements. 
Even  if  the  revenue  bills  were  at  once  renewed,  it  would 
be  found  that  the  country  had  already  lost  half  of  the  con- 
templated saving  by  retrenchment. 

Within  two  weeks  after  the  expiration  of  the  import-duty 
bill,  ships  had  arrived  in  Kingston  harbour,  and  landed 
cargoes  on  which  £10,000  of  duty  had  been  lost.  There 
had  been  ugly  rumours  in  the  colony  that  members  of  the 
house  had  anticipated  such  a  contingency,  and  provided  for 
it.  Sir  Charles  Grey  said  that  he  would  not  entertaiu  the 
idea  of  collusion  for  such  a  purpose,  but  American  houses 
had  certainly  been  prepared  for  the  opportunity.* 

Up  to  October  a  loss  equal  to  ten  times  the  amount  would 
be  entailed,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  rum,  free  from 
excise,  would  be  put  into  the  stores.  The  house  refused  to 
act,  tJii  its  reply  was  acrimonious.  The  governor  had  now 
lost  all  patience,  and  bluntly  said  that  the  pain,  pleasure, 
or  indifference  with  which  he  heard  remarks  on  his  public 
conduct,  depended  on  his  estimate  of  those  who  made  them. 
This  was  on  the  20th  of  May.  The  house  adjourned  to  the 
26th,  and  then  thirty-nine  pages  of  its  journals  are  occu- 
pied by  statements  that  on  certaiu  days  Mr.  Speaker  and 
a  few  members  attended,  but  no  quorum.  This  continued 
until  the  80th  of  September.  Early  in  October  Sir  Henry 
Barkley  arrived  as  governor,  and  on  the  6th,  the  assembly 
was  prorogued  by  proclamation. 

Sir  Charles  remained  some  months  in  the  island,  to  which, 
as  a  residence,  he  had  great  attachment.  Perhaps,  under 
happier  circumstances,  he  would  have  gained  reputation  as 
a  wise  and  thoughtful  ruler.  As  things  were,  he  was  charged 
with  folly,  and  looked  upon  by  many  as  the  chief  cause  of 
the  calamities  which  befell  the  colony.  Some  of  the 
measures  he  proposed  are  now  engaging  general  attention, 

*  "  Votes,"  1858,  p.  4. 


448  HISTORY   OF  JAUAICA. 

yet,  when  first  propounded  in  his  lengthy  speeches,  they 
were  regarded  as  the  dreams  of  a  mere  theorist. 

The  distress  in  which  many  in  the  colony  were  plunged 
by  the  stoppage  of  supplies  was  very  great.  Officials,  who 
had  not  savings  upon  which  to  fall  back,  were  glad  to  sell 
their  claims  at  a  considerable  discount,  and  the  island 
cheques  for  a  pound  each  were  often  sold  for  twelve  shillings. 
At  such  a  crisis  there  were  plenty  ready  to  take  undue 
advantage  of  the  necessities  of  the  poor. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

RESPONSIBLE    GOVERNMENT. 

Sir  Henry  Barkley  met  the  legislative  bodies  in  October, 
and  on  the  18th,  delivered  his  opening  speech :  the  session 
did  not  terminate  until  the  13th  of  April,  1854.  During 
this  protracted  sitting  no  bill  was  passed  to  which  he 
was  unable  to  give  his  assent,  though  to  one  of  a  question- 
able character  it  was  only  given  in  consideration  of  the 
prevailing  distress.  This  was  a  bill  sanctioning  an  issue  of 
ilOOjOOO  in  island  notes  and  certificates,  secured  by  the 
promised  loan  of  the  imperial  government.  £500,000  had 
been  offered  to  relieve  the  distress  into  which  the  colony 
was  plunged,  on  condition  that  the  constitution  of  the 
island  should  be  changed  in  some  important  particulars. 
There  was,  for  some  time,  danger  of  collision  between  the 
assembly  and  council  as  to  the  details  of  the  new  measure, 
but  all  difficulties  were  at  length  overcome.  It  was 
arranged  that  an  executive  committee  of  not  more  than 
four  persons  should  be  appointed  as  responsible  advisers  to 
the  governor,  with  whom  alone  all  measures  requiring  an 
expenditure  of  public  funds  must  originate,  thus  taking 
away  the  power  originally  possessed  by  individual  members 
of  introducing  bills  involving  a  charge  upon  the  island 
revenue.  It  was  hoped  that  a  proper  equipoise  would  in 
future  be  established  between  income  and  outlay,  and  the 
annually  increasing  deficit  of  former  years  avoided.     This 


RESPONSIBLE   OOVERNMENT.  449 

plan  also  provided  a  way  by  which  the  views  of  the  governor 
could  be  communicated  to  the  assembly  without  the  per- 
petual recurrence  of  those  questions  of  privilege  which 
had  done  so  much  mischief  in  former  years.  In  considera- 
tion of  the  adoption  of  this  plan  of  responsible  government, 
and  the  provision  of  an  income  of  ^£25,000  per  annum,  to 
be  appropriated  in  payment  of  certain  salaries,  the  imperial 
government  guaranteed  a  loan  of  half  a  million  sterling, 
the  repayment  of  which,  within  thirty  years,  together  with 
interest  at  the  rate  of  four  per  cent.,  was  secured  by  a  sum 
of  i*30,000  per  annum.  This  arrangement  secured  the 
immediate  settlement  on  favourable  terms  of  the  greater 
proportion  of  the  claims  then  outstanding,  and  placed  the 
salaries  of  the  judges,  the  executive  committee,  the  receiver- 
general,  and  many  other  public  officers,  beyond  the  danger 
of  being  interfered  with  by  the  legislature. 

The  proposed  change  met  the  approval  of  both  branches 
of  the  British  parliament,  and  the  guaranteed  loan  was 
taken  up  at  par,  thus  showing  that  confidence  was  in  some 
degree  restored.  That  the  constituency  of  the  island  ap- 
proved of  the  action  taken  by  their  representatives  was 
indicated,  to  some  extent,  by  the  fact  that  four-fifths  of 
the  members  who  had  supported  this  change  in  the  con- 
stitution were  re-elected  at  the  general  election  which 
followed.  An  important  alteration  also  took  place  in  the 
constitution  of  the  council  chamber.  Hitherto  this  body 
had  discharged  the  functions  of  a  legislative  body,  and  also 
those  of  a  privy  council.  The  eleven  members  of  the  old 
council  were  retained  in  the  new  legislative  body,  which 
was  increased  in  number  to  seventeen,  but  deprived  of  the 
duties  of  a  privy  council.  A  new  privy  council  was  formed, 
consisting,  at  first,  of  sixteen  members,  some  of  whom 
were  members  of  the  legislative  council,  others  of  the 
assembly,  and  a  few  were  unconnected  with  either  branch 
of  the  legislature,  but  held  responsible  government  offices. 

The  new  assembly  did  not  meet  until  the  close  of  No- 
vember, 1854,  by  which  time  all  had  been  satisfactorily 
arranged,  and  the  first  executive  committee  appointed.  To 
these  gentlemen,  only  three  in  number,  iE800  per  annum 
was  given ;  they  had  also  a  secretary,  for  whom  £400  was 
allowed.  The  chief  feature  of  this  assembly  was  the 
adoption  of   a  new  import  bill,  by  which  a  far  larger 

80 


.rrr-         Jjif 


Lij-nxBaiL   ^-ii'inr  -nit 


«.       ITT  -?  f 


ijLu;  tu»x-=:rtt^:L.  '.::^iLZ»ein:i:c.  -mi  s^LiTr-zTr-n:  produce  was 


Zs'A  ir/.'^^^^  iiL:»:»»si!:lr  z^  isik^*^  fAxccnbiT  situated 
ivr  lu/iLT  jrvf^i'.'Ti.i. :  &  ■•■rTt^rr'niu  n  ziiisi  k  remembered, 
*.::>-:  f:z.>t*  vi^ j  iz.  iL-c  tia^  c-f  a  lii^hcd  number  of  districts 


;xi  ^ir/wjii-c-ju 


Cr-.o.';/  tLe  &orr,:r-straiian  of  Sir  Hemr  Barklev,  the 
li^.'W  piari  of  goTfeTnnieiit  worked  well.     The  colony  had 
*  iM^imUh  to  Dcka  of  XeweasUe,  3iay  26. 1854. 


BESPONSIBIiE   OOVEBNMENT.  451 

been  wearied  out  with  past  dissensions,  and  not  only  the 
governor,  but  Lady  Barkley,  were  popular  with  most 
classes  in  the  conununity.  The  retrenchment  which  had 
been  so  long  demanded  was  effected,  if  not  to  the  satis- 
faction of  all  parties,  yet  on  terms  which  on  the  whole 
were  equitable.  The  reduction  of  the  judicial  establishment 
involved  a  radical  change  in  the  plans  elaborated  by  Sir 
Charles  Metcalfe.  The  Act  of  1855  secured  pensions  to 
several  retiring  judges  and  chairmen  of  quarter  sessions. 
A  chief  justice  was  appointed,  at  a  salary  of  iGlSOO  a  year, 
instead  of  £8000,  as  formerly  paid,  and  three  assistant 
judges  received  £1200  a  year  each. 

The  old  clergy  bill  had  yet  some  time  of  its  original 
term  of  fourteen  years  to  run,  but  a  measure  was  presented 
to  the  legislature,  in  which  it  was  proposed  to  renew  that 
bill  for  twenty  years  from  date,  and  thus  secure  the  position 
of  the  several  incumbents  for  a  longer  time  than  was 
assured  by  the  existing  law,  but  with  the  understanding 
that  a  reduction  in  their  stipends  should  at  once  be  made. 
The  fifty  island  curates  were,  under  the  existing  law,  in 
receipt  of  £890  per  annum;  this  was  to  be  reduced  to 
£840,  unless  the  incumbent  elected  to  receive  his  full 
amount  during  the  term  secured  by  the  old  bill,  in  which 
case  he  would  only  receive  £297  10s.  when  that  term  ex- 
pired. The  stipends  of  the  rectors  varied  in  the  several 
parishes,  but  reduction  was  effected  in  their  case  on  the 
same  general  principle.  Provision  was  also  made,  about 
the  same  time,  for  ten  additional  curates,  at  a  salary  of 
£800  a  year,  one-half  of  which  was  paid  out  of  the  island 
treasury,  and  the  other  half  out  of  funds  at  the  disposal 
of  the  bishop,  who  was  then,  as  he  had  been  for  many 
years,  a  non-resident. 

Perhaps  no  changes  were  on  the  whole  more  beneficial 
than  those  effected  in  the  management  of  the  parochial 
boards  or  vestries.  The  vicious  system  of  expenditure  was 
brought  under  control,  and  the  power  of  levying  taxes,  or 
of  borrowing  money  on  the  security  of  certificates  called 
^'  parish  papers,"  was  taken  away.  The  general  supervision 
of  parochial  affairs  was  vested  in  the  executive  committee, 
and  thus  some  security  was  given  that  public  funds  would 
be  more  faithfully  watched  over  and  expended.  The  ob- 
jectionable tax  on  hereditaments  was  abolished. 

80* 


452  HISTOBY   OF  JAMAICA. 

It  was  a  loss  to  the  colony  when,  in  May,  1856,  after  a 
residence  of  a  little  more  than  two  years  and  a  half.  Sir 
Henry  Barkley  retired.  The  distinguished  manner  in 
which  he  has  since  discharged  his  duties  as  governor  in 
other  colonies  renders  all  further  praise  unnecessary.  His 
place  in  Jamaica,  for  some  fourteen  months,  was  filled  by 
Major-General  Edward  Wells  Bell,  the  officer  in  command 
of  the  troops.  No  events  of  importance  occurred  during 
his  administration  to  call  him  into  prominence,  but  he  left 
the  island  amid  general  expressions  of  esteem.  An  amiable 
and  kind-hearted  gentleman,  he  discharged  his  temporary 
duties  with  quiet  dignity  and  courtesy. 

On  the  24th  of  July,  1857,  Charles  Henry  Darling,  Esq., 
arrived  as  governor.  To  give  any  detailed  account  of  his 
administration  would  involve  frequent  references  to  painful 
party  struggles  and  personal  animosities.  The  details 
would  interest  few,  and  the  events  of  October,  1865,  so 
completely  annihilated  the  prospects  of  men  who  sought 
personal  advantage  from  the  results  of  political  strife,  that 
the  record  would  illustrate  no  essential  point  in  the  history 
of  the  colony,  beyond  the  fact  that  a  representative  body 
was  a  delusion  and  a  snare  in  a  community  where  not 
one  in  two  hundred  of  the  inhabitants  had  a  vote,  and 
where  old  systems  and  prejudices  had  raised  barriers  in  the 
way  of  progress  which  only  a  strong,  wise,  and  impartial 
government  could  eradicate.  A  mere  sketch  of  the  state 
of  parties,  and  of  the  leading  subjects  of  discussion,  wiU 
satisfy  most  readers. 

To  form  some  idea  of  the  obstacles  which  lay  in  the  way 
of  a  good  strong  government,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  there  were,  at  this  time,  two  distinct  and  rather 
powerful  parties  in  the  assembly.  It  is  difficult  to  give  to 
either  a  simple  distinctive  name.  The  town  and  country 
party  were  terms  not  unfrequently  employed.  By  the 
latter  was  understood  what  has  also  been  called  the  plant- 
ing interest.  Those  who  belonged  to  it  were  usually  pro- 
prietors of  large  estates,  or  else  represented  the  proprietors 
as  attorneys.  The  town  party  was  sometimes  spoken  of 
as  that  of  Jordon  and  Osborn,  but  the  definition  was  not 
quite  correct,  at  all  events  if  it  was  meant  to  imply  that 
all  their  followers  were,  like  themselves,  gentlemen  of 
colour.    The  noble  stand  taken  by  Mr.  Jordon  in  the  days 


BESPONSIBLE  OOVEBNMENT.  453 

of  civil  disabilities,  had  enlisted  on  his  side  nearly  all 
whose  liberties  he  had  helped  to  secure.  Mr.  Osbom  was 
his  partner  in  business,  and  few  men  were  ever  better 
acquainted  with  the  practice  of  the  house  of  assembly. 
This  fact,  combined  with  the  statesmanlike  qualities  of 
Mr.  Jordon,  pointed  them  out  as  leaders,  not  only  to  the 
class  to  which  they  belonged,  but  to  many  others  whose 
interests  were  not  identical  with  those  of  the  country 
party. 

The  town  party,  as  with  this  explanation  it  may  be 
called,  had  one  great  advantage  over  that  of  the  country. 
They  mostly  resided  in  Spanish  Town  or  Kingston,  and 
thus  the  time  to  which  the  session  was  prolonged  did  not 
materially  afifect  them.  But  gentlemen  whose  estates  lay 
in  the  rural  districts  were  anxious  to  get  the  business  of 
the  session  over  before  Christmas,  so  that  they  could  re- 
turn to  their  properties  and  attend  to  their  personal  affairs. 
If  therefore  the  session  could  be  prolonged  into  January 
or  February,  the  town  party  was  in  a  position  to  carry 
their  measures  without  opposition.  Beyond  these  parties 
were  a  number  of  men  voting  with  either,  as  principle  or 
personal  interest  dictated — "  waiters  on  providence,"  to  use 
a  newly-coined  English  parliamentary  phrase. 

The  first  executive  committee  was  a  compromise:  it 
consisted  of  Mr.  Jordon  and  Mr.  Hosack,  a  planter.  The 
Honourable  Bryan  Edwards,  of  the  council,  was  for  a  short 
time  a  member  of  it,  but  he  soon  gave  place  to  the 
Honourable  George  Price.  It  was  under  the  guidance  of 
these  gentlemen  that  the  measures  of  retrenchment  and 
reform,  alluded  to  during  the  government  of  Sir  Henry 
Barkley,  were  carried  into  effect.  It  is  impossible  to  ap- 
prove of  all  that  they  recommended,  but  they  did  a  good 
deal  to  restore  public  confidence,  and  place  the  affairs  of  the 
colony  on  a  more  satisfactory  basis  than  had  been  known 
for  many  former  years. 

For  a  time  they  worked  harmoniously  with  Governor 
Darling,  but  in  1860  a  serious  difficulty  arose.  Th(} 
necessity  of  improving  the  roads  in  the  colony  was 
admitted  by  all  parties;  a  considerable  sum  from  the 
taxation  of  the  colony  was  therefore  expended  in  this 
direction,  and  a  loan  for  the  same  purpose  was  authorised. 
Yet  in  addition  it  was  found  that  the  executive  committee. 


454  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA, 

in  one  year,  had  expended  £17,000  beyond  the  amount 
authorised.  Mr.  Darling  maintained  that  they  were 
responsible  to  the  assembly  for  this  transaction.  They 
denied  their  responsibility  to  that  body,  either  (or  acts 
of  maladministration  or  for  over-expenditure  like  that 
alluded  to.  A  great  deal  of  angry  controversy  followed, 
some  asserting  that  the  executive  committee  were  "mere 
clerks  of  the  governor/*  and  others  declaring  that  the 
governor  "had  conjured  up  a  demon  in  the  shape  of 
limited  responsibility,  which  would  not  be  laid  for  many 
years."  It  was  an  unlucky  business,  but  a  majority  in  the 
assembly  upheld  the  governor  in  the  view  he  had  taken. 
The  existing  committee  was  dismissed,  and  Messrs.  Smith, 
Solomon,  and  Baron  Ketelhodt  were  called  to  office  in  their 
place. 

This  question  of  responsibility  had  not  been  settled  by 
the  Act  appointing  an  executive  committee.  Mr.  Smith 
was  anxious  it  should  be  clearly  defined,  and  before  his 
nomination,  proposed  a  resolution  declaring  that  "the  power 
is  inherent  in  the  house  to  invoke  that  responsibihty 
whenever  the  occasion  for  so  doing  may  arise."  Mr. 
Westmoreland  moved  an  amendment,  adding  to  the  fore- 
going assertion  another  to  the  effect  that  the  responsibihty 
of  the  governor  for  the  proper  control  of  public  affairs 
was  clearly  estabhshed  by  the  Act  for  the  better  govern- 
ment of  the  island.  This  was  carried  by  a  majority  of 
seventeen  to  twelve. 

The  members  of  the  new  executive  committee  were  not 
well  versed  in  the  forms  of  the  house,  and  above  all  they 
required  time  to  prepare  their  measures,  and  become  fully 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  public  business  and  finance. 
No  consideration  was,  however,  shown  them  by  their  op- 
ponents, and  much  time  was  lost  in  debate.  -  The  session 
did  not  close  until  the  22nd  of  March,  1861,  and  little 
really  profitable  came  out  of  all  its  discussions.  The  next 
assembly  met  on  the  12th  of  November,  and  sat  until  the 
15th  of  February.  A  change  in  the  committee  had  taken 
place,  by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Solomon  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Whitelock. 

The  subject  which  attracted  most  public  attention  during 
1861,  was  not  political  in  its  charater.  His  Koyal  Highness 
Prince  Alfred  was  then  a  midshipman  on  board  H.M.S. 


BEBPONSIBLE  OOYEBNMENT.  455 

the  St.  George.  After  visiting  other  West  Indian  islands, 
that  vessel  reached  Jamaica  on  the  2nd  of  April.  Every- 
thing that  the  government  and  the  citizens  could  do  to  give 
him  a  suitable  reception  was  done.  Banners,  evergreens, 
flowers,  and  fruit  almost  hid  many  of  the  houses ;  and,  in 
addition  to  levees  at  the  seat  of  government,  an  oppor- 
tunity was  given  to  the  multitude  to  see  the  young  prince, 
not  only  in  his  journey  through  Kingston,  but  by  a 
reception  on  the  parade.  Triumphal  arches  were  abundant, 
but  most  wonderful  of  all  was  the  immense  concourse  of 
people.  A  large  pavilion  had  been  erected,  and  here  many 
addresses  were  presented,  while  temporary  platforms  were 
prepared  on  which  upwards  of  two  thousand  Sunday-school 
children  were  gathered,  singing,  as  the  prince  approached, 
the  well-known  strains  of  the  National  Anthem.  During 
his  brief  visit,  the  prince  visited  St.  Thomas  in  the  Vale  ; 
but  other  excursions  and  arrangements  made  for  public 
festivities  were  brought  to  an  end  on  the  6th,  by  the  arrival 
of  the  news  of  the  death  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent.  His 
Boyal  Highness  immediately  went  on  board  his  ship.  But 
though  his  visit  was  so  painfully  terminated,  it  will  long  be 
remembered  with  pleasure  by  all  classes  of  the  community. 

In  the  spring  of  1862,  Governor  Darling  obtained  leave 
to  visit  England,  and  Mr.  Eyre,  then  at  one  of  the  smaller 
islands,  was  removed  to  Jamaica,  to  fill  the  office  of 
lieutenant-governor  during  his  absence.  Mr.  Eyre  dis- 
covered, when  the  assembly  opened  at  the  close  of  the  year, 
that  the  government  of  the  colony  would  be  no  easy  task. 
A  very  strong  party  in  opposition  to  the  executive  com- 
mittee had  been  formed,  led  by  its  former  members,  rein- 
forced by  Mr.  Westmoreland,  who  for  some  time  had  taken 
a  prominent  position  in  the  house.  This  gentleman  com- 
menced the  struggle  by  a  speech  in  opposition  to  the 
budget.  Other  measures  were  so  opposed  or  retarded  in 
their  progress,  that  it  became  necessary,  on  the  29th  of 
January,  to  prorogue  the  house,  which  was,  two  days  after- 
wards, dissolved  by  proclamation.  There  was  considerable 
excitement  throughout  the  island,  and  when  the  new 
assembly  met  on  the  24th  of  March,  1863,  it  was  found 
that  the  opposition  was  stronger  than  before. 

During  the  discussion  on  the  reply  to  the  opening  speech 
of  the  lieutenant-governor,  the  executive  committee  was 


456  mSTOBT  OF  jaxaicju 

defeated,  thongb  only  by  a  majority  of  one.  Besignation 
followed,  and  Mr.  Westmoreland  and  Mr.  Jordon,  together 
with  the  Hon.  6.  L.  Phillips,  were  appointed  in  their  stead. 
Mr.  Phillips  soon  withdrew,  and  Mr.  Price  resumed  his  old 
position.  It  was  remarked  that  the  new  committee  when 
in  power  had  little  that  was  new  to  propose.  Indeed,  these 
gentlemen  carried  into  effect  the  very  measures  they  had 
so  vehemently  opposed  when  in  opposition.  These  in- 
cluded a  bill  for  the  abolition  of  toll-gates,  the  loss  in 
revenue  being  met  by  a  small  addition  to  the  import  duties. 

Mr.  Eyre  failed  to  gain  the  favour  of  any  large  section  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  assembly,  nor  was  he  sustained 
as  he  should  have  been  by  the  executive  committee. 
Resolutions  affecting  him  were  prepared  and  handed  about, 
which,  if  carried,  would  have  obliged  him  to  retire  from  the 
government,  and  have  precluded  all  hope  of  his  obtaining 
another  colonial  appointment.  These  were  chiefly  used  for 
purposes  of  annoyance,  and,  with  the  exception  of  some 
proposed  but  not  supported  by  Mr.  Groves,  were  never  put 
on  the  motion  paper. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  Mr.  Eyre  had  taken  a  step 
which  elicited  the  hearty  approval  of  the  missionaries 
and  many  others  interested  in  the  social  weU-being  of  the 
colony,  but  which  was  most  severely  criticised  by  a  large 
number  of  persons.  This  was  the  publication  of  what  was 
known  as  the  morality  proclamation.  In  this  document 
Mr.  Eyre  announced  that  in  future  no  person  would  be  put 
on  the  list  of  applicants  for  public  appointments  unless  he 
was  able  to  transmit  a  certificate  from  a  minister  of  religion, 
or  other  trustworthy  person  of  position  and  responsibility, 
stating  that  the  candidate  was  strictly  honest,  sober, 
and  moral  in  his  conduct  and  habits.  In  the  case  of  any 
one  then  in  the  public  service  who  was  setting  an  evil 
example  by  leading  an  immoral  life,  such  conduct  would  be 
a  bar  to  promotion.  Heads  of  departments  were  notified 
that  they  were  not  in  future  to  recommend  any  one  they 
had  reason  to  believe  was  given  either  to  intemperate  or 
immoral  habits. 

Some  comment  was  afterwards  made  with  relation  to 
certain  appointments,  but  most  assuredly  the  responsibility 
lay  not  with  Mr.  Eyre,  but  with  those  who  had  furnished 
the  recommendations.     That  this  proclamation  gave  great 


BESPONSIBLE  007EBNMENT.  457 

offence  there  can  be  no  question,  and,  in  combination  with 
other  things,  created  a  strong  feeUng  of  opposition  to  Mr. 
Eyre.  But,  if  foes  were  numerous,  friends  were  active,  and 
many  addresses  in  his  favour  came  up  from  all  parts  of  the 
colony. 

In  February,  1864,  Mr.  Eyre's  conduct  formed  the  topic 
of  other  discussions  in  the  assembly.  On  the  8th  of  that 
month,  when  few  members  were  present,  a  series  of  eight 
resolutions  were  passed,  enumerating  the  grievances  of  the 
house.  Among  other  things,  it  was  complained  that  the 
lieutenant-governor  had  refused  to  supply  copies  of  certain 
correspondence  between  himself  and  the  colonial  secretary; 
that  he  had  interdicted  the  agent-general  of  immigration 
from  giving  evidence  before  a  committee  of  the  house ; 
that  he  had  referred  to  the  colonial  secretary  for  instruc- 
tions on  certain  matters  under  discussion  in  the  assembly ; 
and,  above  all,  that  he  had  instructed  the  attorney-general 
to  take  proceedings  by  way  of  habeas  coiytis  to  impeach 
the  right  of  the  house  to  imprison  for  contempt.  On  these 
and  some  other  minor  grounds,  the  few  members  who  were 
present,  and  constituted  the  house,  resolved  to  do  no  further 
business  with  him.  Thirteen  out  of  seventeen  members 
supported  this  determination.  The  executive  committee 
might  have  fallen  back  on  the  forms  of  the  house,  which 
would  have  delayed  discussion,  and  given  time  for  mem- 
bers to  come  up  from  the  country,  but  they  did  not,  and 
their  action  favoured  the  suspicion  that  they  were  not  loyal 
to  their  chief. 

There  were  other  gentlemen  who  could  not  look  upon 
this  proceeding  without  taking  steps  to  vindicate  the  cha- 
racter of  the  house,  and  an  energetic  protest  was  drawn 
up  by  sixteen  members  who  were  absent  on  the  occa- 
sion, protesting  against  the  resolution  which  had  been 
passed.  This  protest,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  many 
addresses  approving  of  Mr.  Eyre's  public  conduct,  led  the 
colonial  office  to  confirm  him  in  his  appointment,  with  the 
full  rank  of  governor.  The  commission  arrived  in  May, 
1864,  for  Mr.  Darling  had  been  appointed  governor  of 
Victoria,  and  thus  the  government  of  Jamaica  had  become 
vacant. 

The  confirmation  and  promotion  of  Mr.  Eyre  must  have 
greatly  disconcerted  many  in  high  places.     The  executive 


458  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

oommittee,  whose  want  of  energy  has  been  shown  in 
reference  to  the  vote  to  do  no  business,  had  taken  a  more 
decided  step  in  the  way  of  opposition.  In  April,  Mr.  Eyre 
had  seen  fit  to  send  down  to  the  house  a  despatch  he  had 
received  from  the  colonial  office  in  the  early  part  of  the 
former  year,  having  reference  to  the  very  discussions  which 
had  brought  the  existing  committee  into  office.  In  this 
document  the  colonial  secretary  laid  down  the  principle 
that  if  ''  a  bare  majority,  formed  by  accidental  and  tem- 
porary circumstances,  shall  be  headed  by  interested  persons 
to  obstruct  public  business  on  slender  and  futile  pretexts, 
and  by  questionable  methods,"  the  conduct  of  such  persons 
"will  be  regarded  by  her  Majesty's  government,  not  as 
entitling  them  to  seats  in  the  executive  committee,  but  as 
disqualifying  them  from  serving  in  it.  If  therefore  (added 
the  colonial  minister)  the  new  assembly  should  unfortu- 
nately follow  in  the  steps  of  its  predecessor,  and  offer, 
not  merely  fair  opposition,  but  factious  obstruction  to 
public  business,  designed  to  force  certain  parties  into  office, 
I  am  of  opinion  that  you  should  nevertheless  retain  the 
services  of  the  present  executive  committee  as  long  as  they 
shall  be  willing  to  serve.*'* 

This  despatch  did  not  reach  Jamaica  till  April,  1863,  by 
which  time,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  new  assembly  had 
met,  and  continued  the  opposition  to  the  members  of  the 
old  committee,  which  led  to  their  resignation  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  existing  body.  Its  publication,  twelve 
months  after,  greatly  annoyed  these  gentlemen,  and  Mr. 
Price  prepared,  as  he  subsequently  admitted,  a  resolution, 
which  was  moved  in  the  house  of  assembly  by  Mr.  Alberga, 
in  which  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Eyre  in  the  transaction  of 
public  business  was  condemned.  A  correspondence  between 
Mr.  Price  and  Mr.  Eyre  followed,  and  ended  in  Mr.  Price's 
dismissal  from  office. 

It  was  generally  understood  that  Mr.  Price  had  not 
acted  on  his  own  responsibility  in  this  matter,  and  when 
Mr.  Eyre's  full  appointment  arrived,  it  was  expected  that 
the  other  members  of  the  committee  would  resign.  They 
retained  their  seats,  and  one  of  the  thirteen  who  had  re- 
fused to  do  business  with  Mr.  Eyre,  moved  a  resolution  to 
the  effect  that  the  retention  of  office  by  the  members  of  the 

'^  Despatch  from  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  March  16, 1868. 


BELIGION,   EDUCATION,   AND   SOCIAL   PROOBESS.  459 

executive  committee  in  the  assembly,  while  assisting  to 
subvert  the  policy  of  the  governor,  was  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Act  for  the  better  government  of  the  island, 
and  detrimental  to  the  character  of  the  assembly.  There 
was  much  hot  discussion.  Several  of  the  ''  thirteen  ** 
asserted  that  in  what  they  had  done  they  felt  they  had  the 
moral  support  of  at  least  one  member  of  the  committee 
seated  in  that  house,  but  the  resolution  fell  to  the  ground. 
The  assembly  and  the  country  wanted  rest,  and  Mr.  Eyre, 
being  now  fully  recognised  as  governor,  was  disposed  to 
condone  all  past  offences. 

Mr.  Jordon  was  appointed  to  the  post  of  receiver- 
general,  and  subsequently  to  that  of  island  secretary. 
He  was  succeeded  in  the  committee  by  Mr.  Hosack,  and 
Dr.  Hamilton  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Price  in  the  council. 


CHAPTER  V. 

BELiaiON,   EDUCATION,    AND   SOCIAL   PBOGBESS,   FBOM 

1839  TO  1865. 

Befobe  entering  upon  a  consideration  of  the  painful  events 
of  1865,  a  brief  review  must  be  taken  of  those  movements 
of  a  religious  and  social  character  which  marked  the  period 
since  emancipation.  A  purer  code  of  social  morality  had 
been  introduced  among  all  classes  of  society.  In  the  days 
of  slavery,  it  was  a  rare  thing  to  find  a  married  overseer  or 
bookkeeper.  This  state  of  things  no  longer  exists;  and 
while  it  would  be  idle  to  deny  the  existence  of  much  social 
impurity,  a  vast  improvement  has  taken  place  in  this 
respect.  Where  vicious  habits  are  indulged,  the  fact  is 
more  generally  known  than  in  the  great  cities  of  Europe, 
for  in  small  communities  these  things  are  not  hidden  as  in 
the  great  centres  of  population. 

The  habits  of  the  upper  classes  have  become  more  con- 
formed to  those  generally  prevailing  in  Europe  or  America. 
Colonial  life  is  not  so  isolated  as  it  once  was.  The  fre- 
quent and  rapid  communication  by  steam  has  had  a 
marked  effect  on  society  generally  j  and  the  visitor  to  the 


460  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

West  Indies,  introdnced  into  a  respectable  circle,  would 
observe  very  little  distinction  between  the  prevailing  man- 
ners and  customs,  as  compared  with  England,  that  could 
not  be  accounted  for  by  the  difference  of  climate ;  while 
education,  and  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  property  af- 
forded to  those  whose  ancestors  were  affected  by  social 
disabilities,  has  led  to  the  formation  of  a  large  and  in- 
creasing middle  class.  Among  the  rural  population  gene- 
rally many  will  be  found  who  are  not  greatly  improved  in 
their  habits  or  condition  since  the  days  of  slavery,  but  this 
statement  would  be  quite  untrue  if  appUed  to  more  than  a 
small  minority.  In  the  case  of  most,  a  great  and  truly 
wonderful  change  has  been  effected.  The  serfs  of  the  past 
generation  are  the  freeholders  of  the  present ;  they  possess 
a  very  considerable  extent  of  the  soil,  and  are  producing 
an  annually  augmenting  proportion  of  the  articles  exported 
from  the  colony;  while  the  improvement  in  their  social 
condition  leads  to  an  increasing  demand  for  articles  of 
British  manufacture. 

After  Dr.  Underhill's  return  from  visiting  the  island  in 
1861,  he  published  a  volume,  in  which  he  gave  many  in- 
teresting statements  illustrative  of  the  fact  last  named. 
Some  statements  he  made  as  to  the  material  wealth  of  the 
people  have  been  questioned,  but  they  are  repeated  here,* 
with  the  conviction  that  the  estimate  might  nQw  be  almost 
doubled. 

The  efforts  of  the  various  religious  bodies  since  1838  do 
not  supply  so  many  striking  facts  as  at  the  earlier  period. 
The  days  of  persecution  had  ended,  there  was  free  access 
to  the  people  at  large,  and  gradually  the  work  of  faithful, 
earnest  pastors  assumed  the  characteristics  which  mark 
it  in  countries  where  Christianity  is  recognised  as  the 
religion  of  the  people. 

*  Dr.  Underbill's  statement  is  as  follows : — 

65,000  houses,  with  furniture,  at  ^16  each  ...  ^£1,040,000 

854,575  acres  of  land,  at  dOs.  an  acre  581,862 

Clothes  for  65,000  families,  at  £\  each 260,000 

Stock  on  freeholds,  at  £3  each  family 195,000 

5000  sugar  mills,  at  £10  each 50,000 

Funds  in  savings  banks  49,399 

je2,126,261 


RELIGION,    EDUCATION,   AND   SOCIAL   PROGRESS.  461 

The  Moravians,  after  emancipation,  found  it  necessary  to 
enlarge  several  of  their  places  of  worship,  and  the  cost  was 
defrayed  by  their  congregations,  aided  by  friends  in  Eng- 
land.* A  Normal  school  was  also  established  at  Fairfield. 
When  public  attention  was  drawn  to  the  desirability  of 
African  colonisation,  by  the  Niger  expedition  of  1840, 
several  persons,  some  of  whom  were  married,  went  out 
with  two  missionaries  from  Basle  to  Akrapong,  near  Coast 
Castle,  Guinea.  The  experiment,  though  not  a  failure,  was 
by  no  means  so  successful  as  to  lead  to  its  continuance. 

But  while  young  converts  were  thus  sent  forth  in 
the  hope  that  their  example  would  tell  beneficially  on 
the  heathendom  of  Africa,  old  superstitions  were  strug- 
gling to  regain  their  former  ascendency  over  the  minds 
of  Christian  communicants  in  Jamaica.  In  1842,  several 
negroes  residing  on  an  estate  near  Montego  Bay  gave 
themselves  out  to  be  Myalmen ;  and  in  St.  James,  West- 
moreland, and  Trelawny,  thousands  of  deluded  people 
became  their  followers.  They  were  accustomed  to  meet 
together  after  nightfall,  generally  beneath  the  shadow 
of  a  cotton  tree.  Fowls  were  sacrificed,  and  wild  songs 
sung,  in  the  chorus  of  which  the  multitude  joined.  Dancing 
then  began,  becoming  more  and  more  weirdiike  in  character, 
until  one  and  another  fell  exhausted  to  the  ground,  when 
their  incoherent  utterances  were  listened  to  as  divine 
revelations.  Half-demented  creatures  sat  among  the 
branches,  or  in  the  hollow  trunks  of  trees,  singing; 
while  others,  with  their  heads  bound  in  a  fantastic  fashion, 
ran  about  with  arms  outstretched,  and  declared  that  they 
were  flying.  It  became  necessary  at  last  to  swear  in  several 
hundreds  of  special  constables,  and  to  punish  numbers  of 
these  deluded  people  for  disturbing  the  peace.  It  is  satis- 
factory to  add  that  very  few  members  of  churches  were 
implicated  in  these  proceedings.!  Some  six  years  later  a 
Myalman,  called  Dr.  Taylor,  gave  much  trouble  in  Man- 
chester and  Clarendon,  drawing  great  crowds  after  him. 
He  was  sent  to  the  penitentiary,  where  he  was  accidentally 
killed.  In  1852  the  delusion  again  appeared:  some  now 
gave  themselves  out  to  be  prophets,  and  saw  visions,  but 
the  firmness  of  the  missionaries  soon  put  an  end  to  these 
practices. 

"***  Moravians  iu  Jamaioa,"  pp.  182.  t  Ibid.,  pp.  18&-141, 


462  HISTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

In  1847  a  visitation  of  the  Moravian  churches  was  held 
by  Messrs.  Herman  and  Mallalieu.  Mr.  Pfeiffer  established 
a  mission  among  the  Indians  on  the  Mosquito  Coast,  which 
still  continues  to  prosper.  During  the  cholera  the  losses 
among  the  people  were  very  great :  at  one  station  one 
hundred  and  forty  church  members  died,  but  on  the  whole 
much  prosperity  has  attended  these  missions.  In  1853  the 
Moravians  had  thirteen  stations,  at  which,  to  use  their  own 
phraseology,  there  were  seventeen  brethren  and  sixteen 
sisters;  4182  persons  were  members  of  their  churches; 
and,  including  children,  there  were  12,800  persons  in  all 
connected  with  the  congregations.  In  1865  the  returns 
were  somewhat  similar,  and  fifty-two  day  schools  were  in 
operation. 

For  some  time  after  freedom  the  Baptists  increased  in 
number;  in  three  years  eleven  thousand  persons  were 
baptised.*  At  the  close  of  1842  it  was  reported  that  in 
ten  years'  the  churches  had  increased  from  about  10,000 
members  to  33,658,  the  chapels  from  fifteen  to  fifty,  and 
that  the  congregations  comprised  80,000  persons,  of  whom 
nearly  15,000  were  inquirers.t  A  discussion  as  to  the  purity 
of  these  large  churches  was  commenced  about  this  time  by 
the  Bev.  G.  Blyth,  a  Scotch  missionary  of  great  experience. 
His  views  were  endorsed  by  all  the  Presbyterians,  by  many 
connected  with  the  London  Missionary  Society,  by  some 
earnest  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  also  by 
a  few  Baptist  ministers.  A  catalogue  of  the  pamphlets 
and  more  important  newspaper  and  magazine  articles  on 
this  subject  would  fill  several  pages :  an  epitome  of  the 
whole  may  be  found  in  Dr.  Brown's  "  History  of  Missions."! 
The  excitement  occasioned  by  this  controversy  only  ceased 
when  the  missionaries  and  churches  in  Jamaica  declared 
themselves  altogether  independent  of  the  parent  society 
in  England.  £6000  was  then  contributed  by  the  society 
to  pay  off  some  chapel  debts,  with  the  understanding  that 
the  mission  in  Jamaica  should  seek  no  further  support 
from  home. 

Immense  sums  of  money  were  at  this  time  raised  by  the 
Baptist  churches.  Mr.  Knibb,  in  a  speech  at  Exeter  HaU, 
in  London,  stated  that  in  a  few  years  dE60,000  had  been 

*  PhiUippo's  "  Jamaioa,"  p.  297. 

t  Statement  by  Baptist  Missionary  Sooiety^    |  VoL  ii  pp.  82-98^ 


BELiaiONy   EDUCATION,   AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS.  463 

contributed  by  the  people  for  "  houses  for  God."  His  own 
congregation  had  built  him  a  house,  which  they  had  fur- 
nished and  provided  with  a  library,  at  a  total  cost  of  nearly 
jei900.  They  also  contributed  iGlOOO  to  build  a  house 
which  should  belong  to  his  widow  and  family  in  the  event 
of  his  death.*  While  thus  frank  about  matters  in 
which  he  had  a  personal  interest,  he  was  not  able  to 
supply  similar  returns  as  to  the  expenditure  at  other 
stations.! 

Mr.  Knibb's  influence  among  the  people  was  immense. 
At  the  celebration  of  the  jubilee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society,  at  his  station,  called  Kettering,  nine  thousand 
people  assembled.  As  many,  it  was  computed,  were  present 
at  his  funeral,  on  the  16th  of  November,  1845,  for  he  died 
when  only  forty-two  years  of  age.  He  was  soon  followed 
to  the  grave  by  his  accomplished  friend  and  co-worker, 
Mr.  Burchell. 

In  1842,  a  party  of  forty-two  persons,  including  wives 
and  children,  mostly  natives  of  Jamaica,  sailed  in  the 
Chilmarkf  to  establish  a  mission  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 
Mr.  Clark  and  Dr.  Prince,  who  accompanied  them,  were 
devoted  missionaries,  but  even  under  their  superintendence 
the  enterprise  met  with  only  partial  success.! 

In  1843,  Calabar  College  was  established,  to  train  a  native 
ministry :  it  was  at  first  under  the  care  of  Bev.  Mr.  Tinson, 
who  died  in  1850.  Two  years  after,  the  Bev.  D.  J.  East 
came  from  England  as  principal,  and  under  his  superin- 
tendence, and  that  of  his  predecessor,  many  excellent 
pastors  have  been  trained  for  their  work.  In  September, 
1855,  a  Normal  school  for  training  teachers  was  commenced, 
and  is  still  in  operation.  Both  institutions  have  lately 
been  removed  to  Kingston.  They  are  aided  by  contribu- 
tions from  the  English  society,  and  from  friends  interested 
in  the  work. 

The  general  depression  of  commercial  affairs,  beginning 
in  1846,  greatly  affected  the  resources  of  the  Baptist 
churches ;  the  contributions  of  the  members  declined,  while 
a  spirit  of  worldliness  on  the  part  of  those  whose  religious 
convictions  had  never  been  very  deep,  still  further  affected 

*  Knibb's  Speech  at  Exeter  Hall,  April  28, 1842 ;  ••  Life  of  Knibb,'* 
pp.  419-4B2.  t  Ibid.,  pp.  485,  486. 

I  "  Voice  of  Jubilee,"  pp.  180-188,  &o. 


464  msTOBT  OF  Jamaica. 

the  finances  of  the  mission.  Some  missionaries ,  were  so 
seriously  embarrassed  as  to  leave  the  island,  others  suffered 
much  privation ;  and  the  cholera  still  further  told  upon  the 
material  progress  of  the  churches.  Appeals  were  in  con- 
sequence made  to  the  society  in  England  for  aid :  they  were 
not  responded  to,  as  the  committee  of  management  adhered 
to  the  principle  of  independence  laid  down,  but  special 
subscriptions  were  raised  to  afford  assistance  to  needy 
churches  for  a  limited  time.*  More  recently,  some  slight 
departure  has  been  made  from  the  strict  rule  of  not  aiding 
the  Jamaica  pastors. 

Inl861,Dr.Underhill,one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society,  arrived  in  the  island,  and  spent  four 
months  in  visiting  the  different  congregations.  He  found 
that  in  1859  there  were  19,300  church  members  and  2300  in- 
quirers. He  estimated  the  average  number  attending  all 
the  places  of  worship  at  35,000.  There  were  seventy-seven 
churches,  but  only  thirty-eight  pastors,  of  whom  twenty- 
three  were  Europeans.!  The  total  amount  contributed  for 
religious  purposes  was  about  £8000.1 

In  1865,  there  were  eighty-seven  places  of  worship; 
twenty  white,  and  eighteen  native  pastors ;  nearly  22,000 
members ;  sixty-six  day  schools,  and  4000  children  on  the 
books ;  and  about  the  same  number  of  Sabbath  schools,  in 
which  there  were  750  teachers.  The  chapels  were  estimated 
to  contain  51,328  people.  § 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  gain  precise  information  relative  to 
the  Wesleyan  body.  No  books  "have,  of  late  years,  been 
published  by  its  missionaries  in  Jamaica,  but  that  it  has 
made  steady  progress  is  indisputable.  In  every  parish  in 
the  island  its  chapels  will  be  found,  and  in  some  districts 
every  village  has  its  society.  A  comparison  of  statistical 
statements  shows  some  loss  in  the  number  of  adherents. 
In  1844  there  were  26,585  members;  in  1850,  19,554;  in 
1860,  17,575;  in  1864  there  were  18,105.  They  had,  at 
this  last  date,  seventy-two  chapels  and  fifty-five  preaching 
stations.  Twenty-six  missionaries  laboured  among  these 
people,  and  a  numerous  staff  of  local  preachers.  For  many 
years  the  Bev.  Jonathan  Edmondson  superintended  these 

*  **  Baptist  MiBsionary  Herald"  for  1851,  &c. 

+  "  The  West  Indies/^  by  Dr.  Underbill,  p.  429,  &c. 

I  Ibid.  §  Blue  Book  for  1865. 


HELIOION,    EDUCATION,   AND   SOCIAL  PBOGBESS.  465 

missions  with  fidelity  and  zeal.  They  still  receive  aid 
from  the  parent  society,  but  are  making  vigorous  efforts  to 
keep  the  amount  as  low  as  possible.  « 

The  party  which  broke  off  from  this  denomination  in 
1887,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Pinnock,  passed  through 
many  vicissitudes.  In  1850  it  had  about  two  thousand 
members,  under  the  care  of  six  ministers,  meeting  in  ten 
chapels.  A  division  took  place,  and  Mr.  Baxter,  a  man  of 
considerable  power,  was  sent  out  from  England,  and, 
through  his  influence,  an  association  was  formed,  under 
the  name  of  the  United  Methodist  Free  Church.  It  was 
afiUiated  with  the  body  of  the  same  name,  and  enjoys  a  fair 
measure  of  prosperity. 

In  1847,  the  stations  which  had  been  occupied  by  the 
Scottish  Missionary  Society  were  transferred  to  the  Board 
of  Missions  of  the  tjnited  Presbyterian  Church.  The  first- 
named  society  had  been  formed  on  the  broad  basis  of 
uniting  all  Scottish  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  work  of 
Christian  missions,  but  of  late  years  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  and  the  United  Secession  Church 
had  established  separate  missions;  and  though  these  did 
not  for  a  time  affect  the  older  society,  the  controversies 
that  subsequently  arose  on  the  question  of  church  estab- 
lishments made  it  evident  that  the  support  of  Jamaica 
missions  would  become  increasingly  difficult.  The  mis- 
sionaries in  the  island  had,  with  one  exception,  been  con- 
nected with  the  United  Secession  Church  before  they  left 
Scotland,  and  that  body  bad  now  been  amalgamated  with 
what  were  known  as  the  Relief  Churches,  under  the  title  of 
the  United  Presbyterian  Church.  The  missionaries  ac- 
cordingly agreed  to  unite  themselves  with  the  new  organi- 
sation, which  had  also  established  some  churches  in  the 
island.  The  whole  were  therefore  united  as  one  mission, 
under  the  same  management. 

This  mission  for  some  years  suffered  greatly  from  the 
mortality  among  those  sent  out  by  the  society.  It  was 
often  no  easy  task  to  supply  their  place,  and  the  churches, 
on  this  account,  suffered  more  than  others,  as  little  was 
done  to  develop  that  lay  agency  so  efficient  when  judiciously 
selected.  In  1865,  there  were  twenty-six  stations,  twenty- 
two  missionaries,  and  forty-eight  schools,  with  1791  chil- 
dren in  attendance.     The  chapel  accommodation  was  for 

81 


46G  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

12,575  persons,  and  the  average  attendance  7955.  In  1860, 
the  cost  of  the  mission  was  about  £5000  to  the  parent 
society,  an/l  £3000  was  also  contributed  at  the  stations. 
No  other  British  society  is  so  liberal  in  its  expenditure. 

The  work  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  commenced 
in  1884,  continued  to  make  quiet  progress.  In  1843,  the 
Bey.  J.  J.  Freeman,  one  of  the  secretaries,  visited  the 
island,  and  examined  carefully  into  the  state  of  the  mission. 
The  result  of  his  visit  was  a  gradual  withdrawal  of  English 
schoolmasters,  and  an  increased  development  of  native 
agency.  Mr.  Gargill,  while  engaged  as  government  in- 
spector, visited  the  schools  connected  with  the  several 
stations,  and  reported  them  as  among  the  best  in  the 
island.  In  1865,  there  were  fifteen  chapels  connected  with 
this  body,  at  which  churches  were  organised,  and  eighteen 
village  chapels  or  preaching  stations.  The  accommodation 
was  for  9010  persons ;  the  congregations  averaged  5610. 
In  1856,  an  institution  at  MandeviUe  was  established  for 
the  training  of  a  native  agency.  It  was  relinquished  after 
three  years,  and  a  system  introduced  more  in  accordance 
with  the  requirements  of  a  small  mission  in  such  a  colony 
as  Jamaica. 

Shortly  after  freedom  an  American  mission  was  com- 
menced, chiefly  among  the  mountains  in  Metcalfe.  Six 
missionaries  had  charge  of  as  many  stations,  and,  in  1865, 
reported  that  their  chapels  would  seat  1340,  and  were 
attended  by  750  persons. 

Five  or  six  priests  ministered  to  the  spiritual  necessities 
of  the  Boman  Catholics  in  the  island.  They  had  eight 
chapels  in  1865,  and  about  three  thousand  adherents,  a 
very  considerable  number  of  whom  were  refugees  from 
Hayti,  or  descendants  of  Haytien  families  who  had  pre- 
viously settled  in  the  island. 

In  the  returns  printed  in  the  Blue  Book  for  1865,  from 
which  many  of  the  figures  quoted  above  are  taken,  refer- 
ence is  frequently  made  to  the  fact  that  both  schooLs  ai^ 
congregations  were  smaller  than  they  had  been  for  many 
years.  To  what  extent  this  was  owing  to  the  feelings  of 
dissatisfaction  and  insubordination  which  culminated  at 
Morant  Bay,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say,  but  of  the  fact 
there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever. 

In  1861,  there  had  been  a  very  remarkable  religions  move- 


RELIGION,    EDUCATION,    AND    SOCIAL   PROGRESS.  467 

ment,  known  as  **  the  revival."  It  commenced  among  the 
Moravians,  and  gradually  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  island. 
Like  a  mountain  stream,  clear  and  transparent  as  it  springs 
from  the  rock,  but  which  becomes  foul  and  repulsive  as 
impurities  are  mingled  with  it  in  its  onward  course,  so 
with  this  most  extraordinary  movement.  In  many  of  the 
central  districts  of  the  island  the  hearts  of  thoughtful  and 
good  men  were  gladdened  by  what  they  witnessed  in  the 
changed  lives  and  characters  of  people  for  whom  they  long 
seemed  to  have  laboured  in  vain ;  but  in  too  many  dis- 
tricts there  was  much  of  wild  extravagance  and  almost 
blasphemous  fanaticism.  This  was  especially  the  case 
where  the  native  Baptists  had  any  considerable  influence. 
Among  these,  the  manifestations  occasioned  by  the  influence 
of  the  Myalmen,  as  described  on  page  461,  were  very  com- 
mon. To  the  present  time,  what  are  called  revival  meet- 
ings are  common  among  these  people. 

Apart  from  these  accessories,  the  movement  effected  an 
immense  amount  of  good.  The  extravagances  attracted 
public  attention;  the  quiet,  purifying  influences  were  less 
observable.  Many  thousands  of  marriages  were  celebrated 
among  people  who  had  lived  together  for  years  in  disregard 
of  that  sacred  tie.  Evil  habits  were  abandoned.  The  rum 
shops  were  forsaken  by  multitudes,  and  thousands  were 
added  to  the  different  congregations,  of  whom  many  became 
communicants,  and  have  remained  faithful.  Perhaps  one  of 
the  most  pleasing  facts  connected  with  the  movement  was 
the  increased  study  of  the  Word  of  God.  Thirty-seven  thou- 
sand copies  were  gold  within  a  period  of  eighteen  months. 
Those  who  have  carefully  considered  the  details  of  similar 
movements  in  America,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  will  need  no 
further  information  as  to  the  characteristics  of  this  in 
Jamaica.  It  was  similar  in  all  essential  features,  so  far  as 
it  was  under  the  guidance  of  earnest,  judicious  pastors. 

Some  of  the  more  important  facts  connected  with  the 
Established  Church  have  already  been  alluded  to  in  the 
course  of  historical  events.  In  1839,  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  had  nine  clergymen  and  twenty-six  cate- 
chists  labouring  in  the  island,  on  whom,  together  with 
grants  for  erecting  churches  and  schools,  they  expended 
Jl9,000.*     Two  years  later,  a  return  showed  that  there 

*  "  Votes,*'  1839,  p.  218. 
31  * 


468  HISTOBY   OP  JAMAICA. 

were  twenty-one  rectors  and  thirty-eight  curates  on  the 
establishment,  receiving  £22,930  from  the  public  funds. 
£7480  more  was  granted  for  church  extension,  and  £30,906 
was  paid  in  addition  from  parochial  funds.  To  all  this 
must  be  added  £8100  more  from  the  British  government, 
£3000  from  the  Propagation  Society,  and  large  sums,  as 
seen  above,  from  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  It  is 
true  that  a  far  better  class  of  clergymen  were  now  at  work 
than  in  former  years,  but  the  spiritual  results  were  not  in 
accordance  with  the  lavish  expenditure.  The  Bishop  of 
Jamaica  was  an  absentee  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  a  suffragan  bishop,  under  the  title  of  Bishop  of  King- 
ston, discharged  his  duties,  and  in  addition  to  his  stipend 
as  archdeacon,  received  rather  less  than  half  the  sum 
(£3000  a  year)  paid  by  the  British  government  to  the 
Bishop  of  Jamaica.  Had  the  colonial  instead  of  the  im- 
perial parliament  been  responsible  for  these  stipends,  such 
an  arrangement  would  not  have  been  sanctioned.  The 
Kev.  Eeginald  Courtenay,  D.D.,  who  was  appointed  suffra- 
gan in  1858,  delivered  his  primary  charge  in  the  same 
year.  The  mission  churches  were  gradually  transferred  to 
the  island  establishment,  and  aid  from  England  almost 
entirely  ceased.  In  1865,  there  were  eighty-six  churches, 
capable  of  accommodating  46,434  persons,  and  reported  as 
attended  by  39,710.*  The  number  of  clergy  was  rather  in 
excess  of  that  of  churches. 

In  connection  with  the  religious  and  educational  opera- 
tions of  different  sections  of  the  church,  must  be  remem- 
bered the  liberality  of  several  English  associations.  The 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  the  British  and  Foreign 
School  Society,  and  other  similar  institutions,  greatly  aided 
those  who  were  toiling  for  the  benefit  of  the  people.  The 
Society  of  Friends  have  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the 
people ;  liberal  subscriptions  were  given  by  them  for  many 
years  to  country  schools,  and  occasional  deputations  evinced 
kindly  interest  in  the  labours  of  those  who  were  seeking 
the  moral,  social,  and  religious  advancement  of  the  pea- 
santry. 

One  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  to  the  advancement  of 
the  people,  especially  in  the  eastern  districts,  was  found  in 
the  influence  of  the  native  Baptists.     To  the  superstitious 

*  Blue  Book,  1865. 


RELIGION,    EDUCATION,    AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS.  469 

practices  described  in  a  former  chapter,  others  might  be 
added.  Their  leaders  were  men  of  no  education,  and  to 
their  influence  and  teaching  the  deplorable  events  soon  to 
be  recorded,  must  be,  in  no  small  degree,  attributed. 

*  For  many  years  past  attention  had  been  called  from 
time  to  time  to  the  alleged  mismanagement  of  the  public 
hospital  and  lunatic  asylum.  The  admitted  unfitness  of 
the  latter  place  for  the  reception  of  patients,  led  to  the 
commencement  of  a  new  asylum  so  early  as  1844,  but  in 
consequence  of  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  colony, 
the  costly  building  was  left  uncompleted,  and  was  for  some 
years  almost  hidden  from  view  by  the  jungle  which  grew 
up  around  it.  Towards  the  close  of  Sir  Charles  Grey*s  ad- 
ministration, many  gross  abuses  were  brought  to  light,  and 
formed  the  subject  of  inquiry  by  the  house  of  assembly. 
The  superintendent  was  not  a  medical  man,  neither  had  he 
received  any  special  training  for  his  work.  Any  one  more 
unfit  for  such  a  position  it  would  have  been  diflicult  to 
find.  The  treatment  of  the  wretched  inmates  was  dis- 
gustingly cruel.  A  system  known  as  ** tanking"  was  in 
constant  use :  it  consisted  in  plunging  troublesome  or  dis- 
obedient patients  into  a  large  bath  or  tank,  and  holding 
them  under  water,  this  process  being  repeated  again  and 
again,  until  the  sufferer  was  well-nigh  exhausted.  There 
was  no  allowance  made  for  sex,  and  if  a  female  patient 
was  too  strong  for  the  ordinary  nurses  in  the  ward,  men 
would  be  called  in  to  duck  her.  The  unhappy  creatures 
were  fed  as  if  they  were  pigs,  while  solitary  confinement 
and  stripes  were  not  unfrequent  modes  of  punishment. 

The  want  of  classification  was  another  sore  evil.  At 
night  numbers  were  locked  in  cells  together,  and  the  fight- 
ing was  often  terrific.  Means  were  used  to  make  the 
lunatics  work  for  the  personal  benefit  of  the  superinten- 
dent, and  altogether  it  was  one  of  the  most  mismanaged 
institutions  in  the  West  Indies. 

Inquiries  in  the  house  of  assembly  seldom  resulted  in 
much  good,  for  the  accused  parties  had  friends  among  the 
members.  Thus,  though  these  abuses  were  spoken  of  from 
time  to  time,  no  measures  were  taken  to  bring  them  to  an 
end  until  the  year  1858,  when  the  matter  was  warmly 
taken  up  by  Dr.  Bowerbank,  one  of  the  leading  members 


470  HISTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

of  tho  mddical  profession  in  Kingston.  The  management 
of  the  hospital  and  asylum  was  Tested  in  a  body  of  com- 
missioners, appointed  by  the  house  of  assembly,  but  these 
(gentlemen  paid  little  attention  to  the  statements  made  by 
the  indefatigable  doctor.  For  some  years  the  most  untiring 
efforts  were  made  to  awaken  general  interest ;  the  pub- 
lic, the  assembly,  and  the  governor,  were  all  appealed  to, 
and  at  length  Dr.  Bowerbank  succeeded  in  drawing  the 
attf;ntion  of  the  English  commissioners  in  lunacy  to  the 
subject.  After  a  series  of  efforts,  and  at  an  outlay  of 
money  which  would  have  discouraged  any  ordinary  man, 
the  doctor  secured  the  appointment  of  a  commission  in 
1861  to  investigate  the  alleged  abuses.  The  disclosures 
msAe  on  this  occasion  fully  justified  the  persistence  with 
which  most  of  the  charges  had  been  pressed,  and  reform 
speedily  followed. 

While  necessary  changes  were  made  in  the  old  place  of 
confinement,  the  new  buildings  were  pressed  forward  to 
completion.  A  honorary  board  of  visitors  was  appointed, 
and  a  medical  gentleman,  experienced  in  the  treatment  of 
lunatics,  sent  out  from  England.  The  lunatic  asylum  may 
now  bear  favourable  comparison  with  similar  institutions 
in  Groat  Britain.  The  order,  discipline,  and  good  behaviour 
of  the  inmates,  the  absence  of  restraint,  and  the  general 
aspect  of  the  establishment,  afford  the  most  striking  con- 
trast to  the  dirt,  misery,  and  disorder  of  the  former  re- 
c(?ptaclo  for  lunatics,  that  can  well  be  imagined. 

Jieforms  also  followed  in  the  management  of  the  public 
hospital,  and  though  the  existing  buildings  are  not  very 
vfo][  adai)to(1  to  the  purpose,  it  has  become,  like  the  asylum, 
a  cnulit  to  the  colony.  Some  attention  was  also  given  to 
sanitary  matters,  and  in  this  also  Dr.  Bowerbank  rendered 
considerable  service.  A  society  for  promoting  sanitary, 
educational,  social,  and  moral  remedial  measures,  was 
started ;  but  though  it  elicited  and  published  some  im- 
portant facts,  it  did  not  long  continue  in  existence. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that,  during  the  time  of  the  Earl 
of  I'ilgin,  an  Agricultural  Society  was  formed.  The  trans- 
actions of  the  years  1842  and  1843  are  very  interesting, 
and  prove  that,  in  almost  all  the  parishes  in  the  island, 
groat  interest  was  felt  in  the  proceedings  of  the  society,  by 
many  leatling  men.     Cuttle  shows,  ploughing  matches,  and 


RELIGION,    EDUCATION,    AND   SOCIAL   PROGRESS.  471 

meetings  for  imparfing  information,  were  numerous. .  In 
August,  1854,  the  Royal  Society  of  Arts  was  established, 
and  not  only  correbponded  with  similar  societies  abroad, 
J)ut  published  some  very  interesting  transactions,  and  pro- 
moted, in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  the  interests  of  the 
colony.  Large  contributions  of  native  productions  were 
sent  to  the  first  exhibitions  in  London  and  Paris,  and  a 
very  interesting  local  museum  established.  Ten  years  later 
it  was  thought  well  to  imite  what  remained  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Society  with  the  Society  of  Arts,  and  an  Act  of 
Incorporation  was  obtained  from  the  house  of  assembly. 
Little  good  came  of  the  change,  and  ultimately  the  society 
ceased  to  exist,  and  the  museum  was  handed  over  to  the 
government. 

Among  the  questions  mooted  at  some  of  the  earlier 
meetings  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  was  one  relating  to  the 
existing  juvenile  depravity.  As  the  result  of  these  inquiries, 
two  reformatories  sprung  into  existence:  one  for  boys, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Eev.  D.  H.  Campbell,  now  arch- 
deacon, was  established  in  1858 ;  and  one  for  girls,  imder 
that  of  the  Rev.  J.  Watson,  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church.  For  some  years  these  institutions  were  under  the 
care  of  committees,  deeply  interested  in  the  work  they  had 
undertaken,  aided,  as  in  England,  by  government  grants. 
Ultimately  the  number  of  inmates  increased  so  much,  that 
it  was  thought  desirable  to  hand  them  over  to  the  govern- 
ment. The  boys'  reformatory,  which  in  1859  had  only  32 
inmates,  had  140  in  1867.  That  for  girls  had  not  so 
many ;  the  number  in  1867  was  81. 

No  comparison  can  be  drawn  between  the  benefit  societies 
established  in  England  and  those  which  have  sprung  up 
since  emancipation  in  Jamaica.  Still,  some  progress  has 
been  made  in  this  direction,  especially  in  Kingston.  These 
societies  hold  their  meetings  in  school-rooms,  and  not  in 
public-houses,  as  is  so  frequently  the  case  in  England.  No 
rent  is  charged,  and  the  working  expenses  are  exceedingly 
small.  They  afford  an  illustration  of  the  fact  that  the 
working  classes  in  Jamaica  can  co-operate  for  purposes  of 
mutual  advantage.  In  1864,  a  building  society  was  estab- 
lished by  a  few  friends  anxious  to  promote  the  well-being 
of  the  working  and  middle  classes.  Its  income  at  first  was 
small,  but  in  1871  profits  were  for  the  first  time  declared, 


472  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

and  shares,  npon  which  sixteen  guineas  had  been  paid 
by  instalments  of  four  shillings  a  month  for  seven  years, 
were  found  entitled  to  five  per  cent,  interest,  making  j£20, 
and  a  bonus  of  £5  9s.  6d.  in  addition.  The  safety  of  the 
project  being  thus  proved,  great  numbers  have  since 
joined,  and  its  income  in  1872  was  about  £20,000.  It  is 
purely  mutual  in  its  character,  and  has  provided  many 
people  with  excellent  homes  they  could  have  obtained  in 
no  other  way. 

A  little  was  done  before  1865,  and  more  has  since  been 
attempted,  in  the  way  of  providing  alms-houses  for  the 
destitute,  and  in  other  ways  of  meeting  the  necessities  of 
the  poor.  But  the  class  who  can  assist  to  any  great 
extent  in  these  undertakings  is  limited.  Men  who  make 
fortunes  in  Jamaica  generally  retire  to  Europe  to  spend 
them,  and  thus  little  is  done  by  the  wealthy  to  assist  in  the 
religious  and  benevolent  efforts  put  forth  in  the  colony. 
The  obligation  which  is  gradually  being  laid  upon  the 
members  of  all  sections  of  the  church,  to  sustain  their 
pastors  and  church  institutions,  wiU  for  many  years  absorb 
nearly  all  their  means ;  still,  indications  are  not  wanting 
of  a  spirit  of  true  philanthropy  among  many  of  the  people 
of  all  classes.  The  Hebrew  community  have  their  alms- 
houses, and  make  liberal  provision  for  their  numerous 
poor. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

THE   OUTBREAK  AT    ST.    THOMAS  IN   THE   EAST. 

It  would  have  been  a  good  thing  for  Governor  Eyre  if  the 
appointment  he  so  greatly  coveted  had  been  withheld. 
His  lot  was  cast  in  evil  times,  for  never,  since  the  day  of 
emancipation,  had  the  island  been  in  circumstances  of 
greater  peril.  The  house  of  assembly  was  generally  felt 
to  be  a  barrier  in  the  way  of  all  progress,  and  in  no  proper 
sense  of  the  word  could  it  be  regarded  as  a  representative 
body.  Jamaica,  with  a  population  of  upwards  of  half  a 
million,  was  divided  into  twenty-three  parishes  or  electoral 
districts,  returning  forty-seven  members  in  all.     But  in 


THE  OUTBREAK  AT   ST.   THOMAS  IN  THE  EAST.  473 

1864,  the  united  registries  showed  only  1903  persons 
qualified  to  vote^  and  at  the  last  general  election,  held  that 
year,  only  1457  persons  exercised  their  privilege.  The 
highest  number  of  votes  recorded  for  any  one  candidate 
was  in  Kingston,  where  303  were  given  for  Mr.  Jordon. 
Thirty-two  members  who  were  at  this  time  elected  had  less 
than  fifty  votes  each,  and  twenty-five  of  these  had  less  than 
thirty.* 

With  such  small  constituencies,  it  was  an  easy  matter  for 
any  man  anxious  to  obtain  a  seat  to  do  so,  and  in  parishes 
where  bribery  and  corruption  could  not  be  supposed  to 
influence  the  votes,  there  was  no  representation  of  the  great 
body  of  the  people  for  whom  the  assembly  was  assumed  to 
legislate.  In  the  county  of  Cornwall,  containing  five  large 
parishes,  and  a  third  of  the  entfare  population  of  the  island, 
there  were  only  246  voters,  162  of  whom  returned  ten  mem- 
bers to  the  assembly.! 

That  many  upright  and  honourable  men  were  elected  by 
such  small  constituencies  must  be  admitted,  and  yet  such 
men  occasionally  complained  to  their  intimate  friends  that 
they  were  fast  losing  their  self-respect.  For  the  past 
twenty  years  the  character  of  the  house  had  been  gradually 
deteriorating,  and  its  deliberations  were  often  painfully  in- 
terrupted by  scenes  of  confusion  and  strife.  The  appoint- 
ment of  the  executive  committee  had  led  to  no  permanent 
improvement,  for  after  the  first  few  years  a  constant 
struggle  for  place  and  power  was  maintained,  and  partisan- 
ship became  more  bitter  than  before,  t 

The  violent  language  so  often  used  in  the  house  was  not 
without  influence  on  the  people  at  large.  At  public  meet- 
ings expressions  of  a  very  seditious  character  were  commonly 
employed,  and  a  turbulent  spirit  exhibited  itself  in  many 
pariis  of  the  island.  The  community  had  grave  reasons  for 
complaint,  for  while  the  assembly  was  wasting  time  in 
wrangling  about  its  so-called  privileges  and  rights,  glaring 
abuses  in  almost  all  public  institutions  were  unredressed, 
and  very  little  was  done  to  promote  the  social  elevation  or 
true  prosperity  of  the  counti^r. 

'^  Betums  of  provost-marshal,  appended  to  Blue  Book  for  1868. 

+  Ibid. 

I  **  The  Problem  of  Jamaica,**  first  published  in  the  September 
nnmber  of  the  *'  Eclectic  Review,**  1865,  and  subsequently  printed  as 
a  pamphlet. 


474  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

Early  in  1865,  a  circumstance  happened,  the  consequences 
of  which  are  to  be  deplored.  Dr.  Underhitl,  whose  visit  to 
the  island  has  been  referred  to,  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
colonial  secretary,  Mr.  Cardwell,  in  which  he  embodied  the 
substance  of  a  variety  of  statements  that  had  reached  him 
relative  to  the  depressed  state  of  the  island,  and  pointed 
out  some  plans  which  he  thought  might  prove  remedial. 
He  wrote,  as  any  English  gentleman  might  have  done,  to 
a  minister  of  the  crown,  who  regarded  the  letter  as  suf- 
ficiently important  to  justify  him  in  sending  it  to  the 
governor,  with  a  request  that  he  would  make  a  report  on 
its  contents.* 

Mr.  Eyre,  anxious  to  render  his  reply  as  complete  as 
possible,  caused  the  letter  to  be  printed,  and  then  forwarded 
copies,  with  a  circular,  requesting  information  on  the  points 
raised  by  Dr.  Underbill.  This  was  sent  to  the  custodes  (or 
chief  magistrates  of  parishes),  to  clergymen,  missionaries, 
and  many  others ;  and  in  this  way  the  document  became 
public,  and  was  warmly  discussed  in  the  newspapers  and 
at  many  public  meetings.  It  suited  certain  persons  of  no 
position  in  society,  but  who  had  long  been  connected  with 
political  intrigue,  to  form  what  was  known  as  the  '*  Under- 
bill Convention,''  and  thus  they  associated  the  name  of  the 
respected  secretary  of  a  peaceful  society  with  an  organiza- 
tion of  a  very  questionable  character. 

The  greatest  mischief  was  done  in  St.  Thomas  in  the 
East,  where  an  inflammatory  address  drawn  up  by  Mr.  G. 
W.  Gordon  was  distributed,  and  meetings  of  a  seditious 
character  held.  It  might  have  been  well  if,  when  so  many 
revolutionary  sentiments  were  being  expressed  or  printed, 
active  measures  had  been  taken  to  arrest  the  mischief  by 
prosecuting  some  of  the  ringleaders  ;  but  it  was  generally 
understood  that  the  attorney-general  was  opposed  to  such 
a  course,  under  the  impression  that  it  would  make  these 
persons  more  important,  by  constituting  them,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  their  friends,  political  martyrs. 

It  was  no  secret,  however,  that  there  were  persons  who 
indulged  in  open  threats  against  the  government,  and 
declared  their  intention  of  going  from  parish  to  parish, 
telling  the  people  that  they  were  oppressed.  Towards  the 
end  of  July,  matters  became  so  alarming  in  St.  Elizabeth, 

"^  Despatch  from  Mr.  Cardwell,  January  2,  1865. 


THE   OUTBREAK  AT   ST.    THOMAS   IN   THE   EAST.  475 

that  a  ship  of  war  was  sent  down  as  a  precaution.  The 
necessity  of  such  a  step  has  since  been  questioned  by  some, 
while  others,  quite  as  likely  to  be  well  informed,  assert  that 
this  demonstration  prevented  an  outbreak. 

In  Kingston,  and  some  other  parts  of  the  island,  atten- 
tion had  been  drawn  to  the  fact  that  considerable  numbers 
of  persons  met  together  for  drill,  generally  under  the  name 
of  "  sham  volunteers."  This,  in  some  places,  was  probably 
no  more  than  an  imitation  of  the  volunteer  movement, 
which,  as  in  England,  had  enlisted  the  co-operation  of  large 
numbers  of  young  men  ;  but  in  the  district  around  Morant 
Bay  it  was  far  more  serious  in  its  character. 

Mr.  G.  W.  Gordon,  who  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
all  these  discussions,  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Joseph  Gordon, 
formerly  referred  to  in  these  pages  as  a  great  planting 
attorney :  his  mother  was  a  woman  of  colour.  In  early 
life  he  kept  a  store  in  Kingston,  and  even  then  attracted 
attention  by  his  peculiarities.  In  course  of  time  he  became 
possessed  with  a  perfect  mania  for  the  acquisition  of  land, 
and  bought  properties  in  several  parts  of  the  island.  They 
never  paid  under  his  management,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  they  were  all  mortgaged.  His  admitted  liabilities 
amounted  to  £35,000.*  In  his  dealings  with  the  labourers 
and  others  in  his  employ,  his  conduct  was  often  called  into 
question,  and  most  certainly  it  was  not  of  such  a  character 
as  to  justify  the  position  he  assumed  as  friend  of  the 
people. 

In  early  life  he  was  brought  up  in  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, he  then  identified  himself  with  a  kirk  connected  with 
the  United  Presbyterian  Mission,  and  was  regarded  by 
many  who  formed  his  acquaintance  at  that  time  as  a  very 
exemplary  character.  After  a  brief  connection  with  a 
Congregational  church,  he  identified  himself  with  the 
native  Baptists  in  1861.  Among  these  people  he  assumed 
a  leading  position,  preaching  to  them,  and  administering 
the  ordinances.  He  it  was  who  appointed  Paul  Bogle 
(afterwards  known  as  the  leader  in  the  disturbances  at 
Morant  Bay)  to  the  office  of  deacon.  The  certificate  to 
this  effect  was  among  the  documents  laid  before  the  royal 
commission.! 

Mr.  Gordon  was  fond  of  power.     Unfortunately,  neither 

Report  of  Jamaica  Royal  Commission,"  p.  28.       f  Ibiil.,P'  10. 


n't  « 


476  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

in  his  relations  to  the  churches  he  was  first  connected  with, 
nor  in  his  public  life,  was  his  conduct  and  ability  such  as 
to  secure  it.  He  had  been  for  many  years  a  member  of 
the  house  of  assembly,  then  he  was  unseated,  and  for  a 
considerable  time  was  unable  to  resume  that  position  :  he 
was,  however,  a  member  for  St.  Thomas  in  the  East  at  the 
time  of  the  outbreak.  In  accordance-  with  an  unwise 
custom  long  prevailing  in  Jamaica,  he  was  also  magis- 
trate in  six  or  seven  parishes.  It  would  be  impossible  to 
assign  him  any  clearly  defined  position  in  the  political 
circle  of  the  colony.  He  certainly  had  not  the  confidence 
of  those  gentlemen  of  colour  who  took  a  leading  part  in 
the  discussions  of  the  assembly,  and  he  not  only  un- 
sparingly condemned  their  measures  at  times,  but  occa- 
sionally indulged  in  bitter  invective  against  them. 

Mr.  Gordon  had  been  prominently  connected  with  affairs 
in  St.  Thomas  in  the  East  for  many  years,  but  the  only 
points  of  general  interest  date  back  to  some  months  before 
the  outbreak.  Among  other  things,  he  had  complained  of 
the  condition  of  a  building  used  as  a  lock-up  at  Morant 
Bay,  and  also  of  the  conduct  of  a  brother  magistrate  in 
relation  to  it.  As  the  result  of  an  inquiry  ordered  into 
the  matter,  the  building  was  condemned,  but  it  was  thought 
that  he  must  have  known  that  the  charges  made  against 
the  magistrate  were  untrue.  He  was,  in  consequence, 
deprived  of  all  the  commissions  he  held  as  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  this  extreme  course  on  the  part  of  the  governor 
was  approved  of  by  the  colonial  minister.* 

He  had  also  been  elected  to  fill  the  office  of  church- 
warden, but  his  right  to  act  in  that  capacity  was  disputed, 
as  he  was  not  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England.  This 
alleged  want  of  qualification  formed  the  subject  of  an 
action  at  law,  in  which  Baron  Ketelhodt,  the  custos  of  the 
parish,  was  the  defendant.  On  two  occasions  verdicts  had 
been  given  in  favour  of  the  latter,  and  a  third  trial  was 
pending  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak.!  These  proceedings 
had  created  great  ill-feeling  among  the  native  Baptists, 
and  formed  the  subject  of  some  severe  comments  in  letters 
Mr.  Gordon  addressed  to  Bogle  and  others.  Some  extracts 
from  these  communications  are  given  by  the  commissioners. 
One  opponent  is  described  as  "  a  most  worthless  fellow;" 
'•■'  •*  lleport  of  Royal  Commission,"  p.  9.  f  Ibid.,  p.  9. 


THE  OUTBREAK  AT  ST.  THOMAS  IN  THE  EAST.     477 

another  as  **  a  great  villain."  To  one  friend  he  says, 
**  Some  calamity  will  come  on  them."  To  another  he 
writes,  **The  reign  of  others  will  soon  be  cut  short." 
**  We  must  wait  and  see  the  end  of  these  evil  doers."* 
"The  wicked  shall  be  destroyed." t  At  public  meetings, 
both  at  Morant  Bay  and  in  Vere,  Mr.  Gordon  used  very 
strong  language,  so  much  so  as  to  lead  a  friend  to  prepare 
an  article  in  his  defence ;  or,  as  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Gordon, 
**to  shield  you  and  them  from  the  charge  of  anarchy  and 
tumult,  which  in  a  short  time  must  follow  these  fearful 
demonstrations."  J 

Mr.  Gordon  was  warned  by  others  of  the  possible  con- 
sequences of  these  meetings,  and  to  one  gentleman  he 
observed :  **  If  I  wanted  a  rebellion,  I  could  have  had  one 
long  ago.  I  must  upset  that  fellow  Herschell,  and  kick 
him  out  of  the  vestry,  and  the  baron  also,  or  bad  will  come 
of  it."§  To  another  gentleman  he  pointed  out  the  possi- 
bility of  people  resisting  troops  by  keeping  in  the  moun- 
tains while  the  latter  perished  by  fever.  |i  The  most 
striking  proof  of  Mr.  Gordon's  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  proceedings  of  his  friends  about  Morant  Bay  was 
furnished  by  his  wife,  who  stated  that  on  the  evening  of 
the  day  of  the  outbreak  he  brought  her  the  news,  but  no 
intelligence  reached  the  authorities  or  the  public  till  the 
middle  of  the  next  day.  The  commissioners  at  first  sup- 
posed that  Mrs.  Gordon  had  mistaken  the  day,  but  this  she 
assured  them  was  not  the  case,  and  stated  another  fact  in 
confirmation.ll 

The  melancholy  events  of  that  and  several  succeeding 
days  must  now  be  related,  notice  first  being  taken  of  some 
preliminary  disorders.  On  the  7th  of  October  a  lad, 
charged  with  assaulting  a  woman,  was  tried  at  Morant 
Bay,  and  fined  four  shillings  and  costs,  whereupon  a  man 
called  to  him,  and  told  him  to  pay  the  fine  but  not  the 
costs,  and  then  continued  to  make  a  disturbance  in  the 
court.  He  was  laid  hold  of  by  some  constables, .  but 
rescued ;  a  second  attempt  to  arrest  him  failed,  and  the 
constables  were  beaten.  After  order  was  restored,  a  case 
of  trespass  came  on  for  trial,  but  this  had  no  connection 
with  the  subsequent  disturbances,  as  often  stated,  except 

*  "  Report  of  Royal  Commission,*'  p.  20.  +  Ibid.,  p.  22. 

I  Ibid.,  p.  21.      §  Ibid.,  p.  20.       ||  Ibid.,  p.  22.       H  Ibid.,  p.  22. 


478  HISTORY   OF  JAMAICA. 

80  far  as,  it  being  of  some  interest,  it  had  led  to  an 
unusually  large  attendance  at  the  court-house.*  Paul 
Bogle  was  one  of  the  rioters  on  the  7th,  and  three 
days  after  he  and  nineteen  others  sent  a  letter  to  the 
governor,  in  which  they  complained  of  their  treatment, 
asked  for  protection,  and  declared  that,  if  this  was  refused, 
they  "would  put  their  shoulders  to  the  wjieel."  The 
commissioners  say  they  cannot  regard  it  as  indicating 
peaceful  intentions.  '*  Its  language  is  that  of  scarcely 
•concealed  defiance,  and  looking  at  its  terms,  at  the  time  at 
which  it  was  written,  and  the  acts  by  which  it  was  accom- 
panied and  followed,  it  seems  to  us  to  partake  rather  of 
the  character  of  a  manifesto,  preparatory  to  and  attempt- 
ing ta  justify  a  recourse  to  violence."  t 

Warrants  had  been  issued  against  Bogle  and  others  for 
the  rioting  in  the  court-house :  eight  constables  went  to 
arrest  him,  and  found  him  at  a  place  called  Stoney  Gut, 
four  miles  from  Morant  Bay,  where  he  lived.  He  caUed  for 
help,  and  a  body  of  men,  estimated  at  from  three  hundred 
to  five  hundred,  almost  immediately  rushed  out  of  the 
chapel  in  which  Bogle  preached,  armed  with  sticks,  cut- 
lasses, and  pikes.  The  policemen  were  beaten,  three  of 
them  detained  for  some  hours  as  prisoners,  and  only  re- 
leased on  their  swearing  to  "join  their  colour."  J  Bogle 
then  avowed  his  intention  of  marching  down  to  Morant 
Bay,  "  to  kill  all  the  white  men,  and  all  the  black  men  that 
would  not  join  them.*'  It  was  proved  that  meetings  had 
been  held,  oaths  administered,  and  names  of  confederates 
recorded :  large  bodies  of  men  had  been  drilled  in  different 
places,  and  several  persons  were  spoken  of  as  colonels.§ 
Whether  the  events  of  the  7th  precipitated  the  plans  of  the 
leaders  will  perhaps  never  be  known,  but  there  was  some 
evidence  to  the  effect  that  Christmas  time  had  been  spoken 
of  as  the  period  for  action. 

On  the  11th  of  October,  Bogle  and  his  associates  marched 
down  to  Morant  Bay.  The  vestry  of  the  parish,  who  were 
elected  by  the  same  constituency  ii  as  the  members  of  the 

*  **  Report  of  Boyal  Commissiozi,"  p.  22.  f  Ibid.,  p.  7. 

I  Ibid.,  p.  4.  §  Ibid.,  pp.  5,  6. 

II  Most  of  these  were  negroes ;  the  names  of  Bogle  and  sereral 
of  his  confederates  appear  in  the  list  It  was  notorious  that  Mr. 
Gordon  had  seen  to  their  qualification  under  the  existiDg  law,  and 
thus  secured  his  election. 


THE   OUTBREAK   AT    ST.    THOMAS   IN    THE    EAST.  479 

assembly,  and  the  magistrates,  were  assembled  on  ordi- 
nary parochial  business,  but  Mr.  Gordon  was  absent. 
Between  three  and  four  o'clock,  the  news  came  that  a  body 
of  men  was  approaching.  They  were  armed  Uke  those  at 
Stoney  Gut,  with  the  addition  of  a  few  muskets  and  bayo- 
nets they  had  obtained  from  the  police  station  which  they 
had  plundered  on  their  way.  Baron  Ketelhodt,  on  account 
of  the  disturbed  state  of  the  parish,  had  written  to  the 
governor  for  troops,  which  had  i;iot  yet  arrived,  and  called 
out  the  volunteers :  these  last  were  hastily  got  together, 
and  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  court-house.  The  baron, 
standing  on  the  steps,  asked  the  people  what  they  wanted, 
and  was  met  by  cries  of  "  War.**  He  then  began  to  read 
the  Biot  Act,  and  while  reading  it,  stones  and  bottles  were 
thrown,  and  the  captain  of  the  volunteers  struck  on  the 
forehead.  The  order  was  then  given  to  fire  :  it  was  done, 
but  the  mob  was  close  to  the  volunteers,  and  immediately 
rushed  on  them,  and  disarmed  the  greater  number ;  some 
of  the  rest  fled,  and  others  took  shelter  in  the  court- 
house.* 

A  few  of  the  magistrates  and  others  in  the  court-house 
escaped  by  the  back  windows.  Those  who  remained  were 
pelted  with  stones  or  fired  at  by  the  rioters,  and  the  fire 
was  returned  by  the  few  volunteers  who  had  retained  their 
rifles.  A  cry  was  then  heard :  "Go  and  fetch  fire  ;*' 
"Bum  the  brutes  out!"  and  Bogle's  voice  was  heard, 
directing  fire  to  be  applied  to  the  court-house,  which,  like 
so  many  buildings  in  Jamaica,  was  covered  with  wooden 
shingles.  A  school-room  near  by,  together  with  the  court- 
house, were  soon  in  flames,  and  the  roof  of  the  latter 
began  to  fall  in  as  the  sun  went  down.  The  inmates  now 
sought  safety  in  flight,  or  by  concealing  themselves  in  the 
first  convenient  refuge,  but  many  were  seized  or  dragged 
from  their  hiding-places,  and  beaten  to  death.  Eighteen, 
including  the  custos,  were  killed,  and  thirty-one  more  or 
less  severely  wounded.t 

A  party  now  proceeded  to  the  prison,  and  compelled  the 
gaolers  to  throw  open  the  doors  and  release  all  the 
prisoners,  fifty-one  in  number.  An  attempt  to  force  the 
door  of  the  magazine,  containing  three  hundred  serviceable 

*  "  Report  of  Boyal  Commission,''  p.  6. 
f  Ibid.,  Newspapers,  Letters,  &c. 


480  mSTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

8tand-of-arms,  happily  failed,  but  many  stores  were  plun- 
dered, and  from  one  a  considerable  quantity  of  gunpowder 
taken.  Some  incidents  that  occurred  dnring  these  pro- 
ceedings serve  to  show  that  this  was  no  accidental  riot,  but 
a  planned  resistance  to  the  constituted  authority  of  the 
land.  When  Mr.  Price,  a  black  gentleman,  was  caught, 
there  was  a  dispute  as  to  what  should  be  his  fate.  "  Don't 
kill  him,"  said  one  ;  ''  we  have  orders  to  kill  no  black,  only 
white."  **  He  has  a  black  skin,  but  a  white  heart,"  was 
the  reply,  and  he  was  beaten  to  death.*  A  man  who  pre- 
tended to  be  a  doctor  was  released  by  Bogle  on  promising 
not  to  dress  a  white  man's  wounds.t  "  Colour  for  colour," 
was  the  exclamation  continually  heard.  Other  expressions 
were  proved,  indicating  the  prevailing  feeling.  **  We  want 
blood ;"  **  We  must  humble  the  white  man ;"  "  We  are 
going  to  take  the  lives  of  the  white  men,  but  not  to  hurt 
the  ladies;"  **Buckra  country  for  us.  Never  mind  the 
buckra  women,  we  can  get  them  when  we  want ;"  **  We 
don't  want  the  women  now,  we  will  have  them  after- 
wards."  It  seemed  strange  that  incendiary  fires  were 
rare,  but  it  was  explained  by  the  remark,  "  Don't  bum  the 
trash-house,  we  want  sugar  to  make  for  ourselves ;"  **  Don't 
set  fire  to  the  house,  only  kill  the  white  man,  we  have  the 
house  to  live  in  ourselves."  Golden  Grove,  a  fine  mansion, 
was  to  be  retained  for  Bogle's  residence.!  Doctors,  as  well 
as  women,  were  to  be  preserved,  and  one  man  was  spared 
because  he  declared  himself  to  be  a  friend  of  Gordon.§ 

During  the  night  following  the  massacre  at  Morant  Bay, 
Bogle  returned  thanks  in  his  chapel  at  Stoney  Gut,  "  that 
God  had  succeeded  him  in  his  work."||  He  seems  to  have 
remained  there  during  the  next  day,  for  large  numbers  of 
men  were  drilled,  and  told  by  Bogle  "  that  this  country 
would  belong  to  them;"  "that  it  had  long  been  theirs ;" 
and  **they  must  keep  it  wholly  in  possession."  Plans  were 
then  made  for  defence,  in  case  '*the  enemy  came."ir  Next 
day  Bogle  was  seen  marching  up  the  Blue  Mountain  Valley, 
at  the  head  of  two  hundred  men.  Three  days  after,  when 
troops  were  approaching,  he  advanced  to  give  them  battle, 
but  being  dissuaded  from  the  attempt,  his  followers  became 
panic-stricken,  and  fled.**    Other  parties  were  marching  in 

•  "  Report  of  Royal  Commission,"  p.  7.    +  Ibid.,  p.  6.    J  Ibid.,  p.  a 
§  Ibid.,  p.  a  It  Ibid.,  p.  a  H  Ibid.,  p.  9.       **  Ibid.,  p.  9. 


THE  OUTBBEAK  AT  ST.  THOMAS  IN  THE  EAST.     481 

different  directions.  Bath,  eight  miles  to  the  north-east  of 
Morant  Bay,  was  visited  by  an  armed  band,  with  drums 
beating  and  flags  flying;  murders  were  committed,  and 
many  persons  were  barbarously  beaten.  To  the  east,  in 
the  Plantain  Garden  Biver  district,  there  was  also  great 
excitement,  in  consequence  of  insurgent  bands.  The  point 
furthest  from  Morant  Bay  visited  by  them  was  Elmwood, 
thirty  miles  to  the  east.*  The  crops  were  left  uninjured, 
and  most  of  the  buildings  preserved,  but  plunder  was  un- 
restrained. **  The  intention  of  taking  the  lives  of  the  whites 
was  openly  avowed,  and  diligent  search  was  made  for  par- 
ticular individuals."!  The  few  white  and  almost  all  the 
coloured  inhabitants  fled  to  the  woods,  or  at  Port  Antonio 
went  on  board  ships  in  the  harbour.  The  timely  arrival  of 
troops  prevented  further  bloodshed,  and  enabled  about  two 
hundred  persons  who  had  left  their  homes  to  reach  Kings- 
ton. This  town  was  soon  crowded  with  refugees  from  all 
parts.  The  parochial  buildings  were  set  apart  for  some 
who  were  poor,  the  corporation  appropriated  a  sum  of 
money  for  their  immediate  wants,  and  liberal  subscrip- 
tions were  raised. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  in  this  account  to  depict  the 
alarm  which  prevailed :  the  bare  facts,  as  recorded  by  the 
royal  commissioners,  have  alone  been  referred  to.  But 
it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  white  population  of 
the  entire  parish,  according  to  the  census  of  1861,  was 
only  two  hundred  and  eighty-two  persons,  of  whom  many 
were  women  and  children :  there  were  23,230  blacks.  That 
many  of  these  were  on  the  side  of  law  and  order  is  un- 
questionable, and  noble  instances  of  devotion  on  the  part 
of  servants  were  frequent ;  but  the  influence  of  such  men 
as  Bogle  was  very  great,  and  until  the  arrival  of  troops  the 
insurgents  did  whatever  they  desired. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Baron  Ketelhodt  had  written  on 
the  10th,  requesting  military  aid.  The  letter  was  received 
by  the  governor  next  morning,  who  sent  to  Major- General 
O'Connor,  requesting  him  to  despatch  one  hundred  men. 
They  reached  Morant  Bay  next  day,  but  only  in  time  to 
preserve  that  place  from  a  second  attack  by  the  insurgents. 
On  the  morning  of  the  12th,  news  of  the  massacre  reached 
Kingston.     More  troops  were  at  once  despatched,   and 

*  "  Beport  of  Boyal  Commission,"  p.  8.  f  Ibid.,  p.  8. 

82 


482  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

orders  were  sent  to  Newcastle  for  a  detachment  to  march 
down  the  interior  momitain  passes,  to  intercept  the  in- 
surgents, who  had  been  heard  of  in  that  direction.  It  was 
this  party  from  which  Bogle's  detachment  fled. 

On  the  night  of  the  12th,  the  privy  council  was  con- 
vened at  the  official  residence  of  the  major-general,  and 
came  unanimously  to  the  decision  that  it  was  desirable  to 
proclaim  martial  law.  But  a  recent  Act  *  of  the  Jamaica 
legislature  had  provided  that  martial  law  should  not  be 
proclaimed  in  future  except  by  the  consent  of  a  council  of 
war.  The  governor,  the  privy  council,  and  the  members  of 
the  house  of  assembly  composed  this  council,  together  with 
certain  military  and  naval  officers,  twenty-one  being  a 
quorum.  Thirty  of  these  met  on  the  morning  of  the  13th, 
including  men  of  all  parties,  and  it  was  unanimously 
resolved  that  martial  law  should  be  proclaimed  in  the 
county  of  Cornwall;  Kingston,  for  commercial  reasons, 
being  exempted  from  its  operation.  The  royal  commis- 
sioners were  of  opinion  that  the  council  of  war  had  good 
reason  for  the  advice  it  gave,  and  that  the  governor  was 
justified  in  acting  upon  that  advice,  t 

Seamen  and  marines  were  landed  at  Morant  Bay,  to  co- 
operate with  the  troops,  and  Major  Nelson,  with  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  appointed  to  the  command.  These  and 
other  similar  arrangements  were  subsequently  pronounced 
to  have  been  ** prompt  and  judicious;"  for,  "by  confining 
the  insurgents  to  the  parish  of  St.  Thomas  in  the  East  and 
its  neighbourhood,  the  disturbances  were  kept  in  check, 
and  were  prevented  from  spreading  to  other  parts  of  the 
island."  I 

Into  all  the  details  of  the  operations  conducted  by  the 
different  officers  in  command,  there  is  no  occasion  to  enter. 
Only  a  few  particulars  need  be  mentioned.  At  the  Bhine, 
near  Bath,  nearly  one  hundred  refugees,  women  and  chil- 
dren, many  of  whom  had  undergone  severe  privations,  were 
found,  and  escorted  to  Port  Morant,  whence  they  embarked 
for  Kingston.  §  Some  of  these  were  wounded,  and  all  were 
in  a  most  deplorable  state.  Other  detachments  passed 
through  different  districts  around  Morant  Bay.  ||  Their  pro- 
ceedings in  many  cases  cannot  be  defended,  but  the  com- 

*  9  Vict.  cap.  85.    f  "  Report  of  Royal  Commission,"  pp.  10,  11. 
I  Ibid.,  p.  11.  §  Ibid.,  p.  11.  II  Ibid.,  p.  12. 


THE   OUTBREAK  AT   ST.    THOMAS  IN   THE   EAST.  483 

manding  officers  were  more  under  the  personal  supervision 
of  General  Nelson,  than  in  other  districts,  whose  instruc- 
tions, if  carried  out,  would  have  prevented  much  injustice. 

Colonel  Hobbs,  with  a  body  of  white  troops,  was  engaged 
in  the  interior.  .On  the  16th,  he  reported  to  Major-General 
O'Connor,  **  that  numbers  of  the  rebels  had  come  in, 
having  thrown  away  their  arms,  seeking  protection;  and, 
though  worthy  of  death,"  he  **  shrank  from  the  responsi- 
bility of  executing  them  without  first  receiving  the  general's 
or  the  governor's  wishes  respecting  them."  *  To  this  he 
received  a  reply,  in  which  he  was  told  that  the  major- 
general  hoped  that  he  would  deal  in  a  more  summary 
manner  with  the  rebels,  and  on  no  account  forward 
prisoners  to  Kingston.t  Colonel  Hobbs  had  suggested  that 
the  well-disposed  black  people  should  be  invited  to  enrol 
themselves  as  special  constables,  and  that  thus  it  would  be 
seen  who  were  on  the  side  of  law  and  order.  This  idea  was 
not  acted  upon.  In  consequence,  however,  of  orders  he 
received,  he  pushed  on  to  Stoney  Gut,  which  he  found 
occupied  by  troops  from  Morant  Bay.  Eetuming  up  the 
valley,  eleven  prisoners  were  tried  on  the  charge  of  com- 
plicity in  the  murders  of  Morant  Bay.  Colonel  Hobbs 
reported  that  their  guilt  was  clear,  and  being  **  unable 
either  to  take  or  leave  them,  he  had  them  shot."  I 
Twenty-three  more  were  shot  next  day.  On  the  21st  a 
circumstance  occurred  which  created  much  controversy. 
A  reputed  Obeah-man  was  tried  by  court-martial  and  con- 
victed. One  of  the  favourite  assertions  of  these  people  has 
been  that  "Buckra  can't  hurt  them."  Colonel  Hobbs 
directed  him  to  be  placed  on  a  hill-side,  about  four  hundred 
^ards  from  the  firmg  party.  The  bullets  caused  almost 
instantaneous  death,  and  it  is  stated  that  the  effect  on  the 
minds  of  the  prisoners  was  so  great,  that  the  colonel  felt 
at  liberty  to  release  a  considerable  number  then  in  his 
camp,  many  of  whom  were  heard  to  say.  they  never  would 
believe  in  Obeah  again.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  houses 
burnt  during  martial  law  were  in  the  district  in  which 
Colonel  Hobbs  operated,  and  in  all  sixty-eight  persons 
were  put  to  death. § 

For  many  years  previous  to  these  occurrences  Colonel 

*  "  Beport  of  Boyal  Commission,**  p.  18.  \  Ibid.,  p.  18. 

J  Ibid.,  p.  18.  §  Ibid.,  p.  14. 

82  ♦ 


'HihrDshskti^zcoi  ^se ^anm  j£  imnxL  six  «K}Tm  kind-hemrted 
nmr,  bm  qui:  if  &{«  'TrrTmsT  ^s»4*4"rt^  Qe  umA  m  liTely 
JE&sTBS  iL  -aif  fRiiKTr  ic  3IB  jiTiigHTs^  ssii  ia  Kingston  he 
iriis  hnmrr  ii$  zo£  'wrin  'ijsaiST^  fjarasszisal  villi  the  social 
sue  Tiih^ms  -mirr^anmss  if  'zitt  nsj.  In  jniging  his  eon- 
tusi  torutt  717^  'srrznr  Trim,  jfS  ic  ^  rEsnanbefted  th^  he 
cimcnStfBC  idf  n^iscESLais  2.  ism  aiiist  of  beniy  rains  and 
KTTinrir  rwzjucSL  rrrss :  I2tc  2k  mes  •23s  est  off  from  any 
w^'^iziSA  iziz^jsiifft  zi  'Si^  tbL.  fsaiaoer  of  the  outbreak, 
or  zza  fcrscfc-  sarfg^pst  rf  lais^  zirscrceESs :  ax^  that  his  first 
oftspii^yi  T^'iyrri  *»:-  jrm:mfrf^  hhi  eSeAtd  m  reply  calca- 
j£3£iL  »:  ^3^T^J  iTi^  iidfc  libas  itss^aarr  to  the  gmlty  was 
2i:c  ml  1^  €x-^rE»rii-    Titt  iz:iS:r-'«<cs»ami,  in  m  letter  re- 

W^  tea  ' 

s^^t^  vEL  iitr  JTSfS,  -arise:  ""I  am  mnch  pleas^  by 
jzfcr  ikarcczzx  a  dfcadbad  o^nss^  wish  respect  to  eaptored 

A  lev  wniks  aftflr  tbe  izrre«gagatim  bdlate  the  royal  com- 
iE2^3i-  Cn'iTt^'  Hciitf  sa£ied  tar  Fiigl^iwl  He  had  pre- 
xnoztELj  siirwi,  ff-gTif  cf  aygTial  damngement,  bat  one  day 
bf  in&z2k»i  >?  esi::ip&  ihe  rtdlanee  of  his  attendant,  and 
iLrrw  ♦^->Thth^"-f  cr^rtoazd.    All  c2ons  to  saTe  him  were  in 


IviS*  ibtsf  ajCTr  zneasores  were  being  taken  in  the 

ZL'tdriirozrii^rc  cf  M jr&m  Bay.  and  in  the  interior.  Captain 

H:.'lf  v^  IlIs:  fz«ziL;«ei  in  the  extreme  eAstem  district  of 

li-r  ifCjiZi  L    Hizi: rr-rirr  per&cHis  were  tried  by  court-martial 

lui'i  f  it^^iTc*L  zziZLT  vcTr  di>^;g€idL  and  among  them  aboat 

TVrHTj  T:nf-i-     The  indiction  of  this  ponishment  was 

r-Tr:.':ii:cii  rj  ihf  rryal  commissioners,  thoogh  they  admit 

ilz  .lif::iLi  T*:»ffi::-n  in  which  Captain  Hole  was  placed,  as 

hr  :f rrv^i  ilf i^  r»c<:»rlr  pardon  if  they  would  give  up  the 

rr:T»inT  :i  -w^sis  rrcTcd  thrT  had  stolen. t    Another  serioas 

ri:A::cr  iz  c:iii:r-*t:w^i:  with  this  district  was  the  lawlessness 

v!    v^rrTAi:::   rl&ei  scCJiers.    Captain  Hole,  when  on  the 

riArv'l  ^:i  his  dria^hment,  found  eleven  dead  bodies,  at 

diftrriLi  pls<*^  on  the  road,  shot  by  a  band  of  six  or  seven 

Hici  Svviiers,  not  of  his  party,  who  had  broken  loose.    It 

w>i5  this  fact  that  gave  rise  to  the  sensational  story,  told 

in  Eir^laiii.  about  "eight  miles  of  dead  bodies."     Another 

Ur^nrv^  dcScJicx  shot  ou  one  day  ten  prisoners  he  had  taken 

from  iht  charge  of  native  constables,  who  did  not  interfere 

*  -  R«{^drt  of  Bovil  C<nmufiBion,**  p.  14.  f  Ibid.,  p.  15. 


THE   OUTBREAK  AT  ST.   THOMAS  IN  THE   EAST.  485 

to  prevent  the  barbarous  deed.  Three  other  soldiers  re- 
ported that  they  also  had  shot  ten  persons,  and  they 
brought  in  two  waggon-loads  of  plundered  property  they 
had  recovered,  The  troops  under  Captain  Hole's  command 
were  evidently  an  unruly  lot.  Two  corporals  were  degraded, 
one  was  sentenced  to  penal  servitude  for  seven  years  for 
burning  houses  without  orders,  and  another  flogged.* 

Some  doubts  had  been  entertained  as  to  whether  the 
Maroons  would  prove  faithful.  Bogle  and  his  friends  had 
tried  to  win  them  over  to  their  cause,t  and  great  care  was 
taken  by  the  insurgents  not  to  injure  any  one  connected 
with  them.t  On  the  13th  a  party  of  them  occupied  Bath, 
and  took  active  measures  to  put  down  disorder.  On  the 
20th  another  party,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Fyfe, 
entered  that  little  town.§  Next  day  Colonel  Fyfe  attacked  a 
sort  of  fort  the  rebels  had  made  at  a  place  called  Torrington. 
The  approach  was  dangerous,  and  one  man  was  wounded 
by  the  shots  fired  at  them,  but  the  insurgents  were  soon 
driven  out  with  a  loss  of  seven  men  killed.  ||  This  was  about 
the  only  attempt  at  resistance  after  the  arrival  of  troops : 
one  shot  only  had  been  fired  at  the  soldiers  who  entered 
Stoney  Gut.^  Large  quantities  of  plunder  were  found  in 
the  huts  near  Torrington,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-one 
cottages  were  burnt ;  but  Colonel  Fyfe,  who  was  an  old 
resident  in  the  colony,  ordered  that  a  shelter  should  in  all 
cases  be  left  for  women  and  children.  Between  Torrington 
and  Stoney  Gut  a  sort  of  barricade  had  been  thrown  across 
the  road,  which  was  removed  with  difficulty. 

Many  reports  were  circulated  relative  to  the  cruelties  of 
these  Maroons.  It  seems  that  twenty-five  persons  in  all  were 
put  to  death  by  them ;  and  with  respect  to  the  floggings  at 
Bath,  which  at  first  were  very  numerous,  it  is  only  justice 
to  Colonel  Fyfe  to  say,  that  as  soon  as  he  arrived,  he  gave 
positive  orders  to  discontinue  the  practice.**  It  was  here 
that,  under  the  superintendence  of  a  local  magistrate,  but 
before  Colonel  Fyfe's  arrival,  cats,  round  which  wires 
were  twisted,  were  used  for  the  punishment  of  men.  No 
language  is  sufficiently  strong  to  use  in  condemnation  of 
snch  barbarity. 

*  "  Report  of  Eoyal  Commission,"  pp.  14, 16.       f  Ibid.,  pp.  6,  7. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  6.        §  Ibid.,  p.  15.       ||  Ibid.,  p.  16.       IT  Ibid.,  p.  11. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  16. 


486  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

This  outline  includes  all  that  can  be  of  interest  with 
respect  to  the  plans  taken  to  suppress  the  insurrection. 
The  royal  commissioners  obserred,  respecting  them,  that 
**  by  the  prompt  and  rapid  manner  in  which  the  different 
movements  were  executed,  the  outbreak  was  overcome  in  a 
very  short  period."  * 

The  act  which  occasioned  most  sensation  during  these 
exciting  times  was  the  arrest,  trial,  and  execution  of  Mr.  6. 
W.  Gordon.  Immediately  after  martial  law  was  proclaimed, 
Mr.  Eyre  went  to  Morant  Bay  in  the  French  steamer 
CaraveUe.  During  his  absence  Dr.  Bowerbank,  the  custos  • 
of  Kingston,  was  urged  by  Mr.  Westmoreland  and  Mr. 
Hosack,  members  of  the  executive  committee,  to  arrest  Mr. 
Gordon.  Dr.  Bowerbank  then  went  to  Major-General 
O'Connor,  who  objected  to  its  being  done,  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  not  a  single  soldier  to  spare  in  case  of  its 
occasioning  a  disturbance. 

Fears  were  entertained  by  many  that  serious  disorders 
would  occur  in  Kingston,  and  at  a  meeting  of  about  forty 
magistrates.  Dr.  Bowerbank  was  requested  to  write  to  Mr. 
Eyre,  urging  him  to  put  that  city  under  martial  law.  This 
I^^.  Eyre  declined  to  do.  But  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
pensioners,  formerly  attached  to  West  Indian  regiments, 
were  called  out,  and  in  aU,  upwards  of  six  hundred  volun- 
teers were  enrolled  ;  mounted  companies,  under  Captains 
De  Cordova  and  Astwood,  rendering  great  service  in  keeping 
up  communication  with  the  disturbed  districts,  and  in 
guarding  Bock  Fort,  about  four  miles  from  Kingston,  where 
large  quantities  of  arms  and  ammunition  were  deposited. 

Mr.  Eyre  returned  from  Morant  Bay  on  the  17th,  and  at 
once  ordered  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Gordon.  Search  was  made 
for  him  at  a  relative's,  and  at  his  residence,  but  he  was  not 
found;  his  office  was  also  visited  in  vain.  Later  in  the 
day  he  came  to  the  house  of  the  general,  and  was  arrested. 
Dr.  Bowerbank  accompanied  him  to  see  his  wife,  and  he 
was  then  taken  on  board  the  Wolverine^  which  at  once 
sailed  for  Morant  Bay  with  the  governor,  who  returned 
to  the  scene  of  the  outbreak,  but  Mr.  Gordon  was  not 
landed  until  the  20th.  There  was  then  a  court  sitting, 
composed  in  part  of  members  of  the  legislature,  but 
Brigadier-General  Nelson  did  not  think  it  right  that  Mr. 

'A^  *(  Beport  of  Boyal  Commission,*'  p.  14. 


THE    OUTBREAK  AT   ST.   THOMAS   IN   THE   EAST.  487 

Gordon  should  be  tried  by  persons  who  might  be  supposed 
to  be  prejudiced  against  him.  He  accordingly  adjourned 
that  court  and  formed  another,  consisting  of  one  military 
and  two  naval  officers.  The  trial  took  place  on  the  21st, 
and  lasted  six  hours.  The  charges  were  for  high  treason, 
And  for  complicity  with  parties  engaged  in  the  insurrection. 
It  is  impossible  for  any  clear-headed,  unprejudiced  man  to 
read  the  notes  of  this  trial  without  coinciding  in  the  remark 
of  the  royal  commissioners,  that  "the  evidence,  oral  and 
documentary,  appears  wholly  insufficient  to  establish  the 
charge  upon  which  the  prisoner  took  his  trial."*  He  was, 
however,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  death.  Brigadier 
Nelson  approved  of  the  finding,  but  delayed  execution  of 
sentence  until  Monday.  In  the  meantime  he  sent  copies  of 
the  proceedings  and  evidence  to  Major-General  O'Connor, 
by  whom  they  were  read  to  two  members  of  the  executive 
committee,  and  then  forwarded  to  Mr.  Eyre,  who  commu- 
nicated to  Nelson  his  concurrence  in  the  justice  of  the 
sentence,  and  the  necessity  of  carrying  it  into  effect.  This 
despatch  reached  Morant  Bay  on  the  23rd,  before  Mr. 
Gordon  was  executed.  General  O'Connor  next  day  trans- 
mitted to  the  secretary  of  state  for  war,  and  to  the  military 
secretary  at  the  Horse  Guards,  a  copy  of  all  documents 
relating  to  the  transaction,  and  in  reference  to  the  go- 
vernor's approval  of  the  sentence,  adds,  **  In  which  I  fully 
coincide."!  It  is  pleasing  to  be  able  to  append  to  the 
account  of  this  deplorable  event,  that  the  stories  told  of 
indignities  oflFered  to  Mr.  Gordon  at  the  time  of  his  execu- 
tion are  unfounded.  I 

During  the  month  of  martial  law  eighty-five  persons 
appear  to  have  been  put  to  death  without  trial,  in  some 
cases  wantonly,  in  others  under  the  impression  that  the 
act  was  justified.  Three  hundred  and  fifty-four  others 
suffered  death  after  trial  by  court-martial.  In  all,  about 
six  hundred  were  flogged,  and  about  one  thousand  cottages 
were  burnt. 

When  the  tidings  of  the  outbreak  reached  Cuba,  the 
governor-general  immediately  despatched  two  vessels  of  war 
with  an  offer  of  assistance,  which  was  courteously  declined. 
Admiral  Sir  James  Hope  afterwards  arrived  in  the  Duncan, 

*  "  Report  of  Royal  GommiBsion,"  pp.  24,  25. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  28,  24,  25.  J  Ibid.,  p.  25. 


488  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

from  Canada,  with  troops,  but  not  being  required  they  soon 
returned,  as  a  Fenian  outbreak  in  that  colony  seemed  to 
be  impending.  A  vessel  had  been  despatched  to  Barba- 
does  at  the  commencement  of  the  insurrection,  which  had 
then  returned  with  parts  of  an  English  and  of  a  West 
Tndian  regiment.  These  were  speedily  located  in  different 
districts  of  the  island  where  alarm  was  felt  and  troops 
seemed  desirable. 

The  tidings  of  the  outbreak  first  reached  England  from 
America  by  the  Atlantic  telegraph,  and  towards  the  middle  of 
November  the  despatches  of  the  governor  and  major-general 
were  received.  Very  different  feelings  were  awakened  by  these 
communications.  By  some,  the  conduct  of  the  authorities 
was  praised  in  the  highest  terms,  and  old  stories  of  negro 
ferocity  and  worthlessness  were  revived :  the  enemies  of 
the  race  imagined  that  now  they  had  at  last  proved  the 
truth  of  every  prediction  as  to  the  folly  of  emancipation. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  ruthless  murders  at  Morant  Bay 
and  elsewhere,  the  terrible  sufferings  of  hundreds  of  women 
and  children  hiding  in  the  bush,  amid  the  inclemencies  of 
the  rainy  season,  in  peril  of  their  lives,  and  of  what  to 
a  pure-minded  woman  is  dearer  than  life,  were  forgotten  in 
indignation  at  the  retribution  inflicted,  and  above  all  at 
the  execution  of  Mr.  Gordon. 

Mr.  Eyre,  in  his  opening  speech  to  the  legislative  bodies 
early  in  November,  used  language  which  no  one  in  his 
position  should  have  done  ;  for  he  not  only  condenmed  the 
conduct  of  men  he  was  pleased  to  call  "  pseudo-philan- 
thropists." but  he  spoke  also  of  the  misdirected  efforts  and 
misguided  counsel  of  certain  ministers  of  religion ;  "  sadly 
so  miscalltd,"  he  proceeded  to  say,  "  if  the  Saviour's 
example  and  teaching  is  to  be  the  standard."  For  any 
reflection  on  the  conduct  of  a  single  nonconforming  minister 
connected  with  an  English  society  or  denomination,  Mr. 
Evre  had  not  the  least  warrant.  Onlva  few  months  before 
the  outbreak  there  had  been  a  serious  altercation  amoug 
the  leaders  in  a  native  Baptist  chapel  near  Morant  Bay, 
because  two  English  ministers  had  been  permitted  to  hold 
a  service  in  one  of  their  chapels.  "Colour  for  colour  "  was 
the  argument  used. 

In  his  despatches  to  the  colonial  minister,  Mr.  Eyre 
wrote  in  a  similar  strain,  and  thus  did  not  a  little  to 


THB  OUTBREAK  AT   ST.   THOMAS  IN  THE  EAST.  489 

intensify  the  indignation  with  which  his  conduct  in  other 
respects  was  regarded.  The  unfortonate  animus  he  dis- 
played towards  those  he  regarded  as  opponents  did  a  great 
deal  to  prevent  justice  being  done  to  the  painful  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed,  or  to  the  promptitude  with 
which  he  dealt  with  the  outbreak  in  its  first  stages. 

Mr.  Gardwell,  in  his  first  despatch,  called  attention  to 
Mr.  Gordon's  case,  and  asked  for  explanation  on  this  and 
other  points;  but  the  intense  excitement  in  England  re- 
quired stronger  measures  to  be  taken,  and  it  was  determined 
to  send  out  a  special  commission  to  make  inquiry  into  the 
origin,  nature,  Vnd  circumstances  of  the  outbreak,  and  the 
measures  adopted  in  its  suppression.  The  following  gen- 
tlemen were  appointed: — Lieutenant-General  Sir  Henry 
Knight  Storks,  6.C.B. ;  Right  Honourable  Bussell  Gumey, 
M.P.,  Recorder  of  the  city  of  London ;  and  J.  B.  Maule, 
Esq.,  Recorder  of  Leeds.  The  former  was  also  empowered 
to  act  as  governor  of  the  island  and  commander-in-chief  of 
the  troops  during  the  course  of  the  inquiry,  and  until  the 
final  decision  of  the  British  government  was  made  known. 

These  gentlemen  discharged  their  duty  in  the  most  com- 
plete and  impartial  manner.  Counsel  were  permitted  to 
watch  the  proceedings  on  behalf  of  those  who  were  likely 
to  be  affected  by  the  result  of  the  inquiry.  Reporters  from 
several  English  newspapers  were  present,  and  thus  the 
utmost  publicity  was  given  to  all  the  proceedings.  The 
commission  was  formally  opened  in  Spanish  Town,  on 
Tuesday,  the  23rd  of  January,  and  sat,  almost  without 
intermission,  until  the  21st  of  March.  The  commissioners 
also  visited  Morant  Bay  and  Stoney  Gut,  and  took  evidence* 
Mr.  Russell  Gurney  held  a  separate  court  at  Morant  Bay, 
Bath,  and  Manchioneel;  and  Mr.  Maule  at  Monklands, 
Leith  Hall,  Golden  Grove,  and  again  at  Morant  Bay.  Fifty- 
one  days  in  all  were  spent  in  the  examination  of  seven 
hundred  and  thirty  witnesses.  The  commissioners,  in  their 
report,  bear  testimony  to  the  facilities  which  were  afforded 
them  by  all  classes  for  the  prosecution  of  their  inquiry, 
which  was  a  most  exhaustive  one.  From  their  report  most 
of  the  facts  stated  in  the  preceding  pages,  relative  to  the 
outbreak  and  its  suppression,  have  been  taken,*  but  a  few 
points  yet  remain  to  be  noticed. 

*  "  Beport  of  Boyal  CoxmniBsion,'*  pp.  1-8. 


490  HISTORY  €9  JAMAICA. 

With  respect  to  the  comts-martial,  thej  said  that,  ''  in 
the  great  majcritr  of  cases,  the  evidence  seemed  unobjec- 
tionable in  character,  and  qoite  sufficient  to  justify  the 
finding  of  the  court."  Exception  was,  howeyer,  taken  to 
several  cases  beside  that  of  Mr.  Gordon,  which  are  speci- 
fied ;*  and  it  was  observed  with  respect  to  some  of  these, 
that  "  at  Port  Antonio  the  evidence  allowed  to  be  given 
was  of  a  most  objectionable  description."  This  place  was 
most  distant  from  the  centre  of  operations  where  Brigadier 
Nelson  was  located.  Yet  the  commissioners  add  that  other 
evidence  seems  to  have  been  given  in  some  cases  beyond 
what  appears  on  the  notes,  from  which  they  alone  formed 
their  opinion ;  and  that  in  one  case,  where  the  evidence 
appear^  most  defective,  the  gnilt  of  the  prisoner  was 
proved  incidentally  in  the  course  of  their  own  inquiry.t 
A  very  considerable  number  of  sentences  of  imprisonment 
passed  could  not  be  carried  out,  as  the  power  of  these 
courts  did  not  extend  beyond  the  duration  of  the  martial 
law  which  had  called  them  into  existence. 

Mr.  Gordon's  ease  had  special  consideration,  and  after  a 
careful  review  of  all  the  facts  relating  to  his  conduct,  the 
commissioners  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  true 
explanation  of  it  was  to  be  found  in  the  account  he  had 
given  of  himself.  **  I  have  gone  just  as  far  as  I  can  go, 
and  no  further."  "If  I  wanted  a  rebellion  I  could  have  had 
one  long  ago.**  "I  have  been  asked  several  times  to  head 
a  rebellion,  but  there  is  no  fear  of  that.  I  will  try  first  a 
demonstration  of  it.'* I  "Mr.  Gordon,*' the  commissioners 
observe,  "might  know  well  the  distinction  between  a  're- 
bellion* and  a  'demonstration  of  it,'  but  that  would  not  be 
so  easy  to  his  ignorant  and  fanatical  followers.  They  would 
find  it  diflScult  to  restrain  themselves  from  rebellion  when 
making  a  demonstration  of  it."  But  while  giving  weight 
to  the  fact  that  "  the  conduct  of  Gordon  had  been  such  as 
to  convince  both  friends  and  enemies  of  his  being  a  party 
to  the  rising,"  and  that  he  himself  admitted  that  "this 
was  the  general  belief  as  soon  as  the  news  of  the  outbreak 
was  received,*'  the  commissioners  did  not  feel  justified  in 
going  beyond  the  statement  that  "  it  appears  exceedingly 
probable  that  Mr.  Gordon,  by  his  words  and  writings,  pro- 

•'  "  Report  of  Royal  Commission,"  pp.  17,  18.        f  Ibid.,  p.  18.    ' 

\  Ibid.,  p.  25. 


THE   OUTBBEAS  AT  ST.   THOMAS  IN   THE  EAST.  491 

dnced  a  material  effect  on  the  minds  of  Bogle  and  his 
followers,  and  did  much  to  produce  that  state  of  excitement 
and  discontent  in  different  parts  of  the  island  which  ren- 
dered  the  spread  of  the  insurrection  exceedingly  probable."* 

With  regard  to  other  important  points,  the  commissioners 
observe :  **  That  by  the  continuance  of  martial  law  in  its  full 
force  to  the  extreme  limit  of  its  statutory  operation,  the 
people  were  deprived  for  a  longer  than  the  necessary  period 
of  the  great  constitutional  privileges  by  which  the  security 
of  life  and  property  is  provided  for ;"  and  lastly :  "  That  the 
punishments  inflicted  were  excessive ;  that  the  punishment 
of  death  was  unnecessarily  frequent :  that  the  floggings 
were  reckless,  those  at  Bath  being  positively  barbarous ; 
and  that  the  burning  of  one  thousand  houses  was  wanton 
and  cruel. "+ 

On  the  18th  of  June,  1866,  Mr.  Cardwell  forwarded  a 
despatch  in  reply  to  the  report.  He  agreed  with  the  views 
expressed,  but  observed  that  no  instructions  had  hitherto 
been  given  to  colonial  governors  with  respect  to  such  an 
emergency  as  that  which  had  arisen ;  and  that  Mr.  Eyre 
had  only  been  partially  informed  of  the  measures  actually 
taken,  nor  had  any  complaints  been  made  to  him  against 
the  conduct  of  officers  in  command  during  the  whole  period 
of  martial  law.  Yet  "her  Majesty's  government,  while 
giving  Mr.  Eyre  full  credit  for  those  portions  of  his  conduct 
to  which  credit  is  justly  due,  feel  compelled,  by  the  result  of 
the  inquiry,  to  disapprove  other  portions  of  that  conduct. " 
Mr.  Eyre  was  not  in  consequence  restored  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  for  a  time  Sir  H.  E.  Storks  continued  to  rule 
the  colony. 

The  commissioners  had  expressed  their  opinion  that,  as 
on  the  30th  of  October  Mr.  Eyre  had  stated  that  the  re- 
bellion had  been  put  down  and  its  chief  instigators  pun- 
ished, "  directions  might  and  ought  to  have  been  given 
that  courts-martial  should  discontinue  their  sittings,  and 
the  prisoners  in  custody  have  been  handed  over  for  trial  to 
the  ordinary  tribunals."  t  This  would  not  have  made  much 
difference  in  the  number  executed,  and  an  amnesty  had 
been  already  proclaimed  to  all  but  ringleaders  or  mur- 
derers.    But  Mr.  Eyre's  own  remarks  fully  justify  this 

*  "  Report  of  Boyal  CommisBion,"  p.  25.  f  Ibid.,  p.  28. 

I  Ibid.,  p.  27. 


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THE   OUTBREAK  AT   ST.   THOMAS  IN  THE   EAST.  498 

He  did  not  fail  to  observe  that  all  whose  offices  were 
abolished  ought  to  be  compensated.  The  address  of  the 
legislative  council  re-echoed  the  speech  of  his  excellency, 
and  so  also  did  that  of  the  assembly;  which  went  so  far  as 
to  take  up  an  expression  of  the  governor,  and  assert  that  a 
strong  government  was  necessary  to  save  Jamaica  from 
sinking  ''  into  the  condition  of  a  second  Hayti." 

Mr.  Westmoreland,  the  leading  member  of  the  executive 
committee,  lost  no  time  in  introducing  a  bill  to  alter  the 
constitution.  It  was  proposed  to  abolish  the  existing 
chambers,  and  appoint  a  legislative  council,  whose  mem- 
bers should  be  nominated  bv  the  crown,  and  hold  office  for 
life.  This  did  not  commend  itself  to  the  judgment  of  the 
house,  and  it  was  finally  agreed  that  the  council  should 
consist  of  twenty-four  members,  half  of  whom  should  be 
nominated  by  the  crown,  and  half  elected,  four  for  each  of 
the  three  counties  into  which  Jamaica  is  divided.  This 
bill  was  not  passed  without  much  opposition :  nine  mem- 
bers in  the  assembly  voted  that  it  should  be  read  a  second 
time  in  six  months ;  and  in  the  council,  Mr.  Moncrieff 
pointed  out  the  danger  of  only  one  legislative  chamber. 
It  turned  out  that  this  was  not  a  measure  that  her  Majesty's 
government  could  accept,  and  on  the  14th  of  December 
another  bill  was  introduced,  and  finally  adopted,  which 
placed  the  future  constitution  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
imperial  government.  It  provided  that  her  Majesty  should 
assume  entire  management  and  control  of  the  affairs  of 
the  island,  and  by  orders  in  council,  or  otherwise,  conduct 
its  affairs,  such  orders  to  have  the  force  and  effect  of  law. 

No  doubt  the  members  of  the  executive  committee  anti- 
cipated a  continuance  of  place  and  power  under  the  new 
order  .of  things :  indeed,  they  threw  out  hints  to  thai 
effect.*  But  if  the  British  government  disapproved  of 
Mr.  Eyre's  conduct,  they  could  not  reinstate  in  authority 
those  who  had  been  his  responsible  advisers.  A  review  of 
the  bills  introduced  by  the  executive  committee  during  this 
session  will  fully  justify  the  change  which  was  effected. 
One  empowered  the  governor  to  detain  in  custody  persons 
arrested  during  martial  law.  Another  provided  for  the 
forfeiture  of  the  real  or  personal  estate  of  persons  con- 
victed of  treason  or  felony  during  the  rebellion.  A  third 
*  Sincliur'8  ''  Debates,''  1865,  pp.  182-^140,  &a 


4^1  MiSflUILl 


fnmiied  bt  t&e  toil  al  aSatxs  nwnntlirf  dnziiig  the 
reiiellloa  b^  military  trfbiziiaia  afto*  martiml  law  had  ex- 
pEr»L     AIL  dfasae  weze  diaallowEd  faj  tiie  qiMcn. 

The  most  usnrd  <rf  aU  meassres  wms  ooe  pndiilRtmg 
the  impoitatzaiL.  soIbj.  aiiii  ase  <rf  the  agricahaiai  instm- 
fliest  Gftlkfi  a  entlass  ;  and  when  Mr.  G.  HenderBcm  cafaniy 
pomted  oat  that  the  negro  had  been  ao  trained  to  its  use 
from  the  dajs  of  slaTor  that  it  was  now  indispoisahie, 
and  &r  kss  dangiKCMB  as  a  weapon  than  the  maeheat  or 
billhook,  Mr.  Westmoreland  rose  at  once  and  moved  thai 
the  doors  shooU  be  closed.*  This  last  was  a  common 
practiee  during  this  session^  wiioi  there  was  anything  like 
freedom  of  diseiisskxi.  This  hill,  together  with  one  to 
form  the  Maroons  into  miKtary  elans,  was  rejected.  So 
also  was  another,  iriiieh  carried  the  thoughts  back  to  the 
days  of  the  Stoarts.  It  proposed  to  register  missicmaries 
and  schoofanast^s,  to  regulate  the  times  of  worship,  and 
generally  (while  exempting  the  established  ehnrches)  to 
bring  nonconforming  places  nnder  the  control  of  the  otiI 
power.  The  prompt  and  earnest  protest  of  the  ministers 
in  Kingston  led  to  its  withdrawal. 

Among  measm-es  left  to  their  operation  hy  the  crown 
may  be  ennmerated  an  Act  to  indemnify  the  governor  and 
others  engaged  in  suppressing  the  rebellion ;  one  to  prevent 
the  training  of  persons  in  the  use  of  arms;  one  to  empower 
the  governor  to  send  away  aliens  where  necessary  for 
public  safety ;  and  another  to  prevent  the  administration  of 
unlawful  oaths.  Before  Christmas  the  house  was  dissolved 
by  Mr.  Eyre,  who  complimented  the  members  on  having 
patriotically  immolated  their  privileges.  Never,  perhaps, 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  were  patriots  less  appreciated. 
Men  and  women  went  about  the  conmion  business  of  life 
as  usual,  apparently  unimpressed  by  the  greatness  of  the 
sacrifices  which  had  been  made. 

When  Sir  H.  K.  Storks  arrived,  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1866,  he  again  called  the  legislature  together,  but  only  to 
pass  two  bills  necessary  to  carry  out  effectually  the  pur- 
poses of  the  royal  commission.  On  the  10th  of  January 
the  history  of  representative  institutions  in  Jamaica  termi- 
nated for  a  season,  after  having  existed  for  two  hundred  and 
two  years.    When  education  has  raised  the  masses  of  the 

*  Sinclair's  *'  Debates ;''  '*  Morning  Journal,*'  December  8, 1865. 


THE  OUTBREAK  AT   BT.    THOMAS   IN   THE   EAST.  495 

people  to  a  far  higher  standard,  when  old  prejudices  and 
animosities  are  forgotten,  then,  but  not  till  then,  they  may 
be  advantageously  restored.  In  the  mean  time  most  men 
will  agree  with  Sir  J.  P.  Grant,  that  it  is  best  to  leave 
things  as  they  now  are.* 

After  the  royal  commissioners'  report  had  been  approved 
by  the  colonial  secretary,  Mr.  Eyre  retired  from  the  colony. 
He  had  previously  received  numerous  addresses,  signed  by 
about  five  thousand  men  and  three  thousand  five  hundred 
women,  expressing  approval  either  of  all,  or  of  portions  of 
his  conduct  during  the  late  outbreak.  In  England  Mr. 
Eyre  found  many  influential  friends,  and  some  injudicious 
ones.  Enemies  were  numerous :  he  was  brought  before 
the  magistrates  in  the  county  where  he  resided,  and  charged 
with  murder,  but  acquitted.  A  subsequent  attempt  to  con- 
vict him,  and  also  Brigadier  Nelson,  in  London,  failed,  the 
grand  jury  throwing  out  the  bill.  Committees  were  formed 
for  purposes  of  prosecution  and  defence,  and  large  sums  of 
money  raised.  The  painful  story  was,  it  is  presumed, 
brought  to  a  close  on  the  8th  of  July,  1872,  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  House  of  Commons  ordering  a  payment  of 
over  d£4000  to  be  made  to  Mr.  Eyre,  to  reimburse  him  for 
the  expenses  of  his  defence.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Bussell 
Gumey  pointed  out  that  the  ex-governor  had  remained  in 
ignorance  of  some  of  the  most  painful  atrocities  in  the 
repression  until  they  were  brought  to  light  by  the  investi- 
gations of  the  royal  commission.! 

In  Jamaica,  Mr.  Gordon  Bamsay,  who  had  acted  with 
extreme  severity  as  provost-marshal  during  martial  law, 
was  charged  with  the  crime  of  murder  at  St.  Thomas  in 
the  East,  but  the  grand  jury  threw  out  the  bill.  This  case 
was  subsequently  adduced  by  Sir  J.  P.  Grant  as  one  reason 
for  the  abolition  of  grand  juries  in  Jamaica,  t 

A  dozen  English  officers  of  high  rank  were  also  sent  out 
to  hold  a  court-martial  on  two  officers,  who  were  accused 
of  wilfully  ordering  the  shooting  of  three  men  during  the 
outbreak.  The  court  sat  for  several  weeks,  but  the  charge 
was  not  proved.  That  the  men  were  shot  was  unquestion- 
able, but  by  whose  orders  was  not  clear. 

*  Letter  to  Hon.  G.  Solomon.  \  Debate  in  "  Times,''  &o. 

X  Despatoh  to  Secretary  of  State,  No.  88,  October  24, 1866;  Report 
on  Blue  Book  for  1870-71. 


496  msTOBY  OF  Jamaica. 

Some  inquiries  were  also  instituted  into  the  oases  of 
those  who  had  suffered  loss  by  the  military  occupation  of 
the  district,  and  compensation  given  to  a  limited  amount. 


CHAPTEE  Vn. 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF   Sm  JOHN  PETEB  GRANT. 

In  August,  1866,  Sir  J.  P.  Grant  arrived  as  governor  of 
Jamaica.  He  was  well  known  as  an  Indian  statesman, 
and  his  appointment  was  very  generally  welcomed  by  all 
classes  of  society  throughout  the  island.  Effect  had  been 
given  to  the  laws  passed  by  the  assembly  to  alter  and 
amend  the  constitution  by  the  imperial  parliament,*  in  an 
^'  Act  to  make  provision  for  the  Government  of  Jamaica." 
By  the  exercise  of  the  powers  thus  conferred  upon  the 
queen,  an  order  in  council  was  passed  on  the  11th  of  June, 
establishing  a  legislative  council  in  Jamaica,  consisting,  in 
the  first  instance,  of  the  officer  in  command  of  the  troops, 
the  colonial  secretary,  the  attorney-general,  the  financial 
secretary,  the  director  of  roads,  and  the  collector  of  customs, 
together  with  a  few  non-official  members. 

On  the  16th  of  October  the  first  legislative  council  was 
convened,  consisting  of  all  the  official  members  named 
above,  except  the  director  of  roads,  who  was  not  then 
appointed,  and  of  three  non-official  members,  the  Honour- 
ables  Messrs.  Mackinnon,  Moncrieff,  and  McDowell.  One 
of  the  most  important  measures  passed  at  the  first  sitting 
of  this  council  conferred  upon  the  new  government  the 
powers  and  functions  of  the  former  executive  committee 
and  of  various  other  boards,  and  abolished  the  elected 
vestries  and  road  boards  of  the  several  parishes.  It  also 
enabled  the  governor  to  nominate  persons  in  their  stead,  to 
whom,  under  the  title  of  municipal  boards,  were  entrusted 
the  duties  formerly  discharged  by  those  bodies. 

The  subsequent  abolition  of  the  offices  of  financial  se- 
cretary and  of  collector  of  customs,  rendered  another  order 

*  29  Vict.  cap.  12. 


THE   ADMINISTRATION   OF  SIB  JOHN  PETEB  GRANT.        497 

in  council  necessary.*  This  abolished  the  ex-officio  seat  of 
the  director  of  roads,  and  opened  a  wide  field  for  selection, 
by  enabling  her  Majesty  to  appoint  any  three  officers  to 
complete  the  full  number  (six)  of  official  members.  The 
director  of  roads  and  the  auditor-general  were,  in  the  first 
instance,  appointed  under  this  provision.  Some  changes 
have  since  taken  place,  and  other  unofficial  members  have 
been  introduced,  so  that  the  full  number  (six)  have  now 
been  nominated.  The  proceedings  of  the  council  present 
a  marked  contrast  to  the  wearisome  debates  and  the  class 
legislation  of  the  former  house  of  assembly. 

Great,  and  on  the  whole,  most  beneficial  changes  have 
been  eflFected  in  the  mode  of  legal  procedure  in  the  colony. 
District  courts  have  been  established  very  much  on  the 
model  of  the  English  county  courts,  and,  like  them,  deal 
with  common  law  and  equity  cases.  They  have  a  limited 
jurisdiction  in  matters  respecting  titles  to  land,  and  un- 
limited with  regard  to  unlawful  possession  without  title* 
They  have  also  a  restricted  criminal  jurisdiction,  and  de- 
fendants charged  before  a  magistrate's  court  may  have  the 
trial  moved  up  into  that  of  the  district  judge.  They  have 
also  become  the  insolvent  and  probate  courts  of  the  colony, 
and  have  special  powers  in  cases  affecting  indentured  cooUe 
labourers.  The  business  transacted  in  the  eight  courts 
which  have  been  established  has  increased  from  year  to 
year,  and  public  confidence  has  been  secured  in  the  in- 
tegrity and  justice  of  their  decisions;  for  during  three 
years  there  were  only  six  appeals  to  a  higher  court,  as 
provided  by  law,  out  of  nearly  five  thousand  cnminal  trials, 
and  only  twenty-five  out  of  upwards  of  sixteen  thousand 
civil  cases. 

In  former  days  the  clerks  of  the  peace  were  paid  by 
fees ;  it  was  thus  to  their  interest  that  cases  should  be 
multiplied,  and  cross-summonses  issued  by  contending 
parties.  This  system  has  been  brought  to  an  end,  and  the 
clerks  of  petty  sessions,  as  they  are  now  called,  are  paid 
fixed  salaries,  and  the  fees  are  converted  into  stamp  duties. 
The  time  of  these  officers  is  entirely  devoted  to  their  pro- 
fessional duties,  no  private  practice  being  permitted.  Two 
assistants  to  the  attorney-general  have  also  been  ap- 
pointed, who  practically  discharge  the  duty  of  a  pubho 

*  November  11, 1859. 
88 


498  HISTORY   OF   JAMAICA. 

prosecutor.  The  old  office  of  official  assignee,  not  without 
good  reason,^  has  been  abolished,  and  the  duties  entrusted 
to  the  judges  of  the  district  courts.  The  office  of  the 
masters  in  chancery  has  also  ceased  to  exist,  and  under 
the  able  supervision  of  the  present  chief  justice,  Sir  J. 
Lucie  Smith,  the  duties  have  since  been  efficiently  and 
economically  despatched.  The  paucity  of  barristers  has 
been  in  part  supplied  by  a  law  allowing  the  judges  of  the 
supreme  court  to  admit  attorneys  of  seven  years'  standing 
to  practise  as  advocates. 

Another  great  reform  has  been  the  abolishment  of  im- 
prisonment for  debt,  except  by  order  of  a  competent  court 
of  justice,  and  then  only  in  cases  of  dishonesty ;  while 
the  recent  introduction  of  the  English  bankruptcy  law  is 
a  further  advance  on  the  measure  which  gave  the  district 
courts  jurisdiction  in  cases  of  insolvency,  and  through 
which  dividends  were  declared — almost  a  new  feature  in 
the  history  of  the  colony. 

These  judicial  changes  have  had  a  marked  effect  upon 
the  community  at  large.  Confidence  in  the  rectitude  of 
legal  decisions  is  now  general ;  old  abuses  have  been 
swept  away,  and  simple  but  effectual  remedies  are  pro- 
vided for  those  who  are  compelled-  to  have  recourse  to 
law. 

Among  other  laws  passed  during  this  administration,  two 
should  be  especially  noticed,  from  the  contrast  they  afford 
to  the  proceedings  of  the  former  executive  committee.  The 
one  repealed  the  provisions  relating  to  the  declaration  of 
martial  law,  and  the  other  imparted  to  aliens  the  same 
power  to  hold  real  and  personal  property  as  is  enjoyed  by 
British  subjects.  A  very  considerable  number  of  enter- 
prising Cubans  and  others  have  in  consequence  purchased 
property  in  the  island.  While  facilities  have  thus  been 
afforded  to  all  willing  to  settle  in  the  colony,  determined 
steps  have  been  taken  to  put  down  squatting.  Abandoned 
properties  are  leased  by  government  for  a  term  of  seven 
years,  during  which  time  any  person  having  a  valid  title 
may  come  forward  and  obtam  possession,  subject  to  the 
leases.  The  squatters,  as  a  rule,  are  glad  of  the  security 
thus  offered.  Provision  has  also  been  made  that  when 
quit-rents  and  land-tax  have  been  long  in  arrear^  the  land 

*  Beport  on  the  Blue  Book  for  1868,  pp.  5,  6. 


THE   ADMINI8TBATI0N  OF  SIB  JOHN  PETEB  QBANT.        499 

may  be  sold,  after  legal  proceedings  in  the  circuit  conrts 
and  public  notifications  at  three  months*  interval.  Many 
such  extensive  tracts  of  land  are  now  offered  for  sale. 

A  determined  and  partially  successful  effort  has  been 
made  to  establish  a  really  e£Scient  and  trustworthy  police 
force.  Only  about  six  himdred  and  fifty  o£Soers  and  men 
have  yet  been  appointed,  but  the  maximum  number  autho- 
rised by  law  is  nine  hundred  and  fifty,  or  more  than  double 
the  former  force.  This  body  is  formed  upon  the  plan  of 
the  Irish  constabulary,  and  the  men  are  enlisted  for  five 
years.  They  undergo  miUtary  drill,  but  only  wear  arms 
when  called  out  on  special  duty,  in  case  of  riot  or  disorder. 
No  opportunity  has  happily  been  afforded  of  proving  how 
they  would  behave  if  required  to  act  in  any  really  serious 
emergency.  Their  appearance  on  several  occasions  has 
been  sufficient  to  restrain  violent  men  from  proceeding  to 
open  resistance.  A  bill  has  also  been  passed  to  establish 
a  rural  constabulary,  and  more  efficient  regulations  intro- 
duced with  respect  to  habitual  criminals. 

The  requirements  of  what  is  commonly  called  the  plant- 
ing interest  have  not  been  ignored,  though  for  four  previous 
years  no  Indian  immigrants  had  been  introduced.  During 
1867,  1686  coolies  were  brought  into  the  colony,  of  whom 
nearly  one-third  were  females,  a  very  much  larger  propor- 
tion than  in  former  years.  Next  year  the  immigration 
ceased,  owing  to  the  mismanagement  of  the  agent  in 
India ;  but  Wc.  W.  M.  Anderson  was  sent  from  Jamaica, 
and  his  selection  has  been  far  more  judicious  than  that  of 
any  of  his  predecessors.  Important  changes  have  been 
effected  in  the  provision  made  for  the  treatment  of  these 
people.  Former  laws  had  only  made  it  compulsory  on  the 
employer  to  provide  the  coolie  labourer  with  rations  for 
three  months.  After  that  period  he  became  entirely 
dependent  upon  his  wages,  which  rarely  amounted  to  a 
shilling  a  day :  many,  especially  the  sickly,  were  on  the 
verge  of  starvation,  and  could  not  earn  enough  to  recover 
health  and  strength.  It  was  now  made  compulsory  that 
every  coolie  should  receive,  either  in  wages  or  food,  six- 
pence a  day  for  the  whole  period  for  which  he  was  in- 
dentured, enough  to  support  him  in  health  and  strength, 
or  to  maintain  him  in  hospital,  if  ill.  Daily  rations  are 
supplied  on  a  scale  and  at  a  price  approved  of  by  the 

88* 


600  HI8T0BY   OF  JAMAICA. 

govemor  in  council.  Wages  are  fixed  at  one  shilling  a 
day  for  men,  and  ninepence  for  women  and  boys  of  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  years  of  age.  Work  must  be  found  for 
six  days  a  week,  and  task  work  is  permitted,  if  thereby 
the  immigrant  can  earn  not  less  than  the  stipulated  sum. 
Hospitals  are  provided  by  the  government  at  the  cost  of 
the  immigration  fund,  and  the  medical  men  attending  the 
coolies  are  now  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  paid  from 
the  same  fund,  and.  not  by  the  employer,  as  was  formerly 
the  case. 

Not  only  are  these  provisions  excellent  as  regards  the 
welfare  of  the  labourer,  but  that  they  suit  the  employer  is 
shown  from  the  fact  that  great  numbers  of  coolies  have 
been  applied  for.  1894  were  introduced  in  1869,  906  in 
1870,  and  1354  in  1871.  Applications  were  made  for  2400 
to  arrive  during  1872.  In  1871,  925  coolies,  whose  in- 
dnstrial  residence  of  ten  years  in  the  colony  had  expired, 
returned  to  India,  taking  with  them  £7229  in  treasury  bills, 
beside  a  large  quantity  of  specie.  1215  coolies,  also  en- 
titled to  a  return  passage,  elected  to  remain  in  the  colony, 
and  received  £12  each  as  bounty  for  adults,  or  £6  for  all 
children  over  three  years  of  age.  Great  improvements 
continue  to  be  made  in  the  treatment  of  those  under  in- 
denture, and  instead  of  the  old  system  of  barracks,  separate 
cottages  are  now  more  generally  built.  The  desire  to  remain 
in  the  colony,  receiving  the  bounty,  instead  of  returning 
to  India,  increases ;  and  the  adaptation  of  the  climate  to 
Indian  immigrants  is  illustrated  by  the  fact,  that  out  of 
592,  who  arrived  in  1860,  only  123  had  died,  while  there 
had  been  122  births.  Sir  J.  P.  Grant  seems  quite  justified 
in  his  remark,  that  had  there  been  a  fair  proportion  of  the 
sexes,  the  births  would  have  trebled  the  deaths.* 

The  fact  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  negro  popula- 
tion of  the  island  have  become  freeholders,  and  con- 
sequently independent  of  employment  on  estates,  has  made 
coolie  labour  essential  to  sugar  cultivation  on  a  large  scale, 
and  it  is  therefore  satisfactory  to  find  that  the  evils  of  the 
system  have  been  so  far  overcome  by  good  management. 
Of  1379  who  embarked  in  1870-71,  only  twenty-five  died  on 
the  passage.  In  two  of  the  three  vessels  the  mortality  was 
under  one  per  cent.,  while  the  death  rate  in  the  colony, 

*  Beport  on  Blue  Book  for  1870,  p.  26. 


THE   ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIB  JOHN  PBTER  OBANT.        501 

since  the  introduction  of  the  new  regulations,  has  greatly 
declined.  7793  Indians  were  reported  in  the  census  of 
1871.  The  cost  of  immigration  is  met  by  an  export  duty 
on  sugar,  rum,  and  cofifee,  the  articles  chiefly  cultivated  by 
the  coolies. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  colony  generaUy  have  not  been 
left  to  complain  that  no  regard  has  been  had  to  their  well- 
being.  The  hospitals  have  been  greatly  improved,  and  a 
government  medical  service  established :  forty  medical  men 
are  stationed  in  different  districts,  receiving  salaries  of  from 
£200  to  £300  a  year.  They  have  care  of  all  paupers, 
prisoners,  and  police;  parochial  hospitals  are  also  under 
their  charge.  It  is  their  duty  to  attend  to  vaccination,  and 
generally  to  keep  the  government  informed  on  all  matters 
relative  to  the  public  health.  The  system  costs  little  more 
than  was  formerly  paid  to  medical  men,  mostly  in  towns, 
to  attend  to  those  who  were  dependent  upon  government ; 
but  it  places  medical  advice  within  the  reach  of  large 
numbers  to  whom,  of  late  years,  it  had  not  been  available. 
Gould  dispensaries,  under  qualified  superintendence,  be 
established  in  rural  districts,  still  greater  benefits  would 
be  derived.  The  subject  has  been,  and  is  still  under  the 
consideration  of  the  government. 

Savings  banks  had  been  for  many  years  established  in  the 
colony,  and  in  most  cases  well  managed.  Defalcations,  how- 
ever, occurred  from  time  to  time,  and  a  most  distressing 
one  in  Trelawny,  where  over  eight  thousand  pounds  was 
found  deficient,  induced  the  government  to  adopt  a  modifica- 
tion of  the  English  system.  In  1870,  a  government  savings 
bank  was  established,  the  parochial  treasurers,  who  collect 
the  taxes  and  attend  to  government  financial  business, 
managing  the  branches.  After  a  given  date  the  interest, 
four-and-a-half  per  cent.,  allowed  by  the  treasury  to  the  pri- 
vate savings  banks,  ceased,  and  in  consequence  all  accounts 
'  have  been  transferred  to  the  government  institution.  The 
highest  number  of  private  banks  at  any  one  time  was 
nine ;  there  are  now  nearly  three  times  as  many  places 
where  deposits  can  be  received.  The  amount  has  increased 
year  by  year :  in  1864  the  total  amount  deposited  was 
under  £50,000,  in  1871  it  was  £105,478. 

The  post-office  has  also  greatly  improved,  the  means  of 
communication  are  increased,  and  the  rate  of  intercolonial 


602  mSTOBY  OF  JAMAICA. 

postage  reduced.  The  revenue  has  been  augmented  in 
consequence.  The  returns  of  1871  show  a  total  of  1,362,000 
letters,  papers,  and  book  packets,  conveyed  during  the  year. 
Owing  to  the  scattered  state  of  the  population  in  many 
districts,  great  numbers  of  letters  are  still  sent  by  private 
hands. 

The  greatest  of  all  the  changes  effected  under  the  new 
constitution  has  been  the  disestablishment  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  the  introduction  of  a  system  of  popular 
education.  From  an  early  period  of  the  administration  of 
Sir  J.  P.  Grant,  he  had  refrained  from  filling  up  vacancies 
as  they  occurred  in  the  clergy  list,  in  anticipation  of  a  com- 
plete change  in  the  existing  system  with  the  expiration  of 
the  clergy  bill.  So  early  as  1867,  the  cost  of  the  incidental 
expenses  of  worship,  amounting  to  £8000  a  year,  had  been 
thrown  upon  the  congregations,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
bishop.*  But  a  moiety  of  this  was  not  given,  as  proposed, 
to  other  church  purposes.  A  lengthy  correspondence  en- 
sued between  the  governor  and  the  bishop,  and  also  with 
the  colonial  oflSce.  Many  plans  were  suggested  to  reduce 
expenditure,  while  yet  maintaining  connection  with  the 
state;  but  in  1870  disestablishment  was  finaUy  decided 
upon,  regard  being  had  to  the  claims  of  the  existing  clergy, 
who  retain  their  incomes  while  discharging  the  duties 
required  at  their  hands. 

The  disestablished  '*  Church  of  England  in  Jamaica  "  at 
once  put  forth  a  degree  of  energy  and  vitality  unknown  in 
former  days.  On  the  13th  of  January,  1870,  a  convention, 
or  synod  of  the  clergy,  with  a  number  of  lay  delegates, 
assembled  in  Kingston,  and  sat  for  a  week.  A  good  deal 
of  business  was  done,  and  arrangements  made  for  the  future 
management  of  the  church.  Questions  were,  however, 
raised  as  to  the  legality  of  this  synod,  and  during  the  year 
an  Act  was  passed  providing  for  the  formation  of  a  con- 
stitution for  the  future  government  of  the  church  on  the 
voluntary  principle ;  and  giving  power  to  her  Majesty  to  in- 
corporate by  charter  the  duly  appointed  representatives  of 
the  free  church,  in  whom  should  then  be  vested  all  eccle- 
siastical property.  This  law  was  framed  very  much  on  the 
principle  of  those  adopted  in  Canada  and  Ireland.  Under 
its  provisions  another  synod  was  held,  and  arrangements 

*  Letter  to  Sir  H.  K.  Storke,  April  19,  1866, 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIB  JOHN  PETER  GRANT.        608 

made  for  a  sustentation  fond,  and  for  the  general  govem- 
ment  of  the  church.  A  most  commendable  degree  of  zeal 
and  earnestness  is  being  displayed  by  many  of  the  clergy 
and  laity,  and  if  wise  councils  prevail,  the  future  prosperity 
of  this  body  may  be  safely  predicted. 

A  resolution  of  the  English  parliament  had  some  time 
before  provided  that  the  stipends  hitherto  paid  out  of  the 
consolidated  fund  to  colonial  bishops  and  archdeacons 
should  terminate  with  the  demise  of  the  existing  incum- 
bents. Early  in  1872  the  Bishop  of  Jamaica  died,  and  the 
British  government  declined  to  continue  the  payment  of 
that  portion  of  his  stipend  which,  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, had  been  paid  to  the  sufiEragan  Bishop  of  Kingston. 
He  is,  however,  still  entitled  to  his  stipend  as  archdeacon : 
this  will  be  supplemented  from  the  funds  of  the  church  in 
Jamaica,  so  as  to  secure  him  an  income  of  £1200  a  year, 
far  less  than  he  has  hitherto  received,  but  more  than  it  is 
intended  to  pay  to  any  future  bishop. 

In  the  grants  that,  to  a  very  limited  amount,  had  for 
many  years  been  made  for  educational  purposes,  no  fixed 
principle  of  distribution  had  been  recognised,  and  there 
was  in  fact  no  defined  standard  either  of  efficiency  or 
numbers.  In  1867,  a  system  was  introduced  by  which 
grants  in  aid  were  apportioned  in  accordance  with  the 
merits  of  the  school  and  the  numbers  in  attendance. 
Schools  were  divided  into  three  classes.  To  those  which 
passed  in  the  third,  or  the  lowest  of  these,  £10  was 
awarded ;  to  the  second  class  schools,  £15 ;  and  to  those 
which  attained  to  the  first  class,  £20.  In  addition  to  this, 
a  capitation  grant  is  given  on  the  average  attendance  for 
the  year,  of  four,  five,  or  six  shillings,  according  to  the  rank 
attained  by  the  school.  No  grant  is  made  if  the  average 
attendance  is  less  than  twenty,  or  if  the  school  has  not 
been  opened  for  one  hundred  and  eighty  days  in  the  year. 
The  inefficient  vestry  schools  were  abolished,  and  with  the 
funds  thus  saved,  four  model  schools  were  established. 
Gradual  steps  in  the  way  of  progress  and  improvement 
have  also  been  taken  with  regard  to  the  twenty-nine 
endowed  schools. 

In  1867  there  were  three  hundred  and  seventy-nine 
elementary  schools  in  the  island,  mostly  under  the  superin- 
tendence and  management  of  clergymen  and  missionaries : 


604  HISTOBT  OF  JAMAICA. 

two  hundred  and  twenty-six  of  these  received  aid  from 
the  government.  Nearly  half  were  connected  with  the 
established  church,  for  a  very  considerable  number  of  non- 
conforming ministers  had  persistently  refused  to  accept 
government  aid.  Nor  was  it  until  they  were  convinced 
that  there  was  no  intention  whatever  to  interfere  with  the 
rehgious  education  imparted,  and  that  the  amount  of  aid 
would  be  regulated  solely  by  the'attainments  of  the  children 
in  secular  subjects,  irrespective  of  denominational  dis- 
tinctions, that  they  gradually  fell  in  with  the  plan. 

During  the  first  year  that  this  system  was  in  operation, 
only  ninety-six  out  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  schools 
came  up  to  the  government  standard,  one  in  the  first  class, 
six  in  the  second,  and  the  remainder  in  the  third  ;  but  out 
of  the  hundred  and  ninety  that  failed,  eighty-eight  were 
recommended  for  an  exceptional  grant  of  one  half  that 
allowed  in  the  third  class.  A  few  Baptist  schools  earned 
four  times  as  much  as  they  had  accepted  under  the  old 
system,  and  Wesleyan  schools  earned  more  than  twice  as 
much.  Next  year,  out  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-two 
schools  inspected,  only  forty-five  failed  to  pass,  and  the 
returns  showed  three  times  the  number  in  first  and  second 
classes.  In  1870,  the  number  of  inspected  schools  was  three 
hundred  and  twenty-nine,  of  which  two  hundred  and  forty- 
five  passed  with  a  marked  increase  on  the  higher  grades. 
Next  year  the  same  rate  of  progress  was  maintained.  Four 
hundred  and  eight  schools  were  examined,  and  of  these,  six 
passed  in  the  first  class,  sixty-eight  in  the  second,  and  two 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  in  the  third.  The  grants  are  by 
no  means  large,  the  average  being  a  little  over  £54  to  first 
class  schools,  £34  to  the  second  class,  and  £20  to  the  third. 

Additional  provision  has  been  made  for  the  training  of 
schoolmasters  at  two  Normal  schools  established  by  govern- 
ment ;  and  additional  students  are  received  at  the  Mico 
Institution,  from  which  some  of  the  best  schoolmasters  in 
the  colony  have  been  sent.  The  Baptists,  the  Moravians, 
and  the  Presbyterians  also  continue  to  sustain  institutions 
for  training  teachers.  There  is  one  serious  defect  in  the 
existing  system  :  no  provision  is  made  for  preparing  female 
teachers,  and  as  a  consequence  very  few  are  employed. 
Girls,  as  well  as  infants,  are  now  mostly  taught  by  men, 
and  with  very  rare  exceptions  all  are  mixed  together  in  the 


THE  ADVINISTIUTION  OF  SIR  JOHN  PETBB  GEAin'.        605 

same  school.  In  mral  districts  the  mixture  is  unavoidable, 
but  it  ought  not  to  be  continued  in  the  larger  centres  of 
population.  Women  who  would  be  admirably  fitted  for 
the  work  of  education,  if  properly  trained,  could  be  found 
if  a  suitable  Normal  school  was  established.  A  small  ca- 
pitation grant  of  two  shillings  is  allowed  for  aU  girls  who 
are  taught  sewing.  In  1871,  £348  was  thus  granted,  but 
it  is  not  in  all  cases  that  the  necessary  instruction  can  be 
secured.  School  fees  are  generally  exacted,  and  as  a  rule 
those  are  the  best  schools  where  they  are  most  regularly 
paid. 

It  is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that  nearly  £20,000  will  be 
required  for  educational  grants  for  1878,  including  a  pre- 
liminary vote  for  a  college  about  to  be  -established  in 
Spanish  Town ;  while  the  allowances  for  ecclesiastical  pur- 
poses have  fallen  to  less  than  £18,000,  and  will  of  course 
diminish  year  by  year,  until  they  entirely  cease. 

The  census  of  1871  showed  a  considerable  increase  in  the 
population  of  the  colony.  The  following  is  the  official 
return. 

NUMBEB   AND   CoLOUB   OF   FeBSONS. 


Whits. 

OOLOUUID. 

Black. 

Sex. 

Number. 

Sex. 

Nomber. 

Sex. 

Number. 

Kale. 

Female. 

Male. 

Ftenale. 

Male. 

Female. 

1871 
1861 

6,909 
7,296 

6,192 
6,521 

13.101 
13,816 

48,048 
88,223 

62,298 
42,842 

100,346 
81,065 

191,498 
167,277 

201,209 
179,097 

892,707 
846374 

Total  :  1871,  506,154 ;  1861,  441,264. 


Both  in  religious  and  in  educational  matters,  active 
measures  are  still  required  to  provide  for  these  augmented 
numbers. 

The  appointment  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  B.  Mann, 
B.E.,  as  director  of  roads  and  superintendent  of  public 
works,  and  the  formation  of  a  competent  staff  of  assistants, 
has  resulted  in  a  far  more  economical  and  well-directed 
expenditure  in  these  departments  than  was  formerly  the 
case.  A  saving  of  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent,  has  been 
effected  in  the  cost  of  repairing  the  public  roads,  and  the 


During  t 
only  nintty-l 
came  up  to  tfl 
six  in  tbo  scc<l 
of  the  bundrea 
reeomiueiided  T 
allowed  iu  the  \ 
four  times  as  i 
system,  and  Wt 
much.     Next   ye 
schools  inepeetea, 
returuB  showed  thi 
claBBCB.  In  1870,  th. 
hundred  and  tii'enty- 
five  passed  with  a  mi 
Next  year  the  same  rat. 
hundred  and  eight  echoo 
passed  in  the  first  class,  b. 
hundred  and  thirty-i ' 
no  means  large,  the  average  > 
doss  Bcbook,  £H  to  the  8econ> 

Additional  provision  has  bee 
Bchoolmasters  at  two  Normal  sch. 
ment;  nud  additional  Rtudcntfl  & 
Institution,  from  which  some  of  tb< 
the  colony  have  been  sent.  The  Ba, 
and  the  Presbyterians  also  continue  V 
for  traming  teachers.     There  is.  one  9t^ 


APPENDIX. 


'  following  translation  of  tlie  Lntin  poem  on  pa;res  209  and 
is  from  the  pen  of  E.  J.  Chinnock,  Esq.,  M,A-,  LL.B., 
MitisioiL  College,  Blackheath  i 

A    POEM    IN    HONOUR    OF 

GEORGE  HALDANE,  KNT., 


IB  vish  that  the  year  ehould  come  at  \ast,  all  the  joj-s 

<  seen  through  a  lengthened  day  ore  pi'eBeut.  The  people 

3  their  aniietiea,  are  proeperona  mider  b  bright  image, 

liahing  under  law.     While  thou  art  ruler,  the  uaeless 

Iraen  ilone  b;  an  il1>iuln$iiig  miiid  will  not  return  at 

Tiereforo  all  the  puojile,  oveu.lhe  rabble,  will  see 

iTeil  the  j'oke  ouiigipg  to  their  uucks,  And  the  ilU 

'«nd  luta  formerly  endured  with  dreadful  torturee, 

\^eea  ei.u(i8gively  paLatHil  dl<)  not  thy  victorious 
ltd  for  VMlour,  winii  ofitatrwn  accord  to  aid  our 
Britiab  kiuu{  1im  ud  bottcT  s«>rvaut  tlian  thou 
D  Art  the  boat  of  heroeH 
■,  the  memory 
a  u  her  non- 


606  mSTORY  OP  JIMAIOA. 

work  is  also  much  more  eflficiently  performed.  Some  new 
roads  have  been  made,  or  commenced,  connecting  impor- 
tant districts  of  country,  and  bridges  constructed  where 
greatly  required.  The  public  buildings  are  in  a  far  better 
condition  than  at  any  former  period,  and  important  addi- 
tions have  been  made  to  their  number.  In  Kingston,  a 
desert  of  eight  acres  in  the  very  centre  of  the  city,  called 
the  parade,  has  been  enclosed,  and  converted  into  a  public 
garden  or  park.  A  really  excellent  market,  admirably 
adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the  climate,. has  replaced 
the  sheds  formerly  used  for  the  purpose,  and  the  muddy 
beach  near  it  has  been  enclosed  by  a  substantial  sea  wall, 
and  provided  with  a  handsome  and  commodious  landing- 
place. 

The  water-works  at  Kingston  and  Spanish  Town  have 
become  government  property,  and  arrangements  are  in 
progress  by  which  Kingston  will  be  abundantly  supplied 
with  that  necessary,  and  the  means  secured  for  the  extinc- 
tion of  fires.  Other  improvements  have  been  effected  by 
this  most  efficient  department. 

The  most  important  of  all  the  public  works  hitherto 
commenced,  is  the  one  by  which  it  is  hoped  to  irrigate  a 
large  tract  of  country  now  lying  comparatively  waste. 
When  Sir  J.  P.  Grant  first  arrived  in  Jamaica,  he  was 
impressed  with  the  facilities  afforded  by  the  Eio  Colre, 
which  runs  by  Spanish  Town,  for  such  a  purpose.  Mr. 
Hutchins,  an  engineer  formerly  employed  in  similar  works 
in  India,  was  brought  to  the  colony,  and  the  cost  of  the 
entire  project  is  estimated  at  £60,000.  The  river  will  be 
dammed  up  a  few  miles  above  Spanish  Town,  and  the 
waters  brought  down  by  a  canal,  capable  of  conveying 
45,000  cubic  yards  an  hour.  It  will  then  diverge  in  dif- 
ferent directions,  irrigating  43,000  acres  of  land.  Com- 
petent engineers  speak  hopefully  of  the  success  of  the 
undertaking,  and  the  proprietors  of  three  large  sugar 
estates  have  undertaken  to  contribute  largely  to  the  ex- 
pense :  they  thus  afford  practical  evidence  of  their  appre- 
ciation of  its  value.  Should  this  plan  realise  the  expecta- 
tions which  are  formed  respecting  it,  other  parts  of  the 
island  will  in  all  probability  be  improved  by  a  similar 
process. 

Among  private  undertakings,  the  extension  of  the  railway 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIB  JOHN  PETEB  GRANT.        607 

from  Spanish  Town  to  Old  Harbour  may  be  mentioned. 
Under  the  former  system  of  government,  several  thousand 
pounds  were  wasted  in  an  attempt  to  construct  a  tramway 
between  these  places,  under  a  guarantee  from  the  publio 
funds.  The  conduct  of  the  contractor,  and  of  the  govern- 
ment official  who  ought  to  have  seen  to  the  proper  execu- 
tion of  the  work,  were  alike  very  reprehensible,  and  the 
work  was  ultimately  abandoned.  The  present  government 
has  not  afforded  encouragement  to  projects  for  further 
extending  raUway  commumcation  under  a  guarantee  from 
the  public  funds.  If  the  resources  of  the  colony  will  admit 
of  the  outlay,  such  works  could  more  profitably  be  under- 
taken at  the  cost,  and  under  the  direct  supervision,  of  the 
Board  of  Works. 

When  Sir  J.  P.  Grant  arrived  in  Jamaica,  the  finances 
were  in  a  deplorable  condition.  On  the  80th  of  September, 
1866,  there  was  a  debt  of  £757,316,  after  allowing  for  sink- 
ing funds :  by  the  same  time  next  year  it  was  £788,090. 
The  annual  charge,  including  sinking  funds  and  some 
perpetual  annuities,  was  £70,472. 

The  expenditure  for  the  first  of  these  years  was  in  excess 
of  the  revenue  by  £68,238.  For  five  preceding  years  the 
total  excess  of  expenditure  over  income  had  amounted  to 
£229,333.  To  meet  this  deficiency,  the  excise  duty  on  rum 
consumed  in  the  colony  was  increased  from  2s.  9d.  to  5s.  a 
gallon,  giving  an  additional  revenue  of  over  £30,000  a  year. 
Some  new  taxes  were  also  imposed,  chiefly  a  trade  license 
on  merchants  and  general  dealers,  of  from  £1  to  £25  per 
annum,  and  a  tax  of  from  2s.  to  6s.  on  houses  under  the 
value  of  £12  a  year,  which  had  formerly  been  exempted. 
These  taxes  amounted  to  about  £24,000  per  annum.  The 
day  was  however  not  far  distant  when  it  was  found  possible 
to  remit  other  taxes  to  an  equal  amount.  The  tonnage  duty 
on  shipping,  long  protested  against,  was  abandoned,  though 
yielding  £15,000  a  year ;  and  also  a  tax  on  breeding  stock, 
producing  £9000  a  year.  The  import  duties  were  also  re- 
duced from  13f  to  12J  per  cent. 

Measures  were  taken  to  collect  the  revenue  more  impar- 
tially than  had  hitherto  been  the  case,  by  means  of  a  well- 
organised  department.  During  the  four  years  ending  in 
1872,  there  have  been  surpluses  exceeding  £130,000  in  all. 
The  debt  has  been  reduced  to  a  similar  amount,  and  the 


608  HISTORY  OF  JAMAICA. 

charges  for  interest  and  sinking  funds,  by  judicious  arrange- 
ments, greatly  diminished.  Debentures,  on  which  six  per 
cent,  was  formerly  paid,  have  been  exchanged  for  others  on 
which  five  per  cent,  is  allowed,  and  these  last  are  generally 
Bold  at  a  small  premium.  Not  only  is  the  income  of  the 
colony  in  excess  of  its  expenditure,  but  the  latter  is  now 
regulated  on  sound  principles  of  equity  and  economy. 

In  turning  to  the  list  of  imports  and  exports  of  late 
years,  no  very  considerable  advance  can  be  traced :  there 
has,  however,  been  some  progress.  The  average  of  the 
exports  from  the  colony  for  the  three  years,  1866  to  1868 
inclusive,  was  £1,112,265;  and  during  the  next  three 
years,  £1,231,493.  In  imports  the  improvement  has  been 
more  marked ;  the  value  during  the  first  three  years  being 
£967,420,  and  during  the  last  three,  £1,281,819.  The 
inhabitants  have  consequently  been  larger  consumers  of 
imported  goods  than  formerly,  and  have  thereby  shown  an 
improvement  in  their  material  condition ;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  a  larger  proportion  of  island  products  are 
consumed  within  the  colony  than  was  formerly  the  case. 
But  the  most  striking  illustration  of  the  improvement  in 
the  condition  of  the  people  is  exhibited  in  the  returns 
issued  by  the  Colonial  Bank.  The  value  of  the  notes  circu- 
lated is  one-third  in  excess  of  what  it  was  three  years  ago. 
In  1867  it  was  as  low  as  £83,022.  In  1871  it  was  £127,356. 
From  1866,  to  the  5th  of  March,  1872,  £155,000  worth  of 
silver  had  been  imported  by  this  establishment,  and  of  this, 
£95,000  during  the  last  half  of  the  period.  There  is  no 
evidence  whatever  that  silver  is  ever  exported.  But  apart 
from  all  statistics,  there  is  abundant  evidence,  patent  to 
every  resident  in  the  island,  that  never  since  the  abolition 
of  the  sugar  duties,  in  1846,  have  the  inhabitants  generally 
been  in  a  more  prosperous  or  contented  state ;  and  never, 
at  any  former  period,  has  the  prosperity  that  is  enjoyed 
rested  on  a  sounder  basis. 

The  produce  of  sugar  and  coffee  depends  very  much  on 
the  seasons.  In  1870-71,  37,010  hogsheads  of  sugar  were 
exported,  the  largest  quantity  for  nineteen  years.  The 
coffee  crop  of  1870  reached  9,047,284  lbs.,  the  largest  since 
1838 :  next  year  it  fell  below  the  average  for  many  years 
past.  More  rum  is  now  made,  in  proportion  to  sugar,  than 
formerly.     The  number  of  puncheons,  thirty  years  ago, 


THE  ADMINISTBATION  OF   SIB  JOHN  PETEB  OIUNT.        509 

was  about  one-third  that  of  hogsheads  of  sugar :  it  is  now 
more  than  one  half.  A  considerable  fruit  trade  has  sprung 
up  with  America ;  excellent  tobacco  has,  of  late,  been  cul- 
tivated, especially  by  Cuban  settlers.  Cocoa  is  once  more 
resuming  its  place  among  the  products  of  the  colony ; 
thirty-two  tons  were  produced  in  1870,  though  in  1867  the 
total  was  little  more  than  a  fifth  of  that  quantity.  Its 
growth  is  steadily  increasing  from  year  to  year. 

The  Botanic  Garden,  now  removed  from  Bath  to  Castle- 
ton,  about  eighteen  miles  from  Kingston,  has  had  unusual 
care  bestowed  upon  it :  a  number  of  rare  plants  have  been 
introduced,  as  many  as  two  hundred  varieties  in  one  year. 
Several  kinds  of  valuable  fibres  have  been  brought  to 
maturity,  and  a  few  new  fruits,  notably  the  Bombay  mango, 
have  been  introduced.  An  extensive  cinchona  plantation 
is  in  a  most  flourishing  condition  in  the  Blue  Mountains, 
and  plants  of  Assam  tea  appear  to  have  taken  kindly  to  the 
soil  and  climate  of  the  loftiest  hills.  On  the  Palisadoes, 
opposite  Kingston,  cocoa-nut  trees  have  been  planted  in 
great  numbers  by  prisoners,  whose  labour  has  thus  been 
turned  to  profitable  account ;  while  a  sand-bank  of  several 
miles  in  length  is  gradually  being  converted  into  a  magnifi- 
cent grove.  Jamaica  is  not  dependent  on  her  exports  of 
sugar  and  rum.  In  a  soil  so  varied  a  variety  of  tropical 
and  semi-tropical  plants  can  be  brought  to  perfection,  and 
in  days  to  come  this  fact  will  be  more  fully  recognised 
than  it  is  at  present. 

In  reviewing  the  events  of  the  past  six  years,  it  is  evident 
that  a  marked  improvement  in  the  existing  condition  and 
future  pospects  of  the  island  has  been  effected.  The  dis- 
content which  once  characterised  so  many  of  the  people  is 
now  rarely  witnessed.  Taxes  are  more  cheerfully  paid, 
because  it  is  known  that  they  will  be  carefuUy  expended  for 
legitimate  purposes.  Education  is  extending,  and  Chris- 
tian churches  are  flourishing.  Crime  is  under  control. 
Industrious  habits  are  stimulated  by  the  prospects  of  suc- 
cess, while  the  commercial  and  agricultural  condition  of 
the  island  alike  indicate  steady  but  real  progress.  To  Sir 
John  Peter  Grant  no  small  share  of  the  credit  of  this  state 
of  things  is  due,  nor  has  he  lacked  the  assistance  of  ablo 
and  zealous  co-workers. 


610  HISTORY  OF  JAIIAICA. 

His  fall  period  of  service  as  governor  will  soon  come  to 
a  close,  but  whether  he  then  retires  from  the  colony,  or 
stays  for  a  longer  period,  in  accordance  with  the  expressed 
wish  of  many  thousands  of  its  inhabitants,  it  is  certain 
H|hat,  whatever  honours  may  be  awarded  him  by  the  sove- 
IBign  he  has  so  long  and  faithfully  served,  he  will  bear 
wiUihim,  whenever  he  may  go,  the  grateful  thanl^s  of 
a  united  people,  and  his  memory  will  long  be  cherished  by 
their  descendants. 


APPENDIX. 


-M- 


The  following  translation  of  the  Latin  poem  on  pages  209  and 
210,  is  from  the  pen  of  E.  J.  Ghimnock,  Esq.,  M.A.,  IJj.B., 
of  the  Mission  College,  Blackheath : 

A   POEM   IN   HONOUR    OP 

SIR   GEORGE    HALDANE,  KNT., 

A  MOST  TIBTU0178  AXD  BRAYB  MAN, 

OOVERNOB  OF  THE  ISLAND  OF  JAMAICA,  ON  WHOM  ALL  THE  ENDOWMENTS 
OF  MOBALS  AND  OF  WARLIKE  VIBTUES  HAVE  BEEN  AOOUMULATED. 

Since  the  fates  wish  that  the  year  should  come  at  last,  all  the  joys 
which  are  to  be  seen  through  a  lengthened  day  are  present.  The  people 
having  shaken  off  their  anxieties,  are  prosperous  under  a  bright  image, 
and  the  land  flourishing  under  law.  Whue  thou  art  ruler,  the  useless 
things  which  had  been  done  by  an  ill-advising  mind  will  not  return  at 
thy  appearance.  Therefore  all  the  people,  even, the  rabble,  will  see 
that  thou  hast  removed  the  yoke  clinging  to  their  necks,  and  the  ills 
which  the  guiltless  island  has  formerly  endured  with  dreadful  tortures. 
The  burden  would  have  been  excessively  painful  did  not  thy  victorious 
hand,  previously  renowned  for  valour,  wish  of  its  own  accord  4o  aid  our 
state  going  to  ruin.  The  British  king  has  no  better  servant  than  thou 
art,  while  Scotland  rejoices  in  thy  talent.  Thou  art  the  best  of  heroes 
to  prop  up  the  fall  of  a  nation ;  while  the  island  survives,  the  memory 
of  thee  'mil  also  survive.  Guadaloupe  will  recognise  thee  as  her  con- 
queror, and  will  deservedly  despise  the  plundered  camp  of  its  governors. 
The  golden  Iris  will  weep  for  her  boastful  standards,  and  together  with 
her  ijohabitants  will  groan  for  the  conquered  towns.  Believe  me,  it  is 
not  in  my  power,  O  man,  dear  to  Mars  I  Minerva  denies  to  an  Ethio« 
pian  to  celebrate  the  wars  of  generals.  Buchanan  would  sing  thee  in 
a  poem,  he  would  describe  thee  as  equal  to  Achilles  in  ooun<nl  and  in 
war.  That  famous  poet,  the  honour  of  his  country,  is  mors  worthy  to 
relate  thy  exploits,  and  is  scarcely  inferior  to  the  msjestic  VirgiL  We 
live  under  an  Apollo  driving  his  own  flame-bringing  team.  Every  kind 
of  eloquence  is  lacking  to  slaves.  Beceive  this  at  any  rate.  Though 
poured  forth  from  one  veiy  black,  it  is  valuable,  coming  from  a 
sonorous  mouth;  not  from  his  skin,  but  from  his  heart.  The  bountiful 
Deity,  with  a  hand  powerfol  and  firm,  has  given  the  same  soid  to  men 


612  APPEKDIX. 

of  all  races,  nothing  standing  in  his  way.  Virtne  itself,  and  prudence, 
are  free  from  colour;  there  is  no  colour  in  an  honourable  mind,  no 
colour  in  skilL  Why  dost  thou  fear  or  doubt  that  the  blackest  Muse 
may  scale  the  lofty  house  of  the  western  Cesar  ?  Go  and  salute  him, 
and  let  it  not  be  to  thee  a  cause  of  shame  that  thou  wearest  a  white 
body  in  a  black  skin.  Integrity  of  morals  more  adorns  a  Moor,  and 
ardour  of  intellect  and  sweet  elegance  in  a  learned  mouth.  A  wise 
heart  and  the  love  of  his  ancestral  virtue  the  more  remove  him  from 
his  comrades  and  make  him  conspicuous.  The  island  (of  Jamaica) 
gave  me  birth;  the  renowned  Bntons  brought  me  up;  the  island 
which  will  not  grieve  while  thou  its  father  art  well.  This  I  pray: 
0  may  earth  and  heaven  see  thee  without  end,  ruling  a  flourishing 
people. 

FBANCIS  WILLIAMS. 


FINIS. 


mmo  FOB  iLUOT  WTOOK,  9SL,  PATXBXoiraa  aow,  loxoov. 

/J 


—  tXit