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It is possible Q fjMtf * . fe ^ av : ery niay wear ^ m ^^ terri ^ form in part of Jamaica in wrfc $ c ^ J resided than it does in St . fiustatius , the scene of Mr . French ' s Ja&ours ., And this , indeed , must be the case , if the narrative of the robber , in th . e latter , as given by
this gentleman , be sufficiently full to jurpart a complete idea of the case ^ for , had it occurred in the former , measures pf a far more serious nature would have Jbeen adopted , on £ he apprehension of the delinquent , than appear to have been thought of in St . Eustatius . In Jamaica , the crime o £
desertion is viewed in a very serious light , as it plainly strikes at the roots of the Slave system . If the offender be tried in a court of justice , and pronounced an incorrigible runaway , he is transported for life ; but should
robbery and rebellion be added ta his crime , I cannot imagine that any thing short of hanging would be thought of . Overseers and magistrates may , and , I firmly believe , do wish to forgive , when they are able to find a tolerable pretext ; but , in cases like the present ,
they are compelled to be severe , or risk the most tremendous consequences . I feel that were I myself an overseer on any estate with which I am acquainted , I should be under the hard necessity of remonstrating with my runaways , by means of the whip , the bilboes and the workhouse , and
even at times by all these put together , or abandon my profession as a Planter . I speak of the general rule , to which there would , of course , be occasional exceptions ; such , for instance , as that of the above robber ,
whose conduct was certainly far more than commonly iniquitous . It should be remarked , that , he not only kept from his . n ^ asterV work fo urteen months , and became a most notorious
robber , but | ip absolutely acted as the captain 6 ( ojthfiks * ^ fivhpm he got to join him / ' At length , however , he was caught , put } nt < p ^ confinement , expostulated ^ wi th - by Ws , mast # r ^; and conversed vyithiyA ^ r . F ^ nch , -whic ^ was foUqvved by a * Teal i change of
heart and life / ' Now , to a peraon less susgiciQus . thaa myself , th $ rejpo ^ would cpnyey th , e idea of th ^ < exppfittulations of the master being ro { ^ rely verb a l , ;^ d the c £ n £ ne ** ipnt & ai ordinary nature . But inJamafcatfte
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vol . xviiL 2 h
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thaj . * Jkfr + Cooper on Negrp ~ Slctvery in Jamaica . * 233 *
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foraier would kave bften administered by ^ he whip , and the latter rendered more than commonly painful , by both feet being gjit into tliestocks . As to a Slave ' s accounting for his conduct as a runaway , a robber , and a ringleader of a gang of desperadoes , cm the score pf . no one having * ' eared
for his religious concerns , '' it is what I have no idea ever happened Tin Hanover y and if even it did , I am still less * inclined to believe that the plea wouldbe admitted . That all these things really took place in St . Eustatius I do not deny , while I must remark , that if Mr . F . has told the whole
truth , the condition of toe Slaves in that island is essentially different from ? that pf those in Jamaica , with which I and my wife were personally acquainted . All the accounts from the Missionaries , which I have seen , are
indeed calculated to convey the idea that the Slaves , amongst whom they have been placed , are in circumstances comparatively mild with the government under which the Blacks in
Han d over are doomed to groan and cry . Of the benevolence of teaching the Negroes Christianity , while the determination is to hold them for ever in
a state of complete bondage , I hope to have an opportunity of treating at large in another place . JEuelpis knows that I regard Negro-Slavery as a most fertile source of ignorance , pain and vice , and , therefore , he QUght not to
feel surprised that I suppose that Christianity , if propagated in its purity in the sugar-islands , would eftect its > ultimate extirpation . I regard Christianity as a pure and holy relir gion , and have no doubt , but that as the human , race submit themselves to
its unadulterated influence , they will become pure and hply , and from a setose of duty lay aside all their impure and unholy > practices and institutions , and Negrp-Siayeiy amongst the rest . I am rally aware that , ^^ rson s of great repute for theological
knowledge and critical skill , liave maintained , that the gospel not only justifies Slavery in the-abstract , but even the conduct of * a master who lasheshis Slave forhayiog presumed to disobey his coinniands . - I have , a wife > and several- , sniali-children whQ are the ppiup of my existence and $$ & daily 4 e % l ^ of my hear * . Now , if
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1823, page 233, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1783/page/41/
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