pating, but) being prepared for participating civil rights and privileges, by "a progressive improvement in their character;" and yet, in direct contradiction of these well-guarded provisions, the Trinidad Order in Council contains clauses, not only for amelioration, but for emanci pation. It is perfectly immaterial whether these were introduced through the agency of the legal adviser of the Colonial Office, or Mr. Canning, whether they are to be ascribed only to the Colonial Department, or to the whole of the Cabinet; they are equally reprehensible and unauthorized by the records of Parliament. They are obnoxious to the letter of the resolutions, for they are measures of emancipation, and not of amelioration. They are obnoxious to the spirit, for they are not " compatible with the well-being of the slaves themselves, with the safety of the Colonies, and with a fair and equitable consideration of the interests of private property." 66 But why, then, says the author of the Remarks, why did not the West India Body remonstrate against their clauses? Why have two years and a half been suffered to pass by without any remark having been made upon them?-Why did they not? Sir, you as a Minister, as a Member of the late Parliament, which this author pretends to be, must know that they did remonstrate at the very first moment that the Trinidad Order in Council was made known to them.--Mr. Canning, when he laid it before the House of Commons, detailed in the glowing language of philanthropy and genius, the beautiful effects which would be produced by the measures which it contained, tending to the improvement of the negro character. In this part he was at once argumentative and eloquent; but when he arrived at the commencement of the " Compulsory Manumission Clauses," his argument and his eloquence alike gave way. Try him, Sir, by the extract from his speech on that occasion, which the author has been unlucky enough to quote in support of his views. I give the words in which he promulgates this important addition to the meaning of the Resolutions of 1823. "It ordains, that a negro who has acquired sufficient property shall, under certain guards and regulations therein set forth, be entitled to purchase his own freedom, the "freedom of his wife, or that of his children. I have thus, Sir, stated to the House the "provisions of the Order in Council. I know that, with respect to the last point, namely, "the purchase of freedom, great prejudice, great dislike, great apprehension prevails. I "am far from saying that it is not a perplexing question; but the principle has been ad"mitted, to a certain extent, in St. Kitts, and also in Trinidad. No principle can be con"sidered as impracticable which has, even in a single instance, been voluntarily admitted "in the West Indies." Avowing his knowledge of the "dislike-the apprehension," prevalent against it, admitting that it embraced a "perplexing question," this accomplished statesman endeavours to allay that dislike, remove those apprehensions, deprive the question of its perplexities, by an elaborate train of argument comprised in sixteen words," the principle has been admitted, to a certain extent, in St. Kitts, and also in "Trinidad!!". How satisfactory, how convincing, to the representatives of Jamaica, of Barbadoes, and of nine other Colonies, all governed by different laws and usages! How strange, that this reasoning should have failed to operate on their minds, as it did upon that of the author of the pamphlet, who appears to have been so completely overcome, that he did not even hear the observations which Lord Seaford made, on the very same night, expressive of his dissent. You, Sir, no doubt remember them, and I will subjoin them to assist your recollection. His authority as an individual, Sir, is no mean one; and on this occasion he might have been supposed to stand forward as the Representative of the West India interest. He was the Chairman of the West India Committee; he had been the first to propose and to support measures of amelioration; he had obtained to such measures, and to the measures of Government, the support of the West India Body; but when he found that Government had exceeded their instructions, in proposing measures of emancipation, he entered his protest against them, a protest which, considering the quarter from which it came, must have been considered as the protest of the general West India body. His whole speech, indeed, is exceedingly important, because it contains the grounds upon which the leaders of that body founded both their approbation and disapprobation of the Orders in Council; and I strongly recommend the following passages to the attention of every one who conceives the West Indians to be either unceasingly refractory, "ignorant, incautious, or imbecile." "When the Colonial Legislatures find that the Government and Parliament of Great "Britain do not intend to employ for the enforcement of those measures to which they look, as it is expressed in the resolutions of this House, for that progressive improve"ment in the character of the slave population, which may prepare them for a participa"❝tion in those civil rights and privileges which are enjoyed by other classes of His Ma""jesty's subjects'-when they find that they do not intend to employ, for the enforce"ment of those measures, the ultima ratio of Governments, but are contented to rely upon "the influence of example, and the argument, ad verecundiam, there will remain no longer "any ground of jealousy as to any interference with their legislative privileges. When "they further learn that, for the accomplishment of their ultimate object, the Government "and Parliament do not look to legislative enactment, but to the natural operation of such "an improvement in the state of society in those countries as shall render the slave fit to "receive his liberty before he can obtain it; in a word, that they look not to the ' enfranchise"ment of the slave, but to the extinction of slavery;' they will see that there exists no "intention to invade their property in their slaves. And lastly, when they further find "that the Government and Parliament do not intend to call upon them to adopt any mea"sures of doubtful prudence, until they shall have had the opportunity of seeing the prac"tical proofs of their good effects in full operation in some other colonies, they cannot "entertain any dread of an intention to put to hazard the public tranquillity-when they "thus find that no measures of hostility are directed against their legislative privilegesno measures of spoliation against their property, and no measures of dangerous policy "against their internal tranquillity, every existing cause of jealousy and distrust will have "been removed from the minds of the Colonial Legislatures. "Having stated my approbation of the course pointed out by my Right Honorable "Friend, it is necessary for me to explain that there are two of the measures announced "by him not included in the pledge which I have stated to have been given by gen"tlemen connected with the Colonies,---I mean the admissibility of slaves as witnesses, "and the compulsory power proposed to be given to the slave of purchasing his freedom. "With regard to the first of these propositions, I have no hesitation in saying, as far "as my own opinion is concerned, that I entertain no objection to that concession which "would not be obviated by the modifications proposed by my Right Honorable Friend. "I consider it indeed essential, that the exercise of that privilege should be restricted by "the knowledge which the slave may be proved to have of the obligation of an oath,--"that it might be proper to require a certificate to that effect, and also perhaps of general good character, and to except all cases in which the interest of the master might be "directly implicated in the evidence of the slave. But subject to such qualifications and exceptions, I should hope that the concession might be safely made, and if safe, it would, "I think, be most proper to grant it. "With regard to the second proposition, I confess I entertain more serious appre"hensions. It is a measure, of which it is impossible at the first blush to embrace all the " various and remote effects in its bearings upon the state of society in the Colonies. Nu"merous objections, however, present themselves to the mind at the first sight of it, as to "its execution in various points of detail: first, as affecting the property of the master; "next as affecting the comfort of the slave: and, lastly, as tending to counteract even the "ultimate object of the measure itself. "For these objections no satisfactory solution has yet offered itself to my mind, and I "cannot but think that these objections could scarcely have failed to suggest themselves "to the comprehensive mind of my Right Honorable Friend, if the multiplicity of his "other avocations could have afforded him the opportunity of considering the practical de"tails of this 'measure as maturely as they deserve. "Indeed I think that my Right Honorable Friend would have done better, with a "view to the more safe, and I believe the less distant, accomplishment of the very object "of this measure---the extinction of slavery---if he had not departed from the principles "laid down by the Abolitionists themselves, and expressed by their own organ, in a Re"6 port published by the African Institution, in which while they repel with indignation all "imputation of having in contemplation any other more abrupt means, they declare that "they look only to the extinction of slavery by the same happy means which had put an "end to it in England,'---' by the encouragement (not compulsion) of particular manu""missions,'---' to an emancipation of which, not the slaves, but the masters, should be the willing instruments.' 66 6 It is but fair to remark, that, in page 28, our author acknowledges his acquaintance with this speech; and the bold assertions which he makes in page 11, and in the extract given, becomes thus qualified: "The Order in Council, containing the compulsory manumission clauses, has "remained on the table of the House of Commons for two years and a half, without any "motion having been made upon it, or any abuse levelled against it, by any individual of "the last parliament, connected with the West Indian interest, except in a speech of the "present Lord Seaford (Mr. C. R. Ellis), made on the day on which Mr. Canning uttered "his celebrated commentary on its enactments.” It is not my business to examine whether the author has or has not fairly answered Lord Seaford's observations, my only object is to shew, that the West India Proprietors in England did object to the compulsory manumission clauses immediately on their promulgation, and how unfounded is their author's accusation against them to the contrary. But this protest, thus solemnly uttered by the Chairman of the West India Body, and speaking in their name, goes for nothing in the opinion of our author, because, forsooth, "no motion was made." Can any thing be more preposterous? Let me ask the author, was there ever any motion made in Parliament for the purpose of obtaining their approbation to the Order in Council? Mr. Canning stated the course about to be adopted-Mr. Buxton thought he did not go far enough-Lord Seaford thought he went too far---but each having stated his dissent, had done all that was sufficient, because the support of Parliament was not attempted to be gained towards it, and the ultimate decision was to be referred to the Colonial Legislatures. In confining himself to a protest like the above, Lord Seaford pursued for himself, and the interest of which he was the chief, the only course which it was in his power to pursue. Mr. Canning had stated, and the House understood, that the Trinidad Order in Courcil was to be recommended to those Colonies which had independent legislatures. Till, therefore, intelligence had been received of the manner in which those Colonies had treated those provisions, the subject of their expediency or inexpediency did not come under the consideration of Parliament. Till that time should arrive, the protest of Lord Seaford was fully adequate to the circumstances of the case; he, and the West Indians at home, had done all they could do, without exposing themselves to the charge of impertinently anticipating the conclusions of the Colonists abroad. In 1825, scarcely a word was breathed with respect to this part of this question. In 1826, however, the nation was again excited to petition against the West Indians, and the vengeance of Parliament, it was intimated, would speedily fall upon the Colonists for not having complied with the Order in Council. The West Indians being thus enabled to act with a knowledge of the sentiments of their Transatlantic brethren, met the emergency openly, manfully, and fairly. On the morning previous to the debate in the House of Lords, they sent a Memorial to the Government, in which they explained their construction of the Resolutions of 1823; they expressly avowed, that, in consenting to these resolutions, "they "did not contemplate any compulsory emancipation of the slaves, nor "any constraint upon the independence of the Colonial Legislatures." This document, being a private one (and not published from motives of respect to the Government), may not have reached the knowledge of the "Member of Parliament:" but there is no excuse for his not being acquainted with the petition presented to the House of Commons by Lord Seaford, on the night when Mr. Brougham's motion was expected to come on, and in which the same expressions were repeated. This petition, in a very few hours, obtained the signature of upwards of two hundred of the leading West India Proprietors. Last of all, when Mr. Brougham's motion came on, Lord Seaford again stated his objections to the compulsory manumission clause, and went more into a detail of the arguments by which he was influenced. Mr. Canning replied to him, and, as before, not in the language of argument, but of determination. He left the reasoning of his friend untouched, but declared his resolution to persevere in the obnoxious measure. "Sie volo, sie jubeo, stet pro ratione voluntas," is the almost literal translation of his answer. From that time we may date the commencement of that more defined opposition which seems so much to have astonished the author of the pamphlet. The West Indians are prepared to enter into a more elaborate examination of the compulsory manumission clause, if our Government should be induced to resort to the hazardous measure of attempting to enforce it in any of the Colonies. This case has not yet arisen, although it has been threatened with regard to Demerara and Berbice; and the West Indians are, therefore, fully exculpated from the charges so injudiciously and incorrectly brought against them by the author before us. His remarks are the more offensive, because, as a defender of Government, they may seem somewhat to express the feelings of Government; and can only have the tendency of provoking the Colonies to a violent and absolute opposition, since they find that their forbearance is stigmatized as imbecility. Strongly tempted as I am to enter into an examination of many other of his observations, having accomplished the limited task which I proposed to myself, I forbear trespassing further on your attention, with the assurance, that, although you have indignantly repelled the accusation of being a partizan of the Colonies, you have sufficient friendliness of feeling towards them to rejoice at any thing which may tend to remove any symptoms of ill will between the members of Government, and the natural defenders of the West Indies in this country. I have the honor to be, Sir, with the greatest respect, your obedient humble servant, OCCIDENTALIS. The Poet to whom I am indebted for the "Poetic Gems" in the present number of the Inspector, is the Reverend William Lisle Bowles. It is with much regret that I find myself unable to place his genius in that strong light, which I might easily have done, had I been better supplied with his various works. The fact is, that many of this gentleman's publications are out of print. The following extracts, however, will be quite sufficient to prove that the high reputation he has acquired, has not been unjustly bestowed, and that he is equalled by few of our most favored Bards in delicacy of retirement, depths of pathos, and accuracy of description. D.L R. SONNET WRITTEN AT A CONVENT. If chance some pensive stranger, hither led, The gorgeous dome, or the proud landscape's hues) |