A Twelvemonths Residence In The West Indies During The Transition From Slavery To Apprenticeship PDF Download

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1835 edition. Excerpt: ... LETTER XXXV. WORKING OF THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM IN JAMAICA. To Mons. Julien. Kingston, Nov. 6, 1834. My dear Sir, The failure of the apprenticeship system would be to be regretted on no account more than for the unfavourable inference respecting the real abolition of slavery, that would be unfairly drawn from the unsuccessful operation of this partial measure. The enemies to emancipation would argue that the conduct of the negroes was the cause of its failure, that slaves who could not be half-liberated with success could never be wholly emancipated with safety. Such notions as these, if the apprenticgship system should unfortunately fail in our colonies, would do harm to the cause of liberty in your colonies. My object in now addressing you, is to put you in possession of the progress and prospects of the new system in this colony; and by pointing out the difficulties it has had to encounter, I hope to indicate evils which the friends to the abolition of slavery in your country will be induced to avoid in any remedial measure for the slave they may propose or sanction. The old slave-law in our colonies had undergone repeated modifications and improvements; but its ancient savagery could not be considered as effectually softened down till the year 1788. We are told by Mr. Brydges, "The early laws constructed to restrain the unexampled atrocities of the negroes were rigid and inclement: so great was their depravity of nature and deformity of mind, as to give colour to the prevailing belief in a natural inferiority of intellect, so that the colonists considered it to be a crime of no greater moral magnitude to kill a negro than to destroy a monkey, however rare their interest in them as valuable property rendered such a test of...