Part 78 (1/2)
”Prejudice against color is fast disappearing. The colored people have themselves contributed to prolong this feeling, _by keeping aloof from the society of the whites_.”--_James Howell, of T. Jarvis's_.
How utterly at variance is this with the commonly received opinion, that the colored people are disposed to _thrust_ themselves into the society of the whites!
”_Prejudice against color_ exists in this community only to a limited extent, and that chiefly among those who could never bring themselves to believe that emanc.i.p.ation would really take place. Policy dictates to them the propriety of confining any expression of their feelings to those of the same opinions. Nothing is shown of this prejudice in their intercourse with the colored cla.s.s--it is '_kept behind the scenes_.'”--_Ralph Higginbotham, U. S. Consul._
Mr. H. was not the only individual standing in ”high places” who insinuated that the whites that still entertained prejudice were ashamed of it. His excellency the Governor intimated as much, by his repeated a.s.surances for himself and his compeers of the first circles, that there was no such feeling in the island as prejudice against _color_. The reasons for excluding the colored people from their society, he said, were wholly different from that. It was chiefly because of their _illegitimacy_, and also because they were not sufficiently refined, and because their _occupations_ were of an inferior kind, such as mechanical trades, small shop keeping, &c. Said he, ”You would not wish to ask your tailor, or your shoemaker, to dine with you?” However, we were too unsophisticated to coincide in his Excellency's notions of social propriety.
TWENTY-SECOND PROPOSITION.--The progress of the anti-slavery discussions in England did not cause the masters to treat their slaves worse, but on the contrary restrained them from outrage.
”The treatment of the slaves during the discussions in England, was manifestly milder than before.”--_Dr. Daniell._
”The effect of the proceedings in parliament was to make the planters treat their slaves better. Milder laws were pa.s.sed by the a.s.sembly, and the general condition of the slave was greatly ameliorated.”--_H.
Armstrong, Esq._
”The planters did not increase the rigor of their discipline because of the anti-slavery discussions; but as a general thing, were more lenient than formerly.”--_S. Bourne. Esq._
”We pursued a much milder policy toward our slaves after the agitation began in England.”--_Mr. Jas. Hawoil_.
”The planters did not treat their slaves worse on account of the discussions; but were more lenient and circ.u.mspect.”--_Letter of Hon.
N. Nugent._
”There was far less cruelty exercised by the planters during the anti-slavery excitement in gland. They were always on their guard to escape the notice of the abolitionists. _They did not wish to have their names published abroad, and to be exposed as monsters of cruelty!_”--_David Cranstoun, Esq._
We have now completed our observations upon Antigua. It has been our single object in the foregoing account to give an accurate statement of the results of IMMEDIATE EMANc.i.p.aTION. We have not taken a single step beyond the limits of testimony, and we are persuaded that testimony materially conflicting with this, cannot be procured from respectable sources in Antigua. We now leave it to our readers to decide, whether emanc.i.p.ation in Antigua has been to all cla.s.ses in that island a _blessing_ or a _curse_.
We cannot pa.s.s from this part of our report without recording the kindness and hospitality which we everywhere experienced during our sojourn in Antigua. Whatever may have been our apprehensions of a cool reception from a community of ex-slaveholders, none of our forebodings were realized. It rarely Falls to the lot of strangers visiting a distant land, with none of the contingencies of birth, fortune, or fame, to herald their arrival, and without the imposing circ.u.mstance of a popular mission to recommend them, to meet with a warmer reception, or to enjoy a more hearty confidence, than that with which we were honored in the interesting island of Antigua. The very _object_ of our visit, humble, and even odious as it may appear in the eyes of many of our own countrymen, was our pa.s.sport to the consideration and attention of the higher cla.s.ses in that free colony. We hold in grateful remembrance the interest which all--not excepting those most deeply implicated in the late system of slavery--manifested in our investigations. To his excellency the Governor, to officers both civil and military, to legislators and judges, to proprietors and planters, to physicians, barristers, and merchants, to clergymen, missionaries, and teachers, we are indebted for their uniform readiness in furthering our objects, and for the ma.s.s of information with which they were pleased to furnish us.
To the free colored population, also, we are lasting debtors for their hearty co-operation and a.s.sistance. To the emanc.i.p.ated, we recognise our obligations as the friends of the slave, for their simple-hearted and reiterated a.s.surances that they should remember the oppressed of our land in their prayers to G.o.d. In the name of the multiplying hosts of freedom's friends, and in behalf of the millions of speechless but grateful-hearted slaves, we render to our acquaintances of every cla.s.s in Antigua our warmest thanks for their cordial sympathy with the cause of emanc.i.p.ation in America. We left Antigua with regret. The natural advantages of that lovely island; its climate, situation, and scenery; the intelligence and hospitality of the higher orders, and the simplicity and sobriety of the poor; the prevalence of education, morality, and religion; its solemn Sabbaths and thronged sanctuaries; and above _all_, its rising inst.i.tutions of liberty--flouris.h.i.+ng so vigorously,--conspire to make Antigua one of the fairest portions of the earth. Formerly it was in our eyes but a speck on the world's map, and little had we checked if an earthquake had sunk, or the ocean had overwhelmed it; but now, the minute circ.u.mstances in its condition, or little incidents in its history, are to our minds invested with grave interest.
None, who are alive to the cause of religious freedom in the world, can be indifferent to the movements and destiny of this little colony.
Henceforth, Antigua is the morning star of our nation, and though it glimmers faintly through a lurid sky, yet we hail it, and catch at every ray as the token of a bright sun which may yet burst gloriously upon us.
BARBADOES
CHAPTER I.
Pa.s.sAGE
Barbadoes was the next island which we visited. Having failed of a pa.s.sage in the steamer,[A] (on account of her leaving Antigua on the Sabbath,) we were reduced to the necessity of sailing in a small schooner, a vessel of only seventeen tons burthen, with no cabin but a mere _hole_, scarcely large enough to receive our baggage. The berths, for there were two, had but one mattress between them; however, a foresail folded made up the complement.
[Footnote A: There are several English steamers which ply between Barbadoes and Jamaica, touching at several of the intermediate and surrounding islands, and carrying the mails.]
The being for the most part directly against us, we were seven days in reaching Barbadoes. Our aversion to the sepulchre-like cabin obliged us to spend, not the days only, but the nights mostly on the open deck.
Wrapping our cloaks about us, and drawing our fur caps over our faces, we slept securely in the soft air of a tropical clime, undisturbed save by the hoa.r.s.e voice of the black captain crying ”ready, bout” and the flapping of the sails, and the creaking of the cordage, in the frequent tackings of our staunch little sea-boat. On our way we pa.s.sed under the lee of Guadaloupe and to the windward of Dominica, Martinique and St.
Lucia. In pa.s.sing Guadaloupe, we were obliged to keep at a league's distance from the land, in obedience to an express regulation of that colony prohibiting small English vessels from approaching any nearer.
This is a precautionary measure against the escape of slaves to the English islands. Numerous small vessels, called _guarda costas_, are stationed around the coast to warn off vessels and seize upon all slaves attempting to make their escape. We were informed that the eagerness of the French negroes to taste the sweets of liberty, which they hear to exist in the surrounding English islands, is so great, that notwithstanding all the vigilance by land and sea, they are escaping in vast numbers. They steal to the sh.o.r.es by night, and seizing upon any sort of vessel within their reach, launch forth and make for Dominica, Montserrat, or Antigua. They have been known to venture out in skiffs, canoes, and such like hazardous conveyances, and make a voyage of fifty or sixty miles; and it is not without reason supposed, that very many have been lost in these eager darings for freedom.
Such is their defiance of dangers when liberty is to be won, that old ocean, with its wild storms, and fierce monsters, and its yawning deep, and even the superadded terrors of armed vessels ever hovering around the island, are barriers altogether ineffectual to prevent escape. The western side of Guadaloupe, along which we pa.s.sed, is hilly and little cultivated. It is mostly occupied in pasturage. The sugar estates are on the opposite side of the island, which stretches out eastward in a low sloping country, beautifully situated for sugar cultivation. The hills were covered with trees, with here and there small patches of cultivated grounds where the negroes raise provisions. A deep rich verdure covered all that portion of the island which we saw. We were a day and night in pa.s.sing the long island of Guadaloupe. Another day and night were spent in beating through the channel between Gaudaloupe and Dominica: another day in pa.s.sing the latter island, and then we stood or Martinique. This is the queen island of the French West Indies. It is fertile and healthful, and though not so large as Guadaloupe, produces a larger revenue. It has large streams of water, and many of the sugar mills are worked by them. Martinique and Dominica are both very mountainous. Their highest peaks are constantly covered with clouds, which in their varied siftings, now wheeling around, then rising or falling, give the hills the appearance of smoking volcanoes. It was not until the eighth day of the voyage, that we landed at Barbadoes. The pa.s.sage from Barbadoes to Antigua seldom occupies more than three days, the wind being mostly in that direction.
In approaching Barbadoes, it presented an entirely difference appearance from that of the islands we had pa.s.sed on the way. It is low and level, almost wholly dest.i.tute of trees. As we drew nearer we discovered in every direction the marks of its extraordinary cultivation. The cane fields and provision grounds in alternate patches cover the island with one continuous mantle of green. The mansions of the planters, and the cl.u.s.ters of negro houses, appear at sh.o.r.e intervals dotting the face of the island, and giving to it the appearance of a vast village interspersed with verdant gardens.