to be committed by any such Slave; and any person convicted of having inflicted such punishment, or having ordered or authorised the same to be done, shall be subject to a tine of fourteen hundred guilders, or in case of non-payment thereof, to imprisonment not exceeding six calendar months, nor less than one month. * "20. And it shall and may be lawful for any clergyman of the Established Church of England and Ireland, or any minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, or of the Kirk of Scotland, or for any priest or curate of the Roman Catholic religion, or any licensed teacher of religion, upon receiving the permission in writing of the owner or owners (or their attornies) of any Slaves, wishing to intermarry, or the license of such protector or assistant-protector of Slaves, to solemnize such marriage; and every person by whom such marriage may be solemnized shall register, in a book to be by him kept for that purpose, every such marriage, with the date thereof, and the names, ages, and places of abode of the parties contracting. "21. And it is further ordered, that every female Slave who may have a child' while she preserves her fidelity in marriage, or reputed marriage, or is reputed to do so, shall, six weeks after the birth of such child, if the said child be then living, be entitled to receive from her owner, or his attorney, twelve guilders, and fifteen guilders for every other child she shall thereafter bear and have under the same circumstances; and if any owner or attorney shall omit in any respect to comply with and fulfil the direction of this clause, he shall incur a penalty of three hundred guilders for every such offence. And it is further ordered, that, as soon as any female Slave shall have six children living, and who having been born during marriage, or such co-habitation as aforesaid, with reputed fidelity, the youngest of which children shall be seven years of age, the owner or manager of such female Slave shall not therefore oblige such female slave to do any labour in the field, or any other than light work, under a penalty of three hundred guilders (viz. L.25 sterling.) "27. And whereas, by the usage of this Colony, persons in a state of slavery have hitherto been permitted to acquire, hold, and enjoy, property free from control; and it is expedient that the said custom should be recognized, and as far as need be established by law; and that provision should be made for enabling Slaves to invest such their property on good security-be it therefore, and it is hereby ordered and declared, that no person in this Colony, being in a state of Slavery, shall be and be deemed, or be taken to be by or on account of such his condition, incompetent to purchase, acquire, possess, hold, enjoy, alienate, or dispose of property, but every such Slave shall be, and is hereby declared competent to purchase, acquire, possess, hold, enjoy, alienate, or dispose of money, cattle, implements, or utensils of husbandry, or household furniture, or other effects of such like nature, by him, her, or them, honestly and lawfully acquired and held-save and except fire-arms and ammunition, as is forbidden by the 22d clause of the existing law, and such Colonial produce as is prohibited to be sold or bartered by the 11th article of the same Law: provided always that it shall not be lawful for any Slave to hold or keep upon the land of his owner, or that of any proprietor, any stock or animals, unless with the consent of such owner or proprietor; and in case any Slave or Slaves having such stock, and being warned to remove such stock or aní. mals, should refuse or neglect to remove the same, it shall be lawful for the owner or other person having charge of such plantation or estate to destroy the same, or cause it to be done by others. And if any white or free person in this Colony shall purchase from any Slave, any article in which such slave shall or may have acquired a right of property, and shall refuse to pay for the same, it shall or may be lawful for the owner or legal possessor of such Slave, or the protector of Slaves, to have and maintain an action in his or her own name or quality, for the recovery of the price or value of the said article so purchased, in like manner as if the same had been purchased from himself, or herself; and the court, in its sentence shall decree for the plaintiff for the use of the Slave, if he or she shall be proved to have been so defrauded. And if any owner or legal possessor in this Colony, shall unjustly withhold from any Slave under his or her direction, any sum of money which shall have been so decreed by the court to the use of such Slave, or shall on any occassion unjustly appropriate to his or her own use, any money or property of any kind, which such Slave shall or may have so lawfully acquired, or shall prevent him to dispose of the same, or if any other white or free person shall molest, or disturb any such Slave in the possession or free use and enjoyment of any money or property so lawfully acquired by such Slave, such owner or legal possessor, or such other white or free person, shall, upon conviction thercof, be liable to restore to the said Slaye the money or property so unjustly appropriated to his or her own use, and be further liable to fine or imprisonment, or both, at the discretion of the Court. "28. And it is hereby further ordered, that Savings Banks shall be established within the said Colony, for the better preserving the property of any Slaves therein, and that interest (at the average rate of government funded security) shall be allowed upon any sum of money which may be deposited in any such Savings Bank, under the condition that the sum or sums is or are to remain for one twelvemonths; and any Slave making any deposit of money in any such Savings Bank, shall bequeath the said money to whomsoever he pleases in case of his death, by declaration to be lodged in the records of the Bank, which declaration shall be equi valent to a will-the whole, however, to be subject to such rules and regulations as may be hereafter deemed advisable. All the Savings Banks to be under the immediate direction of the Protector of Slaves, subject to the general superintendence of the Governor and Court of Policy. "29. And it is hereby further ordered, that no duty, tax, or impost, of any nature or kind whatsoever, and that no fee of office, shall hereafter be paid or be payable for or on account, or in respect of the manumission of any Slave, or the emolument or registration of any deed of manumission, saving and excepting a fee of twentytwo guilders, which shall, by the said Protector of Slaves, be paid to the Secretary of the said Colony for enrolling and registering every such deed of manumission, and which fee shall be repaid to such Protector of Slaves out of the Colony chest ; and if any person within the said Colony shall hereafter take, demand, or receive any tax, duty, impost, or fee of office, save as aforesaid, the person so offending shall incur and become liable to the payment of a fine not exceeding one thousand, nor less than one hundred guilders." It is worthy of remark, that the Order in Council published by Sir Benjamin D'Urban, the Lieutenant-Governor of the United Colony of Demerara and Essequebo, and its Dependencies, on the 29th April 1830, is founded on the principle of the Planter's law, whence these extracts are taken-only the penalties are to range from L.10 to L.500 sterling, or from one to twelve months' imprisonment, one or other, or both, according to the discretion of the judge!! Since the above law came into operation, a case has occurred which shows its practical working.-Mr Jones, formerly manager of plantations Rome and Houston, was driving in his gig, when a certain Negro placed himself in the centre of the public road, and on a bridge, in such a manner as made it impossible for Mr Jones to pass. Upon being called upon to move out of the way he refused, and was insolent. What would an English gentleman have done under such circumstances at home? Mr J. struck him with his whip, and was in consequence, under this law, fined L.500 sterling! Which is better protected in person and limb-the slave or the free Englishman? DEMERARA AND ESSEQUEBO. ESTABLISHED CHURCHES. 1st, Church of England and Ireland has, 8 parishes, under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Barbadoes, & Rectors, 1 Assistant-Curate, 8 Clerks and Catechists. 2d, Reformed Church of Holland has, 1 Minister, 1 Clerk and Catechist. 3d, Church of Scotland has 5 Parishes, 5 Ministers, 5 Precentors and Catechists. CHURCHES NOT ESTABLISHED, 1 Lutheran Congregation [charge now vacant]. 1 Roman Catholic Church-2 Priests. MISSIONARIES. From the London Society, 2; Catechist and Assistant, I. From the Wesleyan Society, 3. Public Schools in George Town Boys' Free, 1; Girls' Free, 1. Sunday Schools, for the Religious Instruction of the Slaves, are held in every Parish, under the superintendence of the Clergyman, and are conducted by the Catechist, or, in some instances, besides the labours of the Clergyman and Catechist, by a Head-Master for the Boys, and a Mistress for the Girls, with salaries from the Incorporated Society of London for the Conversion, Education, and Religious Instruction of Negro Slaves. In one of the Scotch Parishes, St Mary's, the Rev. Mr M'Intosh and his Catechist had, at one time, nearly 600 Slave Chil. dren on the list of Sunday Scholars ! Among the items of the Estimate, for the year 1832, laid before the Combinia Court of Demerara, the following occur : Provision for Religious Establishments, building Churches, &c. &c. 68,690 guilders. 120,650 do. TAXES COLLECTED IN THE COLONY IN 1829, Exclusive of Custom-House Dues. Total Slaves 69,368 78,734 souls. The Established Clergy are exempted from Taxes of every kind. Their salaWhere no manse or parsonage ries vary from 6000 to 9000 guilders per annum. has been erected, they are allowed 2200 guilders per annum for house-rent. Salaries are also paid to the Catechists, Clerks, Organists, and Precentors. BERBICE.-Ecclesiastical Department. Church of England and Ireland-1 Rector, 1 Clerk. Reformed Church of Holland-(charge vacant). Lutheran Church-1 Minister, 1 Catechist. Protestant Missionary Chapel, 1 Minister. Entire population of British Guiana, as above, 100,836. Since the foregoing was put in type, a letter has been received from Demerara, under date January 21st 1833, of which the following is an extract: "There is a good deal of ill-disguised feeling of hostility between the Colonists and the Governor. A few clauses of the late infamous order in Council [published in Demerara by the Governor, 12th January 1832], relative to the provisions and hours of labour, have been suspended; but the ordinance passed in lieu of them by his Excellency, is little, if at all, more favourable in its tendency to the interests of the Planters. "However, these are minor points, and of trifling moment, in comparison of the unjust, illegal, and tyrannical power vested in the Protectors, who have the inquisitorial right of coming on the property at any hour of the day or night, without consent of the proprietor, for the purpose of examining the Negro-houses, conversing with the Slaves, and communicating with them at pleasure. Such a power as this, if placed in the hands of a man unacquainted with the real circumstances of the country, and armed with hostility against us, must prove injurious and ruinous, by rendering the Slave discontented and unhappy, and finally unhinge the whole frame of our society, by holding out to him prospects of a false and glittering freedom. Besides this, the powers of the Protector in his office of Magistrate are too extensive, and combine in his person the duties of Jury, Judge, and Executive! with a very limited power of appeal from his decision!!! "By tenor of the Order, he has it in his power utterly to ruin hundreds of Planters, against whom he may have hostile feelings, by instituting a series of actions against them, in all of which he has the power of pronouncing judgment, and carrying it summarily into execution. "The penalties attached to offences against the Order are enormously and ruinously disproportionate to the nature of the offences; and should a slave claim his freedom, it is by this law incumbent on the present owner To PROVE THAT HE HAS BEEN IN SLAVERY FOR A SERIES OF YEARS PAST [Rules under Section LXXXVI. of the Order-in-Council]; thus setting at nought the universally recognised first principle of justice, that the claimant should prove his title to what he demands !!" For the insertion of the above extract, no apology will be thought necessary. The picture of wretchedness and distraction which it presents, must draw forth a sigh from every bosom which the sophistries and lies of the Anti-Slavery faction have not steeled against the common sympathies of our nature; and, did the limits of a pamphlet admit of it, it were easy to confirm every position taken by the writer, by a reference to the CXXI sections of which the Order-in-Council consists! That most scandalous Act of Legislation, as published by the Governor, now lies on our table, and will, if necessary, be produced; but when the reader is made aware of the fact, that it completely fills 21 columns of the Demerary Royal Gazette, and would extend to upwards of 40 closely printed pages of such a publication as this is, he will admit the impossibility of giving so much as an abstract of it. It must strike every reflecting person as surprising, that the odious Orderin-Council of the 2d November 1831, which set our Colonies in a blaze, and which my Lord Goderich lately told the West Indians in this country was to be suspended for the present," is, with a very few exceptions, pressed into active operation, in British Guiana at least, by his Excellency the Governor. Can it be that the latter has exceeded his orders, and out-gone the views of the Home-Government? No! Sir Benjamin D'Urban understands his interest and his position too well to fall into such a mistake. He acts under instructions which preclude the exercise of discretion. Perhaps Mr James Stephen, the Law Agent in the Colonial Office, will have the goodness to reveal this enigma. But what is of infinitely greater moment, is the fact, that in the course of six years no fewer than FOUR separate and distinct SLAVE-CODES have been successively in force in Demerara! First, the ancient Code, which was acted on until the 1st January 1826; second, the Planter's Consolidated Slave-Code, published 20th October 1825, which repealed the former laws, and was substituted in their stead; third, the order of the King in Coun→ cil, promulgated in the Colony 29th April 1830, which went to abrogate the Law of 1826; and fourth, the Order-in-Council, published by Sir B. D'Urban, 12th January 1832, which repealed and annulled the Order-inCouncil of 1830! In the history of Legislation, was any thing ever heard of equal to this? Who will deny that Law-making is a mania which has seized the crazy heads of our Anti-Colonists, and made them fit for Bedlam? Or who will blame the chartered Colonies, such as Jamaica, which have independent Legislatures of their own, for resisting to the death every attempt to introduce among them the first actings of that tortuous and pernicious policy which would speedily involve them, as it has involved the tormented and persecuted people of Demerara, in the vortex of a constantly-recurring series of changes! Extract from Parliamentary Paper, No. 262, "ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 10th March 1831," entitled, "Protectors of Slaves' Reports: Return to an Address to his Majesty, dated 15th December 1830, for Copy of any Reports which may have been received from the Protectors of Slaves in the Colonies of Demerara, Berbice, Trinidad, St Lucia, the Cape of Good Hope, and Mauritius, since the last similar Reports presented to Parliament from each of these Colonies respectively; together with copies of the proceedings and decisions in each case of complaint between Masters and Slaves-whether the proceedings may have terminated before the Protector, or may have been referred to Colonial Magistrates, or other Public Officers or Courts. "Protector of Slaves' Office, 18th April 1829. “Céline, a negress, aged about ten years, and belonging to Mr Denis Lacondray, residing in Port Louis, appeared at the Protector's office on the 4th instant, and stated that, on the Saturday preceding, her mistress gave her 15 stripes with a cane on her breech, in consequence of which she suffered much pain during the whole of that day. On the following morning she escaped to a house at Grande Riviére, where complainant met a woman named Marie, who recommended her to make a complaint at this Office. Interrogated as to the reason of her mistress thus punishing her? complainant replied, it was for not sewing well, notwithstanding she did every thing to content her mistress. A Negress, named Manon, was present when the punishment was inflicted. "Result.-Contradictory as all the evidence taken in this case is, no doubt can be entertained of the girl Céline having been severely punished; and as by the 19th article of the Ordinance, No. 43, THE MASTER IS BOUND TO PROVE THAT THE PUNISHMENT WAS NOT INFLICTED BY HIM, OR BY HIS ORDERS, the Protector has no hesitation in denouncing the case to the Procureur-General for prosecution, as an infraction of the 18th article of the above-mentioned Ordinance. Denounced accordingly on the 28th April." This surely is to prove the negative with a vengeance! |