Let the reader, after perusing the above docu ment, turn to Mr. Stephen : The proceedings against slaves in all cases, capital as well as others, are wholly by parol; except that the warrant or mandate for execution is, I think, generally put in writing; and except that when the slave is not in custody, and the master does not send him to be tried, an arrest warrant is granted.' p. 317. So absolutely unfounded is this, that in all capital trials of slaves in Jamaica, the evidence and whole proceedings, not only must be put in writing, but a copy of them must, by law, (except in cases of rebellion,) be forwarded to the Governor; who, it is understood, submits them to the consideration of the Attorney-General, and afterwards grants warrant for execution, or commutes the sentence, as he may think proper. It may be asked, if any freeman of England could have the means of a fair trial better secured to him? Yet, according to Mr. Stephen, 'Slaves are prosecuted and tried upon criminal accusations in a manner grossly inconsistent with the humanity of English laws, and highly dangerous to the safety of the innocent,' nay, 'the convicting and hanging a negro in the West Indies, is, in general, a matter of as little solemnity and circumspection, as the recovering a debt under forty shillings at a court of requests in this country!' p. 317. Having thus conjured up a case of fanciful and frightful oppression, he proceeds : : • Great and obvious are the dangers which may arise to innocent men, from precipitate trials on loose verbal accusations, and from sentences which are not even reduced into writing before they are carried into effect. Yet in this loose and hazardous way is criminal justice administered in the British West Indies against the unfortunate negroes,' p. 318. Don Quixote attacking a windmill for a giant was nothing to this! In the conclusion of this section, Mr. S. observes : 'It cannot reasonably be demanded, that I should adduce proofs of iniquitous consequences having actually resulted from these loose and summary proceedings. Where, not only the evidence, but the charge, and the conviction itself are unrecorded, and where no reports of trials at law are published, it is obvious that a thousand innocent men might be convicted against law and evidence, and yet no proofs be attainable, by which a single case of that kind could be established on this side of the Atlantic.' p. 319. We cannot doubt that Mr. Stephen will feel greatly obliged to us for aiding him to a report, and that it will be a further satisfaction to him to be informed that such reports of trials at law are quite common in the Jamaica newspapers. How he happens, however, to be so fully acquainted with the work-house lists published in those papers, and with all the severe laws now obsolete, and at the same time so ignorant of the common and every-day practice of the courts, is not a little surprising. But Mr. Stephen is a Christian, and whatever may be his zeal in the cause he advocates, has so often joined in fervent response to the sacred precept, Thou shalt not bear false witness ' against thy neighbour,' that there is difficulty in believing he would knowingly swerve from the truth, even to carry his point against the colonists; more especially when we observe how he speaks in his preface of the infamy due to false accusers.' -- 'SECT. VIII. The slave, when prosecuted as a criminal, is de prived of that protection which he might naturally derive from the master's regard to self-interest, and is sometimes even punished for his master's crimes.' p. 322. Under this extraordinary charge, the following is all that has reference to Jamaica: • When a slave is condemned to death by the civil magistrate, he is, previous to his execution, appraised, and the value, not exceeding a limited sum, is allowed and paid to his owner, out of the public treasury of the island. The reason commonly given for this regulation, and which, I think, is recited in some of the acts that establish it, is, that masters, if not indemnified for the loss of their property, would not give up their slaves to public justice, but rather assist them in escaping from it, when accused of capital crimes." p. 323. This, Mr. S. admits, might often be found true, but attributes the evil to a defect in the criminal laws, when directed against white persons, which, in his opinion, might make the master's authority administer to, rather than oppose, that of the civil magistrate. In In theory every thing is easy. No sooner is an evil discovered than a remedy is at hand. practice, unfortunately, it is quite the reverse: we find ourselves called upon to decide a question beset with difficulties, and must be content with adopting that course which appears upon the whole to be the best. Here is exactly such a case. The island of Jamaica could have no inducement tó tax its treasury with such a charge for condemned criminal slaves, were it not considered necessary for the public safety. To allow full value for them would be impolitic and inhumane, as giving the master less interest, not only in watching over the conduct of his slaves so as to prevent them from transgressing the law, but also in protecting them when charged with having transgressed it. On the other hand, it is but reasonable that the person whose individual property is sacrificed to public justice, should have some compensation from the public; otherwise, it is evident that self-interest, joined to a feeling of attachment to his servant, would, unless in very atrocious cases, induce him rather to connive at the escape than aid in the detection of the culprit. Between these extremes, the legislature of Jamaica has chosen a middle course. It authorizes the jury which tries a criminal slave, before leaving the box, to appraise him when condemned; and in capital cases, the compensation may extend to 1007. currency; in all others it is limited to 50l., although the negro may be worth three times that amount. Under these regulations, it is evident the master must always be a loser by the condemnation of his slave; consequently will protect him on that account, as well as from a feeling of regard to one entirely dependant upon him, unless his conduct has been so notoriously bad as to have forfeited all those claims, and rendered it necessary to how used by Mr.S. There is no other charge under this section that Obsolete laws, applies to Jamaica. To give it a proper seasoning of the horrible, as usual, a barbarous law of Barbadoes, passed in 1688, one hundred and thirtysix years ago, and confessedly long obsolete, is introduced; and with sufficient ingenuity made to read so, that a person not particularly attentive or acquainted with the subject, would suppose he is reading of a law actually in force, and not in the little island of Barbadoes only, but in the whole of the British West India cólonies. This, to be sure, is about as fair and reasonable as it would be to make the present administration of Great Britain the subject of obloquy, for the arbi |