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Show 54 ANTIGUA. with whom I exchanged the warm greetings of old f · d 1 · d vas glad to be able to tell him, that rten s 11p, an ' ( at St. Christopher's, during his absence, we ha~ heard f 11 t·es unequivocal accounts of h1s good rom a par 1 • • • t l-Ie )'ntroduced us to Str Wtlham Cole· governmen. brooke, the Governor General, who received us with great kindness, and warmly invited us .to his .hous.e. Sir William has occupied many suceess1ve statwns m the British colonial service, and in variom parts of the world. He is a person of much talent, information, and reflection ; steel fast and patient in the pursuit of public good, and of the utmost simplicity of manners. He meets with a sort of passive resistance from tbe local council and legislature, but bears the opposition of his neighbors with an unruffled temper. One of his favorite plans is the union of all the Leeward islands under one general legislature, which he con· siders to be their original constitution-a plan which at once recommends itself as far more desirable than that of a great' number of separate little parliaments; bnt in this attempt, he has hitherto been frustrated. Our company was now joined by Nathaniel Gilbert, an evangelical clergyman of the church of England, and a large proprietor and planter on the island. Both he and Sir William amply confir111ed our pre· vious favorable impressions respecting the state of thr colony. On my enquiring of them respecting the value of landed property, thPir joint answer was clear and decided. "At the lowest computation, the land, without a single slave upon it, is fully as valuablen.ow, as it was, including all the slaves, before emancipa· tion." In other words, the value of the slaves is alreadj ANTIGUA. 55 trans:erred to the land. Satisfactory as is this computatwn, I have every reason to believe that it is much below the mark With res1Ject to rea' l p ropert y I· ll the town of St. John's, it has risen in value with still greater rapidity. A large number of new stores have been opened; new houses are built or building; the streets have been cleared and improved; trade is greatly on the increase; and the whole place wears the appearance ~f progressive wealth and prosperity. Under the gmdance of our frieud Cunningham, we next called on Robert Holbcrton, the Vicar of St. John's, a laborious and devoted minister, and examined his excellent infant school of black cl1ildrcn , w h o gave us answers to our questions (particularly in Scripture h~story) with surprising readiness and accuracy. The VIcar then conducted us to the premises of th_c daily meal society, where the destitute poor are fed witi1 soup and other wholesome articles, and the sick and disabled supplied with lodging, hoarding, and medical care. This admirable institution, which flourishes under his own superintendence, is supported partly by voluntary subscriptions, and partly by grants of the local legislature. We now proceeded to the state house, where we were introduced to several of the leading officials, and listened to a debate in the local legislature which was then in session. A colored member was pleading with "honorable mem-be rs "~o r t I1 e re fiu nd.m g of expenses m. curred in making a certain road. The application waM refused on the gro.und that "this house" could pay for no roads wh.lch did not lead to some sugar estate-an obvio1,1s rehc of the old system. |