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Show 62 ANTIGUA. The vicar of St. John's, during the last seven years o f s1a very, marn'e <l only one· hundred and ten p,a irs or negroes. I n the· Sl'ngle year. of freedom, 1839, the nnmber of pairs married by him was 185. . . . With respect to crime-it has been rapidly dimin- - h' d · the last few years. The numbers com- IS mg urmg ' . . , . mitted to the house of correctiOn m 1837-ch~efly for petty offences, formerly punished on the estateswere 850; in 1838 only 244; in 1839, 311. The number left in the prison at the close of 1837 was 147; at the close of 1839, only 35. Nor can it be doubted that the personal comforts of the laborers have been in the mPan time vastly increased. The duties on imports in 1833, (the last year of slavery) were £13,576; in 1839, they were £'24,650. This angmcntation has been occasioned by the importation of dry goods and other articles tor which a demand, entirely new, has arisen among the laboring population. The quantity of bread and meat, used as food by the laborers is surprisingly increased. Their wedding cakes ami dinners arc ex· travagant, even t<l the point, at times, of drinking champagne! In connection with every congregation in the island whether of the Church of England or among tbe Dissenters' has been formed a friendly society. T.he laborers subscribe their weekly pittances to these m-stitutions and draw out comfortable supplies, in case of sickn;ss, old age, burials, and other exigencies. Thus is the negro ~radually trained to the habits or prudence and foresight. 63 Having taken leave of the Lieutenant Governor of St. Christopher's, who borrowed our brigantine in order to return in it to his prosperous little kingdom, w~ availed o~rsclves of the abundant hospitality of our fnends at Gilberts and Dow's Hill for several days. In the course of the time, we again held meetings for worship at each place, called at the Moravian establishment at Grace Hill, and examined the school kept under_ the car~ of the_ mi~sion ; attended a meeting of the B1ble Society, wh1cb IS working well in this island, and is generously supported by the laborers themselves; and spent one morning, in company with the Governor, in visiting the free settlements near his residence- Augusta and Liberta. A female proprietor who had become embarrassed, was advised to sell off part of her property in small lo~s- The' experiment answered her warmest expectatiOns. 1 h~ laborer~ in the neighborhood bought up all th_e httle freeholds with extreme eagernc~s, made thetr payments faithfnlly, and lost no time in settling on the spots which they bad purchased. They ~oon framed their houses, and brought their gardens I~to useful cultivation with yams, bananas, plantains, pme-apples, and other fruits and vegetables, including plots of sugar cane. In this way Augusta and Liberta sprang up as if by magic. 1 visited several of the cottages, in company with the Rector of the parish ~ was surpn'sde by the excellence of the buildings' as _well as by the neat furniture, and cleanly littl; arttcles of daily use, which we found within. It was a scene of contentment and happiness; and I ruay certamly add ' o f m- d ustry ; fio r these li. ttle freeholders |