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Show 246 LIBERTY AND SLAVERY. above statement as to the deplorable state of distress to which the West Indian planters in the British Colonies are reduced?"* Again, he says: "That the British West Indian colonists ha,·e been loudly complaining that they are ruined, is a fact so generally acknowledged, that the very loudness and frequency of the complaint has been made a reason for diJregarding or undervaluing the grounds of it. That the West Indians are always grumbling is an observation often heard; and, no doubt, it is very true that they are so. But let any one who thinks that the extent and clamor of the complaint exceeds the magnitude of the distress which has called it forth, go to the West Indies and judge for himself. Let him see with his own eyes the neglected and abandoned estates,the uncultivated fields, fast hurrying back into a state of nature, with all the speed of tropical luxuriance-the dismantled and silent machinery, the crumbling walls, and deserted mansions, which are familiar sights in ·most of the British West Indian colonies. Let him, then, transport himself to the Spanish islands of Porto * ••The West Indies a.nd North America,'' by Robt. Baird, A.M., p. 145. ARGUMENT FRO'l TilE PUBLIC GOOD. 247 Rico and Cuba, and witness the life and activity which in these slave colonies prevail. Let him observe for himself the activity of the slavers-the improvements daily mal.-ing in the cultivation of the fields and in the processes carried on at the Ingenios or sugar-mills-and the gmeral indescribable air of thriving and prosperity which surrounds the whole,-and then let him come back to England and say, if be honestly can, that the British West Indian planters and proprietors are grumblers, who complain without adequate cause."* Great Britain has shown no little solicitude to ascertain the real state of things in her West India colonies. For this purpose, she appointed, in 1842, a select committee, consisting of some of the most prominent members of Parliament, with Lord Stanley at their head. In 1848, another committee was appointed by her, with Lord George Bentinck as its chairman, to inquire into the condition of her Majesty's East and West India possessions and the MaurititlS, and to consider whether any measures could be adopted for their relief. The report of both * ''The West Indies and North America," by Robt. Baird, A.M., p. 148. |