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Show 270 APPENDIX. this great event, may b c saf ely concluded fro. m .t he folloiYing chccr.m g sentence · th ,1>eech of Queen V!Ctona, at the late 111 e . . . opcm.n O' f p [' t · x months after the date of cn\)re frcc- 0 ar mmen , s1 . dom._:" It is with great satisfaction that I am enabled to mform of entire emancipation; and I venture to say, th~t a period of mo~e profound peace never existed in the '\Vest Indies. 'I here ha~c been 1.hsputes about wages, as in New England and in other free countrJCS; but ~o c~ncert., no combination, even here; and the only attempt at a combmatlon was among the planters, to keep down wages-and tha~ but for a short., time only. 1 will not enter particularly into the quest10ns, '~hcthcr or not the people will continue to work for wages, '~liCthcr they WJIJ remain quiet, or on the other hand, whether tl~c island w1~l be suffcr~c~ to bcc?mo desolate, and the freed slaves relapse mto ba~ba.runn, &c. I hese _dungs have been speculated about, ami gloomy pred1ct10ns have had thC!r day; the time has now come for the proof. People do _not buy _land and houses, and rent properties for long terms of years, m countncs w~lCre life is insecure, or where labor cannot be had, and the tendency of thmgs is to ruin and decay. In short, men in their senses, do not embark on board a sinking ship. Confidence is the very _soul of prospcr~ty; .of the existence of this confidence in this island, the 1mmcnsc operations m real estate since the first of August, arc abundant proof. There arc multitudes of instances, in which estates have sold for 20,000 dollars 11torc than was asked for them six months ago; and yet at that time they were considered very high. A proprietor who was persuaded, a few weeks since, to part with his estate, for a very large sum of money, went and bought it back again at an mlvancc of 9,600 dollars. A great ~any long lc~scs of. property have been entered into. An estate called Edgecumbe, mentioned lJy Thome and Kimball, has been rented for twenty-one years, at 7,500 dollars per annum. Another, called the 'llopc,' has been rented for ten years, at £2000 sterling, equal to 9,GOO dollars per annum. Another, after being rented at a high price was re-let by the lessee, who ~came entirely absolved from the contract, and took .1~,000 dollars. for Ius bargain. If required, I could give you a host of Similar ca!:iCS, w1th tlw.names of the parties. But it seems unnecessary. ~'he _mer~ imp~lsc gtven to the value of property, in this island, by emancipatJOn, 1s a thmg as notorious here, a.s the fact of emancipation. "But arc not crimes more frequent than before? I have now before ~e a llarbadoes newspaper, printed two weeks since, in which _the fact IS stated, ihat in aU the country prisons, among a population of ct~hty thou· sand, only two prisoners were confined ~or any ca. us? w~1ate~er · ·ill ·ou '"But,' says a believer in the necesstty of colomzat10n, how" . ) . get rid of the negroes?' I answer by adverting to the spectacle wluch 15 now witnessed in al1 the islands, of the former proprietors of slaves, now FREE AND FRIENDLY UEI\IARKS. 271 you, th.at throughout the whole of my West Indian possessions, the pcrwd fixed by law, for the final and complete emancipation of the negroes, has been anticipated by acts of the colonial legislatures ; and, that the transition, from the temporary system of employers of free laborers, using every endeavor to prevent emigration. Trinidad, Demerara, and llcrbice, want laborers. 'l'he former has passed a law to pay the passage money of any laborer who comes to the island leaving him free to choose his employment. Demerara and Berbice hav; sent emigration agents to this and other islands, to induce the laborers to join those colonies, offering high wages, good treatment, &c. On the other hand, llarbadoes, Grenada, St. Vincent, and all the old and populous islands, individually and collectively, by legislative resolves, legal enactments, &c., loudly protest that they have not a man to spare I \Vhat is still better, the old island proprietors arc on every hand building new houses for the peasantry, and, with great forethought, adding to their comfort; knowing that they will thereby secure their contentment on their native soil. As a pleasing instance of the good understanding which now exists between proprietors and laborers, I will mention, tl1at great numbers of the former were in town on the 24th, buying up pork, hams, rice, &c., as presents for their people on the ensuing Christmas; a day which has tl•is year passed by, amid scenes of quiet, sabbath dcvotions,-a striking contrast to the tumult and drunkenness of former times. I cannot close this subject without bearing my testimony to the correctness of the statements matle by our countrymen, Thome and Kimball. They were highly esteemed here by all classes, and had free access to every source of valuable information. If they have not done justice to the subject of their book, it is beeause the manifold blessings of a deliverance from slavery arc beyond the powers of language to represent. When I attempt, as I have done in this letter, to enumerate a few of them, I know not where to begin, or where to end. One must sec, in order to know and feel how unspeakable a boon these ill.]ands have reccivcd,-a boon which is by no means confined to the emancipated slaves; but, like the dews and rains of heaven, it fell upon all the inhabitants of the land, bond and free, rich and poor together. "It is here a common thing-when you hear one speak of the benefits of emancipation-the remark, that it ought to have taken place long ago. Some say fifty years ago, some twenty, and some, that at any rate, it onght to have taken place all at once, without any apprenticeship. The noonday sun is not clearer than the fact, that no preparation was required on the part of the slaves. It was the dictate of an accusing conscience, that foretold of bloodshed, and burning, and devastation. Can it be supvosed to be an accidental circumstance, that peace and good will have unifm·mly, in aU the colonies, followed the steps of emancipation? Is it not rathc the broad seal of attestation to that heaven-born principle, 'It is safe to |