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Show 140 '!'HE CON'fRAST. a1 r ea d y trans1r erre d to tlJc Jru1d · Remember the declaration. of our friend in St. Christopher's, who had bought an estate, before emanC·i pati·O n, 1r 0r r-2000 and now would not sell it for £,6000 ; .J.J ' and thatofour friend in Jamaica, who sold " G--estate" for £1,500, and now remarks that it is wortl1 £,10,000: I wish it, however, to be understood, that the companson IS ~ot here made with those olden times of slavery, when the soils of the islands were in their most prolific state, and the slaves them. selves, of a corresponding value; but wiili those days of depression and alarm, which preceded the act of emancipation. All that I mean to assert is, that landed property, in the British colonies, has touched the bottom, has found that bottom solid, has already risen considerably, and is now on a steady ascending march, towards the recovery of its highest value. One circumstance which greatly contributed to produce its depreciation, was the cry of interested persons who wished to run it down; and the demand for it, which · has arisen among these very persons, is now restoring it to its rightful value. Remember the old gentleman in Antigua, who is always complaining of the effects of freedom, and always buying land. IV. The personal comforts of the laboring population, under freedom, are multiplied tenfold. In making this assertion, I do not mean to insinuate that they enjoyed no comforts under slavery. On many of the estates, they were well fed and clothed, and were kindly treated, in other respects. Their provision grounds were often ample, the poor and infirm were supported with the rest, medical attendance was given, and many of them found opportunities for saving money. On the other hand, I am fully aware that since the date of full (nominal) freedom, they have been partially subjected, in some colonies, to grievous vexation and oppression ; that in others, their wages are too low ; that the poor and infirm are not always adequately provided for ; and lastly, that medical attendance, in many cases, has been withdrawn. Yet on the whole, the improvement in their physical con· dition and comforts, is wonderfuL In the first place, they are THE CON'l'RAS'l'. 141 no longer suffering, under the perpetual feeling of compulsion ; they are CllJOymg tho pleasures of independence- the whip, the bilboes, the tread wheel, arc all withdrawn. And secondly, their dress 'md diet, arc, both of them, very greatly better than they used to be, under slavery. They are constant customers now, at the stores of the hosier, the linen draper, the tailor, the shoemaker, and the grocer- of which delightful fact, we find both a sure evidence, 'md a happy consequence, in the vast increase-almost the doubling-of imports. Bread and meat are now commonly eaten by them. Remember their beautifully neat appearance at our meetings; their handso!llc wedding dresses, the eggs consumed for their wedding cakes; the wino, in their cottages, freely bestowed on weary pilgrims ; their boots and shoes, which they are so much afraid of spoiling in the mud ; the mules and horses, on which they come riding to their chapels ; their pic-nic dinners, their social feasts of temperance and freedom. Above all, remember their thriving little freeholds- their gradual, but steady, accumulation of wealth. Wherever they are fairly treated, the laborers of Jamaica, are al ready most favorably circumstanced. T each them to improve the structure, arrangement, and fumiture, of their cottages ; and to exchange all items of finery and lnxury, for substantial domestic convenience-and it will l;e in vain to seek for a better-conditioned peasantry in any country of Europe. V. Lastly, tho moral and religious improvement of this people, under freedom, is more than e'lual to the increase of their comforts. Under this head, there are three points, deserving, respectively, of a distinct place in our memories. First, the rapid increase, and vast extent, of elementary and Christian education- schools for infants, young persons, and adults, multiplying in every direction. Secondly, the gradual, but decided diminution of crime, amounting, in many country districts, almost to its extinction. Thirdly, the happy change of the general, and almost universal, practice of concubinage, for the equally general adoption of marriage. " Concubinage," says Dr. Stewart |