Proceedings in the House of Commons on the slave trade, and state of the negroes in the West India islands. With an appendix. By Philip Francis, Esq:

Extracts of several Acts for the Regulation of Slaves, passed in the West India Islands.

By an act of St. Christopher's, passed in 1703, for the better government of Negroes and other slaves, it is enacted,

"That if any Negro or other slave op|pose, struggle with, or strike any white person, upon complaint made to the next justice of the peace the said Negro or other slave so offending shall be publicly whipped by the constable of that division, or some other person he shall provide to do the same, at the discretion of the said justice; but in case such person be hurt, wounded, bruised, or maimed by such Negro or other slave, then two justices of the peace are hereby authorised and impowered to sentence such Negro or other slave to death, dismembering, or such other punishment as they in their discretion shall think fit!"

By an act of Tortola, passed in 1782, entitled

"An Act for the good government of Negro and other slave, &c. If any Negro or other slaves shall absent or with|draw himself or herself from his or her master, owner, renter, or possessor's service, for the term of three months in any one continued space of time, or six months in two years, such offence or crime, shall be ad|judged felony, and each and all the offenders shall suf|fer death, or such other punishment as the justices,

from the circumstances of the case, shall judge proper."

N. B. By the first clause of this act, a power is given to three magistrates, or if they cannot agree to five, (two others being associated) to try ana convict delinquent slaves, without the intervention of a jury, to sentence and punish them at their discretion, even unto death, and to award immediate execution,

"By such slaves as they shall appoint, and in such manner as they shall think fit"

By the 6th clause of the same Act of Tortola,

any person or persons who shall kill any Negro or other slaves in pursuit unavoidably, who has been absent for the term of three months, from his or her master, owner, renter, or possessor's service, is, and are not only in|demnified to all intents and purposes, but shall receive the following gratuities; namely, for every Negro or other slave so unavoidably killed in pursuit, the sum of three pounds, and for every Negro or other slave ap|prehended and taken alive, the sum of six pounds cur|rent money, which shall be paid by the treasurer of these islands, upon proof being made before a justice of the killing or apprehending of the offender or offenders, and upon certificate thereof under the hand and seal of the magistrate."

By the 24th clause of the same act of Tortola,

""If any slave or slaves shall impudently strike or oppose any white person, any justice, upon complaint and proof made, shall order a constable to cause such slave or slaves to be publicly whipped, at his discretion; and if

resistance, such offending slave or slaves shall have their nose slit, or any member cut off, or be punished with death, at the discretion of the justices, always excepting, that such slave or slaves do not the same by his or her owner or employers' order, or in defence of his or her person or goods.

By an act of St. Christophers, in 1784, entitled,

""An act to prevent the cutting off or depriving any slave in this island of any of their limbs or members, or other|wise disabling them," it is provided, that the owner or possessor of any Negro or other slave, or any other person who shall maim or disable any slave, shall forfeit 500l. and be imprisoned six months in the common jail.—It is afterwards enacted, "That in case any Ne|gro or other slave should at any time have his tongue cut out, or disabled, his eye put out, his nose, ear, or lip slit, his nose, ear, or lip, or any limb, or any other mem|ber cut off, or any limb or any member broken, in this island, and no person or persons have been convicted of having been guilty of such offence, the Provost Mar|shall or his lawful deputy is hereby directed to appre|hend such Negro or other slave, and confine him, her, or them in the common jail; and in case the owner of such Ne|gro or other slave shall not within sixty days after publi|cation made by the Provost Marshal, or his lawful de|puty, in the public newspapers in this island, of his having taken up and confined in the common jail such Negro or other slave, prove upon oath before any magis|trate of this island, either by himself or some credible witness, that he did not wilfully cut out or disable the tongue, put out the eye, slit the nose, ear, or lip, or cut

off the nose, ear, or lip, or any limb, or member of any such Negro or other slave, or cause the same to be done, such Negro or other slave shall be forfeited to the use of the public of this island, and the Provost Mar|shall, or his lawful deputy, is hereby directed to sell such Negro or other slave at public sale, in the town of Basse|terre, in the presence of six white persons, at least, within six days after the expiration of the term herein|before allowed to the owners to make oath as aforesaid of their innocence, and the said Provost Marshal, or his law|ful deputy, is hereby directed to pay all such monies as such Negro or other slave shall have been sold for, into the public treasury of this island, after deducting the charges and expences attending the apprehending, con|fining, and selling such Negro or other slave as afore|said; and the sale of the said Provost Marshal, or his lawful deputy, shall give a good title to any purchaser of such Negro or other slave.

By an act passed at Montserrat in 1693, intitled

""An act to restrain the insolence of slaves," &c. it is enacted, "That henceforward, where any Negro shall be taken stealing or carrying away stock, cattle, or provision, amounting to the value of twelve pence, such Negro or Negroes taken therein shall, upon due proof thereof before the governor and council, suffer such death as they think fit to award; and when any Negro shall have any theft proved against him, and the value not amounting to twelve pence, that then such Negro shall only suffer a severe whipping, and have both his ears cut off for the first time; but for the second offence in the like na|ture shall suffer death in the form aforesaid, the public

paying the owner for every Negro put to death, the sum of 3500 lb. of Muscovado sugar."* 1.1

The introductory part of a subsequent clause of the 7th of this same act states, that

"Whereas some mas|ters, &c. are so careless as not to put in a competency of provisions for their slaves, whereby they are often forced to run away, or at least to commit thefts and robberies upon their neighbours, "Be it further, &c.

By the 8th clause of the same act of Montserrat, it is enacted,

""That where two slaves shall fall out and fight, and one maim or kill the other, it shall lie at the person's discretion whose Negro shall be either maimed or killed, whether, for the first offence, the Negro who com|mitted the same, shall suffer whipping, or for the latter death, or to receive such satisfaction of the owner of such Negro as the governor and his council shall ad|judge sufficient.

By the 10th clause of the same act, it is enacted,

""That where any white shall take a slave, and bring

him in dead or alive, if alive, shall have paid him by the owner of such Negro or slave, the sum of five hun|dred pounds of Muscovado sugar; where dead, the same sum out of the public stock of this island; and where any slave shall take a runaway, such Negro slave shall have three hundred pounds of sugar, either by the owner or public aforesaid.""

By the 2d clause in the same act of Montserrat, it is enacted,

""That it shall and may be lawful for any per|son to shoot at, and, if possible, to kill any Negro he shall find digging out, drawing, or stealing his provision, pro|vided such provision be not within forty foot of the common path, and the party so killing the Negro hath not, in the hearing of others, expressed either hatred or malice against the owner of such Negro, for in either cases the owner of such shall recover damages to the full value of any who shall so kill their Negro.""

By the 6th clause of the same act,

all commission of|ficers within this island are hereby impowered and re|quired, upon notice by any one, to them given of any num|ber of Negroes got together, and the place where, im|mediately upon the same to raise a sufficient number of men, and with them to pursue, apprehended, and take such Negroes, either alive or dead; and whatsoever commis|sioned officer shall neglect, or other person refuse to be aiding and assisting herein, shall forfeit the sum of two thousand pounds of sugar.

By an act of the Bahama islands, passed in 1784, entitled,

""an act for governing Negroes," &c. reciting, that "Whereas many heinous and grievous crimes,

such as murder, &c. are many times committed by Ne|gro, Mulatto, Mustees, or Indian slaves, or are many times maliciously attempted by them to be committed, in which, though by divers accidents they are prevented, yet are their crimes nevertheless heinous, and therefore de|serve punishment. And whereas Negro, Mulatto, Mustee, and Indian slaves, do many times steal, wil|fully maim, kill, and destroy horses, cattle, sheep, or other things, of the value of six shillings or above, or are accessary to the committing of such crimes as are beforementioned, which several offenders, for danger of escape, ought not long to be imprisoned, and deserve not, for the baseness of their condition, to be tried by the established laws of England, nor is execution to be delayed in case of their committing such horrid crimes: Be it enacted by the governor, council, and assembly, "That if, after the publication hereof, any Negro, Mulatto, Mustee, or Indian slave, shall be accused of having committed, or having attempted to commit, any of the crimes before mentioned, upon complaint thereof being made to any justice of the peace, the said justice shall issue out his warrant for the apprehending the offender, and for all persons to come before him that can give evidence (and the evidence of one slave against another, in this and all other cases, shall be deemed good and sufficient proof) and if upon examination it probably appears, that the apprehended slave is guilty, he shall commit him or her to prison, and certify to any other justice the cause, and require him by virtue of this act to associate himself to him, which justice is hereby required to do, &c. they so associated shall issue out their warrant to summon three free|holders or housekeepers, setting forth to them the mat|ter,

&c. requiring them to be at a certain day, and hour, &c. at such place as the said justices shall appoint for such trial, at which time and place the said justices and freeholders or housekeepers shall cause the said of|fender and evidence to come before them, and if they, on hearing of the matter (the said freeholders or house|keepers being by the justices first sworn to judge up|rightly and according to evidence, which oath the said justices are hereby empowered and required to administer) shall judge the criminal guilty of the offence complained of, they, or the major part of them, of whom one to be a justice, shall give sentence of death, or order such other punishment as they in their judgment shall think meet,

&c.

By the 2d clause of the Bahama act of 1784, it is enacted,

""That if any Negro, Mulatto, Mustee or In|dian shall assault a white person with a dangerous wea|pon, whereby the life of the person so assaulted may be greatly endangered, or make any assault of a VIOLENT nature, except a slave, and in defence of his or her owner's or employer's person or property, he or she shall suffer death; and if any Negro, &c. be otherwise abusive to any white person, he or she shall be punished by the direction of one justice of the peace, or by fine, not exceeding 15l. or by corporal punishment."

By the 18th clause, it is enacted,

""That any slave who may be now run away, and shall not, within one month after the publication of this act, return to his or her owner, or any slave that shall, after the publi|cation hereof, absent him or herself from his or her owner for the space of three months successively, such slave shall be deemed an outlaw; and as an encouragement

to apprehend and bring to justice such runaways, any person or persons, who shall apprehend any such run|away, either DEAD or alive, shall be paid out of the public treasury twenty pounds for every slave so apprehended and taken; and any such slave taken alive shall be deli|vered by the person apprehending him or her into the hands of the provost marshal of these islands, who is hereby ordered and directed to put every such runaway slave INTO IRONS, and forthwith to make his report thereof to some justice of the peace, who, with the assistance of another magistrate and three freeholders, shall proceed to trial, and on conviction shall order execution of every such runaway slave, unless it shall appear to them that such slave has received such cruel usage from his or her owners as to have been the cause of his or her running away, then in such case the said magistrates and freeholders or house|keepers shall sentence such offender to be transported off these islands. Provided always, and it is hereby fur|ther enacted, that every owner shall, within fourteen days after the running away of his or her slave, give notice thereof by advertisements, to be affixed at the usual public places, which shall be proved by oath of one credible witness, wherein shall be inserted the name and description of such runaway, by means whereof he or she may be the more easily apprehended; and in case the owner as aforesaid shall neglect so to do, he or she shall not receive any satisfaction from the public trea|sury for such slave as shall be so killed or executed.

By the 4th clause of the same act it is enacted,

""That all such Negroes, Mulattoes, Mustees, and Indians, as have been slaves, and are now free, shall, for all offences, capital or criminal, be tried and adjudged

after the manner and method as before directed (a) 1.2 for the trial and adjudging of slaves, and the evidence of a slave against them shall be good and valid to all intents and purposes; any law, usage, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding.""

By the 21st clause of the same act, it is enacted,

""That if any person shall, by accident, kill any Negro or other slave, he or she shall not be liable to any pu|nishment therefore, but the owner's action at law for the value of the Negro or other slave so killed; and if any person (b) 1.3 shall wilfully kill any Negro or other slave, he or she shall be tried (c) 1.4, and if found guilty shall suffer for the same according to the laws of England, forfeiture of goods and chattels, lands and tenements, only excepted.""

By the 22d clause, it is enacted,

""That the oath of Negroes, Mulattoes, Mustees, or Indians, shall not be good or valid in law against any white person, excepting in matters of debt, and then any free Negro, Mulatto, Mustee, or Indian Christian, shall be allowed to prove his or her account, and sue for the same in any court in these islands, where the same shall be cognizable.""

See clause 4.

By an act of Dominica, passed in 1773, intitled,

""An Act for suppressing Runaway Slaves, and for the better Government of Slaves, &c." it is enacted, "That if any slave or slaves, who hath or have been upon or shall hereafter be upon this island for the space of one year, shall absent or withdraw, or being now run away, absent, or withdrawn, from his, her, or their owner, renter, or employer's service, shall continue so absent or withdrawn for the space of three months from the publication of this act, or from the time such slave or slaves shall first absent, withdraw, or run away here|after, or if any slave or slaves having been or that shall be on this island for the space of one year, shall absent or withdraw, or run away from his, her, or their owner, renter, or employer's service, at several times within the space of two years, amounting in all to six months, all and every such slave or slaves shall be, and is, and are hereby adjudged guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon or felons, or such other pu|nishment as the justices, from the circumstances of the case, shall judge proper; and, if convicted of felony, shall suffer the pains of death, by virtue of a warrant from any two justices of the peace of this island; and the provost marshal of this island, or his lawful deputy, is hereby required to execute, or cause to be executed, in any part of the island, all slave or slaves whatsoever condemned to death, and shall bury, or cause to be buried, such slave or slaves so executed; and it shall and may be lawful for the provost marshal to have and receive as a fee, for each slave executed and buried, the sum of six pounds twelve shillings current money, and no more, to be paid out of the public treasury of this island.""

By the 17th clause of the same act of Dominica, it is enacted,

""That any slave or slaves who shall presume wilfully to strike, or attempt to strike any white person, under any pretence whatsoever, unless in the lawful, im|mediate and necessary defence of his, her, or their owner, renter, manager, or employer's person (a) 1.5, shall suf|fer (b) 1.6 death or lose his, her, or their right hand, at the discretion of two justices of the peace; and in like manner shall any slave or slaves be punished that shall be guilty of murder, or grossly insulting or attempting to strike his or her owner,

&c. &c.

Provided always, that any slave or slaves, who shall break open any house. &c. or rob, or attempt to rob on the highway, shall suffer death as a felon, or such other punishment as the justice or justices shall direct.

By the 25th clause of the same act of Dominica, it is enacted,

""That if any person or persons shall wilfully kill any slave or slaves, and be thereof convicted, he, she, or they shall forfeit to his Majesty, his heirs and successors, any sum not exceeding three hundred pounds, nor less than one hundred pounds current, for every such slave so wilfully killed, to be paid into the public treasury of this island for the public uses thereof, and also suffer twelve months close imprisonment, without bail or mainprize; and if the slave or slaves so wilfully killed

as aforesaid, belonging to any other person or persons than the murderer or murderers, the value of such slave or slaves shall be paid by the murderer or murderers to the owner or owners, renter or renters of such slave or slaves, to be levied on his, her, or their effects, by warrant of court, immediately upon conviction; but if such murderer or murderers have not effects sufficient to pay the value of such slave or slaves so murdered as aforesaid, then the deficiency shall be made good to the owner or owners, renter or renters of the slave or slaves murdered out of the public treasury of this island,

&c. &c.

By the 28th clause, it is enacted,

""That any justice of the peace may and is hereby empowered to grant a permission, for such limited time as he in his discretion shall think fit, to any white or other free person or persons as shall voluntarily offer him or themselves, together with a sufficient number of trusty slaves, by and with the consent of their owner, &c. to hunt the woods and other lurking places in this island, and there pursue, take, and secure all such slave or slaves as shall appear to them, or they may have reason to suspect are run|aways, and it shall and may be lawful for such white or free persons to use and employ muskets, cutlasses, and other weapons in hunting such woods, &c. and to fire upon, kill or wound, any slave or slaves appearing to them to be run away, who shall resist or refuse to surrender, being first required so to do." Further provides, that the owner of such runaway slaves, so killed, &c. shall not have any compensation therefore. "And the per|son or persons so killing, as aforesaid, is and are hereby indemnified of and from any fine, forfeiture or punish|ment

for so doing; unless it can be made appear that such slave or slaves so killed or wounded, was or were known to the person or persons so killing and wounding not to be run away, or that such killing and wounding was wantonly done, and that there was no resistance (a) 1.7, refusal to surrender, or cause whatsoever to render such killing or wounding necessary, &c.""

By an act of St. Vincent, passed in 1767, entitled,

""An act for making slaves real estate, and the better government of slaves and free Negroes," (b) 1.8 it is enacted, that persons seized of any slaves for their own or others lives, who shall send them off the island or dispose of them, shall pay treble their value to those in reversion or remainder, &c. to be recovered by action; "and if any such tenant for life, &c. so holding any Negro or other slaves, shall wilfully destroy, maim, or disable any Negro or other slaves so held, such person so destroy|ing, &c. shall say treble the value of such Negro de|stroyed, &c. to the person or persons in reversion,

&c.

By the 14th clause, it is provided,

that the provost marshal shall receive and keep in his custody all runa|way slaves taken and brought to him.

By the 15th clause, it is enacted,

""That in case any such slave shall perish in his custody for want, he shall forfeit 50l.

By the 31st clause of the same act of St. Vincent, it is enacted,

""That if any slave shall impudently strike or oppose any white person, any justice, upon complaint and proof made, shall order a constable to cause such slave to be publicly whipped at his discretion; and if such white person be any way hurt, wounded or dis|figured by any slave's resistance, such offending slave shall have his nose slit, or any member cut off, or be pu|nished with death, at the discretion of any two justices, always excepting, that the slave do not the same by his or her owner's or master's orders, or in defence of his or her owner or master's person or goods; and it shall be lawful for all persons to take away from any slave or slaves any hurtful clubs, or other other mischievous weapons whatsoever, unless such slave or slaves is or were intrusted with such weapons for the defence of his or their owner's goods or person.""

By the 43d clause of the same act of St. Vincent, of 1767, reciting that,

""Whereas some masters and owners of slaves in this island do not provide sufficiently for their slaves, or allow them time to plant and provide for themselves, contrary to law, and yet the safety of this island requires that such slaves should suffer! or otherwise they would commit the greatest outrages, and their masters and owners be encouraged in their neg|lect at the public charge; be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the justices at the same time of trying any slave accused of robbery shall inquire,

by witnesses examined on their oaths, how the owner or owners of such slaves was provided with provisions and other necessaries, and what allowance such slave received; and if it shall appear to the said justices, that the master or owner had not provided sufficiently for such slave, and that necessity might have compelled the slave to the offence committed by him, the said justice shall cer|tify * 1.9 the same to the treasurer, and direct the trea|surer to pay the damage done by such slave to the party injured (so as such damage does not exceed the va|lue of such slave, as in that case the value only of such slave shall be paid for the damages) but nothing to the owner."

By an act of Grenada, passed in 1788, entitled,

""An act for the more effectual trial and punishment of crimi|nal slaves," it is provided that, upon complaint made to any justice of the peace of any heinous and grievous crime, or felonious act committed by slaves, the justice shall issue his warrant for apprehending the offenders, and shall summon all persons or slaves that can give evidence therein, to appear before him; and if upon examination it appeareth probable that the apprehended is guilty, he shall forthwith commit him to prison, and within ten days certify to the two next justices (one to be of the quorum) the cause, and to require them to associate themselves with him, and they, so associated, are to

try * 1.10 the offender within ten days, at such place as they shall appoint, and cause the offender and evidences to come before them; "And if the said justices (one whereof being of the quorum) upon hearing the matter, shall adjudge the criminal or criminals guilty of the offence complained of, the said justices shall give sentence of death, or such other punishment as the crime deserveth, and forthwith, by their warrant, cause immediate execution, in capital cases, to be done by such slave or slaves as the Provost Marshal, or his lawful deputy shall appoint and in other cases by such slave or slaves, as the clerk of the nearest market shall appoint, in such manner as such justices shall think fit."

By the 2d clause of the same act reciting,

""That whereas it must tend greatly to the public peace and tranquillity, if the executive part of the law be ren|dered more prompt and summary, where the offences are not of a felonious nature, and triable before three jus|tices, as hereinbefore mentioned, it is enacted, That if any slave or slaves shall personally insult abuse, threaten or in any manner contemptuously treat any white or free person, &c. or be found gaming, beating drums, blow|ing shells, or other loud instruments, at improper hours, or fighting, &c. such slave or slaves shall be punish|able for any such offence, at the discretion of any one justice of the peace, who is hereby authorised and im|powered, to take cognizance of the same, and to inflict such punishment as he shall judge adequate to the offence."

By a clause in an act of Jamaica, passed in 1788, The practice of a sort of witchcraft, called abeah, by slaves, is made punishable with death, or other arbi|trary sentence in the discretion of the court.

By another in the same act, The running away from their master, &c. and the going off, or conspiring or at|tempting to go off the island, subjects them to the same punishment.

In the year 1736, the legislature of Montserrat hav|ing discovered, by fatal experience, that the kindness and lenity exhibited to the Negroes in all their former acts of assembly, had done more harm than good, found themselves at last obliged to resort to vigorous mea|sures. They begin with saying, that,

"Whereas it appears that the laws, now in force, relating to Ne|groes and slaves are not extensive enough to restrain them, and that lenity and indulgence, instead of pro|ducing the desired effects, have rather given encou|ragement to robberies and disorders, by furnishing pretences, whereby the offenders often escape punish|ment,

&c.

This act, among other things, forbids all Negroes from planting, or exposing to sale, any indigo, cotton, ginger, coffee, or cocoa; and also to carry or sell any provisions or other goods (which hitherto they had been suffered to do on the Lord's Day); and then it is en|acted, that,

"It shall and may be lawful for any per|son or persons, to take the said provisions, or other

goods from any such slave or slaves, and convert them to their own proper use; and the person is hereby further impowered to give such slave or slaves a moderate whipping,

&c.

Vide page 91, of a Collection of West India Acts, which the House of Commons ordered to be printed, the 1st of May 1789, and from which all the preced|ing Extracts are literally taken.

FINIS.

Notes

• * 1.1

  N. B. This part of the clause is repealed by a subsequent act of 1714, on the ground that masters and owners of delinquent Ne|groes, not thinking the value of 3500 lb. of sugar an adequate com|pensation for the loss of a slave, frequently concealed and screened them from public justice; which enacts, in lieu of that provision, that thenceforward the owner of every Negro, suffering death ac|cording to the provisions of the former act, shall receive in money or sugar, the full value of such slave at the time of sentence passed, ascertained by appraisement. See Ib. p. 90.
• (a) 1.2

  See 1st clause of the act (p. 41 of the Collection.)
• (b) 1.3

  i. e. not a slave.
• (c) 1.4

  i. e. by his peers. Slaves are not so, nor in their evidence gone against him. See subsequent clause 4.
• (a) 1.5

  See the 23d clause which justifies a slave in maiming or wounding another slave in his own defence; but a slave must not forcibly resist a white man, however unjustly or outrageously he may be assaulted.
• (b) 1.6

  See a similar provision in an act of Jamaica, passed A. D. 1788. (p. 124 of the Collection.)
• (a) 1.7

  In either of such cases then the inference is that the owner of the slave killed or wounded would be intitled to recover a com|pensation from the party killing or wounding; but the party really injured, the hunted, persecuted, wounded, destroyed slave is in no better plight. His fate is, at all events, matter of perfect in|difference to these humane legislators. They do not condescend even to notice whether these circumstances vary at all in the na|ture and quality of the wrong he has suffered.
• (b) 1.8

  The first clause declares slaves, to be real estate, and widows dowable thereof.
• * 1.9

  But the slave is equally convicted of, and executed for the robbery.
• * 1.10

  Themselves, without the intervention of a jury.