University of Virginia Library

MARCH 13.

The Reporter of the African Institution asserts, in a late pamphlet, that in the West Indies the breeding system is to this day discouraged, and that the planters are still indifferent to the preservation of their present stock of negroes, from their confidence of getting fresh supplies from Africa. Certainly the negroes in Jamaica are by no means of this Reporter's opinion, but are thoroughly sensible of their intrinsic value in the eyes of the proprietor. On my arrival, every woman who had a child held it up to show me, exclaiming-," See, massa, see! here nice new neger me bring for work for massa;" and those who had more than one did not fail to boast of the number, and make it a claim to the greater merit with me. Last week, an old watchman was brought home from the mountains almost dead with fever ; he would neither move, nor speak, nor notice any one, for several days. For two nights I sent him soup from my own table ; but he could not even taste it, and always gave it to his daughter. On the third evening there happened to be no soup at dinner, and I sent other food instead ; but old Cudjoe had been accustomed to see the soup arrive, and the disappointment made him fancy himself hungry, and that he could have eaten the soup if it had been brought as usual : accordingly when I visited him the next morning, he bade the doctoress tell me that massa had sent him no soup the night before. This was the first notice that he had ever taken of me. I promised that some soup should be ordered for him on purpose, that evening. Could be fancy anything to eat then ?-" "Milk! milk !" So milk was sent to him, and he drank two full calabashes of it. I then tried him with an egg, which lie also got down and at night, by spoonfuls at a time, he finished the whole bason of soup ; but when I next came to see him, and he wished to thank me, the words in which he thought he could comprise most gratitude were bidding the doctoress tell me he would do his best not todie yet ; he promised to fight hard for it. He is now quite out of danger, and seems really to be grateful. When he was sometimes too weak to speak, on my leaving the room he would drag his hand to his mouth with difficulty, and kiss it three orfour times to bid me farewell ; and once, when the CHARGE TO THE C0RNWALL JURY. 111 doctoress mentioned his having charged her to tell me that he owed his recovery to the good food that I had sent him, he added, " And him kind words too, massa ; kind words do neger much good, much as good food."

In my visits to the old man, I observed a young woman nursing him with an infant in her arms, which (as they told me) was her own, by Cudjoe. I therefore supposed her to be his wife : but I found that she belonged to a brown man in the mountains ; and that Cudjoe hired her from her master, at the rate of thirty pounds a-year !

I hope this fact will convince the African Reporter that it is possible for some of this " oppressed race of human beings" —" of these our most unfortunate fellow-creatures "-to enjoy at least some of the luxuries of civilized society; and I doubt whether even Mr. Wilberforce himself, with all his benevolence, would not allow a negro to be quite rich enough, who can afford thirty pounds a year for the hire of a kept mistress.