University of Virginia Library

MARCH 22.

Mr. Plummer came over from St. James's to-day, and told. me that the " insidious practices and dangerous doctrines " in Mr. Stewart's speech were intended for the Methodists, and that only the charge to the grand jury respecting " additional vigilance " was in allusion to myself ; but he added that it was the report at Montego Bay, that, in consequence of my over-indulgence to my negroes, a song had been made at Cornwall, declaring that I was come over to set them all free, and that this was now circulating through the neighbouring parishes. If there be any such song (which I do not believe), I certainly never heard it. However, my agent here says, that he has reason to believe that my negroes really hav~ spread the report that I intend to set them free in a few years ; and that they have done this merely out of vanity, in order to give themselves and their master the greater credit upon other estates. As to the truth of an assertion, that is a point which never enters into negro consideration.

The two ringleaders of the. proposed rebellion at St. Elizabeth's have been condemned, the one to be hanged, the other to be transported. the plot was discovered by the overseer of Lndhurst Penn ( a Frenchman from St. Domingo) observing an uncommon concourse of stranger negroes at a child's funeral, on which occasion a hog was roasted by the father. he stole softly down to the feasting-hut, and listened behind the hedge to the conversation of the supposed mourners ; when he heard the whole conspiracy detailed. it appears that above two-hunddren and fifty had been sworn in regularly, all of them Africans ; not a Creole was among them. But there was a black ascertained to have stolen over into the island from St. Domingo, and a brown Anabaptist missionary, both of whom had been very

active in promoting the plot. hey had elected a King of the Eboes, who had two captains under him ; and their intention was to effect a complete massacre of all whites on the island ; for which laudable design His Majesty thought Christmas was the very fittest season in the year, but his Captains were more impatient, and were for the striking the blow immediately. The next morning information was given against them : one of the Captains escaped to the woods ; but the other, and the King of the Eboes, were seized and brought to justice. On theor trial they were perfectly cool and unconcerned, and did not even profess to deny the facts with which they were charged. Indeed, proofs were too strong to admit of denial ; among others, a copy of the following song was found upon the King, which the overseer had heard him sing at the funeral feast, while the other negroes joined in the chorus :-

The Eboe King said, that he certainly had made use of this song, and what harm was there in his doing so ? He had sung no songs but such as his brown priest had assured him were approved of by john the Baptist. " And who, then, was John the Baptist?" He did not very well know ; only he had been told by his brown priest, that John the Baptist was a friend to the negroes, and had got his head in a pan!

As to the Captain, he only said in his defence, that if the court would forgive him this once, he would not do so again, "as he found the whites did not like their plans;" which, it seems, till that moment the conspirators had never suspected! They had all along imagined, no doubt, that the whites would find as much amusement in having their throats cut, as the blacks would find in cutting them. I remember hearing a sportsman, who was defending the humanity of hunting, maintain,

that it being as much the nature of a hare to run away as of a dog to run after her, consequently the hare must receive as much pleasure from being coursed, as the dog from coursing.