bus, boast a single name, which deserves comparison with that of Toussaint L'Ouverture ?" He is there spoken of by Vincent in his Reflections on the State of St. Domingo: "Toussaint L'Ouverture is the most active and indefatigable man, of whom it is possible to form an idea. He is always present wherever difficulty or danger makes his presence necessary. His great sobriety,-the power of living without repose,-the facility with which he resumes the affairs of the cabinet, after the most tiresome excursions, of answering daily a hundred letters, and of habitually tiring five secretaries-render him so superior to all around him, that their respect and submission almost amount to fanaticism. It is certain no man in modern times has obtained such an influence over a mass of ignorant people, as General Toussaint possesses over his brethren of St. Domingo. He is endowed with a prodigious memory. He is a good father and a good husband."

HAIL, happy day! when, smiling like the morn,
Fair Freedom rose, New England to adorn :
The northern clime, beneath her genial ray,
Dartmouth! congratulates thy blissful sway;
Elate with hope, her race no longer mourns,
Each soul expands, each grateful bosom burns.
While in thine hand with pleasure we behold
The silken reins, and Freedom's charms unfold.
Long lost to realms beneath the northern skies,
She shines supreme, while hated faction dies:
Soon as appeared the Goddess long desired,
Sick at the view she languished and expired;
Thus from the splendors of the morning light
The owl in sadness seeks the caves of night.

No more, America, in mournful strain,
Of wrongs and grievance unredressed complain;
No longer shall thou dread the iron chain
Which wanton Tyranny, with lawless hand,
Had made, and with it meant t' enslave the land.

Should you, my lord, while you peruse my song,
Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung,
Whence flow these wishes for the common good,
By feeling hearts alone best understood,
I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate

Was snatched from Afric's fancied happy seat:
What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labor in my parent's breast!

AUSTRIA-RUSSIA.

Steeled was that soul, and by no misery moved,
That from a father seized his babe beloved:

Such, such my case. And can I then but pray
Others may never feel tyrannic sway?

For favors past, great Sir, our thanks are due,
And thee we ask thy favors to renew,
Since in thy power, as in thy will before,

To soothe the griefs which thou didst once deplore.
May heavenly grace the sacred sanction give
To all thy works, and thou for ever live,
Not only on the wings of fleeting Fame,

Though praise immortal crowns the patriot's name,
But to conduct to heaven's refulgent fane,

May fiery coursers sweep the etherial plain,

And bear thee upwards to that blest abode,

Where, like the prophet, thou shalt find thy God.

165

Inscribed to William, Earl of Dartmouth.

AUSTRIA.

Extract from the ordinance of his Imperial and Royal Majesty of Austria, dated 25th June, 1826.

"In order to prevent Austrian subjects and vassals from participating in any manner in the slave-trade, and in order to prevent slaves from bad treatment, his Imperial and Royal Majesty, in conformity with the existing laws of Austria (viz. section 16 of the Civil Code, which determines that every human being, in virtue of those rights which are recognised by reason, is to be considered a civil person, and that, therefore, slavery, and every exercise of power relative to the state of slavery, are not tolerated in the imperial and royal dominions,) and further, in conformity with section 78 of the first part of the Penal Code, which declares every hindrance of the exercise of personal liberty a crime of public violence-has been graciously pleased, by his sovereign resolution of 25th June, 1826, to determine and order as follows:-Art. 1. Any slave, from the moment he treads on the soil of the Imperial and Royal Dominions of Austria, or even merely steps on board of an Austrian vessel, shall be free." Austrian Consulate General, New York, Oct. 18, 1830.

L. LEDERER

RUSSIA.

CONSULAR NOTICE.-Certain individuals who, in defiance of the laws of their own country, still continue to engage in the African slave-trade, having given cause for suspicion that they intend to make use of the Russian flag as a protection against the right of search and seizure, mutually assumed and conceded by the powers participating in the treaty for the suppression of this nefarious traffic, the undersigned, the Russian Consul General, at New York, being specially

instructed by his government, gives hereby public notice to all persons whom it may concern, that the Russian flag can in no case be resorted to without the previous permission of the Imperial Government, and without legal authorization in due form, and in strict accordance with the laws of the empire; that any proceeding to the contrary shall be considered as a fraud, exposing the persons guilty of it to all its consequences; and that no slave-trader, in any circumstances whatever, when seized under the Russian flag, or otherwise, can invoke the aid of the Imperial Government to screen him from just and well-merited punishment.

Russe du Consulate General, New York, April 2, 1836. ALEXIS EUSTAPHIEVE.

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE,

Concerning the Effects of Immediate Emancipation.

WHEN the question of immediate abolition was first started in England, the friends of slavery vociferated nothing more loudly, than the danger of universal insurrection and bloodshed, and nothing took stronger hold of the sympathies and conscientious fears of the people, than these repeated assertions. This is precisely the state of things in our own country, at the present time. We all know that it is not according to human nature for men to turn upon their benefactors, and do violence, at the very moment they receive what they have long desired; but we are so repeatedly told the slaves will murder their masters, if they give them freedom, that we can hardly help believing that, in this peculiar case, the laws of human nature must be reversed. Let us try to divest ourselves of the fierce excitement now abroad in the community, and calmly inquire what is the testimony of history on this important subject.

In June, 1793, a civil war occurred between the aristocrats and republicans of St. Domingo; and the planters called in the aid of Great Britain. The opposing party proclaimed freedom to all slaves, and armed them against the British. It is generally supposed that the abolition of slavery in St. Domingo was in consequence of insurrections among the slaves; but this is not true. It was entirely a measure of political expediency. And what were the consequences of this sudden and universal emancipation? Whoever will take the pains to search the histories of that island, will find the whole colored population remained faithful to the republican party which had given them freedom. The British were defeated, and obliged to evacuate the island. The sea being at that time full of British cruisers, the French had no time to attend to St. Domingo, and the colonists were left to govern themselves. And what was the conduct of the emancipated slaves, under these circumstances? About 500,000 slaves had instantaneously ceased to be property, and were invested with the rights of men; yet there was a decrease of crime, and every thing went on quietly and prosperously. Col. Malenfant, who resided on the island, says, in his historical memoir: "After this public act of emancipation, the negroes remained quiet both in the south and west, and they continued to work upon all the plantations. Even upon those estates which had been abandoned by owners and managers, the negroes continued their labor where there were any agents to guide; and where no white men were left to direct them, they betook themselves to planting provisions. The colony was flourishing. The whites lived happy and in peace upon their estates, and the negroes continued to work for them." General Lacroix, in his memoirs, speaking of the same period, says: "The colony marched as by enchantment towards its ancient splendor; cultivation prospered; every day produced perceptible proofs of its progress."

This prosperous state of things lasted about eight years; and would probably have continued to this day, had not Bonaparte, at the instigation of the old aristocratic French planters, sent an army to deprive the blacks of the freedom which

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE.

157 they had used so well. It was the attempts to restore slavery, that produced all the bloody horrors of St. Domingo. Emancipation produced the most blessed effects. In June, 1794, Victor Hugo, a French republican general, retook the island of Guadaloupe from the British, and immediately proclaimed freedom to all the slaves. They were 85,000 in number, and the whites only 13,000. No disasters whatever occurred in consequence of this step. Seven years after, the supreme council of Guadaloupe, in an official document, alluding to the tranquillity that reigned throughout the island, observed: "We shall have the satisfaction of giving an example which will prove that all classes of people may live in perfect harmony with each other, under an administration which secures justice to all classes." In 1802, Bonaparte again reduced this island to slavery, at the cost of about 20,000 negro lives.

On the 10th of October, 1811, the congress of Chili decreed that every child born after that day shoud be free.

In 1821, the congress of Colombia emancipated all slaves who had borne arms in favor of the republic; and provided for the emancipation in eighteen years of the whole slave population, amounting to 900,000.

In September, 1829, the government of Mexico granted immediate and unqualified freedom to every slave. In all these cases, not one instance of insurrection or bloodshed has ever been heard of, as the result of emancipation.

In July, 1823, 30,000 Hottentots in Cape Colony, were emancipated from their long and cruel bondage, and admitted by law to all the rights and privileges of the white colonists. Outrages were predicted, as the inevitable consequence of freeing human creatures so completely brutalized as the poor Hottentots; but all went on peaceably; and as a gentleman facetiously remarked, "Hottentots as they were, they worked better for Mr. Cash, than they had ever done for Mr. Lash."

In the South African Commercial Advertiser of February, 1831, it is stated: "Three thousand prize negroes have received their freedom; four hundred in one day; but not the least difficulty or disaster occurred. Servants found masters masters hired servants-all gained homes, and at night scarcely an idler was to be seen. -To state that sudden emancipation would create disorder and distress to those you mean to serve, is not reason, but the plea of all men adverse to abolition."

On the 1st of August, 1834, the government of Great Britain emancipated the slaves in all her colonies, of which she had twenty; seventeen in the West Indies, and three in the East Indies. The measure was not carried in a manner completely satisfactory to the English abolitionists. Historical evidence, and their own knowledge of human nature, led them to the conclusion that immediate and unqualified emancipation was the safest for the master, as well as the most just towards the slave. But the West India planters talked so loudly of the dangers of such a step, and of the necessity of time to fit the slaves for freedom, that the government resolved to conciliate them by a sort of compromise. The slaves were to continue to work six years longer without wages, under the name of apprentices; but during this period, they could be punished only by the express orders of the magistrates. The legislatures of the several colonies had a right to dispense with the system of apprenticeship; but Antigua and Bermuda were the only ones that adopted immediate and unconditional emancipation.

Public proclamation of freedom was made on the first of August, and was every where received in joy and peace. Mr. Cobbett, a missionary stationed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, writes thus: "The first of August was a memorable day! Our preaching place was crowded at an early hour. At the close of the service, I read the address of his excellency the governor to the negro population, made several remarks in reference to the change of their condition, and exhorted them to be obedient to their masters and to the powers that be. There was in every countenance an expression of satisfaction, and of gratitude to God and their benefactors. The conduct of the negroes during this eventful period has been such as will raise them, I should think, in the eyes of all their friends."

Mr. Wedlock, of the same place, writes thus on the 13th of August: "The first day of August, a day to which the attention of the wise, the good, and the philanthropic, of other countries besides our own, was directed, has arrived and passed by in the most peaceful and harmonious manner. Such congregations, such attention, such joys and grateful feelings as are depicted in every countenance, I never beheld !-Up to this time, peace and harmony prevail."

The Marquis of Sligo, governor of Jamaica, in his speech to the assembly, after five months' trial of emancipation, declares: "Not the slightest idea of any inter ruption of tranquillity exists in any quarter; and those preparations which I have felt it my duty to make, might, without the slightest danger, have been dispensed with." In a recent address to the assembly, he states that the crops this year, (1835) will fall short only about one sixteenth; and that this slight difference may be accounted for by the unfavorableness of the season.

The enemies of abolition predicted that the crops in Jamaica, would perish for want of being gathered; because the negroes could not possibly be induced to work an hour longer than the law or the whip compelled them. But 'as soon as the planters offered them wages for working extra hours, more work was offered than the planters were willing to pay for. Even the low price of a penny an hour, operated like magic upon them, and inspired them to diligence!

The numerical superiority of the negroes in the West Indies is great. In Jamaica there were 331,000 slaves, and only 37,000 whites. By the clumsy apprenticeship system, the old stimulus of the whip was taken away, while the new and better stimulus of wages was not applied. The negroes were aware that if they worked well they should not be paid for it, and that if they worked ill they could not be flogged, as they had formerly been. Yet even under these disadvantageous circumstances, no difficulties occurred except in three of the islands; and even there the difficulties were slight and temporary. Let us inquire candidly how these troubles originated. The act of parliament provided, that the apprentice should work for his master forty and a half hours per week, and have the remainder of the time for his own benefit; but it did not provide that while they were apprentices (and of course worked without wages) they should enjoy all the privileges to which they had been accustomed while slaves. The planters availed themselves of this circumstance to put obstructions in the way of abolition; with the hope likewise of coercing the apprentices to form individual contracts to work fifty hours in the week, instead of forty and a half. While the people had been slaves, they had always been allowed cooks to prepare their meals; nurses to take care of the little children; and a person to bring water to the gang, during the hot hours; but when they became apprentices, these privileges were taken away. Each slave was obliged to quit his or her work to go to his own cabin (sometimes a great distance) to cook their meals, instead of having them served in the field; water was not allowed them; the aged and infirm, instead of being employed as formerly, to superintend the children in the shade, were driven to labor in the hot sun, and mothers were obliged to toil at the hoe with their infants strapped at their backs. In addition to this, the planters obtained from the governor a new proclamation, requiring the apprentices to labor extra hours for their masters, when they should deem it necessary in the cultivation, gathering, or manufacture of the crop, provided they repaid them an equal time "at a convenient season of the year." This was like taking from a New-England farmer the month of July to be repaid in January. Under these petty vexations, and unjust exactions, some of the apprentices stopt work in three of the colonies, out of seventeen. But even in these three, their resistance was merely passive. THE WORST ENEMIES OF ABOLITION HAVE NOT YET BEEN ABLE TO SHOW THAT A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED, OR A SINGLE PLANTATION FIRED, IN CONSEQUENCE OF EMANCIPATION, IN ALL THE BRITISH WEST INDIES!

In Jamaica they refused to work upon the terms which their masters endeavored to impose. A very small military force was sent into one parish, and but on one occasion. Not a drop of blood was shed on either side.

In Demerara they refused to work on the prescribed terms, and marched about with a flagstaff, as "the ten hour men" have done in many of our cities. But the worst thing they did was to strike a constable with their fists.

In St. Christopher's the resistance was likewise entirely passive. In two weeks the whole trouble was at an end; and it was ascertained that, out of twenty thou sand apprentices, only thirty were absent from work; and some of these were supposed to be dead in the woods.

One apprentice, executed in Demerara for insubordination, is the only life that has yet been lost in this great experiment! and a few fisty-cuffs with a constable, on one single occasion, has been the only violence offered to persons or property, by eight hundred thousand emancipated slaves.