A.D. 1834.] AUTHORITY. THE NEW POOR LAW ACT. NUMBER OF 20 $20 15 DESCRIPTION (585 unions Poor Law Amendment Act... 20 single parishes Local Act (various) (21 unions... 15 single parishes Gilbert's Act (22 Geo. III, c. (12 unions....... 83) 200 12 single parishes S9 parishes (including the as one 89 43 Elizabeth, c. 2 Total. 2 14,610 231 formidable opposition. The carrying of the act into execution necessarily involved a most extensive interference with old habits both in the poor and rich, with private interests most widely diffused in the perpetuation of old abuses. It was never established that any one case of real hardship was encountered through the operation of the law; but, necessarily, many partial mistakes were made, and instances were not unfrequent of injudicious zeal. Cases, however, were innumerable in which loud complaints were made, and those were used successfully to Of these unions and parishes 111 were declared and influence the public mind, which had never been generally organised in the first year, 252 in the second, 205 in the well informed on the subject. About the time when the third, and 17 in the fourth. The unions have since be- act had got into full operation, and when it might have come districts for the administration of the act for the been expected that its full effects in the extirpation of registration of births, deaths, and marriages. Each union dishonest pauperism and vagrancy, and in confining relief is administered by a board of guardians, representing the to its proper purposes would soon be realised, the opposiseveral parishes or townlands, and meeting once a week or tion was successful in checking, and almost entirely arrestonce a fortnight for the transaction of business. Within ing, the further progress of the measure. Still, the main the four years succeeding 1834 as many as 328 unions had provisions of the act had been brought into action: unions workhouses completed and in operation, and 141 had were formed; boards of guardians, and paid officers and workhouses building or in course of alteration. The work auditors appointed; and all had been abundantly inwent on slowly till the whole country was supplied with structed, by the great mass of information diffused, in workhouse accommodation. The amount expended in the dangers to be avoided and the principles to be kept in providing new workhouses up to 1858 was £4,168,759, view. The result has been thus far favourable, that what and in altering and enlarging old work houses, £792,772; was already secured in good administration has been rethe total amount thus expended was upwards of five mil-tained, the dangers of increasing pauperism kept well at lions sterling. Each union is provided with the following bay, and the diminution by natural causes in the numbers officers: a clerk, an auditor, a chaplain, medical officer, of paupers has not been allowed to be quite filled up by a relieving officers, master and matron of the workhouse, new growth. On the whole, it may be safely concluded schoolmaster and schoolmistress. These arrangements in- that pauperism is on the decrease; while, on occasions of volved a large expenditure, but it was indispensable, in general distress, the relief is adequately increased and order to secure an effective administration, and also eco-adapted to circumstances, without the danger of the occanomical, in view of the waste and demoralisation of the old system. The most demoralising and dangerous of all abuses, the creation and maintenance of a great mass of able-bodied pauperism, received at once a check, which has remained in full force, and is still reducing the amount of old pauperism of this kind, and preventing a new growth, which would otherwise have surely succeeded to the old. The system which demoralised employers as well as la- Negro Emancipation-Mr. Buxton's Motion on Slavery-Mr. Canning's sional relaxation becoming the permanent rule; and that a very intelligent body of administrators has been created, of which the community has found the benefit, in the introduction of many measures of general utility.* CHAPTER XXIV. Resolutions-Change in Public Opinion on Slavery-Condition of the West Indian Slaves-Influence of the Missionaries-Mr. Brougham's Motion-Mr. Stanley's Plan of Negro Emancipation-Compensation to the Slave-owners-Apprenticeship-The Emancipation Act passed— Liberty proclaimed 1st of August, 1834-Provisions of the MeasureDivision of the Twenty Millions-Working of the Apprenticeship System-Complete Emancipation in 1838-Economic and Social Effects of Emancipation-Results of Free and Slave Labour, a Contrast-Lord Eldon and the New Poor Law-Renewal of the Irish Coercion Act-Lord Althorp and Mr. Sheil-Trades Unions-Strikes-Excitement about the Conviction of Six Dorchester Labourers-Strike of 3,000 Men at Leeds-Meeting at Copenhagen Fields-Strike of 13,000 Tailors in London-Charges against the Trades Unions-Condemned by Lord Brougham-Murder of a Manufacturer at Chester-Strike of 10,000 London Builders-Debate on Mr. O'Connell's Motion on the Repeal of the Union-Speech of Mr. Spring Rice-Ovation of the Duke of Wellington and Lord Eldon at Oxford-Disappointment of the ToriesDissensions in the Cabinet-Charge against Baron Smith-The Vote of Censure against him Rescinded-The Corn Laws-Retirement of Lord Grey: his Career and Character-Dispute between O'Connell and the Chief Secretary-Lord Melbourne Premier-Dissenting Grievances-Their Exclusion from the Ministry-The Bill for their Admission rejected-Old Bailey Jurisdiction. bourers, the payment of wages in whole or in part by the relief of people while in employment, was immediately stopped by the introduction of the new law. On the other hand, the converse abuse, which, in proportion as able-bodied pauperism was encouraged in any parish, caused the really impotent and destitute to be neglected, is in nearly as great a degree corrected. The improved conduct of the labourers was in the first years very striking, and the improved morality of the women, by the alteration of the bastardy law, was in the same period equally remarkable. The testimony and instances are fully displayed in the earlier reports of the commissioners, especially in their second report, and in the reports of two committees of the house of commons, in the years 1837 and 1838. Costs of litigation, and the expenditure in the removal of paupers, were gradually reduced. In 1833-4, these were £258,604; in 1834-5, £202,527; in 1835-6, £172,482; in 1836-7, £126,951; in 1837-8, £93,982; THE active mind, strong will, and philanthropic spirit of in the years 1856-7, it is returned as £59,163 14s. The act of 1834 was not passed without encountering a *Encyclopædia Britannica." Eighth edition. Mr. Stanley found an important field for their exercise in and they allowed no other time to the negroes for marketthe colonial office. He applied his energies to the aboli-ing or cultivating their provision grounds. The evidence tion of negro slavery in the West Indies, and was happily of slaves had been made admissible; but in most of the more successful in that work than in his attempt to tran- colonies the right was so restricted as to make it entirely quillise Ireland. The time had arrived when the labours useless. Except in the crown colonies, the marriage of on behalf of the negro race of Clarkson, Wilberforce, slaves was subject to all sorts of vexatious impediments. Macintosh, Brougham, Buxton, Lushington, and William The provision against the separation of families was found Smith were to be followed with success, by the abolition everywhere inoperative. The right of acquiring property of slavery in our West Indian colonies. The Society of was so limited as to prove a mockery and a delusion. The Friends, as became that philanthropic body, led the van order in council gave the slaves the right of redeeming in the movement which commenced in 1823, when Mr. Wil- themselves and their families, even against the will of their berforce presented a petition from them in the house of owners; but all the chartered colonies peremptorily refused commons. Soon after Mr. Buxton brought forward a any such right of self-liberation. In nearly all the colonies resolution, condemning slavery as repugnant to Chris- the master had a right by law to inflict thirty-nine lashes tianity and to the British constitution, when Mr. Canning at one time, on any slave of any age, or of either sex, for moved counter-resolutions as an amendment, recommend- any offence whatever, or for no offence. He could also ing reforms in the system, which, it was alleged, might be imprison his victims in the stocks of the workhouse as long safely left to the West Indian assemblies; and if they as he pleased. There was no return of punishments inrefused to do their duty, the imperial parliament might flicted, and no proper record. An order in council had forthen interfere. These resolutions were carried, although bidden the flogging of females; but in all the chartered any one acquainted with the history of the West Indies colonies the infamous practice had been continued, in might have known that they would be perfectly futile. defiance of the supreme government. The administration No amelioration of the system could be rationally expected of justice-if the term be applicable to a system whose very from the reckless adventurers and mercenary agents by essence was iniquity—was left to pursue its own course, whom many West Indian plantations were managed. The without any effort for its purification. In July, 1830, Mr. infamous cruelty of which the missionary Smith had been Brougham brought forward his motion, that the house the victim showed that, while the colonial laws allowed should resolve, at the earliest possible period in next the most horrible atrocities, there existed among the planters session, to take into consideration the state of the West a spirit of brutality which did not shrink from their per- Indian colonies, in order to the mitigation and final abolipetration. Time was when such barbarities might have tion of slavery, and more especially in order to the amendescaped with impunity; when in our own country it was ment of the administration of justice. But the national maintained in high places, and even by the legislature, mind was then so pre-occupied with home subjects of that slavery was defended by an impregnable fortress, that agitation that the house was but thinly attended, and the property in human flesh was not only expedient for the motion was lost by a large majority. The reform agitagood of the commonwealth, and beneficial for the negro, tion absorbed public interest for the two following years, but also a sacred institution, founded on the authority of so that nothing was done to mitigate the hard lot of the the Bible. But, thanks to the indefatigable labours of the suffering negro till the question was taken up by Mr. friends of the negro race, such abominable dogmas had been Stanley, in 1833, in compliance with the repeated and long reprobated by public opinion, and at the period now earnest entreaties of the friends of emancipation. The referred to no man ventured to promulgate such heresies in abolitionists, of course, had always insisted upon immeEngland. The moral sense of the nation had condemned diate, unconditional emancipation-the restoration of the slavery in every form. The missionaries had, in the midst negro to all the rights of manhood conferred upon him by of tremendous difficulties and cruel persecutions, en- the Creator, and of which he had been deprived. But lightened the West Indian slaves with regard to their rights the ministerial plan contained two provisions altogether as men and their privileges as Christians; and while they at variance with their views; a term of apprenticeship, inculcated patience and meek submission even to unjust which, in the first draft of the measure, was to last twelve laws, they animated their crushed hearts with the hope that years, and compensation to the owners—a proposition the blessings of liberty would soon be enjoyed by them, and which, though advanced with hesitation, ultimately that humanity and justice would speedily triumph over the assumed the enormous amount of twenty millions sterling. ruthless tyranny under which they groaned. On the principle of compensation there was a general agreement, because it was the state that had created the slave property, had legalised it, and imposed upon the It was therefore Ten years passed away from the adoption of Mr. Canning's resolution, and little or nothing was effectually done to mitigate the system, notwithstanding various sub-present owners all their liabilities. sequent recommendations of the British government. The consolidated slave law for the crown colonies contained in an order in council issued in 1830, was proposed for the chartered colonies as a model for their adoption; but it contained no provision for the education or religious instruction of the slaves. All the chartered colonies, except two, Grenada and Tobago, had legalised Sunday markets, thought to be unjust to ruin them by what would be regarded as a breach of faith on the part of the legislature. The same excuse could not be made for the system of protracted apprenticeship, which would be a continuance of slavery under another name. If the price were to be paid for emancipation, the value should be received at once. This was the feeling of lord Howick, who was then under A.D. 1834.] ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH COLONIES. secretary for the colonies, and who resigned his office rather than be a party to the apprenticeship scheme, which he vigorously opposed in the house, as did also Mr. Buxton and Mr. O'Connell. But the principle was carried against them by an overwhelming majority. Among the most prominent and efficient advocates of the negroes during the debates were Mr. Buckingham, Dr. Lushington, admiral Flemming, and Mr. T. B. Macaulay. The opposition to the government resolution was not violent; it was led by Sir Robert Peel, whose most strenuous supporters were Sir Richard Vyvian, Mr. Godson, Mr. W. E. Gladstone, and Mr. Hume. In the house of lords the resolutions were accepted without a division, being supported by the earl of Ripon, lord Suffield, earl Grey, and the lord chancellor Brougham. The speakers on the other side were the duke of Wellington, the earl of Harewood, lord Ellenborough, and lord Wynford. All In the bill which was founded on the resolutions, the term of apprenticeship was limited to six years for the plantation negroes, and four for all others. The bill passed the house of lords with slight opposition; and on the 28th of August, 1833, it received the royal assent. It does not appear that William IV. urged any plea of conscience against siguing this act of emancipation, although in his early days he had been, in common with all the royal family, except the duke of Gloucester, opposed to the abolition of the slave trade. The act was to take effect on the 1st day of August, 1834, on which day slavery was to cease throughout the British colonies. All slaves who at that date should appear to be six years old and upwards were to be registered as apprentice labourers" to those who had been their owners. slaves who happened to be brought into the United Kingdom, and all apprentice labourers who might be brought into it with the consent of their owners, were to be absolutely free. The apprentices were divided into three classes. The first class consisted of "predial apprentice labourers," usually employed in agriculture, or the manufacture of colonial produce, on lands belonging to their owners, and these were declared to be attached to the soil. The second class, consisting of the same kind of labourers, who worked on lands not belonging to their owners, were not attached to the soil. The third class consisted of "non-predial apprenticed labourers," and embraced mechanics, artisans, domestic servants, and all slaves not included in the other two classes. The apprenticeship of the first was to terminate on the 1st of August, 1810; and of the "non-predial" on the same day in 1838. The apprentices were not obliged to labour for their employers more than forty-five hours in any one week. Voluntary discharges were permitted; but, in that case, a provision was made for the support of old and infirm apprentices. An apprentice could free himself before the expiration of the term, against the will of his master, by getting himself appraised, and paying the price. No apprentices were to be removed from the colony to which they belonged, nor from one plantation to another in the same colony, except on a certificate from a justice of the peace that the removal would not injure their health or 233 welfare, or separate the members of the same family. Under these conditions the apprentices were transferable with the estates to which they were attached. Their masters were bound to furnish them with food, clothing, lodging, and other necessaries, according to the existing laws of the several colonies, and to allow them sufficient provision ground, and time for cultivating it, where that mode of maintenance was adopted. All children under six years of age, when the act came into operation, and all that should be born during the apprenticeship, were declared free; but if any children were found destitute, they could be apprenticed, and subjected to the same regulations as the others. The act allowed governors of colonies to appoint stipendiary magistrates, with salaries not exceeding £300 a-year, to carry the provisions of the law into effect. Corporal punishment was not absolutely abolished, but it could be inflicted only by the special justices, who were authorised to punish the apprentices by whipping, beating, imprisonment, or addition to the hours of labour. The corporal punishment of females was absolutely forbidden under all circumstances. The quantity of punishment was restricted, and the hours of additional labour imposed were not to exceed fifteen in the week. The sum of twenty millions was divided into nineteen shares, one for each of the colonies, proportioned to the number of its registered slaves, taken in connection with the market price of slaves in that colony, on an average of eight years, ending with 1830. But no money was payable in any colony until it should have been declared by an order in council that satisfactory provision had been made by law in such colony for giving effect to the emancipation act. Two of them were so perverse as to decline for several years to qualify for the reception of the money; but others acted in a different spirit. Believing that the system of apprenticeship was impolitic, they declined to take advantage of it, and manumitted their slaves at once. Antigua was the first to adopt this wise course. Its slaves were all promptly emancipated, and their conduct fully justified the policy; for on Christmas Day, 1834, for the first time during thirty years, martial law was not proclaimed in that island. Thus, the effect of liberty was peace, quietness, and confidence. Bermuda followed this good example, as did also the smaller islands, and afterwards the large island of Barbadoes; and their emancipation was hailed by the negrocs with religious services, followed by festive gatherings. Jamaica, and some other islands, endeavoured to thwart the operation of the new law, as far as possible, and took every advantage in making the apprentices miserable, and wreaking upon them their spite and malice. They met with harsher treatment than ever, being in many instances either savagely ill-used or inhumanly neglected. Considering their provocations, it was generally admitted that they behaved on the whole very well, enduring with patience and resignation the afflictions which they knew must come to an end in a few years. The total number of slaves converted into apprentices on the 1st of August, 1834, was 800,000. The apprenticeship did not last beyond the shorter time prescribed, and on the 1st of August, 1838, there was not a slave in existence under the British crown, A D. 1834.] BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF NEGRO EMANCIPATION. save only in the island of Mauritius, which was soon required by instructions from the home government to carry the act into effect. There were the gloomiest possible predictions that the act would not work satisfactorily; that the colonies would be ruined; that the negroes would abandon their occupations, and take to the bush; that the estates would lapse into a wilderness; and that we might bid adieu to West Indian sugar. There is no need to dispute the fact that the inhabitants of a tropical country are inclined to be very indolent, and that they will not work much while they can obtain the necessaries of life without working. They naturally prefer to "bask in the sun, and stem the tepid wave;" but it is, nevertheless, the fact, that with all the grumbling of the planters, and the loud complaints, espe 235 of the West Indies, namely, that in 1857, the year of the severe commercial crisis, the colonial bank received bills amounting to £1,300,000, and less than £8,000 were returned. There was no failure during that year in the West Indian trade; and coffee, cotton, wool, sugar, rum, and cocoa were all exported in increased quantities. The exports of Great Britain alone, as shown by the trade and navigation accounts for 1858 to the West Indies, have averaged more than half a million over the preceding ten years. These official statistics go to prove that the West Indies are rapidly advancing in wealth and prosperity since the year of the emancipation. The general character and habits of the people are likewise improved. From two to three hundred villages have grown up by the unaided exertions of the negroes in the island of Jamaica alone, eially from Jamaica, of impending bankruptcy and ruin, and upwards of 100,000 acres of land have been purchased in that island by the coloured inhabitants. In the legislative assembly of Jamaica, which counts some fifty members, are some ten or a dozen gentlemen of colour. Negroes have found their way into the police force, among the officers of the penitentiary and of the courts of justice, among the barristers, and among the magisThese tracy. Education is gradually making way, and crime of an atrocious character is very rare in these islands. There can be but one opinion regarding the results of emancipation entertained by any man who will dispassionately investigate the condition of the coloured populations in the West Indies; and that opinion will redound, in the highest degree, to the sagacity as well as the generosity of those who then advocated the deliverance of the slave. England, by freeing her slaves, performed a returns are limited to Great Britain alone, no account being taken of the recent and very promising trade with Australia and the United States. Exclusive of Jamaica and the Mauritius, the remaining fifteen islands of the West Indies produced during 1855, 1856, and 1857, 7,427,618 cwt.; while the same islands produced during the last three years of slavery 7,405,849 cwt. of sugar. There is one fact which shows the sound commercial state |