cularly in all cases brought before them, in which Portuguese are parties or wit- BRITISH GUIANA. nesses. "8. Informers on Portuguese without ticket, to receive one-half of the fine inflicted. "9. Portuguese immigrants introduced after the 1st April 1850, to be indentured for the performance of 900 days of actual labour, before a magistrate. "10. State of wages to be secured to Portuguese during this period-one quarter of dollar for what is considered a day's work, or task equivalent to a day's work, according to the nine hours' tariff of labour; women and children in proportion, from 8d. to 4d.; besides free dwelling, medical attendance, and a piece of garden-ground for every male adult. "11. The employer, after fulfilment of the labourer's term of service, that is to say, after 900 days' actual labour, to give a certificate to that effect to the immigrants, on which a ticket of free residence will be given by stipendiary magistrates. "12. Employers or employed refusing or omitting to act in conformity with this Ordinance and the contract entered into, to be liable to fine or imprisonment, according to the Master and Servant Act now in force in this colony. dollars for passage-money, and dollars 13. The colony to pay for agent in Madeira, and other expenses on every adult Portuguese immigrant under 50 years old and above 15, and one-half of this sum for every child under 15 and above 10 years' old, landed in a sound and hea'thy state of mind and body. 14. The doctor appointed by the colony to inspect the immigrants, with the doctor practising for the estate to which the immigrants are to be allotted, to judge whether the immigrants are fit and healthy subjects, and capable to perform the general work on estates. In case of difference, the stipendiary magistrates of the district to settle the question. "15. Half passage-money shall be paid for immigrants above the age of 50, if proved to be the parents of good and valuable immigrants. "16. The employers to whom the immigrants shall be indentured, to pay back to the colony one-half of the passage-money, at such time and on such terms as his Excellency and Combined Court shall think fit. "Demerara, 21 January 1850." (signed) "A. D. Vander Gon Netscher. Governor-It would perhaps be necessary to refer that report to the Court of Policy for consideration. At the same time, he might state that he did not know how they would be able to carry out the suggestion in the report, as to tickets of residence, with regard to those Portuguese who were already in the country. Mr. Croal considered that it would be conferring a privilege upon them, and therefore there would be no difficulty in getting them to obtain tickets. They could not otherwise be distinguished from new comers. Mr. Vander Gon Netscher agreed with Mr. Croal, that it would be a benefit to the people. While the colony paid the whole cost of bringing the immigrants here, as at present, they were not bound to remain on any certain place, but could wander all over the country. It was now proposed that the parties who got the immigrants should pay half the cost, which would be a means of compelling them to remain on the estates, for which they would get tickets of residence. With regard to those who were already here, it would be very easy for the stipendiary magistrates to get tickets of residence for them after their three years' industrial residence. The report was referred to the Court of Policy. Enclosure 3, in No. 38. Georgetown, Demerara, 26 July 1850. Sir, HAVING been informed on good authority, that a document purporting to be a copy of Encl. 3, in No. 38. a letter which I wrote to the Portuguese Government, in my capacity of Consul to Her most Faithful Majesty, is likely to be brought under the notice of the Court of Policy, and having reason to believe that such document is erroneous, I beg leave respectfully to send your Excellency herewith a correct copy of the letter alluded to; I also send you, for the convenience of reference, a copy of the "Royal Gazette" of this colony, 24 January 1850, therein mentioned, and trust on examination, that it will not be found to be of that objectionable character, which it is attempted to attach to it. I further beg to assure your Excellency, that I have ever felt zealously anxious to see immigration to this country from Madeira conducted on a large scale, from the conviction that such immigration is alike beneficial to the immigrants themselves and to the colony, and indeed ultimately beneficial to the Island of Madeira, in consequence of so many Portuguese returning there with large sums of money, the proceeds of their labour and industry in British Guiana; circumstances which I have already made know to the Portuguese Government As to my opinions of the treatment of Portuguese residing in this colony, I beg to refer your Excellency to the sentiments contained in the address presented to you on Her Majesty's last birth-day by a body of Portuguese, as a recorded testimony of the feelings and BRITISH GUIANA. sentiments entertained by them and myself on this subject. Copy of this address I forwarded to the Government of Her most Faithful Majesty, in Lisbon, and also to the Portuguese minister (Baron Moncorvo) in London. His Excellency Henry Barkly, Esq. I have, &c. (signed) John Taggart. Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 3, in No. 38. My Lord Count, Demerara, 18 February 1850. In accordance with your circular dated 19th June 1849, I beg to address you on a con-templated infringement of the liberties of Portuguese subjects in this colony. For many years the Legislature and Government of this colony exerted themselves to encourage and induce the inhabitants of Madeira to emigrate to this place; a free passage was provided them at the expense of the colony, and a promise was given that after a short residence, they should possess all the right and privileges of British subjects in British Guiana. The question of a renewal of immigration from Madeira is now before the Legislature, a Committee was appointed to consider the subject, and I now send you via London, care of his Excellency Baron Moncorvo, copy of the Committee's Report in "Royal Gazette" of this colony, 24th January 1850, page 2, under the head of "Colonial Legislature," January 22, 1850. These resolutions speak for themselves, and clearly show a disposition on the part of the members of the Legislature to interfere materially with the right of those subjects of Her most Faithful Majesty already located here, great numbers of whom have resided in the colony for many years, and also to establish a system of forced labour (which they call apprenticeship) upon all others introduced here after 1 April 1850, at 25 cents. per diem, a rate of wages, in my opinion quite inadequate to supply their wants in this colony, when the necessaries of life are, and must continue to be, extremely dear. In page 1 of the "Royal Gazette" (above named), headed, "Laws relating to Immigrants, &c. in the Mauritius," you have the regulations existing in that British colony on this subject, and the members of the Legislature in this colony avow that they mean to adopt them as a model for their enactments on the subject of immigrants coming into British Guiana. Your Excellency will observe that nothing is said in these resolutions (relating to Portuguese immigrants) about making any bargains with the people previous to their being brought here, nor even of their being informed that they would be forced to go to a particular locality, and perform 900 days labour at 25 cents per day, in consideration of getting their passages free, the desire appearing to be to get them here first, and then to inform them of the conditions. I deem it only right and proper to inform you, that his Excellency Henry Barkly, Esq., Governor of British Guiana, is a man of the most amiable and liberal. disposition, who will not be a party to, or tolerate wrong in any way; he has already expressed his disapprobation of parts of the Report of the Committee on Portuguese immigration before adverted to, but his Excellency may be outvoted, and the Government of Her Britannic Majesty may agree to pass such laws as are contemplated, unless your Excellency, as minister of Her most Faithful Majesty, takes prompt measures to protect her subjects. Directly the Legislature of this colony enacts any law on this subject, I will takethe earliest opportunity of informing you of the particulars. To His Excellency Count de Tojal, I have, &c. Encl. 4, in No. 38. Enclosure 4, in No. 38. EXTRACT from the "Royal Gazette," of 28 May 1850. On Friday last, shortly before the levee, a deputation from the Portuguese inhabitants of this colony, accompanied by John Taggart, Esq., the Portuguese Consul, waited upon his Excellency the Governor, at the Governor's apartments in the Public Buildings, with the following address, which was read by the Consul : : To his Excellency Henry Barkly Esq., Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Colony of British Guiana, Vice-Admiral and Ordinary of the same, &c. &c. &c. We, the undersigned, born subjects of Her most Faithful Majesty the Queen of Portugal and Algarves, now for a long period inhabitants of British Guiana, beg to approach your Excellency to express our humble but heartfelt congratulations on this, the birth-day of Her most Gracious Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, on whose head we fervently implore the Divine blessing. We beg to express to your Excellency the deep sense we entertain and the sincere gratitude we feel towards you, sir, for the protection from oppression, for that justice, tempered with mercy, which has been conspicuous in this colony since your Excellency took charge of its government, and which has been especially valuable and consoling to us foreigners settled under your rule. We We humbly but earnestly beg the King of kings to confer on yourself, your lady, and BRITISH GUIANA, family, every earthly blessing, and that your protection of the poor and humble may, even in this life, meet a fitting reward. Demerara, Georgetown, 24 May 1850. (signed) John Evangelist, Enclosure 5, in No. 38. To this Address his Excellency was pleased to make the following reply : "To the Portuguese Residents in British Guiana. "I HAVE received, with much gratification, the address just presented to me, and shall not fail to inform my Royal Mistress of the loyalty of Her subjects of Portuguese extraction settled in British Guiana. "I am glad to learn that you are sensible of the blessings which the laws of this colony, duly administered, secure to yourselves in common with the rest of its inhabitants; and I beg to assure you, on my part, that I shall continue to study, as far as lies in my power, to temper justice with mercy towards all classes, but especially towards one so deserving of every legitimate encouragement as the immigrants from Madeira who have made this their home. "Your industry and your enterprise have materially contributed to extend trade and promote civilization in the land of your adoption, and you, above all things, merit the thanks of the community for having proved in so conspicuous a manner that agricultural labour in this climate is not only possible, not only profitable, but is looked upon as honourable by men of European origin nurtured in a country which the curse of slavery has never blighted. "Accept, in conclusion, my thanks for your good wishes on behalf of myself and family, which I humbly trust may not be unavailing, where they are so properly addressed. (signed) Henry Barkly." The deputation, accompanied by the Consul, then bowed and withdrew. Encl. 5, in No. 38. COPY of a DESPATCH from Governor Barkly to Earl Grey. My Lord, 2. Ten of these people are Kroomen, who returned with one of their countrymen, Tom Peter, who had resided here before; two are stated to be natives of Barbadoes, who availed themselves of the opportunity of a passage; the rest are Africans who had been very recently liberated by Her Majesty's cruisers. 3. Your Lordship will be glad to learn, from the report of the health officer, that, notwithstanding the latter circumstance, only one death occurred on the passage. 4. These Africans will of course be indented, subject to the terms of the Ordinance now under the consideration of the Court of Policy, in virtue of your Lordship's instructions on the subject; but in the meantime they have been located on various estates throughout the colony, as your Lordship will perceive from the report of the clerk to the immigration agent-general, great pains having been taken to keep the different tribes together, which had scarcely been sufficiently attended to on previous occasions, though conducing greatly to their happiness in a strange land. 5. As I transmitted to your Lordship copy of my communication to the Governor of Sierra Leone by the "Glentanner," I take leave now to enclose copy of his Excellency's reply, which is not, I am sorry to say, very favourable to the prospects of emigration. Nothing, indeed, is said in it as to the Kroo coast; but I am sorry to learn that no steps were adopted by Captain Fisher to assist the Kroomen who returned hence in finding their way home from Freetown. 6. In what Governor Macdonald states as to the necessity of maintaining good faith with such of the fixed population of Sierra Leone as may emigrate hither, I cordially concur; but I do not exactly understand the application which he would wish to give the remark on the present occasion. Those who came here formerly came under no pledge given or implied by individual employers; they were conveyed here by Government intervention solely. If wages Page 99 Enclosure 1. Enclosure 2. BRITISH GUIANA. have fallen and circumstances altered since their arrival, it is no breach of faith towards them in any way whatsoever. Had contracts been entered into with them by individuals, they would have been faithfully fulfilled, but they were not permitted. If, on the other hand, the remark be intended to apply to the back passage, for which the Colonial Government was pledged, I would remind your Lordship that opportunities were offered by the "Growler" steamer, but embraced by few, and that although, directly I assumed the government of the colony, I made inquiries, through the stipendiary magistrates, for such Africans as desired to return, the number who applied was inconsiderable, and it was not till the "Glentanner" was actually about to sail that there were sufficient applications to fill her. The same vessel is now advertised again to return to Sierra Leone; but though the immigration agent-general has given notice to those concerned, 1 do not hear that many are desirous of going. 7. I have felt it my duty to make these remarks, as the prejudice against emigration, to which Governor Macdonald refers, does not seem easily to be accounted for, and is at variance with the reports made to the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, as transmitted with your Lordship's despatch of March 1 (No. 152).* I have, &c. (signed) Enclosure 1, in No. 39. EXTRACT from Report of Health Officer. Encl. 1, in No. 39. Gross number of emigrants embarked SUMMARY. Henry Barkly. - 261 99 Daily average of people sick 1 Per-centage of deaths to number embarked 99 Encl. 2, in No. 39. GENERAL REMARKS on Surgeon's Diary and Journal, Provisions, Water, Vessel, &c. &c. These Africans are mostly young people, above 14 years of age; they look as if they had suffered much recently from hardship, although not in ill-health generally at present. They have, however, suffered considerably from dysentery and pulmonary complaints, although the mortality has been insignificant. They have apparently been well taken care of by the officers of the ship. They come from Eboe, Congo, and Kossoe country. (signed) George R. Bonyun, M. D., Acting Health Officer, Port of Georgetown. Sir, Enclosure 2, in No. 39. Immigration Agent General's Office, 30 July 1850. I HAVE the honour to state that, in obedience to his Excellency's orders, I have delivered to the respective representatives of the estates appointed by his Excellency to receive immigrants, 206 Africans from the "Glentanner," as follows: La Grange I have also delivered on board the schooner "Clyde," to proceed to Berbice, at eight o'clock, p. m. to-day, 52 people for distribution in that county, leaving six in the Colonial General Hospital, and two young men, since discovered to be Barbadians, who had obtained a passage from Sierra Leone, and have been allowed to land, making up the full complement of 268, as already reported to his Excellency. * Page 202, House of Commons Paper No. 643, 1850, "West India Immigration." The The excess of three immigrants in the allotment to plantation La Grange was unavoid- BRITISH GUIANA. able, in consequence of that being the first lot, and of their having grouped themselves in families, which could not be separated without infringing the rule laid down by his Excellency; the strict adherence to this rule has apparently given great satisfaction. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's despatch of the 29th Encl. 3, in No. 39April, by the emigrant ship "Glentanner," which arrived here on the 15th instant, and landed 284 passengers (as per summary enclosed to me by your Excellency), no deaths having occurred during the passage across. She leaves this to-day, for the colony under your Excellency's government, with 268 emigrants, as per margin; and I shall be happy to learn that they have reached Demerara in good health. M. Lib. Afrs. - 170 76 2. I regret that it is not yet in my power to report that any reaction in favour of emigra- F. tion has manifested itself on the part of our resident population, sufficiently decided in B. character as to warrant any counting with any certainty upon its permanency. G. The return of the people by the "Glentanner" has done something towards disturbing (I wish I could say entirely removing) the objections and prejudices towards this measure, Kroo which have so long existed, and I regret to say still exists amongst them; and I am in hopes, should nothing unforeseen occur to check any favourable impression they may be disposed to entertain of it, that they may by degrees be induced again to turn their attention to it, and give it a fair trial. 3. One thing however is certain, with reference to the successful working of this measure, and that is, that whatever we may urge here in its favour, whatever may be the inducements we may here hold out to our native population to emigrate, if those who are led to do so are deceived on their arrival at their destination, and are treated with a want of liberality, or with bad faith by their employers, nothing will ever induce them again to emigrate; and what is of greater consequence still, their report of the reception and treatment they experience will influence their country people here against the measure, in spite of all we may say to the contrary. 4. Your Excellency will therefore, I hope, pardon me if I point out the absolute necessity which exists of dealing with these people in a spirit of liberality, and with the most perfect good faith; it will be found the soundest policy and the wisest economy, in the end, to adopt such a course towards them, and on it, and it alone, depends the success or failure of the measure. If those who are induced to visit the West Indies (and many of them do so at first from a mere spirit of curiosity) are pleased and satisfied with the treatment they receive, and the prospects laid open to them, I have no fear whatever but that they will willingly emigrate; whilst, on the other hand, if they are deceived or fancy themselves deceived, if a system of unwise and penurious economy is adopted towards them, they at once become discoutented and suspicious, and no agreements which can be used will ever induce them to entertain the subject again. 5. I am led to offer the foregoing suggestions for your Excellency's consideration, not because I suppose that in the colony under your government bad faith has been practised towards our people, but because having heard from the lips of many of those who have emigrated that they have experienced such treatment, I think it right to place you in possession of one of the causes, if not the principal one, which has to a very great extent checked the current of emigration from this colony to the West Indies, in order that you may cause such measures to be adopted as you may deem best calculated to prevent the African emigrants to British Guiana having any just grounds for complaint, 6. Referring to that portion of your Excellency's despatch relative to Mr. Fisher taking up shipping here for any free emigrants who might offer for the West Indies, I am afraid that the terms of the contract between Her Majesty's Government and Messrs. Hyde, Hodge & Co. precludes the possibility of carrying out such an arrangement; indeed I was distinctly informed at the Colonial Office, when in England a few months back, that I would not be authorised in taking up shipping here for that service. 7. Cordially agreeing with your Excellency as to the benefits certain to result to this vast continent, as well as to the West Indies, by the establishment of a constant communication between them, and which can only be secured by carrying out the measure of emigration in such a spirit as will induce our population readily to embrace it; you may confidently rely upon my doing all in my power to lead their attention to the serious consideration of the benefits which they will secure to themselves and families by emigrating. But as it is self-evident that it rests entirely with those requiring their labour to induce them by a conciliatory and liberal line of policy to go to and remain with them, I repeat, that all that I can do here to secure so desirable an object will be utterly valueless, if they Total |