Read Ebook: Λουκιανός - Άπαντα Τόμος Έκτος by Lucian Of Samosata Kondylakes Ioannes Translator

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INDUCEMENTS TO THE COLORED PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES TO EMIGRATE TO BRITISH GUIANA,

Compiled from Statements and Documents furnished by Mr. Edward Carbery, Agent of the "Immigration Society of British Guiana," and a Proprietor in that Colony.

BY A FRIEND TO THE COLORED PEOPLE.

BOSTON: PRINTED FOR DISTRIBUTION. KIDDER AND WRIGHT, CONGRESS STREET. 1840.

INDUCEMENTS.

Guiana is a vast tract of territory situated on the north-east coast of South America, between the mouths of those celebrated rivers, the Oronoco and the Amazons.

British Guiana includes a portion of this coast, extending some two hundred miles from east to west, bounded on the east by the river Corentyn which separates it from Dutch Guiana, or Surinam, and on the west by the Morocco creek, or the tract of country adjacent to it, belonging to the republic of Venezuela. British Guiana extends inland from the coast some two hundred miles, in a southerly direction, to a chain of high mountains, by which it is bounded on the south, and which separates it from Brazil. It thus includes an area of upwards of forty thousand square miles, being about equal in extent to the State of New York.

The whole country slopes gradually down from the mountains to the sea. The back country is hilly and much diversified in surface; the land along the sea-coast is flat, level, and extremely fertile. The colony is watered by three large rivers, the Essequebo, the Demarara, and the Berbice. These rivers descend from the mountains, and run parallel to each other at nearly equal distances. They are navigable for many miles, and together with numerous smaller rivers and creeks, they not only afford great facilities for internal navigation, but also for irrigating the land, a thing of great importance in that climate.

British Guiana never suffers from those violent storms and hurricanes with which other tropical regions are visited. Along the whole coast, vessels can ride at anchor in perfect safety, at all seasons of the year. The whole shore is a bed of deep soft mud, and can be approached by vessels without danger.

The latitude of the coast, along which the settlements are situated, is about seven degrees, north. The longitude of Georgetown, the capital, is about fifty-seven degrees west from Greenwich. Its direction from the city of New York is considerably east of south. The distance is about two thousand miles, or twenty days' sail, very nearly the same distance as New Orleans.

Situated under the tropic, Guiana enjoys a perpetual summer. The thermometer generally ranges from 78? to 84?. The trade winds, which blow constantly from the coast, render the climate comfortable and salubrious. The year is divided into four seasons, two rainy and two dry. The short rainy season usually commences about December, and lasts four weeks: the long rainy season begins in June, and lasts till the middle of August. But as regards these seasons there is a good deal of variation. In the rainy season, the rain falls violently during the forenoon, but the afternoons are clear and pleasant. During the dry season occasional showers occur.

The only portion of this fertile country which has yet been settled and cultivated, is a narrow strip extending along the coast, and a little distance up the mouths of the principal rivers, together with some islands at the entrance of the Essequebo. The plantations are generally about half a mile wide, fronting on the sea, and extending back two, three, four or five miles. This series of adjoining plantations forms the only cultivated part of the country, which thus resembles a long string of villages half a mile apart.

The soil of the plantations, which is very deep and rich, is divided by canals into separate fields. The same fields are cultivated in constant succession, and no manure is ever used. The canals not only serve to drain and irrigate the land, but also to convey the canes, when cut, to the sugar-house. Sugar and coffee are principally cultivated. There are a few cotton plantations, and some devoted to the cultivation of the plantain, which, with a rich variety of other vegetables, such as the sweet potato, the banana, yams, the casava, &c., furnish a large part of the food of the inhabitants. There are also large cattle farms. Cattle are abundant, and beef is cheap.

The uncultivated tracts abound with a vast variety of useful plants and trees. Many of the trees furnish excellent timber. There are in the colony several steam mills employed in the manufacture of lumber.

British Guiana is a colony, conquered some forty years since from the Dutch, belonging to Great Britain. It is what is called a crown colony, and all its laws are made, or revised in England.

The governor, whose authority is very extensive, is appointed by the British queen. He is assisted in his administration by a council of nine persons, called the Court of Policy, four of whom are high executive officers appointed by the Crown. The other five are chosen by the inhabitants. No law made by the Court of Policy can remain in force unless it be approved in England by the queen in council.

Justice is administered by a Supreme Court consisting of three Judges, who are always lawyers of high standing, sent out from Great Britain. In the criminal trials which come before this court, the judges are assisted by three assessors, who answer to our jurymen, being persons chosen by lot from among the inhabitants,--who have an equal vote with the judges. No prisoner can be found guilty, except by at least four votes out of the six.

The colony is divided into three counties, Demarara, Berbice and Essequebo. Each of these counties is again divided into parishes, and the parishes are subdivided into judicial districts, each under the superintendence of a Stipendiary Magistrate, appointed and paid by the Crown. These stipendiary magistrates are persons of education and character, sent out from Great Britain, and who, having no interest or connections in the colony, and being frequently removed from one district to another, may be expected to be impartial, and not likely to be warped in their judgment by personal considerations. These magistrates are under the sole control of the Governor, by whom they can be suspended from office. They have exclusive jurisdiction, as will presently appear, of all controversies, as to contracts and labor, arising between employers and laborers. The whole population of the three counties may be estimated at one hundred thousand, of whom six or eight thousand are white, and all the remainder, colored. The English language is now spoken by all, and is the only language used in the colony.

Those distinctions which prevail to so great a degree in the United States, between the free colored and the white population, and which render the position of the colored man in the United States so mortifying and uncomfortable, are wholly unknown in British Guiana. In this respect all are equal: colonial offices and dignities are held without distinction by white and colored. Colored men are indiscriminately drawn to sit as assessors on the bench of the Supreme Court. The colored classes in British Guiana are wealthy, influential, and highly respectable. Many of them are magistrates, proprietors, merchants with large establishments, and managers of estates receiving liberal salaries. The collector of customs at one of the principal ports, is a person of color, and many others hold public stations. It is evident from these facts that color is no obstacle to advancement or distinction. It is difficult and almost impossible for a citizen of the United States, educated in the midst of distinctions and prejudices, to realize the state of things so entirely different which prevails in British Guiana.

The greater part of the laboring population of British Guiana were formerly slaves. They have been lately set free by the justice and bounty of the British government, which is very jealous of their rights, and which has enacted many special laws for their protection.

A leading measure of this kind is, the appointment of the Stipendiary Magistrates above described. These stipendiary magistrates have exclusive jurisdiction over all controversies between employers and laborers touching wages and contracts. It is provided by the fourth chapter of the Orders in Council of Sept. 7th, 1838, which are the supreme law in British Guiana, that any laborer, on complaint preferred, and proof made before any stipendiary magistrate, that his employer has not paid his wages, or delivered him the articles agreed upon between them as a part of his wages, or that the articles delivered were not of the quality or quantity agreed upon, or that through the negligence of the master the contract has not been properly performed, or that the laborer has been ill used,--upon complaint preferred for any of these reasons, and proof made, the stipendiary magistrate may, by summary process, order the payment of the wages, the delivering of the stipulated articles, or compensation to be made for any negligence or ill usage on the part of the employer; and if the order be not complied with, the magistrate has power to issue his warrant for the seizure and sale of the goods of the employer, or so much as may be necessary; or if no goods are to be found, the magistrate may commit the employer to prison for any time not exceeding one month, unless compensation be sooner made; and the magistrate may dissolve the contract if he see fit.

To prevent contracts being made with emigrants, disadvantageous to them or unfair in any respect, previous to their arrival in the colony, it is provided in the same Orders in Council, chapter third, that no contract of service made out of the colony shall be of any force or effect in it; that no contract of labor shall remain in force for more than four weeks, unless it be reduced to writing; and that no written contract of service shall be binding, unless signed by the name or mark of the persons contracting in the presence of a stipendiary magistrate; nor unless the magistrate shall certify that it was made voluntarily, and with a full understanding of its meaning and effect; nor can any written contract of service remain in force for more than one year.

It is evident from these statements with what careful safeguards against fraud and oppression the benevolence of British law has surrounded the laborer and the emigrant.

There is an Emigration Agent in British Guiana, who is a stipendiary magistrate, and whose duty it is to furnish emigrants, arriving in the colony, with every information, and to prevent any imposition from being practiced upon them. It will appear, from an examination of the above provisions, that all those colored persons from the United States who may emigrate to Guiana, will go out perfectly free and unshackled. On their arrival in the colony, they will be perfectly their own masters, at full liberty to choose any kind of employment which the colony offers; and should they be dissatisfied, or disappointed, no obstacle will exist to their return.

The revenue of British Guiana is chiefly derived from a tax on the produce raised in the colony, and duties levied on the imposts. Parish taxes are unknown, and the laborer is exempt from every species of taxation, unless his income amount to five hundred dollars. The militia laws were abrogated, and the colonial militia disbanded soon after the emancipation took place, so that the poor man is not compelled to contribute any portion of his time to the public service.

There are Episcopalian, Presbyterian and Catholic church establishments supported at an expense to the colony of upwards of 3,000 per annum, as will appear by reference to the Royal Gazette of May 7th, 1839, published in Georgetown, containing an official estimate of the taxes to be raised for that year. There are beside numerous Methodist and other dissenting religious teachers, supported in part by charitable societies in England, and in part by voluntary contributions in the colony. The laboring population of Georgetown and its vicinity have erected several handsome chapels at their own expense.

There are numerous Sunday, infant and day schools, for the gratuitous diffusion of knowledge and moral education among the people. On most of the principal estates a school-house is erected, and a teacher provided, where the children of the laborers are entitl

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