The West indies in 1837

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MARTINIQUE.

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he received there, were thought to be favorable to abo- \ lition. We paid our respects to him about noon to \ .day, and were received with much kindness. The j Baron is past middle-age, stout, and of very benevolent ] aspect ; he is familiar with the colloquial use of the \ English language. We told him, that having been informed of the interest he had expressed in Antigua, we thought he might be pleased to receive some recent information from thence. We then stated as briefly as we could, the result of our inquiries. He listened to \ us attentively and made several observations which shewed, that he was closely watching the progress of affairs in the British colonies. He quoted Sir L I O N E L j SMITH'S recent speech to the Assembly of Jamaica, i from which he concluded, that things must be progrès- i sing unfavorably in that island. The subject was one, he said, in which he felt a deep interest, and it was closely occupying the attention of the Government. It was intended to enlighten the slaves by education, and by increasing the number of priests. On our en- j quiring whether the planters were favorable to education, he said, some of them were not, but the (ïovernment was "positive." The negros themselves were much addicted to religious ceremonies, but shewed no great desire to learn to read and write. He observed that the negros of Antigua were much more enlightened than in their islands. During his visit there, he was delighted to witness their attendance at church, and the attention with which they listened " to the speech of j the Doctor." Antigua, he observed, had been in a \ state of preparation for twenty years. W e remarked j that it would have made more progress in five years , of freedom, than in twenty of slavery, to which he replied with a smile—" I see you would lose no time;"


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