The West indies in 1837

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JAMAICA.

189

ed, that this case was afterwards talien before local | magistrates, who sentenced the woman for a month, to \ the House of Correction. It is therefore a double illus- s tration of the degree of respect paid to the Special Ma- | gistrates, and of the facility with which the law is ' evaded. j 11th.—Early this morning we drove over to Jeri- ! cho, the residence of JOHN CLARKE, one of the Bap- ] tist Missionaries. He was absent from home, but we j were kindly invited by his wife, to stay breakfast. Be- j fore we left, several apprentices called to be examined by the minister as candidates for Baptism. From their j answers to our inquiries, it appeared, that the authority j of the Stipendiary is employed to enforce a compulsory i arrangement for extra labor during crop. Many of the ; negros are compelled to work by spells of eight hours j in the field one day, and sixteen hours in and about | the boiling house the next day, giving up their half j Friday, for which amount of extra labor they receive an j amount equal to two shillings and one penny per week. î Soon after the commencement of the apprenticeship, : four negros on the principal estate in this parish, were i flogged because they refused to assent to this arrange- i ment. Though they now submit to it quietly, the ap- j prentices are not consenting parties ; it is only agreed upon between the overseer and the magistrate. These people complained also, that the Special Magistrate, î Captain REYNOLDS, would never hear what they had to say in their own defence, when brought before him. We next visited Rodney Hall workhouse, in which we found but two or three prisoners, besides life convicts. The penal gang was at work in the neighbourhood, and consisted chiefly of the latter, who were chained two and two. Most of them had been condemned under I


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