JAMAICA.
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the King, and salaried by the British nation. The tasli of arranging the details of their administration is imposed upon the Colonial Legislature. Of the local Abolition Act, in reference to this subject, it may be observed, that while it does not contain a single ex plicit enactment securing to the apprentice the neces saries of life, and the enjoyment of his own time for his own benefit ; and while, so far as his interests and protection are concerned, it is destitute of an " execu tory principle yet such is the number and severity of its penal enactments, for the offences of apprentices, both circumslantially defined, and of a vague and ge neral character, that it is probably the most highly penal law that ever disfigured the statute book of the colony. Our present concern, however, is rather with the practical administration of the law, than the law itself. We would first observe, that the local magis trates in violation of the law, still exercise a jurisdic tion over the apprentices, both in their individual capacity, and when sitting in petty and quarter ses sions ; and that in particular, when an apprentice is sent to the workhouse, he is taken for the time being, out of the jurisdiction of the Special Magistrates. The masters and overseers still exercise direct coercion, by putting the apprentices in confinement. The local Act grants them this power for the security of the person of an offender, till the arrival of the Special Magistrate', but provides, that the imprisonment shall not exceed twenty-four hours, and that the Special Magistrate shall in all cases be informed of the matter of com plaint. The practice on the part of the owners and overseers, of punishing negros by confinement at their own caprice, without any previous or subsequent refer ence to the Special Magistrate, is general in every part I I 3