This magistrate gave us an account of an alarming rebellion which had lately occurred in his district, which we will venture to notice, since it is the only serious disturbance on the part of the negroes, which has taken place in the island, from the beginning of the apprenticeship.  About two weeks before, the apprentices on Thornton estate, amounting to about ninety, had refused to work, and fled in a body to the woods, where they still remained.  Their complaint, according to our informant, was, that their master had turned the cattle upon their provision grounds, and all their provisions were destroyed, so that they could not live.  They, therefore, determined that they would not continue at work, seeing they would be obliged to starve.  Mr. W. stated that he had visited the provision grounds, in company with two disinterested planters, and he could affirm that the apprentices had no just cause of complaint.  It was true their fences had been broken down, and their provisions had been somewhat injured, but the fence could be very easily repaired, and there was an abundance of yams left to furnish food for the whole gang for some time to come—­those that were destroyed being chiefly young roots which would not have come to maturity for several months.  These statements were the substance of a formal report which he had just prepared for the eye of Sir Lionel Smith, and which he was kind enough to read to us.  This was a fine report, truly, to come from a special justice.  To say nothing of the short time in which the fence might be repaired, those were surely very dainty-mouthed cattle that would consume those roots only which were so small that several months would be requisite for their maturity.  The report concluded with a recommendation to his Excellency to take seminary vengeance upon a few of the gang as soon as they could be arrested, since they had set such an example to the surrounding apprentices.  He could not see how order and subordination could be preserved in his district unless such a punishment was inflicted as would be a warning to all evil doers.  He further suggested the propriety of sending the maroons[A] after them, to hunt them out of their hiding places and bring them to justice.

[Footnote A:  The maroons are free negroes, inhabiting the mountains of the interior, who were formerly hired by the authorities, or by planters, to hunt up runaway slaves, and return them to their masters.  Unfortunately our own country is not without its maroons.]

We chanced to obtain a different version of this affair, which, as it was confirmed by different persons in Bath, both white and colored, who had no connection with each other, we cannot help thinking it the true one.