And now, sir, having arrived at the long looked for consummation of all the labors and prayers of the friends of the slave for so many years, as I cast my eye around this land of liberty, how many thoughts crowd my mind? I ask myself—is it indeed finished? And are there none to lament the downfall of time-honored, hoary-headed slavery? Where are the mourners? Where are the prognosticators of ruin, desolation, and woe? Where are the riots and disorders, the bloodshed and the burnings? The prophets and their prophecies are alike empty, vain, and unfounded, and are alike buried in oblivion.
And why, in the name of humanity, was not this glorious consummation brought about ages ago?—Is it because the slaves of 1838 are better fitted for freedom than those of fifty or a hundred years since? No one believes it. The only preparation for freedom required in this island, or any where else, in order to put a peaceful end to slavery, is the preparation of heart in the slaveholder to grant deliverance to the captive.
Yours truly,
WM. R. HAYES
P.S. August 9th.—All
is quiet, and the utmost good order every
where prevails.”
To complete the picture we will give two extracts of letters from eminent Jamaica Attornies to their employers in England, with regard to the turning out to work. It is remarked by the English papers that the Attornies generally in writing to their employers adopt the same strain. They are all doing well on their estates, but hear that the rest of the island is in a woful condition.—These are the men who are the greatest, if not the only, losers by emancipation; hence their testimony is doubly valuable.
From the British Emancipator, Nov. 14.
LETTERS FROM ATTORNIES.
Extract of a Letter from an eminent Estate Attorney, in St. Mary’s, Jamaica, dated August 24, 1838.
“There was nothing whatever done in this parish, or throughout the island, for the first two weeks of the month. In this quarter some estates did a little last week, and have been making more progress since, but the far greater number have not yet done any work; the minds of the people are very unsettled, and full of all sorts of foolish notions, which will continue more or