Chapter XIV: Part 14

The Governor remarking that he could not dispose of such a force,
I replied that I did not think it would be so difficult to get
such a number of mounted militia collected from the nearest
estates.

In the meantime, the General's horses were saddled and we now
both rode, accompanied by a mounted servant, down to the
Government house in Bassin. The night was a starry one and the
weather exceedingly fine. We stopped now and then on the tops of
the different hills which we rode over to listen if we could not
hear the blowing of shells or any shouting. But all was hushed,
and we heard only the rustling of the cocoa-nut palm leaves moved
by the trade wind. As soon as we arrived in town, messages were
sent to Major v Falbe, who was Chief of the Fort in Bassin, Major
v Geillerup, who lived in the barracks, Oberst de Nully, Major
Keutsch and others. We now spoke of what was to be done. I still
maintained that action should be taken immediately and that if
the cavalry force which I had asked for could not be got, which I
could by no means admit, other military must immediately be sent
to West End. I furthermore said to the General that I would go on
board to let the men that could be dispensed with get ready to
land, and, at the same time, get the brig ready for sea so as to
be able to leave for West End by daybreak, if ordered. The
General requested me to remain a little longer in the Government
House so as to avoid making any disturbance in town where all was
still and quiet. The conference ended, I believe, in Major
Keutsch's coachman being sent towards West End for more
information as to how it stood with the island. It was now nearly
five o'clock in the morning. The time passed and nothing was
done. I believed I knew the negro character, and that the riot
could have been smothered at the beginning by decisive action.
Seeing that my presence at Government House was of no further
use, I told the General that I would now go on board, so that I
could get the brig ready for sea, and to send armed men on shore,
if required. This I did, and awaited the General's order.

To my surprise I received none whatsoever, and about eight
o'clock a.m. I again went on shore. There I was informed that
Oberst de Nully and Lieutenant v Meincke had been sent to West
End. I also found some soldiers drawn up and ready to set out,
though I afterwards learned, with orders not to go further than
King's Hill (an estate in the middle of the island.)
Interrogating the General as to whether the brig should not sail
to West End, I received the answer that she might be possibly
required in Bassin, and I would receive further orders.

In Bassin, everything was quiet, and I began to believe that the
whole affair did not mean much. Indeed, scarcely any one seemed
to have any knowledge of it. I then informed the General that
everything was ready as well for sea, as to send men ashore, and
should the General have anything to order, I could be found in
the Athenaeum; a reading room nearly opposite the Government
House. About one o'clock p.m., Lieutenant v Meincke arrived from
West End and reported the state of affairs. He brought at the
same time information that the negroes wanted to speak to the
Governor-General himself. General v Scholten had the horses
immediately put to, taking Kammerjunker Rothe with him into the
carriage to drive to Frederiksted. This man, from what I had
heard, had been always an advocate for the emancipation of the
negroes. Before the General drove off, I requested a decided
order from him as to whether I should remain lying in Bassin or
depart for West End. After some reflection, he gave me the order.
With this I left for that place.

On my arrival, and immediately after having anchored, the
"Ornen's" boats were armed, and I went ashore. The King's Wharf
was full of negroes, and everything was in disorder. Accompanied
by some of my armed men, I went to the Fort. By the entrance to
same, I met General v Scholten in his carriage; he was just ready
to drive back to Bassin. I reported my arrival, and asked for
orders. The General's answer was: "I have given Emancipation.
Remain here with the 'Ornen'."

This was the last order I received from him, and I did not see
him again before my arrival in Denmark in the following year.

In the Fort I spoke with Captain v Castonier, and shortly after,
I sent, according to agreement with him, an officer with about
fifty men as a reinforcement as well as for patroling. This
detachment remained ashore some time.

"By this time nearly all the estate negroes had left the town.
Still everything was in the greatest confusion. Town-Bailiff
Andresen's house and Police-Assistant Didrichsen's were entirely
wrecked by the negroes. A Mr. Moore's house and store had
suffered to the extent of 20,000 dollars. Several lesser excesses
had been committed, and armed negroes were seen off and on riding
through the streets at a gallop. Most of the whites had fled to
vessels lying in the harbour, of which the 'Johann Marie' had
over two hundred fugitives on board. On the night of our arrival,
fires illumined different parts of the island."[399]

As every thing was yet in the greatest confusion, and deeming it
of the utmost importance to bring about order,
Vice-Stadthauptmand F. v Scholten, the commander of the Fort,
Captain Castonier, Police-master Ogaard and myself, assembled,
and after due deliberation, issued the following order:--

"It is hereby made known, for the information of everyone
concerned, that in case the country people should come to
town in a riotous way and threaten to attack the Fort, or
otherwise to disturb the inhabitants, then, and in such
case, where more than ten people are collected together, the
Fort is ordered to fire upon them, as also his Majesty's
brig-of-war 'Ornen.' All peaceable inhabitants are therefore
desired not to interfere with the country people, but keep
out of their way.

"Frederiksted, 4th July, 1848.
"F. SCHOLTEN, C. IRMINGER, CASTONIER, OGAARD."

At the same time, the Proclamation of Emancipation that had been
sent to West End from Bassin was read out. It is as follows:--

1. All unfree in the Danish West India Islands are from
today free.

2. The estate negroes retain for three months from date the
use of the houses and provision grounds of which they have
hitherto been possessed.

3. Labour is in future to be paid for by agreement, but
allowance of food to cease.

4. The maintenance of the old and infirm, who are not able
to work, is, until further determined, to be furnished by
the late owners.

The General Government of the Danish West India Islands, St.
Croix, the 3rd July, 1848.

P. V SCHOLTEN.
(L. S.)

Still the greatest disorder reigned in the country, and there was
much plundering and destruction on the estates. In the meantime
many negroes showed that they themselves wished for peace and
order. So much so, that several of the originators of the
disturbances were caught and brought into the Fort by the
friendly-inclined negroes.

On the 5th July, the condition of the country being about the
same, and as several buildings, together with a large garden
planted with cocoa-nut trees near to the Fort, obscured the view
and prevented firing from the Fort in that direction, it was
found expedient to demolish them. This was soon effected by the
brig's indefatigable crew, so that we could now cover the North
side road from the Fort.

There were now forty or fifty men from the brig almost
continually in the Fort as a reinforcement. As it was then found
necessary to undertake military excursions inland to overawe the
negroes, and at the same time to secure the authors of the riot,
I took over on the 6th before daybreak the command of the Fort
and garrisoned it with the crew from the brig. At four a.m. all
the Royal infantry and artillery, together with the planters,
overseers, and managers of estates, marched off under the command
of Captain v Castonier. The latter force alone amounted to forty
horsemen, and from sixty to seventy foot.

At noon Art. Lieutenant Frank arrived from Bassin with a
detachment of militia cavalry. Immediately after, a report was
circulated that the Governor-General was dying, and on that
account a Provisional Government had been organized in Bassin. I
asked Lieutenant Frank if he knew anything about it, to which he
answered that shortly before he had left Bassin, he had seen the
General on the wharf.

Some time after Kammerjunker Rothe arrived in a boat from Bassin
and read aloud the following:--

"On account of the illness of the Governor-General, and with
his concurrence, have we, the undersigned, Govt. Councillor
Kunzen, Govt. Councillor Petersen, Kammerjunker
Landsoverrets Assessor Rothe, Justitsraad Lands-overrets
Assessor Foester, Justitsraad Police-master Frederiksen,
Kammar Assessor Arnesen, and Lawyer Bahneberg, assembled as
a Governing Commission, with full power to take all steps
necessary in the present disturbed condition to bring about
peace and order in the country.

"The command of the military will be taken over by Oberst P.
de Nully and Major A. v Falbe, who will confer with the
above-named commission if necessary.

St. Croix Christensted,
6th July, 1848.

"KUNZEN, C. B. PETERSEN, FOESTER, ROTHE, FREDERIKSEN, II.
L. ARNESEN, BAHNEBERG.

"CARL REIMERS."

As the two Royal Government Councillors, Kunzen and Petersen,
according to my ideas, could just as well have been in charge of
the Government with full powers, notwithstanding that the
Governor-General was sick, and there were even contradictory
reports as to the correctness of that. I, for my part, protested
against acknowledging this new Government until I was certain as
to how it had originated. At half past four o'clock p.m. the men
that had marched out in the morning returned with several of the
leaders of the rising, upon which I again handed over the Fort to
its commander.

Although the military which had returned had not met with any
opposition on their march, and the negroes on many estates had
shown that they wished for peace and order, there were yet many
of them who sought to excite the better part of the population.
For this reason, and in view of the necessity for action,
Vice-Stadthauptmand F. v Scholten, Major Gyllich, Capt, v
Castonier, Policemaster Ogaard, Lawyer Sarauw, and I were
unanimous in publishing the following:--

"As the Authorities here have received no answer from His
Excellency the Governor-General to the Reports forwarded to
him, nor any of the instructions requested, and having this
day learned that on account of illness he is not in a
condition to occupy himself with instructions, and as it is
moreover necessary during the present negro rebellion in
this jurisdiction to act immediately, we, the undersigned,
as the highest authority in the place, have assembled to act
until further.

"Frederiksted, 6th July, 1848.

"F. SCHOLTEN, C. IRMINGER, CASTONIER, GYLLICH, OGAARD,
SARAUW."

We then made known:--

"It is with the utmost satisfaction that the inhabitants of
this jurisdiction have learned that order and obedience to
the laws has commenced to be re-established, and as from
most evidence the hope can be entertained that regularity
and order will go hand and hand, it is hereby promulgated
that any person or persons opposing the authorities, or in
any other manner combining for illegal or violent purposes,
will be dealt with as rioters, and instantly shot. All
peaceable and well-disposed inhabitants are called upon to
assist the authorities in quelling disorder and apprehending
the rioters.

"Frederiksted, 6th July, 1848.

"F. SCHOLTEN, C. IRMINGER, CASTONIER, GYLLICH, OGAARD,
SARAUW."

As many of the refugees on board the vessels were still in dread
of the rioting negroes, and as there was some reason to suppose
that in their fear they would remove from the island, in order to
prevent them doing so, I forbade all ferrying with boats, from
nine o'clock in the evening till four o'clock in the morning,
which times were made known by a cannon shot from the brig.

On the 7th the military again marched out in different
directions. This had a good effect upon the negroes, and the
roads became once more safe for traffic. In the Fort there were
about one hundred rioters, of which the greater part had been
brought in by the friendly negroes from the estates. A portion of
the prisoners were taken on board the brig, and some distributed
among the merchant vessels. In the meantime an order was issued
to all parties concerned that they should within three days
deliver up all stolen goods and arms, as every one, who after
that time was found in possession of such, would be punished to
the utmost extent of the law.

On the 8th several carriages passed between Bassin and West End.
Everything was quiet and safe on the road. Refugees from the
vessels returned on shore to take up their residence to town.
Sugar was brought in from several estates for shipment, and as
everything now promised to go on smoothly, we who had assembled
as the highest authority in the place, handed over the charge of
affairs to the commander of the Fort and the policemaster.

At noon 220 men, auxiliary troops, arrived in Frederiksted; 360
were already in Christiansted. The Governor-General had asked for
the assistance from Porto Rico. As an instance of General
Prim's[400] customary activity it should be mentioned that this
fine body of men 580 all told, with cannon, and 30,000 cartridges
were got ready and put to sea five hours after he had received
the letter of the Governor-General. This prompt action and the
fact that the insurrection had been repressed in the eastern and
western parts of the island, contributed much to allay the fears
of the inhabitants, and to inspire confidence. On the 9th
Chamberlain Oxholm came to West End and took over the
Governor-General's affairs. In the meantime the country was
quiet, and the negroes had returned to work on a few of the
estates. By this time several of the rioters had been tried by
court-martial and shot.

* * * * *

From the reports it will be seen that Kammerjunker Rothe was sent
as a sort of commissioner to Frederiksted, in order to proclaim
the new Government established in Bassin. As I had already agreed
with Captain v Castonier, to take over the command of the Fort
with my men, while he undertook a march into the country with the
military, I protested against subjecting myself to this
Government, because--

1. I assumed after the account that Lieutenant Frank had given
me, that General v Scholten was not so sick but that he could
have signed an order to me.

2. There were in the new Government several names almost unknown
to me.

3. Kammerjunker Rothe did not produce anything in writing, either
from General v Scholten, the existing Government, or the other
two Government Councillors, Kunzen and Petersen, concerning this
newly appointed Government Commission. I, therefore, considered
it my duty not to submit myself blindly to the command of this
Commission, especially as the report said that the
Governor-General had been deposed. When Captain Castonier
returned in the afternoon, I informed him of my protest. He fully
concurred in my views. The other authorities in Frederiksted
followed our example, and although Vice-Stadthauptmand,
Chamberlain F. v Scholten, hesitated, he still signed the
measures we took to restore order and quiet.

On the 12th July I despatched my report from West End to St.
Thomas to leave by the Packet for Europe. It bears that day's
date. Written during the actual occurrence of the riots, it
contains my views respecting the events as they then appeared to
me. I have seen no reason to change them. I never imagined that
General v Scholten would leave the island, which, as is known,
happened immediately after; consequently, my report arrived home
with the same Packet on which he took passage.

On the 24th July I left West End to be on hand to assist in St.
Thomas. The 6th September I received orders to come with the
"Ornen" to Bassin as quickly as possible, as riots had occurred,
and it was not desirable, except absolutely necessary, to use the
Spaniards. The Fort in Bassin was now reinforced by men from the
"Ornen," because, as is known, the Government had given way to
the Brand corps and discharged the energetic Police master
Frederiksen.--TAYLOR, _Leaflets from the Danish West Indies_, pp.
133-140.

VII

ST. THOMAS AS SEEN BY AN OBSERVER IN 1858

I have said in a previous chapter that the people one meets there
may be described as an Hispano-Dano-Niggery-Yankee-doodle
population. In this I referred not only to the settlers, but to
those also who are constantly passing through it. In the shops
and stores, and at the hotels, one meets the same mixture. The
Spanish element is of course strong, for Venezuela, New Granada,
Central America, and Mexico are all Spanish, and hereabouts are
called Spaniards. To the Danes the island belongs. The soldiers,
officials, and custom-house people are Danes. They do not,
however, mix much with their customers. They affect, I believe,
to say that the island is overrun and destroyed by these strange
comers, and that they would as lief be without such visitors. If
they are altogether indifferent to money making, such may be the
case. The labouring people are all black--if these blacks can be
called a labouring people. They do coal the vessels at about a
dollar a day each--that is when they are so circumstanced as to
require a dollar. As to the American element, that is by no means
the slightest or most retiring. Dollars are going there, and
therefore it is of course natural that Americans should be going
also. I saw the other day a map, "The United States as they now
are, and in prospective;" and it included all these
places--Mexico, Central America, Cuba, St. Domingo, and even poor
Jamaica. It may be that the man who made the map understood the
destiny of his country; at any rate he understood the tastes of
his countrymen.--ANTHONY TROLLOPE, _The West Indies and the
Spanish Main_ pp. 224-225.

VIII

THE LABOR ACT

_Provisional Act to Regulate the Relations between the
Proprietors of Landed Estates and the Rural Population of Free
Laborers_

I, Peter Hansen, Knight Commander of the Order Dannebrog, the
King's Commissioner for, and officiating Governor-General of the
Danish West India Islands, Make known: That, whereas the
ordinance dated 29th July, 1848, by which yearly contracts for
labor on landed estates were introduced, has not been duly acted
upon: whereas the interest of the proprietors of estates, as well
as of the laborers, requires that their mutual obligations should
be defined: and whereas on inquiry into the practice of the
Island, and into the printed contracts and agreements hitherto
made, it appears expedient to establish uniform rules throughout
the Island, for the guidance of all parties concerned, it is
enacted and ordained:

1st. All engagements of laborers now domiciled on landed estates
and receiving wages in money, or in kind, for cultivating and
working such estates, are to be continued as directed by the
ordinance of 29th July, 1848, until the first day of October of
the present year: and all similar engagements shall, in future,
be made, or shall be considered as having been made, for a term
of twelve months, viz: from the first of October till the first
of October, year after year. Engagements made by heads of
families are to include their children between five and fifteen
years of age, and other relatives depending on them and staying
with them.

2nd. No laborer engaged as aforesaid, in the cultivation of soil,
shall be discharged or dismissed from, or shall be permitted to
dissolve, his or her engagement before the expiration of the
same on the first of October of the present, or of any following
year, except in the instances hereafter enumerated.

A. By mutual agreement of master and laborer, before a
magistrate.

B. By order of a magistrate on just and equitable cause being
shown by the parties interested.

Legal marriage, and the natural tie between mothers and their
children, shall be deemed by the magistrate just and legal cause
of removal from one estate to another. The husband shall have a
right to be removed to his wife, the wife to her husband, and
children under fifteen years of age to their mother, provided no
objection to employing such individuals shall be made by the
owner of the estate to which the removal is to take place.

3rd. No engagement of a laborer shall be lawful in future, unless
made in the presence of witnesses, and entered in the day-book of
the estate.

4th. Notice to quit service shall be given by the employer, as
well as by the laborer, at no other period but once a year, in
the month of August, not before the first, nor after the last day
of the said month; an entry thereof shall be made in the
day-book, and an acknowledgement in writing shall be given to the
laborer.

The laborer shall have given, or received, legal notice of
removal from the estate where he serves, before any one can
engage his services; otherwise the new contract to be void, and
the party engaging in tampering with a laborer employed by
others, will be dealt with according to law.

In case any owner or manager of an estate should dismiss a
laborer during the year without sufficient cause, or should
refuse to receive him at the time stipulated, or refuse to grant
him a passport when due notice of removal has been given, the
owner or manager is to pay full damages to the laborer, and to be
sentenced to a fine not exceeding $20.

5th. Laborers employed or rated as first, second, or third class
laborers, shall perform all the work in the field, or about the
works, or otherwise concerning the estate, which it hitherto has
been customary for such laborers to perform, according to the
season. They shall attend faithfully to their work, and willingly
obey the directions given by the employer, or the person
appointed by him. No laborer shall presume to dictate what work
he or she is to do, or refuse the work he may be ordered to
perform, unless expressly engaged for some particular work only.
If a laborer thinks himself aggrieved, he shall not therefore
leave the work, but in due time apply for redress to the owner of
the estate, or to the magistrate. It is the duty of all laborers
on all occasions, and at all times, to protect the property of
his employer, to prevent mischief to the estate, to apprehend
evil-doers, and not to give countenance to, or conceal, unlawful
practices.

6th. The working days to be as usual only five days in the week,
and the same days as hitherto. The ordinary work of estates is to
commence at sunrise, and to be finished at sunset, every day,
leaving one hour for breakfast, and two hours at noon from twelve
to two o'clock.

Planters who prefer to begin the work at seven o'clock in the
morning, making no separate breakfast time, are at liberty to
adopt this plan, either during the year, or when out of crop.

The laborers shall be present in due time at the place where they
are to work. The list to be called and answered regularly.
Whoever does not answer the list when called, is too late.

7th. No throwing of grass, or of wood, shall be exacted during
extra hours, all former agreements to the contrary
notwithstanding; but during crop the laborers are expected to
bring home a bundle of long tops from the field where they are at
work.

Cartmen and crook-people, when breaking off, shall attend
properly to their stock as hitherto usual.

8th. During crop, the mill gang, crook gang, boilermen, firemen,
still men, and any other person employed about the mill and the
boiling house, shall continue their work during breakfast and
noon hours, as hitherto usual; and the boilermen, firemen, megass
carriers, etc., also, during evening hours after sunset, when
required, but all workmen employed as aforesaid, shall be paid an
extra remuneration for the work done by them in extra hours.

The boiling house is to be cleared, the mill to be washed down,
and the megass to be swept up, before the laborers leave the work
as hitherto usual.

The mill is not to turn after six o'clock in the evening, and the
boiling not to be continued after ten o'clock, except by special
permission of the Governor-General, who then will determine, if
any, what extra remuneration shall be paid to the laborers.

9th. The laborers are to receive, until otherwise ordered, the
following remuneration:

A. The use of a house, or dwelling-rooms for themselves and
their children, to be built and repaired by the estate, but to be
kept in proper order by the laborers.

B. The use of a piece of provision ground, thirty feet square, as
usual, for every first and second class laborer, or if it be
standing ground, up to fifty feet in square. Third class laborers
are not entitled to, but may be allowed, some provision ground.

C. Weekly wages at the rate of fifteen cents to every first class
laborer, of ten cents to every second class laborer, and of five
cents to every third class laborer, for every working day. When
the usual allowance of meal and herrings has been agreed on in
part of wages, full weekly allowance shall be taken for five
cents a day, or twenty-five cents a week.

Nurses losing two hours every working day, shall be paid at the
rate of four full working days in the week. The wages of minors
to be paid as usual to their parents, or to the person in charge
of them.

Laborers not calling at pay time personally, or by another
authorized, to wait till next pay day, unless they were prevented
by working for the estate.

No attachment of wages for private debts to be allowed, nor more
than two thirds to be deducted for debts to the estate, unless
otherwise ordered by the magistrate.

Extra provisions occasionally given during the ordinary working
hours are not to be claimed as a right, nor to be bargained for.

10th. Work in extra hours during crop, is to be paid as follows:
To the mill gang, and to the crook gang, for working through the
breakfast hour, one stiver, and for working through noon, two
stivers per day. Extra provision is not to be given, except at
the option of the laborers in place of the money, or in part of
it.

The boilermen, firemen, the megass carriers, are to receive for
all days when the boiling is carried on until late hours, a
maximum pay of twenty (20) cents per day. No bargaining for extra
pay by the hour, is permitted.

Laborers working such extra hours only by turns, are not to have
additional payment.

11th. Tradesmen on estates are considered as engaged to perform
the same work as hitherto usual, assisting in the field, carting,
potting sugar, &c. They shall be rated as first, second, and
third class laborers, according to their proficiency; where no
definite terms have been agreed on previously, the wages of first
class tradesmen, having full work in their trade, are to be
twenty (20) cents per day. Any existing contract with tradesmen
is to continue until October next.

No tradesman is allowed to keep apprentices without the consent
of the owner of the estate, such apprentices to be bound for no
less a period than three years, and not to be removed without the
permission of the magistrate.

12th. No laborer is obliged to work for others on Saturday; but
if they choose to work for hire, it is proper that they should
give their own estate the preference. For a full day's work on
Saturday, there shall not be asked for nor given more than twenty
(20) cents to a first class laborer, thirteen (13) cents to a
second class laborer, seven (7) cents to a third class laborer.

Work on Saturday may, however, be ordered by the magistrate as a
punishment to the laborer, for having absented himself from work
during the week for one whole day or more, and for having been
idle during the week, and then the laborer shall not receive more
than his usual pay for a common day's work.

13th. All the male laborers, tradesmen included, above eighteen
years of age, working on an estate, are bound to take the usual
night watch by turns, but only once in ten days, notice to be
given before noon to break off from work in the afternoon with
the nurses, and to come to work next day at eight o'clock. The
watch to be delivered in the usual manner by nightfall and by
sunrise.

The above rule shall not be compulsory, except where voluntary
watchmen cannot be obtained at a hire the planters may be willing
to give, to save the time lost by employing their ordinary
laborers as watchmen.

Likewise the male laborers are bound once a month, on Sundays and
holydays, to take the day watch about the yard, and to act as
pasturemen, on receiving their usual pay for a week day's work;
this rule applies also to the crook-boys.

All orders about the watches to be duly entered in the day book
of the estate.

Should a laborer, having been duly warned to take the watch, not
attend, another laborer is to be hired in the place of the
absentee, and at his expense, not, however, to exceed fifteen
cents. The person who wilfully leaves the watch, or neglects it,
is to be reported to the magistrate and punished as the case
merits.

14th. Laborers wilfully abstaining from work on a working day,
are to forfeit their wages for the day, and will have to pay over
and above the forfeit, a fine which can be lawfully deducted in
their wages, of seven (7) cents for a first class laborer, five
(5) cents for a second class laborer, and two (2) cents for a
third class laborer. In crop or grinding days, when employed
about the works, in cutting canes, or in crook, an additional
punishment will be awarded for wilful absence and neglect by the
magistrate, on complaint being made. Laborers abstaining from
work for half a day, or breaking off from work before being
dismissed, to forfeit their wages for one day.

Laborers not coming to work in due time to forfeit half a day's
wages.

Parents keeping their children from work, shall be fined instead
of the children.

No charge of house rent is to be made in future, on account of
absence from work, or for the Saturday.

15th. Laborers wilfully abstaining from work for two or more days
during the week, or habitually absenting themselves, or working
badly and lazily shall be punished as the case merits, on
complaint to the magistrate.

16th. Laborers assaulting any person in authority on the estate,
or planning and conspiring to retard, or to stop the work of the
estate, or uniting to abstain from work, or to break their
engagements, shall be punished according to law, on investigation
before a magistrate.

17th. Until measures can be adopted for securing medical
attendance to the laborers, and for regulating the treatment of
the sick and the infirm, it is ordered:

That infirm persons unfit for any work, shall, as hitherto, be
maintained on the estates where they are domiciled, and to be
attended to by their next relations.

That parents or children of such infirm persons shall not remove
from the estate, leaving them behind, without making provision
for them to the satisfaction of the owner, or of the magistrate.

That laborers unable to attend to work on account of illness, or
on account of having sick children, shall make a report to the
manager, or any other person in authority on the estate, who, if
the case appears dangerous, and the sick person destitute, shall
cause medical assistance to be given.

That all sick laborers willing to remain in the hospital during
their illness, shall there be attended to, at the cost of the
estate.

18th. If a laborer reported sick, shall be at any time found
absent from the estate without leave, or is trespassing about the
estate, or found occupied with work requiring health, he shall be
considered skulking and wilfully absent from work.

When a laborer pretends illness, and is not apparently sick, it
shall be his duty to prove his illness by medical certificate.

19th. Pregnant women shall be at liberty to work with the small
gang as customary, and when confined, not to be called on to work
for seven weeks after their confinement.

Young children shall be fed and attended to during the hours of
work at some proper place, at the cost of the estate.

Nobody is allowed to stay from work on pretence of attending a
sick person, except the wife and the mother in dangerous cases of
illness.

20th. It is the duty of the managers to report to the police any
contagious or suspicious cases of illness and death; especially
when gross neglect is believed to have taken place, as when
children have been neglected by their mothers, in order that the
guilty person may be punished according to law.

21st. The driver or foreman on the estate, is to receive in wages
four and a half dollars monthly, if no other terms have been
agreed upon. The driver may be dismissed at any time during the
year with the consent of the magistrate. It is the duty of the
driver to see the work duly performed, to maintain order and
peace on the estate during the work, and at other times, and to
prevent and report all offences committed. Should any laborer
insult, or use insulting language towards him during, or on
account of the performance of his duties, such person is to be
punished according to law.

22nd. No laborer is allowed, without the especial permission of
the owner or manager, to appropriate wood, grass, vegetables,
fruits, and the like, belonging to the estate, nor to appropriate
such produce from other estates, nor to cut canes, or to burn
charcoal. Persons making themselves guilty of such offences,
shall be punished according to law, with fines or imprisonment
with hard labor; and the possession of such articles not
satisfactorily accounted for, shall be sufficient evidence of
unlawful acquisition.

23d. All agreements contrary to the above rules, are to be null
and void, and owners and managers of estates convicted of any
practice tending wilfully to counteract or avoid these rules by
direct or indirect means, shall be subject to a fine not
exceeding $200.

(Signed,) P. HANSEN.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ST. CROIX, 26th January, 1849.

--KNOX, _An Historical Account of St. Thomas, West Indies_,
pp. 248-255.

FOOTNOTES:

[397] Father O'Ryan.

[398] He had obtained this brilliant military title on account of his fantastic attire.

[399] Extract from Captain Irminger's Report to the Minister of Marine. Despatched 12th July, 1848.

[400] Then Captain-General of Porto Rico.

REVIEWS OF BOOKS

_A History of the United States_, Vol. IV. By EDWARD CHANNING, Professor in Harvard University. New York, MacMillan Company, 1917. Pp. 575. Price $2.75.

This is the fourth volume of what promises to be the most interesting and possibly the most valuable single work hitherto produced in this field. It begins with the discovery of the New World and when completed will come down to 1910. The volume herein referred to covers the period of "Federalists and Republicans from 1789 to 1815." The work, therefore, goes over ground which has been extensively treated by such writers as Richard Hildreth, James Schouler, Herman von Holst, and James B. McMaster. Professor Channing, however, has given this period an original treatment and incorporated into his narrative so much material of human interest that his history makes a more readable and at the same time a more informing work than any of the general histories of the United States.

Professor Channing does not fall a victim to the mistakes of his predecessors. Hildreth is prejudiced, Schouler is dry and ex parte, von Holst is lost in the debates over slavery, and McMaster, at times, sinks beneath the load of his undigested material. Realizing that the problems of peace are greater than those of war and that the mere proceedings of legislative bodies cannot altogether be depended upon to reflect the political development of a country, Professor Channing is making his history economic as well as political. It is just as important to him to know the prices of commodities in 1800 as to know the terms of Jay's treaty. In other words, Professor Channing has a new point of view. He aims not to set forth an interesting narrative but to marshall his facts so as to make interesting his well-balanced account of the various forces which have operated to make this country what it is to-day. The smooth style, common sense, and thoroughness with which he is now doing this task will doubtless make this the standard history of the United States.

In reading this valuable work, however, one cannot but express regret that Professor Channing did not see fit to spell the word "Negro" with a capital letter and to say more about the people of color. In the volumes to follow the treatment of this element of our population will probably be more extensive in keeping with the increasing importance of the Negro as a factor in history of the later period. Professor Channing will hardly be so unfortunate as most writers of American history, who in their voluminous works give space for honorable mention of every race but the black, considering it sufficient to mention it, merely as the cause of the great agitation which finally rent the nation and the present cause of the race problem in the United States. The bearing of worthy achievements of the Negroes on the development of this country should be mentioned along with the deeds of others who have helped to make the nation.

* * * * *

_The Early History of Cuba, 1492 to 1586_. By I. A. WRIGHT. The MacMillan Company, New York, 1916. Pp. 390.

This book begins with the discovery of Cuba by Columbus and ends with the raid of Sir Francis Drake in the West Indies in 1586, by which it was demonstrated that Great Britain ruled the sea and that the retention of the Spanish possessions in the New World required that they be provided with means of local defence rather than be left in the position of dependence on protection from Spain. With this change is connected the subsequent economic development of Cuba and the success of the Spanish colonial policy.

In writing this book the author had an advantage over most historians in this field. It was compiled from documents now available at Seville, Spain. Miss Wright, however, did not use the documents found in other archives. What documents she had access to, however, are considered sufficient as they contain "letters and reports of the island's governors, of royal officials and lesser clergy, of municipal and ecclesiastical councils, of distinguished and humble citizens." This large collection, too, contains some of the documents copied by Munoz in his collection preserved at Madrid and some printed in the unsatisfactory series of _Documentos Ineditos_. The author, therefore, gives this book to the public as the only exhaustive treatment of Cuban history of this period, which has hitherto been published, despite the estimate we have placed on such works as those of De las Casas, Oviedo, Gomara, Solis, Bernal Diaz del Costillo, and Herrera.

The introduction of slavery and the treatment of the bondmen, although not objective points in this treatise, are given considerable space. The slave trade was authorized in Cuba in 1513 and we hear of Bishop Ubite in the possession of as many as 200 slaves in 1523 and later of Bishop Maestro Miguel Ramirez with a license from the crown to take half a dozen slaves and two white slave women. The writer shows how the failure of the native captives to meet the demand for labor eventually led to declaration making them the free vassals of the crown and authorizing the enslavement of Negroes in sufficiently large numbers to make up the deficiency. It was necessary to issue another order rescinding the license of the slave-traders because of the fear of servile insurrection, should the slave population too far exceed that of the whites. This restricted importation of Negroes, however, did not prevent their uprising in 1533, which, however, was easily quelled, the four Negroes defending themselves to death.

The author explains too how slavery in Cuba or in the Spanish possession differed from that of other nations in that although the Spaniard regarded the black as socially and politically inferior, he did not look down upon him as a "soul-less son of Cain condemned to servitude by divine wrath" but recognized the black's equality with him before the altar of the church. When he became free and even before he became free the slave had rights before the law. "This attitude of mind of the Spaniard--so very different indeed from that of the slave-holding North American,--partly explains the facility with which he mingled his 'pure, clean' white blood with black, so begetting a mulatto population to be reckoned with later." Free blacks, therefore, soon appeared. By 1568 forty in Havana had bought their freedom. Others, though still slaves, lived independently, the men doing such as working at trades and the women running eating houses, but all reporting their earnings to their masters at intervals.

C. B. WALTER.

* * * * *

_Sierra Leone: Its Peoples, Products and Secret Societies_. By H. OSMAN NEWLAND, F. R. Hist. S., F.I.D. John Bale, Sons and Danielsson, London, 1916. Pp. 247.

This work consists of the observations on a journey by canoe, rail and hammock through Sierra Leone. To this is appended fifty-three pages of matter on "Practical Planting Notes for Sierra Leone and West Africa," by H. Hamel Smith. Subject to sufficient demand, however, it is proposed to issue this book, annually or biennially, with amendments and additions to date, as a Sierra Leone Year Book and with a Who's Who section. Accordingly, it treats of the geographic and economic conditions of that land and the rule of 1,500,000 Africans, largely by less than 900 Europeans. Taking up the elements of population the author devotes much space to the Creole and Aborigine elements, giving the characteristics of these classes. He then considers the river system, the railroads, life in the interior, the rubber industry, the native chiefs, the amusements of the people, native law, peculiar customs of the people, their secret societies, the important products and the management of estates.

The author undertakes to answer the questions as to whether this is a country for a black or white man to live in, which of the two should rule, whether the people are becoming Europeanized in their habits and religion and whether it is a place for commerce and capital. Answering the last question first the author asserts that there are in Sierra Leone many possibilities for smaller capitalists and companies. As for the climate, Sierra Leone is much maligned, especially so since science has reclaimed its swamps and decreased the death rate. The writer too is satisfied with the progress with which the natives are taking over European civilization, although he is not anxious to see the African adopt this culture _in toto_ because of the difference in climate. Unlike some other travelers, he found the natives industrious, honest, and truthful. Moreover, he does not share the prejudices foreigners have against the Creoles and blacks. He believes that the white man should rule not so long as he is white but so long as he can prove his superiority. "The black man," says he, "will only respect the rule of the white man as long as the latter can prove his superiority, and consequently, reasonableness." The natives have such a keen sense of justice that they are not blinded by hypocrisy. The writer believes that neither the white man nor his religion must rule because they are white and not black. The administrators, too, must not rule for themselves but as representatives only. "It is Britain that must rule--Britain which has one law for all, and administers it not for white or black, but for all who own her sway whatever their colour, race, or religion." While the portraiture of the sense of justice of Great Britain does not square with her colonial policy, the caution to those administering the affairs of Sierra Leone is well put.

After all that he says, however, the writer does not seem to be so sanguine as to future of West Africa. "Probably West Africa," says he, "will always remain a land of romance, mystery and imagination," Science may reclaim the swamp. The iron railroad may open up tracks for the engineer and planter to exploit its vast resources. But Nature, unchecked by man, has been allowed too long to run riot there among its impenetrable forests. Never, perhaps, will it be entirely subdued. As with the primeval forest, so with the people. Mohammedanism, Christianity, modern education, have all tried their civilizing influences upon the West African, and nowhere, perhaps, with more success than in Sierra Leone. But the old Adam dies slowly. Civilization is too tame, too quiet for those who love noise and mystery. And this feeling is infectious.

J. O. BURKE.

* * * * *

_Trade Politics and Christianity in Africa and the East_. By A. J. MACDONALD, M.A. With an introduction by SIR HARRY JOHNSTON. Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1916. Pp. 296.

This is a dissertation awarded the Maitland Prize at Cambridge in 1915 for an essay on the thesis, _Problems raised by the contact of the West with Africa and the East and the part that Christianity can play in their solution_. The work shows scientific treatment. The facts used were obtained largely from the Government Blue Books, the Minutes of Evidence attached to Reports of the Committee of Inquiry into the Liquor Trade in Southern Nigeria together with the reports of the United Races Committee, the Journal of the Anglo-Indian Temperance Association, the British Quarterlies, the publications of the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, and the reports of the Proceedings of the First Universal Race Congress.

The writer traces the development of contact with the natives by means of trade which, supplying them with what they want rather than with what they need, often demoralizes them. Then along with the problem of trade comes that of labor, giving rise to labor contracts or forced labor, and this with another problem of preventing the native population from too far exceeding that of the whites. Then comes the consideration of the liquor question, the opium trade, education and self-government, and inter-racial marriage, with the merits and demerits of the methods of those who have attacked these problems. Caution is given in the assertion that Christianity must be the life-principle. "Imperialism," says the author, "is a matter of religion." The extension of the empire, therefore, is an extension of religion. The success of an imperial policy then depends upon the degree of attention paid religion, which lies deeper than statesmanship, deeper than civilization, which is, indeed, the inspiration of both. Administrators, therefore, must not neglect Christianity, as they are only imperialists so long as they remember that they are in spite of themselves religious men. "Translated into practical terms," says he, "the theory means that if the black and white races are unequal in intelligence and social capacity they are equal on the basis of common Christianity. The old doctrine of the 'solidarity of humanity' needs to be revived and to be applied over a wider area. The Empire can only be extended securely by the extension of its religion, but that means that settler, trader and administrator must realize in the black man a capacity to receive Christianity." The Church, too, must cease to regard the propagation of the gospel as its own task and missionaries must no longer retard the extension of the empire by carrying on their work as members of an independent organization.

Taking up inter-racial marriage, the author raises many questions. He does not seem to fear race fusion, as there is evidence "to prove that the crossing of the different races does produce definite physical and mental results in succeeding generations." He contends that the white man's objection to connection with women of colored races and to the children who spring from those unions has no scientific justification. The exclusive attitude of the white man is accounted for by the difference in degree of civilization, the so-called superiority of the white race. Although he does not show how science has uprooted the idea of racial superiority, the author does raise the question as to whether the integrity of the dominant races has been maintained. As evidence of this he cites the facts that the Pelasgii of Greece were, according to Professor Sturgis, of African origin, that Sir Harry Johnston traced Negro blood across India and the Malay States to Polynesia, that a negroid race penetrated Italy and France, according to recent discoveries, leaving traces at the present day in the physiognomy of the people of Southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and Western France, and even in parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and that even to-day there are some examples of Keltiberian peoples of western Scotland and western Wales and southern and western Ireland of distinctly negroid type.

W. R. WARD.

NOTES

The following letter was addressed to the _New Orleans Daily States_ by Mr. W. O. Hart:

LOUISIANA GOVERNORS.

NEW ORLEANS, LA., April 19, 1917.
EDITOR _Daily States_.

_Dear Sir_:--Recently your paper published a very interesting
account of many governors of Louisiana at one time being in the
Cosmopolitan Hotel, but in giving the names of the ex-governors
you omitted three, William P. Kellogg, P. B. S. Pinchback and
General Joseph R. Brooke.

Kellogg while never elected was inaugurated in January, 1873, and
served a full term of four years, having been upheld in office by
President Grant.

Pinchback, who was elected President of the Senate when Oscar J.
Dunn, elected lieutenant governor, died, in 1868, became acting
governor on December 10, 1872, when Governor H. C. Warmoth was
impeached and served until the inauguration of Kellogg, January
13, 1873.

There are now on the statute books ten laws passed at this extra
session and which bear the approval of Pinchback; they will be
found bound with the Acts of 1873, pages 37 to 50.

Pinchback's title as acting governor was upheld by the Supreme
Court of Louisiana, in the case of Morgan vs. Kennard, decided in
March, 1873, and reported in the 25th An. Reports, page 238,
which was a contest over the office of Justice of the Supreme
Court between John Kennard, appointed by Warmoth, and P. H.
Morgan, appointed by Pinchback, and the judgment was affirmed by
the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Kennard vs.
Morgan, reported in 92d U. S. 480. The opinion was rendered by
Chief Justice Ludeling and concurred in by Justices Taliaferro
and Howell, and Justice Wyly dissented. The case was tried in the
Superior District Court before Judge Jacob Hawkins who decided in
favor of Morgan and this judgment was affirmed by the Supreme
Court.

Judge Kennard was appointed to the Court on December 3, 1872,
vice W. W. Howe resigned; Morgan was appointed on January 4,
1873, and at the end of the litigation took his seat as a member
of the Court on February 1st, serving until the Manning Court
went into office on January 9, 1877.

After the eventful fourteenth of September, 1874, when General
Emory took charge, he appointed Colonel (now Brigadier General
retired) Joseph R. Brooke, military governor of Louisiana, but he
only served one day, because President Grant disapproved of the
appointment and ordered General Emory to reinstate Governor
Kellogg.

W. O. HART.

* * * * *

In the January number of the _South Atlantic Quarterly_ Gilbert T. Stephenson, Judge of the Municipal Court of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, writes on the subject, "_Education and Crime among Negroes_." Although he accepts as facts certain unreliable statistics concerning the criminality of Negroes, he nevertheless presents the subject in a liberal manner. His following conclusion is interesting.