V.

Van Battenburg, Governor, author’s introduction to, i. 439. His accurate knowledge of the English language, i. 449. Hospitality of, i. 439, 452. Madame, i. 251.

Vandyke, deputy post-holder, i. 494.

Vegetables, rapid growth of, in St. Domingo, ii. 400.

“Vigilantie,” plantation, i. 469.

Voltigeur, sloop, execrable accommodations of the, i. 396. Author’s sufferings on board the, i. 397. Her repeated disasters and delays, i. 403.

W.

Waith, Mr. humane character of, i. 200.

War, vicissitudes of, i. 28.

Washing process, in Barbadoes, i. 146.

Water, Thames, depuration of, at sea, i. 39. Scarcity of, in Guiana, ii. 176. How obtained, in the dry season, ii. 266. How supplied, at Port au Prince, ii. 422. Lucid appearance of, in the river Berbische, i. 535. Drinking, prejudice against, in the West Indies, i. 250.

West Indies, picture of the, correctly anticipated, i. 80. Example of danger, from the climate of the, ii. 115. The grave of Europeans, i. 7.

West Indian, tavern, description of a, i. 110. Hostess, i. 114. Dinner, i. 112. Attendants, i. 114. Harbours, the drawing-rooms of merchantmen, i. 84.

Whyte, General, arrival of, at St. Domingo, ii. 511. Captures Port au Prince, _ib._ His return to England, ii. 513. To St. Domingo, ii. 519. Humanity of, to the sick, i. 366. Author joins, at Port au Prince, ii. 410.

Wife, a colonist’s, inhumanity of, i. 369. A soldier’s, remarks of, at a negro dance, i. 129.

Williams, Colonel, visit to, at Barbadoes, i. 147.

Williamson, Sir Adam, deceived by colonists of St. Domingo, ii. 516. Appointed governor-general of St. Domingo, ii. 517.

Wine, method of cooling, in the West Indies, i. 113.

Wool, influence of climate upon, ii. 470.

Y.

Yaw-house, description of a, i. 457.

Young, Mr. his account of fever in the ship Bangalore, ii. 417.

Yowahoos, evil spirits, of the Indians, i. 505.

Z.

“Zuidwyk,” plantation, ii. 5.

THE END.

S. Gosnell, Printer, Little Queen Street, London.

-----

Footnote 1:

Dr. Monro.

Footnote 2:

Some medical men contend that fevers which are communicated by contagion, cannot attack the same person twice. If there be any foundation for the opinion, it may stand as an additional proof that the yellow fever is not a contagious disease.

Footnote 3:

Many of these worse than useless distinctions have lately been done away, and some general regulations established; but still the system is incomplete; and much yet remains to be done, before the medical department can take on that uniformity of character, or proceed with that uniformity of movement, which is requisite in so important a branch of the military body.——1805.

Footnote 4:

This regulation, which certainly had its advantages, has been found a source of cavil and vexation, and it has since been made an order of government that the fiscal should have his specific reward, and the whole of the fines be devoted to the ways and means of the colony. But it is to be feared, that this arrangement may make him less zealous in executing the duty, and that the roads and bridges may not, henceforth, be found in such excellent repair.

Footnote 5:

The Dutch weights and measures exceed by about ¹⁄₁₂th part those of England.

Footnote 6:

Since these notes were written the number of estates has much increased, and several that were only planted with cotton, now produce the most luxuriant crops of sugar.

Footnote 7:

A large species of wasp.

Footnote 8:

Already increased to upwards of 80,000.——1805.

Footnote 9:

Unhappily, with a view to make the sea voyage as short as possible, Dr. Master took his passage on board a vessel bound to South Carolina, where the climate was not less insalubrious than at St. Domingo, and where, soon after his arrival, he relapsed, and fell a victim to disease.

Footnote 10:

The pen and the politics of this author have since made him generally known to the British public.

Footnote 11:

In the “Select and posthumous Works” of the celebrated Monsieur de la Harpe, it is related, that at a French table in 1788, where the company was numerous and fashionable, “Chamfort had been reading some of his impious and libertine tales, and the fine ladies had heard them without once making use of their fans.”

Footnote 12:

Small carriages drawn by single horses.

Footnote 13:

Many excellent laws have been enacted in various colonies, for the protection of the negroes; but as the testimony of a slave is not admitted in evidence, these laws are of little avail.

Footnote 14:

These remarks were written in the year 1797; since which, the African slave-trade has been abolished, by an act of Parliament.

Footnote 15:

It is probable that our troops might be rendered nearly as effective for service in the West Indies, as in Europe, if it were possible, in all cases, to prepare them for the climate by slow and gradual approaches; as, for instance, by first letting them serve, for a time, at Gibraltar, and afterwards employing them, for a year or two, in the more windward islands, such as Barbadoes or Antigua, before they were sent upon duty to the other colonies.

Footnote 16:

In the year 1793, a body of emigrants from St. Domingo, amounting to upwards of 300 in number, who had made their escape from that colony, under all the circumstances of the most afflicting depression, arrived at Philadelphia, at the time when the yellow fever raged with its utmost malignity; yet, not one of them was attacked with the malady, which was then desolating the town. As if expressly to make this fact the more striking, it happened likewise that the emigrants who arrived at the same distressing period, from Ireland, the States of Germany, and other parts of Europe were attacked by the fever, even in greater proportion than the Americans themselves. It is not the property of any contagion to exhibit such marked partialities. The autumnal temperature of Philadelphia was congenial to the emigrants from St. Domingo: they were acclimated, and therefore not susceptible of the disease; while those from Europe, being the inhabitants of colder regions, were in a peculiar degree predisposed.

Footnote 17:

This letter has been altered since it was originally written, and the author has availed himself of the facts stated by Mr. Bryan Edwards, in his “History of the British Colonies in the West Indies.”

Footnote 18:

The following summary is given, by Mr. Bryan Edwards, of the state of agriculture, and of the average exports, in the French division of St. Domingo, at the beginning of the year 1790.

ESTATES. 431 Plantations of clayed sugar. 362 ——————— moscovado. ————— 793

3,117 Plantations of coffee. 789 ——————— cotton. 3,160 ——————— indigo. 54 ——————— cocoa. 623 Smaller settlements of grain, yams, and other vegetables. ————— 8,536 Establishments of all kinds throughout the colony.

EXPORTS. _lbs._ _Value in Livres._ Clayed sugar 58,642,214 41,049,549 Moscovado sugar 86,549,829 34,619,931 Coffee 71,663,187 71,663,187 Cotton 6,698,858 12,397,716 Indigo, hhds. 951,607 8,564,463 Melasses, hhds. 23,061 2,767,320 An inferior sort of rum called taffia, hhds. 2,600 312,000 Raw hides, No. 6,500 52,000 Tanned ditto, No. 7,900 118,500 ——————————— Total value at the ports of shipping, in livres of St. Domingo[19] 171,544,666 ———————————

Footnote 19:

Being equal to £4,956,780 sterling.

Footnote 20:

The principal establishment might be fixed in or near London, and this might be connected with collateral schools, as branches of the same institution, in the several colonies; the whole being subject to the management of a board or committee, appointed expressly for conducting the affairs of the emancipation; and so regulated as to receive the approbation and assistance of the West India proprietors. In doing justice to the slaves, due care should be taken _to provide a full compensation for their owners_; otherwise, no plan of enfranchisement can be equitable, or administered with a fair prospect of proving beneficial to the colonies. In the measure now suggested, this might form a constituent part of the arrangement: a moderate tax might be raised, both in this country and the settlements, for the combined purpose of aiding the emancipation, and supplying the compensation.

As the system would be progressive in its operation, a very large sum would not be immediately required: perhaps an adequate fund might be derived from the following sources:

1. An appropriation of the “King’s Tax,” now levied in some of the colonies, and an extension of it, to all the British settlements in the West Indies.

2. A Sunday toll, to be collected at every toll-gate throughout the United Kingdom.

3. Voluntary contributions, and collections after charity sermons, to be preached half-yearly on the subject of the emancipation, in every church, chapel, and licensed place of worship in Great Britain and Ireland.

If these means should appear to be insufficient, it may be presumed that, at this happy period of diminishing the national burthens, few Englishmen could refuse themselves the gratification of promoting such a benevolent cause, by contributing ten or fifteen shillings per cent. according to the rate of the tax on property.

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained. ● Used numbers for footnotes, placing them all at the end of the last chapter. ● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. ● Enclosed blackletter font in =equals=.