HT
1096
.58
STATE
of
LAW And MANNERS
IN
JAMAICA

humitulum 1111|||MUTHIHURTIMINIMInnamon TUTTE
HIIG
WIMWENU
C.
COOR.
..
.OOOOOO
.
ILI MTUMITTIT
UUTTIIIIIIIIII
Etimini
TULILLLLLLLLL
III 1
V
SilSDNIHIN
Dr
..
.
ENTIA
le
IIRUATIN
HEINRIUMITHUNTII
1
!
LAM:AMCNAM.
XL1816 :
Com
IBRARY VERITAST OF THE
VIVERSITY OF MICHIGA
SEPLURBÚI Won
TIEBOR
WRIS.PENINSULAM
IT SUIS VI.J. TUD
VACUMSPICE
Will
LLLLLLL DERINIMITUTIINTUNTITIEUTENKELTETTE
.
SHQUARIS
MA
AN
.
1
he
ARTES
ING
..
-
ttithuruth
Alllllllllllllllll
:
INTIIMIIIIIIIIIII
VI
!
i
.
.
:
.
"
'.'
.
'
.
'
UTILI
III,
511|||||||||||||||||IIIIIIIIIIIMIIII
.........
PAINTESTINI'II!1''
យោរាសាវរោរវាពរារាញ
.
جو.

Latin-Amer heat
Phillips
7-19 29
20059
STATE
OF
LAW AND MANNERS IN JAMAICA
ILLUSTRATED,
By the accounts given in the CHRISTIAN RECORD of that island,
OF THE
CONDUCT OF COUNCILS OF PROTECTION,
AND OF
THE MINUTES OF EVIDENCE IN THE CASE
OF THE
REV. MR. BRIDGES AND HIS SLAVE KITTY HYLTON.
ork in Kingston, 18 de hout 57s. sterling. Jesuch the me-
WE have recently received from Jamaica the first Number of a new
periodical publication, called the CHRISTIAN RECORD, which is to
appear monthly. The first Number was published on the 30th of Sep-
tember last. The annual cost to subscribers, if called for at the office
of the work in Kingston, is £3. currency, or about 43s. sterling; and if
sent by post, £4, currency, or about 57s. sterling. The editors of this
work profess to view the subjects of which they treat “ through the me-
dium of the light thrown upon them by the word of God;" and "man-
fully to fight under the banners of Jesus Christ against all the enemies
to the progress of his religion, who may rise up in their native island.”
While they profess themselves zealous and conscientious members of
the Established Church, and loyal subjects of the state, they hold out
the right hand of fellowship to all, of every denomination, who are really
striving together for “ the faith of the Gospel,” and they will fearlessly
advocate every measure which tends to the temporal and spiritual welfare
of their fellow men, and boldly denounce whatever is of an opposite
tendency.
JAMAICA COUNCILS OF PROTECTION.
The first article, from which we shall select a specimen of the views
of the editors, bears the title of Councils of Protection, a species of ju-
risdiction with which our readers have of late become somewhat familiar.
Let us hear the deliberate judgment pronounced upon them on the spot
by the conductors of the Christian Record. They do not pretend to
say that such a council might not be rendered useful:
The Jamaica Christian Record.
“ But that this is the case at present, we utterly deny; and we will
not be afraid of speaking out, lest prejudice be offended, and an outcry
and clamour be raised. The country will be better served by truly
pointing out the evils and miseries of her system, than by fallacious
glosses, which, in fact, deceive nobody; and of which the most inte-
rested declaimer against saintly influence, and for constitutional
rights,' is himself ashamed.
" The late councils of protection have presented lamentable pictures
of human depravity, and of the real state of things here; and as they
should be held up, so is it our intention to hold them up, to public view
and public shame, in order that we may do our part towards promoting
the efficiency of these bodies, and the true interests of the colony in ge-
neral, as well as the protection of the slave in particular!
“ The principles and practice of the councils of protection at present,
as exemplified in the instances we allude to, render them a mere mockery
and delusion. Look, for instance, at the zeal which was more than
whispered to have been shown by many members of Mr. Bridges' council
at the time it occurred, and to which his unenviable popularity greatly
contributed. Let any man, the possessor of a spark of feeling, go and
peruse, as he has a legal right to do, the record of crime contained in
the vestry books of St. Ann's. Let him read the dreadful detail given
by the sufferer, and fully established by the witnesses in Mr. Bridges'
presence.—Let him see, as he will do, that not one material statement
of it is contradicted by Mr. Bridges, or one syllable offered in extenua-
tion of his conduct; unless, indeed, the bare assertion that “insolent is
the general conduct of Kitty Hylton,' can be considered as extenuating
it. Let him then look at the determination to which the council came;
and, if he can, maintain that that council was the protector of the slave!
Look again at the St. George's case,* where, to the honour of Mr. Bell
and those who voted with him, there was in the minority a real and
earnest zeal to defend the oppressed! But are we not shown, in the
result of this case also, how powerful must be the influence of that exe-
crable system which exists? But for this influence, is it possible that five
men, of respectable stations in society, and probably, in the main, of
kind dispositions, could have looked with apathy on the wretched suf-
ferings of the complainant in that case, treating the breach of the laws,
and the inhumanity which occasioned them, as a mere matter of course
—undeserving of further notice? Are we not justified in asserting that
in this case also there has been an absolute denial of justice to the
slave? Is the giving of a 'reprimand' to his oppressor, or a 'caution
as to his future conduct,' a sufficient satisfaction to him, from the broken
laws of his country, for the positive injuries he received ?
“Besides these cases, two other instances exhibiting wrong principles
and lamentable lukewarmness have lately occurredone in Clarendon,
and the other in St. Andrew's; in both which, flagrant as they were, the
magistrates have declined interference; alleging that it was not their
office to prosecute—but that of the party bringing the facts to their no-
tice. The case in Clarendon was that of a woman, belonging to Low
* See Anti-Slavery Reporters, Nos. 69 and 71.


Account of Councils of Protection.
Ground estate, who went to a neighbouring property to demand pay-
ment of the price of a pig sold by her, and was there barbarously
flogged, and sent back to Low Ground in miserable plight. Every
effort was made by Mr. Taylor, the gentleman in charge of the pro-
perty, to have the case investigated by applications to the custos, ma-
gistrates, and clerk of the peace; to several of whom the woman had
previously exhibited herself. But after several vain attempts to get a
council together, when they did at length meet at the end of m
months, they declined interfering, leaving it to the party complaining to
prosecute if he pleased, and to collect evidence as he might.-One
consequence of the council's not meeting, though three times sum-
moned, was that the evidence of the principal witness, a white woman,
was lost by her leaving the country!—Thus, in this case also, has there
been a total denial of justice, by the refusal of the council and the
magistrates to go at all into the investigation to call the witnesses
before them--and secure their attendance at the grand court, or, in
short, to take any trouble in the matter! Almost the same result has
arisen in St. Andrew's. The materials were furnished for inquiry into
a case of alleged gross oppression; namely, of a series of cruelties, oc-
casioned by a person's punishing her negroes, if they did not bring her
a certain quantity of grass every evening, though she possessed no grass
land of her own !- compelling them, in fact, by punishment, to steal it
from her neighbours ! and yet this council of protection, to which the
slave is to look for redress in cases of oppression, coolly say that the
party giving the information, upon which the magistrates may act, if
they choose, must himself substantiate the case, before they will inquire
into it, although he has not the means of summoning witnesses before
him for examination, which their authority, as magistrates, affords
them! The cunning mischief of this principle is manifestly that of af-
fording a plausible ground of escape to the magistrates from the per-
formance of their duty, and throwing either the burthen of prosecution,
or the opprobrium of letting it alone, on private individuals, in plain
opposition to the letter and spirit of the slave law; for a mere reference
to the 25th and 26th clauses will show how erroneous the notion is.
The justices and vestry so met (in council) are directed to make fur-
ther and full inquiry upon view and by the examination of witnesses,
&c. and the said justices and vestry are required to prosecute with
effect' at the expense of the parish. The duty imposed on “any justice
of the peace who shall receive any complaint or probable intelligence
from any slave or otherwise ;' fully meets another evasion of the St.
Andrew's council, who allege in defence of their refusal, that the slaves
themselves did not bring forward the complaint.
« The councils are intended by the law (and to be of any use they
must act) as courts of inquiry first, and prosecutors afterwards. They
are meant, and they ought with vigilance and zeal, to take up and sift
to the bottom every probable case of oppression, or it will soon be fully
understood as it is now generally believed that they are mere pretences,
the better to screen the oppressor by a mock inquiry and pretended
acquittal.
The Jamaica Christian Record.
“ The notion of trial and acquittal being the nature of the proceed-
ings of these bodies, is another gross fallacy recently introduced, and
so totally unfounded and absurd, as to be almost undeserving of refu-
tation or of notice ; but that the grand jury of Middlesex, in Mr. Bridges'
case, were gulled into its adoption, by the outcries and machinations of
a certain coalition (the particulars of which we shall lay before the
public), or wilfully resorted to it for the purpose of screening the delin-
quent–actually refraining, in the face of their oath, from examining a
single witness as to the circumstances of the case, but merely asking if
Mr. Bridges had not been tried and acquitted by the council. The law
is perfectly plain, and its object manifestly is to afford ready protection
to a suffering slave, and ready prosecution, free of expense, of the op-
pressor, who might otherwise escape. There is not the shadow of
power given by the law to acquit or condemn in the legal or common
sense of the terms; and, but that we are accustomed to strange things,
we should be utterly lost in surprise at the fact of fifteen men having
been found capable of unanimously writing themselves down, by their
own verdict, such complete Dogberries. But all wonder at their igno-
rance must be lost in horror, when we remember the guilt they have
incurred by this trifling with their oaths-oaths by which they were
expressly bound to inquire into the case sent to them, though twenty
councils of protection had refused to prosecute.
“ Another notion, viz. that the 45th clause of the slave law, prohi-
biting the removal of proceedings under the act into the supreme court,
by certiorari, renders it illegal for the attorney general to send in a bill
to the grand jury, after a council of protection has declined to prose-
cute, is so utterly inane, that we can only admire the impudence, and,
from the result, the happy savoir faire, with which it was urged upon
the grand jury of Middlesex, by the extraordinary coalition we have
alluded to.
“ The principles and conduct thus animadverted on, must do, and
are doing, what the great body of the people of Jamaica would them-
selves call infinite mischief; but they are doubtless tending, through
divine influence, to a good end. They are raising up a spirit of stern
disgust in hundreds among ourselves, which will, ere long, make itself
heard even by the most hardened oppressors; while in those whose
feelings are thus deeply wounded, a century of prejudice is swept away,
and preparation is begun for admitting the practicability and necessity
of imposing more effectual restraints upon the wills and passions of
men so unfit to be entrusted with power over their fellow beings.”




THE Rev. MR. BRIDGES, AND HIS SLAVE KITTY HYLTON.
The next article is entitled "the Rev. Mr. Bridges, and it is so
important as an illustration of the laws and manners of Jamaica, that
we shall give it entire :
« In the controversy which has subsisted for so long a period, be-
tween this colony and the mother country, on the subject of the treat-
mnent of the slaves, specific cases of alleged cruelty by individuals have,
Case of Rev. Mr. Bridges, and his slave Kitty Hylton. 5

at times, been brought forward by the anti-slavery society, and from
these the general condition and treatment of the negroes have been
inferred. In answer, the colonists have argued, that the commission of
any occasional act of cruelty or oppression can no more afford a fair
representation of the general treatment of the slaves, than the occa-
sional conviction in England of a master for cruelty to his apprentice,
can be supposed to give a just picture of the state of that class of de-
pendants there; and in point of argument, on the mere abstract propo-
sition, the colonist may have the best of it. But a single act of cruelty,
perpetrated by an individual towards his slave, may become the act of
the community by being generally defended and adopted, and in any
such case the colonists would of course lose their vantage ground, and,
as a body, stand condemned, on their own admission, of oppressive and
cruel conduct; for it is an irresistible inference that those, who being
themselves slave-owners, uphold and justify such conduct, or endeavour
to screen the offender, are influenced by the consciousness that the act
complained of is neither new nor strange to them as a matter of general
practice. Ob
“Unfortunately for the colonists, they have imbibed the most deep-
rooted prejudices on the general question at issue, and are in conse-
quence easily excited to violence of language and demeanour by any
matter, which can, in the most distant manner, be brought to bear on
it. Designing men, who have their purposes to serve in screening
themselves or their associates from the punishment which their offences
justly merit, have of late taken advantage of this predisposition to vio-
lence and intemperance, and of the want of clear moral perception
which it induces, and by raising a clamour about the constitution, the
necessity for guarding our rights from infringement, and other equally
inapplicable and delusive topics, have, in several instances, succeeded
in exciting great numbers of the community, and among them, we re-
gret to say, many reasonable and sensible and humane men, to commit
the palpable folly, the suicide, in respect of moral character, of adopting
and defending acts, which they themselves would shudder to perpetrate.
“In illustration of our remarks, we would bring to the notice of our
readers the case of the Rev. Mr. Bridges, which has recently occupied
so large a share of the public attention; and we do say that there never
was a more complete exemplification of the weakness of human nature,
than is to be found in the conduct of our fellow colonists in this instance.
“With the view, as well of enabling our readers to penetrate the dis-
guise in which this most disgusting case has been enveloped, and to
detect the false colouring which has been given to it, and of exposing
the artful machinations by which the public has been misled, we shall
briefly review the principal occurrences in relation to it.
66 On the 15th of April, 1829, a council of protection was assembled
to investigate Kitty Hylton's complaint against her owner, Mr. Bridges,
due notice having been given to him. In consequence of alleged indis-
position he did not appear, and the council of protection was adjourned
to the 11th of May; but not before Kitty Hylton had detailed fully the
particulars of her complaint Notice of the adjournnient was also
given to Mr. Bridges. We mention these facts to shew that he was
The Jamaica Christian Record.
mon
not taken by surprise, but had ample means and opportunity afforded
him, as well of ascertaining the precise nature of the al
procuring evidence to rebut them.
" On the 11th of May the council of protection again met, and Mr.
Bridges and the witnesses attended ; and we request that our readers
will seriously and impartially weigh the effect of the following proceed-
ings, recorded as they are in the books of the vestry of St. Ann’s-a
monument of the ample protection of the slave.
• Copy of the Proceedings of the St. Ann's Council of Protection.
“At a council of protection, holden this 15th April, 1829, before
the hon. Henry Cox, custos, and other justices and vestrymen of the
parish of St. Ann, Kitty Hylton, a slave belonging to the Rev. Mr.
Bridges, came forward and complained against her said owner for hav-
ing maltreated her. The Rev. G. W. Bridges was cited to appear, but
in consequence of severe indisposition he could not attend. Having
heard the evidence of Kitty Hylton, it was resolved, that in conse-
quence of Mr. Bridges' indisposition, and the evidence warned not at-
tending, Kitty Hylton should be remanded to the workhouse, to be
taken care of and not worked, until a special vestry should meet on the
Ilth May, and that all parties should be summoned to appear on that

day.
« « At a council of protection holden this 11th May, 1829, before
the hon. Henry Cox, custos, &c., Kitty Hylton, a slave belonging to
the Rev. G. W. Bridges, was brought forward in pursuance of the
above written order. The several notices having been duly served, the
council of protection proceeded to investigate the said charge.lt rii
66 Kitty Hylton sworn.-States that she belongs to the Rev. Mr.
Bridges, rector of St. Ann's. On Friday, after breakfast, went to her
master in the library, and asked what he would have for dinner, who
asked what witness had done with all the turkeys ; had the turkey killed
about 2 o'clock, P. M. When he saw it killed master was angry; took
her into the pantry, and nailed witness against the dresser in the
pantry, and kicked her with his foot. Witness begged not to be
kicked so severely, as she would buy another turkey, and have it for the
Sunday's dinner. Being asked if any one was present, she said Miss
Moreland. Was kicked for upwards of an hour; master said he wished
he could see her a corpse, as he hated her so. Called old Charles to
pick the largest bundle of bamboo switches he could find, which he
did; naster followed her and old Charles to the cow pen, and had her
laid down ; he was standing over witness beating her with a stick, and
telling the man to cut all the flesh off her; was going to lie down on
the grass, but was ordered off to the rocks. When master had done
flogging her, and witness rose up, the blood was running down her
heels; he ordered old Charles to run her down to the pond, and went
as ordered; washed her skin and the blood off her clothes. Did your
master follow you ? No, he stopped at the cow-pen. That on her
return from the pond her master was pelting her up to the house with
stones. The pond can be seen from the house; it was about two
o'clock in the day; was struck by her master at the cow-pen. On her

Minutes of evidence-Mr. Bridges and Kitty Hylton. 7
wn
return from the pond to the house her master was following her with a
stick, but as he could not catch her he continued pelting her; on her
return to the house the blood gushed out as bad as ever. Her mistress
called for a kettle of water, which she went to take up. She met her
master, he gave her a kick, and told her to go out and change her
clothes. He followed her into the washhouse and beat her there with
a stick, and as he was beating her, witness begged and said she had
only two suits, but one was dirty and one was on. He went out of the
washhouse, and locked her up in it, and returned and brought an ozna-
burgh frock, and said witness must put it on, and pull off the one she
had on, and made witness carry it with the handkerchief off her head
into the kitchen and burn it. Her master remained there until they
were burnt. Mr. Taylor was in the kitchen, and before the gown was
done burning, Miss Moreland came into the kitchen. Afterwards she
was ordered to cook dinner, and afterwards her master continuing to
beat her, she could not bear it, and she went away, (about five o'clock,
P. M, not quite an hour after the clean frock was put on her) and
walked part of the night to Mr. Raffington's. Miss Steer was in the
house and saw witness after her return from being flogged. Went to
Mr. Raffington's and saw him, he was coming down to Nutshell. He
ordered her to come down to his residence at Nutshell on Sunday morn-
ing, and that he would see her master on Sunday and would speak to
her master. Mr. Raffington told witness her master had consented to
sell her. On Tuesday morning she went to Mr. Charles Smith, and he
consented to purchase her. On Wednesday morning her master sent
for her, being the day she returned from Richmond, and was carried
home that day; he sent a horse, but she could not ride; was returning
to Mr. Raffington's house with Mr. Saunders, who had Mr. Smith's
letter, but was hindered from going there by Mr. Saunders, who said
Mr. Raffington had ordered that she should not put her foot near his
yard, as she should have gone home before. Went home, Saunders
having left her with the man that was sent for her. Her master did not
see her that night; got fever, and was lying out of doors. Mr. Coley
told witness her master had desired him to tie her two hands behind
her, and put her in the watchman's hut under the charge of old Charles,
which he did. Heard that her master intended sending her to St.
Thomas' in the Vale workhouse from Mr. Coley; found she could not
bear such punishment, and escaped about three o'clock in the morning,
and went to Industry, having contrived to get loose, and reached there
about four, P. M., on the same day.
"Miss Moreland * sworn. --States that she was in the pantry,
where she saw Mr. Bridges and Kitty Hylton, who was struck or kicked
by him ; but had not seen any previous flogging. Kitty Hylton said
that her master had desired her to kill a turkey, and her master said
he had not; but she insisted on it. Saw the woman after she was
flogged; she shewed her punishment to witness at a distance; she was
in the same clothes she had on as those in which she was sent down to
be flogged; she saw the clothes burned. Mr. Bridges continued in the
** Governess in Mr. Bridges' family.
The Jamaica Christian Record.
pantry with Kitty Hylton, until the switches were brought up, but she
did not see them.
" Cross-examined. She is very provoking; and insolent is the
general conduct of Kitty Hylton. Being asked if she knew any parti-
cular instance of insolence towards her master and mistress, she declines
answering the question.
666 John Colen, * sworn.--Knows the woman; he has been residing
with Mr. Bridges three months, and knows she is a troublesome woman
in the house; knows Mr. Bridges punished her once during that period.
Witness ordered her to be tied on her return, and gave her in charge to
the watchman, from whom she escaped; did not tell the woman she
was to be sent to St. Thomas in the Vale workhouse; could not, as he
knew nothing about it.
" Cross-examined.-Saw Mr. Bridges once strike her for insolence;
the watchman tied her; was insolent to Mr. Bridges before he struck
her; went at day-light in search of the woman, and she was gone; sent
a watchman in quest. Have often heard her insolent to Mr. Bridges ;
witness is apt to hear her insolence more than any one else; has heard
her say to Mr. Bridges, I will do it when I think proper,' when or-
dered by him to perform any duty. There were no marks on her face ;
saw her after her punishment; there were no marks on her neck; would
have seen them, as the gown was sufficiently low. She was tied, in case
she should go away, when she was brought back, and he ordered her
to be tied by the watchman where there was a good fire. Witness did
not perceive any black eye, or marks of violence about her neck.
«• Thomas Raffington, Esq., sworn. Kitty Hylton came to witness
on Saturday morning the 4th; a servant came and told witness a sick
woman wanted to see him; saw her and her situation; never saw a
female in such a situation ; had seen the woman before, but did not
know her; desired her to remain at his residence; she came to Nutshell.
Witness spoke to Mr. Bridges, and requested him to consent to sell
her, which he said he would ; afterwards desired her to remain at Nut-
shell, and left a woman to take care of her, but she went away. Wit-
ness did not examine her particularly, but she was terribly lacerated,
and never saw a woman so ill-treated. Mr. Raffington said he had
not ordered her to Nutshell.
"Charles Smith, Esq., sworn.-On Tuesday morning met Kitty
Hylton, and asked her what was the matter ; she said, her master had
• most killed her.' Witness did not recognise her ; she said she was
going to Mr. Smith to buy her. Witness told her to go to Richmond
and wait his return; when witness saw the woman, she had received a
severe punishment, but did not examine her particularly. Several
letters read, shewing a disposition to sell the woman to Mrs. Smith.
«• Dr. Stennet, sworn.-States the woman had two black eyes.
When the woman was sent to the workhouse witness examined her, and
saw severe marks of punishment. If the woman had thirty-nine, she
would not have been healed so soon.

* Servant to Mr. Bridges-butler.
Minutes of Evidence-Mr. Bridges and Kitty Hylton. 9

WoIn
e
««J. Harker, sworn.-Saw the woman on the morning of Wednes-
day. Had heard a report of a woman being severely flogged. Exa-
mined her; her eyes were black, as if she had received a severe blow;
her posteriors were very much cut up; on the inner part of her thigh
on each there were several black marks.
6. The hon. Henry Cox, sworn.-Kitty Hylton came to witness to
complain against her master, Mr. Bridges. She was very much in-
jured; saw her bruises ; evidently switching from the nape of her neck
to her posteriors. Her face and thighs dreadfully bruised; has never
seen any thing so severe of the kind ; in consequence, ordered her
before a council of protection.
"Mr. Bridges called upon for his defence. Admitted he had
ordered the woman to be switched for her insolence, but denies that he
went down from his house. On the contrary, he had sent her down to
be switched by the watchman.
Miss Steer * sworn.--Was at Mr. Bridges on the 2d April; the
dinner was shamefully cooked, and a part of it was obliged to be sent
away. Mr. Bridges told her he should remember her. On the fol-
lowing day she killed a turkey, saying to Mr. Bridges she had been
ordered to do so. Mr. Bridges told her it must have been a mistake ;
heard she was to have been punished ;-switches were sent for, and she
was sent to the watchman for punishment; saw Mr. Bridges standing
on the top of the hill. s Jo sua dawa
« « Question to Mr. Colen by Mr. Bridges — Had I any other negro
than Charles, or any other coloured person about me, to punish the
woman ? Replied 6 No.E DHOTA
2
6. The justices and vestry having heard the evidence on behalf of
Kitty Hylton, and the evidence on behalf of the Rev. Mr. Bridges, on
its being put to the vote whether Mr. Bridges should BE PROSECUTED
OR NOT, it was carried by a majority of 13 to 4 AGAINST THE
PROSECUTION.'” med: 091250751
« Such was the result of this council of protection ! In forming a
judgment of the extent of the punishment, the instrument used should
not be lost sight of the knotted bamboo, which, when used with any
force, splits, and its sharp edges cut like a knife. From any further
commentary on the proceedings we at present refrain, except to point
out the decided corroboration of all the strong points of the woman's
statement by all the witnesses, and the absolute admission of them in
fact by the parties examined, and by Mr. Bridges himself, who heard
them all and denied them not ! It is lamentable, for the sake of the
most ordinary humanity, and for the sake of the country, that magis-
trates and vestrymen could have been found to vote on such a case,
founded on such evidence, as the majority did. Their decision in itself
was really of no importance on the merits of the question ; for any
magistrate might still have sent the case to the Attorney-General; and
it was the duty of Mr. Cox, the custos, impressed as he was with the
conviction that there had been a flagrant violation of the law, to have
done so; but when considered with reference to the long agitated
t6GAN
COD
SH002 et
* Mr. Bridges' witness.
В
10
The Jamaica Christian Record.
question, whether or not the general treatment of the slaves is as it
should be, it becomes of vital importance; and if serious consequences
to the colony should be the ultimate result of this case, the community
will justly have to blame these magistrates as the cause.
“We proceed now to detail the more recent occurrences in con-
nection with the case.
“ Nothing more is publicly known of the matter in this island until
the month of April last, when it is hinted, through the medium of the
Courant newspaper, that Lord Belmore had received directions from
Sir George Murray to institute further inquiries into the circumstances
of the case, and the magistrates are there called on ' to refuse to
assemble, unless the name of the party who gave the information were
placed before them. There is every reason to believe that this state-
ment emanated from Mr. Bridges himself, and we know that from this
time forward he was in constant communication with Mr. Bruce, the
editor of the Courant, although in that paper, some months before, he
had been called a ' mendacious historian. Accordingly a series of
paragraphs, the tendency of which was to excite the magistrates to
treat the matter as a great constitutional question, and to refuse to
enter into any further investigation, appeared in the Courant; and no
one adverting to their style, so different from the clumsy ungrammatical
productions of Mr. Bruce, could fail to recognize in them another and
an abler hand. In the course of these attempts to sway and prejudice
the decision of the question, by exciting popular feeling, the despatch
of Sir George Murray, and the letters accompanying it, appeared before
the public. With these our readers are sufficiently familiar, * and
having now the evidence fully before them, they will be able to judge
for themselves how far the information given to the Anti-Slavery Society
was correct. We request attention to this fact, (the importance of which
will be presently shewn), that although there is no date to Sir George
Murray's despatch, as published, the letter of Mr. Pringle, the secre-
tary of the Anti-Slavery Society, to Sir George Murray, bears date the
6th July, 1829, and it is, we think, fair to presume that the despatch
was written very shortly afterwards.
« On the 14th of May the Magistrates of St. Ann's met, and, as
might have been expected, where their prejudices had been previously
roused, they resolved Sir George Murray's temperate and considerate
letter (written obviously with the view of eliciting the truth, and of
giving the colony the opportunity, which had been so often before
demanded, of refuting a specific accusation) into a breach of the con-
stitution,'' a gross violation of just rights,' and ' a subversion of every
principle of British jurisprudence.'
" It would be difficult to say exactly what passed at this meeting,
for we have had several different accounts of the proceedings; but it
appears by one of these that a proposition was made by some sensible
man at it, to send the case to the Attorney-General, and let him use
his discretion. This was however vehemently opposed, and at the
conclusion of a long and circumstantial report in the Courant of the

* See Anti-Slavery Reporter, No. 66.
Result of the case of Mr. Bridges and Kitty Hylton. 11
21st of May, got up for the purpose, great pains are taken by an appeal
to his well known amor patriæ,' honour,' &c. to induce the Attorney-
General to give up all idea of carrying the matter further. The writer
seems, even at that time, not only to have been aware that the Attor-
ney-General was in possession of the depositions taken at the council
of protection in 1829, but to have had a shrewd suspicion that he had
too much regard for his character, and too much honesty and firmness,
not to do what, with such a case before him, was palpably his duty;
for he looks forward with great complacency to the dernier resort of
the grand jury, who would be fully alive to their sacred duties,' on
such a question. There
“At this period, while the papers were under the consideration of
the Attorney-General, Mr. Bridges, who had long maintained a con-
stant intercourse with Mr. Bullock, the Governor's secretary, and who
knew better what was going on in the King's house than the Governor
himself, took up his residence with Mr. Bullock in Spanish Town,
where he remained until the decision of the grand jury was known.
There, with the assistance of Mr. Bruce, who was invited with Mr.
Edward Cowell, another friend of Mr. Bridges, for the purpose, mea-
sures were concerted by this extraordinary coalition to counteract the
impending proceedings on the part of the Attorney-General. Conse-
quently, when it was known at the King's house that the Attorney-
General had determined to prosecute, a long article was inserted in the
Courant of the 10th June, as a defence of Mr. Bridges' conduct in the
original transaction; and subsequently, on the 14th, the very day on
which the grand jury met, almost the whole paper was filled with dis-
cussions, all intended to convince the grand jury that the Attorney-
General meant to usurp unconstitutional powers, and pointing out to
them their duty.
" To the article of the 10th particular attention is due; because
emanating as it does from Mr. Bridges,* and being the only attempt
at defence which he has made since the council of protection met,
it becomes of importance; more especially as it is intended pro-
fessedly to give to the public the true circumstances of the case, as
shewn by the records of the council of protection of 1829, and there
proved by witnesses.
6. On an attentive perusal, our readers will perceive that it gives
a widely different view of the case from that presented by the records
of that council; but as it professes to give the same view, and ex-
pressly states, that at the council . all the woman's witnesses to prove
her assertions were in attendance, but they so disproved them that the
case was dismissed, her own testimony being completely contradicted
by all her own witnesses, for Mr. Bridges called none,' thus evidently
adopting the case shewn by the records of the council as the true
ground of his defence, it is a fair inference that Mr. Bridges, though

V
1
* “In corroboration of what is advanced on this subject, note that in this very
paper Mr. Bruce alludes to a personal communication with Mr. Bridges, with
reference to a letter addressed to the latter in some way connected with the
charges against him.” See also Anti-Slavery Reporter, No. 66.
12
The Jamaica Christian Record.
giving a different colour to the matter in the absence of those records,
could not make out a better case than they present. The following
sentences in this article deserve especial notice. • WE HAVE HAD
ACCESS TO THE RECORDS OF THE COUNCIL OF PROTECTION OF 1829,
and now lay before our readers the real circumstances of the case,
They were proved by the witnesses on the complainant's own behalf,
though it now seems the crown officers take advantage of the long
period which has since elapsed, and the circumstances of the two most
material witnesses being off the island, to establish a new case.' "The
governess in the family, and the white butler-are now unfortunately
off the island, which makes the re-investigation of the case, at this
distance of time, a case of peculiar hardship on the accused. Now,
on reference to the depositions, our readers will judge for themselves
how far the evidence of the governess and white butler, Miss Moreland
and Colen, went in exculpation of Mr. Bridges ! But we should like
very much to know when these two persons unfortunately left the
island; for we have more than a suspicion that Mr. Bridges knew
clearly in the fall of last year that there was some probability of an
investigation being ordered, as we shall show in its proper place.
“ To proceed however, with our narration of facts. The grand jury
met under circumstances of great excitement, and with the most power-
ful but delusive appeals to their passions placed before them in the
paper of the day, not written (as our readers of this island will be at
no loss to conceive) by such a bungler at composition as Mr. Bruce,
but by the accused, and his equally able friend, the governor's secre-
tary; and the result was, that they threw out the bill. This (by way
of more effectually concealing the source from whence it came, we
presume), was announced in the Kingston Chronicle, of the 16th June,
in language rather at variance with the usual dull and even tenor of the
editor's remarks, and indeed with the sentiments he generally expresses;
and some who know Mr. Bridges' style assert that they can trace it
here. Be that as it may, some of the remarks are worth attending to.
"The hopes of the country rested on Monday on the grand jury of
Middlesex ;--nobly have they performed their duty and vindicated the
injured rights of their fellow-colonists, for we have no hesitation in
saying that the cause of Mr. Bridges was the cause of EVERY INHA-
BITANT OF THE ISLAND, who had not enrolled himself in the list of
his persecutors.' .. We understand that there was not a shadow of
proof against the Rev. Rector of St. Ann's, and notwithstanding all the
influence which was used, and the exclusion of all the St. Ann's men
from the grand jury, this obnoxious bill was unanimously thrown out.'
From this statement, our readers would be induced to believe that at
all events the grand jury went into the case, and threw out the bill on
a full investigation of all the evidence which could be adduced in
support of the prosecution. Will it then be credited by those who were
not on the spot at the time, that the grand jury merely ascertained
from the witnesses sent before them, that the council of protection had
met in 1829, and that its decision was unfavourable to a prosecution, and
then resolved that they would not go further into the case? Will it be
believed that men of sufficient respectability to constitute the grand

Result of the case of Mr. Bridges and Kitty Hylton.
jury of the county of Middlesex, sitting at the very seat of govern-
ment, and sworn, diligently to inquire and true presentment to make,
&c. and to leave no one unpresented for fear, favour, or affection, so
completely sacrificed this solemn obligation at the shrine of prejudice
and party, and that merely because the accused and his friends had
the consummate art to magnify his paltry interests into a great consti-
tutional question ? Yet such is the fact! It is well known, on the
admission of the jurors themselves, and on the authority of the witnesses
sent before them, that this is the mode in which they performed their
duty. The Attorney-General did what his office required of him in
sending the bill before the grand inquest of the county, and in order
to give him his due meed of praise it is necessary to advert to the
trying circumstances in which he was placed, inasmuch as he was not
only assailed by popular clamour, but exposed to the insidious machi-
nations of the Governor's secretary-a quarter in which he might have
expected support in the execution of an imperative duty.
“It is curious to remark how repeatedly Mr. Bridges and his friend,
with all their adroitness, have been foiled in their endeavours to stifle
inquiry into this matter, by the honest firmness of some one individual,
and at a time too when they had least cause to expect any further
effort to arrive at the truth. When the grand jury had thrown out the
bill, as this really looked something like an acquittal, the country was
. congratulated' on so auspicious é an event,' and the grand jury were
pronounced to have nobly performed their duty ;' but, all at once, to
the horror and dismay of the coalition, the bishop appears to have en.
tered the lists, and requested from the governor an authenticated copy
of all the proceedings. This appears from the Courant of the 21st of
June, and we presume that there can be little doubt of the fact, since
Mr. Bullock himself was precisely the person who was most likely to
know, and what better authority could the editor have for it? There
seems, though, to have been some little demur about granting this re-
quest-for although we are informed on the 21st, that the documents
had been applied for, we do not hear of their having been obtained
until the 7th of July, when, through the medium of the same paper, we
are also apprised that Lord Belmore had at first ‘very judiciously re-i
fused them ;' and, perhaps, taking this latter statement, cum grano salis,
the whole of the delay, as well as any little difficulty which arose, may
be very satisfactorily accounted for by a reference to the persevering
constancy of his secretary's friendship for the accused. The tide of
furious invective was now turned against the bishop, and not only the
Courant, but other papers over which Mr. Bullock possesses influence,
teemed with abuse of his lordship's person and character, and with in-
sinuations of deep and dark designs entertained by him. So far the
bishop has firmly done his duty; and if, in the proceedings he may be
called on to adopt, he should be exposed to a continuance of these un.
pleasant trials, he may rest assured that his firmness will command the
estimation of all well judging men, and the respect even of his enemies.
“ We have now gone through the details of this case, and we think
we have clearly demonstrated that the magistrates of St. Ann's, the
grand jury of Middlesex, and the great mass of the white community

14
The Jamaica Christian Record.
have been the mere puppets of Mr. Bullock and Mr. Bridges, who, by
inflaming their prejudices, have led them into measures well suited
to answer their purposes, but highly detrimental to the character of the
colony, and calculated to precipitate those measures which the colo-
nists so strenuously deprecate. Our readers are in possession of the
facts, and will be able to judge for themselves whether it is likely that
the matter will be suffered to rest here. We have not the slightest
doubt but that the proceedings will be moved for, and laid on the table
of the House of Commons. We ask our fellow-colonists how they
will like to appear at the bar of the British parliament, and of public
opinion in England, arraigned on such a case? Is it nothing that
charges of cruelty, and of such cruelty, have been preferred against a
clergyman of the island, and that he has been supported and defended
by popular outcry? Is it nothing that two meetings of magistrates, con-
vened for the protection of the slave, have each, on the very details of
the case, as we now present them, refused to allow of a prosecution ?
Lastly— Is it a small thing' that the grand jury of Middlesex, in de-
fiance of the oath which they had taken, surrendered their important
functions to the council of protection, and refused to inquire into the
case of the oppressed slave, because that council had refused? We are
satisfied that when the time arrives, and the indignation of the whole
British nation is loudly expressed, our fellow-colonists will feel grateful
for the conduct of the attorney-general and the bishop, as the only re-
deeming features of the case; and it is probable that they will also then
thank us for telling them the truth, and for proving to the British
public, that however culpable a great part of the community may be,
they have been the dupes of interested and designing men.
" We would now ask Mr. Bullock a few questions. Our readers
may have perceived that we laid some stress on the fact, that the date
of Mr. Pringle's letter to Sir George Murray is so far back as the 6th
of July last year, and on the fair presumption thence arising, that Sir
George Murray's despatch (although the date was withheld from the
public) was written about the same time, or shortly afterwards. We
now ask Mr. Bullock whether this is not the fact, and whether he did
not, on its arrival in this island, communicate the contents of it to his
friend Mr. Bridges ? Nay, we ask further, if it be true, as whispered,
that Lord Belmore, at his suggestion, and by his advice, in answer to
that despatch, deprecated inquiry into the matter, on account of the
clamour which it would excite? Did not Sir George Murray's reply
contain a peremptory direction to proceed with the investigation ? and
was it not when that was received, and then only, that the despatch,
which has been published, was acted on? We believe that we may
safely answer all those questions for Mr. Bullock in the affirmative.
“ At all events, Sir George Murray will know, and if our surmise be
a correct one, we would call his attention to the facts which we
have detailed in this article. If he has been at a loss to conceive why
a plain case of alleged injustice should not be inquired into, he will find
a solution of the difficulty in the intimacy which subsists between the
governor's secretary and the accused. If he has wondered why a civil,
kind, and conciliatory despatch was met with so much of virulence and


Result of the case of Mr. Bridges and Kitty Hylton. 15

hostility, and so much of personal invective and slander against himself,
he will here detect some of the mainsprings, by which the complicated
machinery of popular prejudice, and clamour, and excitement, have
been set at work, to defeat the inquiry and investigation, which, from a
simple regard to justice, he was desirous of making. But what will he
think of Mr. Bullock, when he finds that after inquiry was deprecated
through his advice, lest clamour should be excited, he is himself mainly
instrumental in raising that clamour, in order to defeat inquiry? What

finds, that one great topic of declamation throughout the matter, was
the delay which had taken place in bringing it forward ?
of the governor in the remarks which we have made on the extraordi-
nary proceedings of his secretary. We know that he has been on
friendly terms with Mr. Bridges; but we trust, that while matters re-
main in their present state, intimacy has ceased ; and we believe him to
be a man of too much moral rectitude, to permit his private feelings to
interfere with his public duty, and we have reason to think that he does
not know the real facts. Yet, he will pardon us, if we caution him
against the pernicious influence of his secretary, on all questions bearing
direct reference to morality or religion, lest he should be placed in
situations where his actions may be misunderstood, and his motives
impeached.
“ To Mr. Bullock himself we would give this advice. Be wise in
time.-Desist from the course which you have apparently chalked out
for yourself, rest assured that great as are your abilities, you will find
them of little service to you, if employed in opposing the progress of
truth, of virtue, and religion. The phrase,' these things must be put a
stop to,' may become you very well, when, in the plenitude of power,
your fiat is sent forth for repressing some popular stir in the house of
assembly; but beware of fancying that it will be equally effectual against
the cause of humanity and religion. Your machiavelian policy may
stand you in good stead (to appearance at least) in your dealings with
men like yourself, and in opposition to their paltry interests; but, in a
contest with the God of heaven and earth, it will only serve to render
your defeat more signal, and your disgrace more complete !
“ We are well aware, that many, whose good opinion we value, will
probably be displeased with us for having so fully exposed this case to
public view; but we have only done our duty to the colony, and we
are confident that its best interests will be materially promoted by open
discussion. We know that it has long been and still is a prevailing
notion in this colony, that great caution, and even concealment, should
be employed in all cases of ill-treatment of slaves, lest the character of
the country should suffer, and we believe it to have been frequently the
cause of great and crying injustice. Within the last few months, we
Tou
OODA
detestation of the act of cruelty with which Mr. Bridges is charged,
and their conviction of his guilt, but yet strongly deprecate any further
inquiry, merely, as they alleged, for the sake of the country. But what
fallacious reasoning this is ! Taking them upon their own ground, that

16
The Jamaica Christian Record.
the safety and prosperity of the colony depend on the favourable opinion
which their fellow-subjects in the mother country entertain of the ge-
neral treatment of the slaves, is it not obvious that any such good
opinion can rest only on the vigilant and fearless administration of
humane laws in their favour? For example, the lower classes in
England, or in any other well-regulated country, are considered to be
protected from oppression, not because cases of oppression never occur,
but because they are amply redressed, and the laws impartially enforced
against the offenders, and because the outraged feelings of the public.
would induce them rather to drag the accused forth to justice, than to
screen and protect him. The same remark is applicable to the colonies,
and the same test will be applied by all reasonable men, in judging of
the degree of protection given to the slave. But we are not disposed to
rest the paramount duty of an impartial and fearless administration of
the laws on such low ground as the advantage afforded by the good
opinion of others. We call upon the people of Jamaica, as men and as
Christians, to consider well the obligations which their relative situation
to the lower classes as their bondmen impose on them for their protec-
tion from outrage, and the awful consequences which must result from
persisting in a system of injustice, in compliance with the dictates of a
foolish and mistaken policy. We ask them whether they can expect
individual or general prosperity, so long as in their private or public
capacity, as masters or as magistrates, they disobey the positive injunc-
tions of Him, who requires them to learn to do well, seek judgment,
and relieve the oppressed? We beseech them, as the professed ser-
vants of Christ, the inculcator, the example, the God of mercy, to re-
collect, that the actors in the dreadful scenes of cruelty and of fraud
and deception, which we have detailed, are called Christians, and that
the accused himself is a minister of the gospel, and not to rest satisfied
with the name, or the profession of Christianity, but to prove that they
possess its spirit, by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly
with their God.”
London: S. Bagster, Jun, Printer, 14, Bartholomew Close.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
DATE DUE

OPC
JAN 1931
1980
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
DATE DUE

OCT 8 1993
NOV 2 1993
FB
1997,93
NOV 2
DEC 03 1993
the Long
FEB 15%D93/
JAN
5 1998
APR 20
ity
Divinars
JUL 2 1 2003
WOVEN
MAY 2 0 1993
JUN 6 1993
JUIL 0 1 1993
AUG 4 1993
-
-
AUG 25 1993
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
1111
III
3 9015 00700 8280
--
-
-
.
. ------
DO NOT REMOVE
OR
MUTILATE CARD