Page:Abstract of the evidence for the abolition of the slave-trade 1791.djvu/173

( 139 ) Jamaica, finished their work by one or two o'clock, whereas the plantation negroes on the adjoining land would not finish till dark, even with the driver, the same quantity of land.

Having now stated all that appears in the evidence, on the subject of easing the labour of the slaves, as the means of increasing them by birth, we come to a few regulations of another kind.

7.Never let the same person hold the offices of attorney and overseer, or manager: nor let an estate be put under the care of an attorney who either has many estates to attend to, or who lives many miles from the estate he is to superintend.

All these evils are abundantly stated in the evidence, and, it is therefore clear, that the above regulation would have a tendency to obtain protection for the slaves, in cases of unmerited or excessive punishment, on the part, of the overseer: for, by the 3d regulation, it would be the interest of the attorney to inquire into their complaints, and redress them, and not, as at present, to wink at their oppression; and by this regulation, he would be at hand and have time to do his duty. The slaves also would not be precluded by distance, from preferring their own complaints. This superintendance of punishments, was one of the causes that contributed to the increase on an estate mentioned in the preceding chapter.

8.Let a small part of the cane-lands be dismantled and turned into provision grounds, for the slaves.

The great want of provisions, which the slaves experience, has been amply explained in Chap. IV. It has been proved that those who have land enough allowed them have not sufficient time to cultivate it; but that evil will be removed by the introduction of task-work (Regul. 6.) and those who have little or no land will possess it by the present. This would be particularly S 2