Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

1071

Gleanings.-Literary Notices.

.....

To Keep off Flies.-The following simple way of preventing flies from sitting on pictures, or any other furniture, is well experienced, and will, if generally used, prevent trouble and damage :-Let a large bunch of leeks soak for five or six days in a pailful of water, and wash the picture, or any other piece of furniture, with it: the flies will never come near any thing so washed.-Oil of laurel applied to the doors and places where meat is kept, will effectually keep fiies from it.

In door Plants.-Persons who are fond of odoriferous plants and flowers, should never permit them to he placed in their bed-chamber, as many of them are so powerful as to overcome the senses entirely. Even plants that are not in flower, and have no smell, yet injure the air during the night, and in the absence of the sun, by impregnating it with nitrogen and carbonic acid gas; although in the daylight they rather improve the atmosphere by yielding oxygen gas.

Adulterations of Milk.-From an inquiry instituted in Paris on the subject of the adulterations of milk, water, it appears that the common ingredients are wheat flower, and sugar-candy. The new milk is allowed to stand for a time, and a portion of the cream is removed; water is then added to the skim milk; its whiteness is procured by boiled wheat flour; and the flat taste arising from the flour is removed by a small quantity of sugar-candy. A still more ingenious fraud is practised in Paris, with emulsion of almonds, by means of which, for a shilling, thirty pints of water may be changed into fair and houest-seeming milk; and by the addition of a little sugar-candy, the flavour as well as colour and consistency may be obtained. The former adulteration is supposed to be the one most commonly practised in London. Neither is discoverable without chemical tests.

Law. The amount of effects of suitors in Chancery, in 1828, was 39,210,3267.-The number of barristers is estimated at 1,034; conveyancers and pleaders, 138; London attorneys 9056; country attorneys. 2.667. Total Lawyers in England and Wales, 12,895.-For the nine years ending in 1829, the attorney's paid, in duties on articles of clerkship, admissions, and yearly certificates, upwards of one million sterling.

Sir William Jones on Slavery." I pass with haste by the coast of Africa, whence my mind turns with indignation at the abominable traffic in the human species, from which a part of our countrymen dare to derive their most inauspicious wealth. Sugar, it is said, would be dear, if it were not worked by blacks in the western islands; as if the most laborious, the most dangerous works, were not carried on in every country, but chiefly in England, by freemen: in fact, they are so carried on with infinitely more advantage; for there is an alacrity in a consciousness of freedom; and a gloomy, sullen indolence in a consciousness of slavery but let sugar be as dear as it may; it is better to eat none, to eat honey, if sweetness only be palatable; better to eat aloes or coloquintida, than violate a primary law of nature, impressed on every heart not imbruted by avarice, than rob one human creature of those eternal rights of which no law upon earth can justly deprive him."-Dr. Lardner's Cyclopædia.

Coal breaking.-The cause of the coals supplied to consumers being so small, when it is well known they come in blocks of large size from the pit's mouth, may be gathered from the following calculation made by the celebrated Dr. Hutton, who says, that "if one coal measuring exactly a cubic yard (nearly equal to five bolls) be broken into pieces of a moderate size, it will measure seven bolls and a half, and if broken very small it will measure nine bolls.-London Paper.

Silk Worms.--Many efforts have been recently made to introduce the silk-worm on an extensive scale into Ireland, especially in the county of Cork. We have just heard of a voluntary colony of these valuable insects having settled in this county, on the demesne of Mount Loftus, the seat of Sir Nicholas Loftus, Bart. On that demesne there are no mulberry trees, but there are several of the European spindle-tree, or Enanymus Europeus, and of these the colonists have taken possession. One tree is literally weighed down with them, and it is supposed there are not less than half a million of worms actively spinning upon it. We always understood that no leaf would bring the silk-worm to perfection except the mulberry; yet those at Mount Loftus appear to enjoy vigorous health, but we fear they are doomed to speedy annihilation. Even in Italy, the silk-worm is fed within doors, and we fear the moth would perish, even if the weather should enable the caterpillar to live, and cut its way through the cocoon.-Leinster Journal, June 20, 1229.

Literary Notices. Just Published.

1072

Part III. of Captain Elliot's Views in the East, &c. contains beautiful Delineations and Descriptions of Assar-Mahal, Beejapore; Jumma Musjid, Agra; and Cawnpore.

No. XIX. of the National Portrait Gallery presents Viscount Goderich, Richard Porson, A.M., and the Hon. Mr. Agar Ellis, with their respective Memoirs. Thucydides, with Original English Notes, Examination Questions, &c., by the Rev. Dr. Bloomfield, 3 vols.

The Orestes of Euripides, with English Notes, by the Rev. J. R. Major.

The complete Works of Bishop Sherlock, with a Summary to each Discourse, and Notes, by the Rev. T. S. Hughes, B.D. 5 vols. small 8vo. cloth, bds.

The Classical Library, No. 10, containing Original Translations of Pindar and Anacreon; cloth, bds.

Ecclesiastical History, in a Course of Lectures now delivering at Founders' Hall, Lothbury, by W. Jones, M.A. Part I.

Medicine No Mystery, being a brief Outline of the Principles of Medical Science. Second Edition, by John Morrison, M.D. Post 8vo.

The Pulpit, Part 95.

Faustus, a Poem, Canto I,

The Protestant Instructor, by the Rev, E. Harrison, Vicar of Redbourne, Lincolnshire. One Vol 8vo. Part 8 of York Castle, and Newgate in the Nineteenth Century, by Leman Thomas Rede, Esq.

No. 6 of the Familiar Astrologer, by Raphael. Vol. I. of A Concise View of the Succession of Sacred Literature, in a Chronological Arrangement of Authors and their Works, from the Invention of Alphabetical Characters, to the Year of our Lord 1445. Part I. by Adam Clarke, LL.D. F.A.S. Part II. by J. B. B. Clarke, M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge; and Chaplain to H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex. Edinburgh Cabinet Library-Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas and Regions, Whalefishery, &c. by Professors Leslie, Jameson, and Hugh Murray, Esq. The Juvenile Forget-Me Not, for 1831, by Mrs. S. C. Hall. Embossed Morocco.

The Whole Book of Psalms, with all the Marginal Readings, a Commentary and Notes, by Adam Clarke, LL.D. F.A.S. 4to. cloth.

Cheltenham Lyrics, and other Poems, by Hal Harding.

Utility of Latin discussed, for the Consideration of Parents, by Justin Brenan,

Twenty-two Short Discourses on Scripture Passages, by Charles Hubbard.

Historical Catechisms, by I. Watts, D.D.

A Manual of Prayers, in Easy Language, by Rev. J. Topham, M.A., &c.

The Christian Eclectic, by Charles Scott. Divines of the Church of England. Vol.5, (Works of Sherlock), by the Rev. T. Hughes.

Journal of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M. No. 1. in 37 Nos.

A Defence of the Surinam Negro-English Version of the New Testament, by Wm. Greenfield.

A Discourse on the Resurrection of the Body, by J. P. Dobson.

The Duty of a Prompt and Complete Abolition of Colonial Slavery, by the Rev. S. C. Wilks, A.M. The Pleasures of Benevolence, a Poem. Anti-Slavery Reporter, Nos. 68 69.

Sunday School Teacher's Magazine, No. 9. New Series.

The Arrow and the Rose, with other Poems, by Wm. Kennedy.

Ackerman's Juvenile Forget-Me-Not, for 1831. The Humourist, a Companion for the Christmas Fireside, by H. Harrison.

'The Gem, for 1831.

Forget me Not, for 1831.

Family Classical Library; Pindar and Anacreon. A Discourse upon National Dietetics, &c., by George Warren, Surgeon.

[blocks in formation]

LONDON PRINTED AT THE CAXTON PRESS, BY HI. FISHER, SON, AND CO.

[graphic]

Painted & Engraved by Henry Meyer, Great Rufsel Street.

THE YOUNG CATECHIST.

Q. While this tawny Ethiop prayeth, A.

Painter, who is she that stayeth
By with skin of whitest lustre ;
Sunny locks, a shining cluster:
Saint like seeming to direct him
To the Power that must protect him:
Is she of the Heav'n-born Three,
Meek Hope strong Faith sweet Charity?
Or cherub?

some

They you

mention

Far transcend my weak invention.
Tis a simple Christian child.
Missionary young and mild,
From her stock of scriptral knowledge.
Bible, taught without a college.
Which by reading she could gather.
Teaches him to say "Our Father
To the common Parent, whe
Colour not respects nor hue
White and black in Him have..
Who looks not to the skin bus nei

FISHER. SON & Co LONDON 1830.

THE

Emperial Magazine;

OR, COMPENDIUM OF

RELIGIOUS, MORAL, & PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE.

DECEMBER.] "PERIODICAL LITERATURE IS THE GERM OF NATIONAL LEARNING."

WEST-INDIAN SLAVERY, AND THE NE

CESSITY OF ITS ABOLITION. (With an Emblematical Engraving.) THE plate presented to our readers in this number is rather characteristic than personal, but its emblematical appearance may be easily associated with existing incidents, and illustrated by an appeal to historical facts.

In its more enlarged signification, it represents the genius of Christianity instructing Paganism in the knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ.

In a more limited view, it displays, in the person of a lovely young female, the amiable emanations of a missionary spirit, directing the untutored African to offer prayer and praise to God.

On a scale still more contracted, it teaches, that pious children may be made instrumental in the hands of the Almighty, in extending the Redeemer's kingdom.

Contrasting the fair complexion of the European, with the swarthy countenance of the Negro, we behold the moral and intellectual condition of each; the former, irradiated with light, and the latter enve- | loped in darkness. This contrast is still more strongly marked in the civil and political relations which the inhabitants of Europe and of Africa sustain towards each other. The former, with all their superior light and knowledge, unjustly enslaving the latter, exhibit turpitude darker than the Ethiopian's skin.

The period however, seems to be near at hand, when the oppressor, in obedience to the dictates of inspiration, shall "proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

Surveyed in its origin, progress, internal character, various connexions, effects, and consequences, it is more than probable that Slavery exhibits a crime of greater magnitude, and deeper malignity, than any other which earth presents to heaven.

consume

The scourge of war may shed rivers of blood, desolate countries, and their cities with fire; but after a given season the tempest subsides: the demon retires, satiated with conflagration and carnage, and then the surviving inhabitants,

144.-VOL. XII.

[1830.

"Rebuild the towns that smoked upon the plain, And the sun gilds the shining spires again,'

But slavery, interminable slavery, knows no cessation. The groan of the negro has been lengthened out without a moment's intermission for upwards of three hundred years; it is perpetuated from generation to generation, and lacerations from the whip of capricious passion, or deliberate but unfeeling despotism, accompanied with the galling chain of compulsory servitude, are all that an enslaved negro can bequeath to his posterity.

Idolatry may place human nature in a degrading, a detestable, and a pitiable light, but its victims are not under the influence of coercion. To their idols and imaginary divinities they yield a voluntary homage; no scourges impel them to their duties, no shackles prevent them from retiring. Their various systems always imply the acknowledgment of a superior power, of an invisible agency, that can control and fix the destinies of mankind. This belief furnishes the basis of their idolatrous worship, and developes to them the source of moral obligation. To all this the negro is an entire stranger. The cracking of the whip, the clanking of his chains, and the cries of his neighbouring slave enduring torture, and uttered perhaps in dreadful unison with his own, are the only sounds with which slavery can regale his ears. He is no longer an agent, but an instrument. His mental energies, like his muscular powers, must submit to the will of a tyrant, to whom he is under no obligation. The scanty morsel on which he subsists is dealt out rather to prolong his existence from motives of interest, than to remunerate his labour. Slavery gives him nothing to enjoy in time, and nothing to hope in eternity.

It appears from the general statements of history, that after the avowed establishment of slavery, several ages passed away, during which the sufferings of the injured negro excited but little commiseration, and that his fate remained disregarded and unknown. A few benevolent individuals indeed lifted their voices against a system founded on injustice, and supported by

3 Y

[blocks in formation]

inhumanity, but these for many years were compelled to plead in vain.

In England, the opinion of York and Talbot, the solicitor and attorney-general, in favour of slavery, delivered in 1729, threatened for a season to introduce the diabolical system into this country. In the streets of London enslaved negroes were frequently seen, and advertisements for their sale or transfer constantly disgraced our public prints. At length arose that truly benevovolent man, Granville Sharpe, as the morning star of negro freedom. This noble friend of justice and humanity, doubting the legality of the opinion previously given by York and Talbot, devoted several years of his life to the examination of British law on this momentous question; the result of which was, a full conviction that slavery in England was not sanctioned either by the principles of its constitution, or by any of its legal enactments.

At length, having qualified himself for the arduous task, the case of Somerset, after it had been solemnly argued in the courts of Westminster for three sessions, elicited from the judges, in May, 1772, the ever memorable decision that "Slaves cannot breathe in England, if their lungs

Receive our air, that moment they are free.
They touch our country, and their shackles fall."

This decision awakened the British nation from its criminal supineness, to behold the horrors attendant on the slave trade. As the wrongs of Africa became known, petitions were presented to parliament for the abolition of this diabolical traffic. By interested men these efforts were defeated for a season, but the voice of humanity at last prevailed, and an act was accordingly passed in March, 1807, that after March 2, 1808, no slave should be imported into the British Colonies.

But while this act provided against any future importation, it did nothing for about 800,000 enslaved negroes still held in bondage in the British Colonies. Both these and their unborn posterity were still destined to wear the yoke.

In their behalf, however, the nation again became clamorous, and petitions for a gradual or an immediate emancipation poured into both houses of parliament from every quarter. The question was accordingly agitated in 1823, and, after much opposition, it was admitted by parliament, that the slaves in his Majesty's dominions were British subjects, and that their condition required the interference of the British legislature, which then by various resolutions most solemnly pledged itself to the final abolition of slavery.

1076

Since the above period seven years have elapsed, but nothing has yet been done. The voice and sympathies of the nation are therefore again roused into action. A simultaneous feeling pervades all ranks and classes of the community. Churchmen, Methodists, Dissenters, and Quakers, all unite in one cry for mercy and justice towards the enslaved negroes; and petitions are being prepared throughout the kingdom, that parliament would redeem its pledge, and put an end to this inhuman system for ever. Of these petitions, containing perhaps a greater number of signatures than was ever before on any occasion presented to the legislature, the present parliament will feel the weight, and with joy or sorrow future historians will record their decision.

That something should be done in favour of the negro, to place him under the protection of law, and rescue him from the capricious tyranny of an unfeeling driver, and his merciless cart-whip, no one possessed of human feelings, who reads the following facts, can for a moment doubt. In our preceding number we gave many instances of appalling atrocity from the pages of Mr. Godwin, whose lectures on slavery then passed under our review. From this work, and other sources of authentic information, we extract the following incidents.

Till of late years the slave was liable to the punishment of death for almost every offence. He might in some colonies be mutilated for the act of running away from severe usage, and for endeavouring by force to break his chains, he might be burnt alive, or hung up to perish by hunger in a cage.

Mr. Stephens mentions, that when he was in Barbadoes, he was present at a trial for murder, in the event of which, two negroes, convicted of the offence, were burnt alive. At that very time and place, if the white man for whose death they suffered, had murdered either of them, he would only have been subject to a fine of about £11. sterling.

Mr. Jeffries, a master in the navy, gave evidence before the select committee of the House of Commons, that he was present at the execution of seven_negroes for the murder of a white man, in Tobago, in 1774. Their right hands were first chopped off. They were then dragged to seven stakes, and a fire of trash and dry wood was lighted about them, and they were burnt to death.

Bryant Edwards, the great apologist for negro slavery, states, in his History of the West-Indies, vol. 11. b. iv. chap. 3, that in Jamaica, three negroes were thus exe

« AnteriorContinuar »