PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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believed that in this case the Africans had some excuse for stealing. No. 4 had 36 Africans, all lazy, and indolent, and dishonest. In this case also something could be said on behalf of the Africans. No. 5, out of 12 Africans, had two that were thieves. No. 6 says the general behaviour of his Africans is very bad, but he cannot give any particulars. In the cases of Nos. 3 and 4 it is my opinion that the masters are to be blamed for the crimes with which they charge their Alricans, the rations being deficient in both cases.
23. Within the last 12 months there were 17 births among the Afiicans I met with, and three deaths. The small number of births is remarkable, especially on some plan- tations, for example, at Foret Noire, the present proprietor has never had a single one among his Africans, although employing until recently 46 Africans. Of the three deaths, one occurred from dysentery; in the other cases the proprietor was unable to state the cause of death, but all had medical treatment.
24. All Africans possessed clothes, and wore them to a greater or less extent, except a number of those on two estates, but many of those on the property of Mr. Le Marchand possessed no clothes beyond a few square inches of a dirty rag suspended by a piece of string, and were simply an outrage on public decency. Some five or six at Cape Lerny were in a similar condition, only with this difference, that clothes were being made for them at my visit. The Africans in both cases gave satisfactory reasons, so far at least as they were concerned, for their state of all but nudity. I am glad to state that these two instances were, however, quite exceptional.
25. In the great majority of cases the Africans appeared contented and happy, and in no
case was there any appearance of a disposition to turbulent and violent behaviour, or to form strikes and coalitions as among workmen in Great Britain. The only examples of discontent were, in regard to work, the nine mentioned above, and on the eight plantations where they were dissatisfied with their food; there was only one regular complaint about wages, and in that case there was no doubt whatever that the complaint was well founded, but the African seldom or never knows how much wages he should get, and therefore is not apt to complain so long as he gets anything.
26. Speaking generally, the employers were apparently quite willing to give any infor- ployers mation asked, or to produce whatever books they kept. In a few cases the information given was false, persisted in until thoroughly exposed, and then the deceit acknowledged, but there are some cases where statements were made by the employer completely con- tradictory of each other, and where, as for example, in the matter of wages, the state- ments of the Africans, the verbal statements of the employer, and his book, all say different things. Such cases call for judicial investigation, and no efforts will be spared to do justice to both parties. Books, however, are kept on very few plantations, and and many of them so badly kept as to be worthless. All were requested to keep books, but not a few declared their inability to read and write, and of course much carnot be expected of them, only I did not meet with one of this class that ever paid too much to his Africans.
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General Remarks.
27. In the above I have answered all your queries to the best of my ability, but there still remain a few things that must be brought before your notice.
The first and most urgent of these is the subject of payments. On some plantations payments are made once a month, on others once every three months, or at even longer intervals. It appears to me very desirable that all should be paid monthly, and for these reasons:---
(1) Payments at long intervals afford the employer too great facility for cheating his Africans, on account of their inability to reckon large sums of money, especially if the master keeps a shop, and gives thein goods in advance.
(2.) Where an African earns only three or four shillings a month, and is paid once in three nonths, he is very liable to run short of money before a second pay-day, and thus be deprived of any little comfort, and rendered unnecessarily miserable for mouths.
(3.) When they receive a large sum of money at one time, after having been without any, they are much more liable to commit excesses, get drunk, &c. &c.
28. I further desire to make a few remarks on the justice of the payments. Of the 128 establishments visited, satisfactory evidence was produced at 23. To these 23 may be added six others, where only allotted Africans, too young for engagement, were employed. As these had food and clothes from their employers the remuneration was considered sufficient. At eight other places I could not procure the tickets of engagement, and I therefore cannot speak dogmatically as to them.
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29. As to the remaining 91 employers, it is not said here that they all defraud their Deficient Africans, but merely that they failed to produce satisfactory proof that their payments payments. were just. It is true that in many cases the sum withheld was small, often a shilling or two monthly, but it varied from that to the entire sum in other cases. that in some cases the fraud is unintentional, and due to the ignorance of both parties, It would appear although it is true the African always has the worst of it; but in some other cases the fraud is practised systematically and artfully, and every precaution adopted against conviction. As many expressed regret at their defaults, and promised to be just in future, great improvement is expected in this particular by another visit, but it seems absolutely necessary that an attempt should be made to punish some of the better informed and most influential defaulters, which, if successful, would doubtless have a beneficial influence on their humbler and more ignorant brethren.
30. The idea of prosecuting every supposed defaulter is not entertained, and chiefly for the following reasons:-(1) on account of the magnitude of the undertaking; (2) the act of prosecuting at one time so many of the proprietors might produce a disagreeable feeling among the Africans; (3) that many of them scein to have been acting wrongly in ignorance of what is right; (4) that much good is expected from prosecuting a few notorious examples.
Religious State.
31. Each African was asked whether he or she was baptized.
156 said they were so ;
of these 125 returned themselves as Roman Catholics, and 31 as Protestants. On the largest properties baptism and churchgoing is all but completely ignored, and, as a rule, the employer does not hesitate to state that he never concerns himself whether his Africans go to church or not. The general idea seems to be that they have bought these Africans from Government for a definite time, that they have no duty to perform in the way of civilizing them, but merely to get as much work as possible out of them with the least possible expense. I constantly hear people speaking of "buying Africans from Government," a phrase which is very apt to shock sensitive or sensational strangers. With the exception of the Africans that have the good luck to be employed at Govern- ment House, and two or three others in towo, no attempt seems to be made to teach any of them to read, and so often was this question answered by a derisive giggle, that I was ultimately all but ashamed to put it, knowing that I should be laughed at for entertaining the idea of an African learning to read. I would strongly urge on your consideration the desirability of having it impressed on the planters that they have another duty to perform by these poor ignorant Africans than merely paying them their wages and teaching them a little work. I, for my part, shall never lose an opportunity of reminding them of the heavy moral responsibility they undertake with regard to them.
32. I may state here that I met with one solitary case of legitimate marriage between two Africans. I also found 19 that said they had saved a little money; this practice was strongly urged on all those earning the higher rates of wages, and from the promises made it is hoped that under periodical visits it will become more universal.
Injustice done to Africans by the Employer prolonging their Term of Service.
33. It appears that some employers defraud their Africans in two ways in regard to their term of engagement. (1) Those Africans that are allotted to be engaged at the age of 10 years are sometimes not brought up for engagement until they are perhaps 11 or 12, and for which time they receive no money; if they are then engaged for five years it gives the employer a very decided advantage at the expense of the African. Five Africans were met with that had passed the age of engagement, some of them over two years, and that were not yet under engagement. (2) When the African has finished his term of service the employer sometimes neglects to have him discharged, but retains him in his service in ignorance that his engagement is finished, and pays him, as a rule in such cases, a mere trifle. Eleven Africans so treated were met with.
Illegal Transference of Africans.
34. It was discovered that in one case an employer had given three of his engaged Africans to another employer from whom he received so much money in lieu of them; their legal employer retained their tickets in his possession, and told me when I examined their tickets that the Africans were away at work in the forest, and that I could not see them. Entertaining suspicion, I re-visited this employer, when, on my again demanding
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