By a late arrival from the West Indies, we have
received some Jamaica and Demerara papers : their contents confirm Sir William Molesworth's statement respecting the " critical" condition of these colonies. Alluding generally to Colonial Office rule, the Berbice Ad. vertiser " It is an abominable principle, that one man should exercise the povren of sovereignty over our colonies. It is an extraordinary circumstance, that the British Parliament should ever have sanctioned this principle of dictatorship... this absolutely despotic rule: it can only be that, as yet, no glaring mark of hi, Arne of the prerogative has been brought before diem; for his power it coo. trary to all representative government, and in direct violation of the British constitution, awl that of all free states. Even to say that as yet it has not boa exercised tyrannically, is no argument, is no guarantee that it may not be so ex. ercised ; and our liberty is a jewel too precious to trust in the hands of any we man, however reasonable and however scrupulous. Ae a British colony, et have a right to the enjoyment of the advantages of the British constitution, and ought not to be subjected to any other power than that which rules Great Bri. tarn,—viz. the Representatives of the People. As colonists, our compact is with the British People, not the Colonial Secretary of State. In return for their government and protection, we give them our almost exclusive custom; but we resign our right of governing ourselves into the hands of the British Parliament, because we cannot conveniently have Representatives in the HOW of Conimons ourselves, and are not ripe yet fiir taking our government into our own hands. It appears very probable that his Lordship will have two dad. fected and rebellious colonies on his hands ere long, instead of one. Nothing, baked, will preserve the allegiance of a colony beyond its absolute necessity, if the natural right of making laws for their own government be interfend with; it provokes them to wish, arid u early as possible to assert their indepentleaaa" The Jamaica Despatch observes in the same spirit- " There must be no yielding to the will of a Colonial Secretary, no sums. der of its privileges on the part of the House; not the slights ingement of those privileges must be permitted, unless, indeed, it is intended ilia the de crees of a Colonial Secretary are to serve us four laws. If that is designed, let the question be at once settled; and the clammy will be spared uni.:h truuble and expense."
The Kingston Chronicle protests against the "imperious commands of the Downing Street Secretary, who issues his decrees as if he were Sultan of the Colonies"— " The arbitrary style in which lie dictates to the Governor, shows how much he is to concede and how much reject of our local enactments. It Ins tacit avowal, that he cousiders the Local Legislature bound to submit to his dicta- tion, said that henceforth the independent deliberations of the Assemidy are a mere farce ; as, whatever measure the Colonial Secretary disapproves, however beseficial to the interest of' the colony, will be rendered null and void by his imperial mandate. It follows, therefore, that under pretence of giving liberty to hotelmen, the freemen have been deprived of their rights and liberty, and are expected to surrender theit chartered freedom as Britons to the imperial dictum of a self.constituted faction. Whether they will consent to their ova degradation, remains to be seen, as their present session will decide the question." The following, from the Jamaica Standard, though sufficiently absurd in tone, speaks the sentiments of a party in the colony, very ready* enter into u serious contest with the Mother Country- " Are our Representatives to pant like a petted child for a season, and retest to goosbhumour for a sugar-plum? We do not even get the sugar-plum. This would be a laughable though pitiable state of things. Who would live undo such a imockery of a constitution ? No man whose blood was not as cold as Sob's, and who could find a spar buoyant enough to float him to New Orient. Fortunately our constitution is not such a humbug. With the exception of 10,000/. a year, which the Council and Governor have the disposal of, without accounting to the people of Jamaica, who pay it, our Commons have the cow, mend of the money : they can stop the supplies; they can relieve their mei- tricots of that load of taxes which grinds them down for English, and not for Jamaica purposes; they can say—they have said before, and never unsueeess• fully—they can say, what the glorious Papinrau and his noble band of patriots are now saying—' no justice, no money!' The timid cry out, we have no power to contend with the British Government. Bali! what is their power now ? They are in the agonies of bankruptcy; their ruinous debt, our twenty millions, and the cost and consequences of the frightful experiment AN choking them ; they are already black in the face ; and it needs but a war for the loss of. another great portion of their possessions. Let Lord Glenelybe• ware—or Lord Melbourne or any other lord who may rule our destinies for the day. Our representatives may east on the English nation, already uneasy under its burdens, the military and civil government of Jamaica. We We' well-filled exchequer, like the Canadians, to tempt the spoiler. If Jamaica refuses the supplies, inquiry must be made as to the causes. We invite Lord Melbourne to give Lord Glenelg II few 11 &pa before he permits us to be provoked too far ; and to ascertain from his drowsy Lordship, what defence he can nide and reasons he can offer for asking 200,000/. per annum to defray the charges of the colony uf Jamaica."
There are complaints of losses occasioned by the unwillingne.,s of the apprentices to work as many hours as formerly- " We have lost at Manchester fully one-fourth of our (coffee) crop, because the people would not pick it. Some say, by the orders uf the Special Mao, sow
trate, they were l'es'red net to pick a barrel each in their master's time, although on their own days they picked with ease a barrel, and frequently a barrel and a half, and in their toaster's time half a barrel. It was reported to sir. special Justice Brown, that the apprent;ces had said, that they have been instructed by the Magistrates not to pick a barrel.' Our coffee crop is now nearly all gathered from the trees, and will fall short by one-fourth of what teas expected. entirely owing to the apprentices not picking by one-third that quan- 6ty of coffee they formerly did under the eight hours system. Many of them hare been under an impression that the Special Magistrates did not wish them to do it. From 1,500 to 2,000 casks will be the supposed loss throughout the parish; and, to add to our loss, we are now laughed at by those who had it in their power to have done us justice."
A " Special Justice" of Demerara, by name Allen, had been fined 7,000 guilders and costs, which would make the penalty amount to mom guilders, or 5,000 dollars, for an illegal imprisonment of a Dr. King, whom he manacled with " hand-stocka " so small as to create excessive pain in the Doctor's wrists.
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