Black people -- Jamaica; Jamaica; Slavery -- Jamaica
“Lieut.-Col. Brown was on the ground at the head of his regiment,” says
Madden, writing of the Colonial Church Union--and Madden was one of the
special magistrates sent out at the Abolition, a particularly fair and
farseeing man, “when the Governor, Lord Mulgrave arrived. His Lordship
addressed the regiment, and Lieut.-Col. Brown was ordered by him to
sheath his sword and consider himself removed from the regiment. Upon
his dismissal three-fourths of the regiment broke and quitted the ranks;
some of the officers tore off their epaulets and trampled on them; the
men were however re-collected in the ranks and marched past in review
order under the command of the officer next in rank not, however,
without every attempt, by persuasion and abuse alternately from the
mutinous officers, to induce the men to refuse to perform their duty. A
stone of large size was thrown at the Governor, which fortunately fell
short of his person; the officer, however, who was charged with
this disgraceful outrage denied having committed it, and no further
investigation took place. Thus ended the memorable review at Huntly
Pastures.”
It was not only the officers of the St Ann's Regiment who were in
agreement with the Colonial Church Union, for they say that actually
eleven magistrates were dismissed before its power was broken.
I suppose they held the last redoubt in the cause of slavery. And
Jamaica must have been rather an exciting place to live in while that
last defence was held. The slave-holders were all the more bitter that
their power was slipping from them, and it was some little time before
the dissenting ministers were allowed to preach as they wished and
without interference. Some of the _custodes_ had a hard time protecting
them. Many of them asked for trouble.
A Mr Greenwood applied at the Quarter Sessions of the Parish of St Ann
to take the oaths. The custos was S. M. Barrett, and there was a big
assembly in the Courthouse, a large number of persons being connected
with the former Church Union. No sooner did Mr Greenwood make his
appearance in the Court than there was a loud uproar. These angry
gentlemen vented their wrath upon him.
“Methodist parson among us!” they shouted. “Turn him out! Turn him out!
We will have no Methodists here!” They were on their own ground. One
magistrate shouted: “I protected one of the wretches before at the
hazard of my life! I will not protect this one!” And Mr Hamilton Brown,
his dismissal from his regiment still rankling, called upon the custos
“to order Mr Greenwood out of the Courthouse forthwith! Forthwith!”
But the custos was made of sterner stuff. Though without sympathy for
the preacher, he declared he was going to administer the law without
respect of persons.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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