The accounts from the West Indies represent the slaves in
some whole colonies and parts of others as working cheerfully under the new system; but there seems to be a determination to labour as little as possible on many large estates. No acts of violence are committed, but there is an evident understanding among the ap- prentices to offer passive resistance to the lawful authorities. The Jamaica Herald says- " Immigration will he the only means to recover Blackee from his fit of idle- ness. When he finds there are no clothes, hats, shoes, and Christmas allowances in store for him—and that he must pay rent or take to the woods—' a change may come o'er the spirit of his dream,' and he may put his hand to the hoe in good earnest ; but nothing short of compulsion will make him stir. He loves indolence as much as the sloth ; slothful he has ever been, and shothful,it is to be feared, he will ever rem dn."
Are the White men fond of labour in a tropical climate; or are the Negroes lazy in Northern latitudes ? We suspect that the heat of the sun has much to do with the indisposition to work.
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