BOOKS.

DR. DAVY'S WEST INDIES,

THE materials for this work were collected by Dr. Davy during a residence of several years in the West Indies as Inspector-General of Hospitals. The discharge of his duty took him to Trinidad British Guiana, and the various Windward and Leeward Islands— in fact, to all our American Sugar Colonies except Jamaica. His head-quarters, however, was Barbados ; and his account of " Little

England" is by far the fullest, though a similar mode of treat- ment is pursued throughout. After a very brief historical notice

of the colony, and a description of its physical features, climate, and other natural characteristics, we have an elaborate inquiry into its facilities for production, the state of its agriculture' its economical condition, the character of the population, and its future prospects. The survey closes with a brief account of those things which are the most worthy of a stranger's examina- tion during a brief visit ; the steam company offering the means of a West Indian excursion, though the facilities are less than

they might be, and the charges high. The greater part of the matter is the result of original observation, or of that personal communication which ranks in the same category. Sonic of it is drawn from works on the West Indies or "blue books"; but this matter is well selected and appropriate—used to illustrate or sup- port opinions which the author has formed from other sources, not put forward as substantive in itself.

The book is one of considerable value, either to a person in- terested in the Sugar Colonies, or wishing for general purposes to acquire a knowledge of their capabilities and prospects. Dr. Davy is a man of science as well as a physician ; he takes an interest in the moral and social wellbeing of men as well as in their physical state ; he is an experienced observer of nature and mankind in va- rious quarters of the world. Taste, personal influences, or a desire of bettering the condition of the people among whom he found him- self, induced him to turn his attention to Tropical agriculture and the manufacture of sugar. His lectures on these subjects to the agri- cultural societies of Barbados directed his attention to the whole range of questions involved in their discussion, and furnished him with a means of comparison as regarded the other colonies which he visited. For a view of the direct and probable results of Eman- cipation, the past conduct and present state of the planters, and the future condition of the West Indies, Dr. Davy's book may be safely recommended. His leaning is greater towards the planters than strictly speaking his facts might altogether warrant. He entertains a higher opinion of the innate capabilities of the Negro race than anything in their conduct or condition substantiates. He seems to indulge hopes of a return to discriminative duties, which most assuredly will never be realized, and which if renewed would, we suspect, be of little use even on his own showing. Upon the whole, however, we know of no book on the subject which exhi- bits so much calmness and impartiality—which is so full of inform- ing facts, or contains so much variety of matter. More graphic

liveliness of depiction would in certain parts have given greater life and warmth to the descriptions whether of nature or society; but there is nothing heavy br encumbered in Dr. Davy's accounts. His scientific habits impart precision and clearness to his views ; he has an eye to appreciate the beauties of Tropical nature, and the power of presenting them distinctly, if he does not treat them with the richness which some may fancy they require.

The conclusion to be drawn from the entire survey which Dr. Davy's information enables one to take is not very satisfactory as regards the results of Emancipation, on the Negroes for whose be- nefit it was avowedly made or as respects the future prospects of the Colonies. It may be true that Emancipation has failed from circumstances not inherent in the Negro character ; that free labour may under certain conditions compete successfully with slave labour even in the West Indies ; and that sugar- cultivation may still under certain favourable conditions be profitably conducted. But surely it was the business of states-

men to have ascertained the existence and influence of all these circumstances, and shaped their measures accordingly, instead of

rashly cutting away an excrescence without provision or even thought for consequences. Everybody can tell what is i good or desirable in the abstract. To detect the obviously evil s still , easier, especially if we look at it from a long way off. To see how time and inveterate use have modified the evil, or connected it with better things which may depend upon it and might perish

with its removal—or lastly, how a hasty removal of the evil itself will probably bring worse evils in its train even to those we wish

to benefit—is the qualification necessary for a reforming states- man' and a qualification so rare that ages pass without prothieing it. Were it not so, any man could set up for a Solon. The only colony completely fitted for hasty emancipation was Bar- bados, as it is the only colony whose struggle with great and varied difficulties seems certain to succeed. The first element of success was a dense population with little or no unappropriated land : the Negro could not squat, and must work in some way or starve. This essen- tial element of success was, however, not the only one by many ele- ments. Barbados was purely British in its origin • and its blood is still the purest in the West Indies, with greater energy and practical capacity. The inhabitants of "Little England," as they call their island, are a more educated and active-minded race than • The West Indies before and since Emancipation ; comprising the 'Windward and Leeward Islands' Military Command. Founded on Notes and Observations col- lected during a Three-years Residence. By John Davy, 24.D., F.ILS., 804 ta- spector-General of Army Hospitals. Published by Cash, any other in America except the people of the United -States and Canada. Before the abolition of slavery, or even of the slave- trade, they had, in 1804, instituted an agricultural society when only one institution of the kind existed in this country. These societies have now multiplied in Barbados, wonderfully so con- sidering the smallness of the island—little larger than the Isle of Wight : the spirit that supports them and the willingness to take advantage of the knowledge they furnish which that spirit sup- plies, has been the means of introducing better modes of agricul- ture and manufacturing, though there is still much to be done. "Like master like man." The example and exertions of the planters have acted upon the Negroes and they seem upon the whole to be the best-conducted in the West Indies. There is plenty of room for improvement, but they are not in danger of relapsing into barbarism. Antigua was as favourably situated as Barbados with regard to population and land. The relation between the planters and their slaves was on a very excellent footing : it may be recollected that Antigua waived the appren- ticeship and bestowed freedom at once. There is a good prospect of success for this colony ; but the planters do not appear so active- minded, so instructed, so up to the times, as those of Barbados. Of the other Leeward and Windward Islands, eight or nine in number, the prospects seem to us indifferent. Either the density of population is insufficient to compel the Negroes to work, or the planters do not effectively set about securing their services. The different races of which the planters consist do not show the energy of the Barbadians ; they are deficient in education, and take little interest in improvements, not supporting a society of any public kind, or even a periodical beyond a newspaper. At Trinidad, there seems no lack of mental activity of a certain character, though not of the sort best adapted for an agricultural society ; it smacks too strongly of the adventurous. In Guiana, there is more sunk capital than in any of the other colonies. The prospects of these colonies are not hopeful, from the want of population, or what is the same thing, the facilities possessed by the Negroes for squat- ting or otherwise possessing themselves of land cheaply: At the same time, it should be observed that these two colonies are the most slightly treated of any handled by our author. The planters have displayed in many places a species of provincial nar- rowness of mind, and a want of adaptability to circumstances ; in some things yielding to the Negroes more than they ought to have done, in other things trying to exact. One rule seems so general as to be almost invariable in its operation. West Indian agriculture cannot be carried on by absentees. In the worst colo- nies men who attend to their business can generally contrive "to do " ; in the best, eventual loss overtakes the planter who manages by attorney. These impressions are derived from a perusal of the entire work. Some of them might probably be disputed by Dr. Davy; and other readers might not go altogether with us. We believe the opinions are well founded, and that unless more skill if not more science be introduced into West Indian agriculture and sugar-manufacture, and more pushing intelligence into the management, the colonies, except Barbados and Antigua, are doomed. An extension of the discriminating duties, supposing they were enough thought of at home to be even a question would merely postpone ruin, not avert it. Since the time of imancipation the world has altogether changed, and they who would live must change with it.

Although the actual condition and future hopes of the colonies form the main topic of this volume there are many other things handled by Dr. Davy. Neither is 'West Indian distress always presented in the statistical or disquisitional form. Here is an example from Grenada : but the French bear reverses better, or at least more quietly, than the English. "In illustration of the depressed and distressed state of the planters, I shall notice briefly a few things which I myself witnessed, or which I learnt from unquestionable authority, in my visits to the island. And I shall com- mence with a case not an extreme one, for I believe the individual is free from debt. It is that of a French gentleman, a man of polished manners, well advanced in years, resident on his own property, now merely a cattle- farm, who had once been in opulent circumstances. His house, in which he resided with two daughters, was plain and clean very much patched, wood not unfrequently being the substitute for panes of glass in the windows. The furniture was old and worn, but decent. The dress of the gentleman and his youngest daughter,—she a pretty, graceful, unaffected, ladylike girl just passing into womanhood,—was coarse but clean, and yet becoming; the elder daughter, a widow, we did not see. All was in keeping and in character, denoting change from better days, but without degradation. Turned of seventy, as we were informed, he seemed hale, active, and cheerful, and fond of his retirement ; he spoke of going into the town with dislike. He main- tained himself, we were told, chiefly by his cattle. None of his land—it was an extensive wild tract—was in cultivation excepting his garden, in which he I worked himself, and his hands were almost black from exposure to the sun in this occupation. He was, we were assured, generally respected for his worth, and amongst the officers of the garrison he was a special favourite ; great in- deed was the charm of his simple gentlemanly manners, his cheerfulness, and total absence of affectation. May I add, that strangers as all of the party were, but one who introduced us, and he was but a slight acquaintance, we were received kindly and courteously and entertained hospitably, I need not say not luxeriously,—unlesa turtle's eggs, common in that part of the island, which were offered to us, be considered so, and eau sucre, presented to us by the fair hands, and they were fair, of the young lady, and prepared by her, using brown sugar, for which her father thought proper to apologize, there being no white sugar in the house."

A federal constitution for the West Indian Colonies, instead of a separate government for each little island, has been advocated. Dr. Davy seems to approve of the plan, and strenuously recom- mends a union of some of the smaller islands. How small these are, and smaller even socially than geographically, the picture of self-government at Montserrat, with a population between seven and eight thousand, will show. " Self-government, the grand desideratum, the imagined panacea of all - abuses in our Colonies, which this little island posaessee,—its President re- presenting the Crown, its Council the aristocracy, its House of Assembly the people,—is no doubt the beat that can be, where the qualities, the elements, are found which are essential to its success. What are the elements here at present ? Of the landed proprietors we have seen how few are resident ; the number of freeholds we are told is only 150; of persons paying direct taxes only 170; of these, able to read, above the age of sixteen, only 111, or were the age extended to twenty, only 85. These surely are scanty elements, whether for the purpose of electing or being elected ; especially taking into account that the officials, that is the members of the two Houses and others officially employed, are not less than 77. And, if possible, the incongruity. is increased even ad absurdum by there being, as we are assured, no law re- gulating either the qualification of voters or of their representatives the members. The members of the House of Assembly are twelve, two for each of the five parishes into which the island has been divided, and two for the Lewis of Plymouth. The limited duration of the Assembly is the same as that of the House of Commons, septennial; bat, like it, it may at any time be dissolved. Of the members last elected six were White, the other six Coloured. Not long ago' a Coloured man who had been a slave was elected; but he declined taking his seat, it is said from a feeling of modesty. More- over, looking to the working of this complicated piece of machinery, we find it, if in motion and acting at all, commonly only jarring and making a noise, doing no good work, rather destructive than productive.

" In reflecting on the subject, and in reading the speeches of the President. administering the government, and the addresses of the Council and the House of Assembly in reply, and his Honour's replies to each of them, in set form, language and length—sometimes exceeding in length—very like

what we have language, accustomed to hear delivered in the Imperial l'arlia- ment, it is difficult not to refrain from a smile, or to avoid the idea that the proceedings are a burlesque. And the same remark applies to the law courts, with their Vice-Chancellor, Attorney and Solicitor-General, Queen's Coun- sel, &c. The late President, by whom so many elaborate speeches were made at the opening of the annual session, during his long rule of eleven years, seems to have been fully convinced of the nullity of the existing forms, though, from his seriousness, hardly of the absurdity of them, and that however fitted the inhabitants might at one time have been for self- government, that time i8 past."

The volume contains good observations on health and climate. The heat and unhealthiness have been exaggerated, in Dr. Davy's opinion at least in many places and with care. As a change generally and for a certain class of complaints, a winter excursion or a winter residence might be advantageotui, if the spot for resi- dence were judiciously chosen; though there would seem to be great want of society, and what English people would call accom- modations. For a continuance, the climate is injurious both to mind and body. The European loses spirit and vigour ; his descendant degenerates in those qualities ; which perhaps explains the want of perseverance even in the best West Indians. To long life it is unfavourable. The following is from St Kitts. "That the Whites continue to diminish in numbers can hardly be (lout* ad; it seems to be the natural tendency from the effectof climate. A highly intelligent gentleman with whom I conversed on the subject mentioned some facts strongly in proof. One wart, how, about a century ago, a party of White labourers consisting of about a hundred were brought to the noland'.;.! that he had tried to discover their descendants, but in vain; he had been unable to detect any traces of the stock : such were nearly his words. An- other was,—it was elicited in asking him what he thought of the value of life here in the instance of Whites,—that old age is uncommon ; that he knew only one person a merchant, who had lived quietly and carefully, turned of seventy ; that person, majority after forty laboured under some chronic disease, and died before they attained the age of fifty. He said that men of his pro- fession—he was a lawyer, a barrister fully employed—specially suffered; men in the exercise of their calling nowise necessarily exposed to them- clemencies of a Tropical climate, either to its noonday heats or to its nigh& dews and chills.

"I fear too, that, as to condition, the White portion of the population especially those of the lower class, are little better of than the poor Whites of .Barbados. From the same gentleman I had information illustrating this: When conversing on education, he remarked, that there is no grammar-, school in the island in which the children of the middle class can be tole?. ably taught ; which he said is felt as a great evil. He ridded—the convenaer tion turning on the condition of the people—that there is a good deal of d* tress amongst a considerable number of the White inhabitants reduced from' better circumstances. A White manager, he instanced, has a large family J. they are brought up easily, are in the habit of associating with gentleman. and ladies, and of considering themselves as such. He may have two Or' three hundred a year, a house to live in, and some other advantages. He saves little or nothing, dies and leaves his family destitute.' The sons of man's estate may be able to provide for themselves, as overseers and ma- nagers. The unmarried daughters have no means of earning a decent main- tenance. Their pride will not allow them to go into service. By their needles they can earn very little, there are so many aempstresses. They are not qualified by education to become governesses. They sink to the miserable state of paupers." This listlessness, the result of unfavourable hygienic conditions, has doubtless much to do with the sluggishness' the backwardness

in improvements, of which we hear so much. Even in Barbadoii,

notwithstanding all its advances, agricultural practice and imple- ments are often in an inferior state. , "If manure is to be carried and applied, the cart or wheelbarrow is not commonly used, or the spade or fork a basket carried on the head, such as that already described, is the substitute for the former, and the hands or hoe for the latter. If grass is to be out, the scithe isnot Used, or even the hook, but the hoe or knife ; the hoe, the same as that employed in the ordinary operations of the estate • the knife, a short one' the blade about four inches in length, and commonly blunt. Unfit as the former is for the aurpose to which it is applied, it as rather the preference over the knife in the in- stance of sour grass ; because when using it, the ground is broken and, moved a little at the same time that the grass is cut. • • * "For the sake of comparison,- on one occasion I had the scithe tried against the knife in cutting Guinea gram, the former wielded by an Irish-

man accustomed to its use, the latter by ft field-labourer, a Negro. The Irish- man I found with three strokes of hie scithe (he made Ihirty-eight in a mi- nute) cut about the seine quantity of grass as the Negro did with his knife

in five minutes ; denoting that the Work done with the one was sixty-three times as much as with the other. Another day, the same mower with hia scithe cut in three hours nearly twice-tea much grasses the Negro cut work- ing a whole day. "For the scithe to be introduced and labour economized, and the pastures made productive, they require to be treated after the manner of meadow land in this country, instead of being left almost in a state of nature." -