THE GOVERNMENT PLAN FOR ABOLISHING COLONIAL SLAVERY.

THE Ministerial plan for putting an end to slavery, is at length fairly before the public ; and if we are to believe the West Indian proprietor on the one side, and the ardent Emancipationists on the other, it will prove to be a complete failure. That such would be the opinion of the parties we have named, was, long before the appearance of the plan, predicted on the surest groundis. It was evidently impossible to gratify the prejudices or come up to the mark of the zealots of either party. it' justice were to be done to , the Negroes themselves, and the dictates of common sense an humanity were to be followed. It is therefore by no means con- clusive evidence against the project of Ministers, that it pleases neither Mr. BUXTON nor Mr. BURGE, Lord SUFFIELD 'nor the Marquis of Cnasinoi. The great mass of those who have been engaged in the discussion of the subject of emancipating the Negroes, are utterly disqualified from giving a sound opinion upon

the means of effecting that object, by the heated feelings and. bitter exasperation which the controversy has engendered.

Ministers must look for support only to the dispassionate portion

of the community': for we trust it will be found that some of us at least can argue the question with calmness, and with a view to the

real advantage of our fellow men, White as well as Black—the subjects of foreign countries as well as our own. This letter consideration appears to be too much lost sight of. The Emancipa- tionists talk of the "Negro race," the" unhappy African ;" but all their plans have reference Solely to the 800;000 slaves of our own Colonies. This, however, is taking a narrow view of the Subject. There are twice as many slaves as we possess, in the United States alone—not to mention Cuba, the Brazils, and the French colonies L--whose condition must be materially affected by any measures which We may adopt with respect to our own Negro population. There are millions also of White men, in various parts of the world, whose lives and property will be nearly touched by our cision of this question : and it will be as well to remember, what' many seem strangely to forget, that although the Negroes are un- questionably our fellow creatures, yet that White men and women have some claim Upon our sympathies for the same reason.

The following are the leading features in the Government plan. The badge of slavery. is to be immediately removed from the

Negro; who is tobe converted into an apprenticed labourer with

many of the principal privileges of a free man. • He is rendered capable of serving in the militia,* and upon juries, and of giving

evidence in courts of . justice, even against his own employer. He is not to be punished except by order of the Magistrates; and these Magistrates are to be sent out from England, and to be wholly unconnected with the Colonies. He is to work only seven hours and a half daily for his employer, to receive the same main- tenance as he is at present entitled to for working the whole of his time, and wages for the two hours and a half which will remain out of the working day of ten hours. The rate at which these wages are to be paid—a most difficult and puzzling Matter to

arrange—is fixed by a remarkably ingenious method. The master himself is to fix the price of his slave; and the wages are to bear Such a-proportion to the price named by him, that for the whole of his spare time, if .given to the master, the Negro will receive one twelfth Of his price annually. Thus, if the master puts too high a, value on his slave, lie will have to pay him wages proportionably high ; if too low, the slave, Who is not to be compelled to give his

spare time to his master, but may go where be can get work and wages which he likes better, will be able to buy off his apprentice-

ship on comparatively easy terms. Upon payment of the price fixed by his master, the apprenticed Negro may at once acquire his freedom ; or he may borrow the money from a third party, binding himself, under the sanction of a Magistrate, to the lender for a term of years, as a security for its repayment. All children born after the passing of the act, or who at the time of its passing shall be under Six years of age, are to be absolutely free, and lb be maintained by their parents; and in failure of such maintenance, are to be deemed apprentices to their respective owners without receiving wages, the males till the age of twenty-four, the Women till twenty, when they are to be free. A loan of fifteen millions is to be made to the proprietors of West India estates and slases, for which they are to pay interest at 4 per cent. The annual income of this property is taken at 1,500,0001. perannum, and this sum of fifteen millions is ten years' purchase' upon it. The loan is made

to the Planters in consideration of the sacrifice of one fourth of the

• This ha dangerous experiment. For the present, at least, he ought not to be trainedlo the ust of arms.

labour of the slaves. How this money is to be repaid (if at all), Seems to he not yet settled. It is to be secured on mortgage of West India property. It is understood. though not contained in the Government impositions, that the Colonies are to have the Monopoly cf the Bi it.Lsh sugar market at least during the twelve years while the plan is in operation. A system of general moral and teligious education in the Colonies, and an efficient police establishment, are to be s upported by the Mother Country.

Now, after the best consideation which we have been able to bestow on this plan, we feel bound to say, that if the other par- ties in the country- have a right to exclaim against it, the Eman- cipationists at any rate ought to be satisfied with it. Absolute, unconditional, immediate emancipation, is, we know, demanded by some. But the project is lejected by reflecting men, as wild and enormously expensive. It is clear that a standing army of great force wculd be required for an indefinite term of years for the protection of life and property, were it carried into execution. This is one solid objection, out of many which might be urged against the plans of the immediate Emancipationists. That the work, however, should be done gradually is, we believe, the con- viction, if not the desire, of the more sagacious and well-informed of the Anti-Slavery party. To all such, we should think that the Government plan must in many respects be highly acceptable. The absolute extinction of slavety is provided fur at no distant period; awl in the mean while, the Neeroes ate secured from being overworked or maltreated. Would to Heaven that any plan could be devised by which an equal immunity from oppressive toil and miserable destitution could be secured to the sullbring multitudes with which large portions of this free country are crowded!

-Next, with regard to the Slaveowners. In the first place, the

plan offers them great and immediate relief front their present pecunituy embartasments. They are to be comren,sated at once for the loss of one fourth of the labour of their slaves, which loss will be spread over twdve years. This will be one grand induce- ment on their parts to accede to the arrangement. At the end of the twelve years, they will receive the price which they have them- selves fixed as the fair value of their slaves. From the terms of the proposal, indeed, it might seem that this money is to be re- tained in liquidation of the loan about to be made to them : but such is not the intention of Government, aorl the loan will turn out, we have no doubt, to be a free gift,—and it is in this sense that we have called it a compensation. Mr. STANLEY distinctly that the repayment of the money advanced to the Planter ought to be borne by the Negroes themselves, or by the revenue of this country—" certainly it could not in justice be borne by the Planter." This, from the Colonial Secretary, is, we think, toler- ably conclusive of the intentions of Government upon this point. We have here therefore another grand inducement for the Planter : he will obtain a good market for his slaves in the course of twelve years—the slave himself being enabled by the Govern- ment to pay the price which his master asks for him. Moreover, we think that if he manages his concerns with temper and discre- tion, he will find his property in land, hou es, and machinery, much more secure than it is at present. But above all, he should recollect, that there is an active and energetic party in this coun- try, which would fain treat him with far less consideration than the Government propose to do, and that by the rejection of the plan, be will give weight to that party which they well know how to turn against him. We think, therefore, that it is decidedly for the interest of the Planter to accept the terms offered to him. In fact, as fir as he is concerned, the question, we are persuaded, is between these or worse.

The main object urged against the practicability of the Govern- ment plan is, that the Negtoes will not labour unless under the direct terror of the cart-whip. The evidence on this point is very contrad:etory, aid expetionce only can determine whether they will or not. The argument is used by the immediate Emancipa- tionists; but it tells quite as much against themselves as against their opponents ; because, if Due, and if the-Negroes were to be endowed at once with entiie freedom, we should have the Colonies filled with nearly a million of helpless paupers, who would not work until there was nothing left to steal.

But there is a third party to the arrangement, whose interests

ought not to be disregai ded. We mean that of the People f Eng- land—the bulk of the nation. How will they be effected by the measure of Government? In the first place, they will have to pay the 600.0001., the interest of the loan of fifteen millions, whether they receive it back again from the Colonies or not. The loan is to be a Government operation, not that of individuals with individuals. Perhaps there is no much risk of loss in this business, but still there is some; for West India property is rather ticklish security after all. This is on the supposition that the fifteen millions is to be merely a loan ; but it as we suppose, it will turn out to be a gift, it has a very formidable appearance indeed. In the next place, we shall have to pay more for our sugar. Less will be pro- duced; for the Negroes will employ their spa:e time in any thing rather than in boiling sugar. Then again, we shall he restricted grievously in our trade with the Brazils and with the East by the continuance of this monopoly. which we had hoped we were on the point of getting abolished. This is a very bad feature in the Mi- rnstertal plan. Heaven knows, we pay dearly for the possession cf these Colonies, and are about to gratify our philmOhropie propene sales at a high price.

We have not room to dilate upon one or two other points which the consideration of this great question forces upon us. We allude to the stimulus which the emancipation of our slaves will give to the slave-trade carried on by other sugar-producing countries, whose sale and profit will be increased by the diminished produce tion of our Colonies; and to the probable effect upon the minds of the slaves in the United States and other neighbouring slaveholch- ing territories, which will ensue from the knowledge of the free- dom of their brethren. These points are well worthy of serious consideration; and we shall return to the subject soon.