obliged to dismiss
him from the post of Adjutant General of militia. In the ardor of his
attachment to the "peculiar institution" of getting work without pay, he
is reported to have declared on a public occasion, that the British
ministry were a "parcel of reptiles" and that the "English nation was
fast going to the dogs." In another part of the debate:--

"Mr. Guy hoped the house would not _go into a discussion of the nature of
the apprenticeship_, or the terms upon which it was forced us by the
government. All that he knew about the matter was, that it was a part
and parcel of the compensation. Government had so declared it. In short
it was made law. He could not help believing that the Hon. member for
Trelawny, was arguing against the dictates of his own honest heart--that
he came there cut and dry with a speech prepared to _defend the
government_."

Mr. Barclay, to whom, some years ago, the planters gave a _splendid
service of plate_ for his ingenious defence of slavery against the
terrible pen of JAMES STEPHEN, said "it appeared to be the general
feeling of the house that the apprenticeship should be done away with.
Be that as it may, he was free to say that in that part of the island he
was from, and certainly it was a large and wealthy district, the
apprenticeship system _had worked well_, and all parties _appeared_
satisfied with it. He denied that there existed any necessity to disturb
the working of the system, it would have _gradually_ slided into
_absolute freedom if they were permitted to regulate their own affairs_,
but the government, or rather, _the people of England, had forced on the
predicament in which they were placed_. The ministry could not help
themselves--They were driven to violate the national compact, not in
express words, it is true, but in fact. It was, however, the _force of
public opinion that operated_ in producing the change. They were placed
in a situation from which they could hardly extricate themselves.--
_They had no alternative, he was afraid, but to go along with
the stream_."

Mr. Hamilton Brown, who at the commencement of the apprenticeship came
into a Special Magistrate's court and publicly told him that unless he
and his colleagues "_did their duty by having recourse to a frequent and
vigorous application of the lash, there would he rebellion in the Parish
(of St. Ann's!) in less than a month, and all the responsibility of such
a calamity would rest on their shoulders_"!