them to work by the
piece, and it had been found to answer well.

Mr. HINTON EAST said that he would submit a measure which he thought
would be approved of. He proposed that the people should be paid 5s. for
four days' labor; that if they cleaned more than 130 trees per day,
either themselves or by bringing out their wives and children, they
should be paid extra wages in the same proportion.

Mr. ANDREW SIMPSON said that he could not afford to pay the rates named
by his Excellency. It was entirely out of the question; that a good deal
depended upon the state the fields are in--that his people, for
instance, could, with much ease, if they chose, clean 170 trees by
half-past three o'clock.

Mr. MASON, of St. George's, said he was willing to pay his people 1s.
8d. per day, if they would but work; but the fact was that they refused
to do so, on account of the stories that had been told them by Special
Justice Fishbourne; willingly too would I have given them their houses
and grounds for three months, free of charge, had they shown a desire to
labor; but what was the lamentable fact? the people would not work,
because Mr. Fishbourne had influenced them not to do so, and he (Mr.
Mason) had been a loser of one thousand pounds in consequence. He had
been compelled in self-defence to issue summonses against two of his
people. He had purchased his property--it was his all--he had sacrificed
twenty of the best years of his life as a planter, he had a wife and
family to support, and what was the prospect before him and them? He
admitted having served notices on his people to quit their houses--in
truth he did not now care whether they were or were not located on the
property--he was willing to pay fair, nay, high wages, but the demand
was exorbitant. He had a servant, a trustworthy white man, who laboured
from day-dawn to sunset for 2s. 1d. per day, and he was quite satisfied.
All the mischief in his district had been owing to the poisonous stories
poured into the ears of the people by Special Justice Fishbourne. If he
were removed, the parish might probably assume a healthy state; if
allowed to remain, no improvement could possibly take place.

His EXCELLENCY said that the Assembly had passed a law preventing the
special magistrates from going on the estates; they could not, however,
prevent the people from going to them, and taking their advice if they
wished it. He had understood that the people had gone to the special
magis