1525
10 Sunday, 1316
By itinerant teachers and children, 1625
---- ----
118 Total, 8753

We also visited the Union school, which has been established for some
years in Kingston. All the children connected with it, about one hundred
and fifty, are, with two exceptions, black or colored. The school is
conducted generally on the Lancasterian plan. We examined several of the
boys in arithmetic. We put a variety of questions to them, to be worked
out on the slate, and the reasons of the process to be explained as they
went along; all which they executed with great expertness. There was a
jet black boy, whom we selected for a special trial. We commenced with
the simple rules, and went through them one by one, together with the
compound rules and Reduction, to Practice, propounding questions and
examples in each of them, which were entirely new to him, and to all of
them he gave prompt and correct replies. He was only thirteen years old,
and we can aver we never saw a boy of that age in any of our common
schools, that exhibited a fuller and clearer knowledge of the science
of numbers.

In general, our opinion of this school was similar to that already
expressed concerning the others. It is supported by the pupils, aided by
six hundred dollars granted by the assembly.

In connection with this subject, there is one fact of much interest.
However strong and exclusive was the prejudice of color a few years
since in the schools of Jamaica, we could not, during our stay in that
island, learn of more than two or three places of education, and those
private ones, from which colored children were excluded, and among the
numerous schools in Kingston, there is not one of this kind.

We called on several colored gentlemen of Kingston, from whom we
received much valuable information. The colored population are opposed
to the apprenticeship, and all the influence which they have, both in
the colony and with the home government, (which is not small,) is
exerted against it. They are a festering thorn in the sides of the
planters, among whom they maintain a fearless espionage, exposing by pen
and tongue their iniquitous proceedings. It is to be regretted that
their influence in this respect is so sadly weakened by their _holding
apprentices themselves_.

We had repeated invitations to breakfast and dine with colored