the world, they will be
guided."

"But still there have been great acts of cruelty committed; quite enough
to prepossess us against you as a body."

"I grant that such has been the case, and may occasionally be so now;
but do not the newspapers of England teem with acts of barbarity? Men
are the same every where. But, sir, it is the misfortune of this world,
that we never know _when to stop_. The abolition of the slave-trade was
an act of humanity, worthy of a country acting upon an extended scale
like England; but your philanthropists, not content with relieving the
blacks, look forward to the extermination of their own countrymen, the
whites--who, upon the faith and promise of the nation, were induced to
embark their capital in these islands."

"Doubtless they wish to abolish slavery altogether," replied Berecroft.

"They must be content with having abolished the horrors of it, sir,"
continued the planter. "At a time when the mart was open, and you could
purchase another slave to replace the one that had died from ill
treatment, or disease, the life of a slave was not of such importance to
his proprietor as it is now. Moreover, the slaves imported were adults
who had been once free; and torn as they were from their natural soil
and homes, where they slept in idleness throughout the day, they were
naturally morose and obstinate, sulky and unwilling to work. This
occasioned severe punishment; and the hearts of their masters being
indurated by habit, it often led to acts of barbarity. But slavery,
since the abolition, has assumed a milder form--it is a species of
_bond_ slavery. There are few slaves in existence who have not been
born upon the estates, and we consider that they are more lawfully
ours."

"Will you explain what you mean by _more lawfully_?"

"I mean captain (for instance), that the father of that boy (pointing to
one of the negro lads who waited at breakfast), was my slave; that he
worked for me until he was an old man, and then I supported him for many
years, until he died. I mean, that I took care of this boy's mother,
who, as she bore children, never did any work after her marriage, and
has since been only an expense to me, and probably will continue to be
so for some years. I mean, that that boy was taken care of, and fed by
me until he was ten years old, without my receiving any return for the
expense which I incurred; and I therefore consider that he is indebted
to me as a bond, sla