t allow them to
pass through it. But suppose they were to allow them to pass through it
and thus admit them to freedom, they would lose nothing by so doing; for
they would not admit them to freedom till _after a certain period of
years, during which_ I contend that the _value of every individual
slave_ would have been _reimbursed_ to them from _the increased income
of their estates_. Mr. Steele, as we have seen, _more than tripled_ the
value of his income during his experiment: I believe that he more than
quadrupled it; for he says, that he more than tripled it _besides
increasing his stock_, and _laying out large sums annually in adding
necessary works_, and _in repairs of the damage by the great hurricane_.
Suppose then a West India estate to yield at this moment a nett income
of 500 l. per annum, this income would be increased, according to Mr.
Steele's experience, to somewhere about 1700 l. per annum. Would not,
then, the surplus beyond the original 500 l., viz. 1200 l. per annum,
be sufficient to reimburse the proprietor in a few years for the value
of every slave which he had when he began his plan of emancipation? But
he would be reimbursed again, that is, (twice over on the whole for
every individual slave,) from a new source, viz. _the improved value of
his land_. It is a fact well known in the United States, that a certain
quantity of land, or farm, in full cultivation by free men, will fetch
twice more money than the same quantity of land, similarly
circumstanced, in full cultivation by slaves. Let us suppose now that
the slaves at present on any West Indian plantation are worth about as
much as the land with the buildings upon it, to which they are attached,
and that the land with the buildings upon it would rise to double its
former value when cultivated by free men, it follows that the land and
buildings alone would be worth as much then, that is, when worked by
free labourers, as the land, buildings, and slaves together are worth at
the present time.

I have now, I think, pretty well canvassed the subject, and I shall
therefore hasten to a conclusion. And first, I ask the West Indians,
whether they think that they will be allowed to carry on their present
cruel system, the arbitrary use of the whip and the chain, and the
brutal debasement of their fellow-creatures, _for ever_. I say, No; I
entertain better hopes of the humanity and justice of the British
people. I am sure that they will interfere, and tha