rote over to his
friends in Antigua, and represented the conduct of the
distributors of this charity in such a light, that it was
deemed worthy of the cognizance of the House of Assembly.
Mr. Joseph Phillips, a resident of the island, who had most
kindly and disinterestedly exerted himself in the
distribution of the money from England among the poor
deserted slaves, was brought before the Assembly, and most
severely interrogated: on his refusing to deliver up his
private correspondence with his friends in England, he was
thrown into a loathsome jail, where he was kept for nearly
five months; while his loss of business, and the oppressive
proceedings instituted against him, were involving him in
poverty and ruin. On his discharge by the House of Assembly,
he was seized in their lobby for debt, and again
imprisoned."
"In our report for the year 1826, we quoted a passage from
the 13th Report of the Society for the relief of deserted
Slaves in the island of Antigua, in reference to a case of
great distress. This statement fell into the hands of Mr.
M'Queen, the Editor of the Glasgow Courier. Of the
consequences resulting from this circumstance we only gained
information through the Leicester Chronicle, which had
copied an article from the Weekly Register of Antigua, dated
St. John's, September 22, 1829. We find from this that Mr.
M'Queen affirms, that 'with the exception of the fact that
the society is, as it deserves to be, duped out of its
money, the whole tale' (of the distress above referred to)
'is an abominable falsehood.' This statement, which we are
informed has appeared in many of the public papers, is
COMPLETELY REFUTED in our Appendix, No. 4, to which
we refer our readers. Mr. M'Queen's statements, we regret to
say, would lead many to believe that there are no deserted
Negroes to assist; and that the case mentioned was a perfect
fabrication. He also distinctly avers, that the
disinterested and humane agent of the society, Mr. Joseph
Phillips, is 'a man of the most worthless and abandoned
character.' In opposition to this statement, we learn the
good character of Mr. Phillips from those who have long been
acquainted with his laudable exertions in the cause of
humanity, and from the Editor of the Weekly Register o
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