rs and overseers; by compelling her to wield the heavy hoe, until
advancing pregnancy rendered her useless then at the earliest possible
period driving her back to the field with her infant swung at her back,
or torn from her and committed to a stranger. Some of these evils still
exist in Antigua, but there has already been a great abatement of them,
and the humane planters look forward to their complete removal, and to
the ultimate restoration of woman to the quiet and purity of
domestic life.

Samuel Bourne, Esq., stated, that there had been a great improvement in
the treatment of mothers on his estate. "Under the old system, mothers
were required to work half the time after their children were six weeks
old; but now we do not call them out for _nine months_ after their
confinement, until their children are entirely weaned."

"In those cases where women have husbands in the field, they do not turn
out while they are nursing their children. In many instances the
husbands prefer to have their wives engaged in other work, and I do not
require them to go to the field."--_Mr. J Howell_.

Much is already beginning to be said of the probability that the women
will withdraw from agricultural labor. A conviction of the impropriety
of females engaging in such employments is gradually forming in the
minds of enlightened and influential planters.

A short time previous to emancipation, the Hon. N. Nugent, speaker of
the assembly, made the following remarks before the house:--"At the
close of the debate, he uttered his fervent hope, that the day would
come when the principal part of the agriculture of the island would be
performed by males, and that the women would be occupied in keeping
their cottages in order, and in increasing their domestic comforts. The
desire of improvement is strong among them; they are looking anxiously
forward to the instruction and advancement of their children, and even
of themselves."--_Antigua Herald, of March_, 1834.

In a written communication to us, dated January 17, 1837, the Speaker
says: "Emancipation will, I doubt not, improve the condition of the
females. There can be no doubt that they will ultimately leave the
field, (except in times of emergency,) and confine themselves to their
appropriate domestic employments."

EIGHTEENTH PROPOSITION.--Real estate has risen in value since
emancipation; mercantile and mechanical occupations have received a
fresh impulse; and the general condition of