s filled with the most worthless
men, both domestic and imported. It was a necessary qualification of the
former to possess no property; hence the most worthless vagabonds on the
island were appointed. The latter were worn out officers and dissipated
rakes, whom the English government sent off here in order to get rid of
them." As a specimen of the latter kind, this gentleman mentioned one
(special Justice Light) who died lately from excessive dissipation. He
was constantly drunk, and the only way in which to get him to do any
business was to take him on to an estate in the evening so that he might
sleep off his intoxication, and then the business was brought before him
early the next morning, before he had time to get to his cups.

It is well known that many of the special magistrates are totally
unprincipled men, monsters of cruelty, lust, and despotism. As a result
of natural character in many cases, and of dependence upon planters in
many more, the great mass of the special justices are a disgrace to
their office, and to the government which commissioned them. Out of
sixty, the number of special justices in Jamaica, there are not more
than fifteen, or twenty at farthest, who are not the merest tools of the
attorneys and overseers. Their servility was graphically hit off by the
apprentice. "If busha say flog em, he flog em; if busha say send them to
the treadmill, he send em." If an apprentice laughs or sings, and the
busha represents it to the magistrate as insolence, he _feels it his
duty_ to make an example of the offender!

The following fact will illustrate the injustice of the magistrates. It
was stated in writing by a missionary. We conceal all names, in
compliance with the request of the writer. "An apprentice belonging to
---- in the ---- was sent to the treadmill by special justice G. He was
ordered to go out and count the sheep, as he was able to count higher
than some of the field people, although a house servant from his
youth--I may say childhood. Instead of bringing in the tally cut upon a
piece of board, as usual, he wrote the number eighty upon a piece of
paper. When the overseer saw it, he would scarcely believe that any of
his people could write, and ordered a piece of coal to be brought and
made him write it over again; the next day he turned him into the field,
but unable to perform the task (to hoe and weed one hundred coffee roots
daily) with those who had been accustomed to field work all thei