Antigua and the Antiguans (Vol. 1&2). Mrs. Lanaghan
Christopher’s, and the Virgin Isles—Trinidad and Tobago, with their respective dependances.
Upon the arrival of Bishop Coleridge in the West Indies, he remained for a short time at Barbados (as head-quarters), and then proceeded upon a tour to the respective islands which constituted his see. Prior to the appointment of a bishop in these colonies, the clergy officiating there were considered under the superintendence of the bishop of London; and that prelate, as well as the archbishops of Canterbury and York, could ordain “any person who should, on examination, be deemed qualified for the cure of souls, or officiating in any spiritual capacity in his majesty’s colonies, or foreign possessions, although such persons might not have possessed the title required by the canons of the church of England, of such as are to be made ministers.
Alas! how many were ordained, and deemed qualified for the “cure of souls,” in the West Indies, who, by precept and practice, led their unhappy parishioners further into the power of the enemy of souls! who, whatever they might preach, lived in open violation of the laws of God and man; and who, after indulging in the grossest sensuality throughout the six days of the week, presumed to enter into the pulpit on a Sunday, and, pro tempore, descant most learnedly and profoundly upon the beauties of morality! But enough of such disgracers of the sacred office—they have passed away to render an account of their stewardship before a holy and a righteous bar; nor should I have alluded to them, did I not wish to impress upon the minds of the Antiguans the blessing they enjoy in possessing a more enlightened and evangelical race of clergymen.
To return to the bishop: a sum of 4200l. sterling per annum is placed at his disposal, to be distributed among the several ministers, catechists, and schoolmasters, as salaries, &c., with the proviso, that no minister shall receive more than 300l. sterling per annum, from such fund.
By his patent the bishop ordains, confirms, and performs all those several functions peculiar to his office, as one of the successors of the apostles. The bishop is made a body corporate; has a common seal granted him, and is considered subordinate to the archbishop of Canterbury. An ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the clergy is also conferred upon him, and on the commissaries by him appointed; but such jurisdiction does not interfere with the provision of any local law which has received the royal confirmation. “In case of the absence of the bishop and his commissaries, the governor of Barbados is authorized to appoint any two clergymen to institute benefices, and to license curates.”
Sir Benj. D’Urban being recalled, Sir Patrick Ross was appointed governor and commander-in-chief. His excellency arrived at Antigua in the year 1826, and during his stay there, ingratiated himself with the heads of the island, by his courteous manners, and his humane desire to spare their feelings upon the all-engrossing topic of approaching emancipation.
The year 1828 will be remembered by many Antiguans, as that in which the “Dandy Fever” prevailed. This most distressing and painful illness took its name from the strange gestures into which its excruciating agonies threw the unfortunate sufferers, and who, in their awkward attempts at walking, were likened by some facetious spirit to that nondescript race of men—the dandies!
The year 1831 was the scene of an insurrection among the negroes. The cause of this disaffection among the black population was, the suppression of the Sunday markets, and the omission, on the part of the authorities of the island, to provide a day instead of the Sabbath, in which the negroes might bring the produce of their gardens and poultry yards into the capital to sell.
The Sunday markets were indeed a nuisance most properly got rid of, for they engendered all kinds of dissipation among the lower classes on the Lord’s day; yet is it to be wondered at that the negroes felt aggrieved in having the only day they could call their own taken from them, as it were, and no other portion of the week allotted to them?
From muttered threats, and sullen looks of discontent, the negroes proceeded to acts of open violence. Incendiarism raged to a great extent; no sooner was one fire extinguished, than another was discovered in an opposite quarter. Martial law was in force; and the officers of the militia had then ample opportunities of shewing forth their valour, and winning laurels in the field of Mars.
Great were the marchings and counter-marchings upon this occasion; mysterious the signs and counter-signs! Then there was such buckling on of spurs, and bracing on of swords—such displays of epaulets and aiguillettes, as would have surprised any one not accustomed to West Indian militia “turn outs.” Generals galloped here, and colonels there; at one moment a party of gallant dragoons, armed to the teeth, and mounted—some on gaunt steeds of sixteen hands high, and others on diminutive ponies, dashed along the streets; at another, the governor and his brilliant staff might be seen hurrying forward as fresh intelligence arrived of other fires breaking out.
At length something like order was restored. Many of the negroes were apprehended; and the supposed ringleader, after being brought to trial, was condemned and executed. He met his fate with resignation, but protested to the very last that he died innocent of the offence (arson) imputed to him; the other culprits were punished by public floggings and imprisonments. Thus was the insurrection of 1831 quelled, and peace once more established. Saturday was appointed for the principal market day; and the planters agreed to allow their people to visit the capital every, or every other week, to vend their little wares.
In 1832, Sir Evan Murray McGregor was appointed to the government of the Leeward Islands, including Dominica. Sir Evan was a member of the McGregor family, so celebrated in Scottish history, and of which the redoubted Rob Roy was a chieftain. His excellency was a man of the strictest political principles, and of a most enlightened mind. He saw and felt the degradations laid upon the coloured people; and as far as lay in his power he mitigated their sufferings. It was not until his administration that coloured persons served as jurors.
His kind feelings towards this portion of his majesty’s subjects were not altogether agreeable to many of the self-constituted “exclusives;” and various were the schemes and projects to turn him from his purpose of rewarding the merits of the coloured class. But Sir Evan possessed an inflexible spirit, and neither frowns nor caresses could prevent him from dispensing justice to all, be their colour what it might.
Acting upon these principles, his excellency, in 1834, appointed Mr. Loving, a gentleman of colour, chief of police, with a salary of 600l. per annum. This dreadful innovation of the governor’s met with the strongest resistance from those persons who were led to look upon a man’s merit as inseparably connected with his white descent; and no efforts were spared upon their part to endeavour to persuade Sir Evan to rescind the appointment. This, however, was not to be effected, and many a breast burned with secret indignation against the man who had dared to throw down the partition wall between the immaculate whites, and a descendant of Afric’s despised children!
But it was not colour alone that formed the grand objection to this gentleman’s appointment. Mr. Loving had been for some time the editor of a paper, and in such capacity had raised his voice against the system of slavery, and advocated in a firm, but mild spirit, the cause of emancipation, in a country where nearly all its principal inhabitants were slave-holders. Upon the strength of the old adage, “What can’t be cured must be endured,” Mr. Loving was allowed to remain quietly in his situation, until time brought about mighty changes, and made the Antiguan slave-holders, like himself, friends to freedom.
The following year, 1833, was noted for the severe shocks of earthquake felt at Antigua, as well as at most of the other islands throughout the chain. These earthquakes were followed by a season of dry weather, which crushed the hopes of the planters, and rendered in great measure the fertile little island a barren waste.
1834 is celebrated throughout the British West Indies as the year of the abolition of slavery, and more particularly by the Antiguans, who, laying aside all claims to apprenticeship, gave their negroes immediate freedom. For this consummation had many worthy men toiled and sighed—for this had Sharpe, Clayton, Wilberforce, Buxton, Lushington, and many others, written and spoken, until wearied nature had often sunk, almost exhausted—and now the bright day of liberty had arrived, and the great and glorious triumph, which for so many years