“Of the means afforded for the religious and moral instruction of the population of Jamaica, Sir C. Metcalfe, in this dispatch, makes the following statement:
“I turn from the cheerless prospects of proprietors to a more pleasing feature in the present order of things. The thriving condition of the peasantry is very striking and gratifying. I do not suppose that any peasantry in the world have so many comforts, or so much independence and enjoyment. Their behaviour is peaceable, and in some respects admirable. They are fond of attending Divine service, and are to be seen on the Lord’s day thronging to their respective churches and chapels, dressed in good clothes, and many of them riding on horseback. They send their children to school and pay for their schooling. They subscribe for the erection of churches and chapels; and in the Baptist communities they not only provide the whole expense of the religious establishment, but by the amount of their contributions afford to their ministers a very respectable support. Marriage is general among the people. Their morals are, I understand, much improved, and their sobriety is remarkable.
“For these very gratifying circumstances we are indebted to the Ministers of Religion in the Island of all denominations. Church of England, Church of Scotland, Moravians, Wesleyans, Baptists, Bishop, Clergy, and Missionaries, all exert themselves, and vie with each other in amicable rivalry to do good to their fellow-creatures. The number of Churches, Chapels, and Schools built and being built in every part of the Island, affords a most pleasing and encouraging sight. In this respect the prospects of the Island are very cheering, and the liberal support afforded to useful Institutions, and the encouragement given to Religious Teachers, without any bigoted exclusions, are creditable to the Island Legislature, and every part of the Community.”
The Reports of the Magistrates[6], which will be found in the Parliamentary Paper 1842, concur in representing the great efforts which are made in promoting Religious Instruction.
[6] Statement given in by W. Burge, Esq., Agent for Jamaica.
“The annual charge defrayed by the Colony of Jamaica, for the support of the Ministers and Schools of the Church of England, was, in 1836, 53,260l. 14s. 5d. currency, or 31,956l. 8s. 8d. sterling money, as will appear by a Paper laid before Parliament in 1837, and which will be found referred to in Evidence before the Committee of The House on the West India Colonies. Since the Year 1836 an increase has been made; and in the Years 1839 and 1840, an addition of 14,000l. sterling per annum was made to the charge. The total annual charge, therefore, defrayed by the Colony for that part of the Ecclesiastical and School Establishment, connected with the Church of England, exceeds 45,000l. sterling money. But this Establishment is still further extended by occasional Grants by the Assembly of Jamaica, by Parliamentary Grants, and by certain Religious Societies in England, and by individuals there and in Jamaica. In addition to this Establishment, very extensive means of Religious Instruction are afforded by the Presbyterian, Moravian, Wesleyan, and Baptist Missions, established in Jamaica, and those schools and places of worship are thickly spread over the Colony, and large contributions for supporting and extending these Schools are derived from Parliamentary Grants, from Grants by the Assembly of Jamaica, by charitable institutions, and by private individuals here and at Jamaica.”
BRITISH GUIANA.
“If I were not convinced that the unhappy Africans are benefited by the transfer to this colony, I should not so urgently press the continuance of the countenance of Her Majesty’s Government to that effect. I have, in my residence on this coast, seen that the Africans from Sierra Leone are far from being in the civilised state I should have anticipated; that their condition must, therefore, here be improved; how much more so then must the pure savage be raised by being brought amongst his own colour, who are in a high progressive state of civilisation[7].”
[7] Extract from the Dispatch of Governor Light to Secretary of State, dated 21 Sept. 1841, Parl. Paper, 1842, p. 85.
“Religious instruction administered at 57 places of public worship. Each parish has at least two parochial schools under the superintendence of the minister. Each missionary has a school attached to his domicile, and nearly all the principal plantations in the colony, if at a distance from the schools, maintain a school for the instruction of their labourers’ children, free of expense.