The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917

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"_Item_--The balance due to me from the Estate of Bartholomew
Dandridge deceased, (my wife's brother) and which amounted on the
first day of October, 1795, to Four hundred and twenty-five
pounds (as will appear by an account rendered by his deceased son
John Dandridge, who was the Executor of his father's will) I
release and acquit from the payment thereof,--And the _negros_
(then thirty three in number) formerly belonging to the said
Estate who were taken in Execution,--sold--and purchased in, on
my account in the year (1795?) and ever since have remained in
the possession and to the use of Mary, widow of the said
Bartholomew Dandridge with their increase, it is my will and
desire shall continue and be in her possession, without paying
hire or making (13) compensation for the same for the time past
or to come during her natural life, at the expiration of which, I
direct that all of them who are forty years old and upwards shall
receive their freedom, all under that age and above sixteen shall
serve seven years and no longer, and all under sixteen years
shall serve until they are twenty-five years of age and then be
free.--And to avoid disputes respecting the ages of any of these
_negros_ they are to be taken to the Court of the County in which
they reside and the judgment thereof in this relation shall be
final and a record thereof made, which may be adduced as evidence
at any time thereafter if disputes should arise concerning the
same.--And I further direct that the heirs of the said
Bartholomew Dandridge shall equally share the benefits arising
from the services of the said _negros_ according to the tenor of
this devise upon the decease of their mother."

PETITION FOR COMPENSATION FOR THE LOSS OF SLAVES BY EMANCIPATION IN
THE DANISH WEST INDIES[530]

We, the undersigned, inhabitants of the West India Islands St.
Thomas and St. John, beg leave most respectfully to present to
the Rigsdag of Denmark, this Petition, praying that just and
equitable compensation may be granted us for the loss we have
sustained in our property, in consequence of the ordinance of the
Governor General, bearing date 3d July, 1848, by which he took
upon himself to abolish Negro Slavery in the Danish Colonies, and
which act received the Royal sanction on the 22d September of the
same year.

If, notwithstanding the heavy loss thus sustained, we have
hitherto been silent, it should be attributed to the hope we had
entertained, that the government, without being called upon to do
so, would have taken steps to obtain compensation for us; and to
the sentiments of sympathy with which we beheld the struggle of
the mother country in the trying situation in which the revolt of
the Duchies, and war with many powerful enemies had placed her, a
struggle which required all her resources, both intellectual and
material, of which she could dispose; and thus it would have been
inopportune had we at that time obtruded ourselves on the notice
of the government. But now, that the clouds which obscured the
political horizon have been dissipated, now, that a glorious war
is concluded, and peace sheds its blessings over Denmark, we can
no longer defer our just demand for compensation, lest our
silence should be construed into acquiescence with the act, by
which we have been despoiled of our property, or interpreted as
an abandonment of our claims. We had as good a title of property
to our negroes, as to our land, houses, or any other property we
possess; this right was established not only by law, but the
government had moreover ever encouraged the subjects to acquire
such property as being advantageous to the state. For this
purpose the government granted loans to the colonists upon
reduced interest from the so dominated "negro loan." The
government bought and sold such property, took it in mortgage,
levied duties upon their importation, and imposed a yearly
capitation tax, consequently not a shadow of doubt could exist of
the legality of such property; and if it was a fault to become
possessors of such property, it must be laid to the charge of the
government which had fostered and encouraged it. The highest
tribunal of the land, the King's High Court, acknowledged this
right in its fullest sense, so that a negro slave, even on the
free soil of Denmark, continued to be the property of his master
so thoroughly, that the latter in direct opposition to the
slave's will, could oblige him to return to the West Indies. That
the negro's ability to work, and personal qualities, enhanced his
value, is a fact too palpable to stand in need of proof; the
numberless legal appraisements upon oath, the sales which took
place daily between man and man, as well as the normal value,
which according to the Ordinance of the first of May, 1840, was
determined every year by the government, after a previous hearing
of the Burgher Council, and the respective authorities, render
this matter incontestable.

This ordinance admits the owner's right to full compensation, for
only on condition of paying the full value of the services which
the master could have from the slave, had the slave the right to
demand his freedom; but without such remuneration, his master
could not be deprived of him.

The forementioned ordinance, the common law, and in particular
the eighty-seventh section of the constitution, lay down as an
invariable rule, that no subject can be compelled to cede his
property, unless the general good of the commonwealth requires
it, and then only on receiving full compensation.

Those civilized nations in whose colonies slavery has been
abolished, have neither raised any question nor doubt as to the
legality of the principle of compensation. Thus England, France
and Sweden have granted compensation. The first L 25 12 2
sterling at an average per head; the second 490 francs per head,
which is, however, considered but part of the whole sum; and the
third in the following manner: first class, under fifteen years,
$80 per head, second class, from fifteen to sixty years, $240 per
head; third class, over sixty years, $40 per head.

With regard to emancipation without compensation, the following
language was held to the King of Sweden: "Your most gracious
Majesty, in your high wisdom, will never allow such violation of
justice as emancipation without compensation would be; such a
thing has never anywhere occurred."

The Dutch government has declared that it will not abolish
slavery without indemnifying the owners, and for this reason it
has not given any formal sanction to the liberty which the Dutch
governor of St. Martin's (with the consent of the planters) found
himself compelled to concede to the negroes, when emancipation
was proclaimed in the French part of the same island, but left
matters in _statu quo_. Once, however, there existed an instance
of emancipation without compensation. The National Convention of
France, in the year 1793, did, disregarding the sacred rights of
property, proclaim the abolition of slavery; but ten years
afterwards, on the 28th of May, 1802, that act was declared by
the corps legislatif, to be an act of spoliation, and as such
illegal; consequently slavery was re-established by decree of the
First Consul, and continued for half a century, and would in all
probability be still in full vigor, at least for some time, had
it not been for the revolution of February. For us, we have the
most implicit reliance on the honor of the Danish Government, and
the Danish people, and we feel persuaded that they will not
follow the example of the National Convention. In Denmark, love
of justice and respect for the sacredness of the rights of
property are too deeply implanted in the soil to be easily rooted
out. The proverbial honesty of Denmark is as firm as the courage,
loyalty, and gallantry of which her sons have so lately given
such signal proof.

The Rigsdag of Denmark will not on account of the burden, shrink
from the demands of justice; it will not allow it to be said that
it refused to satisfy a claim, the justness of which has never
been doubted by any civilized nation, nor will it suffer a number
of its fellow citizens to be illegally bereft of their property
without compensation. The Rigsdag of Denmark will not leave it in
the power of the world to say, that it was liberal at the expense
of others, or that it denied compensation to the weak, because
they had only the right, but not the power to enforce it. In
reviewing the means that present themselves, the burden will not
be so considerable or so heavy, when we take into consideration
that the state possesses many plantations, in respect of which to
their former complement of slaves, there will of course be no
question of compensation, and that it also holds mortgages on
many properties, where the compensation can be written off,
without any real loss in many cases; on the other hand, the
realm, by fulfilling its duty in settling a lawful claim, will
gain by the disbursement of the compensation, which will as may
reasonably be expected, not alone increase the prosperity of the
colonies, but their inhabitants will attach themselves more
closely to Denmark.

We do not entertain any doubt but that the Rigsdag will grant us
the compensation to which we have the most incontestable right,
and which cannot be controverted by such futile arguments, as,
that the owners have lost nothing by the government depriving
them of their property, as the stock of labor is the same, and to
be had for an equitable hire. If it even in reality were the
case, that the expenses were not greater, and the work not less
than before the emancipation, while, alas! the contrary is the
case, it would, nevertheless, be a species of argument in itself
contrary to common sense, in a degree, that it would scarcely
require any refutation at the bar of the enlightened Rigsdag, as
it might with just as much reason be said, that all the rest of
the property of people could be taken away whenever the
government managed matters in such a way, that the properties
could be rented at so moderate a rate, that the expenses did not
exceed, what those of the keeping of the property yearly had
amounted to. It will be clearly evident that the owner
notwithstanding, loses his essential rights, for the property
would no longer be at his disposal, or under his control, he
would be dependent upon others not only as to renting of that
kind of property of which he had formerly been possessed, but he
would not be able to sell, mortgage, or dispose of it in any
manner whatever, either in favor of himself, his children, or
other heirs; in short, property would to him, entirely lose its
money value, and the capital vested in it would be sunk as is now
the case with us. Many a slave owner derived his living from the
yearly income which the hire of his slaves produced, but now the
state has bereft him of his property, and hurled him, widows and
orphans into the most abject poverty and misery, while that act,
as yet without compensation, has more or less generally affected
those who possessed that class of property, and in numberless
instances produced pecuniary embarrassment; while the slave
owners who are proprietors of plantations have not alone lost the
capital invested in their slaves, but the subversion of the
ancient normal order in the colonies, but in addition thereto,
they are exposed to the imminent risk of seeing their estates,
buildings, and fabrics eventually reduced to no value whatever.
Most assuredly the circumstances which precede the emancipation,
cannot be brought forward in support of the necessity thereof.
Such a delusion cannot hold good. It is notorious that the so
called insurrection which was begun in the jurisdiction of
Fredericksted, at St. Croix on the 3d of July, 1848, would have
been put down, if the forces, although reduced as they had been,
had been called out and made use of by the government of that
island. This is borne out by the sentence of 5th of February, in
this year, rendered against the governor-general by the
commission, which sentence expressly states that the declaration
of emancipation partly originated in a desire to procure the
treasury an exemption from compensation, or what is the same
thing, it was intended to serve as a means to deprive the
proprietors of their lawful rights. Furthermore, it is quite
evident, that even the most trifling commotion would not have
occurred, if the Captain-General of Puerto Rico's offer of
assistance on perceiving the impending dangers had been accepted.
Neither is it less certain that the normal order could have been
re-established subsequently. His Majesty's government by
presenting to royal assent the emancipation of the negro slaves,
which the governor-general had taken upon himself to grant, has
adopted the act as its own. It has also from the very beginning
been considered that the insurrection could not be viewed as
sufficient foundation for the act. This is clearly to be seen
from the wording of the royal mandate on which the emancipation
is made a concession "to the lively" wishes of the negroes. That
his late Majesty King Christian VIII., of glorious and blessed
memory, had by rescript of 28th July 1847, given freedom to all
children born of slaves in the Danish West India possessions, and
at the same time ordained that slavery should finally cease in
twelve years, cannot be pleaded as a reason that proprietors of
slaves are to sustain loss and receive no compensation, for the
question remained open, and had been only glanced at by said
rescript. It is much to be lamented that the emancipation in the
manner it took place, and with the circumstances with which it
was accompanied, induced the slave population, although
erroneously, to believe that they had overawed the government,
and to receive the emancipation not as boon, but rather as a
trophy. The bad impression which such a management of matters has
caused, will ever remain, and render the march of administration
difficult, for defiance has taken the place which only should
have been ceded to gratitude. It ought here to be observed that a
succession of ordinances had gradually loosed the ties which
existed between the master and the slave. What heretofore had
been esteemed as a favor on the master's part, was by law
converted into an obligation, and the slave was not only
rendered more and more independent of his master, but his
sentiments of attachment to him were destroyed. Thus the law made
it obligatory on the master to cede a negro his freedom when he
could pay his full value; a favor which hardly any one had
thought of refusing; thus the law bound the master to give his
slaves certain little extras for Christmas, a favor which no one
had thought of denying, and thus the law compelled the planter to
give his negroes the Saturday free; a boon, which hitherto
frequently had been granted as a recompense for diligent work
during the week. But from the moment that the law converted into
an obligation, that which hitherto had been received as a favor,
indifference usurped the place of gratitude. Thus, by consecutive
innovations, the state of things became precarious, the relations
insecure, impatience sprung up, and the seeds of the tumultuous
scenes which ensued and served as a pretext for emancipation,
were sown. Here we must observe, that though it were admitted
that the pretended insurrection at St. Croix rendered
emancipation an act of necessity, it cannot, at all events, in
any manner be cited with regard to St. Thomas or St. John, where
no kind of disturbance existed among the slave population, Thus,
entertaining the intimate conviction that our right to
compensation is as conformable to reason, as it ought to be
sacred and inviolable, and in solemnly protesting against our
being bereft of our property without full compensation, we submit
this our representation to the Rigsdag of Denmark, with the most
unlimited confidence in its justice. We have the consoling hope
and encouraging persuasion that the representatives of a people
who, by the bill of indemnity of 30th June, 1850, have gone ahead
of, and set a brilliant example to other nations, by the
acknowledgment of the principle of equity, that "all citizens
ought equally to share the losses which the scourge of war had
brought upon individuals," will not deny a principle of justice,
which every European nation has hitherto not neglected to comply
with towards its colonies.

ST. THOMAS AND ST. JOHN, June, 1851.
To the Rigsdag of Denmark.

AN EXTRACT FROM THE WILL OF ROBERT PLEASANTS DATED FEBRUARY 6, 1800,
AND ADMITTED TO PROBATE IN HENRICO COUNTY, VIRGINIA, APRIL 6, 1801

"From a full conviction that slavery is an evil of great
magnitude and no less repugnant to the Divine command of doing to
others as we would they should do unto us that it is inconsistent
with the true interest and prosperity of my country, I did
confirm freedom to all the Negroes that by law, I had property in
by a Deed of Emancipation bearing date the first of the 8th
month, 1782, duly acknowledged and admitted to record in the
Clerk's office of Henrico County, three boys excepted names
Moses, Nat and James, who at that time lived with their mothers
in Goochland County and were forgotten but have since been
emancipated, but as it is still necessary that those who are
ancient and incapable of getting a living (being over forty-five
years of age at the time of emancipation) should be supported, I
now desire and direct it to be done and that the young ones may
have learning sufficient to enable them to transact the common
affairs of life for that purpose I have had a Schoolhouse put on
my land called Gravely hills tract containing by estimation 350
acres the use and profits whereof I give for that purpose
forever, or so long as the Monthly Meeting of Friends in this
County may think it necessary for the benefit of the children and
descendants of those who have been emancipated by me, or other
black children whom they may think proper to admit; reserving
only to my heirs hereafter named the priviledge of cutting timber
occasionally for building, of which there appears to be more than
perhaps may ever be necessary for the use of the School and the
Tenants who are now on it, or hereafter may settle thereon and
reserving also a privilege for my old servant Philip and his Wife
Dilcy to settle on and occupy such part thereof as they may
choose (not interfering with the school) during their natural
lives, they not committing Waste or taking others to work the
land under colour of this gift except it should be necessary for
their support reserving also to the women Effee, Sarah, Dilcy and
Elcy to continue or live on rent free during their natural lives
on the same conditions or restrictions expressed in my grant to
Philip and Dilcy and I further direct that in case those of my
heirs who may claim a right to the service of the young blacks
under this will should neglect or refuse to give them learning
either at the above mentioned School or by some other way or
means, I hereby declare them free one year before their time of
servitude expires and to be sent to school at the expense of my
estate for that time. And Whereas a suit was instituted several
years ago in my name as the Heir at Law of my Father and only
acting executor to him and my Brother Jonathan Pleasants for the
relief of a number of Negroes by them directed to be free at a
certain age, but wrongfully held in Bondage which suit was lately
determined in their favor, but considering that many of them have
been brought up in ignorance and may need the care, advice and
perhaps assistance too of friends I do request my beloved friends
to be nominated Executors by this _Will_ to extend such care
towards them as the nature of the case may call for or require."

PROCEEDINGS OF A RECONSTRUCTION MEETING[531]

On April 19, 1867, a general meeting of the citizens of Mobile
was held relative to the new measures of reconstruction. Among
the vice-presidents were men of all classes and color--as civil
judges, bishops, clergy, physicians, citizens, etc., etc., of
whom five were colored men. The only colored speaker on the
occasion said:

"_Fellow-Citizens_: I feel my incapacity to-night to speak, after
hearing the eloquence of those preceding me. I received an
invitation from the white citizens of Mobile to speak for the
purpose of reconciling our races--the black to the white--to
extend the hand of fellowship. You have heard the resolutions.
You are with us, and I believe are sincere in what they promise.
It is my duty to accept the offer of reconstruction when it is
extended in behalf of peace to our common country. Let us remove
the past from our bosoms, and reconcile ourselves and positions
together. I am certain that my race cannot be satisfied unless
granted all the rights allowed by the law and by that flag. The
resolutions read to you to-night guarantee every thing. Can you
expect any more? If you do, I would like to know where you are
going to get it. I am delighted in placing myself upon this
platform, and in doing this I am doing my duty to my God and my
country. We want to do what is right. We believe white men will
also do what is right."

The next speaker was a late Confederate officer during the war.
He said:

"It is the first time for seven long years that we sit--and at
first we sat with diffidence--under the 'old flag' and I connot
deny that my feelings are rather of a strange nature. Looking
back to the past, I remembered the day (the 10th day of January,
1861) when I hauled down that flag from its proud staff in Fort
St. Philip, and thought then that another flag would soon spread
its ample folds over the Southern soil.

"But that flag is no more. It has gone down in a cloud of
glory--no more to float even over the deserted graves of our
departed heroes--one more of the bright constellations in the
broad canopy of that firmament where great warriors are made
demigods.

"But I did not come here to-night to tell you, men of Alabama,
that my heart was with you--for you well know that as far as that
heart can go, it never will cease beating for what is held dear
and sacred to you. But I came here to speak to those of our new
fellow-citizens, who are not seeking the light of truth.

"It is said that two races now stand in open antagonism to each
other--that the colored man is the natural enemy of the white
man, and, hereafter, no communion of interests, feelings and past
associations, can fill the gulf which divides them.

"But who is it that says so? Is it the Federal soldier who fought
for the freedom of that race? Is it even the political leader
whose eloquence stirred up the North and West to the rescue of
that race? No; it is none of these. It is not even the
intelligent and educated men of that class, for I now stand on
the very spot where one of them, Mr. Trenier, disclaimed those
disorganizing principles, and eloquently vindicated the cause of
truth and reason.

"Why, then, should there be any strife between us? Why should not
our gods be their gods--our happiness be their happiness? Has
anything happened which should break up concert of action,
harmony, and concord in the great--the main objects of life--the
pursuit of happiness?

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