ever issued from the pen even of an uneducated and an unprincipled hireling! That Mr. Fullarton then should do this, a man who had once the honour of bearing a Commission in his Majesty's Service; a: man who states himself to be descended from an ancient and respectable house, and to be aliied to a noble family; a man too, who is privileged to tack F.R.S. to his name; that such a man should have ransacked the stores of Billingsgate, to overwhelm his victim with abuse instead of argument; that he should have thought his ipse dixit equal to the fiat of omniscience, and assertion tantamount to proof, is sufficient, our readers will admit, to excite both astonishment and disgust, in any, rasional and well-formed mind. We seem, indeed, after examining these numerous and ponderous documents, as if we had just awakened from a dream; we can scarcely credit our senses; we can, with difficulty, believe that the objects which have fixed our attention are real, and that the scene which we have contemplated has taken place on British ground! Had these facts been presented to us without names, and in a different language, we should have instantly fixed the scene in revolutionary France, and have considered Fouquier Tinville as the hero of the piece.

But compelled as we are, by incontrovertible evidence, to acknowledge that we are awake; that the books before us are really what they profess to be, and that Mr. Fullarton, of Fullarton, or laird of that iĺk, and F.R.S. is in truth the author of the two quartos on our table, and that they do in fact contain all that we have stated them to contain, it becomes our duty (and the most irksome duty it is that we ever had to perform) to give our readers some account of them.

We must premise, that Mr. Fullarton has to thank his trusty agent Mr. McCallum, for forcing our attention to this controversy. The Reviewer of his book, for exposing, as he was bound in duty to do, the flagrant falsehoods, and the libellous tendency of his Travels in Trinidad, was attacked by the author in the most scurrilous manner. The merits both of the assailant and the party assaulted, as far as the observations on the book are concerned, are now before the public, who will decide between them. But the nature of the attack convinced us, that there was something more at stake than the mere reputation of as stupid a book as ever was read; and this conviction engendered in us a wish to inquire, and a determination to investigate. We have accordingly examined, with the most minute attention, every document which we have been able to procure; and, we think, we have, at length, after much labour, made ourselves masters of the subject.

Mr. Fullarton has appealed to the public, and has, of course, called upon the public to judge between him and his opponents. Though he have involved, by a mode of crimination peculiar to himself, every individual, of whatever rank or description, who has presumed either to question the propriety of his conduct, or to justify the character of the man whom he has attacked, in one indiscriminate sweep of censure and abuse; though he have affixed, with that Christian charity, which

shines forth so luminously in all his delineations and remarks, the stamp of some base or selfish motive on every one who has presumed to differ from him in opinion, or who has even dared to speak truth; unawed alike by his authoritative tone, by his audacious invectives, and by his dark and insidious insinuations, we will tell him to his teeth, that, having never either seen or communicated with, directly or indirectly, Colonel Picton or himself, that, actuated by no motive, wish, or desire, but that which is the cause and the stimulus of all our labours, the establishment of truth, and the promotion of justice; we have studiously endeavoured to qualify ourselves for giving a decided opinion on the merits, or rather demerits, of his conduct, on the present occasion; and that we shall give it without reserve or disguise.

On the first and cursory view of this question, we were rather disposed to consider it as a matter of extreme delicacy, as one which involved the credit and character of two gentlemen, to whom the mode of self-vindication should be exclusively left. But we had not proceeded far, before we found that we had laboured under à great mistake; that Mr. Fullarton protested solemnly against the adoption of any such idea, and before he had fully convinced us that all delicacy was entirely out of the question. In this point, then, we concur with him (to a certain extent), and are most decidedly of opinion, that it has indeed become a public question, and one involving consequences of a very serious nature indeed. To the public all the parties concerned have made their appeal; every circumstance, therefore, attending these extraordinary transactions, not only the conduct but the motives of each individual who has taken a part in it, are fair and proper subjects for the public to investigate and to characterize. Upon this ground and this principle it is that we, who aspire, in our critical capacity, to enlighten the public mind, and to lead it to a right and a just decision, shall proceed in our investigation of the subject.

It may be necessary first, briefly to state to our readers, the respec-tive situations of the two principal parties, Brigadier-general Picton and Mr. Fullarton, F.R.S. On the conquest of the Island of Trinidad, by Sir Ralph Abercromby, early in the year 1797, that gallant commander, who was not more acute to descry than eager to reward distinguished merit, conferred the government of the conquered. settlement on Colonel Picton. He told this officer, in whom he had a perfect confidence, a confidence which in him was always the fruit of knowledge and experience, that he had not a great army to leave him, but he vested him with great powers, which, in the critical situation of the island, he knew to be necessary. Before he left the

place,

*Sir Ralph Abercromby's words, as reported by Lieutenant-colonel Draper, were," I have placed you in a trying and delicate situation, and, to give you any chance of overcoming the difficulties opposed to you, I cannot leave you a strong garrison, but I shall give you ample;

powers."

place, Sir Ralph, in virtue of the authority vested in him by his Sovereign, appointed Mr. Nihell Chief Judge and Auditor of Trinidad, and gave him instructions for his conduct in office. By these instruc tions, he was ordered to do every thing appertaining to his office, conformably to the instructions and powers which he should receive from him (Sir Ralph) through Governor Picton, “ whose instructions and powers are considered to be of equal force as if given under my hand.” Sir Ralph here expressly told this new judge, that the forms of the Spanish law were not to be strictly adhered to, because they would be productive of confusion, but that he would receive instructions from the Governor, as to the necessary deviations from them. Sir Ralph sus pended the Assessor-general, the legal adviser of the Spanish judges, and authorized Mr. Nihell" to proceed in all causes, whether civil or criminal, without any assessor, although it may be contrary to the form and spirit of the Spanish laws." To such proceedings Sir Ralph gave vali dity by his instructions, and ordered the sentences consequent thereon to be executed. He farther said, "You are hereby required to shorten and simplify the proceedings, and to terminate all causes in the most expeditious and least expensive manner that the circumstances of them will admit, according to the dictates of your conscience, the best of your abilities, and conformably to the instructions you shall receive from Lieutenant-colonel Picton, although it should be contrary to the usual practice of the Spanish government?" He added, that in civil causes, where the object of litigation exceeded in value 500l. there should be an appeal allowed to the King in Council; and in all criminal causes, the appeal is to be to the Governor; and no sentence is to be executed until approved by him."

It is evident from these instructions, that Governor Picton must have been entrusted with very great powers indeed. In his hand was placed the sword of the law; in his bosom was deposited the fountain of mercy. The situation was one of great anxiety, of great difficulty, and of great responsibility. Such a situation, we are bold to say, as, (if some of the maxims and principles which have been advanced in respect of Colonel Picton's conduct are to be received as law), no man in his senses will ever again accept. At this time, he had no code of laws to direct his conduct, for the Spanish laws were

Do

powers." He said, "Execute Spanish law as well as you can. justice according to your conscience, and that is all that can be expected from you. His Majesty's government will be minutely informed of your situation, and no doubt will make all due allowances.”—Address to the British Public, p. 132.

*For a copy of these instructions, as well as for other most important documents, and for a most luminous and comprehensive view of the whole of this question, we, and the public, are indebted to Lieutenant-colonel Draper, of the Guards, every page of whose "Address" betrays the manly spirit of the soldier, and the honourable feelings of the gentleman.

E 3

virtually,

virtually, to a certain extent, abrogated (forms and substance of law being so closely interwoven, that the first cannot be destroyed without affecting the last), he was deprived of the regular authorized legal adviser; and his own honour and his own conscience, to which Sir Ralph, who knew them well, specifically referred, were, in fact, his principal guides, and he was assured, that in following them, he would meet with every indulgence and allowance from the British Ministers which his situation required. Whether he has experienced such indulgence, will be hereafter seen.

A question may possibly arise here (for after what we have seen, we consider every thing, in the way of accusation, as possible), whether or no Sir Ralph Abercromby was authorized to vest such powers in any Governor; whether there existed any right in the Sovereign to delegate such authority; whether, if he were not authorized, or, being authorized, the right of delegation did not exist; whether, in that case, we say, the Governor was justifiable in acting upon his instructions? We propose these questions for the consideration of his Majesty's Ministers, because they must be solved, before we can come to a right understanding of the immediate subject of discussion. We have no hesitation in stating, that if there existed no legal power in the Sovereign to confer such authority, Governor Picton cannot be justified, on legal grounds, for obeying his instructions. We will put a parallel case. The Secretary of State for the Home Department has been in the habit, during war, of giving instructions to magistrates, to send persons brought before them for trifling offences, on board the tender. The magistrates have, no doubt, acted upon such instructions; but it is perfectly clear, that if an action was to be brought in any such case, where a landsman had been so impressed, as it were, the orders of the Secretary of State world not be admitted as a legal justification of the act. We have said that these are parallel cases; but we must be understood, with some modification of the averment, for we mean to say, that they are parallel only as far as Governor Picton can be considered as acting in a purely civil capacity. Whether he did or did not so act, is a very different question. We have no hesitation in stating our opinion, that the King has unquestionably the right to delegate such authority as that which Sir Ralph Abercromby exercised on the present occasion, and that Governor Picton is fully justifiable for having acted upon the powers vested in him by Sir Ralph, in virtue of such authority. But let us conjure his Majesty's Ministers to reflect seriously upon the consequences which any doubts upon this subject (and doubts there have been, and still are, entertained by some) may produce. What insubordination in the army will inevitably follow? What injury to the service will of necessity accrue? But it is sufficient merely to hint at such consequences, to make the immense importance of them appreciated and felt.

The necessity of such instructions as he gave to the Governor, were unquestionably felt by the Commander in Chief. The Island was, in a great measure, peopled by a banditti, the very scum and outcast

of

of society, who had fled from merited punishment, either from the other islands, or froin the Spanish Main. Not more than a month after Brigadier-general Picton had assumed the government of Trinidad, he was addressed by a large body of respectable inhabitants and proprietors, who gave the following picture of the place of their residence:

"Murders and robberies committed with impunity; widows and orphans despoiled, inheritances plundered, creditors and debtors equally ruined in affairs of the most simple nature; unfortunate colonists, scarcely arrived at the moment of enjoying the fruits of long and painful labours, which would have afforded the means of existence to their families, devoured without pity in the most trifling discussion, like a victim fattened till then only for that purpose.",

Mr. Nihell himself, the very judge appointed by Sir Ralph Abercromby, was, on the 18th of May, 1796, the year before the Island was taken, shot at in the streets, while in the actual exercise of magisterial duties. One negro, who was near him, received a mortal wound; a second negro was wounded; and a relation of Mr. Nihell's, who stood close to him at the time, received a ball in the skirts of his coat *.

In short, the island was in a lawless state; or, indeed, in a worse situation than if there had been no law; for the Spanish law seems only to have been administered for the purpose of extortion and injustice. No wonder, then, that Sir Ralph Abercromby should perceive the danger of leaving the colony any longer in such a state; and, at the same time, the necessity of investing a Governor with arbitrary, and almost unlimited, powers, as the only means of remedying the enormous evils which prevailed there, and of restoring it from anarchy to order.

We have so far considered Governor Picton as being authorized to act without any attention to the Spanish laws; for certainly, in our conception, the powers vested in him extended so far. But, however, he found it expedient, and accordingly resolved, to let the Spanish law still continue to be the rule of decision in ordinary cases, subject to such alterations and modifications in form, and in the mode of proceeding, as were pointed out, or rather alluded to, in his instructions; especially as to expediting processes, and abridging the expence of them, as much as possible. Here, however, it may reasonably be asked, how a British officer, who had never been resident in Spain, and who was as ignorant of the Spanish law, as the Chief Justice of the

* Our readers are requested to observe, that whatever facts we relate, we state from authentic documents before us. This fact comes from Mr. Nihell's own authority, when examined upon oath before Governor Hislop in the Court of Session at Trinidad, on the 10th of June, 1805.