Stabroek, now George Town. In 1781 the colonies on the Essequibo and Demerara were placed under the protection of Great Britain by a squadron of Admiral Lord Rodney's fleet; but, in 1783, the French took temporary possession of the whole Dutch settlements, which, in 1796, surrendered to the British forces under the orders of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, and commanded by Major-General White. These settlements were, however, restored to the Dutch by the treaty of Amiens, in 1802, but again taken possession of by England on the breaking out of the war in 1803; since which period they have belonged to Great Britain. In 1812 all distinctions between the colonies of Essequibo and Demerara, whether of jurisdiction or otherwise, were abolished -the office of commander of Essequibo was done away with, the courts of civil and criminal justice of both colonies united at Demerara, and the judicial establishment at Fort Island discontinued; the name of the capital was also changed from Stabroek to George Town, and a board of police appointed for its internal management, the financial representations of Demerara and Essequibo combined with the college of Kiezers, and the right of suffrage extended to all persons paying income tax on 10,000 florins, or possessing twenty-five slaves. In 1807 the slavetrade was only finally abolished. By an additional article to a convention signed at London, 13th August, 1814, Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice were finally ceded to Great Britain, with the condition that the Dutch proprietors had liberty, under certain regulations, to trade with Holland. The

GENERAL HISTORY.

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year 1818 witnessed the first introduction of trial by jury and the commission of oyer and terminer. In 1820, after much angry dispute relative to the enormous and illegal exactions of fees, a tariff of the same was fixed, and a petition to the Crown, praying for an inquiry into judicial abuses, agreed to, which enquiry was ordered. A serious insurrection of the slaves took place on the east coast of the Demerara river, in 1823, which was finally suppressed, and Mr. Smith, a Missionary of the London Society, condemned to death for inciting the negroes to rebellion-a sentence which was commuted at home to total banishment from the West Indies: Mr. Smith died in prison pending the sentence. In July, 1831, the colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice were united into one government, and called British Guiana; the forms of the Courts altered; civil causes to be heard before a chief and two puisne judges, in criminal causes; three assessors to be associated with the judges, and a majority of the whole required for condemnation; and the College of Kiezers and financial representatives, which had been united in 1812, were separated.

CHAPTER II.

PHYSICAL ASPECT RIVERS, MOUNTAINS, FALLS, &c.GEOLOGY AND SOIL-CLIMATE AND MORTALITY, &c.

WITH the exception of ranges of sand-hills, about twenty miles inland, and rarely more than forty or

fifty feet above the level of the rivers and creeks (some on the west bank of the Demerara river are from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high, and nearly perpendicular), the whole country inhabited by the Europeans is perfectly flat and alluvial, bearing a striking resemblance to Holland and Flanders, and, like those countries, drained by canals and sluices, with lofty dikes or mounds of mud, of considerable thickness, embanking each estate, and kept, together with the numerous bridges, in repair by the proprietors of the land in which they are situate.

As the country is ascended from eighty to one hundred miles inland, its fine savannahs are interrupted by, in some places, a beautiful hill and dale territory, varied with high and frequently rocky land-presenting a strong contrast to the rather monotonous scenery which a dead flat possesses, and which those who have visited Bengal and the delta of the Ganges, as contrasted with the upper provinces, will readily understand. Further southward, at the Coomarow Fall (vide river Essequibo), the granite table-land belonging to the Cordillera rises to the height of six thousand feet above the level of the sea, at three hundred miles distant from the

ocean.

The whole face of the coast of Guiana, from the Maranon to the Orinoco (except at Cayen, where the chain of Macrapan forms a buttress to the ocean), is low, and generally bordered with a sandy flat, extending far out to seaward;- -moreover, the various large rivers with which it is intersected, continually bring down from the upper country vast quantities of

PHYSICAL ASPECT.

9

alluvial matter, which, on depositing, form a margin of low ground, covered with mangrove bushes, and appearing an inaccessible barrier at low water, but yet completely hidden at full tide. About five hundred paces within these mangroves, the low and level savannahs commence, extending irregularly inland, and every where intersected by rivers, rivulets, and creeks, with a dense, luxuriant, and magnificent vegetation. The plantations are regularly ranged on either side of the great rivers or along the coast, in allotments of from five hundred to one thousand acres each. The dwelling-houses, elevated on piles of timber, are generally close to the river's brink, with a wharf or landing place opposite, for the convenience of shipping produce: buildings of different descriptions are scattered about in every direction; sugar mills, driven by wind or by steam2; and on the coffee plantations, logies, or barns, three stories high, form a picturesque prospect, in addition to the numerous boats sailing up and down the rivers and creeks; while the insulated, well-tilled plantations, excellent brick-made and avenued roads, with numerous white bridges, afford a most pleasing indication of an industrious and intelligent community. Demerara and Essequibo contain eleven parishes, whose names

1 The Dutch West India Company parcelled the allotments out into five hundred acre conditional grants, with an additional five hundred acres behind the first allotment, when two-thirds of the latter were cultivated. Sales and divisions of patrimony have caused some changes in the area of the

estates.

2 There are 216 sugar estates in the colony; each has a steam engine, many two.

and extent are-St. Mary's, extending from Abary Maicony, and to Mahaica, thence to Plantation lowlands inclusive, and embracing the settlements on the banks of the Maicony and Mahaica creeks; St. Paul's, from plantation Northbrook to Cuming's lodge, inclusive; St. George and St. Andrew united embrace George Town and the plantations on the Cumingsburgh canal; St. Matthew, from George Town up the east bank of the river, as far as the settlements extend, including those in canal No. 3; St. Mark, from plantation Mindenburgh along the west bank of the river as far as the settlements extend, including those on canals No. 1 and 2; St. Swithin, from plantations La Grange to Jalousie inclusive; St. Luke, from plantation Blakenburgh inclusive to the Essequibo river, and along the east bank upwards as far as the settlements extend; St. Peter comprehends Leguan and Hog islands, in the mouth of the Essequibo river; St. James, Waakenham and Troolie islands, in ditto: St. John, from Schoeven creek to Capoey ditto, on the west coast of Essequibo river, including the settlements on the intervening creeks and on Tiger island; Trinity, from Capoey creek to the Pomeroon river, and as far as the British settlements extend. The physical aspect of the colony may be further judged of by its

RIVERS. The three great rivers within British Guiana are Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice, with their numerous tributaries. To begin with the most westerly, the ESSEQUIBO, situate nine miles west of the Demerara river, at its embouchure from one side of the main land to the other is from 15 to 20 miles