On the flogging of women [Digital Version]

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On the flogging of women (ca. 1827)

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Title: On the flogging of women [Digital Version]
Funding from: Funding for the creation of this digitized text is provided by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Statements of responsibility:
  • Creation of digital images: Center for Digital Scholarship, Rice University
  • Creation of transcription: Austin Rodd
  • Conversion to TEI-conformant markup: Woodson Research Center
  • Parsing and proofing: Humanities Research Center and Fondren Library, Rice University
  • Subject analysis and assignment of taxonomy terms: Alice Rhoades
Publisher: Rice University, Houston, Texas
Publication date: 2010-06-07
Identifier: aa00397
Availability: This digital text is publicly available via the Americas Digital Archive through the following Creative Commons attribution license: “You are free: to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work; to make derivative works; to make commercial use of the work. Under the following conditions: By Attribution. You must give the original author credit. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above.”
Notes:
Digitization: Page images of the original document are included. Images exist as archived TIFF files, JPEG versions for general use, and thumbnail GIFs.
Provenance: Gift of Mr. Larry Jablecki, March 2009
Description: 4 pages on 1 leaf, handwritten
Abstract: Document is an anonymous commentary on an article appearing in the February 28, 1827 edition of “The Anti-Slavery Monthly Reporter” that discussed propositions put forward by Lord Bathurst for reforms in the treatment of slaves in the Colonies; in particular, a prohibition of the flogging of women, which failed to pass. The author of the document is writing to give wider publicity to the planters’ vote to permit the flogging of women, “however painful the knowledge of these proceedings may be...” Includes a poem believed to be by Charlotte Elizabeth [Tonna].
Source(s): On the flogging of women (ca. 1827)
Source Identifier: MS 100, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University. Contact info: woodson@rice.edu
Description of the project: This digitized text is part of the Our Americas Archive Partnership (OAAP) project.
Editorial practices
This text has been encoded based on recommendations from Level 4 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines. Any comments on editorial decisions for this document are included in footnotes within the document with the author of the note indicated. All digitized texts have been verified against the original document. Quotation marks have been retained. For printed documents: Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved. No corrections or normalizations have been made, except that hyphenated, non-compound words that appear at the end of lines have been closed up to facilitate searching and retrieval. For manuscript documents: Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved. We have recorded normalizations using the reg element to facilitate searchability, but these normalizations may not be visible in the reading version of this electronic text
Languages used in the text: English
Text classification
Keywords: Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus
  • Manuscripts
Keywords: Library of Congress Subject Headings
  • Slavery--United States
  • Slavery--Jamaica
  • Flagellation
  • Women slaves
  • Bathurst, Henry Bathurst, Earl, 1762-1834
Keywords: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
  • Great Britain (nation)
  • United States (nation)
  • Jamaica (nation)

1

No. 21 of the Anti-slavery Reporter contains some
particulars of the Jamaica Debate on Lord Bathurst's
proposition for "the abolishing of the driving whip, the
regulation and record of punishments, and the abolition
of female flogging."

It was not even proposed, that driving in the field,
or the flogging of females should be abolished; but
merely that the cat should be substituted for the cart—
whipRegularized:cartwhip both to coerce labour, and to inflict punishment;
and that in the whipping of women there should be no
indecent exposure.

2

The clause for substituting the cat for the cart-whip
was negatived by a majority of 28 to 12 as was that
for prohibiting the indecent exposure of women.
However painful to the feelings the knowledge of these
proceedings may be, it is better they should be known
and reprobated, whithRegularized:with a view to their suppression, than
perpetuated to future generations by a weak conceal—
mentRegularized:concealment
 of truth.

How much is it to be wished that the planters who
thus voted for the flogging of women could be induced
to peruse the following lines:-1

Bear'st thou a man's, a Christian's name;
If not for pity, yet for shame.

3

O fling the scourge aside!
Her tender form may writhe and bleed,
But deeper cuts thy barbarous deed
The female's modest pride.
Sin first by woman came;- for this
The Lord hath marr'd her earthly bliss,
With many a bitter throe;
But mercy tepmersRegularized:tempers wrath, and scorn
PersuesRegularized:Pursues the wretch who adds a thorn
To heaven-inflicted woe.
Thine infancy was lull'd to rest
On woman's nurturing bosom prestRegularized:pressed,
Enfolded by her arm;
Her hand upheld thy tott'ring pace;-
And Oh! how deep the foul disgrace,
If thine can work her harm!

4

Hush not they nature's conscious plea
Weak, helpless, succourless, to thee
Her looks for mercy pray;
He who records each lash, will roll
Torrents of vengeance on thy soul!-
Oh! fling that scourge away.

Rice University
Date: 2010-06-07
Available through the Creative Commons Attribution license