Richmond Enquirer

A letter from St. Croix, of the 19th of January, says—

'the free negro and mulatto men in this island, have, for some few years past, shewn a rebellious disposition; and at times some of them were intolerably insolent to individual white men. Their first act of rebellion was, when this island was given back to the Danes in 1801; they refused to do military duty like the whites—the government made no examples, but divested them of their arms, and dispensed with their service. They sent two colored clubs, as ambassadors, to the court of Denmark; they returned as they went—I do not know what they went for, they enjoy all the privileges and immunities of whites; notwithstanding their threats and language has been daringly bold and offensive; such as, "I am as good as any white man, if any white man insulted me I would flog him to hell," &c. Now, some of them have actually threatened to flog individual white men, though complaints were made, the police officer connived at them. Last Christmas, say December the 25th, 1816, about a thousand of them assembled at that part of the town called Water Gut, and dragged an innocent white man out of his house through the streets to the common jail, without order of Judge, Police Master or the assistance of their deputies, on suspicion that he had a hand in flogging some of their insolent colored brethren the preceding evening. The innocent victim of their ferocity, (for he was buffetted, battered, spit upon in the face, and woefully banned by them,) was confined several days in the common jail, till the Judge, in his great and wonderful wisdom, thought proper to try him, and found, from many evidences, that he was innocent.'