ORDINANCE of the Administrators, which permits the Inspectors and Guards of the Waters of the Riviere Blanche to fire on the nègres who come to damage the works and canals built on the said river

The Syndics of the Riviere Blanche humbly petition, saying that it pleased you, My Lords, to establish on this river Inspectors and Guards to prevent damage to the basins, and the contraventions of ill-intentioned Interested parties. But how would it be possible for the Inspectors and Guards to stop nègres so nimble, all the more since those who commit these sorts of infidelities send several nègres, never just one, who stand lookout while one of them blocks and damages. At the sight of the Inspector and the Guards, they give a whistle, and make a signal agreed among themselves, so that they all disappear; and even if there were one posted, how to stop him? and if he is not stopped, how to know which nègre he is and who his enslaver is? The Petitioners beg you, My Lords, to observe that, in your Ordinance for the establishment of the Inspectors, there is no article that carries punishment against the nègre. It is therefore to remedy everything, and to prevent these sorts of tricks, that the Petitioners have recourse to your authority, &c.