Edward Jordon

SIR EDWARD JORDAN.
Edward Jordan was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in
the year 1798. After quitting school he entered a
clothing store as a clerk ; but his deep hatred to slavery,
and the political and social outrages committed upon
the free colored men, preyed upon his mind to such an
extent that, in 1826, he associated himself with Robert
Osborn, in the publication of The Watchman, a weekly
newspaper devoted to the freedom and enfranchisement
of the people of color. His journal was conducted
with marked ability, and Mr. Jordan soon began to
wield a tremendous influence against the slave power.
While absent from his editorial duties, in 1830, an
article appeared in The Watchman, upon which its editor
was indicted for constructive treason. He was at once
arrested, placed in the dock, and arraigned for trial.
He pleaded " not guilty," and asked for time to prepare
for his defence. The plea was allowed, and the
case was traversed to the next court. The trial came
on at the appointed time; the jury was packed, for the
pro-slavery element had determined on the conviction
of the distinguished advocate of liberty. The whole
city appeared to be lost to every thing but the proceedings of the assize. It was feared, that, if convicted, ariot would be the result, and the authorities preparedfor this. A vessel of war was brought up abreast of the city, the guns of which were pointed up one of the
principal streets, and at almost every avenue leading
to the sea, a merchant vessel was moored, armed at
least with one great gun, pointing in a similar direction,
to rake the streets from bottom to top. A detachment
of soldiers was kept under arms, with orders to
be ready for action at a moment's warning. The officers
of the court, including the judge, entered upon
their duties, armed with pistols; and the sheriff was
instructed to shoot the prisoner in the dock if a rescue
was attempted. If convicted, Mr. Jordan's punishment
was to be death. Happily for all, the verdict
was "not guilty." The acquittal of the editor of
The Watchman carried disappointment and dismay
into the ranks of the slave oligarchy, while it gave a
new impetus to the anti-slavery cause, both in Jamaica
and in Great Britain, and which culminated in the
abolition of slavery on the 1st of August, 1834. The
following year, Mr. Jordan was elected member of the
Assembly for the city of Kingston, which he still
represents. About this time, The Watchman was
converted into a daily paper, under the title of The
Morning Journal, still in existence, and owned by
Jordan and Osborn. In 1853, Mr. Jordan was elected
mayor of his native city without opposition, which
office he still holds. He was recently chosen premier
of the island and president of the privy council.
No man is more respected in the Assembly than Mr.
Jordan, and reform measures offered by him are often
carried through the house, owing to the respect the
members have for the introducer. In the year 1860,
the honorable gentleman was elevated to the dignity
of knighthood by the Queen. Sir Edward Jordan has
ever been regarded as an honest, upright, and
temperate man. In a literary point of view, he is
considered one of the first men in Jamaica.
It is indeed a cheering sign for the negro to look
at one of his race, who, a few years ago, was tried for
his life in a city in which he is now the chief magistrate,
inspector of the prison in which he was once
incarcerated, and occupying a seat in the legislature by
the side of the white man who ejected him from his
position as a clerk, on account of his color. To those
who say that the two races cannot live in peace
together, we point to the Jamaica Assembly, with more
than half of its members colored; and to all who think
that the negro is only fit for servitude, we reply by
saying, Look at Sir Edward Jordan.

The Black Man; his antecedents, his genius, and his achievements.
William Wells Brown, Boston, 1863