training of these men-I refer particularly to those in the Southern States- fit them in a peculiar manner for being successful colonists in the equatorial regions of Africa; and as very many of them are pious and intelligent members of Christian churches, they are quite capable of discharging the important duties of self-government, and of eventually erecting a series of independent and flourishing States on the African coast, on the basis of the free institutions of America.

I may be permitted to remark, in passing, that it appears almost incredible to me that men, professing philanthropy, and a sincere desire for the welfare and advancement of Africa, should yet allow themselves to be so warped by their peculiar theories on the subject of Abolition, as to use their influence to prevent valuable men of the coloured race-which I understand has been done in many instances—from embarking in this great enterprise, an enterprise so peculiarly worthy of the man of noble daring. Is it possible that the cause of Abolition should suffer in America by sending forth even thousands of the most intelligent and pious of the coloured race in this country to plant a Christian State on the shores of Africa, and to labour for the moral regeneration of that benighted and unhappy land? On the contrary, is there any thing that tends so strongly to elevate either a country or a nation as the thought that that country or nation has given birth to eminent men ? It is of no consequence on what field, for example, the patriot has either fought or fallen. It is the simple fact, apart from all the accidents of time and place, that honours his country, and ennobles his people. What is it that embalms the memory of the Puritans, and throws a halo of glory around their names? Is it not the simple fact that they came forth from the land of their fathers, to plant Christ's gospel among the heathen in this once benighted land, and to rear that fair structure of civil and religious liberty, of

which they bequeathed the custody and the blessings to their latest posterity? And is there no room, I would ask, for a few coloured Puritans in Africa? there no need for such philanthropists there?

men.

Is

"To return to our proper subject—It is long since Great Britain first attempted to colonize Africa—purely from motives of benevolence; and the history of her efforts in that benevolent undertaking abundantly confirms what I have already stated. The expenditure of human life, as well as of British money in the colony of Sierra Leone, has been prodigious. The practice of employing white men exclusively in offices of trust in that colony, has kept the African colonists in a state of pupilage, if not of degradation, and exposed them in many instances to the evil example of most unprincipled And, in regard to the means of providing for the spiritual welfare of such colonies at the disposal of Great Britain,—or, rather, of the Christian public there -I may mention the fact, that when a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman, on his way to the Cape of Good Hope, was accidentally driven, a few years ago, into the island of Fernando Po, the Kroomen of the British settlement on that island, who had never had a minister of any denomination among them, offered to raise a liberal salary for his support to induce him to remain among them. The clergyman I refer to, however, had been specially designated to a different field; and, I am sorry to add, that, so far as I know, the Kroomen have been left without a minister of any denomination to the present day.

66

'Compared with this state of things how different is the picture which your colony of Liberia presents! The whole cost of the establishment of that colony has been a mere trifle, when expressed in British money. The loss of life also has been comparatively small, as but few white men have gone to Liberia in any capacity. Public offices of all kinds are there held by Africans

who have thus been intrusted from the first with the exercise of self-government; and so well have the ordinances of religion been supplied to the little community, that there are now, I am informed, upwards of forty missionaries labouring in that most important and promising field.

"I repeat it, therefore, America has the very thing that Great Britain wants for the colonization of Africa, and without which Africa can never be colonized. She has the men who are fitted in every way for the accomplishment of this great object. It is evident, therefore, that God has fitted this nation in a peculiar manner for this important work, and that his providence is calling you to engage in it, in a language which it is impossible to mistake. Yes, Divine Providence is calling you to give back civilization and religion to Africa, as a compensation for the wrongs she has hitherto experienced at your hands.

"And believe me, the work of colonizing Africa, to which this nation is thus so evidently called, is not a work of duty merely; it is a work of real national glory. What is it that constitutes the peculiar honour of Great Britain among the nations of the earth? Is it her vast commerce? Is it her unbounded wealth? Is it her victories either by sea or by land? Is it the extent of her

conquests? No: it is simply the fact of her being the planter of flourishing colonies, the mother of a whole family of nations. It is the fact-a fact which posterity can never forget, although Britain herself should pass away from the field of existence, and leave not a wreck behind-it is the fact that she has caused her energetic people, her noble language, her equitable laws, and her Protestant religion, to be naturalized in every climate, and under every sky. What, for instance, are the triumphs of Trafalgar or Waterloo, to the honour and glory of having been the mother country of such a nation as this?

"And Great Britain, let me remind you, is still fulfilling her peculiar vocation in this important respect, and securing for herself in some future day, additional honour and glory in those far distant lands, in which the good providence of God has appointed my own lot. At this moment she is raising up a second America in the Southern Hemisphere, to tread, I trust, the same path of glory as this great nation has trodden in the North.

“Let every American, then, bear in mind, that in this peculiar field of national honour and glory-not the honour and glory of fools, that consists merely in the pomp and circumstance of war, and the garment rolled in blood, but real honour and true glory-let every American bear in mind that in this peculiar field, there is still a higher prize to be gained than Great Britain herself has ever won. For what honour shall be deemed due by our children's children to the nation that shall renovate and regenerate Africa? Surely, in the estimation of an enlightened posterity, a diadem of glory will encircle the brow of that nation, till the stream of time shall have ceased to flow.

"Let me entreat you, therefore, as a disinterested foreigner, who will never see your faces again, to be true to yourselves and to your country, and this splendid prize, this immortal honour, this unfading glory, will be yours. There is no nation upon earth that can take it from you. There is no other nation upon earth that has such means at its command as you possess for the regeneration of Africa! Go, therefore, where glory waits you, and may God speed your way!"

POSTSCRIPT.

As the preceding chapter was in type before I had an opportunity of reading the recent work of that eminent philanthropist, Sir T. F. Buxton, entitled "The African Slave Trade and its Remedy," I subjoin, by way of Postscript, the following additional remarks that have occurred to me after the perusal of that able and spiritstirring production.

I entirely agree with Sir Thomas Buxton in regarding the coast of Africa, and not that of America, as the proper place for the employment of a naval squadron to put down the Slave Trade. On this point the following extract of a Despatch, addressed by Governor Buchanan, of Liberia, to the Directors of the American Colonization Society, of date "Government House, Monrovia, 6th Nov. 1839," is most opportune.

The Slave Trade is still prosecuted with vigour at different points along the coast, though, in our immediate neighbourhood we have pretty effectually brought it to an end. I have heard, however, since commencing this, that a Frenchman has come into Little Bassa, and commenced landing goods for the prosecution of this business, at the same place where we had the battle last July. I can scarcely credit the report, but, if true, we shall send him off. They say he has come