COLONIZATION PRINCIPLES VINDICATED--CALUMNIES REFUTED--THE GOOD
COLONIZATION HAS ALREADY DONE--IS DOING--AND THE INCALCULABLE GOOD IT
WILL DO, IF DULY PATRONISED.
_The Colonization Society_ was formed in Washington, December 21st,
1816; and not in Virginia, as Abolitionists falsely assert. Amongst its
most prominent promoters and founders, were, FINLAY--CALDWELL--and
MILLS; than whom none were more excellent and pious: they were not
slave-holders, as Abolitionists falsely assert.
Although the simple object of this Society is the colonization of the
_free people of colour_, who _voluntarily_ desire to go abroad, yet the
members of it are decidedly opposed to slavery. And although _as a body_
they do not attempt to interfere with the rights of the slave-holder,
yet as _individuals_ they have, and do exercise their utmost powers to
diminish the evils of slavery--to provide, for the liberated person of
colour, and to induce the slave-holder to emancipate his slaves; and all
this consistent with the _legal_ interest of the owner, and consistent
with the laws of God. Nothing could more satisfactorily prove the truth
of these statements than the two following facts, 1st, that the actual
PRO-SLAVERY party denounce the Colonization Society; and 2dly, that vast
numbers of slaves have been emancipated through the influence of this
Society. Dr. Reese says in his work before quoted, p. 41,
"The society does not merely "_promise_" to promote Abolition,
but exerts a mighty and _successful moral influence in
actually abolishing slavery. And here I will not refer to the
truth, which he who runs may read, that in Kentucky, Delaware,
Maryland, and even Virginia_ itself, it is now openly avowed
that '_colonization doctrines have sealed the death warrant of
slavery!_' _Hence the pro-slavery party have declared that
'colonization and emancipation are synonymous terms_, and that
the approach of _the former must be resisted_!' At a meeting
of the same party _in Charleston_, the following toast was
given, 'May the infernal regions soon be _colonized_ with the
officers of the Colonization Society!' And while labouring
with your misguided associates in the North, to hold up the
Colonization Society, as hypocritical in its professions to
exert a _moral influence_ towards the voluntary and utter
abolition of slavery, you are leagued with 'all the advocates
of the negro's perpetual bondage, who are the bitter
uncompromising enemies of the society.' The Rev. J. M.
Danforth states on his own personal knowledge, that in South
Carolina, 'the society, and every thing connected with it, are
held in _extreme abhorrence_ by our leading men, our
politicians and wealthy planters. It is so _unpopular_ an
institution, that very few name it publicly,--it is regarded
here as a _northern scheme_ to _wrest_ from us our _slaves_.'
In your anti-colonization efforts then, you are associated in
action with the very men, whose character as slave-holders is
so odious, that you deprecate their connexion with the
colonization cause, as an unpardonable sin. Let me conjure
you, sir, no longer to be 'jostled by the trafficker in human
flesh,' in your crusade against the society or its benevolent
objects, but abandon the 'bad eminence' to which your 'want of
information' has unhappily raised you."
"The following manumissions are the legitimate result of the
'_moral influence_' of the Colonization Society.
"[67:A]It would be endless to enumerate the cases of this kind
that have occurred. Some of them must be recorded, that the
acts and the names of the parties, where known, may have the
applause to which they are entitled, and, what is of more
consequence, that they may serve as stimuli to others, to
follow the noble example.
"A lady, near Charleston, Va. liberated all her slaves, _ten_
in number, to be sent to Liberia; and moreover purchased
_two_, whose families were among her slaves. For the one she
gave $450, and for the other $350.
"The late William Fitzhugh bequeathed their freedom to _all
his slaves_, after a certain fixed period, and ordered that
their expenses should be paid to whatsoever place they should
think proper to go. And, 'as an encouragement to them to
emigrate to the American colony on the coast of Africa,
where,' adds _the will, 'I believe their happiness will be
more permanently secured, I desire not only that the expenses
of their emigration be paid, but that the sum of fifty
dollars_ be paid to each one so emigrating, on his or her
arrival in Africa.'
"David Shriver, of Frederick co. Maryland, ordered by his
will, that all his slaves, _thirty_ in number, should be
emancipated, and that proper provision should be made for the
comfortable support of the infirm and aged, and for the
instruction of the young in reading, writing, and arithmetic,
and in some art or trade, by which they might acquire the
means of support.
"Col. Smith, an old revolutionary officer, of Sussex county,
Va. ordered in his will, that all his slaves, _seventy_ or
_eighty_ in number, should be emancipated; and bequeathed
above $5000 to defray the expense of transporting them to
Liberia.
"Patsey Morris, of Louisa co., Va. directed by will, that all
her slaves, _sixteen_ in number, should be emancipated, and
left $500 to fit them out, and defray the expense of their
passage.
"The schooner Randolph, which sailed from Georgetown, South
Carolina, had on board _twenty-six slaves_, liberated by a
benevolent individual near Cheraw.
"Of 105 emigrants, who sailed in the brig Doris, from
Baltimore and Norfolk, _sixty-two_ were emancipated on
condition of being conveyed to Liberia.
"Sampson David, late a member of the legislature of Tennessee,
provided by will, that all his slaves, _twenty-two_ in number,
who are mostly young, should be liberated in 1840, or sooner,
at his wife's decease, if she died before that period.
"Herbert B. Elder, of Petersburg, Va. bequeathed their freedom
to all his slaves, _twenty_ in number, with directions that
they should be conveyed to Liberia, by the first opportunity.
"A gentleman in Georgia, has recently left _forty-nine_ slaves
free, on condition of their removal to Liberia.
"Mrs. Elizabeth Morris, of Bourbon co., Va. provided by will
for the emancipation of her slaves, about _forty_ in number.
"David Patterson, of Orange co., North Carolina, freed
_eleven_ slaves, to be sent to Liberia.
"Rev. Fletcher Andrew gave freedom to _twenty_, who
constituted most of his property, for the same purpose.
"Nathaniel Crenshaw, near Richmond, liberated _sixty_ slaves,
with a view to have them sent to Liberia.
"Rev. Robert Cox, Suffolk co., Va. provided by his will for
the emancipation of all his slaves, upwards of _thirty_, and
left several hundred dollars to pay their passage to Liberia.
"Joseph Leonard Smith, of Frederick co., Md. liberated
_twelve_ slaves, who sailed from Baltimore for Liberia.
"Of 107 coloured persons who sailed in the Carolinian, from
Norfolk for Liberia, _forty-five_ were emancipated on
condition of being sent there.
"In the brig Criterion, which sailed from Norfolk for Liberia,
on the 2d August, 1831, there were _forty-six_ persons who had
been liberated, _on condition of proceeding to Liberia_; 18 by
Mrs. Greenfield, near Natchez; 8 by Mr. Williams, of Elizabeth
city, N. C.; 7 by Gen. Jacocks, of Perquimans, Ohio; 4 by
Thomas Davis, Montgomery co. Miss.; 2 by two other
individuals; and 5 by some of the Quakers in North Carolina.
Of those liberated slaves, 2 only were above 40 years of age,
22 were under 35, and 22 under 20.
"A gentleman in N. C., last year, gave freedom to all his
slaves, 14 in number, and provided 20 dollars each, to pay
their passage to Liberia.
"Mrs. J. of Mercer co., Kentucky, and her two sons, one a
clergyman, and the other a physician, lately offered the
Colonization Society, _sixty_ slaves, to be conveyed to
Liberia.
"Henry Robertson, of Hampton, Va., bequeathed their freedom to
_seven_ slaves, and fifty dollars to each, to aid in their
removal to Liberia.
"William Fletcher, of Perquimans, N. C., ordered by will, that
his slaves, _twelve_ in number, should be hired out for a year
after his death, to earn wherewith to pay for their conveyance
to Liberia.
"A gentleman in Kentucky, lately wrote to the secretary of
the society, 'I will willingly give up _twelve_ or _fifteen_
of my coloured people at this time; and so on _gradually_,
till the whole, about _sixty_, are given up, if means for
their passage can be afforded.'
"On board the Harriet, from Norfolk, of one hundred and sixty
emigrants, between _forty_ and _fifty_ had been slaves,
emancipated on condition of being sent to Africa.
"In addition to these instances, several others might be
added, particularly that of Richard Bibb, Esq., of Kentucky,
who proposes to send _sixty_ slaves to Liberia--two gentlemen
in Missouri, who desire to send _eleven_ slaves--a lady in
Kentucky offers _forty_--the Rev. John C. Burress, of Alabama,
intends preparing _all his slaves_ for Colonization--the Rev.
William L. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, manumitted 11 slaves,
who sailed a few weeks ago from New-Orleans.
"In this work of benevolence, the Society of Friends, as in so
many other cases, have nobly distinguished themselves, and
assumed a prominent attitude. They have, in North Carolina,
liberated no less than _652 slaves_, whom they had under their
care, besides, as says my authority, an unknown number of
children, husbands and wives, connected with them by
consanguinity, and of whom, part went to Canada, part to
Liberia, part to Hayti, and a portion to Ohio. In the
performance of these acts of benevolence, they expended
$12,759. They had remaining under their care, in December,
1830, 402 slaves, for whom similar arrangements were to be
made.
"It holds out every encouragement to the Colonization Society,
that the applications for the transportation of free negroes,
and slaves proposed to be emancipated on condition of removal
to Liberia, _far exceed its means_. There are, in North
Carolina _and the adjacent states_, from _three to four
thousand_ of both descriptions, ready to embark, were the
society in a situation to send them away.
"_R. S. Finlay_, Esq., at a late anniversary says,--
"I know that much pains have been taken to _calumniate_ our
brethren of the south, by representing them to be the
advocates of perpetual despotism. From an _extensive and
familiar acquaintance_ with their views and sentiments, formed
upon actual observation, I know this not to be the fact. I
have publicly discussed this subject _everywhere in the
southern states_, from the eastern shore of _Maryland to the
Gulf of Mexico_, in the presence of hundreds of slaves at a
time, and with the general approbation of the audience to
which my addresses were delivered,--and have uniformly
represented it as affording the best and only safe means of
_gradually_ and _entirely abolishing slavery_. Indeed, so well
is the moral influence of the operations of this society
understood in the extreme south, that all _the advocates of
perpetual slavery are bitterly opposed to it_, and _none are
its advocates, but the friends of gradual, peaceful, and
ultimate entire emancipation_!" 16th _Report_.
"In a letter, dated Nov. 4, 1831, Mr. Clarkson says,
"For myself, I freely confess, that of all the things which
have occurred in our favour since the year 1787, when the
abolition of the slave trade was first seriously proposed,
that which is now going on in the United States, under the
auspices of the American Colonization Society, is most
important. It surpasses anything which has yet occurred. _No
sooner had the colony been founded at Cape Montserado, than
there appeared a disposition among the owners of slaves in the
United States to give them freedom voluntarily, without one
farthing of compensation, and to allow them to be sent to the
land of their ancestors._ This is to me truly astonishing! a
total change of heart in the planters, _so that many thousands
of slaves may be redeemed without any cost of their
redemption_! Can this almost universal feeling have taken
place without the intervention of the Spirit of God!"
"_Within one year it is said that more than 2000 slaves have
been offered the Colonization Society from five different
States, with the desire expressed on the part of both master
and slave, for a passage to Liberia. As Colonization gains
ground, the freedom of untold thousands, it is to be hoped,
will be secured, and Africa gladdened yet more and more with
the light of civilization and christianity._"
Abolitionists assert, with a degree of confidence that not unfrequently
makes an unreflecting audience receive that for unquestionable truth,
which has not a shadow of truth in it, that the Colonization Society
has done nothing as yet in the cause of the afflicted man of colour!
However satisfactorily the preceding instances expose the fallacy of
this accusation; yet that which this Society has done, and is doing, is
not confined to these cases; but extends to still further, and more
important operations, which may be divided into two distinct heads.
First, the happiness and comfort bestowed on those who have gone to
Liberia; and secondly, the considerable check already given to the
African slave-trade, by its _total suppression along the whole coast of
Liberia_.
I shall prove the first of these statements by documents drawn up and
signed by the coloured inhabitants of Liberia, who themselves had once
been slaves, which is, it is presumed, the very best possible evidence
that could be adduced.
At a PUBLIC MEETING, held pursuant to notice, in MONROVIA (_Liberia_) on
Wednesday, Sept. 29th, 1836, J. C. Barbour, Esq., in the chair, the
following resolutions were proposed and carried unanimously--
1. "On motion of the Rev. J. Revey,
"_Resolved_, That this meeting entertain the warmest gratitude
for what the Colonization Society have done for the people of
colour, and for us particularly, and that we regard the scheme
as entitled to the highest confidence of every man of colour.
2. "On motion of S. Benedict, Esq.,
"_Resolved_, That we return our grateful acknowledgments to
* * * *, * * * *, Esqrs., and other early and devoted friends
of colonization; names for which we shall ever cherish the
highest esteem; that we hear with regret, _from misrepresentation
or want of accurate information_, they have abandoned the
noble scheme; and that we hope the day is not far distant in
which they will again reunite their energies to advance the
high and benevolent object.
3. "On motion of Mr. H. Teage,
"_Resolved_, That this meeting regard the colonizing
institution as one of the highest, holiest, and most
benevolent enterprises of the present day; that as a plan for
the amelioration of the coloured race it takes the precedence
of all that have been presented to the attention of the modern
world: that in its operations it is peaceful and safe; in its
tendencies, beneficial and advantageous; that it is entitled
to the highest veneration and unbounded confidence of every
man of colour; that what it has already accomplished demands
our devout thanks and gratitude to those noble and
disinterested philanthropists that compose it, as being, under
God, the greatest earthly benefactors of a despised and
depressed portion of the human family.
"The hour being late, on motion of Rev. B. R. Wilson,
"_Resolved_, That the meeting adjourn until to-morrow, 10
o'clock, A. M., to the First Baptist Meeting-house.
* * * * *
"_Thursday_, 10th.--Met according to adjournment.
4. "On motion of James Brown, Esq.--_Resolved_, That the
thanks of this meeting be presented to those ladies of the
United States, particularly to those of New-York,
Philadelphia, and Richmond, for their disinterested efforts to
educate the children of this colony; and that they be assured
that, in no department of the colony, do the effects of
colonization shine more conspicuously than in the schools
supported by their benevolence.
5. "On motion of Doctor J. W. Prout,--_Resolved_, That this
meeting entertain grateful remembrance of General Robert G.
Harper of Baltimore, an early and devoted friend of
colonization; also of the name of the late Daniel Murray, Esq.
of Baltimore, and that we regard the Colonization Society and
its friends as powerfully efficient in elevating the man of
colour.
"Whereas it has been widely and maliciously circulated, in the
United States of America, that the inhabitants of this colony
are unhappy in their situation, and anxious to return:
6. "On motion of Rev. B. R. Wilson,--_Resolved_, That the
report is false and malicious, and originated only in a design
to injure the colony, by calling off the support and sympathy
of its friends: that, so far from a desire to return, we would
regard such an event as the greatest calamity that could
befall us.
7. "On motion of Rev. G. R. McGill,--_Resolved_, That the name
of Rev. R. R. Gurley never be forgotten.
8. "On motion of S. Benedict, Esq.,--_Resolved_, That we
entertain lively feelings of gratitude towards H. R. Sheldon,
Esq. for his munificent donation towards the erection of a
high school in this colony.
9. "On motion of Mr. Uriah Tyner,--_Resolved_, That the thanks
of this meeting are due to the members of the Colonization
Society, for their unwearied zeal to promote the interest of
this community.
10. "On motion of Mr. Lewis Ciples,--_Resolved_, That this
meeting entertain the highest respect for the memory of the
late Thomas S. Grimkey, of South Carolina, for his persevering
efforts in behalf of the Colonization Society.
11. "On motion of Rev. Amos Herring,--_Resolved_, That this
meeting entertain the deepest gratitude for the members of the
Colonization Society, for the organization and continuation of
an enterprise, so noble and praiseworthy as that of restoring
to the blessings of liberty, hundreds and thousands of the
sore oppressed and long neglected sons of Africa; that we
believe it the only institution that can, under existing
circumstances, succeed in elevating the coloured population;
and that advancement in agriculture, mechanism, and science,
will enable us speedily to aspire to a rank with other nations
of the earth.
12. "On motion of Mr. H. B. Matthews,--Success to the _wheels_
of colonization; may they roll over every opposer, and roll
on, until all the oppressed sons of Africa shall be rolled
_home_!
13. "On motion of Mr. David Moore,--_Resolved_, That we
recollect, with peculiar satisfaction, the active part which
the benevolent, in the state of Mississippi, have taken in the
welfare of this colony.
14. "On motion of Major L. R. Johnson,--_Resolved_, That this
meeting cherish the most grateful remembrance of the name of
the late Rev. R. Finley, of New Jersey, the founder and
indefatigable patron of this colony.
15. "On motion of J. J. Roberts, Esq.,--_Resolved_, That the
thanks of this meeting be presented to the friends of this
colony in England.
"On motion of Mr. Dixon B. Brown,--_Resolved_, That the
resolutions of this meeting be published in the Liberia
Herald."
The second statement which I have made respecting what the Colonization
Society has done towards checking the _slave-trade_, cannot better be
substantiated than by the following paragraph taken from the
Colonization Herald of Sept. 5th, 1835.
"The success of the Colonization Society, may indeed be said
to be little short of miraculous--for in the brief space of
thirteen years, _with funds whose aggregate amount scarcely
equals the individual outlay of Sir Walter Raleigh in
Virginia_, they have banished the slaver from nearly 200 miles
of coast, and rescued hundreds of his hapless victims--they
have settled nearly 4000 emigrants (one half of them
emancipated for the purpose,)--they have established schools,
churches, temperance societies, and a newspaper:--agriculture,
the mechanic arts, and a legitimate commerce, employing nearly
twenty sail of coasting vessels, have sprung up, while the
activity of their foreign commerce is attested by our own
marine lists.
"That the despised Colonizationists have effected all this, is
beyond the reach of cavil--it is now a part of the history of
our enterprising country. And while our opponents have been
gravely debating the possibility of establishing _one_ colony,
a little constellation has risen--star by star--and shed its
light along the dreary coast, giving promise of new 'United
States' in due season. May not these benevolent founders of
Liberia be well satisfied with their experiment? Need I blush
to acknowledge that these results have dispelled all my
doubts? And may not the statesman safely assume that if a
feeble society, assailed from its very formation with ridicule
and reproach, has been able to found and sustain a young
state, the patriotism, the philanthropy, and the piety of this
great nation can accomplish the noble work of justice to them,
and mercy to both? Nor is it among the least cheering of the
results achieved by this noiseless and unpretending system of
_practical benevolence_ to the black man, that it has won its
way to the love, and confidence, and gratitude of benevolent
proprietors--so that the society has, from its very
commencement, been distressed by offers of
emancipation--_distressed_, because its funds have not enabled
it to relieve a tithe of the cases presented. There are at
this moment, between one and two thousand applicants for the
privilege of Colonization, and thousands more are in a state
of training for the same purpose. Each year's developement of
the ample resources of the colonies for securing the welfare
of the colonists, and of their importance to the commerce and
manufactures of this country, will increase the tide of
emigration, until, with due aid from the national treasury,
the stream shall exceed the annual increase, and then a rapid
decrease in the existing total of coloured population will
ensue. This I know will be denied--but I appeal to facts as
the best data for my conclusions. Let us then remember that by
official returns, the emigration from the United Kingdom was
76,000 last year. And have not our poor blacks quite as many
reasons for seeking an asylum in that growing realm--so
emphatically their own--from the increasing severity of
Southern laws, and the horrors of Northern mobs? Will not this
be the more extensively felt, as these African States open up
new channels to profitable industry, until the emigration
shall reach 56,000 per annum--which was the average yearly
increase of the whole coloured population during the ten years
from 1820 to 1830? And when we recollect that they would,
under our system, be wafted thither free of expense to
themselves, there is every reason to believe their numbers
would soon equal the British emigration, which is in most
cases at the proper cost of the parties themselves. If only
that point was reached, an access of 20,000 per annum would
accrue beyond the present natural increase, and thus create an
actual diminution in our coloured population--augmented too,
by the circumstance that the emigrants would generally be of
the young, the active, and the procreating class--while the
relative disproportion of the races would be rapidly felt
through the great increase of the whites.
"I am well aware that it has been most gratuitously and
absurdly asserted, 'that our whole marine is insufficient to
convey to Africa this annual increase!' And yet 42,000 tons of
shipping, only making two trips each year, and allowing each
emigrant six times the space allowed on board the slavers--or
one ton and a half each--would accommodate the whole! What
then shall we say to those who assert that the annual wealth
of this great nation, with a surplus of ten millions
annually, is unable to carry _to_ Africa, _one_-third as many
of the offspring of oppression, as a band of pirates and
outlaws each year drag away in chains _from_ her shores! A
late writer in Blackwood's Magazine, asserts that no less than
200,000 slaves were shipped in 1831--Walsh that 50,000 were
landed at Rio Janeiro alone, in 1828. We may, then, without
difficulty, colonize 100,000 annually--a number that would in
thirty years transfer our whole coloured population to Africa,
by an outlay of three millions of dollars yearly,--a sum which
the weekly contribution of three cents by one-seventh of our
people, would supply; or, if voted as a measure of justice for
the many wrongs received at our hands by poor Africa and her
children, would afford a safe mode of depleting our
overburdened treasury."
To the above may be added the testimony of Mr. J. F. C. Finlay, who,
writing from Millsburg, in the colony of Liberia, to the Rev. Dr.
Wilson, of Cincinnati, under date of 6th December, 1834, says,--
"The colony of Liberia has done at least five times as much
towards abolishing the slave-trade on this coast, as _the
whole of the United States_."
As to the objections which have been raised against the climate of
Liberia, and the ill-health which the settlers first suffered, I am only
astonished how any one _in America_ could allow such futile arguments to
influence them! It is an undeniable fact that the first inhabitants of
all new countries suffer much from ill-health, and that just _in
proportion to the fertility of the soil_; which is evidently
attributable to the impregnation of the air and water with the gases
arising from the quantity of decomposing vegetable matter with which the
ground is covered, and which renders the land, after due cultivation,
most productive. Do Americans forget the fact in respect to the now
flourishing State of Louisiana? The colony of Iberville was begun to be
settled in 1699, and in the ensuing thirteen years, 2500 colonists were
landed there, out of whom only 400 whites and 20 negroes remained at the
end of that time. On the Island of Orleans, where a settlement was begun
in 1717, the early settlers died by hundreds; and both settlements were
given up once or twice, by those who began them, and commenced anew by
other hands.
It was so with Jamestown: it was so with Plymouth, although in a
northern climate. They were both desolated by sickness, and the
mortality was far greater than it has ever been in Liberia. Five hundred
emigrants at one time landed in Jamestown, in Virginia, and in less than
five months their numbers were reduced to sixty. Disaster and defeat
seemed to embitter all the struggles of the Pilgrim fathers at Plymouth.
More than half their number died the first winter.
The following testimonies of several highly respectable gentlemen,
Physicians and others, as published in the "Plea for Africa," (p. 233,)
are so satisfactory that to say one word more in refutation of the
Abolition misstatements, would be an insult to an enlightened community.
1st. "Dr. Shane, of Cincinnati, went with a company of
emigrants to Liberia in 1832, sailing from New-Orleans; and,
among other things, writes, 'I see not in Liberia as fine and
splendid mansions as in the United States; nor as extensive
and richly stocked farms as the well-tilled lands of Ohio; but
I see a fine and very fertile country, inviting its poor and
oppressed sons to thrust in their sickles and gather up its
fullness. I here see many who left the United States in
straitened circumstances, living with all the comforts of life
around them; enjoying a respectable and useful station in
society, and wondering that their brethren in the United
States, who have it in their power, do not flee to this
asylum of happiness and liberty, where they can enjoy all the
unalienable rights of man. * * I do not think an unprejudiced
person can visit here without becoming an ardent and sincere
friend of colonization. I can attribute the apathy and
indifference on which it is looked by many, as arising from
ignorance on the subject alone, and would that every free
coloured man in the United States could get a glimpse of his
brethren, their situation and prospects. * * * Let but the
coloured man come and see for himself, and the tear of
gratitude will beam in his eye, as he looks forward to the not
far distant day, when Liberia shall take her stand among the
nations of the world, and proclaim abroad an empire founded by
benevolence, offering a home to the poor, oppressed, and
weary. Nothing but a want of knowledge of Liberia, prevents
thousands of honest, industrious free blacks from rushing to
this heaven-blessed land, where liberty and religion, with all
their blessings, are enjoyed.'
2d. "Captain Kennedy, who visited Liberia in 1831, says, 'with
impressions unfavourable to the scheme of the Colonization
Society, I commenced my inquiries.' The colonists 'considered
that they had started into a _new existence_. * * They felt
themselves _proud in their attitude_.' He further says, 'many
of the settlers appear to be rapidly acquiring property; and I
have no doubt they are doing better for themselves and for
their children, in Liberia, than they could do in any other
part of the world.'
3d. "Captain Nicholson of the United States' Navy, gave as
favourable a report. Captain Abels says, 'My expectations were
more than realized. I saw no intemperance, nor did I hear a
profane word uttered by any one. I know of no place where the
Sabbath seems to be more respected than in Monrovia.'
4th. "A distinguished British naval officer, who passed three
years on the African coast, published a favourable notice of
the colony, in the Amulet for 1832, in which he bears this
testimony:--'The complete success of this colony is a proof
that the Negroes are, by proper care and attention, as
susceptible of the habits of industry, and the improvements of
social life, as any other race of human beings; and that the
amelioration of the condition of the black people on the
coast of Africa, by means of such colonies, is not chimerical.
_Wherever the influence of the colony extends, the slave-trade
has been abandoned by the natives, and the peaceable pursuits
of legitimate commerce established in its place._ They not
only live on terms of harmony and good will together, but the
colonists are looked upon with a certain degree of respect by
those of their own colour; and the force of their example is
likely to have a strong effect in inducing the people about
them to adopt it. A few colonies of this kind, scattered along
the coast, would be of infinite value in improving the
natives.' Governor Mechlin has said, 'As to the morals of the
colonists, I consider them much better than those of the
people of the United States; i. e. you may take an equal
number of the inhabitants from any section of the Union, and
you will find more drunkenness, more profane swearers and
Sabbath-breakers, than in Liberia. You rarely hear an oath,
and as to riots and breaches of the peace, I recollect but one
instance, and that of a trifling nature, that has come under
my notice since I assumed the government of the colony.'
Captain Sherman has said, 'There is a greater proportion of
moral and religious characters in Monrovia than in the city of
Philadelphia.'"
Lastly, Dr. George T. Todsen, Colonial Physician, writes thus,--
"Being requested to express my opinion of the climate of
Liberia, and particularly as to its influence and action upon
such persons of colour as are born, and have lived for years
in the United States, previous to their arrival in the colony;
I have no hesitation in saving that, after a residence in the
colony of nearly five years, as Colonial Physician, I am
convinced there is nothing there that, with ordinary prudence,
the necessaries and comforts of life, and care and medical
attendance, can endanger the lives of emigrants of colour, in
a greater degree, than would be done by their removal to
almost any other foreign country, even the most healthy. I
shall here state a few facts which the records of the colony
will amply confirm. In 1830, in November, I embarked on board
of the 'Volador,' with eighty-five emigrants, children
included. We arrived at Cape Mesurado in January, 1831, and
on the 1st of February, 1833, two years after our arrival, I
went round, inspected the company, and found, to my great
satisfaction, that but three children and two adults had died.
During that interval, eleven children were born among that
expedition; so that the whole company had increased to the
number of ninety-one, six more than left the United States.
The same success attended the succeeding expeditions, until
June, when I was seized with a violent attack of fever, from
which although I partially recovered, it returned at short
intervals, and reduced me to such a state of debility, that I
became unable to pursue and discharge my arduous and
exhausting duties. I dwell upon this circumstance, because it
was one of those important events which produced less
favourable results in the subsequent bills of mortality in
Liberia, and created an apprehension in the minds of the
friends to Colonization, that there is something in the
climate of that country inevitably destructive to emigrants of
colour from the United States. This impression has had a most
injurious effect on the advancement and prosperity of the
colony. But I feel most happy in my conviction that it is
without the least foundation.
"I have read in 'a Narrative of an Expedition into the
interior of Africa, by Macgregor Laird and R. A. K. Oldfield,
surviving officers of the English expedition, to the Niger'--a
pretended description of the motives for the establishment,
&c. &c., of the colony of Liberia, of its condition as
ascertained by them during a three days' visit to its shore.
"I will briefly state that I was at Caldwell, in the colony,
when this expedition touched there. No sooner had the iron
steamboat Quorra, dropt her anchor in the river St. Paul, than
Lieut. Allen, R. N., Mr. Lander, and Dr. Briggs, paid me a
visit, and invited me on board. Although very ill and unable
to walk, I accepted their invitation. They were exceedingly
kind and attentive to me; were with me during the greater part
of the time they remained in the colony, (three days,) and we
conversed freely as fellow-labourers in the African cause.
They did not conceal the unhappy dissensions that existed
among the members of their expedition. There were two parties;
Lieut. Allen, R. N., Mr. Lander, and Dr. Briggs, belonging to
the one; and Mr. Laird and Capt. Harris to the other. I had
little or no intercourse with the latter individuals, who
were represented to me, particularly Laird, as having embarked
in the expedition solely from mercenary motives. As regards
his charges and statements about the real motives of the
Colonization Society, they are too absurd to notice. His stuff
about the sterility of the soil of Liberia, thousands can
answer; besides, I am pretty certain he never put his foot on
terra firma while there. Every friend to science and humanity
must lament the premature death of by far the most able and
respectable members of that expedition; and no one can be
surprised that a man, actuated solely by the love of gain,
should seize on calumny and detraction, on any subject
originating or connected with America or Americans, and to be
presented to English readers, as a never-failing means of
success.
GEO. T. TODSEN."
I shall conclude these testimonies with the following extract from the
Colonization Herald of March 1838, which was written by a gentleman of
most unquestionable veracity, and who resided for some time in Liberia.
"It is now SIXTEEN YEARS since the first settlement in Liberia
was established, on Cape Mesurado. In 1821 the American
Colonization Society purchased a part of the Island of
Sherboro, distant about 120 miles from Cape Mesurado, and
during that year and the following a vigorous, but ineffectual
effort was made to plant a colony there. The treachery of the
natives, the insalubrity of the climate, and a series of
melancholy disasters finally compelled its abandonment, and
the society directed its attention to the more eligible scite
mentioned above; where, in 1822, after a protracted
negotiation, a purchase was made, and a feeble band of
emigrants took possession.
"As my object at present is not to trace the progress of the
colony through its various fortunes, I shall reserve for
another article an account of the early trials and
difficulties, as well as the manly daring and heroic
achievements with which its history is fraught, and come at
once to the bright picture of its present condition and
prospects. Liberia (stretching along 300 miles of the coast,
and extending from 10 to 40 miles inland) now numbers four
separate colonies, viz:
"MONROVIA, established by the American Colonization Society,
including the towns of _Monrovia_, _New Georgia_, _Caldwell_,
_Millsburgh_, and _Marshall_--
"BASSA COVE, established by the United Colonization Societies
of New York and Pennsylvania. This colony includes _Bassa
Cove_ and _Edina_. The latter village was founded by the
American Colonization Society, and lately ceded to the United
Societies--
"GREENVILLE, established by the Mississippi and Louisiana
Colonization Societies, at SINOU--
"MARYLAND, established by the Maryland Colonization Society at
_Cape Palmos_.
"In the NINE VILLAGES enumerated above, there is a population
of about 5000--all of course coloured persons--of which THREE
THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED are emigrants from this country, and the
remainder natives of Africa, mostly youth, who have come into
the colonies to learn 'Merica fash,' and make themselves
'white men,' by conforming to the habits of civilization, and
becoming subject to our laws.
"The commerce of the colonies, though in its infancy, is
already extensive. From $80,000 to 125,000 is exported
annually, in camwood, ivory, palm oil, and hides; and an equal
or greater amount of the manufactures and productions of
Europe and America are brought into the colonies in return.
Monrovia, which is the largest town and principal seaport,
carries on a considerable coasting trade, by means of small
vessels built and owned by her own citizens. Not less than 12
or 15 of these, averaging from 10 to 30 tons burden, manned
and navigated by the colonists, are constantly engaged in a
profitable trade along seven hundred miles of the coast.
"The harbour of Monrovia is seldom clear of foreign vessels;
more than SEVENTY of which, from the United States, England,
France, Sweden, Portugal and Denmark, touch there annually.
"BASSA COVE and CAPE PALMAS have both good harbours, and
possess great advantages for commerce. Already their waters
are gladdened by the frequent presence of traders from other
countries, and in a few years, when the hand of enterprise
shall have developed the rich mines of wealth which nature
has so abundantly provided there, these growing towns will
become the centres of an extensive and important business.
"SINOU, too, possesses an excellent harbour, and is the
natural outlet of a vast tract of rich and productive country.
Under the fostering hand of its enterprising founders, it must
soon become an important link in the great maritime chain of
Americo-African establishments. The productions of the
country, which may be raised in any quantity for exportation,
are _coffee_, _cotton_, _sugar_, _rice_, _indigo_, _palm oil_,
together with the _gums_, _dye-woods_, _ivory_, &c., which are
collected from the forests.
"The state of morals in the colonies is emphatically of a high
order. Sabbath-breaking, drunkenness, profanity, and
quarrelling are vices almost unknown in Liberia. A temperance
society formed in 1834 numbered in a few weeks after its
organization 500 members; at that time more than one-fifth of
the whole population.
"At BASSA COVE and CAPE PALMAS, the sale and use of ardent
spirits are forbidden by law. In the other colonies the ban of
public opinion so effectually prohibits dram drinking that no
respectable person would dare indulge an appetite so
disreputable.
"There are EIGHTEEN CHURCHES in Liberia, viz. at Monrovia 4,
New Georgia 2, Caldwell 2, Millsburgh 2, Edina 2, Bassa Cove
3, Marshall 1, Cape Palmas 2. Of these, 8 are Baptist, 3
Presbyterian, and 1 Episcopalian.
"As there are FORTY CLERGYMEN in the colonies, all the
churches are not only regularly supplied with preaching, but
religious meetings are weekly held in many of the native
villages.
"Seven hundred of the colonists, or one-fifth of the whole
population, are professed Christians, in good standing with
the several churches with which they are connected. As might
be expected, where so large a proportion of the people is
pious, the general tone of society is religious. No where is
the Sabbath more strictly observed, or the places of worship
better attended. Sunday schools and Bible classes are
established generally in the churches, into which, in many
cases, the native children are gathered with those of the
colonists.
"There are ten week-day schools in all the settlements,
supported generally by education and missionary societies in
this country. The teachers in most cases are coloured
persons. A laudable thirst for knowledge pervades the
community, and a great desire is expressed for an academic
institution, toward the support of which they would contribute
liberally; though as yet they are scarcely able to establish
one single handed.
"In some places, as at BASSA COVE, literary societies are
formed for mutual improvement, much on the plan of village
lyceums in this country.
"At Bassa Cove and Monrovia there are public libraries for the
use of the people. The one at the former place numbers 1200 or
1500 volumes.
"A monthly newspaper is published at Monrovia. The articles in
this paper afford good testimony of the general intelligence
of the people, and reflect great credit upon the talented
editor, a coloured man.
"There are at present 25 or 30 white persons connected with
the various missionary and education societies, or attached
to the colonies as physicians, &c. The government of Liberia
is essentially republican. All the officers, except the
Governor, (who is appointed by the Colonization Society)
being chosen by the people. Elections are held annually in
every village, and are conducted with great propriety and
decorum. A vice-governor, legislative councillors, a high
sheriff, constables, &c., are some of the officers elected
annually. The militia is well organized and efficient. The
officers and men exhibit a degree of enthusiasm in the
performance of their duty seldom witnessed elsewhere; and on
field days their neat and orderly appearance, their thorough
discipline, and the promptness and precision of their
evolutions, command the admiration of every observer.
"There are a number of volunteer corps, regularly uniformed
and equipped. These of course are the elite of the Liberia
militia; and indeed many of them would lose nothing by a
comparison with our own city guards.
T. B."
CONCLUSION OF THIS CHAPTER.
We have before shown that although the only object of the Colonization
Society is to restore the free man of colour to the land of his fathers,
yet that the accomplishment of this very object necessarily involves
the removal of the actual cause of slavery itself, and of all its
horrors, viz. _the African slave-trade_. In this respect alone, if it
did no more, it as far exceeds in utility, the Abolition Scheme, as the
light of the sun exceeds that of a taper. Moreover this one fact, and
this alone, ought to secure for it the patronage of every friend of
humanity; and would no doubt long since have done so, and have procured
for it ample funds from the good people of this country and of England,
had its objects not been misrepresented, particularly in the latter
place, where there is no one sufficiently acquainted with the merits of
the case to refute and put to silence those who were, and are employed,
by the Anti-Slavery Society, for the express purpose of vilifying and
calumniating, before a British public, some of the greatest benefactors
this country ever had. It is well known how that indefatigable and
disinterested friend of the coloured man, Elliott Cresson, Esq., after
he went to England, at his own expense, for the express purpose of
promoting this cause in that country, was vilified, calumniated, and
misrepresented by American Abolition Agents!
Let any man take a map of Africa in his hand, and ask himself the
question, what Powers on earth could effectually stop a trade carried on
along a coast of at least seven thousand miles, including the various
bays and inlets, &c.? Could the combined naval forces of Europe and
America accomplish it, not even taking into consideration the enormous
annual expense of such an enterprise? The very idea is preposterously
absurd! We all recollect the difficulty encountered last winter in
attempting to guard the Canadian frontier of only a few hundred miles!
Are fifty millions of Africans to be left exposed to the demoralising
influence, and the unspeakable horrors of the _slave-trade_? And are we
to talk of _humanity_ and allow ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND miserable human
beings to be annually dragged from their native land--from their
homes--from their parents--from their friends--and be subjected to the
horrors described in pages 41, 42? What means, what power, what system,
except the Colonization Society, can check this climax of human
barbarity? And by what means are the glorious truths of divine
revelation to be disseminated amongst upwards of fifty millions of our
fellow creatures except by the pure word of God, the Bible, which black
man hands to black man, African hands to African--and so on, till _this_
man of sin be consumed by the brightness of the Gospel, and the
Ethiopian be enabled to lift up his hand to the living God?
The Colonization Society has, as already shown, done much in this
work--and all that it has not done is justly attributable to the effects
of the misrepresentations of the Abolition Champions, who are, in this
sense, not only the slave-holders of thousands of slaves, but the
PROTECTORS of the African Slave-trade!