Glass. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Book_AiAi 
 
AMERXCABT 
 
 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 
 
 THE PROCEEDINGS OP 
 
 A PUBLIC MEETING, 
 
 HELD IN THE 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 ADDRESSES 
 
 DELIVERED ON THAT OCCASION, BY 
 
 THE REV. MR. GALLAUDET, 
 
 PBINCIPAL OF THE DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM AT HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. 
 
 CAPTAIN STOCKTON, 
 
 OP THE UNITED STATES NAtY. 
 
 FRANCIS S. KEY, ESQ,. 
 
 OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 ^ntr ^tDo ILttttvu tvom 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN B. NICOLSON, 
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY. 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL PRESS, 
 
 No. 46 Lumber-Street, 
 
 1829. 
 
L. 
 
 % 
 

 AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 
 
 * 
 
 At a meeting held pursuant to public notice, in the Mid- 
 dle Dutch Church, on Wednesday evening, for the purpose 
 of hearing statements respecting the present circumstances, 
 prospects and necessities of the American Colonization 
 Society. His Honour the Mayor was called to the Chair, 
 and the Rev. John Knox was appointed Secretary. 
 
 The object of the meeting was stated by the Rev. Dr. 
 Wainwright, and addresses were delivered by the Rev. Mr. 
 Gallaudet, Capt. Stockton, and Francis S. Key, Esq. 
 
 Whereupon the following resolutions were adopted : 
 
 Resolved, As the sense of this meeting, that we highly 
 approve of the objects, the past exertions, and the future 
 plans of the American Colonization Society, and earnestly 
 recommend it to the patronage of this community. 
 
 Resolved, That a Committee of three be appointed to 
 take immediate measures to raise funds for the American 
 Colonization Society in its present exigency, and transmit 
 the same to the Board of the Society at Washington. 
 
 Myndert Van Schaik, Frederick Sheldon, and John W. 
 Leavitt, Esqrs., were appointed such Committee. 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting, be given to 
 the gentlemen who have presented such full, and satisfac- 
 tory information, concerning the interesting question of co- 
 lonizing Africa. 
 
 Resolved, That the Committee appointed by this meeting 
 be requested to procure copies of the addresses delivered 
 on the present occasion, and to cause the same to be pub- 
 lished ; with a view of disseminating information, and ex- 
 citing the zeal of the philanthrophic public, in favour of the 
 objects contemplated by the American Colonization So- 
 ciety. 
 
Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be given to His 
 Honour the Mayor, for his attention in presiding. 
 
 Resolved, That these proceedings be signed by the Chair- 
 man and Secretary, and published in the papers of the city. 
 
 WALTER BOWNE, Chairman. 
 
 John Knox, Secretary. 
 
 The Committee appointed by the foregoing resolutions, to 
 take measures, &c. have deemed it important, as a prelimi- 
 nary measure, to lay before their fellow-citizens a summary 
 view of the grounds upon which the application is made. 
 This cannot be done more fully and satisfactorily than in 
 the Addresses and Letters herewith printed. It was for this 
 object that their publication was requested by the meeting. 
 The necessity for any further arguments or explanations is 
 thus precluded. The Committee only request their fellow- 
 citizens to give these documents an attentive perusal. They 
 would especially solicit attention to one important consider- 
 ation as presented in the address of Mr. Key. " Whenever 
 jj25 or ^30 is raised at the North to send a slave to Africa, 
 a master shall be found at the South ready to give a slave 
 (worth from $200 to $600) to be sent. Let North and 
 South then unite in this work of justice and benevolence." 
 Already 600 slaves have been offered to the Society, and 
 their immediate liberation only requires $25 each as the 
 means of sending . them to Africa. If there be any indivi- 
 dual desirous of liberating a slave, and sending him home 
 to the land of his fathers, his benevolent object can be ac- 
 complished by sending to the American Colonization So- 
 ciety the above mentioned sum. 
 
 Contributions will be received by 
 
 MYNDERT VAN SCHAIK, 335 Broadway 
 FREDERICK SHELDON, 74 Pine-street 
 JOHN W. LEAVITT, 39 Dey-street. 
 
SUMMARY OF AN ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BY 
 
 THE REV. THOMAS M. GALLAUDET, 
 
 *^t a Public Meeting, held on the Evening of October 2 1 st, 
 in the Middle Dutch Church, to aid the operations of the 
 Jlmerican Colonization Society. 
 
 It is due to the author, and still more to the cause which 
 he advocates, to remark, that, in preparing this summary, 
 he writes in great haste, under the pressure of many avoca- 
 tions, not at all expecting, when he came here, to be invit- 
 ed to engage in the service of the American Colonization 
 Society. His assistance, however, such as it was, he most 
 cheerfully rendered ; and, with equal cheerfulness, he now 
 enters upon the discharge of the duty assigned to him, only 
 hoping, that the very imperfect views of the subject which 
 the unfavourable circumstances under which he is placed, 
 compel him to take, may, at least, excite interest enough 
 in intelligent and benevolent minds, to lead to a careful and 
 thorough investigation of the claims of a Society on the pa- 
 tronage of the public, which, if they were only well under- 
 stood, would, he has not the least doubt, be justly, univer- 
 sally, and effectually appreciated. 
 
 The other gentlemen, who addressed the meeting, both of 
 whom have been very active and efficient agents in the original 
 formation and subsequent exertions of the American Colo- 
 nization Society, were prepared to take such enlarged views 
 of its plans and operations, that the author considered it a 
 duty which he owed, both to them and the respectable as- 
 sembly present, to confine his remarks to a few topics that 
 would not probably come within the scope of what they had 
 to say. 
 
6 
 
 This Society presents its claims to the cordial support of 
 every American patriot, philanthropist, and Christian, on 
 various and most extensive grounds, among some of which 
 are the following : 
 
 First. Its direct tendency is, to form one of the strongest 
 and most permanent bonds of union hetioeen the different sec- 
 tions and States of our common country. 
 
 It does this, by furnishing an object of great J^ational en- 
 terprise. 
 
 Such objects, in every age, have done more than almost 
 any other, to bind together the affections of a whole people. 
 All European nations bear testimony to the truth of this re- 
 mark. There : Antiquity sheds the charm of a thousand 
 associations round such objects, to render them venerable 
 and imposing. Here : they possess not this charm, but they 
 have one of even a higher order. They are great, political 
 and benevolent institutions ; supported by the influence, the 
 contributions, and the efforts of freemen; identified with the 
 character of a nation, destined, under Providence, to be the 
 exemplar of civil and religious freedom throughout the 
 globe ; and aiming, in their extensive operations, to promote 
 the real welfare of man. 
 
 Let the American Colonization Society but take its pro- 
 per rank among these institutions, and its splendid results 
 would soon serve to attach every American more closely 
 to his country, inasmuch as they would add a new and 
 brighter lustre to what constitutes the real glory of a great 
 people. 
 
 Again, it would form a bond of union, by removing one of 
 the principal causes of a diversity of interests and character. 
 
 So long as our great Federal Republic consists of slave 
 holding and non-slave holding States, it must be a heteroge- 
 neous mass. This must be so, with regard to many of the 
 domestic relations of life ; the education of children ; the for- 
 mation of both intellectual and moral character ; the diffu- 
 sion of knowledge through the medium of school instruction; 
 and, above all, the dissemination of those truths of the Gospel, 
 
which not only open to the eye of Faith the cheeiing pros- 
 pect of endless happiness beyond the grave, but form the 
 basis of all rational freedom and real enjoyment in this 
 world. 
 
 Will not every American citizen be ready to acknow- 
 ledge, that nothing would so tend to bind all parts of this 
 Republic together, as to have it inhabited only by freemen. 
 Let the American Colonization Society but receive the pa- 
 tronage to which it is entitled, and not a century need elapse 
 before this great object may be accomplished. 
 
 This Society, also, forms a bond of union between the re- 
 spective States, by removing one of the most portentous causes 
 of discord. 
 
 When the great charter of our liberties was formed ; the 
 honest pride of every American, and the glory of our Na- 
 tion ; what called forth the exercises of the profoundest sa- 
 gacity on the part of the venerable patriots who set their 
 names to an instrument which itself alone has given their 
 memory immortality ; what was it that called forth, too, the 
 exercise of their most generous, magnanimous, and self- 
 denying virtue ; what was it that led to that noble spirit of 
 mutual forbearance and compromise that marked all their 
 proceedings, and, thus, not only established on a deep and 
 broad foundation the union of so many free and indepen- 
 dent sovereignties, but set an example, which, if followed 
 by descendants aspiring to be worthy of such an ancestry, 
 will render this union imperishable ; what was it, but the 
 delicate and perplexing subject of slavery ! 
 
 What was it, that, only a few years since, when a new 
 State was made a constituent part of our Republic, so shook 
 the capitol ; and agitated the whole country ; and roused 
 the most violent passions ; and produced the most bitter in- 
 vectives ; and portended the most appalling results, but this 
 same, delicate and perplexing subject of slavery ! 
 
 And the same subject presents to the eye of the Patriot, in 
 the vista of futurity, scenes which can hardly be viewed, for 
 a moment, without a fearful foreboding. 
 
8 
 
 The truth is, and the safety, nay, the very existence of 
 our beloved country, demands its distinct avowal, that here 
 is one of our greatest dangers. Prejudices on this subject, 
 growing out of early impressions, and confirmed by local 
 and partial views, exist, to an alarming extent, both at the 
 North and at the South. 
 
 As an inhabitant of one of the Northern States, I am free 
 to confess that, till within a few years past, I have enter- 
 tained many of these prejudices. I need not particularize 
 them. What has changed my views with regard to the sub- 
 ject of slavery, and the manner, in which, in many respects, 
 it is treated by our brethren at the South? The operations 
 of the American Colonization Society have done this, and 
 are producing a similar change in the minds of a great pro- 
 portion of those who reside in the non-slave holding States. 
 
 In the same way the efforts of this Society have removed 
 many of the prejudices of the owners of slaves towards their 
 brethern in the Northern and Middle States. 
 
 Even admitting, that the hopes of the more ardent friends 
 of this Society are not to be consummated for a long term of 
 years, and possibly never, in seeing the blot and the curse of 
 slavery entirely removed from our land ; is it not manifest, 
 that, by its exertions, this portentous evil may, at least, be 
 kept in check, and that, in the meanwhile, jealousies may be 
 allayed, prejudices overcome, generous and magnanimous 
 feelings called into exercise, rash and imprudent measures 
 arrested, wise, judicious, and practicable ones formed; 
 and, thus, by bringing together Patriots and Christians, 
 from every section of our country, to have their minds en- 
 lightened and their best affections kindled, in the prosecu- 
 tion of one great national enterprise of benevolence, may they 
 see eye to eye, and respond heart to heart, and furnish one 
 more cheering reason, why an American should never des- 
 pair of his country ! 
 
 Such, already, have been some of the most prominent re- 
 sults of the measures of the American Colonization Society; 
 as the records of its proceedings, and the names enrolled 
 
on the list of its patrons and friends, in all the States in the 
 Union, abundantly testify. What but the redeeming spirit 
 of such a truly patriotic Institution, could present such an 
 array of piety, and talents, and wealth, and influence, among 
 men all of whose early associations and sectional feelings 
 and interests, would seem almost to render chimerical the 
 very idea of their uniting cordially and effectually, in the 
 promotion of such an object ! 
 
 Secondly ; This Society has a strong claim on the patron- 
 age of the public, in view of the commercial advantages ivhlch 
 ivill be afforded to our country, by the increase and prosperity 
 of its colony at Liberia. 
 
 The progress of this colony is astonishing. I doubt 
 whether its parallel can be found on the; pages of history. 
 The American Colonization Society commenced its opera- 
 tions only twelve years ago. During this period, it has had 
 the means of expending but seventy thousand dollars. 
 With this, it has supported its Agent, and carried on its op- 
 erations in this country, and purchased a territory in Africa, 
 stretching along one hundred and fifty miles of sea coast, 
 and running, in many points, indefinitely into the interior. 
 Here, within seven years past, it has planted a colony of 
 nearly fifteen hundred persons, among whom four fifths of 
 the whole population, are either recaptured negroes, or 
 manumitted skves. The moral character, the civil and 
 commercial prosperiLy of the members of this infant colo- 
 ny, are of the most encouraging kind. During the last 
 year, their exports amounted to more than Sixty Thousand 
 Dollars, and they afforded facilities to American Merchants 
 trading on the coast, to three times that amount. Their 
 property was estimated by Dr. Randall, to be worth one 
 hundred and forty thousand dollars. They have opened a 
 road into the interior for a distance of one hundred miles. 
 This brings them near to the territory of King Boatswain, 
 whose capital consists of one thousand houses, and is forti- 
 fied, and who can bring eight thousand armed men into the 
 field. He is on the most friendly terms with the colony, 
 2 
 
10 
 
 and is anxious to have a commercial depot established with- 
 in his territorieSj for the purposes of trade. 
 
 Just beyond is the extensive country of Footah Jalloh, 
 where the brother of the Moorish Prince, Abduhl Rahhah- 
 man, is still the reigning Monarch. This country has made 
 considerable progress in civihzation, and is abundant in the 
 most valuable productions. It is the key to an intercourse 
 with the interior of Africa ; and the commercial advanta- 
 ges to the colony at Liberia, where the Moorish Prince has 
 lately arrived, should he be the means of establishing friend- 
 ly negotiations with his brother, would be of immense va- 
 lue. 
 
 They v\^ould be the more valuable, too, to this country, 
 as the English, who have, of late years, made great efforts 
 to secure them, through their colony at Sierra Leone, find 
 themselves now obliged to abandon it. No testimony, on 
 this point, can be stronger than that of Capt. Thomson, of 
 the English army, and formerly Governor of Sierra Leone. 
 In a letter of his lately published in " The African Repos- 
 itory," he speaks, in the most decisive terms, of the great 
 commercial advantages which the colony at Liberia might 
 procure for this country, and to obtain which the English 
 government has expended, it would seem in vain, a vast 
 amount of money. 
 
 By the cultivation of the soil within its own jurisdiction, 
 and by extending its trade into the interior, our colony at 
 Liberia might soon be able to furnish us with a supply of 
 many articles which we now have to import from a remo- 
 ter distance, and at a greater expense. 
 
 Among these articles, capable of being furnished in the 
 course of a few years, in quantity to any amount, and of 
 an excellent quality, are, coffee, rice, sugar, dye-stuffs, 
 indigo of a superior kind, camwood, gum copal, gum ara- 
 ble, palm-oil, drugs and medicines, ivory, catties' horns, 
 buffalo's horns, hides, tortoise-shells, bees-wax, and some 
 gold. 
 
 Their coffee grows wild in the woods. It has been tried 
 
11 
 
 in some parts of our country, and said to be, by the best 
 judges, nearly, if not quite, equal to the Java and Mocha. 
 
 What would render such a trade especially profitable to 
 our country, is the fact, that for the productions which they 
 would furnish us, they need our manufactures in return. 
 
 They want, and would take in large quantities, writing 
 paper, tobacco, low priced calicos, shawls, and handker- 
 chiefs, cotton and woollen caps, gun powder, earthen, 
 iron, and copper ware, crockery, looking glasses, tools of 
 husbandry, and a variety of similar articles. 
 
 The population in the interior of Africa is immense ; in 
 many parts civilization has already made considerable 
 progress ; every where there is a strong desire to procure 
 those articles which minister to the comforts and luxuries of 
 life ; and for this purpose caravans have already been from 
 Feembo, the capital of Footah Jalloh, to Sierra Leone. — 
 Sierra Leone must be abandoned. These caravans will 
 soon find their way to Liberia ; for a road is already open 
 for more than half the distance. 
 
 These commercial advantages are most obvious, and the 
 channels through which they are to be obtained completely 
 within the reach of the colony at Liberia, if it but receives 
 that support from our country which its importance deserves. 
 Indeed, it would be a strange anomaly in our character, if 
 while Providence is inviting the enterprise of American 
 citizens to this profitable field of labour, they should delay 
 to foster their infant colony, and elevate it quickly to a sta- 
 tion of extensive commercial influence, and thus permit the 
 English, who are now on the alert to secure this object, to 
 plant themselves again in some more favourable spot than 
 the one which they are leaving, and renew their intercourse 
 of trade with the interior of Africa. 
 
 It is greatly to be desired, that some one of our most in- 
 telligent and practical merchants, would make himself tho- 
 roughly acquainted with all the facts connected with this 
 highly interesting subject, and present the results of his in- 
 quiries before the public. For, now seems to be the criti- 
 
12 
 
 cal moment when, if the colony at Liberia may yet become 
 immensely valuable to this country in a commercial point 
 of view, it should receive the most ample patronage and 
 support. 
 
 By instituting these commercial relations with the inte- 
 rior of Africa, the way will be opening wider and wider, 
 for diffusing among the millions of that benighted and de- 
 graded continent, the blessings of freedom, of civilization, 
 and of Christianit}'. What a theatre of benevolent action ! 
 What remarkable facilities for entering upon it with every 
 prospect of success, are within the reach of this American 
 people. 
 
 Thus, too, will the only effectual blow he struck at the very 
 root of the slave trade. Man is actuated by self interest. 
 The negro fights, and sells his prisoner of war as a slave, 
 that he may thus obtain some European article of comfort 
 or luxury. Furnish him with this, and receive in return 
 some one of the productions of his country. Lead him to 
 cherish the arts of peace. He will soon find himself be- 
 coming, both a happier and more wealthy man. His kind- 
 ly feelings will predominate. Interest and duty will unite 
 their influence, and the slave trade will cease, for the sim- 
 ple reason, that there will no longer he any inducement for its 
 prosecution. 
 
 Until such a course is taken, a combination of the whole 
 civilized world, with fleet after fleet sent to counteract this 
 infernal traffic, will produce but comparatively little effect. 
 Did time permit, facts drawn from sources of unquestiona- 
 ble authority, might be adduced to prove the truth of these 
 remarks. The slave trade is still carried on to as great an 
 extent as ever. You cannot bind the monster. He has a 
 thousand arms. You may cripple one, only to give a double 
 vigour to another. You must slay him outright ; and this 
 can be done, only by attacking the very principle of his vi- 
 tality in the heart of Africa. 
 
 What noble objects of benevolent enterprise does Provi- 
 dence thus present to every American patriot, philanthro- 
 pist, and Christian ! 
 
13 
 
 Ah ! as if lingering yet a little while, to win our peni- 
 tence by this endearing exhibition of His forbearance, ere 
 His justice demand that retribution be delayed no longer ; 
 the God of nations seems to be affording us, as a people, a 
 most cheering opportunity, (who knows but that it may be 
 the last,) of redressing the wrongs which have been inflicted 
 upon injured Africa ! 
 
 Let every friend of his country lay this seriously to heart. 
 As a nation, we are all guilty of our brother's blood. It 
 cries from the very soil on which we tread. It ascends into 
 the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth ; Who is no respecter of 
 persons ; Who declares in His written Word, and verifies the 
 denunciation by the most striking events on every page of his- 
 tory, that, at His dread tribunal, J^ations are continually sum- 
 moned to answer for what they do in their civil capacity, as 
 well as each one of us, for what we do in our individual capa- 
 city I 
 
 Said Jefferson, " when I consider that God is just, I trem- 
 ble for my country. ^^ 
 
 Let every American patriot, respond this sentiment from his 
 lips, and feel it deeply in his heart, and obey its injunction in 
 his efforts ; and now, while it is called to-day, ice may yet 
 avert the vengeance of God, and leave to our descendants, the 
 richest legacy that we can bequeath them. His favour, which is 
 life, and His loving kindness, which is better than life ! 
 
14 
 
 CAPTAI^T STOCKTO]\^'S ADDRESS. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, 
 
 I AM imaccustomed to a scene like the present ; the altar 
 under which I am standinor — the distinguished and learned 
 men around me — the imposing appearance of this assem- 
 bly, and my own feelings admonish me, that the occasion of 
 this meeting is important — and that it would have been bet- 
 ter, perhaps, if I had declined the invitation to address you. 
 The deep and unfeigned conviction which I feel, that I am 
 not equal to the proper performance of the duty assigned to 
 me, and my anxiety, for fear I should entirely disappoint 
 expectations, so agitates and distresses me, that if I were to 
 consult my own feelings I would resume my seat without 
 another word. But having consented to say a few words 
 to you this evening, an obligation is imposed upon me to 
 proceed. What adds to my embarrassment is, that I am 
 a stranger among you, and cannot expect as much of your 
 confidence and attention as you would be disposed to give, 
 in advance, to a friend or neighbour. But I beg you to re- 
 member, that I am your countryman, and I hope your bro- 
 ther Christian. Let me then, by these endearing and affec- 
 tionate ties, ask your kind indulgence, whilst I proceed to 
 show as well as I can, in a few words, that the American 
 Society for colonizing the free people of colour of the ^ 
 
 United States, deserves all the patronage it may receive 
 from your patriotism and piety. 
 
 We are all, in some measure, habituated to speak of our- 
 selves as a nation, and when restrained by the salutary 
 checks of religion, it is well, but there are some who boast 
 of the deeds of our ancestors — of the institutions of our 
 country — of our past successes and future glory, as if these 
 were the results of human prowess and ingenuity alone; and 
 take it for granted, that whilst we continue brave in the field 
 and adroit in the cabinet, we must in despite of all other 
 
15 
 
 influences, continue to improve in our temporal affairs. 
 Would it not be wise, as well as virtuous, for such persons 
 to stop for a moment amidst this scene of self-congratulation 
 and empty vanity, and throw their minds back along the 
 line of past events, to ascertain, if possible, to what under 
 heaven we are indebted, for the enjoyment of political and 
 religious freedom and all our present institutions ; and to 
 reflect, whether these things do not bring with them duties 
 and responsibilities, which ought by no means to be over 
 looked or disregarded. But I read the history of my coun- 
 try and contemplate her unrivalled prosperity with a difier- 
 ent moral. I think I see on almost every page, more for 
 thankfulness and humility, than for arrogance and vain 
 boasting. Is it not. Sir, well worthy of consideration, whe- 
 ther these uncommon blessings have not been accumulated 
 in our age and given into our hands as mere Trustees, with 
 the awful responsibility of dispensing them. 
 
 We have been told, and in my opinion truly told, by the 
 Reverend and distinguished gentleman w^ho preceded me, 
 that there are crimes of nations as well as of individuals, and 
 I will add, that as the immortal essence of the latter is re- 
 served for judgment when time shall be no more ; so shall 
 the former be brought to account in the only sphere adapted 
 to their physical capacity. Shall we not then he responsible 
 as a nation, for the constant and persevering exercise of the 
 political and moral influence we possess 1 And is it not 
 worthy of our highest ambition, being the descendants of a 
 long line of noble ancestry, to leave some other memorial 
 of ourselves than that we lived and enjoyed the blessings of 
 freedom 1 
 
 If, Sir, there be any thing in the idea which has been sug- 
 gested, of national responsibility, it surely behooves every pa- 
 triot to look and see, if possible, how he can best fulfil the 
 trust reposed in him. In our country there is, thanks be to 
 God and our ancestors, comparatively but little to do. In 
 Europe we may indeed afford some assistance to the Greeks, 
 but we cannot do much of moment on the great subject of 
 
16 
 
 Government and Christianity ; because, we are there met 
 by entangling alliances, against which we have been so wise- 
 ly and affectionately warned. Should we go to the South- 
 ern part of our own continent the same objections meet 
 us there. 
 
 In this state of things you are invited by the American 
 Society for colonizing the free people of colour of the United 
 States, to turn your attention to Africa ; not to form politi- 
 cal alliances, or to disturb the balance of power in the old 
 world, but for the exercise of a more sublime charity, for a * 
 holier, a more heavenly purpose. Whilst the politicians of 
 the day are getting Canals dug and Roads made to join city 
 to city, hamlet to hamlet, rivers to bays, and bays to rivers ; 
 the Christian and the philanthropist design, through the in- 
 strumentality of the Society in aid of which this meeting has 
 been called, to join continent to continent, savage to civiliz- 
 ed man, the Infidel to his God. You are invited then to 
 reclaim Western Africa. 
 
 In this view of the subject, the first inquiry to be answer- 
 ed is, what is the present condition of Africa, and what 
 changes are contemplated ? That vast continent is said to 
 contain fifty millions of inhabitants. Their pleasures are 
 sloth and idleness — their employments, rapine and murder 
 — their knowledge, treachery — their government, force, 
 cruelty, and oppression — their religion, a blind devotion to 
 the most profane and bloody superstition. In truth, the 
 whole of this immense population are vitiated and debased 
 by the most profound ignorance, and unrestrained barba- 
 rism. To civilize this degraded people, to change their 
 ignorance into knowledge — their horrible superstitions into 
 right understanding of the Christian religion — their treache- 
 ry into good faith — their slothfulness into industry, are 
 among the results contemplated by the American Society 
 for Colonizing the free people of colour of the United 
 States. You are earnestly invited to assist them, and to re- 
 deem fifty millions of persons from the shocking barbarities 
 of savage inhumanity, from the slavery of ignorance and 
 
n 
 
 superstitions — the curse of civil war — and also to open the 
 resources of that immense continent to the enterprize of 
 the civilized world ; and I will add to this brief and imper- 
 fect picture of Western Africa, the existence of the slave 
 trade, and endeavor to show how a Colony of free, intelli- 
 gent. Christian Blacks, established at Liberia, is likely to 
 ope-rate on that traffic. 
 
 The time allotted to me on this occasion, will not permit 
 my entering fully into this subject ; yet I must not pass it by 
 without stating a fact or two, to prove that the slave trade 
 has been carried on with more cruelty within a few years, 
 than before restrictions were placed upon it. An extensive 
 trade is kept up with the Cape De Verd Islands, from the 
 Portuaruese settlements on the coast ; and those slave tra- 
 ders have given to that traffic in the Rio Grande a new fea- 
 ture of barbarous atrocity. 
 
 They visit that river in armed boats, and landing during 
 the night, carry off as many as they can of the unfortunate 
 inhabitants. The Portuguese schooner, Don Jose Holac- 
 ca, was condemned in the mixed court at Sierra Leone, and 
 the circumstances of that case afford a melancholy instance 
 of th0 unfeehng and atrocious manner in which the slave 
 trade is conducted. 
 
 / This schooner, or rather schooner boat, did not measure 
 i tons burthen, was only twenty-eight feet long, and the 
 space between the water casks and the deck, in which the 
 miserable slaves, in irons, were stowed, was only seventeen 
 inches in height ; it appears that thirty negroes were put on 
 board this boat in the Callabar ; that they were at sea near- 
 ly two months, when they put back to Callabar with the loss 
 of ten negroes, literally starved and crushed to death. The 
 state to which the remainder of these poor wretches were 
 reduced was dreadful ; the action of the iron on their arms 
 and ankles, and the sores produced by the small casks on 
 which they were stowed, presented a spectacle of horror 
 and suffering humanity but rarely witnessed. 
 
 By the official reports relative to La June Estalle, there 
 3 
 
18 
 
 were many negroes on board when she sailed. This vessel 
 was stopped and examined, but no negro could be found. 
 A search was instituted, but in vain. At last a groan was 
 heard issuing from a cask — it was opened and two young 
 girls, from ten to fourteen years of age, were found nearly 
 suffocated within it ; several casks of the same form and 
 dimensions had been previously thrown overboard. These 
 things appear to be too dreadful for belief, but I assure you 
 T have not drawn on my fancy for them. They are now 
 matters of history, and may be found by those who doubt. 
 Perhaps it might have been more acceptable to this audi- 
 ence to have omitted them. It gave me no pleasure to re- 
 late them ; the statement was necessary, however, to prove 
 my assertion, that the slave trade is carried on to a great 
 extent, and with much cruelty in opposition to all the ex- 
 ertions of Christendom to stop it. From what has been 
 said, it will appear that though most men are willing to put 
 a stop to the slave trade, they do not know how it is to be 
 effected, or purposely mistake it, and place their hopes 
 upon the most inefficient means. 
 
 The armed vessels will strive in vain to put an end to it, 
 whilst the natives themselves are interested in its prosecution. 
 Some other means must be devised ; and this in my opin- 
 ion is the paramount duty of every friend of humanity. 
 
 If you desire then, my countrymen, to achieve an object 
 which may redound to your own honor in this world, to the 
 benefit of posterity, and perhaps to the immortal bliss of 
 your own souls, as well as millions who are now in darkness 
 and despair, I intreat you not to let this subject pass with- 
 out an attentive examination. But perhaps there are some 
 in t is assembly who consider the instances of cruelty which 
 I have related, as isolated facts, not strong and pervading 
 enough to give to the general subject the importance I have 
 attached to it. If there be any of this description of per- 
 sons, I will go with them one step farther. I would ask 
 them to go to Africa — let them visit that part of the coun- 
 try which, " in Africa's better days," was covered with nu^ 
 
19 
 
 merous villages, but now desolate and untilled, and almost 
 depopulated by the slave trade — let them visit a tribe whom 
 they may perchance find in the enjoyment of peace and 
 tranquillity, let them see that tribe ere another sun rises up- 
 on them, engaged in all the horrors of civil war. Let them 
 see kindred murdering kindred, and African dragging Afri- 
 can to slavery. Let them see all that remains of that un- 
 fortunate tribe, ere another sun set upon them confined, 
 prisoners and slaves in chains. Let them hear the sacri- 
 legious oaths of the inhuman slave dealers ; as they tear 
 asunder the dearest ties of consanguinity and blood, and 
 take a whole nation into bondage. Let them visit the dun- 
 geons of the slave ships, and see these unfortunate people 
 weltering in their blood and dying in their chains. Let 
 them listen to incoherent exclamations of lamentation and 
 woe indistinctly heard amidst the snapping of the lash and 
 clanking of the chains. Let them see human beings put 
 in casks and thrown on the wide bosom of the ocean to 
 perish, and then I would, like the Macedonian, who ap- 
 pealed from Philip to Philip, I would appeal from those per- 
 sons to those very persons, and if they still refused to assist 
 in this great work of philanthropy, I would leave them, as 
 lost to all sense of justice, to every feeling of humanity. 
 
 I have said as the Africans themselves are engaged in the 
 slave trade, I think that the first and most important thing 
 to be done is to induce them to relinquish it and turn their 
 attention towards their own improvement. All the inhabi- 
 tants of that region south of the great desert, have been 
 for ages constantly supplied with rum, tobacco, pipes, &c. 
 &c. &c. through the instrumentality of the slave traders ; 
 and having been led to believe that their supply of these 
 articles depended entirely upon the prosecution and prospe- 
 rity of that trade ; they are constantly engaged in war for 
 the purpose of its continuation. They 'have been led from 
 the cultivation of their rich and luxuriant soil, and even 
 from the chase, the legitimate pursuit and manly employ- 
 ment of savage life, to the unnatural practice of speculat- 
 ing in each other's blood. 
 
20 
 
 We cannot believe that the feelings of friend, and tribe, 
 and countryman were not originally as strong amongst them 
 as any other people, but rather that they have been para- 
 lyzed by the prospect of gain, the removal of which pow- 
 erful principle, would restore to the African his natural re- 
 gards and friendships. It is therefore believed that the 
 prosperity of a Christian commercial colony in the heart 
 of the slave trade, would take them back to the cultivation 
 of the land and the ardour of the chase, as a more quiet 
 and easy mode of obtaining those articles of European lux- 
 ury, which have become almost necessary to their exist- 
 ence. There are thousands of people there whose ener- 
 gies may be directed in any course, either good or evil. 
 Enhance the value of slaves by a brisk demand, and you 
 will produce civil war with all its horrors. Create a de- 
 mand for what their soil can produce, and the}^ will use the 
 hoe. Give to them a pound of tobacco, a string of beads, 
 or a hat in exchange, and you will get the valuable pro- 
 ductions of their rich and fertile soil. 
 
 Another design of this Society, is to send the Bible 
 through this vast unexplored wilderness, and to Christianise 
 Africa. To this part of the plan, I would invite the atten- 
 tion of all those who are friendly to foreign missions, or to 
 spreading, in any way, the Bible amongst the Heathen. — 
 White men cannot live long enough in this climate to do 
 much good in that way, and the hopes of the pious man in 
 behalf of the Heathen must rest at last, I think, upon the ex- 
 ertions of the educated and Christianized Black man. Al- 
 though no objections have yet been publicly urged against 
 the principles connected with this part of the plan, yet it 
 cannot be denied that there are excellent and useful men 
 who attack this society with the old objection of impossibil- 
 ity. Your views, they say, are honest, your principles 
 sound, but the plan is not feasible, the thing cannot be done, 
 it is impossible, and what's impossible, can't be — never, ne- 
 ver comes to pass. I cannot now enter fully into this hack- 
 nied argument of impossibility, but I must be allowed, in 
 
21 
 
 passing it, to say, that it cannot be urged with any effect on 
 a rational mind, until the remembrance of some of the 
 most important epochs of the world is obliterated. Whilst 
 it is remembered that one man caused the reformation ; 
 that a poor wandering hermit preached up the crusade, and 
 sent the whole Chivalry of Europe to redeem the Holy 
 Land ; that one man spread the religion of the Khoran 
 over half the habitable globe ; that the very spot on which 
 we are standing, and which is now the site of this prosper- 
 ous and happy city, was, little more than two centuries ago 
 a wilderness ; that the Nile and the Niger, the Senegal 
 and the Gambia, the Euphrates and the Ganges now bear 
 witness to the success of Christian labourers. Whilst the 
 remembrance of these great events are fresh, it cannot be 
 doubted that the resources of this great nation are fully ad- 
 equate to civilize and Christianize Africa. 
 
 The contemplation of this part of the magnificent scheme 
 of Colonization gives rise to emotions not easily repressed. 
 But why should I endeavour, in an assembly like this, to 
 control such pleasing recollections, such high and well 
 founded hopes. Is it forbidden, that I, whose march is on 
 the mountain wave, should express the sentiments of reli- 
 gion as well as of humanity which the occasion inspires. 
 
 It cannot be, for it is on the trackless main where the in- 
 telligent mind soonest feels its dependence on its God, who 
 says to the curling wave, " thus far shalt thou go and no 
 farther ;" Impossible ! nothing is impossible with our God. 
 It is upon this rock, which is embedded in the bosom of 
 eternity, and which Hume and Gibbon, Voltaire, Paine and 
 Bollingbrooke, and Shaftsbury have, at successive periods, 
 tried in vain to move, that our hopes are fastened. 
 
 I speak not to the sceptic nor to the infidel. If we had 
 no bolder principle or brighter prospects than infidelity can 
 furnish, we might indeed give up. But we rely on the 
 boundless charity of our God ; on the promises of the Ar- 
 biter of Africa's fate ; we confide in that principle which 
 binds the soul of man to the maker of Heaven and of Earth, 
 
22 
 
 in that undefined and undefinable principle which was hid 
 so many years in the opacity of its glory, and which burst 
 forth upon the world with our Saviour, and \vhich has been 
 ever since acting upon all matter with a vegetative force — 
 which has vacated the palaces of Juggernaut, and crum- 
 bled into ruins the thrones of Jupiter and Juno. Uniting 
 then your Christian feelings in the cause of Africa, will you 
 not join this band of Christians, and help to plant the cross 
 of Christ where now reigns the blasphemous worship of the 
 Pagan Gods. 
 
 To those who are now disposed to assist this Society in 
 its present time of need, I would offer one word more of 
 encouragement. It must not be supposed that because it 
 has been deemed proper to solicit pecuniary aid at this time, 
 that the hopes of the Society are at all on the wane. On 
 the contrary, the success which has attended the exertions 
 of this institution, has exceeded all expectation, and the 
 condition and prospect of the Colony at Liberia, are such 
 as to awaken new vigour and hope. The opinions of our 
 coimtrymen are rapidly changing in favor of their object. 
 The evidence of this is to be seen in almost all the news- 
 papers of the day. The venerable clergy of the various 
 ecclesiastical bodies in our land, are giving to them the 
 weight of their influence ; and have recommended the de- 
 sign of the American Society for colonizing the free people 
 of colour of the United States, to the especial patronage 
 of their churches. Besides it is not to be forgotten that 
 a colony of free intelligent Blacks, established at Liberia, 
 will exert an important influence against the slave trade. 
 
 I am done, and if I have said a word which is calculated 
 to promote the cause I have advocated, I shall be happy. 
 
23 
 
 ADDRESS OF FRAIVCIS S. KEY, ESQ,, 
 
 Mr. Key expressed his gratification that the great object 
 presented to the American people by the Colonization So- 
 ciety, was now to be laid before a community, whose co- 
 operation was essential to its success. Enough had been 
 said to show the importance of this subject to the coloured 
 people of our country, who might be removed, by the ef- 
 forts of this Society, from their degraded condition here, to 
 freedom and happiness in Africa, and to ourselves. It had 
 also been shown what a noble reparation would be thus 
 made to Africa for her past wrongs. These benefits were 
 the direct and immediate effects of the Society's labours. 
 There was, however, a consequence expected from the ope- 
 rations of the Society, and, indeed, beginning even now to 
 appear, which constituted its chief attraction to the South, 
 and could not be less interesting to the North. This was, 
 the tendency of its measures, by gradual, safe and volun- 
 tary means, to diminish, and finally to abolish. Slavery in 
 the United States. 
 
 Such a result was not to be looked upon as chimerical. 
 It was the pohcy of the country to which we once belong- 
 ed, that fastened this evil upon us, when colonies — on some 
 of them it was forced, against repeated petitions and re- 
 monstrances. When we became free ourselves, no remedy, 
 though greatly desired, appeared for it. But from that time 
 Patriots had laboured and watched, and Christians prayed 
 for deliverance from it. It was reasonable to expect that 
 such labours would be availing, that such prayers would 
 be heard and answered. And now, a light, shining as in 
 darkness, gave hope that a way appeared by which this 
 great moral and pohtical evil, this only reproach to our free 
 institutions might be removed. He would, therefore, un- 
 dertake to prove, or rather, (as the time he ought to occupy 
 
24 
 
 would not permit more,) to state some facts and suggest 
 some views, which, if duly attended to, would prove, that 
 African Colonization was the cure and the only cure for 
 Slavery. 
 
 That the Slave States desired to be free States, could not 
 be doubted ; a little reflection will convince us that a Slave 
 State, bordering on a free State, cannot long continue such. 
 Effects necessarily grow out of such a state of things, that 
 if men are governed by any of the ordinary principles of 
 their nature, if they can see and hear and feel, make it im- 
 possible for them to continue Slave holders. Such (he 
 proceeded to show) was the case nov/ as to Maryland, and 
 Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He referred to the census of 
 1790, 1810, and 1820, and to the estimate of lands and 
 houses in those States for 1799 and 1814, to show how 
 much more rapid was the increase of population and the rise 
 of value in lands in Pennsylvania than in Virginia, although 
 not possessing half the extent of territory. He compared 
 also the counties of Maryland, in which there were very 
 few slaves, with those where they were numerous, and 
 showed, that while the former were rapidly gainmg, the 
 latter were diminishing in population. He alluded to many 
 other advantages of the free States. Such causes, he con- 
 tended, might be expected to operate powerfully — in addi- 
 tion to which, humane and religious considerations would 
 add their influence. 
 
 The effects to be expected from such causes had already 
 been produced. Slavery was decreasing in Maryland, and 
 he believed the day was not far distant when she would be 
 placed, by the wisdom and patriotism of her people, on this 
 side of the dark line which separates the free and slave 
 States. Virginia also touched the border of Pennsylvania, 
 and was equally instructed and equally interested upon this 
 subject. When these become free States, will not North 
 Carolina learn the same lesson, and in her turn teach it to 
 those upon her border, and the blessing be thus extended 
 to all ? The progress of this light from various causes, may 
 
25 
 
 be slower in some parts of its course than in others, but it 
 will be sure and effectual. 
 
 He then proceeded to show, that it was not left to con- 
 jecture that such effects would be produced by the opera- 
 tion of these powerful causes — that to a certain extent, and 
 as far as was desirable, they were already produced. He 
 referred to resolutions and reports of Committees of the 
 Legislatures of several of the slave States, evincing their 
 disposition to change their system, and showing that they 
 were anxiously looking to the plan of Colonization in Africa 
 as affording an outlet to this evil. He read several most 
 interesting letters from slave holders in Kentucky, Mary- 
 land, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia, offering their slaves 
 to the Society, professing their anxiety to manumit them if 
 they could be sent to Liberia, and the willingness of the 
 slaves to go. He stated that the Society had already sent 
 out upwards of 130 that had been thus liberated — that they 
 had now offered to them by 26 different masters, upwards 
 of 600 others, who could be emancipated and sent as soon 
 as the funds of the Society would enable them. That the 
 applicants for removal now on the books of the Society from 
 the free people of colour, were upwards of 1500. He ar- 
 gued from these and various other topics, that the masters 
 were willing to emancipate. It is true, they require that 
 some provision should be made for them when emancipated. 
 It would be no humanity to manumit them and leave them 
 to starve, or to fill their poor-houses, jails, and penitentia- 
 ries. They cannot remain there among the slaves, thus 
 forming a heterogeneous mass of three different sorts of peo- 
 ple in the same community, each injurious to the other. 
 The free people of colour, even in the free States, were 
 thought to be injurious to the whites, were a distinct and de- 
 graded class, and must ever be so. Some of the free States 
 already have suffered from an excess of that population, and 
 one of them, Ohio, had recently driven them out. If these 
 people, when free, cannot remain in the slave States, and 
 
 arc even to be excluded from the free States, emancipation 
 4 
 
26 
 
 must cease altogether. He read several letters from gen- 
 tlemen in the South, showing that it was now acknowledged 
 by the most humane persons, who had been friendly to 
 emancipation, that it could not go on, if the emancipated 
 remained among the slaves — that it was no kindness to 
 them, and injurious to the slaves and the whites. 
 
 From these and other premises he insisted, that it must 
 now clearly appear to all, that there was a great impedi- 
 ment in the way of emancipation, viz. the remaining of the 
 emancipated among us, and that this was the only difficulty. 
 What then, he asked, was to be done by those who desired 
 to promote emancipation ? They were to do in this, as in 
 all other things, what common sense directed — they were 
 to remove the obstruction. He therefore called upon all 
 who wished the abolition of slavery to inform themselves of 
 the real state of the subject they were acting upon. They 
 would then see that to effect what they desired, they must 
 agree to unite in removing this great impediment, without 
 which all their labour would be (as it had always been) in 
 vain. Let them agree to say nothing about abolition — to 
 do nothing for abolition — ^but strive to remove this impedi- 
 ment — open the way for the return of this unfortunate race 
 to the land of their fathers, which is the best and the only 
 way of providing properly for them when emancipated ; 
 and when this is done, the whole work is done. 
 
 The slave holders were not understood on this subject. 
 They were willing to give up their slaves as fast as they 
 could be provided for — that is, as fast as they could be sent 
 away. And could any thing more be asked of them. May 
 not abolition be said to commence when they thus give 
 up their slaves and they are beginning to be sent away 1 
 They will be- always willing to do this as fast as funds can 
 be found for their removal. They will do it voluntarily, 
 without legislation. It was reasonable to expect they would 
 always be ready to do this, if they were so now : for the same 
 causes will continue to operate — and that they were ready 
 now, the facts he had stated and the letters he had produc- 
 
87 
 
 ed, proved. And he would undertake to say, that now, 
 
 and always, as long as slavery lasted, whenever $25 or $30 
 were raised at the North, to send a slave to Africa, a mas- 
 ter shall be found at the South ready to give a slave 
 to be sent. Let North and South then unite in this work 
 of justice and benevolence. " Let the South give up," (as 
 they show themselves ready to do) and " let the North not 
 hold back." 
 
 It has been said that the evil is too great to be remedied 
 — that the annual increase of the coloured population is 
 50 or 60,000— that it will take a million of dollars every 
 year to remove this increase. That number need not be 
 removed, but only the producing portion of it. Nor would 
 it require that sum— the cost of transportation has been con- 
 tinually diminishing. It was at first §100, it is now about 
 $25. Africa, by her products, can pay for the return of 
 her children, and as commerce increases, the expense of 
 transportation will diminish. 
 
 But if it did require a million of dollars, what is that com- 
 pared with the continuance of such an evil] What is that 
 to a nation like this? with a revenue of upwards of 20 mil- 
 lions, which it will soon be perplexed to know how to ex- 
 pend. It has been already stated that the slave traders 
 carry away from Africa, annually, 100,000. They do 
 this at a greater cost than $25 a head. And who are they 1 
 The scum and refuse of two or three nations. Can these 
 miscreants do twice as much of evil as we can of good? 
 can they brave disgrace, and punishment, and death; the 
 scorn of man, and the wrath of God; and carry away 
 100,000 of their fellow-creatures in chains; and cannot a 
 great people, with an approving and admiring world, and 
 the favour and the help of God, carry back to Africa half 
 that number of her redeemed and rejoicing children ? 
 
 If the slavery that is in our land is a disgrace to us. If 
 any portion of that land is ready to do her part, and more 
 than her part, to obtain deliverance from the reproach, that 
 portion should stand absolved from the offence. If there 
 
28 
 
 be any portion that refuses to do an equal part, the sin and 
 the shame must be there. 
 
 Laying aside then all other considerations, here is the 
 Bouth offering 600 slaves as a free gift. They are to be 
 liberated, if the wish of themselves and their masters, for 
 their removal to Africa, can be gratified ; and nothing is 
 wanting, nothing delays this work of humanity but funds. 
 What can gold purchase equal to the privilege of joining in 
 such a work 1 
 
29 
 
 CAPT. IVICOLSOJV'S L-ETTERS. 
 
 J^ew-York, October 21st. 1820. 
 Sir, 
 
 In answer to your note requesting my views relative 
 to the colony of Liberia, I take leave to state, that my im- 
 pressions have not been altered since writing the enclosed 
 letter addressed to the Hon. Henry Clay, Vice President of 
 the Society, upon my return from Liberia. 
 
 I have had an opportunity, since my return, of convers- 
 ing with several of the colonists who have visited this coun- 
 try and have again returned to Liberia. From their con- 
 versation, with all the information derived from other sour- 
 ces, I am convinced more and more of the utility of support- 
 ing a colony which will have the effect of again restoring 
 the descendants of this race to their natural soil and cli- 
 mate, with every advantage of civilization, and it is to be 
 hoped, with the blessings of religion. Every philanthro- 
 pist ought to rejoice at the prospect of sending the only 
 Missionaries which the climate will allow them to receive ; 
 for the white man is not calculated, from this cause, to car- 
 ry those blessings, the knowledge of which alone raises 
 man above the Savage. 
 
 I conceive this colony to be the most effectual mode of 
 destroying the horrid traffic which has been, and is now the 
 disgrace of civilization. The slave trade no doubt has re- 
 ceived a more effectual check since the establishment of the 
 colony of Liberia, than for a century before ; this is a pow- 
 erful motive to call forth the best energies of our country- 
 men, who have so strenuously endeavored to destroy this 
 traffic, both by the acts of our government, as well as in- 
 dividual exertion. 
 
 That the colony will, in a few years, be enabled to support 
 itself by the product of the country and from commerce, 
 1 still have no doubt. The location of the settlement is a 
 good one for health, as far as the climate will permit. The 
 
land is free from swamp^ but of a rich alluvial soil, with a 
 river running through the valley, and the country, as far as 
 the eye extends, is interspersed with hills of considerable 
 magnitude, which, as understood from those who had visit- 
 ed the interior, extend far back. It was considered 
 more healthy as you left the coast, as is the case in our 
 southern country. I cannot but believe it is one of the 
 most important colonies which has been established since 
 the settlement of our continent, both as regards religion 
 and civilization. So much has been already said at the late 
 meeting, by the gentlemen whose eloquence gave a charm 
 to this interesting question, that it would be a useless at- 
 tempt on my part to endeavor to excite your feelings, even 
 had I the eloquence or power. I however beg to say, that 
 as far as my observations allow me to judge, a visit occa- 
 sionally, from the gentleman who may be^ (white) agent 
 of the Society, would be sufficient to enable them to govern 
 themselves in such a manner as to ensure to them the re- 
 spect and confidence of the several nations around them. 
 Thus throwing themselves more upon their own resour- 
 ces, would give them confidence within themselves, nor do 
 I believe that confidence would be abused. They appear- 
 ed, when I was among them, to take pride in seeing their 
 laws respected and obeyed, and none more so than those 
 which related to religion and morality. 
 
 The prosperity of the Society, I cannot but take a lively 
 interest in, and it will always afford me sincere pleasure to 
 further its views, both in my public character, when in my 
 power, as well as individually. 
 
 That you and the other gentlemen may be successful in 
 calling the attention of our countrymen to this truly inter- 
 esting and important question, is the sincere wish of 
 Respectfully, sir. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 JNO. B. NICOLSON. 
 
 To the Reverend 
 J. M. Wainwrisht, 1 Rector-street. 
 
31 
 
 Copy of a letter from Capt. J^icolson, of the United States 
 J^avy, to the Hon. Henry Clay, 
 
 Washington, March 17, 1828. 
 
 Sir — Having visited the Colony of Liberia, on my re- 
 turn to the United States, from a cruise in the Mediterra- 
 nean, I cheerfully comply vs^ith your request, by presenting 
 to you such views of its present condition and probable 
 growth, as occurred to me in the course of that visit. 
 
 The soil in the possession of the Colonists is rich, and 
 will produce a superabundance for the support of the Colo- 
 ny, as well as for external commerce. Sugar, cotton, cof- 
 fee, rice, and various trees and plants, yielding valuable dyes, 
 and medicinal gums, can be cultivated with success. 
 
 The population is now 1,200, and is healthy and thriving. 
 The children born in the country are fine looking, and I 
 presume can be raised as easily as those of the natives. 
 All the Colonists with whom I had any communication, 
 (and with nearly the whole I did communicate in person, or 
 by my officers,) expressed their decided wish to remain in 
 their present situation, rather than to return again to the 
 United States. I cannot give you better evidence of the 
 prosperity of the colony, than by mentioning that eight of 
 my crew, (colored mechanics,) after going on shore, two 
 several days, applied for, and received their discharge, in 
 order to remain as permanent settlers. These men had 
 been absent from their country upwards of three years, and 
 had, among them, nearly two thousand dollars in clothes 
 and money. Had they not been thoroughly convinced that 
 their happiness and prosperity would be better promoted by 
 remaining among their free brethren in Liberia, they would 
 not have determined on so momentous a step as quitting 
 the United States, perhaps forever, where they all had left 
 friends and relatives. 
 
 The appearance of all the Colonists, those of Monrovia 
 as well as those of Caldwell, indicated more than content- 
 ment. Their manners were those of freemen, who expe- 
 
32 
 
 rienced the blessings of liberty, and appreciated the boon. 
 Many of them had, by trade, accumulated a competency, 
 if the possession of from three to five thousand dollars may 
 be called so. As a proof of the growing importance of 
 the commerce of the country, more than 100 hogsheads of 
 tobacco had been raised during the last year, and the de- 
 mand was increasing. Ivory and camwood are now the 
 prominent articles received in exchange for foreign im- 
 ports ; other dyewoods, and many medicinal gums and roots 
 will be hereafter brought in, as they are already known to 
 exist in the interior. 
 
 I take this occasion to suggest the propriety of permit- 
 ting any of the Colonists to purchase an additional number 
 of acres of land from the Agent. By permitting this, the 
 more enterprising will be enabled to turn their attention to 
 the culture of the coffee tree, which grows spontaneously 
 in the vicinity of Monrovia. In fact, the soil will produce 
 every thing which a tropical climate will allow to arrive at 
 maturity. 
 
 From the good order and military discipline which ap- 
 pear to prevail among the Colonists, I am induced to be- 
 lieve they could easily repel any attack which could be 
 made upon them by any native force. They have arms, 
 and having associated themselves in volunteer companies, 
 have acquired the knowledge of using them with effect, 
 against any probable force which might be brought to bear 
 upon them, by undisciplined and scattered tribes in their vi- 
 cinity. It is true, they have no harbors for large vessels, 
 as all their rivers are obstructed by bars. This is not of 
 much consequence to their coasting trade, as they have 
 many harbors and inlets, which are accessible to small ves- 
 sels. Large vessels have also one advantage, that most of 
 the heavy winds are off the coast, which gives them a lee 
 and a smooth sea. Off Cape Mesurado, there is a good an- 
 chorage, and on the pitch of the Cape they have planted a 
 battery, which will protect any vessel that may need it, 
 from piratical depredations. 
 
33 
 
 I would respectfully suggest, for your consideration, the 
 propriety of making the principal Agent of the Colony, a 
 " Commercial Agent," as cases have occurred on the coast, 
 when such an appointment might have proved the means 
 of rescuing American property from the hands of fo- 
 reigners, who- have maintained possession of it in conse- 
 quence of there being no legalized American Agent on the 
 coast. 
 
 The importance of this Colony, as regards the native 
 tribes of the coast, is, in my estimation, great. They al- 
 ready begin to perceive that it is civihzation and the bless- 
 ings of religion, which give superiority to man over his fel- 
 low man. They had supposed it was the white skin ; but 
 now they see, in their neighborhood, men of their own co- 
 lor, enjoying all those advantages hitherto deemed peculiar 
 to the former. This has elicited a spirit of inquiry, which 
 must tend to their benefit. The philanthropist may antici- 
 pate the day when our language and religion will spread 
 over this now benighted land. The slave trade will cease 
 as the Colony progresses, and extends its settlements. The 
 very spot, where now exists a free People, was a depot for 
 the reception of manacled slaves. This fact alone is en- 
 titled to consideration, and ought to arouse the zeal of the 
 friends of humanity everywhere. 
 
 Our large cities complain of the number of free blacks, 
 who have, by their petty crimes, filled their penitentiaries. 
 Would not the colony be benefitted by the labor of these 
 men, and the community relieved by their transportation 1 
 I certainly think the colony sufficiently strong, both moral- 
 ly and physically, to prevent any injury from their admis- 
 sion. I do not pretend to point out the mode or character 
 in which they ought to be received. This I leave to those 
 who are more able to judge on the subject. I see that the 
 colony is now in want of numbers, to clear and cultivate a 
 country which will amply repay them for the labor. 
 
 I take leave to mention, that the climate is much like that 
 
 of all similar latitudes ; and, as the land is rich, and most of 
 5 
 
34 
 
 *> 
 
 it still in woods, we must expect that bilious fevers will some- 
 times prevail ; but I do not think it more unhealthy, to the 
 colored people, than our extreme southern coast ; and as 
 the soil of Liberia becomes cleared and cultivated, I have 
 no doubt it will be found as healthy as any other southern 
 latitude. It was, I believe, never intended, that the white 
 man should inhabit this region of the globe ; at least we 
 know that the diseases of this climate are more fatal to him, 
 than to the man of color. They luxuriate in the intense 
 heat, while a white man sinks under its exhausting influ- 
 ence. 
 
 I confess, sir, that, since I have visited this Colony, I 
 have felt a strong interest in its prosperity, and hope that it 
 will thrive under the auspices of a Society, among whom 
 are some of our most distinguished citizens. 
 
 If what I have communicated shall prove instrumental, in 
 the slightest degree, to sustain you in the cause of humanity, 
 and of this degraded race, I shall rejoice that my duty call- 
 ed me to witness the growing prosperity of the Colony of 
 Liberia. 
 
 With sentiments of high respect, I have the honor to be, 
 your obedient servant, 
 
 JNO. B. NICOLSON, 
 Late Commander of the U. S. Ship Ontario. 
 
 The Hon. Henry Clay, 
 
 Vice President of the Colonization Society. 
 
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