'•^V ■'^^r. •. ^. '^7. if •-.■c ... %" /v >p^^. "^ '^.T*^ A <. ♦^TTT*' «G^ "^o^ '0,1* J\ ^ 5^ ^^^ '^' ^ «^ '.-0 .- '»bv* \^ ^o-nK '•J FIRST REPORT NEW-YORK COLONZZATIOBT SOCIETY. NEW-YORK : faiNTED BY J. SEYMOUR. 1823. THE NEW- YORK OBSERVF A RELIGIOUS JVEfFSPAPER, Is published weekly in the city of New-York, on Saturday m( The first number was issued on the 17th of May. The paper is princip-ta/ ^ evated to Religious Intelligence, but contains also miscellaneous articles, anJ btio.ma*' lies of news, and information on every subject in which the commii.:ily J.-- inte- rested The advantages enjoyed in the city of New- York for <;i.M c the earliest intelligence from all parts of the globe, and for diffusing it i \ M i,i this country, it is now well understood, are greatly superior to those i a. \ other city in the United States, and this pre-eminence is every year increasing. The conductors of the Observer, by means of their correspondence with gentlemen in Europe, will be able to procure the earliest infoimation on all subjects interesting to the Religious community. The Observer will not be the advocate of the pe- culiar opinions of any sect or denomination, religious or political. SIDNEY E. MORSE, } -,,.. , f Editors and RICHARD C. MORSE, ) ^^oftietote. The Observer is recommended by the following gentlemen : Rev. Gardiner Spring, Pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church. .. John M'Dowell, D. D. Pastor of the First Presb. Church, Elizabethtown. .. James Milnor, D. I). Rector of St. George's Church. .. J. M. Mathews, D. D Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in Garden-st. .. Wm. M'Munay, D. D. Pastor of the Reformed Dutrh Church in Market-st. .. Thomas M'Auley, D. D. Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Rutgers-st. .. Stephen N. Rowan, D. D. Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Greenwich Village. .. John B. Romeyn, D. D. Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Cedar-street. .. Philip Milledoler, D. D. Collegiate Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church. .. Alexander M'Leod, D. D. Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. .. Ph. M. Whelpley, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. ,. Samuel H Cox, Pastor of the Spring-street Presbyterian Church. .. John Knox, Collegiate Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church. .. William D. Snodgrass, Pastor of the Murray-street Presbyterian Church. .. Robert M'Cartce, Pastor of the Orange-street Presbyterian Church. .. Nicholas J. Marselus, Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church at Greenwich. James G. Ogilvie, Pastor of the Fourteenth Presbyterian Church, in Provost- street. .. Ward Stafford, Pastor of the Bowery Presbyterian Church. ., William Patton, Pastor of the Fresbytrrinn Church in Broome-street. .. Johnson Chase, Pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church. .. John Williams, Pastor of the Baptist Meeting in Oliver-street. .. David Porter, D. D. of Catskill. ,. James Richards, D.D. Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Newark, N. .1. .. Philip C. Hay, Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Newark, N. J. .. Samuel Fisher, Pastor of the Fres-byterian Church, Fatersoii, N.J. .. .\sa Hillyer, D. I). Pnstor of the First Presbyterian Church, Orange, N. J. .. David' Magie, Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Elizabethtown. .. Joseph M'Carrell, Pastor of the Associate Reformed Congregation of New- burgh. John Johnston, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church inNewburgh. From the Boston Missionary Herald, for Jlugust, 1823. Early in May, a religious newspaper was commenced in New- York citj', de- nominated the " New-York Observer." Thus far it has been edited with ability, and from the reputation of the Editor, there can be no doubt but its churactejr (vill be sustained. CONDITIONS. 1. The paper is issued weekly, on Saturdaji morning. 2. It is printed iti the folio form, on paper of the royal size. 3. The price is three dollars n year, payable in si.x months; or two dollars and fifty cents, if paid in advance. iri" Any person becoming rei-ponsiblr for s-ix cojiies, shall receive a seventh. Stibscriptioii-. received at the Htieel. FIRST REPORT zrBw-yoRs cox.osnzATXOir soczbty. READ AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, Vi OCTOBER 29, 18?^ NEW-YORK ; T'RTNTRrt VY .T. SEYMOUR^ JOHN-STRKf 1823. coiirsTXTUXj:o]Nr NEW-YORK COLONIZATION SOCIETl ARTICLE 1. I'his Jnslituiion shall be known by the name ot' the JNew-Vork Colon r- NATION Society. ARTICLE IJ. The object of the Society shall be to co-operate vvitli tiie Parent Society at Washington, instituted for the purpose of colonizing the free people of colour of the United States. ARTICLE III. Any person, paying one dollar annually, or thirty dollars at one tinie, shall be a member of this Society. ARTICLE IV. The business of the Society shall be conducted by a Board of Directort;, consisting of a President, four Vice-Presidents, a Corresponding Secretarj^ a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and twelve Managers, to be annually chosen by this Society : they shall have power to make their own By-Laws, and to fill their own vacancies. Five shall constitute a quorum. ARTICLE V. I'he annual meeting of this Society shall be held on the last W^dnesda}' in October, at foTir o'clock P. M. ARTICLE VI. This Constitution may be altered at an annual meeting by a voteof two- thirds of the membei's prespn*. OFFICERS AND MANAGERS, roR 1823-21. Vice-Presidenls. Col. Henry Rutgers, President. Col. William Few, Rev. Alexander M'Leod, D.D. Mr. DiviE Bethune, Rev. Philip Milledoler, D.D. Mr. Grove Wright, Treasure)'. Rev. Paschal N. Strong, Corresponding Secretarif. .John B. Beck, M.D. Recording Secretary. OTHER J\IAJ^AGERS. Rev. John B. Romevn, D.D. Mr. Joseph Smith, James Milnor, D.D. George P. Shipman, William M'Murkav, D.D. Charles G. Haines. Mr. George Gallagher, John Targee, Garrit N. Blkecker, William G. Jones, William B. Crosby, Harris Scovell. William Colgate. T^ORiNG D. Dewkv. .igent «(' flip Gtucrnl Snntin. REPORT. Nearly seven years have elapsed since a Society was tbrm- ed at Washington, for the purpose of " promoting and exe- cuting a plan for colonizing the free people of colour, residing in America, in Africa, or such other place as Congress should deem most expedient." As a preliminary step to the carry- ing of this plan into successful execution, it was deemed pro- per to send out agents to the coast of Africa, to ascertain the most favourable site for the proposed colony, and at the same time to gather such general information as might facilitate the future operations of the Society. Messrs. Mills and Burgess were accordingly appointed upon this service in the year 1817; and the result of their labours and inquiries was such as to satisfy the Managers that the establishment of a colony on the west coast of Africa might be attempted, not merely with safety, but with every prospect of success. Having ob- tained this information, it was determined at once to com- mence their labours in this region of the globe ; and mea- sures were immediately adopted for sending out, with all pos- sible speed, the first settlers in the proposed colony. A ves- sel, the Elizabeth, was accordingly cliartered and dispatched lo Africa, with about eighty coloured people, together with the two agents of the Society, and one of the government of the United States, appointed to superintend the reception of rescued slaves from on board the slaving ships. The vessel sailed from this port, and the spirit and alacrity with whicli our citizens came forward to furnish her with necessary sup- plies, exhibit a satisfactory proof that they are not insensiblo to the claims of this noble and benevolent enterprise. The first location of the colonists, on their reaching Africa, proved, unfortunately, to be in every respect disadvantageous ; .111(1 iiiJoniialiun xxiu rciiclictl ilic !M;uKit;irj. (»l llie dt'iilli en ilio iliri'f aiiciiis, (niictliiT \\itli al)(Hif twenty of the colonists. Ill coiisefiucme oliliese and oilier disasters, tlireateninf;; their immediatt' and ahiiost total destruction, the colonists, on the arrival of new accents from the United States, were removed lo Sierra Leone, and placed under the protection of the Bri- tish government. Here they remained until a proper situation could be procured for their settlement. Through the zeal and ability of Dr. Ayres, agent of the Society, and Lieute- nant Stockton, of the United States Navy, this was accom- plished. A tract of land at Cape Montserado,* was purchased from the native kings, which, according to the description given of it, combines every local advantage, situated on the banks of a large river, " and with one of the best harbours between Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope." The colo- nists were soon after removed to this spot, and the first foun- dation of a settlement laid, whose benign influence, we trust, \\ ill be felt and acknowledged for ages to come, in the remot- est regions of Africa. It is unnecessary lo dwell, in detail, upon the intermediate history of the colony. The annual Reports of the parent In- stitution contain the amplest information on this subject, and are filled with a recital oflhe most important incidents in rela- tion to its origin and progress. To the lover of bold adven- ture, as well as to the pliilanthropist and the Christian, we re- commend the perusal of these interesting documents. It is sufficient for our present purj)osc to state, that, notwithstand- ing the flangers and thtf diflicultios necessarily attending the planting of an infant settlement on a remote and barbarous shore, the colony still exists and flourishes. According to th(,' latest accounts, the number of settlers is about two hundred, under the sui)erintendence of two agents, of acknowledged character and abilities. The misiinderstaiuling, w hich at first existed between them and the natives, has been satisfactorily * Cajic ISloiilscrado, which is higli luinl, i« situated in (ibout tlic fiflli ilcgroc <>i north hitiliiiie. Sierra I-none is in N. int. {J<^' 30'. Mcsiirndo is Ihi' iianif of (he river inul buy Ihal wn-^h the cape. Tlic «"n|>c is hIso somPtinies calleil ^IrxiirH'I'i. . adjusted, and every tiling seems propitious to the growth and perpetuity of the establishment. (A)* Such is a brief sketch of what has been accomplished under the auspices of the parent Society. To aid in the execution of a plan, so magnificent in its design, and so benevolent in its object, this x\uxiliary was formed. It has already existed for six years, and though less has been done by it than was either wished or expected by the friends of colonization, yet the Ma- nagers feel confident that its formation and continued existence have not been without their use. Although it has thus far contributed but little to the pecuniary resources of the Socie- ty, the Managers flatter themselves that it may have been the means of keeping alive, in this section of our country, a sym- pathy for the general object, which, it is hoped, will ere long- pervade every portion of the community. N6twitlistanding the open hostility of some, the skepticism of others, and the cold indiflerence of a still greater number, the JManagers are proud to record their firm and unalterable conviction in fa- vour of the great cause in which they are enlisted. They believe it to be a project, not merely practicable, but preg- nant with the greatest blessings to humanity. (B) To this country it ofiers the onlj' possible means of gradually ridding ourselves of a mighty evil, and of obliterating the foulest stain upon our nation's honour. To those who emigrate, it oflers an asylum in the land of their fathers, where they may stand forth in the character of men, and enjoy the rights and pri- vileges of freemen. To Africa, it offers the suppression ot' the slave trade, while it presents in bold perspective the brightest prospects of future civilization and refinement. (C) If this unfortunate portion of our globe is ever to be rege-- nerated in its intellectual and moral character, there is no question that it will have to be the result of eftbrts foreign to itself. J. All history proves that no people were ever redeem- ed from ignorance and Ijarbarism, except tin'ough the agency of a nation already civilized. If such be the fact, how immensely does the establishment of this colony swell in interest, when viewed in its relations to * The letters' (A). CB).and (C), refer to the AppenHh Africa ! It i> no txuav again supposiuon, that, il" s-uccess attends the present enterprise, colonies will ere long be lound estabiislied in abundance along the coast of Africa, and that through them, civilization, science, and Christianity, will pour their blessings over a suflering and degraded conti- nent. It is impossible to believe, for one moment, that a plan which promises such splendid results will be suffered to lan- guish by the American public. The countenance and pa- tronage already extended to the infant settlement by the go- vernment of the United States, shows that the object is and and ought to be a national one. The Managers entertain the hope, that ?re long this must become a general sentiment throughout our country, and that every heart must be awa- kened to the claims of this Institution. APPENDIX. PRESENT STATE OF THE COLOAi. Formal possession of Cape Montserado was taken on the 'Zbth of April, 1022, when the American flag was hoisted. The name Liberia is given to the region purchased of the natives, and Mon- rovia to the town then commenced. The plan of the town is, to build on one principal street, on which each settler has a house and lot, and in addition, is furnished with a plantation out of town. These, if he improves them industriously for two years, become his and his heirs for ever. At the head of this street, in a com- manding position, stands the fort, a strongly built stone and mortar fortification ; its foundations laid several feet below the surface. The colonists are now engaged in building, and clearing the land. The following extracts will show the present state and prospects of the colony. The first is from a letter to a reverend gentleman in Baltimore, dated Jane 20, 1823, written by Mr. Ashmun, the United States' agent to take charge of liberated Africans. " I perceive that the Baltimore benevolence has imposed on tlie colonists aiio- tlier debt of gratitude. Heaven rewarl, and whether that vessel will touch at ibis place for emigrants. I am anxious to know, myself, as I shall immediately close my affairs, and take my family with me. I shall go to Richmond, in a few days, to satisfy the minds of ilic peojile, and ascertain the number disposed to emigrate." Such are the present prospects of the colony. It is established, flourishing, and in peace with the surrounding tribes. Many of these tribes already rejoice at its settlement, and have requested that their sons may be received into tlie colony, to learn mechan- ical arts. The colony has received several, the sons of head men, but has been obliijed to refuse others, for ^vant of accommo- dations. Thus has the second colony for Africans actually commenced. The first was Sierre Leone, which now can boast of far greater prosperity and population than any one of the old United States at the same length of time after its settlement. The second, Libe- ria, not having experienced half the disasters of Sierra Leone, having her experience to guidf it, and begun under much better advantages, we may safely conclude will, in much less time, reach the same prosperity. The settlement in Sherbro was but a '• temporary shelter," though it was fatal to several of the first colonists — yet not so much so as is generally believed. Of 8S, but 21 died. " It may be proper," says the fourth report of the Parent Society, " here to correct what we observe to be a very common but mistaken impression, that this location of the people at Campelar, in Sherbro, was the one selected to be purchased for their permanent settlement ; w^hereas it was only taken as a temporary shelter, till they could get tiie land on the Bagroo, which is high and healthy, abounds in good water, and where the settlement was designed to be located." But had these deaths occurred in the chosen locaticn of the colony, and had they been more numerous, even to half the colonists, it would not have been u valid reason for relinquishing the project ; because such reason- ing would have prevented the settlement and all the present ad- vantages of our own country. The effect which these deaths have produced on the public mind, has been far too great and depressing, considering how many thousands have fallen victims to the disease and hardships th;it have been unavoidable in the seltloinent of our own rountry. F>ut our countrymen have gone forward, notwith- standing disasters and hardships, to convert the wilderness into the fruitful field. The English friends of Africa have not de- sponded in consequence of similar disasters. Look at Grenville Sharp, and the society under whose patronage Sierra Leone is flourishing, to tho admiration of its friends. From the first this colony has suffered by the deaths of its active agents and mission- aries. In 1819 no less than five died. Their twentieth report, for 1819 and 1820, shows that they did not therefore remit their exertions for Africa. " On these recent losses, the Committee iiave pleasure in subjoining an extract from Mr. NyLuider's coninumications : " The accounts of so many deaths among us, through the last severe rainy season, must certainly be an additional trial of the faith and courage of the Committee : but be not discouraged, nor be ye dismayed, for it is the Lord's battles that we are fighting, and we are conquering even when falling. Only send us a fresh supply of troops for this holy war, for the increase and enlarge- ment of the kingdom of Christ. ** It is not our part, indeed, your Committee would add, to scrutinize with anxiety into the purposes of Divine Providence in the withdrawing of these la- bourers from such a field : ''it is enough to know," as has been well observed in a report of one of the Society's Associations, " that they died in peace — confiding in the wisdom and goodness of that Lord, to whom all things are committed in this world and the world to come — leaving their last testimony to the truth of those immortal hopes whicli they had gone to proclaim to a people in darkness." " I believe,"' says a surviving brollier, " I spenk the feelings of most of our re- maining few, when I say, that we are not disheartened, but encouraged : and if we are so who stand injeopanlij every ftovr, you will not do well to be cast down. We are few and weak. Send us faithful and zealous men !" '* Several schoolmastets and schoolmistresses being under preparation to ac- companj' Mr. Johnson on his voyage back to Sierra Leone, when the intelligence sf these losses arrived, they were not deterred thereby from their purpose, but felt an additional reason for persevering therein, trusting in the name of the Lord." Recently five of the missionaries, with many others, have been cut off by yellow fever at Sierra Leone ; and what is the effect on English philanthropists and Christians? Do they say, we will send no more ? The following, from the " Christian Guardian," in relation to this afflictive event, shows that even the deaths of the most valued men, their personal friends and fellow-labourers, do not lead them to conclude it wrong to send more to the same post of danger, or to hesitate in prosecuting the same work. They view it rather as a call to increased exertions for the same objects. " Under such distressing dispensations, they ask, What shall we say ? Surely it becomes us to adopt the language of our ado- rable Redeemer : ' The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few ; pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth more labourers.' The vacancies that have oc- curred in the military and mercantile departments of Sierra Leone will be immediately filled up by those who are anxious for worldly 14 honours and advantages. Surely tliose ulio are looking earnestlv lor that crown which tlie Lord h;is laid up for his people in that day, should not hv. discouraged, but should come lbr»\ard, and be, us it were, baptized for the dtad — should occupy the places of thosu who are l;dk*n, and enrntstly prepare, that they also may be Jolluwers of Iho^e who, through t.iili) and patience, inherit the promises. These events, however, should not only call the friends of missions to fervtiit prayer and personal devotion, but should also stimulate them to increasing liberality." So they feel now. and so they have always acted. Is it not then a little surprising, that the deaths in our colony, nhich it is well known resulted from the unavoidable evils of a distant new settlement, should have struck such a damp upon American philanthropy ?^-should have led so many to think it a hopeless work we have begun at Montserado, and that it ought to be relinquished ? Such despondency is not of that faith which counts not life dear. Then will there be reason for despondency, when none can be found to take the places of the fallen. But they are found, and will be found, as they are needed. We weep at the deaths that fever has inflicted on our gallant navy at Key West. But should we not feel it would be far greater reason for weeping, if our navy should refuse to occupy again that post of danger at the same call, or if our government should refuse to send them? Let us recollect, it is a piracy of human blood, that colonizing in Africa will prevent, as well as promote other most important objects. (B.) Facts in relation to tJtexi'illingncys of the Coloured People to migrate to Africa, and the fcasibilitij nf the project. There is a strong natural attachment to the land of their fathers awakened in the boscms of all who become well informed. This attachment to Africa Faul CufiVc felt and thousands of others have felt it. As soon as they rise from their ignorance high enough to sec their degradation, and discover whence they came, and where their fithers dwelt, they anxiously seek to reach its shores. The following facts are full on this point. '•Of th« whole miinbcr of free lilacks. in Nova Scotia, amounting to very near tweWc hundred, to \v)ioni the lininanc Clitrkfon Bddressod hiinsclf in 1792. but 10 four ortivc individuals refused to eml)aik with him lor Sierra Ltone. Almost all those in London yielded, al)out the same period, to this natural bias. "It is but a few years since Capi. Paul Cuflne carried thirty-eight fiom Bos- ton to Sierra Leone, chiefly at his own expense ; and in a letter, written after this voyage, he declares, th.it he, could have obtained the consent of the great- er part of the free people of colour in that city and its vicinity, to remove to Africa. And let it not be foigotten, that, of those, whom he actually carried, there was not one disposed to return with him, to America. Nor should it cease to be remembered, that this generous and eulighiened African, in the last mo- ments, as through the last years of his meritorious life, recommended coloniza- tion in Africa to his degraded countrymen here. To this autliority, shouUi be added many others, but especially that of Kizell, the guide and friend of the missionaries. Mills and Burgess, who like Capt. Cuffee, knew America, as well as, and Africa much better, than any of the ojiponentsof the plan of coloniza- rion." — Third Report of the Parent isocieli/., p. 2-1. The following is an extract of a letter from a free negro^ dated Lamott, Illinois Territory, July 13th, 1818. "I am a free man of colour, have a family and a large connexion of free people of colour residing on the Wabiish, who are all willing to leave America whenever the v/ay shall be opened. We love this country and its liberties, if we could share an equal right in them ; but our freedom is partial, and we have no hope that it ever will be otherwise here ; therefoie we had rather be gone, though we should suffer hunger and nakedness for years. Your honour may be assured that nothing shall be lacking on our part in complying with whatever provision shall be made by the United States, whether it be to go to Africa or some other place ; we shall hold ourselves in readiness, praying that God (who made man free in the beginning, and who by his kind providence has broken the yoke from every white American,) would inspire the heart of every true son of liberty with zeal and pity, to open the door of freedom for us also. I am, &,c. ABRAHAM CAMP. Elias B. Caldwell, Esq. Secretary of the Colonization Society of the U. S. \Ibid. p. 124. It is also a fact, that the society has found no difficulty in ob- taining colonists of good character : seventy-nine offered them- selves in a body in New- York, in 18! 8 ; the only difficulty has been in selection. What would be the feeling generally, were a few more to return with favourable reports from the colony, is seen by the preceding letter of Mr. Waring. There can be no doubt, that, under the powerful motives of both liberty and pro- perty, they will be seen, when once a fair prospect of finding a home of freedom and equal rights and comfortable living, is pre- sented to them, by thousands, urging their way through every ob- stacle to the inviting land of their fathers — a land abounding with valuable t; opical productions, where the cotton shrub and sugar cane grow spontaneously, and may become to them in commerce what they are to the southern states and the West Indies. That such prospects are now in part presented them, and will be to their fullest extent, none doubt, who have had correct informa- tion. If the people of the Eastern states, to say nothing of the ten thousands of Europeans, " who have for ever abandoned their 10 uaialsuii," can bo induced, for the single coiisideraUun oi jnupei ly, to meet all llu- hardships and disaslers of now settlements in the western forests, where, in very many inslance«;, greater ca- Itimilies, from change of climate, privations, and disease, have be- fallen them, than the African colony has yet experienced, from ^vhal principle shall we conclude that the same motive, connected with one still more powerful, liberty, will not induce the coloured people to seek property, and freedom too, without which proper- ty is worthless, in Africa ? It is next to selt-evident, that a judi- cious management of colonization will so induce them to emigrate, that in a very few years all the free people of colour, and a great mass of the slaves, will have left our country, except the aged, and this at a small expense in proportion to the magnitude of the object. " Wa)'S iind moans (says the Fourth Report of tlie Parent Society, p. 63, G4,) can be supplied to effectuate tiie objects of our Society. And why not ? Has not tlie colony of Sierra Leonu been successfully establii^lle(l ? Were not the colonies of our own country established under more unfavourable auspices .' Could Xerxes transport five millions of s^ouls, with a hostile design, to an immense distance, by an expensive land transportation ; and CHnuot we transport a much smaller num- ber, under the banners of philanthropy, by water, a method of trnnsportation far more cheap and expctlitious ? In the course of twenty-five years 1,500,000 slaves have been exported fiom Africa. And cannot we restore an equal immber in the same time .'' Can avarice and iniquity effect more than humanity and justice ? "It is undoubtedly desirable gradually to emancipate and colonize the whole coloured population of the United States. If it be expedient to colonize the whole, it is also expedient to colonize a part ; therefore in effecting onlj' the latter, we deserve the patronage of the public. We shall attempt, however, to demonstrate the practicability of accomplishing the whole object. " Captain Paul Cuffee, fiom actual expoiimcnt, estimated the expense of trans- porting free persons of colour to Africa, at GO dollars each. The whole number of blacks, bond and free, may be estimated at 1,900,000, and the annual in- crease at 58,000. An annual appropriation of five millions of dollars would be adequate to traiifporl every year at GO dollars each, 83,338, which is 25,000 more than the increase. Thus by sending out every year 25,000 more than the increase, we would in forty years export the whole number. This calculation is strictly accurate, making due allow ance for the annual diminution of the increase," — I This estimate of annual increase is too great : by the last census the whole number of blacks was 1,764,832, making the annual increase '17,000.j "The whole number of free persons of colour in the United Slates amounted in 1810, to 136,446. Admitting 23,0U0 of this number to be able to transport themselves, the residue agreeably to the foregoing process, might all be trans()orted in two years ! " It is obvious that the estimate of tlie expense of transporting the whole black population would be lessened at least one tliird, were we to make a fair deduc- tion for all those who would be able, from the ordinary causes applicable to emi- gration, to defray their own expenses. But we are willing to concede every tiling lu our adveriiurius, confident of our ability to defeat litem upon their own data. " But it is said the appropriation of five millions per onnum is too enormous. 'I'o this wc reply, tl at the evil to be u incdicd is sliU nioic eiioiinuus, and the visi resources of o ir country, continually augmenting, would fully justify an cxpunve essential I'l her own safely and welfare. To some persons fifteen mil- liunK appeared a gieat price for the purchase of Louisiana ; and yet by giving that piiie, wc probably escaped a war which would have cost us one hundred millions, besides the loss of valuable lives. Thus a liberal expenditure mar ••vpntnally become a national «aviiip. 17 '' But aitlioUi»li Uie nominal expense would he consiilerabie, our rouniiy would n reality lose nothing : on the contrary, the national wealth would be greatly iicreascd." This is evident, because it is now conceded, that slave-labour s dearer than free labour ; because land in slave-states is less t'aluable than in the other, though of the same quality ; and be- :ause a population that adds nothing to the national strength, (vhether they are bond or free, but diminishes it, would be re- moved."'^ But this estimate of expenses is far too high. It is not neces- sary to transport the annual increase. It is only requisite to re- move a certain class of population, (and this class might be induced :o migrate, by offering greater advantages to such, especially to females,) and all but a few aged might be removed in a compara- tively short time. The following, published in the New-York Statesman, must be satisfactory to every one who will examine. " Emigrants usually consist of young people. Let the society aid none but juch, and equal numbers of males and females ; females between the ages of 18 md 28 years, males between 20 and 30 years. As the children of such parents ivould all be young, most of them under three years, and as when under that ige their removal would cost but little with their parents, such children need not ie estimated. Let the society aid 6000 annually of this class, between 18 and ?0 years of age, and the population at the end of ten years will be, making all iUowances, at least 100,000 less than it would have been, had none been re- noved. This will appear, if we consider how large a portion of the increase ,vill spring from this class. Allowing for deaths, it would be a low estimate to ;ay their numbers would double in the time.t But estimating their increase only It two-thirds their number, And it will amount to 100,000 in ten years. By the ast census, the number of free people of colour was 233,398, and the increase Trom 1810, is a little less than 47,000. At the same rate of increase, the number n 1830, will be some less than 293,000, if none are removed. Call it 293,000, ind suppose the 6000 a year to be removed, and deduct the number with their estimated increase, estimated at 100,000, and it leaves 193,000. At the same :ate of increase, and the same deduction the next ten years, the number will be * One ctriking evidence of the injury of this population to our country, is •een in the fact, that our prisons are fdled with coloured culprits. Hodgson, in iiis letter to Say, observes : " Travellers in America find the prisons in the slave- states filled with slaves, (as I did almost universally)." The prisons of this :ity exhibit the fact of six blacks to one white, in proportion to the white and ulack population of the city. And the state prison, the proportion of eleven to one white, in proportion to the population of the state. Bridewell contains 6G whites and 38 blacks ; tlie state prison contains 455 whitos, and 151 blacks : more than a fourth are blacks. At the penitentiary the proportion is supposed to be the same, no distinction being observed between black and white, the dis- tinct numbers of each could not be obtained. Hodgson also remarks, (another evidence well known to all who have ob- served,) that " in passing from a free to a slave-state in America, the change is instantly visible, even to the most careless eye, and nature seems to drooj) and sicken under the withering influence of slavery." t Suppose these 6000 to be parents, and that 1500 children are born annual- ly, and that parents and ciiildrendie annually at the rate of one out of forty : and there will be remaining, at the end often years, of the sixty thousand pa- rents and their children, upwards of 121,000. It is fherpfore too low to rail it lOO.OOO. niakinwn expense, the expense would be greatly reduced. I have put the rate of ex- pense the same as Paul Cuffee estimated it, who carried out the first colonists that left our country for Africa. Of 38 whom he carried out, 8 bore their own expenses which is more than one-fiftii, and he \vrote Mr. Mills that they could be carried out for §60 each. Vessels of 300 tons burthen might be fitted up so as to transport comfortably "250, and would ma!;e with ease two voyages in a year. But we will suppose ■hey make two trips the year and transport only 200 at a time, it would require but 15 vessels tn be employed. The yearly expense of these vessels for charter and stores for the 200 passentrcrs, allowing the passage out to be six weeks, will 1)0 $102,000, leaving .5168,000 to mett other expenses. Vessels of 300 tons can iie chartered in this port, to make a \oyagu to Afiicu and back, all expenses of 'he crew and their sup]ilies includKl, for ;53500 10.(^4500. Say the cost of ves- sel is $4000, the supplies ne.essary for -00 passengers, estimated at ^2 a week each for six weeks' voyage, §.i400, tlie co;t of one voyage, will be $6400 ; two '.■oyngcs $12,800; making tiic expense of transportinp: the GOOO in 15 vessels $19-, 000. But this expense would be muclr reduced by freight back, or by chartering »i;e vessels onl}' for the outward voya;'c, and by engaging witlr the same owner for several voyages. The expense would be much diminished as the colony in- creased and trade commenced and increased between this and the colony. Coloured people too couid be employed as transporters, and w ould be able to do it at a less rate than whites, as they have little share in other connnerce. \Vheii tp.e colony had become established and inviting, the spirit of emigration among them would be aroused, and they ■i\oidd seek out new places to settle ; such as Sierra Leone, the south of Africa and the cast, Madagascar, Hayti, and Co- lumbia for mulaitoes. Thousands would go yearly to these various places — thousands would be seen seeking employment to gain the means of emigrating, impelled to it by the powerful motives of liberty and property. It is only neces- sary for a few of their own colour, in whom they can confide, to return to them from some colony or country, with the report of having found a>i inviting land of equality and romfortable livelihood ; and all this spirit of emigration would iie aroused, all tiiis would be seen. This is proved by the fact, that when Paul Cuffee returned, at least two thousand, in the vicinity of Boston, were desirous to have him carry them out to Sierra Leone ; it is confirmed also, by the recent lact, that 100 innnediately otfered their names to go to Mesurado, after Mr. Waring returned in August at Petersburg, Virginia : and corroborated still fur- 'hcr by the fact, that the Society, lotwithstanding all the disasters of their co- lony, have found no difticulty in obtaining colonists. How soon then and how easy might a degraded people be exalted to the rights of men. a growing empire be firunded in Africa, Africa receive the blessings of civilization and Christianity, and be delivered from the horrid barbarities of the slave trad.?, and our own country from an unhappy race, neither bond nor free, who though among us are not of us, and instead of being a source of btrcngtli to the nation, enfeeble and endanger it. How soon niiglit all this be tlone, if the nation would but listen to the voice of interest and liumanitj', aiiiace in the year 1813, the Negroes wcie, as on the lirst settling of them in other Towns, in the most (leplorable condition. In ISltJ, the Assistant Secretary, then on a visit to the Mission, loiind about 1100 Liberated Negroes assembled at this spot. Tiicy consisted of pert^ons from ahnosi all the tribes on that jiavi of the CcMiiineiit. The efTons of those who had been placed over them, uiidci- the vigilant and anxious inspection of tlie Governor, liad meliorated the ••cndition of such as bad been ihert for any length of time. Every measure in M'j power had been resorted to, for this end, by his Excellency ; ;uid a Church had been erected, in preparation for the re|j;idur administiation of Christian Ordinances amoni; them. His Excellency felt that a powerful stimulus was wanted, to rouse the Ncf'oes to diligence ; and that an energetic principle was required, which might haunonize their jarring feelings, and unite iheni as one body. That stimulus was found in the sense of duty and {gratitude which Chiistianity inspires; and that uniting principle, in the healing spirit of the Gospel. "At the desire of the Governor, Mr. Johnson was appointed to the care of Regent's Town, in the month of June, 1816. " On looking narrowly into the actual condition of the people entrusted to his care, Mr. Johnson felt great discouiagement. Natives of twenty-two different nations were here collected together ; and a considerable number of them had been but recently liberated from the holds of slave vessels : they w ere greatly prejudiced against one another, and in a state of continual hostility, with no common medium of intercourse but a little broken English. When clothing was given to them, they would sell it, or throw it away : it was difficult to induce them even to put it on ; and it was not found practicable to introduce it among them, till led to it by the example of Mi. Johnson's servant girl. None of them, on their first arrival, seemed to live in the state of marriage : some were soon afterward married by the late Mr. Butscher ; hut all the blessings of the mar- riage-state and of female purity appeared, when Mr. Johnson arrived among them, to be quite unknown. In some huts, ten of them were crowded together ; and, in others, even fifteen and twenty : many of them were ghastly as skele- tons : six or eight sometimes died in one day ; and only six infants were bora during the year. Superstition, in various forms, tyrannized over their minds : many Devil's Houses sprung up ; and all placed theii security in wearing gree- grees. Scarcely any desire of improvement was discernible : for a considerable time, there were hardly five or six acres of land brought under cultivation ; and some who wished to cultivate the soil, were deterred from doing so by the fear of being plundered of the produce. Some would live in the woods, apart from society ; and others subsisted by thieving and plunder : they would steal fowls, ducks, and pigs, from any who possessed them : in the first week of his residence among them, Mr. Johnson lost thirty fowls : they would eat them raw ; and not a few of them, particularly those of the Ebo Nation, (he most savage of them all, would prefer any kind of refuse-meat to the rations which they received from Government. A sick dog had been killed and buried : it was afterv;ards disco- vered that some of these people had dug up and made soup of the carcass. "But what was the condition of these people when Mr. Johnson left them, for a season, after the labour ol three years .'' A full return had been made for the wise and benevolent measures of the Governor, and for the unv/earicd labours of their Pastor. " The eye which beheld the people and tlicir town but a few years before, v.'ould now witness a scene that would bespeak the energy of some mighty prin- ciple. " The Towo itself is laid out with regularity — nineteen streets are formed, and are made plain and level, with good roads round the town — a large stone Chuvch risos in the midst of the habitations — a Government House, a Par->ouage House, a Hospital, School Houses, Store Houses, a Bridge of several arches, some Native Dwellings, and other Buildings, all of stone, are either finished or on the point of being so. Cut the state of cultivation fuithei manifests the indus- try of the people — all are farmers — gardens, fenced in, are attached to every dwelling — all the land in the immediate neighbourhood is under cultivation and pieces o/ land even to the distance of three miles — tiiere are many rice-fields ; and, among the other Vegetables raised for food, are cassadas, plantains, coco, yams, coffee, and Indian Corn — of Fruits, they have bananas, oranges, limes, pine-apples, ground-nuts, guavas, and papaws — of Animals, there are horses, cows, bullocks, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, and fowls — a daily market is held, for the sale of articles ; and, on Saturdays, this market is larje and general. Ii lias uceii triiciiLiy saiJ iliai all are Faiinevb ; hut many ol ihcui, besiuc ilu; < iiltivation of the sroiinH, liavc learm-il and exercise various trades : 50 of tlierii are masons ami bricklayers — 40, carpenleis — 30, sawyers — 30, shiiigle-makers — 20, tailors — 4, hhicksniiilis — and '2, hmclicrs. In these various ways, upward of 600 of the Negroes niaii tain themselves ; and have heen enabled, in this slioi i space of time, by the fruits of thf-ir own pioduclive industry, to relieve from all expense, on their personal account, ilini Government to which they pay the most grateful allegiance. " The appearance and manners of the people have improved in an equal degree. They arc all now decently clothed : almost all tlie females have learned to make their own clothing — about 400 couple arc married — they were accBStomed to spend their nights in dancing and diununiug, after the heathenish fashion of their countries : not a drum is now left in the town — in six months, only six deaths occurred ; while in three months, forty-two children were born — not an oath bad been heard in the town, to Mr Johnson's knowledge, for the last twelve months ; nor had any drunkenness lieen witnessed — the attendance on public worship is regular and large, three times on the Sunday ; on an average, not less than 1200 or 1300 Negroes, while Mr. Johnson's fust congregation amount- ed but to nine : at Morning and Evening Daily Prayers, not less than 500 are present — the Schools, which opened with 90 Boys and 50 Girls with 36 Adults, now contain upward of 500 Scholars." "All have abandoned polygamy, greegrees, and Devil-worship. The baptized are in the habit of regularly partaking of the Lord's Supper, tniless prevented by illness ; and when Mr. Johnson left, in April of last year, the ninnbcr of Com- municants amounted to 203." If such effects can be produced by Christian instruction, united with civilized institutions, on such degraded nati'. cs, what may we not most reasonably expect from the people of colour who enter the colony with such advantages as those have who go from our country, themselves already some instructed, and much ac- quainted with the institutions of civilization ? In addition, the following particulars, from Mr. Samuel J. Mills" journal, kept while in Africa, agent for the Society, printed in the second Annual Report of the American Colonization Society, together with the account of the present state of Sierra Leone, taken from the appendix of Hodgson's Letter to Say, will be most satisfactory in favour of colonization. Extract from the Journal of Ike late Rev. Samuel John Mills, nritlen while in .'Ifrica. "Gambia, Friday, 13tli March. "At 12 a. M. we anchored m-ar tlic village St. Mary's, situated on Banyan Point. In the afternoon we walked about the village. It is an infant settlement, commenced only two years ago. The people were cheerful, and generally em- ployed in some kind of labour. Some were unlading goods ; some burning shells (or lime ; and some at work in thi- carpenters' and smith's shops. We stood some time to see a company of soldiers go through the manual exercise. They were mostly Africans, abo\e the ordinary stature, well formed, and neatly dress- ed. They appeared to be quite expcit and intelligent. The military force of the place is about lOO men. A few pieces of cannon, mostly dismounted, are ar- langpd aloni; the beach. 'I'liere is no fort or block-house. Notwithstanding the exposi:d state of tin.' settlement, there is no fear of assault from lire native tribes The number of Ijiropeans is about tliirty, and the population of the village is already seven or ei(;ht hundred. Trade is the soul of the colony : this will in- I rcnse annually, a:, the trade of the vsiiole river will conrcntrrite here." — Sfcond Hnwrt ftfthe Fanvt Snriehi. n. 20. I V " We have h;id much conversation on tUe or<;aniz;tiion and govcnnnont oi'tlic proposeti colony. The natives iieud not b^ feared. Tlicy arc not numerous, have few arms, timid in disposition, jealous olieacli other, and broken up into small, independent, elective governments. Th\re is little reason to fear a general combination among them, and their stren Jh would be small if they should com- bine together. If the Sierra Leone colony should continue favourable, and throw no obstacles in our way, that will keep ,\he native people in awe. Should our settlement prosper, it will in two or thr^e years be fully competent to defend itself without aid from our country ; and {^i'eviously to that time, a single armed sloop or brig, sent to execute the abolition ^aws, would give to our settlements perfect security. If the people were troubU;some, fire a big gun out in the bay, and they would all fly to the bush, and nol^^an individual be found." — Ibid. p. 38. " SierrpiJLeone, Monday, IStliMay, 1318. '• I have now visited most of the villages in the colony. Each village has a place of worship, where prayers are niade^ morning and evening, in the presence of the people. The Sabbath is observed thiSugh the colony. " The Governor is justly esteemed as a father and patron of the colony. *' Respecting an American colony, he has at different times expressed tlie fol- lowing opinions, which I am the more disposed to write down, as some of them deserve particular consideration : That, in the first instance, white men of in- telligence and good character should occupy some of the principal offices : that liie government should be mild and energetic : that forts would be necessary : that one hundred men, with arms, and some knowledge of aiscipliiie, could de- fend themselves from the natives : that the occasional visits of an armed vessel, engaged in detecting slave traders, would give entire security : that the neu- trality of a colony could easily be ensured by an application to the European governments : that the first colonists should be men of sober and industrious habits, who will devote themselves to agriculture or to some of the useful mechanic arts : lliat, if expedient, the limits of this colony (Siiara Leone) might be enlarged to accommodate five or ten thousand emigrants from America : that it was particu- larly proper for the American government to commission an armed ship to this coast, to capture slave-trading vessels, as tvvo-thirds of them are, or have been American : that the free people of colour would be better situated in Africa, than they are, or can soon expect to be, in America. <' I am every day more convinced of the practicability and expediency of es-- tablishing American colonies on this coast.'' — [Ibid. p. 66. SIERRA LEONE.— From Hodgson's Letler. •' This Colony may be said to ov/e its origin to the liberality and benevoleiu. exertions of the celebrated Granville Sharp. At the time when the decision of Lord Mansfield, in the memorable case of the Negro, Somerset, had estab- lished the axiom, tliat " as soon as any slave sets his fool on English ground, he becomes free" there were many negioes in London who had been brought over by their masters. As a large proportion of these had no longer owners to sup- port them, nor any parish from which they could claim relief, they fell into great distress, and resorted in crowds to their patron, Granville Sharp, for support. " But his means were quite inadequate to maintain them all, even if such a plan had been desirable for the objects of his compassion, and "he formed a scheme for their future permanent support. He determined upon sending them to some spot in Africa, the general land of tiieir ancestors, where, when they were once landed under a proper leader, and with proper provisions for a time, and proper implements of husl)andry, they might, witii but moderate industry, provide for themselves." "Just at this time, Mr. Smeathman, who had lived for some years at the foot of the Sierra Leone mountains, and who knew the climate, and nature of the soil and productions there, who had formed a plan for colonizing those parts, was in London, inviting adventurers, but particularly the black poor, to accompany him on his return to his ancient abode*" Measures for this purpose were concerted by him and Granville Sharp, but Mr. Smeath- man, who was to have conducted the black colonists, died before they sailed, and the care, and for some time the expense of this bold enterprise, devolved en- tirely on Mr. Sharp. Nothing could be more discouraging than the calamities which befell the undertaking from its very outset. Of 400 black people who left the Thames on the 22d Feb. 1787, under convoy of his mHJesty"s sloop of war Nautilus, not more than 130 (who were afterwards reduced to 40) retnaineU ■ilive and in one bodv at tho end of the rainy season, into which they had beeu D JLii lurown by the death of Mr. Smeathir Jn, notwithstanding Mr. Sharp's strenuous efforts to avoid it. Disaster follov ed disaster. Famine, disease, discontent, desertion, succeeded each oUier witli trigiitful rapidity, till the jear 1789, when the colony, again in a state of impro 'enienl, was almost anniliilated by a hostile attack from a neighbouring chief. A .out that time a company was established in England for the purpose of ca_^^'.'ing forward the benevolent views of the founder, which afterwards obtaine' i royal charter of incorporation. In 1792, about 1100 negroes arrived from Nov;. Scotia, under the command of Lieutenant CiarksoM. These were negroes whr had been induced to enlist in the British ainiy during the American war, by an offer of freedom, and " who were after- wards carried to Nova Scotia, undrr a promise of regular allotments of land, which promise had unfortunately n-jt been fulfilled ;" the climate being unfa- vourable to them, they solicited and obtained permission to join the colony at .Sierra Leone. In the year 1800, th(iir numbers were increased by the arrival of 550 Maroons, who, having risen ;.^.iinst t!ie colonists of Jamaica, and been induced, by the terror of blood-hoi^nds, to surrender, were carried to ISova Scotia, and subsequently to Sierr-. Leone. Of such elements, (to which have .•iince been added the negroes libei-'ited from the holds of captured slave ships,) was the colony of Sierra Leone composed ; and nothing less than the extraor- dinary energy, fortitude, and perseverance of our illustrious countryman, could have saved it from the destruction with which it was so often menaced. "Cer- tainly without him the Sierra Leone Company would not have been formed, and had he not supported the colony, when it so often hung as it were by a thread, till the formation of tliis Company, all had been lost.'' This is not the place to follow it through all the vicissitudes of its subsequent history, but as its actual condition is little known, I will give a few extracts from various authorities, which will enable the judicious reader to form his own opinion how far it is like- ly to realize the expectation of its illustrious founder, and to be *' one day the means of spreading the benefits of civilization and Christianity through a con- siderable part of the vast continent of Africa.'' "On the 31st Oct. 1787, Granville Sharp writes, "I have had but melancholy accounts of my poor little ill-thriven swarthy daughter, the unfortunate colony of Sierra Leone." The following was the population in 1820 and 1822, as given in the Missionary Register of Dec. 1822. July 8, 1820. Jan. 1, 1P22, Europeans . . . _ Maroons - - . . IVova Scotians . . . - West Indians and Americans, Natives . . - . - Lil)erated Africans Disbanded Soldiers ... Kroomeu .... Tot^il " The chief increase is apparently in the class of natives, while that of libera- ted Africans seems to be somewhat diminished ; but this is, in part, occasioned by a difference of arrangement in the two returns. "The large number of na- tives in the native villages of the Peninsula, amounting in the last return to 1925, woidd have been divided, according to the arrangement in the return of 1820 — into natives, properly so calliil ; that is, as we conceive, the Aborigines 111 the Peninsula ; and liberated Africans, living in villages, but not under a Miperintendnnt. In the return of IJfiO, this distinction was made ; and then the whole number, amounting to 1468, was divided into 400 of the first class, and 106U of the second. Both classes being called " natives" in the last return, the number of liberated Africans appcais to have diminished ; while it has, in fact, greatly increased, independently of the addition of 1590 since lire dale of the last piurn. We collect from these datii, that the number of liberated Africans, of all liescriplionsj in the colony, on the Ibt of August, was upwards of KLEVe.v niOVKAND. " Still there is an increase of the class ranked as "natives" in the last return, to the amount of nearly 1000; of thrse about one-half are in Freetown, and the other half are chiefly resident in the settlements of the liberated Africans. This 120 - 128 - 594 • GOI 730 - 722 . - 85 1046 - 3526 8076 - 7969 1216 - 1103 T27 - 947- 12,509 15,081 27 augtnentdtuwi is derivfid, we conceive, from the influx of pcoplu bordering on tiie colony ; and is a gratifying indication of the growth of mutual confidence between tiie colony and its neighbours." IMPORTS. Invoioe Amount. ^' From Dec. 10, 1816, to Nov. 22, 1817 £75,716 6 0^ Nov. 23, 1817, to Dec. 10, 1818 94,799 14 5i Dec. 11, 1818, to Dec. 31, 1819 80,863 6 llj Jan. 1, 1820, to Dec. 31, 1820 66,725 9 4 Jan. 1, 1821, to Dec. 31, 1821 105,060 15 10 No. of Vessels Logs of Afri- Tons of employed in can timber Rice EXPORTS. exporting. Tonnage. exported, exported. •From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1817 17 2990 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1818 22 3659 1517 278 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1819 27 6875 2556 1228 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1821 26 6805 4736 42 ♦' Comparative Statement of Duties collected in the colony of Sierra Leone, for the undermentioned periods. " From Jan, 1 to Dec. 31, 1817 £3086 3 7 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1818 . . . '. 5124 1 3 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1819 4656 2 0| Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1820 6153 5 6 Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1821 6318 4 7 J. REFFELL, Acting Collector and Naval Officer. " At the moment I am writing, there are at least three vessels on the birth in this port, for Sierra Leone. Extract from Commodore Sir George C oilier'' s Second Anmial Report vpon the Settlements on the Coast of Africa, relative to the Colony of Sierra Leone. " Indeed, the colony of Sierra Leone has been .so differently represented, so much has been urged against its rising prospeiity, and proposals said to have been made for its abandonment, that I consider myself (as an impartial person) the one from whom opinions and remarks may be e.xpected. The climate of Sierra Leone is, like all other tropical climates, divided into a sickly season, and one not positively so : for it may be too much to speak of Sierra Leone as ever ab- solutely healthful." He then proceeds to speak of various topics particularly connected with the nature of his survey. Alluding to the schools and churches, he says, " The manner in which the public schools are here conducted, reflects the^!;reatest credit upon those concerned in their prosperity ; and the improve- m^it made by the scholars, proves the aptitude of the African, if moderate pains be taken to instruct him. 1 have attended places of public worship in every quarter of the globe, and I do most conscientiously declare, never did I witness the ceremonies of religion more piously performed, or more devoutly attended to, than in Sierra Leone." In his report dated 27th December, he observes, " The public buildings have not advanced so rapidly as I believe had been expected ; but it is, nevertheless, gratifying to observe, that the roads in the neighbourhood of Freetown, and those in the mountains, have been much improved, and that the bridges have been constructed of more durable materials than heretofore. Upon the whole, Sierra Leone may be said to be improving ; and if the encouragement hitherto shown shall be continued to the British merchant, no reason appears to me why this colony shall not, in the course of time, amply repay the anxiety, and care, and expense, so liberally bestowed by the mother country. Every year, some new prospect opens to the merchant. An intercourse with the interior of Africa now fairly promises ultimate success, and which must be productive of benefit to Great Britain ; and it may even be expected that, some years hence, caravans shall resort to the- neighbourhood of Porto Logo, (on a branch of the Sierra Le- one,) to convey articles of British manufactuie into the very interior of the con- tinent of Africa." Extract of a letter from Capt. IJ. Turner, dated the Tth March, 1022. " I visited the colony of Sierra Leone in the year 1817. My stay among the recaptured negroes in the mountains then was very short, but sufficient to asret- ain they were involved in heathen darkness and barbarity. '2S •' Having again visited tiicm in December, 1321, I am able, in some measure, to estimate the great ciiauge since the former period, both in a moral and reli- gious point of view, through the exertions of your missionaries, and the blessing of Almighty God upon their labours, without which all would have been ineffec- tual. " Regent's TOwn, under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Johnson, was then but thinly inhabited. " Regent's Town now wears the aspect of a well-peopled villnge in our happy land; its inhabitants civilized, industrious, lioncst, and neatly clothed. The ground allotted to each family is cultivated, each lot being distinctly marked out. 1 have frequently ascended an eminence near the town to behold the pleasing scene on the Sabbath-day — hundreds pressing on to the house of God, at the sound of the bell, hungering after the bread of life. Nothing but sickness pre- vents their attendance now. What a lesson does this teach many in Britain, who count the Sabbath a burden, and either spend it in indolence and sloth, or in visiting and riot !" Extract of a letter from Edward Fitsgerald^ Esq. Chief Justice of the Colony of Hierra Leone., dated the 3d May, 1821 After giving an interesting and detailed account of the various places of public worship within the colony, the Chief Justice then proceeds: "In a general view, the observances which have been noticed, will probably be thought suffi- cient to create a favourable impression of the state of religious feeling and de- meanour in the settlement of P'reetown. The Lord's day is more decorously kept than it is in most other places. The shops are all shut ; there is no such tiling as buying nnd selling. The Christian part of the people attend worship at the places whirh they have respectively chosen ; and all the congregations are alike remarkable for uniform and respectful attention. Throughout the streets corresponding propriety is noticed : intoxication, in the gross and disgusting lorin in wliich it is so commonly seen on the Lord's day in England, is of very rare occurrence here, with the painful exception of European seamen, whose ronduct and language in their frequent inebriations, on that day especially, are of most depraving example. It is not to be understood that the day passes in perfect sobriety ; among the inhabitants in general, it is the decency, and not the abstinence, that makes the distinction. Excesses are committed, and are generally brouglit under the animadversion of the magistrates on the Monday, in consequence of the quarrels occasioned by them : but these quarrels are al- most universally of a trifling nature. There is not any thing in the circumstances r.ollectively to detract from the credit that has been taken." Extract of a letter from the Rev. H. During, Superintendant of Gloucester Town, Sierra Leone, dated 2ith December, 1821. '• The reception which liis excellency Sir C. M'Cartliy met with among the people under our care, has indeed been feebly stated in the Gazette, as the editor also lioncstly owns. " The Captain, in whose vessel the Governor had come, was struck with as- tDnishmeiit. He (the captain) liad seen much of the negroes, having been in Ja- maica, and asked what time the settlement iiad been formed ? When told in the beginning of 1817, he smiled, and said to the Governor, Sir Charles M'Car- tliy, 'If I knew not your Excellency to be a man of honour, 1 should think my- sell greatly imposed on; and I must candidly confess, I can hardly believe it now 1' His Excellency tiien pointed out to him the way he fust came to this place, and the old trees lying about the town, cut down three or four years ago, as evidences of the truth. ' Hut,' snid the captain, 'what sort of people were they with which it was commenced .^' I pointed out to him some who were sent iurc in the beginning of November, that, looking at their emaciated state of body, he mi^lit form some idea of those with wlimii I began, and who only then were sixty-two in number, twenty of whom liied ere scarcely a month had t;lap&ed I He then iiKjuired wliat method we had pursued to bring them to such a stale in so hhort a time. ' No other,' said his Excellency, ' than the truths of (>lirisiianity, wliicli these gcnilcmcn were sent by the Church Missionary Society to piopagaic : l)y tiiis alone they hiiv(^ ruled them, anil have raised them to a common level unh othei civilir.ud nations ; and, believe me,' added his Exccl- Icnry, "if you .irlmit Clirisiian teachers into your island, \ou soon will find iheiD become affectionate nnd faithful servants to voii !' " Things us they now appear, humanly speaking, never wore so biigiil uiid pleasant an aspect ; for there were individuals, and are now at this moment, who always were endeavouring to undermine the credit of the Society, as well as that of the colonial government, as it respects the captured negroes; but sure it is, there never was such an opportunity lor observation — never were the pre- judices more effectually removed from the minds of many European colonists, and never had the Society gained more credit in the colony, even in the minds of those individuals alluded to, than through the present events ; as you, I trust, will see in the Report of the Sierra Leone Association in aid of the Church Mis- sionary Society, the collections and contributions to which amount to nearly 200 pounds." Extracts from the Third Annual Report of the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour of the United Slates. " What the Society propose to do with regard to colonizing, is to procure a suitable territory on the Coast of Africa, for such of the free people of colour as may choose to avail themselves of this asylum, and for such slaves as their pro- prietors may please to emancipate. " So far is this scheme fiom being impracticable, that one resembling it in all respects, was accomplished by a private society in England, more than thirty years ago. " In despite of every representation to the contrary, the colony of Sierra Leone boasts, at tliis moment, a greater degree of prospefity, than distinguished any one of the British Colonies, now the United States of America, at the same pe- riod after its first plantation. The population of Sierra Leone ; its commerce and navigation; its churches, schools, and charitable institutions; its towns and hamlets; its edifices, public and private ; surpass those of any one of these states, at any time within twenty-five years from its first settlement." It is for the reader to estimate the value of the preceding authorities, and to draw from them his own conclusions with regard to the present state and future prospects of Sierra Leone. It is for him also to decide how far the prosperity of u community formed of such unpromising materials, may be regarded as an ex- emplification of what the negro race may exhibit when rescued from slavery : how far such a colony of Africans, of many nations and languages, educated on their own shores, with ciyil rights, political privileges, and religious advantages, and in frequent communication with their countrj'men from the interior, is cal- culated to civilize Africa ; how far it may be expected to send forth, through a thousand channels, those fertilizing streams which will clothe the moral deserts of that injured Continent with verdure and beautv." (C.) EFFECTS OF THE COLONY. It will aid to suppress the Slave Trade. Extract from an Address to the American Colonization Society, Nov. 1013. " The slave-trade continues in Africa. To the grief of good men and the dis- grace of bad, it is carried on openly or secretly at many places on the coast, where the eye of justice is not widely open and the arm of power visibly extend- ed. A thousand thanks is due to the English colony of Sierra Leone, to its found- ers and patrons, for their persevering and useful labours in executing the aboli- tion laws. But what can one colonial brig do in guarding a coast of two or three thousand miles ? A ship might cross and almost recross the Atlantic to take in a second cargo, sooner than she could advance against current and trade- winds from the Gulf of Guinea to the Senegal. If previous preparation were made on the shore, a ship might run along a cape or into a river, and take in a cargo of slaves in a single week, and almost in a single night. In addition to the colonial brig, an English ship has passed down the coast about once a year. How inadequate are these means to the complete execution of the laws I All present laws may continue in force, and the slave-trade go on indefinitely. *' A colonization of the free people of colour of the United States in Africa will operate, in sei'eral \^'avs, directly against this trade. It will take away its • f u.o icinjji.itijn with tlip native princes and people, uy iiitrodutiug those atii- cles of foreign |)ioi1ucp and inanufactiiie to which they have become accustomed, and have few means of obtaining except by the sale of slaves. It may lead sonic (if our vessels to engage in an liounourable trade along the coast. It may be found convenient that some of our armed ships should occasionally visit stations on that ciiiiiinent. The people of colour themselves, taught in the school of ex- perience, will surely exert their iiifliienct- by persuasion, example and instruction, to effect iis ruin. Though a single colony could not look far up or down the const, yet a few colonies like Sierra Leone would do much to gi.ard the coast. Colonization may be regarded as one principle means, by which this scourge of Africa will be destroyed, this blot of humanity washed away, forever." Ijxtract from a letter, dated Mesurado, December 16, 1821, by Lieut. Stockton to the Secietary. " I am anxious that this letter maybe conveyed ;o you by the first opportuni- ty, and take ilie earliest moment to enclose copies of the written instruments, which we'B signed yesterday and to-day; by which a tract of land and some houses at Cape Mesurado, have been ceded to the Araerican Colonization So- ciety. " The slave-trade (in the destruction of which the nation as well as the go- vernment are so sincerely and zealous'y engaged) has received, by the purchase you have made at Mesurado, a fatal blow; under which it may indeed linger some time, but must eventually expire.''* " * The fii st act of the new order of /kings at Mesurado was, to declare that the slave-trade was contrary to the law of nature ; and a violation o{-^jusjen- tium :" tlijit all persons, nalire horn, or foreigners, so engaged, should be consi- dered '^hosla humani generis,'''' and if prosecuted and convicted in our high Court of Admirdlty, should be capitally condemned and punished." [5//i Report, p. 69. It carries civilization to Africa. It is an asylum for recaptured skives, taken by our government in executing its laws against the slave trade, and already contains tif'teen of these injured beings. It gives a home of freedom without contempt, to the degraded free blacks of our country. It will promote emancipation of the slaves of our country. " The past year" (1822) say the Managers of the parent Society, in their last report, " has also afforded evidence, to corioborate the opinion, expressed by the Board in their former Reports, that many extensive proprietors of slaves will emani:ip;ite their servants, and aid in their transfer to Africa, as soon as the colony shall be prepared for their receiition. The Managers cannot determine theextent of this liberal disposiiion ; but when they reflect ivpon the frequency of manumissiniis, wherever the law has imposed no lestriction, when they consider the power of example, in whatever concerns the honourable and generous of human character, and especially, when they recollect the institutions of their country, and the light of the age, they are induced to expect, that should pros- perity attend the colony, thousands now in servitude amongst us, will one day be freemen in the land of their ancestors." — &th Report, p. 15. •Several ap|)lications of owners to give up their slaves to the Society, are now before the IJoard, wailing for the colony to be so established, as to receive this unhappy class of our population. In 1813, the Convention of Manumission and Abolition Societies at Philadel- phia was npplieil to, to receive several hundreds of slaves, attended with large donations of money ; but the Convention was roiiipelled to give to these generous owners of blaves*, the unwelcome answer, that it could not receive them. Altlioii;;h the (iieat majority of slave-owners may he determined to perpetuate slavery in our country, it is certain there is a noble and increasing minority who arc (loliritons to emancipate their slaves, and strongly desirous to rid the country of this foul reproach. But by the state laws they are prevented from giving freedom to their bondmen. This Society is their only hope of relief. Hence, thoui>li there are iome engaged in this Society, who openly contend for slavery, .31 but believe it would be a benevolent object to colonize the nee blacks, as th^y are eveilvmore degraded and flespised in the slave-stiites than the slavrs, and are most miserable, many of the most ufiicient nicMibers and most liberal benefar- tors of this Society, aie men wlio have slaves they wish to iiianuniit. M;iiiy of the pations of this Society at the south, who aie deplorinf!, the bitter evil<. ol sla- very, are satisfied it would not be for the happiness of the slaves, nor the bi'ii(fir of our country, were the slaves even gradually emancipated, if they must remain here, and are therefore looking to colonization as the only remedy. The Society affording such facilities for emancipation, has been assailed by the friends of slavery as an abolition society. It lias, therefore, in most explicit language, assured the south that it did not aim to requiie any to give up their slaves, but to relieve some from being co>n/*e//eri to keep them. Whcnf.erd, it offers its aid to give them a land of equal rights and desirable privileges ; and thus assists emancipation. It is simply a Society to colonizeyVer blacks. But objects so immense are promoted by such colonization, that, it would seem, it ought not to have found opposition any where. When such men as Mills, and Finley, and Paul Cuffee, were its active friends till death, it should not have found opposition where people call themselves Christians — certainly not at the north. " It would go far,'' say the Managers in their third Report, and it oui^hl to go far, " towards extinguishing the prejudices existing in the northern sections of tiie Union, if the fact were generally known, that in the two slave-holding siatos of Maryland and Virginia, where so many motives of policy conspire to retard, or to prevent emancipation, there were sixty-three thousand iree people of col()Ut at the census of 1810 : that within a few years past, more than five hundred slaves have been emancipated in Viiginia, by three individuals only, " When it is recollected that all the iree people of colour south of Pennsylva- nia owe their liberation to the voluntary acts of their former masters, it will not be deemed an extravagant deduction, to infer from these facts, that, when, by colonizing the free people of colour, every jiolitical restraint -upon emancipation shall have been removed, there will be found no sordid impediment to the colonization of Africa, in the propensities of the southern piopiietor. "Such, indeed, for the last thirty or forty years, has been the disposition of many individuals in the southern states, to emancipate their slaves ; and so many have actually been emancipated, that the different legislatures, consuliing for the general ^.ood, and deeming it highly injurious to the community that such sumbers of degraded beings, without education and without property, should be thrown upon society, have entirely prohibited the right of emancipation to indi- viduals, except on the condition of sending their slaves into some oiher state. The states of Pennsylvania and Oliio are the nearest asylums which will receive such ; and accordingly, the five hundred mentioned above, have been directed to these states. " If emancipation is still going on, notwithstanding all the restrictions, and l>y evasions of the laws, and while the condition of the free men of cf)lour affords so little inducement to the master to discard from his care those wlio depeiul upoi. him for protection, what may not be expected if Africa should prove to be to tliem what America is to us — a land of plenty and of freedom .'' " The Managers of the Society, from the repeated assurances which have been given by respectable individuals, as well as by what has actually orctirred, are firmly persuaded that this effect will be produced, and that many will, sn soon as the Society shall deem it proper to permit such a step, place under its direction those whom they no longer wish to retain in servitude.'" — pp. 99, 100. If there were not other immense objects promoted by colonization, there would be a claim on the north to aid such men to deliver themselves from the evil and guilt of holding slaves, and it would be nobly generous to do it, if there were no claim. But let the north remember, that it assisted not a little to make these men slave-holders ; that the odium of slavery rests on the whole nation, and that all are interested to pursue a course that promises to remove some at least of this national opprobrium, as much as all are intejested in the honour and prosperity of the nation. It is therefore a national, and not a sectional, object, as it truly is " an enterprise, looking to results as grand and as glorious as were ever effected by human exertion ; that would exterminate a trade, the thought of which is agony; cover Africa with the monuments of civilization and the Light of Truth ; remedy an evil, in its nature most distressing, in its influence most injurious, and which threatens to convulse our country; and thus render stain- less the honour, and eternal the stability, of the freest and the happiest nation on earth." — (,th Rf.port, p, 23. CIRCULAR. The Board ot" Managers of the American Colonization Society, powerfully urged by the necessities and importance of their insti- tution, beg leave respectfully and earnestly to invite you, Chris- tian friends, to aid their benevolent design. The proper season for emigration has now arrived ; many re- spectable coloured persons are ready to depart : and loudly does the Colony and the American nation demand from our Society im- mediate, bold, and vigorous action. Of the practicableness of their plans, the Board entertain no doubt. An adequate and suit- able territory has been obtained — there is, to coloured people, nothing formidable in the climate ; and the settlement at Montse- rado has been commenced with the strongest probabilities (unless culpably neglected) of security and success. Indeed, the impres- sion of the power and courage of civilized men, made by the re- cent contest on the minds of the barbarians, together with the existing fortifications, will, without doubt, prevent any recurrence of hostilities. Multitudes are anxious to visit the Colony, and this number is daily augmented. Christians! The object of our Society is, to rescue the free coloured people of this country, from degradation, ignorance, and vice, and to confer on them, in the land of their ancestors, true freedom, the knowledge, which civilizes and exalts, and the religion that saves the soul : to kindle a light on a dark and barbarous shore, and to plant the Cross there ; and thus emancipate from superstition, innumerable tribes, and bring them to adore and obey the living God : and finally, by the influence of our pub- lications, and by demonstrating that the plan of Colonization, is both practicable and desirable ; to prepare the way for such legis- lative enactments, as shall deliver our country from the immense evil of slavery — a work, which must contribute most largely to the interest of humanity, our national honour, and the glory of God. Great as this work may appear. Heaven has unquestionably de- creed its accomplishment ; and the Colonization Society rejoice to commence it, though they must leave its completion to a future age. The Board have determined to fit out one or two vessels imme- diately, from Petersburgh or Richmond, Va ; and they venture to ask their friends to furnish them with the means. They ax'e not unmindful of the fact, that numerous important objects now claim your charitable attention and support, and they cannot ex- pect large contributions ; but they trust you will recollect, that lie who is the Light of the Gentiles and the Glory of Israel, came to bring those who sit in darkness out of the prison-house, and that in His reign, Ethiopia must stretch out her hands unto God. A mere mite from each individual, will effect the immediate object proposed in this letter ; and he who gives it from a sense of duty, shall in no wise lose his reward. RALl'lI RANDOLPH GURLEY, Agent for the Board. ^V'ASHI^•GT0N Cjtv, October lath, 1823. IL'/'Tlic Agent for this vicinity will add, tliat 120 colonists arc ready— that tliiu expedition will soon depart— niiu that donations to aid it can be kit at Mr .' P. HAVrNs', 1R2 Broadwov, New-York I- P. DKWEY. As*"))' PROPOSA.LS FOR PUBLISHING BF SUBSCRIPTION, UNDER THE DIRECTIO OF I'ue Board of jManagers of the American Colonization Society A MOx\THLY PERIODICAL WORK, TO BE ENTITI.F.I) THIS ArnzcAsr zusfosztory, AND COLONIAL JOURNAL. The deep and increasing interest which is felt in many par of this country, on the subject of the efforts to Colonize tt free people of Colour of the United States, on the Africa coast, has induced the Board of Managers of the Colonizatio Society, to propose the establishment of a periodical Worl which shall furnish the public with accurate information cor cerning the plans and prospects of their Institution ; give minute account of its operations, and the condition and pre gress of the Colony ; communicate any new and interestin intelligence which may be received, relating to Geography Natural History, Manners and Customs, of Africa ; and ad mil into its pages such essays as may be thought calculate to advance the interests of the Colony, or the cause of Africa improvement, as well as select passages from authors who hav already written on this subject : and important extracts fror the Reports of such foreign Associations as are making exei tions to suppress the Slave-Trade, or relieve the African raqi i CONDITIONS. I. The work shall comprise thirty-two pages in each num ber, and shall be similar in paper, and in the style of exec tion, to ilie Christian Observer. n. The price shall be two dollars a year, payable on tlj delivery of the sixth number. III. Tliose who shall become responsible for six copies ^hall receive a seventh gratis. IV. The work will be commenced whenever llie number c subscribers shall be snfljritnt to justify it. Subscriptions for the work will be received by the agenl i . 1). Oewpy, and by J. P. Havens, bookseller. IS2 Broadwav &4 ■yW*.' \<^ t-» f .Ov: • , • A %r c: 0^ "ov o _Jpn^ ^ \.^' 5^"-. '^ P ♦ •^o^