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Title: African Colonization by the Free Colored People of the United States, an Indispensable Auxiliary to African Missions. - A Lecture
Author: Christy, David
Language: English
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AFRICAN COLONIZATION
BY
THE FREE COLORED PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
AN INDISPENSABLE AUXILIARY
TO AFRICAN MISSIONS.
A Lecture.
BY DAVID CHRISTY,
AGENT OF THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY FOR OHIO.
[Illustration]
CINCINNATI:
PUBLISHED BY J. A. & U. P. JAMES,
NO. 167 WALNUT STREET.
1854.
PREFATORY REMARKS.
In the course of his labors, as Colonization Agent for Ohio, the writer,
at an early day, found it necessary to examine the subject of African
Missions. It was zealously urged, by many, that the Colonies of the
Society, instead of being auxiliaries to the evangelization of the
natives, presented an almost insuperable barrier to the spread of the
Gospel in Africa. The facts ascertained, during the investigations, have
been used, from time to time, in the Lectures delivered in different
parts of the State, with general satisfaction to the friends of
Colonization. The events of the last year or two in Africa, however,
have been so marked, and the superiority of the missions in Liberia over
all the others, so fully demonstrated, that the publication of the
results has been urged as an act of justice to the American Colonization
Society and to the Missions in the Republic.
In the preparation of the Lecture, none but the best authorities have
been consulted, and the greatest care has been taken to avoid error.
References to the sources of information are given in a few instances.
Should any wish to verify the whole range of the facts stated, they will
find them, mostly, in the following works and periodicals: Choule’s
History of Missions, Reports of American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, Missionary Herald, African Repository, and the works
occasionally quoted in foot notes in the Lecture.
[Expense of stereotyping paid by Dr. Alexander Guy, Cincinnati.]
STEREOTYPED BY C. F. O’DRISCOLL,
167 WALNUT STREET, CINCINNATI.
A LECTURE
ON
AFRICAN MISSIONS.
In temporal affairs, experience supplies the best rule for the guidance
of man. In spiritual concerns, the word of God is the law by which his
conduct must be governed. In relation to the spread of the Gospel, while
the Saviour has given a few general directions, as to the mode of its
propagation, he has left much to human wisdom, as to the measures by
which it is to be extended. Pagan countries differ so widely in their
civil relations, social customs, superstitions, and degrees of
intelligence, that corresponding variations must be made in the plans
for their evangelization. Africa, when first visited by the Missionary,
was one broad field of ignorance and barbarism. Its condition differed
so widely from that of any other country, where missions had been
established, that the efforts made for its redemption, could be little
else than experiments.
The time has arrived when we may safely proceed to contrast the results
of the several classes of missions in Africa, ascertain what experience
teaches, and determine the rule by which the greatest progress is to be
made, in the extension of Civilization and Christianity, in that land of
darkness and desolation. This task we now propose to execute, and shall
take up the several missions in the following order:
1. The missions founded in Liberia.
2. Those in the English colonies of Recaptured Africans.
3. Those among native tribes, beyond the protection of the colonies.
4. Those to the natives of South Africa, within the English colonies of
white men.
I. _The Missions founded in Liberia._
Rev. SAMUEL J. MILLS is called the father of our Foreign Missionary
scheme. His heart first received the Divine impress of the spirit of
missions, and through him it was communicated to others. “I think I can
trust myself in the hands of God, and all that is dear to me; but I long
to have the time arrive, when the Gospel shall be preached to the _poor
Africans_.” This language, entered in his diary, while a student at
College,[1] proves that the thought of Africa was foremost in his mind.
He beheld her captive children, dwelling in our midst, deeply degraded.
From this condition they could not be elevated to the dignity of
freemen. Christian philanthropy made the effort, but was unable to
afford them relief.[2] Their country, too, was yet a bleeding victim,
with few to pity and none to protect.
With the National Independence of our country, there arose higher
conceptions of the individual man. This was a logical inference from the
principles maintained. People found themselves capable of
self-government; hence, the individual must possess the capacity for
self-elevation. So reasoned the founders of our Republic; and, to this
end, equal laws and privileges were secured to every citizen, that the
improvement of all might be promoted. But in the case of the colored
man, the National Government was powerless. It possessed neither the
means, nor the constitutional authority, to change the relations in
which he stood to the whites. It only remained, therefore, to make the
colored man, himself, the instrument of his own redemption. No sooner
had this thought sprung into existence, than it was seized by the
Philanthropist; and, in his grasp, it suddenly expanded into the grand
idea of making him also the agent for the deliverance of his country.
The time had come for SAMUEL J. MILLS to act. Five years had rolled away
since his companions, whom he had enlisted in the cause—JUDSON, NEWELL,
NOTT, HALL, and RICE—had gone to their fields of labor, in the East.[3]
Africa, as well as Asia, was now remembered by the friends of Foreign
Missions; and MILLS offered himself,[4] to open the pathway for the
colored man’s return, with the Gospel of peace, to the home of his
fathers. He accomplished his object, only to find his grave in the
ocean, thus marking the way the captive must pursue to reach a land of
freedom.
The exploration of Mr. MILLS, was made in company with the Rev. EBENEZER
BURGESS, under a commission from the American Colonization Society. His
death was deeply lamented by the friends of Foreign Missions, but the
importance of the cause in which he fell, justified the sacrifice. The
favorable report made by Mr. BURGESS, enabled the Society to proceed in
its enterprise. The first emigrants, 86 in number, sailed for Africa,
February, 1820; and the Colony was first planted at Monrovia, January,
1822. The pecuniary income of the Society being small,[5] the emigration
was slow—only 1,232 persons having reached the Colony during the first
10 years. The average number of Colonists, up to the period when the
Colony became independent, was only about 170 per annum: the average
from the first of January, 1848, to the close of 1852, has been 540 per
annum: and for 1853, alone, it has been 782: thus showing a rapid
increase since the establishment of the Republic. Previous to that date,
three-fourths of the emigrants had been emancipated slaves, who received
their freedom on condition of going to Liberia; but, since its
independence, a largely increased proportion have been freemen.
We shall not enter upon the history of the trials to which Liberia has
been subjected, as the main facts are familiar to every one. Her
extermination by war, on the one hand, has been thrice attempted by the
slave traders, through the agency of the native Africans; and, on the
other hand, her ruin has been sought, in the destruction of the
Colonization Society, by an immense moral force, at the head of which
stood men who are now the avowed enemies of the Bible. Good men, who,
for a time, were arrayed in opposition to Colonization, finding
themselves involved in a crusade against the introduction of the Gospel
into Africa, have, mostly, given in their adhesion to the cause, and
left the repudiators of Christianity and the traffickers in human flesh,
as the only enemies to African Colonization. The prayer of SAMUEL J.
MILLS, for the introduction of the Gospel into Africa, has been heard,
and Ethiopia now stretches forth her hands unto God.
In proceeding to the missionary history of Liberia, we shall begin with
the METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The mission in the Republic of Liberia,
is her oldest in the Foreign field. The nucleus of this mission,
consisted of several members, and one or two local preachers, of the
Methodist Church, who went out with the first emigrants. In March, 1833,
the Rev. Melville B. Cox, the first ordained missionary, landed in
Monrovia. To maintain this mission, has cost much treasure, and many
precious lives; but the fruits of it are inestimable. It is now formed
into a regular Annual Conference, composed of three districts, each with
a presiding elder, and having its circuits, stations, and day and Sunday
schools. The mission now covers the whole territory of Liberia and that
of Cape Palmas.[6] The Conference consists of 21 members in full
connection and on trial, all of whom are colored men. Its churches,
according to the Agent’s Report, 1853, embrace 1,301 members, of whom
116 are natives, and there are 115 probationers. The Mission has 15
Sunday schools, with 839 pupils, of whom 50 are natives; and 20 week-day
schools, with 513 scholars. There are also 7 schools among the natives,
with 127 pupils.
The sums appropriated to sustain this mission were, for 1851, $22,000;
for 1852, $26,000; for 1853, $32,957; and for 1854, $32,957. This
liberality is sufficiently expressive of the confidence of the Methodist
Church in Liberia. The Report of the Board of Managers, for 1851, says:
“All eyes are now turned toward this New Republic on the Western coast
of Africa, as the star of hope to the colored people, both bond and
free, in the United States. The Republic is establishing and extending
itself; and its Christian population is in direct contact with the
natives, both Pagans and Mohammedans. Thus the Republic has, indirectly,
a powerful missionary influence, and its moral and religious condition
is a matter of grave concern to the Church. Hence, the Protestant
Christian missions in Liberia, are essential to the stability and
prosperity of the Republic; and the stability and prosperity of the
Republic are necessary to the protection and action of the missions. It
will thus appear, (concludes the Report,) that the Christian education
of the people, is the legitimate work of the missions.”
Governed by these considerations, the Methodists have erected a seminary
building, in Monrovia, at a cost of $10,000, which is now affording
instruction to youth in the higher departments of science and
literature.
The Report for 1853,[7] speaks still more encouragingly of the mission
in Liberia. It says:
“The value of this mission is, perhaps, inconceivable: it not only
dispenses the word of life to the people, but it contributes largely to
the maintenance of good morals and good order in the Republic, and thus
strengthens and assists in preserving the State. In this way it
indirectly contributes to make the Republic of Liberia a steady light,
beckoning the free colored people of this country to a land where they
can be truly free and equal, and where only they can be truly men and
govern themselves. The mission is thus assisting the State to give a
triumphant answer to our Southern States when they ask, If we set the
slave population at liberty, where can they go and be free and
prosperous? This is a result of immense value. It probably contains the
solution of the question of American slavery—that great mystery of
iniquity which dims the otherwise resplendent light of our glorious
Republic. And yet, further, this African mission in the Republic of
Liberia is a steady and shining light to the western portions of Africa,
where now reign the most degrading, cruel, and destructive superstitions
to be found in the world. Until within a quarter of a century past, many
thousands of human victims have been sacrificed annually, in their cruel
and dark religious rites, within sight of the coast; and not very far
removed from the coast these sacrifices still continue, to an extent of
which it makes one shudder to think, much less to behold. Can the Church
waver in her support of such a mission on the Western coast of Africa?
She will not.”
By order of the General Conference, Bishop Scott made an official visit
to Liberia, at the close of 1852, and returned in April, 1853—having
spent seventy days in the Colonies. He represents the spiritual
condition of the Mission as, generally, healthy and prosperous; and the
work as going steadily onward. In relation to the civil and social
condition of the Colony, the Bishop bears the following testimony:
“The government of the Republic of Liberia, which is formed on the model
of our own, and is wholly in the hands of colored men, seems to be
exceedingly well administered. I never saw so orderly a people. I saw
but one intoxicated colonist while in the country, and I heard not one
profane word. The Sabbath is kept with singular strictness, and the
churches crowded with attentive and orderly worshipers.”[8]
But, as regards the missions among the natives, the Bishop says, very
little indeed has been done—much less than the friends of the mission
seem to have good reason to expect—much less than he himself expected.
The result of his inquiries is by no means flattering, and he felt, and
feared that the Board would feel, disappointed. These results, however,
he says, are not due to any want of faithfulness on the part of the
missionaries; as other denominations have not been more
successful—perhaps not quite so much so—but are the result of the
peculiar condition of the native population. These peculiarities will be
noticed under the head of the native missions.
THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION, commenced its mission in Liberia,
in 1822, under the care of the Rev. Lot Carey and the Rev. Collin Teage;
who had been ordained to the ministry, in Richmond, Virginia, January,
1821. They were both colored men, and possessed of much intelligence and
energy. They commenced their labors in Monrovia, in the infant colony of
Liberia, and founded a Church during the first year. Lot Carey was
chosen pastor of the Church, and Mr. Teage removed for a time to Sierra
Leone. “In the performance of his duties as a missionary, Mr. Carey
evinced remarkable energy and faithfulness. He was born a slave in
Virginia, but many years before leaving Richmond he had purchased his
freedom and that of his two children, and had acquired the rudiments of
a superior education, and proved himself worthy of the highest trusts in
the business with which he was charged. On the pestilential shores of
Africa he soon found occasion for all the knowledge he had acquired,
both among his fellow emigrants and the rude barbarians from the
interior with whom they became associated. By his acquaintance with
medicine, he healed their maladies; by his sagacity in civil affairs, he
settled their disputes and aided in the organization of their infant
society; and by his earnestness and power as a preacher, he commended
the Gospel to their hearts and consciences with unusual success.”[9]
In 1825, the Rev. Calvin Holton, a white man, went out as a missionary,
but died almost immediately after his arrival. “The mission continued to
be sustained by Mr. Carey, with the aid of two or three pious assistants
from among the emigrants. The resources by which it was kept alive were
supplied almost entirely by his own efforts, as the funds which were
furnished by the Board were of necessity at this time exceedingly
limited. The labors of the mission were bestowed upon the emigrant
colonists, and also, as far as possible, upon the natives of the
country, who had either been rescued from slave-ships and settled upon
the coast, or had voluntarily come in from the neighboring wilderness to
join the colonies of their more civilized brethren. Mr. Carey in this
manner preached and maintained schools at Monrovia, and also at Grand
Cape Mount, among the Veys, one of the most powerful and intelligent of
the tribes on the coast. At these and other settlements he was the life
and soul of nearly all the religious efforts and operations that were
carried on. He preached several times every week, superintended schools
both for religious and secular instruction,—in some of which he taught
himself,—traveled from one settlement to another, and watched with
constant vigilance and unremitting care over all the spiritual and the
social interests of the colonists.
“In September, 1826, he was unanimously elected vice-agent of the
colony, and on the return of Mr. Ashmun to the United States, in 1828,
he was appointed to discharge the duties of Governor in the interim—a
task which he performed during the brief remnant of his life with
wisdom, and with credit to himself. His death took place in a manner
that was fearfully sudden and extraordinary. The natives of the country
had committed depredations upon the property of the colony, and were
threatening general hostilities. Mr. Carey, in his capacity as acting
Governor, immediately called out the military forces of the colony, and
commenced vigorous measures for repelling the assault and protecting the
settlements. He was at the magazine, engaged in superintending the
making of cartridges, when, by the oversetting of a lamp, a large mass
of powder became ignited, and produced an explosion which resulted in
the death of Mr. Carey and seven others who were engaged with him. In
this sudden and awful manner perished an extraordinary man,—one who in a
higher sphere might have developed many of the noblest energies of
character, and who, even in the humble capacity of a missionary among
his own benighted brethren, deserves a prominent place in the list of
those who have shed luster upon the African race.
“At the period of Mr. Carey’s death, the Church, of which he was the
pastor, contained 100 members, and was in a highly flourishing
condition. It was committed to the charge of Collin Teage, who now
returned from Sierra Leone, and of Mr. Waring, one of its members, who
had lately been ordained a minister. The influences which had commenced
with the indefatigable founder of the mission continued to be felt long
after he had ceased to live. The Church at Monrovia was increased to 200
members, and the power of the Gospel was manifested in other settlements
of the Colonization Society, and even among the rude natives of the
coast, of whom nearly 100 were converted to Christianity and united with
the several churches of the colony.”[10]
In December, 1830, Rev. B. Skinner, a white man, with his wife and two
children, reached Monrovia, to take charge of the mission. They were all
seized with the African fever, soon after landing, and Mrs. Skinner and
the children died. Mr. S. so far recovered as to embark for home, in
July following, but died the twentieth day of the passage.
In 1834, Dr. Skinner, the father of the missionary, went out as a
physician, and was afterward appointed governor of the colony. Soon
after his arrival, he recommended the Baptist Board to establish their
mission, for the benefit of the natives, among the Bassa tribe.
In 1835, two other white men, Rev. G. W. Crocker, and Rev. Mr. Mylne,
were sent out to the Bassas. Mrs. Mylne, who had accompanied her
husband, died in a month, and Mr. M., after laboring nearly three years,
was forced, by ill health, to return to the United States. Mr. Crocker
continued his labors, and was married, in 1840, to Miss Warren, who had
gone out as a teacher. She died soon afterward, and the declining health
of Mr. Crocker compelled him to leave for the United States.
In 1838, two years before Mr. Crocker left, he had been joined by Rev.
Ivory Clarke and wife, whites, who continued to occupy the station, and
labored with great success for several years.
In December, 1840, Messrs. Constantine and Fielding, with their wives,
all whites, reached the Bassa mission. Mr. and Mrs. F. both died in six
weeks; and Mr. and Mrs. C. were so much debilitated by the fever that
they were compelled to return home in 1842.
In 1844, the health of Mr. Crocker had become so far restored, that he
resolved to return to Africa; and, having been united in marriage to
Miss Chadbourne, he sailed for Liberia, but died two days after landing.
“Thus fell, in the midst of high raised hopes, and at an unexpected
moment, a missionary of no common zeal and devotion to the cause.”[11]
On the death of Mr. Crocker, his widow attached herself to the mission,
and labored for its advancement for two years; when the wreck of her
constitution, under the influence of the climate, compelled her to
abandon the work, in 1846, and return home.
In 1848, Mr. Clarke and his wife found their constitutions so completely
shattered, and their strength so nearly exhausted, that they left the
mission to return to the United States. But he had tarried at his post
too long; death overtook him on the passage, and the sea supplied him a
grave.
Thus, after thirteen years’ labor, and the sacrifice of a noble band of
martyrs to the cause of African redemption, was the Bassa mission left
without a head, except so far as it could be supplied by the native
converts. Amongst them, there was one preacher and four teachers, who
kept up the organization of the little church, and continued the
schools.
It was not until 1852, that the Board had any offers of missionaries for
Bassa, to supply the place of those who had fallen or retreated. In that
year, however, Rev. J. S. Goodman, and Rev. W. B. Shermer, and their
wives, offered themselves to the Board, and were accepted. They set sail
November 27, 1852, and were accompanied by Mrs. Crocker, who longed to
return to the mission and devote her life to the service of her Lord and
Master.
This Mission family was permitted to reach its field of labor in safety;
but recent information brings the painful intelligence of the death of
Mrs. Crocker and Mrs. Shermer; and that Mr. Shermer himself, had also
been very ill, and had left Africa to return home by way of England. In
writing from London, under date of January 13, 1854, he says: “That
during the past twelve months, six missionaries of different
denominations have died, and eight have been and are obliged to return
to America; all of whom had gone to Africa within the last year. This is
indeed a fearful mortality among African missionaries. Yet God has a
people there, and if the white man can not live to evangelize them, he
can and will raise up other agencies. Educated colored men, in all
probability, must and will be the only instrumentality employed in the
conversion of Africa.”[12]
The mission, before the recent deaths, consisted of 2 stations, 2
missionaries, 4 female assistants, and 4 native assistants. Its Church
has 16 members; and it has 2 day-schools with 36 pupils, and 2
Sabbath-Schools with 60 pupils.
THE FOREIGN MISSIONARY BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION, came
into existence in 1845. Its organization was a result of the differences
of opinion, on the subject of slavery, among the members of the American
Baptist Missionary Union. The Liberia Churches, which were founded by
Lot Carey, Collin Teage, and their successors, connected themselves with
the Southern Board, while Bassa, alone, continued its adherence to the
Northern Board. This arrangement gave the Southern Board, at once, a
strong missionary force in Liberia; and the mission has continued to
prosper under their supervision. At present, it is composed of 13
stations, 19 missionaries and teachers, 11 day-schools, 400 scholars,
and 584 communicants. As far as we can learn, all these missionaries are
colored men.
The Board proposes to occupy three stations in Central Africa, by six
missionaries, four of whom are already secured, and have departed for
their field of labor. The mission field in Africa, is represented as
very important and very inviting, both on account of the constantly
increasing emigration from the United States, and the facilities enjoyed
for the evangelization of the heathen tribes. During the meeting of the
Convention at Baltimore, in June, 1853, the advantages of Central Africa
were discussed at length; and the Rev. T. J. Bowen,[13] who had explored
the field, delivered an address, in which he spoke particularly of
Yoruba, as a country with a delightful climate, apparently healthy, and
moderately fertile. The people, he said, are far above savages, polite
in their manners, quite intelligent, and dwelling in walled cities, some
of which cover an area as large as the city of New York. They are
prepared by their religion, he conceives, to appreciate the value of the
great Sacrifice and Mediator, Jesus, and are willing and anxious to hear
the Gospel; and some of them, during his short stay of eight weeks, gave
evidence of a change of heart and of faith in Christ. He was the first
white man who had visited some parts of that country; and “his narrative
was at once surprising and encouraging.”
THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF MISSIONS, (O. S.,) sent their first
missionaries to West Africa, in 1833. The Rev. J. B. Pinney was the
pioneer in this mission. In the earlier years of its existence, it was
greatly interrupted and retarded by the sickness or death of its
missionaries; but within the last few years its prospects are more
encouraging. In 1837, attempts were made to establish missions among the
natives, and the efforts continued throughout a series of years. Much
labor and several valuable lives were sacrificed in the work, and the
only remaining fruit is a single station, at Settra Kroo, with a small
school for native children. In 1850, a new mission to the natives was
commenced at Corisco Island, which, thus far, is very promising.
The mission in Liberia, for colonists and natives, was the first
established and has been more prosperous. It now embraces 116 church
members, 2 ordained ministers and 1 licentiate, 3 congregations, and
flourishing Sabbath-schools. The day-schools are well attended, by both
colonists and natives. The Board, 1852, sent out the Rev. D. A. Wilson,
a white man, of finished education, to take charge of the Alexander High
School, and raise it to the grade of a college. At Monrovia, the press
for admission into the English school of Mr. James, is represented as so
great, that it had been found almost impossible to keep the number as
low as fifty scholars—the number had averaged 70, and in consequence of
the inadequacy of teachers, the progress of the pupils had been less
rapid than, under other circumstances, must have been the case.
The Board urges the necessity of multiplying the number of educated
ministers and teachers in Liberia; and offers, as an argument in favor
of that field, and the one on Corisco Island, that these missions are
likely soon to yield abundant fruits of Gospel culture. The following is
the closing sentence of the Report: “Their past and touching history;
their sphere of labor on a continent so benighted, and yet separated
from this country only by the Atlantic; and the residence among us of so
many of the children of Africa, many of whom are in the communion of our
churches;—all seem to direct a large share of the missionary strength of
our body to be employed hereafter in connection with these missions, and
in the general field of labor to which they are doors of entrance.”
The Mission of the AMERICAN PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, in Liberia, was
regularly commenced in the year 1836, at Cape Palmas. It now embraces 6
clergymen, including Bishop Payne. A high school has been established
for training colonist teachers and missionaries. Connected with this
school are 5 candidates for orders, 3 of whom are natives. The number of
youth in this school at present, is 10; who are supported at the expense
of the mission. The children of the colonists, to the number of 15 or
20, are admitted as day scholars. A female colonist day school is also
in operation, with an attendance of 45 to 50 children. The mission
includes 4 stations, at all of which native boarding-schools are, or
have been, maintained with some good degree of regularity. The average
attendance of scholars here has been over 100, and the number instructed
in the way of salvation at least 1,000. Day-schools are and have been
taught, in which many heathen children have learned to read, and also
acquired that knowledge which maketh wise unto salvation.
Sunday-schools, composed of boarding scholars, and children from heathen
towns, have been another means of good. The Gospel has been, and is
still, preached to nearly the whole Grebo tribe, numbering a population
of some 25,000; besides which, a congregation in Maryland, in Liberia,
has been supplied with stated services. More than 100 have been admitted
to baptism, or having previously received this rite, been enrolled as
communicants of the Church. Some of these have apostatized, others have
died in the faith; while about 80 still remain members of the Church
militant. The Grebo dialect has been reduced to writing, and many
portions of the Scriptures, and other books, published in it. A printing
press is in operation, from which, besides other publications, a small
Missionary paper is issued. It should be named, as one of the most
important fruits of the Mission, that a wide-spread conviction of the
truth of Christianity has been produced in the native mind, and an
expectation that, at no distant time, it must supersede the religion of
the country.[14]
Such is the prosperous condition of this mission, that the Rev. John
Payne, long at its head, was, in 1850, appointed a Missionary Bishop for
Africa. He is a white man, highly educated, and eminently qualified for
the sacred office to which he has been chosen. Since entering upon his
duties, the agencies for extending the mission have been greatly
increased. A station has been commenced at Monrovia, under the care of a
colored clergyman, formerly of New York city, whose education was
finished in England; and a large additional force of white missionaries
has been sent out to occupy other posts. The foundation of an Orphan
Asylum, to cost $2,000, has been laid at Cape Palmas; and the funds to
erect two church edifices have been supplied to the Bishop. Of the white
missionaries, one male and one female have recently died; in other
respects the prospects of the mission are very encouraging.
Mrs. Payne and one of the other ladies of the mission, have returned
during the last year, to recruit their health.
In speaking of the necessity of extended effort in the Republic of
Liberia, the Bishop makes this important statement: “It is now very
generally admitted, that Africa must be evangelized chiefly by her own
children. It should be our object to prepare them, so far as we may, for
their great work. And since colonists afford the most advanced material
for raising up the needed instruments, it becomes us, in wise
co-operation with Providence, to direct our efforts in the most
judicious manner to them. To do this, the most important points should
be occupied, to become in due time radiating centers of Christian
influence to Colonists and Natives.”[15]
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, sent a missionary to Liberia,
in November, 1853. The Christian Church has several of its members in
that Republic, as Colonists. The missionary now sent is a colored man,
and will not only look after their spiritual interests, but attempt the
performance of missionary labor in general. His name is ALEX. CROSS; and
he was a slave until within a short time of his having been appointed to
the mission work. The friends of the cause in Kentucky, where he lived,
purchased him and offered him to the Society—his master generously
accepting half his value as a servant. His wife and child were free, and
accompanied him to Liberia. Mr. Cross is a man of more than ordinary
talent; and with such additional education as he can obtain at Monrovia,
he must make a useful man.
THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED SYNOD OF THE SOUTH, have resolved on establishing
a mission in Liberia; and have four native boys in the course of
instruction, at the expense of the Synod, in the school of Mr. Erskine,
at Kentucky, in Liberia. The Synod entered upon this work, a few years
since, with earnestness and energy, but have met with many serious
obstacles in the accomplishment of their purpose.
This closes our inquiries into the condition of the missions in Liberia.
A remark or two, only, need be offered as to its social and civil
condition. The citizens of the Republic are colored men, and enjoy a
perfect equality under its constitution. They possess all the attributes
of sovereignty, enacting and administering their own laws; but in
purchasing territory from the African kings, the right of sovereignty
and of soil is acquired, not to exclude the native people from the
lands, but, as they adopt habits of civilization, to put them in
possession of fee simple titles to their homes, on the same conditions
allowed to the colonists.
By the influence of the colony over the native tribes, and the terms of
its treaties with them, it has abolished human sacrifices, and the
trials for witchcraft within its jurisdiction; driven the traffic in
slaves from more than 600 miles of coast; exerted a controlling
influence in suppressing native wars; and affords protection to 300,000
people, now within its purchased territory, or in treaty with the
Republic.
The history of a single case will illustrate the manner in which Liberia
exerts her influence in preventing the native tribes from warring upon
each other. The territory of Little Cape Mount, Grand Cape Mount, and
Gallinas, was purchased, three or four years since, and added to the
Republic.[16] The chiefs, by the terms of sale, transferred the rights
of sovereignty and of soil to Liberia, and bound themselves to obey her
laws. The government of Great Britain had granted to Messrs. Hyde, Hodge
& Co., of London, a contract for the supply of laborers, from the coast
of Africa, to the planters of her West India colonies. This grant was
made under the rule for the substitution of _apprentices_,[17] to supply
the lack of labor produced by the emancipation of the slaves. The agents
of Messrs. Hyde, Hodge & Co., visited Grand Cape Mount, and made an
offer of $10[18] per head to the chiefs, for each person they could
supply as _emigrants_ for this object. The offer excited the cupidity of
some of the chiefs; and, to procure the emigrants and secure the bounty,
one of them, named Boombo, of Little Cape Mount, resorted to war upon
several of the surrounding tribes. He laid waste the country, burned the
towns and villages, captured and murdered many of the inhabitants,
carried off hundreds of others, and robbed several factories in that
region, belonging to merchants of Liberia. On the 26th of February,
1853, President Roberts issued his proclamation enjoining a strict
observance of the law regulating passports, and forbidding the sailing
of any vessel, with emigrants, without first visiting the port of
Monrovia, where each passenger should be examined as to his wishes. On
the first of March the President, with 200 men, sailed for Little Cape
Mount, arrested Boombo and 50 of his followers, summoned a council of
the other chiefs at Monrovia for his trial on the 14th, and returned
home with his prisoners. At the time appointed, the trial was held,
Boombo was found guilty of “_High Misdemeanor_,” and sentenced “to make
restitution, restoration, and reparation of goods stolen, people
captured, and damages committed: to pay a fine of $500, and be
imprisoned for two years.”[19] When the sentence was pronounced, the
convict shed tears, regarding the ingredient of imprisonment in his
sentence, to be almost intolerable. These rigorous measures, adopted to
maintain the authority of the Government and majesty of the laws, have
had a salutary influence upon the chiefs. No outbreaks have since
occurred, and but little apprehension of danger for the future is
entertained.
The missionaries and teachers in Liberia, are nearly all colored men,
and citizens of the Republic, who yield a cordial support to its laws,
and enjoy ample protection under its government. These missionaries have
the control of the schools and churches; and, consequently, they possess
the entire direction of the intellectual, moral, and religious training
of the youth. Liberia, therefore, may be denominated a _Missionary
Republic_. And such is the influence the colony has exerted over the
natives, that their heathenish customs and superstitions are fast
disappearing before the advancing Christian civilization. In the country
of Messurado, including the seat of government, there no longer exists a
single temple of heathen worship.[20]
The religious and educational statistics of Liberia are not complete,
but are sufficient to show, that the different churches have more than
2,000 communicants; the Sabbath-schools more than 1500 children, of whom
500 are natives; while in the day-schools there are not less than 1,400
pupils.
Of the _white_ missionaries who entered the field in Liberia, during the
first thirty years of its existence, but two or three remained at the
close of that period—all the others having died or been disabled by the
loss of health. Take, as an example, the Episcopal Mission. _Twenty_
white laborers, male and female, entered that mission, up to 1849, of
whom only the Rev. Mr. Payne and his wife, and Dr. Perkins remained. All
the others had fallen at their posts or been forced to retreat. Take
that of the Presbyterian Board also: Of _nineteen_ white missionaries,
male and female, sent out, up to May, 1851, _nine_ had died, _seven_
returned, and _three_ remained; while of _fourteen_ colored
missionaries, male and female, employed, but _four_ have died, and _one_
returned on account of ill health. Take the Methodists likewise: Of the
_thirteen_ white missionaries sent out, _six_ had died, _six_ returned,
and _one_ remained, in 1848; while of _thirty-one_ colored missionaries
employed by this church, only _seven_ had died natural deaths, and
_fourteen_ remained in active service. The extent of this mortality
among the white missionaries will be comprehended, when it is stated,
that their average period of life, up to nearly the last named date, has
been only two years.[21] The mission work in Liberia, therefore, has
necessarily fallen into the hands of colored men; and, thus, the
Providence of God has afforded to that race an opportunity to display
their powers, and to show to the world what, under favorable
circumstances, they are capable of achieving.
In relation to the influence exerted by Liberia, on the cause of African
Missions, BISHOP SCOTT testifies as follows:
“In my judgment, the bearing of African Colonization on the cause of
Christian Missions, in that vast peninsula of darkness and sin, ought to
be sufficient, in the absence of every other consideration, to secure
for that great enterprise, the warm and steady support of every lover of
Christ.”[22]
If, then, a Colony of colored men, beginning with less than 100, and
gradually increasing to 9,000, has, in 30 years, established an
Independent Republic amidst a savage people; destroyed the slave trade
on 600 miles of the African coast; put down the heathen temples in one
of its largest counties; afforded security to all the missions within
its limits; and now casts its shield over 300,000 native inhabitants;
what may not be done in the next 30 years, by Colonization and Missions
combined, were sufficient means supplied to call forth all their
energies?
II. _The Missions in the English Colonies of Recaptured Africans._
These Missions are next in importance, and have been next in success, to
those of Liberia. The term, _recaptured_, has reference to the natives
rescued from the slave-ships, on the coast of Africa, by the English
squadron. The principal Colony of this class, is at Sierra Leone. It was
first established as a private enterprise, through the exertions of
GRANVILLE SHARP, afterwards placed under the control of a chartered
company, and, finally, taken under the care of the British government.
It had for its object, chiefly, the suppression of the slave trade and
the civilization of Africa.
The origin of this Colony has such an intimate connection with the rise
of the Anti-Slavery sentiment in England, and the adoption of the
measures which have done so much toward the redemption of Africa, that
the principal facts of its history must be stated.
On the 22d of May, 1772, Lord Mansfield decided the memorable Somerset
case, and pronounced it unlawful to hold a slave in Great Britain.[23]
Previous to this date, many slaves had been introduced into English
families, and, on running away, the fugitives had been delivered up to
their masters, by order of the Court of King’s Bench, under Lord
Mansfield; but now the poor African, no longer hunted as a beast of
prey, in the streets of London, slept under his roof, miserable as it
might be, in perfect security.[24]
To GRANVILLE SHARP belonged the honor of this achievement. By the
decision, about 400 negroes were thrown upon their own resources. They
flocked to Mr. Sharp as their patron; but considering their numbers, and
his limited means, it was impossible for him to afford them adequate
relief. To those thus emancipated, others, discharged from the army and
navy, were afterwards added, who, by their improvidence, were reduced to
extreme distress. After much reflection, Mr. Sharp determined to
colonize them in Africa.
Here, then, was first conceived the idea of African colonization; but
this benevolent scheme could not be executed at once, and the
blacks—indigent, unemployed, despised, forlorn, vicious—became such
nuisances, as to make it necessary they should be sent somewhere, and no
longer suffered to infest the streets of London.[25] Private benevolence
could not be sufficiently enlisted in their behalf, and fifteen years
passed away, when Government, anxious to remove what it regarded as
injurious, at last came to the aid of Mr. Sharp, and supplied the means
of their transportation and support.[26]
In April, 1787, these colored people, numbering over 400, were put on
shipboard for Africa, and, in the following month, were landed in Sierra
Leone. A plentiful supply of rum had been furnished, and, for reasons
unexplained, they were accompanied by 60 whites, most of whom were
females of the worst character.[27] Intemperance and debauchery so
generally prevailed, during the voyage, that nearly one half of them
died on the passage and within four months after landing. The sickness
of their chaplain, the deaths of their agents, and the consequent
desertions of the emigrants, reduced the Colony, during the first year,
to 40 persons, and endangered its existence. The next year, 39 new
emigrants arrived, with abundant supplies, and the deserters returned,
so as to secure a force of 130 persons to the Colony. During the
following year, internal discord, succeeded by an attack from a native
chief, dispersed the colonists throughout the country; and, again,
through Mr. Sharp’s exertions, an agent was sent to their relief, who
collected them together, and furnished arms for their defense.
In March, 1792, a reinforcement of 1,131 blacks, from Nova Scotia,
arrived at Sierra Leone. These men were fugitive slaves, who had joined
the English during the American Revolutionary war, and had been promised
lands in Nova Scotia; but the government having failed to meet its
pledge, and the climate proving unfavorable, they sought refuge in
Africa. A fever which had attacked the emigrants in Halifax, and from
which 65 had died on the passage, still prevailed among them after
landing; so that, from its effects, together with the influence of the
climate, 130 more died the first year in Sierra Leone.
About this time the Colony passed from the care of Mr. Sharp, to that of
the Company. This led to the sending of 119 whites, along with a
Governor, as counselors, physicians, soldiers, clerks, overseers,
artificers, settlers, and servants. Of this company 57 died within the
year, 22 returned, and 40 remained.[28]
As soon as health would permit, the Nova Scotia fugitives proceeded to
work vigorously, in clearing lands and building houses; and, in the
succeeding year, two churches were erected, and a school of 300 pupils
established.
These fugitives must have been men of more than ordinary energy of
character. This opinion is sustained by the subsequent events of their
history. When the French fleet, in 1794, burned their houses and
destroyed their property, it was but a short time until the Colony was
again in a prosperous condition. But their physical energy and industry,
were not their most remarkable characteristics. When Granville Sharp’s
mild system of government, admitting colored men to share in its
administration, was superseded by the more rigid laws of the Company,
which excluded them from office, they resisted the change. Though, in
America, they had fought on the side of Britain, in Africa, they
espoused the cause of Republican principles. Their disappointment in not
receiving the promised lands in Nova Scotia, had given them no very
favorable opinion of English justice. When required to submit to the
authority of the Governor, and to a different policy from what they had
embraced on emigrating, they denied they owed subjection to the new
laws, or to any laws except of their own enactment. Ascertaining that
the legal powers of the Company were inadequate to the enforcement of
its authority, they boldly asserted their claim to the sovereignty, and
their right to exclude from the administration all but officers of their
own choice. Parliament, on learning the posture of affairs, at once
granted the Company ample powers to extinguish this little blaze of
Democracy; but the Colonists as resolutely determined to resist; and, on
September 10th, 1800, announced their purpose of assuming all political
power in the settlement. The Governor, left in the minority, had to
employ the natives to aid him. As the insurgents refused all
accommodation, there was no alternative but a resort to force. At this
moment, 550 Maroons, (free negroes,) from Jamaica,[29] were landed; and,
joining the Governor, he was enabled to defeat the rebels. Three of the
leaders in this struggle were taken and afterwards executed; and so well
pleased was Parliament, at seeing Democracy cut up by the roots, that it
voted the Governor $105,000, to erect a fortification and aid in paying
the Company’s debts.
Two subsequent attacks by the natives, together with the urgent appeals
of the Company, led the Government, the first of January, 1808, to
assume the sovereignty over the Colony, and provide for its safety. This
measure was the more agreeable to Granville Sharp and the Company, as he
had sunk $7,000 and it $410,000 in the enterprise. The arrangement was
equally necessary to England, as, in that year, she rendered herself
illustrious by the abolition of the slave trade; and needed Sierra Leone
to carry on her operations, and to provide for the slaves she might
rescue from the traders.
Missions for the benefit of this Colony, were first attempted in 1792,
again in 1795, and in 1797; but all these efforts failed; because of the
disaffection of the Nova Scotia fugitives, and because the slave trade,
then a legal traffic to British subjects, was prosecuted everywhere upon
the African coast, and even within Sierra Leone. In 1804, the Church
Missionary Society sent out its missionaries, with orders to seek for
stations out of the colony, because of the opposition within it; but in
this they did not succeed. In 1808, when the slave trade was abolished,
these missionaries commenced ten stations beyond the limits of the
Colony, according to their instructions, but were unable to sustain
them. The natives, interested in the slave trade, burned the mission
houses and churches, destroyed the growing crops of the missionaries,
threatened their lives, and otherwise persecuted them. When England
abandoned the traffic in slaves, she but surrendered its monopoly to
France, Spain and Portugal; hence, there was no diminution of its
extent, or abatement of its horrors, but a vast increase of both:[30]
and, as the missions from 1792 to 1808, failed both in and out of the
Colony; so the continuance of the trade, beyond its limits, after 1808,
drove the missionaries within its jurisdiction, to enjoy its protection.
But these stations were not abandoned, until after a long struggle to
sustain them—the last one having been maintained until 1818.
From 1808, the work of missions in Sierra Leone, was successfully begun;
and the first dawn of hope for oppressed Africa, arose with the first
blow aimed at the slave-trade. Up to this date, the slave-trader had
held undisputed sway on the coast of Africa, and the introduction of the
Gospel was impossible. The slave-trade, it would seem, is an evil so
horrid, that the Almighty refused to give success to the missionary,
unless that outrage upon humanity should first be suppressed.
The Episcopal mission, established in Sierra Leone, in 1808, has been
continued without interruption, except what necessarily arose from the
great mortality among the missionaries. A college and several schools
were established at an early day, in which orphan and destitute children
were boarded and instructed.[31] Besides teaching the schools, the
missionaries preached to the adults, a few of whom embraced the Gospel;
but no very encouraging progress was made for many years. In 1817,
however, the labors expended began to unfold their effects, and the
mission to make encouraging advances; so that, by 1832, it had 638
communicants and 294 candidates in its churches, 684 Sabbath school
scholars, and 1,388 pupils in its day-schools.
Thus, in 45 years after the founding of Sierra Leone, and 24 after the
abolition of the slave-trade, was the basis of this mission broadly and
securely laid. Since that period it has been extended eastward to
Badagry, Abbeokuta, and Lagos. In connection with all these missions,
but chiefly in Sierra Leone, the Episcopal Church, in 1850, had 54
seminaries and schools, 6,600 pupils, 2,183 communicants, and 7,500
attendants on public worship. Of the teachers in the schools at Sierra
Leone, it is worthy of remark, that only _five_ were Europeans, while
_fifty-six_ were native Africans. Such is the prosperous condition of
these missions, at present, and the amount of superintendency they
require, that the REV. MR. VIDAL has been ordained a Bishop for West
Africa, and sent forth to his field of labor.
The English Wesleyan Methodists, through the influence of the Rev. Dr.
Coke, sent a missionary, in 1811, to the Nova Scotia free blacks, in
Sierra Leone; and, in the course of a year, the converts were reported
at 60.[32] In 1831, _twenty years_ after the commencement of the
mission, it included but 2 missionaries, 294 church members, and about
160 pupils in its schools. The Wesleyan Mission, like the Episcopal,
progressed slowly at first; but, as it collected the elements of
progress within its bosom, it also, began to expand, and is now
advancing prosperously. Its stations have been extended westward to the
Gambia, and eastward to various points, including Cape Coast Castle,
Badagry, Abbeokuta, and Kumasi. In connection with these missions, the
Wesleyan Methodists, in 1850, had 44 chapels, 13 out-stations, 42
days-chools, 97 teachers, 4,500 pupils, including those in the Sabbath
schools, 6,000 communicants, on trial 560, and 14,600 attendants on
public worship.
But these colonies of Recaptured Africans, are too important an agency
in the redemption of Africa, to be passed over without further
consideration; so that their position and that of Liberia, in this
respect, may be clearly comprehended. In addition to Sierra Leone, they
include several minor stations; two of which are on the Gambia, and the
others on the coast east of Liberia.
From documents presented to Parliament, it appears, that, in 1850, there
was a Christian population, in Sierra Leone, of more than 36,000, out of
about 45,000. In this population, it was estimated, that there were
representatives of no fewer than one hundred different tribes, speaking
different languages and dialects; so that there are already converts
prepared, as far as the knowledge of the languages is concerned, to go
forth in every direction, and to explain to their countrymen, in their
own tongue, the truths of revelation. Since the subject was before
Parliament, BISHOP VIDAL has commenced his labors, and this question has
received particular attention. It has been ascertained that no fewer
than 151 distinct languages, besides several dialects, are spoken in
Sierra Leone. They have been arranged under 26 groups; but there still
remain 54 unclassified, which are more distinct from each other, and
from all the rest, than the languages of Europe are from one another;
thus unfolding to the view of the Christian philanthropist, an agency,
in the course of preparation, which, under Divine Providence, may carry
the Gospel to the unnumbered millions of immortal souls inhabiting the
continent of Africa.
A few facts will show that this is not an idle speculation, but that she
has successfully entered upon her great mission.
Among the Recaptured Africans introduced into Sierra Leone, and brought
under the civilizing influences of its Christian institutions, none have
made such rapid progress as the people of Yoruba, a country lying
eastward of the kingdom of Dahomey. Their first appearance in the Colony
was about 1822. Many of them soon acquired a considerable amount of
intelligence and a little property. In 1839, they had become quite
numerous, and a party of them purchased a vessel, hired a white captain,
and commenced a traffic with Badagry. This town is at a point on the
coast from which the Yoruba country can be most easily reached. The
trade thus begun soon led to a rapid emigration from Sierra Leone, and
the planting of missions at both Badagry and Abbeokuta, the capital of
Yoruba.
Abbeokuta is a walled city, founded in 1825, from the fragments of the
tribes of the kingdom of Yoruba, who escaped the invading armies of the
Fellatahs, while this powerful people were the principal “slave hunters”
for the traders of the western coast of Africa. It contains the remains
of 130 towns, and at present embraces a population of nearly 100,000.
Badagry, in 1850, contained about 11,000 inhabitants. The Sierra Leone
emigrants, at the former city, numbered three thousand, and, at the
latter, several hundred. At the period when the emigration commenced,
and for several years afterward, the slave-trade prevailed on the coast;
and the people of Badagry and Abbeokuta were engaged in supplying the
market with slaves. This led them to wage frequent wars, and kept up
feelings of hostility throughout the country. In these slave hunts, the
people of Lagos bore a conspicuous part. This town is about 36 miles to
the eastward of Badagry, is large and populous, and had hitherto been
the head-quarters of the slave-trade in the Bight of Benin. The river
Ossa, a lagoon, running parallel with the coast, unites these two
places.
The Episcopal Mission at Sierra Leone, sent an exploring committee to
Abbeokuta in 1842, and early in 1845 its first missionaries landed at
Badagry. In both instances they found the Wesleyans in advance of them.
Being unable to reach Abbeokuta, on account of existing wars, a mission
was founded at Badagry. In 1846, a noted slave-dealer of the coast,
forced the warring tribes to cease hostilities, that he might collect
his slaves from the interior; and the missionaries, embracing this
moment of peace, were enabled to reach Abbeokuta.
Among the Episcopal Missionaries, was the Rev. Samuel Crowther, a native
of Yoruba, who had been captured by the Fellatahs, in 1821, and sold to
the traders at Lagos. Shipped on board a slaver for Brazil, recaptured
by an English cruizer, educated at Sierra Leone, ordained to the
ministry of the Gospel in England, he had now returned, after
twenty-five years of sanctified captivity, to proclaim the way of
salvation to his relatives and countrymen; and he had the inexpressible
gratification of finding his mother and two sisters, soon after his
arrival, and of being instrumental in her conversion to Christianity.
The chiefs of Abbeokuta received the missionaries with kindness; and, no
wonder, as some of them had relatives of their own, sitting by them, who
had been liberated by the English.
With the favorable regard of the chiefs, and the co-operation of many of
the emigrants from Sierra Leone, the Gospel, for a time, had free course
in Abbeokuta; and its population listened with a willing ear to the
offers of eternal life. But, in 1848, the native priests, priestesses,
and slave-catchers, stirred up a spirit of persecution against the
converts, and the Gospel was greatly hindered. This persecution
continued, with some intervals in its violence, throughout the two
succeeding years. In January, 1851, the British consul, Mr. Beecroft,
visited Abbeokuta, and his presence had a salutary effect in overawing
the enemies of Christianity, and disposing the chiefs to abandon the
slave-trade. He gave them notice, also, that the king of Dahomey had
projected an attack upon their city, in his next campaign for capturing
slaves, and that his Amazons had doomed it to destruction.
Thus warned, the walls were somewhat repaired, and the population roused
to a sense of their danger; when, on March 3d, 1851, the Dahomian army,
of 10,000 men and 6,000 women, made an assault upon the city. Abbeokuta
had only 8,000 warriors to oppose this force; but many of its women ran
to and fro, amidst the flying bullets, with food and water for the
soldiers on the walls, that they might remain at their posts to fight
for life and liberty. For six long hours the murderous strife continued,
when the Dahomians began to waver, and the Abbeokutans, rushing out, put
them to flight; and, pressing closely on their rear, continued the
slaughter until darkness led them to return. At early dawn the pursuit
was renewed, and, at seventeen miles distance, another battle ensued in
which the Abbeokutans were again victorious. The loss of the Dahomians
was 3,000 killed and 1,000 taken prisoners. Of the slain nearly 1,800
were left before the walls of Abbeokuta. These were the flower of the
enemy’s army, chiefly women, who are always placed foremost in the
battles, as more reliable than the men.[33]
Thus was Abbeokuta and its missionaries mercifully delivered from
destruction. Even the heathen openly acknowledged that they owed the
victory to the God of the Christians; and all felt that the missionaries
were their truest friends.[34]
In November, following, Capt. Forbes, of her Majesty’s navy, was
commissioned to negotiate treaties with the authorities of Abbeokuta. He
found but little difficulty in persuading the chiefs to sign a treaty
for the abolition of the slave-trade and human sacrifices—enormities
which had extensively prevailed—and for the extension of the missions
into the interior, and the toleration of religion. Having taken with him
several cannon, he planted them on the walls of the city, and taught
some of the citizens how to use them.
The mission in Abbeokuta, being thus freed from embarrassment, is
prospering, and the missionaries are extending their operations to the
neighboring towns. It would seem, indeed, as if the whole of the Yoruba
territory were bidding the missionary welcome, and encouraging him
onward in the work of its evangelization.[35] The Gospel, it is true,
still meets with opposition; but the chiefs, mostly, are friendly and
send their children to the schools. Open persecution is no longer
permitted; and, but for the continual apprehension of another attack
from Dahomey, the missionaries would seem to be secured against farther
interruptions.
But while the missions are prosperous at Abbeokuta, far different have
been the results at Badagry. The events that have transpired at the two
places, have also been very different. Akitoye, the lawful king of
Lagos, was driven away in 1845, and fled first to Abbeokuta and then to
Badagry. Kosoko, the usurper, being in league with the king of Dahomey,
engaged largely in the slave-trade and kept up constant wars on the
neighboring towns. Some of the chiefs at Badagry espoused the cause of
Akitoye, while others resolved to support Kosoko. Akitoye was friendly
to the missions and attended the Sabbath-school and preaching; but his
opponents were the enemies of the missionaries and engaged in the
slave-trade. In June, 1851, Kosoko and his party attacked Akitoye, in
Badagry, and for two days the demons of cruelty, rapine, and murder,
reigned triumphant in the town; and only left it when it was reduced to
ruins. Fire and sword had done their utmost on Badagry; and nothing
escaped the devouring element but the two mission premises, and the
chief part of the English trading house. During the remainder of the
year, all was confusion and ruin. The Abbeokutans sent 800 men to the
aid of Akitoye, and by one party or the other, the towns along the Ossa
were destroyed without mercy.
It is worthy of remark, that at Badagry, as at Sierra Leone, the mission
made no progress while the population were engaged in the slave-trade.
Neither of the three Episcopal missionaries, who labored in Badagry,
either alone or conjointly, were permitted to see any satisfactory fruit
of their spiritual labors.[36] The town yet remains nearly in ruins—a
few of the inhabitants, only, having returned and rebuilt their houses.
Lagos, therefore, was selected as the head-quarters of the mission, and
Badagry reduced to an out-station, with only a catechist.
The treaty between the chiefs of Abbeokuta and Captain Forbes, bound
them to promote the interests of the missions, and to abolish the
slave-trade. It secured to them, in turn, the protection of England. But
Kosoko, of Lagos, and his confederates, resolved to prevent the
introduction of Christianity, civilization and legitimate traffic into
that region, to destroy Abbeokuta, and to persevere in the slave-trade.
The British squadron, therefore, having found its efforts by sea, to
suppress the traffic, altogether unavailing, and to save its ally,
Abbeokuta, from destruction, proceeded to Lagos, December, 1851,
bombarded the town, took it in possession, dethroned Kosoko, and
restored Akitoye to his rightful possessions. So imminent was the danger
to Abbeokuta, that Kosoko had marched at the head of a large army to
destroy it, and was only diverted from his purpose by the attack upon
his capital. The Portuguese slave-dealers were immediately expelled, and
thus, for the moment, the slave-trade was suppressed in the Bight of
Benin.
But the hateful slave-trade, of which Lagos had long been the chief
mart, had thoroughly engrained itself in the thoughts, habits, and
hearts of the people. Taught by the slave-dealer to consider the English
as natural enemies, they only awaited a suitable opportunity to renew a
trade so lucrative as the capture and sale of their fellow men.
Accordingly, about nine months after the expulsion of Kosoko, the
Portuguese traders returned and secretly renewed the traffic in slaves.
Akitoye, faithful to his treaty with the English, interposed his
authority for its suppression. This led to an insurrection against him
and for the restoration of Kosoko. The Portuguese supplied the
insurgents with arms and ammunition; and, on the morning of August 6th,
1853, the war commenced in the streets of Lagos. The contest was kept up
till night, many were killed and wounded on both sides, and the greater
part of the town destroyed by fire. One of the mission houses was
consumed, with nearly all of its contents; and the other would have
shared the same fate, but for the protection afforded by the army of
Akitoye, and by Capt. Gardner, of the British navy, then in port with
his vessel. A cessation of hostilities took place for a few days, during
which Kosoko entered the town and joined the rebels. The union of his
forces with theirs, gave him a great superiority over Akitoye; and the
missionaries, and the English consul, had no other expectation but that
they would all be murdered. At this critical moment, Admiral Bruce, with
a part of his squadron, appeared in sight, landed nine gun-boats, well
manned, and sent a detachment of marines to protect the missionaries.
This alarmed Kosoko, and, on the night following, August 13, he and his
allies stole out of Lagos. Thus was the mission once more providentially
delivered from destruction.[37]
On the 2d of September, King Akitoye died suddenly, and his son, Dosumu,
was elected in his stead. How far he may be able or willing to resist
the renewal of the slave-trade remains to be seen. The missionaries, at
the latest advices, were greatly discouraged, being worn down with
fatigue and anxiety, and almost shut out from the hope of planting the
Gospel in Lagos, as it has been done in Abbeokuta.
These important movements show how the English Colonies are operating as
agencies in extending civilization and the Gospel in Africa; and how the
Providence of God is overruling the wicked actions of men for the
advancement of the kingdom of Christ.
But while we present these cheering evidences of the success of the
missions in this field, we would call attention to an important
difference in the results here and in Liberia. Sierra Leone and Liberia
were founded with similar objects in view: the removal of a class of
persons unhappily situated, the improvement of their condition, the
civilization of Africa, and the suppression of the slave-trade. In both
cases the colonies were founded in the midst of barbarous tribes; and
with men but recently escaped or liberated from the bonds of slavery.
Sierra Leone received her emigrants nearly all at once; while Liberia
was more than ten years in obtaining an equal number. With the exception
of the few survivors of the London expedition, the settlers in both
colonies had the same early training, under the slavery of Virginia,
Maryland, and the Carolinas. Up to 1800, the emigrants to Sierra Leone
had been enlightened men, mostly from the same region which,
subsequently, supplied to Liberia her citizens. From that period, the
population of Sierra Leone has been increased, not by additions of
civilized men,[38] but first by the Maroons, and afterward by natives
introduced by the English cruizers; until, at present, _sixty-six years_
from the founding of the colony, it includes 45,000 people, reckoned
subjects of Great Britain. With the exception of a few recaptured slaves
landed in Liberia, by American cruizers, its population, each succeeding
year from the first, has received accessions of civilized men, who have
won the confidence of the surrounding tribes, added them to their
communities, instructed them in the arts of civilization, allowed them
the benefits of their schools, and a participation in civil affairs;
until, at present, _thirty-three years_ after the commencement of the
colony, it includes 80,000 people, recognized citizens of the Republic.
Now, mark the difference: in 66 years, Sierra Leone, aided by a large
naval squadron, has grown into a British Colony of 45,000 subjects;
while, in 33 years, or half the time, Liberia, with an influx of only
1,044 recaptured Africans, has become a Republic of 80,000 citizens.[39]
As to the success of the Missions in the two colonies, accurate
statistics are not at hand; but from what has been stated, it appears
that for the first 30 years of their existence, the increase in Liberia
has been more than double that in Sierra Leone.
With these facts before us, it becomes a matter of great moment to
determine what has been the cause of the difference in the prosperity of
the two Colonies. It can not be attributed to any great inequality
between their emigrants, as, mostly, they had an identity of origin; nor
to any great difference among the natives, as the diversity of languages
in the one, would be balanced by the greater degradation of the
other.[40] Then, as there was, originally, no material difference in
their populations, the greater success of the citizens of Liberia, in
maintaining their civil and religious institutions, can not be a result
of their attainments under the slavery of the United States, but must be
a consequence of their intellectual advancement after reaching the
Colony. Neither can the cause of the difference be found in the
educational and religious institutions of the two Colonies, as these are
identical in both. The difference, therefore, can exist, only, in the
greater extent of the social and civil privileges which the Liberians
have enjoyed in their form of government. Look at the facts. From the
time Sierra Leone passed out of the hands of Granville Sharp, the
colored people have been excluded from participating in the government.
The offices have been filled with white men, who reside among the
negroes, in the position and attitude of a superior race, born to
command; while the colonists are made to feel that their destiny is to
obey: hence, in prosecuting their education, the youth of that Colony
have had their mental powers dwarfed, by the absence of the stimulants
which the hope of social and political advancement afford. In Liberia
the policy has been the reverse. From the beginning, the minor offices
were held by the colored men; and for the past twelve years, no white
man has held any office, civil or military, in the Colony. Thus, the
posts of honor have been open to the competition of every Liberian; and,
catching the progressive spirit of the age, the colonists have aspired
to the dignity of Nationality; have established an Independent Republic;
and have progressed, in their civil and religious relations, with a
rapidity doubly as great as Sierra Leone.[41]
But time will not allow us to extend our comparisons. The superiority of
the free institutions of Liberia, as an agency for overcoming the
obstacles to civilization and Christianity in Africa, will be farther
noticed in the progress of our investigations. At present we need only
say, in relation to both Colonies, that, as the result of English and
American philanthropy, there is now a line of coast of more than 1,800
miles, from the Gambia on the West, to Lagos on the East, where the
slave-trade is suppressed, and Christianity is introduced; and, that
within this region, once the undisputed empire of the slave-trader,
there are now 30,000 attendants on public worship, 10,300 church
members, 152 schools, 13,600 pupils, and a band of teachers, nearly all
of whom are natives or Liberians.
Such are the results within these Colonies, where the missionaries have
enjoyed the protection of Government, and the aid of civilized colored
men; such are the fruits of the English and American Colonization of the
African race on the soil of their Father-land; and such the prospects of
the moral redemption of the people of that continent, by the return of
its captive sons, bearing in their hands the lamp of the Gospel.
III. _The Missions among the Native Tribes, beyond the Influence and
Protection of the Colonies._
A full history of these missions, including the facts illustrative of
the obstacles to the progress of Christianity, where the restraints of
civil government are not felt by the population, would be of thrilling
interest. But this would require a volume. We must limit ourselves to
two or three; and shall first direct attention to those of the American
Board on the Gaboon, in West Africa, and among the Zulus, in South
Africa.
The first of these missions was begun in 1834, at Cape Palmas; but owing
to mistaken impressions in relation to the influence of the Colonies on
the work, it was removed, in 1842, to the Gaboon, 1200 miles eastward.
On entering this region, the missionary, the Rev. J. L. Wilson,
encouraged by the attention of the chiefs, entertained such hopes of
success, as to lead the Board to send additional missionaries to his
aid. Some of the native converts at Cape Palmas, accompanying him to the
Gaboon, served as a nucleus for a church at the new station. But on
trial, the difficulties inherent in African heathenism were found to be
much more perplexing and insurmountable, in his new field, than those he
left behind in his old one.
The Report of the Board for 1850, says: “There is yet but one Church in
the mission, and this contains 22 members, 11 of whom were received on
profession of their faith, in 1849—a greater number than have been
received in all the years since the removal of the mission to the
Gaboon. Here, as in South Africa, the habit of taking many wives, or
rather concubines, operates as a great hindrance to the Gospel; and the
evil is much aggravated by the late free introduction of American Rum,
which has exerted a most pernicious influence all along the coast.”
A letter from the Rev. Mr. Wilson, of March, 1851, draws a still more
discouraging picture of the prospects of the mission: “In some
respects,” he says, “our missionary operations seem to be quite
stationary. We have had no accessions to our church for some time past;
and some who were added last year, do not give us all the satisfaction
we had hoped for. If we had other converts, we should be almost afraid
to receive them into the church, by reason of the many temptations to
which they are exposed; growing out of the loose and perverted state of
morals in this community. Nor do we see how society can be placed on
such a footing as to make it possible for us to organize a pure Church,
until there is a general outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the people.”
Then, depicting the general prevalence of polygamy, or what is worse,
Mr. Wilson thus concludes: “Demoralizing as this state of society is,
the people are, nevertheless, firmly attached to it, and will continue
to be so, until they are inspired with better and purer feelings by the
Holy Ghost.”
Dr. Ford, another member of this mission, in an appeal for more female
laborers, draws a still darker portraiture of the deep moral degradation
existing around him. “The condition of African women is beyond
description deplorable. No one can appreciate it without seeing it. They
are bought and sold, whipped, worked, and despised. Unquestionably they
become surly, malicious, and perverse; and under the detestable system
of polygamy which prevails everywhere, they are perfectly faithless to
their husbands. They are our most bitter enemies, bearing a great
dislike to religion, and this they communicate to their children.”
The Report for 1851, speaks more encouragingly, though it records no
increase of members. The Report for 1852, shows that the mission stood
thus: 4 stations, 6 missionaries, 1 physician, 4 female assistants, 5
native helpers, and 5 schools with about 100 pupils. One member had been
added during the year, two Christian marriages solemnized, and four
persons baptized. A considerable reduction of the missionary force had
occurred during the year, from deaths and the failure of health; so that
only two of the stations had been sustained during the whole year. The
Report for 1853, records no new admissions to the church. Only two
ordained missionaries were left in the mission, and only two stations
have been occupied since July.[42] It is remarked, that though the
intelligence from the mission “is less cheering in some respects than we
might wish, in others it is satisfactory and encouraging. Two things,
however, are greatly needed. The converting energy of the Spirit is a
constant and palpable necessity; and the mission should be largely
reinforced without delay. Who will cry mightily unto the Lord for his
quickening grace? Who will devote themselves to the missionary work
among the benighted children of Africa?”[43]
Mr. Preston has settled 60 miles above the Baraka station, which is near
the mouth of the Gaboon, to study the Pangwe language, and to explore
the hill country; where the mission has been directed to establish a new
station, on account of its greater healthiness, and to operate among the
Pangwe people. He has found the country disturbed by wars, and that the
Pangwe tribe are cannibals. Prisoners of war and persons condemned for
witchcraft, had been eaten, to Mr. Preston’s own knowledge. Such things,
he says, are of frequent occurrence; and yet these people work very
neatly in iron of their own smelting, and in brass obtained from
traders—thus affording evidences of a nearer approach to civilization
than the tribes on the coast.
Though the progress of this mission has been slow, and but few converts
have been gathered into the church; yet the labors of the missionaries
have, by no means, been unproductive of good results. The native
languages have been mastered, portions of the scriptures translated into
them, and the pupils in their schools will soon be able to read the
sacred word, to their parents and friends, in their native tongue.
The Rev. Mr. Wilson, the founder of this mission, has been obliged to
retire from the work, on account of ill health. At the meeting of the
American Board, in 1852, he was present, explained the condition of the
mission, its encouragements and discouragements, and urged an extended
effort to take advantage of the present friendly disposition of the
natives to gain footholds for schools and churches throughout the
country. In relation to the discouragements, he said, that in
penetrating the interior, they found the difficulty of traveling very
great—their progress being embarrassed by the want of an organized
government. They were thus exposed to the attacks of robbers and
marauders, who might kill them without being amenable to any power on
earth.
From these facts it would seem, that Civil Government is greatly needed
for the protection of the Gaboon Mission; and, that instead of its being
considered an obstacle, as was the case at Cape Palmas, it is now viewed
as necessary to its success: and, if necessary at the Gaboon, it must be
equally so in all other parts of Africa.
If this view were generally admitted, a great impulse would be given to
our system of African Colonization. Civil government has not been
organized in Africa, except by Colonization from either Europe or
America; nor can it exist, except among civilized men. Before it can be
organized at the Gaboon, an emigration of civilized men must supply the
necessary population; or a generation or two pass away, while the work
of education prepares the natives for the adoption of civilized customs.
The climate forbids the settlement of white men at the Gaboon, or upon
any part of the western coast of Africa; and civil government,
therefore, can not be introduced by them. Colored men, alone, can live
in the enjoyment of vigorous health in that region, and they alone can
accomplish this work. As the United States, alone, can supply a
sufficient number of intelligent colored men to fill it with colonies;
it follows, that colonization, from the United States to Africa, is
necessary to the speedy organization of civil government and the more
rapid extension of Christianity in that country.
The Mission of the American Board to the Zulus, in South Africa, was
begun in 1835. One station was commenced among the maritime Zulus, under
king Dingaan, who resided on the east side of the Cape, some 70 miles
from Port Natal; and the other among the interior Zulus, under king
Mosilikatsi.[44] This station was broken up in 1837, by a war between
the Zulus and the Boers, who were then emigrating from the Cape. The
missionaries were forced to leave, and join their brethren at Natal;
but, in doing this, they were compelled to perform a journey of 1,300
miles, in a circuitous route, 1,000 of which was in ox wagons, through
the wilderness, while they were greatly enfeebled by disease, and
disheartened by the death of the wife of one of their party.
The missionaries to the maritime Zulus, when their brethren from the
interior joined them, had succeeded in establishing one station among
king Dingaan’s people, and another at Port Natal, where a mixed
population, from various tribes, had collected among the Dutch Boers,
then settling in and around that place. In 1838 a war occurred between
Dingaan and the Boers, which broke up the missions and compelled the
missionaries to seek refuge on board some vessels, providentially at
Natal, in which some of them sailed to the United States, and others to
the Cape.
Peace being made in 1839, a part of the missionaries returned to Natal
and resumed their labors. But a revolt of one half the Zulus in 1840,
under Umpandi, led to another war, in which the new chief and the Boers
succeeded in overthrowing Dingaan. His death by the hand of an old
enemy, into whose territory he fled, left the Zulus under the rule of
Umpandi. This chief allowed the mission in his territory to be renewed
in 1841. But, in 1842, a war broke out between the Boers, at Natal, and
the British; who, to prevent the Boers from organizing an independent
government, had taken possession of that place. In this contest, the
Boers were forced to submit to British authority, and British law was
extended to the population around Natal. This led to large desertions of
the Zulus to Natal, to escape from the cruelties of Umpandi; and he,
becoming jealous of the missionary, attacked the mission and butchered
three of the principal families engaged in its support. Thus, a second
time, was this mission broken up and the mission family forced to
retreat to Natal.
Here, then, at the opening of 1843, nearly eight years after the
missionaries reached Africa, they had not a single station in the Zulu
country, to which they had been sent; and they were directed, by the
Board, to abandon the field. From this they were prevented, by the
timely remonstrances of the Rev. Dr. Philip, of the English mission at
the Cape.
A crisis, however, had now arisen, by which the conflicting elements,
hitherto obstructing the Gospel, were rendered powerless or reduced to
order, by the strong arm of Great Britain. The fierce Boers had
destroyed the power of both Mosilikatsi and Dingaan, and taught the Zulu
people that they could safely leave the standard of their chiefs; while
the Boers, in turn, had been subjected to British authority, along with
the Zulus whom they had designed to enslave. The basis of a colony,
under the protection of British law, was thus laid at Natal, which
afforded security to the missionaries, and enabled them to establish
themselves on a permanent basis. An attempt was also made to renew the
mission in the Zulu territory, but Umpandi refused his assent, and the
strength of the mission was concentrated within the Natal Colony.
Owing to the continued cruelties of Umpandi, the desertions of his
people to Natal increased, until the Colony included a native
population, mostly Zulus, of nearly 100,000.
No serious interruptions have occurred, since the British occupied
Natal; and opportunities have been afforded for studying the Zulu
character, and the remaining obstacles to missionary success among that
people. Time has shown, that the tyranny of the chiefs, and the wars of
the tribes with each other, or with the whites, are not the most
obstinate difficulties to be overcome.
From the Report of the Board for 1850, we learn, that though there were
then, in this field, 12 missionaries, 14 assistants, 6 native helpers,
18 places of preaching, and 8 schools; there were but 78 church members
and 185 pupils. The Report attributes the slow progress made, to the
extreme moral degradation of the population; and, in mentioning
particulars, names polygamy as the most prominent. As among the native
Africans generally, so is it here, superstition and sensuality are the
great barriers to the progress of the Gospel.
But these difficulties do not deter the American Board from persevering
in their great work of converting Africa. The men composing the Board
know, full well, that the evils existing in all mission fields can only
be removed by God’s appointed means, the Gospel; and, that to withdraw
it from Africa, would be to render its evils perpetual. Hence, as
obstacles rise, they multiply their agencies for good: and, in view of
the consistent conduct and piety of the native converts, the Report of
1850, recommends the establishment of a Theological school for training
a native ministry for that field. The Reports for 1851 and 1852 are more
encouraging, and show an increase of 86 church members, 16 children
baptized, and 15 Christian marriages solemnized. The Report for 1853 is
less encouraging. The whole number of church members is now 141, of whom
only 8 were received during the year. Family schools are sustained at
all the stations; _but none of the heathen send their children_. Three
day-schools are taught by native converts, in which the children of
those residing at the stations, where they are located, receive
instruction. One girls’ school, consisting of about 20 pupils, is taught
by Mrs. Adams.[45] The Christian Zulus are advancing in civilization and
in material prosperity; but the heathen population are manifesting more
and more of stupid indifference or bitter hostility to the Gospel. This
is more particularly indicated in their refusal to send their children
to school.
The passage of this mission from the class beyond the protection of the
Colonies, to that of those deriving security from them, released it from
the annoyances occasioned by native wars, and left it to contend with
the obstacles, only, which are inherent in heathenish barbarism. It had,
consequently, begun to progress encouragingly. But a new element of
disturbance has recently been introduced, which threatens to be no less
hurtful than the old causes of interruption and insecurity. We refer to
the immigration of the English into the Natal Colony, and their efforts
to dispossess the Zulus of their lands.
Before taking any further notice of this threatening evil, we must call
particular attention to another point, the importance of which has,
perhaps, been too much overlooked. In January, 1853, the Rev. Mr. Tyler
thus wrote:
“I have many thoughts, of late, concerning the great obstacle which lies
in the way of elevating the Zulus. It seems to me that it is _their deep
ignorance_. We find it exceedingly difficult to throw even one ray of
light into minds so darkened and perverted by sin. * * Of the great mass
who attend our services on the Sabbath, but few, probably, have any
clear knowledge of the plan of salvation through faith in Christ.
Especially is this true of the female sex, whose condition, both
temporal and spiritual, seems almost beyond the reach of improvement.”
Mr. Tyler proceeds to show, that the Zulus, in their _religious belief_,
their _worship_, and their blind submission to the _witch-doctors_,
evince the most deep, gross, and stupid ignorance imaginable; but he
presents nothing as belonging to that people, which is not common to the
African tribes generally. Without, at present, remarking on the relation
which the _ignorance of barbarism_, bears to the progress of missions,
we shall recur to the effects of the immigration of the whites into the
Colony of Natal.
When the Zulus deserted their king and took refuge at Natal, there were
but few whites present to be affected by the movement, and allotments of
lands were readily obtained for them. Soon afterwards, however, an
emigration from Great Britain began to fill up the country. The main
object of the whites was agriculture, and the best unoccupied lands were
soon appropriated. The new immigrants then commenced settling on the
possessions of the Zulus. The designs of the whites soon manifested
itself so openly, that the missionaries have been obliged to interpose
for the protection of the natives. Accordingly, a committee of their
number was deputed to wait upon the Lieutenant Governor, to learn his
intentions on the subject. The report of the interview, as made to the
American Board, reads as follows:
“He plainly gave us to understand, that instead of collecting the
natives in bodies, as has hitherto been the policy, it was his purpose
to disperse them among the colonists, and the colonists among them. The
natural result will be, to deteriorate our fields of labor, by
diminishing the native population, and by introducing a foreign element,
which, as all missionary experience proves, conflicts with
christianizing interests. Nor did he assure us that even our stations
would not be infringed by foreign settlers; but our buildings and their
bare sites, he encouraged us to expect, would at all events remain to us
undisturbed. But lest this statement convey an impression which is too
discouraging, we would say, that many of our fields embrace tracts of
country so broken, as not to be eligible as farms for the immigrants;
and, hence, no motive would exist for dispossessing the native
occupants, unless it would be to transfer them to the more immediate
vicinity of the white population, in order to facilitate their obtaining
servants; which at present is so difficult as to be considered one of
the crying evils of the colony. So deep is the feeling on this subject,
that many and strenuous are those who advocate a resort to some system
of actual imprisonment. This seems a strange doctrine to be held by the
sons of Britain!”
Then, after expressing an opinion that the obstacles in the way of this
measure may prevent its execution for some years to come, the report
concludes:
“Yet it is more than probable, that some of our stations will experience
the disadvantages of the too great proximity of white settlers. The
evils of such a proximity are aggravated by the prejudices which exist
against missionaries and their operations. And perhaps we should say,
that, as American missionaries, we are regarded with still greater
jealousy. We fear it will require years to live down these prejudices.
Public opinion is more or less fashioned by the influence of
unprincipled speculators, alike ignorant of missionaries, their labors,
or the native people. Such men, greedy of the soil of the original
proprietors, are naturally jealous and envious of those who, they
suppose, would befriend the natives in maintaining their rights. If we
speak at all, of course we must say what we think to be justice and
truth. If we remain silent, as we have hitherto done, we are
misrepresented, and our motives are impugned. So that whichever course
we take, we can not expect to act in perfect harmony with all the
interests of all the men who, within the last few years, have come to
the colony.”[46]
The danger from the inroads of the whites must be imminent, when the
missionaries venture to speak so freely in their official report. The
grounds of these fears will be understood, when we present the facts
connected with our next class of missions. The fate of the Kaffirs,
doubtless, awaits the Zulus, if English cupidity is not restrained by a
merciful Providence.
The Bishop of Cape Town, in speaking of the disastrous effects of the
late Kaffir war, has recently expressed the opinion, that, in less than
five years, another equally terrible in its results, in all probability,
will occur between the whites and the Zulus; and as a consequence of the
large number of Europeans who are mixing among them, and whose chief
object appears to be their own enrichment, at the expense of that
people.
THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION, which is organized on strictly
Anti-Slavery principles, has a mission at Kaw-Mendi, 50 or 60 miles
north-west of Liberia, which belongs to the class of native missions.
This mission had its origin in the return of the “Amistad Slaves,” to
their native country, in 1842. The Rev. Mr. Raymond went out at the head
of this mission. On reaching Africa, he found wars everywhere prevailing
to such an extent, that he could not reach the Mendi country, to which
these people belonged, and was forced to settle at Kaw-Mendi, but 40
miles from the coast. The continuation of these wars greatly hindered
the progress of the mission, as long as Mr. Raymond lived, and for more
than a year after his successor, the Rev. George Thompson, took charge
of the station, in 1848. Mr. Thompson thus became painfully familiar
with African warfare; and represents it as having been conducted with
the utmost cruelty—whole towns being depopulated and multitudes driven
to the coast and sold to the slave-traders of the Gallinas. Mr. Thompson
was in Africa about two years and a half, and was also greatly hindered
by these wars in his efforts to instruct the people; until, happily, the
British squadron forcibly suppressed the traffic in slaves, at Grand
Cape Mount and the Gallinas, and thus put an end to the market. The
supplies of European merchandise being thus cut off from the
slave-trading kings, along the coast, they were induced to sell their
territory to President Roberts, and place themselves under the
jurisdiction of Liberia. One of the stipulations in the treaties,
requires the Liberians to establish trading posts in the territory, for
the supply of goods to the native population; that they might no longer
have any excuse for continuing the slave-trade.
Kaw-Mendi is in the rear of the Gallinas. The termination of the demand
for slaves, at once disposed the tribes around the mission to make peace
with each other; and Mr. Thompson was eminently successful in
reconciling the warring parties to each other. But several months
elapsed, from the date of the destruction of the slave-factories, before
peace could be restored or the Gallinas purchased. Though often
attempted, neither of these objects could be accomplished during the
existence of the slave-trade; and, when effected, both were the result
of the adoption of measures for the purchase of Gallinas, as a new field
for the operations of the American Colonization Society. It is a curious
coincidence, that the letter of the Rev. Mr. Thompson, informing the
Board of his success in making peace among the tribes; and that of
President Roberts to the Colonization Society, announcing the purchase
of Gallinas, were both written on the same day.
Mr. Thompson had so many urgent solicitations from the chiefs, for
missionaries to come and reside in their territory, that the society
sent out a reinforcement of eight males and females, in December, 1850;
and he, himself, returned to the United States, during the same month,
to remove his family to Kaw-Mendi. The new missionaries reached the
mission in safety, in February, 1851, and found Mr. Brooks, in whose
care it had been left, in the peaceful pursuit of his duties, and the
people urgent for more teachers. Before the close of the year, however,
the mission was shrouded in gloom. “The war had recommenced its ravages;
and sickness and death had performed a fearful work among the little
company of missionaries.” Three of the females had died by the 10th of
June. The Board report the condition of the mission, at the close of
1851, as encouraging, and that some additions had been made to the
church during the year.
The Report for 1852, says, that the mission has labored under serious
embarrassments, and that its operations have been retarded throughout a
great part of the year, by the illness of many of its members; and that
it has been impossible to commence the new stations authorized the last
year. The Board, during this year, appointed a large number of new
missionaries, so as to increase the Mendi mission to 17, including males
and females. This reinforcement was accompanied by the Rev. George
Thompson and his family, who now returned to the field of his former
labors.
The Report for 1853, informs us that the new missionaries had reached
Africa, early in February; and that all of them had suffered more or
less from sickness during the acclimating season. The older
missionaries, too, continued to suffer from the debilitating influence
of the climate. In June the eldest son of Mr. Thompson died, and soon
afterwards Mrs. Thompson’s health so far failed that she had to be
removed by her husband to the United States. Mr. Arnold and his wife
have also been compelled to ask for a dismission from the service, on
account of the state of his health.
During the whole of the year reported, the country has been suffering
under one of the most wide-spread and desolating wars that has been
known there since the establishment of the mission. It has so far
hindered the progress of the work, as to allow of the opening of but one
of the stations contemplated, that of Tissana, up the Big Boom river.
The latest advices from the mission, says the Report, encourage the hope
that the war will soon be brought to a close; and the opinion is
expressed that the infamous slave-trade was at the bottom of it.[47]
The school at Kaw-Mendi has received several additions to its numbers
during the year, and the new one at Tissana has been commenced with
encouraging prospects. The chiefs, with but a single exception, have
consented to the establishment of missions and schools among their
people. The Report closes by remarking, “that the published observations
of other laborers on that continent serve to show, that white men can
live and labor there; and that there are in the interior, towards which
they are pressing, more civilized, intelligent, and powerful nations and
regions of country, not only less inimical than those they now occupy,
to the health of the white man, but even more healthy than many parts of
the United States. The Spirit and providence of God thus beckon us
onward, and woe will be upon us if we falter in our course.”
The Report is dated September, 1853, and Mr. Thompson, in company with
Mr. Condit, sailed again for Africa, in November. Letters have been
received from him at Sierra Leone, where he landed in January, on his
way to Kaw-Mendi. Thus has this devoted missionary, for the third time,
braved the dangers of the African climate.
Intelligence from Kaw-Mendi, as late as October, 1853, has been
received. The mission at Tissana has been abandoned, on account of the
distracted state of the country between it and Kaw-Mendi, produced by
the continuation of the wars; and, in lieu thereof, a station has been
commenced at Sherbro Island, where peace and safety prevail. The school
at Kaw-Mendi, is prospering, writes Dr. Cole; but “of the one hundred
children there gathered, the mass,” he says, “are yet heathen, with the
habits that ignorance, superstition and nakedness beget. Bad as these
are, they form the most hopeful material for missionary culture, and it
is for their elevation and purification our missionaries toil. Oh! how
much they need the sympathies and prayers of God’s people.”[48] Mr.
Gray, who went out three years since, has returned with his wife to
recruit his health.
To gain a clear view of the hindrances to the missions among the
natives, we must add the testimony of Bishop Scott, to that already
presented.
The first difficulty which meets the missionary, he says, on going to
this people, is an unknown and uncultivated tongue; a tongue, too, which
varies so much, as he passes from one tribe to another, within the space
of only a few miles, that it often amounts to a different language. The
nature of this obstacle will be so easily comprehended, that the details
given by the Bishop, need not be quoted. He thus proceeds:
“But now another difficulty assails him—one which his knowledge of men
in other parts of the world had given him no reason to anticipate.
Though he may in some way get over the difficulty presented in a rude
foreign tongue, yet he now finds, to his utter surprise, that he can not
gain access to this people unless he _dash_ them, (that is, make them
presents,) and only as he dashes them. When, where, or how this wretched
custom arose I can not tell, but it is found to prevail over most parts
of Africa, and, so far as I know, nowhere else. But what shall our
missionary now do? Will he dash them? Will he dash them ‘much plenty?’
Then they will hear him—they will flock around him—nay, he may do with
them almost as he wists, and a nation may be born in a day. But let him
not be deceived, for all is not gold, here especially, that glitters. So
soon as he withholds his dashes, ten to one they are all _as they were_.
But is he poor and can not dash them?—or able, but on principle will
not? Then, as a general fact, he may go home. They will not hear him at
all, nor treat him with the least respect. Indeed, they will probably
say, ‘He no good man,’—and it will be well for him if they do not get up
a palaver against him and expel him from their coasts. This dashing is a
most mischievous custom—dreadfully in the way of missionary labor, and I
know not how it is to be controlled. I am sick of the very sound of the
word. The Lord help poor Africa!
“But the difficulties multiply. Now a hydra-headed monster gapes upon
our missionary, of most frightful aspect, and as tenacious of life as
that fabled monster of the ancient poets. It is _polygamy_. He finds to
his grief and surprise, that every man has as many wives as he can find
money to buy. He must give them all up but one, if he would be a
Christian. But will he give them up? Not easily. He will give up almost
any thing before he will give up his wives. They are his slaves, in
fact; they constitute his wealth. And then it is difficult, not to say
impossible, to persuade him that it is not somehow morally wrong to put
them away. ‘Me send woman away?—where she go to?—what she do?’ This I
consider the hugest difficulty with which Christianity has to contend in
the conversion of this people, and makes me think that she must look
mainly to the rising generation.
“But here, too, a difficulty arises. The female children are contracted
away—are sold, in fact—by their parents while they are yet very young,
often while they are infants; and if the missionary would procure them
for his schools, he must pay the dower—some fifteen or twenty dollars.
“But our missionary finds that the whole social and domestic
organization of these people is opposed to the pure, chaste, and comely
spirit of the Gospel, and that, to succeed in this holy work, it must
not only be changed, but revolutionized—upturned from the very
foundation. Is there no difficulty here? Are habits and customs, so long
established and so deeply rooted, to be given up without a struggle? The
native people, both men and women, go almost stark naked, and they love
to go so—and are not abashed in the presence of people better dressed;
they eat with their hands, and dip, and pull, and tear, with as little
ceremony and as little decency as monkeys, and they love to eat so; they
sleep on the bare ground, or on mats spread on the ground, and they love
to sleep so; the men hunt or fish, or lounge about their huts, and smoke
their pipes, and chat, and sleep, while their wives, _alias_ their
slaves, tend and cut and house their rice—cut and carry home their
wood—make their fires, fetch their water, get out their rice, and
prepare their ‘chop,’—and all, even the women, love to have it so. And
to all the remonstrances of the missionary, they oppose this simple and
all-settling reply. ‘This be countryman’s fash.’ They seem incapable of
conceiving that your fash is better than theirs, or that theirs is at
all defective. Your fash, they will admit, may be better for you, but
theirs is better for them. So the natives of Cape Palmas have lived, in
the very midst of the colonists, for some twenty years, and they are the
same people still, with almost no visible change.”
The Bishop next notices their superstitions and idolatries, and the
evils connected with their belief in witchcraft; and says, that though,
by the influence of the colony and missions, their confidence is, in
some places, being shaken in some of them; they generally even yet think
you a fool, and pity you, if you venture to hint that there is nothing
in them. But we must not quote him farther than to include his closing
remarks:
“But what! Do you then think that there is no hope for these heathen, or
that we should give up all hopes directed to that end? Not I, indeed.
Very far from it. I would rather reiterate the noble saying of the
sainted Cox: ‘Though a thousand fall even, in this attempt, yet let not
Africa be given up.’ I mention these things to show, that there are
solid reasons why our brethren in Africa have accomplished so little;
and also to show, that the Churches at home must, in this work
particularly, exercise the patience of faith and the labor of love. We
must still pound the rock, even though it is hard, and our mallets be
but of wood. It will break one day.”
Our inquiries into the condition of the Missions among the natives,
where civil government exerts no influence, must now be closed. The
state of things is about this: The chiefs, ambitious of distinction and
avaricious, often favor the settlement of missionaries, on account of
the consequence it gives them, or from mercenary motives; the division
of the population into small tribes, and their marauding dispositions,
leads to frequent wars; the tyranny of the chiefs, and their fear of
losing their influence, often leads them, after having admitted the
missionary, to oppose his work and deter their people from attending his
preaching; the existence of slavery and hereditary chieftainism, leaves
the mass of the population incapable of independent action; the
ignorance of barbarism, overshadowing their minds, renders them
incapable of comprehending moral truth; the superstitions of ages are
not to be given up, readily, for a religion they can not comprehend; the
custom of receiving _dashes_, tends to prejudice the native against the
missionary; and, above all, the practice of polygamy, ministering to the
indolence and sensuality of the men, and reducing the women to the
condition of slaves, stands as a wall of adamant in the way of the
progress of the Gospel.
These are the more prominent barriers to the success of missions in
Africa, where civil government exerts no power, and the influence of
Christian society is not felt.
It will not be improper here, to pause and observe, that there seems to
be a marked difference between the agencies necessary to secure success
in propagating the Gospel among an Asiatic and an African population.
Both, it must be remembered, are heathen; but the minds of the one are
enlightened, of the other barbarous. In Asia, where a knowledge of
agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and the mechanical and fine arts
prevail, the mental culture of the people renders them accessible to the
Gospel. Many of them can comprehend its truths, when heard from the lips
of the preacher, or when read in the printed Scriptures. For this
reason, some of the prominent missions in India have relied upon the
preaching of the word, as their principal agency; while circulating the
Scriptures and teaching the youth, have been employed only as
auxiliaries. Others have relied mainly upon the multiplication of
facilities for educating the youth; while spreading the printed word,
and employing the foreign preacher, have been considered as secondary
matters—the chief hope being in the preparation of a _native ministry_,
who should ultimately enter largely upon that work. Others, again, have
combined all these agencies, as means which God has blessed in the
conversion of sinful men. The whole of these systems have been
successful in Asia, and their supporters, respectively, see but little
cause for changing their measures.
But in Africa, and among the North American Indians, where the
intellectual faculties of the population are shrouded in the darkness of
barbarism,[49] the preaching of the word, in the commencement of a
mission, has been but rarely successful in producing conversions; while
the total ignorance of letters among these people, has rendered the
circulation of the Scriptures useless. Christian missionaries,
therefore, in attempting to introduce the Gospel among the Indians or
Africans, have been forced to rely upon the education of youth as the
means of success.
But whether in North America, Africa or Asia—whether converted while
training in the schools, or under the reading or preaching of the
word—the multiplication of native agents to take part in the work,
greatly promotes the progress of the Gospel. So well is this now
understood, that the preparation of native teachers and preachers, has
become the chief aim of all missions to the heathen; and the persistence
in one or the other of the systems of operations to which we have
referred, is due to the importance they respectively attach to an
educated ministry.
While, however, teaching, reading, and preaching, are the chief
instrumentalities for the conversion of the world; the progress of the
Gospel, everywhere, is greatly accelerated by the presence of a
Christian population, whose example aids in overturning the customs and
superstitions of the people, and commends the religion of Christ to
their confidence. As a mission, then, adds to the number of its
converts, or receives additions of civilized emigrants, its ability of
becoming more and more aggressive is increased, and its powers of
progression multiplied.
Where reliance is placed upon education, mainly, for introducing the
Gospel, its progress is necessarily slow; because a generation, or two,
is needed to bring forward a competent number of agents to take
possession of the field. The drawbacks, too, are very great—much seed
being sown, which falls upon stony ground. If schools are conducted upon
a large scale, the children must be supported by their parents; and, in
such cases, the superstitions and vices of heathenism have, but too
often, an easy victory over the doctrines and precepts of Christianity.
In this respect no new principle has been discovered. In Christian
countries, where custom, law, and the example of parents, combine to
give the ascendency to virtue, who can hope that his children will
escape moral contamination, if they be permitted to mingle, at will,
with the vicious and depraved. How much more, then, are the children of
the heathen endangered, if left in the care of licentious and idolatrous
parents, among a population where the laws of virtue are unknown?
To avoid these evils, Bishop Scott urges, that the native children,
attending the Methodist schools in Liberia, be taken into the families
of the missionaries—a system which has been pursued with success, by
some of the other societies.
But we need not extend these observations. It is not difficult to
comprehend the connection which exists between Colonization and the more
rapid extension of the Gospel in Africa; and to see the superiority of
the missions in Liberia, to those among the natives. Look but a moment
at its advantages. Liberia contains a greater number of the elements of
success, than are embraced in the missions to the natives, or in those
of any other class; and, consequently, must be more efficient in
promoting the evangelization of the African people. The overawing
influence of its laws upon the natives—the permanency of its schools—the
circulation of the Scriptures and religious tracts among those taught to
read—the protection afforded by its government to the missionaries—the
constant preaching of the word—the high morality of its Christian
population—the influx of civilized emigrants who are the descendants of
those cruelly torn from their shores in former years—all tend directly
to promote the work of missions. Colonization, therefore, supplies to
the missions in Liberia, at once, the instrumentalities which those
among the natives are only able to acquire after many years of toil.
IV. _The Missions in Connection with the Colonies of White Men in South
Africa._
We must refer a moment to the civil history of South Africa, as it is
essential to the proper understanding of its Missionary history.
The Dutch took possession of the Cape in 1650, and this occupancy was
followed by an extensive emigration of that people to Cape Town and its
vicinity. The encroachments of the emigrants upon the Hottentots, soon
gave rise to wars, which resulted in the enslavement of this feeble
race. The English captured Cape Town in 1795, ceded it back in 1801,
retook it in 1808, and still hold it in possession.
The climate of South Africa being favorable to the health of Europeans,
an English emigration to the Cape commenced soon after it became a
British province. This led to further encroachments upon the native
tribes, and to much disaffection upon the part of the Dutch, who were
designated by the term _Boers_.[50] They remained in the Colony,
however, until 1834, when the emancipation act, of the British
Parliament, set the Hottentots free. This so enraged the Boers, that
they emigrated in large bodies beyond the limits of Cape Colony. In
seeking new homes, they came in contact with the Zulus, as already
stated, and aided in the subjugation of that powerful people. Driven by
the English from the Zulu country, the Boers passed on to the
north-west, far into the interior, where we shall soon hear from them
again.
The English, in extending their settlements to the north-east of Cape
Town, soon came into collision with the Kaffirs; who, being a powerful
and warlike race, made a vigorous resistance to their advances. The
Kaffirs stole the cattle of the whites, and the whites retaliated on the
Kaffirs. These depredations often resulted in wars, each of which gave
the English government a pretext to add a portion of the Kaffir
territory to its own. As war followed on war, the Kaffirs improved in
the art, acquired something of the skill of their enemies, and learned
the use of European weapons. Thus every Kaffir war became more
formidable, requiring more troops, costing more money, and, of course,
demanding more territory. In consequence of these various annexations
from the Kaffirs, Zulus, and others, the English possessions in South
Africa now cover a space of 282,000 square miles; 105,000 of which have
been added since 1847—the year of the great failure in the cotton crop
of the United States.
The Missionary History of South Africa, though of great interest, must
also be very brief.
A Moravian mission, begun in 1736, among the Hottentots, was broken up
at the end of six years, by the Dutch authorities, and its renewal
prevented for 49 years. Having been resumed in 1792, it was again
interrupted in 1795, but soon afterwards restored under British
authority. Here, the hostility of the Dutch government to Christian
Missions excluded the Gospel from South Africa during a period of half a
century.
A mission to the Kaffirs, begun in 1799, by Dr. Vanderkemp, was
abandoned in a year, on account of the jealousies of that people towards
the whites, and their plots to take his life. The other missions, of
various denominations, begun from time to time, in South Africa, have
also been interrupted and retarded by the wars of the natives with each
other, and more especially with the whites.
The pecuniary loss to the English, by the war of 1835, was $1,200,000;
and by that of 1846–7, $3,425,000. This, however, was a matter of little
importance, compared with the moral bearings of these conflicts. The
missions suffered more or less in all the wars, either by interruptions
of their labors, or in having their people pressed into the army. In
that of 1846–7, the London Society had its four stations in the Kaffir
country entirely ruined, and its missionaries and people compelled to
seek refuge in the Colony.
But the most disastrous of all these conflicts, and that which has cast
the deepest gloom over the South African Missions, was the Kaffir war of
1851–2–3. These missions, with the exception of that to the Zulus, are
under the care of ten missionary societies, all of which are European.
They had recovered from the shocks of the former wars, and were in an
encouraging state; when, in December, 1850, the Kaffir war broke out. In
consequence of that war, many of the missions have been reduced to a
most deplorable condition; and afford a sad commentary on the doctrine
that the white and black races, in the present moral condition of the
world, can dwell together in harmony.
The missions of the Scotch Free Church were in the very seat of war, the
buildings of two of them destroyed, and the missionaries forced to flee
for their lives; while the third was only saved by being fortified.
The Berlin Missionary Society, had its missionaries driven from two of
its stations, during the progress of the war.
The Mission of the United Presbyterian Synod of Scotland, which
consisted of three stations, were all involved in ruin. The war laid
waste the mission stations, scattered the missionaries and converts,
suspended entirely the work of instruction, and has done an amount of
evil which can scarcely be exaggerated. The Report for 1853, says, that
the mission can not be resumed on its old basis, as the Kaffirs around
their stations are to be driven away; and though the native converts,
numbering 100, might be collected at one of the stations, it is deemed
better that a delegation visit South Africa, and report to the Board a
plan of future operations.
The London Missionary Society also suffered greatly, and some of their
missionaries were stript of every thing they possessed. The Report, for
1853, says: “This deadly conflict has at length terminated, and
terminated, as might have been foreseen, by the triumph of British arms.
The principal Kaffir chiefs, with their people, have been driven out of
their country; and their lands have been allotted to British soldiers
and colonists. And on the widely extended frontier there will be
established military posts, from which the troops and the settlers are
to guard the colony against the return of the exiled natives.”
Such, indeed, was the hostility of the whites toward the missionaries
themselves, at one of the Churches in the white settlements, that
_bullets_ were not unfrequently dropped into the collection plates.[51]
Both Moravian and Wesleyan Missions have been destroyed. In one
instance, 250 Hottentots perished by the hands of English soldiers, in
the same Church where they had listened to the word of God from the
Moravian missionaries; not because they were enemies, but in an attempt
to disarm a peaceable population. Such are the cruelties incident to
this war!
The Paris Missionary Society, has thirteen stations in South Africa. Its
Report, for 1853, complains of the interruptions and injuries which its
missions have suffered, in consequence of the military commotions which
have prevailed in the fields occupied by its missionaries. In alluding
to the obstacles to the Gospel, which everywhere exist, Dr. Grandpierre,
the Director of the Society, says: “But how are these obstacles
multiplied, when the missionary is obliged to encounter, in the lives of
nominal Christians, that which gives the lie to his teachings. Irritated
by the measures which are employed against them, may not the aborigines
rightfully say to the whites, with more truth than ever, ‘You call
yourselves the children of the God of peace; and yet you make war upon
us. You teach justice; but you are guilty of injustice. You preach the
love of God; and you take away our liberty and our property.’”
One of the Scotch Societies, near the close of the Kaffir war, when
summing up the effects it had produced, draws this melancholy picture:
“All missionary operations have been suspended; the converts are either
scattered or compelled, by their hostile countrymen, to take part in the
revolt; the missionaries have been obliged to leave the scenes of their
benevolent labors; hostile feelings have been excited between the black
and white races, which it will require a long period to soothe down; and
the prospects of evangelizing Kaffirland have been rendered dark and
distant.”
But we are not yet done recounting the obstacles to the progress of the
Gospel in South Africa, and the oppressions to which its population are
subjected. Our last reference to the Boers, left them emigrating toward
the interior of Africa. It appears that they have selected territory and
organized themselves into a government, under the title of the “Free
Republic;” and that, in the course of the last year their independence
has been acknowledged by Great Britain. The Boers, although recognized
as a nation, seem little disposed to peace; but have, lately, proceeded
to destroy some of the stations of the London Missionary Society, and to
drive two English missionaries from their territory. They have also
attacked and plundered three of the native tribes, killing 60 men and
taking a number of women and children prisoners. Their movements seem to
indicate that they are determined to prevent the English from extending
northward into their vicinity; and it is feared they will enslave or
ruin the native tribes among whom they have settled. When charged with
this design, they denied it, and claimed that the servitude they adopt
is not _slavery_, but a system of _apprenticeship_—such, we suppose, as
the English have established, to secure laborers for their West India
plantations. The missionaries, however, have ascertained that the
natives are bought and sold by them; and from this fact it is inferred,
that the fate of the Hottentots, in former years, will, doubtless, be
the lot of the natives who are now in the power of the Boers. Alas! for
poor Africa!
Referring to these events, the London Society expresses the opinion,
that, hereafter, the missionaries will not be left untrammeled, or the
liberty of the natives preserved, in the “Free Republic,” unless the
British nation shall utter its voice distinctly and earnestly in behalf
of these unoffending myriads.[52] In that event, doubtless, the liberty
of the natives might be prolonged, until English emigrants should demand
their lands; and then, the fate of the Kaffirs would await them.
We must here close these investigations. In reflecting upon the
consequences attending the emigration of the English and Dutch into
South Africa, we can not but be struck with the sameness of the results
there, and those connected with European emigration among the North
American Indians. Unlike the emigration of the colored people into West
Africa, that of the whites into South Africa and North America, has
tended to the destruction of the native heathen, and not, as in Liberia,
to their moral redemption. Nor are the inducements to exchange heathen
customs for those of Christianity, as strong in South Africa as in
Liberia. The natives, in the former, on abandoning heathenism only
become subjects of British law, and not freemen, as in the latter,
participating in the affairs of government. The South African chief, has
even less reason than his people, to forsake his barbarism; as he only
thereby loses his power, and, from being himself a king, he becomes a
subject, and compelled to bow to the white man, who has robbed him of
his greatness. These obstacles to missionary progress in South Africa,
are daily on the increase, by additional European emigration; as each
white man, who sets his foot upon the Cape, but adds to the necessity
for robbing the natives of additional lands. On the contrary, each
colored emigrant to Liberia, by adding to the strength of the Republic,
is aiding in extending to the natives the blessings of freedom and of
peace, and securing to them their right to their homes under the
sanction of Christian laws.
Thus, it appears, that, as the colonization of colored men in Liberia
elevates the native population, secures harmony of feeling and unity of
interest between the parties, gives distinction to the race, and secures
the more rapid extension of the Gospel; so the emigration of white men
into South Africa, tends to degrade the natives, produces enmity of
feeling and diversity of interest, destroys whatever of nationality they
possessed, and erects a mighty barrier against their conversion to
Christianity.
The total missionary force in South Africa, is under the care of eleven
Missionary Societies, ten of which are European, and one American. Their
condition, in 1850, before the commencement of the Kaffir war, was as
follows:[53] Missionaries 214, assistant missionaries 155, native
assistants 8, communicants 12,116, schools 60, scholars 20,100.
CONCLUSION.
Here we must close our inquiries, sum up the results, see what
experience teaches, draw the contrasts between these several classes of
Missions, and determine the best mode of employing human
instrumentalities for the extension of the Gospel in Africa.
These Missions, as we have shown, had to be planted upon a broad field
of barbarism; where the civil condition, the objects of worship, the
social customs, the intellectual state of the people, were the
antagonists of what prevail under a Christian civilization. The
missionary’s task embraced much of toil, privation, danger, patience,
perseverance. Wars were to be turned into peace, superstitions
overthrown, polygamy abolished, ignorance dispelled, before civilization
and Christianity could be established. This was the work to be
accomplished. The results have been given in detail, and now they must
only be recapitulated and contrasted.
The Missions to the natives, beyond the protection of the colonies, have
made the least progress. They are established upon the proper basis, but
have fewer agencies employed than the other missions, and a
corresponding inefficiency is the result. Common schools, Sabbath
schools, and preaching, are means used for promoting the Gospel in all
the African missions. Those to the natives, are limited chiefly to these
three plans of operation, while the other missions possess many
subordinate means that greatly facilitate their progress. Preaching to
adults, though not altogether unsuccessful, has won but few converts,
and done but little for the overthrow of superstition. Education lays
the axe at the root of ignorance, but from the fewness of the teachers
and schools, the small attendance of pupils, and the reaction of
heathenism upon them, it has made very little impression on the
surrounding barbarism. Less, still, has been done by these missions, in
preventing native wars; while polygamy remains almost wholly unaffected
by them. The greatest difficulty, however, is, that the missionaries,
with very few exceptions, are white men, whose constitutions, generally,
yield to the effects of the climate, and the missions are constantly
liable to be weakened and broken up. This is true of the Gaboon and
Mendi Missions, particularly, and can be remedied, only, by substituting
colored missionaries, since they, alone, have constitutions adapted to
the climate. The mission to the Zulus differs from these two, in having
a climate better adapted to the Anglo-Saxon; but it has to contend with
the additional obstacle of a hostile white immigration, which threatens
its existence. As the customs and morals of Christianity become better
understood, at these missions, the enmity of the natives continues to
increase; and the missionary, after years of toil, feels, more and more,
the indispensable necessity of multiplying the agencies for removing the
barriers to the Gospel by which he is surrounded.
The Missions in South Africa, by their early success, and the progress
they have always made in times of peace, afford ample evidence of the
practicability of Christianizing Africa, wherever civil government
protects the missionary, and prevents the prevalence of native wars. But
while we may here derive a powerful argument in favor of increased
effort for the extension of Christianity, where the conditions of
society are thus favorable; the additional lesson is impressed upon the
mind, with tremendous force, that the white and black races—that
Englishmen and Africans—can not dwell together as equals; but that the
intelligence and active energies of the one, when brought into conflict
with the ignorance and indolent habits of the other, must make the Negro
an easy prey to the Anglo-Saxon. The sad results of this conflict of
races, in the wars of the last few years, casts a deep gloom over the
future prospects of South Africa, and renders it doubtful whether the
missions can be sustained among the natives as independent tribes. It
would appear, that, under British policy, the loss of liberty is the
price at which the African must purchase Christianity.
The immigration of Englishmen into South Africa, then, instead of
diminishing the obstacles to the success of the Gospel, is adding a new
one of an aggravated character. Nor can the difficulty be obviated. When
Christian missions harmonize with the policy of England, she grants them
protection; but when they stand in the way of the execution of her
schemes, they are brushed aside as objects of indifference, and treated
with no higher regard than pagan institutions. While her soldiers were
slaughtering the Christian Hottentots, in the church of the Moravians,
her revenues were upholding the heathen temples of India. As she designs
to build up an extensive white colony, in South Africa, the main
obstacles to these missions will be rendered as immovable as the British
throne. In this respect, they are more discouraging than those to the
natives, the barriers to which must be broken down by time and
perseverance.
How strangely the cruelty of Great Britain, towards the Kaffirs,
contrasts with her humanity towards the recaptured Africans of Sierra
Leone! In the former case, she robbed the blacks of their possessions,
to give lands to her white subjects; in the latter, Cuba and Brazil were
deprived of their cargoes of slaves, to build up a colony for herself.
But how much stranger, still, does England’s conduct contrast with the
policy of American Colonization! Liberia, instead of robbing the Native
African of his rights, was founded, expressly, to rescue him from
oppression and superstition, and to bestow upon him liberty and the
Gospel of Christ.
The Missions in the English Colonies of Recaptured Africans, have been
more successful, and are more promising, than either of the two just
noticed. The cause of this difference should be considered. The
foundations of Sierra Leone were laid, when Africa was literally “the
land of the shadow of death.” Its corner stone inclosed the last link of
the shackles of slavery in England. Its founder looked forward to the
redemption of the land of Ham, as a result of the scheme he had
projected. A large majority of the emigrants who founded the Colony, had
been trained where Religion was free, and where Liberty was struggling
into birth. They had caught something of the spirit of freedom, and
wished to realize its blessings. These hopes were blasted; and, in
anger, they abandoned the churches they had built, rather than accept
religion at the hands of those who had denied them freedom. They failed
to discriminate between the unchristian policy of the English
government, and the Christian charity of the English Church. The
slave-trade was carried on under the flag that brought them the
missionary; and they turned coldly away from the man of God, to let him
re-embark for his English home, or sink to the grave beneath a tropical
sun. Thus did the Gospel fail in its establishment among the emigrants
of Sierra Leone. Neither could it succeed among the surrounding natives,
while the hunters of slaves kept the tribes in perpetual hostilities.
Thus twenty years rolled away, before the traffic in human flesh was
suppressed; and then, only, could Christianity gain a foothold.
But the gift of equal rights was not included in the gift of the Gospel;
and half the stimulants to mental improvement remained unsupplied. The
agencies established, however, were not powerless for good. Security was
gained for the missionary, and the population could dwell in peace. The
Episcopal missionaries were driven into the Colony, to prosecute their
labors under its protection. The prejudices engendered by the early
collisions with the civil authorities, wore away with the lapse of time.
The American fugitives, who had refused the Gospel from the
Episcopalians, now accepted it from the Wesleyans. The denial of civil
rights to themselves, could not justify their refusal of eternal life
for their offspring. The children were gathered once more into the
schools, and education commenced. Sierra Leone was made the “city of
refuge,” for all who should be rescued from the horrors of the
slave-ships; and thus it became a central sun from which the light of
the Gospel could radiate to the farthest limits of Africa.
Sierra Leone, as a mission field, is free from some of the most serious
difficulties which retard the progress of the Gospel among the Natives
and in South Africa. Its chief advantages consist in its freedom from
war; in the absence of white Colonists; and in the accumulating progress
of civilization. Its inhabitants possess such a unity of races, such a
social equality, as to prevent hostile collisions on account of color.
Its officers and principal merchants, only, are white; and, hence, fewer
occasions arise here than in South Africa, where the black man is made
to feel his inferiority to the white. The intellectual improvement of
its people has been much more rapid than that of the population in the
South African Missions; and, as a consequence, the teachers of the
schools and seminaries, in Sierra Leone and its connections, are,
mostly, colored men; while few, indeed, of the natives in the Colonies
of the Cape, have been able to attain such positions.[54]
In these facts are we to find the causes of the superiority of the
Sierra Leone missions, over those to the Natives and to the South of
Africa.
Sierra Leone, however, when contrasted with Liberia, is found to lack
some of the essential elements of progress possessed by the Republic.
The liberty secured to the citizens of Liberia, extends to all their
relations, personal, social, political. The people of Sierra Leone,
enjoy but two of these elements of progress. They have personal freedom
and a fair degree of social equality, but are deprived of the
third—political equality—which, above all, exerts the most potent
influence to stimulate the intellectual faculties of men. The young
convert in the seminary at Sierra Leone, doubtless, finds great
encouragement to mental improvement, in the prospect of becoming a
teacher, or in entering the ministry; but to the unconverted youth, in
the absence of the prospect of political promotion, there is,
absolutely, nothing to stimulate to efforts at high attainment in
science and literature. Thus the political system of Sierra Leone,
supplies but half the elements of progress to its people. Had it been
otherwise, had the aspirations of its early emigrants been cherished,
and its civil affairs committed mainly to their hands, the Colony might
now be in a far more advanced situation. This will be apparent on a
fuller contrast of its condition with that of Liberia.
Thirty years after the waves of the Atlantic had closed over the remains
of SAMUEL J. MILLS, it was proclaimed from the top of Montserado, that
the star of African Nationality, after ages of wandering, had found its
orbit in the galaxy of Nations. On that eventful day, a multitude of
grateful men, with their wives and little ones, were lifting up their
voices in thanksgiving and praise, to their Father in Heaven. Over their
heads waved a banner bearing the motto, “The love of liberty brought us
here.” The barbarism that excited the pity of MILLS and BURGESS had
disappeared; the superstitions over which they grieved had vanished; a
Christian Nation had been born; and the vault of heaven re-echoed to
their shouts of joy.
It was thus that the Republic of Liberia was ushered into existence.
Sixty years were gone, since the establishment of Sierra Leone. How wide
the contrast between its history and that of Liberia! Liberty, at Sierra
Leone, had been rudely driven to the “bush.” Its people were held in
pupilage, bound by laws not of their own enactment, and governed by
officers of a race who had ever claimed the lordship over them. Taught
Religion, but deprived of Liberty, the manhood of mind could not be
fully developed. Uninstructed in human rights, they now yielded a
slavish submission to a distant throne. Not so in Liberia. Here, Liberty
and Religion had been rocked together in the same cradle. It was
Religion that had given Liberty to the Liberian. He knew nothing of the
one unconnected with the other. The Religion that had broken his
fetters, was itself free. Religious and political freedom, therefore,
was a principle dear to his heart. He spurned the idea, that man must
submit to dictation in religion and government; and, from the first, had
looked forward to the day, when his country should become a Christian
Republic. That day has come, and gone: and there the Liberian stands, a
citizen—a Christian; with no law—no restraint—no rule of conduct—but
what emanates from himself or his God.
The Republic stands, pre-eminent, as an auxiliary to missions. Its
political system, embraces all the known elements of civil, social, and
intellectual advancement; while its citizens are controlled by the
preservative element of Christian morals. Its policy makes it but one
grand agency for overturning African barbarism. Its advantages over
every other scheme are so obvious, that it must be regarded as the model
system, to which all others should be conformed; and as the rule by
which, alone, missions to Africa must hereafter be conducted.
The conquests of Liberia, over African barbarism, have been legitimate
results of the principles involved in her social and civil organization.
She offered to the natives an asylum from the merciless slave-catchers:
they removed within her limits to enjoy her protection. She employed
them in household affairs, agriculture, and the mechanic arts: they were
thus incorporated into her social system, attended the Church, and sent
their children to school. They wore _gri-gris_ and practiced polygamy:
these customs debarred them from political privileges. They offered
human sacrifices to their deities, and compelled those suspected of
witchcraft to drink a poisonous tea: the laws punished the taking of
life, in such modes, with the penalty of death. The surrounding tribes,
for their own safety, sought alliances with her: by the terms of the
treaties, she has kept them at peace, and prevented the trafficking in
slaves.
Thus has Liberia, by offering the natives political equality, induced
them to abandon polygamy and superstition; thus has the fear of
punishment deterred them from the practice of their murderous cruelties;
thus has war been prevented and the slave-trade suppressed within her
bounds: and thus has American Colonization solved the great problem of
African Redemption.
APPENDIX.
The Opposition to Colonization and African Missions.
We quote the following remarks, on the _primary sources_ of opposition
to the Civilization of Africa, from the Church Missionary Intelligencer,
December, 1853. This periodical is the organ of the English Episcopal
Church, and the opinions expressed are entitled to the most grave
consideration. Whatever interest the slave-trader may have in driving
English missionaries from Africa, will apply equally to those from
America, and to the labors of our Colonization Society. The writer,
after noticing the efforts made to withdraw the English squadron from
the coast of Africa, so as to leave the slave-trade once more free to
the traffickers in human flesh, says:
“But we have something more to say on this subject. The Missionary
element has also been introduced into the comments which have been made
on this affair, and has received no small amount of condemnation. Our
Missionaries at Lagos have thus been placed between two fires. The
efforts of Kosoko’s attacking party were evidently directed against
their dwellings, and this we can understand, for Kosoko and his abettors
well know that the extension of the Gospel carries with it the eventual
destruction of the slave-trade, and of every other enormity under which
human nature suffers. Christianity does that which the squadron can not
do. The latter cuts down the branches of the poison-bearing tree, but
the former kills it in its root. If this latter be not done, it will
sprout again. The strength of the slave-trade lies in the latent
sympathy of chiefs and people; and Christianity, by indisposing them to
it, and by directing their energies into other and wholesome channels,
is drying up the secret sources from whence its power has been derived.
The greatest benefit which the squadron has conferred upon Africa has
been to afford opportunity for the introduction of this beneficial
influence; and after a time, by the blessing of God, that influence will
have so increased, and the African mind, in consequence, have undergone
so complete a revolution, that the further presence of the squadron on
the coast will become unnecessary. That time has not come yet, but it
will do so, perhaps more rapidly than we could venture to anticipate. We
can, therefore, easily understand Kosoko’s antipathy to Missionaries,
and the exultation with which he would have seen them compelled to quit
the coast.
“But there is an unfriendly feeling on the part of some at home, which
is not so intelligible. It betrays itself in a readiness to entertain
serious charges against Missionaries on _ex-parte_ evidence. * * *
“We fear that in many quarters there is much misapprehension as to the
character and tendency of Missionary operations, and that by some they
are distrusted as being far otherwise than tranquilizing in their
influence. Has the Missionary element a tendency to complicate matters,
and render them more difficult of adjustment than they would otherwise
be? Is it irritating and war-producing? It has been so insinuated, if
not openly asserted. And we can understand from whence such insinuations
originate. The Gospel, in its action, must be subversive of the plans
and objects of numbers, especially in connection with Africa and the
slave-trade. There have been many sleeping partners in that traffic, men
who never touched a slave, but who have often clutched the gain; men who
have fed the traffic in secret, and furnished the materials for its
prosecution. It has been a wide-spread conspiracy for the degradation of
the African family. Men in Europe, America, Africa, have been bound
together in this unholy compact, each having assigned to him his own
particular department, and each full of energy in the prosecution of it.
Where were the printed goods fabricated that were used in barter between
the foreign and native slave-dealer? Where were forged the bolts, and
fetters, and chains, by which the limbs of the captured African were
constricted, and he was reduced to an incapability of resistance?
Perhaps nearer home than we could have imagined.[55] Where was launched
the well-found bark, with such admirable sailing powers, the floating
prison of the poor slave? Whence the nautical skill that designed the
craft, and the able workmen who wrought it out, until she sailed from
the port which gave her birth, in every respect equipped and fitted for
the slave-trade, but not to be so used until, on the African coast,
transferred to other hands than those which took her there?[56] How
various and extensive the interests which were engaged in the
prosecution of the slave-trade, all which have been interfered with by
the interruption of the traffic on the coast. Many of these, to save
themselves from stagnation, have engaged in lawful commerce; but it is
with regret they have done so. Of course, in the eyes of such parties,
everything that interferes to prevent a return to the palmy days of
slave-trading prosperity, when abundant opportunity was afforded for the
gratification of more than one evil passion, becomes an object of
antipathy. The squadron on the coast, and the Missionaries on shore, are
alike detestable. If both could be removed something might be done, and
what so likely means as misrepresentation? The Missionaries are
self-interested, and obstruct the development of lawful traffic. The
squadron is unnecessary, and its interference on such occasions as that
of Lagos is in the highest degree mischievous. Credulous ears are not
wanting to become the depositories of whisperings such as these; and
soon the whole gloss finds its way into the columns of the daily press,
and influential journals become the exponents of charges which would be
serious indeed if they could be proved. But these misstatements require
to be promptly met, otherwise their effect might soon appear in a
gradual diminution of the repressive force on the coast, until it became
materially weakened. Meanwhile, the devastations of the cholera in Cuba
have been seriously diminishing the supply of working hands, and many
eager eyes are directed towards Africa to see whether the attempt could
be made to reopen the traffic with any prospect of success. Already new
vessels have been fitted out, and we may soon have painful evidence that
the trade is not extinct, and that, if we remove our foot from the neck
of our prostrate but not slain foe, he will rise up to resume the
contest.”
The English Apprenticeship System.
President Roberts has written the following letter, to a gentleman in
England, in explanation of the influence exerted on the natives, by the
practice of purchasing apprentices, from the African chiefs, to serve as
laborers on the plantations of the British West Indies. Is not this
system virtually a renewal of the slave-trade, and a violation of
England’s treaty with the United States for its suppression?
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, Monrovia, September, 1853.
I assure you, sir, the Government of Liberia has no desire to, nor will
it interfere improperly with the operations of Messrs. Hyde, Hodge &
Co., nor will it place any unnecessary obstacles in the way of their
obtaining emigrants from the Liberian coast. The only object the
Government had in issuing the proclamation referred to, was, and still
is, to see that emigration from within its jurisdiction shall be free
and unconstrained.
It is proper I should remark, that no facts have come to the knowledge
of the Government to induce the belief that Messrs. Hyde, Hodge & Co.,
or their agents, have actually sent off persons, or that they would,
knowingly, send off any, without the voluntary consent of their natural
guardians. But the Government had good grounds for believing that
attempts were about to be made to force certain unfortunate persons to
emigrate without the facts of their coercion coming to the knowledge of
the emigration agents.
During last year, serious disturbances rose between certain Vey and
Golah chiefs in the neighborhood of Grand Cape Mount. And, in the early
part of the present year, Boombo and George Cane, Vey chiefs, residing
respectively at Little and Grand Cape Mount, attacked and captured some
three or four native towns in the Dey and Golah district, and carried
away as captives several hundred of the inhabitants. Soon after these
occurrences, a report was rife here that George Cane had contracted with
the agents of Messrs. Hyde, Hodge & Co., to supply a number of
emigrants. Complaint was also made to the Government—by the chiefs who
had suffered—that Cane’s intentions were to send off to the West Indies
the captives he had taken from the towns.
Now, that the agents of Messrs. Hyde, Hodge & Co., would countenance
constrained emigration, or that they would have received those persons,
knowing them to be captives, we had no reason to believe. But it is more
than likely that nine out of ten that would have been offered as
emigrants, at that time, would be of this unfortunate class. And the
chances were a hundred to one that the emigration agents would be
deceived in regard to the real condition of the people. Very possibly,
no complaint then and there would have been uttered by them. They were
suffering painful captivity; and whatever their feelings might be in
regard to emigration, they would gladly, perhaps, have availed
themselves of that or any other opportunity to escape the cruelties of
their captors. And, further, sir, I am assured these poor fellows were
given to understand that when they should be offered as emigrants, if
they disclosed their real condition, or refused to emigrate, their lives
would be sacrificed. Many of these captives have since been released,
and returned to their homes and families; and all, I am told,
corroborate this statement. Now, sir, under these circumstances, was it
unreasonable to suppose that many might be sent off without their
voluntary consent? And was it not the duty of the Government to provide
as far as possible the means of checking such outrages? Of course, in
all this there is no blame to be attached to Messrs. Hyde, Hodge & Co.,
or their agents.
But, my dear sir, with respect to this emigration business, the
strictest watchfulness must be observed; otherwise, the enterprise may
lead to abuses and evils of the most painful character. Not that
respectable British agents would knowingly be the means of producing
such results; but let the chiefs along the coast find that they can send
off captives, as emigrants, to the British West Indies, and obtain an
advance of _only ten dollars_ each, and the old system—war—of procuring
slaves will again be renewed.
J. J. ROBERTS.
[From the Liberia Herald.]
Trial and Sentence of Boombo.
MONROVIA, April 6th, 1853.
We have seldom witnessed the trial of a case producing so much interest
as that of Boombo’s. The readers of the “Herald,” need not be told, that
Boombo is a chieftain of Little Cape Mount, that he had voluntarily
entered into an arrangement with the Government of Liberia, and
subscribed to demean himself according to the laws and constitution;
also, that he and his people lived on lands purchased by the Government
of Liberia from the native owners. Boombo, though bound by his solemn
engagements to refrain from wars, and not to disturb the peace and
quietness of the country, has repeatedly, since he placed himself under
the laws of Liberia, broken his engagements by carrying on predatory
wars, destroying towns and murdering and carrying into captivity
hundreds of inoffensive men, women and children. To all the
remonstrances of Government, Boombo gave no heed, and his bloody career
did not end until he was brought to this city a prisoner. George Cain,
of Grand Cape Mount, is also amenable to the laws of Liberia; and it is
now well ascertained that he was the principal actor in all the
disturbances created in the Little Cape Mount country. Boombo, it
appears, acted under his direction.
At the last Court of “Quarter Sessions,” Boombo was indicted for “_High
Misdemeanor_”—the indictment set forth a general allegation and three
special counts. The first count charged the prisoner with violating his
obligations and allegiance to the Government, and that he did procure
and make war upon and against one Dwarloo Bey and certain other Golah
chiefs, occupying a portion of the territories of Grand and Little Cape
Mount—that he murdered the inhabitants—carried into captivity large
numbers of the defenseless; sacked, burned and pillaged towns and
villages, and laid waste the country. The second count charged, that
Boombo violated, etc., as before, that he did procure and make war upon
and against one Weaver, a Dey chieftain—crossing the Little Cape Mount
river, and entering the Dey country for that purpose; that he murdered
inhabitants, carried others into captivity, and sacked, burned, and
pillaged towns and villages, and laid waste the country. The third
count, charged that Boombo did violate, etc., as before, and that he
committed felony, by seizing and carrying off merchandise from factories
belonging to citizens of Monrovia. The Attorney-General, Wm. Draper,
Esq., was assisted in this case by David A. Madison, Esq., of Buchanan,
Grand Bassa. D. T. Harris, and J. B. Phillips, Esquires, appeared for
the prisoner, and we are pleased to say that these gentlemen did all
that honest and patriotic men could do for a man under such
circumstances. They ably and eloquently defended the prisoner upon every
point that formality and technicality would admit of, but as they could
not argue the lock off the door, and as the evidence, especially that
given by prisoner’s witnesses, was point blank against Boombo, the
verdict was, _guilty of each count_.
The sentence was—restitution, restoration, and reparation of goods
stolen, people captured, and damages committed; to pay a fine of $500,
and be imprisoned for two years. When the sentence was pronounced the
convict shed tears, regarding the ingredient of imprisonment, in his
sentence, to be almost intolerable. It is hoped that this will prove a
salutary example to all other chieftains under the jurisdiction of this
Government, that they may, henceforward, be convinced of the
determination and power of the Government to administer justice in the
premises. It is the belief of many, that Boombo’s punishment, as per
sentence, is too great, but we believe to the contrary. Until rigorous
measures are used to deter chieftains from carrying on their predatory
wars, there can not be any guarantee, but that some part of our coast
will always be in a state of savage warfare.
ADDRESS
OF
THE OHIO COLONIZATION COMMITTEE,
TO
The Clergymen of Ohio.
CHRISTIAN BRETHREN:
In our annual appeals to the churches, in behalf of the American
Colonization Society, frequent reference has been made to the purchase
of territory, in Africa, for an Ohio colony. The offer of funds for this
object, by CHARLES MCMICKEN, ESQ., was made in 1848, and the purchase
completed in 1850.
In anticipation of this result, memorials were forwarded to Columbus, in
December, 1849, asking an appropriation, by the Legislature, to aid in
the establishment of an “Ohio in Africa.” Among these petitions was one
signed by the ministers of the Ohio Methodist Conference, the Ohio
Baptist Annual Convention, the New School Presbyterian Synod of
Cincinnati, the Old School Presbyterian Synod of Cincinnati, and the Old
School Presbyterian Synod of Ohio.
In responding to these expressions of public sentiment, a resolution was
passed, by both branches of the Legislature, asking the General
Government to acknowledge the independence of Liberia; the Senate passed
another resolution, asking Congress to withdraw its squadron from the
coast of Africa, and to appropriate the $150,000 per annum, expended in
its support, to the cause of African Colonization, as a more efficient
means of suppressing the slave trade; and the House passed a bill, by a
large majority, making a liberal appropriation to aid the proposed
colony. The two last named measures were introduced so late in the
session, that they were not acted upon, except by the branches named,
and were postponed among the unfinished business.
These indications of a friendly disposition, on the part of the
Legislature, to promote Colonization, together with some movements among
the colored people favorable to the proposed enterprise, led to the
appointment of a _Committee of Correspondence_, in 1850, to coöperate
with the Agent in carrying out the enterprise so happily set on foot by
Mr. McMicken. The committee was directed to give its counsel to the
Agent, and adopt such measures as it might deem necessary to promote the
cause of Colonization in the State; but, more especially, to aim at
enlisting the churches in the work. This it has done in various ways, as
may be seen by reference to the public prints. By its direction, the
Agent renewed his efforts for an appropriation from the Legislature, but
as a new Constitution was then in the course of preparation, that body
declined all further action, until the future policy of the State should
be settled. The Constitutional Convention was then approached, and it
was proposed to introduce a special clause into the new Constitution,
giving the Legislature power to appropriate money for African
Colonization. This measure was resisted by those who were striving to
secure the privileges of citizenship, in the State, for colored men; and
by those who desired to prevent the surrounding States from driving
their free colored people into Ohio. This last party being much the
strongest in the Convention, the friends of Colonization had either to
abandon their proposition, or couple it with a provision excluding any
further immigration of colored people into the State. This policy being
repugnant to their feelings, and the general powers conferred on the
Legislature being considered amply sufficient to warrant it in fostering
Colonization, the friends of the proposition declined to press its
passage, and it was abandoned.
About this period, the project of encouraging Colonization, by
establishing a line of “Steam-Ships,” to run between this country and
Liberia, was agitated; and it so far received the advocacy of the public
press, as to lead to the hope that the General Government would adopt
the measure.
This important movement was succeeded by “Stanley’s Bill,” to devote the
last instalment of the “Surplus Revenue,” to the several States, for
Colonization purposes, in the proportions required by the law of 1836.
As the success of this Bill, in Congress, would have given to the State
of Ohio, annually, thereafter, the sum of $33,454, to build up our “Ohio
in Africa,” it was considered of vital importance to secure its passage.
Instead, therefore, of approaching our Legislature, to ask an
appropriation, the Agent was directed to secure its influence with the
General Government, in behalf of “Stanley’s Bill;” but before
recommendatory resolutions could be carried through the Legislature,
that important measure received its deathblow in Congress.
Public attention having been very fully directed, by these movements, to
the State and National Legislatures, as the proper patrons of
Colonization, the Agent found less disposition, among private
individuals, longer to sustain the enterprise, and consequently the
amount collected in the State has somewhat diminished.
For want of funds to make the necessary improvements for the protection
of colonists, at the time the purchase of Mr. McMicken was effected, and
because but few emigrants were then in our offer, to begin a settlement,
no definite arrangement was made, with the authorities of Liberia, for
the allotment of lands for our colored people. The region purchased
embraces Grand Cape Mount and Gallinas, and includes a greater extent of
country than was covered by the donation of Mr. M. The whole of this
territory has been annexed to Liberia, and her laws extended over it.
This arrangement will secure to our emigrants the protection of the
Republic, and all the privileges enjoyed by any of its citizens. These
advantages will be more than an equivalent to the extra fifty or one
hundred acres of land, which Mr. McMicken originally proposed to give to
each family; inasmuch as this bonus may still be secured to our
emigrants, along with the protection of the Republic, by an arrangement
with its government.
The recent disturbances at Grand Cape Mount, noticed in the accompanying
Lecture of our Agent, will create a necessity for its speedy settlement;
and, if we do not secure it for the colored people of Ohio, it must be
given to others, to prevent the native population from being shipped off
to the West Indies or Brazil.
The Committee feels assured, that, with a few thousand dollars, it can
prevent this transfer to other parties, and secure the settlement of
Grand Cape Mount as an Ohio Colony. This it considers very important, as
a means of encouraging emigration. Believing that the funds would
ultimately be secured for this object, such measures have been adopted,
from time to time, as would promote that end. In March, 1850, sixteen
emigrants, with the Rev. W. W. Findlay at their head, went to Liberia,
to stand prepared to coöperate in founding our Colony. Mr. Findlay is
still urgent for the commencement of the settlement; and, though
comfortably situated on a farm, he offers to remove to Grand Cape Mount,
at any time his services are needed. Himself and family are now fully
acclimated, and are thus in a position to render efficient aid in
superintending improvements for us.
About a year since, the colored people of Circleville, Ohio, appointed
one of their own number, Mr. T. J. Merrett, a delegate to Liberia, to
report on the condition and prospects of the Republic. Our Agent was
present at the meeting; the subject of an Ohio Colony was fully
explained, and the vote to commission the delegate was nearly unanimous.
He sailed for Liberia in April, 1853, remained there about six months,
and then returned to the United States. The vessel in which he embarked
was stripped of its masts and rigging, in a hurricane, during the
passage, its pumps rendered useless, and its hull only kept afloat by
constant bailing, until it was landed at St. Thomas for repairs. The
over-exertion and exposure incident to this disaster, induced ship-fever
on the vessel, to which Mr. Merrett fell a victim two days after landing
at Portland. While in Liberia, he had written an encouraging letter to
his friends in Circleville, but made no formal report, as he did not
live to reach home. Mr. Merrett was a man of good judgment, and highly
esteemed by his neighbors. His death is a serious loss to us, and has
somewhat interrupted our plans for commencing operations in Africa.
The advantages lost in the death of Mr. Merrett, may be regained by
inviting Mr. Findlay to visit this country, to confer with the colored
people of our State. The committee will adopt this course, if the funds
to meet his expenses and make the necessary improvements at Grand Cape
Mount, are placed at its disposal. The employment of such agencies, in
other States, has tended to arouse a spirit of emigration, and should
not be overlooked by our own.
The REV. JOHN MCKAY, a colored man, of Madison, Indiana, was employed in
that State last year, and succeeded in raising a company of twenty-five
emigrants, with whom he sailed to Liberia, in November. He touched at
Sierra Leone and Grand Cape Mount, and remained eighty-three days in
Liberia, to examine its condition. He returned to Indiana about the
first of May, and speaks in the most favorable terms of the civil,
social, and religious prosperity of the Republic. It is his intention to
return to Liberia with his family, after laboring awhile for the Indiana
State Board of Colonization.
Mr. McKay informs our Agent, that the adaptation of the soil and climate
of Liberia, to the production of the best qualities of cotton, sugar,
and coffee, has been fully tested; and that the willingness of the
natives to engage in the cultivation of these products, under the
direction of the Liberians, is no longer doubtful. To develop the
unbounded agricultural resources of Africa, it only remains, therefore,
that the capital to pay for the native labor, and the men to superintend
it, should be supplied. The first of these elements of success is
offered by British capitalists, and the last can be furnished by the
American Colonization Society.
Mr. J. B. Jordan, a highly intelligent merchant of Liberia, is expected
in Cincinnati, soon, to tarry a few weeks. He has been in correspondence
with some of the intelligent colored men of this city, for more than a
year past, and has expressed himself in the strongest terms, as to the
superiority of that Republic, over the United States, as a home for the
colored man. When on his way, at first, to Liberia, he visited our Agent
at Oxford, Ohio, and agreed to coöperate in the erection of the proposed
Ohio Colony.
Our Agent has several applications for information, as to the time when
emigrants can remove to the proposed “Ohio in Africa;” and some have
resolved to proceed to Liberia, to undergo the acclimating process,
preparatory to entering into their inheritance.
In connection with this subject, we are gratified in being able to
state, that companies of slaves, qualified to enter at once upon the
cultivation of the lands in Africa, are occasionally offered, and may be
of much value, as freemen, in our proposed settlement. In 1852, Mrs.
LUDLOW, of Cincinnati, presented twenty-one slaves, then in Texas, to
our Agent, as emigrants to Liberia; and they were forwarded in March,
1853, to their future homes. At the present moment, another family of
seventeen slaves, valued at about $15,000, is offered to him, and will
be accepted as soon as the preliminary arrangements for their removal
can be made. Their master is a resident of a State in which there is no
Colonization Agent; and, being acquainted with our Agent, he has
appealed to him to accept his slaves, and provide for them in a land of
freedom. As these people have been trained to Cotton-growing, it is
important they should be sent to our Colony, to promote the cultivation
of that valuable staple. Should they succeed well in Liberia, it is
expected that other emancipations in the same region will follow, and a
large number of cotton-growers thus be secured to aid in developing the
resources of the African Republic.
The Resolutions of the Oxford Council, appended to this address, emanate
from colored men of more than ordinary intelligence. None of them are
advocates of Colonization, but they are capable of taking a
comprehensive view of the questions involved in the enslavement of their
race. They are now convinced, that unless the free colored people assume
a position enabling them to engage largely in tropical cultivation,
slavery, by retaining the monopoly of the supply of tropical products,
must continue to possess the power of extending itself at will. The only
question, with them, is, Where can the free colored people become the
most efficient agents in the deliverance and elevation of their race?
They have resolved, therefore, to collect information from Africa, while
others are investigating South America. The slavery question, in their
opinion, is now assuming a position in which attention must be more
fully directed to its economical aspects. Moral considerations, they
perceive, are powerless in arresting its progress. The cumulative
demands of commerce, for tropical productions, are stimulating slavery
in an unprecedented degree; and unless free labor can be enlisted in
tropical cultivation, it must continue to extend until the whole of
tropical America submits to its sway.
As only a part of the towns and congregations in Ohio could be visited
during a single year; as the opposition to Colonization had been more
extended, and its agencies more perfectly systematized here than,
perhaps, in any other State; as it was impossible to obtain audiences,
generally, to hear lectures, except on the Sabbath, when the secular
aspects of the subject could not be discussed; and, as the people of
African descent, almost to a man, were bitterly opposed to Liberia, and
willing to believe every ill report its enemies put into circulation;
the Agent found it necessary, at an early period of his labors, to
resort to his pen, as a means of correcting public sentiment, and
disseminating truth among the colored people. The fifth and last
document of this kind is forwarded herewith, and commended to your
attention. Its object, mainly, is to demonstrate the necessity of
Colonization as an auxiliary to missions in Africa; to show what colored
men, themselves, have accomplished for the elevation of their race; and
to afford the pastors of congregations a brief outline of facts to lay
before their people.
Before the peace of the tribes around Cape Mount can be secured, and the
interference of foreigners to procure laborers for the West Indies, as
apprentices or slaves, can be prevented, we must settle a colony there;
and before this can be accomplished, suitable houses and fortifications,
for the comfort and security of emigrants, must be erected. The
government of Liberia, were it able, can not be expected to make these
improvements; and the Colonization Society, were it willing, is equally
unsupplied with funds for such an object. Aid is not expected, at
present, from either our State Legislature or from Congress.
Consequently, we are thrown back upon the liberality of the churches,
and of individuals, in our own State, for the means of rendering the
lands, purchased by Mr. McMicken, available to those for whom they were
designed. And shall we seize the opportunity now presented, by a
favoring Providence, for barring, forever, the traffickers in human
flesh, by whatever name they may be called, from all access to Grand
Cape Mount? Or, after the site has been secured, shall we suffer it to
be transferred to others, and the citizens of our State robbed, by their
own negligence, of the honor of perfecting what has been so successfully
commenced?
To remove any remaining prejudices against Colonization, and to secure
more prompt and general action by the different Churches, appeals have
been made to the several Ecclesiastical Courts, where opportunity
offered, to recommend the cause of Colonization to their people. Three
Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Ohio, at their last
sessions, passed resolutions approving the Colonization Society; and two
of them—the Cincinnati and the Ohio, visited by our Agent—recommended
collections to be taken up in the Churches under their care. The General
Assemblies of both divisions of the Presbyterian Church, have also
recommended the Society to the patronage of their people. The Baptists
and the Protestant Episcopal Church, both, have missions in Liberia, and
their people need no other inducements, it is conceived, than the fact
that their contributions are needed, to enlist them in aiding emigration
to that Republic. The Associate Reformed Church, and the Reformed
Presbyterian Church, have also expressed their confidence in African
Colonization, and recommended their people to sustain the enterprise.
The newer division of the Baptists—the Christian Church—have recently
enlisted in the cause of African evangelization, and sent out a
missionary. The people of that denomination, doubtless, will unite with
us in promoting the great work of emigration to Africa.
And now, Christian Brethren, with these facts before you, and with these
expressions of confidence in Colonization, by the Churches to which you
belong, may we not urge upon you to lay this subject promptly before
your people; so that, through your instrumentality and their pecuniary
aid, we may have the means placed in our hands of delivering Grand Cape
Mount from the long reign of rapine, cruelty, and war, to which it has
been doomed; and of placing it under the protection of the Banner of the
Cross, and subjecting it to the dominion of the Prince of Peace.
You will readily understand, Dear Brethren, that the Committee has
progressed to a point, in its efforts to establish an Ohio Colony in
Africa, where it is powerless without money. And, having accomplished so
much—having territory enough, almost, for a kingdom—must all be lost for
want of the ability to proceed? We can not but believe that the
Christian people, under your care, will heartily respond to this appeal;
and, that they will give us, at once, ample means of carrying out all
the measures necessary to secure success.
C. P. McILVAINE,
SAMUEL W. FISHER,
SAMUEL R. WILSON,
ALEXANDER GUY,
J. P. KILBRETH,
RUFUS KING,
JAMES HOGE,
H. H. LEAVITT,
H. G. COMINGO,
_Colonization Committee of Correspondence for Ohio_.
DAVID CHRISTY, _Secretary of the Committee_.
☞ All communications, in reference to this subject, and all
remittances of money, may be made to the Agent, DAVID CHRISTY,
Oxford, Butler county, Ohio, or to Rev. WM. MCLAIN, Washington City.
☞ The following paragraph, from the New York Times, was handed to
the Agent just as this Address was going to press. It affords a sad
confirmation of the doctrine of this Lecture, that there can be
little security for African Missions, except in connection with
Colonization: “Schooner _Cortes_, Capt. Stanhope, arrived at this
port yesterday morning, from Gaboon, West Coast of Africa, whence
she sailed April 14. We learn from Captain S., that on the 4th of
April, the Mission Houses, Church, and other houses, belonging to
the Church, at Corisco, were set on fire by the natives and entirely
destroyed. Two female servants belonging to the United States were
burned to death.”
☞ The Committee publish the annexed proceedings of the Oxford
Council, as a matter of news, and as an important step for the
colored people, without designing to indorse all the sentiments they
contain.
☞ Rev. G. G. LYONS, of Toledo, is an authorized Agent for
northwestern Ohio; and J. C. STOCKTON, of Mt. Vernon, for the
northeastern counties.
_From the Hamilton Intelligencer._
IMPORTANT DISCUSSION.
_Oxford_, May 22, 1854.
TO THE COLORED FREEMEN OF BUTLER COUNTY.
At a meeting of the Oxford Council, auxiliary to the State Council of
the Free Colored People of Ohio, held on the 5th inst., the following
preamble and resolutions were adopted for consideration; and on the 12th
inst., an additional resolution was passed, inviting the members of the
several Councils, in Butler county, to participate in the discussion.
Notice is, therefore, hereby given, to all interested, that the
discussion of the said preamble and resolutions will be commenced on
Friday, the 26th inst., at two o’clock, P. M., in Oxford, and be
continued, from time to time, until disposed of by the Council.
ALEXANDER PROCTOR, Pres’t.
SAMUEL D. FOX, Secretary.
Whereas, the Colored People of the United States, from the peculiar
crisis which has arrived in their condition, are taking their rights
into their own hands:
And, whereas, slavery, that “sum of all villainies,” is lengthening its
cords and strengthening its stakes, and still more broadly exerting its
baleful influence over the free as well as the slave portion of our
people:
And, whereas, we believe, that to remain passive and indifferent, under
all these great evils, is at once to show ourselves unworthy of those
noble rights for which we contend:
And, whereas, the minds of the colored people, North, South, East, and
West, are agitated, and parties and factions are being organized all
over the Union, each urging its peculiar panacea for the ills we endure:
And, whereas, others are engaged in making investigations relative to
Canada, the West Indies, and Central America, with the view of deciding
where the safest asylum can be secured for ourselves and our posterity:
And, whereas, the time has fully come, we are convinced, when every
subject, every system, every argument, should be thoroughly examined;
and that to shrink from an honest and impartial investigation of all
systems and subjects, African colonization not excepted, is behind the
spirit of the age, and is pusillanimous rather than magnanimous:
therefore,
_Resolved_, 1st, That we are in favor of availing ourselves of all the
information we can obtain, as to the advantages afforded to emigrants in
the Republic of Liberia, and the inducements held out by that Colony to
free colored people.
2. That we will endeavor to procure all the correct knowledge we can, of
Grand Cape Mount, in Africa, as the point of emigration for any of our
people who may choose Liberia as their future home.
3. That, being informed of the existence of an Association in England,
which has been organized to promote the agricultural resources of
Africa, by advances of goods and money to intelligent and honest
emigrants and colonists; we hereby authorize our President and Secretary
to correspond with the said association, and learn the extent of
encouragement it proposes to give to emigrants from the United States.
4. That in the adoption of any or all of these resolutions, we do not
intend to be understood as committing ourselves either as Emigrationists
or Colonizationists, but as honest inquirers after truth, and as men not
afraid to investigate every question at issue in the great controversy
in which we are involved.
-----
Footnote 1:
1806.
Footnote 2:
Mr. Mills enlisted in this cause himself, but on the organization of
the American Colonization Society, he embarked in it as the more
practicable scheme.
Footnote 3:
1812.
Footnote 4:
1817.
Footnote 5:
The receipts, for the first six years, averaged only $3,276 per annum.
Footnote 6:
Cape Palmas, in its political organization, is a distinct colony from
Liberia. It was established by Maryland, and has recently declared its
independence. We shall speak of it, however, as a part of Liberia.
Their territories lie contiguous, and the Missions of most of the
Societies are common to both colonies.
Footnote 7:
Missionary Advocate, April, 1853.
Footnote 8:
Letter to the Colonization Herald—October, 1853.
Footnote 9:
Gammel’s History of the American Baptist Missions.
Footnote 10:
Gammel’s History of the American Baptist Missions.
Footnote 11:
Ibid.
Footnote 12:
Baptist Missionary Magazine, March, 1854.
Footnote 13:
Mr. Bowen was in Abbeokuta, when the king of Dahomey attempted its
destruction, as detailed hereafter.
Footnote 14:
Report of Bishop Payne, June 6, 1853.
Footnote 15:
Report of Bishop Payne, June 6, 1853.
Footnote 16:
The funds for this purpose were supplied as follows: Charles McMicken,
Esq., of Cincinnati, $5000; Solomon Sturges, Esq., of Putnam, Ohio,
$1000; and Samuel Gurney, Esq., of London, England, $5000.
Footnote 17:
This system, in its moral bearings upon the Islands, is little better
than the old African Slave trade. The disparity in the sexes is fully
as great under the _apprenticeship system_, as it was during the
prevalence of the slave trade, and it must be equally as demoralizing.
Take, as an example, a few imports of apprentices from India and
China, for the supply of English planters. The cargoes of five
vessels, were composed of 1,433 males, 257 females, and 84 children.
The practical effect of this system upon Africa, in exciting wars, and
carrying off the male population, is identical with that of the slave
trade. See President Roberts’ letter on that subject in Appendix.
Footnote 18:
This sum is about equal to the price usually paid by the slave traders
for slaves.
Footnote 19:
African Repository, August, 1853. [See Appendix.]
Footnote 20:
Officer of U. S. Navy, in Gurley’s Report. Vice President Benson also
bears the following testimony to an improvement in the character of
the natives.
“It is also gratifying to know that the natives are becoming
increasingly assimilated to us in manners and habits; their
requisitions for civilized productions increase annually; they are
seldom satisfied with the same size and quality of the piece of cloth
they wore last year—some of them habitually wear a pair of pantaloons,
shirt or coat, and others all of these at once: and of the thousands
that have intercourse with our settlements, and used to glory in their
greegree, and were afraid to utter an expression against it, very many
of them are now ashamed to be seen with a vestige of it about them,
and if a particle of it should be about them, they try to secrete it,
and if detected, it is with mortification depicted in their
countenances; they disclaim it, or make some excuse. There is also
manifestly, a spirit of commendable competition among them throughout
the country; they try to rival each other in many of the civilized
customs, a pride and ambition that I feel sure will never abate
materially, till they are raised to the perfect level of civilized
life, and flow in one common channel with us, civilly and religiously.
It is certainly progressing, and though some untoward circumstances
may retard its consummation, yet nothing shall ultimately prevent it.”
Footnote 21:
The details of mortality connected with the Baptist mission, have been
given full, as an example of the effects of the climate on white
missionaries.
Footnote 22:
Letter to the Colonization Herald, October, 1853.
Footnote 23:
“Immemorial usage preserves a positive law, after the occasion or
accident which gave rise to it, has been forgotten; and tracing
the subject to natural principles, the claim of slavery never can
be supported. The power claimed never was in use here, or
acknowledged by the law. Upon the whole, we can not say the cause
returned is sufficient by the law; and therefore the man must be
discharged.”—_Close of Lord Mansfield’s decision in the Somerset
case._
Footnote 24:
Clarkson’s History of the slave trade.
Footnote 25:
Wadstrom, page 220.
Footnote 26:
Memoirs of Granville Sharp.
Footnote 27:
Wadstrom, page 221.
Footnote 28:
Wadstrom.
Footnote 29:
They had first gone to Nova Scotia, from whence they sailed to Sierra
Leone.
Footnote 30:
See my Lectures on African Colonization, and on the Relations of Free
Labor to Slave Labor, for the main facts in relation to the increase
of the Slave-trade.
Footnote 31:
It does not appear that the Nova Scotia fugitives sent their children
to these Schools.
Footnote 32:
Although these Nova Scotia free blacks,—or rather these American
fugitive slaves,—had gone to work so freely at first, in building
churches and establishing schools, nothing farther is heard of them,
in the history of missions, until the Wesleyans, 18 years afterwards,
undertook their spiritual oversight. Their failure in securing the
civil privileges for which they took up arms, seems to have placed
them in a position of antagonism to the English Church.
Footnote 33:
“Abbeokuta, or Sunrise in the Tropics.”
Footnote 34:
“Where are your charms?” said a Mohammedan chief, under whom part of
the Christian converts fought against the Dahomians. “You will all be
killed.” “We have no charms,” was the simple reply, “but our faith in
the Son of God, who died for sinners.” A watchful eye was kept upon
them in the field of battle, for it was said that Christianity was
making women of them; but they acquitted themselves like men: so much
so, as to gain the praise even of those who persecuted them; and the
result showed that it was possible to be brave, and yet Christian, and
to escape the risks of battle without amulets.—_Church Missionary
Intelligencer, Oct. 1853._
When, in the midst of the battle, another chief, addressing one of the
converts, exclaimed: “Ah, Kashi, if all fought like you, they might
follow what religion they like.”—“_Sunrise in the Tropics._”
Footnote 35:
Church Missionary Intelligencer, June, 1853.
Footnote 36:
Abbeokuta, or Sunrise in the Tropics.
Footnote 37:
Church Missionary Intelligencer, December, 1853.
Footnote 38:
Capt. Paul Cuffee, a wealthy colored man of Boston, in 1815, took out
38 emigrants to Sierra Leone.
Footnote 39:
The whole population on the present enlarged territory of Liberia, is
estimated at 300,000; but the partly civilized population, called
citizens, is only 80,000.
Footnote 40:
The native population, along the coast, are found to be more degraded
than those of the interior.
Footnote 41:
BISHOP AMES, at the anniversary meeting of our Missionary Society,
held in Cincinnati, 1853, paid the following just compliment to the
Republic of Liberia:—
“Nations reared under religious and political restraint are not
capable of self-government, while those who enjoy only partially these
advantages have set an example of such capability. We have in
illustration of this a well-authenticated historical fact: we refer to
the colored people of this country, who, though they have grown up
under the most unfavorable circumstances, were enabled to succeed in
establishing a sound republican government in Africa. They have given
the most clear and indubitable evidence of their capability of
self-government, and in this respect have shown a higher grade of
manhood than the polished Frenchman himself.”—_Methodist Mis. Adv._
Footnote 42:
Missionary Herald, January, 1854.
Footnote 43:
Missionary Herald, August, 1853.
Footnote 44:
See Moffat’s South African Missions.
Footnote 45:
Missionary Herald, for December, 1853, and January, 1854.
Footnote 46:
Missionary Herald, February, 1853.
Footnote 47:
Recent developments at Sierra Leone, have proved, beyond all question,
that certain persons, in that English Colony, have long been secretly
engaged in the slave-trade. There is reason to believe, however, that
these wars have been excited by the English scheme of restocking their
West India plantations by purchasing _emigrants_, at $10 per head,
from the African chiefs. See the letter of President Roberts, on this
subject, in Appendix.
Footnote 48:
American Missionary, March, 1853.
Footnote 49:
Barbarism is the ignorance of infancy prolonged into adult age. This
definition will convey a true idea of its relations to moral and
religious truth.
Footnote 50:
The German term for farmers.
Footnote 51:
Missionary Magazine and Chronicle, October, 1853.
Footnote 52:
Report of Annual Meeting, May, 1853.
Footnote 53:
Baird’s Retrospect, pages 400–2.
Footnote 54:
The comparative condition of the missions in West Africa, South
Africa, and the West Indies, according to Baird’s Retrospect for 1850,
was as follows:
W. Africa. S. Africa. W. Indies.
Missionaries, 93 214 283
Assistant Missionaries, 170 155 36
Native Assistants, 75 8 349
Communicants, 9,625 12,116 75,503
Schools, 152 60 160
Pupils, 13,631 20,102 11,042
Footnote 55:
In England.
Footnote 56:
United States.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
2. Retained anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as
printed.
3. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together
at the end of the last chapter.
4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
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