The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-21 00:00:00

'~_ __

cliildren, t peoCeed to give you a tew
in reference: to Literia; and next in reference to the state
of this island, on which myself and Dr. Prince have for
about three months resided.
The persons from whom I had those particulars which
I did not myself ascertain, have resided long at Cape
Palmas and other parts of the colony, and were chiefly
Missionaries of the Epikopalian, Presybyterian, and
Baptist persuasions.
The extent of the territory claimed by the colonists
reaches from Cape Mount River to the river Cavally.
The map of the colony goes to the river Solymon, in the
7th degree of north latitude ; and when off the Cavally
river, a paper signed by a Dr. Hall was handed to me
from King Beppu, in which the said King was recom-
mended to the favourable consideration of traders, on
account of having granted gratuitously a large tract of
land on the Cavally river, to the Maryland Colonization
Society. Cavally river is twenty miles to the south of
Cape Palmas, so that the line of coast claimed and par-
tially occupied by the different Colonization Societies,
and comprehended under the term Liberia, is not short
of 300 miles.
The coast
,thus occupied is not so unhealthy as is the
Bullom shore, and Sierra Leone on the north, or as Cape
Coast Castle, Popor, and the Delta of the Niger on the
east. With these exceptions, and keeping off the mouths
and marshy sides of rivers, the coast of Africa from Rio
Piing* to the Coanga is much alike in point of insalu-
brity. In reference to the colony of Liberia, one fact
appears evident from the united testimony of all I have
heard speak on the subject, viz., that the health of chil-
dren born in the colony is better than it was at first_ ; and
that coloured persons, after seasoning, enjoy better
health than they did sonic years ago. Whites are still
in danger from the accumulating fever, and for the most
part look sickly and feeble, some of the Missionaries
have good health, and speak as if they could walk fur-
ther and bear more fatigue than they formerly could
in their native country.
I was informed that to enter into the causes of the
wars with the natives would require a long explanation,
in which different parties would give different accounts,
according to their prejudices and interests. But one
cause certainly was the prohibition under which many
of the natives near Mesurado were placed in reference
to the trade with the vessels that visited their coast.
This prohibition arises out of the selfish polity of the
Colonial Government, which has induced them to lay a
fine on vessels found trading with the natives, and to in-
crease the expenses on foreign trade by harbour dues,
and the employment of a commissioned agent, so that
goods are sold one-ninth higher, at, and near Monrovia,
than on other parts of the same line of coast, and all im-
pediments and hindrances to trade are thrown in the
way of the natives to force them to obtain their supplies
through the merchants settled in the Colony. This has
been felt keenly, and in some cases has met with resist-
ance by the natives.
Another cause is the attempt made to prevent the
natives from fishing in Bassa Cove and other places,
where they formerly employed themselves in fishing
without molestation. In agreeing to allow the Ame-
ricans to settle, the natives never contemplated a curtail-
ing of their own rights, and privileges, but looked for
great advantages from the trade promised them with
America and Europe. They now feel themselves griev-
ously disappointed in these their too sanguine expecta-
tions. It is also candidly admitted that the Colonists
have frequently acted unjustly towards the natives and
oppressed them, and that injustice and oppression still to
a certain extent continue.
A considerable number were lately slain, at a station
belonging to a Methodist Missionary, some way in the
country behind Mesurado. The account has appeared in
the Monrovia newspaper, and also in a Boston
newspaper, in one of which I doubt not
the statement has been seen by you. Dr.
Prince and myself were distinctly informed that
the tribe among whom the Missionaries resided gave
them time to fly with their wives, children, aged people,
and property ; and, instead of flying, the Missionaries
sent to Monrovia for guns and ammunition, and resolved
to risk life in the protection of their property. When
the hostile tribe appeared the attack commenced, and
the people were beaten off with considerable slaughter.
When the defence for a time ceased, the assailants made
an attempt to carry away their slain, but at this time the
firing recommenced, and much injury was done to the
flying natives. An unfeeling letter appeared in the
Liberia Herald, written by one of the principal actors in
this bloody scene, in which the Missionary disgraces him-
self by showing an utter want of the spirit o the Mas •
ter whom he proessed to serve. The Editor lauds him
as a hero ; but his brother Missionaries highly disap-
prove of his conduct, and those of them with whom I
conversed appeared much to regret the spirit of revenge
that had been manifested on this mournful occasion.
A short time ago a native who thought himself wronged
by a colonist, who resided near to Cape Palmas, com-
plained, and from the Governor obtained redress ; this
exasperated the colonist so much that he took his gun
down, and as the native passed his farm, he fired, and it
is said lodged a few small shots in the shoulder of the
man he had injured. The native went to his tribe, and
brought with him a band, who entered the house of the
colonist, cut off his head, and the heads of two of his
children ; the wife and the other children escaped the
fury of these barbarians. They left the place without
any further attack upon the people, and escaped speedily
to their country several miles distant in the interior.
I was assured that the late wars have had the worst
possible effect on the minds of the natives, that they are
increasingly jealous of the power and influence of the
colonists, and highly displeased at their proud and over-
bearing conduct. When their Kings or Headmen gave
away or sold a part of their territory, they did so from
the immediate advantage of a large .‘ dash" or present,
or the future prospect of an increase of trade. They had
no idea of. curtailing their own comforts, or of being
overrun by persons from a foreign land. Then they
saw only the favourable side, but Riley now see the op-
posite ; and, living in a part of A rica already teeming
with a native population, and not very rich in soil, they
find that the rising power of the colonists must be kept
down, or that they must be driven inland among hostile
tribes, jealous of any such encroachment upon their hunt-
ing or provision grounds. It was stated, as a thing self-
evident, that as the colony increased, wars would also
increase, and that the spirit cherished on both sides
would make these, as much as possible, wars of extermi-
nation. The agreements made with the Africans are
nearly all decidedly unjust. A mere trifle is given for
thousands of acres of land.

Aug. 19, 1841.

The benefits of trade are put before the ignorant
people in a fascinating manner, a footing is obtained,
and force is used to retain it, and to extend, if necessary,
the boundary lines, as far as the aggressors think proper
to wish or desire.

A small provision-ground, producing rice, plantains,
&c., is deemed a farm, and such provision-grounds are
common in the colony, but as to the growing of cotton,
sugar, or the like, no such thing prevails to any extent in
any part of Liberia. Horses, mules, &c., are not nu-
merous, and are seldom put in harness, and oxen are too
small to be thought of for the yoko. The hoe is the
agricultural instrument in general use, and man is the
agent by whom it is employed. Only. one saw-mill ex-
ists in the colony, and no flour-mill, or other article of
machinery, has yet been introduced. .
Formerly slavers did visit the colony, but not now, ex-
cept at those places distant from settlements where slave
factories exist. ColoniSts, however, are not chargeable
with giving encouragement to these factors, nor are
they known to trade with them at present in any direct
or indirect way.
At Cape Palmas there is no jurisdiction exercised over
the natives or acknowledged by them, but several tribes
are in amity here, and on other parts of the coast with
the colonists. The native towns close to the settlements
at Cape Palmas, remain quite distinct from the coloniits,
keep up their own customs, and appear as far from any
approach to civilization or religion as if they had never
seen the colonists or heard the Gospel preached amongst
them. The people wear a small cloth about the loins, and
are ornamented %%I rings and gregres. One or two of
the colonists have married natives at Cape Palmas, but
these have rather receded towards the natives than suc-
ceeded in improving the aboriginal inhabitants. Few
attend the worship of God, and these few are offend,A
by the pride of the colonists, who show the same
iv s
sition to make distinctions in the House of r.si„d-,,E3-
whites in America do towards their color red """t
brethren
there. In sending the children to sCLool,
look for some advantage, and have not yet
come to value
the natives
. these are from
learning for its own intrinsic worth.
A.ew have em-
braced the Christian religion, but most of
mongst them.
among the school children, win) have for several
years enjoyed the advantage of _
.1
instruction from the devout g©
dm y religious
have long laboured a of God, %yhio
and other books have been used • anStsince the Biie
native tongue, as well as in the in the school in the
has been on he increase, English, knowledge
home ; and it is hoped
at home by the native children, re
even among the at
th t the parents books
ultimately be blessed of Go reading of theseiv...
God
,n ,
to in
the the
benefit
tongue,
o f many will
the adult population.
_ All here are engaged in trade except the Missionaries,
Even the Governor has not enough to kee him, from
o
those by whom he is
pp inted ; he is, in fa pet, the prin-
cipal merchant at Cape Palraas. There are four places
of wors
hip,.----a Presbyterian and Episcopalian, a Metho-
dist, and a Baptist. All the Missionaries are from Ame-
rica. The Presbyterian and Episcopalian are sent to the
natives ; the Methodist and Baptist are chiefly employed
among the colonists. The Presbyterian Missionary has
a printing press, speaks and preaches in the Grebe
tongue, and has translated and printed several books in
that language.
Temperance prevails in the Colony, and no rur,imid.
Governor Musewarm is esteemed and loved, .2.„d mites a
---n'l
few of the colonists with him in theloinistration of
justice. The colonists are not in the ',east jealous of him
on account of his appointment. by 0.
le Society in America.
They are content,
not Yet having confidence iu them-
saves. The desire manifer:Led 1,5 the colonists to return to
America is so great, that'
if the vessels were supplied, such a
1 Number would leave i% them,
tYiat those willing to remain
would find themsel- it,s too t.
o protect themselves from the
natives, and Iva' aid therefore leave on thiS account. No ob-
stacle but th:e uant of means prevents the return of the
coloni‘Lts to America, but this is a sufficient one, and con-
,
imes them Lo the land of their exile.
It is readily admitted that individuals have been found
in the colony, who for present interest, have given incor-
rect views of its flourishing state, and that such state-
ments have appeared as must have been known to the
writer at the time to have been contrary to the real facts
of the case.

If we upon his public life
E'er venture to look back,
O'er all the way there still appears
A crooked sliding track..

Not long ago he vainly.hoped
Prime Minister to be ;
But slippery ova.•, the road he took,
Like all his 'policy.

He held not a straightforward course,
But, fled of wiles and snares,
He sliK,ed while turning out the maids,
Ane.. fell upon the stairs.

For Britain's weal, the Ministry
The Corn-laws now assail—
True to himself, Sir Robert Peel
Prefers the sliding scale.

'Tis quite in keeping that the man
(Though some may here deride)
Who has so slippery been through life,
Should love to have a slide.

When after place again he looks,
I hope he'll get the slip,
Which sometimes happens, it is said,
Between the cup and lip.

And so may all Monopolists
Who do our land enthral,
Get, like the wily 13arouet,
A heavy backward fall.

I shall conclude this brief account of Liberia by giving
it, as my opinion, from all that I have seen and In-ard,
that the good set forth by the Colonization Society will
never be attained, unless a complete change of plan be
effected. The colonists must be men chosen f.ir their
work, and well la upportcd in it. ltighteousness,

EVENING SUN

LIBERIA. and 104, must regulate the conduct of all towards eaclh
To JOSEPII STUNfTE, ESQ. I other, find towards the natives ; good and equal lztvs
".. 5. 1041. pievrtil, and a ,zreat object aimed at rrn.t:t be 11-1,

AS IO r.,il- :,,,::cii :,, 1 -..:,,_; cc ;he colonists thell.:,elves
this is out,.of the question. _Had their temporal good been
-sought, America would have been.Pund sufficiently large to
contain them all. If a few native Africans had desired. to
_be sent back to their country, it would have been bene-
volent to have done so, for their security and usefulness
in the land that gave them birth ; but • to ship off native
Americans, almost, if not altogether by force, was at
once cruel and unjust, and cannot have resting upon it
the blessings of the Most High.
- .FERNANDO PO—WEST AFRICAN COMPANY. •
I shall now turn to the state of the liberated Africans
and others in the town of Clarence, where I now reside.
When the British Government gave up their esta-
blishment here Lieut.-Colonel Niculls sold the houses,
&c., to a private Company for about 15,0001., arranging
that Government should have all back again in good
repair, at any time, by paying a stipulated sum ; vessels
were sent to take back the liberated Africans to Sierra
Leone, and many of them left the place, but a few
were• prevailed on by the representations of Captain
Beecroft to remain ; and to these the officer, while
in charge, acted the part of a fitithlld friend ;
but since the property was again - sold, and came
into the possession of the West African Com-
pany, little ,but oppression, cruelty, and injustice, has
marked the conduct of their agents towards the people.
All the houses and gardens formerly held from Govern-
ment are claimed by this Company, and a nominal rent
of palm oil is demanded each quarter. All, if required
by the Company, arc forced to work for them at slid,
rate as the agent thinks proper to give. No objec-
tion is allowed, if one is made and persisted in ;
the person is handed over to constables, to
be put in a place called a guard house, but
more properly a dungeon, as it built in a cut across f
narrow point of land, and its eaves are level with tin
surface of the ground. If resistance is made to J.:it
authority of the constable, or passion cause the person
to give liberty to the tongue, he is flogged, loaded with
irons, and kept as long as the agent pleases in thie
den of death. This last arrogates to himself the power
of doing what he pleases, and boasts of being account-
able to none but the West African Company, from whom
he says he has the fullest possible powers to do what he
thinks proper. Besides this dungeon, he has a house on I,
small rocky island for persons to be banished to for a
time. This is chiefly for women who quarrel in the
street, or do any thing to offend the agent ; men have
occasionally been sent there, but not often. Frequently
men and women have been confined in the same place,
and conduct the most arbitrary and despotic has been in-
dulged in towards all. _Take a few examples :--A canoe
full of refugees—four men and two women—escaped from
the Island of Princes last year ; they after great hardships
reached this island. They were sent offimmediately to the
dungeon—one of them soon died in it, the others re-
mained about four months, and were let out a little be-
fore we reached the island, but are still on the " black
list," and are compelled to work for the Company for
rations alone, i. e., without pay, having food only suffi-
cient to support life.. Prisoners have two pounds of yam,
cassava, orcocoa-nut and water—po meat, no salt ; those
sent over to the island have a still smaller supply, and
the poor kroomen who cut timber, and drag it
miles out of the woods for the Company, have only
five pounds of yam, rice,. or cocoa per day, and one
bottle of watered rum per week, and one piece of
cloth containing seventeen handkerchiefs (made up
for Africa) per quarter. Headmen have a little more.
No meat is regularly allowed, so that the rum and the
handkerchiefs often are bartered for monkeys to eat with
the yams, &c. Another case of cruelty was the flog-
ging of three Kroomen, because one Headman said to
another that these men intended to run away. There
arose a demur about the work, and all refused to go out
until they had their " palaver" settled. Two of the
Headmen were picked out, and severely flogged, to inti -
midate the others. A sentinel fell asleep, and being
found out, got four dozen and three - months in
guard-house, and was to work hi the garden
all the day. While so employed some one left
open the garden gate, and a cow got in and destroyed
some maize. The poor man, with his unhealed back,
was tied up to a tree, and had two dozen more given to
him before our window. My paper is full and so is my
heart, but I could fill many sheets more with the op-
pressions and cruelties practised here. We have down-
right slavery, and the people know not where to turn
for relief. Can you do anything for them ? Can a
British public put an end to their woes ? Mr. Thomp-
son has gone to England. Call him and the Company
he represents to account for their conduct. I conclude,
and remain your sincere friend,

JOHN CLARICE.

THE SUCCESSORS OF PETER.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN,
Sin,—lt gave me great pleasure to observe, and
deeply to consider the observations, made in yow: Jour-
nal of yesterday respecting the clergy. Among year other
observations, to be brief, you say, "
founder of our holy religion, had not where to lay lair
head." Why was that ? Not for lack of means at
hie
disposal, when heaven was his throne,• and earth hi,
footstool, but to set us an example to humble our nzttirt._
pride and ignorance. Why do not his successors, if thc,:..•
are true shepherds, do likewise ? Let, for instance, th
Archbishop of Canterbury, whose throne is Canterbury.
and his foot3tool Lambeth, humble himself in a similar
manner, as an example to us of the present day, mid.
dispose of his revenues for the benefit of the poor auY.
needy, instead of puffing up the natural pride of 117..,
brethren by feastings at Lambeth.
Let me also ask the public this question,—lf we wezy,
to see the Archbishops and Bishops humbly walking
throughout the streets and roads, relieving in their path
the numerous objects that would present themselves
their view, instead of rolling themselves along in
splendour they do now, what kind of respect wou!IZ
be shown them, and where would the sceptic appear I and
how would it act towards humbling the, pride of others
Would not such conduct convince -us that they wen,
genuine followers of their great master, Christ, and.
show them to be the good shepherds, and not the hire-
lings or wolves in sheeps' clothing of whom ho so. often
cautioned us to beware.

I remain, your constant reader,
T. W. T. C.

THE SLIPPERY BARONET.
If there's a man, of whom 'tis said
" He's slippery as an eel ;"
No one deserves the compliment
More than Sir Robert Peel.

SHOCKING ACCIDENT.---This morning, lie.
tween three and four o'clock, Benjamin Farley, a mare::
gardener, who was coming up to Farringdon-market
a waggon loaded with fruit, fell off the shafts, on which:
he had been riding, in the New Kent-road, and one of
the wheels passed over his cheek. He was taken to S:.
Thomas's Hospital, but is not expected to survive.
DEATH OF THE DOWAGER COUNTESS ON
CARRICK.—We greatly regret to announce the demis9 vi
this estimable lady, on Saturday last, in Kingstown, at'cr
an illness of two days, at the age of 86 years. Her lady-
ship, as our readers know, for several years reLided ..!
Orchardlon, in the neighbourhOod of this city, and 11,1.
decease will be felt by the numerous objects of her bountl
there and elsewba-e, as no ordinary calarnity.—Kilhn2
Moderator.

The accouchemcnt of Lady Louisa Johnstone,
the widow of the late lamented Sir Frederick G. Jol;.-,
stone, Bart., took place on the sth instant, at (.-:or,
Home, Kensington, when her Ladyship was safely CI,I-
vered of twin sons, who with her Ladyship are doilw
well. It is somewhat remarkable that the Johnstone
property should be again placed in trust during a
minority, the late Sir Frederick being an infant at
death of his father, Sir John.

NORTH KENT RAILWAY.—The journey horn
London to Rochester and Chatham will be reduc.ql to
an hour and a half, viz., from. London to Blackwall
railway, tem minutes ; from Blaekwail to Gravesend,
hour ; and fromGravesend to Rochester by new r!:.1-
way, twenty minutes. The survey from Rozhestcr
Maidstone is procee4ing under Mr. Gibbs through
valley of the Medway, crossing at Caxton. The
Kent Railway is ultimately to connect London over
Greenwich Railway %with Woolwich, Dartford, Cra..-e.,-
end, Rochester, Maidstone, Canterbury, Ramsgate, Mar-
gate, Sandwich, and 1), al.
At New Orleans in the week ending cn
25th, there was a death from yellow fever. This
case, though it does not prove that the diseas3
be regarded az
fa'osrearun lempeidreonflietheineapYidemnotic3.-LiNkett York Paper.

FoLKsToNE —A gentleman recently vis;l.v:-
at this place was SO MUCh impressed with the dismal
appearance of the houses in some of the narrow
that ho actually whitewashed the houses on one
South-street at his own expense, just by way of oxa:,
,DAt:
to the inhabitants.—Kentish Herald.

'Tie Govtroor of Gloucester gaol, it is said, I-
received a respite for seven days, for Heyman, conii
of the murder of Mr. Fisher, at Toehington, end
thought that the sentence of death will be transui
into banUment fur life.