The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-17 00:00:00

WEENESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 17, icit)(.

d Ste_ r I.~''tt ~ ~..~~

DR. LIVINGSTON'S AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

The London Missionary Society gave a public recep-
tion yesterday at the FreeMasons'-nall to the Rev. Dr.
Livingston on his return from South Africa. The hail
was crowded by influential assemblage of the clerical
• rind lay memo: is ,1 the society. The chair was t tken
ny the Earl of Suafteshury, and upon the platform were
fir R. Mtirchison, President of the Geographical So-
eiety ; Sir H. Rewlinson, the Hon, A. Kinneird, M.P.,
'air. T. Chambers, M.P., Sir C. Eardley, Barn, Rev.
• Dr. Vaughan, President of the Lencashire Independent
College ; Rev. Dr. Binney, Rev. Dr. Burnet, &c.
The meeting having been opened by prayer by the
' Rev. C. Goodheart,
The noble CHAIRMAN said that after 17 years of la-
hour, anxiety, and research, a great and good man had
returned to hie native country in health and safety,
winging 'with him a harvest of knowledge as the result
4 his indefatigable perseverance, and an accumulation
rt facts which, under the blessing of Almighty God,
might be turned to thO benefit of present and future gem.
ratione. (Cheers.j, They were now assembled to greet
hat man, And .to join with him in thanksgiving to Al-
nighty God that he bad returhed, and that he had the
aiurago to persevere in the noble course to which the
erevidenne of God bad called him. Dr. Livingston was
riot only a missionary, but a man of science ; and he
eishedithat those when) he was addressing could have
Teen present at the Geitgrephical Society last night,
.vheu Dr. Livingston had- narrated the discoveries he
lad made with such minuteness of detail, accuracy ~f.
knowledge, and qUie.itila.,Qfsuera,tion tlat they would
:ere thought he had never been entia;ed..in :any other
ourstiit than the study of geographicalscience. Hu would
.ipon this subject quote testimony of great value :
"You may like to know (writes Mr:T. Maclean, As-
renewer Royal) that I have received from my friend Dr.
Livingston, a complete copy of his Astronomical ob-
,erVations for geographical positions, on the track of
ene lets perilous, but triumphant journey across
:hih continent, from Loande. on the west to Quilimane
,nithe'ealt coast. . . . To this highly-gifted man
!geographical science is deeply indebted. The number of
inservations is astonishing, when we consider the cliff'.
eultiee'he had to encounter. lie observed ,for latitude
end longitude at every interesting point, particularly at
the confluence of other rivers with the Zambese, the
;endings, the falls, the more important villages, &c. In
hod,: lee has opened up, geographically speaking, that,
eitherto unknown section of the continent. But he has
•one more ; he has graphically described the character
of the country and inhabitants ; and, altogether, his col-
jection of facts would fill a volume of deep interest to
deuce, to commerce, and last, not least, to humanity.
Let us pray that he may be spared."
(dear.) Who would not join in a hearty "Amen" to
this prayer? (Ciieers.) Now let him quote from a let-
rer of Dr. Livingston's :
, "I am not so elated (writes this good man) in having
performed what has not, to my knowledge, been done
,efore, in traversine the continent, because the end of
'hie geographical feat is but the beginning of the mis-
sionary enterprise. May God grant me life to do some
tiore_good.to this poor Africa !"
(Oliver'.) Here the missionary element was predemi-
eant. Dr. Livingston went out, in the character of a
minister of the GoSpel, but he possessed what it were to
ee wished every missionary could superadd to his other
eualifications--a knowledge of the science and practice
,f medicine. He had been sent out by the London Mis-
sionary Society ; and when they considered bow God
ead blesse I that society in the remarkable men Ho had
raised up from its ranks—Mine, Medhurst, Morrison,
Williams, and now Livingston, with matey others living
and dead, whose names were inscribed in the Book of
nifee--it .was Impossible not to respect and love that
elciety, and not to feel thankfulness to Almighty 1
-.3-.od. thht He 'had pet it into the hearts of men to
:nund and cherish such an institution. (Cheers.)
Dr. Livingston's discoveries could not fail to carry
enlarged commerce and civilisation into the regions be
bad visited, and it might be hoped that commerce
,eould.tend to make man so valuable in those central
regions that the slave trade might be in tines altogether
extineuiehed. He was very much struck by an anecdote
related by Dr. Livingston last night. He was once in
danger from a hostile tribe of natives, and when he
,bowed them his white skin, not the skin of his face,
which he understood was at the time as black as a coal,
bet the- skin of his arms and chest—the natives said,
" On, we know who you are ; you belong to the tribe
who love the black man." (Cheers.) That, to his mind,
vas a more glorious title fr,r this empire than to he styled
" Mistress of Kingdoms," or " Queen of the Ocean," or
any ether title that the Herald's College could invent ;
and- much he wished that when Dr. Livingston returned
lie plight be considered the representative of the British
empire, or raillei. Mali the British empire might be coo-
eider ed his representative be expressing these feelings.
Dr. Livingston had not achieved 'so may remarkable
discoveries, and conferred so much benefit upon the na-
tives tribes of the interior, without exposing himself to
many'.offerings and dangers.
" lie has had (says the statement published at the
C,. pc in- October, 1856) 31 attacks of fever, and has been
even times in danger of his life from the natives of the
cenntry 'he has passed through; Similar privations, dif-
ecultie,., and dangers probably await him on his return ;
but with self-sacrificing Christian heroism, and a depen-
dence on Divine aid, he is willing to encounter them all,
and to work still in this poor trodden-down country."
Well, then (said the noble chairman in conclusion), what
better thing than to welcome such a man to the shores of
our country? What better than to receive him with
thankegivin'g and rejoicings that he is spared to refresh
us with his presence, and give us strength to future
exertions ? What season more appropriate than this,
when' at every hearth, and in every congregation of
worshippers, the name of Christ will be honoured with
more than ordinary devotion ? What season, I say, more
appropriate than this to receive a man whose life and
labours have been in humble, hearty, and willing obedi-
ence to the prayer of the angels themselves from Heaven,
" Glory to Crud in the highest ; on earth peace, good
will towards men ? "(Loud cheers.)
The Rev. Dr. VAUGHAN, President of the Lancashire
College, moved the following resolution :
" That this meeting presents its most cordial congratu-
lations to the Rev. David Livingston, LL.D., on his safe
arrival is his native country after an absence of 1G years,
occupied in missionary labours and travels in South Africa.
It entertains the highest admiration of that Christian be-
nevolence, courage, and perseverance, by which he was
animated :and sustained throughout his extended and peril-
ous journeys in those hitherto unexplored regions; and
the meeting hereby
_devoutly acknowledges the merciful
providence of God by which Dr: Livingston was befriended
and preserved amid the manifold dangers and gigantic dif-
ficUlties of his noble enterprise, and by which his self-
denying and indefatigable efforts to open a channel for the
introduction of Christianity, with its unnumbered bless-
ings, to the unenlightened millions of South Africa, have
been crowned with the happiest success."
The resolution was seconded by the Hon. A. Km.
NAIRD,SirR
and passed unanimously.
R. MURCHISON said that the resolution he had to
propose united the sentiments of every man of science
with thoie entertained by the whole Christian world. It
was as follows :
"That this meeting presents to Dr. Livingston the sin
cere expression of it, admiration and gratitude for the die
tinguished advantages secured to geographical and kindred
sciences by his important discoveries in South Africa, and
it cherishes the earnest hope that his disinterested labours
may hereafter secure to the relive tribes of that vast con-
tinent the blessings of knowledge, civilisation, and cam-
merce."

The Geographical Society had been no idle spectators
of Dr. Livingston's discoveries, and had endeavoured to
honour bins, not only fur the marvellous travels he had
accomplished and his scientific quali6cations, but also
for his moni worth. (Cheers.)
- Col, Sir H. RAWLINBON, in seconding the resolution,.
reminded the meeting how greatly indebted geographical
science had ever been to the Christian world. Indeed
all the great discoveries in Asia and Africa had been
made by Christian missionari-s. (Cheers.)
The resolution was put and carried.
On the CHAIRMAN calling upon Dr. Livingston to
address them,
The Rev. Dr. LIVINGSTON then rose to address the
meeting, and was received with loud and long-continued
cheers. He said the very kind expressions with which be
had been greeted by the chairman and the different
speakers, quite oppressed him, because, while ho wished
to receive their expressions with proper gratitude, he
felt pretty strongly that ho did not deserve them. He
felt himself to be in what he believed they called a
dilemma (Laughter.) His reception there put him in
mind of an anecdote of something that occurred when
George the Fourth went to Scotland. Scotland bad not
neon visited before by a king for a great length of time,
and when George 'the Fourth went there the people
almost went mad about him. A father held up his
child above the heads of the crowd, thinking, per-
haps that he would never see a king again, and
said to him, " Do you see him ? do you see him ?"
" Why," replied the child, lie is only a man—he is
only a man." tLaughter.) He suspected that those
who had Listened to the kind expressions which had
been used t iwards himself, on seeing. his person, and
hearing his speech, would be inclined to say, " Why,
after all, he is only a man."
He laboured under the dis-
advantage of having spoken a native African language
for the laQt 16 years. During that time he did not study
the English tongue, and he forgot much of its phrase•
ology, and he now felt more inclined to speak the Afri-
can idiom than the English. They must kindly bear
with him. It was very difficult to convey an accurate
idea, by any language whatever of a foreign country. In
Africa he found it exceedingly difficult to convey an idea
of what England was to the native inhabitants. Although
he spoke their language pretty well, and could describe
to them anything belonging to Africa, it was impossible
for him to describe to them intelligibly what England
was or what a machine was. He would defy any one
to convey to a native African an idea of a machine.
And now those who honoured him with their presence
occupied a somewhat similar position to that of the
natives of Africa. They could form but a faint idea of
what Africa really was, and of what missionary labour
really was. There was very little of this excitement there.
They (the missionaries) were called enthusiasts. Ile con-
fessed that he was an enthusiast. But his enthusiasm
required hard work to sustain it—(hear)---one had to go
through a great deal to keep up the enthusiasm. The

missionary cause suffered a little from this—that much
more was expected than could be given. It was ex•
pected that when the gospel was preached to the heathen
they would listen to it, and either believe or reject it.
But the fact was that those to whom the gospel was
preached immediately began to judge the missionaries by
their own motives. They imagined that with all this
fair speaking there was something behind, sa -no other
end in view which would be discovered by and
bye. The missionaries must labour to do good to
their bodies ; they must endeavour to promote their
temporal advantage, in order thereby to acquire
a good name, and convey the idea that they were
really an dons to promote their welfare ; and then, and
then only, would tee Africans beceme attentive to the
concerns of their souls. Tile native Africans were
very slow in the emotions of their minds—they were
not at all like the South Sea Islanders. One never heard
o a whole tribe of people in Africa at once embreeing
the gospel, as had been the case in the South Sea
Islands. The habits of the two kinds of people were,
t ttally different. The idea entertained by sonic
Christians at home, that the Africans would become
converted all at once, had emustimes reminded hicu
of an expression of the African chieftain Sicheli.
When Sicheli first perceivel that he was anxious
that his people should believe the gospel, he said
to him, "Do you really imagine that these people will
ever believe the gospel if I don't beat them ?" (Laugh-
ter.) He (Dr. Livingston) replied that conversion c mid
not come by means of the rod. " Well, you don't know
these .people," said Sicheli ; " I see you want them to be-
lieve, but they never will believe unless I take the mum,
buk and beat them." (Laughter.) In like manner, it
would almost appear that rnanyClarietietes in this coun-
try fancied that it was possible to beat belief, as it were,
into the African, races. As most of them, perhaps,
were aware, he remained with Sicheli for a number
of years, and, when the missionary station wee de-
stroyed by aa attack of the Boers, while he was going
north to explore the sic'w country, he saw plainly shat
would follow. For years the minds of the people had
been distracted by fears of an attack. He saw that this
attack would actually come, and therefore prepared to
leave and go north ; but before going ho sent his family
to England. He found that the Boers had attacked the
tribe and carried off a great number of the children and
Vundered his house of everything it contained. (Hear.)
" Oh," said the rev...doctor, "I do not wish to make a
pitiful wail before you; for this relieved me entirely of all
concern for what was behind." (Laughter.) Lord Shaftes-
bury mentioned the high estimation in which the name of
the English nation vva iaeldabrozd. lie would here give
an illustration of the estimation in which the name of her
Majesty was held in Africa at the time of which he was
speaking. He met Sicheli near Krootnen, and asked him
where he was g,:ing. He said, "I aria going to Queen Vic-
toria." He taleeavoured t dissuade him from setting out
—telling him that he would have no one to interpret for
him. " Well," said he, "if I do go to the Queen will
she not listen t, me ?" He replied that he believed she
would do so. "Tsen," said he, "I'll go ;" and he wont
a thousand miles down to the Cape with the view of
going to England, and was obliged to return because he
could not obtain a passage. This showed the high esti-
mation in which the English Queen and the justice of
the English nation were held by the natives of Africa.
(Cheers.) On proceeding to the north he went first
among the people who were celled the lalakololo. Teem)
were Beehuanas. They lived in former times in what
was called the Basuta country, and were driven to the
north by the Miskabeli. These people (the Mak,,1410)
opened she path, and he (Dr. Livingston) followed in
their footsteps many years after. A large Fortiou of the
land in the interior was then, and was still, in their
bands, including all the territory in the neighbourhood of
the Zambesi. The Boers had determined that ne English-
man should penetrate, if they could help it, northwards.
because they wished all the trade to remain in their own
hands ; but he, on the contrary, determined that the
country is the interior should be opened. When they
shut one he determined to open,another, and, as it
turned out, he had opened up two paths into the interior
of the African continent. The directors of the London
Missionary Society said that as he knew more of the
state of the country, and of what was necessary for it,
than they did, they would give him a free commission to
endeavour to open up a path for the spread of the gos-
pel. (Cheere.) He would here remark that the directors
had always treated him with the greatest kindness.
Sometimes in Africa he had heard dis ant grurablings.
Such things were peculiar to the English people. The
English were very fond of grumbling ; they were knotin
all over the world as delighting iu having a grumble.
(Laughter.) Now, how e u'er others might grumble again: t
the directors of the London Missionary Society, he must
nay they had always supported him aec,rding to their
ability ; they were always Kind to him, and he tied never
haul a single word of difference with them daring the last
sixteen years. Well, as he was remarking, he proceeded
to the north, and he-Would shortlyeduscribe what he met
with. They had all heard of "Afric's burning sands."
That expre,sion was quite correct, so far as the country
south of 20 degrees was concerned. Tee south was dry,
and the population comparatively small. But when they
got beyond 20 degrees they came to a totally different
country and a totally different people. The people were
the tree negro family, and-their country was the country
from which we once derived our slaves, and iroin which
the-Brazilians and the Cubans still obtained theirs. la
the whole of the centre of this country lie found the
people exceedingly civil and kind, but there was a fringe
of population round about which always prevented com-
merce from entering leto the interior. The Africans in
the interior were iond of commerce. This he learnt
from the eager manner in which they cut red into his
pie ject of forming a path. His object in that project
was to promote commerce and Curistianisation ; and
the natives were immediately delighted with the
idea or having a path to the sea, by means of which they
ruig'at trade with the white men. He did not wish it to
be understood that they had any desire for the gospel.
Sometimes people imagined, when they heard the natives
spoken of as being willing to receive white men, that they
were willing to receive Caristiabity. Every one of these
tribes in the central portion of the country would be de-
lighted at the presence of a white mho, regardieg it as a
sort of protection to them. A missionary was in their
opinion a thing that was not to be killed—(laughter)----
they were delighted to have him amongst them, but nut
because they wished to know the gospel—that desire
came after, when they :63,1 become acquainted with
his character. A wonderful effect was produced upon
those who went down with him to Luanda to see
the ships of war. As ithey were passing through the
villages on their way to the coast they were told
that the white man was going to wheedle them
on board the ship=, and t bat when they'catne there they
would be fattened and eateec. They partly believed this.
He said to them, " Well, if you like to believe that, you
can go back ; Inc when did you ever hear of an English-
man having a slave, or buying or selling one ?" -' No,
truly," they said; but: still their suspicions were not
entirely removed. When he took them on board the
ships of war, and all tie e sailors gave them bread and
meat and talked to them,. though they could not under-
stand a word of what they said to each other—(laughter)
—they were extremely delighted. Every suspicion then
vanished. They afterwards treated him in the kindest
manner—they almost worshipped him. If he handed
them anything they w ould go down on their knees to
receive it until he told them not to do so, and simply
from seeing tae power of the English, they believed that
the religion of those evLes were able to make such things
as they had beheld must be true. On returning to
the country of Sicheli Ise found it so well watered
that it was impossible to have a waggon path. Some
of the difficulties which he had to encounter re
mentioned by one of the gentlemen wh, had ad-
dressed the meeting. These he should nut enter
into. He wag inclihed to keep all these stories
until he had got into hits dotage—(laughter—and when
he became garrulous, he would relate them to his chil-
dren. (Laughter). At present he had not a single note
of triumph, and he felt a sort of oppression when he
thought of what was to be done. He knew that there
was to be bard work in the future, as there had been in
the past. (Hear.) It was not by grand meetings, flue
speechifying, and much excitement, that anything great
wasto be done ; it was by hard working, working in
quiet, working under a sense of God's presence every-
where, and working without an expectation of seeing
the fruits. The part of the interior of which he had last
spoken was so feu of rivers that he never had occasion to
carry water for a single day ; whereas in the south, and
when he went in search of the Lake Ngatni with Mr.
Oswald, they wanted water for four days, and only fuuad
it in wells. The country was well peopled, being the
slave producing country. The people were remarkably
free from disease, nod were very prolific. About
20 years ago the small pox and the measles visited
them, and a great many of them died ; but they had
never coins since. There was no consumption, no scro-
fula, no hydrophobia, and here was not much madness,
though cases did somertitnes ocean Manydiseases which
prevailed in England were quite unknown among the
negro family. Notwithstanding all the wars and ail the
kidnapping they wee° still a numerous race ; and he
had no doubt, from his observations, that they were as
much preserved for purposes of mercy as were God's
ancient people, the Jews. (Hear, hear.) He was more
astonished by uhe estimation in which the ladles were
held amongst them than by anything else in the country.
They were often made chieftains. It a divorce happened
is was generally thse woman who divorced the math and
she took the children away with her. If a young
man married a yo ang woman residing in another %Wage,
he was obliged to have his own village and go and live with
his wife and his mother-in-law—(a laugh)—whom he had
to supply with wood, which was often only obtainable at
a great distance. In coming don the Zambesi river
particalarly, he observed that this arrangement was at-
tended with consideeable toil and trouble. If a man were
consult my wife." (A. laugh.) If she consented, the
but oitrkshe did not, nothing would
reply
.illwdiblleg,oafatnedr
learning
szdi awtgoo muchdowabep
dieoene eho;ef a work,
to get sf
or
induce the husband to perform it. (Another laugh.)
Feeling greatly surmised at this, he asked the Portu-
guese traders if they had observed the same thing, and
was told that it had always been the case. When be
came down from the north with his men all his goods
allhehirdewartchnetsd wthiteholVivatkfeoeloolor
country, the
been epetepoepnlecied before
supplied.
reward. His men were delighted with the journey to
the coact, saying that they bad been to the end of the

world.
as that
end of i
lievingi
one tli

more ol
eeededi
That vi

in the
the Z
make

" The ancients," they said, " have always told
the world has no end ; but we iniveibeed.to the,
t. We went marching on with our father, ,be-
what the ancients told us to be true ; but all at,

was a
withoi

e world said to I am finished'—there i 3• no
F me.' It was all sea in frcipt. ,He aftorwardo pro-
to the eastward, and at length struck the Zatn.heii..
as a very large river ; in fact, the prineipal river
. _

tountry—ali the others running into it. ;Its narpe,•
,mbesi, meant "the river." He attempted to
path by the Zambesi to the sea. The Zambesi

ivdr navigable for at least 300 miles, and that
t a single rapid. In many parts it eras broader

than

Le Thames at Westminstei-bidge. It had been

suppotd by some that it disappeared underthe soil and
was 1: t ; but any one who saw it would immediately

feel tliat there wiis no such thing as losing that river.
(Laughter.) It ran from the north to the south, then
1 turne away to the eastward, and passed through a
gorge cleft, or fissure. It was unlike any other water.
fall in; the world, and be thought the word "trough'

Vfout
about
into
The I

convey a better idea of it than any other. It was
a thousand yards wide at the falls, and it fell over
he trough, which extended from bank to bank.
3 3 ure was made in a bard basaltic rock ;and at, the

bottoi
the ri
presei
his lif

which was not so wide as title lips of the trough,
ver was only about 20 yards broad, but the falls
ited the most beautiful sight he bad ever seen in
e. The river afterwards passed for a considerable

di:4w
and t
vroult

ce along the eastern ridge, going N.N.E., then E.,
ten S.S.E. down to the sea. He believed this river
be a permanent path into that country. The

country itself was extremely fertile, and the climate
perfebtly healthy. The Makoicilds lived in that part,
and iiiey knew the country well,„the Zambesi being their
southern line of defence, and the whole of the territory a
long way to the north being subjected to them. On the
ridge just mentioned he would like to see a mission sta-
tion placed. He should not expect immediate fruits
from the preaching of the Gospel. He had seen so
much that ho had now learnt to he patient. Before
setting down he would like to mention the labours of
others. In passing to the north there was some diffi
cult), in travelling ; but he did not deny that those who
remained at home, and might be cccupied, like his
father-in-law, Mr. Moffat, in translating the Gospel and
labouring in theirown village, had a great deal of toil,
and not so much pleasure as he (Dr. Livingston) had in
sleeping under the vault of heaven and enjoying the free
air of the desert. (Laughter.) Mr. Moffat was the only
person who saw the project of opening up the country
in the north to the eastern or western coast in the same
light that he did; when they parted he (Mr. Moffat) said
to him, " Well, I wish I could go with you, but I must
proceed here with the translation." His father-in-law
went afterwards to the Maslikasie country, where he
derived great benefit to his health. Some thought
that la's (Dr. Livingston's) going into the interior of
Africa was a mere tempting of Providence. But, with
reference to the endeavour to evangelise the interior and
the true negro family, he would have the London Mis-
sionary and other kindred societies act just in the same
manner that he himself had done. He saw it to be his
duty to go, and he was determined to perform his duty,
whatever others might say about the matter. As to
those who thought his going was a mere tempting of
Providence, he could only lauj,h at them, and say "They
are my weak brethren." (Laughter and cheers.)
Sir CULLEN EARDLEY then moved, and Mr. T. CHAM-
BERS, M.P., seconded, the next resolution :—" That
this meeting moat cheerfully and respectfully presents to
the Government of her Majesty the Queen, and to the
Government of his Majesty the King of Portugal, its hest
and warmest thanks for the generous and valuable assist-
ance rendered to Dr. Livingston in the prosecution of
his extended exploratory travels in the interior of South
Africa."

The resolution was agreed to non. dis.
The CHAIRMAN here intimated the wish of Dr. Living-
ston briefly to address the meeting upon the subject of
the extinction of the slave trade.

Dr. LIVINGSTON then proceeded to say that the re-
marks he desired to make had been suggested to Lis
mind by what had fallen from a preceding speaker.
For a series of years the British Government had
spent large Burns of money with the view to the re-
pression, or suppression, if possib'e, of tke slave trade.
An idea had sprung up, or rather he suspected a " fib "
had beea propagated by the slave dealers, though amongst
grown sip people it was a sornewhat difficult thing to
trace a fib to its source, that our cruisers on the African
coast made the " middle passage " a thousand times
worse for the slaves than it others ice would be. "Now
this," exclaimed Dr. Livingston, "is all bosh." I my-
self believed it once, and the reasoning was very specious.
My brother, when attending a clase on political economy
in one of the colleges in the United States of America,
heard a profssor declare that the British Government
would promote the slaves more by tittiug up convenient
ships such as the Peninsular and Oriental Company send
out.to India, and that it was a totally mistaken idea to
suppose that the cruisers could suppress the slave trade.
Well, I went to Angola with that very idea in my head;
but when I got there I found the slaves have completely
repressed, and the means by which it was repressed were
the making the exportation of slaves much more dan-
gerous to capitalists than even gambling for gold. I
have seen boys of about 14 years of age sold within a
hunered miles of the coast for 12s. a head, whereas if
there had been any demand for slaves abroad, and it had
been east), to tape them out of the country over sea, they
would have got perhaps 201. a head for them. Now, if
the slave trade had been going on, these slaves would
have been taken out of the country ; but no, such was
the activity of our cruisers on the coast, that it was
dangerous to attempt it. The slaves are, therefore,
tran-mitted into the interior and exchanged for ivury.
I myself once travelled about a month in the
company of three half-bred Portuguese traders, who had
eight women with them, whom they were taking into
the country to sell for ivory. But even when exchanged
for ivory, the price is not at all equal to what might be
got by exporting them, if they were only able to do that.
(Hear, hear.) At Angola, and throughout the whole of
Eastern Africa, when you ask about this or that person's
circumstances, on hear it constantly said, "Ob, he was
rich at the time of the slave trade." (Hear, hear.) The
fact is, that there are only three men in all Angola who
have any of the riches which they got by the slave trade ;
for riches so obtained seem to bring no blessing with
thew. (Loud cheers.) They do not stop in the family.
(Renewed cheers and laughter.) In former times the
Jesuits, with their usual foresight, planted fine Mocha
coffee at Angola, and the coffee has propagated, it is
supposed by birds, all over the country. Several planta-
tions of it were discovered when I was there. I saw it
as far as 300 miles from the coast. Now, the merchants
of Angola; finding that they cannot carry on the slave
trade as they did formerly, have turned their attention
to this coffee, and hence plantations are readily formed
and rapidly increasing. (Cheers.) Indeed it would al-
most seem as if God had provided these means of giving
them riches if they would but leave the ways of sin for
legitimate industry. It is thought by some that the wars
among the Atria in tribes are more cruel now than they
were when the prisoners were sold as slaves. This I was
assured by a slave dealer myself ; but I believe that this
story is like the other about the activity of our cruisers
having increased the horrors of the Middle Passage.
(Hear.) Well, this slave dealer told me that the Marava,
who live to the north of the Zambesi river, when they
have a war kill all the prisoners ; and "is it not better,"
he asked, "to export them as slaves ? For if we were
allowed to export them we could take them away and
Christianise them." (Laughter.) But I want to know
who began these wars. I have a good deal of acquaint-
ance with the native tribes in the interior of Africa, and
I find that there is never a war amongst them unless it
is about cattle. Now, few people are killed in conse-
quence of wars about cattle. Bat when there was a
slave trade on the coast, and a market for the sale of the
prisoners, the people fought fiercely, the one tribe to
capture as many prisoners as possible, the other to de,
fend themselves and children against being taken cap-
tive, because they knew the result would be to make
them slaves. These wars were fomented and continued
by the -lave trade, and the slave' dealers—not the slave
suppressicnists—must therefore take the credit of them
to themselves. (Hear, hear.)
On the motion of the Rev. Dr. BINNEY, seconded by
the Rev. J.BURNETT, the thanks of the meeting were voted
by acclamation to the Earl of Shaftesbury for his kind
and valuable services in presiding on the occasion.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY briefly acknowledged the
compliment, and said he had accepted the proposition to
take the chair with very much diffidence, but he had
yielded his judgment to those who had assured him
that by so doing, though he confessed be could not see
bow, he would be able to effect some good. (Cheers.)
Before we retire (continued the noble earl) allow
me to ask your permission to express from the meet-
ing some mark of respect and affection to a lady now
ofT
hoautr
laddrys t n
wagsu ins
nhrend
fswri
iti
ett ihnndag,
dpiinsrt.i
ntLhgeihviisbnhgaelsdlt.ohna,Tmihsee,pwr
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she exchanged for an-
ther distinguished name. She was born a Moffatt, and
she became a Livingston. (Cheers.) That lady cheered
the early part of our xriend's cause, by her spirit, her
counsel, and her society. Afterwards, when she reached
this country, she passed many years with her children
in solitude and anxiety, suffering the greatest fears for
the welfare of her husband, and yet enduring all with
patience, resignation, and even joy, because she had sur-
rendered her best feelings and sacrificed her own private
enjoyments to the advancement of civilisation, and to
the great interests of Christianity. I hope, therefore, you
will allow me to express t that excellent lady the deep
respect and affection that we entertain for her and for
her children, and that we hope the great name she bears
will continue to receive to the la est generations the gra-
titude and respect which her husband has earned for it.
The meeting then separated.