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

LON D 4 . W EIANTESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 17, !KW.

world. " The ancients," they said, " have always told
us that the world has no end ; but we have been to the
end of it. We went rearchicg on with our father, be-
lieving what the ancients told us to be true ; but all at
once the world said to am firdithed— there is no
inure of me.' It was all sea in front. He after wards pro-
ceeded to the east ward, and at length struckthe Zambe:d.
That was a very large river ; in fact, the principal river
in the country—all the others running into it. Its name,
the Zambesi, meant "the river." He attempted to
make a path by the Z4mbesi to the sea. The Zambesi
was a river navigable for at least 300 miles, and that
without a single rapid. In many parts it a: as broader
than the Thames at Westminster-bridge. It had been
supposed by some that it disappeared tinder the soil and
was lost ; but any one who saw it would immediately
feel that there was no such thing as losing that river.
(Laughter.) It ran from the north to the south, then
turned away to the eastward, and pissed through a
gorge, cleft, or fissure. It was unlike any other water
fall in the world, and be thought the word "trough"
would convey a better idea of it than any other. It was
about a thousand yards wide at the falls, and it fell over
into the trough, which extended from bank to bank.
The fissure was made in a hard basaltic rock ; and at the
bottom, which was not so wide as the lips of the trough,
the river was only about 20 yards broad, but the falls
presented the most b-autiful eight he had ever seen in
his life. The river afterwards passed for a con•iderable
distance along the eastern ridge, going N.N. E., then E.,
and then S.S.E. down to the sea. He believed this saver
%eould be a permanent path into that country. The
country itself was extremely fertile, and the climate
perfectly healthy. The Makololos lived in that part,
end they 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 immeliate fruits
from the preaching of the Gospel. He bad seen so
ranch that he had now learnt to be patient. Before
setting down he would like to mention the labours of
others. In passing to the north there was some diffi
culty in travelling ; but he did not deny that those who
remained at home, and might he occupied, like his
father-in-law, Mr. Moffat, in translating the Gospel and
labouring in their own 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 be (Mr. Meat) 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 tre
derived great benefit to his health. Some thought
that h s (Dr. Livingston'o) 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-
ionary 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 hi. duty,
whatever others might say about the matter. As to
those who thought his going was a mere tempting of
Providence, he could only laugh at them, and say "They
are my weak brethren." (Laughter and cheers )
Sir CULLEN EARDLEY then moved, and Mr. T. GUAM-
BERg, M.P , seconded, the next resolution :—" That
this meeting most cheerfully and respectfully presents to
the Government of her Majesty the Queen, and to the
Government of his Majesty the King of Portugal, its best
and warmest thanks for the generous and valuable assiet
ante rendered to Dr. Livingston in the prosecution of
his extended exploratory travels in the interior of South
Africa."

The resolution was agreed to nest. dia.
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 his
mind by what had fallen from a preceding speaker.
For a series of years the B-itish Government had
spent large sums of money with the view to the re.
pression,,or suppression, if possible, of the slave trade.
An idea hal sprung up, or rather he suspected a " fib "
had been propagated by the slave dealers, though amongst
grown up people it was a somewhat 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 other% lee would be. "Now
this," exclaimed Dr. Livingston, "is all bosh." Imy
self believed it once, and the reasoning was very specious.
My brother, when attending a class on political economy
in one of the colleges in the United States of America,
heard a professor declare that the British Government
would promote the slaves more by fitting 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 c .mpletely
repressed, and the means by which it was repressed were
the making the exp ,rtation of slaves much more dan-
Lferous to capitalists than even gambling fnr gold. I
have seen boys of about 14 years of age sold within a
hundred miles of the coast for 12s. a head, whereas if
there had been any demand for slaves abroad, and it had
been easy to take 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, each was
the activity of our cruisers on the coast, that it was
dangerous to attempt it. The slaves are, therefore,
tran- witted inte the interior and exchanged for ivory.
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.
(Rear, hear) At Angola, and throughout the whole of
Eastern Africa, when you ask about this or that person's
circumstances, you hear it constantly said, "Oh, 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
them. (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 plantation s 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 Afrionn 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 those 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. But 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 prisJners 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
euppreesicnists—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
how, 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.ladynow
sitting in the ball. The wife of our distinguished
friend, Dr. Livingston, is present. That lady was born
with a distinguished name, which she exchanged for an-
ther distinguished name. She wrz born a Moffatt, and
she became a Livingston. (Cheers.) That lady cheered
the early part of our friend'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.