The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-13 00:00:00

WEST COAST OF AFRICA

THE MASSACRE AT DAHOMEY.

The Royal Mail steamship Armenian, Wild,
commander, arrived at Liverpool on Saturday morn-
ing with the mails from the West African Coast,
Madeira, and Teneriffe. The following are the
latest dates by this arrival : Benin, March 24; Old
Calabar, April 1 ; Cameroons, 3 ; Fernando Po, 3 ;
Bonny, Brass, and Nun, 6 ; Lagos, 10 ; Accra, 12 ;
Cape Coast, 14 ; Cape Palmas, 16 ; Sierra Leone,
21 ; Bathurst, 25 ; Teneriffe, May 1; Madeira, 3.
The Armenian brings home a full cargo and 1,500
ozs. in gold dust, and 36 passengers,
By the Armenian we learn that affairs were in a
very unsatisfactory state in the Bight of Benin.
Mr. Foote, the British Consul for Lagos, had been
up to Abbeokutah and Porto Novo in her Majesty's
ship Brune, to endeavour to bring to a satisfactory
termination some long-pending disputes. When at
Porto Novo, the Consul, finding it impossible to
persuade the King of that town to come on board
the Brune, caused a shot to be fired over the town,
to let the King and his people know that he in-
tended to be serious. The Porto Novo people re-
sponded to this by firing into the Brune. Five
shots were then fired from the Brune into the town,
and the vessel then steamed away to Badagry. Our
latest intelligence from Badagry states that trade
at that place was at a complete stand-still. Not a
single gallon of oil was to be had. The affair at
Porto Novo remained unfinished, but Mr. Consul
Foote had expressed his determination to bring the
King of that place to his senses by a " little outside
pressure."
The Governor of Cape Coast had been settling a
dispute with the King of Anamboe. It seems that
the chiefs of Anamboe had been for some time
gradually usuruing authority over other districts
to which they had no right. A short time
prior to the departure of the Armenian the King
of Anamboe seized some persons, natives of the
Winnebah district, • and fined them. The affair
was reported to the commandant of Anamboe,
and this officer made the matter known to
the Governor of Cape Coast. His Excellency
sent orders to the King to deliver up the people,
and the money he had got from them in fines. The
King (Coffee Afferry)'gave up the people, but flatly
refused to refund the money, at the same time re-
turning a " very insulting" reply to the governor's
message. The governor, therefore, sent 100 men of
the Gold Coast Artillery Corps under the command
of the Hon. Major Cochrane, Captain Gatehouse,
Lieutenant Sharpe, and Ensign Davis, to ger an
explanation from the refractory monarch. When
the troops reached Anamboe (ten miles distant from
Cape Coast) they surrounded the house of the
Anamboe chief. The King was not to be found, as
at the sight of the forces, he jumped out of the
window of his house and ran away. Some of the
gentlemen of Anamboe interceded, and pro-
mised to find the King, Major Cochrane telling
them to make haste, as the Governor would shortly
be there in a man-of-war. When his excellency
arrived he was met on the beach by the principal
people of Anamboe, among whom was King
Coffee Afferry himself. A palaver was held, and
the King, after being called upon to explain his
conduct, was severely reprimanded, and fined £5O
and costs.
The territory of Bandoo, late under the govern-
ment of a Sherbro chief, has been ceded by him to
the British Government, and is therefore now under
the British rule. Formal possession was taken of
the territory on the 26th March by Commander
Heneage, of her Majesty's ship Falcon, in the pre-
sence of a large number of persons, who displayed
the greatest enthusiasm while the British flag was
hoisted and the royal salute fired. The Sierra Leone
African says, speaking of the above annexation :
" We are sure that it is a measure that will prove
as beneficial to Sherbro as advantageous to the
colony, and are therefore highly gratified to learn
that the occupation of Bandoo has been fully sanc-
tioned by her Majesty's home Government."
According to late advices from Lagos, we learn
that no fears were entertained of any attack upon
the Abbeokutans by the King of Dahomey.

The Ijage and Ibodan war seems to be no nearer
a conclusion than at our last advices.
From Liberia we learn that the president and the
troops had returned from their expedition against
the Nyffans. The difficulties are said to have been
all settled, and peace established on a firm founda-
tion.

A native missionary, who witnessed the " grand
custom" of the King of Dahomey, says that more
than 2,000 male human beings were slaughtered,
and about as many females and young children,
besides enormous numbers of deer, turkey, buzzards,
and other fowl. In a commercial point of view it
has also been productive of evil. The Vest African
Herald says :—" We learn that besides the terrible
sacrifice of human life caused by the Dahoman
grand custom,' it has also had the effect of, in a
great measure, putting a stop to trade in that part
of the country. All the principal people have been
compelled to repair to the capital Abomey), and
remain there to witness this custom. In Wydab,
we understand there were, when our informant left
that town, few people but women and slaves. The
palm nuts were rotting on the trees; commerce and
agriculture were languishing grievously. It will
be a mercy, indeed, when some civilised power
shall undertake to put down this abominable king-
dom of Dahomey, the terror and scourge of one of
the finest portions of Africa. We learn that the
British Government are sending 200 men to Abbeo-
kuta to assist the natives of that town in defending
themselves against any apprehended attack from
the King of Dahomey. This will have a great
effect, and if followed up properly will result in
the destruction of the Dahoman power. There
is no doubt all the surrounding tribes fear and
detest Dahomey, she will not let anybody
alone. Without even the shadow of a pretext
she invades the territories of her neighbours at
pleasure, ravaging the country, burning the vil-
lages, and carrying away the unoffending and un-
prepared inhabitants to death or slavery. The
kingdom of Dahomey is the mainstay and support
of the slave trade in the Bight of Benin. Her
wars are predatory excursions to keep the slave
market constantly supplied. The Dahomans live
entirely by war. They are essentially a nation
of plunderers and warriors. They culti-
vate little ; their commerce is in significant,
they subsist altogether on the proceeds of
their predatory excursions. Let us be rid
of Dahomey, and the slave trade will receive a '
blow which will go far towards destroying it in the
Bight of Benin." The article then proceeds to
enumerate the various custom 4 (including the King
and all his retinue) which ought to be abolished in
the kingdom of Dahomey, and in their place it says
make factories and Government stations in the
Bight of Benin. You (the English Government)
will soon be able to take away your cruisers ; you
will no longer turn pale at the failure of the cotton
crop in America; and millions of the African race
will bless the hand that brought them freedom and
regeneration.
Among the King of Dahomey's army there is a
troop called the Amazon Guards. The est
African Herald thus describes them :—" The
Amazon Guards, as they have sometimes been
styled, are the most extraordinary troops that we
have ever heard or read of. They are 3,000 in
number, all females, and display such a degree of
ferocious bloodthirstiness and hardihood as to bear
a greater resemblance to a host of mad Ogresses
than to human creatures. They utterly despise
death ; they show no mercy to any living being in
war ; they are mad after blood, and seem not to
know what fear means. They are in fact a troop
of devils, so to speak, whose hideous wildness of
manner, and the savage madness of whose demean-
our in times of excitement is so appalling and in-
human, as to have led many well-judging persons
to opine that these dreadfal creatures are
periodically subjected to the influence of some
species of drug which has this effect. The dress of
the Amazons consists of a pair of loose trousers,
an upper garment covering the breast, and a cap.
They are armed with a gun, knives, and daggers ;
some have blunderbusses others long elephant-
guns, while the remainder carry the ordinary mus•
ket. In their military exercises they display good
discipline, as well
lity, ' as wonderful dexterity and agi-

RAIL WAY IN7ELLIGENCE.

STOCKPORT, DISLEY, AND WHALEY

BRIDGE,

A Wharncliffe mectinf, of this company was
held on Friday, at the aces, No, 2, Leadenhall
street, for the purpose of taking into consideration
a bill before Parliament for empowering the Lon-
don and North-Western to make railways at Bur-
ton-upon-Trent ; to confer additional powers upon
them with reference to parts of their undertaking.
and for other purposes. Mr. Robert Russell Not-
man, chairman of the company, presided.
The clause which in the bill affects the company
states that it is expedient that the company, the
Midland Company, and the London and North-
'Western Company be empoweredto make and carry
into effect arrangements and agreements with
reEpect to the construction of a station at Buxton,
in the county of Derby, for the joint or separate
use of those companies, or any of them, and with
reference to the appropriation to that purpose of
the lands, or some of them, now or hereafter
belonging to those companies, or any of them, and
with reference to the working, use, management,
and control of the said station, and of the traffic in,
to, or from the same, and with reference to other
matters connected with the said station.

The bill was, on the motion of the chairman,
unanimously adopted.

HORSHAM AND GITILDFoRD.

A special meeting of the shareholders of this
company was held on Friday, in accordance with
the Wharncliffe order, at the offices of the company,
41, Parliament-street, Westminster, for the purpose
of considering and approving, or otherwise acting,
upon the following bill, now pending in Parliament
—viz., " A Bill to enable the Horsham and Guild-
ford Direct Railway Company to work over and use
the Godalming Branch and Guildford Station of the
London and South-Western Railway Company."
Mr. Joseph Cary, chairman of the company, pre-
sided.

The Chairman announced that an agreement had
just been concluded with the London and South-
Western Railway Company, which rendered it un-
necessary to proceed with the bill, which would
therefore be withdrawn.