Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1825-05-12

| to restore aueSrauSu PoP"-
and soil of their ancestors--to canse reeh'e"
TO o'erspread, and cultivate the land now oe'
oupied by the slave, will be to honor ana ss
ara,d;se the republic, and afford brilliant
example to the world.
..,y;tb such views, the American Coiiniza-
ton Society steadily pursues its course tho,
Glow in its progress, it hopes to excite the bet
ter feelings of those who have hitherto been
is opponents, and largely to interest the peo-
nile of the United States in its generous cause;
and should success attend such meritorious eff
forts, will the page of history afford better
or brighter epoch, than the day when the A
merican republic restores to much injured
Africa the last of her sons"
"With much pleasure, my dear sir" the &C.
eral replied, evil go to the meeting Of the
American Colonization Society. Wewill first
call on $50, and then to the capitol.
"since my arrival in the United States, l
have, indeed, behold wonderful improve
ments, far beyond my most enthusiastic expec-
tations. The benign influence of freedom
has caused creations to arise, rather than i'm
! provements in this highly favored land. The
American portion of my heart, and that is no
small portion oft, can assure you, truly halls
with delight, and rejoces with sympathy, in
all which elevates, and aggrandses this oEly
free government on earth.
81 am well aware of the cloud of evil which
o'erhangs and shadows the South. Some OF
nv fondest recollections belong to that genial
region. 1t was there, first landed, young
recruit to the army Of Liberty, accompanied
bv poor General De Kalb, the same who fell
gallantly fighting for her cause in the battle OF
Camden. 1t was there l received the well
come of Americans to stranger, from many
friends, most of whom now sleep i'll their
| graves. | have too often experienced the
kind heartedness and hospitality ofthe South.
ever to forget her.
"Again, her noble devotion to the cause OF
Liberty-her severe and manifold suffenngs
and sacrifices in the war of the revolution
the untiring patriotism of her sons-the cam
paign of 1871, the brilliant, heroic, never to
be forgotten campaigns Of Greene, form tea
lures the most sublime and interesting in the
chracter and history of the south. Ills true
she has much to deplore, but has much too to
| admire; for she still boasts of sons the most pa
tiotie and enlightened, the most generous and
hospitable, and contains in her soil, grave
the most revered.
"Of the affair of Cayenne, I will briefly
state. That on my return to France in 1875,
formed plan for the amclioration ofslavery,
and the gradual emancipation of slaves III the
colony of Cayenne. Most of the property IN
the colony belonged to the crown OF France,
which enabled me the better to prosecute my
| plan, being less liable to interruption from the
! conflicting interests and opinions of various
proprietors. The purchase money OF the es-
tates and slaves amounted to about thirty thou
sand dollars; not very large sum for the state
of nv fortune in those days, but laid out who'll
ly and solely for the purposes just mentioned.
Surely it could not have been desirable for
me in those times of affluence, and interesting
relations in France, to cross the Atlantic and
seek adventures for profit in so distant cline.
4 young man, Just returned from aiding in the
successful accomplishment of the liberty OF
America, / felt such an enthusiasm in her holy
cause, as induced me to wish to see her bles-
| sings extended to the whole human family,
and not even withheld from that injured and
degraded race, who, lowest in the scale of hui
man beings, have, from their forlorn and
friendless situation, superior claims to the aid
and administration of philanthropy.
"Believing that the agents usually employ
ed in the colony were not of a sort to further
my views, engaged Monsieur d . -, at Pa
ris, a man Of firm, yet amiable disposition,
and well calculated for the work in which he
was to be engaged. Furnished with perfect
understanding of my plans and wishes, B. sail
ed for Cayenne. Upon his arrival, the first
act of his administration was to collect all the
cart whips, and such like instruments of pu-
nishment, used under the former regime, and
have them burnt in a general assemblage of
the slaves. b. then proceeded to make and
declare laws, rules and discipline, for the go
vernment of the estates. Affairs went on
prosperously, and but for the. revolution,
which convulsed France, both at home and
abroad, the most favorable results were to be
expected, and the slaves duly prepared for
the rational enioyments of freedom.
! Poor b. died from the effects of climate,
and the prescription of myself, after the 10th
of August, followed by the coniscation of
my estates, put period to this work, begun
under auspices the most favorable, continued
with success, and happy accomplishment
alone denied, by the decree ofthe convention,
which destroyed the whole colonial system,
by sudden and unconditional emancipation,
and its consequent horrors in the colonies of
| France