The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-01-19

at which the culture of the West Of Europe was
making the most rapid progress is that at which Africa
began to suffer the most from its necton with Europe
the Of Shakespeare of spenser of Hooker aud
Lord Bacon, of those other brght in the rma
ment of glands glory that her navgators first engaged
in this detesabe traffic and vessels bearing if in
rison the venerable names Of Jesus and Solomon
sent from Great Britain to the coast Of Africa At time
when some Of the last remnants of the feuda system
broken down in England and France when private
had wholly ceased when began venture from the
covert OF the walled towns and traverse the high roads
States the most civilized in Europe began 70 srurss
for the monopoly of that cruel trade which was
carried on b. exciting the barbarous races of AT
rica to new fury against each other and by intro
ducing state of universal war, not merely between
nation and nation, but between tribe and tribe, vii
lage and village and almost between house and house
In fact is not without example that these benghted
beings have delivered their wives and children to the
slave dealers Thus the Western coast of Africa beeam
like the Northeastern and Eastern coasts great
market and remained for nearly three centuries II is
seventy years since the powers of chrsendom
excited to activity by phanthropc operations and bene-
VIOLENT individuals began the warfare upon this cruel
traffic The American colonies before their independence,
negatived by the crown. The revolutionary Congress,
in the first year Of its existence denounced the traffic
q date for its prospective abolition This example
has has beon successfully followed by other States.
tan and most of the Mohamedan powers of Europe
Asia 1t still exists, however to trightful extent and
the more active the means used to suppress i BY block
practice by crowding the slave ships with greater
Der of victims Such being the case, many of those in
England who have taken the greatest interest in the sup
preston of the traffic. have seriously proposed to aban
don the system of bockades and scruers aud to
other expedents; and of these unquestonaby
be compared for efficiency with the settlement of the
coast Where,er colony founded by England France
America, the traffic is broken up merely for that
extent Of coast, but the whole interior region which
found an outlet through it. In this way the traffic has
sand miles, from the northern extremity Of the jurdic
ton of Sierre Leone to the southern bounds of
Liberia is necessary only to look at the
hat tvrpnr rtant avta nc
try has been rescued in this way from the direst
scourge which ever afflicted humanity. The last of the
ancient slave mars, Gainas has been lately purchased
and brought within the limits of Liberia Along line of
coast not less extensive than that from Maine Georgia.
Of which this traffic carried within the memory Of
man the slave trade has been wholly rooted out What
could not be effected by Congresses of Sovereigns at
Vienna or AK la Chapele, by quntupe treaties by
squadrons OF steamers has been brought about by
these feeble colonial settlements Of which that of Liberia
mas been obliged to struggle its way into permanence of
late without the cooperation almost without the tolera
tion OF the government drawing its supplies almost
cusively from the perennial fountains of Christian
benevolence l repeat Sir wherever these settlements
have been founded the slave trade has disappeared and
other benefit anticipated from their extension,
that this alone would constitute all powerful
motive What object in lie, in this country, or
in any country, individual OF African descent
propose to himself at all TO be compared with that of
forming in his own person. part Of that noble line of
forever barred against the desoating trac2 But great
the Importance Of this object yields in interest to
u,
and momenOus-and that is the civilization of Africa.
The condition of the African continent reproach to
three times that Of Europe considerable portion Of the
known regions of great fertility teeming with vegetable
and animal e-traversed by lofty ranges Of mountains,
which send down from their sides the tributaries of noble
rvers-connected by the Mediterranean the north,
both with the ancient and modern culture of Europehe
western shores repong the Atlantic the great
highway of civilization the southeastern running with
in near proximity to continent-the eastern
spread TO the commerce of India and the whole
Oriental Worthwhile
open the approaches of the Asatic connent-it would
seem that by natural endowments and geographical
position it destined to be the emporium and garden
OF the earth Man only, throughout these vast regions,
has remained in in the great of human
other parts of the world has been much depressed
by various causes of degeneracy, finally to have
own have no belief have doubt that among the
numerous of Africa of the other continents,
like polite tribes OF the central plateau to the broken
down. enfeebed hordes the banks of the Congo and
the squalid, scarcely human Hotenot But it may be
doubted whether this differences greater than between the
lapander, the Gypsy and the Camuc, tho hand,
and the best and brightest specimens of humanity be
found In Europe and America on the other What then
the of the continued uncivzation Of African And
without pretending to pry too curiousy into the myste
ries Of Providence it to that sufficient
be found in peculiar circumstances in the his
tory and geography Of this continent 1t law of
human progress which however difficult to explain
well sustained by facts to be doubted that the first ad
vances out of barbarian us be made under the inu
ence Of culture from abroad Thus the germs OF improve
ment brought from Egypt and Syria Greecefrom
Greece to Rome-from Rome to the West and North of
Europe-from Europe to America and they
their way from continent to the remoest islands of
the Pacific To what extent the aboriginal element shall
be borne down and overpowered by the foreign Influences
or enter into kindly combination with them, depends
upon the moral and intellectual developement of
both parties The native may be apt for
improvement to harmonize promptly and kindly
with the cultivated stranger-this the
with the early Greeksor the disparity may be great
that no kindly union between them is practicable, and
the native tribes slowly and silently retreat before the
new comers. This has been the with the native
OF continent, who have found it all but i'm
possible to embrace civilization Now, in reference
to this law OF social nature the difficulty in Africa
has been two.fold First that the inhabitants of the
other quarters of the globe had obtained the start
in the of improvement, and might have proved the
instructors and guides of the native races all deeply
concerned in traffic with the continent Of Africa which
instead of tending like other branches of commerce.
mutual improvement and especially to the elevation of
the inferior party is of all barbazng agents. the most
poisonous and deadly In this way foreign trade which
has usually been the medium through which the
cultivated foreign has gradually introduced itself to
advanced tribes, has been to Africa, from the
dawn of history to the present day, the all
powerful agent of internal civil war, anarchy, and
social dsorganization This has been of her
making little progress in civilization Another is her
climate-her mighty equatorial expanse more exten
sye tract of land between the tropics than in all the rest
Of the gohher feryid vertical sun, burning down Upon
the rank vegetation Of her fertile plains and rendering her
shores and water pestierous to foreign const
tuition This peculiar geographical character again
to shut her out from the ordinary approaches of civza
ton Common inducements of commercial gain are too
weak to tempt the merchant to these feverous districts
Nothing but taste for adventure approaching to mania,
attracts the traveller and when Christian beneyoence
lures the devoted missionary to this field labor 1t lures
him too often to his DOOM Here, then, we see union
Of influences which to sd0 the fate of unhap-
py Africa abomination OF desoation. But,
now, mark and reverence the providence of God
cducing out of these natural disadvantages of climate
disadvantages to mans apprehension--and this
lossal moral wrong the African slave trade, out OF
these seemingly hopeless elements of physical and moral
cyi-out of long cycles of suffering and crime, of vio
lence and retrbution such history nowhere par
aeeducing say from these elements by the blessed
achymy Of Christian beneyolence the OF the uti
mate regeneration Of Africa The aroused conscience Of
Chrstendom denounces the slave trade but not till il
has existed for three centuries and filed portion of the
Western hemisphere with five six millions of the de-
scendans of Africa, of whom about million and half
in the islands and on the continent have from time to
time become free though born and reared under crcum
stances unfavorabe to mental culture, yet stll parak
and Christianity. amply qualified Liberia has shown