Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-12-01
T,ecture On African CoIonIna don

fIcan Colonization, In the COngregaJlOnai
Church in this city. Having visited Libe-
lila in 1858, to examine that country as q
good home for the Blacks Of the United
States, he speaks from observation. We
are enabled to give a very satisfactory sy-
nOpsys Of Mr. CowAN's lecture, for which
our readers will thank us:
THE LECTURE.
Liberia is on the west coast of Africa, and
lies between deg. "a min. ana deg. 81
min. North latitude. 1t extends on the coast
400 miles, and has an average breadth OF 40
miles. The colony was commenced in 1921,
very fayorably, and progressed with much
popularity for few years. 1t depended
upon the donations of its friends for carry
ing out It's plans Of operation. A strong
tide of prejudice was raised against the
scheme, and appeals were made to those
who should settle there for their interest,
not to leave this country. One effect was,
only 800 free blacks have emigrated to LII
IBERIA from GIthe Northern and W estern States
The free blacks of the South HartOok OF this
prejudice of mind, and had notlaasters, who
were considering the expediency of setting
their slaves free, concluded that that was
the best home for freed negroes, there was
very little ground for hope that the colony
would have been kept alive. The sending
OF nearly 1000 emancipated slave2 to IL
IBERIA, Influenced the minds of 3,906 iree
blacks in the Southern States to cast in
their lot with the Liberians. Year after
year, until 1862, emigrants have gone out to
Liberia for the home that they could not
find in this land. During the late war i'm
migration there ceased. 1t has revived,
and 800 persons sailed this month from
Charleston, South Carolina, to become
citizens in the only land they can
feel themselves to be citizens. The
colony at its commencement was under the
charge of white men sent out by the
American Colonization Society. AS cir
cumstances favored, black colonists were as
sociated in the government, and at a suit
able time the whole government was turn
ed over to the colonsts. They drafted a
Constitution, and pdblished to the world
that Liberia was an independent nation.
And the friends of Liberia to this day have
not thought their action was premature.
On the sea coast the land is low, but the
sandy loan show by the luxuriant growth
of the Palm and Coffee trees, that 1t is rich.
AS YOU 20 back seven miles the land be-
comes rolling with red and yellow clay
soil. In the valleys and on the banks OF
the rivers, there is deep black soil, The
hills were in some places from 100 to 800
feet high, and thirty miles back were, by
measurement, 1000 to 1,l70 feet high.
There are five principal rivers which take
their rise far back in the interior, and are
fed on their passage to the ocean by creeks,
some of them Of great length and very rapid
in their currents. These rivers abound in
fish. The Liberian settlements, thirty in
number, are located chiefly on these rivers,
and have population varying from 800 to
1,750. The productions of the country are
palm oil, made from the nut of the palm
tree, cotton, sugar, coffee, rice, corn. arrow
root, ginger, indigo, peanuts, eddoes, plan
tain, banana, sweet potatoes, cassada. paw
paw, grandilla. lima beans, quavo plumb,
cocoanut, pine apple and oranges. Wheat
and the apple do not grow there. The
camwood abOunds there, which is exported
In great quantities, being the best red dye
wood. They have cattle, hogs, sheep, goats
chickens and ducks. The land is heavily
timbered with cedar, hickory, pine, poplar,
whismore, lignum vitae, rose, teak, mahOg-
any, walnut, satra wood, DC. In all the
settlements there are three to four churches
and schools. AS the schools are supported
by missions as well as by the government
of Liberia, all the children are broughtinto
them for instruction. There are high
males and females. A college is located in
Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, which is
well endowed by friends in this country,
the interest being used there for the sup
port of four professors. The christian min
istry have many of them been educated In
that land, and such is the advance of the
people In education that the pulpit has to
share its preparations to keep pace with the
education of their hearers. The civil gov
ernment is like unto our own, except in
stead of states they have counties. They
have a President and Vice President,
chosen for two years, Secretary of State,
Secretary of the Treasury, Attorney Cen
eral, Postmaster General (the mail Is con-
veyed on the coast by sailing vessel to
the capital of each county, from which
place letters are forwarded to the settle
ments in the county,. Each county sends
to Congress two Senators, and Representa-
tives to the House according to its popula-
ton. A visit to the Senate and House of
Representatives showed their promptness
in and their acquaintance with their re-
spective departments. Mr.. Cowan obtained
a COPY of their laws, which embrace ev-
erv measure for the welfare and improve
ment of the people, and that every Liberi-
an has equal rights as men and as citizens.
Their intercourse with each other was re-
spectful, and calculated to benefit their So
cial society and give strength to their in
fluence on the new emigrants that come
among them from the United States. There
was much wealth in the different settle
ments = in Monrovia more than there
was In the other towns. Their houses
were of brick, or stone, or woodworking
in cost from $50 to $4,000. They have a
paper currency issued by the Treasury
nnf tha flovarnnant Their pommarca ia
with the United States, England, France
and Belgium. When Mr.. Cowan was there,
there were in Liberia eight white persons.
Three were missionaries. one teacher, two
consuls--one of England and the other Of
the United States-and two merchants, To-
Gated at Monrovia, but trading up and
down the coast for palm oil and eamwood
and ivory. No white man can own a foot
of land or be citizen of Liberia. Every
male emigrant twenty-one years old and
upwards, on his arrival there, has, If mar
ried, deed made out to him for ten acres
of land in whatever county or settlement
he chooses to make his home, on condition
he clears one acre of it. This freehold
makes him suffrage citizen.
The health OF the country has improved.
nv the clearing of the land, and new settlers
going back into the country to acclimate
On the coast they have, from the mangrove
swamps at the mouths of the rivers, much
sickness of chill and fever, for the first
years residence, and many, as is the case
of all new countries, have died by levers
setting in. Liberia never has taxed life in
its settlers as Ohio did its first settlers.
They have physicians In all their counties,
and in their prominent towns, who have
taken q medical course of instruction in
tuun