The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-01-24
LIFE IN LIBERIA.
Information from the Consul General
Of the Colored Republic.
Educational FacIIIties-TIlo usaHdS OF
Applicants The Change Of CHI
mate-ReIatIOns TO the Ma
tives-WOrk-WaSes

Mr. William Coppinger, consul general
for Liberia and secretary OF the C0lOnl-
cation society, leaves here in day or two
for New York TO superintend the work OF
sending to Liberia the regular semI-annuai
colony of colored people Every spring
and every fall this society, formed over
sixty years ago, sends small ship load OF
black men and women TO the native land
of the African race.
@There is great unrest among the
colored people of this country, said Mr..
Coppinger, as he sat in the rooms OF the
society here. In the closets with which
the room was lined were samples of coffee
and cotton and other articles of a similar
nature, the production of the colonists in
Liberia. On mantel, just opposite him,
stood photographs OF the leg.
islature and supreme court of
Liberia, all their members black.
The portrait of the present president
showed the face of an apparently. bright
and intelligent black man. He is ma
tive of Liberia, said Mr.. Coppinger. born
there of parents who were slaves In this
country; he Is q man of marked ability
and successful president. This is Rev.
DIR. Blyden," he said, pointing to the
photograph of full blooded negro. He
Is the president Of our college there, you
know, man of thorough education and
ability"
on nave 1dCll1IACb
In Liberia then.
ooh, yes, very good ones. There arc
public schools, and by the laws Of the re-
public all children of certain age are
required to attend school given time In
each year. Education is compulsory.
Then there are higher grades Of schools.
and the college, which cost $50, 900, and
is welLequipped and well patronized. The
people who go there appreciate very
thoroughly the value of education. In
fact, we do not take any now who are not
of this class. The number Of applications
Is so great that we have opportunity to
select our people pretty carefully.
"Are your applications for opportunity
TO 60 to Liberia numerous, them"
GNumerous?" he said with a smile,
glancing at a pile of papers before him.
AZ should say they were. The desire for
removal to new country where men and
women of color may be on an equality in
every sense with the other men and
women of that country seems to be on the
increase. We get thousands Of applica-
tons from every direction, and thousands
more than we can meet with the limited
means at the disposal of the society,
which, of course, is maintained by con-
tributions. believe that if we had ships
and means to help all applicants get start
there as we do with those whom we do
send, there would be a half-million of the
colored people ofthis country ready to go
at once.
Show many have you sent in all since
the society was formed2"
F"About 16, 900, who were residents OF
this country. Then there are about 5, 900
more natives Of Africa who were captured
on board vessels which were bringing
them to this country to sell them as slaves.
They were as q rule, sent to Liberia. SO
there have been over 90, 900 persons landed
there to make homes in that country since
our society began its work sixty.three
years ago.
"HoW does the changei in climate seem
TO affect sheir health and constitutional"
"Not unfavorablY. They are, as rule;
very healthy, and the percentage Of NOR.
tality very small
GAnd what are the relations of those
who go there to the natives by whom they
must be surroundeGS"
@Very satisfactory. Liberia, you must
coast for a distance Of 600 miles,
a1d stretches back into the interior
almost indefinitely, so that the
people who go there, and who have gone
are brought into contact with very
large number Of the natives. The result
has been gradual assimilation of the
natives with the civilized element. They
have gradually come to see the advantages
OF civilization, as is shown by the fact
that within the past year two OF the native
kings have come into the Liberian coun-
the habits of civilization. Some of these
kings and others Of the natives have for
q considerable time been sending their
children TO the schools Of Liberia. The
influence of the colony Is so marked that
e Is now possible for one familiar with
only the English tongue TO make himself
understood all along that section A very
large percentage OF the natives IN the
stand it readily"
"And what does your association do for
those whom it sends abroadP"
at gives them passage to Liberia from
the port of New York only, requiring
them TO furnish their own transpoftatio1
10 that point. On their arrival there Y
gives them ten acres of land, town lot If
they prefer 1t, and in some cases where
there is a family of considerable size 1t
gives TWENTY-FIVE acres. This seems like Q
small amount of land, but, in fact, 1t will
produce as much there as 100 acres VIII
here. It also allows them $50 for rations
and shelter after reaching there. Toward
this each amigrant Is expected to subscribe
ct least S25 before leaving home"
sand what are the opportunities for
self support theref"
dThe same as here. The men who have
trades are in demand. and at good wages,
as are also teachers, clerks, and account
ants. AS to farming, a colored man who
has been there number Of years writes US
two.thirds of the labor that it would take
TO support man in the United States will
reward the workman thirty, sixty, hun
dred fold; the profits viii sweeten the toll.
A coffee-tree planted and raised will in
four years yield its increase, two crops
year, of what many pronounce the best
coffee grown In the world. Arrowroot,
pepper, lemons, oranges, yan1s. potatoes,
corn, beans, and q hundred others articles
Of food and commerce, put them in the
earth. and they are as sure to produce as
the God of nature Is to bring the seasons
The First Negro Song.
CExchange.1