Dr. Dix, the surgeon of the Cyane, became the earliest victim of a too generous zeal for the advancement of the colony. The tears of gratitude fell upon his grave, which was closed over his remains by the hands of a sorrowing community. The case of the amiable Seton is still more worthy of memorial, in him the blossoms of youth had just ripened into the graceful bloom of manhood, giving to a person naturally prepossessing, the higher ornament of a benevolent disposition, and accomplished mind. He perceived that his services would be invaluable to the colony, and he became the voluntary companion of the solitary Agent. His conciliating manners, and judicious counsels, completed the conquest of public approbation, and rendered his decease (which took place on board the Oswego, five days after he had re-embarked for the United States), a subject of unmitigated grief to the whole colony.
The arrival of the above-mentioned vessel, bringing an accession of sixty-six emigrants from the middle states of America, with ample stores and a physician, terminated the difficulties of the colonists, and since that period, the settlement has continued rapidly improving in all those resources necessary to the comforts of peace; as well as in those means of defence which serve, at once, to repel, and even defy the incursions of war.
From this period the affairs of the colony have rapidly improved. In a short time after peace was restored, sixty-one new emigrants, and a supply of stores, under the charge of Dr. Ayres, augmented the resources of the colonists; but that gentleman was obliged, in consequence of the state of his health, to resign, at the close of 1823, the superintendance of the interests of the colony to Mr. Ashmun, who continued, until the period of his death, to act as principal Colonial Agent to the Society. To Mr. Ashmun's admirable management of the affairs of the colony, much of its contentment and security may be attributed. He purchased from its natural owners, all the territory he occupied; and as not an acre was taken without an equivalent, the natives were well pleased to cultivate an intercourse that was at once so profitable and desirable. In 1825, a number of fresh emigrants arrived, whose pursuits were of an agricultural nature, and as they desired to go into the jungle at once, and commence operations, a negotiation was opened with the neighbouring tribes for the purchase of land. The ground selected was a tract of about twenty miles, varying from one to three miles in breadth, lying on the navigable part of the St. Paul's river. The advantages of this accession of territory, consisted in the opportunity it afforded the settlers of dwelling on their plantations, instead of being compelled to live in the town, at an inconvenient distance from them; in the fertility of the soil, which was sufficiently rich to enable the emigrant to support himself and his family, a short time after his arrival; in making the agricultural settlement more available and compact; and in securing the trade of the St. Paul's river, which was an object of great importance. Subsequently to that period, other additions have been made to the possessions of the colonists; and, at present, the colony extends nearly 150 miles along the coast, and a considerable distance into the interior. The government of the colony commands eight trading stations, established on the purchased land for the convenience of, and intercourse with, the natives, from Cape Mount to Trade Town; and the prospects and advantages of the colonists, are every day improving.
The laws by which a colony so prosperous and happy is governed, must suggest a subject of deep concern to every man who is interested in any project, that has for its end the promotion of the well being of any section of his fellow-creatures. In this little colony, which has succeeded so effectually in securing the confidence and attachment of the natives, the utmost vigilance appears to have been exercised from the commencement, to prevent any dangerous precedents from being established, that might afterwards be cited for the defence of customs injurious to the interests of the settlers. One of the first principles adopted, even before the regulations by which the colonists were governed assumed the tangible shape of law, was that all persons born in the colony, or residing in it, should be free, and enjoy all the rights and privileges of citizenship known to the United States of America, which was taken as the model of the Liberian Constitution in all respects, except that anomaly, the institution of slavery. It must always continue to be a matter of surprise and regret, that a country which expended so much blood on the purchase of its independence, should sanction within its boundary the existence of slavery as a legal right. The ermine is said to die if a single stain fall on its spotless skin, and one would suppose that the giant republic of the new world would be equally susceptible throughout her mighty frame of the taint of slavery; but, perhaps, there is a fine moral in the fact, to shew us that the works of man, even in his most elevated inspirations, must of necessity be imperfect. The wisdom and power of the Godhead alone can produce perfection.
The colonists of Liberia resolved to avoid the error of the parent country. They began by banishing the very name of slave, and they have persisted in their resolution to keep themselves free. Under the provisions of their constitution, the Colonization Society is empowered to make such regulations as may appear requisite for the government of the colony, until it shall withdraw its superintendence, and leave the colonists to govern themselves; the common law, as it is in force in the United States, is applied to the jurisdiction of Liberia. In 1824 a regular plan for the civil government of the colony was drawn up, and a digest of laws framed, which have been approved of, and are now in full operation. By this plan, the Agent is invested with sovereign power, subject only to the decision of the colonial board; municipal and judicial officers are appointed; the choice of certain offices is vested in the colonists, subject to the approval of the Agent; and standing committees of agriculture, of public works, of colonial militia, and of health are appointed, whose duties are clearly defined and rigidly enforced.
The criminal code is singularly mild: the highest degree of punishment being expulsion from the colony, which is a very beautiful exemplification of the sense of honour and integrity that the colonists entertain, when, for the most flagrant violations of civil rights and good order, they deem it a sufficient disgrace and infliction to cast out the guilty person from all further communion, the property of the exile being given to his heir; or, in lack of an heir, reverting to the general stock.
The remarkable success which crowned the efforts of the settlers in Liberia, has subsequently led to the consideration of more extensive plans for the establishment of colonies for liberated slaves. Of course, in proportion as the circle of manumission is enlarged, the provision for the future welfare of the emancipated blacks must he increased:—with a double view, therefore, not only to prepare adequate settlements for their reception, but by the exercise of an active liberality to encourage the spirit of freedom which was found difficult of accomplishment at first, but which ultimately yielded to the energies of the opponents of the slave trade in America. Many attempts had been made in the United States to abolish, or at all events diminish the practice of slavery, bat in vain; for it appears, however startling and apocryphal the statement may seem, that the English Government, during the period that they exercised sovereignty in the Union, always refused to sanction the abrogation of slavery. Even so far back as 1698, the mother country rejected a proposition made by the assembly of Pennsylvania, to levy a duty of 10 per cent. per head on the importation of slaves; which was intended to operate as a prohibition. Indeed, one of the proximate causes of the Declaration of Independence (July 1776) was the unrestricted introduction of slaves. Soon after the American war had terminated, it was suggested as an appropriate measure, in fulfilment of views which had been so long defeated by the influence of English authority, to establish a colony on the coast of Africa, but the continued pursuit of the degrading traffic by almost all the powers of Europe, prevented the benevolent projectors from carrying their design into effect. Twenty years afterwards, the plan was revived, and the most strenuous exertions were made in the different States to organize a body of opinion, which should finally triumph over the self-interests and reluctant morality of the slave-owners. At this period, one of the difficulties which the philanthropic abolitionists experienced was the want of a suitable refuge for such slaves as they might be enabled to liberate. The legislature of Virginia, which contains nearly one-third of the black population of the Union, pledged itself to release all its slaves, if Congress would undertake to provide an adequate asylum for them. President Jefferson negotiated in vain for a territory in Africa, and the Brazils. The legislature of Virginia again renewed its pledge, and as much of the bigotry of former times had now been obliterated by the diffusion of enlightened principles, the renewal of the proposition was followed by the best results. General Mercer, familiarly designated as the Wilberforce of America, opened a correspondence with the principal advocates of emancipation, which ultimately produced the formation of the American Colonization Society, on the first of January, 1817. The labours of the Society were greatly facilitated by the laws of the Union, which left to each State the uncontrolled power of legislating for itself on the subject of slavery. The members of the Society had therefore merely to address themselves to the humanity and understanding of the slaveowners, in order finally to attain their purpose. The progress of moral truth, however slow, is always certain, and the issue of those proceedings has been such as the excellence of their object might have led us to anticipate. Several of the States have already signified their willingness to forego all the pernicious advantages of slavery. And the number of slaves offered gratuitously by owners in different parts of America, vastly exceed the present means of the Society to provide for them in Africa. The legislature of Maryland appreciate so highly the utility and importance of the settlement of Liberia, that they have voted in the first instance a considerable sum, to be appropriated annually to its support, and have subsequently, within the last six months, voted two hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of assisting in the formation of another settlement on the same principles.
It is, therefore, sufficiently evident, that what is now required to complete the united objects of manumission and colonization, is, not so much the consent of the slave-owners, as the power of carrying the design into operation. Mr. Elliot Cresson, of Philadelphia, an active and enthusiastic supporter of the cause, visited England in 1832, for the purpose of drawing attention to the subject, and of appealing to the well-known generosity of a country that has uniformly taken the lead in advancing the interests of civilization. A Society was formed, under the patronage of H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex, with the view of extending colonization in Africa, on the same system which has proved so successful in the case of Liberia. The subject, unfortunately, did not excite the attention which might have been anticipated, partly, I fear, because it was ill-timed, and was considered by the general body of Abolitionists, as a diversion tending to distract the public mind from the great question of emancipation, which was then undergoing anxious discussion; and partly, because it was considered by some, as a palliative likely to prolong the existence of slavery, in the same ratio as it diminished its evils. The selection of so unseasonable a moment for introducing the subject to the public, was influenced by the necessity Mr. Cresson was under of returning to the United States, but previously to his departure, the objections to the efforts of the Society were fully answered, and the important fact of the independence of each State, in reference to slavery, was stated in ample detail. From those statements it appeared, that the law of slavery, in some cases, prohibits—not only the emancipation; but the education of slaves, in order to render their bondage still more hopeless and oppressive: but that the efforts of the Society were gradually abating the rigour of those cruel restrictions. The Society has hitherto endeavoured, as far as its powers would permit, to extend the principle of colonization, by removing, invariably, with their own consent, such slaves as have the good fortune to obtain their freedom, to a spot where they were not only free from competition with the white population, but where their education, imperfect as it might have been, rendered them the superior instead of the inferior class: thus silently promoting the blessings of Christianity and civilization amongst the native tribes. Mr. Cresson, during his residence in England, distributed several illustrative documents, sanctioned by names of distinguished persons in the United States, and to which I am indebted for some of these particulars. From these documents, were there even no other evidence, it may be fairly inferred, that Liberia affords uncontrovertible proof of the practicability of establishing colonies on the African coast, composed of persons of the African race, nearly, if not wholly, freed from the control of the whites; that the expense of establishing such a colony is moderate, not having exceeded, in the case in point, 4000l. per annum; that it is greatly favoured by the natives, with whom the colonists are rapidly extending their commercial and friendly relations to their mutual benefit; that it has not only placed a large number of manumitted slaves in a prosperous situation, but led to the emancipation of many, who must otherwise have still continued in bondage; and, finally, that it has completely put an end to the slave-trade in the immediate neighbourhood of the settlement, where that nefarious traffic was hitherto most extensively prosecuted. It is to be deplored, that although Great Britain has recently made a noble effort to abolish slavery in her own dominions, there are other countries which still sanction a usage so degrading to our age and religion. But a very short time since, several vessels were captured, the united cargoes of which amounted to a thousand slaves, and when we refer to the large proportion which the liberated Africans bear to the rest of the population in Sierra Leone, equal to about three-fourths of the whole, and consider the heavy expense at which this country endeavours to fulfil the serious responsibility it has taken upon itself in the liberation of these unfortunate captives, I am persuaded that all the particulars which can be collected respecting Liberia, will be deemed worthy of the most serious attention. My readers, therefore, will not, I trust, think that I devote too much space to the subject, if I close my rapid sketch of the progress and fortunes of this settlement, with the latest information respecting it, which has been received in Europe. It is of a very recent date, and is from the pen of Dr. Mechlin, the Governor of Liberia:—
"The colony is daily adding strength and respectability to its character, and if even now all patronage were withdrawn, the colonists are fully capable of sustaining and defending themselves from any assaults of the natives, and regulating their own concerns in such a manner as to secure the prosperity of the colony. A court, courthouse, and trial by jury, are established. At this moment, since the departure of Governor Mechlin, and until the new Governor arrives out, there are none other than blacks among the inhabitants of Liberia.
"The slaves who were captured and brought into St. Augustine, and Key West, after remaining in the United States from six to twelve months, were sent to Liberia, a quantity of land being granted to them there. They have gone on to cultivate it in a manner equal, if not superior, to that of the colonists. They have been able to accomplish thus much from what experience they gained while in this country. These people arrived at Liberia naked; they have clothed themselves from the avails of their labour, and, what is rather singular, they have gone into the town to seek out for themselves wives, esteeming themselves too far advanced in civilization and refinement to form connexions among the natives, although they might obtain from among them much more comely persons than they are enabled to find among the very meanest of the colonists, from whom they are obliged to select. This fact alone shows, that but a small degree of civilization infused into this people, tends to the elevation of their character.