6590. Have you been up to the river Nunez or the river Pongas?—I have been up the Nunez and the Pongas.
6591. To what distance?—I went up the Nunez as high as Kacundy, about 40 or 50 miles in a direct line; it is where the British factories are; it is the place to which all the trade of the Foota-Jallon nation is brought.
6592. Did you land upon the banks of the river?—Yes; I was five days in the river altogether.
6593. Did you see any thing of the state of the cultivation?—I had no means of judging; I do not believe the exports of the produce raised in the neighbourhood of the river itself at all important; the important commerce is that which is brought down from Foota-Jallon; and the opportunities I had of judging gave me the highest impression of the state of that country. I think they are far superior to any other African people I have ever had the means of acquiring a knowledge of; they are a Foolah nation, in the Foota-Jallon country; Teembo is the capital.
6594 Mr. Forster.] You found those British factories depending entirely upon the protection of the natives, without any British establishment to assist them?—I went up for the purpose of affording them protection; there is no Government establishment of any sort, nor do I think it desirable there should be.
6595. Sir T. D. Acland.] What is the ground of that opinion?—That the river is exceedingly unhealthy; and my opinion is that the Government influence would be quite as well supported by occasional visits by steam ships, and Bulama would afford support to the trade, if colonized.
6596. Chairman.] What kind of settlement do you contemplate upon the island of Bulama?—A colony of black people, with any traders there that choose to go there, supported by a small fort, with a detachment of the African corps.
6597. Sir T. D. Acland.] Under the English Government?—Under the English Government.
6597*. And visited by steamers?—And visited by steamers and cruizers.
6598. Mr. W. Patten.] What time does it require to go from Sierra Leone to Bulama?—It depends a great deal upon the time of year; I should say, generally, the passage might be made in less than three days.