The New York Herald Newspaper, January 18, 1851, Page 6

—_—_———__Ee_ THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA. CONDENSED REPORT OF THE KEY B.R.GUBLBY To THe GOVERNMENT OF THY UNiTED STATES. ON THE Condition, Resources, and Prospects of Liberia. INTRODUCTION Wasuinaion, Feb. 15, 1850. Sir,—The results of my ovservations and ine quirige, during a recent viet to ihe republic of Li- -beria, and also to the colouy ‘ounded by the Colo- nization Society and S.ae of Maryland at Cape Palmes, under your instruct «n>, | have now tne honor to submit to the conite va of your de partment, and to the Presid: a) ot the United Sates. Ow the Ist of August, [ook psssage at Balti- more in the Liberia Pack-', wwich usrade Cape Mouat, on the African coas' the moraing ot the 18th of September. For -eve «| ays previously, the aspect of the trepical praveus had deen rich. The sun rose over Atnca \.evgh 4 gorgeous ry of clouds, in which “rre tieuded all bril- Jiant hues; and whew he suvs ts'o he oveap, one was reminded of those [ialii suusets, of which Chateaubriand said, “1! seri i o> though all the purple of Rome’s consujs aut (wwe were spread | water, clear as crystal, foaming and scolding among | they cheerfully out under the last footsteps «ot When we first saw Cape Mouui. the day was de lightful and, with a gentle by eer, aud u. fall view of une shore, which curves uli) round from that eminence to Montserado (a o)-t.nce of more thaa forty mules), we sailed down the eo. s8!, aed, in the evenmg, cast anchor at Mowrevis, as tne hight fe god of day” house on the summit of the cape Meyau to emu its are Covered with a@ rich forest, and may be culti- | well-developed, a teams, and the illuminated dw i.4> und churehes bf the town gave evideave of (ir tact tna! eiviliza- ion and Christianity had there estabushed their abode. CLIMATE From my experience of (wo months on the coast of Liberia, I may be alioass 0 say, that my ime pressions of the African ci) © are mosey favorable than those I had derived frow ook»; for, though our eartival occurred dwing (ir iacter poruon of what is called the rainy s+ i we courraued on the coast durmg most +) transition period from that to the dry seasou, th Ww aiber was gene rally clear and pleasant, ou were seldom de- terred for an entre day frm ‘si iog the saure, oF rom moderate physical ¢xe (us During the African ralss, -targers notice not only an extraordinary mom ns iu fy almusphere, but a peculiar power in the svu 5 f.ys, taough the heat at all seasons is less, «» judic.te 1 Dy tue (ner mometer, than that occa: ty koown ia the United States. We passed igh what is called the tornado season Witbou! esp meucing any storm which could with proprie'y Se U-rmec « tornado; and the weather, during ‘be Howe nme we were on the ates. No one can look upon the athietic, finely. propor- tioned and developed forms «f tne uxtve Atrecans, OF upen a congregation of the tuhanitauts of Mou- rovia, or of the other towus nud Vilages OF the Libenan repu! and retaiy the wera that health cannot be esjoyed en the Atrice: coast. The gea- eral aspect of the people of (.roeria ts healthy; aad Jam convinced, from much ooserv ation end many inquiries, that the dangers he climate to colored immugrants are becomivg |e>= sui ies turmidadle, and tt goon they will, © a good degree, be averted, by the cultivation of (ie rol, an appropri ate regimen, and increased mr ci) «i wxperiruce and elull. [have seen large f after a residence there of sone years, had suffered no invasion from death, and «ho, duurdess, found their seeunty, under Prowid ace, Ww their watehful- Nees BQUiNst EXCesses Ln Ciel oui exertion, in a raoderation approaching to -bevnence, inthe use of medicine, and in the porse=-ion of auple supplies of the necessaries and cout) rot ie Coe friends of our colored people, and of (he re panhe et Ligera, cannot be too emph y teruuded Unat to send emigrants with inadequate 20). e+, to teel all the | depression of want, whe #x,cord to the wutried influences of the Africen cli. .ie, 1s an error which mu ofien prove fatal to humm. lite, aad sadly in- jurious to their great enterprise. Far better is it to enable a few immngravt> in health and comfort m Li veriy, ‘naa to cast large bodies of them on that means of subsistence, du means cen be secured by thus sugmenting vastly the tion, or umpoeing burdens upou but recent community which i it difficult, if not impos-iele, 66 « he ebarity that ©) igeas mast fad + ala Having Visited Africa in nly yo ith oud witnessed, in company with the @iriowsi-neo and tamented Asbmup, first beddings oF ery and Cine ¢ readily im atter of a century, tian life on Cape Moatsera agived that | could pot, «tr Jook again upon that verdont promen ory—that ! could not again tread the stree's of Mourovia—that I could not meet those who, -) may years ago, extended to me their beri —could got oe- hold that humble commu: when | f stood there, were making © >w opening in the dense forest, and «fri tnemsel ves meath some thirty or fury ted roots, few, feeble, and exposed to harrarcns through the favoring hand ot the their tortitude and eneryy, | independent republic, ack two of the most powerful u sense of the divine goodurs= rie, and to the writer, in «1 bat shore the renev ¢ pe f constitutional lib-rt., Christian spirit, and encompass moves to benefeernce On cur arrival, eeverel the harbor of Monrovia. (» 1 can map of-wer schooner | and the Latk, a smell, ber ot / ented to the authorives of L. res, DOW Tisew fevativa of a0 -d in arme ria by ROVETDMEDL ;) aNd, ws We doy ed Vewsel, pre yeo'y had y ratified between fing her de- wee an from the heights he eave, and sig- steamer of her Britennic M brought out the commereia’ tre Great Britain and the repubiic wast parture. The reception of this nounced by the thunder of cone of Monrovia and the sume nalized by mutual coogrs\ulations ar zene, and by signs end expre-i To President Roberts sud cabinet | am indebted tor i which variety of topics, cheerfully co inetance; aud to the courteey and to that of the officers eo public generally, for wii to open to me all aver f pation of the couditicn, 1 be, end pri their commonweath. 1 eople and of the neighboring » . tice, ersembled in a public nv & comtnitiee of five of their uu state and prospects of nd t ex ample was univaied | 1 3 of tue twe couuties of Grand Be inet The facte a ft ve the b submit, ia reply to the ' iia my ia structions, were derive a st tee ~ and sources of mlorm v aceese; and, though | egine they are tiaue ' fidence in the ma es ticulare, they are corres TOPOGRA - in regard to the * “ne at ib he claims and exercisr a.”” at ah at stated, that the territorit he re ¢ and Ceotony f Cape Palmas a As « al € pro. prietors, the republe ty i * a over the country from ag on the notorious Gallenas, or northwest, rand Sesters on the east, on th st, ¢ three hondred apd fifty ech ae ee tent interior of forty mil-s—the bo y hne ca closing « epace of abou re ronsund aqaer miles. The authority of Maui}land Cole tends from Grand Sesie ve river Peare tance by water of one | i and tweatyr and by land of one i 4 snd forty ¢ ’ toiles. Important ac ps of ter y been made within the few 5 public, and also by th 4 Mr. Avhmup apoke of G as 06 Within t “ pective ophere of Liberiar es ond . recent rihrow of the elave tr y at the ot, and the me ean secure ite eunexation to the rej ive confi- his expectation For tt ret a ge f fe most it Liberia, routhe Fising 1,000 fre 49 min grers 2 fifty mil whic ny one for the same Mount, egrees e Il de- near st from ene ’ hove t tu 8 utes | « Cape Mor mit of 240 feet above ‘ » hehe houee, and 160 feet lower , and one beck, the town of Me t penoe thirty-five miles, Jowk ar @ rettioment bearing the Y athe ¢ shell; onward thirty n 4 ns thence five miles, Tobacannee ; further on sev miles, Young Sesters nee town ; after these, ia sucee Grand Culloh, (easily recog: Monat, 4 conical bill 860 feet Ineh,y win, Boflou, Tassou, Little Bootou, Grand Boot Binou, and Bioobdaria Point opposite. (distant miles from Grand Kroubah. , Settra Krou, Manna Krou, Kiog Wi “TThie event hee Coomrred tines this reports was written coast Was not greatly ‘tlerent irom the or- | dimary summer weather of our own Southern | fies in Lineria, whe, | eotablien tnermeelves | Almigh'y, by | he Eaghish | and Town, (these five towns in roperly termed Krou or Kroo ») Little Ni- roam and” Sevier tbe cary ters, the present ext therm limit of the republic **From thin limit commences the jurisdiction of the Maryland colony, along the shore of waieh we ma} 4s prominent points, Garraway tnd Pout. Fishiown Pols, Middle Point, Rock Town, Cape Palmas,(a place of great beauty andna- tural advantages, and the site of Harper, the i= oN town of the colony,)Cavally Poiat, Tabou,' ‘abou, Basha Point, Wappoo, Point. Half Bere- Grand Bereby, Tahou Point,and San Pedro river, the eastern boundary of thiscolony. The republic of Liberia is divided into three countiea—those of Montserado, Gri 4 which is entitled to a representation in _ the of representative and senate of the State. Mr. Asbmun judged this mantime region of Africa to extend inland abouttwenty miles; and he remarks:— * Between the settlements of the coast and those of the interior is, in most a forest of from half a day to two days’ journey, left by bothas a barrier of separation, and which is seldom passed, except by erratic traders, who are, in many pate of this country, very numerous” The Rev. John Day, the imtelfigent superintendent of the Southern Ba Mission, who resides at Bexley, on the St. Johns, and who has travelled into the interior the distance of seventy or seventy-five miles, thus describes the country :—‘* From seven to twen! miles the country is beautifully undulating, a interspersed with the most lovely rills of excellent | the rocks, presenting @ thousand mill seats. The | air in that region is salubrious and bracing, the soil deep and rich, covered with a forest which, for the height and size of the trees, I have never seen equalled. From twenty to thirty miles is a region of small mountai) of from r to five huadred feet in elevation. These mountains vated. 1 have stood on the summit of one of them, cultivated to the top, and thence beheld a delight- ful prospect. Beyond these hills, or mountains, as we call them, the land becomes generally more | level to the distance of seventy miles, the extent of my interior travels. Jam told by the natives that a day’s walk beyond are loftier mountains, (which it will require a whole day to uscend,) and very steep ; if so, the country I speak of is a valley. | The soil for the whole distance is rich, water | abundant and good, and the cause of disease is no more apparent than in level regions in America. If | our people want health, they may as surely obtain it in the mountainous region as by satlantic trips. T have left home in bad health, on preaching tours | of two or three weeks, and returned vigerous and | stropg. The birds sipg more sweetly there, and the flowers are more beautiful and fregrant, than | in the marshy region bordering on the sea. The | natives are more cheerful, stout, industrious, honest, bappy, and hopeful, every way, in that | region. To thousands in that fores‘-clad region | have I preached, while they were as atteative even | as congregations in America.” | POPULATION. | In regard to the population comprised in the re- public, aud the comparative number of the castes | composing it, and their feelimgs towards one | another, [ may observe that the emigrant popu- | lation in the republic is estimated at six thousand, | and the native populetion at one hundred an | forty to two hundrea theusand. Of the Maryland | colony, the emigrast inhabitants are about nine | hundred, and the natives estimated at one hundred | thousand, separated into numerous small tribes, verving in language, independent of each other in | matters of domestic concern, yet slightly united, within certain limits,fon questions of general ani common interest. The nauve people of this region of Africa bear a striking similarity in manners, | character, and superstitions. See The ley or Vey tribe, a people more enterprising, proud, and warlike than most of their neighbors, whabit the country from Galieaas to Cape Mount, and to the distance of thirty miles inland; have been much addicted to the slave trade, and are | probably, in number, from twelve to fifteen thou- sand. ‘Tbe Deye occupy the country on the coast from Cape Mount to Cape Montserado ; are more | muid, indolent and inoffensive than the Veys, and peseans by one-half less numerous. Between the | jangueges of these tribes there is some affinity ; beth are rade and imperfect. and could be traced | by Mr. Ashmun to none of the other dialects of | Africa The Bassas are south of Cape Montserado, are | more numerous than both of the preceding tribes, | end, with their allies in the county of Grand Bassa, ere estimated at fifty thousaud. Theyare described as mid, peaceful, and, in certain respecte, industri- | *, occupying & country of great ferulity, and which, eveo under theirexceedingly imperfect cul- tivation, yields a large surplus of rice, palm oil, | poultry, cautle, mnd the various vegetables and | frutts of tropical Africa—as friendly to the Ameri- can emigrants, eager for trade, disposed to labor | | for @ moderate compeosation, and as much inclined | as eny ol the native people of that Country to ac- | quire the manners, the arts and the habits of civili- | zation. These people dwell in small villagee of from fifty to one acd twe thousand souls, scattered along | the coast, and for some distance in the interior, each governed by e chief and srveral subordinate beadmen, whose will, though regulated by custom ver the edepuon of the preseat ‘o ized and instructed the secretary of the trea- leaf Seeemeate eae ar oe tod doctors to the person who ha: ware, (arveles in demand for the African the ewe Seagenate the ont is seized ype ' wede, mae poy A! these articles at a certain officer, and compelled to drink a decoction ‘of | specahi ied advance on the cost. Butit is said sasey wood Wd ncetadon narcotic poiwon), which, if , thie ly by the goverament has not met SoH elatane Somali bates | mold whol Mnatoned "Gata de and con mito a ™ les iT }. a cruel death. This ordeal of sussywood is cae of | imported into the republic is imposed a duty Sr six the most prevalent and distinctive of African w stitions, and by it thousands perish, miserably, every year. The government of the Kroo people is believed to have been originally patriarebal but is now a self. oligarchy. The king receives his Tt cent, with certain exceptions specified, where- tothe duty is still higher oorhe President, without stating the exact amount of the present revenue, expressed the epinion that it would hereafter meet the expenses of the Agen though it must, for some years, fall fr short what might be office heredit ; and the headmea, some twelve or fifteen in number, marked or distinguished by an iron ring around the leg, constiiute the legis- lative council of the nation. Their laws are a body of customs, handed down by traditioa, W- terpreted and enforced by the general council, wo also enact special laws for any emergency, sug- genes it is thought, in most cases, by the doctor or copjurer. These laws are frequently defective, incon- sistent, and unjust. Most of the labor on their lantations and in their villages is performed by the women. Aged men of influence, in dif- ferent families, act as guardians for the younger, who, even until they reach the ege of thirty or forty years, go abroad in groups of ten or a dozen (each pompesy electing a leader, whom obey), to different of the coast, from Sierra Leone to Fernando Po, labor industrieusly from six months to three yeara, and, on their return home, piace the proceeds of their labor at the disposal of their guardian, to be ex- pended in the purchase of wives for themselves, and for the benefit of their respective families. The Kroomen a1 their persons, a straig) aely: proportioned race | men; they are intelligent and independent, vain and sensual, ambitious of reputation, capable of ardent attachment, and, where their io'erests are deeply concerned, of extraordinary fideliiy. Their number at home and abroad is probably from six to ten thousand. The people of Nifou are still further south, in population less than either the Fishmen or Kroomen, but very similar ia their occupations, customs, and superstitions. With other tribes, more remote and interior, treaties have been formed; but those just specitied constitute the most importxunt native population re- siding within the jurisdiction of the republic. To these African tribes, the relations of the Lideriaa vernment are entirely peaceful and friendly, and its authority over them highly salutary and bene- ficient. It has banished the slave tradé from all this district of Africa; adjusted the differences which separated, and suppressed the wars which have for centuries spread misery and devastation among these people; has interrupted, if not eradi- cated, some of their most barbarous superstitions, ministered new incentives to their iadustry, opened new channels and supplied new motives and re- wards to trade, and invited ibem to listen to the gs and ‘become enriched with all the blesa- ings of civilization and Christianity. In a recent tnal for a capital offence in the county of Grand Bassa, three native Africans sat among the jury; nor ig it unusual to meet with respectable iudi- viduals of this class holding commissions as public officers of justice or police, from the President of the republic. The land Colony, at Cape Palmas, exerts, perhaps, a lees positive and controlling authority over its large native population than is exerted by the government of the republic; yet the influence of its intelligent and respectable officers is highly beneficial, and must increase; while tae missien- ary establishment withio its limits excites our ad- miration, and deserves the most liberal support. _ In regard to the third subject of inquiry specified in ay Secretion ° the form of the goverament, d the characters of the leading men in the exe- cutive, legislative, and judicial departments’— allow_me to point to the constitution of the repub- lic of Liberia, fully pervaded by the spirit of liberty, and, in all vital particulars, conformed to the model of our own American free government. No provision is contained in this coustitutioa for the existence of separate State governments, nor do its framers appear to have contemplated or desired their existence; but in Gro ped nce for the elec- tion of the President and representatives every two years; in the subordination of the military to the civil power; in the declarations of the right of trial by jury, of universal toleration in matters of religion, and of the freedom of the press; and in the prohibition of the slave trade aud slavery,— have the people shown the purpose and ability to rear, fer the protection of their liberties, a wisely limited and justly constructed republican govern- ment. EDUCATION Mr. Teage, in a discourse delivered in Moaro- via, thus expresses his views on education :*- “ The education of our youth is the next subject to which I would direet your aitention. ‘ Kaow ledve is power’ is an old proverb, but not the less true itisold. This is the spring that re- gulates the movements of society; this is at once | the lever and safety-valve of humaa institutions. Without it, society will either not move at all, or, like an unbalanced, onheimed ship, move in a di- and precedent, has the force of law, and is seldom resisted. Jomestic slavery and po'ygamy are uni- | versal; and, in consequence of the purchase of female children from the iaterior, the number of | women is thought considerably to exceed that of the men. [n cleaning the farms for rice, in the | | ns of February, March, aod April, the men | indvetriously ; but the cultivatioa, harvesting, ad cleaning of the rice, and all servile domestic | daties, are performed by the women. Their arts re few and simple; in mangers and dispositions, they are gentle and patient ; in their habits of liv- | ing, abetemious, (nce being the principal article of a3) yet, when excited, they are capable of en- | during almost incredible exertion and fatigue. | _ The native African population of Sinou resemble t are, perhaps, more associated, if ent blended, with the Fishmen and roomen, (who are numerous on that region of he Coust,) and more connected in traffic with the interior tribes Like other natives, who occupy poritions along the sea shore, they have some knowledge of th lich language, and, though somewhat averse to the instruction of their femuie | children, they are willing and desirous that their boys should be taught something of the languages aed custome of civilized nations. If the number | of their towne be, aa reported by the committee at Sinou, abov hundred, they can hardly com- yun from twenty to thirty outh, we arrive at the country of vomen—a people the most dis- remarkable to be found on the tof western Airien. The Kroo mark (a black joe, much darker than the skin, from the top of the foreheed to the end of the nose,) has been adopted by those not originally of their community; end their neme is usualy given by strangers to the people of three dillerent tribes who exhibit this matk—the Fichme Settra Kroo people, and » e branches of what is riy, called the Kroo fam- n, by a language not able them to commu ny general habits of € with each oth ought t , action, and ¢ 1tton—are bound to- gether t litical ties, and by no peculiarly Tratetnal cen’ pt Oo the contrary, jealousies, riva pe ot unfrequently, hostilities arise t those associated under the on c uent af Settra Kroo, where seeid of the original Kroo ie, ttl with wonderful te ty, t i : i superstitions of their 1 t name from their uni versal oceus g. when not employed vi ners he largest and strongest n he ¢ adroit in the manage. ment of canoes aad boa re marked by @ pecu- enlarger f kle joint, produced by b f 2 canoes; are less vain, s, perhaps, lees trusty than h oomen jeed charges of treachery and rew oo 4 against them); and, while they «F rated by considerable I ar, t re embr 4 population TY , rore is, those who in- ! € 1 r towns in its vie tr Sima ral tribes, who ‘ ro from about 300 miles in he inter d i the same government bey ¢ ac vod With the Portugaese ets Wiom Ley were accustomed to as ‘ by which a on their part of the th Was t jeemed a sign of < ti y their name, Kroomen, ay t corruption of the word propriately eoacla ont an hor Their atiche, covered teria eu inches, on sticks; and the door and the loft above ly high to f not suffice ending. Io m rparated by parts weee are three roor ona of rial ee the vides and floor e fire. made of hard clay, near one corner of the where iw the only window, which serves ddmit light and open a passage for the ke penetrates the interstices of 4 thos preserves the rice from | srpiture consin’s of a few cooking | loor serves for bed, table, and | low iaa round stick of wood *ce of cloth wrapped about the | \tiously reverence a new moon, i her monthly appearance the headmes cele- te by & feast; while they frequent, for meditae tion and Worship, retued groves or thickets, dedi- Lheir drese ia a They ture | rection and at a rate that must eventually destroy it. education corrects vice, cures disorders, abatoa triumphs over the waves, ecales the heavens. [na word, Education lays all nature under tribute, aud forces her te administer to the comfort and ness of man. Nor is this all that education does. It ennobles and elevates the mind, and urges the soul upward, and animates it to deeds of high and lasting renown. Education opens sources of pure. refined, and exquisite enjoyment; it ualocks the temple of nature, and admits the awe-stricken sou! to behold and admire the wondrous works of God. An ignorant, vicious, id/e community has the ele ments of destruction already in its bosom. Ca the very first application of agtorch, they will explode, and lay the whole fabric in ruins. A virtuous, orderly, educated people, have al! the elements of national greatness and national perpetuity we be happy at home and respected abroad, we must educate our youth,” Of this oration by Mr. Teage, the following iv the concluding pasenge :— “The last remark time will allow me to make, under this head, is, that ‘ righteousnese exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.’ All attempts to correct the depravity of mun, to at, the heedlong propensity to vice, to abate the m . ness of ambition, will be found deplorably in cient, unless we apply the restrictions and the tre- mendous sanctions of religion. A profound regard and deference for religiou—a constant ree og and dependence upon God, and of our ob! g and accountability to him—ao everpreees pressing sense of his universal and #!\-contro | providence : this, and only this, can give eneryy to the arm of law, cool the reging fever of the pax sions, and abate the lofty preceusione of mad am »i- tivt tion. In prospe us bring out our thank- offering, and present it with cheertul hearts, ia or derly, virtuous, and religious conduct. In adver sity, let ue consider, confess our sins, and adi ourselves before the throne of (od. | ln danger, let us go to him whore prerogative it is te let us go to him with the humility end cout which a deep conviction thal the b # bot lo strong, and the race to the swill, is inspire “ Fellow-citizen-—we stand now on ground never cccupied by a people bef However inaun cant we may regard ourselves, the eyes 0 end America are upon ua, germ de boret from ite ew ure im the earth, uof. petals to the grnia b nt, und ewe the dimeneions of the tuil-vrowat fate,) to shrivel, to die, @ varied in ¢ Rise, fellow ciuzens, ception of your tremend you, rely upon it, deper nardly conceive, the f You are to give the a race ii hideons the dignity of human vate an honorable rank amon nations. The friends of the ¢ the enemies of the colored fellow-citizene, will you po the hands of your tienda, end sicken their hearts, \ souls of your enemie upon the career of propttiously bef ” Th ne sel emancipation, nding trom ber b vites you to accept the wir dence. The voice of yo the breeze, cries to standard--assert y« your banners to the win ents of the mighty Pi at awed the # will the rene of “ rr legions of Rome, an t y--will they, the : ie thers ave yet the the world—-will they ref ne proflerad nd basely cling 0 pendence! mighty dead, vs, animate wu Pour into our b . patriotiemwhich bore you on t¢ and to conquest ** Shali Liberia live fl tions pow swelling in yc . and noble purpose now mind, aod ripening into the pn indomitable principle, we len eponse— Liberia shall live | the nations of the earth" PUBLIC REVRWR On the fourth topie of imquiry nue and the means by which observe that, for the two years previows to the | independence of the repubhe, the annital revenue of the government, derived mainly from a six per | centad valorem duty on imports, arnonnted to from eight to ten thonsand dollars With a view to augment the public revenue, the legislature, , rise i by a base y whieh now oO. tren Would | ver; | desirably expended for nany objects of public utility. MILITARY AND NAVAL FORCE. In regard ** w the military and naval force of the revbue,” to the honor uf the people of Liberia rhevld it be recorded, that, from their earliest setdement upon the African coast, they have, by courage and discipline, defended themselves against the machinations of slave traders, and the com- bined forces of many barbarous tribes, and in no instance suffered defeat. With the exception of such as are exempted 1 virtue of religious or civil offices, all the males in the republic, from the age of sixteen to fifty, are subject to inilitary duty; may be called at any moment by the Executive into actual service, and, in time of peace, muster, on stated days, and in obedience toa uniform law, in the several settlements, for examination, exercise, and dwetpline. This force, well ‘and disci- slimed, may be, in number, from one thousand to fifteen hundred mev, while a much larger native force might, doubtless, be brought into more or lesa efiectual service, in case of an invasion naval torce, the republic has nothing, with the ex- ception of one small but beautiful vessel, armed with four guns, a present from the British govern- ment. Since foreign vessels are, without excep- tiou, subject to certain commercial regulations, and duues imposed on all merchandise brought within the republic, wherever landed, and whether consigned to the Amenean settlers or native Afri- cans, this vessel will prove of great utility in guard- ing from violauon the revenue laws, and in enforc- ing their provisions. This vessel also affords an easy and rapid conveyance of any orders or officers of the goverurent to oilferent points of the coast, will enable the public authorities to observe any movements for the renewal of the slave trade, and to adopt measures to counteract them, and com- municate intelligence between the settlements in Auy dangerous emergeucy. ADMINISIRATION OF JUSTICE. “Of the adminisration of justice, the system of laws von which itis based, and, most especially, whethe: itis enurely impartial towards the inhabi- tants of ihe republic,” Iam gratified to express the opinion that the judieml system of the repub- lic is wisely consutuied, and that justice is admin- wstered to all classes im San and witheut un- necessary expenze or delay. the constitution, the judicial power of the republic is vested in one supreme court, and such other subordinate courts as the legislature may from time to time establish. The supreme court has original jurisdiction in all ceses atleeting ambassadors or other public minis- ers or consuls, and those to which the republic shall be a party. All judges of courts are to hold office during good behavior, but may be removed by the president, at the request of two-thirds of both houses of the legislature, or when impeached und convicted. By authority of the legislature, qualitied justices of the peace may arrest offenders against the laws of public peace, commit them to plieoa, or take security for their appearance for tnal, end may determine actions for debt, where the amount in question does not exceed thirty del- lars, though the parties have the right of appeal to | the ensuing monthly court. In each of the coun- ues of the republic is held a monthly court, com- poeed of not more than five nor less than three justices of the peace, which court is to examine and decide on all cases of commitment by justices, und has power to summon jurors, to determine ac- tions for debt above thirty dollars, and exercises origine! junsdiction in all cases not iatrusted to jusuces of the peace, causes in admiralty, and ihowe constitutionally vested in the supreme court, To this court also belong the care and manage- probate of w ‘ By the same authority is constituted in each county of the republic a court of quarter sessions, with one judge, which court has tages to empan- nel both a grand and petit jury; and to try prisoners sent from the monthly court, and all preseatments or indictments found by the grand jury; has origi- nul jurisdiction in cases of admiralty, and apelluie jurisdiction in cases coming from the monthly this court to the supreme court. The supreme court is required to sit annually, end pntil all causes submitted to its jurisdiction are disposed of, in the town of Monrovia, and consists of Abe chief justice and three associates, the judges ofthe court of quarter sessions—two only of these associates sitting at one time, the right of absence being exercised in regular rotation. Made to exempt judgesin this court and that of quarter sessions from official duty in cases whereia a are interested; and the decisions of the su- preMe court ere final. Some few directions and priaciples of civil go- | jealousiee, adoras virtue, commands the wines, | vernmemt and jurisprudence were supplied to the frst settlers in Liberia by the American Coloniza- tion Society. In 1824, @ brief but comprehensive thetr assent. Subsequently, the lamented Ashmua guided and instructed them in public affairs. In JY, @ constitution and clear but concise body of aws were transmitted to the governor and council of the then colony, to which they gave their sanc- tion © be traced to the past history of the peeple, are he growth from their peculiar circumstances, and embrace the acts of the Legislature before and tince the declaration ef their independence; while, im thear Courts, the common law, with few modifi- ations, 8 existing in Great Britain and the United States, constitutes the ground of judicial arguments end d 1008. A copy of the laws, for which I am indebted to Preaiaent Roberts, accompanies this report; and among all the acts of the Liberian republic, none merit more earnest and entire commendation than thoee fur the suppreseion of the slave trade, b: which, even from their firet days upon that shore, | her people have demonstrated their purpose to con- | timue unsteiwwed and uncontaminated by that re- | proach—to wage au unmitigated and eternal war vpon the arts, contrivances, agencies, conductors, aud ubettors of this most cruel and detestable com- | merce GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS. “ The relations of Liberia to other governments and to the contiguous Africen nations or tribes,’ re emicebie, and becoming every year more ad- Vantegeous. ‘The mdependence of the republic has be acknow- lecged by both England and Frane nd between he former and the republic @ treaty of peace, | [oendetip, and commerce, was ratitied on the Ist | Aague! last; and hardly a week passes during | which ermed efips from these or other civilized re nol seen Visiting the ports, and exchang- |ues with the hospitable inhabitants of Li- by eaties with many African tribes, the hos not merely ealarged ita territory, but i their consent to the abolition of the slave ito f its political and prity ; and to its wisdom and € these tribes ustomed to look for the acjvetment of their diffe ee, aud the protection « #, liberty, property, aad wes. In some nees, urbes from the interior have hastened + the fury of merciless foes, to the uble, and found peace and repose w of its wings. Even since the u free people of color arrived in Afri- tiiet of country that now bears the name as been @ scene of treach rapine, have towas and solitary woman nations ing civ selot the r the she € edi Liberia wu wid em teil the story ef the midayght on aod § re; so that it would be difficult ang in Our estimate of the benefits de- 4 at present, In security from outrage, in the econ ot ity, industry, and lire, by the m the goverutnent of the repub- ppreseion withia the limite of the re- | by sassy wood, has preserved is froma most erucl death, aod inph of civilized law over super- MMBRCR, AND MANUPACTURRS. lture, commeree, and o + nd m particular ates, and the sus ficially increased, i thet the soil of the repadlie is vodantly the most valuable in some preliminary ral manual, prepared in ra, by Mr. Ashmun, capable of yiel } rations to #n egrical fer the IT an Belt ling ab D writ © them thus :—Safler me to } put cowu two or three remarks, of the truth and v of which you cannot be to sensib + thet tivatiog of your rich lands ' way you will ever find to independence, on fort, iv bh. You may, if you please, if gives you b h, become aa independent, ble, and happy a8 you ought to be in this we at is around you, and particularly | ¢ as good a soil as can be met with in country. They will produce two crops of ¢ weet potatoes, and several other vegetahles, ' eur; they will yield a larger crop than the best soila in America; aad they will produce @ nor of very valuable articles, for which, in the United States, millions of money are every year paid avey to foreigners. One acre of rich laod well tilled will produce you three huaadred dollars’ worth of indigo. Jlalf an acre may be made to grow half a ton of arrowroot. Four acres laid out to ecflee plants will, efier the third year, produce ou a clear income of two or three hundred dol- are Llalf ere of cotton trees will clothe your imes, guavas, paw- ather, oranges, les, than you will ever ear you ma! w vege- ath} oad aenae rou who have low-land tations, may do eo throughout the year.” the re; ly ‘aul’s, J pager the Stnou,) along both sides of Stock- ton creek, and among the gardens of Monrovia aad the plantations in its ope confirmed my belief in the general correctness of this statement, though the agricultural improvements do not equal all + expectations which it would naturally create. The committee of Montserado county fail, however, [ think, to do full justice to themselves and their fel- low-citizens when they eay: ‘ In agriculture, little more is done than to supply ourselves with the ac- cessaries sat 6 for fe coavenieanes of life.” Conside: ww limited have been uu means at the emigrants to Libera, and the dik ficulties always inevitable to the settlers in a coua- to the climate of which they are straugers, and with the products of which they have to make themselves acquainted, I am rather surprised that they have done so much in agriculture thap that they have done no more. Substantial farm houses, surrounded by well cleared and cultivated plaata- tions of from ten to thirty and fifty or seveuty acres, adorn, on both sides, the banks of the St. Paul’s (with occasional saseraniene) for the distance of twenty miles. Several hundred acres are cleared & part out of a dense and lofty forest) at Bassa ve, Edina, and at Bexley, (some five to eight miles wp the beautiful river St John’s;) and at Greenville, Roseville, and Readville, on the Sinou, are similar decided evidences of agricultural in- dustry and improvement. It may be con idantiy predicted that, whenever adrquate cupital, skal! and machinery ehall be introduced, the culture o! rice and cotton, the sugar cane and coffee, will prove as successful and profitable as in uny region of the world. My personal inquiries aud observa- tions in Liberia have led me to concur ia the opi- nion expressed by the intelligent committee of Bassa county, that in interoal resources ** it is ua- surpassed by amy country of the globe.” This committee, and that appointed by the citizens of Sinou county, both declare that the disposition for the cultivation of the soil is increaswg. ** We have,” say the committee of Montserado county, “fan extensive territory, Which can at any time be easily enlarged, by compact with the proprietors of the soil, toany desirabie exteut The soil is of the high fensiliy and adapted to @ great variety vailable in the arts and in commerce. The forests teem with valuable tumber for farni- ture, house and ship building. The rivers abound with choice fish, and the woods with game, and our gardens can be made to produce everything in their kind necessary to a comfortable existence.” The same committee state ‘that coffee of a superior kind is indigenous here, and the people are turning their attention to the cultivat on of it, and means only are wanted to bring it in large quantities into the market; sugar cane also thrives well, though, for the sume reason, no considerable quantity has been produced; cotton, ginger, arrow- root, and numerous plants and shrubs employed ia the materia medica, grow here with the vigor aad fruitfulness of indigenous arucles.” in addition plantains, tables eve! mentof the estates of orphans, and the record and | court Appeal may be taken*from the decisions of | quotes, from a report on Sierra Leoue, Provision is | conetitution was submitted to them, and received | Se that the present laws of the republic are | to the great staples of rice, cotton, the sugar caae, | and coffee, the Liberians specify corn, cassada, | yams, sweet potatoes, cabbages, arrowroot, turnips, | beets, carrots, tomatoes, lima and other beans, | peas, cymlings, chiota, ochra, cucumbers, choice ‘lies of pepper, ground-nuts, palma christi, the | rubber tree, the croton-oul-nut, and the palm | tree, (so multiplied in its uses,) as among their | productions; and among their fruits, oranges, le- | mons, limes, guavas, pine-apples, plantains, ba- | Banas, tamarinds, rose-applee, pomegranates, cher- | Ties, Cocoa-nuts, paw. paws, Mango piums, alligator | pears, patango, bread fruit, melons, and various | other valuable vegetables and fruits of the tropics. | Most of these have I myself seen growig luxu- | riantly in the gardens and farms of the republic. | According to the late Mr. Buxtoa, whose re- | searches on the subject of the agricultural and commercial! resources of Afmca were very aceu | rate and extensive, of dye wood» there are an ibundance, yielding carmine, crimson, red, brown, brillant yellow, and blue; of gums there are copal, senegal, mastic, and eudan or Turkey gum. The shea or butter-nut is hardly less valuable chan the palm-nut. The tree producing it is said to ex- tend over a large portion of the conunent. Park thought the butter made from it superior to that | made from cows’ milk. The same gentleman ¢ opinion of Mr. McCormack, “that the delta of the See- ing Broom, Kitiam, and Galienas rivers couid grow rice enough for the supply of the whole of the West Indies.” Mr. Darymple, in 1779, found three differeat kinds of cotwon at Geree, and staves that it growa | spontaneously everywhere, and that the samples sent home were considered by English merchants superior to that fromthe West Ind: According to the testimony of Colonel Den: » (a8 quoted by | Mr. Buxton.) cotton of three kiads—waite, brown, | and pink—grows wild about Sierra Leone. The | firet is excellent. Mr. Ashmun states: * It is be= lieved that none of the vaneues of the Ameriean cotton shrub answers in all respects to the indi- genous African tree. The cotton of this counry 18 on all hands allowed to be of a good quavity, and the mode of growing, curing, aad manufac- turing the article pursued in America may be | adopted here, making due allowance for the mack | greater size and duration of the African tree. The | same tree bears @ succession of crops for a great number of years.”’ It is known to all who have visited Liberia, that large substantial cottcn cloths, spun, Woven, and dyed by tae natives of interior Ata, are brought in great numbers for sale to the merchauts of | Mourovia and the neighboring settlements, and are purchased by the Atneans on the coast. From what I saw of the growth of the sugar | Cane oa several plantations on the St Paul's, it 18 impoeaible for me to doubt that it will soon prove | among the most valuable productions of that rich | country, The Laberia Herald stated, more thau year ago, that Mr, Cyrus Willis, of Millsburg, had | made in one season more than 3,000 pounds ot | beautiful sugar, and a quantity of excellent syrup From the appearance of his cane fields, it was | thought his subsequent crop would produce eight | thousand pounds. Though the death, recenily, | of this enterprising man is to be regretted, it is | hoped and expected that his experiment will be | prosecuted successfully by others. Beaver says: | “Of the vegetables that are wild, the sugar cane, cotton shruh, and indigo plant seem the most valuable. No country in the world is more amply enriched than this is with the chief productions of | the animal and yegetable kingdoms. Tne ground nut yields a pure golden-colored oil, of a pleasaut taste, and has been sold as high as £50 por toa. The castor-nut grows wild on the banks of the Gambia and elsewhere. The ginger of Africa is particularly fine and high flavored; it yields about prog: Hed one ; and the people only want iastrucuon in the method of preparing it tor the Europeaa markets, “The woods of this continent are extremely valuable. Travellers enumerate not tess thaa forty species of timber, which grow in vast abua- dance, and are easily obtaine oh as mahoga- by, teak, ebony, lignumvite, rosewood, ie * With few considerable excep.ions, the whole line of coast in western Africa, accessible to trading Vessels, presents immense tracts of lands of the moet fertile character, which only require the hend of industry and commercial enterprise to turn into inexhaustible mines of wea) ‘The tea plant is reported by MuQuren, on the authority of an Arabian traveller, and others more recent, to grew spontameously and abundantly in the interior of Afne: MAK Of the Maryland ND COLONY ony, at Cape Palmas, with a civilized population of about nine huadred, though the coil may be inferior to that of some of the eet tlements of the republic, We nay report increasing aitention to egriculiure, and fair prospects of suc- cees. The following statistics on this subject will show what had been done two years ego | Number of acres culiivaved .. faeces Number of acres in potatoes and cassada Number of cofiee trees Number of cotton trees. Number of orange trees Number of plantain tree: Number of cocoa-nut trees Number of cocoa and mango tr Number of other fruit trees ....66...00 05 At present the commerce ot the republic is re- s. siricied mainly to articles supplied by the native African population from the epontaneous resources end growth of the couatry~patm oil, camwood, ivory, tortoise-ehell, and occasionally ‘sinall tities of gold—given in exchange for tw € powder, muskets, rum, cotion goods, & crockery and iron wure, copper aad it American provisions. Of course thi | increase with the developement of th agricwlt resources of the country; nor is it easy to eet! to the amount or value 8 exports, when human industry, skill, and Jubor shail have cleared away the wildeiness, and brougnt its lands under th, cultivation of a civilized people TRADE, BT Hitherto the books of the Liberiin Custom Houee have not shown the extent of the trade withia the territory of the republic, because duties have been collected only at the ‘ports of entry, while large English aud German estab have been conducting their operations and different poimts of the coast; bo ther nd itis believed that more than one of t ishm ats. have | each exported ana ant of produce, from regio a9 the entire quantity eet down aa exports ia the books of he collector. The energy and vigilance of the uthorities of the republic will, it is presumed, give efieot to an efficient revenue system, and foreign | jiuns are of the re; . 7 at Sinou estimate Cees atabout four hundred thou and dolli and exports at seven hundred thousand. The committee of Monrovia represent that of palm oil from the republic five hundred thousand gallons. The edi- of , in an article on the palm oil trade, of June 7th, 1817, says :—‘ Every man in the colony knows that the palm trees abound throrghout all our borders; that no space of fi miles can be penetrated where they counted by scores; that, where they do not they have only to be Paes that the soil every where adapted to them; and, also, that become more prolitic the more pagularry, the is gathered from them. About the year 1815, Spence, a merchant trader from London, pure! from the natives about the river Sesters, two rels of cal, and encouraged to go on in curing it, by engaging to take all they could make in the ensuing season. We may safely put down the amount exported in 1846, from the region ex- tending from Cape Montserado down to Cape Pal- mas, &{ twe millions of gallons.” The following letter, from the Secretary of the Treasury of the Liberian republic, merits a place in this report :— “Monrovia, November 23, 1849. “Dear Six:—In reference to the conversation we had a few days ago as to the probable amount of commerce between Liberia and the United States, ] have, after consulting with a tleman of considerable experience in piecatbed affairs, arrived at the conclusion that it may be cg ed mitted that one-fifth ef the entire trade with Libe- ria is with the United States. “The committee whose duty it was to furnish you with a report have, [ taink, considerably um derrated the annual exports from Liberia. It may be fairly stated at five hundred thousand dollars is. African commodities, (one-fifth of which is one hundred thousand dollars,) and our imports from the United States may be estimated at one hi and fifty thousand dollars. i “It is worthy of remark, that, at present, it is only from the United States that our merchants import and further, that the kiad of goods most suitable for the African trade come from Europe. wthe commerce of Liberia is in its infancy; but it advances rapidly. The two priacipal articles aj trade are tobacco and powder; and no country can compete with the United States in these items, Provisions, aleo, will soon find an extensive marke: in Liberia; already the natives have commenced parenting them, particularly beef, pork, and sali “T am not exaggerating when I say, that the trade advances at least fifty per cent Komen “* The American cotton goods are in quality su» perior to those brought from Europe, but there is material difference in the price. The Rarogem the cheapest; and hence the inability of the American te compete with the European. In Li- beria we attribute the difference in price to the low price of labor in Europe. “ Yours, very respetfully, “M. Lewis. “Rev. R. R. Guriey.” MISSIONS. Dedicating herself with extraordinary liberality and vigor of purpose to the cause of Christianity ia Liberia, the Methodist Episcopal church of the United States has sent to Liberia the treasures of divine truth and the messages of divine mere: and, in fourteen day schools and eighteen Sund2y echools, they afford instruction to not less than sit hundred and ninety pupil Animated by a kindred spirit, the Southern Bap- tist of Missions have gathered into ther schools in the republic three hundred and thirty children, ninety-two of whom are children of na- tive Africans; and their missionaries preach the divine word to ten thousand of the native popula- uon. The Northern Baptist Board have mission: schools at Bexley, in Bassa county, and at Li the former twent; -four native pupils, and latter sixteen—both schools being conduc! rpegpeene native teachers of exemplary piety. A ptist church is organized in connection wit mission at Bexley, sixteen native Afacans having been admitted to its communion. Several missionary stations are occu; by the board of the Presbyterian church, (old school,) and schools and churches sustained by them at Monrovia, Sinou, and onthe banks of the St. Past’s river, A plan is already adopted for the establish- ment and endowment of a high schoo! at Moare- via, to bear the honored name of Alexander, to be sustained by the donations of members of this com- munion ‘he Rev, Mr. Ellis, who will be coa- nected with this seminary, has acquired knowledge under most depressing circumstances, and proved how a strong and virtuous mind may encounser. end subdue the evils of fortune. Of Mr. James's school at Monrovia, which de- rives eupport from the benevolent ladies of New York + I concur in the opinion of Mr. Hirrs, “that it would be an honor and an ornament te any New England village.” ‘* 1 visited,” he coa- tnues, “ this school, and am compelled to confeas, that, in reading, writing, grammar, geography, aad all the branches of a common school education, never witnessed greater proficiency of scholars of the same #: in any part of my native New England. This schoo! was founded by the ladies of New York; and my impreesion is, that they con- tinve to contribute with great liberality to ite maintepence.” ‘The mission of the Protestant Episcopal church, at Cape Paimas, (the seat of the Maryland colo- ny,) hes three native male schools, containiag about seventy pupils, and two female boarding schools, containing forty scholars. In the Sunday and mght schools of the mission are about two hundred and twenty to (wo hundred and forty pa- pile, of both sexes. In addition to these schools for natives, are two dav and two Sunday schools for the children of the colonists. The male school has fif-en pupile now preparing for a contemplated high echool, and the female day school has about fifiy scholars, while the two Sanday schools em- brace from eighty to one hundred children. Of native end colonial children, the number 4 | are permitted 10 see before them a widely exp: under the care and petronnes ot this mission ex- ceeds three huadre Of native communicants there are about forty-five, and in connection with the colonial church twenty-five, making in all se- venty members. The intelligent Governor of the Maryland cole- ny, in reply to inquines on the subject of education, suve:—** We have six day schools, numbering one hundred and seventy four pupils, and three Suaday schools of one hundred and twenty-eight. We are in great need of a high echool, in which the higher branches of education may be taught.” Lvery civilized stranger, instracted in the truths, and sensible of the Christian religion, who visite the republic of Liberia, mast experience an_inex- preesible delight, not oaly in the visible evidences of the institutions of a free and well-organued State, but in the quiet, ever-active, and beneficent operations of missionary teachers, penetrating, end inekiog glad by their preseace, the gloom of the African forest, and, under the protection of its go- veroment, invitii 4 not only its sons and ite daugh- ters into their schools, but imparting, with a zeal, cheerfulness, and @ perseverance not to be discouraged and not to be deteated, a kadw- j ledge of letters, of some branches of science, and above all, of Divine revelation, to the sa- erations and barbarous population of Africa. ‘0 tind Christian teachers and ministers with Ji- braries--emall, but of choice books—ia their thatched dwethngs, beneath the shade of the palm tree, in epots where but a fe niags have be made in the dense forest; to see groups of oalive African children gathered for instruction ; to lien es of Christian worshivpers, end bear the of Christian praise, amid the habitations of y and cruelty--gives beauty even to the aw peet of uncultivated nature, and animates with en joy every thoughitul and benevolent near The authorities and people of Liberia cheriaa a ineere attachment to the government aad people of the United States. They are sensible that, under the auspices of American benevelence, they have at- toined to their present elevation, from which t ing end glorions prospect of social happiness it prosperity and renown To the e of the republic, the recogaitiva of their in- ence by the government ot the Uniied States an object of earnest desire. The peculiarities of he c mdition of the free people of color, and others of the African race, in this country, they well know, aod have no wish, by any relations which may be established between their governmen! aad ours, to cause inconvenience or embarrassment While their wish and purpose ie to maiataia « jus: relf-respect, ag @ free and independent re before the world, they will, [doubt not, ve posed to ecoommodate (ae as may be with exooeure to dishonor or felt reproach) their a rangements to the sense ond views of the Amert- ean government. It hax been evgeeared chat mey I ptall their public « a this coun th the United States through some one ot more of its citizens, in ease vur gov rament shoull feel inclined to contide to citizens of Liberia an business it might wish transacted in Africa with the authorities of that repablie AFRICAN COLONIZATION. The echeme of African colonation originated not only in benevolence rowards our colored popu+ lation, but towards both races on this contiaeat, end towards two quarters of the globe. Ati Ception, OWr most illustrious stateemen—a Joifor- ft deg is @