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diff --git a/old/63279-0.txt b/old/63279-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c093f1e..0000000 --- a/old/63279-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1139 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The American Navy and Liberia, by R. W. Shufeldt - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The American Navy and Liberia - An Address before the American Colonization Society, January 18, 1876 - -Author: R. W. Shufeldt - -Release Date: September 23, 2020 [EBook #63279] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE AMERICAN NAVY AND LIBERIA *** - - - - -Produced by hekula03 and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - THE - AMERICAN NAVY AND LIBERIA. - - AN ADDRESS - BEFORE THE - AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY, - JANUARY 18, 1876, - - BY - COMMODORE R. W. SHUFELDT, U. S. N. - - WASHINGTON CITY: - COLONIZATION BUILDING, 450 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. - 1876. - - - - -ADDRESS. - - -GENTLEMEN: It is not inappropriate to this occasion that an officer -of the navy should address your honorable Society, and although your -committee might easily have chosen a more worthy representative of that -branch of the public service, they could have found none more sincerely -interested in your cause or more deeply impressed with its importance. - -From the first disastrous effort, in 1819, to colonize the negroes from -the United States at Sherbro, up to the present time, the Navy has -contributed with sword and pen to advance the interests and protect -the rights of the Americo-Africans. In that year, 1819, the U. S. Ship -“Cyane” convoyed to Africa the “Elizabeth,” the first emigrant ship, -the “Mayflower” of these new pilgrims, and Lieutenant Townsend lost his -life in the duty incidental to landing them. The inexorable march of -time, however, has placed upon the roll of the distinguished dead most -of those whose words and deeds contributed so much to the founding of -the Republic of Liberia. First among these, and almost the first in the -hearts and memories of his naval brethren, stands the name of Stockton. -In 1821 Lieut. Stockton took command of the “Alligator,” a vessel sent -out by the U. S. Government at the earnest solicitation of Justice -Bushrod Washington, President of the Society, and Francis S. Key, one of -its managers, for the express purpose of selecting a site on the Western -Coast of Africa, better adapted to the purposes of colonization than -Sherbro, a place notoriously unhealthy and in many respects undesirable. -The first order issued by Lieut. Commanding Stockton to the crew of his -little craft, while yet in sight of the shores of America, was to throw -overboard the cat, (the lash was then a legal mode of punishment on board -of our vessels of war,) informing them that he intended to exact their -obedience by some other means. He was wiser than, perhaps, he knew, for, -bound on this mission of humanity, there would have been a strange -inconsistency in his conduct had he carried with him into Africa that -vile relic of barbarism. Yet this act indicates the character of the man -who in that day, and in the face of current opinion, dared to vindicate -by word and deed the right of man, black or white, to exemption from a -barbarous thraldom whether upon land or sea. December 11th, 1821, Lieut. -Stockton placed his foot on African soil at Cape Mesurado, and, at the -risk of his life, wrested from savagery that spot whereon now stands the -light-house guiding the mariner to Monrovia, the Capital of a new born -Republic, and in its firm foundations, and its light gleaming alternately -on land and sea, fitly emblematic of him who ever stood fixed in his -strong convictions of the right, and showed to all men the guiding star -of his brilliant intellect and spotless character. - -Liberia, then only an isolated spot of land, now spreads herself on the -south to the extent of 500 miles from this point. A narrow belt upon -the sea-shore, slowly but surely widening her influence, brightening -up the dark cloud in the background, as year by year she struggles and -penetrates here and there, now up a river and then into the forest, -like the streak of light in the eastern sky which tells of the coming -day. An author says that the name of Stockton will be associated in -history with the names of the founders of this now prosperous State, for -to his courage and prudence its original acquisition may be ascribed. -Accompanied only by one companion he went into the presence of the native -King of that part of the Coast, and when threatened with instant death, -presented his pistol at the head of the angry chief, cowing the multitude -by the danger of their Sovereign and obtaining from the subdued savages -the desired territory. - -If we add to this achievement in Africa the fact, that throughout his -brilliant career, he adhered with wonderful pertinacity to his idea -of punishment without the lash, until he obtained, or greatly aided -in obtaining, the passage of that law which banished the cat from the -Navy, we may fairly place him high on its rolls as one whose memory we -may cherish, and whose deeds we may emulate, and point him out to the -Liberian as the man whose nature, revolting at inhumanity in any form, -taught his own men before landing on African soil that first lesson of -freedom which Liberians have since learned to appreciate as it deserves. - -The name of Perry, among the brightest in the annals of naval history, -shone with undimmed lustre in the person of Commodore M. C. Perry while -in command of our squadron on the Coast of Africa. Perry cruised along -the Liberian seaboard, using force when force was necessary, discretion, -combined with firmness, always. Under his surveillance the timid colonist -became more bold, and the wary savage more circumspect, until when he -left the station, Gov. Russwurm, of Cape Palmas, was constrained to write -him under date of December 25, 1843, “Our prospects have been brighter -since the arrival of your squadron on this Coast than ever, and however -willing we were before to endure everything for liberty, our hearts swell -with gratitude to you for the deep interest expressed in our future -well-being. That a gracious Providence may long preserve your life for -usefulness, is the ardent prayer of every citizen of Maryland in Liberia.” - -From the time of Commodore Perry’s command (1844) up to the commencement -of our civil war the Navy was not without its representatives on the -Liberian Coast. Many prominent officers not only gave that country -their warmest support, but have recorded their meed of praise to its -inhabitants. Commodore Joel Abbott, 1845, says: “Although it is the day -of small things with our colored colonists in Africa, yet I believe there -is no one who has visited them but is favorably impressed with their -present condition beyond what was anticipated, and with the belief of -their progressive improvement and of their growing importance in all the -relations concerning Africa and the African race that should interest the -Christian philanthropist and statesman.” - -Commodore Isaac Mayo, 1853, says: “I have long felt the warmest interest -in the only scheme which promised relief to the colored people of our -country, and this interest was confirmed by my visit to Liberia, when -in command of the frigate “Macedonian,” in the years 1843 and 1844. My -more recent observations in this ship convince me that the Colonization -Societies have been crowned with the most substantial success, and that -the result of their generous philanthropy is no longer doubtful.... I -have the strongest faith in the bright future that awaits Liberia, and -the strongest confidence that she is to wield the most powerful influence -in regenerating Africa.” - -Commodore Francis H. Gregory, 1855, says: “Previously to my visiting -Liberia I had a hope the Colonization Society would be successful. I -considered it an experiment and entertained but little faith, but on my -first visit to Monrovia every doubt was dispelled. I visited the people -collectively and individually and had every opportunity of forming a -correct judgment of their condition and prospects.... I found the people -industrious and happy, apparently in the enjoyment of every domestic -comfort, and some of the most opulent having many of the luxuries and -elegancies of more famed and refined regions.” By those to whom Commodore -Gregory was known, the value of his testimony will be appreciated. -Throughout a long and earnest life this officer devoted all of his time -and thought to the service of his country. - -Paymaster General Bridge, in his “Journal of an African Cruiser,” -remarks, “After having seen much, and reflected upon the subject even to -weariness, I write down my opinion that Liberia is firmly planted and -is destined to increase and prosper. This it will do though all further -support from the United States be discontinued.... My faith is firm in a -favorable result.” - -Chaplain Chas. W. Thomas adds his testimony in the following extracts -from “Adventures and Observations in Africa:” “Our duty as a Christian -nation towards her (Liberia) is clear. Far be it from us to witness with -cold-blooded indifference the struggles of those who have gone out from -us with barbarism and ignorance. If Liberia is a weak and myopic child, -it is not ours to look calmly upon her attempts to walk alone, guessing -cruelly as to the chances of her making a safe journey, but it is ours by -kind words to encourage her heart and to lead her by the hand until age -shall bring strength to her feet and clearness to her vision.” - -Perhaps upon the Navy list we have no purer and nobler character than -that of the late Rear Admiral A. H. Foote. Foote wielded the sword and -the pen of the philanthropist, the Christian, and the patriot. How much -the lessons he learned while on the Coast of Africa in command of the -brig “Perry,” among the iniquities of the slave-trade and the struggles -of the Liberian colonists had to do with the excellence of his character, -may be traced in the history of his life. He says: “Civilization with its -peace, intelligence with its high aims, was rooted in Africa. The living -energy of republicanism was there, Christianity in various influential -forms was among the people. Education was advancing and institutions -for public good coming into operation. Native hereditary enmities and -factions were yielding perceptibly in all directions to the gentle -efficacy of Christian example. All this constituted a great result.” - -The Christian virtues of Admiral Foote are the property of the country, -his professional qualities are the inheritance of the Navy—these will be -remembered as long as we have a Country to defend or a Navy to defend it. - -The concurrent testimony of these distinguished officers and thoughtful -men, embracing the period from the foundation of the colony to the time -of our civil war, express not only the hope, but the belief that Liberia, -poor and weak as she is, yet possesses many of the elements of national -wealth and strength, and proves beyond cavil the progress and the -permanence of that Republic. - -During the war, and while our own nationality was in peril, the Navy had -but little time to spare for the interests of Liberia. The battle for -the freedom of the black man was being fought upon a grander scale than -within her narrow limits. After that victory had been gained our ships -began once more to visit the African Coast, though at rare intervals. - -In 1873 it became my duty and my pleasure to visit the Coast of Africa, -after an interval of twenty-five years. A quarter of a century had passed -leaving its furrows upon my face, as it does upon the face of every son -of Adam, but the interest I had felt in that lone lorn colony was as -fresh as ever. It was therefore with unmixed satisfaction that I landed -again at Cape Mesurado, and in an instant recalled the familiar streets -and many of the faces that used to greet me in Monrovia years ago. - -I do not propose to go into the history of Liberia; that is to be -found in every Cyclopedia—those who run may read it. My own personal -impressions will be of more interest to you; these have vitality which -comes of contact, a freshness not to be found in the musty pages of a -book however well written. Personal experience compared with history is -the original compared with the photograph. - -Cape Mesurado juts out into the sea, a promontory of gentle height, -covered with the verdure which the tropics only can produce. The surf -roars at its base and the water of the Mesurado river breaks over the bar -by its side—the canoe of the native glides through the surf over this bar -and lands you with wonderful safety at Monrovia, which lies just behind -the cape by the side of the river. - -In the growth of a new nation, in its consolidation and crystalization, -_time_ forms no just measure of _progress_. Not to go back, to stem the -adverse tide, to wait, is absolutely to advance. To be where you were, -after years of struggles against obstacles almost insurmountable, is a -point gained, and a success accomplished. - -Monrovia presented the same sunny streets and shaded houses, the same -evidences of comfort, and of the absence of want, that it did twenty-five -years before; no great mark of improvement, no sad evidences of decay. -In the meanwhile, however, more activity on the wharves, more canoes -laden with produce coming down the river, steamships stopping eight times -a month landing and receiving cargo, more sugar mills, coffee trees -growing where the forest undisturbed had waved before—all this, and more, -indicated life, business, commercial and agricultural prosperity. - -I thought to myself as I walked again through the streets, “Monrovia is a -_fixed fact_.” No reflux tide can wash her into the sea. She may advance -more rapidly, she may stand still. But every event, whether rapid, slow, -or stationary in her course, Liberia is there to _stay_. An island in the -ocean of barbarism, “a little cloud out of the sea like a man’s hand,” -yet full of portent to Africa, a herald of the coming of that army of -civilization which by an inexorable law exterminates where it cannot -convert. - -But a great change manifested itself in the temper and tone of the -people. Years ago I saw indicated everywhere that innate consciousness -of inferiority, that deprecating humility which came of their -birth—emigrants from the slave cabins in our own country—that absence -of independent thought, that shrinking humility which feared to give an -opinion; these came from the remembrance of that grand old thing, now of -the past—the _master_. With warm affections toward their home, as they -called America, favors easily remembered and wrongs as easily forgotten, -they welcomed us and bore with us as we tacitly claimed that superiority -which comes of being born white men. - -Now a change had taken place, a new generation had come and a -regeneration. We were welcomed with hospitality devoid of servility, and -with kindness devoid of fear. They acknowledged gratefully the protection -which the American flag affords them, not more for the fact than as a -token of remembrance from the mother country. - -President Roberts is an epitome of Liberian history. He stands -pre-eminently the guiding genius of Liberia through all her struggles. -That there is none equal to him in point of ability, combined with wisdom -and linked to virtue; that he is superior to all in these respects, to -every other Liberian, is no more an argument for the average inferiority -of the colored race than the proud pre-eminence of George Washington is -an argument for the inferiority of the American branch of the white race. -The history of nations is written in the lives of individuals. President -Roberts has shaped the destiny of his country, and as much as any other -man living has contributed to the moral and physical good of the human -race. - -I dined at President Roberts’ table with the members of his Cabinet, -Ex-President Warner, and the Haytien Consul, Mr. Yates. Most of them -were new men to me. They exhibited a general knowledge of passing events -which, from their isolated condition, would have surprised me, had I not -in previous experience observed that men forced to read what others daily -saw were generally more accurate in their knowledge and more critical -in their deductions. The Cabinet of Mr. Roberts seemed to me respectable -men, quite up to the average of men, whether white or black. - -Without disparagement to others, I wish to make a brief mention of a -pleasant visit to the house of a private citizen. This house was presided -over by a lady whose refined and elegant manners would have attracted -attention and admiration in any drawing-room. In her conversation she -exhibited a brilliancy which was really remarkable, and an intelligence -quite as surprising. She was Liberian born, but spoke of America with the -love she had inherited. - -Along the streets and by-ways of Monrovia are to be seen the ordinary -variety of human beings, young and old, rich and poor, sick and well. You -note the absence of grogshops and the presence of churches. Like pilgrims -as they are, or were, the prevailing and controlling sentiment of the -community is a religious one. To land upon a foreign shore, to cut one’s -self off from kith and kin, to plunge into a wilderness, needs faith -absolute, vital, in the personality of God and in Divine protection. Add -to this the emotional character of the negro and you have the ordinary -Liberian; law-abiding and, from his nature and race, indolent, timid, -willing to be helped, loth to help himself. I do not mean to compare -this colonist with the great domineering, self-asserting, self-dependent -Anglo-Saxon, who bullies and conquers and rules wherever he emigrates, -but I do mean to say that Liberia and its inhabitants will compare, and -favorably, too, with the towns and the people scattered over Central -and South America and Mexico, settled by the Spaniard, the Italian, and -the Frenchman. Go where you will in these countries you see the same -evidences of indolence, the same apparent lack of progress, yet these -people _are_ prospering in their way, gradually but surely reaching a -higher plane, and so I contend are the Liberians. Remember, the Liberians -were _poor_ even to abject poverty, they had received no inheritance but -the badge of their servitude, they were ignorant—the law in this free -country of ours had taken care to keep them so—painfully ignorant, not -only of the common principles of law by which they were to construct a -government, but of the common principles of life by which they were to -live. - -God measures people for Himself. He is patient because He is -Eternal. Fifty years in the life of a nation born under such adverse -circumstances, struggling under poverty and obliquy—predicted a failure -by the prophets of caste, checked and thwarted by the priests and -politicians of conservatism, unaided, uncheered, born in a wilderness, -surrounded, hemmed in by barbarism while just emerging from barbarism -itself—fifty years in the life of such a nation is but a moment of time -in the Providence of God. Let us then endeavor in our imperfect way to -imitate God’s patience and wait while we hope and pray. - -The Krooman, whose tribes are scattered for eighty miles along the -Liberian Coast, is the Bedouin of the African sea. He is the sailor-man -and the boat-man for every ship that comes and sails down the Coast. His -skill in landing through the surf and passing over bars in his frail -canoe is something wonderful. His canoe and himself are one and the same -thing; together they glide over the swell of the ocean _with speed and -safety, now hidden, now seen_. If capsized he soon rights his boat, rolls -in again and paddles away. He is a bird upon the water and a fish in -the sea. Always willing and obedient, he is honest and trustworthy. He -wants his wages when his contract is up, when he returns to his tribe and -invests in another wife. Wives are his treasures; they are the support -of his old age. He speaks a little English, of which he is very proud. -Some ship-master gives him a fantastic name, as “Draw Bucket” or “Plug -of Tobacco,” to which he clings as his badge of honor, and his merits -are duly recorded in his “book,” which he receives from his employer and -carries around his neck, each succeeding master increasing the wealth of -his recommendation. His mother is his great object of reverence; he never -ventures to dispute her authority. In this respect he never “comes of -age.” - -If Monrovia, the capital, had not largely increased in wealth and -population during these twenty-five years, Liberia had extended her -boundaries league by league, each additional possession encroaching upon -or destroying some well-known haunt of the slave trader, until for six -hundred miles of the adjacent Coast not a slave factory could be found or -a slaver get a cargo. In the very nature of things slavery was abhorrent -to Liberia. It could not exist within or near her borders. It disappeared -by virtue of the expelling force which exists in the power of light and -civilization. These two things could not be at the same time in the same -place. By this moral alliance with the Powers of the world—this silent -partnership, which in the end banished the trade in human beings from the -entire Coast of Western Africa; this passive victory over the greatest -sin of modern times—by this deed alone she has earned her title to the -possession of her territory, and her friends and the friends of humanity -have met with more than their reward. - -An author says, in 1853: “The fact stands acknowledged before the world -that Great Britain, after the expenditure of more than one hundred -millions of dollars, has failed in suppressing the slave trade on one -mile of Coast beyond the limit of her colonies, while Liberia has swept -it from nearly four hundred miles of Coast where it existed in its chief -strength, liberated 80,000 slaves, and bound by treaties 200,000 natives -never to engage in the traffic in their brethren.” - -Liberia, geographically considered, is situated upon the West Coast -of Africa, between the latitudes 4° 20´ and 7° 20´ north. It extends -from the British Colony of Sierra Leone, on the northwest, to the Pedro -river, on the southeast, a distance of 600 miles along the Coast, the -interior boundary varying from 10 to 40 miles from the seaboard, an area -of 9,700 square miles, every mile of which has been _purchased_ from the -original proprietors. No war of conquest marks this gradual enlargement -of territory or mars the record of the consequent progress. In 1873, -the period of my last visit, Monrovia, the capital, had about 13,000 -inhabitants. The total number of Americo-Liberians in the Republic at -that time was estimated at 20,000, and 700,000 aborigines. The Americans -are settled in sixteen towns, all of which have the characteristics of -Monrovia, and are situated in propinquity to the sea. Millsburg, which is -twenty miles up the St. Paul’s river, is an agricultural settlement. - -The most important of the native tribes is the Mandingo, which occupies -nearly the whole of the eastern frontier of Liberia. These people -are Mahomedans, and their influence extends into the interior of the -Continent as far as Soudan. Travelers in Africa agree upon the fact -that Mahomedanism is spreading over that land with marvelous strides. -I ask your attention to this religious phenomenon in connection with -the prospects of Liberia as a Christian community. If you believe that -Christianity is to be the religion of the future in Africa, essential -not only to her salvation but to her temporal welfare, then I beg you to -consider Liberia as an important bulwark against the encroachment of the -followers of the Prophet, and as a point from whence to start Christian -propagandism into the heart of Africa. Most of the foreign settlements -on the Coast are simply trading ports, and the duty of Christianizing -the country is lost sight of in the pursuit of gain. Liberia, on the -other hand, is a Christian community, established as such. Upon it and -upon its friends devolves this positive mission, preaching the Gospel to -the heathen. It is our duty to assist her in this mission by every means -in our power. Liberia is the initial point for American effort in the -Christianization of Africa. The tendency of all the African tribes is to -approach the sea; most of the tribal wars are made on this account. To -reach the “heach,” as they call it, to open trade with the white man is -the great object of their ambition. To occupy the “heach,” therefore, to -present there the bold front of Christianity, is to set back the tide of -Mahomedanism and to bring within the peaceful influence of Christianity -the pagan when, after his struggles, he reaches the sea. - -Among the other tribes living in the Liberian territory is the Grebo. -This tribe occupies the land in the immediate vicinity of Cape Palmas and -is the one now threatening that portion of the Republic with a war of -extermination. - -I mean no disrespect to the people of Great Britain when I say that -the British trader on the Coast of Africa is among the most grasping -and unscrupulous of men. He has succeeded the Frenchman, the Spaniard, -and the Portuguese, those reckless factors in the prosecution of the -slave trade, and substituted a trade in rum, tobacco, and gunpowder, a -trade not quite so baneful in its immediate results, but as pernicious -as it dares to be in the logic of events. These articles the native -is eager to buy and the trader anxious to sell. Year by year the -British government, yielding to the demand of the British trader, has -increased its possessions upon the Coast either by acquisition from the -native Kings, or by purchase from foreign Powers, until it owns 1,500 -miles of the African shore. Liberia is now bounded on its northern and -southern limits by British territory, but the trader, not content with -this stealing as it were in the rear of Liberian settlements with his -contraband products, is enticing the willing native to trade in violation -of the laws of the Republic, and inducing him to believe that if the poor -and defenseless Liberian settler can be driven from his home, the trader -can sell his goods without restriction and at half the price; hence this -war which is now trying the courage and the resources of the Liberians. - -These two tribes, the Mandingos and Grebos, both of them intelligent -and aggressive, the one crusaders in the name of Mahomet, and the other -warriors in the cause of greed and gain, form the most important elements -in the internal economy of the Republic. The destiny of Liberia depends -on the conquest of these two opposing forces. Will she? Will she? She -must meet and conquer morally and physically these antagonistic ideas or -see herself swept into the sea; but I have faith that she will conquer in -the name of God and with the aid of America. We know that God will not -fail them; let us see to it that America does not fold her arms and turn -upon these struggling people the cold shoulder of indifference. - -The other tribes that come under the jurisdiction of the Government of -Liberia are the Veys, the Pessehs, the Barlines, and the Bassas. The Veys -are amongst the most intelligent, and thirty years ago made an alphabet -for themselves. Mahomedanism is rapidly spreading among them. None of -these have any special significance. They constitute, however, the -material nearest at hand for the missionary and the philanthropist. - -According to my observation among the heathen, conversion to Christianity -is not the work of a moment, it is an influence gradually permeating -and pervading, until a community finds itself raised to a higher -plane, converted to a nobler faith. This I anticipate will, in a -measurable period of time, be the result of the moral influence of the -Americo-African upon the surrounding mass of barbarism. One by one its -dark superstitions will disappear in the everincreasing light, until -in the brightness of mid-day the Sun of Righteousness will cast His -beneficent rays on the whole area of that broad and benighted land. - -I found the climate of Liberia decidedly improved since my first visit. -As the land is cleared miasmatic influences become less fatal. To the -native-born Liberian it is as healthful as any tropical country. The -emigrant takes his risks as any of us do who migrate from a temperate -to a torrid zone. The white man has no business in Africa. “_Similia -similibus curantur._” “Like things are cured by like.” To the black man, -the Ethiopian, is given the mission of laboring in the vineyard until -he comes to his own again. Time enters largely into this problem of -regenerating Africa. But it will be done and find its reward in Eternity. -Without conflicting with the theories of the savans, I take it upon -myself to say that to the white and black races is given the glorious -work of rehabilitating the world, each in its own latitude and in its own -way. - -The Government of Liberia is apparently stable and well administered. -It would be an anomaly in political history to find the off-shoot of a -republican country establishing for itself any other than a republican -form of government; her constitution therefore is similar to our own, -containing one proviso, however, to which I wish to draw your attention. - -Liberia came into existence as a nation preceded by no war; she was born -of no internecine strife, but in harmony with her mission she declared -herself free and independent, and was gracefully acknowledged as such -by the Great Powers of the world—the mother country alone hesitating -to receive as an equal her neglected child—and in an humble and lowly -manner, becoming her color and condition, she peacefully and quietly -took her back seat in the family of nations. I say that Liberia has a -government apparently stable. Compare it, in the twenty-eight years -of its existence, with the government of France in its throes with -monarchism, pseudo republicanism, imperialism, and communism—“everything -by turns and nothing long”—or with that of Spain in its dynastic -revolutions. It seems to me that the people of Liberia are in the hands -of a guiding Power, which carries them hither and thither, always -safely, to the end that they may become the arbiters of the fate of -their race, the peaceful conquerors of a new world. I know it is the -fashion to deride such pietistic notions, to sneer at such unscientific -theories; but, my friends, as I grow older, as I watch the ebbing and -flowing of the human tides, as I read of human destiny moulded to serve -Divine ends, I feel how insignificant men are in themselves, how great -they are in the hands of God. I say that the government has, in the -main, been well administered. The _world_, so called, _i. e._, the -greed, the superstition, the bigotry, the clannish conservatism, added -to the thoughtlessness and the indifference of the world, combine to -crush out these abstract notions, these impracticable ideas of the mere -philanthropist, to deny the capacity of certain “inferior” races for -self-government, to prognosticate failures, to come in with malevolent -predictions, to settle the whole matter finally with complacent “I told -you so.” - -There is no denying that Liberia has had her crisis, that she has -trembled on the verge of ruin, that her rulers have made mistakes; but I -contend that she has recovered from these shocks with increased stability -and without the barbarism of bloodshed. Run your eye over the pages of -contemporaneous history, read of the bloody executions, the fusillades -in France, count the victims to the garoté in Cuba, number the exiles to -Siberia, count the expatriated in New Caledonia—all in the name of order -and good government—then turn to the records of our own eventful career -or to the modest pages of Liberian history, and tell me which of all the -Powers contain within themselves the surest foundations, the best promise -of stability and permanence. Like our own, the Government of Liberia is -based upon the will of the people, and although sometimes swayed from the -path of wisdom by popular clamor, it in the main has been administered -for the _good_ of the people. Resting as it is upon education, secular -and religious, it possesses a constantly increasing tendency toward -perfect excellence and consequent permanence. - -I dislike to be considered as a constant apologist, but the Republic -of Liberia is on trial, and she needs the services of even so poor -a pleader as myself. If we, gentlemen, have _real_ faith in our own -institutions, we _must_ also have faith in the institutions of our little -sister Republic. And in order to form an unbiased opinion we must lose -sight of the question of _color_. Fortunately for the future of Liberia, -the homogeneousness of her population removes one of her greatest -dangers. In our own country the question of _caste_ is yet to be fought -out, and in my opinion upon its result will depend the permanence of our -own Government and the stability of our own institutions. - - “For in this Union, you have set - Two kinds of men in adverse rows— - Each loathing each.” - -Events are rapidly shaping themselves, and at this present moment we -hardly know how swiftly we are approaching the crisis which is to -determine the question of color—of equal rights to all men, without -regard to color, in the administration of the Government of this country. -While, therefore, we remember Liberia, let us not forget ourselves, or -the day may come when she can point out to us the fatal rock upon which -we split. - -I do not apprehend for Liberia dangers from incapacity of her rulers or -instability in her institutions. She has had her Roberts, her Benson, her -Benedict, and hosts of others, good and true, and she will find their -peers in the time of her need. She has her schools and her churches, -and under their tuition her next generation will improve upon this as -this has upon the last. She will resist the heathen and drive back the -Mahomedan. The danger which I _do_ apprehend for her is the danger of -_absorption_. - -They themselves seem to have had a half-prophetic dread of this -absorption. In her earliest days Elijah Johnson, amidst the dangers of a -threatened attack by the surrounding savage tribes, being offered a force -of marines from a British man-of-war if he would only cede a few feet of -land on which to plant a British flag, promptly refused, saying, “We want -no flagstaff put up here that would cost more to get down again than it -would to whip the natives.” _Now this danger is at their very doors._ - -A few years ago there was a rage for “internal improvements” in Liberia; -$500,000 were borrowed in London, which netted $425,000. This sum was -again reduced by paying the first two years’ interest in advance, and -then from the remainder was deducted the agents’ commissions, until -finally it reached Monrovia in gold and useless goods to the aggregate -amount of $200,000, and this residue has disappeared without an “internal -improvement.” To use a slang phrase, “We know how it is ourselves.” From -Canada to California every town and village in the country has gone -through the same experience, but poor Liberia, with an income at the most -of $100,000 a year, is unable to pay either principal or interest. She -lies at the mercy of her bondholders. England, with her lion’s paw upon -the trade of the world, would, and perhaps _will_ eventually, assume -the debt for the trifling consideration of possession. It is in fact a -mortgage upon the integrity of Liberia. Already England occupies 1,500 -miles of the Coast; already she hems in Liberia, the most coveted of -all, on the north; already the British trader is encroaching upon her -boundaries and stealing in behind her settlements. Slowly and surely the -process of absorption will go on to its consummation as the anaconda -swallows the kid. England herself is almost powerless to stay it unless -we intervene. - -I don’t mean by intervention that cold-blooded indifferentism -which measures every national emotion with the line and plummet of -international law, which restrains within the bounds of obsolete -diplomacy every beat of the nation’s heart. I mean the warm, sympathetic -intervention which will say to all the world, that, happen what may, the -_United States of America will see to it that no power on earth shall -obliterate from the map of Africa the infant Republic of Liberia_. - -In this centennial year, the proudest anniversary in recorded history, -which proclaims in trumpet tones the triumphant fact that a government by -the people and for the people is not only the best but the stablest on -earth, let us extend to our own offspring the right hand of fellowship, -and declare by every legitimate means we will help her forward in that -career which has led us to our present proud pre-eminence. In the -language of another who visited Liberia at the same time I did, and -came away as deeply impressed, “We are bound to help them by all the -considerations that have force with men and nations. By interest and by -sympathy we are bound. By interest, because Liberia, the only American -colony on the West Coast of Africa, once strong and resting under the -protection of the American flag, would open to us the inexhaustible -riches of Africa, and in so doing would revive the lost glories of -American commerce, which, to our national shame and disgrace, has almost -faded from the seas. By sympathy, because of the close parallel between -their history and our own. Like us, they went forth from a land where -they could no longer remain with honor; to battle for the dear sake of -freedom, with poverty, with privation, with hostile savages, and with -all the thousand difficulties of an unknown and barbarous land. Like us, -they struggled, if not with oppression, still under neglect, and, like -us, they conquered. Like us, they have declared and maintained themselves -a free Republic, and if in less than thirty years of their national -existence they have not accomplished all that they desired, the failure -has been largely owing to our own indifference to the children whom we -sent out from among us, and then left to take care of themselves. Their -love for us is strong. Like most strong affections, ill-treatment only -seems to augment its force. Their confidence in us, though so abused, is -still unabated. Can we, in this their hour of need and danger, coldly -pass by on the other side? Surely it has been want of knowledge, not want -of interest, that has so long held us supine. Let us make the parallel, -so strong in the past, hold good for the future. Let us strengthen the -hands of Liberia, that she may be enabled to do for Africa what we have -already done for America.” - -Fortunately, we _can_ intervene in the cause of Liberia, if requested -so to do by her government. Article 8, of the treaty between the United -States of America and Liberia, concluded at London, October 21, 1862, -says: - -“The United States Government engages never to interfere, unless -solicited by the Government of Liberia, in the affairs between the -aboriginal inhabitants and the Republic of Liberia in the jurisdiction -and territories of the Republic. Should any United States citizens -suffer loss, in person or property, from violence by the aboriginal -inhabitants, and the Government of the Republic of Liberia should not -be able to bring the aggressor to justice, the United States Government -engages, a requisition having been first made therefor by the Liberian -Government, to lend such aid as may be required. Citizens of the United -States residing in the territories of the Republic of Liberia are desired -to abstain from all such intercourse with the aboriginal inhabitants as -will tend to the violation of law and a disturbance of the peace of the -country.” - -I violate no official propriety when I inform you that in all probability -a ship of war is now on her way to Liberia for the purpose of protecting -American interests, and of aiding the authorities, if so requested, in -the suppression of insurrection among the natives. That this intervention -will be effectual not only in suppressing the natives, but indirectly -in suppressing the zeal of the white traders, I have not the slightest -doubt. This assistance to Liberia is of a temporary nature; what she -needs and what _we_ need is a permanent naval force on her Coast, and -she has almost a right to demand it; for Liberia is our only colony, -the only off-shoot of the parent stem, the only American outpost on the -confines of barbarism; it is our duty to protect her for the sake of our -institutions and for the sake of our religion. - -I therefore propose that the Government be requested to establish a line -of mail steamers, to consist of the smallest class of naval vessels, -half-manned and half-armed, to run monthly between any designated port -in the United States and Liberia, touching on that Coast at Monrovia and -Cape Palmas, and coaling each way at Porto Grande, Cape de Verde Islands. -These vessels to retain the character of men-of-war, and to carry no -passengers except officials of either government. - -The distance from Norfolk to Monrovia is about 4,000 miles; the quantity -of coal required for each round voyage would be about 320 tons, -aggregating for a monthly service about 4,000 tons per annum. These ships -could perform this duty at a cost for coal of about $50,000. - -A law of Congress appropriating this amount and authorizing the President -to employ the vessels on this duty would be a great point gained for -Liberia, by insuring a regular mail communication, and by having -constantly on the Coast one or other of these ships of war. - -It is no new thing for men-of-war to be employed in this service. England -commenced her foreign postal system in this way, which, subsequently -taken up by private companies, now ramifies over the globe and touches -every port. The same result would follow in this case. The merchantman -would follow the man-of-war, and thus the initial step would be taken in -securing the trade of Liberia to our own country. I see no other way at -present of inaugurating a direct trade with Liberia; for our commercial -pride has fallen so low, and our capital has become so timid, that it -dares not and cares not to venture upon the sea. It is in vain that we -appeal to patriotism; it is in vain that we utter the truism that no -nation can be truly great without an external commerce. Our merchants -cross the sea, and point with complacency to the foreign flag waving over -their heads, and bring back their goods in foreign bottoms, without any -sense of the shame that ensues. - -It would also be utilizing the navy, which, in time of peace, could find -no nobler employment. It would, indeed, be but a continuation of the aid -which the Navy has heretofore given to Liberia, and a new title to its -claim of guardianship. - -I submit this proposition to you, gentlemen, for your consideration, and, -if it meets with your approval, I suggest that you endeavor to put it -into practicable shape during the present session of Congress. - -The Government of the United States can give to Liberia no material -aid. We cannot pay her debts nor fight her battles. We _can_ throw over -her the mantle of our protection. We can say that we will not see her -absorbed by any European Power, nor obliterated by any savage horde; but, -after all, Liberia must work out her own salvation. - - “Who would be free—themselves must strike the blow.” - -So I would say to Liberians: The history of your country is full of -instances of heroism in conflict with savages; of suffering from scarcity -of food; of endurance of the effects of climate—full, I say, of instances -of heroism and self-denial on the part of your predecessors. Learn from -their history to practice their virtues now. - -Thirty years ago Commodore Perry cautioned the colonists against a -growing timidity, a tendency to rely upon others for the defense of -their lives and property. He advised them to build blockhouses as _our_ -forefathers did in the olden time; to become accustomed to the use of -arms, to organize at every settlement, and learn not only to repel attack -but to assume the offensive, thereby instilling into the surrounding -savages that wholesome fear which is the greatest safeguard. - -Be brave also in the face of nature as well as in the face of the native; -attack your forests, clear away the wilderness before you. Agriculture -is the handmaid of commerce. You cannot have one without the other. The -tiller of the soil is the nobleman of the land. From the bosom of mother -earth comes the chief real wealth of the nation. - -Bear the burden of your national debt cheerfully. For this purpose submit -to taxation; remember that repudiation of the debt would be followed by -extinction, and that your failure as a nation would throw you back into -the confused heap of mistakes which the world would willingly attribute -to the imbecility of your race. You _must_ carry this load upon your -shoulders. Consider what a load of debt this parent country of yours is -carrying for the sake of your race, for the vindication of your title as -Liberians—free men! - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The American Navy and Liberia, by R. W. 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