security, and rendered them unwilling to spend their strength upon a species of property, the tenure of which was, at least in their apprehension, uncertain. Until this radical evil is remedied, it will be in vain to expect that agriculture should make any considerable progress among them. The following Report I will show the state of cultivation at the end of 1814.

Number of Acres of Land actually under Cultivation at the present Time in the whole Colony-18th December 1814.

The coffee is commonly exported; in what proportion we cannot say. The rest

is always consumed in the colony.

4

A great check was also given to this most desirable business by the unhappy misunderstanding on the subject of the militia oath in 1811 and 1812, which occasioned many of the most industrious of the settlers, who had cleared and cultivated little farms of from one to five acres, to leave the colony, and retire, some to the Bullom shore, under the protection of a native chief, and others to the mountains. A great number of their lots were confiscated, as may be seen by the explanation of the map of Free Town. Their little estates were plundered and destroyed; and such as were restored to them on their return were found overgrown with brushwood and other plants, which rapidly spring up in that climate whenever the labour of tillage is remitted for a short season. These poor people eagerly demanded permission to take the oath of allegiance to the British government, and offered to spend the last drop of their blood in defence of the colony; but they refused the militia oath, because in its preamble it seemed to give the governor a power to separate them from their wives and families, and to employ them at his pleasure in any part of Africa, or to embark them on board ship, and send them they knew not whither. Now, although we have examined the colonial act ourselves, and are persuaded it gives no such power, we are not at all surprised at the interpretation which the Maroons put upon it: they were not aware that the enactments only were binding, and that the preamble went for nothing, though it must be confessed that some such power as that dreaded, appears to have been intended by the charter. They complained also of the provisions of the act, which required the oath to be taken by every male between the years of 13 and 60, and the penalty in refusing to take it was nothing short of outlawry. They complained of that part of the military code which authorizes. flogging; and the Maroons in particular, who had been brought up with strong feelings of personal liberty, would as soon be sentenced to be shot as to be flogged. These men had shown themselves remarkably active in the defence of the colony during the native war, and frequently lay out under arms upon the roads "all night. It certainly ought not to be forgotten, that, instead of raising any insurrection or rebellion, they quietly withdrew themselves and families from the operation of a law which they deemed oppressive. We hesitate not to state our firm conviction, founded upon evidence which we deem conclusive, that the settlers of Sierra Leone have at different periods been very badly managed; and we cannot conceal our disgust at the attempts which have been made to attribute the consequences of misma¬ nagement to the depravity and bad disposition of the settlers.

They have laboured under many discouragements; and it must ever be remembered that the promises made to the Nova Scotians, before they quitted Halifax, have not to the present day been performed.

The great point then is, to afford that stimulus to the settlers which shall prompt them to extend cultivation. To effect this, they should have grants, which, not being chargeable with quit rent or any other encumbrance, they may feel to be their own. It is necessary to pursue such a line of conduct with the surrounding natives, as may convince them that the colony has really their welfare at heart-that a consideration of their best interests forms a part of one great and philanthropic plan-and that the object of the British Government is to promote the improvement of the condition of the inhabitants of Africa generally, and is not merely confined to the aggrandisement of a few individuals. If the surrounding natives were once fairly convinced of this, there would be no need to make Sierra Leone a military station; the natives would feel that their own interests were deeply involved in the interests of the colony, and would be foremost to join in protecting it. It should be considered that these natives have long been inured to the slave trade; which having been the means of supplying them with European commodities, unfortunately, all their prejudices are in its favour. We know that the language of the natives is this-" You have deprived us of the means of supplying ourselves as formerly with the articles we want, and have not substituted any thing else." Ought it not, therefore, on every account, to become the business of the friends of humanity to put the natives in a way of raising such valuable articles of export as their climate is peculiarly fitted to furnish, and at the same time to afford them every facility in disposing of those articles to the best advantage? Fully impressed with this idea, Thomas Clarkson, who by his indefatigable labours has contributed perhaps more than any other man to procure the abolition of the slave trade, together with several gentlemen who were members of the Original Abolition committee, and the most early and zealous labourers in the cause, formed an association, the nature and objects of which will be explained by the first paper they have published:

Society for the purpose of encouraging the Black Settlers at Sierra Leone, and the Natives of Africa generally, in the Cultivation of their Soil, and by the Sale of their Produce. Instituted 24th January 1814.

THE British and American legislatures having passed an act, in the year 1807, for the Abolition of the Slave-trade, some of the friends of that great measure in England formed themselves into a body, under the title of "The African Institution," for two purposes; first, to watch over the execution of the said Act; and, secondly, to endeavour to introduce the blessings of civilization into Africa. At this time a colony had been founded at Sierra Leone, consisting of about two thousand Black settlers, whose constitutions were congenial to the climate. As this colony was well calculated to form a point, from whence light, knowledge, and industry, might be diffused through that vast continent, it appeared to the Directors of the African Institution, that it would be proper, as far as related to the second of these objects, to make a beginning there. Accordingly, neither pains nor expense were spared by them to promote it: but one difficulty has presented itself in the way of their progress, and this a material one, which it is not in their power to remove; for it is the "fixed determination of this Institution, as declared in its first Report, not to engage in commercial speculations." But if means are not used to obviate the difficulty in question, it is almost in vain to hope that the Black settlers, who compose the colony of Sierra Leone, can be extricated from their present state, so as to answer the end for which they were originally designed; that is, that they can become industrious cultivators of the soil, and that the natives can be roused to a like industry through their medium. Their case may be shortly stated thus :—They are in general very poor. They find great difficulty in parting with their produce to their satisfaction, and they have no way of conveying it to England, so as to make the most of it themselves. An association, therefore, was some time ago formed among them, bearing the title of "The Friendly Society," which was to meet monthly, in order to devise means of disposing of their produce on the most advantageous terms, and of promoting habits of industry among each other. This association continues; but it cannot carry its useful plans into execution, without assistance from England. It has been thought proper, therefore, to institute a Society in London, consisting of the friends to the African cause, whose object it will be to open a mercantile connexion with them upon easy terms. It is proposed, that

this Society shall raise a fund, not by loan, but by free gift, and that it shall appoint a Committee to manage it. Hence it is to be hoped, that a stimulus may be given to the Black settlers, so that not only their industry may be excited to the better cultiva tion of their lands, but that the natives, seeing the profits arising from such cultivation, may, by degrees, be induced, under instruction, to follow the example. By these means, the Society now instituted may become highly useful; but without some such means, little or no advance is likely to be made in the colony of Sierra Leone towards the great object which the friends of Africa have so deeply at heart, though it must be obvious that, without colonial establishments, it is difficult to see how the civilization of Africa can be carried into effect.

Signed, on behalf of the Committee,

THOMAS CLARKSON, Chairman.

A donation of 20%, and upwards at one time, or a subscription of two guineas per annum, constitutes a Member of this Society. All donations will be thankfully received.

Donations and Subscriptions are received by the Treasurer, Samuel Hoare, jun., banker, Lombard-street, London; and by the Members of the Committee.

The members of this Association have not only engaged to derive no emolument from the concern, but have passed a Resolution, that no person can be a member of it who carries on any trade to Africa on his own account.

Many of the gentlemen who compose this Association are also members of the African Institution, and ardently wish to act in unison with a body which has proved so eminently useful in checking the abominable traffic in human beings, and which has also contributed in a variety of ways to the protection and welfare of the inhabitants of Africa.

The Friendly Society at Sierra Leone was formed at the suggestion of Captain. Paul Cuffee, when he visited the colony in 1813, and consists of some of the most respectable of the settlers. They have already sent to this country, at different times, rice, camwood, ivory, palm-oil, coffee, &c. to the amount of more than a thousand pounds. Their last remittance arrived only a few days ago in the river, and is not yet landed. The Association in London dispose of the articles by a broker, and send in return such goods as are ordered, provided they are not ardent spirits, gunpowder, or instruments of war: and as they make no other charge, than for money which they are actually obliged to pay, and as the goods are sent out at the invoice price, the whole profit of the transaction centres with the settlers, who express