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MARYLAND COLONIZATION JOURNAL,.
conducted by the committee on publications of the maryland state colonization society, under the auspices the managers of the state fund.
Vol. I.
Baltimore, April, 1838.
No. 16.
When gratuitous, please circulate.
(From the Christian Advocate and Journal)
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE LIBERIA
MISSION.
To the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society
off the Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. and Dear Sir:—A year of unparalleled
prosperity to tin? Liberia mission bat jusl closed
upon us, and it becomes my pleating duty to pre-
sent to the Board of Manager! of the Missionary
Society, my regular annual report, with the pros-
pects which lie before us, and an estimate of the
probable amount necessary to enable oi to meet
the expenses of this mis-ion for tba ensuing Fear,
In doing this, sir, 1 feel i ntirely on ible to express
my gratitude to the great Hi ad of the church for
the repeated manifest itions h hich he bai given us
during the paat fi ar, that tba glorious work in
Which your missionaries are engaged is the work
of Qodj and for the great laceesi which he his
condescended to grant unto th iir feeble efforts.
The fervent ami united prayers with which we
commenced 1837 save new, we beseech o
Lord; C) Lord, we beseech thee, lend now pros-
parity'—have nut been in vain. Tbe tbousands
0 i beautiful and ele-
vated part of our town—the foundation laid, the
walls going up, and the anxious expectations of
the Methodist societies in Liberia looking up to
the ri-ing building as a place where their young
men, their children, will receive an education
suited to the claims which their church, their
country, will have upon them in a future d.iv.
Here we have more than a score of the' most pro-
mi-ing young men converted to God during the
past year, anxious to he fitted for future useful-
ness. They cannot be sent to the United States,
line they must be trained, if at all Here we
mot) enrich their mind-, and prepare them if call-
ed by God to go out into this wilderness of perish-
ing -,"ds t,i preach the g,,sp,d of Jesus Christ,
and those things which pertain to the kingdom of
tied. Pursuant t" this plan, I have determined in
the fear of God, notwithstanding my accumulating
labour- as our work -pleads, lo cm,-nil ate our
forces in Monrovia, and in a t\w days to com-
mence myself, in conjunction with Miss Beers
'i. I Mrs. M, ,;,'. a -rli,,i,I of the character alluded
to.* We -hail occupy a part of our large church
until th,' academy i- compli led. Hut. sir, it will
b......IB that this a ii a,ii id of a Kit ion.d labour will
he more than I cm continue long to perform ¦¦• it
out doing injury toother departments of tbe work.
Here then let m,- appeal to that body of men who
have honoured me with their confidence, and pray
: I of the Missionary Bocietv i > send us
help. Men and fathers in Israel, help! You are
destim d in the providence of God, to he the main
prop of (bis growing colony—this prosperous mis.
sion—the guardian angel of this benighted land.
Send us a young man of a good classical education,
of a tin • missionary spirit, a graduate of one of
our excellent literary institutions. Let him can,'
out to us, ami be tie- principal of this institution.
Friends of Ann'', lain us with your means lo
meet the-,' in"! , ; ensi i. Look at the pro-
bable results. Instead of depending as we have
hitherto be n obligi d to do, lor all our men from
America—instead of being compelled to accept
th ¦ services of females, to whom this climate
proves so particularly destructive, we shall he lay-
ing the foundation lor raising up our teachers, our
ministers on the spot. O! that the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Die United States would
wake up more thoroughly to this subject. Breth-
ren! beloved and respected brethren, I pray you,
in Christ's stead, come up I,i the help of the mis.
¦ionary causal I thank you in behalf of pooi-
Aliii.'.. lor what you have done; but this only
Opens the way to us to discover how much more
remains undone. The little spot in the moral
waste which you have already cultivated, only
lets in the light to render the darkness ami gloom
around us more visible. The young native Afri-
cans Which b ive been converted and added to us,
are anxious to learn, so that they may teach others
also, the way of life ami salvation.
A', ie Georgia,—Here. too. the society prospers.
and the school is doing well. At a meeting, of
several days continuance, held not long since,
many souls were converted, and among them
several natives. Our hearts yearned over them,
while we adored the goodness of that God who
thus rouvincetb us of a truth, 'that he is no
respecter of persons, hut that in every nation, he
lhal feareth God and worketh righteousness i-
acci pted of him.'
Caldwtll.— A sweeping reformation has gone
through this town. (lid hardened sinners, of
whom their fellow-citizens had but a font hope.
have humbled themselves under th" mighty hand
of God, repented ami forsaken their -in-, and are
now rejoicing in hope of the glory of God,
Besldi - thi-. several natives have also been made
the happj partakers of God's converting grace.
II, relet me remark, for the purpose of undeci ic-
ing a certain pari of oar friends in America, that
though some of our native converts are rigid out
of the bu»h, vet that many of (hem are individuals
who have been residing in the families of colonists,
have).....n taught by tin in the knowledge of tbe
christian's God—have witnessed their pious exam-
ples, which have pro v. d unto them a savour of life
unto life, and owe in a great measure, their salva-
tion to them as instruments in the hand of God,
Away then, with tbe notion, that the colonization
scheme dies nothing for the native African—that
the missionary enterprise i- confined to (he emi-
grants, and that the natives benefit nothing by it.
Let me stop, sir, the mouths of these gainsayers,
by proclaiming the names of Johnson, Williams,
Davis, !>. vamy. Philips, Tulliver, White, Willi-,
tte. lie. American colonists, in whose families
native boys ami girls hive grown up under ipdly
Instruction and pious example, and are noe eon-
verted to ebrlstianity, and members ol christian
churches in Liberia, Let me add, that in this
respect salvation has come too to the mission
bouses within your miaaion In Africa, and boys
attached to our familh i and institutions have been
born of God.
The school in Caldwell has been faithfully kept
and proved verv clfu ient and successful. Brother
G. S. Brown haves us, however, for a few months,
to return more fully prepared, and qualified to
livo, work, and spend his days in this excellent
cause.
Millsburg,—What shall I say about this spot.
Tbe wilderness is blossoming as a rose, The
solitary place Is becoming glad, and rejoicing for
them who have been sent to cultivate the hitherto
barren field, and to diffuse light amid the gross
darkness. Ami. thank do,I. th" darssness i- com-
prehending the light. O sir, think what the Lord
has done for us here! A society of 11 members,
as reported at the close of 1836, has now grown to
b:t. The White Plains manual labour school has
been owned and blessed of God. We have among
us converted to God, Africans, named J. O.
Andrew, N. Bangs, John Clark. P. P. Sandford,
Ne. ,\e.; and these already begin to recommend
•January 29—This has been done, and with a
bright prospect, We have already no less than one
hundred pupils.
this hoy religion to others. 'Puke an affecting
incident to the point, as related to us at the ses.
sion of our conference last week by liev. Ii. It.
Wilson, your missionary at White Plains. .Not
heig-ince, the father of the boy, named Nathan
Bangs, an African prince of an adjoining tribe,
visited liis son at our mission premises, Nathan
being Inquired for by tie- missionary, at a certain
hour of the day, to go to work w ith [he other bin s
could not be found. In searching lor him. moans
ami -ohs were hoard Issuing from the school-house
the upper rooms of which are occupied as the
lodging places of our young protegee!. In draw-
ing near to tbe house, brother Wilson discovered
little Hangs hail got his old father in private,
pleading with him in tears lo 'look Ibr th" Ameri-
can's Lo,,!.' and get his loul Converted to Chris-
tianity. The effects of this on our congregation
in Monrovia was thrilling.
Sister Wilson has commenced her school at
Miilshiirg. in good health and spirits, and has 49
scholar-, including our manual labour school hoy-.
Broth,- Wilson is extending his ministerial
labours to the surrounding native tribes—has held
meetings among them through an interpreter, and
reports the prospect as verj promising,
Jack's Town Mesurada.—We make but little
progress her". The school has not increased in
tin' number of pupils, but the tew boy- belonging
to it have made some improvement, Our help
her ¦ Is not as efficient at we could with it to be,
hut for tie present we can do no better, praying
th d tla- pu-ty and holy example of our I tbourer in
this place may at last prove a light in a dark
place.
Edina and Basso Cove.—I had my fears that I'm
absence of brother Barton would be sensibly t-It
here, and Unit the can-,, would languish and
del line, in tome respects it bet been to, but
brother Moor,-, the preacher in charge, ha- l,, en
zealous and faithful. No! being an ordained man,
however, we have been indebted to the Rev. J. J.
Matthias, the governor of Bassa Cove, for his .,ii
cm sacramental occasions, for which we ar,- very
grateful, There has boon an addition to the num-
ber in society, ami my recenl tetters report the
church as going on generally in the ways of
righteousness and j
The young woman who had the school at the
beginning of the year, it was judged best should
close her services in July last; and I had engaged
a young man of good qualifications to take it ; but
while I was absent at Cape Paltnas, in August
and September, lo my surprise he embarked for
the Unite i Stat, i in the Charlotte Hup. r. Br,
Herring having been appointed this year to the
charge of Bassa Cove and Edina, will, as soon as
he arrives there, and gets settled, resume the
school, and, we trust, with his wonted zeal and
faithfulness.
January 13—I had written thus far yesterday
when a vessel, which had been signalised for
some hour- previously, cam,' near enough to com-
municate with the shore j and a note from the
Rev. John Ii. Barton announced to me his safe
arrival in 'he ship Emperor, bul gave us the af-
flicting intelligei......if the loss of our mutual friend,
Capt, John W. Keeler, who was knocked over-
board by the spanker boom, during a stormy night
when onlv live days from Norfolk. On going on
hoard, in company with Dr. Goheen, we found that
brother Barton was accompanied by his wife and
mother, Dr. and Miss Skinner, and the liev. .Mr.
Clai I- and lady. I have not failed during the night
to peruse attentively the despatches which have
come to my band. In them I hear, with mingled
emotions of surprise and regret, that your treasury,
sir, is again in debt. O that f could be. for a
short period, in the midst of the assemblies ol
American christians, to |1 ad with my tears in
this cau-e '. Hut it may nol be. I cm hut w rite.
I e m hat beg, through th" medium of a letter,
ami at this great distance from them, not to let
th" Missionary Society be curtailed in Its opera-
tions, Ve members ol th" M. E. Church in the
United Stales, hear the cries and groans of blei d-
Ing Africa. To this day h r children are lorn
from their friends and country, and borne in bon-
dage, by cargoes, to other lauds, The laws and
enactments of nations are laughed at. The -lav ,-r
eludes all 'heir vigilance. But you have (he
means of -Inking a death-blow to this tinballowi d
traffic. It is tlie Gospel which can do it, and the
Gospel alone. Send men to preach f It 0
send means to support your mission, Brethren, I
tremble, I sicken at the thought of your permit-
ting your treasury to he empty ; nay. even to he
in debt. 1 dread that hour wiieii it shall be said,
that a draft of one of the missionaries of the M. K.
Church lias been protested (or want \a' money to
honour it. when the Church contains nearly
600,000 members. Let me die of African fever;
let ine seo all 1 hold dear wilt and drop into the
grave before me. h-t me be recalled from my posl
of honour—to me wor-e than .hath it-elf: but let
me hear no more that such a body ol christians as
compose the Methodi-1 Church suffer their Mis-
sionary Society to be cramped ill her effort lor the
want of meant to send tlie bread of life to a ruined
world. Hut I resume my report.
Cape Palmas,—I mail,' my annual visit to this
place during (lie r.i'.nv season. Taking my little,
sickly, t.-.-t lading Henry with me, we embarked
in on,, of the ci,Ioni.d ,-'........ i-. and all r IS days
of suffering Ibr want of comfortable accommoda-
tions, and even neeessarj refreshment, we got to
tbe end ofeur voyage, a distance of only 140
miles. Not wishing to have again in SO short a
time as live days, having a gnat dial to inspect
and adjust, I permitted rne vessel to come away
without me, and risked the getting of an oppor-
tunity back in some ve--, I patting, Hut upward
ol ten week- elapsed from the time I left home
before my return.
The church at Paluris is in an excellent condi-
tion. We had times of much rejoicing during my
visit, and several were converted to God. The
Increase, however, lor the year has been small,
owing to some who, having walked disorderly,
had to be cut oh".
Br. Burns is faithful to bis charge; he has at
last completed tho m.'--ion hou-e to as lo go into
it. and his f.nnilv an- now therefore residing at
Mount Emory, we have been obliged to employ
a school teacher. IJr. Burns" health, and the ne-
cessary attention required in building in this coun-
try, rendered it Impossible for him to teach school
hims, If ami do justice to all parts of bis charge.
I have employed a Mr-. Thomson, a member of
the Protestant I'. Church, to take this school.
Bhe i- a pious woman and well qualified.
Our meeting-bouse at Palmas, of thatched roof,
v-,-. w is not only getting too strait lor us, hut was
falling into decay, 1 concluded to build a suh-
stantial OM of Stone, preparations for which are
making in the collection of materials.
This is a growing colony, well organized, well
supplied by its patrons in America with every
thing conducive to it- welfare, and receiving semi-
annual)} an emigration of choice emigrants". The
native population even within bounds of the colo-
nial territory is numerout, and presents a vast
field for missionary enterprise. The persevering
and faithful lab air- ol -Mr. and Mr-. Wilson, who
an' at th" bead of the mission supported by tba
\. B e. p. Missions, are very useful, I aecom-
p mil I Mr. Wilson in an excursion IS miles down
tba cast to the Grahway and Cavalry countries.
We-topt at several towns, and bad much inter-
course with the natives. We could easily estab-
lish a mission in the Cavalry country. In doing
this wo could not be considered Rt interfering
with or trespassing on the ground of our christian
fellow-l aboun r-—for the harvest is plenteous, the
field is tin- world ; and if they take the right hand,
lo we turn to th" left, and so contrariwise. Many
extracts from my journal, as to th" manner! and
customs, population. Ike. be. of the Greybo and
other trih,-- in these region-, might here be given;
hot they have been so often di cribed, and more
accurately too than I could, that it would he swell-
ing tins report uselessly lo too large a size. I
would only add. that such is the gnat proficiency
which Mr. Wilton fa- made in acquiring the
I ,r J DO language, that a large and accurate voca-
bulary has already been published at their print-
, tablishment; and we have reason to hope
thai other christian missionaries could obtain the
aid of tle-se in prosecuting mlttioni anion;; the
natives.
Junk.— Ippeals have hern made to us from this
place lo send them help, for months they do
not hear a Qosp I sermon, nor have they a school
of any kind. It may truly I," -aid by them, 'Nr>
¦:ii careth forour souls. Hut help is at band,
I i ve employed a school teacher to go down and
reside there, and one of our young men, received
on triil into the annual conference, will take the
charg • lor this year—\i-inng thein as often as the
model of conveyance in this country will admit.
Sinoe.—It is difficult to determine yet what had
better he dime in this place. A governor and
physician have been sent out; and with a few
pioneers from .Monrovia, have endeavoured to
continue the settlement begun by the active and
laborious Daniel Johnson, out no emigrants have
yet arrived for that place, and the lives of the few
Americans have been at times in the most immi-
nent danger from the natives, who have risen tn
masse, and vowed to cut them oil'. Under such
circumstances to send a missionary, to spend
money iii building, kc. would be premature. It
Would be much m,re sett to make an ellbrt there
were there none but natives, and they at peace,
than to risk the entangling a missionary, ami the
reputation of a christian mission, in these broils
between the emigrants and savages around them.
We wait the openings of divine Providence.
Boporo.—While I was at Palmas an expedition
from the Condoe country, of which the above is
the capital, arrived in Monrovia, and brought me
a letter from Motet Jacobs, which I received on
my return. He was well, confirmed the news of
king Boat-wain's death, and writes that the king-
dom is so cut up and divided, so many head-men
setting up claims tin- the crown, (if it may be
called such,) that the probability is still less than
I', r "\ QUI getting an effectual foothold in that
country. He had insisted on returning, and nrpjed
Parcolb (one of the principal rival- lor royally) to
afford hiiuaii escort down to the cape, had evan
no his things, and resolved to start alone
and unprotected, >! he would not tend a guard
with Mm. This elicited a promise that it should
be don i -.....1, even during the present dry s,-a-
ioa, Bui we have had more than six weeks Am
. leveral parties have come down since
that period, letters have been received by some of
the colonists from Jacobs, hut lie has neither
arrived, nor have 1 received a line from him in
answer to a long letter, in which I urged his
return, explained the fallacy of expecting pay
from the society for so long a period spent in
doing nothing, KC. In one of my letters from you,
sir, which 1 have had no opportunity of answer-
ing yet, is the expression, 'I wish you would
penetrate into the Interior.' Permit me here to
observe lo the hoard, that this is in perfect accor-
dance with my own wishes, I have long desired
anxiously desired this, but hitherto the way has
see......1 hedged up. and particularly the way to
Boatswain's dominions. Hut, inasmuch as there
are othl r fields which promi-e, at h'a-t, as good at
harvest as the Condoe country, I have been lay-
ing plans which I hope will soon be carried into
operation. There is an opening in the Pcssah
country, from seventy-live to one hundred miles
tail of the colony, which I have concluded to
avail myself of. We have an intelligent member
of tbe church, who frequently goes into their
country for purposes of traffic, and reports to me
that every thing appear! favourable to the under-
taking. I have written a letter to Zoda, one of
their | rincipal head-men, which he ha-taken,ami
will read and explain to him, in which 1 request,
if be withes a visit from me, to aliord an escort,
and I will go. I have sent him a sfcttt, as a very
necesian preliminary to our acquaintance, and
will probably he all" to get away about the mid-
dle of February, and be gone four or live weeks.
I need not aeturs you Unit every ellbrt which 1
am capable d' making ibtil he made to enlist their
toleration ami protection of a mission school amonfj
them, lie v are at peace with themselves and
their neighbours—and the few I have seen of that
tribe appear friendly, and much pleased with the
notion of my visit. That there is much fatigue, ex-
I o-ui". and danger attending the excursion, cannot
he doubted, and some think too much for sat to
endure. Hut in coming to Africa I counted the
cost, and thank Cod, if I am to fall, it matters but
little where the spot may be—an American set-
tlement, or the town, or village of an African
tribe, so I fall in the path of duty.
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