The territory we obtain should be freely offered to us, without any kind of constraint. It should be in the vicinity of some navigable river. The climate should be, for Africa, healthy. The soil should be capable of growing tropical productions. Its limits should be extensive. To accomplish the fourth, we must Support the benevolent association now established. Besides these special purposes, there is one general object, which must be carefully provided for, viz. : that the agents employed in Africa, whether on their own account, or in connection with an association at home; whether engaged in commerce, cultivation, or instruction, may be sufficiently protected. Of the work to be done, a part belongs to the Government, and a part must be executed by individuals. The Government should Take on itself the whole duty and expense of pre- Increase and concentrate our naval force. sary. Prepare, instruct, and send out embassies, with all practicable dispatch, (or authorize their African governors,) to form treaties, including either, or all, of the following points, viz. :-Prevention of Slave-traffic;-arrangements for legitimate trade or cultivation,-with such privileges and powers as may be necessary for their well-doing; and with grants of land for cultivation. The part which devolves on individuals interested in the fate of Africa is,— 1st. Strenuously to assist the benevolent association already mentioned, the objects of which are to assist individuals or societies who may engage themselves in the task of educating the population of Africa ;-to promote by every means in its power,-direct and indirect,—its civilization, cultivation, and commerce; to obtain and circulate statistical, geographical, and all other information concerning that country, especially availing itself of the opportunity shortly to be presented of doing so, by appointing agents to accompany the expedition, which it is intended to send out in the ensuing autumn; and, lastly, to keep alive the interest of the people of England on the subject. 2ndly. To form an agricultural company, which shall, hereafter, send out persons well acquainted with tropical climates and produc tions; to form settlements, guided by such arrangements and treaties as the Government may have made; to commence pattern farms and establish factories, well supplied with European goods; in a word, to use all the means that experience may point out, for a profitable and successful employment of British skill and capital in the African continent. No Slavery, no monopoly, forbearance towards the natives, and utter enmity towards Slave Trade and Slavery in all their forms, must be the fundamental principles of such a company; and an honest adherence to these will, in my full belief, insure its prosperity and profit. I have proposed two associations, a Benevolent Society, which shall watch over and befriend the interests of Africa, and a Company, which shall cultivate her soil. In one sense they are entirely separate; the object of the one is, charity,—of the other, gain. As they are distinct in their principle, so, I think, they ought to be kept entirely separate in the prosecution of their details. Yet, it is impossible that they should not subserve and benefit each other. It is impossible to spread education, scientific knowledge, and the civilizing influence of Christianity, without communicating that to the population, which will most materially contribute to the advance of commerce and agriculture: on the other hand, there is no better way of advancing the moral and physical condition of the people, than by the introduction of our skill, and the sagacious and successful employment of our capital amongst them.* To the question which has already been repeatedly put to me, by those who have been moved to compassion by the sorrows of Africa, What shall we do? my answer is,-Join the African Institution, which we are endeavouring to revive; and join the African Agricultural Association, which we are about to establish. * Statements and proposals of a more definite nature respecting these two associations will, I trust, be laid before the public at no distant day. In the mean time, it may be well to observe, in answer to the inquiry in what manner it is proposed to work land in Africa, that it is intended that those employed as superintendents should be, as far as possible, of negro extraction, but that none should be sent but men of moral and religious character. That such are to be had I have, I trust, shown in the Chapter on the Elevation of Native Mind (page 491). But in what species of agriculture is it proposed to employ them? In the first instance, perhaps, in the cultivation of cotton; on the facilities for which I have dwelt at some length (page 332); but as we become better acquainted with Africa, we shall know how to turn its cultivation to the best advantage, and of course we shall grow those articles which will find the readiest and most profitable market in the civilized world. 241 CONCLUSION. I CANNOT close this work, without suggesting some considerations, which, in the review I have taken of the whole subject, have forcibly impressed themselves on my own mind. Great as is the undertaking, there are, at the present time, many concurrent and favourable circumstances, which have not previously existed. England is at peace. Since the abolition of the Slave Trade by Great Britain, it is not too much to say, that there has been, both at home and amongst many of the nations of the continent, an increase of a benevolent and enlightened spirit. Our sincerity with regard to the Slave Trade has been established, by sacrifices which admit of no misconstruction. The principles involved in that great measure have been carried out by the abolition of slavery, and by the willingness of the nation to pay the price of that most costly act of duty. Thus, then, we are in a condition (our own hands being clean) to ask the co-operation of France, Russia, the United States, and other great powers; and we have a right to demand from Spain, Portugal, and Brazil that they should no longer delay the execution of their engagements. Again, there are certain circumstances, which render Africa far more accessible than at any former R |