an article on "Liberia," which we find in the "Foreign Quarterly Review." That the able conductors of that standard and respectable Journal, should not have made themselves more familiar with a subject so easy of a thorough understanding before they attempted a labored treatise on it, is indeed marvellous enough and unaccountable, very. We notice and consider the blunders in this article the more remarkable because it, as will be seen, appears to have been written principally to show the importance of possessing a correct knowledge of the principles in which Liberia was founded, and the manner and success with which they have been carried out. The scope of the argument is this: "We are about to commence a grand system of experiments for the welfare of the great continent of Africa. Already some attempts have been made-some incipient experiments tried. ought to understand them. Why has any of them failed? Why has some of them succeeded? Let us not blindly follow the wrong. Let us intelligently imitate the right."

The principles of the American Colonization Society are abundantly set forth in its Constitution. Their practical application is not dimly shadowed forth in the various reports and documents from time to time put forth. Surely if any body wishes to know what lessons may be learnt from Liberia, they have only to read her published history, and look at any unprejudiced account of her present condition. They who are ignorant must be wilfully so. There must have been a studious effort, on the part of those acquainted with the facts, to conceal them. Gentlemen of great learning and undoubted veracity have visited Liberia, and have written their views and impressions in detail, and these have been given to the public as testimony, not of strictly impartial witnesses, but of witnesses prejudiced against the policy adopted by the Society and carried out in the Colony. And yet either the testimony of these men goes for nothing, or else the men who think and write about Liberia lay aside the facts in evidence in the case, and mention their own vain imaginations. We find in a late English Journal this sentence: "We wish, however, to bring out more specifically the fact, that within the line of coast now claimed as the Colony of Liberia, there are regular slave factories." How often has it been published, that we only own certain points on the coast, and that over the intermediate places we can exercise no control? and that it is only on these places that factories exist; and that in every instance as soon as the Colony has been able to purchase the territory, they have at once and signally broken up the factories and routed their owners and dealers. And what is it that we are now straining every nerve to raise the means to buy all the unbought territory adjacent to our settlements, but that we may control the coast, and drive the accursed slave trader and all his abettors from the region!

Again the same Journal asserts-"The desire manifested by the colonists to return to America is so great, that, if the vessels were supplied, such a number would leave in them that those willing to remain would

find themselves too few to protect themselves from the natives, and would therefore leave on this account. No obstacle but want of means prevents the return of the colonists to America; but this is a sufficient one, and confines them to the land of their exile." The falsity of this is attested by every vessel that leaves the coast. Opportunities and means enough have been offered the colonists to have carried them all away if they could have been persuaded. Inducements have been held out-they have been offered free passage elsewhere-but no! They understood too well their interests and the chances of happiness. There are several of them in this country at present. But there is nothing that would tempt them to remain here. And the testimony of all gentlemen who have visited the Colony, is, that they are contented and happy.

The article in the "Foreign Quarterly Review," on "Liberia," is more just than many others which have come under our notice. But there are some errors in it which we wonder to find coming from such a source. There are many important truths and admissions in the article, and it is for these that we make some extracts:

"The civilized settlements called Liberia, in West Africa, now firmly established along about three hundred miles of coast between Sierra Leone and Cape Coast Castle, with a considerable territory, at some points forty miles inland, with an African trade, and a moral influence of far greater extent, were founded in 1821, by an unchartered society of American citizens, for free colored people from the United States, and for free native Africans. Of the last, some are people from the neighboring tribes, and others are prize slaves, liberated by the Government of the United States, and sent to Liberia, in order to be provided for, if they cannot at once be restored to their homes. For this purpose money has long been annually voted by Congress; and the Legislatures of particular States have, from time to time, made grants in aid of the resources of one or more of the settlements at Liberia, whose political existence, however, is only recognised in this way by the supreme authorities of America. The principal funds arise from subscriptions by white people, but there are also some local taxes.

"The ships of war of the United States are appointed, occasionally, to visit them; but their constitutions have sprung from the will of the voluntary bodies called Colonization Societies, formed since 1816, in various States, and from the consent of the settlers.

66

Although there is nothing in the Constitution of the United States to prevent a colonial settlement, or new territory, to be founded beyond sea, such is not yet the character of Liberia, which has hitherto been assuming rather the form of a new people than that of a Colony belonging to an old Nevertheless African produce from Liberia is admitted into American ports as domestic.

"Contemplating similar proceedings in point of nationality, in Texas, at Natal in South-eastern Africa, and up the Niger, the proceedings at Liberia have a peculiar interest, and the considerable success of those proceedings here, in spite of great obstacles, calls for a careful examination of the means which have produced this good result. Nevertheless, it is not to be denied that these settlements from the first, although observed with friendly solicitude by many eminent persons in Great Britain, have attracted less notice than their relative importance demands from the Gov

6

ernment of this country, from the philanthropists, and from the public at large. Not to impute indifference on such a subject so widely without some proof, we refer to negative facts proper to support a charge of this grave kind. In all the inquiries by Parliament, and all the communications made by the Crown to both Houses upon the slave trade, and upon colonial administration, in reference to colored people, numerous as they have been in the last nineteen years, there is to be found no evidence of any systematic intercourse between them and our West African colonies, or our fleets of cruisers perpetually sailing near the steadily increasing settlements of Liberia, although such communications would not fail to be eminently useful, since the condition of things under our West African policy by no means justifies a disregard of convenient means of improving it. However important the services which have been rendered occasionally by British officers to Liberia, and which have always been well received, the systematic intercourse so much needed either has not been encouraged by our Government, or has been treated as too insignificant a matter to be laid before Parliament.

"Again, in regard to the lessons to be learned by the philanthropists from Liberia,—in Sir T. FOWELL BUXTON'S writings, in support of his plan for civilizing Africa, by what Lord ASHLEY pithily described to be government without dominion,' but which we venture to designate as dominion without government, no details are given in those writings to show the peculiar character of the most extensive territories ever settled by civilized people with the former express principle for their chief rule. This omission is the more striking, since the American Liberia and the British Sierra Leone. founded for the same benevolent objects, have notoriously had the most contrary results, and must of necessity offer useful points of comparison, in order that the proved good and bad courses of proceedings be respectively adopted and rejected in the new benevolent settlements at present projected for Western Africa by Sir T. F. BUXTON and his friends. An equally important body of philanthropists, the Anti-Slavery Convention, comprising above 500 individuals from all parts of the world, met in London in June last, inserted Liberia in the programme of their inquiries; but by no means did the topic justice, the general wish seeming to be not to enter upon it.'-(Report of the proceedings of the Convention, June 22, in the Anti-Slavery Reporter, August 12, p. 208.) Nevertheless, the Convention condemned Liberia almost by acclamation, and without the calm hearing of its advocates, or the searching inquiry into facts, which should precede the decisions of an enlighted deliberative body.

"The carelessness of the British public to the progress of these civilized African settlements is not less remarkable than that of the philanthropists and of the Government, as may be inferred from the way in which authors addressing the public upon Africa deal with this subject. Mr. M'CULLOCH, when writing in much detail on civilizing Africa, in his new geographical work, which expressly aims at showing the influence of institutions on national welfare,' does not even allude to Liberia ; and if that well informed author cannot be supposed to be unaware of the existence of such a country, it is extremely probable, that he knows little of the history and constitution of the settlements, having neglected what the public is careless about. His work was published in the present year; and other books, such as Mr. McQUEEN's last volume, might be quoted to the same effect.

66

Notwithstanding this general inattention to those settlements, the most cursory examination of them will prove that the objects which deeply

interest our Government, our philanthropists, and the public concerning Africa, might be much promoted by an exact acquaintance with their history and Constitution."

It will be seen that we have put in italics several sentences in the above extracts. We would call attention to them particularly, and if this should meet the author of the article, we would beg him to give us his authority for such statements-for authority he must have had for doctrines so strange and unheard of in all the annals of this Society, and its various connexions and relations! If we mistake not the day is near at hand when all that concerns Liberia will be better understood. If motives of benevolence have not been sufficient to call up public feeling and concentrate attention on our operations on the western coast of Africa, motives of self-interest will be. The influence of the Colony is now beginning to be felt in the commercial world. There are rights and privileges claimed by it, which all the lawless and predatory may not be willing to grant. There are rules and regulations which it may be a little inconvenient for the grasping trader to comply with, but which the Government and the people must maintain. Hence we predict that the indifference with which many have regarded our operations will soon give way to the acutest observation and the keenest scrutiny. The limits of our territory will be ascertained; the relation which the Colony holds to this country; the care that this country will probably be disposed to take of that infant commonwealth; the prospects before it, and a thousand other things unnecessary for us here to enumerate, but which will be matters of careful investigation in high places and by important personages.

We throw out these hints to the friends of Colonization. We shall doubtless have more to say on them before very long, and in language less indefinite and general. We admonish the patrons of this cause that we are approaching a point of immense responsibility. There are breakers ahead-a strong wind and a lee shore. We bespeak the sincere and ardent co-operation of every friend of America. We must have the means of sending out a large number of emigrants to strengthen our settlements, and we must also be enabled to complete our purchase of territory along the coast. These things are vital to continued prosperty. Oh, that we could make our friends see this as we see it, and share with us the deep solicitude which hourly fills our bosoms.

THE Cincinnati Chronicle has been examining the six returns of the census, taken at intervals of ten years each since the adoption of the Constitution. The investigations show some curious facts:

1. The population of the United States increases exactly 34 per cent. each ten years, and which doubles every twenty-four years. This law is so uniform and permanent, that when applied to the population of 1790, and brought down to the present time, it produces nearly the very result as shown by the census of 1840. And thus we may tell with great accuracy what will be the census of 1850. It will be nearly twenty-three millions.

2. But though this is the aggregate result, it is by no means true of each particular part of the country; for New England increases at the rate of 15 per cent. each ten years, while the North Western States increase 100 per cent. in that period.

3. The slave population increased at 30 per cent., but since, at less than 25 per cent. The free population have, however, increased at the rate of 36 per cent. At this rate therefore the difference between the free and slave population is constantly increasing.

4. Another fact is, that the colored population increase just in proportion to the distance South; and that slavery is certainly and rapidly decreasing in the States bordering on the free States.

This state of things continued would in half a century extinguish slavery in these States, and concentrate the whole black population of the United States on the Gulf of Mexico, and the adjacent States on the Southern Atlantic.

NATURAL HISTORY.-THE CROCODILE.-The family of Crocodiles is exceedingly numerous in many parts of Africa; and perhaps no where more so than in Liberia and its vicinity, where it is found to comprise no small portion of the population of all the rivers.

We have been at some expense to procure the different kinds so as to ascertain if possible of how many they consist in this region of country. As yet we have only succeeded in getting two species; which we are inclined to believe, make up the whole family as found in Western Africa.

We have had numerous living and dead specimens of the two species mentioned above, but have not so much as heard any other described by the oldest inhabitants, whether colonist or native.

The first species which we shall describe, is the common Crocodile of authors it is an inhabitant of the rivers and their mouths, and small salt and fresh water lakes; occasionally making an excursion to the ocean; subsisting alike upon aquatic and land animals: the latter are for the most part procured when swimming the river or drinking at the margin, when they are suddenly seized and carried under by the Crocodile, which has been waiting in ambush for the approach of what ever sort of animal may chance to frequent that place.

The common Crocodile as found here, attains the length of from ten to fifteen feet; has a dusky ash color on the head and back, slightly yellow on the abdomen, and clouded with sea green along the sides, and lateral portions of the legs; head and muzzle nearly one-fifth the length of the entire animal; muzzle long, flattened and tapering, terminated by a somewhat rounded knob, in the centre of which are the nasal openings; body and legs covered by strong plates, those on the back relieved by a carinated ridge through their centre; tail flattened and guarded by a double ridge which arises a little above and behind the posterior legs and soon unites and forms a deeply notched crest which extends to its end; five toes on the fore, and four on the hind feet; the three inner toes of each foot only, having claws; teeth pointed, twenty-eight in the lower and thirty-six in the upper jaw; the two front teeth below pass through holes in the upper jaw when closed, and the fourth on each side below, fit into groves above; the other teeth are irregular, passing inside, others outside, and some between each other, so as to prevent effectually any escape. This arrangement of the teeth holds good in all of the above species we have examined, although the number of teeth differ in those of different sizes. The eyes are of a dull gray color, and are furnished with a nictitating membrane; in addition to the ordinary lids, they are defended by a strong shield which can be brought down closely, and in a full grown animal would resist a