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■ ••• 'I 
 
 A PLEA FOR AFRICA,, 
 
 SERMON 
 
 PREACHED OCTOBER 26 , 1817 , 
 
 IN THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, 
 
 BEFORE THE 
 
 SYNOD OF NEW-YORK AND NEW-JERSEY, 
 
 AT THE REQUEST OF 
 
 THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE AFRICAN SCHOOL 
 
 ESTABLISHED BT 
 
 THE SYNOD. 
 
 BY EDWARD D. GRIFFIN, D. D. 
 
 PASTOR OF THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 IN NEWARK, NEW-JERSEY. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE BOARD. 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 GOULD, PRINTER, CHATHAM-ST. 
 
 1817. 
 
4 
 
 their language which signify to burn and the counte- 
 fiance,* and means burnt-face. No term of similar 
 import is found in the Hebrew Bible. There the 
 people whom the l^XX. called or Ethio- 
 
 pians, are uniformly denominated Cush or Cushites; 
 and this was the name by which they were known 
 over all Asia where the Greek language was not 
 spoken. They were the descendants of Cush, the 
 son of Ham,t and as was common among the Asiat- 
 ics, took their father’s name. They settled first be- 
 tween the Euphrates and Tigris, in a region which 
 was styled die country of the Chusdim, but by the 
 western nations Chaldea, and in Scripture, some- 
 times, the land of Shinar.J Here Nimrod, the son 
 of Cush, erected the first kingdom. || At an early 
 period branches of the same family spread them- 
 selves throughout all the southern parts of Arabia, 
 
 *Ai5-t» and a'p. Parkhursl's Greek Lexicon. 
 
 I Gen. X. 6. f Rees^ Cyclopadia, under Cush. 
 
 II Gen. X. 8 — 10. — It is thought that a part of the family 
 crossed the Tigris and took possession of Susiana, which is 
 still called Kuzestan or Chusistan, the land of Chus or Cush. 
 (Rees under Cush.) Brown, who is of this opinion, believes 
 that the Cuthites who were transplanted into Samaria were 
 descendants of Cush, and that the Cuthah from which they 
 came, (2 Kings, xvii. 24.) was no other than Susiana. (Brown's 
 Dictionary of the Bible, under Cush.) Calmet believes that a 
 colony of Cushites settled in the northern part of Assyria, on 
 the Araxes, (the present Aras, Araz, or Arash,) a river which 
 rises near the source of Euphrates and fahs into the Caspian 
 Sea ; and he supposes that this province was the Cuthah men- 
 tioned above. (Cedmet's Dictionary of the^ Bible, under Cush, 
 Cuthah, Cuthites, and Araxes.) 
 
5 
 
 from Euphrates and the Persian Gulph to the Red 
 Sea, and even to the border of Egypt. Accord- 
 ingly by Cush is frequently in Scripture meant some 
 country or people in Asia. In the time of Moses a 
 country was called by this name which had been 
 washed by one of the rivers of Eden.* The Arabi- 
 an whom he himself married was a Cushlte.f The 
 Midian from which she sprung was comprehended 
 in Cushan or the land of Cusli.J Egypt is described 
 as extending “ from the tower of Syene,” (which 
 stood on the southern extremity.) “ even unto the 
 border ofCush.”f| The Arabians who dwelt in the 
 neighbourhood of the Philistines, “were near the 
 Cushites.”^ Accordingly ancient authors frequent- 
 ly applied the name of Ethiopia to Arabia, as they 
 did also to Chaldea, and even to Assyria and Persla,1[ 
 
 *Gen. ii. 13. t.A'um. xii. 1. f //at. iii. 7. || xxix. 10. 
 
 § 2 Ctro7i. xxi. 16. See also Job xwiii. 19. On the latter 
 Calmet remarks, “ Job speaks of the topaz of Cush : now the 
 topaz is found only in an island of the Red Sea near Arabia.” 
 (JDi’ct. of Bib. under Chus.) 
 
 IT Rees under Ethiopia. If, as Calmet says, the Cushites 
 
 peopled a northern province of Assyria and called it Cuthah, 
 it is no wonder that the Greeks applied the name of Ethiopia 
 to a part of Assyria, and sometimes to Assyria indefinitely. 
 And when it is considered that they gave the same name to 
 all the country washed by the southern or Indian ocean, and 
 of course to that lying on the Persian Gulph, it is no wonder 
 that they sometimes applied it to Persia. Strabo maintains 
 that the ancients gave this name to the whole southern sea- 
 coast of Asia and Africa from the rising to the setting sun. He 
 tells us that some had divided the world into four parts, as- 
 signing the north to the Scythians, the east to the Indians, the 
 
6 
 
 thougli the two latter are plainly distinguished from 
 Cush in the Scriptures.* 
 
 In process of time a colony of Cushites crossed 
 the Red Sea and settled in that tract of Africa which 
 lies on the south of Egypt, which has since been 
 called Ethiopia proper.t Eusebius says that this 
 migration took place in the days of Moses. J Jose- 
 phus asserts that these Ethiopians were descend- 
 ants of Cush, and that in his time they were still 
 called Cushites by themselves and by all the inha- 
 bitants of Asia.|| To this country the following pas- 
 
 south to the Ethiopians, and the west to the Celts ; and that 
 they had a saying that Ethiopia was greater than Scythia. (Stra- 
 bo's Geography, p. 21 — 24.) 
 
 * Isai. xi. 11. 
 
 t Bibliotheca of Ravanellus, under Cush. Broum under Cush. 
 Supplement to Calinet's Dictionary of the Bible, p. 27. Charles- 
 town Ed. According to Bruce, who travelled in Africa, the 
 
 Abyssinians have among them a tradition, handed down from 
 time immemorial, not only that Cush was their father, but 
 that he actually settled in that country, (/fees under Cush.) 
 Rollin incautiously says that he settled there. (Jlncient History, 
 vol. 1. p. 146. Hartford Ed.) Homer divides the Ethiopians 
 into two parts, and Strabo maintains at large that the division 
 line to which he alluded was the Red Sea. (Strabo's Geogra- 
 phy, p. 21—24.) 
 
 J Brown has followed this opinion, and thinks the time might 
 be about 2470 A. M. which fell in the early part of Moses’ life. 
 (Brown under Cush.) But Josephus represents the Ethiopians 
 as established on the ground in Moses’ day, and gives an ac- 
 count, which is generally considered fabulous, of the wars 
 which he conducted against them. (Antiq. of the Jews, B. i. 
 Chap. vi. Sec. 2. TVhiston's Translation.) 
 
 P Antiq, of the Jews, B. i. Chap. 6. 
 
7 
 
 sages seem plainly to refer. “ Wo to the land sha- 
 dowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of 
 Cush.” “ From beyond the rivers of Cush my sup- 
 plicants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall 
 bring my offering.” “Ahasuerus — reigned from In- 
 dia even unto Cush.” “ Can the Cushite change his 
 skin, or the leopard his spots ?”* This would hard- 
 ly have been said of the inhabitants of Chaldea or 
 Arabia, judging from the present complexion of their 
 successors. In those numerous instances in which 
 Cush is coupled with Egypt, the African Ethiopia is 
 generally understood to be meant. One of these 
 instances occurs in the text : “ Princes shall come 
 
 out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her 
 hands unto God.” 
 
 The Cushites in Asia became gradually lost in 
 other names and nations, while the African branch, 
 remaining pure, and becoming powerful, by degrees 
 engrossed the appellation, and for many centuries 
 have stood forth the chief representatives of the 
 Cushite or Ethiopic race.f This then is the branch 
 to which a prophecy to be fulfilled in Gospel days 
 
 * Esth. i. 1. and viii. 9. Isat. xviii. 1. /er. xiii. 23. Zcph. iii. 
 10. — Brown insists that these and other passages ought to be 
 applied to the African branch. {Under Cush.) On the pro- 
 priety of this application of Isai. xviii. 1. see Calmet’s Diet, 
 of the Bible, vol. 3. p. 409 — 420. 
 
 t la the days of Strabo and Josephus, both of whom were 
 contemporary with the Ethiopian eunuch mentioned Acts viii. 
 26, the name was confined to the African region, and had been 
 so restricted for a long time. (Strabo's Geog. p. 21 — 24. An' 
 (iq, of the Jens, B. i. Chap. 6.) 
 
8 
 
 ought to be referred. And to them it has been re- 
 ferred by the great body of the Christian Church. 
 It was considered by the fathers as incipiently fulfil- 
 led in the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, and 
 the introduction of Christianity into Nubia and Abys- 
 sinia.* But it would be contrary to all analogy to 
 limit a general prediction of Gospel blessings to the 
 first age. Prophetic annunciations of what Christ 
 was to achieve for particular nations and for the 
 world at large, though primarily fulfilled in the com- 
 mencement of the Christian era, looked forward to 
 a more glorious accomplishment under his trium- 
 phant reign on earth. This could be shown in a 
 thousand Instances ; and that no exception is to be 
 made against the descendants of Cush, is plain 
 from the descriptions which are given of the univer- 
 sality of Messiah’s kingdom. 
 
 II. The next question is, how far the African Cush 
 or Ethiopia is to be considered in the text as the re- 
 presentative of the great negro world. On this point 
 I observe, 
 
 (1 .) There is reason to believe that the mass of the 
 negroes in Africa are really of this stock. Africa was 
 certainly peopled by three of the four sons of Ham. 
 Canaan, you know, settled in Asia, in the country 
 which was afterwards possessed by Israel.t Most 
 of his posterity became extinct. Some of them how- 
 ever, it is thought, fled from Joshua to the north of 
 Africa, a part of whom, it is supposed, settled near 
 where Tunis now stands. On that spot, 550 years 
 
 * EuicbiiOi' Ecdesiffsticnl Hist. B. ii. Cltajp. 1. t Gen. x. 15 — 10- 
 
9 
 
 afterwards, a colony of Canaanites from Tyre, under 
 the direction of Dido, founded Carthage, which in 
 time extended her dominion over what are now the 
 Barbary States, and disputed even with Rome the 
 empire of the world.* With these few exceptions 
 the posterity of Canaan never entered Africa. Of the 
 other three sons of Ham, Mizraim settled in Egypt, 
 which in the Hebrew Scriptures is generally called 
 after his name. His posterity, under the name of 
 Philistines, (from his grandson Philistim,t) Lubims 
 or Libyans, (from his son Lehabim,]:) and Ludim or 
 Lud, (from his son Ludim,:];) spread themselves along 
 the sea coast, of Syria on the east, and of Libya on 
 the west of Egypt. Phut peopled the country now 
 occupied by the Barbary powers.|| Cush, as has 
 been observed, settled himself in Asia, but a strong 
 colony of his descendants afterwards took possessioii 
 of the country on the south of Egypt, since called 
 Ethiopia proper. 
 
 Thus the children of Mizraim and Phut occupied 
 all the north coast of Africa. And here they were 
 in a measure shut in. On the south of Egypt lay 
 the Cushites, who presented a barrier to all emigra- 
 tion in that direction. On the west of Egypt, stretch- 
 ing away to the south, lay the immense Libyan de- 
 sert. West of that commenced the great desert of 
 Saara, which extended across the continent to the * 
 Atlantic ocean, a distance of 1600 miles, separating 
 the whole country of Phut from the body of Africa 
 by an ocean of sand 800 miles in breadth. Ages 
 
 * Rees under Carthage, t Gc'/i- x. 14. 13. ||jVoJe A, 
 
 -B 
 
10 
 
 would probably pass away before human feet would 
 cross that almost impassable barrier. The only high- 
 way to the south was blocked up by the Cushites, 
 who themselves had nothing to prevent them from 
 spreading into all the regions now occupied by the 
 negro race. This family, as it was the oldest, ap- 
 pears to have been the most numerous of the four : 
 and we have reason to believe that they extended 
 their settlements to Mozambique and the Cape of 
 Good Hope on the south, and to Congo and the 
 Senegal on the west. They are said to have “ tra- 
 versed a great part of Africa and it is certain that 
 almost the whole country south of the desert took 
 the name of Ethiopia.f 
 
 To those who ascribe the negro complexion and 
 features, not to climate, but to native variety at first, 
 perpetuated by intermarriages among the same 
 race,J it will appear still more probable that the ne- 
 groes all descended from Cush ; for this prevents 
 the necessity of supposing a greater number of these 
 anomalies or sports of nature. The Cushites, we 
 know, w^ere black in the days of Jeremiah,|| and if 
 wc arc to credit the Arabian testimonies, many ages 
 before.§ And I know of no evidence, except some 
 disputed assertions respecting the Egyptians, that 
 any other branch of Ham’s posterity were of this 
 complexion.il 
 
 * Rees under Cush. f Rees under Ethiopia. 
 
 I .Tust as a part of the same brood are white and the rest 
 black, and each sort may be perpetuated, as naturalists tell us, 
 by pairing together those of the same colour. 
 
 II Jer. xiii. 23. § Biog. Diet, under Lohnan. If JVote B. 
 
11 
 
 (2.) But whether the Cushites comprehend the 
 entire ne<rro world or not, they may fairly be consid- 
 ered as put for the representatives of the whole. 
 The Jewish prophets were acquainted with no na- 
 tion of Africa except those which lay on the Medi- 
 terranean and Red seas. With a single exception, 
 which when explained is no exception,* those which 
 have been enumerated appear to be the only nations 
 of Africa mentioned in the Old Testament. None 
 of these are known to have been neo-roes but the 
 
 O 
 
 Cushites. These, next to the Egyptians, were the 
 most conspicuous portion of the African population. 
 While the northern tribes were separated from the 
 rest of Africa by the great desert, this immense na- 
 tion of negroes presented themselves to view on the 
 shores of the Red Sea, and hid their extended ranks 
 in unknown regions to the south and west. They 
 stood there the face of the whole negro world. And 
 it was the manner of the prophets, as might be shown 
 in numerous Instances, to select a nation which stood 
 in their eye for the representative of all the nations 
 beyond it. I hear then our text declare, that under 
 the reign of Christ the whole negro race shall be con- 
 verted to the true worship of God. But where is this 
 race to be found ? Not in Africa alone ; they are 
 scattered in the four quarters of the globe. Let us, 
 
 * I allude to the Sukkiims, who as they came “ out of Egypt” 
 with the Egyptians, Lubiras, and Cushites, against Rehoboam, 
 (2 Oiron. xii. 3.) were probably a tribe of Libya, and descen- 
 dants of Mizraim, unless, as some suppose, they lived in Ara- 
 bia near the entrance of Egypt. 
 
12 
 
 ill. Attempt to collect them together into one 
 Held of vision. 
 
 It is asserted that the Cushites early “ obtained 
 footing in India,” and “ occupied various parts” of 
 that country, and even penetrated “ into China and 
 Japan.”* And it is affirmed that the present inhabi- 
 tants of the mountains in different parts of India, 
 “ have almost the same colour, form, and species of 
 hair” as the Africans, and “ that the most ancient 
 statues of Indian divinities” represent “ the figure of 
 negroes.” “ These considerations,” says the cele- 
 brated Gregoire, “give support to the opinion that 
 this race formerly bore sway over almost all Asia.”f 
 Remains of them, at least of a similar people, are 
 still to be found in many islands in the Indian and 
 Pacific oceans, scattered through the space from 
 China to New-Holland. In some islands they have 
 been driven to the mountains by the more recent 
 Malay race ; in others, including some of vast ex- 
 tent, they still possess the whole soil. In some the 
 characteristics of the negro form are entire and 
 strongly marked, in others a little less Intense, but 
 in ah sufficiently distinct to class them with this 
 race.;|: Whether these are descendants of transport- 
 ed Africans, or of the Cushites of India, I shall not 
 undertake to determine. 
 
 But Africa itself has been spoiled and scattered 
 by many nations from a very early period. It has 
 been asserted, though not on authority absolutely 
 decisive, that Ethiopian slaves were sold to the He- 
 
 * Rees under Cush, 'f Gregoire, p. 17, 18. f .7Vo?e C. 
 
13 
 
 brews as early as the days of David.* Josephus 
 supposed, but incorrectly, that the fleet of Solomon 
 brought home Ethiopians in its return from Ophlr.t 
 
 * Biog. Diet, and Rees under Lokman. Greg. p. 19, 20. 
 t “ The king had many ships which lay upon the sea of T ar- 
 ms : these he commanded to carry out all sorts of merchan- 
 dise unto the remotest nations, by the sale of which silver and 
 gold were brought to the king, and a great quantity of ivory, 
 and Ethiopians, and apes : and they finished their voyage, going 
 and returning, in three years’ time.” (Jlntiq. B. viii. Chap. 7. 
 Sect. 2.) When this sentence was penned the historian had 
 his eye oh 1 Kings, x. 22. and the parallel passage in 2 Chron. 
 ix. 21. In our 'translation the former stands thus : “ The king 
 had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram. Once 
 in three years came the navy of Tarshish bringing gold and 
 silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.” The enumeration in both 
 cases is the same except in a single article. The Hebrew word 
 which Josephus rendered Ethiopians, our translators render 
 peacocks, and in the margin, parrots. The word in 1 Kings, 
 X. 22. is and in 2 Chron. ix. 21. it is 
 
 the name of something imported from abroad, it is supposed 
 to be a foreign word ; and it is found no where but in these 
 two passages. (^Taylor's Hebrew Concordance under 
 Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon under in.) As this single word 
 was manifestly Josephus’ sole authority, the only question is, 
 what is its meaning ? The LXX, according to the Alexandrian 
 MS. (as Parkhurst informs us,) render it raaivav, peacocks. 
 The Vulgate, says the same author, renders it in both passa- 
 ges pavos, peacocks ; and so, I add, does Montanus. Taylor 
 in both places renders it pavones, which means the same. So 
 do Tremellius and Junius; but they add in the margin to 
 1 Kings, X. 22. “ vel psitacos,” or parrots. Parkhurst renders 
 it peacocks, and so, as Taylor tells us, does Bochart. But 
 whatever is its meaning the word is not D’triD or 
 Ethiopians. If it is a national name it should be rendered Te- 
 kiims ov Tukiims. That there ever was a tribe of Ethiopians 
 
14 
 
 Will taker pretends that the Arabians from time im- 
 memorial purchased slaves even on the coast of 
 Guinea. In every part of middle and southern Afri- 
 ca, the natives have made slaves of their brethren 
 taken in war from our earliest acquaintance with the 
 country. F or many ages they have been brought 
 from the interior and sold in Egypt and on the Bar- 
 bary coast. The Alexandrians were early employ- 
 ed in the commerce of negroes. The Greeks had 
 negro slaves.* The Romans too had slaves. But 
 the northern nations who subverted the Roman em- 
 pire abolished slavery. In the fourteenth century 
 the Portuguese began to make descents upon Africa 
 and to kidnap the natives. This piratical example 
 was followed by most of the maritime powers of Eu- 
 rope.f Since then a great many of the wretched 
 negroes have been transported to Persia, to Goa, and 
 other parts of the East Indies to Macassar, Bata- 
 via, and other Dutch colonies.|| Negro slaves are 
 found in Malacca and Manilla.^ Great numbers 
 have been carried from Madagascar and Mozam- 
 bique to the isles of France and Bourbon. The po- 
 pulation of the latter island, which contains 150,000 
 inhabitants, mostly consists of negro slaves.!! 
 
 thus denominated, I know not that we have any evidence. If 
 there was not, it is difficult to account for this mistake of Jose- 
 phus but by supposing an errourof transcribers, either in the 
 Hebrew MS. which he used, or in the passage ivhich he wrote. 
 
 * Gregoire p. 19, 20. t Clarkson on the Slavery and Com- 
 merce of the Human Species, p. 42, 43. Philadelphia Ed. J Rees. 
 II Christian Observer, vol. 13, p. 851. Boston Ed. Greg. p. 51. 
 § Id. p. 130. H Panoplist vol. xi. p. 322. 
 
15 
 
 Some have been sent to Constantinople.* So late 
 as the year 1814, slaves were still brought from the 
 interior to the north of Africa, and thence conveyed 
 to the islands and opposite continent of Europe.t 
 They have been sent to work in the mines of Mexi- 
 co and Peru.J Forty thousand negro slaves are 
 found in Demarara and Essequebo;|| a considerable 
 number in other parts of Dutch Guiana,§ and Ln 
 almost every district of South America.1I But the 
 great receptacles of this unhappy race have been 
 the West Indies and — the United States ! In our own 
 free country a million and a half are supposed to ex- 
 ist! In the West Indies probably two millions.** 
 
 “ It is calculated that Africa has been drained an- 
 nually of no less than 150,000 of its natives.”tt What 
 prodigious arrears are due to that ill-fated country ! 
 What an immense labour to collect together into the 
 Christian Church all her scattered sons ! But, 
 
 IV. Against this attempt it is objected, that the 
 negroes are doomed by the sentence of Noah to per- 
 petual slavery, and are so inferior by nature to the 
 rest of mankind as to afford no encouragement to 
 any exertions in their favour. ‘Barre St. Venant’ 
 gravely ‘ assures us, “ that the negroes. Incapable 
 of advancing a single step towards civilization, will 
 be after 20,000 centuries, what they were 20,000 
 centuries ago,” the disgrace and misfortune of the 
 human race.’|j! The cranium or skull, too, of the 
 
 * Rees. ^ Christ. Ob.Vol. \ni. Tp. 853. ^Rees. || JWbrse’s Gco^. 
 
 raphy. ^ Id. ^ JVote D. ** J^oteE. Rees. j| 1S2. 
 
16 
 
 negro has been examined, to prove that it recedes 
 from the human species towards that of the ape. 
 
 Now all this is sufficiently cruel. As to the sen- 
 tence of Noah, what has Africa to do Avith that ? 
 It altogether fell on Canaan, whose descendants we 
 have seen, (except a few who fled to the Barbary 
 coast, not to the negro region,) never entered Afri- 
 ca. “ Cursed be Canaan : a servant of servants shall 
 he be unto his brethren. — Blessed be the Lord God 
 of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall 
 enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of 
 Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.”* This 
 was recorded while Israel were on their way to the 
 land of Canaan, and on purpose to encourage them 
 to take possession of the country ; and it was fulfil- 
 led, partly when the remains of the Canaanites be- 
 came servants to those who had been servants in 
 Egypt, and ultimately, (so far as the present sub- 
 ject is concerned,) when Tyre and Sidon, and all 
 the residue of the Canaanites in Syria were conquer- 
 ed by the Greeks and Romans, the descendants of 
 Japheth, and when Carthage herself submitted to 
 the Roman sway. But what has this to do with the 
 negro race ? Or if we expand the curse so as to 
 cover all the posterity of Ham, must it necessarily 
 last forever Could it not be repealed by Him 
 Avho came to relieve all woes and to reverse all ana- 
 themas ? Must so large a portion of the human race 
 still sink under the wrath of God amidst the splen- 
 dours of His reign to whom all nations are promised ? 
 
 * Gen. ix. 25—27. 
 
17 
 
 As to the alleged inferiority of their nature, I 
 remark, 
 
 (1.) The early history of the Cushites does not 
 warrant the idea of any original deficiency of" intel- 
 lect. For a thousand years they were, except la 
 the matter of religion, the most elevated and distln- 
 guished race on earth. Among them “ the first 
 kingdom upon earth was formed, and the most ear- 
 ly police instituted.”* They were the astronomers 
 anJ literati of Chaldea, the first abode of the arts 
 and sciences ; and the colonies which they sent forth 
 enlightened other countries. Wherever they went 
 they were superior to the natives, and carried know- 
 ledge and the arts with them. “All the Cushite fa- 
 mily were renowned for their wisdom,” and “ were 
 in all places celebrated for science.” A colony of 
 them, under the name of royal shepherds, in\aded 
 and conq lered Egypt, and held it in subjection near 
 three centuries. t They found the children of Miz- 
 
 * Gen. X. 8-10- Rees under Cush. 
 
 t The time of this invasion is fixed hy archbishop Usher, (in 
 which, as in other parts of his chronology, he is followed by 
 Rollin,) at 1920 A. iVI. which is computed to be “ 88 years be- 
 fore the birth of Abraham by bishop Cumberland, at 1937 
 A M. by Bryant, not long before 2038 A. iM. at which time 
 Abraham was about .30 years old. Rollin and Bryant both say 
 that they held possession 280 years. Acconling to all these 
 accounts they were in power when Abraham visited Egypt, 
 but were expelled before Jacob arrived in 2298 A. M. Accord- 
 ing to Rollin they were banished in the year 2180 A. M. in the 
 davs of Isaac : according to Bryant they were ejected not 1 ong 
 before Jacob's arrival, and he wa« permitted to dwell in Cushan, 
 fGoshen,) which they had deserted. Manetho mentions tw© 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 raira barbarous, and Imparted to them their scleneej 
 their mythology, and their religious rites. From them 
 originally came “ all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” 
 When banished from Egypt some of them fled to Sy- 
 ria, where, under the name of Cadmians, Phenlcians, 
 and the like, they kindled up the light of science, 
 and thence introduced letters into Greece.* They 
 originated the worship of departed heroes, and were 
 the first authors of all that machinery of gods and 
 goddesses, which, with many new additions and mo- 
 difications, has come down to us in classic story .f 
 
 colonies of shepherds who came to Egypt, and expressly af- 
 firms that the latter, who were enslaved, were suffered to 
 dwell in the place from which the other had been banished. 
 All this was probably before the Cushites took possession of 
 Ethiopia. (^RolUn's Ancient Hist. Vol. i. p. 147. Rees under 
 .^uritw, Cush, Dispersion of Mankind, Egypt, and Shepherds.) 
 
 * It is added that these emigrants founded many cities in Syria 
 and Phenicia, which country was hence called Ethiopia ; that 
 they settled in different parts of the Pontic region, on the south 
 shore of the Black Sea ; at Colchis, the present Mingrelia, at 
 the east end of that sea, which likewise was called Ethiopia, as 
 •were also Euhcea and Sarnothrace, two islands in the Grecian 
 archipelago ; in Hellas, the central part of Thessaly in Greece ; 
 in Sicily, ofAvhich they are thought to have been the first in 
 habitants; in Etruria, the present Tuscany in Italy, but more 
 extensive ; in Iberia, the eastern, or perhaps north-eastern 
 part of Spain ; upon the river Boetis, Avhere Cadiz now stands ; 
 and on the opposite coast of Morocco, near the Atlantic. (Rees 
 under Cush.) The name of Ethiopia, given to the places where 
 these emigrants settled, is a new proof that the shepherds of 
 Egypt were Cushites. 
 
 t Homer “ travelled into Egypt, from whence he brought in- 
 to Greece the names of their gods, and the chief ceremonies 
 of their worship.” {Biog. Diet, under Homer.) Bryant thinks 
 
19 
 
 “ They also occupied various parts of India ; and the 
 same people who imported their religious rites and 
 science into Egypt, carried the same to the Indus 
 and Ganges, and still further into China and Japan.”* 
 This is tlie people whose posterity have been denied 
 
 that the disappointment of the Cushites at the tower of Babel, 
 their subsequent expulsion from Babylonia by the sons of Shem, 
 and «^^heir flight to Egypt, gave rise to many of the ancient fa- 
 bles, and that they were the giants and Titans of the first ages 
 under Cush.) 
 
 * Rees under Cush — This will account for the similarity be- 
 tween the mythology of India and that of Egypt, and for the 
 fact, if indeed it be a fact, that some parts of the Grecian my- 
 thology were founded on events which occurred in India. 
 
 I cannot follow Bryant through all his course. He imagines 
 that he can trace the Cushites from India into Independent Tar- 
 tary (to “ Sogdiana and the regions upon the laxertcs,” the 
 present Sihon which falls into the sea of Aral ;) and thence a- 
 cross “ the upper part of China” “ quite to the ocean,” and 
 even into Japan, which he thinks “was probably in some de- 
 gree peopled by them.” He fancies that many of the Tartar 
 tribes are their descendants, and goes so far as to say that the 
 Scythians in general were Cushites, (/fees under Cush.) Oth- 
 ers have attempted to derive Scythian from the Chaldaic form 
 of Cush, Calmet believes “ that by Cush on the river Gihon, 
 (Gen. ii. 13.) is meant the ancient country of the Scythians on 
 the Araxes,” and the Cuthah of 2 Kin. xvii. 24. which he says, 
 was settled bj' a colony of Cushites ; “ that Cuthah and Scythia 
 are the same place ;” and that the Cuthites who were trans- 
 planted into Samaria “ came from the land of Cush, or Cutha, 
 on the Araxes.” But whether he believes that the Scythians 
 and Cushites were the same, or that one ofthese nations drove 
 out the other, it is impossible to determine. (Diet, of the Bible 
 under Cush, Cuthah and Cuthites.) But Strabo plainly distin- 
 guishes Scythia from Ethiopia, and sets the two in direct oppo- 
 sition. (Ancient Geog. p. 23.) Josephus affirms that the Scy- 
 
•20 
 
 I 
 
 a rank anions: the human race, and been degraded 
 into a species of talking baboons !* 
 
 (2.) What will the deniers of all capacity to Afri- 
 cans say, when they are told that in the opinion of 
 many of the learned the ancient Egyptians them- 
 selves were negroes ? This opinion is chiefly found- 
 ed on the testimony of Herodotus, who says, “ For 
 my part I believe the Colchi to be a colony of Egyp- 
 tians, because like them they have black skins and 
 frizzled hair.” Volney is fully of this opinion, and 
 exclaims, “ How are we astonished when we behold 
 .the present barbarism and ignorance of the Copts, 
 descended from the profound genius of the Egyptians, 
 and the brilliant Imagination of the Greeks; when 
 we reflect that to the race of negroes, at present our 
 slaves, and tlie objects of our extreme contempt, we 
 owe our arts, sciences, and even the very use of 
 speech ; and when we recollect that in the midst of 
 those nations who call themselves the friends of liber- 
 ty and humanity, the most barbarous of slaveries is 
 justified, and that it is even a problem whether the 
 understanding of negroes be of the same species 
 with that of white men.”f 
 (3.) The present depressed state of the African mind 
 may be accounted for without supposing any original 
 
 thians descended from Magog, the son of Japheth: {Antiq. B. i. 
 Chap. 6.) and this is the commonly received opinion. 
 
 * The Cushites continued to hold a respectable station long 
 after they ceased to take the lead among the nations. The 
 queen of Sheba, whose fame is perpetuated in sacred history, 
 was of this race, and many believe from Africa itself. 
 
 t Rees under Cophtt. Note F. 
 
21 
 
 or permanent inferiority. To say nothing of climate, 
 much may be ascribed to education, to peculiar ha- 
 bits and customs, to diet, and to the laws and forms 
 of government under which the nations of Africa 
 live. Add to this, that for thirty centuries they have 
 been the common spoil of the world, and treated as 
 though they were made only for slaves. And as to 
 - those who are found in other countries, what could 
 be expected of creatures so circumstanced.^ — torn 
 from their native soil in a state of nature, — kept in 
 the profoundest ignorance, with every obstacle op- 
 posed to their improvement, — depressed by the most 
 c»*uel treatment, by a series of wrongs enough to ex- 
 tinguish the last spark of genius, — and witli no hope, 
 no incentive to exertion. 
 
 From the paralyzing influence of slavery the an- 
 cient slaves of all nations, whatever their complexion, 
 were considered inferior in intellect.* Yet what was 
 benumbed was not destroyed. Out of tlie stagnant 
 pool of slavery arose a Serviu Tullius, the sixth king 
 of Rome ; an iEsop, one of the wise men of Greece ; 
 a Phaedrus, who wrote fables in lambic verse ,* an 
 Aleman, a lyric poet ; an Epictetus, the celebrated 
 stoic philosopher ; and a Terence, a distinguished 
 dramatic writer amongr the Romans. The latter 
 was an African, a native of Carthage.f 
 
 * This is noticed by Homer : 
 
 “ For half his senses Jove conveys away, 
 
 Whom once he dooms to see the servile day.” 
 
 (Clarkson, p. 32. Greg", p. 51.) 
 
 t Greg. p. 45, 169, 174. Biog. Diet, under the several names. 
 Rees. Clarkson. 
 
22 
 
 (4.) There are many Africans who have discovered 
 marks of genius and an elevated character, sufficient 
 to redeem their race from the charge whicli I am 
 now considering. There would have been many 
 more had circumstances favoured. 
 
 “ Full many a gem of purest ray serene, 
 
 The dark unfathom’d cares of ocean bear; 
 
 Full many a flow’r is born to blush unseen, 
 
 And waste its sweetness on the desert air.” 
 
 “ In all countries,” says one, “ genius is a spark 
 concealed in the bosom of a flint, which bursts forth 
 at the stroke of the steel.” Passing by many an- 
 cient Ethiopians to whom I have only seen a refer- 
 ence,* and some instances of energy and prowess in 
 the fleld,t I have arranged the names of more than 
 fifty negroes and mulattoes which are worthy to be 
 preserved from oblivion. Among these I could show 
 you a handsome portrait painter, a distinguished 
 physician, skilful navigators, and useful ministers of 
 religion. 1 could show you those who could repeat 
 from memory the koran, and those who, without 
 rules or figures, could perform the most difficult 
 calculations with the rapidity of thought. I could 
 show you those who were skilled in Latin, Greek, 
 and Hebrew, and in an Instance or two I might add, 
 Arabic and Chaldaic. I could show you teachers of 
 the Latin language, a teacher of the mathematics, 
 and a publisher of almanacs. I could show you po- 
 ets, authors of letters, histories, memoirs, essays, 
 petitions to legislative bodies, and Latin verses and 
 
 * Greg. p. 169, 170. 
 
 t Id. p. 93, 94. 
 
2a 
 
 dissertations. I could show you a naan “of great 
 wisdom and profound knowledge,” several who were 
 truly learned, and one who gave private lectures on 
 philosophy at a university. I could show you mem- 
 bers of the universities of Cambridge, Leyden, and 
 Wittemberg. I could show you one who took the 
 degree of doctor of philosophy, and was raised to 
 the chair of a professor, in one of the first univer- 
 sities in Europe ; another who was a corresponding 
 member of the French Academy of sciences; and a 
 third who was an associate of the National Institute 
 of France. I could show you one who for many 
 ages has been surnamed in Arabia the pytse, and 
 whose authority Mahomet himself frequently appeal- 
 ed to in the koran in support of his own opinions. 
 1 could show you men of wealth and active benevo- 
 lence : here a sable Howard spending his life in vi- 
 siting prisons, to relieve and reclaim the wretched 
 tenants, and consecrating all his property to charita- 
 ble uses ; there another founding a hospital for poor 
 negroes and mulattoes, and devoting his life and for- 
 tune to their comfort for more than forty years ; in 
 another place a third, making distant and expensive 
 voyages to promote the improvement of his bre- 
 thren and the colonization of Africa. I could show 
 you those who, with distinguished talents and repu- 
 tation, have signalized themselves in the cabinet and 
 in the field ; who have been officers of artillery in 
 the different armies of Europe, generals in St. Do- 
 mingo, lieutenant-generals in the Russian service, 
 and one who rose to the rank of general of division 
 in the armies of France. I could show you, on one 
 
24 
 
 island, the president of a free republic, and the king 
 of an independent nation, who have burst their way 
 to liberty by their own vigour.* 
 
 (5.) Besides these pa> ticular cases I will lay before 
 you some general testimonies. The oidination of 
 negroes to the sacred office is “ among the Span- 
 iards, and still more among the Portuguese, a com- 
 mon occurrence. The history of Con^o gives an 
 account of a black bishop who studied at Rome. 
 The son of a king, and many young people of qua- 
 lity, of the same country, sent into Portugal in the 
 time of king Immanuel, were distinguished at the 
 universities, and many of them were promoted to 
 the priesthood.” For more than a century “a ca- 
 tholic negro clergy” have existed in the isles of Cape 
 Verd-t “ Several negroes.” says a resident in Por- 
 tugal, “■ have been learned lawyers, preachers, and 
 professors ; and at Libbon, Rio-Janeiro, and in other 
 Portuguese possessions, have been signalized by their 
 talents.”! IVllchaud the elder told me,” says Gre- 
 golre, “ that he had seen them in different parts of 
 the Persian Gulph, heads of great commercial hou- 
 ses, receiving orders and expediting vessels to all 
 parts of the Indian coast.”|| 
 
 The revolution in St. Domingo has formed a new 
 epoch in the history of the African race. “ The 
 spasms of infuriated man” struggling for liberty, have 
 seldom been more violent. We have nothing to do 
 with the moral features exhibited in the contest ; but 
 let those who doubt the energy of the African cha- 
 
 *XoteG. t Gre^. p. 64-86. JW. p. 157, 158. ||/d.p. 159. 
 
25 
 
 racter,pass over those encrlmsonecl fields, or perched 
 on some cliff, contemplate a republic and a kingdom 
 of independent negroes, completely organized, cul- 
 tivating the arts of peace, pursuing commerce, es- 
 tablishing schools and churches, and with a vigour 
 scarcely surpassed in the French revolution, rising 
 up to a standing among the enlightened and polish- 
 ed nations of Europe and America. 
 
 The capacity of the blacks has been fairly tested 
 in the schools which have been established for their 
 use. “ Wilberforce, in conjunction with many mem- 
 bers of the society occupied with the education of 
 Africans, has established for them a kind of collejrc 
 at Clapham, which is about four leagues distant from 
 London. The first placed there were twenty-one 
 young negroes sent by the governour of Sierra-Le- 
 one. I visited this establishment in 1802,” says 
 Gregoire, “ to examine the progress of the scholars ; 
 and I found that between them and European chil- 
 dren there existed no difference but that of colour.”* 
 In the college of La Marche at Paris, a number of 
 young Africans have been receiving an education. 
 Their progress has been examined by many mem- 
 bers of the National Institute, and the result is the 
 same as that obtained at Clapham.t A few years 
 ago an African school at Boston, consisting of 400 
 children, was examined by the French consul at 
 that place, and the result was still the same.| The 
 venerable Antony Benezet some years ago estab- 
 lished a free African school in Philadelphia, and de- 
 
 / 
 
 t id. p. 155, 156. I id. p. 166. 
 
 D 
 
 ^ Greg. p. 155. 
 
26 
 
 voted a considerable part of his time to the instruc- 
 tion of the blacks. This man, who had the best 
 opportunity of judging, constantly and solemnly af- 
 firmed that he could never find any difference be- 
 tween them and other people ; that they were as 
 capable of reasoning, and of making the highest at- 
 tainments, and needed nothino; but cultivation to af- 
 ford specimens of the finest productions.* The Afri- 
 can seminary lately established in the same city, 
 has brought forward new proof. Gentlemen of re- 
 spectability who have examined the progress of the 
 pupils, speak of it in terms of high commendation.t 
 The African school established by this Synod has 
 added to evidence already sufficient. The two young 
 men under our care have given specimens of talents 
 and proficiency not at all inferior to what might be 
 expected from our brothers and sons.J 
 (6.) The objection which we are considering proves 
 too much. If it has any meaning, it implies that 
 Africans are Incapable of being christianized ; and 
 then it ought to be shown that they are not immor- 
 tal. But was not the eunuch Immortal to whom an 
 inspired evangelist was directed by the Holy Ghost .^|| 
 Is the glory of the Ethiopian Church forgotten, from 
 which thousands have been translated to heaven.^ 
 Not Immortal ! Have we not seen many of them 
 converted by the Spirit of God } Are they not mem- 
 bers of our churches, and even preachers of reli- 
 gion.^ Grant that they are not as great as some 
 other varieties of the human species, yet if they are 
 
 * Greg. p. 156, 244. Clarkson, p. J13. t H. f Abtel. 
 j| Acts riii. 26, &c, 
 
.27 
 
 capable of becoming Christians, and of being rai- 
 sed from hell to heaven, that is enough. Our commis- 
 sion does not direct us to a few of the most intellec- 
 tual nations, but commands us to go “into all the 
 world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” 
 (7.) The elevation of the Africans is evidently a 
 part^of the new order of things which belongs to 
 this new and wonderful period. To those who have 
 observed the signs of the times, it cannot be doubt- 
 ful that a new and splendid era was Introduced about 
 five and twenty years ago. In the year 1792 three 
 series of events commenced, which need not a fourth 
 to fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of 
 the Lord. First, the series of missionary and cha- 
 ritable efforts. The first missionary society in mo- 
 dern times was established that year at Klttcrlng in 
 England ; and all the missionary efforts which have 
 since agitated the four quarters of the globe, and all 
 the Missionary, Bible, and Charitable Institutions 
 which cover the whole face of Christendom, have 
 followed in its train. Secondly, the series of revi- 
 vals of reliction. The first in this continuous succes- 
 slon commenced that very year. I had the privi- 
 lege of witnessing it myself, and know assuredly 
 that no Intermission has occurred from that day to 
 this. Thirdly, the series of judgments, intended to 
 destroy the nations which had given “ their power 
 and strength to the beast.”* The blood began to flow 
 in Europe that very year. These three series have 
 been widening and rising higher during every year 
 
 * Rev. xvii. 1.3.' 
 
28 
 
 of the twenty-five, with the single exception of the 
 present truce in Europe, which every thing in pro- 
 phecy and providence proclaims will be but tem- 
 porary.* I might add that evangelical truth, which 
 began visibly to advance a-bout the same time, has 
 been making its way with astonishing rapidity in 
 the Christian world, and especially in these States, 
 tlirough the whole period. In large districts of our 
 country a complete revolution has been accomplish- 
 ed in seA'eral important respects. In short no era 
 since the advent of Christ has been so strongly mark- 
 ed, not even excepting the Reformation itself. 
 
 The question now arises, is there any thing in 
 providence which denotes that the relief and eleva- 
 tion of the African race belong to this new order of 
 things ? There is, and the evidence is truly asto- 
 nishing. Precisely at the commencement of the new 
 era, this work began on a grand scale in different 
 parts of the world, and has kept pace Avlth the other 
 series of events ever since. The iicav era was 
 ushered in by two great occurr-enccs deeply affect- 
 ing the negro world, and presaging their delive- 
 rance ; one full of hope to those who desire their 
 salvation, the other full of terror to those who op- 
 press them. I allude to the establishment of the 
 colony of Sierra-Leone, and the revolution in St. 
 Domingo. The former Avas intended as a door 
 through which Christianity and civilization should be 
 conveyed into the heart of Africa ; the latter threAv 
 
 There was a former truce not recollected when this was 
 written. 
 
29 
 
 upon the world two organized and independent states 
 bf negroes, (a sight never before witnessed,) and 
 that too by an awful eruption in the centre of that 
 part of the world which is most deeply laden with 
 sins ao-ainst Africa. This revolution commenced in 
 1791 ; the colony of Sierra-Leone was fully estab- 
 lished in 1792. An unsuccessful bejfinninsr had been 
 made five or six years before; but in 1791 a com- 
 pany was incorporated upon new and better princi- 
 ples, and in 1792 the colony was confirmed by more 
 than a thousand blacks transported from Nova- 
 Scotia.* 
 
 With these most interestino^ bemnninj^s the new 
 era commenced : and what has been the progress 
 since ? Such as to fill the mind with amazement. 
 The full developement of all the zeal and energies 
 of the friends of Africa in England, — the appear- 
 ance of many able advocates for oppressed huma- 
 nity on the continent, — the abolition of the slave- 
 trade by every civilized nation in the world but tAvo, 
 — various bands of missionaries sent into the heart 
 of Africa, — others dispersed among the slaves in the 
 West-Indies and South America, — the African col- 
 lege at Clapham, — the African seminary at Phila- 
 delphia, — the African school under the care of this 
 Synod, — the dissolving state of the prejudice against 
 the instruction of negroes, — and lastly, the great 
 Colonization Society, established at the seat of our 
 government, under the first influence in our country, 
 with four powerful auxiliaries already formed, and 
 
 * Note K. 
 
30 
 
 another soon to be organized, I hope, in this city ; 
 and two young men, under that high patronage, just 
 embarking for Europe, to concert measures with 
 the friends of emancipation in England, to explore 
 the African coast, and bring back a chart of the 
 fittest situations for colonies.* These are events so 
 splendid, and passing in such rapid succession, that 
 in contemplating them we are like men that dream. 
 Surely the future glory of Africa is struggling in its 
 birth. It can no longer be made a question whe- 
 ther the elevation of the African race is a part of 
 the new order of things. The providence of God 
 has declared it. The Almighty Deliverer is alrea- 
 dy on his march to relieve the woes of Africa. Her 
 resurrection is already stampt with the broad seal 
 of heaven. Let all the nations behold the siffn and 
 bow to the mandate of God. 
 
 (8.) But without further reasoning our text forever 
 settles the question. Ethiopia, the representative 
 of the whole negro world, shall stretch out her 
 hands to God. Let cruel and unbelievlns minds 
 raise up as many jeers and objections as they may, 
 the thing will proceed, “ for the mouth of the Lord 
 hath spoken it.” 
 
 We have now arrived at the conclusion that a 
 brighter day is arising on Africa. Already I seem to 
 see her chains dissolved, — her desert plains turned 
 into a fruitful field, — her Congo and her Senegal 
 the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glo- 
 ry of the rising sun from the spires of their church- 
 
 * Xoic L. 
 
31 
 
 es and universities, — ^her Gambia and Niger whiten- 
 ed with her floating commerce, — her crowded cities 
 sending forth the hum of business, — her poets and 
 orators standing: on the same shelf with Milton and 
 
 O 
 
 Burke, — and all her sons employed in the songs of 
 salvation. And when that day shall come, I am 
 sure posterity will see the names of Clarkson, Sharp, 
 Wilberforce, Thornton, and Gregoire, recorded on 
 the cities and monuments of a grateful continent. 
 
 V. Let us consider the duty of the American 
 people in reference to this subject. 
 
 The great work of bringing forward these events 
 plainly belongs to us. There is no nation under 
 heaven so deeply laden with obligations to the Afri- 
 can race, or who have so many facilities to ac- 
 complish their restoration. While few of this peo- 
 ple are found in Europe, fifteen hundred thousand 
 live among ourselves. They have tilled our soil, 
 and watered it with their tears. Our luxuries have 
 been extracted from the sweat of their brow and 
 their broken hearts. We owe a greater atonement 
 than any other nation to bleeding Africa. And it 
 is more in our power to make it than in that of any 
 other people. We have an Immense population of 
 the sable race at our door, and under our control, 
 whom we could enlighten, and elevate, and convert 
 into instruments of salvation to the millions of Afri- 
 ca. No other nation has this advantage; of no 
 other nation is this so loudly required. Let us no 
 longer look to Europe for the redemption of Afri- 
 cans : the work is laid on ourselves by the plain di- 
 rection of heaven. Let the American people com- 
 
32 
 
 bine to lead on those exalted destinies which are 
 preparing for Ethiopia, and strive to raise up the 
 character which they have so largely helped to de- 
 grade. l..et every man exert himself in his parti- 
 cular sphere. — Among the various measures which 
 present themselves to view, there are two points of 
 duty on which I wish to Insist; the instruction of 
 our own black population, and the preparation of 
 ministers and school-masters for the African race at 
 larffe. 
 
 (1.) The instruction of our own black population. 
 Is it known that there are fifteen hundred thousand 
 souls scattered among the people of these States, 
 who must live forever in heaven or hell, and who 
 for the most part are posting on to judgment in the 
 grossest ignorance and vice, directly under the eye 
 of Christian churches ? And do our charities and 
 missionary zeal wander abroad to other lands, and 
 overlook this part of our own countrymen } What 
 sort of zeal is that which can only see objects at a 
 distance, and is blind, and deaf, and hardened against 
 those who are pleading for mercy at our door } 
 
 Do you tell me that masters will not suffer their 
 slaves to be instructed for fear of consequences ? 
 And has it come to this, that the rational offspring of 
 God are placed, and are to be held, in a condition in 
 which it is not safe for them to read the Bible ! Be 
 it recorded and remembered, — be it known to every 
 part of our country, — God will not suffer a million 
 and a half of his creatures, in the midst of a Chris- 
 tian land, to go through the millennium, or to live 
 much longer, without being able to read his word. 
 
33 
 
 They certainly will be instructed, or consequence^ 
 will result which I tremble to name. Had I a voice 
 to reach the Ohio and St. Mary’s, t would invoke 
 the whole population of the south, as they value the 
 favour of God or their own tranquillity, to teach their 
 slaves to read the Holy Scriptures. And I would 
 say to them in tones of solemn warning, “ If you al- 
 together hold your peace, then shall enlargement 
 and deliverance arise from another place, but you 
 and your father’s house shall be destroyed.” 
 
 It is even reported that some will not permit their 
 slaves to pray. But the sorrows of an oppressed 
 and broken heart will find vent, in spite of all the 
 laws of tyrants or the vigilance of centinels. Not 
 many years ago, (as is stated in a late letter from 
 the south,) a man of family, fortune, and education 
 had a pious slave, who was in the habit of collect- 
 ing his brethren, on fit occasions, for prayer and 
 reading the Scriptures. The master ordered him 
 to be severely beaten, and forbade him to repeat 
 the offence. Coming home one evening soon after, 
 he passed the cabin where this slave was engaged 
 in prayer with his companions. He dismounted in 
 a rage, and with whip in hand approached the door, 
 determined to execute his fierce displeasure. He 
 paused. The voice within was earnestly praying 
 for him : “ God forgive my master, even as / for- 
 give him.” The words reached his heart. The whip 
 fell from his hand. He trembled, he sunk upon his 
 knees, and mingled his voice with that of the asto- 
 nished negroes in cries for mercy. He is now a zeal- 
 ous minister of Christ, and in a late convention of the 
 Episcopal clergy so distinguished himself by his ?eal 
 
 E 
 
34 
 
 and eloquence, that he was pronounced a Paul in 
 his present character, as he had been in his former 
 wickedness.* 
 
 How comes it to pass that servants bom in our 
 house or bought with our money, are so generally 
 excluded from the seal of God’s covenant.^ If we 
 violate the great Abrahamic charter, how shall we 
 so readily support infant baptism ? If we abide by 
 that charter, pious masters will dedicate their infant 
 slaves equally with their children. These ought to 
 be placed under the care of the church, and by all 
 the bonds of the covenant secured a religious edu- 
 cation. 
 
 (2.) It is another special duty devolved on the 
 American people to raise up preachers and teach- 
 ers for the African race at large. It is much easie 
 to provide such characters in this than in any other 
 country, and there is a greater call for them here 
 than any where else. If our black population is to 
 be instructed, it must be chiefly done by men of their 
 own colour. If colonies are to be sent abroad, they 
 must be supplied with ministers and school-masters, 
 or they will relapse into heathenism, and instead of 
 advancing will retard the improvement of Africa. 
 
 The Synod of New-York and New-Jersey have 
 made a beginning in this great work. They have 
 established a school under the care of a pious and 
 able preceptor. They have already admitted two 
 
 * This account is contained in a letter from a young gentle- 
 man in Virginia to his friends in Providence, R. 1. which was 
 published in the newspapers a few months ago. 
 
35 
 
 young men of respectable talents, destined for the 
 ministry, who are pursuing their studies with en- 
 couraging success.* Several more from different 
 parts of the country have made application, and are 
 preparing to enter the school. There is no reason 
 to doubt that pupils will offer in sufficient numbers 
 to exhaust all the funds which we can raise. Our 
 exertions will be bounded by nothing but our pecu- 
 niary means. Every cent that is bestowed will help 
 forward with the sanctification of Africa, — will as- 
 sist in opening some benighted eye to the light of 
 life, and penetrating some aching heart with the joy 
 of salvation. We come to you this evening with 
 our hands stretched out in supplication for Africa, 
 which, though dark her skin, is one of our own mo- 
 ther’s children. We beseech you by that mercy 
 which you hope to find, that you do not reject our 
 suit. We beseech you by the tears which were 
 once shed for you, that you aid us in wiping the 
 tears of an oppressed race. I have no intention to 
 practise on your feelings. I know too well the pi- 
 ety ^nd liberality of this metropolis. I only wish 
 to spread the object before you in its own native 
 forms, — to lay open every wounded and aching part. 
 I am sorry that I have not been able to do this with 
 more success. Your goodness will supply the rest. 
 You will furnish the Synod with means to prosecute 
 their benevolent designs. 
 
 Beloved brethren, to live in such a world and 
 age as this brings with it immense obligations ; — the 
 
 * Note M. 
 
36 
 
 world of all olliers which the Son of God redeemed 
 with blood ; — the age selected from all ages to be 
 
 the season of his highest triumph and reward ; 
 
 the spot and time, among all worlds and periods, 
 most interesting to the eyes of heaven. To exist 
 in such a day, is a privilege which kings and pro- 
 phets desired, but were not permitted to enjoy. If 
 ever the servants of God Avere “a flame of fire,” 
 this is the time to exhibit themselves such. You 
 stand, my beloved brethren, under an opening hea- 
 ven. You stand by the tomb of a world rising from 
 death. Be not stupid in such a day. Be not half 
 awake. Let your souls stand erect, looking out 
 for the approaching God. Let every nerve be strung 
 to action. Great is the human effort which the day" 
 calls for ; great will be the triumph which faith and 
 patience will achieve. It is but “ a little while, and 
 he that shall come will come and Avill not tarry.” 
 For my part I would rather be one to folloAv the 
 wheels of his victorious chariot, than to enjoy the 
 triumphs of a Cesar. Let a prostrate world pre- 
 pare to sing, Hosanna to the Son of David ! bless- 
 ed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord i 
 hosanna in the highest !” Amen and Amen. 
 
JVO TE S, 
 
 A. 
 
 Ham himself is supposed to have settled in Egypt, together 
 with his son Mizraim. Plutarch says that the country by its 
 ancient inhabitants was called Chemia, the land ofChemor Ham, 
 (^Rollin' s Ancient Hist. Vol, i. p. 146. Rees under Egypt.') It is 
 sometimes called the land of Ham in the Old Testament. (Ps. 
 cv. 23, 27.) But its proper name in the Hebrew Sc.iptures is 
 Mizraim. The Greeks afterwards called it Egypt. [Rees 
 under Egypt.) The Jupiter Ammon to whose honour a tem- 
 ple was erected in Libya, is generally believed to have been 
 no other than Ham. [Wells' Ancient Geography, Vol. i. p. 93, 
 94. Oxford Ed. 1801.) 
 
 Lehabim, one of the sons of Mizraim, was father of the Lu- 
 bim, the two words being the same in Hebrew with the alter- 
 ation of a single vowel. And 3*. (Lubim,) by the LXX is 
 translated A/fuet, Libyans. (2 CArow. xii. 3. and xvi. 8. Nah. 
 iii. 9.) Thus the Greek name Libya, which was given to the 
 country west of Egypt, was evidently derived from Lehabim, 
 the father of the Lubims. Accordingly Josephus says, “ La- 
 bim— dwelt in Libya and named the country from himself.’^ 
 [Antiq. B. i. Chap. 6.) These Lubims are often in Scripture 
 found associated with the Cushites and other nations of Africa. 
 They came “ out of Egypt" against Rehoboam, in company 
 with the Cushites, Sukkiims, and Egyptians ; (2 Chron. xii. 3.) 
 and against Asa in company with the Cushites. (2 Chron. xvi. 
 8. with xiv. 9 — 16.) 
 
 The Ludim, as they are called in Jer. xlvi. 9. but who are 
 generally denominated Lud, [Isai. Ixvi. 19. Ezek. xxvii. 10. and 
 XXX. 5.) and once plainly Lubims or Libyans, [H'ah. iii. 9. reith 
 .Ter. xlvi. 9. and Ezek. xxx. 6.) dwelt so near the Egyptians as 
 frequently to assist them in their wars, and doubtless inhabited 
 
38 
 
 some part of the exteusive region of Libya. As they had so 
 much intercourse with Tyre as to be employed in her armies, 
 (^Ezek. xxvii. 10.) and are mentioned among the maritime na- 
 tions to which the remnant of the last invaders will be sent to 
 bring back the children of Israel, (/sat. Ixvi. 19.) they prota- 
 bly occupied the sea coast. 
 
 Shuckford supposes that Phut settled in the eastern part of 
 Arabia ; but this opinion arose from the name’s being repeated- 
 ly mentioned in connexion with Cush, which that learned au- 
 thor mistook for the Asiatic Cush. The LXX uniformly ren- 
 der Phut Libyans, an d hus mark them as a nation of Africa : 
 but unless Libya be taken in the larger sense, as including all 
 the northern part of Africa west of Egypt, the version is incor- 
 rect. Some have limited this nation to the country now com- 
 prehended in the kingdoms of Tripoli and Tunis ; others to that 
 which at present constitutes the kingdom of Morocco : but 
 it is far more natural to suppose, (as they seem to have had 
 no rival west of Libya proper,) that they filled the whole 
 country from Libya to the Atlantic, and from the Mediterra- 
 nean to the great desert. From their being repeatedly associ- 
 ated with Cush, and Lud, and Egypt, it is certain that they 
 were a nation of Africa, and near enough to the Egyptians to 
 assist them in their more pressing wars ; and after we have 
 assigned Ethiopia to the Cushites, and Libya proper to the de- 
 scendants of Mizraim, we can find no other place for this fa- 
 mily but the Barbary coast. In the great struggle of Egypt 
 against Nebuchadnezzar, they, with the Libyans and Ethiopians, 
 (Lud and Cush,) were called in to defend Africa against the 
 power of Asia. (Jer. xlvi. 9. Ezek. xxx. 5. JVaA. iii. 9.) They 
 evidently occupied the Mediterranean coast, as they are found 
 with the Ludim in the armies ofTyre. {Ezek. xxvii. 10.) The 
 inhabitants of the same country, together with the Libyans, 
 Egyptians, and Ethiopians, w’ill be arra}'^ed under the banners 
 of Gog, (which I take to be the Turks,) in the last invasion 
 of the Jews. {Ezek. xxxviii. 6. as it is in the Hebrew. — Dan. xi. 
 42, 43.) And how natural it will be for the States of Barbary, 
 subject as they are to the Turkish empire, attached as they 
 are known to be to the koran, and containing as they do near 
 
39 
 
 half a million of Jews, to join the great Mahometan league, and 
 the standard of the Grand Seignior, against the fugitives who 
 will have escaped with immense treasures from that very 
 country. 
 
 Wells in his Ancient Geography tells us, “ The first settle- 
 ment of this [family] is with good reason supposed to be in the 
 parts of the Libyan or African continent which join on next to 
 those possessed by the descendants of Mizraim, that is, in the 
 parts adjoining westward to Cyrenaica, and so to have spread 
 more, westward into Mauritania. [That is, from Libya proper 
 to the Atlantic ocean.] For in Africa properly so called, [that 
 is, the present kingdom of Tunis,] below Adrumetum, was a 
 city named Putea, mentioned by Pliny ; and in Mauritania, 
 [the present Morocco,] there is a river mentioned by Ptolemy, 
 called Phut. St. Jerome is very full to the point, telling us that 
 there is a river in Mauritania which was till his own time called 
 Phut, and from which the adjacent country was called Regio- 
 Phytensis, the country of Phut.'' (Fb/. i. p. 101 , 102.) Jose- 
 phus says that Phut peopled Libya, (which word he seems to 
 use in the larger sense,) and adds, “ There is also a river in 
 the country of the Moors which bears — the appellation of 
 Phut.” {Jintiq. B. i. Qiap. 6.) Rollin, without discrimination, 
 assigns to Phut the country west of Egypt. (FoLi. p. 14G.) 
 
 B. 
 
 Whether any other branch of Ham’s posterity were black. 
 The present inhabitants of the countries where they settled 
 certainly are not ; but then the blood of different nations 
 is mixed in their veins. Jeremiah seems to select the 
 Cushites from all other nations as being of this complexion. 
 (Chap. xiii. 23.) Why should he pass over the Egyptians, the 
 Lubim, the Ludim, and Phut, and fix upon a more remote 
 people, if ail were equally black? If you say he means the 
 Arabian Cushites, .you admit that the Arabians were black, 
 as they are not now ; which would prove that the negro pecu- 
 liarities are not ascribable to climate, but to native variety, 
 Rnd would go far towards supporting the hypothesis that alf 
 
40 
 
 the descendanta of Cush were negroes. But Jeremiah may 
 be allowed to mean the African Cushites without any decisire 
 proof of the whiteness of the nearer nations of Africa. Long be- 
 fore his time the African Ethiopians are said to have been sold 
 to the Hebrews for slaves. {Biog. Diet, and Rees under Lokman. 
 
 Gregoire on the Intellectual and Moral Faculties and Literature » 
 
 of JSfegroes, p. 19, 20. Brooklyn Ed.) Certain it is that some 
 of them lived among the Jews in his day. (Jer. xxxviii. 7.) 
 
 This circumstance was enough to fix the attention of the pro- 
 phet upon Ethiopians rather than Egyptians. Again another 
 argument may be derived from the testimony of the Greeks, as 
 implied in the names which they gave to the different branch- 
 es of Ham’s posterity. They called none burnt face but the 
 Cushites. But on the other hand, the name which they gave 
 to Egypt is by some derived from the blackness of its inhabi- 
 tants and its river, “ such a blackish colour being called by 
 the Greeks agyptios, from gyps and cegyps. a vulture, which 
 is a bird of that hue.” {Rees under Egypt.) Others assign a 
 very different origin to the name, and derive A'iyvxre% from 
 country of Caphtor, or the land of the Copts,) 
 which occurs Jer. xlvii. 4. {Wells' Geography, vol. 1. p. 101.) 
 
 c. 
 
 The islands in which the aborigines have been driven to 
 the mountains, are Formosa, the Philippines or Manillas, Bor- 
 neo and the Moluccas. One of the Phillippines, containing 
 about 3000 inhabitants, is called the Island of Negroes. On 
 this there are two distinct nations of blacks, between whom 
 there is no intercourse ; one occupying the coast, and the 
 other the mountains. The latter have “ curled hair.” 
 
 The islands in which the negroes still have full possession 
 are New-Holland, and others lying at the distance of from 250 
 to 1000 miles to the north, east, and south ; viz. New Guinea^ 
 New-Britain, New-Treland, Van Diemen’s Land, Mallicollo and 
 Tanna, [two of the New-Hebrides,] and New-Caledonia. 
 
 Of the tribes who inhabit the mountains in the former class 
 of rslaneh, we know nothing but that tlie 3 ' 4 are blacky with friz- 
 
41 
 
 zled hair. Of those who possess entire islands and are more 
 easily examined by navigators, some approach and others equal 
 the blackness and other peculiarities of the negro. The state- 
 ments of navigators differ however, on account, it would seem, 
 of varieties in the same island, produced artificially or by a 
 mixture of blood. But taking the more general outline, we 
 may divide these islands into three classes, according to the 
 different degrees in which they exhibit the negro charac- 
 teristics. 
 
 1. New-Guinea and N'ew-Britain. The negro form entire. 
 The colour a shining black, flat nose, thick lips, and woolly hair. 
 
 2. New -Holland, Fan Diemen's Land, and New-Ireland. 
 The characteristics somewhat weakened. The colour a dull 
 black, woolly or matted hair, nose not flat, but broad and full, 
 wide mouth, lips full, but not so thick as those of the African. 
 
 3. New-Caledonia and the New-Hebrides. The marks still 
 weaker. The colour not quite so dark as in the second class, 
 the features much the same, except some variations apparent- 
 ly produced by art, and tlic hair rather less soft and woolly 
 than that of the African, and perhaps than that of the New- 
 Hollander. (/?ees under Man, and under the several names above 
 mentioned.') 
 
 The island of Andaman, in the gulph of Bengal, is peopled 
 by a race of perfect negroes. (GregotVe p. 17.) But Morse 
 says that these are descendants of Africans cast away in a Por- 
 tuguese ship upon the island at that time uninhabited. 
 
 D. 
 
 There are comparatively few negro slaves in Mexico, the 
 Indians being in most instances their substitutes. {Ker's Tra- 
 vels p. 234.) The same may be said of Peru and other parts 
 of Spanish America. There appear to be more slaves in the 
 north of Brasil than further down the coast. The slave-trade 
 in that kingdom is still carried on with great activity, but the 
 condition of the negroes is happier in Brasil than in any other 
 country where slavery is tolerated. {Quarterly Review No. 
 xxxii. p. 373, 384 — 6. A'. YorkEd.) The revolution in South 
 
 P 
 
42 
 
 America will ultimately put a stop to this horrid traffic. Al- 
 ready the government of Buenos Ayres has declared all chil- 
 dren free who are born after the beginning of the year 1813. 
 (^Christ. Ob. Vol. xiii. p. 863.) 
 
 E. 
 
 It was computed in 1816 that the English West-Indies con- 
 tained “seven or eight hundred thousaud and in another 
 place in the same volume it is more formally stated, “ The 
 British slave-colonies contain, on a moderate computation, lit- 
 tle short of one million of the natives of Africa or their descen- 
 dants.” (^Christ. Ob. Vol. xv. p. 43 , 479 .) By “ slave-colo- 
 nies” here can be understood nothing else than the West-In- 
 dies ; for besides that the whole paper is directed to that point, 
 the -English had no other slave colonies in 1816 . In 1811 par- 
 liament made a law prohibiting the buying or selling of slaves 
 in any part of the world except the West- Indies. (Christ. Ob. 
 Vol. X. p. 328 .) 
 
 If there are a million of negroes and mulattoes in the West- 
 India colonies belonging to Great Britain, it cannot be extra- 
 vagant to reckon another million for all the other islands. 
 
 The following very incomplete statement is taken chiefly 
 from Rees’ Cyclopasdia and Morse’s Geography. Many islands 
 are omitted in this table. 
 
 ENGLISH ISLANDS. 
 
 Jamaica. 250,000 slaves, 10,000 free people of coloor, 
 1,400 Maroons, or wild negroes who have regained their liber- 
 ty and live in the mountains. 
 
 Barbadoes. 100,000 blacks in 1670 , says Bryan Edwards. 
 Hughes reduces the number of negroes to 70 , 000 , which num- 
 ber, says the Quarterly Review has been kept up to this time 
 (quart. Review, No. ii. p. 230 , 231 .) 62,000 slaves in 1780 , 
 says Morse. 120,000 negroes and creoles, says Gregoire, p. 
 119 . 
 
43 
 
 Antigua, 38,000 slaves. ' 
 
 St. Croix, 30,000. 
 
 St. Christopher, 26,000. 
 
 Grenada, 24,000 in 1785. 
 
 Dominica, 16,000 in 1788. 
 
 The Bermudas, 12,000. l 
 St. Vincent, 1 1 ,000. 
 
 Nevis, 1 0,000. 
 
 No account of free peo- 
 ple of colour. 
 
 OTHER ISLANDS. 
 
 St. Domingo. 600,000 slaves, and 44,000 free people of 
 colour, in the French part of the island before the revolution. 
 
 Martinico. 70,563 slaves, 1,814 free people of colour, 443 
 fugitive negroes, in 1770, says Morse. Rees gives a difl’er- 
 ent account: 71,142 slaves, 2,524 free people of colour, in 
 1770; 73,416 slaves, 4,851 free mulattoes, in 1788; making 
 , an increase of 4,601 in eighteen years. 
 
 Cuba. 25,000 slaves on the beautiful plains of Havanna. 
 All the other inhabitants of the island, which mostly lies in a 
 state of nature, amount only to 30,000. 
 
 St. Eustatia, 15,000 slaves. ) No account of free peo- 
 
 Forto-Rico, 7,000. ^ pie of colour. 
 
 F. 
 
 Dr. Johnson thought that this question might be decided 
 "by an examination of the mummies : and ‘‘ Blumenbach has 
 observed in the craniums of mummies that which character- 
 izes the negro race.” Others have not found this conformity. 
 Volney saw the figure of a spbynx, (an ancient monster of 
 Egypt,) and found the features exactly those of a negro. The 
 present Copts, descended from the ancient Egyptians, mixed 
 with the Persians, and still more with the Greeks, have ap- 
 peared to some perfect mulattoes. But Browne, a late tra- 
 veller, could see in them “ no resemblance” to “ the negro 
 features or form,” and affirms that their “ dusky brown,” and 
 no darker colour, is found in the paintings in the tombs of 
 Thebes, and that ” the ancient monuments, paintings, and sta- 
 tues,” generally, exhibit the visage, not of negroes, but of 
 
44 
 
 the modern Copts. But Gregoire and many others still ad- 
 here to the opinion of Volney and Blumenbach. (^Rees under 
 Cophti. Gregoire, p. 20 — 25. Boswell's Life of Johnson, vol. 
 iii. p. 243. Boston Ed.') 
 
 As to the cranium of negroes, it is not indeed so strong in 
 its outlines as the Grecian models, which however were ideal 
 forms of perfection that never existed in nature : but if the 
 same form of skull is found in the Egyptian mummies, as Blu- 
 menbach asserts, and once contained, as Volney says, “the 
 profound genius of the Egyptians,” this objection ought to be 
 dismissed. “ It can be proved most clearly that there is no 
 circumstance of bodily structure so peculiar to the negro as 
 not to be found also in other far distant nations ; no character 
 which does not run into those of other races by the same in- 
 sensible gradations as those which connect together all the 
 varieties of mankind. We cannot but admire the reasoning 
 and humanity of those, who, after tearing the African from 
 liis native soil, carrying him to the West-Indies, and dooming 
 him there to perpetual labour, complain that his understand- 
 ing shows no signs of improvement, and that his temper and 
 disposition are incorrigibly perverse.” (i?ees under Man.) 
 
 G. 
 
 1. Lohnan, a black, thick-lipped Ethiopian slave, was sold, 
 as the Mussulman doctors say, among the Israelites in the 
 days of David, and was buried near Jerusalem. He wrote 
 some fables which are yet extant, and has considerable cele- 
 brity among the eastern nations. He is surnamed in Arabia 
 the IVke, and is believed by the Mahometans to have been a 
 prophet. To his opinions Mahomet frequently appeals in the 
 koran in support of his own. (/tecs and Biog. Diet, under Lok- 
 man. Greg. p. 169.) 
 
 2. Benoit of Palermo, named the holy black, was a negro 
 slave. His memory is. highly revered by the Romish Church. 
 He died at Palermo, A. D. 1589. [Greg. p. 82 — 84.) 
 
 3. Henry Diaz, who is extolled in all the histories of Brasil, 
 was a negro, and once a slave He was colonel of a regr- 
 
45 
 
 merit of foot soldiers of his own colour, which still exists, 
 and is called after his name. He was a commander of talents, 
 sagacity, and consummate experience In 1637 and at other 
 times he performed prodigies of valour against the Holland- 
 ers. {Greg. p. 94 — 96.) 
 
 4. Hannibal, an African negro, who had received a good 
 education, rose to the rank of lieutenant-general and director 
 of artillery under Peter the great of Russia, in the begin- 
 ning of the last century. {Greg. p. 173.) 
 
 5. The son of Hannibal, above mentioned, a mulatto, was 
 lieutenant-general in the Russian corps of artillery. {Greg. 
 p. 173.) 
 
 6. Don Juan Latino, a negro, w as in 1717 a teacher of the 
 Latin language at Seville in Spain. {Greg. 167, 158.) 
 
 7. Kislar-Aga, a negro, was in 1730 chief of the black eu- 
 nuchs of the grand seignior at Constantinople. He was a man 
 of “ great wisdom and profound knowledge.” (Greg. p. 160.) 
 
 8. “ Higiemonde or Higiemondo, commonly named the negro,^’ 
 was a distinguished painter. His likeness, “ engraved by Ki- 
 lian,” is “ inserted in the two works ofSandrart.” {Greg. p. 
 171, 172.) 
 
 9. Francis Williams, a negro, was born in Jamaica about the 
 close of the 17th century. He was sent to England and there 
 entered the university of Cambridge. After his return to Ja- 
 maica he opened a school and taught Latin and the mathema- 
 tics. He wrote many pieces in Latin verse in which he dis- 
 covered considerable talents. {Greg. p. 207 — 219.) 
 
 10. .Joseph Rachel, a free negro of Barbadoes, was another 
 Howard. Having become rich by commerce he devoted ail 
 his property to charitable uses, and spent much of his time 
 in visiting prisons to relieve and reclaim the wretched tenants. 
 He died at Bridgetown in 1758. {Greg. p. 121, 122.) 
 
 1 1 . Jasmin Thoumazeau was born in Africa in 1714, and 
 sold at St. Domingo in 1736. Having obtained his freedom 
 he in 1756 established a hospital at the Cape for poor ne- 
 groes and mulattoes, and during more tlnm forty years iie. as- 
 sisted by his wife, devoted his time and fortune to their com- 
 fort. {Greg. p. 122.) 
 
46 
 
 12. Antony William Amo was born In Gtiinea, and broughC 
 to Europe when very young, Under the patronage of the 
 princess of Brunswick, he pursued his studies at Halle in Sax- 
 ony, and at Wittemberg, where he greatly distinguished him- 
 self by his talents and good conduct. In 1734 he “ took the 
 degree of doctor in philosophy at the university of Wittem- 
 berg.” “Skilled in the knowledge of the Greek and Latin 
 languages,” and “ having examined the system of ancients and 
 moderns,” he delivered “ private lectures on philosophy” 
 with great acceptance. “In 1744 he supported a thesis at 
 Wittemberg, and published a dissertation, on the absence of 
 sensation in the soul, and its presence in the human body.” 
 'He was “ appointed professor,” and the same year supported 
 a thesis “ on the distinction which ought to be made between 
 the operations of mind and those of sense.” Gregoire highly 
 commends these “ two dissertations,” as evincive of a mind 
 “ exercised in reflection” and addicted to “ abstruse discus- 
 sions.” In the opinion of Blumenbach they “ exhibit much 
 well digested knowledge of the best physiological works of the 
 time.” In a memoir of Amo “ published at the time by the 
 academic council, his integrity, talents, industry, and erudi- 
 tion are very highly commended.” Gregoire was unable to 
 discover what became ofhim afterwards. (Greg. p. 173 — 176. 
 Rees under Man.') 
 
 13. Job Ben Solomon, son of the Mahometan king of Bun- 
 da on the Gambia, was taken in 1730 and sold in Maryland. 
 He afterwards found his way to England, where his talents, 
 dignified air, and amenity of character procured him friends, 
 and among the rest Sir Hans Sloane, for whom he translated 
 several Arabic manuscripts. After being received with dis- 
 tinction at the court of St. James, he was sent back to Bun- 
 da. The letters which he afterwards wrote to his friends in 
 England and America were published and perused with inte- 
 rest. This man is said to have been able to repeat the koran 
 from memory. (Greg. p. 160, 161.) 
 
 14. A negro whom Stedman knew was also able to repeat 
 the koran from memory. (Greg. p. 160.) 
 
 1 6 . James Eliza John Capitein was born in Africa. At the 
 
47 
 
 age of eight he waa purchased on the river St. Andre by a 
 slave-dealer, who made a present of him to one of his friends. 
 By the latter he was carried to Holland, where he employed 
 himself in painting, and acquired the elements of the Latin, 
 Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldaic languages. He afterwards 
 went to the university of Leyden, where he devoted himself 
 to the study of theology. “ Having studied four years he took 
 his degrees, and in 1742 was sent as a Calvinistic minister to 
 — Guinea.” What became of him was never known. While 
 in Holland he published an elegy in Latin verse, two Latin 
 dissertations, (one on the calling of the Gentiles, and the other 
 on slavery,) and a small volume of sermons. {Greg, p. 196 — 
 207.) 
 
 16. Ignatius Sancho was born on board a slave ship on her 
 passage to Carthagenain South America. Before he was two 
 years old he was carried to Ensfland, where in the course of 
 his life he distinguished himself as a literary character. He 
 died in England in 1730. After his death an edition of his let- 
 ters was published in two octavo volumes, which were well 
 received by the public. {Greg, p. 227 — 234. Rees under Man,') 
 
 17. Thomas Fuller, a native of Africa, and a resident near 
 Alexandria in the district of Columbia, though unable to read 
 or write, excited surprise by the facility with which he per- 
 formed the most difficult calculations. Being asked one day 
 how many seconds a person had lived who was seventy years, 
 seven months, and seven days old, he answered in a minute and 
 a half. On reckoning it up after him a different result was 
 obtained. “ Have you not forgotten the leap years ?” says 
 the negro. This omission was supplied, and the number then 
 agreed with his answer. When this account was given by the 
 late Dr. Rush, Fuller was seventy years old. {Greg. p. 183 
 — 185. Rees under Man,) 
 
 “ There are examples of other negroes who performed the 
 most difficult calculations by memory, for the execution of 
 which Europeans were obliged to have recourse to the rules 
 of arithmetic.” (Greg. p. 18.5.) 
 
 18. Belinda rvaLa brought from Africa at the age of twelve^ 
 and sold in Massachusetts. After being a slave to one man 
 
48 
 
 forty years, she addressed to the legislature of that state, in 
 1782 an eloquent petition for the freedom of herself and 
 daughter, which has been preserved in one of the volumes of 
 the American Museum. (Greg. p. 167, 168.) 
 
 19. A negro in 1765 received ordination from the bishop 
 of Exeter. (Greg. p. 84, 85.) 
 
 20 A negro, by the name of Madocks, was a Methodist 
 preacher in England. (Rees under Man.) 
 
 21. Othello published at Baltimore in 1788 an essay against 
 the slavery of negroes. “ Few works can be compared with 
 this for force of reasoning and fire of eloquence.” (Greg. p. 
 185—187.) 
 
 22. Cesar, a negro of North-Carolina, was the “ author of 
 different pieces of printed poetry which have become popular.” 
 (Greg. p. 168.) 
 
 23. Ottohah Cugoano was born on the coast of Fan tin in Afri- 
 ca. He was dragged from his country and carried to the island 
 of Grenada. Having obtained his freedom he went to Eng- 
 land, where he was in 1788. Piatoli, a distinguished Italian, 
 was for a long time acquainted with him in London, “ and speaks 
 in strong terms of his piety, his mild character and mode.sty, 
 his integrity and talents.” Cugoano published a work on the 
 slave trade and the slavery of negroes, which discovered a 
 sound and vigorous mind, and which has been translated into 
 French. (Greg. p. 188 — 196.) 
 
 24. Gustavus Vasa, whose African name was Olandad Equi- 
 ano, was born in the kingdom of Benin in 1746. At the age 
 of twelve he was torn from his country and carried to Barba- 
 does. After passing into various hands and making several 
 voyages to Europe, he at last obtained his freedom, and in 
 1781 established himselfin London. There he “ published his 
 Memoirs, which have been several times reprinted in both he- 
 mispheres” and read with great interest. “ Vasa published 
 a poem containing 112 verses;” and in 1789 he presented to 
 the British parliament a petition for the suppression of the 
 slave-trade. His life and works are familiarly known in Eng- 
 land. (Greg. p. 219 — 227. Rees under Man.) 
 
 25. The son of Vasa, above-mentioned, “ versed in biblio^ 
 
49 
 
 graphy,” was “ assistant-librarian to Sir Joseph Banks,” and 
 “ secretary to the committee for vaccination.” (Greg. p. 
 226, 227.) 
 
 26. Phillis Wheatley, born in Africa in 1753, was torn from 
 her country at the age of seven, and sold in 1761 to John 
 Wheatley of Boston. Allowed to employ herself in study, 
 she “ rapidly attained a knowledge of the Latin language.” 
 In 1772, at the age of nineteen, and still a slave, she pub- 
 lished a little volume “ of religious and moral poetry, which 
 contains thirty-nine pieces,” and “ has run through several 
 editions in England and the United States.” She obtained her 
 freedom in 1775, and died in 1780. (Greg. p. 234 — 241.) 
 
 27. Benjamin Bannaker, a negro of Maryland, applied him- 
 self to astronomy with so much success, that he published 
 almanacs in Philadelphia for the years 1794 and 1795. (Greg. 
 p. 187, 188.) 
 
 28 The son of JVimbana, or Naimbanna, “ king of the regi- 
 on of Sierra-Leone,” who “ceded a portion of his territory 
 for the use of the colony,” (^JVevs-York Spectator, No. 2019.) 
 “ came to England to study.” He rapidly acquired different 
 sciences, “ and in a very short time was so well acquainted 
 with the Hebrew as to be able to read the Bible in the origi- 
 nal. This young man who gave such promising hopes, died 
 a short time after his return to Africa.” (Greg. p. 161, 162.) 
 
 29. James Derham, born in 1767, was formerly a slave in 
 Philadelphia. “ In 1788, at the age of twenty-one, he be- 
 came the most distinguished physician at New-Orleans.” “ I 
 conversed with him on medicine,” says Dr. Rush. “ and found 
 him very learned. I thought I could give him information 
 concerning the treatment of diseases, but I learned more from 
 him than he could expect from me.” (Greg. p. 182, 183.) 
 
 The revolution in St. Domingo brought to light many dis- 
 tinguished negroes and mulattoes,a few of whose names 
 I will here necord. 
 
 30. Dessalmes, who declared himself emperor of Hayti, 
 was the first negro sovereign of that island. (Rees vnder St. 
 Domingo. Morse's Grog.) 
 
 r. 
 
39 
 
 31. Toussaint Louveriure, general of St. Bomlngo, was a 
 ■egro, and once a slave. He was a man of “ prodigious me- 
 mory,” brave, active, indefatigable, and really great. {Greg. 
 p. 102—105.) 
 
 32. Christophe, the present negro king of Hayti, has risen 
 from slavery to a throne, and has displayed great energy of 
 character. 
 
 33. Mentor was a negro, born at Martinico in 1771. While 
 on his way to England as a prisoner, he rose upon the com- 
 mander and took possession of the vessel. “We have seen 
 him,” says Gregoire, “occupy the legislative seat at the side 
 of the estimable Tomany.” He was killed at St. Domingo. 
 
 “ To a noble physiognomy he united an amenity of character, 
 and a mind improved by culture.” (Greg. p. 102.) 
 
 34. John Kina was a negro of St. Domingo. “ His valour * 
 gained him the most flattering reception in London.” In 1800 
 
 “ the British government confided to him the command of a 
 cornpany of men of colour, destined to protect the remote 
 quarters of the colony of Surinam.” (Greg. p. 10 J.) 
 
 MULATTOES. 
 
 35. Oge, of St. Domingo, was a free mulatto. In 1791 he 
 returned from France to that island, to demand the execution 
 of the decree of the constituent assembly ofthe 15th of May 
 in favour of his mulatto brethren and free negroes. He lost 
 his life at the commencement of the revolution. Gi’egoire, 
 who appears to have known him, speaks of him with respect, 
 and calls him “ the unfortunate Oge worthy of a better fate.” 
 {Greg. p. 96 — 98.) 
 
 36. Michael Mina was a mulatto of St. Domingo and an au- 
 thor. (Greg. p. 167.) 
 
 37. Rigaud, the competitor of Toussaint Louverture, and 
 a mulatto general of St. Domingo, was a man of bravery and 
 talents. {Greg. p. 102.) 
 
 38. .Jnlien Raymond was “ associated with the class of mo 
 yal and political sciences for the section of legislation,” and 
 kad a chief hand in forming “ a democratic constitution for 
 
51 
 
 St. Domingo.” He “ published many works, of which the 
 greatest part relate to the history” of that island. Gregoire 
 particularly praises “ the energy with which he defended men 
 of colour and free negroes.” He was an “ associate of the 
 National Institute” of France. (Greg. p. 102, 167.) 
 
 39. Petion, the present head of the republic in that island, 
 is a man of talents, moderation, aud wisdom. 
 
 40. St. George, a very extraoFdinary mulatto who fought in 
 the armies of the French republic, “ was considered the best 
 swordsman of his time,” and “ called the Voltaire of equita- 
 tion, fencing, and instrumental music.” Arndt pronounced 
 him “ the finest, strongest, and most amiable of his contempo- 
 raries.” He was idolized by the fashionable circles of Paris, 
 that is, by the gay and frivolous who delighted in the amuse- 
 ments which he furnished ; and was considered by them “ an 
 accomplished man.” “ When St. George was to fence, or to 
 exhibit his musical talents, the newspaper annmmced it to 
 the idle of the capital. His bow and his foil set all Paris in 
 motion.” Gregoire pronounces him “ generous, a good citi- 
 zen, and a good friend.” (Greg. p. 98 — 100.) 
 
 41. Castaiiig, a mulatto, “ exhibited poetical genius,” and 
 ‘‘his pieces ornament different editions of poetry.” {Greg. 
 p. 167.) 
 
 42. Barbaud- Royer Boisrond was a mulatto and an author. 
 {Goeg. p. 167.) 
 
 43. Alexander Dwnas, a mulatto, for a long time command- 
 ed under Bonaparte a legion of horse, composed of blacks 
 and mulattoes, “ who were the terror of their enemies.” 
 His exploits, both in Europe and Africa, (for he belonged to 
 the Egyptian expedition,) have been greatly celebrated. Ho 
 roso to the rank of general of division in the armies of France, 
 and was “ named by Bonaparte the Horatius Codes of the 
 Tyro!.” He died in 1807. (Greg. p. 100, 101.) 
 
 •14. L'lslct Genff'roy is a mulatto of the Isle of France. On 
 the 23d of August 178G ho wa-3 named a corresponding mem- 
 ber of t!io Frcncb Academy of sciences, and has “ regularly 
 transmitted” to tint learned society “meteorological observa- 
 tions, an 1 so.motimos hydrographical journals.” Among the 
 
52 
 
 latter Is a memoir of a voyage whieh he made to the island of 
 Madagascar, accompanied with a map of the coast. That 
 memoir, which showed a man “ versed in botany, natural 
 philosophy, geology, and astronomy,” was presented to the 
 National Institute, who were expected to publish it. “ His 
 map of the isl^s of France and Reunion, delineated according 
 to astronomical observations,” was published in France in 1797 
 “ by order of the minister of marine/’ “ A new edition, con- 
 fected from drawings transmitted by the author, was publish- 
 ed in 1802.” Lislet has established a scientific society in the 
 Isle of France ; and as late as the year 1F06 he was an officer 
 of artillery and guardian of the depot of maps and plans of 
 the island. {Greg p. 179 — 182. Rees under Man.) 
 
 45. Paul Cuffee was born on one of the Elizabeth Islands 
 near New-Bedford, in the county of Bristol and state ofMas- 
 sachusetts, in 1769. His father was a native of Africa, and 
 once a slave ; his mother was one of the aborigines of America. 
 By industry and enterprise, guided by an uncommon share of 
 “ plain sense and practical wisdom,” he arose from poverty to 
 opulence. He was largely concerned in navigation, and in 
 many voyages, particularly to Russia, England, Africa, the West 
 Indies, and the southern States, commanded his own vessel. 
 A man of sterling integrity and active benevolence, of modest 
 and dignified manners, he was known and honoured by persons 
 of the first respectability in England and the United States. 
 Few, it has been said, could remain long in his presence with- 
 out forgetting their prejudice against colour, and feeling their 
 hearts expand with juster sentiments towards the most injured 
 portion of the human family. 
 
 For the last twenty years his mind was chiefly occupied with 
 the interests of his African brethren. With a view to their 
 improvement he made a voyage to Africa and England in 1811, 
 in a vessel of his own, commanded by his nephew Thomas 
 Wainer. In 1813 he carried out to Sierra-Leone nine African 
 families, consisting of thirty-eight persons, at an expense to 
 himself of more than three thousand dollars. He died Sept. 
 7, 1817, leaving an estate valued at <^20,000. 
 
 He left three brothers in Massachusetts, all “independent 
 
53 
 
 fermers and three sisters, who “ preside over their families 
 with propriety and reputation.” [Memoir of Paul Cuffee, pub- 
 lished in the JVew-York Spectator for Oct. 10, 1817. Rev. Peter 
 JVilliams' Discourse on the death of Capt. Paul Cuffee.'\ 
 
 bISTINGUISHED AFRICANS AND MULATT0E3 NOW LIVING IN THE 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 46. Msalom Jones, minister of an African church in Phila- 
 delphia connected with the Church of England. 
 
 47. John Gloucester, minister of an African church in Phi- 
 ladelphia connected with the General Assembly. 
 
 48. Richard Scott, minister of an African church in Phila- 
 delphia in the Baptist connexion. 
 
 49. Peter Williams, minister of an African church in the 
 city of New-York connected with the Church of England, and 
 son of Peter Williams, sen. a respectable tobacconist in that 
 city. Mr. Williams’ discourse on the death of Capt. Paul Cuffee, 
 though in a few expressions it betrays an imperfect education, 
 is on the whole a specimen of talents and taste by no means in- 
 ferior to what is generally heard from the pulpit. Take the 
 following samples. “His countenance was serious, but mild ; 
 his speech and habit plain and unostentatious ; his deportment 
 dignified and prepossessing, blending gravity with modesty and 
 sweetness, and firmness with gentleness and humility. His 
 whole exterior indicated a man of respectability and piety.” 
 “ He rose like the sun, diffusing wider and wider the rays of 
 his beneficence ; until, having attained his zenith, even the 
 nations be 3 'ond the seas were made to rejoice in his beams.” 
 “ Such was his public character. Such was the warmth of 
 his benevolence, the activity of his zeal, and the extent of his 
 labours, in behalf of the African race. Indeed his whole life 
 may be said to liave been spent in their service. To their be- 
 nefit he devoted the acquisitions of his youth, the time of his 
 later years, and even tlic thoughts of his dying pillow.” “ His 
 voyages are all over ; he has made his last, and it was to the 
 haven of eternal repose.” “ Draw near, but let it be with 
 respectful steps. That grave is peculiarly consecrated to sor- 
 
54 
 
 Upw. dvcr It Europe and America mourn ; and Africa, un-- 
 happy, bereaved Africa, pours a deluge of tears.” 
 
 50. Thomas Paul, minister of an African church in Boston 
 in the Baptist connexion. 
 
 51. A black man, whose name is not Icnown, is minister of 
 a very large African church in Savannah, Georgia. 
 
 52. Mr. Chavis, a man of education, has been employed 
 for several years as amissionary by the General Assembly of 
 the Presbyterian Church in the United States. 
 
 55. Mr. Miller. The following account of a funeral which 
 occurred at Alexandria, in the county of Huntington, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Nov. 5, 1817, with the accompanying remarks, appear- 
 ed in the newspapers immediately after. “ A very interesting, 
 elo(iuent, and appropriate sermon was yesterday preached on 
 the occasion to a large audience, by the Rev. Mr. Miller, a 
 black man. The style and manner of this sermon show the 
 preacher to be a man of extensive information and of great 
 strength of mind. He is another evidence that talent and ge- 
 nius are confined to no particular colour ; that our boasted su- 
 periority arises more from education than from nature. Mr. 
 Miller, it is said, is a regular member of the Presbyterian 
 Church.” 
 
 54. Prince Saunders, though not at present living in the 
 United States, may properly be introduced here. After re- 
 ceiving a liberal education in New-England, and keeping a 
 school for some time in Boston, (where he was in 1812.) he 
 went to St. Domingo to promote the education of the blacks 
 in that island. With a view to further this object he made a 
 voyage to England, where he was received with the most flat- 
 tering courtesy by the friends of Africa. He attended the meet- 
 ing of the Bible Society in May 181G, and afterwards made a 
 speech before the Managers, in which he gave a very in- 
 teresting account of his reception in St. Domingo, the anxious 
 desire of king Henry to cstablisli schools and promote educa- 
 tion among his subjects, and his wish to change the religion 
 of his kingdom from the Catholic to that of the Church of En- 
 gland. A gentleman who was present assured me that Saun- 
 ders spoke with great propriety of language and good sense. 
 
and that his speech was much applauded. He received a pre^ 
 sent of Bibles from the Managers, and returned to St. Domingo 
 to introduce the Lancastrian system of education. What a 
 glorious day is rising on St. Domingo ! on two emancipated and 
 independent nations of negroes ! The Almighty God succeed 
 the noble attempt, and exhibit on that island a spectacle that 
 shall wipe off the disgrace of Africa, and convince the world 
 that negroes still are men. 
 
 This catalogue might doubtless be enlarged, but is it not 
 enough ? Blumenbach boldly affirms “ that entire and large 
 provinces of Europe might be named in which it would be 
 difficult to meet with such good writers, poets, philosophers, 
 and correspondents of the French Academy ; and on the oth- 
 er hand, that there is no savage people who have distinguish- 
 ed themselves by such examples of perfectibility, and even ca- 
 pacity for scientific cultivation.” (Hecs under Man.) 
 
 H. 
 
 In the foregoing enumeration there was unhappily an omis- 
 sion of the jVew-Vork African Free-School, thought to be “ the 
 oldest and most efficient establishment of the kind in the Uni- 
 ted States.” The author regrets the omission, and is much 
 indebted to the benevolence of Isaac M. Ely, Esq. for the 
 means of laying before the public the following account of this 
 interesting institution. 
 
 ‘ The school was established by the New-York Manumis- 
 sion Society in 178G. It laboured under many embarrassments 
 for several years, and was supported exclusively by the Socie- 
 ty and private subscriptions. It finally succeeded in gaining 
 ; the attention of the city corporation, who generously aided 
 its funds by some donations, and also presented the institution 
 with two lots of ground in a central part of the city, on which 
 the Manumission Society have erected a school-house suffi- 
 f5iently large to accommoilate 300 pupils. Legacies to the 
 amount of J^IOGO have also been bequeathed ; and the liberal 
 appropriation by the state legislature of a portion of the cem- 
 mpn school fand, has placed tke insHtulion on a permanent. 
 
56 
 
 footing. The following extract from the report of the tru&'* 
 tees, made in Jannary last, will show the state of the school 
 and their opinion of its utility. 
 
 “ The Lancastrian sj'stem of education, with some modifi- 
 cations, has been introduced into the school with great advan- 
 tage. More than 250 children, [‘ there are now 308,’] of 
 both sexes, and of various ages from six to fifteen, are now 
 daily taught spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, and geogra- 
 phy ; and the trustees have it in contemplation to provide for 
 the instruction of the female scholars in the useful branches 
 of needle-work. Nearly three thousand children have sha- 
 red in its advantages, and procured an education, which, though 
 limited in extent, has been more or less useful to them. — 
 ^Numbers have had the ambition and ability to pursue various 
 honest and honourable avocations ; their morals and manners 
 have been improved, and they are now esteemed useful mem- 
 bers of the community. Neither are instances wanting of 
 persons educated at this school who;have exhibited specimens 
 of original composition highly creditable to their talents and 
 acquirements; one of whom has now the charge- yf’a school 
 on Long-Island, which he conducts with propriety and reputa^ 
 tion. From the success which has attended the institution^ 
 and the improvements made by the pupils, they think may 
 fairly be inferred the benefit and importance of education to 
 the descendants of Africa.” 
 
 “ The African,” says Sir James Yeo (who has for a consi- 
 derable time been stationed on the coast of Africa,) “ is very 
 superior in intellect and capacity to the generality of Indians 
 in North America. They are more social and friendly to 
 strangers ; and except in the vicinity of European settlements, 
 are of a fine and noble race of men.” {Sir James Lucas 
 Yeo's Letter to John Wilson Crocker, Esq. published in the JYew- 
 York Spectator for /November 7, 1817.) 
 
 Many authors have supported the opinion “ that the intel- 
 lectual faculties of negroes are susceptible of the same deve- 
 
57 
 
 lopement as those of the whites,” and some in their zeal have 
 even gone so far as to yield to the blacks a superiority. {Greg. 
 p. 157.) Travellers who have visited different parts of Afri- 
 ca, have “ found negroes with a keen and penetrating mind, 
 a sound judgment, taste, and delicacy.” {id. p 158.) “ In ge- 
 neral they have a very retentive memory.” {id. p. 160.) 
 “ They possess the mimic art to such a degree that they can 
 rival »ur modern Garricks.” “ They are naturally eloquent,” 
 and travellers have been “ often astonished with specimens 
 of this talent.” (iTZ. p. 162.) “Their abilities in music are 
 such as to have been generally noticed. They play frequent- 
 ly upon a variety of instruments without any other assistance 
 than their own ingenuity.” {Clarkson, \>. 109.) Stedman “enu- 
 merates their wind and stringed instruments, which amount to 
 eighteen to which may be added “ the famous balafou, 
 formed of twenty pieces of hard wood, which emit a sound 
 similar to that of a small organ.” (Greg. p. 162,163.) “They 
 have also tunes of their own composition,” some of which 
 have been imported into England, and “ admired for their 
 sprightliness and ease.” “Neither are their talents for poet- 
 ry less conspicuous. Every occurrence, if their spirits are 
 not too greatly depressed, is turned into a song,” which 
 affords “ as high a proof of their poetical powers as the 
 works of the most acknowledged poets.” {Clarkson, 09, 
 110.) Travellers tell us of the ingenuity of the natives of 
 Africa in many branches of manufactures, in tanning and 
 dying leather, in making indigo, cordage, pottery-ware, in- 
 struments of agriculture, and curious works in gold, silver, 
 and steel. They “ extract ore from minerals,” and among 
 them are found jewellers and watchmakers. {Greg. p. 127 — 
 131.) “ The fabric and colours of the Guinea cloths are 
 
 proofs of their native ingenuity.” {Rees under Man.) In the 
 heart of Africa there are “ great towns w'here different arts 
 floiirish.” {Greg. p. 140.) And when the slaves in other 
 countries “ are put to the mechanical arts, they do not disco- 
 ver any want of ingenuity. They attain them in as short a 
 time as the Europeans, and arrive at a degree of excellence 
 equal to that of their teachers. This is a fact almost uni- 
 
 H 
 
58 
 
 versallv known.” {Clarkson, p. 109.) “ That they are ca- 
 
 pable of learning all kinds of the more delicate manual la- 
 bours, is proved by the fact that nine-tenths of the artificers 
 in the West-Indies are negroes : many are expert carpenters, 
 and some watchmakers. The drawings and busts executed by 
 the wild Boshman in the neighbourhood of the Cape [of Good 
 Hope,] are praised by Barrow for their accuracy of outline 
 and correctness of proportion.” Among the inhabitants of 
 Africa “several have been known as very dexterous sur- 
 geons.” {Rees under Man.) In the kingdom of Benin the phy- 
 sicians draw blood by means of cupping-glasses, and excel in 
 healing wounds and overcoming the effects of poison. In 
 some parts of Africa they have schools, and advocates to de- 
 fend their slaves when brought before the tribunals. {Greg. 
 p. 139, 224.) 
 
 The Maroons of the West-Indies and South America have 
 displayed great energy and prowess. These are a class of 
 blacks who have regained their liberty, and concealed in fo- 
 rests and marshes, or entrenched in mountains, lead a wander- 
 ing life, and are chiefiy employed in seeking nourishment 
 and defending themselves against the whites. In the 17th 
 century, when Jamaica was still under the dominion of Spain, 
 a party of slaves regained their independence, and increas- 
 ing in numbers became formidable under a “ brave, skilful, 
 and enterprising” chief. In 1730 they established “aeon- 
 federation among all the Maroon tribes,” and compelled the 
 English to ackno'A ledge their independence and cede forever 
 to them the mountainous parts of the island. Fourteen hun- 
 dred of them still remain.* In 1726 the 3Iaroons of Surinam 
 
 * Accordlft^' to Data* oud Culling^ Ibe Marooni did not exist in Jamaica while the Spanish had pniaei- 
 aion Their account of the origin of tins people is as follows. When the English conquered the island in 
 1655. many of the Spaa.iarJa with their slaves 6ed to the northern woods. In IG53, Arnaldo, the former 
 governour, made a descent on the isUnd from Cuba with a large force, hut was repelled. Shortly after 
 be returned and put himself at the head of the Spaniards and sUves whe had secreted themseliesin the 
 woods but was again defeated, and all th.e Spaniards were forced to leave the island. Before they em- 
 barked many of the slaves, unwilling to follow their masters, (led to the mountains, (Dallas’ History tf 
 
 the Maroons vnl. 1. p. 22— 25- Cutting’s History of Jamaica, prefixed to the former, p. 29 — 39.) Th 
 arose Ihe Maroons, a nsme which has been said to mean “ wild” people, but hy Dallae, *• bog-hunters,” 
 (vnl. I. p. 26.) their chief employment being to hunt the wild boar. (p. 61, 87, 102, 133.) 
 
 Dallai proceeds. In 1690 Ibere was an insurrection of slaves in the parish orClarendon, and the insur- 
 genU found shallax in the southern mounUins, where from time to time they were juined by tefvgees fruui 
 
59 
 
 ebtained their liberty with the sword, and forced their oppres- 
 sors to a treaty. The Maroons of Jacmel have for near a 
 century been the terror of St. Domingo. [Greg. p. 92, 93, 
 107, 108, 141. Rees under Jamaica.) 
 
 “ If other examples of African genius should be required, 
 suffice it to say that they can be produced in abundance, and 
 that if we were allowed to enumerate instances of African 
 gratitude, patience,, fidelity, honour, as so many instances of 
 good sense and a sound understanding, we fear that thousands 
 of the enlightened Europeans would have occasion to blush.” 
 {Clarkson, p. 112.) 
 
 This introduces the subject of the disposition of Africans. 
 On this point the testimonies are clear and decisive. “ We 
 see no reason,” says one, “ to doubt that the negroes, taken 
 altogether, are not inferior to any variety of the human race 
 in natural goodness of heart.” {Rees under Man.) “ All un- 
 prejudiced authors who speak of negroes,” says another, “ do 
 justice to their natural disposition and virtues.” {Greg. p. 1 10.) 
 The philanthropic Gregoire, member of the Conservative 
 Senate and of the National Institute of France, has recorded 
 many instances of their fidelity, mildness, affection, and gene- 
 rosity. (p. 107 — 124.) “ The gratitude of the blacks is such 
 
 that they often expose their life to serve that of their bene- 
 factor.” {id. p. 119.) Even in Africa they are “humane, 
 obliging, and hospitable.” Among them are found “men of 
 probity, models of filial, conjugal, and paternal affection, who 
 know all the energies and refinements of virtue.” {Greg. p. 
 114, 115.) 
 
 The fortitude and patience of the blacks have been particu- 
 
 the planUtion*. At length being hard preasod by the whites, they chose the hrareand enterprising Cudjoe 
 fur their leader. It was about the year ]T39, after Cudjoe bad become powerful, th.\t this tribe was 6rct 
 included under the common name •/“ M.’«roons, By 1733 Cudjoe had formed a cenneaion with the eas'ern 
 Itlaroons, and had united all the tribes on the island in a common interest, (p. 26— ’36* 46.) Concealed 
 among the cockpits and fnslneues of the mountains, they kept the whole country in alarm, and at last com- 
 pelled the English to acknowledge their freedom and cede to them certain districts in their neighbourhood. 
 The treaty with the western Maroons was made in 1738, and 1500 acres were granted to them, A simi- 
 lar treaty was made with the eastern Maroons the year following, (p. 47—65, 75, 76.) At that time 
 there were only 600 of this people on lii^ islinJ ; in 1770 there were 885 ; »n 1773. 1028 ; in 1778, 1400. 
 (p. 120.) The principal tribe baaiioce been transported to Sierra-Leone: but Rees, who took bia account 
 from the estimate of 1778, reckons still the number at l iOO. And there is little doubt Ihat the increase in 
 40 years has been sufScient to repair that loss. 
 
60 
 
 larly noticed. “ They know how to support pain with a cou- 
 rage truly heroic. History is full of traits of their intrepidity. 
 Punishments of the most horrid description, multiplied by the 
 cruelty of the whites, have afforded proofs of this.” {Greg. 
 p. 91, 92 ) 
 
 We cannot expect to find the same industry in warm coun- 
 tries, as in those where the inhabitants are braced by a cold- 
 er sky, and draw the fruits with greater difficulty from the 
 earth ; much less can we look for the love of labour in a 
 state of bondage. But the charge of indolence against the 
 Africans has been exaggerated. The inhabitants of Benin, 
 principally occupied in agriculture, “ are A^ery industrious 
 those of Axiam on the Gold Coast “are laborious;” those of 
 Boulam are “ inured to industry those of Senegal “ work with 
 ardour ;” those of Jagro are “ celebrated for an activity which 
 enriches their country those of Cabomonte and Fido or Jui- 
 do, are “ indef»tigable cultivators.” “ Economical of their 
 soil, they scarcely leave a foot-path to farm a communication 
 between the different possessions. They reap one day and 
 the next sow the same earth.” {Greg. p. 90, 91, 223.) “ The 
 natives at Accra, [“ or Accarah,” which is situated on the Gold 
 Coast,] are very superior in civilization, appearance, and man- 
 ners to any others on the coast. Their town is clean and 
 neat, and in their houses they have all the useful and neces- 
 sary household utensils, arranged Avith as much order as in a 
 cottage in England. This is to be attributed to their having 
 had for many years a free intercourse with the Ashantees 
 and other nations of the interior, and to their being naturally 
 more industrious and fond of agriculture.” {Sir James Lucas 
 Yeo's Letter to John Wilson Crocker, Esq.') 
 
 K. 
 
 Grandville Sharp, in conjunction with the London Society, 
 had formed a scheme “ for the relief of poor blacks.” Thorn- 
 ton had projected a plan for “ transporting emancipated ne- 
 groes from America to Africa.” “ Doctor Smeatham selected 
 Sierra-Leone.” “ After a residence of four years in Africa,” 
 
61 
 
 he “ returned to Europe to concert measures relative to his 
 plan of free colonies. He died in 17B6.” “ Wilberforce, 
 
 Clarkson, and others, assisted with money, writings, and coun- 
 sels.” “ A few thousand pounds” were subscribed. “Go- 
 vernment engaged to defray the expense of the transportatioa 
 of the Africans, and to provide for their susteaance for a few 
 nonths. Naimbanna, king of the region of Sierra-Leone, 
 ceded a portion of his territory for the use of the colony.’* 
 “The first embarkation” took place “in 1786.” The com- 
 pany consisted of “ some whites necessary for the direction 
 of the establishment, and 400 negroes,” who had been “ wan- 
 dering in the streets of London, without property and with- 
 out friends,” and “ generally ignorant.” “ The vessel was 
 delayed in her voyage” and did not arrive till early the next 
 year. On the very spot where the English had made their 
 first depredations upon Africa in 1562, there, unconscious of 
 the coincidence, they “in 1787” deposited the first cargo of 
 her restored sons. “ The passengers arrived in feeble health,” 
 and before they had time to erect many cottages “ the rainy 
 season set in,” which continues in that climate from “the end 
 of April to the middle of October.” “ Exposure to the rains,” 
 together with “ imprudence,” and in some instances “ intem- 
 perance,” “ swept away one quarter of their number in a 
 few months.” The next year, 1788, “ Grandville Sharp, at 
 his own expense, sent a vessel of 180 tons with succours” for 
 the infant settlement. “ He had previously published his plan 
 of a constitution and of legislation for the colonies.” But eve- 
 ry effort proved abortive. “ In 1790 the crew of a British 
 slave-vessel set fire to a town in the vicinity of the colony. 
 The natives in revenging the wrong involved the colony in 
 the consequences of the dispute. The colonists — were en- 
 tirely dispersed, and their little establishment broken up.” So 
 true it is that the first experiment “ met with very little suc- 
 cess until it was aided by another,” undertaken “ upon better 
 principles.” 
 
 In this state of things a number of gentlemen in 1791 ob- 
 tained an act of incorporation under the name of the “ Sierra- 
 Leone Company.” They lost no time. The very same year 
 
62 
 
 their agent collected the scattered colonists and made a new 
 beginning upon improved principles. The next year^ 1792, 
 1131 blacks, who had formerly been slaves in the United 
 States, and had fought in the British ranks during the revolu- 
 tionary war, were a) their own request transported from No- 
 va-Scotia to Sierra-Leone. “ The same year about a hundred 
 whites” were added to their number, “ nearly half” of whom 
 “were the company’s agents or artificers,” and the rest were 
 “ soldiers or settlers with their wives and children.” The 
 want of houses to shelter so many during the rainy season, 
 caused a second sweeping mortality. Yet the colony from that 
 moment “ began to assume a more regular form. They clear- 
 ed the land with eagerness, laid out the streets for a village, 
 and erected temporary huts.” The village they called Free- 
 town. Another has since arisen at a little distance which they 
 have named Granville-Town, after the eminent philanthropist 
 to whom they have been so much indebted. 
 
 In 1794 Freetown contained 400 houses with a garden to 
 each ; and they counted in their schools about 300 children, 
 of whom 40 were natives. But their prosperity was soon to 
 be overcast. That year a French squadron, aided by two 
 unprincipled Americans, wantonly attacked the town, “ dis- 
 persed the inhabitants, plundered the warehouses, burned 
 the church,” together with “most of the dwelling-houses, 
 several stores, and the small vessels in the river ; killed the 
 poultry and stock, scattered and defaced the library, broke in 
 pieces the mathematical and astronomical instruments of the 
 surveyor, destroyed or threw into confusion the collections, 
 drawings, and curiosities of the botanist, demolished the copy- 
 ing and printing-presses, — and converted a rising village into a 
 heap of ruins.” The company’s largest ship, at that mo- 
 ment approaching the harbour with a valuable cargo, fell into 
 their hands. The whole loss was estimated at £400,000, or 
 5^1,770,000. The part which the company sustained was reck- 
 oned at £40,000, or ^177,600, exclusive of buildings which 
 had cost £15,000, or ^66,600, making in the whole £55,000, 
 or 5^244,200. The colonists were left with inadequate sup- 
 plies of provisions, without medicines, and without shelter 
 
63 
 
 from the weather. Before cottages could he erected the rainy, 
 season commenced, and a great mortality ensued. The go- 
 vernour made great exertions to obtain provision* from the 
 neighbouring country, and the Board of Directors made the 
 earliest possible returns from England. 
 
 All means were employed to repair the disaster, and they 
 were not employed in vain. “ The colony survived the storm. 
 The people became more industrious and submissive to au- 
 thority. The lands were better cultivated, and the tribes in 
 the vicinity gave stronger testimonies of their attachment. 
 Ever since the colony has been increasing in stability, popu- 
 lation, and resources.” 
 
 In October 1800 the settlement was enlarged by a company 
 of 3Iaroons from Jamaica.* Before the 9th of May 1814, 
 “ 6925 negro-captive.s had been taken from slave-ships,” “ more 
 than half” of whom became ” permanent settlers” in the co- 
 lony. In 1815 Captain Paul Cuffee carried out from the Uni- 
 ted States nine black families, consisting of eighteen adults 
 and twenty children ; some of whom wrote back to their friends 
 a very animating account of Sierra-Leone. “ The present 
 population is between four and five thousands.” 
 
 The climate becomes “ more favourable in proportion as 
 
 * After the p«tce of 1738 anj 3D the Marooci of Jain«ioa remained quiet till the year 1795i when the 
 j%rincipal tribe, that of Trelawoey town, rebelled. (DalU»’ IXiit. of Marocni, toI. I.p. 120 — 123.) The 
 Koglitb were so alarmed (hat after many fruitless attempts to reduce them, they were induced to impoit 
 from Cuba a hundred dog;i, with forty Spanish cbaieeurs, to hoot them throug^b tha mountaius like beasts of 
 jirey. This brought ibe poor creatures to terms. lo the months of January, February, and March, 1736, 
 they came in one after another, to the number of 485. (besides women and children, if I understand the his.* 
 lerian,) and submitted to general Walpole, on the fnitb of a treaty made by him and ratified by the goverooor, 
 engaging that they should not be sent out of the island, (vol. II, p. This article the Council 
 
 and Assembly afterwards refused to eiecute ; and to the great mortification of the geoeia), whe in conie- 
 queoce resigned his eoramission in disgust, and refused a sword which the legislature had voted him, resol* 
 Tcd forthwith to banish the Maroons to ^'orlh America, (p, 172—188.) The poor negroes with (beii- 
 ihmilies sailed for Nova Scotia June 6, 1796, and after losing seventeen of their numboron the pottage, ar- 
 rived at Halifax in difiTerent vessels on the 21st and 23d of July. (p. 203^4 ) The whole company th» a 
 amounted to about 550. (p. 2l3, 272, note ) Finding Ibemselves unable to oiidure the severity of tho 
 
 climate, they earnestly entreated to be conveyvd to tome warmer region, (p. 234— *238, 252— 25G.) 
 At length after fuur tedious winterr, the expense of supporting (hem proved so great that they were arn: 
 o(T to Sierra ‘Leone in the autumn of 1800, and arrived iu the month of October. Upon their ariival th< v 
 had an immediate opportunity to show what tho colony had gamed by the accession. Some ofthe JSova-Sco 
 tians as they were called, (those who had been transported from Nova-*Scotia eight years before,) wrro iu 
 a state of iusurrection, and tho Maroons readily leut their aid to quell the insurants. They have sine* 
 boen of oascntial service in keeping the muUooui lu awe, 3nd uare pierec anieug the best (HateriaTs ef 
 which (he colotry is coMpesed. (p. 284 - '2aiG.) 
 
64 
 
 the land ig cleared.” The soil In the immediate vicinity is 
 not strong, but “ well rewards the labour of cultivation.” The 
 principal exports are “ rice, cotton, gold, and ivory.” 
 
 The progress of the colony towards civilization, as well as 
 its influence on the neighbouring country, has been checked 
 by the bad materials partially employed in its composition, 
 and no less by the disastrous effects of the slave-trade. Yet 
 both have on the whole been such as to afford encouragement 
 to the friends of African improvement. Sir James Lucas Yeo, 
 indeed, who seems out of temper with every thing in Africa 
 that is English, and determined that no colonies shall exist 
 but on the Gold Coast, falls foul of the people of Sierra-Le- 
 one because they have not civilized Africa in a day. In his 
 impatient eye the colony “ is still in a most deplorable state 
 and though he affects to praise the present governour, Colonel 
 M’Carthy, he more than hints at the existence of “ great 
 abuses and mismanagements,” with an obvious willingness 
 that the colonial department should overhear. But other wit- 
 nesses view things in a different light. The yearly reports 
 of the Sierra-Leone Company, as condensed by Gregoire, in- 
 form us that the negroes in general are “ pioUs, sober, cor- 
 rect, good husbands, and good fathers ;” that “they give num- 
 berless proofs of their honest sentiments,” and “ enjoy all 
 the advantages of a social state that they “ exercise civil 
 functions, and among others those of jurymen, with firmness, 
 mildness, and justice ;” that the Nova-Scotians, who were 
 mostly Methodists and Baptists, worship regularly in their 
 “ meeting-houses,” and are kept in order by “ the inspection 
 of five or six black preachers.” One who has had access to 
 the best authorities, says, “ Civil laws are obeyed, the chil- 
 dren are carefully instructed in the schools, and the people 
 regularly assemble on the sabbath in different places for the 
 worship of God. — The internal state of the colony improves 
 every year, and its future prospects greatly brighten.” 
 
 Nor has its influence upon the surrounding country been 
 inconsiderable. Besides its successful exertions in opposing 
 the slave-trade, it “ has done much to introduce agriculture 
 and some of the arts among the native tribes.” The latter 
 
65 - 
 
 “show an increasing'dlsposition to cultivate thelrnands, and 
 to adopt European habits of dress and living. The children 
 of the princes and others have been educated in the colonial 
 schools,” and many of the natives are employed in the colo- 
 ny as labourers. The confidence of the tribes is secured, 
 and the word of God is scattered among them in the English 
 and Susoo languages. (Greg. p. 147 — 151. Morse's Geog. 
 Memoir of Paul Cyffee. Sir James Lucas Yeo's Letter. Three 
 Numbers on African Colonization, published in the Neza-York 
 Spectator for October 21, 24, 27, 1817.) 
 
 L. 
 
 The American Colonization Society was formed in the city 
 of Washington on the first day of the present year. The 
 honourable Bushrod Washington is president. The Auxiliary 
 Societies, in the order of their formation, are those of Mew- 
 Jersey, Maryland, Philadelphia, and Frederick County, Vir- 
 ginia ; to which I may now add the Society of New-York, or- 
 ganized the beginning of Movember. A sixth Auxiliary Soci- 
 ety has been formed in the state of Ohio 
 
 Under the patronage of the parent Society, the Reverend 
 Samuel John Mills and Mr. Ebenezer Burgess sailed from 
 Philadelphia for England about the middle of November. It 
 is their object, after conferring with the English philanthro- 
 pists, to visit different parts of the African coast, and gain all 
 possible information respecting the fittest places for colonies, 
 and the best manner of establishing and conducting them. 
 
 M. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE AFRICAN SCHOOL. 
 
 At a meeting of the Synod of New-York and New-Jersey 
 in the city of New-York, October 1816, “an overture was 
 laid before the Synod by the Committee of Overtures, on the 
 subject of establishing an African School,' — for the purpose of 
 
 T 
 
66 
 
 educating' young men of colour, to be employed as teachers 
 and preacliers among the people of colour in these States and 
 elsewhere.” The business was referred to a committee, who 
 reported in favour of the measure ; after which the following 
 minute was adopted. / 
 
 “ The Synod will annually appoint by ballot a Board of 
 twelve Directors, consisting of six ministers and six laymen, 
 who shall be empowered, under the direction of the Synod, 
 to fix the place for the School, to collect funds, to employ a 
 teacher or teachers, to visit the School, to dismiss or reprove 
 as circumstances may require, and to superintend all the con- 
 cerns of the establishment. 
 
 The Board shall appoint their own officers, including a trea- 
 surer, and shall make their own by-laws, which, together with 
 their minutes and a general report of their proceedings, they 
 shall annually submit to Synod. [It has been since ordered 
 that five shall constitute a quorum.] 
 
 Those who are admitted into the School must come w'ell 
 recommended, afford evidence of talents, discretion, and piety, 
 and be able to read and write.” 
 
 The Board was then elected ; and in the course of the year 
 adopted the follow'ing regulations and plan of the School, which 
 the Synod have since approved. 
 
 REGULATIOXS. 
 
 7. The officers of the Board shall consist of a President, a 
 Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, to be chosen 
 by ballot for the year. 
 
 II. The President, or in his absence the Vice-President, by 
 the adruce of two of the members, may call special meetings 
 of the Board. 
 
 III. The Secretary, besides keeping the records, shall con- 
 duct the correspondence of the Board, and give each member 
 notice of the time and place of meeting. 
 
 IF^ . No monies shall be drawn from the treasury without a 
 written order of the President or Vice-President, authorized 
 by the Board. 
 
I 
 
 67 
 
 y. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer, at the last stated 
 meeting iu the year, to present his accounts for examination. 
 
 VI. A Standing Committee of three persons or more shall 
 be chosen for the year, whose business it siiall be to examine 
 those who apply for admission into the School in the intervals 
 of the meetings of the Board, to receive them at discretion 
 upon probation, and provide for thorn till the next meeting of 
 the Directors. [It has been since ordered that two members 
 of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.] 
 
 VII. There shall be two stated meetings of the Board in a 
 year; one on the first Tuesday in May at Newark, at 11 
 o’clock, A. M. the other at the same hour on the day preceding 
 the meeting of Synod, and at the place of its meeting. 
 
 Vm. All the meetings of the Board shall be opened and 
 closed with prayer. 
 
 PL.\N OF THE SCHOOL. 
 
 /. The School shall be under the immediate care of a 
 chief instructer, who shall be called the Principal. Other 
 instructers may be employed as occasion may require. 
 
 II. The usual term of study shall be at least four years, 
 and longer if the Board deem it expedient. 
 
 The first year shall be devoted, as the -Principal may find 
 necessarjs to Reading, Writing, Spelling, and learning the 
 definition of English words, but chiefly to English Grammar, 
 Arithmetic, and Geography ; the second to the elementary 
 principlA of Rhetoric, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, and 
 Astronomy; the third to Theology ; the fourth to Theology, 
 the elements of Ecclesiastical History, the more practical 
 principles of Church Government, and the Composition of 
 Sermons. 
 
 The exercises of public Speaking and Composition shall 
 he kept up through the whole course. 
 
 III. It shall be the duty of the Principal, from the com- 
 mencement of the course, to attend with special care to the 
 religious improvement of the pupils, to converse with them 
 
68 
 
 frequently on the state of their minds, to give them familiar 
 instruction on the various branches of Christian and ministe- 
 rial duty, and to form them by practice to habits of devotion 
 and usefulness. 
 
 IF. The ordinary time of entrance shall be at the close of 
 the fall vacation. There shall be two vacations in a year, 
 of five weeks each ; one beginning the day before the fourth 
 Tuesday in April, the other the day before the first Tuesday 
 in October. There shall be one public examination in a year, 
 which shall be held in the presence of the Directors and 
 others, on the second Tuesday in July, at 10 o’clock, a m. 
 
 F. The Standing Committee shall have the charge of pro- 
 viding clothing, books, stationary, and all necessary articles 
 for the pupils, of disposing of them in vacations, and of put- 
 ting them to labour as far as shall be expedient and practica- 
 ble. They may employ the Principal to execute any part of 
 this trust. They are authorized to discharge the regular 
 quarter-bills. They shall keep minutes of their proceedings, 
 and submit them to the Board at every stated meeting. 
 
 At the meeting of the Synod in October 1817, the following mi- 
 nute was formed : 
 
 “ Resolved, that a sermon for the benefit of the African 
 School be preached annually, on the second evening after the 
 opening of Synod, and that the Board appoint the preacher for 
 that evening. 
 
 Resolved, that it be recommended to the congregations un- 
 der the care of this Synod to form societies to support the 
 African School.” 
 
 On the 25th of March 1817 the Standing Committee, after 
 careful and solemn examination, received upon probation two 
 young men who had come well recommended from a number 
 of gentlemen in Philadelphia ; viz. Jeremiah Gloucester, son 
 of the Rev. John Gloucester of that city, and William Pen- 
 nington ; whom they placed under the care of the Hev. John 
 Ford ofParsipany, Morris County, New Jersey. These young 
 men were re-examined by the Board in May following, and 
 
69 
 
 taken permanently under their care. They still remain with 
 Mr. Ford, and by th^ir conduct and progress give flattering 
 hopes of future usefulness. By permission of Mr. Ford they 
 have held a weekly meeting for prayer with people of their 
 own colour, to whom they have become much endeared. 
 
 Several other young men have been offered to the Board 
 from different parts of the United States ; but as they were 
 not able to read and write, their reception was delayed till 
 they could obtain these necessary qualifications. 'I he Board 
 wish their friends in every part of the country to understand 
 that they are prepared, and very desirous, to receive several 
 more. They hope not to be obliged to turn any away who 
 possess the necessary qualifications. Will there not be an 
 effort made by the friends of religion and humanity in every 
 district of the Union to look out for suitable young men, and 
 to provide the means of fitting them to enter the School ? 
 Will not Auxiliary Societies be formed wherever there are a 
 few who partake of the compassions of Christ, and feel for 
 the sorrows of Africa? The field is great and almost immea- 
 surable, and requii’es the combined powers of all the Chris- 
 tians in the United States through a long and patient exer- 
 tion. 
 
 The Board have not been inactive. Last autumn they ap- 
 pointed the Rev. Samuel John Mills to solicit donations for 
 the School in the middle States. They have since author- 
 ized him and Mr. Burgess|to lay the object before the benevo- 
 lent in England. They have written to the professors of the 
 , Theological Seminaries of Princeton and Andover, request- 
 ing the co-operation of the young men, at least in vacations. 
 Two of the students at Andover, Mr. Edward W. Hooker and 
 Mr. Hutchens Taylor, have accepted commissions to obtain 
 donations and form Auxiliary Societies in any part of the coun- 
 try which they may visit. No others have offered. The Board 
 have appointed the Rev. Messrs. J. F. Huntington, Ezra Fisk, 
 and Henry R. Weed to perform the same duties within the 
 bounds of the Presbyteries of Newton, Jersey, and Hudson, 
 and on Long-Island; and they have empowered a committee 
 to designate agents for the city ofNew-York. The object of 
 
70 
 
 these appointments is not so much to obtain donations, as to 
 form Societies for permanent aid. And although the Board 
 are desirous to see such Societies established among people 
 of colour, as a means of grace and elevation to them, they 
 can rely for support on nothing short of efficient combinations 
 among the wliites. 
 
 Considerable aid however may be obtained from the blacks 
 themselves. Of the Societies which are beginning to be form- 
 ed among them, there is one which deserves to be set forth 
 as a public example. “ The African Association of New- 
 Brunswick” was organized on the first day of the present 
 year, for the sole purpose of aiding the operations of the 
 Synod. Every free person of colour pajs 60 cents at en- 
 trance, and one dollar annually. Every slave must bring a 
 written permission from his master, and pay 25 cents a year. 
 Females are admitted, but do not vote. 
 
 This interesting Society have already paid into the treasury 
 of the Board ^41 55, besides their part of the collection 
 which was taken up when the sermon was preached before 
 them, which, with the addition of 50 cents sent in next morn- 
 ing b}^ a young female slave, amounted to ^ t 15; making in 
 the whole ^-18 70 which the coloured people of a single 
 town have given in one year. 
 
 I conversed with Peter Upshur the Moderator of this Socie- 
 ty, and found him a man of sense and apparent piety. lie is 
 about 48 3'ears of age, with an intelligeatbeye, a large and 
 prominent forehead, and a general physiognomy indicative of 
 vigorous iatellect. He is a member of the Rev. Mr. Hun- 
 tington’s church, prays regularly in his family, is much re- 
 spected by the whites, and exerts a benign inlluence over his 
 coloured brethren. He was once a slave in Northampton 
 count}^ Maryland. In 1787, when about 17 years of age, he 
 ran awaj'^ from his master and came into the state of New- 
 Jersey. He was soon taken up, and having no papers to show, 
 ■was cast into prison. For ;^10, the cost of the process, he 
 was bought out and held a slave for nine years. In this time, 
 by working at night, he supported tlie expense of learning to 
 read. At length by tlie interference of some benevolent per? 
 
71 
 
 sons his old master was brought on from Bfaryland, who upon 
 receiving {^100 gave him his freedom, Dec. 1, 1796. Besides 
 serving nine years, Upshur had to refund the §16, and four 
 more which had been expended in an attempt to detain him. 
 He was obliged to pay §112 60 for the freedom of his wife, 
 and bought his two children at the price of §37 50. In 
 twelve months he refunded the §100 which his friends had 
 advanced for him ; and in the course of 21 years has not only 
 extinguished all the above debts, but has acquired property 
 worth several thousand dollars. 
 
 The influence of this Society, combined with other means, 
 has produced a great effect upon the coloured people of New 
 Brunswick. In none of our towns does the African character 
 stand so high. Mr. Huntington, a man of an excellent spirit, 
 is setting an example to all his brethren of faithfulness to this 
 neglected people. He preaches weekly to two or three hun- 
 dred of them, who hang upon his lips and look up to him as 
 a father. He intends soon to give them, in a series of dis- 
 courses, a familiar exposition of the Shorter Catechism. To 
 see tlicir order, their union, their regular and decent attend- 
 ance in th.e house of God, and their judicious management 
 ot the concerns of their Association, is consoling to a mind 
 that waits for the redemption of Africa. 
 
 / 
 
72 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. 
 
 MINISTERS. 
 
 REV. DR. JAMES RICHARDS, 
 
 REV. DR. JOHN' B. ROMEVN, 
 
 REV. DR. EDWARD D. GRIFFIN, 
 
 REV JOH> M’DOWELL, 
 
 REV. GARDINER SPRING 
 
 REV. LEVERETT J. F. HUNTINGTON, 
 
 LAYMEN. 
 
 COL. JOHN NEILSON, 
 
 COL HIRA.M SMITH 
 
 JOSEPH C. HORNBLOWER, ESQ. 
 
 MR. JOHN E. CALDWELL. 
 
 MR 2ECHARIAH LEWIS , 
 
 MR. RENSSELAER HAVENS. 
 
 OFFICERS OF THE BOARD. 
 
 Dr. Richards, President. 
 
 Dr. Romeyn, Vice-President. 
 
 Dr. Griffi\, Secretary. 
 
 Mr. Hornblower, Treasurer. 
 
 STAA^DING COMMITTEE. 
 
 The President, 
 The Secretary, 
 
 The Treasurer, 
 Rev. Mr. M’dowell. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Romeyn is appointed to preach the next 
 annual sermon, and in case of his failure, the Rev. Dr. Ri- 
 chards. 
 
73 
 
 POSTSCRIPT, 
 
 The sermon has been so long delayed in the press, that I 
 have an opportunity to subjoin a notice of the African Society of 
 Newark. This association was formed on the 23d of February 
 1818. Eighty-eight names were recorded the first evening, 
 including a few whiclt had been given in before. The follow- 
 ing Constitution was then adopted. 
 
 I. This institution shall be known by the name of the Afri- 
 ■can Society of Newark. 
 
 II. The sole object of the Society shall be to aid the funds 
 of the African School established by the Synod of New-York 
 and New-Jersey. 
 
 III. Every free person of colour who consents to have his 
 or her name enrolled, shall be a member of the Society, upon 
 paying fifty cents at entrance, and the same sum annually. 
 Every slave who brings a written permission from his or her 
 master or mistress, shall be a member, upon paying twenty- five 
 oents at entrance, and the same sum annually. If any mem- 
 ber shall neglect to pay for two years in succession, he or 
 she shall be liable to be struck off" from the list of the Society 
 by the Standing Committee, and to be considered no longer a 
 member. 
 
 IV. None but male members shall vote on any subject, nor 
 any under the age of sixteen ; and none shall vote for officers 
 till they have paid up their arrears. 
 
 V. The officers of the Society, to be annually chosen by 
 ballot and by a general ticket, shall be a President, a Vice- 
 President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and eight Assistants ; who- 
 together shall constitute the Standing Committee. 
 
 The President, or in his absence the Vice-President, shall 
 preside at the annual meetings, preserve order, state and put 
 questions, silence those who do not address the chair, deter- 
 mine who shall speak first when two rise at once, keep the 
 speaker to the subject, allow none to speak sitting, or more 
 than twice on a motion without obtaining special leave from 
 the chair, prevent every thing personal or indecorous in de- 
 bate, reject unconstitutional motions, (subject however to an 
 appeal to the house, ) and give a eaetiug voice in every equal 
 
74 
 
 division. He, or in his absence the Vice-President, shall pre- 
 side also in all the meetings of the Standing Committee. 
 
 The Secretary shall keep a record of the transactions of the 
 Society, first taken down in their presence, read to them, and 
 approved by them. He shall prepare and submit to the Com- 
 mittee the annual report, and give notice of the time and place 
 of the annual meeting. He shall also record in a separate 
 book the transactions of the Standing Committee, first taken 
 down in their presence, read to them, and approved by them. 
 
 The Treasurer, before entering on his office, shall give 
 security to the Standing Committee in double the amount of the 
 annual rates. He shall receive all monies, cither directly from 
 the members, or through the medium of a Collector, (in which 
 latter case he shall give receipts,) and shall pay them over 
 immediately to the Treasurer of the African School, (taking 
 his receipts therefor,) except when he receives a written or- 
 der from the President or Vice-President, authorized hy the 
 Committee, for sums to cover incidental exjienses. He shall 
 keep a general account of receipts and disbursements and 
 shall open a particular account of debt and credit with every 
 member ; all which, with his vouchers, he shall submit to the 
 Society at every annual meeting, and to the Standing Commit- 
 tee as often as they require it. 
 
 The Standing Committee shall have power to meet at the 
 cal! of the President and on their own adjournments, to make 
 their own bv'-laws, and to fill their own vacancies. Five shall 
 constitute a quorum. They shall have the charge of obtain- 
 ing new members by going from house to house, of colleciing 
 the rates of the members, (for which purpose they may ap- 
 point a Collector, but not allow him any compensation,) of pro- 
 curing books for the records of the Society and Committee, 
 and for the Treasurer’s accounts, and of printing the Constitu- 
 tion and their own by-laws ; and they may draw on the Trea^ 
 surer for sums sufficient to cover the necessary incidental ex- 
 penses, specifying in their order the precise object of the ex- 
 pense. They shall inspect the Treasurer’s accounts at least 
 once a quarter, and as much oftener as they think proper ; shall 
 fix and publish the hour and place of the annual meeting, ap- 
 point the orator, invite whom they please to open and close 
 the meeting with prayer, and do every thing, not contrary to 
 this Constitution, which they may deem necessary to promote 
 the designs of the association. 
 
 VI. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held in the 
 evening of the second Monday in April, at such place and 
 hour as the Standing Committee, by notices from the several 
 ■pulpits, shall appoint. Ten male members shall constitute 
 
75 
 
 a quorum. The meeting shall be opened with prayer. A 
 committee shall then be appointed to examine the 't reasurer’s 
 accounts and vouchers, who shall report at the same mee*ing. 
 The Secretary shall next read the report of the Standing 
 Committee, detailing the number of members, the changes 
 which hav« taken place in that number in the course of the 
 year, the amount of monies received, of incidental expenses, 
 (specifying the objects,) and of payments made to the treasu- 
 ry of the African School, within the year, and generally what 
 the Committee have done since the last report. The annual 
 rates of those members who have not already paid to the Collec- 
 tor, shall then be received. The Treasurer shall next publicly 
 read the names of tliose who have not paid, both male and fe- 
 male ; and the males on that list shall not be allowed to vote 
 for officers. The officers for the year shall then be chosen. 
 After this an oration shall be delivered by some member pre- 
 viously appointed by the Standing Committee ; and the meet- 
 ing shall be concluded with prayer. 
 
 Vll, No alteration shall be made in this Constitution but at 
 the suggestion of the Standing Committee, and by the vote of 
 two-thirds of the male members present at an annual meeting. 
 
 OFFICERS FOR THE FIRST YEAR. 
 
 Adam Ray, President, 'Fhomas Gummaugii, Secretary, 
 
 David Ray, Vice-President, Peter Petit, Treasurer. 
 
 ASSISTANTS. 
 
 henry cook, 
 
 JOHN O'FAKE, 
 WILLIAM DAY, 
 
 SIMON VAN BLANKER, 
 
 LEWIS THOMPSON, 
 POMPEY VERNALL, 
 BENJAMIN FRELEN, 
 ROBERT M. RICHARDSON. 
 
 The Standing Committee met on the 25th of February, and 
 adopted the following 
 
 1. The t-ommittee ivill statedly meet on the first Tuesday 
 evening in every month, at 8 o’clock after the first of April, 
 and at 7 o’clock after the first of November. 
 
 2. The meeting shall be opened and closed with prayer 
 whenever a professor of religion is present. 
 
 3. Members who are tardy shall assign their reasons. The 
 names of the jiresent and absent shall be recorded as such, 
 and absentees shall render their excuse at ihe next meeting. 
 
 4. At the opening of each session the minutes of the last' 
 
76 
 
 meeting shall be read, to bring up whatever business was laid 
 over ; and a docket shall be made of the subjects which re- 
 ' quire attention. 
 
 6. All business shall be brought before the Committee by 
 a regular motion made and seconded. There shall be no dis- 
 cussion without a motion, and every motion must be seconded. 
 
 6. A motion shall be reduced to writing whenever the pre- 
 siding officer requires it. 
 
 7. When a motion is made and seconded, it must be disposed 
 of before any thing else is done, unless an amendment, a post- 
 ponement, or an adjournment is moved. 
 
 8. A motion for amendment must be decided before the 
 original question is further discussed. When it is carried, 
 the question returns on the article as thus amended. 
 
 9. A motion for postponement yields to nothing but a motion 
 for adjournment. 
 
 10. A motion for adjournment arrests all other business, and 
 must be decided without debate. 
 
 11 No person shall speak more than twice on any motion 
 without special leave from the chair. 
 
 12. The officer who fills that seat must yield it to another 
 while he speaks, or take no part in the discussion, further than 
 to state the point at issue, and keep the speakers to the subject. 
 
 13. Every question shall be decided byyeas and nays. 
 
 14. The presiding officer has only a casting vote. 
 
 15. When a question has been once decided, it shall not be 
 brought up again at the same meeting, except by a motion for 
 re-consideration, which must be carried by two thirds of the 
 members present. And such a motion shall not be made after 
 any one who voted with the majority has retired. 
 
 16. No person shall leave the meeting without permission 
 from the chair. 
 
 17. These by-laws, together with the Constitution, shall 
 be read before the Committee at least once a quarter. 
 

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