[A]SUMMARY OF POPULATION—AMERICO-LIBERIANS(Johnston)(Fergu-son)Montserrado County—Robertsport40076Royesville5057St. Paul’s River Settlements—New Georgia20036Caldwell100109Brewerville200170Clay-Ashland400484Louisiana10081New York50White Plains300Millsburg25017Arthington30054Careysburg400688Crozierville100109Bensonville150115Robertsville150Harrisburg250893250Settlements on the Mesurado River—Barnersville-31Gardnersville200Johnsonville215Paynesville387Monrovia2500106Junk River Settlements—Schieffin and Powellville225Mount Olive150Marshall12555Farmington River and Owen’s Grove30014800Grand Bassa County, Grand Bassa Settlements—Little Bassa50Edina250494Hartford5074St. John’s River350Upper Buchanan4001298Lower Buchanan600310Tobakoni501750Coast: Grand Bassa County—Grand Bassa to River Cestos150On River Cestos50Sinoe County, Sinoe Settlements—Sino River50Lexington10063Greenville350156Philadelphia125Georgia125750Kru Coast—Nana Kru-150Setra KruNifuSass TownGaraweMaryland County, Cape Palmas and Lower Cavalla—Rocktown100Harper900256Philadelphia100Latrobe50Cuttington100Half Cavalla50Hoffmann50Middlesex50Jacksonville75Bunker Hill25Tubman Town100New Georgia25Hillierville251650Scattered in InteriorKelipo, Maryland County-150Boporo RegionUpper St. Paul’s, etc., etc.11,850Owing to the use of different names, and the use of the same name indifferent ways, a complete comparison is impossible.
[A]
5. As vital statistics for Liberia are rare, and it is interesting to know how immigrants survived the acclimating fever, we subjoin a table taken from the African Repository.[B]It is interestingin various ways. The large number of deaths, nearly one-half the total of immigrants, is not strange in view of the fact that a large part of the persons sent were well on in years, or worn out through service. Such, and small children, were especially liable to die under the new conditions. Under the circumstances, the number of removals (presumably returns to the United States) is not large. Most interesting of all, however, is the column of viable births. How would it compare with the present? The impression the visitor receives is that the Americo-Liberian population is barely holding its own—if it is doing that.
[B]POPULATION MOVEMENT FOR LIBERIA(EXCLUSIVE OF MARYLAND)FROM 1820 TO 1843YearAr-rivalsDeathsRe-movalsBirths,Liv.Pop.1820861535—3618213378—54182237145375182365158612018241032183200182566213624818261824863379182723429146576182830113724126381829247672520813183032611025201,02418311658312301,117183265512983131,5731833639217122441,917183423714031331,01618351838332482,132183620914513472,2301837761416582,217183820518512562,28118395613510552,24718401151806402,2161841861009782,27118422299115352,429184319852292,390
[B]
—1. In considering the society of Liberia, and the problems with which the Liberian government has had to deal, it is necessary to sharply distinguish the different elements of which it is composed. We have already indicated them, but it will be well here to clearly separate them. We may first recognize immigrant and aboriginal populations. The immigrant population, as we use the term, includes negroes who have come from the United States, from the British West Indies, or from South America, and their descendants; this class also includes a number of recaptured Africans and their descendants. The first settlers were of course American freed-men from the United States. They and their descendants have always formed the bulk of the Liberian population. Immigration from the United States has never entirely ceased, although in these latter days the new-comers have been people who were born in freedom. There is a very considerable number of so-called “West Indian Negroes” in Liberia; ever since the foundation of the Republic there has been a small but rather steady influx of such individuals. Occasionally immigrants have also come from South American colonies and from various British colonies and settlements along the coast of West Africa; all of these new-comers are included under the general term of Americo-Liberians, even though they may have had no relation to America. During the earlydays of Liberia it was customary to send Africans who had been captured on slaving ships by American war vessels to Liberia for settlement; these individuals were known as recaptured Africans, and it was customary to settle them in places by themselves; although such recaptured Africans rapidly acquired the improvements of civilization and showed themselves industrious, enterprising, and progressive, they were generally looked upon with more or less contempt by the other settlers. The aboriginal population may be divided into three quite different groups. The coast natives, Kru and others, have long been in constant contact with white men and have acquired considerable knowledge of the outside world; they are constantly employed by steamers both as crews and in loading and discharging cargoes. In the western half of the Republic Mohammedan influence is strong; the Mandingo, most of the Vai, and considerable numbers of such tribes as the Gola are Mohammedans; the influence of Mohammedanism is spreading and the presence of this element is destined to have its effect upon the nation. The third element of the native population is the interior natives living the old tribal life. Having thus called attention to the different elements which mingle in Liberian society, it will be understood that our further discussion in this section has reference only to the civilized Liberians.
2. The Liberian settlements generally consist of well built houses arranged along broad, straight streets. The style of architecture is, as might be expected, influenced by the plantation houses of our southern states before the war. It was natural that the freed-men, when they had a chance to develop, should copy those things with which they were familiar. Towns, houses, dress, life—all were reproductions of what was considered elegant in the days before removal. Of course Monrovia, as the capital city, is the best representative of the development. It is a town of perhaps 7,000 inhabitants; it is sharplydivided into two divisions, a civilized quarter upon the summit of a ridge some 290 feet in height; here live the Americo-Liberians and the European residents. The buildings are for the most part rather large constructions of one and a half or two stories; the houses have large rooms with high ceilings and are generally supplied with balconies and porches. Krutown, lying along the water’s edge on the seacoast and fronting the interior lagoon, consists of large, rectangular native houses closely crowded together, and its narrow streets swarm with people. Five minutes’ walk takes one from the Executive Mansion in the heart of the civilized quarter to the heart of Krutown.
While on the streets of Monrovia one may see a startling range of clothing, due to the fact that there are pagan natives, Kru boys, Mohammedans, and Americo-Liberians, all jostling and elbowing each other. The Americo-Liberian dresses very much like civilized people in our ordinary country towns. There are of course differences in wealth, and one may see all grades of dress. On all public occasions men of prominence appear in the regulation dress of our southern states. Sir Harry Johnston says that “Liberia is the land of the cult of the dress-suit.” Nowhere else have I ever seen so large a number, proportionally, of dress-suits, frock-coats, and stovepipe hats as in Monrovia upon Sundays or days of celebration.
3. All speak English, and though Sir Harry does not like their English, it is far better than might be expected, though there are indeed colloquialisms. All who meet you give friendly greetings. At first it is something of a shock to have the children as they pass say “Mawnin, paw,” or address one as “daddy,” but one soon becomes accustomed to it. On the whole, the life of the people is that of simple country folk. They are well satisfied with their condition and take life easy. They love to sit on the porch and chat with passers. On the whole, it must be admitted that theylack energy. The number who really think, lead, direct, control, is very small. There is, as among our own colored people here at home, something of over-elegance in both speech and manner. While a very large number of them read, few indeed have even a moderate education.
4. Sociability is largely developed. They love to gather upon every kind of pretext. There are practically no places of public amusement. In 1831 there was a public library with twelve hundred volumes in the city of Monrovia; to-day there is no public library or reading-room in the capital city. Lodges are numerous and the number of secret organizations is very large. There are eight or ten Free Masons Lodges; the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows has sixteen lodges and upwards of three hundred members; the United Brothers of Friendship have lodges at ten of the most important towns and The Sisters of the Mysterious Ten—which is the female branch of the order—has four temples; the Independent Order of Good Templars too is represented. Literary societies and lyceums are from time to time organized, but usually have a short existence; one, however, at Cape Palmas, seems to have outlived the usual period. A respectable Bar Association has been in existence for several years, has annual meetings, and prints its proceedings.
5. There is little of what could be called literary activity in the Republic. One sees some books, but there are no book-stores; the number of individuals who have modest private libraries must be very small. It is true, however, that a considerable number of men can write remarkably well. The public documents of the Republic have always been well worded and forceful. The messages of successive presidents to the legislature have shown extraordinary ability. One who follows the dealings of Liberian officials with foreign governments is constantly impressed by the fact that in deliberation they show judgment, in diplomatic procedure extraordinary skill. It is certainlyno unjust discrimination to emphasize the literary power of such men as Ex-President Arthur Barclay, Chief Justice J. J. Dossen, Ex-Secretary of State F. E. R. Johnson, and Judge E. Barclay, a poet of no mean ability. Oratory is inherent in the race and the number of individuals who can deliver a public address of merit on the celebration of Independence Day or other occasion is very large. Such orations are often put into print, and a considerable library might be made of this kind of production. Comparatively few have written seriously on public questions or on history. Occasionally something in this line is printed—Karnga’sNegro Republic on West Africa, and Branch’sSketch of the History of Arthingtonare samples. The one notable literary man whom Liberia has produced is Edward Wilmot Blyden, who died a year ago; his name is known wherever the English language is read and his contributions upon negro subjects were many and important.
6.Newspapers.—When we were in Monrovia in October and November, 1912, no newspaper was printed in the capital city. At that time six periodicals were published at different places in the Republic. They were:The Living Chronicle,The Silver Trumpet, both printed at Cape Palmas;The African League, at Grand Bassa;The Gazette(official) andLiberia and West Africa, at Monrovia. Three of these publications were missionary enterprises, one was an official monthly publication, and one was an actual newspaper appearing monthly. This,The African League, was conducted by J. H. Green, an American negro from Little Rock, Arkansas; it began in the United States and is now in its fifteenth volume; it was removed to Liberia at the beginning of its fourth volume, which was printed in Monrovia in 1902; it is now conducted at Buchanan, or Grand Bassa.The African Leagueis a live sheet and discusses the questions of the day with considerable independence. Newspapers in Liberia have a hard time and usuallymaintain a brief existence; so true is this that persons are extremely cautious about subscribing by the year to any publication for fear that it will end after the publication of the first few numbers; for this reason it is more customary to buy single copies than to subscribe for a definite term. Still worse than this, it is far more the custom for Liberian readers to borrow newspapers than to buy them; nowhere perhaps does a single copy of a periodical go so far. All of this makes editing and publishing an uphill task.
PERIODICALS OF LIBERIAIn the course of reading, rummaging and inquiry, I have secured a lot of fragmentary information regarding Liberian periodicals. I present the matter here because taken together it is more in quantity and more definite than I have been able to find anywhere in print. I make this note in the hope that it may bring me information to correct and extend the list.
PERIODICALS OF LIBERIA
In the course of reading, rummaging and inquiry, I have secured a lot of fragmentary information regarding Liberian periodicals. I present the matter here because taken together it is more in quantity and more definite than I have been able to find anywhere in print. I make this note in the hope that it may bring me information to correct and extend the list.
7. The importance of education in the Black Republic is by no means overlooked, but it has always been difficult to raise the money to conduct schools. The office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is a Cabinet position. In 1912 ninety-one schools were under his direction. There are many mission schools in the Republic, some of them of high grade, and all of them doing a useful work. Liberia College has had an existence of a half century, and most of the men of prominence in the later history of the Republic have received instruction within its walls; it has received a partial endowment from private American sources, but is also assisted by financial aid from the government. As education is one of the most serious problems facing the Republic, it will be discussed under aseparate heading, and further comment may be delayed.
8. The Liberians are a very religious community; the Bible is read with old-fashioned devotion; Theology is of the orthodox and rigid type; Sunday is a day of rest and religious duty, and Sabbath desecration approaches the dangerous. There are churches in all the settlements, and in Monrovia and the other cities several denominations are represented. The Protestant Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran denominationsare represented either by independent churches or by mission work. The emotional nature of the negro is well known, and the religion which ministers to them in Liberia is emotional to a high degree; revivals are common—in fact they recur probably at annual intervals—and are accompanied by all the displays of extravagant and explosive demonstration which once were common among the negroes of our southern states and earlier among white populations in the north. Conviction of sin and the attainment of glory are the two chief ends sought in these reviving efforts.
9. Some facts in regard to the history of churches in Liberia may prove of interest. The first church established was Baptist in 1821. It had been organized in this country among emigrants about to sail to the land of hope; in its membership was the famous Lott Carey, who served as leader and preacher. The denomination has had a varied history in Liberia; it spread rather rapidly and at one time was widely developed; it suffered some decline thereafter, but still has several congregations; it is strongest in Montserrado and Bassa Counties; it maintains a flourishing Sunday school in Monrovia.
In 1825 the famous Basle Mission undertook an establishment in Liberia, several missionaries having been sent out from Switzerland. Considerable correspondence took place between the officers of the Mission Society and the Colonization Society, and some of the missionaries visited the United States before going to Liberia; these Swiss missionaries suffered much from disease and death; the effort was continued for some time, but eventually the work was transferred to Sierra Leone, and Liberia was left unoccupied.
The Methodist Episcopal denomination entered Liberia in 1832. It has continued in active work from that date until the present time; the present missionary bishop for Africa is Joseph Crane Hartzell, whose residence is Funchal, Madeira, and whosefield includes Liberia, Angola, and Madeira on the west coast, and Rhodesia and Portuguese Africa on the east coast. A resident bishop (colored) is maintained at Monrovia, who is at present Isaiah B. Scott, a native of Kentucky, educated in the United States. The work is full of life and much headway is making. The Report of 1912 announces work at 49 different stations in four districts—Bassa and Sinoe, Cape Palmas, Monrovia, Saint Paul River Districts. There were 15 foreign missionaries, 3 other foreign workers, 45 ordained and 86 unordained native preachers, 4317 members. One College, 1 High School and 29 elementary schools were reported, with a total of 63 teachers and 1882 scholars. The work is well sustained and $11,576 was contributed during the year in the direction of self-support. The first missionary sent into this field was Melville B. Cox, who lived but a few months after his arrival. It is an interesting fact that this Liberian mission is the first foreign mission of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The first Presbyterian missionary to Liberia, John B. Pinney, organized a church in the colony in 1833; its first building was dedicated in 1838; a Presbytery was organized in 1848, but was soon dissolved for lack of a legal quorum; it was organized again in 1851, when there were three churches in the country—Monrovia, Greenville, Clay-Ashland; the work was at first a purely mission work, especially directed towards the aborigines; there were many deaths among the early missionaries, and in 1842 the policy was established of sending only colored preachers; white men, however, were sent again in 1849. The mission maintained churches and schools, including the Alexander High School at Monrovia. The work was continued under considerable discouragement, both white and black missionaries dying in considerable numbers, until 1899, when it was abandoned by the mother church. Presbyterianism, however, did not die, but has continued under local direction and with self-support up to the present. It is reported that, in1904, there were ten clergymen, nine churches, 450 members, and 437 scholars on its lists. From an historical sketch put out by the Presbyterian Board, we quote the following: “In 1894 the Board of Foreign Missions resolved that its wisest policy in regard to the Liberian church would be to commit their support to the zeal and devotion of their own members. In pursuance of this resolve the amount of aid was gradually diminished, until in 1899 the entire responsibility was given over to the Presbytery of West Africa. The latest report shows that the work has not fallen off in consequence. There are now fifteen churches with about 400 members. This little flock of Liberian Presbyterians greatly need the prayers of Christians in America, that they may be kept faithful and pure, and use aright their exceptional opportunities for mission work among the pagan tribes.” A very pious prayer, but it would be interesting to know how genuinely the American Presbyterians feel aught of interest in, and sympathy with, “this little flock.” It is possible that, if the flock is to “use aright its exceptional opportunities for mission work among the pagan tribes,” an occasional expression might be a stimulus to them.
The Protestant Episcopal Church began its work with a little school for natives in the Cape Palmas District in 1836. The work has prospered notably, and Bishop Ferguson in his latest annual report reported 26 clergymen, 25 lay readers, 46 catechists and teachers, of whom 21 were native Africans; he had 479 baptisms in the year, of whom 423 were from heathenism. The present number of communicants is 2404, two-thirds of whom are native Africans; the mission maintained twenty-two day schools and nineteen boarding schools with an attendance of 1210 in the one, and 643 in the other. The work of this mission is approaching the point of self-support.
The Lutherans began their work in Liberia in 1860. It has been largely educational work; it centers at the Muhlenburg Boys’ School, which, in 1911, reported145 boarding pupils, and 13 day pupils; at the Girls’ School in Harrisburg there were 61 boarding pupils and 17 day pupils; the mission maintains three schools in the interior, with a total of 71 boarding and 6 day pupils. One of the strong features of their work is that they encourage the boys to labor. “In vacation time they remain in the schools and put in their time on the farm, picking coffee, cutting and clearing land; some of them also worked in the work-shops and in other ways around the mission, rowing the boats and making themselves generally useful. The Girls’ School carries out similar plans of education for the girls.” This mission attempts to aid in its own support by actual production; the proceeds of its coffee sales during the year of 1911 were something like $1,700, $1,000 of which amount was used in the installation of a water-power plant. The mission sets an example in advanced methods which can be helpful to the Republic at large; in reporting work, they say: “Until a few years ago, our coffee was all hulled by an old-fashioned mill consisting of two flat stones similar to the burrs of the old flour mills with which our parents were familiar. This was crude and slow, though it did its work fairly well. The chief objection to its use was the large number of grains which were broken. Five or six years ago a large iron mill was installed, which effected a great saving both in time and expense, and turned out coffee in more marketable condition. An improved fanning machine, differing from the grain fanners in America only in the screens used, was put in beside the huller. By this machine we can grade the coffee satisfactorily as to size of grain desired.” If only Liberian planters had equally kept pace with the treatment of their coffee harvest, the market would not have suffered so severely as it has. The policy of this mission is to locate a married couple as missionaries at interior points separated from each other by considerable distances; these places are to be stations and head-quarters within populations estimated at about150,000 persons; it is a capital plan and should exercise wide influence. In connection with the mission a store is conducted which not only maintains itself, but leaves a profit of some hundreds of dollars yearly; a tailor-shop, shoe-shop, a blacksmith-shop, and a doctor’s office, are also maintained, which not only care for themselves, but add somewhat to the income. On the whole, the work and plans of this mission are markedly practical.
The last mission in order of establishment is the African Methodist Episcopal Church Mission, founded under Bishop Turner. It has been successful under the direction of Bishop Turner, Bishop Moore, and Bishop Shaffer. Its superintendent is the Rev. L. C. Curtis; it has five church buildings, 16 ordained and 3 unordained preachers, 3 missionary teachers, 501 members. It has an industrial school with 100 acres of land on the St. Paul’s River. It is the only one of all the missions which originates with colored men and which is carried through without white assistance.
—1. The Declaration of Independence of Liberia was adopted on July 26, 1847. It is a human document of extraordinary interest. As a basis for it, the declarers state their case in the following words: “We the people of the Republic of Liberia, were originally inhabitants of the United States of North America. In some parts of that country we were debarred by law from all rights and privileges of men—in other parts, public sentiment, more powerful than law, ground us down. We were everywhere shut out from all civil offices. We were excluded from all participation in the government. We were taxed without our consent. We were compelled to contribute to the resources of the country, which gave us no protection. We were made a separate and distinct class, and against us every avenue of improvement was effectually closed. Strangers from all lands, of a color different from ours, were preferred before us. We uttered our complaints, but they wereunattended to, or met only by alleging the peculiar institution of the country. All hope of a favorable change in our country was thus wholly extinguished in our bosoms, and we looked about with anxiety for some asylum from the deep degradation.” Thewhole documentis well worth reading.
2. The Constitution was adopted on the same day, which date is celebrated annually as the birthday of the nation. The document is largely patterned after our own, but presents some interesting points of difference. Among these, three deserve special mention. Slavery is absolutely prohibited throughout the Republic. Citizenship is limited to negroes or persons of negro descent; in the original Constitution the wording was, that it was confined to “persons of color,” but, as curious questions gradually arose in regard to who should be considered “persons of color,” an amendment was adopted, changing the expression to “negroes or those of negro descent.” The ballot is cast by male citizens, twenty-one years of age, and owning real estate.
3. This Constitution remained without amendment for sixty years. In the beginning the term of president, vice-president, and representatives had been fixed at two years, and that of senators at four; experience demonstrated that these terms were too short and a vigorous agitation to lengthen them took place. The Liberians are a conservative people and look back with pride to the doings of the “fathers”; very strong feeling was aroused at the suggestion of changing the wording of the sacred document which they had left. In time, however, sufficient sentiment was developed to lead to the submission of amendments at the election of 1907; the amendments were carried by a vote of 5112 to 1467. By these amendments the term of office of president, vice-president, and representatives was extended to four years and that of senators to six.
4. The flag of the Republic has six red stripes with five white stripes alternately displayed longitudinally;in the upper angle of the flag, next to the staff, a field of blue, square, covers five stripes in depth; in the centre of the field is a lone white star.
5. The great seal of the Republic bears the following design:—a dove on the wing with an open scroll in its claws; a ship under sail upon the ocean; the sun rising from the water; a palm-tree, with a plough and spade at its base; above, the words:Republic of Liberia; below, the national motto:The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here.
6. The government of Liberia consists of three co-ordinate branches—the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The executive branch consists of the President, Vice-President, and a Cabinet of seven members. The Legislature consists of two houses—the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch consists of a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and two Associates, and Circuit Courts under the supervision of the Supreme Court. The President, Vice-President, and Congressmen are elected; all other officers of state are appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Senate.
7. The President and Vice-President are elected by the voters for a period of four years. The President’s Cabinet consists of seven members—Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of War and Navy, Postmaster-General, Attorney-General, Superintendent of the Department of Education. These officers have the usual functions connected with such positions. The Vice-President is President of the Senate.[C]
[C]The present President of the Republic is Daniel Edward Howard. He is the third “native son” to hold that office—the first having been President Johnson. President Howard’s Cabinet consists of the following members: Secretary of State, C. D. B. King; Secretary of the Treasury, John L. Morris (son of the Secretary of the Interior); Secretary of the Interior, James Morris; Secretary of War and Navy, Wilmot E. Dennis; Postmaster-General, Isaac Moort; Attorney-General, Samuel A. Ross; Superintendent of the Department of Education, Benjamin W. Payne (educated in the U. S.). The Vice-President is Samuel G. Harmon, of Grand Bassa, whose father was vice-president in 1876.
[C]The present President of the Republic is Daniel Edward Howard. He is the third “native son” to hold that office—the first having been President Johnson. President Howard’s Cabinet consists of the following members: Secretary of State, C. D. B. King; Secretary of the Treasury, John L. Morris (son of the Secretary of the Interior); Secretary of the Interior, James Morris; Secretary of War and Navy, Wilmot E. Dennis; Postmaster-General, Isaac Moort; Attorney-General, Samuel A. Ross; Superintendent of the Department of Education, Benjamin W. Payne (educated in the U. S.). The Vice-President is Samuel G. Harmon, of Grand Bassa, whose father was vice-president in 1876.
8. The Legislature consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate consists of eight members, two from each county; they are elected for a term of six years. The House of Representatives at the present time includes fourteen members, apportioned as follows: Montserrado County, four; Grand Bassa County, three; Sinoe County, three; Maryland County, three; Cape Mount Territory, one. Notwithstanding its small size, this Legislature has as broad a range of matters to consider as any legislative body elsewhere; thirty-two committees deal with matters ranging from foreign affairs and commerce through military and naval affairs, native African affairs, and pensions, to engrossing and enrolling. Naturally in such a multiplicity of committees—most of which consist of five members—ample opportunity is found for the development of political ability among the members; it seems, however, as if membership on twenty-two committees, a case of which occurs in the present standing committee roll, was over-ambition or over-loading. In case of necessity the President, Vice-President, and Cabinet officers may be impeached. Impeachment must originate in the House of Representatives; the trial is made by the Senate, over which at the time the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides.
9. The judicial branch of the government consists of the Supreme Court, with a Chief Justice and two Associates, and of Circuit Courts with rotating judges under the supervision of the Supreme Court. All judges are appointed by the President. The Supreme Court holds two sessions annually; the Circuit Courts hold quarterly.
10. Mr. George W. Ellis, for a number of years secretary of our legation at Monrovia, and exceptionally well informed regarding Liberian affairs, statesthat the political authority of the President is exercised in the counties and territories by a governor appointed by the Executive, who is called Superintendent. In the interior the President is represented by a Commissioner, who presides over each commissioner-district, and who associates with himself the native chiefs in the control or government of the native peoples in his district. In some instances this Commissioner has judicial functions, from which an appeal lies to the Quarterly and Supreme Courts. The authority of the Commissioner is supported by a detachment of the Liberian Frontier Police Force, with head-quarters at the Monrovia barracks.
11. In the matter of lesser courts there are Quarterly, Probate, and Justice courts, for each of the counties and territories. The judges can only be removed for cause, the President suspending, and his suspension meeting the approval of the Legislature. Monrovia recently abolished the Justices of the Peace and established a Municipal Court with a special judge, whose tenure of office is during good behavior.
12. Politics is in great vogue. The Liberians have never liked to work. Since the establishment of the colony, agriculture even has had but slight attractions for the people. It is not strange, all things considered. The ancestors of these people used to work hard in the fields before they went over there; one reason they went was that they wanted to escape field-labor. They had always been accustomed to see their masters live in ease, without soiling their hands with toil; when they became their own masters, they naturally wanted to be like the men to whom they had been accustomed to look up with respect. Trade has always been in high repute. It was easy for the new-comers to trade with the natives of the country and rapidly acquire a competence. So far as work was concerned, there were plenty of “bush niggers” to be had cheaply. There is, however, another way of escape from manual labor besides trade—that is professional life. Everywhere people who do not wishto work with their hands may seek a learned profession; it is so here with us—it is so there with them. The Liberians would rather be “reverends” or doctors or lawyers than to work with their hands. Of all the professions, however, law seems to be the favorite. The number of lawyers in Liberia is unnecessarily large, and lawyers naturally drift into politics; they aim to become members of Congress or judges of the Supreme Court or members of the Cabinet or President of the Republic. It is unfortunate that so many of them are anxious for that kind of life; but they are skilled in it, and we have nothing to teach them when it comes to politics.
13. Ellis says: “. . . the most notable characteristic of Liberian government is the existence practically of only one political party. The reasons for this no doubt are many, but important, if not chief among them, is the economic depression which followed the decline in the price of Liberian coffee. Coffee was the overshadowing industry of the Republic. The Liberian planters had invested all the capital they had in the coffee industry, and when coffee went down in the early nineties, the different Liberian communities were thrown into such a paralysis of hard times that they have not recovered to this day. Disheartened and financially distressed, formerly strong, self-sustaining, and independent, Liberian planters one after another abandoned their plantations and transferred their time and attention from coffee and the farm to politics and office-seeking. And while something is due to the ability of the administrations to undermine opposition by capturing its capable leaders through the charm of political preferment, something due to the smallness of the civilized population and the disposition of voter and leader alike to be on the winning side, yet, economic depression is at the foundation of the one-party system which now obtains in Liberia.”
14. Still there has ever been a nominal division into parties. Again we quote from Ellis: “Thusafter the adoption of the Liberian constitution the people divided themselves into two parties under the same names as those which obtained at the time in the United States—the Republican and the Whig parties. For some time the Republican Party has ceased to exist in Liberian politics. The opposition to the Whig Party has been for the most part unorganized, without wise and resourceful leaders, and without funds adequate to compete with the dominant Whig administrations in national campaigns. But like the present Republican Party of the United States, the Liberian Whigs have met all the Liberian difficulties during the past thirty years or more. The Whigs had been progressive, and inspired by wise and distinguished statesmen, the Liberian Whigs have repeatedly addressed themselves with success to the Liberian voters. Opposition to the Whig Party in Liberia at the polls seems now to have little or no chance of success, so that nomination on a Whig ticket is equivalent to election.”
15. All this is true, but after all, at the last election there was a considerable awakening of party spirit; it was a bitter political contest. The cry of fraud was loudly raised; seats in Congress were challenged by more than half the total number of membership; the question was seriously asked how an investigation would be possible on account of the lack of unimplicated to conduct it. This outburst of feeling and this cry of fraud, came at a bad moment; the nation was appealing for our financial assistance; it was feared that a bad impression might be produced by the condition of disharmony; under this fear, personal feeling was for the time suppressed and the demand for investigation dropped.
16. We have already said that the Liberians are skilled in politics and that we have but little to teach them. They know quite well what graft means. In fact, graft of the finest kind exists and has existed among the native Africans from time beyond the memory of man; if the Americo-Liberians couldhave escaped from our own republic without ideas in this direction, such would quickly have been developed through contact with their native neighbors. Unfortunately there is considerable opportunity for graft in the black Republic. The actual salaries of public officers and congressmen are very small. Important concessions are, however, all the time being demanded by wealthy outside interests. English, German, French, American promoters have always something to propose to that little legislature, and they never come with empty hands. One of the greatest dangers which the nation faces is found in these great schemes of exploitation offered from outside. The natural resources of the country are very great; but they should be, so far as possible, conserved for the benefit of the people and the nation. The temptation to betray the nation’s interest for present personal advantage is always very great.
—1. We have already called attention to the attitude of the Americo-Liberian toward manual labor and have shown that it is, on the whole, natural under the circumstances. Where there are sharp contrasts between the elements of society, as there are in Liberia between the Americo-Liberians, the Vai, the Kru, and the “Bush Niggers,” there is bound to develop more or less of caste feeling. This was inevitable with people who had themselves come from a district where caste was so marked as in our southern states. The natives have never been considered the full equals of the immigrants nor treated as brothers; they are “hewers of wood” and “drawers of water”; they are utilized as house servants. It is convenient to be able to fill one’s house with “bush niggers” as servants, and the settlers have done so from the early days of settlement. Why indeed should one himself work where life is easy and where money is quickly made through trade? This feeling of caste showed itself in various curious ways—thus the colonists soon fell into the habit of calling themselves“white men” in contrast to the negroes of the country.
2. For the present and for some time still the chief dependence of the country is necessarily trade in raw products. Wealth must come from palm nuts and oil, piassava, rubber, and the like. In such products the Republic has enormous wealth. These can only be secured from the interior through native help. In order that this kind of trade develop, it must be stimulated by legitimate means. At present it is not as flourishing as it might be. The natives are not steady workers; they bring in products when they feel like it or when they have a pressing need of money; trails are bad, and transportation of raw products for great distances is hardly profitable. Yet, if the country is to develop, this production must be steadily increased.
3. Ultimately Liberia must depend on agriculture. With a fertile soil, a tropical climate, abundant rainfall—its possibilities in the direction of agricultural production are enormous. This industry will be the permanent dependence of the country. It must be the next in order of development. Serious development of manufacturing appears remote. Agriculture has always been neglected; Ashmun pleaded with the natives to go into it and prepared a little pamphlet of directions applicable to the local conditions; friends have begged the people ever since to pay less attention to trade and more to cultivation; all in vain. It is true, however, that ever since the days of early settlement, there has been some attention given to the matter of field culture. There was a time when there were extensive plantations of coffee and fields planted with sugar-cane. For a time these plantations were successful, but hard luck came; foreign competition arose, careless and wasteful methods were pursued, and a paralysis seems to have fallen upon the industry. Sons of those who once were successful planters have moved into Monrovia and entered politics. In the old days there were native villagesin the vicinity of the capital city; then bullocks were constantly to be seen in the Monrovian market and fresh meat was easily secured; to-day the native towns have retreated into the interior, and Monrovia depends upon the steamers for fresh meat supplies.
4. Through the over-emphasis placed upon trade, there has grown up a needless importation of foreign articles. It is not only meat that is brought in from other lands; there was a time when the making of shingles was a fairly developed industry—to-day corrugated roofing comes from the outside world; one of the chief foods of the Liberians is rice—it is also one of the chief crops among the native tribes—the native rice is of most excellent quality—yet the rice eaten by Americo-Liberians is imported from foreign countries. There are many articles which might as well or better be produced in Liberia, furnishing employment and a source of wealth for many of the population, which to-day are imported in poorer quality and higher prices from outside.
5. There is a widespread feeling that Liberia has great mineral wealth. No doubt a part of this is justified; much of it, however, is merely due to the fact of ignorance regarding the interior of the country. There are surely gold and copper; there is iron, no doubt, in abundance; we have already mentioned the possibility of diamonds. Under such conditions it is natural that men throughout the whole Republic are ever dreaming of making lucky finds. Anything found anywhere, which chances to have lustre, is considered precious and leads to hopes of sudden and enormous wealth. This widespread expectation of always finding a bonanza is certainly unfortunate for any population; it is unfortunate for Liberia, but just enough of actual mineral wealth will always be discovered to keep it vigorous. It would be well indeed for the black Republic if it were lacking completely in mineral wealth. It is likely that the discovery of valuable deposits will harm the country far more than help it. Such discoveries are certain toenlist rapacious foreign capital and to lead to constant interference and ultimate intervention. If white men in Dutch South Africa were unable to resist the aggressions of avaricious English miners, what chance can the small black Republic stand?The very day I wrote this passage, I received a letter from a well-informed Americo-Liberian. He closes with these words: “I am told that the English have opened up a gold mine in the rear of Careysburg on the St. Paul’s River. This is the last settlement on the river, thirty miles inland. Of course, it is by grant of the legislature, but all based on fraud, as I am told. The yield, I learn, is very great, of which Liberia sees and knows nothing. The whole thing is guarded by an English force.” I have no means of knowing how much truth there may be in this statement of my correspondent. Just such things, however, do occur, will occur, and such things are fraught with danger.
6. It is common to speak in terms of pessimism regarding the economic conditions of Liberia. This has been true for years. In 1881, Stetson spoke as follows in hisLiberian Republic as It Is: “This condition of hopeless bankruptcy is fraught with danger to the existence of the Republic. The cords which bind her to England are being drawn closer and closer, her exports go largely to England, her imports are from England, her loans are from England, and what few favors she has to grant, or are received of her, are to English capitalists; notably a charter recently given to an English company for a railroad extending two hundred miles back from Monrovia, the capital, and designed ultimately to connect that port with the head-waters of the Niger. English influence and gunboats may at any moment settle the question of the future of Liberia.” It will be seen that this was written after the time when Liberia solicited her first loan from England—the notorious loan of 1870.
7. Thirty years have passed since then. England has encroached, but she has not yet absorbed the Liberian Republic. Meantime, while conditions arefar from satisfactory, they have improved; England still has large relations with Liberia, but there has been a wise development of common interests with Germany since 1870. To-day Germany has greater shipping interests, greater trade interests, greater prospects than has Britain. Germany may some time become a menace, but certainly for the present she is a safer friend for Liberia than England. So far as the present financial circumstances in Liberia are concerned, a few figures may be quoted. For the ten years, from 1893 to 1903, the receipts of the nation amounted to $2,243,148, and the expenses to $2,171,556; an average annually of something like $225,000 of income, $217,000 of outgo. In 1905 receipts were $357,000 and expenditures $340,000. In 1911 the income rose to $443,255 and the estimated outgo was probably $481,954. These figures are very far from discouraging, and there is no reason why they should not be notably increased by judicious management.
8. We reproduce alittle tableof the receipts from customs. It will well repay careful examination.
It will be seen that during the short space of time represented by this table the receipts in customs have more than doubled. By fair dealings with the natives of the interior and by the improvement of roads, this income can be greatly multiplied.
9. It is hardly to be expected, in a population such as that with which we are here dealing, that there should be a large development in postal service. The statistics of the four years, from 1907 to 1910 show us the general movement of postal matter. The total amount is by no means insignificant and a fair growth is evident.
POSTAL STATISTICS
10. The Republic is now in telegraphic connection with the outside world. Gerard tells us that “theGerman-South-American Telegraph Society, with a capital stock of 30,000,000 marks, has recently laid a cable at Monrovia which will place the negro capital hereafter in rapid communication with the civilized world. Up to this time telegraphic messages addressed to Liberia were delivered at Freetown, and there were entrusted to the ordinary postal service, upon the semi-monthly mail-boats conducting business between Sierra Leone and the Grain Coast. Constructed by the North German Marine Cable Factory of Nordenham-am-Weser, the cable, destined to draw the little Guinean Republic from its isolation, starts from Emden, passes under sea to the island Borkum, connects at Teneriffe, in order then to reach Monrovia, from whence it is finally directed to Pernambuco, the terminal point of the line. On the other hand, theSouth American Cable Co.of London, a French society with a French director and supported by French capital, has obtained a concession with a view to the establishment of a submarine cable connecting Conakry (Guinea) with Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), touching at Monrovia, and it is interesting to notice in passing that there has been arranged, in connection with this matter, between Germany and France a friendly relationship permitting the German cable to touch at Brest, allowing the French installation to be accomplished through the German cable, and obliging the two rival companies to have similar tariffs and giving each of them the right of using the apparatus of the other in case of the breaking of its own connection. It is also to the French government that the exclusive right has been given of establishing awireless telegraph stationwhich will connect Monrovia with the Eiffel Tower via Dakar and Casablanca, while posts, constructed at Conakry, Tabou, and Cotonou will give origin to radio-telegraphic connections between Liberia, French Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and Dahomey; the importance of this project, to-day incourse of execution, will escape no one, since one will understand that there is question here of installing the Marconi system in Madagascar and at Timbuctu, and of thus enclosing the whole black continent in a network of rapid communication of which France alone will have control.”
All three of these enterprises have been successfully carried through, and to-day Liberia is in easy connection with every part of the civilized world. It is a notable step forward.
11. Five lines of steamers make regular stops upon the coast of Liberia. Chief of these is the great Woermann Line, of Hamburg. Two regular sailings weekly in both directions touch at Monrovia. Next in importance are the British steamships controlled by Elder Dempster and Co. They have a combination consisting of the African Steamship Co. and the British African Steam-Navigation Co. These boats make two weekly sailings from Liverpool and one monthly sailing from Hamburg. Nor are these the only landings made by these lines at Liberian ports. It is probable that the Woermann Line makes three hundred calls annually, and the Elder Dempster Lines two hundred and fifty, at Liberian ports. A recent arrangement which, if given fair attention, promises a notable development, has been entered into between these two companies, whereby every two months a boat sails from New York to Monrovia and return; The English and German lines alternate in supplying this steamer. Besides these two lines of chief importance, three other lines make stops at Monrovia—theSpanish Trans-Atlantic Co., of Barcelona,Fraissinet and Co., of Marseilles, France, and theBelgian Maritime Co. of Congo, from Antwerp.
12. Considering the dangers of its coast, the light-house service of the Republic is far from satisfactory. The old light-house at Monrovia, for years a disgrace, has been replaced by a more modern apparatus; at Grand Bassa a light-house was erected at the private expense of Mr. S. G. Harmon, a successful Liberianmerchant, now the Vice-President of the Republic; at Cape Palmas a good light-house has been erected, visible at all times to a distance of six miles—this cost about $9000 and was a gift from the French authorities. It is somewhat doubtful whether it was good policy to accept a gift from a neighbor, who has made definite efforts to crowd Liberians out of the Cavalla River, which forms the natural boundary between the Grain Coast (Liberia) and the Ivory Coast (French).
13. The whole west coast of Africa has for centuries depended only on foreign trade. Portuguese, Dutch, French, English, Germans, have all played their part. Most of these nations still have interests in that portion of the world. So far as the Liberian Republic is concerned, representatives of foreign houses have numerous trading-posts upon its coast. The house of A. Woermann has factories at Monrovia, Cape Mount, Bassa, Sinoe, and Cape Palmas. J. W. West (Hamburg) is established at Monrovia, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, and Sinoe. Wiechers and Helm are at Monrovia and Cape Palmas. Wooden and Co. (Liverpool), Patterson and Zachonis (Liverpool), Vietor and Huber, C. F. Wilhelm Jantzen (Hamburg), and the American Trading Co. (established only in 1911), are among those who trade in Liberia.
14. A number of development companies have at different times been formed with the intention of exploiting the black Republic. Many of these have been fraudulent enterprises and have come to nothing; some, started in good faith, have failed; a few—a very few out of many—have developed promisingly. The EnglishLiberian Rubber Corporationhas a farm of 1000 acres with 150,000 rubber-trees already planted; this was begun in 1904 and has now reached the period of yielding; in 1912 it was expected that it would prove a paying proposition.The Liberian Trading Co.(English) are exporting mahogany and other valuable woods. They are opening commercial houses in different parts of the country and seeking concessions from the government to open roads.TheLiberian Development Co.(English) discovered gold and diamonds in 1908 and are now importing heavy machinery to work their mines, together with materials for a railway to them, and have already laid part of the railway; this is probably the company to which my correspondent,already quoted, refers. One of the latest of the development companies is theLiberian-American Produce Co., which was chartered in 1910 by the national legislature with the approval of the president of the Republic for a period of sixty years. It was given large and varied powers, among them being the right to build for itself or for the government, roads, bridges, harbor-improvements, railways, etc.; and the company was granted a concession of a hundred square miles with the privilege of taking up this land in any sized blocks, anywhere in the country by simply filing in the State Department a description of the lands thus taken up. The company has already selected four square miles of land containing mineral deposits, and plans to start active operations in trade, agriculture, and mining.
15. As the subject of the financial outlook of the Republic will come up again for consideration, we are here only completing our descriptive picture of the Republic. She has long been in debt; her resources have been mortgaged; her customs-houses have been in the hands of receivers. She has recently consolidated all her debts, foreign and domestic, and has secured a loan through the kind offices of the United States of $1,700,000. This loan has been guaranteed by the customs-house receipts, and the customs-service is now under the direction of an international receivership.