began to give it up for lost. It is but a few days ago (the 22d instant) that these fears have been removed, by the arrival of one of the settlers, with letters from the Governor and several other persons in the settlement.

"The messenger was sent on purpose with these letters, and had no other means of coming hither than by going in a slave-ship round by the West Indies. By these letters I find, that, contrary to my fears, their enemies have not dared to meddle with the settlers, and that they are very well united, and had punished two different captains of slave-ships for ill behaviour, by fine and imprisonment, which occasioned the late combination against them. But their numbers did not exceed one hundred and twenty people, men, women, and children, altogether. However, I am informed, that since those letters were written, some more of the settlers, who had been dispersed in the neighbourhood, were returned, and that they are in all about two hundred people.

"All the White people whom I sent out last year, to assist in supporting the settlement, have been wicked enough to go into the service of the Slave Trade at the neighbouring factories, having been enticed away, I suppose, by high wages; but the people who remained in the settlement have carefully adhered to their promise, not to permit the iniquity of slave-dealing in the Province of Freedom; so that, though they have not kept up strictly to other Regulations which I proposed for them, yet, in this most essential point, they deserve commendation. I shall send you, by the first ship, copies of the Regulations which I wished to establish there.

"As the settlement has been lately re-purchased of King Naimbanna, the settlers, I think, must now submit to receive and accommodate all new comers with equal lots of land, gratis, until they amount at least to six hundred householders, notwithstanding the limitation of time in the Regulations; so that I hope I may venture to assert, that whatever people from America will engage to submit to the terms of the Regulations, and the English Government, (which must be perfectly free, whilst frank-pledge and a universal militia are maintained), will be admitted to free lots, even if they amount to more than double that number, provided that they go all at one time, and show this letter, or a copy of it, to the Governor and Assembly of Settlers in the Province of Freedom.

"In addition to the accounts which I had before received, the settlers, who brought me the last letters, inform me that the land is very good, and the neighbouring Natives very civil; and that King Naimbanna, a very reverend old man, whose town is just beyond the borders of the settlement,

is particularly kind to them. These accounts are corroborated by three other settlers, who have been here some time, and are all very anxious to get back again as soon as they can. But I am sorry to inform you, that all my expense and endeavours to procure a live stock of cattle, have been rendered abortive by the imprudence of the Captain with whom I contracted to procure it; for, instead of delivering the cattle at the settlement, as he ought to have done, he only gave goods to the value of a certain number of cattle, and obtained a certificate from the settlers that they had received the value of so much cattle, though they have no means of transporting any to the settlement; and, therefore, if any people are sent from America, it will be right to make some little reserve of goods, or dollars, to purchase a few lean, breeding cattle on the African coast, for their live stock, as they will very soon increase, because there is plenty of grass, and cattle thrive exceedingly well in most parts of the African coast, where any attention is paid to them.

"I am, with sincere esteem and respect, Rev. Sir," &c. &c.

The fresh instances of base conduct in those who deserted the cause of his benevolent undertaking, and resorted to the infamous traffic of the slave-dealers, made a deep impression on Mr. Sharp's mind.

G. S., in reply, to the worthy Inhabitants of Granville Town*, in the Province of Freedom, Sierra Leone.

"Dear Friends,

"11th November, 1789. "On the 23d July last I received, by the hands of Thomas Malady, letters from your chief magistrate, Mr. Lucas, and a letter from Mrs. Lucas in the name of the ladies of Sierra Leone; and also letters from Messrs. James Reid, John Cambridge, and John Homan; to all of whom I request you to return my thanks.

"It gives me great concern to find, by these letters, that Mr. Facitus, Captain Estwick, and Mr. Collins, have deserted, the Province of Freedom, in order to enter into the Slave Trade. By the laws of the settlement, they have forfeited, of course, every right and claim they had to any share in it; and I

* It appears by this address, that the name of Granville Town had been given to the first settlement, as well as to that which was afterwards formed with the assistance of Mr. Falconbridge.

hope you will be careful that none of them be ever permitted to return, without a very earnest acknowledgment of repentance.

"After having, with indefatigable labour, for above twenty-two years, and at a great expense, asserted and maintained the glorious principles and foundations of the English Law (and having thereby, through the blessing and providence of God, prevented slavery from taking root in England)-and after having also obtained from Government a tacit permission to plant the same noble privileges even in Africa itself, that the new settlement might be truly deemed a Province of Freedom;-after such a series of labour and expense, as well as of providential success, (the occasion obliges me to repeat it), your sincere Friend, who hopes for your happy and profitable establishment, must necessarily be exceedingly jealous of any deviation from the law of natural right and justice in the Province of Freedom, as men have no right, without these, even to hope for God's blessing. Let me, therefore, exhort you to preserve exact discipline in your militia, and a regular rotation of watch and guard service, that you may be able to arrest and punish every refractory member of your community; and that you hold frequent courts, to assert the laws of common right and justice, and more especially against every person who shall have presumed to sell a slave on shore within the bounds of the settlement, or to retain any person as such therein. Nevertheless, be courteous and kind to all strangers that come to the settlement, even though you know them to be slave-dealers or slave-holders, provided they do not offend your laws during their stay. What is done beyond your boundaries you cannot help or prevent, except the offenders belong to your community; neither must you interfere with others in the least, except by kind and friendly warnings of God's impending vengeance against oppressors; and this only when you have any fair opportunities of mentioning the subject, without giving personal offence. But with respect to your late members, Messrs. Tacitus, Estwick, and Collins, and more especially Mr. Henry Demane (who, I am informed, is now a great man on the Bulam shore, and a dealer in Slaves!), warn them, from me, of the horrors and remorse which must one day seize those authors and abettors of oppression who do not save themselves by a timely repentance. Remind Mr. Henry Demane of his own feelings under the horrors of slavery, when he turned his face to the mast of the ship (into which he was trepanned by his wicked master), and formed a resolution, as he afterwards confessed, to jump overboard that very night, rather than submit to a temporary slavery for life; but he is now in danger of eternal slavery! Remind him, also, of the joy he felt when he saw two men, sent

with a writ of Habeas Corpus, so exactly in time (most providentially) to rescue him, that a single minute later (as the anchor was up, and the ship under weigh from her last station, the Downs) must have rendered his recovery impossible! Tell him I have ample reason to be convinced that his escape was by a real interposition of God's providence, because I once before saved another Negro man (many years ago) from on board a ship also in the Downs, under the same critical circumstances, the anchor being up, and the ship ready to sail..... Many other Negroes also I have saved, under such alarming circumstances of danger, that my poor weak endeavours could not warrant even the least hope of success, which must therefore be attributed to the Divine mercy alone; for it would be blind folly, indeed, to suppose that such a succession of improbable facts should be the effect only of accident or chance! Tell him, and also Messrs. Tacitus, Estwick, and Collins, when you have opportunity of seeing them, that the practices of slave-dealing and slave-holding are inimical to the whole species of man, by subverting charity, equity, and every social and virtuous principle, on which the peace and happiness of mankind depend; so that they may fairly be deemed unnatural crimes, and ought to be ranked with the horrible unnatural depravity of man devouring man. We have the highest authority for this estimation, because the practices of oppressors were actually compared in holy Scripture to the cruel rage of cannibals, who pluck off their skins from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones and chop them in pieces as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron.' (Micah iii. 3.)

"I will use my best endeavour to recover the six men that were carried off by Captain W, as well as to punish the captain for the outrage. However, I hope you will in future be more careful not to interfere in the least with any matter beyond the bounds of your territory; and be sure to maintain a friendly communication with all the neighbouring factories, and more especially with those that are most near, as the King of Rohanna's people, Bance Island, &c.; and avoid all disputes with masters of ships, about the fees for anchorage and watering...... I have no authority to interfere, but am only anxious that you may avoid disputes, and submit to lose your right in this matter, rather than contend for it, if it be refused. It is a point of public consequence, which Government will probably take into consideration in due time.-James Crane and George Stephenson, who, with two others of your settlers (Banks and Chilcot), were clandestinely carried off by Captain Campbell, and narrowly escaped being sold

by him at Martinico, are now here, with their wives, and hope to find an opportunity soon of returning: at present they are supported at my expense. Chilcot, who was also on my list, has behaved very ill, so that I think it would be dangerous to the welfare of the settlement to permit so desperate a man to return to the Province of Freedom; where, if your Public Assembly acts consistently with duty, men must be free from vice as well as slavery. Be pleased to acquaint Mrs. Lucas, and the ladies of the settlement, that I have made earnest inquiry after the Rev. Mr. Fraser, and have not yet been able to find where he is; but as soon as I do, I will take care to procure a proper register of all the marriages.

"I had great disappointment by Captain Taylor's not fulfilling his contract for supplying live cattle, and still more by your giving him a certificate of your having received from him goods to the value of forty-seven bullocks, for which I thought myself obliged to pay him. Government has reimbursed the money, and paid me also for the presents made to King Naimbanna for the re-purchase of the land, according to your certificate; and I have deducted from these allowances of Government the 2007. which I before received to procure cattle, and received only the balance. Thus you have lost the opportunity of having cattle, by your imprudence in giving a certificate of having received goods instead of cattle.

"I am exerting myself as much as possible, to engage several respectable merchants and gentlemen to form a Company, in order to carry on an honourable trade with the coast of Africa; and I have at last great hopes of success.

"With sincere wishes and prayers for your welfare and happiness, your affectionate friend," &c. &c.

In conformity with the statement at the conclusion of this letter, Mr. Sharp, in the beginning of the following year (1790), printed a public notice of his proposal for the formation of the intended Company (of St. George's Bay), in a short Account of the "Free English Territory in Africa;" giving a description of the district purchased by the English Government, and its natural advantages, and also of the nature of the purchase, " by which," he says, "all the free customs and rights of the English Common Law must of course immediately take place there, and become (as in England) the most valuable inheritance of the free settlers." But "the present settlers"