Africa has been partitioned among the nations. The little kingdom of Abyssinia, in the north, and the Republic of Liberia, upon the west coast, are all of the continent that remain in the hands of Africans. Liberia alone is in the hands of negroes. Will it remain so, or is it destined to disappear? Is it a failure? The reports which have so frequently been printed in books of travel and elementary treatises of ethnology appear almost unanimous in the assertion that it is. Yet there are those who believe that the Black Republic is far indeed from being a failure. We are not willing to admit that its history and conditions warrant the assumption that the black man is incapable of conducting an independent government. A successful Liberia would be a star of hope to the Dark Continent. In Liberian success there lies African Redemption; redemption, not only in the religious sense, but redemption economic, social, governmental. If the black men can stand alone in Liberia, he can stand alone elsewhere; if the negro is able to organize and maintain a government on the west coast, he can do the same on the east coast, and in the southern part of Africa. Africa is restless under the white man; it makes no difference whether the ruler be Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Belgian, or English, the native is dissatisfied under the present regime. It is recognized that a spark may cause a conflagration through negro Africa. On the other hand, the colonial burden of the European governments grows heavy; the trade advantages of holding Africa might be equally gained without the expense and trouble of administration; it is mutual jealousy, not great success, which holds the European powers in Africa. Were each convinced that withdrawal would not give advantage to other powers, that abdication would not be recognized as weakness, that free trade with black men might not result in individual national advantage, they would be quite ready to withdraw from the Dark Continent. In every colony the native is advancing; education becomes more general; it must continue to diffuse itself, and with diffusion of knowledge among the natives, restlessness will be increased; the colonial burden will become heavier,—not lighter. If Liberia prospers, it will stand as an example of what black men can do to all the other negro populations of the continent; its example would stimulate advance for all; the sight of enterprises originating with negroes and carried out by them would give heart and stimulus to negroes everywhere. This does not mean that all the European colonies should necessarily become republics; far from it. Nor would it mean, unless the home governments were blind and ignorant, a necessary severance between the mother country and its colonies; it would, however, lead to a great measure of home rule and to a large development of self-government. Wauwermans, years ago, recognized the powerful influence which a successful Liberia must needs exert. He says: “From this little state, the size of Belgium, whose population does not surpass, including the natives, a fifth part of the population of our country, will go forth perhaps some day the best imaginable missionaries to extend over the Black Continent the benefits of civilization and to found the free United States of Africa, sufficiently powerful to defy the covetousness of white men and to make justice reign, so far as it can reign among men.”

One of the most thoughtful writers regarding the Republic is Delafosse who, for a time, was French Consul at Monrovia. He has written upon Liberia on various occasions, and what he says always deserves consideration. On the whole he is not a hostile critic, having a rather friendly feeling toward Liberians and being deeply interested in the Republic. We translate some passages from his writings, as his point of view is original. He says: “If one consider the Liberians superficially—civilized, clad, knowing how to read and write, living in relatively comfortable houses,—one will probably find them superior to the natives. Actually, they are rather inferior to them, as well from the moral point of view as from the point of view of general well-being.”

Further on he says: “First, along the coast and in the east, we see the Krumen, a race of workers, energetic, proud, and fighters, but honest, rejoicing in a fine physical and moral health, jealous of the virtue of their women, of a most careful cleanliness. What a contrast do they make by the side of the idle and nonchalant Liberians, expecting everything from the State, subject to every kind of congenital disease, and in particular to tuberculosis, never washing themselves, nourishing themselves with food which a native slave would not accept, decimated by a considerable mortality, having generally very few children, of whom, moreover, the greater part are born scrawny, weak, devoted beforehand to an early death!

If we cast our eyes upon the natives of the west and north, the Vai and other tribes of the Mandingo race, it is a different grade of comparison which offers itself to us, but always to the disadvantage of the Liberians. These natives, half islamized, have, much more than the Liberians, the sentiment of human dignity, and their costume, fitted to the climate and the race, far from rendering them ridiculous, as the European does the Liberians, is not devoid of a certain Æsthetic character. They have, the Vai and the Manienka, above all, a superior intelligence of commercial affairs. The Vai have even a self-civilization which makes this little tribe one of the most interesting peoples of Africa; alone, of all the negroes known, they possess an alphabet suited to the writing of their language, and this alphabet, which they have completely invented themselves, has no relationship with any other known alphabet. A Vai native named Momolu Massaquoi has just established at Ghendimah, not far from the Anglo-Liberian boundary, a sort of model village, and in this village, a school where he proposes to teach the language and the literature of his country. I do not know what is the result of this attempt, but it seems to me interesting, being an attempt purely indigenous in character toward perfectment, attempted alongside of the effort toward perfectionment by adaptation of European civilization which has so badly succeeded in Liberia.”

Again, after having given an attractive description of the first impression made upon the stranger by Liberia and its inhabitants, our author proceeds to say: “Now, the spectacle which offers itself to the eyes of the visitor is less beautiful. It is the spectacle of a nation in decadence. And this fact of a nation not yet a century old which, starting from nothing, raised itself in twenty years to its apogee, and has commenced, at the end of barely sixty years, to fall into decay, this fact, I say, deserves that one should pause, for at first sight it is not natural. And it can only find its explanation in the theory which I attempt to develop here, to wit: That the negroes in general, and the Liberians in particular, are eminently susceptible of perfectionment and progress, but that this perfectionment and this progress are destined to a sudden check, and even to a prompt decadence, if one has sought to orient them in the direction of our European civilization.

I have said that the spectacle which offers itself today to the eyes of the visitor is that of a nation in decadence. In fact, the beautiful broad streets cut at the beginning still exist, but they are invaded by vegetation and guttered by deep gullies which the rains have cut and which one does not trouble to fill up; the enclosing walls about the different properties are half destroyed, without any one’s seeking to repair them; a mass of houses in ruin take away from the smiling and attractive aspect of the city; even houses in process of construction are in ruins; a superb college building erected at great expense upon the summit of the cape, is abandoned, and one permits it to be invaded by the forest and weathered by the rain; the stairway which leads to the upper story of Representatives’ Hall, having crumbled, has never been reconstructed, and a sort of provisional flight of steps has been for years back the only means of access which permits the cabinet officers to enter their offices; the landings waste away stone by stone, and it is difficult to draw boats up to them; the shops where one formerly constructed vessels and landing-boats, have disappeared; roads, from lack of care, have almost everywhere become native trails again; the plantations of sugar-cane and ginger are matters of ancient history, and fields, which formerly were well cultivated, have returned to the state of virgin forest; coffee plantations have run wild, choked by the rank vegetation of the tropics. The level of instruction has lowered, the new generations receive only an education of primary grade; of the University of Monrovia there remains only the name and some mortarboard caps which one at times sees upon the heads of professors and candidates.

All, however, is not dead in the Republic. There is yet a nucleus of Liberians of the ancient time, remarkably instructed and civilized, excellent orators, fine conversationalists, writers of talent. There are also among the young people some choice minds, who desire to elevate the intellectual and moral level of their country and who seek to do so by published articles, by lectures, by literary clubs, and by new schools.”

There is much food for thought in these statements of Delafosse. Some of his arraignment is true; on the whole, it is less true to-day than when he wrote. There was a period when the Liberians were quite discouraged and things were neglected. Much of this neglect still exists. It would be possible to-day to find houses falling to ruins, crumbling walls, guttered streets, unsatisfactory landing-places. But a new energy is rising; the effects of efforts put forth by the nucleus which Delafosse himself recognizes as existing in Liberia are being felt; contact with the outside world with its stimulus, sympathies, and friendships, warrants the hope that the future Liberia will surpass the past. We make no attempt to answer Delafosse in detail; in the body of our book most of the questions raised by his remarks are discussed with some fullness.

In this book we attempt to represent the negro republic as it is—Description, History, Problems. We have desired to paint a just picture; some may think it too favorable; to such we would say that, when there have been so many unfair, unjust, and biased statements, it is necessary that some one should say things that are favorable, so that they be true. We have no right to demand more from Liberia than we would expect from any white colony with everything in its favor; yet that is precisely what everybody does. We demand perfection. We forget that perfection is not yet attained in any country, among people of any color. It is unreasonable to demand it in a small African republic of black men. There is no fairness even in comparing Liberia with English and French colonies like Sierra Leone and Senegal. They have had much done for them. The financial resources, the trained forces, the wise judgment of rich and powerful nations have aided them. Liberia has worked alone, blindly, in poverty.

While to some we may seem to paint an unduly favorable picture, it is probable that Liberians will claim that we have dragged some things to light which should be left unmentioned. We have mentioned many of the weaknesses of Liberia and her people. This has been done for several reasons. It is a good thing to “see ourselves as others see us”; the weak points of Liberia are always emphasized by critics, they can not well be ignored by friends. If we are to improve, we must clearly realize the opportunity and necessity for improvement. The worst things, after all, about Liberia are largely inherent in its form of government, or are due to the descent of the Americo-Liberians from American slaves. They must fight against these inherent dangers and tendencies of democratic government and against the disadvantages of American inheritance, as we do.

From time to time, in reading, we have gathered a considerable number of quotations from Liberians, past and present, which seem to us of special interest and pertinence. These we have prefaced to the chapters and sub-divisions of our book. They are all expressions of black men regarding their home and problems. Some of them are eloquent, all of them are sensible. Thoughtful Liberians have never been blind to national dangers, national weaknesses, national problems.

The materials which we present have been culled from many sources; the book contains little that is absolutely new. For its preparation we have read double the literature which has been found mentioned in bibliographies and in books treating of Liberia. We have made constant use of Johnston, Wauwermans, Delafosse, Jore, and Stockwell. As the book is meant for general reading, we have made no precise references. This is not due to neglect of writers and sources, but is in the nature of our treatment. We present no bibliography; it would be easy to fill pages with the titles of books and articles, dealing with Liberia, but such a list would be mere pedantry here, especially as four-fifths of the works named would be absolutely inaccessible even to students with the best library equipment at their disposition. The author has made a considerable collection of pamphlets printed in Liberia, by Liberian authors, dealing with Liberian matters. A list of these almost unknown prints would have real interest for the special student of Liberian affairs and for professional librarians; such a list may perhaps be printed later, in separate form.

Thanks are due to so many friends and helpers that it is impossible to make individual acknowledgment. We were treated with great courtesy, while in Liberia; from President Howard in the Executive Mansion to the school children upon the village streets, every one was kind. It was generally recognized that the author was a white visitor to the Republic without a personal axe to grind. He represented no government, no commission, no institution, was seeking no concession, had no mission—a rara avis truly. While it would be impossible to name all from whom kindness and courtesy were received—for that would be an enumeration of all we met—we may perhaps mention as particularly kind Ex-President Barclay, F. E. R. Johnson, T. McCants Stewart, C. B. Dunbar, Bishop Ferguson and Vice-President Harmon. To Major Charles Young, military attachÉ to the American Legation, we are under greater obligations than we can mention. Campbell Marvin was our companion and helper throughout our visit to the Republic, and gave us faithful aid in every way. We dedicate the book to William N. Selig, of Chicago, whose kindness and interest made the expedition possible.

The book is written in the hope of arousing some interest in Liberia and its people and of kindling sympathy with them in the effort they are making to solve their problems. For Liberia is the hope of the Dark Continent. Through her, perhaps, African Redemption is to come.