-^ Governors of Liberia 



the American colonists in the Grand Basa district. A treaty 

 with this chief was concluded on April 5th, 1845, which 

 definitely established Liberian authority over the coast between 

 Marshall (Junk River) and the Grand Basa settlements. Later 

 on in 1845, I^oberts further strengthened the rights of the 

 colony over the Sino and Kru coast, and the prestige conferred 

 on him by the visit of the American squadron to some extent 



tounteracted the shock to the Liberian influence over the 

 latives by an unexpected protest from Sierra Leone against 

 he assertion of sovereign rights. 

 The British merchants were told by the authorities at Sierra 

 ^eone that the Liberian Administration had no right to levy 

 Customs duties anywhere on the Liberian coast, and they were 

 ■ therefore guaranteed against acts of aggression on the part of 

 the unrecognised Government of that country. The first test 

 case was the attempt of the Liberians at Basa Cove to charge 

 harbour and import dues on a British trader settled there who 

 was known as Captain Dring. A naval officer of the West 

 African Squadron, Commander Jones, was sent from Sierra 

 Leone to Monrovia with a letter from the British Government, 

 in which Governor Roberts was plainly told that Great Britain 

 could not recognise the right of " private persons " to con- 

 stitute themselves a Government, and amongst other acts of 

 sovereignty to levy Customs duties. The Liberians later on, 

 in 1845, having seized in the anchorage of Basa a ship known 

 as the Little Ben (belonging to a Captain Davidson of Sierra 

 Leone) for non-payment of harbour dues. Commander Jones 

 arrived on an English gunboat, and sent an armed cutter into 

 the anchorage of Grand Basa, which there seized a vessel, the 

 John SeyeSj belonging to Benson, a Liberian subject. The 

 reason of this action was alleged to be the desire to possess 

 an equivalent for the indemnification of Dring and Davidson; 

 VOL. 1 193 13 



