-•> President Roberts 



Roberts on his return proceeded to come to terms with the 

 chiefs of Mattru, Gumbo, Kasa, Gallinhas, Manna, and Manna 

 Rock, though the actual purchase of these territories was not 

 entirely finished until the year 1856. 



It is curious to notice (as will be seen in a subsequent 

 chapter) that though a British philanthropist raised the funds 

 for the purchase of these north-western territories of Liberia, 

 it was the British Government that took them away from the 

 republic and added them to the colony of Sierra Leone, with 

 scant compensation and no show of right whatever. 



Queen Victoria gave the most kindly reception to President 

 Roberts, and The Illustrated London News of April, 1848, 

 contains an illustration of the reception by the Queen of the 

 African President on board the Royal yacht, whereon he was 

 accorded a salute of seventeen guns. When Roberts and his 

 family were ready to return they were sent back to Liberia on the 

 British warship Ama-zon^ and the Queen from her yacht signalled 

 to the President, " I wish you God-speed on your voyage." 

 The British Admiralty made a present to Roberts at this time 

 of a vessel called the Lark for transport purposes on the 

 Liberian coast, and a small sloop of four guns, the Q^uaily 

 as a revenue cutter, to assist in suppressing smuggling and 

 the slave trade. 



Roberts returned to Liberia, delighted above all with his 

 reception in England, and also gratified at the kindliness with 

 which other foreign courts had received him, and the readiness 

 which they showed to recognise this Liberian Republic. Indeed, 

 soon after his return to Monrovia France sent a gunboat, the 

 Penelope, to salute at Monrovia with twenty-one guns the flag 

 of the Liberian Republic. The American corvette Torktown 

 and the English gun-vessel Kingfisher also visited Liberia in 

 the early part of 1849 '^^^ assisted Roberts in a final attack 



227 



