I 



Frontier Questions 



River Mano. Soon after his establishment, however, he was 

 reminded of the Liberian political rights. His presence was 

 the more obnoxious because it was suspected, not without some 

 probability, that he was carrying on a disguised trade in slaves. 

 In consequence of his refusing to acknowledge in any way 

 Liberian authority, President Benson sent a coastguard boat 

 in the employ of the Liberian Customs to seize two schooners 

 kbelonging to Harris. Actually the seizure of these schooners 

 [for the infringement of Customs regulations) took place be- 

 tween Cape Mount and Mano Point, consequently within limits 

 ilways recognised as Liberian since 1847. Nevertheless, acting 

 )n orders issued from Sierra Leone, a British gunboat, the 

 yrorch, appeared suddenly at Monrovia, and took away by 

 , force the two schooners belonging to Harris. Liberia being too 

 feeble to resist, was obliged to submit to this display of force. 



In 1862 President Benson decided to visit the Governor 

 of Sierra Leone on his way to England, in the hope that by 

 friendly negotiation he might arrive at a definition of the 

 boundary between Sierra Leone and Liberia, which should 

 leave no room for a no-man's-land — a boundary within which 

 Liberia might exercise her sovereign rights. At Sierra Leone, 

 of course, though civilly received, he was referred to London 

 for a decision. Soon after his arrival in London, Earl Russell 

 addressed a dispatch to him according to which the British 

 Government recognised the political rights of Liberia be- 

 ginning on the coast east of Turner's Peninsula, somewhat 

 vaguely known as Mattru.^ Thence eastwards Great Britain 

 recognised the whole coast as being under Liberian jurisdiction 

 as far as the River San Pedro.^ 



^ Mattru seems to have been in the Gumbo country, between the Rivers Sevva 

 and Mongrao. 



^ About sixty miles east of the Cavalla. 



243 



