-•i Recent History 



had done, and agreed to pay an indemnity, why should she 

 be in addition deprived of territories for the law and order 

 of which she was held responsible, and which were hers by 

 acts of purchase admitted by the British Government ? The 

 Liberian Senate, again summoned, persisted in refusing to 

 ratify the treaty. In March, 1883, the Colonial Government 

 of Sierra Leone took possession on behalf of the British 

 Government of the territories between Sherbro and the Mano 

 River, lands which from first to last, in original purchase 

 money, in special missions of negotiation to England, military 

 expeditions to punish the natives for attacking English factories, 

 indemnities due for such attacks, and in the expenses of three 

 frontier commissions had cost Liberia in all ^20,000. 



President Gardner was so much upset over the forcible 

 ■annexation of this north-western strip of the Liberian coast 

 that he resigned office before his Presidency terminated.^ 

 According to constitutional usage, he was succeeded for the 

 rest of the term by the Vice-President, A. F. Russell. On 

 January ist, 1884, Hilary Richard Wright Johnson" (who 

 had been elected in the previous May) was installed as President, 

 and at once commenced negotiations in London to regularise 

 the action taken by the British Government in 1883. These 

 negotiations finally resulted in the treaty of November iith, 

 1885, which was subsequently ratified by both Governments. 

 By this the boundary of Liberia on the west commences at the 

 mouth of the River Mano.^ Its continuation in the interior in 



• January 20th, 1883 He never recovered from the mortification caused by 

 Governor Havelock's actions and died early in 1885. 



^ Johnson, a mulatto, viras a man of very distinguished attainments, who had 

 served as professor at Liberia College, had been a Liberian diplomatist and 

 Secretary of State. He was the first President born in Liberia (1837) and was 

 the son of the gallant pioneer, Elijah Johnson. 



=* Spelt Mannah in all the documents of an earlier date, but now known as 

 the Mano, 



279 



