70 THE PALMS OF EUROPE AKD APRICA. 



remember that civilization is best and most 

 securely based upon Christianity, and that the 

 introduction of the gospel among those savage 

 nations is the most effectual means of advancing 

 their temporal condition — of abolishing; the 

 hellish traffic -which has so long flourished 

 among them — and of promoting the legitimate 

 ends of commerce, as well as of advancing their 

 best and highest interests. The palm oil trade 

 has, however, some disadvantages in competing 

 with the slave trade. One of these is the 

 fatal character of the malaria which rises from 

 the low lands that bound most of that part of 

 the African coast where the palm grows, es- 

 pecially the delta of the Niger. The sad result 

 of the Niger expedition shows that we cannot 

 hope to contend against this fearful scourge, to 

 which Europeans appear especially liable. The 

 natives seem to be less susceptible of its in- 

 fluence, so that by the selection of the more 

 healthy ports, aided liy native co-operation, 

 this difficulty may be overcome in time. The 

 palm oil trade is actively engaged in at some 

 l>lacos, as at Eboe, on the Niger, governed by 

 king Obie, who boasts that he is the greatest 

 of the palm oil kings. Eboe is believed to 

 contain fifty or sixty thousand inhabitants, 

 who are the most enterprising and industrious 



