362 REMARKS ON 



that Nature has bountifully provided the means 

 of employing on their native soil any amount of 

 population she might create. 



The Delta of the Niger alone, if cleared and 

 cultivated, v^^ould support a population in pro- 

 portion to its area far exceeding anything known 

 in Europe. Its square surface is equal to the 

 whole of Ireland ; it is intersected in all direc- 

 tions by navigable branches of the parent stream, 

 forming so many natural channels for communi- 

 cation ; it is altogether composed of the richest 

 alluvial soil, which now teems with a rank and 

 luxurious vegetation, comprising all the varieties 

 of the palm-tree, besides teak-wood, cedar, ebony, 

 mahogany, and dye-woods ; the sugar-cane grows 

 wild in the bush, and the palm-nut rots upon 

 the ground unheeded and neglected. The popu- 

 lation of this Delta I should consider does not 

 exceed half a million. 



Proceeding up the river, similar insecurity of 

 life and property is visible ; the same bountiful 

 Nature proffering her gifts, and the devilish spirit 

 of the slave-trade preventing their acceptance ; 

 the mighty stream rolling along, bearing on its 

 bosom, not the tribute of legitimate commerce, 

 but the unhappy victims of European cupidity ; 



