OUR COMMERCE WITH AFRICA. 393 



would be administered without the bias that in- 

 sensibly is acquired by the residence of the ad- 

 ministrator in a narrow and confined colonial 

 circle : complaints and. disputes would be re- 

 dressed and settled ; the health of the governor, 

 judges, and other officers connected with the 

 government, would be preserved by the voyage, 

 and their energies and usefulness remain un- 

 impaired. 



As our commerce extends along the whole line 

 of coast, it is evident that the governor's pe- 

 riodical visits would have the effect of making it 

 more secure, giving both to the European and 

 African an impartial tribunal to which they 

 could appeal in case of dispute or aggression 

 from either side ; — and, to our shame it must be 

 said, the African is generally the party that re- 

 quires protection. 



In May the stations in the interior might b© 

 visited, the vessel returning in July, and the 

 coast again in August and September. I am 

 sure that any unprejudiced person, acquainted 

 with the character of the Africans, will allow 

 that such a course would do more to give confi- 

 dence to the natives than any that has hitherto 

 been followed, and that it would also insure 



