Chap. XXIX. CHRISTIANS AND MOHAMMEDANS. 603 



making it he rather intended to shock the prejudices of 

 those whom he thought weak-minded than to state a fact. 

 The quotation of this statement in an English periodical 

 led us to make a few inquiries, the results of which we give 

 with satisfaction, because wherever Christianity spreads it 

 makes men better. 



By the Government census of 1861 the population of Sierra 

 Leone was 41,000 souls. Of the entire population 27,000 were 

 Christians. The Mohammedans numbered altogether 1734 

 souls, which does not seem a very large proportion for the 

 sect which "alone makes proselytes." In 1854 the 12,000 

 Christians in the Colony belonging to the Church of England 

 took the entire cost of the schools, £800 per annum, upon 

 themselves. We are not aware at what stage of the growth 

 of the native churches on the West Coast the wish to support 

 and spread the religion they had received became apparent ; 

 but in 1861 the contributions to the Church Missionary So- 

 ciety for this purpose among these African Christians had 

 amounted to £10,000. These facts show pretty conclusively 

 that they have an earnest desire to communicate the bless- 

 ings they have received to their children and to others. 



No attempt has been made to collect information from 

 all the African Missions, but from the replies of un- 

 impeachable witnesses it appears that the contributions 

 from negroes in the West Indies, and in West and South 

 Africa, for the support and spread of the Christian Faith, 

 amount to upwards of £15,000 annually. We therefore 

 repeat, that while in exceptional cases Mohammedans have 

 propagated their religion, and at the same time gratified 

 their lust of plunder or selfishness, the rule is, that native 

 Christians make sacrifices of their property to spread Chris- 

 tianity, though always instructed that they never thereby 

 purchase their own salvation. 



Having failed to find the grounds on which the spread of 

 Mohammedanism is asserted as a fact, we cannot help associat- 



