316 Proceedings of Societies. 
of Africans knew that, when they enjoyed advantages, they were capable 
of making good use of them. He might refer to the instance of the little 
girl brought to this country by Captain Forbes. This child was pre- 
sented to the Queen, who had her carefully educated. When she grew 
up, she mingled in good society, and interested every one by her pro- 
ficiency in music, and recently she had been married to a commercial 
gentleman of colour at Lagos. Another case was mentioned by Mr 
Chambers in one of his works, and another case was that of Mr Crowther, 
who was well-known to many gentlemen in this country. One word 
with reference to the ancient Britons. When Julius Cesar came to this 
country, he said of the natives that they were such stupid people that 
they were not fit to make slaves of in Rome. It had taken a long time 
to make Englishmen what they now were, and therefore it was not 
wonderful if the negroes made slow progress in intellectual development. 
It was, however, proved that they made very rapid progress when placed 
in advantageous circumstances. He pointed to Hayti as furnishing an 
instance of independence of character and intellectual power on the part 
of the Negro; and contended that in America tne degraded position which 
he was forced to occupy gave him no chance of proving what he really 
was capable of doing. He was sorry that scientific and learned men 
should waste their time in discussing a subject that could prove of no 
benefit to mankind. He spoke with great deference to their opinions, 
but, for his own part, firmly agreed with Cowper, that 
Fleecy locks and black complexion 
Cannot alter nature’s claim; 
Skins may differ, but affection 
Dwells in white and black the same. 
Professor Witson claimed for the author of the paper and those gentle- 
men who supported him, the credit of being influenced by a desire to 
search out facts which could throw light on the important subject under 
discussion. At the same time he differed considerably from them in 
some of their conclusions. It was very important to have sufficient data 
before forming a theory, and he thought that Sir Charles Lyell and others, 
who contended that the intellectual progress of the Negro stopped at the 
age of fourteen, had fallen into the error which a person would who went 
into a workhouse among the most degraded and wretched of its occupants 
to find intellectual culture and capacity. The fact was that very few, if 
any, black children had any opportunity of pursuing their education after 
the age of fourteen; and in addition to that drawback, they had the mis- 
fortune to belong to a degraded and oppressed class, which was crushed 
and held down in the social world. The wonder was, that any of these 
unfortunate people had energy enough to make their escape and to acquire 
knowledge sufficient to enable them to carve a way for themselves through 
life, as not many of them did. The English character was made up of 
many elements, but a few hundred years ago the inhabitants of this 
island were cruel, unlettered, barbarous people. When put under good 
training and subjected to certain influences, the Anglo-Saxon proved 
capable of remarkable development, owing chiefly to the native energy 
of his character. ‘The same quality was observable in some tribes of the 
present day, such as the New Zealander ; and it was not wise, therefore, 
to argue as though the absence of combination denoted a natural and 
primary inferiority of race. 
“On the Indian Tribes of Vancouver’s Island.”’ By Captain Eustace 
W. Jacop. 
