3 
tlie troops of the king make continual incursions into their 
territories to procure slaves, and that he prevents them from 
trading with the European establishments on the coast. The 
king of Dahomey closes all the routes in order to prevent these 
peoples from obtaining any other arms than the primitive 
ones which they use at present, viz., the lance and the arrow, 
thus enabling him to preserve the advantages he possesses 
over them in consequence of the supply of fire-arms which he 
can command. M. Gerard pointed out that arms and ammuni- 
tion might be distributed among these peoples by two channels 
over which the king of Dahomey has no command. With 
these arms we might introduce men to instruct and direct the 
natives. This done, the interests of the people of Dahomey 
would have to be separated from the interests of the dynasty, 
by means of agents recruited in the country, and thus the 
axe would be laid to the very root of this dynasty. Then 
the abominations which have made us groan with horror will 
be succeeded by a natural state of things ; the labours of peace 
will take the place of war, carnage and fire ; and Europe, as 
well as Africa, will profit by the happy change. In the journey 
of exploration which he is going to undertake, M. Gerard 
proposes to study on the spot this great question, in the solution 
of which he will be happy to participate actively. His point 
of departure will be Sierra Leone, or some other English 
possession a little further to the west. He will endeavour 
first to discover the sources of the Niger , which are still 
unknown. Afterwards he will visit the peoples who dwell 
at the northern extremity of the republic of Liberia and the 
country of Dahomey. He will then return towards the upper 
basin of the great river, where, according to the information 
he has obtained, he expects to find a vast agricultural 
country in which the natives produce cotton and indigo ; 
and in which he hopes that an establishment may be founded 
for encouraging the growth of these productions, and extend- 
ing commercial relations with Europe. After having studied 
