that, in the island of St. Domingo only, 2,500,000 people (reckoning the million of original natives destroyed by the Spaniards) have been sacrificed to supply Europeans with sugar and coffee. He adds: Were an estimate to be made for the other European colonies, in order to find the sum total of men which America has cost Africa, we should obtain a result that I should not dare to give, lest it should be deemed exaggera

tion !'

Section I., after the Avant-propos and Introduction, is intitled Productions; and here the author remarks that

In this country (Congo) we find a variety of soil, but in general it is atony, close, and heavy. Neither sand nor light earth is to be discovered. The cantons that are cleared by the natives, and those which are cultivated near our factories, evince the fertility of the land, which is alternately red and black, but mostly red. Every where, the soil appeared loaded with the spoils of the vegetable king. dom; but I no where observed it enriched at the expence of the animal kingdom: no remnants of shells nor petrifactions were to be seen; yet they may, nevertheless, exist.. I have run over a great extent of country on this coast, without meeting lava, or any thing that indicates the former existence of a volcano."

The climate, as well as the country, in M. DEGRANDPRÉ'S representation, makes this region appear a terrestrial paradise. Vessels anchor on the open coast with perfect safety, never experiencing the least accident; and the heat of the day is always tempered by the sea-breeze. The rivers and lakes are said to abound with fish; the mountains, covered with wood, are full of game; the plains abound in flocks; the water is good; and the earth voluntarily yields those products which elsewhere are drawn from it by labour. The wild fruits here are described as equal to those which in our colonies are improved by culture; and the woods are stated to be full of citrons, bitter oranges, pine apples, guavas, and pimento, all growing spontaneously. The wild sugar-cane in this country becomes immeasurably' large, savoury, and full of juice. Cocoa nuts, yams, sweet potatoes, &c. are found in abundance. Agriculture is consigned to the women: but the labour is light. It suffices to loosen the earth an inch in depth, and to cover the grain so as to hide it from the birds. Nature does the rest!-The mountains, the author says, are almost all ferruginous but the metal remains at rest in the bowels of the earth, the natives not knowing how to extract it; and the Europeans encourage their idleness and ignorance in this re spect, by supplying them with more than they want.' The Portuguese, in their colony of St. Paul, have discovered some valuable mines of the more precious metals.

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After this view of the land, the author remarks; Here we might obtain the same commodities as in the Antilles, and they would be the more valuable for being the product of free and voluntary labour. Moderate wages would draw workmen to our plantations.-Those who planted coffee would not water it with the tears of despair.' As he proceeds, however, some thing of "the old leaven" appears mixed with the benevolence of his plans. An undertaking of this nature (he says) presents no considerable difficulty: the people are inclined to commerce; our goods are become necessary to them; and long habits of intercourse have produced attachment, instead of the unfavourable prejudices which the first approach of strangers excited. They speak our language: they are formed to serve; they are industrious, tranquil, mild, and too cowardly to make opposition to an establishment among them.'As if these were the sentiments of pure humanity, the writer then proceeds: They would regard us as benevolent 'deities, who, coming to occupy their land, instead of selling them, would teach them cultivation.' He speaks of the cruelties exercised by the Portuguese, of the hatred towards them which the natives entertain, and says that they would not feel the same sentiments of aversion respecting the French. It would be sufficient to observe to them, "You desire our commodities: here, take them: but, for my part, I will have no more slaves. You cultivate the earth in order to sell yams and potatoes to me; you traverse the woods to fetch fruits for me. Cultivate also sugar and coffee, and I will buy of you. stead of selling captives, you shall bring me the fruit of your labour," &c.'

In

There is evidently room for doing very important good, by encouraging the Africans in the practices of husbandry: but, with the present writer, the foremost consideration is, the advantage which his countrymen would reap by forming settlements among them :--whether with their consent, or without, is not considered as material. It is very questionable whether the French, or the people of any other nation, so forming establishments, would not have views similar to those of the Portuguese, whether they would not fall into the same practices which have rendered the latter odious to the natives; and whether they would cease to transport the natives to their other colonies. So much of M. DEGRANDPRÉ's ideas, as relate to inducing the Africans to cultivate their own lands from motives of benefit for themselves, cannot fail of being approved; and it does not appear visionary that, by proper means, they might be encouraged to a gradual increase of industry, which would become a source of universal benefit.

In his description of the natives, the author makes various conjectures concerning the similarity which many of their customs bear to some that were formerly known in Europe. He supposes that they have found their way from the North; and he remarks that, in proportion as we advance towards the Southern extremity of Africa, the natives appear more and more distant from a state of civilization. They are idolaters; their idols are mostly avenging gods; and they have no remunerating divinity. The larger idols are addressed only on extraordinary occasions: the less are the household gods, the penates. Doubtless, both must be regarded as protecting deities. A particularity very remarkable, (says the author,) and which, if it were investigated, might lead to a knowlege of the history of the country, is that the grand divinities have not the African figure their nose, especially, is immeasurably large, and in form aquiline.' Another custom equally remarkable is, that, in passing judgment in criminal affairs, they employ the same kind of evidence which was once used in Europe; . e. trials by fire and by poison, which are managed by the priests.

Their language is soft, flowing, and flexible. [M. DEGRANDPRE has inserted a vocabulary, which does not contradict this description.] Most of the verbs terminate in the present tense in a, and in the past in i; (which the author thinks indicates a Latin derivation) and we are told that they have no future tense; in which case, the language is not well adapted to qualify them for courtiers, The author, who sometimes delights in profound research, enters here boldly into the dark, and attempts to shew the possibility that the Romans, in the time of the Punic wars, might have effected the conquest of Congo. Did we not (he says) lose every trace of a Roman army, which was said to have been overwhelmed by the sands of Africa?' &c.-Surely we ought not now to wonder at the fables which, in the accounts of early times, occupy the space before regular history commences,

A chapter is allotted to the government and legislation of these people. The authority of the king is unlimited, and the government of all the states on the coast is despotic: but against this, however, there is sometimes a remedy; it being customary with those who are strong enough to defend themselves, to resist the legal authority. The crown in most of the states is hereditary. At Loango, it is elective, but among the princes of the blood royal; the purity of which is acknowleged to flow only by female descent. The children of the prince are not princes unless born of a princess but all the children of a princess, by whatsoever fathers, are born princes

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or princesses. The princes and princesses have a right to take husbands or wives where they please, and as often as they please, without consulting the object of their choice, who has no remedy but to accept the honour. They may also repudiate at their pleasure; while the man chosen by a princess cannot, without forfeiting his life, have commerce with other women. He must neither see nor be seen by them: and whenever he goes abroad, he is preceded by a man with an instrument which they call gongon, to give notice of his approach. At this signal, all the women, who cannot get out of the way, avert their faces and hold their hands before their eyes, until he is past. Very hard is this condition of this unfortunate favourite; especially if the princess happens to be old and ugly.' If princesses be numerous in this part of Africa, it appears scarcely possible that they should all be allowed such privileges.-The ceremony of divorce consists simply in blowing over the hand, which serves as a conductor, on the person repudiated. This is called, giving a fair wind, donner bon vent.'

The king, and even the princes-born, have a right to sell the rich proprietors of land. Instances, the author allows, are very rare but he relates the following; A man named Tati, son of the Mafouc (super-intendant of the trade with the Eu ropeans) at Malemba, was sold by one of the princes. M. Desponts, commander of a trading vessel, who had seen him when an infant at his father's (the Mafouc's) house, met him at Cape François in St. Domingo, driving a cabriolet, and recollected him. M. Desponts had the generosity to purchase him and send him back to his own country, where he has become rich and powerful; and since his return he has taken the name of Tati Desponts, from a sentiment of gratitude towards his benefactor. The Mafouc his father had married a princess, the sister of the king of Cabenda; and by her he had a son, prince Vaba, who has since been called to the throne.'

Many curious particulars are given, relating to the manner in which slaves are obtained to supply the European ships. It is the occupation of a class of natives, who are called merchants, to travel into the interior of Africa in order to purchase them but many are furnished from among the inhabitants of the sea-coast.

The act of seizing a man, whom it is intended to sell, is termed in the language of the French traders, poigner; and it is a right which the princes-born may exercise over all who are not born their equal. The proprietors of land may thus seize the inhabitants of their own lands upon those lands, but not on the domain of another person, without his licence. By a convention made with the first Europeans who traded in this country, the execution of which

has

Iras been continued to the present day, the captains are allowed the rights and honours of princes born; and they may exercise their right of poignage within the inclosures of their factories, on any black without distinction, except the princes. The land comprehended between the factory and the sea-shore, in a direct line, is considered as within the European district; and, as soon as the boundaries of the captains are established, all authority of the natives within those limits immediately ceases. They may poigner and send their prey to the ship, without passing over other territory.

The poignage, unfortunately, is but too much practised. Many natives frequently accompany the merchants from the interior of the country, attracted by curiosity; and when within the factory, the merchant sells them, and they are seized by the Europeans; who, in stead of rejecting such a purchase with horror, are equally eager with the ravishers, and themselves load the victims with chains.'

The value of a slave is expressed by the term paquet. Whoever wounds another, so as to draw blood, must pay paquet to the wounded person, whether it be a slave or in merchandise; and if the aggressor has neither slave nor merchandise of sufficient value, he is himself taken and sold. So, likewise, if a man incurs a debt to another, of the value of a paquet, if he can in no other way discharge the debt, he becomes the slave of his creditor.'

According to the judgment which the author was able to form, without any certain data to assist his calculation, he has estimated the population of the three kingdoms of Cabenda, Malemba, and Loango, (the part of the coast which has been the most frequented by the French,) each of which equals in size a province of France,' at scarcely 600,000 persons: a very thin population, considering the great fertility of the land, and of the women.'

The following anecdote shews a very exact resemblance between dealing in slaves and dealing in horses:

A black merchant had a slave whose teeth were good, and whose figure was passable, but who was so old that no person would have chosen to purchase him. The owner caused his head and chin to be closely shaved, and rubbed him all over with gunpowder, so that he appeared a good shining black, and the most clear-sighted trader might have been deceived. I was taken in, and bought him withour suspicion: but, in two days, the white beard and hair made their appearance. It was a lesson to me; and I never afterward neglected to have the heads washed with warm water, when there was the smallest reason for suspecting the age-As soon as a slave is offered for sale to a captain, the surgeon, in his presence, enters on an examination; and no jockey more closely scrutinizes a horse."

The writer gives the regular table of exchange in this traffic:" the paquet is divisible into 56 parts called pieces; 4 pieces make one marchandise, and 14 marchandises are equal to one paquet.

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