THE AFRICAN CIVILIZATION SOCIETY.

MR. EDITOR:—While the powers of the
Old World are armed and arming to the teeth,
to settle by the sword disputes about decay
ing nationalities and jurisdiction over broad
acres of tyrant-haunted lands, we have a
strange conflict of agencies in this part of the
New World, about the reception and disbursement of the people's money offerings for re
ligious and reformatory purposes, and also
about the general management of our popular institutions in their bearing upon the col
ored man. If in yonder conflict sad havoc is
made of the lives and limbs of men; in this,
painful onslaughts are made upon character,
reputation and motives. Criminations and re
criminations are the order of the day.

Nearly all the great Societies, as well as
almost all the large denominations, have, with
in the last quarter of a century, been more or
less effected by the colored man's case. It
naturally follows that the African Civilization
Society, coming into existence at such a juncture, would be the subject of conflicting
opinions. But while the subject of African
emancipation and civilization has assumed so
much importance in the public mind of the
nation, it is impossible for colored men them
selves to be neutral. And that this is now
the all-absorbing subject, no thinking or well
read man can for one moment doubt. The
United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and
the Church Mission Society of England cer
tainly cannot be suspected of being prejudic
ed against the free or slave colored man of
this country—for both English and Scotch

open their hearts and hands to us when ap
pealed to. And yet these bodies are vieing
with each other in their Christian zeal for
the regeneration of Africa.

It stirs one's Christian patriotism and love
of race to the core, to see what the Church
Mission has done alone since 1843, in connection with the Yoruba Mission in West
Africa. The work of that Society is marked
by two important results—namely, the rearing
of native agencies, and the encouragement of
legitimate trade. At the period of their last
report, that Society had employed in the Af
rican field six European ordained missionaries, six native ordained missionaries, seven
European catechists, and more than forty
native teachers, and eight hundred and seventy
communicants. They have four principal
stations, besides many what are called out
stations. That portion of the English church
engaged in this work are evangelical; and
whoever has read or heard them need not be
told that they are not the men to overdraw
a picture, civil or religious, with the tongue
or the pen themselves, or to encourage others in the same.

Some years ago, a native African youth was
taken to England and educated for superintendent of an industrial school, at the expense of the "African Native Agency Committee." That young man, Henry Robbin, is now at the head of a flourishing
connected with this Mission; and
among other things, he instructs his scholars
how to pick and pack cotton! These little
cotton pickers and packers in Africa are do
ing more to pick the chains off the suffer
ing little cotton pickers and packers of the
South, than we think. God increase their
number a thousand fold!

For ten years past the growth of cotton in the United States has averaged 910,000,000 lbs. per annum, which at 10 cents per lb., makes the snug sum of $91,000,000! Let

the little free cotton pickers and packers of
Africa go on till they divide this sum with
slaveholders in the British market, getting the
lion's share, and see what will come of slavery.

Already, Mr. Thomas Clegg, of Manchester, Eng., one of the warmest advocates of
free labor cotton, acknowledges the receipt
of 150,000 pounds of cotton from Africa
which has been sold at good prices in his
market. 150 cotten gins have been sold to
the natives. These are cheering indications
of a new era in African trade. But let us
take a little further notice of this interesting
and talended superintendent of the industrial
institutions as Abbeokuta, who is a responsible
agent of the Missionary in his department of
duty. In one of his official communications
to the Secretary, he says:

"Amidst all my temporal labors, I lose no opportunity in speaking to the people about the salvation of their souls, as you will see by an incident or two in the report. Though I am a
layman in the Mission, yet I do not consider my
self one whose duty is so limited as not to as
sist in the spreading of the Gospel, when I have
the chance of doing so. I consider the exten
sion of the cause of God, expecially in this my
country, in every respect my bounden duty,
and, by God's help, rest assured that I am not
behind those who are directly employed as teach
ers of the Gospel. With regard to Sunday
schools, if there is any one who is interested
in them, I am one. The industrial boys are
all staying with me at the same house, and are,
I believe, very comfortable. I endeavor always
to teach them, not only of things profitable to
their bodies, but also to their soul; showing
them, at the same time, the worthlessness of
every instruction they may receive, without
first seeking the kingdom of God and his right
eousness. They every morning attend the early
prayers at church (conducted by the school
master) commence their business every day at
half past six o'clock; night-schools four days in
the week, at 7 o'clock P. M., by the school-mas
ter; reading of the Holy Scriptures, and pray
ers at home, every evening, just at nine o'clock.
I pray and trust that God will bless us in our

spiritual and temporal labor, and enable us to
continue the sowing of the good seed until the
evening."

Throbs there a heart under a colored skin
that would not love to be engaged in the
glorious work of furnishing Africa with such
agencies, whether native or adopted? If there
be, I am bold to say, that my heart throbs not
in unison with it. Now, judging from their
constitution and circular, I apprehend that
the officers and members of the African Civilization Society have been influenced by a very
natural desire to enter this great field in such
good company.

The second and third articles of their constitution embody the basis upon which they
propose to act. They read as follows:

Art 2. The object of this Society shall be the evangelization and civilization of Africa, the of the descendants of African ancestors in any portion of the earth, wherever dispersed.—Also, the destruction of the African slave trade, by the introduction of lawful commerce and trade into Africa; the promotion of the growth of cotton and other products there, whereby the natives may become industrious producers as well as consumers of articles of commerce; and generally, the elevation of the condition of the colored population of our own country, and of other lands.

Art. 3: Should it be deemed requisite to send out missionaries, or other religious teachers, under the auspices of this Society, none shall be sent who shall teach doctrines which shall justify or aid in perpetuating any system or human slavery or involuntary servitude; and in the examination of candidates for the missionary work, only those doctrines known as evangelic, without regard to sect, shall be required from those chosen to that work.

There is no word in the above that can be
construed to mean colonization; and yet the
whole taken together is sufficiently explicit,
going to show the work they propose to do.

I am no partizan on this Society. I shall
serve God and the race as ever; but nothing
can induce me again to organize or incorporate myself into any society. I much prefer an
independent individuality. Still, as a obser-

ver, I like to see "fair play and no gougin."—There seems to be an intense effort to place these men in a false position by sliding in side issues and arousing old prejudices. This is unbecoming manly debaters of frank controversialists, whose only object should be truth.

They have a work of great moment before
them, and should be allowed to go at it in
earnest. The first duty of a civilizing and
christianizing body is to educate their agents,
or cause them to be educated in all the arts
and sciences of civilized life.

If these men begin right upon this point,
their position in a few years will be invincible.
While there is so much speculation about the
real or comparative ability of the colored race
as a race to advance in civilization, there is no
systematic effort put forth by any religious, missionary, or reformatory body for the education
of colored youth of either sex in the arts and
sciences of civilized life beyond the common
school; and I speak now of the means. Ever
since educational institutions of a higher
grade began to open their doors to our youth,
it is rare that one finds the means to sustain
himself for four or seven years in one of them.
Nor is this all; we have been falsely impressed
upon this general subject and are, as a people, acting upon a false principle. We have
been made to believe that we do not need
education su much as "smartness," that our
platforms must be covered, our schools kept,
and our pulpits filled by men. Years
ago, when we should have commenced thorough
education, we were misled by the saying, "oh!
your people don't need the education of the
whites. Pick up some smart young men and
let them take a short course."

My sentence is, that we let these men alone
and let them work. They have got the

ground, let them mark it. The primary idea of civilization is to prepare, equip, fit, and finish agencies for the race, and representatives who will find their level anywhere in the world, in any department of industry, and in any of the callings of civilized life. If it be said these men are not themselves all properly educated, the answer is that they are quite sufficiently educated to act as a society of to help others. Should they leave their appropriate work and go to distract and mislead the people, attempting to induce them to go in either here or there, I shall oppose them. But duty [illegible] alone, lest haply we be found [illegible] a great [illegible] having for its object [illegible] of the slave trade, and the final redemption and incorporation of Africa into the Christian, civil, commercial, moral family of nations.

Complaints are made in different quarters
against the African Civilization Society about
the management of their first annual meeting,
and the adjourned meeting, &c. I was not
present at either of these meetings, and there
fore can form no judgment how far they
were conducted in accordance with the rules of
good taste on the one hand, or parliamentary
law on the other. And, so far as remark has
been made as to the white speakers, I am of
opinion, that a knowledge of at least two of
the men would modify the views expressed by
some of our people.

Asa. D. Smith, D. D., who spoke at the
Church of the Purians, I know to be a consis
tenet and earnest friend of the colored man
the world over, and that he is not a man
who can be used by any other man or body
or men for any object below the highest aims
of Christian philanthropy.

Rev. Theo. Cuyler—of him I cannot speak
personally—but my impression of him as a

public Christian philanthropist would lead to
a similar opinion.

Rev. T. Bourne, who has acted as Secretary
to the Society, is a son of the late Rev. Geo.
Bourne, one of my earliest co-adjutors in the
Anti-Slavery cause, than whom we never had
a more earnest, outspoken, pointed and daring
advocate, as his picture of American slavery
and other works show.

I cannot believe this gentleman is swerving
from the footsteps of his illustrious ancestor.
If there is a colored man who has the inter
ests of his race at heart, he will find a con
genial heart in that brother

On the field of battle, skillful officers will
change their position and vary their tactics to
meet the enemy's manœuvres.

We have a bold proposition from the South
to re-open the foreign slave trade.

All parties who make any pretensions to de
cency are speaking as boldly against it.

Does it become free colored men of this
great North to lose the golden opportunity of
fered them to LEAD the alliance against the
common foe? I think not. Ancestral pride,
love or race, unselfish humanity, the spirit of
civil and religious liberty—in short, all the at
tributes of manhood—call upon us to wel
come and aid in every well-directed effort to
check the inflowing tide which threatens to
flood us with ruin.

Again, mission societies often tell us they
will send colored agents, teachers, and laborers
into their field if they can get them; but they
add, we cannot find those who are properly
qualified; and further say, it is not our calling
to prepare teachers and missionaries; but to
take those ready prepared, send them forth and
sustain them.

Thus, we virtually live under the reproach,
that while so large a portion of the world wide
field to be civilized and christianized is strict-

ly African, and African descent, we furnish
fewer laborers than any other class. This reproach, can be most effectually removed in 5 or 7 years by the African Civilization Society, if they will make it THE POINT of their operations to develop the mental, moral, and re
ligious civilizing resources of the race; bring
out those who are now educated and give them
position worthy of their merit; let it no longer
be said a colored man's education will not
give him a support; educate those who are ed
ucatable; do this for the universal race; and
in less than seven years they will occupy a
prominence second to no society now in ex
istence.

The general anti-slavery movement has ac
complished among other important ends this;
it has convinced the world that colored men
have the "gift of gab." I well remember in the
early history of the movement how nervous
our white friends would be when a selected
colored man would rise to address an audience.
But that state of feeling exists no longer as
far as the platform is concerned, they have developed the colored man's speaking talents.

But, the increasing demand of civilization
require a higher range of development, than
merely the exercise of the "gift of gab." The
work calls for those who are hard [thinking],
earnest laborers, ready writers, good speakers,
far sighters, who have sound common sense,
who are patriotic, pious, unselfish, and who,
if need be, can endure hardships, while pursu
ing the high and holy aims of civilizers of
the race.

Mr. Editor, I have troubled you, perhaps
with a longer communication than I should
have done. The interest I take in the subject
is my only apology; and as I do not trouble
you often, you will, I hope, indulge me.

Yours, truly,
J. W. C. Pennington.

NEW YORK, June 10th, 1859.