(25)

FOR THE NEW-YORK MISSIONARY MAGAZINE.

DIALOGUE between AFRICANUS, AMERICANUS, and BENEVOLUS, on sending Missionaries to carry the gos pel to the Heathen in Africa. Dedicated to the Missionary Societies in the States of New-York, Connec ticut, and Massachusetts.

Africanus. SIR, you have observed, I doubt not, the extraordinary zeal and exertions which have lately appeared, to promote the preaching of the gospel in the frontiers, and among the Indians adjacent to the United States; and that a number of Missionary Societies are formed to promote this design. I am much pleased with this, and hope that all who join in this noble attempt, will meet with encouragement and that the plan will be enlarged, and supported by li beral contributions and donations from all ranks and denominations of Christians. But I am sorry to find, that in all that has been said and done in this affair, there has yet been no mention of the many miserable heathen nations in Africa, to whom there is, perhaps, as much, if not more, encouragement to attempt to send the gospel, than to any heathen nation on this com tinent. And in my view, the Americans are under great obligations, and special, cogent motives, to do all in their power to spread the knowledge of Christianity among them, as the best, and only hopeful way, to promote their happiness in this life, and their eternal salvation.

Americanus. I cannot censure, but must approve of the attempts that are made to promote the preaching of the gospel in our frontier new settlements, where it could not otherwise be enjoyed at present; and to introduce it among some of the heathen tribes who dwell near us. But even this zeal which has spread so ra pidly among us of late, and the exertions made, are VOL. II. No. 1..

D

liable to be carried to excess, and exceed the call there is for them, and the ability of the people. And to attempt to send Missionaries to Africa to preach the gospel to Negroes, or even to think of it, is merely a chimerical scheme: to send Missionaries to preach the gospel to those barbarous, sunken, ferocious, unteachable blacks, would be but throwing away our money, which we want for our families. In our present state of youth and poverty, as a nation, we have not any money to spare to send Missionaries to another continent. If we can support what of this kind is proposed among ourselves, it will be as much as we can do. I suspect people will be soon tired of repeated contributions and donations, for which there is such a loud and pressing call! Besides, the rich people in Great Britain have instituted a Mission at Sierra-Leone,in Africa, and are sending Missionaries into the adjacent and interior parts. Therefore, there is no reason for our intermeddling with their business.

Afric. Sir, I beg leave to make a few remarks upon your observations, which I hope will be thought neither uncandid or impertinent, but proper and important.

As to the ferocity of the Africans, their indocility, and natural incapacity, I believe your representation of them in respect to these, is wholly without foundation. They appear as capable, and as much disposed to receive instruction and to make mental improvements, as any uncivilized nation which can be named, who have had no greater advantages than they have enjoyed. They who have been most acquainted with this people, and who have travelled into the interior parts of Africa, represent them as being generally as hospitable, intelligible, and expert in all things in which they are immediately concerned, or that come under their notice, as any people whatever. And persons of candour, discerning, and observation, who have been acquainted with numbers of the Africans in America, have found many among them, who have been under advantages to improve their minds, as intelligent, sen

sible, and judicious, and persons of as good and amiable conduct as most of the white people among us, and far exceeding many of the latter in all these,. Andthere are many of them who appear to have a good understanding of the doctrines and duties of Christianity, and cordially to embrace them, and live so conformable to them, as far to outshine many American professors of Christianity.

It is rather unfair, if not cruel, to enslave our fellowmen from generation to generation, holding them in such a state of depression and ignorance, as to cramp their minds, and in a great measure suppress and destroy their mental faculties, and then complain of them as having no capacity of knowledge or mental improvement, because they do not appear to know so much, and to have made equal improvement with those who have not had these impediments, and have enjoyed all desirable advantages to make advances in knowledge; and in the practice of morality and religion.

And you will permit me, sir, here to observe, that you seem to be inconsistent with yourself, while you represent the Africans as so near to the brutes, that there is no encouragement to attempt to christianize them; and yet suppose the people in Europe have done wisely and well in making this attempt. They have done it, and the success they have already had, is a sufficient encouragement to proceed in this humane, benevolent work. But their attempts extend to but a small part of the vast region of Africa. There is the Ivory, or Tooth Coast, the Gold Coast, and the South adjacent Coast, in the inland parts of which, there are millions of inhabitants who are in a heathen state; and very little, if any thing, has been done to introduce the gospel among them: but much to the contrary by the slave-traders, who, for at least a century past, have brought from thence many thousands of slaves every year the whole of which business, and the conduct of the slave-traders, have had a strong tendency to spread vice and misery among the inhabitants, and to

prejudice them against the name of Christians. I believe a great, if not the greatest part of African slaves who have been brought into these United States, came from the abovementioned Coasts, or the nations who inhabit the interior parts of them.

I now beg leave to say something more respecting the peculiar obligations the Americans are under, to desire and endeavour to send the gospel to Africa, which I but just mentioned in the beginning of our conversation.

There are, in these United States, above half a million of African blacks, most of whom are in a state of abject slavery; who, or their ancestors, were unjustly and violently torn from their relatives, and their native land. And the American slave-traders have enslaved innumerable others, whom they have sold in the WestIndies and other places, into the most cruel bondage. The numberless deaths, the excruciating tortures, the overwhelming sorrows and miseries of individuals, the calamities, desolations, injuries and evils, which have been the effect of this detestable trade, are far beyond all calculation. I forbear to go into particulars now for the illustration of this horrible scene. This has beendone by many writers of late.

And now, what restitution can be made for the wrongs we have done to the Africans? The injury is great, and heavy as the mountains. It reaches to the Heavens, and is broader than the sea. If it were in our power to give many millions of silver and gold, this would not make restitution for the wrongs they have suffered, or be any atonement for our guilt. But bles sed be God! we have a rich treasure which we can send to them, with a little cost and pains, which will do moré towards compensating them for the injuries we have done them, than if we could give them mountains of silver and gold. This we may do without diminishing our share in this treasure, but by all our care and exertions to effect this, our interest in it will be greatly increased, and we shall enjoy it in greater abundance.

I need not say that this treasure is contained in the gospel. By sending this to Africa, if it shall be received, the people who now sit in darkness, and in habitations of cruelty, will be enlightened, civilized, and made comfortable and happy in this world, and in society, and enjoy eternal happiness in the kingdom of Christ. And by this the gospel may spread among many nations, churches of Christ be formed more numerous, larger, pure, and more nearly conformed to the gospel plan, than those which now exist in America, and may continue to flourish down to the Millenium!

The only way to obtain the pardon of all our sins, and of those aggravated ones in our treatment of the Africans, is to repent, and believe in the atonement and righteousness of Christ, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

And how can we think we do truly repent of the injuries we have done to the Africans, if we neglect the happy opportunity, advantage, and peculiar obligations which are now presented to us, to make them the best compensation in our power, and do them the greatest good, while we hereby are promoting our own best interest? I presume I may with confidence assert, that no people under the sun are under so great obiigations, or have such opportunity, advantages, and motives, or so loud a call to propagate the gospel among the heathen, as the Americans to make the greatest efforts in their power to send the gospel to the nations in Africa. For my part, when I think seriously on the subject, I am astonished beyond expression, that the Americans, who have had so much to convince them, and who profess to be convinced, of the unrighteousness and cruelty we have been guilty of towards the Africans, have not long before this time been rouzed to zealous engagedness to spread the knowledge of Christianity among them; but especially now, when such extraordinary measures are pursuing to carry the gospel to those who do not enjoy it, that the first and loudest call should not be regarded! I am