the colony. The Company's intentions were pure; its hopes and expectations
were lofty, and the enthusiasts flattered themselves that they had proved
the practicability of civilising Africa. But debt and native wars ended
their career, and transferred, on January 1, 1808, their rights to the
Crown. The members, however, did not lose courage, but at once formed the
African Institution, the parent of the Royal Geographical Society.

The government of the Crown colony has undergone some slight
modifications. In 1866 it was made, with very little forethought, a kind
of government-general, the centre of rule for all the West African
settlements. The unwisdom of this step was presently recognised, and Sá
Leone is now under a charter dated December 17, 1874, the governor-in-chief
having command over the administration of Bathurst, Gambia. Similarly
farther south, Lagos, now the Liverpool of West Africa, has been
bracketed, foolishly enough, with the Gold Coast.

The liberateds, called by the people 'Cruits,' and officially
'recaptives,' soon became an important factor. In 1811 they numbered 2,500
out of 4,500; and between June 1819 and January 1833 they totalled 27,167
hands. They are now represented by about seventeen chief, and two hundred
minor, tribes. A hundred languages, according to Mr. Koelle, increased to
a hundred and fifty by Bishop Vidal, and reduced to sixty by Mr. Griffith,
are spoken in the streets of Freetown, a 'city' which in 1860 numbered
17,000 and now 22,000 souls. The inextricably mixed descendants of the
liberateds may be a total of 35,430, more than half the sum of the
original settlement, 53,862. Being mostly criminals, and _ergo_ more
energetic spirits, they have been the most petted and patronised by
colonial rule. There were governors who attempted to enforce our wise old
regulations touching apprenticeship, still so much wanted in the merchant
navy; but disgust, recall, or death always shortened their term of office.