continent, grain, gums, oils of divers kinds, valuable woods, copper and other ore, are being borne from the soil to meet the clamorous demands of distant marts.
The chief item of commerce in this continent has been the "slave-trade." The coast of Africa has been more noted for this than for any thing else. Ever since 1600, the civilized nations of the earth have been transporting in deadly holds, in poisonous and pestilential cabins, in "perfidious barks," millions of our race to foreign lands, This trade is now almost universally regarded as criminal; but in the light of commercial prudence and pecuniary advantage, the slave-trade was as great a piece of folly as it was a crime; for almost beneath their eyes, yea, doubtless, often immediately in their sight, were lying treasures, rivalling far the market value of the flesh and blood they had been so eager to crowd beneath their hatches.
Africa is as rich in resources as India is; not as yet as valuable in products, because she is more unenlightened and has a less skilful population. But so far as it respects mineral and vegetable capacity, there seems to me but little, if any, doubt that Africa more than rivals the most productive lands on the globe.
Let me set before you, though briefly, some of the valuable articles of West African trade. I must remind you, however, of three things: First, that the soil, the rocks, and the flora of Africa have not had the advantage of scientific scrutiny, and as a consequence but little is known as yet of her real worth and wealth in these respects. Second, that West African trade is only in a nascent state—that it comes
