with a brief notice of the neighbouring tribes, soil, productions, &c. and some observations on the facility of Colonizing that part of Africa, with a View to Cultivation; and the introduction of letters and religion to its inhabitants: but more particularly as the means of gradually abolishing African Slavery relative to an attempt to establish a British Settlement on the Island of Bulama, on the Western Coast of Africa, in the year 1792
with a brief notice of the neighbouring tribes, soil, productions, &c. and some observations on the facility of Colonizing that part of Africa, with a View to Cultivation; and the introduction of letters and religion to its inhabitants: but more particularly as the means of gradually abolishing African Slavery relative to an attempt to establish a British Settlement on the Island of Bulama, on the Western Coast of Africa, in the year 1792
Projekt: Bestände der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
LDP: Bestände der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Strukturtyp
Monographie
Parlamentsperiode
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Wahlperiode
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Titel
Chapter VII. Recapitulation of the principal causes of our failure — none of which can be attributed either to the difficulty or impracticability of the Enterprise itself
African Memoranda. 309 The next wrong step was the increasing of the number increasingthe of the members of the committee, or council, to conductcouncn r .° tthe the enterprize; for though I do not mean to say that any individual who was afterwards added to it was the principal cause of our failure, and much less do I mean to aver that any one of the six original proposers of the undertaking discovered either energy or talents sufficient to secure its success, yet, increasing their numbers, without adding any thing to their ability, was increasing the means, and the probability of weak measures and disunited counsels. Moreover, those who were afterwards added to it did not carry with them exactly the same views and intentions which governed the first proposers. I think therefore that it would have been much better to have left the management of the undertaking to the latter only; and the probability of succeeding would have been increased had they been reduced to three; and much more so, had one person only had the direction: for, I am fully convinced that in enter prizes of this kind the direction should be left to one. lie should have full power; and should be responsible for the use of it. The next wrong measure was the sailing without a charter.Sailing with- ° out a charter. It has been seen that unless we had waited another year, there was not time to procure one; and as a respectful representa-^ tion of our views and intentions had been made to his Ma jesty’s ministers, it was thought that no objection would have been taken to our framing certain rules and regulations for our own governance, until that desirable object could be ob tained ; neither did we know, until the ships were detained at Gravesend, by an order from the secretary of state, that our conduct had been reprehensible in so doing. However, 1.