Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/95

 COLONIZATION SOCIETY 91 of the colon, the forms of which it assumes and preserves even after having passed through the rectum. When, from want of tone in the bowel, or other causes, the fasces are delayed in these sacs, they often acquire extreme hard- ness and roundness, causing painful and even dangerous symptoms. Like the rest of the intestine, the colon is subject to inflammation, ulceration, and other diseases of mucous mem- branes ; it is also the seat of dysentery. The colon is separated from the small intestine in fishes by a slight constriction; this is the case with most reptiles. In birds the short and straight large intestine is continued from the small without a distinct separating valve, and ends in a cloaca common to the digestive, urinary, and generative organs. In mammalia there is generally a well marked colon, though in some of the edentata there is no distinction between large and small intestine ; in carnivora it is short, wide, and cylindrical ; in the herb- ivora, long and sacculated ; in the horse, whose intestines are ten times as long as the body, the colon has a length of 19 feet, much curved and sacculated, and the lower portion attached loosely by a very long mesocolon ; in rodents it is not much larger in diameter than the small intestine, but is provided with deep sacs ; in the monotremata it gradually increases in size to the rectum ; in the monkeys it is very similar to that of man. COLONIZATION SOCIETY. The idea of send- ing a colony of persons of African descent from the United States to Africa appears to have first occurred to the Eev. Samuel Hopkins and the Rev. Ezra Styles of Newport, R. I. They is- sued a circular on Aug. 31, 1773, in which they invited contributions toward the founding of such a colony. A contribution was made Feb. 7, 1774, by a society of ladies of Newport, and aid was received from Massachusetts and Con- necticut. The revolutionary war interrupted these labors. In 1784 and 1787 Dr. Hopkins renewed his efforts to obtain funds for coloniza- tion, and endeavored to make an arrangement by which free blacks from America might join the English colony of Sierre Leone. Not being successful in this, he published in 1793 an ap- peal in which he urged that the plan of colo- nization ought to be adopted in the several states and by the federal government. He con- tinued to agitate the subject from time to time until his death, Dec. 20, 1803. The first emi- grants sent from the United States were a com- pany of 38 colored persons who were taken from New Bedford to Sierra Leone in 1815. The subject of colonization in Africa was brought before the legislature of Virginia in 1800-'2, but no definite results were obtained. Samuel J. Mills, Robert Finley, Elias B. Cald- well, and Francis S. Key were conspicuous for their exertions in drawing attention to the plan; and a meeting was held at Princeton, N. J., in the autumn of 1811, to consider the steps to be taken for the organization of a colonization society. A second meeting was held Dec. 23, and the constitution of the " American Colonization Society " was adopted Dec. 28. The first oflScers were elected Jan. 1, 1817, and the same year Samuel J. Mills and Ebenezer Burgess were sent to Africa to select a site for the colony. They chose Sherbro island and the coast adjoining. Mills died on the return voyage. In March, 1819, congress appropriated $100,000 for the purpose of carry- ing back to Africa such slaves as should be surreptitiously imported. Under the construc- tion which was put upon this law by President Monroe, part of its design was that a residence should be provided in Africa for the agents of the United States and such slaves as were sent back. For this purpose it was necessary that emigrants should be sent out and a settlement made. The formation of such a settlement being the object for which the colonization society was organized, the government and the society determined to cooperate. The society designated 88 persons as emigrants, and the government chartered a ship, appointed an agent, and placed $30,000 at his disposal. The ship sailed Feb. 6, 1820. The emigrants were to erect huts for the reception of at least 300 recaptured Africans, and cultivate land for their own support. They did not succeed in estab- lishing themselves on Sherbro island, but in April, 1822, made their settlement at Cape Mesurado, between Sierra Leone and the Ivory coast. The society was represented in the colony by Jehudi Ashmun, who arrived there Aug. 9, 1822. Under his leadership the colo- nists repulsed on Nov. 11 an attack made by 800 natives, and a second assault on Dec. 2, made by about twice the number. The agents of the United States were instructed not to attempt to exercise any power or authority over the colonists, and the government of the colony was assumed by the society. The board of managers adopted, on Jan. 26, 1820, a constitu- tion for the colony, by which the powers of government, legislative, executive, and judicial, were vested in the society's agents. Ashmun undertook to exercise the powers which were conferred upon him, but the colonists were not disposed to acquiesce, and Ashmun for a time abandoned his undertaking. The United States government and the colonization society deputed Ralph R. Gurley to investigate the con- dition of affairs. He had a conference with Ashmun, the result of which was that in 1824 a plan for the civil government of Liberia was adopted, by which the society retained the ultimate decision on all questions of govern- ment. A more formal constitution was adopt- ed Oct. 22, 1828, by which a considerable part of the civil power was secured to the colonists. This constitution was changed from time to time, and the share of the people in the gov- ernment was made greater and greater. After the death of Governor Buchanan in 1841, Joseph J. Roberts, who had previously held the office of lieutenant governor, through election by the people, was appointed governor by the society.