It is exceedingly important that we have men at the beginning capable of thinking as white men, and not those who have been systematically oppressed.  There is much to encourage you.  For the sake of your race you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white people.  It is a cheering thought throughout life that something can be done to ameliorate the condition of those who have been subject to the hard usages of the world.  It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.  In the American Revolutionary war sacrifices were made by men engaged in it, but they were cheered by the future.  General Washington himself endured greater physical hardships than if he had remained a British subject, yet he was a happy man because he had engaged in benefiting his race, in doing something for the children of his neighbors, having none of his own.

The colony of Liberia has been in existence a long time.  In a certain sense it is a success.  The old President of Liberia, Roberts, has just been with me—­the first time I ever saw him.  He says they have within the bounds of that colony between three and four hundred thousand people, or more than in some of our old States, such as Rhode Island or Delaware, or in some of our newer States, and less than in some of our larger ones.  They are not all American colonists or their descendants.  Something less than 12,000 have been sent thither from this country.  Many of the original settlers have died; yet, like people else-where, their offspring outnumber those deceased.  The question is, if the colored people are persuaded to go anywhere, why not there?

One reason for unwillingness to do so is that some of you would rather remain within reach of the country of your nativity.  I do not know how much attachment you may have toward our race.  It does not strike me that you have the greatest reason to love them.  But still you are attached to them, at all events.

The place I am thinking about for a colony is in Central America.  It is nearer to us than Liberia not much more than one fourth as far as Liberia, and within seven days’ run by steamers.  Unlike Liberia, it is a great line of travel—­it is a highway.  The country is a very excellent one for any people, and with great natural resources and advantages, and especially because of the similarity of climate with your native soil, thus being suited to your physical condition.  The particular place I have in view is to be a great highway from the Atlantic or Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and this particular place has all the advantages for a colony.  On both sides there are harbors—­among the finest in the world.  Again, there is evidence of very rich coal-mines.  A certain amount of coal is valuable in any country.  Why I attach so much importance to coal is, it will afford an opportunity to the inhabitants