much of its contentment and security may be
attributed. He purchased from its natural owners, all the territory he
occupied; and as not an acre was taken without an equivalent, the
natives were well pleased to cultivate an intercourse that was at once
so profitable and desirable. In 1825, a number of fresh emigrants
arrived, whose pursuits were of an agricultural nature, and as they
desired to go into the jungle at once, and commence operations, a
negotiation was opened with the neighbouring tribes for the purchase of
land. The ground selected was a tract of about twenty miles, varying
from one to three miles in breadth, lying on the navigable part of the
St. Paul's river. The advantages of this accession of territory,
consisted in the opportunity it afforded the settlers of dwelling on
their plantations, instead of being compelled to live in the town, at an
inconvenient distance from them; in the fertility of the soil, which was
sufficiently rich to enable the emigrant to support himself and his
family, a short time after his arrival; in making the agricultural
settlement more available and compact; and in securing the trade of the
St. Paul's river, which was an object of great importance. Subsequently
to that period, other additions have been made to the possessions of the
colonists; and, at present, the colony extends nearly 150 miles along
the coast, and a considerable distance into the interior. The government
of the colony commands eight trading stations, established on the
purchased land for the convenience of, and intercourse with, the
natives, from Cape Mount to Trade Town; and the prospects and advantages
of the colonists, are every day improving.

The laws by which a colony so prosperous and happy is governed, must
suggest a subject of deep concern to every man who is interested in any
project, that has for its end the promotion of the well being of any
section of his fellow-creatures. In this little colony, which has
succeeded so effectually in securing the confidence and attachment of
the natives, the utmost vigilance appears to have been exercised from
the commencement, to prevent any dangerous precedents from being
established, that might afterwards be cited for the defence of customs
injurious to the interests of the settlers. One of the first principles
adopted, even before the regulations by which the colonists were
governed assumed the tangible shape of law, was that all persons born in
the colony, or