'ihe constitution of Liberia, like that of the United States, establishes an entire separation of the Church from the State, and places all religious denominations on an equal footing, but all citizens of the republic must be- long to the negro race. In 1872 the total pojiulation of Liberia was estimated to number 720,000, of which num- ber about 19,000 were Americo-Liberians. and the re- maining 701,000 aboriginal inhabitants. The most im- portant tribes within and near the limits of the republic are the following: 1. The Veys, extending from Gallinas, their northern boundarA', southward to Little Cape jMount : they stretch inland about two days' journey. They in-
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vented, some 20 j'ears ago, an alphabet for writing their own language, and, next to the Mandingoes, they are re- garded as the most intelligent of the aboriginal tribes. As they hold constant intercourse with the Mandingoes and other jNIoharamedan tribes in the far interior, ]Mo- hammedanism is making rapid progress among them. The Anglican missionary, bishop Payne, has recently suggested a plan of occupying the country of the Veys with an extensive and vigorous mission, and the mission- school opened by the Episcopalians at Totocorch, which is nearer to Cape Jlount than to Monrovia, is regarded as the first outpost towards the vast interior. 2. The Pessehs, who are located about seventy miles from the coast, and extend about one hundred miles from north to south, are entirely pagan. They may be called the peasants of West Africa, and supply most of the domes- tic slaves fur the Veys, Bassas, Mandingoes, and Kroos. A missionary effort was attempted among them about fifteen years ago by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, but it was abandoned in consequence of the death of the first missionary, George L. Seymour. 3. The Barline tribe, living about eight days' journey north-east from jMonrovia, and next interior to the Pes- sehs, lias recently been brought into treaty relations with Liberia. According to a report of 1858, half the population of their capital, Palaka, consisted of Moham- medans who had come from the Manni country, but the latest explorer, W. Spencer Anderson, states that there are at present no IMohammedans in the Barline countrj% 4. The Bassas occupy a coast-line of over sixty miles, and extend about the same distance inland. They are the great producers of palm-oil and canewood, which are sold to foreigners by thousands of tons annually. In 1835 a mission was begun among these people by the American Baptist Missionary Union, whose missionaries studied the language, organized three schools, embra- cing in all nearly a himdred pupils, maintained preach- ing statedly at three places, and occasionally at a great many more, and translated large portions of the New Testament into the Bassa language. Notwithstanding this promising commencement, the mission has been now (1872) for several years suspended. But the South- ern Baptist Convention has lately resumed missionary operations among the Bassas. Great results for the spreading of Christianity are expected from the mis- sionary labors of j\Ir. Jacob W. Yonbrunn, a son of a subordinate king of the Grand Bassa people. 5. The Kroo, who occupy the region south of the Bassa, extend about seventy miles along the coast, and only a few miles inland. They are the sailors of West Africa, and never enslave or sell each other. About thirty years ago a mission was established among them by the Pres- byterian Board of Foreign Missions at Settra Kroo, but it lias long since ceased operations. 6. The Greboes, ^vho border upon the south-eastern boundaries of the Kroos, extend from Grand Sesters to the Cavalla River, a distance of about seventy miles. In ISii-I a mission was established among them by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Avhich continued in operation for seven years. A Church was organized, the language reduced to writing, and parts of the New Testament and other religious books translated into it ; but in 1842 the mission was transferred to Gabun. A mission established by the Protestant I^piscopal Church of the United States among the same tribe a few years previously still continues in operation, and has recently established at Bohlen a missionary station, about sev- enty miles from the coast, 7. The Mandingoes, who are found on the whole eastern frontier of the republic, and extend back to the heart of Soudan, are the most intel- ligent tribe within the limits of Liberia. They have schools and mosques in every large town, and, by their great influence upon the neighboring tribes, they have contributed in no little degree to abate the ignorance and soften the manners of the native population of Li- beria. One of the greatest obstacles to the jirogress of Christian missions among the aboriginal tribes is the
climate, and the difficulty of acclimatization. Thus the Basle Missionary Society, which in 1827 established a promising mission, was in 1831 compelled to abandon it when four of the eight missionaries had succumbed to the climate.