the hills is principally unreclaimed forest land, which was
originally portioned out amongst the first settlers in the colony. From
want of means, however, or some other cause, the colonists never
cleared those grounds, nor did they offer them on sufficiently
reasonable terms to enable others to do so. This is the more
extraordinary, as it is generally supposed that if the wood were
removed, it would greatly improve the salubrity of the air in the town
and neighbourhood, as well as open a new source of profit to the
proprietors, it being already well known that all tropical productions
thrive most successfully in this soil. Coffee, cocoa, arrow-root,
sugar-cane, &c. have been tried with the utmost success. The houses of
the Governor, several of the respectable merchants, and some of the
natives, are built of stone. There is a church also, on a very
magnificent scale; indeed, so ambitious was the design of this
building, that the Colonial Government do not appear to have been able
to afford the expense of furnishing the interior, and have accordingly
run up an ugly brick wall in the centre, for the purpose of
appropriating one half of it to religious duties, and the other to
public offices. The church, as it was built, was evidently too
capacious for the congregation that was likely to attend the service of
the established religion, particularly as a great portion of the
population consists of Dissenters, who have men of their own colour and
way of thinking for preachers. I have heard some of their black
divines, but cannot say that I was much edified by their discourses.

The following extraordinary letter from two master workmen, free
blacks, who were employed on the church, received by a Member of
Council, while I was on a visit to him, will serve as a specimen of the
advancement in education that some of these poor fellows have made. The
letter is given literally from the original.

"_Sierra Leone, Sept. 18th, 1827_.

"Honourable Sir,

"I have the honour of sendin to you this morning with humble manner
I was to the Honour D. Denney yesterday, about the trouble what I
have, I was take work from the church-yard, and I finish it, the
gentlemen I must made petition and I cannot tell who will go to
please to help me from this trouble if I will get the money from the
gentleman. Shew me the way for get the money by your Honour all the
people what I hired I do not know how to do with myself--only you