e Society were to be
appointed Commissioners to remove _all_ free Negroes to Liberia. The sum
of $20,000 in the current year, and of $10,000 in each succeeding year,
for a period of twenty years, was devoted to the purpose. Any free Negro
refusing to emigrate was to be summarily ejected from the State by the
sheriff. The wave of feeling which dictated this monstrous piece of
legislation passed away before any of its harsh provisions were carried
out. But the beneficent portion remained in force. The Society was left
in the enjoyment of the liberal annuity of $10,000.

In October, 1831, and December, 1832, expeditions were sent out which
landed emigrants at Monrovia. The difficulty of arriving at an agreement
with the parent Society regarding the rights and status of these people,
together with other considerations, led to the adoption of the idea of
founding a separate colony. The plan was adopted largely through the
support of Mr. John H.B. Latrobe, throughout his life one of the most
active and efficient friends of colonization. The motives of the
undertaking were distinctly announced to be the gradual extirpation of
slavery in Maryland, and the spread of civilization and Christianity in
Africa. Cape Palmas, a bold promontory marking the point where the coast
makes a sharp bend toward the east, was selected as the new site. Its
conspicuous position makes it one of the best known points on the coast,
and some identify it with the "West Horn" reached by Hanno, the
Carthaginian explorer, twenty-nine days out from Gades. Dr. James Hall,
who had gained experience as physician in Monrovia, was placed in charge
of the expedition, and the brig Ann, with a small number of emigrants,
sailed from Baltimore November 28, 1833. A firm legal basis was
projected for the new establishment in a Constitution to which all
emigrants were to subscribe. The experience gained by the older colony
was put to good use. Regular courts, militia, and public schools were
provided for from the first.

The vessel touched at Monrovia, gathered as many recruits as possible
from those sent out on the two previous expeditions, and finally
anchored at Cape Palmas on February 11, 1834. After the usual tedious
"palaver" and bargaining, the natives formally sold the required land.
The cape is a promontory some seventy-five feet in height, separated
from the mainland, except for a narrow, sandy isthmus. A river,
navigable for some miles to small boats, opens