the practices of polygamy and slave-holding to which he is accustomed.
Under the zealous proselytism of the Mandingoes the Mohammedan faith has
taken a strong hold on the interior, and is spreading rapidly to the
very doors of Liberia. Candor compels the admission that it brings with
it a marked improvement in the condition and intelligence of the
converts. Intemperance--which in many cases follows in the tracks of the
Christian merchant--disappears. A knowledge of Arabic is soon acquired
and the Koran is eagerly read and its principles put in practice. The
whole life of the convert is transformed, and he becomes in turn zealous
in the dissemination of the faith. The efforts of missionaries alone can
never stem this torrent; if any impression is to be made upon the
Mohammedan tribes it must be by the extension of Christian settlements
and civilization.




5. _As a Refuge to the Negro from the Pressure of Increasing Competition
in America._


It would be unnecessary to bring into review the causes that are
operating daily to make the conditions of earning a living in America
more difficult. However much or little credence we place in the
Malthusian theory of the increase of population, in the doctrine of
diminishing returns, or the iron law of wages, all thinking men are
agreed that the country is already entering upon a new era. The period
of expansion, of the taking up of new territory by the overflowing
population of the older districts, is practically ended; future
development will be intensive, the country will be more thickly settled,