By order of the General Conference, Bishop Scott made an official visit to Liberia, at the close of 1852, and returned in April, 1853—having spent seventy days in the Colonies. He represents the spiritual condition of the Mission as, generally, healthy and prosperous; and the work as going steadily onward. In relation to the civil and social condition of the Colony, the Bishop bears the following testimony: “The government of the Republic of Liberia, which is formed on the model of our own, and is wholly in the hands of colored men, seems to be exceedingly well administered. I never saw so orderly a people. I saw but one intoxicated colonist while in the country, and I heard not one profane word. The Sabbath is kept with singular strictness, and the churches crowded with attentive and orderly worshipers.”[8] But, as regards the missions among the natives, the Bishop says, very little indeed has been done—much less than the friends of the mission seem to have good reason to expect—much less than he himself expected. The result of his inquiries is by no means flattering, and he felt, and feared that the Board would feel, disappointed. These results, however, he says, are not due to any want of faithfulness on the part of the missionaries; as other denominations have not been more successful—perhaps not quite so much so—but are the result of the peculiar condition of the native population. These peculiarities will be noticed under the head of the native missions. THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION, commenced its mission in Liberia, in 1822, under the care of the Rev. Lot Carey and the Rev. Collin Teage; who had been ordained to the ministry, in Richmond, Virginia, January, 1821. They were both colored men, and possessed of much intelligence and energy. They commenced their labors in Monrovia, in the infant colony of Liberia, and founded a Church during the first year. Lot Carey was chosen pastor of the Church, and Mr. Teage removed for a time to Sierra Leone. “In the performance of his duties as a missionary, Mr. Carey evinced remarkable energy and faithfulness. He was born a slave in Virginia, but many years before leaving Richmond he had purchased his freedom and that of his two children, and had acquired the rudiments of a superior education, and proved himself worthy of the highest trusts in the business with which he was charged. On the pestilential shores of Africa he soon found occasion for all the knowledge he had acquired, both among his fellow emigrants and the rude barbarians from the interior with whom they became associated. By his acquaintance with medicine, he healed their maladies; by his sagacity in civil affairs, he settled their disputes and aided in the organization of their infant society; and by his earnestness and power as a preacher, he commended the Gospel to their hearts and consciences with unusual success.”[9]