There is much food for thought in these statements of Delafosse. Some of his arraignment is true; on the whole, it is less true to-day than when he wrote. There was a period when the Liberians were quite discouraged and things were neglected. Much of this neglect still exists. It would be possible to-day to find houses falling to ruins, crumbling walls, guttered streets, unsatisfactory landing-places. But a new energy is rising; the effects of efforts put forth by the nucleus which Delafosse himself recognizes as existing in Liberia are being felt; contact with the outside world with its stimulus, sympathies, and friendships, warrants the hope that the future Liberia will surpass the past. We make no attempt to answer Delafosse in detail; in the body of our book most of the questions raised by his remarks are discussed with some fullness. In this book we attempt to represent the negro republic as it is--Description, History, Problems. We have desired to paint a just picture; some may think it too favorable; to such we would say that, when there have been so many unfair, unjust, and biased statements, it is necessary that some one should say things that are favorable, so that they be true. We have no right to demand more from Liberia than we would expect from any white colony with everything in its favor; yet that is precisely what everybody does. We demand perfection. We forget that perfection is not yet attained in any country, among people of any color. It is unreasonable to demand it in a small African republic of black men. There is no fairness even in comparing Liberia with English and French colonies like Sierra Leone and Senegal. They have had much done for them. The financial resources, the trained forces, the wise judgment of rich and powerful nations have aided them. Liberia has worked alone, blindly, in poverty. While to some we may seem to paint an unduly favorable picture, it is probable that Liberians will claim that we have dragged some things to light which should be left unmentioned. We have mentioned many of the weaknesses of Liberia and her people. This has been done for several reasons. It is a good thing to “see ourselves as others see us”; the weak points of Liberia are always emphasized by critics, they can not well be ignored by friends. If we are to improve, we must clearly realize the opportunity and necessity for improvement. The worst things, after all, about Liberia are largely _inherent_ in its form of government, or are due to the descent of the Americo-Liberians from American slaves. They must fight against these inherent dangers and tendencies of democratic government and against the disadvantages of American inheritance, as we do.