Scotland/Scots > Last years of Livingstone

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THE LAST YEARS OP LIVINGSTONE.
wearied toil, and apparently sincere desire, to do only what
was right, inspired me with profound respect, and I shall
revere Lords Palmerston, Clarendon, and President Lincoln
for their goodness as long as I live. The work of the Joint
High Commission shows that America has statesmen of the
same noble character. Let our race continue to pursue the
wise Christian course now so fairly begun, and let the low
cunning, the smartness to hoodwink each other, iu which old
diplomatists gloried, go the dogs. It is refreshing to hear of
the royal honours showered down on Mr. Seward in
recognition of his great work in connection with Mr. Lin¬
coln. Dare we call to remembrance that when English
statesmen laboured hard for the suppression of the slave
trade, on the West Coast of Africa, they were often
sorely thwarted by Southern pro-slavery men in posses¬
sion of your government. The Western slave trade is
happily finished, and now that you have got rid of the
incubus of slavery, it is confidently hoped that the present
holders of office will aid in suppressing the infamous
breaches of the common law of mankind that still darken
this Eastern Coast. If the Khedive, with his Lieutenant
Baker, stops the Nile slave traffic, he will have fairly
earned the title of a benefactor of humanity. All I can
add in my loneliness is, may Heaven’s rich blessing come
down on every one—American, English or Turk—who
will help to heal the open sore of the world.
This interesting letter, which, as we have stated, was
found amongst Livingstone’s papers after his death, was
not published for two years after it was written. It is,