The engineer will alter
the hard conditions of nature, that have rendered man as barren
of good works as the sterile soil upon which he lives.
Let man
have hope; improve the present, that his mind may look forward to
a future; give him a horse that will answer to the spur, if he is
to run in the race of life; give him a soil that will yield and
tempt him to industry; give him the means of communication with
his fellow-men, that he may see his own inferiority by
comparison; provide channels for the transport of his produce,
and for the receipt of foreign manufactures, that will engender
commerce: and then, when he has advanced so far in the scale of
humanity, you may endeavour to teach him the principles of
Christianity. Then, and not till then, can we hope for moral
progress. We must begin with the development of the physical
capabilities of a country before we can expect from its
inhabitants sufficient mental vigour to receive and understand
the truths of our religion. I have met with many Christian
missionaries, of various and conflicting creeds, who have
fruitlessly sown the seed of Christianity upon the barren soil of
Africa; but their labours were ill-timed, they were too early in
the field, the soil is unprepared; the missionary, however
earnest, must wait until there be some foundation for a
superstructure. Raise the level of the waters, and change the
character of the surrounding deserts:
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