The native chiefs, especially 'King Blay,' proved themselves able and
willing to aid us in whatever difficulties might occur. The kingdom of
Gyaman further showed that it can hold its own against shorn Ashanti, or
rather that it is becoming the more powerful of the two. The utter failure
of the scare is an earnest that, under normal circumstances, while King
Mensah, a middle-aged man, occupies the 'stool,' we shall hear no more of
'threatened Ashanti invasions.'
But the true way to pacify the despotism is to allow Ashanti to 'make a
beach'--in other words, to establish a port. This measure I have supported
for the last score of years, but to very little purpose. The lines of
objection are two. The first is in the mercantile. As all the world knows,
commercial interests are sure to be supported against almost any other in
a reformed House of Commons; and, in the long run, they gain the day. The
Coast-tribes under our protection are mere brokers and go-betweens, backed
up and supported by the wholesale merchant, because he prefers _quieta non
movere_, and he fears lest the change be from good to bad. I, on the other
hand, contend that both our commerce and customs would gain, in quantity
as well as in quality, by direct dealings with the peoples of the
interior.
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