His Excellency Stephen Allen Benson, President of Liberia, 1862. ...the President...is of pure African blood. He was sent from Maryland at the age of six, and, having gone through great vicissitudes - among others of being a prisoner when very young among the aborigines, then being a successful merchant, then being a member of the Legislature as Senator, then Judge, then Vice-President of the Republic, and, of course, President of the Senate, and occasionally military commander of the volunteer countrymen in resisting the attacks of the natives - became President of the Republic...[He] was inaugurated for a fourth term last January. The Republic of Liberia..., lying between Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast, and has a population of from 500,000 to 600,000 souls, of whom nearly 500,000 are aboriginal inhabitants. Under the able presidency of Mr. Benson, Liberia has made great strides, and the honour shown to him during his present visit to this country is indicative of the interest felt both for him and for the country over which he presides...His Excellency, who is a special commissioner for Liberia at the International Exhibition, will bear away with him the good will and best wishes of a large number of English people. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.