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Colonization after Emancipation 63 A rare photograph of Lord Lyons and Henry Pelham-Clinton, fifth Duke of Newcastle and secretary of state for the colonies. Newcastle oversaw the development of emigration proposals from British Honduras and Guiana, whereas Lyons coordinated the negotiations with Washington. The two are shown here accompanying Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales and later King Edward VII, during a visit to the United States. The photograph was taken in Portland, Maine, on October 20, 1860. (Library of Congress) 64 Colonization after Emancipation Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, first Viscount Lyons. While serving as British minister to Washington during the Lincoln administration, Lyons was authorized to oversee all negotiations concerning the relocation of black emigrants to the British West Indies. Photograph by Matthew Brady, circa 1860-1865. (Library of Congress) [44.202.90.91] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 01:58 GMT) Colonization after Emancipation 65 Frederick Seymour, lieutenant governor of British Honduras from 1862 to 1864. In September 1863 Seymour authorized the proclamation of three U.S. ports as points of emigration for the recruitment of black laborers . He is pictured here while serving as the governor of British Columbia. Photograph by Frederick Dally, circa 1866. (Royal British Columbia Museum, BC Archives) 66 Colonization after Emancipation Sir Francis Hincks, governor of British Guiana from 1862 to 1869. As governor, Hincks oversaw the Walker mission to the United States of 1862 and authorized the recruitment of black laborers from the United States in 1864. Hincks had a long and distinguished career in Canadian politics, and is pictured here late in life as a member of the Canadian parliament. (McCord Museum MP–1991.12.6) [44.202.90.91] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 01:58 GMT) Colonization after Emancipation 67 The Rev. James Mitchell of Indiana was appointed emigration commissioner by Lincoln in 1862 to oversee the implementation of colonization. Mitchell was the Lincoln administration’s leading advocate of immigration to British Honduras and Guiana. He later became entangled in a budgetary dispute with John P. Usher that contributed to the repeal of the colonization budget in 1864. This photograph was taken around 1880 when Mitchell was the headmaster of the Mt. Zion Seminary in Carroll County, Georgia. (Image courtesy of Jack Dorsey, Mt. Zion Community Center, Mt. Zion, Georgia) 68 Colonization after Emancipation J. Willis Menard was a well-known African American proponent of colonization and was hired on as a clerk in the Emigration Office, becoming the first African American to hold an administrative position within the United States government. In 1868 Menard became the first African American to win election to the United States Congress, but he was eventually refused his seat in favor of a white candidate who challenged the election results. He was permitted to make a speech before Congress on February 23, 1869. (Library of Congress) [44.202.90.91] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 01:58 GMT) Colonization after Emancipation 69 Major-General Benjamin F. Butler met in private with President Lincoln at the White House on April 11, 1865, three days before the assassination. According to Butler, Lincoln discussed with him the possibility of reviving colonization after the Civil War by recruiting black laborers to dig the Panama Canal. (Library of Congress) 70 Colonization after Emancipation John Palmer Usher, secretary of the interior from 1863 to 1865. Known as a generally unassuming administrator to most, Usher nonetheless became entangled in a prolonged feud over the colonization fund that contributed more than any other factor to the British project’s collapse. Usher likely knew Mitchell from their prior careers in Indiana politics, suggesting that the source of the feud may have predated the Lincoln administration. (Library of Congress) [44.202.90.91] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 01:58 GMT) Colonization after Emancipation 71 Rev. Henry Highland Garnet (to upper left of Frederick Douglass) as he appeared in 1865. Garnet was the pastor of the Shiloh Presbyterian Church in New York City and an influential supporter of African repatriation within the black community. In 1863 he assisted the British Honduras Company’s efforts to recruit colonists among the free black population of the north. (Library of Congress) 72 Colonization after Emancipation The British Legation record of Abraham Lincoln’s authorization to the emigration canvassers from British Honduras and Guiana. This first-generation copy is the best-preserved of three known surviving versions. (UK National Archives) ...