In this posting I've provided the text of Borrowes' dissertation that deals with immigration to Liberia from the US and the West Indies. At the end is a quote from President Barclay whose family immigrated from Barbados. His, and the quote from other government officials at the time, gives an idea of the "quality" of the type of immigrants they were encouraging. Earl ------- Source: Burrowes, Carl Patrick, Ph. D. (1994). Press Freedom in Liberia, 1830-1970: The impact of modernity, ethnicity and power imbalances on government-press relations "From Pan-Africanism to Liberian Nationalism (pp. 413-419) "During the early years of this period [1900-1930] mass immigration of new world blacks became another basis for the polarization of local political leaders, a split that was reinforced by growing political differences among blacks in the United States. This split was sparked by an article in the African League which accused the U.S. Minister resident Lyons of inducing immigrant W.E. Watson, a medical doctor, to return to the United States in order to discredit the immigration drive. The League's editor also argued that Liberians would prefer a white consul at Monrovia, since black diplomats were unable to maintain their neutrality on local affairs -- an odd position for a black nationalist. Lyon responded by dispatching a letter to Watson in which he accused Dr. Faulkner -- Watson's host while in Monrovia -- of spreading the rumor and requesting Watson to confront Faulkner in the presence of a witness. Watson responded to Lyons, denying that he had been pressured or induced by the U.S. Envoy to leave Liberia and reporting that Faulkner had denied spreading the charge (African Agricultural World, November 1905) This attack on Lyons sparked a special issue of the African Agricultural World on 'The Immigration Question' in November 1905. The controversy had its origin in two dispatches to the U.S. Secretary of State from Lyons. The first, sent on September 23, 1903, informed the secretary that due to poor planning and inadequate provisions, 20 of the 56 blacks from Erwin County, Georgia, who left for Liberia under the leadership of B.J. Scott, had died, the others were sickly and destitute, and five were planning to return to the United States via Liverpool on the first English steamer. Lyons blamed " agitation now going [on] in the United States, on the subject of Negro immigration to Liberia, by irresponsible persons, whose literature has wide circulation among the innocent and poorer classes of Negroes" (African Agricultural World, November 1905) In a letter two week later, Lyons asserted on the basis of his own knowledge and a survey of Liberian leaders that the country was not ready for indiscriminate immigration, meaning by poorer blacks. In addition, he said he had began soliciting the opinions of Liberian leaders on immigration 13 months earlier after a letter from the Rev. W.H. Heard appeared in the African League, following an Immigrations Convention held in Montgomery, Alabama, on June 26, 1903, in which he claimed that large numbers of blacks were willing to leave for Liberia. On August 27, 1903, Lyons informed President G.W. Gibson of Liberia in a letter that some recent immigrants were about to return to the United States in "pitiable" conditions, likely to "excite attention" and although they were unlikely to say unfriendly things about Liberia, "yet newspaper men live by printing sensational reports." In addition, Lyons sent a letter to several Liberian leaders drawing their attention to the recently published statements of the Rev. Heard and soliciting their reactions (African Agricultural World, November 1905). Of those who responded to Lyons, only Episcopal Bishop S.D. Ferguson emphasized the need for changes on the part of the Liberian government, noting that "there should be an immigration bureau under government appointment, with whom all such persons would correspond before coming in order that information must be had and the necessary arrangements made for them. Respondents who were government officials, in contrast emphasized the need for "quality" immigrants. For example, Post Master S.T. Prout argued: "Men and women are wanted who are patriotic lovers of freedom, self-reliant men, men of push, men who can organize ideas and execute them, responsible men who come determined to stand by the Republic of Liberia and succeed as she succeeds, or fall as the Republic fails." In a similar vain, Secretary of Treasury Daniel E. Howard noted, "If those who were to immigrate have really gotten enough of all they can get our of America, the good and the bad, then, and not till then, let them come. ...an indiscriminate, heterogeneous, wholesale influx of Negroes or anybody else would be undesirable here or anywhere else." T.W. Howard added that "none but those who are capable of coming to assist us in solving the great problems of the state are needed." In forwarding these letters to his superiors in Washington, D.C., Lyons also cited a letter from E.W. Blyden to the Liberia Recorder of August 20, 1905, in which Blyden waxed philosophically, arguing that it might take Liberians another 300 years to transform the country into an appropriate receptacle for new world blacks (African Agricultural World, November 1905) President Barclay, himself an immigrant, noted: "There is a class of men slowly coming into the country who will prove a most useful acquisition. They are rather above the average. As the country develops and opportunities offer they will encourage their friends to come over. This class should zealously be encouraged. ... I am aware that our state must have accessions of civilized persons of Negro blood from America and the West Indies; but we must see the danger of the incoming at this critical period, when we are trying to place on a proper footing our relations with the tribal communities on the country of a greater number of people ignorant alike of the experience through which the older settlers have passed, and of their conclusions thereupon; and, for some years at least after settlements careless of both national organism and ideal. As one cannot do without the native citizen, so we must be careful that one do not unduly force pace (African Agricultural World, November 1905) -- Love doesn't make the world go around; Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. Franklin P. Jones

Wasn't there also a President of Liberia from Barbados who fought for the British in the Boer War and settled in Liberia with a South African wife?

On 7/6/03 5:23 PM, "Richard Bond" <RichardBond@webtv.net> wrote: > Wasn't there also a President of Liberia from Barbados who fought for > the British in the Boer War and settled in Liberia with a South African > wife Hey Richard As far as I'm aware, there are only two Liberian presidents from Barbados -- Arthur Barclay (b. 1854 - d. 1938) - from 4 Jan 1904 to 1 Jan 1912 and his nephew Edwin J. Barclay (b. 1882 - d. 1955) (acting to 4 Jan 1932) - from 3 Dec 1930 to 3 Jan 1944 Earl -- Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.