Forced and free: labour on Tobago’s public roads

Dr Rita Pemberton

The hurricane of 1847 was an agonising experience for all the residents of Tobago, but the administration was primarily concerned with the setbacks faced by the planting community, whose crops and factories were destroyed.

Coming after Emancipation, to which planters remained opposed, and on the heels of the 1846 Sugar Duties Act, which removed the protection Caribbean sugar had long enjoyed on the British market, the hurricane was a severe blow.

The planting community was very disappointed by the support the British government provided, for the expectation was that the disaster would prompt the imperial authorities to inject significant funds to restore the profitability of the ailing sugar industry, but that was not to be.

Apart from the buildings, the administration faced the costs of infrastructural restoration at a time when the island’s main revenue- earner was incapacitated. The Treasury was short of funds and unable to meet the administration’s operating costs.

One area in need of urgent action was the roads. Even before the hurricane, they were in a state of disrepair. Since roads constituted the main official line of communication on the island and were essential for trade and security, some intervention was considered essential. How the administration attempted to dealt with that issue in the midst of its financial woes, is revealed in the Road Act of 1849, which sought to amend the laws governing making and repairing roads and streets.

The act identified those classified as public roads. Scarborough was the centre of the public road system which ran to the west , east, north and south, circling the island, connecting with every estate along the coast, while the cross roads connected Scarborough with those estates with inland locations and those near the coast.

Through this arrangement, all estates were connected to the capital and with each other. Excluded from the classification were horse or bridle roads, the line road from Runnymede to Englishman’s Bay, and roads for carts and carriages.

The responsibility for road construction and maintenance was given to officers called way wardens, who were were appointed for each parish as follows. Three were from among resident freeholders, renters, attorneys, managers or merchants. Three were appointed in each of the parishes of St John, St Paul, St Mary and St George, and five from St Andrew, St David and St Patrick, Appointees who failed to perform satisfactorily were liable to a fine of £10.

The way wardens were authorised to identify roadworks including repair, widening, extension and construction, which were essential and to procure the required labour for them. Where necessary they could employ competent people to serve as supervisors to the work force, who would do so in lieu of mandatory labour.

Every male between the age of 16 and 50 was required to give labour on the roads. Those who qualified were required to provide their names and addresses to the way wardens of their districts by December 15 each year. When their labour was required, the way warden would issue a summons, delivered by a constable 48 hours before the service was required. Constables were paid three shillings per day.

The labourers had to provide their own tools and do the work ascribed to them by the way wardens for a wage of sixpence per day. Refusal to comply with mandates of the way wardens would result in a fine of four shillings for every day of neglect or refusal to perform the labour. The workday was nine hours long, and unsatisfactory work or insolence to those in authority could result in a fine of up to eight shillings and, if the worker was unable to pay, a levy would be made on his possessions within 48 hours of the decision by the justice of the peace. Should his possessions not amount to the required value, the offender could face a jail term of up to eight days, with or without hard labour.

Those labourers who owned a cart or carts, and horses or mules or oxen and drivers, were mandated by the way wardens to transport materials required for road repair or pay 30 shillings in default. For each cart with four oxen, one driver and 1one leader were paid 12 shillings per day and each cart with two mules or horses and one driver got ten shillings.

In the event of landslides or floods, the way wardens were authorised to call on the people on their list six hours before they were required to work and they were ordered to work until the obstacles were cleared, or pay the penalties in default. Way wardens were authorised to acquire lands needed for road improvement. If the owners objected, the matter was put before a panel of jurors, which could include residents or people qualified to serve as jurors, who would determine whether and how much compensation should be paid.

Way wardens could order labourers to cut or prune overhanging trees and and fences on public roads which obstructed sunshine and the circulation of air. Their responsibilities also included establishing mileposts to indicate distance from Scarborough and take material for road repair from any site, with the proviso that it would not negatively affect the cultivation of cane or provisions, and must first obtain the permission of the owner, to whom compensation would be due

The law made it an offence for stray animals – sheep, goats, pigs, horses, mules, asses or horned cattle – to be loose on public roads. The fine for this offence was ten shillings or up to 48 hours in jail. Any animal on the street would be slaughtered by people authorised by the way wardens, who were allowed to keep the heads and carcasses, if they were not removed by the owners within an hour. If fines were not paid, the goods of the owner would be levied upon and sold by public auction.

It is to be noted that although this law was fashioned 11 years after Emancipation, it reflected the compulsion of enslavement and sought to force workers to labour for low wages. The disparity between wags and fines meant workers would most often end up in prison and lose their property in the process.

The tentacles of enslavement continued to constrict free workers after Emancipation.