Representing Tobago: Isaac Arbuthnot Hope – 1932-1938

Dr Rita Pemberton

AFTER THE death of James Biggart in 1932, Isaac A Hope was elected unopposed as the representative for Tobago on the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago. Hope was a white cocoa planter, the owner of substantial properties in Roxborough, and a businessman who ran a store in Scarborough.

Hope had lived in Tobago all his life and was exposed to the deficiencies which were part of the lived experience on the island. He, therefore, was fully aware of all the challenges which faced its people, but he possessed neither the passion nor the determination to pursue the welfare of the island that his predecessor did.

While he sought fairness and equity of treatment for Tobago, he was not seeking any special treatment, because he saw the island as no different from the rural areas of Trinidad. This fed into the sentiments of the members of council, who viewed Tobago as a rural dependency.

This approach differed significantly from that of Biggart, who operated from the perspective that the island deserved special attention to improve its economy and the quality of life for the population.

One of the first areas in which Hope sought intervention was the high level of unemployment.

He tried to encourage the Legislative Council to provide unemployment relief by undertaking capital projects in Tobago. These included dredging the mouth of the Steel River in Lambeau, providing a water supply to Patience Hill, and undertaking roadworks to eliminate the hazards wrought on the Charlotteville road by erosion.

Members of the council felt the cost of these projects was too much for the colony to bear. Subsequently, approval was given for a scheme to provide water to Scarborough, which included a supply to Patience Hill and other areas.

In 1937, the Legislative Council was jolted by the outbreak of a typhoid epidemic in Roxborough, which led them to approve a water scheme for the town. Hope tried to convince them to extend the water scheme to surrounding areas without success.

He also sought to improve the water supply to Des Vignes Road in Moriah with no luck.

He again raised the issue two years later, but there was still no support from members of the council. Hope advocated that Tobago should have a representative on the Central Water Board to ensureTobagonians could get a better water service, but no consideration was given to that suggestion.

Hope again advocated measures to increase employment, this time though the expansion of the cocoa fermentaries and additional support for the cocoa industry. While there was support for the former, the members, especially Capt Arthur Cipriani, were adamant that it was a waste of time and resources to attempt to pump money into the cocoa industry. Cipriani made a counter-suggestion: Tobago should concentrate on developing a livestock industry to supply beef and pork for the Trinidad market.

However, funds were approved to support small farmers to establish cocoa fermentaries.

Hope called for a system of affordable healthcare for the island’s population. He was opposed to the imposition of a two-shilling charge on parents who took their sick children for attention at the government health facilities. In support of his measure, Hope highlighted the fact that the fall in the price of cocoa resulted in reduced wages for cocoa workers, hence parents’ inability to pay.

While he stressed he was not seeking any special attention for Tobago, which was like any other part of the colony, Hope drew attention to the disparity in the allocation of poor relief funds between Tobago and Trinidad, which he considered unfair. He indicated that he was aware free medical services could be obtained for those who were classified as “paupers” and were issued pauper certificates, which he found too degrading.

He persisted in arguing for free medical services for the unemployed children of labourers, but the surgeon general opposed that suggestion, saying the infant mortality rate in Tobago was lower than in Trinidad, implying there was no need for any special health provisions for the children of Tobago.

Hope directed the attention of members of council to the communication difficulties faced by the residents of Culloden. He argued for the improvement of Culloden Road through wheeled traffic access from Culloden Road to Les Coteau.

The council said such a project was far too costly an undertaking and the road was open to wheeled (carts and bicycles), but not motor traffic, because of its sharp curves and narrow width. However, it was indicated that such an expenditure could not be justified because there was an alternative route, the Arnos Vale Road.

Directing attention to the poor state of roads in Tobago, Hope pointed to the disrepair of the crown traces, to which maintenance efforts had not been directed, and the need to open the Parlatuvier/Charlotteville Road to facilitate road communication between those communities.

He also raised the persistent deficiencies of medical services in Tobago. There were no dispensaries in rural areas such as Charlotteville and Castara, and the Scarborough hospital was not equipped with an X-ray unit, which meant Tobagonians who needed that service had to travel to Trinidad.

Hope welcomed a loan to the Tobago Producers Co-operative to build an ice plant to reduce the deprivations suffered from Thursday-Tuesday, when the boats which brought ice from Trinidad did not sail and there would be no ice on the island.

He also lamented the impact of post-war depression, which resulted in unemployment, leaving people unable to pay rates and taxes. Hope recommended reducing land taxes and increased support for cocoa production, both of which were closely allied to his personal interests as a large landowner and cocoa farmer, to which he remained committed.