Tobago’s problem of representation, 1889-1946

Dr Rita Pemberton

ONE OF the first major issues to emerge with the union of Trinidad and Tobago was the issue of representation for Tobago in the central administration of the colony.

Despite the demise of the sugar industry, the island remained dominated by a planter/merchant class which, although somewhat weakened, remained an influential force on the island.

From 1889, by virtue of his office, the Commissioner for Tobago was automatically selected as one of the island’s representatives on the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago, but he was an administrator and not representative of the population.

In addition, it was felt that there was need for a representative of the people and quite naturally it was to the elite element of the population to which attention was turned.

Tobago’s first representatives were nominated.

John Mc Killop, lessee of Bacolet Estate, was the first nominee. He, however, declared bankruptcy in 1893 and was replaced by George Horatio McEachrane.

Poor sea communications made McEachrane’s attendance very irregular, and he requested that matters pertaining to Tobago be discussed in two special annual sessions of the council to allow full participation of the island’s representative without the expense and loss of time due the irregularity of the inter-island shipping arrangements.

His suggestions were ignored so he had no recourse but to submit his views in writing and was absent from sittings of the council up to 1903.

Nominated to replace him was Henry Lushington Thornton, joint owner of the recently purchased Cocowattie Estate.

He too was plagued by the challenges of sea communications, which resulted in his absence, and he ceased to attend meetings between 1906 and 1913.

From 1903-1904 when he was absent in the UK, no replacement was named.

The reality was that nominees were selected from the planter/merchant class and no member of that elite business community was prepared to sacrifice his time and resources to sit on the council which, given the challenges to which appointees were exposed, was considered an imposition rather than a privilege.

From 1913 there was no resident representative for Tobago on the Legislative Council of TT. In an attempt to address the situation, the governor nominated one of the members of the council to speak on behalf of Tobago. The first individual so selected was a Mr Moodie, a representative from San Fernando.

Complaints from the Tobago Planters Association about the lack of representation on the 1919 Road Development Committee, which was perceived as a deficiency of representation, resulted in the manager of Louis D’Or Estate being asked to serve temporarily.

He declined because of the possible six-day time lapse which would be incurred given the sailing programme of the steamship.

The position was then offered to AH Cipriani, a Port of Spain merchant who owned coconut estates in Tobago, but he declared bankruptcy and withdrew from the position.

Up to 1922, Tobago had no voice, neither through resident nor effective representative on the council for over a decade.

It is noteworthy that in both islands the representative element was made up of members of the planter/merchant class, whose focus was not on the concerns of the larger segment, the working-class population.

In addition, the island faced control by the planter-controlled legislature, which was not sympathetic to Tobago-related matters.

Meanwhile, the Trinidad Workingmen’s Association (TWA), which was formed in 1877, began to press for social change for the working class, but having received little response from the authorities became inactive by 1898.

The organisation was revived in 1906 under the leadership of Alfred Richards and Adrian Hilarion to preserve the interests of the working men as the colony faced mounting pressure from the start of the 20th century.

The mission of the TWA was to protect the interests of working men and in order to achieve this attention was devoted to the wages and hours of work of the railway workers and to labour reform.

However, the planter-dominated government remained hostile to the association and non-responsive to the issues that were raised.The result was increased militancy.

The post-World War I era was a period of skyrocketing prices and continued low wages, which stimulated the demand for better governance, to be attained through constitutional reform, spearheaded by Captain Arthur Andrew Cipriani, an officer of the British Regiment.

Cipriani joined and revived the TWA in 1919 and subsequently formed the Trinidad Labour Party (TLP), with links to the British Labour Party, to advance its constitutional agenda.

Strikes and demonstrations were the response of workers to the increasing cost of living across the country.

In Tobago, where there were efforts to organise workers, protests spread to estates across the island and the outburst in Scarborough resulted in one man being shot and killed.

The planting community was rocked by these developments and there was anxiety to prevent its escalation.

One estate owner, Major Disney of Bon Accord Estate, quickly indicated his willingness to increase wages to 50 cents per day if other plantation owners agreed. Troops were brought in to restore order.

The imperial government sent out the Wood Commission in 1921 to consider the impact of recession on the British Caribbean colonies and to investigate possibilities for constitutional reform.

For TT, the recommendation was the establishment of a legislative body with 25 members, seven of which were to be elected, one of which was to represent Tobago.

The people of Tobago had attained the right to vote for a representative to sit on the Legislative Council in 1925 to represent their interests. This was an important milestone because it allowed a larger number of people to vote for the first time in the history of the island.

Prior to this, the vote was restricted to large plantation owners and since the institution of Crown Colony government after the Belmanna War, it was completely removed from the privileged class.

The first three people elected to represent the island were: James Biggart, a black member of the educated class and a businessman; Isaac Hope, and George de Nobriga, both planter/businessmen.

The number of voters who exercised their franchise during these first three elections was relatively small.

However, this would change because the level of worker organisation on the island improved. By 1929 there were TWA sections in Bethel and Moriah and over 500 members in Tobago. By 1930 there were TWA branches in Bethel, Bloody Bay, Canaan, Glamorgan, Lambeau, Mason Hall, Moriah, Parlatuvier, Plymouth, Roxborough and Scarborough.

Membership of these branches helped to strengthen the civic-mindedness of the Tobago workers, who were required to vote for their leaders, air their problems and discuss strategies to deal with them.

As a result, the issue of quality representation assumed greater prominence at meetings, as would be demonstrated in the elections of 1946.