Labour and lament in Tobago sugar industry

Part II

IN ACCORDANCE with the terms of union, in 1889 the attorney general of Trinidad was required to visit and hear cases in Tobago periodically. At union Justice John Gorrie began hearing cases, and after presiding over two sessions in the court there were two contradictory reactions to his presence in Tobago.

He was welcomed to the island by members of the lower classes who flocked to his chambers seeking his advice and legal assistance, while the island’s proprietors were incensed by and opposed to his decisions.

Gorrie was beloved by the lower classes in Tobago for several reasons.

Firstly, he made access to the courts affordable for the lower classes, who had been denied justice because they could not afford the high cost of court and legal fees. Using the principle
in forma pauperis, which means in the manner of a pauper, the court fees were dropped for the lower classes, who were then allowed to bring their cases, whether lawsuits or appeals, to be heard in the court.

The High Court fees had served as effective deterrents to access to justice by the lower classes. The absence of this and any other avenue to air their complaints gave the appearance that the operation of metayage in Tobago was a model of the effective implementation of the system, despite the sub-surface strata of turbulence which characterised its operations.

This absence of conflict visibility gave credence to the inaccurate notion that the operations of the metayage system in Tobago was smooth and successful.

The dictum of Justice Gorrie stimulated dramatic change in Tobago. Relief from the imposition of heavy court fees opened the door to a flood of legal cases, which revealed the range and extent of conflicts which occurred without resolution in the operations of metayage in Tobago.

Secondly, Gorrie recommended lawyers who were willing to take their cases, many of which had been settled in their favour. This was another significant change since the lawyers on the island were either planters or agents of planters, who would not support the metayers with their grievances against their fellows.

Thirdly, Gorrie had passed judgements in favour of the metayers against the employer, an occurrence which, until then, was virtually unknown. While the metayers were jubilant, the planters were highly indignant.

Since this was their first experience of a judge who was not pro-planter, it is not surprising that the planters of Tobago were alarmed by the judgements which were handed down by Justice Gorrie, who they despised.

The proprietors claimed that since his presence on the island they had lost all confidence in the administration of justice and saw no chance of getting justice under Gorrie. They trained their guns on the judge with the intent of getting him removed from the island, and at the same time they sought to show how unjust he was.

Planters asserted that the metayers brought claims old and new which were entertained by the judge. Believing that they stood no chance of getting a fair hearing, the planters said they were forced to pay out huge sums to avoid matters being brought to the courts, even when they knew that the claims could not be substantiated.

In addition, the planters claimed that the metayers had become insolent and would not comply with the orders to grind the canes when the planters desired. Of course, the implication here was that this behaviour was caused by the judge and there was no admission of the possibility that the metayers had other obligations with which the orders to cut the canes would have clashed.

The union of the two islands provided a new market for the produce of the metayers, who used the cane pieces to cultivate their crops for profit and they were in no mood to take orders from the planters. Tensions escalated between the metayers and the alarmed planters, who sent petitions to the secretary of state complaining about the conduct of Justice Gorrie.

Concerns about the state of hostility on the island prompted the decision to set up a commission of enquiry, which was established on May 20, 1890, by Gov William Robinson. The commissioners were Stephen Gatty, attorney general of Trinidad; Lorraine Geddes Hay, commissioner for Tobago, and the island’s representative on the Legislative Council of TT and barrister of law, Robert Stuart Aucher Warner. They were appointed with the mandate to facilitate the implementation of legislation to regulate the system.

This investigation was stimulated by three developments:

Firstly, it was a response to the increased litigation which occurred on the island. The commission was charged with investigation of the operation of the metairie system and the cause of the increase in litigation which appeared to be a new development, and which traumatised the planting community, who were concerned that they could lose their properties to the former enslaved community.

Secondly, the planters felt threatened by the claims of the metayers. In particular, the planters’ lamentation began with their shock reaction to the decision on the Frank vs Anderson case, which suggested that metayers have fixity of tenure to the plots of land which they cultivated and from which they could not be expelled. The terrified proprietors were determined to challenge this decision and hold on to their properties.

Thirdly, the distribution of the responsibilities within the metayage agreement constituted a major problem area of conflict. Planters were in favour of increased use of the metayer contracts because of the advantage they hoped to gain. They were in dire want of capital to make their estates more productive and better able to claim a larger market share than in previous years.

To do this they required capital to restore plantation buildings and get production fully operational after the hurricane of 1847. Since capital was not available, the co-operation of the metayers was required to provide the labour.

However, the planters felt overburdened and unable to take a greater share of the burden of producing sugar, which they argued would wreck the sugar industry in Tobago. They were insistent on increasing the burdens on the metayers who resisted those efforts.

The commission reported that the metayage system was necessary as long as sugar cultivation continued on the island. As a result, it was considered necessary to provide new legislation which could standardise and guide the operations of the system. The recommended legislation was the 1888 version, which was first drafted by the Tobago Agricultural Society, with some modifications.

It was the view of the commissioners that both planters and metayers depended on, and benefited from, the system, therefore they found it necessary to apply remedies which could remove the prevailing ill feeling and re-establish the good relations which, according to the evidence of some planters, initially existed.

The suggestion of the commissioners was that the introduction of free Indians from Trinidad to try their fortunes in Tobago would have a beneficial effect on the relations between metayers and plantation owners. However, the metayer/planter animosity continued, the sugar industry struggled on with its labour pains, while planters remained committed to getting rid of Justice Gorrie.