JNF-The-Working-Class-Struggle-of-Half-a-Century

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concerning the right for the working people to get together for their own benefit. In 1916 the labouring people made an effort, dictated by necessity, to organise a trades and labour union. A wide, frantic move was made to break the back bone of the effort and this climaxed in the arrival in St. Kitts of the then acting Governor of the Leeward Island, Vans Best, to preside over a meeting of the Legislative Council. At that meeting the Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the formation of a trades and labour union. The matter did not end there. Copies of the law were slipped through to Mr. Arthur Henderson, then Secretary of the British Labour Party in London, through the medium of Mr. Samuel Gompers who was, at that time, President of the American Federation of Labour. Then as a result of a question asked in the House of Commons, the hostile attitude of the local Legislature was exposed. Further legislative pressure on the working class was evidently prevented for the moment. London again Another crisis 18 years afterward necessitated aid from London to check oppression of the masses in this country. The leaders of Labour appealed to the Secretary of State against the decision of the Legislative Council to deny the people the right to handle the ballot. The petition to London was followed by a letter to the Governor urging that the decision should be set aside. In the letter several major points were submitted. It was put forward that the decision of the Council was contrary to the facts and circumstances that had been placed before the body and that it was not in keeping with the weight of evidence presented to the Council. The members of the Council, with one exception, were the same as those who had made investigations six months before with regards to introducing elective principle, and had reported favourably to the Council. These Councilors had given no reason for the complete change of mind to the people whose views they were appointed to represent. The letter to the Governor ended with the suggestion that if he was in any doubt as to the weight of public opinion on the question, he could take the opportunity to obtain the correct position by ordering the holding of a referendum on the issue. The Labour advocates also re- 95
quested that the matter be referred to the Secretary of State if the Governor was not prepared to deal with it. It therefore fell to the British Colonial Office, which was often given a bad name by colonials for keeping non-self-governing territories under the same authority, to enable the people of St. Kitts-Nevis- Anguilla to escape the political strangle-hold of the privileged classes. The behaviour of the local Legislature in December 1934 had caused astonishment. It shocked the Leeward Islands. The entire British Caribbean showed concern. Antigua and Montserrat had welcomed the offer of the privilege for the people to elect their representatives in the Government. But to this, the powers-that-be in our territory said “No” - just as they had done in 1922. Reversal It was at this junction that the Colonial Office policy proved a useful device. Both the people’s cause and the wishes of the Secretary of State were well served by the over-riding authority of the Colonial Office. The exercise of this power was a relatively rare experience. It was rendered more novel by the discreditable fact that the territory was stubbornly out of step with all others in the Caribbean. But the power was exercised. Its use reversed the anomalous position created by the local legislature. On 15 th July 1935 the following message from the Governor was published: It gives me much pleasure to announce I have received a telegram from the Secretary of State agreeing that elective principle should be adopted in Antigua, St. Kitts- Nevis and Montserrat with the franchise qualifications on the lines of those of Dominica and that there should be in St. Kitts and Nevis three nominated unofficial and five elected unofficial members and three official members including the administrator who only will have the casting vote. Early meetings of the Legislative Councils will be held in all presidencies probably simultaneously on August 8 th to place these proposals before the Legislative Councils. The prayer of the majority of the people had been granted. The progressive section of the press commented, The news brought a wel- 96
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J. N. FRANCE ______________________
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© 2015 Published by The National A
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Preface The Working Class struggle
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1 EARLY VISION Where is this countr
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With the passing of time, social an
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This early attempt at workers' orga
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post as a school teacher to succeed
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For several years the pressure was
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and school houses are being used fo
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housing condition arising from the
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3 PREPARING THE GROUND The thought
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That impressive English story told
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they had accumulated £28 with whic
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Commons that since the colony of th
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1922, some of the members of Legisl
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On 30 th August 1932 the Dominica T
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country and I regard British Guiana
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Mr. Marryshow then raised his tone
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Delegates to the West India Confere
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The conference opened its proceedin
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protests can be ignored with impuni
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Closer Union Commission widened to
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He said it was a privilege to him t
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possible, an education that must be
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and suffering, and in such a condit
Page 54 and 55: The land forming the Hospital compo
Page 56 and 57: ing able to grant the request of th
Page 58 and 59: prison sentences for what was commo
Page 60 and 61: sinned against the Factory. Theirs
Page 62 and 63: 9 FROM PAUPER RELIEF TO PROVIDENT B
Page 64 and 65: 1954 declared the first Monday in M
Page 66 and 67: it has proposed to interfere will b
Page 68 and 69: Change When the League came on the
Page 70 and 71: Children of the working class. 61
Page 72 and 73: had just dumped out a load of cane
Page 74 and 75: There was no reply from London. Twe
Page 76 and 77: president. When the delegation gave
Page 78 and 79: Under the law of 1937 only a limite
Page 80 and 81: Workers who would have benefited fr
Page 82 and 83: Grenada, and will seek to work in a
Page 84 and 85: Ferguson, Chairman of the Commissio
Page 86 and 87: Now let me say in the first place t
Page 88 and 89: We should like to refer to West Ind
Page 90 and 91: in West Indies there is a considera
Page 92 and 93: The 1932 Commissioners commented on
Page 94 and 95: not regard it as essential that the
Page 96 and 97: official news of its adoption by th
Page 98 and 99: gravity of the situation to the att
Page 100 and 101: On 13 th December, 1934 an unusuall
Page 102 and 103: employed by those who demand the ad
Page 106 and 107: come relief to a grateful people an
Page 108 and 109: vance towards the goal of the Feder
Page 110 and 111: members of the Council. Mr. Marrysh
Page 112 and 113: see no reason why we should be give
Page 114 and 115: Unofficial Majority on the Legislat
Page 116 and 117: tional reform movement in this Pres
Page 118 and 119: combine to give the Closer Union Sc
Page 120 and 121: prominent part in marking the close
Page 122 and 123: when the slaves were set free, and
Page 124 and 125: The people in those days took it fo
Page 126 and 127: Sugar Factory workers were “chast
Page 128 and 129: At West Farm the marchers were prev
Page 130 and 131: Some of the men, it was alleged, we
Page 132 and 133: gear was damaged and the employees
Page 134 and 135: Inspector of Police and Magistrate
Page 136 and 137: H.M.S. Leander arrived in the port
Page 138 and 139: satisfied that the action taken by
Page 140 and 141: 16 THE FIRST ELECTION The clash of
Page 142 and 143: opposed to it. The 1936 Constitutio
Page 144 and 145: important matter, I promise the Ele
Page 146 and 147: could have no better representative
Page 148 and 149: whether it was a fact that the St.
Page 150 and 151: existing, it is not considered that
Page 152 and 153: 17 THE 1938 ROYAL COMMISSION The 19
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A: Any law-abiding citizen over 16
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appeared and presented the case of
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18 A STAKE IN THE COUNTRY Land owne
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culture and Commercial Society. The
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After this, the land would vest abs
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age. In the following month, Januar
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19 MARCUS GARVEY IN ST. KITTS St. K
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When he made man he said, ‘By the
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oil underneath his feet. Englishmen
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is a little four-page newspaper. Yo
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provided the major portion of the e
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which should be paid for the variou
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In April 1969 the Minister of Labou
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21 POWER OF THE PRESS During first
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Commission headed by Sir Charles Fe
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President wrote, The issues are too
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the sea. The effects were terrible
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mendous crowd packed the Mutual Imp
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territory, the success of the past
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the notice, was that employees were
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