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

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Some of the men, it was alleged, were ordered to ‘fall-in’ with the crowd. About noon, the crowd arrived at the estate known as Brighton. The manager....met the crowd as they advance in large numbers into his estate yard. He ordered them out, telling that they were on private property. The crowd, still armed with sticks, and numbering by estimation 300 and 400, surrounded the manager (Mr Yearwood) in a threatening manner by raising their sticks over his head. He again spoke to them. No personal violence was done to him. His estate labourers were ordered to stop work. Mules and cattle, which were harnessed in their carts were taken out and the working gear cut up in order to prevent any immediate use being made of the carts. The manager and his employees were put in fear by the action of the crowd. His principal cutter was forcibly ordered to join the crowd and a stick was placed in his hands. The crowd, still further augmented in numbers from the neighboring village, proceeded to the next estate known as Lodge... The Chief Justice’s Report on the situation continued: They entered the estate yard. As they did so, the owner and manager, Mr. Todd, advance towards them with his hands above his head, saying: “You must not come in here. You must go back . You are trespassing and this is private property”. Four men came forward from the crowd and commenced hitting Mr. Todd with their sticks. The latter was unarmed. Upon seeing the violence of these men, he called to his maid servant to bring his shotgun. It was fetched and handed to Mr. Todd, but as he grasped it, he was struck on the hand and forced to drop the gun. The gun was not loaded. Upon its falling to the ground it was seized by one of Mr. Todd’s assailants and broken in two… A few stones were also thrown, two of which struck his house servants. Mr. Todd and his servants were forced to retreat into his homestead. The crowd then proceeded to other estates, unharnessing all cattle carts and damaging the working gear… Another estate known as Willetts was visited. The overseer was seized and a bill demanded of him for the purpose of destroying the 121
working gear of the carts which were then unharnessed in the estate yard. The bills had been previously stored away. The leaders seized the overseer and marched him up to the manager’s house and the chief and principal rioter ordered the crowd to remain 100 feet from the manager’s house, and went forward to the house with the overseer. The manager, a native of St. Kitts, told the overseer to come inside the house. The leader and also members of the mob, used threats of violence but did not take any further action. Meanwhile the police under the command of Major Duke, arrived and met the crowd at Estridge Estate. The police were eight in number and were armed with rifles. Arrests were made. It does not appear from the evidence that any attack was made on the police. This brings the movement and actions of the crowd, which by estimation had decreased to between 200 and 300 up to approximately 5 o’clock p.m. The crowd moved onwards but was not followed by the police who were 12 to 13 miles from headquarters and with hostile villages in their rear... Why This? Why did all of this happen? How else could the necessary interest be aroused to produce due consideration of the plight of the labouring class in St. Kitts at that period? By what means were their wages and working conditions to be improved? A first step forward had to be made; though this move in 1935 was regarded as a crude one. The situation taught some important lessons - to the workers themselves, to the government of that day and to the community as a whole. The Second Day A day of industrial unrest in St. Kitts had ended, but it left a spirited awakening among workers on sugar estates. The night passed somewhat quietly. Subsequent happenings were described in the Chief Justice’s report. It stated: The following morning (29th January 1935) a smaller band of rioters went around the western limits of the island, visiting estates and demanding of the labourers that they should ‘fall in’ with them. In coming along the main road, which encircles the island, two carts, belonging to sugar-cane estates, were met. These were hauled out (unharnessed) and the cattle set at large among the cane fields. The 122
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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
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The land forming the Hospital compo
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ing able to grant the request of th
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prison sentences for what was commo
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sinned against the Factory. Theirs
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9 FROM PAUPER RELIEF TO PROVIDENT B
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1954 declared the first Monday in M
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it has proposed to interfere will b
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Change When the League came on the
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Children of the working class. 61
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had just dumped out a load of cane
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There was no reply from London. Twe
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president. When the delegation gave
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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 104 and 105: concerning the right for the workin
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 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
Page 154 and 155: A: Any law-abiding citizen over 16
Page 156 and 157: appeared and presented the case of
Page 158 and 159: 18 A STAKE IN THE COUNTRY Land owne
Page 160 and 161: culture and Commercial Society. The
Page 162 and 163: After this, the land would vest abs
Page 164 and 165: age. In the following month, Januar
Page 166 and 167: 19 MARCUS GARVEY IN ST. KITTS St. K
Page 168 and 169: When he made man he said, ‘By the
Page 170 and 171: oil underneath his feet. Englishmen
Page 172 and 173: is a little four-page newspaper. Yo
Page 174 and 175: provided the major portion of the e
Page 176 and 177: which should be paid for the variou
Page 178 and 179: 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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