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

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Inspector of Police and Magistrate conferred, shortly after 6 p.m. the Magistrate, Mr. Bell, read the Riot Act and again urged the crowd to disperse... Riot Act Proclamation The following is the text of the Proclamation made under the Riot Act (Cap. 47) of the Leeward Islands: Our Sovereign Lord the King charges and commands all persons having assembled immediately to disperse themselves and peaceable to depart to their own habitations or to their lawful business upon pains contained in the Riot Act. GOD SAVE THE KING! Even this had no effect on the excited crowd at Buckley’s gate on that Tuesday afternoon, the 29 th January 1935. Their feelings had got a new prick from the firing of a shot gun by an estate official, injuring three workers. Night was coming on. The situation was tense. The Report of the Chief Justice recorded the next stage: There being so much noise after an interval, which varied according to the evidence, four to fifteen or twenty minutes, the Riot Act was read a second time. The crowd would not listen, and immediately after the second reading of the Riot Act they commenced cannonading the forces with stones; some of the police were struck, but not seriously injured. Major Duke then ordered the police to move forwards with arms at the port, in order to press the crowd backward towards the villages of Haynes Smith and St Johnson and away from Mr Dobridge’s quarters, the Defence Forces being ordered to stand by in support at the rear. Meanwhile the police and Defence Forces were being subject to a continuous fusillade of stones of dangerous size. Several of the men were hit as was also the Magistrate. The crowd were warned that if they did not desist their stone throwing they would be fired on by the Forces. This had no effect and orders were given to the forces to fire on persistent stone-throwers on the flanks, which was done. There were women and children in the main body of the rioters.... There were five rounds of ammunition issued to the Forces. Fifty five shots were fired; three men were killed and eight wounded. As far as the police evidence 125
was concerned, the person killed were on the street in St. Johnston Village near the entrance to it from Basseterre side.... Reporting the grim climax, a newspaper said; After the reading of the Riot Act, fire was opened. The deadly pallets sang and whistled their fatal notes far and wide through the villages of Haynes Smith and St. Johnston. The bullets tore their way through fences, the sides of houses and buildings, through electric lighting post, through household furniture, through concrete structures, and last, but by no means least, through the live human flesh of both the guilty and the innocent alike. Blood spilled in the air and ran profusely on the ground. League’s Message The division of the crowd previously taken away by officers of the St. Kitts Workers League, was led to the Bay Front where, by these men, they were seriously advised to refrain from any action which might create public disorder. The opportunity was also taken by the Workers League to distribute a printed message to the people. It said: The St. Kitts Workers League, in the interest and the general welfare of the various sections of the people of the island, solemnly and seriously advises each and every individual of the community to refrain from any act which may tend to create disorder and a breach of the King’s peace, and especially at this juncture of labour unrest. The League views the present situation with deep concern and in solemn terms declares that everything should be avoided which may end disastrously to the community in general. Who paid the price? After the pleading, marching, rioting and shooting of January 1935, there was more to come before the close of the industrial episode. The victims of the blazing guns were John Allen, James Archibald, both labourers, and Joseph Samuel,a factory watch man. The following persons were injured by bullets and taken to the hospital:- Alfred Rogers of Old Botanic Gardens; Cyril Tyson of Mc Knight, William Fowler of St Johnston Village; Samuel Woodley of Wattley Gate; Ellsworth Selkridge of Trafalgar Range; Charles Moving of Market Street; Olive Allen of St Johnston Village; Virginia Greaux of The Infirmary; Joseph Williams of Russel Village. On the following night a British warship. 126
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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
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Workers who would have benefited fr
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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 130 and 131: Some of the men, it was alleged, we
Page 132 and 133: gear was damaged and the employees
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
Page 180 and 181: 21 POWER OF THE PRESS During first
Page 182 and 183: 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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JNF-The-Working-Class-Struggle-of-Half-a-Century

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