Dr Rita Pemberton

Although it is not registered on the national calendar and, as a result, has escaped the attention of the population, February 7, 1925, is a very significant date in the history of Trinidad and Tobago.

This was the day when the first steps to political representation in the Legislative Council and to the right to vote were made. By a 1924 Order in Council, members of the population who possessed the required property and/or income qualifications were permitted to vote for their representatives.

The colony was divided into seven constituencies: the city of Port of Spain, the counties of Caroni, St George, Victoria and St Patrick, the eastern counties (St Andrew, St David, Nariva and Mayaro) and the ward of Tobago.

Membership of the Legislative Council of TT was increased with the addition of seven elected members. This was a significant departure from the practice of the past, when the governing bodies were totally nominated, and members used their position to protect their own interests, usually at the expense of the majority of the population, who had no representation.

The first elections to the Legislative Council were held on February 7, 1925, and the first representatives of their districts were James Alphaeus Alexander Biggart (Tobago), ER Clarke (St Patrick), Captain Arthur Cipriani (Port of Spain), TM Kelshall (Victoria), CH Pierre (Eastern Counties), AV Stollmeyer (St George) and Sarran Teelucksingh (Caroni).

This was a significant change for Trinidad, which, under British rule, was always administered as a crown colony, with the crown, through its representatives on the island, making all decisions. Tobago, on the other hand, had an elected assembly from 1769-1877, when crown colony government was introduced as a part of the imperial government’s strategy to assert control over its Caribbean possessions. This effort was a move to get rid of the old colonial assemblies, including that of Tobago, which had been obstructionist, openly hostile and embarrassing to the British administration.

In addition, it was part of a desire to maintain white rule in the colonies and restrict the feared black takeover of the reins of government of the colonies, which appeared possible with the growth of a black landowning class in several colonies.

The decision to include a representative element in the colony’s administration was prompted by several factors.

During the closing years of the 19th century, there were increased expressions of opposition to the partisan policies of the administration in Trinidad and the exclusion of most of the population from any contributions to administrative decision-making. Dissatisfaction with the failure of the current administration to give attention to the challenges faced by the working class, who laboured for very low wages under poor working conditions, and faced rising prices, led to protests, from which a movement for constitutional change developed in Trinidad under the aegis of the Trinidad Reform Movement.

This organisation sought to obta