72
UN F CAT ON .
U N IT ED WEST I N D IES .
J O S E P H R I P P O N .
N ee nos mare separat z'
ngefzs exz'
gué pro/zz'
éemur aqua .
—O VI D,MET . iii .
, 448 .
JA N U A RY ,1 9 1 2 .
H'
a /criow ff S ous Lim a/ed,"Widen IVa U , London .
P R E F A C E .
The unification of the possessions of Great Britain in the West
Indies and Central and South America has,for many years
,been
discussed and recognized as essential , but it i s only within the last
few years that any formulated or organized attempt has been made
to br ing the subj ect into the field of practical politics .
Various papers have been read and published by those having
knowledge of the subj ect, and with the view of faci l itating study,
those of a recent date are now brought together,in what seems
to be the most convenient form for reference .
I t would appear that words not applicable in their true
meaning should be avoided , such as treaty,annexation and
federation , as the West Indian Colonies are not sovereign sta tes ,
and the trend of opinion in the Colonies,upon which everything
depends,is gradually towards a simp le and economical way to
provide for unification , so as to deal as a whole with commercial
arrangements and other matters,such as the j udiciary
,codification
of laws , &c .,most advantageously . In fact there seems to be no
doubt that unification is being,gradually and satisfactorily reached
,
as conferences of delegate s from all the Islands and the United
Kingdom have been held on various subjects at Trinidad and
Barbados,and this should lead to the appointment
,j ointlyby all the
Legislatures,of a permanent Secretariat (of, say, two persons) , whose
duty wouldo
be to preserve records,to maintain continuity and
activity, and to summon Conferences on subjects demanding con
sideration the delegates to such Confe rences, to be appointed b y
the Legislatures, would naturally be selected with a View of their
qualification to discus s them .
T H E P R ESE N T DIVIS ION OF T H E
W EST INDIAN C OLON IES .
The divis ion O fthe Colonies and Possessions in Central and South
America having Crown government and not self- government,but
having Representative Assembl ies,either wholly or partly elected
on a property franch ise , are as follows
1 . T H E BAHAMAS .
Consisting of many i slets and rocks,and the following
principal is lands
N ew Providence,St . Salvador, Abacos , Grand
Bahama,Long Island , Eleuthera, Exuma, Mayaguana ,
Great Inagua , Andros, Watlings, Rum Cay, Long,Ragged
,Crooked
,Acklins .
z . BARBADOS .
BR IT I SH G U I A N A .
BR IT I SH HON DURAS .
JAMA ICA,with the dependencies of
Turks and Caicos I slands .
Cayman I slands .
6 . The LEEWARD I SLANDS (United) , consisting of
Antigua , w ith Barbuda and Redonda .
St . Christopher and N evis,with Anguilla .
Dominica .
Montserrat .
The Virgin Islands .
T R IN IDAD and TOBAGO .
T he WINDWAR D I SLAN DS, consisting of
Grenada and the Grenad ines.
St . Lucia .
St . Vincent .
UN IF ICAT ION .
U N lTED WEST INDIES.
FEDERAT ION OF T H E LEEWAR D ISLANDS .
By the Leeward Islands Act of 1 86 1, Antigua with Barbuda
and Redonda,St . C hristopher and N evis , with Anguil la , Dominica ,
Montserrat and the Virgin I slands , were"federated into one
C olony cal led The Leeward I slands . ”
AT T EMPT ED FEDERAT ION OF BAR BADOS
AND T H E WINDWAR D ISLANDS .
B lue Book C—1 539 of 1 8 76 shows the proceed ings in con
nection with an unsuccessful attempt to federate Barbados
and the isl ands of the Windward group . After serious hosti l ity
and trouble the truer grasp of constitutional history , that the
C rown alone had no power to vary the Constitution of any Colony
acquired by settlement , prevailed , and Lord Carnarvon decided
in a despatch that Her Maj esty’s Government could not proceed
with any measure of confederat ion except on the spontaneous
request of each legisl ature concerned,
” and the incident thenclosed .
I t i s important , and should be general ly understood , that aC olony acquired by conquest or cession is
,by the common law
,
prerogative O f the Crown a subj ect for legisl ation by O rder in
Council . Under such an order,the King
,by Instructions given
to the Governor , can provide for the government of a Colony , but
this power does not exist in C olonies acquired by settlement, and
i s lost when once representative institutions have been granted toa, Colony .
PR OJEC T O F WEST INDIAN F EDERAT ION .
B lue Book C— 865 5 of 1 89 7 contains the fol lowing proj ect of
the West India Royal C ommission , appointed December 2 2nd,
1 896 , to inquire into the condit ions and prospects of the sugar
producing C olonies of Jamaica . Brit i sh Guiana , Trinidad and
Tobago,Barbados
,Grenada , St . Vincent , S t . Lucia and the Lee
ward I slands . The members of the C omm i ss ion were —General
S ir Henry Wylie S ir
E dward Grey,Baronet
,M . P .
,S ir D avid Barbour ,
and Sydney O livier, Esq .
, B . A ., Secretary .
We have not over looked the fact that suggest ions have been
made for a federat ion of the West Indian Colonies under a S ing leGovernor - General , and in the course O f our j ourneying s through
these Colonies we gave special consideration to the question of
such a reform . We are,however
,unable to recommend such
federation,and we are doubtful whether any economy would be
effected by it .
The C olonies , as we have said , are widely scattered , and
differ very much in their condit ions and we are not sati sfied that ,at al l events at the p resent time
,the control of a Governor - General
could be exercised in an effective and sat isfactory manner . Even
if the great waste of t ime and the ph y sical strain that woul d be
involved. in the necessary j ourneys be disregarded,the absence of
any residence for a Governor - General in the several C olonies
would , if he were to visit them with any sufficient degree of
frequency , and remain in each for periods long enough to enable
him to gain a real knowledge of the official s , the ” peop le,and
the condition of the C olony , make it necessary that he Shoul d befurnished with a special vessel and establ ishment
,which would
involve a considerable cost . A General C ounci l would al so be
required , and great diffi cul ties woul d be involved in arranging for
i ts c onstitution and for the conduct of i ts business .
N or does it seem to us that the very important I s land of
J amaica , which is separated by many hundreds of miles O f sea
from‘ al l the
i
‘
other West Indian Colonies , could dispense with a
separate Governor,even if there should be a Governor -General"
whilst the circumstances of Br itish Guiana and Trinidad almo st
equal ly demand the constant presence and attent ion of an Admin
istrator of Governor ’5 rank .
I t might be possible,without disadvantage , to make some
reduction in the number of higher official s in the smal ler isl ands ,and we are disposed to think that it would be conducive to
efficiency and economy if the i sl ands of the Windward Group ,that is , Grenada and the Grenadines , S t . Vincent and St . Lucia ,were again p l aced under the Governor of Barbados , as they werefor many years previous to 1 885 . We have no doubt that a
Governor res iding at Barbados could effi cient ly control the adminis
tration of these islands,and that the Judges of one Supreme
C ourt could perform al l the higher j udicial duties for this group ,especial ly if our recommendations for the improvement of steam
communication are adop ted . This change would enable a mater ialsaving to be made .
We are al so disposed to think that the I sland of Dominica ,which i s not much further than Grenada from Barbados , and
which , in its physical , social and industr ial conditions , partakes
more of the character of the Windward Is lands than of that of
the other Leeward I sl ands , might be p l aced under this Govern
ment instead of being considered one of the Leeward Group .
I t might , indeed , be found possible to bring the whole of
the Leeward Islands under the same Government as B arbados and
the Windward I s lands , and thus effect a further economy . This
arrangement might receive the consideration of Your Majesty ’s
advisers when improved steam communication between the islands
had been estab lished for some years .”
T he S T A N D A RD andthe "C O LO N IA L O F F I C E JO U RNA L ,
between A pril, 1907 , and F ebruary , 1909 , published the following articles byMr. J. R I P P O N , on Representa tion and C onsolidationM \
\
The use of the word F ederat ion has been avoided because
Federacy ”
(feeders) means a treaty , an al l iance , i. e. ,a con
federation or union of several sovereign states under one central
author ity , and i t would not apply in the case of the Westi
Indies,
as they are not independent but are united by the ties of a common
al legiance to one Sovereign . T o federal ize i s to unite , to bring
together in a pol it ical ponfederacy . The settlement of questions
bearing on the welfare of the whole without interfering with local
self- government i s a subj ect for discuss ion , and the suggested
title for the Consol idated Colonies i s West India .
”
R EPRESENT AT ION .
1 7 1372 A pril , 1907 .
The fol lowing interest ing communication on the sub j ect of
Crown Colony representation at the Colonial Conference has been
received from a correspondent who i s in a posit ion to speak with
author ity from the West Indian point of view
In al l the correspondence,whether in newspapers or in
Government pub l ications to be ‘presented to both Houses of
Parl iament , by Command of His Maj esty ,’ there seems to have
been omitted any notice of the position to be occup ied by the
Crown Colonies at the Conference . Indeed,until it was notified
that S ir James L . Mackay had been nominated by the Secretary
of S tate for India to attend meetings at which questions affecting
that country might be discussed , India al so was to have no direct
representation . I t might be s tated with some reason that if
Crown Colonies were d istant rocks,the act of taking them into
the Empire makes them part of i t , and , therefore , entitl es them
to representation , not through an intermediary born and bred in
the Mother Country , but by a man of the Colony . In the case
where Crown Colonies are of vast importance , as are the West
Indian I sl ands and B riti sh Guiana,which extend over thousands
of mi le s of the mos t fertile country in the world , and have the
most important strategic positions , i t would seem essential that
men from those C olonies should be present if proper decisions
are to be arrived at .
There must assuredly be men in these C olonies who have
learned their h istory and know their future,who have al so a
patriotic feel ing for them,and whose local standing and business
interests should command a posit ion and recognition in the C onference of our C olonies , as they do in the isl ands they would
practical ly represent .
The lack of encouragement and direct representation of
C olonial Opinion does not , therefore , seem advisable , and , as stated
by a contemporary,
‘the restraining influences of kinship , un
marred by any historical cause for bitterness,such as that which
has so long troubled our relations with the United States ,’ woul d
be of uncertain value if material interests cl ashed , and senti
mental ity after separation , it may be stated , woul d go for so much
as it is worth .
The obj ect of the Conference , i t i s general ly understood ,i s the cementing of the bonds of the Emp ire , which without
direct representation does not appear possible . The community
of interests is graphical ly shown in the agenda put forward by
the C ommonwealth of A ustral ia and N ew"ealand , in which theyaffi rm that , in view of the probable comp letion of the Panama
C anal , it i s desirable that al l poss ible means of strengthening
B ritish interests in the Pacific should be adop ted . The importance
of the Panama C anal i s , perhap s , not so much as a British trade
route— for most purposes the Suez or C ape route wil l be shorter
between Great B ritain and most of her Colonies , excepting N ew
"ealand— as in the abil ity by this means to pass naval forces fromthe Atl antic to the Pacific
,and vice verse ,
and it may be assumed
that the power of control l ing the canal wil l put any country in a
commanding position . We see,therefore
,that the West Indies ,
and Jamaica particul arly,cannot be divided from the uttermost
parts of the Emp ire,and
,as the present C onference may be
considered as one met to express opinions , and at which no binding
results wil l have to be voted upon,there seems to be no reason
for the absence of representatives from the Crown Colonies . If
10
l ater it be resolved that an Imper ial C ouncil or Conference , or
whatever a permanent body may be termed , shal l be instituted ,at which binding dec isions are to be taken , some method might
be devised to create a fair vot ing power for each unit of the
Emp ire .
”
T H E POS IT ION OF T H E WEST INDIES .
291k A ugust, 1 907 .
As a West Indian,I have noted with some regret that al l
writers on the recent Colonial Conference have ignored the position
which the Caribbean Isl ands wil l take,in common with Briti sh
Guiana and Honduras,when they are as free from dependence
upon the Mother C ountrvas N ewfoundland or C anada .
"Before the delegates met at the Conference the ‘Standard ’
wisel y asserted that each Colony , whether self- governing or under
the Crown , was entitled to a share of the general considerat ion ,and ought to be rep resented on any Imperial Council . I s it not ,therefore , rather remarkable that representat ives of a Liberal
Government , p rofessing democratic ideas , shoul d have been the
onesj above al l others , to conserve to themselves the voice O f the
C rown Colonies"Why shoul d they not , of al l peop le , have
democratised the posit ion of these Colonies , and have given the
men who best understand the interest of these Colonies com
mercial l y ,if not po l it ical ly , a proper voice in the management of
their country’s affairs"I t i s not general ly known that representatives from the West
Indies were not present at the Colonial Conference,and apparentl y
no determined effort was made to Obtain the presence of such
delegates . I t would , therefore , seem that the Responsible
C olonies’representatives did not think that at that moment their
presence was material , nor could they have real ised that Crown
C olonies— l ike themselves before finding rel easch were of the same
stock as themselves and that al l the popul ation of these tropical
and rich C olonies were not coloured . Even if the peop le were
coloured , the value of their country cal led for as much recognition
as did any other . After a l l ,'
these p l aces are giving their best
to the Mother Country , and even if in some cases they are giving
more to foreign countr ies , on account of those countries’ greater
l l
enterprise and better fiscal l aws,that i s not their fault , but the
Mother Country’s .
Probably the maj or ity of the delegates came to the C onference without having made up their minds as to the concrete resul ts
to be looked for. But may I point out that , if these conferences
are to remain merely consul tative,their value must eventual ly be
reduced to nul l ity,and that their resolutions , even when unani
mousl y passed , wil l probably never have a binding or executive
effect"I t may be mentioned now that India was al so tabooedat this l ast C onference , but a representative of that country was
ul timately admitted and supported the Mother C ountry in a fi scal
debate .
Although not perhap s quite pertinent to the subj ect . under
consideration , i t may be pointed out that the posit ion of the West
Indies as a confederation and a responsible state might very well
have formed a subj ect for consideration at the C onference . F or
instance , the people in the Caribbean do not quite agree with a
view taken by a recent writer that the British West Indian Islands
might be transferred to a foreign country in exchange for the
Phil ipp ines , containing Asiatics . Indeed,al l such arguments
str ike them as having no other effect than exhibiting a want of
knowledge of the existing conditions in these British C olonies and
their past history , which history alone might have exhibited the
fol ly of such an exchange of Brit ish subj ects for Malays to the
mind of any opportunist .
To my mind,the who l e question of the admittance of the
West Indies to the C olonial C onference might have been j ustified
if the fol lowing three reasons had been considered in time , viz . ,
area , popul ation , and trade value . True,the area basis may be
held to be unsuitable by reason of the vast number of square
miles in some countr ies stil l unpopulated,uncul tivated , and un
exp lored . A l so there are obj ections to the population basis ,because of the great preponderance of coloured inhabitants not yet
advanced to the standard of the white population"but even thenwe come to the . l ast, and , it would appear , the most r easonable
qual ification for a seat . N ow, trade in al l cases reflects the
12
activ ity of a country and the degree of it s influence and value in
any Imperial partnership .
Country .
A frica
B ritish SouthB ritish WestB ritish C entral
IndiaStraits Settlem ents
LabuanA ustraliaBritish N ew GuineaF ijiC hannelC hina
MaltaGibraltarA scension
C anada , &c.
B ermudasB ritish West I ndiesBritish Guiana
B ritish H ondurasMauritiusSeychellesF alkl and I slandsSt. H elena
Great Britain and I reland
AreaSquareMiles.
499 , S8 I
1 600
3 3 225 , 324
7 5740
835
Such a basis , in fact , gives the true
value of the C rown C olonies and smal l possessions,and I do not
think I can do better than close thi s appeal with a properl y
tabulated l i st of C olonial trade information,which wil l give the
true posit ion of our West Indian possessions at a gl
Popu lation .Census 190 1 .
1
10
410
Trade Returns,1 90 5 , including Bu l lion
Imports.
75
I 540450 15
N o 1 eturns publish
58 , 1 55
and pecre.
Exports.
35 57 595000
28 .296 ,o69
Tota l .
100194813 I 9
70 1 ,643
I I 4, 1942 2
T hese figures are taken from the Statistica l A bstract for the several British C olonies,Possessions and Protectorates in each year from 189 1 to 1905 , 43rd number , 1906 .
I t i s not conceivable that at any time the West Indies may be
able to ful ly defend themselves against the aggress ion of l arger
countries , but the orderly parts of the isl ands are quite equal to
the preservation O f’
internal order and of meeting , as other C olonies
do , the necessary charges for the forces , more than local , needed
The withdrawal of these
l ast mentioned forces from the West Indies has been widely
to maintain order or resist aggression .
discussed and general ly condemned ,
ii
( i i i . ) Postal , telegraphic , telephonic,and other l ike
services .
( iv . ) Lighthouses , l ightships , beacons , and buoys .
(v. ) Astronomical , meteorological , seismical , and otheral l ied observations .
(vi . )"uarantine .
(vi i . ) Census and statist ics .
(vii i . ) Currency , coinage , and legal tender .
( ix . ) Marine and fire insurance .
(x. ) Weights and measures .
Codification of the West Indian Acts and O rdinances on thefol low ing subj ects
(e . ) B il l s of exchange and promissory notes .
Bankruptcy and insolvency .
(e. ) C opyrights , patents of inventions and designs, and
trade marks .
Foreign corporations , and trading or financial cor
porations formed within the l imits of the West Indies .
(e. ) Marriage .
(i. ) D ivorce and matr imonial causes,and in rel ation
thereto to parental r ights and the custody and guardianship
O f infants .
(g ) The civil and cr iminal process of the courts of the
West Indies .
(11 ) Immigration and emigration .
5 th S eptember, 1908 .
"Some encouragement i s given to write again by the indicat ions
apparent throughout the West Indies and amongst West Indians in
other parts of the Empire of a trend of thought towards seeking
some form of closer association by which obj ects such as have been
mentioned—common to the interests of al l—may be secured .
"Those who have studied questions of the nature of those under
cons ideration know that the Constitutions , as devi sed by and for
the Dom inion of Canada and the Commonwealth of Australia ,are those which appeal to B r it ish people , as leaving that freedom
to B ritish subj ects wh ich i s so necessary for them , and if i t be
18
within the practical pol itics of the near future to consol idate the
West Indies , and perhap s include the Bahamas , British Guiana
and Honduras , it would seem that the gradual and spontaneous
evolution of the Austral ian C ommonwealth would , be a guide
to each of the several communities . Step by step that evolution
might be studied and fol lowed as far as could be with great
advantage and progressive despatch , and the success following
actual working and experience would invite absolute confidence .
The C onstitution named would be found to be the most suited
to the means of unificat ion of the West Indies as preserving and
securing to them al l their present r ights and l ibert ies in respec t
of self- taxation and domestic legisl ation . There can be no
remodel l ing of forms of Government which does not preserve these
C onstitutional r ights unimpaired , and it was subj ect to this sine
qua”
non that the Austral ian Commonwealth was accompl ished by
impulse from within . What was done by the Commonwealth can
be done by the West Indies , as to any student it i s apparent
that every West Indian Community has been wel l trained - in
legisl at ive work , and the r ights of self- taxation and Government—the bed - rock of C onstitutional progress—have been wel l
exercised by the several legislatures . Publ ic - sp ir ited and fearless ,but factionless, discussion seems to have character ised these
C ommunities , and if some inner impul se towards development
should arise , the dawn of a new era in those r ising C olonies wil l
be looked for with hopefulness .
Should , therefore , publ ic opinion in the West Indies gain
ground in favour of consol idation of common interests , a C onvem
tion of delegates elected by each separate legisl ature might assemble
in London for the purpose of discussing and formulating a C on
stitutional arrangement which might then be submitted to each of
the separate Governments and Legi sl atures,and on adopt ion by
them come into Operation by an Act of the Imperial P arl iament ,and in this manner the West Indies would fol low the course and
procedure of the Commonwealth of Austral ia .
In conclusion it might be well to recommend , to those desirousof studying C anadian and Austral ian C onstitutions , the perusal ofan addres s on Federal Constitutions within the Empire,
’
16
del ivered in May , 1 900 , by the Rt . Honourable R . B . Haldane,K . C .
, M . P ., at the Royal C olonial Institute , and publ ished in a
book entitled Education and Empire,
’by John Murray , London .
”
24ih N ovember, 1 908 .
A reference to preceding notes on the above subj ect wil l Show
that the l ines l aid down by the C ommonweal th of Austral ia in
the formation of their C onstitution have been clo sely fol lowed,
and from current information it may be gathered that the
Austral ian methods have guided the prel iminary propaganda for
the formation of a C onstitution for a United South Afr ica,which
resul ted in the C onvocation of the N ational Convention recently
hel d at Durban and C ape Town . The meeting place was in the
C olony , instead of, as suggested for the West I ndies , in London .
But it must be recognised that the several C olonies in South Afr ica
already have,and are exerci sing in their respective Governments
,
the powers required by the West Indies"
as a whole .
The verdict of the authors of the work entitled the Government
of South Africa ’ is , that in the proposed Union reposes South
Afr ica’s only hope of ful ly real is ing her destiny . The unsparing
efforts of a smal l band of enthusiasts , each an expert in his own
domain,who for eighteen months have been engaged as an Unofficial
Committee of Enquiry , and with the cognizance and assistance of
the various Governments,in accumulating , s ift ing , cl assifying , and
condensing an intr icate mass of facts , figures and general informa
tion regarding the present Government of South Afr ica , have
brought about and made poss ible the meeting of the South African
C onvention . In the case of the West Indies , if some simil ar
method were fol lowed,they woul d prepare the way for a C onven
t ion in London of delegates elected by each separate Leg i sl ature
in the West Indies . I f such a band of workers for the West
Indies could be formed and then dissolved when the Counci l
meets , the most leg it imate expectat ions of success might be
entertained .
The Convention of the delegates of the var ious Colon ies of
South Africa shows that the fact of d ifferent national ities with
divergent opinions and interests , and the existence of thermost'
comp lex questions , forms no bar to the pol icy of a Union . O n
the contrary , i t has been proved that delegates so- various as de
Vil l iers , Merriman , Sauer , Malan , Beck , Jameson , Smartt , S tan
ford , Maasdorp , Van H eerden , Walton and Jagger for the C ape
C olony Botha , Smuts , Schalk Burger , De l a Rey,Farrar
,
F itzpatrick,Hull and Lindsay for the Transvaal F ischer
,Steyn
,
Hertzog,de Wet and Brown for the O range River C olony
,Moir
,
Greene,Smythe
,Morcom and Hyslop for N atal"and , l astly ,
Milton and Mitchel l for R hodesia , can meet in a C onvention and
decide questions long the source of continuous confl ict .
"The West Indian question is not one so different as to be beyond
the power of a l ike sett lement , provided that the C olonial spirit
exists , with the customary B ritish way of adap ting and strengthen
ing the potential resources of the part of the world in which our
countrymen find themselves placed .
As regards Jamaica , the formation l ast August of the Kingston
C it izens’ Association has some bearing on the question now dis
cussed . The obj ects of this Association are (infer‘to create
and keep alive public interes t in publ ic affairs . ’ Similar associa"
tions a l ready exist in other West Indian I sl ands . Al l of these
might be subservient to the formation of a suitable Sub - C ommittee
charged to col lect data , &c . In conclusion , it would seem from
the examp le of what has been done in C anada and Austral ia,and
is about to be done in South Afr ica , that the West Indies might ,without loss of independence , re- arrange their leg isl ative and
executive powers so as to make that independence within the
Emp ire more effective than now in promoting obj ects of common
interest to the West Indies as a whole .”
20111 F ebruary , 1 909 .
Returning to th is very interesting subj ect , i t wil l be found
that the fi rst note was intended to show how the existing executive
and legisl at ive bodies in the West Indies could constitute a C entral
Counci l represent ing themselves , to which they could delegate
Is
execut ive and leg isl at ive powers over certain defined subj ects and
matters of common interest , and be thus enab led to deal with
those subj ects more effectively than by independent action .
"A second note,wr itten in O ctober , indicated the p rincip les
of the Austral ian Const itut ion as a model , and suggested London
as the first meeting p l ace of a Convent ion of Delegates to be
elected by the local legisl atures for the purpose of formulating a
draft scheme and,
final ly , a third note, dated January l ast , pointed
out how the diffi cult ies of consol idating separate C olonial
Governments for purposes in common had been overcome by other
Colon ies , and the manper in which prel iminary step s had to be
taken to accumul ate information , and arrange a meeting of a
Convent ion
"In this note it i s suggested that the Executive and Legislat ive
Council s in the Colonies shoul d take the first step by pass inga measure hav ing for i ts obj ect the selection and summoning
of members for the del iberat ive Convention , as there appears to
be no doubt that there is a general agreement as to the necessity
O f providing that matter s common to al l the i sl ands might be
leg isl ated for central l y , whil st leaving al l local matter s to be deal t
with expeditiously on the spot and without any other than local
authority. I f
,therefore , it is agreed that
‘Union is Strength ,’
i t i s becom ing more and more apparent that it is incumbent on
the governing bodies of the West Indies to come to an agreement ,that subj ects of common interest should be deal t with by a central
and representat ive authority .
The best means towards effecting this would be a meeting in
London of representat ives of each C olony , so as to br ing together
in one pl ace al l the persons most capable of deciding what i s
necessary to carry out the work which in prev ious letters has been
shown is the prel iminary neces sity , and the Imper ial Government
might assist by invi t ing representatives to meet in London . Thus
we see there would be no diffi cul t ies about the prel iminar ies towards
effect ing the above ob j ects for the mutual benefi t of the whole of
the West Ind ies.
"Before clos ing it would , perhaps , be as wel l to state one, if
not the most important, quest ion upon wh ich a common agreement
should be arr ived at , v iz ., the settlement O f uniform
‘
inter- Imperialimport duties throughout the whole of the West Indies . Such
uniformity has an immediate and practical bear ing upon the trade
relat ions between the West Indies and the rest of the Emp ire .
Canada,for instance , could not deal effectively with the West
Indies if each isl and required separate treatment because its tar iff
differed from the others . The preference Canada could give us
is to one and al l al ike , and , therefore , each and every one of the
i slands must be prepared with a common tar iffand a schedule which
wil l meet the views of the finance ministers of ‘Canada . In any
tariff arranged to meet the views of C anada , the Mother C ountry
and al l B r it ish Colonies must share .
I t i s for the above reasons , and those conta ined in previous
notes,that it i s suggested West Indians might useful ly study
,
and fol low on s imple l ines , the princip les which have developedin the Commonwealth of Austral ia .
”
OU T LINES O F A "U N IT ED WEST INDIES
C ONSOLIDAT ION A C T .
A N ACT T O CO N SO LIDATE THE WEST IN DIES .
WHEREAS the people of the British West Indian Isl ands , Bahamas ,B r it ish Honduras
,and British Guiana (enumerate al l pl aces) have
agreed to consol idate and continue in a legisl ative agreement
under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great'
B ritain and
Irel and , and under the Consol idation hereby establ ished .
A nd whereas it i s expedient to provide for the adm ission into
the Consol idation of other contiguous Colonies and possessions
of the King
Be it therefore enacted by the King’s Most Excel lent Maj esty ,by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal , and . C ommons, in this present Parl iament assembled ,and by the author ity of the same , as fol lows
1 . Th is Act may be cited as the United West Indies C on
sol idation A ct.
20
2 . T he provis ions of this Act referr ing to the K ing shal l extend
to His Maj esty ’s heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the
United K ingdom .
3 . I t shal l be l awful for the King , with the advice of the
P r ivy Council , to decl are by procl amation that , on and after a day
therein appointed , not being later than one year after the pass ing
of this Act , the people of (here state al l pl aces which have agreed) ,and such other Colonies as may be hereafter admitted hereto ,shal l be consol idated and continue In a legisl at ive agreement under
the name of the United West Indies . But the King may , at
any t ime after the procl amation , appoint a Governor - Genera l for
the Un ited West Indies .
4. T he Conso l idation shal l be estab l i shed and take effect on
and after the day so appointed .
Clauses to fol low , stat ing
(e . ) The General Counc i l , numbers of Members to be
chosen in each'
Colony , term , qual ification , method of elec
tion , t imes and pl aces of meeting , rotation , president and al l
matters rel at ing thereto .
(b. ) The power to be vested in each member of the
General C ounci l by the various legi sl atures .
(e. ) The var ious sub j ects to which power i s to be g iven
to members of the General Counci l to deal w ith , such as
Trade and commerce with other countries and among them
selves , &c .
The subj ects which may be general l y considered and
reported upon by the General Counc i l , such as Codification
of the West Indian Acts and O rdinances on certain subj ects ,such as b i l l s of exchange and promissory notes , the civil and
cr iminal process of the Courts of the West Indies , &c .
N .B .
—A conc ise Act may be buil t upon the l ines of the C om
monweal th of Austral ia Constitut ion Act of 9th Jul y , 1 900
22
and the Windward and Leeward I sl ands (the Antil les) res ident
in Barbados , with a sal ary of per annum,paid by each
I sl and in proportion to its revenue . The late S ir Robert Hamil ton
made a‘ s im i l ar suggestion in hi s able report on the I sland of
Dominica , which was l aid before Parl iament in 1 894 . The
present arrangement of an Administrator or Commissioner in each
I sl and, with a nominated Counci l representing al l interests and
cl asses , shoul d be left untouched . The C olonial Secretary of the
Anti l les could al so be appointed the Lieutenant—Governor of
Barbados , and act while the Governor was visiting the other
I sl ands . I t should not be forgotten that when the closer union of
S t . Vincent and Grenada was brought forward the other day , the
St. Vincent people were against it , but said they were quite wil l ing
to j oin B arbados .
O ne instance wi l l show how confederat ion could benefi t B ar"
bados . I t i s proposed to raise the sal ary of the Attorney - General
there from £7 50 to £900 per annum this seems a l arge sal ary
for Barbados to pay , but i t i s wel l - known that the present officer
has made more than £900 per annum by private practice he ,therefore
,loses by accepting the post of Attorney - General . With
confederation , the Attorney - General of the Antil les could be paid
per annum for the whole Colony , and the present Sol icitor
General of Barbados could become the legal adviser of the B ar
bados Governm ent at £250 per annum , with p r ivate pract ice .
Besides this , their Governor and Colon ial Secretary , and other
heads of departments woul d cost the B arbados taxpayers les s , their
sal ar ies being paid by the other I sl ands of the confederation , as
wel l as Barbados .i
T he Colonial Secretary of the Ant i l les , and
theheads of departments would al l have assistants in each I sland
needing them,w ith sal ar ies of from £2 50
' to £400 per annum ,
according to the importance of the I sl and . The Chief Justice of
Barbados would become the Ch ief Justice of the Anti l les"atincreased pay , with a puisne j udge in each I sl and requiring one.
The Appeal Court of the West Ind ies would consist of three of
the Chief J ustices on the Bench in the Antil les , Trinidad , B rit ish
Guiana , and J amaica , wh i le that of the Antil les would be made up
"pf the Ch ief Justice and two puisne j udges . T he saving which
23
confederation would bring to the Windward and Leeward I sl ands ,in the sal ar ies of high official s , woul d be very great" per
cent . of the revenue is spent in administrat ion in the Leeward
I slands , and the cost i s 7 5 . 3d. per head O f the population ,according to the B lue Book . In a paper read at the Royal
C olonial Institute two years ago,S ir N evil e Lubbock pointed out
how much expense was saved these Colonies by their Governor
General being practical ly resident at Downing Street . This is
such a sound argument that i t effectual ly disposes of the quest ion
of a Governor - General for the West Indies . With a good mail
service,and the telegraph
,these C olonies are constantly in touch
with the Colonial O ffice . But it would be of advantage if the
Governors O f the West Indian Colonies could confer annual ly ,being attended by such members of their staffs as they need .
These conferences would aim at co- operation and uniformity In
the l aws , and general business of the Colonies , and coul d be held
in each C olony in turn . The facil ities afforded by the new mail
service , and other steamers , can be util i sed in this d irection .
With such an arrangement the C onfederate C ouncil could consist of
the four Governors of the An ti l les , Trinidad , British Guiana and
Jamaica , with such numbers of their staffs as they wish , the
Imper ial Commissioner of Agr icul ture for the West Indies , the
General O ffi cer commanding the troop s in the West Indies , the
Senior N aval O flicer on the station , the Archbishop of the West
Indies , the A rchbishop of Port of Spain , the Federal Treasurer ,and such prominent West Indians as the Secretary of State
nominates from time to time . Each Colony woul d pay the cost
of transport O f its own oflicial s, and the transport of the others
could be paid from confederate funds . The Confederate Council
need not exceed 20 in number,and would dispose of the funds
contributed by each I sl and for confederate expenses . The Pre
sident, ex afi cio , would be the Governor of the C olony where
the C ounci l meets . The nominated C ouncil s in each I sl and would
be able to give the Governors al l the advice they require through
their administrators,and there would be four Governments in the
West Indies instead of six, as at present .
N O one who knows the West Indies could’
say that they are
r ipe at present for representative Government, whatever they- may
24
be in the future . With a rap id mai l service , l andowners l ive in
England when they can , instead of on their estates , as in the ol d
day s,and the best men are not avail able for local assembl ies .
The men whose money is in the land,and who are educated , and
able to give good advice , j oin the West India C ommittee , and
go to Downing S treet in person . This mater ial can be organised
into a West Indian Advisory C ounci l , if the Secretary of State
requires their help .
Two things are needed to develop the West Indies besides
improved government , one i s cap ital , the other is l abour . S ince
the Brussel s Convention was entered into,cap ital has been coming
into the West Indies,though slow ly . I f C anadians woul d wake
up it woul d come more rapidly . There are many sound projects
for Canadian capital in these I sl ands in hotel s,electr ic l ighting
,
rail ways , harbour works , fruit steamers , central sugar factories ,cotton and sugar p l anting , &c . I t cannot be said the present
agricul tural l abour i s good,nor i s it cheap the negro’s wants are
few, and he prefers to work for himself, rather than for the white
man . Where cane farm ing,rice farming
,and cotton plant ing
exist , the best resul t can be obtained from negro l abou r by sharing
profi ts , not by pay ing wages . O ne of the al ternatives to negro
l abour is the importat ion of indentured Indian cool ies , which ,though troublesome , seems to be a success in B ritish Guiana and
Trinidad . The Engl ish engineers of the harbour works at La
Guayra , in Venezuel a , found that their best l abourers were
Spaniards from the C anar ies , who are white men , and require
higher pay than the negroes,but are far cheaper in the end . O ne
advantage of thi s cl ass of l abour i s they do not settle in foreign
l ands,but return to their native country . N either Chinese nor
Japanese l abour i s wanted in the West Indies , though there i s no
doubt as to its cheapness and efficiency . As regards the proposal
for the exchange of the West Indies for the Phil ippines , recently
made in a London review , no B rit ish Government could consent
to such an arrangement,by which they would lose heavi ly . The
West Indian Colonies may be backward , but they do not require
an arduous campaign,costing m il lions , to subj ugate an uncivilized
war l ike race , such as is found in some part s of the Phil ippines ,
before they can be developed . Besides this,the peop le are too
loyal to wish for any change of flag, however much the"United
States may want them to join the union . N or have the United
States the class of men avail able for civil service,such as are to
be found serving in the West Indies‘for very moderate sal aries
,
and l iving up to the best traditions of the Engl ish publ ic service
for honesty and straight deal ing .
The question of a common tariff for the West Indies w il l,no
doubt , be considered at the app roaching C onference to discuss
trade relations with C anada , which i t is proposed to hold in the
near future , on the initiat ive of the Imperial C ommissioner of
Agricul ture for the West Indies . I t is to be hoped that one
resul t of this Conference wi l l be a common’
tariff, so far as i s
poss ible , and common revenue regulations , with free trade between
the I slands , a preference to British and C olonial goods , and
reciprocity to those countr ies which g ive the West Indies re
ciprocity . The success of the present "uarantine C onference
shows how useful the services of a tariff expert would be to assist
this C onference at arr iving at some practical resul t . A reference
to the C olonial O ffice List for 1 90 7 wil l show that the population
of the West Indies,B riti sh Guiana
,Briti sh Honduras , the
Bahamas and Bermuda in 1 906 was the publ ic debt
was the total imports were and the total
exports were £9 , a trade worth cult ivating by C anada .
The best pol icy for the West Indies is the closest possible union
with C anada , while keep ing on the best terms with the United
States . A Government C ommiss ioner , t ravel l ing in C anada for
the West Indies,and one travel l ing in the West Indies for Canada ,
would be of the greatest help in promoting t rade between the two
countries . With the C anadian market , and with good manage
ment , the future of the West Indies is wel l assured , especial ly if
good fruit steamers are buil t to run between the I sl ands and
C anada , and a West Indian sugar refinery i s put up in Hal ifax
or Montreal,owned by the planters themselves and their fr iends ,
in connection with the central factories in each isl and . There i s
no German bounty - fed beet sugar in C anada , and no free imports .
26
T he "C O LO N I A L O F F I C E JO U RNA L for July , 1908 ,
contained the following article by Mr. R . H . M C C A RT H Y ,
NOT ES ON WEST INDIAN FEDERAT ION .
The April i ssue of the."C olonial O ffice Journal contains an
art icle on the Future of the West Indies,in which confederation
is discussed , and this part of the subj ect i s al so touched upon
by the Editors . An old and interesting part of the Emp ire , the
West Indies col lectivel y disp l ay an absence O f that vi tal ity which
is as conspicuous el sewhere in the B ritish Dominions . F rom time
to time palliatives have’
been adm inistered,but the disease is deep
rooted , and there is a growing feel ing that more drastic remedies
are needed if these Colonies are to become prosperous , or to be
rendered able to work out thei r own salvation .
Last year in the Fortnightl y Review a wr iter , signing
h imself Imper ial i st,proposed to exchange the West Indies for
the Phil ippines . The p roposal exhib ited more boldness than
w isdom,and was very effectivel y deal t w ith by Mr . N orman
Lamont, M . P . ,
in the Contemporary , and it i s here onl y
referred to as showing the lengths to which some thinkers go in
search of an effect ive cure . The remedy most usual ly dwel t upon ,
and the most Obviousl y reasonable,i s the union of these Colonies
either by unification or confederation . The home authorities have
encouraged movements in that d irection , but so far the only resul t
has been the federat ion of the Leeward I sl ands . I t i s to be feared
that one consequence O f thi s step has been to d iscredit the idea
of federation . With an area of 704 square miles , a population
of and a total revenue of thi s l ittle group
was given five executive and five legi s l at ive council s,with 47 and
7 3 members respectivel y , while each port continued to levy customs
dut ies on imports from the other ports . Unification would
apparentl y have been more appropriate in th is case than federa
t ion , whose machinery is unsuited to units so smal l . T he
Journal ” art icle al ready referred to advocates un ion over a
larger area , wh i le regardingthe confederation of the whole of
the West Ind ies as impract icable . Th i s makes the question one
of degree , but ir i s not qu ite easy to prove thatwhile union over ,
27
say , a l ine of 500 miles is advisable , i t would be unworkable over
a l ine of or even In passing , the author’s sugges
t ion may be noted that even ‘
the Governors of C olonies outside the
confederation,with members of their staffs , should be invited to
general conferences with the authorities of the federated Colonies .
This suggestion seems to weaken somewhat the argument against a
wider federation,as it impl ies the existence of common interests .
The present writer would welcome the confederation of Bar
bados , the Windward , and the Leeward Isl ands as a step in the
right direction . However , while admitting that there are diffi
cul ties attending a l arger scheme (about most things worth doing
there are difficulties) , he i s satisfied that they are not insuperable"and as a contribution to the discussion he wil l examine
,necessari l y
very briefly , the obj ections most commonly u'
rged . These are
1 . Mutua l remoteness , l ack of means of communication ,and
diversity of l aws, races and interests .
2 . C onseguent diflicul ties of administration , conspicuousl y with
reference to inspection by Governor, or Governor- Genera l . A l l eged
to be easier practica l l y to govern from l ondon .
3 . D isincl ination on the part of tbe West I ndies, with cubic":
tbe initiative rests . D ifi erence in resources and unfairness of
partners/zip to the more prosperous .
4 . A bsence of advantages .
D istance, communication and diversity —The Austral ianC ommo
'
nivea l th measures approximatel y miles by andC anada covers "frOm east to
'
west over miles,but the re
moteness of the various parts has not prevented confederation .
In these‘
cases l and forms the barr ier of distance, and in that ofthe West Indies , water , a difference entirel y in favour of the West
Indies , though'
the fact i s not al ways real ized . When you haveat immense expense spanned a continent with a railway
, you haveonly rendered accessible a strip
"
on either s ide,while on the sea
you al ready have an easy toad in wh atever direction the head of
a vessel is turned"Were the A tl antic'
l and instead'
of water ,probably the West, Indies woul d sti l l await their
' discoverer"
. T ake
28
a local i l lu stration . Pract ica l l y , as regards ease , speed , or cheap
ness of transit , i s not the cap ital of Briti sh Guiana nearer to
Jamaica than to her own interior,say , 300 mi les away"
I t is true that means of inter - communication both by steamer
and by telegraph are defective,and urgently cal l for improve
ment . I f a reform be instituted which is needed in any case,the
present defects wil l cease to be an argument against federation .
O n the other hand , had the West Indies a s ing l e authority and
a j oint purse these defects would,beyond any reasonable doubt
,
be speedil y removed .
Assimil ation of l aw s woul d be useful , and would probably
take place by degrees we re th e Colonies under one legislature ,but it i s not absolutel y necessary . Even now the l aws of England ,I rel and , and Scotl and present many discrepancies .
The al leged diversity of interests is purel y imaginary . There
i s more of such divers ity in any one Engl ish county than there i s
throughout the whole of the West Indies , which are—broadlyspeaking , of course—purely agricul tural , and with no greater
variety of p roducts than may be found on a s ingle Engl ish farm .
Racial diversity i s an equal l y fanciful diffi cul ty . Trinidad
alone has as varied an assortment of races as have the West Indies
col lect ively .
D ifi cul ties of administration — Surel y too much Stress is l aid
on frequent vi sit s by a Governor (why Governor - General P) .
I s there any l arge state or dependency whose every part is
frequently visited by i ts head"H ow Often does the Governor - General of Canada visit Van
couver, or even Winnipeg"or the Viceroy of India ten per cent .
of the cities in h is charge" O ne i s tempted to ask a simil ar
question respecting the Governors of Jama ica , Trinidad and
Brit ish Guiana . During a recent tour S ir Henry McC al lum was
tol d by the inhabitants of an important distr ict in Ceylon that
they had not seen a Governor for 2 5 or 30 years . I t i s suggested
that except for perhaps an annual tou r , occupying a month or so ,
the Governor of the West Indies woul d be better employed at head
quarters,l eaving inspection to his offi cers . With a special Steamer ,
preferably a man-of-war, he would be actually at sea about ten days.
so
now that many of them have fal len on evi l . t imes they have acl aim to assistance . There i s a more mater ial reason . Looking
back over the long l i st of grants and subs idies to the West Indies,
i t evident ly would be wel l worth the while of Great B r itain to
contribute handsomely towards an arrangement calcul ated to put a
stop to the stream of doles,and to diminish her responsibil ity for
the poorer members of the group .
A bsence of A dvantage.
—This point cou ld not be discussedadequately except at considerable length
,and here the benefit s
which might be expected wil l only be br iefly indicated .
What has led to the development of the family into the tr ibe
and thence Into the nat ion"What prompted confederation in
Canada and Austral ia , and i s going to br ing it about in South
Afr ica"The knowledge that union i s strength: In contiguous
communities l ike those of the West Indies , mainly of the same
race , with histories very similar , subj ect to the same economic con"
ditions, and free from commercial r ivalry , i t must be Obvious thatCustom s barr iers , differences in l aws , separate admin istrations and
separate treas'
uries mean loss and inconven ience , and , in externalaffairs ,
"weakness"H ow l itt le i s known in B ri tain of the West
Indies , and how l ittl e attention their affairs rece ive from the
publ ic"F or weeks together these Colonies are unmentioned in
the London Press . The fact must be recognised that the West
Indies do not fi l l a l arge space in the x
publ ic eye . Compared w ith
other possess ions,they are smal l and poor . Excluding B r it i sh
Gu iana and the B ahamas , their total area is square miles .
That of the comparat ively insignificant Gol d Coast Colony ' is
of N orthern N iger ia and of Austral ia near l y
three mil l ion square miles . These possessions appeal more
strongly to the invest ing publ ic , and touch more forcibl y the pr ide
and the imagination of the masses than do smal l Colonies which ,whatever their past
,are now best known by their misfortunes .
The combined West Indies , though sti l l relat ively smal l , woul dhave more weight than they have now, and the ex istence of a
common treasury,by enab l ing them to help one another and to
d ispense w ith Imperial doles,woul d cause them to be hel d in
more respect by the mater ial ly m inded, and would at the same
time improve their credit.
3T
T he best thing done for the West Indies during the past fifty
years has been the establishment of the Imperial Department of
Agriculture . The Department derives strength from its centralised
character,but at the same time its independence O f local authority
is a source of weakness . Similar work would undoubtedly be
carried on,and under more favourable conditions , by a federal
government . Science has,speaking generally
,overlooked the West
Indies,because the separate C olonies cannot afford such a luxury"
Education,defence
,communications— these are only some of the
many matters for efficiently deal ing with which a central authority
and a j oint treasury are necessary . I t i s said that much might
be done by conferences . These have an educational value , but
they are necessar i ly only advisory , and confined to one subj ect,and they coul d not be a substitute for a central legisl ature and
executive .
I f it were poss ible to calculate the total cost to the West Indies
of the barr iers they erec t against one another by C ustoms tariffs
and quarantine’
restrictions, it wou l d be universal ly admitted to be
appal l ing . I f delay and expense be infl icted on your carr iers,
and obstacles be thrown in the way of your traders,sooner or
la ter you pay for i t in one form or another . Lately, on the
initiative of the Colonial O ffice , quarantine law and practice , both
of them discreditable to British communities,were amended
,and
,
i s was hoped , made uniform . A great deal of discretionary power,
however , was left to the different heal th offi cers , with the resul t
that the degree of loyal ty and intel l igence with which the l aw i s
now administered varies very considerably,and in the absence
of central executive control uniformity shows an irresist ible
tendency to disappear , and with it much of the value of reform .
Though the average rate of pay in the West Indian Publ ic
Service i s considerably below that of publ ic departments at home,
in spite of the lower cost of l iving in Britain,and very many of
the officers are miserably underpaid,the total cost of administra
tion is out of al l proportion to the resources of these Colonies .This fact i s mainl y due to the number of separate governments
,
each with its crowd of smal l separate departments . N ot only
Governors , but other officers w ith h igh - sounding titles, are by far
Claw
IS)”
too numerous , and to a great extent they are necessar i ly employedon work which might wel l be committed to cheaper men
,were
there more central isation , with an effi cient system of supervision .
O ne resul t of federation would be a great reduction in the numberof these high offi cial s .
The writer , however , l ay s les s stress on economy than on the
increased efficiency which might be expected . The want of uniformity in the conditions of service precludes the free movementof offi cers between the C olonies . In one C olony no pension is
payable unless a man has served in it for ten year s 5 in another
an officer is compel led to contr ibute to hi s own pension 5 scales of
sal ary vary , not w ith the volume or nature of the work , but with
the financial posit ion of the respective C olonies 5 and the pol icy ,expl icable but d isastrous , of regarding recruits from outs ide as
trespassers , prevail s almost throughout the West Indies . Some
years ago , in the course of a P arl iamentary enquiry , attention
was cal led to the large sums spent by certain departments . At
home , on the removal of offi cers , i t was exp l ained that the money
was considered to be wel l spent in keeping men fresh and broaden
ing their experience . A similar pol icy might be adopted , with
immense advantage , in the West Indies , the drawbacks attending
the retention of a publ ic officer in one smal l community for many
years,especial ly if he be a native of the p l ace , being very grave .
A Publ ic Service,properly paid and graded , such as i s found
for the E astern C olonies by open compet it ion , would be by far
more efficient , and probably, in the end , be far cheaper than is
the present service . The formation of such a serv ice , which is
practical l y impossible in present circumstances , would be one of
the most str iking benefi ts l ikely to accrue through federation .
O ther advantages might be anticipated from confederat ion , but
the wr i ter thinks that the case for union rests securely on the
fol lowing — Increased abil itvto develop resources and to meetpassing diffi cul ties by means of a central authority and a common
exchequer 5 increased intercourse and trade through the abol it ion
of C ustoms barr iers 5 more l iberal quarantine administration 5
improved means of steam and tel egraph ic communicat ion 5 thegrowth of a more progress ive sp ir i t and of w ider v iews in legisl a
tion"greater admin istrat ive efficiency , and probably economy , by
33
the consol idation of establ ishments 5 more influence In Englandand el sewhere in advancing West Indian interests 5 and improvement of West Indian credit by mutual assistance and independenceof help from outside .
C omment by the "W ES T IND IA C O MM I T T EE C IRC U LA R ,from 1908 - 19 1 1 , on the F edera tion and U nifica tion of the W est Indies
,
and the A nnexa tion of the B ahama s to C anada or the incorpora tion of
the B ahamas with the D ominion of C anada .
POLIT ICAL O R C OMMER C IAL FEDERAT ION "1
The closer trade relations between the West Indies and C anada
have brought about a revival of the question of West Indianfederation , and we have received the usual contributions to the
l iterature of the subj ect from armchair economists on this side .
There i s no doubt that to the outside and uninitiated observer the
cost of government of our West Indian C olonies appears enormous .
I s l ands , individual or col lected into smal l groups,are seen
possessing apparently expensive svstem s of offi cial control , with
consequent high cost of management per head of population , and ,at fi rst s ight , an amalgamation of departments , whereby a reduc
t ion of staff and expenditure could be obtained , would seem a
self- evident course to pursue . The machinery of government ,however , would have to exist on each I sl and , and there would
have to be a responsible head on each , no matter‘by what name
he might be cal led . The smal l group s of I sl ands which , on
account of their contiguity , lend themselves to confederation , are
already federated as the Windward and Leeward Islands , and
Tobago has been attached to Trinidad . When it comes , however ,to deal ing with Trinidad . Barbados , J amaica and British Guiana
it i s quite another question . Barbados and British Guiana have
their representative form of government , which they natural ly would
be unwil l ing to give up . Besides,the l atter Colony , with its
enormous area awaiting development , requires especial handl ing ,which can only be done by the man on the spot . Jamaica and
Trinidad,i t i s true
,are C rown C olonies , al though the non - official
members of the C ounci l of the former are elected by the people ,
34
but when the great interests involved and the distance between the
I sl ands—o ver 1,ooo miles —are considered , what woul d be gained
by confederating the machinery of thei r control" I t i s this
question of distance , indeed , coup led with the individual require
ments of the several units , which SO compl icates the question . In
fact , a Governor - General woul d have to have his home upon the
sea , and would be nothing more or less than a travel l ing agent
of the Colonial O ffice , while a considerable touring j udicial staff
woul d have to be maintained . When,however
,i t comes to a
question of commercial and industrial federation , we feel that
there is ample scope and opportunity for combination . The Ol d
and mistaken v iew that the interest O f' each industry and trade
stands apart from its fel lows i s fast disappearing . The sugar
industry of Brit ish Guiana has an interest in the maintenance of
the cacao industry of Grenada,the prosperity of the fruit industry
of Jamaica , or the development of the l ime industry of Dominica
as wel l as in its own welfare 5 for the prosper ity of any one part
of the West Ind ies i s a factor in the prosper ity of the whole . I t
may be that amalgamation of government and uniformity of l aws
may in theory be of benefi t to the West Indies , al though we
confess that at the present moment we do not see how this can
in p ract ice be carr ied out 5 but what would be of paramount good
woul d be the greater b lending of the industrial and commercial
interests . W ith thi s in v iew we woul d l ike to see the formation
of a federated commercial and industrial West Indian Parl iament,
meeting regular l y , and keeping a watchful eye on the external and
internal industrial and commercial interests of the West Indies .
Such a body , thoroughly representative , would constitute a force
in the affairs of the West Indies which could not fai l to make
itself fel t at home and abroad . Meeting periodical ly,the several
interests woul d be strengthened by the unanimity of act ion which
would resul t from the del iberations , and while concerted controlof outs ide trade woul d thus be Obtained , the rep resentations of
such a body on their home affairs could not be disregarded by any
Government wh ich might be in power . In this way a step towards
practical federation woul d be made which , al though not real is ing
the Utopia of a self- governing West Ind ian Commonweal th,would
material ly help in the direct ion of progress .
35
WEST INDIAN FEDERAT ION .
2
The subj ect of West Indian confederation has recently been
dealt with in the C olonial O ffice Journal ” in articles by D r .G . B . Mason and Mr . R . H . McC arthy , and in a letter from Mr.
J . Rippon . These gentlemen are so closely connected with the
West Indies that their views are deserving of every consideration .
The main point of Dr . Mason’s suggestion is that the Governorshipof the Leeward and Windward Islands should be incorporated
with that of Barbados , with a diminution in the j udicial staff of
these I slands , and the formation of a C onfederate Council . Mr .
Mcc arthy is nothing if not thorough , and he advocates completeadministrative reform 5 even to the extent of the formation of a
West Indian C ivi l Service on the l ines of the East Indian . H is
i s essential ly a scheme de l uxe. A Governor - General in Barbados—an administrator in each C olony— fewer
,i t i s true
,highly - paid
subordinates , with a higher average of general official pay —a
civi l service recruited from the successful candidates at high test
examinations , and complete and rap id means of official transit
between the several dependencies , would no doubt afford an ideal
confederated administration . But it would be based on efficiency
rather than economy . There are,however , two great diffi cul ties
in the way of carrying out such a scheme , which Mr . McC arthy
has not taken into account . The one i s that there are no les s
than four different systems of government in the West Indies ,from the Crown Colony pure and simple to the representat ive
inst itutions of Barbados and British Guiana . The amalgamation
of these into one —for that would be an essential part of the successof such a scheme as Mr . Mc C arthy
’s —"woul d be ful l of diflicul ty .
I t would mean that representative government would have to be
extended throughout the whole of the West Indies and the Crown
C olony system abandoned , whether advisable or not , for no Colony
possess ing such inal ienable constitutional rights as self- taxation
and independence in domestic legisl ation woul d be content to go
back to a C rown C olony form of government . The other obj ection
is the cost , which the West"
Indies are not in a position to stand
at present . Such a confederated administration may come in time ,d we hope it w i l l
,but it must be arr ived at as the outcome of
36
other methods , and to these Mr . Rippon supp l ies the keynote when
he advocates the formation of a Central C ouncil to deal primarily
with questions of common interest concerning trade and commerce .
As we have already stated in these pages , commercial confederation
should be' the first step towards a unified West Indies , and this is
what Mr . Rippon’s suggestion would , if adopted , practical ly lead
to . What i s wanted is commercial sol idarity based on uniformity
of interest . I t i s in tariffs rather than red tape that the future
of these Colonies l ies,and an official ly recognised commercial
body ful ly representative of al l sorts and conditions of commerce
and industry i s what is required in the West Indies in the fi rst
instance . The fostering of trade thus effected would mean in
creased welfare throughout,and the intercommunion thus brought
about would automatical ly lead to administrative uniformity . The
action recentl y taken by B arbados in passing a tar iff which gives
preferential rates to C anada in return for simil ar concessions is
of a kind which should have been formulated by such a body
representing the whole of the West Indies . B y l ay ing down the
general p r incip le that confederation i s the correct th ing , and by
careful ly app ly ing that princip le to the conditions as they arise,
the whole prob lem wil l be solved satisfactor il y.We shoul d not
,
indeed , be surpr i sed if, in a much shorter t ime than most could
anticip ate , a working scheme based on the l ines we have indicated
were evolved , resul ting in a confederated West Indies , confederated
not simply in administration , but in trade , commerce and industry .
But no scheme wil l or ought to be entertained by the West Indies
which woul d fetter or impair in any one of the communities itsconstitutional right of self- taxation and domestic legisl at ion by
elected representat ives in the several legisl ative bodies .
A PLEA F O R U N IF IC A T ION .
3
T he terms of reference to the Royal Comm is sion on trade
between Canada and the West Indies were wide,and we shall be
very much disappointed if the Commiss ioners do not have somethingto say in their report —the publication of which may be expected at
an early date—about the un ification of the West Indies,as to the
38
under the head ing Milk,preserved
,no less than ten d ifferent rates
of duty,varying from id. per lb . in Dominica to 2 0 per cent ad
va lorem in the case of the Bahamas 5 and so it is with practically
every article on the list"Then , again , there can be no possiblereason why the medical , postal and civil services generally should
not be unified . A genera l West Indian civil service would offer
many and great advantages . It would be conducive to greater
efficiency,improving as it would the chances of promotion
,the
absence of which must lead tostagnation and prevent m any parents
from putting their sons into the service . W ith unification the West
Indies would be able to speak with a far more powerful voice . They
would have practical entity in the Empire instead of los ing,as they
do now,th eir individuality under the general title ofCrown Colonies .
There are few who would venture to deny that,if the West Indies
had enj oyed unification in the past, the revival of prosperity which
they are now enj oying would have come to them far earl ier .
T H E C ALL F O R U N IFORM IT Y .
4
T hesittings of the Imperial Conference and the notes of their
proceedings reported from day to day cannot fail to emphasize and
to bring home to every man who thinks upon the subj ect the
anomalous , not to say ignommious, position of the West Indies .
Here are a group of Colonies,whose history is part of the
inheritance of the Mother Country,whose trade is constant and
increasing,whose loyalty is proverbial (though it has cost them much
in days not far distant) , with no status whatever in this great
consultative Council of the Empire . Matters may be discussed in
which they are intimately concerned,such as Imperial Defence and
Steamship and Cable Communication"yet they can put forwardno views
,make no suggestion . N ew"ealand
,with a p opulation of
barely over and N ewfoundland with less than
inhabitants,are taking an active part in every discussion but the
Opinion of the British West Indies,with an aggregate population of
is unheard,and unacknowledged . O f course we all
know the reason . It is because they are a group , and cannot speak
wi th one voice and under one authority . In an article on August
39
2 9th, 1 9 1 0 , we expressed the hope that the Report of the Royal
Commission on Trade between Canada and the West Indies might
have something to say on the importance ofunification of some sort
among these Colonies but, wide as the terms ofreference were , the
Commissioners seem to have thought that matter outside their
scope . It seems to us,however , that the time has now come when
the subj ect can be discussed calmly and dispassionately. N o one
now believes what Mr . Pope Hennessy wrote to Lord Carnarvon
on March r1th,
1 8 76 , that"Confederation would be the most
natural and effective remedy for widespread poverty and growing
c rime ”
3 but all sensible people have come to the conclusion that
greater union between the Islands themselves , and British Guiana
and British Honduras , must add to their strength , prosperity, and
influence . As to the union of the whole under one n ominal chief,that is essentially a political question , and one which any Govern
ment would require to consider very carefully . We are quite sure
that they would not wish to destroy old existing constitutions , nor
to mix up the finances ofparticular Colonies . But something on a
larger scale may be attempted somewhat similar to the present
constitution of the Leeward Islands . These Islands cons ist of five
presidencies , all of them (except the Virgin Islands ) having their
own local legislatures . The five presidencies make up the Colony ofthe Leeward Islands , which is administered by a Governor , to whom
the Administrators and Commissioners are subordinate , and which
has also a general Legislative Council , possessing concurrent
legislative powers with the local legislatures on certain subj ects .
Even the initiation of such a modified scheme as this should start
from the Islands themselves,and opportunities ofample discussion
should be given . It seems to us that at this j uncture the matter
might well form the subj ec t ofan Intercolonial Conference on the
lines of those held in Barbados with reference to the quarantine
laws , or when the Royal Mail Steam contract was being considered .
There are many matters , even now, ripe for consideration ,not for settlement . "uarantine has , we hope , been disposed of
at least for a time"but there are many anomalies concerningintercolonial passenger and freight rates and telegraphic communi
cation which might conveniently engage immediate attention .
Again , why should there not be uniformity of practice in such
40
matters as the registration of titles,in the usage in regard to bills
of exchange and promissory notes,in bankruptcy laws and so
forth . A uniform customs tariff may not be immediately obtain
able,but considerable progress towards that end might be made
even now by securing some uniformity of definition under the
existing tariffs . Then there i s an entire lack of uniformity among
the systems oflaw prevailing in these Colonies . There is no better
system than the Roman law, which forms the basis ofj urisprudence
in British Guiana , but it has been so much overlaid with
j udge -made law that it i s often hardly recognisable . I s it too
much to hope that one system of law might be devised for the
whole of the West Indies"Then there is infinite diversity in thecustom of practice before the courts . In Barbados , English
Scotch and Irish solicitors may practise without examination . N o
one can practise as a barrister unless he has been called to the
Bar in England or I reland, or admitted as an advocate in Scotland .
In British Guiana,persons admitted as solicitors are not thereby
entitled to practise as barristers"but , if qualified as barristers , are
not debarred from practi sing i n both branches of the profession .
In British Honduras there is no distinction between a barrister
and a solicitor . In St. Lucia every barris ter may practise as a
solicitor , and so on . Surely it would not be difficult to come to
an agreement upon such a subj ect as this . I f any or all of the
above points could be arranged , a great step would be gained
towards the fusion of common interests, and we believe that
deliberations entered upon with the view of finding common
ground by mutual concessions and the laying aside of local
j ealousies would be productive of fruitful results . I t must not be
forgotten that there is already an ecclesiastic province of the West
Indies, of which all the Bishops are members
,and the Metro
politan—at present the Archbishop of the West Indies— is the head .
The meetings of the Synod are held every three years in the
different dioceses by rotation . We have thrown out these
suggestions,because no harm
,at all events , can accrue from
discussing them , and the more they are discussed the more
reasonable,we are convinced , they will appear to be . The Press
can do much to help,if they approach the subj ect with a broad
mind,and not in a partisan spi rit . As the "Times ” said in its
41
Empire number of 1 9 1 0 :"All the interests of the West Indies
point in the direction of their closer co - operation . That thei r
ultimate goal is to be welded together into one integral portion of
the Empire seems certain . That goal may be far off,but it should
never be lost sight of, and nothing should be neglected which will
hel p to make its attainment easier .
CAN ADA AND T H E WEST I N DIES .
5
We hope that the West Indies will soon be bestirring themselves
in the matter of a reciprocal trade arrangement with Canada,and
that the Secretary of State for the Colonies’ will— if he has not
done so already —intimate to the Dominion Ministers the readiness
of those Colonies (Jamaica and Grenada excepted) to open up
negotiations with this end in View. Meanwhile , Sir William Grey
Wilson,the Governor of the Bahamas
,who has been paying a visit
to O ttawa , has , it is reported, been advocating the political union
with Canada of"the Bahamas and the other Colonies in the West
Indies,
” which would,he proposed
,be given the status of a province
sending members to the O ttawa Parl iament . As far as the Bahamas
are concerned , Sir William Grey-Wilson’s brief was,no doubt
,
the resolution pas sed by the House of Assembly of the Bahamas
earlier in the present year,on the occasion of the holiday visit
of a prominent managing director of a Canadian Life Insurance
C ompany, in which they favoured an enquiry by His Excellency
as to the term s on which the Dominion of Canada would admit
those Islands into the confederation . For the othe r West Indian
Colonies,however
,he held no such brief, and we cannot help
thinking that his sugges tion,which seems to us premature
,and
,if
we may be pardoned for adding it,unwise
,will be resented in most
of our West I ndian Colonies . We are not aware that there is any
wish in the West Indies for federation with Canada at the pre sent
time . Indeed,in many of the Islands any such suggestion would be
m et by determined opposition . Again,in Canada there is certainly
no feeling among thinking people in favour of making the West
Indies a province of the Dominion , even if it were possible under
the British N orth America A ct of 1 86 7 . An O ttawa despatch,
42
wh ich appears in our contemporary the "Montreal Daily Witness,
airily states that "an organic union , such as the Bahamas are
asking , could be brought about by simply transferring the appointive
(sic) power from London to O ttawa , in regard -to the Legislative
Council of the I slands , commercial un ion being, of course
,an
integral part of the arrangement .” I f Canada were to appoint
the members of the Legislature it IS to be assumed that she
would also have the power of appointment to the civil service .
Would a Canadian be preferable to an Imperial civil service"Another most serious obstacle would be the question of repre
sentation . The population of Canada is that of the
West Indies is over Representation at O ttawa is , we
believe,arranged on a numerical basis . Would Canada accord
to the West Indies one-fifth of the seats in the Dominion
Parl iament"The thing is unthinkable . Sir William Grey
Wilson is reported to have stated that "the franch ise qualifi
cations would be set at a high standard , so as to obviate the
difficulties connected with the negro vote .
” This suggestion is so
un- British that we sincerely hope that Sir William has been
incorrectly reported . What the West Indies want is a commercial
arrangement with Canada—a rec iprocal trade agreement on the
l ines of that recommended by the Royal Commiss ion on Trade
between Canada and the West Indies . The population ofCanada
is increasing by leaps and bounds,and the outlook for clo ser
trade between the Dominion and the West Indies is full ofprom ise ,assum ing that the refiners’ privilege of importing foreign sugar on
the terms of the B ritish preferential tariff is withdrawn . I t would
certainly be a grave m is take to drag the red herr ing of annexation ,as some of our friends have called it , acros s the track . The
attitude of Mr. R . L . Borden , Minister at O ttawa , is known
to be favourable towards reciprocal trade within the Empire . The
H on . G . E . Foster, the Minister of Trade and Commerce , may
be said to be the father of the movement for closer trade
between Canada and the West Indies . Let us keep to that for
the present at any rate , and try by all means in our power to
get that matter through,and to prevent the Report of the Royal
Commiss ion beingpigeon-holed ,
DISC U SS ION A T T H E WEST INDIAN C LU B .
MARCH 1 O T H,1 909 .
During this discuss ion , in which prominent members of the West
Indian Community took part, it was generally admitted that some
plan of union was necessary,ifnot urgent
,by reason of the smallness
ofeach market,and the impossibility of securing for each a voice of
any weight in matters affecting its vital interests .
The formation of a league,similar to that which was called into
existence to deal with the Sugar Bounties , was recommended—and
the title suggested was the United West Indies League —topromote unification and to start and maintain some plan ofadvocacy
towards the desired end . It was deemed necessary that such a body
should be appointed in the Colonies,which would become the back
bone ofa United West Indies . ”
In view of the difficulties which had to be met when forming the
South African Union , it was considered that there were no obstacles
to the scheme in the West Indies , which could not be similarly and
successfully overcome,but the movement towards a union must
come from within .
”
T he fol lowing paper was submitted to the Roy a l C ommissioners onT rade Rela tions between C anada and the W est Indies by the
H on. D . S . de F REIT A S of Grenada , on March rst, 1910.
DELIB ERAT IVE C ON VENT ION .
The British West Indian Islands and Demerara should comb inefor the purpose of discussing questions and promoting obj ects of
interest .
While I do not pretend to say that the trend of the West Indian
mind is strongly towards federation,I think it may be asserted that
in recent years a consciousness of kinship has been growing from
strength to strength among the British West Indian Islands . Any
thing in the nature ofconcerted action must be informed by senti
44
ment to possess vitality and stability . In my opinion a reciprocal
sentiment,born of many causes , does exist among these I slands .
But to be fruitful it must be sentiment not without organization , and
a sentiment that will be sustained by common advantage and
common interest . There can be no question that by concerted action
the British West Indies will achieve results greatly to their common
advantage .
Without attempting to formulate anything in the nature of a
complete scheme,it may be suggested in outline that the proposed
combination should take the form of a central authority, comprising
representatives from Demerara and the British West Indian Islands,to be chosen probably from the members of their re spective legisla
tures,and to deal with suc h common subj ects and questions as
( a ) Steam Communication , Shipping and Freight Charges .
(é) Trade and Commerce .
(5 ) Postal and Telegraph Service .
(d)"uarantine .
(e) Marine and Fire Insurance .
(f) The establishment of a single system of Commercial
Jurisprudence .
(g) The establishment of a uniform and simple system of
regist ration ofp roperties and of securities on properties .
(A) Bills ofExchange and Promissory N otes .
( z’
) Bankruptcy and Insolvency .
&c ., &c .,
Any policy or decis ion stamped with the concurrence ofDemerara
and of the British West Indies wil l carry weight and call for clear
recognition . There is no intention that the proposed combination
should detract from the individual l ife and force of any of the
members of it s till less is it comtemplated to abridge their control
of their local affairs and legislation and their liberties in respect of
self- taxation . To begin with,the central authority should fulfil
the functions of a deliberative convention,us ing their efforts to
strengthen the influence and unify the interest of the various I slands
and to promote the common welfare . At this stage I am decidedly
of opinion that they should be investedwith neithe r executive nor
46
While thus having regard to th e interests and th e inclinations of
the separate West Indian Colonies,so that they may receive every
consideration consistent with due regard to the interest ofCanada,
the Commissioners should bear in mind that any recommendations
which they can make in the direction ofa uniform system of customs
duties for the British Wes t Indies will be for the benefit of those
Colonies , and tend to facilitate the obj ects of the inquiry .
The Canadian Government, i n View of the difficulties foreseen in
the conclusion of separate reciproc ity agreements with the several
West Indian Colonies , proposed that the whole subj ect should be
further considered by a conference organised by Imperial authority
in the form of a Royal Commission or otherwise. The report of
the Comm itte e of the Privy Council of Canada on the subj ect is
printed as an appendix to the Comm iss ion in which His Maj esty
King Edward was pleased to appoint us to inquire into the questions
that had arisen .
The desirability of a un iform tariff for the West Indies has been
Suggested,and it is certain that if such a tariff could be established
to the satisfaction of all the Colon ies it would be a great improve
ment on the present state of affairs . Apart altogether from the
immed iate subj ect of preference , the es tablishing of such a uniform
tariff would simplify the commercial relation s of the West Indian
Colon ies with other countries,and would have a
,
unifying effect ,which in the circumstances of these Colonie s i s most des irable .
But we realise that for the reasons already stated , and for other
reasons,there i s littl e probabil ity of the various Colonies being able
at present to agree upon the detail s of a uniform tariff.
I f the problem of preference could only be considered along
the se lines we should fear that the barriers in the way of its solution
were too serious to be overcome . But we are of opinion that a
method may be found which will avoid the obstacles to which we
have referred , and leave to the respective Colonies all reasonable
freedom in the arrangement of their financial affairs .
What appears to be necessary,however, i s not a uniformity of
tariff for the West Indie s, however desirable that may be"not evena uniform ity as to method of creating the preference—whether byincrease or diminution of dutie s—but that a uniform minimum
47
amount ofpreference sho uld be established, and that so long as that
minimum is recognised and provided for, each of the Colonies should
be left free,so far as any agreement with Canada is concerned, to
impose whatever duties may be deemed necessary for the purposes
of the Colony .
T he Canadian Government in their Privy Council Report already
referred to pointed out the difficulty of Canada entering into a
preferential agreement with one Colony only, and the desirability of
having the arrangement,if made , include, if not all, a group O f the
Colonies .
We are hopeful that several ofthe largerColonies will be disposed
to enter into any scheme of reciprocity which may result from this
Report . We therefore suggest a form of agreement which might be
entered into between Canada and any or all o f the Colonies . This
form ofagreement is printed in Appendix I . to this Report. Some
of the Colonies no doubt would wi sh time for further cons ideration .
With a view to allowing such time,and to encourage all the Colonie s
to participate in the proposed arrangement, we would recommend
that if an agreement be made between Canada and three or more O f
the larger sugar-growi ng Colonies,the other Colonies which are not
prepared immediately to become parties to the arrangement should ,nevertheless, be permitted for a reasonable time to share in the
conces sions granted by Canada to the Colon ies accepting the
agreement . This privilege might , we think, be allowed to continuefor a period ofthree years . We should hope that during that period
all the West Indian Colonies would find i t to their interest to become
parties to the agreement, but if, after such full opportunity for
consideration of the scheme , they Should conclude that adherence to
the agreement would not be beneficial to them ,they could not
reasonably complain ifthe Canadian concessions were then w ithdrawnfrom them , and confined to the Co lonies wh ich are prepared to grantto Canada reciprocal concessions
.
It will be noted that the provisions ofthe agreement leave it open
to any C olony to extend to any other part of the British Empire the
same term s as are granted to C anada and the United Kingdom .
We have carefully considered the proposals made to us in Canada
and in the West Indie s and have drawn up in Schedule A.attached
48
to A ppendix I .,a l ist of the article s on which
,in o
iu
’
r opinion,the
West Indian Colonie s might agree to extend preferential terms to
Canada .
We do not intend this li st to be final or comprehensive . We
recommend that the Governments of the West Indian Colonies , if
they are prepared,as we trust they will be , to conclude a general
agreement with the Dominion Government somewhat on these lines ,should appo int representatives to discus s this list with repre sentatives
of the Dominion Government and decide questions of detail regarding
the several items .
I t should , of course , beunderstood that , while such a conference
would have power to modify the lis t in detail,the list finally agreed
upon ought to be accepted or rej ected in its entirety by any Colony
desiring to enter into a reciprocal arrangement with Canada . I t
would be in the highest degree undesirable and perhaps even
impossible to leave discretion to any S ingle Colony to require a
special modification of the list .
At a conference of thi s character it would also be poss ible to
agree upon a un iform code of regulation s for Securing that only goods
entitled to the preference Should be admitted under the reduced rate
ofduty , and generally to secure a greater uniformity of practice in
custom s matters than exists at present in the West Indies.
O n the 22nd November , 191 1 , a scheme for the F edera tion of certa in
oftheW est Indian C olonieswas read by the H onourable C . GideonMurray ,A dm inistra tor ofSt. V incent . T he fol l owing specia l despa tch by Reuter
’s
T elegram C ompany was sent to the C olonies , and indica tes the outlines of
the scheme, which, together with the discussion , would seem to be fullyexplana tory .
LONDON, N ov. 2 2 N D .
—The Hon . C . G IDEON MURRAY , Admin
istrator of St . Vincent , read a paper to - day before the West India
Committee on the federation of certain of the West Indian Colonies ,
comprising Barbados,British Guiana
,Trinidad and the Windward and
Leeward I slands . Sir O wen Phillips , M .P . , presided .
The scheme outlined by Mr . Murray expressly excluded Jamaica
and the Bahamas on the ground that the se Colonies have always
been accustomed to act independently of other British West Indian
possess ions . It,however
,made provision for their inclusion in the
proposed federation or union , if and when they so desire it .
Mr . Murray laid special s tre ss on the necess ity of preserving the
present constitutions of the Colonies which it is sought to bring
under a central government, and also of preserving the control
of the various existing governments , over purely local affairs as well
as taxation . He also insisted on the importance of having any
definite movement in favour of political federation springing
voluntarily from the West Indian Colonie s"and he stated in theclearest possible manner that the scheme he proposed to lay before
the meeting had received no official imprimatur e ither from the
Colonial O ffice or from the West India Committee O f London .
O UTLINE O F THE SCHEME —The following are the chieffeatures
of the scheme"and they were presented in the form of a Draft
Bill which had been put into Shape,at Mr. Murray’s request, by H is
Honour Mr . Walter S Shaw,Chief Justice of St . Vincent
( I ) The appointment of a Federal Council for the West Indies
mainly elected by and from the members of the various loca l
legislatures of the Colonies to be federated .
( 2 ) This council to be so constituted as to place the unoffi cial
members in the maj ority .
(3 ) The appointment of a High Commissioner for the W es t
Indies, who should be "ex- officio” the President of the Federal
Council— and for the present also the Governor of Trinidad .
(4) The appointment of a Secretary for West Indian Affairs ,as well as a Legal Adviser re sponsible to th e High Commissioner.
( 5) The Federal Counci l to meet in session for the transaction
of busines s at least once every year.
(6) The Federal Council to have supreme powers of legislation
in certain important matters of common interest to the federated
Colonies .
T H E E"P ENDITURE O F THE COLONIES . The Federal
Council, however, should not have authority to legislate in any
matter affecting the revenue or expenditure of the several Colonies,
unless those Colonie s had so authorised either in the firs t instance orsubsequently.
50
( 8 ) T he abolition of the governorships of the Windward and
Leeward Islands .
(9) That provis ion be made for the entrance into the proposed
federation of any B ritish West Ind ian Colony n ot included in the
original Act.
T H E FOLLOWING A R E T H E SALAR IES AND
E"PENSES S U GGEST ED BY Mr. MU R RAY
The High Commissioner shall rece ive a salary of and a
travelling and entertaining allowance of
The Secretary shall receive a salary of £800 . There shall
annually also be paid for the office expenses of the High C om
miss ioner such sum , not exceeding as the Council may
provide .
The Legal A dviser shall rece ive for his services in that capacity
and for other expenses a salary of£600 .
The salarie s payable under this Act to Federal O ffi cers , the
amounts provided by the Council for office expenses , and the
necessary expenditure connected with the busines s of the Council
shall be paid by the several Colon ies in the proportion which the
revenue of each Colony shall bear to the revenue of the whole O fthe
Colonies during the preceding financial year.
Provided that so long as the High Commissioner shall also be
Governor of Trin idad and Tobago , the Colony of Trinidad and
Tobago shall contribute the sum of towards such total
expenses , and in such case such contribution of shal l be
deducted in the first instance from the total expense s prior to calcu
lating the proportions to be paid by the several Federated Colonies
in the manner aforesaid .
D ISC U SS ION .
Mr. R . R U TH ER F ORD said "O n behalf of the West India
Committee,I wish to endorse Sir O wen Phi lipps’words of welcome
to Mr. Murray . We are much pleased to see him here tod ay, and I
g I
5 1
can assure him that we have watched with pleasure his adm in istration
ofthe Island ofSt . Vincent .
"We have all,I am sure , listened to Mr . Murray
’s paper with
much interest,and are indebted to him for the thought
'
and care with
which he has prepared and placed his views before us . I was glad
that he made it quite clear that neither the Colonial O ffice nor the
West India Committee in any way originated,or are in any way
committed to his views , and that the scheme propounded in his
able paper 1s In no way associated with his Offi cial position , for I am
strongly ofopinion that any scheme forfederation oughtnot to comefrom an official source—it ought to emanate from the people , aswas the case in Australia and I was glad to hear from Mr. Murray
that he agreed with this view . I lay stress on this point,as Barbados
had a very bitter experience in 1 8 76 , when Sir John Pope Hennessy
endeavoured to carry a scheme of confederation agains t the will of
the people .
From Mr . Murray’s interesting survey of the various attempts
wh ich have been made during the history of the Wes t Indies to
combine the component elements into various groups under one
government , it is quite clear that those attempts have had no
permanent result .
"I fwe examine the facts in regard to the Wes t Indian Colonies ,we shall find that the existing conditions are not so unreasonable as
m ight be’
supposed, taking into consideration their individual
importance , together with the distances which separate them . T he
Islands, although small compared with other countrie s , are not so
small as they appear on the map . Jamaica,over mile s away
from the others , has a population of British GuianaTri nidad and Barbados of over British Guiana
i s separated from Trinidad by 36 5 miles , and Trinidad is over 200
m iles from Barbados ."Mr. Murray has elim inated Jamaica from his scheme , SO it is
not necessary to consider the position of that I sland . With regardto that portion which he described as the South -Eastern West Indian
group , including British Guiana,I was glad to hear that Mr. Murray
does not Suggest that any alteration should be made in thei
forms of
the constitution s ofthe Legislatures of the different Islands . I am
52
quite sure that Barbados, with its popularly elected House of
Assembly and nom inated Legislative Council,which , next to the
British House ofCommons and the House ofAssembly ofBermuda,is the most ancient legislat ive body in the King’s dominions , would
strongly resent any interference .
I feel doubtful whether any material advantage is to be derived
from having a High Commissioner , as proposed by Mr . Murray ,the cost of such an officer , with the attendant administration , would
be out of al l proportion to his util i ty .
"Then , with regard to the proposal that the F ederal Councilshould hold sessions once a year , where would these be held , and
on what basis i s the mimber of members for each Colony to beappointed"I t must be remembered that , in the West Indies ,there does not exist a large leisured cl ass , such as we have in th is
country . T he best men in al l these C olonies are j ust the men who
have the most to do, and are most t ied to the Colon ies in which
they l ive . I t i s al so to be remembered that the reaping of the
sugar crops in B r itish Guiana , Tr inidad and Barbados is not
carr ied on at the same period , and the best men could be i l l spared
at such time . I remember hearing S ir Dav id B arbour , who was
a member of the Royal Commission which v i s ited the West Indies
in 1 89 7 , say O ne of the questions which came before the Royal
Commiss ion was that of the federation of the West Indies . I t
was said by some that al l the I sl ands could with advantage be
pl aced under one Governor , or one Governor - General . He (S ir
David Barbour) could not see how it was possible to confederate
the West Indies and p lace them under one Governor . Such a
Governor would have to be under the Colonial O ffice . Matters
woul d be referred to thi s Governor - General,but he would not
have the final voice 5 the question would have to be subm itted to
the C olon ial O ffice, j ust as now was the case in Indian affairs (the
final voice in the case of India being that of the Secretary of State
for India) . He did not see how the Governor - General coul d be
g iven a sat isfactory Counc il , e ither Legislat ive or Executive. I t
would not be poss ible to get the best men to go for a long period
from their own I sl and .
’
"Something in the nature of federation might be done by the
gradual assimilation of the laws of the d ifferent Colonies, and by
5 4
and to the settlement of such question s as are shown in the
pamphlet,as a whole
,without interfering with local self-govern
ment as it stands . This seemed to be the most suitable,if not the
only subj ect for di scussion .
"In the pamph let, repre sentation is first dealt with and admit
tance to Imperial Conferences was,after examining the question
from three s tandpoints,v iz. , area, population and trade , thought to
be j ustified , if the trade of the whole of the West Indies , which re
flected the activity of the country and the degree of i ts influence,
were accepted as a basis .
N ow, ifwe divide the Ea st from the West, this basis seems to
lose its full value, and would seem to reduce the bargain ing power
with other countries , which is one of the chief reasons for unification .
I would like to deal nowwith the question of contiguity . The
means ofrai lway, telegraphic"—ofcourse al l telegraphic services are
included in this term— and steamship communications,if they are
suited to modern requirements , minim ise or eliminate the effect of
distances,whether by land or sea , and while it is true that, where
communications are non - existent, out of date or defective,ideas
may not progress or remain ‘local ,’ it Should be the endeavour
to remove such disabil itie s, and I would fear any division which
might reduce effort in thi s d irection in the West Indies .
The question of unification was treated in the first letter of
2 2nd June , 1 908 , and in order to give effect to a un ion,the
necessity of a Central Council to accept such power from the
several executive and legislative bodies in the West Indies,as they
could not make use of for themselves , was suggested, and the few
subj ects , kindly stated in M r . Murray’s paper, were mentioned as
an example only .
"In the second letter—as the subject, seemed to be attracting
attention,and after studying other forms of government—the
Australian Commonwealth A ct was cited as be ing similar in part
to that required for the West Ind ies , but in the pamphlet i t was laid
down that no re -modelling of the forms of government , which did
not preserve to the West Indies their present constitutional rights
unimpaired , could be considered , and there seem s to be no reason
5 5
to touch them . The third letter deals with methods employed ,and compares the difficultie s met with when bringing into life the
South African Union with those likely to be found in the West
Indies,and the fourth letter practically sums up the whole .
The simple lines adopted to create the Commonwealth of
Australia and the South African Union, it is suggested , might usefully
be followed,and a small band of persons , each expert in his own
domain,formed to Sift , classify and condense facts , etc . , and prepare
a report for consideration at a convention to be held in London—
of
delegates elected by each separate legislature in the West Indies .
The delegates would then,without difficulty, make a Short United
West Indies Consolidation Act , briefly Showing in the preamble
it s objects , the Colonie s to be included or subsequently j oining,
and further clauses giving power‘to appoint a Governor
-General
or some other chiefof the General Council - not with dual functions—the number of the members of the C eneral Council for each
Colony and their qualification,terms
,and such like matters
,as
well a s all the subject s over which power to deal with would be
given to the members of the G eneral Council by their Legislatures ."I venture to think that this would be a short and simple Act,
and would soon be passed when the ‘voice from within ’ —and Iknow of no other—makes itselfheard
,as was done in other similar
cases,when the need of unity has been found desirable by the
overseas parts of the Empire .
”
The EARL O F DUNDO N ALD I have listened with grea t interest
to this address,which gives one food for thought . I certainly think
that there are subjects on which the West Indies Should take
common action . But I do not think that we Should add to the
expenses of administration,which the West Indies have at present
to pay . We must remember that a vast number of the inhabitants
of the West Indies receive very little pay,and cannot afford heavie r
taxation . But there is one question which has not been touched
upon , and that is combination for defence . N ow, if you look at the
position of Trin idad—Trinidad is placed not so very far from the
Panama Canal , and contains very important O ilfields. The pieceof.water between the mainland and Trin idad
,the Gulf of Paria ,
forms a sheltered bay, in which practically al l the warships of the
5 6
world could congregate , and as oil fuel becomes more extensively
burnt , So will the importance of Trinidad increase,and in time of
war we must defend Trinidad,and to do so we must have men to
protect Trinidad , and where are they to be found"They must befound in all the I slands
,and we must have a system of militia ,
which should not only be availabl e for the purpose of Trinidad
and the other Islands in case of war,but should also be available
for any Empire purpose . My remarks are only very general,and
it would take me a week to thoroughly master and give a critical
opinion of the lecture in all its interesting detail s .
Mr. WA LLWYN P . B . SHEP HEARD said that he rose for the
sole purpose of supplying what be regarded as two important
om is s ions in the historical portion of the paper they had had the
pleasure of hearing . He must ask those present to go back to the
reign of Charle s the First , in which the King by Roy al Charter
erected the whole of the Caribbee I slands —excepting Trinidad and
Tobago,Barbudos (Barbuda) and Fonseca —into a province on the
model of the Palatinate of Durham . The original charter,to be
seen at the Record O ffice , expressly declared that the laws were
to be made ‘de et cum consil io assensu et approbatione l iberarum
tenentium ej u sdem P rovinciae vel maj oris parti s eorumdem’ and
that the King,his heirs and successors , at no time to come should
impose any custom or tax whatsoever upon the inhabitants , lands ,goods or merchandise of that province whatsoever . This charter
effected not a mere federation , but an absolute consolidation of
the West Indies with a Commonwealth .
"But the charter,skilfully as it was drawn by the lawyers of
the period,probably of Lincoln’s Inn
,does not appear to have
effected its purpose,because during the interregnum we find
Barbados by itself defending its constitution . The landing partie s
of the Parliamentary Fleet under Sir George Ayscue were resisted
by island levies raised for the King by the Council and General
Assembly. Hosti lities commenced,but each S ide was minded to
avoid unnecessary bloodshed,and A rticles of Rendition were
assented to by the Par liamentary General and despatched to the
Long Parliament,then acting as the executive and ‘de facto ’
sovere ign power of the realm , by whom on the 1 8 th August, 1 6 5 2 ,
5 7
as appears by the journal of the Commons , they were approved .
These Articles provided for the maintenance of the old laws and
the right of self—taxation .
Thus,I must differ from the unqualified assertion of our
lecturer that ‘it is rash to attempt to draw from past events conclu
sions as to the probable sequence of future history ,’ because I find
in historic documents of the past a steady continuity of the principle
of the right of self—taxation held by this country at the present day
as irrevocable .
Therefore,whatever constitutional changes may be contemplated ,
those promoting them will have to reckon with this cardinal principle
of the right of self- taxation .
”
Mr. MACDONALD : "I am a native of the Island of St . Vincent ,and it has given me great pleasure to see our Admin istrator taking
up this subj ect . If there is one th ing that i s important , i t is that
the West Indie s Should have a representative on the Imperial
Conference , which meets now every four years . I think there should
be a representative O f the Islands as a whole there . A small island
like N ewfoundland is represented,while a large group like the West
Indies is unrepresented.
Mr . GEORGE CARR INGTON I congratulate Mr . Murray, and
have no doubt we a l l feel that he has spoken in a very able manner .
As Mr . Rutherford has said, the last Governor to touch upon this
subj ect burnt his fingers , and we Barbadians helped to burn them .
O ne point in this subj ect is that the West Indies are full of missing
links (laughter) . I agree that we should certainly have one of His
Majesty’s sh ips forat least two months of the year in the West Indies .
In one thing I think all Barbadians will bear me out,and that is that
the headquarters for this High Commissioner Should be in Barbados
(laughter ) . Mr . Murray has pointed out how practically all theconferences for uniting theWeSt Indies have taken place at Barbados
,
and there is a geographical reason . Again,the Governor of
Barbados , with his strong legislature to look after affairs , has nothing
to do , and would have time for such work O ne point about Mr .
Murray’s scheme is that it does SO little in touching,for in stance , the
customs , excise, etc. , but those are j ust the matters where federation
would be of great use . At the present time we are drifting away
5 8
from this country to other markets , such as Canada, and our
salvation must come from Canada,and we wish many of us to be
bound more closely to Canada,and it seems to me that the only obj ect
offederation would be that we should put ourselves in a position to talk
of a proposed combine with Canada . In that way we should secure
markets at any rate for sugar producers in the West Indies . I feel
that there is very little to be gained by federation for any other obj ect
than gaining better markets . ”
Mr . JACKMAN : "I t i s quite refreshing to find a Governor of a
West Indian Colony taking the time for a paper like this . O ne
remark is suggested . O n M r. Murray’s own showing, the West
Indian Colonies have acted within the last ten years no less than
three times in harmony . O n these three occasions their action
brought about what they required . The very points dealt with on
these occasions would have been dealt with by M r. Murray’s council ,so we find that on three occas ions these points have already been
dealt with and settled . I am perfectly confident that this question
of relations with Canada is go ing to be dealt with by the West Indies
In a S imilar way and also settled .
”
Sir O WEN PHIL IP P S : "I beg now to propose a vote of thanks
to the lecturer . I knew when I heard Mr. Murray had been invited
to deliver this lecture that there would be differences ofopinion ,but I feel that this is a matter that wants to be considered through
out the West Indies , and I hope everyone throughout the I slands
will have an opportunity of reading this paper in detail , and
studying the proposed Bill,and I believe this is a subj ect that when
the people on the spot realise what the prO posal is, if they do not
accept it as it stands,they will ultimately put forward an alter
native proposal , and, therefore , we are deeply indebted to Mr .
Murray for having given so much care and attention to this matter.
I believe that they w ill be able to carry out th is scheme without any
extra expense to the West Indies,and if it ensures a D readnoug/zt
spending two months every year in the West Indies, then I think
that alone would ensure a favourable reception for some scheme on
these line s, when people have time to consider it. I have much
pleasure in proposing the vote of thanks .”
The motion having been agreed to unan imously, Mr . G IDEO N
5 9
MURRAY said I did not come to this meeting to day with any idea
in my head that my scheme would or could prove acceptable,
especially upon the short notice that you have had of its contents .
It seems to me,from the criticisms , none of which have been
quite favourable , some of which have been quite adverse,
there is one glimmer of light . It has been admitted—and it might
not have been—that there are subj ects of common interest in theWest Indies to day . I t was also admitted by two speakers that
,as
there were subj ects of common interest, it was a question of the
machinery to control those questions and'
to bring them into line .
I do not advance this scheme as in any way an unchangeable one ,but merely put forward a scheme for the federation of certain of the
Colonie s,in the belief that some permanent machinery for dealing
with the questions is neces sary . Mr. Rutherford stated that when
things are well,leave well alone .
’N ow
,I do know that in the West
Indies there is a divided opinion as to whether th ings are well , and
it was for that reason that I dared to read a paper on this extremely
thorny subj ect to day . O ne point I cannot refrain from replying
to, and that is with regard to the leisured classes in the West Indies ,and the difficulty they would have in attending a meeting of the
Federal Council or any other council. I absolutely agree that if I
had produced this scheme ten or even five years ago , there wouldhave been extreme diffi culty in obtaining the services of that class
,
but during the last few years I am glad to be able to say that the
West Indian Colonie s have advanced to a considerable degree in
prosperity. N ow, what is the result"That planters and others
would have greater time at their disposal to look after West Indian
affairs which affect them generally. We all know that up to the
present the planters and managers have passed through a most
difficult period for the last 20 to 40 years , but I do believe that
those really bad times are past,and that that class wh ich would
sit on the council would have more time at their disposal to devoteto West Indian affairs . Mr . Jackman pointed out that in the West
Indies three conferences had taken place,which would disprove my
case , but I venture to assert that those very conferences prove my
case . I do not want you to think that I have come here to force
federation,
on"the West Indies—that is far from my wish : I can
60
assure you that it is very far from my intention to go back to the
West Indies and to burn my fingers . I have merely come to the
conclusion that there are obj ects of common interes t in the West
Indies . Again,will Canada act with a body of person s who have
never acted together before"I thank you for your kind expression of thanks
,and wish to
propose a vote of thanks to Sir O wen Philipps , chairman of a
steamship company which has had close connection s w ith
the West Indies for over 1 00 years . Sir Owen has,s ince his
assumption of the chairmansh ip,Shown that he takes the very
deepest interest in tbc West Indies .” The motion was cord ially
agreed to and the meeting came to a conclusion,those present
adjourning to the West India Committee Room s, where tea was
served .
Subsequent to the meeting the following letter was received by
the Secretary of the Wes t India Committee,from Mr . C . Sandbach
Parker
"DEAR SI R ,—I refrained from speaking to day on the subj ect
of M r. Murray’s excellen t paper on‘Federation of the West
Indies ’ owing to the lateness of the hour and the fact that there
were many others who wished to speak . I think Mr . Murray has
done good service to the West Indies in putting before us a
concrete scheme.
"Though there is a good deal in it with which I am not in
accord,I heartily agree with him thatva case for endeavouring to
concentrate those Colonies for political and commercial purposes
into one unit within the British Empire (call it Dominion or what
you like ) is unanswerable .
I do not th ink that any scheme would be complete without the
inclus ion of all the B riti sh West Indie s . Jamaica should certainly
be included, and even British Honduras .
I venture to think that a single tariff system for al l those
Colon ies Should not present any insuperable difficulty, and would
immensely strengthen the power of the West Indies in all com
mercial and political negotiations . I t is, however, certain that
the desire for closer union must emanate from the West Indies
Rippon , J oseph
Unification
PLEASE DO N O T REMOVE
C A RDS O R SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
U N IVERSITY O F TORON TO LIBRA RY
