There is a little building on
Sackville Street, recently restored, right next to the newly built office of
the Attorney General, that has been known for years as the cabildo building.
Tradition has it that this, Trinidad's first governing body, once sat there.
This is very likely, as the Cabildo sat in many places, not having a home of
its own. It met in the private residences of its members.
The building on Sackville Street,
however, does not date from Spanish times, which came to an end in 1797 with
the British conquest. The Illustrious Cabildo continued up until the late 1840s
and then metamorphosised into the City Council. That particular building may
have belonged to the Senoir family, a distinguished Spanish family of Jewish
descent.
The Cabildo, as a Spanish
governing institution, involved in administration and deliberation, is claimed
by some to extend as far back as the tribal assemblies of the original Iberian
peoples in the Spanish peninsuar, prior to the arrival of the Romans. This is
an interesting piece of historical trivia for anyone wishing to study the
origins of jurisprudence in Trinidad and Tobago!
Be that as it may, it started as
an annual court to elect their magistrates and their municipium for the year,
to manage their local affairs. This annual assembly also legalised or censured
the proceeding of the provincial governors.
From the 400s A.D. to 700 A.D.,
under the Visigoths, and from 700 to 1000 A.D., under the Muslims, the
conditions in Spain favoured the risk of the warlords and the powers of
the Cabildo waned. It was not until some 300 years later, in the 1300s, that a
notable revival took place and the Cabildos were again supported by the crown.
With the discovery of the New
World, it was inevitable that the Spanish authorities should take with them
their system of Government. The Cabildo was established in Trinidad in 1592.
Its membership was slightly altered in 1797, when the British started to keep
Spanish low in place.
The revenue of the Cabildo was
obtained from various sources, some of which have continued in practice to the
present day. The following is a summary of the general heads revenue and the
average yield in the early 1920s (from Dr. K.S. Wise, "Historical Sketches
of Trinidad and Tobago", Vol 3):
1. Licenses to sell spirituous
liquors, which cost about $10 each year. About 50 licenses in Port of Spain
yielded about $6,000 a year.
2. Licenses for billiard tables,
$4 monthly. Port of Spain had four tables, yielding $192 a year.
3. Rents for stalls in the public
fish and flesh markets, yielding $1,100 a year.
4. Rents of land down the islands
for planting cotton, provisions etc. Monos, Huevos, the Perroquets (now Five
Islands), Diego Martin Islands (now Carrera and Cronstadt) and El Pato had been
granted to the town of Port of Spain by Governor Chacon. Rent was from 4 -6
reals a quarree, totoal yield about $100 a year.
5. Rents of lots in Marine Square
and in the Grass Market, yielding $1000 a year.
6. Rents of lots at the western
extremity of the town, called Puerto Cacao, granted by Chacon, yielding about
$120 a year.
7. Rent of the Cocal on the east
coast, granted to the town by the Spanish king, renting for $300-500 a year,
but for a few years had been without a tenant.
8. Rents of the new lots east and
west of the new mole made by filling at the end of frederick Street and which
formed a new part of the town. Granted to Port of Spain by Governor Picton.
Annual rent $50-$150, yielding $2400 a year.
9. Grant of one quarter of one
percent, on inward and outward cargoes at the port. This was collected by the
customs officers and forwarded to the Cabildo. It had been granted by the King
of Spain, yielding $2500-$3000 a year.
10. Payments for the use of water
from the public well and for the use of the pump and aquaeduct by ships in the
harbour. Yield $1000 a year.
11. Fines imposed on delinquents,
varied yield.
12. Tax on carts, $2 a month,
yielding $1400 a year and wholly spent on maintenance of the streets.
13. Duty on foreign liquors,
yielding $1000 a year.
The total annual revenue of the
Cabildo was thus approx. $17,000, exclusive of the various fines collected in
the Courts of the Alcaldes. The population of Port of Spain was about 7,000.
The annual administrative
expenditure of the Cabildo was:
Escribano (Secretary) $300
Interpreter $400
Chief of Police $912
Gaol Keeper $365
Seven Police $1680
Collector, 3% on collections $800
Rent of gaol and maintenance of
prisoners unable to keep themselves $2,700
Rent of Caibldo building $960
Maintenance of properties $400
Celebration of the Feast of St.
Joseph $400
"The necessary expenses to
keep the streets in order were variable from year to year, as also were the
expenses of the maintenance of slaves employed on works of public
utility," writes Dr. Wise.
The records show that any money
left over after expenditure had to be invested in fixed property, so as to
increase the revenue in future years. In 1802, fish and flesh market was built. Later, a gaol was completed,
costing $20,000. Afterwards, a hospital for those found ill in the streets was
commenced, and in 1809, $5000 was spent to repair the mole at the foot of
Frederick Street.
The houseowners of Port of Spain
also made a voluntary payment to the Cabildo for the maintenance of fire
engines. This was introduced by the first British governor, Sir Thomas Picton.
