The City of Port-of-Spain (Franklin Year Book 1939)

 1783–1840

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THE BOARD OF CABILDO.    Before the Island of Trinidad became a British possession, it previously belonged to the Crown of Spain, and its chief town was St. Joseph – 6 miles from Port-of-Spain. This town was managed by a Board called ''The Illustrious Board of Cabildo.'' In the year 1783 this body removed its meeting place to Port-of-Spain, which by that time had been officially recognised as the Chief Town. On the Capitulation of the Island, in the year 1797, the management of the Town remained vested in this Corporation. In 1813, its minutes were ordered to be kept both in the Spanish and English languages instead of in the former tongue only as hitherto. By December of the same year, however, only the English language was used.

1840–1853

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THE TOWN COUNCIL.    In the year 1840 an Ordinance was passed for ''regulating the powers and constitution, and settling the mode of election of the members of the Corporate Body called the 'Illustrious Cabildo' of the town of Port-of-Spain, and chang-ing the name thereof to that of the 'Town Council of Port-of-Spain'.'' On the 6th June, 1840, the new Council met for the first time under the Presidency of Sir Henry George MacLeod. The Council was composed of the Governor, who was President, and twelve other members.

1853–1898

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THE BOROUGH COUNCIL.    In the year 1853 the Town Councillors presented a petition to the Governor-in-Council (Lord Harris) praying for a new constitution based on the same principles as those embodied in the English Municipality Corporation Acts. This was granted, and by Ordinance No. 10 of 1853 which provided for the ''Regulation of Municipal Corporations in the Island,'' the name 'Town Council' was changed into that of the ''Borough Council of Port-of-Spain.'' The new Council met on 31st August, 1853, with Louis A. A. de Verteuil, M.D., as Mayor. The Council was now composed of twelve members, one of whom was Mayor.

1899–1907

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THE TOWN COMMISSIONERS.    On the 18th January, 1899 as the outcome of a long controversy between the Council and the Government, an Ordinance No. 1 of 1899 was passed by direction of the Secretary of State, the Rt. lIon. Joseph Chamberlain, abolishing the Borough Council of Port-of-Spain, and substituting for it a new corporation under the name of the ''Town Commissioners," the four members of which were all nominated by the Governor, 'Sir Hubert E. II. Jerningham, K.C.M.G. The first Chief Commisioner so nominated by His Excellency the Governor was Hon. S. W. Knaggs who received for his services an honorarium of £300; while each of the other Commissioners received £100 per annum.

The Water and Sewerage Authority. In 1904 the Water Works and Sewerage Works, which up to then had been under Government administration, were placed under the management of a Board known as the ''Port-of-Spain Water Authority and the Board of Commissioners of Sewerage.'' This dual Committee heldits first meeting on 29th September, 1904 under the Chairmanship of the Hon. R. Gervase Bushe. The personnel of the Board included five ratepayers appointed by the Governor.

1907–1914

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THE TOWN BOARD.    On the 1st of May, 1907, the then three local authorities of Port-of-Spain, viz: The Town Commissioners, the Water Authority and the Sewerage Board, were by ''the Port- of-Spain Town Board Ordinance,'' 1907, merged into one body known as "The Port-of-Spain Town Board," also a wholly nominated Corporation. This Board comprised a membership of eleven – the Chairman, the Hon. Adam Smith, receiving as a remuneration for his services the sum of £300 per annum.

    At an Extraordinary Meeting of the Legislature held on the 22nd August, 1913, the Governor, Sir George Le Hunte G.C.M.G. laid on the table a despatch, No. 286 of the 29th July 1913, from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, approving of the resolution passed by the Legislature on the 25th June previously to the effect that the nominated system be gradually superceded by some measure of election of members by the rate-payers ; and the Governor then announced the appointment by him of a committee of sixteen members to consider the details of the proposed change in the construction of the Town Board.

    The Ordinance introduced as a consequence was passed on the 29th May the same year, coming into force on the 26th June 1914.

CONSTITUTION OF THE CITY

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    By the Port-of-Spain Corporation Ordinance, No. 24 of 1914, (now Chap. 224 of the Revised Edition of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago), Port-of-Spain is constituted a Municipal "City," and its inhabitants are declared to be a body corporate under the title of ''The Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Port-of-Spain." The city is divided into five Wards, known respectively as the Northern, Southern, North-eastern, South-eastern and the Western Wards. Three Councillors are returned by each Ward and the term of office of a Councillor is three years. The elections of November, 1917, made the City Council entirely elected it having been previously constituted of partly elected and partly nominated members, the nominated members going out of office gradually each year and being replaced by elected ones. From the year 1919, one Councillor in each Ward goes out of office every year, the retiring member being always the one who has served longest without re-election. In addition to the fifteen elected Councillors, there are five Aldermen elected directly by the Council, either from among the Councillors or from persons outside the Council who are qualified to be Councillors. The term of office of the Aldermen is three years, after which they all go out of office together. The Mayor is elected annually by the Council from among the Aldermen or Councillors ; he is, by virtue of his office a Justice of the Peace for the City, and continues so during the year next after his year of office, unless disqualified ; and he may not serve the office of Mayor for more than three successive years. Provision is made in the Ordinance for the grant to him of an honorarium of £500 a year, and a sum not exceeding £100 a year for the reasonable travelling expenses incidental to the office of Mayor.

    The Councillors are elected by the Burgesses of the City under an Elections Ordinance based on the provisions of the English Ballot Act, and the rules made thereunder for Municipal and Parliamentary elections. To be entitled to vote at elections of Councillors a person must be enrolled as a burgess in the annually prepared burgess roll of the city ; and in order to be enrolled he must be of full age, a British subject by birth or naturalization, or (if a foreigner) he must have been resident in the colony for at least five years ; and in addition he must be either the occupying owner of a house or business place in the city assessed at an annual rental of at least £10 or the tenant of such house or business place for which he has paid one year's rent at least to the amount of £12  10s. ; provision is also made for lodger burgesses paying at least £62  10s. a year for board and lodging combined. Provided that the conditions of actual occupation of the qualifying premises are complied with, it is not essential that a burgess shall reside in the city, residence within a 10 mile radius being sufficient.

    To be qualified as Councillors, persons must be not only actually enrolled in the burgess roll of the city, but must be entitled to be so enrolled ; they must be British subjects by birth or naturalization ; and must be either occupying owners of a house assessed at the annual rental of not less than £50 or tenants of a house assessed at not less than £62  10s. ; or they must, in lieu of the occupation qualification, be in receipt of an income of at least £312  10s. per annum. Inability to speak English, being in Holy Orders, an undischarged bankrupt, having been convicted of treason, felony or any offence involving dishonesty, within the previous ten years, constitute disqualifications for Councillorship. So also do the existence of certain specified interests of a financial character in contracts with the Corporation.

    The Annual Elections take place on the 3rd November every year, and the election of the Mayor on the 15th and (when necessary) of the Aldermen, on the 9th November.

    The City covers an area of roughly about three and three-quarters square miles ; and includes about 350 streets and lanes, of a total length of some seventy-two odd miles. The boundaries are defined by the Port-of-Spain Corporation Ordinance Cap. 224.

    The population of the City as shewn by 1931 Census is 70,334 souls ; but if the waterworks and sewerage districts are included, stretching as far as Maraval, and St. James on the north-west and St. Ann's and Cascade on the north-east, this estimate would be greatly increased. There are about 10,700 premises separately assessed to house rate in the city proper; and the Burgess Roll for the year 1937 comprises a total of 7,881 names. The War Rate District which extends beyond the city includes about 11,000 premises.

WOODBROOK ESTATE

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    On the 6th November, 1899 the Woodbrook Estate which had formerly been a flourishing sugar estate on the outskirts of the town, comprising 367 1/2 acres were purchased by the Messrs. Siegert & Sons from the Liquidator of the firm of Messrs. W. F. Burnley & Co. of Glasgow for the sum of £50,000. At that time the cultivation of sugar had long been given up, and about 70 acres of the Estate had been already occupied by tenantry who held about 588 lots. About the year 1905 the condition of the streets, which had long been the subject of dispute between the Government, the landlords, and the tenants, was at last settled on the following terms, viz. : That the streets should be improved and laid out, the cost being borne as follows : Government 1/2, Town Commissioners and owners 1/4 each. On the completion of the work which gave general satisfaction to the tenants, the rents in that part of the tenantry were raised by the Messrs. Siegert. About this time the area between Carlos and French Streets was also laid out into lots, and the section between Roberts Street and Ariapita Avenue, where the streets were made, had been nearly all built upon.

    On the 1st November, 1911, the estate again changed hands, the purchasers being the Port-of-Spain Town Board, for the sum of £85,000. The Board at once set about constructing streets where required and were laid out by the previous owners, the cost of which along with some minor improvements amounted to $32,138.21. On the completion of this work the rent along these streets was raised from $1.50 to $2.00 per month. The tenantry at present comprises over 1,430 lots, which are either held under monthly tenancies, or under long leases of 40 years, the whole producing a rent roll averaging over $44,000 a year.

Albuquerque

It was during the administration of Don E.S. de Liñan, governor of the island of Trinidad, that in April of 1749 a remarkable earthquake occurred. I had just entered the town of San José de Oruña, being on my way to pay my respects to Doña Marie Beatrice Bay. My mule Florencia seemed to stumble, while all around there could be heard such a rumble as the road appeared to undulate in a manner not dissimilar to ripples on a pond. I saw the steeple on the church move from side to side, thatch falling from its roof, while a large crack appeared in the adobe walls above the door. Within moments, it was over. Much damage was also done to the Government House. Florencia seemed rooted to the spot, and in her terror, she would not budge.

Permit me to introduce myself. I am Jacques d'Albuquerque, a direct descendant of the great d'Albuquerque who explored the coast of Africa in the days when Christofero Colon was experimenting with transatlantic navigation. Being possessed with the urge to travel, I ventured to this island from my native Lisbon, where, as a member of the nobility, I enjoyed from my childhood the privileges of that rank.

So impoverished are all the inhabitants of La Trinidad, who live in lowly estate in the mountains round San José, that their Cabildo called a special meeting to form a committee to tax the inhabitants in proportion to their means in order to thatch with palm leaf (carata) the Cabildo hall. A census of the inhabitants has been taken, and every free man's name was entered into the books of the Cabildo. It appears by this that there are 162 adult males on the island, out of these only 28 were white. The naturals, called Indians, are not considered inhabitants. No account is taken of the slaves. There are a few of them on the island. From these inhabitants, a revenue of 231 dollars was raised.

The earthquake has brought out the town's inhabitants. The sergeant Manuel Ximines is differing with the priest as to its cause, maintaining that is of natural consequence. The priest is convinced that, like the failure of cocoa crop a few years prior, the accumulated sins of the populace is to blame.

I, myself, am for Doña Beatrice Bay's house, a worthy widow, whose previous husbands practice of medicine I am about to assume. I am pleased that the town council were impressed by my certificates, which they were unable to read , and have appointed me "because he seemed to be a physician". both the Sergeant and the padre halt their heated argument on the vicissitudes of the weather and the merits of the confessional, as she opens her front window for me to climb through.

Her door, as a result of the weather or of the sins no longer opens.

I am here to collect a hammer, chisel and a ten-inch saw belonging to her former husband, in that I am to remove by amputation Señor Lezama's left leg, and as such I must also build a table. The medicinal services on this island are primitive.

Maria Beatrice, as the granddaughter of the last marquis de Soto y Xaraza, has the blood of the conquistador de Berrio. Possessing large tracks of land in the interior of the island. Maria Beatrice came to my attention at the governor's garden party, where she had appeared enlightened as the result of the thousands lightning bugs, or as they call them on this island, candle flies, sewed into the lace appliqués of her gown. There is a sense of levity about the place, absent in other Spanish colonies down the main. I suppose it is because the inquisition never sat in Trinidad.

This I read in a record book of the Illustrious Cabildo, as they call it. Governor Martin Mendoza de la Hoz y Berrio around 1641 refused permission to Padre Dionysio Misland, a French Jesuit, to introduce the inquisition in Trinidad. He had done this mainly because the powers of the colonial governors were circumscribed in colonies in which the inquisition operated.

His reason given was that the English and the Dutch Protestant settlers had little influence over the Caribs in Trinidad, and the inquisition was not needed. He urged Padre Misland to go to Guiana, where the English and Dutch were operating. Such are the origins of nations. I presume events as these shape and dictate the destinies of people yet unborn.

As we sample some of Doña Beatrice's rum, we discuss the consequence of the unborn. Florencia has come to watch us. The following day, I attend a general meeting of the inhabitants in my role as surgeon general. This meeting is to prevent the introduction of the smallpox, then raging on the continent. A "strong guard" is to be posted at the Bocas so as to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country, as if this has ever worked.  Contraband, alive and dead, move in and out of this island with impunity. But then we live in a barbaric age in a frontier environment. It is, after all, 1743. Who knows what the future will bring?

Notwithstanding, this dreadful malady has come to visit this island and is committing terrible ravages amongst the poor Indians—all this despite the vigilance of the strong guard. I have bathed Doña Maria Beatrice in a solution of chamomile, braced with lavender, with a teaspoon of rum. Much to her benefit. It is not clear whether the contagion was imported, wafted here by air, or finally whether it rose spontaneously.

The smallpox has also thinned the  monkeys to an astonishing degree. There is to be a petition so as to protect the island, and for other purposes that His Majesty would be pleased to send a guard of fifty men, in addition to the twenty stationed at the Caroni River: further that he should be pleased to pay in coin, the same as in Puerto Rico and at San Domingo, in order that it may circulate amongst the inhabitants. Such is the origin of commerce in these distant islands.

Again, as the number of women greatly exceed that of men, the former might choose husbands amongst the soldiers, whom His Majesty should be please to send, so that the practice of family planning may be commenced among the inhabitants. It is embarrassing to relate, but at this time the Cabildo had but one pair of small clothes between the whole of the members. This petition is signed by J.E. Farfan, Diego Arriesta, Josef M. Farfan and J. Ximenes, members of the Cabildo

It was during a period of digestion that Doña Maria Beatrice and I heard the report of a violent dispute between the Cabildo and the military commander. It appears that the governor had left the island for Cumana without formally announcing his intention to the Cabildo, as by the law required. The military commander wishes to make himself governor. This is opposed by the Cabildo. As much as I have little interest in this, Doña Maria Beatrice, her immediate dependencies and myself repair to live in a rustic manner at her "Palisio" overlooking Las Cuevas.

Upon our return to San José, I hear that a stormy meeting has taken place, at which was debated whether the military commandant, Major Espinoza, or the Alcaldes, Dons J. Lazado and H. Soto, should take command. It was decided that in the absence of the governor, the Alcaldes ought to represent him and therefore had a right not only to the civil but to the military command. The major dissented from this decision and ordered all the inhabitants to assemble at Port of Spain with their arms at the firing of the cannon. I myself enjoy an entirely different point of view with regard to a call to arms. Doña Maria Beatrice and I await the return of the inhabitants of San José. It would appear that the civil authority has carried the day. In fact, the Cabildo seemed to have carried all things with a high hand over the military. The soldiers appeared to have done nothing but smoke cigars. At a further meeting, the members of the Illustrious Cabildo evoking "the laws of the Indies", remonstrated the military commander.

Upon the return to the colony of the governor, they carry their audacity much further. By raising a general outcry against him, they allege that the governor has abused his authority by oppressing and ill-treating them. The little colony was now amusing itself with revolt on a small scale.

As we can all attest, amusement is a most necessary diversion in that it dispels monotony, banishes boredom and fires the imagination. Doña Maria Beatrice and I were disturbed to hear that the inhabitants, whose exasperation has been raised against the governor, have risen upon him and placed him in the Casa Real in Port of Spain. They have put him in chains with two pairs of irons on his feet. Kept two sentinels over him night and day, in order that he might be narrowly watched and at the same time laid an embargo on his property.

Such is the manner that the inhabitants of Trinidad treat their governors. He was to stay in confinement for the next six months.

This revolt, it would appear, was carried on with the full support of the soldiers. The inhabitants in general and the Cabildo in particular have decided that the governor was an "intruder". They first declared him no governor, and then ordered him to be suspended as governor. Doña Maria Beatrice remarked to me during siesta that it was astounding what a group of men who had but one pair of drawers between them could do.

The governor appears to have remained chained and imprisoned until the 4th December, when the viceroy of the new kingdom of Granada sent here Don Felix Espinosa de la Monteros with sufficient force to quell the insurrection. He released the governor, whose health had suffered from his long and severe confinement. He therefore solicited and obtained permission to leave the colony—he has left de la Monteros as his successor.

Dons J. M. Farfan, A. Ramaro and G. Infant were banished for ten years. They went to Havana. A large proportion of the male population have fled the island in order to avoid being prosecuted for their revolt. It has been a bloodless revolt, but one that has affected the economy in that there are now so few men.

The treasury of the island, counted by the proper official, has been found to contain $ 1,216. Yet, strange to say, this year the church at San José was ordered to be thatched and the Cabildo said they had no funds to do it. The way the treasury of this island is managed has always been singular.

The illustrious Cabildo has petitioned the Kind on the worn-out subject of the failure of the cocoa crop and, can you imagine, the scarcity of fish. They should have said, their sheer laziness to take it! They say that the recent troubles have so reduced the population that they pray that His Majesty would be pleased to pardon all those implicated, so that they may return to the bosom of their families.

Doña Maria Beatrice and I enjoy a delicious paella, the recipe for which is as follows: fry some chicken, wild meat and rabbit in some good oil, add thyme and garlic and some carrot and tomato, add some water and bring to a boil. When the broth is nicely cooked, add fish, fish heads and tails, and seafood. Let the broth simmer for a moment and cool overnight. The following day, fry some rice in some good oil, add the broth and the meats, sprinkle with saffron, add some little green peas and pour into a pan. Sprinkle with olive oil and bake in the oven until the rice is golden and tender.

On the 11th April, 1751, many of the late insurgents were allowed to return. The governor de la Monteros has been struck with palsy. The Cabildo has assumed the government. The governor has asked permission to leave the island for Cumana for the benefit of his health. This the contentious Cabildo has refused to grant. A legal battle ensues, where the law of the Indies is both quoted and misquoted. In the end, the governor escapes. The vicar general wrote privately to the Cabildo, requesting permission to deport the island on a visit to the mainland. He was forbidden to do so and a long war against the priests was commenced by way of variety.

The dilapidation and the lack of population in the city of San José de Oruña has forced many of the inhabitants to remove themselves to Port of Spain. The Cabildo is presently amusing itself by preventing Don Gabriel Infanta to leave the island on the grounds of his charitable disposition.

Doña Maria Beatrice has pointed out that for more than 100 years, there never was a Cabildo without one person, at least, of the name of Farfan. Don Pedro de la Moneda, the new governor, has proposed a new government house at Port of Spain, and the filing of the holes and ditches at San José. On this, the inhabitants remonstrated in the most lugubrious manner, stating that they had no time, that they had to mount a guard at the Caroni, there being but ten soldiers on the island. They declared that it would take all the inhabitants one entire year to fill all the holes in San José, that so unsuccessful was the fishing that they were often obliged to go without food for a whole day. They further alleged that the house could not be built because there is but one carpenter in the island. He, upon attempting to leave, was captured and returned. The dispute with the priests continues. The vicar apostolic is once more under fire, because it was recollected that he had been in the island several years without showing his credentials. excommunication and representations, anathema and protests, were banded about for a long time. The church was closed, and the inhabitants kept in a state of disorder, for which they appeared to have had a particular taste.

The Illustrious Cabildo, after receiving a representation of the procurator syndic Farfan that a schoolmaster be appointed to instruct the children of the island at the following rates of remuneration: teaching the alphabet 1/2 real per month, reading 1 real, writing and arithmetic 1 1/2 reals. As such, the marvels of the educated mind is introduced to this island for the first time.

In an effort to put the medieval times behind them, the Illustrious Cabildo has ordered that all the inhabitants of the colony come out of the bush, woods and high forest, where they have been living "au natural" for want of proper clothes and other amenities. They are now required to build houses in San José, live in them and plant gardens near. All this in an attempt to make the city habitable.

The one aspect of these new mandates that is of special interest to both myself and Doña Maria Beatrice is that rum is now forbidden to be made by hand mills. The method being that a hole is made in a tree and a lever is introduced in this hole; the cane is put in and expressed by means of the lever. Of course, the liquor so expressed must undergo a process of fermentation before it could be distiller.

I must now close this correspondence with heartfelt felicitations from Port of Spain, La Trinidad, 1750. Jacques d'Albuquerque.

The Police Force

Under Spanish law, before the conquest of Trinidad by the British forces in 1797, the police force in Trinidad  came under the control of the Agualcil Mayor, who was a member of the Illustrious Cabildo which formed the effective government of the colony.

The police in those days comprised six men. These were kept in at St. Joseph, the old capital of Trinidad. As the little village of Cumucurapo grew into the town known as Port of Spain, their activities became increasingly concentrated there. At the time of the British conquest, Trinidad was going through a very turbulent period. The Spanish colonial establishment was relatively small, comprising a dozen or so officials, headed by Governor Chacon and supported by a handful of local Spaniards, a few Frenchmen and a couple of Irishmen. Their chores derived mostly from criminal elements and republicans both black and white, runaway slaves, freebooters and members of various militaries who absent without leave. All these found a ready heaven in Trinidad, arriving by the hundreds from the nearby islands and from down the main. They challenged Chacon's authority almost daily and alarmed the French creole establishment, who were conservative royalists and who had invested what was left of their fortunes in the purchase of slaves and the establishment of plantations. Both property and life were under threat on a regular basis. Chacon could not handle it for much longer.

All this changed with the arrival of the British forces. Sir Ralph Abercromby left his aide-de-camp Colonel Thomas Picton in command of the island. Historian Michael Anthony recounts his words to Picton:

"I have placed you in a trying and delicate position, nor ... can I leave you a strong garrison: but I shall give you ample powers. Execute Spanish law as well as you can. Do justice according to your conscience. That is all that can be expected of you."

With some 15,000 people, mostly French-speaking, both European and African, who had republican sentiments and disliked the English for their support of the French royalists, Picton's job must have been a tough one. History shows that he dealt forcefully with insurgents, malcontents, revolutionaries, lunatics, criminals and opportunists by deporations, public hangings, decapitations and the exposing of body parts of the executed at the town gate and other public places, as was the custom in England and the continent of Europe at the time.

Colonel Picton created a military police force. One could say that the military tradition of the police service in Trinidad, which has come down to the present, has its origins from Picton's time. Picton "instituted the compulsory enlistment of Free Blacks and coloured men into the police and as a result the police force was soon regarded (and so it was considered for many years) not as an essential service but as a form of punishment." writes Fr. Anthony de Verteuil in his "History of the Irish in Trinidad".

Certainly, it became an important employer for the Barbadians, Grenadians, Vincentians and other "small islanders', who came in great numbers to this island. Even in the 1930s, when former police commissioner Eustace Bernard joined the service, he could write in his memoirs:

"The Trinidadian, not the Tobagonian, thought that it was 'infra-dig' to become a policeman, and that the policeman's status, if he had one, was low indeed."

From very early on, recruits did in fact come from overseas, not just the British colonies in the West Indies, but significantly from Ireland. Fr. de Verteuil recounts that in 1823, the police force consisted of James Mean, who was the Chief of Police, Assistant Chief H.G. Peake, Corporal Alexander Sandy, and Constables John McCarthy, B. Vasquez, Peter Stevens, Michael Christie, James Stephens and Peter MacDonald. 2 years later, there were 100 constables in the service, mostly from Barbados.

The commissioned officers were of course from Europe, as all positions of authority during this period of colonial rule were held by British officials. There was an inspector, later called inspector commandant, and two sub-inspectors. Not all the Barbadians who entered the force in those years had African ancestors.  There was in Barbados a relatively large community of impoverished white people, who had been transported to the island during the previous century, some to be servants of the upper classes, others to serve indentureships on similar contracts as the Indians who came to Trinidad. These were called "Red Legs" for obvious reasons and because of the class system endemic in the colonial period were treated no differently from the coloureds by the official establishment, who were or pretended to be of the upper classes.

A quarter of century later, in 1877, five members of the Royal Irish Constabulary were brought into the local police force. In 1876, the Police Headquarters was built on St. Vincent Street. On the site of this building once stood the barracks of the old West India Regiment which was brought back from Martinique in 1802. It was built in the Italian gothic style of limestone quarried at Picadilly Street in Port of Spain and cost some £90,000 altogether. It was equipped with an iron ball on a flag post, which fell precisely at midday Greenwich mean time.

It contained a residence for the head of the force as well as quarters for the volunteer fire brigade and the volunteer corps. At one time, the stipendiary magistrate of Port of Spain held his daily court there. In 1882, it burnt down as a result of a fire started in the lamp room. 1862 [?] saw the establishment of a "plain clothes detective branch".

In 1884, Commandant Baker described the force as being composed of 436 men of all ranks including 30 additional in that year. His staff consisted of two inspectors, Englishmen, one posted in Port of Spain, the other in San Fernando. A sergeant major from the Irish constabulary for each division, five sergeant superintendents, one a black man, the others former soldiers from the Irish constabulary, 21 sergeants, both white and coloured, 26 corporals of mixed ancestry, three grades of constables, full strength 350, some of who were European, the others mostly from Barbados "and two or three natives of Trinidad in the whole force, who are usually wathless from stupidity. Besides this stupidity, there is a great dislike to enter the force amongst the natives and the dislike has existed for years." [Source?]

J. N. Brierly came to Trinidad in 1874 to join the police force. Making a name for himself as a detective, he became senior inspector and was instrumental in laying out San Fernando and Port of Spain into beats. Fr. de Verteuil recounts that he travelled extensively to all parts of the island on horseback, giving lectures and instructions. Amongst those Irish were Darcy Costelloe, Fahay Flynn, Murphy Peake and Fraser.

The police force was to be severely tested in the last decade of the 19th century with the Hosay Riots and with the Cannes Brulées Riots, when pitched battles were fought both in the countryside and in Port of Spain between poui stick wielding batonniers and policemen armed with riot batons. By 1890, the York and Lancaster regiment that had been stationed at St. James barracks, left Trinidad. They had been stationed here from the conquest, a distinguished corps whose battle honours include the peninsular wars (March 29, 1815) to the 2nd battalion Aribia (Feb 24, 1824), to the whole regiment India (December 12, 1826). To this day, buttons are found bearing the distinctive rose and the numbers 65 and 84.

A great many Irish policemen were to stay on in Trinidad and marry into local families both black and white.

In 1903, the force now considerably strengthened and housed at St. James barracks in quarters vacated by the York & Lancaster regiment, assumed a military character and was turned out in force to deal with the rioters of the Water Riots, who subsequently succeeded in burning down the Red House. Former commissioner Eustace Bernard, who entered the Police Barracks in 1934, remembers a police force cast in the model of the old school, 2000 strong, commanded by Colonel A.S. Mavrogordato, "every officer was white and with few exceptions came from the United Kindgom. They were termed commissioned officers."

Their appointments had to be published in the Royal Gazette, an official British publication. Bernard recalls that the highest rank a constable could get was sergeant major. He remembers the three local men who rose to that rank as Sgt. Major Rose of the ... department, Sgt. Major Woods in charge of training and Sgt. Major Williams in charge of police headquarters. There was a  Sergeants' Mess for non-commissioned officers of the rank of sergeant and above, where no one below that rank may enter and in a similar manner the Officers' Mess.

In those days, there was no such thing as a 44-hour week. Men in training worked for their officers, "making up beds, sweeping floors, cleaning yards and boots, chopping wood etc." Eustace Bernard was in fact the first local man of colour to rise from the rank of constable to that of Commissioner of Police.

Spanish Law

Sailing in the wake of the Conquistadors of Trinidad, their names hardly more than misty memories but still possessed of that peculiar Spanish grandeur, came the would-be settlers. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Trinidad was an island province of New Granada for all intent and purpose a part of Venezuela. But there was hardly any interest directed to this island. It contained no gold or precious stones, its pearl beds had been wiped out and its population of tribal people depleted by disease, deportation and disappear. There was, however, an official establishment, a Governor and a body known as the Illustrious Cabildo which promulgated Spanish law and saw to the needs of the islands several dozen homesteaders or "Colons", as they were called. Spanish law emerges out of the conquest of Iberian peninsular by the romans in the centuries before the birth of Christ. This was known as the Theodosian Code and continued in force even after the Roman Legions had marched away and the empire in the West had fallen to barbarian tribes. This Roman code of law became common law in Spain, when contradicted by subsequent enactment's. These enactment's or ... repealing or modifying the ancient law were influenced by the Gregorian and Hermogenian codes and were eventually collected under the director of the Gothic Kings into a code entitled Fuero Juzgo which still exists to this day in Spain. The law however is a living changing institution and over the centuries Spanish law evolved. Under the Spanish kings, commencing with Alfonso IX in the 10th century on through to Charles IV in the 18th century, the laws of Spain grew and evolved. With the discovery and conquest of the New World, there came into existence The Spanish Colonial Code called Laws of the Indies. These were compiled in 1680 and were the laws inforce in Trinidad. Other laws inforce here were The Laws of Bilboa Commercial Regulations, compiled in 1737. These differed materially from the English Commercial code for this good reason, Spain was an anti commercial kingdom. Historian Edward Joseph who wrote:

"A History of this Island" in 1838, informs us that these various codes were the laws of Trinidad up to the middle of the 18th century when the government of Caracas was empowered by the Court of Madrid to make certain laws for Trinidad. Even the governor of Trinidad, assisted by the Cabildo was permitted to make certain regulations which was allowed to have the force of law for two years and no longer unless confirmed by the General Government.

Joseph points out that

"It should not be forgotten that besides these laws there were a body of regulations for the government of slaves in the Spanish Colonies which for practical benevolence and wisdom surpassed any laws ever made for and enforced in the colonies relative to Negroes and other persons who had the misfortunes to be in slavery."

With the capture of Trinidad in 1797 by the English, the laws and regulations began a painful process of change. Shortly after the British conquest, Sir Ralph Abercrombry, who was effectively Governor of the island, made a determined move against the "Spanish Lawyers" who were well known as corrupt. General Abercrombry appointed Mr. John Mihell, Chief Justice, and instructed him to deal with all the cases brought before him according to his conscience. Col. Thomas Picton, upon the departure of the fleet that had captured the island, was appointed Governor and given instructions to make no radical changes to Spanish Law. Appeals were directed, in Spanish times, to the Supreme Court at Caracas. Now their were to be made to the King in Council. A curious anomaly in that cases tried in Trinidad under Spanish law had decisions appealed in England and English law. In 1800, Governor Picton superseded Judge Mihell and established a tribunal called in Spanish 'Court of Consulado..' Six years later Governor Hislop, Picton's successor, abolished this and re-appointed Judge Mihell who was once again instructed to act according to his conscience. John Mihell was this island's first Chief Justice. In 1808, a Judge by the name of Smith was appointed by the Colonial Office over all the Tribunals on this island. He was given the power to "hear appeals from his own court!" and as such had to deal with the absurdity of a judge deciding a cause in one court, changing his dress, hearing the case, and reversing his own sentence in another court while now condemning the party who lost the suit in the Court of Appeal to all costs. This state of affairs, when mentioned in the House of Commons, caused great shouts of laughter. We were, after all, an experiment colony.

In 1811 Governor Hislop revived the 'Court of Consulado.' In 1812 and 1813 there was no law in Trinidad. This was remedied in 1814 when Judge Bigge was sent out as Chief Justice with his jurisdiction confined to the Court of First instance, but all owed appeals from his decrees to the Governor, Sir Ralph Woodford, Judge of the Court of Appeal. It was during this period that the English language was first used in court.

In 1823, the Court of First Instance of Civil Jurisdiction and the Court for the first trial of Criminal Prosecutions was substantially recognized and improved. A court of appeal in criminal cases was instituted, of which the Governor, aided by ... In 1832 Chief Justice Scotland arrived in the colony and shortly afterward almost all courts of law underwent radical changes.

This account of the history of law in Trinidad was drawn from El Joseph's "History of the island of Trinidad 1838." Spanish law existed here until English laws were firmly instituted in 1847.

"Thus having given a very meager history of the law, and want of law. in Trinidad, I will give an account of the different Courts of the island as they now exist.

The Court of lntendant.—This Court, over which the Governor presides, takes cognizance of all matters relative to the sale of crown lands, quit rent, taxes, Queen's revenue, &c. It bears the the same resemblance to the Court of Exchequer as a lizard bears to a crocodile. this court is not often occupied hence

HIS EXCELLENCY SELDOM ADMINISTERS IN THIS TRIBUNAL.

Court of Vice Admiralty. The Chief Justice presides over this Court. It is governed by the same laws as the High Court of Admiralty.

Court of First Instance of Civil Jurisdiction—The Chief Justice presides over this Court, assisted by two Puisne Judges. The decision goes by majority. It takes cognizance of all cases of action for the recovery of debts, damages, &c. over twenty pounds sterling, and also of all testamentary proceedings. It is a m~ed Court of Law and Equity, uniting the power of the English Court of Common Pleas and Chancery. Appeals are allowed in all encase in which the decision involves property of above five hundred pounds sterling. Appeals are seldom made from it, on account of their delay and great expense. I am informed that an appeal to the Sovereign seldom costs less to the plaintiff and defendant than £1000 sterling.

The Complaint Court.—The Chief Justice, or one of the Puisne Judges, in his absence, presides over this Court. It takes cognizance in all civil cases where the amount sued for does not exceed twenty pounds sterling.

There are in each Barrio, or District of the Town, Alcaldes, chosen annually from the inhabitants. These gentlemen hold Courts on matters of debt not exceeding twenty dollars.

In the country, the Commandants or Magistrates can decide matters of debt to the amount of sixty dollars.

Criminal Courts.-When any one is charged with a breach of the criminal law, the ordinary Magistrate investigates it, and if of a serious nature, be can send it on to the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor. This gentleman unites in his own person the office of committing Magistrate and Grand Jury (inasmuch as he finds the bill of indictment) and prosecuting Counsel.

The Court for the Trial for Criminal Prosecutions has a Chief Justice and two Puisne Judges; besides there are three Assessors, chosen by lot; from the inhabitants of the island. The Public Prosecutor and prisoner are allowed a certain number of challenges. The three Judges and three Assessors are Judges of the fact as well as the law, unless a point of pure law arises during the trial, in which case an arrest of judgment, in case of conviction, may be moved and disposed of by the Judges. The decision of the majority of the Court makes the verdict. It will be seen that the Chief Justice, Puisne Judges, and Assessors, unite the functions of Judge and Jurors.

In all capital cases. the prisoner, if he cannot afford to fee Counsel, is allowed one by the Court, who appoint the different Advocates practicing at the Bar in rotation.

The Governor has the power of remitting the whole or a part of the fines and imprisonment imposed by this Court, and in capital cases he can respite the prisoner until her Majesty's pleasure be known. The Court has four sessions per annum—in March, June, September and December.

For minor offenses, in the country, the Magistrates have the power of committing offenders to prison, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding three months, and of imposing a fine to the amount of sixty dollars.

The Cabildo Building

 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. 

The Lost Portraits

Vidia Naipaul remarked that in the 1800s the Caribbean was somewhat like the Middle East today. All the important people went there.

And truly, the list is impressive. Admiral Lord Nelson sailed from the Gulf of Paria to the Battle of Trafalgar in pursuit of the French admiral Villeneuve. A few years before, the Comte de Grasse, a famous French admiral, sailed these waters, as did the Comte d’Estress, Rodney and Vaughn. Sir Ralph Abercromby, who captured this island from the Spanish, died at the battle of Alexandria in 1801, where he commanded the British army. General Picton gave his life at the battle of Waterloo. Don Cosimo Churruca also died in the wars in Egypt. He had established the first meridian of longitude in the New World in Trinidad in 1792, by the observation of the planets.

Very little remains as reminders of those heroic years, and sad to say the few things that did survive have but all been lost, for example, the portraits that once hung in Port-of-Spain’s old Town Hall. It is recorded in Conrad Bismark Franklyn’s papers that on the 24th and 25th of March, 1808, that a great calamity had befallen Port-of-Spain, and a devastating fire destroyed the whole town. The houses in those days were wooden with thatched or shingled roofs, and as a result burnt quickly. Amongst the many buildings that were gutted by the fire was the Cabildo Hall. Fortunately, the ancient records of this august body were saved, and so too were the portraits of Sir Ralph Abercromby and Sir Thomas Picton. The Town Hall in those days was situated in Charlotte Street, a little way from Queen Street, on the right going up.

The portraits had been done in crayon, which was the fashion in those days, by John Russell. Russell had been known as the painter to the British royal court at St. James, and had painted both George III and his son, the Prince of Wales.

In 1815, the Cabildo purchased a house on the corner of Brunswick Square (now Woodford Square) and the pictures were hung there. They were eventually copied in oils and decorated the main hall. Sir Thomas Hislop’s portrait was also commissioned and hung in the hall.

After the death of Sir Ralph Woodford, the Hon. Ashton Warner brought to Trinidad the full-length portrait of Woodford. This had been done by Sir Thomas Lawrence, the most famous portrait painter of his day, whose work is collected by Queen Elizabeth II.

Another significant portrait was that of acting governor (1821 - 1823) Sir Aretas W. Young. This portrait was painted by M. R. Eckstein, a local man. Lord Harris too had his portrait painted by another local artist, E.D. Faure.

With the exception of the portrait of Woodford, all of these were destroyed by fire when the town hall burnt down in the 1940s. Apart from the great loss suffered as a result of the destruction of these very valuable works of art, a part of the ancient record of our country was also lost. The lost portraits would have contained information that would be useful to students and historians today.

One remarkable piece of art that has come down to us is the life-size monument by the renowned sculpture by Chartrey, which was erected in Trinity Cathedral in memory of Woodford, by the inhabitants of Trinidad as “a lasting memorial of his many public and private virtues and of their respect and gratitude”.

Town Council

From Illustrious Cabildo to Town Council

The “Illustrious Cabildo”, a Spanish colonial institution, was vested with extensive powers and its members enjoyed great privileges. In Spanish times, this group administered the affairs of Trinidad - first from St. Joseph, then from 1783 onwards from Port-of-Spain. The Cabildo had a President (usually the Governor of the colony held this office) and twelve members, two of whom were elected ‘Alcaldes’. One of the main privileges of the ‘Illustrious Cabildo’ was the levy of duties and the imposition of taxes within the boundaries of the town.

When Governor Don José Maria Chacon capitulated and the island became a British possession in 1797, the Cabildo continued to operate. Minutes were kept in Spanish until June 1813, when the new Governor Sir Ralph Woodford ordered that records were to be kept in both Spanish and English. In December of that same year, Spanish was dropped altogether and from then on, English was the single official language of the Cabildo.

Members of the Illustrious Cabildo in 1813
Sir Ralph Woodford	Gobernador y Presidente
Mr. James Cadett	Alcalde Ordinario, 1. Voto
Mr. Valentin de Basanta	Alcalde Ordinario, 2. Voto
Mr. Miguel de Gourville	Alferez Real
Mr. Philip Langton	Alcalde Provincial
Mr. Bartholomew Portel	Alcalde Provincial
Mr. Martin Sorzano	Fiel Ejecutor
Mr. James Lowe	Regidor Electo
Mr. Louis Lapeyrouze	Regidor Electo
Mr. Juan Maria Dancla	Regidor Electo
Mr. Diego Almandoz	Regidor Electo
Mr. William Boyle	Regidor Electo
Mr. John Dascum Gumbes	Regidor Electo
Mr. Charles Desson	Sindico Produrador General
Mr. Antonio Ardila	Secretario

In 1840, the Cabildo’s name was changed to the ‘Town Council of Port-of-Spain’. Along with the name change an ordinance was passed for regulating the powers and constitution, and settling the mode of election of the members. The Governor Sir Henry MacLeod was still president of the organisation, and the members consisted of two ‘Alcaldes’, nine ‘Regidores’ and one person functioning as Town Clerk, Treasurer and Standing Counsel.

Thirteen years later, in 1853, the Town Concillors asked the Governor to introduce the same system of Municipal Corporations as in England. This was granted, and the Town Council changed its name to ‘Borough Council of Port-of-Spain’. Under the new constitution, the city got its first mayor, Dr. Louis Antoine Aimé de Verteuil.

Mayors of the Town Council
Louis Antoine Aimé de Verteuil, M.D.	1853
James Kavanagh	1853/54
Joseph Flament	1854/56
Henry Stone	1856/58
Henry Alexander Fitt	1858/59
Louis Antoine Aimé de Verteuil, M.D.	1859/64
Leon Denis O’Connor	1864/66
Gilbert Taylor	1866/67
Michel Maxwell Philip	1867/70
Jno. Bell Smythe	1870/71
William Herbert	1871/72
Leon Agostini	1872/73
Martin James Kavanagh	1873/75
Joseph Emmanuel Cipriani	1875/82
Charles Leotaud	1882/83
Martin James Kavanagh	1883/84
Eugene Lange	1884/86
Francis Damian	1886/88
Henry Browne Philipps	1888/89
Vincent Brown	1889/90
Emilius Julius Wainwright	1890/92
Henry Albert Alcazar	1892/94
Henry Browne Philipps	1894/95
John Cox Newbold	1895/96
Henry Albert Alcazar	1896/97
John Alfred Rapsey	1897/98

46 years and 26 mayors later, the Borough Council of Port-of-Spain in turn was abolished and substituted by ‘Town Commissioners’. The Governor named personally all four commissioners of the new corporation, thus able to exert a greater power. The first four commissioners were:

Hon. S. W. Knaggs, Chief Commissioner

Hon Vincent Brown, Q.C.

Hon. George Goodville

Mr. Leon Agostini

From 1904 on, Port-of-Spain was administered by three authorities: the Town Commissioners, the Water Authority and the Sewerage Board. These three were merged in 1907 into one body, called the ‘Port-of-Spain Town Board’. Adam Smith was the first chairman of the Town Board. In 1914, the City Council came into existence, which was partly nominated by the Governor, partly elected.