Dr Rita Pemberton

COMMISSIONER Hay's removal from office early in 1892 did not initiate a process to resolve Tobago’s problems.

After submitting a report which confirmed the well-known gravity of the island’s financial situation, his replacement, acting Commissioner Horsford, was replaced by Thomas Rayner, another acting commissioner, towards the end of 1892.

An entire year had passed and nothing significant had been achieved.

By then, however, residents had expressed their views on the problems which faced the island and the direction in which they felt its development should proceed. Trade and aid were the critical components of their plan, which centred on fostering both domestic and international trade, through communication with Trinidad and Barbados as the conduit to the outside world.

In a petition to the Colonial Office, the leading planters and merchants, some local businessmen and teachers identified some historic factors which caused the island’s problems. They blamed the extensive resource wastage of the sugar industry and the onerous association with Trinidad, which they lamented, was largely unfavourable to Tobago.

As an example, it was indicated that the presence of Trinidad Chief Justice John Gorrie had fanned disruptive class relations and stimulated social instability,which negatively affected economic activity. Consequently, sustained economic activity was not possible, and the planting community was unable to generate profits and could not meet its financial obligations. The solution offered was a corrective exercise to mitigate those ills and put the island on a development path, which was only possible with an injection of aid from the imperial government.

In support of the call, the acting commissioner issued an SOS by summarising the condition of Tobago. He said abandoned estates predominated and the few struggling planters lacked the financial resources to continue. He argued that the old-fashioned plantation sector needed modernisation, but the planting community lacked the resources to do so. He advocated assistance to the planters and the development of peasant proprietors to cultivate cocoa and coffee for export and ground provisions to feed themselves.

The Colonial Office maintained its long-established stance: it was interested only in profitable colonies. Unprofitable colonies which would be a drain on the British Treasury were useless to the imperial system. Britain was not going to bail out financially floundering colonies.The Secretary of State firmly denied the request for a loan to revive the sugar industry, but supported the development of a peasantry, but only with the use of local resources. Rayner asked for a reduction in Tobago’s costs for the steamer service and modified crown land regulations.

It was not until the end of the year that a commissioner for Tobago was appointed. On December 8, 1892, Commissioner William Low arrived, having previously served in St Vincent, Grenada and St Lucia.

Low simplified the system of land payments to facilitate the