1925 Trinidad and Tobago general election

Background

The Legislative Council had been established in 1831, but was a fully nominated body.[1] In July 1921, San Fernando Borough Council called a public meeting at Carnegie Library, the result of which was a unanimous request for elected representation. Similar demands subsequently came from Arima and Port of Spain.[1] Within a few years, the British authorities agreed to a partly elected legislative council, although with voting limited to a restricted franchise.[1]

Electoral system

The reorganised Legislative Council had 12 official members (civil servants), six nominated members, seven elected members and the Governor, who served as the legislature's speaker. The seven elected members were elected from single-member constituencies.[2]

The franchise was limited to people who owned property in their constituency with a rateable value of $60 (or owned property elsewhere with a rateable value of $48) and tenants or lodgers who paid the same sums in rent. The voting age was 21 for men and 30 for women, and all voters were required to understand spoken English.[1] Anyone who had received poor relief within the most recent six months before election day was disqualified from voting.[2] Only 6% of the population were eligible to vote.[2]

The restrictions on candidates were more severe, with candidature limited to men that lived in their constituency, were literate in English, and owned property worth at least $12,000 or from which they received at least $960 in rent a year. For candidates who had not lived in their constituency for at least a year, the property values were doubled.[1]

Results

Voter turnout was around 29%, with two constituencies having only one candidate.[2] Three of the seven elected members – Arthur Andrew Cipriani, Charles Henry Pierre and Albert Victory Stollmeyer – were supported by the Trinidad Workingmens' Association,[3] as was the losing candidate in Tobago, Isaac Hope.[4]

Constituency Candidate Votes Notes
Caroni CountySarran Teelucksingh491Elected
E.A. Robinson235
Eastern CountiesCharles Henry Pierre–Elected unopposed
Port of SpainArthur Andrew Cipriani2,557Elected
Randolph Rust910
Gaston Johnson378
Saint George CountyAlbert Victor Stollmeyer707Elected
A. Cory Davies206
Saint Patrick CountyErnest Radcliffe Clarke314Elected
A.A. Sobrian269
TobagoJames Alexander BiggartElected
Isaac Hope
Victoria CountyThomas Meade Kelshall–Elected unopposed
Source: Teelucksingh

Appointed members
Position Member
GovernorHorace Byatt
Collector of CustomsThomas Robert Cutler
Colonial SecretaryThomas Alexander Vans Best
Acting Colonial SecretaryRobert Howard Furness
Director of AgricultureWilliam George Freeman
Director of EducationGeorge Mackay
Director of Public WorksMatthew Alexander Murphy
General Manager of RailwaysJohn Powter
Inspector General of ConstabularyGeorge Hebert May
Protector of ImmigrantsArnauld Henry William De Boissiere
Acting Solicitor-GeneralWalter Harragin
Surgeon-GeneralKenrick Stanton Wise
TreasurerHenry Barclay Walcott
Nominated membersHenry Alcazar
Albert Bonus Carr
Alexander Frazer
George Frederick Huggins
Arthur Hutton McShine
Lennox O'Reilly
Source: Teelucksingh, Skinner[5]
gollark: Often they end up working like fake loading screens, which are the enemy.
gollark: Not unless it's done well.
gollark: Oh, wait, no it doesn't.
gollark: It seems like just bodging in a 0.5 second delay makes it work basically fine somehow.
gollark: I'm kind of amazed that this system actually generally works, to be honest.

References
  1. George John (1991) 50 Years of the Ballot, Trinidad Express Newspapers, p7
  2. John, p8
  3. Jerome Teelucksingh (2014) Labour and the Decolonization Struggle in Trinidad and Tobago, pp180–181
  4. Teelucksingh, p106
  5. T. Skinner (1926) West Indies and Caribbean Year Book, p163
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