The Water Riots
The Background
A characteristic of Trinidad life in the late 19th century
was an enormous waste of water. In 1874 with a
population of 25,000 people, the delivery of water in
Port-of-Spain was 1 ¾ million gallons – averaging 65 to
71 gallons per head, more than twice the allowance of
London. A report of 1880 stated: ‘In nearly every yard,
and at almost every house, passers in the street will
hear the sound of water running, and, as the gutters
show, to waste, in addition baths of unnecessary and
unknown dimensions have been constructed, fountains
erected, and gardens irrigated to an extent which could
not have been contemplated.’
It was recommended that meters should be used to
prevent waste, but this was ignored.
Much of the waste was caused by the well-to-do section
of the Port-of-Spain population, mainly the large houses
around the Queen’s Park Savannah. One example cited
in a report of 1893 was a house where 8,000 gallons
were consumed daily. Every well-to-do person
constructed not an ordinary Roman bath, but large
plunge baths containing as much as 1,000 or 2,000
gallons each – which were filled every day by letting the
tap run all night. By the turn of the century there were
1,380 baths in Port-of-Spain exceeding 100 gallons in
capacity. The 8,000 people who used them were
estimated to consume no less than 1 ½ million gallons
daily, an average of 187 gallons per head.
An engineer was called upon to reform the system in the
1890s and recommended the development of more
sources of water supply by building reservoirs and
introducing water meters. In 1896, all of Port-of-Spain
was up in arms at the ordinance authorising meters to
be put upon large plunge baths and providing for
increased rates. The Port-of-Spain municipality took the
lead in this agitation and the Crown Colony Government
(controlled by Britain) backed down.
In 1899 the Governor, Sir Hubert Jerningham, didn’t
help matters by abolishing the Borough of Port-of-Spain
and its council, deemed to be petty and inefficient in the
management of its affairs. Henceforth, the affairs of the
burgesses were to be managed by central government.
In 1902, an ordinance was introduced again – and again
public meetings were held against the government and
the meter system. The bill was withdrawn but this time
people were prosecuted for wasting water.
Mass Meeting at Queen's Park Racecourse Port of
Spain 14 March 1903 CO 1069 392 03
The events of 1903
On 5 March 1903, yet another water ordinance was
published. The second reading was scheduled for 16
March but because of disorderly behaviour of spectators
in the council chamber on that day, the Executive
Council was adjourned to 23 March. As soon as the bill
appeared on 5 March, violent articles were written
against it. This led to aggressive speeches being made
by members of a Ratepayers Association at a public
meeting at the Race stand on the Savannah (or Public
Park), on 14 March. The Ratepayer’s Association was
led by the disenfranchised Mayor of Port-of-Spain, John
Cox Newbold, who led ratepayers in the belief that water
was a right of existence and not a scarce commodity to
be bought and sold. (Images depicting this meeting can
be seen in CO 1069/392 and on our Flickr page.
On 23 March, the Governor, Sir Cornelius Alfred
Moloney, added more fuel to the flames by insisting on
admission by ticket only into the council chamber at The
Red House, the seat of colonial government, to hear the
debate. It was this notice – that tickets would be
required by the public for admission – that acted as a
spark for the water riots.
What happened on 23 March?
The Red House was pelted with stones by a large crowd
of people (or those members of the Ratepayers
Association gathering in Brunswick Square) and
eventually burnt to the ground. The police were called
out, two Royal Navy ships, The Pallas and The
Rocket landed troops, in addition to the 250 men of the
Lancashire Fusiliers already deployed at barracks in
Port-of-Spain. The ominous Riot Act was read to the
crowd, and then the policemen were given the order to
fire on the protestors. As Eric Williams wrote later, ‘It
was war between bottles and stones on the one side
and bullets on the other’.
The Red House burnt out after the riot on 23 March
1903. CO 1069 392 06
The Commission of Enquiry formed after the riot detailed
that 471 rounds of ammunition had been discharged. A
total of 16 people were killed on the spot or died of their
wounds using ‘authorised firing’ and 43 others treated at
hospital for injuries received.
The Commission also concluded that the bringing of the
bill without consulting members of the public, informally,
if need be, at first, and then bringing in the second
reading within ten days of publication, was very unjust.
As the Commission concluded, ‘…it looked as though
the government cared little for public opinion’.
In CO 295/425, a very revealing letter exists which might
explain why the riot occurred in the first place. In
response to an article written in The Mail newspaper by
a supporter of Governor Maloney, the Reverend
W.L.Keay J.P and Vicar of St Michael’s Diego Martin,
wrote a rebuttal to Secretary of State for the Colonies,
Joseph Chamberlain. The article had argued that ‘there
was not the slightest intention upon the part of the
Governor … to force the bill through’. The Reverend
replied, ‘this is a deliberate falsehood, for they were
asked to delay it and would not’. Further, the article
argued that ‘the agitators led a mob into the Council
Chamber’. The Reverend replied, ‘another falsehood:
the persons present were members of the Chamber of
Commerce and members of the Ratepayers
Association; there was no disturbance.’ Further
contradictions are made in the letter, but clearly the
Governor was widely disliked for his actions. Reverend
Keay concluded his letter with the opinion ‘A
supercilious and insolent disregard of enlightened public
opinion has been the distinguishing feature of Sir Alfred
Maloney’s Administration’.
The Red House was completely rebuilt by 1907, it’s
most notable addition being the imposing rotunda or
dome which is its most recognisable feature today. It
was not until 1914 that the local council and municipal
ordinance of Port-of-Spain were reinstated. But the
Commission did recommend that water management
affairs fall under the rule of local rather than central
government – a victory for local democracy…
eventually.
Who Started The Water Riots?
Crowds gathered by the 29th Street Beach in Chicago after the
drowning death of Eugene Williams, an African American
teenager who had crossed an imaginary boundary in the water
separating blacks from whites, on July 27, 1919. This ignited
the start of the Chicago Race Riots.
Trinidad had a high consumption of
water
The Water Riots took place in Port of Spain on 23 March
1903 in Trinidad and Tobago, then a British colony. As a
result of the riots, the Red House, which was the seat of the
Executive and Legislative Council was destroyed. Around
1900, Trinidad had a high consumption of water.
What caused the Water Riots?
1. That the riot is to be attributed to public opposition to the
proposed waterworks ordinance, stimulated by falsehoods and
incitements to violence of certain speakers and the Mirror
newspaper.
2. That there was excessive and unnecessary firing by some
individual members of the police force.
When and where did the water riots take place and
what happened?
The water Riots took place in Port of Spain on 23rd of
March 1903 in Trinidad and Tobago, then a British colony. As
a result of the riots, the Red House, which was seat of the
Executive and Legislative Council was destroyed. Around
1900, Trinidad had a high consumption of water.
The immediate cause of the Watter Riot was the
introduction into the Legislative Council of a new Waterworks
Ordinance which became the focus of a violent agitation.
That agitation can only be exclaimed in terms of a long
history of dissatisfaction with the city’s water supply.
Research done by: Kayla Ramjit
Mukesh Ramnath
Tyrique O’Neil
Amari Flemming
Jennesa Hosdpedales