Federation: A fresh look

Tuesday, April 22 will mark the 50th anniversary of the formal opening of the Federal Parliament by the late Princess Margaret, with the late Sir Grantley Adams as Prime Minister and Lord Hailes, a former United Kingdom Conservative Party Chief Whip as Governor-General. It was Grantley Adams, alone of the then Big Three of Caribbean politics, who had dared give up his position as head of the political arm of Government — Premier — while the other two, Norman Washingon Manley and Dr. Eric Williams preferred to remain as Premier of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago respectively. It was a decision which would result months later in his party, the Barbados Labour Party, being defeated in the Barbados General Election by the Democratic Labour Party, headed by (the late) Errol Barrow.

The West Indies Federation was but a jest in a British Imperialist mind, and indeed all the evidence points to the UK’s intention, despite hypocritical statements of support, of having the Federation fail, or to put it more gently, knowing that it would fail. The British Government had imposed a Budget ceiling of $9,120,000 out of which the Federal Government would meet its bills. This would severely limit the ability of the Federal Government to effectively plan and to spend on the hundred and one things which it was expected to accomplish. The hands of the man who would become its Minister of Finance, the Honourable Robert Bradshaw, were effectively tied by the cynicism of Whitehall.

Jamaica, given the consideration of the size of its population, was required to contribute 43 percent of the budgeted figure; while energy rich Trinidad and Tobago was directed to contribute 39 percent and Barbados — nine percent. In turn, from the outset, Jamaica had, and understandably so, severe reservations about the proposed Customs Union, which it believed, if implemented, would have resulted in an annual revenue loss of approximately $19,200,000. So that in addition to the $3,921,600, which it was required to pay as its 43 percent of the Federal Budget, the puttng into effect of a Customs Union would have meant a loss in revenue of somewhat more than twice the Federal Budget.

Immediately, problems arose, which would, later, with the announcement by then Prime Minister Sir Grantley Adams, of retroactive taxation, give Jamaican Opposition Leader at the time, William Alexander Bustamante, the political opportunity to dare Manley to return to the polls and trick Manley into calling a referendum. It should be appreciated that the Federal Government could not operate on the ceiling of $9,120,000 and when Adams in 1959, persuaded by Bradshaw that there should be a tax increase of 25 percent, he must have believed that not only would the UK Government have allowed his Government the increase, but would have permitted it to impose it retroactively.

To this day I refuse to accept the argument that Bustamante was opposed to Federation. It should be recalled that the Federal Party, the Democratic Labour Party of the West Indies, to which his Party, the Jamaica Labour Party, was aligned had, vigorously, fought the Federal Elections. Bustamante, however, was an astute politician, who had sensed, along with many Jamaicans, that not only was the proposal for a Customs Union political dynamite, but the mention both of increased as well as retroactive taxation, had aroused anti-Adams and anti-Manley sentiments in Jamaica. He knew that the three areas of concern could have been translated into additional votes for the Jamaica Labour Party and he acted as most any other political leader would have done.

Manley, misunderstanding the mood of the Jamaican electorate, allowed himself to be outmanoeuvred by Bustamante and called a referendum. The rest is history.