Space will not permit of any detailed reference to the continual
struggles which took place between the Assembly and the Governor in
Council, or the Assembly and the Crown, for in some cases the Assembly
found governors who from the larger knowledge gained by local experience
were in sympathy with many of their claims for equitable treatment. But
we may perhaps for a moment try to picture to ourselves the scene at the
opening of an assembly a hundred years ago. There were then forty-three
members representing twenty constituencies or parishes. Of these all but
a few came from outside Spanish Town, and had perforce to find temporary
homes for themselves, their servants, and their horses: and the old
capital must have offered a gay appearance. If the member for noble St.
James did not drive his own horses it must have cost him some £8 to £10
to post.
It is true that Feurtado mentions ten lodging-houses and six hotels or
taverns as existing at the time of the removal of the Government from
Spanish Town to Kingston in 1870; but it is somewhat curious that,
though travellers and historians have recorded the names of some ten or
twelve taverns throughout the colony in the eighteenth century, no
mention is made of any such institution of importance in the old
capital.
In 1812 the lieutenant-governor was Lieutenant-General Edward Morrison.
His secretary was William Bullock, who later, under the Duke of
Manchester, became a great pluralist and wielded much power. The speaker
of the Assembly was James Lewis, who represented St. Catherine. John
Jacques, the mayor, was one of Kingston’s three representatives. St.
Andrew sent as one member a James Stewart, Trelawny sent another James
Stewart, and Westmoreland a third—which suggests numerous pitfalls for
the unwary student of genealogy—while a fourth Stewart, John by name,
sat for St. Ann. John Shand, the custos of St. Catherine, represented
St. John. One of Vere’s members was J. P. Edwards, while Robert Allwood
came up from St. Elizabeth. Hanover was represented by a Scarlett.
Portland sent two Minots. The wealthy and powerful Simon Taylor
represented St. Thomas-in-the-East, where most of his property lay.
The officers of the Assembly were: _Clerk_, F. Smith; _Serjeant-at-arms
and Librarian_, John Clement; _Chaplain_, Isaac Mann (rector of St.
Catherine); _Printer_, A. Aikman; and _Doorkeeper_, J. Wintle.
[Illustration:
KING’S HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
COURT HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
RODNEY MEMORIAL
]
[Illustration:
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
]
THE SQUARE, SPANISH TOWN
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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