THROUGH THE 20TH CENTURY WITH THE GLEANER - The Lord Moyne Commission (Part 8)

C.Roy Reynolds

THE COMMISSION had seen many things and heard even more. There was no doubt that conditions among the masses was bad, very bad. But how bad it was largely dependent on whose eyes were viewing them. Establishment witnesses generally presented a much rosier view of things. For example, on the state of medical care spokespersons for the government painted a picture of a reasonable level at least of the state of the medical service, both with respect to personnel and physical facilities. They represented that as a consequence mortality rate and other statistics compared favourably to similar territories. Diseases like tuberculosis, hookworm and yaws were under control.

But professional evidence from those who operated the system told another story: of inadequate treatment, poor facilities and of people unable to access any form of treatment; of people's plight made worse by substandard nutrition and abysmal living conditions.

Still, it was left to a group of workers, or would-be workers to really address the situation from the grassroot standpoint. Writing from 18 Railway Lane in Spanish Town they said in their letter which I shall here reproduce with one literary trespass: Their letter was written with no punctuation whatever, and I will try to insert them to assist the reader. So here goes:

"I was told that it was advertise in The Gleaner that we the poverty-stricken people should explain our grievance. So things is so hard that one of us could not afford to send this letter, so it is a small body of us put together last night to send this letter. So, I will begin now.

Please sir read carefully and look into our condition. I am a man who have three children and a wife. I live in little room, ten shilling a month for it and I have a baby with my wife and sometimes for weeks the child had to live on the dry breast, not a penny to bye milk. Sometimes I get two days which is fore shillings, I have to give land master two and sixpence, leaving one and six. Please sir what is that to a family of five. Good Lord, look into it carefully. There are hundreds of us who would like to write and explain but a two pence to send this letter. They cannot afford it, for they had to leave it to make a meal, when they come in. I tell you sir, sometimes I go and work we have to bye ticket out of it. We are force to bye it and we cannot get a little work the other week."

System

This appeared to have been some system operated by some employers to squeeze money out of their workers, for the writer of the letter continued:

"Sometime they raffle a cow, some time car, next turkey an so on. Dey try in all way to get a shilling or two when they dose give you a few shillings, so advantage take of us in all ways. Landowners appress us.

"What so every little some thing we have in the house they take it away so we are back up appresstion in all ways. I really can't explain every thing because it don't look so pleasant. I have a little girl start go to school and is going fore months now and I can't send her back to school. Nothing to put on. Last week the mother had to cut an old dress to put on her. Cloth is sell 4 1/2 pence a yard an so help my God I cant bye two yards to make her a dress. My grievance is like world without end. So I hope you will consider our trouble and try to help us as best you can!"

Lord Moyne's reaction was to observe: "Of course we have had, and I am afraid, many pitiable letters of this kind, but it would be appreciated that we cannot go into these individual cases." While stating that they wanted to hear about them he wondered what machinery could be put in place to deal with them.

From the other side of the track, so to speak, came Major E. F. Moulton-Barrett who in a letter to the commission stated in part: "Our peasantry is easy to handle as long as they are treated fairly, but in cases where they are not they are liable to get excited and consequently out of hand. In nearly every such case it can be traced to the fact that the employers are not sympathetic to their labour.

"I have deep personal interest in the whole affair as my family has been connected to this island for some 280 years, and I think I can honestly say that we have never given anything but assistance to our labour. I realise that the landowner is not a popular person in certain quarters but this due to ignorance and lack of knowledge as to what many do for the people who work for them."

And there it was, two different opinions from two different worlds.

C. Roy Reynolds is a freelance journalist.

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