Trinidad is a Crown colony, with very little recognition
of the representative principle in its government.
The governor is appointed by the sovereign,
and chooses an executive council of three for himself.
T he legislative council consists of fifteen
members, of whom seven are public officials and the
others are appointed on the selection of the planters
and merchants. There are eight administrative districts
: St. George and St. David in the north,
Caroni, St. Andrew, Victoria, and Nariva in the
central section, and St. Patrick and Mayaro in the
south ; and two municipalities, Port of Spain and San
Fernando. Port of Spain has a local council of sixteen
members and San Fernando one of ten, elected
by landholders worth £40 a year or more. The
public revenues of the colony, derived chiefly from
customs duties, amount to about $2,500,000 a year.
There is a public debt of about $3,000,000, incurred
mostly in the construction of railroads. The annual
value of exports exceeds $10,000,000, and the value
of imports is about the same. There is a considerable
trade with Venezuela, and regular and frequent
communication with England, with the other West
Indies, and through them with the United States.
Trinidad has a school system maintained by the
government, which also gives aid to the church
schools. There are two colleges, Queen’s Royal
College and the College of the Immaculate Conception.
T he possibilities of production and of trade
in this island are hardly less than those of Barbados
in proportion to size. It has about the same population
and more than ten times the area.