Hartley Neita
WITH THE departure of Michael Manley and Edward Seaga from the political stage, the political actors of today are no longer providing the drama of its theatre. Except, perhaps, for Kingston's Mayor whose dramatic fall when he was overwhelmed by tear gas recently, should earn him an Actor Boy award at the next presentation of this annual celebration.
The great theatrical events of yesteryear are now few and far between. One of my early memories was the report of Alexander Bustamante pulling the legs of his pants above his knees and displaying his milky-white untanned legs in the glare of a spotlight at a political meeting he held on Spanish Town Road during the 1944 General Election campaign. The reason for his dramatic exposure was that there was a rumour which had taken root in the public psyche that he had an ulcer on his leg which would not heal. He disproved the rumour.
Another famous political dramatist was F.L.B. Evans from Westmoreland. He campaigned in his constituency by riding a donkey from town to town, district to district and house to house. He once went on a fast to protest the victimisation of his constituency by the JLP Government. On two or three occasions, he removed the Mace from its place in the chamber of the House which forced an adjournment of the House.
His most famous drama, however, was when he decided to leave what was considered a safe PNP constituency and sought to dethrone Clifford Campbell of the JLP in the next door constituency. He won.
It was not only Evans who rode a donkey during his election forays. Another was our Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson, who for years rode one on Nomination Day. Other members of the House, who like Evans, removed the Mace from its place in the House, were Keble Munn and Max Carey.
POLITICAL DRAMA
An interesting night of political drama was when the three candidates for North West St. James were forced to abandon their plans to hold political meetings in the constituency during the general election campaign in 1962. The PNP's candidate, Howard Cooke, was forced to leave Anchovy, post haste, when JLP supporters brandished sticks and threatened to break up his political meeting. At the same time, the JLP's candidate Herbert Eldemire had to make a hasty retreat from the platform and the district when PNP adherents told him that Labourites were not allowed to hold political meetings in their village. Then to demonstrate their impartiality, Independent candidate and former PNP Minister of Communications and Works, A.G.S. Coombs, was stoned off the platform while he was speaking at the district of Bogue Hill.
It was in another election campaign, ten years later, that Michael Manley and Edward Seaga played a tee-taa-toe political game with a walking stick which Manley claimed was given to him by Emperor Haile Selassie. The walking stick became known as the "Rod of Correction" which Manley and his supporters claimed would cleanse Jamaica of the evils of Sodom and Gomorrah.
According to Seaga, Manley lost the Rod when he was forced to flee from a political meeting at which journalist John Maxwell was being introduced as the PNP candidate for western Kingston. Seaga claimed he had found the Rod and that he would produce it at the appropriate time. Manley responded by saying that what Seaga had was a "Stick of Deception" and to prove it, he would show to all and sundry the real Rod which was still in his possession.
MOOD OF ANTICIPATION
So said. So done. At a meeting in downtown Kingston a few nights later, the moment of drama arrived. Manley rose to speak. He created a mood of anticipation, The crowd waited for the moment when he would, like Moses and the serpents, whip out the Rod and wave it as if by magic.
Suddenly he paused. There was silence as everyone waited. Expectantly.
Would he? Could he? Then he shouted: "And now ... And now ... And now?" And walking through the crowd with a searchlight focused on them were Mrs. Edna Manley and Beverley Anderson holding the Rod aloft. They climbed on to the platform and presented it to Joshua.
Manley was vindicated. He went on to win the elections.
Watch out for more moments of the lighter side of politics.
